PMID- 9968167
TI  - Spin formalism in the algebraic scattering theory for heavy ions.

PMID- 9968168
TI  - Microscopic coupled-channels analysis of 9Be(p,p') for 100 <= Ep <= 500 MeV.

PMID- 9968169
TI  - Multifractals at relativistic energies.

PMID- 9968170
TI  - Target dependence of central rapidity Lambda production in sulfur-nucleus
      collisions at 200 GeV/c per nucleon.

PMID- 9968171
TI  - Nuclear equation of state with momentum-dependent interactions.

PMID- 9968172
TI  - Transverse energy and forward energy production in a high energy nuclear
      collision model.

PMID- 9968173
TI  - Quark distributions in nuclei.

PMID- 9968174
TI  - Effect of multiple scattering on the measurement of nuclear transparency.

PMID- 9968175
TI  - Parity nonconservation for neutron resonances in 238U.

PMID- 9968176
TI  - Parity nonconservation for neutron resonances in 232Th.

PMID- 9968178
TI  - Spin, moments, and mean square nuclear charge radius of 77Sr.

PMID- 9968177
TI  - Relativity and the enhancement of the weak axial-charge matrix elements in the
      lead region.

PMID- 9968179
TI  - Hypernuclear currents in a relativistic mean-field theory with tensor omega YY
      couplings.

PMID- 9968180
TI  - Fragment-formation positions in proton-induced collisions.

PMID- 9968181
TI  - Probe dependence of the quasielastic peak.

PMID- 9968182
TI  - Nucleus-nucleus potential in the range -2<S<2.5 fm.

PMID- 9968183
TI  - Simple relation for alpha decay half-lives.

PMID- 9968184
TI  - Two-to-one relationships between the spectra of selected even-even and even-odd
      nuclei.

PMID- 9968185
TI  - Erratum: Single nucleon emission in relativistic nucleus-nucleus reactions

PMID- 9968186
TI  - Erratum: Coulomb distortion effects in (e,e' gamma ) processes

PMID- 9968187
TI  - Disappearance of flow and the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section.

PMID- 9968189
TI  - Interaction strength of two crossing bands.

PMID- 9968188
TI  - F-spin multiplets of O(6)-like nuclei.

PMID- 9968190
TI  - Distortion effects in exclusive (p, Delta ++) reaction.

PMID- 9968191
TI  - Search for nuclear excitation by laser-driven electron motion.

PMID- 9968192
TI  - Band structure in the neutron-rich lanthanide nucleus 152Nd. I. Anomalous
      properties of the K pi =0(+) bands.

PMID- 9968194
TI  - Anisotropy in alpha decay of odd-mass deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9968193
TI  - beta beta decay of 128Te, 130Te, and 76Ge with renormalized effective
      interactions derived from Paris and Bonn potentials.

PMID- 9968196
TI  - q analogue realization of nucleon pairing.

PMID- 9968195
TI  - Level spin for superdeformed nuclei near A=194.

PMID- 9968197
TI  - Bonn potential and sd-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9968198
TI  - Effective interactions for the 0p1s0d nuclear shell-model space.

PMID- 9968199
TI  - Another possible manifestation of the energy-dependent width of the giant dipole
      resonance.

PMID- 9968200
TI  - Common thresholds and the role of deformations in the photoexcitation of isomers.

PMID- 9968201
TI  - Neutron emission for the fusion of 40Ar+Ni, 92Mo, 122Sn reactions at E/A=26 MeV.

PMID- 9968202
TI  - Thermal-neutron capture by silicon isotopes.

PMID- 9968203
TI  - T20 in the inclusive breakup of 4.5 GeV polarized 6Li.

PMID- 9968204
TI  - Fusionlike processes in the 14N+232Th reaction at 30 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968205
TI  - Isoscalar spin excitation in 40Ca.

PMID- 9968207
TI  - Modified Glauber model II description for heavy-ion elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968206
TI  - Phase-shift analysis of neutron-208Pb scattering and mean-field studies.

PMID- 9968208
TI  - Statistical multistep direct calculations for (p,p') continuum spectra up to 200
      MeV.

PMID- 9968210
TI  - Role of isospin in neutron- and alpha-induced reactions.

PMID- 9968209
TI  - Quasielastic and inelastic inclusive electron scattering by nuclear systems:
      Nucleon momentum distributions, spectral functions, and off-shell effects.

PMID- 9968211
TI  - Emission of the outer layers by an expanding hot nucleus.

PMID- 9968212
TI  - Antilambda enhancement in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968213
TI  - Spin-dependent forces and electromagnetic structure of the nucleon.

PMID- 9968214
TI  - Possibility of H dibaryon production with energetic hyperon and meson beams.

PMID- 9968215
TI  - Radiative muon capture on Al, Si, Ca, Mo, Sn, and Pb.

PMID- 9968216
TI  - Exact symmetries and the role of the pion cloud in deep-inelastic electron
      nucleon scattering.

PMID- 9968217
TI  - Isomer-to-isomer beta decay of 180Hfm and the nucleosynthesis of 180Tam.

PMID- 9968218
TI  - Half-life of 56Ni.

PMID- 9968219
TI  - Second-forbidden electron-capture decay of 55Fe.

PMID- 9968220
TI  - Role of the breakup process in the hindrance of light-heavy-ion fusion reactions.

PMID- 9968221
TI  - Nonlocal field theory model for nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968222
TI  - Erratum: Giant dipole resonance in 17O observed with the ( gamma,p) reaction

PMID- 9968223
TI  - Meson exchange currents and high-resolution ( gamma,p) reactions.

PMID- 9968224
TI  - beta -delayed proton decay of 20Mg and its astrophysical implications.

PMID- 9968226
TI  - Delta degrees of freedom in trinuclei. V. Exotic contributions.

PMID- 9968225
TI  - Nucleon knockout from polarized 3He by polarized protons at 290 MeV.

PMID- 9968227
TI  - Rho exchange in charge-exchange reactions.

PMID- 9968228
TI  - Configuration-space Yakubovsky calculations.

PMID- 9968229
TI  - Rotational structures in 174Ta and "identical bands" in the normal deformation
      regime.

PMID- 9968231
TI  - Structure of 118Sb nucleus.

PMID- 9968230
TI  - Isomers in three doubly odd Fr-At-Bi alpha -decay chains.

PMID- 9968232
TI  - Spectroscopic study of oxygen and fluorine isotopes with the ( alpha,3He) and (
      alpha,t) reactions on 16,17,18O.

PMID- 9968233
TI  - Electromagnetic transition probabilities in the natural-parity rotational bands
      of 155,157Gd.

PMID- 9968234
TI  - Bremsstrahlung from tritium beta decay.

PMID- 9968235
TI  - Test of photon strength functions by a method of two-step cascades.

PMID- 9968236
TI  - Relativistic Thomas-Fermi calculations of hot nuclei.

PMID- 9968238
TI  - Possible existence of a bound state in Sigma 7Li.

PMID- 9968237
TI  - Structure of the N=84 isotones 138Xe-146Sm.

PMID- 9968239
TI  - Effective charges and their relation to collectivity and shell structure.

PMID- 9968240
TI  - Chaos in nuclei with broken pairs.

PMID- 9968241
TI  - Is there objective evidence for quantized spin alignment in superdeformed nuclei?

PMID- 9968242
TI  - Alpha widths in deformed nuclei: Microscopic approach.

PMID- 9968243
TI  - Pairing correlations studied in the two-level model.

PMID- 9968244
TI  - Actinide production from the interactions of 40Ca and 44Ca with 248Cm and a
      comparison with the 48Ca+248Cm system.

PMID- 9968245
TI  - 0 degrees measurements of momentum distributions of projectile-like fragments.

PMID- 9968246
TI  - Elastic and inelastic transfer in the 11B+12C system at 164.8 MeV c.m. energy.

PMID- 9968247
TI  - 4He emission in the interactions of fast neutrons with 48Ti and 50Ti.

PMID- 9968248
TI  - Intermediate mass fragment emission in Fe+Au collisions.

PMID- 9968249
TI  - Disappearance of flow as a probe of the nuclear equation of state.

PMID- 9968250
TI  - Intermediate-energy proton direct capture populating continuum states.

PMID- 9968251
TI  - Fluctuations of the one-body distribution function.

PMID- 9968252
TI  - Angular momentum effects in heavy-ion-induced fission.

PMID- 9968253
TI  - Emission-angle dependence of fission fragment spin.

PMID- 9968254
TI  - Multiple-scattering effects in quasielastic alpha-4He scattering.
AB  - A multiple-scattering series for describing the quasielastic peak in nucleus
      nucleus collisions is derived using the high-energy optical model.  The effects
      of multiple knockout of target nucleons and internal excitation of the projectile
      are studied and found to be important for large energy loss and momentum
      transfers in inclusive alpha-4He scattering at 7 GeV/c.  An approximate
      evaluation of higher-order inelastic collision terms is considered for forward
      peaked wave functions and is demonstrated to be accurate.

PMID- 9968255
TI  - Dynamical treatment of Fermi motion in a microscopic description of heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9968256
TI  - Deeply-bound pionic atoms via the ( pi -,p) reaction.

PMID- 9968257
TI  - Forward-backward multiplicity correlations in 4.5A GeV/c silicon-nucleus
      interactions.

PMID- 9968259
TI  - Dominant two-step process in nuclear fragmentation at high energies.

PMID- 9968258
TI  - Fragmentation cross sections of 16O between 0.9 and 200 GeV/nucleon.
AB  - Inclusive cross sections for high energy interactions at 0.9, 2.3, 3.6, and 13.5
      GeV/nucleon of 16O with C, CR-39 (C12H18O7), CH2, Al, Cu, Ag, and Pb targets were
      measured.  The total charge-changing cross sections and partial charge-changing
      cross sections for the production of fragments with charge Z = 6 and Z = 7 are
      compared to previous experiments at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon.  The contributions of
      Coulomb dissociation to the total cross sections are calculated.  Using
      factorization rules the partial electromagnetic cross sections are separated from
      the nuclear components.  Energy dependence of both components are investigated
      and discussed.

PMID- 9968261
TI  - QCD sum rules for nucleons in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968260
TI  - Temperatures of negative pions in inelastic (d, alpha,C)+ (C,Ta) collisions at
      4.2A GeV/c.

PMID- 9968262
TI  - Fluctuation effects of meson fields on quantum hadrodynamics at finite
      temperature.

PMID- 9968263
TI  - Double beta decay of 82Se.

PMID- 9968264
TI  - Mass yield distribution of target residues from the reaction of indium with 42
      MeV/nucleon 12C ions.

PMID- 9968265
TI  - Parity nonconservation for the 0.88-eV neutron resonance in 81Br.

PMID- 9968266
TI  - How well do we know the E2/M1 ratio for the Delta (1232)?

PMID- 9968268
TI  - Fragmentation reactions of 11Li.

PMID- 9968267
TI  - Signature inversion driven by wobbling motion in negative-gamma nuclei.

PMID- 9968270
TI  - Comment on "Relativistic mean field study of light medium nuclei away from the
      beta stability"

PMID- 9968269
TI  - Calculation of beta-decay half-lives of proton-rich nuclei of intermediate mass.

PMID- 9968271
TI  - Comment on "Optimal auxiliary Hamiltonians for truncated boson-space calculations
      by means of a maximal-decoupling variational principle"

PMID- 9968272
TI  - Comment on "Multipair transfer processes in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate
      energies"

PMID- 9968273
TI  - Reply to the comment on "Multipair transfer processes in heavy-ion collisions at
      intermediate energies"

PMID- 9968274
TI  - Erratum: Bar-shape and eigenshape parameters from the zero-energy wave functions

PMID- 9968275
TI  - Analyzing powers for 2H(d,p)3H at incident energies of 30, 50, 70, and 90 keV.

PMID- 9968276
TI  - Rho meson in dense hadronic matter.

PMID- 9968277
TI  - Shape coexistence and extreme deformations near A=80.

PMID- 9968279
TI  - Calculation of three-body reactions with Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9968278
TI  - Neutron-proton analyzing power data between 7.6 and 18.5 MeV.

PMID- 9968280
TI  - Unusually strong attraction in the presence of continuum bound state.

PMID- 9968281
TI  - Hyperon electroproduction in a crossing and duality constrained model.

PMID- 9968282
TI  - Relativistic corrections to the triton binding energy.

PMID- 9968283
TI  - High-spin states in 179Os.

PMID- 9968284
TI  - Ground-state charge distribution and transition charge densities of the low-lying
      states in 86Sr.

PMID- 9968285
TI  - Evidence for isovector giant resonances at 2

PMID- 9968286
TI  - Yrast decays in 43K.

PMID- 9968287
TI  - Relativistic temperature-dependent Hartree-Fock calculation of spherical nuclei.

PMID- 9968288
TI  - Spectral anomalies of even-mass Hg isotopes.

PMID- 9968290
TI  - Semiphenomenological approach to nucleon properties in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968289
TI  - Spectral functions in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968291
TI  - Spectral properties of shell-model Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9968292
TI  - Relativistic mean-field description of neutron-deficient platinum isotopes.

PMID- 9968293
TI  - Algebraic treatment of giant dipole resonances built on excited states.

PMID- 9968295
TI  - Variational calculation of the ground state of 16O.

PMID- 9968294
TI  - E0 decays of beta vibrations in the O(6) limit of the neutron-proton interacting
      boson model.

PMID- 9968296
TI  - Nuclear ground state properties in a relativistic point coupling model.

PMID- 9968297
TI  - Description of collective spin excitations in deformed nuclei within a projected
      single-particle basis.

PMID- 9968298
TI  - Model-space Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach for asymmetric nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968300
TI  - Excitations of 21+ and 31- states from (p,p') and electromagnetic measurements.

PMID- 9968299
TI  - Relativistic Thomas-Fermi calculations of finite nuclei including quantum
      corrections.

PMID- 9968301
TI  - Self-consistent anisotropic oscillator with cranked angular and vortex
      velocities.

PMID- 9968302
TI  - Neutron radii of the calcium isotopes.

PMID- 9968303
TI  - Intermediate mass fragment emission as a probe of nuclear dynamics.

PMID- 9968304
TI  - Nature of the 03+ state in 152Sm from picosecond-lifetime measurement:
      "Correspondence" interpretation of the 0(+) bands in heavy Sm and Gd.

PMID- 9968305
TI  - Vector and tensor analyzing powers in the 208Pb(d

PMID- 9968306
TI  - Spontaneous fission properties of 103259Lr.

PMID- 9968307
TI  - Isovector giant quadrupole resonance in the 40Ca(n, gamma 0) reaction.

PMID- 9968308
TI  - Neutron-charged-particle correlations in the 3.8 MeV per nucleon 16O+12C and 13.4
      MeV per nucleon 16O+27Al reactions.

PMID- 9968309
TI  - Systematics of inclusive pion double charge exchange in the delta resonance
      region.

PMID- 9968311
TI  - Spin assignments of angular momentum mismatched resonances in the 16O+16O system.

PMID- 9968310
TI  - Charged particle multiplicities in heavy-ion-induced fission.

PMID- 9968312
TI  - Emission of 23F and 24Ne in cluster radioactivity of 231Pa.

PMID- 9968313
TI  - Evolution towards equilibration in orbiting interactions.

PMID- 9968314
TI  - Mechanism for the disassembly of excited 16O projectiles into four alpha
      particles.

PMID- 9968315
TI  - Comparison of inclusive inelastic scattering of pi + and pi - from nuclei at 100
      MeV.

PMID- 9968316
TI  - Numerical investigation of non-eikonal corrections to the Glauber model at
      intermediate energies.

PMID- 9968317
TI  - Coulomb-modified Glauber model description of heavy-ion elastic scattering at low
      energies.

PMID- 9968319
TI  - Isotopic effects in the disassembly of hot nuclear systems.

PMID- 9968318
TI  - Transparency in high-energy nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9968320
TI  - Blast of light fragments from central heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968321
TI  - Experimental determination of energy-dependent barriers for fusion.

PMID- 9968322
TI  - Subbarrier fusion in the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9968323
TI  - Particle-hole state densities with linear momentum and angular distributions in
      preequilibrium reactions.

PMID- 9968324
TI  - Momentum transfer in the reactions of 13.6-GeV/nucleon 16O with copper.

PMID- 9968326
TI  - Two loop calculation of the omega - rho mass splitting.

PMID- 9968325
TI  - Relativistic hydrodynamics of partially stopped baryonic matter.

PMID- 9968327
TI  - Multiparticle production in lepton-nucleus collisions and relativistic string
      models.

PMID- 9968329
TI  - Analysis of an esoteric interpretation of a threshold in beta decay.

PMID- 9968328
TI  - Radiative muon capture in medium heavy nuclei in a relativistic mean field theory
      model.

PMID- 9968330
TI  - E1 transitions in 168Er.

PMID- 9968331
TI  - Alpha-chain states in 4N-nuclei from 20Ne to 32S.

PMID- 9968332
TI  - Cranked Moszkowski model with temperature.

PMID- 9968334
TI  - Relation between E2 and orbital M1 transition strengths using a Q

PMID- 9968333
TI  - Quantum spectra and classical orbits in the pairing model: A simple connection.

PMID- 9968336
TI  - Proton 2p-2h intruder excitations and the modified vibrational intensity and
      selection rules.

PMID- 9968335
TI  - Deformed shapes underlying the many-particle shell-model states.

PMID- 9968337
TI  - Erratum: Extraction of nuclear spin response functions from spin observables of
      nucleon quasifree scattering

PMID- 9968338
TI  - Search for a strangeness -1 dibaryon below the Sigma N threshold.

PMID- 9968339
TI  - Statistical fragmentation of Au projectiles at E/A=600 MeV.

PMID- 9968340
TI  - Observation of identical bands in superdeformed nuclei with the cranked Hartree
      Fock method.

PMID- 9968341
TI  - Low-spin identical bands in the NpNn scheme.

PMID- 9968342
TI  - Spin dependent spectral function of 3He and the asymmetry in the process 3H

PMID- 9968343
TI  - Intermittency and the expanding emitting source model.

PMID- 9968344
TI  - Meson-exchange and quark-gluon transitions in the p-barp--> Lambda -bar Lambda
      process.

PMID- 9968345
TI  - Pion absorption in tritium at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9968346
TI  - Relativistic effects in proton-proton bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9968347
TI  - Chiral symmetry and the nucleon-nucleon interaction: Tensor decomposition of
      Feynman diagrams.

PMID- 9968348
TI  - Three-boson system with absorptive short range potential.

PMID- 9968350
TI  - Unsuitability of 157Tb for light-neutrino rest-mass studies.

PMID- 9968349
TI  - Magnetic moments and shape coexistence in the light Br isotopes.

PMID- 9968351
TI  - Cross sections for formation of metastable states of 79Br, 90Zr, and 95Tc nuclei
      at 14 MeV neutron energy.

PMID- 9968352
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength in A=37 nuclei.

PMID- 9968353
TI  - T=13 double isobaric analog state in 138Ce via pion-induced double charge
      exchange.

PMID- 9968355
TI  - 18O(3He,p)20F reaction.

PMID- 9968354
TI  - 1,2,3H, 4He emission from 96Ru nuclei (E*

PMID- 9968357
TI  - Projected quasiparticle calculations on the heavy odd-mass N=82 isotones.

PMID- 9968356
TI  - Average resonance capture study of 126Te.

PMID- 9968359
TI  - Analysis of the compressibility of a finite symmetrical nucleus in terms of a
      simple, analytically tractable model.

PMID- 9968358
TI  - Nuclear equation of state in the MIT bag crystal model for nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968360
TI  - Structure of the low-lying intrinsic states in 156Eu.

PMID- 9968361
TI  - Thermal properties of zinc isotopes in the static path approximation.

PMID- 9968362
TI  - Exploring the validity of Z=38 and Z=50 proton closed shells in even-even Mo
      isotopes.

PMID- 9968363
TI  - Kinetic-energy operator in the effective shell-model interaction.

PMID- 9968364
TI  - Multipole response of 11Li.

PMID- 9968365
TI  - alpha -d resonances and the low-lying states of 6Li.

PMID- 9968367
TI  - Pair transfer and the sub-barrier fusion of 18O+58Ni.

PMID- 9968366
TI  - Three- and five-nucleon transfers in 9Be(p, alpha )6Li reaction at 25 and 30 MeV.

PMID- 9968368
TI  - Electric and magnetic dipole transitions from broad s-wave neutron resonance in
      even-even sd-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9968369
TI  - Low energy optical model studies of proton scattering on 54Fe and 56Fe.

PMID- 9968370
TI  - Critical study of source size extractions from p-p correlations in 20Ne reactions
      at 30 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968371
TI  - Gauge invariance and the nonrelativistic Ward-Takahashi identity.

PMID- 9968372
TI  - Temperature-dependent relativistic microscopic optical potential of a nucleon.

PMID- 9968373
TI  - Absorption contribution to the pion double-charge-exchange reaction.

PMID- 9968374
TI  - Pion absorption on polarized nuclear targets.

PMID- 9968375
TI  - Spin observables at threshold for meson photoproduction.

PMID- 9968376
TI  - Electromagnetic and pion-nuclear reactions on 15N.

PMID- 9968377
TI  - Meson exchange current contribution to K+-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9968379
TI  - Gamma emission in precompound reactions. II. Numerical application.

PMID- 9968378
TI  - Gamma emission in precompound reactions. I. Statistical model and collective
      gamma decay.

PMID- 9968380
TI  - Production of Delta ++(1232) in carbon-carbon collisions at 4.2 GeV/c per
      nucleon.

PMID- 9968381
TI  - Measurements of nu W2 and R= sigma L/ sigma T from inelastic electron-aluminum
      scattering near x=1.

PMID- 9968382
TI  - Antihyperon-hyperon production in the meson exchange framework.

PMID- 9968383
TI  - Ward-Takahashi identities for the radiative axial-vector vertex and low-energy
      theorem for the pion electroproduction.

PMID- 9968384
TI  - Quasiparticle properties of the quarks of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9968385
TI  - Sum rule description of color transparency.

PMID- 9968386
TI  - Muon-neutrino carbon charged-current interaction near the muon threshold.

PMID- 9968388
TI  - Doorway state approximation and sign correlations in parity nonconservation in
      compound neutron resonances.

PMID- 9968387
TI  - Covariant description of the Delta in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968389
TI  - Atomic parity nonconservation: Electroweak parameters and nuclear structure.

PMID- 9968390
TI  - Sign correlations in parity-violating compound-nucleus reactions.

PMID- 9968391
TI  - "Shadow" model for sub-barrier fusion applied to light systems: Determination of
      the reaction rate.

PMID- 9968392
TI  - New nuclei near the proton drip line around Z=40.

PMID- 9968393
TI  - Search for the double beta decay of 244Pu.

PMID- 9968394
TI  - Search for the I pi =1(-) state in 218Ra.

PMID- 9968395
TI  - Realistic estimate of incomplete fusion excitation function in nucleus-nucleus
      collisions.

PMID- 9968396
TI  - Quadrupole contribution to two-neutron removal in heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968397
TI  - Momentum distributions in reactions with radioactive beams.

PMID- 9968398
TI  - Riemann's theorem for quantum tilted rotors.

PMID- 9968400
TI  - Evidence for new isomers and band structures in 80Rb.

PMID- 9968399
TI  - Erratum: Decay of 120Ba

PMID- 9968401
TI  - Double beta decays of 100Mo to excited states in 100Ru.

PMID- 9968402
TI  - Double blocking in the superdeformed 192Tl nucleus.

PMID- 9968403
TI  - Resolution of nuclear ground and isomeric states by a Penning trap mass
      spectrometer.

PMID- 9968404
TI  - Mass asymmetry, equation of state, and nuclear multifragmentation.

PMID- 9968405
TI  - Towards a microscopic understanding of nuclear structure functions.

PMID- 9968406
TI  - Effective summation over intermediate states in double-beta decay.

PMID- 9968408
TI  - Measurement of the cross-section ratio 3H(d, gamma )5He/3H(d, alpha )n at 100
      keV.

PMID- 9968407
TI  - pi ++d-->p+p below 21 MeV.

PMID- 9968409
TI  - Differential cross section for n-p elastic scattering in the angular region 50
      degrees< theta *<180 degrees at 459 MeV.

PMID- 9968410
TI  - Internal bremsstrahlung: Exact relativistic independent-particle-approximation
      calculations.

PMID- 9968411
TI  - Three-body approach to NN-->N Delta reaction.

PMID- 9968412
TI  - One-pion-exchange potential with self-energy.

PMID- 9968413
TI  - Search for population of superdeformed states in 194Pb using 194Bi beta + decay.

PMID- 9968414
TI  - High spin states in 93Tc.

PMID- 9968415
TI  - 223Ra levels fed in the 223Fr beta decay.

PMID- 9968416
TI  - He-vector3(e-vectore') quasielastic asymmetry.

PMID- 9968417
TI  - Nuclear structure of 178Lu.

PMID- 9968418
TI  - Pion double charge exchange on nickel isotopes and generalized seniority.

PMID- 9968419
TI  - Short lifetimes in 28Si.

PMID- 9968421
TI  - Gamow-Teller beta-decay rates for A <= 18 nuclei.

PMID- 9968420
TI  - Level lifetime measurements and the structure of neutron-rich 78Ge.

PMID- 9968422
TI  - Core polarization effect on the discrete proton hole states of 205Tl.

PMID- 9968423
TI  - Negative parity states and octupole collectivity of even Ge isotopes.

PMID- 9968424
TI  - Calculation of the moment of inertia by a proper treatment of pairing
      correlations.

PMID- 9968426
TI  - Collective modes in hot and dense nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968427
TI  - 12C( alpha, gamma )16O E2 cross section in a microscopic four-alpha model.

PMID- 9968425
TI  - Influence of bulk properties on the surface structure of finite nuclei.

PMID- 9968428
TI  - Interaction of stopped antiprotons with copper.

PMID- 9968430
TI  - Neutral pion production in the 16O+27Al reaction at 94 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968429
TI  - N* electroproduction and propagation in nuclei.

PMID- 9968432
TI  - Bromine and iodine excitation-function measurements with protons and deuterons at
      3-17 MeV.

PMID- 9968431
TI  - Neutron total cross sections at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9968433
TI  - Comparison of the quasifree charge-exchange reaction for 12C and 54Fe.

PMID- 9968434
TI  - Cross sections for A=6-30 fragments from the 4He+28Si reaction at 117 and 198
      MeV.

PMID- 9968436
TI  - Coulomb polarizability of the deuteron and the E1 capture mechanism in the 4He(d,
      gamma )6Li reaction.

PMID- 9968435
TI  - Semiclassical particle-rotor model of one-neutron transfer reactions.

PMID- 9968437
TI  - Global Dirac phenomenology for proton-nucleus elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968438
TI  - Radiative strength in the compound nucleus 157Gd.

PMID- 9968439
TI  - First-principles calculation of the cross sections for nuclear excitation by
      electron capture of channeled nuclei.

PMID- 9968441
TI  - Intermittent behavior of nuclear multifragments.

PMID- 9968440
TI  - Resonant characteristics of statistical fluctuations in 12C+12C reaction cross
      sections.

PMID- 9968443
TI  - Lifetime of (e+e-) puzzle's composite particle: No valid limits yet.

PMID- 9968442
TI  - Mechanism of disintegration of emulsion nuclei by relativistic light nuclei.

PMID- 9968444
TI  - Isospin splitting in the baryon octet and decuplet.

PMID- 9968445
TI  - Sign correlations and the mechanism for parity violation.

PMID- 9968446
TI  - Perturbative treatment of parity nonconservation in neutron-nucleus scattering
      within the optical model.

PMID- 9968448
TI  - Level lifetimes in N=82 isotones from Doppler-shift attenuation method mixed
      target measurements.

PMID- 9968447
TI  - Cross section for the primordial reaction 8Li(p,n)8Be (g.s.) at Ec.m.=1.5 MeV.

PMID- 9968450
TI  - Nilsson-based truncation of the nuclear shell model.

PMID- 9968449
TI  - Vector analyzing power iT11 in the pi +d-->pp reaction in the energy region T pi
      =350-450 MeV.

PMID- 9968451
TI  - Effects of prefission neutron emission on the fission fragment angular
      distributions in heavy-ion-induced fission.

PMID- 9968452
TI  - Explanation of recent observations of very large electromagnetic dissociation
      cross sections.

PMID- 9968453
TI  - Entropy and fractal characteristics of multiparticle production at relativistic
      heavy ion interactions.

PMID- 9968454
TI  - Comment on "Fragmentation of gold projectiles with energies of 200-980
      MeV/nucleon. I. Experimental method, charge yields, and transverse momenta"

PMID- 9968455
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Fragmentation of gold projectiles with energies of 200-980
      MeV/nucleon. I. Experimental method, charge yields, and transverse momenta' "

PMID- 9968456
TI  - Rotational structure and signature inversion in odd-odd 84Y.

PMID- 9968457
TI  - First evidence for states in Hg nuclei with deformations between normal and super
      deformation.

PMID- 9968458
TI  - Microscopic approach to pion-nucleus dynamics.

PMID- 9968459
TI  - Comparison between proton capture on 13N and Coulomb breakup of 14O.

PMID- 9968460
TI  - K+ production far below the free nucleon-nucleon threshold in heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9968461
TI  - Measurement of the reaction 3He( gamma,pp)n and its relation to three-body
      forces.

PMID- 9968462
TI  - Breakup energy spectrum of singlet deuterons measured using d+d-->d*+d* four-body
      reaction at 15.7 MeV.

PMID- 9968463
TI  - Deuteron quadrupole moment and 3S1-3D1 state properties.

PMID- 9968464
TI  - Variational Monte Carlo calculations of 3H and 4He with a relativistic
      Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9968465
TI  - Skyrmions and the nuclear force.

PMID- 9968466
TI  - Pion-nucleon coupling constant.

PMID- 9968468
TI  - Nuclear matter compressibility from isoscalar giant monopole resonance.

PMID- 9968467
TI  - Decay of the 02+ state in 80Kr.

PMID- 9968469
TI  - Reconstructive correction of aberrations in nuclear particle spectrographs.

PMID- 9968470
TI  - Band structure in the neutron-rich lanthanide nucleus 152Nd. II. Allowed and K
      forbidden transitions from the negative-parity bands.

PMID- 9968471
TI  - Three-quasiparticle states analysis in odd-mass lead isotopes.

PMID- 9968472
TI  - Instabilities against exotic cluster decays in "stable" nuclei with Z and N in
      the neighborhood of spherical and deformed closed shells.

PMID- 9968473
TI  - Nuclear deformation in the mass-80 and mass-100 regions.

PMID- 9968474
TI  - Exact one-loop vacuum polarization effects in (1+1)-dimensional quantum
      hydrodynamics.

PMID- 9968475
TI  - Particle-hole state densities with good isospin.

PMID- 9968476
TI  - Apparent quadratic deformation scaling of transition strengths in samarium
      isotopes.

PMID- 9968477
TI  - Lipkin-Nogami method at finite temperature in the static-path approximation.

PMID- 9968478
TI  - Approximate seniority-dictated boson-quasifermion mapping and derivation of the
      interacting boson fermion model.

PMID- 9968479
TI  - Spin-isospin SU(4) symmetry in sd- and fp-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9968480
TI  - Systematics of isospin character of transitions to the 21+ and 31- states in
      90,92,94,96Zr.

PMID- 9968481
TI  - (d,2He) reactions at Ed=260 MeV as a possible probe to nuclear spin-isospin
      excitation.

PMID- 9968482
TI  - 16O( gamma,p0)15N cross section from 33 to 69 MeV.

PMID- 9968483
TI  - Fragmentation of polarized 23Na on 208Pb and the random-walk model.

PMID- 9968485
TI  - Correlation symmetries in sequential three-body final state reactions.

PMID- 9968484
TI  - Elastic scattering of 318 MeV 6Li from 12C and 28Si: Unique phenomenological and
      folding-model potentials.

PMID- 9968486
TI  - Systematics of the double isobaric analog state cross section at 50 MeV.

PMID- 9968487
TI  - Measuring dynamical fluctuations in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968488
TI  - Unitary, relativistic resonance model for pi N scattering.

PMID- 9968489
TI  - Computational comparison of quantum-mechanical models for multistep direct
      reactions.

PMID- 9968490
TI  - alpha -16O and alpha -15N optical potentials in the range between 0 and 150 MeV.

PMID- 9968491
TI  - Massive neutrinos and right-handed weak currents in double beta decay.

PMID- 9968492
TI  - Comparison of potential models with the pp scattering data below 350 MeV.

PMID- 9968493
TI  - Resonant state expansion of the resolvent.

PMID- 9968494
TI  - Pion correlations for 1.2A GeV lanthanum on lanthanum.

PMID- 9968495
TI  - Transport model with quasipions.

PMID- 9968497
TI  - In-medium behavior of the QCD theta term and the value of CP violation in nuclei.

PMID- 9968496
TI  - Distortion of two-pion interferometry by multipion correlations.

PMID- 9968498
TI  - Precise determination of relative and absolute beta beta -decay rates of 128Te
      and 130Te.

PMID- 9968500
TI  - Induced pseudoscalar axial current in polarized nuclear beta decay.

PMID- 9968499
TI  - Parity-violating quasielastic electron scattering.

PMID- 9968502
TI  - Polarization transfer in 12C(p

PMID- 9968501
TI  - Reaction mechanism of 7Li(3He,p)9Be and 7Li(3H,n)9Be and primordial
      nucleosynthesis of 9Be.

PMID- 9968503
TI  - Total cross sections for the A( pi +, pi + pi -) reaction at T pi +=280 MeV.

PMID- 9968504
TI  - Gamow-Teller matrix elements for two-neutrino double beta decay within a second
      quasi-random-phase approximation.

PMID- 9968505
TI  - Multipole character of the proposed 220 eV transition in 229Pa.

PMID- 9968506
TI  - Parity-violating muon and heavy lepton scattering in the 12C-->12C* nuclear
      transition.

PMID- 9968507
TI  - Temperature and density effects on the one-pion exchange potential.

PMID- 9968508
TI  - Theoretical energy distributions around threshold from coherent pion production.

PMID- 9968509
TI  - NpNn scheme and the saturation of collectivity in the A

PMID- 9968510
TI  - Effect of charge dependence of the nucleon-nucleon interaction on the properties
      of nuclear and neutron matter.

PMID- 9968512
TI  - Normalization for the random phase approximation with energy-dependent
      interactions.

PMID- 9968511
TI  - Disappearance of rotation in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968513
TI  - Comment on "Dynamical polarization potential due to the excitation of collective
      states"

PMID- 9968514
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Dynamical polarization potential due to the excitation of
      collective states' "

PMID- 9968515
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Resonant and nonresonant contributions to the
      photoactivation of 111Cd' "

PMID- 9968516
TI  - Erratum: Correlation between E2 and M1 transition strength in even-even
      vibrational, transitional, and deformed nuclei

PMID- 9968517
TI  - Extraction of the multifragmentation time scale in intermediate energy heavy-ion
      reactions.

PMID- 9968518
TI  - Application of a large-volume NaI scintillator to search for dark matter.

PMID- 9968519
TI  - Two-deuteron correlation functions in 14N+27Al collisions at E/A=75 MeV.

PMID- 9968520
TI  - Superdeformed band in 142Sm.

PMID- 9968521
TI  - Reconciling deformation parameters from fusion with those from Coulomb
      excitation.

PMID- 9968522
TI  - Highly deformed band in 136Pm and the anomalous dynamical moment of inertia
      behavior in the A~135 superdeformed region.

PMID- 9968523
TI  - On color transparency experiments.

PMID- 9968524
TI  - Extraction of total cross section data for the pi -p--> pi + pi -n reaction.

PMID- 9968526
TI  - Natural orbital representation in nuclei.

PMID- 9968525
TI  - Charge exchange effects in elastic scattering with radioactive beams.

PMID- 9968527
TI  - Pion interaction with the trinucleon up to the eta production threshold.

PMID- 9968528
TI  - Inclusive pi d breakup reactions.

PMID- 9968529
TI  - Anatomy of the soft photon approximation in hadron-hadron bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9968531
TI  - Resonances in Lambda d scattering and the Sigma hypertriton.

PMID- 9968530
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon pion-exchange tested in three-body reactions.

PMID- 9968532
TI  - Spectroscopy of 123I.

PMID- 9968533
TI  - Absolute B(E1) values in the shape transitional 148-152Sm isotopes.

PMID- 9968534
TI  - Stretched two-nucleon configurations in 210Pb.

PMID- 9968535
TI  - Level densities of 28Al, 29Si, and 41Ca inferred from fluctuation measurements.

PMID- 9968536
TI  - Gamma-ray multipole mixing ratios in 71Ge.

PMID- 9968538
TI  - Pion double charge exchange on 56Fe at T pi =400 MeV.

PMID- 9968537
TI  - 5(-) "octupole" states in 146,148Nd and 148Sm via proton scattering.

PMID- 9968539
TI  - Particle-vibration coupling in a basis with resonant states.

PMID- 9968540
TI  - Thermal and quantal fluctuations in the pairing plus quadrupole model.

PMID- 9968541
TI  - Proton impurity in the neutron matter: A nuclear polaron problem.

PMID- 9968542
TI  - Hierarchical trapping of resonance states at high level density.

PMID- 9968543
TI  - Relativistic extended Thomas-Fermi calculations of finite nuclei with realistic
      nucleon-nucleon interactions.

PMID- 9968544
TI  - High energy gamma rays from 252Cf spontaneous fission.

PMID- 9968545
TI  - Isospin effects in the photodisintegration of light nuclei.

PMID- 9968546
TI  - 16O+Ag/Br interactions at 2.1 GeV/nucleon and some aspects of intermittency.

PMID- 9968547
TI  - Study of 206Pb by means of the 209Bi(p

PMID- 9968548
TI  - 58Ni+n transmission, differential elastic scattering, and capture measurements
      and analysis up to 813 keV.

PMID- 9968549
TI  - Peripheral interactions in the collision of 16O+238U at 110.4 MeV bombarding
      energy.

PMID- 9968550
TI  - Measurement of branching ratios of low energy deuteron-induced nuclear reactions
      on 2H, 6Li, and 10B.

PMID- 9968551
TI  - Energy dependence of two-nucleon pion absorption on 16O.

PMID- 9968553
TI  - High energy gamma rays from 14N+natAg at 35 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968552
TI  - High-lying resonances observed in heavy-ion transfer reactions.

PMID- 9968554
TI  - Double charge exchange in 93Nb( pi +, pi -)93Tc at T pi =164, 230, and 294 MeV.

PMID- 9968556
TI  - Relativistic cluster dynamics of nucleons and mesons. I. Kinematics and
      covariance.

PMID- 9968555
TI  - Total reaction and partial cross section calculations in proton-nucleus (Zt <=
      26) and nucleus-nucleus reactions (Zp and Zt <= 26).

PMID- 9968557
TI  - "Shadow" properties in sub-barrier fusion.

PMID- 9968558
TI  - Recoil effects in sequential emission and Coulomb dissociation.

PMID- 9968559
TI  - Scaling algorithm to calculate heavy-ion spallation cross sections.

PMID- 9968561
TI  - Quadrupole amplitude in the gamma N Delta transition.

PMID- 9968560
TI  - Strong-interaction effect measurements in sigma hyperonic atoms of W and Pb.

PMID- 9968562
TI  - Solving momentum-space integral equations for quarkonium spectra with confining
      potentials. III. Bethe-Salpeter equation with spin.

PMID- 9968563
TI  - New N=84 isotone: 136Te.

PMID- 9968565
TI  - Hyperdeformation in 152Dy at very high spins.

PMID- 9968564
TI  - X-ray yields of superdeformed states in 193Hg.

PMID- 9968566
TI  - Fusion resonance in 5He, 5Li.

PMID- 9968567
TI  - Diffuse well analysis of exotic decay of heavy nuclei.

PMID- 9968568
TI  - Experimental evidence against a model incorporating fission before K
      equilibration.

PMID- 9968569
TI  - Determination of extra-push energies for fusion from differential fission cross
      section measurements.

PMID- 9968571
TI  - 11Li+p elastic scatterings in a four-body model with the eikonal approximation.

PMID- 9968570
TI  - Distorted-wave analysis of proton scattering from 6Li near the alpha -d breakup
      threshold.

PMID- 9968572
TI  - Reaction simulations as a guide to lifetime information from particle-particle
      correlations.

PMID- 9968573
TI  - Uncertainty in K+-nucleus total cross section analysis.

PMID- 9968574
TI  - Erratum: Rise and fall of multifragment emission at relativistic energy

PMID- 9968575
TI  - Neutron alignment at the first crossing in 78Kr.

PMID- 9968576
TI  - Behavior of the Be and C total photonuclear cross section in the nucleon
      resonance region.

PMID- 9968577
TI  - Rotation-induced transition from superfluid to normal phase in mesoscopic
      systems: 168Yb and adjacent nuclei.

PMID- 9968578
TI  - Collective band in 193Hg with Ex >= 5.7 MeV.

PMID- 9968579
TI  - Phenomenology of flow disappearance in intermediate-energy heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968580
TI  - Near-threshold production of eta mesons.

PMID- 9968582
TI  - Coplanar and noncoplanar pp bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9968581
TI  - Forward angle analyzing power in p

PMID- 9968583
TI  - Simulating the Langevin force by simple noise in nuclear one-body dynamics.

PMID- 9968584
TI  - Neutron-deuteron scattering calculations with the Paris potential using the W
      matrix representation of the two-body input.

PMID- 9968585
TI  - Evidence for superdeformed shape isomeric states in 28Si at excitations above 40
      MeV through observations of selective particle decays of 16O+12C resonances in
      8Be and alpha channels.

PMID- 9968586
TI  - High spin structure in odd-proton nuclei 129,131Pr.

PMID- 9968587
TI  - Statistical gamma decay of the giant dipole resonance in highly excited 46Ti and
      52Cr.

PMID- 9968588
TI  - alpha -decay properties of neutron-deficient polonium and radon nuclei.

PMID- 9968589
TI  - Beta-delayed proton decay of 25Si.

PMID- 9968590
TI  - Half-life of 32Si.

PMID- 9968591
TI  - Double giant resonances in pion double charge exchange on 51V, 115In, and 197Au.

PMID- 9968593
TI  - Pionic decay of Lambda hypernuclei.

PMID- 9968592
TI  - Deformation dependence of low lying M1 strengths in even Nd isotopes.

PMID- 9968594
TI  - Z=64 subshell gap in the shell model and the effective boson number in the
      interacting boson model.

PMID- 9968595
TI  - Spins of proton capture resonances in 26Al and 30P from their gamma-ray spectra.

PMID- 9968596
TI  - Density of discrete levels in 116Sn.

PMID- 9968598
TI  - Thermal properties of nuclear matter with a momentum-dependent effective
      interaction.

PMID- 9968597
TI  - Systematic study of neutron-deficient Ho isotopes in a relativistic mean field
      theory.

PMID- 9968599
TI  - E1 transitions from octupole vibration states.

PMID- 9968600
TI  - Relativistic nuclear matter with self-consistent correlation energy.

PMID- 9968601
TI  - Role of collectivity in the structure of 120,122,124Sb nuclei.

PMID- 9968602
TI  - Even-odd anomalous tunneling effect.

PMID- 9968603
TI  - Isotopic yields of intermediate-mass fragments emitted in E/A=50 MeV
      4He+116,124Sn reactions.

PMID- 9968604
TI  - Search for Gamow-Teller strength in the continuum via the 3He(n,p)3H reaction at
      288 MeV.

PMID- 9968605
TI  - Spin determination of valence and inner hole states via the 208Pb(d

PMID- 9968606
TI  - Symmetric mass-division process in nuclei with mass numbers around ACN=100.

PMID- 9968607
TI  - Confirmation of the reported 330-keV electron line in e++Th interactions using
      the positron emitter 82Sr.

PMID- 9968608
TI  - Measurements of transverse electron scattering from the deuteron in the threshold
      region at high momentum transfers.

PMID- 9968609
TI  - Effective interaction for 16O(p,p') and 40Ca(p,p') at Ep=200 MeV.

PMID- 9968610
TI  - Evolution of the reaction dynamics in the interaction of copper with 15-90
      MeV/nucleon 12C ions.

PMID- 9968611
TI  - Double differential cross sections for neutron emission induced by 256 MeV and
      800 MeV protons.

PMID- 9968613
TI  - Role of neutron flow in the enhancement of heavy ion fusion at energies below the
      Coulomb barrier and the systematics of threshold barriers.

PMID- 9968612
TI  - Two-pion correlations and multiplicity effects in La on La collisions.

PMID- 9968615
TI  - Medium effects on kaon and antikaon spectra in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968614
TI  - Interference effect of doorway states in a radiative capture reaction.

PMID- 9968616
TI  - Study of a strongly damped collision between heavy ions.

PMID- 9968618
TI  - Analysis of total neutron-nucleus cross sections using relativistic impulse
      approximation.

PMID- 9968617
TI  - Multipair transfer in collisions between heavy nuclei.

PMID- 9968620
TI  - Studying the 16O+12C dynamic polarization potential by inversion.

PMID- 9968619
TI  - Inclusive (p, Delta ++) and (p,p' pi + reactions.

PMID- 9968621
TI  - Inclusive measurements of electromagnetic dissociation of 197Au targets.

PMID- 9968623
TI  - Radiative corrections to the nucleon axial vector coupling constant in the chiral
      soliton quark model.

PMID- 9968622
TI  - Relativistic hydrodynamics in a global fashion.

PMID- 9968624
TI  - Effective action for SU(N) at a finite temperature.

PMID- 9968625
TI  - Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin treatment of a simplified baryon model.

PMID- 9968626
TI  - Chiral color-dielectric model with perturbative quantum pions and gluons.

PMID- 9968627
TI  - Shell model level structure in 215At.

PMID- 9968628
TI  - Electron capture and beta + decay of 147Tm.

PMID- 9968629
TI  - Quark antisymmetrization effects in nonidentical hadron systems.

PMID- 9968630
TI  - Pion contributions to the electromagnetic interaction with a nucleus.

PMID- 9968631
TI  - Comment on "Spectroscopy of samarium isotopes in the sdg interacting boson model"

PMID- 9968632
TI  - Erratum: Spin assignments of angular momentum mismatched resonances in the
      16O+16O system

PMID- 9968634
TI  - Comparison of one- and two-proton transfer in 32S+92,98,100Mo, 93Nb at energies
      near the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9968633
TI  - Collective oblate bands in 196Pb.

PMID- 9968635
TI  - Hexadecapole interacting boson approximation structure functions in neodymium
      isotopes.

PMID- 9968637
TI  - Antiproton production from heavy ion collisions at 14.6 GeV/c.

PMID- 9968638
TI  - Charge independence and charge symmetry breaking interactions and the Coulomb
      energy anomaly in isobaric analog states.

PMID- 9968636
TI  - Antiproton production in p+A collisions at 14.6 GeV/c.

PMID- 9968639
TI  - Quasielastic scattering of 11Li using realistic three-body wave functions.

PMID- 9968640
TI  - Phase-shift analysis of NN scattering below 160 MeV: Indication for a strong
      tensor force.

PMID- 9968641
TI  - Effective interaction of three resonantly interacting particles and the force
      range.

PMID- 9968642
TI  - Variational two- and three-particle solutions of the relativistic Yukawa model.

PMID- 9968644
TI  - Completeness relations and resonant state expansions.

PMID- 9968643
TI  - 3S1-3D1 effective-range parameters of some realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials.

PMID- 9968645
TI  - Transfer results for odd-odd 196Au and the extended supersymmetry.

PMID- 9968647
TI  - Proton spectroscopy beyond the drip line near A=150.

PMID- 9968646
TI  - Yrast isomers in exotic N=81 nucleus 151Yb studied using a fragment mass
      analyzer.

PMID- 9968648
TI  - Search for the K pi =1(+) two-proton band in 166Er.

PMID- 9968649
TI  - Accurate Mossbauer line-shape measurements including interference in 182W, 183W,
      191Ir, and 159Tb.

PMID- 9968650
TI  - Fission of heavy hypernuclei formed in antiproton annihilation.

PMID- 9968651
TI  - Interpretation of Lambda -attachment probabilities in hyperonic fission.

PMID- 9968652
TI  - Effects due to temperature-dependent nuclear binding energies on the equation of
      state for hot nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968653
TI  - New S pair.

PMID- 9968654
TI  - Signature effects in some N=90 odd-Z rare-earth nuclei.

PMID- 9968655
TI  - Coulomb instability of hot nuclei in quantum hadrodynamics.

PMID- 9968656
TI  - Electric-dipole transitions and octupole softness in odd-A rare-earth nuclei.

PMID- 9968657
TI  - One and two broken pairs in the interacting boson model: High-spin states in
      190,192,194Hg.

PMID- 9968658
TI  - Quasielastic 40Ca(e,e'p) cross sections in a many-particle self-consistent
      Hartree model.

PMID- 9968659
TI  - New island of cluster emitters.

PMID- 9968660
TI  - Beta-delayed proton decay of 65Se.

PMID- 9968661
TI  - Angular momentum distributions for 16O+144Nd.

PMID- 9968662
TI  - Equilibrium and preequilibrium emission in some alpha -induced reactions on
      enriched isotopes 128,130Te at moderate excitation energies.

PMID- 9968663
TI  - Proton-induced nucleon knockout from polarized 3He at 220 MeV.

PMID- 9968665
TI  - Asymmetric fission of 47V induced by the 23Na+24Mg reaction.

PMID- 9968664
TI  - Theoretical treatment of analog (p,n) cross sections for odd nuclei: Application
      to measurements of 105Pd at 26 MeV.

PMID- 9968666
TI  - Transverse momentum correlations between particle-particle pairs as a probe of
      effective emitter mass: 40Ar+natAg (E/A=7, 17, 27, and 34 MeV).

PMID- 9968668
TI  - Global properties of proton-hole strengths in mass 54 to 70 nuclei.

PMID- 9968667
TI  - 36Cl(n,p)36S cross section from 25 meV to 800 keV and the nucleosynthesis of the
      rare isotope 36S.

PMID- 9968669
TI  - 10B(p,n)10C reaction at 186 MeV.

PMID- 9968670
TI  - Thermal characteristics of composite systems formed in fusion of 28Si with 118Sn
      and 124Sn nuclei.

PMID- 9968671
TI  - Neutron transition densities from 88Sr(p,p') at Ep=200 MeV.

PMID- 9968673
TI  - Spectroscopy of 238,239Pu studied by quasielastic reactions.

PMID- 9968674
TI  - Neutron propagation in 12C for energies 20 to 45 MeV.

PMID- 9968672
TI  - Polarization transfer in quasifree ( p

PMID- 9968676
TI  - Wigner-Thomas spin precession in polarized coincidence electronuclear scattering.

PMID- 9968675
TI  - Analyzing powers for 9Be(6Li

PMID- 9968677
TI  - Stochastic nucleation: Percolation without a lattice.

PMID- 9968678
TI  - Left-right asymmetry in p-barp--> pi - pi +

PMID- 9968679
TI  - Evidence for a nuclear halo from 11Li elastic scattering measured at 637 MeV
      incident energy on a 12C target.

PMID- 9968681
TI  - Consistent dynamical and statistical description of fission of hot nuclei.

PMID- 9968680
TI  - Scattering of GeV electrons by light nuclei.

PMID- 9968682
TI  - Pauli blocking effects for nucleon-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9968683
TI  - Isospin effects in elastic proton-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9968684
TI  - Transverse response functions in the Delta -resonance region.

PMID- 9968685
TI  - Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin analysis of 93Nb reactions: P-->Q transitions and reduced
      importance of multistep compound emission.

PMID- 9968686
TI  - Self-similarity and scaling behavior in nuclear collision.

PMID- 9968688
TI  - Strangeness production in proton and heavy ion collisions at 200A GeV.

PMID- 9968687
TI  - Electromagnetic production of Higgs bosons, supersymmetric particles, glueballs,
      and mesons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968689
TI  - Impact-parameter dependence of the electromagnetic particle production in
      ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968690
TI  - Correlation measurements in high-multiplicity events.

PMID- 9968691
TI  - Color conductivity and evolution of the minijet plasma.

PMID- 9968692
TI  - Finite nuclei in relativistic models with a light chiral scalar meson.

PMID- 9968693
TI  - Pion electroproduction at threshold.

PMID- 9968694
TI  - Coupled-channel dynamics in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9968695
TI  - CP-odd nucleon potential.

PMID- 9968696
TI  - Reaction rate for destruction of 7Li and primordial nucleosynthesis.

PMID- 9968697
TI  - Energy dependence of fusion evaporation-residue cross sections in the 28Si+12C
      reaction.

PMID- 9968698
TI  - Lack of evidence for a superdeformed band in 192Pb.

PMID- 9968699
TI  - Multifragment disintegration of 238U at 1A GeV.

PMID- 9968701
TI  - Spectroscopic factors for alpha -cluster wave functions in 44Ti observed via the
      (6Li,d) reaction.

PMID- 9968700
TI  - Search for an M0 transition in 170Yb.

PMID- 9968702
TI  - Folding model using a bare elementary interaction for 12C+12C elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968703
TI  - Macroscopic models for the fusion of very heavy ions.

PMID- 9968704
TI  - Real part of the polarization potential for 11Li-induced fusion reactions.

PMID- 9968706
TI  - Strong absorption approximation for the elastic scattering of 800 MeV/c pions
      from nuclei.

PMID- 9968705
TI  - Deformed Gaussian orthogonal ensemble description of isospin mixing and spectral
      fluctuation properties.

PMID- 9968707
TI  - Electromagnetic properties of 181Ir: Evidence of beta stretching?

PMID- 9968708
TI  - Use of summation methods in the calculation of nuclear double beta decay
      processes.

PMID- 9968709
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon bound state contribution to the proton scattering by nuclei.

PMID- 9968711
TI  - Atomic masses near 146Gd: Evidence for a systematic deviation between experiment
      and mass formulas.

PMID- 9968710
TI  - Comment on "Pairing correlations studied in the two-level model"

PMID- 9968712
TI  - Erratum: Determination of the level density of 29Si from Ericson fluctuations

PMID- 9968713
TI  - Sub-barrier one- and two-neutron pickup measurements in 32S+93Nb, 98,100Mo
      reactions at 180 degrees.

PMID- 9968714
TI  - Prescission neutron emission from 104Pd.

PMID- 9968716
TI  - Effect of isospin on three nucleon pion absorption in light nuclei.

PMID- 9968715
TI  - Large radial flow in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9968717
TI  - Negative-parity inversion doublet alpha -cluster band in 18O.

PMID- 9968718
TI  - Exotic nuclei in a relativistic mean-field approach.

PMID- 9968719
TI  - Significance of inclusive electron-nucleus cross sections ratios in the multi-GeV
      region.

PMID- 9968720
TI  - Quasifree pion production in the three-nucleon system.

PMID- 9968721
TI  - Crossing-symmetric two-particle reduction of four-point vertex.

PMID- 9968723
TI  - One-loop corrections to threshold gamma p-->p pi 0 production in the linear sigma
      model.

PMID- 9968722
TI  - Ghost poles in the nucleon propagator: Vertex corrections and form factors.

PMID- 9968724
TI  - Beta decay of 31,32Na and 31Mg: Study of the N=20 shell closure.

PMID- 9968725
TI  - Proton capture resonance spins by multidimensional scaling: fp nuclei.

PMID- 9968726
TI  - Excitations of 144Sm in (p,p').

PMID- 9968727
TI  - Ground-state magnetization density of 89Y.

PMID- 9968728
TI  - Nuclear structure of odd-odd 82Y.

PMID- 9968729
TI  - Energy of the 4(()+) isomer and new bands in the odd-odd nucleus 74Br.

PMID- 9968730
TI  - Search for an eta bound state in pion double charge exchange on 18O.

PMID- 9968731
TI  - High spin shell model states in the isotope 4390Tc47.

PMID- 9968732
TI  - Evidence for single particle structure of high spin states in 144Pm and 145Pm.

PMID- 9968734
TI  - Orbital M1 versus E2 strength in deformed nuclei: A new energy weighted sum rule.

PMID- 9968733
TI  - beta + decay and cosmic-ray half-life of 91Nb.

PMID- 9968735
TI  - Pairing Hamiltonian by a path integral Monte Carlo procedure.

PMID- 9968736
TI  - Role of the rho -meson coupling constant in relativistic mean field studies.

PMID- 9968737
TI  - K dependence in the gamma decay of neutron resonances in 168Er and 178Hf.

PMID- 9968739
TI  - Comparison of the pn quasiparticle RPA and shell model for Gamow-Teller beta and
      double-beta decays.

PMID- 9968738
TI  - Relativistic hydrodynamics with quantum hadrodynamics equation of state.

PMID- 9968740
TI  - Momentum distribution of fragments in heavy-ion reactions: Dependence on the
      stochastic collision process.

PMID- 9968741
TI  - Relativistic ring-diagram nuclear matter calculations.

PMID- 9968742
TI  - Alpha decay of 16O excited states.

PMID- 9968743
TI  - Search for a bound state of a negative pion and neutrons in 18O+Be collisions.

PMID- 9968744
TI  - Proton-90Zr mean field between -60 and +185 MeV from a dispersive optical model
      analysis.

PMID- 9968747
TI  - Multiplicity dependence of azimuthal distributions for 36Ar+197Au collisions at
      E/A=35 MeV.

PMID- 9968745
TI  - Probing alpha -particle wave functions using (d

PMID- 9968746
TI  - Possible signatures of nuclear-molecular formation in O+C systems.

PMID- 9968748
TI  - Neutron transfer reactions at large distances.

PMID- 9968749
TI  - Gamma width of 14O*(5.17 MeV) and the stellar 13N(p, gamma )14O reaction rate.

PMID- 9968750
TI  - High-spin stretched states excited in (n,p) reactions at 300 MeV.

PMID- 9968751
TI  - Resonance photodecay amplitudes to 1.8 GeV.

PMID- 9968752
TI  - Intranuclear cascade-percolation approach for protons and light fragments
      production in neon-niobium reactions at 400 and 800 MeV per nucleon.

PMID- 9968753
TI  - Viscosity and the equation of state in high energy heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9968754
TI  - Pion production: Where's the coherence?

PMID- 9968755
TI  - Comparison of WKB and exact penetrabilities through two-peaked fission barriers.

PMID- 9968757
TI  - Effective interaction for inelastic proton scattering based on the relativistic
      impulse approximation.

PMID- 9968756
TI  - Effective number of protons for quasifree ( pi -, pi 0) at 500 and 400 MeV.

PMID- 9968758
TI  - Algebraic and coordinate space potentials from heavy ion scattering.

PMID- 9968759
TI  - Diabolic effects on nuclear rotational state population in two-neutron transfer.

PMID- 9968760
TI  - Measurement of dielectron production in niobium-niobium collisions at 1.05
      GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968761
TI  - Collective effects on transport coefficients of relativistic nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968763
TI  - Fluctuating hadronic cross sections and transverse energy distributions in
      nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9968762
TI  - Photon emission from hot hadronic matter described by an effective chiral
      Lagrangian.

PMID- 9968764
TI  - QCD sum rules for nucleons in nuclear matter II.

PMID- 9968765
TI  - Response of nonrelativistic confined systems.

PMID- 9968767
TI  - No evidence of the 17-keV neutrino in the decay of 71Ge.

PMID- 9968768
TI  - Relativistic and nuclear structure effects in parity-violating quasielastic
      electron scattering.

PMID- 9968766
TI  - Electron-capture decay of 100Tc and the double- beta decay of 100Mo.

PMID- 9968769
TI  - 6He beta decay to the alpha +d channel in a three-body model.

PMID- 9968770
TI  - Decay properties of exotic N

PMID- 9968771
TI  - Beta decay of 187Re and cosmochronology.

PMID- 9968772
TI  - Implications of the recent 59Co(n,p)59Fe experiment for stellar electron capture
      rates.

PMID- 9968773
TI  - Sub-barrier fusion of 16O+144Nd.

PMID- 9968775
TI  - Shapes of exotic nuclei in the mass A=70 region.

PMID- 9968774
TI  - Total disintegration of Ag and Br nuclei by 4.5A GeV/c silicon nuclei.

PMID- 9968776
TI  - p-barp--> Xi -bar Xi reaction in the meson exchange picture.

PMID- 9968777
TI  - Nuclear density of states for moving fused compound systems.

PMID- 9968778
TI  - Predictions for p

PMID- 9968779
TI  - 3He scattering from 6Li: A semimicroscopic approach.

PMID- 9968780
TI  - Nonunitary nature of the Dyson boson mapping revisited.

PMID- 9968781
TI  - Comment on "Energy partition in near-barrier strongly damped collisions
      58Ni+208Pb"

PMID- 9968783
TI  - Comment on "Pion-nucleus scattering around the (3,3) resonance"

PMID- 9968782
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Energy partition in near-barrier strongly damped reaction
      58Ni+208Pb' "

PMID- 9968784
TI  - Erratum: "Perturbative treatment of parity nonconservation in neutron-nucleus
      scattering within the optical potential"

PMID- 9968785
TI  - Neutron decay of 10Li produced by fragmentation.

PMID- 9968786
TI  - New oblate band in 196Hg with quenched M1 strength.

PMID- 9968787
TI  - Perturbed alignments within an i13/2 neutron intruder band in 141Gd.

PMID- 9968788
TI  - Geochemical estimation of the half-life for the double beta decay of 96Zr.

PMID- 9968790
TI  - Momentum dependence of the rho - omega mixing amplitude in a hadronic model.

PMID- 9968789
TI  - Fragment emission time scale in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968791
TI  - Resonance properties in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968792
TI  - Effect of breakup reactions on the fusion of a halo nucleus.

PMID- 9968793
TI  - Dressing two nucleons at the same time.

PMID- 9968794
TI  - Inelastic electron scattering from the three-nucleon bound states with
      polarization.

PMID- 9968795
TI  - Separable expansions of the NN t matrix via exact half-off-the-energy-shell
      methods.

PMID- 9968796
TI  - Natural orbital representation and short-range correlations in nuclei.

PMID- 9968797
TI  - Helium-ion-induced fission excitation functions of terbium and ytterbium.

PMID- 9968798
TI  - 40Ca(p,d)39Ca reaction at 65 MeV.

PMID- 9968799
TI  - One neutron photoemission cross section of 238U.

PMID- 9968800
TI  - Neutron-capture gamma-ray study of levels in 135Ba and description of nuclear
      levels in the interacting-boson-fermion model.

PMID- 9968802
TI  - Electron conversion coefficients in 127Ba and 130La.

PMID- 9968801
TI  - Electromagnetic excitation of 11Li.

PMID- 9968803
TI  - Calibration of the transient field for Pt ions in gadolinium and magnetic moments
      of the 21+ states in 196,198Pt.

PMID- 9968805
TI  - Thermodynamical properties of relativistic nuclear matter with derivative scalar
      coupling.

PMID- 9968804
TI  - Cluster-phonon model applied to the 91Zr nucleus.

PMID- 9968806
TI  - Quark condensate at finite baryon density.

PMID- 9968807
TI  - Neutron halo of 6He in a microscopic model.

PMID- 9968808
TI  - Longitudinal response functions of heavier nuclei.

PMID- 9968809
TI  - Quantum theory of large amplitude collective motion and the Born-Oppenheimer
      method.

PMID- 9968811
TI  - Analytic expressions for the Lambda energy in the lower nodeless Lambda single
      particle states.

PMID- 9968810
TI  - Relativistic mean field description of the even-even proton drip line nuclei near
      Z=34.

PMID- 9968813
TI  - Angular distribution in alpha-induced fission of 232Th and 238U.

PMID- 9968812
TI  - 27Al(d,3He)26Mg reaction at 29 MeV.

PMID- 9968814
TI  - Symmetric and asymmetric ternary fission of hot nuclei.

PMID- 9968815
TI  - Deep spallation of medium mass isotopes by protons.

PMID- 9968816
TI  - Total nuclear reaction probability of 270 to 390 (1)4N ions in Si and CsI.

PMID- 9968817
TI  - Low-energy pion scattering to 1(-) states in 12C.

PMID- 9968818
TI  - np-elastic analyzing power AN0 and spin transfer KNN.

PMID- 9968819
TI  - Mass and charge distributions of Cl-induced heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9968820
TI  - Analyzing powers for elastic and inelastic scattering of polarized 6Li from 9Be
      at 32 MeV.

PMID- 9968821
TI  - Impact parameter dependence of preequilibrium particle emission.

PMID- 9968823
TI  - Rotational state populations in 16O+154Sm near-barrier fusion.

PMID- 9968822
TI  - Systematics of 8Li-induced radioactive beam reactions: E=13-20 MeV.

PMID- 9968824
TI  - Momentum distributions for (11Li, 9Li+n+n) breakup reactions.

PMID- 9968826
TI  - rho -meson effective mass and electron scattering in medium nuclei.

PMID- 9968825
TI  - Nucleon polarization in deuteron electrodisintegration.

PMID- 9968828
TI  - Nuclear response in delta-isobar region in the (3He,t) reaction.

PMID- 9968827
TI  - Binding effects in proton-nucleus elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968830
TI  - Relativistic corrections and unitary equivalence in elastic electron deuteron
      scattering.

PMID- 9968829
TI  - Sequential contribution to nonanalog pion double charge exchange in the Delta 33
      resonance region.

PMID- 9968831
TI  - Global model of transverse energy and multiplicity distributions in
      ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9968833
TI  - Exclusive process 2H(e,e'p)N* as a tool for investigation of the quark structure
      of the deuteron.

PMID- 9968832
TI  - Supercooling and final-state effects on dilepton spectra.

PMID- 9968834
TI  - Coulomb effect in operator expansion method for two-neutrino double beta decay.

PMID- 9968835
TI  - Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models beyond the mean-field approximation.

PMID- 9968836
TI  - Null tests of time-reversal invariance.

PMID- 9968838
TI  - Half-life of the 21+ state of 94Zr.

PMID- 9968837
TI  - Study of the beta-delayed alpha-particle emission of 16N.

PMID- 9968839
TI  - Identification of the s1/2 145Dy ground state.

PMID- 9968840
TI  - 14N(n,p)14C cross section near thermal energy.

PMID- 9968841
TI  - Radiative capture of polarized deuterons on 7Li.

PMID- 9968842
TI  - Observation of 146Er electron capture and beta + decay.

PMID- 9968843
TI  - Improved microscopic calculation of initial exciton number.

PMID- 9968844
TI  - Nucleus-nucleus reaction cross section at low energies: Modified Glauber model.

PMID- 9968845
TI  - Gauge-invariant projection method for the pion photoproduction and
      electroproduction amplitudes.

PMID- 9968846
TI  - Deep inelastic collision followed by disassembly in the reaction 136Xe+209Bi at
      Elab/A=28.2 MeV.

PMID- 9968848
TI  - Energy dependence of massive-fragment multiplicity.

PMID- 9968847
TI  - Simple model for deriving sdg interacting boson model Hamiltonians: 150Nd
      example.

PMID- 9968849
TI  - Qualitative behavior of halo nuclei elastic scattering angular distributions.

PMID- 9968850
TI  - Relativistic calculations of the superheavy nucleus 298114.

PMID- 9968851
TI  - Does the pi NN coupling "constant" vary with energy?

PMID- 9968853
TI  - Comment on "Shadow model for sub-barrier fusion applied to light systems"

PMID- 9968852
TI  - Ground state properties of the exotic Ba isotopes.

PMID- 9968854
TI  - New evidence against 17-keV neutrino emission in the beta decay momentum spectrum
      of 35S.

PMID- 9968855
TI  - Measurement of the magnetic form factor of the neutron.

PMID- 9968856
TI  - Relation of collective observables to nuclear shapes.

PMID- 9968857
TI  - Critical test of multi-j supersymmetries from magnetic moment measurements.

PMID- 9968859
TI  - Band structure systematics and symmetries in even-even nuclei.

PMID- 9968858
TI  - Meson-exchange and nonlocality effects in proton-antiproton annihilation into two
      pseudoscalar mesons.

PMID- 9968860
TI  - NN core interactions and differential cross sections from one gluon exchange.

PMID- 9968861
TI  - Neutron resonance parameters and thermal-neutron capture by 43Ca.

PMID- 9968862
TI  - g factor of the 3/2(+) 93.6 keV level in 91Sr.

PMID- 9968864
TI  - Possible detection of the double beta +/electron-capture decay.

PMID- 9968863
TI  - Band crossing observed in neutron-rich Pd isotopes via spontaneous fission of
      252Cf.

PMID- 9968865
TI  - Isotopic variation of the rms charge radii of Ca isotopes.

PMID- 9968866
TI  - g-matrix calculations in finite hypernuclei.

PMID- 9968867
TI  - Realistic level densities in fragment emission at high excitation energies.

PMID- 9968868
TI  - Quantum-deformation algebra studied as an analytical equivalent of the s,d
      interacting boson model: Energy spectra.

PMID- 9968869
TI  - Delta -excited nuclear matter in the derivative scalar coupling model.

PMID- 9968870
TI  - Relation between the phenomenological interactions of the algebraic cluster model
      and the effective two-nucleon forces.

PMID- 9968871
TI  - Towards model independent single-particle wave functions.

PMID- 9968872
TI  - Quantum molecular dynamics simulation of multifragment production in heavy ion
      collisions at E/A=600 MeV.

PMID- 9968873
TI  - Li-Li azimuthal angular correlations: A test for emission from a rotating source
      versus instantaneous multifragmentation.

PMID- 9968874
TI  - Target fragments from the interaction of 93Nb and 181Ta with 47 MeV/nucleon 12C
      ions.

PMID- 9968875
TI  - Breakup of the projectile in 16O-induced reactions on 27Al, 58Ni, and 197Au
      targets around 100 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9968876
TI  - Search for abnormal-nucleus production in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968877
TI  - Complete and incomplete momentum transfer components in the natSi(16O,X) reaction
      at 96.4, 112.4, and 127.8 MeV.

PMID- 9968878
TI  - Absolute pp-elastic cross sections from 492 to 793 MeV.

PMID- 9968879
TI  - Emission temperatures from widely separated states in 14N- and 129Xe-induced
      reactions.

PMID- 9968880
TI  - New determination of the asymptotic D-state to S-state ratio of the triton using
      (d

PMID- 9968881
TI  - 16O breakup in quasielastic reactions near the Fermi energy.

PMID- 9968882
TI  - Energy dependence of multipole strength distributions in the 32S(n,p)32P
      reaction.

PMID- 9968883
TI  - Transition from complete to incomplete fusion in asymmetric heavy ion reactions.

PMID- 9968884
TI  - Transverse form factors of 117Sn.

PMID- 9968886
TI  - Pion absorption mechanism for very light nuclei.

PMID- 9968885
TI  - Coincident proton emission induced by 200 MeV protons on 197Au.

PMID- 9968887
TI  - Determination of proton strange form factors from nu p elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968889
TI  - Medium-energy hadron-nucleus scattering in the 1/N expansion formalism.

PMID- 9968890
TI  - Double-folding model potential for 6Li scattering with 4He: Absence of anomalous
      reduction factor.

PMID- 9968888
TI  - Geometric model for nuclear absorption from microscopic theory.
AB  - A parameter-free geometric model for nuclear absorption is derived from
      microscopic theory.  The expression for the absorption cross section in the
      eikonal approximation taken in integral form is separated into a geometric
      contribution, described by an energy-dependent effective radius, and two surface
      terms which are shown to cancel in an asymptotic series expansion.  For
      collisions of light nuclei, an expression for the effective radius is derived
      using  harmonic-oscillator nuclear density functions.  A direct extension to
      heavy nuclei with Woods-Saxon densities is made by identifying the equivalent
      half density radius for the harmonic-oscillator functions.  Coulomb corrections
      are incorporated and a simplified geometric form of the Bradt-Peters type
      obtained.  Results spanning the energy range of 1 MeV/nucleon to 1 GeV/nucleon
      are presented.  Good agreement with experimental results are obtained.

PMID- 9968892
TI  - Exclusive quasifree pion photoproduction on complex nuclei in the Delta region.

PMID- 9968891
TI  - Partial-wave analysis of all nucleon-nucleon scattering data below 350 MeV.

PMID- 9968893
TI  - Eikonal expansion for total cross sections of heavy ion reactions.

PMID- 9968894
TI  - One- and two-electron atomic screening in fusion reactions.

PMID- 9968895
TI  - High-energy pion-nucleus elastic scattering.

PMID- 9968897
TI  - Refinements of the nucleon-exchange transport model for the emission of hard
      photons and nucleons.

PMID- 9968896
TI  - Study of the total reaction cross section via the reaction dynamical model.

PMID- 9968899
TI  - Shadowing and antishadowing of the photon structure function of the hydrogen
      molecule.

PMID- 9968898
TI  - Interactions of ultrarelativistic oxygen nuclei in emulsion.

PMID- 9968900
TI  - Relativistic mean-field calculations of Lambda and Sigma hypernuclei.

PMID- 9968901
TI  - Effects of negative energy components in the constituent quark model.

PMID- 9968902
TI  - Effects of boundary on momentum distribution of quarks in a quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9968904
TI  - K pi =3(+) band at 1862 keV in 178Hf.

PMID- 9968903
TI  - Model analysis of time-reversal symmetry test in the 57Fe gamma -transition
      experiment.

PMID- 9968905
TI  - Excitation energies of two J pi =1(-) states in 18O.

PMID- 9968907
TI  - One-pion exchange potential and pi N form factors in the Skyrme model.

PMID- 9968906
TI  - Probing hadronic structure with the decay Delta -->Nl+l-

PMID- 9968908
TI  - Spin-orbit and spin-spin interactions in Lambda N and NN scattering.

PMID- 9968910
TI  - Radius and radial moments of the deuteron.

PMID- 9968909
TI  - Universal characteristics of transverse momentum transfer in intermediate energy
      heavy ion collisions.
AB  - A microscopic optical model formalism for estimating momentum transfer in
      intermediate energy heavy ion collisions predicts universal behavior of the
      transverse component.  In particular, for symmetric systems (Ap = AT) heavier
      than niobium, it appears that values of P perpendicular/A are independent of the
      mass and charge of the colliding nuclei and vary only with impact parameter and
      incident beam energy.  This suggests that momentum transfer per nucleon saturates
      to some limiting value with increasing mass.

PMID- 9968911
TI  - Formation and decay of toroidal and bubble nuclei and the nuclear equation of
      state.

PMID- 9968912
TI  - Beta decay of 44V.

PMID- 9968913
TI  - Coherent states description of alpha decay.

PMID- 9968914
TI  - Short range correlations and fractional occupation probabilities.

PMID- 9968915
TI  - Pion absorption in 4He above the delta resonance.

PMID- 9968916
TI  - Deformed intruder band in 113I.

PMID- 9968917
TI  - Lifetimes of the decay from superdeformed to normal deformed in 135Nd.

PMID- 9968918
TI  - Time scales for spinodal decomposition in nuclear matter with pseudoparticle
      models.

PMID- 9968919
TI  - Full three-body calculation for d

PMID- 9968920
TI  - Dark sphere with a bright interior: A nucleus viewed by intermediate energy alpha
      particles.

PMID- 9968921
TI  - Nuclear mass dependence of chaotic dynamics in the Ginocchio model.

PMID- 9968922
TI  - Widths of transverse momentum distributions in intermediate-energy heavy-ion
      collisions.
AB  - The need to include dynamical collision momentum transfer contributions, arising
      from interacting nuclear and Coulomb fields, to estimates of fragment momentum
      distributions is discussed.  Methods based upon an optical potential model are
      presented.  Comparisons with recent experimental data of the Siegen group for
      variances of transverse momentum distributions for gold nuclei at 980 A MeV
      fragmenting on silver foil and plastic nuclear track detector targets are made. 
      The agreement between theory and experiment is good.

PMID- 9968924
TI  - Proposed new experimental case to investigate the weak parity nonconserving
      couplings in 20F.

PMID- 9968923
TI  - Factorial moments and multifractal analysis at relativistic energies.

PMID- 9968926
TI  - Criterion for the applicability of standard thermodynamics in heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9968925
TI  - Medium effects on the rho meson.

PMID- 9968927
TI  - Structure of neutron deficient Sn isotopes.

PMID- 9968928
TI  - pi pi -angular correlations for pi -p--> pi + pi -n in the region of the Delta
      dominance.

PMID- 9968930
TI  - Lifetimes and electromagnetic decay properties of negative-parity states in
      150,152,154Sm from (n,n' gamma ) measurements.

PMID- 9968929
TI  - Comment on the question of reflection asymmetry in 229Pa.

PMID- 9968931
TI  - Study of excited states in 85Kr and 86Kr: Evidence for neutron-core excitations
      in the N=50 nucleus 86Kr.

PMID- 9968932
TI  - Transition strengths in 79Rb.

PMID- 9968933
TI  - Extended quasiparticle approximation and Brueckner theory.

PMID- 9968934
TI  - Systematics of triaxial deformation in Xe, Ba, and Ce nuclei.

PMID- 9968935
TI  - Semiempirical determination of effective p-n monopole matrix elements.

PMID- 9968937
TI  - Self-consistent relativistic calculation of nucleon mean free path.

PMID- 9968936
TI  - Hot and dense asymmetric nuclear matter.

PMID- 9968939
TI  - Isovector nuclear response in carbon.

PMID- 9968938
TI  - Problem of parity nonconservation in 57Fe and 119Sn nuclei.

PMID- 9968940
TI  - Microscopic calculations of the spectra of light nuclei.

PMID- 9968941
TI  - Studies of intermediate-mass fragment emission in the 3He+natAg, 197Au reactions
      between 0.48 and 3.6 GeV.

PMID- 9968942
TI  - Separation of Delta S=0 and Delta S=1 in the response of 12C to 318 MeV protons.

PMID- 9968943
TI  - Experimental limit on parity violation in nonresonant neutron-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9968944
TI  - Neutron capture and total cross sections of 144Sm.

PMID- 9968945
TI  - Isospin symmetry in nuclear transitions from pion scattering.

PMID- 9968946
TI  - Elastic scattering of 58Ni+27Al at near-barrier energies.

PMID- 9968947
TI  - Elastic scattering of 28Si from 27Al at 70, 80, 90, and 100 MeV.

PMID- 9968948
TI  - Dipole and spin-dipole resonances in charge-exchange reactions on 12C.

PMID- 9968950
TI  - Resonance structures through time-dependent potentials.

PMID- 9968949
TI  - Quantum theoretical approach to meson production in nuclear media via Cherenkov
      mechanisms.

PMID- 9968951
TI  - Dynamic response function and large-amplitude dissipative collective motion.

PMID- 9968952
TI  - Distorted-wave calculation of the (p,p' pi +) reaction.

PMID- 9968953
TI  - Mean fields: Explicit dispersive and retardation properties of the dynamical
      polarization potential within a simple model.

PMID- 9968956
TI  - Electrodisintegration of polarized deuterons.

PMID- 9968955
TI  - Inclusive quasielastic neutrino reactions in 12C and 16O at intermediate
      energies.

PMID- 9968954
TI  - Entropy production in the Au+Au reaction between 150A and 800A MeV.

PMID- 9968957
TI  - Importance of higher order coupling effects in sub-barrier fusion.

PMID- 9968959
TI  - Electromagnetic dissociation of nuclei in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9968958
TI  - Parton equilibration in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9968960
TI  - Muon-induced fission: A probe for nuclear dissipation and fission dynamics.

PMID- 9968961
TI  - Deuteron breakup effects in transfer reactions using a Weinberg state expansion
      method.

PMID- 9968962
TI  - Kinematically accessible vector meson resonance enhancements in p(K-,e+e-)
      Lambda, Sigma 0, Lambda (1405).

PMID- 9968963
TI  - Statistical properties and stability of hot nuclei in a semiclassical
      relativistic approach.

PMID- 9968964
TI  - Magnetic interaction between relativistic atomic electrons and parity
      nonconserving nuclear moments.

PMID- 9968966
TI  - Nuclear and hypernuclear particle-hole states in the relativistic sigma - omega
      mean field theory: Nuclear matter formalism.

PMID- 9968965
TI  - History of quark-gluon plasma evolution from photon interferometry.

PMID- 9968967
TI  - Role of K Delta interactions in K+N pion production.

PMID- 9968968
TI  - Color magnetic corrections to quark model valence distributions.

PMID- 9968969
TI  - Search for anomalies in low-energy electron scattering from thorium.

PMID- 9968970
TI  - Atomic parity nonconservation and neutron radii in cesium isotopes.

PMID- 9968971
TI  - Neutron capture in 148,150Sm: A sensitive probe of the s-process neutron density.

PMID- 9968972
TI  - Alpha scattering and capture reactions in the A=7 system at low energies.

PMID- 9968974
TI  - Isoscalar M1 strength in lead.

PMID- 9968973
TI  - Pion double charge exchange on 16O at T pi =300-500 MeV.

PMID- 9968975
TI  - 1266-keV gamma branch in 31Si decay.

PMID- 9968977
TI  - Nuclear deexcitations of nucleon holes associated with nucleon decays in nuclei.

PMID- 9968976
TI  - Role of nuclear structure in the spin-isospin nuclear response problem.

PMID- 9968979
TI  - Effects of pairing correlation in light nuclei.

PMID- 9968978
TI  - Effect of channel coupling on spin distribution at and above Coulomb barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9968980
TI  - General behavior of double beta decay amplitudes in the quasiparticle random
      phase approximation.

PMID- 9968981
TI  - Nature of the 20Na 2646-keV level and the stellar reaction rate for 19Ne(p, gamma
      )20Na.

PMID- 9968982
TI  - Test of generalized seniority with pion double charge exchange on the nickel
      isotopes.

PMID- 9968983
TI  - Description of alpha clustering including continuum configurations.

PMID- 9968984
TI  - Relation between neutron and proton deformation lengths.

PMID- 9968985
TI  - Comment on "Search for the I pi =1(-) state in 218Ra"

PMID- 9968987
TI  - Gamow-Teller beta decay and isospin impurity in nuclei near the proton drip line.

PMID- 9968988
TI  - e-p off-shell cross section in quasielastic (e,e'p) reactions.

PMID- 9968986
TI  - Velocity correlations of intermediate mass fragments produced in central
      collisions of Au+Au at E=150A MeV.

PMID- 9968990
TI  - Electromagnetic scattering from relativistic bound states.

PMID- 9968989
TI  - Nuclear effects in deep inelastic scattering of polarized electrons off polarized
      3He and the neutron spin structure functions.

PMID- 9968991
TI  - Spin assignments for the ground states of 155Lu and 157Lu.

PMID- 9968992
TI  - Compton scattering from the proton.

PMID- 9968993
TI  - Unitarity cusp in proton Compton scattering.

PMID- 9968994
TI  - Monte Carlo evaluation of path integrals for the nuclear shell model.

PMID- 9968995
TI  - Pion double-charge-exchange operator.

PMID- 9968996
TI  - Off-shell behavior of the pi - eta mixing amplitude.

PMID- 9968997
TI  - Pion absorption on 3He. II. Antisymmetrization and angular decomposition of the
      Faddeev-based amplitude.

PMID- 9968998
TI  - f7/2 proton alignment in 49Cr.

PMID- 9968999
TI  - Level structure of the odd mass Pr isotopes. III. Levels of 147Pr88 populated in
      the beta decay of 56-s 147Ce.

PMID- 9969000
TI  - Observation of pion-related effects in the photofission of preactinide nuclei.

PMID- 9969001
TI  - Neutron resonance spectroscopy of 113In and 115In.

PMID- 9969002
TI  - High spin states of 91Mo and 89Nb.

PMID- 9969003
TI  - Seniority v=5 states in 4189Nb48.

PMID- 9969004
TI  - Level structure of 89Mo.

PMID- 9969005
TI  - High resolution 162 MeV pion scattering to 6(-) stretched states in 26Mg.

PMID- 9969006
TI  - Band crossing in the odd-particle system.

PMID- 9969007
TI  - Neutron-skin and proton-skin formations in exotic nuclei far from stability.

PMID- 9969008
TI  - Simultaneous evaluation of the shell and pairing corrections to the nuclear
      deformation energy.

PMID- 9969009
TI  - Systematic variation of fission barrier heights for symmetric and asymmetric mass
      divisions.

PMID- 9969010
TI  - Shell-model calculations of Gamow-Teller strength in 51V, 54Fe, and 59Co.

PMID- 9969012
TI  - Nuclear structure study of the odd-A Tc isotopes within the neutron-proton
      interacting boson-fermion model.

PMID- 9969011
TI  - Approximate particle number projection for rotating nuclei.

PMID- 9969013
TI  - Microscopic calculation of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections.

PMID- 9969014
TI  - Order parameter for pairing systems.

PMID- 9969015
TI  - Charge radius of the neutron: Discussion of the differences between experimental
      values.

PMID- 9969016
TI  - Algebraic 12C+12C cluster model of the 24Mg nucleus.

PMID- 9969017
TI  - Some general constraints on identical band symmetries.

PMID- 9969018
TI  - Octupole fragmentation and O(6) symmetry in even-A Pt isotopes.

PMID- 9969019
TI  - Spin-isospin strength and spectral functions.

PMID- 9969020
TI  - Effects of the single-particle potential insertions in the effective interaction.

PMID- 9969021
TI  - Configuration mixing in 56Co and 46Sc using (d

PMID- 9969022
TI  - Fast neutron scattering cross sections at small angles and optical model
      parameters.

PMID- 9969023
TI  - Photofissility of 232Th measured with tagged photons from 250 to 1200 MeV.

PMID- 9969024
TI  - Mass asymmetry dependence of scission times in the reactions of 18.5A MeV
      136Xe+48Ti.

PMID- 9969025
TI  - Complete and incomplete fusion and emission of preequilibrium nucleons in the
      interaction of 12C with 197Au below 10 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969026
TI  - Identification of a percolationlike critical region in the decay of excited
      calcium nuclei.

PMID- 9969027
TI  - Quasifree pion scattering at 500 MeV.

PMID- 9969028
TI  - Inclusive electron-nucleus scattering at high momentum transfer.

PMID- 9969029
TI  - Two-body disintegration of the deuteron with 0.8-1.8 GeV photons.

PMID- 9969030
TI  - Search for diabolical pair transfer in two-neutron transfer reactions.

PMID- 9969031
TI  - Absolute differential cross sections and charge asymmetries for pi +/-d elastic
      scattering at 30, 50, and 65 MeV.

PMID- 9969032
TI  - Spin correlation measurements for p-3He elastic scattering between 4.0 and 10.0
      MeV.

PMID- 9969033
TI  - Effective range parametrization of phase shifts for p-3He elastic scattering
      between 0 and 12 MeV.

PMID- 9969035
TI  - Explanation of recent observations of very large electromagnetic dissociation
      cross sections. II. Higher order corrections.

PMID- 9969034
TI  - Mechanism of intermediate mass fragment emission at low energy.

PMID- 9969036
TI  - Role of strange quarks in quasielastic neutrino scattering.

PMID- 9969038
TI  - Pion scattering from spin 1/2 nuclei.

PMID- 9969037
TI  - Analysis of the reaction pi +d-->pp to 500 MeV.

PMID- 9969039
TI  - Gauge invariance and Compton scattering from relativistic composite systems.

PMID- 9969040
TI  - Phase shift analysis of pi +/--4He elastic scattering.

PMID- 9969041
TI  - Nuclear flow excitation function.

PMID- 9969043
TI  - Photon-hadron interactions in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969042
TI  - Medium modification of meson propagation between two nucleons in finite nuclei.

PMID- 9969044
TI  - Electromagnetic dissociation of Pb nuclei in peripheral ultrarelativistic heavy
      ion collisions.

PMID- 9969045
TI  - Nuclear shadowing in a parton recombination model.

PMID- 9969046
TI  - Modified Skyrme model and the nucleon-nucleon interaction.

PMID- 9969047
TI  - Role of instantons in a chiral confining model.

PMID- 9969048
TI  - Study of the 13N(d,n)14O reaction cross section and its astrophysical
      implications for the 13N proton capture reaction.

PMID- 9969049
TI  - Interactions of 13.6-GeV/nucleon 16O and 28Si with carbon, aluminum, and copper.

PMID- 9969050
TI  - Neutron spectra from the 156Er compound nucleus populated by 12C- and 64Ni
      induced reactions.

PMID- 9969051
TI  - Intercalibration of 4He and 5Li nuclear thermometers for hot nuclei.

PMID- 9969052
TI  - Broken reflection symmetry in 114Xe.

PMID- 9969053
TI  - Directional correlation of gamma rays in 31 yr 178Hfm decay.

PMID- 9969054
TI  - Deuteron elastic scattering at 110 and 120 MeV.

PMID- 9969055
TI  - Excited states in neutron-deficient iridium nuclei populated in radioactive
      decays of 177-181Pt.

PMID- 9969057
TI  - Resonating group method in momentum space.

PMID- 9969056
TI  - Role of nuclear compressibility on the fission path.

PMID- 9969058
TI  - Analysis of the sign of E2/M1 multipole mixing ratio of transitions in the even
      Te isotopes.

PMID- 9969060
TI  - Nuclear shell effects at high temperatures.

PMID- 9969059
TI  - Relativistic three-particle scattering equations.

PMID- 9969062
TI  - alpha spectrum from 16N beta decay and the 12C( alpha, gamma )16O reaction.

PMID- 9969061
TI  - Specification of Kowalski-Noyes f ratios for coupled channels.

PMID- 9969063
TI  - Comment on "Evidence for superdeformed shape isomeric states in 28Si at
      excitations above 40 MeV through observations of selective particle decays of
      16O+12C resonances in 8Be and alpha channels"

PMID- 9969064
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Evidence for superdeformed shape isomeric states in 28Si at
      excitations above 40 MeV through observations of selective particle decays of
      16O+12C resonances in 8Be and alpha channels' "

PMID- 9969065
TI  - Measurement of the resonance at ER=1422 keV in 36Ar(p, gamma )37K.

PMID- 9969066
TI  - Momentum distributions for 12,14Be fragmentation.

PMID- 9969067
TI  - Effective fermion SO(6) dynamical symmetry in the platinum nuclei.

PMID- 9969069
TI  - Levinson's theorem for Dirac particles.

PMID- 9969068
TI  - Rotational behavior in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969070
TI  - Deuteron form factors in the light-cone quantum mechanics "good" component
      approach.

PMID- 9969071
TI  - Coupled-channel potential for nucleons and deltas.

PMID- 9969072
TI  - Comparison of Born-Oppenheimer and hyperspherical adiabatic approximations in the
      trinucleon problem.

PMID- 9969073
TI  - Three-nucleon force and the Delta mechanism for pion production and pion
      absorption.

PMID- 9969074
TI  - From Skyrmions to NN phase shifts.

PMID- 9969075
TI  - Spin exchange between ion probes and localized moments in ferromagnets as the
      origin of transient fields.

PMID- 9969076
TI  - Intermediate structure in the photoexcitation of 77Sem, 79Brm, and 137Bam.

PMID- 9969077
TI  - Near yrast states in doubly odd 214Fr.

PMID- 9969078
TI  - Shape coexistence and signature splitting in 77Br.

PMID- 9969079
TI  - Spectroscopy of the superdeformed band in 196Pb.

PMID- 9969080
TI  - Coupling between rotational and vibrational motions with the cranking Bohr
      Mottelson Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9969081
TI  - Self-consistent description for x-ray, Auger electron, and nuclear excitation by
      electron transition processes.

PMID- 9969083
TI  - Virtual particles versus superconductive vacuum polarizations in interacting
      systems.

PMID- 9969082
TI  - Photodisintegration of 4He in the integrodifferential equation approach.

PMID- 9969084
TI  - 6p-2h core excitations in 20O.

PMID- 9969085
TI  - Boson-fermion mappings for odd systems from supercoherent states.

PMID- 9969087
TI  - Inclusive eta photoproduction in nuclei.

PMID- 9969086
TI  - Evaluation of angular integrals using matrix algebra: Applications to the alpha 
      decay integrals Kll'm and the scattering of deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9969088
TI  - Light particle emission in the reaction 144Sm(32S, fission) at Elab=838 MeV.

PMID- 9969090
TI  - 2H(d, gamma )4He polarization observables at 20, 30, and 50 MeV.

PMID- 9969089
TI  - Impact-parameter dependence of neutral pion production in the 36Ar on 27Al
      collision at 95 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969091
TI  - Direct and sequential contributions to the 26Mg(6Li

PMID- 9969092
TI  - 3He(n, gamma )4He cross section and the photodisintegration of 4He.

PMID- 9969093
TI  - Separated structure functions for the proton-knockout reaction 16O(e,e'p).

PMID- 9969094
TI  - Determination of the 6Li--> alpha +d vertex constant (asymptotic coefficient)
      from the 4He+d phase-shift analysis.

PMID- 9969095
TI  - Core polarization phenomena in pion-nucleus charge-exchange reactions above the
      delta resonance.

PMID- 9969097
TI  - Effective liquid drop description for the exotic decay of nuclei.

PMID- 9969096
TI  - General formula for the coalescence model.

PMID- 9969098
TI  - In-medium cross section and disappearance of flow.

PMID- 9969099
TI  - Uniform semiclassical and quantum calculations of Regge pole positions and
      residues for complex optical nuclear heavy-ion potentials.

PMID- 9969100
TI  - Dynamical evolution of hadronic matter in relativistic collisions.

PMID- 9969101
TI  - Relativistic microscopic description of proton-nucleus scattering at intermediate
      energies.

PMID- 9969102
TI  - Evidence for short-range correlations from high Q2 (e,e') reactions.

PMID- 9969104
TI  - Non-Abelian bremsstrahlung in a quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9969103
TI  - Thermal phenomenology of hadrons from 200A GeV S+S collisions.

PMID- 9969105
TI  - Dynamical effects of quantum chromodynamics on the surface tension of a cold
      strange quark nugget.

PMID- 9969107
TI  - Inertial parameters of the Skyrmion-Skyrmion system with the product ansatz.

PMID- 9969106
TI  - Deuteron photodisintegration, quark-gluon string model, and Regge phenomenology.

PMID- 9969108
TI  - Direct measurement of the 4He( gamma,p0) absolute cross section.

PMID- 9969109
TI  - Evidence for the statistical and sequential nature of 16O breakup into four
      alphas.

PMID- 9969111
TI  - Revealing intermittency in nuclear multifragmentation with 4 pi detectors.

PMID- 9969110
TI  - Coulomb excitation of the K pi =8(-) isomer in 178Hf.

PMID- 9969112
TI  - Three-quasiparticle excitations in 77Br.

PMID- 9969113
TI  - Approximate ways to treat the nucleon-nucleon tensor force in the four-nucleon
      bound state.

PMID- 9969114
TI  - Asymmetry versus symmetric quadrupole deformation in even-even nuclei with 94 <=
      A <= 192.

PMID- 9969115
TI  - Momentum fluctuations in the fragmentation of neutron-rich nuclei.

PMID- 9969116
TI  - Meson-exchange-currents contribution to axial charge transitions.

PMID- 9969117
TI  - Erratum: Pion-nucleus scattering at 800 MeV/c

PMID- 9969118
TI  - Lifetime of the 31- state and octupole collectivity in 96Zr.

PMID- 9969119
TI  - Lifetime measurements in the regular Delta I=1 oblate band in 197Pb.

PMID- 9969120
TI  - Spectroscopy of 186Pb with mass identification.

PMID- 9969121
TI  - Light fragment production in the 3.65A GeV 12C+208Pb reaction.

PMID- 9969122
TI  - Blocking effect in the 16(+)-->16(+) (p,t) transition on the isomeric 178Hfm2
      target.

PMID- 9969123
TI  - Isomeric proton emission from the drip-line nucleus 156Ta.

PMID- 9969125
TI  - Deformation, pairing, and moments of inertia in ground-state bands of even-even
      rare-earth nuclei.

PMID- 9969124
TI  - Fission decay of very light nuclear systems.

PMID- 9969126
TI  - The quasifree (p

PMID- 9969127
TI  - Particle-drip lines from the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory with Skyrme
      interaction.

PMID- 9969128
TI  - d sigma /dEt in heavy ion collisions and nucleon-nucleon cross section
      fluctuations.

PMID- 9969129
TI  - Momentum and coordinate space three-nucleon potentials.

PMID- 9969130
TI  - Hypertriton calculation with meson-theoretical nucleon-nucleon and hyperon
      nucleon interactions.

PMID- 9969131
TI  - Nucleon polarization and cross section in photodisintegration of aligned and
      polarized deuterons at low and medium energies.

PMID- 9969132
TI  - Beta-delayed proton decay of 73Sr.

PMID- 9969133
TI  - Study of beta + and electron capture decay of 76Sr in gamma - gamma coincidence
      measurements.

PMID- 9969134
TI  - Search for high-lying octupole states and octupole fragmentation in 196Pt with
      the (n,n' gamma ) reaction.

PMID- 9969135
TI  - Collectivity in light zirconium isotopes: Evolution with neutron number and
      angular momentum.

PMID- 9969137
TI  - Precise widths of the 3089 and 3684 keV levels in 13C.

PMID- 9969136
TI  - Measurements of 10Be and 26Al production cross sections with 12 GeV protons by
      accelerator mass spectrometry.

PMID- 9969138
TI  - gamma spectroscopy of 117I: Three structural features.

PMID- 9969139
TI  - Measurements of magnetic moments in 150Sm.

PMID- 9969140
TI  - In-beam gamma -ray spectroscopy of 40Cl.

PMID- 9969141
TI  - Signatures for mixed-symmetry states in the U(5) limit of the neutron-proton
      interacting boson model.

PMID- 9969142
TI  - Relativistic Hartree-Fock approximation in a nonlinear model for nuclear matter
      and finite nuclei.

PMID- 9969143
TI  - 0 nu beta beta decays and shell model wave functions of 76Ge and 82Se.

PMID- 9969144
TI  - Shape transitions in 148Sm.

PMID- 9969145
TI  - Ground-state energy of a hard-sphere Fermi fluid. II. Spin and isospin.

PMID- 9969146
TI  - Quantum hadrodynamics parametrization: A least-squares fit to nuclear ground
      state properties.

PMID- 9969147
TI  - Momentum-dependent mean field based upon the Dirac-Brueckner approach for nuclear
      matter.

PMID- 9969148
TI  - Nucleon polarization in three-body models of polarized 6Li.

PMID- 9969149
TI  - Spectroscopic factors in 40Ca and 208Pb from (e,e'p): Fully relativistic
      analysis.

PMID- 9969151
TI  - Microscopic three-cluster study of 21-nucleon systems.

PMID- 9969150
TI  - Finite nuclear systems in a relativistic extended Thomas-Fermi approach with
      density-dependent coupling parameters.

PMID- 9969152
TI  - Multidetector study of primary projectilelike fragments in the reaction
      40Ca+natCu at 35 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969153
TI  - Near-threshold proton-induced neutral pion production from 12C.

PMID- 9969154
TI  - Scaling of the multiplicity in hadron-nucleus interactions.

PMID- 9969155
TI  - Proton single-particle states in 21,23Na through the (d,n) reaction.

PMID- 9969156
TI  - Multifragment events in the reaction 58Ni+27Al at 15.8 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969157
TI  - Pion absorption above the Delta (1232) resonance.

PMID- 9969158
TI  - Spin-isospin strength distributions in f-p shell nuclei: A study of the 51V(n,p)
      and 59Co(n,p) reactions at 198 MeV.

PMID- 9969159
TI  - Fragmentation of Gamow-Teller strength observed in 117,120Sn(3He,t)117,120Sb
      charge-exchange reactions.

PMID- 9969160
TI  - One neutron pickup reactions in the 32S+144Sm and 32S+166Er systems at energies
      close to the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9969161
TI  - Ultradipole photon production in 40 and 50 MeV alpha -nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969162
TI  - Novel probe of charge symmetry breaking: Deuteron-induced deuteron breakup.

PMID- 9969163
TI  - Breakup of intermediate-mass fragments, 8Be and 6Li, formed in the reaction
      40Ar+Ag at 7.8A and 17A MeV.

PMID- 9969164
TI  - Alternatives for understanding qualitative features that dominate particle
      particle correlations in heavy-ion reactions of

PMID- 9969165
TI  - Search for entrance channel effects in the decay of the 164Yb compound nucleus at
      E*

PMID- 9969166
TI  - Formation and decay of 164Yb* in near- and below-barrier fusion reactions.

PMID- 9969167
TI  - Renormalization for optical model and unified model of nuclear reactions.

PMID- 9969168
TI  - Optical model analyses of 1.65 A GeV argon fragmentation:  cross sections and
      momentum distributions.
AB  - An optical potential fragmentation model capable of predicting fragmentation
      cross sections and fragment momentum distributions is used to analyze recent
      measurements of 1.65 A GeV argon projectiles fragmenting in carbon and potassium
      chloride targets obtained with the Heavy Ion Spectrometer System (HISS) at the
      Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Bevalac.  The theoretical model uses an abrasion
      ablation-FSI (frictional spectator interaction) collision formalism to estimate
      elemental and isotopic production cross sections for comparison with the measured
      values.  The collision momentum transfer model is incorporated into a Goldhaber
      formalism to analyze measured transverse and longitudinal distributions of the
      projectile fragments.  Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained
      for all observables.

PMID- 9969170
TI  - Hard-photon emission in 129Xe+197Au reaction at 44 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969169
TI  - Role of heavy meson exchange in near threshold NN-->d pi.

PMID- 9969172
TI  - Nucleon flow and fragment flow in heavy ion reactions.

PMID- 9969171
TI  - Quasielastic nuclear response.

PMID- 9969173
TI  - Microscopic formulation of medium contributions to the first-order optical
      potential.

PMID- 9969174
TI  - Inclusive and exclusive production of eta mesons by pions.

PMID- 9969175
TI  - Fragmentation of 1.2 GeV per nucleon 139La.

PMID- 9969176
TI  - Production of pi +/-, K+/-, p, and p-bar in relativistic Au+Pt, Si+Pt, and p+Pt
      collisions.

PMID- 9969177
TI  - Systematic behavior of K/ pi ratio in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969178
TI  - Geometry, scaling, and universality in the mass distributions in heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969179
TI  - Color transparency and final-state interactions in photonuclear charmonium
      production.

PMID- 9969180
TI  - Cloudy bag model for the S-D wave K-bar-N system.

PMID- 9969181
TI  - Beta asymmetry of the first forbidden 1/2(+)-->1/2(-) transition in 19Ne and its
      relationship to the parity nonconserving nucleon-nucleon interaction.

PMID- 9969182
TI  - Neutrino-nucleus quasifree neutral current reactions and the nucleon strange
      quark content.

PMID- 9969183
TI  - Investigation of the 13N(p, gamma )14O reaction using 13N radioactive ion beams.

PMID- 9969184
TI  - Half-life measurements for 61Ga, 63Ge, and 65As and their importance in the rp
      process.

PMID- 9969185
TI  - Thick-target yields of iodine isotopes from proton interactions in Te, and the
      double- beta decays of 128,130Te.

PMID- 9969186
TI  - Search for the beta + decay of 54Mn.

PMID- 9969188
TI  - Excitation function and isomeric cross-section ratio for the 61Ni(p, alpha
      )58Com,g process.

PMID- 9969187
TI  - Searches for proton radioactivity in odd Z drip-line nuclei from Z=61 to 67.

PMID- 9969190
TI  - Description of proton elastic scattering on 6,7,9,11Li with microscopic effective
      interaction.

PMID- 9969189
TI  - Low-energy resonances in 13C( alpha,n).

PMID- 9969191
TI  - Phase variation of the NN amplitude at 1.75 GeV/c.

PMID- 9969192
TI  - Examination of inconsistencies between the deformed potential model and folding
      models for analysis of inelastic hadron scattering.

PMID- 9969193
TI  - Semiclassical estimate of the Coulomb excitation of the giant dipole resonance in
      208Pb.

PMID- 9969194
TI  - Erratum: Extraction of the multifragmentation time scale in intermediate energy
      heavy-ion reactions

PMID- 9969195
TI  - Statistical multistep direct reaction.

PMID- 9969196
TI  - Exotic density shapes in asymmetric heavy ion collisions at intermediate
      bombarding energies.

PMID- 9969197
TI  - Relativistic description of electron scattering on the deuteron.

PMID- 9969198
TI  - Effective mass of omega meson and NN omega interaction at finite temperature and
      density.

PMID- 9969199
TI  - Study of the beta -delayed neutron decay of 18N.

PMID- 9969200
TI  - Yrast level structure of the neutron deficient N=49 isotones 92Tc, 93Ru, 94Rh,
      and 95Pd up to high angular momentum.

PMID- 9969201
TI  - Electromagnetic decay properties of high spin states in 4391Tc48.

PMID- 9969202
TI  - Pion double charge exchange on natSe.

PMID- 9969203
TI  - Levels in 168Er above 2 MeV and the onset of chaos.

PMID- 9969204
TI  - Neutron scattering cross sections for 204,206Pb and neutron and proton amplitudes
      of E2 and E3 excitations.

PMID- 9969205
TI  - High spin structure of 84Y.

PMID- 9969206
TI  - Similarities and differences between the Gaussian and random phase approximation
      for the partition function.

PMID- 9969207
TI  - Signature inversion and change in triaxiality in 159Tm and 159Er.

PMID- 9969208
TI  - Structure study of 40Ca by alpha +36Ar cluster model.

PMID- 9969209
TI  - Sum rules in the proton-neutron interacting boson model: Generalized treatment
      and specific applications.

PMID- 9969210
TI  - Complex, energy-independent, local potential reproducing an absorptive phase
      shift and a bound state.

PMID- 9969211
TI  - Theoretical description of octupole correlations in the 138-148Xe nuclei.

PMID- 9969212
TI  - Comparison between the temperature and the time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov
      descriptions of the pairing interaction.

PMID- 9969213
TI  - Three-body halos: Gross properties.

PMID- 9969214
TI  - Exclusion of spuriousity through effective operators.

PMID- 9969215
TI  - Cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model applied to high spin states in 22,23Na:
      Systematics of rotational isomers and band terminations in the A=20-26 region.

PMID- 9969216
TI  - From nuclear matter to finite nuclei. I. Parametrization of the Dirac-Brueckner G
      matrix.

PMID- 9969217
TI  - Fusion of 32S+154Sm at sub-barrier energies.

PMID- 9969219
TI  - Excitation functions of threshold reactions on 45Sc and 55Mn induced by 6 to 13
      MeV neutrons.

PMID- 9969218
TI  - Elastoplasticity in dissipative heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969220
TI  - Proton-proton correlations: Determination of the source size and lifetime from
      deep inelastic collisions of 58Ni+58Ni at 15 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969221
TI  - Low-lying structure of 10Li in the reaction 11B(7Li,8B)10Li.

PMID- 9969222
TI  - Lifetimes of well characterized hot nuclei via small-angle particle-particle
      correlations: 40Ar+Ag (E/A=7.8 and 17 MeV).

PMID- 9969224
TI  - Target residues from the interaction of copper with 90 MeV/nucleon 6Li ions.

PMID- 9969223
TI  - Neutron-proton bremsstrahlung from low-energy heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9969225
TI  - Mass and transverse momentum dependence of dielectron production in p+d and p+p
      collisions at 4.9 GeV.

PMID- 9969226
TI  - Vector analyzing power measurement of pion scattering from polarized 7Li in the
      region of the Delta 33 resonance.

PMID- 9969227
TI  - Laser-driven inverse electronic bridge process: An optical tool for determining
      low-energy separation of nearby nuclear states.

PMID- 9969228
TI  - Inclusive spectra of stripping reactions induced by heavy ions.

PMID- 9969229
TI  - Azimuthal distribution in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969230
TI  - Pion electroproduction on proton and deuteron.

PMID- 9969231
TI  - Classical and quantum approach to light-particle correlations in intermediate
      energy heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9969232
TI  - Isobar excitation in parity-nonconserving proton-proton scattering.

PMID- 9969233
TI  - Enormous spin polarization in heavy-ion-induced one-nucleon transfer reactions.

PMID- 9969234
TI  - Statistical model analysis of fast-neutron-induced fission of U isotopes.

PMID- 9969235
TI  - Higher order effects in electromagnetic excitation with fast projectiles.

PMID- 9969237
TI  - Relativistic effects on polarization transfer observables for quasielastic proton
      nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9969236
TI  - Dynamic polarization potential for 11Li scattering.

PMID- 9969238
TI  - Dilepton production in nucleon-nucleon reactions with and without hadronic
      inelasticities.

PMID- 9969239
TI  - Detailed-balance tests of time-reversal invariance with interfering charged
      particle resonances.

PMID- 9969240
TI  - Projectile rapidity pions in 775 MeV/nucleon 139La+12C and 139La+139La reactions.

PMID- 9969241
TI  - High energy approximations for the total Born cross section for pair production
      in a screened Coulomb field.

PMID- 9969242
TI  - Hanbury-Brown-Twiss analysis in a solvable model.

PMID- 9969244
TI  - QCD sum rules for nucleons in nuclear matter III.

PMID- 9969243
TI  - Off-shell rho - omega mixing in QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9969245
TI  - Gauge invariance and the electromagnetic current of composite pions.

PMID- 9969246
TI  - A dependence of hadron-nucleus massive lepton pair production.

PMID- 9969247
TI  - Meson mass spectrum from relativistic equations in configuration space.

PMID- 9969248
TI  - Relativistic momentum space wave equations and meson spectroscopy.

PMID- 9969249
TI  - Study of dense helium plasma in the optimal hypernetted chain approximation.

PMID- 9969251
TI  - Continuum random phase approximation self-consistent approaches to the theory of
      isobaric analog resonances.

PMID- 9969250
TI  - Multipole mixing ratios of the 198 and 177 keV gamma -ray transitions in 169Tm.

PMID- 9969252
TI  - Finite range momentum and density dependent effective interaction and analysis of
      nuclear incompressibility.

PMID- 9969253
TI  - Vacuum-polarization corrections to solar-fusion rates.

PMID- 9969254
TI  - Self-energy of the pion.

PMID- 9969255
TI  - Low-lying surface vibrations in the pair-hopping model.

PMID- 9969256
TI  - Momentum transfer dependence of medium effects in the (e,e') longitudinal
      response.

PMID- 9969257
TI  - Possible evidence for particle-hole intruder analog multiplets in the Pb region.

PMID- 9969258
TI  - Superdeformed and hyperdeformed states in 56Ni.

PMID- 9969259
TI  - Microscopic calculation of in-medium proton-proton cross sections.

PMID- 9969260
TI  - Erratum: Self-consistent relativistic calculation of nucleon mean free path

PMID- 9969261
TI  - Spin-orbit and tensor potentials from polarized 6Li scattering.

PMID- 9969262
TI  - Electromagnetic dissociation of 238U at 120 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969263
TI  - Maximum azimuthal anisotropy of neutrons from Nb-Nb collisions at 400A MeV and
      the nuclear equation of state.

PMID- 9969265
TI  - Single-particle spectral function of 16O.

PMID- 9969264
TI  - Analyzing power puzzle in low energy elastic Nd scattering.

PMID- 9969266
TI  - Pion elastic scattering on 28Si at T pi =400 MeV.

PMID- 9969268
TI  - NN correlations and relativistic Hartree-Fock in finite nuclei.

PMID- 9969267
TI  - Spin correlation measurements for p

PMID- 9969269
TI  - Spin-lattice relaxation of Ra in Tl and g factor of the 213Ram, tau =2.1 ms
      isomer.

PMID- 9969270
TI  - Octupole deformation in 149,151Sm nuclei.

PMID- 9969271
TI  - High-spin studies of 219Ac.

PMID- 9969272
TI  - Intermediate structure in the neutron-induced fission cross section of 236U.

PMID- 9969273
TI  - Comparison of Gamow-Teller strength in 37Ar and 37K and 37Cl neutrino cross
      sections.

PMID- 9969274
TI  - Multichannel study on the fragmentation of the 1g9/2 isobaric analog resonance in
      53Mn.

PMID- 9969275
TI  - Nuclear g-factor measurement for the 21/2(+) isomeric state in 89Nb.

PMID- 9969276
TI  - Spatial orientation of nuclei: Mass deformation in 165-holmium.

PMID- 9969277
TI  - Superdeformed bands in 191Tl.

PMID- 9969279
TI  - Transition strengths and multiple band structure in 82Sr.

PMID- 9969278
TI  - Spectroscopy of the isotones 215Rn and 217Ra.

PMID- 9969280
TI  - Measurement and significance of Gamma gamma / Gamma for the 7117-keV 4(+) level
      of 18O.

PMID- 9969281
TI  - Level density of 57Co.

PMID- 9969282
TI  - Nuclear decay times of evaporation residues of 44Ti by crystal blocking method.

PMID- 9969283
TI  - Systematic relativistic Hartree-Fock calculation of deformed nuclei in s-d shell.

PMID- 9969285
TI  - Isovector spin-longitudinal and -transverse response of nuclei.

PMID- 9969284
TI  - Nuclear structure studies with (e,e'), ( pi, pi '), and ( gamma, pi ) reactions:
      Applications to 10B.

PMID- 9969286
TI  - Evidence for phase transitional behavior of even-even nuclei from differential
      observables.

PMID- 9969287
TI  - Symplectic pseudo-SU(3) model and B(E2; 01+-->21+) value of 238U.

PMID- 9969288
TI  - Microscopic description of the beta delayed deuteron emission from 6He.

PMID- 9969289
TI  - First-forbidden beta decay: Meson-exchange enhancement of the axial charge at
      A~16.

PMID- 9969290
TI  - Classical mappings of the symplectic model and their application to the theory of
      large-amplitude collective motion.

PMID- 9969291
TI  - Combinatorial nuclear level density by a Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9969293
TI  - Single particle spectrum and spin-orbit splittings in relativistic mean field
      theory.

PMID- 9969292
TI  - Modeling complex nuclear spectra: Regularity versus chaos.

PMID- 9969295
TI  - E2 properties of nuclei far from stability and the proton-halo problem of 8B.

PMID- 9969294
TI  - Deep pionic bound states in a nonlocal optical potential.

PMID- 9969296
TI  - Shape dependence of the deuteron radius.

PMID- 9969297
TI  - Charge correlations and transverse momenta observed in multifragmentation of 1
      GeV/nucleon Au projectiles.

PMID- 9969298
TI  - Polarized deuteron capture by 3He and 3H at and above the fusion resonance
      region.

PMID- 9969299
TI  - Anomalous anisotropy of fission fragments in near- and sub-barrier complete
      fusion-fission reactions of 16O+232Th, 19F+232Th, and 16O+238U.

PMID- 9969300
TI  - Entrance channel effects in the fusion-fission time scales from studies of
      prescission neutron multiplicities.

PMID- 9969301
TI  - Investigations of complete and incomplete fusion in 12C+93Nb and 16O+89Y by
      recoil range measurements.

PMID- 9969303
TI  - Quasielastic proton knockout from 16O.

PMID- 9969302
TI  - Light-particle correlations with evaporation residues in the 40Ca+12C reaction at
      E(40Ca)=450 MeV.

PMID- 9969304
TI  - Prescission and postscission charged particle emissions from the 19F+159Tb
      reaction.

PMID- 9969305
TI  - Rainbowlike effects in (3He, alpha ) reactions.

PMID- 9969307
TI  - Emission of light charged particles in photon induced fission.

PMID- 9969306
TI  - Quasimolecular states of 24Mg excited in the 16O+12C interaction.

PMID- 9969308
TI  - Preequilibrium (p,p') measurements and calculations for 90Zr and neighboring
      nuclei for incident energies up to 200 MeV.

PMID- 9969309
TI  - Fragment isotope spectra from the 36Ar + Ag reaction at 35 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969310
TI  - Selective population of states in fission fragments from the 32S+24Mg reaction.

PMID- 9969311
TI  - Heavy-ion resonance and statistical fission competition in the 24Mg+24Mg system
      at Ec.m.=44.4 MeV.

PMID- 9969312
TI  - Study of energy deposition in heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9969314
TI  - Neutron skin effect in preequilibrium nucleon emissions.

PMID- 9969313
TI  - Hypernuclear and Lambda -spin polarizations produced in the ( pi +,K+) reaction.

PMID- 9969315
TI  - Systematics of preequilibrium contributions in (n,p) reactions at 14 MeV.

PMID- 9969316
TI  - Systematic study of subbarrier fusion in rare-earth nuclei.

PMID- 9969317
TI  - Double-doorway model for pion-nucleon elastic scattering in the S11 channel.

PMID- 9969318
TI  - Equivalent local potentials to multiple scattering calculations of nucleon
      nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9969320
TI  - Neutrino-induced reactions on 12C within the continuum random phase
      approximation.

PMID- 9969319
TI  - Imaginary part of the optical potential for preequilibrium processes.

PMID- 9969321
TI  - gamma gamma physics at relativistic heavy-ion colliders.

PMID- 9969322
TI  - Kinetics of an expanding pion gas and low-mass dilepton emission.

PMID- 9969323
TI  - Subthreshold antiproton production in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969324
TI  - Baryon-baryon components in the deuteron as quark-exchange currents.

PMID- 9969325
TI  - Kaon-nucleon scattering amplitudes and Z* enhancements from quark Born diagrams.

PMID- 9969326
TI  - Properties of the rho meson in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969327
TI  - QCD sum rules for Lambda hyperons in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969328
TI  - Total cross sections and thermonuclear reaction rates for 9Be( alpha,n)12C.

PMID- 9969330
TI  - Elastic scattering and fusion of 16O+59Co at near barrier energies: A signature
      for long range fusion potentials.

PMID- 9969329
TI  - Deep inelastic collisions in the system 40Ar+232Th at 31 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969331
TI  - Decay of 98Rh.

PMID- 9969332
TI  - Correlation between epsilon / Delta and the P factor.

PMID- 9969333
TI  - Critical role of 122,123,124Te in s-process nucleosynthesis.

PMID- 9969334
TI  - Erratum: Analysis of the reaction pi +d-->pp to 500 MeV

PMID- 9969335
TI  - Collisions between 106Cd and 54Fe at 30 MeV above the Coulomb barrier by high
      resolution gamma gamma coincidences.

PMID- 9969336
TI  - Identical bands in 77Sr, 78Sr, and 78Rb: Evidence for a very good spectator
      orbital.

PMID- 9969337
TI  - Estimation of the time scale of last chance alpha emission using an "atomic
      clock"

PMID- 9969338
TI  - Prolate collectivity in 187Tl.

PMID- 9969339
TI  - Observation of the new neutron-rich nuclide 208Hg.

PMID- 9969340
TI  - Three-body 3He photodisintegration in the Delta region.

PMID- 9969341
TI  - Reaction gamma d--> pi 0d and the small components of the deuteron wave function.

PMID- 9969342
TI  - Phenomenological signature for the onset of strong octupole correlations.

PMID- 9969343
TI  - Medium effects on subthreshold kaon production in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969345
TI  - Parity violation in charged particle nuclear reactions.

PMID- 9969344
TI  - Optical-model description of time-reversal violation in neutron-nucleus
      scattering.

PMID- 9969346
TI  - Improved limits on time-reversal-violating, tensor weak couplings.

PMID- 9969347
TI  - Determination of inelastic scattering amplitudes from (p,p' gamma ) reactions.

PMID- 9969348
TI  - Threshold electrodisintegration in the A=3 system.

PMID- 9969350
TI  - Weakly bound states of a three-body system.

PMID- 9969349
TI  - Non-adiabatic contributions to static two-pion-exchange nuclear potentials.

PMID- 9969351
TI  - Impact of pp-->pp pi 0 data to negative-pion absorption on proton pairs.

PMID- 9969352
TI  - Sub-barrier fusion in generalized boson models.

PMID- 9969353
TI  - Self-consistent solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equations for the nucleon and
      meson propagators.

PMID- 9969354
TI  - Density-dependent effective interactions.

PMID- 9969355
TI  - Comparison between relativistic and nonrelativistic models of the nucleon-nucleon
      effective interaction. I. Normal-parity isoscalar transitions.

PMID- 9969356
TI  - Role of heavy-meson exchange in pion production near threshold.

PMID- 9969357
TI  - Recoil-separated gamma-ray spectroscopy of 47Ti, 47V, 47Cr, 48V, and 48Cr.

PMID- 9969358
TI  - Electroexcitation of low-multipolarity magnetic transitions in 36Ar and 38Ar.

PMID- 9969359
TI  - Origin of correlations between evaporation protons and discrete gamma rays in
      heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reactions.

PMID- 9969361
TI  - Comparison of the Porter-Thomas distribution with neutron resonance data of even
      even nuclei.

PMID- 9969360
TI  - Evolution of deformation in the neutron-rich Zr region from excited intruder
      state to the ground state.

PMID- 9969362
TI  - Exact solutions and constrained Hartree-Fock spectra in a soluble triaxial
      quasispin model.

PMID- 9969364
TI  - Dependence on the mass number of energy quantities of a Lambda in hypernuclei
      with the cosh and the Gaussian potential.

PMID- 9969363
TI  - Nuclear charge radii in modern mass formulas.

PMID- 9969366
TI  - Quantum theory of large amplitude collective motion: Natural fit between the Born
      Oppenheimer and Kerman-Klein methods.

PMID- 9969365
TI  - Demonstration of the auxiliary-field Monte Carlo approach for sd-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9969367
TI  - Quantum theory of large amplitude collective motion: Bosonization of all degrees
      of freedom.

PMID- 9969368
TI  - Cranking Bohr-Mottelson Hamiltonian applied to superdeformed bands in A~190
      region.

PMID- 9969369
TI  - Influence of nuclear structure on the characteristics of light pionic atoms.

PMID- 9969370
TI  - Fine structure of cluster decays.

PMID- 9969371
TI  - Three-dimensional cranking at finite temperature.

PMID- 9969372
TI  - From nuclear matter to finite nuclei. II. Relativistic theories for finite
      nuclei.

PMID- 9969374
TI  - Excitation functions and isomeric cross section ratios of the 63Cu(n, alpha
      )60Com,g, 65Cu(n, alpha )62Com,g, and 60Ni(n,p)60Com,g processes from 6 to 15
      MeV.

PMID- 9969373
TI  - Energy dissipation and multifragment decay in the 3He+natAg system.

PMID- 9969375
TI  - 4He(4He,3He)5He(g.s.) reaction at 118 MeV, and its distorted wave Born
      approximation interpretation.

PMID- 9969376
TI  - Quasielastic scattering of 12,14Be on 12C.

PMID- 9969377
TI  - 13C(e,p0,1)12B differential cross section.

PMID- 9969378
TI  - Search for resonances in multiphoton final states from low-energy e+e-
      scattering.

PMID- 9969379
TI  - 29Si(d,3He)28Al reaction at 29 MeV.

PMID- 9969381
TI  - Tests for equilibration of 149Tb* composite nuclei produced in the reactions 337
      MeV 40Ar+natAg and 640 MeV 86Kr+63Cu.

PMID- 9969380
TI  - Light charged particle and intermediate mass fragment emission in the reaction
      640 MeV 86Kr+63Cu.

PMID- 9969382
TI  - Intermediate mass fragments from the reactions 486, 550, 640, and 730 MeV
      86Kr+63Cu.

PMID- 9969383
TI  - Density distribution of 11Li and proton elastic scattering from 9Li and 11Li.

PMID- 9969384
TI  - Optical model calculations for the elastic scattering of intermediate energy
      alpha particles.

PMID- 9969385
TI  - Local representation of the exchange nonlocality in n-16O scattering.

PMID- 9969386
TI  - Mass dependence of critical behavior in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969387
TI  - Coulomb and nuclear excitation in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969388
TI  - Double-folding model for heavy-ion optical potential: Revised and applied to
      study 12C and 16O elastic scattering.

PMID- 9969390
TI  - Thermal quark production in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9969389
TI  - Two charged particle and transverse energy correlations in Si+Pb collisions at
      14.6A GeV/c.

PMID- 9969391
TI  - Memory effects in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969392
TI  - Nucleon solution of the Faddeev equation in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9969393
TI  - Influence of the Delta Delta -meson coupling on nucleon and Delta properties in
      nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969395
TI  - K pi =6(+) and 8(-) isomer decays in 172Hf and Delta K=8 E1 transition rates.

PMID- 9969394
TI  - Vector analyzing power iT11 in pi d elastic scattering at 49 MeV.

PMID- 9969397
TI  - QCD Fokker-Planck equations with color diffusion.

PMID- 9969396
TI  - Emission of alpha particles during the spontaneous fission of 244Pu.

PMID- 9969399
TI  - Opposite-parity bands in 153Eu.

PMID- 9969398
TI  - Absence of anomalous entrance channel effects in sub-barrier heavy ion fusion.

PMID- 9969400
TI  - Quantum interference effects in N* electroproduction and propagation in nuclei.

PMID- 9969402
TI  - Deformed atomic nuclei with degeneracies of the nucleonic levels higher than 2.

PMID- 9969401
TI  - Correlation between quantized-alignment and identical-band mechanisms.

PMID- 9969404
TI  - Nucleon resonances in nuclei and quark exchange.

PMID- 9969403
TI  - Rapidity dependence of soft mesons as a signature of resonance matter production
      in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969405
TI  - Separation of the 2H(e,e'p) structure functions up to 0.9 GeV/c momentum
      transfer.

PMID- 9969406
TI  - Effects of a quark-model-based nucleon- Delta potential on the two-nucleon system
      above pion threshold.

PMID- 9969408
TI  - Two pion exchange nucleon-nucleon potential: The minimal chiral model.

PMID- 9969407
TI  - New effective internucleon forces in microscopic alpha -cluster model.

PMID- 9969409
TI  - Renormalization of the P- and T-odd nuclear potentials by the strong interaction
      and enhancement of P-odd effective field.

PMID- 9969410
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon potentials and their test with bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9969411
TI  - Multiphonon vibrational states in deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9969412
TI  - An excited state of 229Th at 3.5 eV.

PMID- 9969413
TI  - Electron-capture delayed fission properties of the new isotope 238Bk.

PMID- 9969415
TI  - Alpha decay of 216At and the level structure of 212Bi.

PMID- 9969414
TI  - beta -delayed alpha decay of 17N.

PMID- 9969416
TI  - Oblate to prolate shape hindrance in 121I.

PMID- 9969417
TI  - Rotational bands and neutron alignments in neutron rich odd-A cadmium isotopes.

PMID- 9969418
TI  - High spin states and shell model description of the neutron deficient nuclei 90Ru
      and 91Ru.

PMID- 9969419
TI  - Effects of 10Li virtual states on the structure of 11Li.

PMID- 9969420
TI  - Unstable infinite nuclear matter in stochastic mean field approach.

PMID- 9969421
TI  - Identical energy bands of uranium isotopes in the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9969422
TI  - Measurable decay modes of barium isotopes via exotic cluster emissions.

PMID- 9969423
TI  - Photopion production in 3H and 3He.

PMID- 9969424
TI  - Robust predictions of the interacting boson approximation model.

PMID- 9969425
TI  - Energy-shell contributions of the three-particle-three-hole excitations.

PMID- 9969426
TI  - Canonical number projection in a simple nuclear model.

PMID- 9969427
TI  - Relativistic Coulomb sum rules for (e,e').

PMID- 9969429
TI  - Medium modifications to the omega -meson mass in the Walecka model.

PMID- 9969428
TI  - Specific heat and shape transitions in light sd nuclei.

PMID- 9969430
TI  - Analysis of the spreading width of the particle-hole giant resonances.

PMID- 9969432
TI  - Random-phase-approximation-type vertex corrections to the axial-vector current.

PMID- 9969431
TI  - Simple approximation for the starting-energy-independent two-body effective
      interaction with applications to 6Li.

PMID- 9969433
TI  - Octupole-induced dipole moments of very deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9969434
TI  - Competing reaction mechanisms for the 16,17,18O+10,11B and 19F+9Be systems.

PMID- 9969435
TI  - Isotopic product distributions in the near symmetric mass region in proton
      induced fission of 238U.

PMID- 9969436
TI  - Asymmetries in 100 MeV pi +/ pi --3H

PMID- 9969437
TI  - Interference effects in non-analog pion double charge exchange.

PMID- 9969438
TI  - Inclusive protonlike production cross sections from 0.757 GeV/nucleon La+La
      collisions.

PMID- 9969440
TI  - Dirac coupled channel calculations for proton inelastic scattering from
      spherically symmetric nuclei for projectile energies of 362, 500, and 800 MeV.

PMID- 9969439
TI  - Neutron transition densities for 48Ca from proton scattering at 200 and 318 MeV.

PMID- 9969442
TI  - Phenomenological transition amplitudes for NN-->N Delta at 800 MeV.

PMID- 9969441
TI  - Enhanced emissions of hard photons in heavy ion reactions by the particle
      correlation effect.

PMID- 9969443
TI  - Extraction of neutron densities from elastic proton scattering by 206,207,208Pb
      at 650 MeV.

PMID- 9969444
TI  - Global optical potentials for emitted alpha particles.

PMID- 9969445
TI  - Relativistic cluster dynamics of nucleons and mesons. II. Formalism and examples.

PMID- 9969446
TI  - Nuclear fragmentation and its parallels.

PMID- 9969447
TI  - Quantal inversion of the cross section for the elastic scattering of 200 MeV
      protons from 12C.

PMID- 9969448
TI  - Comparison of the quasielastic (e,e'p) and the ( gamma,p) reactions.

PMID- 9969449
TI  - Color collective effects at the early stage of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969450
TI  - What can we learn from a second phi meson peak in ultrarelativistic nuclear
      collisions?

PMID- 9969452
TI  - Two-pion exchange and chiral symmetry restoration.

PMID- 9969451
TI  - Gluon multiplication in high energy heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969453
TI  - Electromagnetic gauge invariance of chiral hybrid quark models.

PMID- 9969455
TI  - Alpha decay of 231U to levels in 227Th.

PMID- 9969454
TI  - Negative pion-nucleus elastic scattering at 20 and 40 MeV.

PMID- 9969456
TI  - Two-neutrino double beta decay of 48Ca.

PMID- 9969458
TI  - Half-lives for two neutrino double-beta-decay transitions to first 2(+) excited
      states.

PMID- 9969457
TI  - Simple parametrization of fragment reduced widths in heavy ion collisions.
AB  - A systematic analysis of the observed reduced widths obtained in relativistic
      heavy ion fragmentation reactions is used to develop a phenomenological
      parametrization of these data.  The parametrization is simple, accurate, and
      completely general in applicability.

PMID- 9969459
TI  - Three-body resonances by complex scaling.

PMID- 9969460
TI  - Checking a neutron halo from elastic scattering.

PMID- 9969461
TI  - Comment on "Macroscopic models for the fusion of very heavy ions"

PMID- 9969462
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Macroscopic models for the fusion of very heavy ions' "

PMID- 9969463
TI  - Comment on "Elastic scattering of 318 MeV 6Li from 12C and 28Si: Unique
      phenomenological and folding-model potentials" and the validity of the M3Y
      effective interaction.

PMID- 9969464
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Elastic scattering of 318 MeV 6Li from 12C and 28Si: Unique
      phenomenological and folding-model potentials' and the validity of the M3Y
      effective interaction"

PMID- 9969465
TI  - Excitation energy deposition in central collisions of 40A MeV 40Ar with 232Th.

PMID- 9969466
TI  - Large fragmentation of the pairing-vibration

PMID- 9969467
TI  - Intermittency and fragmentation of target residue in high-energy nuclear
      interactions.

PMID- 9969468
TI  - Limits for the 3 alpha branching ratio of the decay of the 7.65 MeV, 02+ state in
      12C.

PMID- 9969469
TI  - The "hot CNO cycle" 13N(p, gamma ) resonance energy and the 18Ne mass.

PMID- 9969470
TI  - Global systematics of unique parity quasibands in odd-A collective nuclei.

PMID- 9969471
TI  - s-wave pion-nucleus interaction and weak coupling constants.

PMID- 9969473
TI  - E2 contribution to the 8B-->p+7Be Coulomb dissociation cross section.

PMID- 9969472
TI  - Novel aspects of hypernuclei.

PMID- 9969474
TI  - Role of intrinsic width in fragment momentum distributions in heavy ion
      collisions.
AB  - It is demonstrated that the intrinsic widths incorporating correlations in
      conjunction with dynamical contributions give better agreement with experiments
      for collisions in the energy range of 200A MeV to 2A GeV than using only
      intrinsic widths without correlations.  The sensitivity of the intrinsic width
      decreases with increasing projectile mass.  A simple recipe for calculating
      intrinsic width with correlations is presented.

PMID- 9969475
TI  - Fragmentation barriers of toroidal and bubble nuclei.

PMID- 9969476
TI  - Tensor analyzing powers for 2H(d,p)3H and 2H(d,n)3He at deuteron energies of 25,
      40, 60, and 80 keV.

PMID- 9969478
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon interaction with consistently soft form factors for one and two
      pion exchange.

PMID- 9969477
TI  - Deep inelastic scattering on the deuteron in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism: Scalar
      meson exchange.

PMID- 9969479
TI  - Effects of the three-body force in three-nucleon systems.

PMID- 9969481
TI  - Dynamical model for correlated two-pion exchange in the NN interaction.

PMID- 9969480
TI  - Coulomb correction calculations of pp bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9969482
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon interaction from meson exchange and nucleonic structure.

PMID- 9969483
TI  - Slow proton production in deep-inelastic neutrino scattering on deuterium.

PMID- 9969484
TI  - P,T-violating nuclear matrix elements in the one-meson exchange approximation.

PMID- 9969486
TI  - The Q value for the 26Alm superallowed beta decay.

PMID- 9969485
TI  - Excitation function for the population of the 4.51 MeV state of 27Al in inelastic
      proton scattering: Evidence for 6(-) strength?

PMID- 9969487
TI  - Limits on single- and multinucleon decays in 127I by inclusive measurements of
      nuclear gamma and x rays.

PMID- 9969488
TI  - Gamma ray studies of neutron-rich sdf shell nuclei produced in heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969489
TI  - Onset of collectivity in the odd-odd nucleus 72As.

PMID- 9969490
TI  - Excited states built on the 6(-) isomer in 3786Rb49.

PMID- 9969491
TI  - First observation of the beta -delayed proton decay of 52Ni.

PMID- 9969492
TI  - Decay modes of high-lying single-particle states in 209Pb.

PMID- 9969493
TI  - Energy systematics of even-even nuclei in the NpNn scheme.

PMID- 9969495
TI  - Relativistic description of Lambda, Sigma, and Xi hypernuclei.

PMID- 9969494
TI  - Broken O(6) symmetry of IBM1 with three-body potential.

PMID- 9969496
TI  - Constraints on the nuclear compressibility from analysis of the breathing mode
      and density differences of lead isotopes.

PMID- 9969498
TI  - tau compression in the SO(5) scheme.

PMID- 9969497
TI  - K pi =1(+) pairing interaction and moments of inertia of superdeformed rotational
      bands in atomic nuclei.

PMID- 9969499
TI  - Empirical proton-neutron interactions near closed shells: A simple shell-model
      approach.

PMID- 9969500
TI  - Stretched spin strength in 26Mg and 30Si.

PMID- 9969501
TI  - Tensor polarization in elastic electron-deuteron scattering in the momentum
      transfer range 3.8 <= Q <= 4.6 fm-1.

PMID- 9969502
TI  - Breakup of 87 MeV 11B.

PMID- 9969503
TI  - Observation of 12C cluster transfer by angular correlation measurements.

PMID- 9969504
TI  - Fission of heavy nuclei induced by stopped antiprotons. I. Inclusive
      characteristics of fission fragments.

PMID- 9969505
TI  - Measurement of low energy K+ total cross sections on N=Z nuclei.

PMID- 9969506
TI  - One- and two-proton transfer reactions in 32S+64Ni and 28Si+68Zn at near-barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9969507
TI  - 3He( gamma,pd) cross sections with tagged photons below the Delta resonance.

PMID- 9969508
TI  - Microscopic coupled-channel description of pion inelastic scattering from
      rotational nuclei.

PMID- 9969509
TI  - Comparison of fast cascade plus statistical models for heavy ion induced
      multifragmentation reactions.

PMID- 9969510
TI  - 12C+12C elastic scattering potentials obtained by unifying phase-shift analysis
      with the modified Newton-Sabatier inverse method.

PMID- 9969512
TI  - Role of mass renormalization in adiabatic quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9969511
TI  - Role of the number of open channels in the dynamics of the dinucleus binary
      decay.

PMID- 9969513
TI  - Total neutron-nucleus cross sections and color transparency.

PMID- 9969514
TI  - Effect of Coulomb interaction in quasifree scattering and quasifree reactions in
      three body breakup processes.

PMID- 9969515
TI  - Relativistic meson exchange and isobar currents in electron scattering:
      Noninteracting Fermi gas analysis.

PMID- 9969517
TI  - The astrophysical reactions 12C( alpha, gamma )16O and 7Be(p, gamma )8B and
      Coulomb dissociation experiments.

PMID- 9969516
TI  - Role of correlated two-pion exchange in pi N scattering.

PMID- 9969518
TI  - Effects of meson-exchange currents on the (e

PMID- 9969519
TI  - Multinucleon mechanisms in ( gamma,N) and ( gamma,NN) reactions.

PMID- 9969520
TI  - Transverse momentum dependence of dileptons from parton matter produced in
      ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969522
TI  - Pion-nucleon partial-wave analysis with fixed-t dispersion relation constraints.

PMID- 9969521
TI  - Looking for quark droplets in ultrarelativistic collisions.

PMID- 9969523
TI  - Nuclear dependence of the Drell-Yan process in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969524
TI  - Color transparency and Dirac-based spin effects in (e,e'p) reactions.

PMID- 9969525
TI  - Meson exchange model for pi rho scattering.

PMID- 9969526
TI  - Meson exchange effects in parity violating electron-deuteron scattering.

PMID- 9969527
TI  - New T=0 strength in 16O at Ex=24 to 27 MeV.

PMID- 9969528
TI  - 206Pb states homologous to the 1.484 MeV, 11/2(-) state of 205Tl.

PMID- 9969529
TI  - Proton evaporation time scales from longitudinal and transverse two-proton
      correlation functions.

PMID- 9969531
TI  - Differential equations for semiclassical and quantum densities.

PMID- 9969530
TI  - Decays of 116Sb isomers to levels in 116Sn.

PMID- 9969533
TI  - New parametrization of the optical potential.

PMID- 9969532
TI  - Collective effects in the nuclear interactions of charmonium at low energy.

PMID- 9969534
TI  - Ideal quarks and mesons in the relativistic quark model.

PMID- 9969535
TI  - g factors of high spin states in 154Dy.

PMID- 9969537
TI  - Collective modes and response functions of relativistic asymmetric nuclear
      matter.

PMID- 9969536
TI  - Neck formation and sub-barrier fusion of heavy-ion systems: 64Ni+100Mo and
      80Se+80Se.

PMID- 9969538
TI  - A dependence of R= sigma L/ sigma T and the Q2 dependence of nuclear shadowing.

PMID- 9969539
TI  - Ground-state correlation effects in extended random phase approximation
      calculations.

PMID- 9969540
TI  - Complex conjugate pairs in stationary Sturmian eigenstates.

PMID- 9969542
TI  - Nonlinear scalar coupling models and proton-nucleus scattering observables.

PMID- 9969541
TI  - Lambda (1405) and meson-baryon interactions in a quark model.

PMID- 9969543
TI  - Coulomb reacceleration as a clock for nuclear reactions: A two-dimensional model.

PMID- 9969544
TI  - Experimental evidence for axial asymmetry and hexadecapole deformation in 179Os.

PMID- 9969545
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Shadow model for sub-barrier fusion applied to light
      systems' "

PMID- 9969546
TI  - Comment on "Lack of evidence for a superdeformed band in 192Pb"

PMID- 9969547
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Lack of evidence for a superdeformed band in 192Pb' "

PMID- 9969549
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Influence of bulk properties on the surface structure of
      finite nuclei' "

PMID- 9969548
TI  - Comment on "Influence of bulk properties on the surface structure of finite
      nuclei"

PMID- 9969550
TI  - Erratum: Sub-barrier one- and two-neutron pickup measurements in 32S+93Nb,
      98,100Mo reactions at 180 degrees

PMID- 9969551
TI  - Erratum: Criterion for the applicability of standard thermodynamics in heavy ion
      collisions

PMID- 9969552
TI  - Energy dependence of multifragmentation in 84Kr+197Au collisions.

PMID- 9969553
TI  - Excitation function for 4He( pi +,pp)2H two-nucleon absorption across the Delta
      resonance.

PMID- 9969555
TI  - Coulomb effects in deuteron breakup by proton impact.

PMID- 9969554
TI  - Complete decay out of the superdeformed band in 133Nd.

PMID- 9969557
TI  - Possible way out of the (p,n) puzzle.

PMID- 9969556
TI  - Neutron halo effect on direct neutron capture and photodisintegration.

PMID- 9969558
TI  - Intrinsic charge radius of the neutron: Discrepancy between the Garching and
      Dubna results.

PMID- 9969559
TI  - Angular momentum dependence of the parity splitting in nuclei with octupole
      correlations.

PMID- 9969560
TI  - Evidence for the ground-state proton decay of 105Sb.

PMID- 9969561
TI  - Multinucleon transfer reactions in 32S+208Pb close to the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9969562
TI  - Inclusive electron scattering and pion degrees of freedom in light nuclei.

PMID- 9969563
TI  - Preequilibrium spin effects in Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin and exciton models and
      application to high-spin isomer production.

PMID- 9969564
TI  - Momentum distribution of projectile fragments and nuclear shape.

PMID- 9969565
TI  - Resonant P33 S1+(3/2)(q2) electroproduction multipole amplitude and the Delta N
      gamma scalar form factor GC*(q2).

PMID- 9969566
TI  - Analyzing power measurements in pion deuteron absorption at low energies.

PMID- 9969567
TI  - Analytic solution of the harmonic-oscillator Faddeev equations for three
      nonidentical particles.

PMID- 9969568
TI  - Deformed Gaussian orthogonal ensemble analysis of the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9969569
TI  - Coulomb instability of hot nuclei with derivative scalar coupling.

PMID- 9969570
TI  - Few-nucleon forces from chiral Lagrangians.

PMID- 9969571
TI  - Deuteron properties using a truncated one pion exchange potential.

PMID- 9969572
TI  - Construction of high-quality NN potential models.

PMID- 9969573
TI  - Levels of 232U fed in 236Pu alpha decay.

PMID- 9969574
TI  - 3s-proton occupancies in 204Hg and 206Pb.

PMID- 9969575
TI  - Nuclear structure of 109Sb.

PMID- 9969576
TI  - Broken pairs and evolution of collectivity in the A

PMID- 9969577
TI  - Low-multipolarity magnetic transitions in 30Si, 32S, and 34S studied by 180
      degrees electron scattering.

PMID- 9969578
TI  - Self-consistent collective coordinate method in nuclear rotation and wobbling
      motion at high spin.

PMID- 9969579
TI  - Microscopic description of the anisotropy in alpha decay.

PMID- 9969580
TI  - Nuclear densities and the statistics of nucleonic constituents.

PMID- 9969581
TI  - Three-body resonances in 6He, 6Li, and 6Be, and the soft dipole mode problem of
      neutron halo nuclei.

PMID- 9969582
TI  - Parity violation in heavy nuclei in a relativistic Hartree-Fock approximation.

PMID- 9969583
TI  - Energy weighted sum rules for spectral functions in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969584
TI  - Quasiparticle random phase approximation analysis of the double beta decay of
      100Mo to the ground state and excited states of 100Ru.

PMID- 9969585
TI  - Nuclear Schwinger-Dyson formalism applied to finite baryon density. I.
      Formulation.

PMID- 9969586
TI  - Nuclear Schwinger-Dyson formalism applied to finite baryon density. II. Numerical
      calculations and medium effects of meson self-energies.

PMID- 9969587
TI  - Proton total reaction cross sections for 42Ca, 44Ca, and 48Ca between 21 and 48
      MeV.

PMID- 9969588
TI  - Q value for the 34Cl superallowed beta decay.

PMID- 9969589
TI  - Multipole decomposition of the 16O(p,n)16F and 18O(p,n)18F reactions at 494 MeV.

PMID- 9969590
TI  - Polarization observables in pi + 6Li scattering: Analyzing powers iT11 and tau
      22.

PMID- 9969591
TI  - Spin-isospin strength distributions for fp shell nuclei: Results for the
      55Mn(n,p), 56Fe(n,p), and 58Ni(n,p) reactions at 198 MeV.

PMID- 9969592
TI  - Study of in-medium NN inelastic cross section from relativistic Boltzmann-Uehling
      Uhlenbeck approach.

PMID- 9969593
TI  - Intermediate mass fragment yields from fusion and non-fusion processes in nucleus
      nucleus collisions in Fermi energy domain: An integrated dynamical approach.

PMID- 9969594
TI  - Optical model analyses of heavy ion fragmentation in hydrogen targets.
AB  - Quantum-mechanical optical-model methods for calculating cross sections for the
      fragmentation of high-energy heavy ions by hydrogen targets are presented.  The
      cross sections are calculated with a knockout-ablation collision formalism which
      has no arbitrary fitting parameters.  Predictions of elemental production cross
      sections from the fragmentation of 1.2A GeV 139La nuclei and of isotope
      production cross sections from the fragmentation of 400A MeV 32S nuclei are in
      good agreement with recently reported experimental measurements.

PMID- 9969595
TI  - Delta excitations in nuclei and their decay properties.

PMID- 9969596
TI  - Dynamical effects in the growth of density instabilities.

PMID- 9969598
TI  - Cluster structures in 10Be from the 7Li( alpha,p)10Be reaction.

PMID- 9969597
TI  - Extraction of critical exponents from very small percolation lattices.

PMID- 9969599
TI  - Interactions in hydrogen of relativistic neon to nickel projectiles: Total charge
      changing cross sections.

PMID- 9969601
TI  - Intermittency and correlations in 16O+Ag/Br interactions at 2.1 GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969600
TI  - Composite particle production in relativistic Au+Pt, Si+Pt, and p+Pt collisions.

PMID- 9969602
TI  - Revised formula of pion interferometry.

PMID- 9969603
TI  - Thermostatic properties and Coulomb instability of highly excited nuclei.

PMID- 9969604
TI  - Probing the space-time structure of quark and gluon transport in proton-nucleus
      collisions at collider energies.

PMID- 9969605
TI  - Poincare covariant particle dynamics. I. Intranuclear cascade model.

PMID- 9969606
TI  - Poincare covariant particle dynamics. II. Fragmentation for ultrarelativistic
      reactions.

PMID- 9969607
TI  - Color transparency in the deuteron.

PMID- 9969608
TI  - Effective 1/Nc expansion in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9969609
TI  - Search for a 17 keV neutrino in the internal bremsstrahlung spectrum of 125I.

PMID- 9969610
TI  - Is there large weak mixing in heavy nuclei?

PMID- 9969611
TI  - Differential cross sections of projectilelike fragments from 18O and 40Ar at
      E/A=80 MeV.

PMID- 9969612
TI  - New approach to spin assignments of intermediate structures in 12C(16O,12C

PMID- 9969613
TI  - High spin states of 84Sr.

PMID- 9969614
TI  - Alpha radioactivity above 100Sn including the decay of 108I.

PMID- 9969615
TI  - Anomalous populations of particle-unbound states in 10B.

PMID- 9969616
TI  - Collective flow by the azimuthal correlation of projectile fragments in
      relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969617
TI  - Properties of intruder bands in the Os-Pt-Hg-Pb region.

PMID- 9969618
TI  - Charge distribution of projectile fragments in high-energy heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969619
TI  - Approximation for the algebraic S matrix with an angular momentum dependent
      potential parameter.

PMID- 9969620
TI  - Investigating the multiparticle decay in intermediate energy heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969621
TI  - Determination of the isotensor symmetry energy for the giant dipole resonance.

PMID- 9969622
TI  - Nuclear shell-model calculations for 6Li and 14N with different NN potentials.

PMID- 9969623
TI  - Klein-Gordon versus relativistic Schrodinger equations in pion-nucleus
      scattering.

PMID- 9969624
TI  - Comment on "Evidence for a nuclear halo from 11Li elastic scattering measured at
      637 MeV incident energy on a 12C target"

PMID- 9969625
TI  - Comment on "Orbitial M1 versus E2 strength in deformed nuclei: A new energy
      weighted sum rule"

PMID- 9969626
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Orbital M1 versus E2 strength in deformed nuclei: A new
      energy weighted sum rule' "

PMID- 9969627
TI  - Comment on " alpha -decay properties of neutron-deficient polonium and radon
      nuclei"

PMID- 9969628
TI  - Reply to "Comment on ' alpha -decay properties of neutron-deficient polonium and
      radon nuclei' "

PMID- 9969629
TI  - Erratum: Evidence for the statistical and sequential nature of 16O breakup into
      four alphas

PMID- 9969630
TI  - Experimental study of the reaction pp-->pp pi 0 in the energy range 600-900 MeV.

PMID- 9969632
TI  - Critical enhancement of the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9969631
TI  - Finite 3 pi cut approximation for the pi NN-bar form factor.

PMID- 9969634
TI  - Antiproton-proton partial-wave analysis below 925 MeV/c.

PMID- 9969633
TI  - Exact solution of the four-body Faddeev-Yakubovsky equations for the harmonic
      oscillator.

PMID- 9969635
TI  - 2H( gamma,p)n cross section between 20 and 440 MeV.

PMID- 9969636
TI  - Recoil distance lifetime measurements of states in the oblate dipole bands of
      197,198Pb.

PMID- 9969637
TI  - Structure of the four quasiparticle band in 84Sr.

PMID- 9969638
TI  - Decay of 0(+) analogue state of 120Sb.

PMID- 9969639
TI  - Neutron i13/2 intruder band in 139Sm.

PMID- 9969640
TI  - Transition probabilities between high spin states in 88Mo and 90Mo.

PMID- 9969642
TI  - Nonlinear resonance in the time-dependent Hartree-Fock manifold.

PMID- 9969641
TI  - Deformation properties of the scissors mode in the generalized coherent state
      model.

PMID- 9969643
TI  - "Hidden" world of virtually excited clusters in atomic nuclei and its possible
      observation in quasielastic knockout of clusters by 1 GeV protons.

PMID- 9969644
TI  - Effect of nucleon correlations on natural orbitals.

PMID- 9969645
TI  - Effects of Coulomb distortion and final state interaction on the fourth and fifth
      structure functions.

PMID- 9969647
TI  - Relativistic mean-field theory and a density-dependent spin-orbit Skyrme force.

PMID- 9969646
TI  - Boson analyses in the Ge isotopes.

PMID- 9969648
TI  - Microscopic multicluster description of the neutron-rich helium isotopes.

PMID- 9969650
TI  - Delta excitations in compressed finite nuclei.

PMID- 9969649
TI  - Consequences of neutron-proton interactions on backbending.

PMID- 9969651
TI  - Description of light nuclei with realistic interactions.

PMID- 9969652
TI  - Full pf shell model study of A=48 nuclei.

PMID- 9969653
TI  - Sensitivity of polarized neutron-polarized 3He scattering to the excited level
      structure of 4He.

PMID- 9969654
TI  - Calculation of the properties of the rotational bands of 155,157Gd.

PMID- 9969655
TI  - Angular patterns from fragments produced in central heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969656
TI  - Shell-model study of 40Ca with the 56-MeV (d

PMID- 9969657
TI  - Measurements and analysis of neutron elastic scattering at 65 MeV.

PMID- 9969658
TI  - Thermalization related effects in the electrofission of preactinide nuclei.

PMID- 9969659
TI  - Identification of 4(-) states in the 14C(p,n)14N reaction at 135 MeV.

PMID- 9969660
TI  - Alpha particle transfer reaction 12C(11B,7Li)16O and lack of evidence for a
      tetrahedral shape of the 16O nucleus.

PMID- 9969661
TI  - Energy dependence of 58Ni( pi +, pi -)58Zn double charge exchange.

PMID- 9969662
TI  - Residue excitation functions from complete fusion of 16O with 197Au and 208Pb.

PMID- 9969663
TI  - Examination of a "properly deformed folding potential" for the analysis of
      nuclear inelastic scattering and comparison with true folded potentials.

PMID- 9969665
TI  - Fluctuations and the canonical model for fragmentation.

PMID- 9969664
TI  - Cluster-model calculation of quadrupole effects in pion scattering from 7Li.

PMID- 9969666
TI  - Cascade simulation of a Delta isobar propagating in a nucleus.

PMID- 9969667
TI  - Extrapolating (e,e'p) to (e,e').

PMID- 9969668
TI  - Potentials by inversion of 3He+ alpha phase shifts and bound state energies in
      7Be.

PMID- 9969669
TI  - (p,n) and (3He,t) reactions in coincidence with p pi + in 12C.

PMID- 9969670
TI  - Optical potential models used in quasielastic 40Ca(e,e'p) calculations.

PMID- 9969671
TI  - Scaling behavior in first-order quark-hadron phase transition.

PMID- 9969672
TI  - Analysis of subthreshold antiproton production in p-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus
      collisions in the relativistic Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck approach.

PMID- 9969674
TI  - Chiral perturbation theory and the SU(2) Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model: A comparison.

PMID- 9969673
TI  - Gluon production, cooling, and entropy in nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9969675
TI  - Consistent baryon mapping of quark systems.

PMID- 9969677
TI  - Off-shell electromagnetic form factors of pions and kaons in chiral perturbation
      theory.

PMID- 9969676
TI  - Scalar-pseudoscalar meson masses in nonlocal effective QCD at finite temperature.

PMID- 9969678
TI  - Equation of state of homogeneous nuclear matter and the symmetry coefficient.

PMID- 9969679
TI  - Deciphering the CENTAURO puzzle.

PMID- 9969680
TI  - A K pi =8(-) isomer in 136Sm.

PMID- 9969682
TI  - Characteristics of the 50V(nth,p)50Ti reaction.

PMID- 9969681
TI  - Rotational structures in 106Sn: A new form of band termination?

PMID- 9969683
TI  - Evidence for a spherical subshell at N=164.

PMID- 9969684
TI  - K dependence in the gamma decay of neutron resonances in 166Ho.

PMID- 9969685
TI  - Quantum algebraic description of vibrational and transitional nuclear spectra.

PMID- 9969687
TI  - Nature of the photon correlation function for quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9969686
TI  - Width of the Delta resonance in nuclei.

PMID- 9969688
TI  - Temperature induced alignment in hot rotating nuclei.

PMID- 9969689
TI  - Can the Sigma -nn system be bound?

PMID- 9969690
TI  - Gamow-Teller (p,n) and (n,p) strength in a dressed extended random phase
      approximation.

PMID- 9969691
TI  - Comment on "Decays and masses of 162,163Ta and some neighboring nuclides"

PMID- 9969692
TI  - Erratum: Memory effects in relativistic heavy ion collisions

PMID- 9969694
TI  - Alleged contra-rotation of neutrons and protons.

PMID- 9969693
TI  - Simplified alpha +4n model for the 8He nucleus.

PMID- 9969695
TI  - Bose condensation of nuclei in heavy ion collisions.
AB  - Using a fully self-consistent quantum statistical model, we demonstrate the
      possibility of Bose condensation of nuclei in heavy ion collisions.  The most
      favorable conditions of high densities and low temperatures are usually
      associated with astrophysical processes and may be difficult to achieve in heavy
      ion collisions.  Nonetheless, some suggestions for the possible experimental
      verification of the existence of this phenomenon are made.

PMID- 9969697
TI  - Does the presence of 11Li breakup channels reduce the cross section for fusion
      processes?

PMID- 9969696
TI  - Reaction cross sections for intermediate energy alpha particles from optical
      folding-model calculations.

PMID- 9969698
TI  - Energy dependence of analyzing power Ay and cross section for p+d scattering
      below 18 MeV.

PMID- 9969699
TI  - Analyzing power in neutron-deuteron elastic scattering at Elabn=3 MeV.

PMID- 9969700
TI  - Cross section and analyzing power Ay in the breakup reaction 2H(p

PMID- 9969702
TI  - Deterministic technique of path summation.

PMID- 9969701
TI  - The nucleon-nucleon potential in the chromodielectric soliton model: Statics.

PMID- 9969703
TI  - Two-body correlations from (e,e'd) reactions: 4He(e,e'd)2H as a test case.

PMID- 9969704
TI  - Coherent state formulation of pion radiation from nucleon-antinucleon
      annihilation.

PMID- 9969705
TI  - Reaction pp-->n Delta ++: Observables and model predictions.

PMID- 9969707
TI  - Neutron-spectroscopic strength in Ru isotopes.

PMID- 9969706
TI  - Nuclear moments of 143Pr by laser spectroscopy.

PMID- 9969708
TI  - Lifetimes in 15N from gamma-ray line shapes produced in the 2H(14N,p gamma ) and
      14N(thermal n, gamma ) reactions.

PMID- 9969709
TI  - Deformed intruder band in 112Te: First evidence for rotational behavior in the
      tellurium isotopes.

PMID- 9969710
TI  - Deformed rotational bands in the doubly odd nuclei 134Pr and 132Pr.

PMID- 9969711
TI  - Negative-parity structures and lifetime measurements in 71As.

PMID- 9969712
TI  - beta + decay and cosmic-ray half-lives of 143Pm and 144Pm.

PMID- 9969713
TI  - Directional correlation of gamma transitions in 72Ge following the decay of 72Ga.

PMID- 9969715
TI  - Blocking effect and odd-even differences in the moments of inertia of rare-earth
      nuclei.

PMID- 9969714
TI  - Multiple band structures at high angular momentum in 115I: Towards unfavored band
      termination.

PMID- 9969716
TI  - General form of hybrid derivative coupling to study dense nuclear matter and its
      phase transition to quark matter.

PMID- 9969717
TI  - Liquid-gas phase diagrams and Gibbs free energy per nucleon.

PMID- 9969718
TI  - New calculations of the parity nonconservation matrix element for the J pi T
      0(+)1, 0(-)1 doublet in 14N.

PMID- 9969719
TI  - Boson mappings of the fermion dynamical symmetry model.

PMID- 9969720
TI  - Microscopic description of the alpha +16O system in a multicluster model.

PMID- 9969721
TI  - Octupole excitations in light xenon and barium nuclei.

PMID- 9969722
TI  - Dependence of nuclear shape transformations on the nuclear volume.

PMID- 9969723
TI  - Spin-dependent generalized collective model in relation to the j=3/2 interacting
      boson fermion model.

PMID- 9969724
TI  - Normal and exotic collective states in the fermion dynamical symmetry model.

PMID- 9969725
TI  - Model for asymptotic D-state parameters of light nuclei: Application to 4He.

PMID- 9969726
TI  - Relativistic Hartree calculations of nuclear compressional properties.

PMID- 9969728
TI  - Excitation of giant resonances in the 40Ca(e,e'n)39Ca reaction.

PMID- 9969727
TI  - Realistic microscopic level densities for spherical nuclei.

PMID- 9969730
TI  - Reaction cross sections for 75-190 MeV alpha particles on targets from 12C to
      208Pb.

PMID- 9969729
TI  - Two-proton correlation functions for 36Ar+45Sc at E/A=80 MeV.

PMID- 9969731
TI  - Complete and incomplete fusion in the 28Si+12C, 13C reactions around 5
      MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969732
TI  - Angular correlations of projectilelike and fission fragments in the reaction
      16O+238U at 110 MeV.

PMID- 9969733
TI  - Pion elastic scattering from polarized 13C in the energy region of the P33
      resonance.

PMID- 9969734
TI  - Neutron deformation in 165Ho.

PMID- 9969735
TI  - Elastic and inelastic scattering of polarized 6Li by 26Mg at 60 MeV.

PMID- 9969736
TI  - Elastic and inelastic scattering of 16O and 18O ions from 64Zn at energies near
      the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9969737
TI  - Inclusive systematics for 28Si+28Si reactions between 20 and 35 MeV per nucleon.

PMID- 9969739
TI  - Effective nucleon-nucleon cross sections based on Skyrme interactions.

PMID- 9969738
TI  - Two-fragment correlation functions with directional cuts for central 36Ar+197Au
      collisions at E/A=50 MeV.

PMID- 9969740
TI  - Does exchange produce L dependence in the optical model potential?

PMID- 9969741
TI  - Phenomenological model for inelastic scattering of 800 MeV/c pions from nuclei.

PMID- 9969742
TI  - Projectile fragmentation of halo nuclei in peripheral direct reaction model.

PMID- 9969743
TI  - Fluctuation dynamics of fragmenting spherical nuclei.

PMID- 9969744
TI  - Multiple preequilibrium emission in Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin analyses.

PMID- 9969745
TI  - Excitation functions and asymmetric fission barriers for intermediate mass
      fragments: 486-730 MeV 86Kr+63Cu.

PMID- 9969746
TI  - J/ psi suppression in hadron-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969747
TI  - Charged hadron distributions in central and peripheral Si+A collisions at 14.6A
      GeV/c.

PMID- 9969748
TI  - Intermittency and correlations in 200 GeV/nucleon S+S and S+Au collisions.

PMID- 9969749
TI  - Charge-pickup by heavy relativistic nuclei.

PMID- 9969751
TI  - Intermediate mass fragment emission by 197Au projectiles at relativistic energy
      in nuclear emulsion.

PMID- 9969750
TI  - Production of light nuclei in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969752
TI  - Alpha-cluster description of excitation energies in 12C(12C,3 alpha)X at 2.1A
      GeV.
AB  - An alpha-cluster expansion of the Glauber multiple scattering [correction of
      scatteirng] series is used to calculate the energy transfer spectrum to the 12C
      projectile in the 12C(12C,3 alpha)X reaction at 2.1A GeV.  Cluster-abrasion
      response functions are defined in terms of alpha-cluster wave function and the
      collision dynamics appropriate for heavy-ion reactions.  Comparisons are made to
      recent quasiexclusive experimental data with good agreement found.  Calculations
      indicate that substructures in a 12C projectile are likely to be true spectators
      in fragmentation, however, with virtual states of excitation in the projectile
      ground state making a significant contribution to the fragmentation cross
      section.

PMID- 9969753
TI  - Temperature of protons in inelastic (d, alpha, C)+(C, Ta) collisions at 4.2A
      GeV/c.

PMID- 9969754
TI  - Mott scattering as a probe of long range QCD effects.

PMID- 9969755
TI  - Coalescence model for deuterons and antideuterons in relativistic heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969756
TI  - Relation of QCD sum rules in matter and the nuclear many-body problem.

PMID- 9969757
TI  - Dynamical color correlations in a SU(2)c quark exchange model of nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969758
TI  - Shadowing, binding, and off-shell effects in nuclear deep-inelastic scattering.

PMID- 9969759
TI  - Results of a search for double positron decay and electron-positron conversion of
      78Kr.

PMID- 9969760
TI  - Parity-violating asymmetry in elastic e

PMID- 9969761
TI  - Beta decay properties of 67,68Se and the astrophysical rp-process path.

PMID- 9969762
TI  - Reaction rate for 31S(p, gamma )32Cl and its influence on the SiP cycle in hot
      stellar hydrogen burning.

PMID- 9969763
TI  - Constraints on the low-energy E1 cross section of 12C( alpha, gamma )16O from the
      beta -delayed alpha spectrum of 16N.

PMID- 9969765
TI  - Lifetimes of the excited states of 90,92Mo.

PMID- 9969764
TI  - Double analog state in odd-A nuclei.

PMID- 9969766
TI  - Superdeformation in the Pb nuclei and the evolution of the dynamic moments of
      inertia.

PMID- 9969767
TI  - 4He induced 6Li--> alpha +d target breakup in the region of small relative
      fragment energies.

PMID- 9969768
TI  - Elastic scattering threshold anomaly and near-barrier heavy-ion fusion.

PMID- 9969769
TI  - van der Waals forces in nonrelativistic quark models of the NN interaction.

PMID- 9969771
TI  - Single particle energies in 17O with the Bonn potential.

PMID- 9969770
TI  - pi 0 electromagnetic self-energy and its implications for incorporating
      electromagnetism in few-body systems.

PMID- 9969773
TI  - Nuclear shadowing in a parton recombination model: Q2 variation.

PMID- 9969772
TI  - Comparison of the relativistic Hartree-Fock approximation and its semiclassical
      expansion.

PMID- 9969774
TI  - Comment on "Masses of stable xenon isotopes: Check for internal consistency via
      ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry"

PMID- 9969776
TI  - Erratum: From nuclear matter to finite nuclei. II. Relativistic theories for
      finite nuclei

PMID- 9969775
TI  - Differences between the deformed-potential and folding-model descriptions of
      inelastic nuclear scattering.

PMID- 9969777
TI  - Fragment mass dependence of pT at GeV per nucleon energies.

PMID- 9969779
TI  - Evidence for octupole correlations at high spins in neutron-deficient 110Te.

PMID- 9969778
TI  - Pseudospin flip in doubly decoupled structures and identical bands.

PMID- 9969780
TI  - Total d+d--> alpha + eta cross sections near threshold.

PMID- 9969781
TI  - Multiple hadron production by 14.5 GeV electron and positron scattering from
      nuclear targets.

PMID- 9969782
TI  - Measurement of the neutron magnetic form factor from inclusive quasielastic
      scattering of polarized electrons from polarized 3He.

PMID- 9969784
TI  - Configuration of the two-neutron halo of 11Li and Gamow-Teller transition.

PMID- 9969783
TI  - Three-body model for 11Li with separable potentials.

PMID- 9969785
TI  - Hadron widths in mixed-phase matter.

PMID- 9969786
TI  - Heat capacity of a Fermi system and multifragmentation of nuclei.

PMID- 9969788
TI  - Hermitian boson mapping and finite truncation.

PMID- 9969787
TI  - Transfer and fusion reactions of unstable nuclei.

PMID- 9969789
TI  - Off-shell effects for the reaction pp--> pi d at high energies.

PMID- 9969790
TI  - Local 4He-p potentials from resonating-group method phase shifts.

PMID- 9969792
TI  - Test of predicted gamma stability at spins above 8

PMID- 9969791
TI  - Measurement of the half-life of the first excited state of 205Pb.

PMID- 9969793
TI  - Gaps in the yrast level structure of the N=50 isotones 93Tc, 94Ru, and 95Rh at
      high angular momentum.

PMID- 9969795
TI  - (sd)2 states in 12Be.

PMID- 9969794
TI  - Spectroscopy of 95Ru at high spins.

PMID- 9969796
TI  - High-K bands in the 166Yb region.

PMID- 9969797
TI  - Short lifetimes in 28Al.

PMID- 9969798
TI  - Semimicroscopic description of the odd-A Te isotopes.

PMID- 9969799
TI  - Microscopic investigation of nuclear structure with dynamic Bose-Fermi symmetry.

PMID- 9969800
TI  - Reduction of nuclear moment of inertia due to pairing interaction.

PMID- 9969801
TI  - Structure of neutron-deficient Pt, Hg, and Pb isotopes.

PMID- 9969802
TI  - Microscopic energy correction to the ground states of some rare-earth nuclei.

PMID- 9969803
TI  - Nuclear matter with scalar-vector interactions.

PMID- 9969804
TI  - Effect of pion external distortion on low-energy pion double charge exchange.

PMID- 9969806
TI  - Generator coordinate calculations for breathing-mode giant monopole resonance in
      the relativistic mean-field theory.

PMID- 9969805
TI  - Relativistic investigation of nuclear surface properties.

PMID- 9969807
TI  - Theory of parity violation in compound nuclear states: One particle aspects.

PMID- 9969808
TI  - sp(6)

PMID- 9969809
TI  - 6Li inelastic form factors in a cluster model.

PMID- 9969810
TI  - Escape and spreading properties of charge-exchange resonances in 208Bi.

PMID- 9969811
TI  - Final state interactions and relativistic effects in y scaling.

PMID- 9969812
TI  - Mean field description of the ground state of many boson systems relevant to
      nuclei.

PMID- 9969813
TI  - Isovector giant quadrupole resonance observed in 89Y(p

PMID- 9969814
TI  - Structural connection of highly deformed shape isomeric states in 28Si, 24Mg, and
      20Ne by alpha-alpha coincidence studies in 12C(16O, alpha )24Mg*--> alpha +20Ne*

PMID- 9969815
TI  - Direct capture in the 3(+) resonance of 2H( alpha, gamma )6Li.

PMID- 9969816
TI  - Transfer reactions in 32S+92,98,100Mo and 93Nb at near barrier energies.

PMID- 9969818
TI  - Phenomenological pp-->d pi + model of A(p

PMID- 9969817
TI  - Exclusive pion production from few nucleon systems in the region of the Delta
      1232 resonance.

PMID- 9969819
TI  - Scalar and vector meson production in (K-,K+) reactions on nuclei.

PMID- 9969821
TI  - Preequilibrium alpha emission in the exciton model.

PMID- 9969820
TI  - "Super-radiant" states in intermediate energy nuclear physics.

PMID- 9969823
TI  - Nuclear transparency in (e,e'p) reactions.

PMID- 9969822
TI  - Momentum-dependent nuclear mean fields and collective flow in heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969824
TI  - Dynamical behavior and energy dissipation of a classical particle in harmonic
      plus-Legendre potential.

PMID- 9969825
TI  - Longitudinal and transverse spin response of C12 in the Delta resonance region.

PMID- 9969826
TI  - Schrodinger optical-potential calculation of 500 MeV polarized proton scattering
      from polarized 13C.

PMID- 9969828
TI  - Hydrodynamical assessment of 200A GeV collisions.

PMID- 9969827
TI  - Residue temperatures in intermediate energy nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969830
TI  - Photons from axial-vector radiative decay in a hadron gas.

PMID- 9969829
TI  - Strangeness flow difference in nuclear collisions at 15A and 200A GeV.

PMID- 9969832
TI  - Capture of solar and higher-energy neutrinos by 127I.

PMID- 9969831
TI  - Resonant scattering of isobaric 19Ne and 19F beams on an H target.

PMID- 9969833
TI  - Neutron multiplicities and energy sharing in the inelastic collisions of 32S on
      64Ni at E/A=4.9 MeV.

PMID- 9969834
TI  - Very weak gamma transitions in the epsilon / beta + decay of 68Ga.

PMID- 9969835
TI  - Signature of non-compound-nucleus fission at sub-barrier energies.

PMID- 9969837
TI  - Population of T< states in pion double charge exchange at T pi =292 MeV.

PMID- 9969836
TI  - Perturbative description of the temperature dependence of the resonance width.

PMID- 9969839
TI  - Subthreshold response function in the Delta -resonance region.

PMID- 9969838
TI  - Antiproton production in Ni+Ni collisions at 1.85 GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969841
TI  - Spectral asymmetries in nucleon sum rules at finite density.

PMID- 9969840
TI  - Strength of the rho meson coupling to nucleons.

PMID- 9969842
TI  - Alpha particle emission as a probe of the level density in highly excited A~200
      nuclei.

PMID- 9969844
TI  - Lifetimes of levels in 20F.

PMID- 9969843
TI  - Excitations in doubly-magic superdeformed 194Pb.

PMID- 9969845
TI  - Simulations of collisions between nuclei at intermediate energy using the
      Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation with neutron skin producing potentials.

PMID- 9969846
TI  - Coulomb breakup mechanism of neutron drip-line nuclei.

PMID- 9969847
TI  - New interpretation of the lowest K=0 collective excitation of deformed nuclei as
      a phonon excitation of the gamma band.

PMID- 9969848
TI  - Exclusive pion radiative capture from nuclei in the Delta region.

PMID- 9969849
TI  - Neutron star properties and the relativistic equation of state of asymmetric
      nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969850
TI  - Shell model on a random Gaussian basis.

PMID- 9969851
TI  - Theoretical interpretation of the NE18 experiment on nuclear transparency in
      A(e,e'p) scattering.

PMID- 9969852
TI  - Multinucleon effects in muon capture on 3He at high energy transfer.

PMID- 9969853
TI  - Classical and quantum coherent state description of NN-bar annihilation at rest
      in the Skyrme model with omega mesons.

PMID- 9969854
TI  - Analysis of pi d elastic scattering data to 500 MeV.

PMID- 9969856
TI  - Role of the g9/2 neutron orbital in the structure of 65Zn.

PMID- 9969855
TI  - Observation of beta-delayed proton emission from 24Al.

PMID- 9969858
TI  - Level scheme of 114Sb from the (p,n gamma ) reaction.

PMID- 9969857
TI  - Rotational bands near the Z=50 closed shell: 51111Sb.

PMID- 9969859
TI  - High-lying three-quasiparticle bands and signature splitting in 81Rb.

PMID- 9969860
TI  - Functional approach to the electromagnetic response function: The longitudinal
      channel.

PMID- 9969861
TI  - Particle-rotor model analysis of low-spin identical bands in neighboring odd-A
      and even-even nuclei.

PMID- 9969863
TI  - Dependence of the Landau parameters on the single particle potential.

PMID- 9969862
TI  - q deformations in the interacting boson model for nuclei.

PMID- 9969864
TI  - Excited bands of 168Yb in an angular momentum projected theory.

PMID- 9969866
TI  - Determination of nuclear level densities from experimental information.

PMID- 9969865
TI  - Signature splitting in nuclear rotational bands: Neutron i13/2 systematics.

PMID- 9969867
TI  - Can we do without the Majorana term in the effective nuclear interaction?

PMID- 9969868
TI  - Shape and superdeformed structure in Hg isotopes in relativistic mean field
      model.

PMID- 9969869
TI  - Comparison between two variational approaches for non-Hermitian boson
      Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9969870
TI  - Generator coordinate method calculations for 4He and 16O nuclei.

PMID- 9969871
TI  - Explosive multifragmentation in the 32S+27Al reaction at 37.5 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969872
TI  - 207,208Pb(n,xn gamma ) reactions for neutron energies from 3 to 200 MeV.

PMID- 9969873
TI  - Experimental observation of long delay times in the reaction induced by oxygen
      ions on nickel crystals.

PMID- 9969874
TI  - Deexcitation of primary projectile-like fragments in the reaction 40Ca+natCu at
      35 MeV/nucleon: Comparison with sequential binary decay and percolation models.

PMID- 9969875
TI  - Energy dependence of the 12C(p,p')12C* reaction from 200 to 800 MeV.

PMID- 9969877
TI  - Elastic scattering cross sections of 11.4 MeV photons from 206,207,208Pb, 209Bi,
      and 181Ta.

PMID- 9969876
TI  - "Preresidue" light charged particles from 28Si+165Ho, 16O+197Au, and 16O+208Pb
      fusion.

PMID- 9969878
TI  - Cluster-folding analysis of 6Li

PMID- 9969879
TI  - Violent collisions and multifragment final states in the 40Ca+40Ca reaction at 35
      MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9969880
TI  - Breakup-fusion analyses of the 240 MeV 40Ca(3He,d) and 40Ca(3He,dp) reactions.

PMID- 9969881
TI  - Projectile mass dependence for the interaction of copper with 14N, 16O, and 22Ne
      at ~540 MeV total projectile kinetic energy.

PMID- 9969882
TI  - Complete expansion calculation of the Glauber amplitude for alpha -12C scattering
      at high energy.

PMID- 9969883
TI  - Light nuclei production in fusion of heavy ions.

PMID- 9969884
TI  - Coupled channels analysis of 19F+12C elastic and inelastic scattering using a
      cluster-folding interaction.

PMID- 9969885
TI  - Fully isotopic model of fragmentation.

PMID- 9969887
TI  - One-nucleon transfer between heavy ions at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9969886
TI  - Observable consequences of chemical equilibration in energetic heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969888
TI  - Coulomb dissociation of 8B into 7Be+p: Effects of multiphoton exchange.

PMID- 9969889
TI  - Mechanism of 20Ne(t,p) and nuclear structure of 22Ne.

PMID- 9969890
TI  - Energy storage in intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969891
TI  - Nonlocal effects in the nucleus-nucleus fusion cross section.

PMID- 9969892
TI  - Near-threshold K+ production in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969893
TI  - Estimates of antiproton production and annihilation in relativistic nucleus
      nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9969894
TI  - Collective global dynamics in Au+Au collisions at the BNL AGS.

PMID- 9969895
TI  - High pt pions as probes of the dense phase of relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9969897
TI  - Pitfalls in looking for color transparency at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9969896
TI  - Many-body currents and the strange-quark content of 4He.

PMID- 9969898
TI  - Depopulation of 180Tam by Coulomb excitation and possible astrophysical
      consequences.

PMID- 9969899
TI  - 3H( alpha, gamma )7Li reaction at low energies.

PMID- 9969900
TI  - Identification of new nuclei near the proton drip line.

PMID- 9969902
TI  - Statistical model of three nucleon pion absorption.

PMID- 9969901
TI  - Width of the 3841-keV level in 17O.

PMID- 9969904
TI  - Electrical chemical potential and pi -- pi + asymmetry in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9969903
TI  - Convergence of triton asymptotic wave function for hyperspherical harmonics
      expansion with two nucleon Reid soft core potential.

PMID- 9969905
TI  - Constraint on time-reversal tests in fully chaotic nuclear systems.

PMID- 9969907
TI  - Low-energy 12C( alpha, gamma )16O cross section from K-matrix fits.

PMID- 9969906
TI  - Multichannel dynamical symmetry and heavy ion resonances.

PMID- 9969908
TI  - Can one simultaneously describe the deuteron properties and the nucleon-nucleon
      phase shifts in the quark cluster model?

PMID- 9969909
TI  - Electric form factor of the neutron from the 2H(e

PMID- 9969910
TI  - Low-lying structure of the neutron-deficient isotope 202Rn.

PMID- 9969911
TI  - Weak coupling in 143Nd.

PMID- 9969912
TI  - Quasielastic 40Ca(e,e') reaction in the transverse channel: Nuclear structure
      effects.

PMID- 9969913
TI  - Multiphonon structure of gamma -unstable or O(6) nuclei.

PMID- 9969914
TI  - Short range interaction of nucleons inside the nucleus via 4He(e,e'p)R reactions.

PMID- 9969915
TI  - Electron-capture delayed fission properties of 228Np.

PMID- 9969916
TI  - High-spin collective structures in doubly-odd 114Sb.

PMID- 9969917
TI  - Quadrupole-quadrupole plus pairing interaction application to transition charge
      density calculations in some even-even palladium nuclei.

PMID- 9969918
TI  - Two nucleon induced Lambda decay and the neutron to proton induced ratio.

PMID- 9969919
TI  - q-deformed pairing vibrations.

PMID- 9969920
TI  - Evidence for gamma vibrations and shape evolutions through the transitional
      184,186,188,190Hg nuclei.

PMID- 9969921
TI  - Nolen-Schiffer anomaly of mirror nuclei and charge symmetry breaking in nuclear
      interactions.

PMID- 9969922
TI  - Varied signature splitting phenomena in odd proton nuclei.

PMID- 9969923
TI  - Nuclear magnetic quadrupole moments in the single-particle approximation.

PMID- 9969925
TI  - Three-body halos. II. From two- to three-body asymptotics.

PMID- 9969924
TI  - Towards a satisfactory microscopic description of 21+ g factors.

PMID- 9969926
TI  - In-medium scaling law and electron scattering from high-spin states in 208Pb.

PMID- 9969927
TI  - Parity mixed doublets in A=36 nuclei.

PMID- 9969929
TI  - Excitation functions of proton and deuteron induced reactions on iron and alpha
      particle induced reactions on manganese in the energy region up to 25 MeV.

PMID- 9969928
TI  - Production cross sections and the particle stability of proton-rich nuclei from
      58Ni fragmentation.

PMID- 9969930
TI  - Isotropic fragmentation distribution of 129Xe on 90Zr and 197Au targets at
      intermediate energy.

PMID- 9969931
TI  - Time scale for multifragmentation in intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9969932
TI  - (p,n) quasifree excitations in p-shell nuclei at 186 MeV.

PMID- 9969933
TI  - Quasifree knockout in 9Be( alpha,2 alpha )5He at an incident energy of 197 MeV.

PMID- 9969935
TI  - Atomic energy loss corrections for (p,n) and (p, gamma ) nuclear reaction
      energies.

PMID- 9969934
TI  - Role of the supersymmetric semiclassical approach in barrier penetration and
      heavy-ion fusion.

PMID- 9969936
TI  - Approach for calculating multistep direct reactions of continuum and discrete
      levels.

PMID- 9969937
TI  - Deuteron effects in nucleon-nucleus scattering at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9969939
TI  - Anisotropic alpha decay from oriented odd-mass isotopes of some light actinides.

PMID- 9969938
TI  - Continuum angular distributions in preequilibrium nuclear reactions: Physical
      basis for Kalbach systematics.

PMID- 9969940
TI  - Multifractal analysis of 197Au-emulsion collisions at 10.6A GeV.

PMID- 9969942
TI  - Multiple scattering effects on boson interferometry in high energy heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9969941
TI  - Cluster growth in two-dimensional quark-hadron phase transition.

PMID- 9969943
TI  - Heavy-resonance production in high-energy nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9969944
TI  - Relativistic treatment of spin-transfer observables in quasielastic (p

PMID- 9969945
TI  - Structure function of off-mass-shell pions and the calculation of the Sullivan
      process.

PMID- 9969946
TI  - Relativistic meson spectroscopy in momentum space.

PMID- 9969947
TI  - Muon capture, continuum random phase approximation, and in-medium renormalization
      of the axial-vector coupling constant.

PMID- 9969949
TI  - Lifetimes of low-spin states in the superdeformed band of 192Hg.

PMID- 9969948
TI  - Stellar neutron capture cross sections of the Ba isotopes.

PMID- 9969950
TI  - Successful description of elastic scattering of 3He particles at 150 MeV/nucleon
      with the single folding potential model.

PMID- 9969951
TI  - Onset of collectivity in the ground-state band of 50Cr.

PMID- 9969953
TI  - Thermal equilibrium of the nuclear system in the 40Ca(35 MeV/nucleon)+40Ca
      reaction.

PMID- 9969952
TI  - Measurement of the Q beta value for the beta decay of mass separated 84As-->84Se.

PMID- 9969955
TI  - Optical model analysis of 12Be and 14Be quasielastic scattering on a 12C target
      at 56 MeV per nucleon.

PMID- 9969954
TI  - Origin of empirical threshold for dissipative fission.

PMID- 9969956
TI  - Relativistic impulse approximation treatment of the elastic scattering of 400 MeV
      pi +/- on 28Si.

PMID- 9969958
TI  - Alpha-cluster states of 212Po in a realistic potential model.

PMID- 9969957
TI  - Spin structure of the deuteron from the d

PMID- 9969959
TI  - Microscopic analysis of the 3He(3He,2p)4He and 3H(3H,2n)4He reactions in a three
      cluster model.

PMID- 9969960
TI  - Observables for polarized neutrons transmitted through polarized targets.

PMID- 9969961
TI  - Erratum: Color transparency and Dirac-based spin effects in (e,e'p) reactions

PMID- 9969962
TI  - Proton configurations and pairing correlations at the N=80 superdeformed shell
      closure: Study of 145Tb.

PMID- 9969963
TI  - Measurements of the (e,e'p pi -) reaction on nuclei in the nucleon resonance
      region.

PMID- 9969964
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength in the region of 100Sn.

PMID- 9969965
TI  - Truncation method for shell model calculations.

PMID- 9969967
TI  - Determination of the asymptotic D- to S-state ratio of the triton from sub
      Coulomb (d

PMID- 9969966
TI  - 1H(d,2p)n reaction at 2 GeV deuteron energy.

PMID- 9969968
TI  - Two-body pion absorption on 3He at threshold.

PMID- 9969969
TI  - Paris NN-bar potential and recent proton-antiproton low energy data.

PMID- 9969970
TI  - Updated analysis of NN elastic scattering data to 1.6 GeV.

PMID- 9969972
TI  - How important is the three-nucleon force?

PMID- 9969971
TI  - Neutron-proton charge exchange.

PMID- 9969973
TI  - Theory of coupled pi -trinucleon systems.

PMID- 9969975
TI  - Neutron resonance spectroscopy on 113Cd to En=15 keV.

PMID- 9969974
TI  - Alpha decay of 186Pb and 184Hg: The influence of mixing of 0(+) states on alpha 
      decay transition probabilities.

PMID- 9969976
TI  - Shape changes in 79Kr.

PMID- 9969977
TI  - Simple phenomenology for the ground-state bands of even-even nuclei.

PMID- 9969978
TI  - Collective isospin excitations in nuclear matter droplets.

PMID- 9969979
TI  - Study of a soft quadrupole excitation in the nucleus 11Li: A phase space model of
      neutron halo nuclei.

PMID- 9969980
TI  - Study of neutron and proton distributions in Ca, Sn, and Ba isotopes by polarized
      electron scattering.

PMID- 9969982
TI  - Staggering of the nuclear charge radii in a superfluid model with good particle
      number.

PMID- 9969981
TI  - Relativistically generated asymmetry in the missing-momentum distribution from
      the (e,e'p) reaction.

PMID- 9969983
TI  - Large-space shell-model calculations for light nuclei.

PMID- 9969984
TI  - Nuclear level densities and thermal properties for fixed spin in microscopic
      treatments.

PMID- 9969985
TI  - Mean-field description of ground-state properties of drip-line nuclei: Shell
      correction method.

PMID- 9969986
TI  - Practical formulation of the extended Wick's theorem and the Onishi formula.

PMID- 9969987
TI  - Effect of nucleon correlation in the 0 nu beta beta decay of 76Ge and 82Se.

PMID- 9969988
TI  - Coherence of nucleonic motion in superdeformed nuclei: Towards an understanding
      of identical bands.

PMID- 9969989
TI  - Hybrid symmetry-conserving variational procedure for nuclear structure
      calculations.

PMID- 9969990
TI  - Bertlmann-Martin inequalities in hypernuclei.

PMID- 9969991
TI  - Angular-distribution measurements for 12C(12C,12C

PMID- 9969993
TI  - Isospin dependence of double analog cross sections at T pi =400-500 MeV.

PMID- 9969992
TI  - Analyzing powers for elastic and inelastic scattering of polarized 6Li from 12C
      at 30 MeV.

PMID- 9969994
TI  - Sensitivity to the impact parameter of the multiparticle decay at intermediate
      energy.

PMID- 9969995
TI  - Experimental survey of the (d

PMID- 9969996
TI  - Effect of memory time on the agitation of unstable modes in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9969997
TI  - Salient features of scattering amplitudes in intermediate energy nucleon-nucleus
      scattering.

PMID- 9969998
TI  - Scaling of multiplicity fluctuations in 800 GeV proton-nucleus interactions.

PMID- 9970000
TI  - Photopion p-wave multipoles near threshold from 12C( gamma, pi 0) and 1H( gamma,
      pi 0).

PMID- 9969999
TI  - Unified theory for fission path and high angular momentum phenomena of nuclei.

PMID- 9970001
TI  - Validity of local density prescriptions for microscopic calculations of proton
      nucleus elastic scattering.

PMID- 9970002
TI  - Many-body effects in 16O(e,e'p).

PMID- 9970003
TI  - Orthogonality effects in the coherent nuclear production of jets.

PMID- 9970004
TI  - Power moments and scaling properties of nuclear emulsion data.

PMID- 9970006
TI  - Coulomb plus nuclear scattering in momentum space for coupled angular momentum
      states.

PMID- 9970005
TI  - Second order effects in the algebraic potential for heavy-ion systems near the
      Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9970007
TI  - Centrality dependence of longitudinal and transverse baryon distributions in
      ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970008
TI  - Photon interferometry of quark-gluon dynamics reexamined.

PMID- 9970009
TI  - Secondary phi meson peak as an indicator of a QCD phase transition in
      ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970010
TI  - Large time-scale fluctuations of the quark condensate at high temperature.

PMID- 9970011
TI  - Pion interferometry with pion-source-medium interactions.

PMID- 9970012
TI  - Elimination of the Landau ghost from chiral solitons.

PMID- 9970013
TI  - Thermodynamics of the QCD1+1 nonrelativistic baryon gas.

PMID- 9970014
TI  - Strange vector form factors of the nucleon.

PMID- 9970015
TI  - Random-sign observables nonvanishing upon averaging: Enhancement of weak
      perturbations and parity nonconservation in compound nuclei.

PMID- 9970017
TI  - Effects of symmetry energy on the direct URCA process in the kaon condensed
      phase.

PMID- 9970016
TI  - Spontaneous breakdown of isospin symmetry in nuclei and isobaric analog states.

PMID- 9970018
TI  - (EC+ beta +) decay of 157Yb.

PMID- 9970019
TI  - Saturation effects in the 10B+11B reaction at E/A=11 MeV.

PMID- 9970020
TI  - 15N cluster states in triton transfer and their alpha decay.

PMID- 9970021
TI  - Octupole correlations in the odd-Z nuclei 148-151Eu.

PMID- 9970022
TI  - Analytic extension of the nuclear algebraic potential.

PMID- 9970023
TI  - Simultaneous projectile-target excitation in heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9970024
TI  - Isovector meson contribution in the relativistic Hartree-Fock approach for finite
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970025
TI  - Comment on "Elastic scattering of 58Ni+27Al at near-barrier energies"

PMID- 9970026
TI  - Erratum: 16O(02+)+ alpha ] parentage of continuum levels in 20Ne

PMID- 9970027
TI  - Strongly coupled enhanced-deformation band in 131Pr.

PMID- 9970029
TI  - Momentum dependent Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck calculation of mass dependence of the
      flow disappearance in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970028
TI  - Two-neutrino double-beta decay matrix elements for ground and excited states of
      76Ge and 82Se nuclei.

PMID- 9970030
TI  - Decay properties of giant multipole resonances: Hybrid model for channel types
      competition.

PMID- 9970031
TI  - Pygmy dipole resonances in the calcium isotopes.

PMID- 9970032
TI  - Effects of N*(1440) resonance on particle production in heavy-ion collisions at
      subthreshold energies.

PMID- 9970033
TI  - Size and excitation energy distributions of projectile spectators in
      multifragmentation data.

PMID- 9970034
TI  - Theoretical prevision for the low-energy 3S1-3D1 mixing parameters.

PMID- 9970036
TI  - Light front dynamics of one boson exchange models of the two-nucleon system.

PMID- 9970035
TI  - Measurement of gamma

PMID- 9970037
TI  - Accurate nucleon-nucleon potential with charge-independence breaking.

PMID- 9970038
TI  - Spin-dependent structure functions of nuclei in the meson-nucleon theory.

PMID- 9970039
TI  - Relativistic effect on low-energy nucleon-deuteron scattering.

PMID- 9970040
TI  - In-beam gamma -ray spectroscopy above 100Sn using the new technique of recoil
      decay tagging.

PMID- 9970042
TI  - Study of low-spin states in 122Cd.

PMID- 9970041
TI  - Pion inelastic scattering to low-lying positive-parity states in 20Ne.

PMID- 9970043
TI  - Study of 110Cd from the 110Inm beta decay.

PMID- 9970045
TI  - alpha -decay rates for 181-186Au and 181-185Pt isotopes.

PMID- 9970044
TI  - Collectivity of dipole bands in 196Pb.

PMID- 9970046
TI  - Interacting boson approximation studies of the negative parity states of 172
      180Os isotopes.

PMID- 9970047
TI  - Staggering in low-spin nuclear spectra of gamma -soft or triaxial nuclei.

PMID- 9970048
TI  - Pairing multiplets in nuclei with O(6) dynamic symmetry.

PMID- 9970050
TI  - Behavior of negative parity spin modes as a function of the strength of the
      tensor interaction: Shell model vs one particle one hole (or random-phase
      approximation).

PMID- 9970049
TI  - Alpha-chain states in 12C.

PMID- 9970051
TI  - Mass resolved angular distribution in 10B, 12C, and 16O induced fission of 232Th.

PMID- 9970052
TI  - Excitation-energy partition in quasielastic transfer reactions at near barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9970053
TI  - Elastic scattering of 10 MeV 6He from 12C, natNi, and 197Au.

PMID- 9970054
TI  - Effects of triple scattering in heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970055
TI  - Dynamical norm method for nonadiabatic macroscopic quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9970056
TI  - Dynamics of fragment formation in the nuclear spinodal region.

PMID- 9970057
TI  - Higher-order corrections to the eikonal phase shifts for heavy-ion elastic
      collision.

PMID- 9970058
TI  - Limitations to presaddle neutron emission from fission-fragment charge
      distributions.

PMID- 9970059
TI  - Dielectron production in proton-proton and proton-deuteron collisions at 1-2 GeV.

PMID- 9970060
TI  - Pion cloud contribution to K+-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9970061
TI  - Microscopic abrasion-ablation approximation to projectile fragmentation.

PMID- 9970062
TI  - Spin-isospin response functions and the effects of the Delta -hole configurations
      in finite nuclei.

PMID- 9970063
TI  - Nucleon resonances and pion-nucleon interaction in nuclear matter above the Delta
      resonance energy.

PMID- 9970064
TI  - Flow of nucleons and fragments in 40Ar+27Al collisions studied with
      antisymmetrized molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9970065
TI  - Comparison of experimental data to the relativistic quantum molecular dynamics
      model for Si+Au collisions at 14.6A GeV/c.

PMID- 9970067
TI  - Source dimensions in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970066
TI  - Rapidity distribution of photons emitted from a hadronizing quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970068
TI  - Collapse of flux tubes.

PMID- 9970069
TI  - QCD sum rules for Sigma hyperons in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970070
TI  - Compton scattering by a pion and off-shell effects.

PMID- 9970071
TI  - Quark cluster signatures in deuteron electromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9970072
TI  - Neutrinoless double beta decay of 48Ca.

PMID- 9970074
TI  - Bridging the waiting points: The role of two-proton capture reactions in the rp
      process.

PMID- 9970073
TI  - Stellar cross sections for 33S(n, alpha )30Si, 36Cl(n,p)36S, and 36Cl(n, alpha
      )33P and the origin of 36S.

PMID- 9970076
TI  - Importance of nucleon recoil in weak decay of hypernuclei.

PMID- 9970075
TI  - Prolate-oblate band mixing and new bands in 182Hg.

PMID- 9970078
TI  - Symmetry analysis of many-body wave functions, with applications to the nuclear
      shell model.

PMID- 9970077
TI  - Empirical fit to the nucleon electromagnetic form factors.

PMID- 9970079
TI  - Neutron removal in peripheral relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970081
TI  - Statistical nucleon correlation coefficients for the 3H and 3He nuclei.

PMID- 9970080
TI  - Experimental bounds for spin transfer observables in pi d elastic scattering.

PMID- 9970083
TI  - Further study of pi -12C elastic scattering at 800 MeV/c.

PMID- 9970082
TI  - Deuteron nuclear polarization shifts with realistic potentials.

PMID- 9970084
TI  - C4 symmetry effects in nuclear rotational motion.

PMID- 9970085
TI  - Exchange process amplitudes in coherent pion production.

PMID- 9970086
TI  - Baryon resonances: A primary rho -->l+l- source in p+p and p+d at 4.9 GeV.

PMID- 9970087
TI  - pi -N correlations probe the nuclear equation of state in relativistic heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9970088
TI  - Negative pion absorption at rest in 3He.

PMID- 9970090
TI  - Structure of the p-h nucleus 132Sb.

PMID- 9970089
TI  - Dipole strengths in 11Be from electroproduction of charged pions.

PMID- 9970091
TI  - Lifetime of the 21+ state in 154Gd and deduction of the alpha coefficient for the
      21+-->01+ transition.

PMID- 9970093
TI  - Isomeric transitions in 69Se and the spin of the ground state.

PMID- 9970092
TI  - Magnetic moment measurements in 86Zr.

PMID- 9970094
TI  - Fragmentation and splitting of Gamow-Teller resonances in Sn(3He,t)Sb charge
      exchange reactions, A=112-124.

PMID- 9970095
TI  - Signatures of Lambda - Sigma mixing in the magnetic moments of hypernuclei.

PMID- 9970097
TI  - Description of low-lying vibrational and two-quasiparticle states in 166Er.

PMID- 9970096
TI  - New symmetry in many-body effective Hamiltonians: An example of rotating nuclei.

PMID- 9970098
TI  - Systematics of alpha-cluster states above double shell closures.

PMID- 9970100
TI  - Structure of the even-even Kr isotopes within the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9970099
TI  - Vector resonances and electromagnetic nucleon structure.

PMID- 9970101
TI  - Fast method for obtaining finite range corrected potential energy surfaces.

PMID- 9970102
TI  - Structure study of 42Ca by alpha +38Ar cluster model: Coexistence of alpha
      particle clustering and shell structure.

PMID- 9970103
TI  - 12C emission from 114Ba and nuclear properties.

PMID- 9970104
TI  - Mean square radii of nuclei calculated with the Woods-Saxon potential.

PMID- 9970105
TI  - New expansion technique for spectral distribution calculations.

PMID- 9970106
TI  - Non-Markovian approach to the damping of giant monopole resonances in nuclei.

PMID- 9970107
TI  - Extraction of nuclear level densities from neutron spectra emitted in proton
      induced reactions on lead isotopes and Bi.

PMID- 9970108
TI  - Fusion-fission cross sections for 32S+138Ba and 48Ti+122Sn at near-barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9970109
TI  - Search for entrance channel effects in sub-barrier fusion reactions.

PMID- 9970111
TI  - Analyzing powers for the 12C(6Li

PMID- 9970110
TI  - Isospin character of transitions to the 21+ and 31- states of 90,92,94,96Zr.

PMID- 9970112
TI  - Nonanalog 40,44Ca( pi +, pi -)40,44Ti(g.s.) reactions at low energy.

PMID- 9970113
TI  - Quasielastic K+ scattering.

PMID- 9970114
TI  - Cold multinucleon transfer and formation of a dinuclear complex.

PMID- 9970115
TI  - 12C+12C "6 alpha -chain state" resonance.

PMID- 9970117
TI  - Onset of multifragmentation in intermediate energy light asymmetrical collisions.

PMID- 9970116
TI  - Angular correlations and widths for alpha-particle decay in the reaction
      7Li(12C,15N*--> alpha +11Bg.s.) alpha.

PMID- 9970118
TI  - Effects of compression and collective expansion on particle emission from central
      heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970120
TI  - Coupled-channels analyses of scattering and fusion cross sections of
      16O+152,154Sm, 186W systems at sub- and near-Coulomb barrier energies.

PMID- 9970119
TI  - Nuclear photofissility at intermediate and high energies.

PMID- 9970121
TI  - Distorted-wave impulse approximation calculations of proton polarization
      following pi + absorption in nuclei.

PMID- 9970123
TI  - Relativistic models for quasielastic (e,e') at large momentum transfers.

PMID- 9970122
TI  - Quasielastic knockout of clusters from p-shell nuclei by 1 GeV protons:
      Spectroscopic amplitudes of virtually excited clusters and the eikonal
      approximation.

PMID- 9970124
TI  - Angular distributions following three-nucleon pion absorption.

PMID- 9970125
TI  - Temperatures of fragment kinetic energy spectra.

PMID- 9970126
TI  - Comparison of K+ and e- quasielastic scattering.

PMID- 9970127
TI  - High energy single particle states in the continuum.

PMID- 9970128
TI  - Ambiguities in strong absorptionlike S functions and in the corresponding
      potentials for heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970130
TI  - Target dependence of K+-nucleus total cross sections.

PMID- 9970129
TI  - Influence of resonant channels on subbarrier heavy-ion fusion.

PMID- 9970131
TI  - Electromagnetic dissociation of relativistic 28Si.

PMID- 9970132
TI  - String fusion and multinucleon interactions in nuclei.

PMID- 9970133
TI  - Probing short-range nucleon correlations in high-energy hard quasielastic pd
      reactions.

PMID- 9970134
TI  - Nucleation of quark-gluon plasma from hadronic matter.

PMID- 9970135
TI  - Deduction of the in-medium gluon distribution from photon-gluon fusion processes
      in peripheral ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970136
TI  - Detection of source granularity through multiparticle Bose correlations.

PMID- 9970138
TI  - Use of the Nambu-Jona-Lasino model in the calculation of the density dependence
      of four-quark condensates.

PMID- 9970137
TI  - Forward angle pi +/-p elastic scattering differential cross sections at T pi =87
      to 139 MeV.

PMID- 9970139
TI  - Microscopic model of the timelike electromagnetic form factor of the nucleon.

PMID- 9970140
TI  - Two-loop calculations with vertex corrections in the Walecka model.

PMID- 9970141
TI  - Nonperturbative aspects of the quark-photon vertex.

PMID- 9970142
TI  - Microscopic, model-space approach to parity nonconservation in compound nuclei.

PMID- 9970143
TI  - Low-multipolarity magnetic transitions in 40Ca excited by 180 degrees electron
      scattering.

PMID- 9970144
TI  - Measured static hyperfine magnetic field for Pt in Gd.

PMID- 9970145
TI  - Absolute level widths in 27Al below 4 MeV.

PMID- 9970146
TI  - Prompt and isomeric fission of Pu isotopes following heavy-ion induced transfer
      reactions.

PMID- 9970147
TI  - Collective motion of reverse-reaction system in the intermediate-energy domain
      via the quantum-molecular-dynamics approach.

PMID- 9970148
TI  - Total cross sections for neutron scattering.

PMID- 9970149
TI  - Relativistic momentum-space optical model and meson-deuteron scattering.

PMID- 9970150
TI  - Erratum: Theoretical interpretation of the NE18 experiment on nuclear
      transparency in A(e,e'p) scattering

PMID- 9970151
TI  - beta -delayed gamma -ray emission in 37Ca decay.

PMID- 9970152
TI  - Near-threshold production of omega mesons in the pd-->3He omega reaction.

PMID- 9970153
TI  - Superdeformation in 193Pb and the effects of the N=7 intruder orbital.

PMID- 9970154
TI  - Photofission of 182W following reabsorption of photopions.

PMID- 9970155
TI  - Statistical investigation of factors affecting rotational motion in even-even
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970156
TI  - C4 symmetry and bifurcation in superdeformed bands.

PMID- 9970157
TI  - Inversion potential analysis of the nuclear dynamics in the triton.

PMID- 9970158
TI  - Effects of the Tucson-Melbourne three-nucleon force on proton spectra from
      kinematically incomplete neutron-deuteron breakup experiments.

PMID- 9970160
TI  - Investigation of the neutron form factors by inclusive quasielastic scattering of
      polarized electrons off polarized 3He: A theoretical overview.

PMID- 9970159
TI  - Realistic phase shift and mixing parameters for elastic neutron-deuteron
      scattering: Comparison of momentum space and configuration space methods.

PMID- 9970161
TI  - Multiparticle scattering theory and inclusive cross sections in nuclear
      collisions.

PMID- 9970162
TI  - Deuteron polarizability shifts and the deuteron matter radius.

PMID- 9970163
TI  - High-spin states in the odd-odd nucleus 92Tc.

PMID- 9970164
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength in 60,62,64Ni(n,p) reactions at 198 MeV.

PMID- 9970165
TI  - States at Ex=6-13 MeV in 23Na from 19F(6Li,d) at E(6Li)=16 MeV.

PMID- 9970166
TI  - Light particle emission induced by stopped antiprotons in nuclei: Energy
      dissipation and neutron-to-proton ratio.

PMID- 9970167
TI  - pi g9/2

PMID- 9970168
TI  - Level structure of the shell-model nucleus 217At.

PMID- 9970169
TI  - Level structure and reflection asymmetry in 227Th.

PMID- 9970170
TI  - Level scheme of 101Zr and structure of the N=61 Sr, Zr, and Mo isotones.

PMID- 9970171
TI  - Observation of dipole transitions to a 2(+)

PMID- 9970173
TI  - Isospin dependence of the oscillator spacing.

PMID- 9970172
TI  - Alignments, shape changes, and band terminations in 157Tm.

PMID- 9970174
TI  - Self-weakening of the tensor interaction in a nucleus.

PMID- 9970175
TI  - Existence of intrinsic reflection asymmetry at low spin in odd and odd-odd mass
      nuclei in the Pm/Eu region.

PMID- 9970176
TI  - Thermodynamical fluctuations of meson fields for a quantum hadrodynamics model.

PMID- 9970177
TI  - Positive parity states in 11Be.

PMID- 9970178
TI  - Correlations of intermediate mass fragments from Fe+Ta, Au, and Th collisions.

PMID- 9970179
TI  - Measurements of proton total reaction cross sections for 58Ni and 60Ni including
      nonrelativistic and relativistic data analyses.

PMID- 9970180
TI  - Proton and deuteron production in neutron-induced reactions on carbon at En=42.5,
      62.7, and 72.8 MeV.

PMID- 9970182
TI  - 26Mg(6Li

PMID- 9970181
TI  - Proton scattering from an excited nucleus (18Fm,J pi =5(+),Ex=1.1 MeV) using a
      gamma -ray-tagged secondary isomeric nuclear beam.

PMID- 9970183
TI  - Autocorrelations and intermediate-mass-fragment multiplicities in central heavy
      ion collisions.

PMID- 9970184
TI  - Fusion cross sections in systems leading to 170Hf at near-barrier energies.

PMID- 9970185
TI  - Study of the (1/2)g.s.--->(1/2)1+ transition in the 13C(p,n)13N reaction at
      intermediate energies.

PMID- 9970186
TI  - Projectilelike fragment momentum distributions from 86Kr+Al at 70 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970188
TI  - Multifractal structure of medium energy particles in p-AgBr interactions at 800
      GeV.

PMID- 9970187
TI  - Coupled-channels analysis of the elastic scattering of polarized 6Li by 58Ni
      using cluster-folding potentials.

PMID- 9970189
TI  - Dynamical model for correlated two-pion exchange in the pion-nucleon interaction.

PMID- 9970191
TI  - Medium and finite nuclear size effects in relativistic two-body currents.

PMID- 9970190
TI  - Unified description for the nuclear equation of state and fragmentation in heavy
      ion collisions.

PMID- 9970193
TI  - Symmetrical sum-rule analysis of spectroscopic factors for one-nucleon transfer.

PMID- 9970192
TI  - Comparison between nonlocal effects and coupled channels in a simple nuclear
      fusion model.

PMID- 9970194
TI  - Application of multiple scattering theory to lower-energy elastic nucleon-nucleus
      scattering.

PMID- 9970195
TI  - Fragment flow and the nuclear equation of state.

PMID- 9970196
TI  - Charm production in hadronic and heavy-ion collisions at ultrarelativistic
      energies to O( alpha s3).

PMID- 9970197
TI  - Strangeness as probe of quark-gluon plasma: Unconventional point of view.

PMID- 9970198
TI  - Impact parameter determination for heavy-ion collisions by use of a neural
      network.

PMID- 9970199
TI  - Thermal photon production in high-energy nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970200
TI  - Freeze-out conditions and pion spectrum in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970201
TI  - Collective modes in a strangelet.

PMID- 9970202
TI  - Spin-orbit force in a quark model based nucleon-nucleon potential.

PMID- 9970203
TI  - rho, omega, and phi meson-nucleon scattering lengths from QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9970204
TI  - Parity mixing of the 0(+)-0(-) I=1 doublet in 14N.

PMID- 9970206
TI  - Positivity restrictions in polarized coincidence electronuclear scattering.

PMID- 9970205
TI  - Induced parity nonconserving interaction and enhancement of two-nucleon parity
      nonconserving forces.

PMID- 9970207
TI  - Stellar neutron capture cross sections of Nd, Pm, and Sm isotopes.

PMID- 9970208
TI  - Measurement of the 3H( pi +,3He) pi 0 differential cross section at T pi =142
      MeV.

PMID- 9970209
TI  - Association of the 12C+12C breakup states in 24Mg with the quasimolecular
      resonances.

PMID- 9970210
TI  - Allowed-unhindered beta decay of 180Yb and the nuclear structure of 180Lu.

PMID- 9970212
TI  - Higher-order corrections to Coulomb fission.

PMID- 9970211
TI  - Measurement of the spin-flip probability for the 12C(d

PMID- 9970213
TI  - Comparison of different Skyrme forces: Fusion barriers and fusion cross sections.

PMID- 9970214
TI  - Quantal particle flux and nuclear halo effects.

PMID- 9970215
TI  - Factorization contributions and the breaking of the Delta I=1/2 rule in weak
      Lambda N rho and Sigma N rho couplings.

PMID- 9970216
TI  - Limited symmetry found by comparing calculated magnetic dipole spin and orbital
      strengths in 4He.

PMID- 9970217
TI  - Apparent Coulomb reacceleration of neutrons in electrodissociation of the
      deuteron.

PMID- 9970218
TI  - Isospin recoupling and Bose-Einstein pion correlations in N-barN annihilations.

PMID- 9970219
TI  - alpha decay of a new isotope, 204Ra.

PMID- 9970220
TI  - Superdeformation in the bismuth nuclei.

PMID- 9970221
TI  - Double-octupole excitations in the N=84 nuclei 144Nd and 146Sm.

PMID- 9970222
TI  - Superdeformed band in 154Dy.

PMID- 9970223
TI  - Measurement of the reaction 12C( nu micro, micro-)X near threshold.

PMID- 9970224
TI  - Limits of proton stability near 100Sn.

PMID- 9970225
TI  - Constraints on coupling constants through charged Sigma photoproduction.

PMID- 9970226
TI  - Linking of direct and compound chains in multistep nuclear reactions.

PMID- 9970227
TI  - Low-energy theorem for a composite particle in mean scalar and vector fields.

PMID- 9970228
TI  - Single-particle nondegeneracy and SU(3) fermion dynamical symmetry.

PMID- 9970229
TI  - Nature of the identical bands in atomic nuclei.

PMID- 9970230
TI  - 3H(p, gamma )4He cross section.

PMID- 9970231
TI  - Orthogonality nodes and the three-body bound state collapse.

PMID- 9970233
TI  - Extension of fractional parentage expansion to the nonrelativistic and
      relativistic SUf(3) dibaryon calculations.

PMID- 9970232
TI  - Electron induced pd and ppn breakup of 3He with full inclusion of final-state
      interactions.

PMID- 9970234
TI  - Delta excitation and exchange corrections for NN bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9970235
TI  - Excitation of 77Sem, 79Brm, and 191Irm by 137Cs gamma rays.

PMID- 9970237
TI  - Decay patterns of dysprosium nuclei produced in 32S+118,124Sn fusion reactions.

PMID- 9970236
TI  - 8Be and alpha decay of 16O.

PMID- 9970238
TI  - Shape coexistence in the transitional 133Ba nucleus.

PMID- 9970239
TI  - Experimental and theoretical study of the nuclear structure of 223Fr.

PMID- 9970240
TI  - Ground-state bands and excitation modes in 183Hg.

PMID- 9970241
TI  - Isoscalar spin strength in 12C measured in 400 MeV deuteron inelastic scattering.

PMID- 9970242
TI  - alpha and beta decays of 169-173Os and the nuclear structure of the daughter
      isotopes.

PMID- 9970243
TI  - High-K structures in 136Sm.

PMID- 9970245
TI  - 100Sn-daughter alpha -nuclei cluster decays of some neutron-deficient Xe to Gd
      parents: Sn radioactivity.

PMID- 9970244
TI  - Effective nucleon mass, incompressibility, and third derivative of nuclear
      binding energy in the nonlinear relativistic mean field theory.

PMID- 9970247
TI  - Small-amplitude limit of the nuclear Born-Oppenheimer method.

PMID- 9970246
TI  - Canonical and grand-canonical partition functions and level densities.

PMID- 9970248
TI  - Description of hypernuclei in the scalar derivative coupling model.

PMID- 9970250
TI  - Spectral function for finite nuclei in the local-density approximation.

PMID- 9970249
TI  - Symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter in the relativistic approach.

PMID- 9970252
TI  - Decoupling and anomalous bandcrossings in odd-proton nuclei.

PMID- 9970251
TI  - Resurrection of the L-S coupling scheme in superdeformation.

PMID- 9970253
TI  - Quadrupole-collective states in a large single-j shell.

PMID- 9970254
TI  - Radial pattern of nuclear decay processes.

PMID- 9970255
TI  - Fermi hypernetted-chain evaluation of a generalized momentum distribution for
      model nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970256
TI  - Configuration of 18{f O}(7.12 MeV, 4(+)).

PMID- 9970257
TI  - Unified theory of fermion pair to boson mappings in full and truncated spaces.

PMID- 9970258
TI  - Ingoing-wave boundary condition versus optical model transmission coefficients: A
      systematic comparison with particle emission data.

PMID- 9970259
TI  - Inelastic pion scattering from 3H and 3He.

PMID- 9970260
TI  - Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin model analysis of preequilibrium (p,p') and (p,n)
      reactions at 12 to 26 MeV.

PMID- 9970261
TI  - Entrance-channel dependence of the fission dynamics in 19F+209Bi vs 64Ni+165Ho.

PMID- 9970262
TI  - Inelastic electron scattering from 18O at backward angles.

PMID- 9970263
TI  - Quasifree (d

PMID- 9970264
TI  - Excitation functions of the 20Ne+20Ne system.

PMID- 9970265
TI  - ( gamma,2N) reaction in 12C.

PMID- 9970266
TI  - Spin alignment for 12C on 12C collisions exciting the 9.64-MeV 3(-) state.

PMID- 9970267
TI  - 12C( gamma,p)11B cross section from 80 to 157 MeV.

PMID- 9970269
TI  - Core-polarization effects in pion elastic scattering from polarized spin-1/2
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970268
TI  - Total cross section measurements of 16O+232Th incomplete fusion followed by
      fission at 140 MeV.

PMID- 9970271
TI  - Half-lives of cluster radioactivity within a model including superfluid phenomena
      and resonance effects.

PMID- 9970270
TI  - Causality with noncausal optical potentials.

PMID- 9970272
TI  - Isolating physical effects in the exclusive (N,N' pi ) reaction.

PMID- 9970273
TI  - Nuclear medium effects in the relativistic treatment of quasifree electron
      scattering.

PMID- 9970274
TI  - Role of nuclear dynamics in deducing the fusion-fission time scales from
      prescission neutron multiplicities.

PMID- 9970275
TI  - Role of final state interactions in quasielastic 56Fe(e,e') reactions at large
      ||q

PMID- 9970276
TI  - Folding analysis of the elastic 6Li+12C scattering: Knock-on exchange effects,
      energy dependence, and dynamical polarization potential.

PMID- 9970277
TI  - Charge-changing interactions of 197Au at 10 GeV/nucleon in collisions with
      targets from H to Pb.

PMID- 9970278
TI  - Thermal tunneling of qq-bar pairs in A-A collisions.

PMID- 9970279
TI  - Stopped Delta -matter source in heavy-ion collisions at 10 GeV/nucleon?

PMID- 9970280
TI  - Bose-stimulated pion production in relativistic nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970281
TI  - Consequences of a covariant description of heavy-ion reactions at intermediate
      energies.

PMID- 9970282
TI  - Correction factors for reactions involving qq-bar annihilation or production.

PMID- 9970283
TI  - Boundary and Coulomb effects on boson systems in high-energy heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9970284
TI  - Low-energy differential cross sections of pion-proton ( pi +/-p) scattering. I.
      The isospin-even forward scattering amplitude at T pi =32.2 and 44.6 MeV.

PMID- 9970286
TI  - Pion and thermal photon spectra as a possible signal for a phase transition.

PMID- 9970285
TI  - Low-energy differential cross sections of pion-proton ( pi +/-p) scattering. II.
      Phase shifts at T pi =32.7, 45.1, and 68.6 MeV.

PMID- 9970287
TI  - Deep-inelastic scattering from the pion and the choice of phenomenological wave
      functions.

PMID- 9970288
TI  - Open charm as a probe of preequilibrium dynamics in nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970289
TI  - Relativistic nuclear matter with alternative derivative coupling models.

PMID- 9970290
TI  - Conversion widths of Xi hypernuclear states to double- Lambda states.

PMID- 9970291
TI  - Pion-nucleon scattering and the pi NN coupling constant in the chiral color
      dielectric model.

PMID- 9970292
TI  - Time scale of quasifission from giant dipole resonance gamma -ray yield.

PMID- 9970293
TI  - Level structure of 114Te.

PMID- 9970294
TI  - Revised interpretations for K pi =1(+) bands in 166Ho.

PMID- 9970295
TI  - Evidence for 16O+12C cluster structure in 28Si.

PMID- 9970296
TI  - Lambda -nucleon interaction in nuclei probed by the quasifree 12C( pi +,K+)
      reaction.

PMID- 9970297
TI  - Probing toroidal density distributions with two-proton correlation functions?

PMID- 9970298
TI  - Symmetry constraints on the classical skyrmion.

PMID- 9970299
TI  - Consequences of nuclear shadowing for heavy quarkonium production in hadron
      nucleus interactions.

PMID- 9970300
TI  - Hexadecapole shape change in ytterbium isotopes.

PMID- 9970302
TI  - Quark self-energy beyond the mean field at finite temperature.

PMID- 9970301
TI  - Double-beta decay of 100Mo: The deformed limit.

PMID- 9970303
TI  - QCD sum rules for Delta isobar in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970304
TI  - Threshold parameters of the KK-bar and pi pi scalar-isoscalar interactions.

PMID- 9970305
TI  - Application of an iterative-perturbative inversion potential model to capture and
      bremsstrahlung reactions.

PMID- 9970306
TI  - Relative spins and excitation energies of superdeformed bands in 190Hg: Further
      evidence for octupole vibration.

PMID- 9970307
TI  - Can weakly absorbing surface transparent nucleus-nucleus interaction ensure
      orbiting?

PMID- 9970308
TI  - Quasiparticle excitations in superdeformed 192Hg.

PMID- 9970309
TI  - Pion-induced single charge exchange in deuterium.

PMID- 9970310
TI  - Nuclear transparency in quasifree electron scattering.

PMID- 9970311
TI  - Nonperturbative and self-consistent determination of baryonic vertex form
      factors.

PMID- 9970312
TI  - pi N--> eta N and eta N--> eta N partial-wave T matrices in a coupled, three
      channel model.

PMID- 9970313
TI  - Hypervirial approach to calculating expectation values of the many-body
      Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9970314
TI  - Proton-proton bremsstrahlung below and above pion threshold: Influence of the
      Delta isobar.

PMID- 9970315
TI  - Variational calculations of the Lambda -separation energy of the Lambda 17O
      hypernucleus.

PMID- 9970316
TI  - Benchmark solutions for n-d breakup amplitudes.

PMID- 9970317
TI  - Combined description of N-barN scattering and annihilation with a hadronic model.

PMID- 9970318
TI  - beta -delayed neutron decay of 14Be.

PMID- 9970319
TI  - g factor of the 3/2(+) 121.8-keV level in 99Zr.

PMID- 9970320
TI  - Population of hyperdeformed structures in 152Dy from proton-gamma coincidence
      experiments.

PMID- 9970321
TI  - High-spin spectroscopy of 109Te.

PMID- 9970323
TI  - Electron scattering from 10B.

PMID- 9970322
TI  - Identification of the unfavored N=7 superdeformed band in 191Hg.

PMID- 9970324
TI  - Intruder bands in (Z=53) 113I: Band termination interpretation.

PMID- 9970325
TI  - Lifetimes in the decay of 40Ca and 47V studied by crystal blocking.

PMID- 9970326
TI  - Possible signatures of shell structure near the drip lines.

PMID- 9970327
TI  - High-energy scissors mode.

PMID- 9970328
TI  - Surface response in the Fermi-liquid drop and nuclear transport properties.

PMID- 9970329
TI  - Auxiliary potential in no-core shell-model calculations.

PMID- 9970330
TI  - Short range correlations in the weak decay of Lambda hypernuclei.

PMID- 9970331
TI  - Neutron-proton halo structure of the 3.563-MeV 0(+) state in 6Li.

PMID- 9970332
TI  - Transverse electric form factors for electron scattering and violation of current
      conservation in nuclear models.

PMID- 9970333
TI  - Cranking Bohr-Mottelson Hamiltonian applied to normal bands of odd-A nuclei.

PMID- 9970334
TI  - Low-lying collective states in 124-132Ba in the framework of the general
      collective model.

PMID- 9970335
TI  - First observation of spontaneous fission and search for cluster decay of 232Th.

PMID- 9970336
TI  - Elastic scattering of pions from 3H and 3He into the backward hemisphere.

PMID- 9970337
TI  - pi --12C elastic scattering above the Delta resonance.

PMID- 9970338
TI  - 16O( gamma,n) reaction at intermediate energy.

PMID- 9970339
TI  - Mass and charge distributions in Fe-induced reactions.

PMID- 9970340
TI  - Polarization observables in pi d

PMID- 9970341
TI  - Decay of 160Er* in 16O+144Nd and 64Ni+96Zr fusion reactions.

PMID- 9970342
TI  - Coupling effects studied in the 13C(p,pn)12C and 13C(p,d)12C reactions at Ep=35
      MeV.

PMID- 9970343
TI  - Rapid increase in prescission giant-dipole-resonance gamma -ray emission with
      bombarding energy.

PMID- 9970344
TI  - Breakup studies with 23Na.

PMID- 9970345
TI  - 12C( gamma,p0+1)11B cross section from 44 to 98 MeV.

PMID- 9970346
TI  - Cluster radioactivities from an island of cluster emitters.

PMID- 9970347
TI  - Neutron-halo nuclei in cold synthesis and cluster decay of heavy nuclei: Z=104
      nucleus as an example.

PMID- 9970348
TI  - Molecular-dynamics approach: From chaotic to statistical properties of compound
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970349
TI  - Compound nucleus formation in reactions between massive nuclei: Fusion barrier.

PMID- 9970351
TI  - Xi --hypernuclear states in heavy nuclei.

PMID- 9970350
TI  - Medium effects on spin observables of proton knockout reactions.

PMID- 9970352
TI  - Two-body currents in inclusive electron scattering.

PMID- 9970353
TI  - Spinodal instabilities in expanding Fermi liquids.

PMID- 9970354
TI  - Analytical treatment of heavy-ion elastic scattering at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9970355
TI  - Interplay of collective flow phenomena and velocity correlations of intermediate
      mass fragments in collisions of Au+Au at E=(100-400)A MeV.

PMID- 9970356
TI  - Method for calculating elastic scattering between two composite many-body systems
      at high energies.

PMID- 9970357
TI  - Study of baryon resonances through gamma p--> eta p differential cross sections.

PMID- 9970358
TI  - Color transparency assumptions.

PMID- 9970359
TI  - Quark exchange model for charmonium dissociation in hot hadronic matter.

PMID- 9970360
TI  - Relativistic nuclear structure effects in quasielastic neutrino scattering.

PMID- 9970361
TI  - Center of mass of a few-body quantum system in an effective central field.

PMID- 9970362
TI  - Variations of hadron masses and matter properties in dense nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970363
TI  - No evidence for a 17-keV neutrino in the electron-capture decay of 55Fe.

PMID- 9970364
TI  - Experimental search for a 17-keV neutrino in the internal bremsstrahlung spectrum
      of 71Ge.

PMID- 9970366
TI  - The 12C( alpha, gamma )16O reaction: Effects of nuclear excitation on the breakup
      of a 16O beam.

PMID- 9970365
TI  - Radiative decays of the 16.6 and 16.9 MeV states in 8Be and tests of the
      conservation of the vector current in the A=8 multiplet.

PMID- 9970367
TI  - Isobaric ratios of fragments emitted in incomplete fusion reactions.

PMID- 9970368
TI  - Evidence for hexadecapole collectivity in closed-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9970369
TI  - Measurement of the E2 decay branching ratio of the first excited 0(+) state in
      166Er.

PMID- 9970370
TI  - Observation of a possible pi h11/2 band in 117Cs.

PMID- 9970372
TI  - High-spin states in 94Tc and the shell-model interpretation.

PMID- 9970371
TI  - gamma decays of proton unbound levels in 37K.

PMID- 9970374
TI  - Binding energies of proton-rich nuclei in the vicinity of 100Sn.

PMID- 9970373
TI  - Asymmetric fission barriers and total kinetic energies for 194Hg, 149Tb, 110
      112In, 94Mo, and 75Br.

PMID- 9970375
TI  - Simulation of the exclusion principle in the neutron-16O interaction through a
      repulsive term and application to a three-body calculation of the 16O(d,p)17O
      reaction.

PMID- 9970377
TI  - Influence of pairing on the (p,t) transition strength between high-spin K isomers
      of Hf isotopes.

PMID- 9970376
TI  - Polarization in the pp-->n Delta ++ reaction above 1 GeV.

PMID- 9970378
TI  - Inelastic K+-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9970379
TI  - Simple formula for conditional fission barriers of rotating nuclei.

PMID- 9970381
TI  - Photon absorption on a proton-proton pair in 3He.

PMID- 9970380
TI  - What can be learned with an iodine solar-neutrino detector?

PMID- 9970382
TI  - Erratum: E2 contribution to the 8B-->p+7Be Coulomb dissociation cross section

PMID- 9970383
TI  - Erratum: Rapidity distribution of photons emitted from a hadronizing quark-gluon
      plasma

PMID- 9970384
TI  - eta meson photoproduction on hydrogen near threshold.

PMID- 9970385
TI  - Neutron blocking and delayed proton pair alignment in superdeformed 195Pb.

PMID- 9970387
TI  - Analytic interpretation of universal anharmonic vibrator behavior in the
      interacting boson approximation model.

PMID- 9970386
TI  - Evidence for the possible synthesis of element 110 produced by the 59Co+209Bi
      reaction.

PMID- 9970388
TI  - Effect of sigma - omega - gamma mixing on the dimesonic function in nuclear
      matter.

PMID- 9970389
TI  - Two-pion correlation behavior in a small relative momentum region.

PMID- 9970390
TI  - Triton calculations with pi and rho exchange three-nucleon forces.

PMID- 9970391
TI  - Properties of the bound Lambda ( Sigma )NN system and hyperon-nucleon
      interactions.

PMID- 9970392
TI  - Effects of T- and P-odd weak nucleon interaction in nuclei: Renormalizations due
      to residual strong interaction, matrix elements between compound states and their
      correlations with P-violating matrix elements.

PMID- 9970393
TI  - Universality of Delta I=1 meson mixing and charge symmetry breaking.

PMID- 9970394
TI  - Rotational bands in 76Rb.

PMID- 9970395
TI  - Energy variation of nuclear level density in 104Pd and 114Sn in the excitation
      energy region of 7 to 24 MeV.

PMID- 9970396
TI  - Search for two-phonon gamma vibrational states in 164Dy.

PMID- 9970397
TI  - High-spin structure of 82Y.

PMID- 9970398
TI  - Description of the scissors mode within the Moszkowski model.

PMID- 9970399
TI  - Ground-state magnetization of 209Bi in a dynamic-correlation model.

PMID- 9970400
TI  - Quantum rotational band formulas from a two-parameter potential and the
      microscopic explanation from the fermion dynamical symmetry model.

PMID- 9970402
TI  - Laboratory cranking wave functions and ground-state moments of inertia of heavy
      deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970401
TI  - Description of the 2 nu beta beta transition rate within the Moszkowski model.

PMID- 9970403
TI  - Energies and widths of low-lying levels in 11Be and 11N.

PMID- 9970404
TI  - Propagation of a K-body force into A-body space.

PMID- 9970405
TI  - Momentum and energy distributions of nucleons in finite nuclei due to short-range
      correlations.

PMID- 9970406
TI  - Three-body halos. III. Effects of finite core spin.

PMID- 9970407
TI  - Extended random-phase approximation in a boson formalism with Pauli principle.

PMID- 9970408
TI  - Delta K forbiddenness in neutron capture resonances in 177Lu.

PMID- 9970409
TI  - Nuclear structure effects of the nuclei 152,154,156Dy at high excitation energy
      and large angular momentum.

PMID- 9970410
TI  - Numerical simulation of the electromagnetic decay of the nuclei 152,154,156Dy
      with self-consistent collective strength functions.

PMID- 9970411
TI  - Emission angle dependence of fission fragment spin: Effects of single particle
      spin and tilting mode.

PMID- 9970412
TI  - Fission-fragment angular distributions and excitation functions in fission
      following complete fusion and targetlike-fragment fission reactions of 19F+232Th
      at near- and sub-barrier energies.

PMID- 9970413
TI  - Momentum distributions of 9Li fragments from the breakup of 11Li and the neutron
      halo.

PMID- 9970414
TI  - Prescission neutron emission in 235U(nth,f) through fragment-neutron angular
      correlation studies.

PMID- 9970415
TI  - Azimuthal distributions and collective motion in intermediate energy heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9970416
TI  - Dynamical effects in fusion reactions forming 110Sn.

PMID- 9970417
TI  - Transitions in nuclear disassembly as viewed by fragment charge correlations.

PMID- 9970418
TI  - Zero-degree proton inelastic scattering to the 1(+), T=0 and T=1 states in 12C.

PMID- 9970419
TI  - Pion double charge exchange on the even selenium isotopes.

PMID- 9970420
TI  - Final-state interactions in the 12C(16O,12C12C) alpha and 16O(16O,12C16O) alpha
      reactions.

PMID- 9970421
TI  - Light charged particles from low-energy 58Ni+112Sn fusion-evaporation reactions.

PMID- 9970423
TI  - Analysis of multifragmentation in a Boltzmann-Langevin approach.

PMID- 9970422
TI  - Effects of finite excitation energy of environment on fast quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9970424
TI  - Analysis of compound and quasicompound resonances in a multichannel, finite-rank
      model.

PMID- 9970425
TI  - Instant two-body equation in Breit frame.

PMID- 9970426
TI  - Memory and correlation effects in nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970427
TI  - alpha -d capture with formation of 6Li and the isoscalar E1 multipole.

PMID- 9970428
TI  - Relativistic versus nonrelativistic optical potentials in A(e,e'p)B reactions.

PMID- 9970430
TI  - Fine structure in the cluster decays of the translead nuclei.

PMID- 9970429
TI  - Correlation functions and the disappearance of rotational collective motion in
      nucleus-nucleus collisions below 100 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970431
TI  - Spin dependence of the scattering of protons from halo nuclei.

PMID- 9970432
TI  - A potential deduced from low energy 16O( alpha, alpha ) elastic scattering.

PMID- 9970433
TI  - Fragmentation cross sections of 16O, 24Mg, and 32S projectiles at 3.65
      GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970435
TI  - Disappearance of flow.

PMID- 9970434
TI  - Charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions in Au+Al, Cu, Au, and U collisions
      at 10.8A GeV/c.

PMID- 9970436
TI  - Open charm production in an equilibrating parton plasma.

PMID- 9970438
TI  - Azimuthal correlations of pions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at 1
      GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970437
TI  - Geometrical description for the negative correlation between forward and
      transverse energies in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970439
TI  - Role of dynamical correlations in fragment formation in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970440
TI  - Neutron-electron scattering length and electric polarizability of the neutron
      derived from cross sections of bismuth and of lead and its isotopes.

PMID- 9970441
TI  - Nuclear many-body theory for the study of QCD sum rules in matter.

PMID- 9970442
TI  - Static properties of the nucleon in the Faddeev approach based on the Nambu-Jona
      Lasinio model.

PMID- 9970443
TI  - Inelastic diffractive production and string fusion in hadron-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9970444
TI  - Off-shell rho - omega mixing through quark loops with a nonperturbative meson
      vertex and quark mass functions.

PMID- 9970446
TI  - Short range correlation effect on the pion propagator in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970445
TI  - Quark delocalization, color screening, and dibaryons.

PMID- 9970448
TI  - Correlation effects in nuclear transparency.

PMID- 9970447
TI  - Composite vertices that lead to soft form factors.

PMID- 9970449
TI  - Quark model description of the N-N system: Momentum distributions, structure
      functions, and the EMC effect.

PMID- 9970450
TI  - Quantum field kinetics.

PMID- 9970451
TI  - Stellar (n, gamma ) cross section of the unstable isotope 155Eu.

PMID- 9970452
TI  - Possibility to determine the astrophysical S factor for the 7Be(p, gamma )8B
      radiative capture from analysis of the 7Be(3He,d)8B reaction.

PMID- 9970453
TI  - Out-of-plane quasielastic scattering from deuterium using polarized electrons.

PMID- 9970454
TI  - Static quadrupole moment of high-spin isomers in the doubly-odd 214Fr nucleus.

PMID- 9970455
TI  - 36Ca beta decay and the isobaric multiplet mass equation.

PMID- 9970456
TI  - Space-time ambiguity of two- and three-fragment reduced velocity correlation
      functions.

PMID- 9970457
TI  - Excitation energies in statistical emission of light charged particles in heavy
      ion reactions.

PMID- 9970458
TI  - Absolute cross sections for ( gamma,n) transitions in lead, bismuth, and terbium.

PMID- 9970459
TI  - Search for a 7- alpha chain state.

PMID- 9970460
TI  - Ec.m.=32.5 MeV resonance in 12C+12C.

PMID- 9970461
TI  - Modified two-sources quantum statistical model and multiplicity fluctuation in
      the finite rapidity region.

PMID- 9970462
TI  - Magnetic octupole strength in rare-earth nuclei: A sum-rule approach.

PMID- 9970463
TI  - Effect of relativistic kinematics on the quark-quark interaction obtained from
      the proton form factor.

PMID- 9970464
TI  - Complete J=0 calculation in the sp(6)

PMID- 9970465
TI  - Comment on "Modified Glauber model II description for heavy-ion scattering"

PMID- 9970466
TI  - Comment on "New interpretation of the lowest K=0 collective excitations of
      deformed nuclei as a phonon excitation of the gamma band"

PMID- 9970467
TI  - Nature of the lowest excited K pi =0(+) states of even-even deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970468
TI  - Reply to "Comments on 'New interpretation of the lowest K=0 collective excitation
      of deformed nuclei as a phonon excitation of the gamma band' "

PMID- 9970469
TI  - Comment on "High spin states of 84Sr"

PMID- 9970470
TI  - Yrast bands in 117I and 116-118Xe: Anomalous quasiparticle alignment frequencies
      and band termination.

PMID- 9970472
TI  - Coexistence effects in 187Au: Evidence for nearly identical diabatic intruder
      structures.

PMID- 9970471
TI  - 6Li( pi +, pp)4Heg.s. reaction at 100 and 165 MeV incident pion energies.

PMID- 9970473
TI  - Spin-flip strength in the continuum and effective tensor interactions via
      polarization transfer DNN(0 degrees) for (p

PMID- 9970474
TI  - First observation of a rotational band in odd 50Sn nuclei: 111Sn.

PMID- 9970475
TI  - Generator-coordinate method study of hexadecapole correlations in superdeformed
      194Hg.

PMID- 9970476
TI  - Fast gamma -ray transitions between excited states as evidence of order in
      deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970477
TI  - Thermal photons from S+Au collisions at 200A GeV: A hadron gas picture.

PMID- 9970479
TI  - 500-MeV pion single-charge exchange on deuterium.

PMID- 9970478
TI  - Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule violation in the reaction p-barp--> phi pi 0.

PMID- 9970481
TI  - Pion photoproduction of the deuteron: The reaction gamma d--> pi 0d.

PMID- 9970480
TI  - Microscopic description of the nucleon- Delta interaction in the quark cluster
      model.

PMID- 9970482
TI  - Multipole strength in 12C from the (e,e' alpha ) reaction for momentum transfers
      up to 0.61 fm-1.

PMID- 9970483
TI  - High-spin bands in 80Kr.

PMID- 9970484
TI  - beta decay of 228Ra and possible level structures in 228Ac.

PMID- 9970485
TI  - Proton and neutron excitations in superdeformed 150Tb.

PMID- 9970486
TI  - Strong population of a superdeformed band in 142Eu.

PMID- 9970487
TI  - Band structures in 108Ag.

PMID- 9970489
TI  - 128,130,132,134La in the axially symmetric rotor model.

PMID- 9970488
TI  - alpha decay of the new isotopes 210Th and 211Th.

PMID- 9970490
TI  - Structural properties of hot deformed 122Xe at high spins.

PMID- 9970492
TI  - Relativistic density-dependent Hartree-Fock approach for finite nuclei.

PMID- 9970491
TI  - Effective nucleon mass, incompressibility, and third-order derivative of the
      nuclear saturation curve in the relativistic mean field theory with vector meson
      self-interaction.

PMID- 9970493
TI  - Surface properties of Cs isotopes.

PMID- 9970495
TI  - Towards a model independent analysis of single particle spectra: Application to
      hypernuclei.

PMID- 9970494
TI  - Density functional approach to quantum hadrodynamics: Local exchange potential
      for nuclear structure calculations.

PMID- 9970497
TI  - Thermal effects on isoscalar giant resonance energies in hot nuclei.

PMID- 9970496
TI  - Microscopic analysis of collective states in neutron-deficient doubly even xenon
      isotopes.

PMID- 9970498
TI  - Quasielastic scattering of 8B and 7Be on 12C at 40 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970500
TI  - Heavy-residue production in Ar-Th collisions at 44, 77, and 95 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970499
TI  - Negative pion photoproduction from 15N in the region of the Delta resonance.

PMID- 9970501
TI  - Internal excitation of intermediate mass fragments from collisions of 36Ar+Ag
      nuclei at 35 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970502
TI  - Cross sections and analyzing powers for quasielastic scattering at 795 and 495
      MeV using the (p

PMID- 9970503
TI  - Resolution of the anomalous fission fragment anisotropies for the 16O+208Pb
      reaction.

PMID- 9970504
TI  - Fluctuation effects in radiative capture to unstable final states: A test via the
      89Y(p

PMID- 9970505
TI  - 223Ra nuclear spectroscopy in 14C cluster radioactivity.

PMID- 9970506
TI  - Critical evolution of a finite system.

PMID- 9970507
TI  - Path integral approach to no-Coriolis approximation in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970508
TI  - Proton scattering by 206,207,208Pb at 650 MeV: Phenomenological analysis.

PMID- 9970510
TI  - Proton inelastic scattering to continuum studied with antisymmetrized molecular
      dynamics.

PMID- 9970509
TI  - In-medium full-folding optical model for nucleon-nucleus elastic scattering.

PMID- 9970512
TI  - Emission of fast protons in high-energy hadron-emulsion interactions.

PMID- 9970511
TI  - Radial flow and multifragmentation within the framework of molecular dynamics
      approaches.

PMID- 9970513
TI  - Charge-changing fragmentation of 10.6 GeV/nucleon 197Au nuclei.

PMID- 9970515
TI  - Centrality dependence of pion and proton spectra in C+C and C+Ta interactions at
      4.2 GeV/c per nucleon.

PMID- 9970514
TI  - Entropy in central Au+Au reactions between 100 and 400A MeV.

PMID- 9970517
TI  - Cluster production with coalescence and breakup.

PMID- 9970516
TI  - Monte Carlo model for multiparticle production at ultrarelativistic energies.

PMID- 9970519
TI  - Initial-state interactions for K--proton radiative capture.

PMID- 9970518
TI  - Masses of hadrons and nucleon-nucleon interaction at finite temperature and
      density in a quantum hadrodynamics model.

PMID- 9970520
TI  - Gluon decay as a mechanism for strangeness production in a quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970521
TI  - Effects of N-barN polarization on vector meson masses at finite temperature.

PMID- 9970522
TI  - Excitation energies in 20Na above the proton threshold.

PMID- 9970523
TI  - Reaction cross sections of intermediate energy alpha particles within a
      relativistic optical model.

PMID- 9970524
TI  - Unusual nuclear shapes and neutron specific heat of neutron star crusts.

PMID- 9970525
TI  - Glueball production from the quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970526
TI  - 1/Nc rotational corrections to gA in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and charge
      conjugation.

PMID- 9970527
TI  - Dilepton production from pion annihilation in a realistic Delta -hole model.

PMID- 9970528
TI  - Cranking Bohr-Mottelson Hamiltonian applied to superdeformed bands in the A~150
      region.

PMID- 9970529
TI  - Electroproduction of N*(1535).

PMID- 9970530
TI  - Erratum: Nucleon polarization in three-body models of polarized 6Li

PMID- 9970531
TI  - Erratum: Open charm as a probe of preequilibrium dynamics in nuclear collisions?

PMID- 9970533
TI  - Decay out of the highly deformed bands in the odd Nd isotopes: The 137Nd nucleus.

PMID- 9970532
TI  - Collectivity in "spherical" 143,144Eu nuclei.

PMID- 9970534
TI  - Optical-model analysis of parity-nonconserving neutron scattering at epithermal
      energies.

PMID- 9970535
TI  - Cross section, polarization observables, and phase-shift parameters in p-d and n
      d elastic scattering.

PMID- 9970536
TI  - Neutron halos in O isotopes.

PMID- 9970538
TI  - Nuclear transparencies for nucleons, knocked-out under various semi-inclusive
      conditions.

PMID- 9970537
TI  - Microscopic mass formulas.

PMID- 9970540
TI  - Exact solution of the bound-state Faddeev-Yakubovsky equations for one
      dimensional systems with a delta -function interaction.

PMID- 9970539
TI  - Measurement of np-->pp pi - at 443 MeV.

PMID- 9970541
TI  - NN--> Delta N transition amplitude analysis in the density matrix formalism.

PMID- 9970542
TI  - Chiral background for the two-pion exchange nuclear potential: A parametrized
      version.

PMID- 9970543
TI  - Quark cluster model study of isospin-2 dibaryons.

PMID- 9970545
TI  - Gauge invariant unitary theory for pion photoproduction.

PMID- 9970544
TI  - Are there eta -helium bound states?

PMID- 9970546
TI  - Relativistic nuclear Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9970547
TI  - Variational Monte Carlo calculations of 3H and 4He with a relativistic
      Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9970548
TI  - Spin-induced shape changes in light-medium mass compound nuclei.

PMID- 9970549
TI  - New high-spin band structures in 184Hg.

PMID- 9970550
TI  - Direct proton decay from the Gamow-Teller resonance in 208Bi.

PMID- 9970551
TI  - Doppler-shift attenuation method lifetime measurements in 115Sb and 117Sb.

PMID- 9970553
TI  - Structure of Li and Be isotopes studied with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9970552
TI  - Onset of collectivity in neutron deficient 196,198Po.

PMID- 9970554
TI  - Neutron-rich B isotopes studied with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9970555
TI  - Charge densities of the nuclei 86Sr, 89Y, 92Mo, 118Sn, and 152Sm and the proton
      occupancies of the shells 2s, 2p, 1g, and 1h.

PMID- 9970556
TI  - Correlations in a many-body calculation of 11Li.

PMID- 9970557
TI  - Liquid drop surface dynamics for large nuclear deformations.

PMID- 9970558
TI  - Multiband theory for heavy-ion neutron-pair transfer among deformed Gd nuclei.

PMID- 9970560
TI  - Halo structure of 14Be in a microscopic 12Be+n+n cluster model.

PMID- 9970559
TI  - Stochastic aspects of nuclear large amplitude motion.

PMID- 9970561
TI  - Saturation properties and incompressibility of nuclear matter: A consistent
      determination from nuclear masses.

PMID- 9970562
TI  - Shell-model Monte Carlo studies of fp-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9970563
TI  - Microscopic calculation for alpha and heavier cluster emissions from proton rich
      Ba and Ce isotopes.

PMID- 9970564
TI  - Excitation functions of (p, alpha ) reactions on 64Ni, 78Kr, and 86Sr.

PMID- 9970566
TI  - Elastic scattering and quasielastic transfer for 32S+96,100Mo at Elab=180 MeV.

PMID- 9970565
TI  - Identification of the new isotope 114Ba and search for its alpha and cluster
      radioactivity.

PMID- 9970567
TI  - Photon scattering from 12C and 4He nuclei near the Delta (1232) resonance.

PMID- 9970568
TI  - Central collisions in the 16O+12C reaction at 32.5 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970569
TI  - Comparative experimental study of the mirror 13N+12C and 13C+12C elastic
      scatterings.

PMID- 9970570
TI  - Impact parameter selected excited state populations for 36Ar+197Au reactions at
      E/A=35 MeV.

PMID- 9970571
TI  - Intermediate mass fragments emission in the reaction 47 MeV 7Li+Mg.

PMID- 9970572
TI  - Spin observables in elastic proton scattering from polarized 3He.

PMID- 9970573
TI  - Space-time characteristics of fragment emission in the E/A=30 MeV 129Xe+natCu
      reaction.

PMID- 9970574
TI  - Algebraic-eikonal approach to medium energy proton scattering from odd-mass
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970575
TI  - Imaginary part of the optical potential for finite temperature and for
      preequilibrium processes.

PMID- 9970576
TI  - Fully microscopic model of 200 MeV proton-12C elastic and inelastic scattering.

PMID- 9970577
TI  - Proton-nucleus scattering based on the relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock model.

PMID- 9970578
TI  - (p,2p) reaction in zero-range and finite-range relativistic distorted-wave
      impulse approximation.

PMID- 9970579
TI  - Nuclear binding effects in relativistic Coulomb sum rules.

PMID- 9970580
TI  - Intermittency in microscopic simulations of multifragmentation.

PMID- 9970581
TI  - Gamma-ray strength functions at finite temperature.

PMID- 9970582
TI  - Hadron-nucleon total cross section fluctuations from hadron-nucleus total cross
      sections.

PMID- 9970583
TI  - Spin-dependent nuclear structure functions: General approach with application to
      the deuteron.

PMID- 9970584
TI  - Neutron-to-proton ratio in intermediate-energy nuclear reactions.

PMID- 9970586
TI  - Nonlinear Landau damping in quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970585
TI  - Production of neutron-rich isotopes from the fragmentation of 28Si projectiles at
      plab=14.6 GeV/c per nucleon.

PMID- 9970587
TI  - Deuteron formation in expanding nuclear matter from a strong coupling BCS
      approach.

PMID- 9970589
TI  - Quark and gluon distributions at the earliest stage of heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970588
TI  - Relationship between correlation function fit parameters and source
      distributions.

PMID- 9970590
TI  - Delta (1232) in nuclei and QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9970592
TI  - Tests of time-reversal invariance in nuclear and particle physics.

PMID- 9970591
TI  - Further studies on the evidence for a 17-keV neutrino in a 14C-doped germanium
      detector.

PMID- 9970594
TI  - Isospin-breaking corrections to nucleon electroweak form factors in the
      constituent quark model.

PMID- 9970593
TI  - Relativistic mean-field approach to anapole moment: Atomic parity-violating
      hyperfine transitions.

PMID- 9970595
TI  - Can pions created in high-energy heavy-ion collisions produce a Centauro-type
      effect?

PMID- 9970596
TI  - Proton capture reaction rates in the rp process.

PMID- 9970597
TI  - Screening of nuclear reactions in the Sun and solar neutrinos.

PMID- 9970598
TI  - Resonance neutron capture in 136Ba.

PMID- 9970600
TI  - Dirac analysis of deformation parameters in the 12C(p

PMID- 9970599
TI  - Charge-pickup processes in relativistic heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970601
TI  - Integral characteristic parameters of the giant M1 resonance.

PMID- 9970602
TI  - Temperature dependence of the level density parameter.

PMID- 9970603
TI  - Giant quadrupole excitation in nuclei with neutron skin.

PMID- 9970604
TI  - Stability of bound states of negative pions and neutrons.

PMID- 9970605
TI  - 7Be(p, gamma )8B cross section and the properties of 7Be.

PMID- 9970607
TI  - Regular suppression of P,T-violating nuclear matrix elements.

PMID- 9970606
TI  - Photoproduction of the eta ' mesons as a new tool to probe baryon resonances.

PMID- 9970608
TI  - 4H clustering in lithium nuclei.

PMID- 9970610
TI  - Comment on "Antiproton-proton partial-wave analysis below 925 MeV/c"

PMID- 9970609
TI  - Reply to 'Comment on "4H clustering in lithium nuclei" '

PMID- 9970611
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Antiproton-proton partial-wave analysis below 925 MeV/c' "

PMID- 9970612
TI  - Erratum: Study of 110Cd from the 110Inm beta decay

PMID- 9970613
TI  - Study of the isospin response of the 4He continuum using the 4He(p,p'X) reaction.

PMID- 9970614
TI  - Intruder bands extended in 175Re and 177Ir: Deformation changes and interaction
      at the alignment of i13/2 neutrons.

PMID- 9970615
TI  - New measurements of 2H( gamma

PMID- 9970616
TI  - Study of the 18F(p, alpha )15O reaction at astrophysical energies using a 18F
      beam.

PMID- 9970617
TI  - Laser oriented 36K for time reversal symmetry measurements.

PMID- 9970618
TI  - Strong dipole excitations around 1.8 MeV in 238U.

PMID- 9970619
TI  - Relations between isoscalar charge form factors of two- and three-nucleon
      systems.

PMID- 9970621
TI  - Inclusion of fluctuations in Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck dynamics: A method of
      simulation.

PMID- 9970620
TI  - Suppression of dilepton production in hot hadronic matter.

PMID- 9970622
TI  - Pion-nucleus scattering and baryon resonances in the nuclear medium.

PMID- 9970623
TI  - Measuring hadron properties at finite temperature.

PMID- 9970624
TI  - Analyzing powers of p+d scattering below the deuteron breakup threshold.

PMID- 9970625
TI  - pi NN coupling constants from NN elastic data between 210 and 800 MeV.

PMID- 9970626
TI  - Charge symmetry breaking in 500 MeV nucleon-trinucleon scattering.

PMID- 9970627
TI  - Inclusive electron scattering on 3H and 3He with full inclusion of final state
      interactions.

PMID- 9970628
TI  - Nucleon polarization in exclusive deuteron electrodisintegration with polarized
      electrons and a polarized target.

PMID- 9970629
TI  - Effects of the three-nucleon forces due to pi and rho meson exchanges in the
      three-nucleon continuum.

PMID- 9970630
TI  - Instant form dynamics of one particle exchange models.

PMID- 9970631
TI  - High-spin structure of 139Eu.

PMID- 9970632
TI  - E1 and M1 strengths studied from two-step gamma cascades following capture of
      thermal neutrons in 162Dy.

PMID- 9970633
TI  - Negative-parity states near the yrast line in 144Nd.

PMID- 9970635
TI  - Spin-rotor interpretation of identical bands and quantized alignment in
      superdeformed A

PMID- 9970634
TI  - Superdeformation in 146Gd.

PMID- 9970636
TI  - Measurement of low-lying states in 9B.

PMID- 9970637
TI  - Rotational structures in 177Ta.

PMID- 9970638
TI  - Evidence of unique-parity band structure in neutron-rich odd-A Ru isotopes.

PMID- 9970639
TI  - Structure of 108,110,112Ru: Identical bands in 108,110Ru.

PMID- 9970640
TI  - Conversion electron spectroscopy at the fragment mass analyzer focal plane:
      Studies of isomeric decays near the proton drip line.

PMID- 9970641
TI  - Neutron decay from the isobaric analog state in 120Sb populated in
      120Sn(3He,t)120Sb at E(3He) = 200 MeV, theta = 0 degrees.

PMID- 9970642
TI  - Vacuum contributions in a chiral effective Lagrangian for nuclei.

PMID- 9970644
TI  - Boson-fermion mapping of collective fermion-pair algebras.

PMID- 9970643
TI  - Deformation of light xenon isotopes.

PMID- 9970646
TI  - F-spin mixing and M1 properties of the low-lying states in the neutron-proton
      interacting boson model.

PMID- 9970645
TI  - Multiparticle-rotor model for rotational band structure of 154Gd.

PMID- 9970647
TI  - Nuclear incompressibility: An analytical study on the leptodermous expansion.

PMID- 9970648
TI  - Structure of hot rotating s-d shell nuclei.

PMID- 9970649
TI  - Regional regularities for the even-even nuclei: Medium to heavy systems.

PMID- 9970650
TI  - Heavy residues from very mass-asymmetric heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970651
TI  - Two proton and two neutron photoemission cross sections of 63Cu.

PMID- 9970652
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength in 23Na(n,p) and a comparison to 23Na( micro-, nu ).

PMID- 9970653
TI  - Total cross section and resonance spectroscopy for n+122Sn.

PMID- 9970654
TI  - Photoexcitation of 189Osm and 193Irm. I. Excitation of 189Osm by low-energy x
      rays.

PMID- 9970655
TI  - Photoexcitation of 189Osm and 193Irm. II. Excitation by 137Cs and 60Co gamma
      rays.

PMID- 9970656
TI  - Measurement of the spin-dependent asymmetry in 3He

PMID- 9970658
TI  - Correlated pair conversion in heavy-ion collisions at the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9970657
TI  - Coupled channel folding model description of alpha scattering from 9Be.

PMID- 9970660
TI  - Fission following complete fusion for 16O + 232Th at 140 MeV.

PMID- 9970659
TI  - Folded potential analysis of the excitation of giant resonances by heavy ions.

PMID- 9970661
TI  - Intermittency and multifractality of medium-energy particles in proton-nucleus
      interactions at 800 GeV.

PMID- 9970662
TI  - Search for H dibaryon-nucleus bound states in relativistic Au+Pt collisions.

PMID- 9970664
TI  - Correlations and fluctuations in high-energy nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970663
TI  - Microcanonical treatment of hadronizing the quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970665
TI  - Strangeness enhancement in p+A and S+A interactions at energies near 200A GeV.

PMID- 9970666
TI  - Nucleon to Delta weak excitation amplitudes in the nonrelativistic quark model.

PMID- 9970667
TI  - Kaon photoproduction off nucleons in the chiral quark model.

PMID- 9970669
TI  - Variational Tamm-Dancoff treatment of quantum chromodynamics: The heavy mesons in
      the valence quark approximation.

PMID- 9970668
TI  - Kaon photoproduction in the color-dielectric model.

PMID- 9970670
TI  - Indirect study of low-energy resonances in 31P(p, alpha )28Si and 35Cl(p, alpha
      )32S.

PMID- 9970671
TI  - High-spin states in doubly odd 114I.

PMID- 9970672
TI  - gamma -ray deexcitations in 168Tm.

PMID- 9970673
TI  - Comparison of potential models with the np scattering data below 350 MeV.

PMID- 9970675
TI  - Comment on "E2 contribution to the 8B-->p+7Be Coulomb dissociation cross section"

PMID- 9970674
TI  - Phase-shift analysis of neutron-209Bi scattering and its comparison to neutron
      208Pb scattering.

PMID- 9970676
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'E2 contribution to the 8B-->p+7Be Coulomb dissociation
      cross section' "

PMID- 9970677
TI  - Is large weak mixing in heavy nuclei consistent with atomic experiments?

PMID- 9970678
TI  - Reply to "Is large weak mixing in heavy nuclei consistent with atomic
      experiments?"

PMID- 9970679
TI  - The 12C( gamma,K+) reaction in the threshold region.

PMID- 9970680
TI  - (d,2He) reactions at Ed=125.2 MeV.

PMID- 9970681
TI  - Evidence for a proton halo in 8B: Enhanced total reaction cross sections at 20 to
      60 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970682
TI  - Superdeformation in 154Er.

PMID- 9970683
TI  - Isospin mixing in proton-rich N

PMID- 9970685
TI  - Finite-temperature corrections in the dilated chiral quark model.

PMID- 9970684
TI  - Nuclear shell structure and chaotic dynamics in hexadecapole deformation.

PMID- 9970686
TI  - Color fluctuations in hadrons and proton coherent diffractive dissociation on
      helium.

PMID- 9970687
TI  - Three-baryon Lambda NN potential.

PMID- 9970688
TI  - Longitudinal response functions of 3He and 3H by Lorentz kernel transformations.

PMID- 9970689
TI  - Search for enhanced octupole correlations in 65Ge.

PMID- 9970690
TI  - Lifetime measurements in 120Xe.

PMID- 9970691
TI  - Measurement of the magnetic moment of the 10(+) isomer in 132Ba.

PMID- 9970692
TI  - Are octupole vibrations harmonic?

PMID- 9970694
TI  - Bands observed in 102Ru using the incomplete fusion reaction.

PMID- 9970693
TI  - Excitation energy of the pi s1/2 intruder state in 189Bi.

PMID- 9970695
TI  - Chaotic behavior in the cranking and particles-rotor models.

PMID- 9970697
TI  - Unified treatment of scattering and cluster structure in alpha +closed shell
      nuclei: 20Ne and 44Ti.

PMID- 9970696
TI  - Time-odd components in the mean field of rotating superdeformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970698
TI  - Pairing correlations between the normal and abnormal parity orbits and the
      mechanism of the stretching effect.

PMID- 9970700
TI  - Two-parameter formula for rotational spectra.

PMID- 9970699
TI  - Unified description of the low lying states of the ground bands of even-even
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970701
TI  - Spontaneous-fission half-lives of deformed superheavy nuclei.

PMID- 9970702
TI  - Shell model study of the high spin states in the N=50 isotones 92Mo, 93Tc, 94Ru,
      and 95Rh.

PMID- 9970703
TI  - Unique potentials for the elastic scattering of 350 MeV 7Li from 12C and 28Si.

PMID- 9970705
TI  - Emission of photons in spontaneous fission of 252Cf.

PMID- 9970704
TI  - The sphericity of central heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970706
TI  - Tensor effects in 6Li

PMID- 9970707
TI  - Population of collective bands in Dy isotopes using heavy ion induced transfer
      reactions.

PMID- 9970708
TI  - Excitation functions and isomeric cross section ratio of the 58Ni(n,p)58Com,g
      reactions from 2 to 15 MeV.

PMID- 9970709
TI  - Phenomenological transition amplitudes in selected 1p-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9970710
TI  - Exclusive charged pion photoproduction in selected light nuclei.

PMID- 9970712
TI  - In-medium effects at low temperatures in the photon bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9970711
TI  - Photon polarization in the 4He( gamma,d

PMID- 9970714
TI  - Comparing the p-wave multipoles for pi 0 photoproduction with low-energy
      predictions.

PMID- 9970713
TI  - Anomalous anisotropies of fission fragments for sub-barrier fusion-fission
      reactions.

PMID- 9970715
TI  - Propagator modifications in elastic nucleon-nucleus scattering within the
      spectator expansion.

PMID- 9970716
TI  - The fragment coalescence model.

PMID- 9970717
TI  - Effects of Gogny-type interactions on the nuclear flow.

PMID- 9970718
TI  - Collective reactions to the continuum in neutron scattering by niobium.

PMID- 9970720
TI  - Formation of superdense hadronic matter in high energy heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970719
TI  - Tranverse energy and charged particle multiplicity in p-nucleus collisions at
      14.6 GeV/c.

PMID- 9970722
TI  - Ratios of strange antibaryons to baryons in relativistic nucleus-nucleus
      collisions.

PMID- 9970721
TI  - Energy constraint effects on pion multiplicity distribution.

PMID- 9970723
TI  - Phase transitions in warm, asymmetric nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970724
TI  - Factorial correlator study in 32S-Ag/Br interaction at 200A GeV.

PMID- 9970726
TI  - Electromagnetic meson form factors in a covariant Salpeter model.

PMID- 9970725
TI  - Measurement of the electric and magnetic polarizabilities of the proton.

PMID- 9970727
TI  - Updated analysis of pi N elastic scattering data to 2.1 GeV: The baryon spectrum.

PMID- 9970729
TI  - K-N S channel I=1,0 phase shifts as a direct measure of chiral condensation.

PMID- 9970728
TI  - Baryon mappings applied to the three-color delta model.

PMID- 9970730
TI  - NN-bar annihilation in large NC QCD with rho and omega mesons.

PMID- 9970731
TI  - Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model compared with chiral perturbation theory: The pion
      radius in SU(2) revisited.

PMID- 9970732
TI  - Chiral prediction for the pi N S-wave scattering length a- to order

PMID- 9970733
TI  - eta N S-wave scattering length in a three-coupled-channel, multiresonance,
      unitary model.

PMID- 9970734
TI  - Three-flavor quark matter in the chiral color dielectric model.

PMID- 9970735
TI  - Neutrino magnetic moment effects in neutrino nucleus reactions.

PMID- 9970736
TI  - Excitation of the 2.65 MeV state in the 20Ne(p,n)20Na reaction at 135 MeV.

PMID- 9970737
TI  - Response of mica to weakly interacting massive particles.

PMID- 9970738
TI  - Pion and neutron production by cosmic-ray muons underground.

PMID- 9970739
TI  - Two-neutron capture reactions in supernovae neutrino bubbles.

PMID- 9970740
TI  - Decays of 160-162Hf.

PMID- 9970742
TI  - Ground-state properties of strontium isotopes.

PMID- 9970741
TI  - Half-lives of isomeric states in 57Fe and 83Kr.

PMID- 9970743
TI  - Extraction of the pi NN coupling constant from NN scattering data.

PMID- 9970744
TI  - Crystalline structure of the mixed confined-deconfined phase in neutron stars.

PMID- 9970745
TI  - Even-odd staggering of pairing-force strength.

PMID- 9970746
TI  - Continuum Tamm-Dancoff approximation calculations for the escape widths of the
      isobaric analog state and Gamow-Teller resonance in 208Bi.

PMID- 9970747
TI  - 1d5/2-2s1/2 splitting in light nuclei.

PMID- 9970748
TI  - Particle evaporation following multinucleon transfer processes with radioactive
      beams.

PMID- 9970750
TI  - Erratum: Medium effects on spin observables of proton knockout reactions

PMID- 9970749
TI  - Can one see Coulomb-nuclear interference effects in nucleon-nucleus scattering?

PMID- 9970751
TI  - Spectroscopy of 194Po.

PMID- 9970752
TI  - Signatures of multiphonon and neutron transfer couplings in the fusion of
      36,32S+110Pd.

PMID- 9970753
TI  - Polarized proton capture by deuterium and the 2H(p, gamma )3He astrophysical S
      factor.

PMID- 9970754
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength in 54Fe and 56Fe.

PMID- 9970755
TI  - Spherical shell model description of rotational motion.

PMID- 9970757
TI  - Strangeness form factors of the nucleon and the anomalous magnetic moments of
      constituent quarks.

PMID- 9970756
TI  - Isospin nonequilibrium in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9970759
TI  - Pre-equilibrium particle emission and critical exponent analysis.

PMID- 9970758
TI  - Cold-fission yields at effective excitation energies.

PMID- 9970760
TI  - Neutron halo and spin-orbit splitting in some neutron-rich nuclei.

PMID- 9970761
TI  - Role of the rho meson in the nonmesonic hypernuclear decay.

PMID- 9970762
TI  - Measurements of Delta sigma T in polarized-neutron-polarized-proton scattering.

PMID- 9970763
TI  - Three-body correlations in few-body nuclei.

PMID- 9970764
TI  - Pion correlation from Skyrmion-anti-Skyrmion annihilation.

PMID- 9970765
TI  - Effects of meson-decay diagrams in proton-proton bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9970766
TI  - Lifetime measurements of scissors mode excitations in 162,164Dy.

PMID- 9970767
TI  - Structural characteristics of 142Ce through inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9970768
TI  - Damping of unbound single-particle modes.

PMID- 9970769
TI  - High-spin states and K-forbidden decay in 172Hf.

PMID- 9970770
TI  - Systematics of low-lying dipole strengths in odd and even Dy and Gd isotopes.

PMID- 9970771
TI  - Decay properties of the 02+ state and spin-parity assignments in 78Kr.

PMID- 9970772
TI  - Highly deformed band in 105Ag.

PMID- 9970773
TI  - Isospin-mixing corrections for fp-shell Fermi transitions.

PMID- 9970775
TI  - Gamow-Teller beta + decay of deformed nuclei near the proton drip line.

PMID- 9970774
TI  - beta decay of 11Li to the deuteron channel and halo analog states in 11Be.

PMID- 9970776
TI  - Chaoticity in vibrating nuclear billiards.

PMID- 9970777
TI  - Collisional damping in heated nuclei within the Landau-Vlasov kinetic theory.

PMID- 9970778
TI  - Large-basis shell model studies of light nuclei with a multivalued G-matrix
      effective interaction.

PMID- 9970779
TI  - Collisional damping of giant resonances in a non-Markovian approach.

PMID- 9970781
TI  - Systematic features of signature inversion of (h11/2)p(i13/2)n bands in doubly
      odd nuclei around A~160.

PMID- 9970780
TI  - Isovector response function of hot nuclear matter with Skyrme interactions.

PMID- 9970782
TI  - Systematic studies for medium-heavy even-even nuclei.

PMID- 9970783
TI  - Analyzing power measurements in pion-deuteron breakup at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9970784
TI  - Dipole excitations in p-shell nuclei via (p,n) reactions.

PMID- 9970785
TI  - Isomeric cross-section ratios for the formation of 75Gem,g in (n,p), (n, alpha ),
      and (n,2n) reactions from 6 to 15 MeV.

PMID- 9970786
TI  - Analyzing powers for the 2H(p

PMID- 9970788
TI  - Study of the reactions occurring in the fusion of 12C and 16O with heavy nuclei
      at incident energies below 10 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970787
TI  - Simultaneous measurements of (p

PMID- 9970789
TI  - Photopion production from polarized nuclear targets.

PMID- 9970791
TI  - Vapor-liquid phase transition and multifragmentation of nuclei.

PMID- 9970790
TI  - Euclidean responses of 4He at high momentum transfer.

PMID- 9970792
TI  - Nonresonant breakup effects in 6Li

PMID- 9970794
TI  - Two-dimensional nuclear inertia: Analytical relationships.

PMID- 9970793
TI  - Analysis of the (N,xN') reactions by quantum molecular dynamics plus statistical
      decay model.

PMID- 9970795
TI  - Neutrons from multiplicity-selected Au-Au collisions at 150A, 250A, 400A, and
      650A MeV.

PMID- 9970796
TI  - Fragmentation and multifragmentation of 10.6A GeV gold nuclei.

PMID- 9970797
TI  - Multiplicity distributions from central collisions of 16O+Cu at 14.6A GeV/c and
      intermittency.

PMID- 9970798
TI  - Search for pion-neutron bound states in 14.6A GeV Si + nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9970799
TI  - Baryon rapidity loss and midrapidity stacking in high energy nucleus-nucleus
      collisions.

PMID- 9970800
TI  - Extracting source parameters from Gaussian fits to two-particle correlations.

PMID- 9970801
TI  - Dilepton production in a chemically equilibrating, expanding, and hadronizing
      quark-gluon plasma.

PMID- 9970802
TI  - Causality violations in cascade models of nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970803
TI  - Inhomogeneous nucleation of quark-gluon plasma in high energy nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970804
TI  - Faddeev null-plane model of the nucleon.

PMID- 9970806
TI  - Self-consistent delta-hole model at nonzero temperature.

PMID- 9970805
TI  - Nucleon structure in a relativistic quark model.

PMID- 9970808
TI  - Absolute intensity of internal bremsstrahlung from the electron capture decay of
      125I.

PMID- 9970807
TI  - Stellar neutron capture cross sections of the Gd isotopes.

PMID- 9970809
TI  - Two-proton correlations for 16O + 197Au collisions at E/A=200 MeV.

PMID- 9970810
TI  - Status of the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation to the nuclear matter binding
      energy with the Paris potential.

PMID- 9970811
TI  - Composite nucleons in scalar and vector mean fields.

PMID- 9970812
TI  - Multiphonon structure in a gamma -unstable fermionic model.

PMID- 9970813
TI  - Sensitivity of quasielastic (p

PMID- 9970814
TI  - Quantum molecular dynamics and multistep-direct analyses of multiple
      preequilibrium emission.

PMID- 9970815
TI  - Local density functional for isovector-meson exchange.

PMID- 9970816
TI  - Comment on "Three-body resonances in 6He, 6Li, and 6Be, and the soft dipole mode
      problem of neutron halo nuclei"

PMID- 9970817
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Three-body resonances in 6He, 6Li, and 6Be, and the soft
      dipole mode problem of neutron halo nuclei' "

PMID- 9970819
TI  - Proton and neutron alignments in negative-parity bands of 76Kr.

PMID- 9970818
TI  - Lifetime measurements within the superdeformed minimum of 133Ce and 132Ce.

PMID- 9970820
TI  - Measurement of low mtK0s production from 14.6A GeV/c Si beams on a Pb target.

PMID- 9970821
TI  - Excited superdeformed band in 142Sm identical to 146Gd.

PMID- 9970822
TI  - Observation of strong isospin mixing in proton emission from the astrophysically
      interesting isobaric analog state in 23Mg.

PMID- 9970823
TI  - Low-spin termination of the superdeformed band in 135Nd.

PMID- 9970824
TI  - Pairing strength in neutron-rich isotopes of Zr.

PMID- 9970825
TI  - Identification of new nuclei at and beyond the proton drip line near the doubly
      magic nucleus 100Sn.

PMID- 9970826
TI  - Two-phonon character of the lowest J pi =1(-) state of 142Nd.

PMID- 9970828
TI  - Limiting temperatures of neutron rich nuclei: A possible interpretation of data
      from isotope yield ratios.

PMID- 9970827
TI  - Correlation between low-lying M1 and E2 strength in heavy rare earth nuclei.

PMID- 9970829
TI  - Neutron skin of nuclei near the neutron drip line.

PMID- 9970831
TI  - Direct radiative capture of p-wave neutrons.

PMID- 9970830
TI  - Statistical distribution of inertial parameters in normally deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970832
TI  - Exact methods for expectation values in canonical fragmentation models.

PMID- 9970833
TI  - Changes in the n-p interaction strengths for Pd and Cd nuclei.

PMID- 9970834
TI  - Coplanar and noncoplanar nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung calculation: A study of
      pseudoscalar and pseudovector pi N couplings.

PMID- 9970835
TI  - Determination of the asymptotic D- to S-state ratio for 3He via (d

PMID- 9970837
TI  - Poincare invariant coupled channel model for the pion-nucleon system.

PMID- 9970836
TI  - Radiative capture of polarized neutrons by polarized protons at Tn=183 MeV.

PMID- 9970838
TI  - Precise solution of few-body problems with the stochastic variational method on a
      correlated Gaussian basis.

PMID- 9970839
TI  - Tensor analyzing power Ayy for dp breakup in the symmetric constant relative
      energy configuration.

PMID- 9970840
TI  - Neutral pion photoproduction on nuclei in baryon chiral perturbation theory.

PMID- 9970841
TI  - Repulsive short-range three-nucleon interaction.

PMID- 9970842
TI  - Hypernuclear weak decay of 12 Lambda C and 11 Lambda B.

PMID- 9970843
TI  - Band structures in 132Ba.

PMID- 9970844
TI  - Momentum distribution in nuclear matter and finite nuclei.

PMID- 9970845
TI  - Full-symmetry and mixed-symmetry states in even ruthenium isotopes.

PMID- 9970846
TI  - Favored noncollective oblate states in light tellurium isotopes.

PMID- 9970847
TI  - Microscopic study of a C4-symmetry hypothesis in A~150 superdeformed nuclei:
      Deformed Woods-Saxon mean field.

PMID- 9970848
TI  - sd-shell study with a multiconfiguration mixing approach designed for large scale
      nuclear structure calculations.

PMID- 9970849
TI  - Microscopic four-cluster description of the mirror nuclei 9Li and 9C.

PMID- 9970850
TI  - Proton momentum distribution in nuclei beyond 4He.

PMID- 9970851
TI  - Regular and chaotic motion in axially deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970852
TI  - Density dependent hadron field theory.

PMID- 9970853
TI  - Tilted-axis cranking analysis in a simple model.

PMID- 9970854
TI  - Role of the breakup process in the 48Ca(20Ne,19Ne n) reaction at 48A MeV.

PMID- 9970855
TI  - Dynamics of heavy-ion fusion probed by d/p double ratios from a cross
      bombardment.

PMID- 9970856
TI  - Fusion l distribution in 16O, 28Si+115In reactions at near- and sub-barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9970857
TI  - Statistical analysis of correlated resonance phenomena in two systems: 28Si+20Ne
      and 24Mg+20Ne.

PMID- 9970858
TI  - Nuclear structure effects in the sub-barrier fusion of 16O + 70,72,73,74,76Ge.

PMID- 9970859
TI  - Mass and charge distributions for the reaction 40Ca + 209Bi at 600 MeV.

PMID- 9970860
TI  - Prompt and sequential decay processes in the fragmentation of 40 MeV/nucleon 20Ne
      projectiles.

PMID- 9970862
TI  - Prescission charged particle emission in 19F+232Th.

PMID- 9970861
TI  - Barrier distributions from the fusion of oxygen ions with 144,148,154Sm and 186W.

PMID- 9970863
TI  - Semiclassical and quantum mechanical analysis of the excitation function for the
      130Te(p,n)130I reaction.

PMID- 9970864
TI  - Multifragment events in the 238U+197Au reaction at 15 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970865
TI  - Fission fragment angular distributions for 11B and 19F+238U systems.

PMID- 9970866
TI  - Excitation of giant monopole resonance in 24Mg using 6Li scattering.

PMID- 9970868
TI  - Trajectory modifications in the Glauber model for heavy ions.

PMID- 9970867
TI  - Tensor analyzing powers for 7Li breakup.

PMID- 9970869
TI  - Fluctuations in nuclear fragmentation.

PMID- 9970870
TI  - Fully microscopic model analysis of the elastic and inelastic scattering of
      protons from 12C and for energies in the range 200 to 800 MeV.

PMID- 9970871
TI  - Delta degrees of freedom in antisymmetrized molecular dynamics and (p,p')
      reactions in the Delta region.

PMID- 9970872
TI  - Fusion cross section for the weakly bound neutron system 11Be+10Be at energies
      below and near the Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9970873
TI  - Competing electric and magnetic excitations in backward electron scattering from
      heavy deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970874
TI  - Fragmentation cross sections of relativistic 8436Kr and 10947Ag nuclei in targets
      from hydrogen to lead.

PMID- 9970875
TI  - Flavor production in Pb(160A GeV) on Pb collisions: Effect of color ropes and
      hadronic rescattering.

PMID- 9970877
TI  - Nuclear mesonic Cherenkov-like radiation from high energy nucleons.

PMID- 9970876
TI  - Baryon-antibaryon pair production in time-dependent meson fields.

PMID- 9970878
TI  - Valid QCD sum rules for vector mesons in nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970879
TI  - Generalized Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a study of the boson-exchange model of
      nuclear forces.

PMID- 9970880
TI  - QCD sum rules, scattering length, and vector mesons in the nuclear medium.

PMID- 9970881
TI  - Q2 dependence of nuclear shadowing.

PMID- 9970883
TI  - pi NN form factor from QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9970882
TI  - Baryon mapping of quark systems.

PMID- 9970884
TI  - Quark-quark potential from chiral symmetry.

PMID- 9970886
TI  - Shape of the beta spectra in the A=14 system.

PMID- 9970885
TI  - Exchange current corrections to neutrino-nucleus scattering. I. Nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970887
TI  - rho - omega mixing off shell and charge symmetry breaking in the N-N potential.

PMID- 9970888
TI  - Inclusive 12C( nu micro, micro)12N reaction in the continuum random phase
      approximation.

PMID- 9970889
TI  - Cross section of 36S(n, gamma )37S.

PMID- 9970890
TI  - Muon-induced neutron and pion production in an organic liquid scintillator at a
      shallow depth.

PMID- 9970891
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength distributions for nuclei in presupernova stellar cores.

PMID- 9970893
TI  - Astrophysical factor for the radiative capture reaction alpha +d-->6Li+ gamma.

PMID- 9970892
TI  - Strangeness in hadronic stellar matter.

PMID- 9970894
TI  - Correlation measurements of light charged particles emitted from 32S+27Al
      reactions at energies of 105 MeV and 215 MeV.

PMID- 9970895
TI  - Two-phonon gamma -vibrational state in 168Er.

PMID- 9970896
TI  - Weak strangeness production in nucleon-nucleon scattering.

PMID- 9970897
TI  - Nucleon helicity in pion photoproduction.

PMID- 9970898
TI  - Meson-mode mixing in the calculation of the nucleon-nucleon interaction.

PMID- 9970899
TI  - Existence of proton halos near the drip line.

PMID- 9970901
TI  - Low energy resonances in 15N( alpha, gamma )19F and 15O( alpha, gamma )19Ne.

PMID- 9970900
TI  - Erratum: Radiative decays of the 16.6 and 16.9 MeV states in 8Be and tests of the
      conservation of the vector current in the A=8 multiplet

PMID- 9970902
TI  - Evidence of massive cluster transfers in 19F+232Th reaction at near barrier
      energies.

PMID- 9970903
TI  - Fast electric dipole transitions in nuclei near N=82.

PMID- 9970904
TI  - Emission times for energy selected 1,2,3H ejectiles from central collisions: 1360
      MeV 40Ar+Ag.

PMID- 9970905
TI  - Intruder bands in 114Te: Smooth band termination.

PMID- 9970906
TI  - Quantitative description of superdeformed bands with the projected shell model.

PMID- 9970907
TI  - Effect of Coulomb dipole polarizability of halo nuclei on their near-barrier
      fusion with heavy targets.

PMID- 9970908
TI  - Absolute pp-elastic cross sections from 492 to 793 MeV using CH2 targets.

PMID- 9970909
TI  - T20 measurements for 1H(d

PMID- 9970910
TI  - Total photoabsorption cross sections for 1H, 2H, and 3He from 200 to 800 MeV.

PMID- 9970911
TI  - Charge symmetry breaking effects in nucleon-nucleon scattering derived from the
      quark model.

PMID- 9970912
TI  - Scaling of three-body S-matrix poles.

PMID- 9970913
TI  - Nodal trajectories of spin observables and kaon photoproduction dynamics.

PMID- 9970914
TI  - Cascade calculation of K--p and K--d atoms.

PMID- 9970915
TI  - Nucleon- alpha -particle interactions from inversion of scattering phase shifts.

PMID- 9970916
TI  - [script l]-forbidden Gamow-Teller beta decay of 57Cu.

PMID- 9970917
TI  - beta + decay of 15.2-min 114Te.

PMID- 9970919
TI  - Magnetic dipole moment of 127Sb and 129Sb by nuclear magnetic resonance on
      oriented nuclei.

PMID- 9970920
TI  - Isovector M1 transitions in 28Si and the role of meson exchange currents.

PMID- 9970918
TI  - Superdeformation in bismuth.

PMID- 9970921
TI  - alpha -cluster states above the threshold energy in 44Ti.

PMID- 9970923
TI  - Average magnetic moments of pre-yrast high spin states in 166,165Hf.

PMID- 9970922
TI  - Band structure of the odd-even 125La, 127La nuclei.

PMID- 9970924
TI  - Dilepton decay from excited states in 28Si populated via different isospin
      entrance channels.

PMID- 9970926
TI  - Approximate particle number projection for finite range density dependent forces.

PMID- 9970925
TI  - Wave functions of the triaxial rotor model in the multiple "Q-excitation" scheme.

PMID- 9970928
TI  - Change of shape in the yrast sequence in 50Cr.

PMID- 9970927
TI  - Description of beta decay to excited quadrupole phonon states within a boson
      expansion formalism.

PMID- 9970929
TI  - Magnetic dipole transitions in superdeformed nuclei.

PMID- 9970931
TI  - Properties of proton drip-line nuclei at the sd-fp-shell interface.

PMID- 9970930
TI  - Hole spectral function and two-particle-one-hole response propagator.

PMID- 9970932
TI  - Light particle-evaporation residue coincidences for the 79Br+27Al system at 11.8
      MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9970933
TI  - Measurements of 65 MeV Fe, Sn, and Pb(n,n'x) continuum cross sections.

PMID- 9970934
TI  - Evaporation residue, fission cross sections, and linear momentum transfer for 14N
      induced reactions from 35A to 155A MeV.

PMID- 9970935
TI  - Delays associated with elementary processes in nuclear reaction simulations.

PMID- 9970936
TI  - Proton (neutron) spin rotation in a polarized nuclear target: Method for
      investigating nuclear interactions.

PMID- 9970937
TI  - Roper excitation in alpha -proton scattering.

PMID- 9970939
TI  - Extension of quantum molecular dynamics and its application to heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9970938
TI  - Analysis of parity violation in neutron resonances.

PMID- 9970940
TI  - Two and three nucleon induced photon absorption.

PMID- 9970941
TI  - Three-body reaction theory in a model space.

PMID- 9970942
TI  - Molecular states in the equator-equator orientation of two oblately deformed 12C
      nuclei.

PMID- 9970943
TI  - Theory of multiphonon excitation in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970944
TI  - Interactions of relativistic neon to nickel projectiles in hydrogen, elemental
      production cross sections.

PMID- 9970946
TI  - Quark model of phi coalescence from kaons in heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9970945
TI  - Search for fractionally charged nuclear fragments in relativistic heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9970947
TI  - Coalescence of deuterons in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9970949
TI  - S-wave resonance coupled-channel approach to the reactions pi -+p--> eta +n and K
      +p--> eta + Lambda, and a determination of the eta n and eta Lambda scattering
      lengths.

PMID- 9970948
TI  - Off-mass-shell deformation of the nucleon structure function.

PMID- 9970950
TI  - Model gluon propagator and pion and rho -meson observables.

PMID- 9970951
TI  - Strange mesonic transition form factor.

PMID- 9970953
TI  - Updated resonance photodecay amplitudes to 2 GeV.

PMID- 9970952
TI  - Hadronization in the SU(3) Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9970954
TI  - Kaon-nucleon couplings for weak decays of hypernuclei.

PMID- 9970955
TI  - Charm production in flux tubes.

PMID- 9970956
TI  - Levels in 17C above the 16C+neutron threshold.

PMID- 9970957
TI  - Neutron capture cross section of 18O and its astrophysical implications.

PMID- 9970958
TI  - Direct neutron capture for magic-shell nuclei.

PMID- 9970959
TI  - New stellar reaction rates for 25Mg(p, gamma )26Al and 25Al(p, gamma )26Si.

PMID- 9970960
TI  - Study of the electronic rearrangement induced by nuclear transmutations: A B
      spline approach applied to the beta decay of 6He.

PMID- 9970962
TI  - Effect of bulk constants on the binding energy of neutron matter and beta
      stability of a neutron star.

PMID- 9970961
TI  - Reaction cross section in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9970963
TI  - Distorted wave analyses of the 7Li( alpha,2 alpha )3H reaction.

PMID- 9970964
TI  - Why temperature-dependent fission barriers should not be included in statistical
      model calculations.

PMID- 9970965
TI  - alpha -cluster structure of the yrast bands of 44Ti.

PMID- 9970967
TI  - Hadron masses at finite density from the Zimanyi-Moskowski model.

PMID- 9970966
TI  - Unique determination of the tensor spin-spin part of the nucleon-nucleon forward
      scattering amplitude.

PMID- 9970968
TI  - Comment on "Role of heavy meson exchange in near threshold NN-->d pi "

PMID- 9970969
TI  - Search for p waves in low-energy proton capture reactions relevant to the solar
      neutrino problem.

PMID- 9970970
TI  - Reducibility and a new entropic term in multifragment charge distributions.

PMID- 9970971
TI  - The i13/2 proton intruder orbital in the superdeformed 193Tl nucleus: Effective
      magnetic moment and blocking of proton pairing.

PMID- 9970973
TI  - Energy dependence of fusion cross sections.

PMID- 9970972
TI  - Electron-positron pairs from thermal resonances in ultrarelativistic nuclear
      collisions.

PMID- 9970974
TI  - Pion charge exchange in the deuteron.

PMID- 9970975
TI  - Pion flow and antiflow in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9970976
TI  - Structure of nonlocalities in meson exchange NN interactions and their role in
      the NN and 3N system.

PMID- 9970978
TI  - Leading-order nuclear pi - gamma exchange force.

PMID- 9970977
TI  - Quadrupole deformation of deuterons and final-state interaction in 2H

PMID- 9970979
TI  - Polarization observables in vector meson photoproduction.

PMID- 9970981
TI  - Spectroscopy of 20F levels.

PMID- 9970980
TI  - Nuclear moments of 179Ta from optical measurement of hyperfine structure.

PMID- 9970982
TI  - New search for 26O.

PMID- 9970983
TI  - Evidence for continuum E0 transitions following the decay of high spin states in
      130Ce.

PMID- 9970984
TI  - Radioactivity of neutron deficient isotopes in the region N>82>Z.

PMID- 9970985
TI  - Evolution of collectivity to very high spins in 160Yb.

PMID- 9970987
TI  - Anomalous angular distributions in pion and alpha particle scattering to the 22+
      state of 52Cr.

PMID- 9970986
TI  - Spectroscopy in the second well of the 148Gd nucleus: Two quasiparticle and
      collective excitations.

PMID- 9970988
TI  - Neutrinoless double beta decay within the quasiparticle random-phase
      approximation with proton-neutron pairing.

PMID- 9970989
TI  - Structure and reactions of the 12,14Be nuclei.

PMID- 9970990
TI  - Fermion dynamical symmetry model for the even-even and even-odd nuclei in the Xe
      Ba region.

PMID- 9970991
TI  - Neutron decay of high angular momentum states excited in transfer reactions.

PMID- 9970992
TI  - Structure of proton drip-line nuclei around doubly magic 48Ni.

PMID- 9970993
TI  - Selection rule for fragmentations of doorway s-hole states in light nuclei.

PMID- 9970994
TI  - Single-particle and collective properties of drip-line nuclei.

PMID- 9970995
TI  - Coupled-channels model for superdeformed prolate nuclei: alpha -chain states in
      16O.

PMID- 9970996
TI  - Refined Thomas-Fermi description of hot nuclei.

PMID- 9970997
TI  - Tensor coupling and vector mesons in dense nuclear matter.

PMID- 9970998
TI  - Mass distribution in 19F induced fission of 232Th.

PMID- 9970999
TI  - Absence of isotopic dependence in the sub-barrier fusion of 48Ti+58,60,64Ni
      systems.

PMID- 9971000
TI  - Pion-nucleus single charge exchange induced by stopped negative pions.

PMID- 9971001
TI  - Resonant structures in the 20Ne+16O system.

PMID- 9971002
TI  - Dependence of intermediate mass fragment production on the reaction mechanism in
      light heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energy.

PMID- 9971003
TI  - Multi-

PMID- 9971005
TI  - Neutron elastic and inelastic breakup in reactions induced by 20Ne.

PMID- 9971004
TI  - Improvement of the nucleon emission process and the statistical property in
      molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9971006
TI  - Preequilibrium decay in the exciton model for nuclear potential with a finite
      depth.

PMID- 9971007
TI  - Scalar and vector interactions of a composite spin-1/2 system.

PMID- 9971008
TI  - Effects of shell structure and N/Z ratio of a projectile on the excitation energy
      distribution between interacting nuclei in deep-inelastic collisions.

PMID- 9971009
TI  - Nonexistence of the Oppenheimer-Phillips process in low-energy deuteron-nucleus
      collisions.

PMID- 9971010
TI  - Hadronization during quark-gluon plasma phase transition.

PMID- 9971011
TI  - Hanbury-Brown-Twiss analysis of anisotropic transverse flow.

PMID- 9971012
TI  - Comparisons between rescattering calculations and boson interferometry
      experiments.

PMID- 9971013
TI  - Cumulants, coherence, and contamination in multiparticle Bose-Einstein
      interferometry.

PMID- 9971014
TI  - Transverse momentum dependence of Hanbury-Brown-Twiss correlation radii.

PMID- 9971015
TI  - Study of time reversal violation in beta decay of polarized 8Li.

PMID- 9971016
TI  - Nuclear muon capture by 3He: Meson exchange currents for the triton channel.

PMID- 9971017
TI  - Neutron capture cross section of 15N at stellar energies.

PMID- 9971018
TI  - Low-lying levels in 57Cu and the rp process.

PMID- 9971019
TI  - High-spin results for 155Tb.

PMID- 9971020
TI  - Binary decay fragment cross sections and prescission charge multiplicity in
      84Kr+27Al at 10.6 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971021
TI  - Transition quadrupole moments in 84Zr.

PMID- 9971022
TI  - Analyzing powers for 1H

PMID- 9971023
TI  - g-factor measurement of 132Ba in the backbending region.

PMID- 9971024
TI  - Prescission neutron multiplicities and nuclear viscosity: A systematic study.

PMID- 9971025
TI  - Neutron halos and E1 resonances in 208Pb.

PMID- 9971026
TI  - Nuclear curvature energy in relativistic models.

PMID- 9971027
TI  - Low-lying magnetic dipole strength in 163Dy.

PMID- 9971028
TI  - Hyperon-accompanied fission with an incompletely equilibrated Lambda particle.

PMID- 9971029
TI  - Numerical convergence in solving the Vlasov equation.

PMID- 9971030
TI  - Comment on "Relativistic cluster dynamics of nucleons and mesons. II. Formalism
      and examples"

PMID- 9971031
TI  - Comment on "Shape and superdeformed structure in Hg isotopes in relativistic mean
      field model" and "Structure of neutron-deficient Pt, Hg, and Pb isotopes"

PMID- 9971032
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Shape and superdeformed structure in Hg isotopes in
      relativistic mean field model' and 'Structure of neutron-deficient Pt, Hg, and Pb
      isotopes' "

PMID- 9971033
TI  - Absence of entrance-channel effects in the high-energy gamma -ray emission from
      146Gd.

PMID- 9971034
TI  - Spectroscopy of the halo nucleus 11Li by an experimental study of 11Li+p
      collisions.

PMID- 9971036
TI  - Reexamination of the nuclear orientation model of quasifission reactions to
      explain anomalous fragment anisotropies at sub-barrier energies.

PMID- 9971035
TI  - Superdeformation in 198Po.

PMID- 9971037
TI  - Do we have three S11 resonances in the second resonance region?

PMID- 9971038
TI  - Analysis of hard two-photon correlations measured in heavy-ion reactions at
      intermediate energies.

PMID- 9971039
TI  - Improved analysis of parity violation at neutron p-wave resonances of 238U based
      on resonance spin assignments.

PMID- 9971040
TI  - (e,e'p) reaction and the transition to the eikonal regime.

PMID- 9971041
TI  - Excess production of low-mass lepton pairs in S+Au collisions at the CERN Super
      Proton Synchrotron and the quark-hadron phase transition.

PMID- 9971042
TI  - One-proton halo in 26P and two-proton halo in 27S.

PMID- 9971043
TI  - Pion absorption on 3He at low energies.

PMID- 9971044
TI  - np-elastic analyzing power AN0 at 485 and 788 MeV.

PMID- 9971045
TI  - Bonn potential model at finite temperature.

PMID- 9971046
TI  - Consistent meson-field-theoretical description of pp bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9971047
TI  - Multipole analysis of spin observables in vector meson photoproduction.

PMID- 9971048
TI  - Isospin-violating meson-nucleon vertices as an alternate mechanism of charge
      symmetry breaking.

PMID- 9971049
TI  - Two-pion exchange contributions to nuclear charge asymmetry.

PMID- 9971050
TI  - Quark delocalization, color screening, and N-N intermediate range attraction: P
      waves.

PMID- 9971051
TI  - Pion elastic and inelastic 21+ scattering on 58,60,62,64Ni at T pi =180 MeV.

PMID- 9971052
TI  - High-K isomers in 176W and mechanisms of K violation.

PMID- 9971053
TI  - Prompt gamma -ray spectroscopy of the 104Mo and 108Mo fission fragments.

PMID- 9971055
TI  - Structure and decay of a four-quasiparticle 15(-) isomer in 180Ta.

PMID- 9971054
TI  - Alpha-particle spectroscopic strengths in 19F and 20Ne.

PMID- 9971056
TI  - Spectroscopic study of Lambda 10B, Lambda 12C, Lambda 28Si, Lambda 89Y, Lambda
      139La, and Lambda 208Pb by the ( pi +,K+) reaction.

PMID- 9971058
TI  - Dynamic realization of statistical state in finite systems.

PMID- 9971057
TI  - High spin states in 164Lu.

PMID- 9971059
TI  - Rearrangement of valence neutrons by proton excitation in odd-odd Sb nuclei.

PMID- 9971060
TI  - Green's function method with energy-independent vertex functions.

PMID- 9971061
TI  - Restoration of overlap functions and spectroscopic factors in nuclei.

PMID- 9971062
TI  - Transition charge densities at the onset of deformations for even-even 98-112Ru
      nuclei.

PMID- 9971063
TI  - Inelastic deuteron scattering from the high-spin isomer 178Hfm2 (16(+)).

PMID- 9971064
TI  - Angular distributions of gamma rays from the 7Li(p, gamma ) reaction at low
      energies.

PMID- 9971065
TI  - Inclusive positive pion photoproduction.

PMID- 9971066
TI  - Conclusive evidence for the influence of nuclear orientation on quasifission.

PMID- 9971067
TI  - Sub- and near-barrier reactions for 12C+108,110Pd and 7Li+113,115In.

PMID- 9971068
TI  - Triton and alpha-particle production in neutron-induced reactions on carbon at
      En=42.5, 62.7, and 72.8 MeV.

PMID- 9971069
TI  - Lattice gas model for fragmentation: From argon on scandium to gold on gold.

PMID- 9971070
TI  - Recurrence of the compound nucleus in neutron resonance reactions.

PMID- 9971072
TI  - Photon emission from a parton gas at chemical nonequilibrium.

PMID- 9971071
TI  - Uniform alpha -nucleus potential in a wide range of masses and energies.

PMID- 9971073
TI  - Determination of temperature and transverse flow velocity at chemical freeze-out
      in relativistic nuclear interactions.

PMID- 9971074
TI  - gKN Lambda and gKN Sigma from QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9971075
TI  - Nucleon-nucleon interaction in the chromodielectric soliton model: Dynamics.

PMID- 9971077
TI  - UA(1) breaking and scalar mesons in the Nambu and Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9971076
TI  - Many-body theory of rho - omega mixing.

PMID- 9971078
TI  - Neutron capture cross sections of the cerium isotopes for s- and p-process
      studies.

PMID- 9971079
TI  - Charged current neutrino-nucleus reaction cross sections at intermediate
      energies.

PMID- 9971080
TI  - Hyperon-rich matter in neutron stars.

PMID- 9971082
TI  - Amplitude ambiguities in pseudoscalar meson photoproduction.

PMID- 9971081
TI  - Continuity equation in electron scattering from nuclei.

PMID- 9971083
TI  - Compressibility probed by linear momentum transfer.

PMID- 9971085
TI  - Comment on "Large-space shell-model calculations for light nuclei"

PMID- 9971084
TI  - Particle evaporation from semiclassical dynamics.

PMID- 9971087
TI  - Comment on "Energies and widths of low-lying levels in 11Be and 11N"

PMID- 9971086
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Large-space shell-model calculations for light nuclei' "

PMID- 9971089
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule violation in the reaction p-barp-->
      phi pi 0' "

PMID- 9971088
TI  - Comment on "Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule violation in the reaction p-barp--> phi pi 0"

PMID- 9971090
TI  - Reaction mechanisms in 12C( gamma,pp) near 200 MeV.

PMID- 9971091
TI  - Measurement of the 1H( gamma, pi 0) cross section near threshold.

PMID- 9971092
TI  - Cross comparisons of nuclear temperatures determined from excited state
      populations and isotope yields.

PMID- 9971093
TI  - Decreased absorption cross sections in the case of strongly coupled channels with
      positive Q values.

PMID- 9971094
TI  - Spinodal instabilities within the Boltzmann-Langevin approach.

PMID- 9971095
TI  - Rotational inertia of superdeformed nuclei: Intruder orbitals, pairing, and
      identical bands.

PMID- 9971096
TI  - Signature of diprotons in 3He( gamma

PMID- 9971097
TI  - Does the 3N force have a hard core?

PMID- 9971098
TI  - Chiral perturbation approach to the pp-->pp pi 0 reaction near threshold.

PMID- 9971099
TI  - Intermittency in 197Au fragmentation.

PMID- 9971100
TI  - Evolution of collectivity in 82Y and 82Sr.

PMID- 9971101
TI  - Rotational high spin structures in doubly-odd 184Au.

PMID- 9971102
TI  - Half-life of 130Te double- beta decay measured with geologically qualified
      samples.

PMID- 9971103
TI  - High-spin states in 121,122Te: Identification of favored noncollective oblate
      states.

PMID- 9971104
TI  - Gd isotope systematics with Skyrme and delta -pairing forces.

PMID- 9971105
TI  - Extended vector meson dominance model for the baryon octet electromagnetic form
      factors.

PMID- 9971106
TI  - Searching for three-nucleon resonances.

PMID- 9971108
TI  - Effects of short-range correlations on Ca isotopes.

PMID- 9971107
TI  - Shell-model picture of virtual detour transitions in 41Ca radiative electron
      capture decay.

PMID- 9971110
TI  - Quartets reexamined.

PMID- 9971109
TI  - Dynamic shape asymmetry in soft nuclei.

PMID- 9971111
TI  - Broken pairs in the interacting boson model: Projection of spurious states.

PMID- 9971113
TI  - Subthreshold internal conversion to bound states in highly ionized 125Te ions.

PMID- 9971112
TI  - Microscopic description of E2 and E3 giant resonances in deformed and
      superdeformed nuclei.

PMID- 9971114
TI  - Multiphonon theory: Wick's theorem and recursion formulas for coupled phonons.

PMID- 9971115
TI  - Further application of a semimicroscopic core-particle coupling method to the
      properties of 155,157Gd and 159Dy.

PMID- 9971116
TI  - Effective gamma deformation near A=130 in the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9971117
TI  - Momentum distribution in nuclear matter within a perturbation approximation.

PMID- 9971119
TI  - Calculation of the A=184 F-spin multiplet.

PMID- 9971118
TI  - Thermostatic properties of semi-infinite polarized nuclear matter.

PMID- 9971120
TI  - Realistic model of the nucleon spectral function in few- and many-nucleon
      systems.

PMID- 9971121
TI  - Test of a density-dependent interaction using in-plane 28Si(p

PMID- 9971122
TI  - Reaction 13C(n,p)13B at 65 MeV.

PMID- 9971123
TI  - Differential cross sections of the 12,13C(p,p)12,13C and 12,13C(p,n)12,13N
      reactions near 180 degrees.

PMID- 9971124
TI  - Entrance-channel effects in quasifission reactions.

PMID- 9971125
TI  - Reaction and total cross sections for low energy pi + and pi - on isospin zero
      nuclei.

PMID- 9971126
TI  - Fragmentation of 78Kr projectiles.

PMID- 9971127
TI  - Nonstatistical gamma emission in 3He- and alpha -induced reactions.

PMID- 9971128
TI  - Polarization transfer in inelastic proton scattering from 4(-) states in 16O at
      350 MeV.

PMID- 9971129
TI  - Nuclear stopping in heavy-ion collisions at 100 MeV/nucleon from inclusive and
      exclusive neutral pion measurements.

PMID- 9971130
TI  - (p,d) reaction on 62Ni at 65 MeV.

PMID- 9971132
TI  - Cavitation and penetration in central collisions with light ions.

PMID- 9971131
TI  - Evidence for a highly deformed band in 16O+16O breakup of 32S.

PMID- 9971133
TI  - Neutron pair and proton pair transfer reactions between identical cores in the
      sulfur region.

PMID- 9971134
TI  - Nucleon-induced preequilibrium reactions in terms of the quantum molecular
      dynamics.

PMID- 9971135
TI  - Statistical simultaneous multifragmentation model for heavy ion collisions with
      entrance channel characteristics.

PMID- 9971136
TI  - Thermal fission rate around superfluid-normal phase transition.

PMID- 9971137
TI  - Description of sub-barrier heavy ion fusion in a semiclassical quantum tunneling
      model.

PMID- 9971138
TI  - Quasielastic scattering in the inclusive (3He, t) reaction.

PMID- 9971139
TI  - Collective friction coefficients in the relaxation time approximation.

PMID- 9971140
TI  - Incomplete-fusion-fragmentation model: Multifragmentation data from 600A MeV
      heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971141
TI  - Dynamical analysis of the evolution of nuclear density modes.

PMID- 9971143
TI  - Color singlet suppression of quark-gluon plasma formation.

PMID- 9971142
TI  - One- and two-dimensional multifractals in proton-AgBr interactions at 800 GeV.

PMID- 9971144
TI  - Hadron-nuclear collisions.

PMID- 9971145
TI  - Expansion, thermalization, and entropy production in high-energy nuclear
      collisions.

PMID- 9971147
TI  - Temperature and density effects on the nucleon mass splitting.

PMID- 9971146
TI  - Properties of strangelets at finite temperature in the liquid drop model.

PMID- 9971148
TI  - Delta decay in the nuclear medium.

PMID- 9971149
TI  - Pion-nucleon and kaon-nucleon scattering lengths in QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9971150
TI  - Bosonization in the presence of confinement: Calculation of the nucleon-nucleon
      interaction.

PMID- 9971151
TI  - Constraining 26Al+p resonances using 26Al(3He,d)27Si.

PMID- 9971152
TI  - Astrophysical reaction rate for the 18F(p, alpha )15O reaction.

PMID- 9971153
TI  - First evidence for excited states in 101In.

PMID- 9971154
TI  - Squeeze-out of nuclear matter in Au+Au collisions.

PMID- 9971155
TI  - Search for 16O+16O+16O structure in 48Cr.

PMID- 9971156
TI  - The reaction d( alpha, gamma )6Li at low energies and the primordial
      nucleosynthesis of 6Li.

PMID- 9971157
TI  - Upper limit of the lifetime of 16B.

PMID- 9971159
TI  - Low-energy polarized-proton capture on 6Li.

PMID- 9971158
TI  - Measurement of the polarization transfer parameter DNN for 12,13C(p

PMID- 9971160
TI  - Stripping of two protons and one- alpha -particle transfer reactions for 16O+ASm
      and their influence on the fusion cross section.

PMID- 9971162
TI  - Macroscopic features of light heavy-ion fission reactions.

PMID- 9971161
TI  - Stretched alignment due to pairing correlation between the normal and abnormal
      parity orbits for the gamma -soft nuclei in the light rare-earth region.

PMID- 9971163
TI  - Total cross sections for K+ scattering on light nuclei.

PMID- 9971164
TI  - Test of shell-model interactions for nuclear structure calculations.

PMID- 9971166
TI  - Poles of the S matrix for a complex potential.

PMID- 9971165
TI  - Feeding of hole states by proton decay of Gamow-Teller and isobaric analog state
      resonances.

PMID- 9971167
TI  - Momentum distributions in stripping reactions of single-nucleon halo nuclei.

PMID- 9971169
TI  - Analysis of alpha -particle emission from 19F +181Ta reactions leading to
      residues.

PMID- 9971168
TI  - Antibaryons in massive heavy ion reactions: Importance of potentials.

PMID- 9971170
TI  - Reply to "Analysis of alpha -particle emission from 19F+181Ta reactions leading
      to residues"

PMID- 9971171
TI  - Comment on "Double-octupole excitations in the N=84 nuclei 144Nd and 146Sm"

PMID- 9971172
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Double octupole excitations in the N=84 nuclei 144Nd and
      146Sm' "

PMID- 9971173
TI  - Erratum: Energy variation of nuclear level density in 104Pd and 114Sn in the
      excitation-energy region of 7 to 24 MeV

PMID- 9971174
TI  - Decay from a superdeformed band in 194Pb.

PMID- 9971175
TI  - New isomer 32Alm.

PMID- 9971176
TI  - Impact parameter dependence of the disappearance of transverse flow in nuclear
      collisions.

PMID- 9971178
TI  - Correlations in the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section.

PMID- 9971177
TI  - Fusionlike reactions of 40Ar up to 1.36 GeV: Prethermalization and
      postthermalization particles and fragments.

PMID- 9971179
TI  - Nonlocal nature of the nuclear force and its impact on nuclear structure.

PMID- 9971181
TI  - Low energy strength in low-multipole response function of nuclei near the neutron
      drip line.

PMID- 9971180
TI  - Relativistic analysis of the 208Pb(e,e'p)207Tl reaction at high momentum.

PMID- 9971182
TI  - Zero-crossing angle of the n-p analyzing power.

PMID- 9971184
TI  - Three-body model study of A=6-7 hypernuclei: Halo and skin structures.

PMID- 9971183
TI  - Reactions pd-->3He eta and pd-->3He pi + pi - near the eta threshold.

PMID- 9971185
TI  - Two-nucleon potential from chiral Lagrangians.

PMID- 9971186
TI  - Effects of intruder states in 179Ir.

PMID- 9971187
TI  - Alignment additivity in the two-quasiparticle superdeformed bands of 192Tl.

PMID- 9971188
TI  - High spin states in 68As: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9971190
TI  - Level structure of 216At.

PMID- 9971189
TI  - Magnetic moments of 17N and 17B.

PMID- 9971191
TI  - Nuclear structure calculations in the density-dependent relativistic Hartree
      theory.

PMID- 9971192
TI  - Effect of isospin mixing on superallowed Fermi beta decay.

PMID- 9971193
TI  - Semiclassical interpretation of an M1 sum rule derived within the interacting
      boson model.

PMID- 9971194
TI  - Higher order long range correlations in nuclear structure and dynamics.

PMID- 9971195
TI  - Nucleon spectral function at finite temperature and the onset of superfluidity in
      nuclear matter.

PMID- 9971196
TI  - Description of superdeformed nuclei in the interacting boson model.

PMID- 9971197
TI  - Where is the non-spin-flip isovector monopole resonance in 208Tl?

PMID- 9971198
TI  - Spectroscopic factors for nucleon knock-out from 16O at small missing energy.

PMID- 9971199
TI  - Microscopic structure of high-spin vibrational excitations in superdeformed
      190,192,194Hg.

PMID- 9971200
TI  - Identical bands at normal deformation: Necessity of going beyond the mean-field
      approach.

PMID- 9971201
TI  - Natural orbitals, overlap functions, and mean-field orbitals in an exactly
      solvable A-body system.

PMID- 9971202
TI  - Unified picture of the BCS nuclear model by use of the 1/N expansion.

PMID- 9971204
TI  - Size effect in the deexcitation of hot nuclei.

PMID- 9971203
TI  - Inclusive electron scattering from nuclei at x~=1.

PMID- 9971205
TI  - Giant dipole resonance in very hot nuclei of mass A

PMID- 9971207
TI  - Deuteron breakup at extreme forward angles: Failure of a pure Coulomb
      dissociation description.

PMID- 9971206
TI  - Changing source characteristics during multifragment decay.

PMID- 9971209
TI  - Electron-nucleon cross section in (e,e'p) reactions.

PMID- 9971208
TI  - Coulomb breakup mechanism of neutron-halo nuclei in a time-dependent method.

PMID- 9971210
TI  - Effective inertial coefficient for the dinuclear regime of the exotic decay of
      nuclei.

PMID- 9971211
TI  - Angular correlations in internal pair conversion of aligned heavy nuclei.

PMID- 9971212
TI  - Two-nucleon model calculation of (p, pi -) spectra for calcium isotopes.

PMID- 9971214
TI  - Inversion solution to heavy-ion optical model potential at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9971213
TI  - Modified three-body full-folding optical model potential.

PMID- 9971215
TI  - Statistical properties of antisymmetrized molecular dynamics for non-nucleon
      emission and nucleon-emission processes.

PMID- 9971217
TI  - Neural networks for impact parameter determination.

PMID- 9971216
TI  - Real part of the heavy-ion optical potential derived from relativistic mean field
      theory.

PMID- 9971219
TI  - Dilepton production from resonance scattering in hot hadronic matter.

PMID- 9971218
TI  - Soft photons from relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9971220
TI  - Microscopic relativistic model for deuteron-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9971221
TI  - Strangeness conservation constraints in hadron gas models.

PMID- 9971222
TI  - 1/Nc expansion of the quark condensate at finite temperature.

PMID- 9971223
TI  - Nuclear suppression of hadroproduction.

PMID- 9971224
TI  - Low-energy QCD: Chiral coefficients and the quark-quark interaction.

PMID- 9971225
TI  - Unitary, gauge invariant, relativistic resonance model for pion photoproduction.

PMID- 9971227
TI  - Delta excitations in neutrino-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9971226
TI  - Stability analysis of the instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter equation and the
      consequences for meson spectroscopy.

PMID- 9971228
TI  - Moxon-Rae setup for the measurement of stellar (n, gamma ) rates and the example
      of 87Rb.

PMID- 9971229
TI  - Determination of the 9Be( alpha,n)12C reaction rate.

PMID- 9971230
TI  - Astrophysical reaction rates for 10B(p, alpha )7Be and 11B(p, alpha )8Be from a
      direct model.

PMID- 9971231
TI  - Strange neutral currents in nuclei.

PMID- 9971232
TI  - alpha -decay properties of 181Pb.

PMID- 9971234
TI  - Yrast band in neutron-deficient 115Xe.

PMID- 9971233
TI  - Octupole excitations in the N=85 lanthanides.

PMID- 9971235
TI  - U(6/20) supersymmetry in 115-119Sn isotopes.

PMID- 9971236
TI  - E2 transition and QJ+ systematics of even mass palladium nuclei.

PMID- 9971237
TI  - Equivalent photon approach to simultaneous excitation in heavy ion collision.

PMID- 9971238
TI  - Effects of nuclear Coulomb field on two-meson correlations.

PMID- 9971239
TI  - Energy of the first excited state of 9B.

PMID- 9971240
TI  - Incompressibility of nuclear matter, and Coulomb and volume-symmetry coefficients
      of nucleus incompressibility in the relativistic mean field theory.

PMID- 9971241
TI  - Limit on T-violating P-conserving rho NN interaction from the gamma decay of
      57Fe.

PMID- 9971242
TI  - Interacting boson model basis and Hamiltonian for Delta L=4 staggering.

PMID- 9971243
TI  - K0 form factor and charge radius in a covariant Salpeter model.

PMID- 9971244
TI  - Chaos vs linear instability in the Vlasov equation: A fractal analysis
      characterization.

PMID- 9971245
TI  - Erratum: alpha -d capture with formation of 6Li and the isoscalar E1 multipole

PMID- 9971246
TI  - Low-energy pionic double charge exchange on the beta beta -instable nuclei
      128,130Te.

PMID- 9971247
TI  - Nonperturbative treatment of gluons and pseudoscalar mesons in baryon
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9971248
TI  - Quasibound states of eta -nucleus systems.

PMID- 9971250
TI  - Electromagnetic production of associated strangeness.

PMID- 9971249
TI  - What does a change in the quark condensate say about restoration of chiral
      symmetry in matter?

PMID- 9971251
TI  - Integral equation calculations for the photodisintegration process 4He(
      gamma,n)3He.

PMID- 9971253
TI  - pp-->pp pi 0 reaction near threshold: A chiral power counting approach.

PMID- 9971252
TI  - Isospin invariance and the spin structure of the amplitude for the process 3H+3He
      ->d2H+4He.

PMID- 9971254
TI  - High-K structure in 77As.

PMID- 9971255
TI  - High-spin states in 107Pd, 108Pd, and 109Ag.

PMID- 9971256
TI  - Configurations of superdeformed bands in 193Pb.

PMID- 9971257
TI  - Low-lying Gamow-Teller states in 92Nb.

PMID- 9971258
TI  - Isospin character of low-lying states in 56Fe.

PMID- 9971259
TI  - Gamma-ray transitions in 206Pb studied in the 205Pb(n, gamma ) reaction.

PMID- 9971260
TI  - Study of nuclear shapes in Tl isotopes via excited state giant dipole resonance
      studies in the reaction 16O+181Ta.

PMID- 9971261
TI  - Systematics of low-lying dipole excitations in the deformed even-even nuclei
      164,166,168,170Er.

PMID- 9971262
TI  - Smooth band termination in 108Sn.

PMID- 9971263
TI  - Spin-parity assignments and evidence for mixed-symmetry states in 100Ru.

PMID- 9971264
TI  - Lipkin-Nogami pairing scheme in self-consistent nuclear structure calculations.

PMID- 9971265
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo diagonalization with angular momentum projection.

PMID- 9971267
TI  - Relativistic Hamiltonians in many-body theories.

PMID- 9971266
TI  - M1 properties of tungsten isotopes in the interacting boson model-2.

PMID- 9971268
TI  - Mean-field description of ground-state properties of drip-line nuclei: Pairing
      and continuum effects.

PMID- 9971269
TI  - Cluster model of alpha decay and 212Po.

PMID- 9971270
TI  - g boson and systematics of the M1 scissors mode.

PMID- 9971271
TI  - E3 transition probabilities in the platinum, mercury, and lead isotopes.

PMID- 9971272
TI  - Analyzing powers in 4He(6Li

PMID- 9971273
TI  - Elastic and inelastic scattering of 16O+64Zn at near-barrier energies.

PMID- 9971274
TI  - Angular correlations for alpha -particle decay in the reaction 12C

PMID- 9971275
TI  - Isomeric cross-section ratio for the formation of 58Com,g in neutron, proton,
      deuteron, and alpha-particle induced reactions in the energy region up to 25 MeV.

PMID- 9971276
TI  - Spontaneous fission properties of 104262Rf.

PMID- 9971277
TI  - Sub-barrier transfer reactions in 58Ni+162Dy.

PMID- 9971278
TI  - Relative and absolute neutron-induced fission cross sections of 208Pb, 209Bi, and
      238U in the intermediate energy region.

PMID- 9971279
TI  - Reaction cross sections for 38, 65, and 97 MeV deuterons on targets from 9Be to
      208Pb.

PMID- 9971280
TI  - Orbiting features in the strongly damped binary decay of the 28Si+16O system.

PMID- 9971281
TI  - Self-consistent relativistic Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation for the Delta
      distribution function.

PMID- 9971282
TI  - Adiabatic treatment of final states in (p,d*) reactions.

PMID- 9971284
TI  - 12C+12C and 16O+12C potentials by inversion.

PMID- 9971283
TI  - Antisymmetrized molecular dynamics of wave packets with stochastic incorporation
      of the Vlasov equation.

PMID- 9971285
TI  - Calculations for 4He(e,e'N).

PMID- 9971287
TI  - Resonance phenomena near thresholds.

PMID- 9971286
TI  - Study of the decay of hot nuclei formed in 139La-induced reactions at E/A = 45
      MeV by a hybrid dynamical-statistical calculation.

PMID- 9971288
TI  - Sensitivity of reaction cross sections to halo nucleus density distributions.

PMID- 9971289
TI  - Cold fission as cluster decay with dissipation.

PMID- 9971290
TI  - Mean field calculations of nucleon-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9971291
TI  - Pauli forbidden states and the alpha +14C optical potential.

PMID- 9971292
TI  - High-multiplicity lead-lead interactions at 158 GeV/c per nucleon.

PMID- 9971293
TI  - J/ psi suppression in an equilibrating parton plasma.

PMID- 9971294
TI  - Equation of state of an interacting pion gas with realistic pi - pi interactions.

PMID- 9971295
TI  - Transport coefficients of a hot pion gas.

PMID- 9971296
TI  - QCD scales in finite nuclei.

PMID- 9971297
TI  - Brueckner correlations following a boson mapping of the two-color delta model.

PMID- 9971298
TI  - Relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics of pions in nucleons.

PMID- 9971299
TI  - Scaling for deuteron structure functions in a relativistic light-front model.

PMID- 9971300
TI  - Detection of atmospheric neutrinos and relativistic nuclear structure effects.

PMID- 9971301
TI  - Importance of (n,p) reactions for stellar beta decay rates.

PMID- 9971302
TI  - Direct reaction calculation of the 11Li Coulomb dissociation spectrum.

PMID- 9971303
TI  - Isomers in 94Rh.

PMID- 9971304
TI  - Use of quark wave functions in the calculation of structure functions of mesons.

PMID- 9971306
TI  - Momentum distributions of particles from three-body halo fragmentation: Final
      state interactions.

PMID- 9971305
TI  - Mean-field calculations of quasielastic responses in 4He.

PMID- 9971307
TI  - Comment on "Prolate-oblate band mixing and new bands in 182Hg"

PMID- 9971308
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Prolate-oblate band mixing and new bands in 182Hg' "

PMID- 9971309
TI  - Isotopic identification of the parity-violating neutron p-wave resonance at
      energy E0=3.2 eV in Xe.

PMID- 9971311
TI  - Multiple dipole bands at prolate shapes in 136Nd and their description through
      the projected shell model.

PMID- 9971310
TI  - Observation of a large parity nonconserving analyzing power in Xe.

PMID- 9971312
TI  - Enhanced E0 and E2 transition rates in the midshell Xe isotopes.

PMID- 9971313
TI  - Evidence of initial state interactions in multinucleon pion absorption.

PMID- 9971315
TI  - Sub-Coulomb dissociation of 8B.

PMID- 9971314
TI  - Origin of slow, heavy residues observed in dissipative 197Au+86Kr collisions at
      E/A=35 MeV.

PMID- 9971316
TI  - Effective gA in the pf shell.

PMID- 9971317
TI  - Excess electron pairs from heavy-ion collisions at CERN and a more complete
      picture of thermal production.

PMID- 9971318
TI  - Theoretical predictions for pionium searches.

PMID- 9971319
TI  - Coherent electroproduction of pions from 3He.

PMID- 9971320
TI  - Evidence for large discrepancies between data and calculations for the
      kinematically incomplete neutron-deuteron breakup reaction.

PMID- 9971321
TI  - Coulomb-Sturmian separable expansion approach: Three-body Faddeev calculations
      for Coulomb-like interactions.

PMID- 9971322
TI  - Excited states in 139Sm described with the interacting boson model plus broken
      pairs.

PMID- 9971323
TI  - High energy octupole resonance in 116Sn.

PMID- 9971324
TI  - Nuclear structure of 170Tm from neutron-capture and (d,p)-reaction measurements.

PMID- 9971325
TI  - Shell-model influence in the rotational nucleus 86Mo.

PMID- 9971326
TI  - The (7Li, 7Be gamma ) reaction and isovector spin strength in 40Ca.

PMID- 9971328
TI  - Universal predictions for statistical nuclear correlations.

PMID- 9971327
TI  - Structure of the mirror nuclei 9Be and 9B in a microscopic cluster model.

PMID- 9971329
TI  - Angular-momentum cranking applied to multiphonon anharmonic collective
      vibrations: Cranked bifurcation theory.

PMID- 9971330
TI  - Systematic behavior of octupole states in deformed rare earth nuclei and the
      interacting boson approximation.

PMID- 9971331
TI  - Anharmonicities of gamma vibrations in odd-mass deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9971332
TI  - Multinucleon transfer reactions in 40Ca+124Sn.

PMID- 9971333
TI  - Observation of cold fission in 242Pu spontaneous fission.

PMID- 9971334
TI  - Role of quasideuteron absorption in the 6Li( pi +, pp) reaction at T pi +=100,
      165 MeV.

PMID- 9971335
TI  - Cross section for the 103Rh(n,n')103Rhm reaction in the energy range 5.7-12 MeV.

PMID- 9971337
TI  - 12C(p,n)12N reaction at 135 MeV.

PMID- 9971336
TI  - 35Cl+12C asymmetrical fission excitation functions.

PMID- 9971338
TI  - Competition among the decay modes of projectile remnants in (600 MeV/nucleon) Au
      + Cu reactions.

PMID- 9971339
TI  - Isotopic yields for the cold fission of 252Cf.

PMID- 9971340
TI  - 4He fragments from the 14N + 12C collision at 35 MeV/nucleon and clustering in
      colliding nuclei.

PMID- 9971341
TI  - Clustering recognition model for intermediate energy heavy ion reactions.

PMID- 9971342
TI  - Analysis of proton-induced fragment production cross sections by the quantum
      molecular dynamics plus statistical decay model.

PMID- 9971343
TI  - New single particle basis for microscopic description of decay processes.

PMID- 9971345
TI  - Elastic scattering of a halo nucleus in the relativistic mean field theory.

PMID- 9971344
TI  - Superasymmetric two-center shell model for spontaneous heavy-ion emission.

PMID- 9971346
TI  - Nonlocal effects in a semiclassical WKB approach to sub-barrier nuclear fusion
      processes.

PMID- 9971347
TI  - Determination of nuclear friction in strongly damped reactions from prescission
      neutron multiplicities.

PMID- 9971348
TI  - Antiproton-nucleus elastic and inelastic scattering at intermediate energies.

PMID- 9971349
TI  - Modeling cluster production at the BNL Alternating Gradient Synchrotron.

PMID- 9971350
TI  - Field-theoretical description of nuclear matter with only the pion-nucleon
      interaction.

PMID- 9971351
TI  - Quark-meson coupling model for finite nuclei.

PMID- 9971352
TI  - Parity violation in charged-particle resonance reactions.

PMID- 9971353
TI  - Measurement of 7Li(n, gamma 0)8Li cross sections at En=1.5-1340 eV.

PMID- 9971354
TI  - Determination of the thermal neutron induced 36Cl(n,p)36S and 36Cl(n, alpha )33P
      reaction cross sections.

PMID- 9971355
TI  - Analysis of the total 12C( alpha, gamma )16O cross section based on available
      angular distributions and other primary data.

PMID- 9971356
TI  - Standard neutrino spectrum from 8B decay.

PMID- 9971357
TI  - Precision measurement of the half-life of 7Be.

PMID- 9971358
TI  - Excited superdeformed band in 131Ce.

PMID- 9971359
TI  - First-order eikonal approximation for the elastic scattering of 800 MeV/c pions
      from 12C and 40Ca nuclei.

PMID- 9971360
TI  - Core-polarization effects in pion single-charge-exchange reaction on p-shell
      nuclei.

PMID- 9971361
TI  - Structure of the dynamical polarization potential.

PMID- 9971362
TI  - Comment on "Very weak gamma transitions in the epsilon / beta + decay of 68Ga"

PMID- 9971363
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Very weak gamma transitions in the epsilon / beta + decay
      of 68Ga' "

PMID- 9971364
TI  - Complete valence particle yrast lines in N=84 nuclei above gadolinium.

PMID- 9971365
TI  - Quasifree pi + production studied using the 12C( gamma, pi +n)11B reaction in the
      Delta (1232) resonance region.

PMID- 9971366
TI  - 40Ca+40Ca reaction at Elab=35 MeV/nucleon: Filters and signatures to distinguish
      nearly central from peripheral collisions.

PMID- 9971367
TI  - Strangelet search and light nucleus production in relativistic Si+Pt and Au+Pt
      collisions.

PMID- 9971369
TI  - Double- Lambda hypernuclear formation via a neutron-rich Xi state.

PMID- 9971368
TI  - Identification of 166Pt and 167Pt.

PMID- 9971370
TI  - Early fragment formation in heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971371
TI  - Measurements of the total cross section for the scattering of polarized neutrons
      from polarized 3He.

PMID- 9971372
TI  - Calculation of the nucleon-nucleon interaction due to vector-meson exchange.

PMID- 9971373
TI  - Comparison of instant form and front form one-particle exchange models.

PMID- 9971374
TI  - Relativistic bound-state equations in three dimensions.

PMID- 9971375
TI  - Three-body calculation of 9Be electromagnetic observables.

PMID- 9971376
TI  - Theoretical study of the radiative capture reactions 2H(n, gamma )3H and 2H(p,
      gamma )3He at low energies.

PMID- 9971377
TI  - Measurement of the nuclear magnetic moments of 57Ni and 59Fe.

PMID- 9971378
TI  - Collective and quasiparticle excitations in superdeformed 190Hg.

PMID- 9971379
TI  - Identification of gamma transitions in 147Ba, 149Ce, and 151,153Nd.

PMID- 9971380
TI  - First spectroscopic study of 22Si.

PMID- 9971381
TI  - 97Tc produced by the (3He,pn gamma ) reaction.

PMID- 9971382
TI  - One-nucleon transfer reactions to continuum states induced by heavy ion
      projectiles.

PMID- 9971383
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength to 38K from the 38Ar(p,n) reaction and 38Ca( beta +) decay.

PMID- 9971384
TI  - Triaxial bands in 133Ce.

PMID- 9971386
TI  - High-spin states and signature inversion in 78Br.

PMID- 9971385
TI  - alpha decay of 273110: Shell closure at N=162.

PMID- 9971387
TI  - Application of a semimicroscopic core-particle coupling method to the backbending
      in odd deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9971388
TI  - Femtometer toroidal structures in nuclei.

PMID- 9971389
TI  - Evidence for a weaker isovector potential.

PMID- 9971390
TI  - Neutron halos in the Na isotopes.

PMID- 9971391
TI  - Is there experimental evidence for an interpretation of the lowest K=0 collective
      excitation of deformed nuclei as a phonon excitation of the gamma band?

PMID- 9971392
TI  - Nonperturbative derivation of non-Hermitian and Hermitian effective interactions
      and operators.

PMID- 9971393
TI  - Spin M1 excitations in deformed nuclei from self-consistent Hartree-Fock plus
      random-phase approximation.

PMID- 9971394
TI  - Dissipative shape dynamics in the sd shell.

PMID- 9971395
TI  - Systematic study of spin assignments and signature inversion of pi h11/2

PMID- 9971396
TI  - Hadrodynamic approach to compressible nonuniform nuclear systems.

PMID- 9971397
TI  - 4 pi studies of the 1.8-4.8 GeV 3He+natAg, 197Au reactions. I. Energy deposition.

PMID- 9971399
TI  - Fission before K equilibration.

PMID- 9971398
TI  - 4 pi studies of the 1.8-4.8 GeV 3He+natAg, 197Au reactions. II.
      Multifragmentation.

PMID- 9971400
TI  - Fusion and transfer reactions in the 19F+165Ho system at energies near the
      Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9971402
TI  - S-matrix analysis of heavy-ion elastic scattering.

PMID- 9971401
TI  - Inclusive (p, alpha ) reactions on 27Al, 59Co, and 197Au at incident energies of
      120, 160, and 200 MeV.

PMID- 9971403
TI  - Fusion systematics in the barrier region using the neutron flow model.

PMID- 9971405
TI  - Local approximations to the exchange nonlocality for neutron-16O scattering.

PMID- 9971404
TI  - Many-body Coulomb perturbation of azimuthal alpha - alpha correlations.

PMID- 9971407
TI  - Light fragment emission during mass asymmetry relaxation in heavy-ion induced
      fission.

PMID- 9971406
TI  - Solution of the Bethe-Goldstone equation with an exact propagator.

PMID- 9971408
TI  - Effects of systematic errors in analyses of nuclear scattering data.

PMID- 9971409
TI  - Contribution of density fluctuations to the damping of giant resonances.

PMID- 9971410
TI  - pt dependence of transverse flow in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971412
TI  - Cold strangelets formation with finite size effects in high energy heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9971411
TI  - Initial and final state effects in the charmonium suppression in hadron-nucleus
      and nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9971413
TI  - Realistic expanding source model for invariant one-particle multiplicity
      distributions and two-particle correlations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971414
TI  - Production of antiprotons in the upper atmosphere by interacting primary cosmic
      rays.

PMID- 9971415
TI  - Ioffe current constant from a relativistic three quark model.

PMID- 9971417
TI  - Virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon at low energies.

PMID- 9971416
TI  - Polarized deep-inelastic scattering from nuclei: A relativistic approach.

PMID- 9971418
TI  - Role of color neutrality in nuclear physics: Modifications of nucleonic wave
      functions.

PMID- 9971420
TI  - Search for a 2485-keV gamma ray in 208Pb with the inelastic neutron scattering
      reaction.

PMID- 9971419
TI  - Neutrino trapping in nonstrange dense stellar matter.

PMID- 9971421
TI  - Octupole correlations in neutron rich, odd-A lanthanum nuclei.

PMID- 9971422
TI  - Determination of the 190Po alpha reduced width.

PMID- 9971423
TI  - Projectile Delta excitations in 1H(p,n)N pi reactions.

PMID- 9971424
TI  - Nontrivial aspects of the onset of nuclear collectivity: Static moments.

PMID- 9971425
TI  - Erratum: First evidence for excited states in 101In

PMID- 9971426
TI  - Direct proof of the two-phonon character of the dipole excitations in 142Nd and
      144Sm around 3.5 MeV.

PMID- 9971427
TI  - Superdeformation below N=73.

PMID- 9971428
TI  - Configuration changes and hindered decays in four- and six-quasiparticle isomers
      in 178Ta.

PMID- 9971429
TI  - From criticality to supercooling in expanding hot nuclear matter: Possible
      explanation of low- tau puzzle.

PMID- 9971430
TI  - Magnetic moments of C isotopes studied with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9971431
TI  - Nuclear temperature of the disassembling source in central heavy-ion collisions
      from isotope yields.

PMID- 9971433
TI  - Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes and static properties of the deuteron.

PMID- 9971432
TI  - Effective T-odd P-even hadronic interactions from quark models.

PMID- 9971435
TI  - Mass and width of the d' resonance in nuclei.

PMID- 9971434
TI  - Deuteron electromagnetic form factors in the intermediate energy region.

PMID- 9971437
TI  - Measurements of nuclear magnetic moments and electric quadrupole moments of Lu
      isotopes.

PMID- 9971438
TI  - Transition strengths and new band structures in odd-odd 78Rb.

PMID- 9971436
TI  - High spin states in 175Ta: An acute example of delayed crossing frequency.

PMID- 9971439
TI  - Lifetime measurements of strongly deformed rotational bands in 133Pm.

PMID- 9971440
TI  - Structure of the neutron-halo nucleus 6He.

PMID- 9971441
TI  - Yrast gamma -ray spectroscopy of the neutron rich isotopes 61,63Co.

PMID- 9971442
TI  - Additional results from the beta -delayed proton decays of 27P and 31Cl.

PMID- 9971444
TI  - Decays of the 97Y isomers to the single neutron nucleus 97Zr.

PMID- 9971443
TI  - Shears bands in 193Pb.

PMID- 9971446
TI  - Spontaneous symmetry breaking and the dissipation of nuclear collective degrees
      of freedom at finite temperature.

PMID- 9971445
TI  - Measurements for spin inversion and noninversion in successive decays via nuclear
      magnetic resonance on oriented nuclei.

PMID- 9971447
TI  - Thermodynamical properties and Coulomb instabilities in hot nuclear systems with
      the Gogny interaction.

PMID- 9971449
TI  - Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculation on He, Li, and Be isotopes.

PMID- 9971448
TI  - Two-nucleon spectral function of 16O at high momenta.

PMID- 9971450
TI  - Systematics of first and second shape transition temperatures in heavy nuclei.

PMID- 9971452
TI  - Simple model of neutron "halo nuclei"

PMID- 9971451
TI  - alpha decay as a probe for phase transitions in nuclei.

PMID- 9971453
TI  - Decay out of superdeformed bands in the A

PMID- 9971454
TI  - Relativistic N-body models.

PMID- 9971455
TI  - Double charge exchange on Te isotopes in the generalized seniority scheme.

PMID- 9971456
TI  - Dynamic effective potential for alpha -particle bound and quasibound states.

PMID- 9971458
TI  - Thermal and microcanonical treatments of a pairing Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9971457
TI  - Shapes of odd-odd Pr nuclei.

PMID- 9971459
TI  - Stability of proton-rich nuclei in the upper sd shell and lower pf shell.

PMID- 9971461
TI  - Quasielastic scattering of 9Li on 12C.

PMID- 9971460
TI  - Fission decay of 48Cr at ECN*

PMID- 9971463
TI  - One and two charge stripping reactions in the 12C+197Au and 16O+197Au systems at
      large distances.

PMID- 9971462
TI  - 6Li-vector+12C inelastic scattering at 30 and 50 MeV.

PMID- 9971464
TI  - Excitation energy division in heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9971466
TI  - Supersymmetry between deep and shallow optical potentials for 16O+16O scattering.

PMID- 9971465
TI  - Five-nucleon simultaneous and sequential transfer in the 12C(11B,6Li)17O and
      12C(d,7Li)7Be reactions.

PMID- 9971468
TI  - Total reaction cross section calculations in proton-nucleus scattering.

PMID- 9971467
TI  - Exclusive (e,e'p) reaction at high missing momenta.

PMID- 9971469
TI  - Shape dependence of single particle response and the one body limit of damping of
      multipole vibrations of a cavity.

PMID- 9971470
TI  - New precompound decay model.

PMID- 9971472
TI  - Shell-like structures in an expanding quark-antiquark plasma.

PMID- 9971473
TI  - Bremsstrahlung production of low mass dielectrons in relativistic heavy ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9971471
TI  - Medium effects on binary collisions with the Delta resonance.

PMID- 9971474
TI  - Collective radial expansion in Au+Au reactions from 0.25 to 2 GeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971475
TI  - Hydrodynamical analysis of symmetric nucleus-nucleus collisions near 200A GeV.

PMID- 9971476
TI  - Bose-Einstein correlations for three-dimensionally expanding, cylindrically
      symmetric, finite systems.

PMID- 9971478
TI  - Gauge invariance and confinement in a generalized Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.

PMID- 9971477
TI  - Quantum-mechanical equivalent-photon spectrum for heavy-ion physics.

PMID- 9971479
TI  - Unitary ambiguity in the extraction of the E2/M1 ratio for the gamma N Delta
      transition.

PMID- 9971480
TI  - Modified quark-meson coupling model for nuclear matter.

PMID- 9971481
TI  - Ambiguities in the partial-wave analysis of pseudoscalar-meson photoproduction.

PMID- 9971482
TI  - Role of tensor meson pole and Delta exchange diagrams in pp-bar--> pi + pi -

PMID- 9971483
TI  - Stellar neutron capture cross sections of the tin isotopes.

PMID- 9971484
TI  - Resonance neutron capture and transmission measurements and the stellar neutron
      capture cross sections of 134Ba and 136Ba.

PMID- 9971485
TI  - Weak gamma -transition intensities in the electron capture decay of 144Pm.

PMID- 9971487
TI  - Ground-state energies and widths of 5He and 5Li nuclei.

PMID- 9971486
TI  - Low lying states in 153Ho and 157Tm from electron capture and beta + decay of
      153Er and 157Yb.

PMID- 9971488
TI  - Beyond the Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock model: Equation of state and occupation
      probabilities of the Bonn potential.

PMID- 9971489
TI  - Collision broadening of the rho meson in a dropping mass scenario.

PMID- 9971490
TI  - Comment on "Strangeness enhancement in p+A and S+A interactions at energies near
      200A GeV"

PMID- 9971491
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Strangeness enhancement in p+A and S+A interactions at
      energies near 200A GeV' "

PMID- 9971492
TI  - Erratum: Role of the rho meson in the nonmesonic hypernuclear decay

PMID- 9971493
TI  - Multiple superdeformed bands in 132Nd.

PMID- 9971494
TI  - Source size scaling of fragment production in projectile breakup.

PMID- 9971495
TI  - Disappearance of entrance channel dependence of fission fragment anisotropies at
      well-above-barrier energies.

PMID- 9971496
TI  - Measurement of the longitudinal analyzing power for noncoplanar p-d breakup.

PMID- 9971497
TI  - Cross-section measurements for the 2H(p,n)2p reaction at 135 MeV.

PMID- 9971499
TI  - Solving the four-dimensional NN- pi NN equations for scalars below the meson
      production threshold.

PMID- 9971498
TI  - Measurement of T20(90 degrees) in the 1H(d

PMID- 9971500
TI  - pi NN and pi N Delta form factors determined from a microscopic model for pi N
      scattering.

PMID- 9971501
TI  - Nucleon-antinucleon interaction from the Skyrme model.

PMID- 9971502
TI  - Pauli principle in the soft-photon approach to proton-proton bremsstrahlung.

PMID- 9971503
TI  - Search for hyperdeformation in 146,147Gd.

PMID- 9971505
TI  - First observation of nonyrast levels in 103Zr and level systematics of N = 63 Sr,
      Zr, and Mo isotones.

PMID- 9971504
TI  - Is there a bound dineutron in 11Li?

PMID- 9971506
TI  - Smooth termination of intruder bands in 51109Sb.

PMID- 9971507
TI  - Single-particle states in 66149Dy83 at high spin.

PMID- 9971508
TI  - Self-consistent calculations of Be isotopes.

PMID- 9971509
TI  - Path integral variational methods for strongly correlated systems.

PMID- 9971510
TI  - Realistic shell-model calculations for neutron deficient Sn isotopes.

PMID- 9971511
TI  - Realistic collective nuclear Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9971512
TI  - 114Ru in axial and nonaxial microscopic frameworks.

PMID- 9971513
TI  - Strength functions and spreading widths of simple shell model configurations.

PMID- 9971514
TI  - Nearest neighbor spacing distributions of low-lying levels of vibrational nuclei.

PMID- 9971515
TI  - Radial flow in 40Ar+45Sc reactions at E=35-115 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971516
TI  - Total hadronic photoabsorption cross section on nuclei in the nucleon resonance
      region.

PMID- 9971517
TI  - Total reaction and 2n-removal cross sections of 20-60A MeV 4,6,8He, 6-9,11Li, and
      10Be on Si.

PMID- 9971518
TI  - Isospin dependence of intermediate mass fragment production in heavy-ion
      collisions at E/A=55 MeV.

PMID- 9971519
TI  - Limitation of the fusion cross section for the 12C+11B system at Ec.m.=36.5 and
      41.7 MeV.

PMID- 9971521
TI  - Differential cross sections for neutrino scattering on 12C.

PMID- 9971520
TI  - The d

PMID- 9971522
TI  - Reaction mechanism coexistence in the 123 MeV 19F+56Fe reaction.

PMID- 9971523
TI  - Inclusive (p,p') reactions on nuclei in the mass range 115 to 181 at incident
      energies from 120 to 200 MeV.

PMID- 9971524
TI  - Quasideuteron effect with a polarized gamma

PMID- 9971525
TI  - 0f7/2 proton transfer on 55Mn.

PMID- 9971527
TI  - Nuclear fission beyond two-body kinematics.

PMID- 9971526
TI  - 8B proton halo via reaction and breakup cross section measurements.

PMID- 9971528
TI  - Excited halo nuclear state and long range interaction in nuclear reactions.

PMID- 9971529
TI  - Kaon photoproduction near threshold and their coupling constants.

PMID- 9971530
TI  - Inverse scattering for a specific resonating group model nonlocality.

PMID- 9971531
TI  - Antiprotonic studies of nuclear neutron halos.

PMID- 9971532
TI  - Radii of halo nuclei from cross section measurements.

PMID- 9971533
TI  - Relations between fusion cross sections and average angular momenta.

PMID- 9971534
TI  - Large basis shell model analysis of 14N( gamma, pi +)14Cg.s. reaction.

PMID- 9971535
TI  - Structure signatures in proton scattering from 9,11Li.

PMID- 9971536
TI  - Observables in high-statistics measurements of the reaction p-barp--> Lambda -bar
      Lambda.

PMID- 9971537
TI  - Two-particle rapidity correlations in C+Ta interactions at 4.2A GeV/c.

PMID- 9971538
TI  - Characteristics of charged particle multiplicities distribution in relativistic
      heavy-ion interactions.

PMID- 9971539
TI  - Lambda flow in heavy-ion collisions: The role of final-state interactions.

PMID- 9971540
TI  - Dilepton production in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971541
TI  - Low transverse momentum photon production in proton-nucleus collisions at 18
      GeV/c.

PMID- 9971542
TI  - Measurement of the pi +p

PMID- 9971543
TI  - Electromagnetic form factors in a collective model of the nucleon.

PMID- 9971545
TI  - eta -deuteron scattering.

PMID- 9971544
TI  - Probing nucleon strangeness with neutrinos: Nuclear model dependences.

PMID- 9971546
TI  - Renormalized quasiparticle random phase approximation and double beta decay: A
      critical analysis of double Fermi transitions.

PMID- 9971547
TI  - 12C( alpha, gamma )16O cross sections at stellar energies.

PMID- 9971548
TI  - Structure of 18Ne and the breakout from the hot CNO cycle.

PMID- 9971549
TI  - Measurement of neutron capture on 48Ca at thermal and thermonuclear energies.

PMID- 9971550
TI  - Causality in dense matter.

PMID- 9971551
TI  - Neutrino mean free path in asymmetric nuclear matter at high density.

PMID- 9971552
TI  - Mass dependence of fragment anisotropy in the fission of 11B+237Np and 16O+209Bi
      systems.

PMID- 9971553
TI  - Observation of fine structure in 190Pb alpha decay.

PMID- 9971554
TI  - alpha decay of a new isotope 209Th.

PMID- 9971555
TI  - Cross sections for 45Sc(p,2n)44Ti and related reactions.

PMID- 9971556
TI  - Neutron resonances in 166Ho.

PMID- 9971557
TI  - Quasicontinuum ridges in 173,174W.

PMID- 9971558
TI  - Monopole transfer strength to 132,134Ba in (p,t) reactions and the interacting
      boson approximation.

PMID- 9971559
TI  - Alpha decays of neutron deficient isotopes in the region N >~ 82 >~ Z.

PMID- 9971560
TI  - Final state charge exchange interactions in the 12C(e,e'p) reaction.

PMID- 9971561
TI  - Nucleon mean free path in nuclear matter in a density-dependent sigma - omega
      model.

PMID- 9971562
TI  - Occupation probability of harmonic-oscillator quanta for microscopic cluster
      model wave functions.

PMID- 9971563
TI  - Two mode, finite range distorted wave Born approximation analysis of the 9Be(p,
      alpha )6Li reaction at 45 and 50 MeV.

PMID- 9971564
TI  - Intermittent and multifractal behaviors of multiplicity distributions in 800 GeV
      p-nucleus interactions.

PMID- 9971565
TI  - Does the quark cluster model predict a JP=0(-) isospin-2 dibaryon resonance?

PMID- 9971566
TI  - Comment on "Continuum Tamm-Dancoff approximation calculations for the escape
      widths of the isobaric analog state and Gamow-Teller resonance in 208Bi"

PMID- 9971567
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Continuum Tamm-Dancoff approximation calculations for the
      escape widths of the isobaric analog state and Gamow-Teller resonance in 208Bi' "

PMID- 9971568
TI  - Erratum: Sum rules in the proton-neutron interacting boson model: Generalized
      treatment and specific applications

PMID- 9971569
TI  - Study of the unbound nucleus 11N by elastic resonance scattering.

PMID- 9971571
TI  - Spatial separation of outer neutrons in 11Li.

PMID- 9971570
TI  - Viscosity and fission time scale of 156Dy.

PMID- 9971572
TI  - 3He( gamma,pp)n cross sections with tagged photons below the Delta resonance
      energy.

PMID- 9971574
TI  - Light-front pion exchange in elastic electron-deuteron scattering.

PMID- 9971573
TI  - Effective meson-exchange potentials in the SU6 quark model for NN and YN
      interactions.

PMID- 9971575
TI  - pi rho correlations in the NN potential.

PMID- 9971576
TI  - Two-pion-exchange potential and the pi N amplitude.

PMID- 9971577
TI  - Validity of certain soft photon amplitudes.

PMID- 9971579
TI  - First observation of mixed-symmetry states in a good U(5) nucleus.

PMID- 9971578
TI  - Superdeformed structures in 197,198Pb.

PMID- 9971580
TI  - Excited levels in 145Pm.

PMID- 9971581
TI  - New levels in 168Er: Use of a Compton-suppressed Ge array with the (n, gamma )
      reaction.

PMID- 9971582
TI  - Systematic study of the fragmentation of low-lying dipole strength in odd-A rare
      earth nuclei investigated in nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments.

PMID- 9971583
TI  - Coulomb-nuclear interference with alpha particles in the excitation of the 2(+)1
      states in 100,102,104Ru.

PMID- 9971585
TI  - Measurement of the hyperfine anomaly between 187Os and 189Os.

PMID- 9971584
TI  - alpha decay of 216Fr and 212At.

PMID- 9971586
TI  - Doppler-shift attenuation method lifetime measurements of low-lying states in
      111In.

PMID- 9971587
TI  - pi h11/2 intruder and pi g9/2-1 strongly coupled bands in 115Sb.

PMID- 9971588
TI  - Self-consistent velocity dependent effective interactions.

PMID- 9971589
TI  - Geometrical interpretation of the semimicroscopic algebraic cluster model.

PMID- 9971591
TI  - "Bare" single-particle energies in 56Ni.

PMID- 9971590
TI  - Triaxiality in quadrupole deformed nuclei.

PMID- 9971592
TI  - Core polarization charges of quadrupole transitions in neutron drip line nuclei.

PMID- 9971594
TI  - Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation to relativistic nuclear matter.

PMID- 9971593
TI  - Shapes and stability within the interacting boson model: Dynamical symmetries.

PMID- 9971596
TI  - Isotopic shifts of odd-A Rb isotopes in the relativistic mean field approach.

PMID- 9971595
TI  - Generator coordinate method calculation of the E2 decay lifetime of shape isomers
      in the actinide region.

PMID- 9971597
TI  - Analyzing power measurements for 209Bi(n,n) at 6 and 9 MeV and consistent
      dispersive optical-model analyses for n+209Bi and n+208Pb from -20 to +80 MeV.

PMID- 9971599
TI  - Searching for the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition in Au+Au collisions at 35
      MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971598
TI  - High energy gamma -ray production from Be, C, and Al targets with 65 MeV 3He
      bombardment.

PMID- 9971600
TI  - Total cross section and resonance spectroscopy for n+124Sn.

PMID- 9971601
TI  - Momentum dependence of the nuclear mean field from peripheral heavy-ion
      collisions.

PMID- 9971602
TI  - Resonance spin assignments in 12C+12C(3(-)) inelastic scattering from angular
      correlation methods.

PMID- 9971603
TI  - Fission of heavy nuclei induced by stopped antiprotons. II. Correlations between
      fission fragments.

PMID- 9971604
TI  - Evidence for one-pion charge exchange in 13N + 13C elastic scattering near the
      Coulomb barrier.

PMID- 9971606
TI  - Statistical kinetic approach to nuclear liquid-gas phase transition.

PMID- 9971605
TI  - Single-nucleon transfer to unbound states by means of the 4He( alpha,3He)5He
      reaction at 158 and 200 MeV.

PMID- 9971607
TI  - Parametrization of pion-nucleon phase shifts and effects upon pion-nucleus
      scattering calculations.

PMID- 9971608
TI  - Elastic and inelastic scattering of 1.37 GeV alpha particles from 12C and
      40,42,44,48Ca.

PMID- 9971609
TI  - Approximate treatment of electron Coulomb distortion in quasielastic (e,e')
      reactions.

PMID- 9971611
TI  - Nuclear surface localization of preequilibrium reactions at low energies.

PMID- 9971610
TI  - Relativistic Thomas-Fermi description of collective modes in droplets of nuclear
      matter.

PMID- 9971612
TI  - Nuclear transparency to intermediate-energy protons.

PMID- 9971613
TI  - Double-folding interaction for 6He + alpha scattering.

PMID- 9971614
TI  - Sensitivity of nucleon-nucleus scattering to the off-shell behavior of on-shell
      equivalent NN potentials.

PMID- 9971615
TI  - Simulated Bose-Einstein correlations in multiplicity distributions from
      relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971616
TI  - Thermal and chemical equilibration in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

PMID- 9971617
TI  - Quark-hadron phase transition with surface fluctuations.

PMID- 9971619
TI  - Coherent pion effects at large rapidities in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

PMID- 9971618
TI  - Lepton production from charm decay in nuclear collisions at sqrt s=200 GeV and
      5.5 TeV per nucleon.

PMID- 9971620
TI  - Baryons as solitonic solutions of the chiral sigma model.

PMID- 9971621
TI  - Light and heavy mesons in the context of the quasipotential equation.

PMID- 9971622
TI  - Meson-exchange model for pi N scattering and gamma N--> pi N reaction.

PMID- 9971624
TI  - Internal bremsstrahlung spectrum of 139Ce.

PMID- 9971625
TI  - Observables in muon capture on 23Na and the effective weak couplings g-tildea and
      g-tildep.

PMID- 9971623
TI  - Evidence for neutrino oscillations from muon decay at rest.

PMID- 9971626
TI  - Neutron capture resonances in 116Sn, 118Sn, and 120Sn.

PMID- 9971627
TI  - Neutrino induced transitions between the ground states of the A=12 triad.

PMID- 9971628
TI  - Superfluid densities in neutron-star matter.

PMID- 9971629
TI  - Magnetically catalyzed fusion.

PMID- 9971630
TI  - First observation of beta decay of 108Nb to 108Mo.

PMID- 9971631
TI  - Superdeformed band in 147Tb.

PMID- 9971633
TI  - High spin states in 109Sn.

PMID- 9971632
TI  - Reaction 13C(n,p)13B at 118 MeV.

PMID- 9971634
TI  - Analytical study of factorial moments for first- and second-order phase
      transitions.

PMID- 9971635
TI  - gamma n--> pi -p process in 4He and 16O.

PMID- 9971636
TI  - Comment on "Analysis of hard two-photon correlations measured in heavy-ion
      reactions at intermediate energies"

PMID- 9971637
TI  - Erratum: gamma -ray transitions in 206Pb studied in the 205Pb(n, gamma ) reaction

PMID- 9971638
TI  - Measurement of the 1H(6He,6Li)n reaction in inverse kinematics.

PMID- 9971639
TI  - Test of Delta I=2 staggering in the superdeformed bands of 194Hg.

PMID- 9971640
TI  - Emission of intermediate mass fragments during fission.

PMID- 9971641
TI  - Dynamic shape effect in 126Ba at low spin.

PMID- 9971642
TI  - Compton scattering, meson exchange, and the polarizabilities of bound nucleons.

PMID- 9971643
TI  - Observation of the 1(+) scissors mode in the gamma -soft nucleus 134Ba.

PMID- 9971644
TI  - Cosmic ray measurement of the 54Mn beta - partial half-life.

PMID- 9971645
TI  - Search for Delta (1232)-resonance excitation in heavy-ion collisions around 100
      MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971646
TI  - Spectral line shape of exotic nuclei.

PMID- 9971647
TI  - Simple formula for E(4(+)1)-E(2 1+) correlations and the magnification of
      structural anomalies.

PMID- 9971648
TI  - Backbending in 50Cr.

PMID- 9971649
TI  - mperp dependence of Bose-Einstein correlation radii.

PMID- 9971650
TI  - Antikaon flow in heavy-ion collisions: Effects of absorption and mean-field
      potential.

PMID- 9971651
TI  - Secondary decays and the helium lithium isotope thermometer.

PMID- 9971652
TI  - What information can we obtain from the yield ratio pi -/ pi + in heavy-ion
      collisions?

PMID- 9971653
TI  - Kaon production via gamma N-->K Sigma in the chiral quark model.

PMID- 9971654
TI  - Investigation of nuclear charge symmetry by pion elastic scattering from 3H and
      3He.

PMID- 9971655
TI  - Measurement of the p-barp--> Lambda -bar Lambda and p-barp--> Sigma -bar 0 Lambda
      +c.c. reactions at 1.726 and 1.771 GeV/c.

PMID- 9971656
TI  - Pionic-decay spectra of few-body Lambda hypernuclei.

PMID- 9971657
TI  - Soft two-meson-exchange nucleon-nucleon potentials. I. Planar and crossed-box
      diagrams.

PMID- 9971658
TI  - Soft two-meson-exchange nucleon-nucleon potentials. II. One-pair and two-pair
      diagrams.

PMID- 9971659
TI  - Meson-baryon-baryon vertex function and the Ward-Takahashi identity.

PMID- 9971660
TI  - Neutron-rich isotopes 54-57Ti.

PMID- 9971661
TI  - Lifetime and g-factor measurements of the 11(-) isomer in 92Tc.

PMID- 9971662
TI  - Favored neutron excitations in superdeformed 147Gd.

PMID- 9971663
TI  - Spectroscopy of the 29Si(p, gamma ) reaction for Ep=1.75-2.51 MeV.

PMID- 9971664
TI  - gamma decay from states at low excitation energy in the neutron-deficient
      isotope, 200Rn, identified by correlated radioactive decay.

PMID- 9971665
TI  - Levels of 105Pd populated in the decay of 105Agm,g and comparison with
      interacting boson-fermion model calculations.

PMID- 9971667
TI  - Spreading width of the isobaric analog state and isospin mixing.

PMID- 9971666
TI  - Excited states in neutron-deficient 198Bi.

PMID- 9971669
TI  - Properties of Delta I=4 bifurcation from the projected shell model.

PMID- 9971668
TI  - Continuum random phase approximation method applied to the inclusive transverse
      electron scattering response.

PMID- 9971670
TI  - Systematic study of nuclear beta decay.

PMID- 9971672
TI  - Persisting alpha -planar structure in 20Ne.

PMID- 9971671
TI  - No-core shell-model calculations with starting-energy-independent multivalued
      effective interactions.

PMID- 9971673
TI  - Interplay between one-body and collisional damping of collective motion in
      nuclei.

PMID- 9971675
TI  - Delta excitations in compressed finite nuclei. II. Nucleon-nucleon interaction
      dependence.

PMID- 9971674
TI  - Regularity and chaos in Vlasov evolution of nuclear matter.

PMID- 9971676
TI  - Breakup reactions of the halo nuclei 11Be and 8B.

PMID- 9971677
TI  - Preequilibrium processes in the fusion of 12C with 103Rh up to 20 MeV/nucleon.

PMID- 9971678
TI  - Classical tests for statistical evaporation at 680 MeV 40Ar+natAg.

PMID- 9971679
TI  - Scaling laws in 3He induced nuclear fission.

PMID- 9971680
TI  - Fusion barrier distributions for heavy ion systems involving prolate and oblate
      target nuclei.

PMID- 9971681
TI  - Angular distributions for the 12C( gamma,p)11B reaction.

PMID- 9971682
TI  - Collisions between 48Ti + 93Nb at 917 MeV.

PMID- 9971684
TI  - Coupled channels analysis of high precision fusion data.

PMID- 9971683
TI  - Intermediate mass fragments emission in the reaction 96 MeV 19F on 12C.

PMID- 9971685
TI  - Angular distributions for knockout and scattering of protons in the eikonal
      approximation.

PMID- 9971686
TI  - Polarization observables in the process d+p-->d+X and electromagnetic form
      factors of N-->N* transitions.

PMID- 9971687
TI  - Energy dependent potentials determined by inversion: The p+ alpha potential up to
      65 MeV.

PMID- 9971689
TI  - Effect of nuclear absorption on nucleon transfer probabilities in heavy-ion
      reactions.

PMID- 9971688
TI  - Relationship between ground state and double analog cross sections in pion double
      charge exchange.

PMID- 9971690
TI  - Meson exchange currents in the 3He( gamma, pi +)3H reaction.

PMID- 9971691
TI  - Determination of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections from the data of proton
      induced reaction cross sections.

PMID- 9971692
TI  - Effect of nuclear shape of neutron rich isotopes in heavy ion reactions.

PMID- 9971693
TI  - Target and projectile fragmentations in 208Pb-emulsion collisions at 160A GeV.

PMID- 9971694
TI  - Nuclear dependence of single-hadron and dihadron production in p-A interactions
      at sqrt s=38.8 GeV.

PMID- 9971695
TI  - Entropy production by resonance decays.

PMID- 9971696
TI  - Anisotropic transverse flow and the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss correlation function.

PMID- 9971697
TI  - Pion electromagnetic form factor at finite temperature.

PMID- 9971698
TI  - Covariant diquark-quark model of the nucleon in the Salpeter approach.

PMID- 9971699
TI  - Determination of pion-baryon coupling constants from QCD sum rules.

PMID- 9971700
TI  - Axial current conservation in the Bethe-Salpeter approach to the nuclear two-body
      problem.

PMID- 9971701
TI  - Gamow-Teller strength of 26Mg.

PMID- 9971702
TI  - Population of the 283 keV level of 137Ba by the beta decay of 137Cs.

PMID- 9971704
TI  - Distribution of electrons over final states in beta decay of atomic tritium
      beyond the shakeoff approximation.

PMID- 9971703
TI  - Compound-nucleus contributions to 6Li+12C scattering.

PMID- 9971706
TI  - Kaon dispersion relation and flow in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

PMID- 9971707
TI  - Optical model approach for heavy ion fusion.

PMID- 9971705
TI  - Two-particle-one-hole excitations in the continuum.

PMID- 9971708
TI  - Entrance-channel mass-asymmetry dependence of compound nucleus formation time in
      light heavy-ion reactions.

PMID- 9971710
TI  - Anomalous transverse distribution of pions as a signal for the production of
      disoriented chiral condensates.

PMID- 9971709
TI  - Photoexcitation mechanisms investigated through the fission channel.

PMID- 9971711
TI  - Time scale of the preequilibrium process in intermediate-energy nucleon-induced
      reactions.

PMID- 9971712
TI  - Core contribution to the nuclear magnetic quadrupole moment.

PMID- 9971713
TI  - Accuracy of calculating the exchange part of the real alpha-nucleus potential.

PMID- 9971714
TI  - Comment on "Multinucleon mechanisms in ( gamma,N) and ( gamma,NN) reactions"

PMID- 9971715
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Multinucleon mechanisms in ( gamma,N) and ( gamma,NN)
      reactions' "

PMID- 9971716
TI  - First observation of excited states in 192Po.

PMID- 9971717
TI  - Production and identification of new neutron-rich nuclei, 31Ne and 37Mg, in the
      reaction 80A MeV 50Ti+181Ta.

PMID- 9971718
TI  - Superdeformed band in 155Dy: Where does the "island" of superdeformation end?

PMID- 9971719
TI  - Laser ionization of 124Ag and its decay to levels of 124Cd.

PMID- 9971721
TI  - Temperature determination from the lattice gas model.

PMID- 9971720
TI  - Valence correlation scheme for single nucleon separation energies.

PMID- 9971722
TI  - Perception of discrimination and ethnocultural variables in a diverse group of
      adolescents.
AB  - Despite current interest in the multi-dimensionality of culture and ethnicity
      there are few studies that have explored the role of discrimination with
      ethnocultural variables. In this study social identity theory was used as a
      framework to test the relation between discrimination and components of ethnic
      identity, and attitudes towards out-groups. A school-based survey in a large
      south-west metropolitan area in 1994 was undertaken with students (n=3071) of
      African-American, European-American, Mexican-American, and Vietnamese-American
      descent using multiple measures of ethnicity. Hierarchical multiple regression
      results indicated that two components of ethnic identity played different roles
      in the relation between discrimination and attitudes towards others. Consistent
      with social identity theory, results indicated that perception of more
      discrimination was predicted by high ethnic exploration, and having more negative
      attitudes towards out-groups. However, ethnic affirmation, which is a positive
      sense of belonging to one's ethnic group, was only indirectly related to
      discrimination through attitudes toward others. In fact, contrary to social
      identity theory, a stronger sense of belonging to one's group was associated with
      more positive attitudes toward out-groups. Results have important implications
      for race relations.

PMID- 9971723
TI  - Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to HIV and AIDS among chinese
      adolescents in hong kong.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to assess HIV and AIDS knowledge and attitudes,
      source of HIV and AIDS information, and behaviours related to HIV and AIDS among
      Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Participants included 1259 (826 females and 433
      males) Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong between 12-18 years of age. Findings
      revealed that over 80% of the adolescents had rarely or never discussed HIV and
      AIDS with their family or teacher, and the primary source of HIV and AIDS
      information was media sources such as television and newspapers. Findings
      revealed HIV and AIDS misinformation among both male and female adolescents in
      the areas of transmission, facts, personal vulnerability and attitudes. However,
      participants reported engaging in little at-risk behaviour associated with HIV
      and AIDS. Implications for HIV and AIDS education and prevention are discussed.

PMID- 9971724
TI  - Subtypes of stalking (obsessional following) in adolescents.
AB  - Stalking, which has been given the clinical term "obsessional following", is
      repetitive threatening or harassing behavior that creates a fear of harm in the
      victim. Empirical and theoretical literature on this form of behavior is
      beginning to develop and focuses primarily on adults. Three major subtypes of
      obsessional following have been identified: erotomania, love obsessional, and
      simple obsessional/borderline erotomania. Using this typology and available
      empirical research, a context is set in which three cases of adolescent
      obsessional following are discussed and analysed. These cases document that
      stalking/obsessional following occurs in adolescents and that important
      similarities and differences appear to exist between adult and adolescent
      offenders. Hypotheses are generated to encourage further study of this
      significant problem.

PMID- 9971725
TI  - Love and dating experience in early and middle adolescence: grade and gender
      comparisons.
AB  - The experience of being "in love" was studied in a sample of 186 early to middle
      adolescent males and 199 early to middle adolescent females. Results indicated
      that amount of dating experience of adolescents varied widely at each age. Being
      "in love" co-occurred with a reciprocal on-going relationship about half the
      time. Boys fell in love earlier and more often than girls, and both genders
      seemed to employ an increasingly narrow prototypical conception of being "in
      love". Qualitative analyses suggested that early and middle adolescents are
      actively reasoning about the nature and meaning of romantic feelings and
      experiences. Results are interpreted from the standpoint of psychosocial
      developmental theory, and implications for interventions with adolescents are
      discussed.

PMID- 9971726
TI  - Significant individuals in adolescence: adolescent and adult perspectives.
AB  - This study examines the ways in which 360 Israeli adolescents, and 395 midlife
      adults looking retrospectively perceive significant individuals from their
      adolescence. Following the methodology developed by Hendry et al. (Journal of
      Adolescence 1992, 15, 255-270), participants were asked to chose the most
      significant family and non-family individuals in their adolescent lives, and to
      indicate which of a number of characteristics applied or did not apply to their
      chosen significant persons. Our results indicate that most of the adults and the
      adolescents chose a parent as the most significant relative in their adolescence
      and that females in both samples chose their mothers more than did males.
      Compared with adolescents, adults attributed, retrospectively, more negative
      characteristics to their parents (e.g. as being mollycoddlers and rejectors).
      Adults were more likely to mention their teachers as significant non-family
      individuals in their lives and to characterize them in terms of their future
      impact as teachers and role models. Adolescents referred more positively to their
      parents, they also chose more friends of the same or opposite sex as significant
      others, and characterized them in terms of present-oriented features as being
      supporters and challengers.

PMID- 9971728
TI  - First sexual intercourse: anticipation and communication. Interviews with young
      people in England.
AB  - This study investigated anticipation and communication around first sexual
      intercourse through semi-structured interviews with young people (aged 16 to 29)
      in England. Ranging from surprise to pre-planning, several different levels of
      anticipation are explored. The main findings are as follows: communication plays
      a central role, mediating between the degree of anticipation and the degree to
      which first intercourse is wanted, protected and enjoyed. First intercourse tends
      to be characterized by silence, especially during early, spontaneous encounters.
      Silence does not imply lack of communication-non-verbal communication plays an
      important role. Where young people are ambivalent, verbal and non-verbal
      communication may send contradictory messages. The implications of the results
      for future safer sex campaigns are discussed.

PMID- 9971727
TI  - Social support and personal models of diabetesin relation to self-care and well
      being inadolescents with type I diabetes mellitus.
AB  - This study set out to examine whether peer support and illness representation
      mediates the link between family support, self-management and well-being. Seventy
      four participants (12-18-years-old) with type I diabetes mellitus completed
      questionnaires assessing their self-management, depression, anxiety, perceived
      social support and personal models of diabetes. Perceived impact of diabetes, but
      not perceived seriousness, and peer support were significant predictors of
      depression. Family support was a significant predictor of all self-management
      measures. However, for dietary self-management this relationship was partially
      mediated by the perceived efficacy of treatment to control diabetes, but not
      efficacy of treatment to prevent complications.

PMID- 9971729
TI  - Mum's the word: mothers' perspectives on communication about sexuality with
      adolescents.
AB  - Mothers' perceptions of the style, content and frequency of their communications
      with their adolescents about sex and sexuality were examined. We administered
      semi-structured interviews to 30 mothers of 16-year-olds (16 mothers of sons, 14
      mothers of daughters). Despite a uniform assessment that they were effective
      sexual communicators, mothers varied greatly in their style of sexual
      communication. Qualitative analyses revealed five communication styles: avoidant,
      reactive, opportunistic, child-initiated and mutually interactive. These styles
      differed in who initiated and maintained sexual communication, the comfort level
      of mother and of teenager, the frequency of sexual communications, the context in
      which communications took place and the topics discussed and avoided.

PMID- 9971730
TI  - Young people in transition: the relationship between homesickness and self
      disclosure.
AB  - Whilst the majority of new students cope well with the transition to university,
      a number experience levels of homesickness which can adversely affect the process
      of adaptation. In this study the relationship between homesickness and self
      disclosure, seen as a possible mediating factor, was assessed in a sample of 83
      students (mean age 18.0541 years, s.d.=7.055 months) at the start of their first
      semester and then 6 weeks later. The results showed that homesickness declined
      during the semester whilst levels of self-disclosure increased. A significant
      negative association was found between levels of self-disclosure and homesickness
      at both time periods. High self-disclosers experienced a significantly greater
      reduction in homesickness than low self-disclosers. The results showed the
      importance of the socially-mediated and supportive benefits of self-disclosure
      during this life transition.

PMID- 9971733
TI  - Volume contents and index 

PMID- 9971732
TI  - Corrigendum 

PMID- 9971734
TI  - Intraflagellar transport: the eyes have it.

PMID- 9971735
TI  - A novel in vivo assay reveals inhibition of ribosomal nuclear export in ran-cycle
      and nucleoporin mutants.
AB  - To identify components involved in the nuclear export of ribosomes in yeast, we
      developed an in vivo assay exploiting a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged
      version of ribosomal protein L25. After its import into the nucleolus, L25-GFP
      assembles with 60S ribosomal subunits that are subsequently exported into the
      cytoplasm. In wild-type cells, GFP-labeled ribosomes are only detected by
      fluorescence in the cytoplasm. However, thermosensitive rna1-1 (Ran-GAP), prp20-1
      (Ran-GEF), and nucleoporin nup49 and nsp1 mutants are impaired in ribosomal
      export as revealed by nuclear accumulation of L25-GFP. Furthermore,
      overexpression of dominant-negative RanGTP (Gsp1-G21V) and the tRNA exportin
      Los1p inhibits ribosomal export. The pattern of subnuclear accumulation of L25
      GFP observed in different mutants is not identical, suggesting that transport can
      be blocked at different steps. Thus, nuclear export of ribosomes requires the
      nuclear/cytoplasmic Ran-cycle and distinct nucleoporins. This assay can be used
      to identify soluble transport factors required for nuclear exit of ribosomes.

PMID- 9971736
TI  - Mammalian homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-76 protein involved in
      axonal outgrowth is a protein kinase C zeta-interacting protein.
AB  - By the yeast two-hybrid screening of a rat brain cDNA library with the regulatory
      domain of protein kinase C zeta (PKCzeta) as a bait, we have cloned a gene coding
      for a novel PKCzeta-interacting protein homologous to the Caenorhabditis elegans
      UNC-76 protein involved in axonal outgrowth and fasciculation. The protein
      designated FEZ1 (fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1) consisting of 393
      amino acid residues shows a high Asp/Glu content and contains several regions
      predicted to form amphipathic helices. Northern blot analysis has revealed that
      FEZ1 mRNA is abundantly expressed in adult rat brain and throughout the
      developmental stages of mouse embryo. By the yeast two-hybrid assay with various
      deletion mutants of PKC, FEZ1 was shown to interact with the NH2-terminal
      variable region (V1) of PKCzeta and weakly with that of PKCepsilon. In the COS-7
      cells coexpressing FEZ1 and PKCzeta, FEZ1 was present mainly in the plasma
      membrane, associating with PKCzeta and being phosphorylated. These results
      indicate that FEZ1 is a novel substrate of PKCzeta. When the constitutively
      active mutant of PKCzeta was used, FEZ1 was found in the cytoplasm of COS-7
      cells. Upon treatment of the cells with a PKC inhibitor, staurosporin, FEZ1 was
      translocated from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane, suggesting that the
      cytoplasmic translocation of FEZ1 is directly regulated by the PKCzeta activity.
      Although expression of FEZ1 alone had no effect on PC12 cells, coexpression of
      FEZ1 and constitutively active PKCzeta stimulated the neuronal differentiation of
      PC12 cells. Combined with the recent finding that a human FEZ1 protein is able to
      complement the function of UNC-76 necessary for normal axonal bundling and
      elongation within axon bundles in the nematode, these results suggest that FEZ1
      plays a crucial role in the axon guidance machinery in mammals by interacting
      with PKCzeta.

PMID- 9971737
TI  - Evidence that atypical protein kinase C-lambda and atypical protein kinase C-zeta
      participate in Ras-mediated reorganization of the F-actin cytoskeleton.
AB  - Expression of transforming Ha-Ras L61 in NIH3T3 cells causes profound
      morphological alterations which include a disassembly of actin stress fibers. The
      Ras-induced dissolution of actin stress fibers is blocked by the specific PKC
      inhibitor GF109203X at concentrations which inhibit the activity of the atypical
      aPKC isotypes lambda and zeta, whereas lower concentrations of the inhibitor
      which block conventional and novel PKC isotypes are ineffective. Coexpression of
      transforming Ha-Ras L61 with kinase-defective, dominant-negative (DN) mutants of
      aPKC-lambda and aPKC-zeta, as well as antisense constructs encoding RNA-directed
      against isotype-specific 5' sequences of the corresponding mRNA, abrogates the Ha
      Ras-induced reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Expression of a kinase
      defective, DN mutant of cPKC-alpha was unable to counteract Ras with regard to
      the dissolution of actin stress fibers. Transfection of cells with constructs
      encoding constitutively active (CA) mutants of atypical aPKC-lambda and aPKC-zeta
      lead to a disassembly of stress fibers independent of oncogenic Ha-Ras.
      Coexpression of (DN) Rac-1 N17 and addition of the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase
      (PI3K) inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 are in agreement with a tentative model
      suggesting that, in the signaling pathway from Ha-Ras to the cytoskeleton aPKC
      lambda acts upstream of PI3K and Rac-1, whereas aPKC-zeta functions downstream of
      PI3K and Rac-1. This model is supported by studies demonstrating that
      cotransfection with plasmids encoding L61Ras and either aPKC-lambda or aPKC-zeta
      results in a stimulation of the kinase activity of both enzymes. Furthermore, the
      Ras-mediated activation of PKC-zeta was abrogated by coexpression of DN Rac-1
      N17.

PMID- 9971738
TI  - Arginase II downregulates nitric oxide (NO) production and prevents NO-mediated
      apoptosis in murine macrophage-derived RAW 264.7 cells.
AB  - Excess nitric oxide (NO) induces apoptosis of some cell types, including
      macrophages. As NO is synthesized by NO synthase (NOS) from arginine, a common
      substrate of arginase, these two enzymes compete for arginine. There are two
      known isoforms of arginase, types I and II. Using murine macrophage-like RAW
      264.7 cells, we asked if the induction of arginase II would downregulate NO
      production and hence prevent apoptosis. When cells were exposed to
      lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), the inducible form of
      NOS (iNOS) was induced, production of NO was elevated, and apoptosis followed.
      When dexamethasone and cAMP were further added, both iNOS and arginase II were
      induced, NO production was much decreased, and apoptosis was prevented. When the
      cells were transfected with an arginase II expression plasmid and treated with
      LPS/IFN-gamma, some cells were rescued from apoptosis. An arginase I expression
      plasmid was also effective. On the other hand, transfection with the arginase II
      plasmid did not prevent apoptosis when a NO donor SNAP or a high concentration
      (12 mM) of arginine was added. These results indicate that arginase II prevents
      NO-dependent apoptosis of RAW 264.7 cells by depleting intracellular arginine and
      by decreasing NO production.

PMID- 9971739
TI  - The intermediate filament protein peripherin is the specific interaction partner
      of mouse BPAG1-n (dystonin) in neurons.
AB  - The dystonia musculorum (dt) mouse suffers from severe degeneration of primary
      sensory neurons. The mutated gene product is named dystonin and is identical to
      the neuronal isoform of bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1-n). BPAG1-n contains
      an actin-binding domain at its NH2 terminus and a putative intermediate filament
      binding domain at its COOH terminus. Because the degenerating sensory neurons of
      dt mice display abnormal accumulations of intermediate filaments in the axons,
      BPAG1-n has been postulated to organize the neuronal cytoskeleton by interacting
      with both the neurofilament triplet proteins (NFTPs) and microfilaments. In this
      paper we show by a variety of methods that the COOH-terminal tail domain of mouse
      BPAG1 interacts specifically with peripherin, but in contrast to a previous study
      (Yang, Y., J. Dowling, Q.C. Yu, P. Kouklis, D.W. Cleveland, and E. Fuchs. 1996.
      Cell. 86:655-665), mouse BPAG1 fails to associate with full-length NFTPs. The
      tail domains interfered with the association of the NFTPs with BPAG1. In dt mice,
      peripherin is present in axonal swellings of degenerating sensory neurons in the
      dorsal root ganglia and is downregulated even in other neural regions, which have
      no obvious signs of pathology. Since peripherin and BPAG1-n also display similar
      expression patterns in the nervous system, we suggest that peripherin is the
      specific interaction partner of BPAG1-n in vivo.

PMID- 9971740
TI  - Slow axonal transport of neurofilament protein in cultured neurons.
AB  - We have investigated the axonal transport of neurofilament protein in cultured
      neurons by constricting single axons with fine glass fibers. We observed a rapid
      accumulation of anterogradely and retrogradely transported membranous organelles
      on both sides of the constrictions and a more gradual accumulation of
      neurofilament protein proximal to the constrictions. Neurofilament protein
      accumulation was dependent on the presence of metabolic substrates and was
      blocked by iodoacetate, which is an inhibitor of glycolysis. These data indicate
      that neurofilament protein moves anterogradely in these axons by a mechanism that
      is directly or indirectly dependent on nucleoside triphosphates. The average
      transport rate was estimated to be at least 130 micrometer/h (3.1 mm/d), and
      approximately 90% of the accumulated neurofilament protein remained in the axon
      after detergent extraction, suggesting that it was present in a polymerized form.
      Electron microscopy demonstrated that there were an abnormally large number of
      neurofilament polymers proximal to the constrictions. These data suggest that the
      neurofilament proteins were transported either as assembled polymers or in a
      nonpolymeric form that assembled locally at the site of accumulation. This study
      represents the first demonstration of the axonal transport of neurofilament
      protein in cultured neurons.

PMID- 9971741
TI  - Induction of integral membrane PAM expression in AtT-20 cells alters the storage
      and trafficking of POMC and PC1.
AB  - Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) is an essential enzyme that
      catalyzes the COOH-terminal amidation of many neuroendocrine peptides. The
      bifunctional PAM protein contains an NH2-terminal monooxygenase (PHM) domain
      followed by a lyase (PAL) domain and a transmembrane domain. The cytosolic tail
      of PAM interacts with proteins that can affect cytoskeletal organization. A
      reverse tetracycline-regulated inducible expression system was used to construct
      an AtT-20 corticotrope cell line capable of inducible PAM-1 expression. Upon
      induction, cells displayed a time- and dose-dependent increase in enzyme
      activity, PAM mRNA, and protein. Induction of increased PAM-1 expression produced
      graded changes in PAM-1 metabolism. Increased expression of PAM-1 also caused
      decreased immunofluorescent staining for ACTH, a product of proopiomelanocortin
      (POMC), and prohormone convertase 1 (PC1) in granules at the tips of processes.
      Expression of PAM-1 resulted in decreased ACTH and PHM secretion in response to
      secretagogue stimulation, and decreased cleavage of PC1, POMC, and PAM. Increased
      expression of a soluble form of PAM did not alter POMC and PC1 localization and
      metabolism. Using the inducible cell line model, we show that expression of
      integral membrane PAM alters the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Altered
      cytoskeletal organization may then influence the trafficking and cleavage of
      lumenal proteins and eliminate the ability of AtT-20 cells to secrete ACTH in
      response to a secretagogue.

PMID- 9971743
TI  - Growing pollen tubes possess a constitutive alkaline band in the clear zone and a
      growth-dependent acidic tip.
AB  - Using both the proton selective vibrating electrode to probe the extracellular
      currents and ratiometric wide-field fluorescence microscopy with the indicator
      2', 7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF)-dextran to image
      the intracellular pH, we have examined the distribution and activity of protons
      (H+) associated with pollen tube growth. The intracellular images reveal that
      lily pollen tubes possess a constitutive alkaline band at the base of the clear
      zone and an acidic domain at the extreme apex. The extracellular observations, in
      close agreement, show a proton influx at the extreme apex of the pollen tube and
      an efflux in the region that corresponds to the position of the alkaline band.
      The ability to detect the intracellular pH gradient is strongly dependent on the
      concentration of exogenous buffers in the cytoplasm. Thus, even the indicator
      dye, if introduced at levels estimated to be of 1.0 microM or greater, will
      dissipate the gradient, possibly through shuttle buffering. The apical acidic
      domain correlates closely with the process of growth, and thus may play a direct
      role, possibly in facilitating vesicle movement and exocytosis. The alkaline band
      correlates with the position of the reverse fountain streaming at the base of the
      clear zone, and may participate in the regulation of actin filament formation
      through the modulation of pH-sensitive actin binding proteins. These studies not
      only demonstrate that proton gradients exist, but that they may be intimately
      associated with polarized pollen tube growth.

PMID- 9971742
TI  - The DHC1b (DHC2) isoform of cytoplasmic dynein is required for flagellar
      assembly.
AB  - Dyneins are microtubule-based molecular motors involved in many different types
      of cell movement. Most dynein heavy chains (DHCs) clearly group into cytoplasmic
      or axonemal isoforms. However, DHC1b has been enigmatic. To learn more about this
      isoform, we isolated Chlamydomonas cDNA clones encoding a portion of DHC1b, and
      used these clones to identify a Chlamydomonas cell line with a deletion mutation
      in DHC1b. The mutant grows normally and appears to have a normal Golgi apparatus,
      but has very short flagella. The deletion also results in a massive
      redistribution of raft subunits from a peri-basal body pool (Cole, D.G., D.R.
      Diener, A.L. Himelblau, P.L. Beech, J.C. Fuster, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1998. J.
      Cell Biol. 141:993-1008) to the flagella. Rafts are particles that normally move
      up and down the flagella in a process known as intraflagellar transport (IFT)
      (Kozminski, K.G., K.A. Johnson, P. Forscher, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1993. Proc.
      Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 90:5519-5523), which is essential for assembly and
      maintenance of flagella. The redistribution of raft subunits apparently occurs
      due to a defect in the retrograde component of IFT, suggesting that DHC1b is the
      motor for retrograde IFT. Consistent with this, Western blots indicate that DHC1b
      is present in the flagellum, predominantly in the detergent- and ATP-soluble
      fractions. These results indicate that DHC1b is a cytoplasmic dynein essential
      for flagellar assembly, probably because it is the motor for retrograde IFT.

PMID- 9971744
TI  - Membrane expansion increases endocytosis rate during mitosis.
AB  - Mitosis in mammalian cells is accompanied by a dramatic inhibition of
      endocytosis. We have found that the addition of amphyphilic compounds to
      metaphase cells increases the endocytosis rate even to interphase levels.
      Detergents and solvents all increased endocytosis rate, and the extent of
      increase was in direct proportion to the concentration added. Although the
      compounds could produce a variety of different effects, we have found a strong
      correlation with a physical alteration in the membrane tension as measured by the
      laser tweezers. Plasma membrane tethers formed by latex beads pull back on the
      beads with a force that was related to the in-plane bilayer tension and membrane-
      cytoskeletal adhesion. We found that as cells enter mitosis, the membrane tension
      rises as the endocytosis rate decreases; and as cells exited mitosis, the
      endocytosis rate increased as the membrane tension decreased. The addition of
      amphyphilic compounds decreased membrane tension and increased the endocytosis
      rate. With the detergent, deoxycholate, the endocytosis rate was restored to
      interphase levels when the membrane tension was restored to interphase levels.
      Although biochemical factors are clearly involved in the alterations in mitosis,
      we suggest that endocytosis is blocked primarily by the increase in apparent
      plasma membrane tension. Higher tensions inhibit both the binding of the
      endocytic complex to the membrane and mechanical deformation of the membrane
      during invagination. We suggest that membrane tension is an important regulator
      of the endocytosis rate and alteration of tension is sufficient to modify
      endocytosis rates during mitosis. Further, we postulate that the rise in membrane
      tension causes cell rounding and the inhibition of motility, characteristic of
      mitosis.

PMID- 9971745
TI  - Neurotransmitter secretion along growing nerve processes: comparison with
      synaptic vesicle exocytosis.
AB  - In mature neurons, synaptic vesicles continuously recycle within the presynaptic
      nerve terminal. In developing axons which are free of contact with a postsynaptic
      target, constitutive membrane recycling is not localized to the nerve terminal;
      instead, plasma membrane components undergo cycles of exoendocytosis throughout
      the whole axonal surface (Matteoli et al., 1992; Kraszewski et al., 1995).
      Moreover, in growing Xenopus spinal cord neurons in culture, acetylcholine (ACh)
      is spontaneously secreted in the quantal fashion along the axonal shaft (Evers et
      al., 1989; Antonov et al., 1998). Here we demonstrate that in Xenopus neurons ACh
      secretion is mediated by vesicles which recycle locally within the axon. Similar
      to neurotransmitter release at the presynaptic nerve terminal, ACh secretion
      along the axon could be elicited by the action potential or by hypertonic
      solutions. We found that the parameters of neurotransmitter secretion at the
      nerve terminal and at the middle axon were strikingly similar. These results lead
      us to conclude that, as in the case of the presynaptic nerve terminal, synaptic
      vesicles involved in neurotransmitter release along the axon contain a complement
      of proteins for vesicle docking and Ca2+-dependent fusion. Taken together, our
      results support the idea that, in developing axons, the rudimentary machinery for
      quantal neurotransmitter secretion is distributed throughout the whole axonal
      surface. Maturation of this machinery in the process of synaptic development
      would improve the fidelity of synaptic transmission during high-frequency
      stimulation of the presynaptic cell.

PMID- 9971746
TI  - delta-catenin, an adhesive junction-associated protein which promotes cell
      scattering.
AB  - The classical adherens junction that holds epithelial cells together consists of
      a protein complex in which members of the cadherin family linked to various
      catenins are the principal components. delta-catenin is a mammalian brain protein
      in the Armadillo repeat superfamily with sequence similarity to the adherens
      junction protein p120(ctn). We found that delta-catenin can be immunoprecipitated
      as a complex with other components of the adherens junction, including cadherin
      and beta-catenin, from transfected cells and brain. The interaction with cadherin
      involves direct contact within the highly conserved juxtamembrane region of the
      COOH terminus, where p120(ctn) also binds. In developing mouse brain, staining
      with delta-catenin antibodies is prominent towards the apical boundary of the
      neuroepithelial cells in the ventricular zone. When transfected into Madin-Darby
      canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells delta-catenin colocalized with cadherin,
      p120(ctn), and beta-catenin. The Arm domain alone was sufficient for achieving
      localization and coimmunoprecipitation with cadherin. The ectopic expression of
      delta-catenin in MDCK cells altered their morphology, induced the elaboration of
      lamellipodia, interfered with monolayer formation, and increased scattering in
      response to hepatocyte growth factor treatment. We propose that delta-catenin can
      regulate adhesion molecules to implement the organization of large cellular
      arrays necessary for tissue morphogenesis.

PMID- 9971747
TI  - DE-Cadherin is required for intercellular motility during Drosophila oogenesis.
AB  - Cadherins are involved in a variety of morphogenetic movements during animal
      development. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint the precise function of
      cadherins in morphogenetic processes due to the multifunctional nature of
      cadherin requirement. The data presented here indicate that homophilic adhesion
      promoted by Drosophila E-cadherin (DE-cadherin) mediates two cell migration
      events during Drosophila oogenesis. In Drosophila follicles, two groups of
      follicle cells, the border cells and the centripetal cells migrate on the surface
      of germline cells. We show that the border cells migrate as an epithelial patch
      in which two centrally located cells retain epithelial polarity and peripheral
      cells are partially depolarized. Both follicle cells and germline cells express
      DE-cadherin, and border cells and centripetal cells strongly upregulate the
      expression of DE-cadherin shortly before and during their migration. Removing DE
      cadherin from either the follicle cells or the germline cells blocks migration of
      border cells and centripetal cells on the surface of germline cells. The function
      of DE-cadherin in border cells appears to be specific for migration as the
      formation of the border cell cluster and the adhesion between border cells are
      not disrupted in the absence of DE-cadherin. The speed of migration depends on
      the level of DE-cadherin expression, as border cells migrate more slowly when DE
      cadherin activity is reduced. Finally, we show that the upregulation of DE
      cadherin expression in border cells depends on the activity of the Drosophila
      C/EBP transcription factor that is essential for border cell migration.

PMID- 9971748
TI  - Evidence that distinct states of the integrin alpha6beta1 interact with laminin
      and an ADAM.
AB  - Integrins can exist in different functional states with low or high binding
      capacity for particular ligands. We previously provided evidence that the
      integrin alpha6beta1, on mouse eggs and on alpha6-transfected cells, interacted
      with the disintegrin domain of the sperm surface protein ADAM 2 (fertilin beta).
      In the present study we tested the hypothesis that different states of
      alpha6beta1 interact with fertilin and laminin, an extracellular matrix ligand
      for alpha6beta1. Using alpha6-transfected cells we found that treatments (e.g.,
      with phorbol myristate acetate or MnCl2) that increased adhesion to laminin
      inhibited sperm binding. Conversely, treatments that inhibited laminin adhesion
      increased sperm binding. Next, we compared the ability of fluorescent beads
      coated with either fertilin beta or with the laminin E8 fragment to bind to eggs.
      In Ca2+-containing media, fertilin beta beads bound to eggs via an interaction
      mediated by the disintegrin loop of fertilin beta and by the alpha6 integrin
      subunit. In Ca2+-containing media, laminin E8 beads did not bind to eggs.
      Treatment of eggs with phorbol myristate acetate or with the actin disrupting
      agent, latrunculin A, inhibited fertilin bead binding, but did not induce laminin
      E8 bead binding. Treatment of eggs with Mn2+ dramatically increased laminin E8
      bead binding, and inhibited fertilin bead binding. Our results provide the first
      evidence that different states of an integrin (alpha6beta1) can interact with an
      extracellular matrix ligand (laminin) or a membrane-anchored cell surface ligand
      (ADAM 2).

PMID- 9971749
TI  - Laminin 5 in the human thymus: control of T cell proliferation via alpha6beta4
      integrins.
AB  - Laminin 5 (alpha3beta3gamma2) distribution in the human thymus was investigated
      by immunofluorescence on frozen sections with anti-alpha3, -beta3, and -gamma2
      mAbs. In addition to a linear staining of subcapsular basal laminae, the three
      mAbs give a disperse staining in the parenchyma restricted to the medullary area
      on a subset of stellate epithelial cells and vessel structures. We also found
      that laminin 5 may influence mature human thymocyte expansion; while bulk laminin
      and laminin 2, when cross-linked, are comitogenic with a TCR signal, cross-linked
      laminin 5 has no effect. By contrast, soluble laminin 5 inhibits thymocyte
      proliferation induced by a TCR signal. This is accompanied by a particular
      pattern of inhibition of early tyrosine kinases, including Zap 70 and p59(fyn)
      inhibition, but not overall inhibition of p56(lck). Using a mAb specific for
      alpha6beta4 integrins, we observed that while alpha3beta1 are known to be
      uniformly present on all thymocytes, alpha6beta4 expression parallels thymocyte
      maturation; thus a correspondence exists between laminin 5 in the thymic medulla
      and alpha6beta4 on mature thymocytes. Moreover, the soluble Ab against
      alpha6beta4 inhibits thymocyte proliferation and reproduces the same pattern of
      tyrosine kinase phosphorylation suggesting that alpha6beta4 is involved in
      laminin 5-induced modulation of T cell activation.

PMID- 9971750
TI  - Cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-2 induces the maturation of
      dendritic spines in rat hippocampal neurons.
AB  - Dendritic spines are small protrusions that receive synapses, and changes in
      spine morphology are thought to be the structural basis for learning and memory.
      We demonstrate that the cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-2
      plays a critical role in spine development. Syndecan-2 is concentrated at the
      synapses, specifically on the dendritic spines of cultured hippocampal neurons,
      and its accumulation occurs concomitant with the morphological maturation of
      spines from long thin protrusions to stubby and headed shapes. Early introduction
      of syndecan-2 cDNA into immature hippocampal neurons, by transient transfection,
      accelerates spine formation from dendritic protrusions. Deletion of the COOH
      terminal EFYA motif of syndecan-2, the binding site for PDZ domain proteins,
      abrogates the spine-promoting activity of syndecan-2. Syndecan-2 clustering on
      dendritic protrusions does not require the PDZ domain-binding motif, but another
      portion of the cytoplasmic domain which includes a protein kinase C
      phosphorylation site. Our results indicate that syndecan-2 plays a direct role in
      the development of postsynaptic specialization through its interactions with PDZ
      domain proteins.

PMID- 9971751
TI  - Foamy viruses are unconventional retroviruses.

PMID- 9971752
TI  - Protection from lethal coxsackievirus-induced pancreatitis by expression of gamma
      interferon.
AB  - Coxsackievirus infection causes severe pancreatitis and myocarditis in humans,
      often leading to death in young or immunocompromised individuals. In susceptible
      strains of mice, coxsackievirus strain CB4 causes lethal hypoglycemia. To
      investigate the potential of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in protection and
      clearance of the viral infection, IFN-gamma knockout mice and transgenic (Tg)
      mice specifically expressing IFN-gamma in their pancreatic beta cells were
      infected with CB4. Lack of IFN-gamma in mice normally resistant to CB4-mediated
      disease resulted in hypoglycemia and rapid death. However, expression of IFN
      gamma in the beta cells of Tg mice otherwise susceptible to lethal infection
      allowed for survival and protected them from developing the accompanying
      hypoglycemia. While all the mice had high levels of viral replication in their
      pancreata and comparable tissue pathology following viral infection, the Tg mice
      had significantly lower levels of virus at the peak of infection, significantly
      higher numbers of activated macrophages before and after infection, and less
      damage to their acinar tissue. Additionally, despite having increased levels of
      inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) expression, treatment of Tg mice with
      the iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine did not alter the level of protection afforded
      by IFN-gamma expression. In conclusion, IFN-gamma protects from lethal
      coxsackievirus infection by activating macrophages in an iNOS-independent manner.

PMID- 9971753
TI  - Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 in the mouse trigeminal ganglion: an
      in vivo study of virus antigen and cytokines.
AB  - Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in the trigeminal ganglion
      (TG) was induced by UV irradiation of the corneas of latently infected mice.
      Immunocytochemistry was used to monitor the dynamics of cytokine (interleukin-2
      [IL-2], IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, gamma interferon [IFN-gamma], and tumor necrosis
      factor alpha [TNF-alpha]) and viral antigen production in the TG and the adjacent
      central nervous system on days 1 to 4, 6, 7, and 10 after irradiation. UV
      irradiation induced increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-alpha from satellite
      cells in uninfected TG. In latently infected TG, prior to reactivation, all
      satellite cells were TNF-alpha+ and most were also IL-6(+). Reactivation,
      evidenced by HSV-1 antigens and/or infiltrating immune cells, occurred in 28 of
      45 (62%) TG samples. Viral antigens were present in the TG in neurons, often
      disintegrating on days 2 to 6 after irradiation. Infected neurons were usually
      surrounded by satellite cells and the foci of immune cells producing TNF-alpha
      and/or IL-6. IL-4(+) cells were detected as early as day 3 and were more numerous
      by day 10 (a very few IL-2(+) and/or IFN-gamma+ cells were seen at this time). No
      IL-10 was detected at any time. Our observations indicate that UV irradiation of
      the cornea may modulate cytokine production by satellite cells. We confirm that
      neurons are the site of reactivation and that they probably do not survive this
      event. The predominance of TNF-alpha and IL-6 following reactivation parallels
      primary infection in the TG and suggests a role in viral clearance. The presence
      of Th2-type cytokines (IL-4 and IL-6) indicates a role for antibody. Thus,
      several clearance mechanisms may be at work.

PMID- 9971754
TI  - Severe leukopenia and dysregulated erythropoiesis in SCID mice persistently
      infected with the parvovirus minute virus of mice.
AB  - Parvovirus minute virus of mice strain i (MVMi) infects committed granulocyte
      macrophage CFU and erythroid burst-forming unit (CFU-GM and BFU-E, respectively)
      and pluripotent (CFU-S) mouse hematopoietic progenitors in vitro. To study the
      effects of MVMi infection on mouse hemopoiesis in the absence of a specific
      immune response, adult SCID mice were inoculated by the natural intranasal route
      of infection and monitored for hematopoietic and viral multiplication parameters.
      Infected animals developed a very severe viral-dose-dependent leukopenia by 30
      days postinfection (d.p.i.) that led to death within 100 days, even though the
      number of circulating platelets and erythrocytes remained unaltered throughout
      the disease. In the bone marrow of every lethally inoculated mouse, a deep
      suppression of CFU-GM and BFU-E clonogenic progenitors occurring during the 20-
      to 35-d.p.i. interval corresponded with the maximal MVMi production, as
      determined by the accumulation of virus DNA replicative intermediates and the
      yield of infectious virus. Viral productive infection was limited to a small
      subset of primitive cells expressing the major replicative viral antigen (NS-1
      protein), the numbers of which declined with the disease. However, the infection
      induced a sharp and lasting unbalance of the marrow hemopoiesis, denoted by a
      marked depletion of granulomacrophagic cells (GR-1(+) and MAC-1(+)) concomitant
      with a twofold absolute increase in erythroid cells (TER-119(+)). A stimulated
      definitive erythropoiesis in the infected mice was further evidenced by a 12-fold
      increase per femur of recognizable proerythroblasts, a quantitative apoptosis
      confined to uninfected TER-119(+) cells, as well as by a 4-fold elevation in the
      number of circulating reticulocytes. Therefore, MVMi targets and suppresses
      primitive hemopoietic progenitors leading to a very severe leukopenia, but
      compensatory mechanisms are mounted specifically by the erythroid lineage that
      maintain an effective erythropoiesis. The results show that infection of SCID
      mice with the parvovirus MVMi causes a novel dysregulation of murine hemopoiesis
      in vivo.

PMID- 9971755
TI  - pH-dependent changes in photoaffinity labeling patterns of the H1 influenza virus
      hemagglutinin by using an inhibitor of viral fusion.
AB  - The hemagglutinin (HA) protein undergoes a low-pH-induced conformational change
      in the acidic milieu of the endosome, resulting in fusion of viral and cellular
      membranes. A class of compounds that specifically interact with the HA protein of
      H1 and H2 subtype viruses and inhibit this conformational change was recently
      described (G. X. Luo et al., Virology 226:66-76, 1996, and J. Virol. 71:4062
      4070, 1997). In this study, purified HA trimers (bromelain-cleaved HA [BHA]) are
      used to examine the properties and binding characteristics of these inhibitors.
      Compounds were able to inhibit the low-pH-induced change of isolated trimers, as
      detected by resistance to digestion with trypsin. Protection from digestion was
      extremely stable, as BHA-inhibitor complexes could be incubated for 24 h in low
      pH with almost no change in BHA structure. One inhibitor was prepared as a
      radiolabeled photoaffinity analog and used to probe for specific drug
      interactions with the HA protein. Analysis of BHA after photoaffinity analog
      binding and UV cross-linking revealed that the HA2 subunit of the HA was
      specifically radiolabeled. Cross-linking of the photoaffinity analog to BHA under
      neutral (native) pH conditions identified a stretch of amino acids within the
      alpha-helix of HA2 that interact with the inhibitor. Interestingly, cross-linking
      of the analog under acidic conditions identified a different region within the
      HA2 N terminus which interacts with the photoaffinity compound. These attachment
      sites help to delineate a potential binding pocket and suggest a model whereby
      the BHA is able to undergo a partial, reversible structural change in the
      presence of inhibitor compound.

PMID- 9971756
TI  - Immune response-mediated protection of adult but not neonatal mice from neuron
      restricted measles virus infection and central nervous system disease.
AB  - In many cases of neurological disease associated with viral infection, such as
      measles virus (MV)-induced subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in children, it is
      unclear whether the virus or the antiviral immune response within the brain is
      the cause of disease. MV inoculation of transgenic mice expressing the human MV
      receptor, CD46, exclusively in neurons resulted in neuronal infection and fatal
      encephalitis within 2 weeks in neonates, while mice older than 3 weeks of age
      were resistant to both infection and disease. At all ages, T lymphocytes
      infiltrated the brain in response to inoculation. To determine the role of
      lymphocytes in disease progression, CD46(+) mice were back-crossed to T- and B
      cell-deficient RAG-2 knockout mice. The lymphocyte deficiency did not affect the
      outcome of disease in neonates, but adult CD46(+) RAG-2(-) mice were much more
      susceptible to both neuronal infection and central nervous system disease than
      their immunocompetent littermates. These results indicate that CD46-dependent MV
      infection of neurons, rather than the antiviral immune response in the brain,
      produces neurological disease in this model system and that immunocompetent adult
      mice, but not immunologically compromised or immature mice, are protected from
      infection.

PMID- 9971757
TI  - The hypervariable domain of the murine leukemia virus surface protein tolerates
      large insertions and deletions, enabling development of a retroviral particle
      display system.
AB  - The surface proteins (SU) of murine type-C retroviruses have a central
      hypervariable domain devoid of cysteine and rich in proline. This 41-amino-acid
      region of Friend ecotropic murine leukemia virus SU was shown to be highly
      tolerant of insertions and deletions. Viruses in which either the N-terminal 30
      amino acids or the C-terminal 22 amino acids of this region were replaced by the
      7-amino-acid sequence ASAVAGA were fully infectious. Insertions of this 7-amino
      acid sequence at the N terminus, center, and the C terminus of the hypervariable
      domain had little effect on envelope protein (Env) function, while this insertion
      at a position 10 amino acids following the N terminus partially destabilized the
      association between the SU and transmembrane subunits of Env. Large, complex
      domains (either a 252-amino-acid single-chain antibody binding domain [scFv] or a
      96-amino-acid V1/V2 domain of HIV-1 SU containing eight N-linked glycosylation
      sites and two disulfides) did not interfere with Env function when inserted in
      the center or C-terminal portions of the hypervariable domain. The scFv domain
      inserted into the C-terminal region of the hypervariable domain was shown to
      mediate binding of antigen to viral particles, demonstrating that it folded into
      the active conformation and was displayed on the surface of the virion. Both
      positive and negative enrichment of virions expressing the V1/V2 sequence were
      achieved by using a monoclonal antibody specific for a conformational epitope
      presented by the inserted sequence. These results indicated that the
      hypervariable domain of Friend ecotropic SU does not contain any specific
      sequence or structure that is essential for Env function and demonstrated that
      insertions into this domain can be used to extend particle display methodologies
      to complex protein domains that require expression in eukaryotic cells for
      glycosylation and proper folding.

PMID- 9971758
TI  - Functional interactions of the HHCC domain of moloney murine leukemia virus
      integrase revealed by nonoverlapping complementation and zinc-dependent
      dimerization.
AB  - The retroviral integrase (IN) is required for the integration of viral DNA into
      the host genome. The N terminus of IN contains an HHCC zinc finger-like motif,
      which is conserved among all retroviruses. To study the function of the HHCC
      domain of Moloney murine leukemia virus IN, the first N-terminal 105 residues
      were expressed independently. This HHCC domain protein is found to complement a
      completely nonoverlapping construct lacking the HHCC domain for strand transfer,
      3' processing and coordinated disintegration reactions, revealing trans
      interactions among IN domains. The HHCC domain protein binds zinc at a 1:1 ratio
      and changes its conformation upon binding to zinc. The presence of zinc within
      the HHCC domain stimulates selective integration processes. Zinc promotes the
      dimerization of the HHCC domain and protects it from N-ethylmaleimide
      modification. These studies dissect and define the requirement for the HHCC
      domain, the exact function of which remains unknown.

PMID- 9971759
TI  - Genetic analysis of a unique human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) with a
      primer binding site complementary to tRNAMet supports a role for U5-PBS stem-loop
      RNA structures in initiation of HIV-1 reverse transcription.
AB  - Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exclusively uses tRNA3Lys to initiate
      reverse transcription. A novel HIV-1 mutant which stably utilizes tRNAMet rather
      than tRNA3Lys as a primer was previously identified [HXB2(Met-AC] (S.-M. Kang, Z.
      Zhang, and C. D. Morrow, J. Virol. 71:207-217, 1997). Comparison of RNA secondary
      structures of the unique sequence (U5)-primer binding site (PBS) viral RNA genome
      alone or complexed with tRNAMet of HXB2(Met-AC) revealed structural motifs in
      common with the U5-PBS of the wild-type virus. In the current study, mutations
      were constructed to alter the U5-PBS structure and disrupt the U5-PBS-tRNAMet
      interaction of the virus derived from HXB2(Met-AC). All of the mutant viruses
      were infectious following transfection and coculture with SupT1 cells. Analysis
      of the initiation of reverse transcription revealed that some of the mutants were
      impaired compared to HXB2(Met-AC). The genetic stability of the PBS from each
      virus was determined following in vitro culture. Two mutant proviral constructs,
      one predicted to completely disrupt the stem-loop structure in U5 and the other
      predicted to destabilize contact regions of U5 with tRNAMet, reverted back to
      contain a PBS complementary to tRNA3Lys. All other mutants maintained a PBS
      complementary to tRNAMet after in vitro culture, although all contained multiple
      nucleotide substitutions within the U5-PBS from the starting proviral clones.
      Most interestingly, a viral mutant containing a 32-nucleotide deletion between
      nucleotides 142 and 173, encompassing regions in U5 which interact with tRNAMet,
      maintained a PBS complementary to tRNAMet following in vitro culture. All of the
      proviral clones recovered from this mutant, however, contained an additional 19
      nucleotide insertion in U5. RNA modeling of the U5-PBS from this mutant
      demonstrated that the additional mutations present in U5 following culture
      restored RNA structures similar to those modeled from HXB2(Met-AC). These results
      provide strong genetic evidence that multiple sequence and structural elements in
      U5 in addition to the PBS are involved in the interaction with the tRNA used for
      initiation of reverse transcription.

PMID- 9971760
TI  - Requirements for efficient production and transduction of human immunodeficiency
      virus type 1-based vectors.
AB  - A number of human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1)-based vectors have recently
      been shown to transduce nondividing cells in vivo as well as in vitro. However,
      if these vectors are to be considered for eventual clinical use, a major
      consideration is to reduce the probability of unintended generation of
      replication-competent virus. This can be achieved by eliminating viral genetic
      elements involved in the generation of replication-competent virus without
      impairing vector production. We have designed a system to transiently produce HIV
      1-based vectors by using expression plasmids encoding Gag, Pol, and Tat of HIV-1
      under the control of the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter. Our data show
      that the best vector yield is achieved in the presence of the Rev/Rev-responsive
      element (RRE) system. However, the constitutive transport element of Mason-Pfizer
      monkey virus can substitute for RRE and Rev at least to some extent, whereas the
      posttranscriptional regulatory element of human hepatitis B virus appeared to be
      inefficient. In addition, we show that high-titer virus preparations can be
      obtained in the presence of sodium butyrate, which activates the expression of
      both the packaging construct and the vector genome. Finally, our results suggest
      that efficient infectivity of vectors defective in the accessory proteins Vif,
      Vpr, Vpu, and Nef depends on the nature of the target cells.

PMID- 9971761
TI  - DNA replication of human papillomavirus type 31 is modulated by elements of the
      upstream regulatory region that lie 5' of the minimal origin.
AB  - The viral replication factors E1 and E2 of papillomaviruses are necessary and
      sufficient to replicate plasmids containing the minimal origin of DNA replication
      in transient assays. Under physiological conditions, the upstream regulatory
      region (URR) governs expression of the early viral genes. To determine the effect
      of URR elements on E1 and E2 expression specifically, and on the regulation of
      DNA replication during the various phases of the viral life cycle, we carried out
      a systematic replication study with entire genomes of human papillomavirus type
      31 (HPV31), a high-risk oncogenic type. We constructed a series of URR deletions,
      spacer replacements, and point mutations to analyze the role of the keratinocyte
      enhancer (KE) element, the auxiliary enhancer (AE) domain, and the L1-proximal
      end of the URR (5'-URR domain) in DNA replication during establishment,
      maintenance, and vegetative viral DNA amplification. Using transient and stable
      replication assays, we demonstrate that the KE and AE are necessary for efficient
      E1 and E2 gene expression and that the KE can also directly modulate viral
      replication. KE-mediated activation of replication is dependent on the position
      and orientation of the element. Mutation of either one of the four Ap1 sites, the
      single Sp1 site, or the binding site for the uncharacterized footprint factor 1
      reduced replication efficiency through decreased expression of E1 and E2.
      Furthermore, the 5'-URR domain and the Oct1 DNA binding site are dispensable for
      viral replication, since such HPV31 mutants are able to replicate efficiently in
      a transient assay, maintain a stable copy number over several cell generations,
      and amplify viral DNA under vegetative conditions. Interestingly, deletion of the
      5'-URR domain leads to increased transient and stable replication levels. These
      findings suggest that elements in the HPV31 URR outside the minimal origin
      modulate viral replication through both direct and indirect mechanisms.

PMID- 9971762
TI  - vig-1, a new fish gene induced by the rhabdovirus glycoprotein, has a virus
      induced homologue in humans and shares conserved motifs with the MoaA family.
AB  - We used mRNA differential display methodology to analyze the shift of
      transcription profile induced by the fish rhabdovirus, viral hemorrhagic
      septicemia virus (VHSV), in rainbow trout leukocytes. We identified and
      characterized a new gene which is directly induced by VHSV. This VHSV-induced
      gene (vig-1) encodes a 348-amino-acid protein. vig-1 is highly expressed during
      the experimental disease in lymphoid organs of the infected fish. Intramuscular
      injection of a plasmid vector expressing the viral glycoprotein results in vig-1
      expression, showing that the external virus protein is sufficient for the
      induction. vig-1 expression is also obtained by a rainbow trout interferon-like
      factor, indicating that vig-1 can be induced through different pathways.
      Moreover, vig-1 is homologous to a recently described human cytomegalovirus
      induced gene. Accordingly, vig-1 activation may represent a new virus-induced
      activation pathway highly conserved in vertebrates. The deduced amino acid
      sequence of vig-1 is significantly related to sequences required for the
      biosynthesis of metal cofactors. This suggests that the function of vig-1 may be
      involved in the nonspecific virus-induced synthesis of enzymatic cofactors of the
      nitric oxide pathway.

PMID- 9971763
TI  - Acute effects of pathogenic simian-human immunodeficiency virus challenge on
      vaccine-induced cellular and humoral immune responses to Gag in rhesus macaques.
AB  - Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection in macaques provides a
      convenient model for testing vaccine efficacy and for understanding viral
      pathogenesis in AIDS. We immunized macaques with recombinant, Salmonella
      typhimurium (expressing Gag) or soluble Gag in adjuvant to generate T-cell
      dependent lymphoproliferative or serum antibody responses. Immunized animals were
      challenged by intrarectal inoculation with SHIV89.6PD. Virus infection was
      accompanied by rapid losses of lymphoproliferative responses to Gag or
      phytohemagglutinin. By 8 weeks, mitogen responses recovered to near normal levels
      but antigen-specific immunity remained at low or undetectable levels. Serum
      antibody levels were elevated initially by virus exposure but soon dropped well
      below levels achieved by immunization. Our studies show a rapid depletion of
      preexisting Gag-specific CD4(+) T cells that prevent or limit subsequent
      antiviral cellular and humoral immune responses during acute SHIV infection.

PMID- 9971764
TI  - Multiple functions for the basic amino acids of the human T-cell leukemia virus
      type 1 matrix protein in viral transmission.
AB  - We studied the involvement of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Gag
      matrix protein in the cell-to-cell transmission of the virus using missense
      mutations of the basic amino acids. These basic amino acids are clustered at the
      N terminus of the protein in other retroviruses and are responsible for targeting
      the Gag proteins to the plasma membrane. In the HTLV-bovine leukemia virus genus
      of retroviruses, the basic amino acids are distributed throughout the matrix
      protein sequence. The HTLV-1 matrix protein contains 11 such residues. A wild
      type phenotype was obtained only for mutant viruses with mutations at one of two
      positions in the matrix protein. The phenotypes of the other nine mutant viruses
      showed that the basic amino acids are involved at various steps of the
      replication cycle, including some after membrane targeting. Most of these nine
      mutations allowed normal synthesis, transport, and cleavage of the Gag precursor,
      but particle release was greatly affected for seven of them. In addition, four
      mutated proteins with correct particle release and envelope glycoprotein
      incorporation did not however permit cell-to-cell transmission of HTLV-1. Thus,
      particle release, although required, is not sufficient for the cell-to-cell
      transmission of HTLV-1, and the basic residues of the matrix protein are involved
      in steps that occur after viral particle release.

PMID- 9971765
TI  - Factors governing the activity in vivo of ribozymes transcribed by RNA polymerase
      III.
AB  - In order to determine the parameters that govern the activity of a ribozyme in
      vivo, we made a systematic analysis of chimeric tRNAVal ribozymes by measuring
      their cleavage activities in vitro as well as the steady-state levels of
      transcripts, the half-lives of transcribed tRNAVal ribozymes, and their
      activities in both HeLa and H9 cells. These analyses were conducted by the use of
      transient expression systems in HeLa cells and stable transformants that express
      ribozymes. Localization of transcripts appeared to be determined by the higher
      order structure of each transcribed tRNAVal ribozyme. Since colocalization of the
      ribozyme with its target RNA is important for strong activity of the ribozyme in
      vivo, the best system for tRNA-based expression seems to be one in which the
      structure of the transcript is different from that of the natural tRNA precursor
      so that processing of the tRNAVal ribozyme can be avoided. At the same time, the
      structure of the transcript must be similar enough to allow recognition, probably
      by an export receptor, so that the transcript can be exported to the cytoplasm to
      ensure colocalization with its target. In the case of several tRNAVal ribozymes
      that we constructed, inspection of computer-predicted secondary structures
      enabled us to control the export of transcripts. We found that only a ribozyme
      that was transcribed at a high level and that had a sufficiently long half-life,
      within cells, had significant activity when used to withstand a challenge by
      human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

PMID- 9971766
TI  - Independence of evolutionary and mutational rates after transmission of avian
      influenza viruses to swine.
AB  - In 1979, an H1N1 avian influenza virus crossed the species barrier, establishing
      a new lineage in European swine. Because there is no direct or serologic evidence
      of previous H1N1 strains in these pigs, these isolates provide a model for
      studying early evolution of influenza viruses. The evolutionary rates of both the
      coding and noncoding changes of the H1N1 swine strains are higher than those of
      human and classic swine influenza A viruses. In addition, early H1N1 swine
      isolates show a marked plaque heterogeneity that consistently appears after a few
      passages. The presence of a mutator mutation was postulated (C. Scholtissek, S.
      Ludwig, and W. M. Fitch, Arch. Virol. 131:237-250, 1993) to account for these
      observations and the successful establishment of an avian H1N1 strain in swine.
      To address this question, we calculated the mutation rates of A/Mallard/New
      York/6750/78 (H2N2) and A/Swine/Germany/2/81 (H1N1) by using the frequency of
      amantadine-resistant mutants. To account for the inherent variability of
      estimated mutation rates, we used a probabilistic model for the statistical
      analysis. The resulting estimated mutation rates of the two strains were not
      significantly different. Therefore, an increased mutation rate due to the
      presence of a mutator mutation is unlikely to have led to the successful
      introduction of avian H1N1 viruses in European swine.

PMID- 9971767
TI  - Mapping of the hepatitis B virus reverse transcriptase TP and RT domains by
      transcomplementation for nucleotide priming and by protein-protein interaction.
AB  - Hepadnavirus polymerases initiate reverse transcription in a protein-primed
      reaction. We previously described a complementation assay for analysis of the
      roles of the TP and RT domains of HBV reverse transcriptase (pol) in the priming
      reaction. Independently expressed TP and RT domains form a complex functional for
      in vitro priming reactions. To map the minimal functional TP and RT domains, we
      prepared baculoviruses expressing amino- and carboxyl-terminal deletions of both
      the TP and RT domains and analyzed the proteins for the ability to participate in
      transcomplementation for the priming reaction. The minimal TP domain spanned
      amino acids 20 to 175; however, very little activity was observed without a TP
      domain spanning amino acids 1 to 199. The minimal RT domain spanned amino acids
      300 to 775; however, little activity was observed unless the carboxyl end of the
      RT domain extended to amino acid 800. Thus, most of the RNase H domain was
      required. In previous studies, we observed a TP inhibitory domain between amino
      acids 199 and 344. The current analysis narrowed this domain to residues 300 to
      334, which is a portion of the minimal RT domain. In addition, the ability of TP
      and RT deletion mutants to form stable TP-RT complexes was examined in
      coimmunoprecipitation assays. The minimal TP and RT domains capable of protein
      protein interaction were considerably smaller than the domains required for
      functional interaction in the transcomplementation assays, and unlike priming
      activity, TP-RT interaction did not require the epsilon RNA stem-loop. These
      studies help to further define the complex protein-protein interactions required
      in HBV genome replication.

PMID- 9971768
TI  - Cell cycle arrest during measles virus infection: a G0-like block leads to
      suppression of retinoblastoma protein expression.
AB  - One of the major mechanisms by which measles virus (MV) infection causes disease
      and death is suppression of the immune response. The nonresponsiveness of MV
      infected human lymphocytes to mitogens and a partial block in the G0/G1 phase of
      the cell cycle observed in vitro is thought to reflect in vivo immunosuppression.
      In order to molecularly dissect MV-induced immunosuppression, we analyzed
      expression of surface activation markers and cell cycle-regulatory proteins in MV
      infected human T lymphocytes. MV Edmonston (MV-Ed) could induce and maintain a
      high level of the early activation marker CD69 in the absence of proliferation.
      Expression of cyclins D3 and E, which positively control entry into S phase, was
      also significantly decreased. Analysis of inhibitors of progression into S phase
      showed that a high level of p27 was maintained in the G0/G1-blocked subpopulation
      of MV-Ed-infected cells compared to the proliferating MV-infected cells.
      Furthermore, cell cycle-related upregulation of retinoblastoma (Rb) protein
      synthesis did not occur in the MV-Ed-infected lymphocytes. Acridine orange
      staining, which distinguishes cells in G0 from cells in G1, showed that RNA
      levels were not upregulated following activation, which is consistent with cells
      remaining in a G0 state. Although expression of surface activation markers
      indicated entry into the cycle, intracellular Rb and RNA levels suggested a
      quiescent state. These results indicate that MV can uncouple activation of T
      lymphocytes from transition of G0 to G1.

PMID- 9971769
TI  - Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease triggers a myristoyl switch that
      modulates membrane binding of Pr55(gag) and p17MA.
AB  - The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Pr55(gag) gene product directs
      the assembly of virions at the inner surface of the cell plasma membrane. The
      specificity of plasma membrane binding by Pr55(gag) is conferred by a combination
      of an N-terminal myristoyl moiety and a basic residue-rich domain. Although the
      myristate plus basic domain is also present in the p17MA proteolytic product
      formed upon Pr55(gag) maturation, the ability of p17MA to bind to membranes is
      significantly reduced. It was previously reported that the reduced membrane
      binding of p17MA was due to sequestration of the myristate moiety by a myristoyl
      switch (W. Zhou and M. D. Resh, J. Virol. 70:8540-8548, 1996). Here we
      demonstrate directly that treatment of membrane-bound Pr55(gag) in situ with HIV
      1 protease generates p17MA, which is then released from the membrane. Pr55(gag)
      was synthesized in reticulocyte lysates, bound to membranes, and incubated with
      purified HIV-1 protease. The p17MA product in the membrane-bound and soluble
      fractions was analyzed following proteolysis. Newly generated p17MA initially was
      membrane bound but then displayed a slow, time-dependent dissociation resulting
      in 65% solubilization. Residual p17MA could be extracted from the membranes with
      either high pH or high salt. Treatment of membranes from transfected COS-1 cells
      with protease revealed that Pr55(gag) was present within sealed membrane vesicles
      and that the release of p17MA occurred only when detergent and salt were added.
      We present a model proposing that the HIV-1 protease is the "trigger" for a
      myristoyl switch mechanism that modulates the membrane associations of Pr55(gag)
      and p17MA in virions and membranes.

PMID- 9971770
TI  - Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus encodes a bZIP protein with homology to
      BZLF1 of Epstein-Barr virus.
AB  - Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a recently discovered human
      gamma herpesvirus strongly implicated in AIDS-related neoplasms. We report here
      the identification in the KSHV genome of a gene for a protein designated K-bZIP
      and belonging to the basic-leucine zipper (bZIP) family of transcription factors.
      K-bZIP shows significant homology to BZLF1, which plays a key role in the
      replication and reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus. K-bZIP is a homodimerizing
      protein of 237 amino acids with a prototypic bZIP domain at the C terminus. The N
      terminal portion of K-bZIP is derived from the K8 open reading frame which,
      through in-frame splicing, adjoins the ZIP domain. This structure was revealed by
      rapid analysis of cDNA ends, followed by cloning of the entire cDNA. A 1.35-kb
      transcript encoding K-bZIP was detected in BCBL-1 cells treated with 12-O
      tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. The synthesis of this transcript was blocked by
      the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide but not by the viral DNA synthesis
      inhibitor phosphonoacetate, a result which classifies it as an early lytic gene.
      RNase protection analysis further mapped the major transcription start site for
      the 1.35-kb K-bZIP mRNA and identified two other splice variants which encode
      proteins with the N-terminal portion of K-bZIP but lacking the C-terminal ZIP
      domain. Full-length K-bZIP forms dimers with itself, and the C terminus
      encompassing the ZIP domain is required for this process. Our studies set the
      stage for understanding the role of K-bZIP in the replication and reactivation of
      the KSHV genome.

PMID- 9971771
TI  - The chromatin structure of the long control region of human papillomavirus type
      16 represses viral oncoprotein expression.
AB  - The long control region (LCR) of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) has a size
      of 850 bp (about 12% of the viral genome) and regulates transcription and
      replication of the viral DNA. The 5' segment of the LCR contains transcription
      termination signals and a nuclear matrix attachment region, the central segment
      contains an epithelial cell-specific enhancer, and the 3' segment contains the
      replication origin and the E6 promoter. Here we report observations on the
      chromatin organization of this part of the HPV-16 genome. Treatment of the nuclei
      of CaSki cells, a cell line with 500 intrachromosomal copies of HPV-16, with
      methidiumpropyl-EDTA-Fe(II) reveals nucleosomes in specific positions on the LCR
      and the E6 and E7 genes. One of these nucleosomes, which we termed Ne, overlaps
      with the center of the viral enhancer, while a second nucleosome, Np16, overlaps
      with the replication origin and the E6 promoter. The two nucleosomes become
      positioned on exactly the same segments after in vitro assembly of chromatin on
      the cloned HPV-16 LCR. Primer extension mapping of DNase I-cleaved chromatin
      revealed Np16 to be positioned centrally over E6 promoter elements, extending
      into the replication origin. Ne covers the center of the enhancer but leaves an
      AP-1 site, one of the strongest cis-responsive elements of the enhancer,
      unprotected. Np16, or a combination of Np16 and Ne, represses the activity of the
      E6 promoter during in vitro transcription of HPV-16 chromatin. Repression is
      relieved by addition of Sp1 and AP-1 transcription factors. Sp1 alters the
      structure of Np16 in vitro, while no changes can be observed during the binding
      of AP-1. HPV-18, which has a similar arrangement of cis-responsive elements
      despite its evolutionary divergence from HPV-16, shows specific assembly in vitro
      of a nucleosome, Np18, over the E1 binding site and E6 promoter elements but
      positioned about 90 bp 5' of the position of Np16 on the homologous HPV-16
      sequences. The chromatin organization of the HPV-16 and HPV-18 genomes suggests
      important regulatory roles of nucleosomes during the viral life cycle.

PMID- 9971772
TI  - Actin associates with the nucleocapsid domain of the human immunodeficiency virus
      Gag polyprotein.
AB  - Recently, it was shown that actin molecules are present in human immunodeficiency
      virus type 1 (HIV-1) particles. We have examined the basis for incorporation and
      the location of actin molecules within HIV-1 and murine retrovirus particles. Our
      results show that the retroviral Gag polyprotein is sufficient for actin uptake.
      Immunolabeling studies demonstrate that actin molecules localize to a specific
      radial position within the immature particle, clearly displaced from the matrix
      domain underneath the viral membrane but in proximity to the nucleocapsid (NC)
      domain of the Gag polyprotein. When virus or subviral Gag particles were
      disrupted with nonionic detergent, actin molecules remained associated with the
      disrupted particles. Actin molecules remained in a stable complex with the NC
      cleavage product (or an NC-RNA complex) after treatment of the disrupted HIV-1
      particles with recombinant HIV-1 protease. In contrast, matrix and capsid
      molecules were released. The same result was obtained when mature HIV-1 particles
      were disrupted with detergent. Taken together, these results indicate that actin
      molecules are associated with the NC domain of the viral polyprotein.

PMID- 9971773
TI  - Molecular evolution of the human enteroviruses: correlation of serotype with VP1
      sequence and application to picornavirus classification.
AB  - Sixty-six human enterovirus serotypes have been identified by serum
      neutralization, but the molecular determinants of the serotypes are unknown.
      Since the picornavirus VP1 protein contains a number of neutralization domains,
      we hypothesized that the VP1 sequence should correspond with neutralization
      (serotype) and, hence, with phylogenetic lineage. To test this hypothesis and to
      analyze the phylogenetic relationships among the human enteroviruses, we
      determined the complete VP1 sequences of the prototype strains of 47 human
      enterovirus serotypes and 10 antigenic variants. Our sequences, together with
      those available from GenBank, comprise a database of complete VP1 sequences for
      all 66 human enterovirus serotypes plus additional strains of seven serotypes.
      Phylogenetic trees constructed from complete VP1 sequences produced the same four
      major clusters as published trees based on partial VP2 sequences; in contrast to
      the VP2 trees, however, in the VP1 trees strains of the same serotype were always
      monophyletic. In pairwise comparisons of complete VP1 sequences, enteroviruses of
      the same serotype were clearly distinguished from those of heterologous
      serotypes, and the limits of intraserotypic divergence appeared to be about 25%
      nucleotide sequence difference or 12% amino acid sequence difference. Pairwise
      comparisons suggested that coxsackie A11 and A15 viruses should be classified as
      strains of the same serotype, as should coxsackie A13 and A18 viruses. Pairwise
      identity scores also distinguished between enteroviruses of different clusters
      and enteroviruses from picornaviruses of different genera. The data suggest that
      VP1 sequence comparisons may be valuable in enterovirus typing and in
      picornavirus taxonomy by assisting in the genus assignment of unclassified
      picornaviruses.

PMID- 9971774
TI  - Structure of adeno-associated virus vector DNA following transduction of the
      skeletal muscle.
AB  - The skeletal muscle provides a very permissive physiological environment for
      adeno-associated virus (AAV) type 2-mediated gene transfer. We have studied the
      early steps leading to the establishment of permanent transgene expression, after
      injection of recombinant AAV (rAAV) particles in the quadriceps muscle of mice.
      The animals received an rAAV encoding a secreted protein, murine erythropoietin
      (mEpo), under the control of the human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early
      promoter and were sacrificed between 1 and 60 days after injection. The
      measurement of plasma Epo levels and of hematocrits indicated a progressive
      increase of transgene expression over the first 2 weeks, followed by a
      stabilization at maximal plateau values. The rAAV sequences were analyzed by
      Southern blotting following neutral or alkaline gel electrophoresis of total DNA
      from injected muscles. While a high number of rAAV sequences were detected during
      the first 5 days following the injection, only a few percent of these sequences
      was retained in the animals analyzed after 2 weeks, in which transgene expression
      was maximal. Double-stranded DNA molecules resulting from de novo second-strand
      synthesis were detected as early as day 1, indicating that this crucial step of
      AAV-mediated gene transfer is readily accomplished in the muscle. The templates
      driving stable gene expression at later time points are low in copy number and
      structured as high-molecular-weight concatemers or interlocked circles. The
      presence of the circular form of the rAAV genomes at early time points suggests
      that the molecular transformations involved in the formation of stable
      concatemers may involve a rolling-circle type of DNA replication.

PMID- 9971775
TI  - Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat induces apoptosis and increases
      sensitivity to apoptotic signals by up-regulating FLICE/caspase-8.
AB  - Apoptosis contributes to the loss of CD4 cells during human immunodeficiency
      virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Although the product of the env gene,
      gp160/gp120, is known to play a role in cell death mediated by HIV-1, the role of
      other HIV-1 genes in the process is unclear. We found that HIV-1 lacking the env
      gene (HIVDeltaenv) still induced apoptosis in T-cell lines and primary CD4 T
      cells. The ability to induce apoptosis was attributable to Tat, a viral
      regulatory protein. Tat induction of apoptosis was separate from the
      transactivation function of Tat, required expression of the second exon of Tat,
      and was associated with the increased expression and activity of caspase-8 (casp
      8), a signaling molecule in apoptotic pathways. Moreover, induction of apoptosis
      could be prevented by treating cells with an inhibitor of casp-8. In addition, we
      show that HIV-1Deltaenv infection and Tat expression increased the sensitivity of
      cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis, an apoptotic pathway that signals via casp-8.
      The up-regulation of casp-8 by HIV-1 Tat expression may contribute to the
      increased apoptosis and sensitivity to apoptotic signals observed in the cells of
      HIV-1-infected persons.

PMID- 9971777
TI  - Generation of neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against parvovirus B19
      proteins.
AB  - Infections caused by human parvovirus B19 are known to be controlled mainly by
      neutralizing antibodies. To analyze the immune reaction against parvovirus B19
      proteins, four cell lines secreting human immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies
      (MAbs) were generated from two healthy donors and one human immunodeficiency
      virus type 1-seropositive individual with high serum titers against parvovirus.
      One MAb is specific for nonstructural protein NS1 (MAb 1424), two MAbs are
      specific for the unique region of minor capsid protein VP1 (MAbs 1418-1 and 1418
      16), and one MAb is directed to major capsid protein VP2 (MAb 860-55D). Two MAbs,
      1418-1 and 1418-16, which were generated from the same individual have identity
      in the cDNA sequences encoding the variable domains, with the exception of four
      base pairs resulting in only one amino acid change in the light chain. The NS1-
      and VP1-specific MAbs interact with linear epitopes, whereas the recognized
      epitope in VP2 is conformational. The MAbs specific for the structural proteins
      display strong virus-neutralizing activity. The VP1- and VP2-specific MAbs have
      the capacity to neutralize 50% of infectious parvovirus B19 in vitro at 0.08 and
      0.73 microgram/ml, respectively, demonstrating the importance of such antibodies
      in the clearance of B19 viremia. The NS1-specific MAb mediated weak neutralizing
      activity and required 47.7 micrograms/ml for 50% neutralization. The human MAbs
      with potent neutralizing activity could be used for immunotherapy of chronically
      B19 virus-infected individuals and acutely infected pregnant women. Furthermore,
      the knowledge gained regarding epitopes which induce strongly neutralizing
      antibodies may be important for vaccine development.

PMID- 9971776
TI  - Nef-induced CD4 and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) down
      regulation are governed by distinct determinants: N-terminal alpha helix and
      proline repeat of Nef selectively regulate MHC-I trafficking.
AB  - The Nef protein of primate lentiviruses triggers the accelerated endocytosis of
      CD4 and of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I), thereby down
      modulating the cell surface expression of these receptors. Nef acts as a
      connector between the CD4 cytoplasmic tail and intracellular sorting pathways
      both in the Golgi and at the plasma membrane, triggering the de novo formation of
      CD4-specific clathrin-coated pits (CCP). The downstream partners of Nef in this
      event are the adapter protein complex (AP) of CCP and possibly a subunit of the
      vacuolar ATPase. Whether Nef-induced MHC-I down-regulation stems from a similar
      mechanism is unknown. By comparing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)
      Nef mutants for their ability to affect either CD4 or MHC-I expression, both in
      transient-transfection assays and in the context of HIV-1 infection, it was
      determined that Nef-induced CD4 and MHC-I down-regulation constitute genetically
      and functionally separate properties. Mutations affecting only CD4 regulation
      mapped to residues previously shown to mediate the binding of Nef to this
      receptor, such as W57 and L58, as well as to an AP-recruiting dileucine motif and
      to an acidic dipeptide in the C-terminal region of the protein. In contrast,
      mutation of residues in an alpha-helical region in the proximal portion of Nef
      and amino acid substitutions in a proline-based SH3 domain-binding motif
      selectively affected MHC-I down-modulation. Although both the N-terminal alpha
      helix and the proline-rich region of Nef have been implicated in recruiting Src
      family protein kinases, the inhibitor herbimycin A did not block MHC-I down
      regulation, suggesting that the latter process is not mediated through an
      activation of this family of tyrosine kinases.

PMID- 9971778
TI  - Mechanisms that regulate Epstein-Barr virus EBNA-1 gene transcription during
      restricted latency are conserved among lymphocryptoviruses of Old World primates.
AB  - Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the only known human lymphocryptovirus (LCV), displays
      a remarkable degree of genetic and biologic identity to LCVs that infect Old
      World primates. Within their natural hosts, infection by these viruses
      recapitulates many key aspects of EBV infection, including the establishment of
      long-term latency within B lymphocytes, and is therefore a potentially valuable
      animal model of EBV infection. However, it is unclear whether these LCVs have
      adopted or maintained the same mechanisms used by EBV to express essential viral
      proteins, such as EBNA-1, in the face of cell-mediated repression of EBV gene
      expression that occurs upon establishment of the asymptomatic carrier state. To
      address this issue, we determined whether the endogenous LCVs of baboon
      (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 12) and rhesus macaque (Cercopithecine herpesvirus
      15) have the functional equivalent of the EBV promoter Qp, which mediates
      exclusive expression of EBNA-1 during the restricted programs of EBV latency
      associated with the carrier state. Our results indicate that (i) both the baboon
      and rhesus macaque LCVs have a genomic locus that is highly homologous to the EBV
      Qp region, (ii) key cis-regulatory elements of Qp are conserved in these LCV
      genomes and compose promoters that are functionally indistinguishable from EBV
      Qp, and (iii) EBNA-1 transcripts identical in structure to EBV Qp-specific EBNA-1
      mRNAs are present in nonhuman LCV-infected cells, demonstrating that these Qp
      homologs are indeed utilized as alternative EBNA-1 promoters. These observations
      indicate that the molecular mechanisms which regulate EBV gene expression during
      restricted latency have been conserved among the LCVs. The contribution of these
      mechanisms to viral persistence in vivo can now be experimentally tested in
      nonhuman primate models of LCV infection.

PMID- 9971779
TI  - Chromatin structure of the simian virus 40 late promoter: a deletional analysis.
AB  - The goal of this study was to determine the minimal sequence within the simian
      virus 40 (SV40) late promoter region, nucleotides (nt) 255 to 424, capable of
      phasing nucleosomes as measured by its ability to confer the greatest
      endonuclease sensitivity on adjacent DNA sequences. To identify the minimal
      sequence, a deletional analysis of the late region was performed by utilizing a
      SV40 recombinant reporter system. The reporter system consisted of a series of
      unique restriction sites introduced into SV40 at nt 2666. The unique restriction
      sites allowed the insertion of test sequences as well as measurement of conferred
      endonuclease sensitivity. The results of the deletional analysis demonstrated
      that constructs capable of conferring the greatest nuclease sensitivities
      consistently included nt 255 to 280. The activator protein 4 (AP-4) and GTIIC
      transcription factor binding sequences lie within this region and were analyzed
      individually. Their abilities to confer nuclease sensitivity upon the reporter
      nearly matched that of the entire late domain. These results suggest that
      transcription factors AP-4 and transcription-enhancing factor which binds the
      GTIIC sequence are able to confer significant levels of nuclease sensitivity and
      are likely involved in the formation of the SV40 nucleosome-free region.

PMID- 9971780
TI  - Regulated expression of a Sindbis virus replicon by herpesvirus promoters.
AB  - We describe the use of herpesvirus promoters to regulate the expression of a
      Sindbis virus replicon (SINrep/LacZ). We isolated cell lines that contain the
      cDNA of SINrep/LacZ under the control of a promoter from a herpesvirus early gene
      which requires regulatory proteins encoded by immediate-early genes for
      expression. Wild-type Sindbis virus and replicons derived from this virus cause
      death of most vertebrate cells, but the cells discussed here grew normally and
      expressed the replicon and beta-galactosidase only after infection with a
      herpesvirus. Vero cell lines in which the expression of SINrep/LacZ was regulated
      by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infected-cell protein 8 promoter were
      generated. One Vero cell line (V3-45N) contained, in addition to the SINrep/LacZ
      cDNA, a Sindbis virus-defective helper cDNA which provides the structural
      proteins for packaging the replicon. Infection of V3-45N cells with HSV-1
      resulted in the production of packaged SINrep/LacZ replicons. HSV-1 induction of
      the Sindbis virus replicon and packaging and spread of the replicon led to
      enhanced expression of the reporter gene, suggesting that this type of cell could
      be used to develop sensitive assays to detect herpesviruses. We also isolated a
      mink lung cell line that was transformed with SINrep/LacZ cDNA under the control
      of the promoter from the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) early gene UL45. HCMV
      carries out an abortive infection in mink lung cells, but it was able to induce
      the SINrep/LacZ replicon. These results, and those obtained with an HSV-1 mutant,
      demonstrate that this type of signal amplification system could be valuable for
      detecting herpesviruses for which a permissive cell culture system is not
      available.

PMID- 9971781
TI  - ATP depletion blocks herpes simplex virus DNA packaging and capsid maturation.
AB  - During herpes simplex virus (HSV) assembly, immature procapsids must expel their
      internal scaffold proteins, transform their outer shell to form mature
      polyhedrons, and become packaged with the viral double-stranded (ds) DNA genome.
      A large number of virally encoded proteins are required for successful completion
      of these events, but their molecular roles are poorly understood. By analogy with
      the dsDNA bacteriophage we reasoned that HSV DNA packaging might be an ATP
      requiring process and tested this hypothesis by adding an ATP depletion cocktail
      to cells accumulating unpackaged procapsids due to the presence of a temperature
      sensitive lesion in the HSV maturational protease UL26. Following return to
      permissive temperature, HSV capsids were found to be unable to package DNA,
      suggesting that this process is indeed ATP dependent. Surprisingly, however, the
      display of epitopes indicative of capsid maturation was also inhibited. We
      conclude that either formation of these epitopes directly requires ATP or capsid
      maturation is normally arrested by a proofreading mechanism until DNA packaging
      has been successfully completed.

PMID- 9971782
TI  - Open reading frame 1a-encoded subunits of the arterivirus replicase induce
      endoplasmic reticulum-derived double-membrane vesicles which carry the viral
      replication complex.
AB  - The replicase of equine arteritis virus (EAV; family Arteriviridae, order
      Nidovirales) is expressed in the form of two polyproteins (the open reading frame
      1a [ORF1a] and ORF1ab proteins). Three viral proteases cleave these precursors
      into 12 nonstructural proteins, which direct both genome replication and
      subgenomic mRNA transcription. Immunofluorescence assays showed that most EAV
      replicase subunits localize to membranes in the perinuclear region of the
      infected cell. Using replicase-specific antibodies and cryoimmunoelectron
      microscopy, unusual double-membrane vesicles (DMVs) were identified as the
      probable site of EAV RNA synthesis. These DMVs were previously observed in cells
      infected with different arteriviruses but were never implicated in viral RNA
      synthesis. Extensive electron microscopic analysis showed that they appear to be
      derived from paired endoplasmic reticulum membranes and that they are most likely
      formed by protrusion and detachment of vesicular structures with a double
      membrane. Interestingly, very similar membrane rearrangements were observed upon
      expression of ORF1a-encoded replicase subunits nsp2 to nsp7 from an alphavirus
      based expression vector. Apparently, the formation of a membrane-bound scaffold
      for the replication complex is a distinct step in the arterivirus life cycle,
      which is directed by the ORF1a protein and does not depend on other viral
      proteins and/or EAV-specific RNA synthesis.

PMID- 9971783
TI  - Proteolytic processing of the open reading frame 1b-encoded part of arterivirus
      replicase is mediated by nsp4 serine protease and Is essential for virus
      replication.
AB  - The open reading frame (ORF) 1b-encoded part of the equine arteritis virus (EAV)
      replicase is expressed by ribosomal frameshifting during genome translation,
      which results in the production of an ORF1ab fusion protein (345 kDa). Four ORF1b
      encoded processing products, nsp9 (p80), nsp10 (p50), nsp11 (p26), and nsp12
      (p12), have previously been identified in EAV-infected cells (L. C. van Dinten,
      A. L. M. Wassenaar, A. E. Gorbalenya, W. J. M. Spaan, and E. J. Snijder, J.
      Virol. 70:6625-6633, 1996). In the present study, the generation of these four
      nonstructural proteins was shown to be mediated by the nsp4 serine protease,
      which is the main viral protease (E. J. Snijder, A. L. M. Wassenaar, L. C. van
      Dinten, W. J. M. Spaan, and A. E. Gorbalenya, J. Biol. Chem. 271:4864-4871,
      1996). Mutagenesis of candidate cleavage sites revealed that Glu-2370/Ser, Gln
      2837/Ser, and Glu-3056/Gly are the probable nsp9/10, nsp10/11, and nsp11/12
      junctions, respectively. Mutations which abolished ORF1b protein processing were
      introduced into a recently developed infectious cDNA clone (L. C. van Dinten, J.
      A. den Boon, A. L. M. Wassenaar, W. J. M. Spaan, and E. J. Snijder, Proc. Natl.
      Acad. Sci. USA 94:991-997, 1997). An analysis of these mutants showed that the
      selective blockage of ORF1b processing affected different stages of EAV
      reproduction. In particular, the mutant with the nsp10/11 cleavage site mutation
      Gln-2837-->Pro displayed an unusual phenotype, since it was still capable of RNA
      synthesis but was incapable of producing infectious virus.

PMID- 9971784
TI  - Identification of protein instability determinants in the carboxy-terminal region
      of c-Myb removed as a result of retroviral integration in murine monocytic
      leukemias.
AB  - The c-myb oncogene has been a target of retroviral insertional mutagenesis in
      murine monocytic leukemias. One mechanism by which c-myb can be activated is
      through the integration of a retroviral provirus into the central portion of the
      locus, causing premature termination of c-myb transcription and translation. We
      had previously shown that a leukemia-specific c-Myb protein, truncated at the
      site of proviral integration by 248 amino acids, had approximately a fourfold
      increased half-life compared to the normal c-Myb protein, due to its ability to
      escape rapid degradation by the ubiquitin-26S proteasome pathway. Here we provide
      evidence for the existence of more than one instability determinant in the
      carboxy-terminal region of the wild-type protein, which appear to act
      independently of each other. The data were derived from examination of premature
      termination mutants and deletion mutants of the normal protein, as well as
      analysis of another carboxy-terminally truncated protein expressed in leukemia.
      Evidence is provided that one instability determinant is located in the terminal
      87 amino acids of the protein and another is located in the vicinity of the
      internal region that has leucine zipper homology. In leukemias, different degrees
      of protein stability are attained following proviral integration depending upon
      how many determinants are removed. Interestingly, although PEST sequences (rich
      in proline, glutamine, serine, and threonine), often associated with degradation,
      are found in c-Myb, deletion of PEST-containing regions had no effect on protein
      turnover. This study provides further insight into how inappropriate expression
      of c-Myb may contribute to leukemogenesis. In addition, it will facilitate
      further studies aimed at characterizing the specific role of individual regions
      of the normal protein in targeting to the 26S proteasome.

PMID- 9971785
TI  - Conditions for copackaging rous sarcoma virus and murine leukemia virus Gag
      proteins during retroviral budding.
AB  - Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) and murine leukemia virus (MLV) are examples of
      distantly related retroviruses that normally do not encounter one another in
      nature. Their Gag proteins direct particle assembly at the plasma membrane but
      possess very little sequence similarity. As expected, coexpression of these two
      Gag proteins did not result in particles that contain both. However, when the N
      terminal membrane-binding domain of each molecule was replaced with that of the
      Src oncoprotein, which is also targeted to the cytoplasmic face of the plasma
      membrane, efficient copackaging was observed in genetic complementation and
      coimmunoprecipitation assays. We hypothesize that the RSV and MLV Gag proteins
      normally use distinct locations on the plasma membrane for particle assembly but
      otherwise have assembly domains that are sufficiently similar in function (but
      not sequence) to allow heterologous interactions when these proteins are
      redirected to a common membrane location.

PMID- 9971786
TI  - Infection process of the hepatitis B virus depends on the presence of a defined
      sequence in the pre-S1 domain.
AB  - During the life cycle of hepatitis B virus (HBV), the large envelope protein (L)
      plays a pivotal role. Indeed, this polypeptide is essential for viral assembly
      and probably for the infection process. By performing mutagenesis experiments, we
      have previously excluded a putative involvement of the pre-S2 domain of the L
      protein in viral infectivity. In the present study, we have evaluated the role of
      the pre-S1 region in HBV infection. For this purpose, 21 mutants of the L protein
      were created. The entire pre-S1 domain was covered by contiguous deletions of 5
      amino acids. First, after transfection into HepG2 cells, the efficient expression
      of both glycosylated and unglycosylated L mutant proteins was verified. The
      secretion rate of envelope proteins was modified positively or negatively by
      deletions, indicating that the pre-S1 domain contains several regulating
      sequences able to influence the surface protein secretion. The ability of mutant
      proteins to support the production of virions was then studied. Only the four C
      terminal deletions, covering the 17 amino acids suspected to interact with the
      cytoplasmic nucleocapsids, inhibited virion release. Finally, the presence of the
      modified pre-S1 domain at the external side of all secreted virions was
      confirmed, and their infectivity was assayed on normal human hepatocytes in
      primary culture. Only a short sequence including amino acids 78 to 87 tolerates
      internal deletions without affecting viral infectivity. These results confirm the
      involvement of the L protein in the infection step and demonstrate that the
      sequence between amino acids 3 and 77 is involved in this process.

PMID- 9971787
TI  - An important role for major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted T
      cells, and a limited role for gamma interferon, in protection of mice against
      lethal herpes simplex virus infection.
AB  - Herpes simplex virus (HSV) inhibits major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class
      I expression in infected cells and does so much more efficiently in human cells
      than in murine cells. Given this difference, if MHC class I-restricted T cells do
      not play an important role in protection of mice from HSV, an important role for
      these cells in humans would be unlikely. However, the contribution of MHC class I
      restricted T cells to the control of HSV infection in mice remains unclear.
      Further, the mechanisms by which these cells may act to control infection,
      particularly in the nervous system, are not well understood, though a role for
      gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) has been proposed. To address the roles of MHC class
      I and of IFN-gamma, C57BL/6 mice deficient in MHC class I expression (beta2
      microglobulin knockout [beta2KO] mice), in IFN-gamma expression (IFN-gammaKO
      mice), or in both (IFN-gammaKO/beta2KO mice) were infected with HSV by footpad
      inoculation. beta2KO mice were markedly compromised in their ability to control
      infection, as indicated by increased lethality and higher concentrations of virus
      in the feet and spinal ganglia. In contrast, IFN-gamma appeared to play at most a
      limited role in viral clearance. The results suggest that MHC class I-restricted
      T cells play an important role in protection of mice against neuroinvasive HSV
      infection and do so largely by mechanisms other than the production of IFN-gamma.

PMID- 9971788
TI  - High-level replication of human immunodeficiency virus in thymocytes requires NF
      kappaB activation through interaction with thymic epithelial cells.
AB  - We have previously demonstrated that interaction of infected thymocytes with
      autologous thymic epithelial cells (TEC) is a prerequisite for a high level of
      human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in thymocytes (M. Rothe,
      L. Chene, M. Nugeyre, F. Barre-Sinoussi, and N. Israel, J. Virol. 72:5852-5861,
      1998). We report here that this activation of HIV replication takes place at the
      transcriptional level through activation of the Rel/NF-kappaB transcription
      factors. We first demonstrate that an HIV-1 provirus (SF-2 strain) very
      effectively replicates in thymocytes cocultured with TEC whereas this provirus,
      with kappaB sites deleted, fails to replicate. We provide evidence that several
      NF-kappaB complexes are constitutively found in the nuclei of thymocytes either
      freshly isolated from the thymus or maintained in coculture with autologous or
      heterologous TEC. The prevalent complex is the heterodimer p50-p65. NF-kappaB
      activity is tightly correlated with the transcriptional activity of a long
      terminal repeat (LTR) of HIV-1 transfected in thymocytes. The cotransfection of
      this LTR with a mutated IkappaBalpha molecule formally demonstrates that LTR
      transactivation is regulated by members of the Rel/NF-kappaB family in
      thymocytes. We also showed that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and to a lesser
      extent interleukin-1 (IL-1), secreted within the coculture, induce NF-kappaB
      activity and a correlative LTR transactivation. However IL-7, a crucial factor
      for thymopoiesis that is secreted mainly by TEC, is a necessary cofactor for NF
      kappaB activation elicited by TNF or IL-1. Together, these data indicate that NF
      kappaB activation, required for a high level of HIV replication in thymocytes, is
      regulated in a specific manner in the thymic microenvironment which provides the
      necessary cytokines: TNF, IL-1, and IL-7.

PMID- 9971789
TI  - The replicative capacities of large E1B-null group A and group C adenoviruses are
      independent of host cell p53 status.
AB  - Recent reports suggest that an early region 1B (E1B) 55, 000-molecular-weight
      polypeptide (55K)-null adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) mutant (dl1520) can replicate to
      the same extent as wild-type (wt) Ad5 in cells either deficient or mutated in
      p53, implicating p53 in limiting viral replication in vivo. In contrast, we show
      here that the replicative capacity of Ad5 dl1520 is wholly independent of host
      cell p53 status, as is the replicative capacity of comparable Ad12 E1B 54K-null
      adenoviruses (Ad12 dl620 and Ad12 hr703). Furthermore, we show that there is no
      requirement for complex formation between p53 and Ad5 E1B 55K or Ad12 E1B 54K for
      a productive infection, such that wt Ad5 and wt Ad12 will both replicate in cells
      which are null for p53. In addition, we find that these Ad5 and Ad12 mutant
      viruses induce S phase irrespective of the p53 status of the cell and that,
      therefore, S-phase induction does not correlate with the replicative capacity of
      the virus. Interestingly, the replicative capacities of the large E1B-null
      adenoviruses correlated positively with the ability to express E1B 19K and were
      related to the ability to repress premature adenovirus-induced apoptosis.
      Infection of primary human cells indicated that Ad5 dl1520, wt Ad5, and wt Ad12
      replicated better in cycling normal human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) than in
      quiescent HSFs. Thus, the cell cycle status of the host cell, upon infection,
      also influences viral yield.

PMID- 9971790
TI  - Analysis of the effects of charge cluster mutations in adeno-associated virus
      Rep68 protein in vitro.
AB  - The Rep78 and Rep68 proteins of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) are
      multifunctional proteins which are required for viral replication, regulation of
      AAV promoters, and preferential integration of the AAV genome into a region of
      human chromosome 19. These proteins bind the hairpin structures formed by the AAV
      inverted terminal repeat (ITR) origins of replication, make site- and strand
      specific endonuclease cuts within the AAV ITRs, and display nucleoside
      triphosphate-dependent helicase activities. Additionally, several mutant Rep
      proteins display negative dominance in helicase and/or endonuclease assays when
      they are mixed with wild-type Rep78 or Rep68, suggesting that multimerization may
      be required for the helicase and endonuclease functions. Using overlap extension
      PCR mutagenesis, we introduced mutations within clusters of charged residues
      throughout the Rep68 moiety of a maltose binding protein-Rep68 fusion protein
      (MBP-Rep68Delta) expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Several mutations disrupted
      the endonuclease and helicase activities; however, only one amino-terminal-charge
      cluster mutant protein (D40A-D42A-D44A) completely lost AAV hairpin DNA binding
      activity. Charge cluster mutations within two other regions abolished both
      endonuclease and helicase activities. One region contains a predicted alpha
      helical structure (amino acids 371 to 393), and the other contains a putative 3,4
      heptad repeat (coiled-coil) structure (amino acids 441 to 483). The defects
      displayed by these mutant proteins correlated with a weaker association with wild
      type Rep68 protein, as measured in coimmunoprecipitation assays. These
      experiments suggest that these regions of the Rep molecule are involved in Rep
      oligomerization events critical for both helicase and endonuclease activities.

PMID- 9971791
TI  - DNA vaccine encoding hemagglutinin provides protective immunity against H5N1
      influenza virus infection in mice.
AB  - In Hong Kong in 1997, a highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza virus was apparently
      transmitted directly from chickens to humans with no intermediate mammalian host
      and caused 18 confirmed infections and six deaths. Strategies must be developed
      to deal with this virus if it should reappear, and prospective vaccines must be
      developed to anticipate a future pandemic. We have determined that unadapted H5N1
      viruses are pathogenic in mice, which provides a well-defined mammalian system
      for immunological studies of lethal avian influenza virus infection. We report
      that a DNA vaccine encoding hemagglutinin from the index human influenza isolate
      A/HK/156/97 provides immunity against H5N1 infection of mice. This immunity was
      induced against both the homologous A/HK/156/97 (H5N1) virus, which has no
      glycosylation site at residue 154, and chicken isolate A/Ck/HK/258/97 (H5N1),
      which does have a glycosylation site at residue 154. The mouse model system
      should allow rapid evaluation of the vaccine's protective efficacy in a mammalian
      host. In our previous study using an avian model, DNA encoding hemagglutinin
      conferred protection against challenge with antigenic variants that differed from
      the primary antigen by 11 to 13% in the HA1 region. However, in our current study
      we found that a DNA vaccine encoding the hemagglutinin from A/Ty/Ir/1/83 (H5N8),
      which differs from A/HK/156/97 (H5N1) by 12% in HA1, prevented death but not H5N1
      infection in mice. Therefore, a DNA vaccine made with a heterologous H5 strain
      did not prevent infection by H5N1 avian influenza viruses in mice but was useful
      in preventing death.

PMID- 9971793
TI  - A hairpin loop at the 5' end of influenza A virus virion RNA is required for
      synthesis of poly(A)+ mRNA in vitro.
AB  - We present evidence, based on extensive mutagenesis, that a hairpin loop at the
      5' end of influenza A virus virion RNA (vRNA) is required for the synthesis of
      polyadenylated mRNA from model vRNA templates in vitro. The hairpin loop, which
      we term the vRNA 5' hook, contains a stem of 2 bp formed by the second and third
      residues pairing with the ninth and eighth residues, respectively, and a 4
      nucleotide loop composed of the intervening residues 4 to 7. Disruption of the
      base pairs of the vRNA 5' hook by introducing point mutations prevented
      polyadenylation, except in two mutants where a G-U base pair reformed. The
      polyadenylation activity of point mutants could be rescued by constructing double
      mutants with reformed base pairs in the stem of the vRNA 5' hook. These results
      suggest that base pairing rather than a particular nucleotide sequence was
      critical. We also show that mutation of the analogous region in the 3' arm of
      vRNA did not interfere with the synthesis of polyadenylated mRNA, suggesting that
      a hook structure in the 3' arm is not required for transcription of
      polyadenylated mRNA in vitro.

PMID- 9971792
TI  - The memory cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to human cytomegalovirus
      infection contains individual peptide-specific CTL clones that have undergone
      extensive expansion in vivo.
AB  - Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) appear
      to play an important role in the control of virus replication and in protection
      against HCMV-related disease. We have previously reported high frequencies of
      memory CTL precursors (CTLp) specific to the HCMV tegument protein pp65 in the
      peripheral blood of healthy virus carriers. In some individuals, the CTL response
      to this protein is focused on only a single epitope, whereas in other virus
      carriers CTL recognized multiple epitopes which we identified by using synthetic
      peptides. We have analyzed the clonal composition of the memory CTL response to
      four of these pp65 epitopes by sequencing the T-cell receptors (TCR) of multiple
      independently derived epitope-specific CTL clones, which were derived by formal
      single-cell cloning or from clonal CTL microcultures. In all cases, we have
      observed a high degree of clonal focusing: the majority of CTL clones specific to
      a defined pp65 peptide from any one virus carrier use only one or two different
      TCRs at the level of the nucleotide sequence. Among virus carriers who have the
      same major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I allele, we observed that CTL
      from different donors that recognize the same peptide-MHC complex often used the
      same Vbeta segment, although other TCR gene segments and CDR3 length were not in
      general conserved. We have also examined the clonal composition of CTL specific
      to pp65 peptides in asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus-infected
      individuals. We have observed a similarly focused peptide-specific CTL response.
      Thus, the large population of circulating HCMV peptide-specific memory CTLp in
      virus carriers in fact contains individual CTL clones that have undergone
      extensive clonal expansion in vivo.

PMID- 9971794
TI  - CD21-Dependent infection of an epithelial cell line, 293, by Epstein-Barr virus.
AB  - Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is invariably present in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal
      carcinomas, is found sporadically in other carcinomas, and replicates in the
      differentiated layer of the tongue epithelium in lesions of oral hairy
      leukoplakia. However, it is not clear how frequently or by what mechanism EBV
      infects epithelial cells normally. Here, we report that a human epithelial cell
      line, 293, can be stably infected by EBV that has been genetically marked with a
      selectable gene. We show that 293 cells express a relatively low level of CD21,
      that binding of fluorescein-labeled EBV to 293 cells can be detected, and that
      both the binding of virus to cells and infection can be blocked with antibodies
      specific for CD21. Two proteins known to form complexes with CD21 on the surface
      of lymphoid cells, CD35 and CD19, could not be detected at the surface of 293
      cells. All infected clones of 293 cells exhibited tight latency with a pattern of
      gene expression similar to that of type II latency, but productive EBV
      replication and release of infectious virus could be induced inefficiently by
      forced expression of the lytic transactivators, R and Z. Low levels of mRNA
      specific for the transforming membrane protein of EBV, LMP-1, as well as for LMP
      2, were detected; however, LMP-1 protein was either undetectable or near the
      limit of detection at less than 5% of the level typical of EBV-transformed B
      cells. A slight increase in expression of the receptor for epidermal growth
      factor, which can be induced in epithelial cells by LMP-1, was detected at the
      cell surface with two EBV-infected 293 cell clones. These results show that low
      levels of surface CD21 can support infection of an epithelial cell line by EBV.
      The results also raise the possibility that in a normal infection of epithelial
      cells by EBV, the LMP-1 protein is not expressed at levels that are high enough
      to be oncogenic and that there might be differences in the cells of EBV
      associated epithelial cancers that have arisen to allow for elevated expression
      of LMP-1.

PMID- 9971795
TI  - Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase protein promotes reverse
      transcription through specific interactions with the nucleoprotein reverse
      transcription complex.
AB  - The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase protein (IN) is
      essential for integration of the viral DNA into host cell chromosomes. Since IN
      is expressed and assembled into virions as part of the 160-kDa Gag-Pol precursor
      polyprotein and catalyzes integration of the provirus in infected cells as a
      mature 32-kDa protein, mutations in IN are pleiotropic and may affect virus
      replication at different stages of the virus life cycle in addition to
      integration. Several different phenotypes have been observed for IN mutant
      viruses, including defects in virion morphology, protein composition, reverse
      transcription, nuclear import, and integration. Because the effects of mutations
      in the IN domain of Gag-Pol can not always be distinguished from those of
      mutations in the mature IN protein, there remains a significant gap in our
      understanding of IN function in vivo. To directly analyze the function of the
      mature IN protein itself, in the context of a replicating virus but independently
      from that of Gag-Pol, we used an approach developed in our laboratory for
      incorporating proteins into HIV virions by their expression in trans as fusion
      partners of either Vpr or Vpx. By providing IN in trans as a Vpr-IN fusion
      protein, our analysis revealed, for the first time, that the mature IN protein is
      essential for the efficient initiation of reverse transcription in infected cells
      and that this function does not require the IN protein to be enzymatically
      (integration) active. Our findings of a direct physical interaction between IN
      and reverse transcriptase and the failure of heterologous HIV-2 IN protein to
      efficiently support reverse transcription indicate that this novel function
      occurs through specific interactions with other viral components of the reverse
      transcription initiation complex. Studies involving complementation between
      integration- and DNA synthesis-defective IN mutants further support this
      conclusion and reveal that the highly conserved HHCC motif of IN is important for
      both activities. These findings provide important new insights into IN function
      and reverse transcription in the context of the nucleoprotein reverse
      transcription complex within the infected cell. Moreover, they validate a novel
      approach that obviates the need to mutate Gag-Pol in order to study the role of
      its individual mature components at the virus replication level.

PMID- 9971796
TI  - The putative polymerase sequence of infectious salmon anemia virus suggests a new
      genus within the Orthomyxoviridae.
AB  - The infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) is an orthomyxovirus-like virus
      infecting teleosts. The disease caused by this virus has had major economic
      consequences for the Atlantic salmon farming industry in Norway, Canada, and
      Scotland. In this work, we report the cloning and sequencing of an ISAV-specific
      cDNA comprising 2,245 bp with an open reading frame coding for a predicted
      protein with a calculated molecular weight of 80.5 kDa. The putative protein
      sequence shows the core polymerase motifs characteristic of all viral RNA
      dependent RNA polymerases. Comparison of the conserved motifs with the
      corresponding regions of other segmented negative-stranded RNA viruses shows a
      closer relationship with members of the Orthomyxoviridae than with viruses in
      other families. The putative ISAV polymerase protein (PB1) has a length of 708
      amino acids, a charge of +22 at neutral pH, and a pI of 9.9, which are consistent
      with the properties of the PB1 proteins of other members of the family.
      Calculations of the distances between the different PB1 proteins indicate that
      the ISAV is distantly related to the other members of the family but more closely
      related to the influenza viruses than to the Thogoto viruses. Based on these and
      previously published results, we propose that the ISAV comprises a new, fifth
      genus in the Orthomyxoviridae.

PMID- 9971797
TI  - Suppressor mutations within the core binding factor (CBF/AML1) binding site of a
      T-cell lymphomagenic retrovirus.
AB  - The transcriptional enhancer of the lymphomagenic mouse retrovirus SL3 contains a
      binding site for the transcription factor core binding factor (CBF; also called
      AML1, PEBP2, and SEF1). The SL3 CBF binding site is called the core. It differs
      from the core of the weakly lymphomagenic mouse retrovirus Akv by one nucleotide
      (the sequences are TGTGGTTAA and TGTGGTCAA, respectively). A mutant virus called
      SAA that was identical to SL3 except that its core was mutated to the Akv
      sequence was only moderately attenuated for lymphomagenicity. In most SAA
      infected mice, tumor proviruses contained either reversions of the original
      mutation or one of two novel core sequences. In 20% of the SAA-infected mice,
      tumor proviruses retained the original SAA/Akv core mutation but acquired one of
      two additional mutations (underlined), TGCGGTCAA or TGTGGTCTA, that generated
      core elements called So and T*, respectively. We tested whether the novel base
      changes in the So and T* cores were suppressor mutations. SL3 mutants that
      contained So or T* cores in place of the wild-type sequence were generated. These
      viruses induced T-cell lymphomas in mice more quickly than SAA. Therefore, the
      mutations in the So and T* cores are indeed second-site suppressor mutations. The
      suppressor mutations increased CBF binding in vitro and transcriptional activity
      of the viral long terminal repeats (LTRs) in T lymphocytes to levels comparable
      to those of SL3. Thus, CBF binding was increased by any of three different
      nucleotide changes within the sequence of the SAA core. Increased CBF binding
      resulted in increased LTR transcriptional activity in T cells and in increased
      viral lymphomagenicity.

PMID- 9971798
TI  - Extensive mutagenesis of the hepatitis B virus core gene and mapping of mutations
      that allow capsid formation.
AB  - We generated a large number of mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) core gene
      inserted into a bacterial expression vector. The new mutagenesis procedure
      generated deletions and insertions (as sequence repeats) of various lengths at
      random positions between M1 and E145 but not substitutions. The R-rich 30-amino
      acid C-terminal domain was not analyzed. A total of 50,000 colonies were tested
      with a polyclonal human serum for the expression of hepatitis B core or e
      antigen. A total of 110 mutants randomly chosen from 1,500 positive colonies were
      genotyped. Deletions and insertions were clustered in four regions: D2 to E14,
      corresponding to the N-terminal loop in a model for the core protein fold (B.
      Bottcher, S. A. Wynne, and R. A. Crowther, Nature 386:88-91, 1997); V27 to P50
      (second loop); L60 to V86 (upper half of the alpha helix forming the N-terminal
      part of the spike and the tip of the spike); and V124 to L140 (C-terminal part of
      the C-terminal helix and downstream loop). Deletions or insertions in the
      remaining parts of the molecule forming the compact center of the fold seemed to
      destabilize the protein. Of the 110 mutations, 38 allowed capsid formation in
      Escherichia coli. They mapped exclusively to nonhelical regions of the proposed
      fold. The mutations form a basis for subsequent analysis of further functions of
      the HBV core protein in the viral life cycle.

PMID- 9971799
TI  - Transcription of herpes simplex virus immediate-early and early genes is
      inhibited by roscovitine, an inhibitor specific for cellular cyclin-dependent
      kinases.
AB  - Although herpes simplex virus (HSV) replicates in noncycling as well as cycling
      cells, including terminally differentiated neurons, it has recently been shown
      that viral replication requires the activities of cellular cyclin-dependent
      kinases (cdks) (L. M. Schang, J. Phillips, and P. A. Schaffer, J. Virol. 72:5626
      5637, 1998). Since we were unable to isolate HSV mutants resistant to two cdk
      inhibitors, Olomoucine and Roscovitine (Rosco), we hypothesized that cdks may be
      required for more than one viral function during HSV replication. In the
      experiments presented here, we tested this hypothesis by measuring the efficiency
      of (i) viral replication; (ii) expression of selected immediate-early (IE) (ICP0
      and ICP4), early (E) (ICP8 and TK), and late (L) (gC) genes; and (iii) viral DNA
      synthesis in infected cultures to which Rosco was added after IE or IE and E
      proteins had already been synthesized. Rosco inhibited HSV replication,
      transcription of IE and E genes, and viral DNA synthesis when added at 1, 2, or 6
      h postinfection or after release from a 6-h cycloheximide block. Transcription of
      a representative L gene, gC, was also inhibited by Rosco under all conditions
      examined. We conclude from these studies that cellular cdks are required for
      transcription of E as well as IE genes. In contrast, steady-state levels of at
      least one cellular housekeeping gene were not affected by Rosco. The requirement
      of viral IE and E transcription for cellular cdks may reflect either a
      requirement for specific cdk-activated cellular and/or viral transcription
      factors or a more global requirement for cdks in the transcriptional activation
      of the viral genome.

PMID- 9971800
TI  - African swine fever virus infection induces tumor necrosis factor alpha
      production: implications in pathogenesis.
AB  - We have analyzed the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)
      induced by in vitro infection with African swine fever (ASF) virus (ASFV) and the
      systemic and local release of this inflammatory cytokine upon in vivo infection.
      An early increase in TNF-alpha mRNA expression was detected in ASFV-infected
      alveolar macrophages, and high levels of TNF-alpha protein were detected by ELISA
      in culture supernatants from these cells. When animals were experimentally
      infected with a virulent isolate (E-75), enhanced TNF-alpha expression in mainly
      affected organs correlated with viral protein expression. Finally, elevated
      levels of TNF-alpha were detected in serum, corresponding to the onset of
      clinical signs. TNF-alpha has been reported to be critically involved in the
      pathogenesis of major clinical events in ASF, such as intravascular coagulation,
      tissue injury, apoptosis, and shock. In the present study, TNF-alpha containing
      supernatants from ASFV-infected cultures induced apoptosis in uninfected
      lymphocytes; this effect was partially abrogated by preincubation with an anti
      TNF-alpha specific antibody. These results suggest a relevant role for TNF-alpha
      in the pathogenesis of ASF.

PMID- 9971801
TI  - Capsid structure of simian cytomegalovirus from cryoelectron microscopy: evidence
      for tegument attachment sites.
AB  - We have used cryoelectron microscopy and image reconstruction to study B-capsids
      recovered from both the nuclear and the cytoplasmic fractions of cells infected
      with simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV). SCMV, a representative betaherpesvirus, could
      thus be compared with the previously described B-capsids of the
      alphaherpesviruses, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and equine herpesvirus 1
      (EHV-1), and of channel catfish virus, an evolutionarily remote herpesvirus.
      Nuclear B-capsid architecture is generally conserved with SCMV, but it is 4%
      larger in inner radius than HSV-1, implying that its approximately 30% larger
      genome should be packed more tightly. Isolated SCMV B-capsids retain a relatively
      well preserved inner shell (or "small core") of scaffolding-assembly protein,
      whose radial-density profile indicates that this protein is approximately 16-nm
      long and consists of two domains connected by a low-density linker. As with HSV
      1, the hexons but not the pentons of the major capsid protein (151 kDa) bind the
      smallest capsid protein (approximately 8 kDa). Sodium dodecyl sulfate
      polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed cytoplasmic B-capsid preparations to
      contain proteins similar in molecular weight to the basic phosphoprotein
      (approximately 119 kDa) and the matrix proteins (65 to 70 kDa). Micrographs
      revealed that these particles had variable amounts of surface-adherent material
      not present on nuclear B-capsids that we take to be tegument proteins.
      Cytoplasmic B-capsids were classified accordingly as lightly, moderately, or
      heavily tegumented. By comparing the three corresponding density maps with each
      other and with the nuclear B-capsid, two interactions were identified between
      putative tegument proteins and the capsid surface. One is between the major
      capsid protein and a protein estimated by electron microscopy to be 50 to 60 kDa;
      the other involves an elongated molecule estimated to be 100 to 120 kDa that is
      anchored on the triplexes, most likely on its dimer subunits. Candidates for the
      proteins bound at these sites are discussed. This first visualization of such
      linkages makes a step towards understanding the organization and functional
      rationale of the herpesvirus tegument.

PMID- 9971802
TI  - Intracellular redistribution of truncated La protein produced by poliovirus 3Cpro
      mediated cleavage.
AB  - The La autoantigen (also known as SS-B), a cellular RNA binding protein, may
      shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm, but it is mainly located in the
      nucleus. La protein is redistributed to the cytoplasm after poliovirus infection.
      An in vitro translation study demonstrated that La protein stimulated the
      internal initiation of poliovirus translation. In the present study, a part of
      the La protein was shown to be cleaved in poliovirus-infected HeLa cells, and
      this cleavage appeared to be mediated by poliovirus-specific protease 3C (3Cpro).
      Truncated La protein (dl-La) was produced in vitro from recombinant La protein by
      cleavage with purified 3Cpro at only one Gln358-Gly359 peptide bond in the 408
      amino-acid (aa) sequence of La protein. The dl-La expressed in L cells was
      detected in the cytoplasm. However, green fluorescence protein linked to the C
      terminal 50-aa sequence of La protein was localized in the nucleus, suggesting
      that this C-terminal region contributes to the steady-state nuclear localization
      of the intact La protein in uninfected cells. The dl-La retained the enhancing
      activity of translation initiation driven by poliovirus RNA in rabbit
      reticulocyte lysates. These results suggest that La protein is cleaved by 3Cpro
      in the course of poliovirus infection and that the dl-La is redistributed to the
      cytoplasm. dl-La, as well as La protein, may play a role in stimulating the
      internal initiation of poliovirus translation in the cytoplasm.

PMID- 9971803
TI  - Two regions of simian virus 40 T antigen determine cooperativity of double
      hexamer assembly on the viral origin of DNA replication and promote hexamer
      interactions during bidirectional origin DNA unwinding.
AB  - Phosphorylation of simian virus 40 large tumor (T) antigen on threonine 124 is
      essential for viral DNA replication. A mutant T antigen (T124A), in which this
      threonine was replaced by alanine, has helicase activity, assembles double
      hexamers on viral-origin DNA, and locally distorts the origin DNA structure, but
      it cannot catalyze origin DNA unwinding. A class of T-antigen mutants with single
      amino-acid substitutions in the DNA binding domain (class 4) has remarkably
      similar properties, although these proteins are phosphorylated on threonine 124,
      as we show here. By comparing the DNA binding properties of the T124A and class 4
      mutant proteins with those of the wild type, we demonstrate that mutant double
      hexamers bind to viral origin DNA with reduced cooperativity. We report that
      T124A T-antigen subunits impair the ability of double hexamers containing the
      wild-type protein to unwind viral origin DNA, suggesting that interactions
      between hexamers are also required for unwinding. Moreover, the T124A and class 4
      mutant T antigens display dominant-negative inhibition of the viral DNA
      replication activity of the wild-type protein. We propose that interactions
      between hexamers, mediated through the DNA binding domain and the N-terminal
      phosphorylated region of T antigen, play a role in double-hexamer assembly and
      origin DNA unwinding. We speculate that one surface of the DNA binding domain in
      each subunit of one hexamer may form a docking site that can interact with each
      subunit in the other hexamer, either directly with the N-terminal phosphorylated
      region or with another region that is regulated by phosphorylation.

PMID- 9971804
TI  - Measles virus infection induces terminal differentiation of human thymic
      epithelial cells.
AB  - Measles virus infection induces a profound immunosuppression that may lead to
      serious secondary infections and mortality. In this report, we show that the
      human cortical thymic epithelial cell line is highly susceptible to measles virus
      infection in vitro, resulting in infectious viral particle production and
      syncytium formation. Measles virus inhibits thymic epithelial cell growth and
      induces an arrest in the G0/G1 phases of the cell cycle. Moreover, we show that
      measles virus induces a progressive thymic epithelial cell differentiation
      process: attached measles virus-infected epithelial cells correspond to an
      intermediate state of differentiation while floating cells, recovered from cell
      culture supernatants, are fully differentiated. Measles virus-induced thymic
      epithelial cell differentiation is characterized by morphological and phenotypic
      changes. Measles virus-infected attached cells present fusiform and stellate
      shapes followed by a loss of cell-cell contacts and a shift from low- to high
      molecular-weight keratin expression. Measles virus infection induces thymic
      epithelial cell apoptosis in terminally differentiated cells, revealed by the
      condensation and degradation of DNA in measles virus-infected floating thymic
      epithelial cells. Because thymic epithelial cells are required for the generation
      of immunocompetent T lymphocytes, our results suggest that measles virus-induced
      terminal differentiation of thymic epithelial cells may contribute to
      immunosuppression, particularly in children, in whom the thymic microenvironment
      is of critical importance for the development and maturation of a functional
      immune system.

PMID- 9971805
TI  - Modulation of nuclear localization of the influenza virus nucleoprotein through
      interaction with actin filaments.
AB  - The influenza virus genome is transcribed in the nuclei of infected cells but
      assembled into progeny virions in the cytoplasm. This is reflected in the
      cellular distribution of the virus nucleoprotein (NP), a protein which
      encapsidates genomic RNA to form ribonucleoprotein structures. At early times
      postinfection NP is found in the nucleus, but at later times it is found
      predominantly in the cytoplasm. NP contains several sequences proposed to act as
      nuclear localization signals (NLSs), and it is not clear how these are overridden
      to allow cytoplasmic accumulation of the protein. We find that NP binds tightly
      to filamentous actin in vitro and have identified a cluster of residues in NP
      essential for the interaction. Complexes containing RNA, NP, and actin could be
      formed, suggesting that viral ribonucleoproteins also bind actin. In cells,
      exogenously expressed NP when expressed at a high level partitioned to the
      cytoplasm, where it associated with F-actin stress fibers. In contrast, mutants
      unable to bind F-actin efficiently were imported into the nucleus even under
      conditions of high-level expression. Similarly, nuclear import of NLS-deficient
      NP molecules was restored by concomitant disruption of F-actin binding. We
      propose that the interaction of NP with F-actin causes the cytoplasmic retention
      of influenza virus ribonucleoproteins.

PMID- 9971806
TI  - Kinetics of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus gene expression.
AB  - Herpesvirus gene expression can be classified into four distinct kinetic stages:
      latent, immediate early, early, and late. Here we characterize the kinetic class
      of a group of 16 Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus
      8 genes in a cultured primary effusion cell line and examine the expression of a
      subset of these genes in KS biopsies. Expression of two latent genes, LANA and
      vFLIP, was constitutive and was not induced by chemicals that induce the lytic
      cycle in primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cell lines. An immediate-early gene, Rta
      (open reading frame 50 [ORF50]), was induced within 4 h of the addition of n
      butyrate, and its 3.6-kb mRNA was resistant to inhibition by cycloheximide. Early
      genes, including K3 and K5 that are homologues of the "immediate-early" gene of
      bovine herpesvirus 4, K8 that is a positional homologue of Epstein-Barr virus
      BZLF1, vMIP II, vIL-6, and polyadenylated nuclear (PAN) RNA, appeared 8 to 13 h
      after chemical induction. A second group of early genes that were slightly
      delayed in their appearance included viral DHFR, thymidylate synthase, vMIP I, G
      protein-coupled receptor, K12, vBcl2, and a lytic transcript that overlapped
      LANA. The transcript of sVCA (ORF65), a late gene whose expression was abolished
      by Phosphonoacetic acid, an inhibitor of KSHV DNA replication, did not appear
      until 30 h after induction. Single-cell assays indicated that the induction of
      lytic cycle transcripts resulted from the recruitment of additional cells into
      the lytic cycle. In situ hybridization of KS biopsies showed that about 3% of
      spindle-shaped tumor cells expressed Rta, ORF K8, vIL-6, vMIP I, vBcl-2, PAN RNA,
      and sVCA. Our study shows that several KSHV-encoded homologues of cellular
      cytokines, chemokines, and antiapoptotic factors are expressed during the viral
      lytic cycle in PEL cell lines and in KS biopsies. The lytic cycle of KSHV,
      probably under the initial control of the KSHV/Rta gene, may directly contribute
      to tumor pathogenesis.

PMID- 9971807
TI  - Hypoxia blocks in vivo initiation of simian virus 40 replication at a stage
      preceding origin unwinding.
AB  - Simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected CV1 cells transiently exposed to hypoxia show a
      burst of viral replication immediately after reoxygenation. DNA precursor
      incorporation and analysis of growing daughter strands by alkaline sedimentation
      demonstrated that SV40 DNA synthesis began with a lag of about 3 to 5 min after
      reoxygenation followed by a largely synchronous viral replication round. Viral
      RNA-DNA primers complementary to the SV40 origin region were not detectable
      before 3 min upon reoxygenation. A distinct form of circular closed, supercoiled
      SV40 DNA was detectable as soon as 3 min after reoxygenation but not under
      hypoxia. Sensitivity to the DNA nuclease Bal 31 and migration behavior in
      chloroquine-containing agarose gels suggested that this DNA species was highly
      underwound compared to other SV40 topoisomers and was probably related to the
      highly underwound form U DNA first described by Dean et al. (F. B. Dean, P.
      Bullock, Y. Murakami, C. R. Wobbe, L. Weissbach, and J. Hurwitz, Proc. Natl.
      Acad. Sci. USA 84:16-20, 1987), in vitro. 3'-OH ends of presumed RNA-DNA primers
      could be detected in form U by 3' end labeling with T7 polymerase. Addition of
      aphidicolin to the cells before reoxygenation led to a pronounced accumulation of
      form U DNA containing RNA-DNA primers. In vivo pulse-chase kinetic studies
      performed with aphidicolin-treated SV40-infected cells showed that form U is an
      initial intermediate of SV40 DNA replication which matures into higher-molecular
      weight replication intermediates and into SV40 form I DNA after removal of the
      inhibitor. These results suggest that in vivo initiation of SV40 replication is
      arrested by hypoxia before origin unwinding and primer synthesis.

PMID- 9971808
TI  - Adenovirus type 5 E4orf3 protein relieves p53 inhibition by E1B-55-kilodalton
      protein.
AB  - The E1B-55-kDa protein of adenovirus type 5 and the p53 tumor suppressor gene
      product form a complex that localizes to the cytoplasm, thereby downregulating
      p53's transcriptional activity. The E4orf6 protein binds and relocalizes E1B-55
      kDa, and the proteins act synergistically to inactivate p53. We show that another
      adenovirus E4 gene product, E4orf3, is also sufficient to relocalize E1B-55-kDa
      from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Both proteins are then found in discrete
      nuclear structures (tracks) that are known to contain components of the
      promyelocytic leukemia-associated nuclear structure. Simultaneously, p53 is
      dissociated from E1B-55-kDa and is found evenly distributed over the nucleoplasm.
      In the presence of E4orf3, p53-dependent transcriptional activity is no longer
      repressed by E1B-55-kDa. When E1B-55-kDa is coexpressed with E4orf3 and E4orf6,
      E1B-55-kDa is found to colocalize with E4orf6 rather than E4orf3. In parallel,
      p53 is inhibited and degraded by the combination of E1B-55-kDa and E4orf6,
      regardless of coexpressed E4orf3. This suggests that the effects of E4orf6 on E1B
      55-kDa overrule the actions of E4orf3. When cells are infected with virus
      expressing E4orf3 but not E4orf6, E1B is found in the cell nucleus and p53 enters
      the virus replication centers. After infection with wild-type adenovirus, E4orf3
      is expressed before E4orf6 and E1B temporarily colocalizes with E4orf3 in nuclear
      tracks before associating with E4orf6. We propose that during adenovirus
      infection, the E4orf3 protein transiently liberates p53 from its association with
      E1B-55-kDa. Subsequently, p53 is inactivated and degraded by the combination of
      E1B-55-kDa and E4orf6.

PMID- 9971809
TI  - Sequence analysis and expression of the attachment and fusion proteins of canine
      distemper virus wild-type strain A75/17.
AB  - The biological properties of wild-type A75/17 and cell culture-adapted
      Onderstepoort canine distemper virus differ markedly. To learn more about the
      molecular basis for these differences, we have isolated and sequenced the protein
      coding regions of the attachment and fusion proteins of wild-type canine
      distemper virus strain A75/17. In the attachment protein, a total of 57 amino
      acid differences were observed between the Onderstepoort strain and strain
      A75/17, and these were distributed evenly over the entire protein. Interestingly,
      the attachment protein of strain A75/17 contained an extension of three amino
      acids at the C terminus. Expression studies showed that the attachment protein of
      strain A75/17 had a higher apparent molecular mass than the attachment protein of
      the Onderstepoort strain, in both the presence and absence of tunicamycin. In the
      fusion protein, 60 amino acid differences were observed between the two strains,
      of which 44 were clustered in the much smaller F2 portion of the molecule.
      Significantly, the AUG that has been proposed as a translation initiation codon
      in the Onderstepoort strain is an AUA codon in strain A75/17. Detailed mutation
      analyses showed that both the first and second AUGs of strain A75/17 are the
      major translation initiation sites of the fusion protein. Similar analyses
      demonstrated that, also in the Onderstepoort strain, the first two AUGs are the
      translation initiation codons which contribute most to the generation of
      precursor molecules yielding the mature form of the fusion protein.

PMID- 9971810
TI  - In vitro assembly properties of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag protein
      lacking the p6 domain.
AB  - Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) normally assembles into particles of
      100 to 120 nm in diameter by budding through the plasma membrane of the cell. The
      Gag polyprotein is the only viral protein that is required for the formation of
      these particles. We have used an in vitro assembly system to examine the assembly
      properties of purified, recombinant HIV-1 Gag protein and of Gag missing the C
      terminal p6 domain (Gag Deltap6). This system was used previously to show that
      the CA-NC fragment of HIV-1 Gag assembled into cylindrical particles. We now
      report that both HIV-1 Gag and Gag Deltap6 assemble into small, 25- to 30-nm
      diameter spherical particles in vitro. The multimerization of Gag Deltap6 into
      units larger than dimers and the formation of spherical particles required
      nucleic acid. Removal of the nucleic acid with NaCl or nucleases resulted in the
      disruption of the multimerized complexes. We conclude from these results that (i)
      N-terminal extension of HIV-1 CA-NC to include the MA domain results in the
      formation of spherical, rather than cylindrical, particles; (ii) nucleic acid is
      required for the assembly and maintenance of HIV-1 Gag Deltap6 virus-like
      particles in vitro and possibly in vivo; (iii) a wide variety of RNAs or even
      short DNA oligonucleotides will support assembly; (iv) protein-protein
      interactions within the particle must be relatively weak; and (v) recombinant HIV
      1 Gag Deltap6 and nucleic acid are not sufficient for the formation of normal
      sized particles.

PMID- 9971811
TI  - Dissecting the immune response to moloney murine sarcoma/leukemia virus-induced
      tumors by means of a DNA vaccination approach.
AB  - The intramuscular inoculation of Moloney murine sarcoma/leukemia (M-MSV/M-MuLV)
      retroviral complex gives rise to sarcomas that undergo spontaneous regression due
      to the induction of a strong immune reaction mediated primarily by cytotoxic T
      lymphocytes (CTL). We used a DNA-based vaccination approach to dissect the CTL
      response against the Gag and Env proteins of M-MSV/M-MuLV in C57BL/6 (B6) mice
      and to evaluate whether plasmid DNA-immunized mice would be protected against a
      subsequent challenge with syngeneic tumor cells expressing the viral antigens.
      Intramuscular DNA vaccination induced CTL against both Gag and Env proteins. A
      detailed analysis of epitopes recognized by CTL generated in mice inoculated with
      the whole virus and with the Gag-expressing plasmid confirmed the presence of an
      immunodominant peptide in the leader sequence of Gag protein (Gag85-93,
      CCLCLTVFL) that is identical to that described in B6 mice immunized with Friend
      MuLV-induced leukemia cells. Moreover, CTL generated by immunization with the Env
      encoding plasmid recognized a subdominant Env peptide (Env189-196, SSWDFITV),
      originally described in the B6.CH-2(bm13) mutant strain. B6 mice immunized with
      the Gag-expressing plasmid were fully protected against a lethal tumor challenge
      with M-MuLV-transformed MBL-2 leukemia cells, while vaccination with the Env
      expressing plasmid resulted in rejection of the tumor in 44% of the mice and in
      increased survival of an additional 17% of the animals. Taken together, these
      results indicate the existence of a hierarchy in the capacity of different
      structural viral proteins to induce a protective immune response against
      retrovirus-induced tumors.

PMID- 9971812
TI  - Tomato spotted wilt virus particle morphogenesis in plant cells.
AB  - A model for the maturation of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) particles is
      proposed, mainly based on results with a protoplast infection system, in which
      the chronology of different maturation events could be determined. By using
      specific monoclonal and polyclonal antisera in immunofluorescence and electron
      microscopy, the site of TSWV particle morphogenesis was determined to be the
      Golgi system. The viral glycoproteins G1 and G2 accumulate in the Golgi prior to
      a process of wrapping, by which the viral nucleocapsids obtain a double membrane.
      In a later stage of the maturation, these doubly enveloped particles fuse to each
      other and to the endoplasmic reticulum to form singly enveloped particles
      clustered in membranes. Similarities and differences between the maturation of
      animal-infecting (bunya)viruses and plant-infecting tospoviruses are discussed.

PMID- 9971813
TI  - The reovirus mutant tsA279 L2 gene is associated with generation of a spikeless
      core particle: implications for capsid assembly.
AB  - Previous studies which used intertypic reassortants of the wild-type reovirus
      serotype 1 Lang and the temperature-sensitive (ts) serotype 3 mutant clone tsA279
      identified two ts lesions; one lesion, in the M2 gene segment, was associated
      with defective transmembrane transport of restrictively assembled virions (P. R.
      Hazelton and K. M. Coombs, Virology 207:46-58, 1995). In the present study we
      show that the second lesion, in the L2 gene segment, which encodes the lambda2
      protein, is associated with the accumulation of a core-like particle defective
      for the lambda2 pentameric spike. Physicochemical, biochemical, and immunological
      studies showed that these structures were deficient for genomic double-stranded
      RNA, the core spike protein lambda2, and the minor core protein micro2. Core
      particles with the lambda2 spike structure accumulated after temperature shift
      down from a restrictive to a permissive temperature in the presence of
      cycloheximide. These data suggest the spike-deficient, core-like particle is an
      assembly intermediate in reovirus morphogenesis. The existence of this naturally
      occurring primary core structure suggests that the core proteins lambda1,
      lambda3, and sigma2 interact to initiate the process of virion capsid assembly
      through a dodecahedral mechanism. The next step in the proposed capsid assembly
      model would be the association of the minor core protein mu2, either preceding or
      collateral to the condensation of the lambda2 pentameric spike at the apices of
      the primary core structure. The assembly pathway of the reovirus double capsid is
      further elaborated when these observations are combined with structures
      identified in other studies.

PMID- 9971814
TI  - Identification of retroviral late domains as determinants of particle size.
AB  - Retroviral Gag proteins, in the absence of any other viral products, induce
      budding and release of spherical, virus-like particles from the plasma membrane.
      Gag-produced particles, like those of authentic retrovirions, are not uniform in
      diameter but nevertheless fall within a fairly narrow distribution of sizes. For
      the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein, we recently reported
      that elements important for controlling particle size are contained within the C
      terminal region of Gag, especially within the p6 sequence (L. Garnier, L. Ratner,
      B. Rovinski, S.-X. Cao, and J. W. Wills, J. Virol. 72:4667-4677, 1998). Deletions
      and substitutions throughout this sequence result in the release of very large
      particles. Because the size determinant could not be mapped to any one of the
      previously defined functions within p6, it seemed likely that its activity
      requires the overall proper folding of this region of Gag. This left open the
      possibility of the size determinant residing in a subdomain of p6, and in this
      study, we examined whether the late domain (the region of Gag that is critical
      for the virus-cell separation step) is involved in controlling particle size. We
      found that particles of normal size are produced when p6 is replaced with the
      totally unrelated late domain sequences from Rous sarcoma virus (contained in its
      p2b sequence) or equine infectious anemia virus (contained in p9). In addition,
      we found that the large particles released in the absence of p6 require the
      entire CA and adjacent spacer peptide sequences, whereas these internal sequences
      of HIV-1 Gag are not needed for budding (or proper size) when a late domain is
      present. Thus, it appears the requirements for budding are very different in the
      presence and absence of p6.

PMID- 9971815
TI  - Three distinct regions of the murine gammaherpesvirus 68 genome are
      transcriptionally active in latently infected mice.
AB  - The program(s) of gene expression operating during murine gammaherpesvirus 68
      (gammaHV68) latency is undefined, as is the relationship between gammaHV68
      latency and latency of primate gammaherpesviruses. We used a nested reverse
      transcriptase PCR strategy (sensitive to approximately one copy of gammaHV68
      genome for each genomic region tested) to screen for the presence of viral
      transcripts in latently infected mice. Based on the positions of known latency
      associated genes in other gammaherpesviruses, we screened for the presence of
      transcripts corresponding to 11 open reading frames (ORFs) in the gammaHV68
      genome in RNA from spleens and peritoneal cells of latently infected B-cell
      deficient (MuMT) mice which have been shown contain high levels of reactivable
      latent gammaHV68 (K. E. Weck, M. L. Barkon, L. I. Yoo, S. H. Speck, and H. W.
      Virgin, J. Virol. 70:6775-6780, 1996). To control for the possible presence of
      viral lytic activity, we determined that RNA from latently infected peritoneal
      and spleen cells contained few or no detectable transcripts corresponding to
      seven ORFs known to encode viral gene products associated with lytic replication.
      However, we did detect low-level expression of transcripts arising from the
      region of gene 50 (encoding the putative homolog of the Epstein-Barr virus BRLF1
      transactivator) in peritoneal but not spleen cells. Latently infected peritoneal
      cells consistently scored for expression of RNA derived from 4 of the 11
      candidate latency-associated ORFs examined, including the regions of ORF M2, ORF
      M11 (encoding v-bcl-2), gene 73 (a homolog of the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated
      herpesvirus [human herpesvirus 8] gene encoding latency-associated nuclear
      antigen), and gene 74 (encoding a G-protein coupled receptor homolog, v-GCR).
      Latently infected spleen cells consistently scored positive for RNA derived from
      3 of the 11 candidate latency-associated ORFs examined, including ORF M2, ORF M3,
      and ORF M9. To further characterize transcription of these candidate latency
      associated ORFs, we examined their transcription in lytically infected
      fibroblasts by Northern analysis. We detected abundant transcription from regions
      of the genome containing ORF M3 and ORF M9, as well as the known lytic-cycle
      genes. However, transcription of ORF M2, ORF M11, gene 73, and gene 74 was barely
      detectable in lytically infected fibroblasts, consistent with a role of these
      viral genes during latent infection. We conclude that (i) we have identified
      several candidate latency genes of murine gammaHV68, (ii) expression of genes
      during latency may be different in different organs, consistent with multiple
      latency programs and/or multiple cellular sites of latency, and (iii) regions of
      the viral genome (v-bcl-2 gene, v-GCR gene, and gene 73) are transcribed during
      latency with both gammaHV68 and primate gammaherpesviruses. The implications of
      these findings for replacing previous operational definitions of gammaHV68
      latency with a molecular definition are discussed.

PMID- 9971816
TI  - Comparison of the transcription and replication strategies of marburg virus and
      Ebola virus by using artificial replication systems.
AB  - The members of the family Filoviridae, Marburg virus (MBGV) and Ebola virus
      (EBOV), are very similar in terms of morphology, genome organization, and protein
      composition. To compare the replication and transcription strategies of both
      viruses, an artificial replication system based on the vaccinia virus T7
      expression system was established for EBOV. Specific transcription and
      replication of an artificial monocistronic minireplicon was demonstrated by
      reporter gene expression and detection of the transcribed and replicated RNA
      species. As it was shown previously for MBGV, three of the four EBOV nucleocapsid
      proteins, NP, VP35, and L, were essential and sufficient for replication. In
      contrast to MBGV, EBOV-specific transcription was dependent on the presence of
      the fourth nucleocapsid protein, VP30. When EBOV VP30 was replaced by MBGV VP30,
      EBOV-specific transcription was observed but with lower efficiency. Exchange of
      NP, VP35, and L between the two replication systems did not lead to detectable
      reporter gene expression. It was further observed that neither MBGV nor EBOV were
      able to replicate the heterologous minigenomes. A chimeric minigenome, however,
      containing the EBOV leader and the MBGV trailer was encapsidated, replicated,
      transcribed, and packaged by both viruses.

PMID- 9971817
TI  - Primary human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) isolates, like HIV-1
      isolates, frequently use CCR5 but show promiscuity in coreceptor usage.
AB  - Coreceptor usage of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates
      varies according to biological phenotype. The chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4
      are the major coreceptors that, together with CD4, govern HIV-1 entry into cells.
      Since CXCR4 usage determines the biological phenotype for HIV-1 isolates and is
      more frequent in patients with immunodeficiency, it may serve as a marker for
      viral virulence. This possibility prompted us to study coreceptor usage by HIV-2,
      known to be less pathogenic than HIV-1. We tested 11 primary HIV-2 isolates for
      coreceptor usage in human cell lines: U87 glioma cells, stably expressing CD4 and
      the chemokine receptor CCR1, CCR2b, CCR3, CCR5, or CXCR4, and GHOST(3)
      osteosarcoma cells, coexpressing CD4 and CCR5, CXCR4, or the orphan receptor
      Bonzo or BOB. The indicator cells were infected by cocultivation with virus
      producing peripheral blood mononuclear cells and by cell-free virus. Our results
      show that 10 of 11 HIV-2 isolates were able to efficiently use CCR5. In contrast,
      only two isolates, both from patients with advanced disease, used CXCR4
      efficiently. These two isolates also promptly induced syncytia in MT-2 cells, a
      pattern described for HIV-1 isolates that use CXCR4. Unlike HIV-1, many of the
      HIV-2 isolates were promiscuous in their coreceptor usage in that they were able
      to use, apart from CCR5, one or more of the CCR1, CCR2b, CCR3, and BOB
      coreceptors. Another difference between HIV-1 and HIV-2 was that the ability to
      replicate in MT-2 cells appeared to be a general property of HIV-2 isolates.
      Based on BOB mRNA expression in MT-2 cells and the ability of our panel of HIV-2
      isolates to use BOB, we suggest that HIV-2 can use BOB when entering MT-2 cells.
      The results indicate no obvious link between viral virulence and the ability to
      use a multitude of coreceptors.

PMID- 9971819
TI  - Alterations to both the primary and predicted secondary structure of stem-loop
      IIIc of the hepatitis C virus 1b 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) lead to mutants
      severely defective in translation which cannot be complemented in trans by the
      wild-type 5'UTR sequence.
AB  - Cap-independent translation of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genomic RNA is
      mediated by an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) within the 5' untranslated
      region (5'UTR) of the virus RNA. To investigate the effects of alterations to the
      primary sequence of the 5'UTR on IRES activity, a series of HCV genotype 1b (HCV
      1b) variant IRES elements was generated and cloned into a bicistronic reporter
      construct. Changes from the prototypic HCV-1b 5'UTR sequence were identified at
      various locations throughout the 5'UTR. The translation efficiencies of these
      IRES elements were examined by an in vivo transient expression assay in
      transfected BHK-21 cells and were found to range from 0.4 to 95.8% of the
      activity of the prototype HCV-1b IRES. Further mutational analysis of the three
      single-point mutants most severely defective in activity, whose mutations were
      all located in or near stem-loop IIIc, demonstrated that both the primary
      sequence and the maintenance of base pairing within this stem structure were
      critical for HCV IRES function. Complementation studies indicated that defective
      mutants containing either point mutations or major deletions within the IRES
      elements could not be complemented in trans by a wild-type IRES.

PMID- 9971820
TI  - Identification of an active reverse transcriptase enzyme encoded by a human
      endogenous HERV-K retrovirus.
AB  - Of the numerous endogenous retroviral elements that are present in the human
      genome, the abundant HERV-K family is distinct because several members are
      transcriptionally active and coding for biologically active proteins. A detailed
      phylogeny of the HERV-K family based on the partial sequence of the reverse
      transcriptase (RT) gene revealed a high incidence of an intact RT open reading
      frame within the HML-2 subgroup of HERV-K elements. In this study, we report the
      cloning of six full-length HML-2 RT genes, of which five contain an uninterrupted
      open reading frame. The RT enzymes were expressed as glutathione S-transferase
      fusion proteins in Escherichia coli, and several HERV-K RT enzymes demonstrated
      polymerase as well as RNase H activity. Several biochemical properties of the RT
      polymerase were analyzed, including the template requirements and optimal
      reaction conditions (temperature, type of divalent cation). Inspection of the
      nucleotide sequence of the HERV-K RT genes demonstrated a mosaic structure,
      suggesting that a high level of genetic recombination has occurred in this virus
      family, which is a hallmark of replication by means of reverse transcription. The
      selective pressure to maintain the RT coding potential is illustrated by the
      sequence of a particular HERV-K isolate that contains three 1-nucleotide
      deletions within a small RT segment, thus maintaining the open reading frame.
      These combined results may suggest that these endogenous RT enzymes still have a
      biological function. It is possible that the RT activity was involved in the
      spread of this major class of retroelements by retrotransposition, and in fact it
      cannot be excluded that this retrovirus group is still mobile. The endogenous RT
      activity may also have been involved in the shaping of the human genome, e.g., by
      formation of pseudogenes.

PMID- 9971818
TI  - V3 recombinants indicate a central role for CCR5 as a coreceptor in tissue
      infection by human immunodeficiency virus type 1.
AB  - Binding of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein
      gp120 to both CD4 and one of several chemokine receptors (coreceptors) permits
      entry of virus into target cells. Infection of tissues may establish latent viral
      reservoirs as well as cause direct pathologic effects that manifest as clinical
      disease such as HIV-associated dementia. We sought to identify the critical
      coreceptors recognized by HIV-1 tissue-derived strains as well as to correlate
      these coreceptor preferences with site of infection and dementia diagnosis. To
      reconstitute coreceptor use, we cloned HIV-1 envelope V3 sequences encoding the
      primary determinants of coreceptor specificity from 13 brain-derived and 6 colon
      derived viruses into an isogenic (NL4-3) viral background. All V3 recombinants
      utilized the chemokine receptor CCR5 uniformly and efficiently as a coreceptor
      but not CXCR4, BOB/GPR15, or Bonzo/STRL33. Other receptors such as CCR3, CCR8,
      and US28 were inefficiently and variably used as coreceptors by various
      envelopes. CCR5 without CD4 present did not allow for detectable infection by any
      of the tested recombinants. In contrast to the pathogenic switch in coreceptor
      specificity frequently observed in comparisons of blood-derived viruses early
      after HIV-1 seroconversion and after onset of AIDS, the characteristics of these
      V3 recombinants suggest that CCR5 is a primary coreceptor for brain- and colon
      derived viruses regardless of tissue source or diagnosis of dementia. Therefore,
      tissue infection may not depend significantly on viral envelope quasispeciation
      to broaden coreceptor range but rather selects for CCR5 use throughout disease
      progression.

PMID- 9971821
TI  - Myxoma virus encodes an alpha2,3-sialyltransferase that enhances virulence.
AB  - A 4.7-kb region of DNA sequence contained at the right end of the myxoma virus
      EcoRI-G2 fragment located 24 kb from the right end of the 163-kb genome has been
      determined. This region of the myxoma virus genome encodes homologs of the
      vaccinia virus genes A51R, A52R, A55R, A56R, and B1R; the myxoma virus gene
      equivalents have been given the prefix M. The MA55 gene encodes a protein
      belonging to the kelch family of actin-binding proteins, while the MA56 gene
      encodes a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily related to a variety of
      cellular receptors and adhesion molecules. A novel myxoma virus early gene,
      MST3N, is a member of the eukaryotic sialyltransferase gene family located
      between genes MA51 and MA52. Detergent lysates prepared from myxoma virus
      infected cell cultures contained a virally encoded sialyltransferase activity
      that catalyzed the transfer of sialic acid (Sia) from CMP-Sia to an asialofetuin
      glycoprotein acceptor. Analysis of the in vitro-sialylated glycoprotein acceptor
      by digestion with N-glycosidase F and by lectin binding suggested that the MST3N
      gene encodes an enzyme with Galbeta1,3(4)GlcNAc alpha2,3-sialyltransferase
      specificity for the N-linked oligosaccharide of glycoprotein. Lectin binding
      assays demonstrated that alpha2,3-sialyltransferase activity is expressed by
      several known leporipoxviruses that naturally infect Sylvilagus rabbits. The
      sialyltransferase is nonessential for myxoma virus replication in cell culture;
      however, disruption of the MST3N gene caused attenuation in vivo. The possible
      implications of the myxoma virus-expressed sialyltransferase in terms of the
      host's defenses against infection are discussed.

PMID- 9971822
TI  - U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein and splicing inhibition by the rous sarcoma
      virus negative regulator of splicing element.
AB  - Retroviruses require both spliced and unspliced RNA for replication. Accumulation
      of unspliced Rous sarcoma virus RNA is facilitated in part by a negative cis
      element in the gag region, termed the negative regulator of splicing (NRS), which
      serves to repress splicing of viral RNA but can also block splicing of
      heterologous introns. The NRS binds components of the splicing machinery
      including SR proteins, U1 and U2, small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) of
      the major splicing pathway, and U11 snRNP of the minor pathway, yet splicing does
      not normally occur from the NRS. A mutation that abolishes U11 binding (RG11)
      also abrogates NRS splicing inhibition, indicating that U11 is functionally
      important for NRS activity and suggesting that the NRS is recognized as a minor
      class 5' splice site (5' ss). We show here, using specific NRS mutations to
      disrupt U11 binding and coexpression of U11 snRNA genes harboring compensatory
      mutations, that the NRS U11 site is functional when paired with a minor-class 3'
      ss from the human P120 gene. Surprisingly, the expectation that the same NRS
      mutants would be defective for splicing inhibition proved false; splicing
      inhibition was as good as, if not better than, that for the wild-type NRS.
      Comparison of these new mutations with RG11 indicated that the latter may disrupt
      binding of a factor(s) other than U11. Our data suggest that this factor is U1
      snRNP and that a U1 binding site that overlaps the U11 site is also disrupted by
      RG11. Analysis of mutations which selectively disrupted U1 or U11 binding
      indicated that splicing inhibition by the NRS correlates most strongly with U1
      snRNP. Additionally, we show that U1 binding is facilitated by SR proteins that
      bind to the 5' half of the NRS, confirming an earlier proposal that this region
      is involved in recruiting snRNPs to the NRS. These data indicate a functional
      role for U1 in NRS-mediated splicing inhibition.

PMID- 9971823
TI  - Interaction between the negative regulator of splicing element and a 3' splice
      site: requirement for U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein and the 3' splice site
      branch point/pyrimidine tract.
AB  - The negative regulator of splicing (NRS) from Rous sarcoma virus suppresses viral
      RNA splicing and is one of several cis elements that account for the accumulation
      of large amounts of unspliced RNA for use as gag-pol mRNA and progeny virion
      genomic RNA. The NRS can also inhibit splicing of heterologous introns in vivo
      and in vitro. Previous data showed that the splicing factors SF2/ASF and U1, U2,
      and U11 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) bind the NRS, and a correlation
      was established between SF2/ASF and U11 binding and activity, suggesting that
      these factors are important for function. These observations, and the finding
      that a large spliceosome-like complex (NRS-C) assembles on NRS RNA in nuclear
      extract, led to the proposal that the NRS is recognized as a minor-class 5'
      splice site. One model to explain NRS splicing inhibition holds that the NRS
      interacts nonproductively with and sequesters U2-dependent 3' splice sites. In
      this study, we provide evidence that the NRS interacts with an adenovirus 3'
      splice site. The interaction was dependent on the integrity of the branch point
      and pyrimidine tract of the 3' splice site, and it was sensitive to a mutation
      that was previously shown to abolish U11 snRNP binding and NRS function. However,
      further mutational analyses of NRS sequences have identified a U1 binding site
      that overlaps the U11 site, and the interaction with the 3' splice site
      correlated with U1, not U11, binding. These results show that the NRS can
      interact with a 3' splice site and suggest that U1 is of primary importance for
      NRS splicing inhibition.

PMID- 9971824
TI  - Interleukin-18 protects mice against acute herpes simplex virus type 1 infection.
AB  - We examined the effects of interleukin-18 (IL-18) in a mouse model of acute
      intraperitoneal infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Four days of
      treatment with IL-18 (from 2 days before infection to 1 day after infection)
      improved the survival rate of BALB/c, BALB/c nude, and BALB/c SCID mice,
      suggesting innate immunity. One day after infection, HSV-1 titers were higher in
      the peritoneal washing fluid of control BALB/c mice than in that of IL-18-treated
      mice. A genetic deficiency of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), however, diminished
      the survival rate and the inhibition of HSV-1 growth at the injection site in the
      mice. Anti-asialo GM1 treatment had no influence on the protective effect of IL
      18 in infected mice. IL-18 augmented IFN-gamma release in vitro by peritoneal
      cells from uninfected mice, while no appreciable IFN-gamma production was found
      in uninfected mice administered IL-18. Although IFN-gamma has the ability to
      induce nitric oxide (NO) production by various types of cells, administration of
      the NO synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-L-arginine resulted in superficial loss
      of the improved survival, but there was no influence on the inhibition of HSV-1
      replication at the injection site in IL-18-treated mice. Based on these results,
      we propose that IFN-gamma produced before HSV-1 infection plays a key role as one
      of the IL-18-promoted protection mechanisms and that neither NK cells nor NO
      plays this role.

PMID- 9971825
TI  - In vivo addition of poly(A) tail and AU-rich sequences to the 3' terminus of the
      Sindbis virus RNA genome: a novel 3'-end repair pathway.
AB  - Alphaviruses are mosquito-transmitted RNA viruses that cause important diseases
      in both humans and livestock. Sindbis virus (SIN), the type species of the
      alphavirus genus, carries a 11.7-kb positive-sense RNA genome which is capped at
      its 5' end and polyadenylated at its 3' end. The 3' nontranslated region (3'NTR)
      of the SIN genome carries many AU-rich motifs, including a 19-nucleotide (nt)
      conserved element (3'CSE) and a poly(A) tail. This 3'CSE and the adjoining
      poly(A) tail are believed to regulate the synthesis of negative-sense RNA and
      genome replication in vivo. We have recently demonstrated that the SIN genome
      lacking the poly(A) tail was infectious and that de novo polyadenylation could
      occur in vivo (K. R. Hill, M. Hajjou, J. Hu, and R. Raju, J. Virol. 71:2693-2704,
      1997). Here, we demonstrate that the 3'-terminal 29-nt region of the SIN genome
      carries a signal for possible cytoplasmic polyadenylation. To further investigate
      the polyadenylation signals within the 3'NTR, we generated a battery of mutant
      genomes with mutations in the 3'NTR and tested their ability to generate
      infectious virus and undergo 3' polyadenylation in vivo. Engineered SIN genomes
      with terminal deletions within the 19-nt 3'CSE were infectious and regained their
      poly(A) tail. Also, a SIN genome carrying the poly(A) tail but lacking a part or
      the entire 19-nt 3'CSE was also infectious. Sequence analysis of viruses
      generated from these engineered SIN genomes demonstrated the addition of a
      variety of AU-rich sequence motifs just adjacent to the poly(A) tail. The
      addition of AU-rich motifs to the mutant SIN genomes appears to require the
      presence of a significant portion of the 3'NTR. These results indicate the
      ability of alphavirus RNAs to undergo 3' repair and the existence of a pathway
      for the addition of AU-rich sequences and a poly(A) tail to their 3' end in the
      infected host cell. Most importantly, these results indicate the ability of
      alphavirus replication machinery to use a multitude of AU-rich RNA sequences
      abutted by a poly(A) motif as promoters for negative-sense RNA synthesis and
      genome replication in vivo. The possible roles of cytoplasmic polyadenylation
      machinery, terminal transferase-like enzymes, and the viral polymerase in the
      terminal repair processes are discussed.

PMID- 9971826
TI  - Hybrid frequencies confirm limit to coinfection in the RNA bacteriophage phi6.
AB  - Coinfection of the same host cell by multiple viruses may lead to increased
      competition for limited cellular resources, thus reducing the fitness of an
      individual virus. Selection should favor viruses that can limit or prevent
      coinfection, and it is not surprising that many viruses have evolved mechanisms
      to do so. Here we explore whether coinfection is limited in the RNA bacteriophage
      phi6 that infects Pseudomonas phaseolicola. We estimated the limit to coinfection
      in phi6 by comparing the frequency of hybrids produced by two marked phage
      strains to that predicted by a mathematical model based on differing limits to
      coinfection. Our results provide an alternative method for estimating the limit
      to coinfection and confirm a previous estimate between two to three phages per
      host cell. In addition, our data reveal that the rate of coinfection at low phage
      densities may exceed that expected through random Poisson sampling. We discuss
      whether phage phi6 has evolved an optimal limit that balances the costly and
      beneficial fitness effects associated with multiple infections.

PMID- 9971827
TI  - Mutant influenza viruses with a defective NS1 protein cannot block the activation
      of PKR in infected cells.
AB  - A short model genome RNA and also the genome RNA of influenza A virus bearing
      both 5'- and 3'-terminal common sequences activated the interferon-induced double
      stranded-RNA-dependent protein kinase, PKR, by stimulating autophosphorylation in
      vitro. The activated PKR catalyzed phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of
      eucaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha). The NS1 protein
      efficiently eliminated the PKR-activating activity of these RNAs by binding to
      them. Two mutant NS1 proteins, each harboring a single amino acid substitution at
      different regions, exhibited temperature sensitivity in their RNA binding
      activity in the mutant virus-infected cell lysates as well as when they were
      prepared as fusion proteins expressed in bacteria. The virus strains carrying
      these mutant NS1 proteins exhibited temperature sensitivity in virus protein
      synthesis at the translational level, as reported previously, and could not
      repress the autophosphorylation of PKR developing during the virus growth, which
      is normally suppressed by a viral function(s). As a result, the level of
      eIF2alpha phosphorylation was elevated 2.5- to 3-fold. The defect in virus
      protein synthesis was well correlated with the level of phosphorylation of PKR
      and eIF2alpha.

PMID- 9971828
TI  - Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced preleukemic thymic atrophy and enhanced
      thymocyte apoptosis correlate with disease pathogenicity.
AB  - Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) is a replication-competent, simple
      retrovirus that induces T-cell lymphoma with a mean latency of 3 to 4 months.
      During the preleukemic period (4 to 10 weeks postinoculation) a marked decrease
      in thymic size is apparent for M-MuLV-inoculated mice in comparison to age
      matched uninoculated mice. We were interested in studying whether the thymic
      regression was due to an increased rate of thymocyte apoptosis in the thymi of M
      MuLV-inoculated mice. Neonatal NIH/Swiss mice were inoculated subcutaneously
      (s.c.) with wild-type M-MuLV (approximately 10(5) XC PFU). Mice were sacrificed
      at 4 to 11 weeks postinoculation. Thymic single-cell suspensions were prepared
      and tested for apoptosis by two-parameter flow cytometry. Indications of
      apoptosis included changes in cell size and staining with 7-aminoactinomycin D or
      annexin V. The levels of thymocyte apoptosis were significantly higher in M-MuLV
      inoculated mice than in uninoculated control animals, and the levels of apoptosis
      were correlated with thymic atrophy. To test the relevance of enhanced thymocyte
      apoptosis to leukemogenesis, mice were inoculated with the Mo+PyF101 enhancer
      variant of M-MuLV. When inoculated intraperitoneally, a route that results in
      wild-type M-MuLV leukemogenesis, mice displayed levels of enhanced thymocyte
      apoptosis comparable to those seen with wild-type M-MuLV. However, in mice
      inoculated s.c., a route that results in attenuated leukemogenesis, significantly
      lower levels of apoptosis were observed. This supported a role for higher levels
      of thymocyte apoptosis in M-MuLV leukemogenesis. To examine the possible role of
      mink cell focus-forming (MCF) recombinant virus in raising levels of thymocyte
      apoptosis, MCF-specific focal immunofluorescence assays were performed on
      thymocytes from preleukemic mice inoculated with M-MuLV and Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV. The
      results indicated that infection of thymocytes by MCF virus recombinants is not
      required for the increased level of apoptosis and thymic atrophy.

PMID- 9971829
TI  - Interclass transmission and phyletic host tracking in murine leukemia virus
      related retroviruses.
AB  - Retroviruses are capable of infectious horizontal transmission between hosts,
      usually between individuals within a single species, although a number of
      probable zoonotic infections resulting from transmission between different
      species of placental mammals have also been reported. Despite these data, it
      remains unclear how often interspecies transmission events occur or whether their
      frequency is influenced by the evolutionary distance between host taxa. To
      address this problem we used PCR to amplify and characterize endogenous
      retroviruses related to the murine leukemia viruses. We show that members of this
      retroviral genus are harbored by considerably more organisms than previously
      thought and that phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that viruses isolated from a
      particular host class generally cluster together, suggesting that infectious
      virus horizontal transfer between vertebrate classes occurs only rarely. However,
      two recent instances of transmission of zoonotic infections between distantly
      related host organisms were identified. One, from mammals to birds, has led to a
      rapid adaptive radiation into other avian hosts. The other, between placental and
      marsupial mammals, involves viruses clustering with recently described porcine
      retroviruses, adding to concerns regarding the xenotransplantation of pig organs
      to humans.

PMID- 9971830
TI  - CCR2-64I polymorphism is not associated with altered CCR5 expression or
      coreceptor function.
AB  - A polymorphism in the gene encoding CCR2 is associated with a delay in
      progression to AIDS in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals.
      The polymorphism, CCR2-64I, changes valine 64 of CCR2 to isoleucine. However, it
      is not clear whether the effect on AIDS progression results from the amino acid
      change or whether the polymorphism marks a genetically linked, yet unidentified
      mutation that mediates the effect. Because the gene encoding CCR5, the major
      coreceptor for HIV type 1 primary isolates, lies 15 kb 3' to CCR2, linked
      mutations in the CCR5 promoter or other regulatory sequences could explain the
      association of CCR2-64I with slowed AIDS pathogenesis. Here, we show that CCR2
      64I is efficiently expressed on the cell surface but does not have dominant
      negative activity on CCR5 coreceptor function. A panel of peripheral blood
      mononuclear cells (PBMC) from uninfected donors representing the various
      CCR5/CCR2 genotypes was assembled. Activated primary CD4(+) T cells of CCR2
      64I/64I donors expressed cell surface CCR5 at levels comparable to those of CCR2
      +/+ donors. A slight reduction in CCR5 expression was noted, although this was
      not statistically significant. CCR5 and CCR2 mRNA levels were nearly identical
      for each of the donor PBMC, regardless of genotype. Cell surface CCR5 and CCR2
      levels were more variable than mRNA transcript levels, suggesting that an
      alternative mechanism may influence CCR5 cell surface levels. CCR2-64I is linked
      to the CCR5 promoter polymorphisms 208G, 303A, 627C, and 676A; however, in
      transfected promoter reporter constructs, these did not affect transcriptional
      activity. Taken together, these findings suggest that CCR2-64I does not act by
      influencing CCR5 transcription or mRNA levels.

PMID- 9971831
TI  - In vivo and in vitro analysis of baculovirus ie-2 mutants.
AB  - Upon transient expression in cell culture, the ie-2 gene of Autographa
      californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) displays three functions: trans
      activation of viral promoters, direct or indirect stimulation of virus origin
      specific DNA replication, and arrest of the cell cycle. The ability of IE2 to
      trans stimulate DNA replication and coupled late gene expression is observed in a
      cell line derived from Spodoptera frugiperda but not in a cell line derived from
      Trichoplusia ni. This finding suggested that IE-2 may exert cell line-specific or
      host-specific effects. To examine the role of ie-2 in the context of infection
      and its possible influence on the host range, we constructed recombinants of
      AcMNPV containing deletions of different functional regions within ie-2 and
      characterized them in cell lines and larvae of S. frugiperda and T. ni. The ie-2
      mutant viruses exhibited delays in viral DNA synthesis, late gene expression,
      budded virus production, and occlusion body formation in SF-21 cells but not in
      TN-5B1-4 cells. In TN-5B1-4 cells, the ie-2 mutants produced more budded virus
      and fewer occlusion bodies but the infection proceeded without delay. Examination
      of the effects of ie-2 and the respective mutants on immediate-early viral
      promoters in transient expression assays revealed striking differences in the
      relative levels of expression and differences in responses to ie-2 and its mutant
      forms in different cell lines. In T. ni and S. frugiperda larvae, the
      infectivities of the occluded form of ie-2 mutant viruses by the normal oral
      route of infection was 100- and 1,000-fold lower, respectively, than that of wild
      type AcMNPV. The reduction in oral infectivity was traced to the absence of
      virions within the occlusion bodies. The infectivity of the budded form of ie-2
      mutants by hemocoelic injection was similar to that of wild-type virus in both
      species. Thus, ie-2 mutants are viable but exhibit cell line-specific effects on
      temporal regulation of the infection process. Due to its effect on virion
      occlusion, mutants of IE-2 were essentially noninfectious by the normal route of
      infection in both species tested. However, since budded viruses exhibited normal
      infectivity upon hemocoelic injection, we conclude that ie-2 does not affect host
      range per se. The possibility that IE-2 exerts tissue-specific effects has not
      been ruled out.

PMID- 9971833
TI  - Characterization of a membrane calcium pathway induced by rotavirus infection in
      cultured cells.
AB  - Some viruses induce changes in membrane permeability during infection. We have
      shown previously that the porcine strain of rotavirus, OSU, induced an increase
      in the permeability to Na+, K+, and Ca2+ during replication in MA104 cells. In
      this work, we have characterized the divalent cation entry pathway by measuring
      intracellular Ca2+ in fura-2-loaded MA104 and HT29 cells in suspension. The
      permeability to Ca2+ and other cations was evaluated by the change of the
      intracellular concentration following an extracellular cation pulse. Rotavirus
      infection induced an increase in permeability to Ca2+, Ba2+, Sr2+, Mn2+, and
      Co2+. The rate of cation entry decreased over time as the intracellular
      concentration increased during the first 20 s. This indicates that regulatory
      mechanisms, including channel inactivation, are triggered. La3+ did not enter the
      cell and blocked the entry of the divalent cations in a dose-dependent manner.
      Metoxyverapamil (D600), a blocker of L-type voltage-gated channels, partially
      inhibited the entry of Ca2+ in virus-infected MA104 and HT29 cells. The results
      suggest that rotavirus infection of cultured cells activates a cation channel
      rather than nonspecific permeation through the plasma membrane. This activation
      involves the synthesis of viral proteins through mechanisms yet unknown. The
      increase in intracellular Ca2+ induced by the activation of this channel may be
      related to the increase in cytoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pools
      required for virus maturation and cell death.

PMID- 9971832
TI  - A conserved tryptophan-rich motif in the membrane-proximal region of the human
      immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 ectodomain is important for Env-mediated
      fusion and virus infectivity.
AB  - Mutations were introduced into the ectodomain of the human immunodeficiency virus
      type 1 (HIV-1) transmembrane envelope glycoprotein, gp41, within a region
      immediately adjacent to the membrane-spanning domain. This region, which is
      predicted to form an alpha-helix, contains highly conserved hydrophobic residues
      and is unusually rich in tryptophan residues. In addition, this domain overlaps
      the epitope of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody, 2F5, as well as the sequence
      corresponding to a peptide, DP-178, shown to potently neutralize virus. Site
      directed mutagenesis was used to create deletions, substitutions, and insertions
      centered around a stretch of 17 hydrophobic and uncharged amino acids (residues
      666 to 682 of the HXB2 strain of HIV-1) in order to determine the role of this
      region in the maturation and function of the envelope glycoprotein. Deletion of
      the entire stretch of 17 amino acids abrogated the ability of the envelope
      glycoprotein to mediate both cell-cell fusion and virus entry without affecting
      the normal maturation, transport, or CD4-binding ability of the protein. This
      phenotype was also demonstrated by substituting alanine residues for three of the
      five tryptophan residues within this sequence. Smaller deletions, as well as
      multiple amino acid substitutions, were also found to inhibit but not block cell
      cell fusion. These results demonstrate the crucial role of a tryptophan-rich
      motif in gp41 during a post-CD4-binding step of glycoprotein-mediated fusion. The
      basis for the invariant nature of the tryptophans, however, appears to be at the
      level of glycoprotein incorporation into virions. Even the substitution of
      phenylalanine for a single tryptophan residue was sufficient to reduce Env
      incorporation and drop the efficiency of virus entry approximately 10-fold,
      despite the fact that the same mutation had no significant effect on syncytium
      formation.

PMID- 9971834
TI  - Productive infection of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by feline
      immunodeficiency virus: implications for vector development.
AB  - Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus causing immune suppression
      and neurological disease in cats. Like primate lentiviruses, FIV utilizes the
      chemokine receptor CXCR4 for infection. In addition, FIV gene expression has been
      demonstrated in immortalized human cell lines. To investigate the extent and
      mechanism by which FIV infected primary and immortalized human cell lines, we
      compared the infectivity of two FIV strains, V1CSF and Petaluma, after cell-free
      infection. FIV genome was detected in infected human peripheral blood mononuclear
      cells (PBMC) and macrophages at 21 and 14 days postinfection, respectively. Flow
      cytometry analysis of FIV-infected human PBMC indicated that antibodies to FIV
      p24 recognized 12% of the cells. Antibodies binding the CCR3 chemokine receptor
      maximally inhibited infection of human PBMC by both FIV strains compared to
      antibodies to CXCR4 or CCR5. Reverse transcriptase levels increased in FIV
      infected human PBMC, with detection of viral titers of 10(1.3) to 10(2.1) 50%
      tissue culture infective doses/10(6) cells depending on the FIV strain examined.
      Cell death in human PBMC infected with either FIV strain was significantly
      elevated relative to uninfected control cultures. These findings indicate that
      FIV can productively infect primary human cell lines and that viral strain
      specificity should be considered in the development of an FIV vector for gene
      therapy.

PMID- 9971836
TI  - Moloney murine leukemia virus infects cells of the developing hair follicle after
      neonatal subcutaneous inoculation in mice.
AB  - The nature of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) infection after a
      subcutaneous (s.c.) inoculation was studied. We have previously shown that an
      enhancer variant of M-MuLV, Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV, is poorly leukemogenic when used to
      inoculate mice s.c., but not when inoculated intraperitoneally. This attenuation
      of leukemogenesis correlated with an inability of Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV to establish
      infection in the bone marrow of mice at early times postinfection. These results
      suggested that a cell type(s) is infected in the skin by wild-type but not
      Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV after s.c. inoculation and that this infection is important for
      the delivery of infection to the bone marrow, as well as for efficient
      leukemogenesis. To determine the nature of the cell types infected by M-MuLV and
      Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV in the skin after a s.c. inoculation, immunohistochemistry with
      an anti-M-MuLV CA antibody was performed. Cells of developing hair follicles,
      specifically cells of the outer root sheath (ORS), were extensively infected by M
      MuLV after s.c. inoculation. The Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV variant also infected cells of
      the ORS but the level of infection was lower. By Western blot analysis, the level
      of infection in skin by Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV was approximately 4- to 10-fold less
      than that of wild-type M-MuLV. Similar results were seen when a mouse
      keratinocyte line was infected in vitro with both viruses. Cells of the ORS are a
      primary target of infection in vivo, since a replication defective M-MuLV-based
      vector expressing beta-galactosidase also infected these cells after a s.c.
      inoculation.

PMID- 9971835
TI  - Functional domains of Tat required for efficient human immunodeficiency virus
      type 1 reverse transcription.
AB  - Tat expression is required for efficient human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV
      1) reverse transcription. In the present study, we generated a series of 293 cell
      lines that contained a provirus with a tat gene deletion (Deltatat). Cell lines
      that contained Deltatat and stably transfected vectors containing either wild
      type tat or a number of tat mutants were obtained so that the abilities of these
      tat genes to stimulate HIV-1 gene expression and reverse transcription could be
      compared. tat genes with mutations in the amino terminus did not stimulate either
      viral gene expression or HIV-1 reverse transcription. In contrast, tat mutants in
      the activation, core, and basic domains of Tat did not stimulate HIV-1 gene
      expression but markedly stimulated HIV-1 reverse transcription. No differences in
      the levels of virion genomic RNA or tRNA3Lys were seen in the HIV-1 Deltatat
      viruses complemented with either mutant or wild-type tat. Finally, overexpression
      of the Tat-associated kinases CDK7 and CDK9, which are involved in Tat activation
      of HIV-1 transcription, was not able to complement the reverse transcription
      defects associated with the lack of a functional tat gene. These results indicate
      that the mechanism by which tat modulates HIV-1 reverse transcription is distinct
      from its ability to activate HIV-1 gene expression.

PMID- 9971837
TI  - Development of animal models for adeno-associated virus site-specific
      integration.
AB  - The adeno-associated virus (AAV) is unique in its ability to target viral DNA
      integration to a defined region of human chromosome 19 (AAVS1). Since AAVS1
      sequences are not conserved in a rodent's genome, no animal model is currently
      available to study AAV-mediated site-specific integration. We describe here the
      generation of transgenic rats and mice that carry the AAVS1 3.5-kb DNA fragment.
      To test the response of the transgenic animals to Rep-mediated targeting, primary
      cultures of mouse fibroblasts, rat hepatocytes, and fibroblasts were infected
      with wild-type wt AAV. PCR amplification of the inverted terminal repeat (ITR)
      AAVS1 junction revealed that the AAV genome integrated into the AAVS1 site in
      fibroblasts and hepatocytes. Integration in rat fibroblasts was also observed
      upon transfection of a plasmid containing the rep gene under the control of the
      p5 and p19 promoters and a dicistronic cassette carrying the green fluorescent
      protein (GFP) and neomycin (neo) resistance gene between the ITRs of AAV. The
      localization of the GFP-Neo sequence in the AAVS1 region was determined by
      Southern blot and FISH analysis. Lastly, AAV genomic DNA integration into the
      AAVS1 site in vivo was assessed by virus injection into the quadriceps muscle of
      transgenic rats and mice. Rep-mediated targeting to the AAVS1 site was detected
      in several injected animals. These results indicate that the transgenic lines are
      proficient for Rep-mediated targeting. These animals should allow further
      characterization of the molecular aspects of site-specific integration and
      testing of the efficacy of targeted integration of AAV recombinant vectors
      designed for human gene therapy.

PMID- 9971838
TI  - A role for perforin in downregulating T-cell responses during chronic viral
      infection.
AB  - Cytotoxic T cells secrete perforin to kill virus-infected cells. In this study we
      show that perforin also plays a role in immune regulation. Perforin-deficient
      (perf -/-) mice chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
      (LCMV) contained greater numbers of antiviral T cells compared to persistently
      infected +/+ mice. The enhanced expansion was seen in both CD4 and CD8 T cells,
      but the most striking difference was in the numbers of LCMV-specific CD8 T cells
      present in infected perf -/- mice. Persistent LCMV infection of +/+ mice results
      in both deletion and anergy of antigen-specific CD8 T cells, and our results show
      that this peripheral "exhaustion" of activated CD8 T cells occurred less
      efficiently in perf -/- mice. This excessive accumulation of activated CD8 T
      cells resulted in immune-mediated damage in persistently infected perf -/- mice;
      approximately 50% of these mice died within 2 to 4 weeks, and mortality was fully
      reversed by in vivo depletion of CD8 T cells. This finding highlights an
      interesting dichotomy between the role of perforin in viral clearance and
      immunopathology; perforin-deficient CD8 T cells were unable to clear the LCMV
      infection but were capable of causing immune-mediated damage. Finally, this study
      shows that perforin also plays a role in regulating T-cell-mediated autoimmunity.
      Mice that were deficient in both perforin and Fas exhibited a striking
      acceleration of the spontaneous lymphoproliferative disease seen in Fas-deficient
      (lpr) mice. Taken together, these results show that the perforin-mediated pathway
      is involved in downregulating T-cell responses during chronic viral infection and
      autoimmunity and that perforin and Fas act independently as negative regulators
      of activated T cells.

PMID- 9971839
TI  - Group D adenoviruses infect primary central nervous system cells more efficiently
      than those from group C.
AB  - Group C adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to central nervous system cells is
      inefficient. We found that wild-type group D viruses, or recombinant adenovirus
      type 2 (Ad2) (group C) modified to contain Ad17 (group D) fiber, were more
      efficient in infecting primary cultures of neurons. Together with studies on
      primary vascular endothelial cells and tissue culture cell lines, our results
      indicate that there is not a universally applicable adenovirus serotype for use
      as a gene transfer vector.

PMID- 9971840
TI  - Effect of immune priming on Borna disease.
AB  - Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic virus with a broad host and geographic
      range. Lewis rats were immunized against BDV with a recombinant vaccinia virus
      expressing the BDV nucleoprotein and were later infected with BDV to evaluate
      protection against Borna disease (BD). Relative to animals that were not
      immunized, immunized animals had a decreased viral burden after challenge with
      infectious virus, more marked inflammation, and aggravated clinical disease.
      These data suggest that a more robust immune response in Borna disease can reduce
      viral load at the expense of increased morbidity.

PMID- 9971841
TI  - PrM- and cell-binding domains of the dengue virus E protein.
AB  - The E-prM proteins of flaviviruses are unusual complexes which play important
      roles in virus assembly and fusion modulation and in potential immunity-inducing
      vaccines. Despite their importance, little is known about the biogenesis and
      structural organization of E-prM complexes. Pulse-chase radiolabeling of dengue
      virus-infected Vero cells demonstrated a rapid interassociation of E and prM
      proteins, and sucrose gradient sedimentation analysis suggested that E-prM
      complexes progressed from simple heteromers to more densely sedimenting
      structures indicating increased multimerization. E-prM heteromers of even higher
      complexity were observed in virus particles, suggesting an intracellular assembly
      process which results in the networking of E-prM subunits into a lattice-like
      structure found in virus particles. Trypsin cleavage of E-prM-containing virus
      particles resulted in the release of a soluble 45-kDa fragment of the E protein
      which retained cell-binding activity. The results suggest that E-prM interactions
      in dengue virus particles are largely mediated by domains in the carboxy-terminal
      anchoring domain of E, while cell-binding activity is retained in a trypsin
      releasable ectodomain of the E protein.

PMID- 9971842
TI  - Neoplastic transformation-associated stimulation of the in vitro resolution of
      concatemer junction fragments from minute virus of mice DNA.
AB  - Minute virus of mice (MVM) shows an oncotropic behavior reflected by its ability
      to amplify its genome more efficiently in a number of transformed versus normal
      cells. In vivo and in vitro studies revealed that the major effect of cell
      transformation on MVM DNA replication occurs at the level of double-stranded
      replicative-form amplification. In particular, resolution of MVM DNA concatemers
      into monomers was found to be highly sensitive to neoplastic transformation.

PMID- 9971843
TI  - Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains are
      not essential for coxsackievirus and adenovirus infection.
AB  - Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) from which the cytoplasmic domain
      had been deleted and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored CAR lacking both
      transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains were both capable of facilitating
      adenovirus 5-mediated gene delivery and infection by coxsackievirus B3. These
      results indicate that the CAR extracellular domain is sufficient to permit virus
      attachment and entry and that the presence of a GPI anchor does not prevent
      infection.

PMID- 9971845
TI  - Presidential address: A field of dreams.

PMID- 9971846
TI  - AAGL inappropriate acts policy. American Academy of Gynecologic Laparoscopists.

PMID- 9971844
TI  - Resistance of interleukin-1beta-deficient mice to fatal Sindbis virus
      encephalitis.
AB  - Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) concentrations are frequently elevated in central
      nervous system (CNS) viral infections, but the pathophysiologic significance of
      such elevations is not known. To examine the role of IL-1beta in CNS viral
      pathogenesis, we compared the natural histories of IL-1beta-deficient and wild
      type 129 SV(ev) mice infected with a neurovirulent viral strain, neuroadapted
      Sindbis virus (NSV). We found that the incidence of severe paralysis and death
      was markedly decreased in NSV-infected IL-1beta-/- mice compared to NSV-infected
      wild-type mice (4 versus 88%, P < 0.001). Despite this marked difference in
      clinical outcome, no differences in numbers of apoptotic cells or presence of
      histopathologic lesions in the brains of moribund wild-type mice and those of
      clinically healthy IL-1beta-/- mice could be detected. These results suggest that
      IL-1beta deficiency is protective against fatal Sindbis virus infection by a
      mechanism that does not involve resistance to CNS virus-induced apoptosis or
      histopathology.

PMID- 9971847
TI  - Basic neuroanatomy for understanding pelvic pain.

PMID- 9971848
TI  - Operative management of deep endometriosis infiltrating the uterosacral
      ligaments.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe and assess the efficacy of laparoscopic surgical
      treatment for patients with pain and deep endometriosis located on the
      uterosacral ligaments. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis (Canadian Task Force
      classification II-2). SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: One
      hundred ten consecutive women with deep endometriosis infiltrating uterosacral
      ligaments. INTERVENTION: Operative laparoscopic management of endometriosis.
      MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Improvement was reported in 82.3% (70/85) of
      patients with severe dysmenorrhea and was considered satisfactory in 82.8%
      (58/70). Improvement also occurred in 88.2% (75/85) of women with deep
      dyspareunia, and was considered satisfactory in 88.0% (66/75). CONCLUSION:
      Provided the surgeon is highly skilled in laparoscopy, operative laparoscopy is
      efficient for the treatment of painful symptoms related to deep endometriosis
      infiltrating uterosacral ligaments. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):31-37,
      1999)

PMID- 9971849
TI  - Laparoscopic Burch urethropexy in a private clinical practice.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of laparoscopic Burch urethropexy
      in a private practice setting. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study (Canadian
      Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Private practice. PATIENTS: Fifty-one
      consecutive women with stress urinary incontinence (15 genuine stress urinary
      incontinence, 36 concomitant degrees of pelvic organ prolapse). INTERVENTION:
      Laparoscopic Burch urethropexy was performed with sutures in 36 patients and with
      mesh and staples in 15, in combination with laparoscopic vaginal vault
      suspension, paravaginal repair, laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, and
      other procedures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Intraoperative complications
      occurred in 10% of cases; all were recognized and repaired laparoscopically.
      Operating time ranged from 55 minutes to 3 hours (median 2 hrs 25 min). Forty
      four (86%) surgeries were done on an outpatient basis, five women required an
      overnight stay, and two were admitted. Forty-seven (93%) patients were discharged
      without a catheter; two had urinary retention requiring a catheter for 5 days.
      Follow-up ranged from 12 to 42 months (average 24 mo). Forty-eight women (94%)
      were cured, three (6%) failed therapy, and six (12%) developed de novo detrusor
      instability. CONCLUSION: Burch urethropexy can be performed safely by laparoscopy
      in a private practice setting with success similar to that of open technique.
      Most intraoperative complications can be corrected laparoscopically with no
      increase in morbidity. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):39-44, 1999)

PMID- 9971850
TI  - Interim results of the American Vesta trial of endometrial ablation.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare results of endometrial ablation using the Vesta
      system compared with resection and rollerball. DESIGN: Multicenter, prospective,
      randomized, controlled study (Canadian Task Force classification I). SETTING:
      Private practice and academic center. PATIENTS: Women with menorrhagia documented
      by menstrual diaries who failed or refused hormonal therapy and who had no major
      uterine organic lesions. INTERVENTIONS: Vesta endometrial ablation or traditional
      endometrial resection and rollerball ablation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
      Both groups achieved excellent control of menorrhagia. CONCLUSION: Vesta is an
      attractive alternative to traditional methods of endometrial ablation. (J Am
      Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):45-49, 1999)

PMID- 9971851
TI  - Pain mapping during minilaparoscopy in infertile patients without pathology.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To draw a map of pelvic pain and quantify the level of provoked
      pain during minilaparoscopy under local anesthesia and conscious sedation.
      DESIGN: Observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING:
      University hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty infertile women. INTERVENTIONS:
      Minilaparoscopy was performed under local anesthesia and conscious sedation, and
      cognitive performance was evaluated with the Rey auditory verbal learning task.
      MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The diagnostic procedure was performed with one 2
      mm micrograsper and one 2-mm microprobe to evaluate the pelvis. In particular we
      grasped utero-ovarian ligaments; we touched, grasped, and distended fallopian
      tubes with blue dye; we moved the uterus with a manipulator inserted at the
      cervix; and we touched and grasped bowel and omentum. Level of pain was recorded
      on a visual analog scale. Patients had no pathologic findings, including minimal
      endometriosis and pelvic adhesions. The highest level of pain was recorded when
      we distended the tubes. No pain was elicited when we touched and grasped ovary,
      omentum, and bowel. In 10% of women when we stretched the tubo-ovarian ligament
      we provoked a minimal vagal reaction. CONCLUSION: Minilaparoscopy under conscious
      sedation for pelvic pain mapping in women without pain or pathology revealed
      consistently negative findings, validating the value of this measurement. (J Am
      Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):51-54, 1999)

PMID- 9971852
TI  - Follow-up of laparoscopic treatment of stage III-IV endometriosis.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of conservative laparoscopic surgery in
      a series of patients with stage III-IV endometriosis. DESIGN: Prospective study
      (Canadian Task Force classification II-1). SETTING: University-affiliated
      hospital. PATIENTS: All 141 women who underwent conservative operative
      laparoscopy for stage III-IV endometriosis between January 1993 and December 1996
      and were followed for a minimum of 6 months. INTERVENTIONS: Laparoscopic
      procedures performed with scissors, bipolar coagulation, and hydrodissection.
      MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Clinical examination, transvaginal
      ultrasonography, and pain questionnaire were scheduled every 6 months
      postoperatively. The cumulative proportion of pregnant patients and cumulative
      recurrence rate were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Twenty-five women (44%)
      with infertility became pregnant. Twenty-three (51%) had stage III and two
      (16.7%, p <0.05) had stage IV endometriosis. The 24-month cumulative pregnancy
      rate was 57.5%. Thirty-one women (22%) reported pain recurrence during follow-up.
      Five (3.5%) recurrences were confirmed by histologic examination and eight (5.7%)
      were documented only by clinical and ultrasonographic findings. No recurrence
      occurred in the first 6 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Operative laparoscopy
      seems to be effective treatment for stage III endometriosis. A larger series with
      longer follow-up is necessary to clarify its role in the management of stage IV
      disease. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):55-58, 1999)

PMID- 9971853
TI  - Early experience with laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy in women with
      gynecologic malignancy.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare the results of laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy
      with those of open lymphadenectomy; to assess differences in lymph node yield,
      operating time, and rate of positive nodes based on experience (early and late);
      and to evaluate the clinical course of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy. DESIGN:
      Retrospective case review (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING:
      University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: Sixty-one women with cervical cancer,
      one with vaginal cancer, and one with endometrial cancer. INTERVENTIONS:
      Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy followed by laparotomy or radical vaginal
      hysterectomy was performed in 19 women between 1994 and 1995, and radical
      abdominal hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed in 44 women
      between 1993 and 1995. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS. Mean lymph node yields at
      laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy were significantly increased in the group
      operated during the last 6 months compared with the first 6 months (16.2 +/- 6.8
      vs 33.2 +/- 10. 5, p <0.05). After 6 months' experience, lymph node yields were
      23.9 +/- 10.3 for laparoscopic lymphadenectomy followed by laparotomy and 23.2 +/
      10.2 for laparoscopic lymphadenectomy followed by radical vaginal hysterectomy
      (NS). The rate of positive lymph nodes was not significantly different between
      procedures, 16% and 14%, respectively. Operating time for laparoscopic
      lymphadenectomy was significantly shorter in the last 6 months (143 +/- 34 vs 78
      +/- 18 min, p <0.05). Major complications of the procedure were injury to
      aberrant obturator and iliac veins in two cases in the early period. Average
      blood loss was 150 to 350 ml. Two women died due to disease recurrence at minimum
      of 2.5 years' follow-up; the others were alive without recurrence. CONCLUSION:
      Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy was feasible and safe, and did not compromise
      short-term survival. A learning curve was associated with the procedure, but
      after a period of learning, pelvic lymphadenectomy can be performed as
      effectively by laparoscopy as by laparotomy. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):59
      63, 1999)

PMID- 9971854
TI  - Five-year review of endometrial ablation with the SideFire laser fiber.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine 5-year results of endometrial ablation with the
      SideFire laser fiber. DESIGN: All women seen in private office who were
      candidates for this procedure were followed over 5 years (Canadian Task Force
      classification II-2). SETTING: Patients were pretreated with depot leuprolide
      acetate in a private office. All procedures were done in an outpatient surgery
      center, and no patient was admitted to the hospital. PATIENTS: Eighty-six women
      with increased bleeding. INTERVENTION: Endometrial ablation with the SideFire
      laser fiber. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: After follow-up of 12 to 72 months,
      100% of patients had excellent results; 70 (82%) had total amenorrhea. Results
      were not less satisfactory in younger women. CONCLUSION: The SideFire laser fiber
      seems to be a good alternative that achieves improved outcomes compared with
      electrosurgery and balloon devices with hot fluid or electrodes. (J Am Assoc
      Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):65-69, 1999)

PMID- 9971855
TI  - Which endometrial polyps should be resected?
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of color Doppler exploration after
      diagnostic hysteroscopy in choosing which endometrial polyps can be safely left
      in situ. DESIGN: Prospective, long-term follow-up study (Canadian Task Force
      classification II-1). SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Two hundred twenty
      women with hysteroscopically confirmed endometrial polyps. INTERVENTIONS:
      Transvaginal ultrasonographic surveillance with color Doppler mapping and
      hysteroscopic resection. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We removed 126 (57.2%)
      polyps because of positive color Doppler map, and 29 (13.1%) with a negative
      color Doppler map because of symptoms. Sixty-five (29.5%) polyps were not removed
      because they did not cause symptoms and no Doppler map was found. At follow-up,
      six were removed because of hemorrhagic episodes. At 3 years, 59 patients with
      endometrial polyps remained asymptomatic by clinical and ultrasonographic follow
      up. CONCLUSION: In this series, 59 patients (26.8%) avoided surgical removal of
      polyps. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):71-74, 1999)

PMID- 9971856
TI  - Relationship of gynecologic surgery to constipation.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine if women undergoing presacral neurectomy,
      hysterectomy, or other gynecologic surgery experience a greater frequency of
      constipation than those having no surgery. DESIGN: Concurrent, nonrandomized,
      retrospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Tertiary
      medical care center with referral-based practice for the treatment of chronic
      pelvic pain. PATIENTS: Two hundred fifty-six women forming four groups based on
      surgical procedure: presacral neurectomy (66), hysterectomy (65), other
      gynecologic surgery (68), and no surgery (57). INTERVENTIONS: Laparoscopic
      presacral neurectomies. Other gynecologic surgery included laparoscopy,
      dilatation and curettage, laparoscopic resection of endometriosis, or any
      combination of these procedures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Constipation was
      defined as decrease in frequency of spontaneous bowel movements. A statistically
      significant greater percentage of patients undergoing surgical procedures were
      more constipated than those having no surgery: presacral neurectomy, 31.8%;
      hysterectomy, 27.7%; other gynecologic surgery, 25%; and no gynecologic surgery,
      10.5%. CONCLUSION: Pelvic surgery may cause parasympathetic nerve dysfunction
      leading to constipation. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):75-78, 1999)

PMID- 9971857
TI  - Reduction of cannula-related laparoscopic complications using a radially
      expanding access device.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety of a new radially expanding access
      device compared with complication rates associated with sharp laparoscopic
      cannulas. DESIGN: Prospective, multicenter study (Canadian Task Force
      classification II-1). SETTING: Free-standing and hospital-based ambulatory
      surgery centers. PATIENTS: Two hundred twelve women undergoing various
      laparoscopic procedures and followed over 44 months. INTERVENTION: Five hundred
      forty-one radially dilating access devices were used exclusively for laparoscopic
      abdominal wall access. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: No major vascular injury,
      abdominal wall bleeding, intestinal injury, bladder or ureteral injury, liver
      trauma, or postoperative incisional hernia occurred. One patient developed a
      postoperative mesenteric hematoma probably caused by a venous injury from the
      Veress needle. Of the 541 radially expanding access cannulas placed, only 6 (1%)
      slipped, despite absence of fascial anchoring devices. CONCLUSION: Radially
      dilating abdominal access devices may reduce laparoscopic complications, lessen a
      surgeon's exposure to liability, and improve patient outcomes while reducing
      facility costs. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):79-84, 1999)

PMID- 9971858
TI  - Obstetric history in women with surgically corrected adult urinary incontinence
      or pelvic organ prolapse.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare obstetric histories of women who had surgical
      correction of urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse with a similar group
      who did not. DESIGN: Case control study (Canadian Task Force classification II
      2). SETTING: Urban, community-based, private practice teaching hospital.
      PATIENTS: Four hundred eighty women (age 51.4 +/- 13.0 yrs) who underwent
      corrective surgery for urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, or both, and
      whose obstetric history was obtainable through chart review. The control group
      was composed of 150 women (age 50.7 +/- 9.6 yrs) having routine screening
      mammography who completed a questionnaire regarding obstetric, gynecologic, and
      urologic history. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients and controls did not
      differ significantly in terms of age, race, height, weight, body mass index, or
      smoking history. Women who underwent surgery were of greater parity (2.5 +/- 1.2
      vs 2.0 +/- 1.2, p <0.001), less often nulliparous (3% vs 18%, p <0.001), less
      likely to have had a cesarean delivery (4% vs 15%, p <0.001), and more likely to
      have had a vaginal delivery (94% vs 77%, p <0.001) than those with no surgery.
      The odds ratio of patients who had a vaginal delivery compared with controls was
      4.7 (2.3-8.3), and that for cesarean delivery was 0.22 (0.11-0.43). Analysis of
      specific delivery information found that, compared with controls, patients were
      older by 4 years at time of their first delivery (28.9 +/- 4.9 vs 24.9 +/- 4.9
      yrs, p <0.001) and more commonly received epidural analgesia intrapartum (87% vs
      40%, p = 0.004). Comparisons within the patient group, categorized by indication
      for surgery, revealed that women who had surgery for either prolapse alone or for
      both prolapse and incontinence were most likely to have had vaginal deliveries
      (85% incontinence alone vs 94% prolapse alone vs 97% both, p <0.001). CONCLUSION:
      Increased parity, vaginal childbirth, maternal age at time of delivery, and use
      of epidural analgesia are associated with need for operative correction of pelvic
      organ prolapse or adult urinary incontinence. Conversely, cesarean delivery is
      associated with less need for surgical correction of incontinence or pelvic organ
      prolapse.

PMID- 9971859
TI  - Minilaparoscopy to reduce complications from cannula insertion in patients with
      previous pelvic or abdominal surgery.
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of minilaparoscopy for
      visualization and adhesiolysis of intraabdominal adhesions for safe insertion of
      a primary umbilical cannula in patients who had previous pelvic or abdominal
      surgery. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study (Canadian Task Force
      classification II-1). SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty
      women who had previous pelvic or abdominal surgery, excluding tubal ligation and
      simple appendectomy. INTERVENTION: Minilaparoscopy was carried for visualization
      and adhesiolysis at the entry site before insertion of an umbilical cannula.
      MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Eleven patients had Pfannenstiel scars and nine had
      vertical midline scars from previous surgeries (4 total abdominal hysterectomies,
      13 adnexal surgery, 7 cesarean sections, 3 ectopic pregnancies, 1 ruptured
      appendix, 1 unknown bowel surgery). Thirteen women (65%) had had one previous
      surgery, five (25%) had had two, and two (10%) had had three. Nine patients (45%)
      had significant adhesions of omentum or intestine that required adhesiolysis.
      Mean operating time for minilaparoscopy was 5 minutes for 11 women who had no or
      minimal adhesions that did not interfere with safe insertion of the umbilical
      cannula and effective use of a 10-mm telescope, and 25 minutes in 9 patients who
      required adhesiolysis before insertion of the umbilical cannula because of dense
      adhesions of omentum or intestine at the entry site. No complications with
      minilaparoscopy occurred. CONCLUSION: Minilaparoscopy can be performed safely and
      effectively to reduce serious vascular or visceral injury from insertion of
      primary cannula in patients who had previous pelvic and/or abdominal surgery.
      However, conclusions cannot be derived from this study due to the small number of
      subjects. Further study is necessary in a larger patient population to evaluate
      efficacy, safety, and advantages of minilaparoscopy over other techniques. (J Am
      Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):91-95, 1999)

PMID- 9971860
TI  - Minilaparoscopic hysterectomy.
AB  - Minilaparoscopic surgery was performed in a 38-year-old woman scheduled for
      hysterectomy and ovarian cystectomy. Image resolution was similar to that of
      conventional laparoscopy. There were no intraoperative or postoperative
      complications. Since it has many advantages and few complications,
      minilaparoscopy appears to be an attractive way to decrease morbidity associated
      with conventional laparoscopy. (J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 5(4):97-100, 1998)

PMID- 9971861
TI  - Management of injuries to great vessels during laparoscopy.
AB  - Laparoscopy is useful for diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic pathology.
      Although techniques and instrumentation have progressed significantly, and
      physicians have acquired more experience, a great deal of concern remains
      regarding possible major complications associated with this procedure. (J Am
      Assoc Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):101-104, 1999)

PMID- 9971862
TI  - Evidence-based medicine: evaluating diagnostic tests.
AB  - Physicians have at their disposal a great number of established diagnostic tests,
      and new ones continue to be developed that are potentially helpful in diagnosing
      and establishing the prognosis of disease. Many of these tests were either
      inadequately evaluated or were found, on more careful scrutiny, to be less
      helpful than first believed. To ensure optimal patient care as well as
      appropriate use of health care resources, practitioners must be adept in
      understanding the true efficacy of diagnostic tests that they ask patients to
      undergo. They must be able to understand the basic language applied in evaluating
      tests and be able to determine if and when tests are applicable. (J Am Assoc
      Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):105-112, 1999)

PMID- 9971863
TI  - Operative hysteroscopy in physiologic distention media.
AB  - Distention media are essential in operative hysteroscopy to ensure good
      visualization within the uterine cavity. Carbon dioxide, dextran-70, glycine,
      sorbitol, mannitol, saline, and Ringer's lactate solution have all been used, but
      are associated with difficulties that prevent their use with instruments that
      achieve appropriate current densities. Three new distention media are now
      available that correct problems associated with the earlier products. (J Am Assoc
      Gynecol Laparosc 6(1):113-118, 1999)

PMID- 9971864
TI  - A multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial of transfusion requirements
      in critical care. Transfusion Requirements in Critical Care Investigators,
      Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To determine whether a restrictive strategy of red-cell transfusion
      and a liberal strategy produced equivalent results in critically ill patients, we
      compared the rates of death from all causes at 30 days and the severity of organ
      dysfunction. METHODS: We enrolled 838 critically ill patients with euvolemia
      after initial treatment who had hemoglobin concentrations of less than 9.0 g per
      deciliter within 72 hours after admission to the intensive care unit and randomly
      assigned 418 patients to a restrictive strategy of transfusion, in which red
      cells were transfused if the hemoglobin concentration dropped below 7.0 g per
      deciliter and hemoglobin concentrations were maintained at 7.0 to 9.0 g per
      deciliter, and 420 patients to a liberal strategy, in which transfusions were
      given when the hemoglobin concentration fell below 10.0 g per deciliter and
      hemoglobin concentrations were maintained at 10.0 to 12.0 g per deciliter.
      RESULTS: Overall, 30-day mortality was similar in the two groups (18.7 percent
      vs. 23.3 percent, P= 0.11). However, the rates were significantly lower with the
      restrictive transfusion strategy among patients who were less acutely ill --
      those with an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score of < or =20
      (8.7 percent in the restrictive-strategy group and 16.1 percent in the liberal
      strategy group; P=0.03) -- and among patients who were less than 55 years of age
      (5.7 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively; P=0.02), but not among patients with
      clinically significant cardiac disease (20.5 percent and 22.9 percent,
      respectively; P=0.69). The mortality rate during hospitalization was
      significantly lower in the restrictive-strategy group (22.3 percent vs. 28.1
      percent, P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A restrictive strategy of red-cell transfusion is
      at least as effective as and possibly superior to a liberal transfusion strategy
      in critically ill patients, with the possible exception of patients with acute
      myocardial infarction and unstable angina.

PMID- 9971865
TI  - Lack of effectiveness of bed rest for sciatica.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Bed rest is widely advocated for sciatica, but its
      effectiveness has not been established. To study the effectiveness of bed rest in
      patients with a lumbosacral radicular syndrome of sufficient severity to justify
      treatment with bed rest for two weeks, we randomly assigned 183 subjects to
      either bed rest or watchful waiting for this period. The primary outcome measures
      were the investigator's and patient's global assessments of improvement after 2
      and 12 weeks, and the secondary outcome measures were changes in functional
      status and in pain scores (after 2, 3, and 12 weeks), absenteeism from work, and
      the need for surgical intervention. Neither the investigators who assessed the
      outcomes nor those involved in data entry and analysis were aware of the
      patients' treatment assignments. RESULTS: After two weeks, 64 of the 92 patients
      in the bed-rest group (70 percent) reported improvement, as compared with 59 of
      the 91 patients in the control (watchful-waiting) group (65 percent) (adjusted
      odds ratio for improvement in the bed-rest group, 1.2; 95 percent confidence
      interval, 0.6 to 2.3). After 12 weeks, 87 percent of the patients in both groups
      reported improvement. The results of assessments of the intensity of pain, the
      bothersomeness of symptoms, and functional status revealed no significant
      differences between the two groups. The extent of absenteeism from work and rates
      of surgical intervention were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among
      patients with symptoms and signs of a lumbosacral radicular syndrome, bed rest is
      not a more effective therapy than watchful waiting.

PMID- 9971866
TI  - Effects of thyroxine as compared with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine in patients
      with hypothyroidism.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Patients with hypothyroidism are usually treated with thyroxine
      (levothyroxine) only, although both thyroxine and triiodothyronine are secreted
      by the normal thyroid gland. Whether thyroid secretion of triiodothyronine is
      physiologically important is unknown. METHODS: We compared the effects of
      thyroxine alone with those of thyroxine plus triiodothyronine (liothyronine) in
      33 patients with hypothyroidism. Each patient was studied for two five-week
      periods. During one period, the patient received his or her usual dose of
      thyroxine. During the other, the patient received a regimen in which 50 microg of
      the usual dose of thyroxine was replaced by 12.5 microg of triiodothyronine. The
      order in which each patient received the two treatments was randomized.
      Biochemical, physiologic, and psychological tests were performed at the end of
      each treatment period. RESULTS: The patients had lower serum free and total
      thyroxine concentrations and higher serum total triiodothyronine concentrations
      after treatment with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine than after thyroxine alone,
      whereas the serum thyrotropin concentrations were similar after both treatments.
      Among 17 scores on tests of cognitive performance and assessments of mood, 6 were
      better or closer to normal after treatment with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine.
      Similarly, among 15 visual-analogue scales used to indicate mood and physical
      status, the results for 10 were significantly better after treatment with
      thyroxine plus triiodothyronine. The pulse rate and serum sex hormone-binding
      globulin concentrations were slightly higher after treatment with thyroxine plus
      triiodothyronine, but blood pressure, serum lipid concentrations, and the results
      of neurophysiologic tests were similar after the two treatments. CONCLUSIONS: In
      patients with hypothyroidism, partial substitution of triiodothyronine for
      thyroxine may improve mood and neuropsychological function; this finding suggests
      a specific effect of the triiodothyronine normally secreted by the thyroid gland.

PMID- 9971867
TI  - Radial scars in benign breast-biopsy specimens and the risk of breast cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Radial scars are benign breast lesions of uncertain clinical
      significance. In particular, it is not known whether these lesions alter the risk
      of breast cancer in women with benign breast disease. We conducted a case-control
      study of women who had benign breast lesions with or without radial scars.
      METHODS: We reviewed benign breast-biopsy specimens from 1396 women enrolled in
      the Nurses' Health Study, including 255 women in whom breast cancer subsequently
      developed and 1141 women without subsequent breast cancer (controls). The
      controls were matched to the women with subsequent breast cancer according to age
      and the year when the benign lesion was identified. The median follow-up after
      biopsy of the benign lesions was 12 years. RESULTS: Radial scars were identified
      in biopsy specimens from 99 women (7.1 percent). Most biopsy specimens with
      radial scars had only one radial scar (60.6 percent), and they tended to be
      incidental microscopical findings (median size, 4.0 mm). The women with radial
      scars had a risk of breast cancer that was almost twice the risk of the women
      without scars, regardless of the histologic type of benign breast disease
      (relative risk, 1.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 2.9). Among women who
      had proliferative disease without atypia as compared with women who had
      nonproliferative disease, the relative risk of breast cancer was 3.0 (95 percent
      confidence interval, 1.7 to 5.5) for those with radial scars and 1.5 (95 percent
      confidence interval, 1.1 to 2.1) for those without radial scars. Among women with
      atypical hyperplasia as compared with women with nonproliferative disease, the
      relative risk of breast cancer was 5.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 2.7 to
      12.7) for those with radial scars and 3.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 2.4 to
      5.9) for those without radial scars. CONCLUSIONS: Radial scars are an independent
      histologic risk factor for breast cancer.

PMID- 9971868
TI  - Images in clinical medicine. An apoptotic eosinophil.

PMID- 9971869
TI  - Transfusion medicine. First of two parts--blood transfusion.

PMID- 9971870
TI  - Acute-phase proteins and other systemic responses to inflammation.

PMID- 9971872
TI  - Should medical journals try to influence political debates?

PMID- 9971873
TI  - Transfusions in critically ill patients.

PMID- 9971874
TI  - Thyroid hormone replacement--one hormone or two?

PMID- 9971875
TI  - Would cloned humans really be like sheep?

PMID- 9971876
TI  - The American health care system--the movement for improved quality in health
      care.

PMID- 9971878
TI  - Cross-validation and extension of the MMPI-A IMM scale.
AB  - Seventy-five female and 76 male college undergraduates participated in a cross
      validation of the IMM scale, developed for the MMPI-A. These participants
      completed the IMM scale which was scored in two ways: one used the regular MMPI-A
      score, IMMA, and the other, IMM2, was based on the subset of these items that
      also appear in the MMPI-2. They also completed a gender-appropriate version of
      the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) and a brief
      biographical questionnaire. High inter-rater reliability (.80) was established
      for scoring the WUSCT for ego developmental level based on the most recent
      version of the scoring format. Statistically significant correlations were found
      between ego level scores and both the IMMA and the IMM2 scales. Means and
      standard deviations on both IMM scales for the males and females in the MMPI-A
      and the MMPI-2 restandardization samples, respectively, were obtained.

PMID- 9971877
TI  - Global sequence diversity of BRCA2: analysis of 71 breast cancer families and 95
      control individuals of worldwide populations.
AB  - The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of simple sequence variation
      in the BRCA2 gene. To this end, 71 breast and breast-ovarian cancer (HBC/HBOC)
      families along with 95 control individuals from a wide range of ethnicities were
      analyzed by means of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC)
      and direct sequence analysis. In the coding (10 257 bp) and non-coding (2799 bp)
      sequences of BRCA2, 82 sequence variants were identified. Three different,
      apparently disease-associated BRCA2 mutations were found in six HBC/HBOC families
      (8%): two splice site mutations in introns 5 and 21, and one frameshift mutation
      in exon 11. In the coding region, 53 simple sequence variants were found: 35
      missense mutations, one 2 bp deletion (CT) resulting in a stop at codon 3364, one
      nonsense mutation with a stop at codon 3326, one deletion of a complete codon
      (AAA) resulting in the loss of leucine, and 15 silent mutations. In the non
      coding region, 26 polymorphisms were detected. Of the 79 sequence variants that
      were not obviously disease-associated, eight were detected only in HBC/HBOC
      families. The remaining 71 variants were identified in both HBC/HBOC families and
      control individuals. Sixty three sequence variants (80%) were specific for a
      continent. Forty two percent (33 out of 79) of the sequence variants were
      detected exclusively in Africa, though only 13% of the 332 chromosomes screened
      were of African origin. Our data indicate that, in BRCA2, simple sequence
      variation is frequent [in the coding region 1 in 194 bp (straight theta = 2.2 x
      10(-4)), and in the non-coding region 1 in 108 bp (straight theta = 4.4 x 10(
      4)), respectively].

PMID- 9971879
TI  - Development and validation of a multifactorial treatment outcome measure for
      eating disorders.
AB  - The purpose of this investigation was to develop a brief self-report inventory
      which could be used to evaluate treatment outcome for anorexia and bulimia
      nervosa. The Multifactorial Assessment of Eating Disorders Symptoms (MAEDS) was
      constructed to measure six symptom clusters which have been found to be central
      to the eating disorders: depression, binge eating, purgative behavior, fear of
      fatness, restrictive eating, and avoidance of forbidden foods. The factor
      structure of the MAEDS was found to be stable and it was found to have
      satisfactory reliability and validity. Normative data were collected so that raw
      scores could be converted to standardized scores. While still in the experimental
      stages, the MAEDS shows promise as a valid and economical measure of treatment
      interventions for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

PMID- 9971880
TI  - Test-retest reliability of psychological and neurobehavioral tests self
      administered by computer.
AB  - A series of 12 psychological and 7 neurobehavioral performance tests were
      administered twice to a nonclinical normative sample with 1 week between
      administrations. The tests were presented in a self-administered computerized
      format. One week test-retest reliabilities were comparable to conventional
      administration formats. The results suggest that individual test reliability is
      not affected when tests are administered as part of an extensive multi-measure
      battery. Computer administered test reliability coefficients also were compared
      to a Mixed Format (computer-conventional) administration with mixed format
      reliabilities generally similar to the reliabilities of published conventional
      tests but also generally lower than same format testing. Compared to
      psychological test reliability, neurobehavioral test reliability appeared more
      vulnerable to decreases with mixed format testing. These conclusions should not
      be generalized to all computer implemented tests as the qualities of the test
      implementation will affect the outcome.

PMID- 9971881
TI  - A comparison of nine WAIS-R short forms in individuals with mild to severe
      traumatic brain injury.
AB  - Scores from nine WAIS-R short forms were calculated for a sample of 75 adults
      with mild to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although all nine of the short
      forms were significantly correlated with the WAIS-R Full Scale IQ, three of the
      short forms (Vocabulary-Block Design; Vocabulary-Block Design-Arithmetic
      Similarities; Vocabulary-Arithmetic-Picture Arrangement-Block Design)
      significantly overestimated the WAIS-R IQ and thus may be inappropriate to use
      with this population. The remaining six short forms did not differ significantly
      from the WAIS-R Full Scale IQ. Among these six, Ward s seven-subtest short form
      appeared to exhibit the least variability in predicting the WAIS-R Full Scale IQ.
      Information is presented and discussed regarding the absolute difference scores
      between short form IQ estimates and the WAIS-R as well as the proportion of short
      forms which significantly under- and overestimate the Full Scale IQ.

PMID- 9971882
TI  - Factorial validation of the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test (RULIT).
AB  - The factorial validity of the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test (RULIT) was
      evaluated for its specificity as a test of visuospatial learning and memory. In a
      sample of 307 normal adults, principal components analyses (PCAs) were calculated
      on scores from the RULIT and selected neuropsychological tests. The PCAs revealed
      visuospatial learning and memory components, which included RULIT scores that
      were empirically distinct from verbal learning and memory components. These
      results provide support for the RULIT as a measure of visuospatial learning and
      memory.

PMID- 9971883
TI  - MMPI-A patterns related to the endorsement of suicidal ideation.
AB  - This study focused on the relationship between the occurrence of specific
      Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Adolescent (MMPI-A) basic scale
      profile patterns and the frequency of endorsement of three items related, in
      varying degrees, to suicide ideation (MMPI-A Items 177, 283, and 399). The
      research sample consisted of adolescents (n = 348) with diagnoses of depression,
      conduct disorder, and other psychiatric disorders. Significant relationships were
      found for the overall MMPI-A basic scale profile, several MMPI-A single scale
      high points, and specific two-point codetype groupings. Findings revealed higher
      basic clinical scale profiles for those adolescents endorsing suicidal ideation.
      Further results revealed lower frequencies of item endorsement for spike 4 and
      spike 9 profiles, and higher item endorsement frequencies for Scale 2, Scale 8,
      and for the two-point codetypes of 4-8/8-4, 8-9/9-8 and 6-8/8-6. Issues are
      discussed related to the clinical usefulness and limitations of the MMPI-A in the
      assessment and prediction of suicidal ideation and behavior in adolescents.

PMID- 9971884
TI  - The utility of K-correction to adjust for a defensive response set on the MMPI.
AB  - This study examined the utility of the K-correction procedure to adjust for a
      defensive response set on the MMPI. The sample consisted of 61 patients with end
      stage lung disease undergoing psychosocial evaluation for transplantation.
      Participants were separated into defensive and non-defensive groups using a
      median split on the K scale (defensive group T score 59) as the cutoff score. The
      MMPI was scored once in the standard manner and then rescored omitting all K
      scale items from the clinical scales. As hypothesized, raw score analysis after
      omitting K-scale items showed the defensive group endorsed significantly fewer
      items on all five scales involving K-correction (Scales Hs, Pd, Pt, Sc, Ma).
      Analysis of K-corrected T scores on Scales Hs, Pd, Pt, and Sc using standard
      procedures showed a significant group difference only on Scale Hs with a higher T
      score found among the defensive group. The defensive and nondefensive groups were
      not significantly different in demographic, medical, or psychiatric
      characteristics suggesting that the tendency to respond in a defensive manner is
      the major characteristic that distinguishes the two groups. Taken together, these
      results provide support for the use of the K-correction procedure when examining
      MMPI clinical profiles among patients with end-stage pulmonary disease undergoing
      evaluation for transplantation.

PMID- 9971885
TI  - Ethical perspectives and practice behaviors involving computer-based test
      interpretation.
AB  - The debates of the 1980s regarding responsible use of computer-based test
      interpretation (CBTI) software have mostly disappeared, as CBTI use has become
      common practice. We surveyed 364 members of the Society for Personality
      Assessment to determine how they use CBTI software in their work and their
      perspectives on the ethics of using CBTI in various ways. Psychologists commonly
      use CBTI software for test scoring and to provide a complementary source of input
      for case formulations. Most do not use CBTI software as the primary way to
      formulate a case, nor as an alternative to a written report. Controversy and
      uncertainty were expressed about importing sections of CBTI narratives into
      psychological reports. We distinguish between support and replacement functions
      of CBTI use, arguing that adequate research evidence should be present before
      using CBTI as a replacement for established assessment procedures.

PMID- 9971886
TI  - Diagnostic change and personality stability following functional restoration
      treatment in chronic low back pain patients.
AB  - This study examined personality pathology in a group of patients with chronic low
      back pain (CLBP) using both diagnostic interviews and dimensional self-report
      instruments. A group of CLBP patients (N = 125) was assessed before functional
      restoration treatment and compared with a matched normal comparison group (N =
      75). The CLBP group evidenced broad personality pathology in all assessment modes
      pretreatment relative to the normal comparison sample. In addition, two
      subsamples of CLBP patients (n = 49 and n = 56) were assessed after treatment.
      Reductions in personality pathology between pre- and posttreatment assessments
      were more pronounced for diagnostic interview than dimensional self-report
      assessments. These results are discussed in the context of personality assessment
      and CLBP.

PMID- 9971887
TI  - Internal consistency of three tests from the Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological
      battery for older children.
AB  - The internal consistency of three neuropsychological tests was examined in a
      sample of 334 referred children (9-14 years of age). Coefficient alpha was
      calculated to estimate reliability on the Seashore Rhythm Test (SRT), two forms
      of the Speech Sounds Perception Test (SSPT), and the Aphasia Screening Test
      (AST). The standard SSPT appears to have relatively good internal consistency
      with an average coefficient of.81. The average coefficient for the abbreviated
      form of the SSPT was considerably lower (i.e.,.73), highlighting the superiority
      of the standard form in clinical practice. Internal consistency of the SRT was
      relatively low (i.e.,. 67). This level of reliability may be acceptable in group
      research and for component tests, but is marginal for independent clinical use.
      Coefficient alpha for the AST was moderate (i.e.,.77), suggesting adequate
      reliability for a screening test. These reliability estimates are compared to
      those obtained in previous studies using these tests in adult samples and with
      other tests commonly used with children.

PMID- 9971888
TI  - Abstracts of the 30th annual meeting of the british medical ultrasound society,
      harrogate, 9-11 december 1998

PMID- 9971889
TI  - Issues and perspectives on the biocompatibility and immunotoxicity evaluation of
      implanted controlled release systems.
AB  - Over the past decade, significant advances and discoveries in cell and molecular
      biology and biomaterials have provided a foundation for the research and
      development of new, complex controlled release systems. Many of these new
      controlled release systems utilize active biological components, i.e., proteins
      and cells, to achieve their intended therapeutic goal. Utilization of bioactive
      biological materials in implantable controlled release systems has prompted a
      broad as well as an in-depth interest in the safety and efficacy of these
      systems. This short review is intended to provide individuals with a perspective
      on standards and guidance documents which specifically address biological and
      immunotoxicity response evaluation for safety of controlled release systems from
      a regulatory point of view.

PMID- 9971890
TI  - Incorporation of polymeric nanoparticles into solid dosage forms.
AB  - Besides parenteral delivery, polymeric nanoparticles have been used for oral drug
      delivery. In this study, model polymeric nanoparticles (aqueous colloidal polymer
      dispersions: Eudragit(R) RL 30D, L 30D, NE 30D, or Aquacoat(R)) with different
      physicochemical properties were incorporated into various solid dosage forms
      (granules, tablets, pellets or films). The compatibility of the nanoparticles
      with commonly used tabletting excipients and the redispersibility of the
      nanoparticles after contact of the solid dosage forms with aqueous media were
      investigated. Ideally, the nanoparticles should be released from the solid dosage
      forms with their original properties. The addition of polymeric binders (e.g.
      polyvinylpyrrolidone, Na carboxymethylcellulose or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose)
      to the aqueous nanoparticle dispersions prior to wet granulation resulted in
      phase separation (depletion or bridging flocculation) for many
      nanoparticle/binder systems. Two critical parameters for the complete
      redispersibility/release of the nanoparticles with the original particle size
      properties from the solid dosage forms were a (1) high minimum film formation
      temperature (MFT) of the polymer dispersion and (2) a good wettability of the
      dried polymeric nanoparticles. Nanoparticle dispersions with a low MFT were not
      redispersible, they coalesced into larger agglomerates/films during the drying
      step. Contact angle measurements correlated well with the redispersibility of the
      nanoparticles, with ethylcellulose particles having high contact angles and poor
      redispersibility and Eudragit(R) RL, a polymer stabilized with quaternary
      ammonium groups, having low contact angles and good redispersibility.

PMID- 9971891
TI  - Spectrophotometric analysis of molecular transport in gels.
AB  - An automated spectrophotometric method has been developed for analyzing molecular
      transport out from and into gels. A Beckman DU7500 diode-array UV-visible
      spectrophotometer with gel scanner was modified to accept and longitudinally scan
      a quartz diffusion cell, 0.3x10x40 mm. Molecules of interest are identified and
      concentrations quantitated via analysis of spectrophotometric absorbance peaks
      relative to background absorbance of the gel. Thus, concentration profiles are
      obtained as functions of both position and time. Test data are fitted to a
      diffusion model via nonlinear least-squares regression. Precision and accuracy of
      the method were assessed via analysis of several test molecules and gels: (1) 30
      mg/ml nonoxynol-9 (N9), contained in 1% sodium alginate gel cross-linked with 2.5
      mM calcium chloride, permeating standardized, reconstituted bovine cervical mucus
      (BCM); (2) 2.5 mg/ml sodium fluorescein, contained in and permeating 10 mg/ml and
      100 mg/ml gelatin gels; and (3) 1.0 mg/ml sodium ganciclovir, contained in and
      permeating 10 mg/ml sodium hyaluronate gel. Diffusion coefficients for (1) and
      (3) were 3.8x10-7 and 54.1x10-7 cm2/s, respectively. All measurements of
      diffusion coefficients, partition coefficients, and solute loads obtained in this
      study were highly repeatable (most C.V.'s<8%). The mean diffusion coefficient for
      (2) was within 3% of values predicted from theory for the 100 mg/ml gel; the mean
      partition coefficient for (3) was within 2% of the expected value. This new
      technique is simpler than many traditional ones in that it does not require
      labeling of test molecules nor changes in refractive index of target materials.
      It is particularly well-suited to situations in which the target material is a
      gel, because no stirring of the target is necessary.

PMID- 9971892
TI  - Drug release from drug-polyanion complex tablets: poly(acrylamido-2-methyl-1
      propanesulfonate sodium -co- methyl methacrylate).
AB  - A new erodible, anionic carrier for cationic drugs has been synthesized for oral
      drug delivery systems. The release properties of tablets prepared from this new
      material, poly(acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonate sodium -co- methyl
      methacrylate) (PAMPSNa/MMA), are discussed. Pseudo-linear release profiles were
      obtained and the hydrophobicities of both the polymeric carrier and the bound
      drugs were found to be an important controlling factor in determining the slopes
      of these release profiles. The effect of the tablet geometry on the shape of the
      release profiles was also investigated and tablet thickness was demonstrated to
      be another key parameter controlling both the linearity of the release profiles,
      as well as the duration of drug release. The release kinetics are strongly
      dependent on the drug solubility rather than on the type of amine in the drug
      (i.e. secondary and tertiary amines). The release of drugs from tablets of drug
      PAMPSNa/MMA complexes were well described by the dissociation/erosion mechanism.

PMID- 9971893
TI  - Power Doppler imaging in the evaluation of extracranial vertebral artery
      compression in patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The recent introduction of Power Doppler Imaging (PDI) made a promise
      for better visualization of blood vessels lying in regions anatomically difficult
      for ultrasound imaging, i.e. vertebral arteries. The purpose of our study was to
      assess usefulness of PDI technique in visualization of vertebral artery course
      and to assess its utility in the detecting spondylotic vertebral artery
      compression in patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI). METHODS: A
      total of 428 patients with VBI symptoms was evaluated. A total of 282 (66%)
      patients related their symptoms to a specific head position. Thus, all Doppler
      examinations were performed in four head positions: hyperextension, flexion and
      right/left rotation and also in a position reported by a patient to produce
      symptoms. PDI technique was employed as vertebral artery mapping for precise PW
      Doppler range gate placing. RESULTS: Vertebral artery compression was found in 73
      (17%) patients: 65 unilateral and eight bilateral. The diagnosis was based on
      flow decrease or its absence shown on PW-Doppler scans, after a specific head
      turning. CONCLUSION: Vertebral artery compression, related to a specific head
      position is relatively frequent in patients with VBI symptoms, especially in an
      older population commonly suffering from cervical spondylosis. PDI facilitates
      noninvasive Doppler US diagnosis by showing the real course of vertebral artery,
      particularly its intertransverse portion.

PMID- 9971894
TI  - Effectiveness of ciprofloxacin microspheres in eradicating bacterial biofilm.
AB  - The treatment of cultures of planktonic cells and aged biofilm cells of P.
      aeruginosa and S. aureus with ciprofloxacin (CFX) microspheres of poly(l-lactic
      acid) (PLA) has been investigated using a modified, open in vitro chemostat
      system. The kinetics of release of CFX as a function of drug loading and the dose
      of microspheres were correlated with the rate and extent of killing and
      eradication of the planktonic cells and biofilm cells cultured on pieces of
      silicone tubing in the chemostat, respectively. At 71% w/w drug loading, a
      minimum dose of 7 mg of CFX in microspheres was required to sustain CFX
      concentration for about 10 h above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in
      order to completely eradicate the cells of either bacteria. In contrast, peak
      concentrations obtained from an equivalent dose of free CFX decreased to low
      values within 30 min and the bacteria cells were not eradicated. Lower
      microsphere loadings of CFX were ineffective at the same dose. Thus, this study
      has identified the formulation requirements for PLA microspheres to sustain CFX
      concentrations above the MIC for several days in order to eradicate bacteria,
      particularly aged biofilm cells, in the open chemostat in which the drug is being
      continually diluted, or similarly at a site of administration, for example, in
      the peritoneal cavity.

PMID- 9971895
TI  - Follow-up of Wilms' tumour during pre-operative chemotherapy by qualitative and
      quantitative sonography.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of textural changes in Wilms' tumour during chemotherapy
      by qualitative and quantitative ultrasonography. METHODS: Sonograms of Wilms'
      tumours during chemotherapy were retrospectively evaluated (N=33) and compared
      with histopathology. Textural changes were prospectively quantified (N=6) by mean
      echogenicity (MEAN) and coefficient of variation (CV) of grey levels. RESULTS:
      Interobserver agreement for volume measurements was strong and for follow-up of
      sonolucencies moderate. Chemotherapy caused significant volume reduction and two
      major patterns of change in sonolucencies were observed; either increase or no
      change. No relationship between sonolucencies and volume changes was present.
      Sonolucencies yielded an underestimation of necrosis (P<0.001). Trends in MEAN
      and CV differed between patients. CONCLUSIONS: Volume was the most objective
      sonographic tumour response parameter. Changes in sonolucencies may provide
      additional information on tumour response. However, sonolucencies are not an
      accurate measure of total tumour necrosis. It was not possible to differentiate
      Wilms' tumour chemotherapy responders from non-responders by MEAN and CV.

PMID- 9971896
TI  - Cholephilic characteristics of a new cytostatic complex of cisplatin with
      glycocholate (Bamet-R2).
AB  - The aim of this work was to investigate both the existence of enterohepatic
      circulation of cisplatin-cholylglycinate complex, Bamet-R2, and the relevance of
      biliary versus urinary excretion of this compound. Two experimental models were
      used: (i) intraluminal perfusion of 'in situ' ileum in anaesthetized rats bearing
      a biliary catheter that permitted bile sample collection and (ii) conscious rats
      in which a permanent intraarterial catheter had been implanted to carry out
      sequential blood sampling after intravenous (i.v.) or intragastric (i.g.) drug
      administration. Total platinum in serum, bile, ileum, liver, urine and feces was
      measured by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy. Serum concentration versus
      time curves obtained after i.v. administration of 1 micromol Bamet-R2 or
      cisplatin revealed that the area under the curve was significantly higher for
      Bamet-R2 than for cisplatin (+48%). Non-ultrafiltrable platinum accounted for
      54.8 and 48.4% of serum platinum 168 h after cisplatin and Bamet-R2 i.v.
      administration, respectively. When the animals received i.g. 1 micromol cisplatin
      or Bamet-R2, serum concentrations of total platinum were markedly higher (three
      fold) after Bamet-R2 than after cisplatin administration. The area under the
      curve was, also in this case, significantly higher for Bamet-R2 than for
      cisplatin (+28%). This was in part due to the enhanced intestinal absorption of
      Bamet-R2, as confirmed in experiments on perfused rat ileum, where a markedly
      higher amount of the drug was found in ileum tissue and bile after perfusion with
      media containing Bamet-R2 as compared with experiments where cisplatin instead of
      Bamet-R2 was added to perfusion media. Moreover, after i.v. administration to
      conscious rats, excretion of Bamet-R2 by the kidney was three-fold lower than
      that of cisplatin, while elimination of the former compound into feces was four
      fold higher than that of the latter. In summary, these results indicate that in
      addition to the previously reported cytostatic activity of Bamet-R2, this complex
      has interesting cholephilic characteristics typical of bile acids, such as low
      urinary excretion together with enhanced intestinal absorption and biliary
      secretion, probably endowed by the cholylglycyl moiety included in the Bamet-R2
      molecule.

PMID- 9971897
TI  - Soft tissue texture analysis by B-mode-ultrasound in the evaluation of impairment
      in chronic low back pain.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Patients complaints in chronic low back pain do not always correspond
      to the results of X-ray and MRI investigations. The paraspinal muscle is very
      sensitive to all structural disorders of the spine. We used B-mode-ultrasound to
      investigate the change of the ultrasonic texture of the paraspinal lumbar muscle
      in people suffering from low back pain. METHODS: The quantitative texture
      analysis was defined by the ratio of the mean echo level of a unilateral cross
      section (L2) of the paraspinal muscle and the level of a central area (L1) of the
      same cross-section (square 1 x 1 cm, defined by the ultrasonic device). In the
      lumbar spine there were five cross sections on either side starting at L1 through
      L5. In the first study healthy males were investigated (n=30). In the second
      study, 20 males with MRI controlled lumbar disc disorders were investigated.
      Finally screening was performed with a group of 40 male patients. The last
      investigation was a pathohistologic cross-check from the ultrasonic findings in
      five individual shortly after exitus. RESULTS: The ratio showed results >0.6 in
      the healthy group. The group with lumbar disc disorders showed at the affected
      levels ratios <0.5. All patients (with one exception) with a lumbar spinal
      history were detected. Pathohistology confirmed the ultrasonic findings.
      CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasonic texture analysis of the paraspinal lumbar muscle
      allows a rapid and easy to perform investigation for relating discal (actually
      all structural) disorders of the lumbar spine to the reported pain or disability.

PMID- 9971898
TI  - PLGA nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation: drug loading and release
      studies of a water soluble drug.
AB  - The nanoprecipitation technique for preparation of nanoparticles suffers the
      drawback of poor incorporation of water soluble drugs. The aim of this study was
      therefore to assess various formulation parameters to enhance the incorporation
      of a water soluble drug (procaine hydrochloride) into poly(dl-lactide-co
      glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles prepared by this technique. Approaches
      investigated for drug incorporation efficiency enhancement included the influence
      of aqueous phase pH, replacement of procaine hydrochloride with procaine
      dihydrate and the inclusion of excipients: poly(dl-lactide) (PLA) oligomers,
      poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (PMMA-MA) or fatty acids into the
      formulation. The nanoparticles produced were submicron size (<210 nm) and of low
      polydispersity. It was found that an aqueous phase pH of 9.3, replacement of
      procaine hydrochloride with procaine dihydrate and the incorporation of PMMA-MA,
      lauric and caprylic acid into the formulation could enhance drug incorporation
      efficiency without the size, morphology and nanoparticle recovery being adversely
      influenced. For instance changing the aqueous phase pH from 5.8 to 9.3 increased
      nanoparticle recovery from 65.1 to 93.4%, drug content from 0.3 to 1.3% w/w and
      drug entrapment from 11.0 to 58.2%. However, the presence of high ratios of
      lauric acid and procaine dihydrate in the formulation adversely affected the
      morphology and size of the nanoparticles. Also, PLA oligomers were not considered
      a feasible approach since it decreased drug entrapment from 11.0 to 8.4% and
      nanoparticle recovery from 65.1 to 19.6%. Drug release from nanoparticles appears
      to consist of two components with an initial rapid release followed by a slower
      exponential stage. This study has demonstrated that formulation variables can be
      exploited in order to enhance the incorporation of a water soluble drug into PLGA
      nanoparticles by the nanoprecipitation technique.

PMID- 9971899
TI  - Ultrasonography in suspected acute appendicitis in childhood-report of 1285
      cases.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: For the assessment of the diagnostic value of real-time
      ultrasonography (US) in children with suspected acute appendicitis (a.A.) the
      results of graded compression US are compared with clinical and histological
      final diagnoses. METHODS: In a prospective study over nearly 9 years we examined
      1285 children aged 1-15 years (m=514, f=771). Using a 5-MHz curved array
      transducer the right lower quadrant was examined in a graded compression
      technique. RESULTS: Prevalence of histologically proven a.A. was remarkably low
      (9%). In diagnosis of acute appendicitis in childhood US achieves a sensitivity
      of 92%, specificity of 98%, a positive predictive value of 90% and a negative
      predictive value of 98%. The overall accuracy was 98%. Mesenteric lymphadenitis
      was seen in 181 cases (prevalence 12%) and terminal ileitis occasionally
      accompanied by mesenteric lymphadenitis was seen in 116 cases (prevalence 9%).
      CONCLUSION: In children with suspected appendicitis US of the abdomen gives great
      diagnostical value for differential diagnosis of a.A. and other more frequent
      inflammatory diseases of the ileocoecal region. Thus US provides further reliable
      information to the referring physician. Consequently it is necessary to perform
      US in each child with acute abdominal pain, even if clinical diagnosis seems to
      be well established.

PMID- 9971900
TI  - Colour-coded duplex sonography of preocclusive carotid stenoses.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The accuracy of colour-coded duplex sonography (CCDS) for
      differentiating preocclusive stenoses from occlusions of the internal carotid
      artery (ICA) is a crucial point in non-invasive quantification of atherosclerotic
      lesions prior to carotid endarterectomy. METHODS: A total of 401 consecutive
      patients with CCDS followed by ICA arteriographies as gold standard was available
      for comparison. The entire number was divided into groups of <90%, 90-94%,
      preocclusive (95-99%) stenoses and occlusions. Sensitivity, specificity, and
      predictive value for distinguishing these groups were calculated using a
      contingency table. RESULTS: With CCDS we found a sensitivity of 88% and a
      specificity of 99% in 43 preocclusive ?95% stenoses. Similar findings were seen
      in 31 occlusions of the ICA (SE 87%, SP 99%). CCDS accurately differentiates the
      subgroups of severe carotid obstructions (90-94%, ?95% and occluded) shown by a
      predictive accuracy of 97, 96 and 93%. Carotid endarterectomies were performed in
      two of three angiographically occluded but sonographically preocclusive arteries.
      Intraoperatively preocclusive ICAs were seen in both cases. CONCLUSION: CCDS
      showed a high accuracy for differentiating preocclusive stenoses and occlusion of
      the ICA. Intraoperative findings indicated that angiography is not the absolute
      gold standard for preocclusive carotid disease in every case. Irregularities of
      the stenosis channel make it impossible to estimate the true area reduction in
      stenoses ?90%. The hemodynamic estimation of degree of stenosis by Doppler
      ultrasound may be closer to reality than angiographic measurement.

PMID- 9971901
TI  - Macromolecular derivatives of N,N-di-(2-chloroethyl)-4-phenylene diamine mustard.
      2. In vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo anticancer efficacy.
AB  - Prodrugs of N,N-di-(2-chloroethyl)-4-phenylene diamine (PDM) based on soluble
      poly[N5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-l-glutamine] (PHEG) have been evaluated as tumour
      targeted drugs. These materials are designed to exploit the enhanced permeability
      of tumour vasculature, combining a passive tumour tropism with systemic
      liberation of free PDM. Modification of PDM by coupling via oligopeptide spacers
      onto a polymeric carrier significantly reduced its cytotoxicity towards different
      cell types in vitro. On the other hand, incubation of the cells with the PHEG-Gly
      Phe-Ala-Leu-PDM conjugate in the presence of collagenase IV led to the release of
      lethal amounts of free drug, resulting in higher cytotoxicity for this
      derivative. The PHEG-Gly-Phe-Ala-Leu-PDM conjugate, which is rapidly degraded by
      lysosomal and tumour-associated enzymes also showed a decreased systemic toxicity
      in vivo and could be administered at a dose of 8 mg PDM/kg body weight
      intravenously, compared with just 2 mg/kg for free PDM. Furthermore, this
      derivative also showed better antitumour activity against a C26 colorectal
      carcinoma tumour model, compared with no activity for the free drug. The results
      indicate that the PHEG-Gly-Phe-Ala-Leu-PDM conjugate is a promising candidate for
      cancer treatment.

PMID- 9971902
TI  - Hemodynamic performance of four mechanical bileaflet prosthetic valves in the
      mitral position: an echocardiographic study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The CarboMedics, Duromedics, Sorin Bicarbon and the St. Jude Medical
      valves are bileaflet mechanical prostheses of modern but different design.
      Choosing a valve with the best hemodynamic profile is of clinical importance in
      patients with small ventricles and a small mitral annulus. METHODS: The
      hemodynamic performance of these valves in the mitral position was compared in 76
      asymptomatic, ambulatory patients with normally functioning prosthesis and left
      ventricle, using Doppler echocardiography. Of the 76 patients studied, 22 had the
      CarboMedics, 16 had the Duromedics, 17 had the Sorin Bicarbon and 21 had the St.
      Jude prosthesis. The patients ages ranged from 18 to 81 years. There were 44
      women and 32 men. The time from implantation to echocardiographic study ranged
      from 1 to 55 months. RESULTS: The echocardiographic study was performed earlier
      after surgery in the Sorin Bicarbon group. There was no significant difference in
      women/man ratio, incidence of atrial fibrillation, left ventricular or left
      atrial diameters between the four groups. The mean prosthesis size was
      significantly smaller for Sorin Bicarbon and Duromedics valves compared to the
      CarboMedics and the St. Jude valves (mean+/-SD, 27.2+/-1.3, 27.1+/-1.1 and 30.0+/
      1.9 and 30.0+/-2.7 mm, respectively, P<0.001). Despite its smaller size the Sorin
      Bicarbon valve had significantly larger effective valve area by Doppler compared
      to the CarboMedics valve (290+/-40 vs 250+/-60 mm2, respectively, P=0.014). The
      ratio of effective valve area to prosthesis size was significantly larger for the
      Sorin Bicarbon valve when compared with any other type of prosthesis.
      CONCLUSIONS: (1) The Sorin Bicarbon bileaflet valve offered the best hemodynamic
      results that may be explained by the valve's large leaflet opening angle and
      small thickness of the leaflets. (2) Since the Sorin Bicarbon is the newest
      bileaflet valve, durability of this valve remains uncertain.

PMID- 9971903
TI  - Studies on drug release kinetics from ibuprofen-carbomer hydrophilic matrix
      tablets: influence of co-excipients on release rate of the drug.
AB  - Controlled-release (CR) matrix tablets of ibuprofen (IBF) and Carbopol(R) 934P,
      and blended mixture of Carbopol(R) 934P and 971P resins, at different drug to
      polymers ratios, were prepared by the direct compression method. The
      investigation focuses on the influence of the proportion of the matrix material,
      and several co-excipients (lactose, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), and starch)
      on the mechanism and release rate of the drug from the tablets. In vitro drug
      release in pH 7.2 phosphate buffer solution appears to occur both by diffusion
      and a swelling-controlled mechanism, exhibiting either anomalous or Case II type
      transport. The release process could be described by plotting the fraction
      released versus time and fitting data to the simple exponential model:
      Mt/Minfinity=ktn. The release kinetics were modified when the blended mixtures of
      Carbopol(R) 934P and 971P resins were used as the matrix materials. In general,
      all of the co-excipients, used in this study, enhanced the release rate of IBF.
      However, lactose demonstrated slower and more linear release behavior as compared
      to microcrystalline cellulose or starch. The dissolution T50 and T90 values for
      the three co-excipients were in the order of lactose>microcrystalline
      cellulose>starch.

PMID- 9971904
TI  - Percutaneous ethanol injection under general anesthesia for hepatocellular
      carcinoma: 3 year survival in 112 patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) under general anesthesia (One
      Shot PEI) is a new therapy for large and multiple hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
      by the injection of large amount of ethanol in the tumor. We report our results
      with 3 years survival rates in patients with HCC on cirrhosis treated with One
      Shot PEI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: between October 1992 and July 1996, 112 cirrhotic
      patients (79 males; age: 45-80; mean: 64 years) with 215 HCC nodules (diameter
      0.6-14 cm; mean 4.1 cm) underwent One Shot PEI. Fifty-three patients had a single
      nodule (diameter=3-14 cm; mean=4. 5 cm), 59 had two or more (two to five) nodules
      (diameter=0.6-13 cm; mean=4.9). Ethanol injected ranged between 16 and 120 ml per
      session. Survival rates were calculated according to Kaplan-Meier method and
      Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: five patients died
      within 7 h-10 days after the treatment for rupture of esophageal varices in three
      cases, rupture of subcapsular HCC in one case and liver failure in one case. In
      the remaining 107 patients, dynamic CT or spiral CT, performed 72 h-1 month after
      the treatment, showed complete necrosis in 76 cases (71%) and incomplete necrosis
      (although always ?50%) in 31. Survival rates at 1, 2, 3 years in all 107 patients
      were 88, 76, and 76% respectively. Survival rates in Child A Class patients were
      100, 92, 92% and in Class B patients were 84, 72, and 72% at 1, 2, 3 years
      respectively; in Class C were 70 and 40% at 1 and 2 years respectively (P=0.01).
      Survival rates in patients with single nodule were 95, 82 and 82% at 1, 2 and 3
      years, while in patients with multiple nodules were 80, 68 and 58% at 1, 2 and 3
      years respectively (P=n.s.). During the follow-up (6-46 months) 48 patients
      showed intrahepatic recurrences; 41 out of them were retreated with new sessions
      of One Shot PEI or traditional PEI. CONCLUSIONS: PEI One Shot is more aggressive
      than traditional PEI. Survival rates of PEI One Shot seems similar to those
      obtainable by conventional PEI and even better than surgery.

PMID- 9971905
TI  - The effect of methylated beta-cyclodextrins on the tight junctions of the rat
      nasal respiratory epithelium: electron microscopic and confocal laser scanning
      microscopic visualization studies.
AB  - The nasal absorption enhancer randomly methylated beta-cyclodextrin (RAMEB) is
      thought to increase the paracellular permeability of the nasal epithelium by
      opening of the tight junctions. The effects of RAMEB on the cytoskeleton of the
      rat nasal epithelium in vivo were determined by confocal laser scanning
      microscopy (CLSM). The effects on the tight junctions of the rat nasal epithelium
      were also investigated, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of thin
      sections. The effects of RAMEB were compared with those of the absorption
      enhancer sodium taurodihydrofusidate (STDHF). Fifteen minutes after nasal
      administration of 2% RAMEB in vivo, the distribution of cytoskeletal actin was
      comparable to the untreated control, suggesting that RAMEB does not cause opening
      of the tight junctions via cytoskeletal interactions. In contrast, administration
      of 1% STDHF resulted in changes in the actin staining. Furthermore, with TEM
      severe damage of the nasal epithelium was observed after treatment with 1% STDHF.
      Ultrastructural changes of the tight junctions were not apparent in TEM sections
      after treatment with 2% RAMEB. In conclusion, CLSM and TEM are suitable methods
      to visualize the effects of absorption enhancers on nasal epithelial morphology.

PMID- 9971906
TI  - Sonographic findings of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the mesentery-report of
      two cases.
AB  - We present two cases of malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of the mesentery. A
      whorled internal structure observed on sonogram and large feeding and draining
      vessels demonstrated on color Doppler sonogram in these cases were worth
      noticing. When sonography reveals an abdominal tumor with such findings, although
      very rare, the possibility of a MFH of the mesentery must be considered. We also
      review briefly the literature.

PMID- 9971907
TI  - An undetected reason for severe fetal growth retardation.
AB  - In a severely growth-retarded fetus, repeated Doppler ultrasound examinations
      from the 23rd week of gestation on, showed normal and highly pathological blood
      flow velocities in the umbilical artery. A caesarean section performed in the
      39th week of gestation revealed two true umbilical cord knots. Sonographic
      screening for umbilical cord knots may be valuable in similar cases. The use of
      color Doppler could help to visualize the entire course of the umbilical cord.

PMID- 9971908
TI  - Side-to-side differences of the common carotid artery diameter in presence of
      asymmetry of the circle of Willis or different vasculopathies.
AB  - Based on angiographic and carotid ultrasonographic findings in 60 patients with
      stroke or other diseases, we studied what factors affected the side-to-side
      differences of the common carotid artery diameter (CCAD). The side-to-side
      differences of the CCAD were within 0.7 mm in patients with normal cerebral
      angiogram, but a difference above 0.7 mm was found in many patients with
      asymmetry of the circle of Willis or different vasculopathies, such as the
      carotid artery occlusion, cerebral arteriovenous malformation and aortitis.

PMID- 9971909
TI  - Studies on the interaction of diflunisal ion with cyclodextrins using ion
      selective electrode potentiometry.
AB  - The interaction of diflunisal ion (DF) with beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD), gamma
      cyclodextrin (gammaCD), and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPbetaCD) was
      studied in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 5-37 degrees C and various CD
      concentrations using a home-made diflunisal ion-selective electrode. Typical
      direct binding plots and Scatchard plots were obtained with HPbetaCD. The
      Scatchard model for one class of binding sites was used for the estimation of
      binding parameters for the DF/HPbetaCD interaction. The estimates for n (number
      of binding sites per CD molecule) were in all cases very close to unity,
      indicating 1:1 complexation. The association constant (K) estimates decrease with
      increasing temperature. Sigmoidal direct binding plots and concave-downwards
      Scatchard plots were obtained with various betaCD or gammaCD concentrations. The
      Hill model was used for the estimation of the binding parameters for the
      DF/betaCD and DF/gammaCD interactions. Both the Hill coefficients and the binding
      constants were markedly dependent on the CD concentration. These findings
      indicate the cooperative character of DF/betaCD and DF/gammaCD interactions. The
      free energy change, DeltaG, and the thermodynamic parameters, DeltaH and DeltaS,
      were estimated for each of the interactions studied using the Van't Hoff
      equation.

PMID- 9971910
TI  - Liposome-skin interactions and their effects on the skin permeation of drugs.
AB  - The aim of the study was to evaluate the interaction of phospholipid liposomes
      with skin and stratum corneum lipid liposomes (SCLLs). The influence of
      phospholipid liposomes on the skin permeability of model drugs was also studied.
      The transdermal flux of the drugs applied in various phospholipid containing
      formulations through human epidermis was studied in diffusion chambers. Liposomes
      in water solutions did not enhance the skin permeability of the drugs, but when
      ethanol (32% w/v) was present in the donor with EPC (egg yolk lecithin),
      permeabilities of some model drugs were substantially increased. Confocal
      microscopy studies revealed that EPC do not penetrate into the skin from water
      solutions, while from ethanol solutions, EPC penetrates deeply into the stratum
      corneum. Also, resonance energy transfer between different liposome compositions
      and the release of calcein from SCLLs showed that interactions between
      phospholipid liposomes and SCLLs increased with increasing ethanol concentration
      in the liposome solutions.

PMID- 9971911
TI  - Influence of neutron irradiation on Eudragit coated tablets: validation of
      neutron activation II.
AB  - The in vitro characteristics of enteric coated acetylsalicylic acid tablets and
      cores were compared before and after irradiation with thermal neutrons, 2, 4, 7
      or 15 min at 1.1.1013 neutrons cm-2s-I. The irradiation procedure affected the
      coated formulation to a greater extent than the cores. Drug release from tablets
      was already affected after 2 min of exposure, whereas the cores showed no
      significant inhibition of release until after 15 min of irradiation, leading to
      the conclusion that the effects of irradiation were caused by a combination of
      changes both in the core and the coating. Both tablets and cores showed an
      increase in the disintegration time following irradiation. Scanning electron
      micrographs (SEM) of non-irradiated cores/tablets and cores/tablets irradiated
      for 15 min, showed clear differences in the structure of the surface. SEM of the
      tablets irradiated for 15 min, showed that the irradiation had caused the film to
      loosen from the core in several places. SEM of the cross-sections of both
      irradiated tablets and cores showed a partially melted surface above stacked
      layers with reduced porosity.

PMID- 9971912
TI  - Influence of the coating thickness and type of oral delivery system (tablets,
      pellets) on the stability towards degradation by neutron irradiation. Validation
      of neutron activation III.
AB  - Enteric coated dexchlorpheniramine maleate (DCPA) tablets and pellets with
      varying coating thickness were subjected to several in vitro tests after
      irradiation by thermal neutrons in a flux of 1. 1 x 10(13) n cm-2 s-1 for 2, 4 or
      15 min. The appearance of the tablet formulation changed extensively after
      exposure of the tablets to pile radiation. The irradiation caused the film to
      loosen from the surface of the core, indicating the generation of gases during
      the irradiation process. Already after irradiating the tablets for 2 min the
      disintegration and dissolution behaviour were significantly changed. The extent
      of tablet damage increased with increasing time of exposure and increasing
      thickness of the coating. Compared with the tablet formulation, the cores could
      resist a larger amount of irradiation since dissolution behaviour of the cores
      was only affected after 15 min of irradiation. This indicates that the
      irradiation procedure initially affects the coating of the formulation. Although
      the dissolution behaviour of the pellet formulations changed significantly after
      the irradiation procedure, the changes were too small to be attributed
      exclusively to radiation damage.

PMID- 9971913
TI  - Pharmacokinetic curve fitting using numerical inverse Laplace transformation.
AB  - The combination of the nonlinear regression program ADAPT II with Talbot's method
      of numerical Laplace transformation, that allows parameter estimation when the
      model function is given only in the Laplace domain, is described and successfully
      applied to pharmacokinetic problems. The accuracy and precision of the method has
      been found satisfactory; its performance is comparable to that achieved in
      parameter estimation based on functions defined in the time domain.

PMID- 9971914
TI  - Bioequivalence evaluation of two omeprazole enteric-coated formulations in
      humans.
AB  - Omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, effectively suppresses the gastric acid
      secretion in the parietal cells of the stomach. Several previously published
      papers focus on the pharmacokinetics of the drug and its interactions with
      physiological aspects or with other drugs. The increasing number of omeprazole
      containing products available in the market, raises questions of therapeutic
      equivalence and/or generic substitution. The bioequivalence evaluation between
      two or more formulations provides information about in vivo performance. In a
      favorable decision regarding bioequivalence, the products are considered to have
      a similar therapeutic efficacy when used under the same therapeutic conditions.
      This paper reports the design, results and some important aspects involved in a
      bioequivalence study between two solid oral formulations from different
      manufacturers. Some important findings were the high intra-subject variability
      observed for Cmax and the variability observed between subject profiles, probably
      caused by the multi-unit type of formulations studied.

PMID- 9971915
TI  - N-terminal 4-imidazolidinone prodrugs of Leu-enkephalin: synthesis, chemical and
      enzymatic stability studies.
AB  - Four N-terminal 4-imidazolidinone prodrugs of Leu-enkephalin are prepared and
      characterized. Their enzymatic and chemical stability are assessed using high
      performance liquid chromatography. The prodrug derivatives are shown to degrade
      stoichiometrically to Leu-enkephalin in phosphate buffer [t1/2 (0.05 M phosphate
      buffer without KCl): acetone prodrug (II) 930 min; cyclopentanone prodrug (III):
      216 min; cyclohexanone prodrug (IV): 432 min; 4-methylcyclohexanone prodrug (V):
      792 min]. Furthermore, the prodrugs are shown to afford global stabilization of
      the Leu-enkephalin molecule towards the enzymes, aminopeptidase N and angiotensin
      converting enzyme, primarily responsible for degradation of Leu-enkephalin at the
      blood-brain barrier and in plasma. Therefore, the 4-imidazolidinones, being
      metabolic stable and bioreversible, may be suitable prodrug candidates for
      delivery of Leu-enkephalin to important target areas such as the brain, if given
      intravenously.

PMID- 9971916
TI  - Investigation of the mechanism of flux across human skin in vitro by quantitative
      structure-permeability relationships.
AB  - Permeability coefficients for 114 compounds across excised human skin in vitro
      were taken from Kirchner et al. Forty-seven descriptors were calculated
      encompassing the relevant physicochemical parameters of the compounds.
      Quantitative structure-permeability relationships (QSPRs) were developed using
      least-squares regression analysis. A two-parameter QSPR, describing the
      permeability coefficients (Kp) across excised skin, was obtained: log Kp=0.772
      log P -0.0103 Mr - 2.33 where log P is the logarithm of the octanol-water
      partition coefficient and Mr is molecular mass. This equation indicates that
      percutaneous absorption is mediated by the hydrophobicity and the molecular size
      of the penetrant. Comparison with a QSPR based on penetration across a synthetic
      (polydimethylsiloxane) membrane suggests that the mechanisms of drug flux across
      polydimethylsiloxane membranes and excised human skin are significantly
      different.

PMID- 9971917
TI  - Physicochemical properties of amorphous clarithromycin obtained by grinding and
      spray drying.
AB  - In order to characterize the amorphous clarithromycin (CAM) obtained by grinding
      and spray drying, physicochemical properties (crystallinity, thermal behavior,
      stability and solubility parameters) were evaluated. From powder X-ray
      diffraction, it was estimated that the crystalline state of CAM was changed into
      an amorphous state by grinding and spray drying. In differential scanning
      calorimetry measurements, both broad and sharp peaks for crystallization were
      observed in ground samples, whereas spray dried samples showed one broad peak due
      to crystallization. As to the stability test under high humidity, structural
      difference was confirmed between ground CAMs and spray dried CAM. The heat of
      dissolution of ground CAMs was greater than that of intact CAM. In the solubility
      parameter measurement, the increase of the special term, deltas, indicated that
      the energy change was due to the polarity of the surface energy of the powder
      particles by grinding.

PMID- 9971918
TI  - Influence of the physico-chemical properties of ophthalmic viscolysers on the
      weight of drops dispensed from a flexible dropper bottle.
AB  - The present study investigated the influence of the rheological behaviour, the
      viscoelasticity and surface tension of various viscolysers on the weight of drops
      dispensed from a commercially available flexible dropper bottle. Furthermore, the
      effect of the concentration and molecular weight of some viscolysers and the
      angle at which the dropper bottle is held, were studied. Up to a value of 25 mPa
      x s, the viscosity and the rheological behaviour of the solution had no
      significant influence on the drop weight under conditions simulating patient
      manipulation. The lower the dynamic surface tension of the solution, however, the
      lower the weight of drops delivered. The dispensing angle (90 or 45 degrees) of
      the dropper bottle, on the other hand, had an impact on the weight of drops
      dispensed.

PMID- 9971919
TI  - Health care delivery.

PMID- 9971920
TI  - Effects of mandibular incisor extraction on anterior occlusion in adults with
      Class III malocclusion and reduced overbite.
AB  - The aim of this study was to assess the treatment outcome and changes in
      mandibular incisor position after extraction of one single incisor in 36 adult
      orthodontic cases with combined Class III and open bite tendencies. The cases
      consisted of 21 female and 15 male patients with an average age of 27.8 years
      (standard deviation [SD], 11.1 years) at the start. Fixed 0.018-inch Edgewise
      appliances were used in both arches in 19 patients and in the mandibular arch in
      17 patients. Average treatment time was 18 months (SD, 7.1 months). Pretreatment
      ANB was 0.5(o) (SD, 2.7 degrees), overjet 1.4 mm (SD, 1.9 mm), and overbite 1.5
      mm (SD, 1.1 mm). The lower incisors were 3.6 mm (SD, 2.8 mm) in front of the APg
      line, and the Averaged Irregularity Index was 1.1 mm (SD, 0.6 mm). Records
      representing pretreatment (T1), posttreatment (T2), and average 4.3 years (SD,
      2.3 years) retention (T3) included cephalograms, panoramic films, intraoral and
      extraoral photographs, and plaster models. All cast measurements were made with
      digital calipers. On the cephalograms, the lower incisor tips moved posteriorly
      1.7 mm (SD, 2.0 mm) and occlusally 1.5 mm (SD, 1.8 mm) from pretreatment to
      posttreatment. Relative to the x-axis, they tipped lingually 5.9(o) (SD, 5.6
      degrees). On the cast analysis, overjet increased 1.0 mm (SD, 1.9 mm) and 1.5 mm
      (SD, 1.5 mm) for the maxillary central and lateral incisors, respectively,
      whereas overbite increased 0.6 mm for both the central and lateral incisors. The
      intercanine width was reduced by 3.3 mm (SD, 2.0 mm), while the intermolar width
      was unchanged. The Average Irregularity Index was reduced from 1.1 to 0. 2 mm.
      Arch-length was reduced 3.6 mm from pretreatment to posttreatment, and another
      0.3 mm from posttreatment to 4.3-years retention. Other changes from
      posttreatment to 4.3-years retention were slight. No loss of the interdental
      gingival papillae was normally observed. It is concluded that the extraction of
      one mandibular incisor can lead to satisfactory treatment results in adults with
      mild Class III malocclusion and reduced overbite, particularly when coupled with
      a large mandibular intercanine width and minor crowding, and some mandibular
      tooth size excess. However, the orthodontic treatment frequently became more
      complicated and time-consuming than expected at the start.

PMID- 9971921
TI  - A comparison of the shear bond strengths of two glass ionomer cements.
AB  - The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro shear bond strength (in
      megapascals) and location of bond failure with two light-cured glass ionomer
      resin systems. One system was a hybrid glass ionomer cement with resin (GC
      Orthodontics, Aslip, Ill), and the other system a glass-filled resin system
      (Reliance Orthodontic Products, Inc, Itasca, Ill). These systems, Fuji Ortho LC
      (GC Orthodontics) and Ultra Band Lok (Reliance), respectively, were compared to a
      light-cured composite resin. Maxillary premolar brackets (n = 200) were bonded to
      the facial surface of human premolar teeth. The two glass ionomer resin systems
      were each evaluated by two protocols, one according to the manufacturers'
      direction plus a variation of their respective technique. The five distinct
      groups (n = 40) were stored in 37 degreesC distilled water for 30 days and
      subjected to thermocycling before shear bond strength testing. The findings
      indicated that large variations existed between the bond strengths of the
      materials tested. The laboratory shear bond strength of the glass-filled resin
      glass ionomer cement (Reliance), whether tested in a dry or moist field, was
      similar to the composite control with all of the previous materials being
      significantly (P <.01) higher than both the hybrid glass ionomer cement groups
      (Fuji Ortho LC). However, the hybrid glass ionomer cement with enamel conditioner
      demonstrated a clinically acceptable mean megapascal value. The Adhesive Remnant
      Index values ranged from 0.53 to 1.62. The hybrid glass ionomer cement without
      enamel conditioning recorded the lowest mean adhesive remnant index score and the
      lowest mean megapascal score. Although both products are glass ionomer resin
      systems, their individual chemistries vary; this affects their clinical
      performance. Clinically, it may be suggested that glass ionomers used in a dry
      field may be beneficial for orthodontic bonding, and that glass ionomer resin
      systems used in a moist environment need an enamel conditioner.

PMID- 9971922
TI  - Intermaxillary forces during activator treatment.
AB  - The mode of action of the activator appliance is still unclear. Apart from a
      possible mandibular growth enhancing effect, some investigators believe that
      orthopedic forces may be applied to the maxilla, contributing to Class II
      correction by inhibition of maxillary growth. In addition, orthodontic forces may
      arise that produce dentoalveolar changes. The purpose of this study was to
      measure the magnitude of anteroposterior intermaxillary forces during wear of the
      activator appliance. Ten consecutive patients with Class II dental and skeletal
      relationships were treated with a modified activator appliance. The appliance had
      maxillary and mandibular segments that could be detached from each other during
      the measuring session. A force transducer was placed at the anterior part of the
      maxillary segment, and the anteroposterior force exerted by the mandibular
      segment was measured. Measurements were taken in the upright and reclined
      position at every patient visit for a period of 6 months. Results indicated that
      intermaxillary forces were generally in the orthodontic range (median values of
      100 gf at the upright position and 123 gf at the reclined position). A wide
      variation in force levels was noted, both between patients and for the same
      patient during the experimental period. No statistically significant change in
      force levels was observed during the 6 month period and no difference was noted
      between upright and reclined posture.

PMID- 9971923
TI  - Magnetic resonance images and histology of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis in
      young monkeys (Macaca fuscata).
AB  - Magnetic resonance images and the histology of spheno-occipital synchondrosis
      were examined in young monkeys in order to compare the magnetic resonance images
      with their histologic observations. In serial magnetics resonance images of
      posterior cranial base, the spheno-occipital synchondrosis showed a low signal
      zone with unclear boundaries, running through the posterior cranial base
      perpendicularly to the clivus. The zone was always interposed between nonsignal
      zones. These observations were the same as those in young juvenile human beings.
      The histologic sections also revealed that the low signal zone was really the
      spheno-occipital synchondrosis, which consisted of hyaline cartilage and that the
      nonsignal zones were bone tissues. The chondroblasts in the spheno-occipital
      synchondrosis were arranged bipolarly. Intense alkaline phosphatase activity was
      located in the areas along the bone. Tetracycline labeling was also noticed in
      the bone formed in the endochondral ossification. These results suggest that
      magnetic resonance imaging enables us to observe the spheno-occipital
      synchondrosis in the posterior cranial base and also to elucidate its influences
      on the growth of maxilla and mandible in the future.

PMID- 9971924
TI  - Bonding of hybrid ionomers and resin cements to modified orthodontic band
      materials.
AB  - Orthodontic bands often fail clinically at the band-cement interface. Hybrid
      ionomer and resin cements and a glass ionomer control were bonded to photo-etched
      and standard band materials, both of which were tested in as-received and air
      abraded conditions. Cements were placed in a 3 mm diameter mold at the bonding
      interface and bonded to 6 x 6 mm stainless steel band specimens mounted to
      acrylic blocks. Specimens were stored in water for 24 hours at 37 degreesC and
      debonded in tension on a testing machine at 0.05 cm/minutes. Bond strengths (MPa)
      were calculated and data were analyzed by analysis of variance. Bond strengths to
      as-received bands were less than 3.4 MPa for cements tested, whereas bond
      strengths to air-abraded bands ranged from 7.1 to 17.7 MPa, except for the glass
      ionomer control. Air abrasion of band materials provides highly increased bond
      strength of hybrid ionomer and resin cements.

PMID- 9971925
TI  - Class II, division 1, case with multiple treatment challenges.
AB  - This is a case report of a 23-year-old black woman with a skeletal Class II
      Division 1 malocclusion and an anterior open bite. The maxillary central incisor
      root was severely dilacerated, a maxillary lateral incisor and canine were
      transposed, a maxillary canine was impacted near the orbital rim, and a
      mandibular second premolar was congenitally missing. Selective extractions and
      attention to detail provided outstanding occlusal function and improved facial
      esthetics.

PMID- 9971926
TI  - Analysis of rapid maxillary molar distal movement without patient cooperation.
AB  - The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the treatment effects of an
      intraoral appliance used for rapid distal movement of the maxillary molars. The
      appliance studied, the Jones jig, is designed to deliver a distalizing force to
      the maxillary molar against an intraoral anchorage unit thereby eliminating the
      need for patient compliance. A retrospective study was performed comparing before
      and after lateral cephalometric radiographs on 13 patients who were treated for
      an average of 26 weeks with the Jones jig. The cephalometric radiographs were
      evaluated to determine if there were significant differences between pretreatment
      and posttreatment variables that included skeletal, dental and soft tissue
      relationships. Differences between the pretreatment and posttreatment means were
      significant for mesial angulation of the premolar anchorage unit (P <.001),
      distal movement of the maxillary molars (P <.01), mesial movement of the premolar
      anchorage unit (P <. 01), mesial movement of the maxillary incisors (P <.001),
      and increased lower anterior facial height (P <.01). The anchorage loss, flared
      maxillary incisors, and increased facial height are negative treatment effects
      that should be expected when using this or similar appliance design.

PMID- 9971927
TI  - Impact resistance of ceramic brackets according to ophthalmic lenses standards.
AB  - The overall resistance to accidental blows of the many ceramic brackets that are
      sold today has not been explored. Facing a similar diversity, the eyeglasses
      industry has chosen to standardize the testing of lenses by subjecting them to
      the drop of a steel ball. By slightly modifying this test, 10 brands of ceramic
      brackets were examined. In most cases, the findings coincided with those found by
      other authors when duplicating debonding. Thus, polycrystalline ceramics with
      bulkier structures and glazed surfaces were found to be more resistant to impact
      than the monocrystalline brackets, the loftier real "twins," and the less dense
      attachments. Protruding tie wings and bases were liabilities, and domed
      configurations seemed to deflect the blows. Bulkier "single" designs alone did
      not offer a guarantee of impact resistance when not accompanied by an appropriate
      microstructure and a smooth surface. The ceramic brackets most resistant to
      impact were found to be 20/20 by American Orthodontics and Fascination by
      Dentaurum. Medium resistance was displayed by Lumina by Ormco, Allure III and
      Allure by GAC, Transcend 2000 and Transcend by Unitek/3M; the last was not as
      good as the other four. The least resistant were Illusion by Ortho-Organizers,
      Intrigue by Lancer Orthodontics, and Starfire TMB by "A"-Co. Probably because of
      its real twin design, the last bracket lends itself to the highest probability
      for accidental breakage. Although resistance to impact and accidental debonding
      is desirable from the point of view of treatment, the advantage should be
      weighted against the chance of enamel fracture. Indeed a weak bracket attached
      with a soft adhesive may be preferable when the chance of an increased exposure
      to accidental blows is probable. In such cases, the ceramic may take the brunt of
      the force, instead of the tooth.

PMID- 9971928
TI  - Skeletal anchorage system for open-bite correction.
AB  - A skeletal anchorage system was developed for tooth movements. It consists of a
      titanium miniplate that is temporarily implanted in the maxilla or the mandible
      as an immobile anchorage. In this article, we introduce the skeletal anchorage
      system to intrude the lower molars in open-bite malocclusion and evaluate the
      results of treatment in two severe open-bite cases that underwent orthodontic
      treatment with the system. Titanium miniplates were fixed at the buccal cortical
      bone around the apical regions of the lower first and second molars on both the
      right and left sides. Elastic threads were used as a source of orthodontic force
      to reduce excessive molar height. The lower molars were intruded about 3 to 5 mm,
      and open-bite was significantly improved with little if any extrusion of the
      lower incisors. No serious side-effects were observed during the orthodontic
      treatment. The system was also very effective for controlling the cant and level
      of the occlusal plane during orthodontic open-bite correction.

PMID- 9971929
TI  - Craniofacial adaptations induced by chincup therapy in Class III patients.
AB  - The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of an orthopedic force
      produced by chincup treatment in patients with Class III malocclusion.
      Anteroposterior maxillary and mandibular changes were examined as were changes in
      the vertical dimension. Further, the possibility of posterior displacement of
      temporomandibular joints in treated Class III subjects was evaluated. Serial
      lateral headfilms of 22 young females (average age, 9 years), who had received
      chincup therapy were compared with those of 20 skeletal Class III subjects of
      similar age who received no treatment during the interval studied. A computerized
      x-y coordinate program was applied to analyze the cephalometric landmarks and
      measurements. The treated group showed improvement of the skeletal Class III
      pattern associated with a slight increase (0.8 degrees per year) in SNA and a
      slight decrease (-0.7 degrees per year) in SNB and also a decreased gonial angle.
      The distance from the condyle to the chin (Co-Gn or effective mandibular length)
      increased significantly less in the treated group in comparison with controls.
      Increases in lower anterior facial height were not different between the treated
      and untreated groups. In addition, the cranial base angles N-S-Ba and N-S-Ar
      showed no statistical difference between groups, but these angles tended to
      increase with time in both groups. Basion and Articulare showed almost the same
      amount of backward and downward movement in both groups. The results of this
      study indicate that the primary effect of chincup therapy was in producing a
      reduction in mandibular growth increments during the period studied. Maxillary
      growth was not affected during treatment. Further, the results of this study fail
      to support the hypothesis that chincup appliance significantly induces the
      posterior displacement of the glenoid fossa.

PMID- 9971931
TI  - Howard W. Conley.

PMID- 9971930
TI  - Ethics case analysis: another doctor's mistreatment. Litigation, legislation, and
      ethics.

PMID- 9971932
TI  - Erratum: Test of the theory of inelastic breakup for the (3He,d) breakup reaction

PMID- 9971933
TI  - Erratum: Behavior of pions incident on a slab of uniform complex nuclear material

PMID- 9971934
TI  - Erratum: Analytic distorted wave approximation for pion scattering from nuclei

PMID- 9971936
TI  - Erratum: Simple parametrization of the pi -N amplitude

PMID- 9971935
TI  - Erratum: Uranium target fragmentation by intermediate and high energy 12C and
      20Ne ions

PMID- 9971937
TI  - Erratum: Angular distributions in heavy-ion-induced fission

PMID- 9971938
TI  - Erratum: Elimination of the linear energy dependence of nonlocal optical
      potentials

PMID- 9971939
TI  - Erratum: Identification of collective flow by transverse-momentum analysis of
      emulsion data for Au+AgBr and Xe+AgBr

PMID- 9971940
TI  - Erratum: Comparison of SU(3) phenomenologies in the sd shell

PMID- 9971941
TI  - Erratum: "Exact" relativistic theory of two-body bound-state wave functions

PMID- 9971942
TI  - Erratum: Effects of center-of-mass motion in the resonating-group theory of n

PMID- 9971943
TI  - Erratum: Relativistic quarks in one-dimensional periodic structures

PMID- 9971944
TI  - Erratum: 6Li--> alpha

PMID- 9971945
TI  - Erratum: Elastic electromagnetic form factors of 6Li from three-body models

PMID- 9971947
TI  - Erratum: Preequilibrium neutron emission in the reactions 90Zr, 208Pb(p,xn) with
      80 MeV projectiles

PMID- 9971946
TI  - Erratum: Total cross section and resonance spectroscopy for n+86Kr

PMID- 9971948
TI  - Erratum: Some general properties of the O( alpha ) corrections to parity
      violation in atoms

PMID- 9971949
TI  - Erratum: Testing the standard model by precise determinations of W* and Z masses

PMID- 9971950
TI  - Erratum: Stability of charged rotating black holes in the eikonal approximation

PMID- 9971951
TI  - Erratum: Onsager principle of microscopic reversibility and supersymmetry

PMID- 9971952
TI  - Erratum: Ultralight Dirac neutrinos from possible supergrand scenario

PMID- 9971954
TI  - Erratum: K+13 decays involving finite neutrino mass and mass mixing

PMID- 9971953
TI  - Erratum: Time variation of coupling constants in Kaluza-Klein cosmologies

PMID- 9971955
TI  - Erratum: Glueball theory of the xi (2.22)

PMID- 9971956
TI  - Erratum: Gauge invariance and the finite-element solution of the Schwinger model

PMID- 9971957
TI  - Erratum: Majorana neutrinos and photinos from kaon decay

PMID- 9971958
TI  - Erratum: Production and detection of high-energy neutrinos from Cygnus X-3

PMID- 9971959
TI  - Erratum: Asymptotic scaling in Hamiltonian calculations of the O(3) sigma model

PMID- 9971960
TI  - Erratum: Nonrelativistic potential scattering through the shifted large-dimension
      expansion

PMID- 9971961
TI  - Erratum: Comparing the Schrodinger and spinless Salpeter equations for heavy
      quark bound states

PMID- 9971962
TI  - Erratum: Evolution of cosmic strings

PMID- 9971963
TI  - Erratum: Feynman path integral and the photon

PMID- 9971964
TI  - Erratum: Wess-Zumino action from the Grammer-Yennie approximation

PMID- 9971965
TI  - Erratum: Temperature-induced interaction: lambda phi4 theory

PMID- 9971966
TI  - Erratum: Evolution of evaporating black holes in an inflationary universe

PMID- 9971967
TI  - Erratum: Evolution of cosmic strings

PMID- 9971968
TI  - Erratum: Quantum gauge fields at high curvature

PMID- 9971969
TI  - Erratum: Relics of cosmic quark condensation

PMID- 9971970
TI  - Erratum: How to measure the curvature of space-time

PMID- 9971971
TI  - Erratum: Meson-exchange models for low-energy nucleon-antinucleon scattering

PMID- 9971973
TI  - Erratum: Electroweak production of heavy quarks in e+e- annihilation

PMID- 9971972
TI  - Erratum: Analytic bounds on all light-Higgs-boson masses from supergravity

PMID- 9971975
TI  - Erratum: Detecting the radiation amplitude zero in e+/-p-->e+/-p gamma

PMID- 9971974
TI  - Erratum: Non-Abelian symmetries from higher dimensions in string theories

PMID- 9971977
TI  - Erratum: Penguin matrix elements in chiral perturbation theory and in vacuum
      insertion

PMID- 9971976
TI  - Erratum: Analysis of charm-->PP based on SU(3) symmetry and final-state
      interactions

PMID- 9971978
TI  - Erratum: B0-->D0+ gamma decay as a probe for short-distance QCD corrections

PMID- 9971980
TI  - Erratum: Analytic expression for baryon semileptonic decay rate

PMID- 9971979
TI  - Erratum: From QCD to the low-energy effective action through composite fields:
      Goldstone's theorem and f pi

PMID- 9971981
TI  - Erratum: Null-plane formulation of Bethe-Salpeter qqq dynamics: Baryon mass
      spectra

PMID- 9971982
TI  - Erratum: Approximate higher-order corrections and changes of scales in large-pT
      physics

PMID- 9971984
TI  - Erratum: Equation of motion for bubble boundaries

PMID- 9971983
TI  - Erratum: Strategies to search for the standard-model Higgs boson at a 1-TeV e+e-
      collider

PMID- 9971985
TI  - Erratum: Exponentiation of soft photons in Monte Carlo event generators: The case
      of the Bonneau-Martin cross section

PMID- 9971986
TI  - Erratum: Nonmonotonic behavior of a contact angle on approaching critical end
      points

PMID- 9971987
TI  - Erratum: Experimental study of the signal-to-noise ratio of stochastic resonance
      systems

PMID- 9971988
TI  - Erratum: Manifolds in random media: Multifractal behavior

PMID- 9971989
TI  - Erratum: Fluctuations in solidification

PMID- 9971990
TI  - Erratum: Measurement of the persistence length of polymerized actin using
      fluorescence microscopy

PMID- 9971991
TI  - Erratum: Strongly localized gap solitons in diatomic lattices

PMID- 9971992
TI  - Erratum: Metastable wetting layers

PMID- 9971993
TI  - Erratum: Soliton growth-signal transduction in topologically quantized T cells

PMID- 9971994
TI  - Erratum: Phase transitions in solutions of variably ionizable particles

PMID- 9971995
TI  - Erratum: Multilevel tunneling and coherence: Dissipative spin-hopping dynamics at
      finite temperatures

PMID- 9971996
TI  - Erratum: Deformation and adhesion of elastic bodies in contact

PMID- 9971997
TI  - Erratum: Escape from a fluctuating double well

PMID- 9971998
TI  - Erratum: alpha -particle transport-driven current in tokamaks

PMID- 9971999
TI  - Erratum: Phase diagram and critical behavior of the ferromagnetic Heisenberg
      fluid from density-functional theory

PMID- 9972000
TI  - Erratum: Stationary probability distribution near stable limit cycles far from
      Hopf bifurcation points

PMID- 9972001
TI  - Erratum: Classical stochasticity threshold and quantum mechanics

PMID- 9972002
TI  - Erratum: Kinetic theory of multicomponent dense mixtures of slightly inelastic
      spherical particles

PMID- 9972004
TI  - Erratum: Growth of breakdown susceptibility in random composites and the stick
      slip model of earthquakes: Prediction of dielectric breakdown and other
      catastrophes

PMID- 9972003
TI  - Erratum: Folding RNA with the minimal loss of entropy

PMID- 9972005
TI  - Erratum: Non-Poisson statistics of reactive events and nonexponential kinetics

PMID- 9972006
TI  - Erratum: State diagram of polydisperse elastic-disk systems

PMID- 9972007
TI  - Erratum: Zipf's law in percolation

PMID- 9972008
TI  - Erratum: Hydrodynamic interaction of particles with grafted polymer brushes and
      applications to rheology of colloidal dispersions

PMID- 9972009
TI  - Erratum: beta +-electron-capture decay of 69Se

PMID- 9972010
TI  - Erratum: Differences in straggling for positrons and electrons

PMID- 9972011
TI  - Erratum: Spin density and the real part of the heavy-ion potential

PMID- 9972012
TI  - Erratum: Approximate energy correction for particle number symmetry breaking in
      constrained Hartree-Fock plus BCS calculations

PMID- 9972013
TI  - Erratum: Quadrupole moments and band-mixing in tungsten nuclei

PMID- 9972014
TI  - Erratum: "Determination of energies and widths of neutron-unbound states from
      heavy-ion collisions"

PMID- 9972015
TI  - Erratum: Unusual behavior of projectile fragments produced by the interactions of
      relativistic Ar ions with copper

PMID- 9972016
TI  - Erratum: Radioactivity in strange quark matter

PMID- 9972018
TI  - Erratum: Charge dependence and electric quadrupole effects on single-nucleon
      removal in relativistic and intermediate energy nuclear collisions

PMID- 9972017
TI  - Erratum: Microscopic calculation for Ne on NaF at 45 MeV per nucleon

PMID- 9972019
TI  - Erratum: Particle multiplicity dependence of high-energy photon production in a
      heavy-ion reaction

PMID- 9972020
TI  - Erratum: Search for particle-bound neutral nuclei in heavy-ion-induced reactions

PMID- 9972022
TI  - Erratum: Parametrization of thermal photon emission rates from mesonic matter

PMID- 9972021
TI  - Erratum: Inelastic scattering of polarized protons from 4He at 500 and 800 MeV

PMID- 9972023
TI  - Erratum: Inertial parameters of the Skyrmion-Skyrmion system with the product
      ansatz

PMID- 9972025
TI  - Erratum: Theoretical description of octupole correlations in the 138-148Xe nuclei

PMID- 9972024
TI  - Erratum: Complex, energy-independent, local potential reproducing an absorptive
      phase shift and a bound state

PMID- 9972026
TI  - Erratum: From nuclear matter to finite nuclei. I. Parametrization of the Dirac
      Brueckner G matrix

PMID- 9972027
TI  - Erratum: Exchange process amplitudes in coherent pion production

PMID- 9972029
TI  - Erratum: Kaon-nucleon couplings for weak decays of hypernuclei

PMID- 9972028
TI  - Erratum: Baryon-baryon components in the deuteron as quark-exchange currents

PMID- 9972030
TI  - [Health surveys in the school environment: between rigor and opportunity].

PMID- 9972031
TI  - [The consumption of tobacco, alcohol and noninstitutionalized-use drugs by middle
      school students of Terrassa].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Because adolescence is the stage during which most people begin their
      drug use, we wanted to investigate adolescent's use of and attitudes towards
      drugs. This paper aims to describe prevalence of students (14-18 years old) drug
      use in the city of Terrassa (Spain) for the school year 1994-1995. METHODS: A
      school survey was carried out for a representative sample of 1,269 students. A
      questionnaire was developed following W.H.O. guidelines. It includes information
      on demographic characteristics, legal and illegal drug use, information and
      attitudes towards drugs, and other related factors. RESULTS: Thirty seven percent
      smoked within the last 30 days, and 60% drunk alcohol. Thirty-two percent had
      been drunk at least once. Cannabis was the most widely used drug (25.9%) followed
      by hallucinogens (7.2%), tranquillizers (4.4%), inhalants (4.3%), amphetamines
      (4%), cocaine (1.7%) and heroin (0.2%). The prevalence for the use of cannabis
      within the last 30 days was 11%, and around 1% for the use of all other drugs
      within the same period of time. Increased drug use was observed with age. No
      differences among sexes were observed for prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use,
      although boys showed a more intensive pattern. For the other drugs, higher
      prevalence was observed in the male population except for tranquillizers whose
      use was more prevalent among women. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of drug use
      observed, suggest the need to introduce more extensively programs for the
      prevention of drug use, beginning in primary school.

PMID- 9972032
TI  - [Tobacco consumption among the student population. Related factors].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To know smoking prevalence among schoolchildren and factors related
      with this habit. METHODS: A cross-sectional study. 548 school-children in their
      6th and 8th years of primary studies at schools from an area of Cordoba (Spain)
      were interviewed. INTERVENTIONS: Autoadministered questionnaire. RESULTS: Tobacco
      was tried in 22% (CI 95%: 18.7-25.8) school-children. The average age for
      starting with this habit was 11.6 (SD)(CI 95%: 11.4-11.8). 12.1% smoked regularly
      and 1.3% smokers every day. The tobacco consumption in children was related with
      age (OR = 2.96; CI 95%: 1.12-7.82), cough medicines consumption (OR = 3.15; CI
      95%: 1.32-7.48), to have a smokers sister (OR = 2.53; CI 95%: 1.06-6.00) and best
      friend (OR = 4.42; CI 95%: 1.85-10.60) and drinking beer (OR = 3.68; CI 95%: 1.15
      11.7). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking in our school-children is very
      close to that reported by others. Among the factors accounted with the tobacco
      consumption in schoolchildren, highlight the presence of this habit in the eldest
      sister and the best friend.

PMID- 9972033
TI  - [The relationship between personality, attitudes and alcohol and tobacco
      consumption and exercise in students].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study the relation between tobacco and alcohol use and exercise,
      attitudes toward these habits, and the Sensation-Seeking personality trait in
      students. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A transversal descriptive study was carried out
      in the city of Lerida in 1990 in a sample of 430 sixth-grade students and 383
      eighth-grade students. The sample was obtained by random sampling of aggregates
      and stratified by the titularity of the school. An analysis was made of the
      tobacco and the alcohol use, the levels of physical exercise and the attitudes,
      among other variables, using the FRISC questionnaire. In eighth grade students,
      the Sensation-Seeking personality questionnaire was added. RESULTS: The overall
      scores for Emotion Seeking (EMS), Disinhibition (DIS), Sincerity, and the overall
      score for Sensation Seeking (SS) were higher for males. The students most active
      in sports had more favorable attitudes toward exercise and higher EMS and DIS
      scores. Smokers and drinkers had favorable attitudes toward these habits, opposed
      their prohibition, and had higher scores for all the subscales and the overall
      SS. There was a correlation between favorable attitudes toward tobacco (-0.38)
      and alcohol (-0.51), and the DIS score. Attitudes toward alcohol also correlated
      with the overall SS score. DISCUSSION: There was a close relation between habits,
      attitudes, and personality. Although the approach for modifying unhealthy habits
      should be proposed from a multifactorial perspective, the SS questionnaire could
      be a useful element for detecting persons who feel the need to seek new
      sensations and refocusing this tendency on healthier habits.

PMID- 9972034
TI  - [The consumption of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs by adolescent Spanish
      students].
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken in the mid-1990s (1994) to describe the use
      of tobacco, alcohol, and non-institutionalized drugs among pre-adolescent and
      adolescent Spanish students. METHODS: Information was collected within the
      framework of a periodic transversal study of life styles among European students,
      with particular emphasis on health-related habits. In the current study we
      present the results of the last survey carried out in Spain within the context of
      this study (1994), which involved a representative sample of Spanish students 11,
      13, 15, 17 and 18 years-old (n = 6,711). An anonymous questionnaire was completed
      by the students in class. The survey sampling uses proportionate stratification
      and multistage sampling. RESULTS: In 1994, 49% of the Spanish students in this
      age group had tried tobacco. Twenty-four percent were sporadic or regular
      smokers. There was a large proportion of female smokers than male smokers (27% vs
      20%). The overall proportion of smokers increased from 3% at 11 years to 47% at
      18 years. One third (33%) of the 18-year-old students smoked daily. Eighty-four
      percent of the students of this age indicated that they had tried one or more
      types of alcoholic beverage. Twenty-one percent consumed alcohol regularly (at
      least once a week). Regular alcohol use was somewhat more common among males
      (24%) than among females (19%). Forty-six percent of the 18-year-old students
      consumed alcoholic beverages regularly and 66% had been intoxicated one or more
      times. Almost one fifth (18%) of the 13-to-18 year-old students indicated that
      they had tried some type of non-institutionalized drug, although the current rate
      of consumption was 8%. Cannabis was the drug most frequently tried (18%) and the
      drug most often consumed at present (8%), followed by cocaine and heroin. More
      males than females had tried non-institutionalized drugs. DISCUSSION: Analysis of
      the data revealed that adolescent tobacco use is increasingly frequent among
      females. Alcohol use continues to be widespread among Spanish pre-adolescents and
      adolescents. Alcohol use begins in childhood and becomes consolidated in
      adolescence. The results suggest, in relation to gender differences in the use of
      tobacco, alcohol, and non-institutionalized drugs, that there is a strong
      tendency toward the homogenization of these habits between genders. It is
      necessary to emphasize the preventive measures of drug dependence among Spanish
      pre-adolescents and adolescents.

PMID- 9972035
TI  - [Health-related behaviors in secondary-school students: sexual relations and
      tobacco, alcohol and cannabis consumption].
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The main premature mortality causes among youngsters
      are related to risk behaviors, usually initiated in adolescence. The study
      objective is to describe substance use and sexual behaviours among 10th-grade
      Barcelona students in 1996 (last year of compulsory education), as well as the
      interrelations between these variables and several sociodemographic variables.
      METHODS: Cross sectional study. Random sample including 35 10th grade classrooms
      (958 students whose mean age is 15.8 years old) stratified by academic or
      vocational studies, public or private school, school neighbourhood
      socioeconomical level and school size. Measurement instrument is a previously
      validated questionnaire. Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption, sexual
      intercourse as well as gender, age, weekly available money, parental instruction
      and type of studies are studied. Bivariate chi 2 analysis and multivariate gender
      specific log-linear model are performed. RESULTS: 27% of the students smoke daily
      and 31% drink alcohol weekly. 15% have had sexual intercourse, and among those
      79% use always or almost always condoms. Among girls tobacco consumption is
      related to alcohol (OR = 4.2), to cannabis (OR = 5.9) and sexual intercourse (OR
      = 3.9), and, less strongly, with age, available money and vocational studies.
      Alcohol is associated with tobacco and cannabis use (OR = 4.2). Having had sexual
      intercourse is related to tobacco use, age (OR = 3.4), vocational studies (OR =
      2.4) and cannabis experience (OR = 2.8). Among boys tobacco consumption is
      related to alcohol, (OR = 2.7), to cannabis (OR = 7.6) and sexual intercourse (OR
      = 4.4), and, less strongly, to available money and type of studies. Alcohol
      consumption is associated with tobacco and cannabis use (OR = 5.5). Sexual
      intercourse is related to tobacco use and age (OR = 2.5). DISCUSSION: Risk
      behaviors among final year secondary school students are strongly and
      significantly interrelated, both among boys and among girls, and are more
      frequent among older students, those with more money available and those in
      vocational curricula.

PMID- 9972036
TI  - [A criterion for omitting superfluous variables in regression models].

PMID- 9972037
TI  - [Changes in the lymphoma incidence in the population of Tarragona 1984-1992].

PMID- 9972038
TI  - [Medline. The Internet versus CD-Rom].

PMID- 9972040
TI  - Similarities and interactions between GABAergic and glutaminergic systems.
AB  - Harmonious interactions between neurotransmitter systems are important for
      regulating the activity in the central nervous system (CNS). gamma-Aminobutyric
      acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) are major inhibitory and excitatory
      neurotransmitters in the mammalian central nervous system. Neuronal excitability,
      probably synaptic plasticity, cognitive performance, learning and memory
      processes frequently the results of the balance of GABAergic inhibitory and
      glutaminergic excitatory inputs.

PMID- 9972041
TI  - Histological diagnosis of gastritis based on Sydney System.
AB  - The review of literature concerning gastritis, especially the chronic form has
      been carried out. Based on published data and own authors experience an
      application of the Sydney System in differential diagnosis of gastritis was
      presented.

PMID- 9972042
TI  - Cellular serine carboxypeptidases.
AB  - The literature on serine carboxypeptidases of cells is reviewed. These proteases
      occur in the vacuoles of fungi and higher plants and in the lysosomes of animals
      and man cells. Physico-chemical properties, chemical structure, catalytic
      mechanism and substrate specificity of these enzymes are presented.

PMID- 9972043
TI  - The effect of cyclophosphamide on the ultrastructure of erythrocytes.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to analyse the effect of single intraperitoneal
      administration of cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg b.w.) on the morphological changes
      in erythrocytes. The study of erythrocytes was based on the ultrastructural
      analysis in the transmission electron microscope (TEM)--in situ examinations and
      ultrastructural analysis in the scanning electron microscope (SEM)--in vitro
      examinations of the blood collected from the right and left ventricle of the
      heart. A single intraperitoneal cyclophosphamide administration was found to
      cause in the deformability of erythrocytes, which was observed both in TEM and
      SEM. The altered shape of erythrocytes observed in SEM referred mainly to the
      blood samples collected from the left ventricle rather than the right. The
      results obtained suggest that the changes in erythrocyte deformability may cause
      the development of pulmonary microembolism observed after intraperitoneal
      administration of cyclophosphamide.

PMID- 9972044
TI  - Hyphomycetes in rain water draining from intact trees.
AB  - The authors investigated Hyphomycetes in rain water flowing down from leaves of
      10 gymnospermous and 10 angiospermous tree species in northeastern Poland. The
      presence of 57 Hyphomycetes species was noted. Only 17 species were found to
      develop both on gymnospermous and angiospermous tree species out of 57 found in
      rain water flowing down the trees. 16 Hyphomycetes species were observed in rain
      water flowing down the angiospermous trees, while 24 species in the water from
      the gymnospermous trees. 13 Hyphomycetes species were recorded for the first time
      from Poland.

PMID- 9972045
TI  - Hyphomycetes in the snow from gymnosperm trees.
AB  - The presence of 26 hyphomycete species was noted in snow water collected from
      coniferous trees. Camposporium pellucidum, Monodictys peruviana, Polystratorictus
      fusarioideus, Sporidesmium moniliforme, Tripospermum acerinum and Veronaea
      botryosa were recorded for the first time to Poland. Among the 26 species found
      in snow water from coniferous trees predominance of the socalled aero-aquatic
      hyphomycetes and only a few species belong to the group of aquatic hyphomycetes.

PMID- 9972046
TI  - Effects of Venoruton on early postradiation damage in the lungs of rats.
AB  - The study aimed at testing the effects of Venoruton on the early postradiation
      damage in the lungs of rats. The chests of the rats were irradiated with Co-60,
      fractional dose 250 cGy/DD, total dose 2500 cGy/DD. Venoruton was given
      intraperitoneally, in quantities of 0.1 ml once daily for 90 days. The experiment
      have proved that Venoruton lowers the intensity of the early postradiation
      changes, mainly those which depend on the vascular damage.

PMID- 9972047
TI  - Estimation of platelet function state in the course of trichinella spiralis
      infection.
AB  - Platelets are part of body defence system, especially the antiparasite
      immunologic response. Platelets manifest their functions only after their
      activation. Thrombin activates platelets inducing change of their shape and
      causing secretion of certain substances. This study was designed to estimate
      blood platelets morphology as an indicator of their activation and effectiveness
      of antiparasite therapy. The study was conducted in group of 21 patients infected
      with T.spiralis before treatment (T1) and group of 19 patients after two weeks of
      treatment (T2). The diagnosis of trichinellosis was established on the bases of
      epidemiologic history, clinical picture and immunologic investigations. In the
      course of trichinellosis and after antiparasitic treatment increase of blood
      platelet count was observed. The decreased mean platelets volume observed in
      trichinellosis may be connected with their activation and releasing platelet
      factor 4 and beta-thromboglobulin. We suggest that T.spiralis activates platelets
      and the degree of their activation determines their morphologic parameters.

PMID- 9972048
TI  - The liver ultrastructure in caerulein and taurocholate acute pancreatitis in the
      rats.
AB  - The purpose of the study was to compare the morphological alterations of the
      liver in two models of acute pancreatitis: caerulein-induced (edematous) and
      taurocholate-induced (necro haemorrhagic one). The experiments were performed on
      24 male, Wistar rats, weighing 240-260 g. In group I (n = 8) the supramaximal
      stimulation with i.v. caerulein (5 micrograms/kg/h) during 12 h was applied (C
      AP). Control animals (group II, n = 4) received i.v. saline (C-C). In group III
      (n = 8) 5% sodium taurocholate (0.2 ml/min) was injected into the bile-pancreatic
      duct during sterile laparotomy (T-AP). In group IV (n = 4) animals were sham
      operated (T-C). The specimens of the liver were excised after decapitation of
      rats at 12 h after beginning of caerulein infusion or intraductal injection of
      sodium taurocholate. The light and electron microscopy was performed. The marked
      hepatic lesion were found in both variants of experimental pancreatitis, however
      they were far more advanced in taurocholate pancreatitis. In light microscopy the
      dispersed foci of colliquative necrosis, degeneration of hepatocytes, swelling of
      Kupffer cells predominated in taurocholate pancreatitis. The glycogen deposits
      were depleted but lipid droplets were increased in size and number. The swelling
      of mitochondria, degeneration of their matrix and cristae, increase of
      autophagocytosis and numerous lysosomes, the lesions of sinusoids with increased
      activity of phagocytic cells were more evident in taurocholate pancreatitis-
      (more severe model of the disease). These findings document severe injury to the
      liver in acute pancreatitis depending on the severity of inflammatory process in
      pancreas. They also suggest that the liver could be not only passive target of
      pancreatogenic noxa in acute pancreatitis, but it could be also a defensive
      barrier against spreading of injuring agents on other system. This role seems to
      be especially evident in more severe form--taurocholate induced pancreatitis.

PMID- 9972049
TI  - Morphological brain damage, functional disorders and the possibilities of their
      treatment in children with infantile cerebral palsy.
AB  - Twenty-four children with infantile cerebral palsy (6 girls and 18 boys aged 3-17
      years), surgically treated in the years 1993-1997, were involved in the study.
      Neurological-orthopaedic examinations and computer tomography (CT) of the head
      allowed precise diagnosis and understanding of its pathology. The group consisted
      of 10 patients with hemiplegia, 10 with diplegia and 4 with severe quadriplegia.
      In 18 children changes in the brain were largely dependent on the clinical type
      of paresis. In hemiparesis, unilateral changes, such as cerebral cortex atrophy
      with enlarged ventricles, were predominant. Diplegia cases frequently showed
      periventricular damage to the white matter. Brain tomography in severe
      quadriplegia did not always correspond to the clinical condition. CT examinations
      revealed no abnormalities in the brain in 6 out of 24 cases. Since the results of
      rehabilitation were not satisfactory, 29 surgical procedures were performed in
      the presented group of patients, with improved the course of therapeutic
      rehabilitation or nursing care in all the children.

PMID- 9972050
TI  - The influence of sex and selected paragenetic and environmental factors on the
      basic anthropometric measurements of newborns in Bialystok.
AB  - On the basis of retrospective analysis of 1913 deliveries (40-weeks, single, from
      healthy mothers) that took place in Bialystok hospitals from 1 January to 31
      December 1997, the influence of sex and selected paragenetic and environmental
      factors on the somatic development of newborns was assessed. Mathematical
      description of the material was based on the following statistical methods:
      arithmetic mean (x), standard deviation (SD). In the assessment of significance
      of the obtained differences Student T test was used. The layout of empirical
      distribution curves of the examined parameters formed centile nets for the first
      born newborns. The analyses revealed that the influence of the genetic factor
      manifested by sexual dimorphism is the highest in case of body mass at birth. The
      pathogenic factors of the strongest influence included pregnancy and delivery.
      Age of parents had smaller effect on the somatic development of the foetus. The
      influence of the mother's puberty time on the somatic development of the foetus
      is an interesting phenomenon. Women who mature earlier give birth to bigger
      newborns compared to those with late puberty time. As far as the environmental
      factors are concerned, no influence of education level or place of residence of
      the parents on somatic condition of the foetus was observed.

PMID- 9972051
TI  - Maternal blood group in ABO and Rh systems and somatic condition of newborns.
AB  - Maternal blood group in ABO and Rh systems and somatic conditions of newborns. A
      group of 5454 eutrophic newborns (2649 female and 2805 male) from Bialystok were
      examined with respect to the following anthropometric features: body mass, crown
      rump length (Si), head and chest circumferences and their, relation to the
      maternal ABO and Rh blood groups. The mathematical description was done with the
      aid of computer (Statistica 4.0 for Windows) estimating statistical
      characteristics specific for mass phenomenon of regular distribution (x, SD).
      Significance of the obtained differences was evaluated with student t test. On
      the basis of the carried out research, it can be concluded that maternal blood
      group A may favor male newborns to have higher mean values of body mass, head and
      chest circumferences, and female newborns--of head circumference only. The crown
      rump length of newborns of both sexes does not show any alterations in relation
      to maternal blood group. Maternal Rh has no influence on the examined somatic
      development parameters of the newborns either.

PMID- 9972052
TI  - Type II alveolar epithelial cells and cyclophosphamide-induced lung fibrosis.
AB  - The aim of the study was to evaluate the quantitative and morphological changes
      in type II alveolar epithelial cells in the course of cyclophosphamide-induced
      lung damage. The experiments used 40 Wistar rats, of 170 g body weight. The
      animals were divided into two experimental groups. Group I animals were given
      cyclophosphamide (Endoxan-ASTA) in a single intraperitoneal dose of 150 mg/1kg
      b.w./1 ml PBS. Group II (control) received 1 ml PBS. All the animals were
      sacrificed after 1, 7, 14 and 28 days following intraperitoneal cyclophosphamide
      or PBS administration. Morphological examinations of pulmonary tissue were based
      on ultrastructural analysis in the transmission electron microscope. Quantitative
      studies of type II cells were performed basing on sections stained for alkaline
      phosphatase. The results of the quantitative analysis showed statistically
      significant alterations in the number of type II alveolar epithelial cells after
      14 and 28 days following cyclophosphamide administration, compared with the
      respective control groups. The increase in the number of type II cells was
      accompanied by the intensification of fibroplasia processes within the
      interstitium of the interalveolar septa of the lungs. Ultrastructural exponents
      of active participation of type II cells in fibroplasia processes were found.

PMID- 9972053
TI  - Involvement of nitric oxide in cardiovascular effects of cholecystokinin (CCK) in
      rats.
AB  - The aim of the present study was determinate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the
      action of CCK on arterial blood pressure and function of isolated rat heart.
      Intravenous administration of NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor-NG-nitro-L-arginine
      methyl ester (L-NAME-100.0 micrograms/kg) increased arterial blood pressure and
      abolished the hypertensive effect of CCK (administered in the highest dose: 425.0
      pmoles/kg i.v.). Donors NO: L-arginine (L-Arg-100.0 mg/kg i.v.) and sodium
      nitroprusside (SNP-10.0 micrograms/kg i.v.) decreased arterial blood pressure,
      the hypotensive effect evoked by SNP was greater than produced by L-Arg. CCK
      administered with L-Arg evoked hypotension (opposite to the hypertensive effect
      evoked by CCK). When we used CCK at the higher doses (212.5; 425 pmoles/kg i.v.)
      simultaneously with L-Arg the hypotensive effect was greater than the hypotensive
      action evoked by L-Arg alone. Administration of CCK with SNP produced the
      hypotension (similar as after used SNP and opposite to the hypertensive action of
      the peptide). CCK (21.25, 42.5, 106.25 pmoles/0.1 ml) increased the cardiac
      contraction amplitude, the peptide injected in lower doses decreased coronary
      outflow. CCK had no effect on heart rate. L-NAME (10(-5) M) decreased coronary
      outflow, tendent to evoke bradycardia (p > 0.05) and the compound did not change
      the cardiac contraction amplitude of isolated heart. L-NAME abolished the
      influence of CCK on the function of isolated heart. L-Arg (10(-2) M) did not
      affect function of isolated heart. L-Arg abolished and when we used with CCK in
      the highest dose reversed the positive inotropic effect of the peptide and
      tendent to abolish a lowered coronary outflow evoked by CCK. SNP (10(-4) M)
      decreased the cardiac contraction amplitude. SNP diminished the positive
      inotropic effect of CCK and did not change other parameters of isolated heart.
      CONCLUSION: NO does not play a role in cardiovascular action of CCK directly,
      however inhibitor of NO synthase and donors of NO change the influence of the
      peptide, mainly on the heart. We suggest that the effect is indirectly through
      catecholamines.

PMID- 9972054
TI  - Overexpression of the nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) in the thyroid
      follicular tumours. Comparison of the cytological and histopathological
      examinations.
AB  - The aim of the study was to determine the usefulness of the expression of
      argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region proteins (AgNORs) as a marker of
      malignancy degree in thyroid follicular tumours. The study used the postoperative
      material of thyroid glands and cytologic material obtained with fine needle
      aspiration biopsy. Follicular adenoma, carcinoma and struma nodosa hyperplastica
      type changes were analysed. The comparison of the AgNOR parameters examined
      revealed statistically significant differences between the groups of follicular
      carcinoma and follicular adenoma, follicular carcinoma and nodular goitre, and
      between adenoma and nodular goitre. However, the "overlapping" of value ranges
      was observed between the groups of follicular carcinoma and adenoma, as well as
      follicular adenoma and nodular goitre. This referred particularly to atypical
      adenoma parameters found within a non-diagnostic range. No differences were
      observed in the counts of AgNOR dots between histologic and cytologic material
      obtained with fine needle aspiration biopsy.

PMID- 9972055
TI  - The activity of neutrophil myeloperoxidase in patients with renal cancer before
      and after embolization.
AB  - The activity of granulocytic myeloperoxidase (MPO) was investigated in 45
      patients with renal cancer before and 14 days after renal artery embolization in
      comparison with control group of 40 healthy people. The group examined showed
      lower MPO activity before embolization, as compared to controls. The differences
      being statistical insignificant (p > 0.05). After embolization the activity MPO
      was normalized, reaching the mean value of control group. The findings revealed
      reduced granulocytic MPO activity in patients with renal cancer.

PMID- 9972056
TI  - Prolidase as a prodrug converting enzyme. II. Synthesis of proline analogue of
      anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid and its susceptibility to the action of
      prolidase.
AB  - The feasibility to targeting prolidase as an antineoplastic prodrug--converting
      enzyme has been examined. The synthesis of proline analogue of anthraquinone-2
      carboxylic acid (potential antineoplastic agent) conjugated through imido-bond
      (potential target for prolidase action) has been performed. The product was found
      to be insoluble in aqueous solution while in the presence of 1% DMSO complete
      solubility of the compound was achieved. Evidence was provided that 1% DMSO does
      not affect prolidase activity, thus allowing for substrate susceptibility
      measurement in a such conditions. It has been presented that product of
      synthesis, N-(anthraquinone-2-carbonyl)-L-proline evokes susceptibility to the
      action of purified prolidase, comparable to the susceptibility of glycyl-L
      proline (standard substrate for prolidase). Although insolubility of the proline
      analogue of anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid in aqueous solutions limit its
      potential therapeutic value, the presented data suggest that prolidase may have a
      broader substrate specificity than thought previously. It suggests that targeting
      of prolidase as a prodrug-converting enzyme may serve as a potential strategy in
      therapy of neoplastic diseases.

PMID- 9972057
TI  - Western blot banding pattern in early Lyme borreliosis among patients from an
      endemic region of north-eastern Poland.
AB  - Aim of this study was evaluation of Western blot banding patterns in different
      clinical forms of early Lyme borreliosis diagnosed in patients from north-eastern
      Poland, recognized as endemic for tick-borne diseases. Study was performed on
      serum samples of 48 patients with Lyme borreliosis and 26 healthy volunteers, as
      controls. Samples tested routinely for total antibody with enzyme immunoassay
      were subsequently analysed for specific antibodies with Western blot based on
      antigen extract of European strain of Borrelia burgdorferi. In patients, IgM
      antibodies were the most frequently directed against 41 kDa and 58 kDa antigens,
      whereas in control group only antibodies against 45 kDa and 58 kDa were present.
      Similar response was observed in respect to IgG antibodies. Evaluation of banding
      pattern in respect to clinical form of the disease revealed the highest
      prevalence of IgM and IgG anti-41 kDa antibodies in patients with erythema
      migrans and Lyme arthritis, and anti-58 kDa in neuroborreliosis patients, who had
      no anti-21 kDa antibodies. Relatively high frequency of IgG antibodies against
      21, 30 and 93 kDa antigens was typical for neuroborreliosis. Bands count was
      significantly higher in different clinical forms of the disease than in controls,
      and it was the highest in neuroborreliosis. Combined analysis of Western blot
      results (IgM/IgG) enabled to achieve higher sensitivity (84%) and specificity
      (100%) than available with the most recommended EIA kits.

PMID- 9972058
TI  - The activity of enzymes oxidizing alcohols in the liver of rats after methanol
      intoxication measured with fluorogenic substrates.
AB  - The activities of alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzymes (class ADH I and ADH II) and
      aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) were measured using fluorogenic substrates in the
      liver of rats. Animals were dosed with 6 g of methanol/kg b.w. after 6, 12, 24
      hours and 2, 5 and 7 days. Liver ADH I and ADH II activities were gradually
      increased after 6 h and up to 7 days after intoxication. ALDH activity in the
      liver had the highest elevation at 6 h, and then it decreased but was higher than
      the control value. It is concluded that subacute administration of methanol to
      rats leads to induction of hepatic enzymes involved in alcohols metabolism and
      that tested fluorogenic substrates are useful for these measurements.

PMID- 9972059
TI  - The influence of epsilon-aminocaproic acid derivatives on the anticoagulant
      activity of heparin.
AB  - Derivatives of epsilon-aminocaproic acid with antifibrinolytic activity, at low
      concentration, do not influence the anticoagulant activity of heparin under the
      heparin-thrombin test conditions. At concentrations higher than 0.002 M tested
      compounds slightly enhance the anticoagulant action of heparin.

PMID- 9972060
TI  - The mechanism of the silent zone on Lorenz plots in atrial fibrillation.
AB  - Lorenz plot is an acknowledged method of the evaluation of sequences of
      ventricular beats in cardiac arrhythmias, particularly in atrial fibrillation.
      Lorenz plots are scatterplots that show the R-R intervals as a function of the
      preceding R-R intervals. The authors of this paper conducted studies of 83 cases
      of atrial fibrillation; histograms of 500 consecutive R-R intervals were made,
      determining the mean R-R interval, the functional refraction period (FRP) of AV
      node and Lorenz plots. In 22 cases (26.5%) the presence of the silent zone on a
      Lorenz plot was observed, similarly to the study of Nakatsu and al. The silent
      zone appeared only in cases when the statistical distribution of R-R intervals
      was reflected by a bimodal histogram (less frequently by a trimodal histogram).
      The silent zone was never observed in cases of monomodal distribution of R-R
      intervals. The authors discuss Nakatsu's findings and argue that the silent zone
      in a Lorenz plot is a morphological expression of bimodal distribution of R-R
      intervals in atrial fibrillation. The silent zone may be caused by
      pharmacotherapy (e.g. digoxin), increased parasympathetic tension or other
      factors prolonging FRP. The presence of the silent zone is not a predictor of a
      spontaneous termination of atrial fibrillation.

PMID- 9972061
TI  - Cathepsin D inhibitor from Vicia sativa L.
AB  - Specific inhibitor of cathepsin D has been shown in the extract of Vicia sativa
      L. seeds. This inhibitor does not inhibit the activity of other aspartic
      proteases. Also it does not inhibit the activity of cysteine proteases and serine
      proteases.

PMID- 9972062
TI  - Effects of sulfated cholecystokinin octapeptide and cholecystokinin tetrapeptide
      in rat behavior after blockade of nitric oxide synthase by L-NAME.
AB  - This study was conducted to determine what, if any, role L-NAME (inhibitor of
      nitric oxide synthase) plays in the behavioral effects induced by sulfated
      cholecystokinin octapeptide CCK-8) and cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) in
      adult male rats. The motility, stereotypy, anxiety, extinction of conditioned
      avoidance responses and recall of passive avoidance behavior were estimated. CCK
      8 (but not CCK-4) injected intracerebroventricularly (icv) at the dose 0.1 nmole
      decreased of locomotor activity in the "open field" test. Administration of CCK-8
      intensified stereotypy evoked by apomorphine (1 mg/kg, i.p.). The CCK-4 was
      ineffective in this test. Both, CCK-8 and CCK-4 did not make any significant
      differences in passive avoidance behavior. Examine the influence of CCK-8 and CCK
      4 on the extinction of conditioned avoidance responses (CAR) proved that both
      peptide tended to facilitate extinction of CAR's. CCK-8 and CCK-4 induced
      anxiogenic-like effect in the elevated 'plus' maze behavior. Application of L
      NAME alone (50 nmole,-icv) decreased of motility and stereotypy behavior in
      control rats. It was ineffective in a passive avoidance behavior and extinction
      of CAR's. In elevated 'plus' maze behavior injection of L-NAME, similarly to
      cholecystokinin, induced anxiogenic-like effect. L-NAME induced of motility
      decreases in the "open field" test were blocked by injection of CCK-8 and CCK-4.
      Our results indicate that observed behavioral activity of CCK-8 and CCK-4 (except
      of influence on motility) is probably independent of NO concentration in the
      brain.

PMID- 9972063
TI  - Epidemiology of erythema migrans in north-eastern Poland.
AB  - The aim of the study was to evaluate erythema migrans (EM) prevalence and
      treatment in north-eastern Poland during the last 25 years. The material for the
      study consisted of data sent to the Department of Dermatology by physicians from
      fifteen regional out-patient clinics. They were collected according to specially
      prepared questionnaires. The data were analysed with respect to the total number
      of EM cases, patients' age, seasonal prevalence of the disease, dynamics of its
      prevalence and treatment methods in successive years. Of the 262,421 case
      histories, retrospectively analysed 1235 EM cases (0.4%) were found. The age of
      the patients varied from 4 to 78 years. The highest incidence was observed
      between August and October (57.7% of all cases). The annual number of cases
      increased from only a few, in the years 1969-76, to over 436 in 1993. Penicillin
      or erythromycin were preferred for the treatment of EM before 1981, tetracycline
      or ampicillin between 1982-90, and amoxicillin or doxycycline in the last three
      years. Our results showed a significant increase in the number of EM cases in the
      dermatological clinics of north-eastern Poland in recent years. The treatment of
      the disease applied at present, complies with the generally accepted guidelines.

PMID- 9972064
TI  - Inhibitors of pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin in seeds of plants consumed by
      humans and animals. I. Evaluation of pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin inhibitors
      activity in seeds of 26 plant species.
AB  - Antipepsin, antitrypsin and antichymotrypsin activity was determined in seed
      extracts of 26 plants consumed by humans and animals (small bean, broad bean,
      pumpkin, kidney bean, charlock, pea, buckwheat, barley, maize, flax, lupine,
      poppy, almond, peanut, hazel, walnut, oat, millet, wheat, rice, rape, sunflower,
      lentils soya bean, vetch, rye). Antipepsin activity is found in the seeds of
      small bean, pumpkin, flax, peanut, walnut, oat, wheat, sunflower, lentils and
      soya bean. Antitrypsin and antichymotrypsin activities are of different intensity
      in seed extracts of all examined plants.

PMID- 9972065
TI  - Nitrates and nitrites contents in whole-day's diets of men--workers of metal
      industry.
AB  - An evaluation of nitrates and nitrites in daily diets of 239 men was performed.
      It was found that daily intake of these compounds did not exceed the acceptable
      values.

PMID- 9972066
TI  - Nitroblue tetrazolium test in patients with renal tumor in the course of
      embolization.
AB  - The main role of neutrophilic granulocytes is phagocytosis and destruction of
      phagocytized bacteria. The nitroblue tetrazolium test (NBT), used to evaluate the
      bactericidal function of granulocytes, was assessed in 45 patients with renal
      tumour before and 14 days after renal artery embolization. No statistically
      significant spontaneous test NBT differences were found, compared with control
      group both before and 14 days after embolization. Following stimulation
      granulocytes in vitro by LPS of E. coli the ability of granulocytes to reduce NBT
      was lowered. The differences, as compared with control group, were statistically
      significant (p < 0.05). Our results indicates considerable impairment of lower
      metabolic reserve in patients with renal tumour necessary for maximum
      stimulation.

PMID- 9972067
TI  - Fetotoxic effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in rats.
AB  - The fetotoxic effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was investigated.
      Histological and histochemical changes in the liver of newborn, jung and adult
      rats exposed to the herbicide from the prenatal period to the end of an
      experiment were evaluated. The experiment used 90 male and female, Wistar, aged
      to 10 weeks rats, divided into two groups: I-control-30 and II-60 animals which
      received the water solution of 2,4-D acid sodium salt in a daily dose of 250
      mg/kg b.w. It was given with drinking water every day. The animals were
      sacrificed after 24 hours, 4, 6, and 10 weeks of the experiment. The results
      obtained showed that the administration of 2,4-D acid to rats in the prenatal and
      postnatal period, in a dose inducing subacute intoxication leads to histological
      and histochemical changes in the liver. The observed changes indicate disorders
      in energetic processes in hepatocytes and are morphological exponents of
      detoxicative processes there. They are most intensified with newborn rats. It
      suggest also, the pregnants ought not to work with 2,4-D and should avoid any
      contact with herbicides belongs to the 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid group.

PMID- 9972068
TI  - Metallothioneins in rats exposed to cadmium.
AB  - It was found that intoxication of rats with cadmium results in a significant
      increase of metallothioneins content in various organs, especially in kidneys and
      liver and in lower degree in spleen, muscle, brain and heart.

PMID- 9972069
TI  - Ultrastructural changes in rat hepatocytes in acute intoxication with 2,4
      dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).
AB  - The hepatotoxic effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was
      investigated. Ultrastructural changes were evaluated in transmission electron
      microscope. The experiment used 60 male Wistar rats divided into two groups: I-
      control-18 animals and II--42 animals which received chemically pure 2,4-D acid
      by gastric gavage in a dose of 200 mg/kg b.w. The animals were sacrificed after
      12, 24, 48 hours and 4, 10 and 30 days of the experiment. The results obtained
      indicate that the administration of 2,4-D acid to rats in a dose inducing acute
      intoxication leads to ultrastructural changes in the liver, which suggest
      nonspecific reversible adaptative-type damage to parenchymal cells. The changes
      observed indicate disorders in energetic processes in hepatocytes and are
      morphological exponents of detoxicative processes there.

PMID- 9972070
TI  - Breastmilk nucleotides.

PMID- 9972071
TI  - Blood lead levels in children with neurological disorders.
AB  - Blood lead levels were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in 82 children
      suffering from various neurological disorders (cerebral palsy 42, seizure
      disorders 35, acute encephalopathy of unknown origin 5) and in 28 healthy
      children, aged 1 to 12 years. Mean blood lead levels were 11.96 +/- 10.97
      micrograms/dl in control children and 19.30 +/- 17.65 micrograms/dl in children
      with neurological disorders. A significant number of control children as well as
      those who had neurological disorders were found to have blood lead concentrations
      of > or = 10 micrograms/dl and > or = 20 micrograms/dl, the cut-off limits for
      lead poisoning and medical evaluation, respectively. Blood lead levels were,
      statistically, elevated in children with cerebral palsy compared to controls.
      Children with pica behaviour exhibited higher blood lead concentrations.

PMID- 9972072
TI  - Anaemia and intestinal parasitic infections among school age children in Behera
      Governorate, Egypt. Behera Survey Team.
AB  - Anaemia is considered a serious public health problem in Egypt, although updated
      population-based data are lacking. Similarly, data on prevalence and intensity of
      infection with intestinal parasites, which are considered one possible cause of
      anaemia, are available only from small, unrepresentative sample surveys. The
      present research was implemented on an entire Governorate representative sample.
      The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of anaemia and intestinal
      parasites in the area and to evaluate the role of each parasite in the
      epidemiology of anaemia among school age children. At the end of the survey,
      results of faecal analyses from direct smear and the Kato-Katz examination
      techniques were available from 1844 and 1783 children respectively, as well as
      haemoglobin levels measured by spectrophotometer from 1238 children aged 6-12
      years. The prevalence of anaemia in the area was high (90 per cent), but very few
      serve forms were detected (< 2 per cent). Prevalence of intestinal parasites was
      high only for protozoa (Giardia intestinalis 24.7 per cent Entamoeba histolytica
      17.5 per cent) and Schistosoma mansoni (20.7 per cent). From analysis of the
      results, Fasciola infection appeared to be highly endemic, even among children (3
      per cent), and emerged as the factor most strongly correlated with low levels of
      haemoglobin (p < 0.0001). The effect of Fasciola on haemoglobin levels was
      related to the intensity of infection with this parasite. The role of S. mansoni
      as a risk factor for anaemia was supported by the present study. Among the
      protozoa, G. intestinalis was significantly correlated with low haemoglobin
      levels (p < 0.05). The present results substantiated similar findings from
      smaller studies. In future research, the relationship between Fasciola infection
      and anaemia needs to be studied with a well-controlled longitudinal design.

PMID- 9972073
TI  - Survival analysis for cystic fibrosis in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
AB  - A survival analysis was carried out on cystic fibrosis (CF) patients diagnosed
      and followed at the General Hospital, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
      The study cohort consisted of 111 children, admitted to the Pediatric Pulmonology
      Section from 1 June 1970 to 31 December 1994. The survival curve and table,
      constructed by the Kaplan-Meier (product limit) method, show a mean survival age
      of 12.6 years. This life expectancy resembles the median survival age observed in
      developed countries by 1970. This study shows that problems relating to health
      system organization and unfavourable social and economic conditions in developing
      countries may directly affect the ultimate survival of CF patients.

PMID- 9972074
TI  - Comparison of survival of diarrhoeagenic agents in two local weaning foods (ogi
      and koko).
AB  - The pH values of both cooked and uncooked ogi and koko samples were determined
      and the survival rate of four diarrhoeagenic agents, enteroinvasive Escherichia
      coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, and Vibrio cholerae were studied after
      they were seeded into cooked ogi and koko. Analysis of the pH of the cooked
      inoculated samples showed that there was a slight increase in pH (decrease in
      acidity) during storage for 48 h and 37 degrees C (from 3.5 to 3.7 for ogi and
      from 3.7 to 4.1 for koko). The study also showed that ogi had a slightly lower pH
      value than koko both before and after cooking. In both cases, the cooked samples
      had a slightly lower pH value than the uncooked samples. The pH value of ogi
      ranged from 3.0 to 3.6 and that of koko from 3.5 to 3.9. The survival experiment
      showed that the inoculated enteric pathogens were inhibited in cooked ogi and
      koko during storage for 24-48 h. The antibacterial effect of cooked koko was more
      pronounced, on the four enteric pathogens studied, than that of cooked ogi.
      Except for Shigella flexneri and E. coli in ogi, non of the other bacteria
      studied was recovered after 24 h.

PMID- 9972075
TI  - Contamination of weaning foods: organisms, channels, and sequelae.
AB  - A study was carried out to identify the microbial contaminants of weaning foods
      in an Egyptian village and the sources of contamination. All 300 households
      containing infants (< 24 months) were visited. Information regarding food
      preparation and household sanitation was gathered. Samples of weaning foods (270)
      were collected and analysed for the presence of Escherichia coli, Bacillus
      cereus, Shigella and parasites. The first two pathogens were detected in 43.7 per
      cent and 21.4 per cent of samples respectively. The others were not detected in
      any sample. The risk of contamination by E. coli and B. cereus was significantly
      associated with the presence of dung and/or refuse in the house, lack of indoor
      latrine, non-use of latrine by children, weaning foods not freshly prepared,
      uncovered storage of foods, and the presence of a case of diarrhoea in the house.

PMID- 9972076
TI  - Isolation of pathogenic bacteria from induced sputum from hospitalized children
      with pneumonia in Bangladesh.
AB  - A prospective study was carried out on 157 patients admitted to a paediatric
      hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh to determine the bacteria present in the induced
      sputum of paediatric patients with X-ray proven pneumonia. Their ages ranged from
      21 days to 11 years; 65 per cent of them were male and 35 per cent were female.
      The most affected age group was between 6 months and 2 years old. Respiratory
      secretions produced by induced cough were taken by swab from the oropharynx for
      culture and smear. The predominant bacteria were Haemophilus influenzae,
      Streptococcus pneumoniae, Branhamella catarrhalis and Gram-negative bacilli.
      Serotyping of H. influenzae revealed that 76 per cent were non-typable and 18 per
      cent were of type b; 23.5 per cent of isolates of H. influenzae were beta
      lactamase producing. MIC90 of penicillin against S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae
      were 0.025 and 3.13 micrograms/ml respectively. Ampicillin, penicillin G
      (benzylpenicillin), amoxycillin, and gentamicin were administered for the
      treatment of these patients. All cases were apparently improved, on the basis of
      clinical evaluation, and discharged from the hospital.

PMID- 9972077
TI  - Outcome for children under 5 years hospitalized with severe acute lower
      respiratory tract infections in Yemen: a 5 year experience.
AB  - Between 1991 and 1995, 2554 children under 5 years old hospitalized with severe
      acute lower respiratory tract infection in Al-Sabe'en, Sana'a, Yemen were
      studied. 47.7 per cent (1218) were under 6 months of age and 74.1 per cent (1893)
      were in their first 12 months. Sixty-four per cent (1633) were males. Of the 2554
      cases, 221 died (overall, a case fatality rate of 8.7 per cent). 118 of the
      deaths (53.4 per cent) were in the under 6 months age group and 188 (85 per cent)
      were in the first 12 months age group. During 1995 the hospital started adopting
      the WHO standard case-management guidelines for treating severe acute lower
      respiratory tract infections. There were no significant reductions in case
      fatality rates in 1995 (CFR 9.8 per cent) compared with those of 1991 (CFR 7.9
      per cent), 1992 (CFR 9.4 per cent), 1993 (CFR 7 per cent), or 1994 (CFR 8.5 per
      cent). Factors such as late hospital admission with cyanosis, malnutrition,
      rickets as well as increased resistance of the common causative organisms
      (pneumococci and H. influenzae) to antibiotics recommended by the WHO may have
      contributed to such a high case fatality rate remaining unchanged. In addition to
      reducing the risk of developing pneumonia and dying from pneumonia by improving
      maternal nutrition, health education, promoting breastfeeding, and preventing
      rickets and nutritional anaemia among the vulnerable age groups, vaccination
      against pneumococci and H. influenzae type b should be seriously considered as
      one of the strategies to reduce lower respiratory tract infection-related
      mortality.

PMID- 9972078
TI  - Secular changes in rates of respiratory complications and diarrhoea among measles
      cases.
AB  - It has been observed that the occurrence of respiratory complications and
      diarrhoea among measles cases has changed over time but this change has not been
      quantified. A study was carried out in the city of Gweru, Zimbabwe, to quantify
      these changes. Rates of respiratory complications and diarrhoea among measles
      cases were determined in each year for the period 1968-89. It was found that mean
      rates of respiratory complications and diarrhoea during 1968-78 were 17.2 per
      cent (95 per cent CI = 11.6-22.8) and 5.2 per cent (95 per cent CI = 0-11)
      respectively while during 1979-89, mean rates of respiratory complications and
      diarrhoea were 6.5 per cent (95 per cent CI = 1-12.1) and 16.4 per cent (95 per
      cent CI = 10.1-22.0) respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the
      main effects and the interaction showed that the main effects were not
      statistically significant (F = 0.01, d.f.1,2 = 1,40, p = 0.935; and F = 0.13,
      d.f.1,2 = 1,40, p = 0.725 respectively) Meanwhile the interaction term of
      complications and period was statistically significant (F = 15.7, d.f.1,2 = 1,40,
      p < 0.001). It was concluded that a change in rates of respiratory complications
      and diarrhoea had occurred among measles cases. It is suggested that the increase
      in vaccination coverage in 1979-89 and the shift in age at infection to older age
      groups in the same period may have brought about this change through selective
      suppression of respiratory complications among measles cases.

PMID- 9972079
TI  - Clinical patterns of neuronal migrational disorders and parental consanguinity.
AB  - The role of inheritance in neuronal migrational disorders is under intense
      investigation. Studies on neuronal migrational disorders (NMDs) from developing
      countries that have a high rate of parental consanguinity are lacking. The
      present study included 29 children (aged 15 days-12 years, mean age 1.4 years)
      who were diagnosed to have NMDs, from a non-selected population with seizures and
      non-selected population of cognitive developmental delay, in the period January
      1994 to April 1997. Seventeen (58.6 per cent) patients had lissencephaly, four
      (13.8 per cent) patients had pachygyria, three (10.3 per cent) patients had
      neuronal heterotopia, four (13.8 per cent) patients had schizencephaly, one
      patient (3.4 per cent) had hemimegalencephaly, and 14 (48.2 per cent) patients
      with NMDs had other associated conditions. Lissencephalic patients had a high
      rate of parental consanguinity (88.2 per cent) and family history of possible
      similar cases (76.4 per cent). In conclusion, lissencephaly is probably the
      commonest neuronal migrational disorder in communities with a high rate of
      parental consanguinity, adding significant support to the literature on the
      genetic aetiology of lissencephaly.

PMID- 9972080
TI  - Weight, length, ponderal index, and intrauterine growth retardation in Brazil.
AB  - The objective of this study was to classify intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR)
      newborn babies from an urban region in Brazil into four different subtypes,
      according to their weight, length, and ponderal index (PI). Three hundred and
      fifty-six (356) babies were differentiated by this classification into IUGR
      subtypes A (short length and adequate PI), B (adequate length and low PI), C
      (short length and low PI), and D (adequate length and adequate PI), by the
      Lubchenco weight, length, and PI for gestational age standards. Gestational age
      of the babies was determined by the Capurro method. Anthropometric measurements
      were taken according to the Jelliffe and Jelliffe recommendations. Ninety-eight
      per cent of the IUGR babies included in the study were type I (proportional): 48
      per cent of them were subtype A and 50 per cent subtype D (slightly thin).
      Subtypes B and C comprised 1.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent of the babies
      respectively. This classification of IUGR is of great importance, considering
      that these four subtypes probably reflect the stages of pregnancy at which the
      babies were affected by adverse growth and development factors. The risk factors
      for the different subtypes of IUGR, and examination of their predictive value for
      subsequent morbidity, growth, development, and mortality, will be of interest.

PMID- 9972081
TI  - Cause-specific mortality in under fives in the urban slums of Lucknow, north
      India.
AB  - We recorded the causes of death in the preceding 3 years in a slum population of
      24,196 children less than 5 years of age in Lucknow, North India. Of 1469 deaths
      recorded, 298 were stillbirths. For each death, a 'verbal autopsy' was conducted
      by interviewing the parents to ascertain the cause of death. 71.8 per cent of
      deaths were at home; 94.5 per cent of hospital deaths had no death certificate.
      Excluding stillbirths, 69.9 per cent of deaths were in the first year of life.
      Leading causes of death in the neonatal period were prematurity (38.5 per cent)
      and tetanus (36.4 per cent). Beyond the neonatal period, the leading causes of
      death were pneumonia (23.4 per cent), diarrhoeal disease (20.9 per cent), and
      malnutrition and/or anaemia (11.4 per cent). The existent mortality-recording
      system was under-reporting at least one third of the deaths. We conclude that
      stillbirths and neonatal mortality can be reduced by improved antenatal and natal
      care. In the postnatal period, since most of the mortality is due either to
      infective diseases or malnutrition, interventions to improve the nutritional
      status of preschool children can reduce this.

PMID- 9972082
TI  - Study of plasma albumin, transferrin, and fibronectin in children with mild to
      moderate protein-energy malnutrition.
AB  - With the increasing awareness of incipient and subclinical malnutrition in
      children several nutritional indices have been suggested for the early
      recognition of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). We evaluated plasma albumin,
      transferrin, and fibronectin levels in 15 children with PEM and compared them
      with those of 10 well-nourished children. The results demonstrated that plasma
      albumin is a poor indicator of mild to moderate PEM. On the other hand, plasma
      transferrin and fibronectin are sensitive indicators of PEM as they were
      significantly decreased in our mild to moderately malnourished children whereas
      albumin was unchanged. Furthermore, malnourished children showed iron deficiency
      anaemia, which may interfere with the results of plasma transferrin
      determinations. Fibronectin is believed to have a functional role in coagulation,
      host immune defence, and wound healing. We suggest that the assay of fibronectin
      may provide a biochemical functional index of mild to moderate nutritional
      deficiency before overall depletion has occurred.

PMID- 9972083
TI  - Comparison of nasal prongs with nasal catheters in the delivery of oxygen to
      children with hypoxia.
AB  - Efficient, inexpensive, and safe methods of oxygen delivery are needed for
      children with severe pneumonia in developing countries. The objective of this
      study was to estimate the frequency of complications when nasal catheters or
      nasal prongs are used to delivery oxygen. Ninety-nine children between 2 weeks
      and 5 years of age with hypoxia were randomized to receive oxygen via nasal
      catheter (49 children) or nasal prongs (50 children). There was no difference in
      the incidence of hypoxaemic episodes or in the oxygen flow rates between the two
      groups. Mucus production was more of a problem in the catheter group. Nasal
      blockage, intolerance to the method of administration, and nursing effort were
      generally higher amongst the catheter group, but these differences were not
      significant, except for nursing effort, when all age groups were analysed
      together.

PMID- 9972084
TI  - Epidemiologic consequences of moderate coverage levels of measles vaccine in a
      district headquarter town (Alwar) in India, 1996.
AB  - This paper describes the epidemiology of measles in a medium size town
      (population 240,000) in India where vaccine coverage levels have remained
      constant at around 70 per cent in the past 7 years. A retrospective community
      survey covering 4023 children under 10 years old detected 252 cases of measles in
      the previous year. This gave an annual incidence of 6.3 per cent (95 per cent CI
      5.5-7). About half of the cases occurred in vaccinated children. Only 5 per cent
      of the cases occurred in children below 9 months of age. This age is appropriate
      for routine measles immunization. Despite modest coverage levels with only 54 per
      cent effective vaccine (estimated by a screening method), there was a modest
      upward shift in the age distribution of measles cases; the median age was more
      than 48 months.

PMID- 9972085
TI  - Findings of colonoscopy in children: experience from Kuwait.
AB  - This report summarizes our retrospective analysis of 173 colonoscopic
      examinations performed on 159 children over a period of 9 years in Kuwait. Ninety
      six children were males, with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. The main
      indications for colonoscopy were rectal bleeding, polyps, and suspected
      inflammatory bowel disease. Examination was done under sedation or anaesthesia.
      One hundred and fifty-one (87 per cent) examinations were complete up to the
      caecum and 89 (51 per cent) up to the terminal ileum. The most common pathology
      was polyps in 42 children. All but one polyp were hamartomatous and mainly
      localized to the rectum and sigmoid colon. The majority had a single polyp. One
      child had adenomatous polyposis coli. One hundred and forty-two polyps were
      removed endoscopically with no complications. Inflammatory bowel disease was
      present in 34 (21 per cent) children (17 Crohn's disease, 11 ulcerative colitis,
      and 6 indeterminate colitis). Tuberculosis of the ileo-caecal region was
      diagnosed in two cases. Seven patients had rectal ulcers presenting as rectal
      bleeding. In 11 (7 per cent), the lesions were limited to the right side of the
      colon or terminal ileum. These results suggest that colonic pathology is not
      uncommon in children in Kuwait. The disease pattern is similar to that reported
      in western countries. As we have observed in adults, inflammatory bowel disease
      is seen in significant numbers among children in this region. In this survey we
      have observed a change in the disease frequency, Crohn's disease being more
      common that ulcerative colitis. Without adequate examination, the existence of
      inflammatory bowel disease and this possible changing pattern of disease would
      have gone unrecognized.

PMID- 9972086
TI  - Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in children with sickle cell
      anaemia.

PMID- 9972087
TI  - Sentinel surveillance of Chlamydia trachomatis in school-going girls vis-a-vis
      women with secondary infertility.

PMID- 9972088
TI  - Blood transfusion in preterm infants and risk of oxygen radical injury.

PMID- 9972089
TI  - Preparing residents to give a deposition just got a little easier.

PMID- 9972090
TI  - Broader picture surrounding new pediatric labeling for topical corticosteroid
      therapy.

PMID- 9972091
TI  - Manipulation for low back pain ahead of its time ... but now is the time.

PMID- 9972092
TI  - Timing of hysterectomy surgery during the menstrual cycle--impact of menstrual
      cycle phase on rate of complications: preliminary study.
AB  - To determine the relationship between the timing of a hysterectomy performed
      during the menstrual cycle phase and the postoperative complication rate in women
      who had undergone surgery for dysfunctional uterine bleeding, the authors
      examined the charts of 24 patients for the 3-month period immediately after the
      hysterectomy. Twelve of the women were in the follicular phase, and 12 were in
      the luteal phase at the time they had undergone the hysterectomy. Patients were
      classified by operative pathology report. No significant differences (P < or =
      0.05) were found between the two groups with respect to age, weight, para status,
      pathology, preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin levels, operation time,
      blood loss, days before return to full functioning, days in hospital, and uterine
      morphology. Further prospective studies with longer follow-up time are needed to
      obtain more conclusive indications regarding the optimal timing of hysterectomy
      during the menstrual cycle.

PMID- 9972093
TI  - Method of preparing emergency medicine residents for giving legal depositions.
AB  - This study was performed to determine if a simulated legal deposition increases
      emergency medicine (EM) residents' knowledge, self-confidence, and understanding
      of a legal deposition. This prospective study included a convenience sample of EM
      1-3 residents. A knowledge and a self-assessment pretest were given, followed by
      a didactic session moderated by local attorneys, followed by knowledge and a self
      assessment posttest. The total time involved was 2 hours. The mean score on the
      knowledge pretest was 4.5 and 5.25 on the posttest. Using a paired t-test, the
      authors found this difference to be statistically significant. (P < 0.01) Using
      Hotelling's T2 test, the authors compared presimulation and postsimulation self
      assessment questions. The results revealed that there was a difference between
      these scores (P < 0.001). Participants in the deposition significantly improved
      their self-assessment ranking and knowledge inventory test scores by
      participating in a simulated legal deposition.

PMID- 9972094
TI  - Oklahoma physician needs.
AB  - State policy makers, healthcare professionals, and advocates have been asking
      various iterations of the question, Do we have too many or too few physicians? In
      order to address this question, a relative-needs analysis was conducted for the
      state of Oklahoma. Six projection-needs studies were used for comparison with
      Oklahoma's supply of practicing physicians. This analysis found that Oklahoma did
      not have a surplus of primary care physicians. While the national average for
      primary care physicians per 100,000 was 79, Oklahoma's ratio was 68. This
      analysis also compares not only the number of physicians in Oklahoma per 100,000
      population, it also discusses the proportion of primary care physicians in the
      physician workforce. Primary care physicians were found to be neither
      oversupplied nor undersupplied in Oklahoma. Oklahoma was found to be closer to
      national planning model goals than most states in the United States. Because this
      study combines both allopathic and osteopathic physicians and includes only those
      physicians in active practice, it is unique in comparison to many other studies
      concerning physician workforce needs.

PMID- 9972095
TI  - A problem with synthetic maps.
AB  - Synthetic maps of human gene frequencies, which are maps of principal component
      scores based on correlation of interpolated surfaces, have been popularized
      widely by L. Cavalli-Sforza, P. Menozzi, and A. Piazza. Such maps are used to
      make ethnohistorical inferences or to support various demographic or historical
      hypotheses. We show from first principles and by analyses of real and simulated
      data that synthetic maps are subject to large errors and that apparent geographic
      trends may be detected in spatially random data. We conclude that results
      featured as synthetic maps should be approached with considerable caution.

PMID- 9972096
TI  - Genetic studies in 5 Greek population samples using 12 highly polymorphic DNA
      loci.
AB  - Two minisatellite (D1S80, D17S5) and 10 microsatellite (D2S1328, TPO, D3S1358,
      D9S926, D11S2010, THO1, VWF, FES, D16S310, and D18S848) polymorphic loci were
      analyzed in 5 Greek population groups (eastern Macedonia, central Macedonia,
      Thessaly, Epirus, and Greeks from Asia Minor) using the polymerase chain
      reaction. The genotypes at these loci conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium,
      and pairwise comparisons between them were in agreement with the expectation of
      independence between loci. This along with the low values of the coefficient of
      gene differentiation (GST) and the high heterozygosity levels of all loci allows
      the use of allele frequency data from the 12 hypervariable DNA markers for
      medicolegal casework in the Greek population groups studied. The small genetic
      distances indicate a genetic affinity among the 5 population samples. However, a
      few markers seem to allow some discrimination among the groups. No significant
      differences with other European populations were found for the loci studied.

PMID- 9972097
TI  - Analysis of 6 short tandem repeat loci in Navarre (northern Spain).
AB  - A genetic study was performed on a sample of 146 autochthonous individuals from
      the province of Navarre (northern Spain) to test for 6 STR systems: CSF1PO, TPOX,
      TH01, F13A1, FES/FPS, and VWA31/A. The Navarre population has a series of allele
      frequencies that are at the extreme end of the European range of variation and
      that are in most cases similar to those found in the Basque population of the
      provinces of Alava, Biscay, and Guipuzcoa. This similarity is corroborated by
      correspondence analysis, in which the population of Navarre is at one end of the
      first axis with the Basque sample close to it and the remaining European
      populations far removed. In tree-type representations the Navarre population is
      grouped with the Basque series at 1 end. Even so, the comparison of allele
      frequency distributions by the chi-square heterogeneity test indicates that these
      2 groups are statistically different. Our results together with the cultural
      relationship that exists between all the Basque-speaking provinces and the
      genetic heterogeneity described in earlier studies between the Basque provinces
      of Alava, Biscay, and Guipuzcoa (Aguirre et al. 1989; Manzano, Orue et al. 1996;
      Manzano, Aguirre et al. 1996) lead us to believe that the Navarre population lies
      within the heterogeneous Basque genetic map.

PMID- 9972098
TI  - Stability of the FMR1 CGG repeat in a Basque sample.
AB  - The fragile X syndrome is an X-chromosome-linked dominant disorder with reduced
      penetrance. It is the most common inherited form of mental retardation. The
      molecular basis is usually the unstable expansion of a CGG trinucleotide repeat
      in the 5' untranslated region of the first exon of the FMR1 gene, which resides
      at chromosome position Xq27.3 and is coincident with the cytogenetic fragile site
      FRAXA, which characterizes the syndrome. In the Biscay province of the Basque
      Country the prevalence of FRAXA in a mentally retarded sample of non-Basque
      origin is in the range of other analyzed Spanish populations. In the sample of
      Basque origin we have not found FRAXA site expression and the repeat size is in
      the normal range. Based on this, we have examined FMR1 gene stability in normal
      individuals of Basque origin from the Biscay province. This study is based on a
      sample of 242 X chromosomes. The results from the CGG repeat region of FMR1
      indicate that a prevalence of predisposing normal alleles toward repeat
      instability in the Basque population is 0.00% or near to it. This could be 1 of
      the explanations of the apparently low fragile X syndrome incidence found in the
      Basque mentally retarded sample analyzed by us. This low incidence does not seem
      to be associated with the flanking microsatellite markers.

PMID- 9972099
TI  - Genetic polymorphisms and ethnic admixture in African-derived black communities
      of northeastern Brazil.
AB  - Unrelated individuals from 3 relatively isolated African-derived communities in
      the state of Piaui, northeastern Brazil, and blood donors from Teresina (admixed
      population), the capital city of Piaui, were analyzed for the ESD, CA2, GC, HP,
      GLO1, PGM1, HB, ACP1 protein loci and for the VWF1 and VWF2 short tandem repeat
      (STR) loci. As expected, high frequencies of alleles considered characteristics
      of African populations were detected. The VWF1 allele distribution was bi-modal,
      whereas the VWF2 distribution was unimodal, suggesting differential action of
      mutation and selection factors in the 2 STRs despite their close location on the
      same gene. The genetic distances between the Brazilian isolates coincide with
      their geographic distances. The ethnic admixture estimated by a maximum
      likelihood method showed African, European, and Amerindian components of 61%,
      17%, and 22% for Mimbo, 72%, 12%, and 16% for Sitio Velho, and 31%, 21%, and 48%
      for Teresina, respectively.

PMID- 9972100
TI  - Apolipoprotein B genetic variability in Brazilian Indians.
AB  - Three apolipoprotein B restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLPs) (XbaI,
      MspI, and EcoRI) and the signal peptide insertion-deletion polymorphism were
      investigated using the polymerase chain reaction in 140 individuals from 5
      Brazilian Indian tribes. All studied markers were polymorphic in this ethnic
      group. The insertion allele 5' beta SP*29 at the signal peptide previously
      observed in Mexican Americans was detected in about 8% of the chromosomes of 2
      tribes (Gaviao and Zoro), therefore confirming the Amerindian origin of this
      allele. Negative linkage disequilibrium was observed between alleles at the
      signal peptide and the EcoRI polymorphism in all tribes. In 3 populations
      (Gaviao, Surui, and Zoro) a negative disequilibrium was also detected between the
      insertion-deletion signal peptide markers and the XbaI polymorphism. In the whole
      sample of Amerindians 14 of the 24 (58%) possible 4-marker extended haplotypes
      were identified, but only haplotype 2 (5' beta SP*24/*X+/*M+/*E+) and haplotype 5
      (5' beta SP*27/*X-/*M+/*E+) were shared by all tribes. No associations between
      plasma lipid levels or body mass index and these polymorphisms were observed in
      this sample.

PMID- 9972101
TI  - One founder/one gene hypothesis in a new expanding population: Saguenay (Quebec,
      Canada).
AB  - High frequencies of some rare inherited recessive disorders can be found in the
      Saguenay region of Quebec, Canada. Four disorders have a carrier frequency of
      about 0.04 (in the range 0.035-0.05): pseudovitamin D-dependent rickets,
      hereditary tyrosinemia type 1, Charlevoix-Saguenay spastic ataxia, and
      sensorimotor polyneuropathy with or without agenesis of the corpus callosum.
      Molecular data suggest that only 1 mutation has been introduced into the
      population since its founding in the 17th century. The carrier frequencies are
      much higher than one would expect under a theoretical model that includes
      variance in family size and population growth (Thompson and Neel 1978). I present
      a methodology called allele dropping to test the hypothesis that only 1 founder
      introduced a given mutation. This study is based on 891 ascending genealogies and
      enables one to measure the extent of allele frequency changes resulting from the
      demographic history of the population. Two scenarios are tested: neutral and
      lethal alleles. Lethality has a minor effect because the alleles never reach a
      frequency high enough for selection to be strong. Twenty-five founders have a
      probability greater than 1% that a lethal mutation they introduced into the
      population will reach a carrier frequency between 0.035 and 0.05 in the
      contemporary population. Moreover, 2 founders have a probability greater than 20%
      that a lethal allele they introduced into the population will reach this target
      frequency. Therefore the simplest hypothesis that 1 founder introduced 1 disorder
      into the population is consistent.

PMID- 9972102
TI  - Geographic heterogeneity of 4 common worldwide cystic fibrosis non-DF508
      mutations in Brazil.
AB  - Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by at least 750
      different mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
      (CFTR) gene. The frequency of the most common mutation (DF508) in Brazilian
      patients of European origin is 47%. To determine the frequency of 4 other common
      CF mutations (G542X, G551D, R553X, and N1303K) in Brazilian patients of European
      origin, we used direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA
      obtained from dried blood spots on Guthrie cards. The DNA came from 247 non-DF508
      chromosomes from 172 Brazilian CF patients ascertained from 5 different states of
      Brazil. The results show that the 4 mutations account for 17% of the non-DF508
      alleles and only 9% of the total number of Brazilian CF alleles. Overall, the
      frequency of each mutation is different from northern European and North American
      populations but similar to southern European populations, mainly the Italian and
      Spanish populations. When Brazilian patients of European origin are grouped
      according to state of birth, the frequencies of the mutations are significantly
      different between southern and southeastern states of Brazil. Therefore there are
      serious implication for risk assessment of DNA-based tests in heterogeneous
      populations such as Brazilians. Further studies are needed to identify the
      remaining 44% of CF mutations for the different populations and regions of
      Brazil.

PMID- 9972103
TI  - Changes over 100 years in degree of isolation of 21 parishes of the Lima Valley,
      Italy, assessed by surname isonymy.
AB  - Changes over 100 years (1887-1986) in degree of isolation of 21 parishes of the
      Lima valley, Italy, were assessed using surname analysis. Crow and Mange's
      inbreeding coefficients and Lasker and Kaplan's repeated pair values were
      calculated using 8026 marriage records; temporal changes were assessed by
      dividing birth cohorts into 4 time periods of 25 years each: 1887-1911, 1912
      1936, 1937-1961, and 1962-1986. Analysis was carried out at 2 hierarchical
      levels: the population of the valley as a whole and the valley's subdivision into
      21 parishes. The relationship between population size and level of isonymy during
      the breakdown of isolates was investigated. The results show that there is a
      small difference in inbreeding coefficients between the first 2 periods at either
      hierarchical level of analysis and a substantial decrease in marital isonymy
      during the study period is mostly due to the change in male random isonymy.
      Furthermore, the Fn value at the higher hierarchical level almost coincides with
      the mean F value at the lower hierarchical level, indicating that over time the
      parish remained the fundamental reproductive unit. Regression analysis showed
      that geographic isolation became increasingly important in differentiation among
      the parishes in population size and in levels of inbreeding. The marked deviation
      from equilibrium between drift and migration that characterizes the breakdown of
      isolates of almost all the rural populations is an important disturbing factor in
      assessing the relationship between level of inbreeding and population size.
      Comparison over time allows us to better describe the evolutionary forces at the
      basis of the changes in genetic structure of a population.

PMID- 9972105
TI  - A vaccine against Lyme disease.

PMID- 9972104
TI  - Sex ratio and parental age gap.
AB  - We tested the hypothesis that a large age difference between parents can shift
      the sex ratio at birth in favor of males, as Manning et al. (1997) suggested in
      their analysis of English and Welsh data. Among children born in Lombardy
      (northern Italy) in 1990 and 1991, we observed an anomalous excess of males born
      to a particular subsample of parents with a wide age gap (> 15 yr) between them;
      in the overall sample the father-mother age gap does not significantly contribute
      to the determination of the child's sex.

PMID- 9972106
TI  - Antibiotics for frequent indigestion?

PMID- 9972107
TI  - Preventive mastectomy.

PMID- 9972108
TI  - CT for detecting heart disease.

PMID- 9972109
TI  - Nasal sprays best for treating hay fever.

PMID- 9972110
TI  - Animal bites and infection.

PMID- 9972111
TI  - Fosamax prevents fractures--for some.

PMID- 9972113
TI  - Cast off sooner with new bone cement.

PMID- 9972112
TI  - Intensive heart program seeing results.

PMID- 9972114
TI  - Zeroing in on attention deficit disorder.

PMID- 9972115
TI  - Non-Antibiotic Properties of Tetracyclines. Proceedings of a Symposium. Garden
      City, New York, November 13-14, 1997.

PMID- 9972116
TI  - Chemical and biological dynamics of tetracyclines.

PMID- 9972117
TI  - Tetracyclines inhibit connective tissue breakdown by multiple non-antimicrobial
      mechanisms.
AB  - A seminal experiment involving a germ-free rat model of connective tissue
      breakdown (followed soon thereafter by a series of in vitro studies) identified
      an unexpected non-antimicrobial property of tetracyclines (TCs). This ability of
      TCs to inhibit matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as collagenase was found to
      reflect multiple direct and indirect mechanisms of action, and to be
      therapeutically useful in a variety of dental (e.g., adult periodontitis) and
      medical (e.g., arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer) diseases. The site on the TC
      molecule responsible for its MMP-inhibitory activity was identified which led to
      the development of a series of chemically modified non-antimicrobial analogs,
      called CMTs, which also have therapeutic potential but do not appear to induce
      antibiotic side-effects. Longitudinal double-blind studies on humans with adult
      periodontitis have demonstrated that a sub-antimicrobial dose of doxycycline
      (previously reported to suppress collagenase activity in the periodontal pocket)
      is safe and effective and has recently been approved by the FDA as an adjunct to
      scaling and root planing.

PMID- 9972118
TI  - Safety and efficacy of sub-antimicrobial-dose doxycycline therapy in patients
      with adult periodontitis.
AB  - The objectives of the studies presented here were to assess the safety and
      efficacy of the adjunctive administration of sub-antimicrobial-dose doxycycline
      (SDD) for the treatment of adult periodontitis and to confirm the optimal dosing
      regimen. The studies summarized included four double-blind, placebo-controlled,
      randomized clinical trials, conducted over a period of 9 to 12 months. Analysis
      of efficacy data demonstrated that adjunctive SDD treatment resulted in: (1)
      increases in clinical attachment levels; (2) decreases in probing pocket depths;
      and (3) reductions in bleeding on probing in patients with adult periodontitis.
      There were no significant adverse events or unwanted long-term antimicrobial
      effects associated with orally administered SDD. The results of these clinical
      trials indicate that the adjunctive use of SDD 20 mg BID is an effective and well
      tolerated regimen which can significantly improve several indices of periodontal
      health.

PMID- 9972119
TI  - Long-term sub-antimicrobial doxycycline (Periostat) as adjunctive management in
      adult periodontitis: effects on subgingival bacterial population dynamics.
AB  - Previous trials had indicated that various schedules of sub-antimicrobial
      doxycycline significantly reduced gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) collagenase
      activity in adult patients with periodontitis with no evidence of emergent
      tetracycline-resistant (Tcr) marker oral flora. The purpose of this nine-month
      study was to expand these observations, emphasizing newer microbial diagnostic
      methods. Subgingival paper point samples were obtained at baseline (BL), 3, 6,
      and 9 months. Four subject treatment groups in a double-blind design were
      evaluated by mechanical scaling and root planing (SRP) and/or 20 mg doxycycline
      BID (Periostat). Thirty-eight patients entered the study at baseline (BL). Dark
      field microscopy on 260 samples showed that morphotype distribution was
      independent of treatment schedule. Culture analysis of the 3 most prevalent
      isolates recovered showed that Streptococcus and Prevotella species accounted for
      approximately 85% of the 724 cultures. There did not appear to be any overgrowth
      or replacement by opportunistic oral flora. Of 658 susceptibility patterns
      evaluated by Etest, the MIC50/90 and mode MIC showed stable patterns, independent
      of treatment group. Our findings were different from those of previously
      published reports, but may be partly explained by the lack of universally
      standardized methods in oral microbiology and interpretive criteria for
      susceptibility testing.

PMID- 9972120
TI  - Measurement of proteinase activity in gingival crevicular fluid following
      periodontal therapy.

PMID- 9972121
TI  - Root-surface caries in rats and humans: inhibition by a non-antimicrobial
      property of tetracyclines.
AB  - The incidence of root caries has been found to increase as the population ages
      and as edentulism becomes less prevalent due to improved dental awareness and
      care, and as exposure of roots due to gingival recession has also increased in
      the elderly. The mechanism of root caries is thought to be mediated by both
      bacterial and mammalian proteases produced by plaque and the periodontal tissues,
      respectively. In the current study, a rat model of periodontal disease was used
      in which gnotobiotic rats were infected intra-orally with a periodontal pathogen
      (P. gingivalis). Infecting the rats with P. gingivalis increased the collagenase
      activity in the gingival tissue in association with severe alveolar bone loss.
      Treating P. gingivalis-infected rats with doxycycline or CMT-1 prevented the
      destruction of the periodontium by MMPs, thus preventing exposure of roots to
      subgingival bacterial plaque and host tissue collagenases and the subsequent
      development of root caries. In addition, a low-dose doxycycline (LDD, 20 mg bid,
      non-antimicrobial dose) for 3 months was used in humans predisposed to increased
      root caries as the result of heavy use of smokeless (chewing) tobacco, causing
      gingival recession, subgingival plaque accumulation with Gram-negative bacteria,
      increased gingival crevicular fluid flow (GCF), and elevated GCF collagenase.
      Daily administration of LDD in smokeless tobacco patients reduced the GCF
      collagenase and prevented the further development of root caries.

PMID- 9972122
TI  - The potential role of doxycycline in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the
      temporomandibular joint.
AB  - Collagenase and gelatinase are matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) which play an
      important role in tissue destruction in arthritic joints. Studies have
      demonstrated that tetracyclines can inhibit MMPs and prevent tissue destruction
      independent of their antimicrobial activity. The purpose of this pilot study is
      to assess the potential therapeutic role of Doxycycline in patients with advanced
      osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This ongoing investigation
      includes patients with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the TMJ based on clinical
      and diagnostic imaging findings, symptoms (localized TMJ pain, limited mobility,
      dysfunction) for a minimum of 36 months, and failure of previous non-surgical and
      surgical modalities to alleviate the symptoms. A synovial fluid sample is
      collected by a saline injection and aspiration technique, followed by diagnostic
      arthroscopy. Patients are placed on Doxycycline 50 mg BID for three months and
      then undergo repeat diagnostic arthroscopy and synovial fluid collection. The
      samples are stored at -80 degrees C. Collagenase activity is determined by a
      combination of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography and
      calculated based on the percentage of collagen alpha chains that are degraded
      into alphaA breakdown products. Three patients have completed the three-month
      course of Doxycycline thus far, and 5 joints with osteoarthritis have been
      analyzed. All patients were female (mean age = 35, mean duration of symptoms =
      132 months) and had undergone previous bilateral arthroscopies. One patient had
      undergone unilateral arthroplasty. The mean collagenase activity showed 55%
      collagen lysis prior to Doxycycline treatment and 19% after three months of
      therapy. The mean gelatinase activity was 28% prior to Doxycycline treatment and
      7% after three months of therapy. The mean interincisal opening was 33 mm
      initially and 41 mm after three months of Doxycycline. Subjectively, two of the
      three patients reported significant improvement in their overall symptoms, which
      they had not experienced over the previous three years. One patient did not
      experience any change in symptoms, in spite of a marked reduction in collagenase
      activity from 86.4% to 9.6%. Because of the very small numbers of patients
      enrolled in this pilot study so far, no statistically significant differences
      could be appreciated. However, the dramatic reduction in collagenase activity in
      these patients, with a long history of TMJ symptoms from osteoarthritis, suggests
      the potential promising role of Doxycycline in the management of osteoarthritis,
      and further investigation is warranted.

PMID- 9972123
TI  - Effects of tetracyclines on bone metabolism.
AB  - The anti-resorptive properties of tetracyclines (TCs) and their non
      antimicrobial, chemically modified analogues (CMTs) have enormous therapeutic
      potential in medicine and dentistry. Osseous destructive diseases associated with
      excessive mammalian collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase) activity and collagen
      breakdown include malignancy, arthritis, and periodontitis. However, apart from
      the significant antimatrix metalloproteinase effects of TCs, TCs/CMTs are also
      potent inhibitors of osteoclast function (i.e., anti-resorptive). Thus, TCs can
      affect several parameters of osteoclast function and consequently inhibit bone
      resorption by (1) altering intracellular calcium concentration and interacting
      with the putative calcium receptor; (2) decreasing ruffled border area; (3)
      diminishing acid production; (4) diminishing the secretion of lysosomal cysteine
      proteinases (cathepsins); (5) inducing cell retraction by affecting podosomes;
      (6) inhibiting osteoclast gelatinase activity; (7) selectively inhibiting
      osteoclast ontogeny or development; and (8) inducing apoptosis or programmed cell
      death of osteoclasts. TCs/CMTs, as anti-resorptive drugs, may act similarly to
      bisphosphonates and primarily affect osteoclast function.

PMID- 9972124
TI  - Doxycycline inhibits collagen synthesis by differentiated articular chondrocytes.
AB  - Doxycycline (DOX) profoundly inhibited collagen synthesis by differentiated
      articular chondrocytes. At 25 microM, the rate of collagen synthesis was
      suppressed by more than 50% without affecting cell proliferation (DNA levels) and
      general protein synthesis (35S-Met and 35S-Cys incorporation). Steady-state mRNA
      levels of type II collagen were also reduced, indicating that DOX may have an
      effect at the transcriptional level of type II collagen. The IC50 value of DOX to
      downregulate collagen synthesis (17 microM) is close to DOX levels attained in
      vivo (< 10 microM), and it is more than ten-fold lower than the IC50 values to
      inhibit the activity of most matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). As such, these
      findings support the hypothesis that the reduced severity of OA observed in the
      dog anterior cruciate ligament model resulting from prophylactic treatment with
      DOX may involve mechanisms other than MMP inhibition alone. Our findings suggest
      that prevention of changes in the chondrocyte phenotype may be involved in the
      beneficial effect of doxycycline in experimental osteoarthritis, for
      differentiated chondrocytes in early stages of osteoarthritis exhibit elevated
      collagen synthesis.

PMID- 9972125
TI  - Effect of minocycline on osteoporosis.
AB  - The effect of oral minocycline on osteopenia in ovariectomized (OVX) old rats was
      examined in this study. Rats were divided into 4 groups: sham-operated, OVX
      followed by treatment with vehicle, minocycline, or 17 beta-estradiol. The
      treatment was initiated one day after OVX and proceeded for 8 wks. OVX reduced
      bone mineral density (BMD) in the whole femur and in the femoral regions that are
      enriched in trabecular bone. Treatment with minocycline or estrogen prevented a
      decrease in BMD. Femoral trabecular bone area, trabecular number, and trabecular
      thickness were reduced, and trabecular separation was increased by OVX. Treatment
      with minocycline or estrogen abolished the detrimental effects induced by OVX.
      OVX also reduced indices that reflect the interconnectivity of trabecular bone,
      and the loss of trabecular connectivity was prevented by treatment with
      minocycline or estrogen. Based on the levels of urinary pyridinoline, we showed
      that the effect of estrogen, but not minocycline, was primarily through its
      inhibitory effect on bone resorption. Analysis of bone turnover activity suggests
      that OVX increased parameters associated with bone resorption (eroded surface)
      and formation (osteoid surface, mineralizing surface, mineral apposition rate,
      and bone formation rate). Treatment with minocycline reduced bone resorption
      modestly and stimulated bone formation substantially. In contrast, treatment with
      estrogen drastically reduced parameters associated with both bone resorption and
      formation. We have concluded that oral minocycline can effectively prevent the
      decrease in BMD and trabecular bone through its dual effects on bone resorption
      and formation.

PMID- 9972126
TI  - Long-term therapy with a new chemically modified tetracycline (CMT-8) inhibits
      bone loss in femurs of ovariectomized rats.
AB  - The effect of a new non-antimicrobial analog of tetracycline (CMT-8) on bone loss
      in ovariectomized (OVX) rats was examined. Three-month-old female rats were
      ovariectomized, and one week later, were distributed into 3 groups: sham-operated
      non-OVX controls, vehicle-treated OVX controls, and CMT-8-treated OVX rats. After
      145 days of daily CMT-8 administration, the intact femurs were dissected and
      examined by several histological and histomorphometric techniques. OVX
      significantly (p < 0.01) decreased trabecular bone volume by 53.4% in the
      metaphyses compared with sham-operated controls. CMT-8 therapy produced a
      significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of trabecular bone loss and also induced bone
      formation in the OVX rats. Of interest, the newly synthesized bone in the CMT
      treated OVX rats was found to increase the "connectivity" of the trabecular
      "struts" by bridging the adjacent longitudinal bone trabeculae, forming dense,
      plate-like bone trabeculae. These results strongly suggest that long-term CMT-8
      therapy effectively inhibits bone loss after OVX, not only by inhibiting bone
      resorption but also by inducing new bone formation in the trabecular areas of
      long bones.

PMID- 9972127
TI  - Effect of an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases on spontaneous osteoarthritis
      in guinea pigs.
AB  - Recently discovered chemically modified tetracyclines have been found to be
      effective inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated connective tissue
      destruction in a variety of pathologic processes, including rheumatoid arthritis
      and osteoarthritis (OA). Since the histologic techniques used in our laboratory
      have been validated in Hartley guinea pigs, which have a high incidence of OA
      like changes in the proximal tibia, we have used two tetracyclines which have
      potent inhibitory capacity against various MMPs, doxycycline (Dox) and a compound
      known as chemically modified tetracyclines (CMT-7). These were given by mouth to
      a group of guinea pigs for 4 to 8 months, and we assessed the effect of the
      compound on morphologic and biochemical aspects of OA. We found that prophylactic
      CMT-7 given orally decreases OA changes in the knee joints both in vitro and in
      vivo in the guinea pig OA model. Cartilage fibrillation and destruction, in
      addition to subchondral bone sclerosis and cyst formation, were all decreased in
      the central compartment of the medial condyle, which is most affected by OA
      compared with controls. Also collagen, hyaluronan and proteoglycancontent in
      cartilage was higher in the CMT-7 treated group compared with controls. In
      contrast, OA changes were not decreased in the Dox group. Our results confirm
      that various tetracyclines have reduced the severity of OA in animal models,
      indicating the therapeutic potential of this class of compounds in the future.

PMID- 9972128
TI  - Tetracycline-based MMP inhibitors can prevent fibroblast-mediated collagen gel
      contraction in vitro.
AB  - Collagen gels in vitro can be contracted by fibroblasts. The role of matrix
      metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the contraction of collagen lattices by human
      neonatal foreskin fibroblasts (HuFFs) was investigated in tissue culture media
      supplemented by various doses of known gelatinase inhibitors. Fluorescent assays
      with model gelatinase substrates and media conditioned by fibroblasts apparently
      confirmed the ability of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) to act as
      inhibitors of MMP2, and zymography demonstrated that this was the major cell
      derived MMP activity. There were no observable effects on the rate of contraction
      of attached FPCLs containing 6 x 10(4) HuFFs (passages 18-25) with either CMT-5
      or CMT-2 at all concentrations tested (0-100 micrograms/mL). However, at greater
      than 20 micrograms/mL doxycycline and greater than 5 micrograms/mL CMT-3, FPCL
      contraction was completely abolished. Quantitative assessment of cell viability
      by means of the MTT assay in monolayer and qualitatively within the FPCLs with
      CalceinAM suggested that differences were not due to cytotoxic effects. Seeding
      FPCLs with lower-passage fibroblasts produced identical trends. These results may
      implicate the involvement of MMPs in the process of gel contraction, although
      tetracyclines have effects additional to their ability to inhibit MMPs directly.

PMID- 9972129
TI  - Effects of doxycycline on cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

PMID- 9972130
TI  - Potential application of a chemically modified non-antimicrobial tetracycline
      (CMT-3) against metastatic prostate cancer.

PMID- 9972131
TI  - Application of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) in experimental models of
      cancer and arthritis.

PMID- 9972132
TI  - Minocycline inhibits in vitro invasion and experimental pulmonary metastasis of
      mouse renal adenocarcinoma.

PMID- 9972133
TI  - Inhibition of MMP synthesis by doxycycline and chemically modified tetracyclines
      (CMTs) in human endothelial cells.
AB  - Doxycycline is a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic. Recently, it has been
      shown that it also inhibits the activity of mammalian collagenases and
      gelatinases, an activity unrelated to its antimicrobial efficacy. In this study,
      we show that doxycycline not only inhibits MMP-8 and MMP-9 (gelatinase B)
      activity, but also the synthesis of MMPs in human endothelial cells. Doxycycline
      (50 microM) completely inhibited the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)
      mediated induction of MMP-8 and MMP-9, as measured by Western blotting and
      gelatin zymography, respectively. The inhibition was also observed at the mRNA
      level. No effect was observed on the expression of MMP-2 and of the MMP
      inhibitors TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. Chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) showed an
      inhibition similar to that of doxycycline, albeit less efficient. These
      observations demonstrate that endothelial cells display a specific regulation of
      MMPs, which may have implications for the pharmaceutical interaction in
      angiogenesis and angiogenesis-related diseases.

PMID- 9972134
TI  - Effects of tetracyclines on the pathologic activity of endotoxin: in vitro and in
      vivo studies.
AB  - Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is considered to be one of the major virulence factors
      of Gram-negative bacteria. Recently, tetracyclines (TTCs) were found to prevent
      the patho-physiological changes associated with LPS in vivo and the secretion of
      inflammatory mediators in vitro. However, the mechanism by which TTCs prevents
      LPS-induced pathology in vivo is still unclear. In order to shed light on that
      problem, we carried out in vitro and in vivo experiments. TTC inhibited the
      secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and TNF alpha from LPS-stimulated macrophages and
      inhibited macrophage-induced thymocyte proliferation. However, TTC inhibited NO
      secretion with use of concentrations five-fold lower than those that inhibited
      TNF alpha secretion and thymocyte proliferation. The secretion of NO was
      inhibited by the addition of TTC to the cultures up to 6 hrs post-LPS
      stimulation. TTC inhibition of LPS-induced NO secretion was not reversed by the
      addition of recombinant TNF alpha, and TTC inhibition of LPS-induced TNF alpha
      secretion was not reversed by the addition of NO donor. These results suggest
      that the inhibition of TNF alpha by TTC is not the result of the inhibition of
      LPS-induced NO secretion or vice versa. In vivo experiments had shown that TTC
      prevented mortality in LPS-treated mice, but not in mice pre-sensitized with
      galactosamine prior to the LPS challenge. These results suggest that TTC activity
      in vivo is due not to the suppression of synthesis of inflammatory mediators but
      rather to the induction of acute phase-like response, which antagonizes the LPS
      induced activity.

PMID- 9972135
TI  - Effects of chemically modified tetracyclines on iNOS in mesangial cells: impact
      on experimental glomerulonephritis.

PMID- 9972136
TI  - Modulation of nitric oxide production by tetracyclines and chemically modified
      tetracyclines.
AB  - Chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) dose-dependently decreased inducible
      nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and, consequently, nitric oxide (NO) formation by
      the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated J774 line. The inhibitory effect was due
      to a specific reduction in the iNOS protein content in the cells, as attested by
      Western blot analysis and by the inhibition of iNOS mRNA accumulation.
      Furthermore, CMTs cause a dose-dependent increase in cell death in the J774 line
      mediated by the NO-independent apoptotic mechanism.

PMID- 9972137
TI  - The effects of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) on human keratinocyte
      proliferation and migration.
AB  - Chemically modified non-antimicrobial tetracycline derivatives and other low
      molecular-weight synthetic matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors inhibited
      keratinocyte migration. Since 72-kDa gelatinase-A (MMP-2) was the major
      gelatinase in our culture conditions, the results suggest that this MMP may be
      important in the regulation of keratinocyte mobility. On the other hand, we
      measured only gelatinase activities (MMP-2 and -9) present in culture medium, and
      therefore the results do not reveal how the inhibitors affect other MMPs as well
      as MMP levels close to the cell membranes. Overall, CMTs were found to be
      efficient in the inhibition of keratinocyte migration.

PMID- 9972138
TI  - Tetracycline derivatives induce apoptosis selectively in cultured monocytes and
      macrophages but not in mesenchymal cells.
AB  - Evidence for a non-antibiotic activity displayed by certain tetracycline
      derivatives is presented. This activity is a selective cytotoxicity toward cells
      of the monocytic lineage (the human histiocytic lymphoma U937 cell line and the
      mouse macrophage line RAW264) but not toward various cells of a mesenchymal
      lineage (including primary ovine articular chondrocytes and meniscal cells,
      murine calvarial osteoblasts and MG-63 osteosarcoma cells, and primary human
      neonatal foreskin fibroblasts). Cells were incubated with various chemically
      modified tetracycline derivatives (CMTs) or doxycycline for 24 hrs at a range of
      concentrations between zero and 50 micrograms/mL in both serum-containing and
      serum-free culture conditions. Assessment of cell viability by means of the MTT
      assay demonstrated a potent dose-dependent cytotoxic effect induced by compound
      CMT-3 and a less potent effect induced by doxycycline, but no apparent cytotoxic
      effect in the presence of either CMT-2 or CMT-5. Cytospin preparations analyzed
      by the labeling of DNA fragments indicated the same trends and suggested that
      cell death was via an apoptotic mechanism. The cytotoxic potency of these
      tetracyclines toward cells of the monocytic lineage could be diminished but not
      abolished by either the presence of 10% fetal calf serum within the culture
      medium, or pre-treatment with phorbol esters to promote a more macrophage-like
      phenotype. These data provide evidence that, in addition to well-characterized
      antibiotic and MMP-inhibitory characteristics, tetracyclines may function by a
      novel mechanism to induce selective apoptosis.

PMID- 9972139
TI  - Topically applied CMT-2 enhances wound healing in streptozotocin diabetic rat
      skin.
AB  - Delayed wound healing is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus, exhibited
      by increased wound collagenase and decreased granulation tissues. The current
      study compared wound healing in normal and diabetic rats, and the effects of
      topically applied 1% or 3% concentrations of chemically modified tetracycline-2
      (CMT-2) on 6-mm circular full-thickness skin wounds healed by secondary
      intention. On day 7 after wounding, tissues were removed for biochemical analysis
      and histology. The wound granulation tissue hydroxyproline was less in the
      untreated diabetic rat with increased collagenase and gelatinase. Treating the
      diabetic rat wounds with 3% CMT-2 increased the wound hydroxyproline and
      decreased activities of gelatinase and collagenase. There was a delay in wound
      filling by granulation tissue in diabetic rats. In CMT-2-treated diabetic rats,
      the volume of granulation tissue was greater than that in untreated diabetic
      rats. CMT-2 appears to normalize wound healing in diabetic rats and may be a
      valuable adjunct in the treatment of chronic wounds.

PMID- 9972140
TI  - How do tetracyclines work?
AB  - This paper is a summary of a panel discussion by the following panelists: L.
      Golub, J. te Koppele, G. Nieman, M. Nelson, R. Ashley, T. Sorsa, and S. Simon.
      The panel discussed the mechanisms by which the tetracyclines and their non
      antimicrobial counterparts may provide therapeutic efficacy in a variety of
      chronic and acute diseases.

PMID- 9972141
TI  - Tetracyclines inhibit protein glycation in experimental diabetes.
AB  - Glycation of proteins, which is accelerated in the diabetic state, has been
      implicated in many of the long-term complications of diabetes. This process can
      be inhibited by members of the tetracycline family of compounds. This novel
      finding is supported by studies conducted on drug (streptozotocin)induced Type I
      and genetic (ZDF/Gmi-fa/fa) Type II diabetic rats. These animals were orally
      gavaged daily with 5 mg of doxycycline and a variety of non-antimicrobial
      chemically modified tetracycline derivatives for time periods of 3 weeks to 11
      months, while control untreated diabetic and nondiabetic animals were gavaged
      with vehicle alone (2% CMC). Blood and tissue samples were collected and analyzed
      for glucose and glycated proteins. None of the treatments had any effect on the
      severity of hyperglycemia or the intracellular glycation of hemoglobin of either
      Type I or II diabetic animals. However, the tetracycline analogues did affect the
      extracellular glycation of several proteins such as those found in the serum as
      well as skin collagen. In the Type II (ZDF) animals, initial mortality (3-5
      months) was seen only in the doxycycline-treated animals, associated with
      infection by tetracycline-resistant micro-organisms, which was eventually
      surpassed by mortality rates in the untreated diabetics (6-9 months). CMT
      treatment not only decreased mortality but also increased longevity in the Type
      II diabetic animals, most likely by preventing the development of a number of
      long-term complications of uncontrolled diabetes, including glycation of
      proteins, that eventually lead to the demise of untreated diabetic animals.

PMID- 9972142
TI  - Therapeutic potential of tetracycline derivatives to suppress the growth of
      abdominal aortic aneurysms.
AB  - Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) represent a potentially lethal disorder
      associated with aging and atherosclerosis. Although current management of AAA is
      predicted on early detection and elective surgical repair, routine screening for
      AAA is infrequent, because most AAA are too small to warrant repair when first
      detected and because there are no therapeutic approaches proven to suppress
      aneurysm expansion. Basic research on this problem suggests that chronic
      inflammation and increased local production of elastin-degrading proteinases play
      prominent roles in the process of aneurysmal degeneration. Members of the matrix
      metalloproteinases (MMP) family appear to be the most prominent elastases
      produced in human AAA, suggesting that unique therapeutic targets might exist for
      aneurysm disease. Studies using a representative animal model for AAA support
      this view, providing a means for further development of pharmacological
      approaches to suppress aneurysm expansion. Indeed, recent work indicates that
      tetracycline derivatives have the potential to interrupt the progressive
      connective tissue destruction that occurs in AAA, by virtue of their non
      antimicrobial properties as MMP inhibitors, and they do so at clinically
      achievable dose schedules. These findings support the view that MMPs are
      potentially important pharmacotherapeutic targets in AAA and, moreover, that
      tetracyclines might be useful in suppressing aneurysm expansion in vivo. Because
      tetracycline derivatives offer a number of distinct advantages as MMP inhibitors
      for patients with small AAA, prospective clinical trials of this novel
      therapeutic strategy can be anticipated in the near future.

PMID- 9972143
TI  - Potential application of low-dose doxycycline to treat periodontitis in post
      menopausal women.
AB  - The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to review the evidence that
      osteoporosis and post-menopausal estrogen deficiency are associated with
      progressive alveolar bone loss and an elevated risk of tooth loss; and (2) to
      propose the use of tetracyclines, specifically low-dose doxycycline (LDD) (and,
      perhaps in the future, the chemically modified tetracyclines), to mitigate
      alveolar bone loss in post-menopausal osteoporotic/osteopenic women. Design
      concepts for a randomized clinical trial to study the effects of LDD on
      progressive alveolar bone loss in this patient population are reviewed. Since
      osteoporosis affects over 20 million people in the United States, progressive
      alveolar bone loss in this patient group represents a potentially significant
      public health problem unique from common adult periodontitis. Stopping
      progressive alveolar bone loss is essential to prevent both tooth loss and micro
      architectural deterioration of alveolar bone.

PMID- 9972144
TI  - Observer variation in the assessment of resin composite.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the type of information obtained
      from log-linear modelling vs Cohen's kappa statistics on observer variation in
      the assessment of marginal adaptation in composite inlays and amalgam
      restorations. METHODS: Marginal adaptation of Class II resin composite inlays and
      amalgam restorations was clinically assessed by two observers, four years after
      placement. Each of 52 patients received 4 different restorations, three composite
      (Herculite XR, Clearfil CR Inlay and Visiomolar) inlays and one Tytin
      restoration. The results were evaluated by Cohens Kappa statistics and log-linear
      modelling. RESULTS: The overall Cohen's kappa was 0.45, ranging from poor to good
      for the four materials. Log-linear modelling confirmed that the observers agreed
      beyond chance but this agreement depended on the performance of the material.
      Marginal adaptation of Visiomolar (ESPE) inlays was somewhat inferior compared to
      the other materials. The assessment of Clearfil CR (Kuraray) inlay was difficult
      using this clinical evaluation procedure. SIGNIFICANCE: Using log-linear
      modelling it is possible to look at observer agreement and material performance
      at the same time. This combined approach is important because agreement may
      depend on material performance.

PMID- 9972145
TI  - Effects of HEMA on water evaporation from water-HEMA mixtures.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aims of this research were: (1) to determine the relative rates
      of evaporation of water and HEMA, and (2) to determine the effects of increasing
      concentrations of HEMA on the rate of evaporation of water from water and HEMA
      mixtures. METHODS: Ten microliters of each solution (100% H2O, 75% H2O-25% HEMA,
      50% H2O-50% HEMA, 25% HEMA, 100% HEMA) were placed on the pan of a
      thermogravimetric analysis instrument held at 37 degrees C. The rate of
      spontaneous weight loss was measured as a function of time and relative humidity
      (RH) and compared statistically using ANOVA and Scheffe F test. RESULTS: The rate
      of evaporation of pure water was 32-fold higher than that of 100% HEMA. Addition
      of HEMA to water lowered the rate of evaporation of water from the water-HEMA
      mixtures in a manner that was proportional to its effect on lowering the vapor
      pressure of water (p < 0.05 comparing 50% HEMA with 75% HEMA). The rate of
      evaporation of water from water-HEMA mixtures was higher (p < 0.05) when the
      ambient gas was at 0% RH than when it was at 51% RH. SIGNIFICANCE: The results
      indicate that as water evaporates from water-HEMA mixtures, the concentration of
      HEMA rises because it is relatively non-volatile. This rise in HEMA concentration
      lowers the vapor pressure of water making it more difficult to remove the last
      amounts of water. This residual water may interfere with polymerization of
      adhesive monomers, thereby lowering the quality of the hybrid layer.

PMID- 9972146
TI  - Cyclic contact fatigue of a silver alternative to amalgam.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To purpose of this study was to compare the cyclic contact fatigue
      resistance of a novel mercury-free silver direct filling material to that of a
      dental amalgam (Dispersalloy). METHODS: The silver specimens were made by
      pressing a precipitated powder at room temperature with a pressure of 150 MPa,
      which can be achieved in clinical hand-consolidation. To simulate clinical
      contact of restorations against enamel cusps, a cyclic contact fatigue
      methodology was employed. A spherical indenter was used to repeatedly indent the
      specimen, while the accumulation of deformation and damage was examined as a
      function of the number of cycles up to 5 x 10(5). Student's t test, analysis of
      variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's multiple range test were used to compare the
      specimen groups for significant differences in flexural strength, indentation
      impression diameter, and hardness. A type I error of alpha = 0.05 was considered
      as significant. Subsurface damage was examined by using a bonded-interface
      technique. RESULTS: As a result of cyclic indentation, microcracks were produced
      in the amalgam, but no cracks were found in the silver filling material. At fewer
      numbers of cycles, indentation produced larger impressions in silver (e.g.,
      diameter = [450 +/- 31] microns at 10(2) cycles) than in amalgam ([145 +/- 20]
      microns) due to a lower hardness of the former. However, with increasing number
      of cycles, damage accumulated more rapidly in the amalgam, while the silver
      beneficially work-hardened in repeated indentations. At 5 x 10(5) cycles, the
      difference in impression diameter between silver and amalgam ([582 +/- 20]
      microns vs. [568 +/- 42] microns) become insignificant (p > 0.1, Student's t
      test). SIGNIFICANCE: The mercury-free silver direct filling material is more
      resistant to microcracking and to cyclic contact fatigue than amalgam, and the
      indentation impression sizes in the consolidated silver and dental amalgam are
      not statistically different at large numbers of cycles.

PMID- 9972147
TI  - Surface energy characteristics of adhesive monomers.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of the investigation was to determine the surface free-energy
      components of potentially adhesive monomer mixtures. METHODS: Four liquids with
      known components of surface free-energy were used as reference. Small drops of
      the liquids were placed on the polished surfaces of four types of solid (metal,
      porcelain, resin composite and hydrocarbon), and the contact angles were
      measured. By means of the fundamental equations for wetting, the three components
      of the surface free-energy of the four solids were calculated. Small drops of
      various monomeric mixtures were then placed on the four solid surfaces, and on
      the basis of the previously calculated components of surface free-energy of the
      solids, the surface energy characteristics of the monomeric mixtures were
      determined. The relationships between contact angles and composition, and between
      surface tension and composition, were studied by regression analyses. Comparisons
      between values were carried out by means of Neuman-Keuls' multiple range test at
      a level of statistical significance of p = 0.05. RESULTS: Statistically
      significant differences between the monomeric mixtures as regards the wetting of
      the four solids were observed. These differences reflected differences in the
      acid or base component of the surface free-energy of the monomers. In particular,
      monomeric mixtures containing HEMA, MAN or 4-META exhibited a significant acid
      component of the surface free-energy. SIGNIFICANCE: Knowledge of the surface free
      energy components of monomers throws light on the mechanisms associated with the
      adhesion of resin composites, including resin cements. A better understanding of
      the interfacial interactions may act as guide in a research aimed at developing
      resin materials of increased adhesion to metal, porcelain or resin composite.

PMID- 9972148
TI  - Effect of filler porosity on the abrasion resistance of nanoporous silica
      gel/polymer composites.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This laboratory study was designed to investigate the effect of
      controlled nanoporosity on the wear resistance of polymeric composites reinforced
      with silica gel powders and to determine the mechanisms controlling the abrasive
      wear properties of these unique nanostructured materials. METHODS: Silica gels
      were prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)
      using four different catalysts to modify the porous structure of the resulting
      polysilicate silanation, an organic monomer (TEGDMA) containing various
      initiators was introduced into the gel powders to form a paste. The various
      pastes were then polymerized inside a glass mold. A pin-on-disk apparatus was
      then used to record the specimen length and number of revolutions. Abrasive wear
      rates were determined by regression analysis and statistical differences were
      determined by analysis of variance and multiple comparisons. BET was used to
      characterize the filler pore structure and scanning electron microscopy was used
      used to visually examine the abraded surfaces. RESULTS: Significant differences
      (p < 0.05) in the wear rates of the experimental composites were noted. Within
      the range of filler porosities examined, wear resistance was found to be linearly
      dependent (R2 = 0.983) on filler pore volume. The wear rates decreased with
      increasing filler porosity. HCl-catalyzed gels having low porosity produced
      composites having relatively limited abrasion resistance. In contrast, high
      porosity HF-catalyzed gels produced more wear-resistant composites. The abrasive
      wear resistance of these nanocomposites was not significantly affected by the
      level of silane coupling used in these experiments. SEM evaluation suggested that
      better wear resistance was associated with fine-scale plastic deformation of the
      wear surface and the absence of filler particle pullout. SIGNIFICANCE: Porous
      particles prepared via sol-gel show some promise as fillers that improve the wear
      resistance of photopolymerized resins. The wear resistance of the fillers appears
      to be directly related to nanoporous structure of the gel particles. Unlike
      conventional dental composites, these materials rely primarily on nanomechanical
      coupling for improved wear resistance. This new principle should benefit
      subsequent investigations.

PMID- 9972149
TI  - Design of prosthetic cantilever bridgework supported by osseointegrated implants
      using the finite element method.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present work was to establish a design procedure for
      fixed metal prostheses supported by osseointegrated implants in order to prevent
      permanent deformation and hence failure following loading. Previously, the
      cantilever cross-sectional shape in the buccal lingual plane has been based on
      clinical experience and subjectivity. METHODS: This work has relied on the use of
      linear elastic finite element analysis in order to generate a maximum effective
      stress at which permanent deformation commences on loading. A number of different
      cross-sectional shapes were investigated, both of conventional design as well as
      new innovative possibilities. Both straight and curved cantilever beams 26 mm
      long were examined. RESULTS: The design failure chosen was based on a von Mises
      plastic collapse principle by comparing the calculated effective stresses with
      the yield stress of the metal in simple tension. It was found that the "L" shaped
      design was more rigid than other designs for a given mass, while a framework
      based on an open "I" section offers good possibilities particularly when used as
      curved shapes. SIGNIFICANCE: Assuming a failure criterion based on the von Mises
      principle, then "L" shaped Co/Cr or stainless steel frameworks, typically 26 mm
      of cantilever span, undergo permanent deformation at end loadings between 130 and
      140 N depending on section curvature. Since it is known biting loads can exceed
      these values, good design is critical if such failures are to be avoided.

PMID- 9972150
TI  - Microtensile bond strength testing and failure analysis of two dentin adhesives.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This investigation was conducted to determine the tensile bond
      strength of two dental adhesive using a recently introduced "microtensile" bond
      strength testing design and to verify the failure mode for each test specimen
      with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). METHODS: Extracted human molars were
      mounted in stone and the enamel was removed the occlusal surface perpendicular to
      the long axis of the tooth. A composite resin crown was formed on this flat
      dentin surface utilizing each dental adhesive system according to manufacturer's
      instructions. Twenty-four hours later the bonded test specimens were sectioned
      perpendicular to the adhesive joint, producing six to seven thin slabs per tooth.
      These dentin/adhesive/composite resin slabs were sectioned free from the stone
      block and mounted into custom Plexiglas fixtures for trimming and subsequent
      tensile bond strength testing at 7 d post-bonding. The bond strength of the two
      adhesives was statistically compared with the t test. The broken specimens were
      examined with SEM to determine the fracture location or failure mode. Failures
      for each adhesive system were categorized as either interfacial (joint or mixed)
      or substrate (dentin and composite) and evaluated by Fisher's exact test.
      RESULTS: The tensile bond strength and failure modes of All-Bond 2 (Bisco) and
      Optibond FL (Kerr) were not significantly different. Sixty per cent (12/20) of
      fractures involving All Bond 2 occurred at the interface, with seven being
      entirely maintained within the joint, whereas Optibond FL had 35% (7/20)
      involving some portion of the interface, two totally within the joint. Cohesive
      fractures of either dentin or composite accounted for 55% of the total failure
      modes (21/40). The remaining dentin thickness did not affect the measured tensile
      bond strength. SIGNIFICANCE: This versatile new method permits multiple
      measurements from a single tooth or small surface areas within a restoration but
      careful interpretation of the failure mode is required to prevent inappropriate
      conclusions about the utility of the test.

PMID- 9972151
TI  - Influence of UEDMA BisGMA and TEGDMA on selected mechanical properties of
      experimental resin composites.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine the effect of UEDMA, BisGMA and
      TEGDMA on selected mechanical properties of experimental resin composites.
      METHODS: Thirty monomer mixtures of TEGDMA and BisGMA and/or UEDMA were produced.
      Five base monomer mixtures had the following molar relationships between TEGDMA
      and BisGMA: 30:70, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 70:30. Monomer mixtures were then
      produced in which BisGMA was successively substituted by UEDMA, 10 mol% at a
      time. The resins were made light-curing and loaded with filler. Diametral tensile
      strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity were determined on 1 week
      old specimens. The results were analyzed by ANOVA and by response surface
      methodology. RESULTS: The diametral tensile strength of the resin composites
      varied between 52 and 59 MPa, the flexural strength between 137 and 167 MPa, and
      the modulus of elasticity between 8.0 and 11.1 GPa. The statistical analyses
      showed that substitution of BisGMA or TEGDMA by UEDMA resulted in an increase in
      tensile and flexural strength, and that substitution of BisGMA by TEGDMA
      increased tensile, but reduced flexural strength. Further, it was found that, for
      a given content of UEDMA, variations in the ratio BisGMA/TEGDMA gave rise to a
      maximum in modulus of elasticity. The size of this maximum in modulus decreased
      with increasing content of UEDMA. SIGNIFICANCE: Varying the relative amounts of
      UEDMA, BisGMA and TEGDMA has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of
      the resin composition. Thus, by selecting specific combinations of these
      components, it may be possible to design composites with properties that are
      tailor made to specific applications.

PMID- 9972152
TI  - Acid-base reaction and fluoride release profiles in visible light-cured polyacid
      modified composite restoratives (compomers).
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the extent of the acid-base
      reaction and F- release in Compoglass (Vivadent) and Dyract (Dentsply/DeTrey)
      restoratives. METHODS: For evaluation of the extent of the acid-base reaction,
      two groups of three specimens (7 mm x 5 mm x 1 mm) were prepared for each
      material. The first group was immersed in distilled water, while the second was
      kept in dark and dry conditions. Micro-MIR FTIR spectroscopy was used to
      determine the extent of the acid-base reaction on directly irradiated material
      surfaces immediately after irradiation and following water storage for 30 min, 3
      d, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 wks. The in-depth extent of the acid-base reaction of the
      specimens stored in water for 4 weeks was studied by sequential spectra
      acquisition after removal of the uppermost 20, 70, 100, 240 and 400 microns layer
      by controlled grinding and 1 wk re-immersion in water of the 400 microns reduced
      specimens. For the F- release measurements, five disk-shaped specimens (10 mm x
      1.5 mm) were prepared from each material and stored in distilled water. The
      amount of F- released for the storage periods reported above was measured using
      an ionometer with an F- electrode. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA,
      Scheffe's test and regression analysis. RESULTS: Storage in water promoted the
      development of an acid-base reaction on directly irradiated surfaces which
      reached a saturation point after 4 weeks. Depth profiling of the 4 wk immersed
      specimens revealed high salt concentration at the uppermost 100 microns layer. Re
      immersion in water for 1 week of the 400 microns reduced specimens increased the
      salt concentration again at the uppermost region. Statistically significant
      differences were found in the acid-base rates and the in-depth salt yields
      between the materials (p < 0.05). The fluoride release after a 1 week initial
      "bursting" period was stabilized below 2 mg l-1 (p > 0.05) in both products. No
      positive correlation was found between acid-base reaction and fluoride release.
      SIGNIFICANCE: The development of a carboxylate-rich surface layer on polyacid
      modified composite restoratives after water storage may explain their lower wear
      resistance compared with resin composites. The dynamic nature of these surfaces
      may provide several advantages regarding their interaction potential with hard
      dental tissues and their anticariogenic properties, but also some disadvantages
      concerning the quality of the surface texture obtained.

PMID- 9972153
TI  - Bonding to zirconia ceramic: adhesion methods and their durability.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Resin bonding to yttrium-oxide--partially-stabilized zirconia ceramic
      (YPSZ) cannot be established by standard methods that are utilized for
      conventional silica-based dental ceramics. It was our hypothesis that adhesive
      bonding methods suitable for glass-infiltrated alumina ceramic can also be used
      to bond successfully to YPSZ. To prove this hypothesis, bonding methods suitable
      for alumina ceramic were used on YPSZ and the tensile bond strength and their
      durability evaluated in vitro. METHODS: Plexiglass tubes filled with resin
      composite were bonded to YPSZ discs following various adhesion protocols. Groups
      of 16 samples were bonded using seven different bonding methods. Subgroups of
      eight bonded samples were tested for tensile strength following storage in
      distilled water (37 degrees C) for either 3 or 150 days. In addition, the 150 day
      samples were thermal cycled 37,500 times as a method to stress the bond
      interface. The statistical analysis was made with the Kruskal-Wallis test
      followed by multiple pair-wise comparisons of the groups using the Wilcoxon rank
      sum test. RESULTS: Sandblasting alone, the additional use of a silane or
      acrylizing resulted in an initial bond of a conventional BisGMA resin composite
      to YPSZ which failed spontaneously over storage time. The use of the BisGMA resin
      composite after tribochemical silica coating of YPSZ and the use of a polyacid
      modified resin composite after sandblasting of YPSZ resulted in an initial bond
      which decreased significantly over storage time (p = 0.05). A durable resin bond
      to YPSZ was achieved only after sandblasting the ceramic and using one of two
      resin composites containing a special phosphate monomer. SIGNIFICANCE: A durable
      bond to YPSZ was achieved only by using resin composites with a special adhesive
      monomer. Therefore, the hypothesis of the study was partially proved as a durable
      bond to alumina ceramic is achieved with the same resin composites. However, it
      was partially disproved as tribochemical silica coating of YPSZ did not result in
      a durable resin bond as it does on glass-infiltrated alumina ceramic.

PMID- 9972154
TI  - Magnetron sputtered tin coatings on unbiased ceramic substrates.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to study the application of tin oxide
      coatings on alumina, with a view to developing improved bonding for high-alumina
      dental ceramics. METHODS: By use of a magnetron sputtering technique, alumina was
      coated with tin which was subsequently oxidized, and the bond strength of coated
      surfaces to a resin-based dental cement was measured in tension. Tensile bond
      strength data were assessed for their degree of skewness and the homogeneity of
      the residual variances with a view to applying appropriate transformations prior
      to performing ANOVA with subsequent Tukey's analysis as necessary. The color of
      coatings, as a function of the amount of oxidation of the surface, was noted.
      Coatings were characterized by SEM and EDAX. It has been found possible to
      produce esthetic tin oxide coatings on alumina using a simplified magnetron
      sputtering apparatus in conjunction with post-deposition oxidation. RESULTS:
      Although mean tensile bond strength (TBS) values in excess of 15 MPa were
      recorded for a number of groups, no causal relationship was found between coating
      time and mean TBS. SIGNIFICANCE: The need exists for improved bonding of alumina
      based ceramics; further development of a magnetron sputtering technique may
      provide the means for achieving this.

PMID- 9972155
TI  - Role of microstructure on contact damage and strength degradation of micaceous
      glass-ceramics.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examines the hypothesis that microstructure plays a
      critical role in the accumulation of strength-degrading damage in dental
      ceramics. A series of micaceous glass-ceramics crystallized from a common glass
      composition, using heat treatments to increase the diameter and aspect ratio of
      mica platelets, is used as a model ceramic system. METHODS: Damage modes are
      investigated by Hertzian contact testing. Four-point bend tests on indented
      specimens quantify the influence of single-cycle and multi-cycle damage on
      strength. RESULTS: Two competing damage modes are observed: fracture, by tensile
      induced cone cracking at the macroscopic level; and quasi-plastic deformation, by
      shear-induced yield at the microscopic level. The quasi-plastic mode becomes more
      dominant as the microstructures become coarser and more elongate. Bend tests show
      severe strength losses in the finer grain structures where cone cracking
      dominates, but relatively small losses in the coarser grain structures where
      quasi-plasticity dominates. Whereas natural strengths decline with increasing
      crystallization temperature, the strengths after indentation damage attain a
      maximum at intermediate crystallization temperatures. Multiple-cycle contact
      loading reduces strengths even further, and at relatively low indentation loads,
      indicating susceptibility to fatigue. Finite element modelling is carried out to
      evaluate the stress components that drive the damage modes. SIGNIFICANCE:
      Microstructure is confirmed to be a controlling factor in determining the nature
      and degree of strength-impairing damage accumulation in dental ceramics. The
      Hertzian test provides a means of characterizing such damage in the context of
      clinical function.

PMID- 9972156
TI  - A retrospective evaluation of patients with uncomplicated crown fractures and
      luxation injuries.
AB  - This paper is a review of the clinical findings from my thesis "Pulp survival and
      hard tissue formation subsequent to dental trauma". Traumatic injuries in
      children and adolescents are a common problem, and the prevalence of such
      injuries has increased over the last 10-20 years. The purpose of the present
      investigations was to evaluate the long-term results following uncomplicated
      crown fractures and luxations involving subsequent pulp canal obliteration. A
      total of 241 patients with 545 injured teeth were available for clinical
      examination, of whom 102 answered a questionnaire and were interviewed before
      oral examination. In addition, 82 permanent incisors presenting with pulp canal
      obliteration were followed for a period of 7 to 22 years (mean 16 years). The
      findings showed little pulpal response to crown fracture and subsequent
      restorative procedures as long as there was no concomitant periodontal injury (15
      year follow-up). Approximately every fourth resin composite filling was rated as
      unacceptable at clinical examination. The interview showed that half of the
      individuals were dissatisfied with the color and/or anatomic form of the
      composite restoration. Pulp canal obliteration was found in all luxation
      categories, and 69% of the teeth demonstrated yellow crown discoloration.
      According to the survival curve the 20-year pulp survival rate diagnosed
      radiographically was 84%. Although the risk of pulp necrosis increased with time,
      routine endodontic intervention of teeth with ongoing pulp canal obliteration of
      the root canal did not seem justified.

PMID- 9972158
TI  - An in vitro comparison of thermoplasticised gutta-percha obturation techniques
      with cold lateral condensation.
AB  - This study compared the apical sealing ability, obturation time and extrusion of
      gutta-percha and sealer when root canals were obturated using either cold lateral
      condensation or one of the three methods using thermoplasticised gutta-percha
      (Alpha Seal, Thermafil or JS Quick Fill) in vitro. One hundred and thirty-one
      root canals from 78 extracted human teeth were used; 116 canals were divided into
      five groups so that they were balanced with respect to prepared canal anatomy,
      and the remaining 15 canals were used as positive and negative controls. The
      canals in the first four groups were prepared with hand files using the step-down
      technique to a standard apical size and flare. The last group was prepared using
      engine-driven rotary nickel-titanium files (McSpadden) to a similar apical size
      and flare. One of the four obturating techniques was used to fill the canals in
      each of the first four groups. The fifth group was obturated using the Alpha Seal
      technique. The roots were immersed in india ink, demineralised and rendered
      transparent to assess the extent of maximum lincar dye penetration. The Alpha
      Seal groups had the highest number of specimens without any leakage. There was a
      significant difference in the proportions of specimens that did not leak when the
      Alpha Seal (P < 0.01) and cold lateral condensation groups (P < 0.05) were
      compared with JS Quick Fill. Cold lateral condensation had a higher proportion of
      specimens with leakage in canals with curvature greater than 20 degrees than in
      canals with curvatures less than 20 degrees (P < 0.05). The curvature of canals
      had no effect on the sealing ability of the other techniques. The method of canal
      preparation had no effect on the sealing ability of Alpha Seal. Alpha Seal,
      Thermafil and JS Quick Fill were significantly quicker to perform than cold
      lateral condensation.

PMID- 9972157
TI  - Histological evaluation of the response of apical tissues to glass ionomer and
      zinc oxide-eugenol based sealers in dog teeth after root canal treatment.
AB  - The object of the study was to compare two commercial root canal sealers: Ketac
      Endo (a glass ionomer cement) and Fill Canal (a zinc oxide-eugenol cement). A
      total of 34 root canals from dog premolars with vital pulps were used. After
      instrumentation, the root canals were sealed with Ketac-Endo and Fill Canal
      cements using gutta-percha and a lateral condensation technique. After 270 days
      the animals were sacrificed with an anesthetic overdose and the maxillae and
      mandibles were removed and fixed in formalin for 48 h. After routine histological
      processing the sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Mallory trichrome
      stains. Microscopic analysis revealed that Ketac-Endo cement presented better
      results than Fill Canal cement.

PMID- 9972159
TI  - Effect of Er:YAG laser treatment on the root canal walls of human teeth: an SEM
      study.
AB  - The purposes of the study were to observe the morphological changes on root canal
      walls after instrumentation and irrigation, and assess the efficacy of
      conventional cleansing procedures and the effectiveness of Er:YAG laser in
      removing debris and smear layer from the root canal walls. Thirty-six
      endodontically treated human mandibular incisor teeth with single root canals
      were bisected longitudinally and divided into three groups of 12 teeth. Group 1
      (G1) was left unlased as a control. The teeth of group 2 (G2 and group 3 (G3)
      were irradiated by Er:YAG laser (laser parameters were set at 1 W, 100 mJ/pulse
      and 10 Hz) for 3 s and 5 s. The teeth were prepared for scanning electron
      microscope study. Control specimens showed debris and heavy smear layer obscuring
      the dentinal tubules at all levels in the canals. The root canal walls irradiated
      by Er:YAG laser were free of debris, with an evaporated smear layer and open
      dentinal tubules. These results suggested that Er:YAG laser irradiation had an
      efficient cleaning effect on the prepared root canal walls.

PMID- 9972160
TI  - A study of replanted permanent teeth in different age groups.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of replanting avulsed
      permanent teeth in different age groups. Of the 112 replanted teeth, 103 could be
      examined after 2.5 years on average. The teeth were divided into three groups:
      immature teeth (group A), mature teeth in children and adolescents (group B), and
      mature teeth in adults (group C). Concomitant injuries did not differ
      statistically between the groups. Extra-alveolar time with unphysiologic storage
      was longer than 15 min in 81 teeth. The results were statistically different for
      pulpal healing (A >> B > C), loss of marginal bone (C > A), amount of replacement
      resorption (A and B > C), alveolar growth inhibition (A > B >> C), local
      gingivitis (B > A and C) and buccal gingival retraction (C > A and B). Only 3 of
      23 extracted teeth were lost because of replacement resorption alone. Only 2 of
      the 23 extracted teeth showed revascularization of the pulp. The results
      suggested that replanting avulsed teeth should be considered a temporary solution
      in children and adolescents. In these patients, the benefit of tooth replantation
      is mainly the time gained to establish an optimal treatment plan. Mature teeth
      with a necrotic periodontal ligament replanted in children before the pubertal
      growth spurt seemed to have the poorest prognosis.

PMID- 9972161
TI  - Tube-like mineralization in the dental pulp of traumatized primary incisors.
AB  - Mineralization in the pulp is a common finding in permanent as well as primary
      teeth and is associated with caries, aging, traumatic injuries and systemic
      conditions. This article describes an unusual pattern of pulpal calcification. A
      tube-like calcified structure formed in the dental pulp of primary incisors
      following mild traumatic injuries. It was studied by clinical, radiographic and
      histologic evaluation and by scanning electron microscopy. The tube-like
      structure was found to extend along the entire length of the pulp canal.
      Generally it was separated from the root dentin by normal pulp tissue, but was
      connected to the dentin in some sites. It had the histologic appearance of
      osteodentin with cell inclusions in a ring-like formation that was incomplete in
      places. The scanning electron microscope study showed rough inner and outer
      surfaces of a tube-like structure with openings that seemed to be dentinal
      tubules.

PMID- 9972162
TI  - Mandibular central incisor with two root canals.
AB  - A case report of a mandibular central incisor with two root canals and two
      separate apical foramina is presented. The tooth showed inadequate endodontic
      treatment and a periapical radiolucent lesion. The lesion healed following
      endodontic retreatment and proper obturation of both root canals.

PMID- 9972163
TI  - Treatment of maxillary molars with vertical fractures.
AB  - To date, there has been no reliable method for treating bucco-palatal fractured
      maxillary molar teeth. We have developed a simple repositioning method to fix
      teeth fractured in this way using wire. The effectiveness of this new approach
      was evaluated in both in vitro experimental research and clinical studies.

PMID- 9972164
TI  - Whither authorship?

PMID- 9972165
TI  - HIV topic update: protease inhibitor therapy and oral health care.
AB  - Protease inhibitors have been a major advance in the management of HIV disease
      and have reduced the frequency and severity of many complications, including some
      oral lesions. They may also be of value in the management of occupational
      exposures to the virus. However, they may produce adverse effects including oral
      symptoms such as paraesthesia, taste disturbances and xerostomia, and may
      interact with a number of drugs used in oral health care. This article summarises
      the current situation.

PMID- 9972166
TI  - Oral manifestations of HIV in a southeast USA population.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Examine variations in oral manifestations of HIV by gender, race,
      risk behaviors, substance use and immune status in a previously unstudied
      population in the southeast region of the USA. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytic
      study. SETTING: Academic medical center, North Carolina, USA. SUBJECTS: First 238
      HIV-infected adults (76% male; 59% Black) enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal
      study. METHODS: Oral examination, medical chart review, sociodemographic and
      behavioral interview. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analyses.
      OUTCOMES: Presence of oral manifestations of HIV. RESULTS: 50% had recent CD4
      counts < 200 cells microliters-1, 48% had one or more oral lesion. Specific
      lesion prevalence: hairy leukoplakia (OHL) 26.5%; candidiasis (OC) 20%; HIV
      associated periodontal diseases (HIV-PD) 8.8%; aphthae 4.2%; papillomas 2.5%;
      herpes simplex 2.1%; HIV salivary gland disease 2.1%; Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) 1.7%;
      other 1.3%. In bivariate analyses, OHL was associated with being male, White,
      having a CD4 < 200, and men who have sex with men (MSM); OC was associated with
      CD4 < 200 and current smoking; HIV-PD was associated with consumption of more
      than seven alcohol-containing drinks per week; KS was associated with being male
      and MSM. Significant variables in multivariable analysis for presence of any oral
      lesion were White, CD4 < 200, and more than seven drinks/week; for OHL were male
      and CD4 < 200; and for OC were White, CD4 < 200, current smoking, and not MSM.
      CONCLUSIONS: MSM were at increased risk for KS and OHL, not OC, while smokers
      were at increased risk of OC. OC, OHL, and any oral lesion were associated with
      immune suppression. OHL was more likely in males independent of CD4 count.

PMID- 9972168
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytology as a diagnostic test for oral squamous cell
      carcinoma.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the possibility of using
      fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) as a primary diagnostic test in oral
      leukoplakia and squamous cell carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample
      consisted of 12 cases of oral leukoplakia and 60 cases of oral squamous cell
      carcinoma. FNAC and biopsy was done on all cases. A cytological and
      histopathological correlation was undertaken to determine the proportion of
      cancers that can be accurately diagnosed by FNAC and its ability to identify
      differentiation gradings of squamous cell carcinomas. A blind examination was
      undertaken. RESULTS: In oral leukoplakias equal rates of true positive and false
      negative results were obtained. The overall positive correlation accounted for
      33.33% with 33.33% inadequate FNACs. In oral squamous cell carcinomas 92.85% of
      true positive and 7.14% of false negative results were obtained. The
      differentiation gradings correlated in only 41.07%. The overall positive
      correlation was 86.66% with 6.66% inadequate FNACs. CONCLUSIONS: The present
      study indicates that FNAC can be used as a reliable diagnostic test for oral
      squamous cell carcinoma but its use in oral leukoplakia is of limited value.

PMID- 9972167
TI  - The porphyromonas gingivalis prtP/kgp homologue exists as two open reading frames
      in strain 381.
AB  - P. gingivalis is considered to be a major pathogen of adult periodontitis. Among
      its cadre of putative virulence factors are hemagglutinins (adhesins) and
      proteases. We here report the cloning, sequencing and characterization of two
      genes, designated kgp(381) and hagD. Kgp(381), an open reading frame (ORF) of
      1095 bp encoding a 40.1 kda protein, has high homology to the proteolytic domain
      of cysteine protease/hemagglutinin genes. HagD, an ORF of 4077 bp encoding a
      147.1 kda protein, contains one HArep sequence which establishes it as an
      additional member of the HArep multigene family. Although similar in sequence to
      kgp and prtP which were identified from strains HG66 and W12, respectively, the
      kgp(381)-hagD genes have several characteristics which distinguish them from kgp
      and prtP. Foremost among these is a single base difference which produces a
      termination codon and an immediate frame shift resulting in two ORFs in strain
      381 as compared to one ORF in strains HG66 and W12. In addition, a 172 amino acid
      sequence near the C-terminal end of hagD has very low identity (20.5-27.8%) to
      the corresponding region of kgp and prtP. These demonstrate that the homologue of
      kgp and prtP in strain 381 occurs as two separate genes which may genetically
      separate the adhesive and enzymatic domains of Kgp and PrtP proteins. Reverse
      polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis indicates that hagD expression is
      regulated by hemin concentration.

PMID- 9972169
TI  - Immunohistochemistry of 'tertiary lymphoid follicles' in oral amalgam-associated
      lichenoid lesions.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To characterise lymphoid follicle-like aggregates incidentally found
      to occur in biopsies of oral lichenoid reactions (OLR) and to correlate the
      findings to hyperplastic tonsil follicles. DESIGN: An immunocytochemical analysis
      of archival material. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In an arbitrarily selected period
      1992-1994 with a total of 13,924 oral biopsies, 2407 cases were signed out as OLR
      or lichen planus. These were microscopically reviewed, with the purpose to
      retrieve all cases showing histologic changes resembling secondary lymphoid
      follicles. RESULTS: 87 cases showed lymphoid follicle-like changes and 82 of
      these were in oral regions known to constitutively lack 'organised MALT'.
      Unexpectedly, all of the 82 were found retrospectively to be in close or direct
      contact with amalgam fillings. Immunocytochemically, using antibodies to B and T
      cells, macrophages, follicular dendritic cells and proliferation and apoptosis
      markers, the mucosal follicles stained similar to tonsillar secondary follicles.
      In several of an additional 11 OLR cases with histologic changes suggestive of
      primary follicles, we also found immunocytochemical evidence of such changes.
      CONCLUSIONS: 'Tertiary lymphoid follicles' may occasionally develop in OLR at
      sites of the oral mucosa constitutively lacking organised lymphoid tissue. The
      microenvironment of the OLR T cell infiltrate may occasionally favour such
      follicle development and amalgam constituents may causally be involved in an
      unknown way.

PMID- 9972170
TI  - An immunohistochemical study of p53 and PCNA in inflammatory papillary
      hyperplasia of the palate: a dilemma of interpretation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Inflammatory papillary hyperplasia of the palate (IPHP) or the
      granular type of denture stomatitis, is a non-neoplastic lesion characterized
      histologically by a significant epithelial hyperplasia and inflammatory
      infiltrate usually caused by trauma and Candida infection. p53 and proliferative
      cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) are cell-cycle regulators, that when overexpressed,
      are considered by many investigators as markers of malignant transformation. The
      objective of this study was to investigate the immunodetection of p53 and PCNA in
      IPHP, and to correlate these results with the degree of epithelial hyperplasia
      and inflammatory infiltrate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 12 cases diagnosed
      clinically as IPHP, Candida was cultured from the denture base and the palatal
      mucosa. Lesions were biopsied and stained with H&E for histomorphometric analysis
      of the epithelial width and inflammatory infiltrate. PAS and Gram stains were
      used for screening of Candida. Sections were immunostained with DO-7 for p53 and
      PC-10 for PCNA. Fifteen palatal biopsies obtained from autopsies of edentulous
      subjects with normal palatal mucosa served as controls. RESULTS: All cultures of
      swabs from both the palatal mucosa and denture base were positive for Candida.
      Candidal hyphae could not be identified in PAS stained sections. Small foci of
      Gram-positive organisms were found in two cases of IPHP. Epithelial width and
      inflammation were significantly higher in IPHP than in controls (P < 0.001). A
      three-fold increase in positively stained cells for p53 and a two-fold increase
      in positively stained cells for PCNA were seen in IPHP compared with controls (P
      < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although a significant increase in the immunodetection of
      p53 and PCNA may indicate a malignant potential, IPHP has never been reported to
      undergo malignant transformation nor is it associated with cytologic signs of
      dysplasia. The increase in the epithelial width and inflammation degree is
      probably associated with the colonization of the denture bases with Candida
      organisms. The increased detection of p53 and PCNA can be a secondary effect of
      cytokines originating from both the inflammatory cells and the keratinocytes.
      Thus, immunodetection of p53 and PCNA by current immunohistochemical methods on
      archival tissues is neither specific nor sensitive enough to be used as
      indicators for malignant potential in the absence of cytological dysplastic
      changes or genetic proof of mutated cell cycle genes.

PMID- 9972171
TI  - Dietary factors in oral leukoplakia and submucous fibrosis in a population-based
      case control study in Gujarat, India.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship of specific nutrients and food items
      with oral precancerous lesions among tobacco users. DESIGN: A population-based
      case-control study. SETTING: Villages in Palitana taluk of Bhavnagar district,
      Gujarat, India. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An interviewer-administered food frequency
      questionnaire, developed and validated for this population, was used to estimate
      nutrient intake in blinded, house-to-house interviews. Among 5018 male tobacco
      users, 318 were diagnosed as cases. An equal number of controls matched on age
      (+/- 5 years), sex, village, and use of tobacco were selected. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURES: Odds ratios (OR) from multiple logistic regression analysis controlling
      for relevant variables (type of tobacco use and economic status). RESULTS: A
      protective effect of fibre was observed for both oral submucous fibrosis (OSF)
      and leukoplakia, with 10% reduction in risk per g day-1 (P < 0.05). Ascorbic acid
      appeared to be protective against leukoplakia with the halving of risk in the two
      highest quartiles of intake (versus the lowest quartile: OR = 0.46 and 0.44,
      respectively; P < 0.10). A protective effect of tomato consumption was observed
      in leukoplakia and a suggestion of a protective effect of wheat in OSF.
      CONCLUSION: In addition to tobacco use, intake of specific nutrients may have a
      role in the development of oral precancerous lesions.

PMID- 9972172
TI  - Snuff use and smoking among senior high school students: effects of a snuff sales
      ban.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The popularity of snuff especially among adolescents is rising. The
      association between long-term snuff use and oral cancer discovered in
      epidemiological studies has prompted a variety of preventive measures to be taken
      to reduce snuff use and prevent adoption of the habit. In this study, the effect
      of a recent (1 March, 1995) snuff sales ban introduced in Finland was
      investigated. Further, the rates of smoking, snuff use, alcohol use and drug
      experimenting were investigated before the introduction of the ban to
      characterize the study population. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Two questionnaire studies
      were carried out. The first was carried out 3 months prior to the ban in 1994 and
      the second 9 months after the ban in 1995 in a senior high school population in
      southwestern Finland. The participants were 793 students (aged 15-22 years) in
      the first survey and 545 students (aged 16-23) in the second. Associations
      between variables were analyzed using cross-tabulation and step-wise logistic
      regression. The effects of the ban were determined on the basis of direct
      questions in the second questionnaire relating to the snuff sales ban. RESULTS:
      Snuff was used by 9% of the students participating in the first study. The
      results of the second questionnaire indicate that the implementation of the snuff
      sales ban reduced the rate of snuff use by 1% in the study population. The
      majority of the snuff users (76%) reported that they had maintained their snuff
      habit. Of those reporting that they were snuff users before implementation of the
      snuff sales ban, 12% had switched to smoking and 5% to drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The
      results of the present study suggest that the snuff sales ban in this population
      with a high rate of snuff use had little effect on snuff use rates and may have
      some short-term negative consequences as some snuff users switch to other
      substitutes, such as smoking, with known adverse health effects.

PMID- 9972175
TI  - Society of Critical Care Medicine 28th Educational and Scientific Symposium. San
      Francisco, California, USA. January 23-27, 1999. Abstracts.

PMID- 9972173
TI  - Anti-calculus activity of a toothpaste with microgranules.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of the trial was to determine the efficacy of the proven
      anticalculus active system (zinc citrate trihydrate [ZCT] and triclosan), when
      the ZCT is delivered from microgranules incorporated in a silica-based toothpaste
      containing 1450 ppm F as sodium fluoride. DESIGN: A monadic, single-blind, two
      phase design clinical trial was used to compare the effect of the test and a
      negative control fluoridated toothpaste on the formation of supragingival
      calculus. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Male and female calculus-forming volunteers, aged
      18 or over, were recruited for the study following a 2-week screening phase. All
      subjects were given a scale and polish of their eight lower anterior teeth at the
      start of both the pre-test and test phases. Subjects were supplied with a silica
      based 1450 F ppm fluoridated toothpaste with no anti-calculus active for use
      during an 8-week pre-test phase. Calculus was assessed at the end of the pre-test
      and test phases using the Volpe-Manhold index (VMI). Subjects were stratified
      according to their pre-test VMI score (8-10, 10.5-12, > 12) and gender and then
      allocated at random to test or negative control toothpaste groups. Subjects with
      < 8 mm of calculus were excluded from further participation. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE: The outcome variable was the mean VMI score for the test and negative
      control groups. RESULTS: The test toothpaste caused a statistically significant
      30% reduction in calculus compared with the control paste after a 13-week use. No
      adverse events were reported during the study. CONCLUSION: The incorporation of
      the ZCT in microgranules did not adversely affect the anticalculus activity of
      the new formulation.

PMID- 9972174
TI  - An overview of the complexities and subtleties of immunohistochemistry.
AB  - Immunohistochemistry has the potential to be a powerful research tool. However,
      immunohistochemical studies are frequently undertaken without regard to the
      complexities and subtleties of these useful techniques. This review aims to
      address the problems and limitations that are often encountered, and the
      procedures that should be considered in both the planning and interpretation of
      immunohistochemical studies. Particular reference is made to the generation of
      functionally different protein isoforms from a single gene by alternative
      splicing and post-translational modifications, primary antibody selection, the
      effects of tissue manipulation such as fixation and antigen retrieval, the need
      for appropriate controls and interpretation of staining patterns.

PMID- 9972176
TI  - American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, (AAAAI) 55th annual meeting.
      Orlando, Florida, USA. February 26-March 3, 1999. Abstracts.

PMID- 9972177
TI  - 76th Annual session of the American Association of Dental Schools. Vancouver,
      British Columbia, Canada, March 8-9, 1999. Abstracts.

PMID- 9972179
TI  - Cumulative index, 1994 through 1998.

PMID- 9972178
TI  - American College of Cardiology 48th annual scientific session. New Orleans,
      Louisiana, USA. March 7-10, 1999. Abstracts.

PMID- 9972180
TI  - School-based intervention using a dual-theory model.

PMID- 9972181
TI  - ADA plans for flurry of state legislative action in 1999-2000.

PMID- 9972182
TI  - The healthy heart--challenges and opportunities for dietetics professionals in
      the 21st century.

PMID- 9972183
TI  - Estimated intakes of trans fatty and other fatty acids in the US population.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To estimate mean level of trans fatty acid intakes using a
      representative sample of the US population. DESIGN: The study used food intake
      data from the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII)
      and the trans fatty acid contents of specific foods calculated from a database
      compiled by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to estimate the mean level
      and deciles of trans fatty acid intake of the representative US population.
      SUBJECTS/SETTING: Trans fatty acid intakes were estimated for each subject (N =
      11,258) in the CSFII data who completed both a 24-hour recall and a 2-day food
      record. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Weights developed by USDA for the survey
      were used for all data analyses. The Technical Assessment Systems (TAS)
      International Diet Research System (TAS-DIET), software developed by TAS, was
      used to derive weighted estimates of the mean and percentiles of the intake
      distribution. PC CARP, software designed by Iowa State University, was used to
      estimate standard errors. RESULTS: Mean percentage of energy ingested as trans
      fatty acids was 2.6% and the mean percentage of total fat ingested as trans fatty
      acids was 7.4%. Across all age and gender groups examined, estimates ranged from
      2.6% to 2.8% and 7.1% to 7.9%, respectively. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Dietetics
      practitioners can use the representative data of this study to help clients
      achieve desired changes in consumption levels of trans fatty acids.

PMID- 9972184
TI  - Impact of adopting lower-fat food choices on energy and nutrient intakes of
      American adults.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the energy and nutrient intake of free-living men and
      women who choose foods consistent with different fat-reduction strategies.
      DESIGN: For each year of the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals from
      1989 through 1991, food codes were used to sort respondents by type of milk; type
      of meats; and type of cheese, yogurt, salad dressing, cake, and pudding (i.e.,
      full-fat or fat-modified products) consumed. SUBJECTS: A nationally
      representative sample of 3,313 men and 3,763 women who completed 3-day intake
      records and consumed either a reduced-fat or full-fat food from at least 1 of the
      3 fat-reduction strategy categories. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: Analysis of
      variance with the Scheffe test was used to analyze differences in energy and
      nutrient intake between exclusive users, mixed users, and nonusers of each
      strategy or combined strategies. RESULTS: Regardless of fat-reduction strategy,
      men and women who used them reported significantly lower intakes of total fat (up
      to 18 g lower), saturated fat (up to 12 g lower), cholesterol (up to 75 mg lower)
      and energy compared with nonusers. Exclusive users of single strategies met or
      approached recommendations of the National Cholesterol Education Program for
      total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake; micronutrient intake varied
      depending on the strategy used. Skim milk users had the most favorable
      micronutrient intake, whereas lean meat users reported inadequate intake of zinc
      (men 63% and women 59% of the Recommended Dietary Allowances [RDAs]) and female
      users of fat-modified products reported inadequate intakes of vitamin E (64% of
      RDA) and zinc (65% of RDA). Multiple-strategy users achieved National Cholesterol
      Education Program goals and reported adequate micronutrient intakes and
      significantly lower energy intake. Mixed users of fat-modified products compared
      with nonusers of any fat-modified products had adequate micronutrient intake and
      lower intakes of total fat (32% vs 36% of energy for men and 32% vs 35% of energy
      for women) and saturated fat (11% vs 13% of energy for men and 11% vs 12% of
      energy for women). In addition, nonusers of any fat-modified strategy had the
      highest cholesterol and energy intake and the lowest intake of many
      micronutrients. APPLICATIONS: A variety of fat-reduction strategies can be
      implemented to reduce energy, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake.
      Some of the strategies were associated with an inadequate micronutrient intake,
      so additional dietary guidance is needed to ensure that all nutrient requirements
      are met. Furthermore, people who do not use any fat-reduction strategy or those
      who exclusively use lean meats or fat-modified products would benefit from
      understanding how to balance their food choices.

PMID- 9972185
TI  - Dietary intake of modernizing Samoans: implications for risk of cardiovascular
      disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe the dietary intake of American and Western Samoans, with
      emphasis on nutrients conventionally related to risk factors for cardiovascular
      disease. DESIGN: Cross-sectional dietary survey. Intake estimates were based on
      24-hour recall interviews. SUBJECT: Community-based samples of 946 men and women
      (455 American Samoans, 491 Western Samoans) aged 25 to 55 years. STATISTICAL
      ANALYSES: Tests of differences in means (t tests) and proportions (chi 2 tests).
      Correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to
      describe correlates of energy and nutrient intakes. RESULTS: Few differences were
      noted between the energy and nutrient intakes of men and women, but substantial
      differences were found between residents of American Samoa and those of the less
      modernized country of Western Samoa. American Samoans consumed significantly more
      energy as carbohydrate (47% vs 44%) and protein (18% vs 13%) and less as fat (36%
      vs 46%) and saturated fat (16% vs 30%). Energy-adjusted intakes of cholesterol
      and sodium were higher among American Samoans. These differences persisted after
      adjustment for age, gender, years of education, occupation, and categories of a
      10-point material lifestyle score. Samoans in the lowest category of material
      lifestyle had significantly lower energy-adjusted intakes of protein,
      cholesterol, and sodium and higher intakes of saturated fat than those in the
      upper 2 categories. Additional analyses described the contribution of specific
      foods to the intakes of energy and macronutrients. CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATIONS: The
      observed energy and nutrient intake patterns are consistent with previously
      reported levels of obesity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among
      Samoans and suggest dietary modification for those at highest risk. Dietetics
      practitioners who counsel Samoan and other Pacific Islander clients should be
      aware of these intake patterns, which seem particularly malleable to levels of
      personal income. More generally, results from this study illustrate that the food
      choices of certain ethnic groups may be profoundly affected by the process of
      modernization within a country or by migration to a more economically developed
      locale.

PMID- 9972186
TI  - Nutritional effects of long-term gastrostomy feedings in children with cystic
      fibrosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyze the long-term nutritional effects of supplemental
      gastrostomy feedings in undernourished patients with cystic fibrosis. DESIGN:
      Longitudinal, retrospective assessment of anthropometric measures before and for
      up to 4 years after gastrostomy. SUBJECTS/SETTING: All patients at a large cystic
      fibrosis care center who underwent gastrostomy between 1980 and 1993 when they
      were at least 1 year old and were followed up for a minimum of 1 year after
      gastrostomy. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: The Mann-Whitney U test was used to
      compare anthropometric values measured during 4 postgastrostomy time intervals
      with values measured during the year preceding gastrostomy. RESULTS: The 21
      patients ranged in age from 1.1 to 20.8 years (median age = 7.4 years). They had
      mild to moderate malnutrition at the time of gastrostomy. Patients were followed
      up for a mean of 39 months after gastrostomy. Supplemental feedings were
      associated with significant improvements in weight and height percentiles for
      age, and in weight as a percentage of ideal weight. Improvement in weight
      occurred earlier than improvement in height. Among subjects followed up for at
      least 18 months after gastrostomy, median weight percentile for age increased
      from 2% for the year before gastrostomy to 12% for the period 6 to 18 months
      after gastrostomy (P < .001) and 19% for the period 30 to 48 months after
      gastrostomy (P = .002 compared with before gastrostomy). Other nutritional
      parameters followed similar, although less dramatic patterns. Gastrostomy
      feedings were well tolerated and associated with only minor complications.
      CONCLUSIONS: Long-term gastrostomy feedings appear to be a safe and effective
      means of improving nutrition in malnourished patients with cystic fibrosis.
      Clinical dietitians should function as care managers for patients with cystic
      fibrosis who are receiving supplemental gastrostomy feedings.

PMID- 9972187
TI  - Elevated resting energy expenditure in adolescents with sickle cell anemia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability of standard prediction equations in
      estimating resting energy expenditure (REE) values in adolescents with sickle
      cell anemia. SUBJECTS/DESIGN: Body composition and metabolic measurements were
      performed in 8 adolescents, aged 11 to 18 years, with homozygous sickle cell
      anemia. REE was measured by indirect calorimetry under standard conditions, and
      measurements were compared with 4 prediction formulas (Harris-Benedict,
      Schofield, Mayo Clinic, and Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health
      Organization/United Nations University). Fat-free mass was measured to assess REE
      per unit of actively metabolizing tissue. Fat-free mass was expressed as a mean
      of values obtained by densitometry, deuterium dilution, 40K-counting, and total
      body electrical conductivity. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Repeated measures analysis of
      variance was performed to determine whether measured REE values and predicted
      values differed. The Fischer test was used to identify which predicted values
      differed significantly from the measured REE. RESULTS: All 4 prediction formulas
      significantly underestimated REE. Group mean values for the prediction formulas
      ranged from 83% to 89% of the measured value. REE averaged 47.7 +/- 10.0 kcal/kg
      fat-free mass per day, which is 30% to 50% higher than reported values in healthy
      adolescent populations. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that REE is elevated in
      adolescents with sickle cell anemia. Standard equations used to predict REE are
      unreliable in these patients. APPLICATIONS: REE in patients with sickle cell
      anemia is best determined by indirect or direct measurement of energy
      expenditure. Clinically useful formulas to estimate REE should be developed for
      patients with conditions, including sickle cell anemia, where the metabolic rate
      may be altered.

PMID- 9972188
TI  - Water: an essential but overlooked nutrient.
AB  - Water is an essential nutrient required for life. To be well hydrated, the
      average sedentary adult man must consume at least 2,900 mL (12 c) fluid per day,
      and the average sedentary adult woman at least 2,200 mL (9 c) fluid per day, in
      the form of noncaffeinated, nonalcoholic beverages, soups, and foods. Solid foods
      contribute approximately 1,000 mL (4 c) water, with an additional 250 mL (1 c)
      coming from the water of oxidation. The Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys
      indicate that a portion of the population may be chronically mildly dehydrated.
      Several factors may increase the likelihood of chronic, mild dehydration,
      including a poor thirst mechanism, dissatisfaction with the taste of water,
      common consumption of the natural diuretics caffeine and alcohol, participation
      in exercise, and environmental conditions. Dehydration of as little as 2% loss of
      body weight results in impaired physiological and performance responses. New
      research indicates that fluid consumption in general and water consumption in
      particular can have an effect on the risk of urinary stone disease; cancers of
      the breast, colon, and urinary tract; childhood and adolescent obesity; mitral
      valve prolapse; salivary gland function; and overall health in the elderly.
      Dietitians should be encouraged to promote and monitor fluid and water intake
      among all of their clients and patients through education and to help them design
      a fluid intake plan. The influence of chronic mild dehydration on health and
      disease merits further research.

PMID- 9972189
TI  - Hyperhydrating with glycerol: implications for athletic performance.
AB  - Small decreases in hydration status can result in a dramatic decrement in
      athletic performance and greatly increase the risk of thermal injury. Because of
      its osmotic properties, which enable greater fluid retention than the ingestion
      of water alone, glycerol has been proposed as a hyperhydrating agent. In fact,
      glycerol is now commercially available and marketed as a sport supplement to be
      ingested with water or sport drinks; thus, dietitians need to be cognizant of
      this new addition to the sports nutrition table. The results of glycerol-induced
      hyperhydration research have been equivocal, most likely because of methodologic
      differences between studies, such as variations in the intensity of exercise,
      environmental conditions, and concentration or dose of glycerol administered.
      Although the suggested dosage of glycerol depends on body size and varies between
      manufacturers, 1 g/kg body weight with an additional 1.5 L fluid taken 60 to 120
      minutes before competition is standard. Some test subjects reported feeling
      bloated or nauseated after ingesting glycerol. This review examines glycerol
      induced hyperhydration research and the safety of ingesting glycerol, discusses
      commercial availability of glycerol, and makes recommendations for glycerol
      induced hyperhydration research.

PMID- 9972190
TI  - Physical activity--it's not reserved for athletes.

PMID- 9972191
TI  - Characteristics and occurrence of phenolic phytochemicals.
AB  - Phenolic phytochemicals are the largest category of phytochemicals and the most
      widely distributed in the plant kingdom. The 3 most important groups of dietary
      phenolics are flavonoids, phenolic acids, and polyphenols. Flavonoids are the
      largest group of plant phenols and the most studied. Phenolic acids form a
      diverse group that includes the widely distributed hydroxybenzoic and
      hydroxycinnamic acids. Phenolic polymers, commonly known as tannins, are
      compounds of high molecular weight that are divided into 2 classes: hydrolyzable
      and condensed tannins. Quantification of food phenolics is just beginning, and
      preliminary results indicate high variability, even within a given food.
      Phenolics are biologically active compounds that may possess some disease
      preventive properties. Evidence for their ability to prevent cancer or heart
      disease is preliminary and conflicting. The health benefits of phytochemicals
      have been reported in the popular press, and the public will come to dietitians
      for answers to their questions about phytochemicals.

PMID- 9972192
TI  - Nutrient intake of children eating school breakfast.

PMID- 9972193
TI  - Nutritional patterns and needs of migrant farm workers in northwest Michigan.

PMID- 9972194
TI  - Consumers prefer unseasoned lean ground beef patties to patties made from turkey
      breast or emu.

PMID- 9972195
TI  - Position of the American Dietetic Association: medical nutrition therapy and
      pharmacotherapy.
AB  - It is the position of The American Dietetic Association that medical nutrition
      therapy and lifestyle counseling are integral components of medical treatment for
      the management of selected conditions for which pharmacotherapy is indicated. The
      Association promotes a team approach to care for clients receiving
      pharmacotherapy and encourages active collaboration among dietetics professionals
      and other members of the health care team. Numerous chronic medical conditions
      respond to medical nutrition therapy; however, pharmacotherapy may be needed to
      achieve control. In some cases, medical nutrition therapy and pharmacotherapy may
      need to be initiated simultaneously. Medical nutrition therapy is critical to the
      management of a variety of chronic diseases, is effective in managing disease,
      and is cost-effective. The use of a coordinated multidisciplinary team effort is
      critical to the success of medical nutrition therapy and pharmacotherapy. Because
      medical nutrition therapy with pharmacotherapy is a treatment of long duration
      that requires monitoring of compliance and effectiveness, it is best accomplished
      through a team approach.

PMID- 9972196
TI  - ADA positions: science-based consumer messages. Association Positions Committee.

PMID- 9972197
TI  - President's page: personal responsibility and food safety.

PMID- 9972198
TI  - Vaccination for the new millennium.

PMID- 9972199
TI  - Inadequate control of lipid levels in patients with a previous myocardial
      infarction.
AB  - AIM: To access the current lipid management of late survivors of acute myocardial
      infarction. METHODS: A systematic follow-up of all survivors who had previously
      been screened for enrolment into one of three randomised clinical trials in
      Auckland was undertaken from December 1995 to January 1997. All contacted
      survivors were asked to answer a questionnaire regarding their current therapy
      and were invited to undergo venepuncture for a lipid assay. RESULTS: Of the 1036
      patients with acute myocardial infarction screened for enrolment in the three
      trials there were 984 (95%) who survived 30 days. At a median of 5.5 years
      (interquartile range 3.2-8.5) follow-up, 641 (86%) survivors agreed to have a
      fasting lipid test. The mean total cholesterol level was 5.7 +/- 1.1 mmol/L high
      density lipoprotein cholesterol 1.1 +/- 0.3 mmol/L, low density lipoprotein
      cholesterol 3.8 +/- 0.9 mmol/L and triglyceride level 1.9 +/- 1.1 mmol/L. Two
      hundred and seven (32%) patients were treated with a lipid-modifying agent. Four
      hundred and forty-five (69%) patients had a cholesterol level > or = 5.2 mmol/L
      381 (59%) patients had a level > or = 5.5 mmol/L and 72 (11%) patients had a
      level > or = 7.0 mmol/L of whom 62 patients were not being treated with a lipid
      modifying agent. For the 107 patients with coronary artery bypass grafts, the
      mean cholesterol level was 5.4 mmol/L and the mean low density lipoprotein
      cholesterol level was 3.7 +/- 0.9 mmol/L, with 57 (53%) patients not being
      treated with a "statin" or "fibrate". CONCLUSION: Lipid management is suboptimal
      in this high risk population of patients post-infarction and greater efforts need
      to be made to achieve better control. Diet is frequently inadequate in these
      patients at high risk and statin therapy is indicated.

PMID- 9972200
TI  - A measles epidemic controlled by immunisation.
AB  - AIM: In 1997, an immunisation campaign, using measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, was
      planned for children aged 2-10 years to prevent a measles epidemic predicted by
      mathematical modelling. The epidemic started before the campaign and is described
      here. METHOD: Measles hospitalisation, notification and laboratory data were
      combined. RESULTS: The epidemic started in April 1997 and was largely over by
      January 1998. No deaths were identified and only one hospitalisation was coded as
      measles encephalitis, compared to seven deaths and ten cases of measles
      encephalitis in the 1991 epidemic. For the 12 months from 1 March 1997 there were
      2,169 (60 per 100,000) measles cases identified, 314 (9 per 100,000) of whom were
      hospitalised. Two-thirds of hospitalised cases were notified. The age
      standardised measles incidence rates were 33, 34, and 174 per 100,000 for
      Europeans, Maori and Pacific people, respectively. The respective age
      standardised hospitalisation rates were 4, 9 and 32 per 100,000. Measles
      incidence was highest for under one-year-olds (904 per 100,000) and low for 11-16
      year-olds (27 per 100,000)--the cohort previously offered a second vaccine dose.
      Most cases were aged 10 years and under, and this group were the main drivers of
      virus transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The immunisation campaign prevented 90-95% of
      predicted cases. The campaign was appropriately targeted at children aged 10
      years and under.

PMID- 9972201
TI  - The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in New Zealand.
AB  - AIM: To measure the incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in New
      Zealand, by ethnicity, sex, region and age. METHODS: Cancer Registry data for
      1983-94 were used to calculate rates of primary liver cancer (ICD code 155.0) and
      HCC (both ICD code 155.0 and ICD-O morphology code 8170) directly standardised to
      Segi's world population and standardised for region. RESULTS: Rates of HCC per
      100,000 person years 6.6 and 1.3 for Maori males and females, 14.7 and 4.6 for
      Pacific people, and 0.8 and 0.3 for Other (inclusive of Chinese). The rates for
      Chinese for 1989-94 were 19.9 and 5.8. These rates are likely to be
      underestimates due to imperfect sensitivity of ICD-O code 8170 registrations for
      HCC. The rates of HCC for Maori and Pacific people (sexes combined) were 7.3 and
      18.0 times that for other for 1983-94; the HCC rate for Chinese was 25.8 times
      greater than Europeans for 1989-94. Rates of HCC tended to be higher in the north
      of New Zealand, compared to the south, for Maori and Other/Europeans, but there
      was no apparent regional gradient for Pacific people and Chinese. CONCLUSIONS:
      Non-Europeans have higher rates of HCC than Europeans due to variations in
      hepatitis B carriage. Males have higher rates than females, and Maori and
      Europeans living in the north of New Zealand have higher rates of HCC than those
      living in the south. It is estimated that any hepatitis B screening and follow-up
      programme will detect one incident case of HCC per year per 2000 hepatitis B
      carriers in the target population, or one incident case per 1000 carriers
      actually participating in regular follow-up.

PMID- 9972202
TI  - Audit of early experience with inhaled nitric oxide in New Zealand neonatal
      intensive care units.
AB  - AIMS: To audit the use of inhaled nitric oxide for the treatment of persistent
      pulmonary hypertension of the newborn in New Zealand neonatal intensive care
      units. METHODS: Prospective data collection on all infants treated with inhaled
      nitric oxide in neonatal intensive care units in the 20-month period from first
      use to December 1995. Data included perinatal factors, principal diagnosis,
      echocardiogram results, ventilation details and response to nitric oxide, adverse
      reactions and outcome. RESULTS: Twenty-eight infants received nitric oxide in
      three centres, all bar one being 36 weeks or more gestation. Overall survival was
      68%. Thirteen infants (46%) responded to nitric oxide treatment, 12 (92%)
      surviving. Seven (47%) of non-responders survived. Infants with primary pulmonary
      hypertension or meconium aspiration syndrome had 90% survival and more often
      responded to nitric oxide than infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (40%
      survival) or pulmonary hypoplasia (no survivors). No serious complications of
      treatment were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Inhalational nitric oxide was not
      universally successful treatment for pulmonary hypertension of the newborn but
      was likely to have been life-saving in a proportion of cases. Future studies may
      allow better case selection. Ongoing audit of this new treatment is warranted.

PMID- 9972203
TI  - Doctors, capitation payments and the first Labour Government.
AB  - The Health Funding Authority (HFA) proposes to change the way general
      practitioners (GPs) are paid for patient visits. Most doctors charge patients a
      fee for each visit, minus a subsidy from the general medical services benefit
      where applicable for those holding community services cards. Seeking to set
      strict limits on costs, the HFA proposes a block or 'capitation' payment for all
      practices based on the number and age of patients. Almost 60 years ago the first
      Labour government proposed just such a payment for the general practitioner
      service outlined in the Social Security Act 1938. Led by the local branch of the
      British Medical Association, doctors eventually persuaded the government to offer
      instead a statutory fee-for-service. They could charge their patients over and
      above this fee. This article shows how and why the Labour Government compromised
      in this way so that doctors' payment did not come wholly from the state, and that
      they remained independent professionals.

PMID- 9972205
TI  - [The mammography report].

PMID- 9972204
TI  - SIDS and the toxic gas theory.

PMID- 9972206
TI  - [Magnetic resonance in congenital cardiopathy. Part I].

PMID- 9972207
TI  - [Role of magnetic resonance in hemodialysis patients with amyloid shoulder
      arthropathy].
AB  - PURPOSE: Amyloid shoulder arthropathy is a frequent finding in long-term
      hemodialysis patients. Assessing the symptoms is fundamental in the approach to
      these patients but their long life expectancy means that the correct imaging
      quantification of scapulohumeral joint impairment is just as important. We
      investigated the role of MRI in amyloid shoulder arthropathy in long-term
      hemodialysis patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January, 1995, to December,
      1996, twelve long-term (mean: 13 years) hemodialysis patients with amyloid
      shoulder arthropathy were examined with MRI. All of them had undergone physical
      examination to detect the most involved scapulohumeral joint. MRI was carried out
      with a 1.0 T Magnetom Impact unit (Siemens, Germany) using T1-weighted Turbo SE
      sequences at high resolution on coronal and sagittal planes, respectively
      parallel and perpendicular to the supraspinatus tendon, and FLASH sequences on
      the axial plane. Six patients were then submitted to surgery. RESULTS: MRI had
      identified 3/12 rotator cuff tears (always involving the supraspinatus tendon and
      other tendons), 7/12 rotator cuff tears from supraspinatus tendon injury, and
      1/12 thickening and structural dishomogeneity of the supraspinatus tendon.
      Finally, no structural changes were shown in 1/12 cases. In addition, most MR
      examinations (11/12) showed some inhomogeneous material characterized by
      intermediate-to-low signal intensity on T1-weighted sequences; such changes were
      found in subacromial and subdeltoid bursas in part of the articular capsule and
      were always associated with hypointense nodular images in all sequences. Surgery
      was carried out in 6 patients and confirmed both the structural changes of the
      rotator cuff and the presence of amorphous material which appeared to be amyloid
      deposits at subsequent histology. MRI proved to be a very reliable tool even in
      the study of skeletal structural changes, permitting both the identification of
      periarticular calcifications and the accurate analysis and quantification of
      subchondral erosions. CONCLUSIONS: MRI was a very reliable tool not only in the
      study of rotator cuff tears due to amyloid deposition but also in the analysis of
      bone changes. Thus MRI could play a growing role in treatment planning.

PMID- 9972208
TI  - [Computerized tomography false positives in knee medial meniscus injuries.
      Retrospective study of 400 cases].
AB  - PURPOSE: We retrospectively evaluated the diagnostic reliability of high
      resolution CT (HRCT) in the study of knee joint conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      We reviewed the results of 400 HRCT examinations of the knee performed in 1993
      and compared them with arthroscopic findings. The patients were affected with
      knee pain and the physical findings were insufficient for diagnosis but a
      sufficient indication for further instrumental tests. CT slices were 1 mm, with
      .5 mm feed; the images were reconstructed on the coronal and sagittal planes (2
      mm thickness and 2 mm gap) with a CT Sytec 3000 unit (GE Systems, Milwaukee, WI,
      USA). RESULTS: The patients positive for meniscal fracture were submitted to
      arthroscopy and operated on if positive arthroscopically. We had 164 surgical
      cases even though the meniscus was damaged in 236 cases. CT was negative in 16 of
      164 surgical cases. The meniscal injury was demonstrated with both CT and
      arthroscopy in 236 cases; there were 8 false positives and 32 questionable cases.
      In the latter, arthroscopy showed 24 cases of meniscal degeneration and 8
      horizontal fractures. Diagnostic accuracy was 96%. CT showed the 8 false
      positives as radial injuries of the free margin, but in fact they were false
      images caused by a normal fold which increases in knee valgus. DISCUSSION AND
      CONCLUSIONS: HRCT is more reliable than conventional CT (diagnostic accuracy: 96%
      vs 85-90%) and MRI (90% reliable). The use of thin slices also permitted to show
      that a meniscal tissue interruption on the radial margin is not referrable to
      fracture, as indicated also in the recent literature, but to a normal fold.

PMID- 9972209
TI  - [Diagnostic imaging in AIDS-related pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Kaposi's sarcoma is an uncommon multifocal angiogenic lesion but
      the most frequent tumor (15%) in HIV+ patients: it is found in homosexual HIV+
      men in 95% of cases and appears as cutaneous-mucous lesions in most patients; the
      respiratory system is involved in 20% of cases. We investigated the yield of
      conventional radiography, CT and HRCT in the diagnostic imaging of pulmonary
      Kaposi's sarcoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the findings
      of 205 patients with cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma. Chest radiography (two
      projections) had been performed in all of them, chest CT in 23, HRCT in 7, and
      tracheobronchial endoscopy in 20. RESULTS: The respiratory system was involved in
      22% of the patients with cutaneous-mucous Kaposi's sarcoma. The pulmonary pattern
      was perivasculobronchial interstitial thickening with bilateral and symmetrical
      ilifugal involvement in 78% of cases, associated with multiple perivascular
      nodular opacities (< 1 cm) in 19 patients. Pleural effusion was seen in 52% of
      cases, while 3 patients had plaque thickening of visceral pleura; mediastinal
      adenopathy was found in 8.6% of cases. Endoscopy detected 14 tracheobronchial
      Kaposi's lesions. Kaposi's involvement of the respiratory system was confirmed
      histologically in 26 autopsy cases. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, conventional
      radiology and clinical-history data permit to evaluate early pleuropulmonary
      involvement of Kaposi's sarcoma and to follow its evolution. CT and HRCT
      unquestionably detect the typical signs earlier than conventional radiology and
      yield further information on disease extent.

PMID- 9972210
TI  - [AIDS-related pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma: role of high-resolution computerized
      tomography].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is characterized by lesion
      multifocality, stronger progression and recurrent involvement of some internal
      organs. Pulmonary lesions are found in 18-47% of cases and not necessarily
      associated with skin involvement. Lung infections are potentially life
      threatening and their early and prompt demonstration is a crucial step for both
      treatment planning and the prognosis of this severe disease. As a rapid
      recognition of a pulmonary condition leads to a complete or partial regression in
      at least 50% of cases, we investigated the role and the diagnostic yield of HRCT
      in depicting HIV-related KS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The findings of thirty-nine
      patients with HIV-related pulmonary KS were retrospectively reviewed. We excluded
      the patients with associated diseases and incomplete radiologic findings and
      included 12 patients who had a chest radiograph and a HRCT scanning at least.
      HRCT showed parenchymal and subpleural micronodules (< 10 mm) and macronodules (>
      10 mm), with the halo sign in some cases; perivascular and peribronchial
      infiltrates, linear or irregular opacities, pleural effusions and enlarged lymph
      nodes were also seen. Chemotherapy response was also evaluated. RESULTS: All 12
      patients had advanced AIDS. The chest films showed abnormal patterns, such as
      peribronchial and perivascular infiltrates which were most often in midlower
      pulmonary lobes (88.9%) and often symmetric. Nodules were depicted in 50% of
      cases and were often associated with peribronchial and perivascular infiltrates;
      they were always bilateral and characterized by the presence of macronodules in
      most cases. Eleven of 12 HRCT examinations were considered sufficiently accurate
      for evaluation, while a pleural effusion prevented lung assessment in one case.
      Peribronchial and perivascular infiltrates were the most frequent abnormal
      findings (83.3%), with bilateral involvement in 80% and mostly in the midlower
      lobes (90%). Parenchymal and subpleural nodules were depicted in 58.3% of cases
      and always had irregular borders; the halo sign was seen around the nodules in 2
      cases and macronodules were found in 2 cases. Pleural effusions were seen in 3
      cases and enlarged lymph nodes in 4. Lung KS diagnosis was always confirmed at
      pathology. The response to chemotherapy (ABV protocol) was evaluated in 5
      patients: transient and definitive regressions were observed in 1 and 2 cases,
      respectively, and disease progression was seen in 2 cases. CONCLUSIONS: HRCT
      allows the accurate assessment of pulmonary KS in its different stages detailing
      the disease and its spread, which makes biopsy easier. It also permits to avoid
      more invasive diagnostic procedures and it is useful in the follow-up after
      chemotherapy.

PMID- 9972211
TI  - [Invasive aspergillosis in AIDS: findings with high-resolution computerized
      tomography].
AB  - PURPOSE: To review the early CT findings of invasive aspergillosis in AIDS
      patients who are at high risk for developing this infection. Early recognition of
      invasive fungal disease is imperative in these patients, and longer survival can
      be achieved with early CT detection and prompt institution of high-dose
      antifungal therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: February, 1992 to December, 1994,
      sixteen cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in AIDS patients were
      retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent a chest radiograph and high
      resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) and the results were confirmed by
      pathology. RESULTS: 11/16 cases (68.8%) showed angioinvasive aspergillosis,
      characterized by nodules surrounded by the halo sign and cavitations; the
      remaining 5 patients (31.2%) showed invasive aspergillosis of the airways with
      centrilobular nodules and/or peribronchial consolidations. Five cases of
      extrapulmonary fungal dissemination were also observed. CONCLUSIONS: HRCT is a
      sensitive noninvasive method for evaluating early angioinvasive aspergillosis
      because the halo sign is characteristic enough to allow an early presumptive
      diagnosis. Invasive aspergillosis of the airways presents no characteristic
      radiologic pattern. However, the association of the clinical and radiologic
      pattern allows prompt institution of high-dose antifungal therapy.

PMID- 9972212
TI  - [Magnetic resonance angiography of the epiaortic vessels of the thorax].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Magnetic Resonance angiography (MRA) is an accurate and non
      invasive diagnostic method to evaluate vascular disease. On the basis of its
      technological advancements, this technique has gained an important role in the
      diagnostic protocol of cerebral and cervical vascular diseases. Nonetheless, MRA
      efficacy changes in different anatomic districts as a consequence of the specific
      anatomy and flow features. Cardiac and respiratory artifact and different coil
      sensitivity also affect MRA results. For these reasons, intrathoracic epiaortic
      vessels are a difficult applications for MRA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined
      20 patients affected with epiaortic atherosclerosis with MRA, carried out with an
      0.5 T MR unit (Vectra, GE). Examinations consisted of Phase Contrast (PC) 3D
      sequences (TR/TE/FA/Venc = 30/13/45/30-50), with 3 axes of flow encode, matrix
      128 x 256, 2 mm partition thickness, and axial and/or coronal acquisition volume.
      The MRA was repeated after Gd-DTPA intravenous perfusion and a qualitative and
      quantitative evaluation of pre- and post-contrast results was performed. Specific
      parameters of evaluation were: angiographic contrast, contrast to noise ratio,
      saturation effect of longitudinal magnetization, contrast between arteries and
      veins. All patients were examined with Doppler US and angiography. MRA data were
      compared to angiography in order to establish MRA sensitivity and specificity.
      RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: PC sequences showed high accuracy in the examination of
      the proximal tract of epiaortic vessels; Gd-DTPA administration substantially
      improved MRA results. The perspectives of technological improvement will probably
      candidate PC MRA to be a valid alternative to US-Doppler and, perhaps, to
      angiographic study.

PMID- 9972213
TI  - [Budd-Chiari syndrome: retrospective study of 8 cases assessed with computerized
      tomography].
AB  - PURPOSE: Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare disease due to the obstruction of hepatic
      veins and, sometimes, of the inferior vena cava. The disease, whose
      etiopathogenesis is often unproven, may show acute or chronic clinical course
      with different features at pathology. We carried out a retrospective study of 8
      consecutive patients with the Budd-Chiari syndrome to assess the diagnostic role
      of CT and to define the main patterns of the disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our
      patient population consisted of 8 women with clinical and instrumental suspicion
      of Budd-Chiari syndrome. Three patients had acute and 5 chronic clinical
      presentation: the former had had acute symptoms right after delivery, while one
      of the latter was referred to oral contraceptive abuse, another was diagnosed 18
      months after delivery and finally the cause was not known in the other 3 cases.
      CT was performed with contiguous slices (8 mm) of the upper abdomen, before and
      after i.v. contrast agent infusion. Liver images were always acquired 15-20
      minutes after contrast agent administration. RESULTS: In the acute patients, CT
      showed increased liver volume, diffuse parenchymal hypodensity in unenhanced
      scans, except for some skip areas (segments I and IV, paracaval parenchyma) and
      strong postcontrast enhancement. Thrombosis of the suprahepatic veins was found
      in all patients and partial thrombosis of the inferior vena cava in one. Abundant
      peritoneal effusion was always found. In the chronic patients, CT showed caudate
      lobe and left lobe hypertrophy, mostly associated with right lobe hypo-atrophy.
      Moreover the hypertrophic areas showed bright and inhomogeneous contrast
      enhancement, with a reversed pattern at 15-20 minutes postcontrast. Thrombosis of
      the suprahepatic veins was found in 3 patients and partial thrombosis of the
      inferior vena cava in one. Peritoneal effusion was seen in 2 cases. CONCLUSIONS:
      The Budd-Chiari syndrome causes anatomical, morphological and volumetric changes
      in the hepatic parenchyma which are referrable to difficult venous flow and
      differ in acute vs chronic forms. CT permits to grade liver involvement by the
      organ's morphodensitometric changes, which are once again different in the acute
      vs the chronic disease. Moreover, thrombosis of suprahepatic veins and of the
      inferior vena cava and portal vein is often demonstrated. Therefore CT can be
      considered a valid diagnostic tool for use in the patients with suspected Budd
      Chiari syndrome together with B-mode and color Doppler US.

PMID- 9972214
TI  - [Triphasic spiral computerized tomography of the liver: vascular models of non
      cystic focal lesions].
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate if Triphasic Spiral CT
      (arterial, portal and equilibrium phases) can improve the characterization of
      noncystic focal lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-six patients with suspected
      focal liver disease underwent Triphasic Spiral CT. After the injection of 120-140
      ml contrast material at 3 ml/s the liver was imaged in the arterial (scanning
      delay: 20-27 s), portal (scanning delay: 45-80 s) and equilibrium (scanning
      delay: 5-8 min) phases. The enhancement of each lesion was evaluated in each
      phase and the lesions were grouped by enhancement pattern (11 patterns in all).
      The reference standards in our 66 patients were surgery (12), biopsy (43), MRI
      (9), follow-up (9), somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (6). RESULTS: One hundred
      and twenty-six liver lesions were detected in 66 patients, four of 11 enhancement
      patterns (hypo/hyper/hyper, hyper/iso/iso, hyper/hyper/iso, hyper/hyper/hyper)
      were always referrable to benign disease (hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia
      FNH-adenoma). Four of 11 enhancement patterns (iso/hypo/hypo, iso/iso/hypo,
      hyper/hypo/hypo, hyper/hyper/hypo) were always referrable to malignant disease
      (hepatocellular carcinoma-HCC-metastases). The other two patterns
      (hypo/hypo/hypo, hypo/hypo/hyper) were seen in both benign and malignant
      diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Triphasic Spiral CT improves the characterization of HCC,
      FNH, adenoma and hemangioma. The arterial and the equilibrium phases add no
      information to the yield of the portal venous phase in metastases, except for
      those from pancreas neuroendocrine tumors in the arterial phase. In our
      experience, patients with unclassified lesions at US or conventional CT,
      suspected HCC and metastases from pancreas neuroendocrine tumors should be
      submitted to Triphasic CT of the liver. This technique however does not appear to
      be indicated in the study of liver metastases from hypovascular tumors, while it
      improves the detection of FNH and adenoma.

PMID- 9972215
TI  - [Magnetic resonance pyelography: clinical use of ultrafast breath-hold sequences
      in obstructive uropathy. Personal experience].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: We investigated the diagnostic yield of MR pyelography (MRP)
      performed with two ultrafast breath-hold sequences in obstructive uropathy
      patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients with US demonstration of
      urinary tract dilation were examined with MRP at 1.5 T and with a standard body
      coil. HASTE sequences (TE 66, ETL 128, FA 180 degrees, 1 NEX, MA 240 x 256, slice
      thickness 4 mm, TA 13 s) were always performed and 26/34 patients were also
      examined with single-shot TSE sequences (TE 1100, ETL 240, FA 150 degrees, 1 NEX,
      slice thickness 7 cm, MA 240 x 256, FS, TA 7 s); 20/34 patients were given 500 mL
      superparamagnetic contrast agent (Lumirem). MRP findings were interpreted
      independently by two radiologists and analyzed for image quality, the
      presence/absence of dilation, the obstruction grade (mild, moderate, severe),
      site (intrarenal; ureteropelvic junction; proximal, mid-, distal ureter;
      indeterminate) and cause (intrinsic obstruction from a stone or other conditions;
      stenosis; indeterminate cause). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and
      negative predictive values for the detection of urinary tract dilation were
      calculated for each reviewer and interobserver agreement was calculated with the
      k analysis relative to the presence, grade, site and cause of urinary tract
      dilation. RESULTS: MRP examinations were considered technically adequate in all
      cases by both observers. As for the presence of urinary tract dilation, the
      values were 100% for the first observer and 97%, 100%, 100%, and 95%,
      respectively, for the second observer. Interobserver agreement was .98 for
      dilation presence (excellent), .80 for dilation degree (excellent), .62 for
      dilation site (good) and finally .69 for dilation cause (good). DISCUSSION AND
      CONCLUSIONS: MRP performed with the ultrafast breath-hold technique provides very
      good results in diagnosing urinary tract dilation, as well as the obstruction
      grade, site and cause, with results equal or even superior to those of non-breath
      hold sequences. Ultrafast MRP lasts only 10 minutes, meaning it occupies the
      magnet shortly and costs less: it can be thus considered a routine alternative to
      conventional diagnostic imaging, especially ivp, in the evaluation of obstructive
      uropathy.

PMID- 9972216
TI  - [A project for the organization and planning of a diagnostic ultrasonography area
      at a radiology department].
AB  - PURPOSE: The increasing use of ultrasound (US) for both diagnostic and
      interventional procedures has not been supported yet by proper and adequate
      planning of dedicated rooms. Therefore we studied both the organization and the
      design of such areas. METHODS AND DISCUSSION: As for organization, we considered:
      a) the kind of examination performed; b) the main department activity (in
      /outpatients, diagnostic or interventional procedures); c) the schedule for each
      room by examination type and timing (patient preparation, actual examination and
      read-out times). As for room design, we studied the size and location of the
      diagnostic unit, dressing rooms, entrances and restrooms, as well as the
      furniture in general. We also studied the location of waiting rooms and
      corridors, the location and size of the read-out areas, and the room for post
      interventional monitoring, as well as all the details about microclimate and
      lighting. Then we designed two different modules with the relevant planimetry:
      one featuring two adjacent diagnostic rooms and the other featuring a single
      diagnostic room. Some ergonomic solutions are also proposed concerning the
      location of the US system relative to the stretchers entrance and the location of
      the post-interventional monitoring room relative to the radiologic room(s).
      Finally, we evaluated the size of some peculiar pieces of equipment of a
      radiologic room by their function. CONCLUSIONS: The functional arrangement of the
      diagnostic US unit and its space requirements, permits to optimize the use of the
      whole structure complying with the ergonomic criteria for operators and enabling
      the rapid throughout of patients with no waste of time.

PMID- 9972217
TI  - [Insertion and management of long-term central venous devices: role of radiologic
      imaging techniques].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Anticancer chemotherapy causes irreversible damage to the
      endothelial wall of small vessels. This is the reason why long-term (more than 3
      months) central venous devices are essential to administer chemotherapy drugs to
      cancer patients and antibiotics for chronic or severe infections and in patients
      requiring long-term parenteral nutrition. We report our experience with the
      percutaneous implantation of central venous devices in a radiology department.
      MATERIAL AND METHODS: March, 1993, to August, 1997, eighty-seven consecutive
      patients (26 men and 61 women, mean age: 55 years) were examined. The indications
      for central venous catheter placement included anticancer chemotherapy in 82
      cancer patients, repeated blood transfusion in one patient with bone marrow
      aplasia and nutritional support in four cancer patients. Eighty-four central
      venous devices (75 totally subcutaneous systems--Port-a-cath Dome--, and 9
      partially tunneled catheters--Groshong) were inserted. The average follow-up was
      6.5 months (range: 1-18). All procedures were performed in the radiology
      department and venous access was achieved with fluoroscopy using the Seldinger
      technique. Chest radiography with the patient standing was routinely performed
      after the procedure and repeated the day after to assess the catheter position
      and the presence of pneumothorax. The venous catheters were placed in the
      subclavian vein in 68 cases (12 in the right side and 56 in the left side),
      internal jugular vein in 12 cases (9 in the right side and 3 in the left side)
      and right femoral vein in 4 cases. We prefer the subclavian vein (80.9%) for
      better cosmetic results, wider catheter angulation and easier fixation to the
      deep plane. RESULTS: The first access failed in 6 cases (6.8%). A pneumothorax
      occurred in 4 patients (4.7%) and late complications were seen in 15 patients
      (17.8%) after a mean of 15.7 weeks (range: 2-48). Catheter-related infections
      developed in 6 patients (7.1%) after a mean of 20 weeks (range: 5-48). The
      microorganisms cultured from these catheters was the Staphylococcus epidermidis.
      After two weeks' specific antibiotic therapy, all the devices were removed. Deep
      venous thrombosis occurred only in one patient after 10 months and was
      successfully treated with direct thrombolytic infusion. The catheter was
      displaced in the right atrium in two patients after 11 and 12 weeks,
      respectively: both catheters were removed by transfemoral catheterization.
      CONCLUSIONS: The percutaneous implantation of--long-term central venous devices
      is a safe and tolerable procedure. In our experience, the radiology-assisted
      placement of these devices offers many advantages over surgical implantation. In
      particular, fluoroscopy allows direct visualization of the catheter position
      while insertion and positioning are essentially "blind" at surgery, which
      complicates venous access and increases the risk of catheter malpositioning.
      Radiologic follow-up is also useful to depict and correct complications.

PMID- 9972218
TI  - [Percutaneous needle biopsy guided with computerized tomography of the chest.
      Personal experience with 1,605 cases].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) plays an important role in the
      diagnosis of lung diseases. We report the results of 1605 CT-guided chest
      biopsies performed September, 1992, to December, 1997, and introduce a new method
      for specimen storage and handling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A lubricated flexible
      connection was placed between the needle and the syringe to cushion the improper
      movements transmitted on the needle by the operator during aspiration. 22-G
      needles were most frequently used. The pathologist's report included not only the
      presence/absence of tumor cells, but also the presence of suspicious/questionable
      cells, which latter finding led to another biopsy in 152 cases. RESULTS: 64.7% of
      the lesions were < or = 3 cm and 55.5% were < or = 2 cm. Pneumothorax occurred in
      16.0% of cases and it required a chest tube in 5.0%. The specimens were not
      smeared on a slide but kept in a test tube and quickly sent to the pathologist.
      84.3% of the specimens were adequate for diagnosis and special care was given to
      typifying microcytoma/non-microcytoma histotypes, because treatment is different.
      1003 of 1313 cases (76.38%) were true positives, 192 (14.2%) true negatives, 101
      (7.69%) false negatives and 17 (1.92%) false positives. Sensitivity was 90.85%,
      specificity 91.86% and diagnostic accuracy 91.01%. The positive and the negative
      predictive values were 98.3% and 65.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a
      60 mL syringe with a flexible connection reduces the rate of complications (eg,
      pneumothorax, bleeding) and also the biopsy time. It also improved the sampling
      accuracy, cushioning any possible inappropriate movement by the operator, and
      finally improved the material aspiration thanks to better vacuum than with the 20
      30 mL syringes which are usually placed into biopsy guns.

PMID- 9972219
TI  - [Intravascular treatment of iliac aneurysms].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: We investigated the feasibility of the intravascular treatment of
      iliac aneurysms in patients at high perioperative risk. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      January, 1996, to December, 1997, seven iliac aneurysms in 5 patients were
      treated using endovascular procedures. The patients were 4 men and 1 woman whose
      mean age was 70 years (range: 61-74 years). Four of 7 aneurysms were in the
      common iliac artery (2 true aneurysms and 2 anastomotic aneurysms after
      aortoiliac bypass) and 3 were true internal iliac artery aneurysms. Preoperative
      CT and arteriography were performed in all cases to define the vascular
      morphology of the aneurysm, including its exact diameter and length. All
      procedures were performed in the operating room by a team of vascular
      radiologists and vascular surgeons, using a portable digital RX system (Philips
      BV29). The femoral approach was always used, which was percutaneous under local
      anesthesia in 4 cases and surgical under epidural anesthesia in the other 3
      cases, according to the patient's general condition and to common femoral artery
      morphology. Six endovascular Passager grafts were positioned in the common iliac
      artery using over-the-wire techniques; platinum coil embolization of the
      aneurysmatic internal iliac artery had been performed in 2 cases. Coil
      embolization of the hypogastric artery aneurysm was the only treatment in 1 case.
      Bilateral aneurysms were treated separately, at intervals of no less than 3
      months. RESULTS: Immediate aneurysm exclusion was obtained in all cases, as
      confirmed at 2-20 months' follow-up in 6 cases. A displaced prosthesis needed
      reoperation in 1 case. No complications were observed during or early after the
      procedures, which were always well tolerated by the patients. DISCUSSION: The
      endovascular treatment of iliac aneurysms is a relatively recent procedure and
      thus only short- and mid-run results are currently available, which appear
      satisfactory in 85% of the world's literature cases. Prosthesis displacement and
      intimal hyperplasia are reported as the main causes of failure. Lacking long-term
      results, we reserve this method to selected cases. Shorter hospitalization is
      another advantage. CONCLUSIONS: This little invasive procedure appears suitable
      for high-risk patients and in the aneurysmatic complications metachronous to
      surgical bypass.

PMID- 9972220
TI  - [Air bubble effect during alloy cooling in shielding blocks radiotherapy].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Shaped fields are widely used in radiotherapy to protect critical
      organs and to avoid unnecessary normal tissue irradiation. The most common system
      for photon beam shaping consists in a low melting point alloy. We studied the air
      bubbles which can occur during alloy cooling with both new and remelted alloys
      and when different cooling techniques are chosen. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty
      cone samples (18 of remelted alloy and 22 of new alloy) were prepared to evaluate
      the frequence of air bubble recurrence, with reproducible geometric sizes (height
      = 70 mm, major base surface diameter = 60 mm, minor base surface diameter = 40
      mm). Air bubble sizes and dose inhomogeneity were evaluated by reproducing 60Co
      radiograph of each sample (two orthogonal projections: 6 x 7 cm). The samples
      were cooled at a constant temperature, following three different modalities: high
      (25 degrees C), medium (5 degrees C), low (-20 degrees C) temperature. Owing to
      the small geometrical magnification, air bubble sizes were determined by
      measuring their surface on samples lateral projections, taking into account the
      sight detectable bubble edges. RESULTS: Up to 300 mm2 lateral surface bubbles are
      always present in all castings. Casting inhomogeneities can produce a film
      density inhomogeneity ranging from 9% to 40%. The spatial distribution of bubbles
      seems to be random. CONCLUSIONS: Bubble recurrence is independent of both the
      metal alloy (repeatedly used castings) and the different block cooling
      modalities. The effect of air bubbles on the shielded areas dose inhomogeneity is
      generally of no relevant importance. However, these inhomogeneities can produce
      hot spots which must be taken into accurate consideration only in the particular
      treatments where critical small size organ dose sparing represents a basic issue
      (i.e. the shielding of eye lens).

PMID- 9972221
TI  - [Automated procedures for radiation protection and quality controls in
      conventional diagnostic radiology].
AB  - To comply with regulations on radiation protection and quality controls is a
      difficult task when operating in large hospitals. This leads to the need of
      defining more efficient protocols and of making procedures as automated as
      possible. The procedure described in this paper is based on a multimeter
      controlled by a portable PC, and on a spreadsheet program for data processing.
      Multimeter data are automatically imported and processed, in order to assess the
      compliance of measured parameters with the reference regulations (IEC
      recommendations, radiation safety rules, etc.). The spreadsheet is permanently
      linked to a data base. It is therefore possible to perform the controls and to
      store the corresponding results in a shorter time (one hour per machine,
      approximately). By using a properly chosen quality index, monitoring the
      efficiency of the diagnostic equipment is also possible, which allows to prevent
      the onset of severe failures.

PMID- 9972223
TI  - [Intussusception of the right colon due to a colonic lipoma. Report of a case].

PMID- 9972222
TI  - [Aggressive fibromatosis in the supraclavicular region: findings with
      computerized tomography and magnetic resonance in a case].

PMID- 9972224
TI  - [Ileal angiolipoma in a patient with multisystemic manifestations of tuberous
      sclerosis: diagnosis with computerized tomography].

PMID- 9972225
TI  - [A case of giant hepatic adenoma: ultrasonography and computerized tomography
      findings].

PMID- 9972226
TI  - [Usefulness of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of torsion of Morgagni's hydatid:
      report of 4 cases].

PMID- 9972227
TI  - [Calcified epithelioma of Malherbe: correlation of clinical characteristics,
      histologic findings and ultrasonography imaging of 4 cases].

PMID- 9972228
TI  - [Umbilical veins].

PMID- 9972229
TI  - The benefits and risks of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
AB  - There is a growing number of animal models and clinical trials of n-3
      polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) supplementation in disease. Epidemiologic and
      biochemical studies have suggested beneficial effects of n-3 PUFAs. But also, the
      use of n-3 PUFAs has some potential toxicological risks that can be circumvented
      by careless processing, storing, and preserving the PUFAs. The use of n-3 PUFAs
      is safe if appropriate preparations and dosages are selected. Much research is
      needed to clarify their use under different disease conditions. The newly
      established clinical and nutritional facts on n-3 PUFAs will induce industry to
      develop food products based on this knowledge.

PMID- 9972230
TI  - Purification and characterization of a novel cold-regulated protein from an ice
      nucleating bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens KUIN-1.
AB  - The psychrotrophic ice-nucleating bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens KUIN-1
      respond to a decrease in temperature with the induction of proteins that are
      classified as cold shock proteins (CSPs). We found the function of a 26-kDa
      protein of the CSPs in the strain KUIN-1. In strain KUIN-1, a cold shock from 18
      to 4 degrees C induced the synthesis of the 26-kDa protein. By analysis with SDS
      PAGE, it was then demonstrated that the 26-kDa protein was produced by the cells
      after treatment at 4 degrees C. The 26-kDa protein was purified to apparent
      homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and some chromatographies (QA52, phenyl
      Superose, Superose 12, and Mono Q). The purified 26-kDa protein is composed of 6
      subunits of 26.5-kDa with a molecular mass of approximately 159-kDa according to
      gel filtration and SDS-PAGE. The N-terminal sequence of the 26-kDa protein was
      Gln-Ala-Ala-Tyr-Tyr-Pro-Ala-His-His-His-Gln- Gln-Val-Gln-Gln-His-Trp-Gly-His-His
      . Specifically, 26-kDa protein of the CSPs of strain KUIN-1 was very effective in
      protecting the cold-labile enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase against denaturation by
      freezing. The characteristics of 26-kDa protein are analogous to the cold
      regulated protein of the plants.

PMID- 9972231
TI  - Nucleotide sequence of seed- and pollen-transmitted double-stranded RNA, which
      encodes a putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, detected from Japanese pear.
AB  - The nucleotide sequence of the largest double-stranded (ds) RNA (named dsRNA1) of
      three species of seed- and pollen-transmitted dsRNA species detected from
      Japanese pear was analyzed, and one strand was found to contain a single long
      open reading frame (ORF) of 1434 nucleotides that encoded a putative polypeptide
      containing 477 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 54.9 kDa. This
      polypeptide contained amino acid sequence motifs conserved in putative RNA
      dependent RNA polymerases of RNA viruses. Attempts to visually identify or purify
      virus-like particles associated with the dsRNAs were unsuccessful. Slow
      sedimentation of the dsRNA fraction suggests that the dsRNAs may be
      unencapsidated. The concentration of dsRNAs in the host, Japanese pear, was about
      16 times higher than that from a cryptic virus, radish yellow edge virus (RYEV).
      These results suggest that the dsRNAs were not from cryptic viruses. Partial
      nucleotide sequences of the two smaller dsRNAs (named dsRNAs 2 and 3) and two
      other dsRNAs (named dsRNAs 4 and 5) detected from only the Japanese pear cultivar
      (cv.) Akita Tazawa 3 Gou were analyzed, and encoded nearly the same amino acid
      sequence encoded by dsRNA1.

PMID- 9972232
TI  - Chitosanase activity of the enzyme previously reported as beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase
      from Bacillus circulans WL-12.
AB  - Chitosanases 33 kDa and 40 kDa in size were detected in the culture supernatant
      of Bacillus circulans WL-12. One of the two chitosanases, chitosanse 40 (40-kDa
      chitosanase) has been shown to be identical to the enzyme which has been reported
      previously as a beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase by Bueno et al. The enzyme has been
      classified into family 8 glycosyl hydrolases together with the enzymes formally
      known as cellulase family D. This enzyme named chitosanase 40/beta-1,3-1,4
      glucanase hydrolyzed both chitosan and beta-1,3-1,4-glucan with similar
      efficiency. However, the production of the enzyme was induced with chitosan but
      not by beta-1,3-1,4-glucan. Therefore, it seems possible that the major substrate
      of this enzyme is chitosan rather than beta-1,3-1,4-glucan. Analysis of
      degradation products generated from partially N-acetylated chitosan showed that
      chitosanase 40/beta-1,3-1,4-glucanse hydrolyzes GlcN-GlcN and GlcN-GlcNAc
      linkages but not GlcNAc-GlcNAc nor GlcNAc-GlcN. The specificity for hydrolyzing
      linkages of this enzyme is similar to that of the chitosanase from S. griseus
      HUT6037.

PMID- 9972233
TI  - Thermal unfolding of the starch binding domain of Aspergillus niger glucoamylase.
AB  - A fragment of the starch-binding domain (SBDF) of Aspergillus niger glucoamylase
      was prepared using recombinant DNA techniques, and its thermal unfolding was
      investigated by high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal
      unfolding of SBDF was found to be reversible at pH 7 as expected from a DSC study
      of the whole enzyme molecule [Tanaka A. et al., J. Biochem., 117, 1024-1028
      (1995)] but not reversible at acidic region. Numerical analysis of the DSC curves
      showed that the denaturation was two-state, and some of the SBDF molecules were
      oligomeric (average degree of oligomerization was 1.2) at pH 7. It was suggested
      that the denaturation temperature of SBDF was lower than that of the starch
      binding domain in the whole enzyme molecule by about 4.5 degrees (decrease in the
      Gibbs energy change was 5.3 kJ mol-1) indicating a possibility that the starch
      binding domain is stabilized by glycosylation of the domain itself, or by the
      highly glycosylated linker region.

PMID- 9972234
TI  - Structural study on a sulfated polysaccharide-peptidoglycan complex produced by
      Arthrobacter sp.
AB  - The structure of a sulfated polysaccharide-peptidoglycan complex (SP-PG) produced
      by Arthrobacter sp. was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. In addition,
      oligosaccharide fragments of the SP-PG-L obtained by HF degradation were analyzed
      by NMR spectroscopy. These findings indicated that the sulfated polysaccharide
      (SP) contains a repeating unit composed of two galactofuranosides and a
      glucopyranoside. The main chain of the trisaccharide is [-->6) beta-D-Galf(1-->6)
      beta-D-Galf(1-->ln, with beta-D-Glcp linked to one of the Galfs through a (1-->2)
      linkage. The sulfated positions of the trisaccharide were identified as C-3 and C
      5 of the beta-glucosylated Galf residues, and C-2 or C-3 of the other Galf
      residue.

PMID- 9972235
TI  - Synthesis of 4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone acyl derivatives and their anti-cataract
      effect on spontaneous cataract rats (ICR/f).
AB  - 4-Hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (HDMF) and 2(or 5)-ethyl-4-hydroxy-5(or 2)
      methyl-3(2H)-furanone (EHMF) are known to inhibit cataract development in
      spontaneous cataract rats (ICR/f). Forty-five acylated hydroxyfuranone
      derivatives were designed and synthesized for an anti-cataract test, and their
      hydrophobic constants were also tested. Among these derivatives, 2,5-dimethyl-4
      pivaloyloxy-3(2H)-furanone (HDMF pivalate) exerted a marked protective effect
      against the development of cataract in a galactose-induced model using cultured
      rat lens (in vitro). When tested on an ICR/f cataract model (in vivo), HDMF
      pivalate showed more significant inhibition of cataract development than parent
      compound HDMF. This derivative is more lipophilic than HDMF, so that HDMF
      pivalate can penetrate the cornea more easily than HDMF. The inhibition of
      cataract development by HDMF converted from HDMF pivalate is supported by the
      fact that HDMF was observed in the lens of ICR/f rats treated with HDMF pivalate.

PMID- 9972236
TI  - Cloning, sequencing, and heterologous expression of rat methionine synthase cDNA.
AB  - Methionine synthase catalyzes cobalamin-dependent methyl transfer reaction from 5
      methyltetrahydrofolate to homocysteine, forming methionine. Rat methonine
      synthase cDNA was cloned and analyzed by RT-PCR, 3'- and 5'-RACE techniques. The
      cDNA consists of a 0.3-kb upstream untranslated region, a 3.8-kb coding region,
      and a 0.4-kb downstream untranslated region. The open reading frame encoded a
      polypeptide of 1,253 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of
      139,162. This molecular weight was in good agreement with the observed one
      (143,000) of the purified rat liver enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequence was
      53, 92, and 64% identical with those of the Escherichia coli, human, and
      presumptive Caenorhabditis elegans enzymes, respectively. All the fingerprint
      sequences, forming parts of the cobalamin- and S-adenosylmethionine-binding
      sites, were completely conserved in the rat methionine synthase. A high-level
      expression of catalytically active enzyme in insect cells was done by infection
      with a baculovirus containing the rat methionine synthase cDNA.

PMID- 9972237
TI  - Effects of carbohydrate chain on surface net charge and hydrophobicity of
      glycoenzymes.
AB  - Three different carbohydrate-depleted enzymes were prepared from an endo-beta-1,4
      glucanase of Aspergillus niger IFO31125 by treatment with endo-beta-N
      acetylglucosaminidase or alpha-mannosidase. The molecular sizes of these enzymes
      decreased from 40 kDa containing about 8.9% carbohydrate to 39, 38, and 37 kDa
      with carbohydrate at 4.5, 1.3, and 0.8% (w/w), respectively. The surface net
      charges on these enzyme preparations were calculated from their electrophoretic
      mobilities measured by capillary zone electrophoresis. They had increased
      negative charges corresponding to the decreases in the carbohydrate content;
      those of native and 37-kDa enzymes were about -0.03 and -0.045, respectively. The
      surface hydrophobicities of proteins were also measured by partitioning the
      enzymes in a two-phase system containing polyethylene glycol and dextran, and
      decreased corresponding with decreases in their carbohydrate content. The results
      indicated that the high mannose type of carbohydrate chain in endo-beta-1,4
      glucanase affected the surface net charge on the enzyme and increased the surface
      hydrophobicity.

PMID- 9972238
TI  - N2733, 1-[3-(3-pyridyl)-acryloyl]-2-pyrrolidinone hydrochloride inhibits LPS
      induced TNF-alpha production and improves survival in endotoxemic mice.
AB  - N2733, 1-[3-(3-pyridyl)-acryloyl]-2-pyrrolidinone hydrochloride, was examined for
      its effect on TNF-alpha production by human myeloid THP-1 cells stimulated with
      lipopolysaccharide (LPS). N2733 inhibited LPS-induced release of TNF-alpha from
      THP-1 cells with an IC50 of 11 microM. N2733 did not affect the cell viability at
      the concentration of 50 microM or 100 microM. This indicates that N2733 is a
      potent inhibitor for TNF-alpha production without severe cytotoxicity. N2733 was
      also studied in two murine endotoxin shock models induced with LPS. One model was
      DBA/2 mice injected with LPS (5.6 mg/kg, i.v.), which increased the serum level
      of TNF-alpha within 1 hr. Treatment of these mice with N2733 (100 mg/kg x 2,
      i.p.) decreased the serum level of TNF-alpha significantly. Another model was
      DBA/2 mice induced with LPS (30 mg/kg, i.v.), which reduced the survival rate to
      30% during 7 days. Administrations of 30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg N2733 (i.v.)
      restored the survival rates to 60% and 90% respectively. Our data demonstrate
      that N2733 inhibits LPS-induced TNF-alpha production, and this response is
      associated with an improvement in the survival rate of endotoxemic mice.

PMID- 9972239
TI  - Lithocholic acid side-chain cleavage to produce 17-keto or 22-aldehyde steroids
      by Pseudomonas putida strain ST-491 grown in the presence of an organic solvent,
      diphenyl ether.
AB  - We devised a method to screen for microorganisms capable of growing on bile acids
      in the presence of organic solvents and producing organic solvent-soluble
      derivatives. Pseudomonas putida biovar A strain ST-491 isolated in this study
      produced decarboxylated derivatives from the bile acids. Strain ST-491 grown on
      0.5% lithocholic acid catabolized approximately 30% of the substrate as a carbon
      source, and transiently accumulated in the medium androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione
      in an amount of corresponding to 5% of the substrate added. When 20% (v/v)
      diphenyl ether was added to the medium, 60% of the substrate was converted to 17
      keto steroids (androst-4-ene-3,17-dione-like steroid, androsta-1,4-diene-3,17
      dione) or a 22-aldehyde steroid (pregna-1,4-dien-3-on-20-al). Amounts of the
      products were responsible for 45, 10, and 5% of the substrate, respectively. In
      the presence of the surfactant Triton X-100 instead of diphenyl ether, 40% of the
      substrate was converted exclusively to androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione.

PMID- 9972240
TI  - Structure-activity relationships of flavonoids and the induction of granulocytic-
      or monocytic-differentiation in HL60 human myeloid leukemia cells.
AB  - The flavones apigenin and luteolin strongly inhibited the growth of HL60 cells
      and induced morphological differentiation into granulocytes. The flavonol
      quercetin inhibited the cell growth and induced a differentiation marker, i.e.,
      NBT reducing ability. However quercetin-treated cells were not morphologically
      differentiated into granulocytes. The chalcone phloretin weakly induced NBT
      reducing ability and a marker of monocytic differentiation alpha-naphthyl
      butyrate esterase activity in the cells. Quercetin and phloretin appeared to
      induce the differentiation of HL60 cells into monocytes. The proportion of alpha
      naphthyl butyrate esterase-positive cells induced by genistein was less than that
      of the NBT-positive cells. Some of the nuclei in genistein-treated HL60 cells
      morphologically changed. Genistein must have induced both granulocytic and
      monocytic differentiation of HL60 cells. The flavonols galangin and kaempferol,
      which had fewer hydroxyl group(s) in the B-ring than quercetin, and the flavanone
      naringenin inhibited the growth but did not induce the differentiation of HL60
      cells.

PMID- 9972241
TI  - Substrate specificity of the alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from Trichoderma reesei.
AB  - The precise substrate specificities of an alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from
      Trichoderma reesei were investigated. The enzyme released arabinose at
      appreciable rates from p-nitrophenyl-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside, O-alpha-L
      arabinofuranosyl-(1-->3)-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4) -D-xylopyranose (A1X2),
      arabinan, arabinoxylan, arabinogalactan, debranched-arabinan and gum arabic, but
      not from O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1-->3)] -O
      beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-D-xylopyranose (A1X3) or O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-
      >2)-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl -(1-->3)-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-O-beta-D
      xylopyranosyl-(-->4) -D-xylopyranose (A1X4). The enzyme hydrolyzed methyl 2-O-,
      methyl 3-O- and methyl 5-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl-alpha-L-arabinofuranosides to
      arabinose and methyl alpha-L-arabinofuranoside with the order of hydrolysis
      being: (1-->5)- > (1-->2)- > or = (1-->3)-linkages. The enzyme hydrolyzed the (1-
      >3)-linkage faster than the (1-->5)-linkage of methyl 3,5-di-O-alpha-L
      arabinofuranosyl-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside. The degree of conversion of arabinan
      and debranched-arabinan to monosaccharides by the enzyme was 33.0% and 9.1%,
      respectively. The alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase preferentially cleaved the
      arabinosyl side-chain from the arabinan rather than the terminal arabinosyl
      residue of the arabinan backbone.

PMID- 9972242
TI  - A novel ELISA format for the rapid and sensitive detection of staphylococcal
      enterotoxin A.
AB  - Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the leading causes of bacterial food
      poisoning each year. Detection kits for staphylococcal enterotoxins are
      commercially available and the assays can require from one and a half to twenty
      four hours to complete with detection limits ranging from 0.5 to 2 ng enterotoxin
      per gram of food. We have successfully demonstrated a microsphere-packed
      capillary (MPC) ELISA for the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and
      have compared it to two commercially available kits. The MPC assay detected a
      lower amount of SEA in ham, chicken, cheese, and bean sprouts than either of the
      two commercially available kits. In addition, the novel MPC assay was completed
      in less than ten minutes, as compared to three and twenty-four hours for the two
      commercially available kits. This research also demonstrated that the MPC ELISA
      can contain integrated positive and negative controls and has the potential to
      simultaneously detect and identify multiple enterotoxins.

PMID- 9972243
TI  - Pectins in extracellular polysaccharides from a cell-suspension culture of
      Mentha.
AB  - Pectin constituents, which were about 70 w/w% of extracellular polysaccharides
      (ECP) from a cell-suspension culture of Mentha, were purified by gel filtration
      chromatography, and their sugar composition and linkage were investigated. Two
      major constituents identified were (1-->3)-linked galactan carrying arabinosyl
      residues on C-6 and (1-->4)-alpha-linked galacturonan partially interspersed with
      (1-->2)-linked rhamnosyl resides. Acetylated or methylated pectins were not
      identified on 1H-NMR analysis.

PMID- 9972244
TI  - Molecular cloning and analysis of a lipase gene from Pseudomonas fluorescens No.
      33.
AB  - The gene encoding an extracellular lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens No. 33 was
      cloned and sequenced. A single open reading frame consisting of 1,428 nucleotides
      that encoded a mature protein of 476 amino acids was recognized. Sequence
      analysis showed that the deduced molecular weight of 50,209 agreed with the
      molecular weight of the purified lipase as measured by SDS-PAGE and the lipase
      lacked a signal peptide. The presence of a repeating motif, GXXGXDXXX, suggested
      that the lipase might be exported and secreted via a system that involves the ATP
      binding cassette protein.

PMID- 9972245
TI  - Mutational analysis of the histidine-containing phosphotransfer (HPt) signaling
      domain of the ArcB sensor in Escherichia coli.
AB  - The Escherichia coli ArcB sensor is involved in anaerobic phosphotransfer signal
      transduction. ArcB is a hybrid sensor that contains three types of
      phosphotransfer signaling domains in its primary amino acid sequence, namely,
      transmitter (or His-Kinase), receiver, and histidine-containing phosphotransfer
      (HPt) domains. However, examination of the function of the newly-discovered HPt
      domain (named ArcBc) is still at a very early stage. To gain a general insight
      into the structure and function of the widespread HPt domains, on the basis of
      its three-dimensional crystal structure, in this study we constructed a certain
      set of mutants each having a single amino acid substitution in the HPt domain of
      ArcB. These ArcBc mutants were characterized and evaluated, based on the in vivo
      ability to signal the OmpR receiver via trans-phosphorylation.

PMID- 9972246
TI  - State of imidazole side chain of hen lysozyme modified with histamine and
      Japanese quail lysozyme. A study by immobilized metal ion affinity
      chromatography.
AB  - Hen lysozyme modified with histamine (HML) and Japanese quail lysozyme (JQL) were
      treated with immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography to analyze the states
      of their imidazole groups. When Ni(II) was used as the metal ion immobilized, JQL
      was strongly retained in a Ni(II)-chelating Sepharose column, while hen lysozyme
      and HML were hardly retained in the same column. All of these lysozymes have a
      histidine imidazole group at the 15th position, while JQL has an additional
      histidine imidazole group at the 103rd position and HML has an additional
      imidazole group covalently attached to Asp101. Thus, I concluded that the
      imidazole group at the 103rd position of JQL is exposed to the solvent and
      recognized by the metal ion, but that the imidazole group attached to Asp101 in
      HML is localized to a hydrophobic region and not recognized by the metal ion.

PMID- 9972247
TI  - Properties of alpha-mannosidase partially purified from the apple snail, Pomacea
      canaliculata.
AB  - Pomacea canaliculata alpha-mannosidase (260 kDa), composed of at least two
      isoforms with different pI, was partially purified. The activity was maximum at
      pH 4 and unaltered after incubation at 60 degrees C for 60 min. ZnCl2, CaCl2,
      NaCl, and SH-reagents increased the activity, while MnCl2 and EDTA inhibited it.
      The enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of alpha 1-2, alpha 1-3, and alpha 1-6
      mannosidic linkages.

PMID- 9972248
TI  - Isolation and properties of glucose-1-phosphatase from mycelia of Pholiota
      nameko.
AB  - An acid phosphatase with a very high substrate specificity for glucose-1
      phosphate was isolated for the first time from mycelia of Pholiota nameko. The
      molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 31,000 on gel filtration and
      35,000 on SDS-PAGE. The activity was inhibited by Cu2+, Hg2+, molybdate, and
      tartaric acid. The sequence of N-terminal 20 amino acid residues was analyzed.

PMID- 9972249
TI  - Evidence that a beta-1,4-endoglucanase secreted by Acetobacter xylinum plays an
      essential role for the formation of cellulose fiber.
AB  - Cellulose-producing Acetobacter xylinum has been known to secrete a cellulose
      hydrolyzing beta-1,4-endoglucanase (CMCax). When antibodies to recombinant CMCax
      were added to the culture medium, the formation of cellulose fiber was severely
      inhibited. Western blot analysis using the antibody showed that this enzyme was
      secreted into the medium even by a cellulose non-producing strain (Cel-). These
      results indicate that beta-1,4-endoglucanase in the medium plays a critical role
      in the formation of cellulose fiber by the microorganism.

PMID- 9972250
TI  - Effects of substitution of Val for Leu11 of ovine angiotensinogen on renin
      activity.
AB  - A mutant angiotensinogen, L11V, in which Val11 was substituted for Leu11 of ovine
      angiotensinogen was prepared to have the same scissile peptide bond as the human
      one. The mutation didn't vary Km and kcat of human renin for the ovine substrate,
      but decreased those of rat renin to one half and one fortieth, respectively.
      Distances between the P1' subsite of angiotensinogens and the 224th (human renin
      numbering) residue in the S1' subsite of renins were estimated by molecular
      modelings. The marked decrease in kcat of rat renin for L11V could be attributed
      to the elongated distance between Val11 of L11V and Val221 of rat renin. It was
      also suggested that the distance is the reason why the human substrate cannot be
      cleaved by heterologous renins.

PMID- 9972251
TI  - Effects of elution [correction of eution] conditions on the separation of
      calpastatin, mu- and m-calpain on DEAE-Sephacel chromatography.
AB  - A rapid stepwise measurement for the activities of calpastatin and mu- and m
      calpains was developed by using 2-stage elution at pH 8.5 and then 7.0. The
      activities of calpastatin, mu-calpain and m-calpain can be rapidly assayed
      following the separation on DEAE-Sephacel chromatography by a 2 stage elution
      with 90 mM NaCl (pH 8.5), and then by 200 and 300 mM NaCl in elution buffer (pH
      7.0). No significant differences in the recovery of these proteinases and
      inhibitor was observed between stepwise gradient and linear gradient methods.

PMID- 9972253
TI  - Effects of tea infusions of various varieties or different manufacturing types on
      inhibition of mouse mast cell activation.
AB  - We investigated effects of various tea infusions on mast cell activation using
      mouse mast cells. Among various tea extracts, infusions from cultivar
      'Benihomare' and Taiwan lineage strongly inhibited histamine release after Fc
      epsilon RI cross-linking. Among three types of tea (from cultivar 'Benihomare'),
      extract from oolong tea or black tea inhibited histamine release more strongly
      than green tea extract. Furthermore, 'Benihomare' oolong tea extract suppressed
      tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins after Fc epsilon RI cross-linking,
      but polyvinyl polypyrrolidone treatment of the extract to remove phenolic
      compounds, weakened the suppressive effect.

PMID- 9972252
TI  - Antimicrobial activity of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and trans 4-hydroxycinnamic acid
      isolated and identified from rice hull.
AB  - Two antimicrobial substances in rice hull were isolated and identified as 4
      hydroxybenzoic acid and trans 4-hydroxycinnamic acid by LC-MS, and 1H- and 13C
      NMR. An evaluation of 50% inhibition of growth (IC50) revealed that the two
      substances had different inhibition profiles against various microorganisms. Most
      of the gram-positive and some gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to trans 4
      hydroxycinnamic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid at IC50 concentrations of 100-170
      and 160 micrograms/ml, respectively.

PMID- 9972254
TI  - Identification of the orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase gene and development
      of a transformation system in the yeast Saccharomyces exiguus Yp74L-3.
AB  - To investigate the uracil biosynthetic pathway of the yeast Saccharomyces exiguus
      Yp74L-3, uracil auxotrophic mutants were isolated. Using conventional genetic
      techniques, four mutant genes concerned in uracil biosynthesis were identified
      and denoted as ura1, ura2, ura3, and ura4. Mutations in the URA3 and URA4 genes
      were specifically selected with 5-fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA). Vector plasmids
      containing the URA3 gene and an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) of S.
      cerevisiae produced sufficient amounts of Ura+ transformants from the ura4 mutant
      of S. exiguus. This fact indicates that the S. exiguus URA4 gene encodes
      orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (OMP decarboxylase) and demonstrates that
      vector plasmids for S. cerevisiae are also usable in S. exiguus.

PMID- 9972255
TI  - Tryptophan pyrolysis products, Trp-P-1 and Trp-P-2 induce apoptosis in primary
      cultured rat hepatocytes.
AB  - The cytotoxicity of heterocyclic amines, dietary carcinogens derived from cooked
      foods, to primary cultured rat hepatocytes was studied. A tryptophan pyrolysis
      product, 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) was the most
      cytotoxic of 11 compounds tested. Trp-P-1 was found to induce apoptosis as
      measured by morphological changes in nuclear chromatin and internucleosomal DNA
      fragmentation. 3-Amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b] indole (Trp-P-2) showed a
      moderate apoptotic effect, and other compounds had a similar but weaker effect.

PMID- 9972256
TI  - Relationship between chemical structures and biological activities of
      triterpenoid saponins from soybean.
AB  - Saponins can be found in more than one hundred plant families and in some marine
      animals. However, chemical investigation of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill)
      saponins has begun only as recently as the 1970s. Here we focus on the chemical
      structure, the content, and biological activity of soybean saponins in current
      studies. Especially, we focus on 2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4
      one (DDMP) conjugated saponins and define the chemical structure of this as a
      natural precursor of group B and E saponins.

PMID- 9972257
TI  - Purification and characterization of tert-butyl ester-hydrolyzing lipase from
      Burkholderia sp. YY62.
AB  - An intracellular novel lipase which can hydrolyze t-butyl octanoate (TBO) was
      purified to homogeneity from crude cell-free extracts of Burkholderia (formerly
      Pseudomonas) sp. YY62 with 9% overall yield. Seventy-four-fold purification was
      achieved by ammonium-sulfate precipitation, three consecutive open-column
      chromatographies (DEAE anion-exchange, Sepharose CL-6B gel-filtration, and the
      second DEAE anion-exchange columns), and two HPLCs (TSK G2000SWXL gel-filtration
      and phenyl 5PW hydrophobic interaction columns). Enzymes hydrolyzing p
      nitrophenyl acetate were separated into two peaks (peak I and II) on the
      hydrophobic HPLC, and only peak II was found to have TBO-hydrolyzing activity.
      The peak preparation showed a single band of 40 kDa on SDS-PAGE and a molecular
      mass of 39 kDa on gel-filtration under non-denatured conditions, indicating the
      monomeric nature of the TBO-hydrolyzing lipase. The lipase showed maximum
      activity at pH 7.0 and 28 degrees C. The N-terminal 15 amino acid residues were
      determined as Met-Asp-Phe-Tyr-Asp-Ala-Asn-Glu-Thr-Arg-His-Pro-Glu-Gln-Arg, which
      showed no homology to known proteins, suggesting that the purified enzyme may
      belong to a novel class of hydrolase.

PMID- 9972258
TI  - Molecular cloning and sequencing of two phospho-beta-galactosidase I and II genes
      of Lactobacillus gasseri JCM1031 isolated from human intestine.
AB  - Lactobacillus (Lb.) gasseri JCM1031, which is classified into the B1 subgroup of
      the Lb. acidophilus group of lactic acid bacteria, characteristically produces
      two different phospho-beta-galactosidases (P-beta-gal) I and II in the same
      cytosol as reported in our previous papers [Biosci. Biotech. Biochem., 60, 139
      141, 708-710 (1996)]. To clarify the functional and genetic properties of the two
      enzymes, the structural genes of P-beta-gal I and II were cloned and sequenced.
      The structural gene of P-beta-gal I had 1,446 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 482
      amino acid residues. The structural gene of P-beta-gal II had 1,473 bp, encoding
      a polypeptide of 491 amino acid residues. The deduced relative molecular masses
      of 55,188 and 56,243 agreed well with the previous value obtained from the
      purified P-beta-gal I and II protein, respectively. Multiple alignment of the
      protein sequence of P-beta-gal I and II with those of P-beta-gals from 5
      microorganisms had 30-35% identity on the amino acid level, but those with
      phospho-beta-glucosidases from 5 microorganisms had the relatively high identity
      of about 50%. Considering that this strain grows on lactose medium and shows no
      beta-galactosidase activity, and that purified P-beta-gal I and II can obviously
      hydrolyze o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside 6-phosphate (substrate), and
      also the conservation of a cysteine residue in the molecule, the P-beta-gal I and
      II were each confirmed as a novel P-beta-gal enzyme.

PMID- 9972259
TI  - Arginine enhances induction of T helper 1 and T helper 2 cytokine synthesis by
      Peyer's patch alpha beta T cells and antigen-specific mucosal immune response.
AB  - The effects of arginine on cell proliferation and subsequent T helper (Th) 1 and
      Th 2 cytokine synthesis by murine Peyer's patch (PP) Th cells in vitro and the
      influence of arginine on the induction of antigen-specific mucosal and systemic
      immune responses in vivo were examined. When the PP T cells were stimulated with
      the anti-alpha beta T cell receptor (TCR) antibody in the presence of different
      concentrations of arginine, a higher proliferative response was observed in the
      culture with an optimal concentration of arginine compared with that with a
      minimum amount of this amino acid. The concentration of cytokines in the
      supernatant, the number of cytokine-producing cells and the cytokine-specific
      mRNA expression of PP T cells were also increased in a dose-dependent fashion.
      Furthermore, when mice fed on an arginine-supplemented liquid diet were orally
      immunized with tetanus toxoid plus cholera toxin as a mucosal adjuvant, a higher
      level of antigen-specific fecal IgA was observed when compared with the response
      in mice fed on an arginine-free diet. Taken together, these results suggest that
      arginine enhanced antigen-specific mucosal immune response resulting from the
      supporting activation of cell proliferation and subsequent cytokine synthesis of
      PP Th cells.

PMID- 9972260
TI  - Transformation of the edible basidiomycete Lentinus edodes by restriction enzyme
      mediated integration of plasmid DNA.
AB  - We have used the restriction enzyme-mediated DNA integration (REMI) method to
      establish a transformation system in Lentinus edodes using the recombinant
      plasmid pLC1-hph, which contains the L. edodes transcriptional signals and an
      Escherichia coli hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene. Protoplasts of L. edodes
      were treated by the PEG transformation mixture containing 50 units of SalI, which
      cleaves pLC1-hph at a single site, yielding about 15 transformants per 2.5
      micrograms of DNA. The conventional PEG transformation without SalI, however,
      yielded only 1.5 transformants per 25 micrograms of DNA. The optimal amount of
      SalI for increased transformation was 50 units. In the case of transformation
      with SphI, which cleaves the plasmid at one site, the optimal amount of the
      enzyme was 2.5 units. Southern blot analysis of the SphI-derived transformants
      suggested that 50% of the plasmid integrations were REMI events.

PMID- 9972261
TI  - Apoptosis induced by niacin-related compounds in HL-60 cells.
AB  - We have investigated whether niacin-related compounds act as inducers of
      apoptosis in HL-60 cells. In this study, we found that picolinic acid,
      dipicolinic acid, and isonicotinamide strongly induce apoptosis. After treatments
      with these compounds, apoptosis started within 4 h and was induced in about 50%
      of the cells within 8 h. These compounds induced apoptosis at 5-10 mM, but did
      not at 1 mM. An ICE-like protease inhibitor (Z-Asp-CH2-DCB) completely blocked
      the apoptosis, but a caspase-1 inhibitor (Ac-YVAD-CHO) and a caspase-3 inhibitor
      (Ac-DEVD-CHO) did not block the apoptosis, suggesting that other caspases have
      the critical roles in the execution process of apoptosis induced by niacin
      related compounds.

PMID- 9972263
TI  - Isolation of the creA gene from the cellulolytic fungus Humicola grisea and
      analysis of CreA binding sites upstream from the cellulase genes.
AB  - A carbon catabolite repressor gene, creA, was isolated from the cellulolytic
      fungus Humicola grisea by using a portion of the Trichoderma reesei cre1 gene as
      a probe. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a zinc finger protein of 419
      amino acids in length, and its zinc finger regions show high similarity with
      those of Aspergillus CreAs, T. reesei Cre1, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae MIG1.
      Northern blot analysis showed that the H. grisea creA gene was highly transcribed
      when the mycelia were grown on glucose-containing media, but the transcription of
      the H. grisea endoglucanase 1 gene (egl1) and the exoglucanase 1 gene (exo1) were
      repressed under these conditions. Results of binding assays with the maltose
      binding protein::CreA(1-166) fusion protein and the egl1 and the exo1 upstream
      regions showed that some 6-bp sites having an identical or similar sequence to
      the consensus sequence for CreA binding were protected from DNase I digestion.

PMID- 9972262
TI  - Alanine dehydrogenase from Enterobacter aerogenes: purification,
      characterization, and primary structure.
AB  - Alanine dehydrogenase [EC 1. 4. 1. 1] was purified to homogeneity from a crude
      extract of Enterobacter aerogenes ICR 0220. The enzyme had a molecular mass of
      about 245 kDa and consisted of six identical subunits. The enzyme showed maximal
      activity at about pH 10.9 for the deamination of L-alanine and at about pH 8.7
      for the amination of pyruvate. The enzyme required NAD+ as a coenzyme. Analogs of
      NAD+, deamino-NAD+ and nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide served as coenzymes.
      Initial-velocity and product inhibition studies suggested that the deamination of
      L-alanine proceeded through a sequential ordered binary-ternary mechanism. NAD+
      bound first to the enzyme, followed by L-alanine, and the products were released
      in the order of ammonia, pyruvate, and NADH. The Km were 0.47 mM for L-alanine,
      0.16 mM for NAD+, 0.22 mM for pyruvate, 0.067 mM for NADH, and 66.7 mM for
      ammonia. The Km for L-alanine was the smallest in the alanine dehydrogenases
      studied so far. The enzyme gene was cloned into Escherichia coli JM109 cells and
      the nucleotides were sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence was very similar
      to that of the alanine dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis. However, the
      Enterobacter enzyme has no cysteine residue. In this respect, the Enterobacter
      enzyme is different from other alanine dehydrogenases.

PMID- 9972264
TI  - Cloning, sequencing, high expression, and crystallization of the thermophile
      Thermus aquaticus glycerol kinase.
AB  - Glycerol kinase (EC 2.7.1.30) is a key enzyme of glycerol uptake and metabolism
      in bacteria. Using PCR, we amplified and cloned a glycerol kinase gene, glpK,
      from Thermus aquaticus. The complete gene has 1488 base pairs, coding for a
      protein of 496 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 54,814. The amino
      acid sequence deduced from T. aquaticus glpK was found to have identities of 97
      and 81%, respectively, with those of Thermus flavus and Bacillus subtilis glpK
      genes. After overproduction in Escherichia coli, the expressed enzyme was easily
      purified to homogeneity by DEAE-Toyopearl chromatography. The purified enzyme has
      been crystallized by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method at 22 degrees C.
      Comparison of the amino acid sequence with that of the B. subtilis enzyme showed
      that Ser and Lys are replaced by Ala and Arg, as was seen in mesophile and
      thermophile enzymes.

PMID- 9972265
TI  - A novel glycerol kinase from Flavobacterium meningosepticum: characterization,
      gene cloning and primary structure.
AB  - A thermostable glycerol kinase (FGK) was purified 34-fold to homogeneity from
      Flavobacterium meningosepticum. The molecular masses of the enzyme were 200 kDa
      by gel filtration and 50 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The Km for glycerol and ATP were 0.088
      and 0.030 mM, respectively. The enzyme was stable at 65 degrees C for 10 min and
      at 37 degrees C for two weeks. The enzyme gene was cloned into Escherichia coli
      and its complete DNA was sequenced. The FGK gene consists of an open reading
      frame of 1494-bp encoding a protein of 498 amino acids. The deduced amino acid
      sequence of the gene had 40-60% similarity to those of glycerol kinases from
      other origins and the amino acid sequence of the putative active site residue
      reported for E. coli GK is identical to the corresponding sequence of FGK except
      for one amino acid residue.

PMID- 9972266
TI  - Substrate specificity of 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase, the starter enzyme for
      2-deoxystreptamine biosynthesis, toward deoxyglucose-6-phosphates and proposed
      mechanism.
AB  - A crucial enzyme in the biosynthesis of the 2-deoxystreptamine aglycon of
      clinically important aminocyclitol antibiotics is 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose synthase
      (DOIS), which is responsible for the initial carbocycle formation of 2-deoxy
      scyllo-inosose (1) from D-glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) (2). To get more insight
      into the mechanism and substrate specificity, deoxy-D-glucose-6-phosphates (deoxy
      G-6-P) were chemically synthesized and subjected to the reaction with DOIS. The
      enzyme appeared to use 2-deoxy- and 3-deoxy-G-6-P as substrates, both of which
      were converted into the corresponding dideoxy-scyllo-inosose products, but 4
      deoxy-G-6-P failed in cyclization by DOIS. These results clearly support the
      proposed reaction mechanism involving the initial oxidation at C-4 of the G-6-P
      substrate. Another implication is the potential use of DOIS for the preparation
      of useful dideoxyinososes.

PMID- 9972267
TI  - Cloning of the gene for inorganic pyrophosphatase from a thermoacidophilic
      archaeon, Sulfolobus sp. strain 7, and overproduction of the enzyme by
      coexpression of tRNA for arginine rare codon.
AB  - The gene encoding an extremely stable inorganic pyrophosphatase from Sulfolobus
      sp. strain 7, a thermoacidophilic archaeon, was cloned and sequenced. An open
      reading frame consisted of 516 base pairs coding for a protein of 172-amino acid
      residues. The deduced sequence was supported by partial amino acid sequence
      analyses. All the catalytically important residues were conserved. A unique 17
      base-pair sequence motif was found to be repeated four times in frame in the
      gene, encoding a cluster of acidic amino acids essential for the function.
      Although the codon usage of the gene was quite different from that of Escherichia
      coli, the gene was effectively expressed in E. coli. Coexpression of tRNA(Arg),
      cognate for the rare codon AGA in E. coli, however, further improved the
      production of the enzyme, which occupied more than 85% of the soluble proteins
      obtained after removal of heat denatured E. coli proteins.

PMID- 9972268
TI  - Nutritional effects of a D-methionine-containing solution on AH109A hepatoma
      bearing rats.
AB  - The effects of a D-methionine-containing solution (DMCS) on the nutritional
      status of AH109A hepatomabearing rats receiving total parenteral nutrition were
      studied. The DMCS solution inhibited the decrease of transferrin in the plasma of
      tumor-bearing rats when compared with the effect of an L-methionine-containing
      solution. The survival time was also significantly prolonged in the DMCS-treated
      rats. These results indicate that DMCS had a beneficial effect on the
      malnutrition induced in tumor-bearing rats and would be a useful amino acid
      solution for the nutritional support of cancer patients.

PMID- 9972269
TI  - Analysis of the oligosaccharide units of xyloglucans by digestion with
      isoprimeverose-producing oligoxyloglucan hydrolase followed by anion-exchange
      chromatography.
AB  - A method for rapidly identifying six of the most commonly found xyloglucan
      oligosaccharide units, XXXG, XLXG, XXLG, XLLG, XXFG, and XLFG was developed by
      high-performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC) with pulsed amperometric
      detection (PAD) before and after digestion with purified isoprimeverose-producing
      oligoxyloglucan hydrolase (IPase). Using this method, the compositions of
      oligosaccharide units of soybean and mung bean xyloglucans were re-examined.
      Significant amounts of oligosaccharides that have not previously been reported to
      be oligosaccharide units of soybean and mung bean xyloglucans were found.

PMID- 9972270
TI  - Cloning of genomic DNA of Rhizopus niveus lipase and expression in the yeast
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
AB  - Genomic DNA encoding Lipase I was cloned from Rhizopus niveus strain IFO4759. For
      expression of this gene in S. cerevisiae, DBY746 was transformed with
      YEp352PLipS, which had the cloned lipase gene under the control of a PGK
      promoter. This strain secreted the lipase at a high level (350 U/ml). The strain
      ND-12B was produced by a mating of DBY746, harboring YEp352PLipS, and NA74-3A,
      and dissection of asci. This new strain secreted the lipase up to 530 U/ml.
      Moreover, the lipase was produced most effectively in a medium containing Bacto
      yeast extract, soy-peptide, and sucrose.

PMID- 9972271
TI  - Gassericin A; an uncommon cyclic bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus gasseri
      LA39 linked at N- and C-terminal ends.
AB  - Gassericin A, a bacteriocin that was produced by Lactobacillus gasseri LA39, was
      treated with lysylendopeptidase and 3-bromo-3-methyl-2-(2-nitrophenyl-mercapto)
      3H-indole. The fragments were recovered by SDS-PAGE and sequenced. All amino
      acids of gassericin A were distributed by sequence analysis and the bacteriocin
      did not contain any modified amino acids. The amino acid sequence of gassericin A
      completely coincided with that found through the cloning of the structural gene.
      Gassericin A was shown to be a cyclic bacteriocin (class II) which is bound at
      the N- and C-terminal ends. This is the first example of a cyclic bacteriocin
      from lactobacilli lactic acid bacteria.

PMID- 9972272
TI  - Inhibition by a capsaicin antagonist (capsazepine) of capsaicin-induced swimming
      capacity increase in mice.
AB  - We investigated the endurance swimming capacity of mice injected with CAP
      antagonist (capsazepine). The increase of endurance swimming capacity by the
      administration of CAP was significantly suppressed by the injection of
      capsazepine. At the same time, serum adrenaline secretion, which was induced by
      CAP, was depressed by capsazepine. These findings suggested that the increase in
      endurance swimming capacity by CAP was mediated by the CAP receptor.

PMID- 9972273
TI  - Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding a serine proteinase
      inhibitor named marinostatin from a marine bacterium, Alteromonas sp. strain B-10
      31.
AB  - The gene (mstI) encoding a serine proteinase inhibitor named marinostatin from
      marine Alteromonas sp. strain B-10-31 was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was
      analyzed. A short open reading frame of 192 bp encoded 63 amino acids with a
      molecular weight of 6,985. Furthermore, the initial product of marinostatin
      (marinostatin L) was purified and its amino acid sequence was analyzed. These
      results indicate that marinostatin is produced as a unique precursor consisting
      of the mature peptide and the leader peptide for an ATP-binding cassette (ABC)
      transporter, and furthermore the initial product of marinostatin is dehydrated
      and processed by proteolysis to give homologous forms of marinostatin.

PMID- 9972274
TI  - New antibacterial diterpenoids from the Sarcodon scabrosus fungus.
AB  - The structures of new antibacterial diterpenoids that had been isolated from
      Sarcodon scabrosus were established by chemical and spectral means to be
      sarcodonin L (2) and M (3), both having the cyathane skeleton. Other
      antibacterial compounds were identified to be allocyathin B2 (1), sarcodonin G
      (4) and sarcodonin A (5) by comparing their spectral data with those of authentic
      samples.

PMID- 9972275
TI  - Compilation of mRNA sequences surrounding the AUG translation initiation codon in
      the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
AB  - Sequences of 118 mRNAs of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in the GenBank
      data base were compiled to examine the consensus sequence surrounding the AUG
      translation initiation codon. The consensus sequence for C. reinhardtii was found
      to be gc(A/C)A(A/C)(A/C) AUGGC. The AUG context of chloroplast proteins (nuclear
      coded) and non-chloroplast proteins were compared by a separate compilation, and
      some distinctive features in AUG context of chloroplast proteins were found.

PMID- 9972276
TI  - Synthesis of a novel phosphate ester of a vitamin E derivative and its
      antioxidative activity.
AB  - A novel phosphate ester containing a chromanol structure was synthesized from 1,2
      diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-2'-hydroxyethyl-2',5',7',8'-tetramethyl- 6' 
      hydroxychroman (PCh) by hydrolysis catalyzed by phospholipase C from Bacillus
      cereus. The structure of the product was found by spectral analyses to be 2
      (2',5',7',8'-tetramethyl-6'-hydroxychromanyl)ethylphosphate++ + (Ch-P). Ch-P was
      highly soluble in the aqueous phase at neutral pH values and exerted higher
      antioxidative activity than alpha-tocopherol and PCh in the Fe(III)/ascorbic acid
      catalyzed peroxidation of a fish oil emulsion and the autoxidation of a rat brain
      homogenate.

PMID- 9972277
TI  - Structural analysis of xyloglucan oligosaccharides by the post-source decay
      fragmentation method of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: influence of the degree of
      substitution by branched galactose, xylose, and fucose on the fragment ion
      intensities.
AB  - Highly branched xyloglucan oligosaccharides were analyzed by the post-source
      decay (PSD) fragmentation method of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
      time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The ratio of [M-Xyl]+ and [M
      Gal]+ fragment ion intensities could be used to characterize the degree of Gal
      substitution at the non-reducing end, because the number of possible chemical
      species was directly related to their relative ion intensity. The intensity of
      the [M-Fuc]+ ion was predominantly strong in the fragment spectrum of fucosyl
      oligosaccharides as the first fragmentation, indicating the fucosyl linkage to be
      much weaker than the other glycosidic linkages in the MALDI-PSD fragmentation.
      Setting fragment ion [M-Fuc]+ to the pseudo precursor ion [MF]+, the second
      fragmentation ions were produced from [MF]+ in the drift region in PSD
      fragmentation of fucosyl oligosaccharides.

PMID- 9972278
TI  - Identification of a structural gene encoding a metallothionein-like domain that
      includes a putative regulator protein for Streptomyces protease gene expression.
AB  - An open reading frame (termed ORF-PR) encoding a metallothionein-like domain
      including protein was found upstream of a previously identified Streptomyces
      chymotrypsin-type protease gene (sam-P20). Promoter and terminator activities of
      ORF-PR were detected using the promoterless Streptomyces tyrosinase gene as a
      reporter gene and expression of ORF-PR was supposed to occur before that of sam
      P20 gene. Frameshift mutation analysis showed that the ORF-PR product might act
      as a repressive regulator of the sam-P20 gene.

PMID- 9972279
TI  - Some of my not so favorite things about insulin and insulin-like growth factors
      in fish.
AB  - Several topics concerning insulin and IGFs rarely discussed among comparative
      physiologists/endocrinologists are reviewed. The topics addressed include
      interpretation of radioimmunoassays for insulin and IGFs, the major sites of
      synthesis of these peptides, signal transduction via peptide-specific, and
      possibly via related peptide receptors. Finally, some thoughts are included on
      the development of the insulin superfamily of peptides in two phyletic lines of
      evolution, proto- and deuterostomian animals. The author considers all the above
      topics open to further exploration. If this review initiates more discussion
      leading to unorthodox input to the field, its goal is achieved.

PMID- 9972280
TI  - (Pro)insulin and insulin-like growth factor I complementary expression and roles
      in early development.
AB  - Evidence that the insulin-like growth factors play a role in embryonic as well as
      postnatal growth and central nervous system development has accumulated recently
      from studies using knock-out mice models. However, no effects of IGF-I and II
      have been demonstrated prior to organogenesis in these studies. We summarize here
      results supporting the role of insulin (or its precursor proinsulin) in
      vertebrate development prior to the expression of IGFs. (Pro)insulin mRNA is
      expressed in the chick embryo during neurulation and early organogenesis and its
      inhibition by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides increase apoptosis. In another
      system, proliferative neuroretina, (pro)insulin expression predominates over IGF
      I expression. Modulation of apoptosis by (pro)insulin in retina may be largely
      responsible for the observed stimulation of DNA synthesis and neuronal
      differentiation. These effects are elicited as well by IGF-I, expressed later in
      neuroretina. Thus, these polypeptides have complementary expression in early
      embryos which suggests coordinated actions during development.

PMID- 9972281
TI  - Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor signal transduction: at the interface
      between physiology and cell biology.
AB  - The insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) mediates the biological
      actions of IGF-I and IGF-II. The IGFs play a critical role in promoting
      development, stimulating growth and organogenesis via mitogenic, antiapoptotic
      and chemotactic activity. Recent research has focused on the events that occur
      intracellularly upon receptor activation. Several pathways have been shown to be
      important. The insulin-receptor substrate (IRS), SHC, GRB2, CRKII and CRKL
      adaptor proteins have all been implicated in transmitting signals to the nucleus
      of the cell. This review outlines some of the signalling pathways believed to be
      important in converting IGF-IR activation into changes in cell behavior and
      metabolism.

PMID- 9972282
TI  - Evolution of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) action: in vitro
      characterization of vertebrate IGF-I proteins.
AB  - While there is considerable structural evidence that IGFs share a long
      evolutionary history, less is known about the conservation of IGF action. These
      studies have primarily been hampered by the small amounts of purified IGFs that
      have been available for testing. More recently, however, we have adopted
      recombinant strategies to produce milligram quantities of IGFs for biological
      studies. Thus we have been able to compare the properties of rat, kangaroo,
      chicken, salmon and barramundi IGF-I, proteins that differ from human IGF-I by 3,
      6, 8, 14 and 16 amino acids respectively. While we have found that the IGF-I
      proteins exhibit similar biological activities and type-I IGF receptor binding
      affinities, regardless of whether mammalian, avian or piscine cell lines are
      used, there was a trend suggesting that the fish proteins at least, were most
      effective in studies using homologous systems. Thus, salmon IGF-I was not as
      potent as human IGF-I in bioassays in mammalian cells, but was as effective as
      human IGF-I in piscine cells. As expected, the IGF-I proteins competed poorly for
      binding to type-2 receptors present on ovine placental membranes. Interestingly
      however, the two fish IGF-I proteins exhibited greater affinity for this receptor
      than the other IGF-I proteins, hence reminiscent of the results previously found
      with recombinant hagfish IGF. Despite these small differences, these results
      taken together indicate that the IGF-I proteins appear to have been remarkably
      conserved in both structure and in vitro action during vertebrate radiation.

PMID- 9972283
TI  - Glucagon-like peptide-1 activates the adenylyl cyclase system in rockfish
      enterocytes and brain membranes.
AB  - Glucagon-like peptide (GLP) exerts important physiological functions in fish
      liver, but extrahepatic sites of action and physiological roles have been largely
      ignored. We show here that GLP activates adenylyl cyclase in isolated brain and
      enterocyte membranes and increases cellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)
      levels in isolated enterocytes of rockfish (Sebastes caurinus). Following
      exposure to synthetic zebrafish GLP (zf-GLP) (1 nM-1 microM), a concentration
      dependent increase in enterocyte cAMP is noted. The maximum increase in cAMP
      levels is observed at 1 microM zf-GLP, and represents a 30% increase above
      control values. Exendin-4, a GLP receptor agonist in mammals, elicits a similar
      concentration-dependent increase in enterocyte cAMP. In contrast, norepinephrine
      or prostaglandin E2 (at 1 microM) increased cAMP levels by 2 and 4-fold,
      respectively. Brain membrane adenylyl cyclase is activated 20-40% by zf-GLP, and
      to a smaller extent by zf-glucagon, while exendin-4 is as effective as zf-GLP at
      a dose of 100 nM. These results suggest potential physiological roles of GLP in
      brain and intestine in piscine systems analogous to GLP-1 functions in these
      tissues described for mammals.

PMID- 9972284
TI  - Insulin-family peptide-receptor interaction at the early stage of vertebrate
      evolution.
AB  - This is an overview of our studies on insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I
      (IGF-I) interactions with their own and each other's receptors in the lamprey
      (Lampetra fluviatilis L.), an extant representative of the ancient vertebrate
      group of Agnathans as compared to mammal (rat). Lamprey insulin receptor shows
      species specificity, namely, it binds its own insulin with higher affinity than
      mammalian hormone. Nevertheless, and unlike mammalian insulin receptor, lamprey
      receptor discriminates relatively poorly between insulin and IGF-I.
      Autophosphorylation patterns are identical for both receptors. In contrast, IGF-I
      receptors in lamprey tissues are very similar to mammalian IGF-I receptors
      confirming known evolutionary conservatism of IGF receptor system. Presumed
      common evolutionary origin of insulin and IGF-I receptors and poor ability of
      lamprey insulin receptor to discriminate between two ligands, implies that
      lamprey insulin receptor is closer to putative ancestral protein that IGF-I
      receptor. Contrary to the common belief, ambient temperatures for lampreys (4-15
      degrees C) put no constraints on either downregulation of receptors or the
      endocytosis of hormone-receptor complexes.

PMID- 9972285
TI  - Inhibition of flagellar motility of demembranated fowl spermatozoa by protease
      substrates.
AB  - We investigated the effects of various protease substrates on the motility of
      demembranated fowl spermatozoa. In the presence of ATP, the motility of
      demembranated spermatozoa was vigorous at 30 degrees C, but decreased markedly
      following the addition of protease substrates, such as N alpha-carbobenzoxy-L-lys
      thiobenzyl ester (BLT), N-benzoyl-phe-val-arg p-nitroanilide or N alpha-benzoyl
      D,L-arg p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) in a dose-dependent manner, within the range 0-1
      mM. The subsequent addition of 100 ng/ml trypsin released the inhibitory effect
      of protease substrates within 10 s. Phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of
      several proteins of demembranated spermatozoa was observed following the addition
      of protease substrates, however, no consistent patterns of protein
      phosphorylation or dephosphorylation were associated with the inhibition of
      motility. These results suggest that endogenous protease activity is instrumental
      in the maintenance of fowl sperm motility and that the site of action of this
      protease is in the axoneme and/or accessory cytoskeletal components. This enzyme
      may not act directly on the phosphorylation of sperm proteins involved in the
      regulation of motility.

PMID- 9972286
TI  - Metabolic effects of oxalate in the perfused rat liver.
AB  - The effects of oxalate on the metabolism of the isolated perfused rat liver were
      investigated. The main purpose was to verify if oxalate is also active in intact
      organs as demonstrated in isolated cells. The results revealed that the action of
      oxalate in the perfused liver resembles only partially that observed in isolated
      hepatocytes. In the perfused liver, oxalate inhibited gluconeogenesis from
      alanine, pyruvate and lactate, inhibited glycolysis and stimulated
      glycogenolysis. These observations confirm previous measurements with isolated
      hepatocytes. However, additional effects, not observed in isolated hepatocytes,
      were found. In the perfused liver, oxalate stimulated glucose production from
      dihydroxyacetone, glycerol or sorbitol. Moreover, the effects of oxalate in the
      perfused rat liver occurred at concentrations well above those reported for
      isolated hepatocytes, revealing that the compound is less toxic in the intact
      tissue. In vivo, the metabolic effects reported here can only be expected to
      occur at supra-physiological concentrations of oxalate, as in the case of a
      chronic renal failure.

PMID- 9972287
TI  - Effect of carbohydrates upon insulin secretion in Bufo arenarum
      (Amphibia:Bufonidae).
AB  - Pancreas pieces of Bufo arenarum were incubated with several sugars at basal and
      stimulatory concentrations, and with inhibitors of their metabolism, measuring
      the insulin released by radioimmunoassay. Glucose, mannose, fructose,
      glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone all at 8 mM, significantly enhanced the
      release of insulin elicited by basal concentrations of these carbohydrates (2
      mM). The nonmetabolizable sugars galactose and 2-deoxyglucose failed to enhance
      insulin secretion. N-Acetyl-glucosamine at 8 mM did not significantly affect the
      release of insulin. D-Glucose, but not L-glucose, at 8 mM stimulated insulin
      secretion above baseline (2 mM glucose). At 8 mM, the D-glucose alpha-anomer
      significantly increased insulin release, while this effect was not observed using
      the beta-anomer. Insulin release elicited by 2 mM of the alpha-anomer was
      significantly higher than that triggered by the beta-anomer. Iodoacetate (5 mM),
      and dinitrophenol (0.3 mM) exerted an inhibitory effect upon glucose-induced
      insulin secretion. The effect of these carbohydrates and metabolic inhibitors-
      tested for the first time in amphibians--was similar to that described in the
      mammalian pancreas, thus suggesting that such compounds play an important role in
      the metabolic control of insulin secretion in amphibians.

PMID- 9972288
TI  - A myoglobin evolved from indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, a tryptophan-degrading
      enzyme.
AB  - The distribution, isolation, spectral and oxygen-binding properties, stability of
      ferrous state (autoxidation), amino acid sequence and gene structure of
      indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-like myoglobins are summarized, and their
      evolution is discussed. Although it has long been thought that all hemoglobins
      and myoglobins have evolved from a common ancestral gene encoding a 14-16 kDa
      polypeptide, the discovery of IDO-like myoglobin from several gastropod molluscs
      clearly indicates that there was an alternative pathway for myoglobin evolution.

PMID- 9972289
TI  - Molecular cloning, sequence analysis and expression distribution of rainbow trout
      (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cystatin C.
AB  - Cystatin C is one of a family of proteinase inhibitors of cathepsins and other
      cysteine proteinases. Among warm-blooded vertebrates, small functional regions of
      cystatin amino acid sequences are well conserved among species, but major
      portions of cystatin amino acid sequences vary evolutionarily. Although
      considerable attention has been given to mammalian and avian cystatins, little
      data exist on cystatins from other vertebrates. A cDNA clone for trout cystatin C
      was isolated from a lambda gt11 cDNA library of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus
      mykiss) liver. An apparently full-length cDNA clone of 674 bp encoding 132 amino
      acid residues was obtained. Sequence analysis indicated that trout cystatin C
      contains an N-terminal signal sequence extension of 21 amino acids and a mature
      sequence of 111 amino acid residues, with amino acid residues conserved in
      functional regions relative to mammalian and avian cystatin C. Using cloned cDNA
      as a probe, we investigated expression of the cystatin C gene in trout tissues,
      several cell lines of trout liver or liver tumor, and cell cultures of liver
      tumor origin. Cystatin C mRNA was in high abundance in trout embryo tissue, a
      tumor-derived liver cell line and some normal adult tissues. Southern
      hybridization analysis indicated one copy of the trout cystatin C gene per
      haploid genome, and sequence comparisons indicated considerable divergence in
      large portions of the coding region of the trout cystatin C gene relative to a
      variety of species.

PMID- 9972290
TI  - Disassembly of genome of higher eukaryotes: pulsed-field gel electrophoretic
      study of initial stages of chromatin and DNA degradation in rat liver and thymus
      nuclei by VM-26 and selected proteases.
AB  - Nuclei were treated with VM-26, topoisomerase II inhibitor, or exogenous
      proteases. Initial stages of multi-step chromatin degradation were analyzed by
      pulsed-field gel (PFG) electrophoresis. VM-26 induced the total genome breakdown
      into discrete chromatin fragments containing 0.3 Mbp DNA. Treatment of nuclei
      with recombinant cathepsin B and chymotrypsin also revealed 0.3-Mbp DNA fragments
      which were mediated by endonucleolysis. Longer incubation of nuclei with
      chymotrypsin exhibited the appearance of 0.05-Mbp DNA fragments and their
      oligomers. Proteases might trigger the detachment of chromatin from nuclear
      matrix and contribute to the release or activation of the endonucleolytic
      activity leading to the initial degradation of the DNA into high-molecular weight
      fragments. The fragments observed correspond in size to the suggested chromatin
      higher-order structures. The presented data imply that the initial stages of
      chromatin degradation represents in reality the genome disassembly into two basic
      units of genome topology--0.3-Mbp DNA chromatin loop-domains which are presumably
      the bits of biological information, and fundamental 0.05-Mbp DNA loopsize units
      which might generate the functional loops of different sizes.

PMID- 9972291
TI  - Amino acid sequence of the D-galactose binding lectin II from the sponge Axinella
      polypoides (Schmidt) and identification of the carbohydrate binding site in
      lectin II and related lectin I.
AB  - The sponge Axinella polypoides contains several D-galactose binding lectins. One
      of the main components, lectin I was sequenced earlier, the complete sequence of
      the other major constituent of saline extracts, lectin II has been determined by
      amino acid sequencing and mass spectrometry. Both lectins have a homology of 65%
      to each other and both possess a disulfide loop between positions 4 and 46. As
      long as this loop is closed in both lectins, they can be boiled in the presence
      of SDS or treated with 6 mol guanidine hydrochloride without losing their
      hemagglutinating activity. Incubation with beta-mercaptoethanol alone does not
      effect the carbohydrate binding capacity either. However, reduction of the
      disulfide bond under chaotropic conditions destroys the activity irreversibly.
      This disulfide loop is also an immunologically dominant epitope in both lectins,
      as was revealed with monospecific polyclonal antisera. Thus, sponge lectins seem
      to be of different origins, since three completely different structures were
      described: the structure of Geodia cydonium, related to the mammalian S-type
      lectins with one SH-group, the Axinella lectins with one disulfide loop and the
      Aaptos lectins I and II with 11 cysteine residues/subunit.

PMID- 9972292
TI  - The hemolymph clottable proteins of tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, and related
      species.
AB  - A clottable protein was purified from the hemolymph of tiger shrimp (Penaeus
      monodon) by sequential DEAE anion-exchange chromatography. The protein formed
      stable clots in the presence of Ca2+ and the transglutaminase in hemocyte lysate.
      It is thermostable at temperatures up to 66 degrees C. The molecular mass of the
      clottable protein was determined to be 380 kDa by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF mass
      spectrometry, and the protein exists as disulfide-linked homodimers and
      oligomers. The size and amino acid composition of the clottable protein are
      similar to those of several other shrimps, prawns, lobster and crayfish, and
      their N-terminal amino acid sequences are 60-80% identical. Monosaccharide
      analysis of the clottable protein revealed the presence of mannose, glucosamine
      or N-acetylglucosamine and possibly glucose in this glycoprotein of about 5%
      sugar content. Lipid in the protein upon electrophoresis was hardly detectable
      with the Oil Red O staining method. In immunodiffusion and immunoblotting
      analyses, the anti-clottable protein antibodies reacted with the clottable
      proteins from the penaeid shrimps but not with those from other crustaceans.

PMID- 9972294
TI  - Contribution of mitochondria and peroxisomes to palmitate oxidation in rat and
      bovine tissues.
AB  - Total and peroxisomal palmitate oxidation capacities and mitochondrial enzyme
      activities were compared in tissues from growing rats, preruminant calves and 15
      month-old bulls. Total palmitate oxidation rates were 1.9-5.2-fold higher in rat
      than in bovine tissues and 1.7-fold higher in the heart and muscles from calves
      than from growing bulls. The peroxisomal contribution to palmitate oxidation was
      similar between rats and bovines (i.e. calves and bulls) in liver (35-51%), heart
      (26%) but not in muscles (14 +/- 3% in rats vs 33 +/- 4.5% in bovines, P < 0.05).
      Mitochondrial enzyme activities were 1.8-4.8-fold higher in rat than in bovine
      tissues but the citrate synthase to cytochrome-c oxidase ratio was the highest in
      the liver (17-38), intermediate in the heart and muscles from calves and rats (6
      10) and the lowest in heart and muscles from bulls (2-3, P < 0.05). In all
      tissues and animal groups, palmitate oxidation rates were similar per unit
      cytochrome-c oxidase activity, but not always per unit citrate synthase activity.
      Therefore, differences in mitochondrial contents (as between rats and bovines) or
      in mitochondrial characteristics (as between liver and muscles) relate to the
      differences in palmitate oxidation capacity.

PMID- 9972293
TI  - Black widow spider alpha-latrotoxin: a presynaptic neurotoxin that shares
      structural homology with the glucagon-like peptide-1 family of insulin
      secretagogic hormones.
AB  - alpha-Latrotoxin is a presynaptic neurotoxin isolated from the venom of the black
      widow spider Latrodectus tredecimguttatus. It exerts toxic effects in the
      vertebrate central nervous system by depolarizing neurons, by increasing [Ca2+]i
      and by stimulating uncontrolled exocytosis of neurotransmitters from nerve
      terminals. The actions of alpha-latrotoxin are mediated, in part, by a GTP
      binding protein-coupled receptor referred to as CIRL or latrophilin. Exendin-4 is
      also a venom toxin, and it is derived from the salivary gland of the Gila monster
      Heloderma suspectum. It acts as an agonist at the receptor for glucagon-like
      peptide-1(7-36)-amide (GLP-1), thereby stimulating secretion of insulin from
      pancreatic beta-cells of the islets of Langerhans. Here is reported a surprising
      structural homology between alpha-latrotoxin and exendin-4 that is also apparent
      amongst all members of the GLP-1-like family of secretagogic hormones (GLP-1,
      glucagon, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, secretin, pituitary adenylyl cyclase
      activating polypeptide). On the basis of this homology, we report the synthesis
      and initial characterization of a chimeric peptide (Black Widow GLP-1) that
      stimulates Ca2+ signaling and insulin secretion in human beta-cells and MIN6
      insulinoma cells. It is also reported here that the GTP-binding protein-coupled
      receptors for alpha-latrotoxin and exendin-4 share highly significant structural
      similarity in their extracellularly-oriented amino-termini. We propose that
      molecular mimicry has generated conserved structural motifs in secretagogic
      toxins and their receptors, thereby explaining the evolution of defense or
      predatory strategies that are shared in common amongst distantly related species
      including spiders, lizards, and snakes. Evidently, the toxic effects of alpha
      latrotoxin and exendin-4 are explained by their ability to interact with GTP
      binding protein-coupled receptors that normally mediate the actions of endogenous
      hormones or neuropeptides.

PMID- 9972295
TI  - Lipoprotein lipase activity and mRNA levels in bovine tissues.
AB  - Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in cattle has been extensively studied in adipose
      tissue, milk and mammary gland, but only to a limited extent in muscles.
      Therefore, we have adapted our in vitro LPL assay method for the measurement of
      LPL activity and describe, for the first time, sensitive procedures to quantify
      LPL activity and mRNA levels in bovine muscles. In vitro activation of bovine LPL
      activity is approximately 5-fold greater with rat than with bovine sera for heart
      and muscles, but not for adipose tissues. Values of LPL activity are in the upper
      range of those previously reported for rat or bovine tissues. With rat serum as
      activator, LPL activity in the heart of seven calves (662-832 mU g-1) is at least
      3-fold lower than in the rat heart (2150-2950 mU g-1, P < 0.05). LPL activity is
      higher in bovine heart and oxidative muscles (412-972 mU g-1), except the
      diaphragm, than in mixed or glycolytic muscles (33-154 mU g-1, P < 0.05). The
      levels of LPL transcripts are positively related to LPL activity in bovine
      tissues, including muscles and adipose tissues.

PMID- 9972296
TI  - Cloning and sequence analysis of the aminopeptidase N isozyme (APN2) from Bombyx
      mori midgut.
AB  - An aminopeptidase N (APN) isozyme having the molecular weight of 90 kDa, was
      released by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and purified
      homogeneously, from the brush border membrane of Bombyx mori. From the result of
      cDNA cloning, the primary structure of 90 kDa APN proved to consist of 948 amino
      acid residues, containing a typical metalloprotease-specific zinc-binding motif
      in the deduced sequence. Moreover, the primary sequence contained two hydrophobic
      segments on N- and C-termini. The N-terminal one showed characteristics of leader
      peptide for secretion and the C-terminal one contained a possible
      glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchoring site, suggesting that the APN
      encoded by the cDNA is not only a zinc-binding enzyme, but also a GPI-anchored
      protein. The primary sequence is significantly homologous with those of insect
      and mammalian APNs, and contains four conserved segments around the zinc-binding
      motif, two potential N-glycosylation sites and four conserved Cys residues. The
      deduced primary sequence had 30.7% identity with that of B. mori 110 kDa APN, and
      did not contain the N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences of B. mori 100
      kDa APN, revealing B. mori 90 kDa APN to be the third isozyme on the midgut brush
      border membrane. On the other hand, the primary sequence of 90 kDa APN showed
      high homology with Manduca sexta APN2 (65.1% identity) and Plutella xylostella
      APN2 (63.8% identity). It appears that the B. mori 90 kDa APN should be
      classified in the insect apn2 cluster and differentiated from insect apn1 and
      mammalian apn clusters by phylogenetic analysis. These results suggest that 90
      kDa APN isozyme encoded by the cDNA is a product of B. mori apn2 gene.

PMID- 9972297
TI  - Comparative effects of short- and long-term feeding of safflower oil and perilla
      oil on lipid metabolism in rats.
AB  - Diets high in linoleic acid (20% safflower oil contained 77.3% linoleic acid, SO
      diet) and alpha-linolenic acid (20% perilla oil contained 58.4% alpha-linolenic
      acid, PO-diet) were fed to rats for 3, 7, 20, and 50 days, and effects of the
      diets on lipid metabolism were compared. Levels of serum total cholesterol and
      phospholipids in the rats fed the PO-diet were markedly lower than those fed the
      SO-diet after the seventh day. In serum and hepatic phosphatidylcholine and
      phosphatidylethanolamine, the proportion of n-3 fatty acids showed a greater
      increase in the PO group than in the SO group in the respective feeding-term. At
      the third and seventh days after the commencement of feeding the experimental
      diets, expressions of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase
      mRNA were significantly higher in the SO group than those in the PO group,
      although the difference was not observed in the longer term. There were no
      significant differences in the LDL receptor mRNA levels between the two groups
      through the experimental term, except 3-days feeding. These results indicate that
      alpha-linolenic acid has a more potent serum cholesterol-lowering ability than
      linoleic acid both in short and long feeding-terms.

PMID- 9972298
TI  - cDNA cloning and expression analysis of flounder p53 tumour suppressor gene.
AB  - The screening of a flounder cDNA library with a rainbow trout p53 probe allowed
      the isolation of a 2.8-kb fragment homologous to human (50%) and rainbow trout
      (57%) p53 coding sequences. The fragment contains a single open reading frame
      coding for a 366-amino acid protein. The predicted amino acid sequence is
      relatively divergent from other p53 proteins but it displays the main p53
      features: five highly conserved domains, an acidic N-terminus, a hydrophilic and
      charged C-terminus, a penultimate serine residue and a putative nuclear
      localization signal. Furthermore, conservation of critical amino acids and
      comparable distribution of charge and hydrophobicity suggest that flounder p53
      properties could be similar to those in mammals. Northern blot analysis revealed
      a single transcript of about 3 kb in the flounder ovary tissues. In fact, RT-PCR
      showed an ubiquitous but very low expression of p53 gene in all flounder tissues.

PMID- 9972299
TI  - Purification and characterization of two cysteine proteinase inhibitors from the
      skin of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).
AB  - Two cysteine proteinase inhibitors, designated Tromsin I and II, were purified
      from the skin of Atlantic salmon, using three steps of chromatography, including
      affinity, anion exchange and gelfiltration. The two cysteine proteinase
      inhibitors were both of the high molecular weight type, with apparent MW 49 and
      76 kDa. The isoelectric points (pI) of Tromsin I and II were estimated to be 4.5
      and 5.2, respectively. The inhibitors were both stained by the PAS reaction for
      carbohydrates, and showed a remarkable heat stability. Western blotting revealed
      that the inhibitors also could be found in significant amounts in serum. Tromsin
      I and II share many common features with members of the family 3 cystatins, i.e.
      mammalian kininogen, such as molecular weight, papain inhibition and tissue
      distribution. Based on N-terminal sequence from Tromsin II however, no homology
      with known cysteine proteinase inhibitors can be found. This does not exclude
      that the inhibitors belong to the family 3 cystatins, because the N-terminal
      amino acid sequences of known cysteine proteinase inhibitors show very low
      homology.

PMID- 9972300
TI  - Comparative study of the cytoplasmic domain of band 3 from human and rabbit
      erythrocyte membranes.
AB  - The cytoplasmic domain of band 3 (cdb3) is thought to play an important role in
      human erythrocyte aging. In order to investigate the role of cdb3 during rabbit
      erythrocyte aging, we compared rabbit cdb3 with the corresponding protein from
      human erythrocyte membranes. We describe a purification procedure for rabbit cdb3
      comparing rabbit and human cdb3 on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide
      electrophoresis, we found fragments of different molecular weights, implying
      different chymotryptic cuts in the two species. Anti-human antibodies did not
      bind to the rabbit cdb3; we also noticed structural differences in the protein
      between the two species, which may also play a role in the aging processes.
      Rabbit erythrocyte membranes have a higher capacity of binding hemichromes, due
      to the higher content of band 3. While in rabbit erythrocyte membranes only one
      binding site for hemichromes (corresponding to cdb3) was found, we confirmed the
      existence of two binding sites in human membranes. The second binding site
      probably corresponds to glycophorin, a protein not present in rabbit membranes.

PMID- 9972302
TI  - Cloning, sequencing and characterization of the tilapia insulin gene.
AB  - Using degenerate primers based on insulin sequences from other organisms, we
      report the cloning of the complete tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) insulin gene.
      Using nested primers and a cassette ligation strategy we have also cloned 932
      base pairs (bp) of 5' flanking and 1152 bp of 3' flanking sequence. The tilapia
      insulin gene has the similar three exon (one untranslated), two intron
      distribution found in all insulin genes sequenced to date. However, intron 1 is
      unique in having a smaller size (73 bp) than found in other organisms. 5' RNA
      extension revealed the presence of two potential transcriptional start sites. A
      perfect TATA box is located at -30 bp from the first transcriptional start site.
      Interestingly, the 5' upstream region contains a microsatellite close to the same
      position of a unique minisatellite found only in humans and primates. The
      upstream region also contains several potential control elements to regulate
      insulin expression that are found in mammalian insulin genes.

PMID- 9972303
TI  - Shrimp plasma HDL and beta-glucan binding protein (BGBP): comparison of
      biochemical characteristics.
AB  - A high density lipoprotein (HDL) and beta-glucan binding protein (BGBP) have been
      found in the hemolymph of marine shrimp. These proteins are involved in the
      transport of lipid and the recognition of foreign matter, respectively.
      Similarities in the color of the proteins and the molecular mass were noted. For
      a detailed comparison, HDL and BGBP were purified from two shrimp species,
      Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus californiensis, and their biochemical
      characteristics determined. Both proteins from each of the shrimp species are
      monomeric with approximately the same molecular mass in sodium dodecyl sulfate
      polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (approximately 100-112 kDa) and contain
      carbohydrate and lipid. The amino acid composition is similar and there is a high
      degree of similarity in the N-terminus. Furthermore, they are recognized by
      antibodies prepared independently. These results reveal that BGBP and HDL in
      shrimp hemolymph are the same protein, suggesting that there is a close
      relationship between the ability to respond to foreign matter and the diet as a
      provider of essential nutrients.

PMID- 9972304
TI  - Comparison of four monoclonal antibodies reacting with gastric gland mucous cell
      derived mucins of rat and frog.
AB  - Features of four monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), PGM36, PGM37, PGM38 and HIK1083,
      reacting with the mucin derived from rat gastric gland mucous cells were
      compared. By applying enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, all of these MAbs
      reacted not only with the mucins purified from both rat and frog stomach, but
      also with the oligosaccharides obtained from the antigenic mucins by alkaline
      borohydride treatment. These MAbs could be characterized as distinct MAbs due to
      the immunohistochemical observation of rat cecal mucosa and the reactivity to
      paranitrophenyl derivatives of monosaccharides. These MAbs might be useful tools
      to compare the gastric gland-type mucins in different species of vertebrates and
      to investigate the heterogeneity of the carbohydrate structure of the mucin
      molecules of various origins.

PMID- 9972305
TI  - Distribution of cathepsin E in the larval and adult organs of the bullfrog with
      special reference to the mature form in the larval fore-gut.
AB  - The distibution of cathepsin E in several organs of the bullfrog, Rana
      catesbeiana, was analyzed at pre- and post-metamorphic stages by the acid
      proteinase assay, by visualization of enzyme activity on polyacrlamide fore-gut
      gels after electrophoresis and by immunoblotting with anti-cathepsin E serum.
      Cathepsin E was mainly distributed in the foregut at the larval stage and in the
      stomach, duodenum, large intestine and gall bladder at the post-metamorphic
      stage. In the larval fore-gut, a higher amount of the mature form of cathepsin E
      was observed in addition to the proform, but in other organs, including the
      stomach at the post-metamorphic stage, the mature form was barely detected.
      Developmental changes in the amount of cathepsin E were found in the digestive
      tract and the gall bladder by quantitative immunoblotting analysis. Finally, the
      larval fore-gut was stained immunohistochemically with anti-cathepsin E serum and
      the surface epithelium gave a strong immunoreactive signal.

PMID- 9972306
TI  - "cDNA cloning and predicted primary structure of scalllop sarcoplasmic reticulum
      Ca(2+)-ATPase" [Comp Biochem Physiol 119B(1998)777-785].

PMID- 9972307
TI  - Ontogeny of humoral immunity in northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris)
      neonates.
AB  - Northern elephant seal (NES) serum concentrations of total immunoglobulin (Ig) G,
      an IgG sub-class, and an IgM-like protein were determined by capture immunoassay
      using three monoclonal antibodies with specificities for Ig of members of the
      Phocidae pinniped family. These assays were calibrated for use with NES sera
      using affinity column purified Ig. Concentrations of these Ig populations were
      estimated in adult female sera sampled at two time points during the lactation
      period, as well as sera from their pups collected during the first 5 weeks after
      birth. In pups, concentrations of the IgM-like protein was found to increase
      rapidly post-partum. In some individuals, values reached mean concentrations
      within 10-14 days. In addition, rapid increases in pup total IgG and IgG sub
      class concentrations were also observed. Collectively, these findings suggest
      that the majority of post-partum increases in serum Ig can be accounted for by de
      novo synthesis.

PMID- 9972308
TI  - Characterization of fish acid proteases by substrate-gel electrophoresis.
AB  - Several analytical techniques based upon the use of substrate-polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis were evaluated to achieve characterization of aspartate proteases
      in fish stomach. Since aspartate proteases of fish are more stable at high pH
      than mammalian pepsins, the most accurate technique for activity assessment is
      electrophoresis at neutral pH and revealing of such activity at low pH with
      hemoglobin as substrate. The technique is suitable for characterization of
      proteases and in comparative assessment of acid protease activity in different
      sparids.

PMID- 9972309
TI  - Partial purification and kinetic properties of three different D-glucosamine 6
      P:N-acetyltransferase forms from human placenta.
AB  - Three distinct forms of D-glucosamine 6-D (Gm 6-P):N-acetyltransferases (EC
      2.3.1.4) were partially purified from human placental homogenates by carboxy
      methyl-Sephadex chromatography. Purification of forms I and II were 13.5-fold,
      while that of form III was 114-fold. All three forms had a pH optimum value of
      9.7 in glycine-NaOH buffer. Enzymes II and III had a K(m) value for Gm 6-P of 3.0
      mM, which was less than half of that observed for form I (7.1 mM). The
      corresponding K(m) values for acetyl CoA were 0.157 (form I), 0.187 (form II) and
      0.280 mM (form III), respectively. Activities of all three forms were inhibited
      at high concentrations of either substrate. These enzymes were inhibited from 82
      to 92% by 2.5 mM p-chloromercuribenzoate. The inhibition was largely reversible
      by inclusion of 2.5 mM dithiothreitol in the incubation mixtures. There was no
      requirement for divalent cations, as demonstrated by lack of inhibition of enzyme
      activity by ethylene diamine tetraacetate. The results are discussed in terms of
      differences among the enzyme properties of human placental, rodent and porcine
      liver forms.

PMID- 9972310
TI  - Selective excretion of yolk-derived tocotrienols into the bile of the chick
      embryo.
AB  - The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of biodiscrimination
      between different forms of vitamin E during the development of the chick embryo.
      The vitamin E present in the initial yolk consisted of alpha-tocopherol (90%),
      (beta + gamma)-tocopherol (8%), alpha-tocotrienol (0.3%) and (beta + gamma)
      tocotrienol (1.3%). In marked contrast, the vitamin E recovered from the bile of
      the day-16 embryo contained much higher proportions of alpha-tocotrienol (10%)
      and especially of (beta + gamma)-tocotrienol (42%). By the time of hatching, 56%
      of the vitamin E present in the bile was in the form of (beta + gamma)
      tocotrienol. The residual yolk of the newly-hatched chick contained far greater
      proportions of alpha-tocotrienol (2.6%) and (beta + gamma)-tocotrienol (10%) than
      were present in the initial yolk. The results suggest that the liver of the
      embryo may selectively excrete tocotrienols as components of bile, whilst
      retaining the tocopherols within the hepatocytes. The increased proportions of
      tocotrienols in the residual yolk may result from the recycling of bile from the
      gall bladder to the yolk. The liver of the day-old chick contained alpha
      tocopherol as the main form of vitamin E (90%) with only a small proportion
      (0.2%) of (beta + gamma)-tocotrienol. The alpha-tocopherol form was also the main
      vitamin E component in the brain (85%), heart (79%), lung (82%) and adipose
      tissue (91%) of the day-old chick. The present study suggests the occurrence of a
      high degree of biodiscrimination between tocopherols and tocotrienols during the
      development of the chick embryo.

PMID- 9972311
TI  - Identification and structural characterization of a novel member of the vitamin D
      binding protein family.
AB  - The apparent high degree of homology of a blood protein with a unique dual
      binding affinity for two distinct hormones, thyroxin (T4) and vitamin D, isolated
      from a turtle, Trachemys scripta (Family Emydidae) and mammalian vitamin D
      binding protein (DBP) prompted further interspecific comparison to better
      understand the structure of functional binding sites. Using polymerase-chain
      reaction (PCR) with primers derived from the putative nucleotide sequences
      encoding peptides from the degradation of the T. scripta protein, we cloned the
      cDNA. The mature turtle protein contains 466 amino acids, about eight residues
      more than in mammalian DBP. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region showed
      63% nucleotide and 73% amino acid homology (approximately 53% identity) to
      mammalian DBP (human, rat, mouse, and rabbit). However, there was no significant
      homology to mammalian T4-binding globulin (TBG) or transthyretin (TTR).
      Comparisons with mammals help define further the requirements for the vitamin D
      and actin binding sites. Northern blots of RNA isolated from turtle tissue probed
      with the 5' portion of cDNA established expression of the transcript in liver,
      kidney, and brain (in order of abundance), in contrast to mammal sequences in
      which expression of DBP is largely confined to the liver.

PMID- 9972312
TI  - Modulation of peroxisomal and microsomal fatty acid oxidation by acetone. A
      comparative study between liver and kidney.
AB  - The effect of acetone consumption on some microsomal and peroxisomal activities
      was studied in rat kidney and these results were compared with data from former
      investigations in liver. Acetone increased the microsomal lauric acid
      hydroxylation, the aminopyrine N-demethylation catalyzed by cytochrome P450 and
      the microsomal UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity. Also, acetone increased the
      peroxisomal beta-oxidation of palmitoyl CoA and catalase activities in kidney.
      These studies suggest that acetone is a common inducer of the microsomal and
      peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation, as previously shown in both starved and ethanol
      treated rats. Our results support the hypothesis that microsomal fatty acid omega
      hydroxylation results in the generation of substrates being supplied for
      peroxisomal beta-oxidation. We propose that the final purpose of these linked
      fatty acid oxidations could be the catabolism of fatty acids or the generation of
      a substrate for the synthesis of glucose from fatty acids. This pathway would be
      triggered by acetone treatment in a similar way in liver and kidney.

PMID- 9972313
TI  - Reduced alkaline phosphatase activity in diabetic rat bone: a re-evaluation.
AB  - We found previously that human bone alkaline phosphatase (AP) was glycated by
      aseptic incubation with glucose, and partially broken down by reactive oxygen
      species. In this study, we examined whether selective in vivo glycation of AP
      molecules occurred in bone tissue, using experimental diabetic rats induced by
      streptozotocin and spontaneously diabetic rats. Additionally, the effects of
      hyperlipidemia on bone AP activity were examined. Serum AP activity was
      significantly elevated after incipient onset of diabetes, and the increased
      activity originated from the intestinal isozyme. High levels of intestinal AP
      activity were also observed in rats with hyperlipidemia induced by feeding high
      fat or high-fructose chow, but the AP activity in bone tissues was maintained at
      a constant level. AP activity in bone was reduced after the onset of diabetes.
      The resulting bone AP molecule bound to an aminophenylboronic acid column, which
      had affinity for glycated proteins, and contained smaller molecular sizes than
      the native bone AP. These results suggest that elevated levels of serum AP
      activity originated from the intestinal isozyme accompanied with hyperlipidemia
      induced by diabetes. In contrast, the reduced serum levels of AP activity in
      diabetic rats might be dependent on inactivation of bone AP, which was glycated,
      followed by partial breakdown of bone AP molecules, possibly due to reactive
      oxygen species.

PMID- 9972314
TI  - An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring vitellogenin in
      English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus): development, validation and cross-reactivity
      with other pleuronectids.
AB  - Vitellogenin (Vtg) is a yolk protein produced in the liver of oviparous animals
      in response to estrogen. Vitellogenesis is normally observed only in sexually
      mature females, but it can be induced in male and juvenile animals by exposure to
      exogenous estradiol (E2) or substances that mimic estrogens. The abnormal
      production of Vtg by males can, therefore, be used as a biological indicator for
      exposure to xenoestrogens. In this study, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
      (ELISA) for measuring Vtg in English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) was developed
      and validated. Plasmatic Vtg was purified from E2-injected male English sole
      using DEAE ion-exchange and Sepharose size-exclusion chromatography, and
      polyclonal antibodies against the purified Vtg protein were generated in rabbits.
      In this assay, a competition for the Vtg antibody was established between Vtg
      coated onto microtiter plate wells and free Vtg. Detection of adsorbed antigen
      antibody complexes was achieved using a horseradish peroxidase conjugated anti
      rabbit secondary antibody whose enzyme activity was revealed with 3,3',5,5'
      tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) substrate. Assay conditions provided a detectable Vtg
      range of 10-450 ng ml-1 (85-20% of binding) of diluted sample. Plasma dilution
      curves from vitellogenic female and E2-treated male English sole showed
      parallelism with the standard dilution curve. We are presently conducting field
      and laboratory studies to investigate estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity
      resulting from exposure to contaminants.

PMID- 9972315
TI  - Isolation and characterization of proteoglycans from growing antlers of wapiti
      (Cervus elaphus).
AB  - Proteoglycans were extracted with 4 M guanidine-HCl from the zone of maturing
      chondrocytes, the site of endochondral ossification of growing antlers of wapiti
      (Cervus elaphus). Proteoglycans were isolated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and
      separated by Sepharose CL-4B chromatography into three fractions. Fraction I
      contained a high molecular mass (> 1000 kDa) chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan
      capable of interacting with hyaluronic acid. Its amino acid composition resembled
      that of the cartilage proteoglycan, aggrecan. Fraction II contained proteoglycans
      with intermediate molecular weight which were recognized by monoclonal antibodies
      specific to chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate. Fraction III contained a low
      molecular mass (< 160 kDa) proteoglycan, decorin, with a glucuronate-rich
      glycosaminoglycan chain.

PMID- 9972316
TI  - Detection of a P-glycoprotein related pump in Chironomus larvae and its
      inhibition by verapamil and cyclosporin A.
AB  - A membrane associated ATP-dependent efflux pump, similar in function to mammalian
      P-glycoprotein, was detected in anal papillae of Chironomus riparius larvae.
      Immunohistochemical analysis of larval tissues, using monoclonal antibodies
      against P-glycoprotein, was supplemented by functional in vivo and in vitro
      assays which confirmed the existence of a mechanism for transporting xenobiotic
      substances. The in vitro ATPase activity of homogenate fractions increased in the
      presence of typical P-glycoprotein substrates (vinblastine, actinomycin D or
      ivermectin). This increase was unaffected by inhibitors of other membrane ATPases
      (sodium azide, EGTA, ouabain), but sensitive to vanadate, cyclosporin A and
      verapamil which inhibit mammalian P-glycoprotein mediated ATP-consumption.
      Sublethal concentrations of specific P-glycoprotein-inhibitors such as verapamil
      or cyclosporin A synergistically enhanced the mortality of C. riparius towards
      ivermectin. Although cyclosporin A originates from entomopathogenic fungi, its
      mode of action in insects and its function during infection are not understood.
      Our results lend some credit to the hypothesis that this compound is possibly
      released to promote poisoning of the infected host by xenobiotics which are
      normally removed by a P-glycoprotein related pump. The putative role of insect P
      glycoprotein homologues in the context of multiple resistance towards
      insecticides in discussed.

PMID- 9972318
TI  - In vivo prevention of cyclophosphamide-induced Ca2+ dependent damage of rat heart
      and liver mitochondria by cyclosporin A.
AB  - The use of Cyclophosphamide, an anti-cancer and immunosuppressant drug, is
      accompanied by a number of side effects. Rats injected with a single dose of
      cyclophosphamide (200 mg kg-1 body weight) showed an increase in the levels of
      serum glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase,
      glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme by 53, 24,
      55 and 135%, respectively. Also the ability of heart or liver mitochondria to
      retain accumulated Ca2+ and tetraphenylphosphonium ion was sharply affected in
      treated rats. Rats injected with the same dose of cyclophosphamide plus
      cyclosporin A (500 micrograms kg-1 body weight) showed reduction in the levels of
      those enzymes by about 44, 21, 43 and 57%, respectively compared to
      cyclophosphamide-treated rats. Cyclosporin A treatment also restored
      mitochondrial ability to retain accumulated Ca2+ and tetraphenyl phosphonium ions
      nearly to the level of untreated rats. We suggest that cyclophosphamide induced
      cardio and hepatotoxicity by increasing heart and liver inner mitochondrial
      membrane permeability to Ca2+. The protective effect of cyclosporin A against
      cyclophosphamide-induced damage also support this suggestion.

PMID- 9972319
TI  - Geographic variations in the composition of myotoxins from Bothrops neuwiedi
      snake venoms: biochemical characterization and biological activity.
AB  - (1) Venom pools from Bothrops neuwiedi (Bn) and from two subspecies, namely
      Bothrops neuwiedi pauloensis (Bnp) and Bothrops neuwiedi urutu (Bnu), collected
      in the States of Sao Paulo (SP) and Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, were
      electrophoretically examined. Basic toxins with different isoelectric points were
      identified in the venom collected in Sao Paulo (BnSP). These toxins were absent
      in the corresponding pools from Minas Gerais (BnMG, BnpMG and BnuMG). (2) BnSP,
      but not BnMG, BnpMG or BnuMG, showed two myotoxins (pI approximately equal to 8.6
      and 8.8, respectively) which were isolated by ion-exchange chromatography on CM
      Sepharose. (3) From BnMG, three myotoxic isoforms (pI approximately equal to 8.2
      and M(r) = 13,600) were isolated by chromatography on CM-Sepharose followed by
      reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. (4) The chemical and
      biological characterization of these toxins showed a high similarity with the Lys
      49 myotoxins from other bothropic venoms. (5) Doses up to 5 LD50 (i.p.) of p
      bromophenacyl bromide alkylated BnSP-7 caused a total loss of lethality in 18-22
      g mice, thus indicating that the LD50 was increased by greater than 5-fold. At
      this dose myotoxicity was also not detectable, but the edematogenic activity on
      the rat paw apparently did not change.

PMID- 9972320
TI  - Serum and antral gastrin levels in fed and fasted rats: relation to aging.
AB  - The effect of short fasting for up to 24 h on serum and antral gastrin
      concentrations and G cell ultrastructure has been examined in the young rat
      compared with the middle-aged rat. The serum gastrin levels at 24-h fasting were
      markedly reduced in both young and middle-aged rats. There was also a significant
      decrease in antral gastrin concentrations after 24 h of fasting in the middle
      aged rats. By contrast, the antral gastrin concentrations in the young rats
      increased progressively and significantly with fasting for up to 24 h. These
      responses were associated with a significant increase in the content of secretory
      granules of G cell, which was at its greatest by 24 h. The antral gastrin level
      in the 48-h fasting rats was markedly reduced to a level below that for the
      prestarvation group. By 48 h of starvation, the amount of secretory granules in G
      cell was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) compared with the 24-h fasting group.
      These results indicate that the effects of fasting on the antral gastrin levels
      in young rats differ from those of the middle-aged and that starvation for up to
      24 h caused a significant increase in the antral gastrin content in the young
      rats' stomach.

PMID- 9972321
TI  - Histamine receptors in the skin melanophores of Indian bullfrog Rana tigerina.
AB  - Histamine and 2-methyl histamine caused dose-dependent aggregation of the
      integumental melanophores of Rana tigerina both in vitro and in vivo. The
      aggregating effects were antagonised by mepyramine and metiamide, specific H1 and
      H2 receptor blockers, respectively. Compound 48/80 and EDTA augmented the melanin
      aggregating effects of exogenously applied histamine and 2-methyl histamine in in
      vivo experiments. 4-Methyl histamine, a specific H2 receptor agonist, dispersed
      the frog melanophores in in vitro studies, the dispersing effects were blocked by
      metiamide.

PMID- 9972322
TI  - Effects of short-term dehydration on plasma osmolality, levels of arginine
      vasotocin and its hypothalamic gene expression in the laying hen.
AB  - The neurohypophysial hormone, arginine vasotocin (AVT), plays an important role
      in the osmoregulation of birds. After a prolonged period of water deprivation,
      plasma osmolality and plasma concentration of AVT are elevated. In this study,
      the effects of short term dehydration were examined in laying hens by measuring
      plasma osmolality, plasma levels of potassium, sodium and AVT and hypothalamic
      concentrations of mRNA encoding AVT during 8 h of water deprivation. Plasma
      osmolality increased significantly after at 6 h of water deprivation. Plasma
      sodium levels, however, did not change. Plasma potassium concentrations gradually
      decreased during dehydration. Plasma AVT levels and hypothalamic AVT mRNA levels
      increased significantly after 8 h. The results of this study demonstrate that
      depriving chickens of water results first in an increase in plasma osmolality
      followed by increases in AVT levels in plasma and AVT mRNA levels in the
      hypothalamus. The data indicate that the synthesis of AVT in the magnocellular
      neurons in the hypothalamus is activated soon after the animals are deprived of
      water. This indicates that both de novo synthesized AVT as well as AVT stored in
      the neurohypophysis are available to meet the increasing demands for the hormone
      during osmotic stress.

PMID- 9972323
TI  - Serum prolactin and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations during the summer and
      winter hair growth cycles of mink (Mustela vison).
AB  - We investigated the relationship between serum concentrations of prolactin (PRL)
      and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) during initiation and development of summer and
      winter hair growth (anagen) cycles in mink. In the spring, haloperidol (HAL)
      increased PRL concentrations and induced summer anagen earlier than controls,
      whereas melatonin (MEL) inhibited PRL secretion and completely blocked summer
      anagen. In the fall, HAL increased PRL concentrations, inducing anagen at an
      earlier time than controls, although the resulting fur was abnormal being almost
      devoid of underhair fibers. Exogenous MEL during the fall reduced PRL
      concentrations, initiating winter anagen 4 weeks earlier than controls.
      Adrenalectomy (ADX) induced earlier onset of summer and winter anagen and
      neutralized the inhibitory effects of HAL in the fall and MEL in the spring. No
      change in serum DHEA concentrations was observed during the onset of summer or
      winter anagen in any group although MEL increased DHEA levels from 27 March
      through 5 June relative to HAL-treated mink. We conclude that changes in serum
      levels of DHEA and PRL are not requisite to onset of summer or winter anagen in
      mink. It is possible that metabolites of DHEA and/or PRL may still affect other
      aspects of the hair growth cycle.

PMID- 9972324
TI  - Submaximal exercise in the cold: does cooling potentiate the development of
      muscle injuries in the rat?
AB  - To test the effect of low ambient temperature on muscular strain and possible
      development of muscle injuries, male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 35) were exercised
      at a speed of 15 m min-1 on a treadmill at a 6 degrees inclination for 1.5 h in a
      warm (22 degrees C) or a cold (-10 degrees C) environment. Blood and tissue
      samples were collected 0 and 48 h postexercise. Blood glucose, lactate, pyruvate,
      cortisol, epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) were determined to investigate
      the effect on energy metabolism. To estimate the degree of physical strain,
      possible muscle injury and regenerative processes of muscles in response to
      exercise in the cold, serum creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH),
      muscle beta-glucuronidase and prolyl-4-hydroxylase (PH) activities were measured.
      In addition, histology of the hindlimb muscles m. soleus and m. tibialis anterior
      was examined. In general, the circulating level of metabolic substrates during
      exercise were unaffected by the exercise and independent of ambient temperature.
      Plasma cortisol increased significantly during exercise (P < 0.01), but was
      unaffected by the thermal strain. Of the myocellular enzymes, serum CK increased
      by 100% (P < 0.01) and LDH by 93% (P < 0.05) during exercise in the cold compared
      with exercise in warm, indicating a higher physical strain. However, exercise in
      the cold did not result in muscle injuries as judged by the unaltered muscular
      beta-glucuronidase, PH levels and muscle morphology. It is concluded that the
      exercise type and intensity used caused stress that was independent of the
      ambient temperature. In addition, the rats were able to maintain unaltered
      circulating levels of energy substrates also in the cold. Finally, exercise in
      the cold increased muscular strain but did not result in muscle injuries.

PMID- 9972325
TI  - Effect of intermittent feeding on the development of disaccharidase activities in
      artificially reared rat pups.
AB  - We investigated the effect of an intermittent feeding schedule on the development
      of disaccharidase activities in the small intestine of artificially reared (AR)
      rat pups. Rat pups were fitted with an intragastric cannula at 5 days of age. A
      milk formula similar to the composition of rat milk was supplied by intermittent
      gastric infusion over the following 15-19 days. The body weight gain and plasma
      corticosterone levels of the AR pups matched those of pups reared naturally by
      dams (MR pups). At 10, 15 and 19 days of age, the small intestine from the
      ligament to Treitz to the ileocecal junction was divided into three segments of
      equal length and enzyme activities were measured in each. At the age of 10 and 15
      days, sucrase and isomaltase activities were undetectable in AR pups fed
      according to a controlled schedule from the early postnatal period. These
      activities were first detected in the middle segment of the small intestine at 9
      days of age in both AR and MR pups. Sucrase and isomaltase activities at the age
      of 19 days were diurnal in AR pups, but arrhythmic in MR pups. We conclude that
      artificial rearing via the intermittent gastric infusion of a milk formula
      containing only lactose as the carbohydrate source did not prematurely increase
      intestinal sucrase and isomaltase activities. Diurnal changes started from the
      beginning of development of these enzyme activities in AR pups.

PMID- 9972326
TI  - Glaucoma, apoptosis, death, and life.

PMID- 9972327
TI  - Molecular basis of open-angle glaucoma in Italy.
AB  - Glaucoma is a group of ocular diseases characterized by an optic neuropathy in
      which degeneration of retinal ganglion cells leads to a characteristic excavation
      of the optic nerve head. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) can be subdivided
      into two groups according to age of onset:- 1. the more common middle- to late
      age onset, chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) diagnosed after the age of 40
      years; 2. the rarer juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG), which is diagnosed
      between the age of 3 years and early adulthood. Recently, the gene coding for the
      trabecular meshwork-induced glucocorticoid response protein (TIGR), located in
      chromosome 1 (1q23-25), was found mutated in patients affected by POAG. In this
      work we describe the clinical and molecular genetic features of several Italian
      families affected by autosomal dominant POAG, collected in various regions of
      Italy.

PMID- 9972328
TI  - The role of class I and class II HLA antigens in primary open angle glaucoma
      (POAG).
AB  - Several clinical and epidemiological studies have shown the role of genetic
      factors in the pathogenesis of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). In this study,
      30 patients affected by this disease were tissue-typed for HLA Class I and Class
      II antigens. The results pointed up an increased incidence of some antigens and,
      particularly, a statistically significant association with DQ1 and DR11 alleles.

PMID- 9972329
TI  - Induced acute ocular hypertension: mode of retinal cell degeneration.
AB  - The effects of experimental hypertension on retinal cells were studied.
      Evaluation was made of IOP levels and degree of cell damage by cytochemical and
      DNA analysis, and degeneration modes: necrosis and apoptosis.

PMID- 9972330
TI  - The Draeger autotonometer: its advantages and limits.

PMID- 9972331
TI  - Frequency doubling perimetry in glaucoma early diagnosis.
AB  - Frequency-doubling perimetry (FDP) is a new, out-of-the-ordinary, visual field
      testing method. Its sensitivity and reliability was tested in 16 patients (32
      eyes) with ocular hypertension and 21 patients (37 eyes) with early chronic
      glaucoma. Significant defects were found in almost 10% of hypertensive eyes and
      in 67.7% of glaucomatous eyes. FDP is an effective and sensitive technique for
      glaucoma functional loss assessment.

PMID- 9972332
TI  - Blue-yellow perimetry in patients with ocular hypertone.
AB  - The authors report the data of the blue-yellow (B-Y) perimetry compared with the
      Standard perimetry in normal subjects with endocular hypertension or with initial
      glaucoma. With the aim of evaluating the relationship with chromatic sense
      deficits, precociously found in glaucoma, the F-M 100 Hue test and Lanthony D 15
      Desature test were done. Checks were made of refraction, visual acuity, pupil
      diameter and assumption of medications. Sensitivity reduction in eyes with
      initial glaucoma is highly significant with the B-Y perimetry. Pupil diameter
      reduction is quite uninfluential while the chromatic sense shows some
      quantitative and qualitative deficits.

PMID- 9972333
TI  - Pattern electroretinogram and optic nerve topography in ocular hypertension.
AB  - It is known that changes in pattern electroretinogram (PERG) and optic disk
      morphology may both precede the onset of visual field damage in glaucomatous
      disease. However, the relationship between PERG and optic disk morphometry in
      ocular hypertension (OHT) has not yet been evaluated in detail. This study of
      PERG amplitude in a group of OHT patients indicates its significant correlation
      with various optic disk morphometric parameters, in particular, those of optic
      disk sectors considered at risk for early glaucomatous damage. Analysis of
      individual data points to the possibility that, while functional abnormalities
      may often precede optic disk morphologic changes, in a much lower number of cases
      it seems to be the other way around.

PMID- 9972334
TI  - The nerve fibre layer in ocular hypertension. Preliminary results.
AB  - A group of healthy subjects (IOP < 22 mmHg) and a simple ocular hypertension
      group (IOP > or = 22 mmHg) were examined with a view to checking if there were
      any differences between their nerve fibre layers. Results indicate thinner fibres
      in the ocular hypertensives significantly correlative with pressure increase.
      Among the two groups, some corresponding fibre thicknesses were found.

PMID- 9972335
TI  - Ultrasound biomicroscopy as decisive examination in resolving special glaucoma
      cases.

PMID- 9972336
TI  - Ultrabiomicroscopic study of the effects of brimonidine, apraclonidine,
      latanoprost and ibopamine on the chamber angle and ciliary body.
AB  - The authors used the Zeiss Humphrey (Mod840, 50 MHz) ultrabiomicroscope to
      evaluate the changes that Brimonidine, Apraclonidine, Latanoprost and Ibopamine
      cause in the anterior chamber and on the ciliary body of healthy subjects. The
      eyes of 60 volunteers, separated into 4 groups according to drug instilled, were
      studied and the parameters analyzed were: anterior chamber depth (ACD), pupillary
      diameter (PD), angle opening at 500 microns from the scleral spur (AOD500),
      trabecular iris angle (TIA) and iris thicknesses (ID1 and ID3). The study showed
      the miotic effect of Brimonidine (S) that was accompanied by an angle opening
      (S). Apraclonidine and Latanoprost caused no statistically significant changes in
      the angle or in the ciliary body. Ibopamine caused mydriasis (S). The UBM,
      therefore, showed itself to be useful also in the study of the mechanism of
      action of drugs on the angular structures and on the ciliary body.

PMID- 9972337
TI  - Pupillographic, tonographic and refractive parameter changes after topical
      instillation of Brimonidine tartrate 0.2% in healthy subjects.

PMID- 9972338
TI  - Effects of brimonidine 0.2% on blue-yellow perimetry of glaucomatous patients.
AB  - A cross-over double-blind study was performed to evaluate the effect of acute
      administration of brimonidine on the blue-yellow perimetry. Thirty patients with
      primary open-angle glaucoma were admitted. After brimonidine administration, IOP
      and pupil diameter showed a significant reduction (p < 0.01) without modification
      in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Blue-on-yellow perimetry showed a
      significant reduction in CPSD from 3.81 +/- 1.60 to 2.71 +/- 1.92 (p < 0.05).
      This result suggests that brimonidine improves ocular perfusion via a reduction
      of IOP.

PMID- 9972339
TI  - Clinical use of a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor in patients affected by
      chronic simple glaucoma.
AB  - The aim of this study is to evaluate the ocular hypotensive efficacy of a topical
      carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (dorzolamide) in primary open-angle glaucoma
      patients, administered alone or in association with beta-blockers or with beta
      blockers and miotics, in a one-year follow-up.

PMID- 9972340
TI  - Sympathetic use of latanoprost 0.005% in 30 eyes.
AB  - In this study, the authors report their experience with latanoprost after a
      year's treatment of patients with various forms of glaucoma at various stages of
      progression. The new drug was associated also with different beta-blockers. The
      case file reported includes 30 eyes of 18 patients treated with latanoprost once
      a day in the evening. Follow-up varied from 6 months to 1 year. Except for 2
      patients (3 eyes) receiving only latanoprost therapy, all the others received
      latanoprost in association with their on-going therapy. Results are equivalent to
      those described in the literature. The authors also consider the results in two
      groups; chronic simple glaucoma and other forms of glaucoma. From their own
      experience and from what is reported in the literature, the authors conclude by
      stressing the pressure reducing efficacy of this drug.

PMID- 9972341
TI  - Latanoprost 0.005% in POAG: effects on IOP and ocular blood flow.
AB  - The scope of this work was to evaluate the effect on ocular pressure and on
      ocular blood flow of latanoprost 0.005% eyedrops. Included in the study were 12
      patients (24 eyes) with POAG, aged between 37 and 48 years, non-smokers,
      refractions between +/- 3D. Haemorrheological parameters within normal, not in
      ocular or systemic vasoactive therapy. Each patient had one eye treated with
      latanoprost 0.005% and the other with timolol 0.05%. The choroidal perfusion was
      measured by Langham's POBF system during the first day of therapy and then after
      7, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 180 days. The maximum pressure decrease after the first
      administration of latanoprost was at the twelfth hour; after 6 months of therapy,
      mean IOP reduction was 32.6%. POBF values increased up to 55.8% in the first day
      and then settled at 22.6% at the end of the study. Timolol showed a similar
      pressure progress, but its haematic perfusion values were distinctly lower. In
      conclusion, latanoprost is efficacious in POAG therapy since it unites a positive
      optic nerve head perfusion effect with hypotensive efficacy.

PMID- 9972342
TI  - Fatty acid use in glaucomatous optic neuropathy treatment.
AB  - The authors have studied the efficacy of an association of DHA, vitamin E and
      vitamin B complex (TROFINERV) in glaucomatous patients. The parameters evaluated
      were computerized visual field (CVF) and retinal contrast sensitivity (RCS).
      Thirty chronic simple glaucoma patients in good tensional compensation with local
      therapy were given TROFINERV oral therapy. The results show significant
      differences after 90 days of treatment both in the perimetric indices (MD, SF,
      CPSD; p < 0.05) and in the RCS frequency values (p < 0.05). In the light of the
      results obtained, the authors consider the use of such association to be a useful
      support in glaucomatous patient therapy for preventing or delaying the progress
      of damage.

PMID- 9972343
TI  - Evaluation of the efficacy of nicergoline on blood flow and ocular function in
      patients affected by chronic simple glaucoma.

PMID- 9972344
TI  - Relationship between cefalo-ophthalmic haemodynamics and visual function in
      patients affected by carotid stenosis. Possible links with critical low tension
      glaucoma pictures.

PMID- 9972345
TI  - Ocular functionality variations after endarterectomy.

PMID- 9972346
TI  - Cyclosporine C: a study of wound-healing modulation after trabeculectomy in
      rabbit.
AB  - The authors studied the clinical and histological effects of cyclosporine
      instilled after filtering surgery. Its efficacy and variety of advantages
      compared to other antimitotic agents encourage its use.

PMID- 9972347
TI  - Trabeculectomy and phacoemulsification: one-way and two-way approach compared
      after one year.

PMID- 9972348
TI  - Viscocanalostomy: a pilot study.

PMID- 9972349
TI  - Glaucoma and quality of the life.
AB  - A questionnaire was prepared and given to 332 subjects who passed through our
      Institute for Glaucoma with the aim of evaluating their quality of life. The
      diagnosis of glaucoma is associated with a diminished quality of life in a
      considerable percentage of the interviewed subjects. The patients are troubled
      most of all by the inconvenience of the treatments and the fear of visual
      compromission. Mitotic therapies, polytherapies and systemic therapies are the
      less agreeable of them. Of the therapy in itself, the most disagreeable aspects
      are the frequency and timetable of the medications. No quality of life
      differences were mentioned by surgically treated patients nor those on solely
      pharmacological treatment.

PMID- 9972350
TI  - The "personality" of the glaucomatous patient: preliminary results.

PMID- 9972351
TI  - [Pollution and allergy: a relationship that needs proof].

PMID- 9972352
TI  - [Pollution and allergy: the contributions of animal and in vitro
      experimentation].
AB  - The respiratory pathological symptoms induced by atmospheric pollutants are
      closely dependent on the action of the aerocontaminants on the cells of the
      respiratory tract that are exposed to their effects. Two methods of experimental
      investigation are used to specify the effects of pollutants on the respiratory
      system: Study of the morphological and functional alterations of animal
      respiratory systems after exposure to different pollution constituents. Exposure
      of bronchitic or pulmonary cells to microquantities of pollutants, using
      different techniques that create direct contact between the pollutant and target
      cells. In animals gaseous pollutants alter the means of defence (muco-ciliary
      purification and antibacterial defence), inducing development of a neutrophil
      inflammatory reaction and, for ozone and NO2 favouring sensitisation by allergen
      dependent IgE; diesel particles are responsible for restrictive ventilation
      problems, an inflammatory reaction, a sensitisation develops to pneumoallergens
      and in some cases of the development of pulmonary tumours. In vitro studies
      specify the cellular mechanisms and the molecules that are responsible for the
      observed phenomena: increase in the synthesis and expression of messenger DNA the
      codes for the pro-inflammatory cytokines, adherance molecules and chimiokines.

PMID- 9972353
TI  - [Experimental studies of the effects of atmospheric pollutants].
AB  - Experimental studies in man are an indispensable complement to epidemiological
      studies and experimental studies on animals. They aim at understanding the
      mechanisms of action of the main pollutants and at knowing their thresholds of
      triggering of the acute effects on the respiratory system. The studies made in
      man involve controlled exposure to different atmospheric pollutants, with
      measurement of the functional respiratory repercussions, studies of modification
      of the cells in broncho-alveolar lavage, as well as experimental protocols that
      combine inhalation of allergen and exposure to atmospheric pollutants by allergic
      subjects. The main results that are available are reported to distinguish those
      from normal subjects and those who are allergic. More recent protocols are based
      on exposure to concentrations that are close to atmospheric concentrations or
      those that are met in work places. The main data in the literature are reported
      in this journal and concern SO2 acid aerosols, dioxides of nitrogen, ozone and
      diesel particles. Pathogenic hypotheses concerning the undesirable effects of
      atmospheric pollutants on the respiratory system are considered.

PMID- 9972354
TI  - [Inter-relationship between allergenic pollens and air pollution].
AB  - Morbidity to pollens is increasing in the French population. Pollen is the vector
      of the male genome of the plant. It is the wind-borne pollens that are the most
      allergenic by release of allergen molecules that make contact with the mucosae.
      So every individual who is genetically allergic (atopic) may develop rhinitis
      and/or conjunctivitis and/or asthma.... More than 200 allergens have been
      identified, of which the three-dimensional structure is well-known. The urban
      pollution that is specific to a quarter under consideration (residential zone,
      pedestrianised, mid-town roadway and industrial zone) plays an important role in
      morbidity to pollen allergy. A significant coating of pollens is to be found on
      urban roads. Pollen sensitisation is increased by exposure to pollutants from 24
      to 48 hours. The pollutants seem to make the surface of the exine more fragile,
      so triggering a mucosal reaction, making them more exposed to pollen allergens.
      The pollutant also plays the role of an adjuvant to the pollen allergen, and so
      is the origin of a greater production of IgE.

PMID- 9972355
TI  - [Pollution and allergy: the epidemiological data].
AB  - This area is controversial, mostly because of disagreement between experimental
      and epidemiological data. Even though modulation of asthma by the level of
      atmospheric pollution has been well shown by panel and ecological studies, the
      relationship between pollution and genesis of allergic diseases has not been
      confirmed by epidemiological studies. Comparison of the frequency of asthma in
      urban and rural surroundings in general shows, in the urban environment, an
      advantage of irritation symptoms but not for asthma. In contrast, the prevalence
      of atopy seems higher in the urban environment, which is perhaps a reflection of
      a different way of life, like that shown in east-west studies. Several recent
      investigations showed that at the centre of a development additional respiratory
      symptoms related to the intensity of automobile traffic, but no relationship was
      shown with atopy. In the same way, no epidemiological investigation has shown a
      relationship between automobile pollution and prevalence of atopy. Thus, at
      present no solid elements exist to support an increase of the frequency of asthma
      and especially atopy, in a relationship with modern atmospheric pollution,
      essentially of automobile origin.

PMID- 9972356
TI  - [Justification of the survey].

PMID- 9972357
TI  - [Methodology of the survey].

PMID- 9972358
TI  - [Anesthetics according to characteristics of patients, establishments and
      indications].

PMID- 9972359
TI  - [Organization and techniques of anesthesia].

PMID- 9972360
TI  - [Anesthetics in surgery].

PMID- 9972361
TI  - [Anesthetics in obstetrics].

PMID- 9972362
TI  - [Anesthetics excluding surgery and obstetrics].

PMID- 9972363
TI  - [Anesthetics for emergencies].

PMID- 9972364
TI  - [Anesthetics for ambulatory patients].

PMID- 9972365
TI  - [Anesthetics and transfusion practices].

PMID- 9972366
TI  - [Synthesis and future prospects].

PMID- 9972367
TI  - Preoperative evaluation of the chemosensitivity of breast cancer by means of
      double phase 99mTc-MIBI scintimammography.
AB  - The chemosensitivity of breast cancer is important for its management, but it is
      difficult to evaluate preoperatively. Tc-99m hexakis-2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile
      (MIBI) scintimammography has been reported to indicate the expression of P
      glycoprotein, which is one factor concerned with multidrug resistance. We
      developed a chemosensitivity assay by using surgical specimens to investigate
      whether 99mTc-MIBI scintimammography findings before the operation are related to
      chemosensitivity according to our assay. Fifteen patients with primary breast
      cancer were enrolled into the study. Early and delayed images were obtained at 10
      and 120 minutes after intravenous injection of 99mTc-MIBI, respectively. Regions
      of interest were placed on the tumors and the contralateral healthy breasts in
      each patient to estimate 99mTc-MIBI uptake in the tumor, and retention indices
      were then calculated to assess the washout of 99mTc-MIBI. Chemosensitivity assay
      was performed by incubating surgical specimens with anticancer agents such as
      doxorubicin, epirubicin, pinorubicin, mitomycin C, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil.
      99mTc-MIBI washout on scintimammography was successfully related to inhibition
      ratios on chemosensitivity tests when compared with 99mTc-MIBI uptake by the
      tumor. In particular, high correlation coefficients were obtained between the
      retention index of 99mTc-MIBI and the inhibition ratios of doxorubicin (r =
      0.75), epirubicin (r = 0.60) and pinorubicin (r = 0.62), but poor correlation was
      found for mitomycin C (r = 0.44) and cisplatin (r = 0.31). Our results indicate
      that the retention index of 99mTc-MIBI is closely correlated to chemosensitivity
      to anthracyclines, suggesting that double-phase scintimammography allows
      preoperative prediction of chemosensitivity of breast cancer.

PMID- 9972368
TI  - Kinetics of 111In-labeled bleomycin in patients with brain tumors: compartmental
      vs. non-compartmental models.
AB  - The kinetics of an indium-111 labeled bleomycin complex (111In-BLMC) after rapid
      intravenous injection in patients with brain tumors was quantified by using
      compartmental and non-compartmental models. The models were applied to data
      obtained from 10 glioma, one meningioma, and one adenocarcinoma brain metastasis
      patients. Blood and urine samples from all the patients and tumor samples from
      three patients were collected. The mean transit time of 111In-BLMC in the plasma
      pool was 14 +/- 7 min without and 1.8 +/- 0.6 h when accounting for
      recirculation, and 13 +/- 4 h in the total body pool. The mean plasma clearance
      of 111In-BLMC was 0.3 +/- 0.1 m/blood/min and the mean half-life in urine was 3.5
      +/- 0.6 h. The mean transfer coefficients for the open three-compartmental model
      were: excretion from plasma = 0.02 +/- 0.01, from depot to plasma = (12 +/-
      9)*10(-4), from plasma to depot = 0.01 +/- 0.01, from tumor to plasma = 0.39 +/-
      0.19 and from plasma to tumor = 1.11 +/- 0.57, all in units minute-1. The mean
      turnover time from the tumor was 4.5 +/- 2.7 min and from the depot 20 +/- 8 h.
      It is concluded that both compartmental and non-compartmental models are
      sufficient to describe the kinetics of indium-111 labeled bleomycin complex. The
      non-compartmental model is more practical and to some extent more efficient in
      describing the in vivo behaviors of 111In-BLMC than the compartmental model. The
      compartmental model used provides estimates of both extraction and excretion from
      the plasma and tumor.

PMID- 9972369
TI  - 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy in diabetic patients: relationship with 201Tl
      uptake and cardiac autonomic function.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of diabetic myocardial damage (suspected
      myocardial damage; SMD) diagnosed by 201Tl-SPECT and diabetic cardiac autonomic
      neuropathy (AN) on myocardial MIBG uptake in patients with non-insulin-dependent
      diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Eighty-seven diabetic patients
      divided into four subgroups: 23 with SMD (+) AN (+); 19 with SMD (+) AN (-); 27
      with SMD (-) AN (+); 18 with SMD (-) AN (-), and 10 controls were studied. Both
      planar and SPECT images were taken at 30 minutes (early) and 3 hours (delayed)
      after 123I-MIBG injection. The heart to mediastinum uptake ratio (H/M) and
      washout ratio of 123I-MIBG (WR) were obtained from both planar images. On SPECT
      images, the total uptake score (TUS) was obtained by the 5 point score method by
      dividing the myocardium into 20 segments on visual analysis. Similarly, the
      difference between the 201Tl image and the 123I-MIBG image in TUS was taken as
      the difference in the total uptake score (delta TUS) representing cardiac
      sympathetic denervation without SMD. RESULTS: On both early and delayed planar
      images, the mean H/M value in the subgroups of diabetic patients was
      significantly lower in the SMD (+) AN (+) group than in the control group, but
      among those subgroups, there was statistically significant difference between the
      SMD (+) AN (+) and SMD (-) AN (-) groups only on the delayed images. Regarding
      the WR value, there was no statistically significant difference among subjects.
      On SPECT image analysis, the diabetic subgroup with AN or SMD had statistically
      significant lower values for TUS than those of the control group. Among
      diabetics, there was a statistically significant differences between SMD [+] AN
      [+] and SMD [-] AN [-] on both early and delayed images. Similarly, the SMD [+]
      AN [-] group also had significantly lower values than those of SMD [-] AN [-] on
      early images. Regarding delta TUS, there was a statistically significant
      differences between AN [+] subgroups and controls. Similarly, the mean value for
      delta TUS was much higher in AN [+] subgroups than in AN [-] subgroups with or
      without SMD in diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: 123I-MIBG myocardial uptake is
      affected by both SMD and cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Based on the finding that
      delta TUS was much higher in AN [+] subgroups and there was no statistically
      significant difference between SMD [+] AN [+] and SMD [-] AN [+] subgroups, a
      decrease in myocardial 123I-MIBG uptake might progress independently of SMD.

PMID- 9972370
TI  - A comparison of Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT images of young and aged normal
      individuals.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to examine the normal distribution patterns of
      99mTc-HMPAO (HMPAO) in young and aged normal individuals and to clarify
      differences between the distribution patterns of the two groups by means of an
      anatomical standardization technique. The tracer distribution was measured with
      HMPAO and SPECT in 18 normal subjects; age range 20-81 yrs. SPECT images were
      globally normalized by averaging whole brain radioactivity counts to 100
      counts/voxel. The SPECT images for each subject were transformed into the
      standard brain anatomy by means of a computerized brain atlas, together with each
      subject's CT images. Mean and SD images for young (28.8 +/- 6.4 yrs) and aged
      groups (62.3 +/- 10.2 yrs) were then calculated on a voxel-by-voxel basis.
      Statistically significant differences between young and aged groups were observed
      in the relative tracer distribution patterns. In the aged group, relative
      decreases were found in the cortical areas of the frontal and temporal lobes,
      limbic areas and basal ganglia regions. The results, as visualized changes in
      tracer distribution patterns with aging, may contribute to more accurate clinical
      diagnosis.

PMID- 9972371
TI  - Predicting the effects on patients with dilated cardiomyopathy of beta-blocker
      therapy, by using iodine-123 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3- R,S-methylpentadecanoic acid
      (BMIPP) myocardial scintigraphy.
AB  - We examined whether the iodine-123 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3- R,S-methylpentadecanoic
      acid (BMIPP) myocardial scintigraphy was useful for predicting the treatment
      response to beta-blocker in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Sixteen
      patients with DCM were studied. BMIPP single photon emission computed tomography
      (SPECT) was performed before beta-blocker therapy. The count ratio of the heart
      (H) to the upper mediastinum (M) (H/M ratio) was calculated. Several measurements
      including the BMIPP H/M ratio before the administration of metoprorol were
      retrospectively compared among the 10 "good responders" (showing improvement by
      at least one NYHA class or an increase in the ejection fraction of > or = 0.10, 6
      months after the start of the drug therapy) and the 6 "poor responders." The
      bull's eye map of BMIPP was divided into 17 areas. Each segmental score was
      analyzed quantitatively by means of a two-point scoring system (good uptake > or
      = 67%, poor uptake < 67%). The total score was regarded as the uptake score. The
      H/M ratio was significantly higher in the good responders than in the poor
      responders (2.41 +/- 0.24 vs. 1.86 +/- 0.17 p < 0.01). There were no significant
      differences between the two groups in any other variable data at entry. The
      uptake score was also a good index for predicting the therapeutic effect. When a
      relative uptake of 67% or higher was scored as 1, uptake scores of 9 to 17
      corresponded to good responses (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, accuracy
      = 100%, positive and negative predictive value = 100%). Although the number of
      patients studied is small, our results suggests that BMIPP myocardial
      scintigraphy can predict the response to a beta-blocker in patients with DCM.

PMID- 9972372
TI  - Effects of diltiazem on myocardial perfusion abnormalities during exercise in
      patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
AB  - The effect of diltiazem on myocardial ischemia in patients with hypertrophic
      cardiomyopathy (HCM) was evaluated by exercise myocardial 201Tl single photon
      emission computed tomography (SPECT). Exercise myocardial SPECT was performed
      before and 8 weeks after oral administration of diltiazem (180 mg/day) in 20
      patients with HCM who showed transient perfusion defects on exercise myocardial
      201Tl SPECT under control conditions. SPECT images were divided into 17 segments.
      The 201Tl perfusion defects were visually scored and evaluated as the defect
      score. The transient dilation index was calculated as an index of subendocardial
      ischemia. Improvement of the defect score was demonstrated in 15 patients after
      the administration of diltiazem. The mean defect score decreased significantly
      from 9.90 +/- 5.17 to 5.50 +/- 4.89 (p < 0.0001). Although 16 of 20 patients
      showed an abnormal transient dilation index before diltiazem treatment, 16 showed
      improvement and 13 of these normalized after diltiazem therapy. The mean
      transient dilation index decreased from 1.16 +/- 0.10 to 1.02 +/- 0.09 (p <
      0.0001). In conclusion, diltiazem prevents or diminishes myocardial ischemia in
      patients with HCM.

PMID- 9972373
TI  - 201Tl SPECT as an indicator for early prediction of therapeutic effects in
      patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
AB  - This study retrospectively investigated the good parameters on thallium-201
      chloride (201Tl) SPECT for early assessment of the therapeutic effects in
      patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Based on tumor response as determined
      by chest CT scan about 9 weeks after the end of irradiation with adjuvant
      chemotherapy, the subjects were divided to the responder group (tumor regression
      > 50%, n = 13) and non-responder group (tumor regression < 50%, n = 13). 201Tl
      SPECT was performed before and at the halfway through the course of therapy
      (average tumor dose, 27.4 Gy +/- 4.5) in all the patients. SPECT was conducted
      twice 15 min (early scan) and 120 min (delayed scan) after intravenous injection
      of 148 MBq (4 mCi) of 201Tl. Tumor-to-contralateral normal lung tissue count
      ratios on both scans were calculated as early and delayed uptake ratios (EUR and
      DUR), and a retention index (RI) was also derived from these ratios. In the
      responder group, a significant decrease in DUR and RI halfway through the therapy
      was observed compared to pretreatment (2.6 +/- 0.6 vs. 3.5 +/- 1.0; p < 0.01, and
      -2.3% +/- 25.5 vs. 37.4% +/- 17.8; p < 0.001, respectively), even though EUR did
      not change significantly (N.S.). By contrast, in the non-responder group, there
      were no significant changes in any of these parameters (N.S.). When comparing DUR
      and RI for the two groups halfway through the therapy, DUR and RI were
      significantly lower in the responder group (both; p < 0.01), but no significant
      difference was noted in EUR (N.S.), and the percent reduction in tumor size did
      not correlate with the percent decrease in DUR or RI (N.S.). These results
      indicate that the extent of decrease in DUR and RI after therapy can be a useful
      parameter for early assessment of the therapeutic effects in patients with non
      small cell lung cancer.

PMID- 9972374
TI  - Glucose tolerance and myocardial F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in normal regions
      in coronary heart disease patients.
AB  - To elucidate the relation between glucose tolerance and myocardial uptake of F-18
      fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), FDG-PET with 75 g oral glucose loading was performed on
      43 coronary artery disease patients (twice in 2 patients). The patients were
      divided into 4 groups based on the blood glucose level (BS) and the insulinogenic
      index (II): group 1, normal (n = 9); group 2, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, n
      = 12); group 3, mild diabetes mellitus (DM) (II > 0.4, n = 12); and group 4,
      severe DM (II < or = 0.4, n = 12). Percent (%) dose uptake of FDG in the normal
      regions of the myocardium was not significantly different in groups 1, 2, and 3,
      but it was much lower in group 4 than in groups 1 and 2. In groups 2, 3, and 4, %
      dose uptake showed a definite negative correlation with BS 60 min after glucose
      loading (r = -0.450, p < 0.05), and a close positive correlation with II (r =
      0.363, p < 0.05). These findings indicate that myocardial FDG uptake in normal
      regions is not greatly impaired in patients with IGT or mild DM. Myocardial
      viability can be assessed by oral glucose loading in patients with IGT and mild
      DM as well as in patients with normal glucose tolerance.

PMID- 9972375
TI  - Quantitative evaluation of the regional hepatic reserve by 99mTc-GSA dynamic
      SPECT before and after chemolipiodolization in patients with hepatocellular
      carcinoma.
AB  - 99mTc-DTPA-galactosyl human serum albumin (99mTc-GSA) hepatic scintigraphy was
      performed in 32 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before and after
      chemolipiodolization, which was performed from the right hepatic artery (RHA) in
      15 patients and the proper hepatic artery (PHA) in 17 patients. Following a bolus
      injection of 99mTc-GSA, dynamic SPECT was performed with 1 minute rotation for 16
      minutes. Data analysis was conducted by setting a region of interest (ROI) on the
      right liver, left liver and heart and then their time-activity curves were
      generated. The regional hepatic accumulation index (LHL15) and the regional
      uptake constant index (KU) were also calculated from the time-activity curves. In
      the RHA group, regional LHL15 and KU of the left lobe significantly increased,
      but they did not significantly increase in the PHA group. In the right lobe, no
      significant change in regional KU or LHL15 was observed. In the poor prognosis
      group, all indices in both regions decreased after chemolipiodolization,
      especially the value for regional KU had a poor score before
      chemolipiodolization. A decrease in each index in both lobes after
      chemolipiodolization is considered to be a sign of a poor prognosis. 99mTc-GSA
      dynamic SPECT scintigraphy is a useful method for evaluating the changes in
      regional hepatic reserve before and after chemolipiodolization.

PMID- 9972376
TI  - Usefulness of per-rectal portal scintigraphy with Tc-99m pertechnetate for
      galactosemia in infants.
AB  - Galactosemia discovered by newborn screening is rarely caused by enzyme
      deficiency. It has recently been reported that among patients without enzyme
      deficiency portosystemic shunting may be a cause of galactosemia in some
      patients. We did per-rectal portal scintigraphy in patients with such
      galactosemia detected during screening of newborns to examine the usefulness of
      this method for the diagnosis of portosystemic shunts via the inferior mesenteric
      vein. The subjects were eight neonates with galactosemia without enzyme
      deficiency detected during screening. A solution containing technetium-99m
      pertechnetate was instilled into the rectum, and serial scintigrams were taken
      while radioactivity curves for the liver and heart were recorded sequentially.
      The per-rectal portal shunt index was determined by calculating the ratio for
      counts of the liver to counts for the heart integrated for 24 seconds immediately
      after the appearance of the liver time-activity curve. A portosystemic shunt was
      detected in both of the patients with a shunt index of 30% or more, but not in
      the six patients with a shunt index less than 30%. The blood galactose levels of
      these six patients later entered the reference range. This method is noninvasive
      and there is little exposure to the radionuclide. It seemed to be useful for the
      diagnosis of portosystemic shunt in newborns with galactosemia without enzyme
      deficiency.

PMID- 9972377
TI  - Evaluation of amlodipine dosing for conversion of nifedipine extended-release to
      amlodipine in the treatment of hypertension.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the appropriate dosing of amlodipine when converting
      patients from nifedipine extended-release (nifedipine ER) to amlodipine in the
      treatment of hypertension. METHODS: Patients of the Outpatient Clinic of Cheyenne
      Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wyoming, receiving nifedipine ER for the
      management of hypertension (systolic BP or SBP > 140 mm Hg and diastolic BP or
      DBP > 90 mm Hg), participated in this study. Nifedipine ER was changed to
      amlodipine on entry into this study. An inclusion criterion was the BP had to be
      under control (SBP < 140 mm Hg and DBP < 90 mm Hg) before the switch. The BP in
      each study patient was monitored once weekly (once every 2 wk in some patients)
      for a total of six clinic visits or until BP was under control. Dosing titration
      of amlodipine was required in 16 of 27 patients after the switch. To assess the
      adequacy of the conversion, the statistical significance of the difference of the
      mean BP values before and at the end of the monitoring period was estimated by
      using the t-test for paired data. RESULTS: Twenty-seven male patients completed
      this study. BP in all study patients was adequately controlled after nifedipine
      ER was switched to amlodipine. The SBP and DBP values before and after the switch
      were similar (SBP: 124 +/- 12 vs. 126 +/- 9 mm Hg, CI of the mean difference 
      6.10 to 1.80; DBP: 76 +/- 8 vs. 76 +/- 7 mm Hg, CI of the mean difference -2.45
      to 3.63). Initial amlodipine dose of 5 or 10 mg once daily was used in our study.
      No serious adverse effects were observed in any of the study patients after the
      drug switch. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the amlodipine dosage of 5 or 10
      mg once daily can be used when nifedipine ER is converted to amlodipine in the
      treatment of hypertension. Dosage titration of amlodipine may be required to
      obtain adequate control of BP.

PMID- 9972378
TI  - Economic impact of a drug information service.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: A cost-avoidance model was developed to determine potential cost
      savings or "avoidance" that results from a drug information service (DIS)
      responding to drug information requests. DESIGN: Patient-specific questions
      received by the DIS were reviewed and evaluated. A panel determined whether a
      drug misadventure event may have occurred if the DIS had not been consulted.
      Potential outcomes from drug information requests were classified using a
      decision-tree model. A severity rating was then attached to each applicable
      request to predict potential cost savings of the DIS. RESULTS: Seventy-seven of
      the 570 drug information responses received in the six-week study period had
      assessable potential cost savings to the institution. During the study interval,
      potential cost savings were estimated to be $195,000. Projected to one year,
      potential cost savings reached $1.7 million. Of the savings noted, most were
      attributable to prevention of increased monitoring or additional treatment. Using
      a sensitivity analysis, annual potential cost savings ranged from $417,792 to
      $2,052,740 per year. Based on the estimated annual costs related to maintaining a
      DIS of $145,950, the resultant range of benefit/cost ratio is 2.9:1 to 13.2:1.
      CONCLUSIONS: This model demonstrates that the DIS at our institution provides
      potential cost savings. This model may be modified to evaluate potential cost
      savings in other areas of pharmacy practice.

PMID- 9972379
TI  - Characterization of rash with indinavir in a national patient cohort.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To characterize indinavir-associated rash using systematic data
      collection through postmarketing surveillance in a sample of HIV/AIDS patients.
      DESIGN: HIV-infected patients identified through a medication counseling line who
      reported onset of a rash following initiation of indinavir therapy were included
      in this case series analysis. Pertinent information regarding onset, description,
      and management of rash; other medications initiated within two weeks of indinavir
      or rash onset; and medication allergy history was obtained through follow-up
      telephone contact. Patients were contacted weekly until the rash resolved or
      indinavir was discontinued. SETTING: Stadtlanders Drug Distribution Company,
      located in Pittsburgh, PA. RESULTS: Of the 110 patients identified and followed,
      67% reported rash onset within two weeks of initiating indinavir therapy. The
      rash was initially localized in all 110 patients and subsequently spread to other
      areas of the body in 77% of the patients. The rash spread to the full body in 44%
      (49) of the patients. The rash was accompanied by pruritus in 86% of the
      patients, and the majority of patients (87%) were afebrile. Eighty-one patients
      received treatment with medications such as antihistamines or oral or topical
      corticosteroids. Fifty percent of patients receiving treatment for the rash
      reported that these medications were helpful in relieving rash symptoms. Fifty
      nine percent of the patients continued indinavir therapy despite the occurrence
      of rash. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that indinavir-associated
      rash occurs within two weeks of initiation of therapy for the majority of
      patients. Typically, the rash is localized with subsequent spread and is
      associated with pruritus. The majority of patients are able to continue indinavir
      therapy despite the occurrence of rash.

PMID- 9972380
TI  - Torsade de pointes induced by cisapride/clarithromycin interaction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To highlight a case of torsade de pointes ventricular arrhythmia
      induced by the concomitant use of cisapride and clarithromycin. CASE SUMMARY: A
      77-year-old white woman was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of
      pneumonia and exacerbation of congestive heart failure. In addition to her usual
      medications, which included cisapride, the patient was prescribed
      trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and clarithromycin for pneumonia. Within 48 hours,
      the patient had documented episodes of symptomatic torsade de pointes arrhythmia,
      which eventually responded to therapy. Both cisapride and clarithromycin were
      discontinued, and the patient did not have any recurring episodes during a 32
      month follow-up. DISCUSSION: Cisapride has been implicated in causing adverse
      cardiac events, including torsade de pointes arrhythmia. In most cases, the
      patients had preexisting risk factors for torsade de pointes and/or were
      receiving other medications known to inhibit the hepatic CYP3A4 enzyme system and
      the metabolism of cisapride. There is evidence that clarithromycin, a relatively
      new macrolide antibiotic, also inhibits the isoenzyme CYP3A4. The resulting
      accumulation of cisapride caused by concomitant clarithromycin therapy was
      believed to have been the cause of the torsade de pointes arrhythmia in this
      patient. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant use of cisapride and clarithromycin may cause
      torsade de pointes arrhythmia.

PMID- 9972381
TI  - Pill-induced esophagitis caused by oral rifampin.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To report a case of pill-induced esophagitis caused by oral rifampin.
      DATA SOURCES: English-language references identified via a MEDLINE search from
      January 1966 to May 1998 and a bibliographic review of pertinent articles. DATA
      SYNTHESIS: A large number of oral medications have been reported to cause pill
      induced esophagitis. This case represents the second report attributed to
      rifampin. A 70-year-old white man receiving vancomycin, gentamicin, and oral
      rifampin for treatment of Staphylococcus epidermidis prosthetic valve
      endocarditis reported dysphagia immediately after swallowing a rifampin capsule
      on the fourth day of therapy. The following day, fiberoptic laryngoscopy and
      esophagoscopy demonstrated a red capsule partially embedded in the neopharynx. A
      day later, upper esophageal obstruction consistent with edema related to pill
      induced esophagitis was identified by barium swallow. Following the procedure,
      the patient was placed on total parenteral nutrition and took nothing by mouth.
      Sixteen days after first reporting dysphagia, he was placed on a full liquid
      diet. Several factors may have increased the patient's risk for pill-induced
      esophagitis, including age, bedridden state, gastroesophageal reflux disease,
      simultaneous administration of several medications, and neopharyngeal stricture.
      CONCLUSIONS: Oral rifampin may cause esophagitis. Healthcare providers should be
      alert to the possibility of pill-induced esophagitis in susceptible patients.
      Patients with predisposing factors for the development of pill-induced
      esophagitis should be educated about proper swallowing of oral medications.

PMID- 9972382
TI  - Quinine-induced hepatotoxicity.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To report a case of quinine-induced hepatotoxicity presenting within
      24 hours following the ingestion of the first dose. DATA SOURCES: Case report
      information was obtained from the medical record, the patient, and the physicians
      involved in this patient's case. MEDLINE and Index Medicus were searched to
      obtain relevant published literature from January 1942 to May 1997 using the
      terms quinine, muscle cramps, liver disease, and hepatotoxicity. CASE SUMMARY: A
      57-year-old Native American woman presented with symptoms of nausea, vomiting,
      generalized myalgia, headache, fever, chills, and rigor. The alkaline
      phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine
      aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase concentrations were
      dramatically elevated. Quinine was suspected as the cause after several days of
      hospitalization and continued therapy. With discontinuation of the quinine, the
      patient's symptoms resolved within 48 hours and the liver enzyme concentrations
      declined within 72 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Documented hepatotoxicity has occurred
      with quinidine, the optical isomer of quinine. Limited awareness of quinine
      induced hepatotoxicity may result in an unrecognized adverse effect.

PMID- 9972383
TI  - Reversible nonthrombocytopenic palpable purpura associated with metoclopramide.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To report a case of reversible nonthrombocytopenic palpable purpura
      associated with metoclopramide. CASE SUMMARY: A 72-year-old white man was
      admitted for worsening palpable purpura over a two-day period. Two days prior to
      admission, metoclopramide 10 mg orally three times per day was started for a
      gastrointestinal condition. Upon admission, all drugs were continued except
      metoclopramide. Over the next two days, the purpura began to resolve. Platelet
      count was within normal limits on admission and the patient developed no serious
      consequences because of the purpura. DISCUSSION: According to the literature,
      reversible nonthrombocytopenic palpable purpura has not been previously reported
      with metoclopramide. A search of MEDLINE (1966 to November 1998) and
      International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to November 1998) did not reveal a
      similar case. Although a rechallenge was not tried, this case appears to
      demonstrate a temporal relationship between the initiation and discontinuation of
      metoclopramide and the onset and resolution of symptoms. Similar cases of this
      reaction have been reported with procainamide, which is structurally similar to
      metoclopramide. CONCLUSIONS: Metoclopramide may cause reversible
      nonthrombocytopenic vascular-type palpable purpura. Discontinuation of the drug
      appeared to be responsible for the resolution of symptoms.

PMID- 9972384
TI  - Ibutilide: an antiarrhythmic agent for the treatment of atrial fibrillation or
      flutter.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical pharmacology of the antiarrhythmic drug
      ibutilide in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFl). DATA
      SOURCES: A MEDLINE search (January 1983-December 1997) was used to identify
      pertinent English-language articles on ibutilide. Key search terms included
      ibutilide, AF, AFl, cardioversion, and sinus rhythm. The MEDLINE search was
      supplemented by references included in the bibliographies of comprehensive review
      articles and studies. STUDY SELECTION: Studies and review articles describing the
      chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics of ibutilide were selected. All
      abstracts and published clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety were
      reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION: Pertinent information on the pharmacology and
      mechanism of action of ibutilide was summarized. Data were extracted from the
      clinical trials describing trial design, patient population, interventions,
      methods of evaluation, outcomes, and statistical significance. DATA SYNTHESIS:
      Ibutilide is a Vaughan-Williams class III antiarrhythmic agent approved for
      intravenous use for the rapid termination of recent-onset AF or AFl. The drug is
      extensively metabolized by the liver, has a volume of distribution of 11-15 L/kg,
      is 40% protein bound, and has an elimination half-life of 6 hours (range 2-12).
      Data from two placebo-controlled trials demonstrated the efficacy of ibutilide
      for converting AF or AFl of short duration (< or = 90 d) to normal sinus rhythm.
      A third placebo-controlled trial demonstrated efficacy in patients who developed
      AF or AFl following cardiac surgery. Comparative trials with procainamide and
      sotalol have shown at least similar and perhaps superior efficacy with ibutilide.
      There are no comparative trials with other antiarrhythmic drugs or with direct
      current cardioversion (DCC). In 586 clinical trial patients receiving ibutilide,
      the most significant adverse effect was the development of torsade de pointes in
      25 patients (4.3%) including 10 cases (1.7%) in which the rhythm was sustained.
      All cases of torsade de pointes were terminated electrically and none resulted in
      death or severe morbidity. No prospective cost-effectiveness studies are
      available; however, results from two decision models suggest that ibutilide may
      have advantages over other drugs and first-line electrical cardioversion.
      CONCLUSIONS: Ibutilide appears to be an effective alternative method for rapid
      conversion of recent-onset AF or AFl. The drug may be particularly useful in
      patients who have undergone recent cardiac surgery or those who are not ideal
      candidates for DCC. Although studies suggest that the risk of proarrhythmia and
      in particular torsade de pointes is relatively low, caution is advised until
      additional experience is gained in clinical practice.

PMID- 9972385
TI  - Trovafloxacin: a new fluoroquinolone.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review the pharmacology, antimicrobial activity, pharmacokinetics,
      clinical efficacy, and safety of trovafloxacin. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search
      (January 1966-April 1998) was conducted for relevant literature using the terms
      CP-99,219, CP-116,519, trovafloxacin, and alatrofloxacin. Abstracts published by
      the American Society of Microbiology during 1995-1997 meetings were also
      reviewed. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All in vitro, animal, and human
      studies were reviewed for the antimicrobial activity, pharmacokinetics, efficacy,
      and safety of trovafloxacin. DATA SYNTHESIS: Trovafloxacin is a new
      fluoroquinolone with enhanced activity against gram-positive and anaerobic
      microorganisms. The oral bioavailability under fasting conditions is
      approximately 88%. The elimination half-life of trovafloxacin is approximately 10
      hours. Less than 10% of trovafloxacin is eliminated unchanged in the urine.
      Trovafloxacin is effective in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and
      nosocomial pneumonia with cure rates of > 90% and 77%, respectively.
      Trovafloxacin is comparable with ceftriaxone in the treatment of meningococcal
      meningitis in children; each produces a cure rate of approximately 90%. In
      treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection, both ciprofloxacin and
      trovafloxacin achieve an eradication rate of > or = 93%. Trovafloxacin is similar
      to ofloxacin in the treatment of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis and acute
      exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, with clinical success in 97% of patients
      with each drug. The common adverse effects of trovafloxacin include dizziness,
      headache, and gastrointestinal intolerance. CONCLUSIONS: The advantages of once
      daily dosing and enhanced activity of trovafloxacin against gram-positive and
      anaerobic organisms may expand its use over available fluoroquinolones. Further
      studies are needed to define its role in the treatment of various infectious
      diseases.

PMID- 9972386
TI  - Medication-induced headache: overview and systematic review of therapeutic
      approaches.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review medication-induced headache (MIH) through a systematic
      evaluation of the literature regarding the pharmacologic management of this
      condition. METHODOLOGY: To identify and evaluate all pharmacologic interventions
      for MIH, we conducted a qualitative systematic review of the English-language
      literature from 1966 to June 1998 using MEDLINE. The following search terms were
      used: chronic daily headache, transformed migraine, analgesic withdrawal
      headache, analgesic rebound headache, drug-associated headache, medication
      induced headache, detoxification, and dihydroergotamine. In addition, a review of
      the references from relevant literature was also conducted to collect reports not
      identified in the MEDLINE search. RESULTS: Numerous therapies for acute
      management of MIH have been evaluated, although no rigorously conducted clinical
      trials were identified. Therapies evaluated include abrupt withdrawal of
      analgesics, initiation of dihydroergotamine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
      agents, methylergonovine, dihydroergotamine, sumatriptan, amitriptyline,
      dexamethasone, piracetam, prothipendyl, and valproate. Epidemiology, diagnosis,
      clinical features, pathophysiology, and long-term prognosis of therapy are
      discussed and therapeutic guidelines are offered. CONCLUSIONS: MIH is an
      underrecognized and difficult condition affecting headache-prone patients. The
      published literature concerning treatment of patients with MIH is scant and of
      poor quality, making it difficult for clinicians to decide on appropriate
      therapy. Recognition and treatment of MIH may lead to a long-term improvement in
      headache relief for many patients. It appears that complete withdrawal of the
      medications being overused is required for favorable long-term results.

PMID- 9972387
TI  - Atypical antipsychotics. Part I: Pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of the
      newer atypical antipsychotics with those of conventional agents and existing
      atypical agents. DATA SOURCES: Information was retrieved from a MEDLINE English
      literature search from July 1986 to June 1998 and by review of references.
      Indexing terms included neuroleptics, atypical antipsychotics, clozapine,
      risperidone, olanzapine, sertindole, quetiapine, and ziprasidone. STUDY
      SELECTION: Comparative studies were selected when possible; placebo-controlled
      studies were included when data were limited on newer atypical antipsychotics.
      DATA EXTRACTION: Emphasis was placed on properly designed clinical trials that
      assessed dosage, expanded efficacy, enhanced adverse effect profile, and cost.
      DATA SYNTHESIS: Like other atypical antipsychotics, the newer agents have an
      enhanced 5-hydroxytryptophan/dopaminergic receptors (5-HT2/D2) affinity ratio and
      undergo extensive biotransformation. Risperidone and olanzapine demonstrate more
      favorable efficacy/adverse effect ratios than clozapine, sertindole, and
      conventional antipsychotics in nonrefractory and refractory schizophrenics.
      Future studies will more clearly define the role of quetiapine and ziprasidone in
      antipsychotic therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Data from controlled trials on efficacy and
      extrapyramidal side effects support risperidone or olanzapine as first-line
      agents for the treatment of schizophrenia. Pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic
      factors do not distinguish between agents sufficiently for drug selection.

PMID- 9972388
TI  - An overview of levodopa in the management of restless legs syndrome in a dialysis
      population: pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, and complications of therapy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review published literature investigating the efficacy and safety
      of levodopa in the management of restless legs syndrome (RLS), with emphasis on
      the hemodialysis population. DATA SOURCES: An English-language literature search
      using MEDLINE was conducted from 1966 to 1997 (key terms: restless legs syndrome,
      levodopa, hemodialysis). The bibliographies of all identified published articles
      were reviewed and cross-referenced to ensure that all possible references were
      identified. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All identified human studies
      investigating the use of levodopa for the management of RLS in uremic and
      nonuremic patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of RLS is 20-40% in
      patients with endstage renal disease (ESRD) and approximately 5% in the general
      population. Although the benefits of levodopa/(carbidopa/benserazide) in reducing
      the signs and symptoms of RLS are documented in nonuremic patients, evidence in
      patients with ESRD is less readily available. Three small (< 30 subjects)
      clinical trials in uremic patients provide preliminary evidence for the
      usefulness of levodopa/(carbidopa/benserazide) in this population. CONCLUSIONS:
      In general, the small amount of published literature supports the empirical use
      of levodopa/carbidopa as a safe and effective therapy to manage the distressing
      symptoms of RLS in a hemodialysis population. We also report personal
      observations over a 4-year period in our hemodialysis unit that support levodopa
      as an effective first-line therapy. We have averted suicidal ideation in two
      patients and frequently modified symptoms of severe sleep deprivation. The dose
      of levodopa/carbidopa must be individually titrated to each patient's
      symptomatology, and morning rebound and afternoon augmentation should be
      monitored.

PMID- 9972389
TI  - Drug-induced nightmares.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compile and assess the English-language literature on drug-induced
      nightmares, excluding nightmares secondary to drug withdrawal or drug-associated
      night terrors. DATA SOURCES: Published articles, letters, case reports, and
      abstracts in English were identified by MEDLINE (1966-May 1998) searches using
      the search term nightmares, chemically induced. Additional articles were obtained
      from bibliographies of retrieved articles. DATA EXTRACTION: All case reports of
      drug-induced nightmares were evaluated using the Naranjo algorithm for causality.
      Clinical studies of drugs that reported nightmares as an adverse effect were
      assessed for frequency of occurrence. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nightmares, defined as
      nocturnal episodes of intense anxiety and fear associated with a vivid,
      emotionally charged dream experience, are generally classified as a parasomnia.
      Possible pharmacologic mechanisms for drug-induced nightmares, such as REM
      suppression and dopamine receptor stimulation, are reviewed. However, the vast
      majority of therapeutic agents implicated in causing nightmares have no obvious
      pharmacologic mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing causality with an event such as a
      nightmare is difficult because of the high incidence of nightmares in the healthy
      population. Using qualitative, quantitative, and possible pharmacologic mechanism
      criteria, it appears that sedative/hypnotics, beta-blockers, and amphetamines are
      the therapeutic modalities most frequently associated with nightmares. These drug
      classes have a plausible pharmacologic mechanism to explain this effect. Dopamine
      agonists also have evidence of causality, with dopamine receptor stimulation as a
      possible pharmacologic mechanism.

PMID- 9972390
TI  - Benzodiazepines in the home treatment of acute seizures.
AB  - Prompt home treatment of dangerous seizures or upsetting relapses can prevent the
      effects of prolonged seizures and offer patients and their families an
      alternative to emergency medical treatment. The choice of benzodiazepine and
      route of administration should be based on patients' clinical presentation and
      acceptance. The challenge for the practitioner is to select the patients for whom
      home use of benzodiazepines will be appropriate, safe, and cost-effective.

PMID- 9972391
TI  - Albuterol for the treatment of hyperkalemia.

PMID- 9972392
TI  - No mourning for the conventional antipsychotics: the dawn of the atypical agents.
AB  - As Markowitz et al. explain, the atypical antipsychotics should become the first
      line agents for the treatment of schizophrenia. There is much to be learned about
      these drugs, but their displacement of the conventional antipsychotics will be a
      continuous process. The loss of the older drugs will not be mourned.

PMID- 9972393
TI  - Erythema multiforme secondary to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid exposure.

PMID- 9972394
TI  - Potential underreporting of intravenous phenytoin adverse events.

PMID- 9972395
TI  - Pregnancy outcome of women exposed to pinaverium due to a dispensing error.

PMID- 9972396
TI  - Photosensitive seizures associated with interferon alfa-2a.

PMID- 9972397
TI  - Potential interaction between warfarin and ocular chloramphenicol.

PMID- 9972398
TI  - Riluzole: a potential therapy for HIV dementia?

PMID- 9972399
TI  - Pharmacokinetics of etoposide in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in the space left
      by tumor removal.

PMID- 9972400
TI  - Clinical significance of falsely elevated vancomycin concentrations in end-stage
      renal disease.

PMID- 9972401
TI  - FDA's FDAMA accomplishments--one year after enactment.

PMID- 9972402
TI  - Redefining resuscitation.

PMID- 9972403
TI  - Growth hormone--a panacea for aging?

PMID- 9972404
TI  - Alzheimer's disease: the advent of effective therapy.

PMID- 9972405
TI  - Tenoxicam does not alter renal function during anaesthesia in normal individuals.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Anaesthesia and surgery alter renal function. Inhibition of
      prostaglandin synthesis by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
      administered with anaesthesia may further compromise renal function. AIM: To
      study the effects of tenoxicam (NSAID) administered immediately prior to
      anaesthesia on renal function in normal individuals undergoing routine surgery.
      METHODS: A randomised single blind placebo controlled study comparing tenoxicam
      (40 mg intravenously) with placebo was carried out in 20 healthy (ASA I) patients
      undergoing lower spinal surgery. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was determined
      by creatinine clearance and renal tubular function measured as osmolar and free
      water clearance. RESULTS: GFR fell by 60% at the end of surgery but returned to
      pre-operative values by six hours post-operatively. There was no difference
      between placebo or tenoxicam with regard to changes in GFR. Tubular function was
      not altered by tenoxicam. CONCLUSIONS: Current clinical practice of using NSAIDs
      for post-operative analgesia in low risk individuals appears to have no adverse
      effects on renal function.

PMID- 9972406
TI  - A phase II study of liposomal doxorubicin in the treatment of HIV-related
      Kaposi's sarcoma.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the toxicity and clinical efficacy of liposomal
      encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX-SL) in the treatment of HIV-related Kaposi's
      sarcoma (KS). METHODS: DOX-SL 20-40mg/m2 was administered by intravenous infusion
      over 30-60 minutes every two weeks. Toxicity was assessed in all patients and
      response assessed in patients who completed two or more cycles of therapy.
      RESULTS: Twenty-five patients with KS were enrolled. Nine had received previous
      KS chemotherapy but only one prior anthracycline therapy. Eighteen patients had
      CD4 counts < 50/mm3. Eight had pulmonary and/or visceral KS. A total of 191
      cycles were given, median 6, range 1-33. Twenty patients completed two or more
      cycles and were considered evaluable for efficacy. A defined response occurred in
      11 patients, nine achieving a partial response and two a complete response. The
      median duration of response was 120 days and the median time to disease
      progression was 187 days. Acute toxicity was minimal, except in one patient who
      had generalised erythema, hypotension and diaphoresis within ten minutes of
      starting DOX-SL infusion. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia occurred in 13.6 and 3.7% of
      cycles respectively. Neutropenic sepsis secondary to drug therapy was not
      reported. Alopecia and gastrointestinal symptoms were mild and infrequent. No
      cardiac toxicity was seen. Nine/25 patients developed HIV-associated illnesses
      while on study (three Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, two systemic
      Cytomegalovirus infection, three cryptosporidiosis, one Mycobacterium avium
      intracellulare--(MAC) infection). Median survival in the evaluable patients was
      219 days. CONCLUSIONS: DOX-SL is an effective and well tolerated palliative
      therapy in AIDS-related KS.

PMID- 9972407
TI  - Idiopathic steroid responsive chronic lymphocytic meningitis--clinical features
      and long-term outcome in 17 patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Some patients with chronic lymphocytic meningitis appear to respond
      to corticosteroid treatment, but investigations fail to identify the cause. The
      use of corticosteroids in patients with chronic meningitis is controversial and
      the long-term outcome is unclear. AIM: To review the long-term outcome in 17
      patients with the syndrome of idiopathic steroid responsive chronic lymphocytic
      meningitis. METHODS: Review of patients' records and examination of surviving
      patients 1.5 to 17.5 years (median 8.8 years) after presentation. RESULTS: The
      cause of the steroid responsive chronic meningitis was found during follow up in
      two of the 17 patients: Wegener's granulomatosis and multiple sclerosis in one
      patient each. A cause was not found in the other 15 patients. Seven of these
      patients eventually recovered and corticosteroids were withdrawn after six weeks
      to six years without a recurrence of symptoms. Four patients improved
      transiently, but died six months to 26 years after starting treatment; in two,
      steroids were withdrawn a few weeks before death. Four patients had active
      chronic meningitis and reduction in the dose of corticosteroids was associated
      with a recurrence of symptoms. Leptomeningeal and brain biopsy in eight patients
      showed non-specific abnormalities which were not helpful in the diagnosis.
      CONCLUSIONS: A subgroup of patients with idiopathic chronic lymphocytic
      meningitis responds to corticosteroids. Leptomeningeal biopsy and long-term
      follow up seldom identify the underlying cause in these patients. Steroid
      treatment must be undertaken with caution, even after infective causes of chronic
      meningitis have been excluded.

PMID- 9972408
TI  - Characteristics and prognosis of KI-1 positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma in
      Asians.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Ki-1 positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a rare type of non
      Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and has not been extensively described in Asian
      patients. AIM: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, prognostic factors and
      treatment outcome of Ki-1 positive lymphoma in an Asian community. METHODS: A
      retrospective analysis of all patients with CD30 antigen positive anaplastic
      large cell lymphoma from 1987 to 1996 in a single institution. RESULTS: Of 218
      patients with NHL, ten (5%) were identified with Ki-1 positive anaplastic large
      cell lymphoma. Eight were Chinese, two Indians. The male:female ratio was 1.5:1,
      and the median age was 32 years. Seven patients presented with B-symptoms, and
      five had stage III/IV disease. The majority (seven of ten) was low- or low
      intermediate risk according to the International Prognostic Index (IPI). Four out
      of five cases immunophenotyped showed a T-cell origin. Five out of eight patients
      who received first-line combination chemotherapy achieved a complete remission.
      Two relapsed, with one being re-induced into a durable second remission. One
      patient with recurrent cutaneous lymphoma received solely radiotherapy and was
      disease-free at 20+ years from diagnosis. At analysis, two patients had died,
      five were disease-free at four, 27, 78, 89 months and 20 years respectively, and
      three were alive with disease. The IPI appears to have prognostic significance.
      CONCLUSION: Incidence and clinical characteristics in our Asian patients were
      similar to those described in Western populations. The IPI appears to have
      prognostic relevance. In approximately one-third of patients, long term survival
      can be achieved with standard treatment.

PMID- 9972409
TI  - The Medical Emergency Team (MET): a model for the district general hospital.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Most hospitals have a Cardiac Arrest Team, activated after
      cardiopulmonary arrest. The Medical Emergency Team (MET) is a newer concept,
      encompassing a proactive response to a wide range of emergencies with the aim of
      preventing irreversible organ failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. AIM: To
      describe the application of the MET model to the district general hospital, the
      spectrum of clinical conditions encountered, outcomes and administrative
      problems. METHOD: Data regarding each MET activation was collected prospectively.
      RESULTS: The MET responded to 68 calls to 63 patients in 12 months. The mean age
      was 60.4 years (range: neonatal to 94 years). The most common conditions leading
      to MET activation were chest pain (19.1%), cardiopulmonary arrest (14.7%),
      seizures (14.7%) and respiratory distress (13.2%). CONCLUSION: This paper
      demonstrates that the application of the MET model to the district general
      hospital improves the process of patient care. We are unable to conclude whether
      the MET alters morbidity or mortality for hospital inpatients.

PMID- 9972410
TI  - Congestive cardiac failure (CCF) as a cause of fatal stroke and all cause death.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Congestive cardiac failure (CCF) has been found to be a clinical risk
      factor for stroke in patients with non rheumatic atrial fibrillation. AIMS: To
      study CCF as a risk factor for stroke deaths and all cause deaths in coronary
      heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Case control study from a single cardiologist's
      practice: 370 deaths, 32 (9%) from stroke; controls of 160 and 370 consecutive
      patients for stroke deaths and all cause deaths respectively. Multivariate
      analysis using logistic regression. RESULTS: A--Stroke deaths. Positive
      associations for CHD with CCF, hypertension; negative association for CHD without
      CCF. Patients with CHD and CCF were 7.4 times as likely to die from stroke as
      patients with CHD without CCF. B--All cause deaths. Positive associations for CHD
      or cardiomyopathy with CCF, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and hypertension;
      negative association for CHD without CCF. Patients with CHD and CCF were 6.1
      times as likely to die from all causes as patients with CHD without CCF.
      CONCLUSIONS: Many stroke deaths in patients with CHD and CCF may be cardioembolic
      in origin. A randomised controlled trial in such patients is indicated to see if
      anticoagulants can reduce the incidence of stroke.

PMID- 9972411
TI  - Percutaneous transseptal mitral valvotomy--progress report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transseptal mitral valvotomy (PTMV) has been established
      as an alternative to surgery in the treatment of mitral stenosis. AIM: To review
      our experience in the first 200 attempted PTMV procedures in patients with mitral
      stenosis, and the short and medium term follow-up. METHODS: PTMV was attempted on
      200 occasions in 189 patients with significant mitral stenosis between May 1988
      and May 1994. There were 156 females and 33 males, mean age 53.5 years (range 14
      to 83 years). Six patients were pregnant at the time of the procedure. RESULTS:
      Valve split was achieved at the initial attempt in 183/189 procedures (97%).
      Clinical improvement of at least one New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional
      class was achieved in 172/189 patients (91%). The mean mitral valve gradient
      (mean +/- SD) decreased from 11.5 +/- 5.1 mmHg to 4.9 +/- 4.1 mmHg, mean cardiac
      output rose from 3.9 +/- 1.1 L/minute to 4.4 +/- 1.4 L/minute and mean calculated
      mitral valve area increased from 1.0 +/- 0.3 cm2 to 2.1 +/- 0.9 cm2. Ten patients
      developed clinically significant mitral incompetence requiring surgical mitral
      valve replacement. There were two transient cerebral embolic events. Small atrial
      septal defects were detected echocardiographically in 42 patients, but none has
      been a clinical problem. There were no early deaths; there were 11 late deaths,
      four of which were non-cardiac. Twenty patients have had repeat PTMV for re
      stenosis, four to 67 months after the first. CONCLUSIONS: PTMV provides
      significant haemodynamic and clinical improvement with low risk and should be
      considered the treatment of choice in patients with mitral stenosis.

PMID- 9972412
TI  - Comorbidities and prediction of length of hospital stay.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Variability in length of stay (LOS) within Australian National
      Diagnosis Related Groups (AN-DRGs) reflects clinical heterogeneity in age,
      severity of illness, complications and comorbidities. AIM: To develop a
      clinically based score which measures patient morbidity and which will better
      predict LOS compared to existing methods. METHODS: ICD-9-CM codes of diseases and
      procedures were allocated to one of 23 body system categories to calculate the
      body burden of disease (BBD) score. Evaluation of BBD in predicting LOS was
      performed using multiple regression and analysis of variance with a data set of
      34,079 cases from 75 AN-DRGs from three Victorian hospitals. RESULTS: Adding BBD
      and age improved prediction of LOS by 27.2% in AN-DRG version 1.0 and by 17.5% in
      AN-DRG version 3.1. When using average inlier LOS for AN-DRG, BBD and age
      improved prediction of LOS by 44.6% and by 14.8% in AN-DRG version 1.0 and
      version 3.1 respectively. Deaths were positively related to BBD. CONCLUSIONS: BBD
      is a simple quantitative measure of extent of disease that improves current
      methods in accounting for variability in LOS.

PMID- 9972413
TI  - Postprandial dyslipidaemia in a nutshell: food for thought.

PMID- 9972414
TI  - Queensland tick typhus.

PMID- 9972415
TI  - Trigeminal neuralgia: should MRI be done routinely?

PMID- 9972416
TI  - Successful resolution of severe graft versus host disease after liver
      transplantation correlating with disappearance of donor DNA from the peripheral
      blood.

PMID- 9972417
TI  - Chronic meningococcaemia.

PMID- 9972418
TI  - Infections associated with central venous catheterisation for plasmapheresis.

PMID- 9972419
TI  - Mibefradil (Posicor) induced sinus arrest.

PMID- 9972420
TI  - Intracoronary stenting for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a 24-year-old man
      using anabolic androgenic steroids.

PMID- 9972421
TI  - Plasma exchange therapy.

PMID- 9972422
TI  - An unusually rapid onset of hyponatraemia following paroxetine.

PMID- 9972423
TI  - Splenic vein thrombosis in a renal transplant recipient.

PMID- 9972424
TI  - Intramural duodenal haematoma following endoscopic biopsy in a bone marrow
      transplant patient.

PMID- 9972425
TI  - Saksenaea vasiformis breast abscess related to gardening injury.

PMID- 9972426
TI  - Another case of high gentamicin clearance and volume of distribution in a patient
      with high output ileostomy.

PMID- 9972427
TI  - Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase mutation and stroke in a monozygotic twin.

PMID- 9972428
TI  - Acute onset of pulmonary necrotising arteritis in a dog with a left-to-right
      patent ductus arteriosus.

PMID- 9972429
TI  - An old, lame cat with reduced food intake and stiff neck.

PMID- 9972430
TI  - Comparative cell morphology in the peripheral blood film from exotic and native
      animals.
AB  - Haematological investigation is an important part of disease diagnosis. This is
      particularly so when investigating individual animal disease. It may also be
      important when investigating diseases in groups of animals, but the opportunity
      to perform necropsies to directly detect diseases processes often diminishes its
      usefulness. Haematological investigation is essentially similar for all species.
      The presence of nucleated erythrocytes and thrombocytes in nonmammals requires
      alteration of haemoglobin measurement and cell counting. In addition, it may
      cause some confusion in identification of cells in peripheral blood films.
      Examination of blood films is an important component of haematological
      investigation and provides useful information on erythroid, leukocytic and
      platelet/thrombocytic alterations. Interpretation of alterations is essentially
      similar for all species. However, cell identification can at times be difficult.
      There are five basic leukocytes in all species: neutrophil (mammals) or
      heterophil (nonmammals), eosinophil, basophil, lymphocyte and monocyte. In
      nonmammals it may be difficult at times to distinguish between heterophils and
      eosinophils. In addition, lymphocytes may be confused with thrombocytes. However,
      a common-sense approach to the examination of the peripheral blood film will
      minimise this confusion.

PMID- 9972431
TI  - A severity score for spontaneous canine acute pancreatitis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To derive a severity score for spontaneous canine acute pancreatitis
      applicable to general practice. DESIGN: Cohort study of canine pancreatitis
      cases. PROCEDURE: Cases (n = 68) of spontaneous canine acute pancreatitis
      presented to general practitioners were identified among accessions to Veterinary
      Pathology Services Brisbane. The primary veterinarian was surveyed by telephone
      to ascertain the outcome of each case. Scores were assigned for extent of
      hyperamylasaemia, hyperlipasaemia and number of organ systems other than the
      pancreas compromised. The probability of mortality with each score of each
      analyte was calculated. The strength of interaction between scores for each
      analyte and mortality rate was assessed by chi-square analysis where appropriate.
      Relationships between the organ system score, other physiological variables and
      likelihood of euthanasia were analysed. RESULTS: Scores derived mathematically
      from analysis of enzyme activities had poor abilities to predict mortality. The
      score based upon the number of organ systems compromised showed good ability to
      predict mortality and the interaction between the organ system score and
      mortality rate was significant by chi-square analysis (P < 0.01). Distribution of
      data within the amylase and lipase scores was not compatible with chi-square
      analysis. CONCLUSION: Assessment of severity of spontaneous canine acute
      pancreatitis using pancreatic enzyme activities is potentially inaccurate. The
      use of a severity score based upon organ system compromise was more accurate in
      determining the likelihood of mortality in spontaneous canine acute pancreatitis.
      This is compatible with the hypothesis that severe canine acute pancreatitis is a
      multiple organ failure syndrome.

PMID- 9972432
TI  - Effect of desmopressin on plasma factor VIII and von Willebrand factor
      concentrations in Greyhounds.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of 1-Deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin on
      plasma concentrations of von Willebrand factor and factor VIII in Greyhound blood
      donors, and to compare the response of 1-Deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin
      injection on plasma concentrations of von Willebrand factor between groups with
      different resting plasma concentrations of von Willebrand factor. ANIMALS:
      Fifteen Greyhound blood donors were used. Dogs were grouped into three categories
      depending on their von Willebrand factor concentrations. PROCEDURE: Desmopressin
      was administered subcutaneously at 1 microgram/kg [corrected] to all dogs. Plasma
      von Willebrand factor and factor VIII concentrations were measured before and 10,
      20, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after desmopressin injection. RESULTS: The von
      Willebrand factor and factor VIII concentrations in all dogs increased
      significantly and remained higher than base-line throughout the 2 h period.
      CONCLUSION: Desmopressin is useful in increasing von Willebrand factor
      concentrations in Greyhound blood donors, including those with low resting
      concentrations.

PMID- 9972433
TI  - Transmission studies of Hendra virus (equine morbillivirus) in fruit bats, horses
      and cats.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the infectivity and transmissibility of Hendra virus
      (HeV). DESIGN: A disease transmission study using fruit bats, horses and cats.
      PROCEDURE: Eight grey-headed fruit bats (Pteropus poliocephalus) were inoculated
      and housed in contact with three uninfected bats and two uninfected horses. In a
      second experiment, four horses were inoculated by subcutaneous injection and
      intranasal inoculation and housed in contact with three uninfected horses and six
      uninfected cats. In a third experiment, 12 cats were inoculated and housed in
      contact with three uninfected horses. Two surviving horses were inoculated at the
      conclusion of the third experiment: the first orally and the second by nasal
      swabbing. All animals were necropsied and examined by gross and microscopic
      pathological methods, immunoperoxidase to detect viral antigen in formalin-fixed
      tissues, virus isolation was attempted on tissues and SNT and ELISA methods were
      used to detect HeV-specific antibody. RESULTS: Clinical disease was not observed
      in the fruit bats, although six of eight inoculated bats developed antibody
      against HeV, and two of six developed vascular lesions which contained viral
      antigen. The in-contact bats and horses did not seroconvert. Three of four horses
      that were inoculated developed acute disease, but in-contact horses and cats were
      not infected. In the third experiment, one of three in-contact horses contracted
      disease. At the time of necropsy, high titres of HeV were detected in the kidneys
      of six acutely infected horses, in the urine of four horses and the mouth of two,
      but not in the nasal cavities or tracheas. CONCLUSIONS: Grey-headed fruit bats
      seroconvert and develop subclinical disease when inoculated with HeV. Horses can
      be infected by oronasal routes and can excrete HeV in urine and saliva. It is
      possible to transmit HeV from cats to horses. Transmission from P poliocephalus
      to horses could not be proven and neither could transmission from horses to
      horses or horses to cats. Under the experimental conditions of the study the
      virus is not highly contagious.

PMID- 9972434
TI  - Lymphoid neoplasia in the koala.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Correlation of immunophenotype with history, anatomical and
      morphological features of lymphoid neoplasia in the koala. METHODS: Routine
      necropsies were performed on 51 koalas with suspected lymphoid neoplasia between
      1986 and 1997 in New South Wales and Queensland. Immunophenotyping was by an
      immunoperoxidase method utilising species cross-reactive antibodies raised
      against human lymphocytes and an antibody raised against koala IgG. Cases were
      classified according to organs and tissues affected and the morphological
      features of neoplastic cells. RESULTS: Twenty-six (51%) of the cases were of the
      T cell immunophenotype, 12 (24%) were of B cell immunophenotype and 13 (25%) did
      not stain. The age and sex of koalas did not correlate with immunophenotype (P =
      0.686 and P = 1.000, respectively). Thirty-two cases were leukaemic and 36 had
      multiple organ involvement, probably reflecting presentation of koalas at
      advanced stages of disease. Abdominal tissue involvement was most common (44
      cases), followed by nodal (32), atypical (21) and cervicomediastinal (14). The T
      cell immunophenotype was over-represented among the leukaemic cases (P = 0.013).
      Generally, the T cell immunophenotype predominated except for many affected
      atypical tissues. Neoplastic cells were mostly of medium nuclear size with round
      to oval nuclei. No correlations were found for cell morphology, mitotic index and
      immunophenotype. CONCLUSION: The prognostic value of an immunophenotypic,
      anatomical and morphological basis for the classification of lymphoid neoplasia
      in the koala currently is limited by the need to detect these neoplasms at an
      early age, the requirement for freshly fixed tissues and the restricted range of
      available cross-reacting antibodies.

PMID- 9972436
TI  - AVA campaign "false, emotive".

PMID- 9972435
TI  - Measurement of creatine kinase MB in canine cardiac patients.

PMID- 9972438
TI  - The influence of traumatic brain injury on acute stress disorder and post
      traumatic stress disorder following motor vehicle accidents.
AB  - This study compared the acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder
      (PTSD) symptom profiles in motor vehicle accident survivors who sustained a mild
      traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or no TBI. Consecutive adult patients who sustained
      a MTBI (n = 79) and no TBI (n = 92) were assessed for acute stress disorder
      within 1 month of their trauma and reassessed for PTSD (MTBI: n = 63; non-TBI; n
      = 72) 6-months post-trauma. Comparable rates of acute stress disorder and PTSD
      were reported in MTBI and non-TBI patients. Intrusive memories and fear and
      helplessness in response to the trauma were reported less frequently by MTBI than
      non-TBI patients at the acute phase. Six-months post-trauma fewer MTBI patients
      than non-TBI reported fear and helplessness in response to the trauma. These
      findings suggest that, whereas impaired consciousness at the time of a trauma may
      reduce the frequency of traumatic memories in the initial month post-trauma, MTBI
      does not result in a different profile of longer-term PTSD.

PMID- 9972437
TI  - Attention and memory dysfunction after traumatic brain injury: cholinergic
      mechanisms, sensory gating, and a hypothesis for further investigation.
AB  - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common occurrence, with a rate of nearly
      400,000 new injuries per year. Cognitive and emotional disturbances may become
      persistent and disabling for many injured persons, and frequently involve
      symptomatic impairment in attention and memory. Impairments in attention and
      memory have been well characterized in TBI, and are likely related to disruption
      of cholinergic functioning in the hippocampus. Additionally, disturbances in this
      neurotransmitter system may also account for disturbances in sensory gating and
      discriminative attention in this population. The electroencephalographic P50
      waveform of the evoked response to paired auditory stimuli may provide a
      physiologic market of impaired sensory gating among TBI survivors. The first
      application of this recording assessment to the TBI population is reported.
      Preliminary findings in three cases are presented, and the interpretation of
      impaired sensory gating in this population is discussed. Given the impact of TBI
      on cholinergic systems, the effects of cholinergic augmentation on attention and
      memory impairment, and the availability of an electrophysiologic marker of
      cholinergic dysfunction responsive to cholinergic agents, a testable cholinergic
      hypothesis for investigation and treatment of these patients is proposed.

PMID- 9972439
TI  - Problems of patients with chronic aphasia: different perspectives of husbands and
      wives?
AB  - During the early phase following stroke, patients with aphasia and their families
      are totally involved in the rehabilitation programme, but later, in the chronic
      phase, after discharge, the family generally has no support and many problems may
      arise or become more acute and provoke disturbances in this system. The patients
      with aphasia and their spouses may feel the situation differently according to
      their own characteristics, including gender. The present study includes 55
      spouses of patients with chronic aphasia and 37 controls (spouses of subjects
      without physical or cognitive impairments) who filled out a questionnaire
      concerning their respective spouses (European Brain Injury Questionnaire--EBIQ)
      and some aspects about themselves. It was concluded, from the opinions expressed
      by the spouses of patients with chronic aphasia that they have problems in
      several domains not only related to communication or physical impairments. The
      opinions of husbands and wives of patients with aphasia, but not of the controls,
      were different, with more references to behaviour changes in women with aphasia.
      Spouses' responses also show important changes in their own lives. These results
      stress the importance of adequate attention to the long-term psychosocial
      problems of patients and relatives.

PMID- 9972440
TI  - Does the requirement of a craniotomy predict outcome? A preliminary
      investigation.
AB  - The literature has been replete with reports that persons who require craniotomy
      for treatment of their traumatic brain injury have a far worse outcome. The
      majority of these reports have utilized the rather global Glasgow Outcome Scale
      as a determinant of outcome. This paper sought to evaluate the effect of
      craniotomy on outcome as measured by the DRS. Data was collected on 341 persons
      (mean age 37.7 years) with traumatic brain injury treated at the Level I trauma
      centre, who required inpatient rehabilitation. Surgical interventions were
      classified as 'no surgery', 'one cranial surgery', or 'two or more cranial
      surgeries'. Initial GCS scores revealed 44 persons at GCS 3-5, 102 persons at GCS
      6-8, 83 persons at GCS 9-12 and 112 persons at GCS 13-15. The DRS was
      administered to each person at discharge from in-patient rehabilitation. Mean DRS
      scores were 7.07 for GCS 3-5, 6.03 for GCS 6-8, 6.53 for GCS 9-12, 5.57 for GCS
      13-15 groups. A factorial ANOVA revealed an interaction between initial GCS and
      surgical status. Univariate ANOVA's demonstrated significant differences in the
      GCS 3-5 and GCS 13-15 groups, suggesting a relationship between need for surgical
      intervention and less favourable outcome among persons who required in-patient
      rehabilitation. However, no differences were demonstrated in the GCS 6-8 and GCS
      9-12 groups. It appears that requiring surgical intervention is prognostic at
      only the extremes of the GCS categories and, thus, further investigation may
      reveal the limited role of need for surgical intervention injury in predicting
      outcome in persons with initial GCS 6-12.

PMID- 9972441
TI  - Progressive scoliosis in early, non-progressive CNS injuries: role of axial
      muscles.
AB  - Forty-three patients with progressive neurological deficits involving axial
      musculature, starting 3-6 years after non-progressive brain injuries insults are
      described. Losses of function followed period of several years of stable motor
      deficits. Subsequent losses were stereotypic, with loss of ambulation and
      scoliosis, followed by loss of word articulation, malalignment of the mandible
      and ultimately neurogenic impairment of swallowing. Physical therapy, serial
      castings and spinal instrumentation palliated specific musculoskeletal problems
      but did not alter the relentless loss of various functions. The balanced action
      of paired axial muscles (i.e. spine, proximal muscle groups of the lower
      extremities, oropharynx, mastication) is regulated by the brainstem with
      modulation by the cerebral hemispheres. The clinical evolution in these patients
      suggest that, in the absence of normal input from the cerebral hemispheres, some
      patients have a progressive loss of these brainstem mechanisms. The most
      resistant functions (last ones to be lost), seem to be the ones phylogenetically
      most relevant for survival, such as suction and swallowing.

PMID- 9972442
TI  - Circadian rhythm of cerebral perfusion pressure and intracranial pressure in head
      injury.
AB  - The aim of the study was to determine if Cerebral Perfusion Pressure (CPP) and
      Intracranial Pressure (ICP), in patients with head injury, has a circadian
      rhythm. CPP and ICP data of 13 patients were analysed using the Regressive and
      Iterative Cosinor methods. The Regressive Cosinor method did not detect a strong
      24-hour rhythm. Therefore, the Iterative Cosinor method was used to seek rhythms
      with period not necessarily equal to 24 hours. Studying consecutive patient days
      by the Iterative cosinor method showed that rhythm is present but the rhythm
      period was often not 24 hours. A significant rhythm in the range of 20-30 hours
      was detected in eight patients for CPP (62%) and in six patients for ICP (46%).
      To validate the results real and surrogate time series were compared. The
      clinical implications of rhythmic data analysis are discussed.

PMID- 9972443
TI  - Biofeedback-assisted relaxation training with brain injured patients in acute
      stages of recovery.
AB  - There are few published accounts or empirical studies of biofeedback-assisted
      relaxation training with brain injured patients still in acute stages of
      recovery. Given the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted relaxation training with
      other medical populations, brain injured patients in acute stages of recovery
      with anxiety-based symptoms may also stand to gain some benefits from this form
      of treatment. It has yet to be determined, however, if severe cognitive
      impairment or disorientation contraindicate biofeedback treatment. The cases
      profiled here tentatively suggest that consideration of biofeedback-assisted
      relaxation training, even for severely cognitively impaired brain injured
      patients in acute stages of recovery, may be appropriate. Empirical
      investigations will be needed to determine selection criteria and
      contraindications for biofeedback treatment in the acute brain injury population.

PMID- 9972444
TI  - Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment of post-traumatic Kluver-Bucy
      syndrome.
AB  - Two cases of Kluver-Bucy syndrome following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI),
      are described during the period of recovery from acute TBI. These patients posed
      significant management problems, until successfully managed with selective
      serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These cases support the benefit of SSRIs
      in treating associated Kluver-Bucy syndrome.

PMID- 9972445
TI  - Effects of dopaminergic combination therapy for frontal lobe dysfunction in
      traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.
AB  - Traumatic brain injury poses significant and diverse challenges to rehabilitation
      efforts. Neurobehavioural deficits represent a particularly difficult barrier to
      rehabilitative progress and societal reintegration. Early studies have identified
      dopaminergic drugs such as amantadine, bromocriptine and sinemet as potentially
      assistive in countering these deficits. To date, side effect profiles have been
      relatively benign, noted most frequently in small-scale case trials. The case of
      a 40-year-old patient with bilateral frontal traumatic brain injuries, and
      previous arteriovenous malformation (AVM) bleed with significant ataxia,
      dysarthria and neurobehavioural deficits is presented. This long range study
      demonstrates, through multiple varied dosing schedules, a trade off between the
      benefits and side effects of dopaminergic therapy, with implications for a larger
      brain injury population.

PMID- 9972446
TI  - Forms and functions of cytochrome P450.

PMID- 9972447
TI  - The great diversity of reactions catalyzed by cytochromes P450.

PMID- 9972448
TI  - Metazoan cytochrome P450 evolution.
AB  - There are 37 cytochrome P450 families currently identified in animals. The
      concept of higher order groupings of P450 families called P450 CLANS is
      introduced. The mammalian CYP3 and CYP5 families belong to the same clan as
      insect CYP6 and CYP9. All mitochondrial P450s seem to belong to the same clan.
      Lack of mitochondrial P450s in C. elegans suggests that mitochondrial P450s
      probably arose from the mistargeting of a microsomal P450 after the coelomates
      diverged from acoelomates and pseudocoelomates. Different taxonomic groups appear
      to have recruited different ancestral P450s for expansion as they evolved, since
      each major taxon seems to have one large cluster of P450s. In insects, this
      cluster derives from the ancestor to the CYP4 family. Vertebrates and C. elegans
      may have used the same ancestor independently to generate the CYP1, 2, 17, and 21
      families in vertebrates and a large distinctive clan with 45 genes in C. elegans.

PMID- 9972449
TI  - The aryl hydrocarbon receptor: a comparative perspective.
AB  - The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ah receptor or AHR) is a ligand-activated
      transcription factor involved in the regulation of several genes, including those
      for xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450 1A and 1B forms.
      Ligands for the AHR include a variety of aromatic hydrocarbons, including the
      chlorinated dioxins and related halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons whose toxicity
      occurs through activation of the AHR. The AHR and its dimerization partner ARNT
      are members of the emerging bHLH-PAS family of transcriptional regulatory
      proteins. In this review, our current understanding of the AHR signal
      transduction pathway in non-mammalian and other non-traditional species is
      summarized, with an emphasis on similarities and differences in comparison to the
      AHR pathway in rodents and humans. Evidence and prospects for the presence of a
      functional AHR in early vertebrates and invertebrates are also examined. An
      overview of the bHLH-PAS family is presented in relation to the diversity of bHLH
      PAS proteins and the functional and evolutionary relationships of the AHR and
      ARNT to the other members of this family. Finally, some of the most promising
      directions for future research on the comparative biochemistry and molecular
      biology of the AHR and ARNT are discussed.

PMID- 9972451
TI  - Avian forms of cytochrome P450.
AB  - Despite the importance of avian P450 forms in modulation of the toxicity of
      pesticides and other environmental chemicals, relatively little work has been
      done upon them, and very few forms have been fully characterised. An avian form
      that appears to belong to family 1A is readily inducible by planar molecules
      (e.g. coplanar PCB's, PCDD and certain PAHs) and has been the basis of a
      biomarker assay used in field studies. Although it is recognised by antibodies
      for mammalian P450 1A1, it evidently differs from the mammalian forms of the
      enzyme in catalytic properties. Phenobarbitone induces two forms of P450 in the
      domestic fowl (2H1 and 2H2) which have been purified, and these resemble P450 2B1
      and P450 2B2 of the rat respectively. Two further phenobarbitone inducible forms,
      PB-A and PB-B have been partially purified. Also there is an acetone inducible
      form that resembles rodent P450 2E. In field studies evidence has been produced
      for the induction of P450s recognised by antibodies to mammalian forms of P450
      1A1 and P450 2B in avian liver (adults and embryos), in response to environmental
      levels of PCBs. Fungicides which act as ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBI
      fungicides) such as prochloraz and propiconazole potentiate the toxicity of
      certain phosphorothionates to birds.

PMID- 9972450
TI  - Cytochrome P450 induction in feral Cricetid rodents: a review of field and
      laboratory investigations.
AB  - The constitutive and inducible hepatic cytochromes P450 of various feral Cricetid
      rodents (family Cricetidae, comprising various New World rats and mice, hamsters,
      gerbils and voles), have been examined in a relatively limited number of field
      and laboratory investigations. These studies, reviewed herein, have employed
      substrates and immunochemical reagents that are diagnostic for individual P450
      subfamilies of Rattus norvegicus (the common laboratory species derived from the
      Norway rat, a member of the family Muridae). The results have demonstrated that
      the feral rodents display hepatic responses to prototypic CYP1A inducers (3
      methylcholanthrene, beta-naphthoflavone) similar to those displayed by R.
      norvegicus and Mus musculus (the common laboratory species derived from the house
      mouse, another member of the family Muridae). At least one study has demonstrated
      the induction, by ethanol, of a protein immunochemically similar to CYP2E1 in a
      Cricetid rodent. In Cricetid rodents, phenobarbital-type inducers cause the
      induction of a hepatic protein immunologically similar to that primarily induced
      (CYP2B) in R. norvegicus and M. musculus. The proteins induced in the Cricetid
      rodents, however, exhibit striking differences in substrate specificity, compared
      to the proteins induced in R. norvegicus. These results indicate that the
      previously described differences between the P450 induction responses exhibited
      by the commonly utilized laboratory species R. norvegicus and M. musculus (family
      Muridae) and the Syrian hamster and gerbil (family Cricetidae) are observed as a
      generality for members of the Cricetid family of rodents.

PMID- 9972452
TI  - Cytochrome P450 enzymes in chickens: characteristics and induction by
      xenobiotics.

PMID- 9972453
TI  - The microsomal mixed function oxidase system of amphibians and reptiles:
      components, activities and induction.
AB  - This article reviews current research in amphibian and reptilian cytochromes
      P450, important to the overall understanding of xenobiotic metabolism in the
      ecosystem and the evolution of P450s. Amphibians and reptilians contain the
      normal mixed function oxidase system (MFO). In general the MFO content and
      activities are less than those found in mammals, but only a few of the known
      activities have been examined in these vertebrate classes. Research to date has
      focused on two families of cytochromes P450, CYP1 and 2. The isoforms examined
      catalyze the classic activities but there have been notable absences. The total
      number of isoforms present and the breadth of substrates metabolized are yet
      unknown. Induction by foreign compounds (xenobiotics) is lengthier and yields
      lower levels of induced activity than is typically found in mammals. When these
      animals are pretreated with 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) and beta-naphthaflavone
      (BNF), which are known to induce the same isoform in mammals, multiple isoforms
      are induced with different activities. Phenobarbital-pretreatment in turtles and
      alligators induces cytochromes P450 and suggestive data indicates induction in
      the lizard Agama lizard and the newt Pleurodeles waltl. In amphibians and
      reptiles a CYP2B protein does appear to be present along with constitutive
      activities associated with the 2 family of cytochromes P450. The markedly
      different response to classic inducers combined with lower or absent activities
      alters the view of how amphibians and reptilians respond to xenobiotic
      challenges.

PMID- 9972454
TI  - Rainbow trout cytochrome P450s: purification, molecular aspects, metabolic
      activity, induction and role in environmental monitoring.
AB  - Cytochromes P450 (P450s or CYPs) constitute a superfamily of heme-thiolate
      proteins that play important roles in oxidative metabolism of endogenous and
      exogenous compounds. This review provides some limited history but addresses
      mainly the research progress on the cytochrome P450s in rainbow trout
      (Oncorhynchus mykiss), their purification, structures at the primary level, role
      in metabolism, responses to chemicals and environmental pollutants, application
      to biomonitoring and the effect of various factors on their expression or
      activities. Information obtained to date suggests that the rainbow trout P450
      systems are as complex as those seen in mammals. Fourteen P450s have been
      purified from liver or trunk kidney to relatively high specific content. cDNAs
      belonging to seven different P450 families have been documented from trout liver,
      kidney and ovary. Two CYP1A genes, nine cDNAs containing open reading frames, and
      a cDNA fragment were entered into GenBank. Among them, CYP2K1, CYP2K3, CYP2K4,
      CYP2M1, CYP3A27 and CYP4T1 are the most recently described forms. CYP2K1, CYP2M1
      and CYP4T1 represent newly identified P450 subfamilies first described in the
      rainbow trout. In many cases, the cloned rainbow trout P450s have subsequently
      been expressed in heterologous expressions systems such as COS-7 cells, yeast and
      baculovirus infected insect cells. Some of the overexpressed P450 isoforms have
      been partially characterized. Potential future research directions are discussed.

PMID- 9972455
TI  - Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system in echinoderms.
AB  - The results of a limited number of studies on echinoderms provide evidence for
      the presence of a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system in representatives of
      three classes of the phylum Echinodermata: the asteroids (sea stars),
      holothuroids (sea cucumbers) and echinoids (sea urchins). The monooxygenase
      system has been demonstrated to be involved in the metabolism of xenobiotic
      compounds, but is assumed to have its primary function in the metabolism of
      endogenous substrates, such as steroids. Available data on P450 cofactor
      requirement, P450-dependent metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene, studies with classical
      inhibitors of P450, specificity of P450 induction by planar compounds, and the
      changes in the benzo[a]pyrene metabolite profile in induced animals suggest
      similarities with the MO system present in vertebrates. However, the relatively
      high capacity of the monooxygenase system in sea stars to catalyse reactions with
      organic hydroperoxide as donor for activated oxygen, and the low induceability
      during exposure to xenobiotics indicate also important differences between the
      echinoderm cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system and that of vertebrates. Some
      evidence was found for the existence of different forms of cytochrome P450 in sea
      stars. Catalytic functions of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system of sea
      stars in the metabolism of steroids may be suppressed as a result of the
      induction of cytochrome P450 by xenobiotics.

PMID- 9972456
TI  - Insect cytochromes P450: diversity, insecticide resistance and tolerance to plant
      toxins.
AB  - In the last decade, studies of individual insect P450s have blossomed. This new
      information has furthered our understanding of P450 diversity, insecticide
      resistance and tolerance to plant toxins. Insect P450s can be adult specific,
      larval specific or life stage independent. Similarly, insect P450s vary as to the
      tissues where they are expressed and in their response to inducers. Insect P450s
      can now be rapidly sequenced using degenerate PCR primers. Given the huge
      diversity represented by the Class Insecta, this technique will provide vast
      amounts of new information about insect P450s and the evolution of the P450 gene
      superfamily. CYP6D1 is responsible for monooxygenase-mediated resistance to
      pyrethroid insecticides in the house fly. CYP6D1 is ubiquitously expressed in
      adults with 10-fold higher levels found in the resistant strain compared to
      susceptible strains. CYP6D1 is on autosome 1 in house fly. The high level of
      expression found in the resistant strain is due to genes on autosomes 1 and 2.
      Whether or not the different CYP6D1 alleles found in resistant and susceptible
      strains have any role in resistance remains to be elucidated. The CYP6B gene
      subfamily is involved in the metabolism of host plant toxins (i.e.
      furanocoumarins). CYP6B gene transcripts in two Papilio (swallowtail) species
      have been shown to be induced by host plant toxins and in turn to metabolize
      these toxins. CYP6B P450s play a critical role in allowing Papilio to adapt to
      furanocoumarin-containing host plants. Similarities in structural and promoter
      regions of the CYP6B genes suggest that they are derived from a common ancestral
      gene. Although the P450 monooxygenases of insects are important for the
      metabolism of hormones and phermones, no individual P450 has yet been shown to
      metabolize an endogenous compound. Advances in this area are critical because
      they will provide important new information about insect physiology, biochemistry
      and development.

PMID- 9972457
TI  - Cytochromes P450 in crustacea.
AB  - Since the last review of this topic, further insight has been gained into the
      presence and functions of cytochrome P450 proteins in the hepatopancreas and
      other organs of aquatic crustacean species, although progress has been slow
      relative to the advances in other species. Recent studies with several lobster,
      shrimp, crab and crayfish species suggest that cytochromes P450 in the 2 and 3
      families are the most abundant forms in hepatopancreas microsomes. Substrates
      normally metabolized by CYP2 and CYP3 family members are monooxygenated more
      rapidly by crustacea than substrates normally metabolized by CYP1 family enzymes,
      e.g. erythromycin, testosterone and aminopyrine are much more rapidly
      monooxygenated than ethoxyresorufin. Some progress has been made in cloning and
      sequencing crustacean P450 forms. CYP2L1 and CYP2L2 cDNA sequences have been
      cloned from spiny lobster hepatopancreas libraries, and there was evidence for at
      least two more cytochromes P450 in spiny lobster hepatopancreas. An area of
      continued interest, but of no consensus or general findings, relates to the
      presence and inducibility of CYP1 family members in crustacea. Some studies
      indicate weak induction of total cytochrome P450 and increased turnover of
      substrates normally associated with CYP1, while others show no effect of the
      classic inducers that act at the Ah receptor in vertebrates. A few studies of the
      roles of cytochromes P450 in the biosynthesis and degradation of steroids,
      including ecdysteroids, have been published. Further studies are needed to
      understand the regulation and normal function of the crustacean cytochromes P450.

PMID- 9972458
TI  - Annelid cytochrome P-450.
AB  - Both classes of Annelida--Polychaeta and Clitellata--have been shown to contain
      cytochrome P-450. The metabolism of a number of aromatic hydrocarbons, drugs and
      pesticides by annelids required oxygen and NADPH, and was inhibited by a variety
      of cytochrome P-450 inhibitors. A number of types I and II substrates bound to
      the cytochrome P-450 in polychaete microsomes to give typical types I and II
      binding spectra. These results suggest that xenobiotics in annelids are
      metabolized by a typical cytochrome P-450 mixed function oxygenase. In addition
      to xenobiotics, annelid cytochrome P-450 systems are likely to function in the
      biosynthesis and metabolism of sterols and hormones found in annelids, such as
      cholesterol, ecdysteroids and eicosanoids. The primary source of cytochrome P-450
      isolated to date from annelids has been intestinal microsomes. Cytochrome P-450
      concentrations in these microsomes varied from 8 to 580 pmol mg-1 of protein. The
      only cytochrome P-450s purified from annelids were the three isomers isolated
      from microsomes of the oligochaete, Lumbricus terrestris, whose molecular masses
      were 48,000, 51,000 and 53,000 Da. Work on the induction of cytochrome P-450 in
      polychaetes by exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or polychlorinated
      biphenyls has given conflicting results, since some groups found induction after
      such exposure, but others found no induction. One possible explanation may be
      exposure to natural soil and sediments inducers, e.g. plant alkaloids, during
      feeding. Since gene and protein sequences have yet to be carried out on the
      cytochrome P-450 of any annelid, the relationship of annelid cytochrome P-450s to
      the 74 families of P-450 so far found, remains to be carried out.

PMID- 9972459
TI  - Cytochrome P450 in parasitic protozoa and helminths.
AB  - Cytochrome P450 has been demonstrated in flagellate and sporozoan Protozoa. In
      Plasmodium there is a correlation between chloroquine resistance and cytochrome
      P450 mono-oxygenase activity, but there is no evidence that the malarial parasite
      metabolises chloroquine by an oxidative mechanism. There is no evidence for
      cytochrome P450 in adult helminths (nematodes and platyhelminths) based on P450
      content and mono-oxygenase activity with classical substrates, although low
      activities may be present in free-living larval stages.

PMID- 9972460
TI  - Occurrence of flavin-containing monooxygenases in non-mammalian eukaryotic
      organisms.
AB  - Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) have been identified in various organisms
      from bacteria to humans. However, because of the importance of these enzymes in
      the biotransformation of xenobiotics, the majority of studies have focused almost
      entirely upon the mammalian forms of the enzyme. Consequently, this review is an
      attempt to document the occurrence of FMO expression (mRNA, proteins, activities)
      in non-mammalian species in an attempt to provide insight about its putative
      physiological and toxicological roles. Activity indicative of FMO has been
      observed in numerous invertebrate species but corresponding proteins or
      transcripts have not been identified. There is a significant gap of information
      pertaining to insects, echinoderms, avian, reptilian and amphibian species.
      Significant homology of structure and function is observed in lower vertebrates.
      Evidence is provided primarily from studies with piscine forms of the enzyme
      suggesting a possible osmoregulatory role of FMOs, especially in euryhaline
      species of fish.

PMID- 9972461
TI  - Dose-response relationships for cytochrome P450 induction by phenobarbital in the
      cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus).
AB  - The induction of a hepatic pleiotropic response, including increase in liver/body
      weight ratio, induction of hepatic CYP2B and CYP3A protein and catalytic
      activity, and hepatic microsomal epoxide hydration activity, was investigated in
      male cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) administered graded dietary concentrations
      (0-1500 ppm) of phenobarbital (PB) for 14 days. A dose-dependent induction of
      each endpoint was observed, although plateaus in the various dose-response curves
      were not obtained, and ED50 values (PB concentrations associated with half
      maximal responses) for the various endpoints were not able to be calculated. A
      maximal 1.31-fold increase, compared to the control value, in live/body weight
      ratio was observed, while microsomal epoxide hydration activity was increased as
      much as 3.6-fold by PB administration. Pentoxy- and benzyloxyresorufin O
      dealkylation and testosterone 16 beta-hydroxylation activities (considered to be
      relatively selective for CYP2B in the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)), were
      induced maximally less than five-fold. Testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylation
      (considered to be relatively selective for CYP3A in R. norvegicus) was induced
      maximally less than two-fold. Maximal induction of 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethyl
      coumarin O-deethylation was 18-fold, compared to the control rate. Western
      blotting studies indicated that hepatic microsomal proteins immunoreactive with
      polyclonal antisera to R. norvegicus CYP2B1 or CYP3A1 were induced, in a dose
      responsive manner, by PB in the cotton rats. These results indicate that the
      cotton rat responds to PB treatment with a coordinate pleiotropic response
      similar to that displayed by R. norvegicus, although the substrate specificity of
      the induced proteins appears to differ between the two rodent species.

PMID- 9972462
TI  - Multiplicity and tissue specific expression of camel cytochrome P450(s).
AB  - The presence of multiple forms of the cytochrome P450 was demonstrated
      enzymatically in camel tissues using a variety of isoenzyme specific substrates
      and immunochemically using isoenzyme specific antibodies. The maximum catalytic
      activity using xenobiotics as substrate was observed in the liver followed by the
      kidney. However, lauric acid hydroxylation was found to be higher in the kidney
      than in any other tissues. Camel liver microsomal monooxygenase activity using
      aniline, aminopyrene, ethoxycoumarin, ethoxyresorufin and benzo(a)pyrene as
      substrates was comparable with those of rat and human livers. The activity of the
      enzymes in extrahepatic tissues of the camel was comparable with those of the rat
      extrahepatic tissues. The maximum expression of P450 protein was seen in the
      camel liver and kidney while the brain and intestine exhibited relatively low
      levels of expression. P450 expression in camel tissues appeared to be higher than
      in rat tissues. Immunohistochemical staining of P450 in the camel liver, kidney
      and brain confirmed the higher expression of P450 enzyme proteins in the liver
      and kidney as compared to other extrahepatic tissues. The maximum expression of
      P450 in the liver was observed in hepatocytes around the central vein and in the
      kidney it was observed in the proximal tubules. These results demonstrate that
      the multiple forms of P450s are differentially expressed in camel tissues and
      that the relative levels of expression are comparable with those of rat and human
      tissues. These observations may be important in understanding the differential
      susceptibility of camel tissues to the toxic/therapeutic effects of
      xenobiotics/drugs and environmental pollution.

PMID- 9972463
TI  - EROD induction by environmental contaminants in avian embryo livers.
AB  - The CYP1A (EROD)-inducing potencies of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
      (TCDD), 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126) and benzo(k)fluoranthene (B(k)F)
      were studied in avian embryo livers. TCDD and PCB126 proved to be much more
      potent as inducers in the chicken than in the other species examined. This
      finding is consistent with a considerably higher sensitivity of the chicken
      compared with a number of other avian species to the embryotoxic effects of these
      compounds. Furthermore, the relative potencies of the tested Ah receptor agonists
      as CYP1A inducers differed substantially between species. B(k)F and PCB126 showed
      similar induction potencies in domestic duck embryos, whereas PCB126 is much more
      potent than B(k)F in the chicken. Also, the potency of PCB126, relative to that
      of TCDD, was much lower in quail embryo liver in vitro than in chicken embryo
      liver. Thus, there are large interspecific differences in birds in the
      sensitivity to CYP1A inducers and furthermore, the relative potencies of these
      compounds may differ substantially between species.

PMID- 9972464
TI  - Cytochrome P450 enzymes in the kidney of the bobwhite quail (Colinus
      virginianus): induction and inhibition by ergosterol biosynthesis inhibiting
      fungicides.
AB  - Metabolism of testosterone and the alkoxyresorufins was examined in kidney
      microsomes from male Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) and was compared with
      that in kidney microsomes prepared from the male rat. In addition, cross
      reactivity studies were conducted with a number of antibodies prepared against
      cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes purified from rat and trout liver. The effects of
      treatment with the fungicides: propiconazole, vinclozolin, clotrimazole and
      ketoconazole were examined. While kidney microsomes from both quail and rat
      catalyzed testosterone metabolism at multiple positions, the pattern of
      hydroxylated metabolites differed. Treatment with vinclozolin resulted in
      significant induction of testosterone 2 beta- and 15 beta-hydroxylase activity in
      quail kidney accompanied by increases in expression of P450 enzymes cross
      reactive with antibodies raised against a CYP 3A-like protein in teleost fish. In
      contrast, ketoconazole treatment resulted in inhibition of testosterone
      hydroxylation at positions 15 beta- and 6 alpha-. Propiconazole and vinclozolin
      significantly induced a CYP 1A1 cross-reactive P450 enzyme in quail kidney 2-3
      fold unaccompanied by significant increases in alkoxyresorufin O-dealkylase
      activity. These activities were significantly inhibited by ketoconazole
      treatment. Quail kidney microsomes also expressed high levels of a CYP 4A1 cross
      reactive apoprotein which was inducible 3-4-fold by ketoconazole. Thus, quail
      kidney possesses cytochrome P450 enzymes related to forms found in mammalian gene
      families 1, 3 and 4. Fungicide treatment results in mixed patterns of induction
      and inhibition of kidney P450 enzymes different from those previously reported in
      quail liver.

PMID- 9972465
TI  - Molecular cloning of CYP1A from the estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus and
      phylogenetic analysis of CYP1 genes: update with new sequences.
AB  - Since we published a phylogenetic analysis of the CYP1A subfamily in 1995,
      several additional full-length sequences have been reported, including three
      members of an entirely new subfamily, CYP1B. Two avian sequences were recently
      published, so that CYP1A sequence data are now available from three of the five
      major vertebrate lineages. The two new branches that have been added to the CYP1
      family tree significantly add to our understanding of P450 evolution. The
      inclusion of the CYP1Bs to the phylogenetic analysis allows us to root inferred
      trees. Addition of the avian CYP1As indicates that the CYP1A1/CYP1A2 duplication
      present in the mammalian lineage may have occurred after the divergence of birds
      and mammals. The number of fish species from which full-length coding regions of
      CYP1A genes have been sequenced has increased from four (trout, plaice, toadfish,
      and scup) to nine. These include CYP1A sequences from tomcod, butterflyfish, sea
      bream, sea bass, and the full-length sequence of CYP1A from the killifish
      Fundulus heteroclitus that is reported here. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating
      the new fish CYP1A sequences support our original conclusion that the fish CYP1As
      are monophyletic and indicate that the genes are evolving at very different rates
      in different species.

PMID- 9972466
TI  - Molecular cloning of a CYP1A cDNA from the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax.
AB  - A cDNA encoding for cytochrome P450 1A has been cloned in the marine teleost fish
      Dicentrarchus labrax. This fish, common in the Mediterranean, was chosen since it
      is considered a good sentinel species. Moreover, biomarkers of exposure to
      organic contaminants (such as EROD) are often measured in this species and make
      it possible to evaluate the quality of waters. For cloning purposes, RNAs were
      extracted from the liver of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-treated animals and used as
      template in degenerate RT-PCR. The cDNA product was cloned and used for the
      design of highly stringent primers that were utilized in Rapid Amplification of
      cDNA Ends (RACE) PCR. The cloned cDNA hybridizes with a 2.7 kb mRNA which is
      induced by treatment of the fish with BaP, a classical CYP1A inducer. The closest
      sequences found in data banks belong to fish CYP1A.

PMID- 9972467
TI  - Preparation of highly purified cytochrome P4501A1 from leaping mullet (Liza
      saliens) liver microsomes and its biocatalytic, molecular and immunochemical
      properties.
AB  - Cytochrome P4501A1 was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from the liver
      microsomes of feral fish leaping mullet (Liza saliens) collected in Izmir Bay,
      Aegean coast of Turkey. Purification of cytochrome P4501A1 involved anion
      exchange chromatography of Emulgen 913-cholate solubilized microsomes on first-
      and second-DEAE-cellulose columns, hydrophobic interaction chromatographies of
      the partially purified cytochrome P4501A1 on Porapak Q and phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B
      and further purification on adsorption chromatography on the hydroxylapatite
      column. Finally, it is further concentrated and purified on the third DEAE
      cellulose column. The purified cytochrome P4501A1 was characterized with respect
      to spectral, electrophoretic, immunochemical and biocatalytic properties.
      Cytochrome P4501A1, purified 32-fold with a specific content of 15-17 nmoles P450
      (mg protein)-1, produced a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
      having monomer molecular weight of 58,000 +/- 500. Absolute absorption spectrum
      of the purified cytochrome P4501A1 fractions showed maximal absorption at 417.5
      nm and CO-difference spectrum of dithionite-reduced cytochrome P4501A1 gave a
      peak at 448 nm. Purified P4501A1 was found to be active in the O-deethylation of
      7-ethoxyresorufin in the reconstituted system containing purified fish liver
      cytochrome P450 reductase and synthetic lipid. However, it was unable to catalyze
      the oxidation of the other monooxygenase substrates such as benzphetamine and
      aniline known to be specific for the other isozymes. Purified L. saliens liver
      microsomal cytochrome P4501A1 showed strong cross-reactivity with the antibodies
      directed against the cytochrome P4501A1 homologues purified from other teleost
      species such as rainbow trout and scup. Spectral, electrophoretic, immunochemical
      and biocatalytic properties of the purified cytochrome P4501A1 strongly suggested
      that it is the CYP1A1 in the L. saliens liver.

PMID- 9972468
TI  - Cytochrome P450-dependent metabolic pathways and glucuronidation in trout liver
      slices.
AB  - We investigated the capacity of trout precision-cut liver slices to metabolize
      xenobiotics and steroids. As a first approach, liver slices were compared with
      freshly isolated trout hepatocytes, using 7-ethoxycoumarin (7-EC) and
      testosterone as substrates. Trout liver slices and freshly isolated hepatocytes
      had a similar capacity for conducting cytochrome P450-dependent metabolism, as
      indicated by the rate of oxidative metabolism of 7-EC and testosterone, and by
      the metabolic profile of these substrates. A lower rate of glucuronidation in
      slices compared with hepatocytes was observed with testosterone (50 microM),
      whereas the opposite situation occurred with 7-EC used at higher concentration
      (100 microM). In a second step, we investigated the effect of beta-naphthoflavone
      on 7-EC and testosterone biotransformation, using slices maintained in culture
      for 24 h, with or without the inducer added. The results were compared with the
      metabolic rates of these substrates incubated with liver slices originating from
      trout pretreated in vivo with beta-naphthoflavone. Cytochrome P450-mediated rates
      of 7-EC dealkylation and testosterone hydroxylation decreased to 38 and 55% of
      the control value, respectively, when incubations were performed in 24-h cultured
      slices instead of freshly cut slices. Exposure of the slices to 50 microM beta
      naphthoflavone resulted in about 3 times higher deethylation rate of 7-EC. A
      similar value was obtained when treatment occurred in vivo. As demonstrated in
      rat by several authors, liver slices seem a useful and simple tool for studying
      the metabolic pathways of xenobiotics and steroids and for the assessment of
      inducers of the CYP1A1 family.

PMID- 9972469
TI  - Effects of triphenyltin and other organotins on hepatic monooxygenase system in
      fish.
AB  - The interaction of the organotin fungicide triphenyltin chloride (TPT) with fish
      microsomal monooxygenase systems has been studied in vitro and in vivo in the
      marine fish scup (Stenotomus chrysops). In vitro incubation of fish liver
      microsomes with TPT resulted in the conversion of about 40% of the native total
      spectral P450 to P420. In addition, a strong concentration-related inhibition of
      ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity was observed, with a complete loss
      at 1.0 mM TPT. Pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (PROD) activity was inhibited only
      at the highest concentration tested. This suggests either some specificity for
      the EROD catalyst CYP1A1, or a loss of reductant NADPH cytochrome c reductase as
      the cause. Further in vitro incubations showed that NADPH, but not NADH,
      cytochrome c reductase was strongly inhibited at 100 microM TPT and higher. To
      further investigate this effect, fish were injected with single doses of 5, 25
      and 50 microM TPT (1.9, 9.6 and 19.3 mg kg-1 TPT), and 24 and 48 h later, hepatic
      microsomes were analyzed for total P450 content, EROD activity, NAD(P)H
      cytochrome c reductase, and the content of three CYP forms. EROD activity tended
      to be decreased in TPT-treated scup, with the response being stronger after 48
      than 24 h. No significant conversion of spectrally determined P450 to cytochrome
      P420 was found, and cytochrome b5 was not affected. However, both NAD(P)H
      cytochrome c reductases were significantly inhibited at all concentrations.
      Immunoblot analysis showed reduction of CYP1A1 content at all doses, being
      significant at 25 mM after 48 h, but no decrease in CYP3A-like protein, the
      dominant catalyst of testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylation, nor CYP2B-like protein,
      the major contributor to indicates significant effects of TPT at high
      concentrations on fish hepatic CYP1A1 protein, EROD activity and the reductases.
      TPT seems to act more specifically on CYP1A1 than on other CYP forms. These
      findings combined with those of our previous studies (Bruschweiler BJ, Wurgler
      FE, Fent K. Environ Toxicol Chem 1996;15:827-735; Fent K, Bucheli TD. Aquat
      Toxicol 1994;28:107-126; Fent K, Stegeman JJ. Aquat Toxicol 1991;20:159-168; Fent
      K, Stegeman JJ. Aquat Toxicol 1993;24:219-240) indicate a general degenerative
      effect of organotins on the fish microsomal monooxygenase system, although some
      differences are seen between the organotins, and between species. We conclude
      that these effects of organotins have consequences for use of CYP1A as a
      biomarker and endocrine disruption.

PMID- 9972470
TI  - Interaction of isosafrole, beta-naphthoflavone and other CYP1A inducers in liver
      of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and eelpout (Zoarces viviparus).
AB  - The CYP1A enzyme in liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and eelpout
      (Zoarces viviparus) was induced by intraperitoneal injections of isosafrole
      (ISF), beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), retene, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB),
      Clophen A50 and combinations of these compounds. The livers were sampled 5 days
      after injection and the microsomal fraction was used to measure the activity of
      CYP1A (as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD)) and the level of the enzyme
      (measured semiquantitatively as absorbance using enzyme-linked immunosorbant
      assay (ELISA)). Induction of CYP1A above the additive effect was observed when
      ISF was given together with BNF or retene. It was suggested that ISF may
      stabilize the enzyme or its mRNA or that ISF metabolites inhibit CYP1A processing
      of BNF and retene, thus increasing the effective doses of these compounds in fish
      liver. The results indicate a need for further studies of interactions between
      different CYP1A inducers in fish and a comparison of CYP1A response between
      different fish species. These results may have implications for the use of CYP1A
      induction in fish as a biomarker in aquatic systems, since a high EROD activity
      could be due not only to the presence of one potent inducer, but to synergistic
      effects of two or more inducers at low concentrations.

PMID- 9972471
TI  - Induction of lauric acid hydroxylase activity in catfish and bluegill by
      peroxisome proliferating agents.
AB  - In mammals, sensitivity to peroxisome proliferation by peroxisome proliferating
      agents (PPAs) appears to be correlated with inducibility of lauric acid
      hydroxylase activity. Bluegill and catfish have been shown to respond to PPAs by
      induction of lauric acid hydroxylase immunoreactive proteins (Haasch, 1996). In
      this investigation, induction of lauric acid hydroxylase activity was confirmed
      by HPLC and mass spectral analysis of specific hydroxylation products and
      possible species-specific differences in metabolism were investigated. Male
      bluegill, channel catfish and rat, were administered the model PPAs, clofibrate
      (200 mg kg-1, i.p.), ciprofibrate (100 mg kg-1, i.p.), or olive oil as vehicle
      control (both sexes of catfish), 48 h prior to hepatic, trunk kidney (catfish
      only) or kidney (rat) microsome preparation. In general, total metabolism of
      lauric acid was similar in all species, but female catfish metabolize lauric acid
      to a greater extent than males. Ciprofibrate treatment produced significant
      induction of omega- and omega-6 hydroxylation in male catfish kidney. In male
      bluegill liver, omega-, omega-4 and omega-5 hydroxylations were significantly
      induced by clofibrate treatment. The data indicate that induction of lauric acid
      hydroxylase cytochrome(s) P450 occurs in PPA-exposed fish which may be a
      consideration for environmentally-exposed responsive species.

PMID- 9972472
TI  - Immunochemical characterization of hepatic cytochrome P450 isozymes in the
      channel catfish: assessment of sexual, developmental and treatment-related
      effects.
AB  - The profiles of immunoreactive proteins recognized by antibodies raised against
      purified trout P-450 isoforms (CYP1A1, CYP2M1 and CYP2K1) were examined in
      channel catfish liver by Western blot analysis. Gender differences in basal
      expression of these isoforms, as well as responses to known inducers of mammalian
      isoforms (ethanol, beta-naphthoflavone and clofibric acid) and early life stage
      (3 and 6 months) profiles are described. Two similar protein bands were detected
      by Western blotting in mature untreated catfish with CYP2K1 and CYP2M1
      antibodies. A third band is detected by anti-2K1 in fish treated with beta
      naphthoflavone; this band was verified as CYP1A, with about twice the level of
      expression in males versus females. No difference between sexes was seen in the
      expression of the 51-kDa CYP2-reactive bands; however, a significant difference
      (female > male) was seen in the lower molecular weight CYP2 band (47-kDa).
      Ethanol treatment caused a dose-dependent decrease in the 47-kDa CYP2-reactive
      isoforms but no change in the 51-kDa band. Clofibric acid treatment caused an
      increase in both the 51-kDa CYP2 protein as well as in liver somatic index. Age
      dependent changes in isoform expression were also detected in CYP2-reactive
      forms, with a novel protein (53-kDa) detected in 3-month-old fish. The results
      from this study provide insight into the regulation of constitutive catfish CYP
      isoforms and prepares a foundation for further examination of the
      biotransformation capabilities of an important aquatic species.

PMID- 9972473
TI  - Induction of cytochrome P450 activities in Drosophila melanogaster strains
      susceptible or resistant to insecticides.
AB  - We analysed Drosophila melanogaster cytochrome P450s (P450) through the
      measurements of four enzymatic activities: ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase,
      ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, lauric acid hydroxylation, and testosterone
      hydroxylation. We did these measurements in two Drosophila strains: one is
      susceptible to insecticides (Cantons) and the other is resistant to insecticides
      by enhanced P450 activities (RDDTR). In addition, we also treated the flies with
      eight chemicals (beta-naphtoflavone, benzo-alpha-pyrene, 3-methylcholanthrene,
      phenobarbital, aminopyrine, rifampicin, prochloraz, and clofibrate) known to
      induces genes from the families CYP1, CYP2, CYP3, CYP4, and CYP6. Metabolisation
      of all the substrates by P450 from flies microsomes was observed. The chemicals
      had different effects on these activities, ranging from induction to inhibition.
      The effects of these chemicals varied with the strains as most of them were
      ineffective on the RDDTR strain. The results showed that P450-dependent
      activities are numerous in Drosophila. Regulation features of these activities
      are complex. The availability of mutant strains as RDDTR should allow fundamental
      studies of P450 in insects.

PMID- 9972474
TI  - Mixed function oxidase induction in Carcinus aestuarii. Field and experimental
      studies for the evaluation of toxicological risk due to Mediterranean
      contaminants.
AB  - The aim of this study was to test and validate the use of mixed function oxidase
      (MFO) induction, in the crab Carcinus aestuarii, under experimental and field
      studies, for the evaluation of toxicological risk due to the main contaminants in
      the Mediterranean. Two different experiments were performed in the laboratory in
      order to identify the most suitable tissues for MFO studies in this species and
      the most suitable and sensitive MFO responses for evaluating chemical stress due
      to lipophilic contaminants. In order to validate this methodology in the field,
      two studies were carried out in two polluted Mediterranean lagoons: a transplant
      experiment in Orbetello Lagoon and an in situ experiment in Venice Lagoon. The
      following MFO responses were investigated in hepatopancreas and gills of the
      crabs: ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase (BPH)
      activities and reductase enzyme activities. The main results can be summarised as
      follows: midgut-gland and gills were confirmed to be useful for MFO tests; BPH
      activity in hepatopancreas was the most suitable and sensitive MFO response for
      evaluating chemical stress due to Mediterranean contaminants in laboratory and
      field studies; in the Orbetello Lagoon experiment, a statistically significant
      difference was found between sites subject to different human impact.

PMID- 9972475
TI  - Cytochrome P450 system in the hepatopancreas of the red swamp crayfish
      Procambarus clarkii: a field study.
AB  - Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity
      were studied in the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii sampled from the Ebro
      Delta before and after spraying of the area with fenitrothion. Analysis of
      hepatopancreas microsomes revealed an increase of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase
      (EROD) activity in organisms sampled after spraying. AChE activity was
      significantly inhibited in the same specimens, corroborating that these organisms
      were exposed to fenitrothion, and the usefulness of AChE as a marker of pesticide
      poisoning in P. clarkii. Crayfish from a reference site were analyzed and the
      results compared with those obtained in organisms from the Ebro Delta. The
      ability of P. clarkii to metabolize the organophosphorus pesticide fenitrothion
      was determined in vitro by using microsomal fractions isolated from
      hepatopancreas. The results pointed out the existence of an oxidative metabolism,
      which was inhibited by different P450 inhibitors (clotrimazole, alpha
      naphthoflavone and N-benzylimidazole) and not affected by methimazole.

PMID- 9972476
TI  - Cytochrome P450 and dependent activities in unexposed and PAH-exposed terrestrial
      annelids.
AB  - The cytochrome P450 system of the oligochaetes Eisenia f. fetida (tiger worm) and
      Enchytraeus crypticus (pot worm) was analysed using ethoxy-, pentoxy- and
      benzoxyresorufin as substrates for monooxygenase activity. Whole body microsomes
      of the earthworm E.f. fetida displayed PentROD activity in the range from 0.26 to
      1.05 pmol mg protein-1 min-1 and BenzROD activity in the range from 0.14 to 0.30
      pmol mg protein-1 min-1. Exposure of the animals for up to four weeks to 100 mg
      fluoranthene or benzo[a]pyrene kg-1 soil (dry weight) did not induce significant
      changes in the activity of these monooxygenases. In E. crypticus EROD activity
      was in the range from 2.10 to 6.18 pmol mg protein-1 min-1 and PentROD activity
      in the range from 1.75 to 4.78 pmol mg protein-1 min-1. Short-term exposure to
      BaP by feeding reduced the EROD activity significantly by 45%, but did not effect
      PentROD activity. After long-term (8 weeks) exposure to BaP in the agar-agar
      medium EROD activity was not changed but PentROD had decreased to zero. In both
      species cytochrome P420 and NADPH-cytochrome C reductase activity were present.
      In E.f. fetida microsomes are associated with the giant haemoglobin. Both can be
      separated by gel filtration on a Sepharose B2 column or by hydrophobic
      interaction chromatography after solubilisation with cholate. NADPH-cytochrome C
      reductase elutes together with haemoglobin. Cytochrome P420 is eluted with
      Emulgen 911 and can be further purified by ion exchange chromatography using HA
      Ultrogel. By SDS-PAGE of the purified microsomal proteins three protein bands are
      visualised in the range of cytochrome P450 displaying an apparent molecular mass
      of 54, 56 and 58 kDa. Only the 54-kDa protein interacts weakly with perch (Perca
      fluviatilis) CYP1A antibodies, while two proteins with an apparent molecular mass
      of 65 and 71 kDa give a strong antibody signal.

PMID- 9972477
TI  - A new cytochrome P450 (CYP30) family identified in the clam, Mercenaria
      mercenaria.
AB  - A full-length clone with sequence similarity to genes in the cytochrome P450
      superfamily was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from female Mercenaria
      mercenaria gonadal tissue. This clone was isolated while screening an expression
      library with an antibody prepared against a peptide sequence within the ligand
      binding region of the murine Ah receptor. Comparison of the predicted amino acid
      sequence of this clone to those of other cytochrome P450 genes indicated that the
      closest overall sequence similarity (38%) was to proteins predicted from genes in
      the CYP3 family. Northern blots indicated the presence of a transcript of the
      appropriate size (3.0 kb) with homology to the clam cytochrome P450. In vitro
      translation of the cDNA clone produced a 50.7-kDa protein as determined by SDS
      polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The in vitro translated protein was not
      recognized on Western blots by two polyclonal antibodies specific for members of
      the CYP3 family. Since the degree of similarity to existing cytochrome P450
      families was below the 40% level required for membership, and the expressed
      protein was not recognized by CYP3-specific antibodies, this clam cytochrome P450
      cDNA has been placed in a new family, cytochrome P450 30 (CYP30).

PMID- 9972478
TI  - Immunochemical investigations of cytochrome P450 forms/epitopes (CYP1A, 2B, 2E,
      3A and 4A) in digestive gland of Mytilus sp.
AB  - Western blot analysis of microsomes and partially purified cytochrome P450 (CYP)
      from digestive gland of Mytilus edulis was carried out using polyclonal
      antibodies to hepatic Perca fluviatilis CYP1A, Oncorhynchus mykiss CYP3A and rat
      CYP2B, CYP2E and CYP4A isoforms. Multiple CYP bands were detected in partially
      purified CYP compared to single bands for microsomes for anti-CYP1A, anti-CYP2B,
      anti-CYP2E and anti-CYP3A. In contrast, anti-CYP4A showed two distinct bands for
      both. The apparent molecular weights in kD (mean +/- range or S.D.; n = 2-4) for
      partially purified CYP were 42.5 +/- 0.5 and 48.1 +/- 0.3 (2 bands, anti-CYP1A);
      67.4 +/- 0.7, 52.8 +/- 0.6, 44.5 +/- 2.5 (3 bands, anti-CYP3A); 52.8 +/- 0.7,
      48.1 +/- 1.1 and 43.9 +/- 1.1 (3 bands, anti-CYP2B); 52.7 +/- 0.8 and 47.2 +/-
      0.2 (2 bands, anti-CYP2E); 50.9 +/- 0.3 and 44.1 +/- 0.2 kD (2 bands, anti
      CYP4A). Digestive gland microsomes of Mytilus galloprovincialis from a polluted
      compared to a clean field site showed higher levels of bands recognised by anti
      CYP1A, anti-CYP2E and anti-CYP4A, but not anti-CYP2B and anti-CYP3A (P < 0.05),
      indicative of independent regulation of different CYP forms. Overall, the
      apparent molecular weight and field studies indicate at least five different
      digestive gland CYP forms.

PMID- 9972479
TI  - Spectral analysis and catalytic activities of the microsomal mixed-function
      oxidase system of the sea anemone (phylum: Cnidaria).
AB  - Cnidarians are primarily marine organisms with a wide and diverse habitat
      worldwide. Previous studies from our laboratory demonstrated the presence of
      proteins in the molecular mass range of 50-60 KDa that were recognized by several
      antibodies raised against fish cytochromes P450 of the CYP 1, 2, and 3 families
      in microsomes prepared from the columnar regions of 5 species of sea anemones
      (Heffernan et al. Mar Environ Res 1996;42:353-357). Pursuant to those studies we
      report herein results of spectral analyses, NAD(P)H-oxidoreductase and
      ethoxyresorufin O-dealkylase (EROD) of sea anemone microsomal fractions. The
      predominant feature in the difference spectrum of dithionite (DTN)-reduced, CO
      liganded anemone microsomes was a peak with lambda max of approximately 418 nm,
      which slowly increased for about 20 min and decreased after about 40 min. A
      relatively lower amplitude 450 nm peak was attained within 5 min of CO addition
      and was stable for up to 90 min. The 450 nm peak did not increase concomitant to
      the decrease in the 418 nm peak suggesting that the latter is not denatured P450.
      A significantly larger 450 nm peak was attained in CO-difference spectra when DTN
      was added prior to CO. NADPH-dependent cytochrome c (P450) reductase of the sea
      anemones was 1.8-3.9 nmol/min/mg protein, which is at the lower end of the range
      observed in invertebrates. NADH-cytochrome c reductase was 9-25 nmol/min/mg
      protein, while the NADH-ferricyanide (b5) reductase ranged from 73-232
      nmol/min/mg protein. When microsomal EROD activity was measured under conditions
      in which the reaction was linear with respect to protein concentration, a
      decrease in fluorescence was typically observed for the initial 15 min of the
      time course and then increased linearly for up to 90 min; initial velocities were
      determined from the increasing linear region. NADPH was the preferred cofactor
      for EROD activity and the NAD(P)H-EROD activity was higher in Anthopleura
      elegantissima than Anthopleura xanthogrammica. The Bunodosoma cavernata NADPH
      EROD activity was barely noted at the detection limit of the assay and NADH-EROD
      activity was not detected. These results are consistent with a functional P450
      dependent MFO system in cnidarians, with characteristics both similar to and
      unique from other marine invertebrates.

PMID- 9972480
TI  - The use of microsomal in vitro assay to study phase I biotransformation of
      chlorobornanes (Toxaphene) in marine mammals and birds. Possible consequences of
      biotransformation for bioaccumulation and genotoxicity.
AB  - The factors determining the bioaccumulation of lipophilic compounds in wildlife
      are often poorly understood, partly because it is difficult to do in vivo
      experiments with animals such as marine mammals and birds. To evaluate the role
      of phase I biotransformation in the bioaccumulation process of chlorobornanes
      (toxaphene), this was studied in in vitro assays with hepatic microsomes of
      animals that could be sampled shortly after death. The capacity of microsomes to
      metabolise a technical toxaphene mixture decreased in the order Phoca vitulina
      (harbour seal) >> Lagenorhynchus albirostris (whitebeaked dolphin) approximately
      equal to Diomedea immutabilis (Laysan albatross) > Physeter macrocephalus (sperm
      whale). Harbour seal microsomes metabolised the chlorobornane (CHB) congeners CHB
      32 and CHB-62; whitebeaked dolphin and Laysan albatross microsomes only
      metabolised CHB-32. Metabolism of CHB-26 and CHB-50 was never observed. The
      negative chemical ionisation (NCI-) mass spectra of some of the hydroxylated
      metabolites were obtained. The number of peaks in the toxaphene residues of
      wildlife extracts decreased in the order of increasing in-vitro biotransformation
      capacity. Thus, the results of the in vitro assays and residue analysis were in
      accordance, although assays with microsomes of more individuals of the same
      species are required for a more general conclusion at the species level. Finally,
      the effect of in vitro biotransformation was evaluated in terms of the genotoxic
      potential using the Mutatox assay. Only technical toxaphene and CHB-32 were
      genotoxic in the direct assay, whereas the addition of rat S9 fraction or
      microsomes of harbour seal and albatross decreased the genotoxic response. Thus,
      organisms with a low ability to metabolise chlorobornanes, such as whales, may be
      most affected by the carcinogenic properties of toxaphene. A hypothetical
      reaction which fits the experimental results is discussed. Based on these results
      it is concluded that in vitro assays with microsomes of wildlife animals which
      died a natural cause can act as a valuable tool to assess the occurrence and
      effects of phase I metabolism. Some precautions are discussed, that should be
      taken to reduce the chance of false negative results.

PMID- 9972481
TI  - CYP1A-catalyzed uroporphyrinogen oxidation in hepatic microsomes from non
      mammalian vertebrates (chick and duck embryos, scup and alligator).
AB  - Uroporphyrin (URO) accumulation in the liver of animals treated with
      polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAH) is associated with increased
      microsomal oxidation of uroporphyrinogen catalyzed by rodent CYP1A2 and by a
      similar form in chicken, CYP1A5. The planar biphenyl, 3,3',4,4'
      tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB) stimulates uroporphyrinogen oxidation (UROX) in chick
      hepatic microsomes, but inhibits UROX activity in hepatic microsomes from mice
      and rats pre-induced by CYP1A2. Here we investigated whether TCB would stimulate
      or inhibit UROX in other non-mammalian species. UROX was stimulated 1.5-3-fold by
      TCB and 2-4-fold by 3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl in hepatic microsomes from
      duck, alligator and scup treated with inducers of CYP1A. Hexachlorobenzene
      stimulated chick UROX, but was ineffective with microsomes from the other
      species. The stimulation of UROX by TCB was also observed in chick hepatocyte
      cultures. Pretreatment with up to 5 nM TCB induced CYP1A, but did not result in
      accumulation of URO. However, URO did accumulate if additional (post-induction)
      TCB was added along with 5-aminolevulinic acid. In this post-inductional TCB
      treatment, cycloheximide was included to prevent further induction of CYP1A. In
      duck hepatocytes, pretreatment with 25 nM TCB resulted in URO accumulation from 5
      aminolevulinic acid. Post-induction TCB was not required and caused no further
      increase in URO accumulation. The differences in PHAH stimulation of UROX among
      the non-mammalian species have implications in the evolutionary changes in CYP1A,
      as well as the mechanism of development of PHAH-stimulated uroporphyria in
      different species.

PMID- 9972482
TI  - Screening for bacterial vaginosis.

PMID- 9972483
TI  - Images in Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Vaginal Lactobacillus
      phage plaques and electron micrograph.

PMID- 9972485
TI  - The ex vivo human placental transfer of the anti-HIV nucleoside inhibitor
      abacavir and the protease inhibitor amprenavir.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The transfer of abacavir, a new nucleoside inhibitor, and amprenavir,
      a new protease inhibitor, used for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus,
      has been studied in the ex vivo human placental model. METHODS: The ex vivo human
      placental model used C14 antipyrine to determine the transport fraction and
      clearance index of these compounds at both the peak and trough serum
      concentrations. The clearance index accumulation and tissue concentrations were
      determined for each drug by high pressure liquid chromatography. RESULTS: The
      clearance index of abacavir was 0.47 +/- 0.19 and 0.50 +/- 0.07 at peak and
      trough concentrations, respectively. The clearance index of amprenavir was 0.38
      +/- 0.09 and 0.14 +/- 0.08 at peak and trough concentrations, respectively. There
      was no unusual accumulation of either drug in the media or tissue when the
      perfusion system was closed. CONCLUSION: Abacavir is the first nucleoside
      compound studied in the perfusion system with a high clearance index. The
      transfer of the protease inhibitor amprenavir had a clearance index 2.75 times
      greater than the clearance index of ritonavir at peak concentration determined in
      a previous study. At trough concentration the clearance index was much less than
      at the peak concentration. A similar result was found with ritonavir.

PMID- 9972484
TI  - Initial multicenter experience with double nucleoside therapy for human
      immunodeficiency virus infection during pregnancy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study maternal and neonatal effects of combination nucleoside
      analog therapy administered to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected
      pregnant women for maternal indications. METHODS: A multicenter, prospective
      observational study was undertaken at six perinatal centers in the United States
      and Canada that supported regional referral programs for the treatment of HIV
      infected pregnant women. Demographic, laboratory, and pregnancy outcome data were
      collected for 39 women whose antiretroviral treatment regimens were expanded to
      include more than one nucleoside analog for maternal indications. The 40 newborns
      were monitored at pediatric referral centers through at least three months of age
      to ascertain their HIV infection status. RESULTS: For all 39 women, zidovudine
      (ZDV) therapy was instituted at 13.4 +/- 8.2 weeks, with a second agent
      (lamivudine [3TC] in 85% of cases) being added at a mean gestational age of 17.6
      weeks. Duration of therapy with two agents was 20.6 +/- 10.4 weeks overall, with
      no women stopping medications because of side effects or toxicity. No significant
      changes in maternal laboratory values were seen, except for an increase in mean
      corpuscular volume, over the course of pregnancy. No clinically significant
      adverse neonatal outcomes were noted, with all but the three preterm newborns
      leaving hospital with their mothers. Neonatal anemia (hematocrit < 50%) was seen
      in 62% of newborns, with no children needing transfusion; mild elevations of
      liver function tests, primarily aspartate aminotransferase, were noted in 58% of
      newborns tested, though none were clinically jaundiced. Overall rate of neonatal
      HIV infection was 2.5% (95% confidence interval: 0.1-13.2%). CONCLUSION:
      Combination antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy with two nucleoside analogs
      was well-tolerated by mothers and newborns, with no significant short-term
      toxicities or side effects noted. Surveillance of exposed newborns' hematologic
      and liver function appears warranted.

PMID- 9972486
TI  - Assessment of office-based care of sexually transmitted diseases and vaginitis
      and antibiotic decision-making by obstetrician-gynecologists.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Survey office-based obstetric-gynecologic practitioners regarding
      their knowledge of infectious disease care and antibiotic use. METHODS: A survey
      questionnaire of multiple-choice questions was mailed to Fellows of the American
      College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists about clinical entities for which
      recommendations have undergone recent changes or about which there was a lack of
      consensus in a prior similar survey (Gibbs RS, McGregor JA, Mead PB, et al.:
      Obstet Gynecol 83:631-636, 1994). RESULTS: Respondents indicated that oral
      metronidazole was their most frequent choice to treat bacterial vaginosis.
      Ampicillin (57%) was used more often than penicillin (39%) for intrapartum group
      B streptococcus prophylaxis. Azithromycin was preferred (61%) over erythromycin
      base (38%) for chlamydia treatment during pregnancy. There were several modes of
      practice that deviated from accepted care: 27% and 29% did not screen for
      chlamydia and gonorrhea, respectively, in pregnancy; 17% used cultures for
      Gardnerella vaginalis to diagnose bacterial vaginosis; 25% considered quinolones
      to be safe in pregnancy; 93% felt metronidazole should never be used in
      pregnancy; and the majority (66%) would send a patient treated successfully for
      pelvic cellulitis home with an oral antibiotic. CONCLUSION: Respondents'
      infectious disease knowledge and practices in obstetrics and gynecology is
      appropriate in treating sexually transmitted diseases, bacterial vaginosis, and
      group B streptococcus. Numerous deficiencies still exist in screening for
      sexually transmitted diseases in pregnancy and diagnosing bacterial vaginosis, as
      well as in the choice of antibiotics to use or avoid for certain infections.

PMID- 9972487
TI  - Frequency and yield of postoperative fever evaluation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: In women undergoing major gynecologic surgery, we wish to determine
      the frequency and yield of blood culture, urine culture, and chest X-ray
      evaluation of postoperative fever. METHODS: A retrospective review of 537
      consecutive patients undergoing major gynecologic surgery was performed. In
      patients who developed postoperative fever, it was determined whether blood
      culture, urine culture, and/or chest X-ray were performed, and, if so, the
      frequency of positive results was evaluated. RESULTS: Two hundred eleven patients
      (39%) developed postoperative fever. Blood cultures were obtained in 77 of 211
      (37%) febrile patients, urine cultures in 106 of 211 (50%) febrile patients, and
      chest X-ray in 54 of 211 (26%) febrile patients. Zero of 77 blood cultures were
      positive, 11 of 106 (10%) urine cultures were positive, and 5 of 54 (9%) chest X
      rays were positive. Logistic regression revealed that late onset fever predicted
      for positive urine cultures and early onset fever and advanced age predicted for
      pneumonia. Eighty percent of patients with pneumonia were symptomatic. In 92% of
      patients with postoperative fever, no infections or pathologic process were
      diagnosed. CONCLUSION: Although postoperative fever is frequently evaluated by
      blood culture, urine culture, and chest X-ray, evaluation rarely yields positive
      results.

PMID- 9972488
TI  - The EAA International Quality Control Programme for Y-Chromosomal microdeletions.
      European Academy of Andrology.

PMID- 9972489
TI  - Classification of several types of maturational arrest of spermatogonia according
      to Sertoli cell morphology: an approach to aetiology.
AB  - Bilateral testicular biopsies and clinical histories from 34 adult men with
      maturational arrest of spermatogonia were examined. According to the morphology
      of Sertoli cell nuclei, five testicular types of spermatogonial maturational
      arrest were established. In type I lesion, Sertoli cells resembled the immature
      Sertoli cells of infant testes. These cells had a round, regularly outlined, dark
      nucleus with a small nucleolus. The seminiferous tubules showed no apparent lumen
      and a poorly developed lamina propria lacking in elastic fibres. This lesion was
      found in patients exhibiting a eunuchoid phenotype, with small tests and low
      serum levels of gonadotrophins and testosterone (hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism).
      Type II lesion showed morphologically normal, mature, adult Sertoli cells which
      had a pale, irregularly outlined nucleus, many often triangle-shaped, with a
      large, centrally located nucleolus. The seminiferous tubules were reduced in
      diameter and showed a few spermatocytes and spermatids. This lesion was found in
      patients with varicocoele, epididymitis, testicular trauma or idiopathic
      infertility. Serum FSH levels were normal or increased while LH and testosterone
      levels were normal. In type III lesion, Sertoli cells resembled the involuting
      Sertoli cells found in the testes of aging men, and displayed very infolded
      nuclei, with abundant dense chromatin patches and a large nucleolus. The
      seminiferous tubules showed a slightly dilated lumen and a normal tubular wall.
      The most relevant clinical findings in patients with this lesion were alcoholism,
      varicocoele, falciform cell anaemia, epididymitis and germ cell tumour. Serum
      follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were normal or increased while
      luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels were normal. Type IV lesion
      Sertoli cells presented with a de-differentiated appearance. These cells had a
      small, round euchromatic nucleus with a small nucleolus and vacuolated cytoplasm.
      The seminiferous tubules were devoid of lumen or ectatic, and the tubular wall
      was thick and contained abundant elastic fibres. This lesion was characteristic
      of patients who underwent hormonal treatment because of prostatic carcinoma or
      sex change. Type V lesion showed abnormally differentiated, probably dysgenetic,
      Sertoli cells which had a round to ovoid regularly outlined nucleus, with small
      heterochromatin granules, and the number of these cells was increased. The
      seminiferous tubules had a central lumen, or were ectatic with vacuolated Sertoli
      cells, and the amount of elastic fibres was decreased. The most relevant clinical
      finding in patients with this lesion was orchidopexy. Serum FSH and LH levels
      were normal or slightly increased. These findings indicate that spermatogonial
      maturational arrest is associated with a characteristic Sertoli cell morphology
      that can be easily identified. This morphology may shed light on the aetiology of
      the disorder, and be useful for establishing the prognosis and bases for
      treatment in subfertile patients.

PMID- 9972490
TI  - Papanicolaou and Kruger assessment of sperm morphology: thresholds and agreement.
AB  - The current World Health Organization guidelines (1992) suggest that the presence
      of > or = 30% normal sperm forms (i.e. PAP criteria) is consistent with normal
      semen quality. Critical evaluation of sperm morphology (CE; Kruger
      classification) has shown an excellent correlation with human in vitro
      fertilization. Utilizing Kruger criteria, > 14% normal sperm forms has been
      proposed as indicative of normal semen quality. We have performed a retrospective
      analysis on 261 individuals to assess the agreement between PAP and Kruger
      criteria for normal sperm morphology (NSM). When the threshold for NSM by PAP was
      set at 30%, a significant agreement was found between the percentage normal forms
      of both criteria (Kappa coefficient = 0.37; p < 0.001). Sixty-seven (92%) of the
      73 men found to have abnormal sperm morphology by PAP had abnormal semen by
      Kruger classification. When the threshold for NSM by PAP was established at 50%,
      the Kappa coefficient was 0.48 (p < 0.001). Sixty of the 72 samples (83%)
      classified as normal by PAP staining were normal by Kruger criteria.
      Interestingly, when NSM by PAP was between 30 and 50%, the specimen was just as
      likely to have normal or abnormal sperm morphology by Kruger (40 vs. 60%,
      respectively). These results strongly suggest that a high or low percentage of
      NSM by PAP is in agreement with the Kruger classification. The excellent
      agreement of Kruger and WHO criteria at the extremes (< 30% and > 50%) may
      obviate the need for Kruger assessment. However, when WHO morphology is between
      30 and 50%, the addition of Kruger evaluation may provide meaningful information
      to help better diagnose a patient and plan his treatment.

PMID- 9972491
TI  - Lectin histochemistry of the human testis.
AB  - The oligosaccharide sequences of glycoconjugates and the nature of the saccharide
      linkage were investigated in normal human testes by means of lectin
      histochemistry studies, at light and electron microscopy levels. Reaction to WGA
      was intense in the seminiferous epithelium and interstitium. MAA showed light
      reactivity in all cell types of the human seminiferous epithelium, the lamina
      propria and Leydig cells. UEA-I lectin labelled the lamina propria intensely and
      the seminiferous epithelium and Leydig cells slightly. A slight reaction to AAA
      was found in the seminiferous epithelium and in Leydig cells. ConA was labelled
      in Sertoli cells, germ cells and Leydig cells. The reaction to GNA lectin was
      similar although less intense. PNA labelling was slight in Sertoli cells,
      spermatogonia, and Leydig cells, and more intense in spermatocytes, spermatids
      and peritubular cells. Reaction to DSA was intense in the seminiferous epithelium
      and Leydig cells. HPA labelled all cell types in the seminiferous epithelium and
      Leydig cells slightly, and labelled peritubular cells intensely. SBA lectin
      showed a strong reaction in spermatids and a slight reaction in the lamina
      propria. The reactions to SNA, LTA, and DBA were negative in all testicular cell
      types. After beta-elimination pre-treatment, MAA, UEA-I, AAA, PNA, DSA, HPA and
      SBA reactions were all negative. Endo F/PNGase digestion suppressed reactivity to
      ConA y GNA. Staining for WGA decreased with Endo F/PNGase digestion and also
      after beta-elimination. Desialization increased reactivity to PNA, SBA and HPA
      lectins. These results indicate that the terminal sequences of oligosaccharide
      side-chains in spermatocytes and, principally, in spermatids are: fucose,
      mannose, Neu5Ac2,3Gal1,3GalNAc, Gal1,3GalNAc, Gal1,4GlcNAc, Neu5AcGalNAc and
      GalNAc (in O-glycosylated proteins); mannose (in N-glycosylated proteins) and
      GlcNAc (in both protein types). A sialic acid residue is added to galactose and
      GalNAc residues. Present findings also indicate that Sertoli cell glycoproteins
      are similar to those of spermatids, and that the terminal sugar residues in
      Leydig cells are GlcNAc, fucose, mannose, Neu5Ac2,3Gal1,3GalNAc, Gal1,3GalNAc,
      and Gal1,4GlcNAc. The lectin pattern of the lamina propria suggests the presence
      of GlcNAc, galactose, fucose and GalNAc.

PMID- 9972492
TI  - Effects of ethanol ingestion on epididymal glycosidases and fertility in the rat.
AB  - Epididymal glycosidases play a role in sperm maturation by modifying sperm
      surface glycoproteins. To study the effects of ethanol on epididymal sperm
      maturation, ethanol (3 g/kg body weight as 25%, v/v) was administered to a group
      of rats by gastric-intubation twice daily for 30 days. In another group, rats
      were also treated with alcohol for 30 days but were then withdrawn from treatment
      for 30 days to assess the reversibility of ethanol-induced effects. Ethanol
      induced changes in epididymal tissue and sperm glycosidases, cauda epididymal
      sperm motility and the fertility of rats were assessed. Ethanol treatment caused
      a marked decrease in the specific activities of glycosidases in both tissues and
      spermatozoa from epididymal segments. Cauda epididymal sperm motility and the
      fertility of ethanol-treated rats were significantly impaired compared to control
      rats fed an isocaloric diet. These changes are likely to be the consequence of
      direct and indirect effects of ethanol mediated through subnormal testosterone
      and dihydrotestosterone. Most of these changes were found to be reversible. The
      present study suggests that impaired activity of sperm glycosidases may be one of
      the factors responsible for defective sperm motility and fertilizing potential in
      ethanol-treated rats.

PMID- 9972493
TI  - Higher thyroid hormone levels in neonatal life result in reduced testis volume in
      postpubertal bulls.
AB  - Thyroid hormones appear to determine adult testis size in rodents by regulating
      the period of Sertoli cell proliferation in the neonatal period. In the present
      study, the correlation between neonatal thyroid hormone levels (T3 and thyroxin,
      T4) and postpubertal testis size in Simental bulls was examined. T3 and T4 levels
      were measured in blood plasma from 35 calves immediately after their arrival at
      the AI centre at age 3-6 months. Testis size (height and width) was measured at
      12 months of age in the same live animals. A significant negative correlation (r
      = -0.55; p < or = 0.001) was found between T4 and calculated testicular volume
      using either the Pearson correlation test or linear regression analysis, while
      the levels of T3 and testis volume showed a negative correlation, although this
      did not reach statistical significance (r = -0.20, p < or = 0.05). The results of
      this study suggest, therefore, that neonatal thyroid hormone levels might have
      the same effect on testicular size in cattle as they do in rodents.

PMID- 9972494
TI  - Effects of sauna on sperm movement characteristics of normal men measured by
      computer-assisted sperm analysis.
AB  - The effects of sauna exposure on sperm movement characteristics and other semen
      parameters were evaluated using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). A
      significant (p < 0.01) decrease in average path velocity (VAP), curvilinear
      velocity (VCL) and amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) was found after
      exposure to sauna for 2 weeks. The altered parameters returned to their original
      values within 1 week after cessation of sauna exposure. Mean values for semen
      volume, sperm count, percentage motility, sperm morphology and sperm penetration
      assay (SPA) were not statistically different during and after sauna, when
      compared to the corresponding control values. The results suggest that increasing
      scrotal temperature by sauna causes a reversible decrease in sperm movement
      parameters.

PMID- 9972495
TI  - Tolerance to isosorbide dinitrate in isolated strips of rabbit corpus cavernosum.
AB  - The aim of this study was to investigate whether prolonged exposure to a high
      concentration of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) would result in tolerance being
      developed against its relaxant activity in strips of corpus cavernosum, pre
      contracted by phenylephrine. Under these conditions, relaxation induced by ISDN
      was found to be significantly reduced. Strips made tolerant to ISDN remained
      fully responsive to sodium nitroprusside and papaverine. Electrical field
      stimulation evoked relaxations which were persistent in the presence of tolerance
      inducing conditions. These results indicate that desensitization of guanylate
      cyclase activity is not likely to be the operating mechanism for nitrate
      tolerance. We suggest that tolerance may result from the impairment of
      biotransformation of ISDN in rabbit cavernosal smooth muscle.

PMID- 9972496
TI  - Immunohistochemical detection of testicular macrophages during the period of
      postnatal maturation in the mouse.
AB  - In the present study, the distribution of F4/80, a highly specific antigen of
      murine macrophages, was studied in the testes of maturing ICR mice to investigate
      postnatal development of testicular macrophages. The antigen was
      immunohistochemically identified at the light microscopic level on days 0, 7, 14,
      21, 28 and 42 and at 8 weeks after birth. Only a few macrophages were present
      between developing seminiferous tubules on day 0, but by day 7, the cell density
      of macrophages in the interstitium was significantly increased. Although the cell
      processes of the macrophages were very short on days 0 and 7, it was found that
      their cell processes were extended on days 14 and 21. On day 28, it was observed
      that the cell density of macrophages increased further and their cell processes
      became longer, resulting in the formation of a network between adjacent
      macrophages. Thereafter, the interstitial spaces were found to be narrower due to
      the increasing diameter of developing seminiferous tubules, although similar
      physical contact between the testicular macrophages to that seen on day 28 was
      evident. Moreover, the cell density of macrophages at 8 weeks of age did not
      differ significantly compared with that on day 28. These results demonstrate that
      testicular macrophages develop rapidly for the first 4 weeks in the mouse testis.

PMID- 9972497
TI  - The spermatogenic cycle in the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes): frequency of the
      different stages prior to and during the breeding season.
AB  - In the silver fox the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium could be classified
      into eight characteristic stages defined on the basis of different, well-defined
      cell associations. The main criteria for the staging were the type of
      spermatogonia, the appearance of primary spermatocytes, the occurrence of meiotic
      figures and secondary spermatocytes and the shape and location of spermatids. In
      some cases more than one stage could be found within the same transverse tubular
      section. The average frequency of stages I to VIII was 25.2, 8.2, 9.0, 4.9, 16.2,
      8.3, 10.7 and 17.5%, respectively. No significant difference was found between
      individuals sampled before and at the beginning and end of the breeding season.
      However, late in the season the migration of old spermatids and release of
      spermatozoa tended to be somewhat retarded, causing a slight increase in the
      duration and frequency of the last two stages of the cycle.

PMID- 9972498
TI  - Ketoprofen-poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres: influence of
      manufacturing parameters and type of polymer on the release characteristics.
AB  - The effect of manufacturing parameters on the size and drug-loading of ketoprofen
      containing biodegradable and biocompatible poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid)
      (PLGA) microspheres prepared by the solvent evaporation method was investigated.
      For both drug-free and drug-loaded microspheres, smaller microspheres with a
      narrower size distribution were obtained when the stirring rate or the volume of
      the organic phase was increased. Incorporation of ketoprofen was found to
      increase with increasing volume of the organic phase and decreasing pH of the
      aqueous phase, but was independent of the acidity and the inherent viscosity of
      the PLGA used. The biphasic release profile of ketoprofen from the microspheres
      was dependent on the type of PLGA as well as the size and drug-loading, two
      parameters governed by the manufacturing process. The first burst effect was
      found to increase with the drug content, reduction of size of the microspheres
      and increasing inherent viscosity of the matrix, whereas acidity of the PLGA had
      no effect on the release of this acidic drug. A vigorous first burst effect was
      associated with reduced sustained delivery of ketoprofen, the rate of the delayed
      release phase being dependent on the inherent viscosity of the matrix, the size,
      the payload and the pH during preparation of the microspheres. Thus, by selection
      of the manufacturing parameters and the type of PLGA, it is possible to design a
      controlled drug delivery system for the prolonged release of ketoprofen,
      improving therapy by possible reduction of time intervals between peroral
      administration and reduction of local gastrointestinal side effects.

PMID- 9972499
TI  - Effect of bead nutrient composition on regrowth of stored vitro-derived
      encapsulated microcuttings of different woody species.
AB  - Aseptic encapsulation in a sodium-alginate bead containing different nutritive
      solutions of microcuttings (uninodal explants excised from micropropagated
      shoots) of 10 different genotypes from four different woody species (Actinidia
      deliciosa, kiwifruit, cv Hayward and Tomuri; Malus spp,, apple, rootstock M. 26
      and cv Starkspur Red and Wellspur; Olea europea, olive, cv Canino, Moraiolo,
      Ascolana tenera and Dolce Agogia; Rubus Idaeus, raspberry, Selection 1401) was
      investigated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the best nutritive formulation
      of the bead among seven different solutions, made of inorganic and organic
      compounds, growth regulators and sucrose, alone and combined, in order to
      maintain viability throughout 30 days of storage at 4 degrees C and subsequent
      regrowth ability of the encapsulated microcuttings on agarized medium, in view
      also of the possibility of inserting this storage phase in micropropagation
      cycles of these species. Olea plants gave interesting viability rates from 47.6
      to 100% (according to cultivar and nutritive solution of the bead) immediately
      after storage, but the least satisfactory results in terms of regrowth, because
      of probable inadequacy of the culture medium. Actinidia, Malus and Rubus,
      instead, gave maximum rates in regrowth of 90.6% ('Hayward'), 83.3% ('M.26') and
      83.4% ('Sel.1401'), respectively, and in sprouting of 62.5% ('Tomuri'), 75.0%
      ('M.26') and 77.2% ('Sel.1401'), respectively. Furthermore, encapsulated Rubus
      microcuttings proved usable also as synthetic seeds, with a maximum rooting (and
      conversion) rate of 60.7%.

PMID- 9972500
TI  - Preparation and characterization of ofloxacin microspheres for the eradication of
      bone associated bacterial biofilm.
AB  - Biodegradable polymers for localized delivery of antibiotics have emerged as an
      important approach to treating orthopaedic infections. In chronic forms of
      osteomyelitis which are thought to be associated with bacterial biofilm,
      localized delivery of a suitable antibiotic is desirable. This paper describes
      the formulation and in vitro evaluation of biodegradable ofloxacin microspheres
      for the eradication of bone associated bacterial biofilm infections. Ofloxacin
      microspheres were formulated using poly(glycolic acid-co-DL-lactic acid) (PGLA)
      by the emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The effects of process parameters
      such as phase volume, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) concentration, and viscosity
      grade of the polymer during preparation on encapsulation efficiency (EEF) and in
      vitro release profiles were investigated. An increase in the phase volume or
      volume fraction from 21 to 35% at a constant internal phase volume resulted in an
      increase in EEF from 34 to 74%. Increasing PVA concentration from 0.25 to 2.5%
      w/v at a constant phase volume or volume fraction did not have an effect on the
      EEF. Ofloxacin release from the microsopheres was biphasic with an initial burst
      release followed by a slow release phase. An optimum slowing down of release was
      observed when the phase volume was 29%. Above and below this phase volume,
      release of ofloxacin was higher. The higher the viscosity grade of the polymer
      used for the preparation of microspheres, the higher the PVA concentration needed
      to prepare microspheres with slower release. The study indicates that various
      rates of ofloxacin release is possible by varying formulation conditions. This
      should provide a means for formulating sustained release microspheres of
      antibiotics for the treatment of biofilm infections associated with the bone.

PMID- 9972501
TI  - Effect of protective colloids on the induction of polymorphic changes in
      indomethacin agglomerates after solvent evaporation from o/w emulsions.
AB  - Indomethacin (IMC) agglomerates were prepared by the solvent evaporation process
      from o/w emulsions containing different protective colloids in the external
      aqueous solution. The types of protective colloids inducing the polymorphic
      transformation of IMC in the agglomerates without wall material were
      investigated. The composition and its polymorphs were evaluated from the X-ray
      diffraction patterns, IR spectra and DSC thermograms. The results indicate that
      when pectin, beta-cyclodextrin, sodium alginate or sodium dodecyl supphase acted
      as a protective colloid, the respective IMC agglomerates consisted only of the
      alpha form of IMC. When gelatin or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose was used as a
      protective colloid, the amorphous, alpha and gamma forms as well as methylene
      chloride solvates of IMC were found in the IMC agglomerates. There was only
      methylene chloride solvate of IMC with a small amount of amorphous form in the
      IMC agglomerates prepared from albumin as a protective colloid, while IMC
      agglomerates prepared from methylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol or biosoluble
      polymer consisted of the mixture of amorphous and alpha forms, and methylene
      chloride solvate of IMC. When polyvinyl pyrrolidone was applied to act as a
      protective colloid, the mixture of methylene chloride solvate and gamma form of
      IMC with less quantity of amorphous form was found in its IMC agglomerates. This
      strongly suggests that the composition of IMC agglomerates prepared from the
      solvent evaporation process was significantly influenced by the type of
      protective colloids used.

PMID- 9972502
TI  - Particle size and loading efficiency of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid)
      multiphase microspheres containing water soluble substances prepared by the
      hydrous and anhydrous solvent evaporation methods.
AB  - PLGA multiphase microspheres were prepared by the multiple emulsion solvent
      evaporation method using acetonitrile as the polymer solvent and mineral oil as
      the evaporation medium. The preparation process was further developed in the
      present study to reduce the particle size and to increase the loading capacity of
      brilliant blue, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF
      alpha) which were used as water soluble model drug substances. Sorbitan sesqui
      oleate (SO-15EX), present at the 1% w/w level in the evaporation medium,
      prevented agglomeration of the microspheres containing a solid-in-oil (S/O)
      suspensions as the core phase. This S/O suspension core provided significantly
      higher loading efficiency of the proteins to the W/O emulsion core. The W/O
      emulsion system resulted in agglomeration of the protein-loaded microspheres and
      the loading efficiency decreased significantly. When brilliant blue was included
      as the model compound, the loading efficiencies were not influenced by the core
      type. Heavy mineral oil was employed to stabilize the dispersed unhardened
      microspheres rather than light mineral oil that was reported previously. This
      anhydrous emulsion system employing the S/O suspension core and containing a
      dispersion of TNF-alpha enabled the encapsulation of this protein without loss of
      activity. It was concluded that the anhydrous emulsion system is a suitable
      approach to prepare multiple microspheres as an alternative to the W/O emulsion
      system, especially when solvent sensitive proteins are incorporated into the
      microspheres.

PMID- 9972503
TI  - Stability determination of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) in aqueous dispersion
      after addition of electrolyte.
AB  - The contribution of mono-, di- and trivalent ions to the destabilization of solid
      lipid nanoparticle (SLN) dispersions was investigated, i.e. particle growth and
      subsequent formation of semi-solid gels. Sodium, calcium and aluminium chloride
      were added in varying concentrations to a Compritol formulation which had proved
      to be highly sensitive towards destabilizing effects. Dispersions containing up
      to 10(-3) M sodium chloride remained stable for 14 days. The same concentrations
      of calcium or aluminium induced slight and rapid particle growth, respectively.
      Generally, a pronounced destabilizing effect was observed with increasing
      electrolyte concentration and increasing valence. Higher concentrations of
      electrolyte (10(-2), 10(-1) M) induced gelation of the systems. The extent of
      solidification was highly dependent on the crystallinity of the lipid phase. The
      recrystalization indices of the gels were distinctly higher compared to the
      liquid systems. Additionally, unstable modifications, being present in liquid
      dispersions, were transformed into stable ones with increasing solidification.
      The mechanisms of the destabilizing effect of the electrolytes are reduced
      electrostatic repulsion and transformation of the lipid Compritol to the beta'
      modification promoting gel formation.

PMID- 9972504
TI  - Stability of chitosan and poly-L-lysine membranes coating DNA-alginate beads when
      exposed to hydrolytic enzymes.
AB  - Soluble chitosan and poly-L-lysine are readily hydrolysed using lysozyme or
      chitosanase for chitosan, and trypsin, chymotrypsin or proteinase K for poly-L
      lysine. For similar amounts of enzyme, chitosanase hydrolysed 57% of the
      chitosan, compared to 35% for lysozyme. In the case of poly-L-lysine,
      chymotrypsin and trypsin exhibited similar activities, hydrolysing approximately
      41% of the polymer compared to proteinase K at only 16%. In contrast, chitosan
      and poly-L-lysine membranes, coating alginate beads, were almost totally inert to
      the respective hydrolytic enzymes. Less than 2% of the membrane weight was
      hydrolysed. It appears that either membrane material would be stable for in vivo
      application, and in particular in the protection of DNA during gastrointestinal
      transit. At chitosanase concentrations of 1.4 mg/ml and in the presence of sodium
      ions, 20% of the total double-stranded DNA was released from chitosan coated
      beads. An exchange of calcium for sodium within the bead liquefied the alginate
      core releasing DNA. The presence of calcium stabilized the alginate bead,
      retaining all the DNA. Highly pure DNA was recovered from beads through
      mechanical membrane disruption, core liquefaction in citrate and use of DNA spin
      columns to separate DNA/alginate mixtures in a citrate buffer. DNA recovery
      efficiencies as high as 94% were achieved when the initial alginate/DNA weight
      ratio was 1000.

PMID- 9972505
TI  - Comparative degradation study of biodegradable microspheres of poly(DL-lactide-co
      glycolide) with poly(ethyleneglycol) derivates.
AB  - The biodegradable polymers of poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and
      poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) have come into use in the last few years for the
      control of the release of drugs. The incorporation of units of PEG produce an
      increased in vivo half life of the microparticles. The methoxylation of the PEG
      allows a control of the microparticles. The methoxylation of the PEG allows a
      control of the polymerization reaction by blocking one of the reactive terminals.
      An important aspect to be studied is the degradation of these polymers. The
      objective was centred on comparing the degradation that microspheres made of PLGA
      and PLGA-PEG (also with derivate methoxylated PEG). Degradation of the
      microspheres was studied at 37 degrees C and neutral pH. Samples were taken at
      different times to determine the size distributions, the mean diameter, the
      molecular weight and the structural composition of the polymer. The fastest
      decrease in Mw is observed in the case of PLGA microspheres. The PLGA-PEG
      microspheres show a significant size increase (from 24.6 to 90 microns) due to a
      swelling process. Any appreciable changes in Tg values were observed during the
      assay (30 days).

PMID- 9972506
TI  - Effect of drug properties on the release from CAP microspheres prepared by a
      solvent evaporation method.
AB  - Drugs with different water-solubility and molecular weights were
      microencapsulated in cellulose acetate phthalate, using an emulsion-solvent
      evaporation technique with a continuous oil-phase. The mean size of the particles
      was approximately 600 microns, and they were non-porous. The capacity of the
      microspheres to retain the drugs was evaluated by in vitro release studies in
      acidic medium. For low molecular weight compounds the release rates increased
      with solubility: for thiamin hydrochloride and phenacetin, a highly and a poorly
      soluble compound respectively, the percentages released at 60 min were 90 and
      10%. Drugs with molecular weights above approximately 700 Da were retained in the
      microspheres. The above dependence on solubility was corroborated by release
      studies in ethanol, and by modelling the release of phenacetin in acidic media.
      Microspheres with a different polymer matrix, Eudragit RS PO, were also prepared
      by a similar technique, and these particles prolonged the release of thiamin for
      over 6 h, under simulated GI conditions.

PMID- 9972507
TI  - Biodegradable poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres containing tetracaine
      hydrochloride. In-vitro release profile.
AB  - Tetracaine does not result in effective treatment of intractable pain caused by
      trigeminal neuralgia because of its short duration of effect. In a sustained
      release system a controlled delivery of the drug at the site of administration,
      would avoid successive administrations. Tetracaine hydrochloride (HCl) has been
      encapsulated using a technique based on the evaporation of solvent from an O/O
      emulsion, using poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) 50:50. Microspheres were
      separated into three fractions: 106-212, 212-300 and 300-425 microns. The effects
      of two variables of the manufacturing method (volume of the inner phase of the
      emulsion and volume of surfactant added to the external phase) on the drug
      loading into microspheres, dissolution profiles and SEM characterization of the
      microspheres were evaluated. Microspheres containing tetracaine hydrochloride (up
      to 94% referred to the theoretical) released the drug, in-vitro, over 35 days.
      Tetracaine HCl was delivered according to zero order kinetics from day 5 until
      the end of the release assay. The rate of drug release depended mainly on the
      viscosity of the discontinuous phase and on the size of microparticles.
      Microsphere size resulted more homogeneous when using the highest volume of the
      surfactant, being almost 80% of microparticles within the range 212-300 microns.

PMID- 9972508
TI  - Mechanical strength of single microcapsules determined by a novel
      micromanipulation technique.
AB  - A micromanipulation technique has been developed to measure the bursting force of
      single dry microcapsules coated onto a surface, such as those normally used in
      carbonless copying paper. For measuring the bursting force of a given
      microcapsule, a single fine probe with a flat end about 10 microns in diameter
      was used to squeeze the microcapsule against a flat surface until it burst. The
      force being imposed on the microcapsule was measured by a transducer connected to
      the probe. The bursting force and diameter of single dry microcapsules in two
      samples, different in size and wall thickness, were measured by this technique.
      The bursting force of the microcapsules in one sample ranged from 50 to 220
      microN and the diameter from 1.3 to 7.0 microns, whilst the bursting force in the
      other was from 20 to 175 microN and the diameter from 0.7 to 3.7 microns. This
      technique makes it possible to compare the mechanical strength of microcapsules
      made of different formulations, and to infer information about microcapsule
      mechanical properties.

PMID- 9972509
TI  - Recent developments in the management of retinoblastoma.
AB  - The management of retinoblastoma has gradually changed over the past few decades.
      There is a trend away from enucleation and external beam radiotherapy toward
      focal conservative treatments. This is primarily because of earlier detection of
      the disease and more focused treatment modalities. Enucleation is still employed
      for retinoblastoma that fills most of the eye, especially when there is a concern
      for tumor invasion into the optic nerve or choroid. After enucleation, an
      integrated orbital implant, provides improved motility and appearance of the
      prosthesis. External beam radiotherapy continues to be an important method of
      treating less advanced retinoblastoma, especially when there is diffuse vitreous
      or subretinal seeding. Plaque radiotherapy is useful for controlling small- to
      medium-sized retinoblastomas, even those with focal vitreous seeds. Tumors that
      recur after failure of other methods are often suitable for plaque treatment.
      When plaque radiotherapy is employed in a child receiving chemotherapy, eventual
      radiation retinopathy can occur. Cryotherapy and photocoagulation provide
      excellent control of selected small tumors. Advanced laser delivery systems,
      particularly those that have been adapted to the indirect ophthalmoscope, have
      facilitated the visualization for treatment of tumors. Thermotherapy is the
      newest focal method for retinoblastoma. When combined with chemotherapy,
      thermotherapy provides satisfactory tumor control, leaving the child with a
      reasonably small scar, thus preserving more vision. Chemoreduction, using
      intravenous or subconjunctival routes, is often employed to reduce initial tumor
      volume and thus allow for focal treatment to eradicate the residual smaller
      tumor. Many children with advanced retinoblastoma can be spared external beam
      radiotherapy and enucleation mostly as a result of chemoreduction and focal
      methods. Chemoreduction combined with cryotherapy, thermotherapy, and plaque
      radiotherapy plays an important role in the current management of many children
      with retinoblastoma.

PMID- 9972510
TI  - Outcome of occlusion treatment for amblyopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the level of visual acuity
      following occlusion treatment for strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia and to
      analyze the factors that influence the outcome. METHODS: In this observational
      study, we examined the medical records of 246 patients discharged between April
      1991 and March 1996, including those who failed to complete treatment. Two groups
      were identified: Group 1 esotropia (n = 151); and Group 2 anisometropic amblyopia
      with or without microtropia (n = 79). Factors influencing outcome of treatment
      were analyzed, success being defined as 6/12 or better in the amblyopic eye.
      RESULTS: In Group 1, 85% achieved 6/12 or better in the worst eye (linear acuity
      test), 15% achieved less than 6/12. (73% achieved 6/9 or better, 16% achieved
      6/12 or 6/18, and 11% achieved less than 6/18). In group 2, 95% achieved 6/9 or
      better in the worst eye (linear acuity test); 5% achieved 6/12. CONCLUSION:
      Outcome was better than other full population studies to date. A good visual
      outcome was achieved in all cases of pure anisometropic amblyopia. Significant
      factors influencing outcome in the esotropic group were compliance,
      anisometropia, and visual acuity at start of treatment. An occlusion protocol is
      suggested aimed at further improving compliance and outcome.

PMID- 9972511
TI  - Refractive status in children after long-term follow up of cataract surgery with
      intraocular lens implantation.
AB  - PURPOSE: To evaluate the resultant refractive status in children 5 to 11 years
      after cataract surgery with a high power intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.
      METHODS: Charts of eight patients (10 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery with
      IOL implantation by the same technique were reviewed. Age at surgery was 2 months
      to 3 years. High-power IOL of 27.0 to 30.0 diopters (D) was implanted in seven
      eyes and lower IOL (between 19.0 D to 23.0 D) in three eyes. Follow-up period was
      between 5 and 11 years. RESULTS: In children who received a high-power IOL, the
      resultant refraction after 5 to 7 years was found to be between -5.50 and -12.00
      D. In the group that had a lower power IOL implanted, the refraction was between 
      2.50 and +9.00 after 6 to 11 years. The results were plotted on a graph of
      refraction vs. IOL power and showed that the IOL power that may result in
      emmetropia in an older child is 23.2D. CONCLUSIONS: The implantation of a high
      power IOL (27 D to 30 D) in eight young children resulted in refractive status
      within 3 D of emmetropia during the first year or two of life and in high myopia
      at age 5 to 12 years.

PMID- 9972512
TI  - Strabismus: the first 3500 years.

PMID- 9972513
TI  - Ophthalmologic findings in the Dubowitz syndrome.

PMID- 9972514
TI  - Caffey-Silverman syndrome (infantile cortical hyperostosis) mimicking periorbital
      cellulitis.

PMID- 9972515
TI  - Absence of malignant hyperthermia in an infant with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome
      undergoing anesthesia for ophthalmic surgery.

PMID- 9972516
TI  - Penetrating orbitocranial knife injury.

PMID- 9972517
TI  - Familial congenital horizontal gaze palsy.

PMID- 9972518
TI  - The effects of nickel and cobalt ions on the spontaneous electrical activity,
      slow wave, in the circular muscle of the guinea-pig gastric antrum.
AB  - 1. Circular muscle strips of the guinea-pig gastric muscle produced spontaneous
      electrical activity in the form of slow waves. The slow wave amplitude, maximum
      rate of rise, duration, and frequency were 31 mV, 60 mV sec-1, 4.3 sec, and 4.3
      min-1 on average, respectively. These parameters were not appreciably affected by
      3 microM nifedipine or nicardipine, even following membrane depolarization with
      60 mM K+. 2. Ni2+ (1-100 microM) increased slow wave amplitude and frequency, but
      reduced the rate of rise, accompanied by membrane depolarization. The rate of
      rise and depolarization slowly recovered to the control values in the continuous
      presence of Ni2+, but slow wave frequency remained high. The recovery after wash
      out was very poor particularly when a high concentration of Ni2+ was applied. 3.
      The effects of Co2+ were fundamentally the same as those of Ni2+. 4. Removal of
      external Ca2+ slowly reduced the rate of rise and amplitude of the slow waves in
      the absence and the presence of Ni2+ and Co2+, although the effects were reduced
      in the presence of these metal ions. 5. Concentrations of Ni2+ and Co2+ greater
      than 1 mM suppressed the slow waves. However, when the external Na+ was replaced
      with N-methyl-D-glucamine during the suppression, nearly normal electrical
      activity was resumed. 6. Since slow waves were not significantly affected by
      nifedipine (3 microM) and Ni2+ (100 microM), the inward currents generating slow
      waves do not seem to flow through L-type Ca2+ channels or typical T-type Ca2+
      channels. Slow waves are probably potentiated by Ni2+ and Co2+ acting
      intracellularly. These ions at higher concentrations seem to inhibit the
      pacemaker activity more powerfully than they do the inward currents responsible
      for slow wave generation.

PMID- 9972519
TI  - Endothelium-independent relaxant effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) on the
      isolated rabbit facial vein.
AB  - The facial vein in several species has been shown to have unusual properties,
      including exhibition of spontaneous myogenic tone and relaxation to
      norepinephrine (NE). The present study was undertaken to characterize the
      relaxant effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) on the rabbit facial vein. An
      isolated ring preparation of the rabbit facial vein exhibited intrinsic tone when
      it was stretched and the spontaneous contraction continued for hours. 5-HT
      concentration-dependently relaxed facial veins exhibiting spontaneous
      contraction. The relaxation was not inhibited by rubbing the endothelium or by NG
      nitro-L-arginine (10(-4) M), a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor. The 5-HT
      induced relaxation was also unaffected by pretreatment with indomethacin (10(-5)
      M), a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, and propranolol (10(-6) M), a both beta
      adrenoceptor and 5-HT18-receptor antagonist. In contrast, 5-HT-induced relaxation
      of the facial vein was concentration-dependently antagonized by methysergide (10(
      7) M and 10(-6) M), a non-selective 5-HT1- and 5-HT2-receptor antagonist, but not
      by NAN-190 (10(-6) M) and SDZ-205,557 (10(-6) M), antagonists for 5-HT1A- and 5
      HT4-receptors, respectively. A higher (10(-6) M), but not lower (3 x 10(-7) M)
      concentration of ketanserin, a 5-HT2-receptor antagonist, slightly inhibited the
      5-HT-induced relaxation. These results indicate that 5-HT-induced relaxation is
      not due to indirect mechanisms mediated by NE released from the sympathetic nerve
      terminals, or by endogenous prostanoid and endothelium-derived relaxing factor
      (EDRF = NO) released from the vascular tissues, but due to a direct effect on the
      5-HT receptors located on vascular smooth muscle cells. However, the subtype of 5
      HT receptor that produces relaxation of the rabbit facial vein remains to be
      clarified.

PMID- 9972520
TI  - Molecular cloning of m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in rat iris.
AB  - Muscarinic receptor subtypes that involved in cholinergic responses in rat iris
      were identified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
      analysis. mRNAs encoding m2, m3, and m4 subtypes were abundantly expressed in
      iris, whereas m1 and m5 subtypes were not detected. Selective amplification of
      the coding regions of m2, m3, and m4 subtypes in iris was carried out using
      specific primers based on the sequence of each subtype previously cloned from rat
      brain and heart by RT-PCR. The amino acid sequence for iris m2 was different from
      published heart and genomic m2 by nine and one residue(s), respectively. It was
      also found that the sequence for m2 that in brain, heart, and several smooth
      muscles determined in the present study is completely identical to that in iris
      but not to that reported previously in heart. The sequence for iris m4 was
      completely identical to that for m4 in brain. The sequence identity between m3
      subtype in iris and that in brain is 99.3%, with four amino acid substitutions at
      the sites of the position 165 and 184 in the edge of second intracellular loop
      and the sites of the position 337 and 406 in the central of i3 loop. It was found
      that iris m3 is slightly but substantially different in amino acid sequence from
      that in brain of the rat.

PMID- 9972521
TI  - Role of endothelium and adventitia on eugenol-induced relaxation of rabbit ear
      artery precontracted by histamine.
AB  - Eugenol (> or = 0.1 mM) inhibited the contractions induced by various stimulants,
      such as 90 mM extracellular K+ solution ([K+]0), histamine and noradrenaline in
      the rabbit ear artery. Inhibitory actions of eugenol occurred in a concentration
      dependent manner, however, eugenol more dominantly inhibited the histamine
      induced contraction than those induced by either 90 mM [K+]0 solution or
      noradrenaline. Removal of both endothelium and adventitia did not change the
      inhibitory actions of eugenol on the 90 mM [K+]0- and noradrenaline-induced
      contractions, however, attenuated those on the histamine-induced contraction.
      Chlorphenylamine abolished the histamine-induced contraction, but neither
      cimetidine, ranitidine nor thioperamide modified the eugenol actions on the
      contractions induced by histamine. Pretreatment with nitric oxide syntheses
      inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine (LNNA; 100 microM), but not soluble guanylate
      cyclase inhibitor methylene blue (MB; 10 microM), prevented
      endothelium/adventitia-dependent augmentation of the eugenol-induced relaxation
      on the histamine-induced contraction. When an intact tissue, but not an
      endothelium/adventitia-denuded tissue, was placed at the up-stream close to the
      other denuded preparation (test preparation), histamine-induced contraction
      observed in the test preparation tended to be augmented. Similarly, eugenol
      induced relaxation was also augmented by the same treatment. Eugenol (0.3 mM)
      inhibited the excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) without hyperpolarization of
      the membrane. However, a high concentration of eugenol (1 mM) slightly
      hyperpolarized the membrane (ca. 5 mV). No transient enhancement of amplitude of
      EJP was recorded. These results suggest that eugenol may inhibit the histamine
      induced muscle contraction directly, and the inhibition is augmented by the
      adventitia and endothelium partly by vasoactive substances, which were released
      from the adventitia/endothelium-derived substances in rabbit ear artery.

PMID- 9972522
TI  - Angiogenesis: possibilities for therapeutic interventions.
AB  - Vascular proliferation normally occurs only during embryonic development, the
      female reproductive cycle and wound healing. Various pathological conditions such
      as diabetic retinopathy are characterized by persistent, uncontrolled
      angiogenesis. At the other hand, impaired development of new blood vessels has
      been found to be related with myocardial infarction. A series of anti-angiogenic
      drugs are currently included in experimental cancer treatment, whereas the
      failure of ulcers to heal may be limited by increased angiogenesis upon
      administration of growth factors. In the present review control mechanisms of the
      vasculature are summarized and therapeutic approaches discussed.

PMID- 9972523
TI  - Informing women about drugs they take during pregnancy: promoting consumers' drug
      information as integral part of care.
AB  - Although it is recommended that drugs be avoided as much as possible during
      pregnancy, attitudes towards setting, time and method of the performed studies,
      and characteristics of the investigated population have been shown to vary. A
      collaborative and permanent network of different observational points is
      essential in monitoring and assessing the rational use of drugs, especially
      during pregnancy. In a context where knowledge is often scant and contradictory,
      the importance and the need for information on drug use during pregnancy remain
      unquestioned. If health (drug) information is the interface between those who
      produce and have knowledge and those who are beneficiaries of such knowledge,
      information for pregnant women (as well as for all lay people) is mandatory.
      Initiatives, people and instruments whose job it is to produce and diffuse
      informations have to be assessed and qualitatively harmonized to adequately
      answer to questions and needs. Women need information (concerning both pregnancy
      and drugs) on which to base choices on their own health care (and pregnancy).
      Clearly, this interaction depends on the kind of information and on the spirit
      with which it is provided. Thus it is essential that information (especially
      during pregnancy) be based on transparency and accountability, and it be directed
      by the principles of equity, effectiveness and affordability.

PMID- 9972524
TI  - Teaching and counselling behaviour: an applied study with community pharmacists.
AB  - Continuing education aims at improving practice. In this article, three main
      research questions are addressed: Which methodology is optimal to improve
      counselling behaviour? Are learning outcomes influenced by learning style? Does
      knowing imply doing? Four educational methods, transferring information on cough
      medicines, are assessed: a lecture, an interactive workshop, an audiocassette and
      a textbook. Attendants of the first three methods also received the textbook.
      Pharmacists completed a learning-style inventory in addition to a pretest. After
      the instruction phase, they were interviewed by telephone (post-test). We also
      evaluated the counseling behaviour by an 'incognito' visit to participants as
      well as to controls. Seventy-eight pharmacists participated. Their learning-style
      cannot be related to the results of pre- or posttest. Each educational method
      improved the level of knowledge significantly, but none of them proved to be
      better than the others. The pharmacists who in addition read the textbook,
      acquired more knowledge than those who did not. Self-study at home led to more
      fundamental rather than practical knowledge. Improving knowledge does not result
      in better counselling: 75% of the pharmacists asked only one question, especially
      concerning the type of cough. However 9 out of 10 mentioned how to use the drug.
      About half of the pharmacists told the patient about the action of the medicine.
      Other items were hardly ever mentioned. There was no difference in counselling
      behaviour between the intervention group and a group of pharmacists who did not
      attend the course. This investigation does not reveal any particular method of in
      service training as being more efficient. Active use of self-study materials
      helps to improve pharmacological knowledge. Implementing educational strategies
      to improve counselling behaviour remains a future aim.

PMID- 9972525
TI  - APOM-project: a survey of pharmacy organization and management.
AB  - In 1994, a Ph.D-study started regarding pharmacy, organization and management
      (APOM) in the Netherlands. The APOM-project deals with the structuring and
      steering of pharmacy organization. This article describes the summary of the
      empirical results of a survey in a relatively large sample (n = 169).
      Generalization to the population of pharmacies in the Netherlands was made.
      Thought results comprised a total number of seven clusters of priorities of
      pharmacy mixes. Most pharmacy managers were observed with product and customer
      activities in the first position; pharmaceutical and customer activities were
      perceived as the most important. Action results comprised a total number of five
      clusters of activities of pharmacy mixes. Most pharmacy managers were observed
      with product and process activities in the first position; pharmaceutical and
      process activities were performed most frequently. The results showed that the
      traditional conception of the work in the community pharmacy is still vividly
      present.

PMID- 9972526
TI  - Managing drug reactions to sulfonamides and other drugs in HIV infection:
      desensitization rather than rechallenge?
AB  - Drug reactions in patients with HIV infection, e.g. fever or rash, are a
      frequently occurring clinical problem. These side effects particularly are
      observed with sulfonamides; however, many other drugs have also shown to induce
      allergic reactions when given to patients with HIV infection. The production of
      hydroxylamines has been put forward as one of the explanations for these high
      incidence of reactions on drugs. Since sulfonamides are the first choice of
      therapy for the treatment and prophylaxis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia,
      several strategies have been developed to circumvent drug reactions. In general
      rechallenge or desensitization are recommended in literature. This article
      discusses the results and risks of rechallenge and desensitization with
      sulfonamides or other drugs, as mentioned in the literature. Furthermore
      preliminary results of rechallenge with a sulfonamide, which is not metabolized
      into hydroxylamines, are presented. From the data in the literature it is
      concluded that desensitization should be preferred to rechallenge.

PMID- 9972527
TI  - Can two-, four- or eight-hour urine collections after voluntary voiding be used
      instead of twenty-four-hour collections for the estimation of creatinine
      clearance in healthy subjects?
AB  - The accuracy of creatinine clearance estimations obtained from 4-hour (16:00
      20:00, 20:00-24:00, 08:00-12:00, 12:00-16:00) and 8-hour (16:00-24:00, 24:00
      08:00 and 08:00-16:00) urine collections and the Cockcroft Gault formula compared
      with the standard 24-hour collection, as well as the cyclical variation in
      creatinine excretion were studied in a group of 22 healthy subjects (Serum
      creatinine < 1.5 mg/dl, Blood Urea Nitrogen < 50 mg/dl) after voluntary voiding.
      The mean 4-hour and 8-hour creatinine clearances were not significantly different
      from the 24-hour values. Clearance values from 8-hour collections between 24:00
      08:00 and 16:00-24:00 were found to be the most accurate and gave the best
      correlations. Furthermore only the mean absolute percentage deviations of the 8
      hour from the 24-hour clearance values were significantly less than 20%.
      Significant cyclical variations in creatinine clearance over 24 hours were not
      observed. Time intervals between 23:00-07:00 and 07:00-09:00 were chosen for the
      comparisons between 8-hour, 2-hour, Cockcroft Gault creatinine clearance
      estimations and the 24-hour values in 21 healthy subjects. The mean 2-hour and 8
      hour creatinine clearances were not significantly different from the 24-hour
      values. However, once again only the 8-hour clearance values differed by less
      than 20% from the 24-hour values and they were more accurate and better
      correlated than the 2-hour values. As expected, in both groups of subjects, the
      percentage of clearance values that deviated by more than 20% from the 24-hour
      values decreased as the length of the collection times increased. The Cockcroft
      Gault formula in both groups of volunteers gave less accurate clearance
      estimations, smaller correlation coefficients (not statistically significant in
      Group I subjects) and percentage deviations from the 24-hour values greater than
      20%. Undetected early stage renal insufficiency in three volunteers and the use
      of actual instead of normalized Scr values may have been the cause of these poor
      clearance estimations. In healthy subjects (Scr < 1.5 mg/dl) 24-hour creatinine
      clearance may be estimated from an 8-hour urine collection with voluntary voiding
      if a 20% deviation from the 24-hour value is considered clinically acceptable.

PMID- 9972528
TI  - Risk for periodontal disease in a Swedish adult population. Cross-sectional and
      longitudinal studies over two decades.

PMID- 9972529
TI  - Immunephenotyping of T lymphocytes from patients after allogeneic bone marrow
      transplantation.
AB  - The relative distribution of T cell subsets as defined by MABs was analyzed in
      PBMCs from 56 patients with various hematologic diseases. The percentage of PBMCs
      expressing the CD5 antigen revealed normal values shortly after transplantation.
      In most patients lymphocytes expressing CD8 were found in high proportion and CD4
      in a low percentage. This resulted in a low CD4/CD8 ratio compared with that of
      lymphocytes from normal controls. In the course of time, a trend toward
      normalization was observed for all parameters investigated, however the kinetics
      of the recovery showed a marked heterogeneity. Nevertheless, we found a
      statistical correlation between the CD4+ cell count and the PHA transformation
      response. This could however, not be shown in ConA and PWM stimulated
      proliferation. No other correlation was found between any lymphocyte phenotype,
      as defined by MABs, and proliferative responses in vitro.

PMID- 9972530
TI  - Studies on the migratory properties of epithelial cells of cholesteatoma:
      clinical investigation.
AB  - A total of 302 cholesteatoma cases were surgically treated with or without
      utilizing the cholesteatoma matrix to cover the defect of the eardrum. The
      recurrence rate, the number of days required for the skin to dry
      (epithelialization), findings of the external ear canal, the degree of
      postoperative crust formation (migration property), and the number of infections
      were compared between these two groups. Recurrence of cholesteatoma was seen in
      only one case, a case in which the cholesteatoma matrix was not used. The average
      number of days required for the skin to dry after surgery was 7.1 days in
      patients in whom the cholesteatoma epithelium was utilized, while it was 9.4 days
      in patients in whom cholesteatoma matrix was not utilized. The number of cases
      that had crust formation was significantly greater among patients in whom the
      cholesteatoma matrix was not utilized. From these results, we concluded that one
      stage tympanoplasty with mastoid obliteration using the cholesteatoma matrix is a
      rational surgical procedure.

PMID- 9972531
TI  - A clinical study of the nasal dilator Nozovent in Japanese subjects.
AB  - A nasal dilator (Nozovent) has been developed to fit in the nasal cavity and
      external nose of Caucasians, and beneficial effects have been confirmed. However,
      the ability of the device to dilate nasal valve areas of Orientals, whose
      external nose structure differs from that of Caucasians, has not been studied. We
      studied the effectiveness of the Nozovent device in preventing snoring and sleep
      apnea in Japanese subjects according to the methods described by Petruson. When
      the Nozovent device was worn by the eighteen subjects who experienced snoring,
      nine showed significant improvement, four showed good improvement, two fair
      improvement, and three discontinued the trial; the rate of improvement was 72.2%.
      The device was also seen to be effective for three patients with sleep apnea. The
      Nozovent device provides a unique method for non-surgical treatment of snoring,
      and the effectiveness is a result of dilatation of the nasal valve area. The
      principle is medically sound, and is equally applicable to nasal valves of both
      Caucasians and Japanese who have different external nose structures.

PMID- 9972532
TI  - Canal-down tympanoplasty; one-stage tympanoplasty with mastoid obliteration, for
      non-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media associated with osteitis.
AB  - We operated on 54 ears using the canal-down procedure consisting of one-stage
      tympanoplasty with mastoid obliteration for non-cholesteatoma otitis media with
      lesions in the ossicular chain and compared the results with those of patients
      treated with the canal-up procedure. Complications, such as mastoid problems,
      which have been observed in surgery with the simple canal-down procedure, were
      not observed in operations combining mastoid obliteration. The success rate for
      our procedure as evaluated by postoperative hearing levels, according to the
      standards established by the Japan Society of Clinical Otology, Committee on
      Nomenclature 1987, was 77.4% with tympanoplasty (ceramic P type) with
      reconstruction of the ossicular chain; 70.6% with reconstructive surgery using T
      type ceramic; and 50.0% with reconstructive surgery using the patient's own bone.
      Overall, the success rate was 72.2%. Our procedure seems to be superior to the
      canal-up procedure with respect to improvement of hearing levels in the treatment
      of patients with chronic otitis media associated with lesions in the ossicular
      chain.

PMID- 9972533
TI  - Contribution of airway resistance to airway pressure during mechanical
      ventilation: an experimental study.
AB  - Although airway resistance (R) is an important parameter of the pulmonary
      condition, its determination during mechanical ventilation is not easy. Most
      physicians estimate R from peak airway pressure during mechanical ventilation. We
      assessed the relationship between R and peak airway pressure by a computer
      simulation. The time course of airway pressure (Ptr) during mechanical
      ventilation was calculated from the airway pressure at end-inspiration and
      respiratory flow, allowing for the buffering effect of the dead space. The
      parameters for computer simulation were obtained from 5 paralyzed and
      mechanically ventilated dogs. The predicted Ptr curve was a function of airway
      resistance. Since R was not directly determined by the animal experiments, we
      determined R by using the Ptr curve most closely approximating the original Ptr
      curve as the true R. The R-peak tracheal pressure relationship predicted by
      computer simulation showed that the peak airway pressure increased almost
      linearly with increases in R. However, in computer simulation, when R was
      increased 10-fold from the value at airway relaxation, the peak airway pressure
      increased only 6-fold from the corresponding value. We conclude that peak airway
      pressure is a relatively insensitive parameter for the estimation of airway
      constriction during mechanical ventilation.

PMID- 9972534
TI  - IgA nephropathy and pregnancy.
AB  - In the present study, we investigated the pregnancy course of 60 pregnant women
      with IgA nephropathy according to the grade of nephropathy. All the patients had
      undergone open renal biopsy at the Renal Metabolism Unit, Department of Internal
      Medicine, Tokai University Hospital, before pregnancy. The items analyzed were
      the serum biochemical data, the occurrence and severity of EPH-gestosis, the
      frequency of low birth weight infants, and the incidence of intrauterine growth
      retardation (IUGR). Analysis of the serum biochemical data revealed no
      statistically significant differences among the various grades. Investigating the
      occurrence and severity of EPH-gestosis revealed that the incidence was 0.0% in
      patients of grade I (n = 7), 56.1% for mild EPH-gestosis and 22.0% for severe EPH
      gestosis in those of grade II (n = 41), 45.5% for mild EPH-gestosis and 18.2% for
      severe EPH-gestosis in those of grade III (n = 11), and 0.0% in those of grade IV
      (n = 1). These results showed statistically significant differences in the
      incidence of EPH-gestosis according to the grade. Analyzing the frequency of low
      birth weight infants (less than 2,500 g at birth) showed rates of 28.6% for grade
      I, 17.1% for grade II, 36.4% for grade III, and 100.0% for grade IV. No
      statistically significant differences were observed. The incidence of IUGR was
      0.0% for grade I, 9.8% for grade II, 18.2% for grade III, and 0.0% for grade IV,
      indicating no statistically significant differences. Therefore, we concluded that
      in pregnancy complicated with IgA nephropathy, if the renal function before
      pregnancy was satisfactory, an uneventful course of pregnancy could be expected
      by careful control of the patients, although the incidence of EPH-gestosis was
      high.

PMID- 9972535
TI  - Use of a glycoprotein gB promoter for expression of genes inserted into the human
      cytomegalovirus genome.
AB  - We attempted to utilize the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as an expression vector
      by replacing the dispensable genes of the viral genome with foreign genes. The
      selection of a promoter to be fused to the foreign gene is important to achieve a
      high expression rate in the recombinant virus. We selected the glycoprotein B
      (gB) promoter of HCMV as a target of analysis because gB is one of the most
      abundantly synthesized components in cell culture. The gB promoter, fused to the
      E. coli lacZ gene, was introduced into the HCMV HindIII-O fragment region by
      homologous recombination. It was confirmed that the gB promoter-lacZ construct
      was inserted in the targeted site of HCMV. The expression of the lacZ gene in the
      recombinant virus infection was initiated 24 h after infection and increased
      until 120 h post infection. The lacZ gene expression was inhibited by the
      presence of cytosine arabinoside. These observations indicate that the expression
      of the lacZ gene is under the control of the late promoter of gB.

PMID- 9972536
TI  - Anti-streptococcal activity of homologous polymorphonuclear neutrophils from
      patients with surgically treated oral infections.
AB  - The phagocytic bactericidal activity of homologous polymorphonuclear neutrophils
      (PMN), obtained from patients with severe, moderate and mild oral infections with
      Streptococci, was investigated. The drop in viable bacterial cell counts in PMNs
      from 3 patients with a severe infection, after 4 hours of incubation, was much
      greater than in PMNs from moderate or mild infections. We conclude that the
      phagocytic bactericidal activity of PMNs is stronger in patients suffering from
      severe oral infections with Streptococci.

PMID- 9972537
TI  - Experimental models and treatment trials for cerebral infarction.
AB  - Recent progress in both experimental and clinical studies of cerebral infarction
      is outlined, and research on delayed neuronal death and ischemic penumbra is
      described. Development of animal models to study clinical pathophysiology is
      reviewed, and our focal cerebral ischemia model which has been used for many
      years is introduced. With elucidation of the pathophysiology of cerebral
      ischemia, various pharmaceutical agents have appeared recently in the clinical
      setting and our experimental trials on the treatment of cerebral ischemia are
      also introduced. From the clinical aspect, practical methods of treatment
      including antiplatelet therapy are explained. Cerebrovascular dementia and its
      prevention are also described.

PMID- 9972538
TI  - Three cases of primary lung cancer undetected by an annual checkup.
AB  - An annual check by chest roentgenogram is very important for the early detection
      of lung cancer. We present three cases of primary lung cancer which were not
      detected by the double check system or previous examination. The three patients
      visited our hospital for evaluation of an ill-defined opacity in the upper lobe
      of the lung. In the three cases, no abnormality had been reported in the previous
      year's annual chest X-ray, and we concurred in the decisions. The correct
      diagnoses of the three cases were well or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma,
      and were still amenable for surgical therapy. A poorly defined tumor in this
      region is very difficult to detect because of superimposed opacities of other
      anatomical structures. When a questionable shadow in this region is found but
      without the typical radiological features of lung cancer, it is important to
      search for indirect indications of adenocarcinoma. These may include fibrotic
      changes and absence of inflammation. In our cases, the increased number of normal
      size bronchi penetrating the ill-defined tumor, seem to have diagnostic
      significance.

PMID- 9972539
TI  - Can postoperative abdominal wound dehiscence be predicted?
AB  - The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors in wound dehiscence and to
      determine which factors might be predictable. Forty patients with abdominal wound
      dehiscence were compared with 40 control patients standardized by sex and age.
      Hypoproteinemia, nausea/vomiting, fever, wound infection, abdominal distension,
      type of suture material, 2 or more abdominal drains, and the surgeon's experience
      were factors significantly associated with wound dehiscence. Emergency surgery,
      jaundice, ostomy, total parenteral nutrition, ascites, pulmonary morbidity, co
      existence of disease, anemia, leucocytosis, and type of incision were
      nonsignificant variables. The number of patients with wound dehiscence increased
      with an increase in the number of risk factors, reaching 100% for patients with 8
      risk factors. The risk factors of wound dehiscence can be predicted early and
      their number can be decreased before and after surgery by an experienced surgeon,
      leading to a lowered incidence of wound failure.

PMID- 9972540
TI  - Mechanisms of excitatory synaptic transmission in the enteric nervous system.
AB  - The enteric nervous system can control gastrointestinal function independent of
      direct connections with the central nervous system. Enteric nerves can perform
      this task as there are multiple mechanisms of excitatory neurotransmission in
      enteric ganglia. There are two broad types of excitatory synaptic transmission,
      fast and slow excitatory synaptic responses. Fast excitatory postsynaptic
      potentials (fEPSPs) are recorded from "S" type neurons and some AH type neurons.
      S neurons are interneurons and motorneurons while AH neurons are intrinsic
      sensory neurons. Slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials (sEPSPs) can be recorded
      from some S neurons and also from AH type neurons. The fEPSPs recorded from S
      neurons and mediated largely by acetylcholine acting at nicotinic cholinergic
      receptors (nAChRs). However, ATP acting at P2X purine receptors contributes to
      the fEPSP in many S neurons. The fEPSPs recorded from AH neurons are also
      mediated largely by nAChRs but glutamate acting at AMPA receptors contributes to
      fEPSPs in some AH neurons. The sEPSPs in AH neurons are mediated by one or more
      neuropeptides and 5-hydroxytryptamine. The sEPSPs in AH neurons are due to
      inhibition of two types of resting potassium channels and activation of a
      chloride channel or a nonspecific cation channel. The multiple mechanisms of
      excitatory synaptic transmission in the enteric nervous system contribute to its
      capacity to regulate complex gastrointestinal functions.

PMID- 9972541
TI  - Social support as a function of school counseling.
AB  - The objective of this study was to investigate the value of school counseling,
      particularly in terms of social support. To prepare this report, I conducted a
      follow-up study on graduates of T high school, on school counseling, based on 185
      individuals. I compared the students who received counseling when they were in
      school (visitants) with students who did not (non-visitants), and examined the
      correlation between them. As a result, significant statistical differences were
      detected as follows: 1. The visitants had different concerns from the non
      visitants. 2. The visitants had a variety of individual concerns. 3. The
      visitants differed in the manner of obtaining social support. 4. Both groups had
      their own characteristic categories of social support. Consequently, two
      conclusions have been drawn: 1. Extensive informal relationship with friends
      exists among high school students. In particular, club and extracurricular
      activities are of major importance. 2. When informal support is not available,
      help may be sought from formal relationships (counselor, teachers of handicapped
      students, or classroom teachers). In other words, school counseling can function
      as a complementary and effective social support for high school students.

PMID- 9972542
TI  - Collagen production by cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells.
AB  - We investigated extracellular matrix produced by human retinal pigment epithelial
      cells (RPE) in vitro using electron microscopy and enzyme linked immunosorbent
      assay (ELISA). The thickness of the matrix under the cell layer was about 30
      microns after 360 days of culture. It consisted mainly of fibrous and granular
      components. Type IV and V collagen were detected but type I and III were not
      detected by ELISA. It appeared that RPE can secrete type IV and V collagen and
      form a thick membrane which may cause proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) by
      contraction. Control of RPE proliferation and secretion of extracellular matrix
      is indispensable for prevention of PVR.

PMID- 9972543
TI  - Colonic adenoma detected by positron emission tomography (PET): a case report.
AB  - A 61-year-old asymptomatic woman underwent whole-body positron emission
      tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and was found to have a lesion in
      the ascending colon. Further colonic examination was not performed due to her
      medical condition. One year later, the lesion was demonstrated again by PET.
      After the second PET study, she underwent colonoscopy, which revealed a
      pedunculated polyp in the ascending colon. A polypectomy was performed.
      Histopathological study showed a 1.8-cm adenoma with mild to moderate atypia. The
      findings in our case suggest that increased glucose metabolism can be depicted by
      PET in colonic adenoma as well as in primary colonic carcinoma. Although the
      differentiation between colonic adenoma and carcinoma can not be determined by
      PET, adenomas are considered to have potential for malignant transformation and
      thus need to be resected. Therefore, it is noteworthy that PET can be used in the
      detection of adenomas.

PMID- 9972544
TI  - Characterization of the damage to membranes caused by bacterial cytolysins.
AB  - The damage to cell membranes caused by bacterial cytolysins has been studied for
      many years. In this review, we attempt to summarize the historical contribution
      of electron microscopy to our understanding of the modes of action of pore
      forming and channel-forming toxins. We describe the ways in which these toxins
      form holes in membranes by binding to and forming oligomers on biological
      membranes. We also introduce the new technique of electron spectroscopic imaging
      (ESI) with an imaging plate (IP), which has been used to analyse the mechanisms
      of membrane damage by cytolysins.

PMID- 9972545
TI  - Ultrastructural variations of rat myocardium due to Walterinnesia aegytia snake
      envenomation.
AB  - This study was undertaken to investigate the toxic effect of Walterinnesia
      aegyptia venom on the ultrastructure of rat myocardium. Male albino rats were
      prepared for intraperitoneal injection of saline (control group) and saline
      solution of W.aegyptia venom (study group) at a dose of 0.04 mg animal-1.
      Biopsies from the left ventricle were prepared for electron microscopy after 1 h
      (D1 group), 2 h (D2 group), 18 h (D3 group) and 24 h (D4 group). Myocardial cells
      were in a state of partial to complete contraction. The D1 group showed some
      mitochondrial vacuoles; D2 group demonstrated more vacuolation and alterations in
      the form of disorganized cristae. Similar findings were depicted in D3 group. The
      D4 group demonstrated, in addition, dissolution of mitochondrial cristae.
      Myofilaments in D3 group experienced coalescence into ill-defined amorphous
      masses (foci of myolysis). These masses were characterized by the presence of
      multiple, parallel, Z-like dark bands with disorganization of the filamentous
      arrangement. In the D4 group, more myolytic foci were observed. This reaction was
      not limited to one myocyte but extended to the neighbouring ones. Mitochondrial
      vacuoles were mostly associated with electron dense deposits. Glycogen particles
      tended to decrease as the experiment proceeded from D1 to D4. These
      ultrastructural changes were time dependent. They would suggest a cardiotoxic
      action of W.aegyptia snake venom.

PMID- 9972546
TI  - Ultrastructural localization of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity in
      rat osteoblasts.
AB  - Ultrastructural localization of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)
      activity in metaphyseal osteoblasts of young rats was detected and compared with
      the localization of tartrate-sensitive acid phosphatase (TSAP). TRAP activity was
      detected in lysosomes and Golgi complex, such as Golgi lamellae, vacuoles and
      vesicles. TSAP, detected as beta-glycerophosphatase, was also located in Golgi
      lamellae, vacuoles and vesicles, and in lysosomes. Based on the ultrastructural
      features of TRAP-positive structures and the similarity of the distribution
      patterns of TRAP and TSAP, it is suggested that TRAP co-exists with TSAP, and is
      located in lysosomes and secretory granules in osteoblasts.

PMID- 9972547
TI  - Two statoacoustic ganglion (SAG) cells holding a common perikaryal myelin sheath
      in between in the chick.
AB  - Ganglion cells of the eighth cranial nerve in vertebrates have perikaryal myelin
      sheaths. The present electron microscopic study showed a case of two
      statoacoustic ganglion (SAG) cells holding a common perikaryal myelin sheath in
      between in the chick. Observations of numbers and terminals of myelin lamellae
      suggested that the sheath would be composed of an abortive lamella sandwiched
      between respective perikaryal myelin sheaths of the two SAG cells. The outer
      surface of the two perikaryal sheaths was covered by a continuous basal lamina.
      The process of common myelin sheath formation is discussed.

PMID- 9972548
TI  - Molecular structure of human topoisomerase II alpha revealed by atomic force
      microscopy.
AB  - The entire human topoisomerase II alpha (hTopoII alpha) dimer was expressed in
      the yeast Saccaromyces cerevisiae, purified to homogeneity, and subjected to
      atomic force microscopy (AFM) under a tapping mode. Molecular images obtained
      exhibited a 'heart or donut-like' structure with a large axial hole. The main
      benefit of the application of AFM to study the hTopoII alpha is that clear images
      of the internal 'pore' have been achieved without crystallization, staining, or
      fixation of the sample. These images are consistent with the model in which
      topoisomerase II has a large internal gate for DNA strand passage.

PMID- 9972549
TI  - In search of self-definition: motivational primacy of the individual self,
      motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy?
AB  - Four investigations examined the dynamics between the individual self (self
      representation independent of group membership) and the collective self (self
      representation derived from group membership). Relative to participants whose
      collective self was threatened, participants whose individual self was threatened
      (a) considered the threat more severe, (b) experienced a more negative mood, (c)
      reported more anger, and (d) derogated to a greater extent the source of threat.
      In addition, a self-description task indicated that participants generate more
      aspects of their individual than collective self. These effects occurred even
      when confounding variables (i.e., accessibility of the selves, group
      identification, individualism and collectivism, importance of threat domain) were
      controlled. The individual self is motivationally primary.

PMID- 9972550
TI  - Stigmatized sources and persuasion: prejudice as a determinant of argument
      scrutiny.
AB  - Two experiments examined the viability of several explanations for why majority
      group individuals process persuasive messages from stigmatized sources more than
      those from nonstigmatized sources. In each study, majority group participants who
      either were high or low in prejudice or were high or low in ambivalence toward a
      stigmatized source's group were exposed to a persuasive communication attributed
      to a stigmatized (Black, Experiment 1; homosexual, Experiment 2) or
      nonstigmatized (White, Experiment 1; heterosexual, Experiment 2) source. In both
      studies, source stigmatization increased message scrutiny only among those who
      were low in prejudice toward the stigmatized group. This finding is most
      consistent with the view that people scrutinize messages from stigmatized sources
      in order to guard against possibly unfair reactions by themselves or others.

PMID- 9972551
TI  - The impact of mortality salience on reckless driving: a test of terror management
      mechanisms.
AB  - A series of 4 studies, based on terror management theory (TMT), examined the
      effects of mortality salience on risk taking while driving. In all the studies,
      participants (N = 603) reported on the relevance of driving to their self-esteem.
      Then half of them were exposed to various mortality salience inductions, and the
      remaining to a control condition. The dependent measures were either self
      reported behavioral intentions of risky driving or driving speed in a car
      simulator. In Study 4, half of the participants in each condition received
      positive feedback about their quality of driving. Findings showed that mortality
      salience inductions led to more risky driving than the control condition only
      among individuals who perceived driving as relevant to their self-esteem. The
      introduction of positive feedback about driving eliminated this effect. The
      results were discussed in light of the self-enhancing mechanisms proposed by TMT.

PMID- 9972552
TI  - "I love you more today than yesterday": romantic partners' perceptions of changes
      in love and related affect over time.
AB  - Partners in romantic relationships provided reports on perceived changes in their
      love, commitment, and satisfaction and completed contemporaneous scales on the
      same relationship phenomena multiple times over several years. At each wave of
      the longitudinal study, participants whose relationships had remained intact
      perceived that their love and related phenomena had increased since they had last
      participated in the study. However, their scores on contemporaneous scales did
      not generally increase over time. Analyses indicated that participants' reports
      of change were related to actual change in love, commitment, and satisfaction
      scores and with future relationship stability. Furthermore, participants who
      experienced a breakup during the longitudinal study reported an overall decrease
      in their positive affect in the months prior to the breakup.

PMID- 9972553
TI  - Couple resilience to economic pressure.
AB  - Over 400 married couples participated in a 3-year prospective study of economic
      pressure and marital relations. The research (a) empirically evaluated the family
      stress model of economic stress influences on marital distress and (b) extended
      the model to include specific interactional characteristics of spouses
      hypothesized to protect against economic pressure. Findings provided support for
      the basic mediational model, which proposes that economic pressure increases risk
      for emotional distress, which, in turn, increases risk for marital conflict and
      subsequent marital distress. Regarding resilience to economic stress, high
      marital support reduced the association between economic pressure and emotional
      distress. In addition, effective couple problem solving reduced the adverse
      influence of marital conflict on marital distress. Overall, the findings provided
      substantial support for the extended family stress model.

PMID- 9972554
TI  - Ideals in intimate relationships.
AB  - This research examined lay relationship and partner ideals in romantic
      relationships from both a social-cognitive and an evolutionary perspective.
      Studies 1 and 2 revealed that the qualities of an ideal partner were represented
      by 3 factors (partner warmth-trustworthiness, vitality-attractiveness, and status
      resources), whereas the qualities of an ideal relationship were represented by 2
      factors (relationship intimacy-loyalty and passion). A confirmatory factor
      analysis in Study 3 replicated these factor structures but found considerable
      overlap across the partner and relationship dimensions. Studies 4 and 5 produced
      convergent and discriminant validity evidence for all 5 factors. Study 6
      indicated that the higher the consistency between the ideals and related
      assessments of the current partner and relationship, the more positively the
      current relationship was evaluated.

PMID- 9972555
TI  - Laypeople's conceptions of commitment.
AB  - The author conducted 8 studies to elucidate the content and structure of lay
      conceptions of commitment. Studies 1 to 5 revealed that laypeople regard
      commitment to close relationships (e.g., friends, family, spouse) as central to
      the concept, whereas they consider nonclose (e.g., commitment to a neighbor) and
      noninterpersonal varieties (e.g., one's occupation) peripheral. This prototype
      structure influenced information processing in predictable ways. Studies 6 to 8
      focused on the vertical structure of commitment categories. Results suggest that
      types of commitment are organized as fuzzy rather than true class-inclusion
      hierarchies. Study 8 also examined relationship implications of conceptions of
      commitment. People who held a relational conception of commitment had more
      positive perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about their dating relationship than
      did those who held a nonrelational conception.

PMID- 9972556
TI  - Effects of optimism, pessimism, and trait anxiety on ambulatory blood pressure
      and mood during everyday life.
AB  - This study tested whether dispositional measures of optimism, pessimism, and
      anxiety affected ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and mood and whether any
      cardiovascular effects of dispositions were moderated by mood. Pessimistic and
      anxious adults had higher BP levels and felt more negative and less positive than
      did optimists or low anxious adults throughout the monitoring. The few times that
      optimists did feel negative were associated with levels of BP as high as those
      observed among pessimists or anxious individuals, regardless of their mood. To
      the extent that trait anxiety measures neuroticism, these findings suggest that
      neuroticism is directly related to health indicators rather than simply to
      illness behavior. Furthermore, the results suggest that pessimism has broad
      physiological and psychological consequences.

PMID- 9972557
TI  - Stigma consciousness: the psychological legacy of social stereotypes.
AB  - Whereas past researchers have treated targets of stereotypes as though they have
      uniform reactions to their stereotyped status (e.g., J. Crocker & B. Major, 1989;
      C. M. Steele & J. Aronson, 1995), it is proposed here that targets differ in the
      extent to which they expect to be stereotyped by others (i.e., stigma
      consciousness). Six studies, 5 of which validate the stigma-consciousness
      questionnaire (SCQ), are presented. The results suggest that the SCQ is a
      reliable and valid instrument for detecting differences in stigma consciousness.
      In addition, scores on the SCQ predict perceptions of discrimination and the
      ability to generate convincing examples of such discrimination. The final study
      highlights a behavioral consequence of stigma consciousness: the tendency for
      people high in stigma consciousness to forgo opportunities to invalidate
      stereotypes about their group. The relation of stigma consciousness to past
      research on targets of stereotypes is considered as is the issue of how stigma
      consciousness may encourage continued stereotyping.

PMID- 9972558
TI  - Individual differences in social comparison: development of a scale of social
      comparison orientation.
AB  - Development and validation of a measure of individual differences in social
      comparison orientation (the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure
      [INCOM]) are described. Assuming that the tendency toward social comparison is
      universal, the scale was constructed so as to be appropriate to and comparable in
      2 cultures: American and Dutch. It was then administered to several thousand
      people in each country. Analyses of these data are presented indicating that the
      scale has good psychometric properties. In addition, a laboratory study and
      several field studies are described that demonstrated the INCOM's ability to
      predict comparison behavior effectively. Possible uses of the scale in basic and
      applied settings are discussed.

PMID- 9972559
TI  - The interaction model of anxiety and the threat of Quebec's separation from
      Canada.
AB  - The interaction model of anxiety was investigated by assessing trait and state
      anxiety in students at a Canadian university during the Quebec referendum. The
      results of Study 1 confirmed that the threat of separation by Quebec from Canada
      was perceived as an ambiguous, uncertain situation. In Study 2, reactions to this
      situation were assessed by having participants complete measures of anxiety and
      situation perception at Time 1 (i.e., 3 hr before the event) and Time 2 (i.e., 1
      week after the vote). The results provide support for the interaction model;
      individuals who were high in trait anxiety in ambiguous situations and appraised
      the referendum situation as threatening were characterized by elevated state
      anxiety before the uncertain outcome of the vote. The results illustrate the need
      to examine trait anxiety and specific appraisals of situational threat in
      uncertain life situations.

PMID- 9972560
TI  - Symmetry and perceived facial attractiveness: a monozygotic co-twin comparison.
AB  - Symmetry is a major correlate of physical attractiveness across species,
      including humans. Investigating the nature of this relationship has been
      difficult, however, for several reasons, including the facts that variance in
      symmetry is attributable to more than one source and is often correlated with
      other variables related to attractiveness. This study assessed the role of facial
      symmetry in relation to perceptions of facial attractiveness. Some of the natural
      covariates of symmetry were controlled for by comparing the symmetry and
      attractiveness differentials between monozygotic co-twins, who are genetically,
      but not developmentally, identical. The more symmetric twin of a pair was
      consistently rated as more attractive, and the magnitude of the difference
      between twins in perceived attractiveness was directly related to the magnitude
      of the difference in symmetry.

PMID- 9972561
TI  - Fluctuating asymmetry, sociosexuality, and intrasexual competitive tactics.
AB  - Heterosexual men and women were told they were competing with another same-sex
      individual for a date with an attractive opposite-sex interviewer. After
      answering 6 questions, participants were asked to tell the competitor why the
      interviewer should choose them over the competitor. Participants' videotaped
      behavior was coded for different behavioral tactics. Men who were more
      symmetrical and who had a more unrestricted sociosexual orientation were more
      likely to use direct competition tactics than were less symmetrical and
      restricted men. Restricted men accentuated their positive personal qualities,
      presenting themselves as "nice guys." Structural equation modeling revealed that
      fluctuating asymmetry (FA) was directly associated with the use of direct
      competition tactics. However, the link between FA and presenting oneself as a
      nice guy was mediated through sociosexuality. No effects were found for women.

PMID- 9972562
TI  - Aeroelastic structural acoustic control.
AB  - Static, constant-gain, output-feedback control compensators were designed to
      increase the transmission loss across a panel subjected to mean flow on one
      surface and a stationary, acoustic half-space on the opposite surface. The multi
      input, multi-output control system was based upon the use of an array of
      colocated transducer pairs. The performance of the static-gain, output-feedback
      controller was compared to that of the full state-feedback controller using the
      same control actuator arrays, and was found to yield comparable levels of
      performance for practical limitations on control effort. Additionally, the
      resulting static compensators proved to be dissipative in nature, and thus the
      design varied little as a function of the aeroelastic coupling induced by the
      fluid-structure interaction under subsonic flow conditions. Several parametric
      studies were performed, comparing the effects of control-effort penalty as well
      as the number of transducer pairs used in the control system.

PMID- 9972563
TI  - Insights into linear and nonlinear cochlear transduction: application of a new
      system-identification procedure on transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions data.
AB  - Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) were used to characterize linear
      and nonlinear cochlear transduction using a new system-identification procedure.
      In this technique, a computational model of the system is first developed. From
      the measured stimulus and response records, spectral-density functions and
      multiple coherence functions are calculated. The coherence functions allow the
      characterization of linear/nonlinear processes as a function of frequency.
      Summations of linear and nonlinear coherences provide a goodness-of-fit of the
      chosen model. Finite impulse response pulses with a bandwidth of 1-8 kHz were
      used to evoke otoacoustic emissions. Eleven adults with normal hearing served as
      subjects. Third- and fifth-order polynomial models were used to model the data,
      and the results indicate that the fifth-order model is a better fit to the TEOAE
      data. The results of this study suggest that this system-identification procedure
      can be successfully applied to model cochlear transduction using a broadband
      stimulus. Most importantly, coherence functions provide useful insights into
      linear and nonlinear cochlear processes and have the potential to be developed as
      a clinical measure for monitoring changes in cochlear status.

PMID- 9972564
TI  - Evoked otoacoustic emissions arise by two fundamentally different mechanisms: a
      taxonomy for mammalian OAEs.
AB  - Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) of all types are widely assumed to arise by a common
      mechanism: nonlinear electromechanical distortion within the cochlea. In this
      view, both stimulus-frequency (SFOAEs) and distortion-product emissions (DPOAEs)
      arise because nonlinearities in the mechanics act as "sources" of backward
      traveling waves. This unified picture is tested by analyzing measurements of
      emission phase using a simple phenomenological description of the nonlinear re
      emission process. The analysis framework is independent of the detailed form of
      the emission sources and the nonlinearities that produce them. The analysis
      demonstrates that the common assumption that SFOAEs originate by nonlinear
      distortion requires that SFOAE phase be essentially independent of frequency, in
      striking contradiction with experiment. This contradiction implies that evoked
      otoacoustic emissions arise by two fundamentally different mechanisms within the
      cochlea. These two mechanisms (linear reflection versus nonlinear distortion) are
      described and two broad classes of emissions--reflection-source and distortion
      source emissions--are distinguished based on the mechanisms of their generation.
      The implications of this OAE taxonomy for the measurement, interpretation, and
      clinical use of otoacoustic emissions as noninvasive probes of cochlear function
      are discussed.

PMID- 9972565
TI  - Response phase: a view from the inner hair cell.
AB  - Inner hair cell (IHC) responses are recorded from the apical three turns of the
      guinea pig cochlea in order to define the relationship between hair cell
      depolarization and position of the basilar membrane. At low frequencies, inner
      hair cell depolarization is generally observed near basilar membrane velocity to
      scala vestibuli, reflecting the putative freestanding nature of the IHC's
      stereocilia. While this is consistent with previous IHC results, independent of
      location, and with neural responses for fibers with low best frequencies, it is
      inconsistent with single-unit results from the base of the cochlea, where
      response phase is associated with basilar membrane velocity to scala tympani.
      Results suggest that the temporal disparity between IHC and neural data from the
      base of the cochlea may relate to several factors that influence transmembrane
      voltage in IHCs. First, extracellular voltages (Ingvarsson, 1981; Sellick et al.,
      1982; Russell and Sellick, 1983) can potentially affect low- and high-frequency
      regions differently because electrical interactions are more likely in the base
      of the cochlea than in the apex (Dallos, 1983, 1985). Second, waveform distortion
      and kinetic properties associated with voltage-dependent ion channels in the
      IHC's basolateral membrane can both influence response phase by adding harmonic
      components and lagging the receptor potential by as much as 90 deg. Third, the
      velocity dependence of IHCs in the apex appears to extend to higher frequencies
      than the velocity dependence demonstrated for IHCs in the base of the cochlea.
      These features, which influence the timing of discharges in the auditory nerve,
      are compared and evaluated.

PMID- 9972566
TI  - Analog very large-scale integrated (VLSI) implementation of a model of amplitude
      modulation sensitivity in the auditory brainstem.
AB  - An analog very large-scale integrated (VLSI) implementation of a model of signal
      processing in the auditory brainstem is presented and evaluated. The
      implementation is based on a model of amplitude-modulation sensitivity in the
      central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC) previously described by Hewitt
      and Meddis [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2145-2159 (1994)]. A single chip is used to
      implement the three processing stages of the model; the inner-hair cell (IHC),
      cochlear nucleus sustained-chopper, and CNIC coincidence-detection stages. The
      chip incorporates two new circuits: an IHC circuit and a neuron circuit. The
      input to the chip is taken from a "silicon cochlea" consisting of a cascade of
      filters that simulate basilar membrane mechanical frequency selectivity. The chip
      which contains 142 neurons was evaluated using amplitude-modulated pure tones.
      Individual cells in the CNIC stage demonstrate bandpass rate-modulation responses
      using these stimuli. The frequency of modulation is represented spatially in an
      array of these cells as the location of the cell generating the highest rate of
      action potentials. The chip processes acoustic signals in real time and
      demonstrates the feasibility of using analog VLSI to build and test auditory
      models that use large numbers of component neurons.

PMID- 9972567
TI  - Masker laterality and cueing in forward-masked intensity discrimination.
AB  - Forward-masked intensity discrimination was measured as a function of level in
      experiments designed to reveal insights into the mechanism(s) underlying the
      midlevel elevation of the Weber fraction. The standard and maskers were 1.0-kHz
      tones that were separated by 100 ms. Performance was measured for listeners with
      normal hearing using an adaptive procedure. In experiment 1, intensity
      discrimination was measured in the presence of an ipsilateral masker (80 dB SPL),
      a contralateral masker (93 dB SPL), and a binaural (dichotic) masker produced by
      combining the ipsilateral and contralateral maskers. Listeners perceived only the
      contralateral masker in the binaural-masker condition. The contralateral masker
      produced a small midlevel elevation of the Weber fraction. The ipsilateral masker
      and the binaural masker produced a large, midlevel elevation of the Weber
      fraction. Experiment 2 found that a two-tone masker resulted in a reduction
      (improvement) in the Weber fraction for some conditions, but the midlevel
      elevation remained for all subjects in this cue-tone condition. Experiment 3
      demonstrated that cross talk could not account for all of the masking observed
      with contralateral maskers. Taken together, the results suggest that a single
      complex mechanism or multiple mechanisms may be responsible for the masking seen
      in these experiments. On the basis of the cueing results, it is concluded that a
      portion of the masking is due to cognitive factors; however, a sensory mechanism
      cannot be ruled out for the remaining portion, based on the results of these
      experiments. Finally, a small but significant amount of masking due to
      contralateral maskers places the mechanism for this outcome central to the
      cochlear nucleus.

PMID- 9972568
TI  - Amplitude-modulation detection at low- and high-audio frequencies.
AB  - Estimates of temporal acuity under comparable conditions at low- and high-audio
      frequencies are rare. The present study used the amplitude-modulation detection
      paradigm to estimate temporal acuity over a range of audio frequencies from 800
      to 12,800 Hz. Amplitude-modulation detection was measured as a function of
      modulation frequency for bandlimited noise carriers, and the resulting temporal
      modulation-transfer functions were used to characterize temporal acuity. The most
      important result from the two experiments reported is that systematic
      manipulations of carrier upper-cutoff frequency produced estimates of temporal
      acuity that did not vary from 800 to 12,800 Hz. When the modulated noise bands
      were filtered after modulation to control for potential spectral cues, the low
      pass cutoff of the modulation-transfer function varied with the carrier
      bandwidth. However, when the standard stimulus was a quasifrequency-modulated
      (QFM) noise and the signal was an unfiltered, amplitude-modulated noise, the low
      pass cutoff of the modulation-transfer function was independent of carrier
      bandwidth. These results are consistent with a growing body of evidence
      demonstrating that auditory temporal acuity is constant throughout most of the
      audible frequency range.

PMID- 9972569
TI  - Some aspects of the lateralization of echoed sound in man. II. The role of the
      stimulus spectrum.
AB  - The lateralization of clicks and their "echoes" was investigated with a view to
      determining the role of spectral characteristics in lateralization.
      Lateralization-discrimination performance was measured in a number of two
      interval, two-alternative forced-choice experiments using three pairs of binaural
      clicks designed to elucidate how spectral cues are used in lateralization. The
      stimulus in one observation interval comprised a diotic click followed, after the
      interclick interval (ICI), by a dichotic click with either (1) an interaural time
      delay or (2) an interaural amplitude difference. The dichotic click was in turn
      followed, after an ICI of the same size, by another diotic click. In the second
      observation interval, the signals to the two ears were interchanged. The stimulus
      has the property that the signals delivered to the two ears had either (1)
      identical energy-density spectra but nonzero interaural-phase differences (IPDs)
      or (2) zero IPDs but nonidentical energy-density spectra. Under certain
      circumstances, observers perceived these stimuli as arising from the side of the
      head opposite that which would be predicted from the direction of the interaural
      cue in the temporal waveform. Joint consideration of the psychophysical data and
      the spectral characteristics of the stimuli strongly suggest a spectral
      "dominance region" for lateralization near 750 Hz, observers' lateralization
      performance was determined predominantly by the IPD cues from this region. In
      general, the results demonstrate that echoes of transients that arrive within
      about 2-3 ms of an initial transient are not suppressed, but have a substantial
      effect on lateralization through their contribution to the resultant spectral
      characteristics. The results contradict models that represent the precedence
      effect as the temporary suppression or inhibition of directional information in
      echoes over 2-3 ms after an initial transient.

PMID- 9972570
TI  - Effects of stimulation mode on threshold and loudness growth in multielectrode
      cochlear implants.
AB  - The effect of increasing the separation between the two members of a stimulating
      electrode pair was studied in four users of the Nucleus-22 cochlear implant. Two
      experiments were performed. In experiment 1, detection threshold for a 200-ms,
      500-pulses/s biphasic pulse train was measured as the spatial separation between
      the active and return electrodes was increased. In experiment 2, loudness-growth
      functions were measured as the electrode separation was increased. The results of
      experiment 1 indicate that (a) threshold decreases monotonically toward an
      asymptote (monopolar threshold) as the electrode separation is increased and (b)
      the threshold versus electrode separation function is similar across subjects and
      electrode location. The results of experiment 2 indicate that loudness L is
      related to the current amplitude I by a simple exponential function: L = e beta
      I, where beta, the exponent of the loudness function, is, to a first
      approximation, linearly related to the separation between the electrodes of the
      stimulating pair. Thus, dynamic range and the shape of loudness growth can be
      directly linked to the spatial separation between active and return electrodes.

PMID- 9972571
TI  - Investigation of the effects of temporal and spatial interactions on speech
      recognition skills in cochlear-implant subjects.
AB  - Forward masking was investigated as a measure of spectral and temporal
      interactions. Such interactions may adversely affect speech recognition in
      cochlear-implant subjects. Seven subjects, implanted with the Nucleus 22 device,
      performed a forward-masking task. They also performed an electrode-discrimination
      task in order to measure spectral interactions without temporal interactions.
      Correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between data obtained
      in the two tasks (p < 0.1). The two tasks were also correlated with the subjects'
      scores from five measures of speech recognition. Forward masking and electrode
      discrimination were strongly correlated with measures requiring consonant and
      phoneme recognition, respectively. These results indicate that the relationship
      between forward masking and speech recognition may be due, in part, to a lack of
      spectral resolution. The data also indicate that consonants may be more readily
      masked than vowels. Forward-masking data measured for all clinically programmed
      electrodes in three of the seven subjects were used with a model of the spectral
      maxima sound processor (SMSP) to estimate the number of electrodes stimulated
      during a consonant that might be masked by prior presentation of a vowel. These
      results suggest that temporal interactions across electrodes may be a factor in
      speech-recognition abilities of some cochlear-implant subjects.

PMID- 9972572
TI  - Blowing pressure, power, and spectrum in trumpet playing.
AB  - Measurements of sound output as a function of blowing pressure are reported for a
      group of experienced trumpet players. The study identifies several common
      features, namely (1) a threshold blowing pressure approximately proportional to
      the frequency of the note being played, (2) an extended region in which the sound
      output rises by about 15 dB for each doubling of blowing pressure, and (3) a
      saturation region in which sound output rises by only about 3 dB for a doubling
      of blowing pressure. Some players are able to blow with maximum pressures as high
      as 25 kPa, which is significantly greater than normal systolic blood pressure. A
      simple theory is presented that provides a physical explanation for the
      acoustical behavior, but a detailed treatment requires solution of the nonlinear
      coupled equations both for the lip-valve mechanism and for nonlinear wave
      propagation in the instrument tube. Frequency analysis of the sound shows a basic
      spectral envelope determined by the resonance properties of the mouthpiece cup
      and the radiation behavior of the bell, supplemented by an extension to
      increasingly high frequencies as the blowing pressure is increased. This high
      frequency behavior can be attributed to nonlinear wavefront steepening during
      sound propagation along the cylindrical bore of the instrument.

PMID- 9972573
TI  - Discrimination of musical instrument sounds resynthesized with simplified
      spectrotemporal parameters.
AB  - The perceptual salience of several outstanding features of quasiharmonic, time
      variant spectra was investigated in musical instrument sounds. Spectral analyses
      of sounds from seven musical instruments (clarinet, flute, oboe, trumpet, violin,
      harpsichord, and marimba) produced time-varying harmonic amplitude and frequency
      data. Six basic data simplifications and five combinations of them were applied
      to the reference tones: amplitude-variation smoothing, coherent variation of
      amplitudes over time, spectral-envelope smoothing, forced harmonic-frequency
      variation, frequency-variation smoothing, and harmonic-frequency flattening.
      Listeners were asked to discriminate sounds resynthesized with simplified data
      from reference sounds resynthesized with the full data. Averaged over the seven
      instruments, the discrimination was very good for spectral envelope smoothing and
      amplitude envelope coherence, but was moderate to poor in decreasing order for
      forced harmonic frequency variation, frequency variation smoothing, frequency
      flattening, and amplitude variation smoothing. Discrimination of combinations of
      simplifications was equivalent to that of the most potent constituent
      simplification. Objective measurements were made on the spectral data for
      harmonic amplitude, harmonic frequency, and spectral centroid changes resulting
      from simplifications. These measures were found to correlate well with
      discrimination results, indicating that listeners have access to a relatively
      fine-grained sensory representation of musical instrument sounds.

PMID- 9972574
TI  - Perception of complex tones and its analogy to echo spectral analysis in the bat,
      Megaderma lyra.
AB  - The gleaning bat Megaderma lyra emits broadband echolocation sounds consisting of
      multiple frequency components. The present study investigates into which
      perceptual qualities the spectral characteristics of echoes may be translated in
      the auditory system of M. lyra. Three bats were trained in a 2-AFC behavioral
      experiment to classify nine complex tones, which spectrally resembled M. lyra's
      sonar calls, into two perceptual categories. Then the bats' spontaneous responses
      to unknown complex tones were recorded. The results show that the animals based
      their classifications of the complex tones on a sound quality which was mediated
      by their broadband frequency spectra. The bats used the training stimuli as
      spectral templates and classified the test stimuli according to their broadband
      spectral similarity with the learned patterns. Assuming that passive hearing and
      echo processing are governed by similar perceptual qualities and subject to
      similar limitations, the perceptual mode which was used by the bats to compare
      the multicomponent spectral patterns in the reported experiments could serve as a
      powerful tool for the spectral analysis of M. lyra's multicomponent echoes. The
      analogy between the perception of complex tones and echo spectral analysis in M.
      lyra is theoretically elaborated in the "formant-mode" model.

PMID- 9972575
TI  - Comment on "Enhancement of the transient-evoked otoacoustic emission produced by
      the addition of a pure tone in the guinea pig" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 104, 344-349
      (1998)].

PMID- 9972576
TI  - Comments on "An approach for modeling noncancer dose responses with an emphasis
      on uncertainty" and "A probabilistic framework for the Reference Dose
      (probabilistic RfD)".

PMID- 9972577
TI  - Target levels--tools for prevention.
AB  - Although occupational exposure limits are sought to establish health-based
      standards, they do not always give a sufficient basis for planning an indoor air
      climate that is good and comfortable for the occupants in industrial work rooms.
      This paper considers methodologies by which the desired level, i.e., target
      level, of air quality in industrial settings can be defined, taking into account
      feasibility issues. Risk assessment based on health criteria is compared with
      risk-assessment based on "Best Available Technology" (BAT). Because health-based
      risk estimates at low concentration regions are rather inaccurate, the technology
      based approach is emphasized. The technological approach is based on information
      on the prevailing concentrations in industrial work environments and the
      benchmark air quality attained with the best achievable technology. The
      prevailing contaminant concentrations are obtained from a contaminant exposure
      databank, and the benchmark air quality by field measurements in industrial work
      rooms equipped with advanced ventilation and production technology. As an
      example, the target level assessment has been applied to formaldehyde, total
      inorganic dust and hexavalent chromium, which are common contaminants in work
      room air.

PMID- 9972578
TI  - Information and risk perception: a dynamic adjustment process.
AB  - It is common in catastrophic food-contamination events that consumers fail to
      adjust instantaneously to a normal consumption level. One explanation is that
      consumers only gradually accept new positive information as being trustworthy.
      The gradual establishment of the trustworthiness of the released information
      depends on both positive and negative media coverage over time. We examine the
      individual "trust" effects by extending the prospective reference theory
      (Viscusi, 1989) to include a dynamic adjustment process of risk perception.
      Conditions that allow aggregation of changes in risk perceptions across
      individuals are described. The proposed model describes a general updating
      process of risk perceptions to media coverage and can be applied to explain the
      temporal impact of media coverage on consumption of a broad range of goods (food
      or nonfood). A case study of milk contamination is conducted to demonstrate
      consumer demand adjustment process to a temporarily unfavorable shock. The
      results suggest that effects of positive and negative information to adjustment
      of consumption and risk perception are asymmetric over time.

PMID- 9972579
TI  - Influence of prenatal mercury exposure upon scholastic and psychological test
      performance: benchmark analysis of a New Zealand cohort.
AB  - This paper presents benchmark (BMD) calculations and additional regression
      analyses of data from a study in which scores from 26 scholastic and
      psychological tests administered to 237 6- and 7-year-old New Zealand children
      were correlated with the mercury concentration in their mothers' hair during
      pregnancy. The original analyses of five test scores found an association between
      high prenatal mercury exposure and decreased test performance, using category
      variables for mercury exposure. Our regression analyses, which utilized the
      actual hair mercury level, did not find significant associations between mercury
      and children's test scores. However, this finding was highly influenced by a
      single child whose mother's mercury hair level (86 mg/kg) was more than four
      times that of any other mother. When that child was omitted, results were more
      indicative of a mercury effect and scores on six tests were significantly
      associated with the mothers' hair mercury level. BMDs calculated from five tests
      ranged from 32 to 73 mg/kg hair mercury, and corresponding BMDLs (95% lower
      limits on BMDs) ranged from 17 to 24 mg/kg. When the child with the highest
      mercury level was omitted, BMDs ranged from 13 to 21 mg/kg, and corresponding
      BMDLs ranged from 7.4 to 10 mg/kg.

PMID- 9972582
TI  - A probabilistic approach for deriving acceptable human intake limits and human
      health risks from toxicological studies: general framework.
AB  - The use of uncertainty factors in the standard method for deriving acceptable
      intake or exposure limits for humans, such as the Reference Dose (RfD), may be
      viewed as a conservative method of taking various uncertainties into account. As
      an obvious alternative, the use of uncertainty distributions instead of
      uncertainty factors is gaining attention. This paper presents a comprehensive
      discussion of a general framework that quantifies both the uncertainties in the
      no-adverse-effect level in the animal (using a benchmark-like approach) and the
      uncertainties in the various extrapolation steps involved (using uncertainty
      distributions). This approach results in an uncertainty distribution for the no
      adverse-effect level in the sensitive human subpopulation, reflecting the overall
      scientific uncertainty associated with that level. A lower percentile of this
      distribution may be regarded as an acceptable exposure limit (e.g., RfD) that
      takes account of the various uncertainties in a nonconservative fashion. The same
      methodology may also be used as a tool to derive a distribution for possible
      human health effects at a given exposure level. We argue that in a probabilistic
      approach the uncertainty in the estimated no-adverse-effect-level in the animal
      should be explicitly taken into account. Not only in this source of uncertainty
      too large to be ignored, it also has repercussions for the quantification of the
      other uncertainty distributions.

PMID- 9972581
TI  - Empirical scaling of single oral lethal doses across mammalian species based on a
      large database.
AB  - The scaling of administered doses to achieve equal degrees of toxic effect in
      different species has been relatively poorly examined for noncancer toxicity,
      either empirically or theoretically. We investigate empirical patterns in the
      correspondence of single oral dose LD50 values across several mammalian species
      for a large number of chemicals based on data reported in the RTECS database
      maintained by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. We find
      a good correspondence of LD50 values across species when the dose levels are
      expressed in terms of mg administered per kg of body mass. Our findings contrast
      with earlier analyses that support scaling doses by the 3/4-power of body mass to
      achieve equal subacute toxicity of antineoplastic agents. We suggest that,
      especially for severe toxicity, single- and repeated-dosing regimes may have
      different cross-species scaling properties, as they may depend on standing levels
      of defenses and rate of regeneration of defenses, respectively.

PMID- 9972583
TI  - Gender differences in risk perception: theoretical and methodological
      perspectives.
AB  - A substantial body of risk research indicates that women and men differ in their
      perceptions of risk. This paper discusses how they differ and why. A review of a
      number of existing empirical studies of risk perception points at several
      problems, regarding what gender differences are found in such studies, and how
      these differences are accounted for. Firstly, quantitative approaches, which have
      so far dominated risk research, and qualitative approaches give different,
      sometimes even contradictory images of women's and men's perceptions of risk.
      Secondly, the gender differences that appear are often left unexplained, and even
      when explanations are suggested, these are seldom related to gender research and
      gender theory in any systematic way. This paper argues that a coherent,
      theoretically informed gender perspective on risk is needed to improve the
      understanding of women's and men's risk perceptions. An analysis of social
      theories of gender points out some relations and distinctions which should be
      considered in such a perspective. It is argued that gender structures, reflected
      in gendered ideology and gendered practice, give rise to systematic gender
      differences in the perception of risk. These gender differences may be of
      different kinds, and their investigation requires the use of qualitative as well
      as quantitative methods. In conclusion, the arguments about gender and risk
      perception are brought together in a theoretical model which might serve as a
      starting point for further research.

PMID- 9972584
TI  - Estimation of unit risk for coke oven emissions.
AB  - In 1984, based on epidemiological data on cohorts of coke oven workers, USEPA
      estimated a unit risk for lung cancer associated with continuous exposure from
      birth to 1 microgram/m3 of coke oven emissions, of 6.2 x 10(-4). This risk
      assessment was based on information on the cohorts available through 1966. Follow
      up of these cohorts has now been extended to 1982 and, moreover, individual job
      histories, which were not available in 1984, have been constructed. In this
      study, lung cancer mortality in these cohorts of coke oven workers with extended
      follow-up was analyzed using standard techniques of survival analysis and a new
      approach based on the two stage clonal expansion model of carcinogenesis. The
      latter approach allows the explicit consideration of detailed patterns of
      exposure of each individual in the cohort. The analyses used the extended follow
      up data through 1982 and the detailed job histories now available. Based on these
      analyses, the best estimate of unit risk is 1.5 x 10(-4) with 95% confidence
      interval = 1.2 x 10(-4)-1.8 x 10(-4).

PMID- 9972585
TI  - [Separation anxiety and panic disorder].
AB  - History od separation anxiety was investigated in several psychiatryc disorders
      and in 150 patients with panic disorder following DSM III-R criteria. Separation
      anxiety was reported by 15.3% of patients with panic disorder, 3.3% of the
      healthy control group, 13.3% of patients with major depression, 16.7% with
      dystymia, 13.3% with generalized anxiety and 33.3% with social phobia (p <
      0.001). Separation anxiety is thus considered a common predisposing factor of
      anxiety and depressive disorders. Panic disorder patients with a history of
      separation anxiety had an earlier age at panic onset and greater comorbidity with
      social phobia and agoraphobia.

PMID- 9972586
TI  - [Comparative naturalistic study of the efficacy and tolerability of new
      antidepressants].
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare, in a naturalistic
      setting, the efficacy and tolerability of currently available Selective Serotonin
      Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and venlafaxine in out-patients from a primary
      psychiatric-care center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample was composed of 194
      patients with mood disorders (major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder
      according to the DSM-IV criteria) who initiated treatment either with a SSRI
      (fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline, and citalopram) or with
      venlafaxine. Baseline severity of the mood disorder was assessed using the
      Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and
      therapeutic response was measured with the Clinical Global Impression for
      Therapeutic Improvement. Tolerability was assessed by recording spontaneously
      reported adverse experiences. Patients were followed up for six months, with
      subjects made three o more intermediate visits. RESULTS: There were no
      significant differences in the efficacy of the antidepressants under study, but
      there were differences in the incidence and profiles of adverse events.
      Fluoxetine was associated with the lowest incidence of adverse effects in a
      logistical regression model. Particular events seemed to be associated with
      certain treatments; gastrointestinal discomfort (fluvoxamine), tremor
      (sertraline) and anticholinergic effects (venlafaxine).

PMID- 9972587
TI  - [Assessment of clinical assessment reliability among researchers of a multicenter
      clinical trial].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Interater agreement is a main aspect in the planning and conducting
      a clinical trial. The objective of this study is to show the application of
      assessing levels of interexaminer's agreement when multiple ratings are made on a
      single subject as an efficient method of evaluating the interater's reliability
      in planning a multicenter clinical trial. METHOD: 39 psychiatrist assessed
      videotape of a patient with depression. The use of any reliability statistics is
      failed in the analysis of multiple independent ratings of a single subject since
      we used the methodology proposed by Cichetti et al. This method is able to
      identify raters whose ratings differ significantly from the average ratings and
      is sensitive for different levels of agreement. RESULTS: Interarter agreement was
      between good and excellent. The raters show an adequate agreement in total and
      items scores. CONCLUSION: The design proposed permits evaluate the interater
      agreement in an efficient way (only in one session).

PMID- 9972588
TI  - [Normative data for the neuropsychological evaluation of intravenous drug users].
AB  - BACKGROUND: There are many recent epidemiological studies that find that
      intravenous drug users' (IDU's) performance in several measures of
      neuropsychological function are not the same than that of the general population,
      whether they are seropositive to HIV-1 infection or not. Consequently, it has
      been stated the need to establish appropriate norms for this population. The
      purpose of this study is to provide normative data on a battery of
      neuropsychological tests from a IDU group. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This report
      provide normative data from a group of 116 IDU, on a battery of
      neuropsychological tests stratified by age group (mean = 30.9; SD = 4.5), and
      educational level (mean = 8; SD = 2.4). Comparisons between the means of the
      different groups according to age and education, and also with respect to sex are
      made. The analysis includes estimation of partial correlations between
      neuropsychological test scores and age and education. RESULTS: The analysis
      demonstrates that education is an important determinant of performance for most
      of these tests, while there are no differences in performance between the two age
      groups. With respect to sex, females out-performed men on a measure of motor
      speed and coordination. CONCLUSIONS: This report provides norms that may be of
      use as a reference for clinical evaluation and research in drug user populations.
      It also emphasizes the need to establish normative data controlling for variables
      like educational level, from a population with special characteristics such as
      IDU population.

PMID- 9972589
TI  - [Benzodiazepines in the treatment of schizophrenia: a review].
AB  - Since the introduction of benzodiacepines in the medical practice their use has
      been generalized to numerous clinical situations. One of them is schizophrenia.
      In this article we analize the main settings for its use and the possible
      mechanisms of action, trying to draw some recomendations applicable to the
      psychiatric practice.

PMID- 9972591
TI  - [Importance of the early diagnosis of malignant neuroleptic syndrome: report of 2
      cases].
AB  - Two cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome presented in a psychiatry inpatient
      unit are commented, as well as their positive evolution.

PMID- 9972590
TI  - [Apolipoproteins and cognitive deterioration].
AB  - Main studies which have shown an association between the variation in
      apolipoprotein genes and human neuropsychological impairement are reviewed in
      this work. Data from literature indicate a special relevance of apolipoprotein E
      (ApoE) in relation to Central Nervous System (CNS) functions, basically memory.
      ApoE epsilon 4 is a well documented risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's
      Disease (AD). Memory changes in older adults and in AD are also associated with
      ApoE genotype. Furthermore, ApoE may play a role in formation or degeneration of
      some neural structures related to memory. In some studies a relation between
      ApoE's alleles and cerebral vascular disorders like ischemic, haemorrhagic,
      Vascular (VD) and Multi-infarct (MD) Dementias is also reported. The role of the
      remaining apolipoproteins in cognitive impairment is still unknown, and these
      molecules have been considered as risk factors associated with environmental
      factors in CNS pathologies, essentially the vascular ones.

PMID- 9972592
TI  - [Psychiatric symptoms in Cushing syndrome: a clinical case].
AB  - A patient with Cushing's syndrome presented psyquiatric manifestations that were
      diagnosed and treated before diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. These
      manifestations were unspecific, unstable and they responded to etiologic
      treatment but they didn't to syntomatic treatment. This case demonstrates the
      importance to make a through search for organic factors when there are changes in
      physical appearance and psyquiatric features are changing through the evolution.

PMID- 9972593
TI  - [Combination of risperidone and serotonergic antidepressants in refractory
      obsessive-compulsive disorder].
AB  - We present the use of risperidone as a potentiation strategy of the serotonergic
      antidepressants in four patients suffering from refractory obsessive-compulsive
      disorder. There were an important improvement in three patients. Adding
      risperidone to serotonergic antidepressants causes complex interactions between
      serotonergic, dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems, that could lay to the
      clinical improvement. These and other similar cases make necessary controlled
      studies. Adding risperidone to serotonergic antidepressants in patients suffering
      from refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder might be an effective strategy with
      low risk for secondary effects and without the presence of tics or psychotic
      symptoms.

PMID- 9972594
TI  - [Nutritional status of patients with HIV-AIDS infection].

PMID- 9972595
TI  - [Evolution of the nutritional status of patients with HIV-AIDS. Effects of
      socioeconomic situation and dietetic counseling].
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To know HIV-AIDS patient's nutritional status in different
      infection's condition and their relation with the socioeconomic situation and, in
      that case, the nutritional condition improvement through the dietetic advice
      appropriated for each patient. METHODS: Prospective study of 79 patients with HIV
      AIDS diagnostic in any illness's condition and recopilation of anthropometrics
      and biochemical variables. At the beginning of the study we got data about
      socioeconomic situation of patient with a scale of 1 to 5 points each variable
      and an score top of 35. In the survivors we checked, after dietetic advice, the
      variables at 6 and 12 months by sanitary personal (physician and nurse) who
      weren't implicated in direct assistance. The study was analyzed by Student "T"
      for matched data and the simple correlation test. RESULTS: We have objectivated a
      lost of initial weight over their habitual's with a progressive impairment in
      different stage of evolution that weren't modified by dietetic advice. We didn't
      observed significant variations in the biochemical variables included in advances
      states and in parameters which are usually affected in malnutrition. In the
      analysis of relation between nutritional condition and socioeconomic factors, it
      was estimated a lesser score, that was statistically significative, in patients
      who had a work, family situation and an affective upset positive. CONCLUSIONS:
      The results obtained induce to think that the nutritional advices appropriated
      for each patient are not related, in our series, with progressive deterioration
      of anthropometrics variables, neither biochemical parameters fluctuations at 6,
      12 months of follow-up. The patient's socioeconomic situation is not influenced
      by nutritional condition except for the work, affectivity and family environment.

PMID- 9972596
TI  - [Impact of HIV infection in hospital environment].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Retrospective study to review the admissions at the Hospital Marina
      Alta due to infection for HIV or its complications and look for risk factors.
      METHODS: Clinical charts of patients admitted at the hospital from 1989 to 1996
      were analyzed. RESULTS: From 11,932 admissions, 199 (1.7%) were due to patients
      with infection from HIV, resulting in the 2.4% of the total stay. The medium
      stays were higher (8.6 +/- 7.4 vs 6 +/- 4.5) more re-admissions (42.7% vs 25.5%)
      and higher mortality (11% vs 7.8%). The parasitic infestations of the nervous
      central system and cardiovascular were the most numerous number of admissions and
      also the longer stays. Throughout the years we saw a increase in the patients at
      the outpatient clinic with HIV infection and a paradogic decrease in the
      inpatient admissions, and also a decrease in the media stay and total stays.
      CONCLUSIONS: There is a decrease in the admissions at the inpatient level in
      contrast with a increment of the prevalence in the outpatients with HIV
      infection. The improved treatments, the experience of the physicians, the use of
      the Day Hospital and the use of the service of Home Care Hospitalization allows
      to keep more patients with less admissions and more outpatient visits.

PMID- 9972597
TI  - [Study of histoenzymatic activity of isocitrate-DH in the hepatic tissue of rats
      treated with AZT: image analysis].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Recently has been described alterations in different organs of HIV +
      patients treated with zidovudine (AZT), as secondary effect from drug
      administration. METHOD: We have developed and experimental rat model, in which
      the rats were administered AZT in drinking water and we have analysed the
      activity of enzyme isocitrate DH, of Krebs cycle, in hepatic tissue sections.
      Histological technique were employed and image analysis to objectivate the
      results. RESULTS: A significant statistic decrease of the enzyme activity in
      those animals treated with AZT were observed, compared with the control groups.
      CONCLUSIONS: The modification from enzyme activities related with Krebs cycle can
      be traduced in mitochondrial alterations, that could have direct or indirect
      influence in the appearance of some associated pathologies to the AZT treatment.

PMID- 9972598
TI  - [Epidemiological changes in infectious endocarditis. A prospective study, 1992
      96].
AB  - BACKGROUND: To know the present epidemiological situation of the infective
      endocarditis in our environment and its evolution in the last few years. RESULTS:
      The incidence of infective endocarditis was 0.85 per thousand patients admitted
      to hospital, with a mean age of 43 years. The predisposed factors more frequently
      found were: drug addiction (32%) and cardiac prosthetic valves (23%). In the
      greatest number of our patients the cardiac valves involved were: tricuspid
      (28%), mitral (27%) and prosthetic valves (23%). The causative organism were: S.
      aureus (19 cases), Streptococcus (15 cases) and S. epidermidis (11 cases). The
      echocardiography study resulted diagnostic in 90% of the patients, valve
      replacements were performed in 22% of the cases. The overall mortality rate was
      10%. CONCLUSIONS: The current profile of infective endocarditis is characterized
      by a high incidence of parenterally drug addict patients or prosthetic valves
      carriers. Increase of the infections of S aureus and a decrease of Streptococcus
      infections, as well as a less overall mortality.

PMID- 9972599
TI  - [Value of quantification of p24 antigen in plasma as a prognostic marker of
      survival in a cohort of 251 HIV-positive patients].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyse plasma p24 antigen as a marker of survival in a cohort of
      HIV-infected patients whose time of seroconversion is unknown. DESIGN:
      Prospective cohort study. SETTING: AIDS Unit in a teaching hospital. PATIENTS:
      251 patients were studied, most on antiretroviral therapy. Mean initial CD4 cell
      counts were 376 x 106/ 1 (range: 0.8-1350). 51 cases had been diagnosed
      previously with AIDS. METHODS: Analysis of survival, according to initial plasma
      p24 antigen was performed by Kaplan-Meier test. Relative risks were calculated by
      Cox's proportional hazards model. RESULTS: During a follow-up period of 24
      months, 46 patients died. Relative risk (RR) of death related to the group with
      p24 antigen = < 40 pg/ml was 3.32 when p24 antigen > 40 pg/ml (p = 0.0001). CD4+
      cell levels adjusting, the result was 2.47 (CI 95% 1.37-4.46) (p = 0.0027).
      CONCLUSIONS: Plasma levels of p24 antigen is useful as a marker of the risk of
      death and it behaves as a independent prognostic marker in our patients. P24
      antigen = < 40 pg/ml is associated with a better prognosis.

PMID- 9972600
TI  - [Mucocutaneous manifestations in acute HIV infection. 3 case reports].
AB  - We report three patients who developed a generalized rash with oral, genital or
      perianal ulcerations as a result of acute infection due to HIV. The primary
      infection was diagnosed by seroconversion (by means of EIA and Western blot
      techniques). Definitive diagnosis was established on days 52, 85 and 97 after the
      appearance of the rash. The p24 protein of the HIV was only detected in the early
      phase of the disorder in the two cases in which this study was carried out.

PMID- 9972601
TI  - [Acute hepatic failure and Hodgkin's disease].
AB  - We present the clinical outcome and imaging micro and macroscopic of a patient
      who died of e liver acute failure. Hodgkin disease with massive infiltration was
      found at necropsy. We offer a review of the liver complaint in this particular
      disease.

PMID- 9972602
TI  - [Dilatation of the azygos vein: an unusual cause of pulmonary mass].
AB  - Infrahepatic interruption of the inferior cava vein, is a rare congenital
      anomaly, usually associated with congenital heart and abdominal diseases. The
      systemic venous flow is accommodated by the dilated azygos. This dilated azygos
      arch accounts for the right paratracheal or mediastinal mass, and may be
      misinterpreted as a neoplasm. We report a case with this congenital vascular
      anomaly, associated with another of tracheobronchial tree.

PMID- 9972603
TI  - [Central diabetes insipidus secondary to infundibuloneurohypophysitis].
AB  - In up to a third of cases, central diabetes insipidus (DIC) is idiopathic
      although the percentage varies in different series. Since antibodies against
      magnicellular neurons were detected in some patients, a possible autoimmune basis
      for certain cases of apparently idiopathic DIC was speculated. Lymphocytic
      infundibuloneurohypophysitis, an inflammatory process that affects the
      infundibulum, pituitary stalk and neurohypophysis with distinctive radiologic,
      histologic and evolutive characteristics, has recently been described as a cause
      of central diabetes insipidus. We describe a patient in whom the clinical and
      radiologic characteristics suggest the diagnosis of DIC secondary to
      infundibuloneurohyphysitis.

PMID- 9972604
TI  - [Alveolar hemorrhage in mixed cryoglobulinemia associated with hepatitis C virus
      infection].
AB  - Alveolar hemorrhage in mixed cryoglobulinemia associated with hepatitis C virus
      infection. A 61 year-old woman with type II mixed cryoglobulinemia associated to
      hepatitis C virus infection has suffered alveolar hemorrhage with multiple
      pulmonary infiltrates, purpura, glomerulonephritis and polyneuropathy. The
      respiratory and kidney findings resolved with prednisone, but glomerulonephritis
      reappeared when interferon-alpha treatment was started and prednisone was
      reduced. This is the third case of alveolar hemorrhage and glomerulonephritis
      associated with mixed cryoglobulinemia reported in the literature. The lung
      involvement in mixed cryoglobulinemia is reviewed. The clinic manifestations
      (asthma, pleural effusion, hemoptysis or pulmonary fibrosis) are uncommon, but
      the lung involvement is very frequent if roentgenographic signs and necropsy
      findings are assessed.

PMID- 9972605
TI  - [Evaluation of new programs to prevent tuberculosis infection. I.
      Chemoprophylaxis].
AB  - Tuberculosis is an infectious disease produced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a
      98-99% of the cases and by Mycobacterium bovis in a 1-2%. Its early diagnosis is
      of a great importance because permits to reduce the transmission of the
      infection. Until now, the diagnostic techniques used to discover the
      dissemination of the disease are indirect. We have the PPD skin test and, among
      them, Mantoux is the most common. Correctly used it has a great diagnostic and
      epidemiological value, because it permits to evaluate those patients who can
      obtain a benefit with the chemoprophylaxis when the skin test is positive. We
      analyse the actual via of chemoprophylaxis, when and how it must be used. We
      study not only the drugs for the prophylaxis, but also the good and bad
      utilisation of the BCG vaccine, that it starts to have its indications in other
      countries.

PMID- 9972606
TI  - [Snoring and vascular diseases].
AB  - The aim of this study is to review the evidence linking snoring with vascular
      disease. This has been a topic of numerous investigations with divergent results,
      mainly because of the differences in methodology employed in various studies,
      such as inclusion of confounding factors, methods of measures, etc. While some
      studies shows that snoring is a risk factor for vascular disease, another reached
      the opposite conclusion. Consequently, based on the available information, it s
      very difficult to conclude that snoring is an independent risk factor for
      vascular complications as hypertension and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
      disease.

PMID- 9972607
TI  - [Pulmonary cryptosporidiosis and AIDS].

PMID- 9972608
TI  - [Stroke in young adults].

PMID- 9972609
TI  - [A new case of localized Castleman's disease].

PMID- 9972610
TI  - [Inappropriate admissions to the Department of Internal Medicine evaluated by the
      AEP (Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol)].

PMID- 9972611
TI  - [Treatment of idiopathic thrombopenic purpura in adolescents by intravenous
      immunoglobulin].

PMID- 9972612
TI  - [Yohimbine-induced angina pectoris].

PMID- 9972613
TI  - [Subacute lupus erythematosus evolving to systemic lupus erythematosus during
      pregnancy].

PMID- 9972614
TI  - [Hepatitis B vaccine and multiple sclerosis].

PMID- 9972615
TI  - [Recent advances in the knowledge of energy homeostasis].

PMID- 9972616
TI  - [Leptin and puberty].

PMID- 9972617
TI  - [The coverage of vaccines systematically administered and of a vaccine against
      Haemophilus influenzae type b prior to its inclusion in the vaccinal calendar in
      the Valencian Community].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the vaccine coverage among
      children two years of age in the Community of Valencia, Spain, in 1997. PATIENTS
      AND METHODS: Cluster sampling was used to assess vaccine coverage. Clusters were
      villages randomized according to their population < 5 years of age. At least 7
      children of each of the 30 selected clusters were randomly selected from the
      database of newborn metabolic screening. Parents were contacted and vaccine
      registration cards requested by mail. RESULTS: Four hundred forty subjects were
      selected. Eight percent of the families had moved and were not contacted. Sixty
      nine percent participated in the study. Coverage for three doses of DTP was 97.8%
      and 87.6% for four doses. MMR vaccine coverage was 96.6% and three doses of
      hepatitis B had been given in 95.1%. H. influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine coverage
      was 57%. In 70% of the studied cases of non-participants, vaccine coverage was
      known through vaccination centers and was very similar to that of the
      participants. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccine coverage in the Community of Valencia is high
      for the scheduled vaccines. Although Hib is not a scheduled vaccination, its
      coverage was 57%.

PMID- 9972618
TI  - [A radiological assessment of the nasopharynx in healthy children from the Madrid
      area].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the adenoid size of each
      pediatric age group in our media and to compare the subjective visual assessment
      with a confronted measurement, the Fujioka's adenoidal-nasopharyngeal (AN) ratio.
      These data would allow the composition of a map, a guide for pediatricians useful
      in predicting the degree of upper airway obstruction, the role of adenoids in the
      etiology of serious otitis media and/or in selecting patients for adenoidectomy.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 1,033 radiographs of the nasopharynx taken in
      the emergency room of children between 5 months and 15 years of age that did not
      have any otorhinolaryngological (ENT) pathology. These individuals had no history
      of ear, nose or throat disease and the ENT evaluation was done in order to
      discard any ENT pathology. The subjective review and the AN ratios were
      calculated by experienced observers, tabulated and statistically analyzed.
      RESULTS: Only 692 infants and children passed the careful selection. The
      differences in mean values among the ages were statistically significant (p <
      0.001). The mean AN ratio reached its highest value (0.575) at 5 years of age.
      The AN ratio as an indicator of adenoid size was comparable to the visually
      estimated classifications of adenoid size (p < 0.0001). In addition, 85% of the
      radiographs selected were in the group normal to slightly enlarged (AN = 0.48).
      CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of the mean AN ratios for age groups in healthy
      children shows a line which we could use as a standard, or guideline, to compare
      the AN ratio of any infant or child with any pathology related to the adenoids.

PMID- 9972619
TI  - [Recent changes in emergency room visits and hospitalization for asthma in
      childhood].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate recent changes in the
      emergency room visits and hospital admission rates between 1993 and 1997 in our
      hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1, 1993 until December 31, 1997, the
      12,848 patients between 0 and 14 years of age whose discharge diagnosis was coded
      as asthma (ICD9) and who were managed in the emergency room of our hospital were
      included in the study. RESULTS: During the study period, the number of emergency
      room visits for asthma (EA) remained unchanged. However, in children between 0
      and 5 years of age the number of EA showed a significant increase from 1305 in
      1993 (53.5% of all EA) to 1849 in 1997 (68.9% of EA), with an increase of the
      repeat visits in this age group from 46 (35.8% of all EA in this age group) in
      1993 to 791 (42.8%) in 1997 (p < 0.01). In the same period of time, the admission
      rates for asthma decrease from 7.2% to 2.9% (p < 0.01). There was a trend towards
      more intense treatment of asthma in the emergency observation unit. CONCLUSIONS:
      There has been an upward trend in the number of acute asthma episodes between
      1993 and 1997 in children between 0 and 5 years of age. It was associated with an
      increase in the number of repeat visits per patient. The use of a more intense
      treatment in the emergency observation unit was associated with a reduction in
      the hospitalization rate for asthma.

PMID- 9972620
TI  - [The middle lobe syndrome in pediatrics. A study of 27 cases].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the features, treatment and
      evolution of middle lobe syndrome (MLS) or atelectasis syndrome in children.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1992 and 1996, all cases of MLS seen in our center
      by our staff were followed by using a prospective study protocol. RESULTS: Twenty
      seven patients were studied. The average age at the onset of MLS was 3 years 1
      month +/- 2 years 4 months. Recurrent pneumonia was seen in 66.7% and 44.4% had
      asthma and/or elevated IgE. Acute symptoms at the onset were seen in 74% of the
      cases, with persistent cough being the most common symptom. Complementary
      procedures (chest X-rays, computed tomography scans, bronchoscopy, V/P
      scintigraphy) demonstrated 16 cases of pneumonia, 13 of atelectasis, 7 of
      bronchiectasia and 4 cases with other abnormalities. Infectious etiology was the
      most predominant (66.7%) Bronchoscopy was performed in 8 cases and 5 of them
      improved immediately. Pulmonary scintigraphy was normal in those patients with
      radiographic residual images. All patients were initially medically treated.
      Three were lobectomized. Twenty-three patients healed. The younger the patient at
      the onset of MLS the better the cure rate. CONCLUSIONS: Infectious causes were
      dominant in our series. Early and aggressive medical treatment may cure the
      majority of cases. Bronchoscopy is helpful in the diagnosis and as a therapeutic
      procedure. Scintigraphy could be helpful as a resolution criterion when there are
      residual radiographic images.

PMID- 9972621
TI  - [The opinion of pediatricians on childhood pain].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the current sensibility
      and knowledge of pediatricians regarding the issue of pediatric pain assessment
      and management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In October 1996 we conducted a mail survey
      of all 686 members of the Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla y Leon Pediatric
      Society. Physicians were asked to complete and return a confidential 95-item
      questionnaire. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-seven (23%) of eligible physicians
      responded. Ninety percent of the respondents agreed they had insufficient
      training in pain management. Sixty-nine percent though their knowledge to deal
      with acute pain was adequate. Only 12% admitted to having enough background to
      treat chronic pain. Sixty-five percent of the respondents admitted to know no
      method at all for pain evaluation, while 82% had never applied any in their
      clinical practice. About half the respondents (42%) did not know any guidelines
      for the management of pediatric pain, although 75% considered they would be very
      useful. A high percentage of pediatricians answered that analgesia was required
      before performing certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures (lumbar puncture,
      venous canalization, arterial puncture and others), but differences in relation
      to age, sex and clinical setting of the physicians were detected in these
      responses. The most used drug for the treatment of moderate acute pain is
      acetaminophen (88%), for severe acute pain metamizol (58%) and for severe chronic
      pain acetaminophen-codeine (37%). Only 48% admitted to having used opioids.
      CONCLUSIONS: Pediatricians in this society seem to be too confident about the
      topic of acute pain management in their patients, even though they report a lack
      of training which could influence the quality of the care they are offering to
      their patients. Opioid use is very low. Training in childhood pain management is
      needed.

PMID- 9972622
TI  - [Haemophilus influenzae type b osteoarthritis. A report of 7 cases and a review
      of the literature].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The epidemiological and clinical characteristics, treatment and
      evolution of osteoarthritis by Haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB) are reviewed
      since there has been little published on this subject in our country. PATIENTS
      AND METHODS: The clinical histories of the 7 children with osteoarthritis due to
      Hib infection are reviewed. The diagnostic criteria included classical signs and
      symptoms of septic arthritis, radiological alterations compatible with joint
      infection and isolation of microorganisms in joint effusion and/or in the blood.
      RESULTS: During a 24-year period (1973-1996), 248 cases of invasive infection by
      Hib were documented. Seven cases (2.82%) had osteoarticular infections. The ages
      were between 5 and 7 years and there were more males than females (71.4% vs.
      28.6%). Four children/58%) had previous upper respiratory infections (URI). The
      microorganism was isolated in the joint effusion in 5 children and in the blood
      sample of the other 2. C-reactive protein was high and radiology showed
      alterations in 100% of the cases. Surgical treatment with articular drainage was
      necessary in 5 children/71.4%). In 6 cases (85.7%) initial medical treatment was
      i.v. beta-lactam antibiotics for 2-3 weeks followed by oral antibiotic treatment
      for a minimum of 6 weeks. Three children (42.8%) had sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Early
      diagnosis of bacterial osteoarthritis by Hib is difficult. Final therapeutical
      success depends on an early clinical diagnosis and aggressive multidisciplinary
      treatment. Drainage of the hip joint is mandatory for successful outcome.
      Currently, arthritis by Hib can be avoided and its sequelae prevented by
      vaccination.

PMID- 9972623
TI  - [The treatment results in children diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and
      acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemias treated by the BFM protocols. The report of
      the POGM (Pediatric Oncology Group of Madrid)].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to reproduce the results obtained by the
      "BFM Group" in children with NHL and B-ALL treated with BFM 86 and 90 protocols.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: From April 1987 until January 1997, we have treated a total
      of 82 children, 22 with non-B NHL, 49 B-NHL and 11 B-ALL. Forty-four of them were
      treated according to BFM 86 and 38 according to BFM 90 protocols. RESULTS: Ninety
      four percent of the patients achieved complete remission (CR) and 15% of these
      relapsed, 12% of the cases of B NHL/ALL and 23% of the non-B NHL. The 5 year
      overall survival (Kaplan Meier) was 81% for the B NHL/ALL it was 83% and for non
      B NHL 77%. The event-free survival was 75% for B-NHL, stages I and II it was 80%
      and stages II and IV 78%, for B-ALL 72% and for non-B NHL 68%. The median follow
      up time was 50 months (12-106). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of NHL and B-ALL with BFM
      protocols is an effective therapeutic choice, with reproduction of the results of
      the "BFM group" being feasible.

PMID- 9972624
TI  - [The response of the hepatitis C and hepatitis G viruses to treatment with
      recombinant interferon alfa-2b].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The efficacy of recombinant alfa-2b interferon therapy in C-virus
      (HCV) and G-virus (HGV) in children with chronic hepatitis C was evaluated.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients, between 6 and 16 years of age and
      positive for HCV of which four were also infected with HGV, were treated with
      interferon (3 M three times a week for 6 months). The responders were treated for
      12 months. HCV RNA, antibodies to HCV, HVC viral genome (expressed as 1000 copy
      equivalents of HCV genome = 1 keq), HGV RNA (RT/PCR, 5'NCR-NS5), and E2-HGV
      antibodies were determined before treatment and at 3 and 6 months in all patients
      and at 12-24 months in the responders. RESULTS: Four HCV patients (27%) with low
      viral load (mean 36 keg/ml) showed good results after interferon treatment and
      two of them (13%) with genotypes 1b and 3 according to Simmond's classification
      showed a maintained response. The four HGV children also showed the same good
      results and the RNA was negative without sero-conversion to anti-E2 after 12
      months of interferon treatment. In the post-interferon treatment period, the HGV
      RNA appeared again in the serum in 3 of the 4 children. In the child with a
      maintained response, serum conversion to anti-E2 was not detected. CONCLUSIONS:
      1) The current results, with only 13% of the patients reaching a sustained
      response, question the systematic treatment of all children affected with
      hepatitis C virus. Since the cost-benefit ratio is not yielding the expected
      results, such therapy may be reserved for patients with genotype other than 1b
      and a low level of viral genome. 2) HGV is sensitive to treatment with
      interferon, although the infection frequently appears again once the treatment is
      over.

PMID- 9972626
TI  - [An epidemiological study of the thrombocytopenia with radial aplasia syndrome
      (TAR) in Spain].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: There are numerous published papers on TAR syndrome. Nevertheless,
      most of them refer to cases or families with several affected members, but we
      could find no publication epidemiologically analyzing a consecutive series of
      cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We show the characteristics of the six cases with
      TAR syndrome identified in the consecutive series of 25,967 malformed live born
      infants detected among 1,431,368 live births surveyed by the ECEMC (Spanish
      Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations) since April 1976 until June
      1997. RESULTS: The minimal estimated frequency of TAR syndrome in our area is
      0.42 per 100,000 live born infants, with a confidence interval of 0.15 to 0.91.
      There was no known consanguinity among the cases' parents, nor other affected
      family members. The sex ratio was 1:1. Although it is generally considered that
      the syndrome is autosomal recessive, genetic heterogeneity cannot be ruled out.
      CONCLUSIONS: Our cases concur with published data with respect to the low
      frequency of consanguineous parents. However we did not find a higher proportion
      of girls affected as has been described previously.

PMID- 9972625
TI  - [Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the newborn neutropenic patient].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effect of G-CSF in newborns with
      neutropenia. METHODS: Newborn with evidence of both peripheral neutropenia and
      decreased granulocytic precursors in tibial bone marrow aspirate were included in
      the study. G-CSF was perfused intravenously over 2 hours at dose of 10
      micrograms/kg/day, during 4-8 days. CBC were obtained immediately before each
      dose of G-CSF. RESULTS: Neutropenia followed neonatal sepsis in four cases and
      maternal pre-eclampsia in three. Prior to treatment, peripheral blood granulocyte
      (PMNL) counts ranged from 420 to 1,073/mm3. Once G-CSF infusion was started,
      counts returned to normal within 24-48 hours. No adverse effects related to G-CSF
      administration were noticed. CONCLUSIONS: G-CSF induces a significant increase in
      peripheral PMNL counts in newborn with neutropenia, in the absence of significant
      toxic effects. Our date suggest a potential role for G-CSF in the prophylaxis and
      treatment of sepsis in the neutropenic newborn, although widespread
      recommendation must await further, controlled studies.

PMID- 9972627
TI  - [A case of a nasal glioma in a newborn infant].

PMID- 9972628
TI  - [Nonimmunological fetal hydrops and the oligohydramnios deformation sequence as a
      manifestation of the twin-twin transfusion syndrome].

PMID- 9972630
TI  - [Precocious puberty secondary to tuberculous meningitis].

PMID- 9972629
TI  - [The antenatal diagnosis of cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung. Apropos
      2 cases].

PMID- 9972631
TI  - [A magnetic resonance (MR) follow-up of central nervous system (CNS) tumors in
      children: recurrence or radionecrosis?].

PMID- 9972632
TI  - [A 2-year-old child with acute respiratory difficulty. Pneumomediastinum and
      subcutaneous emphysema due to foreign body aspiration].

PMID- 9972633
TI  - [Skin burns in 2 premature newborns related to pulse oximetry].

PMID- 9972634
TI  - [Ventricular extrasystoles as a form of presentation of neonatal lupus].

PMID- 9972635
TI  - [Tramadol via continuous perfusion in the treatment of moderate to severe pain:
      our experience in 5 cases].

PMID- 9972636
TI  - [Idiopathic plantar eccrinitis].

PMID- 9972637
TI  - [Pediatric emergencies that turn up at hospital centers].

PMID- 9972638
TI  - [Training in pediatric and neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a task in
      which we all can and should participate. The Spanish Pediatric and Neonatal
      Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Group].

PMID- 9972639
TI  - [The risperidone-associated neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a pediatric
      patient].

PMID- 9972640
TI  - [Fecal incontinence caused by a streptococcal perianal disease].

PMID- 9972641
TI  - Tongue papillae in goat: a scanning electron-microscopic study.
AB  - The tongue papillae of 6-9-month-old Jamunapari goats were studied by scanning
      electron-microscopy. The conical-shaped filiform papillae had 3-6 pointed
      projections and 6-8 secondary papillae at the free tip and the base of the dorsal
      surfaced of the tongue, respectively. The convex surfaced fungiform papillae were
      raised above the lingual mucosa. The vallate papilla was characterized by a
      papillary groove and an annular pad. The large conical papilla had a round base
      and a blunt tip without any projection. Two types of lenticular papillae could be
      distinguished. The irregular surface of all types of papillae revealed
      microplicae in the form of microridges and micropits. The fungiform papilla was
      studded with microvilli. The taste pores were oriented on the dorso-lateral
      surface of the vallate papilla.

PMID- 9972643
TI  - [Prenatal development of the lamina epithelialis in the phase of vacuolization of
      villous epithelial cells. Investigations on the intestines of cattle (Bos
      primigenius taurus L., 1758)].
AB  - The development of the bovine small intestine was examined in 39 embryos and
      fetuses by light microscopic and transmission electron microscopic methods.
      Special reference was paid to the histogenesis of the ephithelium. In contrast to
      the duodenum the epithelium of jejunum and ileum undergoes a degeneration by
      vacuolation of its villous epithelial cells. The demonstration of the acid
      phosphatase activity of these vacuoles shows their lysosomal character. This
      degenerative process of the small intestinal epithelium is also known in large
      intestine where it leads to the destruction of the intestinal villi. Both seem to
      be part of a 'principle of construction of the intestine of the vertebrates'
      (Wille, 1984).

PMID- 9972642
TI  - Morphological and functional aspects of reptilian ultimobranchial gland.
AB  - The intention of this review is to compare studies on the morphology and
      histology (light and electron microscopic) of ultimobranchial glands of various
      groups of reptiles. Moreover, experiments (including our investigations) on
      suppression or stimulation of the ultimobranchial gland are included. Adult
      reptiles possess one (on the left side) or two ultimobranchial glands (UBG). The
      UBG lie just anterior to the heart. Light as well as electron microscopically,
      the gland has been shown to contain follicles and cell cords (cell aggregates).
      The follicular epithelium is lined by simple cuboidal or pseudostratified
      columnar cells. Ciliated and goblet cells may be present in the follicular
      epithelia in some groups. The lumen may contain a colloid-like substance with
      desquamated cells or debris. The UBG of reptiles seem to be an active secretory
      organ with influence on calcium regulation. Other functions of calcitonin have
      also been suggested in reptiles for example in neurotransmission, in volume
      regulation, phosphate balance and promotion of bone calcification (at least in
      juveniles).

PMID- 9972644
TI  - Investigations on the postnatal development of the macroscopic proportions and
      the topographic anatomy of the feline spinal cord.
AB  - The aim of this work was to investigate the postnatal development of the feline
      spinal cord. Our study showed that the main period of growth leading to the
      cervical and lumbar enlargements begins after birth and is completed at the age
      of 5-6 months. Comparing the relationship between the length of the spinal cord
      and the vertebral column, we found that in contrast to the adult cat, in the
      newborn cat, length, area and volume of segments show similar values along the
      spinal cord. This also applied to the length of the vertebrae. Due to a
      heterogeneous growth, not all segments of the spinal cord end up situated cranial
      to their corresponding vertebrae. As a consequence, the end of the conus
      medullaris is still located within the sacral canal in animals older than 2
      months. These findings strongly propose that injection into the vertebral canal
      of the cat have to be performed caudal to the sacral vertebrae.

PMID- 9972645
TI  - Neuroendocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of wild boar.
AB  - The presence and the distribution of neuroendocrine cells in the gastrointestinal
      tract of adult wild boar were investigated. The endocrine cells have been
      identified by means of immunocytochemical techniques using antibodies against
      serotonin, gastrin, somatostatin, cholecystokinin (CCK), met-enkephalin (MET
      ENK), gastric-inhibitory peptide (GIP) and glucagon. The number of positive cells
      for each antiserum in each region was evaluated. Results were compared with data
      present in the literature and obtained previously by us and other authors in
      swine and domestic mammals (Ceccarelli et al., 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1995;
      Capella and Solcia, 1972; Domeneghini and Castaldo, 1981; Peranzi and Lehy, 1984;
      Krause et al., 1985).

PMID- 9972646
TI  - A scanning and immunohistochemical study in bovine haemal node.
AB  - The bovine haemal nodes are lymphatic organs with haemal circulation. The blood
      circulates inside of them through virtual cavities named sinuses. In these
      sinuses there is passage of cells and particulate materials from parenchyma to
      sinuses and vice versa. For this passage temporal overtures exist in the sinus
      walls. The sinus wall is composed of endothelial cells, basal membrane and
      reticular cells. Our results have demonstrated that type IV collagen was one of
      the basal membrane constituents in bovine haemal nodes and by this constitution a
      dynamic equilibrium of the sinus walls was permitted.

PMID- 9972647
TI  - 3-D confocal laser scanning microscopy used in morphometric analysis of rat
      Purkinje cell dendritic spines after chronic ethanol consumption.
AB  - A confocal laser scanning microscope (with a 543 nm laser) was used for imaging
      rat Purkinje cell dendritic spines at high 3-D resolution. In a nutritionally
      controlled study of the rat, 5 months of ethanol consumption was demonstrated to
      alter the spines of Purkinje cell dendrites in rat cerebellum. Intact spines
      showed significant elongation after ethanol exposure, whereas this
      neuromorphological alteration could not be detected in controls. Spine elongation
      could be regarded as compensative growth of spines in search of new synaptic
      contacts due to alcohol induced cell loss.

PMID- 9972648
TI  - Characterization of lateral musculature in the striped weakfish (Cynoscion
      striatus Cuvier).
AB  - Histochemical and ultrastructural studies were performed on lateral musculature
      from individual female weakfish (Cynoscion striatus Cuvier). Based upon SDH, PhR,
      Sudan and myosin-ATPase determinations, different kinds of red, pink and white
      fibres were discerned at the anterior, medium and posterior regions. Levels of
      glycolytic activity increased from red to white fibres, being intermediate in the
      pink ones. Contrarily, oxidative activity decreased from red to pink and white
      fibres. Histochemical stain showed a complex distribution of fibre types in each
      layer. A considerable variation in size and distribution was also found among
      fibres.

PMID- 9972649
TI  - Immunohistochemical study of endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of the
      Philippine carabao (Bubalus bubalis).
AB  - The distribution and frequency of occurrence of endocrine cells in the
      gastrointestinal tract of the Philippine carabao (Bubalus bubalis) were studied
      by immunohistochemistry. Fourteen types of immunoreactive (IR) endocrine cells
      were revealed. Among the cell types, only chromogranin, serotonin, and bovine
      pancreatic polypeptide (BPP) were present in the entire gut, while the others
      showed restricted distribution: somatostatin, gastrin, and cholecystokinin in the
      abomasum and small intestine; methionine-enkephalin-Arg6-Gly7-Leu8, motilin,
      neurotensin, secretin, gastric inhibitory peptide, and substance P in the small
      intestine; peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) in the large intestine; and glucagon
      in the whole intestinal tract. Most of the cell types showed peak density in the
      pyloric, duodenal, or rectal region. The highest cell type heterogeneity was
      observed in the duodenum. The distribution profile of the gut endocrine cells in
      the carabao is closely related to that in the Holstein cattle. Important findings
      include the occurrence of BPP-IR cells in the entire gut and the high frequency
      of PYY-IR cells in the large intestine.

PMID- 9972651
TI  - [What's new in the treatment of Dupuytren's disease?].
AB  - Among the recent advances in the field of Dupuytren's contracture, the authors
      reviewed a series of 171 patients treated by percutaneous needle fasciotomy.
      Among the 198 hands (241 fingers), 65 were reviewed with a mean follow-up of 2.5
      years. Mean age was 62 years and delay between onset and treatment 6.8 years.
      Rupture of the cords was performed only in the palm in 154 cases, palmo-digital
      in 82 and purely digital in 5 cases. Complications were rare and benign without
      tendon or vascular bundle injury. Postoperative gain was essentially observed on
      the metacarpo-phalangeal joint and recurrence rate was high despite the short
      follow-up (progression of the disease 54% of cases). The ideal indication for
      this simple and reliable technique is an elderly patient with a prominent cord
      and predominant lack of metacarpophalangeal extension.

PMID- 9972650
TI  - Gross anatomy of the pancreatic lobes and ducts in six breeds of domestic ducks
      and six species of wild ducks in China.
AB  - A previously unreported pancreatic duct was found by Liu (1989) in Pekin ducks.
      This duct has now been consistently found in six breeds of domestic ducks and six
      species of wild ducks in China. For purposes of Nomina Anatomica Avium it is
      hereby called the 'first pancreatic duct' (Ductus pancreaticus primus) since it
      enters the duodenum at or near the flexure where the descending duodenum becomes
      the ascending duodenum. All other pancreatic ducts enter the duodenum later,
      closer to where it joins the jejunum. This first pancreatic duct drains the
      caudal extremity of the dorsal lobe of the pancreas and can be easily
      exteriorized for experimental purposes. Within the parenchyma of the dorsal lobe
      of the pancreas this duct communicates with the dorsal pancreatic duct. In the
      present study of the gross anatomy of the pancreatic lobes of domestic and wild
      Chinese ducks we describe and illustrate variations in position and number of all
      biliary and pancreatic ducts.

PMID- 9972652
TI  - [What's new concerning carpal tunnel syndrome?].
AB  - Despite its frequency, carpal tunnel syndrome is still a subject of debate in the
      literature. Is a clinical diagnosis sufficient to justify the indication for
      surgery? Electromyography appears to play a very important role and, apart from
      its diagnostic and medicolegal value, may reveal associated lesions able to
      account for persistence of certain symptoms in the medium- or long-term; about
      which the patients must be informed. More general social questions are raised by
      the recognition of occupational carpal tunnel syndrome and its economic
      implications. Medical treatment by nocturnal resting splint still has a real
      place and endoscopy constitutes an alternative to classical open surgery.
      Surgical techniques must comply with rigorous rules, the only way of ensuring
      security and prevention of recurrences, which are difficult to treat.

PMID- 9972653
TI  - [What's new in surgery of flexor tendons?].
AB  - After revealing tendon healing and the international classification adopted in
      1980 for flexor tendon lesions, the author reviews the primary tendon repair
      procedures and the various postoperative mobilization protocols. The current
      tendency is towards early active mobilization with a protection orthosis. The
      various secondary surgical procedures are then critically discussed: secondary
      suture, tendon release, one-stage or two-stage tendon graft, total anterior
      tenoarthrolysis, tendon transfer, vascularized tendon graft, active tendon
      implants.

PMID- 9972655
TI  - [What's new in upper limb skin expansion?].
AB  - The indications for skin expansion of the upper limb are now well defined. Based
      on a series of 56 cases, the authors confirm that a rigorous technique and good
      management of complications can minimize failures of the method. Technical
      progress and new biomaterials certainly allow further reduction of these
      complications and possibly the development of new indications.

PMID- 9972654
TI  - [What's new in syndactyly?].
AB  - In the light of the international literature over the last ten years, the author
      reviews the surgical treatment of syndactyly, including the optimal age of
      operation, surgical treatment without grafts, treatment of digital extremities,
      prevention of commissural retraction, and long-term results.

PMID- 9972656
TI  - [What's new in nail surgery?].
AB  - The author review the literature concerning progress in nail surgery. He presents
      several basic research studies on the blood supply of the ungual apparatus, very
      rare studies on pathophysiology and the contribution of magnetic resonance
      imaging. In practice, progress or new techniques in traumatology (haematomas,
      wounds of the nail bed and matrix, defects, distal amputations through the nail)
      and in the context secondary dystrophic lesions are considered. In particular,
      the indications for emergency and secondary microsurgery are defined. The only
      novelty in neoplastic disease concerns the discovery of a new tumour:
      onychomatricoma.

PMID- 9972657
TI  - [What's new in cosmetic surgery of the hand? Technical notes].
AB  - The author analyses the aesthetic aspects of the hand in three circumstances:
      trauma, rheumatism, and ageing. He describes the unsightly appearance of certain
      grafts and flaps and certain amputation stumps and malunions following trauma and
      emphasizes the cosmetic indication for finger transfer to an adjacent finger in
      four-finger hands. The main indications for rheumatic digital deformities concern
      distal deformities: DIP arthrodesis or arthroplasty depending on the finger. In
      the context of ageing of the hand, related to excess skin and prominent veins,
      the author proposes a one-stage operation via a palmar incision.

PMID- 9972658
TI  - [External rhinoplasty: a useful approach for a young plastic surgeon].
AB  - Among the frequently performed plastic surgery operations, rhinoplasty is the
      most difficult to obtain consistently good results. It is very challenging for
      young plastic surgeons to modify the external appearance of the nose and restore
      or maintain a good airway. The external approach has alleviated some of the
      problems due to understanding and learning of the rhinoplasty operation.
      Actually, open rhinoplasty allows better visualization of anatomical deformities
      and better manipulation of tissues allowing better integration of nasal anatomy
      and physiology. This paper reviews a personal series of 82 patients operated via
      an open approach between October 94 and October 97. During the same period, 24
      patients were operated via an endonasal or percutaneous approach (osteotomies).
      Indications, advantages and disadvantages of the open approach are discussed. The
      various techniques used in this series are described and then critically
      analyzed. In open rhinoplasty, our present revision rate is 8.5%. In conclusion,
      the open approach seems to be useful for young rhinoplastic surgeons.

PMID- 9972659
TI  - [Role of surgery in the treatment of hemangiomas. A retrospective study apropos
      of 29 surgically treated children].
AB  - Conservative management is usually proposed for common childhood hemangiomas
      because most lesions resolve spontaneously. The authors report 29 cases of
      children with hemangiomas treated surgically. Surgical indications were defined
      at various stages. The study concerned 29 children operated in our pediatric
      surgery and plastic surgery departments between 1989 and 1995. The average
      postoperative follow-up was 3 years and 8 months. The average age of the patients
      was 5 years; two-thirds of children were girls. The hemangioma was a very large
      lesion, subcutaneous and cutaneous (mixed) in 23 cases, only subcutaneous in 2
      cases, only cutaneous in 4 cases, and was located on the face in 19 cases. Six
      complications (5 ulcerations, 1 Kassabach-Merritt syndrome) were observed.

PMID- 9972660
TI  - [CO2 laser skin resurfacing. Critical analysis of recent literature].
AB  - Over recent years, there appears to have been an explosion of public interest in
      facial rejuvenation. With the recent development of short-pulsed high-peak power
      and rapidly scanned carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers, it is now possible to remove
      photo-damaged skin precisely and reproducibly, while leaving behind a narrow zone
      of thermal damage. This development has generated tremendous interest in laser
      skin resurfacing as a technique to reverse photoaging. However, the overall
      review of the existing literature, except for very few publications, reveals
      several major methodological problems. The use of CO2 laser for cosmetic purposes
      is very recent and therefore requires further justification, standardization and
      regulation based on well designed studies. Most of the recent published data
      correspond to case reports, rather than well-designed scientific studies. For
      these reasons, this field needs more clinical trials and epidemiological
      investigations such as prospective cohorts or case-control studies, to provide
      new knowledge in this field.

PMID- 9972661
TI  - [A new method of covering skin loss of the internal canthus: paralateronasal
      flap].
AB  - The author describes a new procedure of coverage of the medial canthus:
      paralateronasal flap. It is a cutaneous rotation-advancement flap with random
      vascularisation ensured by the dermal vascular plexus. It is vertical and S
      shaped. Its first curve is concave laterally and ascends widely to the
      lateronasal area, and its second lower curve is concave medially, following the
      nasolabial fold. This flap has been used 14 times, mostly to repair defects
      caused by excision of skin cancers of the medial canthus. Mean follow-up is 18
      months. The aesthetic results obtained are very satisfactory. The author compares
      the advantages of the paralateronasal flap with present techniques and thinks
      that this new flap should find its place in the therapeutic arsenal for repair of
      the medial canthus.

PMID- 9972662
TI  - [Physicians' duty to inform in the jurisprudence of the Appeals Court].

PMID- 9972663
TI  - Hemorheological alterations and hypercoagulable state in deep vein thrombosis.
AB  - Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) seems to be related to a hypercoagulation and definite
      hemorheological alterations, but the importance of these alterations in the
      development of thrombotic events in the deep vein system has not been
      established. The present study examines both aspects in a group of 55 patients
      with DVT; the presence of a hypercoagulable state was assessed by quantifying the
      prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2) and the thrombin-antithrombin III complex (T-AT),
      and the main hemorheological parameters were evaluated in the acute state and 6
      and 12 months later. The results show marked hemorheological, F1+2, and TAT
      alterations in the acute phase. After 12 months the pattern shows a modest
      improvement, but erythrocyte aggregation, fibrinogen, F1+2 and T-AT remain
      increased with respect to the control group (8.51 +/- 1.43; 331 +/- 81 mg/dl;
      1.33 +/- 0.60 nmol/l; 3.54 +/- 1.71 ng/ml vs. 8.10 +/- 1.40; 230 +/- 38; 0.94 +/-
      0.40; 1.56 +/- 0.59, respectively). These data suggest that the thrombotic event
      could be influenced by the previous rheological situation and hypercoagulable
      state.

PMID- 9972664
TI  - Methods for studying leukocyte filterability in undiluted blood from intermittent
      claudicants.
AB  - Leukocytes are characterised from their influence on the filterability of
      undiluted blood from patients with PAOD (intermittent claudicants - Fontaine
      Stage II) and a group of sex and age-matched controls. Undiluted blood was
      filtered through 5 microm Nuclepore (Hemafil) filters for 300 s, at 711 Pa and
      room temperature, using a custom-made constant pressure filtrometer. Four
      populations of leukocytes are identified in both groups. In the control group,
      94.4% of the leukocytes are identified as fast leukocytes with a transit time of
      1.8 s. The remaining white cells are recognised as slow flowing leukocytes and
      subdivided into three further sub-populations. The first of these (SL1; 2.8% of
      total leukocyte count) is characterised by a transit time of 31.7 s, a second
      population (SL2; 1.5% of total leukocyte count) by a transit time of 145.8 s
      while the remaining cells are identified as pore blockers (PB) under these
      conditions. A similar rheological classification is valid in the patients but the
      sum of the three minor populations is elevated compared to controls (p = 0.001)
      although there is no overall leukocytosis. The only significant difference in
      flow properties of any blood cells, between the two groups of volunteers, is seen
      in the major population of leukocytes with an elevated transit time of 2.4 s.
      Stepwise regression analysis identifies the concentration of fast leukocytes, SL2
      and PB as the major variables affecting blood flow through the filter. It is
      argued that the higher concentration of SL2 and PB probably reflect the increased
      sensitivity of neutrophils to physical stimuli.

PMID- 9972665
TI  - Essential hypertension: leukocyte rheology and polymorphonuclear cytosolic Ca2+
      content at baseline and after activation.
AB  - In 24 hypertensives we evaluated, at baseline, the leukocyte filtration
      parameters (using the St. George's Filtrometer), polymorphonuclear (PMN) membrane
      fluidity (with the fluorescent probe 1-[4-(trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5
      hexatriene [TMA-DPH]) and PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content (with the fluorescent probe
      Fura 2-AM). In a subgroup of hypertensives (n = 17) the PMN filtration
      parameters, PMN membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content were evaluated after
      in vitro chemotactic activation (prolonged for 5 and 15 min) with two stimulating
      agents (4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate [PMA] and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl
      phenylalanine [fMLP]). It was evident, from the baseline data, that there was a
      significant difference in the mononuclear (MN) initial relative flow rate (IRFR),
      clogging rate (CR) and clogging particles (CP), and in PMN cytosolic Ca2+
      content. There were, however, no differences in the filtration parameters of
      unfractionated leukocytes and PMNs or in PMN membrane fluidity. After activation,
      in normals and in hypertensives, a significant variation in PMN filtration
      parameters was evident. In normals no variation was present in PMN membrane
      fluidity or cytosolic Ca2+ content after activation. In hypertensives, however,
      we found an increase solely in PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content after fMLP activation.
      After PMN activation (at 15 min) one parameter (IRFR) of PMN filtration
      distinguished normal subjects from hypertensives. No difference between the two
      groups was found in PMN membrane fluidity or PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content after PMN
      activation.

PMID- 9972666
TI  - Linear and nonlinear elastic modelling of the deformation of vasa vasorum.
AB  - The authors present analytical and numerical approaches of the deformation of
      venous and arterial vessels vasa vasorum. An elastic behaviour of the vessel wall
      is supposed. It is shown that a normal range of intraluminar pressure induces a
      small deformation in the vasa vasorum in arteries. According to the nonlinear
      elastic behaviour, a larger deformation is induced in venous vasa vasorum is
      rapidly obtained. Increased pressure has serious consequences, especially on the
      flow in vasa vasorum and induces decrease of oxygen transport. This phenomenon
      could be one of the generating factors of atherogenesis and ischemia.

PMID- 9972667
TI  - An animal model to study erythrocyte senescence with a narrow time window of
      erythrocyte production: alterations in osmotic fragility and deformability of
      erythrocytes during their life span.
AB  - Using the model in which the entire RBC population was nearly synchronously
      produced following the induction of spherocytic anemia in the rabbit with
      antibody serum, we determined the changes of RBC osmotic fragility and
      deformability with aging. The results showed that the osmotic fragility increased
      with the RBC aging process in a nonlinear manner, being much more profound in the
      later part of the RBC life span. The RBC deformation index (DI) was measured by
      an ektacytometry. It is found that the DI decreased with RBC aging in a nonlinear
      fashion, with increasingly greater changes in the later part of the RBC life
      span. The alterations of RBC mechanical properties with aging may be attributable
      to a number of factors, including changes of RBC size and shape, and the
      viscoelasticity of the cytoplasm and membrane.

PMID- 9972668
TI  - Measurement of red blood cell aggregation in a "plate-plate" shearing system by
      analysis of light transmission.
AB  - The analysis of light reflection from or transmission through a blood sample
      under defined shearing conditions is widely used to assess red blood cell (RBC)
      aggregation. Different shearing geometries have been used to generate a constant
      shear rate within the blood sample, including "cone on plate" and Couette
      systems. In this study, a rotating glass plate, together with a parallel
      stationary plate, was used to generate a given shear rate at the point of light
      transmission measurement. The system gave reproducible results and proved to be
      sensitive to alterations in RBC aggregation. A comparison between different RBC
      aggregation parameters that can be calculated using the same light transmission
      curves (syllectograms) was also made. The index calculated by integrating the
      area under the syllectogram (M index) was found to be the most appropriate
      aggregation parameter to be used for comparisons between two groups of blood
      samples with different aggregation characteristics.

PMID- 9972669
TI  - Disturbed blood flow structuring as critical factor of hemorheological disorders
      in microcirculation.
AB  - Blood flow structuring is a phenomenon of co-ordinated self-organization of RBCs
      in the normal flow in microvessels which actually defines the blood rheological
      properties in their lumina. Under conditions of undisturbed macrocirculation and
      normal conductance of microvessels the blood flow structuring is a determining
      factor of the fluidity of the driven blood. The dynamic structuring of blood flow
      prevails in advancing of the driven RBCs with plasma in the shear field induced
      in microvessels. Term "blood flow structuring" was introduced to describe the
      self-organised behavior of the RBCs and plasma advancing in the arterio-venular
      direction in the rapidly perfused microvessels. It implies primarily the
      availability of parietal plasma layer and of RBCs driven in the axial core, the
      tank treading, deformation and orientation of the red cells, i.e., of their self
      optimizing adaptive behavior which minimizes energy dissipation. Many local
      hemorheological disturbances in the microvessels are related to intensified RBC
      aggregation and to the subsequent local accumulation in the microvascular lumina,
      thus entailing disorders of the blood flow structuring. This, in turn, results in
      the decrease of flow velocity, to full blood stasis, despite a preserved local
      arterio-venous driving pressure gradient. Elevated blood plasma viscosity and
      considerably curtailed RBC deformability might also entail retardation and even
      stoppage of the RBC flow in microvessels. The transition of blood flow to blood
      stasis and again to blood flow represents a synergetic process in the critically
      underperfused microvascular networks. As to the WBCs and thrombocytes, they are
      not involved in the normal blood flow structuring in microvessels, but they can
      largely affect both the blood flow normal structuring and the flow velocity under
      various pathological conditions. The presented theoretical concept accounts for a
      wide variety of transition patterns from the normal to the pathological
      hemorheological phenomena in the microcirculation.

PMID- 9972670
TI  - Role of colestipol in the treatment of hyperthyroidism.
AB  - The enterohepatic circulation of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) is
      higher in thyrotoxicosis. Bile-salt sequestrants bind iodothyronines and thereby
      increase their fecal excretion. We, therefore, evaluated the effect of colestipol
      hydrochloride administration on clinical and biochemical indices of patients with
      hyperthyroidism. In a prospective, controlled trial, ninety-two adult volunteers
      with Graves' disease, toxic autonomous nodule or toxic multinodular goiter were
      randomly assigned into the following treatment protocols: Group 1, 30 mg of
      methimazole (MMI) and 20 g of colestipol-hydrochloride (COL) daily; Group 2, 30
      mg of MMI daily; and Group 3, 15 mg of MMI 20 g of COL daily. The patients were
      further classified into Group A, severe hyperthyroidism (baseline levels of total
      T3 (TT3) > or =5 nmol/l) and Group B, mild to moderate thyrotoxicosis (baseline
      levels of TT-3<5 nmol/l). Crook's clinical index, serum free T4 (FT4), TT3 and
      thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were determined before (WO), following
      one week (W1) and two weeks (W2) of treatment. Serum TT3 level decreased (mean+/
      SE) at W1 by 40.8+/-2.6% of WO in Group1 and by 29.2+/-2.4% in Group 2 (p<0.001),
      and down further to 47.8+/-3.0% at W2 in Group 1, and 40.6+/-2.8% in Group 2
      (p=0.01). Serum FT4 level decreased (mean+/-SE) from WO to W1 by 31.7+/-2.7% in
      Group 1 and by 16.2+/-3.1% in Group 2 (p=0.005), and down to 49.1+/-2.8% of WO at
      W2 in Group 1 and to 38.7+/-3.5% in Group 2 (p=0.07). In sub groups B COL was not
      effective in reducing thyroid hormone levels nor in ameliorating the clinical
      status of the patients. However, in Group A3 COL lowered FT4 (p=0.001) and TT3
      (p=0.05) levels as compared to group A2. At W2 the clinical hyperthyroidism score
      improved faster in Group A1 (p<0.001) and Group A3 (p=0.012) as compared to the
      control Group A2. In conclusion, COL is an effective and well tolerated
      adjunctive agent in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Its main effect is in
      severe cases of thyrotoxicosis, and in the first phase of treatment. As
      adjunctive COL treatment in hyperthyroidism allows reducing MMI dosage it may
      decrease the rate of dose dependent MMI side effects.

PMID- 9972671
TI  - Hormonal replacement therapy in menopausal women with a history of
      hyperprolactinemia.
AB  - Hyperprolactinemia is involved in almost 30% of infertility problems. At the
      onset of menopause, prolactin levels often decrease; however, no data are
      available regarding the course of hyperprolactinemia after menopause with
      hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). A retrospective study was undertaken in our
      department to evaluate the potential role of estrogens in women with a history of
      hyperprolactinemia. Twenty-two patients, with hyperprolactinemia before
      menopause, were followed-up. Group I included 11 patients who withdrew
      bromocriptine treatment when menopause was confirmed. These patients were placed
      on HRT with no other medication administered. HRT was a combination of
      percutaneous estradiol gel and an oral progestin. Group II included 7 women
      treated by bromocriptine before menopause and after menopause concomitantly with
      HRT. Group III included 4 patients who did not receive HRT or other treatments
      once menopause was diagnosed. The mean serum prolactin level was unchanged in
      Group I (22.8+/-21.7 before and 22.8+/-16.1 ng/ml after HRT) while it increased
      but not significantly from 8.1+/-5.2 to 16.0+/-11.7 ng/ml in Group II. The mean
      duration of HRT was 42.8+/-23.8 (7-81) and 37.3+/-31.0 (6-99) months in Group I
      and II respectively. In Group III patients, PRL levels decreased spontaneously
      from 61.2+/-39.8 to 33.0+/-34.7 ng/ml. In conclusion, in this population of
      menopausal patients with a history of moderate hyperprolactinemia, HRT did not
      seem to affect plasma prolactin levels.

PMID- 9972672
TI  - Gender-dependent characteristics of the hypothalamo-corticotrope axis function in
      glucocorticoid-replete and glucocorticoid-depleted rats.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to determine the role of the endogenous sex
      steroid environment in the hypothalamo-corticotrope (HC) function in both sham
      operated (SHAM) and bilaterally adrenalectomized (ADX) rats. For this purpose
      adult rats of both sexes were used 3 and 6 weeks after either SHAM or ADX. The
      results indicate that: a) in SHAM animals, basal plasma ACTH levels were
      significantly higher in females than in males, and this sexual dimorphism was
      overridden by ADX, regardless of the time post-surgery; b) although basal
      anterior pituitary (AP) ACTH content was similar in SHAM animals of both sexes, 3
      and 6-week ADX induced higher AP ACTH in males than in females; c) at 3- and 6
      weeks, ADX rats of hoth sexes had an AVP:CRH ratio (r), in the median eminence
      (ME) and medial basal hypothalamus (MBH), increased several fold over the
      respective SHAM-value and, although no sexual dimorphism was found at week 3 post
      ADX, by 6-weeks post ADX, these ratios were significantly higher in both brain
      tissues of females than in those of males; and d) the in vitro ME CRH and AVP
      output in response to high potassium concentrations (hK+; 28 and 56 mmol/I), was
      concentration-related, regardless of sex and surgery, and was characterized by
      enhanced secretion of neuropeptides by MEs from ADX in comparison to SHAM rats of
      both sexes, and a sexual dimorphism was found in this parameter, consisting in
      general, in greater neuropeptide output from tissues of female than of male
      animals. Our results indicate that: 1) there is a gender-dependent characteristic
      of the HC axis function in glucocorticoid-replete rats and 2) the absence of the
      glucocorticoid negative feedback mechanism is responsible for either the
      expression or for the override of the sexual dimorphism in different parameters,
      a phenomenon which dependent on the time elapsed after ADX.

PMID- 9972673
TI  - Efficacy of combined treatments in NIDDM patients with secondary failure to
      sulphonylureas. Is it predictable?
AB  - The treatment of NIDDM patients with secondary failure to sulphonylurea is a
      common problem. We performed a crossover study in 50 NIDDM patients with
      secondary failure to glibenclamide by comparing the addition to sulphonylurea of
      either a low-dose bedtime NPH insulin or a t.i.d. oral metformin and by analyzing
      treatment efficacy in relation to patient and disease characteristics. Both
      combined therapies clearly improved glycaemic control. HbA1 c were similarly
      reduced by the addition of either bedtime NPH insulin (7.6+/-0.34 vs 8.7+/-0.35,
      p<0.01) or metformin (7.6+/-0.22 vs 8.6+/-0.31, p<0.01). Also fasting plasma
      glucose (FPG) and post-prandial plasma glucose (PPPG) significantly decreased
      (p<0.01) with both treatments. Bed-time NPH insulin was more effective on FPG
      reduction than metformin (-36+/-2% vs -25+/-2%, p<0.01); in contrast, metformin
      addition was more effective on PPPG reduction than bedtime NPH insulin addition (
      30+/-2% vs 20+/-3%, p<0.01). Serum cholesterol was marginally but significantly
      decreased after metformin (5.49+/-0.19 vs 5.91 +/-0.18 mM, p<0.05) but not after
      NPH insulin. Body weight increase was significantly greater after insulin
      addition than after metformin (1.47+/-0.25 Kg vs 0.64+/-0.17 p=0.02). All
      patients preferred the addition of metformin rather than NPH insulin. None of the
      measured clinical and metabolic variables (before treatment FPG and PPPG, HbA1 c,
      post-glucagon C-peptide levels, insulin sensitivity, patient age, BMI and
      diabetes duration) significantly correlated to the efficacy of the two combined
      treatments studied. In conclusion, in NIDDM patients with secondary failure to
      sulphonylureas the addition of either low-dose bedtime NPH insulin or t.i.d.
      metformin is similarly effective in improving glycaemic control. Metformin is
      better accepted by patients and provides a modest advantage in terms of body
      weight and cholesterol levels. The most common clinical and metabolic variables
      are not useful for predicting the efficacy of these two combined treatments.

PMID- 9972674
TI  - Occurrence of thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction throughout a nine-month follow
      up in patients undergoing interferon-beta therapy for multiple sclerosis.
AB  - Thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction are a well known side effect of IFN alpha
      therapy for viral hepatitis and tumors, while the IFN beta effects on the thyroid
      gland in neurological patients have not been studied. The aim of this
      longitudinal study was to look for the appearance of thyroid autoimmunity as well
      as for the occurrence of overt thyroid disease in the patients affected by
      multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with IFN beta 1b. Eight patients (4 males, 4
      females) undergoing r-IFN beta 1b treatment (8 M.U. every other day for 9 months)
      for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis entered the study. We have analyzed
      thyroid function parameters and auto antibody levels before and after 1, 2, 3, 6
      and 9 months of therapy. None of them referred to familiar thyroid pathology or
      presented clinically overt thyroid disease except for one patient (case 4) who
      showed TPO-Ab pretreatment positivity and another (case 8) who was in therapy
      with Levothyroxine 100 microg/die for multinodular goiter. The number of patients
      with appearance of thyroid antibodies has slowly increased, until the third month
      of therapy with 3 patients out of 7 positive for TPO-Ab. The only case of overt
      thyroid dysfunction reported by us appeared after nine months of therapy and
      consisted of a hypothyroidism. Our data suggest that short-term interferon beta
      treatment is able to induce thyroid autoimmunity (42.8%) and dysfunction (12.5%).

PMID- 9972675
TI  - p53 protein and its messenger ribonucleic acid in human adrenal tumors.
AB  - The role of p53 tumor suppressor gene in the pathomechanism of adrenal tumors was
      investigated by measuring p53 protein and its messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)
      in 12 normal human adrenals as well as in 56 adrenal tumors (7 aldosterone
      producing adenomas, 5 adrenocortical adenomas causing Cushing's syndrome, 19 non
      hyperfunctioning adrenocortical adenomas, 5 adrenocortical carcinomas, 12
      pheochromocytomas, 3 myelolipomas, 4 ganglioneuromas and 1 hemangioma). The p53
      protein concentration was significantly increased in aldosterone-producing
      adenomas (394+/-36 pg/mg cytosolic protein, mean+/-SE, vs 266+/-18 in normal
      human adrenals), whereas the concentration of this protein in Cushing's adenomas,
      non-hyperfunctioning adrenocortical adenomas, pheochromocytomas, and in all but
      one adrenocortical carcinomas was similar to that measured in normal human
      adrenal tissues. One adrenocortical carcinoma tissue showed very high p53 protein
      content (3000 pg/mg cytosolic protein). By contrast, myelolipomas (23+/-20)
      ganglioneuromas (43+/-15) and a hemangioma (11 pg/mg cytosolic protein) had very
      low p53 protein content. Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of p53 mRNA
      in each adrenal tissue examined with highest levels in aldosterone-producing and
      Cushing's adenomas. It is possible that the differences in p53 protein and/or
      mRNA contents reflect corresponding differences in the pathogenetic importance of
      p53 alterations in these types of adrenal tumors.

PMID- 9972676
TI  - Chronic recurrent stress due to panic disorder does not precipitate Graves'
      disease.
AB  - A role of psychic stress in precipitating hyperthyroid Graves' disease has been
      suggested, but the evidence in support of this pathogenetic mechanism is
      conflicting. In this study we investigated the possible occurrence of Graves'
      disease in patients with panic disorder, a psychiatric condition characterized by
      recurrent endogenous stress. The study group included 87 consecutive patients
      suffering from panic disorder since 1 to 30 years: 17 males (mean age 31.3, range
      26-43 years) and 70 females (mean age 37.6, range 15-73 years). Two hundred and
      sixty-two normal subjects with no present or past history of psychiatric disorder
      served as controls. Patients were submitted to a full evaluation of the thyroid
      that included physical examination, assays for free thyroid hormones, TSH,
      thyroglobulin (TgAb), thyroperoxidase (TPOAb) and TSH receptor (TRAb) antibodies,
      and thyroid echography. The prevalence of circulating TgAb and/or TPOAb in
      patients with panic disorder did not differ from that in the control group.
      Twelve patients with panic disorder (13.7%) had circulating TgAb and/or TPOAb,
      but none had TRAb. Three out of 12 patients with thyroid antibodies, indicating a
      genetic susceptibility to autoimmune thyroid disease, had a family history of
      clinical thyroid autoimmunity, and 4 of them had a hypoechogenic pattern of the
      thyroid at ultrasound suggesting autoimmune thyroiditis. None of the patients
      with panic disorder had a previous history of hyperthyroidism. On examination,
      clinical hyperthyroidism or endocrine ophthalmopathy were not found in any of
      them. A small goiter was appreciated by palpation in 16 patients (18.3%). Free
      thyroid hormones and TSH were within the normal range in all patients but one: a
      55-year old lady with normal serum free thyroid hormones and undetectable TSH.
      During an 18-month follow-up she did not develop hyperthyroidism and her TSH
      spontaneously returned in the normal range. Considering the individual duration
      of panic disorder, evidence for previous or present Graves' hyperthyroidism was
      not found for a total of 478 patient-years of exposure to recurrent endogenous
      stress in the whole study group, and for a total of 39 patient-years in patients
      with a genetic susceptibility to autoimmune thyroid disease. In conclusion, we
      found that recurrent endogenous stress did not precipitate Graves'
      hyperthyroidism in a series of 87 patients with panic disorder, encompassing a
      total of 478 patient-years of exposure to stress. Failure to activate the
      hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by endogenous stress due to panic disorder as
      opposed to exogenous stress due to life-events might explain why panic disorder
      does not precipitate Graves' hyperthyroidism.

PMID- 9972677
TI  - Evaluation of growth hormone bioactivity using the Nb2 cell bioassay in children
      with growth disorders.
AB  - The Nb2 cell bioassay could be a useful tool for evaluating human growth hormone
      (hGH) bioactivity, but is not specific for hGH since it relies on the ability of
      the hormone to produce effects by cross-reacting with the lactogenic receptor on
      Nb2 cells. We studied the biological activity of both endogenous and exogenous
      hGH in short patients using the Nb2 bioassay after inhibiting the mitogenic
      effect of the other lactogenic hormone, that is human prolactin (hPRL), by adding
      a specific antibody against hPRL to each assay. The in vitro study showed a
      significant (p<0.0001) increase in Nb2 cell proliferation when increasing
      concentrations of highly purified hGH were added to the cell culture. A complete
      inhibition of Nb2 cell replication was observed after adding a specific antibody
      against hGH. The in vivo study showed a significantly (p<0.0001) lower hGH
      bioactivity (4.90+/-0.28 ng/ml) evaluated during stimulation tests in 9 children
      with total idiopathic GH deficiency, mean age 9.25+/-1.99 years, in comparison
      with that found in 11 short children with normal growth velocity, mean age 8.22+/
      1.41 years (12.25+/-1.19 ng/ml). Likewise, serum GH levels measured by
      immunofluorometric assay IFMA in the same serum samples were significantly
      (p<0.001) lower in the 9 GH-deficient (1.97+/-0.37 ng/ml) than in the 11 short
      children (21.85+/-2.71 ng/ml). Moreover, we evaluated GH concentrations using
      both IFMA and the Nb2 cell bioassay in serum samples collected from another 11
      idiopathic GH-deficient children, mean age 10.71+/-1.18 years, before and then, 6
      and 24 hours following the 1 st injection of r-hGH (0.1 IU/kg sc). Serum GH
      values measured by both IFMA and Nb2 bioassay significantly (p<0.0001) increased
      6 hours after r-hGH administration and decreased to reach basal levels after 24
      hours. In conclusion, the Nb2 cell bioassay with minor modifications seems to
      provide a specific and sensitive assessment of hGH bioactivity.

PMID- 9972678
TI  - Thyrotropin receptor antibodies in black South African patients with Graves'
      disease and their response to medical therapy.
AB  - Graves' disease is increasing in incidence amongst urban black South Africans.
      The pathogenic role of thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb), crucial in other
      populations, has not been formally evaluated in African communities. We therefore
      prospectively investigated the prevalence of TRAb in 30 consecutive urban black
      South African patients with classical Graves' disease at the onset of their
      illness. This was compared with the frequency of thyroid microsomal and
      thyroglobulin antibodies in the same patients. Ten patients with euthyroid
      goitres unrelated to Graves' disease and 10 healthy controls were also studied.
      Twenty of the hyperthyroid patients were retested 4-6 months after starting
      carbimazole therapy and ten of them again after 1 year. Initially 83% of patients
      were positive for TRAb as against 54% for thyroid microsomal and 1 7% for
      thyroglobulin antibodies. After 4-6 months of treatment, 65% of patients still
      had elevated (>15% inhibition of binding) TRAb titres, while at 1 year this had
      dropped to 40% (4 out of 10 patients). All positive patients had relapsed
      biochemically, while TRAb negative patients were all in remission. We conclude
      that TRAb are a sensitive and specific marker of Graves' disease in black South
      Africans and closely parallels the response to medical therapy at 1 year.
      However, their predictive value for delayed relapse requires the study of a
      larger cohort of patients over a longer time-frame.

PMID- 9972679
TI  - Long-term preoperative management of thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma with
      octreotide.
AB  - Thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenomas are the less frequent form of
      presentation of pituitary tumors. Selective transsphenoidal surgical resection of
      the tumor is the treatment of choice. Given that native somatostatin inhibits TSH
      secretion, treatment with somatostatin analogues has been recently employed in
      patients with unresectable tumors or after surgery. We report on the case of a 58
      year-old man with a TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma who was treated with
      octreotide for long-term before neurosurgery. The patient was referred to us
      because of a pituitary mass on CT scanning. Hormonal evaluation resulted in
      hyperthyroidism with high serum TSH concentrations. Serum alpha subunit
      concentration was elevated and TSH response to exogenous TRH stimulation was
      absent. Magnetic resonance imaging of the hypothalamic-pituitary area confirmed
      the presence of a pituitary mass (2.0 by 1.8 by 1.7 cm). Acutely administered
      subcutaneous octreotide (100 microg) was followed by a reduction of the serum TSH
      concentrations. Therefore, the patient received octreotide, 100 microg three
      times daily for 12 months. At first month after beginning therapy serum TSH, free
      thyroxine, total triiodothyronine, and alpha subunit concentrations were
      normalized and persisted into the normal range for the next 11 months. On the
      other hand, a shrinkage of the tumor mass (1.6 by 1.7 by 1.4 cm) was noted after
      6 months of octreotide therapy, however, its volume did not modify in the
      following next months. Then, the tumor was removed by transsphenoidal surgery and
      the diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. This case
      demonstrates that long-term treatment with octreotide gave rise to a
      normalization of the thyroid function and a reduction of the tumor volume before
      surgery. This clinical observation suggests that octreotide therapy might be
      useful in preparation for pituitary surgery in patients with TSH-secreting
      pituitary adenomas.

PMID- 9972680
TI  - False-positive diagnosis of adrenal pheochromocytoma on iodine-123-MIBG scan.
AB  - 1-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (1-123 MIBG) scintigraphy is known for its high
      specificity in detecting pheochromocytoma and other tumors of neural crest
      origin. In this rare case report, we describe a definite adrenocortical adenoma
      that demonstrated false-positive uptake at I-123 MIBG scintigraphy and a
      remarkable accumulation of 75-SE-6-beta-selenomethyl-norcholesterol.

PMID- 9972681
TI  - Is thyroxine during lithium therapy necessary?

PMID- 9972682
TI  - Synthetic peptides and their non-peptidyl mimetics in endocrinology: from
      synthesis to clinical perspectives.

PMID- 9972683
TI  - Low-dose midazolam attenuates predatory odor avoidance in rats.
AB  - Previous studies have shown that predatory odors are a potent anxiogenic stimulus
      for rodents, yet the ability of benzodiazepines to block odor-induced anxiety
      remains uncertain. The present study reevaluated this issue using a novel
      apparatus that, in contrast to previous studies, allowed rats to hide from the
      odor in a small wooden "hide box" placed within a larger arena. The odor stimulus
      used was a fabric cat collar that had been worn by a domestic cat for a period of
      3 weeks. The experiment was divided into three phases on successive days: 1)
      habituation, where all rats were placed in the apparatus without cat odor
      present; 2) conditioning, where rats were presented with the cat odor in the
      apparatus; and 3) test, where rats previously exposed to the odor were tested for
      a conditioned avoidance response in the absence of the odor. Results showed that
      rats exposed to the cat collar displayed a robust avoidance response, spending
      about 70% of a 20-min session in the hide box compared to 25% in control rats.
      This avoidance response was completely reversed in rats given a low dose (0.375
      mg/kg) of midazolam. During the test phase, rats exposed to the cat odor on the
      previous day showed elevated levels of hiding when returned to the test apparatus
      without the cat odor present. This conditioned avoidance was significantly
      attenuated in rats who had received midazolam (0.375 mg/kg) during cat odor
      exposure but not in rats given the same dose during the test. These results show
      that low-dose midazolam is an effective anxiolytic agent in rats during exposure
      to predatory odor.

PMID- 9972684
TI  - Altering dietary levels of protein or vitamins and minerals does not modify
      morphine-induced analgesia in male rats.
AB  - Previous research has demonstrated that chronic intake of nutritive sweet
      solutions, but not nonnutritive sweet solutions, enhances morphine's analgesic
      potency. To separate out the effects of sweet taste from other changes in dietary
      intake, which result when rats consume a sucrose solution, the effects of
      altering dietary levels of protein, or vitamins and minerals on morphine-induced
      analgesia were examined. In Experiment 1, 40 male Long-Evans rats were fed
      standard chow or a semipurified diet containing either 10, 20, or 40% protein.
      Three weeks later, antinociceptive responses to morphine were examined using the
      tail flick procedure. Tail flick latencies were measured immediately prior to and
      30, 60, and 90 min after the administration of morphine sulfate (0.0, 1.25, 2.5,
      and 5.0 mg/kg, SC). At all three measurement times, antinociceptive responses
      increased directly as a function of the dose of morphine, but did not differ as a
      function of diet. In Experiment 2, 24 rats were maintained on either standard
      laboratory chow or semipurified diets containing 20% protein and either 100% or
      25% of the recommended levels of vitamins and minerals for 3 weeks. Tail flick
      latencies were measured immediately prior to and 30 min after injections (SC) of
      2.5 mg/kg morphine sulfate. This procedure was repeated until a cumulative dose
      of 10.0 mg/kg was obtained. Tail flick latencies increased significantly as a
      function of drug dose, but did not differ across dietary conditions. These
      results demonstrate that the increase in morphine-induced analgesia seen in rats
      consuming a sucrose solution is not due to alterations in either protein or
      micronutrient intake.

PMID- 9972685
TI  - Acute and chronic effects of morphine under a progressive-ratio 25 schedule of
      food delivery.
AB  - The present study examined the effects of morphine in pigeons responding under a
      progressive-ratio 25 schedule of food delivery. Morphine initially reduced
      response rates and breaking points. With chronic exposure, tolerance developed to
      these effects. The magnitude of the observed tolerance was not obviously
      different from that previously reported under a PR 5 schedule of food delivery.
      In addition, when drug effects were compared under the fixed-ratio 25 and fixed
      ratio 100 components comprised by the progressive-ratio schedule, comparable
      tolerance was observed. Although prior studies using other procedures have shown
      that ratio size modulates the development of tolerance to morphine and other
      drugs, the present data suggest that this relation is constrained, and is not
      easily observed under progressive-ratio schedules.

PMID- 9972686
TI  - Nicotine and ethanol interaction on conditioned taste aversions induced by both
      drugs.
AB  - The present study was designed to explore the interactive effects of nicotine and
      ethanol in the pretreatment and preexposure conditioned taste aversion (CTA)
      paradigm. The first experiment examined the effects of ethanol pretreatment on a
      nicotine induced CTA. The second experiment examined the effects of nicotine
      pretreatment on an ethanol CTA. The results of these two experiments revealed an
      asymmetrical interaction between ethanol and nicotine. Although nicotine
      pretreatment blocked an ethanol induced CTA, ethanol pretreatment merely
      attenuated a nicotine-induced CTA. These findings demonstrated that ethanol and
      nicotine interact pharmacologically in a unidirectional fashion, suggesting some
      unique and unshared pharmacological properties of each agent. The third
      experiment of this study examined the effects of preexposure with ethanol on a
      nicotine-induced CTA, while the fourth experiment examined the effects of
      preexposure with nicotine on an ethanol-induced CTA. These results revealed a
      symmetrical interaction between ethanol and nicotine in that both agents equally
      blocked CTA to one and the other. In contrast to the pretreatment CTA paradigm,
      these results suggested that both ethanol and nicotine appear to be functionally
      related and share common stimulus properties. Taken together, the present study
      demonstrates that while ethanol and nicotine are functionally related, they may
      also be endowed with unique unshared properties.

PMID- 9972687
TI  - Cortical damage enhances pemoline-induced self-injurious behavior in prepubertal
      rats.
AB  - Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a devastating characteristic of several
      developmental disorders including a number of mental retardation syndromes. The
      functional neuroanatomy and neuropharmacology of SIB is not well understood. Self
      biting behavior (SBB) can be induced in rats by a high dose, systemic injection
      of pemoline (250 mg/kg, SC). This animal model allows for the investigation of
      anatomical and pharmacological aspects of SIB. Cortical pathology is a common
      occurrence in human disorders with SIB, and may be a fundamental pathological
      factor in producing the behavior. The present experiment was designed to
      investigate the effects of cortical damage on pemoline-induced SBB in prepubertal
      rats. Bilateral cortical aspirations were performed in 3-5-week-old rats. One
      week postsurgery, a pemoline challenge was administered. Behavioral comparisons
      were completed between the lesion group and an anesthetized-only control group.
      Results indicated that cortical damage significantly enhanced pemoline-induced
      SBB, along with some of the other pemoline-induced stereotypical behaviors. These
      results support the hypothesis that cortical damage influences the expression of
      stimulant-induced self-injury, and potential mechanisms for this influence are
      suggested.

PMID- 9972689
TI  - Destruction of the noradrenergic system with DSP4 potentiates the behavioral
      effects of MK-801 in rats.
AB  - In this study we investigated the effect of lesioning the noradrenergic systems
      on the behavioral effects of (5R, 10S)-(+)-5-Methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo [a,
      d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate--MK-801, in rats. The noradrenergic
      system was lesioned with N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine
      hydrochloride--DSP4 (60 mg/kg IP). MK-801 increased the locomotor activity and
      rearing. DSP4 significantly further increased the hyperlocomotor activity,
      circling (especially to the left side), sniffing, rolling, and falling that were
      induced by MK-801. These results showed that destruction of the noradrenergic
      system increased MK-801-hyperlocomotor activity, ataxia and stereotypy.

PMID- 9972688
TI  - The role of angiotensin II and of its receptor subtypes in the acetic acid
      induced abdominal constriction test.
AB  - The effects of angiotensin II (AngII), the AngII analogues saralasin--[Sar1,
      Ala8]AngII, sarmesin--[Sar1Tyr(Me)4]AngII, the nonpeptide AngII receptor
      antagonists DuP753 (losartan) (for AT1 receptor subtype) and PD123319 (for AT2
      receptor subtype), as well as combinations of AngII and each of its analogues and
      receptor antagonists, administered intracerebroventricularly (ICV), were studied
      on mice using the acetic acid-induced abdominal constrictions test (acetic acid
      1% intraperitoneally, IP). The abdominal constrictions were counted at 5-min
      intervals for 30 min. AngII at doses of 0.05, 0.1, and 1 microg exerted a dose
      dependent antinociceptive effect. Saralasin, sarmesin, losartan, and PD123319
      exhibited a dose-dependent effect on nociception: they either increased or
      decreased it. PD123319 antagonized the antinociceptive effect of AnglI while
      losartan was ineffective. The importance of AT2 receptor subtype for the
      nociception reducing effect of AngII is considered.

PMID- 9972690
TI  - Cerebrolysin ameliorates performance deficits, and neuronal damage in
      apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.
AB  - Recent studies suggest that Cerebrolysin improves behavioral performance by
      affecting synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. The main objective of this
      study was to determine if Cerebrolysin administration ameliorates the
      neurodegenerative and performance deficits in aged apolipoprotein E (apoE)
      deficient mice. ApoE-deficient mice treated with Cerebrolysin showed a
      significant improved performance in the Morris water maze, compared to saline
      treated apoE-deficient mice. Although the improved performance in the
      Cerebrolysin-treated apoE-deficient mice was associated with restoration of the
      neuronal structure, the poor learning ability of saline-treated apoE-deficient
      mice was related to the a disrupted synaptodendritic structure. This study
      supports the contention that Cerebrolysin might have a neurotrophic effect in
      vivo.

PMID- 9972691
TI  - Modulation of cocaine-induced antinociception by opioid-receptor agonists.
AB  - Cocaine can produce antinociception in a number of animal models. The present
      experiments were designed to determine if opioid receptor agonists modulate
      cocaine-induced antinociception in rats. Cocaine produced a dose-dependent
      increase in antinociception in the hot-plate, but not paw-pressure, test. The
      combination of cocaine and morphine or [D-Pen2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE)
      produced results no greater than simple additivity in the hot-plate test.
      However, the combination of cocaine and morphine produced greater antinociception
      than morphine alone in the paw-pressure test. A low dose of U69,593 potentiated
      the effects of cocaine in the hot-plate test. In contrast, cocaine attenuated the
      effect of U69,593 in the paw-pressure test. Both naltrexone and the selective
      kappa-opioid receptor antagonist nor-binaltorphamine (nor-BNI) blocked the
      potentiation of cocaine-induced antinociception by U69,593. The combination of
      U69,593 and cocaine can produce superadditive or subadditive effects, depending
      upon the doses and antinociceptive assay used.

PMID- 9972692
TI  - Neuronal sparing and behavioral effects of the antiapoptotic drug, (-)deprenyl,
      following kainic acid administration.
AB  - (-)Deprenyl is an irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B)
      frequently used as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease.
      Recent evidence, however, has found that deprenyl's metabolites are associated
      with an antiapoptotic action within certain neuronal populations. Interestingly,
      deprenyl's antiapoptotic actions appear not to depend upon the inhibition of MAO
      B. Due to a paucity of information surrounding (-)deprenyl's ability to spare
      neurons in vivo, a series of studies was conducted to further investigate this
      phenomenon within an apoptotic neuronal death model: kainic acid induced
      excitotoxicity. Results indicated that (-)deprenyl increased hippocampal neuronal
      survival compared to saline-matched controls following kainic acid insult.
      Furthermore, it was discovered that (-)deprenyl treatment could be stopped 14
      days following CNS insult by kainate, with evidence of neuronal sparing still
      present by day 28. In open-field locomotor activity testing of kainate-treated
      animals, those given subsequent (-)deprenyl treatment showed habituation curves
      similar to control subjects, while saline-treated animals did not. Given
      deprenyl's antiapoptotic actions, it is proposed that (-)deprenyl may be
      beneficial in the treatment of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases where
      evidence of apoptosis exists, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease, by
      slowing the disease process itself.

PMID- 9972693
TI  - Electrical stimulation of nucleus paragigantocellularis induces opioid withdrawal
      like behaviors in the rat.
AB  - To examine a role for the medullary nucleus paragigantocellularis (PGi) in
      mediation of the symptomatology of opioid withdrawal, bilateral electrical
      stimulation of the PGi was performed in conscious, unrestrained, opioid naive
      (nondependent) rats. A characteristic series of behaviors was elicited during
      each 30-min session of PGi stimulation. The profile of these behaviors resembled
      qualitatively, but was not quantitatively identical with those seen during
      precipitated withdrawal from opioid dependence. This behavioral syndrome has been
      termed, opioid withdrawal-like behavior. The opioid withdrawal-like behaviors
      were voltage-, but not frequency-, dependent. Tolerance to repeated stimulation
      of the PGi did not develop following a series of 30-min runs of stimulation over
      3.5 h. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of the nonselective opioid
      antagonist, naloxone, significantly decreased (by 40-50%) the intensity of
      stimulation-induced behavioral responses, as did injections of either the mu
      selective (beta-funaltrexamine, beta-FNA) or the delta-selective (naltrindole,
      NTI) opioid antagonists. In contrast, similar i.c.v. injections of the kappa
      selective antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI), did not block behavioral
      responses to PGi stimulation. The results indicate that activation of the PGi by
      electrical stimulation can elicit behaviors similar to those observed during
      opioid withdrawal. Endogenous opioids, acting through mu- and delta-, but not
      kappa-opioid receptors, participate in mediating opioid withdrawal-like behaviors
      induced by PGi stimulation.

PMID- 9972694
TI  - Effects of nicotine and stress on startle amplitude and sensory gating depend on
      rat strain and sex.
AB  - We recently reported that 14 days of nicotine administration (12 mg/kg/day)
      reduced acoustic startle reflex amplitude and impaired prepulse inhibition (PPI)
      of startle in male and female Long-Evans rats. These findings contrasted with
      reports of nicotine-induced enhancement of startle and PPI in Sprague-Dawley (a
      different strain) male rats. The present experiment administered 0, 6, or 12
      mg/kg/day nicotine via osmotic minipump for 14 days to 120 Sprague-Dawley rats
      (male and female) and to 120 Long-Evans rats (male and female) and examined ASR
      and PPI. Half of the subjects also were stressed by immobilization once each day
      to examine nicotine-stress interactions. Nicotine enhanced ASR and PPI responses
      of Sprague-Dawley rats but impaired these responses in Long-Evans rats,
      regardless of sex. Effects of stress were complex and depended on strain, sex,
      and drug dose. These findings indicate that effects of nicotine on measures of
      reactivity (ASR) and sensory gating (PPI) depend on genotype and that nicotine
      stress interactions depend on genotype, sex, and nicotine dosage.

PMID- 9972695
TI  - Acutely administered clozapine does not modify naloxone-induced withdrawal
      jumping in morphine-dependent mice.
AB  - A direct comparison of the effects of clozapine and haloperidol upon naloxone
      induced withdrawal jumping was investigated in morphine-dependent mice, as this
      syndrome may provide a behavioral baseline to differentiate between the two
      neuroleptics. Neither clozapine ((0.03-3.0 mg/kg s.c., n=9-10) nor haloperidol
      (0.01-04).1 mg/kg s.c., n=9-10) affected withdrawal jumping precipitated by 0.1
      or 15.0 mg/kg i.p. naloxone in morphine-dependent mice. Measurement of locomotor
      activity immediately prior to naloxone administration revealed a dose-dependent
      reduction in activity by both compounds, indicating pharmacological effects at
      the time of naloxone-induced withdrawal. Clonidine (0.02-0.5 mg/kg s.c., n=9-10)
      also had no affect upon withdrawal jumping, although reductions in locomotor
      activity prior to naloxone administration were detected. There is no difference
      in the effects of acutely administered clozapine and haloperidol upon naloxone
      precipitated withdrawal jumping in morphine-dependent mice.

PMID- 9972696
TI  - Antinociceptive effects of cocaine in rhesus monkeys.
AB  - The antinociceptive effects of (-)cocaine, (+)cocaine, and cocaine methiodide
      administered alone and in combination with the mu-opioid agonist morphine were
      evaluated in rhesus monkeys. The shaved tails of four rhesus monkeys were exposed
      to warm water (42, 46, 50, and 54 degrees C), and tail-withdrawal latencies (20-s
      maximum) from each temperature were determined. (-)Cocaine (0.032-1.8 mg/kg,
      s.c.) produced dose-dependent antinociceptive effects and enhanced the
      antinociceptive effects of morphine. Neither (+)cocaine nor cocaine methiodide
      (0.1-10 mg/kg, s.c.) produced antinociception or altered the effects of morphine.
      Pretreatment with the serotonin receptor antagonist mianserin (0.1-04).32 mg/kg,
      i.m.) produced dose-dependent rightward shifts in the dose-effect curve for (
      )cocaine alone, and attenuated (-)cocaine-induced enhancement of the
      antinociceptive effects of morphine. However, mianserin (0.32 mg/kg, i.m.) did
      not alter the antinociceptive effects of morphine alone. These results suggest
      that in rhesus monkeys, the effects of cocaine on nociception may be
      stereoselective and centrally mediated. These findings further suggest that the
      antinociceptive effects of cocaine in primates may be mediated at least in part
      by cocaine's effects on serotonergic systems.

PMID- 9972697
TI  - Intraaccumbens raclopride attenuates amphetamine-induced locomotion, but fails to
      prevent the response-reinstating properties of food reinforcement.
AB  - It has been well established that the presentation of a single reinforced trial
      in the midst of extinction results in a reinstatement of the previously
      reinforced operant response. In previous experiments, we have shown that
      systemically applied raclopride (a selective dopamine D2 receptor antagonist)
      dose dependently blocked the response-reinstating properties of food
      reinforcement, while SCH39166 (a selective dopamine D1 receptor antagonist) did
      not (11). The current experiments investigated the possible role of the nucleus
      accumbens in these actions of raclopride. In the first of two experiments, hungry
      rats were trained to traverse a straight runway for food reinforcement, a
      response that was then weakened through a series of extinction trials. On a
      single treatment trial, subjects were infused with one of three doses of
      intraaccumbens raclopride (0.0, 2.5, or 5.0 microg/0.5 microl/side) just prior to
      a reinforced trial. Twenty-four hours later, a single test trial was run in an
      unbaited runway. The results demonstrate that the prior day's reinforced trial
      produced a reinstatement of operant runway performance that was unaltered by
      intraaccumbens applications of raclopride. Two days later, the same animals were
      tested in a second experiment investigating the effects of intraaccumbens
      raclopride on amphetamine-induced locomotion. Subjects were pretreated with 1.0
      mg/kg s.c. amphetamine prior to a 90-min locomotor activity session. The
      following day, subjects were again pretreated with amphetamine, but this time
      with a challenge dose of raclopride. Results demonstrate that the same raclopride
      doses that produced no effect in the response-reinstating experiment produced, in
      the same rats, a dose-dependent attenuation in amphetamine-induced locomotion.
      These data suggest that dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens may not,
      in and of themselves, be necessary for the response-reinstating effects of food
      reinforcement.

PMID- 9972698
TI  - Chronic amphetamine facilitates immunosuppression in response to a novel aversive
      stimulus: reversal by haloperidol pretreatment.
AB  - The effect of chronic d-amphetamine sulfate (AMPH) treatment (nine daily
      injections, 2 mg/kg i.p.) on subsequent foot shock stress-induced immunological
      response was investigated. In addition, the potential role of a dopaminergic (DA)
      mechanism in the development of chronic AMPH-induced changes in stress-influenced
      immune responses was characterized. Exposure to foot shock stress decreased the
      percentage of T-lymphocytes, and reduced the delayed-type hypersensitivity
      reaction (DTH) in chronically AMPH-pretreated rats relative to vehicle-treated
      controls. Both of those stress-induced immunosuppressive responses were no longer
      evident when AMPH-pretreated rats were injected with haloperidol (HAL, 1 mg/kg
      i.p.) 30 min prior to each daily AMPH injection. The present findings are
      indicative of a modulatory role for dopamine in the facilitating process induced
      by AMPH on stress-induced immunosuppressive effects.

PMID- 9972699
TI  - Cyclic withdrawal from endogenous and exogenous progesterone increases kainic
      acid and perforant pathway induced seizures.
AB  - Antiseizure effects of progesterone (P) and its metabolite, 5alpha-pregnan-3alpha
      ol-20-one (3alpha, 5alpha-THP) were investigated following continuous vs.
      discontinuous P exposure. In Experiments 1, 32 cycling Long-Evans rats were
      administered kainic acid (32 mg/kg SC), ictal behavior was examined, and plasma
      3alpha,5alpha-THP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Proestrus/estrus rats
      showed less ictal activity and had elevated 3alpha,5alpha-THP levels prior to
      kainic acid compared to diestrus/metestrus subjects. In Experiment 2, 49
      ovariectomized (ovx) rats were SC injected with estradiol benzoate (EB; 10
      microg) and P (500 microg), to mimic estrus, or sesame oil vehicle (0.2 cc); all
      subjects were administered kainic acid. Rats tested with EB+P showed a reduced
      mean duration of full seizures and increased 3alpha,5alpha-THP, whereas those
      tested 24 h following EB+P had more tonic clonic seizures and lower 3alpha,5alpha
      THP concentrations, comparable to ovx control animals. In Experiment 3, 49 ovx
      rats were stereotaxically implanted with bipolar electrodes into the perforant
      pathway. Prior to perforant pathway stimulation, rats received cholesterol or
      EB+P capsules for 1 month, continuously or intermittently. Irrespective of
      continuous or intermittent EB+P, the presence of progestins at the time of
      perforant pathway stimulation reduced partial seizure activity. Continuous EB+P
      capsules resulted in increased 3alpha,5alpha-THP levels compared to all other
      conditions, and less damage in the hilus of the hippocampus, compared to
      intermittent EB+P. These data confirm that P and 3alpha,5alpha-THP have
      antiseizure effects, and further suggest that repeated cycles of endogenous or
      exogenous P and/or 3alpha,5alpha-THP withdrawal influences seizure threshold
      and/or hippocampal integrity.

PMID- 9972700
TI  - Effects of SCH23390 and raclopride on anxiety-like behavior in rats tested in the
      black-white box.
AB  - Dopamine (DA) systems are activated by stress, and this response has as a
      corollary the induction of stress-related behaviors such as anxiety. In mice, D2
      receptor blockade produces an apparent anxiogenic effect, although locomotor
      impairments might have been present. We investigated the effects of D1 and D2
      antagonists on a variety of anxiety-like behaviors induced by the black-white box
      in rats and carefully screened for any locomotor deficits. Adult male Lister
      hooded rats were injected with either the D1 antagonist SCH23390 (0. 0.1. or 0.25
      mg/kg i.p.) or the D2 antagonist raclopride (0, 0.05, or 0.10 mg/kg i.p.) 20 min
      prior to being placed into the white chamber of the black-white box (n = 8
      10/group). Rats were videotaped and the tapes were scored for latency to exit the
      white chamber, latency to reenter the white chamber, time spent in the white
      chamber, intercompartmental crossing, and locomotor activity. ANOVA revealed no
      effect of the D1 antagonist SCH23390 on any behavioral measure. However, the
      raclopride-treated rats left the white area sooner than control rats (p < 0.01).
      Raclopride-treated rats also exhibited delayed reentry times to the white chamber
      compared to control rats (p < 0.01) and spent significantly less time in the
      white chamber (p < 0.05). Neither SCH23390 nor raclopride affected locomotor
      activity in a manner that confounded these behaviors. These results confirm that
      D2 receptor blockade enhances anxiety in rats tested in the black-white box.

PMID- 9972701
TI  - Behavior and drug measurements in Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats after
      ethanol-cocaine exposure.
AB  - Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats show differential behavioral responses to
      cocaethylene, a metabolite derived from the simultaneous ingestion of ethanol and
      cocaine. Such differences may also be manifested when these outbred strains are
      exposed to ethanol and cocaine. To test this hypothesis, both strains were fed an
      ethanol-diet (8.7% v/v) in conjunction with cocaine (15 mg/kg) injections for 15
      days. The following parameters were evaluated: (a) ethanol consumption, (b)
      cocaine-induced behavioral activity, (c) blood ethanol levels, (d) blood, liver,
      or brain cocaine and cocaethylene levels, and (e) liver catalase and esterase
      activity. We found that Long-Evans rats drank significantly more of the ethanol
      diet relative to the Sprague-Dawley line during the first few days of the test
      session. This rat phenotype also differed significantly from the Sprague-Dawley
      line in terms of behavioral activity after cocaine administration. Blood ethanol
      levels did not differ between strains. Similarly, we failed to detect strain
      dependent differences in blood, liver, or brain cocaine levels as measured by gas
      chromatography/mass spectrometry. Cocaethylene levels, however, were higher in
      blood and brain of Long-Evans relative to Sprague-Dawley cohorts. Although the
      ethanol-cocaine regimen produced a marked suppression of catalase and esterase
      activity compared with control-fed rats, this suppression was roughly equivalent
      in both rat phenotypes. These data are discussed in the context of genotypic
      background and vulnerability to polysubstance abuse.

PMID- 9972702
TI  - Ontogeny of ethanol-induced locomotor activity and hypothermia differences in
      selectively bred FAST and SLOW mice.
AB  - The replicate lines of selectively bred FAST and SLOW mice differ in locomotor
      response to 2 g/kg ethanol (EtOH). FAST mice show enhanced locomotion; SLOW mice
      exhibit no change or locomotor depression. Little is known about the responses of
      FAST and SLOW mice to EtOH during development. We assessed the locomotor
      responses of FAST and SLOW mice at postnatal days (P) 10, 15, 30, and 60. A
      genetically correlated response, EtOH-induced hypothermia, was also investigated.
      Although all animals demonstrated their respective selection phenotypes in
      adulthood, developing FAST mice exhibited ethanol stimulation by P15 (replicate
      1) or P30 (replicate 2). At these ages, responses of FAST mice differed from
      those of SLOW. The stimulant response in FAST mice was adult-like at P30. EtOH
      induced hypothermia was seen in SLOW mice by P15. These data suggest that
      sensitivity to the locomotor stimulant effects of EtOH changes during postnatal
      development, and may mirror developmental profiles for certain neurotransmitter
      systems.

PMID- 9972703
TI  - 3H-L-glutamate binding and 3H-D-aspartate release from hippocampal tissue during
      the development of pentylenetetrazole kindling in rats.
AB  - Previous studies have proposed that there is an increase in the density of
      glutamate binding sites after pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) kindling, whereas the
      glutamate release is not altered. Little is known about the time course of these
      changes. Therefore, we studied 3H-L-glutamate binding to hippocampal membranes
      and K+-stimulated 3H-D-aspartate release from hippocampal slices of rats given
      PTZ 3, 7, and 13 times up to a fully kindling state. After three PTZ injections,
      amino acid release from hippocampal tissue slices was significantly enhanced in
      comparison to controls, whereas 3H-L-glutamate binding was not altered. After
      seven injections of PTZ, specific glutamate binding to hippocampal membranes
      tended to increase, and K+-stimulated 3H-D-aspartate release from rat hippocampal
      slices was normalized. The kindled state characterized by generalized clonic
      tonic seizures was reached after 13 PTZ injections, and it was accompanied by an
      enhancement in the density of glutamate binding sites, whereas the chemically
      evoked amino acid release remained unchanged. It can be concluded that the amino
      acid release is increased in the early phase of PTZ kindling development, whereas
      after completion of kindling, the density of excitatory amino acid binding sites
      is enhanced.

PMID- 9972704
TI  - Latent inhibition in smokers vs. nonsmokers: interaction with number or intensity
      of preexposures?
AB  - Latent inhibition (LI) refers to the slowing of learning about a stimulus after
      preexposure, i.e., previous presentation of the stimulus without any consequence.
      This report summarizes results of four studies investigating the effect of being
      a smoker or nonsmoker on auditory LI as a function of procedural parameters,
      namely number (10 vs. 30) and intensity (low vs. high) of preexposed stimuli. In
      general, the number of preexposures did not affect LI, whereas low-intensity
      stimuli led to greater LI than high-intensity stimuli. These findings underline
      the importance of automatic vs. controlled processing of the preexposed stimuli
      for the development of human LI. Smokers showed increased LI compared to
      nonsmokers in low-intensity task versions as well as compared to both smokers and
      nonsmokers in high-intensity versions. These findings may indicate that nicotinic
      effects on LI depend on the robustness of LI in the control group.

PMID- 9972705
TI  - Ascorbic acid antagonizes ethanol-induced locomotor activity in the open-field.
AB  - It has been reported that ascorbic acid (AA) antagonizes the physiological and
      behavioral effects of dopamine (DA). AA reduces locomotor activity induced by
      dopaminergic agonist drugs. Also, AA amplifies the action of antidopaminergic
      drugs. Ethanol, like other drugs, produces a release of DA in the mesolimbic
      pathway, and at some doses, induces locomotor activity in mice. The ethanol
      induced locomotor activity could be dopamine-dependent because it can be reduced
      by antidopaminergic drugs. In the present study, we investigated whether an acute
      administration of AA reduces ethanol-induced locomotor behavior. AA, at doses
      (0.0, 21.85, 87.5, 175, 350. and 1400 mg/kg) was injected i.p. into mice, 0, 30,
      60, or 90 min before an i.p. injection of ethanol (0.0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2
      g/kg). Locomotor activity was evaluated in open-field chambers. Our results
      showed that AA (350 and 1400 mg/kg) reduced ethanol-induced locomotor activity
      when injected 30 min before ethanol treatment. This effect was lost when ethanol
      was administered 90 min after AA injection. AA also reduced locomotor activity
      produced by d-amphetamine and methanol. The results support a pro-dopaminergic
      action of ethanol, and suggest a common dopaminergic pathway for the drugs of
      abuse in locomotor activity.

PMID- 9972706
TI  - Ontogeny of muscarinic cholinergic supersensitivity in the Flinders Sensitive
      Line rat.
AB  - The present study examined the ontogeny of muscarinic sensitivity in the Flinders
      Sensitive Line (FSL) rat, a model for human depression that was selectively bred
      for increased cholinergic function. In most cases, the FSL rats were more
      sensitive to the muscarinic agonists, oxotremorine and oxotremorine-M. early
      postnatally [13 days postpartum (P13)], suggesting that muscarinic
      supersensitivity is an inherent characteristic of FSL rats. The emergence of
      increased sensitivity to muscarinic agonists in FSL rats did not correlate with
      either the emergence of subsensitivity to the muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine,
      at P60 or with increased muscarinic (M1 or M2) receptor density. Relative to FRL
      rats, FSL rats did not exhibit increases in muscarinic receptor binding until P32
      in the striatum and hippocampus and P120 in the hypothalamus. These results are
      consistent with the suggestions that (a) muscarinic supersensitivity, which
      appears early in development, may be associated with depressive disorders, and
      (b) the differences in muscarinic sensitivity early postnatally cannot be
      accounted for by an increase in the number of muscarinic receptors, per se.

PMID- 9972708
TI  - The effects of acute and repeated pyridostigmine bromide administration on
      response acquisition with immediate and delayed reinforcement.
AB  - This experiment was designed to assess the effects of acute and repeated
      administration of pyridostigmine bromide (a carbamate with prophylactic and
      therapeutic uses) on response acquisition. Experimentally naive, male Sprague
      Dawley rats were exposed to a situation in which lever presses were either
      immediately followed by food-pellet presentation or after a 16-s resetting delay.
      Different groups of rats received either one acute administration of
      pyridostigmine bromide (10 mg/kg, by gavage) or repeated pyridostigmine
      administration for 7 days (1.5 mg/kg/day, by gavage). Other groups were treated
      with distilled water for the same period of time. Both acute and repeated
      pyridostigmine bromide administration decreased serum cholinesterase levels by
      approximately 50%, but neither treatment affected brain cholinesterase levels in
      our assay. Acute and repeated drug administration produced the same behavioral
      effects. Subjects exposed to the 0-s delay conditions obtained many more food
      pellets than those exposed to the 16-s delay conditions. Administration of
      pyridostigmine bromide delayed the onset of responding in some, but not all, of
      the subjects in the treated groups, independent of the delay condition to which
      they were exposed. Many more responses were observed on an inoperative lever
      during the 16-s delay conditions than during the 0-s delay conditions, especially
      during the 16-s delay condition in which subjects had received acute vehicle
      administration. Whether or not these effects of small doses of pyridostigmine
      bromide on response acquisition are of central or peripheral origin will need to
      be determined in future studies, as response acquisition in the present
      experiment may have been affected by pyridostigmine's effects on gastrointestinal
      functioning and/or motor activity.

PMID- 9972707
TI  - Involvement of intracellular calcium in morphine tolerance in mice.
AB  - Opioid analgesic tolerance is associated with a disruption in Ca++ homeostasis.
      Drugs reducing Ca++ influx can prevent and reverse tolerance. The hypothesis was
      tested that both Ca++ influx and mobilization from intracellular pools maintains
      the expression of morphine tolerance. Ca++ modulating drugs were injected ICV at
      doses not affecting morphine's potency in placebo pellet-implanted mice, in order
      to determine whether tolerance would be reversed in morphine pellet-implanted
      mice. The Ca++ chelator EGTA significantly reversed tolerance. The Ca++ channel
      antagonists nifedipine and omega-conotoxin GVIA also reversed tolerance. The role
      of intracellular Ca++ was investigated using the membrane permeable intracellular
      Ca++ chelator EGTA-AM. EGTA-AM reversed tolerance at lower morphine doses, but
      not at higher morphine doses. Thus, mobilization of intracellular Ca++
      contributes to the expression of tolerance. Finally, 1,4-dihydropyridine
      sensitive Ca++ channels are known to stimulate Ca++-induced Ca++ release (CICR)
      from Ca++/caffeine-sensitive microsomal pools possessing ryanodine receptors. We
      examined whether blocking Ca++ mobilization from these pools with ryanodine would
      reverse morphine tolerance. Ryanodine's effects were similar to EGTA-AM.
      Tolerance was reversed at lower morphine doses, but not at higher doses. Thus,
      morphine tolerance appears to be associated with increases in Ca++ influx and
      mobilization from Ca++/caffeine-sensitive pools.

PMID- 9972709
TI  - Stress and a glycinergic intervention interact in the modulation of MK-801
      elicited mouse popping behavior.
AB  - The ability of D-cycloserine, a partial glycine agonist, to modulate mouse
      popping behavior elicited by MK-801, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist,
      was studied in unstressed and stressed mice. In unstressed animals, D-cycloserine
      (5.6 and 10 mg/kg) attenuated the ability of MK-801 (1.0 mg/kg) to elicit this
      behavior. However, the ability of D-cycloserine to attenuate MK-801-elicited
      mouse-popping behavior was not evident in stressed mice, 24 h after they were
      forced to swim for up to 10 min in cold water. Thus, the therapeutic value of
      glycinergic interventions may be limited by environmental factors, such as
      stress.

PMID- 9972710
TI  - The history of the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

PMID- 9972711
TI  - Prevention of unfavorable scars using early pulse dye laser treatments: a
      preliminary report.
AB  - Hypertrophic scarring occurs frequently in the trunk and extremities, and
      sporadically in other areas even under favorable circumstances. Unfortunately,
      the existing methods of scar manipulation have not been effective in preventing
      these unfavorable scars. Established hypertrophic scars have been treated by
      Anderson and Parrish, Alster, and others using the 585-nm pulse dye laser. The
      current study is the first report of prevention of hypertrophic scarring using
      the 585-nm pulse dye laser in a large group of elective and traumatic incisions.
      Treatment within the first few weeks resulted in faster resolution of scar
      stiffness and erythema, and less frequent development of hypertrophic scarring.
      An unexpected finding was the substantial improvement in the quality of scarring
      in all areas of the body, attributed to the excellent color match of the treated
      scars. These observations suggest that early pulse dye laser treatments can
      change fundamentally the physiology of wound healing if applied in the early
      phases. This report provides the first clinical correlation between prophylactic
      laser reduction of scar microcirculation and prevention of excessive scar
      formation.

PMID- 9972712
TI  - 35 mm film vs. digital photography for patient documentation: is it time to
      change?
AB  - 35 mm photography is currently the standard method of documenting a patient's
      appearance and recording the post-operative changes. With rapidly advancing
      technology, the digital system is now capable of providing vivid pictures that
      have multiple advantages over conventional 35 mm photography. Namely, digital
      pictures are comparatively inexpensive to take, can be stored as digital
      information, easily retrieved, and immediate viewing and imaging are possible.
      For many applications in plastic surgery patient documentation, digital
      photography is now more affordable and flexible than the 35 mm film system. The
      following is a cost and quality comparison between the two systems.

PMID- 9972713
TI  - Combination therapy: utilization of CO2 and Erbium:YAG lasers for skin
      resurfacing.
AB  - Skin resurfacing with carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers is a commonly used method for
      skin rejuvenation. With these lasers, there is substantial skin improvement with
      lessening of rhytids and skin discoloration, and noticeable skin tightening.
      However, there is also significant morbidity associated with their use. To
      decrease the healing and erythema times, other types of lasers have been
      developed. The author discusses the practice of combining the CO2 and Erbium:YAG
      lasers for limiting thermal injury. For deeper rhytids in the periorbital,
      perioral, and forehead regions, multiple passes with the CO2 laser are often the
      preferred treatment. For moderate rhytids, the CO2 laser can be used for the
      first pass followed by one to multiple passes with the Erbium:YAG laser.
      Erbium:YAG lasers when used alone are beneficial for removing fine wrinkles and
      discolorations. Combining these lasers results in both rhytid improvement and
      decreased morbidity.

PMID- 9972714
TI  - The mastectomy specimen as a model for TRAM flap fabrication in immediate breast
      reconstruction.
AB  - Traditionally, most of transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap
      shaping takes place after transfer of the flap to the chest. As skin-sparing
      mastectomies become more commonplace, flap tailoring becomes a more difficult and
      lengthy process due to lack of exposure through these small incisions. Immediate
      breast reconstruction was performed on 40 patients using the mastectomy specimen
      as a model for TRAM flap fabrication. Detailed measurements of the specimen were
      taken and a template was created as a guide for shaping the flap. All flaps were
      shaped on the abdomen, and additional tailoring was not necessary after transfer
      to the chest. Significant differences in weight were recorded between the shaped
      flap and the specimen. Size, shape, and orientation were found to be more
      reliable parameters in matching the flap to the specimen than approximating their
      weights. This approach allows for greater accuracy in shaping the flap, reduces
      operative time, and avoids flap manipulation after transfer.

PMID- 9972715
TI  - Wound complications of abdominoplasty in obese patients.
AB  - The records of 90 patients who underwent an abdominoplasty at the University of
      Virginia Health Sciences Center were analyzed to determine the effect of obesity
      on the incidence of complications after this surgery. The study patients were
      divided into three groups-obese, borderline, and nonobese-based on the degree to
      which their preoperative weights varied from their ideal body weight. A history
      of previous bariatric surgery was also analyzed to determine what impact that
      might have on subsequent abdominoplasty. Results showed that 80% of obese
      patients had complications compared with the borderline and nonobese patients,
      who had complication rates of 33% and 32.5% respectively (p = 0.001). Previous
      gastric bypass surgery had no significant effect on the incidence of
      postabdominoplasty complications. Based on these findings the authors conclude
      that obesity at the time of abdominoplasty has a profound influence on the wound
      complication rate following surgery, regardless of any previous weight reduction
      surgery.

PMID- 9972716
TI  - Functional outcomes of microsurgical reconstruction of delayed complications
      following head and neck cancer ablation.
AB  - Treatment of large and/or invasive head and neck cancers results in defects that
      are complex, such that immediate free tissue transfer provides the best
      functional outcomes. Consequently, delayed use of free flaps in such patients is
      seldom seen in today's practice. The purpose of this study was to analyze a
      recent experience of such delayed microsurgical procedures to evaluate their
      efficacy and outcomes. Between November 1995 and May 1997, 13 patients underwent
      free flap reconstruction of residual or secondary defects following initial head
      and neck cancer ablation. Preoperative status was categorized as open wounds in 8
      patients, oral incontinence in 9 patients, poor speech in 5 patients, and
      difficulty swallowing in 7 patients. Microvascular reconstruction was performed
      for the mandible and floor of the mouth/chin in 7 patients, cervical esophagus in
      2 patients, sinus cavity in 2 patients, and one patient each underwent
      microvascular reconstruction of the orbit and cranial base. The free flaps
      utilized were fibular osteocutaneous (N = 6), radial forearm fasciocutaneous (N =
      2), rectus abdominis (N = 2), jejunum (N = 1), radial forearm osteocutaneous (N =
      1), and serratus (N = 1). There were no flap failures and the overall
      complication rate was 62%. Functional outcomes were best for the static
      conditions of open wound and oral incontinence, each demonstrating a 75% and 78%
      substantial improvement respectively. Conversely, functional improvement in
      dynamic functions such as poor speech and difficulty swallowing fared less well.
      Only 60% of patients with poor speech and 14% with difficulty swallowing showed
      significant improvement despite aggressive speech and swallowing therapy. These
      data show that the functional outcomes of free flap reconstruction of delayed
      head and neck cancer complications are inferior to those expected with immediate
      reconstruction using free tissue transfer. Nevertheless, reconstruction can be
      very useful with a high likelihood of flap survival and patient improvement.

PMID- 9972717
TI  - A new technique for the treatment of flexor digitorum profundus tendon avulsion.
AB  - Current treatment of flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) avulsion with complex
      external wire or button fixation is associated with significant morbidity. A new
      method of internal fixation avoids the complications that are associated with
      previous techniques. Through a volar Bruner incision, the profundus tendon is
      retrieved. A transverse dorsal incision is made and two holes are drilled. A
      double-arm suture is passed through the tendon and bone, and is tied dorsally.
      Both incisions are closed, leaving the repair entirely internal. This simple
      technique produces a solid reinsertion of the FDP tendon and avoids damage to the
      nail bed and matrix. Internal fixation eliminates nail plate deformities, reduces
      cost, speeds recovery, and produces a stable reconstruction.

PMID- 9972718
TI  - Clinical application of a nonpenetrating microvascular stapling device for
      vascularized free tissue transfer.
AB  - It is essential to develop a method that is technically easier and faster to
      perform microvascular anastomosis. Therefore the authors have utilized a
      nonpenetrating microvascular stapling device (VCS; Auto Suture, Tokyo, Japan).
      Eight vascularized free tissue transfers were performed using this stapling
      device. All of the transferred tissues were grafted successfully. The time
      required to perform the stapled microvascular anastomosis ranged from 8 to 18
      minutes (mean, 12 minutes). Two arterial anastomoses required suture repairs
      because they could not be repaired with the use of this stapling device due to
      thickened vessel walls and intimal dissections. The microvascular stapling device
      proved useful for vascularized free tissue transfers, but the vessels suitable
      for this technique should be chosen carefully. Not only the surgeon but also the
      assistant must be experienced in microscopic surgery.

PMID- 9972719
TI  - Predictors of patient satisfaction in an outpatient plastic surgery clinic.
AB  - Although outcome measurement in medical care has traditionally included various
      aspects of clinical and functional status, patient satisfaction is another
      important metric in the assessment of health care quality. Determining which
      factors contribute most to patient satisfaction can assist health care providers
      in improving care. In an era of diminishing resources, satisfaction ratings can
      further aid third-party payers in determining who provides those services. The
      authors used the ordinal logistic regression method to develop a predictive model
      for patient satisfaction in an outpatient plastic surgery clinic. Consecutive
      patients who attended a university outpatient plastic surgery clinic were asked
      to complete the Visit Specific Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (VSQ) after
      their clinic visit. Type of clinic (e.g., hand clinic, aesthetic clinic, breast
      clinic) and demographic variables like age, gender, race, and education were
      added to the questionnaire to control for possible confounding effects. The
      authors constructed an ordinal logistic regression model using the overall visit
      response as the dependent variable and the eight other response categories as
      independent variables. A total of 345 patients completed the VSQ, which takes
      each patient less than 2 minutes to complete. The patient response rate was more
      than 95%. Statistically significant predictors included (1) personal manner of
      physician (odds ratio [OR], 18.0; p = 0.0002), (2) time spent with physician (OR,
      4.7; p = 0.0099), (3) length of time to get an appointment (OR, 4.6; p = 0.0055),
      and (4) explanation of what was done (OR, 3.9; p = 0.0263). There was no
      statistically significant association between overall satisfaction scores and the
      following factors: (1) length of wait in the clinic (OR, 2.7; p = 0.0747), (2)
      getting through to the clinic by phone (OR, 0.71; p = 0.5439), (3) convenience of
      the clinic's location (OR, 2.3; p = 0.1368), and (4) technical skills of the
      physician (OR, 1.0; p = 0.9974). The predictive model was adjusted for possible
      confounding due to the type of clinic and demographic variables. In this study
      the most important predictors of patient satisfaction were those related to
      efficient clinic operation (scheduling of appointments and clinic waiting time)
      and the quality of the patient-physician interaction. Clinic facilities (like
      clinic location and ease of phone contact) were not significant predictors.
      Because patients often have difficulty assessing the technical skills of
      physicians, this variable was not a significant predictor. To improve patient
      satisfaction in plastic surgery outpatient clinics, efforts and resources should
      be directed toward expedient and empathic delivery of care.

PMID- 9972720
TI  - Helical crus reconstruction using a postauricular chondrocutaneous flap.
AB  - The authors describe a helical crus reconstruction technique using a
      postauricular chondrocutaneous flap vascularized by the postauricular vessels.
      They used this procedure on 7 patients who had developed a large defect on the
      helical crus following surgery. In each patient the flap design was adjusted to
      fit the form of the defect. All flaps were in easy reach of the defect and all
      flaps survived without any complications. The reconstructed ears had good three
      dimensional form, and the color and texture match was satisfactory. The flap
      donor site was not noticeable because it was hidden behind the ear. Constriction
      did not occur and a good form was maintained. Neither deformity due to scar
      contracture nor absorption of the cartilage was observed.

PMID- 9972721
TI  - Autologous latissimus breast reconstruction in association with the abdominal
      advancement flap: a new refinement in breast reconstruction.
AB  - The authors present a technique that combines autologous latissimus breast
      reconstruction with the thoracoabdominal advancement flap. The aim is to reduce
      the patched effect of the dorsal skin paddle and to minimize scars on the
      reconstructed breast. Fifty patients underwent delayed breast reconstruction
      using this technique from March 1993 through May 1997. Of these 50 patients, 42
      (84%) had unilateral reconstruction and 8 (16%) had two-stage bilateral
      reconstruction at 5- to 7-month intervals. Forty-one patients (82%) had
      previously received radiotherapy of the thoracic wall. The abdominal advancement
      flap allowed subtotal burial of the latissimus dorsi flap (preserving only the
      future nipple-areolar complex) in 40 patients (80%) and total burial in 10
      patients (20%). Reduction surgery was done on the other breast in 17 patients
      (34%) and mastopexy in 3 patients (6%). In 8 patients (16%) the opposite breast
      required mastectomy and reconstruction using an autologous latissimus dorsi flap.
      The aesthetic results, as evaluated by two plastic surgeons on the basis of pre-
      and postoperative photographs, were rated as very good in 44 patients (88%), good
      in 5 patients (10%), and poor in 1 patient (2%). No result was considered bad.
      The main drawback was dorsal seroma, which occurred in 68% of patients but was
      managed easily by repeated aspiration. Subtotal or total burial of the skin
      paddle through the original association of the autologous latissimus dorsi flap
      with the abdominal advancement flap gives markedly improved results by reducing
      the scars on the reconstructed breast, avoiding the patched effect, and providing
      a supple breast with a natural ptotic shape.

PMID- 9972722
TI  - Callotasis in a fasciosteal flap model in rabbits: part II. a new contribution to
      the concept of distraction osteogenesis.
AB  - The basis of lengthening bones at their anatomic locations has been defined in
      detail by many authors. The possibility of distraction osteogenesis in
      vascularized bone grafts and the role of periosteum was investigated in 35
      growing New Zealand White rabbits in four experimental groups: group 1, the
      scintigraphic assessment group (N = 4); group 2, the distraction group with
      intact periosteum (N = 15); group 3, the control group without periosteum in the
      distraction area (N = 6); and group 4, the control group in which the flaps were
      wrapped in silicone leaves (N = 10). Scintigraphy was used to evaluate the
      survival of the bone graft. Metatarsal fasciosteal flaps were fixed by external
      fixators and then subjected to osteotomy. Distraction was started after 10 days
      of osteotomy and continued at 0.5 mm/24 hr for 10 days, with a total elongation
      of 4 to 6 mm. Radiological examination at day 10 of starting the distraction, and
      both radiological and histological examinations at days 15, 20, and 30 were
      performed. In group 1, positive scintigraphic images of the flaps were obtained.
      In group 2, progressive calcification was detected radiologically and mixed-type
      ossification was observed histologically. However, in group 3, distraction
      failed. Group 4 was excluded from the study due to silicone exposition. The
      authors demonstrated that vascularized bone segments can be lengthened, and
      provided information about the importance of periosteum in distraction
      osteogenesis.

PMID- 9972723
TI  - Bipedicled submental island flap for upper lip reconstruction.
AB  - A case of reconstruction of the upper lip with a bipedicled submental flap is
      described. Although the mobility of the flap was restricted, the arterial blood
      supply was abundant by altering the single-pedicled flap into a bipedicled flap.
      This flap is a good color and texture match to the face, and surpasses other
      flaps in reconstruction of the mustache or beard in male patients.

PMID- 9972724
TI  - Surgical treatment for greater sphenoid wing fracture (orbital blow-in fracture).
AB  - The authors present 2 patients with greater sphenoid wing fractures that were
      treated surgically. This type of fracture is classified as a blow-in fracture of
      the lateral orbital wall. The first patient was a 16-year-old boy who was
      involved in a motor vehicle accident. Computed tomography (CT) disclosed a medial
      displacement of the inner wall of the greater sphenoid wing of the left orbit. He
      was unconscious for 3 days. After he recovered consciousness, he presented
      limited abduction of the left eye with diplopia in all gaze directions and mild
      left proptosis. Although these symptoms did not improve for 1 week, displaced
      bone fragments of the greater sphenoid wing were removed via the lateral orbital
      approach. The patient had a good postoperative course with progressive
      improvement in eye movement over the next several weeks. The second patient was a
      22-year-old man whose face was hit in a fight. CT disclosed medial displacement
      of the inner wall of the greater sphenoid wing of the left orbit. Although the
      patient also presented limited abduction of the left eye on admission, this
      symptom improved gradually. However, diplopia in all gaze directions and mild
      left proptosis did not improve. Therefore, the displaced inner wall of the
      greater sphenoid wing was reduced via the lateral orbital approach. The patient
      showed a good postoperative course with progressive improvement over the next
      several weeks. This type of orbital fracture, which is classified as an orbital
      blow-in fracture, is relatively rare. This type of greater sphenoid wing fracture
      is caused by buckling of the orbital wall secondary to severe compression of the
      orbital rim. Surgical treatment using the lateral orbital approach through a
      hemicoronal skin incision afforded a wider operative field and better cosmetic
      result.

PMID- 9972725
TI  - Retrograde intra-arterial infusion of prostaglandin E1 and heparin for the no
      reflow phenomenon after oromandibular reconstruction with a free fibular flap.
AB  - The authors encountered a patient with a tumor of the floor of the mouth in whom
      the no-reflow phenomenon occurred after excision of the lesion and the mandible,
      followed by reconstruction using a free fibular flap. A catheter was inserted
      retrogradely from the point where the peroneal artery had been ligated at the
      time of flap preparation. Continuous intra-arterial infusion of prostaglandin E1
      and heparin was performed, and the flap survived. This method salvaged free flaps
      subject to the no-reflow phenomenon.

PMID- 9972726
TI  - Malignant triton tumor of the maxilla: a patient report.
AB  - Malignant Triton tumor (or malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic
      differentiation) is a rare entity with a very poor prognosis. This is the second
      report of this type of rare and aggressive sarcoma arising in the maxilla. The
      clinical course, therapeutic approach, and histopathological aspects of the case
      are presented.

PMID- 9972727
TI  - Chondroid syringoma of the orbit.
AB  - Chondroid syringoma is a rare subcutaneous tumor that mainly affects the face and
      the neck. The authors present an occurrence in the orbit, which they believe to
      be the first reported at that site. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance
      imaging suggested that the tumor had invaded the globe, but at surgery the mass
      was well circumscribed and did not invade or adhere to other structures. The
      tumor was resected easily under general anesthesia. Epithelial cells of
      characteristic appearance within a chondroid matrix were demonstrated
      histologically. No recurrence has been evident in more than 1 year of follow-up.
      Most chondroid syringomas are benign, but because several cases have exhibited
      malignant behavior, periodic observation following complete resection is
      required.

PMID- 9972728
TI  - The intra-areolar incision for breast augmentation.
AB  - An intra-areolar approach for breast augmentation is described. A circumferential
      incision is made around the nipple, and the surrounding areola undermined.
      Although the resultant incision is small, it is possible to insert a tightly
      folded implant into the submuscular or subglandular plane. The resultant scar is
      camouflaged at the nipple-areolar junction, becoming virtually imperceptible.

PMID- 9972729
TI  - Reduction mammaplasty-the schnur sliding scale revisited.

PMID- 9972730
TI  - Upper lip flap for restoration of nasal lining in full-thickness nasal defects.

PMID- 9972731
TI  - Re: Endometrioma of the abdominal wall following combined abdominoplasty and
      hysterectomy: case report and review of the literature.

PMID- 9972732
TI  - Perioperative information and parental anxiety: the next generation.

PMID- 9972733
TI  - Epidural steroids in treating failed back surgery syndrome.

PMID- 9972734
TI  - Temperature monitoring and management during neuraxial anesthesia.

PMID- 9972735
TI  - Use of a preanesthetic video for facilitation of parental education and
      anxiolysis before pediatric ambulatory surgery.
AB  - In this study, we evaluated the effects of viewing an educational videotape about
      pediatric anesthesia on measures of parental knowledge of anesthesia and
      preoperative anxiety using a randomized, controlled design. During their routine
      preoperative visit, 85 parents of children scheduled to undergo ambulatory
      surgical procedures under general anesthesia were randomized to view either the
      experimental videotape about pediatric anesthesia or a control videotape with no
      medical content. Before and immediately after viewing the assigned videotape,
      parents completed measures of situational anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
      State), preoperative anxiety and need for information (Amsterdam Preoperative
      Anxiety and Information Scale), and anesthesia knowledge (Standard Anesthesia
      Learning Test). Repeated-measures analyses of variance showed that parents who
      viewed the experimental videotape showed a significant increase in anesthesia
      knowledge (P < 0.022) and a significant reduction in their state of anxiety (P <
      0.031), anesthesia-specific anxiety, and need for information (P < 0.0001)
      compared with the control group. These results demonstrated that viewing a
      preoperative educational videotape about pediatric anesthesia can provide
      immediate educational and anxiolytic benefits for parents of children undergoing
      ambulatory surgery. The duration of these benefits remains to be determined.
      IMPLICATIONS: In this study, we demonstrated the benefits of viewing an
      educational videotape about pediatric anesthesia on measures of parental
      knowledge of anesthesia and preoperative anxiety using a randomized, controlled
      design. We found that videotape viewing facilitated preoperative preparation and
      lessened preoperative anxiety.

PMID- 9972736
TI  - Validation of measures of parents' preoperative anxiety and anesthesia knowledge.
AB  - Parents' anxiety about their children's anesthesia may adversely affect the
      children's outcomes and compromise the quality of informed consent. Studies of
      these issues have been limited by the lack of validated measures of parental
      anxiety and knowledge surrounding anesthesia. In the present study, we evaluated
      psychometric properties of the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information
      Scale (APAIS) and the Standard Anesthesia Learning Test (SALT) among 85 parents
      who participated in an evaluation of the effects of a videotape about pediatric
      anesthesia. The results supported the internal consistency, test-retest
      reliability, and concurrent validity of both instruments and documented the
      equivalence of two forms of the SALT. Factor analysis supported the previously
      demonstrated factor structure of the APAIS, further confirming its construct
      validity. We conclude that the APAIS and SALT are reliable and valid measures of
      parental anxiety and knowledge of pediatric anesthesia that can be used for
      clinical and research purposes. IMPLICATIONS: This study verified the reliability
      and validity of two questionnaires for measuring parents' knowledge and anxiety
      about pediatric anesthesia. These questionnaires can be used in further research
      on factors affecting parental anxiety and knowledge before their children's
      surgery.

PMID- 9972737
TI  - Platelet hyporeactivity in young infants during cardiopulmonary bypass.
AB  - Platelet dysfunction is one of the most important factors contributing to a
      postoperative hemorrhagic diathesis in children with congenital heart disease
      undergoing operations requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). However, very
      little is known about the influence of CPB on platelets in neonates and young
      infants. We studied 16 patients--8 young infants (<2 mo old) and 8 children (>12
      mo old)--with congenital heart disease undergoing CPB. Surface density of an
      important platelet adhesive receptor, glycoprotein Ib, and degree of platelet
      activation, indicated by p-selectin positivity, were measured by whole blood flow
      cytometry in samples obtained at seven time points during the operations. We
      found that the percentage of p-selectin-positive platelets increased
      significantly in children, but not in young infants, during CPB. The young infant
      group exhibited a significantly smaller reduction of glycoprotein Ib than the
      child group during CPB (21.0% +/- 12.0% vs 32.7% +/- 18.1%; P < 0.05). Lack of
      CPB-induced increase of p-selectin and a smaller decrease of glycoprotein Ib in
      young infants in the current study suggest reduced platelet reactivity in young
      infants and neonates during CPB. The clinical significance of the reduced
      platelet reactivity in young infants and neonates remains to be determined.
      IMPLICATIONS: Platelets of young infants are less reactive than those of children
      during cardiopulmonary bypass, as determined by the cardiopulmonary bypass
      induced alterations in platelet membrane adhesive receptors.

PMID- 9972738
TI  - The effect of halothane on the amplitude and frequency characteristics of heart
      sounds in children.
AB  - Although continuous auscultation has been used during surgery as a monitor of
      cardiac function for many years, the effect of anesthetics on heart sounds has
      never been quantified. We determined the root mean squared amplitude and
      frequency characteristics (peak frequency, spectral edge, and power ratios) of
      the first (S1) and second (S2) heart sounds in 19 healthy children during
      induction of anesthesia with halothane. In all patients, halothane decreased the
      amplitude of S1 (R2 = 0.87 +/- 0.12) and S2 (R2 = 0.66 +/- 0.33) and the high
      frequency components (>80 Hz) of these sounds. These changes were clearly audible
      and preceded decreases in heart rate and blood pressure. The spectral edge
      decreased for S1 in 18 patients (R2 = 0.73 +/- 0.24) and for S2 in 13 patients
      (R2 = 0.58 +/- 0.25). Peak frequency did not change. The rapidity with which
      myocardial depression and its associated changes in heart sound characteristics
      occurred confirms that continuous auscultation of heart sounds is a useful
      clinical tool for hemodynamic monitoring of anesthetized infants and children.
      IMPLICATIONS: Heart sound characteristics can be used to monitor cardiac function
      during halothane anesthesia in children. The changes occur rapidly and precede
      noticeable changes in heart rate and blood pressure.

PMID- 9972739
TI  - Endobronchial intubation causes an immediate increase in peak inflation pressure
      in pediatric patients.
AB  - Our purpose was to determine whether endobronchial intubation always causes an
      immediate increase in peak inflation pressure and, if so, the magnitude of the
      increase. Fourteen children scheduled for central line placement for prolonged
      antibiotic administration comprised the study group. After routine premedication
      and induction of anesthesia (halothane in oxygen), an endotracheal tube was
      inserted, and its position was verified by auscultation and fluoroscopy. Children
      were mechanically ventilated using a preset volume pressure-limited ventilator
      with a 5-L fresh gas flow. All children received a constant tidal volume using a
      similar circuit, similar tubing, and a similar compression volume. The lowest
      peak inflation pressure to deliver a tidal volume of 15 mL/kg was used. After
      adjusting the respiratory rate (end-tidal CO2 30 mm Hg) and anesthetic level
      (halothane end-tidal 1.2%), the peak inflation pressure at this endotracheal
      position was recorded. The endotracheal tube was advanced into a bronchus, the
      position was verified as above, and peak inflation pressure was recorded. The
      endobronchial tube was then pulled back into the trachea, and placement of the
      central line proceeded. The peak inflation pressure at the endobronchial position
      was significantly greater than the peak inflation pressure at the endotracheal
      position (P < 0.0001). The increase was instantaneous at the endobronchial
      position. Monitoring peak inflation pressure while inserting an endotracheal tube
      and during anesthesia can help to diagnose endobronchial intubation.
      IMPLICATIONS: Monitoring peak inflation pressure while inserting an endotracheal
      tube and during anesthesia can help to diagnose endobronchial intubation.

PMID- 9972740
TI  - The effect of nitroglycerin on pacing-induced changes in myocardial oxygen
      consumption and metabolic coronary vasodilation in patients with coronary artery
      disease.
AB  - In the present study, we assessed the potential effect of nitroglycerin IV (NTG),
      a donor of exogenous nitric oxide, on metabolic coronary flow control in patients
      with coronary artery disease. In 12 patients scheduled for coronary artery
      surgery, arterial blood pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, coronary
      sinus blood flow (continuous thermodilution), myocardial oxygen supply (DVO2),
      and myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) were measured at sinus rhythm and in
      response to atrial pacing at 30 bpm greater than baseline sinus rate. These
      measurements were repeated during infusion of NTG 1 and 2 microg x kg(-1) x min(
      1). At control, in the absence of NTG, MVO2 increased from 13.7 +/- 3.4 mL O2/min
      during sinus rhythm to 19.3 +/- 5.5 mL O2/min during pacing. NTG 1 and 2 microg x
      kg(-1) x min(-1) blunted the pacing-induced increase in MVO2 dose-dependently.
      During NTG 1 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1), MVO2 increased from 12.9 +/- 3.3 mL
      O2/min at sinus rhythm to 17.3 +/- 4.7 mL O2/min during pacing (P = 0.01 versus
      control pacing); during NTG 2 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1), MVO2 increased from 13.4
      +/- 3.3 mL O2/min to 15.9 +/- 3.7 mL O2/min (P = 0.008 versus control pacing).
      However, the pacing-induced increase in DVO2 per mL O2/min increase in MVO2
      (delta DVO2/delta MVO2), was significantly greater during the infusion of NTG 2
      microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) (1.85 +/- 0.56; P = 0.023) compared with control (1.51
      +/- 0.22). This was associated with an increase in coronary sinus hemoglobin
      oxygen saturation (30% +/- 5% at control pacing and 34% +/- 6% during pacing with
      NTG 2 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1); P = 0.018), which indicates that during the
      infusion of NTG, there was more metabolic coronary vasodilation than achievable
      solely on the basis of the metabolic stimulus. IMPLICATIONS: Our findings suggest
      that nitroglycerin, a donor of exogenous nitric oxide, reduces pacing-induced
      increases in myocardial oxygen consumption and enhances metabolic coronary
      vasodilation in patients with coronary artery disease, in whom endogenous nitric
      oxide activity may be reduced.

PMID- 9972741
TI  - Atrial natriuretic peptide attenuates pacing-induced myocardial ischemia during
      general anesthesia in patients with coronary artery disease.
AB  - Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) exerts a dilatory effect on coronary arteries in
      humans. We investigated the effects of ANP on pacing-induced myocardial ischemia
      during enflurane anesthesia in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). In 20
      patients with CAD, myocardial ischemia was induced by atrial pacing before and
      after an i.v. infusion of ANP (50 mg x kg(-1) min(-1), n = 10) or placebo (n =
      10). We studied the effects of ANP or placebo on pacing-induced changes in
      central hemodynamics, myocardial blood flow and regional myocardial indices of
      lactate uptake (RMLU), and oxygen consumption (RMVO2) and extraction (RMO2E). ST
      segment depression was less pronounced during pacing with ANP compared with
      control pacing (-0.09 +/- 0.01 vs -0.24 +/- 0.02 mV; P < 0.001). RMLU decreased
      to -11.1 micromol/min during control pacing compared with -0.7 micromol/min
      during pacing with ANP (P < 0.01). ANP did not affect pacing-induced changes in
      RMVO2, RMO2E, or the rate pressure product. Placebo did not affect pacing-induced
      changes in ST-segment depression or RMLU. In conclusion, ANP attenuates ischemic
      ST-segment depression and lactate release during pacing-induced myocardial
      ischemia in patients with CAD. The antiischemic effect of ANP was not accompanied
      by any improvement in the regional myocardial oxygen supply/demand relationship.
      IMPLICATIONS: We evaluated the effects of i.v. atrial natriuretic peptide (50 ng
      x kg(-1) x min(-1)) on pacing-induced myocardial ischemia during general
      anesthesia in patients with coronary artery disease. In contrast to placebo,
      atrial natriuretic peptide attenuated ST-segment depression and myocardial
      lactate production and improved left ventricular function during pacing-induced
      ischemia.

PMID- 9972742
TI  - Drug therapy before coronary artery surgery: nitrates are independent predictors
      of mortality and beta-adrenergic blockers predict survival.
AB  - We conducted this study to evaluate whether there is an association between
      preoperative drug therapy and in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing
      coronary artery graft surgery. We collected data on 1593 consecutive patients
      undergoing coronary artery surgery. The relative risk of in-hospital mortality
      was determined by logistic regression with in-hospital mortality as the dependent
      variable, and independent variables that included known risk factors and
      preoperative cardioactive or antithrombotic drug treatment, i.e., age; left
      ventricular function; left main coronary artery disease; urgent priority; gender;
      previous cardiac surgery; concurrent cardiovascular surgery; chronic lung
      disease; creatinine concentration; hemoglobin concentration; diabetes;
      hypertension; cerebrovascular disease; recent myocardial infarction; prior
      vascular surgery; number of arteries bypassed; and regular daily treatment with
      beta-blockers, aspirin within 5 days, calcium antagonists, angiotensin converting
      enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, digoxin, or warfarin. In-hospital mortality was 3.3%.
      The relative risk of in-hospital mortality (with 95% confidence intervals of the
      relative risk) associated with the following drug treatments was: nitrates 3.8
      (1.5-9.6), beta-blockers 0.4 (0.2-0.8), aspirin within 5 days 1.0 (0.5-1.9),
      calcium antagonists 1.1 (0.6-2.1), ACE inhibitors 0.8 (0.4-1.5), digoxin 0.7 (0.2
      1.8), and warfarin 0.3 (0.1-1.6). We conclude that in-hospital mortality is
      positively associated with preoperative nitrate therapy and negatively associated
      with beta-adrenergic blocker therapy. A significant association between in
      hospital mortality and the preoperative use of calcium antagonists, ACE
      inhibitors, aspirin, digoxin, and warfarin was not confirmed. IMPLICATIONS: We
      examined the association between common drug treatments for ischemic heart
      disease and short-term survival after cardiac surgery using a statistical method
      to adjust for patients' preoperative medical condition. Death after surgery was
      more likely after nitrate therapy and less likely after beta-blocker therapy.

PMID- 9972743
TI  - Somatosensory evoked potential monitoring used to compare the effect of three
      asymmetric sternal retractors on brachial plexus function.
AB  - We compared the effect of three different asymmetric sternal retractors on
      brachial plexus dysfunction using intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials
      (SSEPs). We studied 60 patients undergoing coronary bypass and internal mammary
      harvest. Assessment of brachial plexus function was performed pre- and
      postoperatively. Patients were assigned the use of a Pittman (MN Scientific
      Instruments Inc., Minneapolis, MN), Rultract (Rultract Inc., Cleveland, OH), or
      Delacroix-Chevalier (Delacroix-Chevalier, Paris, France) asymmetric sternal
      retractor for internal mammary exposure. SSEP changes from baseline during
      asymmetric retractor use and removal were determined, and average changes were
      compared among the retractor groups. Patient demographics and baseline SSEP
      values were similar. Fewer patients in the Delacroix-Chevalier group had
      decreases in SSEP amplitudes after retractor placement. Of the patients in the
      Rultract and Pittman groups, 45% and 25%, respectively, had amplitude decreases
      of >50%, compared with only 5% of the Delacroix-Chevalier patients. Three
      patients in both the Pittman and Rultract groups and one patient in the Delacroix
      Chevalier group suffered brachial plexus symptoms postoperatively. We conclude
      that the Delacroix-Chevalier retractor is associated with less neurophysiologic
      evidence of brachial plexus dysfunction during asymmetric sternal retraction
      compared with either the Pittman or Rultract sternal retractors. IMPLICATIONS: We
      used somatosensory evoked potentials to assess the effect of several different
      asymmetric sternal retractors on brachial plexus dysfunction and to determine
      which produced the least evidence of nerve damage during surgical exposure of the
      internal mammary artery.

PMID- 9972744
TI  - Anesthesia for endobronchial laser surgery: a modified technique.
AB  - We describe a technique for endobronchial surgery with the neodynium:yttium
      aluminum-garnet laser, in which an insufflation catheter with side holes placed
      into the contralateral mainstem bronchus is used for high-frequency positive
      pressure ventilation. Thirty-five patients (45 procedures) were treated during
      general anesthesia using a rigid bronchoscope in combination with a fiberoptic
      bronchoscope. Perioperatively, oxygen saturation (SaO2), mean arterial pressure,
      and heart rate were recorded. SaO2 during the recovery period was comparable to
      that during the intraoperative period but was significantly (P < 0.05) higher
      than that before the induction of anesthesia. There was a considerable (> or =
      5%) increase in SaO2 at the end of the treatment in six patients, which indicates
      that the recanalization of the treated airway was successful. Our data support
      the assumption that, during endobronchial resection, selective ventilation of the
      nonaffected lung was adequate; in addition, subcarinal placement of the
      insufflation catheter with side holes was advantageous. We conclude that this
      technique contributes to the prevention of lung complications during
      endobronchial laser surgery. IMPLICATIONS: We describe a technique in which an
      insufflation catheter with side holes placed into the contralateral mainstem
      bronchus largely prevented inhalation of laser smoke and aspiration of blood and
      debris.

PMID- 9972745
TI  - Predicting the size of a double-lumen endobronchial tube using computed
      tomographic scan measurements of the left main bronchus diameter.
AB  - We investigated the use of chest computer tomographic (CT) scan measurement of
      the left mainstem bronchial diameter to predict the correct left-sided double
      lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) size in Asian patients who may require smaller DLT
      sizes. Fifty consecutive Asian adults aged 17-80 yr with preoperative chest CT
      scans undergoing elective thoracic surgery were entered into the study. The
      measurements of the left main bronchus diameter were made by using the electronic
      calipers of the spiral scanner to the nearest millimeter. The sizes of DLT
      selected were 32F, 35F, 37F, 39F, and 41F for left main bronchus diameters of <10
      mm, 10 mm, 11 mm, 12 mm, and >12 mm, respectively. All DLT placements were
      confirmed and positioned by using fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The tracheas of all
      patients were successfully intubated with the predicted DLT sizes. Thirty-four
      patients (68%) were predicted to require smaller DLTs (37F or smaller). Six
      patients were correctly predicted to receive 32F DLTs. Twelve patients (24%)
      received an oversized DLT, but none received an undersized DLT. The overall
      positive predictive value for the male and female patients was 84.4% and 61.1%,
      respectively. Our study showed that CT scan measurements of the diameter of the
      left bronchus were especially useful in choosing smaller DLTs. IMPLICATIONS: We
      used computer tomographic scans to measure the diameter of the left mainstem
      bronchus, then selected the size of the left-sided double-lumen endobronchial
      tube (DLT) accordingly. We found that we could predict the sizes of the DLT
      fairly accurately, especially the smaller DLTs.

PMID- 9972746
TI  - Transnasal transesophageal echocardiography: a modified application mode for
      cardiac examination in ventilated patients.
AB  - In 42 endotracheally intubated patients, we examined the utility of a
      miniaturized monoplane probe for transnasal transesophageal echocardiography
      (TEE). Transnasal TEE was prospectively evaluated in 26 deeply and 16 mildly
      sedated patients receiving topical anesthesia with lidocaine jelly 2%. The
      patients with deep sedation were additionally examined with transoral monoplane
      and multiplane TEE. Transnasal esophageal insertion of the TEE probe was
      successfully performed in 90% of patients. Endotracheal malpositioning was
      corrected in two patients. Nasal bleeding required treatment in another patient.
      Topical anesthesia was adequate in 82% of mildly sedated patients. Left
      ventricular short- and four-chamber long-axis views of good quality were obtained
      with transnasal (transoral) monoplane TEE in 76% (81%) and 92% (96%) of patients
      (differences not significant). Compared with conventional multiplane TEE,
      transnasal monoplane TEE missed diagnoses in 19% of patients. The relative error
      (mean +/- SEM) of quantification with transnasal TEE was <9% +/- 2% for
      ventricular diameters and <7% +/- 2% for cross-sectional area measurements, with
      a bias of 0.5 +/- 3.8 cm2 and 0.1 +/- 2.4 cm2 (mean +/- 2 SD) for left
      ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic short-axis areas. The relative error
      in measuring intracardiac flow velocities was >40%, but systolic to diastolic
      peak velocity ratios at the valvular site were determined with an error <4% +/-
      3%. Transnasal monoplane TEE can be performed even in mildly sedated patients
      with an endotracheal tube without further need for analgesia or sedation. The
      technique is as useful as conventional transoral TEE to image standard
      tomographic planes for quantification, but it is less suited for comprehensive
      echocardiographic diagnosing. IMPLICATIONS: Transnasal insertion of a
      miniaturized monoplane transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe was studied
      in endotracheally intubated patients. Nasal passage was well tolerated even by
      patients with only mild sedation. Imaging quality was similar to conventional
      transoral monoplane TEE with larger transducers, but technical restraints cause a
      deficit in complete cardiac diagnosing obtained with multiplane TEE.

PMID- 9972747
TI  - Thromboelastography-guided transfusion algorithm reduces transfusions in complex
      cardiac surgery.
AB  - Transfusion therapy after cardiac surgery is empirically guided, partly due to a
      lack of specific point-of-care hemostasis monitors. In a randomized, blinded,
      prospective trial, we studied cardiac surgical patients at moderate to high risk
      of transfusion. Patients were randomly assigned to either a thromboelastography
      (TEG)-guided transfusion algorithm (n = 53) or routine transfusion therapy (n =
      52) for intervention after cardiopulmonary bypass. Coagulation tests, TEG
      variables, mediastinal tube drainage, and transfusions were compared at multiple
      time points. There were no demographic or hemostatic test result differences
      between groups, and all patients were given prophylactic antifibrinolytic
      therapy. Intraoperative transfusion rates did not differ, but there were
      significantly fewer postoperative and total transfusions in the TEG group. The
      proportion of patients receiving fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) was 4 of 53 in the TEG
      group compared with 16 of 52 in the control group (P < 0.002). Patients receiving
      platelets were 7 of 53 in the TEG group compared with 15 of 52 in the control
      group (P < 0.05). Patients in the TEG group also received less volume of FFP (36
      +/- 142 vs 217 +/- 463 mL; P < 0.04). Mediastinal tube drainage was not
      statistically different 6, 12, or 24 h postoperatively. Point-of-care coagulation
      monitoring using TEG resulted in fewer transfusions in the postoperative period.
      We conclude that the reduction in transfusions may have been due to improved
      hemostasis in these patients who had earlier and specific identification of the
      hemostasis abnormality and thus received more appropriate intraoperative
      transfusion therapy. These data support the use of TEG in an algorithm to guide
      transfusion therapy in complex cardiac surgery. IMPLICATIONS: Transfusion of
      allogeneic blood products is common during complex cardiac surgical procedures.
      In a prospective, randomized trial, we compared a transfusion algorithm using
      point-of-care coagulation testing with routine laboratory testing, and found the
      algorithm to be effective in reducing transfusion requirements.

PMID- 9972749
TI  - Plasma concentration of adrenomedullin is increased in hemorrhagic shock in dogs.

PMID- 9972748
TI  - Organization of the sympathetic innervation of the forelimb resistance vessels in
      the cat.
AB  - Detailed information on the outflow pathway of sympathetic vasoconstrictor fibers
      to the upper extremity is lacking. We studied the organization of the sympathetic
      innervation of the forelimb resistance vessels and of the sinoatrial (SA) node in
      the decerebrated, artificially respirated cat. The distal portion of sectioned
      individual rami T1-8 and the sympathetic chain immediately caudal to T8 on the
      right side were electrically stimulated while the right forelimb perfusion
      pressure (forelimb perfused at constant flow) and heart rate were recorded.
      Increases in perfusion pressure were evoked by stimulation of T2-8 (maximal
      response T7: 55 +/- 2.3 mm Hg). Responses were still evoked by stimulation of the
      sympathetic chain immediately caudal to T8 (44 +/- 15 mm Hg). Increases in heart
      rate were evoked by the stimulation of more rostral rami (T1-5; maximal response
      T3: 55.2 +/- 8 bpm). These vasoconstrictor and cardioacceleratory responses were
      blocked by the cholinergic antagonists hexamethonium and scopolamine. Sectioning
      of the vertebral nerve and the T1 ramus abolished the vasoconstrictor response.
      Stimulation of the vertebral nerve and of the proximal portion of the sectioned
      T1 ramus increased perfusion pressure (69 +/- 9 and 34 +/- 14 mm Hg,
      respectively), which was unaffected by ganglionic cholinergic block. These data
      suggest that forelimb resistance vessel control is subserved by sympathetic
      preganglionic neurons located mainly in the middle to caudal thoracic spinal
      segments. Some of the postganglionic axons subserving vasomotor function course
      through the T1 ramus, in addition to the vertebral nerve. IMPLICATIONS: Forelimb
      vasculature is controlled by sympathetic preganglionic neurons located in middle
      to caudal thoracic spinal segments and by postganglionic axons carried in the T1
      ramus and vertebral nerve. This helps to provide the anatomical substrate of
      interruption of sympathetic outflow to the upper extremity produced by major
      conduction anesthesia of the stellate ganglion or spinal cord.

PMID- 9972750
TI  - Intracranial pressure and venous cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass.

PMID- 9972751
TI  - Acute myocardial infarction during lung volume reduction surgery.

PMID- 9972752
TI  - Craniotomy procedures are associated with less analgesic requirements than other
      surgical procedures.
AB  - The conventional wisdom that neurosurgical patients experience minimal
      postoperative pain and require little analgesia has been challenged. To address
      this, we reviewed our anesthesia and postanesthesia care unit (PACU) records for
      1995 and compared pain management in patients undergoing major intracranial and
      selected extracranial procedures. We recorded patient weight, operative time,
      time in the PACU, intraoperative and postoperative opioid use, PACU pain scores,
      and level of consciousness in patients who had undergone open fixation of
      mandible or maxilla (Group E), clipping of aneurysms or excision of tumors (Group
      I), or lumbar laminectomy (Group L). Group I (n = 78) patients received less
      fentanyl in the operating room (0.016 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) versus 0.023
      microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) for Group E [n = 134] and 0.023 microg x kg(-1) x min(
      1) for Group L [n = 21]; P < 0.05), received less morphine in the PACU (0.0004 vs
      0.0013 vs 0.0015 mg kg(-1) x min(-1); P < 0.005), reported lower pain scores
      (0.76 vs 2.5 vs 2.4; P < 0.05), and spent less time in the PACU (89.5 vs 109 vs
      105 min; P < 0.05) than Group E or L patients. Our results were similar when only
      patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores > or = 14 were used in a subset analysis.
      We conclude that patients suffer less pain and use fewer opioids in the PACU
      after intracranial surgery than after facial reconstruction or lumbar
      laminectomy. Our results confirm that the average craniotomy patient has less
      postoperative pain than patients who undergo other surgical procedures, although
      patients who undergo frontal craniotomy may require more aggressive pain
      management. IMPLICATIONS: This study compares the pain report and analgesic use
      in patients after intracranial versus extracranial surgery. The results confirm
      the commonly held but recently challenged belief that neurosurgery patients
      suffer less pain postoperatively than other patients. In this study, we found
      that most patients report minimal pain after intracranial surgery but that a
      small subset of patients, many of whom have undergone frontal craniotomies,
      require aggressive treatment of postoperative pain.

PMID- 9972753
TI  - Dynamic cerebral autoregulation during sevoflurane anesthesia: a comparison with
      isoflurane.
AB  - We investigated dynamic cerebral pressure autoregulation awake and during 1.5
      minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) sevoflurane or isoflurane
      anesthesia in 16 patients undergoing nonintracranial neurosurgical procedures.
      All patients received a standardized anesthetic, and their lungs were ventilated
      with 1.5 MAC volatile anesthetic in 100% oxygen to normocapnia. Routine monitors
      included electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry, end-tidal capnography, and continuous
      noninvasive blood pressure. In addition, middle cerebral artery blood velocity
      (Vmca) was measured continuously using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography.
      Dynamic cerebral autoregulation was tested by inducing a rapid transient decrease
      in mean arterial pressure by deflation of large thigh cuffs, which were placed
      around both thighs and inflated to 100 mm Hg above systolic pressure. The Vmca
      response to the decrease in blood pressure was fitted to a series of curves to
      determine the rate of dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dRoR). Awake dRoR values
      were similar in the isoflurane and sevoflurane groups, 32 +/- 2%/s and 29 +/-
      2%/s, respectively. dRoR decreased to 5 +/- 1%/s during isoflurane anesthesia but
      to only 24 +/- 2%/s during sevoflurane anesthesia. We conclude that dynamic
      cerebral autoregulation is better preserved during sevoflurane than isoflurane
      anesthesia in humans. IMPLICATIONS: We investigated the effect of sevoflurane and
      isoflurane on dynamic cerebral pressure autoregulation using transcranial Doppler
      ultrasonography. At 1.5 minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration, dynamic
      autoregulation was better preserved during sevoflurane than isoflurane
      anesthesia.

PMID- 9972754
TI  - Determination of an effective dose of intrathecal morphine for pain relief after
      cesarean delivery.
AB  - Very small doses of intrathecal (i.t.) morphine (25-200 microg) have been used in
      an effort to provide effective postoperative pain relief while minimizing side
      effects after cesarean delivery. We performed a double-blinded study in 40
      patients presenting for elective cesarean delivery in which i.t. morphine was
      administered along with oral hydrocodone/acetaminophen and other medications
      commonly administered after cesarean delivery. We administered i.t. morphine by
      up-down sequential allocation of doses. For the purposes of this study, adequate
      postoperative analgesia was defined as comfort not requiring i.v. morphine for 12
      h after spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine, fentanyl, and morphine. In addition,
      a time and cost comparison was performed for study patients receiving intrathecal
      morphine compared with a historical group of patients receiving patient
      controlled analgesia with i.v. morphine. We were unable to determine with
      meaningful precision a dose of i.t. morphine to provide analgesia in this
      context. However, very small doses of i.t. morphine combined with oral
      hydrocodone/acetaminophen and other medications commonly prescribed after
      cesarean delivery provided postoperative pain relief with no more time commitment
      than patient-controlled analgesia (148 +/- 61 vs 150 +/- 57 min) and with
      significantly less acquisition cost ($15.13 +/- $4.40 vs $34.64 +/- $15.55).
      IMPLICATIONS: When used along with oral analgesics, very small doses of spinal
      morphine provide adequate pain relief after cesarean delivery. Spinal
      anesthetics, oral analgesics, and other medications commonly prescribed to treat
      side effects after cesarean delivery contribute significantly to this analgesia.
      When small doses of spinal morphine are used in this setting, they provide
      adequate analgesia and patient satisfaction that is time- and cost-effective.

PMID- 9972755
TI  - The effects of needle bevel orientation during epidural catheter insertion in
      laboring parturients.
AB  - Lateral needle bevel orientation during identification of the epidural space has
      been recommended to reduce the risk of postdural puncture headache (PDPH).
      Rotation to cephalad or caudad orientation before catheter insertion is assumed
      necessary for analgesic success. We prospectively compared the effects of
      catheter insertion through lateral- and cephalad-oriented Tuohy needle bevels in
      laboring parturients. Anesthesiology residents were randomized to identify the
      epidural space with bevels oriented cephalad or lateral. Catheters were inserted
      without needle rotation. Outcomes compared included ease of insertion, analgesic
      effectiveness, and complications. We evaluated 534 catheter insertions in 500
      parturients. Initial catheter insertion produced satisfactory analgesia in 80.2%
      of the lateral group versus 91.1% of the cephalad group (P < 0.001). Resistance
      preventing catheter insertion accounted for the difference. There were no
      differences in i.v. cannulation (5.8% vs 5.1%), dural puncture (3.8% vs 2.0%),
      PDPH (0.4% vs 0.7%), or asymmetric block (31% vs 27%). There was a slightly
      higher rate of paresthesias in the lateral group (31% vs 23%; P = 0.048). In 78%
      of parturients experiencing both paresthesias and asymmetric block, the side of
      the paresthesia and greater extent of block were the same. Analgesic
      effectiveness, as measured by using a visual analog scale, was not different
      between the groups. IMPLICATIONS: Two methods of epidural catheter insertion were
      compared in laboring parturients. Catheter insertion with the needle orifice
      oriented cephalad was associated with the greatest initial success and the fewest
      complications.

PMID- 9972756
TI  - Changes in maternal middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity associated with
      general anesthesia in severe preeclampsia.
AB  - In women with severe preeclampsia, significant increases in mean arterial
      pressures (MAP) are common after rapid induction of general anesthesia (GA) and
      tracheal intubation. The objectives of this prospective study were to assess the
      effects of the rapid induction-intubation technique on middle cerebral artery
      (MCA) flow velocity in severe preeclampsia and to examine the correlation between
      mean MCA flow velocity (Vm) and MAP. Eight women with severe preeclampsia (study
      group) and six normotensive women at term (control group) scheduled to undergo
      cesarean section under GA were studied. Before induction, patients in the study
      group received i.v. labetalol in divided doses to lower diastolic pressures to
      <100 mm Hg. Anesthesia was induced with pentothal 4-5 mg/kg, followed by
      succinylcholine 1.5 mg/kg to facilitate tracheal intubation. A transcranial
      Doppler was used to measure Vm. Both Vm and MAP were recorded before induction
      and every minute for 6 min after intubation. In the study group, after the
      administration of labetalol, MAP decreased from 129 +/- 9 to 113 +/- 9 mm Hg (P <
      0.05), and Vm decreased from 59 +/- 11 to 54 +/- 10 cm/s (P < 0.05). After
      intubation, MAP increased from 113 +/- 9 to 134 +/- 5 mm Hg (P < 0.001), and Vm
      increased from 54 +/- 10 to 70 +/- 10 cm/s (P < 0.001). In the control group,
      while MAP increased significantly from 89 +/- 6 to 96 +/- 4 mm Hg (P < 0.05)
      after intubation, the concurrent increase in Vm from 49 +/- 5 to 54 +/- 7 cm/s
      was not significant. There was a significant positive pooled correlation between
      Vm and MAP (r = 0.5, P < 0.0006) in the study group but not in the control group
      (r = 0.24). After induction and intubation, both Vm and MAP values were
      significantly increased in the study group patients at all observation points
      compared with the control group patients. The findings indicate that Vm increases
      significantly after rapid-sequence induction of GA and tracheal intubation in
      women with severe preeclampsia, and there seems to be a direct relationship
      between MAP and Vm. IMPLICATIONS: In women with severe preeclampsia, rapid
      sequence induction of general anesthesia and tracheal intubation can cause severe
      hypertension. Our results indicate that the increase in blood pressure is
      associated with a significant increase in maternal cerebral blood flow velocity
      and that there is a significant correlation between these two variables.

PMID- 9972757
TI  - Combination of intrathecal sufentanil 10 mug plus bupivacaine 2.5 mg for labor
      analgesia: is half the dose enough?
AB  - This controlled, double-blinded, prospective trial of 42 parturients in early
      labor was conducted to determine whether halving the total amount of intrathecal
      (i.t.) sufentanil and bupivacaine reduced the incidence of systemic hypotension
      while providing adequate analgesia with minimal lower limb motor block. Combined
      spinal-epidural analgesia (CSE) was instituted; Group A (n = 21) received a total
      of 10 microg of sulfentanil plus 2.5 mg of bupivacaine, whereas Group B (n = 21)
      received half that dose. Compared with Group B, Group A had a higher incidence of
      hypotension (nine parturients in Group A, two in Group B; P < 0.05), a greater
      degree of motor block (P < 0.05), and a higher incidence of sedation (nine
      parturients in Group A were sedated, one in Group B; P < 0.01). Group B had
      higher pain scores for the first 5 min (P < 0.05) and a lower level of sensory
      blockade (median of T7 in Group B compared with T4 in Group A; P < 0.01). We
      conclude that halving the total amount of i.t. 10 microg of sufentanil plus 2.5
      mg of bupivacaine is a suitable option for CSE in labor because it reduces the
      incidence of some side effects, such as hypotension and maternal sedation,
      without compromising overall high maternal satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS: We showed
      that adequate labor pain relief could be provided by halving the recommended dose
      of 10 microg of intrathecal sufentanil plus 2.5 mg of bupivacaine. The larger
      dose, however, produced faster pain relief, which lasted longer than the reduced
      dose. The mother and baby were not adversely affected with either dose.

PMID- 9972758
TI  - Epidural steroids for treating "failed back surgery syndrome": is fluoroscopy
      really necessary?
AB  - Epidural steroids are commonly administered in the treatment of "failed back
      surgery syndrome." Because patient response is dependent on accurate steroid
      placement, fluoroscopic guidance has been advocated. However, because of ever
      increasing medical expenditures, the cost-benefit of routine fluoroscopy should
      be critically evaluated. Therefore, 50 patients were enrolled into this
      institutional review board-approved, prospective, controlled, single-blinded
      study. At a predetermined intervertebral level, the epidural space was identified
      using an air loss of resistance technique. Thereafter, an epidural catheter was
      inserted 2 cm through the epidural needle. To determine the accuracy of the
      clinical placement, contrast medium was administered through the epidural
      catheter; antero-posterior and lateral lumbar spine radiographs were then
      obtained. The number of attempts required to successfully locate the epidural
      space, the reliability of the air loss of resistance technique in indicating
      successful epidural penetration in failed back surgery syndrome, the ability of
      the clinician to accurately predict the intervertebral space at which the
      epidural injection was performed, and the spread of contrast medium within the
      epidural space were recorded. A total of 48 epidurograms were performed. The
      number of attempts to successfully enter the epidural space was 2 +/- 1. In 44
      cases, the radiological studies confirmed the clinical impression that the
      epidural space had been successfully identified. In three patients, the epidural
      catheter was in the paravertebral tissue. One myelogram was recorded. In 25
      patients, the epidural catheter did not pass through the predetermined
      intervertebral space. In 35 cases, the contrast medium did not reach the level of
      pathology. IMPLICATIONS: The clinical sign of loss of resistance is a reliable
      indicator of epidural space penetration in most cases of "failed back surgery
      syndrome." However, surface anatomy is unreliable and may result in inaccurate
      steroid placement. Finally, despite accurate placement, the depot-steroid
      solution will spread to reach the level of pathology in only 26% of cases.

PMID- 9972759
TI  - Temperature monitoring practices during regional anesthesia.
AB  - Monitoring and maintaining body temperature during the perioperative period has a
      significant impact on the risk of myocardial ischemia, cardiac morbidity, wound
      infection, surgical bleeding, and patient discomfort. To test the hypothesis that
      body temperature is inadequately monitored during regional anesthesia (RA), we
      randomly surveyed 60 practicing anesthesiologists to determine practice patterns
      for temperature monitoring. Only 33% of the clinicians surveyed routinely monitor
      body temperature during RA. Although skin temperature monitoring has limitations,
      it was the most commonly used method among the survey respondents. When
      temperature is monitored during RA, most clinicians use either liquid crystal
      skin-surface monitoring or axillary temperature probes. Of those surveyed, < 15%
      use acceptable core temperature monitoring techniques (urinary bladder or
      tympanic membrane). In conclusion, it seems that body temperature is often not
      monitored in patients receiving RA. IMPLICATIONS: The results of this survey of
      practicing anesthesiologists indicate that body temperature is often not
      monitored in patients receiving regional anesthesia. It is therefore likely that
      significant hypothermia goes undetected and untreated in these patients.

PMID- 9972760
TI  - Beta-adrenergic blockers and vasovagal episodes during shoulder surgery in the
      sitting position under interscalene block.
AB  - Shoulder surgery is often performed with patients in the sitting position under
      interscalene block anesthesia. Vasovagal episodes, characterized by a sudden
      decrease in heart rate and/or blood pressure, have a reported incidence of 17%
      24% in this setting. We performed a retrospective study to determine whether
      there was an association between the use of beta-adrenergic blockers and the
      incidence of these episodes. Of the 150 patients identified, 20 (13.3%) had a
      vasovagal event. Similar proportions of patients had received a beta-adrenergic
      blocker in the group who had a vasovagal event compared with those who did not
      (20% vs 18%; P = 0.95). No other differences could be identified. We conclude
      that vasovagal episodes occur frequently in this setting with no identifiable
      risk factors. Beta-adrenergic blockers were not associated retrospectively with
      either an increased or decreased incidence of these episodes. The most likely
      mechanism involves the Bezold-Jarisch reflex. IMPLICATIONS: In this retrospective
      study of 150 patients who underwent shoulder surgery in the sitting position
      under interscalene block, we found a 13% incidence of vasovagal episodes. Unlike
      a previous study, this was not affected by the use of beta-blockers. A
      randomized, prospective study is necessary to clarify this issue.

PMID- 9972761
TI  - The risk of persistent paresthesia is not increased with repeated axillary block.
AB  - Neurologic deficits are noted on physical examination in approximately 0.2%-19%
      of patients after regional anesthetic techniques. Laboratory and clinical studies
      suggest that a subclinical neuropathy occurs much more often. Performing a
      regional anesthetic technique during this period may result in additional nerve
      trauma. We evaluated the frequency of neurologic complications in patients
      undergoing repeated axillary block. A total of 1614 blocks were performed on 607
      patients. The median number of blocks per patient was two (range 2-10 blocks).
      The median interval between blocks was 12.6 wk, including 188 (31%) patients who
      received multiple blocks within 1 wk. Sixty-two neurologic complications occurred
      in 51 patients for an overall frequency of 8.4%. Of the 62 nerve injuries, 7
      (11.3%) were related to the anesthetic technique; the remaining 55 (88.7%) were a
      result of the surgical procedure. Patient age and gender, the presence of
      preexisting neurologic conditions, a surgical procedure to a nerve, and total
      number of blocks did not increase the risk of neurologic complications. No
      regional anesthetic technique risk factors, including elicitation of a
      paresthesia, selection of local anesthetic, or addition of epinephrine, were
      identified. The success rate was higher with the paresthesia technique than with
      nerve stimulator technique or transarterial injection, and with use of
      mepivacaine versus bupivacaine. We conclude that the frequency of neurologic
      complications in patients undergoing repeated axillary block is similar to that
      in patients receiving a single regional technique. These patients are not likely
      to be at increased risk of neurologic complications. IMPLICATIONS: The risk of
      neurologic complications was not increased in patients who underwent multiple
      axillary blocks, even within a 1-wk interval. No risk factors for anesthetic
      related complications were identified. However, block success rate was increased
      with the paresthesia technique and the injection of mepivacaine versus
      bupivacaine.

PMID- 9972762
TI  - Neurologic complications after placement of cerebrospinal fluid drainage
      catheters and needles in anesthetized patients: implications for regional
      anesthesia. Mayo Perioperative Outcomes Group.
AB  - Subarachnoid or epidural needle placement in an anesthetized patient is
      controversial because general anesthesia and muscle relaxation may mask neural
      trauma. However, placement of a needle or catheter in the subarachnoid space for
      the purpose of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) drainage is frequently performed in
      anesthetized patients undergoing neurosurgery. The records from 530 consecutive
      transsphenoidal surgeries performed with lumbar CSF drainage were reviewed to
      determine the types of neurologic complications attributable to spinal drainage
      and their rates of occurrence. All patients were anesthetized during CSF drain
      placement. A 19-gauge malleable needle was placed in 473 (89%) patients.
      Subarachnoid catheters (20- or 16-gauge catheters placed via 18- or 14-gauge
      epidural needles, respectively) were placed in 17 (3%) patients. In 40 (8%)
      patients, the type of drain was unspecified. No new neurologic deficits
      attributable to spinal drain insertion were detected in the immediate
      postoperative period or within 1 yr of surgery. Thirteen patients developed
      postdural puncture headache (2.5%, exact 95% confidence interval 1.3%-4.2%);
      seven required epidural blood patch (1.3%, 0.5%-2.7%). The low incidence (0%,
      0.0%-0.7%) of neurologic injury from spinal drain insertion in anesthetized
      patients from this study is similar to the incidence of neurologic complications
      historically reported for both CSF drain insertion and spinal anesthesia.
      IMPLICATIONS: The performance of regional anesthesia in an anesthetized patient
      is controversial due to the possibility of unrecognized nerve injury. We report
      no cases of nerve injury caused by the placement of cerebrospinal fluid drainage
      needles and catheters in 530 anesthetized patients undergoing neurosurgery.

PMID- 9972763
TI  - No risk of metal toxicity in combined spinal-epidural anesthesia.
AB  - Using the single level needle-through-needle technique for combined spinal
      epidural anesthesia (CSE) may introduce very fine metal particles abraded by the
      spinal needle from the inner ground edge of the Tuohy needle into the patient.
      Either the local anesthetic administered epidurally or the peridural catheter may
      also pass intrathecally through the hole in the dura made by the spinal needle.
      To examine these concerns, the needle-through-needle technique was simulated in
      an in vitro model (18-gauge Tuohy needle; 27- or 29-gauge Quincke needle). The
      presence of abraded metal particles was identified by atomic absorption
      spectrography (AAS). The needles were then examined under an electron microscope.
      Metal particles could not be identified by using AAS in the needle-through-needle
      technique after normal clinical use, nor could traces of use be revealed by using
      an electron microscope to examine the Tuohy needle. With intentionally rough
      handling and caudal orientation of the spinal needle tip, minimal scratches could
      be seen by using an electron microscope, but there were no metal particles
      detected by AAS. In an anatomical preparation, the possible passage of the
      epidural catheter anesthetic through the dural puncture hole into the
      cerebrospinal fluid compartment was investigated endoscopically. Neither passage
      of dyed epidural local anesthetic nor penetration of the epidural catheter into
      the cerebrospinal fluid compartment could be demonstrated by endoscopy. We
      conclude that the needle-through-needle-technique is an acceptable way of
      performing CSE anesthesia. Endangering the patient by an unintentionally
      intrathecal misplacement of the epidural catheter seems to be very unlikely based
      on our in vitro model if small spinal needles (27- or 29-gauge) are used.
      IMPLICATIONS: Atomic absorption spectrography shows no contamination of the
      intrathecal compartment by abraded metal particles from the Tuohy needle by
      combined spinal-epidural anesthesia with the needle-through-needle technique. In
      vitro, neither passage of dyed epidural local anesthetic nor penetration of the
      epidural catheter into the cerebrospinal fluid compartment could be demonstrated
      by endoscopy.

PMID- 9972764
TI  - Assessment of the level of sensory block after subarachnoid anesthesia using a
      pressure palpator.
AB  - In a cross-over study, we compared two methods of assessing the level of sensory
      block during subarachnoid anesthesia: the traditional pinprick sensation or a
      novel pressure palpator exerting a pressure of 650 g. Fifty patients scheduled
      for transurethral surgery under subarachnoid anesthesia were randomly assigned to
      be tested for spread of sensory block. In Group 1, the pressure palpator was
      followed by pinprick; in Group 2, the reverse sequence was used. Evaluation was
      performed 15 and 25 min after the subarachnoid injection of 2 mL of 5% lidocaine
      hyperbaric solution. In Group 1, the level of sensory block assessed with the
      pressure palpator was 1.7 +/- 3.2 cm (0.5 +/- 1.2 dermatomes) higher than that
      with the pinprick at 15 min, and 2.2 +/- 3.4 cm (0.6 +/- 1.0 dermatomes) higher
      than that with the pinprick 25 min after the block. In Group 2, the difference
      was accentuated. The level of sensory block assessed by pinprick 15 min after
      subarachnoid lidocaine was 5.7 +/- 4.8 cm (1.2 +/- 0.9 dermatomes) lower than the
      level with the pressure palpator, and 4.2 +/- 3.3 cm (0.9 +/- 0.6 dermatomes)
      lower than that with the pressure palpator at 25 min. In all instances, the
      pressure palpator gave a significantly higher assessment than the pinprick. We
      conclude that the pressure palpator, when preceded by the pinprick test, is
      associated with an increased threshold. This method may be useful in assessing
      the sensory block produced by subarachnoid anesthesia. IMPLICATIONS: A novel
      pressure palpator that maintains the integrity of the epidermis was used to
      assess the level of sensory block after subarachnoid anesthesia and was compared
      with the standard method of the pinprick sensation. This method assessed the
      block consistently higher than the pinprick method, but it may have advantages as
      a noninvasive sensory test.

PMID- 9972765
TI  - The effects of thoracic epidural anesthesia on intraoperative visceral perfusion
      and metabolism.
AB  - After institutional approval and informed consent, we studied the effect of
      epidural bupivacaine 0.5% on visceral perfusion and metabolism by using gastric
      mucosal tonometry in 30 patients in a placebo-controlled fashion. The maximal
      intramucosal pH (pHi) decrease was significantly (P < 0.001) greater in the
      control group (0.16 +/- 0.04) than in the thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA)
      group (0.07 +/- 0.05). There were 10 patients in the control group and 2 patients
      in the TEA group who had evidence of gastric mucosal ischemia (pHi <7.32) at the
      end of the study (P< 0.01). The differences in pHi and intramucosal CO2 (PiCO2)
      became statistically significant between the groups after 180 and 240 min. The
      study data show that TEA prevents the decrease of pHi during major abdominal
      surgery, perhaps as an effect of stable visceral perfusion. We conclude that TEA
      may be a valuable method for intra- and postoperative treatment of surgical
      stress. IMPLICATIONS: The present study shows that thoracic epidural anesthesia
      prevents a decrease of intramucosal pH during major abdominal surgery, which
      suggests that thoracic epidural anesthesia may be a valuable tool for the
      treatment of surgical stress.

PMID- 9972766
TI  - An examination of the interactions between the antinociceptive effects of
      morphine and various mu-opioids: the role of intrinsic efficacy and stimulus
      intensity.
AB  - We examined the effects of several opioids that vary in intrinsic efficacy at the
      mu-opioid receptor alone and in combination with morphine in a rat warm water
      tail withdrawal procedure using 50 degrees C and 52 degrees C water (i.e., low-
      and high-stimulus intensities). Morphine, levorphanol, dezocine, and
      buprenorphine produced dose-dependent increases in antinociception using both
      stimulus intensities. Butorphanol produced maximal levels of antinociception at
      the low, but not at the high, stimulus intensity, whereas nalbuphine failed to
      produce antinociception at either stimulus intensity. For cases in which
      butorphanol and nalbuphine failed to produce antinociception alone, these opioids
      dose-dependently antagonized the effects of morphine. When levorphanol, dezocine,
      and buprenorphine were combined with morphine, there was a dose-dependent
      enhancement of morphine's effects. Similar effects were obtained at the low
      stimulus intensity when butorphanol was administered with morphine. In most
      cases, the effects of these combinations could be predicted by summating the
      effects of the drugs when administered alone. These results indicate that the
      level of antinociception produced by an opioid is dependent on the intrinsic
      efficacy of the drug and the stimulus intensity. Furthermore, the level of
      antinociception produced by the opioid, not necessarily the opioids' intrinsic
      efficacy, determines the type of interaction among opioids. IMPLICATIONS:
      Compared with high-efficacy opioids, lower efficacy opioids produce lower levels
      of pain relief, especially in situations of moderate to severe pain. When opioids
      are given in combination, the effects can only be predicted on the basis of the
      antinociception obtained when the drugs are administered alone.

PMID- 9972767
TI  - Pre- versus postinjury effects of intravenous GABAergic anesthetics on formalin
      induced Fos immunoreactivity in the rat spinal cord.
AB  - We evaluated the suppression of spinal Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) by i.v.
      anesthetics in the rat formalin model. Preformalin injection (1.5%
      subcutaneously) treatment groups included i.v. saline controls and three i.v.
      GABAergic anesthetic groups (pentobarbital 20 mg/kg, propofol 10 mg/kg, or
      alphaxalone 1.5 mg/kg; n = 12 per group). After perfusion 2 h postformalin,
      spinal cords were dissected, sliced at 30 microm, and processed by
      immunoperoxidase staining with an antibody against the Fos protein.
      Quantification and determination of the laminar distribution of Fos-labeled
      nuclei were performed at the L4-5 spinal level ipsilateral to formalin injection.
      Drug groups demonstrating FLI suppression were comparatively studied in a 5-min
      postformalin treatment group. Pentobarbital pretreatment failed to suppress FLI.
      However, significant reductions (percent decrease) of FLI were observed with
      propofol (63%) and alphaxalone (30%) compared with saline controls. Pre- versus
      postformalin comparison studies showed that propofol, but not alphaxalone,
      suppressed FLI more effectively when given preformalin. Given the observed
      inconsistencies between this study of Fos expression and our previous behavioral
      study, it is questionable whether anesthetic modulation of noxious stimulus
      induced FLI parallels that of behavioral responses. IMPLICATIONS: In this study,
      we examined whether i.v. general anesthetics (propofol, alphaxalone, and
      pentobarbital) prevent injury-induced spinal cord changes. We measured spinal Fos
      protein after rats received anesthetics before versus after a formalin injection.
      Fos inhibition patterns were inconsistent with behavioral studies of these
      anesthetics, suggesting that Fos inhibition does not always correlate with
      behavioral analgesia.

PMID- 9972768
TI  - Anesthesia for intranasal surgery: a comparison between tracheal intubation and
      the flexible reinforced laryngeal mask airway.
AB  - The purpose of the study was to assess the suitability and safety of the flexible
      reinforced laryngeal mask airway (FRLMA) for intranasal surgery (INS) anesthesia.
      A secondary objective was to compare the incidence of complications of removal of
      the FRLMA with tracheal extubation in awake and anesthetized patients. One
      hundred fourteen ASA physical status I and II patients requiring INS were
      randomly assigned into three groups: Group I = FRLMA, Group II = endotracheal
      tube (ET) extubated awake, and Group II = ET extubated deeply anesthetized. In
      Group I, the incidence of coughing and oxyhemoglobin desaturation at removal was
      significantly reduced compared with that in Groups II and III (P < 0.05). There
      were no episodes of postremoval laryngospasm in Group I; in Group III, the
      incidence was 19% (P < 0.05), whereas in Group II, it was 6% (not significantly
      different). The number of patients with oxyhemoglobin desaturation < or = 92% on
      admission to the postanesthesia care unit was 0% in Group I, 26% in Group II (P <
      0.05), and 16% in Group III (not significantly different). At bronchoscopy, the
      incidence of blood visible in the airway was low and similar among the three
      groups (3%, 6%, and 3%, respectively). There were no significant differences in
      the incidence of airway complications between Groups II and III. IMPLICATIONS: We
      compared airway management for intranasal surgery anesthesia using a new device,
      the flexible reinforced laryngeal mask airway, with the current standard of
      tracheal intubation. The study demonstrates that the flexible reinforced
      laryngeal mask airway can provide a safe, protected airway with a smoother
      emergence from anesthesia than tracheal intubation.

PMID- 9972769
TI  - Assessing neuromuscular block at the larynx: the effect of change in resting cuff
      pressure and a comparison with video imaging in anesthetized humans.
AB  - Neuromuscular block (NMB) at the larynx has been assessed by measuring the cuff
      pressure (CP) in an endotracheal tube (ETT) placed between the vocal cords. In
      this study, we evaluated the decrease in resting cuff pressure (RCP) after the
      administration of rocuronium and the effect of this decrease on the assessment of
      NMB, and we compared CP measurement with an alternative technique, video imaging
      (VI). In 20 patients, NMB was determined at the hand by mechanomyography and at
      the larynx initially by CP and subsequently by VI, recording images using a
      fiberoptic bronchoscope via a laryngeal mask. Train-of-four stimuli were applied
      at both sites. After baseline measurements, the ETT was replaced, and rocuronium
      was infused to achieve a steady-state 50% (n = 10) or 75% (n = 10) block at the
      hand. CP measurements were recorded before and after restoration of RCP to
      prerocuronium pressure, followed by further VI measurements. The mean RCP
      decreased from 21 +/- 4 to 12 +/- 5 mm Hg after rocuronium. At 50% block at the
      hand, the CP estimate of block at the larynx with reduced RCP was 62% +/- 18%,
      and that after restoring RCP was 29% +/- 13%; VI estimated 27% +/- 14% block. At
      75% block at the hand, CP and VI estimated 52% +/- 11% and 46% +/- 9% block,
      respectively (RCP maintained). We conclude that RCP decreases after the
      administration of rocuronium, that restoring RCP significantly alters CP
      estimates of NMB, and that VI is in agreement with CP measurement if RCP is
      maintained at prerelaxant values. IMPLICATIONS: In this study, we show that a
      muscle relaxant-induced decrease in resting tension at the larynx may confound
      the assessment of neuromuscular block by cuff pressure measurement. The
      preliminary data suggest that video imaging may provide a suitable alternative to
      cuff pressure measurement to assess neuromuscular block at the larynx.

PMID- 9972771
TI  - Dose of compound A, not sevoflurane, determines changes in the biochemical
      markers of renal injury in healthy volunteers.
AB  - Administration of sevoflurane in a circle absorption system generates Compound A,
      a nephrotoxin in rats. Reports examining the potential of Compound A to produce
      renal injury in humans have provided conflicting results. We tested the
      possibility that there is a threshold to Compound A-induced renal injury in
      humans and that, above this threshold, renal injury increases with increasing
      doses of Compound A. Eleven volunteers received 3% sevoflurane for 8 h at 2
      L/min, and three volunteers received 3% sevoflurane for 8 h at 4-6 L/min. We
      measured inspired and expired concentrations of Compound A and urinary excretion
      of albumin, alpha-glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and glucose. The median
      urinary excretion of albumin, glucose, and alpha-GST for the first 3 days after
      anesthesia increased significantly from preanesthetic values in the 2-L/min
      group. Compound A doses < 240 ppm-h resulted in normal urinary excretion of
      albumin, glucose, and alpha-GST. Five of seven subjects who received doses > 240
      ppm-h had abnormal excretion of albumin, and six of seven had abnormal alpha-GST
      urinary excretion (P < 0.05). Urinary excretion of albumin, alpha-GST, and
      glucose was normal by 14 days after exposure. We conclude that sevoflurane
      administration for 8 h at 2 L/min results in albuminuria and enzymuria when the
      dose of Compound A exceeds 240 ppm-h. That is, a Compound A concentration of 30
      ppm breathed for > or = 8 h may produce transient renal injury. IMPLICATIONS: We
      examined the dose-response relationship of sevoflurane/Compound A and urinary
      excretion of albumin, glucose, and alpha-GST. Sevoflurane exposure for 8 h at a 2
      L/min inflow rate produces transient albuminuria and enzymuria in healthy
      volunteers when the dose of Compound A exceeds 240 ppm-h (30 ppm for 8 h).

PMID- 9972770
TI  - The in vitro effects of isoflurane, sevoflurane, and propofol on platelet
      aggregation.
AB  - We studied the in vitro effects of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and propofol
      anesthesia on platelet function. Thirty patients undergoing minor surgical
      procedures were divided into three groups (n = 10 each). Induction of anesthesia
      was achieved by using 5 mg/kg thiopental i.v., and 0.1 mg/kg vecuronium i.v. was
      used for muscle relaxation. Anesthesia maintenance was provided by sevoflurane in
      the first, isoflurane in the second, and propofol infusion in the third group
      with 70% N2O in O2. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, thrombocyte count, prothrombin time,
      activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, arterial
      pH, von Willebrand factor, viscosity, platelet aggregation, and bleeding time
      were measured 1 h pre-, intra-, and postanesthesia. There was no difference among
      the platelet aggregation ratios of the pre-, intra-, and postoperative periods in
      the isoflurane group. The aggregation ratios in the sevoflurane and propofol
      groups were significantly reduced at intraoperative periods compared with
      preoperative values. Diminished aggregation values were also found 1 h
      postoperatively compared with the control values in the sevoflurane and propofol
      groups. We conclude that, in patients with a bleeding tendency during the intra-
      and early postoperative period, isoflurane may be preferred as a general
      anesthetic. IMPLICATIONS: In our study, using vacuum-operated tubes, we
      demonstrated that sevoflurane and propofol had a significant inhibitory effect on
      intraoperative and early postoperative platelet aggregation, whereas isoflurane
      had no effect. Therefore, isoflurane may be preferred as a general anesthetic in
      patients with a clinically relevant bleeding tendency.

PMID- 9972772
TI  - The effects of prostaglandin E1 on intraoperative temperature changes and the
      incidence of postoperative shivering during deliberate mild hypothermia for
      neurosurgical procedures.
AB  - We investigated the effects of i.v. prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on intraoperative
      changes of core temperature and the incidence of postoperative shivering in
      neurosurgical patients undergoing deliberate mild hypothermia. Eighty-three
      patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: patients in the control
      group did not receive PGE1, whereas patients in the PG20 group and PG50 group
      received PGE1 at a dose of 0.02 and 0.05 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1), respectively.
      The administration of PGE1 was started just after the induction of anesthesia and
      continued until the end of anesthesia. Anesthesia was maintained with nitrous
      oxide in oxygen, sevoflurane, and fentanyl. After the induction of anesthesia,
      patients were cooled using a water blanket and a convective device blanket.
      Tympanic membrane temperature was maintained at 34.5 degrees C. During surgical
      wound closure, patients were rewarmed. Intraoperative changes in tympanic
      membrane and skin temperatures and the incidence of postoperative shivering were
      compared among groups. Demographic and intraoperative variables were similar
      among groups. There were no significant differences in tympanic temperatures
      among groups at each point during the operation. Skin temperature 30 min after
      rewarming and just after tracheal extubation was significantly lower in the PG20
      group than in the PG50 group. Postoperative shivering was more frequent in the
      PG20 group (43%) than in the control (13%) and PG50 (17%) groups. These results
      suggest that the intraoperative administration of PGE1 does not affect changes in
      core temperature during deliberate mild hypothermia and that PGE1 at a dose of
      0.02 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) may increase the occurrence of postoperative
      shivering. IMPLICATIONS: Deliberate mild hypothermia has been proposed as a means
      of providing cerebral protection during neurosurgical procedures. Vasodilating
      drugs may be used during deliberate mild hypothermia to maintain peripheral
      circulation and to enhance the cooling and rewarming rate. In the present study,
      however, we found no benefit from i.v. prostaglandin E1 administration during
      deliberate mild hypothermia in neurosurgical patients.

PMID- 9972773
TI  - The effects of clonidine and dexmedetomidine on human neutrophil functions.
AB  - Neutrophil functions are inhibited by various anesthetics. Clonidine and
      dexmedetomidine, alpha2-agonists, are often used as adjuncts to anesthesia. Thus,
      we conducted the current study to determine the effect of clonidine,
      dexmedetomidine, and xylazine at clinically (or veterinary anesthetically)
      relevant concentrations (and 10 and 100 times these concentrations) on several
      aspects of human neutrophil functions using an in vitro system. The three alpha2
      agonists had no effects on chemotaxis, phagocytosis, or superoxide anion (O2-)
      production of neutrophils, except that the highest concentration of clonidine
      inhibited chemotaxis. Increases in intracellular calcium concentrations in
      neutrophils stimulated by chemotaxin were not influenced by clonidine,
      dexmedetomidine, or xylazine. Unchanged calcium concentrations may contribute to
      failure to modulate the neutrophil functions. In addition, these drugs did not
      scavenge O2- generated by the cell-free (xanthine-xanthine oxidase) system. This
      is the first report concerning the effect of clonidine or dexmedetomidine on
      human neutrophil functions. Our findings suggest that we may not have to take
      extra precautions in using the alpha2-agonists in patients with infection, but
      that we cannot expect these drugs to be prophylaxis against autotissue injuries
      whose pathogenesis includes activation of neutrophils. IMPLICATIONS: Neutrophils
      are involved in the antibacterial host defense system and autotissue injury. We
      found that clinically relevant concentrations of clonidine and dexmedetomidine do
      not affect chemotaxis, phagocytosis, or superoxide production by human
      neutrophils. These findings indicate that it may not be necessary to take special
      care in using alpha2-agonists in patients with infection, sepsis, or systemic
      inflammation.

PMID- 9972774
TI  - The effect of alpha2-adrenergic drugs on the activity of neurons in the rat
      nucleus raphe magnus in vitro.
AB  - The nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) is an important descending inhibitory system for
      pain transmission. We tested whether clonidine, an alpha2-adrenergic agonist, and
      yohimbine, an alpha2-adrenergic antagonist, modulate the activity of NRM neurons
      using extracellular recording in a rat brainstem slice preparation. Clonidine 1
      20 microM increased firing frequencies (FF) in 22 (37%) and decreased FF in 6
      (10%) spontaneously active neurons. Correlation between the concentrations of
      clonidine and FF changes was unremarkable. Eight spontaneously active neurons
      (13%) showed increases followed by decreases in FF with increasing doses of
      clonidine. The remaining 24 neurons (40%) showed no change in FF. Yohimbine 1
      microM decreased FF in 38 spontaneously active neurons (58%), whereas the
      remaining 27 neurons (42%) showed no change in FF. In some neurons, yohimbine
      antagonized the increase or decrease in FF by application of clonidine. In three
      silent neurons (25%), clonidine (5 or 10 microM) induced firing activity, which
      stopped or decreased with the increasing doses of clonidine. In the remaining
      nine neurons (75%), clonidine did not induce firing activity. We conclude that
      activation and inhibition of alpha2-adrenergic receptors of NRM neurons augments
      and suppresses output of the descending inhibitory pain pathway. IMPLICATIONS:
      The nucleus raphe magnus is implicated in descending control of the nociceptive
      processes. We found that clonidine and yohimbine increased and decreased,
      respectively, the firing activity of a substantial number of nucleus raphe magnus
      neurons. Clonidine and may facilitate and yohimbine may reduce the outflow of the
      descending inhibitory pathway.

PMID- 9972775
TI  - Severe anaphylactic reaction to cisatracurium.

PMID- 9972776
TI  - The relationship between dynamic compliance and inspiratory flow.

PMID- 9972777
TI  - Ondansetron versus droperidol for postoperative nausea and vomiting.

PMID- 9972778
TI  - Selecting double-lumen tubes for small patients.

PMID- 9972779
TI  - Label and labeling are not interchangeable.

PMID- 9972780
TI  - Airway adjunct to an unanticipated difficult airway.

PMID- 9972781
TI  - The hemodynamic effects of pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgery in
      healthy infants: assessment by continuous esophageal aortic blood flow echo
      Doppler.

PMID- 9972782
TI  - Vaporizer level obstruction detected by anesthetic vapor analysis.

PMID- 9972783
TI  - Use of the laryngeal mask during emergence from anesthesia in a patient with an
      unstable neck.

PMID- 9972784
TI  - An illuminating stylet as an aid for tracheal intubation via the intubating
      laryngeal mask airway.

PMID- 9972785
TI  - Increased chromosomal radiosensitivity in breast cancer patients: a comparison of
      two assays.
AB  - PURPOSE: It has been shown previously that sensitivity to the induction of
      chromosome damage by ionizing radiation is, on average, higher in G2 or G0
      lymphocytes of breast cancer patients than of normal healthy controls. The
      authors suggested that elevated chromosomal radiosensitivity may be a marker for
      breast cancer predisposition. To investigate whether the G0 micronucleus assay is
      a true surrogate for the more demanding G2 metaphase assay, both tests have now
      been performed on the same blood samples from 80 patients. METHODS: For the G0
      micronucleus assay, cells were exposed to 3.5 Gy 137Cs gamma-rays 6 h before
      mitogenic stimulation, treated with cytochalasin B at 24 h post-stimulation and
      harvested at 90 h. For the G2 assay, at 72 h after stimulation cells were given
      0.5 Gy X-rays and harvested 90 min later. RESULTS: Previous observations were
      confirmed, now with much larger numbers of donors, in that approximately 40% of
      breast cancer patients showed elevated sensitivity in the G2 assay (135 patients,
      105 normals) and 25% in the G0 assay (130 patients, 68 normals). However, there
      was no correlation between G2 and G0 sensitivity for the 80 patients tested (r = 
      0.001, p = 0.99). Most of the sensitive patients were either G2 or G0 sensitive,
      with only 4% sensitive in both assays. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that
      different mechanisms of chromosomal radiosensitivity operate in G2 and G0 cells
      and that, in general, each chromosomally radiosensitive patient is defective in
      only one such mechanism, possibly via mutation (or polymorphism) of a single
      gene. Such mutations may confer cancer predisposition, of low penetrance, in a
      substantial proportion of patients.

PMID- 9972786
TI  - X-ray-induced simple, pseudosimple and complex exchanges involving two distinctly
      painted chromosomes.
AB  - PURPOSE: To detect simple, pseudosimple and complex chromosome exchanges in X-ray
      induced aberrations involving two distinctly painted chromosomes. Each visibly
      complex two-paint exchange was analysed to determine the number of breaks and
      chromosomes necessary to derive the pattern. In addition, the number of
      associated paint junctions was scored to assess the frequency of non-reciprocal
      exchanges. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Metaphase spreads were prepared from a human
      primary fibroblast cell line irradiated with 2, 4 and 6 Gy 250kV X-rays. FISH
      painting was performed with distinctly labelled probes for chromosomes 1 and 2,
      and a pancentromeric probe. RESULTS: From a total of 78 two-paint exchanges
      observed, 35 were apparently simple, with no additional counterstain chromatin,
      and 43 were visibly complex with two-colour painting, of which 23 contained at
      least one pseudosimple exchange. A detailed analysis of the number of two-paint
      colour junctions showed that at least 50% of the visibly complex exchange
      patterns involved non-reciprocal exchanges. The simple and complex exchange dose
      response curves were considered to be linear and curvilinear respectively.
      CONCLUSION: The frequency of non-reciprocal rejoining events within complex
      exchanges is consistent with an interaction model based on the free exchange of
      multiple break-ends. In addition, the simple and complex exchanges have distinct
      dose-response curves, in agreement with previous data for single-painted
      exchanges corrected for pseudosimples.

PMID- 9972787
TI  - Is there a simple answer to the origin of complex chromosome exchanges?

PMID- 9972788
TI  - Inter-laboratory comparison of cytogenetic endpoints for the biomonitoring of
      radiological workers.
AB  - PURPOSE: The evaluation of different cytogenetic endpoints of radiation damage
      for the biomonitoring of contract workers temporarily employed at nuclear power
      plants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples from six donors were irradiated in
      vitro with doses ranging from 0.1 to 2Gy 60Co gamma-rays. Compared were a
      conventional analysis for dicentrics, the conventional micronucleus (MN) assay,
      the centromere micronucleus assay using p82H and an alphaAllCen pancentromeric
      probe, and tricolour FISH with chromosome 2, 4 and 8 DNA probes for the scoring
      of translocations. RESULTS: Agreement in the number of MN between Giemsa-and
      propidium iodine fluorescence-stained preparations was obtained. The control
      samples showed higher centromere positivity for the MN after FISH with the p82H
      probe compared with the alphaAllCen probe. The MN results with both probes showed
      a slight but systematic increase in the number of centromere-positive MN with
      dose, indicating that radiation, although principally clastogenic, also has
      aneuploidogenic properties. The values of the genomic translocation frequency
      (FG) derived from the observed translocation frequencies were systematically
      higher than the dicentric yields. Comparing the sensitivity of the different
      methods with restriction of the scoring time to 1 day for biomonitoring purposes,
      the centromere micronucleus assay had the lowest dose detection limit (0.1 to 0.2
      Gy). CONCLUSION: This study shows that at present only the centromere
      micronucleus assay can combine high sensitivity with a reasonable scoring time
      for the biomonitoring of relatively large populations.

PMID- 9972789
TI  - Chromosome aberrations induced by light ions: Monte Carlo simulations based on a
      mechanistic model.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the mechanisms underlying the induction of chromosome
      aberrations by ionizing radiation, focusing attention on DNA damage severity,
      interphase chromosome geometry and the distribution of DNA strand breaks.
      METHODS: An ab initio biophysical model of aberration induction in human
      lymphocytes specific for light ions was developed, based on the assumption that
      'complex lesions' (clustered DNA breaks) produce aberrations, whereas less severe
      breaks are repaired. It was assumed that interphase chromosomes are spatially
      localized and that chromosome break free-ends rejoin pairwise randomly; the
      unrejoining of a certain fraction of free-ends was assumed to be possible, and
      small fragments were neglected in order to reproduce experimental conditions. The
      yield of different aberrations was calculated and compared with some data
      obtained using Giemsa or FISH techniques. RESULTS: Dose-response curves for
      dicentrics and centric rings (Giemsa) and for reciprocal, complex and incomplete
      exchanges (FISH) were simulated; the ratio between complex and reciprocal
      exchanges was also calculated as a function of particle type and LET. The results
      showed agreement with data from lymphocyte irradiation with light ions.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that clustered DNA breaks are a critical damage
      type for aberration induction and that interphase chromosome localization plays
      an important role. Moreover, the effect of a given particle type is related both
      to the number of induced complex lesions and to their spatial distribution.

PMID- 9972790
TI  - S values are not a signature for a significant contribution of neutrons to the
      radiation dose received by atomic-bomb survivors.
AB  - PURPOSE: It has been proposed previously that the ratio of complete to incomplete
      translocations as seen by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), the S value,
      can be a cytogenetic fingerprint of exposure to radiation of different qualities.
      Results from a previous study suggested that the S value is approximately 10 for
      sparsely ionizing radiations such as X- and gamma-rays, and 2 for densely
      ionizing radiations. Based on FISH data of atomic-bomb (A-bomb) survivors, which
      showed an S value of 3.25, a significant neutron component to A-bomb radiation
      was suggested. To examine the possibility, the present in vitro study was
      conducted using X-rays. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human blood lymphocytes were
      exposed to X-rays and first metaphases were examined with FISH using DNA probes
      for chromosomes 1, 2 and 4. RESULTS: The S value was 3.16 for X-rays, which
      differs from approximately 10 as reported previously, and not larger than the
      3.25 obtained from the blood lymphocytes of A-bomb survivors. CONCLUSIONS: S
      values seem to vary among laboratories even after exposure of cells to sparsely
      ionizing radiations. Data from this study show that S values are not a signature
      for a significant contribution of neutrons to the radiation dose received by A
      bomb survivors in Hiroshima.

PMID- 9972791
TI  - Measurement of DNA base damage in cells exposed to low doses of gamma-radiation:
      comparison between the HPLC-EC and comet assays.
AB  - PURPOSE: Two different methods aimed at measuring DNA damage were compared.
      Monocytes were exposed to 60Co gamma-rays and the level of DNA damage was
      determined using either the HPLC-EC or comet assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The
      alkaline comet assay was used in association with the Fpg and Endo III DNA
      glycosylases to estimate the amount of modified bases together with strand breaks
      and alkali-labile sites. The HPLC-EC analysis was performed to measure 8-oxo-7,8
      dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo) levels in cells. RESULTS: A correlation
      between these assays allowed the determination of the steady-state level and the
      yield of Fpg sensitive sites (assimilated to 8-oxodGuo), which were estimated to
      be 0.18 per 10(6) bp and 0.044 per 10(6) bp per Gy, respectively. Similar levels
      of Endo III sensitive sites were found. For the strand breaks and alkali-labile
      sites, the background level was 0.26 per 10(6) bp and the yield 0.123 per 10(6)
      bp per Gy. DISCUSSION: The modified comet assay appears to be an appropriate tool
      to estimate DNA base damage in cells exposed to low doses of gamma-radiation.

PMID- 9972792
TI  - Replication in vitro and cleavage by restriction endonuclease of 5-formyluracil-
      and 5-hydroxymethyluracil-containing oligonucleotides.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the biological consequences of 5-formyluracil (5-foU) and
      5-hydroxymethyluracil (5-hmU). MATERIALS AND METHOD: The authors constructed 22
      mer oligonucleotides containing a 5-foU or 5-hmU residue at the same sites. The
      effects of such modifications on the ability to serve as a template for DNA
      polymerase and on the cleavage by sequence-specific restriction endonuclease were
      examined. RESULTS: The Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I and Thermus
      thermophilus DNA polymerase read through the sites of 5-foU and 5-hmU in the
      templates. 5-FoU directed the incorporation of dCMP in addition to dAMP opposite
      the lesion during DNA synthesis. The DNA polymerases incorporated only dAMP
      opposite the 5-hmU. The substitution of thymine by 5-foU within the recognition
      site of the restriction endonucleases HincII and SalI inhibited or prevented the
      cleavage by the enzymes, whereas the enzymes cleaved the 5-hmU-containing
      oligonucleotides at the same rate as the T-containing oligonucleotides.
      CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that the 5-foU-A base pair is less stable
      than the T-A base pair and that 5-foU can form a base pair with C in addition to
      A. It was also demonstrated that the oxidation of thymine to 5-hmU does not
      result in substantial deterioration.

PMID- 9972793
TI  - DNA-PK-independent rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks in human cell extracts
      in vitro.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the role of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) in the
      rejoining of ionizing radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks (dsb). MATERIALS
      AND METHODS: This study employed previously described in vitro assays that
      utilize nuclei or 'naked' DNA prepared from agarose-embedded cells as a substrate
      and S-HeLa cell extracts as a source of enzymes. Rejoining of dsb in these assays
      is absolutely dependent on cell extract and it proceeds, under optimal reaction
      conditions, to an extent similar to that observed in intact cells. Results were
      confirmed in a plasmid-based assay for in vitro rejoining of dsb. RESULTS: It is
      shown that concentrations of wortmannin completely inhibiting DNA-PK activity
      profoundly affect the rejoining of dsb in vivo, but have no effect on dsb
      rejoining in vitro. Furthermore, fractionation of cell extracts using ammonium
      sulphate precipitation, generates protein fractions that are able to support dsb
      rejoining, despite the fact that they do not contain detectable amounts of either
      DNA-PKcs or Ku80. Efficient rejoining of dsb in vitro is also observed with
      extracts of MO59J cells that lack DNA-PK activity. Finally, rejoining of dsb
      remains unaffected by wortmannin in a plasmid-based assay, and is also detectable
      with extracts of MO59J cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are in contrast with
      genetic studies demonstrating a requirement for DNA-PK activity for efficient
      rejoining of dsb in vivo. The difference between in vitro and in vivo results may
      not be attributed to chromatin structure since wortmannin was without an effect
      when using nuclei as a substrate. It is speculated that the differences between
      in vivo and in vitro results can be explained either by assuming the operation of
      multiple pathways in dsb rejoining, some of which do not require DNA-PK, or by
      postulating a purely regulatory/damage-sensing role for DNA-PK in intact cells
      but no direct involvement in dsb rejoining.

PMID- 9972794
TI  - A comparison of the radiosensitivity of relaxed and supercoiled plasmid DNA.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of the work was to compare critically the radiosensitivity of
      the supercoiled and relaxed forms of a plasmid DNA system commonly used in DNA
      damage assays. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The yields of single- (ssb) and double
      strand breaks (dsb) in pBR322 DNA over a range of scavenging capacities were
      measured in the presence of Tris after irradiation with a single pulse of 400 keV
      electrons. The response was compared with DNA that had been given a preliminary
      dose of gamma-rays such that an average of one ssb per molecule was present.
      RESULTS: The yields of dsb were found to be enhanced in the pre-irradiated DNA
      when Tris was present during irradiation at concentrations varying between 10 and
      100 mmol dm(-3) with a maximal enhancement ratio of 1.6 at 80 mmol x dm(-3) Tris.
      This increased yield was not observed when both the pre-irradiation and the
      experimental doses were given by gamma-irradiation. The increased response was
      not found in DNA that had been enzymatically relaxed by the introduction of a
      nick in each molecule using the enzyme gpII. CONCLUSIONS: The observations
      suggest that the conformation per se does not influence the radiosensitivity. The
      enhanced yields observed in the gamma-ray pre-irradiated DNA with pulsed
      irradiation appear to be a consequence of the high dose rate used. A proposed
      explanation is that the combination of high dose levels (< or =1500 Gy) and short
      irradiation times (approximately 5 ns) would allow some 'spurs' to overlap and it
      is proposed that the enhanced yields of dsb are related to this.

PMID- 9972795
TI  - 4-Amino-1,8-naphthalimide: a novel inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and
      radiation sensitizer.
AB  - PURPOSE: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP; EC 2.4.2.30) is a chromatin-bound
      enzyme which is known to regulate chromatin structure by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation
      of nuclear proteins, to facilitate DNA base excision repair, and to contribute to
      cellular recovery following DNA damage. Because inhibitors of PARP are able to
      potentiate the cell-killing effects of some DNA-damaging agents and to inhibit
      the repair of induced DNA strand breaks, such compounds may enhance the anti
      tumour efficacy of radiotherapy or cytotoxic drug treatment. The PARP-inhibitory
      effects and radiosensitization of a new compound, 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide
      (ANI), were examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The inhibition of radiation-induced
      poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (50 Gy; 60Co gamma-radiation) was evaluated by
      immunofluorescence assay using MoAb 10H directed against poly(ADP-ribose). Cell
      survival was assessed by colony forming assay (CFA) to determine the cytotoxicity
      of radiosensitization potential in exponentially growing hamster lung fibroblasts
      (V79), rat prostate carcinoma (R3327-AT1) and human prostate carcinoma (DU145)
      cells. RESULTS: At concentrations above 30 nmol x dm(-3) ANI, radiation-induced
      poly(ADP-ribose) was not detectable by immunofluorescence in V79, AT1 and DU145
      cells. At the highest concentration tested for chronic exposure (20 micromol x
      dm(-3)), ANI was not cytotoxic and significantly potentiates the cytotoxicity of
      gamma-irradiation. The level of radiation enhancement was directly proportional
      to drug concentration. Survival curves for the three cell lines using 20 micromol
      x dm(-3) ANI revealed sensitizer enhancement ratios of 1.3 for V79, 1.5 for AT1
      and 1.3 for DU145. CONCLUSIONS: In living cells, ANI is about 1000-fold more
      potent at inhibiting PARP activity compared with 3-aminobenzamide (3-ABA). CFA
      studies demonstrated that ANI is a radiation sensitizer at non-toxic and lower
      concentrations (20 micromol x dm(-3)) than 3-ABA (10 mmol x dm(-3)).

PMID- 9972797
TI  - In vivo exposure of rats to GSM-modulated microwaves: flow cytometry analysis of
      lymphocyte subpopulations and of mitogen stimulation.
AB  - The effects of GSM-modulated microwaves on lymphocyte sub-populations of Sprague
      Dawley rats and their normal mitogenic responses were investigated using flow
      cytometry analysis and a colorimetric method. No alterations were found in the
      surface phenotype of splenic lymphocytes or in their mitogenic activity,
      indicating that low-level pulsed microwaves do not seem to affect the integrity
      of the immune system.

PMID- 9972796
TI  - Bleomycin versus OH-radical-induced malonaldehydic-product formation in DNA.
AB  - PURPOSE: To compare the actions of bleomycin and ionizing radiation on DNA
      regarding the formation of malonaldehyde-like products. MATERIALS AND METHODS:
      Calf thymus DNA was treated with iron/bleomycin or gamma-radiation at pH 7.
      Products were analysed by HPLC. The thiobarbituric-acid reactivity of the samples
      was determined directly or after HPLC by post-column derivatization. ESI mass
      spectra were taken on-line following HPLC. RESULTS: Malonaldehyde and
      malonaldehyde-like products as detected by the sensitive 2-thiobarbituric acid
      (TBA) assay are formed in gamma-irradiated DNA and thymidine solutions as well as
      upon treatment of DNA with bleomycin/iron. In gamma-irradiated DNA solutions in
      the presence of oxygen, no base propenals were detected, and the major TBA-active
      product was malonaldehyde. In the gamma-radiolysis of thymidine, thymine propenal
      was formed only in traces (not more than 0.07 per cent of the OH-radical yield).
      Malonaldehyde was practically absent after treatment with bleomycin; three other
      TBA-active products were seen by HPLC which have been identified as the cytosine,
      thymine, and adenine propenals. Guanine propenal was not detected under our
      conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The absence of these base propenals upon gamma
      radiolysis implies that although the initiating step of OH-radical and bleomycin
      action [i.e. H-abstraction at C(4')] may be the same, the bleomycin-iron complex
      must participate in subsequent steps en route to the base propenals. It is
      proposed that the bleomycin pathway may involve the interaction of the C(4')
      peroxyl radical with the 'spent' bleomycin-iron complex by ligand exchange, under
      formation of a bleomycin-iron-peroxyl-radical complex, Blm(Fe4+,*OOR), which then
      decomposes by heterolysis into the alkoxy cation precursor +OR of the base
      propenal and reconstitution of the bleomycin-iron complex Blm(Fe,O)3+, i.e. gives
      rise to base propenal formation without the involvement of a C(4')-hydroperoxide.

PMID- 9972798
TI  - Frequency of micronuclei in the blood and bone marrow cells of mice exposed to
      ultra-wideband electromagnetic radiation.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the extent of genetic damage in the peripheral blood and
      bone marrow cells of mice exposed to ultra-wideband electromagnetic radiation
      (UWBR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CF-1 male mice were exposed to UWBR for 15 min at
      an estimated whole-body average specific absorption rate of 37 mW x kg(-1).
      Groups of untreated control and positive control mice injected with mitomycin C
      were also included in the study. After various treatments, half of the mice were
      killed at 18 h, and the other half at 24 h. Peripheral blood and bone marrow
      smears were examined to determine the extent of genotoxicity, as assessed by the
      presence of micronuclei (MN) in polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE). RESULTS: The
      percentages of PCE and the incidence of MN per 2000 PCE in both tissues in mice
      killed at 18 h were similar to the frequencies observed in mice terminated at 24
      h. There were no significant differences in the percentage of PCE between control
      and the mice with or without UWBR exposure; the group mean values (+/- standard
      deviation) were in the range of 3.1+/-0.14 to 3.2+/-0.23 in peripheral blood, and
      49.0+/-3.56 to 52.3+/-4.02 in bone marrow. The mean incidence of MN per 2000 PCE
      in control and in mice with or without UWBR exposure ranged from 7.7+/-2.00 to
      9.7+/-2.54 in peripheral blood and 7.4+/-2.32 to 10.0+/-3.27 in bone marrow.
      Pairwise comparison of the data did not reveal statistically significant
      differences between the control and mice with or without UWBR exposure groups
      (excluding positive controls). CONCLUSION: Under the experimental conditions
      tested, there was no evidence for excess genotoxicity in peripheral blood or bone
      marrow cells of mice exposed to UWBR.

PMID- 9972799
TI  - Differential learning impairments produced by prenatal exposure to ionizing
      radiation in mice.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the behavioural effects of prenatal irradiation on
      different days of gestation on the performance of two learning tasks by adult
      mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CD1 mice were exposed in utero to 1 Gy of 250 kV X
      rays on gestational days 13, 15 or 18. Other animals were sham-exposed. Male mice
      were tested as adults in a radial arm maze on two learning tasks considered
      dependent upon either spatial memory or visual associative memory. RESULTS:
      Performance of the animals on the tasks was a function of the day on which
      exposure occurred. Compared with sham-exposed animals, exposure on day 18
      produced a highly significant deficit in performance on the spatial task, and a
      small improvement in the visually cued task. Exposure on day 15 produced no
      deficit in performance on the spatial task, but a highly significant deficit in
      the cued task. Exposure on day 13 produced no significant deficits on either
      task. CONCLUSIONS: These differential effects on performance appear to be
      consistent with radiation-induced insult to different memory systems within the
      developing mouse brain. These and further studies will help provide better
      estimates of the risks of radiation at different times during gestation on
      cognitive function in humans.

PMID- 9972800
TI  - Observations on the pollical palmar interosseous muscle (of Henle).
AB  - Questions about the existence of a "pollical" (first) volar interosseous muscle
      have persisted since its description by Henle in 1858. A survey of current human
      anatomy texts and atlases reveals that the majority do not recognize a pollical
      volar interosseous muscle and therefore they identify only three palmar
      interossei. We examined the thumbs of 20 individuals of African and European
      origin in the human anatomy lab at University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg)
      and 15 individuals of European ancestry in the anatomy lab at the University at
      Stony Brook (New York). A pollical palmar interosseous muscle (PPIM) was found in
      86% of individuals (17/20 of the Witwatersrand sample; 13/15 of the Stony Brook
      sample). Here, we offer a definition of the PPIM in an attempt to resolve the
      long-standing question of its existence and its relationship to the adductor
      pollicis obliquus and the deep head of flexor pollicis brevis. We suggest that
      the human hand usually possesses four palmar interossei as well as four dorsal
      interossei.

PMID- 9972801
TI  - Innervation of tracheal epithelium and smooth muscle by neurons in airway
      ganglia.
AB  - The neurochemical profiles of neurons in ferret tracheal ganglia has been
      characterized, but their projections to smooth muscle and epithelium in ferret
      trachea has not been examined. The purpose of this study is to determine the
      location of cell bodies that project VIP-, SP-, and NPY-containing fibers to the
      ferret tracheal smooth muscle and epithelium. Segments of ferret trachea were
      cultured for 0, 1, 3, or 7 days, some in the presence of 3 microm capsaicin. VIP,
      SP, or NPY nerve fiber density was measured using morphometric procedures. A
      retrograde tracer, rhodamine-labeled microspheres, identified neurons projecting
      to the epithelium. The density of SP fibers in the epithelium was reduced after
      culture, but VIP innervation was not different. In tracheal smooth muscle, the
      density of VIP- and SP-IR fibers was not different during the culture period, but
      NPY fiber density was reduced at all culture times. Capsaicin treatment did not
      affect nerve fiber density in the tracheal smooth muscle but produced a
      significant reduction in the density of epithelial VIP- and SP-IR nerve fibers
      after 1 day. Rhodamine-labeled microspheres were identified in VIP-containing
      nerve cell bodies of the ferret tracheal plexus. VIP innervation to the airway
      epithelium in ferret originates both from cell bodies in airway ganglia and cell
      bodies in sensory ganglia. The pathway from airway ganglia suggest the existence
      of a local reflex mechanisms initiated by epithelial irritation.

PMID- 9972802
TI  - Human radicular veins: regulation of venous reflux in the absence of valves.
AB  - In the literature it is generally assumed that venous reflux within the radicular
      veins is prevented by the presence of bicuspid valves and narrowing of the
      transdural part of these vessels. Recently, we performed a human cadaver study of
      the internal vertebral venous plexus. Surprisingly, a large number of radicular
      and perimedullary veins appeared to be filled with Araldite CY 221 mixture, after
      injection of this material into the vertebral venous system, implicating reflux
      via the radicular veins and suggesting insufficiency of the presumed anti-reflux
      mechanism. Therefore, it was decided to study the radicular veins in order to
      determine and to investigate the presence or absence of anti-reflux mechanisms
      within this system. The vertebral venous systems of ten fresh human cadavers,
      between 64 and 93 years of age, were injected with Araldite CY 221 mixture. After
      polymerization, all cadavers were dissected and the spinal nerve sheaths,
      including nerve roots, radicular veins and epidural veins, were excised as a
      whole. After macroscopical examination, serial sections (40 microm) were cut on a
      freezing microtome and stained in Von Gieson medium. Every third section was
      stained immunohistochemically with smooth muscle antigen (SMA), to visualize
      smooth muscle cells. In all cadavers, a number of intradural radicular veins was
      filled with Araldite. Employing microscopical examination, no bicuspid valves
      were found. However, four structures were encountered that might serve as ananti
      reflux-mechanism: 1) intravenous dural folds, 2) meandrous configuration, and 3)
      narrowing of the radicular veins at the point of penetration of the dura mater,
      and 4) varying numbers of smooth muscle fibers in the walls of the intradural and
      extradural parts of the radicular veins. Reflux via the radicular veins seems to
      be a physiological phenomenon. Structural valves have not been encountered during
      this study. Intravenous dural folds, meandrous configuration and narrowing of the
      transdural part of the radicular veins, and the presence of large numbers of
      smooth muscle cells in the radicular venous walls suggest the existence of a
      dynamic reflux-regulating system that has the ability to increase the
      intravascular resistance under conditions of venous hyperpression, in order to
      protect the spinal cord from venous pressure waves. Possibly, venous reflux via
      the radicular veins has a role in selective cooling of the spinal cord.

PMID- 9972804
TI  - Ultrastructure and lectin cytochemistry of the cloacal pelvic glands in the male
      newt Triturus marmoratus marmoratus.
AB  - The cloacal organ of Salamandridae species contains four glands: pelvic, dorsal,
      ventral, and Kingsbury's glands. Pelvic glands have been studied only by light
      microscopy with conventional methods, and consist of multiple tubular serous
      glands with a prismatic epithelium which contains numerous PAS positive secretory
      granules. The present report is an ultrastructural and lectin cytochemistry
      characterization of the pelvic glands of Triturus marmoratus marmoratus
      throughout the reproductive cycle. Our methods consisted of conventional electron
      microscopy, and colloidal-gold lectin cytochemistry of the following lectins:
      WGA, ConA, LcA, UEA-I, PNA, SBA, and HPA. In the prereproductive period, the
      glands showed a tall epithelium which consisted of two cell types, dark and clear
      cells, surrounded by elongated, myoepithelial cells. Both dark and clear cells
      showed the ultrastructural characteristics of secretory cells, and exhibited many
      secretory granules in the apical cytoplasm. Areas showing densely packed,
      degenerating cell organelles--which were not surrounded by membrane--were
      observed in the dark cells whereas the clear cells showed large heterolysosomes.
      In the postreproductive period the number of secretory granules decreased, the
      rough endoplasmic reticulum was less developed, and areas of degenerating
      organelles were absent. In addition, small basal cells appeared. The results of
      the lectin histochemistry study were similar in both reproductive periods. In the
      epithelial cells, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi complex, and
      secretory granules exclusively labeled to ConA. In all cell types, the nuclei
      reacted to all lectins while the cytosol only reacted to LcA lectin. The
      ultrastructural and histochemical characteristics of the pelvic glands of T.
      marmoratus suggest that these glands could be homologous to the mammalian seminal
      vesicles and prostate.

PMID- 9972803
TI  - Dynamic expression of a native chondroitin sulfate epitope reveals
      microheterogeneity of extracellular matrix organization in the embryonic chick
      heart.
AB  - TC2 is a novel monoclonal antibody produced by in vitro immunization of
      splenocytes with a peanut agglutinin-positive fraction from extracts of
      prechondrogenic micromass cultures of chick limb mesenchyme. ELISA results
      demonstrated TC2 reactivity with a native epitope on a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)
      enriched in chondroitin-4-sulfate and with multiple intact proteoglycans, but not
      with other GAGs tested. TC2 immunohistochemical reactivity was abolished by
      pretreatment of sections with chondroitinase AC or preadsorption with chondroitin
      4-sulfate GAG. Strong TC2 localization occurred throughout the developing heart
      at stage 9. As looping ensued, a graded reactivity was observed from lowest in
      the atrium to highest in the conotruncus that correlated well with versican
      localization. The superior atrioventricular cushion stained preferentially with
      TC2 as compared to the inferior cushion at stages 16-18. At these later stages
      TC2 patterns did not agree completely with anti-versican reactivity. By stage 23
      there was a marked reduction in TC2 localization in the heart, however, strong
      reactivity remained at certain sites, including the conotruncus and in
      subcompartments of both atrioventricular cushions. A heterogeneous distribution
      of other native chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan epitopes recognized by
      monoclonal antibodies d1C4 and CS-56 was observed as well. The distribution of
      the TC2 epitope usually did not overlap with d1C4 or CS-56 localization at the
      stages examined. Overall, the spatiotemporal characteristics of TC2 reactivity in
      the developing chick heart appear to correlate with subdomains of the endocardial
      cushions as well as with trabecular and atrial septal formation.

PMID- 9972805
TI  - Apoptotic cell death in artificially induced deciduoma of pseudopregnant mice.
AB  - Deciduoma induced by mechanical stimulation in pseudopregnant mice is similar to
      the decidua in normal pregnancy and it undergoes regression after a certain
      period. Therefore, we examined cell death in deciduomas which were induced by
      artificial stimulation. To analyze the regression mechanism of artificially
      induced deciduoma, DNA fragmentation, in situ 3'-DNA nick end labeling, and RT
      PCR were performed on day 6 to 14 of pseudopregnancy. DNA fragmentation appeared
      on day 8 and it increased to day 10 of pseudopregnancy in the traumatized uterine
      horn. A large number of apoptotic cells were found on day 10 in the periphery of
      deciduoma at the antimesometrial side. Deciduoma underwent degeneration on day 11
      of pseudopregnancy. Expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA
      was high on days 8 and 10, then decreased, whereas the expression increased again
      on day 14. TNF-alpha protein was expressed from day 8 to day 12, showing a peak
      expression on day 10 when deciduoma reached maximum weight. Serum progesterone
      level was high in the traumatized pseudopregnant mice on day 6, then it gradually
      decreased. Life span of deciduoma was prolonged 4 days more by daily injection of
      progesterone. A reduction in serum progesterone coincides with TNF-alpha
      increase, resulting in an increase of apoptotic deciduomal cells at the
      regression period, and that the life span of deciduoma is prolonged by additive
      supply of progesterone.

PMID- 9972806
TI  - Co-localization of Rab3B and oxytocin to electron dense granules of the sheep
      corpus luteum during the estrous cycle.
AB  - Oxytocin and its carrier protein, neurophysin, are both associated with luteal
      secretory granules which migrate from the paranuclear region to the cell membrane
      where exocytosis takes place. Rab3 proteins are thought to be associated with
      membrane vesicles or granules undergoing exocytotic fusion with the plasma
      membrane. The objective of this study was to determine whether Rab3B is co
      localized with oxytocin within the same secretory granules of large luteal cells
      obtained from corpora lutea of 16 Merino cross ewes at day 3, 7, 12 or 15 of the
      estrous cycle using immunocytochemistry. The mean granule density
      (granules/microm3) was not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the days
      examined. Electron microscopic immunocytochemistry showed that oxytocin and Rab3B
      were co-localized to the secretory granules on all days evaluated. Rab3B
      immunostaining was primarily located within secretory granules scattered
      throughout the cytoplasm. The mean intensity of labelling (number of gold
      particles) for oxytocin per microm2 cytoplasmic luteal tissue was significantly
      decreased on day 15 compared to those observed on days 3, 7 and 12 of estrous
      cycle. No significant changes were observed in the mean intensity of the Rab3B
      label at the different times of the cycle. The present study provides evidence
      that a member of the subfamily of Rab proteins, Rab3B, is present and co
      localized with oxytocin in the same secretory granules of the ovine corpus
      luteum. These results implicate Rab3B protein directly or indirectly in the
      hormone secretory pathway of ovarian tissue.

PMID- 9972807
TI  - Organization of motoneurons in the dorsal hypoglossal nucleus that innervate the
      retrusor muscles of the tongue in the rat.
AB  - This anatomical investigation was prompted by the incomplete knowledge of the
      myotopic organization of the dorsal subdivison of the hypoglossal nucleus.
      Intrinsic muscle motoneurons were not segregated and labeled previously with
      regard to the lateral division of the hypoglossal nerve. Also, motoneuron number
      and cell size, in relation to the individual retrusor tongue musculature, were
      rarely addressed previously. Retrograde labeling ofretrusor muscle motoneurons in
      the dorsal subdivision of the rat hypoglossal nucleus was done. Cholera toxin
      conjugate horseradish peroxidase (CTHRP) was injected into the retrusor tongue
      muscles with only the lateral division of the hypoglossal nerve intact. The
      dorsal subdivision of the hypoglossal nucleus contained approximately 800
      motoneurons ranging in cell body size from 19 to 41 microm. When either the
      styloglossus, hyoglossus, superior longitudinal, or inferior longitudinal muscle
      was isolated and injected with CTHRP, a separate motoneuron pool for each muscle
      was seen. The extrinsic muscle motoneurons, styloglossus and hyoglossus, were
      found rostrolateral and caudolateral respectively. In contrast, the intrinsic
      superior and inferior longitudinal muscle motoneurons were found more central and
      medial in the nucleus. Extrinsic muscle motoneurons were larger (approximately 30
      microm) than intrinsic muscle motoneurons (approximately 26 microm; P < .0001).
      Intrinsic muscle motoneurons account for a great majority of the motoneurons in
      the dorsal aspect of the hypoglossal nucleus and their axons have been shown to
      be contained in the lateral (retrusor) division of the hypoglossal nerve. This
      study revealed the myotopic organization of the retrusor subdivision of the rat
      hypoglossal nucleus.

PMID- 9972808
TI  - Cross-linked features of mouse pelage hair resistant to detergent extraction.
AB  - Cross-linking defects in hair cuticle have been observed in certain rare human
      disorders (trichothiodystrophy, transglutaminase-deficient lamellar ichthyosis).
      The hypothesis being investigated is that defective cross-linking in the cuticle
      or other parts of the fiber is a feature of some mouse mutants in which the hair
      is sparse or appears structurally unsound. Pelage hair samples from 13 mouse
      mutants displaying defective hair were extracted with sodium dodecyl sulfate and
      dithiothreitol at neutral pH and examined by transmission electron microscopy.
      All samples were indistinguishable after extraction from normal hair fibers in
      appearance of the medulla and cortex. In the cortex, keratins were completely
      extractable, but material remaining at the cell boundaries was clearly evident.
      Cells of the medulla were largely unextracted, containing distinct nuclei and
      amorphous material in the cytoplasm. In two samples (from mice with the
      matted/flaky tail and naked mutations) cells of the cuticle, which readily
      detached from the fiber when incubated at 100 degrees C, were more extensively
      extracted than normal. Defective cross-linking is thus observable in a minority
      of mouse hair mutants. The observed perturbation of cross-linking in the cuticle
      was not accompanied by visible perturbation in the cortex or medulla, indicating
      that different proteins participate in cross-linking in the different cell types.

PMID- 9972809
TI  - Remodeling of chick embryonic ventricular myoarchitecture under experimentally
      changed loading conditions.
AB  - Adult myocardium adapts to changing functional demands by hyper- or hypotrophy
      while the developing heart reacts by hyper- or hypoplasia. How embryonic
      myocardial architecture adjusts to experimentally altered loading is not known.
      We subjected the chick embryonic hearts to mechanically altered loading to study
      its influence upon ventricular myoarchitecture. Chick embryonic hearts were
      subjected to conotruncal banding (increased afterload model), or left atrial
      ligation or clipping, creating a combined model of increased preload in right
      ventricle and decreased preload in left ventricle. Modifications of myocardial
      architecture were studied by scanning electron microscopy and histology with
      morphometry. In the conotruncal banded group, there was a mild to moderate
      ventricular dilatation, thickening of the compact myocardium and trabeculae, and
      spiraling of trabecular course in the left ventricle. Right atrioventricular
      valve morphology was altered from normal muscular flap towards a bicuspid
      structure. Left atrial ligation or clipping resulted in hypoplasia of the left
      heart structures with compensatory overdevelopment on the right side. Hypoplastic
      left ventricle had decreased myocardial volume and showed accelerated trabecular
      compaction. Increased volume load in the right ventricle was compensated
      primarily by chamber dilatation with altered trabecular pattern, and by
      trabecular proliferation and thickening of the compact myocardium at the later
      stages. A ventricular septal defect was noted in all conotruncal banded, and 25%
      of left atrial ligated hearts. Increasing pressure load is a main stimulus for
      embryonic myocardial growth, while increased volume load is compensated primarily
      by dilatation. Adequate loading is important for normal cardiac morphogenesis and
      the development of typical myocardial patterns.

PMID- 9972810
TI  - Developmental spectrum of cardiac outflow tract anomalies encompassing
      transposition of the great arteries and dextroposition of the aorta: pathogenic
      effect of extrinsic retinoic acid in the mouse embryo.
AB  - We previously reported that retinoic acid shows a dose-dependent differential
      induction of various cardiac outflow anomalies: transposition of the great
      arteries is induced mainly by a high dose (70 mg/kg) and dextroposition of the
      aorta by a low dose (40-60 mg/kg; Yasui et al., 1995). We subsequently delineated
      the aberrant outflow tract septation process leading to the transposition (Yasui
      et al., 1997). The aim of the present study was to illustrate a spectrum of
      developmental abnormalities by examining mouse embryos treated with a low dose of
      retinoic acid and comparing them with embryos administered a high dose. We
      employed in situ observation on live embryos to discern the blood flow streams
      and scanning electron microscopy to clarify the internal structure. The embryos
      treated with a low dose of retinoic acid showed several basic phenotypes common
      to the high dose retinoic acid group, although variable and relatively mild, such
      as hypoplasia and dysplasia in the proximal outflow cushions, decreased counter
      clockwise rotation in the distal outflow tract, and deviation of the edges of the
      developing outflow septum. In typical cases, the right-sided edge of the
      developing outflow septum shifted ventrally by various degrees, allowing for the
      right ventricle-to-aorta pathway, whereas the left-sided edge preserved the
      continuity with the interventricular septum, as in the normal embryo. These
      findings indicate that morphogenesis of dextroposition of the aorta and
      transposition of the great arteries are not only distinct but also show some
      basic pathways in common.

PMID- 9972811
TI  - Wall cytoarchitecture of the rat ciliary process microvasculature revealed with
      scanning electron microscopy.
AB  - Ciliary process vasculature has an important role in aqueous humor production.
      There have been, however, few reports describing the overall cytoarchitecture of
      ciliary process vasculature. The wall cytoarchitecture of microvessels in the rat
      ciliary process was elucidated by scanning electron microscopy after removal of
      ciliary epithelia and connective tissue components with HCl hydrolysis. Utilizing
      characteristics of cellular morphology and vessel diameters, several vascular
      components were identified along the vascular tree: 1) arterial iridociliary
      circles (30-60 microm in outer diameter), containing a compact layer of
      circularly oriented spindle-shaped smooth muscle cells; 2) the proximal part of
      the radial ciliary arteriole (10-25 microm), containing a less compact layer of
      circularly oriented branched-smooth muscle cells and spindle-shaped smooth muscle
      cells; 3) a middle part of the radial ciliary arteriole (20-35 pm), with
      circularly oriented branched-smooth muscle cells and irregularly oriented
      stellate cells with ramifying projections; 4) a distal part of the radial ciliary
      arteriole (10-20 microm), possessing irregularly oriented stellate cells with
      ramifying projections; 5) marginal venules (15-20 microm), with spidery pericytes
      possessing highly ramifying and overlapped projections; 6) capillaries in the
      ciliary process (4-7 microm), with widely scattered pericytes having longitudinal
      and several circular projections; 7) venules in the posterior basal region of the
      ciliary process (greater than 5 microm), with widely scattered pericytes having a
      few thin projections. From arterial iridociliary circles to venules in the basal
      region of ciliary process, seven parts could be recognized by wall
      cytoarchitecture, which was discussed in relation with the function.

PMID- 9972812
TI  - Parathyroids and ultimobranchial bodies in monotremes.
AB  - Only scant information is available in the scientific literature on the
      parathyroids and ultimobranchial bodies in the primitive mammals, the echidna
      (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). The major aim
      of this paper is to describe the morphology of the monotreme parathyroid gland
      and to compare it with parathyroids in mammals and reptiles. The gross anatomy
      and light microscopic structure of the ultimobranchial body, thymus, and thyroid
      are also given. Animals were dissected and routine light and electron microscopic
      techniques used to examine the microscopic morphology. The locations of
      parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide in tissue
      sections were identified by immunostaining. Monotremes have one pair of
      parathyroid glands located in the thorax and they are often associated with
      thymic tissue but never with the thyroid which is also present in the
      mediastinum. Ultimobranchial bodies are ventrolateral to the commencement of the
      trachea. Thymic lobules with Hassall's corpuscles are scattered in the fibrofatty
      tissue of the mediastinum and the ventral surface of the pericardium.
      Histologically, principal cells, water-clear cells, and non-secretory cells were
      identified in the parathyroid glands. Principal cells showed polarity and had
      microlamellar projections that formed intercellular canaliculi. Non-secretory
      cells had features similar to those of thymic epithelial reticular cells.
      Immunostaining of parathyroid hormone showed a diffuse distribution in
      parathyroid principal cells and none in ultimobranchial bodies. Identification of
      the ultimobranchial bodies was confirmed by immunostaining. The monotreme
      parathyroid gland, ultimobranchial bodies and thyroid show reptilian as well as
      mammalian features.

PMID- 9972813
TI  - Effect of single and periodic contusion on the rat soleus muscle at different
      stages of regeneration.
AB  - This work analyzed the rat soleus muscle after single and recurrent contusions at
      different stages of regeneration. A noninvasive contusion was produced by a type
      of drop-mass equipment. The posterior region of the right hind limb received a
      trauma and both right and left soleus muscles were analyzed 1, 4, and 6 days
      after a single contusion (1x), and 6 and 30 days after periodic contusions (10x,
      one trauma per week for 10 weeks). Single contusion: there was no significant
      difference between right and left soleus muscle weight. All animals showed
      abundant signs of acute damage in the right soleus. AChE activity was identified
      in regeneration segments of the right soleus. Periodic contusions: there was an
      increase in the right soleus muscle weight (alpha = 5%) only in the animals
      evaluated 6 days after periodic contusions. The right soleus muscle showed a high
      incidence of chronic signs of damage, such as split fibers and a centralized
      nucleus, which predominated when compared with the acute signs. Right soleus
      muscles showed split fibers with AChE activity in both the proximal and middle
      regions. There was no difference in the incidence of muscle fiber types (I, II,
      and IIC) between right and left soleus muscles after periodic contusions.
      Skeletal muscle contusion is common in humans, especially in sport activities,
      where repetitive traumas are also frequent. The results of this work indicate
      that despite the regeneration process there is an important change in the
      morphological aspect of regenerated muscle fibers, which possibly affect muscle
      performance.

PMID- 9972814
TI  - Monoclonal antibody GL1 and its possible involvement in the morphogenesis of the
      otic vesicle.
AB  - In a previous study, a monoclonal antibody (MAB) named GL1 was identified that is
      expressed in a precise pattern during gastrulation and early neurulation stages
      in chick embryos. In this article we have further investigated the expression
      pattern of this MAB in the chick embryo. GL1 antigen is present in several organs
      that seem not to be related developmentally. Among them, GL1 is present during
      the early steps of the otic placode formation, in the pharyngeal endoderm, in
      some neural crest cells, in the somites, and in the ventricular surface of the
      nervous system. The distribution in the nervous system is well patterned with two
      broad lines of expression in the ventricular side of the metencephalic region, a
      unique and centered expression in the border between the metencephalon and the
      myelencephalon and again in two lines running along the myelencephalon and the
      rostral spinal cord. Additionally, GL1 can be induced by members of the FGF
      family, and we have used this system to elucidate its role in otic placode
      formation. The results obtained reveal that GL1 can be a useful marker for the
      study of developmental processes in the endoderm, the otic anlage, and the apical
      surface of the nervous system. Biochemical analysis of the antigen recognized by
      this MAB must be carried out to elucidate the molecular nature of the antigen.

PMID- 9972815
TI  - Histochemical study of magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) minor
      salivary glands during postnatal growth.
AB  - The histological and histochemical features of the minor salivary glands during
      postnatal development have been generally associated with the type of food
      ingested. However, recent studies support the fact that these salivary glands
      develop independently of the diet; in fact, minor salivary glands have similar
      morphological and histochemical characteristics in adult individuals of species
      with different diet regimens. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the
      developmental morphology of the penguin minor salivary glands and to contrast
      them with minor salivary glands of other species. The tongue, palatine, and mouth
      cavity (bottom) minor salivary glands of newborn, 1- to 20-day-old, and adult
      magellanic penguins were studied with hematoxylin-eosin, periodic acid-Schiff,
      alcian blue, toluidine blue, and lectin histochemistry. Minor salivary glands
      were present at all ages, although they were only moderately developed in animals
      less than 15 days old. After this age, glands were abundant in all age groups; in
      addition, cells from the glandular epithelium were functionally mature and
      secreted mucins. Nevertheless, in newborn to 15-day-old penguins, mucins were
      located only at the apical cytoplasm of mucous cells. In all ages, mucous cells
      displayed periodic acid-Schiff-positive, alcianophilic, and metachromatic
      reactions; among mucous cells, other orthochromatic cells appeared interspersed.
      From 15 days on, histochemical reactions became more intense until adulthood, and
      the cytoplasm of secretory cells was filled with glycoproteins and sulfomucins.
      Moreover, lectins bound to different oligosaccharides in mucous cells, depending
      on the stage of maturation of the glands. In conclusion, penguin minor salivary
      glands are already present at birth, and show progressive and quantitative
      increases in mucous secretion during postnatal development. These changes are
      necessary not only for nutrient ingestion, but also for nonimmune protection of
      the buccal cavity.

PMID- 9972816
TI  - A philosopher looks at neuroscience.
AB  - The last two centuries, and the last fifty years in particular, have seen a
      dramatic increase in our understanding of the brain. More recently, philosophers
      have rekindled the debate about the nature of the mind and have begun to ask how
      and to what extent the features of the conscious mind, of the self, can be
      described in solely neurobiological terms. This essay describes a few ways in
      which neuroscientific research has changed the way philosophers think about the
      mind and also suggests some ways in which the methods and questions of
      philosophers might affect neuroscience.

PMID- 9972817
TI  - Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer to enhance neuronal survival, growth, and
      regeneration.

PMID- 9972818
TI  - Rat model of perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.
AB  - To gain insights into the pathogenesis and management of perinatal hypoxic
      ischemic brain damage, the authors have used an immature rat model which they
      developed many years ago. The model entails ligation of one common carotid artery
      followed thereafter by systemic hypoxia. The insult produces permanent hypoxic
      ischemic brain damage limited to the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the
      carotid artery occlusion. The mini-review describes recently accomplished
      research pertaining to the use of the immature rat model, specifically,
      investigations involving energy metabolism, glucose transporter proteins, free
      radical injury, and seizures superimposed upon cerebral hypoxia-ischemia. Future
      research will focus on molecular mechanisms of neuronal injury with a continuing
      focus on therapeutic strategies to prevent or minimize hypoxic-ischemic brain
      damage.

PMID- 9972819
TI  - Post-transcriptional regulation of the peripheral myelin protein gene PMP22/gas3.
AB  - The peripheral myelin protein PMP22 gene has been described as a growth arrest
      specific gene gas3 and has been identified as disease gene of various
      demyelinating neuropathies. The gene consists of two highly conserved alternative
      noncoding 5'-exons la (CD25) and 1b (SR13), respectively. Differential expression
      patterns of these transcripts in vivo and in vitro suggest a very complex mode of
      PMP22 gene regulation, which cannot be explained merely by transcriptional
      control. In fact, the PMP22 gene is regulated on different post-transcriptional
      levels. While reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses
      revealed no alterations in stability for both PMP22 transcripts in randomly
      growing Schwann cell cultures of rat sciatic nerve for at least 8 hours, in serum
      induced synchronized cultures of resting cells we observed a specific cell cycle
      regulated degradation of both transcripts. We further prepared diverse PMP22/CAT
      fusion genes to study the influence of the alternative 5'UTRs on PMP22
      translation. Transient transfection of NIH3T3-fibroblasts and rat Schwann cells
      demonstrated that the alternative 5'UTRs (CD25 and SR13) and the 3'UTR exert
      differential regulatory influences on the translation efficiency.

PMID- 9972820
TI  - Septohippocampal adaptive GABAergic responses by AF64A treatment.
AB  - A cholinergically disrupted laboratory animal has been produced by administration
      of the cholinotoxin ethylcholine aziridinium mustard (AF64A), which produced a
      dysfunction in the cholinergic forebrain system. After AF64A treatment, a
      reduction of choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) activity was measured in the
      hippocampal regions. ChAT activity was preferentially reduced in tissue samples
      of the dorsal with respect to the ventral hippocampus, and concomitantly with
      this reduction, a compensatory increase in ChAT activity in the medial septum was
      found. Tissue gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in the hippocampal and
      septal brain areas was not affected by AF64A, indicating a specific effect on the
      cholinergic septohippocampal projection. The rate of GABA accumulation induced by
      aminooxyacetic acid administration was higher in the dorsal hippocampus and
      medial septum of AF64A-treated animals, but not in their ventral hippocampus and
      lateral septum, where significant changes occurred in ChAT activity.
      Concomitantly with the changes in GABA metabolism, a significant Bmax increase
      and Kd reduction of 3H-flunitrazepam binding in the hippocampus of AF64A-treated
      animals were associated with changes in the ChAT activity. This finding suggests
      an increase of GABA input on the cholinergic somas of the medial septum and an
      uncompensated GABAergic interneuron activity in the hippocampus. In this study,
      we present an adaptive mechanism of homotypic compensatory metabolism by
      cholinergic somas, and a heterotypic response of the GABAergic septohippocampal
      projection system, which was elicited by AF64A administration.

PMID- 9972821
TI  - Differential regulation of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)
      expression in human neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines.
AB  - Human SK-N-AS neuroblastoma and U-87MG glioblastoma cell lines were found to
      secrete relatively high levels of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor
      (GDNF). In response to growth factors, cytokines, and pharmacophores, the two
      cell lines differentially regulated GDNF release. A 24-hr exposure to tumor
      necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha; 10 ng/ml) or interleukin-1beta (IL-1,; 10 ng/ml)
      induced GDNF release in U-87MG cells, but repressed GDNF release from SK-N-AS
      cells. Fibroblast growth factors (FGF)-1, -2, and -9 (50 ng/ml), the
      prostaglandins PGA2, PGE2, and PGI2 (10 microM), phorbol 12,13-didecanoate (PDD;
      10 nM), okadaic acid (10 nM), dexamethasone (1 microM), and vitamin D3 (1 microm)
      also differentially effected GDNF release from U-87MG and SK-N-AS cells. A result
      shared by both cell lines, was a two- to threefold increase in GDNF release by db
      cAMP (1 mM), or forskolin (10 microM). In general, analysis of steady-state GDNF
      mRNA levels correlated with changes in extracellular GDNF levels in U-87MG cells
      but remained static in SK-N-AS cells. The data suggest that human GDNF
      synthesis/release can be regulated by numerous factors, signaling through
      multiple and diverse secondary messenger systems. Furthermore, we provide
      evidence of differential regulation of human GDNF synthesis/release in cells of
      glial (U-87MG) and neuronal (SK-N-AS) origin.

PMID- 9972822
TI  - Expression of three forms of nitric oxide synthase in peripheral nerve
      regeneration.
AB  - Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived molecule with messenger and cytotoxic
      functions in nervous, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Nitric oxide synthase
      (NOS), the enzyme responsible for NO synthesis, exists in three different forms:
      the neuronal (nNOS), present in discrete neuronal populations; the endothelial
      (eNOS), present in vascular endotheliun, and the inducible isoform (iNOS),
      expressed in various cell types when activated, including macrophages and glial
      cells. In this study, we have investigated the possible involvement of NO in
      Wallerian degeneration and the subsequent regeneration occurring after sciatic
      nerve ligature, using histochemistry and immunocytochemistry for the three NOS
      isoforms, at different postinjury periods. Two days after lesion, the three NOS
      isoforms are overexpressed, reaching their greatest expression during the second
      week. nNOS is upregulated in dorsal root ganglion neurons, centrifugally
      transported and accumulated in growing axons. eNOS is overexpressed in vasa
      nervorum of the distal stump and around ligature, and iNOS is induced in
      recruited macrophages. These findings indicate that different cellular sources
      contribute to maintain high levels of NO at the lesion site. The parallelism
      between NOS inductions and well-known repair phenomena suggests that NO, acting
      in different ways, may exert a beneficial effect on nerve regeneration.

PMID- 9972823
TI  - Role of desensitization and subunit expression for kainate receptor-mediated
      neurotoxicity in murine neocortical cultures.
AB  - The neurotoxic actions of kainate and domoate were studied in cultured murine
      neocortical neurons at various days in culture and found to be developmentally
      regulated involving three components of neurotoxicity: (1) toxicity via indirect
      activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, (2) toxicity mediated by
      alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors, and (3)
      toxicity that can be mediated by kainate receptors when desensitization of the
      receptors is blocked. The indirect action at NMDA receptors was discovered
      because (5R, 10S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-im
      ine (MK-801), an NMDA receptor antagonist, was able to block part of the
      toxicity. The activation of NMDA receptors is most likely a secondary effect
      resulting from glutamate release upon kainate or domoate stimulation. 1-(4
      Aminophenyl)-3-methylcarbamyl-4-methyl-3,4-dihydro-7,8-ethyle nedioxy-5H-2,3
      benzodiazepine (GYKI 53655), a selective AMPA receptor antagonist, abolished the
      remaining toxicity. These results indicated that kainate- and domoate-mediated
      toxicity involves both the NMDA and the AMPA receptors. Pretreatment of the
      cultures with concanavalin A to prevent desensitization of kainate receptors led
      to an increased neurotoxicity upon stimulation with kainate or domoate. In
      neurons cultured for 12 days in vitro a small but significant neurotoxic effect
      was observed when stimulated with agonist in the presence of MK-801 and GYKI
      53655. This indicates that the toxicity is produced by kainate receptors in
      mature cultures. Examining the subunit expression of the kainate receptor
      subunits GluR6/7 and KA2 did, however, not reveal any major change during
      development of the cultures.

PMID- 9972824
TI  - Interindividual differences in the levels of the glutamate transporters GLAST and
      GLT, but no clear correlation with Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - Alzheimer's disease is a common progressive neurodegenerative disease of unknown
      etiology. Several different pathological processes have been identified in the
      brains of Alzheimer patients. To determine if reduced glutamate uptake is a
      contributing factor, we have measured the levels of the glutamate transporter
      proteins GLAST (EAAT1) and GLT (EAAT2) in human autopsy samples. The postmortem
      proteolysis of these proteins turned out to be fairly rapid. Brains from 10
      Alzheimer and 10 control patients were therefore obtained with a relatively short
      postmortem delay (5 hr on average). GLT (N-terminal and central parts), GLAST (C
      terminal), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and inositol (1,4,5)
      triphosphate (IP3)-receptor immunoreactivities were determined in the cingulate
      and inferior temporal gyri by immunoblotting. The Na+-dependent "binding" of D
      [3H]aspartate and the glutamate uptake after solubilization and reconstitution in
      liposomes were determined for comparison. An individual variation in GLAST and
      GLT levels was found, but no significant correlation with Alzheimer's disease,
      except for a 14% lower ratio of N-terminal to central GLT immunoreactivity (P <
      0.04). The levels of GLAST and GLT showed negative correlation in agreement with
      the idea that these proteins are differentially regulated. In conclusion,
      Alzheimer's disease brains can have both normal and reduced levels of GLAST and
      GLT.

PMID- 9972825
TI  - Electromagnetic fields influence NGF activity and levels following sciatic nerve
      transection.
AB  - Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) have been shown to increase the rate of
      nerve regeneration. Transient post-transection loss of target-derived nerve
      growth factor (NGF) is one mechanism proposed to signal induction of early nerve
      regenerative events. We tested the hypothesis that PEMF alter levels of NGF
      activity and protein in injured nerve and/or dorsal root ganglia (DRG) during the
      first stages of regeneration (6-72 hr). Rats with a transection injury to the
      midthigh portion of the sciatic nerve on one side were exposed to PEMF or sham
      control PEMF for 4 hr/day for different time periods. NGF-like activity was
      determined in DRG, in 5-mm nerve segments proximal and distal to the transection
      site and in a corresponding 5-mm segment of the contralateral nonoperated nerve.
      NGF-like activity of coded tissue samples was measured in a blinded fashion using
      the chick DRG sensory neuron bioassay. Overall, PEMF caused a significant
      decrease in NGF-like activity in nerve tissue (P < 0.02, repeated measures
      analysis of variance, ANOVA) with decreases evident in proximal, distal, and
      contralateral nonoperated nerve. Unexpectedly, transection was also found to
      cause a significant (P=0.001) 2-fold increase in DRG NGF-like activity between 6
      and 24 hr postinjury in contralateral but not ipsilateral DRG. PEMF also reduced
      NGF-like activity in DRG, although this decrease did not reach statistical
      significance. Assessment of the same nerve and DRG samples using ELISA and NGF
      specific antibodies confirmed an overall significant (P < 0.001) decrease in NGF
      levels in PEMF-treated nerve tissue, while no decrease was detected in DRG or in
      nerve samples harvested from PEMF-treated uninjured rats. These findings
      demonstrate that PEMF can affect growth factor activity and levels, and raise the
      possibility that PEMF might promote nerve regeneration by amplifying the early
      postinjury decline in NGF activity.

PMID- 9972826
TI  - Effects of pulsed magnetic stimulation of GFAP levels in cultured astrocytes.
AB  - The present study evaluates the physiological effects of magnetic stimulation on
      astrocyte cultures. Cell cultures were exposed to pulsed magnetic stimulation (10
      Hz, 10 sec) at the following levels: 0.10 tesla (T; Group A); 0.21 T (Group B);
      0.42 T (Group C); and 0.63 T (Group D). Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)
      levels from immunoblots, total protein concentrations, and cellular morphology
      were analyzed at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 13, and 20 days poststimulation. Significantly
      higher GFAP levels were observed in Group D at day 3 (P = 0.0114). The change was
      transient as the GFAP levels quickly returned to control levels by day 5. No
      other significant changes in GFAP levels were observed. In comparison to control
      protein levels at day 0, concentrations from Groups B, C, and D were
      significantly lower (P < 0.006), whereas at day 3, Groups C and D were
      significantly higher (P < 0.02). Differences in astrocyte morphology due to
      magnetic stimulation were not observed. This study demonstrated that high
      intensity magnetic stimulation for only 10 sec induced a transient biological
      response.

PMID- 9972827
TI  - Cytokine-induced production of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP
      1alpha) in cultured human astrocytes.
AB  - Macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) is a member of a superfamily
      of inflammatory cytokines termed chemokines, and it has been implicated in the
      pathogenesis of several human diseases with inflammatory components. It has been
      known that MIP-1alpha plays a role in recruiting and activating mononuclear
      phagocytes in the central nervous system (CNS), and that astrocytes and microglia
      are sources of this chemokine. However, details of the regulation of MIP-1alpha
      production by these glial cells are not known. In the present study, expression
      of MIP-1alpha was determined in purified cultures of human astrocyte. MIP-1alpha
      mRNA levels in human astrocyte cell preparations were determined by reverse
      transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and amount of MIP-1alpha protein
      secreted into culture supernatants by human astrocytes was assayed by enzyme
      linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Under the unstimulated conditions, human
      astrocytes did not express MIP-1alpha message or protein, indicating that human
      astrocytes do not constitutively carry MIP-1alpha message. Following treatment
      with interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), human astrocytes demonstrated increased
      message and protein expression for MIP-1alpha, while other immune modulators such
      as interferon-gamma (IFN)-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha),
      granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), lipopolysaccharide, or
      phorbol ester (a protein kinase C activator) did not induce MIP-1alpha expression
      in human astrocytes.

PMID- 9972828
TI  - Unique retina cell phenotypes revealed by immunological analysis of recoverin
      expression in rat retina cells.
AB  - Among retina-specific proteins, recoverin is unique with respect to its cellular
      regulation in that it is found in rods, cones, some bipolar cells, and a rare
      population of cells in the ganglion cell layer. Recoverin is a calcium-binding
      protein which inhibits rhodopsin kinase from phosphorylating rhodopsin. Because
      cells in the inner layers of the retina do not contain rhodopsin kinase,
      arrestin, or other phototransduction proteins, it seems likely that recoverin has
      a different function in those cell types. To study this protein more fully,
      antibodies were generated against the entire mouse recoverin protein, as well as
      against peptides from the amino and from the carboxyl termini. These antibodies
      confirmed the localization of recoverin in vivo and clearly demonstrated, in
      culture, cells which were recoverin positive and rhodopsin negative.
      Surprisingly, two unique cell phenotypes were seen in cell culture which are not
      found in vivo. These cells are [rhodopsin(+), recoverin(-)] and [arrestin(+),
      recoverin(-)]. These phenotypes appear to represent the same population of cells
      and suggest that the recoverin gene can be regulated independent of genes for
      other phototransduction proteins. This cell culture system will be useful for
      investigating environments and factors which participate in the expression of the
      recoverin gene, and may identify regulatory features of the recoverin gene which
      cause it to be illicitly expressed in small-cell lung carcinomas in cancer
      associated retinopathy (CAR).

PMID- 9972829
TI  - Ultrastructural localization of cellular prion protein (PrPc) at the
      neuromuscular junction.
AB  - We examined the localization of the normal cellular isoform of prion protein
      (PrPc) in mammalian skeletal muscle. Using two anti-PrP antibodies, the
      neuromuscular junction (NMJ) was preferentially stained after
      immunohistofluorescence. The mouse, hamster, and human NMJ displayed a
      fluorescent signal specific for PrPc. Postembedding immunoelectron microscopy
      analysis performed in the mouse muscle showed that the PrPc-specific colloidal
      gold immunolabelling was concentrated over the sarcoplasmic cytoplasm. The
      membrane of the postsynaptic domain was devoid of gold particles, while a weak
      signal was occasionally observed close to the presynaptic vesicles of the
      terminal axons. These results indicate that the PrP gene is expressed in
      mammalian muscle at the NMJ. The subsynaptic sarcoplasm of the NMJ appears to be
      the privileged site where PrPc presumably associated with endosome membrane may
      play a role in either physiological activity or maintenance of the morphological
      integrity of the synapse.

PMID- 9972830
TI  - Self-reported body-rocking and other habits in college students.
AB  - A brief survey of eight motor habits, including body-rocking, was administered to
      two large samples of college undergraduates. A subsample was retested to
      establish survey reliability and validity. Those indicating engagement in body
      rocking were interviewed about their body-rocking. Two psychopathology
      instruments were administered. The general prevalence of self-described body
      rocking was higher than expected, and there were positive correlations among the
      eight habits. Body-rocking was usually related to negative affect and usually
      reported to begin during the school years and later. Many individuals said other
      family members engaged in body-rocking. Psychopathology assessments indicated
      higher levels of general distress and higher prevalence of Generalized Anxiety
      Disorder in this subsample compared with a group not reporting body-rocking.

PMID- 9972831
TI  - Dynamics of self-injurious behaviors.
AB  - Self-injurious behavior was examined in a case study of head-banging by an 8-year
      old girl with profound mental retardation and an autistic disorder. Trajectories
      of the arm movements and impact forces of the head blows were determined from a
      dynamic analysis of videotapes. Results revealed a high degree of cycle-to-cycle
      consistency in the qualitative dynamics of the limb motions, with one hand
      motions being faster than those with two hands (inphase and antiphase) and the
      motions with the helmet about 25% faster than those without the helmet. The
      impact force of SIBs as a percentage of body weights are near the low end of
      forces generated in boxing blows and karate hits.

PMID- 9972832
TI  - Competence and adjustment of siblings of children with mental retardation.
AB  - Adjustment and competence of siblings who had a brother or sister with mental
      retardation were compared to those of control siblings who had brothers or
      sisters with no disabilities. Results indicated no overall differences for
      internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders, or for self-esteem and
      competence based on group membership, gender, or gender match. However, boys with
      a brother or sister with mental retardation had difficulty in school functioning.
      In addition, a greater number of girls with brothers and sisters with mental
      retardation expressed their distress through internalization.

PMID- 9972833
TI  - Effects of formal and familial residential plans for adults with mental
      retardation on their aging mothers.
AB  - Data regarding future residential plans were collected from 141 mothers of adult
      children with mental retardation. Results demonstrate that greater caregiving
      burden was associated with more extensive planning for residence within the
      formal service system and less planning for residence with a family member. More
      frequent service use also predicted greater planning for future residence within
      the formal system. Planning for residence with a family member and higher
      functional ability on the part of the child significantly decreased the sense of
      worry mothers had about the child's future whereas plans for the child to reside
      within the formal system had no association with worry about the future.

PMID- 9972834
TI  - Architectural acoustics in residences for adults with mental retardation and its
      relation to perceived homelikeness.
AB  - Previous investigators examined how architectural features of residences for
      adults with mental retardation contributed to the visual appearance of
      homelikeness. Acoustical characteristics of 18 residences for people with mental
      retardation were examined here. As part of a concurrent study, college
      undergraduates rated photographs of rooms in each house for their apparent
      homelikeness. Reverberation times in living and dining rooms were negatively
      correlated with mean homelikeness ratings. The less homelike rooms had
      reverberation times that may interfere with speech perception for some people and
      that were comparable with those found in larger public rooms (e.g., lecture
      halls). The larger reverberation times in these rooms were the result of
      insufficient sound absorption by these rooms' furnishings.

PMID- 9972835
TI  - Maladaptive behavior differences in Prader-Willi syndrome due to paternal
      deletion versus maternal uniparental disomy.
AB  - Maladaptive behavior was compared across 23 people with Prader-Willi syndrome due
      to paternal deletion to 23 age- and gender-matched subjects with maternal
      uniparental disomy. Controlling for the higher IQs of the uniparental disomy
      group, deleted cases showed significantly higher maladaptive ratings on the Child
      Behavior Checklist's Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total domains as well as
      more symptom-related distress on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.
      Across both measures, deleted cases were more apt to skin-pick, bite their nails,
      hoard, overeat, sulk, and withdraw. A dampening of symptom severity is suggested
      in Prader-Willi syndrome cases due to maternal uniparental disomy. Findings are
      compared to Angelman syndrome, and possible genetic mechanisms are discussed, as
      are implications for Prader-Willi syndrome and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

PMID- 9972836
TI  - The Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waiver and supported employment.
AB  - The Medicaid Home and Community-Based (HCB) Waiver is the primary funding source
      for long-term care for individuals with developmental disabilities. Findings from
      a national survey of 48 state coordinators regarding waiver-funded supported
      employment services are presented. Very low utilization for this service was
      found, primarily due to limits on eligibility. However, respondents in 18 states
      reported large numbers of waiver participants receiving employment services under
      other service categories. Eleven states had waiting lists for waiver-funded
      supported employment, totalling three times those actually receiving services.
      Low reimbursement rates to provider agencies and disinterest of providers in
      using waiver funds were significant barriers to expansion of service capacity.

PMID- 9972837
TI  - Put your money where your mouth is: direct and indirect measures of attitude
      toward community integration.
AB  - We compared direct (a survey) and indirect (mock petition drive) attitude
      measures regarding opening a group home for people with mental retardation in the
      neighborhood. We systematically assigned participants to one of three groups:
      positively worded petition statement, negative statement, or no petition. All
      participants answered survey questions about attitudes toward persons with
      disabilities. Order of the measures was counterbalanced in the first two groups.
      The point-biserial correlation between the petition response and survey was a
      moderate .40, suggesting that the survey was not a very reliable predictor of how
      people would react when asked whether they agreed or objected to a group home
      being opened in their neighborhood. Survey responses were influenced further by
      the wording of the petition drive statement.

PMID- 9972838
TI  - Influence of different adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on physostigmine
      induced yawning in rats.
AB  - In the present study, effects of adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on
      physostigmine-induced yawning was investigated. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection
      of different doses of physostigmine (0.03, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg) induced
      yawning in rats. The maximum response was obtained by 0.2 mg/kg of the drug. The
      alpha1-adrenoceptor agonist, phenylephrine, and the alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist,
      clonidine, decreased yawning induced by physostigmine. Prazosin and higher doses
      of phenoxybenzamine reduced the inhibitory effect of phenylephrine. Higher doses
      of yohimbine also reduced the clonidine response. The adrenoceptor antagonists,
      prazosin, phenoxybenzamine, and propranolol, did not significantly alter the
      physostigmine response. However, yohimbine, or lower doses of prazosin, decreased
      the physostigmine response. It may be concluded that alpha1- and alpha2
      adrenoceptor stimulation decreases the physostigmine-induced yawning behavior in
      rats.

PMID- 9972839
TI  - Biochemical and behavioral effects of boldine and glaucine on dopamine systems.
AB  - The aporphine alkaloids boldine and glaucine have been reported to show
      "neuroleptic-like" actions in mice, suggesting that they may act as dopamine
      antagonists. We have found that in vitro boldine displaces specific striatal [3H]
      SCH 23390 binding with IC50 = 0.4 microM and [3H]-raclopride binding with IC50 =
      0.5 microM, while the affinities of glaucine at the same sites are an order of
      magnitude lower. In vivo, however, 40 mg/kg boldine (i.p.) did not modify
      specific striatal [3H]-raclopride binding and only decreased [3H]-SCH 23390
      binding by 25%. On the other hand, 40 mg/kg glaucine (i.p.) displaced both
      radioligands by about 50%. Behaviors (climbing, sniffing, grooming) elicited in
      mice by apomorphine (0.75 mg/kg s.c.) were not modified by boldine at doses up to
      40 mg/kg (i.p.) but were almost completely abolished by 40 mg/kg glaucine (i.p.).
      In the apomorphine-induced (0.1 mg/kg s.c.) rat yawning and penile erection
      model, boldine and glaucine appeared to be similarly effective, inhibiting both
      behaviors by more than 50% at 40 mg/kg (i.p.). Boldine and glaucine, injected
      i.p. at doses up to 40 mg/kg, were poor modifiers of dopamine metabolism in mouse
      and rat striatum. These data suggest that boldine does not display effective
      central dopaminergic antagonist activities in vivo in spite of its good binding
      affinity at D1- and D2-like receptors, and that glaucine, although less effective
      in vitro, does appear to exhibit some antidopaminergic properties in vivo.

PMID- 9972840
TI  - Early withdrawal from repeated cocaine administration upregulates muscarinic and
      dopaminergic D2-like receptors in rat neostriatum.
AB  - The present results show an increase in locomotor activity 24 h following
      repeated cocaine administration only with the higher dose (10 mg/kg, i.p., daily
      for 1 week) compared to controls (administered with saline). Binding assays were
      done and the ligands used were [3H]N-methylscopolamine ([3H]-NMS), [3H]-SCH
      23390, and [3H]-spiroperidol to determine muscarinic (M1- and M2-like), D1 and D2
      receptors, respectively. Scatchard analyses revealed alterations in Bmax not only
      for muscarinic, but also for D2-like receptors that were significantly increased.
      On the other hand, no alterations were detected on D1-like receptors densities
      and dissociation constant values. However, the Kd value was significantly
      increased for D2 receptors. The changes in muscarinic receptors were observed
      predominantly on M2-like, which presented an increase of 84% with the 10 mg/kg,
      i.p., dose only. On D2-like receptors, increases of 63 and 54% were demonstrated
      with the doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.. The preferential effects of cocaine on
      muscarinic and D2-like receptors were also demonstrated in vitro where decreases
      in [3H]-NMS and [3H]-spiroperidol binding were observed. The results indicate
      that the effects of cocaine on muscarinic and dopaminergic postsynaptic receptors
      are functions of dose, duration of treatment, and time of drug withdrawal.

PMID- 9972841
TI  - Behavioral effects of dopamine agonists and antagonists: influence of estrous
      cycle, ovariectomy, and estrogen replacement in rats.
AB  - The influence of the hormonal condition on the reactivity of central dopamine
      (DA) receptors was studied in male and in intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female
      rats. They were injected with selective DA agonists, acting either on D1 (SKF
      38393, 2.5 or 10 mg/kg) or D2 receptors (PPHT, 31.3 or 125 microg/kg), or with
      selective DA antagonists, acting either on D1 (SCH 23390, 6.25 or 25 microg/kg),
      or D2 receptors (sulpiride, 10 or 40 mg/kg). The acquisition of an avoidance
      conditioning response (CAR) and the performance of some spontaneous motor
      behaviors were tested. Both D1 and D2 agonists and antagonists impaired the
      acquisition of CARs in diestrous, OVX, and male rats. Nevertheless, the effects
      of these drugs during estrus and in estradiol-primed OVX rats were different
      according to the drug and the dose injected. Whereas SKF 38393 failed to induce
      significative changes, PPHT and low doses of SCH 23390 and sulpiride improved the
      acquisition of CARS in those groups. The effects on conditioning were not
      accompanied with equivalent changes in spontaneous motor activity. Estradiol
      level fluctuations that occur in female rats within the estrous cycle or in OVX
      rats primed with estradiol would be responsive of changes in the response to DA
      agents. Although the reactivity of central DA systems is differentially affected
      by the hormonal condition of the rat, the precise mechanism of this modulatory
      action remains unknown.

PMID- 9972842
TI  - The expression of behavioral sensitization to amphetamine: role of CCK(A)
      receptors.
AB  - These studies investigated whether endogenous activation of CCK(A) receptors
      mediates the expression of amphetamine (AMP)-induced locomotor activity. In
      Experiment 1, locomotor activity was assessed in rats pretreated with the CCK(A)
      antagonist devazepide (0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 mg/kg) and subsequently injected with
      AMP (1.5 mg/kg). In Experiment 2, rats were administered AMP (1.5 mg/kg) once
      daily for 7 days. Following a 10-day withdrawal, locomotor activity was assessed
      following treatment with devazepide (0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 mg/kg) and AMP (0.75
      mg/kg). In both studies, rats were classified as low (LR) or high (HR) responders
      based upon a median split of their locomotor response to a novel environment.
      Results from Experiment 1 showed that AMP potentiated the expression of locomotor
      activity, and this effect was most pronounced in HR rats. However, devazepide did
      not affect AMP-induced locomotion. Results from Experiment 2 demonstrated that
      chronic AMP pretreatment augmented the locomotor response to subsequent AMP
      challenge, and this effect was most pronounced in the HR group. Further, this
      augmented response was blocked by devazepide in HR rats. These findings
      constitute the first demonstration that endogenous CCK(A) receptor activation is
      an important substrate mediating AMP-induced locomotor activity in animals with a
      previous history of AMP treatment.

PMID- 9972843
TI  - Baclofen and AII 3-7 on learning and memory processes in rats chronically treated
      with ethanol.
AB  - The aim of this study was to determine the possible influence of baclofen, an
      agonist of the GABA(B) receptor on behavioral activity (recall, acquisition of
      conditioned reflexes) of angiotensin II fragment 3-7 (AII 3-7) in rats
      chronically treated with ethanol. Long-term (9 weeks) ethanol intoxication
      profoundly impaired learning and memory processes in all tests used. The GABA(B)
      receptor agonist baclofen (0.75 mg/kg i.p.) did not influence exploratory and
      motor activity in the control rats, but we observed a tendency (without
      significance) to decrease the psychomotor activity in the alcohol-intoxicated
      groups of animals, when it was injected together with AII 3-7 (2 microg i.c.v.).
      Baclofen did not influence the retrieval process in the passive avoidance recall,
      and when it was given together with AII 3-7 did not change the positive action of
      this fragment in control groups, but significantly enhanced its action in the
      animals chronically treated with ethanol. Baclofen showed significant improvement
      of acquisition in the active avoidance test only in the alcohol-intoxicated
      groups. Baclofen, injected together with AII 3-7, yielded important attenuation
      action of AII 3-7 in the control groups in the first 3 days of test, but did not
      produce any changes during the fourth and fifth day of the experiment. Baclofen
      did not provoke any changes in activity of AII 3-7 (when it was injected
      together) in the acquisition of the active avoidance test in the alcohol
      intoxicated groups of animals.

PMID- 9972844
TI  - FG 7142- and restraint-induced alterations in the ataxic effects of alcohol and
      midazolam in rats are time dependent.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to examine whether acute stress exposure would
      alter the ataxic properties of midazolam or ethanol in rats. Rats were
      administered either vehicle or FG 7142 (10 mg/kg) and placed back in their home
      cages, or placed in restraining tubes for 90 min. Three and one-half or 24 h
      following injection all subjects were then administered an ataxic dose of either
      ethanol or midazolam and after 10 min, motoric impairment was assessed by rotarod
      performance. Neither FG 7142 administration nor restraint had an impact on
      rotarod performance 3-1/2 h later for ethanol nor 24 h later in response to
      midazolam. However, midazolam-induced ataxia was significantly modified 3-1/2 h
      following both restraint and FG 7142 exposure. Similarly, at the 24-h time point,
      both manipulations had a significant effect on ethanol-induced motor
      incoordination. Importantly, prior exposure to FG 7142 and restraint was without
      effect on rotarod performance in saline-treated subjects. Functional alterations
      in behavioral reactivity to low doses of two classes of CNS depressants by the
      acute stress of restraint and/or FG 7142 administration suggest the anxiogenic
      nature of these stressors may be the critical factor.

PMID- 9972845
TI  - Sex and estrous cycle-dependent changes in neurosteroid and benzodiazepine
      effects on food consumption and plus-maze learning behaviors in rats.
AB  - Experiments were designed to investigate the influence of estrous cycle and
      gender of the rat on the effects of a gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A))
      receptor active neurosteroid, 3alpha-hydroxy-5alpha-pregnan-20-one
      (allopregnanolone), the benzodiazepine, triazolam, and a GABA(A) receptor
      antagonistic neurosteroid, delta5-androsten-3beta-ol-17-one sulfate
      (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), on food intake and elevated plus-maze learning
      behaviors. Allopregnanolone (0.25 mg/kg, s.c.) and triazolam (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.)
      produced a hyperphagic effect, while dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (5 mg/kg,
      s.c.) elicited an anorectic effect. However, allopregnanolone was more potent in
      diestrous females, whereas triazolam exhibited significantly higher hyperphagic
      potency in estrus females. The extent of anorexia following
      dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was alike in male and female rats. The triazolam-
      and allopregnanolone-induced hyperphagic effect was blocked by bicuculline (1
      mg/kg, i.p.), a selective GABA(A) receptor antagonist. In contrast to triazolam,
      the hyperphagic effect of allopregnanolone was insensitive to flumazenil (5
      mg/kg, i.p.), a benzodiazepine antagonist. Vehicle-treated diestrous rats
      displayed moderately higher latencies in the elevated plus-maze learning task
      than estrus or proestrus females. Although allopregnanolone and triazolam
      elicited equipotent learning deficits in plus-maze learning in male and female
      rats, the magnitude of impairment-induced by triazolam was significantly higher
      in diestrous females than proestrus females. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate
      enhanced memory performance only in male rats. Although the use of the elevated
      plus-maze as a learning paradigm with benzodiazepines and neurosteroids may be
      sensitive to changes in anxiety, the differential data suggest that neurosteroid
      induced effects are at least partly specific to learning behavior. These results
      confirm the role of estrous cycle and sex of rats in modifying the potency of
      neurosteroids and benzodiazepines on food consumption and learning and memory
      processes.

PMID- 9972846
TI  - Interleukin-1alpha injection into ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus of normal
      rats depresses food intake and increases release of dopamine and serotonin.
AB  - A microdialysis injector probe administered IL-1alpha into ventromedial
      hypothalamus (VMN) and concurrently measured release of dopamine (DA), DOPAC, 5
      HT, and 5-HIAA. After baseline dialyses, six rats received 2-ng IL-1alpha and six
      rats received vehicle (1 microl saline) into VMN. Sixty minutes later, food was
      provided for 40 min while VMN monoamines were measured every 20 min. Vehicle had
      no significant effect on monoamines, their metabolites, or food intake. Food
      intake was significantly lower in IL-1alpha rats vs. controls (p < 0.01).
      Baseline levels of VMN monoamines (pg/10 microl dialysate) in IL-1alpha and
      vehicle groups were similar. DA and 5-HT rose immediately on injecting IL-1alpha
      and remained higher (p < 0.05) than basal during the first 60 min and 40 min
      sampling period, respectively. Levels of 5-HIAA also increased (p < 0.01). Eating
      decreased VMN DA in controls, and decreased VMN DOPAC in IL-1alpha-treated rats.
      During eating, VMN 5-HT in control rats significantly increased while increasing
      VMN 5-HIAA occurred in IL-1alpha rats. Findings show that an IL-1alpha
      pathophysiological dose injected into the VMN was associated with anorexia and
      significantly increased dopaminergic and serotonergic activities and suggest that
      enhanced VMN DA and 5-HT activities may be part of an IL-1alpha-initiated cascade
      involved in IL-1alpha-associated anorexia.

PMID- 9972847
TI  - NMDA-induced spinal hypersensitivity is reduced by naturally derived peptide
      analog [Ser1]histogranin.
AB  - N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation is thought to initiate a cellular
      cascade of events in the spinal cord that leads to neuronal hyperactivation and
      exaggerated persistent pain behaviors. Previous studies have demonstrated that
      implantation of adrenal medullary tissue into the spinal subarachnoid space
      reduces abnormal pain behaviors such as hyperalgesia and allodynia, possibly by
      intervening in the NMDA hyperexcitability cascade. Histogranin is a 15-amino acid
      peptide possessing NMDA receptor antagonist activity that has been isolated from
      adrenal medullary tissue. The present study examined the ability of stable analog
      [Ser1]histogranin to reduce abnormal pain-related behaviors induced in rats by
      direct activation of spinal NMDA receptors. The intrathecal injection of NMDA
      (5.0, 10.0, 20.0 nmol) produced significant thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia
      and tactile allodynia in a dose-related fashion. [Ser1]histogranin injected
      intrathecally prior to NMDA injections dose dependently attenuated or completely
      blocked hyperalgesia and allodynia. In addition, [Ser1]histogranin administration
      following NMDA-induction of abnormal pain behaviors reversed these effects. These
      results demonstrate that a naturally derived adrenal medullary neuropeptide can
      prevent and reverse NMDA-mediated spinal hyperexcitability. The distinct profile
      and robust activity of [Ser1]histogranin suggest novel alternative approaches in
      the management of pain and other CNS disorders involving abnormal excitatory
      neurotransmission.

PMID- 9972848
TI  - Cannabimimetic activity in rats and pigeons of HU 210, a potent antiemetic drug.
AB  - Preliminary behavioral experiments in rats with the cannabinoid agonist HU 210
      (12.5-100 microg/kg i.p.) showed that it has a potent cannabimimetic profile
      similar to that of delta9THC; the drug dose dependently depressed locomotor
      activity, rearing, and grooming and elicited vocalization and circling at the
      highest doses. In subsequent studies on pigeons, HU 210 (12.5-50 microg/kg s.c.)
      confirmed its sedative effects; it also afforded protection against vomiting
      induced by cisplatin (7.5 mg/kg i.v.) and emetine (20 mg/kg s.c.) and emetine
      induced head shake.

PMID- 9972849
TI  - Rat locomotion and release of acetylcholinesterase.
AB  - In the substantia nigra acetylcholinesterase is released from the dopamine cells
      of the pars compacta independent of cholinergic transmission. In this study the
      effects of local and systemic amphetamine treatment were compared on
      acetylcholinesterase release in the rat substantia nigra in relation to
      concomitant behavior. Acetylcholinesterase release, measured "on-line" with a
      sensitive chemiluminescent system, was enhanced by amphetamine stimulation
      administered locally and could not be dissociated from simultaneous amphetamine
      induced circling behavior. On the other hand, amphetamine administered
      systemically resulted in a general increase in locomotor behavior followed by a
      subsequent increase in acetylcholinesterase release. The alternative scenario of
      an initial rise in acetylcholinesterase release, subsequently followed by
      enhanced movement, was never seen. Hence, movement can enhance release of
      acetylcholinesterase from the substantia nigra, whereas "upstream" local nigral
      events can affect acetylcholinesterase release and movement simultaneously.

PMID- 9972850
TI  - 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C/5-HT1B receptors are differentially involved in alcohol
      preference and consummatory behavior in cAA rats.
AB  - The present study aimed to investigate the role of serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C
      receptors in the control of alcohol preference and consummatory behavior in
      alcohol-preferring cAA rats. Effects of the 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor agonist, DOI,
      the 5-HT(2C/1B) receptor agonist, mCPP, the 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonist,
      ritanserin, and the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, MDL 100,907, on ethanol (EtOH,
      10% v/v) preference and intake, as well as total fluid and food intake were
      evaluated in a 12-h limited-access two-bottle paradigm. DOI (0.3-3 mg/kg, i.p.)
      reduced EtOH intake and preference, but not total fluid or food intake; whereas
      mCPP (1-10 mg/kg, s.c.) reduced EtOH, total fluid, and food intake. Therefore, it
      is concluded that DOI induces a specific and selective antialcohol effect,
      whereas mCPP rather induces a general suppressive effect on consummatory
      behavior. Ritanserin (1-10 mg/kg, i.p.) did not affect EtOH intake and
      preference, nor total fluid and food consumption. MDL 100,907 (0.1-1 mg/kg, i.p.)
      induced only a small reduction of food intake at the highest dose tested.
      Pretreatment with ritanserin (3 mg/kg, i.p.) and MDL 100,907 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.)
      blocked the effects of DOI (3 mg/kg, i.p.), but not those of mCPP (10 mg/kg,
      i.p.). It is suggested that activation of 5-HT2C and/or 5-HT1B receptors results
      in a general decrease of consummatory behavior, whereas activation of 5-HT2A
      receptors selectively decreases EtOH intake and preference, as assessed in the
      cAA rat model of alcoholism.

PMID- 9972851
TI  - The effects of the naltrexone implant on rodent social interactions and cocaine
      induced conditioned place preference.
AB  - Two experiments were conducted to determine the behavioral properties of the
      naltrexone implant on: 1) rodent social interactions; and 2) the appetitive
      properties of cocaine. Rats were surgically implanted with a naltrexone implant
      (placebo, 10 or 30 mg) and placed into an open field for the recording of social
      interactions. The naltrexone implants increased latency to initiate contact and
      decreased pinning, bouts of grooming, and crawl unders on all 7 days. Other rats
      were surgically implanted with naltrexone (60, 120, or 240 mg) and habituated to
      a two-chambered conditioned place preference apparatus. After 6 days of
      conditioning, place preference was computer recorded. Cocaine produced a dose
      dependent conditioned place preference in the rats implanted with placebo or 60
      mg of naltrexone. The 120 and 240 mg naltrexone implants blocked the emergence of
      cocaine-induced place preference. The results indicate that naltrexone implants
      produce significant social behavioral effects within 1 day, and are effective at
      attenuating the conditioned place preference produced by cocaine.

PMID- 9972852
TI  - Lorazepam attenuates the behavioral effects of dizocilpine.
AB  - To characterize the potential interaction between the excitatory and inhibitory
      neurotransmitter systems, the effects of dizocilpine, CPP, and lorazepam on open
      field behavior and pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures were evaluated in mice.
      Dizocilpine (0.01-0.1 mg/kg), CPP (1-10 mg/kg), or vehicle was administered
      intraperitoneally 15 min prior to lorazepam (0.2-2 mg/kg) or vehicle. Behavioral
      monitoring began 25 min after the lorazepam injection. Upon completion of
      testing, unrestrained mice were infused intravenously with pentylenetetrazole
      until the onset of a full tonic-clonic seizure. The highest dose of dizocilpine
      by itself significantly increased the average distance traveled, the number of
      rears, and the number of stereotypies during the test period. Lorazepam alone
      dose dependently decreased activity on all behavioral parameters. Lorazepam also
      completely antagonized the hyperactivity produced by dizocilpine when the two
      compounds were coadministered. This antagonism is most likely due to an
      interaction in the regulation of dopaminergic tone which underlies motor
      activity. Lorazepam exerted a dose-dependent anticonvulsant effect. Dizocilpine
      alone had no effect on seizure induction and did not potentiate the
      anticonvulsive effect of lorazepam when coadministered with lorazepam. CPP
      reduced the number of rears and the number of stereotypies during the test
      period. CPP did not alter the pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure threshold and did
      not influence the anticonvulsant effect of lorazepam.

PMID- 9972854
TI  - Possible involvement of a sigma receptor subtype in the neck dystonia in rats.
AB  - To clarify which subtype of sigma receptors is involved in the sigma receptor
      mediated neck dystonia in rats, we examined whether 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4
      (3-phenylpropyl)piperazine dihydrochloride (SA4503), a selective sigma1 receptor
      agonist, and 1,3-di-(2-tolyl)guanidine (DTG), a sigma1 and sigma2 receptor
      agonist, induce neck dystonia in rats. Microinjection of SA4503 into the red
      nucleus of rat brain scarcely produced neck dystonia at the concentration of 10
      nmol/0.5 microl. On the contrary, DTG produced significant dystonia at a
      concentrations of more than 5 nmol/0.5 microl. These results indicate that the
      sigma2 receptor subtype, but not sigma1 receptor subtype, may play an important
      role in the sigma receptor-mediated neck dystonia in rats.

PMID- 9972853
TI  - Parallel recovery of MK-801-induced spatial learning impairment and neuronal
      injury in male mice.
AB  - The relationship between spatial learning impairment and reversible neuronal
      injury in the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial (PC/RS) cortex induced by MK-801
      in male mice was studied using a four-corner holeboard task. Mice were dosed with
      1 mg/kg MK-801 and tested on acquisition of a new "baited" hole at 5 or 12 h
      posttreatment. Acquisition in drugged mice was impaired at 5 h, but not at 12 h
      posttreatment. Their retention performances were unaffected 24 h after either the
      5 or 12 h posttreatment acquisition sessions. MK-801 (1 mg/kg) was found to
      induce locomotor hyperactivity and some sensorimotor impairment at 5 h
      posttreatment. which could have contributed to the acquisition deficit. However,
      nonassociative effects of the drug were not prominent because this same dose did
      not impair holeboard performance at 5 h posttreatment when the task was well
      learned. Histologic experiments showed that many injured neurons (containing
      cytoplasmic vacuoles) were present in the PC/RS cortex at 5 h posttreatment but
      the reaction was essentially reversed at 12 h posttreatment. The results suggest
      that the acquisition impairment and neuronal injury induced by MK-801 evolve and
      recover in parallel according to a similar time schedule.

PMID- 9972855
TI  - Presentation of an ethanol-paired stimulus complex alters response patterns
      during extinction.
AB  - It has been hypothesized that environmental stimuli previously paired with
      ethanol consumption play a role in excessive ethanol intake. This study examined
      the ability of orally self-administered ethanol to establish a tone-light
      stimulus complex as a conditioned reinforcer (CSR). Male Long-Evans rats were
      trained to orally self-administer 10% ethanol (10E) using the sucrose
      substitution procedure. During training, a tone-light stimulus complex was paired
      with ethanol presentation in a stimulus complex paired (SC-paired) group but not
      in a control group. Responding during extinction in the presence and absence of
      the stimulus complex was then examined. Following the initiation of ethanol self
      administration, 10E maintained greater responding in the SC-paired group compared
      to the control group. When the stimulus complex was presented contingent on
      responding during extinction, the rate of extinction was slightly attenuated in
      the SC-paired group but not in the control group. The altered rate of extinction
      in the SC-paired group was characterized by: 1) a slight decrease in total
      session responding over successive days of extinction and 2) a transient
      attenuation of extinction burst response rate during the first extinction
      session. These data suggest the stimulus complex could function as a weak CS(R),
      but overall its ability to maintain lever pressing was minimal.

PMID- 9972856
TI  - The effects of neonatal cocaine exposure on a play-rewarded spatial
      discrimination task in juvenile rats.
AB  - This study examined the effects of neonatal cocaine exposure on the rewarding
      properties of play in a modified T-maze. Animals were artificially reared from
      postnatal day (PND) 4-9 with drug concentrated in four daily feeds. There were
      four treatment groups, 40 mg/kg/day cocaine, 20 mg/kg/day cocaine, an
      artificially reared control and a surgery control. From PND 38-42, subjects were
      tested with a food reward (EXP 1) or a play reward (EXP 2). No deficits in
      learning were seen when the reward was food. The 20 mg/kg/day cocaine group,
      however, showed impaired learning and altered play behavior when the reward was
      access to a play partner. Neonatal cocaine exposure thus appears to
      differentially affect learning based on the type of reward presented.

PMID- 9972857
TI  - Effects of neonatal naltrindole treatment on antinociceptive and behavioral
      responses to mu and kappa agonists in rats.
AB  - The effects of a daily injection of the delta selective opioid antagonist
      naltrindole (1 mg/kg), from birth to postnatal day 19, on antinociceptive and
      behavioral responses to the mu selective agonist alfentanil (65 microg/kg) and
      the kappa selective agonist CI-977 (50 microg/kg) in 20-day-old male rats were
      investigated. Antinociception was assessed using the tail immersion test and
      behavioral testing was performed by employing an open field. The functional
      blockade of the delta receptor by naltrindole blocked the antinociceptive
      response to alfentanil but did not affect the antinociception induced by CI-977.
      The effects of alfentanil (increased exploration) and CI-977 (a marked
      hypoactivity) in the open field were not modified by neonatal naltrindole
      treatment. The results suggest a functional interaction between delta and mu
      receptors in the postnatal period but not between delta and kappa receptors. The
      data also suggest differences in the delta and mu receptors interacting in the
      modulation of antinociception and those involved in behavioral responses in the
      open field.

PMID- 9972858
TI  - The type IV phosphodiesterase inhibitors, Ro 20-1724 and rolipram, block the
      initiation of cocaine self-administration.
AB  - The hypothesis that the selective activation of cyclic AMP (cAMP) signal
      transduction pathways will suppress the initiation of cocaine self-administration
      was examined in this investigation. To test this hypothesis, the effects of the
      administration of the cAMP-specific (type IV) phosphodiesterase inhibitors,
      rolipram and Ro 20-1724, on cocaine self-administration were determined. The
      effects of Ro 20-1724 treatment on operant responding for food also were
      examined. Both cocaine and food were delivered following a fixed-ratio 5
      schedule. A significant increase in the latency for the delivery of the first
      cocaine infusion and a reduction in the number of infusions obtained per session
      were produced by treatment with either rolipram or Ro 20-1724. Similar effects on
      responding for food were seen with Ro 20-1724 administration. Responding after
      drug-induced delays tended to be at control levels. These results suggest that
      cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitors may inhibit the initiation of operant
      responding for either cocaine or food. However, the extent to which these actions
      involve specific effects on central motivational systems as opposed to other
      mechanisms remains to be determined.

PMID- 9972859
TI  - The effects of diazepam and zolpidem on cocaine- and amphetamine-induced place
      preference.
AB  - Drugs such as benzodiazepines, which enhance the effects of inhibitory
      neurotransmitter gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), are known to modulate the
      mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system, which is considered to mediate the
      rewarding effects of psychostimulants. The effects of diazepam, a benzodiazepine
      that binds unspecifically to omega 1- (omega1-) and omega2-receptors, and
      zolpidem, a nonbenzodiazepine drug that binds preferentially to omega1-receptors,
      on cocaine- and amphetamine-induced place preference were evaluated in Wistar
      rats. In tests using the counterbalanced method, neither diazepam (0.2, 1, and 5
      mg/kg) nor zolpidem (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg) alone induced place preference or
      place aversion. Diazepam pretreatment prevented both cocaine- and amphetamine
      induced (15 and 9 mg/kg, respectively) place preference; however, at doses that
      were earlier shown to cause sedation and amnesia, zolpidem failed to prevent
      either cocaine- or amphetamine-induced place preference. These results suggest
      that diazepam interferes with the rewarding properties of the psychostimulants,
      whereas zolpidem is less effective in this respect, possibly due to differential
      distribution of omega1- and omega2-receptors in the brain.

PMID- 9972860
TI  - Blockade of smoking satisfaction using the peripheral nicotinic antagonist
      trimethaphan.
AB  - The present study was conducted to investigate the role of peripheral nicotinic
      receptors in mediating the rewarding effects of cigarette smoking. Twelve
      cigarette smokers rated cigarettes after intravenous infusion of the short-acting
      peripheral nicotinic receptor antagonist trimethaphan and after placebo (saline)
      infusions. Subjects were blinded to the infusion and cigarette conditions.
      Cigarette conditions included subjects' usual brand of cigarette, denicotinized
      tobacco cigarettes, and nicotine-injected cigarettes that had a tar delivery
      equal to that of the denicotinized cigarettes but with an enhanced nicotine
      delivery equal to that of subjects' usual brands. The latter cigarettes were
      rated as extremely harsh due to the high nicotine/tar ratio. Trimethaphan
      significantly attenuated the airway sensations associated with nicotine, and
      eliminated the difference in smoking satisfaction between the usual brand of
      cigarette and the other two cigarettes. These findings suggest that nicotinic
      receptors on peripheral nerve endings in the respiratory tract modulate smoking
      satisfaction and may be important in the maintenance of cigarette addiction.

PMID- 9972861
TI  - Differential behavioral effects of TFF peptides: injections of synthetic TFF3
      into the rat amygdala.
AB  - TFF peptides (formerly named P-domain peptides or trefoil factors) are also
      released from the brain as well as being secreted typically by mucin producing
      cells. The amygdala, besides the hypothalamus, represents a defined neuronal
      locality of TFF3 synthesis. In a passive avoidance test synthetic TFF3/monomer or
      0.9% sodium chloride (control) was injected bilaterally into the basolateral
      nucleus of the amygdala of male rats either immediately (consolidation test) or
      23 h after a footshock (retrieval test). Application of a low TFF3 dose (2 x 6
      pg) decreased avoidance latency in a time dependent manner. In contrast, a high
      dose (2 x 60 pg) increased avoidance latency. Maximal effects of TFF3 were
      observed about 24 h after the injection. This bidirectional effect was also
      observed using the elevated plus-maze test. The locomotor activity on the open
      arms was significantly increased 24 h after a low dose injection of TFF3 into the
      amygdala. In contrast, a high-dose injection significantly decreased the activity
      on the open arms. The results of both tests can be explained by an anxiolytic
      effect at a low dose and an anxiogenic effect at a high dose of synthetic
      TFF3/monomer.

PMID- 9972862
TI  - Influence of sex and female hormones on nicotine-induced changes in locomotor
      activity in rats.
AB  - The acute and chronic effects of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg s.c.) on locomotor activity
      in photocell cages have been compared in male, female, and ovariectomized hooded
      rats. In Experiment 1, female rats displayed higher locomotion than males (n =
      12); acutely, nicotine-reduced locomotion, and this effect was slightly larger in
      females than males. Daily administration of nicotine for 21 days produced a
      similar, gradual increase in activity in both sexes. Tests then confirmed greater
      activity in females than males and as a function of previous chronic exposure to
      nicotine (n = 6); there was an activating effect of nicotine challenge but no
      interaction of nicotine effects with sex. In Experiment 2, ovariectomized rats
      were primed with 17-beta-estradiol (50 microg/kg s.c.) and progesterone (2.5
      mg/kg s.c.) or vehicle only. Acute administration of nicotine reduced activity in
      both groups similarly (n = 12). After nicotine daily for 21 days, there was
      increased activity as a function of both chronic nicotine and hormonal priming,
      and challenge with nicotine increased activity (n = 6). The effects of these
      challenges with nicotine were also slightly greater, as a function of previous
      nicotine exposure and priming. As a whole, these experiments showed robust
      effects of acute and chronic nicotine administration, sex, and hormonal priming;
      neither sex nor gonadal hormones had marked influences on changes in locomotor
      activity produced by nicotine.

PMID- 9972863
TI  - Nitrous oxide-induced hypothermia in the rat: acute and chronic tolerance.
AB  - Although inhalation of nitrous oxide (N2O) causes hypothermia in rats, there is a
      paucity of information as to whether tolerance develops to this effect. The
      purpose of this study was to determine whether tolerance to N2O hypothermia
      develops within a single administration as well as over repeated administrations.
      Temperature was measured telemetrically by implanting intraperitoneal thermal
      sensors/transmitters in male Long-Evans rats. Experimental rats received an
      initial 2-h exposure to 60% N2O and became hypothermic relative to controls
      breathing placebo gas. Only a few rats demonstrated evidence of acute tolerance
      over the 120 min. Over the next 10 days, the experimental rats received five
      additional 30-min exposures to 60% N2O and five 30-min exposures to placebo while
      the control rats received only placebo gas exposures. Chronic tolerance developed
      to N2O hypothermia over these repeated administrations. A test for Pavlovian drug
      conditioning found no evidence that conditioned temperature effects contributed
      to chronic tolerance development. In a second experiment, naive rats were given a
      380-min exposure to 60% N2O and a 380-min exposure to placebo gas in a
      counterbalanced order. Acute tolerance did develop to N2O hypothermia, with the
      recovery of temperature beginning after a mean of 141 min of gas administration.
      Hence, both acute and chronic tolerance develop to N2O's hypothermic effects in
      rats.

PMID- 9972864
TI  - Plasma and red blood cell fatty acids in peroxisomal disorders.
AB  - The demonstration of abnormal levels of fatty acids or plasmalogens in plasma or
      red blood cells is key to the diagnosis of peroxisomal disorders. We report the
      levels of 62 fatty acids and plasmalogens in patients with X-linked
      adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), Zellweger syndrome (ZS), neonatal
      adrenoleukodystrophy (NALD), and infantile Refsum disease (IRD), both at baseline
      and after dietary interventions. "Lorenzo's Oil" therapy in X-ALD normalizes the
      levels of saturated very long chain fatty acids in plasma, but leads to reduced
      levels of omega 6 and other omega 3 fatty acids, and requires monitoring and
      appropriate dietary supplements. Patients with ZS, NALD and IRD have reduced
      levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) which can be
      normalized by the oral administration of microencapsulated DHA and AA.

PMID- 9972865
TI  - Sphingosylphosphorylcholine in Niemann-Pick disease brain: accumulation in type A
      but not in type B.
AB  - A study of brain lipids in patients with the sphingomyelinase-deficient types of
      Niemann-Pick disease demonstrated that abnormal accumulation of sphingomyelin
      occurs only in the brain of neuronopathic type A patients but not in the non
      neuronopathic type B. Additional lipid abnormalities were present in the type A
      brain. In contrast, the brain lipid profile was normal in type B patients. Since
      lysosphingolipids have been implicated in the biochemical pathogenesis of other
      genetic lysosomal sphingolipidoses, the occurrence of sphingosylphosphorylcholine
      (lysosphingomyelin) was specifically investigated in brain and extraneural
      tissues, using an HPLC method with fluorescent detection of orthophtalaldehyde
      derivatives. Levels close to or below the limit of detection (10 pmol/mg tissue
      protein) were observed in normal and pathological controls. A striking
      accumulation was observed in brain of two Niemann-Pick type A patients (830 and
      430 pmol/mg protein in 27-and 16-month-old children with severe and milder
      neurological course, respectively), which was not present at the fetal stage of
      the disease. No significant increase was found in brain tissue from a 3.5 year
      old type B patient. In liver and spleen, abnormally high
      sphingosylphosphorylcholine levels were observed in both types of the disease,
      with indication of a progressive increase during development. This study
      establishes the integrity of brain tissue in Niemann-Pick disease type B and
      suggests that the lysocompound sphingosylphosphorylcholine could play a role in
      the pathophysiology of brain dysfunction in the neuronopathic type A.

PMID- 9972866
TI  - Clinical and molecular characteristics of Japanese Gaucher disease.
AB  - Clinical signs and symptoms of Gaucher disease are more severe in Japanese than
      in Jewish and other non-Japanese patients. A higher percentage of bone crises and
      splenectomy was demonstrated by Japanese patients, and there were five fatalities
      among patients with type 1 Gaucher disease. Additionally, neonatal Gaucher
      disease, clinically characterized by hydrops foetalis, was observed. Japanese
      patients with type 2 and type 3 disease also demonstrate clinical heterogeneity.
      About 100 alleles of patients with Japanese Gaucher disease were examined for
      genotype determination with the PCR and SSCP methods. About 18 different
      mutations, including several novel mutations in Japanese patients, were
      identified. The most common mutations in Japanese patients were 1448C(L444P),
      accounting for 41 (41%) of alleles. The second most prevalent mutation was
      754A(F2131), accounting for 14 (14%) of alleles. Other alleles identified
      included the 1324C, IVS2 and other mutations. Unidentified alleles comprised 16%
      of the total number of alleles studied. To date, neither the 1226G (N370S) nor
      the 84GG mutation has been identified in the Japanese population, although these
      mutations account for about 70% and 10% of the mutations in Jewish and other non
      Japanese populations, respectively. The phenotype-genotype correlation in
      Japanese patients is more complex compared with that of the Jewish population. In
      Japanese patients, the 1448C mutation, in either heteroallelic or homoallelic
      forms, exhibits both neurological and non-neurological phenotypes. Japanese
      patients with the 754A mutation also exhibit both neuronopathic and non
      neuronopathic disease. On the other hand, patients with the D409H mutation show
      only type 3 neurological disease, and those with the 1447-1466 del 20 ins TG
      mutation have the severe, neonatal neurological form of Gaucher disease. The
      1503T allele was present only in patients with type 1 non-neurological disease.
      However, since this correlation was observed only in young patients, we do not as
      yet know the final phenotypic outcome of this mutation. Probably, Japanese
      patients with Gaucher disease have few mutations that exhibit non-neurological
      signs and symptoms.

PMID- 9972867
TI  - Cell reactions following acute brain injury: a review.
AB  - The proliferative behavior of glia following a cerebral stab wound in adult rats
      is reviewed. Proliferation was determined by both PCNA and [3H]thymidine
      labeling. Microglia were the first cells to divide and constituted the bulk of
      dividing cells. Both ramified and ameboid microglia divided. A smaller number of
      astrocytes entered the cell cycle a day later and were shown to derive from
      differentiated reactive cells. No differentiated oligodendroglia were labeled by
      thymidine, although a small number of dividing immature oligodendroglia could be
      detected in cultures of cells labeled in vivo. Recent studies of the properties
      of oligodendroglial precursors in brain repair mechanisms are discussed. The
      results so far support our conclusion that differentiated oligodendrocytes do not
      divide.

PMID- 9972868
TI  - GM1 inhibits amyloid beta-protein-induced cytokine release.
AB  - The ganglioside GM1 is known to play a pivotal role in neuronal survival and/or
      regeneration. Recently it has been shown that GM1 binds tightly with membrane
      bound amyloid beta protein (A beta) and prevents its conversion from a helical to
      a beta-sheet structure. To examine the potential physiological consequences of
      this binding, we studied the effect of GM1 on A beta-stimulated release of
      proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha,
      using the human monocytic cell line, THP-1, as a model system. Treatment of THP-1
      cells with A beta 1-40 or A beta 25-35 resulted in an increased cytokine release
      from these cells. However, treatment of A beta-activated THP-1 cells with GM1 and
      several other complex gangliosides, but not hematosides and neutral
      glycosphingolipids such as asialo-GM1 (GA1), lactosylceramide, and globoside,
      significantly decreased the cytokine release. In contrast, this effect was not
      observed for lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated and thrombin-activated THP-1
      cells, indicating that the ganglioside effect is specific for A beta-induced
      cytokine release. A direct interaction between GM1 and A beta was demonstrated
      using the surface plasmon resonance technique. We found that GM1 ganglioside
      exhibited higher affinity for A beta 1-40 than GA1, suggesting that the sialic
      acid moiety of GM1 is necessary for its interaction with A beta. We conclude that
      the inhibitory effect of GM1 on A beta-induced cytokine release may reflect pre
      existing abnormalities in membrane transport at the stage of amyloid formation
      and that GM1 may induce conformational changes in A beta, resulting in diminished
      fibrillogenesis and prevention of the inflammatory response of neuronal cells in
      Alzheimer's disease.

PMID- 9972869
TI  - Prolongation of life in an experimental model of aging in Drosophila
      melanogaster.
AB  - (R)-Deprenyl, the archetypical monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor, has been shown to
      increase life-span in a number of species. Although many theories for this effect
      have been suggested, for example, an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD)
      activity, the mechanism of action has yet to be elucidated. To investigate this
      phenomenon, we have examined the effects of (R)-deprenyl, and some aliphatic
      propargylamines, in an experimental aging model in Drosophila melanogaster. Both
      wild-type Oregon-R type flies, as well as a SOD knock-out mutant strain were
      used. Flies obtained from a series of paired mates were divided equally among
      treatment groups. In all studies, flies were treated for the duration of life
      following adult emergence. The aging model consists of substitution of sucrose
      with galactose in the regular food media of the flies. Initial experiments
      confirmed that such a substitution resulted in a significant (p < 0.01, Breslow
      test) reduction in mean and maximal life-span of flies, an effect not due to
      nutrient deprivation. Inclusion of (R)-deprenyl and the aliphatic propargylamines
      in the media, at average daily doses in the range 0.5-1 ng/fly/day, led to a
      significant increase in mean and maximal life-span of galactose-treated, but not
      control flies. This effect was seen in both wild-type and mutant flies.

PMID- 9972870
TI  - Transferrin is an essential factor for myelination.
AB  - It has been established that oligodendrocytes, the myelin forming cells,
      participate in iron homeostasis through the synthesis and secretion of
      transferrin. Here we investigated whether a correlation exists between
      myelination, the commonly studied function of oligodendrocytes, and that of
      transferrin synthesis and secretion. We used a proteolipid protein mutant, the
      myelin deficient rat, whose condition is characterized by severe hypomyelination.
      We compared the ontogenic profile for transferrin gene expression in mutants with
      that of unaffected rat pups through northern blot analysis and in situ
      hybridization. Surprisingly, transferrin synthesis was null in mutant
      oligodendrocytes. Next, we demonstrated that a single apo-transferrin
      intraparenchymal injection administered to P5 rat pups enabled mutant
      oligodendrocytes to synthesize myelin basic protein and to myelinate axons,
      indicating that transferrin effects mutant oligodendrocyte maturation regardless
      of its source. Thus, transferrin availability is essential for oligodendrocyte
      maturation and function, and oligodendrocytes are most vulnerable to transferrin
      deficiency during the premyelinating stage.

PMID- 9972871
TI  - The phosphoinositide signaling cycle in myelin requires cooperative interaction
      with the axon.
AB  - Previous studies on the origin of myelin phosphoinositides involved in signaling
      mechanisms indicated axon to myelin transfer of phosphatidylinositol followed by
      myelin-localized incorporation of axon-derived phosphate groups into
      phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate.
      This is in agreement with other studies showing the presence of phosphorylating
      activity in myelin that converts phosphatidylinositol into the mono-and diphospho
      derivatives. It was also found that the second messenger, inositol 1,4,5
      trisphosphate, is hydrolyzed to inositol 1,4-bisphosphate by a myelin-localized
      enzyme. The present study was undertaken to determine the locus of the remaining
      reactions leading to formation of free inositol and completion of the cycle by
      resynthesis of phosphatidylinositol. The latter reaction was found to occur
      preferentially in isolated axons, and to a limited extent if at all in myelin. On
      the other hand, hydrolytic reactions which sequentially convert inositol 1,4,5
      trisphosphate to inositol 1,4-bisphosphate, inositol 1-phosphate, and free
      inositol were found to occur more prominently in myelin. Thus, restoration of
      phosphoinositides following signal-induced breakdown of PIP2 in myelin is seen as
      requiring metabolic interplay between myelin and axon.

PMID- 9972872
TI  - Myelin basic protein and myelin basic protein peptides induce the proliferation
      of Schwann cells via ganglioside GM1 and the FGF receptor.
AB  - Myelin basic protein (MBP) and two peptides derived from MBP (MBP(1-44) and
      MBP(152-167)) stimulated Schwann cell (SC) proliferation in a cAMP-mediated
      process. The two mitogenic regions of MBP did not compete with one another for
      binding to SC suggesting a distinctive SC receptor for each mitogenic peptide.
      Neutralizing antibodies to the fibroblast growth factor receptor blocked the
      mitogenic effect of the myelin-related SC mitogen found in the supernatant of
      myelin-fed macrophages. The binding of 125I-MBP to Schwann cells was specifically
      inhibited by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and conversely the binding of
      125I-bFGF was competitively inhibited by MBP. These data suggested that the
      mitogenic effect of one MBP peptide was mediated by a bFGF receptor. The binding
      of MBP to ganglioside GM1 and the ability of MBP peptides containing homology to
      the B subunit of cholera toxin (which binds ganglioside GM1) to compete for the
      binding of a mitogenic peptide (MBP(1-44)) to SC, identified ganglioside GM1 as a
      second SC receptor. Based on these results, we conclude that MBP(1-44) and
      MBP(152-167) associate with ganglioside GM1 and the bFGF receptor respectively to
      stimulate SC mitosis.

PMID- 9972873
TI  - Phagocytosis of myelin in demyelinative disease: a review.
AB  - In the cell-mediated demyelinating diseases such as experimental allergic
      encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis, as well as their peripheral nerve
      counterparts, the phagocytic cells are the agent of myelin destruction. Both
      resident microglia and peripheral macrophages invading the nervous system have
      been shown to phagocytize myelin, although microglia appear to be more active,
      especially at early stages of disease. Several different receptors on these cells
      have been implicated as myelin receptors, with the Fc- and complement receptors
      receiving the most attention. Other receptors, especially the macrophage
      scavenger receptor with its broad specificity deserves further exploration,
      especially in view of its affinity for phosphatidylserine, which becomes
      externalized with membrane disruption. Evidence is shown for cytokine regulation
      of phagocytic activity in both macrophages and microglia. Further investigation
      of the pathways of cytokine action on myelin phagocytosis through signal
      transduction molecules will be important for a further understanding of the
      events leading to myelin destruction in demyelinating diseases.

PMID- 9972874
TI  - Fatty acid composition of myelin proteolipid protein during vertebrate evolution.
AB  - The hydrophobic myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) contains covalently bound long
      chain fatty acids which are attached to intracellular cysteine residues via
      thioester linkages. To gain insight into the role of acylation in the structure
      and function of myelin PLP, the amount and pattern of acyl groups attached to the
      protein during vertebrate evolution was determined. PLP isolated from brain
      myelin of amphibians, reptiles, birds and several mammals was subjected to
      alkaline methanolysis and the released methyl esters were analyzed by gas-liquid
      chromatography. In all species studied, PLP contained approximately the same
      amount of covalently bound fatty acids (3% w/w), and palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic
      and stearic acids were always the major acyl groups. Although the relative
      proportions of these fatty acids changed during evolution, the changes did not
      necessarily follow the variations in the acyl chain composition of the myelin
      free fatty acid pool, suggesting fatty acid specificity. The phylogenetic
      conservation of acylation suggests that this post-translational modification is
      critical for PLP function.

PMID- 9972875
TI  - Expression of the GM1-species, [NeuN]-GM1, in a case of human glioma.
AB  - Altered glycosylation is a common feature in tumors of various kind and
      particular interest has been focused on the expression of tumor-associated
      gangliosides. We have previously identified some human glioma-associated
      gangliosides and in this study yet another, not previously described, ganglioside
      has been isolated. The ganglioside was prepared from human glioma tissue taken at
      autopsy. The new ganglioside bound cholera-toxin B-subunit and its structure was
      confirmed by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry to be NeuN-GM1 (II3NeuNH2
      GgOse4Cer). In the dissected tumor specimen, the concentration of NeuN-GM1 was
      0.1 micromol/g wet weight and accounted for approximately 20% of the
      monosialoganglioside fraction. Normal human brain tissue specimens (n = 10) did
      not contain detectable (>0.5 nmol/g wet weight of tissue) amounts of NeuN-GM1,
      indicating that this ganglioside might be associated with human glioma. However,
      none of the 17 other tumour specimens reveal any detectable amounts of this
      ganglioside. In conclusion, NeuN GM1 is a glioma-associated ganglioside but its
      exceptional expression limits its relevance as a molecule involved in general
      tumor biology.

PMID- 9972876
TI  - GM2 promotes ciliary neurotrophic factor-dependent rescue of immortalized motor
      neuron-like cell (NSC-34).
AB  - We have examined whether ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) can alter serum-free
      cell survival of immortalized motor neuron-like cells, which were established by
      fusing mouse neuroblastoma N18TG2 with mouse motor neurons. One of the cell
      lines, NSC-34 exhibited cell survival in the presence of CNTF. NSC-34 preserves
      the most characteristics of motor neurons, such as the formation of neuromuscular
      junctions on co-cultured myotube. GM2 ganglioside is characteristic of motor
      neurons, and expressed highly in NSC-34. When NSC-34 was cultured with exogenous
      GM2 ganglioside and CNTF, GM2 facilitated the cell survival effect of CNTF. In
      the addition, beta 1,4 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GM2 synthase) activity
      was enhanced up to 3.9-fold by culture in the presence of CNTF. GM2 might be a
      functional modulator of CNTF in motor neurons. It might be presented to cell
      surface by its enzyme activation, and become a signal of early stage, when CNTF
      rescues motor neurons.

PMID- 9972877
TI  - Transduction of cultured oligodendrocytes from normal and twitcher mice by a
      retroviral vector containing human galactocerebrosidase (GALC) cDNA.
AB  - Krabbe disease or globoid cell leukodystropy is a lysosomal disorder caused by a
      deficiency of galactocerebrosidase (GALC) activity. This results in defects in
      myelin that lead to severe symptoms and early death in most human patients and
      animals with this disease. With the cloning of the GALC gene and the availability
      of the mouse model, called twitcher, it was important to evaluate the effects of
      providing GALC via a retroviral vector to oligodendrocytes in culture. After
      differentiation, the untransduced cells from normal mice extended highly branched
      processes while those from the twitcher mice did not. Oligodendrocytes in culture
      can be readily transduced to produce much higher than normal levels of GALC
      activity. Transduced normal and twitcher cells formed clusters when plated at
      high density. Transduction of twitcher oligodendrocytes plated at lower density,
      followed by differentiation, resulted in some cells having a completely normal
      appearance with highly branched processes. Other cells showed retraction and
      fragmentation. Perhaps over expression of GALC activity may be detrimental to
      oligodendrocytes. These studies demonstrate that the phenotype of twitcher
      oligodendrocytes can be corrected by providing GALC via gene transfer, and this
      could lead the way to future studies to treat this disease.

PMID- 9972878
TI  - Recombinant GM2-activator protein stimulates in vivo degradation of GA2 in GM2
      gangliosidosis AB variant fibroblasts but exhibits no detectable binding of GA2
      in an in vitro assay.
AB  - The interaction between glycosphingolipids and recombinant human GM2-activator
      was studied in a microwell binding assay. A-series gangliosides like GM3, GM2 and
      GM1 were strongly bound by the recombinant human GM2 activator. A weak binding
      was observed to GD1b and sulfatide, while neutral glycolipids were not bound.
      Optimal binding occurred at pH 4.2 and was inhibited by increasing concentrations
      of citrate buffer and NaCl. In contrast with these in vitro results the
      recombinant human GM2-activator is able to restore the degradation of GA2 in
      fibroblasts from patients with the AB variant of GM2 gangliosidosis in vivo.

PMID- 9972879
TI  - Delivery, distribution, and neuronal uptake of exogenous mannose-terminal
      glucocerebrosidase in the intact rat brain.
AB  - Gaucher disease is caused by insufficient activity of the enzyme
      glucocerebrosidase. Great benefit has been obtained through enzyme replacement
      therapy for patients with type 1 (non-neuronopathic) Gaucher disease. In
      contrast, inconsistent effects of enzyme therapy have been observed in patients
      with type 3 (chronic neuronopathic) Gaucher disease, and no benefit on the lethal
      course of the disease occurs in patients with Type 2 (acute neuronopathic)
      Gaucher disease. We examined the use of convection-enhanced delivery to augment
      the delivery and distribution of exogenous glucocerebrosidase (m.w. 63,000) to
      the brain by infusing it under slight hydrostatic pressure into the striatal
      region of rats. The enzyme was comparatively stable under these conditions. It
      was distributed from the site of injection toward the cerebral cortex where it
      became primarily localized in neurons. These findings provide considerable
      incentive for the exploration of intracerebral microinfusion of enzyme to the
      brain of patients with metabolic storage disorders involving the CNS.

PMID- 9972880
TI  - Saposins and their interaction with lipids.
AB  - The lysosomal degradation of several sphingolipids requires the presence of four
      small glycoproteins called saposins, generated by proteolytic processing of a
      common precursor, prosaposin. Saposins share several structural properties,
      including six similarly located cysteines forming three disulfide bridges with
      the same cysteine pairings. Recently it has been noted that also other proteins
      have the same polypeptide motif characterized by the similar location of six
      cysteines. These saposin-like (SAPLIP) proteins are surfactant protein B (SP-B),
      'Entamoeba histolytica' pore-forming peptide, NK-lysin, acid sphingomyelinase and
      acyloxyacyl hydrolase. The structural homology and the conserved disulfide
      bridges suggest for all SAPLIPs a common fold, called 'saposin fold'. Up to now a
      precise fold, comprising five alpha-helices, has been established only for NK
      lysin. Despite their similar structure each saposin promotes the degradation of
      specific sphingolipids in lysosomes, e.g. Sap B that of sulfatides and Sap C that
      of glucosylceramides. The different activities of the saposins must reside within
      the module of the alpha-helices and/or in additional specific regions of the
      molecule. It has been reported that saposins bind to lysosomal hydrolases and to
      several sphingolipids. Their structural and functional properties have been
      extensively reviewed and hypotheses regarding their molecular mechanisms of
      action have been proposed. Recent work of our group has evidenced a novel
      property of saposins: some of them undergo an acid-induced change in
      hydrophobicity that triggers their binding to phospholipid membranes. In this
      article we shortly review recent findings on the structure of saposins and on
      their interactions with lipids, with special attention to interactions with
      phospholipids. These findings offer a new approach for understanding the
      physiological role of saposins in lysosomes.

PMID- 9972881
TI  - Neurotransmitter release from the medial hyperstriatum ventrale of the chick
      forebrain accompanying filial imprinting behavior, measured by in vivo
      microdialysis.
AB  - The imprinting behavior of chicks was quantified as a preference score (correct
      response ratio) achieved in a running wheel apparatus. A total of 249 chicks were
      exposed to an imprinting stimulus and tested for stimulus-approaching behavior.
      The chicks were then classified as good learners (imprinted), poor learners (non
      imprinted) and a gray-zone group, those were 46%, 31% and 23% of the total chicks
      respectively. Using the classified chicks, the acetylcholine (ACh) and glutamate
      releases from the medial hyperstriatum ventrale (MHV) of the chick forebrains
      were determined by in vivo microdialysis. The non-imprinted chicks were used as
      yoked controls. Increases of ACh and glutamate released were observed in the
      imprinted chicks during exposure to the imprinting stimulus, whereas there were
      no changes in the release of these neurotransmitters in the non-imprinted chicks
      during the imprinting exposure. These results might be indicated that cholinergic
      and glutamatergic synapses which are newly formed as functioning synapses with
      imprinting stimulus in the MHV are involved in the performance of imprinting
      behavior.

PMID- 9972882
TI  - Energetics of functional activation in neural tissues.
AB  - Glucose utilization (ICMRglc) increases linearly with spike frequency in neuropil
      but not perikarya of functionally activated neural tissues. Electrical
      stimulation, increased extracellular [K+] ([K+]o), or opening of Na+ channels
      with veratridine stimulates ICMRglc in neural tissues; these increases are
      blocked by ouabain, an inhibitor of Na+,K+-ATPase. Stimulating Na+,K+-ATPase
      activity to restore ionic gradients degraded by enhanced spike activity appears
      to trigger these increases in ICMRglc. Cultured neurons behave similarly.
      Astrocytic processes that envelop synapses in neuropil probably contribute to the
      increased ICMRglc. ICMRglc in cultured astroglia is unaffected by elevated [K+]o
      but is stimulated by increased intracellular [Na+] ([Na+]i), and this stimulation
      is blocked by ouabain or tetrodotoxin. L-Glutamate also stimulates ICMRglc in
      astroglia. This effect is unaffected by inhibitors of NMDA or non-NMDA receptors,
      blocked by ouabain, and absent in Na+-free medium; it appears to be mediated by
      increased [Na+]i due to combined uptake of Na+ with glutamate via Na+/glutamate
      co-transporters.

PMID- 9972883
TI  - Oligodendroglial response to the immune cytokine interferon gamma.
AB  - In the human demyelinating disorder multiple sclerosis, and its animal model
      experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, there is a breakdown of the blood-brain
      barrier and an infiltration of immune cells into the CNS. Infiltrating T
      lymphocytes and macrophages are believed to be key mediators of the disease
      process. Considerable circumstantial and experimental evidence has suggested that
      the pleiotropic cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), which is exclusively
      expressed by T cells and natural killer cells, is a deleterious component of the
      immune response in these disorders. When experimentally introduced into the CNS
      IFN-gamma promotes many of the pathological changes that occur in immune-mediated
      demyelinating disorders. In vitro, this cytokine elicits a number of effects on
      oligodendrocytes, including cell death. The harmful actions of IFN-gamma on CNS
      myelin are likely mediated through direct effects on the myelinating cells, as
      well as through the activation of macrophages and microglia. In this review we
      summarize relevant studies concerning the action of IFN-gamma in demyelinating
      disorders and discuss possible mechanisms for the observed effects.

PMID- 9972884
TI  - Suppression of glial tumor growth by expression of glial fibrillary acidic
      protein.
AB  - We examined the effect of expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) on
      the tumor growth of astrocytoma in vivo. When rat astrocytoma C6 cells were
      injected subcutaneously in athymic mice, the cells produced tumors that grew
      rapidly. The tumor growth of C6 cells transfected with GFAP cDNA was
      significantly reduced compared to that of control NeoC6 cells transfected only
      with the neomycin resistant gene. After implantation of C6 cells transfected with
      mutated GFAP cDNA at the phosphorylation sites, the tumor growth was suppressed
      similar to that of the wild GFAP transfectants. To determine whether the cell
      growth suppression by GFAP is specific for astroglial cells, we assessed the
      effect of GFAP on the cell growth of an L cell of fibroblast origin in vitro. By
      GFAP cDNA transfection, L cells showed morphological changes, but the cell growth
      was not reduced. These results suggest that GFAP is a critical regulator of the
      tumor growth of astrocytoma.

PMID- 9972885
TI  - Carotid endarterectomy: changing practice patterns.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Cost-effective carotid endarterectomy implies a good outcome; low
      morbidity, a short hospital stay and selective use of non-invasive preoperative
      diagnostic tests done alone. METHODS: A solo surgeon's clinical experience with
      two hundred and eighteen consecutive operations, over seven years, at two
      Community Hospitals in Northern Virginia. RESULTS: There were three perioperative
      strokes, of which one resulted in death, for a mortality rate of 0.45%, and a
      stroke rate of 1.4%. The majority of the operations in the past two years were
      done on the basis of Duplex ultrasonography and magnetic resonance angiography,
      but without invasive angiography. General anesthesia, routine use of shunt and
      use of autogenous vein patch in almost every case was employed. Patients were
      selectively observed in the Intensive Care Unit postoperatively. Forty eight
      percent of the series and 75% of the most recent 121 patients operated on in 1995
      and 1996 were discharged on the first postoperative day without any need for re
      admission to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Carotid endarterectomy can be performed
      with a short hospital stay and an extremely low morbidity and mortality. Carotid
      endarterectomy is a highly effective surgical procedure both from the medical and
      economy stand-points.

PMID- 9972886
TI  - Selective targeting and photodynamic destruction of intimal hyperplasia by
      scavenger-receptor mediated protein-chlorin e6 conjugates.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Photosensitizers, such as Photofrin II or Chloroaluminum-sulfonated
      phthalocyanine accumulate at sites of arterial injury. We have exploited this
      property to develop a model of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for intimal
      hyperplasia. The fluorescent probe [maleylated-bovine serum albumin (mal-BSA)
      conjugated with Texas-red] can be selectively targeted to intimal macrophages and
      smooth muscle cells recruited during formation of hyperplasia via a receptor
      mediated mechanism. METHODS: In this study, the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Cle6)
      was conjugated to mal-BSA in a rat model of intimal hyperplasia, then tested the
      efficacy of the ligand conjugation to photosensitizer (mal-BSA/Cle6) in PDT of
      intimal hyperplasia. Arterial wall injury was produced by a balloon catheter
      pulled through the abdominal aorta of the rat to create a model of intimal
      hyperplasia. Fluorescent compounds were injected two weeks after injury. RESULTS:
      Four hours after injection, the intensity of fluorescence achieved with injection
      of mal-BSA/Cle6 was higher for intimal hyperplastic lesions as compared to
      control areas. BSA-Cle6 unconjugated did not demonstrate such delivery. Two weeks
      after balloon injury, the injured aorta was irradiated externally with an argon
      pumped dye laser four hours following the photosensitizer injection. We employed
      two total radiant exposures: 20 J/cm2 and 40 J/cm2. Forty-eight hours after PDT,
      the arteries were examined histologically. Intimal hyperplastic cells were
      significantly reduced by PDT in the mal-BSA/Cle6 injected group (40-100%) versus
      the Cle6 group (0-20%). CONCLUSIONS: Mal-BSA/Cle6 is taken up efficiently by a
      scavenger pathway, localizes in areas of intimal hyperplasia, and functions as a
      photosensitizer for PDT.

PMID- 9972887
TI  - Residual inflammatory process after aortoiliac reconstructive surgery.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the inflammatory
      reaction and its evolution in patients who underwent a prosthetic vascular
      procedure. Moreover the participation of this chronic process, during the follow
      up, as a promoting or a consequence of vascular injury must be discussed.
      METHODS: Thirty-four patients were enrolled in the study. All patients had an
      aortic disease and underwent a prosthetic vascular procedure. Preoperative
      exclusion criteria were an emergency situation, diabetes, infection, chronic
      inflammatory disease, cancer and hemopathy. Postoperative exclusion criteria were
      the same together with abdominal complications and additional surgery during the
      follow-up. The inflammatory process was investigated with the measurement of
      blood acute phase proteins, haptoglobin, alpha1-glycoprotein acid, C-reactive
      protein and interleukin-6, before, immediately after surgery and several months
      after surgery. RESULTS: An increase in acute phase proteins was not observed to
      the same extent for all the studied patients. Before the surgical procedure,
      chronic inflammatory process was revealed by an increase in haptoglobin (52.9 p
      100) and alpha1 glycoprotein acid (52.9 p 100) whereas increase in C-reactive
      protein (26.4 p 100) and interleukin-6 (92 p 100) are related to an acute
      process. Later after surgery, the chronic inflammatory process remained but
      differed from the observed process before surgery only by haptoglobin (61.7 p
      100) and interleukin-6 (47 p 100). CONCLUSIONS: The presented results, observed
      during the follow-up of vascular surgery focused on persistent inflammatory
      process and the surgical procedure did not modify the time course of this
      process. The evolutionary disease could be considered as chronic and independent
      of the local effect.

PMID- 9972888
TI  - Reoperation after repair of type A and B dissecting aneurysm.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In the late postoperative period after repair of an aortic dissection
      or dissecting aneurysm, reoperations may be required. The interval to
      reoperation, size and location of intimal tear, and results of reoperation were
      evaluated. METHODS: Between January 1982 and April 1997, 138 patients underwent
      surgery for Stanford type A (90 patients) or type B (48 patients) dissections of
      the aorta. The entire aorta was evaluated in postoperative follow-up by computed
      tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for 6 months to 15 years. Reoperations
      were performed in 14 (10.1%) patients with changes in the aneurysms at the site
      of the initial repair or in the distal aorta. Selective cerebral perfusion or
      retrograde cerebral perfusion with deep hypothermia was used in the repair of the
      ascending, arch, and distal arch aneurysms. Reoperations included aortic root
      reconstruction (n=3), resection of a pseudoaneurysm (n=1), and replacement of the
      ascending aorta (n=1), arch (n=5), descending aorta (n=2), thoracoabdominal aorta
      (n=1), or abdominal aorta (n=1). Secondary reoperations were performed in four
      patients (replacement of the arch [n=2], thoracoabdominal aorta and abdominal
      aorta). Consequently two patients had subtotal aortic replacements. The aneurysms
      were caused by an anastomotic leak, a new intimal tear following aortic cross
      clamping, a second intimal tear in the distal arch or abdominal aorta, and Marfan
      syndrome. RESULTS: Two patients (2/18 11.1%) died of bleeding or low output
      syndrome. Two patients died of graft infection or prosthetic valve infection 3
      months after surgery respectively. CONCLUSIONS: 1) The surgical results of
      reoperation for type A and B dissections were good. 2) Close postoperative follow
      up of the patent false lumen in the entire aorta was necessary. 3) At the initial
      operation, total resection of the intimal tear in the aortic arch in low-risk
      patients reduced the risk of reoperation.

PMID- 9972889
TI  - Surgical treatment of atherosclerotic lesions of subclavian artery: carotid
      subclavian bypass versus subclavian-carotid transposition.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective study is to analyze the short and long
      term results of two different surgical treatments in patients with subclavian
      lesions: common carotid-subclavian artery bypass (CSB) versus transposition of
      subclavian artery on the common carotid artery (SCT). METHODS: From 1981 until
      1995, 40 non randomized patients with symptomatic subclavian steal underwent 20
      CSBs and 20 SCTs. Risk factor rates were equally balanced in the two groups.
      Surgery was carried out routinely under general anesthesia, with
      electroencephalic continuous monitoring. Patency of revascularization was
      assessed by physical examination, brachial blood pressure determinations,
      ultrasound sonography and angiography whenever recurrence of symptoms developed
      or when the function of repair was in doubt. Patients were examined every year.
      In Spring 1996 (range 9-189 mos, average 7 years) a general clinical-instrumental
      follow-up was performed. RESULTS: In the short term (<30 days) mortality was 5%:
      one death (5%) for pulmonary embolism in a patient with CSB and one for
      myocardial infarction in a patient with SCT. The early thrombosis rate was 5% (1
      CSB and 1 common carotid artery distal to a patent SCT). During follow-up 10
      patients (25%) died and 6 were lost. The six-year actuarial patency rate was 100%
      for SCT and 66% for CSB. Moreover there were 3 thromboses of the vertebral artery
      homolateral to patent CSBs. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusions SCT should be considered
      the surgical technical choice for the treatment of proximal subclavian artery
      lesions.

PMID- 9972890
TI  - The use of arterial allografts in aortic graft infections. A three year
      experience on eighteen patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We describe our experience in the treatment of aortic graft
      infections by replacing them with arterial homografts as suggested by the good
      results recently described. METHODS: Between March 1994 and March 1997 eighteen
      patients with infections of the aortofemoral bifurcation segments have been
      treated. All patients underwent a complete explantation of the infected graft and
      an in situ revascularization with arterial homograft harvested in multiorgan
      removal. Eight segments were freshly preserved, 10 were cryopreserved. Four
      patients were operated as emergencies, of which 3 for aorto-enteric fistulas. All
      others presented a serious septic state. RESULTS: Three patients died in the
      early postoperative period: one of acute infarction and two of homograft related
      causes. In the follow-up there was only one death from acute infarction, a branch
      occlusion and two allograft enteric fistulas successfully treated by surgery. All
      surviving patients are submitted to periodical haemodynamic and tomographic
      control with an average follow-up of 22 months (range 3 months to 3 years) and
      there has been no allograft degeneration so far. CONCLUSIONS: The use of
      homologue arterial allografts has shown good results in the treatment of serious
      aortic graft infections resulting in adequate peripheral vascularization. There
      have been no significant degenerations to date, either in fresh or cryopreserved
      allografts.

PMID- 9972891
TI  - Dissecting aortic aneurysm involving an anomalous right subclavian artery and
      isolated left vertebral artery: case report and review of the literature.
AB  - A 54-year-old hypertensive woman was admitted with severe interscapular back
      pain. A chest radiograph showed marked widening of the mediastinum. Aortography
      demonstrated a DeBakey type III, a thoracic aortic dissection and an anomalous
      right subclavian artery which was associated with an isolated left vertebral
      artery. The patient underwent aortic arch replacement with 5 branches and made an
      uneventful recovery. As far as we can determine, this is the first reported
      occurrence of these anomalies together with acquired disease of the aorta.

PMID- 9972892
TI  - Bilateral subclavian artery aneurysms with pseudocoarctation of the aorta. Case
      report and review of the literature.
AB  - Subclavian artery aneurysms are rare. They occur predominantly on the right side.
      The most frequent cause of proximal subclavian artery aneurysm is
      atherosclerosis. An aneurysm of the left subclavian artery with normal origin is
      less common, and it is extremely rare when associated with an aortic coarctation.
      This report describes the first case of bilateral subclavian artery aneurysms
      associated with a pseudocoarctation of the aorta. Successful resection of the
      left subclavian artery aneurysms and the pseudocoarctation of the aorta was
      achieved using partial cardiopulmonary bypass.

PMID- 9972893
TI  - Coronary revascularization and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a patient with
      Behcet's diseases.
AB  - Behcet's disease is a systemic disease characterized by oral aphta, genital
      ulcer, and ocular lesion. Arterial involvement is an uncommon complication of
      Behcet's disease, and it most frequently affects the abdominal aorta followed by
      the femoral artery and the pulmonary artery. Coronary lesions in Behcet's disease
      have been little reported in the literature. In this communication, we present a
      case with coronary artery stenosis and with subsequently developed supra-renal
      abdominal aortic aneurysm. The coronary lesions were revasculized with
      gastroepiploic artery, right internal mammary artery, and saphenous vein graft.
      Abdominal aortic repair was performed with partial cardiopulmonary stand by,
      because of the risk of coronary ischemia during the cross clamp including the
      celiac artery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful repair of
      combined lesions of the coronary and the abdominal aorta in a patient with
      Behcet's disease.

PMID- 9972894
TI  - Aneurysms of the supra-aortic trunks in Takayasu's disease. Report of two cases.
AB  - Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, which
      affects the aorta and its branches. The resulting lesions can be of steno
      occlusive or aneurysmatic type; the latter form is relatively rare. The authors
      report 2 cases which came under their observation for treatment. The first was a
      young man of 22 years with aneurysm of the common right carotid artery and of the
      subclavian left intrathoracic artery. The carotid aneurysm was operated first;
      arterial reconstruction was ensured by means of a dacron bypass as the saphenous
      vein was not usable. Three months later, exeresis of the subclavian aneurysm was
      performed with a left thoracotomy in the IV space. The postoperative course was
      uneventful and no untoward event has been observed during follow-up (15 months).
      The second case was a young girl of 16 years with poststenotic aneurysmatic
      dilatation of the anonyma artery, tight stenosis of the left renal artery and
      occlusion of the right renal artery. The patient underwent median sternotomy and
      removal of the aneurysmatic wall together with the stenosis, and a dacron patch
      was applied. During preoperative angiography, the stenosis of the left renal
      artery had been treated with PTA; one month after the first operation, a right
      aorto-renal bypass was fashioned with the saphenous vein. Postoperative stay was
      free from complications on both occasions and complete normalization of the
      pressure values was obtained, which persists after 12 months.

PMID- 9972895
TI  - Percutaneous embolization of an isolated hypogastric artery aneurysm. A case
      report.
AB  - We describe a case of an isolated aneurysm of the left hypogastric artery which
      came under our observation because of a syndrome of compression on the
      homolateral iliac vein. Having excluded the presence of aneurysms in other sites,
      it was decided to perform a percutaneous embolization of the hypogastric
      aneurysm. The follow-up revealed the disappearance of the compression on the
      ipsilateral iliac vein and a 30% reduction in the diameter of the thrombosed
      aneurysm. The method limited invasiveness, the reduction in volume of the
      aneurysmal mass, the disappearance of compression problems, and the shortened
      hospitalization time support the choice of embolization treatment.

PMID- 9972896
TI  - Successful surgical management of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in a renal
      transplant patient. A case report.
AB  - With extended indications for renal transplantation and increasing survival, it
      can be expected that atherosclerotic vascular disease in the post-transplant
      patient will become more frequent. The authors report a case of a ruptured
      abdominal aortic aneurysm in a renal transplant recipient. A temporary axillo
      femoral shunt was used to maintain perfusion of the renal graft during aortic
      cross-clamping. They review the literature and discuss the available methods for
      preserving renal function.

PMID- 9972897
TI  - Treatment of extracranial internal carotid artery aneurysm with resection and
      external carotid artery bypass.
AB  - The authors report a case of extracranial internal carotid artery aneurysm with
      resection of aneurysm and bridging a defect by using the external carotid artery
      after ligation of its distal end. This technique proposes to prevent neointimal
      hyperplasia and anastomotic stenosis.

PMID- 9972898
TI  - Fashioning of aortic isthmoplasty patch. A mathematical model.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Patch enlargement of the aortic isthmus in congenital coarctation of
      the aorta (aortic isthmoplasty) has been extensively performed since its
      introduction in 1957. Even after forty years, the size and shape of the
      prosthetic patch used as an on a graft is still determined, most of the time,
      empirically through eyeballing. Not infrequently, it has resulted in an ugly
      looking repaired aortic segment or with a significant residual systolic gradient
      across it. These twin problems have called for a mathematical model for designing
      the patch more precisely. METHODS: The model envisages a patch of the shape of an
      asymmetric octagon whose cranio-caudal length equals the distance from a point 8
      mm on the proximal aorta to a point 8 mm on the distal dilated aorta on either
      side of the coarcted segment. The side to side length of the patch is determined
      by first subtracting the circumference of the narrowest part of the coarcted
      segment from the circumference of the distal dilated portion of the aorta and
      then adding 4 mm more. The larger slant sides of the octagon are obtained by
      joining the four smaller sides, of 8 mm in length each. Since July 1993 this
      mathematical model has been employed in 7 patients to prepare the exact size and
      the shape of the tightly woven low porosity Dacron patch. RESULTS: In each
      instance a neat cylindrical aorta was obtained without any measurable post-repair
      systolic pressure gradient across the repaired site. CONCLUSIONS: In view of
      these very satisfying results, we believe that this mathematical model of
      tailoring the patch has succeeded in converting the patch-aortoplasty procedure
      for coarctation of the aorta into a precise and hemodynamically fully corrective
      operation.

PMID- 9972899
TI  - Adult respiratory distress syndrome following cardiopulmonary bypass: incidence,
      prophylaxis and management.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In this retrospective study, we have examined the incidence and the
      predictors of ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome), in patients undergoing
      coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The
      prophylactic and therapeutic measures that were used in this series were also
      evaluated. METHODS: Between January 1988 and January 1995, 4318 consecutive
      patients undergoing an isolated and a primary CABG procedure were included.
      Patients with poor left ventricular function, congestive heart failure (CHF),
      renal failure and with an abnormal chest radiogram were excluded. RESULTS: The
      independent predictors of ARDS were: recent cigarette smoking, advanced COPD
      (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emergency surgery. The overall
      incidence of ARDS was 2.5% and hospital mortality in patients with an established
      ARDS was 27.7% (30/108). The prophylactic and the therapeutic measures which have
      been used in this series had no significant impact on the incidence and hospital
      mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In view of a high perioperative mortality in patients
      with established ARDS, a mandate for a regular use of prophylactic and
      therapeutic measures that are based on its pathophysiology, clearly exists.

PMID- 9972900
TI  - The stimulation of neoangiogenesis in the ischemic human heart by the growth
      factor FGF: first clinical results.
AB  - BACKGROUND: This paper is a report of our clinical experience with the human
      growth factor FGF as applied to the ischemic human myocardium. METHODS: After the
      completion of extensive preliminary animal experiments, the growth factor FGF,
      obtained from genetically manipulated E. coli bacteria and highly purified, was
      introduced into aortocoronary bypass surgery as an additional therapeutic agent.
      A double blind study was carried out on 40 patients with CHD, separated into
      "growth factor" and control groups, each containing 20 members. All the patients
      were treated for threefold vascular disease, in each case with an IMA bypass for
      the LAD and single venous bypasses for the RCX and/or RCA. In order to bridge
      over additional peripheral stenoses in the LAD or one of its branches, human
      growth factor FGF was injected into the myocardium of those in the growth factor
      group. Twelve weeks later, the IMA bypasses were selectively demonstrated by
      intraarterial DSA. These angiographs were then quantitatively evaluated. RESULTS:
      In all patients of the growth factor group, the formation of new vessels could be
      demonstrated in the region where FGF had been administered, in a manner strictly
      reminiscent of our experimental results. A capillary net sprouting from the
      coronary artery and making further connection with this vessel could be
      demonstrated, and the computer-supported evaluation of the angiographs showed a
      significant increase in the blood supply of the region of the myocardium
      injected. CONCLUSIONS: It is therefore our opinion that employment of the human
      growth factor FGF represents a useful extension to bypass surgery, particularly
      for patients with an additional peripheral stenosis that cannot be operatively
      revascularized.

PMID- 9972901
TI  - Evaluation of perioperative myocardial tissue damage in ischemically
      preconditioned human heart during aorto coronary bypass surgery.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Preconditioning myocardium with short periods of ischaemic stress
      interspersed with reperfusion increases its resistance to infarction. Ischaemic
      preconditioning protection occurred in human beings during unstable angina
      preceding myocardial infarction, during percutaneous transluminal coronary
      angioplasty and during aorto coronary bypass surgery. The purpose of this study
      was to test (utilised cardiac troponin T measurement) whether ischaemic
      preconditioning was able to protect myocardial tissue during the perioperative
      period and how long that protection lasted. METHODS: Patients were recruited to
      the preconditioned group (n=29), received 4-min of aortic cross-clamping and 6
      min reperfusion prior to CABG performed with intermittent ischaemic arrest and
      the control group (n=27) received only an ischaemic insult of operating
      procedure. TnT measurements were determined from blood samples taken before
      surgery (A), 1 hour after onset of CPB (B), 4 hours (C), 8 hours (D), 12 hours
      (E), 24 hours (F), 48 hours (G) and 72 hours after CPB (H). RESULTS: Results were
      expressed as the median, range and standard deviation (SD) of TnT concentration
      (microg/l). Ischaemic preconditioning decreased TnT concentration with
      statistical significance 1 hour after onset of CPB (preconditioned B: median
      0.12+/-0.25 vs control B: median 0.32+/-0.43, p=0.03). There were notable
      differences in TnT concentration in C, D, E, F, G, H blood samples between the
      control and the preconditioned group but with p value of no statistical
      significance. CONCLUSIONS: These data illustrate that ischaemic preconditioning
      limits myocardial damage during operative procedure and it may probably afford
      protection during a postoperative period.

PMID- 9972902
TI  - Cardiac Troponin T to evaluate myocardial protection via intermittent cold blood
      or continuous warm blood cardioplegia in coronary artery bypass grafting.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of myocardial
      protection during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in cold blood
      intermittent (CBIC) and warm continuous blood cardioplegia (WCBC). To assess
      myocardial necrosis, Troponin T, a structural protein belonging to the troponin
      complex, was measured. Troponin T is released in the blood stream 4 hours after
      myocardial damage, and it does not cross-react with the isomeric form of the
      skeletal muscle. METHODS: Our study involved 20 consecutive patients, scheduled
      for isolated CABG. They were divided into two groups: the first group (10
      patients; 8 m, 2 f) underwent surgery with the use of CBIC, the second group (10
      patients; 9 m, 1 f) with WCBC. The serum levels of cardiac Troponin T (cTn-T)
      were all <0.2 microg/l before operation. RESULTS: In the CBIC the mean cTn-T
      peaked on the 1st day after CABG, in the WCBC group the first peak occurred in
      the 2nd hour after arrival in the intensive care unit, and the second peak
      occurred on the 4th day postoperatively. The mean serum cTn-T was lower in the
      WCBC vs CBIC group from the 1st to the 5th day postoperatively, with a
      statistical difference on the 1st day (p<0.05). In the CBIC group either the cTn
      T peak values (r=0.77; p<0.02) or area under the concentration curve of cTn-T
      release (r=0.85; p<0.004), were directly correlated with the aortic cross
      clamping time. This was not demonstrated in the WCBC. CPK and CK-MB peaked in
      both groups 6 hours after arrival in the intensive care unit and on the 1st day
      postoperatively, with higher values at 6 hours in the WCBC group (p<0.05). The CK
      MB/CPK ratio was significantly lower in the WCBC group at the six hours (p<0.05).
      CONCLUSIONS: The results of this preliminary study suggest that fewer necrosis
      markers are released during CABG in the WCBC group; in the CBIC group the release
      of cTn-T whether measured by peak serum level or by area under the curve, shows a
      statistically significant correlation with cross-clamping time. Warm blood
      cardioplegia is safe and supplies adequate myocardial protection during CABG; the
      more prolonged cross-clamping is, the more myocardial protection is afforded by
      WCBC.

PMID- 9972903
TI  - Successful repair of cardio-Behcet's disease with aortic and mitral
      regurgitation.
AB  - A case of Behcet's disease with cardiac involvement of aortic and mitral
      regurgitation is presented. The patient underwent aortic and mitral valve
      replacement, along with plication of the ascending aorta. Histological
      examination revealed chronic inflammation with degenerative changes, consistent
      with Behcet's disease. Anti-inflammatory therapy using prednisolone was
      maintained throughout the postoperative period. This is the first case of cardio
      Behcet's disease surgically treated for both aortic and mitral valves with a
      successful long-term survival.

PMID- 9972904
TI  - The wandering coronary stent. Case report.
AB  - Complications associated with coronary stent placement have decreased in recent
      years. One of the complications involved with this procedure is the possibility
      that the stent is stripped from the delivery catheter prior to deployment and is
      lost systemically. This paper reports a rare complication which resulted in
      vascular insufficiency necessitating surgical intervention.

PMID- 9972905
TI  - Metastatic renal cell carcinoma invading right ventricular myocardium without
      caval involvement.
AB  - We examined a 56-year-old man who presented with dyspnea and lower extremity
      edema. A 2-D echocardiogram showed a large mass within the right ventricle which
      spared the right atrium and the inferior vena cava. Pathologic evaluation
      identified a renal cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid features. The tumor had
      metastasized to and invaded the right ventricular myocardium without right atrial
      or caval involvement. This pattern of metastases is rare and suggests that this
      tumor's aggressive nature contributed to the degree of myocardial invasion as
      well as the patient's rapid demise.

PMID- 9972906
TI  - Cardiac lipomas. Description of 3 cases.
AB  - Cardiac lipomas, extremely rare benign tumours, can develop in the pericardial
      surface or inside the cardiac chambers. We report three cases, 2 intracardiac
      (one in the left and right atrium at the level of the interatrial septum and the
      other in the right ventricle) and one epicardial at the level of the left atrial
      roof. All patients underwent surgery and are now asymptomatic.

PMID- 9972907
TI  - Aorto-atrial fistula associated with recurrent aortic dissection after ascending
      aorta replacement.
AB  - A 70-year-old woman with a bicuspid aortic valve had undergone ascending aorta
      replacement for acute DeBakey type I dissection. Computed tomography and
      aortography 2 months after the operation revealed a thrombosed false lumen in the
      ascending aorta proximal to the prosthetic graft. However, recurrence of
      dissection was found at the aortic root proximal to the graft 4 years after the
      initial operation. Significant aortic stenosis was also noted. Despite intensive
      medical treatment, she had refractory and progressive heart failure. At the
      second surgery, an aorto-right atrial fistula, which probably was responsible for
      the severe heart failure was revealed. Closure of the aorto-right atrial fistula,
      and aortic root replacement were performed using Piehler's method, with a
      composite graft. The etiology and management of this rare case are discussed.

PMID- 9972908
TI  - Acquired aortopulmonary fistula. A case report.
AB  - A 63-year-old male patient with no prior history of heart disease was admitted in
      acute heart failure with diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism. 2D
      echocardiography and color-Doppler echocardiography showed a severe aortic
      stenosis associated with an acquired aorto-pulmonary fistula bridging the
      ascending aorta and the main pulmonary artery. The diagnosis was confirmed by
      aortography. The patient underwent replacement of the aortic valve with a
      bileaflet mechanical valve. The fistula was obliterated with a Dacron patch
      anchored on the edges of its aortic opening. He did well postoperatively and was
      discharged with no complaint.

PMID- 9972909
TI  - Wash out technique for proximal anastomosis in atherosclerotic ascending aorta.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Especially among elderly patients embolisms originating from
      atheromatous plaques in the ascending aorta are responsible for cardiac and
      cerebral events during coronary bypass surgery. Unfortunately smooth atheromatous
      degeneration of the aorta often can not be detected even by transoesophageal
      echocardiography. METHODS: In four patients with unexpected atheromatous material
      of the punched ascending aorta the so called "wash out technique" was performed.
      A side-to-end anastomosis between a segment of vein and the partially clamped
      ascending aorta was performed. For several minutes the ascending aorta was left
      to bleed through the venous stump. Without further manipulation of the ascending
      aorta the coronary bypass graft was completed by an end-to-end anastomosis
      between the venous stump and the venous graft. Oral anticoagulation in
      combination with a low dose platelet antiaggregation drug was given for at least
      one year. RESULTS: All patients had an uncomplicated postoperative course,
      especially with regard to neurological damage or ECG changes. CONCLUSIONS: In
      patients with unexpected atheromatous pathology of the ascending aorta the "wash
      out technique" of coronary artery bypass grafting minimises direct embolisation
      into the cardiac area perfused by the new bypass grafts.

PMID- 9972910
TI  - Technical considerations for partial left ventriculectomy (Batista operation).
AB  - The surgical technique for partial left ventriculectomy (Batista operation) as
      performed in two surgical centers is described. This surgical remodeling of the
      left ventricle restores the abnormal geometric configuration produced by the
      dilated failing heart. It accomplishes a reduction of the left ventricular end
      diastolic diameter and end-diastolic volume with consequent increase in left
      ventricular function. This procedure represents the newest surgical approach in
      the management of patients with end-stage cardiomyopathy; it can be used as a
      bridge to transplantation or perhaps as a definitive form of therapy,
      particularly in those patients in whom heart transplantation is contraindicated.
      This report describes technical guidelines to avoid serious intraoperative and
      postoperative complications directly associated with this technique.

PMID- 9972911
TI  - Combined use of single and double-cross steel wires for closure of midline
      sternotomy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We describe an improved technique for sternal closure which is
      performed using combined single and double-cross steel wires. We made a
      mechanical study of these single and double-cross shapes considering the effects
      of applied transverse and longitudinal shearing forces. METHODS: We used this
      technique in 80 patients who underwent coronary surgery with the use of bilateral
      internal mammary arteries. RESULTS: Among them no major wound complications
      occurred, and in all cases a firm stabilization of the sternum was achieved.
      CONCLUSIONS: We therefore consider this technique of sternal closure easy, safe
      and effective, also in patients considered at risk for sternal dehiscence.

PMID- 9972913
TI  - Lung volume reduction surgery for severe emphysema.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We report mid-term results after 25 consecutive lung volume reduction
      operations (LVRS) for the treatment of severe dyspnea due to advanced emphysema.
      METHODS:  STUDY DESIGN: patients were studied prospectively up to 12 months after
      surgery. SETTING: preoperative evaluation, surgery and postoperative care took
      place in our university hospital. PATIENTS: patient selection was based on severe
      dyspnea and airway obstruction despite optimal medical treatment, lung
      overinflation and completed rehabilitation programme. PATIENTS with severe
      hypercarbia (PCO2>50 mmHg) were excluded. Nineteen rehabilitated patients who
      fulfilled our inclusion criteria but postponed or denied LVRS were followed up
      clinically. INTERVENTIONS: LVRS was performed bilaterally in 22 patients (median
      sternotomy) and unilaterally in 3 patients (limited thoracotomy). MEASURES:
      Outcome was measured by dyspnea evaluation, 6-minute-walking distance and
      pulmonary function tests. RESULTS: Twelve months postoperatively dyspnea and
      mobility improved significantly (MRC score from 3.3+/-0.7 to 2.12+/-0.8, 6-min
      walk from 251+/-190 to 477+/-189 m). These results were superior compared to the
      results of the conservatively treated patients. Significant improvement could
      also be documented in airway obstruction (FEV1 from 960+/-369 to 1438+/-610 ml)
      and overinflation (TLC from 133+/-14 to 118+/-21% predicted and RV from 280+/-56
      to 186+/-59% predicted). CONCLUSIONS: LVRS is an effective and promising
      treatment option for selected patients with end-stage emphysema and could be
      offered as an alternative and / or bridge to lung transplantation.

PMID- 9972912
TI  - Spinal cord protection by papaverine and intrathecal cooling during aortic
      crossclamping.
AB  - AIM: To extend the safe period of aortic crossclamping in the porcine model by
      intrathecally dilating the spinal arteries, with cooling of the spinal cord, or
      using selfoteL METHODS: Experimental design and setting: prospective domestic
      laboratory pig study. INTERVENTIONS: fifteen animals were assigned to a control
      group (C, N=5), intrathecal papaverine plus spinal cord cooling group (IP+C,
      N=5), or selfotel group (S, N=5). In the IP+C group, a lumbar laminectomy was
      performed and an intrathecal catheter placed for intrathecal injection of
      papaverine and perfusion with cold Ringer's solution (4 degrees C) prior to
      aortic crossclamping. In the selfotel group, 20 mg/kg of selfotel was
      administered 30 minutes before aortic crossclamping. In all 15 animals, the aorta
      was crossclamped for 60 minutes at normothermia. MEASURES: immediately after the
      operation and 24 hours later, lower limb function was evaluated. RESULTS: All
      five control animals were paralyzed; all 5 IP+C animals could stand or walk
      (p=0.004 versus control); and in the selfotel group, one had paraparesis, three
      had paraplegia and one died before evaluation (p=n.s.) CONCLUSIONS: The
      combination of intrathecal papaverine to dilate spinal arteries and prevent spasm
      from the cold solution plus intrathecally cooling the spinal cord appears to
      extend the period of safe aortic crossclamping. Selfotel, in this model of
      extended, severe, spinal cord ischemia, was ineffective.

PMID- 9972914
TI  - Management of pneumothorax in children.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The efficacy of tube thoracostomies inserted at the sixth intercostal
      space at midaxillary line was evaluated retrospectively in children. METHODS:
      Ninety-seven children with pneumothorax, treated by tube thoracostomy were taken
      into the study. There were 67 male and 30 female patients with a mean age of 6.5
      years (range 1 days to 15 years) RESULTS: Pneumothorax was located at the right
      side in 50 (51.5%), and at the left in 38 (39.1%) of the cases. Bilateral
      pneumothorax was found in 9 additional patients (9.2%). All patients were treated
      with tube thoracostomy placed in the pleural cavity at the sixth intercostal
      space at the mid-axillary line. Postoperative course was uneventful and no
      complication was encountered at any of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of
      these data we suggest that all thoracostomy tubes should be inserted on the sixth
      intercostal space where both air and the accumulating fluid can be reached. The
      insertion of the thoracostomy tube at the second intercostal space must be
      avoided since it carries a high risk of subclavian vein injury in small children,
      and also a secondary tube is frequently required to drain the accompanying
      intrapleural fluid.

PMID- 9972916
TI  - A case of traumatic pericardiophrenic rupture.
AB  - An unusual case of traumatic pericardiophrenic rupture is presented. The defect
      was limited to the central tendon of the diaphragm, with herniation of the
      stomach into the pericardial sac. A correct preoperative diagnosis was not made
      because laparotomy was quickly performed for splenic rupture. Successful
      operative repair of the tear was performed, with interrupted reabsorbable
      sutures. The case is discussed and the management of patients with these rare
      lesions is reviewed.

PMID- 9972915
TI  - Alloplastic sternal replacement in malignant sternal tumors. Case report and
      review of the literature.
AB  - Although not seldom as a palliative procedure, the preferred treatment of locally
      recurrent breast cancer or chest wall involvement by metastases is full-thickness
      chest wall resection. For closure and coverage of the defect various techniques
      are described. Autoplastic reconstruction is indicated for smaller defects, while
      larger defects usually require alloplastic materials, especially in case of chest
      instability after resection. We report the case of a 55-year-old female who
      developed a locally recurrent breast cancer with infiltration of the sternum 4
      years after left sided ablation. En bloc resection of the chest wall including
      the complete sternum was followed by replacement with a computer-aided custom
      made polyethylene sternal prosthesis. With this procedure we stabilized the chest
      wall with protection of the underlying organs, avoided prolonged postoperative
      ventilation and achieved a satisfying cosmetic result.

PMID- 9972917
TI  - Occult Boerhaave's syndrome without vomiting prior to presentation. Report of a
      case.
AB  - Boerhaave's syndrome (spontaneous esophageal perforation) is an uncommon clinical
      entity that frequently presents with an antecedent history of marked vomiting
      followed by chest or abdominal pain. We report a case of spontaneous rupture of
      the esophagus in 53-year-old male who was referred to our hospital with a chest
      discomfort. A chest radiogram revealed pleural effusion and pneumomediastinum.
      Nine hours after onset, the diagnosis of Boerhaave's syndrome become evident. She
      underwent operative repair and, after a prolonged stay, was discharged in
      relatively good condition 55 days after admission. The absence of vomiting prior
      to presentation is the distinguishing feature of this particular case. This is
      the seventh case in the English literature to our knowledge.

PMID- 9972918
TI  - An endometrial nodule in the lung without pelvic endometriosis.
AB  - We present a 55-year-old woman with an intrapulmonary nodule diagnosed as
      pulmonary endometriosis by video-assisted thoracic surgery. Ectopic endometriosis
      in the parenchyma of the lung is relatively rare, especially in this case, where
      there was neither pelvic endometriosis nor clinical symptoms.

PMID- 9972919
TI  - A case of ruptured descending thoracic aortic aneurysm into the right pleural
      cavity: importance of preoperative drainage of the right pleural cavity.
AB  - We present an unusual case of a ruptured descending thoracic aortic aneurysm into
      the right pleural cavity of a patient with pectus carinatum. The presence of
      pectus carinatum played an important role in the development of the aneurysm at
      the atypical site and the rupture into the right pleural cavity. A small amount
      of right pleural bleeding on admission can increase and develop to massive
      hemothorax until emergency operation. Massive bleeding in the right pleural
      cavity where the dependent lung is located causes atelectasis and increased shunt
      fraction under one lung ventilation. Therefore, continuous drainage of the right
      pleural cavity is essential to prevent serious hypoxia during graft replacement
      in a case of ruptured descending thoracic aneurysm into the right hemithorax.

PMID- 9972920
TI  - Long-term results of primary repair without graft replacement for acute ascending
      aortic dissection.

PMID- 9972921
TI  - A risk characterization for atrazine: oncogenicity profile.
AB  - An extensive safety database has been developed for the chlorotriazine herbicide,
      atrazine. The results from five oncogenicity studies conducted in the Sprague
      Dawley rat, two studies in the Fischer 344 rat, and two studies in the CD-1 mouse
      were reviewed. No increase in the incidence of tumors of any type was observed in
      male or female Fischer 344 rats, male or female CD-1 mice, or male Sprague-Dawley
      rats fed atrazine at a maximum tolerated level in their diet for 24 mo. Female
      Sprague-Dawley rats fed atrazine at levels of 400, 500, and 1000 ppm developed
      mammary tumors earlier than did the control group. The incidence of female
      Sprague-Dawley rats with mammary tumors after 24 mo of treatment was
      statistically increased at feeding levels of > or = 70 ppm in 1 study and at 400
      ppm in a second study, whereas there were no significant differences between the
      treated and the control group in 3 other studies. No increase in tumors of any
      type was observed in ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats after 24 mo of
      atrazine treatment at the highest level tested, 400 ppm. Therefore, the mammary
      tumor response in female Sprague-Dawley rats following the administration of high
      levels of atrazine appears to be due to an acceleration of the normal
      reproductive aging process resulting in increased exposure to endogenous estrogen
      and prolactin. The Sprague-Dawley rat differs from the Fischer 344 rat, the CD-1
      mouse, and humans in the endocrine control mechanisms affecting reproductive
      senescence and the development of the mammary tumors during aging. These data
      indicate that the carcinogenic effect of high doses of atrazine observed in the
      female Sprague-Dawley is a strain-, sex-, and tissue-specific response that does
      not have biological relevance to humans.

PMID- 9972922
TI  - Effects of indoor environmental factors on risk for acute otitis media in a
      subtropical area.
AB  - The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between indoor
      environmental factors and acute otitis media in a subtropical area. A case
      control study was performed using participants from a prevalence survey that
      included 219 school children with acute otitis media and 219 age- and gender
      matched controls. The study was confined to 4164 primary school children aged 6
      12 yr attending 8 primary schools in Kaohsiung rural municipalities who
      participated in a prevalence study of the health effects of an indoor
      environment. An acute otitis media case was defined as a child with acute
      symptoms (presenting with earache, fever, irritability, and/or discharge from the
      ear) diagnosed by a physician in the previous year. Controls selected from the
      same school did not have chronic or acute respiratory illness or an ear-related
      illness during the same period. Information regarding the home environment was
      obtained using a structured written questionnaire, completed by the parents of
      the children. Of the many indoor environmental factors included in this study,
      only living in a home with indications of dampness (mold, flooding, home
      dampness) showed an association with acute otitis media. It was concluded that
      dampness in the home is a new public health issue in subtropical areas.

PMID- 9972923
TI  - Ethanol co-exposure increases lethality of allyl alcohol in male Sprague-Dawley
      rats.
AB  - Since allyl alcohol and ethanol are both metabolized by alcohol dehydrogenase
      (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), ethanol could affect allyl-alcohol
      induced toxicity under in vivo coexposure conditions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats
      were treated with ethanol (2 g/kg, i.p.) simultaneously or 2 h before with allyl
      alcohol (40 mg/kg, i.p.). Coexposure to allyl alcohol and ethanol resulted in
      neither enhancement nor protection in allyl alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity at 24
      h. However, markedly increased lethality was observed under our coexposure
      conditions. Pretreatment with 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) to inhibit ADH did not
      result in increased lethality to allyl alcohol or ethanol alone, but
      significantly reduced the lethality of the combined treatment. In contrast, ALDH
      inhibition increased the lethality of allyl alcohol alone as well as that of the
      combined allyl alcohol and ethanol treatment. Kinetic studies revealed that
      combined treatment with allyl alcohol and ethanol resulted in higher blood allyl
      alcohol levels compared to allyl alcohol alone, and these were accompanied by
      greater lethality. ADH inhibition increased allyl alcohol blood levels
      significantly when rats were treated with allyl alcohol alone or allyl alcohol
      plus ethanol, leading to protection against lethality. In contrast, ALDH
      inhibition did not affect blood allyl alcohol levels, but resulted in increased
      lethality. These data suggest a possible role for a metabolite of allyl alcohol,
      acrolein, in the increased lethality of allyl alcohol and ethanol coexposure in
      rats.

PMID- 9972925
TI  - Undergraduate Education in Rheumatology, Challenges for the Millennium. Sentosa,
      Singapore, June 13-15, 1997. Proceedings.

PMID- 9972926
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology: challenges for the millennium.

PMID- 9972927
TI  - Undergraduate medical education in rheumatology in Europe.

PMID- 9972924
TI  - Inhibition of natural killer cell activity in mice treated with tobacco specific
      carcinogen NNK.
AB  - Among the different chemicals present in tobacco and tobacco smoke, 4
      (methylnitrosamine)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is the most potent carcinogen.
      In the present study the immunosuppressive effect of NNK was investigated in
      laboratory animals by analyzing the antitumor immune responses. Mice of B6C3F1
      strain were treated with different doses of NNK by IP and assayed for natural
      killer cell activity by the lysis of 51Cr-labeled YAC-1 lymphoma cells. The
      control mice received physiological saline. The results showed a significant
      inhibition of natural killer cell activity in the spleen cells of mice treated
      with 100 or 250 mg/kg NNK. In contrast to the high-dose NNK group, treatment of
      mice with lower doses of NNK like 10 or 50 mg/kg had no significant effect on the
      natural killer cell activity. In addition to spleen, the natural killer cell
      activity was also suppressed in the hilar lymph nodes and lung cells of NNK
      treated mice. The clearance of 125I labeled YAC-1 tumor cells was also reduced
      from the lungs of mice injected with NNK. Further, the metastatic potential of
      B16F10 melanoma cells was significantly higher, as evidenced by the increased
      lung tumor nodules in the high-dose NNK-treated mice. The decreased antitumor
      immune response in the carcinogen-treated mice was not due to a decrease of NK
      cells, because flow cytometric analysis indicated no change in the frequency of
      NK 1.1+ cells between control and treated animals. However, there was an
      increased plasma cortisone levels in the carcinogen-treated mice compared to
      control animals. Injection of mice with poly I:C or interleukin-12 was able to
      restore natural killer cell activity in the tobacco carcinogen-treated mice.

PMID- 9972928
TI  - The teaching of rheumatology in undergraduate medical education in France.

PMID- 9972929
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in German speaking countries.

PMID- 9972930
TI  - Education of rheumatic disorders at Dutch medical schools.

PMID- 9972931
TI  - The present state of undergraduate education in rheumatology in Australia.

PMID- 9972932
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in Asian Pacific countries (APLAR).

PMID- 9972933
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in Latin America.

PMID- 9972934
TI  - North American undergraduate education in rheumatology.

PMID- 9972935
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in Latin America.

PMID- 9972936
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in Brazil.

PMID- 9972937
TI  - Undergraduate education in rheumatology in Tunisia.

PMID- 9972938
TI  - Undergraduate rheumatology teaching in Africa.

PMID- 9972939
TI  - Undergraduate medical education in rheumatology--aims.

PMID- 9972940
TI  - The American College of Rheumatology Core Curriculum--a problem based learning
      curriculum: rationale and design.

PMID- 9972941
TI  - The core curriculum: history and examination.

PMID- 9972942
TI  - Methods in undergraduate education in rheumatology.

PMID- 9972943
TI  - Skills development in rheumatology undergraduate and postgraduate curricula.

PMID- 9972944
TI  - Attitude education in rheumatology.

PMID- 9972945
TI  - Learning objectives of undergraduate medical education in rheumatology.

PMID- 9972946
TI  - The teaching of rheumatology in a graduate entry medical school.

PMID- 9972947
TI  - Video supported small group learning: problem solving and clinical reasoning.

PMID- 9972948
TI  - The use of trained arthritis patients in the instruction of the musculoskeletal
      examination.

PMID- 9972949
TI  - Interactive computer programs.

PMID- 9972950
TI  - Rheumatology training for general practice.

PMID- 9972951
TI  - Methotrexate and radiographic disease progression in patients with rheumatoid
      arthritis.

PMID- 9972952
TI  - Psychological distress and healthcare seeking behavior: caution warranted in
      interpreting data.

PMID- 9972953
TI  - Enigmas of adrenal androgen and glucocorticoid dissociation in premenopausal
      onset rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID- 9972954
TI  - Circulating levels of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-3 and MMP-1, tissue inhibitor
      of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1), and MMP-1/TIMP-1 complex in rheumatic disease.
      Correlation with clinical activity of rheumatoid arthritis versus other surrogate
      markers.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinases 3
      (MMP-3, stromelysin), MMP-1 (collagenase), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases
      1 (TIMP-1), and MMP1/TIMP-1 complex (MT complex) are specifically elevated in
      erosive joint diseases compared to nonerosive rheumatic diseases, and to assess
      how these markers reflect the clinical activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
      compared to circulating cytokines and markers of connective tissue turnover as
      well as established variables [C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte
      sedimentation rate (ESR), and rheumatoid factor titer]. METHODS: Plasma levels of
      MMP-3, MMP-1, TIMP- 1, and MT complex were determined by ELISA. One hundred
      fifteen patients with RA, 20 with osteoarthritis (OA), 28 with psoriasis
      arthritis (PsA), 24 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 3 groups with systemic
      autoimmune diseases, and 30 healthy controls were analyzed. In patients with RA
      routine laboratory variables, circulating inflammatory cytokines [interleukin 1
      (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and IL-6], collagen degradation
      products, and markers of bone formation were determined in parallel and were
      correlated to 4 variables of clinical activity. RESULTS: MMP-3 levels were
      markedly elevated in RA compared to controls and OA, but also in all other
      groups, including 26 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). MMP-1
      levels were significantly elevated in RA, but also in OA, PsA, SLE, and mixed
      connective tissue disease. In contrast, MT complex was elevated in RA only. TIMP
      1 was not different from controls. CRP levels, MMP-3, and ESR correlated best
      with clinical activity of RA. In contrast, there was no correlation of IL-1 and
      TNF-alpha and only a weak correlation of IL-6 with clinical measures. Among
      variables of connective tissue turnover, only pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline
      crosslinks were weakly correlated with disease activity. CONCLUSION: Elevated MMP
      3 and MMP-1 levels are not specific for RA or for erosive joint diseases in
      general. In contrast, elevated MT complex levels were observed in patients with
      RA. However, the correlation of MT-1 with clinical data was weaker than that of
      MMP-3. Elevated MMP-3 levels reflected disease activity of RA better than
      cytokine levels or markers of connective tissue turnover. However, MMP-3 levels
      do not exceed the association of CRP with clinical activity.

PMID- 9972956
TI  - Radiologic progression in early rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate radiologic progression in patients with early rheumatoid
      arthritis (RA) receiving methotrexate (MTX) as the first slow acting drug.
      METHODS: An open, prospective study of 29 patients with RA (21 F, 8 M, mean age
      48.5+/-15.4 yrs). The mean duration of RA was 6.6 (2-60) months; and rheumatoid
      factor was present in 11 cases. Clinical, biological, and radiographic
      evaluations were done before the start of MTX treatment and after 13+/-3.8
      months. Radiographs of hands and wrists were blindly studied by 2 physicians,
      using Larsen's and modified Sharp's methods. There was a significant correlation
      for the scores of the 2 physicians evaluated by kappa coefficient. Radiographic
      evolution was defined as an increase of 15 points in the radiologic score by each
      method used. RESULTS: Patients showed significant clinical improvement after one
      year of MTX treatment. Despite clinical and biological improvement, significant
      mean radiographic progression was noted, with Larsen's method (p = 0.001) and
      Sharp's method (p = 0.034), without reaching the maximum score. However, using
      the definition of radiographic progression, the radiologic scores indicated
      stabilization in 23 patients with Larsen's method and in 24 patients with Sharp's
      method. CONCLUSION: This study revealed mild radiographic progression in early RA
      patients treated with MTX for one year. Further controlled studies are needed.

PMID- 9972955
TI  - Paucity of radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis treated with
      methotrexate as the first disease modifying antirheumatic drug.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
      (RA) using methotrexate (MTX) as the first disease modifying antirheumatic drug
      (DMARD). METHODS: Patients with RA treated with MTX as their first DMARD and in
      whom hand/wrist radiographs prior to MTX administration had been obtained and who
      had received MTX for at least 10 months were evaluated radiographically for
      disease progression. Coded radiographs were read for erosions by 2 experienced
      readers using the modified method of Sharp. Erosion scores and rate of
      progression (per month) were calculated. RESULTS: Of 24 patients studied,
      baseline radiographs showed erosions (one or more) in 11 and none in 13. Patients
      with and without erosions at baseline had comparable demographic and clinical
      features, although patients with erosions had longer disease duration and higher
      rheumatoid factor positivity than those without erosions (statistically
      nonsignificant, however). Half of all patients showed no progression; 73% of
      those patients with erosions at baseline but only 31% of those without erosions
      at baseline progressed (p = 0.049); progression rates were 0.017 (+/-0.033) and
      0.049 (+/-0.078) for the 2 groups (p = 0.040). CONCLUSION: Patients with RA
      starting MTX before erosions have occurred are less likely to develop them; these
      patients also experienced a lesser degree of disease progression than patients
      who started MTX with erosions already present.

PMID- 9972957
TI  - Influence of a ceiling effect on the assessment of radiographic progression in
      rheumatoid arthritis during the first 6 years of disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate at what disease duration and to what extent a ceiling
      effect, due to reaching maximum scores for erosions (E) and/or joint space
      narrowing (JSN) in separate joints, started to influence the assessment of
      radiographic progression according to the modified method of Sharp, in patients
      with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Prospective followup study
      of 87 patients with classical or definite RA, joint symptoms <1 year at study
      entry. Radiographs of hands and feet were made at study entry (Time 0), after 3
      (T3), and after 6 years (T6) of followup. Assessment of radiographic progression
      according to the Van der Heijde modification of Sharp's method. The scores for E
      and JSN were analyzed separately in the individual groups of joints. Percentages
      of E joints, of joints with JSN, and of joints with maximum scores were assessed
      at T0, T3, and T6. The relative risks for the development of radiographic damage
      and of maximum scores were assessed for the individual joints. An approximation
      of the magnitude of the ceiling effect was calculated. RESULTS: After a disease
      duration of 6 years, a significant influence of a ceiling effect on the mean
      radiographic progression was found. In some individual patients the ceiling
      effect appeared to occur earlier. After 6 years, the maximum scores were
      distributed over 50% of the patients, and 20% of the patients had maximum scores
      in more than 10 joints without preference for specific localization. CONCLUSION:
      The ceiling effect appeared to be clinically relevant and should be taken into
      account when interpreting the effects of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs on
      radiographic progression in RA during the first years of the disease.
      Furthermore, it must be accounted for when describing the relationship between
      radiographic progression and process variables.

PMID- 9972958
TI  - Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in patients with active rheumatoid
      arthritis: a controlled study using insulin hypoglycemia stress test and
      prolactin stimulation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study the response of cortisol and of prolactin (PRL) to specific
      stimuli in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We measured the response of
      cortisol to insulin induced hypoglycemia and of PRL to thyrotropin releasing
      hormone (TRH) in 10 patients with active RA and in 10 paired control subjects.
      All were women with regular menstrual cycles. They had never received
      corticosteroids before the study. The PRL concentration was assessed by
      chemiluminescence immune assay and the cortisol concentration by
      radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The basal serum levels of cortisol (14.47+/-2.5
      microg/dl) and PRL (10.1+/-1.3 ng/ml) in the RA group were not significantly
      different from those of the control group (12.3+/-1.1 microg/dl and 13.7+/-2.4
      ng/ml, respectively). The peak value of cortisol after hypoglycemia was
      comparable in both groups (25.5+/-2.4 microg/dl in RA vs. 26.0+/-1.5 ng/ml in
      controls). The integrated cortisol response to hypoglycemia expressed as area
      under the response curve (AUC) did not differ significantly in either group
      (1927+/-196 in RA vs. 1828+/-84 in controls). The interval-specific "delta"
      cortisol response was significantly higher for the 30 to 45 min interval in
      controls compared to patients with RA (9.8+/-0.9 microg/dl vs. 6.1+/-1.1
      microg/dl; p = 0.02). The peak of PRL after TRH did not differ significantly in
      both groups (56.4+/-6.4 ng/ml in RA vs. 66.3+/-7.7 ng/ml in controls) and the AUC
      of PRL secretion after TRH was comparable in both groups (3245+/-321 vs. 4128+/
      541). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that active RA is associated with subtle
      dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal glucocorticoid function and
      normal PRL secretion.

PMID- 9972959
TI  - Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis function in premenopausal women with
      rheumatoid arthritis not treated with glucocorticoids.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis function in
      patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) not previously treated with
      glucocorticoids in relation to their inflammatory condition and in comparison to
      healthy controls. METHODS: We evaluated, in 10 premenopausal patients with RA and
      7 age matched controls, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), its sulfate
      (DHEAS), and cortisol concentrations, together with inflammatory cytokine levels
      [interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-12], both in basal conditions and after stimulation
      with ovine corticotropin releasing hormone (oCRH) and with low dose intravenous
      (5 microg) adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). RESULTS: DHEA and DHEAS basal
      concentrations were found to be significantly lower (p<0.05) in premenopausal
      patients with RA than in controls. As expected, significantly higher basal levels
      of IL-6 and IL-12 (p<0.05) were found in patients with RA. After the low dose
      ACTH testing, the DHEA area under the curve value was found to be significantly
      lower (p<0.01) in patients than controls. Similar results, but without
      statistical significance, were observed after oCRH stimulation. DHEA levels at
      basal time showed a significant negative correlation with the erythrocyte
      sedimentation rate and platelet count, as well as with the Steinbrocker class of
      the disease (p<0.05). Normal plasma cortisol levels during oCRH and ACTH testing
      were found in patients with RA in spite of their inflammatory condition. After
      ACTH testing, IL-6 levels decreased significantly (p<0.05), whereas IL-12 levels
      were unchanged. No significant changes in IL-6 and IL-12 levels were found after
      oCRH testing. CONCLUSION: The abnormal androgen concentrations observed during
      testing in patients with RA might support the implication of adrenal androgens in
      the immune/inflammatory cytokine mediated mechanisms involved in the
      pathophysiology and clinical aspects of RA.

PMID- 9972960
TI  - The posterior tibial tendon and the tarsal sinus in rheumatoid flat foot:
      magnetic resonance imaging of 40 feet.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of the posterior tibial tendon in the flat
      foot deformity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Eleven patients with
      hyperpronated feet and 9 without hyperpronation underwent magnetic resonance
      imaging (MRI) of the feet and ankles. Radial oblique double echo images provided
      cross sectional views of the posterior tibial tendon as it coursed behind and
      under the medial malleolus and inserted beneath the midfoot. RESULTS: Complete
      tears (Type III) of the posterior tibial tendon were seen in one patient with
      hyperpronation and in one without hyperpronation. However, partial tears (Types I
      and II) of the posterior tibial tendon were common, and when Type I-III posterior
      tibial tendon tears were grouped together, they were seen in 68% of flat feet and
      in 43% of feet that were not flat. Abnormalities of the tarsal sinus, including
      cortical erosions and replacement of the normal fat signal with intermediate
      signal soft tissue, were seen in 74% of flat feet and in 5% of feet that were not
      flat. CONCLUSION: Posterior tibial tendon tears are common in RA flat feet, but
      are usually incomplete and are not solely responsible for the flat foot
      deformity.

PMID- 9972961
TI  - CpG motif-containing DNA fragments from sera of patients with systemic lupus
      erythematosus proliferate mononuclear cells in vitro.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To characterize DNA in sera of patients with systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE) in terms of size, guanine plus cytosine (G+C) content (by
      percentage), CpG dinucleotide (CpG) (percentage), and effects on mononuclear
      cells (MNC). METHODS: Nine DNA clones were sequenced. Oligodeoxynucleotides with
      the characteristic CpG motif (TTCGAA or PuPuCGPyPy) were examined for their
      proliferative effect on MNC by [3H]thymidine incorporation, expression of HLA-DR
      and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 on monocytes by flow cytometry, and
      mRNA levels encoding interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by
      semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The
      size of DNA clones ranged from 87 to 318 bp (mean +/- SD, 177+/-68) and
      enrichment in G+C and CpG ranged from 34.7 to 69.7% (48.1+/-10.7) and 0.63 to
      12.8% (4.0+/-4.1), respectively. Three of 9 clones contained the characteristic
      CpG motif. Oligonucleotides proliferated MNC, and augmented HLA-DR and ICAM-1
      expression in company with an increase of mRNA encoding IL-12 and IFN-gamma.
      CONCLUSION: Circulating CpG motif-containing DNA fragments in SLE increased mRNA
      encoding IL-12 and IFN-gamma, which in turn increased HLA-DR and ICAM-1 on
      monocytes, resulting in MNC proliferation. This mechanism could contribute to the
      pathogenesis of SLE.

PMID- 9972962
TI  - Safety of self-injection of gold and methotrexate.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: We review our experience with safety, efficacy, and practicality of
      self-administration of gold and methotrexate (MTX) in 40 patients. METHODS:
      Between 1992 and 1995, 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic
      arthritis (PsA) followed in the drug monitoring clinics of the Mary Pack
      Arthritis Centre were taught to self-administer parenteral gold or MTX. Self
      injection education was recommended to patients who were stable and improved
      taking parenteral gold or MTX, and who had not experienced serious side effects.
      Charts were reviewed to extract and analyze prospectively collected data
      regarding safety, efficacy, and compliance. RESULTS: Sixty-five percent of
      patients performed self-injection and 35% received injections at home from a
      partner. Side effects in the self-injection patients are similar to those
      observed in clinic patients receiving drug by nurse administration. One MTX
      treated patient required treatment for interstitial pneumonitis, which developed
      after 22 weeks on self-injection. Side effects of self-injection included
      superficial irritation at the injection site in 2 patients and dosing error in 2
      patients with no adverse effects. Seventy percent of gold and MTX treated
      patients continued self-injection after a mean of 34 months. Patients surveyed
      for satisfaction identified time saving and convenience as major benefits.
      CONCLUSION: With basic instruction and close supervision, self-injection of
      antirheumatic drugs is safe in selected patients. Self-injection reduces
      utilization of health care services, and is convenient and time and cost-saving
      to the patient.

PMID- 9972963
TI  - Quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE) and to compare it with that of healthy women and patients
      with primary fibromyalgia (FM). METHODS: QOL was evaluated using the QOL scale,
      which includes 16 items, each scored on a 7 point scale. Healthy controls were
      chosen from hospital personnel. RESULTS: The study population comprised 75 female
      patients with SLE, 50 healthy women, and 30 women with primary FM. Compared to
      controls, patients with SLE had significantly lower scores for the health, work,
      active recreation, and independence items. The QOL scores were not associated
      with disease activity. Patients with SLE and FM had significantly lower scores
      for the health related items compared with patients with SLE without FM.
      CONCLUSION: The QOL of patients with SLE was found to be impaired compared with
      controls. FM adversely affects the QOL of patients with SLE.

PMID- 9972964
TI  - Three year followup of bone mineral density change in premenopausal women with
      systemic lupus erythematosus.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To measure the change in bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm2) in a female
      population with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) over 3 years, to identify
      factors predictive of bone loss, including the role of corticosteroid and disease
      related variables, and to determine the predictive value of urinary collagen
      crosslinks for bone loss. METHODS: All premenopausal women with SLE who
      participated in a cross sectional study of BMD in 1994 were invited to undergo a
      standardized interview, examination, medical record review, and BMD measurement
      of the lumbar spine and femoral neck by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry.
      RESULTS: Thirty-two women participated with a mean (SEM) age of 35.2 (1.5) years,
      duration of SLE of 7.0 (0.8) years, and mean (range) time to followup of 3.2 (2.9
      3.4) years. Twenty-one subjects were exposed to corticosteroids during the study
      period with a mean (range) daily dose of prednisolone of 11.1 (2.8-22.9) mg.
      There was no significant change over the 3 years in BMD at the lumbar spine
      (1.161+/-0.122 vs. 1.169+/-0.022; p = 0.39) or femoral neck (0.944+/-0.023 vs.
      0.955+/-0.020; p = 0.47) for the group as a whole, or when subjects were divided
      according to corticosteroid exposure. However, in the corticosteroid exposed
      subgroup, patients treated with > or = 7.5 mg/day (n = 14) lost lumbar spine BMD
      (-0.50%/yr) in contrast to those receiving <7.5 mg/day, who gained 1.06%/yr (p =
      0.02). Furthermore, no participant receiving <7.5 mg/day lost lumbar spine BMD,
      while 57% of patients receiving > or =7.5 mg/day lost lumbar spine BMD (p =
      0.01). In the corticosteroid exposed subgroup only, subjects who did not exercise
      regularly lost femoral neck BMD, while those who did gained femoral neck BMD (
      0.54%/yr vs. 1.39%/yr; p = 0.02). Disease related variables (disease severity,
      activity, duration, functional capacity) and baseline urinary collagen crosslink
      levels were not predictive of BMD change. CONCLUSION: Loss of lumbar spine and
      femoral neck BMD in this premenopausal female SLE population was minimal for the
      group as a whole; however, a daily dose of prednisolone of > or =7.5 mg was
      associated with loss of lumbar spine BMD. In corticosteroid exposed patients,
      regular exercise was protective of femoral neck BMD loss. A single baseline
      measurement of urinary collagen crosslinks was not predictive of bone loss.

PMID- 9972965
TI  - Correlation of serum measures of nitric oxide production with lupus disease
      activity.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether serum measures of nitric oxide production
      correlate with disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
      (SLE). METHODS: We assayed the levels of serum nitrate/nitrite from 26 patients
      with SLE followed for 1-3 years and nitrotyrosine levels in sera from 28
      additional patients with SLE; sera from 19 controls were tested in both assays.
      Lupus disease activity was determined via the physician's global assessment, the
      Lupus Activity Index, and the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) at the time of
      serum collection for the initial set of 26 patients. Statistical correlations
      were determined using the Wilcoxon rank sum method and one-way ANOVA testing.
      RESULTS: Serum levels of nitrate/nitrite were significantly higher in 26 patients
      with SLE compared to 19 controls (SLE, mean 29.5 microM/ml, range 1-438;
      controls, mean 9.6 microM/ml, range 0-51; p = 0.0004). Overall, there was a
      significant correlation between serum nitrate/nitrite levels and SLEDAI scores (p
      = 0.0065). Renal variables within the SLEDAI had the highest correlation with
      serum nitrate/nitrite (p = 0.0028). Serum nitrotyrosine levels were also
      significantly higher in patients with SLE versus controls (p = 0.007) and in
      active SLE versus those with inactive SLE (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Serum
      nitrate/nitrite levels correlated with SLE disease activity, especially
      nephritis, in the majority of patients studied. Serum nitrotyrosine levels also
      differentiated controls from patients with lupus and patients with active from
      those with inactive disease. Due to the ease and low cost of these assays, serum
      measures of nitric oxide production appear a potentially useful adjunctive
      laboratory measure of disease activity in SLE and further implicate nitric oxide
      as an important mediator of disease in SLE.

PMID- 9972966
TI  - The cholesterol lowering effect of antimalarial drugs is enhanced in patients
      with lupus taking corticosteroid drugs.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between antimalarial therapy and total
      cholesterol in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with or without
      steroid therapy. METHODS: Retrospective study for the University of Toronto Lupus
      Clinic database between 1976 and 1997. The effects of antimalarials on random
      total cholesterol levels were assessed in the following situations: patients not
      receiving steroids (part I) that either initiated or discontinued antimalarials;
      patients receiving steroids (part II) that were either on a stable dose or
      initiating antimalarials; and patients initiating steroids with or without
      antimalarials (part III). Paired t test, Fisher's exact test, and 2 way analysis
      of variance were used when appropriate. RESULTS: Initiation of antimalarials
      reduced the baseline total cholesterol by 4.1 % at 3 months in 53 patients (p =
      0.020) and by 0.6% at 6 months in 30 patients (p = NS), while the cessation of
      antimalarials increased the total cholesterol by 3.6% at 3 months in 38 patients
      (p = NS) and 5.4% at 6 months in 22 patients (p = NS). In 181 patients taking
      steroids and antimalarials, the mean total cholesterol was 11% less than for 201
      patients receiving a comparable dose of steroids alone (p = 0.0023). Initiation
      of antimalarials on a stable dose of steroids reduced the total cholesterol by
      11.3% at 3 months in 29 patients (p = 0.0002) and 9.4% at 6 months in 20 patients
      (p = 0.004). For patients initiating steroids, the percentage increase in
      cholesterol was lower in those taking antimalarials compared to patients without
      antimalarial therapy (p = 0.0149). CONCLUSION: Antimalarials lower total
      cholesterol in patients receiving steroids and may minimize steroid induced
      hypercholesterolemia.

PMID- 9972967
TI  - Anti-DNA and anti-nucleosome antibody affinity--a mirror image of lupus
      nephritis?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To measure relative functional affinities of both IgG anti-DNA and
      anti-nucleosome antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
      METHODS: Serum IgG anti-DNA antibodies were affinity purified from DNA-Sepharose
      columns (APAD) and tested for functional affinities using dissociation of antigen
      antibody binding with diethylamine. IgG antibody affinities for nucleosomes
      prepared from chicken erythrocyte nuclei and apoptotic normal human leukocyte
      nuclei were also measured. RESULTS: Many patients with SLE nephritis showed low
      IgG anti-DNA antibody affinity for both DNA and nucleosomes during clinical
      phases of active nephritis. Serial studies confirmed an apparent relationship
      between clinical bouts of active renal disease and low residual serum anti-DNA
      and sometimes anti-nucleosome affinity. Serial studies of patients with SLE
      without renal disease did not show episodes of low affinity serum anti-DNA. When
      APAD were compared to renal biopsy eluates, much higher affinity for DNA was
      found in renal eluates than in APAD in serum. Similarly, low affinity antibodies
      in serum were associated with high affinity anti-nucleosome antibody in renal
      biopsy eluates in some but not all of 10 patients with SLE studied. CONCLUSION:
      Residual IgG anti-DNA antibody affinity for DNA is often low during phases of
      active SLE nephritis. When nephritis improves or precipitates chronic renal
      failure, serum anti-DNA antibody affinity increases. Measurement of anti-DNA
      antibody affinity may provide a useful indicator of renal disease activity.

PMID- 9972968
TI  - Discrepant expression of neprilysin on fibroblasts in diffuse systemic sclerosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Neprilysin (NEP; EC3.4.24.11) is an ectopeptidase mainly produced by
      fibroblasts and cleaving a large number of neuropeptides. We previously found
      increased plasma circulating levels of NEP in patients with systemic sclerosis
      (SSc), but in SSc fibroblasts derived from the diffuse subset NEP was present in
      lower concentration. We evaluate in vitro fibroblasts of both subsets of the
      disease, diffuse and limited, the intracellular levels of NEP, and its expression
      as CD10 on the cellular surface. METHODS: Fibroblasts, derived from biopsies
      taken from affected skin of 8 patients with the limited subset and 5 with the
      diffuse subset, were grown in vitro and intracellular levels of NEP activity were
      measured with a fluorometric method, while CD10 surface expression was evaluated
      by FACS analysis. Cell proliferation was assessed by 3HThymidine incorporation.
      RESULTS: Intracellular NEP activity was significantly increased in diffuse
      (7.02+/-4.8 pg/ml/min 10(6) cells) compared to limited SSc (1.11+/-2.0) and
      control fibroblasts (1.41+/-0.9). CD10 expression was significantly impaired on
      diffuse SSc fibroblasts (47.3+/-15%) compared to controls (74.6+/-11%) and the
      limited subset (82.7+/-11%). Cell proliferation of diffuse SSc fibroblasts was
      strikingly higher than controls and limited SSc fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: These
      results confirm that NEP is produced by fibroblasts and indicate that in diffuse
      SSc fibroblasts NEP is produced in higher quantities, while the expression of the
      enzyme on the cell surface is significantly reduced. This condition may affect
      the proliferation rate of fibroblasts as well as the metabolism of various
      peptides.

PMID- 9972969
TI  - A pilot study: use of fludarabine for refractory dermatomyositis and
      polymyositis, and examination of endpoint measures.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of the adenine analog, fludarabine, on patients
      with refractory dermatomyositis and polymyositis, and to assess variables used in
      following myositis patients during medical intervention. METHODS: Patients whose
      myositis was not controlled by prednisone and at least one other
      immunosuppressive medication were entered into a pilot study during which they
      received 6 monthly cycles of intravenous fludarabine. Patients were assessed at
      baseline, every other month, and at month 7 for primary outcome measures of
      strength and function. Other measurements including peripheral blood cell
      subsets, muscle enzymes, and various assessments of disease activity were
      followed monthly during the fludarabine infusion period and for up to 6 months
      post therapy. RESULTS: Of 16 patients who entered the study, 4 patients were
      classified as improved, and 7 patients were classified as unchanged. Five
      patients who withdrew before month 7 were classified as treatment failures.
      Fludarabine caused a significant and prolonged lymphopenia without an increase in
      infectious complications over that seen with other immunosuppressive agents used
      for myositis. A sudden death of one patient at the end of the study was not
      thought to be drug related. Variables followed during the study emphasized the
      distinction between patient functional improvement and disease remission.
      CONCLUSION: A subset of patients with refractory myositis may benefit from
      fludarabine therapy and controlled trials are indicated. Refinement and
      validation of variables useful for following myositis patients await larger
      studies.

PMID- 9972970
TI  - Giant cell arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, and viral hypotheses: a
      multicenter, prospective case-control study. Groupe de Recherche sur l'Arterite a
      Cellules Geantes.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Although suspected, a viral etiology has never been proven in giant
      cell arteritis (GCA). We tested for viruses known to induce multinucleated giant
      cells in human pathology, which include the parainfluenza viruses (HPIV),
      respiratory syncytial virus, measles virus, herpesviruses type 1 and 2, and the
      Epstein-Barr virus. METHODS: A multicenter case-control study on incident cases
      of temporal arteritis (TA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Population based age
      and sex matched controls were randomly selected. Serological tests for IgG and
      IgM directed against the viruses listed above were performed, on blood samples
      taken at the time of clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: Three hundred five new patients
      were included over a 5 year period, of whom 159 presented with positive biopsy
      TA, 70 with negative biopsy TA, and 76 with negative biopsy PMR. Thirty-eight
      percent of cases versus 20.9% of controls were positive for IgM directed against
      HPIV (p = 0.00005). The association was stronger in the positive TA subgroup
      [positivity rate 43.31%; odds ratio with controls 2.89 (95% CI 1.82-4.60, p =
      0.000006)] than in the PMR or negative biopsy TA subgroups. Only HPIV type 1 was
      associated with the disease, regardless of the season or the geographical origin
      of the cases. Positivity rates for HPIV types 2 and 3 and for the other viruses
      tested were similar in cases and controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that
      reinfection with HPIV type 1 is associated with the onset of GCA in a subset of
      patients, particularly in cases with positive TA biopsy.

PMID- 9972971
TI  - Hepatitis C virus infection: prevalence in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in 2
      groups of patients, one group with psoriasis and the other with psoriatic
      arthritis (PsA). METHODS: We detected anti-HCV antibodies by ELISA and by a
      recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) in the sera of 50 patients with psoriasis and
      50 with PsA. As controls we used a group of 76 patients with rheumatoid arthritis
      (RA), and referred to data on the prevalence of HCV in the general Italian
      population. RESULTS: By ELISA, anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 6/50 (12%)
      patients with PsA, in 5/50 (10%) patients with psoriasis, and in 4/76 (5.2%)
      patients with RA. All the reactive PsA and RA sera also tested positive on RIBA,
      while only 3 of the 5 positive results for sera of patients with psoriasis were
      confirmed by RIBA. The prevalence of HCV infection in patients with psoriasis was
      not significantly higher than in controls. In contrast, the rate of HCV infection
      observed in the 50 patients with PsA was higher than that in the other groups,
      the difference being statistically significant between patients with PsA and the
      general population. CONCLUSION: Our data do not support the hypothesis that HCV
      infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. On the other hand
      they show a statistically significant difference between the prevalence of HCV
      infection in patients with PsA and the general population.

PMID- 9972972
TI  - Corticosteroid sparing effect of low dose methotrexate treatment in adult Still's
      disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Adult Still's disease (ASD) is a rare chronic polyarthritis, usually
      treated with corticosteroid therapy. Because some patients become dependent on
      high dose prednisone or are refractory to that treatment, and because adverse
      events are frequent with corticosteroid, we evaluated the efficacy of low dose
      methotrexate (MTX) as a second-line drug. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 26
      patients with ASD treated with low dose MTX because their disease was either
      resistant to or dependent on corticosteroids. RESULTS: The group included 13
      women and 13 men, with a mean age of 32.6 years at onset of ASD. Mean disease
      duration at the beginning of MTX treatment was 59.9 mo (range 7 to 444).
      Evaluation took place at the maximum followup, which averaged 48.9 mo (range 8 to
      136). The mean dose of MTX was 11.5+/-3.6 mg/week (range 7.5 to 17.5). Twenty
      three patients responded to MTX; 18 had complete remission. No difference was
      seen between patients with or without extraarticular manifestations. Leukocyte
      and neutrophil counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were significantly
      reduced (p = 0.0001). Daily prednisone intake decreased by 69% (21.5 mg) (p =
      0.0001). Eleven patients were able to stop taking corticosteroids. One patient
      with AA amyloidosis renal failure died of neutropenia: this was the only serious
      adverse event. CONCLUSION: MTX is an effective second-line treatment of ASD that
      does not respond to prednisone. It allows significant reduction of corticosteroid
      doses, which is beneficial to these patients, who have frequent and numerous
      corticosteroid related adverse events.

PMID- 9972973
TI  - Uremic tumoral calcinosis in patients receiving longterm hemodialysis therapy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyze a series of uremic tumoral calcinosis (UTC) in patients
      receiving longterm dialysis therapy. METHODS: Twelve patients receiving longterm
      hemodialysis affected by tumoral calcinosis were analyzed. Clinical,
      radiological, and pathological features were evaluated and pathogenic factors
      were reviewed. RESULTS: The most common sites for UTC were the elbow, hip, hand,
      and wrist. The lesions were multiple (67%, n = 8), of large size, and symptomatic
      with joint mobility impairment (75%, n = 9) as well as nerve compression (33%, n
      = 4). High serum calcium and phosphate concentrations were detected in 50% (n =
      6) and 100% of the patients, respectively. An increased calcium-phosphorus
      product (Ca x P) was observed in all patients, either due to overt secondary
      hyperparathyroidism (42%, n = 5), or secondary to iatrogenic hypercalcemia and/or
      severe hyperphosphoremia of multifactorial etiology (i.e., prolonged and
      excessive administration of calcitriol and calcium carbonate, insufficient
      dialysis and inadequate phosphorus chelating therapy, etc.) (58%, n = 7). Several
      treatment strategies were followed (surgical excision, parathyroidectomy, renal
      transplant) in combination with aggressive medical therapy to decrease Ca x P
      product, achieving complete remission in 83% of the patients. CONCLUSION: UTC
      lesions show clinical and pathogenic features that differ from those of
      idiopathic tumoral calcinosis. The most important pathogenic factor involved in
      UTC is an increase in Ca x P, not necessarily related to hyperparathyroidism.
      Combined treatment strategies allow complete remission in a high proportion of
      patients. A low Ca x P is necessary to prevent development of UTC.

PMID- 9972974
TI  - Presence and distribution of collagen II, collagen I, fibronectin, and tenascin
      in rabbit normal and osteoarthritic cartilage.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in the composition of articular cartilage
      matrix during the development of experimental osteoarthritis (OA), collagen type
      II, collagen type I, and the noncollagenous proteins fibronectin and tenascin
      were studied in normal and osteoarthritic cartilage of rabbits. METHODS: OA of
      the knee joint was induced by a medial meniscectomy and section of the medial
      collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament. Frozen sections of rabbit
      normal and OA cartilage were stained with monoclonal antibodies against collagen
      type II, collagen type I, fibronectin, and tenascin. RESULTS: Collagen II
      manifested a decreased interterritorial staining and seemed to increase
      territorially in the deeper zones of the OA cartilage. Collagen I was found in
      normal cartilage as a thin layer covering the surface and also in OA fibrillated
      cartilage. Fibronectin was present in normal and OA cartilage. Whereas a layer
      covered the normal cartilage, a thicker layer was observed in OA cartilage. In
      addition, changes in fibronectin distribution from the pericellular to the
      interterritorial matrix were observed. Tenascin was also found in normal
      cartilage matrix, particularly in the territorial and interterritorial matrix of
      the deeper zones. It showed an increased staining intensity in fibrillated
      cartilage, in the pericellular matrix of the upper chondrocytes, and on the
      surface lining in OA cartilage. CONCLUSION: Collagen type II deposition seems to
      increase in the deeper cartilage zones during the osteoarthritic process, as a
      sign of tissue repair response. Collagen type I, fibronectin, and tenascin show
      enhanced deposition in the upper, fibrillated osteoarthritic cartilage,
      suggesting a common mediator controlled pathway.

PMID- 9972975
TI  - Thyroid hormones induce features of the hypertrophic phenotype and stimulate
      correlates of CPPD crystal formation in articular chondrocytes.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Articular cartilage affected by calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD)
      crystal deposition contains abnormal chondrocytes with morphologic similarities
      to the terminally differentiated hypertrophic chondrocytes that mineralize in
      growth plate cartilage. These chondrocytes also elaborate high levels of
      extracellular inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), an essential component of the CPPD
      crystal. Several factors that stimulate articular chondrocyte PPi elaboration
      also induce terminal differentiation in growth plate chondrocytes. We
      hypothesized that factors such as thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) that are potent
      stimulants of growth plate chondrocyte hypertrophy might also stimulate articular
      chondrocyte hypertrophic differentiation. We also hypothesized that like
      transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), ascorbate, and retinoic acid, thyroid
      hormones would increase chondrocyte PPi elaboration. METHODS: We determined the
      effects of T3, T4, and TGF-beta on markers of the hypertrophic phenotype such as
      alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity and type X collagen production; and the
      effects of T3 and T4 on processes implicated in CPPD crystal formation including
      PPi elaboration and nucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphohydrolase (NTPPPH)
      activity in adult porcine articular chondrocytes in culture. RESULTS: ALPase
      activity increased 3-fold with T3 and T4 and 1.3-fold with TGF-beta. Type X
      collagen levels also increased with thyroid hormone treatment. [125I]T3 binding
      studies proved the existence of saturable T3 receptors on chondrocytes. Media
      [PPi] and cellular NTPPPH activity significantly increased in cultures treated
      with 1-10 nM T3 or 100-500 nM T4. CONCLUSION: Increased PPi elaboration is an
      additional and previously unrecognized feature of hypertrophic differentiation in
      articular chondrocytes. These terminally differentiated chondrocytes may play a
      pathogenic role in CPPD crystal deposition disease.

PMID- 9972976
TI  - Antipolymer antibody reactivity in a subset of patients with fibromyalgia
      correlates with severity.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of antipolymer antibodies (APA) in
      patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and autoimmune disease control groups and to
      determine if the presence of these antibodies correlates with severity in
      patients with FM. METHODS: Sera from patients with FM (n = 47), osteoarthritis
      (OA) (n = 16), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 13) were analyzed. Patients
      with implants of any kind and patients with concurrent autoimmune conditions were
      excluded from study. Banked sera from autoimmune disease controls including
      poly/dermatomyosis (n = 15), RA (n = 30), systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE) (n =
      30), and systemic sclerosis (SSc) (n = 30) were also analyzed. To determine if
      seroreactivity correlates with severity, banked sera from patients with FM
      assessed as severe (n = 28) or mild (n = 37) and from controls (n = 21) were
      assayed. RESULTS: Following analysis, the prevalence of seroreactivity was found
      to be higher in patients with FM (22/47, 47%) compared to patients with OA (3/16,
      19%; p<0.1) or RA (1/13, 8%; p<0.05) and the autoimmune disease control sera from
      poly/dermatomyosis (2/15, 13%; p<0.05), and patients with RA (3/30, 10%; p<0.01),
      SLE (1/30, 3%; p<0.01), and SSc (1/30, 3%; p<0.01). The prevalence of APA
      seroreactivity was also significantly higher in patients with severe FM (17/28,
      61%) compared to patients with mild FM (11/37, 30%; p<0.05) and controls (4/21,
      19%; p<0.01). In addition, both mean threshold and mean tolerance dolorimetry
      scores were significantly lower in the seropositive patients with mild FM (1.33+/
      0.21, 1.95+/-0.25, respectively) compared to the seronegative patients (1.83+/
      0.08, 2.53+/-0.11; p<0.05 for both comparisons, respectively). CONCLUSION: These
      results reveal that an immunological response, production of anti-polymer
      antibodies, is associated with a subset of patients with FM. The results also
      suggest that the APA assay may be an objective marker in the diagnosis and
      assessment of FM and may provide additional avenues of investigation into the
      pathophysiological processes involved in FM.

PMID- 9972977
TI  - Genetic linkage analysis of multicase families with fibromyalgia syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Based on the reports of familial aggregation of fibromyalgia (FM)
      syndrome, we investigated its possible genetic linkage to HLA by studying
      multicase families. METHODS: Forty Caucasian multicase families with a diagnosis
      of FM (American College of Rheumatology criteria) in 2 or more first degree
      relatives were investigated. Eighty-five affected and 21 unaffected members of 41
      sibships were studied. Depression symptomology was assessed by Zung Self-rating
      Depression Scale (SDS). HLA typing was performed for A, B, and DRB 1 alleles, and
      haplotypes were determined with no knowledge of the subject's diagnosis. We
      investigated genetic linkage to the HLA region by evaluating sibships in
      multicase families. RESULTS: Sibship analysis showed significant genetic linkage
      of FM to the HLA region (p = 0.028). Subgroup analysis was also performed for 17
      families where the proband was also noted to have depression (with an SDS index
      value > or =60). We found that the presence of depression did not influence the
      observed results (p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: . Our study of 40 multicase families
      confirms existence of a possible gene for FM that is linked with the HLA region.
      Our results should be regarded as preliminary and their independent confirmation
      by other studies is warranted.

PMID- 9972978
TI  - Chronic widespread pain in the community: the influence of psychological symptoms
      and mental disorder on healthcare seeking behavior.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether psychological symptoms and mental disorder are an
      intrinsic part of the chronic widespread pain syndrome or whether they have been
      observed in clinic attenders primarily because of their influence on the decision
      to seek a medical consultation. METHODS: A population survey of 1953 subjects was
      conducted in the Greater Manchester area of the United Kingdom. The survey
      included a postal questionnaire, and in a subgroup of respondents with high
      levels of distress, the presence of mental disorder was assessed by a
      semistructured standardized interview. Subjects with chronic widespread pain were
      classified according to whether they had sought a medical consultation for the
      reported pain ("consulters") or not ("nonconsulters"). RESULTS: In all, 252
      subjects (13%) satisfied American College of Rheumatology criteria for chronic
      widespread pain, and of these 72% reported having consulted a general
      practitioner about this pain. There was a clear difference in levels of
      psychological distress, measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ),
      between consulters, nonconsulters, and those with no pain. Consulters did not
      differ from nonconsulters in terms of levels of fatigue, social dysfunction, or
      number of somatic symptoms reported. Although consulters (among whom one in 4 had
      a mental disorder) were more likely to have a mental disorder than subjects
      without pain [OR = 4.9, 95% CI (2.6, 9.5)] the increase in risk comparing
      consulters to nonconsulters [OR = 2.1, 95% CI (0.7, 5.9)] and nonconsulters to
      subjects without pain [OR = 1.4, 95% CI (0.7, 2.6)] was not significant.
      CONCLUSION: The results suggest that psychological distress is associated with
      chronic widespread pain in addition to any effect on whether consultation is
      sought for symptoms. The finding that one-quarter of consulters to primary care
      with chronic widespread pain have a mental disorder should alert primary care
      physicians and rheumatologists to screen for mental disorder in this group.

PMID- 9972979
TI  - Arthritis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical picture of arthritis in patients with chronic
      infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV). METHODS: Two patient populations were
      studied. Patients with arthritis and evidence of serum elevation of alanine
      aminotransferase (ALT) at the consultation were checked for HCV infection. A
      second group of 303 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were also
      checked for the presence of HCV antibodies. All patients attended the outpatient
      rheumatology unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Chronic HCV infection was
      determined by the presence of viral RNA in serum. A group of 315 first-time blood
      donors served as controls. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients with arthritis and
      chronic HCV infection were identified. Seven fulfilled criteria for RA, psoriatic
      arthritis was found in one patient, systemic lupus erythematosus in one, gout in
      2, chondrocalcinosis in 2, osteoarthritis in 7, and tenosynovitis in one. In 7
      patients with a clinical picture of intermittent arthritis, a definitive
      diagnosis could not be made. In these patients, mixed cryoglobulinemia was
      present in 6/7 (86%), whereas mixed cryoglobulinemia was found in 6/21 (28%) of
      the other patients. Among patients with RA, 23 (7.6%) had HCV antibodies, and
      active infection by HCV was found in 7 (2.3%) patients. The prevalence of HCV
      antibodies in a blood donor population was 0.95%, significantly different
      (p<0.001; 95% CI 0.03, 0.10) compared to patients with RA. The distribution of
      antibodies determined by recombinant immunoblot analysis was similar (p = NS)
      between RA patients and blood donors with HCV antibodies. CONCLUSION: There is
      not a single clinical picture of arthritis in patients with chronic HCV
      infection. There is a well defined picture of arthritis associated with the
      presence of mixed cryoglobulinemia that consists of an intermittent, mono or
      oligoarticular, nondestructive arthritis affecting large and medium size joints.
      Although a high prevalence of HCV antibodies is suspected in patients with RA,
      its occurrence may be coincidental and its interpretation is difficult to
      determine from the data in this study.

PMID- 9972980
TI  - Interleukin 8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in patients with juvenile
      rheumatoid arthritis. Relation to onset types, disease activity, and synovial
      fluid leukocytes.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To measure serum and synovial fluid (SF) levels of interleukin 8 (IL
      8) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in patients with juvenile
      rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and to compare them with adult rheumatoid factor
      positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: IL-8 and MCP-1 were measured by
      immunoassay (1) in sera obtained from 55 children with JRA and from 16 adults
      with RA, and (2) in SF obtained from 30 children with JRA and 11 adults with RA.
      RESULTS: Patients with active systemic JRA had serum levels of IL-8 and MCP-1
      higher than in controls (p<0.01) and in patients with active polyarticular or
      pauciarticular JRA (p<0.05). In patients with RA serum MCP-1 levels were higher
      than in patients with the 3 JRA onset types, while no difference was found for IL
      8 levels. Patients with systemic JRA and with current systemic features had serum
      levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 higher (p = 0.03 and p = 0.04, respectively) than
      patients in which systemic features had subsided. No significant differences in
      SF IL-8 or MCP-1 levels were found among the 3 JRA onset types or adults with RA.
      In patients with JRA SF leukocyte counts were correlated with SF IL-8 levels (p =
      0.002), but not with MCP-1 levels. Moreover, SF levels of both IL-8 and MCP-1
      were correlated with those of IL-1beta (p<0.001) and IL-6 (p<0.01), but not with
      those of TNF-alpha. CONCLUSION: Elevated serum levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 in
      patients with systemic JRA with current systemic features at sampling suggest
      systemic production of the 2 chemokines during systemic phases of the disease.
      Similar SF levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 among the 3 JRA onset-types and RA suggest
      comparable local production of the 2 chemokines.

PMID- 9972982
TI  - Sweet's syndrome with arthritis in an 8-month-old boy.
AB  - Sweet's syndrome was diagnosed in a 4-month-old boy. He was successfully treated
      with systemic corticosteroids. At the age of 8 months, he developed acute
      arthritis in his right knee. The synovial fluid was analyzed and revealed a very
      high neutrophil count and neutrophil activation with a detectable level of
      intraarticular granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF).
      Prednisone injection into the knee led to dramatic improvement. No recurrence
      occurred. Although arthritis and/or arthralgia are common features in adult
      patients with Sweet's syndrome, this is the first reported case of Sweet's
      arthritis in a child.

PMID- 9972981
TI  - Favorable response to intravenous methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide in
      children with severe neuropsychiatric lupus.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) and
      cyclophosphamide (IVCy) in children with severe neuropsychiatric (NP) systemic
      lupus erythematosus (NPSLE). METHODS: We studied 7 consecutive pediatric patients
      with severe NPSLE. All patients were treated initially with IVMP and IVCy
      followed by monthly IVCy for at least 3 months, and then every 2 and/or 3 months
      according to clinical response. Prednisone was given at 1-2 mg/kg during the
      first month. Laboratory studies included routine laboratory tests, antinuclear
      antibodies, anti-dsDNA, antiphospholipid antibodies, and complement components C3
      and C4. Neurodiagnostic studies included cerebrospinal fluid, magnetic resonance
      imaging, computed tomography scanning, single photon emission computed tomography
      and electroencephalography. RESULTS: Three patients had organic brain syndrome
      with psychosis, 3 had seizures, 1 stroke, 1 cerebral vasculitis, 1 optic
      neuritis, and 1 transverse myelitis. In 3 of these cases, nervous system
      involvement was the initial presentation of SLE. Five patients had 2 or more NP
      manifestations. Most of them were accompanied by general SLE activity.
      Anticardiolipin antibodies were positive in 3 patients and none was
      anticoagulated. All patients improved, 6 patients had a complete recovery and 1
      patient recovered with minor neurological deficit. All but one improved
      significantly within the first week of combined IVMP and IVCy. The mean time of
      follow-up was 37 months (range 8-55). IVCy was well tolerated with minimal side
      effects. CONCLUSION: Early aggressive treatment with combined IVMP and IVCy
      followed by monthly IVCy may be an effective therapy for severe NPSLE in
      children.

PMID- 9972983
TI  - Henoch-Schonlein purpura associated with Toxocara canis infection.
AB  - We describe a case of Henoch-Schonlein purpura in the onset of Toxocara canis
      infection. The diagnosis was made in a 17-year-old boy based on the association
      of palpable purpura, oligoarthritis, acute abdominal pain, microhematuria, and
      cutaneous vasculitis. Toxocariasis, suggested by hypereosinophilia and domestic
      contact with a puppy, was confirmed by anti-Toxocara IgG and IgE and Western
      blot. Complete spontaneous resolution occurred within a few days. Transient
      presence of antinuclear antibodies and the absence of larvae in the skin biopsy
      favor an immunologic parasite induced disorder. A hypersensitivity vasculitis to
      Toxocara canis is suggested.

PMID- 9972984
TI  - Longitudinal involvement of the spinal cord in a patient with lupus related
      transverse myelitis.
AB  - Transverse myelitis is a rare and serious complication of systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE). Magnetic resonance imaging is the investigation of choice
      for diagnosis and followup. This typically shows T1 and T2 signal prolongation,
      cord widening, and contrast enhancement over several spinal segments. We describe
      a 21-year-old woman with SLE who developed very extensive SLE related transverse
      myelitis with longitudinal involvement of the spinal cord from C3 to T2 and from
      T7 to the conus medullaris. Clinically, this was manifest as leg weakness,
      bladder dysfunction, severe low back pain, and patchy lower limb sensory loss.
      She responded to treatment with pulse cyclophosphamide and high dose
      corticosteroids with complete recovery in 3 months. To our knowledge, this is the
      first case report of such an extensive "longitudinal" myelitis.

PMID- 9972985
TI  - Takayasu's arteritis involving proximal pulmonary arteries and mimicking
      thromboembolic disease.
AB  - The pulmonary manifestations of Takayasu's arteritis (TA) are frequently
      overshadowed by the systemic circulation involvement. We describe a patient who
      presented with life threatening complications of unrecognized proximal pulmonary
      arterial disease that mimicked thromboembolic disease. We review the literature
      on pulmonary involvement in TA, and discuss the use of imaging studies in this
      disease.

PMID- 9972986
TI  - Dieulafoy's lesion of the esophagus as a probable complication of Takayasu's
      arteritis.
AB  - Dieulafoy's lesion is an abnormal submucosal artery in the gastrointestinal tract
      characterized by massive gastrointestinal bleeding. We describe a patient who
      developed Dieulafoy's lesion of the esophagus in the course of isolated pulmonary
      Takayasu's arteritis. Angiographic findings indicated a relationship between
      pulmonary arterial involvement of Takayasu's disease and Dieulafoy's lesion of
      the esophagus. This observation represents the first report of the association
      between Takayasu's arteritis and Dieulafoy's lesion of the esophagus.

PMID- 9972987
TI  - Wegener's granulomatosis presenting with a renal mass.
AB  - Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a systemic disease characterized by necrotizing
      granulomatous vasculitis that involves primarily the upper and lower respiratory
      tracts and, in most cases, the kidneys. Kidney involvement in WG presenting as a
      mass is recognized, but is very rare. We describe a case of WG presenting with
      upper and lower respiratory symptoms and a renal mass due to both WG and renal
      cell carcinoma.

PMID- 9972988
TI  - Longitudinal and observational studies module.

PMID- 9972989
TI  - Critical issues in longitudinal and observational studies: purpose, short versus
      long term, selection of study instruments, methods, outcomes, and biases.
AB  - Longitudinal observational studies (LOS) provide key information about outcomes
      and treatment effectiveness that are not available from other types of
      investigations, including randomized controlled trials. Although LOS are easy to
      perform, they are difficult to perform correctly. Major problems include
      recruitment, retention, and relevance, but the central problems in LOS are bias,
      understanding the nature of the biases, and reporting the biases. To advance the
      quality and validity of LOS there must be a uniform requirement for reporting
      detailed data that includes details about the sampled population and the sampling
      methods, the rationale for the selection of control subjects, the probable
      biases, and estimates of the extent and consequences of the biases. Sufficient
      covariates should be collected so that where possible statistical adjustment for
      bias can be made.

PMID- 9972991
TI  - Reporting requirements for longitudinal observational studies in rheumatology.

PMID- 9972990
TI  - A proposed 30-45 minute 4 page standard protocol to evaluate rheumatoid arthritis
      (SPERA) that includes measures of inflammatory activity, joint damage, and
      longterm outcomes.
AB  - A proposed 4 page, 30-45 minute standard protocol to assess rheumatoid arthritis
      (SPERA) is described that includes all relevant measures of inflammatory activity
      such as joint swelling, measures of joint damage such as joint deformity, and
      outcomes such as joint replacement surgery, to monitor patients in longterm
      observational studies. Forms are included: (1) a patient self-report modified
      health assessment questionnaire (MHAQ) to assess function, pain, fatigue,
      psychological distress, symptoms, and drugs used; (2) assessor-completed forms:
      "RA clinical features" --criteria for RA, functional class, family history,
      extraarticular disease, comorbidities, joint surgery, radiographic score, and
      laboratory findings. (3) A 32 joint count with 5 variables: (a) a "shorthand"
      normal/abnormal so that normal joints require no further detailed assessment; (b)
      tenderness or pain on motion; (c) swelling; (d) limited motion or deformity; (e)
      previous surgeries; physical measures of function, i.e., grip strength, walk
      time, and button test. (4) Medication review of previous disease modifying
      antirheumatic drugs (DMARD), work history, and years of education. The forms
      allow cost effective acquisition of all relevant measures of activity, damage,
      and outcomes in routine clinical care, and allow recognition that measures of
      activity may show similar or improved values over 5-10 years, while measures of
      damage and outcomes indicate severe progression in the same patients. The SPERA
      is feasible to acquire most known relevant measures of activity, damage, and
      outcomes in RA in 30-45 min in usual clinical settings, to provide a complete
      database for analyses of longterm outcomes.

PMID- 9972992
TI  - Preliminary core set of domains and reporting requirements for longitudinal
      observational studies in rheumatology.
AB  - Observational and longitudinal observational studies (LOS) provide essential
      information about the course and outcome of rheumatic disorders that cannot be
      provided by randomized controlled trials, and they constitute the major clinical
      scientific communication in rheumatology. There has been no consensus as to the
      full and appropriate content of LOS. This report defines a core set of domains
      and reporting requirements for LOS. At the 1998 OMERACT IV Conference a consensus
      process evaluated the literature of rheumatology in light of the constructs,
      variables, and outcomes of rheumatology by using introductory lectures, nominal
      groups, and plenary sessions. The result of this process was to identify 5 "core"
      domains that should be included in every LOS: Health Status, Disease Process,
      Damage, Mortality, and Toxicity/Adverse Reactions. Two additional domains, Work
      Disability and Costs, were recognized as important, but need not be used in all
      LOS. Eleven subdomains were identified that divided the domains into convenient
      clinical and conceptual units. A set of reporting requirements was also
      determined. The core recommendations, which follow on the WHO ICIDH-2 outline,
      are not disease-specific; the substitution of different "disease process" and
      "damage" measures make them suitable for many rheumatic disorders. The core set
      is intended to serve as a core for LOS in almost all rheumatic conditions.

PMID- 9972993
TI  - Outcome measures to be used in clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus.
AB  - The optimal outcome measures to be employed in clinical trials of systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE) have yet to be determined. Useful instruments should assess
      disease outcome in terms of all organ system involvement, as well as measures
      important to the patient. This article reviews those outcome measures that have
      been utilized in cohort studies in SLE, as well as their limited use in
      randomized clinical trials (RCT). Six disease activity measures have been
      developed: British Isles Lupus Assessment Group Scale (BILAG), European Consensus
      Lupus Activity Measure (ECLAM), Lupus Activity Index (LAI), National Institutes
      of Health SLE Index Score (SIS), Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM), and
      Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). They have been
      validated in cohort studies as reflecting change in disease activity, and against
      each other. RCT utilizing SLAM, SLEDAI, BILAG, ECLAM, SIS, SLAM, SLEDAI are
      ongoing. It is recommended that the disease activity index of choice be selected;
      but simultaneous computer generation of multiple indices will facilitate
      comparisons across therapeutic interventions. A damage index has been developed
      and validated as the Systemic Lupus International Cooperating Clinics
      (SLICC)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Damage Index or SDI. In several
      cohort studies it has been shown sensitive to change over time, and to reflect
      cumulative disease activity. There is no health status or disability instrument
      specific to SLE. The Medical Outcomes Survey (SF-20) captures health
      status/health related quality of life (HRQOL) better than the Health Assessment
      Questionnaire (HAQ) in patients with SLE, but does not adequately reflect
      fatigue. The SF-36 does assess fatigue, and correlates closely with the SF-20.
      These data indicate that any individual measure of clinical response to a
      therapeutic intervention in SLE may reflect only a portion of what might be
      termed the "true outcome." Based on this work, the way is now paved to attempt to
      develop consensus on the important domains to be measured in clinical trials in
      SLE, the most appropriate instruments to use and the minimal clinically important
      differences in their results.

PMID- 9972994
TI  - Development of a clinical chart to compute different disease activity indices for
      systemic lupus erythematosus.
AB  - Between 1990 and 1995 a European Consensus Group carried out a multicenter study
      to reach agreement of the definition of disease activity in systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE). A new index, the European Consensus Lupus Activity
      Measurement (ECLAM) index, was developed. In a second phase of the study, a
      prospective survey aimed at validating ECLAM and 4 other scales as steady-state
      and transition indices for disease activity in SLE was completed. We present the
      results of this survey. A standardized clinical chart was developed, together
      with a computer program that could automatically calculate the ECLAM score, as
      well as the scores for some of the disease activity scales most widely used at
      present, i.e., the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group, Systemic Lupus Activity
      Measure, SLE Disease Activity Index, and the SLE Index Score (SIS). With the
      participation of 28 centers in 15 different European countries, data from 121
      prospectively selected new lupus patients were collected. The validity of the 5
      activity scales was assessed by comparing the computed scores for each patient to
      a gold standard, i.e., the physician's subjective judgment on disease activity
      measured using a semiquantitative scale. All the indices were found to be valid
      instruments for measuring disease activity in SLE in both the steady-state and
      transition phases. The results for the various indices closely correlated with
      one another. Thus, the computerized chart developed by the European Consensus
      Group offers a simple and reliable instrument to assess disease activity and
      could be used to monitor lupus patients both in clinical practice and in clinical
      trials.

PMID- 9972995
TI  - Measures of disease activity, damage, and health status: the Hopkins Lupus Cohort
      experience.

PMID- 9972996
TI  - Randomized clinical trials and longitudinal observational studies in systemic
      lupus erythematosus: consensus on a preliminary core set of outcome domains.
AB  - The OMERACT module on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) dealt with the
      definition of preliminary core sets of outcome domains for randomized clinical
      trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS). After lectures
      introducing the problems and addressing the key issues, 6 discussion groups, 3
      each for LOS and RCT, discussed and weighted more than a dozen possible items for
      use as outcome domains. The means of the respective 3 groups were calculated. For
      both RCT and LOS the same outcome domains received more than 10 of a total
      maximum of 100 points: disease activity, health related quality of life (HRQOL),
      damage, and toxicity/adverse events. However, the weights for HRQOL and damage
      were different for LOS and RCT. A final vote led to the acceptance of these 4
      variables as a preliminary core set for outcome in SLE by more than 80% of the
      participants. This core set will allow for improved design, performance, and
      evaluation of future studies in SLE. However, a number of domains not included in
      the core set were regarded as important for further analysis and research.

PMID- 9972997
TI  - Tophaceous gout mimicking tumoral growth.

PMID- 9972998
TI  - Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome associated with hepatitis C infection.

PMID- 9972999
TI  - Serum levels of Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 in Behcet's disease.

PMID- 9973000
TI  - Reassessment of mirthful laughter in rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID- 9973001
TI  - Levels of cadmium in kidney and liver tissues among a Canadian population
      (province of Quebec).
AB  - In an exploratory study, levels of cadmium in whole-kidney and liver tissues of
      314 subjects from the general population of the province of Quebec (Canada) were
      measured postmortem. Frequency distributions of cadmium concentrations were
      lognormal. As reported in similar studies, age and especially smoking habits were
      the main variables affecting cadmium concentrations. The geometric mean of whole
      kidney concentrations (wet weight) was 17.62 microg/g, with a minimum
      concentration of 2.25 microg/g and a maximum of 100.61 microg/g. Mean
      concentrations of cadmium in kidneys increased with age, reaching a plateau in
      the group 50 to 59 yr (29.49 microg/g), and falling slowly thereafter.

PMID- 9973002
TI  - Differential regulation of in vitro cytokine production by human blood cells in
      response to methylmethacrylate.
AB  - The effect of methylmethacrylate (MMA) on human whole blood cultures (WBC)
      obtained from healthy donors was investigated. Lymphocyte transformation and
      cytokine production, that is, interleukin 6 (IL-6), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma),
      and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), were used to evaluate the
      immunological activities of MMA. Primary cytotoxicity testing of MMA in Jurkat
      cells showed that this compound decreased the cell proliferation to 50% at a
      concentration of >60 mmol/L. Similarly, MMA significantly decreased lymphocyte
      transformation in either phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or Staphylococcus aureus
      protein A (SpA) activated WBC at 100 mmol/L. In contrast to activated WBC, MMA
      had no observed effect on resting blood cells. Cytokine expression in WBC seemed
      differentially modulated by MMA. There was a tendency for IL-6 production in both
      resting and PHA-stimulated WBC to be upregulated, while IL-6 induced in SpA
      stimulated cultures was downregulated. TNF-alpha was slightly increased by MMA in
      resting WBC at early incubation periods, and it was slightly downregulated in
      response to PHA or SpA activation. Suppression of IFN-gamma secretion was
      observed in WBC with or without PHA or SpA stimulation. The overall results
      demonstrated that MMA at physiological levels could influence the cytokine
      production in normal human blood cells in vitro. Alterations of cytokine
      production patterns by MMA indicate that this compound has multiple regulatory
      effects on immune reactions in normal human blood.

PMID- 9973003
TI  - Induction of metallothionein and heme oxygenase in rats after inhalation of
      endotoxin.
AB  - Various stress proteins appear to play a role in injury and repair produced by
      inhaled pollutants. The present study examined the effect of inhaled endotoxin on
      the expression of the metallothionein and heme oxygenase genes. Rats were exposed
      to saline or endotoxin aerosols for 3 h and sacrificed up to 3 d following
      exposure. The significant induction of metallothionein mRNA in both the lung
      (fourfold increase) and liver (one-fold) were greatest at 3 h and returned to
      basal levels by 24 h after endotoxin exposure. Similarly, the increase in tissue
      metallothionein was greater in the lung. In situ hybridization in mice showed
      large increases in the relative abundance of metallothionein transcripts in
      epithelial cells of the conducting airways, in surrounding airway tissue, and in
      the nearby gas exchange region. While an endotoxin-induced significant increase
      in heme oxygenase mRNA followed a time course similar to that observed for
      metallo thionein, the relative magnitude was reversed for the lung and liver.
      Heme oxygenase mRNA was induced greater in the liver (twofold) than in the lung
      (60% above control). Our findings demonstrate that metallothionein and heme
      oxygenase are early response genes that are rapidly activated after inhalation of
      occupationally relevant concentrations of endotoxin.

PMID- 9973004
TI  - Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in carp (Cyprinus carpio) liver, spleen, and head
      kidney following experimental Listeria monocytogenes infection.
AB  - Infection of carp with Listeria monocytogenes 4b resulted in decreased liver,
      spleen, and head kidney enzyme activities, involved in the metabolism of
      xenobiotics. After infection, cytochrome P-450 levels and ethoxyresorufin O
      deethylase (EROD) activity were decreased while conjugation enzymes remained
      unaffected. The maximum decrease for phase I enzymes occurred on d 3. This loss
      of monooxygenase levels and activity could not be directly correlated with an
      increase in the number of organisms, as consistently high bacterial counts were
      observed in all three organs during infection. The effect of L. monocytogenes
      infection was also measured in carp exposed to 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA).
      Cytochrome P-450 levels and EROD activity were significantly reduced, especially
      on d 3. A significant decreased activity of conjugation enzymes such as
      glutathione S-transferase (GST) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) was also
      observed for all days studied. Listeria infection inhibited MCA-induced increases
      in xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme activities. These results indicate that
      infection may have deleterious effects on basal cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase
      levels. Furthermore, MCA treatment aggravates the insult to xenobiotic
      biotransformation enzymes by L. monocytogenes infection, by impairing a number of
      detoxification enzymes. These findings could result in significant changes in the
      susceptibility of fish to pollutants.

PMID- 9973005
TI  - 50th anniversary historical article. Heart failure.

PMID- 9973006
TI  - A perspective on the potential problems with aspirin as an antithrombotic agent:
      a comparison of studies in an animal model with clinical trials.
AB  - Aspirin is the most widely prescribed agent to reduce the platelet-mediated
      contributions to atherosclerosis, coronary thrombosis and restenosis after
      angioplasty. While aspirin treatment has led to significant reductions in
      morbidity and mortality in many clinical trials, there are several scenarios in
      which aspirin may fail to provide a full antithrombotic benefit. The cyclic flow
      model of experimental coronary thrombosis suggests that elevations of plasma
      catecholamines, high shear forces acting on the platelets in the stenosed lumen
      and the presence of multiple, input stimuli can activate platelets through
      different mechanisms that may lead to thrombosis despite aspirin therapy. Aspirin
      therapy is limited because it only blocks some of the input stimuli, leaving
      aspirin-independent pathways through which coronary thrombosis can be
      precipitated. These include thrombin and thrombogenic arterial wall substrates
      such as tissue factor. New agents that block the adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
      receptor, or regulate platelet free cytosolic calcium, such as direct nitric
      oxide donors, may be more potent overall than aspirin. Agents that block the
      platelet integrin GPIIb-IIIa receptor inhibit the binding of fibrinogen to
      platelets regardless of which input stimuli activate the platelet and, thus, as
      demonstrated in the cyclic flow model, would be much more potent than aspirin as
      an antithrombotic agent. The cyclic flow model has been useful in predicting
      which agents are likely to be of benefit in clinical trials.

PMID- 9973007
TI  - Ventricular rate control in chronic atrial fibrillation during daily activity and
      programmed exercise: a crossover open-label study of five drug regimens.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We compared the effects of five pharmacologic regimens on the
      circadian rhythm and exercise-induced changes of ventricular rate (VR) in
      patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF). BACKGROUND: Systematic
      comparison of standardized drug regimens on 24 h VR control in CAF have not been
      reported. METHODS: In 12 patients (11 male, 69+/-6 yr) with CAF, the effects on
      VR by 5 standardized daily regimens: 1) 0.25 mg digoxin, 2) 240 mg diltiazem-CD,
      3) 50 mg atenolol, 4) 0.25 mg digoxin + 240 mg diltiazem-CD, and 5) 0.25 mg
      digoxin + 50 mg atenolol; were studied after 2 week treatment assigned in random
      order. The VR data were analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measures. The circadian
      phase differences were evaluated by cosinor analysis. RESULTS: The 24-h mean (+/
      SD) values of VR (bpm) were - digoxin: 78.9 +/- 16.3, diltiazem: 80.0+/-15.5,
      atenolol: 75.9+/-11.7, digoxin + diltiazem: 67.3+/-14.1 and digoxin + atenolol:
      65.0+/-9.4. Circadian patterns were significant in each treatment group (p <
      0.001). The VR on digoxin + atenolol was significantly lower than that on digoxin
      (p < 0.0001), diltiazem (p < 0.0002) and atenolol (p < 0.001). The time of peak
      VR on Holter was significantly delayed with regimens 3 and 5 which included
      atenolol (p < 0.03). During exercise, digoxin and digoxin + atenolol treatments
      resulted in the highest and lowest mean VR respectively. The exercise Time-VR
      plots of all groups were nearly parallel (p = ns). The exercise duration was
      similar in all treatment groups (p = ns). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that
      digoxin and diltiazem, as single agents at the doses tested, are least effective
      for controlling ventricular rate in atrial fibrillation during daily activity.
      Digoxin + atenolol produced the most effective rate control reflecting a
      synergistic effect on the AV node. The data provides a basis for testing the
      effects of chronic suppression of diurnal fluctuations of VR on left atrial and
      ventricular function in CAF.

PMID- 9973008
TI  - Optimal right ventricular pacing site in chronically implanted patients: a
      prospective randomized crossover comparison of apical and outflow tract pacing.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term functional and hemodynamic effects of right
      ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) pacing by comparison with right ventricular
      apical (RVA) pacing. BACKGROUND: Acute studies have suggested that RVOT pacing
      could significantly improve cardiac performance in comparison with RVA pacing but
      no data are available in chronically implanted patients. METHODS: Sixteen
      patients with chronic atrial tachyarrhythmia and complete AV block were included.
      Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was > or =40% in ten and <40% in six.
      Patients were implanted with a standard DDDR pacemaker connected to two
      ventricular leads. A screw-in lead was placed at the RVOT and connected to the
      atrial port. A second lead was positioned at the RVA and connected to the
      ventricular port. Right ventricular outflow tract and RVA pacing was achieved by
      programming either the AAIR or the VVIR mode respectively. Four months later
      patients were randomized so as to undergo either RVOT or RVA pacing for three
      months according to a blind crossover protocol. Apart from the pacing mode,
      programming remained unchanged throughout the study. At the end of each period,
      NYHA class, LVEF, exercise time and maximal oxygen uptake were assessed. RESULTS:
      No significant difference was observed between the two modes for all the
      parameters analyzed. These identical results were observed in all patients
      globally, in patients with LVEF > or =40% as in those with LVEF <40%.
      CONCLUSIONS: Within the limits of this study, no symptomatic improvement or
      hemodynamic benefit was noted after three months of RVOT pacing, by comparison
      with RVA pacing.

PMID- 9973009
TI  - Influence of right ventricular stimulation site on left ventricular function in
      atrial synchronous ventricular pacing.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The study investigates the correlation between left ventricular
      function and QRS duration obtained by alternate right ventricular pacing sites.
      BACKGROUND: 1. Right ventricular apical pacing is associated with alterations of
      left ventricular contraction sequence. 2. A stimulation producing narrow QRS
      complexes is supposed to provide for better left ventricular contraction
      patterns. METHODS: Fourteen patients with third degree AV block received one
      ventricular pacing lead in apical position. The alternate lead was attached to
      that site on the septum that produced the smallest QRS complex as measured from
      the earliest to the last deflection in any of the orthogonal Frank leads (xyz).
      During atrial synchronous ventricular pacing, the AV delay was optimized
      individually and for each stimulation site using mitral valve doppler or
      impedance cardiography. By radionuclide ventriculography, the phase distribution
      histogram of left ventricular contraction was evaluated as area under the curve
      (AuC); systolic function was determined as ejection fraction (EF) and as absolute
      ejected counts (EC) in random order. The difference (delta) in QRS duration
      between apical and septal stimulation (deltaxyz) was correlated with the
      difference in phase distribution (deltaAuC) and ejection parameters (deltaEF,
      deltaEC). RESULTS: QRS duration was shorter with septal than with apical pacing
      in 9 out of 14 patients (64%); it was longer in 4 (29%), and no difference was
      seen in 1 patient. There was a significant positive correlation between the
      change in QRS duration (deltaxvz) and phase distribution (deltaAuC: r = 0.66393,
      p = 0.010) and a significant negative correlation to systolic function (deltaEF:
      r = 0.70931, p = 0.004; deltaEC: r = 0.74368, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In atrial
      synchronous right ventricular pacing, if the AV delay is adapted individually,
      decreased QRS duration obtained by alternate pacing sites is significantly
      correlated with homogenization of left ventricular contraction and with increased
      systolic function in acute tests.

PMID- 9973010
TI  - Optimization of ventricular pacing: where should we implant the leads?

PMID- 9973011
TI  - Auditory stimuli as a trigger for arrhythmic events differentiate HERG-related
      (LQTS2) patients from KVLQT1-related patients (LQTS1).
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to identify a possible relationship between
      genotype and phenotype in the congenital familial long QT syndrome (cLQTS).
      BACKGROUND: The cLQTS, which occurs as an autosomal dominant or recessive trait,
      is characterized by QT-interval prolongation on the electrocardiogram and torsade
      de pointes arrhythmias, which may give rise to recurrent syncope or sudden
      cardiac death. Precipitators for cardiac events are exercise or emotion and
      occasionally acoustic stimuli. METHODS: The trigger for cardiac events (syncope,
      documented cardiac arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death) was analyzed in 11 families
      with a familial LQTS and a determined genotype. RESULTS: The families were
      subdivided in KVLQT1-related families (LQTS1, n = 5) and HERG (human ether-a-gogo
      related gene)-related families (LQTS2, n = 6) based on single-strand conformation
      polymorphism analysis and sequencing. Whereas exercise-related cardiac events
      dominate the clinical picture of LQTS1 patients, auditory stimuli as a trigger
      for arrhythmic events were only seen in LQTS2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Arrhythmic
      events triggered by auditory stimuli may differentiate LQTS2 from LQTS1 patients.

PMID- 9973012
TI  - Favorable effects of flecainide in transvenous internal cardioversion of atrial
      fibrillation.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of intravenous (IV)
      flecainide on defibrillation energy requirements in patients treated with low
      energy internal atrial cardioversion. BACKGROUND: Internal cardioversion of
      atrial fibrillation is becoming a more widely accepted therapy for acute episode
      termination and for implantable atrial defibrillators. METHODS: Twenty-four
      patients with atrial fibrillation (19 persistent, 5 paroxysmal) underwent
      elective transvenous cardioversion according to a step-up protocol. After
      successful conversion in a drug-free state, atrial fibrillation was induced by
      atrial pacing; IV flecainide (2 mg/kg) was administered and a second threshold
      was determined. In patients in whom cardioversion in a drug-free state failed
      notwithstanding a 400- to 550-V shock, a threshold determination was attempted
      after flecainide. RESULTS: Chronic persistent atrial fibrillation was converted
      in 13/19 (68%) patients at baseline and in 16/19 (84%) patients after flecainide.
      Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was successfully cardioverted in all the patients.
      A favorable effect of flecainide was observed either in chronic persistent atrial
      fibrillation (13 patients) or in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (5 patients) with
      significant reductions in energy requirements for effective defibrillation
      (persistent atrial fibrillation: 4.42+/-1.37 to 3.50+/-1.51 J, p < 0.005;
      paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: 1.68+/-0.29 to 0.84+/-0.26 J, p < 0.01). In 14
      patients not requiring sedation, the favorable effects of flecainide on
      defibrillation threshold resulted in a significant reduction in the scores of
      shock-induced discomfort (3.71+/-0.83 vs. 4.29+/-0.61, p < 0.005). No ventricular
      proarrhythmia was observed for any shock. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous flecainide
      reduces atrial defibrillation threshold in patients treated with low-energy
      internal atrial cardioversion. This reduction in threshold results in lower shock
      induced discomfort. Additionally, flecainide may increase the procedure success
      rate in patients with chronic persistent atrial fibrillation.

PMID- 9973013
TI  - Left atrial mechanical function after brief duration atrial fibrillation.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effect of brief duration atrial fibrillation
      on left atrial and left atrial appendage mechanical function in humans with
      structural heart disease. BACKGROUND: Left atrial dysfunction and the development
      of spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) may follow the cardioversion of atrial
      fibrillation (AF) to sinus rhythm. This phenomenon has been termed "stunning" and
      is implicated in the development of atrial thrombus and embolic stroke. The
      effects of brief duration AF on left atrial mechanical function in humans are
      unknown. METHODS: Twenty-four patients (23 men, aged 59.1+/-12.7 years) with
      significant structural heart disease (ejection fraction 31.2+/-9.0%, left atrial
      diameter 4.9+/-0.4 cm) undergoing implantation of a ventricular
      cardiodefibrillator underwent transesophageal echocardiography to evaluate left
      atrial appendage emptying velocities (LAAeV) and SEC before, during and after a
      15-min period of AF induced by rapid right atrial pacing. Atrial fibrillation was
      then permitted to terminate spontaneously within 5 min or was reverted with an
      endocardial direct current shock. Velocities and SEC were assessed in sinus
      rhythm pre-AF, during AF and immediately, 5 and 10 min after reversion to sinus
      rhythm. RESULTS: Atrial fibrillation terminated spontaneously in 10 patients
      after 16.1+/-1.0 min. Endocardial direct current (DC) cardioversion of 10.4+/-6.4
      J was required in 14 patients after AF lasting 20 min. Mean LAAeV pre-AF (50.0 +/
      17.5 cm/s) was not significantly different to LAAeV immediately (52.8 +/- 16.7
      cm/s), 5 min (54.3 +/- 16.4 cm/s) or 10 min (53.7 +/- 15.7 cm/s) after reversion
      to sinus rhythm. Atrial stunning defined as a reduction in LAAeV of >20% was not
      observed in any patient. Fourteen of 24 patients (58%) developed SEC during AF,
      which resolved within 30 s of AF termination. There were no significant
      differences between LAAeV in those patients reverting with DC shock (pre-AF
      50.6+/-16.2 cm/s vs. immediately post-AF 54.7+/-16.6 cm/s) or in those patients
      with spontaneous reversion (pre-AF 48.9+/-20.2 cm/s vs. immediately post-AF
      49.8+/-17.3 cm/s). CONCLUSIONS: Significant left atrial stunning was not observed
      after brief duration AF in humans with structural heart disease. Transient left
      atrial SEC develops in a significant proportion of these patients during AF but
      resolves rapidly on reversion to sinus rhythm. These findings suggest that the
      risk of thromboembolism may be low after brief duration AF that terminates either
      spontaneously or with an endocardial DC shock even in patients with significant
      structural heart disease. These findings have important implications for
      recipients of implantable devices that are capable of atrial defibrillation in
      response to AF.

PMID- 9973015
TI  - Human atrial repolarization: effects of sinus rate, pacing and drugs on the
      surface electrocardiogram.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We studied the effects of rate and some cardioactive drugs on the
      atrial surface electrocardiogram (ECG). BACKGROUND: In atrioventricular block,
      atrial surface ECG is unmasked. The effect of rate alone permits detection of the
      effect of other exogenous stimulations such as drugs in the presence of rate
      alterations. METHODS: High fidelity, high gain ECG leads I, II and III were
      recorded from 51 patients with heart block. Durations of P and Ta waves and the
      total PTa interval were measured from nonconducted atrial events. RESULTS: No
      relationship was found between sinus cycle length and PTa, P or Ta in 31
      patients. In 20 patients, progressively decreasing the atrial pacing cycle length
      from 853 ms to 381 ms resulted in a linear reduction of the PTa interval from 444
      to 291 ms (rho = 0.76, slope = 0.24). This was largely due to shortening of Ta. A
      linear rate correction formula was derived: corrected PTa = PTa - 0.24 (PP -
      1000). Atropine (0.02 mg/kg) shortened the PP interval (p < 0.001) and the PTa
      interval (p < 0.01). Propranolol (0.1 mg/kg) prolonged the PP interval (p <
      0.001) but did not alter the PTa interval. Neither disopyramide (2.0 mg/kg) nor
      flecainide acetate (2.0 mg/kg) altered the PP interval, but both prolonged the
      PTa interval (p < 0.001). This was largely due to P wave lengthening after
      flecainide (p < 0.001) and to Ta prolongation after disopyramide (p < 0.001).
      CONCLUSIONS: In heart block, PTa, P and Ta waves can be measured reliably. The
      effects of pacing and some antiarrhythmic drugs on the atrial myocardium are
      similar to those known at the ventricular level.

PMID- 9973014
TI  - Triggering mechanism for neurally mediated syncope induced by head-up tilt test:
      role of catecholamines and response to propranolol.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We studied the triggering mechanism for neurally mediated syncope.
      BACKGROUND: Although increased transient sympathetic tone is thought to be
      necessary for the development of neurally mediated syncope, little is known about
      the triggering mechanism for neurally mediated syncope. METHODS: Plasma
      epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE) levels were assessed in 20 syncope
      patients during tilt test (80 degrees, 15 min) with and without isoproterenol
      (ISP, 0.01, 0.02 microg/kg/min). If syncope occurred, propranolol (0.1 mg/kg) was
      injected. RESULTS: Eight patients experienced syncope during tilting alone, and 9
      patients required ISP for syncope. In the negative response without ISP, NE
      showed a small statistical 1.7-fold increase at end of tilting and EP did not
      change during tilting. When syncope occurred during tilting alone, a significant
      11.7-fold increase in EP at syncope was registered concomitant with a small 2.5
      fold increase in NE. When patients experienced syncope during tilting with ISP, a
      significant 5.0-fold increase in EP at syncope was registered concomitant with a
      small 1.7-fold increase in NE. In patients without ISP, propranolol did not
      interrupt syncope. In patients with ISP, six of eight receiving propranolol
      responded to tilting negatively. CONCLUSIONS: An increase of NE levels may result
      in inhibition of syncope and an EP surge may be a triggering mechanism for
      neurally mediated syncope. Comparatively low levels of EP may be enough to induce
      syncope during tilting with ISP compared with tilting alone. Propranolol is not
      effective in patients without ISP, but it frequently inhibits syncope in patients
      with ISP. Propranolol (0.1 mg/kg) may be insufficient to block the actions of
      high levels of circulating EP.

PMID- 9973016
TI  - Clinical course of persistent junctional reciprocating tachycardia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to review the clinical course of
      persistent junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) in 21 patients spanning a
      wide age range to examine the electrophysiologic characteristics of the
      conduction system in these patients with PJRT, particularly in regards to its
      incessant nature and to evaluate the long-term response to radiofrequency
      ablation. BACKGROUND: Persistent junctional reciprocating tachycardia is
      uncommon, occurring in 1% of patients with supraventricular tachycardia. Its
      presentation, course and treatment are incompletely characterized. METHODS: The
      clinical, electrocardiographic, electrophysiologic and echocardiographic data of
      21 patients with PJRT were reviewed. RESULTS: In 9 of these 21 patients, the mean
      tachycardia cycle length increased significantly (p < 0.0001) as the patients
      grew, from a mean tachycardia cycle length of 308+/-64 ms in the patients less
      than 2 years, 414+/-57 ms in the patients between 2 years and 5 years, to 445+/
      57 ms in the patients greater than 5 years, primarily due to slowing of
      retrograde conduction in the accessory pathway. Persistent junctional
      reciprocating tachycardia was associated with impaired ventricular function in
      11, improving spontaneously in 4 and, after successful ablation of the accessory
      pathway, in 7. All patients except one were uncontrolled on one or more
      medications. Ablation of the accessory pathway was successful in 19 of 21
      patients. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that PJRT is characterized by an onset in
      early childhood and by an age-related prolongation of the tachycardia cycle
      length mediated primarily through conduction delay in the concealed, retrogradely
      conducting accessory pathway. Ablation of the accessory pathway provides
      definitive treatment for PJRT.

PMID- 9973017
TI  - Variation of P-QRS relation during atrioventricular node reentry tachycardia.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to characterize the phenomenon
      of variation in the P-QRS relation during atrioventricular node reentry
      tachycardia. BACKGROUND: Variation of P-QRS relation during tachycardia has been
      observed occasionally in atrioventricular node reentry tachycardia. However, the
      incidence, the characteristics and the mechanisms of this phenomenon have not
      been investigated previously. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was performed in
      311 consecutive patients with slow-fast form and 108 patients with atypical or
      multiple form of atrioventricular node reentry tachycardia to examine whether
      variation of P-QRS relation with changes in AH, HA and AH/HA (A = atria; H = His
      bundle) ratio occurred during tachycardia. RESULTS: A total of 28 patients, 8
      with slow-fast and 20 with atypical or multiple tachycardias, were found to
      manifest this phenomenon. There were 6 males and 22 females, with an average age
      of 38+/-16 years. In 10 patients, this phenomenon occurred transiently following
      electrical induction of the tachycardia. In 15 patients, changes in AH, HA and
      AH/HA ratio were associated with the occurrence of Wenckebach or 2:1 block
      proximal to the His bundle (H) recording site without interruption of the
      tachycardia. In nine patients, three with nonsustained tachycardia and six after
      administration of adenosine triphosphate, this phenomenon was observed at the
      termination of the tachycardia. This phenomenon was usually accompanied by a mild
      lengthening of the tachycardia cycle length. CONCLUSIONS: Variation of P-QRS
      relation with or without block may occur during atrioventricular node reentry
      tachycardia, especially in atypical or multiple-form tachycardias. It was
      postulated that decremental conduction in the distal common pathway, which exists
      between the distal link of the reentry circuit and the H, is primarily
      responsible for this phenomenon.

PMID- 9973018
TI  - Improved diagnostic value of combined time and frequency domain analysis of the
      signal-averaged electrocardiogram after myocardial infarction.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Time domain analysis (TD) of the signal-averaged electrocardiogram
      (SAECG) presents a higher incidence of false positives in inferior myocardial
      infarction (MI), whereas spectral turbulence analysis (STA) suffers from a higher
      incidence of false positives in anterior MI. We investigated the hypothesis that
      a combined TD and STA (TD+STA) analysis of the SAECG could improve its predictive
      accuracy for major arrhythmic events (MAE) after MI. METHODS: Signal-averaged
      electrocardiograms were prospectively recorded 10.1 +/- 2.6 days after acute MI
      in 602 patients. Time domain analysis and STA were performed using standard
      parameters and criteria for abnormality. For the combined TD+STA model, stepwise
      discriminant analysis was utilized to optimize prediction of MAE. Receiver
      operating characteristic curves were utilized to optimize cutoff values for each
      SAECG parameter separately, and also for the combined TD+STA model. RESULTS:
      During a one-year follow-up period, 38 patients had MAE: 14 sustained ventricular
      tachycardia, 2 resuscitated ventricular fibrillation and 22 sudden cardiac
      deaths. The total predictive accuracy of combined TD+STA (89.9%) was
      significantly higher than TD (75.1%) or STA (77.6%). The negative predictive
      accuracy of all three analyses was high (98%). The positive predictive accuracy
      of TD (19.6%) or STA (18.3%) was quite low, and significantly improved to 35.8%
      by combined TD+STA analysis. The positive predictive accuracy of TD+STA improved
      to 51.2% in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction <40%. CONCLUSIONS:
      Combined TD + STA analysis of the SAECG significantly improves its prognostic
      ability for MAE in post-MI patients compared with TD or STA analyzed separately.

PMID- 9973019
TI  - A randomized trial comparing the impact of a nonionic (Iomeprol) versus an ionic
      (Ioxaglate) low osmolar contrast medium on abrupt vessel closure and ischemic
      complications after coronary angioplasty.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of nonionic versus ionic contrast media on
      abrupt vessel closure and major ischemic complications after coronary
      angioplasty. BACKGROUND: There is a continuous debate about the "thrombogenic
      potential" of nonionic contrast media. The results of both in vitro and in vivo
      investigations are incongruent. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the outcomes
      of 2,000 patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
      (PTCA). According to a randomized, double-blind protocol, they received either
      iomeprol (nonionic; n = 1,001) or ioxaglate (ionic; n = 999). Intracoronary
      thrombus before PTCA was found more often in the iomeprol group (4.2% vs 2.7%, p
      = 0.04). No other significant differences between both groups were observed with
      regard to pre-PTCA clinical and angiographic characteristics. RESULTS: The
      frequency of reocclusions necessitating repeat angioplasty occurring either in
      laboratory (2.9% with iomeprol and 3.0% with ioxaglate) or out of laboratory
      (3.1% vs 4.1%) was not significantly different. The rate of major ischemic
      complications was also comparable after both contrast media (emergency bypass
      surgery: 0.8% vs 0.7%, myocardial infarction: 1.8 vs 2.0%, cardiac death during
      hospital stay: 0.2% vs 0.2%). In the iomeprol group, more patients had
      dissections post-PTCA (30.2% vs 25.0%, p = 0.01) and more patients received
      intracoronary stents (31.6% vs 25.7%, p = 0.004). Allergic reactions requiring
      treatment occurred only in the ioxaglate group (0.0% vs 0.9%, p = 0.002).
      CONCLUSIONS: The nonionic contrast medium was not associated with a higher rate
      of abrupt vessel closure requiring repeat angioplasty, or major ischemic events.
      These data suggest that nonionic contrast media do not increase the risk of
      thrombotic complications in patients undergoing coronary interventions.

PMID- 9973020
TI  - A prospective randomized trial of prevention measures in patients at high risk
      for contrast nephropathy: results of the P.R.I.N.C.E. Study. Prevention of
      Radiocontrast Induced Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study was done to test the hypothesis that a forced diuresis
      with maintenance of intravascular volume after contrast exposure would reduce the
      rate of contrast-induced renal injury. BACKGROUND: We have previously shown a
      graded relationship with the degree of postprocedure renal failure and the
      probability of in-hospital death in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary
      intervention. Earlier studies of singular prevention strategies (atrial
      natriuretic factor, loop diuretics, dopamine, mannitol) have shown no clear
      benefit across a spectrum of patients at risk. METHODS: A prospective,
      randomized, controlled, single-blind trial was conducted where 98 participants
      were randomized to forced diuresis with intravenous crystalloid, furosemide,
      mannitol (if pulmonary capillary wedge pressure <20 mm Hg), and low-dose dopamine
      (n = 43) versus intravenous crystalloid and matching placebos (n = 55). RESULTS:
      The groups were similar with respect to baseline serum creatinine (2.44+/-0.80
      and 2.55+/-0.91 mg/dl), age, weight, diabetic status, left ventricular function,
      degree of prehydration, contrast volume and ionicity, and extent of peripheral
      vascular disease. The forced diuresis resulted in higher urine flow rate
      (163.26+/-54.47 vs. 122.57+/-54.27 ml/h) over the 24 h after contrast exposure (p
      = 0.001). Two participants in the experimental arm versus five in the control arm
      required dialysis, with all seven cases having measured flow rates <145 ml/h in
      the 24 h after the procedure. The mean individual change in serum creatinine at
      48 h, the primary end point, was 0.48+/-0.86 versus 0.51+/-0.87, in the
      experimental and control arms, respectively, p = 0.87. There were no differences
      in the rates of renal failure across six definitions of renal failure by intent
      to-treat analysis. However, in all participants combined, the rise in serum
      creatinine was related to the degree of induced diuresis after controlling for
      baseline renal function, r = -0.36, p = 0.005. The rates of renal failure in
      those with urine flow rates greater than 150 ml/h in the postprocedure period
      were significantly lower, 8/37 (21.6%) versus 28/61 (45.9%), p = 0.03.
      CONCLUSIONS: Forced diuresis with intravenous crystalloid, furosemide, and
      mannitol if hemodynamics permit, beginning at the start of angiography provides a
      modest benefit against contrast-induced nephropathy provided a high urine flow
      rate can be achieved.

PMID- 9973021
TI  - Effect of age on outcome with primary angioplasty versus thrombolysis.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine how risks associated with
      increasing age differed in patients treated with percutaneous transluminal
      coronary angioplasty versus thrombolysis. BACKGROUND: Advancing age is a risk
      factor for adverse outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Primary
      angioplasty has been thought to be particularly beneficial in higher risk
      patients including the elderly. There is, however, limited data on any
      differential incremental benefit of angioplasty compared with thrombolysis in
      candidates for either treatment. METHODS: In the GUSTO-IIb angioplasty substudy,
      1,138 patients were randomized to receive primary angioplasty or accelerated
      tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). The effect of age on outcome was
      assessed as a discrete and continuous variable for each treatment group. Models
      using age as a linear factor as well as cubic spline transformations were used
      for the major end points of 30-day death or disabling stroke; death or
      reinfarction; and death, reinfarction or disabling stroke. RESULTS: For each 10
      year patient group, outcome was improved with angioplasty (n = 565) compared with
      t-PA (n = 573). Irrespective of treatment, however, risk increased with age.
      After adjusting for baseline characteristics, each increment of 10 years of age
      increased the risk of death or myocardial infarction by 1.32 (95% confidence
      interval 1.04 to 1.76, p = 0.022). For all adverse outcomes, this incremental
      effect of increasing age was constant. CONCLUSIONS: Advancing age is associated
      with worse outcomes, and the risks increase in proportion to age. Although
      primary angioplasty improves outcomes over thrombolysis, it does not appear to be
      more beneficial in older than in younger patient groups. The incremental adverse
      effect of age does not vary by treatment strategy.

PMID- 9973022
TI  - Procedural results and late clinical outcomes following multivessel coronary
      stenting.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate in-hospital and long-term clinical outcomes in a large
      consecutive series of patients undergoing percutaneous multivessel stent
      intervention. BACKGROUND: High restenosis and recurrent angina rates have limited
      the clinical outcomes of multivessel coronary angioplasty before stents were
      available to improve angioplasty results. METHODS: We evaluated in-hospital and
      long-term clinical outcomes (death, Q-wave myocardial infarction [MI], and repeat
      revascularization rates at one year) in 398 consecutive patients treated with
      coronary stents in two (94% of patients) or three native arteries, compared to
      1,941 patients undergoing stenting procedure in a single coronary artery between
      January 1, 1994 and August 29, 1997. RESULTS: Overall procedural success was
      obtained in 96% of patients with two- or three-vessel stenting and in 970% of
      patients with single-vessel stent intervention (p = 0.36). Procedural
      complications were also similar (3.8% for multivessel versus 2.9% for single
      vessel, p = 0.14). During follow up, target lesion revascularization was 15% in
      multivessel and 16% in single-vessel interventions (p = 0.38), and repeat
      revascularization (calculated per treated patient) was also similar for both
      groups (20% vs. 21%, p = 0.73). There was no difference in death (1.4% vs. 0.7%,
      p = 0.26), and Q-wave MI (1.2% vs. 0%, p = 0.02) was lower following multivessel
      interventions. Overall cardiac event-free survival was similar for both groups (p
      = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: Unlike previous conventional angioplasty experiences,
      multivessel stenting has (1) similar in-hospital procedural success and major
      complication rates and (2) similar long-term (one year) clinical outcomes
      compared with single-vessel stenting. Thus, stents may be a viable therapeutic
      strategy in carefully selected patients with multivessel coronary disease.

PMID- 9973023
TI  - Real-time measurement of radiation exposure to patients during diagnostic
      coronary angiography and percutaneous interventional procedures.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to accurately assess the radiation exposure
      received by patients during cardiac catheterization in a large sample
      representative of the current state of practice in cardiac angiography.
      BACKGROUND: Radiation exposure to patients and laboratory staff has been
      recognized as a necessary hazard in coronary angiography. The effects on x-ray
      exposure of the increased complexity of coronary angiographic procedures and, in
      particular, the increasing use of coronary artery stenting, have not been
      adequately addressed in previous studies. METHODS: X-ray exposure measurements
      were performed on a consecutive series of 972 patients undergoing 992 diagnostic
      and interventional studies in the Mayo Clinic catheterization laboratory within
      an eight week period in late 1997. Data were acquired from 706 diagnostic
      procedures and 286 interventional procedures using a real-time exposure
      measurement system to continuously calculate and record the exposure rate and
      total exposure, reflecting all parameters relevant to the specific patient and
      procedure situation. RESULTS: The median exposure for all 992 procedures was 41.8
      mC/kg (162.1 R); the corresponding values for diagnostic and interventional
      procedures were 34.9 and 95.6 mC/kg, respectively (135.3 vs. 370.5 R). There were
      significant differences in the fluoroscopy exposure time between diagnostic and
      interventional procedures: 4.7 min vs. 21.0 min. Heavier patients (>83 kg)
      received x-ray exposures at a significantly higher rate than did lighter patients
      (<83 kg) during both fluoroscopy and cine; 44.9 mC/kg/min (173.9 R/min) vs. 27.9
      mC/kg/min (108.3 R/min) for cine exposure rate and 2.3 mC/kg/min (8.8 R/min) vs.
      1.5 mC/kg/min (5.8 R/min) for fluoroscopy exposure rate. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in
      practice have led to higher values for patient x-ray radiation exposures during
      cardiac catheterization procedures. The real-time display and recording of x-ray
      exposure facilitates the reduction of exposure in the catheterization laboratory.

PMID- 9973024
TI  - Quantity and function of high density lipoprotein as an indicator of coronary
      atherosclerosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between the fractional esterification rate
      of cholesterol (C) in low density lipoprotein- and very low density lipoprotein
      depleted plasma (FER(HDL)) and coronary artery disease (CAD) and the influence of
      serum HDL-C levels. BACKGROUND: The function of HDL in reverse cholesterol
      transport is involved in the antiatherogenic action of HDL, and FER(HDL) is a
      newly established quantitative measure of HDL function in vivo. METHODS: Cases (n
      = 185, F/M: 43/142) and controls (n = 74, F/M:27/47) were defined as subjects
      with/without angiographically proven CAD, respectively. RESULTS: The cases had
      significantly (p < 0.05) higher FER(HDL) values (13.2+/-0.3 %/h vs. 12.1+/-0.5
      %/h) and lower HDL-C levels (39.0+/-1.0 mg/dL vs. 46.8+/-1.4 mg/dL) than the
      controls. The associations of FER(HDL) and HDL-C with CAD were linear and
      significant (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the
      association of FER(HDL) with CAD varied with the HDL-C level: significant for the
      low HDL-C tertile (chi-square = 6.20, p < 0.05) but not significant for the
      middle and high HDL-C tertiles (chi-square = 0.08 and 0.03, n.s.). The risk of
      CAD, relative to that in patients with low FER(HDL) and high HDL-C, was higher in
      patients with low FER(HDL) and low HDL-C (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]:
      2.37 [1.12-4.97], p < 0.05) and was highest in patients with high FER(HDL) and
      low HDL-C (3.85 [1.84-8.06], p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The functional assay of HDL
      (FER(HDL)) is an independent risk factor for CAD. The combination of FER(HDL) and
      HDL-C could be a potent indicator for CAD, and may reflect a potential mechanism
      of atherosclerosis.

PMID- 9973025
TI  - An algorithm for noninvasive identification of angiographic three-vessel and/or
      left main coronary artery disease in symptomatic patients on the basis of cardiac
      risk and electron-beam computed tomographic calcium scores.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We sought to model an algorithm for noninvasive identification of
      angiographically obstructive three-vessel and/or left main disease based on
      conventional cardiac risk assessment and site and extent of coronary calcium
      determined by electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT). BACKGROUND: Such an
      algorithm would greatly facilitate clinical triage in symptomatic patients with
      no previous diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: We examined 291
      patients with suspected, but not previously diagnosed, CAD who underwent coronary
      angiography for clinical indications. Cardiac risk factors were determined as
      defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program. An EBCT scan was performed
      in all patients, and a coronary calcium score (Agatston method) was computed.
      Total per-patient calcium scores and separate scores for the major coronary
      arteries were generated. These scores were also analyzed for localization of
      coronary calcium in the more distal versus proximal tomographic sections. These
      parameters and the risk factors were considered for the model described in the
      following section. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients (23%) had angiographic three
      vessel and/or left main CAD. Multiple logistic regression analysis determined
      male sex, presence of diabetes and left anterior descending (LAD) and circumflex
      (LCx) coronary calcium scores, independent from more distal calcium localization,
      as independent predictors for identification of three-vessel and/or left main
      CAD. Based on this four variable model, a simple noninvasive index (NI) was
      constructed as the following: loge(LAD score) + log(e)(LCx score) + 2[if
      diabetic] + 3[if male]. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for this
      NI yielded an area under the curve of 0.88+/-0.03 (p < 0.0001) for separating
      patients with, versus without, angiographic three-vessel and/or left main CAD.
      Various NI cutpoints demonstrated sensitivities from 87-97% and specificities
      from 46-74%. The NI values >14 increased the probability of angiographic three
      vessel and/or left main CAD from 23% (pretest) to 65-100% (posttest), and NI
      values <10 increased the probability of no three-vessel and/or left main CAD from
      77% (pretest) to 95-100% (posttest). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of a simple
      algorithm ("noninvasive index"), EBCT calcium scanning in conjunction with risk
      factor analysis can rule in or rule out angiographically severe disease, i.e.,
      three-vessel and/or left main CAD, in symptomatic patients.

PMID- 9973026
TI  - Coronary calcification by electron beam computed tomography and obstructive
      coronary artery disease: a model for costs and effectiveness of diagnosis as
      compared with conventional cardiac testing methods.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine if electron beam computed
      tomography (EBCT) has potential as a cost-effective approach to diagnosis of
      obstructive coronary disease. BACKGROUND: Coronary calcification quantified by
      EBCT is closely related to the extent of atherosclerosis. METHODS: A model based
      upon published sensitivities (Se)/specificities (Sp) for diagnosis in an
      ambulatory patient of obstructive coronary disease (> or =50% stenosis) and
      population prevalence was tested for angiography alone, or treadmill exercise,
      stress echocardiography, stress thallium or predetermined EBCT calcium score
      outpoints, followed by angiography if indicated. RESULTS: Total direct testing
      costs increased in proportion to disease prevalence whereas cost-effectiveness,
      direct costs/patient diagnosed correctly with disease, decreased as a function of
      prevalence. Using an EBCT calcium score of 168 (Se/Sp = 71%/90%) provided for the
      least costly and most cost-effective noninvasive pathway. Calcium scores of 80
      (Se/Sp = 84%/84%) and 37 (Se/Sp = 90%/77%) were also cost-effective when
      prevalence of disease was < or =70%; but results for a >0 calcium score (Se/Sp =
      95%/46%) cutpoint were not superior to conventional methods. Calcium score
      cutpoints of 37, 80 or 168 provided similar or superior overall negative and
      positive predictive values to conventional noninvasive testing pathways across
      all prevalence subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: In ambulatory patients evaluated for
      obstructive coronary disease, a testing pathway utilizing quantification of
      coronary calcium by EBCT as an initial noninvasive testing approach minimized
      direct costs, and maximized cost-effectiveness in population groups with low/
      moderate disease prevalence (< or =70%); as expected, direct angiography as the
      first and only test proved most cost-effective in patients with a high prevalence
      (>70%) of disease.

PMID- 9973027
TI  - Gender differences in myocardial blood flow dynamics: lipid profile and
      hemodynamic effects.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to compare myocardial blood flow (MBF)
      in hyperlipidemic postmenopausal women and age-matched hyperlipidemic men, and to
      analyze the relationship between cholesterol subfractions and myocardial blood
      flow in men and women. BACKGROUND: Women are protected from coronary artery
      disease (CAD) events until well after menopause, in part due to gender-specific
      differences in lipid profiles. METHODS: To examine the effect of these influences
      on coronary microcirculation, MBF was quantitated with N-13 ammonia/PET (positron
      emission tomography) at rest and during adenosine hyperemia in 15 women and 15
      men, all nondiabetic, who were matched for age and total cholesterol levels (53+/
      4 vs. 50+/-8 years, p = NS, 6.44+/-1.1 vs. 6.31+/-0.85 mmol/liter, or 249+/-41
      vs. 244+/-33 mg/dl, p = NS). RESULTS: Women had significantly higher high density
      lipoprotein (HDL) and lower triglyceride (Tg) levels than did men, and they
      showed significantly higher resting MBF and stress MBF levels. Significant
      correlations were found between resting and hyperemic MBF and HDL and Tg levels
      (r = 0.44, p < 0.02 for stress MBF vs. HDL; r = 0.48, p < 0.007 for stress MBF
      vs. Tg). Gender was the strongest predictor of hyperemic MBF in multivariate
      analysis. Women responded to adenosine hyperemia with a significantly higher
      heart rate than did men, and hemodynamic factors correlated significantly with
      blood flow both at rest and during stress. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that
      the favorable lipid profile seen in women may be associated with preserved
      maximal blood flow in the myocardium.

PMID- 9973028
TI  - Ability of troponins to predict adverse outcomes in patients with renal
      insufficiency and suspected acute coronary syndromes: a case-matched study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of cardiac
      troponin T and troponin I for predicting outcomes in patients presenting with
      suspected acute coronary syndromes and renal insufficiency relative to that
      observed in similar patients without renal disease. BACKGROUND: Cardiac troponin
      T and troponin I have shown promise as tools for risk stratification of patients
      with acute coronary syndromes. However, there is uncertainty regarding their
      cardiac specificity and utility in patients with renal disease. METHODS: We
      measured troponin T, troponin I and creatine kinase MB in 51 patients presenting
      with suspected acute coronary syndromes and renal insufficiency and in 102
      patients without evidence of renal disease matched for the same peak troponin T
      or I value, selected from a larger patient cohort. Blood samples were obtained at
      presentation to an emergency room 4 hours, 8 hours and 16 hours later. The
      ability of biochemical markers to predict adverse outcomes in both groups
      including infarction, recurrent ischemia, bypass surgery, heart failure, stroke,
      death or positive angiography/angioplasty during hospitalization and at six
      months was assessed by receiver-operator curve analysis. The performance of both
      troponins was compared between groups. RESULTS: Thirty-five percent of patients
      in the renal group and 45% of patients in the nonrenal group experienced an
      adverse initial outcome; over 50% of patients in all groups had experienced an
      adverse outcome by 6 months, but these differences were not significant. The area
      under the curve (AUC) for the ROC curve for troponin T as predictor of initial
      outcomes was significantly lower in the renal group than in the nonrenal group:
      0.56+/-0.07 and 0.75+/-0.07, respectively. The area under the curve was also
      significantly lower in the renal group compared with the nonrenal group for
      troponin T as predictor of six month outcomes: 0.59+/-0.07 and 0.74+/-0.07,
      respectively. The area under the curve was also significantly lower in the renal
      group compared to the nonrenal group for troponin I as predictor of both initial
      and six month outcomes: 0.54+/-0.06 vs. 0.71+/-0.07 and 0.53+/- 0.06 vs. 0.65+/
      0.07, respectively. The sensitivity of troponin T for both initial and six month
      adverse outcomes was significantly lower in the renal group than in the nonrenal
      group at a similar level of specificity (0.87): 0.29 vs. 0.60 and 0.45 vs. 0.56,
      respectively. Troponin I also exhibited similar differences in sensitivity in the
      renal group (0.29 vs. 0.50 and 0.33 vs. 0.40, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The
      ability of cardiac troponin T and troponin I to predict risk for subsequent
      adverse outcomes in patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndromes
      is reduced in the presence of renal insufficiency.

PMID- 9973029
TI  - Fatal cardiac rupture among patients treated with thrombolytic agents and
      adjunctive thrombin antagonists: observations from the Thrombolysis and Thrombin
      Inhibition in Myocardial Infarction 9 Study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and
      demographic characteristics of patients experiencing cardiac rupture after
      thrombolytic and adjunctive anticoagulant therapy and to identify possible
      associations between the mechanism of thrombin inhibition (indirect, direct) and
      the intensity of systemic anticoagulation with its occurrence. BACKGROUND Cardiac
      rupture is responsible for nearly 15% of all in-hospital deaths among patients
      with myocardial infarction (MI) given thrombolytic agents. Little is known about
      specific patient- and treatment-related risk factors. METHODS Patients (n =
      3,759) with MI participating in the Thrombolysis and Thrombin Inhibition in
      Myocardial Infarction 9A and B trials received intravenous thrombolytic therapy,
      aspirin and either heparin (5,000 U bolus, 1,000 to 1,300 U/h infusion) or
      hirudin (0.1 to 0.6 mg/kg bolus, 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg/h infusion) for at least 96 h.
      A diagnosis of cardiac rupture was made clinically in patients with sudden
      electromechanical dissociation in the absence of preceding congestive heart
      failure, slowly progressive hemodynamic compromise or malignant ventricular
      arrhythmias. RESULTS A total of 65 rupture events (1.7%) were reported-all were
      fatal, and a majority occurred within 48 h of treatment Patients with cardiac
      rupture were older, of lower body weight and stature and more likely to be female
      than those without rupture (all p < 0.001). By multivariable analysis, age >70
      years (odds ratio [OR] 3.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.06, 6.91), female
      gender (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.44, 5.73) and prior angina (OR 1.82; 95% CI 1.05, 3.16)
      were independently associated with cardiac rupture. Independent predictors of
      nonrupture death included age >70 years (OR 3.68; 95% CI 2.53, 5.35) and prior MI
      (OR 2.14; 95%, CI 1.45, 3.17). There was no association between the type of
      thrombin inhibition, the intensity of anticoagulation and cardiac rapture.
      CONCLUSIONS Cardiac rupture following thrombolytic therapy tends to occur in
      older patients and may explain the disproportionately high mortality rate among
      women in prior dinical trials. Unlike major hemorrhagic complications, there is
      no evidence that the intensity of anticoagulation associated with heparin or
      hirudin administration influences the occurrence of rupture.

PMID- 9973030
TI  - CASS Registry long term surgical survival. Coronary Artery Surgery Study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To show the effect of clinical, angio and demographic traits on late
      survival of Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) patients following coronary
      artery bypass grafting (CABG) and introduce Hazard Function analysis to CASS
      survival data. METHODS: Patients were reached by mail survey with 94% response.
      By National Death Index, vital status was obtained in 99.7% (n = 8221) with a
      mean follow up of 15 years. Cox proportional hazard and Blackstone Hazard
      Function regressions were used to assess effects of preoperative traits. RESULTS:
      Ninety percent of patients were alive at 5, 74% at 10 and 56% at 15 years. Of
      those age 65 and age 75 at operation, 74% and 59% were living at 10 years and 54%
      and 33% at 15 years (now age 90), survival exceeding the matched U.S. population.
      Hazard Function falls rapidly after CABG to 9 to 12 months, then rises, doubling
      by 15 years. Young patients, below age 35, had lower late survival. The time
      segmented Cox model (divided at time suggested by the Hazard Function) identified
      traits showing predictive power early, throughout and late. Female sex, small
      body surface, ischemic symptoms and emergency status affected survival early.
      Heavier weight, infarct(s), diuretics, diabetes, smoking, left main and LAD
      stenosis and use of vein grafts only increased hazard late only. CONCLUSIONS:
      There are still lessons from the CASS database. CABG in the elderly is supported
      by the survival pattern of our patients age 75 at operation. Time-segmented Cox
      analysis and Hazard Function analysis separate baseline variables into those that
      predict early mortality and those that predict long survival.

PMID- 9973031
TI  - Effect of vitamin E on endothelial vasodilator function in patients with
      hypercholesterolemia, chronic smoking or both.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that long-term
      supplementation with Vitamin E improves endothelium-dependent relaxation in
      hypercholesterolemia patients and/or chronic smoking, two risk factors that have
      been shown to be associated with increased radical formation. BACKGROUND:
      Experimental evidence suggests that oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL)
      impairs endothelium-dependent relaxation, and vitamin E, a lipid-soluble
      antioxidant, reduces the oxidation of LDL. METHODS: Thirteen subjects with
      hypercholesterolemia, 14 smokers and 15 hypercholesterolemic smokers were
      enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. After baseline measurements
      of plasma autoantibodies against oxidized LDL and assessment of endothelium
      dependent relaxation using intra-arterial forearm infusions of acetylcholine,
      participants within each group were randomly assigned in a 1:2 fashion to receive
      either placebo or vitamin E for 4 months, when plasma levels of autoantibodies
      against oxidized LDL and vascular function were reassessed. RESULTS: Vitamin E
      significantly augmented endothelium-dependent relaxation in hypercholesterolemic
      smokers but not in patients with either hypercholesterolemia or chronic smoking.
      At baseline, hypercholesterolemic smokers had significantly higher autoantibody
      levels against oxidized LDL (compared with the other two groups), which were
      significantly reduced after 4 months of vitamin E supplementation. There was a
      significant relationship between improvement in acetylcholine-induced
      vasodilation and the change in autoantibody titer against oxidized LDL (r = 
      0.59; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term vitamin E supplementation improves
      endothelium-dependent relaxation in forearm resistance vessels of
      hypercholesterolemic smokers, which are characterized by increased levels of
      autoantibodies against oxidized LDL. These findings may suggest that the
      beneficial effect of vitamin E is confined to subjects with increased exposure to
      oxidized LDL.

PMID- 9973032
TI  - Nonexercise stress transthoracic echocardiography: transesophageal atrial pacing
      versus dobutamine stress.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To compare transesophageal atrial pacing stress echocardiography with
      dobutamine stress echocardiography for feasibility, safety, duration, patient
      acceptance and concordance in inducing wall motion abnormalities. BACKGROUND:
      Transesophageal atrial pacing is an effective method of increasing heart rate and
      has been used in the assessment of coronary artery disease. METHODS: Both tests
      were performed in sequence on the same patients in random order. Transesophageal
      atrial pacing stress echocardiography began at a heart rate of 10 beats/min above
      the baseline value and was increased by 20 beats/min every two min until 85% of
      the age-predicted maximum heart rate or another end point was reached. Dobutamine
      echocardiography was performed using three-min stages and a maximum dose of 40
      microg/kg per min. Atropine (total dose < or =2 mg) was administered at the start
      of the 40 microg/kg per min stage if needed to augment heart rate or during
      pacing if Wenckebach heart block occurred. RESULTS: Transesophageal atrial pacing
      stress echocardiography was feasible in 100 of 104 patients (96%); the duration
      (8.6+/-3.6 min) was significantly shorter than that of dobutamine stress
      echocardiography (15.1+/-3.9 min) (p = 0.0001). With transesophageal atrial
      pacing stress echocardiography, the recovery period was shorter, symptoms and
      dysrhythmias were fewer, hypertension and hypotension were less common and target
      heart rate was more frequently achieved. No complications occurred with either
      test. Patient acceptance was satisfactory. Agreement between results of both
      tests was good for segmental wall motion scoring with a 16-segment model, scores
      1 to 5 (kappa: rest, 0.79; peak, 0.57) and test interpretation (normal, ischemia,
      infarction or resting wall motion abnormality with ischemia) (kappa: 0.77).
      CONCLUSIONS: Transesophageal atrial pacing stress echocardiography is a feasible,
      well-tolerated alternative to dobutamine stress echocardiography. It can be
      performed rapidly and shows good agreement with dobutamine stress
      echocardiography in the induction of myocardial ischemia.

PMID- 9973033
TI  - Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography for risk stratification in patients
      with chronic left ventricular dysfunction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the prognostic value of sustained improvement, scar and
      inducible ischemia with or without viability in patients with chronic left
      ventricular dysfunction (LVD). BACKGROUND: Dobutamine-atropine stress
      echocardiography (DASE) accurately detects scar, reversible dysfunction and the
      extent of coronary artery disease in LVD. METHODS: Three hundred fifty
      consecutive patients (age 62+/-13 years, mean+/-SD, 215 men/135 women) with
      moderate to severe LVD (LVEF < 40%, mean 30+/-8%) underwent DASE and were
      followed for > or =18 months. Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiographic
      findings were classified according to sustained improvement in all vascular
      territories, scar, inducible ischemia (worsening wall motion at peak dose only or
      biphasic responses) and their extent. RESULTS: Sustained improvement occurred in
      83 patients (24%), scar alone in 99 (28%) and inducible ischemia in 168 (48%,
      with biphasic responses in 104). Ischemia was induced in all vascular territories
      in 26 patients. Patients with sustained improvement or scar alone were treated
      medically, whereas 46% (78/168) with inducible ischemia were revascularized
      (coronary bypass surgery, n = 67 or angioplasty, n = 11). There were 76 hard
      events including cardiac death in 59, nonfatal myocardial infarction in 11, and
      resuscitated sudden death in 6. Hard events were rare in sustained improvement
      (5%, 4/83), uncommon in scar (13%, 13/99) and common (p < 0.01) in medically
      treated patients with inducible ischemia (59%, 53/90). Cardiac deaths were
      especially common (p < 0.01) in patients with biphasic responses (55%, 28/51).
      Inducible ischemia independently predicted hard events (chi2 = 75.35, p < 0.001)
      along with reduced LVEF at peak dose (chi2 = 8.38, p = 0.004). Hard cardiac
      events were uncommon (8%, 6/78, p < 0.001) in patients with inducible ischemia
      who underwent early revascularization. CONCLUSIONS: Inducible ischemia during
      DASE was the major determinant of outcome in LVD and independent of clinical data
      and left ventricular function. Improved wall thickening alone and scar alone
      predicted good outcome. Survival of patients with inducible ischemia was better
      after revascularization.

PMID- 9973034
TI  - Limited myocardial contractile reserve and chronotropic incompetence in patients
      with chronic Chagas' disease: assessment by dobutamine stress echocardiography.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To determine whether dobutamine stimulation in patients with Chagas'
      disease may uncover abnormal contractile responses as seen in ischemic
      myocardium. BACKGROUND: Segmental left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the
      absence of coronary atherosclerosis is frequently seen in patients with chronic
      Chagas' heart disease. Myocardial ischemia and coronary microcirculation
      abnormalities have been found in animal models and in humans with Chagas'
      disease. In addition, chagasic sera may contain autoantibodies against human beta
      adrenergic receptors. METHODS: Two groups of patients with Chagas' disease were
      studied by echocardiography: group 1 (n = 12) without and group 2 (n = 14) with
      LV segmental wall motion abnormalities (mostly apical aneurysm). Ten normal
      subjects served as control subjects. We performed qualitative assessment of wall
      motion and quantitative evaluation of LV cavity under baseline conditions and
      after dobutamine stimulation. RESULTS: Patients with Chagas' disease exhibited a
      blunted inotropic and chronotropic response to dobutamine stimulation. After
      dobutamine, fractional area change in Chagas' group 1 (54.7+/-6.6%; SD) and in
      group 2 (35.1+/-12.1%) were significantly lower than control group (66.7+/-2.5%;
      p < 0.001). In addition, in 6 of 14 group 2 patients, dobutamine induced a
      biphasic response with improvement at low dose and deterioration at peak dose, as
      seen in patients with coronary artery disease. Although the three groups had
      similar basal mean heart rates and attained a similar mean peak dobutamine doses,
      both groups of patients with Chagas' disease had a significantly blunted mean
      heart rate effect after dobutamine (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Thus, dobutamine
      stimulation unmasks a chronotropic incompetence and a blunted myocardial
      contractile response in chagasic patients, even in those with no overt
      manifestation of heart disease.

PMID- 9973035
TI  - Relationship between endothelin-1 extraction in the peripheral circulation and
      systemic vascular resistance in patients with severe congestive heart failure.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study was done to determine the spillover and extraction of
      endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the peripheral circulation, and to evaluate the factors
      that regulate local ET-1 extraction in the peripheral circulation in patients
      with congestive heart failure (CHF). BACKGROUND: The relationship between the
      spillover and extraction of the ET-1 in the peripheral circulation and systemic
      vascular resistance (SVR) has not been fully clarified. METHODS: We measured
      plasma levels of ET-1 both in femoral artery (FA) and femoral vein (FV) in 93
      patients with CHF. RESULTS: Plasma ET-1 was significantly higher in FV than in FA
      in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II patients, but there was
      no difference of ET-1 between FA and FV in functional class III patients. In
      patients with functional class IV, plasma ET-1 was significantly lower in FV than
      in FA, and SVR was significantly higher than in patients with NYHA class II or
      class III. Moreover, a significant positive correlation existed between plasma ET
      1 extraction across the lower leg and SVR in these patients. Among the various
      neurohumoral factors and hemodynamics, plasma levels of ET-1, angiotensin II in
      the FA showed an independent and significant relationship with the plasma
      arteriovenous difference of ET-1 in the lower limb. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating ET-1
      is extracted in peripheral circulation in patients with severe CHF, suggesting
      the possibility of upregulation of ET receptors of vascular beds in the lower
      limb in these patients. The peripheral extraction of ET-1 correlates with SVR in
      severe CHF patients and is mainly regulated by the local ET-1 and renin
      angiotensin systems.

PMID- 9973036
TI  - Mechanism of dynamic regurgitant orifice area variation in functional mitral
      regurgitation: physiologic insights from the proximal flow convergence technique.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We used the Doppler proximal flow convergence technique as a
      physiologic tool to explore the effects of the time courses of mitral annular
      area and transmitral pressure on dynamic changes in regurgitant orifice area.
      BACKGROUND: In functional mitral regurgitation (MR), regurgitant flow rate and
      orifice area display a unique pattern, with peaks in early and late systole and a
      midsystolic decrease. Phasic changes in both mitral annular area and the
      transmitral pressure acting to close the leaflets, which equals left ventricular
      left atrial pressure, have been proposed to explain this dynamic pattern.
      METHODS: In 30 patients with functional MR, regurgitant orifice area was obtained
      as flow (from M-mode proximal flow convergence traces) divided by orifice
      velocity (v) from the continuous wave Doppler trace of MR, transmitral pressure
      as 4v(2), and mitral annular area from two apical diameters. RESULTS: All
      patients had midsystolic decreases in regurgitant orifice area that mirrored
      increases in transmitral pressure, while mitral annular area changed more
      gradually. By stepwise multiple regression analysis, both mitral annular area and
      transmitral pressure significantly affected regurgitant orifice area; however,
      transmitral pressure made a stronger contribution (r2 = 0.441) than mitral
      annular area (added r2 = 0.008). Similarly, the rate of change of regurgitant
      orifice area more strongly related to that of transmitral pressure (r2 = 0.638)
      than to that of mitral annular area (added r2 = 0.003). A similar regurgitant
      orifice area time course was observed in four patients with fixed mitral annuli
      due to Carpentier ring insertion. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the time course and
      rate of change of regurgitant orifice area in patients with functional MR are
      predominantly determined by dynamic changes in the transmitral pressure acting to
      close the valve. Thus, although mitral annular area helps determine the potential
      for MR, transmitral pressure appears important in driving the leaflets toward
      closure, and would be of value to consider in interventions aimed at reducing the
      severity of MR.

PMID- 9973037
TI  - Doing away with dogma: increasing afterload to reduce mitral regurgitation.

PMID- 9973038
TI  - Cardiorespiratory responses to negative pressure ventilation after tetralogy of
      fallot repair: a hemodynamic tool for patients with a low-output state.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that a period of cuirass negative pressure
      ventilation (NPV) would augment the cardiac output of patients in the early
      postoperative period after complete correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).
      BACKGROUND: Diastolic right ventricular dysfunction can lead to a low-output
      state in an important minority of patients after TOF repair. In these patients,
      the diastolic pulmonary arterial flow, which characterizes restrictive right
      ventricular physiology, and on which the cardiac output is so dependent, is
      highly sensitive to changes in intrathoracic pressure. METHODS: The effects of
      NPV on pulmonary blood flow were investigated in 23 intubated children who were
      initially ventilated using intermittent positive pressure ventilation after TOF
      repair. Eight patients had restrictive right ventricular physiology. All children
      received a 15-min period of NPV, and eight received a prolonged period (45 min)
      of NPV. RESULTS: A brief period of NPV increased pulmonary blood flow by 39%, and
      the improvement further continued if the study period was extended, with a total
      increase of 67% after 45 min. Patients with restrictive physiology had a somewhat
      delayed response to NPV, but the ultimate increase during an extended period of
      NPV was greater in restrictive patients (84%) than nonrestrictive patients (50%).
      CONCLUSIONS: By manipulating important cardiopulmonary interactions, NPV improves
      the cardiac output of patients after TOF repair, and has a role as a hemodynamic
      tool in the management of the low-output state in selected cases.

PMID- 9973040
TI  - Upregulated expression of cardiac endothelin-1 participates in myocardial cell
      growth in Bio14.6 Syrian cardiomyopathic hamsters.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of endogenous
      endothelin-1 (ET-1) in myocardial growth in Bio 14.6 Syrian cardiomyopathic
      hamsters (Bio). BACKGROUND: While ET-1, as a growth-promoting peptide, has been
      implicated in the development of secondary cardiac hypertrophy, the role of
      endogenous ET-1 in cardiac growth in primary myocardial disease is unknown.
      METHODS: We measured left ventricular ET-1 levels by a specific sandwich enzyme
      linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, we examined the chronic effect of T0201,
      an ET type A receptor-specific antagonist. RESULTS: The ET-1 levels in the left
      ventricles were 1.8-fold higher (p < 0.0005) at 20 weeks and 6.4-fold higher (p <
      0.0001) at 35 weeks in the Bio compared to age-matched control F1B hamsters
      (F1B). The Bio ET-1 levels in the lungs exhibited an only 1.3-fold elevation at
      35 weeks. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the localization of ET-1 mainly in
      the cardiac myocytes. The treatment with T0201 significantly reduced the heart
      weight/body weight ratio in the Bio, but did not affect the heart weight/body
      weight ratio in the F1B. Histologically, T0201 reduced the myocyte diameter of
      Bio to a level similar with that of F1B. However, T0201 did not affect the extent
      of fibrosis in Bio or F1B. CONCLUSIONS: The ET-1 level in the heart of
      cardiomyopathic hamsters increases in stage-dependent and organ-specific manners.
      Though myocyte degeneration and subsequent replacement fibrosis do not require an
      ET-1 pathway, the accelerated synthesis of ET-1 in the heart may contribute to
      the pathological growth of remaining myocytes in this animal model.

PMID- 9973039
TI  - Renal ischemia/reperfusion remotely improves myocardial energy metabolism during
      myocardial ischemia via adenosine receptors in rabbits: effects of "remote
      preconditioning".
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined the changes in myocardial energy metabolism
      during myocardial ischemia after "remote preconditioning" and investigated the
      involvement of adenosine receptors in the mechanisms of this effect. BACKGROUND:
      Recent studies have indicated that a brief period of ischemia and reperfusion
      (ischemic preconditioning, PC) in a remote organ reduces myocardial infarct size
      (IS) protecting against subsequent sustained myocardial ischemia. However, the
      mechanisms of "remote PC" remain unclear. We assessed myocardial energy
      metabolism during sustained myocardial ischemia and reperfusion after renal PC
      (RPC), in comparison with that after myocardial PC (MPC) in open-chest rabbits.
      It has been established that adenosine receptors are involved in the mechanisms
      of MPC. METHODS: Rabbits that had been anesthetized with halothane were divided
      into six groups. The control (CNT) group underwent 40-min coronary occlusion
      followed by 120 min reperfusion. Before the procedure, the MPC group underwent an
      additional protocol of 5 min coronary artery occlusion and 20 min reperfusion,
      and the RPC group received a 10 min episode of renal artery occlusion and 20 min
      reperfusion. In additional experimental groups, 8 sulfophenyl-theophylline (SPT,
      10 mg/kg), an adenosine receptor inhibitor, was intravenously injected before the
      40 min myocardial ischemia (SPT, MPC + SPT and RPC + SPT groups, respectively).
      Myocardial levels of phosphocreatine (PCr), ATP and intracellular pH (pHi) were
      measured by 31P-NMR spectroscopy. RESULTS: RPC and MPC delayed the decreases in
      ATP levels, preserved pHi during 40-min myocardial ischemia and resulted in
      better recovery of ATP and PCr during 120 min reperfusion compared with the
      controls. SPT abolished the improvement in myocardial energy metabolism and the
      reduction in myocardial IS caused by MPC or RPC. Myocardial IS in the CNT (n =
      8), MPC (n = 9), RPC (n = 9), SPT (n = 6), MPC + SPT (n = 8) and RPC + SPT (n =
      8) groups averaged 42.8+/-3.5%, 18.2+/-1.8%*, 19.6+/-1.3%*, 44.9+/-5.0%, 35.6+/
      2.7% and 34.8+/-3.6% of the area at risk (*p < 0.05 vs. CNT), respectively.
      CONCLUSIONS: PC in a remote organ, similar to MPC, improved myocardial energy
      metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion and reduced IS in vivo by an adenosine
      dependent mechanism in rabbits.

PMID- 9973041
TI  - Inotropic infusions for chronic congestive heart failure: medical miracles or
      misguided medicinals?

PMID- 9973042
TI  - Q-wave versus non-Q wave myocardial infarction: a meaningless distinction.
AB  - The whole subject can thus be summed up in two statements. 1. Every appropriately
      designed study comparing first Q and NQMI's has found no difference in post-MI
      course of the two categories and no foundation for the common notion that the
      NQMI is a uniquely "unstable" entity, to be classed with unstable angina in terms
      of prognosis and management. Nine such studies have been published. On the other
      hand, all studies alleging the "unstable" character of the NQMI have been
      invalidated by major flaws, chief among them the comparison of undifferentiated
      mixtures of first and subsequent infarcts with widely differing mortality and
      morbidity. This confusion is further compounded by the fact that subsequent
      infarcts generate Qwaves less than half as often as first infarcts. 2. All
      current studies indicate that there is no benefit to an invasive as compared with
      a conservative protocol for management of NQMI. Since the characterization of an
      infarct as "non-Q' conveys no therapeutic implications, the classification
      becomes irrelevant and should be discarded. Two quotations sum the whole matter
      succinctly. Moss (63) commented that "The Q-wave versus non-Q-wave categorization
      does not provide sufficient sensitivity, specificity, or predictive accuracy
      about the subsequent clinical course of patients with a first myocardial
      infarction to use it as reliable data in the clinical decision-making process."
      Surawicz (64) put the matter even more concisely: ". . . a non-Qwave MI is not a
      unique entity: rather it is a smaller and less extensive MI." In a word, the
      magnitude of a myocardial infarction should be judged on anatomical and
      functional considerations rather than on the designation of Qwave versus non
      Qwave infarction.

PMID- 9973043
TI  - Do you believe in God?

PMID- 9973044
TI  - Echocardiography in emergency medicine: a policy statement by the American
      Society of Echocardiography and the American College of Cardiology. Task Force on
      Echocardiography in Emergency Medicine of the American Society of
      Echocardiography and the Echocardiography and Technology and Practice Executive
      Committees of the American College of Cardiology.

PMID- 9973045
TI  - Is acute rest scintigraphic myocardial perfusion imaging in patients with acute
      chest pain and nondiagnostic electrocardiograms clinically useful, or is it
      misleading?

PMID- 9973046
TI  - Plasma lipoprotein(a) and severity of angiographic coronary artery disease.

PMID- 9973047
TI  - Peak VO2 et al. for prognosis in heart failure?

PMID- 9973048
TI  - An analysis of blood management in patients having a total hip or knee
      arthroplasty.
AB  - Three hundred and thirty orthopaedic surgeons in the United States participated
      in a study of transfusion requirements associated with total joint arthroplasty.
      A total of 9482 patients (3920 patients who had a total hip replacement and 5562
      patients who had a total knee replacement) were evaluated prospectively from
      September 1996 through June 1997. Of those patients, 4409 (46 percent [57 percent
      of the patients who had a hip replacement and 39 percent of the patients who had
      a knee replacement]) had a blood transfusion. Two thousand eight hundred and
      ninety patients (66 percent) received autologous blood, and 1519 patients (34
      percent) received allogenic blood. Ordered logistic regression analysis showed
      the most important predictors of the transfusion of allogenic blood to be a low
      baseline hemoglobin level and a lack of predonated autologous blood. Preoperative
      donation of autologous blood decreases the risk of transfusion of allogenic
      blood; however, inefficiencies in the procedures for obtaining autologous blood
      were identified. Sixty-one percent (5741) of the patients had predonated blood
      for autologous transfusion, but 4464 (45 percent) of the 9920 units of the
      predonated autologous blood were not used. Primary procedures and revision total
      knee arthroplasty were associated with the greatest number of wasted autologous
      units. Of the 5741 patients who had predonated blood, 503 (9 percent) needed a
      transfusion of allogenic blood. The frequency of allogenic blood transfusion
      varied with respect to the type of operative procedure (revision total hip
      arthroplasty and bilateral total knee arthroplasty were associated with the
      highest prevalence of such transfusions) and with a baseline hemoglobin level of
      130 grams per liter or less. Transfusion of allogenic blood was also associated
      with infection (p < or = 0.001), fluid overload (p < or = 0.001), and increased
      duration of hospitalization (p < or = 0.01). These latter findings warrant
      further evaluation in controlled studies.

PMID- 9973049
TI  - Interposition of the split flexor hallucis longus tendon after resection of a
      coalition of the middle facet of the talocalcaneal joint.
AB  - Ten consecutive patients (fourteen feet) who had a painful coalition of the
      middle facet of the talocalcaneal joint with restricted motion of that joint were
      managed with a resection of the coalition and interposition of a split flexor
      hallucis longus tendon in 1992, 1993, or 1994. Initial nonoperative treatment of
      all of the feet had failed. According to the ankle-hindfoot clinical rating
      system of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, there were eleven
      excellent results and one good, one fair, and one poor result at a mean of fifty
      one months (range, thirty-two to sixty months) after the procedure. Thirteen of
      the fourteen procedures resulted in considerable relief of pain, an improved
      range of motion of the talocalcaneal joint, and improved function of the foot. No
      patient had symptoms or functional impairment of the great toe secondary to the
      interposition of the split flexor hallucis longus tendon. On the basis of these
      early results, tendon interposition appears to be an excellent procedure for the
      treatment of a symptomatic coalition of the middle facet of the talocalcaneal
      joint after initial nonoperative treatment has failed. The presence of
      degenerative osteoarthritis in the other facets of the talocalcaneal joint is a
      contraindication to this procedure. The long-term results have yet to be
      determined. However, the standardized rating system used in the present study
      will allow accurate comparison of our results with those of subsequent studies.

PMID- 9973050
TI  - Complete traumatic brachial plexus palsy. Treatment and outcome after repair.
AB  - Seventy-eight patients who had a complete brachial plexus palsy caused by a
      stretching injury were operated on by the same surgeon between January 1980 and
      December 1991. The aim of the operative intervention was to obtain the best
      functional result, including at the level of the hand, that was possible in view
      of the initial lesions and the intraoperative findings. Therefore, the treatment
      strategy included not only nerve repair with grafting (124 grafts) or nerve
      transfer (twenty-seven transfers) but also palliative procedures, the latter of
      which sometimes were performed several years later. Sixty-three patients were
      evaluated by an independent observer at least three years postoperatively. The
      results associated with each type of lesion and each type of nerve repair were
      assessed according to the function of the muscles that were innervated by the
      recipient nerve. Six patients had a neurolysis only. The remaining fifty-seven
      patients had grafts or nerve transfers to repair the biceps. Thirty-six of the
      fifty-seven received a rating of 3+ or more (meaning that the patient was able to
      flex the elbow repeatedly); the remaining twenty-one received a rating of 3 or
      less (meaning that the patient was able to flex the elbow only once or not at
      all), which we considered unsatisfactory. The function of the triceps recovered
      after eleven of thirty-one procedures that were performed to restore that nerve;
      that of the extensor carpi radialis, after five of thirty-one procedures; that of
      the flexor carpi radialis, after six of thirty-one procedures; and that of the
      flexor digitorum, after four of thirty-one procedures. A statistical analysis
      revealed that an operative delay of less than six months was a significant factor
      with respect to recovery of the function of the biceps (p = 0.003). The thirty
      nine grafts that were sutured onto the lateral or posterior cord produced better
      results than did the thirty-six that were sutured onto the distal branches (the
      musculocutaneous and radial nerves); however, with the numbers available, this
      difference was not found to be significant (p = 0.08). Eleven patients had a
      successful result (a rating of 3+ or more) and eight, a fair or poor result, with
      respect to recovery of biceps function after transfer of the spinal accessory
      nerve to the musculocutaneous nerve. Overall, twenty-nine patients had relief of
      pain postoperatively. Sixteen patients had grade-3 pain preoperatively compared
      with only three after the operation. According to a self-rating scale, twenty
      five patients were satisfied with the overall result, sixteen were fairly
      satisfied, and twenty-two were dissatisfied.

PMID- 9973051
TI  - Isolation and characterization of polyethylene wear debris associated with
      osteolysis following total shoulder arthroplasty.
AB  - We evaluated the interface membranes surrounding three total shoulder prostheses
      that had been removed because of progressive aseptic loosening associated with
      osteolysis. The mean time between the uncomplicated initial arthroplasty and the
      revision procedure was twelve years (10.5, 10.5, and 16.0 years). Membranes from
      around both the humeral and the glenoid component were obtained from all three
      shoulders and were studied histologically to determine the biological response
      involved in the development of aseptic loosening. For the purpose of comparison,
      periprosthetic tissue was also obtained from the sites of four failed total hip
      prostheses that were associated with osteolysis. Polyethylene particles were
      retrieved with an enzymatic digestion technique that involved the use of papain.
      Raman vibrational spectroscopy verified that the particles were ultra-high
      molecular weight polyethylene. The particles were isolated from the tissue, and a
      computerized image-analysis system characterized 582 of them in terms of size and
      morphology. Each particle was defined with the use of six shape descriptors:
      equivalent circle diameter, roundness, form factor, aspect ratio, elongation, and
      outline fractal dimension. The particles from the hips had a mean equivalent
      circle diameter (and standard error of the mean) of 0.62 +/- 0.03 micrometer,
      were predominantly globular in shape, and had low mean values for aspect ratio
      (1.46 +/- 0.02) and elongation (1.85 +/- 0.03) and relatively high values for
      roundness (0.74 +/- 0.01) and form factor (0.87 +/- 0.01). In contrast, the
      particles from the shoulders had a mean equivalent circle diameter of 1.04 +/-
      0.03 micrometers. In addition, they had relatively high values for aspect ratio
      (2.36 +/- 0.07) and elongation (4.96 +/- 0.23) and correspondingly low values for
      roundness (0.54 +/- 0.01) and form factor (0.67 +/- 0.01), indicating that they
      were more fibrillar in shape. The particles from the shoulders and those from the
      hips were significantly different (p < 0.0001) with respect to all of the
      descriptors except outline fractal dimension. The particles from the shoulders,
      in general, were larger and more fibrillar than the particles from the hips.

PMID- 9973052
TI  - Instability of the elbow treated with semiconstrained total elbow arthroplasty.
AB  - The results of nineteen semiconstrained modified Coonrad-Morrey total elbow
      arthroplasties performed in nineteen patients to treat instability were evaluated
      at an average of seventy-two months (range, twenty-five to 128 months)
      postoperatively. Preoperatively, all patients had either a flail elbow or gross
      instability of the elbow that prevented useful function of the extremity. The
      instability of sixteen elbows was the result of a traumatic injury or of the
      treatment of such an injury. The most recent result was satisfactory for sixteen
      elbows and unsatisfactory for three. The average overall Mayo elbow performance
      score increased from 44 points preoperatively to 86 points postoperatively. At
      the most recent follow-up examination, no elbow was unstable. The average arc of
      flexion was from 25 degrees (range, 0 to 60 degrees) to 128 degrees (range, 30 to
      142 degrees), which represented a 58-degree increase from the preoperative
      average arc. Sixteen patients had little or no pain after the arthroplasty. There
      were four complications in four patients. Three complications (loosening of the
      humeral component in one patient and a fracture of the ulnar component in two)
      occurred postoperatively; all three were treated with a revision procedure. The
      other complication (a fracture of the olecranon) occurred intraoperatively and
      was treated with tension-band fixation; the most recent outcome was not affected.
      Radiographically, one patient had complete (type-V) radiolucency about the
      humeral component. None of the nine patients for whom true anteroposterior
      radiographs were available had evidence of wear of the bushings. The bone graft
      behind the anterior flange of the humeral prosthesis was mature in fourteen
      elbows, incomplete in two, and resorbed in two. One patient was excluded from
      this analysis because radiographs were not available. Instability of the elbow
      resulting in the inability to use the extremity is a challenging clinical
      situation. However, in patients who are more than sixty years old and in selected
      patients who are less than sixty years old but who have extensive loss of bone as
      a result of severe injury, have had multiple operations, or have rheumatoid
      arthritis, total elbow arthroplasty with a linked, semiconstrained prosthesis
      reestablishes a mobile, stable joint without premature loosening or failure of
      the components. In our experience, the use of customized implants, maintenance of
      the muscular attachments to the epicondyles, and reconstruction of the
      epicondyles to the implant were unnecessary.

PMID- 9973053
TI  - Results of Herbert-screw fixation with bone-grafting for the treatment of
      nonunion of the scaphoid.
AB  - We examined twenty-one patients in whom an established nonunion of the scaphoid
      had been treated with Herbert-screw fixation with bone-grafting; our purpose was
      to determine the long-term morbidity of the procedure (at an average of forty
      eight months; range, seventeen to fifty-five months). According to the modified
      scaphoid outcome scoring system, eighteen patients had a good or excellent
      result. No patient had failure of the hardware. Radial deviation was
      significantly decreased (an average of 17 degrees; 55 percent) compared with that
      of the contralateral wrist (p = 0.02). The other ranges of motion and the grip
      strength were also decreased, although the difference was not found to be
      significant with the numbers available. Three patients had a persistent nonunion,
      and two of them also had loosening of the hardware. Three patients had a tender
      hypertrophic scar. On the basis of our data, we concluded that Herbert-screw
      fixation with bone-grafting is effective for the treatment of nonunion of the
      scaphoid.

PMID- 9973054
TI  - Load-displacement behavior in a distal radial fracture model. The effect of
      simulated healing on motion.
AB  - External fixation of fractures of the distal end of the radius neutralizes
      external forces and maintains axial alignment during healing. As far as we know,
      there have been no biomechanical studies of the effects of early removal of the
      fixator in a partially healed fracture model. The purpose of the present study
      was to observe the load-displacement behavior of a distal radial fracture model
      in which we had simulated partial healing by injection of butyl-rubber caulk and
      augmented this simulated healing with Kirschner-wire fixation. Sixteen fresh
      frozen hand-wrist-forearm specimens from cadavera were mounted in mid-rotation in
      resin pots, and a load was applied. An osteotomy was used to simulate the
      fracture. Relative motion at the site of the osteotomy was compared, with use of
      a three-dimensional Optotrak kinematic device, during physiological loading of
      six constructs with Kirschner-wire transfixion or outrigger fixation. In the
      experimental group, partial healing was simulated by injection of butyl-rubber
      caulk into the site of the osteotomy and testing with simulated muscle-loading
      was performed through a full range of motion of the wrist. No difference could be
      detected between the relative motion at the osteotomy sites that had been treated
      with standard fully augmented external fixation and that in the experimental
      group (p > 0.05). T test analysis revealed that motion was equivalent regardless
      of whether Kirschner-wire transfixion or outrigger fixation had been used (p =
      0.62) and that all of the augmented constructs had significantly less relative
      motion than all of the nonaugmented constructs (p < 0.001).

PMID- 9973055
TI  - Acetabular involvement in osteonecrosis of the femoral head.
AB  - When an arthroplasty is needed to treat osteonecrosis of the femoral head, the
      use of a component that replaces or resurfaces only the femoral head is often
      considered as an alternative to total hip replacement if the acetabulum appears
      radiographically normal. However, the long-term results of the use of
      endoprostheses have often been poor, secondary in part to progressive
      degeneration of the acetabular cartilage and to protrusio acetabuli. To help to
      explain these observations, we examined the acetabular cartilage in forty-one
      hips in which a primary total hip replacement had been performed because of
      osteonecrosis of the femoral head in association with a radiographically normal
      acetabulum. The cartilage in the superior, weight-bearing region of the
      acetabulum was grossly abnormal in forty of the forty-one hips and it was
      histologically abnormal in all thirty-three hips that were so evaluated. In all
      but one hip, gross degeneration of the cartilage was apparent, involving less
      than 20 percent of the acetabulum; the degeneration was graded as mild
      (superficial fibrillation and slight irregularity of the surface) in sixteen
      hips, moderate (moderate fibrillation, alteration in color and consistency, and
      thinning of cartilage without complete erosion to bone) in twenty hips, and
      severe (marked fibrillation, alteration in color and consistency, and marked
      thinning of cartilage with areas of complete erosion to bone) in four hips. These
      observations emphasize the fact that radiographs cannot demonstrate early
      degeneration of cartilage and that, by the time that an arthroplasty is needed,
      degenerative changes are already present in the acetabular cartilage of a high
      percentage of hips with osteonecrosis, even when radiographs of the acetabulum
      show no abnormalities. These findings should be kept in mind when a decision is
      being made regarding which type of arthroplasty should be done in a patient who
      has osteonecrosis of the femoral head and regarding when to do the procedure.

PMID- 9973056
TI  - The Harris-Galante porous-coated acetabular component with screw fixation. An
      average ten-year follow-up study.
AB  - Two hundred and thirty-seven consecutive primary acetabular reconstructions were
      performed, in 213 patients, with use of a Harris-Galante porous-coated acetabular
      component with screw fixation between January 1984 and December 1987. Twenty-four
      patients (twenty-seven hips) died before a minimum duration of follow-up of
      eighty-four months, five patients (five hips) were too ill to return for a
      detailed follow-up examination at the time of the study, four patients (four
      hips) refused clinical and radiographic follow-up (but one of these patients had
      more than eighty-four months of follow-up for one side of a bilateral total hip
      replacement), two patients (two hips) were lost to follow-up, and two patients
      (two hips) refused radiographic follow-up but had adequate clinical follow-up. In
      addition, one patient who had had a bilateral total hip replacement had a
      resection arthroplasty on one side because of a late infection 115 months after
      the index procedure. Thus, 196 hips (83 per cent) in 177 patients were available
      for radiographic and clinical review after an average duration of follow-up of
      122 months (range, eighty-four to 155 months). The average age of these 177
      patients at the time of the operation was fifty-nine years (range, twenty-three
      to eighty-seven years). Eight well fixed acetabular shells (4 percent) were
      revised: three were revised because of dissociation of the liner in association
      with fractures of the tines, three were revised during revision of the femoral
      component, and two were revised because of retroacetabular osteolysis. In eight
      other hips, the acetabular liner was exchanged during revision of a loose femoral
      component. No acetabular component migrated, was classified as radiographically
      loose, or was revised because of aseptic loosening. There was no evidence of
      fragmentation or disruption of the titanium porous mesh of any cup. One of 528
      screws broke. There were no complications associated with the insertion of the
      acetabular fixation screws. Osteolytic lesions were identified adjacent to nine
      (5 percent) of the 188 acetabular components that were in place at the time of
      the most recent examination. One hip, which had discontinuous osteolytic lesions
      in all three acetabular zones, was treated with bone-grafting around the well
      fixed acetabular component. Eight hips had a discontinuous radiolucent line that
      was 1.0 millimeter wide or less in all three zones and another two had a
      continuous radiolucent line that was 0.5 millimeter wide in all three zones. The
      average Harris hip score for the 188 hips (169 patients) that did not have
      revision of the acetabular shell improved from 47 points (range, 22 to 71 points)
      preoperatively to 89 points (range, 35 to 100 points) at the time of the latest
      examination. One hundred and thirty-four hips had an excellent result; twenty
      six, a good result; nineteen, a fair result; and nine, a poor result. All nine
      hips that had a poor result were in patients who had other factors, unrelated to
      the acetabular component, that contributed to the low Harris hip score. In the
      present study, the Harris-Galante porous-coated acetabular component continued to
      provide excellent fixation and clinical results for most patients at an average
      of approximately ten years after the operation.

PMID- 9973057
TI  - The porous-coated anatomic total hip prosthesis, inserted without cement. A
      prospective study with a minimum of ten years of follow-up.
AB  - One hundred consecutive primary total hip arthroplasties performed with use of a
      porous-coated anatomic total hip prosthesis, fixed without cement, in ninety-one
      patients were followed prospectively for a minimum of ten years. At the time of
      the most recent follow-up, twenty patients (twenty-three hips) had died and
      seventy-one patients (seventy-seven hips) were living. The average age of the
      living patients was sixty-six years (range, thirty-two to ninety-two years), and
      their average Harris hip score was 84 points (range, 33 to 100 points). Twelve
      percent (nine) of the seventy-seven hips were found to be associated with pain in
      the thigh when the patients were specifically questioned by the examiner. Eleven
      hips were revised during the follow-up period. Only the acetabular component was
      revised in six hips, only the femoral component was revised in one hip, and both
      the femoral and the acetabular components were revised in four hips. Of the ten
      acetabular revisions, one was performed because of acute dissociation of the
      component and eight, because of a combination of polyethylene wear, osteolysis,
      and loosening; the tenth acetabular revision consisted of exchange of the liner
      and curettage and bone-grafting of the osteolytic area. Of the five femoral
      revisions, two were performed because of loosening and three, because of
      extensive osteolysis of the proximal aspect of the femur. Including the revised
      components, twelve acetabular components and five femoral components had
      radiographic evidence of aseptic loosening. Acetabular osteolysis occurred in
      seventeen hips. Femoral osteolysis occurred in thirty-nine hips: in the proximal
      aspect of thirty-one hips, in the distal aspect of four, and in both the proximal
      and the distal aspect of four. The durability of the femoral fixation documented
      in this study is especially encouraging in view of the fact that this was our
      initial experience with devices fixed without cement and that a so-called first
      generation femoral component was used. However, the study also demonstrated that
      not all acetabular components fixed without cement function well over the long
      term and that specific design considerations (adequate initial fixation,
      congruency between the liner and the shell, an optimum shell-liner capturing
      mechanism, and a smaller femoral head) are warranted.

PMID- 9973058
TI  - Medial protrusio technique for placement of a porous-coated, hemispherical
      acetabular component without cement in a total hip arthroplasty in patients who
      have acetabular dysplasia.
AB  - Twenty-four hip replacements were performed with use of a medial protrusio
      technique to stabilize the fit of a hemispherical metal shell in the acetabulum
      in nineteen patients who had dysplasia of the hip. All of the hips were followed
      for a minimum of five years (average, seven years; range, five to thirteen
      years). Six of the hips were type I, seven were type II, eight were type III, and
      three were type IV according to the criteria of Crowe et al. The acetabular cup
      was implanted with the medial aspect of its dome beyond the Kohler line (drawn
      from the ischium along the ilioischial line) in all hips. An autogenous graft
      sculpted from the femoral head was used to cover 15 to 30 percent of the
      superolateral portion of the cup in one type-I hip, four type-III hips, and one
      type-IV hip. The need for these six bone grafts could have been avoided by
      reaming two to three millimeters more medially or by allowing 20 percent of the
      superolateral portion of the cup to be uncovered. Sixty to 84 percent of each
      bone graft was resorbed, effectively leaving the superolateral portion of the cup
      uncovered. The amount of the surface of the cup that was beyond the Kohler line
      averaged 41 percent for the six type-I hips, 43 percent for the seven type-II
      hips, 41 percent for six of the type-III hips, and 44 percent for one of the type
      IV hips. Crossing of the ilioischial and iliopubic lines was noted on the
      radiographs of two type-III and two type-IV hips. Radiographs of two type-I hips
      and one type-II hip showed 7 to 17 percent of the surface of the dome of the cup
      through the internal pelvic wall (beyond the iliopubic line). None of the twenty
      four metal shells were revised. A reoperation was performed on two hips to
      exchange a worn polyethylene insert, and three femoral components that had been
      fixed without cement were revised because of mechanical loosening. Wear averaged
      0.26 millimeter per year in the fourteen hips that had a titanium femoral head
      and 0.09 millimeter per year in the nine hips that had a cobalt-chromium femoral
      head. The remaining hip had a ceramic femoral head, and the wear rate was 0.09
      millimeter per year. The medial protrusio technique is a predictable,
      reproducible method for obtaining fixation of a porous-coated, hemispherical
      acetabular component in a dysplastic acetabulum. The technique permits the use of
      a porous-coated (bone-ingrowth) component; avoids the use of support bone graft
      and thereby reduces the operative time; facilitates rehabilitation by permitting
      earlier weight-bearing of the hip; and permits the use of a modular bearing
      surface, which may allow future exchange of only this surface rather than
      revision of the entire acetabular component because of excessive wear.

PMID- 9973059
TI  - Effect of flexibility of the femoral stem on bone-remodeling and fixation of the
      stem in a canine total hip arthroplasty model without cement.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to compare, with regard to fixation of the implant
      and femoral bone resorption, two fully porous-coated stems of different
      stiffnesses in a canine total hip arthroplasty model. A bilateral arthroplasty
      was carried out with insertion of a titanium-alloy stem (which had stiffness
      properties comparable with those of the canine femur) on one side and with
      insertion of a composite stem (which was three to fivefold more flexible than the
      canine femur) on the contralateral side. Eight femora were evaluated at six
      months and eight, at eighteen months after the operation, to determine the extent
      of bone ingrowth, periprosthetic cortical area, intracortical porosity, and bone
      remodeling. Despite the markedly greater flexibility of the composite stems, no
      significant difference could be detected (with the numbers available), with
      regard to the overall degree of femoral stress-shielding, cortical area, or
      cortical porosity, between these stems and the stiffer, titanium-alloy stems at
      either time-period. However, the composite stems had less bone ingrowth and more
      formation of radiopaque lines than did the titanium-alloy stems. At eighteen
      months, the values for bone ingrowth were 9.7 +/- 5.38 percent (mean and standard
      deviation) for the composite stems compared with 28.1 +/- 5.31 percent for the
      titanium-alloy stems (p = 0.003). Furthermore, the histological sections from the
      femora containing a composite stem showed radiopaque lines indicative of fibrous
      ingrowth approximately threefold more often than did those from the femora
      containing a titanium-alloy stem (p = 0.02).

PMID- 9973060
TI  - Paradoxical cerebral embolism complicating a major orthopaedic operation. A
      report of two cases.

PMID- 9973061
TI  - Fracture-dislocation of the lumbar spine after arthrodesis with instrumentation
      for idiopathic scoliosis.

PMID- 9973063
TI  - Current concepts review. Methods for locating missing patients for the purpose of
      long-term clinical studies.

PMID- 9973062
TI  - Wear in total hip and knee replacements.

PMID- 9973064
TI  - The utility of histological examination of tissue removed during elective joint
      replacement. A preliminary assessment.

PMID- 9973065
TI  - The utility of histological examination of tissue removed during elective joint
      replacement. A preliminary assessment.

PMID- 9973066
TI  - The utility of histological examination of tissue removed during elective joint
      replacement. A preliminary assessment.

PMID- 9973067
TI  - Ecological analysis of intended treatment effects: caveat emptor.

PMID- 9973068
TI  - Uses of ecologic studies in the assessment of intended treatment effects.
AB  - Because of the potential for confounding by indication (disease severity) in
      individual-level observational studies of intended treatment effects, a treatment
      designed to prevent an adverse event may appear to cause it. We use a
      hypothetical example to show that despite substantial variation in the frequency
      of treatment among patients residing in different geographic areas, a constant
      area-specific mortality rate can be observed, indicating the absence of
      confounding by indication at the ecologic level. The advantage of ecologic over
      individual-level observational studies in the assessment of intended treatment
      effects holds even if variations in disease severity, socioeconomic status, and
      other unmeasured factors are taken into account, as long as treatment utilization
      is influenced by practice style in the local medical community independently of
      disease severity. Ecologic studies can suggest the need for changes in practice,
      help resolve ethical issues, and indicate priorities for randomized trials.

PMID- 9973069
TI  - Abstruse comparisons: the problems of numerical contrasts of two groups.
AB  - The most common quantitative comparison in medical literature is a contrast of
      two numbers, such as two means or two rates. The two numbers, A and B, can be
      compared as a direct increment (A-B), ratio (A/B), relative change ([A-B]/B), or
      other index of contrast. To appreciate the quantitative distinction, a reader
      must know the "setting" reflected by the basic values of A and B. For example, a
      ratio of 2.0 does not distinguish comparisons between rates of 60% versus 30% and
      0.006% versus 0.003%. Despite the frequency of published comparisons, they can be
      expressed with two types of abstrusity: quantitatives, if the basic values for A
      and B are not readily evident; and qualitative, if the component underlying
      variables are unfamiliar and not suitably explained. Among the published articles
      during the first six months of 1995 for JAMA and New England Journal of Medicine,
      57 that satisfied inclusion criteria were reviewed for compliance with standards
      for avoiding the two types of abstrusity. The standards for quantitative
      abstrusity were applied to the published abstract-summary, because it is often
      the only "sound bite" that is read and remembered by most readers. The standards
      for qualitative abstrusity, however, could be fulfilled in the text, not just in
      the abstract-summaries of each article. Among the 57 abstract-summaries, 30% were
      abstruse quantitatively, and 11 (48%) of 23 pertinent papers were qualitatively
      abstruse. Abstrusity can be eliminated if authors and editors insist that
      quantitative contrasts cite the basic numbers being compared and the meaning of
      the associated variables and their rating scales.

PMID- 9973070
TI  - Stratified randomization for clinical trials.
AB  - Trialists argue about the usefulness of stratified randomization. For
      investigators designing trials and readers who use them, the argument has created
      uncertainty regarding the importance of stratification. In this paper, we review
      stratified randomization to summarize its purpose, indications, accomplishments,
      and alternatives. In order to identify research papers, we performed a Medline
      search for 1966-1997. The search yielded 33 articles that included original
      research on stratification or included stratification as the major focus.
      Additional resources included textbooks. Stratified randomization prevents
      imbalance between treatment groups for known factors that influence prognosis or
      treatment responsiveness. As a result, stratification may prevent type I error
      and improve power for small trials (<400 patients), but only when the
      stratification factors have a large effect on prognosis. Stratification has an
      important effect on sample size for active control equivalence trials, but not
      for superiority trials. Theoretical benefits include facilitation of subgroup
      analysis and interim analysis. The maximum desirable number of strata is unknown,
      but experts argue for keeping it small. Stratified randomization is important
      only for small trials in which treatment outcome may be affected by known
      clinical factors that have a large effect on prognosis, large trials when interim
      analyses are planned with small numbers of patients, and trials designed to show
      the equivalence of two therapies. Once the decision to stratify is made,
      investigators need to chose factors carefully and account for them in the
      analysis.

PMID- 9973071
TI  - Association of comorbidity with disability in older women: the Women's Health and
      Aging Study.
AB  - There is substantial evidence that physical disability results from chronic
      diseases and that the number of chronic diseases is associated with the presence
      and severity of disability. There is some evidence that interactions between
      specific diseases are of import in causing disability. Beyond arthritis, however,
      little is known of the disease pairs that may be important to focus on in future
      research. This study explores the associations between multiple disease pairs and
      different types of physical disability, with the objective of hypothesis
      development regarding the importance of disease interactions. The study
      population comprised a representative sample of 3841 women 65 years and older
      living in Baltimore, screened for participation in the Women's Health and Aging
      Study. The study design was cross-sectional. An interviewer-administered
      screening questionnaire was administered regarding self-reported physical
      disability in 15 tasks of daily life, history of physician diagnosis of 14
      chronic diseases, and MiniMental State examination. Task difficulty was
      empirically grouped into six subsets of minimally overlapping disabilities, with
      a comparison group consisting of those with no difficulty in any task subset.
      Multiple logistic regression models were fit assessing the relationship of major
      chronic diseases and of interactions of disease pairs with each disability
      subtype and with any disability, adjusting for confounders. Fourteen percent of
      the population reported mobility difficulty only; 5%, upper extremity difficulty
      only; 9%, both of these difficulties but no others; 7%, difficulty in higher
      function but not self-care tasks; 7%, self-care task difficulty but not higher
      function tasks; and 15%, difficulty in both higher function and self-care
      (weighted data). Almost all in the latter three groups had difficulty, as well,
      in mobility or upper extremity tasks. In regression models, specific disease
      pairs were synergistically associated with different types of disability. For
      example, important disease pairs that recurred in their associations with
      different disability types were the presence of arthritis and visual impairments,
      arthritis and high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer, lung disease and
      cancer, and stroke and high blood pressure. In addition, the type of disability
      that a disease was associated with varied, depending on the other disease that
      was present. Finally, when interactions were accounted for, many diseases were no
      longer, in themselves, independently associated with a given type of disability.
      Partitioning disability into six subtypes was more informative in terms of
      associations than was evaluating a summary category of "any disability." These
      findings provide a basis for further hypothesis development and testing of
      synergistic relationships of specific diseases with disabilities. If testing
      confirms these observations, these findings could provide a basis for new
      strategies for prevention of disability by minimizing comorbid interactions.

PMID- 9973072
TI  - A research registry: uses, development, and accuracy.
AB  - Many studies of population health, clinical epidemiology, and health services can
      be supported by a population-based research registry. Such a registry accurately
      defines the health insurance status for each individual over many years,
      magnifying the effectiveness of a cross-sectional registry (typically relevant
      for only a short duration) used in the administration of a health insurance plan.
      A research registry can distinguish between "well" individuals (no contact with
      the health care system), loss to follow-up (ineligibility associated with leaving
      the insurance plan), loss of continuity (two or more unlinked registrations over
      time for the same person), and mortality. The Manitoba research registry was
      developed to facilitate longitudinal studies; working within strict
      confidentiality controls, identifiers for each individual known to Manitoba
      Health since 1970 can be retrieved and a single unique identifier assigned.
      Careful reporting of changes in family registration numbers has enabled tracing
      area of residence, marital status, and family characteristics; results are
      equivalent to a daily census of the province. This article provides details on
      source materials, design, and quality of the registry, highlighting its value
      both for the development of integrated population health information systems and
      for research in general.

PMID- 9973073
TI  - Identifying adults at low risk for significant hyperlipidemia: a validated
      clinical index.
AB  - The objective of this study was to develop and validate a simple clinical index
      to identify individuals at increased risk of an elevated CHL/HDL ratio. Using
      recursive partitioning, factors associated with an elevated CHL/HDL ratio were
      identified among 1993 men and 1631 women in the Lipid Research Clinic Prevalence
      Study. These factors were weighted using logistic regression analyses to develop
      a clinical index that was validated on 486 men and 484 women reported in the
      Sante Quebec cardiovascular health survey. A high CHL/HDL ratio was defined as >
      or =5 for women and > or =6 for men which approximates the 75th percentiles
      reported in the second United States National Health and Nutrition Survey. In the
      Lipid Research Clinics cohort, 307 men (15.4%) and 188 women (11.5%) had an
      elevated CHL/HDL ratio. Using separate clinical indices for men and women,
      significant variables included body mass index, alcohol consumption, age, smoking
      status, systolic blood pressure, physical activity status, and the presence of
      diabetes, the study identified 88% of the men and 82% of the women with elevated
      ratios. External validation using the Sante Quebec data set demonstrated test
      sensitivities of 81% for men and 94% for women. Overall, 12% of those with a high
      CHL/HDL ratio were misclassified as low risk. The ratio of total plasma
      cholesterol to HDL cholesterol has been shown to be one of the best lipid
      predictors of increased coronary risk. Readily available clinical data can be
      used to identify 88% of those individuals most likely to benefit from lipid
      screening while obviating the need for such screening in one quarter of otherwise
      healthy adults.

PMID- 9973074
TI  - Patients with newly diagnosed carcinoma of the breast: validation of a claim
      based identification algorithm.
AB  - The objectives of this study were to validate a claims-based algorithm for
      identification of patients with newly diagnosed carcinoma of the breast and to
      optimize the algorithm. Claims data from all females aged 21 years or older who
      enrolled in a large California health maintenance organization during the study
      period from October 1, 1994 through March 31, 1996 were analyzed. Medical records
      of the patients identified through the claims-based algorithm were reviewed to
      determine whether the patients were correctly identified. The initial algorithm
      had a positive predictive value of 84% which was similar to the previous study.
      The percentages of correct identification significantly increased with the
      patient's age at diagnosis. Other patient demographic characteristics and
      facility characteristics were not related to the accuracy of the identification.
      Using a classification tree procedure and additional information from the false
      positive cases, the initial algorithm was modified for improvement. The best
      modified algorithm had a positive predictive value of 92% while only 0.5% (4/837)
      of the true-positive cases were excluded. The results once again demonstrated
      that patients with newly diagnosed carcinomas of the breast can be identified
      using claims data. These databases provide an efficient and effective tool for
      performing health services studies on large patient populations.

PMID- 9973075
TI  - Validity and utility of patient-reported health measures on hospital admission.
AB  - Patient perceptions of their health are often inadequately captured and explored
      on hospital admission where physiologic and other objective measures are the
      focus of attention. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to develop and
      validate measures of several domains of patient-reported health status at the
      time of admission to a general medicine inpatient service, and to determine the
      value of these new measures in predicting length of stay (LOS). Within 2 hours of
      the time that a decision to admit a patient was made, research assistants
      delivered a structured interview that captured patients' current symptoms,
      functional status, mood, and perceived health. Interviews were conducted between
      8 a.m. and 11 p.m., 5 days per week from July 1996 through June 1997. During this
      time, there were 3621 unique patients admitted to the medicine service; 2672
      (74%) of these patients were eligible for an interview. Eighty-eight percent of
      the 2672 eligible patients were interviewed. In addition to the patient-reported
      measures captured through the structured interview, the acute physiology score
      (APS) of the APACHE II was calculated for all subjects. The internal consistency
      (i.e., Cronbach's alpha) of the scales was 0.76 or greater and concurrent
      validity (i.e., correlation) of the patient-reported measures with the APS was
      0.01 to 0.13. Overall perceived health was correlated 0.20 to 0.45 with symptoms
      and functional status, and was correlated 0.07 with the APS. The patient-reported
      measures performed comparably to the APS in predicting LOS (R-square = 0.08).
      When the patient-reported measures and the APS were included in the same model,
      the R-square was 0.14. These analyses suggest that patient-reported measures of
      health and function on admission hold validity, and that responses to as few as
      15 questions can provide data that may help to explain differences in length of a
      hospital stay.

PMID- 9973076
TI  - Validity of a self-reported history of doctor-diagnosed angina.
AB  - The objective of this study was to assess the validity of a self-reported history
      of doctor-diagnosed angina in population-based studies in men. Subjects were 5789
      men from the British Regional Heart Study who reported being without an angina
      diagnosis at entry (1978-1980) and were alive at the end of 1992, aged 52 to 75
      years. In 1992, subjects were asked in a self-administered questionnaire if they
      recalled ever having had a doctor diagnosis of angina. Self-report of diagnosed
      angina was compared with general practice (GP) record of angina obtained from
      reviews of medical records from study entry to the end of 1992. Men were followed
      for a further 3 years from 1992 for major ischemic heart disease events. The
      prevalence of diagnosed angina in 1992 was 10.1% according to self-reported
      history and 8.9% according to GP record review. There was substantial agreement
      between the two sources of information: 80% of men with a GP record of angina
      reported their diagnosis, and 70% of men who reported an angina diagnosis had
      confirmation of this from the record review. When all ischemic heart disease
      (angina or myocardial infarction) was considered, agreement was higher. Genuine
      angina was likely in many of the 177 men who had self-reported angina not
      confirmed by the GP record review: 78 had an ischemic heart disease history
      (myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization) identified by the review,
      and 31 had a GP record of angina after 1992. Angina symptoms, nitrate use,
      cardiological investigation, and surgical intervention for angina compared
      between agreement groups showed a very consistent pattern. All these indicators
      of angina were most common in men with both self-report and GP record of angina,
      least common in men with neither self-report nor GP record of angina, but had a
      substantially higher prevalence in men with self-reported angina only than in
      those with GP-recorded angina only. After 3 years follow-up from 1992, 9.5% of
      men with both self-report and GP record of angina, and 11.3% of men with self
      reported angina only had experienced a new major ischemic heart disease event;
      compared to 5.7% of men with a GP record of angina only and 2.7% of those without
      angina by either criteria. This pattern of risk remained similar after adjustment
      for age and previous myocardial infarction. These results suggest that self
      reported history of a doctor diagnosis of angina is a valid measure of diagnosed
      angina in population-based studies in men.

PMID- 9973077
TI  - Comparing participants and nonparticipants in a smoking cessation trial:
      selection factors associated with general practitioner recruitment activity.
AB  - We studied the relationship between smokers' sociodemographic characteristics,
      their smoking habit, health status, and the probability of their having been
      approached for recruitment in the smoking cessation trial performed in Turin,
      Italy, with the aim of gathering information on the role of selection criteria
      adopted by general practitioners (GPs) in offering anti-smoking counseling. The
      965 smokers who were offered participation in the trial were matched to a sample
      of eligible smokers (n = 277), selected from the rosters of the 42 GPs
      collaborating in the trial, who had not been invited to participate. The
      probability of being offered enrollment, estimated through a multiple conditional
      logistic regression model, assuming the GP as the matching variable, was
      significantly increased for intermediate (10-19 cigarettes per day: odds ratio
      [OR] = 4.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.63-6.47) and heavy (20 cigarettes
      per day or more: OR = 10.12; 95% CI: 6.51-15.75) smokers, for smokers diagnosed
      with chronic cardiovascular (OR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.19-3.58), or respiratory (OR =
      2.50; 95% CI: 1.40-4.48) diseases, and for smokers mentioning an intermediate
      number (2-4) of past quit attempts (OR = 3.70; 95% CI: 2.18-6.28). General
      Practitioners focused their recruitment activity on higer-risk smokers or smokers
      who had tried to quit, to offer more clues for intervention. Assessing the
      potential public health benefit of preventive interventions requires a more
      systematic evaluation of the generalizability of the reported findings.

PMID- 9973078
TI  - On misclassification of smoking.

PMID- 9973079
TI  - The radiation biology of boron neutron capture therapy.
AB  - Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a targeted radiation therapy that
      significantly increases the therapeutic ratio relative to conventional
      radiotherapeutic modalities. BNCT is a binary approach: A boron-10 (10B)-labeled
      compound is administered that delivers high concentrations of 10B to the target
      tumor relative to surrounding normal tissues. This is followed by irradiation
      with thermal neutrons or epithermal neutrons which become thermalized at depth in
      tissues. The short range (5-9 microm) of the alpha and 7Li particles released
      from the 10B(n,alpha)7Li neutron capture reaction make the microdistribution of
      10B of critical importance in therapy. The radiation field in tissues during BNCT
      consists of a mixture of components with differing LET characteristics. Studies
      have been carried out in both normal and neoplastic tissues to characterize the
      relative biological effectiveness of each radiation component. The distribution
      patterns and radiobiological characteristics of the two 10B delivery agents in
      current clinical use, the amino acid p-boronophenylalanine (BPA) and the
      sulfhydryl borane (BSH), have been evaluated in a range of normal tissues and
      tumor types. Considered overall, BSH-mediated BNCT elicits proportionately less
      damage to normal tissue than does BNCT mediated with BPA. However, BPA exhibits
      superior in vivo tumor targeting and has proven much more effective in the
      treatment of brain tumors in rats. In terms of fractionation effects, boron
      neutron capture irradiation modalities are comparable with other high-LET
      radiation modalities such as fast-neutron therapy. There was no appreciable
      advantage in increasing the number of daily fractions of thermal neutrons beyond
      two with regard to sparing of normal tissue in the rat spinal cord model. The
      experimental studies described in this review constitute the radiobiological
      basis for the new BNCT clinical trials for glioblastoma at Brookhaven National
      Laboratory, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at the High Flux
      Reactor, Petten, The Netherlands. The radiobiology of experimental and clinical
      BNCT is discussed in detail.

PMID- 9973080
TI  - Measurement of distributions of small-scale energy depositions from low-linear
      energy transfer particles using the superheated drop detector.
AB  - We have developed a new detection method for measuring distributions of energy
      depositions from particles characterized by low linear energy transfers (LETs).
      In particular, we have developed a detection system to measure energy depositions
      produced by electrons and photons on nanometer scales. The detector is based upon
      the operational principles of the superheated drop detector (SDD). SDDs consist
      of tiny droplets of superheated liquid suspended within a gel-like emulsion. The
      SDDs in this study are fabricated using Freon-115 and a glycerol-based gel as the
      superheated liquid and host medium. This SDD configuration is operated as a
      threshold temperature-dependent detector for measuring nanoscopic distributions
      of energy depositions from low-LET particles. Measured results are compared to
      the calculated distributions of energy depositions along an electron track. A new
      electron track code, ESLOW3.1, is used to perform the computational study.
      Measurements show good agreement with computational results in the energy
      deposition range of 40-200 eV.

PMID- 9973081
TI  - The use of microdosimetric moments in evaluating cell survival for therapeutic
      alpha-particle emitters.
AB  - In evaluating the efficacy of alpha-particle emitters, a cell survival curve is
      often determined for a particular source-target configuration. Investigators
      often wish to use this information about survival for a different source-target
      configuration which might be more appropriate for a therapeutic application.
      Since the population cell survival parameter, D0, is a function of the source
      target configuration, it is important to determine the individual cell survival
      parameter, z0, which is more fundamental. Unlike D0, z0 does not depend upon the
      microdosimetric variations in the specific energy distribution resulting from
      changes in the source-target configuration. Instead it is determined by the cell
      sensitivity and the radiation quality. However, the calculation of z0 from the
      data on survival involves computing the microdosimetric specific energy
      distributions of the radiation. This paper describes an approximate but
      sufficiently accurate method for determining z0 from D0 if the first and second
      moments of the single-hit specific energy distributions are known or can be
      estimated. Examples of applications are given. This may alleviate the need for
      multihit microdosimetric calculations.

PMID- 9973083
TI  - Hydroxyl radical-induced hydrogen/deuterium exchange in amino acid carbon
      hydrogen bonds.
AB  - Hydroxyl radicals produced by radiolysis under anaerobic conditions in the
      presence of dithiothreitol and D2O have been shown to be capable of inducing
      hydrogen/deuterium (1H/2H) exchange in carbon-hydrogen bonds of amino acids. When
      the solution is saturated with N2O, a 1H/2H exchange efficiency of 38% (based on
      the G value of 5.6 x 10(-7) mol J(-1) for hydroxyl radical) was determined by
      measuring the amino acid isotope ratio [M+H+1]+/[M+H]+ using electrospray
      ionization-mass spectrometry. The incorporation of 2H was proportional to the
      amount of hydroxyl radical generated and required the presence of dithiothreitol.
      Using standard anaerobic reaction conditions with dithiothreitol and N2O,
      incorporations of 2H of 3% and 8% into L-valine (100 microM, 35 microM DTT) and L
      leucine (100 microM, 31 microM DTT), respectively, were achieved after a dose of
      89 Gy and, using d8-DL-valine (100 microM, 35 microM DTT) with H2O as the
      solvent, approximately 2% incorporation of protium was detected. Additionally,
      1H/2H exchange into the peptide (Ala2)-leucine enkephalin produced 6%
      incorporation of 2H. These results directly demonstrate the ability of sulfhydryl
      groups to mediate the chemical repair of proteins through hydrogen-atom donation
      to an amino acid carbon-centered radical, thus providing a means of isotopically
      labeling solvent-accessible amino acid residues of peptides and proteins.

PMID- 9973082
TI  - The effect of packing and conformation on free radical yields in films of
      variably hydrated DNA.
AB  - This work investigates the direct-type action of radiation (involving electron
      addition and electron abstraction) on DNA. Specifically, the effects of DNA
      hydration, conformation and packing on free radical yields are examined. The fact
      that these variables are interdependent complicates the analysis of how each
      variable affects free radical yields. The hydration dependence of free radical
      yields in films of both Li and Na DNA was examined. At low levels of DNA
      hydration (less than 25 waters per nucleotide), the relatively high free radical
      yields and the lack of water-derived radicals are evidence that damage transfer
      from the DNA solvation shell to the DNA molecule occurs. The scatter of measured
      free radical yields is significant (50-70%) in Li DNA, while in Na DNA it is much
      less (<25%). Our conclusions hinge upon two known differences between Li DNA and
      Na DNA: (1) At low DNA hydrations, the conformation of Na DNA undergoes several
      changes with increasing hydration, while the conformation of Li DNA is relatively
      constant over the same range. (2) Compared to Na DNA, Li DNA is more prone to
      self-associate, giving rise to macroscopic and microscopic crystalline domains in
      Li DNA films. The greater scatter of free radical yields in Li DNA films is
      therefore attributed to variability in packing. By virtue of the greater
      reproducibility of free radical yields in Na DNA films, the effects of DNA
      packing, conformation and hydration can be ascertained. In Na DNA, hydration
      dependent changes in free radical yields are attributed primarily to changes in
      DNA packing.

PMID- 9973084
TI  - A rapid preparation of extracts for DNA replication in vitro.
AB  - A rapid preparation of cytoplasmic extracts using a small number of cells was
      developed for SV40 DNA replication in vitro. Compared with methods published
      previously, this new method has two advantages: First, cells of several human
      cell lines can be processed at the same time. Second, the time of preparation has
      been reduced from 10 h to 2 h by adding sucrose and reducing the concentration of
      NaCl in the dialysis buffer. Activities of extracts prepared from small numbers
      of cells with this new method to support SV40 DNA replication in vitro are high,
      reproducible and comparable to that of extracts from large numbers of cells with
      the methods traditionally used. These advantages will make it possible to study
      the regulation of DNA replication in irradiated or drug-treated human cells more
      efficiently. Therefore, this simple method should be a useful complement to the
      large-scale preparation for the general study of regulation of DNA replication in
      human cells.

PMID- 9973085
TI  - Radiation-induced apoptosis and limb teratogenesis in embryonic mice.
AB  - In utero irradiation of the fetus during the period of organogenesis induces a
      dramatic increase in malformation. However, the mechanisms underlying the
      teratogenesis remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the correlation
      between radiation-induced apoptosis and limb malformation was examined in mice.
      The mice were exposed to X rays in utero on day 11 of gestation during the period
      of organogenesis of limb buds. A marked increase in the number of apoptotic cells
      in the predigital regions in the forelimb buds was detected 4 h after
      irradiation. The preinterdigital regions of the forelimb buds did not show such
      an increase at the same time. Aphlangy and ectrodactyly were the main types of
      anomalies observed on day 19 in the limbs of the fetuses irradiated with 5 Gy.
      The increases in prenatal death and teratogenesis in limb digits in living
      fetuses were dependent on dose. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed.

PMID- 9973086
TI  - Radioprotection of the intestinal mucosa of rats by probucol.
AB  - Probucol is a lipid-regulating drug that also has antioxidant properties. This
      study was designed to test the possibility that probucol could provide
      radioprotection of the intestine when administered either intralumenally or
      systemically. Tissue damage was evaluated histologically by quantifying the
      number of crypts per circumference and the mucosal height. Animals were
      sacrificed 5 days after 11 Gy of X irradiation. In one series of experiments, a
      loop of mid small bowel was exteriorized operatively and compartmentalized into
      segments, each filled with probucol or saline. Intralumenal administration of
      probucol prior to irradiation led to a significantly greater number of crypts per
      circumference and mucosal height compared to saline-filled irradiated controls.
      In another series of experiments, five groups of rats were irradiated: (1)
      probucol in the small bowel lumen, (2) intravenous probucol, (3) probucol by
      gavage, (4) probucol added to standard rat chow and (5) saline control. In the
      rats given probucol intravenously prior to X irradiation, crypt numbers and
      mucosal height were significantly enhanced. Probucol given by gavage also
      resulted in protection. Rats fed a diet containing probucol showed no significant
      protection. Topical administration was more effective than systemic. Probucol
      protects the intestinal mucosa from acute radiation damage when given topically,
      intravenously or by gavage, but does not do so when given as a dietary
      supplement.

PMID- 9973087
TI  - In vivo radioprotection by ocimum flavonoids: survival of mice.
AB  - Two flavonoids, orientin and vicenin, isolated from the leaves of the Indian
      plant Ocimum sanctum were tested for their radioprotective effect in mice. Both
      compounds provided protection against death from gastrointestinal syndrome as
      well as bone marrow syndrome when injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) before whole
      body exposure to 11 Gy gamma radiation. The optimum drug dose for protection was
      50 microg/kg body weight: An increase in the drug dose did not increase
      protection. No acute toxicity was observed at doses as high as 100 mg/kg body
      weight of either compound. Maximum protection was obtained when either compound
      was injected i.p. 30 min before irradiation. Changing the route of administration
      or the interval between drug injection (i.p.) and irradiation reduced protection.
      Drug treatment after irradiation was not very effective. Vicenin was slightly
      better than orientin in increasing survival at 30 days; protection by vicenin
      also lasted longer. Dose modification factors (DMFs) for the LD50 were 1.37 for
      vicenin and 1.30 for orientin. Radical scavenging activity has been demonstrated
      for both orientin and vicenin, and this appears to be one of the mechanisms of
      protection by these flavonoids.

PMID- 9973088
TI  - Thermoradiotherapy with hydralazine: the effect of preirradiation of the tumor
      bed on blood flow and growth delay of Ehrlich carcinoma.
AB  - Ehrlich carcinoma transplanted into preirradiated calf muscle of mice was used as
      a model for tumor recurrence after unsuccessful radiotherapy. Due to the tumor
      bed effect (TBE), these grafts grew more slowly than control tumors implanted in
      the unirradiated tissue. When these tumors achieved the same volume (0.3-0.4
      cm3), in 10-11 days for tumors implanted in irradiated tissue and 7-8 days for
      control tumors, they were treated with radiation, the tumor blood flow inhibitor
      hydralazine, and hyperthermia, alone or in different combinations. In the case of
      the trimodality treatment, single irradiation of tumors at a dose of 12.5 Gy was
      followed 2.5-3 h later by administration of hydralazine (2.5 mg/kg) and local
      hyperthermia (water bath, 43 degrees C for 30 min). The growth delay induced in
      the different tumor types by irradiation, hydralazine and hyperthermia, alone or
      in different combinations, was related to the blood flow measured in the tumors
      by the 133Xe clearance technique 24-48 h after treatment. It was shown that the
      reduction of blood flow after treatment with hyperthermia or hydralazine was
      approximately equal in both types of tumors. However, the combined inhibiting
      effect of these agents differed in the tumors: It was synergistic in control
      tumors and close to additive in tumors implanted in irradiated tissue. In terms
      of the specific tumor growth delay, the latter tumors were slightly more
      sensitive to hyperthermia, but were more resistant to radiation and
      thermoradiotherapy compared to control tumors. Hydralazine potentiated the
      tumoricidal effects of heat alone and heat combined with radiation. The
      enhancement was more substantial in control tumors compared to tumors implanted
      in irradiated tissue. A general correlation between the hydralazine-induced
      enhancement of the effects of heat on tumor blood flow and growth delay was
      observed. In tumors implanted in irradiated tissue, the inhibition of perfusion
      after treatment with hydralazine plus hyperthermia was smaller, and presumably a
      less marked treatment response to these agents (with or without radiation) was
      therefore achieved as a result in these tumors compared to the control tumors.

PMID- 9973089
TI  - Theoretical and experimental tests of a chromosomal fingerprint for densely
      ionizing radiation based on F ratios calculated from stable and unstable
      chromosome aberrations.
AB  - In the present study, F ratios for both stable chromosome aberrations, i.e.
      ratios of translocations to pericentric inversions, and unstable aberrations,
      i.e. dicentrics and centric rings, were measured using fluorescence in situ
      hybridization. F ratios for stable aberrations measured after exposure to low
      (2.89 Gy 60Co gamma rays) and high-LET (0.25 Gy 56Fe ions; 1.25 Gy 56Fe ions; 3.0
      Gy 12C ions) radiation were 6.5 +/- 1.5, 4.7 +/- 1.6, 9.3 +/- 2.5 and 10.4 +/-
      3.0, respectively. F ratios for unstable aberrations measured after low (2.89 Gy
      60Co gamma rays) and high-LET (0.25 Gy 56Fe ions; 3.0 Gy 12C ions) radiations
      were 6.5 +/- 1.6, 6.3 +/- 2.3 and 11.1 +/- 3.7, respectively. No significant
      difference between the F ratios for low- and high-LET radiation was found.
      Further tests on the models for calculation of the F ratio proposed by Brenner
      and Sachs (Radiat. Res. 140, 134-142, 1994) showed that the F ratio may not be
      straightforward as a practical fingerprint for densely ionizing radiation.

PMID- 9973090
TI  - Proceedings of the American Statistical Association Conference on Radiation and
      Health. San Diego, California, USA. June 14-17, 1998.

PMID- 9973091
TI  - Comments on the hazard function of a two-stage carcinogenesis model.

PMID- 9973092
TI  - Comments on the paper "Adaptive response in embryogenesis" by Wang et al.,
      Radiat. Res. 150, 120-122 (1998)

PMID- 9973093
TI  - Screening decreases prostate cancer death: first analysis of the 1988 Quebec
      prospective randomized controlled trial.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The 46,193 men aged 45 to 80 years registered in the electoral roll
      of Quebec City and its Metropolitan area were randomized in November 1988 between
      screening and no screening in a study aimed of assessing the impact of prostate
      cancer screening on cause-specific death. METHODS: At first visit, screening
      included measurement of serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA) using 3.0 ng/ml as
      upper limit of normal and a digital rectal examination (DRE). Transrectal
      echography of the prostate (TRUS) was performed only if PSA and/or DRE was
      abnormal and biopsy was then done, only if PSA was above the predicted PSA value.
      At follow-up visits, PSA alone was used as prescreening. RESULTS: 137 deaths due
      to prostate cancer occurred between 1989 and 1996, inclusively, in the 38,056
      unscreened men while only 5 deaths were observed among the 8,137 screened
      individuals. The prostate cancer death rates during the eight-year period were
      48.7 and 15 per 100,000 man-years in the unscreened and screened groups,
      respectively, for a 3.25 odds ratio in favor of screening and early treatment (P
      < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: If PSA screening is started at the age of 50 years (or 45
      years in the higher risk population), annual or biannual PSA alone is highly
      efficient to identify the men who are at high risk of having prostate cancer.
      Coupled with treatment of localized disease, this approach demonstrates, for the
      first time, that early diagnosis and treatment permits a dramatic decrease in
      deaths from prostate cancer.

PMID- 9973094
TI  - Numerical chromosomal anomalies in latent adenocarcinomas of the prostate.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Even the high incidence of clinically diagnosed prostate cancer is
      exceeded by the frequency of tumors detected at autopsy. However, there is some
      debate concerning the malignant potential of these so-called "latent prostate
      cancers." In this study, prostate cancers detected at autopsy were investigated
      for the presence of numerical aberrations of chromosomes 7, 10, 17, X, and Y.
      METHODS: Prostates from 57 autopsies, performed on male patients aged 45 years or
      older, were histologically investigated for the presence of cancer. Interphase
      cytogenetics, an in situ hybridization method with chromosome-specific probes,
      was performed on paraffin sections. RESULTS: Of the 57 specimens investigated, 23
      contained foci of prostate cancer. Three prostates contained more than one tumor
      focus. Interphase cytogenetics could be performed successfully in 19 specimens.
      Of the 22 tumor foci investigated, 14 were disomic and 8 were nondisomic for the
      five chromosomes tested. Ploidy correlated significantly with the presence of a
      Gleason score of 7 or higher (P = 0.0109), but not with a tumor volume larger
      than 0.5 cm3, or with patient age over 75 years. CONCLUSIONS: Some latent
      prostate cancers display a nondisomic chromosomal status and a low histologic
      differentiation in spite of a small tumor volume, suggesting a more aggressive
      potential in a subset of these tumors.

PMID- 9973095
TI  - Quality-adjusted survival (Q-TWiST) analysis of EORTC trial 30853: comparing
      goserelin acetate and flutamide with bilateral orchiectomy in patients with
      metastatic prostate cancer. European Organization for Research and Treatment of
      Cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The first data analysis of the European Organization for Research and
      Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 30853 trial indicated a significantly longer time to
      progression and duration of survival for the maximal androgen blockade (MAB)
      treatment arm. However, the MAB treatment arm had a higher frequency of reported
      side effects. METHODS: The quality-adjusted survival (Q-TWiST) method was applied
      to perform a secondary analysis of the EORTC 30853 trial in order to obtain a
      quality-adjusted survival (QAS) analysis. Two models with different definitions
      of the progression health state were used for the analysis. In the first model,
      progression was defined by both objective and subjective criteria, and in the
      second model only by increase in pain score. The approach was also extended to
      include an analysis using actual utility scores (Q-tility) of patients in the
      relevant health states. RESULTS: Based on Q-tility scores obtained from a
      separate study of a cohort of prostate cancer patients, the QAS analysis resulted
      in a 5.2-month difference (95% CI, -1.1; 11.5 months) in favor of zoladex and
      flutamide, equal in magnitude to the benefit found in the unadjusted survival
      analysis. CONCLUSIONS: A QAS analysis such as the Q-TWiST method may be preferred
      over the unadjusted approach in clinical trials where the health states are
      clearly distinct, and differ significantly in either duration or quality of life
      (QOL), or both. The second model, with progression defined as increase in pain
      score, made no difference to the results in this study because of the small
      difference in duration of the pain-progression health state between treatment
      arms. However, Q-tility scores from the separate cross-sectional study that was
      used in this Q-TWiST analysis showed that a subjective definition of health
      states better reflects differences in QOL between the health states that the
      patients experience during follow-up.

PMID- 9973096
TI  - Differential growth rates in stromal cultures of human prostate derived from
      patients of varying ages.
AB  - BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to attempt to characterize changes in in
      vitro growth rates and cellular phenotypes of human prostatic stroma associated
      with aging and/or development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS:
      Prostate stromal cell strains were established from 12 tissue donors of varying
      age. Culture growth rate was determined by cell counts over a 6-day period. Cell
      phenotype was assessed by immunocytochemical staining for smooth muscle alpha
      actin, smooth muscle myosin, and prolyl-4-hydroxylase. RESULTS: Growth rates of
      prostate stromal strains in vitro varied. Stromal cells derived from aged males
      with BPH had significantly slower growth rates than cells from younger donors. A
      positive reaction for prolyl-4-hydroxylase, a mesenchymal cell marker, was
      present in all cell cultures regardless of donor age. Expression of smooth muscle
      specific actin, a nonspecific smooth muscle cell marker, was present in 48-79% of
      prostate stromal cultures. Staining for smooth muscle myosin, a specific smooth
      muscle cell marker, was found to vary significantly with age. The percentage of
      smooth muscle myosin-positive cells derived from males aged 15, 45, 57, and 72
      years were 0.70 +/- 0.14%, 2.12 +/- 0.30%, 4.20 +/- 0.89%, and 26.25 +/- 1.0%,
      respectively. The shape and size of actin- and/or myosin-positive stromal cells
      from a 72-year-old donor culture were also usually larger and polygonal in shape
      as compared to thin and elongated shapes in 15-year-old donor cultures. The shape
      of actin- and/or myosin-positive cells from a 45-year-old donor culture
      demonstrated both phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that in human
      prostate stromal cells cultured as described, the growth rate decreases, the
      percent of smooth muscle cells increases, and the cellular shape changes with
      increasing donor age and/or development of BPH.

PMID- 9973097
TI  - Prostate secretory protein (PSP94) suppresses the growth of androgen-independent
      prostate cancer cell line (PC3) and xenografts by inducing apoptosis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: PSP94 (prostate secretory protein of 94 aa; also called PIP), one of
      the predominant proteins secreted into the seminal fluid, was proposed as an
      independent diagnostic/prognostic marker for prostate cancers. It was also shown
      to inhibit rat prostate cancer growth. In this study, we investigated the effect
      of purified PSP94 on the growth of androgen-independent human prostate cancer
      cells (PC3) and its potential mechanism of action. METHODS AND RESULTS: PSP94, in
      a dose- and time-dependent manner, inhibited the growth of PC3 cells. The protein
      demonstrated a stronger inhibitory effect on the colony-forming ability of PC3
      cells in soft agar. A daily injection of PSP94 at 5 microg/kg/body weight
      resulted in a 50-60% inhibition in the growth of PC3 xenografts in athymic mice.
      PC3 cell growth inhibition by PSP94 resulted from cell death characteristic of
      morphological apoptosis, which was confirmed by dual fluorescence microscopy,
      electron microscopy, and DNA fragmentation assays. Mechanistic studies indicated
      that PSP94 enhanced the expression of proapoptotic protein Bax without affecting
      Bcl-2 levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that PSP94 may represent a novel,
      apoptosis-based, antitumor agent applicable to the treatment of hormone
      refractory human prostate cancers.

PMID- 9973098
TI  - Involvement of heparin affin regulatory peptide in human prostate cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Heparin affin regulatory peptide (HARP) composes, together with
      midkine (MK), a new family of heparin-binding growth/differentiation factors.
      Recently, HARP was incriminated in cancer progression, as an angiogenic factor
      and as a tumor growth factor. In this study, we analyzed the possible involvement
      of HARP in human prostate cancer (Pca). METHODS: The localization of HARP protein
      and its mRNAs in normal prostate (n = 5), benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) (n =
      7), and prostate cancer (Pca) (n = 9) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and in
      situ hybridization. The mitogenic activity of this growth factor for prostate
      epithelial cells was determined with a thymidine incorporation assay. HARP cDNA
      was transfected into normal prostate epithelial (PNT-1A) cells, and their growth
      was evaluated by soft-agar growth assay. RESULTS: We found HARP protein
      associated with epithelial cells in PCa but not in normal prostate or BPH, while
      the corresponding mRNAs were located in the stromal compartment. Furthermore,
      HARP is mitogenic for PNT-1A, LNCaP, and DU-145 cells. Overexpression of the
      human HARP in PNT-1A transfected cells induced both anchorage-independent growth
      and growth at low serum concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that
      HARP may act in a paracrine manner from mesenchymal to tumoral epithelial cells,
      and may play a role in the molecular mechanisms that regulate prostate tumor cell
      growth.

PMID- 9973099
TI  - Determination of optimal freezing parameters of human prostate cancer in a nude
      mouse model.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We sought to determine whether more than one freeze/thaw cycle is
      required and what minimum temperature reliably kills prostate cancer in vivo.
      METHODS: Two human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP and PC3) were implanted
      subcutaneously in male nude BALB/c mice. Tumors were frozen with contemporary
      cryosurgery equipment and monitored for temperature, size, and serum prostate
      specific antigen (PSA) measurements. The tumors were subjected to one or two
      freeze/thaw cycles through a wide range of temperatures from 0 - -80 degrees C.
      RESULTS: These experiments show that a single freeze/thaw to a temperature < -40
      degrees C is adequate to kill most tumor cells in this mouse model of prostate
      cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Freezing prostate cancer to < -40 degrees C and ensuring
      that the entire tumor is frozen is more important than additional freeze/thaw
      cycles in this experimental model.

PMID- 9973100
TI  - Differences in prostate size between patients from University and Veterans
      Affairs Medical Center populations.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Numerous studies on prostatic disease have been performed at Veterans
      Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. Recent investigations evaluating early detection of
      prostate cancer provide insight that the average prostate volume may be different
      between patients with similar clinical findings who are from different hospital
      settings. The objective of this study was to compare prostate size between men
      from University and VA Medical Centers. METHODS: Patients were enrolled
      retrospectively from 1989-1996 from the Urology Clinics at a University and a VA
      Medical Center. All men underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided sextant biopsy of
      the prostate owing to either an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level
      and/or abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) detected prior to biopsy.
      Prostate volume was calculated using the ellipsoid three-diameter formula based
      on transrectal ultrasound measurements. RESULTS: There were 1,311 men included in
      the analysis: 717 were from the VA, and 594 were from the University. The average
      prostate volume was significantly smaller among VA patients both for men with
      cancer (P = 0.0004) and for men with no evidence of malignancy (P < 0.0001).
      Overall, the average prostate volume was 38.5 cm3 (median, 32.5 cm3) among men
      from the VA compared to 46.8 cm3 (median, 39.3 cm3) among men from the University
      Medical Center. Men from the VA were older (mean +/- SD = 68 +/- 7.3) than men
      from the University (mean +/- SD = 66 +/- 7.7) (P = 0.004) and there was no
      significant difference in PSA levels between the two groups of patients (P =
      0.11). Intriguingly, the incidence of cancer was significantly lower at the VA
      (24.5%) compared to the University (35.9%) (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The
      variance in prostate size suggests that there are significant differences between
      the two patient populations. Proposed factors leading to this discrepancy include
      differences in socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, and changes in
      hormonal milieu related to alcohol and tobacco use. These results may have
      significant implications regarding the interpretation and extrapolation of
      results from previous studies performed at a single hospital setting.

PMID- 9973101
TI  - Targeted cytotoxic analog of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone AN-207
      inhibits the growth of PC-82 human prostate cancer in nude mice.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Receptors for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) found in
      prostate cancers might be used for targeting of chemotherapeutic agents.
      Doxorubicin derivative 2-pyrrolinodoxorubicin (AN-201) can be linked to carrier
      analog [D-Lys6]LH-RH to form the targeted cytotoxic analog of LH-RH, AN-207.
      METHODS: We evaluated the effects of AN-207 and its components on the growth of
      LH-RH receptor-positive human prostate cancer PC-82 xenografted into nude mice.
      Analog AN-207, radical AN-201, carrier [D-Lys6]LH-RH, or a mixture of [D-Lys6]LH
      RH and AN-201 were injected intravenously once at doses of 200 nmol/kg. Tumor
      growth, body weight, total WBC counts, and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
      were determined. Receptors for LH-RH on PC-82 tumors were evaluated, and the
      expression of mRNA for LH-RH receptors was assessed by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Eight
      weeks after administration of cytotoxic analog AN-207, there was a 67.8%
      reduction in tumor volume (P < 0.01), 70.7% decrease in tumor burden (P < 0.01),
      and 36.5% decrease in serum PSA levels (P < 0.01) as compared with controls. Only
      one of 8 animals treated with AN-207 died. Cytotoxic radical AN-201 caused a
      34.2% (not significant, NS) reduction in tumor volume with no change in serum
      PSA, and killed 3 of 8 mice due to toxicity. Carrier [D-Lys6]LH-RH and the
      unconjugated mixture of [D-Lys6]LH-RH and AN-201 had no effect on tumor growth.
      LH-RH receptors as well as the expression of their mRNA were found in PC-82
      tumors.

PMID- 9973103
TI  - Defeating prostate cancer: crucial directions for research--excerpt from the
      report of the Prostate Cancer Progress Review Group.

PMID- 9973102
TI  - Effects of pituitary hormones on the prostate.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although essential, androgens alone are not sufficient to induce
      normal growth and functionality of the prostate. Nonandrogenic hormones must also
      be involved in the proliferation of the prostate cancer cells which do not
      respond to antiandrogenic therapy and which thus become androgen-independent.
      Prolactin, but also growth hormone and luteinizing hormone, are potentially able
      to act on both normal and abnormal prostatic cells. METHODS: In this review we
      summarize data from the literature concerning the physiological and pathological
      implications of prolactin, growth hormone, and luteinizing hormone on the
      prostate. RESULTS: In rodent prostates, prolactin and growth hormone can induce a
      variety of effects independently of androgens (e.g., transactivation of certain
      genes, or synthesis of the major secretion products). Moreover,
      hyperprolactinemia is responsible for inflammation and dysplasia of the gland,
      while growth hormone promotes the development of prostate tumors in vivo in the
      mouse and rat. Growth hormone acts on the gland directly, through prostatic
      growth hormone receptors, and/or indirectly via the stimulation of insulin-like
      growth factor-I (IGF-I) synthesis in the liver. Luteinizing hormone receptor is
      expressed in rat and human prostates. Luteinizing hormone increases the amount of
      various transcripts in the rat prostate through an androgen-independent pathway.
      CONCLUSIONS: Prolactin, growth hormone, and luteinizing hormone, alone or
      synergistically with androgens, play physiologically significant roles in the
      normal prostate. The involvement of these hormones in the development of benign
      prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic carcinoma is an issue that needs to be
      addressed.

PMID- 9973104
TI  - Comparative study of glycoconjugates of the rat prostatic lobes by lectin
      histochemistry.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The rat prostate gland is composed of several distinct lobes: the
      ventral, lateral, dorsal, and anterior (also called the coagulating gland). Each
      prostatic lobe is different in its morphology, secretions, and response to
      hormones. METHODS: The present study characterized and compared the expression of
      glycoconjugates in three different lobes (ventral, lateral, and dorsal) of the
      Noble rat prostate gland by lectin histochemistry, using a battery of 30
      different lectins. RESULTS: The results indicate that different prostatic lobes
      elaborate and secrete different glycoconjugates. The dorsal prostatic epithelium
      secretes mainly in an apocrine mode, as characterized by the presence of apical
      cytoplasmic blebs which are absent in the other two lobes, though merocrine
      secretion is also suggested. These cytoplasmic blebs were rich in Man, GlcNAc,
      Gal/GalNac, Fuc, NeuAc(alpha2,6)Gal, and oligosaccharides. Two types of
      cytoplasmic belbs were also identified according to their lectin bindings: blebs
      stained by S-Con A, LCA, PWA, UEA-II, RCA-I, DBA, ECA, WFA, Jacalin, MPA, SJA,
      LTA, UEA-I, PHA-E, and PHA-L, and some blebs stained by S-WGA, SBA, HAA, HPA,
      VAA, BPA, MAA, and SNA. The lectins, which reacted with the second type of blebs,
      also revealed some cytoplasmic granules in the dorsal prostatic epithelial cells.
      The epithelium of the lateral prostate showed weak or negative reactions to
      lectins, suggesting that it may express fewer glycoconjugates as compared to the
      other two lobes. The epithelial Golgi region of the ventral prostate is the most
      developed among the three lobes, and contained abundant GlcNAc, alpha/beta
      GalNAc, and NeuAc(alpha2,6)Gal residues, as shown by its intense reactions to S
      WGA, DBA, SBA, HAA, HPA, WFA, and SNA. GS-I-B4 reacted specifically with the
      basal epithelial cells in all three lobes, indicating that glycoconjugates with
      terminal alpha-Gal/GalNAc were commonly expressed in these basal cells. The basal
      cells in ventral prostate might express more complex glycoconjugates, as they
      were also stained by PWA, RCA-I, ECA, and PHA-L, in addition to GS-I-B4,
      suggesting that these basal cells contained more Gal(beta1,4)GlcNAc and
      Gal(beta1,4)GlcNAc(alpha1,2)Man residues. GS-I-B4 and PHA-L also demonstrated a
      differential staining of the stromal smooth muscles and their associated
      extracellular matrix in the three prostatic lobes, suggesting that these
      structural components in different prostatic lobes were different in their
      complex oligosaccharide contents, which probably has an influence on the
      epithelial-stromal interaction in the prostate. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the
      present study has established for the first time the expression patterns of
      glycoconjugates in the three lobes of the Noble rat prostate gland and suggests
      that certain lectins are useful as histochemical markers for the three individual
      prostatic lobes.

PMID- 9973105
TI  - Effects of mepartricin, a polyene macrolide agent, on fecal excretion and serum
      concentration of estrogen and number of prostatic estrogen receptors in immature
      rats.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Mepartricin, an antifungal agent, was investigated for effects on
      fecal excretion and serum concentration of sex steroids and the number of sex
      steroid prostatic receptors in immature rats. METHODS: Mepartricin was orally
      administered at 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg once daily for 2 weeks. Fecal estrogen and
      testosterone excretions, serum estrogen, testosterone and luteinizing hormone
      concentrations, and numbers of prostatic estrogen and androgen receptors were
      assayed. Prostate weight was also monitored. RESULTS: Fecal estrogen excretion
      showed a dose-dependent increase, which was significant for the two higher
      dosages. Conversely, the serum estrogen concentration and prostatic estrogen
      receptors were significantly decreased. No significant changes in fecal
      testosterone excretion, serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone
      concentrations, and prostatic androgen receptors were observed. Prostate weight
      was significantly reduced at 5 mg/kg, but we did not observe dose-dependency.
      CONCLUSIONS: Mepartricin increases fecal excretion of estrogen by binding with it
      in the intestinal tract, which results in reducing the serum estrogen
      concentration and number of prostatic estrogen receptors.

PMID- 9973106
TI  - Inability of bone turnover marker as a strong prognostic indicator in prostate
      cancer patients with bone metastasis: comparison with the extent of disease (EOD)
      grade.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although clinical investigations of bone turnover markers in prostate
      cancer patients have been conducted, the relationships of pretreatment levels of
      the markers to the prognosis of patients with bone metastasis has not been fully
      examined. METHODS: The serum levels of carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I
      procollagen (PICP) and carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP),
      alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were examined in
      48 untreated prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis, and the prognoses of
      the patients were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS:
      The patients with low PICP or ALP values had significantly better outcomes in
      terms of cause-specific survival compared to the patients with high PICP or ALP
      values. There was no significant difference in survival between patients with
      high and low ICTP or PSA values. The multivariate analysis of PICP, ICTP, ALP,
      PSA, and extent of disease (EOD) grade revealed that only the EOD grade was an
      important prognostic indicator for survival. CONCLUSIONS: These results
      demonstrate that the extent of bone metastasis evaluated by bone scintigrams is a
      more important prognostic indicator than are the serum biochemical markers of
      bone turnover.

PMID- 9973107
TI  - Identification of dipeptidyl peptidase IV as the antigen of a monoclonal anti
      prostasome antibody.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to elucidate the identity of an antigen of a
      monoclonal antibody against prostasomes, which are prostate-derived organelles
      occurring freely in human semen. METHODS: Monoclonal antibodies against
      prostasomes were generated by intrasplenic immunization to allow better
      characterization of the prostasomes. One third of the resulting antibodies bound
      to a 110-kDa prostasomal protein on Western blots. RESULTS: The antigen was
      purified from seminal prostasomes by anion exchange chromatography and gel
      electrophoresis. After in-gel digestion and amino-acid sequence analysis of
      selected peptides, it was identified as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV), EC
      3.4.14.5, also known as T-cell-activating antigen CD26. No DPP IV could be
      detected in the supernatant obtained after preparative ultracentrifugation of the
      prostasomes. CONCLUSIONS: DPP IV/CD26 is structurally bound to prostasomes rather
      than being free in seminal fluid. This enzyme may play a critical role in the
      promoting effect of prostasomes on forward motility of spermatozoa.

PMID- 9973108
TI  - Overexpression of cyclin D1 is rare in human prostate carcinoma.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Overexpression of cyclin D1 has been documented in a number of human
      cancers. Increased expression of cyclin D1 can contribute to cellular
      transformation and abnormal proliferation. METHODS: Quantitative RT-PCR and/or
      Western blot analysis were used to determine the level of cyclin D1 expression in
      96 human prostate tumors, 15 benign prostate hyperplasias, 4 prostate cancer cell
      lines, and 3 xenografts. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that 4.2% of the
      prostate tumors examined overexpressed cyclin D1 transcripts. In the cell lines,
      expression was normal, with the exception that reduced levels of cyclin D1
      transcript and protein were observed in the DU145 cell line, as expected from
      cells with mutant RB. Normal levels of cyclin D1 were found in all xenograft
      tumors and BPH specimens examined. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that
      overexpression of cyclin D1 occurs rarely in human prostate tumors. However, when
      overexpression of cyclin D1 does occur, it may identify a subset of tumors with a
      different molecular biology.

PMID- 9973109
TI  - Suppression of the tumorigenicity of prostatic cancer cells by gene(s) located on
      human chromosome 19p13.1-13.2.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In previous reports, we used microcell fusion-mediated chromosomal
      transfer to introduce normal human chromosomes into highly metastatic rat
      prostatic cancer cells to map the location of tumor and metastasis suppressor
      genes. The gene for prostate-specific antigen as well as several classes of
      genes, including cell adhesion molecules, previously demonstrated to be altered
      during prostate cancer progression, were mapped to human chromosome 19. METHODS:
      A normal human chromosome 19 was introduced into Dunning-R3327 AT6.1 rat and TSU
      prl human prostatic cancer cells by microcell-mediated chromosome transfer to
      test the suppressive effects of this chromosome on prostate cancer. Five
      independent hybrid clones from Dunning-R3327 AT6.1 rat prostatic cancer cells and
      four independent hybrid clones from TSU-pr1 human prostatic cancer cells were
      isolated, karyotyped, allelotyped, and analyzed for in vitro and in vivo growth
      characteristics. RESULTS: Introduction of human chromosome 19 into both the rat
      and human prostatic cancer cells resulted in alteration of cell morphology in
      vitro and suppression of tumorigenicity in vivo in athymic nude mice. Highly
      polymorphic SSR2 markers mapped to human chromosome 19 were used to determine the
      portions of human chromosome 19 retained in the hybrids. These analyses
      identified a region localized on human chromosome 19p13.1-13.2 that is
      responsible for the tumor suppression of both rat and human prostatic cancer
      cells. The expression of several genes previously mapped to this human chromosome
      19p13.1-13.2 region (i.e., ICAM-1, Notch3, and Stau) were analyzed to evaluate if
      they could be candidate suppressor genes for prostate cancer cell growth in vivo,
      but no expression patterns consistent with those predicted for a suppressor gene
      were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Human chromosome 19p13.1-13.2 contains potential
      tumor suppressor gene(s) for prostate cancer.

PMID- 9973110
TI  - Impaired expression and posttranslational processing of connexin43 and
      downregulation of gap junctional communication in neoplastic human prostate
      cells.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Gap junctional communication (GJC) has been implicated in the control
      of cell proliferation. Numerous cancer cells show a decrease or loss of GJC
      compared to their normal counterparts. Lack of adequate information on the status
      of gap junctions during prostate neoplasia prompted us to examine this form of
      cancer, which comprises about 14% of male cancer deaths in America. METHODS:
      Cultured normal human prostate epithelial cells and several different human
      prostate tumor lines were used in this study. GJC was assayed by dye transfer,
      whereas Western blot and immunofluorescence methods were used to examine
      connexin43 (Cx43) levels and the presence of gap junctions, respectively.
      RESULTS: Normal human prostate cultures exhibited extensive cell-communication
      which was completely absent in all the examined tumor cells. This disrupted
      communication was associated with a decreased expression and an impaired
      posttranslational modification of Cx43 in these cells. Abundant immunostaining of
      gap junctional channels by a Cx43-antibody was observed in normal prostate cells
      but not in tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide further support for the
      hypothesis that loss of junctional communication is a critical step in
      progression to human prostate neoplasia.

PMID- 9973111
TI  - Prostate stroma: physiology.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The separate structural and functional activities of the prostatic
      stroma were only recently discovered and are still poorly understood. METHODS:
      This review summarizes recent literature on the structure, and on the angiogenic,
      contractile, proliferative, and secretory activities mediated by the prostatic
      stroma and its agents. RESULTS: The stroma undergirds the acinar epithelium
      through its fibromuscular substance. Neovascularization of its hypoxic cells, a
      process driven by cytokines, especially vascular endothelial growth factor,
      provides fuel for glycolytic empowerment of smooth muscle contraction, growth,
      and secretion. Signals from the stromal complement of cholinergic and adrenergic
      fibers, modulated by also-elaborated nitric oxide, provide tight regulation of
      uroflow. Apparently, autonomic control is independent of that of the powerful
      endothelin, secreted by the epithelium. Superimposed on these intrinsic elements
      of prostatic stromal control are the effects of steroid hormones and their
      effectors. CONCLUSIONS: The illumination of the stroma's role in prostatic
      physiology, coupled with advances in knowledge of its pharmacology, should aid in
      our understanding, management, and prevention of prostatic disease.

PMID- 9973112
TI  - Infusion of dendritic cells pulsed with HLA-A2-specific prostate-specific
      membrane antigen peptides: a phase II prostate cancer vaccine trial involving
      patients with hormone-refractory metastatic disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A phase II trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of infusions of
      dendritic cells (DC) and two HLA-A2-specific PSMA peptides (PSM-P1 and -P2). This
      report describes thirty three subjects with hormone-refractory metastatic
      prostate cancer without prior vaccine therapy history who were evaluated and
      reported as a group. METHODS: All subjects received six infusions of DC pulsed
      with PSM-P1 and -P2 at six week intervals. Clinical monitoring was conducted pre
      , during, and post- phase II study. Data collected include: complete blood count,
      bone and total alkaline phosphatase, prostate markers, physical examination,
      performance status, bone scan, ProstaScint scan, chest x-ray, as well as assays
      to monitor cellular immune responses. RESULTS: Six partial and two complete
      responders were identified in the phase II study based on NPCP criteria, plus 50%
      reduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), or resolution in previously
      measurable lesions on ProstaScint scan. CONCLUSIONS: Over 30% of study
      participants in this group showed a positive response at the conclusion of the
      trial. This study suggested that DC-based cancer vaccines may provide an
      alternative therapy for prostate cancer patients whose disease no longer responds
      to hormone therapy.

PMID- 9973113
TI  - Critical analysis of false elevations in PSA results reported with the Abbott
      AxSYM assay.

PMID- 9973114
TI  - Bringing some uniformity to diversity.

PMID- 9973115
TI  - Percutaneous stereotactic differential radiofrequency thermal rhizotomy for the
      treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of
      radiofrequency thermal rhizotomy (RTR) for trigeminal neuralgia, after failure of
      pharmacological management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred fifteen patients
      underwent RTR from 1991 to 1996 and were prospectively evaluated. These patients
      were characterized by age, sex, side of the face, and division(s) involved.
      Patients were evaluated for pain relief, recurrence requiring or not requiring
      reoperation, and the type and rate of complications. They were followed-up by
      serial clinical evaluation and telephone interview. Patients were categorized
      into groups: 1) Successful result: excellent, good pain relief; and 2)
      Unsuccessful result: fair, poor, or no pain relief. The RTR group was compared
      with historical controls. Follow-up ranged from 9 to 68 months (mean, 32 months)
      and results were evaluated at early and long-term follow-up. RESULTS: At early
      follow-up (defined as immediately postoperatively to 6 months), pain relief of
      excellent or good quality (successful result) occurred in 198 of 215 patients
      (92%). Fair or poor or no pain relief (unsuccessful result) occurred in 17 (8%)
      patients. At long-term follow-up (>6 months to 68 months), recurrence of pain
      that required reoperation occurred in 24 patients (11%) and recurrence of pain
      that did not require reoperation (medically managed) occurred in 34 patients
      (16%). Dysesthesia developed in 18 patients (8%); seven patients (3%) had
      dysesthesia alone (medically managed) and 11 patients (5%) had dysesthesia with
      recurrence of pain (medically or surgically managed). "Anesthesia/analgesia
      dolorosa" developed in four patients (1.8%) and was medically managed. At long
      term follow-up, 83% of patients had good to excellent pain relief (successful
      result). There were no mortalities, no significant morbidity, and a low rate of
      minor complications. CONCLUSION: With the use of this specific diagnostic
      approach and management algorithm, patients with trigeminal neuralgia can be
      successfully managed.

PMID- 9973116
TI  - Lag-screw fixation of anterior mandibular fractures using biodegradable
      polylactide screws: a preliminary report.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of biodegradable,
      self-reinforced poly-L-lactide screws (SR-PLLA) for lag-screw fixation of
      anterior mandibular fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: SR-PLLA lag-screws were used
      to stabilize anterior mandibular fractures in 11 patients. Maxillomandibular
      fixation was used to treat concomitant mandibular condyle fractures for 2 weeks
      in four patients and for 1 and 5 weeks in two patients. Clinical and radiologic
      follow-up lasted for 6 months in 36% of patients and for 1 year in 64%. RESULTS:
      Healing of all anterior fractures was uneventful, with no displacement or delay
      of bony union. No adverse reactions to the biodegradable screws were seen during
      follow-up. CONCLUSION: Biodegradable SR-PLLA screw fixation seems to be a new and
      promising way of treating anterior mandibular fractures.

PMID- 9973117
TI  - Maxillofacial injuries associated with all-terrain vehicles.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to report the pattern and frequency of
      maxillofacial injuries resulting from all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents, to
      evaluate the mechanisms of injury, to document the length of hospital stay, and
      to characterize other associated injuries in patients presenting to a level 1
      trauma center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of patients admitted to the
      University of Kentucky Medical Center from July 1, 1995 through August 1996 with
      an ATV-related injury were reviewed. Patients were included in the study if the
      events of their injury, demographic data, and the specifics of their
      perioperative care were sufficiently documented to provide the information
      pertinent to the investigation. Age, sex, mechanism of injury, facial injuries,
      associated injuries, and length of stay were the factors considered for the
      study. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients met the criteria for the study. Fifty-nine
      (82%) were male, and 13 (18%) were female. Forty patients required operative
      intervention. Twenty-five (35%) had soft tissue or bony injuries to the
      maxillofacial region. One mandibular and 13 midface fractures were identified.
      Twelve of the patients with midface injuries had multiple facial fractures.
      Orbital floor fractures occurred in seven patients. Two patients required
      unilateral enucleation of the globe. Ten soft tissue injuries were diagnosed.
      Extremity fractures (n = 16) and closed head injuries (n = 17) were the most
      commonly associated injuries. The length of hospital stay for all the subjects
      identified in the study averaged 4.7 days. ATV rollover and being thrown from a
      moving ATV were the most common mechanisms of injury. CONCLUSIONS: Head and
      maxillofacial injuries, particularly midface injuries, are common findings after
      ATV accidents. Orbital trauma with serious globe injury was a striking feature of
      this study. Multiple systems injuries should always be anticipated and
      identified. The public should be alerted to the hazards of imprudent recreational
      vehicle use.

PMID- 9973118
TI  - Lingual cyst with respiratory epithelium: an entity of debatable histogenesis.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this report was to describe a new case of lingual cyst
      with respiratory epithelium, to review and analyze the literature regarding
      lingual cyst of foregut origin and lingual alimentary cyst, and to discuss the
      suitable terminology for these uncommon cysts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from
      articles published in the English language between the years 1942 and 1947 were
      used. RESULTS: The review of the literature showed 53 lingual cysts of which 29
      could be grouped into lingual alimentary tract cysts and 24 into lingual cysts of
      foregut origin. There was an overlap in histologic and clinical features and
      embryogenesis of both cysts. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiation between both cysts
      cannot be supported, and until further information is accumulated it is suggested
      that histologic descriptive terms be used such as lingual cyst with respiratory
      epithelium, lingual cyst with gastric epithelium, or lingual cyst with
      respiratory and gastric epithelium.

PMID- 9973119
TI  - Complications of internal fixation of maxillofacial fractures with microplates.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the complications of
      open reduction and internal fixation of maxillofacial fractures with microplates.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 44 patients with maxillofacial trauma, fractures of the
      maxillofacial skeleton were treated by open reduction and internal fixation using
      a 1.0-mm and 1.5-mm microsystem. Simultaneously occurring fractures of the
      mandible or frontozygomatic suture were treated with a 2.0-mm miniplate system.
      Perioperative and postoperative complications were traced using patient charts,
      operation reports, and radiographs. The average follow-up was 46.8 months (range,
      31 to 54 months). RESULTS: A total of 124 1.0-mm microplates and 546 1.0-mm
      microscrews, and 17 1.5-mm microplates and 75 1.5-mm microscrews, was used. The
      perioperative complication rate was 1.2% for the 1.0-mm screws (use of four
      emergency screws, breakage of one screw in the dense frontozygomatic suture area,
      and an insertion of a screw in a premolar root). The postoperative complication
      rate was 0.8% for the 1.0-mm screws (screw dislocation without clinical
      implication). No complications were observed with the 1.5-mm system. Plate
      related infection did not occur. All fractures healed well. Three patients asked
      for plate removal because of a vague, persisting pain in the treated area. After
      removal, only one patient was free of pain. A loose 1.5-mm screw was found in
      this patient. CONCLUSION: The overall complication rate for microsystems was
      2.0%. Both microsystems proved to be a reliable modality to fix fractures of the
      maxillofacial skeleton. Complications can be considered incidental and of
      neglectable clinical significance.

PMID- 9973120
TI  - Telemedicine consultations in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of telemedicine
      consultation for preoperative assessment of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A
      retrospective study of 43 patients was done to evaluate the efficiency of
      telemedicine consultation in adequately assessing patients for dentoalveolar
      surgery with general anesthesia and nasotracheal intubation. Efficiency was
      defined as the ability to conduct surgery with general anesthesia at the
      immediately following clinic appointment without the need for further
      preoperative testing, evaluation, or consultation. Thirty-five of these patients
      were subsequently treated. RESULTS: Ninety-five percent (33) of patients were
      able to undergo surgery with general anesthesia at the immediate appointment, and
      100% of patients were assessed correctly, using telemedicine consultation. Two of
      the patients were assessed as American Society of Anesthesiologists Class III
      during telemedicine consultation and required further evaluation before surgery
      could be scheduled. No surgical procedure was canceled, and there were no
      anesthetic complications attributable to inadequate preoperative assessment of
      patients during telemedicine consultation. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that
      telemedicine consultations are as reliable as those conducted by traditional
      methods. Because of the reorganization of health care and the ways it is
      financed, it may be more economical to move data from place to place than to move
      doctors from place to place. Telecommunication is an efficient and cost-effective
      mechanism to provide preoperative evaluation in situations in which patient
      transport is difficult or costly.

PMID- 9973121
TI  - Short-term effect of the use of a frozen-stored disc allograft for repair of the
      osteoarthritic sheep temporomandibular joint: a preliminary report.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this experimental study was to evaluate the initial
      effect of a frozen-stored disc allograft on the osteoarthritic sheep
      temporomandibular joint (TMJ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bilateral osteoarthritis
      was induced in the TMJ of four sheep. Three months later, unilateral discectomy
      and frozen-stored disc allograft replacement were performed. The donor disc had
      been obtained from a healthy animal at killing. The disc was stored in a deep
      freezer at -70 degrees C for 1 month and thawed just before grafting. The
      contralateral joints were undisturbed and served as a control at 3 months. At 6
      months after the initial procedure, 3 months after the repair, the four sheep
      were killed. RESULTS: All four grafted discs were perforated and displaced. In
      the repaired joints, the condylar articular surface was partly denuded in some
      areas, and part of the surface showed fibrous repair. The control joints showed
      osteoarthritic changes. CONCLUSION: Frozen-stored disc allograft is not a
      satisfactory interpositional material in the osteoarthritic sheep TMJ.

PMID- 9973122
TI  - The vascular relationship between the temporomandibular joint and the middle ear
      in the human fetus.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to clarify the vascular relationships between
      the middle ear and the temporomandibular joint region during human fetal
      development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Light microscopic studies were done on 40
      human fetuses from 72 mm crown-rump length (C-R) to 150 mm C-R, which were
      stained by various methods. Five human fetuses were dissected. Natural latex with
      industrial coloring was injected through the external carotid artery. All
      specimens were dissected bilaterally. RESULTS: The limits of the retroarticular
      region and the fetal tympanosquamosal fissure are shown. The anterior tympanic
      artery has a variable origin. In most cases, it originates from the maxillary
      artery; in other cases it originates from the superficial temporal artery or the
      bifurcation of the external carotid artery. On its way through the retroarticular
      region, it gives branches to the posterior part of the temporomandibular joint.
      It progresses along the most lateral part of the tympanosquamosal fissure,
      dividing into three branches that extend throughout the middle ear. A number of
      venous spaces in the retroarticular region that constitute the retrodiscal venous
      plexus. Small venous vessels along the fetal tympanosquamosal fissure accompany
      the anterior tympanic artery and drain into the retrodiscal venous plexus.
      CONCLUSIONS: During human fetal development, there is a wide connection across
      the tympanosquamosal fissure between the middle ear and the temporomandibular
      joint region. The anterior tympanic artery and its branches, as well as small
      venous vessels that are connected with the retrodiscal venous plexus, extend
      along the most lateral part of the fissure.

PMID- 9973123
TI  - Elevated levels of human salivary epidermal growth factor after oral and
      juxtaoral surgery.
AB  - PURPOSE: Saliva provides a natural reservoir of growth factors whose purposes
      have remained elusive. Animal studies suggest that saliva-derived growth factors
      play a role in systemic and oral wound healing. In the current study, salivary
      concentrations of epidermal growth factor (EGF) were monitored in patients before
      and after oral and juxtaoral surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Whole resting saliva
      was collected from a group of patients with parotid gland tumors requiring
      surgical resection. Another group of patients a history of periodontal disease
      requiring surgical intervention also provided whole salivary samples. Healthy age
      and sex-matched persons served as controls. RESULTS: Salivary EGF levels were
      elevated in both groups of patients within 24 hours after surgery. In the
      periodontitis patients, a second smaller peak was assayed noted between 36 and 48
      hours. After this, EGF concentrations returned to levels comparable to healthy
      controls in both experimental groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although the local cells have
      the ability to synthesize and secrete growth factors at a site of injury, these
      results suggest that surgery stimulates increased synthesis and secretion of
      growth factors in the saliva as well. This increased level of saliva-derived
      growth factor may also aid in promoting wound healing.

PMID- 9973124
TI  - Periosteal and galeal adhesiveness after a forehead lift in a rodent model.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the strength of periosteal and
      galeal adhesiveness at particular intervals after subperiosteal and subperiosteal
      subgaleal forehead lifting in a rodent model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty mice
      underwent a subperiosteal or subperiosteal-subgaleal coronal forehead lift
      procedure. Necropic and histologic examination of the periosteal, galeal, and
      bone interface was performed on postoperative days 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, and the
      strength of the elevated flap reattachment to underlying tissues was measured.
      RESULTS: Tension analysis in the early postoperative period showed a higher
      avulsive force was required to re-elevate subgaleal-subperiosteal flaps than
      subperiosteal flaps. However, subperiosteal flap adhesiveness appeared to
      increase rapidly between postoperative days 4 and 8. By day 10, the force
      required to re-elevate subperiosteal flaps was significantly higher than that
      required for subgaleal-subperiosteal flaps (P < or = .0001). Histologic analysis
      showed an inflammatory response at the periosteum-bone interface, which maximized
      at postoperative day 6. CONCLUSIONS: In the early postoperative period, subgaleal
      subperiosteal flaps had higher adhesiveness than subperiosteal flaps. However, by
      postoperative day 10, subperiosteal forehead flaps were substantially more
      adherent in this rodent model.

PMID- 9973126
TI  - Sickle cell disease: a review and update of current therapy.

PMID- 9973125
TI  - Ultrastructural study on adhesions in internal derangement of the
      temporomandibular joint.
AB  - PURPOSE: This study examined the ultrastructural characteristics of adhesions in
      the upper joint compartment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ). MATERIALS AND
      METHODS: Tissue biopsy specimens of adhesions were obtained during arthroscopic
      operation on 36 joints in 22 patients with internal derangement (ID). The biopsy
      specimens were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS:
      Adhesions were grossly divided into two types based on arthroscopic observation:
      1) a band-like type, which connected the articular fossa and TMJ disc, and 2) a
      pseudowall-like type, which faced the synovial fluid and was lined by articular
      tissue. Two types of collagen arrangement were observed at the electron
      microscopic level: orderly arranged collagen bundles and randomly arranged
      collagen bundles. Orderly arranged collagen bundles were prominent in the band
      like adhesions. In pseudowall-like adhesions, mainly the randomly arranged
      collagen bundles were seen. However, in some dense fiber parts, orderly arranged
      collagen bundles also were observed. In other pseudowall-like adhesions, only
      orderly arranged collagen bundles were seen. Elastic fibers were abundant in some
      pseudowall-like adhesions with randomly arranged collagen bundles. There were no
      elastic fibers in the band-like adhesions, some dense fiber parts of the
      pseudowall-like adhesion, pseudowall-like adhesions consisting of only orderly
      arranged collagen bundles, and in the synovial membrane. CONCLUSION: The
      different arrangement of collagen fibers and presence or absence of elastic
      fibers were observed in the two types of adhesions. These findings served to show
      that extracellular components correspond to a dysfunction involving an ID of TMJ.

PMID- 9973127
TI  - Large radiolucent lesion of the maxilla.

PMID- 9973128
TI  - Iatrogenic osteonecrosis of the maxilla caused by laser injury.

PMID- 9973129
TI  - Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal tip: a case report.

PMID- 9973130
TI  - Cardiac asystole during arthroscopic surgery of the temporomandibular joint: a
      case report.

PMID- 9973131
TI  - Distraction osteogenesis of the mandible using a submerged intraoral device: a
      report of three cases.

PMID- 9973132
TI  - Traumatic facial artery aneurysm: case report.

PMID- 9973134
TI  - Trephination in the treatment of scalp avulsion: successful application of a
      historical method.

PMID- 9973133
TI  - Life-threatening, delayed epistaxis after surgically assisted rapid palatal
      expansion: a case report.

PMID- 9973135
TI  - A simple technique for intraoral drain placement and fixation.

PMID- 9973136
TI  - Surgical exposure and bracketing technique for uprighting impacted mandibular
      second molars.

PMID- 9973137
TI  - Clarification of diagnostic criteria for ameloblastic fibroma.

PMID- 9973138
TI  - I before E, especially after T.

PMID- 9973139
TI  - Influence of sperm plasma membrane destruction on human sperm head decondensation
      and pronuclear formation.
AB  - This study investigated the ability of membrane-damaged sperm to undergo sperm
      head decondensation and male pronuclear forrmation following intracytoplasmic
      sperm injection. For induction of membrane-damage, sperm were exposed to 0.1%
      Triton X-100 for a few seconds. The single sperm curling (SSC) test was performed
      to evaluate the viability of the sperm. Of the injected oocytes 49 and 47%
      developed male pronuclei in the experimental and control groups, respectively.
      Sperm head decondensation was much higher in the membrane-damaged group (84
      versus 70%). This study clearly shows that ICSI of membrane-damaged sperm does
      not affect pronuclear formation, although sperm head decondensation is much
      higher.

PMID- 9973140
TI  - Male fertility of kidney transplant patients with one to ten years of evolution
      using a conventional immunosuppressive regimen.
AB  - The reproductive functions and hormone serum levels of 55 male kidney transplant
      recipients were assessed. Patients underwent peritoneal dialysis before
      transplantation and were given immunosuppressive therapy afterward for 1 to 10
      years. Spermatobioscopies were performed, and serum urea, creatinine, luteinizing
      hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), and
      testosterone (T) levels were determined. Average serum urea and creatinine levels
      were 54.6+/-1.4 and 3+/-1.3 mg/dL, respectively. The average serum hormone levels
      were 3.2+/-2 mIU/mL (LH), 6.3+/-1.7 mIU/mL (FSH), 11.7+/-1.5 ng/mL (PRL), and
      23+/-1.4 pg/mL (T). Libido reduction was reported in 88% of patients within 8
      months following transplantation. Normozoospermia was seen in 47.3% of the
      patients, asthenozoospermia in 18.2% oligozoospermia in 14.5%, while
      oligoteratozoospermia, asthenoteratozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia,
      oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, and azoospermia were seen in the rest. Twenty-six
      patients procreated one or more children after transplantation; 36.6% of those
      children were premature but nonetheless healthy. No association existed between
      the post-transplant period and urea or creatinine levels. Significant differences
      were found when LH levels and sperm motility were assessed. Also, statistically
      significant differences were found when duration of dialysis, FSH levels, sperm
      counts, morphology, and motility between posttransplant fertile and infertile
      patients were correlated. In conclusion, there was an adequate recovery of sexual
      and reproductive functions in most patients subjected to kidney transplantation
      and conventional immunosuppressants.

PMID- 9973141
TI  - Semen culture, leukocytospermia, and the presence of sperm antibodies in seminal
      hyperviscosity.
AB  - Seminal hyperviscosity is generally thought to reveal genitourinary infection.
      The aim of the present work was to study this hypothesis. A total of 65 semen
      samples were obtained from males presenting for infertility screening. The
      samples were evaluated according to WHO criteria and microbiologically
      investigated, including culturing for Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma
      urealyticum, and microscopic observation of Chlamydia trachomatis by a direct
      fluorescence assay. Determination of local antisperm antibodies was performed.
      Semen was categorized according to consistency: normal (n = 31) and high (n =
      34). No difference was recorded either in the number of positive cultures, or in
      the number of species found in each sample. The number of white blood cells and
      the percentage of antibody-bound sperm showed no difference in the groups under
      study. There was no association between seminal hyperviscosity, positivity in
      semen cultures, number of species isolated in semen cultures, leukospermia, or
      presence of sperm antibodies. Further studies should be performed considering the
      evolution of the genital-infected patients to clarify the etiology of the
      hyperviscosity.

PMID- 9973142
TI  - Semen analysis in men from Merida, Venezuela, over a 15-year period.
AB  - To determine the possible changes in semen quality of Venezuelan men from 1981 to
      1995, a retrospective analysis of semen volume and sperm concentrations was
      carried out for 2313 men from infertile couples. According to the sperm counts
      the sample was categorized in four groups: A, 0 sperm; B, <20 x 10(6) sperm/mL;
      C, 20-200 x 10(6) sperm/mL; D, 2200 x 10(6) sperm/mL. The percentage of men in
      each group was 9.1, 18.8, 63. 1, and 9.0%, respectively. The frequency of
      azoospermia and oligozoospermia (groups A and B) did not change over the last 15
      years. On the contrary, the frequency showed a significant increase in group C
      and a decrease in group D. The range of the means of semen volume was 2.6-3.6 mL,
      linear regression analysis did not show a decrease in seminal fluid volume over
      time. The range of the means of sperm concentrations were 6.2-12.0 x 10(6)
      sperm/mL, 73-100 x 10(6) sperm/mL), and 230-340 sperm x 10(6)/mL in groups B, C,
      and D, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant reduction
      in the means of sperm concentrations only in group D. Excluding the azoospermic
      group, the analysis of pooled data (B + C + D), did not show a significant change
      in the means of sperm density throughout time. In the semen samples with sperm
      counts below 200 x 10(6)/mL the means of sperm concentration did not change in
      the 15-year period of observation.

PMID- 9973143
TI  - Aggregation of human sperm at higher temperature is due to hyperactivation.
AB  - Chemotaxis of sperm cells to chemicals and hormones, such as progesterone, helps
      us to understand the concept of sperm transport. Here, the hypothesis was that
      heat increased sperm hyperactive motility, which caused the sperm to aggregate at
      the higher temperature. The objectives were (1) to determine the concentration of
      sperm at both halves of an artificial female reproductive tract made from a
      hermetically sealed cryopreservation straw filled with culture medium and placed
      with each end at different temperatures, and (2) to analyze the motility or
      kinematic parameters and hyperactivation of sperm found at the different
      temperatures. Cryopreserved-thawed human donor sperm (N = 6) were pooled and
      processed through 2-layer colloid solution. Analyses of the motile sperm were
      carried out and the washed sperm were homogeneously mixed and pipetted into
      several 0.5-mL French cryopreservation straws and heat-sealed. The control
      substance, consisting of acid-treated sperm, was also placed in several straws.
      The plastic straws of sperm were placed half at 23 degrees C and half was at
      either 37 or 40 degrees C. After 4 h, sperm at different sections of the straws
      were analyzed using the Hamilton Thorn motility analyzer (HTM-C). After 4 h of
      incubation, the concentration of sperm was doubled at the 40 degrees C heated
      half of the straw when compared with the other half of the straw at 23 degrees C.
      There were no differences in sperm concentration in the straw kept half at 37
      degrees C and half at 23 degrees C. There were significantly higher percent
      motility, mean average path velocity, straight line velocity, lateral head
      displacement, and percent hyperactivation in sperm at the 40 degrees C
      temperature. The aggregation of sperm at the higher temperature of 40 degrees C
      may be due to enhanced motility, increased sperm velocities, and a 10-fold
      increase in hyperactivation at that temperature. The 37 degrees C temperature was
      not sufficient to attract sperm. Sperm cells migrating into the higher
      temperature site of ovulation begin nonprogressive hyperactivation movement,
      which is the physiological "brake" to detain the sperm at the site of ovulation.

PMID- 9973144
TI  - Chlamydia trachomatis detected by ligase chain reaction in the semen of
      asymptomatic patients without pyospermia or pyuria.
AB  - To determine whether an absence of leukocytes in semen and urine predicts an
      absence of Chlamydia trachomatis in asymptomatic infertile men, chlamydial DNA
      was detected in subjects' semen and urine by ligase chain reaction (LCR). Ninety
      eight infertile men were studied, including 39 cases of oligozoospermia, 19 of
      azoospermia, 16 of asthenozoospermia, and 24 of normozoospermia. None of the
      subjects had pyospermia or pyuria. C. trachomatis was detected by LCR.
      Antichlamydial and antisperm antibody were also measured. C. trachomatis was
      detected by LCR in the semen of only 1 of 98 patients (1.02%), but not in the
      urine samples. In C. trachomatis-positive patients LCR, IgG, and IgA levels were
      higher than normal. No antisperm antibody was detected. Even if leukocytes are
      not observed in the semen and urine of asymptomatic infertile men, the presence
      of C. trachomatis in semen specimens is rarely observed. Therefore, it should be
      noted that the presence of C. trachomatis in such cases is addressed in the
      context of artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive technologies.

PMID- 9973146
TI  - Lumping or splitting autoimmune rheumatic disorders? Lessons from Sjogren's
      syndrome.

PMID- 9973145
TI  - Physioanatomic entirety of external anal sphincter with bulbocavernosus muscle.
AB  - Stimulation of the glans penis evokes contraction of both the bulbocavernosus
      muscles (BCM) and the external anal sphincter (EAS). This synchronous contraction
      of the two muscles led us to study their physioanatomic relationship and possible
      role in erection and ejaculation. Fifteen male cadavers were studied (8 neonatal
      deaths and 7 adults; mean age 48 years) by dissection. The bulbocavernosus reflex
      action was performed in 12 healthy male volunteers (mean age 37 years) before and
      after anesthetizing the EAS. The response of the EAS and BCM to inferior rectal
      nerve stimulation was assessed in 6 men (mean age 41 years). The superficial
      fibers of the base loop of the EAS extended forward to the penile bulb where they
      were arranged into 3 groups: 1 median and 2 lateral. The median fibers, or the
      "retractor penis muscle," were found inserted into the corpora cavernosa and the
      lateral fibers, or the "compressor bulbae muscle," into the perineal membrane.
      Upon glans penis stimulation, both the EAS and BCM contracted synchronously with
      similar latency and action potentials. During EAS anesthesia, the two muscles did
      not respond to glans penis stimulation. They contracted simultaneously with
      similar latency and action potentials upon inferior rectal nerve stimulation. The
      BCM is an integral part of the EAS, and the muscle in its entirety is
      appropriately named "anogenital muscle." The muscle plays a dual and synchronous
      role in fecal control and sexual response.

PMID- 9973147
TI  - The Heberden Oration 1997. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: from symptomatic
      relief to potential cure.

PMID- 9973148
TI  - Electron microscopy and capillaroscopically guided nailfold biopsy in connective
      tissue diseases: detection of ultrastructural changes of the microcirculatory
      vessels.
AB  - The aims of the study were to describe and compare the frequency and nature of
      histologically detectable microvascular lesions in patients with various
      connective tissue diseases (CTD). An electron microscopic examination of
      specimens obtained by the technique of capillaroscopically guided nailfold biopsy
      was performed in 52 patients with CTD [nine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),
      eight mixed CTD, 18 scleroderma, 17 undifferentiated CTD] and 27 controls. The
      microvascular changes most frequently observed by electron microscopy were
      multilayering of the basal lamina (approximately 70% of the CTD patients), an
      increased amount of perivascular connective tissue, perivascular oedema
      formation, and an increased number of perivascular fibroblasts and mast cells
      (each in 30-37% of the CTD patients). In contrast, no particular
      histopathological feature was found in > 25% of the controls, multilayering
      (22.6%) being the most frequently observed. Comparing the different conditions
      studied, there were distinct differences in the frequency and nature of the
      histologically observed microvascular changes. In particular, SLE seems to be
      based on a separable type of vasculopathy consisting of significantly less
      frequent microvascular abnormalities. In conclusion, ultrastructural
      abnormalities of the microvascular system are a frequent finding in CTD. Electron
      microscopic examination of specimens obtained by capillaroscopically guided
      nailfold biopsy is able to disclose histopathological differences between defined
      entities. Therefore, this approach may be a useful tool to gain further insights
      into potentially separable aetiopathological mechanisms of the various types of
      CTD.

PMID- 9973149
TI  - A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of moclobemide and
      amitriptyline in the treatment of fibromyalgia in females without psychiatric
      disorder.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To study the usefulness of moclobemide and amitriptyline in the
      treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) in females without psychiatric disorder. METHODS:
      In the present four centre, 12 week study, 130 female FM patients not suffering
      from psychiatric disorders were randomized to receive amitriptyline (AMI; 25 37.5
      mg), moclobemide (MOCLO; 450-600 mg) or identical placebo. RESULTS: Seventy-four,
      54 and 49 per cent of patients on AMI, MOCLO and placebo, respectively, were
      judged as responders. The patients on AMI also managed best regarding the
      respective improvements during the trial in general health, pain, sleep quality
      and quantity, and fatigue on visual analogue scales (VAS), the areas of the
      Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), as well as in the three Sheehan's functional
      disability scales. In the within-group comparisons, MOCLO also improved pain
      assessed both on VAS and on the NHP pain dimension, but the improvement was
      invalidated by the poor success of the drug with regard to sleep. The
      tolerabilities of all three drugs were comparable. CONCLUSION: The study
      indicates that MOCLO may not be helpful in FM patients free from clinically
      meaningful psychiatric problems.

PMID- 9973150
TI  - Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in primary Sjogren's syndrome: prevalence
      and clinical significance.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of cytoplasmic (c) and perinuclear (p)
      antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in patients with primary Sjogren's
      syndrome (SS), and to correlate the presence of ANCA with extraglandular and
      immunological manifestations related to SS. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study,
      we included 82 consecutive patients (75 female and seven male; mean age 61 yr;
      range 33-87 yr) attending our unit. All patients fulfilled four or more of the
      diagnostic criteria for SS proposed by the European Community Study Group in
      1993. Extraglandular manifestations such as arthralgia and/or arthritis,
      Raynaud's phenomenon, autoimmune thyroiditis, peripheral neuropathy, renal
      involvement and cutaneous vasculitis were also recorded. Serum samples were
      examined by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and by ELISA using as substrates
      myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3). RESULTS: ANCA were detected in nine
      (11%) patients: seven had pANCA and two an atypical pattern. These two atypical
      ANCA became cANCA when paraformaldehyde fixation was applied. ELISA findings
      showed that two patients had antibodies against MPO, and no patient had
      antibodies to PR3. The most common extraglandular manifestations in the ANCA
      positive patients were articular involvement in six (66%) patients, peripheral
      neuropathy in five (55%), Raynaud's phenomenon in four (44%) and cutaneous
      vasculitis in four (44%). Of the four patients with cutaneous vasculitis and
      ANCA, two had a mononuclear inflammatory vascular disease (MIVD) in the biopsy
      specimen. When compared with patients without ANCA, those with these antibodies
      had a higher prevalence of cutaneous vasculitis (44% vs 8%, P = 0.01), Raynaud's
      phenomenon (44% vs 8%, P = 0.01) and peripheral neuropathy (55% vs 7%, P <
      0.001). CONCLUSION: ANCA positivity can be found in patients with primary SS and
      its detection is associated with the presence of clinical manifestations
      attributable to vascular involvement (cutaneous vasculitis, peripheral neuropathy
      and Raynaud's phenomenon).

PMID- 9973152
TI  - The relevance of large-vessel vascular disease and restricted ankle movement to
      the aetiology of leg ulceration in rheumatoid arthritis.
AB  - Leg ulceration in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without systemic vasculitis is a
      difficult clinical problem and a common cause of morbidity. We have assessed
      venous function, arterial pressures and range of ankle movement in 23 RA patients
      with a leg ulcer and compared the results with those in the non-ulcerated
      contralateral limb and in 25 RA patients matched for age and duration of
      arthritis. We found evidence of venous insufficiency in RA ulcer patients
      compared to disease controls. Ankle movement was more restricted in the ulcerated
      limb compared to the non-ulcerated contralateral leg. There was no difference in
      large-vessel arterial function between groups. These findings have implications
      for therapy and rates of healing.

PMID- 9973151
TI  - GB virus C in systemic medium- and small-vessel necrotizing vasculitides.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Vasculitides are diseases of unknown origin in the majority of cases,
      but sometimes are the consequence of viral infections; for instance, hepatitis B
      virus (HBV)-related polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) or hepatitis C virus (HCV)
      associated cryoglobulinaemia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of hepatitis G
      or GB virus C (GBV-C) in various forms of medium- and small-vessel vasculitides.
      DESIGN: Retrospective analyses of sera. SETTING: Tertiary care hospital in
      Bobigny, France. PATIENTS: Fifty-six vasculitides: 19 HBV-PAN, 10 PAN without HBV
      infection, 11 microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), seven Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS)
      and nine Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). Every sample was collected before
      treatment. MEASUREMENTS: GBV-C RNA was detected using a reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction assay with primers derived from the conserved GBV-C
      helicase and NS5a regions. RESULTS: GBV-C was detected in five of the 56 samples
      (8.9%): four patients with HBV-related PAN and one with MPA; three of these
      patients (two with HBV-PAN, one with MPA) had been transfused and two HBV-PAN
      were i.v. drug addicts. GBV-C was not found in CSS or in WG. CONCLUSION: GBV-C
      infection was observed only in patients who had been transfused or who were
      addicts. This virus is unlikely to have a primary role in vasculitides.

PMID- 9973153
TI  - IgA class serum antibodies against three different Klebsiella serotypes in
      ankylosing spondylitis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible predominance of certain Klebsiella
      pneumoniae capsular types in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
      METHODS: The prevalence of IgA class antibodies against three different K.
      pneumoniae strains (with capsular types 21, 30 and 43) was studied in the sera of
      177 patients with AS and of 100 healthy blood donors using an enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The median Klebsiella-specific antibody levels were
      always higher in patients than in controls regardless of the serotype used as
      antigen. When the prevalence of increased antibody levels was compared between
      the groups, it was highest against the strain with capsular type 30, whereas
      against strains 21 and 43 it was similar among patients and controls.
      CONCLUSIONS: A broad range of Klebsiella serotypes may be involved in the
      pathogenesis of AS. Thus, it is important to take the different Klebsiella
      serotypes into particular account in these studies.

PMID- 9973154
TI  - Serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are markedly elevated
      in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Necrotizing vasculitis and granuloma formation are the predominant
      features of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). We have investigated the importance of
      vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in monitoring disease activity in WG.
      METHODS: Serum VEGF levels were determined in 23 patients with active WG, 21
      healthy controls and 25 patients with urinary infection, by ELISA using
      commercially available antibodies to VEGF. RESULTS: VEGF levels were enormously
      elevated in patients with WG compared to both controls and patients with urinary
      infection (P < 0.0001). Of the 23 patients, 21 (91.3%) had VEGF levels above the
      cut-off value (3.3 ng/ml, calculated as the mean of the controls + 2 S.D.).
      Further analysis of the data showed that VEGF levels did not correlate with age,
      sex, incidence of classic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (c-ANCA) or
      duration of the disease (P > 0.05), but there was correlation with disease
      activity (r = 0.51, P < 0.01). VEGF levels were higher in patients with major
      compared to those with minor disease activity (P < 0.01). However, there was no
      significant correlation between VEGF levels and the Birmingham scores for
      vascular activity and damage. CONCLUSION: VEGF levels are raised in WG patients
      compared to normal controls and may be a marker of disease activity. Further
      studies on serial blood samples from a large cohort of patients with WG and other
      systemic vasculitides are needed to evaluate the specificity and usefulness of
      VEGF levels in monitoring disease activity.

PMID- 9973155
TI  - A new antibody in rheumatoid arthritis targeting glycated IgG: IgM anti-IgG-AGE.
AB  - Hyperglycaemia and/or oxidative stress can cause IgG to be modified by advanced
      glycation end products (AGE). Three patients with aggressive rheumatoid arthritis
      (RA) and vasculitis are described who have high titres of IgM antibodies against
      AGE-modified IgG (IgM anti-IgG-AGE). Diabetics and randomly selected patients
      with rheumatic diseases, including 50 additional RA patients, were tested for IgM
      and IgA anti-IgG-AGE by ELISA. AGE-modified proteins were detected using the
      nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) colorimetric method. The presence of Nepsilon
      (carboxymethyl) lysine, an AGE modification, was detected on IgG-AGE by
      immunoblotting. A total of 20/41 (49%) rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive RA
      patients tested had IgM anti-IgG-AGE antibodies, 4/12 (33%) RF-positive systemic
      lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, 3/5 RF-positive patients with primary
      Sjogren's syndrome (SS), and 3/5 RF-positive diabetics. All patients with RF
      negative RA, SLE, SS, osteoarthritis (24), spondyloarthritis (15), adult-onset
      Still's disease (8), diabetes (25) and healthy controls (20) were anti-IgG-AGE
      negative. RF and IgM anti-IgG-AGE appeared to be a linked response. The IgM anti
      IgG-AGE, along with IgG-AGE, may contribute to the pathogenesis of RA.

PMID- 9973156
TI  - Long-term outcomes of an arthritis self-management programme.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: A previous UK evaluation of the Arthritis Self-Management Programme
      (ASMP) demonstrated 4 month improvements in physical and psychological well-being
      including increased arthritis self-efficacy and increased use of self-management
      behaviours such as cognitive symptom management, and reductions in pain, fatigue
      and anxiety. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these effects
      were maintained at 12 month follow-up. METHODS: Twelve month data were collected
      via self-administered questionnaires mailed to participants who had previously
      responded prior to attending the ASMP and at 4 months follow-up. RESULTS: The
      sample (n = 112) comprised 82% women with a mean age of 59.6 (S.D. 12.4) yr and a
      mean disease duration of 14.9 (S.D. 11.1) yr. The majority of participants had a
      general practitioner-recorded diagnosis of either rheumatoid arthritis (46%) or
      osteoarthritis (44%). Many of the changes noted at 4 months were sustained at the
      12 month follow-up. CONCLUSION: This first long-term evaluation of a community
      based patient education intervention delivered in the UK suggests that after
      participation in the ASMP, persons with arthritis derive substantial and
      prolonged benefits in terms of perceived ability to manage arthritis, reduction
      in pain and improved psychological well-being.

PMID- 9973157
TI  - A study of the frequency of pericardial and pleural effusions in scleroderma.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of pericardial and pleural effusions in
      scleroderma. METHODS: Using a case-control format, patients with scleroderma and
      no known cardiac disease were recruited. Echocardiograms and chest radiographs
      were performed. Age- and gender-matched controls had echocardiograms performed
      which were read by a cardiologist, blinded to the diagnosis. The medical records
      of 60 other scleroderma patients were also reviewed. RESULTS: Thirty-seven
      scleroderma subjects were recruited, of whom 18 had diffuse disease. Only eight
      subjects with diffuse disease and five with limited scleroderma had normal
      echocardiograms compared to 20 of 37 controls (P < 0.1). Two had pericardial
      effusions, both with diffuse scleroderma, and none of the controls had effusions
      present. Pulmonary hypertension occurred in three with diffuse disease and no
      controls. A chart review of a further 60 patients with scleroderma was performed.
      Pleural effusions were identified in 7% (4/58) of the cohort of scleroderma
      patients and were more frequent in diffuse disease (10%). A total of 17% (4/23)
      of diffuse and 4% (1/23) of limited scleroderma patients had evidence of
      pericardial effusions. CONCLUSIONS: Pericardial effusions do occur in scleroderma
      without evidence of clinical cardiac dysfunction and are more common in diffuse
      scleroderma. Pleural effusions in scleroderma occur less frequently, in 70%.

PMID- 9973158
TI  - Clinical course and remission rate in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis:
      relationship to outcome after 5 years.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical course in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
      patients followed prospectively, to relate course to outcome after 5 yr, and to
      try to identify prognostic features. METHODS: A total of 183 patients with
      definite RA and a mean disease duration of 11 months were included. Of these, 75%
      were rheumatoid factor (RF) positive; 85% carried the shared epitope, 32% on both
      alleles. Most patients were assessed every 6 months. Disability was evaluated
      with the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and radiographic findings
      according to Larsen. Remission was defined in two ways: with the American
      Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria and as 'no arthritis at least at one follow
      up visit'. RESULTS: Twenty per cent achieved ARA-defined remission periods of at
      least 6 months duration; 21 were spontaneous and 18 drug induced. Average length
      of remission was 20.5 months. The remission periods constituted 7% of follow-up
      for all patients. Another 36% achieved remission according to the second
      definition. All 56% were considered to have a relapsing-remitting disease
      pattern, in contrast to the remaining 44% with a persistent disease pattern. More
      patients with persistent disease were treated with disease-modifying anti
      rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and had also received a larger number of different
      drugs. Outcome after 5 yr regarding disability, joint inflammation and joint
      damage was worse for patients with persistent disease. Neither ARA-defined
      remission nor disease pattern could be accurately predicted. CONCLUSIONS: Long
      term ARA-defined remission was rare, constituting 7% of follow-up for the entire
      cohort. For those 20% achieving remission, this period represented 34% of their
      follow-up. A total of 56% had a relapsing-remitting disease pattern and 44% had a
      persistent disease pattern. This classification had prognostic implications with
      persistency being a bad prognostic sign.

PMID- 9973159
TI  - Antibodies to Klebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide in patients with
      ankylosing spondylitis.
AB  - The role of microbial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the aetiopathogenesis of
      ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a matter of continuing debate. In this study,
      class-specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against Klebsiella pneumoniae,
      Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis LPS were
      measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 100 AS patients, 50
      rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 50 healthy control subjects. The AS
      patients had significantly elevated levels of IgG and IgA antibodies against K.
      pneumoniae LPS (P < 0.001) and IgA antibodies against E. coli LPS (P < 0.05)
      compared to healthy controls. There were no significant elevations of antibody
      levels against S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis in the three study groups. In
      addition, there was a correlation between IgG and IgA anti-K. pneumoniae LPS
      antibody levels and the acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (P < 0.001).

PMID- 9973160
TI  - Circulating interleukin-16 in systemic lupus erythematosus.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between interleukin (IL)-16 and
      systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Serum levels of IL-16 were examined
      in SLE patients using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The
      serum level of IL-16 in the patients was much higher than that in healthy
      volunteers (P < 0.001). An increase in IL-16 was observed in proportion to the
      activity of SLE assessed by the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score (P <
      0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our observations suggest an interaction between disease
      activity and the production of IL-16 in SLE, and reveal that IL-16 is a useful
      indicator of disease activity. This is the first report describing the
      relationship between IL-16 and SLE.

PMID- 9973161
TI  - Benefit of 6 months long-term physical training in polymyositis/dermatomyositis
      patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The benefit of long-term physical training in patients with chronic
      polymyositis or dermatomyositis (PM/DM) was studied prospectively. METHODS: Eight
      patients with chronic PM/DM participated in a training programme for 6 months. A
      group of five PM/DM patients without any physical training was observed for
      control purposes. RESULTS: While there was no significant change in serum
      creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, the 'activities of daily living (ADL)' score
      improved significantly (P < 0.03), peak isometric torque (PIT) generated by
      muscle groups in the lower extremities rose significantly (P < 0.03) and there
      was a statistically highly significant increase in peak oxygen uptake (VO2max)
      relative to body weight (P < 0.02) due to the long-term training. The patients
      improved their aerobic capacity by 28%, which is clinically significant. In the
      untrained patients, no improvement in these target parameters was observed.
      CONCLUSION: In clinically stable DM/PM patients, long-term physical training can
      safely be performed and is recommended as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation
      management, particularly in view of the cardiopulmonary risk in these patients.

PMID- 9973162
TI  - Post-streptococcal reactive myalgia: a novel syndrome secondary to infection with
      group A or G streptococci.

PMID- 9973163
TI  - Hypothyroid myopathy as a complication of interferon alpha therapy for chronic
      hepatitis C virus infection.
AB  - Interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy is associated with a number of immunological
      side-effects, including autoimmune diseases and a 10% prevalence of thyroiditis.
      Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection itself predisposes to autoimmune phenomena
      including hypothyroidism and myositis. The development of clinical hypothyroidism
      in the presence of positive thyroid antibodies in patients infected with HCV and
      treated with IFN-alpha suggests a possible association between the viral disease
      and the therapy. HCV infection may predispose to autoimmune thyroid disease and
      IFN-alpha therapy may secondarily lead to the development of thyroid
      dysfunctions. We report the single case of a female patient who developed a
      severe proximal myopathy in conjunction with primary hypothyroidism (Hoffmann's
      syndrome) secondarily to IFN-alpha therapy for HCV infection. This case
      highlights the need for careful clinical and biological monitoring for potential
      side-effects in such patients.

PMID- 9973164
TI  - Digital gangrene and anticentromere antibodies without scleroderma.

PMID- 9973165
TI  - Sternum tumour revealing a chronic myeloid leukaemia.

PMID- 9973166
TI  - Unusual occurrence of acute low back pain in a patient with ruptured urachal
      cyst.

PMID- 9973167
TI  - Cerebral calcification in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and a
      monoclonal IgG reactive with glial fibrillary acidic protein.

PMID- 9973168
TI  - Haemophagocytic syndrome in a patient with dermatomyositis.

PMID- 9973169
TI  - Successful treatment with antithymocyte globulin and cyclosporin A of a severe
      aplastic anaemia associated with an eosinophilic fasciitis.

PMID- 9973170
TI  - Aortitis in relapsing polychondritis.

PMID- 9973171
TI  - Infection with an unenveloped DNA virus (TTV) associated with non-A to G
      hepatitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID- 9973172
TI  - Outcome in systemic vasculitis.

PMID- 9973173
TI  - Sensorineural hearing loss, iritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

PMID- 9973174
TI  - Effector pathways regulating T cell activation.
AB  - Activation of T lymphocytes is a key event for an efficient response of the
      immune system. It requires the involvement of the T cell receptor antigen as well
      as costimulatory molecules such as CD28. Engagement of these receptors through
      the interaction with a foreign antigen associated with major histocompatibility
      complex molecules and CD28 counter-receptors B7.1/B7.2, respectively, results in
      a series of signaling cascades acting in synergy and which culminate in
      activation of interleukin-2 gene transcription and eventually cell proliferation.
      Many studies aimed at characterizing these specific effector pathways have been
      published; however, the actual signaling molecules that transduce activation
      signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus and that directly regulate
      interleukin-2 gene transcription are not yet completely defined and remain a
      matter of debate. In this commentary, we have attempted to analyze the results,
      which are sometimes diverging if not totally contradictory, characterizing
      effector pathways that possibly are triggered during T cell activation.

PMID- 9973175
TI  - A necessary role for cell shrinkage in apoptosis.
AB  - The loss of cell volume is a fundamental and universal characteristic of
      programmed cell death. However, what was once thought to be a passive, secondary
      feature of the cell death process has now become an area of research interest.
      Recent studies have integrated cell volume regulation and the movement of ions
      with the activation of apoptosis. A dramatic reduction of potassium and sodium
      concentration has been shown to occur in apoptotic cells that exhibit a shrunken
      morphology. Furthermore, maintaining the normal physiological intracellular
      concentration of monovalent ions, particularly potassium, inhibits the activation
      and activity of the death cascades. Thus, the role ions play during apoptosis is
      more extensive than just facilitation of the loss of cell volume. In this
      article, we will review the concepts of cell volume regulation and the loss of
      volume during apoptosis. Additionally, we will underscore our current
      understanding of ion movement as it relates to the activation of the cell death
      process.

PMID- 9973176
TI  - Interaction between glucocorticoids and beta2-agonists: alpha and beta
      glucocorticoid-receptor mRNA expression in human bronchial epithelial cells.
AB  - Recent studies have suggested that regular use of beta2-agonists has adverse
      effects on asthma control, due to the cross-talk between cAMP responsive element
      binding proteins (CREB) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR). The aim of this study
      was to investigate the interaction between GR and CREB on cytoplasmic protein
      level with a gel mobility shift assay and to determine the effect of this
      interaction on mRNA levels by Northern blot analysis. After exposing human
      bronchial epithelial cells for 1 hr to either 1 microM terbutaline or budesonide,
      more binding of CREB and GR, respectively, was observed to their responsive
      elements in DNA. Simultaneous exposure to terbutaline and budesonide also
      increased the binding of CREB and GR to DNA. After 4 hr, both alpha and beta GR
      mRNAs were down-regulated by 1 microM budesonide. Simultaneous addition of 1
      microM terbutaline prevented this down-regulation. Adding 100 times more
      budesonide compared to terbutaline again down-regulated both GR forms, although
      significantly less compared to the down-regulation induced by 1 microM budesonide
      alone. Addition of terbutaline to cells already exposed to budesonide did not
      reverse the GR mRNA expression within 44 hr. Similar results were obtained with
      metallothionein-2 (MT2) mRNA levels. In conclusion, beta2-agonists interfere with
      the GR function in human bronchial epithelial cells when given simultaneously,
      with this being overcome by sequential exposure of the cells to first
      glucocorticoids and later beta2-agonists.

PMID- 9973177
TI  - Early modulation of genes encoding peroxisomal and mitochondrial beta-oxidation
      enzymes by 3-thia fatty acids.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of a single dose of 3
      thia fatty acids (tetradecylthioacetic acid and 3-thiadicarboxylic acid) over a
      24-hr study period on the expression of genes related to peroxisomal and
      mitochondrial beta-oxidation in liver of rats. The plasma triglyceride level
      decreased at 2-4 hr, 4-8 hr, and 8-24 hr, respectively, after a single dose of
      150, 300, or 500 mg of 3-thia fatty acids/kg body weight. Four to eight hours
      after administration of 3-thia fatty acids, a several-fold-induced gene
      expression of peroxisomal multifunctional protein, fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (EC
      1.3.3.6), fatty acid binding protein, and 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase (EC 1.3.1.43)
      resulted, concomitant with increased activity of 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase and
      fatty acyl-CoA oxidase. The expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I and
      carnitine palmitoyltransferase-II increased at 2 and 4 hr, respectively, although
      at a smaller scale. In cultured hepatocytes, 3-thia fatty acids stimulated fatty
      acid oxidation after 4 hr, and this was both L-carnitine- and L-aminocarnitine
      sensitive. The hepatic content of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid
      decreased throughout the study period. In contrast, the hepatic content of oleic
      acid tended to increase after 24 hr and was significantly increased after
      repeated administration of 3-thia fatty acids. Similarly, the expression of
      delta9-desaturase was unchanged during the 24-hr study, but increased after
      feeding for 5 days. To conclude, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I expression
      seemed to be induced earlier than 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase and fatty acid
      binding protein, and not later than the peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase. The
      expression of delta9-desaturase showed a more delayed response.

PMID- 9973178
TI  - Biochemical characterization of HIV-1 reverse transcriptases encoding mutations
      at amino acid residues 161 and 208 involved in resistance to phosphonoformate.
AB  - Mutations at amino acid residues 161 (Q161L) and 208 (H208Y) of the reverse
      transcriptase (RT) have been identified in HIV-1 variants which are resistant to
      phosphonoformate (PFA). In the present study, we report on the biochemical
      properties of recombinant RTs (rRTs) carrying either one or both of the above
      mutations. We also report on their susceptibility to PFA and to nucleoside (NRTI)
      and non-nucleoside (NNRTI) RT inhibitors. Like the wild-type (wt) enzyme, mutant
      rRTs H208Y and Q161L/H208Y showed a preference for Mg2+ over Mn2+, whereas the
      Q161L rRT preferred Mn2+. The three mutant rRTs showed degrees of PFA resistance
      which differed according to the template-primer used, and steady-state kinetic
      studies revealed an inverse correlation between their degree of PFA resistance,
      affinity for deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) and catalytic efficiency
      (kcat/Km ratio). These results indicated that HIV-1 rRTs bearing mutations at
      codons 161 and/or 208 had altered dNTP binding sites which led to a PFA-resistant
      phenotype. However, unlike the corresponding mutant viruses, which are
      hypersensitive to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT), 11-cyclopropyl-5,-11-dihydro
      4-methyl-6H-dipyridol[3,2-b:2',3',-e] diazepin-6-one (Nevirapine) and (+)-(5S)
      4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-5-methyl-6-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-imidazo[4,5, 1
      jk][1,4]benzodiazepin-2(1H)-thione. (TIBO R82150), the mutant RTs Q161L and
      Q161L/H208Y were resistant to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine triphosphate (AZTTP) and
      as susceptible as the wt enzyme to Nevirapine and TIBO R82150. Overall, these
      results suggest that codons 161 and 208 of the HIV-1 RT gene are involved in
      substrate binding as well as in NRTI recognition, and provide more insights into
      the mechanism by which HIV-1 becomes resistant to PFA.

PMID- 9973179
TI  - The metabolism of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid-containing xenobiotic triacylglycerols in
      vitro by pancreatic, hormone-sensitive and lipoprotein lipases.
AB  - Two model substrates, rac-1-(3-phenoxy-[ring-14C]benzoyl)-2,3-dipalmitoyl
      glycerol (1(3PBA)DPG) and sn-2-(3-phenoxy-[ring-14C]benzoyl)-1,3-dipalmitoyl
      glycerol (2(3PBA)DPG), were compared with tri[1-14C]palmitoylglycerol or
      tri[9,10(n)-3H]oleoylglycerol as substrates for pancreatic lipase, lipoprotein
      lipase, and hormone-sensitive lipase. The loss of 3PBA from the sn-2 position was
      always low because of the positional specificity of the lipases. The loss of 3PBA
      from the rac-1 position was similarly low with hormone-sensitive lipase (about 7%
      of the loss of oleate), but higher with pancreatic lipase (about 35% that of
      oleate) and lipoprotein lipase (about 23% that of oleate). With one exception,
      more than 50% and up to 80% of the 14C-3PBA was still in the form of a
      diacylglycerol after incubation with a lipase, whereas free acid or
      monoacylglycerol forms would have been expected. Lipoprotein lipase acting on 1
      (14C-3PBA)DPG produced nearly 70% of its product as nonesterified 3PBA and only
      25% as the diacylglycerol. The results suggest that 3PBA-containing xenobiotic
      triacylglycerols, and the 3PBA-glycerol ester bond in particular, are poorer
      substrates for lipases than are their natural counterparts, with the result that
      high proportions of partially digested xenobiotic acylglycerols are produced. The
      three lipases performed differently with the xenobiotic substrates; this could
      have consequences for the relative rates of storage and clearance of the
      xenobiotic triacylglycerols from the body.

PMID- 9973180
TI  - The metabolism of the xenobiotic triacylglycerols, rac-1- and sn-2- (3
      phenoxybenzoyl)-dipalmitoylglycerol, following intravenous administration to the
      rat.
AB  - The metabolism of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3PBA) in the form of triacylglycerol
      conjugates was compared with that of non-esterified 3PBA. Three radiolabeled
      triacylglycerols (rac-1-(3-phenoxy-[ring-14C]-benzoyl)-2,3-dipalmitoylglycerol
      (1(3PBA)DPG), sn-2-(3-phenoxy-[ring-14C]benzoyl)-1,3-dipalmitoylglycerol
      (2(3PBA)DPG) and the "natural" tri-[1-14C]oleoylglycerol) were incorporated into
      rat VLDL. Nonesterified 3PBA was prepared in rat serum albumin solution. Each
      preparation was administered i.v. to rats and serial blood samples were taken
      during the subsequent 6 hr. Urine and faeces were collected and tissue residues
      determined at 6 hr and 48 hr after administration. Biphasic elimination of 3PBA
      was observed with half-lives of 18 min and 2 hr. The triacylglycerols showed a
      rapid first phase and a longer second phase half-life: trioleoylglycerol 26 hr,
      1(3PBA)DPG 7.6 hr and 2(3PBA)DPG 17.3 hr. The majority (63-76%) of 3PBA (whether
      esterified or not) was eliminated within 24 hr in urine, which contained similar
      profiles of metabolites. The triacylglycerols gave rise to higher tissue residues
      than did non-esterified 3PBA, particularly in adipose tissue which alone was not
      significantly depleted of radioactivity between 6 and 48 hr. The results accord
      with the rapid association of the VLDL-(3PBA)DPG complexes with lipoprotein
      lipase of the capillary epithelium, followed by hydrolysis to 3PBA, metabolism
      and elimination but with a proportion being redistributed into adipose tissue, re
      esterified and then eliminated relatively slowly.

PMID- 9973181
TI  - Effect of curcumin on the advanced glycation and cross-linking of collagen in
      diabetic rats.
AB  - A close association between increased oxidative stress and hyperglycemia has been
      postulated to contribute significantly to the accelerated accumulation of
      advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the cross-linking of collagen in
      diabetes mellitus. In the present work, we report the influence of curcumin, an
      efficient antioxidant, on the level of AGEs and the cross-linking of collagen in
      diabetic rats. Diabetic rats were given curcumin (200 mg/kg body wt) orally for a
      duration of 8 weeks. The antioxidant status in serum and the level of AGEs, cross
      linking and browning of collagen in tail tendons and skin were investigated. The
      oxidative stress observed in diabetic rats was reduced significantly by curcumin
      administration. Nonenzymic antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and
      glutathione were maintained at near normal values in curcumin-treated diabetic
      animals. Similarly, the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products in diabetic
      serum was reduced significantly by curcumin. Accelerated accumulation of AGE
      collagen in diabetic animals, as detected by ELISA, was prevented by curcumin.
      Extensive cross-linking of collagen in the tail tendon and skin of diabetic
      animals was also prevented to a greater extent by curcumin treatment. A
      correlation between the level of AGEs and collagen cross-linking was noted,
      suggesting the involvement of advanced glycation in cross-linking. It was also
      noted that the preventive effect of curcumin on the advanced glycation and cross
      linking of collagen was more pronounced than its therapeutic effect. However, the
      Maillard reaction fluorescence in both tail and skin collagen remained unaltered
      by curcumin. This study confirms the significance of free radicals in the
      accumulation of AGEs and cross-linking of collagen in diabetes. It supports
      curcumin administration for the prevention of AGE-induced complications of
      diabetes mellitus.

PMID- 9973182
TI  - Effect of flupirtine on cell death of human umbilical vein endothelial cells
      induced by reactive oxygen species.
AB  - Flupirtine (KATADOLON), known as a nonopiate centrally acting analgesic drug, was
      tested as to its potential to prevent apoptosis of human endothelial cells
      induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). It was found that Flupirtine displayed
      no effect on viability and cell proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial
      cells (HUVEC) up to a concentration of 10 microg/mL. Apoptosis, induced by ROS
      and generated by hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase (EC 1.1.3.22) (HX/XOD) or t-butyl
      hydroperoxide, was reduced after preincubation with Flupirtine for 3 hr by 35%
      and 41%, respectively. The maximal cytoprotective effect against apoptosis was
      observed at a drug concentration of 1 to 3 microg/mL. Flow cytometric studies
      revealed that Flupirtine was able to decrease the number of necrotic cells as
      well as of apoptotic cells. Neither the simultaneous administration of Flupirtine
      with the apoptosis-inducing agent nor the preincubation of HUVEC with Flupirtine
      influenced the increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i caused by
      the production of ROS.

PMID- 9973183
TI  - Processing of adenosine receptor agonists in rat and human whole blood.
AB  - A stability study of adenosine receptor agonists in rat and human whole blood was
      performed. The compounds were incubated at 37 degrees in fresh blood, and
      aliquots of the incubation mixture were hemolyzed at regular time intervals and
      analyzed with HPLC. N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) and N6-cyclobutyladenosine
      (CBA) were degraded, whereas N6-cyclohexyladenosine, N6-cycloheptyladenosine and
      N6-sulfophenyladenosine were not. 2-Chloroadenosine had a half-life very similar
      to that of CPA. However, the 2'-, 3'-, and 5'-deoxyribose derivatives of CPA
      remained intact. The nucleoside transport inhibitor nitrobenzylthioinosine
      attenuated CBA and CPA metabolism in rat blood as did the inhibitor of adenosine
      deaminase erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine, albeit at relatively high
      concentrations. Complete blockade of CBA and CPA degradation was achieved by a
      preincubation of rat and human blood with the adenosine kinase (AK) inhibitor 5'
      amino-5'-deoxyadenosine. We conclude that the two adenosine analogues are
      metabolized by AK both in rat and in human whole blood.

PMID- 9973184
TI  - Mitochondrial effects of L-ropivacaine, a new local anesthetic.
AB  - The effects of the local anesthetics ropivacaine and bupivacaine were
      investigated on isolated rat liver mitochondria. The efficiency of oxidative
      phosphorylation was evaluated by measuring the rates of respiration and ATP
      synthesis and the magnitude of the transmembrane electrical potential (deltapsi).
      Bupivacaine did not alter the ADP-stimulated respiration but strongly affected
      the resting respiration, which was more than doubled at 0.6 mM. In addition, it
      decreased the transmembrane electrical potential, and the ATP synthesis rate
      (deltapsi was less than 100 mV at 0.6 mM). Ropivacaine did not alter the ADP
      stimulated respiration, and the resting respiration seemed to be substantially
      unaffected up to 1.2 mM; a slight increase was observed at 1.8 and 2.4 mM. The
      transmembrane potential was decreased by anesthetic concentrations higher than
      1.2 mM and ATP synthesis was consequently affected. The findings suggest that
      ropivacaine is less toxic than bupivacaine, in rat liver mitochondria.

PMID- 9973185
TI  - Incorporation of exogenous precursors into neutral lipids and phospholipids in
      rat hepatocytes: effect of ethanol in vitro.
AB  - We studied the incorporation of different radioactively labeled exogenous
      substrates into the lipids of rat hepatocytes previously incubated with ethanol.
      Glycerol, oleate, and serine were all incorporated into neutral lipids to a
      significantly greater degree in the presence of ethanol, the increase in
      radioactivity in the triacylglycerol fraction being quite substantial. A similar
      ethanol-induced increase was found in the incorporation of these substrates into
      the various phospholipids. This lipogenic activity did not occur when the
      metabolism of ethanol was blocked by 4-methylpyrazole, an inhibitor of hepatic
      ADH (alcohol:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.1) activity, thus demonstrating that
      one of the initial effects of ethanol on lipid biosynthesis was mediated by some
      products of its metabolism in the liver. The only alteration that persisted in
      the presence of 4-methylpyrazole was an inhibitory effect on the esterification
      of free cholesterol from oleate, suggesting that ethanol specifically inhibits
      hepatic ACAT (acyl CoA:cholesterol O-acyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.26) activity.

PMID- 9973186
TI  - Neuroprotective activities of carvedilol and a hydroxylated derivative: role of
      membrane biophysical interactions.
AB  - Carvedilol is a vasodilating beta-blocker and antioxidant approved for treatment
      of mild to moderate hypertension, angina, and congestive heart failure. SB 211475
      (4-[2-hydroxyl-3-[[2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)ethyl]amino]propoxyl]-9H-++ +carbazol-3
      ol), a hydroxylated carvedilol analogue, is an even more potent antioxidant in
      several assay systems. Carvedilol also has neuroprotective capacity with
      modulatory actions at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and Na+ channels. In
      the present study, we demonstrated that in cultured rat cerebellar neurons, SB
      211475 has 28-fold greater antioxidant activity than carvedilol, but is 2- to 6
      fold less potent, respectively, at inhibiting neurotoxic activities at Na+
      channels and at NMDA receptor channels. To determine a biophysical rationale for
      these differential activities, small angle x-ray scattering data were obtained
      from model lipid and brain membrane bilayers containing either carvedilol, SB
      211475, or dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers. Electron density profiles
      revealed that the location of SB 211475 was restricted to the glycerol
      backbone/hydrocarbon interface and significantly reduced membrane width by 5%,
      whereas the time-averaged location for carvedilol and flunarizine also extended
      to the hydrated surface of the bilayer. Comparison of carvedilol with several
      dihydropyridines showed a correlation between high ClogP values (lipophilicity),
      Na+ channel inhibitory potency, and bilayer localization. The antioxidant
      activity of SB 211475 could be explained by restricted intercalation into the
      glycerol phosphate/hydrocarbon interface, creating an increase in volume
      associated with the phospholipid acyl chains, which would then become resistant
      to lipid peroxidation. Differential channel modulation may also be explained by
      these membrane structural results, which indicate that carvedilol and the less
      spatially restricted dihydropyridine molecules are more likely to inhibit
      transmembrane receptor channels.

PMID- 9973187
TI  - Methoxyresorufin: an inappropriate substrate for CYP1A2 in the mouse.
AB  - Hepatic microsomes derived from Cypla2(-/-) knockout (KO) and parental strains of
      mice, C57BL/6N and 129Sv, were used to examine the specificity of
      methoxyresorufin and acetanilide as substrates for CYP1A2 activity. In addition,
      animals from each group were exposed to CYP1-inducing compounds. As expected,
      microsomes from untreated 1a2 KO mice did not have immunodetectable CYP1A2
      protein; however, methoxyresorufin-O-demethylase (MROD, 25.5+/-6.1 pmol/min/mg
      protein) and acetanilide-4-hydroxylation (ACOH, 0.64+/-0.04 nmol/min/mg protein)
      activities were still present. Furthermore, induction of ethoxyresorufin-O
      deethylase (EROD) by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in 1a2 KO mice
      was accompanied by a greater than 70-fold increase in MROD activity. In contrast,
      ACOH was only induced 2-fold by TCDD. As with 1a2 KO mice, the parental strains
      exposed to TCDD or 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (4-PeCDF) showed substantial
      EROD and MROD induction, whereas ACOH activity was induced to a lesser degree.
      PCB153 (2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl) resulted in low levels of both EROD
      and MROD induction. Results indicate that both substrates are subject to
      metabolism by non-CYP1A2 sources, and the apparent contribution of CYP1A1
      activity to methoxyresorufin metabolism makes MROD unsuitable for differentiating
      CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 activities in the mouse.

PMID- 9973188
TI  - Effects of antirheumatic drugs on adhesiveness of endothelial cells and
      neutrophils.
AB  - Because disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs might exert part of their effects
      on adhesion of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to endothelial cells, this
      being the first step for PMN migration to inflammatory lesions, we evaluated such
      drug effects in vitro. Gold sodium thiomalate (GSTM) impaired the ability of
      interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells
      (HUVEC) to express E-selectin and to bind PMN but had no effect on the expression
      of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) or on hyperadhesivity of N-formyl
      methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)-stimulated PMN. Auranofin (AF) interacted
      with HUVEC and PMN adhesiveness but in opposite directions: this drug hampered IL
      1beta-induced HUVEC hyperadhesiveness and expression of E-selectin and
      intercellular adhesion molecule 1, but augmented PMN adherence and CD18
      expression. The net effect of auranofin was a reduction of cytokine-driven
      adhesiveness and enhancement of formylpeptide-induced adhesion. Salazopyrin did
      not affect HUVEC or PMN adhesiveness or E-selectin and intercellular adhesion
      molecule 1 expression. Thus, the gold-containing drugs modulated HUVEC and PMN
      adhesiveness by different mechanisms but ones involving surface adhesion
      molecules.

PMID- 9973189
TI  - Carboxymethyl benzylamide dextran blocks angiogenesis of MDA-MB435 breast
      carcinoma xenografted in fat pad and its lung metastases in nude mice.
AB  - We previously showed that carboxymethyl benzylamide dextran (CMDB7) prevents
      tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis by binding to angiogenic growth factors,
      thereby preventing them from reaching their receptors on tumor or stromal cells
      (Bagheri-Yarmand et al. Br. J. Cancer, 78: 111-118, 1998; Bagheri-Yarmand et al.
      Cell Growth Differ., 9: 497-504, 1998). In this study, CMDB7 inhibited neovessel
      formation within the fibroblast growth factor 2-enriched matrigel in mice, and
      its anticancer effect was then tested in a metastatic breast cancer model. Human
      MDA-MB435 cells were injected into the mammary fat pad of nude mice, and breast
      tumors developed within 1 week; all of the mice had lung metastases at 12 weeks.
      CMDB7 treatment (50, 150, or 300 s.c. or 300 i.v. mg/kg/week for 10 weeks)
      reduced the incidence of lung metastases to 12%. Histological analysis showed
      markedly less tumor neovascularization in the CMDB7-treated mice. Pulmonary
      metastasis incidence was strongly dependent on the intratumoral neoangiogenesis
      in primary tumors.

PMID- 9973190
TI  - Identification of a novel gene, MASL1, within an amplicon at 8p23.1 detected in
      malignant fibrous histiocytomas by comparative genomic hybridization.
AB  - We used comparative genomic hybridization to study malignant fibrous
      histiocytomas (MFHs) from 19 patients to detect changes in the copy number of DNA
      sequences, along entire chromosomes. Together with losses and gains in various
      chromosomal regions, distinct high-level amplifications were found at six loci
      (4q12-21, 8p21-pter, 8q24.1-qter, 9q12-13, 12p11.2-pter, and 15q11.2-15),
      suggesting that those regions may contain unknown (proto) oncogenes. We focused
      on the 8p amplicon, where detailed characterization allowed us to determine that
      the minimal common amplified region lay between markers D8S1819 and D8S550 at
      8p23.1. A novel gene designated MASL1 (MFH-amplified sequences with leucine-rich
      tandem repeats 1) was isolated from within this narrowly defined region.
      Expression of the MASL1 gene was enhanced significantly in MFH tumors bearing the
      8p amplicon. The primary structure of its deduced product revealed an ATP/GTP
      binding site, three leucine zipper domains, and a leucine-rich tandem repeat, all
      of which are important structural or functional elements for interactions among
      proteins related to the cell cycle. These features suggest that overexpression of
      MASL1 might well be oncogenic with respect to MFH.

PMID- 9973191
TI  - Functional evidence of novel tumor suppressor genes for cutaneous malignant
      melanoma.
AB  - Losses of heterozygosity involving chromosomes 9 and 10 are frequent events in
      the development and progression of cutaneous malignant melanoma. To investigate
      whether specifically deleted chromosomal regions encode tumor suppressor genes
      (TSGs), we introduced normal chromosome 10 into the tumorigenic human metastatic
      melanoma cell line UACC-903 by microcell fusion. In addition, two chromosome 9
      derivatives that were microdeleted in the region of the p16INK4A/p15INK4B locus
      were transferred to determine whether an additional melanoma TSG or TSGs reside
      on chromosome 9p, as indicated by previous melanoma allele loss studies. In
      comparison to parental cells, microcell hybrids generated with chromosomes 9
      (microdeleted) and 10 displayed reduced anchorage-independent growth in soft agar
      and markedly reduced tumorigenicity in athymic (nu/nu) mice. These data define a
      TSG or TSGs that function independently of p15/p16 on chromosome 9 and provide
      evidence for a TSG (or TSGs) on chromosome 10 that may be important in melanoma
      development.

PMID- 9973192
TI  - Chemoprevention of rat prostate carcinogenesis by 9-cis-retinoic acid.
AB  - A chemoprevention study was conducted to evaluate the activity of 9-cis-retinoic
      acid (9-cis-RA) as an inhibitor of prostate carcinogenesis in male Wistar
      Unilever (HsdCpb:Wu) rats. After pretreatment with a sequential regimen of
      cyproterone acetate (50 mg/kg/day for 21 days) and testosterone propionate (100
      mg/kg/day for 3 days), groups of 40 rats received a single i.v. injection of N
      methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU; 30 mg/kg body weight). Beginning 2 weeks after
      carcinogen administration, rats received chronic exposure to testosterone
      administered in s.c. implanted silastic capsules. The study was terminated at 13
      months after MNU administration, and prostate cancer incidence was determined by
      histopathological evaluation of step sections of accessory sex glands. Continuous
      dietary administration of 9-cis-RA at 100 mg/kg diet or 50 mg/kg diet beginning 1
      week before MNU administration reduced cancer incidence in the dorsolateral +
      anterior prostate from 65% in dietary controls to 18 and 20%, respectively (P <
      0.001 for both comparisons). Similarly, these dose levels of 9-cis-RA reduced the
      incidence of cancer in all accessory sex glands from 79% in dietary controls to
      48 and 33% (P < 0.01 for both comparisons), respectively. Chronic dietary
      administration of 9-cis-RA induced no gross or organ-specific toxicity in any
      animal and did not suppress group mean body weight gain. The potent
      anticarcinogenic activity of 9-cis-RA in the rat prostate, when considered with
      its apparent lack of toxicity in rodents, suggests that this and other ligands
      for the retinoid X receptor merit consideration for evaluation in clinical
      prostate cancer chemoprevention trials.

PMID- 9973193
TI  - Coexpression of estrogen receptor alpha and beta: poor prognostic factors in
      human breast cancer?
AB  - The cloning of a second estrogen receptor (ER), ER beta, has prompted a
      reevaluation of the role of ERs in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to
      determine the expression of both ER isoforms in normal (n = 23) and malignant (n
      = 60) human breast tissue by reverse transcription-PCR and correlate this
      information with known prognostic factors including tumor grade and node status.
      In normal breast tissue, expression of ER beta predominated, with 22% of samples
      exclusively expressing ER beta; this was not observed in any of the breast tumor
      samples investigated. Most breast tumors expressed ER alpha, either alone or in
      combination with ER beta. Interestingly, those tumors that coexpressed ER alpha
      and ER beta were node positive (P = 0.02; Fisher's exact test) and tended to be
      of higher grade. Because antiestrogens are agonists when signaling through the
      AP1 element, overexpression of ER beta in tumors expressing both ER subtypes may
      explain the failure of antiestrogen therapy in some breast cancer patients. Thus,
      ER beta may be a useful prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer.

PMID- 9973194
TI  - Estrogen receptor-beta messenger RNA expression in human breast tumor biopsies:
      relationship to steroid receptor status and regulation by progestins.
AB  - When the level of estrogen receptor (ER)-beta mRNA in tumors, determined by
      reverse transcription-PCR, was assessed according to either ER status or PR
      status alone, determined by ligand binding assays, the level of ER-beta mRNA was
      significantly lower in PR+ tumors compared with PR- tumors (P = 0.036), and no
      association with ER status was found. Subgroup analysis showed that ER-beta mRNA
      expression in ER+/PR+ breast tumors was significantly less than in ER+/PR- (P =
      0.009), ER-/PR+ (P = 0.029), and ER-/PR- (P = 0.023) groups. Interestingly, the
      ER-beta mRNA expression was specifically decreased by progestin in T47D breast
      cancer cells. The data suggest the possibility that expression of ER-beta in
      human breast tumors is a marker of endocrine therapy responsiveness.

PMID- 9973195
TI  - BNIP3alpha: a human homolog of mitochondrial proapoptotic protein BNIP3.
AB  - Apoptosis is regulated by interaction of viral and cellular BCL-2 family
      antiapoptotic proteins with various pro-apoptotic proteins, several of which are
      also members of the BCL-2 family. Cellular protein BNIP3 is a BCL-2 family
      proapoptotic protein that interacts with viral antiapoptosis proteins such as
      adenoviruses E1B-19K and EBV-BHRF1 and cellular antiapoptosis proteins such as
      BCL-2 and BCL-xL. Database searches indicate that the human genome encodes an
      open reading frame for a protein, BNIP3alpha, that shares substantial homology
      with BNIP3. The BNIP3alpha open reading frame encodes a protein of 219 amino
      acids that contains a conserved BH3 domain and a COOH-terminal trans-membrane
      domain, characteristic of several BCL-2 family proapoptotic proteins. BNIP3alpha
      interacts with viral antiapoptosis protein E1B-19K and cellular antiapoptosis
      proteins BCL-2 and BCL-xL. Overexpression of BNIP3alpha in transfected cells
      results in apoptosis and suppresses the antiapoptosis activity of E1B-19K and BCL
      xL. Like BNIP3, BNIP3alpha seems to be predominantly localized in mitochondria.
      These results suggest that BNIP3alpha is a structural and functional homologue of
      BNIP3. BNIP3 and BNIP3alpha seem to be the first examples of homologues among the
      various human proapoptotic proteins. Northern blot analysis reveals that
      BNIP3alpha is expressed ubiquitously in most human tissues. In contrast, BNIP3 is
      expressed well in several human tissues and less abundantly in certain tissues
      such as placenta and lung. These results suggest that although BNIP3 and
      BNIP3alpha may promote apoptosis simultaneously in most human tissues, BNIP3alpha
      may play a more universal role.

PMID- 9973196
TI  - The human MLH1 cDNA complements DNA mismatch repair defects in Mlh1-deficient
      mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
AB  - The DNA mismatch repair gene hMLH1 is reported to function in mutation avoidance,
      cell cycle checkpoint control, the cytotoxicity of various DNA-damaging agents,
      and transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair. Formal proof of the
      involvement of hMLH1 in these processes requires single gene complementation. We
      have stably expressed hMLH1 from a transfected cDNA in Mlh1-deficient mouse
      embryonic fibroblasts. Expression of hMLH1 restored normal levels of mPMS2
      protein, reduced spontaneous base substitution and microsatellite mutations,
      increased sensitivity to the toxic effects of 6-thioguanine (6-TG), and restored
      6-TG-induced cell cycle arrest. Our studies confirm that hMLH1 has an essential
      role in the maintenance of genomic stability and the potentiation of 6-TG
      cytotoxicity and provide a system for detailed structure/function analysis of the
      hMLH1 protein.

PMID- 9973197
TI  - Phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity is essential for all-trans-retinoic acid
      induced granulocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells.
AB  - Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-K) activity increases in HL-60 cells that are
      induced to granulocytic differentiation by all-trans-retinoic acid.
      Immunochemical and immunocytochemical analyses by confocal microscopy also reveal
      an increase in the amount of the enzyme, which is particularly evident at the
      nuclear level. Inhibition of PI 3-K activity by nanomolar concentrations of
      wortmannin and of its expression by transfection with an antisense fragment of
      p85alpha prevented the differentiative process. The data obtained indicate that
      PI 3-K activity plays an essential role in promoting granulocytic
      differentiation.

PMID- 9973198
TI  - Independent regulation of growth and SMAD-mediated transcription by transforming
      growth factor beta in human melanoma cells.
AB  - Increased production of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) coupled with
      resistance to the growth-inhibitory effects of TGF-beta is characteristic of
      several types of neoplasia including human melanoma. In select epithelial
      malignancies, lack of TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition is associated with
      disruptions of TGF-beta-dependent SMAD signaling and transcription. In contrast,
      the results of the present study indicate intact SMAD-dependent transcription in
      human melanoma cells, regardless of their proliferative response to exogenous TGF
      beta. Furthermore, in some melanoma cell lines constitutive SMAD-dependent
      transcription was observed, which was due in part to endogenous TGF-beta. These
      results establish that resistance of melanoma cells to TGF-beta-induced growth
      inhibition occurs independently of intact TGF-beta receptor/SMAD-mediated
      transcriptional regulation. They also suggest that melanoma-derived TGF-beta may
      exert autocrine effects on SMAD-sensitive target genes.

PMID- 9973199
TI  - Cloning of human telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) gene promoter and
      identification of proximal core promoter sequences essential for transcriptional
      activation in immortalized and cancer cells.
AB  - Telomerase activation is thought to be a critical step in cellular
      immortalization and carcinogenesis. Of the three major subunits comprising human
      telomerase, human telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) has been shown to be a
      rate-limiting determinant of the enzymatic activity of human telomerase. However,
      little is known concerning how expression of hTERT is regulated in human cells.
      To identify the regulatory elements controlling hTERT gene expression,
      approximately 3.5 kb of the 5'-flanking sequence of hTERT was cloned and
      characterized. The promoter of hTERT was GC rich and lacked both TATA and CAAT
      boxes. The CapSite Hunting method identified transcription start site 19 bp
      upstream of the first nucleotide of the published cDNA sequence. Transient
      expression assays revealed that transcription of hTERT was significantly
      activated in cancer cell lines but repressed in normal primary cells. Using the
      fibroblast lineage at various stages of transformation, we found that
      transcription occurred in strains that had overcome replicative senescence and
      expressed telomerase activity. Deletion analysis of hTERT promoter identified the
      181-bp core promoter region upstream of the transcription start site. Gel shift
      analysis revealed two major factors binding to core promoter, an E box (CACGTG)
      binding factor and Sp1. Overexpression of c-Myc resulted in a significant
      increase in transcriptional activity of the core promoter. These findings suggest
      that hTERT expression is strictly regulated at the transcription machinery, and
      that the proximal core promoter containing an E box and Sp1 sites is required for
      transactivation of hTERT.

PMID- 9973200
TI  - Identification of functional elements of p18INK4C essential for binding and
      inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and CDK6.
AB  - Members of the INK4 family of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors
      specifically bind and inhibit the G1-specific CDK molecules CDK4 and CDK6. One of
      the INK4 molecules, p16, is also known as multiple tumor suppressor and has been
      found to be mutated or deleted in various tumors and cell lines. We have
      previously identified p18 as a member of the INK4 family. To determine the
      molecular basis for the inhibitory function of p18, we introduced 11 missense
      mutations of conserved residues that were identified in p16 of cancer cell lines
      into p18. The effects of these mutations on the ability of p18 to bind and
      inhibit CDK4 and CDK6 or to inhibit cell growth were determined. Our results
      indicate that the third ankyrin repeat and the NH2-terminal portion of the fourth
      repeat constitute the essential element necessary for the ability of p18 to bind
      and inhibit CDK4 and CDK6. Apart from this core interaction element, p18 seems to
      use additional, distinct residues to differentially bind and inhibit CDK4 and
      CDK6, accounting for the known penchant of p18 to preferentially interact with
      CDK6.

PMID- 9973201
TI  - Transcription of the bone sialoprotein gene is stimulated by v-Src acting through
      an inverted CCAAT box.
AB  - Bone sialoprotein (BSP) is an early marker of differentiated osteoblasts that has
      been implicated in the nucleation of hydroxyapatite crystal formation during de
      novo bone formation. Although essentially specific to mineralizing connective
      tissues, BSP is also expressed ectopically by carcinomas that exhibit
      microcalcification and which metastasize to bone with high frequency. However, it
      is not known how BSP is regulated in transformed cells. Because the v-src
      oncogene induces expression of a number of genes that are involved in tumor
      growth and metastasis, including osteopontin, we have studied the effects of v
      Src on transcription of the BSP gene. Transfection of mouse src-/- cells with a v
      src expression vector increased the transcriptional activity of rat BSP
      promoter/luciferase chimeric constructs approximately 5-fold. Deletion analysis
      revealed that the v-Src activity was targeted to an inverted CCAAT box located
      immediately upstream from an inverted TATA box in the BSP promoter. Although
      mutation of the CCAAT box diminished the basal transcription activity of the BSP
      promoter, the Src-induced stimulation was completely abolished. Gel mobility
      shift analysis identified four nuclear factors that bound to this region of the
      BSP promoter, two of which required an intact CCAAT sequence. Monoclonal
      antibodies identified nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) as the principal nuclear factor
      that bound to the CCAAT box; the second factor (beta) showing strong binding only
      in short constructs containing the CCAAT sequence. Transcription analyses with a
      dominant negative NF-Y expression vector confirmed that NF-Y mediated the action
      of v-Src. These studies indicate that BSP gene expression in transformed cells
      can be up-regulated by Src kinase activity through a mechanism mediated by the NF
      Y transcription factor, which targets an inverted CCAAT box in the BSP gene
      promoter.

PMID- 9973202
TI  - Protein kinase D in small cell lung cancer cells: rapid activation through
      protein kinase C.
AB  - Protein kinase C (PKC) is implicated in the regulation of a variety of important
      functions in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines, but the downstream
      signaling targets stimulated by PKCs in these cells remain poorly characterized.
      Here we report that treatment of the SCLC cell lines H 69, H 345, and H 510 with
      phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) led to a rapid and striking activation of protein
      kinase D (PKD), a novel serine/threonine protein kinase distinct from all PKC
      isoforms. PKD activation induced by PDB in these SCLC cell lines was completely
      abrogated by treatment of the cells with the PKC inhibitor GF 109203X (GF I) at
      concentrations (0.5-2.5 microM) that did not inhibit PKD activity when added
      directly to the in vitro kinase assays. Treatment with the biologically active
      phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or with membrane-permeable
      diacylglycerols also stimulated PKD activation, which was also completely
      prevented by prior exposure of the cells to GF I. The PKC inhibitors Ro 31-8220
      and Go 7874 also blocked PKD activation in response to PDB. Addition of the
      autocrine growth factor bombesin to cultures of H 345 cells induced significant
      PKD activation that also was prevented by GF I. Our results demonstrate, for the
      first time, the existence of a PKC/PKD pathway in SCLC cells and raise the
      possibility that PKD may be an important mediator of some of the biological
      responses elicited by PKC activation in SCLC cells.

PMID- 9973203
TI  - Cancer chemopreventive activity mediated by 4'-bromoflavone, a potent inducer of
      phase II detoxification enzymes.
AB  - Induction of phase II enzymes is an important mechanism of chemoprevention. In
      our search for novel cancer chemopreventive agents, 4'-bromoflavone (4'BF) was
      found to significantly induce quinone reductase (QR) activity in cultured murine
      hepatoma 1c1c7 cells (concentration to double activity: 10 nM) and effectively
      induce the alpha- and mu-isoforms of glutathione S-transferase in cultured H4IIE
      rat hepatoma cells with no observed toxicity. In short-term dietary studies, 4'BF
      was also shown to increase QR activity and glutathione levels in rat liver,
      mammary gland, colon, stomach, and lung in a dose-dependent manner. Induction
      mediated by 4'BF was bifunctional (induction of both phase I and phase II
      enzymes) and regulated at the transcriptional level, as revealed by transient
      transfection studies with plasmid constructs (pDTD-1097CAT, XRE-CAT, and ARE-CAT)
      and reverse transcription-PCR-based analysis of QR mRNA. In studies conducted
      with female Sprague Dawley rats, the effects of 4'BF on the relative induction
      levels of phase I and phase II enzyme activities were investigated in liver and
      mammary gland. Treatment with 4'BF and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) or
      4'BF alone did not significantly alter DMBA-induced cytochrome P4501A1 activity
      (phase I enzyme), but it significantly increased QR activity (phase II enzyme),
      compared with the DMBA treatment group. In addition, 4'BF was found to be a
      potent inhibitor of cytochrome P4501A1-mediated ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase
      activity, with an IC50 of 0.86 microM. Furthermore, in studies conducted with
      cultured HepG2 or MCF-7 cells, 4'BF significantly reduced the covalent binding of
      metabolically activated benzo[a]pyrene to cellular DNA. On the basis of these
      results, a full-term cancer chemoprevention study was conducted with DMBA-treated
      female Sprague Dawley rats. Dietary administration of 4'BF (2000 and 4000 mg per
      kg of diet, from 1 week before to 1 week after DMBA) significantly inhibited the
      incidence and multiplicity of mammary tumors and greatly increased tumor latency.
      In summary, 4'BF can be viewed as a relatively simple, readily available,
      inexpensive compound that is a highly effective cancer chemopreventive agent. The
      full mechanism of action remains to be defined, but enhancement of detoxification
      pathways appears to be important.

PMID- 9973204
TI  - Polymorphic expression of the glutathione S-transferase P1 gene and its
      susceptibility to Barrett's esophagus and esophageal carcinoma.
AB  - Factors determining individual susceptibility to esophageal cancer or
      premalignant Barrett's epithelium are still largely unclear. An imbalance between
      phase I drug metabolism [e.g., cytochrome P450 (CYP)] and phase II detoxification
      [e.g., glutathione S-transferase (GST)] may contribute to the development of
      these diseases. Polymorphic variants in the CYP1A1 gene were described leading to
      increased levels of bioactive compounds, whereas polymorphisms in GST genes often
      resulted in impaired detoxification. We studied the frequencies of polymorphic
      variants in CYP1A1, GSTP1, GSTT1, and GSTM1 genes in 98 patients with Barrett's
      epithelium and 34 patients with esophageal cancer. The results were compared with
      those obtained from 247 healthy blood donors. DNA was extracted, and PCR-RFLP
      methods were used to detect genetic polymorphisms. Chi2 analysis, Spearman rank
      correlation, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used for statistical evaluation.
      Polymorphisms in CYP1A1, GSTM1, and GSTT1 occurred at an equal frequency in
      patients and controls. Occurrence of the polymorphic GSTP1b variant in the GSTP1
      gene resulted in a significantly lower GST enzyme activity (P < 0.05), and GSTP1b
      was found significantly more often in patients with Barrett's epithelium (70%; P
      < 0.001) and patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma (76%; P = 0.005), as
      compared to healthy blood donors (41%). In conclusion, presence of the GSTP1b
      allele leads to lower GST enzyme activity levels and, consequently, impaired
      detoxification. This most important esophageal GST isoform may, therefore,
      contribute to the development of Barrett's epithelium and adenocarcinoma.

PMID- 9973205
TI  - Quantitation of urinary metabolites of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen after
      smoking cessation.
AB  - We quantified urinary levels of two metabolites of the tobacco-specific lung
      carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in people who had
      stopped smoking: 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and its O
      glucuronide, 4-[(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]-beta-O-D
      glucosiduronic acid (NNAL-Gluc). Twenty-seven people completed the study.
      Thirteen used the nicotine patch starting at the quit date, whereas the others
      used no patch. Two 24-h urine samples were collected on 2 consecutive days before
      smoking cessation; blood was also obtained. Beginning at their quit date,
      subjects provided 24-h urine samples on days 7, 21, 42, 70, 98, and 126, and some
      subjects also provided samples at later times. The urine was analyzed for NNAL,
      NNAL-Gluc, nicotine plus nicotine-N-glucuronide, and cotinine plus cotinine-N
      glucuronide. Some blood samples were also analyzed for NNAL. The decline of
      urinary NNAL and NNAL-Gluc after smoking cessation was much slower than expected.
      This was clearly demonstrated by comparison with cotinine and nicotine levels in
      urine. One week after smoking cessation, 34.5% of baseline NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc
      was detected in urine, whereas the corresponding values for cotinine and nicotine
      were 1.1 and 0.5%, respectively. Even 6 weeks after cessation, 7.6% of the
      original levels of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc remained. In some subjects, NNAL plus NNAL
      Gluc were detected 281 days after cessation. The distribution half-life for NNAL
      and NNAL-Gluc was 3-4 days, whereas the elimination half-life was 40-45 days.
      Total body clearance of NNAL was estimated to be 61.4 +/- 35.4 ml/min, and volume
      of distribution in the beta-phase was estimated to be 3800 +/- 2100 liters,
      indicating substantial distribution into the tissues. Parallel studies in rats
      treated chronically or acutely with NNK in the drinking water support the
      conclusion that NNAL has a large volume of distribution. There was no effect of
      the nicotine patch on levels of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc, indicating that NNK is not
      formed endogenously from nicotine. The results of this study demonstrate that
      NNAL and NNAL-Gluc are slowly cleared from the body after smoking cessation,
      indicating the presence of a high-affinity compartment where NNK, NNAL, and/or
      NNAL-Gluc are retained or sequestered and slowly released.

PMID- 9973206
TI  - Chemopreventive effect of curcumin, a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory
      agent, during the promotion/progression stages of colon cancer.
AB  - Curcumin, derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa L. and having both
      antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, inhibits chemically induced
      carcinogenesis in the skin, forestomach, and colon when it is administered during
      initiation and/or postinitiation stages. This study was designed to investigate
      the chemopreventive action of curcumin when it is administered (late in the
      premalignant stage) during the promotion/progression stage of colon
      carcinogenesis in male F344 rats. We also studied the modulating effect of this
      agent on apoptosis in the tumors. At 5 weeks of age, groups of male F344 rats
      were fed a control diet containing no curcumin and an experimental AIN-76A diet
      with 0.2% synthetically derived curcumin (purity, 99.9%). At 7 and 8 weeks of
      age, rats intended for carcinogen treatment were given s.c. injections of
      azoxymethane (AOM) at a dose rate of 15 mg/kg body weight per week. Animals
      destined for the promotion/progression study received the AIN-76A control diet
      for 14 weeks after the second AOM treatment and were then switched to diets
      containing 0.2 and 0.6% curcumin. Premalignant lesions in the colon would have
      developed by week 14 following AOM treatment. They continued to receive their
      respective diets until 52 weeks after carcinogen treatment and were then
      sacrificed. The results confirmed our earlier study in that administration of
      0.2% curcumin during both the initiation and postinitiation periods significantly
      inhibited colon tumorigenesis. In addition, administration of 0.2% and of 0.6% of
      the synthetic curcumin in the diet during the promotion/progression stage
      significantly suppressed the incidence and multiplicity of noninvasive
      adenocarcinomas and also strongly inhibited the multiplicity of invasive
      adenocarcinomas of the colon. The inhibition of adenocarcinomas of the colon was,
      in fact, dose dependent. Administration of curcumin to the rats during the
      initiation and postinitiation stages and throughout the promotion/progression
      stage increased apoptosis in the colon tumors as compared to colon tumors in the
      groups receiving AOM and the control diet. Thus, chemopreventive activity of
      curcumin is observed when it is administered prior to, during, and after
      carcinogen treatment as well as when it is given only during the
      promotion/progression phase (starting late in premalignant stage) of colon
      carcinogenesis.

PMID- 9973207
TI  - Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) genetic polymorphisms, dietary
      antioxidants, and risk of breast cancer.
AB  - Oxidative stress, resulting from the imbalance between prooxidant and antioxidant
      states, damages DNA, proteins, cell membranes, and mitochondria and seems to play
      a role in human breast carcinogenesis. Dietary sources of antioxidants (chemical)
      and endogenous antioxidants (enzymatic), including the polymorphic manganese
      superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), can act to reduce the load of oxidative stress. We
      hypothesized that the valine-to-alanine substitution that seems to alter
      transport of the enzyme into the mitochondrion, changing its efficacy in fighting
      oxidative stress, was associated with breast cancer risk and that a diet rich in
      sources of antioxidants could ameliorate the effects on risk. Data were collected
      in a case-control study of diet and breast cancer in western New York from 1986
      to 1991. Caucasian women with incident, primary, histologically confirmed breast
      cancer were frequency-matched on age and county of residence to community
      controls. Blood specimens were collected and processed from a subset of
      participants in the study (266 cases and 295 controls). Using a RFLP that
      distinguishes a valine (V) to alanine (A) change in the -9 position in the signal
      sequence of the protein for MnSOD, we characterized MnSOD genotypes in relation
      to breast cancer risk. We also evaluated the effect of the polymorphism on risk
      among low and high consumers of fruits and vegetables. Premenopausal women who
      were homozygous for the A allele had a 4-fold increase in breast cancer risk in
      comparison to those with 1 or 2 V alleles (odds ratio, 4.3; 95% confidence
      interval, 1.7-10.8). Risk was most pronounced among women below the median
      consumption of fruits and vegetables and of dietary ascorbic acid and alpha
      tocopherol, with little increased risk for those with diets rich in these foods.
      Relationships were weaker among postmenopausal women, although the MnSOD AA
      genotype was associated with an almost 2-fold increase in risk (odds ratio, 1.8;
      confidence interval, 0.9-3.6). No appreciable modification of risk by diet was
      detected for these older women. These data support the hypothesis that MnSOD and
      oxidative stress play a significant role in breast cancer risk, particularly in
      premenopausal women. The finding that risk was greatest among women who consumed
      lower amounts of dietary antioxidants and was minimal among high consumers
      indicates that a diet rich in sources of antioxidants may minimize the
      deleterious effects of the MnSOD polymorphism, thereby supporting public health
      recommendations for the consumption of diets rich in fruits and vegetables as a
      preventive measure against cancer.

PMID- 9973208
TI  - Isoform-specific induction of a human aldo-keto reductase by polycyclic aromatic
      hydrocarbons (PAHs), electrophiles, and oxidative stress: implications for the
      alternative pathway of PAH activation catalyzed by human dihydrodiol
      dehydrogenase.
AB  - Human dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DD) isoforms are aldo-keto reductases (AKRs)
      that activate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by oxidizing trans
      dihydrodiol proximate carcinogens to reactive and redox-active ortho-quinones. Of
      these, human AKR1C1 (DD1) and AKR1C2 (DD2) oxidize trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8
      dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene to the cytotoxic and genotoxic metabolite benzo[a]pyrene
      7,8-dione (BPQ) with the highest catalytic efficiency. Exposure of HepG2 cells to
      a panel of inducers revealed that mRNA encoding one or more human AKR1C member(s)
      was induced (3- to 10-fold) by benzo[a]pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic
      compounds (bi-functional inducers), electrophilic Michael acceptors and phenolic
      antioxidants (monofunctional inducers), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The
      induction of AKR1C mRNA by bifunctional inducers was delayed with respect to the
      induction of CYP1A1 mRNA, and AKR1C mRNA was not induced by the nonmetabolizable
      aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).
      These data suggest that, in contrast to the CYPs, induction of AKR1C member(s) by
      PAHs and other bifunctional inducers is mediated indirectly via an antioxidant
      response element rather than a xenobiotic response element. Immunoblot and
      enzymatic assays confirmed that the increases in AKR1C mRNA were faithfully
      translated into functional AKR1C protein(s). The increased DD activity in HepG2
      lysates was inhibited only by high concentrations of ursodeoxycholate, which
      suggested that AKR1C2 (DD2, bile-acid-binding protein) was not the isoform
      induced. RNase protection assays identified AKR1C1 (DD1) mRNA as the transcript
      which was up-regulated by mono- and bi-functional inducers and ROS in both human
      hepatoma (HepG2) and colon carcinoma (HT29) cells. BPQ, the electrophilic and
      redox-cycling product of the AKR1C1 reaction, also induced AKR1C1 expression.
      Thus, BPQ formation by AKR1C1 results in both a chemical (redox-cycling) and a
      genetic (AKR1C1 induction) amplification of ROS in PAH-exposed cells. Because ROS
      have been implicated in both tumor initiation and tumor promotion, the
      amplification of ROS by this pathway may play a significant role in PAH
      carcinogenesis.

PMID- 9973209
TI  - 2-[C-11]thymidine imaging of malignant brain tumors.
AB  - Malignant brain tumors pose diagnostic and therapeutic problems. Despite the
      advent of new brain imaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging
      (MRI) and [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET),
      determination of tumor viability and response to treatment is often difficult.
      Blood-brain barrier disruption can be caused by tumor or nonspecific reactions to
      treatment, making MRI interpretation ambiguous. The high metabolic background of
      the normal brain and its regional variability makes it difficult to identify
      small or less active tumors by FDG imaging of cellular energetics. We have
      investigated 2-[C-11]thymidine (dThd) and PET to image the rate of brain tumor
      cellular proliferation. A series of 13 patients underwent closely spaced dThd
      PET, FDG PET, and MRI procedures, and the image results were compared by
      standardized visual analysis. The resulting dThd scans were qualitatively
      different from the other two scans in approximately 50% of the cases, which
      suggests that dThd provided information distinct from FDG PET and MRI. In two
      cases, recurrent tumor was more apparent on the dThd study than on FDG; in two
      other patients, tumor dThd uptake was less than FDG uptake, and these patients
      had slower tumor progression than the three patients with both high dThd and FDG
      uptake. To better characterize tumor proliferation, kinetic modeling was applied
      to dynamic dThd PET uptake data and metabolite-analyzed blood data in a subset of
      patients. Kinetic analysis was able to remove the confounding influence of [C
      11]CO2, the principal labeled metabolite of 2-[C-11]dThd, and to estimate the
      flux of dThd incorporation into DNA. Sequential, same-day [C-11]CO2 and [C
      11]dThd imaging demonstrated the ability of kinetic analysis to model both dThd
      and CO2 simultaneously. Images of dThd flux obtained using the model along with
      the mixture analysis method for pixel-by-pixel parametric imaging significantly
      enhanced the contrast of tumor compared with normal brain. Comparison of model
      estimates of dThd transport versus dThd flux was able to discern increased dThd
      uptake simply on the basis of blood-brain barrier disruption retention on the
      basis of increased cellular proliferation. This preliminary study demonstrates
      the potential for imaging brain tumor cellular proliferation to provide unique
      information for guiding patient treatment.

PMID- 9973210
TI  - A flavonoid antioxidant, silymarin, affords exceptionally high protection against
      tumor promotion in the SENCAR mouse skin tumorigenesis model.
AB  - In cancer chemoprevention studies, the identification of better antitumor
      promoting agents is highly desired because they may have a wider applicability
      against the development of clinical cancers. Both epidemiological and animal
      studies have suggested that microchemicals present in the diet and several herbs
      and plants with diversified pharmacological properties are useful agents for the
      prevention of a wide variety of human cancers. Silymarin, a flavonoid isolated
      from milk thistle, is used clinically in Europe and Asia as an antihepatotoxic
      agent, largely due to its strong antioxidant activity. Because most antioxidants
      afford protection against tumor promotion, in this study, we assessed the
      protective effect of silymarin on tumor promotion in the SENCAR mouse skin
      tumorigenesis model. Application of silymarin prior to each 12-O
      tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) application resulted in a highly
      significant protection against tumor promotion in 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene
      initiated mouse skin. The protective effect of silymarin was evident in terms of
      reduction in tumor incidence (25, 40, and 75% protection, P < 0.001, X2 test),
      tumor multiplicity (76, 84, and 97% protection, P < 0.001, Wilcoxon rank sum
      test), and tumor volume (76, 94, and 96% protection, P < 0.001, Student's t test)
      at the doses of 3, 6, and 12 mg per application, respectively. To dissect out the
      stage specificity of silymarin against tumor promotion, we next assessed its
      effect against both stage I and stage II of tumor promotion. Application of
      silymarin prior to that of TPA in stage I or mezerein in stage II tumor promotion
      in dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-initiated SENCAR mouse skin resulted in an
      exceptionally high protective effect during stage I tumor promotion, showing 74%
      protection against tumor incidence (P < 0.001, X2 test), 92% protection against
      tumor multiplicity (P < 0.001, Wilcoxon rank sum test), and 96% protection
      against tumor volume (P < 0.001, Student's t test). With regard to stage II tumor
      promotion, silymarin showed 26, 63, and 54% protection in tumor incidence,
      multiplicity, and volume, respectively. Similar effect of silymarin to that in
      anti-stage I studies, were also observed when applied during both stage I and
      stage II protocols. In other studies, silymarin significantly inhibited: (a) TPA
      induced skin edema, epidermal hyperplasia, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen
      positive cells; (b) DNA synthesis; and (c) epidermal lipid peroxidation, the
      early markers of TPA-caused changes that are associated with tumor promotion.
      Taken together, these results suggest that silymarin possesses exceptionally high
      protective effects against tumor promotion, primarily targeted against stage I
      tumors, and that the mechanism of such effects may involve inhibition of promoter
      induced edema, hyperplasia, proliferation index, and oxidant state.

PMID- 9973211
TI  - Stimulation of tumors to synthesize tumor necrosis factor-alpha in situ using 5,6
      dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid: a novel approach to cancer therapy.
AB  - The selective induction of tumor vascular collapse represents an exciting
      approach to cancer treatment. However, clinical evaluation of tumor necrosis
      factor-alpha (TNF), an agent that accomplishes this goal, has been limited by
      systemic toxicity, and clinical approaches using bacterial components to induce
      TNF production have also been disappointing. Our laboratory has developed
      synthetic low molecular weight inducers of TNF, including 5,6-dimethylxanthenone
      4-acetic acid (DMXAA), as an alternative strategy. DMXAA induces rapid vascular
      collapse in transplantable murine tumors and induces TNF synthesis in vitro in
      both murine and human systems. We show here that the extent of DMXAA-induced TNF
      synthesis is greater in tumors than that in the spleen, liver, or serum. As shown
      by in situ hybridization studies of the murine Colon 38 tumor, DMXAA induced
      tumor as well as host cells to express TNF mRNA. The distribution of cells
      containing TNF mRNA in tumor tissues after DMXAA administration contrasted
      significantly with that obtained after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment,
      although splenic and hepatic tissues showed a similar distribution of TNF mRNA
      positive cells. In the Colon 38 tumor, the action of LPS was limited to host
      cells in the periphery of the vessels. DMXAA treatment induced 7-fold higher peak
      TNF levels in tumor than in serum. In contrast, LPS treatment induced 9-fold
      higher TNF levels in serum than in tumor. DMXAA induced 35-fold higher TNF
      activity in the Colon 38 tissue than did LPS. One ovarian, one squamous, and
      three melanoma human tumor xenografts implanted in athymic nude mice expressed
      TNF mRNA of human and murine origin in response to DMXAA, confirming that DMXAA
      can activate both host and tumor cells. The use of low molecular weight agents to
      induce TNF synthesis in situ in the tumor represents a novel approach to TNF
      mediated therapy of cancers.

PMID- 9973212
TI  - Effects of cationic porphyrins as G-quadruplex interactive agents in human tumor
      cells.
AB  - A series of cationic porphyrins has been identified as G-quadruplex interactive
      agents (QIAs) that stabilize telomeric G-quadruplex DNA and thereby inhibit human
      telomerase; 50% inhibition of telomerase activity was achieved in HeLa cell-free
      extract at porphyrin concentrations in the range < or = 50 microM. Cytotoxicity
      of the porphyrins in vitro was assessed in normal human cells (fibroblast and
      breast) and human tumor cells representing models selected for high telomerase
      activity and short telomeres (breast carcinoma, prostate, and lymphoma). In
      general, the cytotoxicity (EC50, effective concentration for 50% inhibition of
      cell proliferation) against normal and tumor cells was > 50 microM. The
      porphyrins were readily absorbed into tumor cell nuclei in culture. Inhibition of
      telomerase activity in MCF7 cells by subcytotoxic concentrations of TMPyP4 showed
      time and concentration dependence at 1-100 microM TMPyP4 over 15 days in culture
      (10 population doubling times). The inhibition of telomerase activity was
      paralleled by a cell growth arrest in G2-M. These results suggest that relevant
      biological effects of porphyrins can be achieved at concentrations that do not
      have general cytotoxic effects on cells. Moreover, the data support the concept
      that a rational, structure-based approach is possible to design novel telomere
      interactive agents with application to a selective and specific anticancer
      therapy.

PMID- 9973213
TI  - Eradication of rat malignant gliomas by retroviral-mediated, in vivo delivery of
      the interleukin 4 gene.
AB  - Overexpression of interleukin 4 (IL-4) can impair the tumorigenicity of glioma
      cells, but direct evidence of its antitumor efficacy after in vivo gene transfer
      into malignant gliomas has not been provided. To test this, we first injected
      into the brain of Sprague Dawley rats a 1:1 mixture of C6 rat glioblastoma cells
      and psi2.L4SN20 or E86.L4SN50 retroviral producer cells (RPCs), secreting 20 and
      50 ng of IL-4/5 x 10(5) cells/48 h, respectively. Twenty-seven and 56% of rats
      receiving injections with these low- or medium-level IL-4 RPCs, respectively,
      survived tumor injection, whereas control rats died in about 1 month. E86.L4SN50
      RPCs coinjected with 9L gliosarcoma cells into syngeneic Fischer 344 rats yielded
      similar results. A novel IL-4 RPC clone expressing higher levels of IL-4,
      E86.L4SN200, coinjected with 9L cells increased to 75% the fraction of long-term
      survivors and induced tumor regression in 50% of rats when injected into
      established 9L gliosarcomas. Cured rats developed an immunological memory because
      they rejected a challenge of wild-type 9L cells into the contralateral
      hemisphere. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to monitor 9L and C6 gliomas and
      gave direct evidence for tumor rejection in treated rats. Immunohistology showed
      inflammatory infiltrates in IL-4-treated tumors in which CD8+ T lymphocytes were
      more abundant, although CD4+ T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and macrophages were
      also present. Overall, these findings suggest that IL-4 gene transfer is a new,
      promising approach for treating malignant gliomas.

PMID- 9973214
TI  - Laulimalide and isolaulimalide, new paclitaxel-like microtubule-stabilizing
      agents.
AB  - A mechanism-based screening program aimed at the discovery of new antimicrotubule
      agents from natural products yielded laulimalide and isolaulimalide, two
      compounds with paclitaxel-like microtubule-stabilizing activity. Treatment of A
      10 cells with laulimalide resulted in a dose-dependent reorganization of the
      cellular microtubule network and the formation of microtubule bundles and
      abnormal mitotic spindles. Coincident with the microtubule changes, these two
      compounds induced nuclear convolution and the formation of multiple micronuclei.
      Laulimalide is a potent inhibitor of cellular proliferation with IC50 values in
      the low nanomolar range, whereas isolaulimalide is much less potent with IC50
      values in the low micromolar range. In contrast to paclitaxel, both laulimalide
      and isolaulimalide inhibited the proliferation of SKVLB-1 cells, a P-glycoprotein
      overexpressing multidrug-resistant cell line, suggesting that they are poor
      substrates for transport by P-glycoprotein. Incubation of MDA-MB-435 cells with
      laulimalide resulted in mitotic arrest and activation of the caspase cascade of
      proteolytic enzymes that accompany apoptotic cell death. Laulimalide stimulated
      tubulin polymerization and, although less potent than paclitaxel, it was more
      effective. Laulimalide-induced tubulin polymers resembled paclitaxel-induced
      polymers, although the laulimalide-induced polymers appeared notably longer.
      Laulimalide and isolaulimalide represent a new class of microtubule-stabilizing
      agents with activities that may provide therapeutic utility.

PMID- 9973215
TI  - Radioisotope concentrator gene therapy using the sodium/iodide symporter gene.
AB  - We demonstrate a novel method of concentrating radiation for tumor imaging or
      killing. The rat sodium/iodide symporter gene (rNIS) was cloned into a retroviral
      vector for transfer into cancer cells to mimic the iodide uptake of thyroid
      follicular cells. In vitro iodide transport shows that the symporter functions
      similarly in rNIS-transduced tumor cells and rat thyroid follicular cells. rNIS
      transduced and control nontransduced (NV) human A375 melanoma xenografts
      established in vivo in athymic nude mice were imaged using a gamma camera after
      i.p. injections of 123I. The rNIS-transduced human A375 melanoma tumors are
      visually distinguishable from and accumulate significantly more radionuclides
      than NV tumors. In vitro clonogenic assays confirm efficacy and clearly show that
      rNIS-transduced A375 human melanoma, BNL.1 ME murine transformed liver, CT26
      murine colon carcinoma, and IGROV human ovarian carcinoma can be selectively
      killed by the induced accumulation of 131I. Thus, NIS-based gene therapy may have
      both diagnostic and therapeutic applications for cancer.

PMID- 9973216
TI  - Cytotoxicity and accumulation of ganciclovir triphosphate in bystander cells
      cocultured with herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase-expressing human
      glioblastoma cells.
AB  - The ability of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-TK)-expressing
      cells incubated with ganciclovir (GCV) to induce cytotoxicity in neighboring HSV
      TK-negative (bystander) cells has been well documented. Although it has been
      suggested that this bystander cell killing occurs through the transfer of
      phosphorylated GCV, there is little direct proof that bystander cells can
      accumulate GCV nucleotides. We have studied the ability of U251 human
      glioblastoma cells expressing HSV-TK (U251tk cells) to induce cytotoxicity in
      neighboring U251 bystander cells that lack the viral kinase (U251beta gal cells)
      and evaluated whether this bystander cell killing is mediated by GCV nucleotides.
      The cytotoxicity studies demonstrated that the ratio of HSV-TK-expressing
      cells:bystander cells was important in determining the sensitivity of both cell
      types to GCV. U251tk cells cocultured with an equal number of U251beta gal cells
      (a 50:50 ratio) exhibited a sensitivity to GCV similar to that observed in the
      absence of bystander cells, with >99.8% cell kill at 1 microm GCV. However, in
      cultures with 10% U251tk cells and 90% bystander cells (a 10:90 ratio), 1 microM
      GCV decreased the survival of U251tk cells by only 54%. Strong bystander cell
      killing was observed at both ratios. In a 50:50 coculture of U251tk and U251beta
      gal cells, the survival of bystander cells was decreased by >99.5% with 3 microM
      GCV, whereas 30 microM GCV was required to effect a similar decrease in bystander
      cell survival when 90% of the culture consisted of U251beta gal cells. To
      determine whether this bystander cell killing may be mediated by GCV nucleotides,
      we developed a technique to separate the two cell populations after coculture. A
      U251 bystander cell line was developed from the parental cell line by
      transfection with the cDNA coding for green fluorescent protein (U251gfp cells),
      which permitted the separation of U251gfp cells from nonfluorescing U251tk cells
      by flow cytometry with cell sorting. With this technique, bystander cells were
      isolated in a viable state with >97% purity within 1 h after harvest, permitting
      analysis of the nucleotide pools for the presence of phosphorylated GCV. The
      results demonstrated that significant levels of the triphosphate of GCV (GCVTP)
      accumulated in bystander cells within 4 h of coculture, and this accumulation was
      dependent upon the percentage of HSV-TK-expressing cells as well as the
      concentration of GCV and the length of incubation. The proportion of GCVTP in
      bystander cells was consistently 50-80% of that in HSV-TK-expressing cells in the
      50:50 or 10:90 cocultures, suggesting a facile transfer of phosphorylated GCV.
      However, the actual amount of GCVTP was as much as 8-fold lower in both the
      U251tk and U251beta gal cells cocultured at a ratio of 10:90 compared to those
      cocultured at a ratio of 50:50, which is consistent with the lesser effect on
      cell survival. When U251tk and U251gfp cells were cultured with 1-beta-D
      arabinofuranosylthymine (araT), the 5'-triphosphate of araT accumulated in the
      bystander cells, demonstrating that the transfer of phosphorylated compounds
      between these cell types is not restricted to GCV nucleotides. However, the
      proportion of araT-5'-triphosphate in bystander cells compared to that in HSV-TK
      expressing cells was lower than that for GCVTP, and the amount was not sufficient
      to decrease survival in the bystander population.

PMID- 9973217
TI  - Induction of protective host immunity to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a self
      antigen in CEA transgenic mice, by immunizing with a recombinant vaccinia-CEA
      virus.
AB  - Human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a well-characterized oncofetal
      glycoprotein whose overexpression by human carcinomas has been a target for
      cancer immunotherapy. Transgenic mice that express CEA as a self-antigen with a
      tissue distribution similar to that of humans have been developed. This study
      investigates: (a) the responsiveness of the CEA transgenic (CEA.Tg) mice to
      endogenous CEA or CEA administered as a whole protein in adjuvant; and (b)
      whether the presentation of CEA as a recombinant vaccinia virus could generate
      CEA-specific host immunity. By and large, the CEA.Tg mice were unresponsive to
      CEA, as shown by the lack of detectable CEA-specific serum antibodies and the
      inability to prime an in vitro splenic T-cell response to CEA. Furthermore, the
      administration of whole CEA protein in adjuvant to CEA.Tg mice failed to elicit
      either anti-CEA IgG titers or CEA-specific T-cell responses. Only weak anti-CEA
      IgM antibody titers were found in those mice. In contrast, CEA.Tg mice immunized
      with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing CEA generated relatively strong anti
      CEA IgG antibody titers and demonstrated evidence of immunoglobulin class
      switching. These mice also developed T(H)1-type CEA-specific CD4+ responses and
      CEA peptide-specific cytotoxicity. The ability to generate CEA-specific host
      immunity correlated with protection of the CEA.Tg mice against a challenge with
      CEA-expressing tumor cells. Protection against tumor growth was accomplished with
      no apparent immune response directed at CEA-positive normal tissue. The results
      demonstrate the ability to generate an effective antitumor immune response to a
      tumor self-antigen by immunization with a recombinant vaccinia virus. CEA.Tg mice
      should be an excellent experimental model to study the effects of more aggressive
      immunization schemes directed at established tumors with the possible development
      of accompanying autoimmune responses involving normal tissues.

PMID- 9973218
TI  - Reduced expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p27Kip1 in non-small cell lung
      carcinoma: a prognostic factor independent of Ras.
AB  - Levels of p27 have been found to have independent prognostic significance in a
      variety of tumors including breast, colon, prostate, ovary, and gastric
      carcinomas. We investigated p27 levels and determined ras mutational status in
      136 non-small cell lung cancers. We found reduced levels of p27 in 86% of cases
      and showed a statistically significant inverse correlation between p27 levels and
      tumor grade. ras mutations were found exclusively in adenocarcinomas and showed
      no relationship to p27 levels. Clinical data on a subset of the patients studied
      indicated that all 16 patients who died of disease and 21 of 22 patients who
      relapsed had low p27 levels, whereas all patients with high p27 levels were alive
      at last follow up. These findings suggest that alteration in p27 levels plays an
      important role in lung tumor progression and that p27 levels may have independent
      prognostic significance in non-small cell lung cancer.

PMID- 9973219
TI  - N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea tethered to lexitropsin induces minor groove
      lesions at the p53 cDNA that are more cytotoxic than mutagenic.
AB  - Many different N-chloroethyl-N-nitrosourea (CENU) derivatives have been
      synthesized in an attempt to minimize carcinogenic activity while favoring
      antineoplastic activity. CENU derivatives linked to the dipeptide lexitropsin
      (lex) showed significant changes in groove- and sequence-selective DNA alkylation
      inducing thermolabile N3-alkyladenines (N3-Alkyl-As) at lex equilibrium binding
      sites. CENU-lex sequence specificity for DNA alkylation was determined using 32P
      end-labeled restriction fragments of the p53 cDNA. The adducted sites were
      converted into single-strand breaks by sequential heating at neutral pH and
      exposure to piperidine. To establish the mutagenic and lethal properties of CENU
      lex-specific lesions, a yeast expression vector harboring a human wild-type p53
      cDNA was treated in vitro with CENU-lex and transfected into a yeast strain
      containing the ADE2 gene regulated by a p53-responsive promoter. p53 mutants were
      isolated from independent ade- transformants. The results revealed that: (a) CENU
      lex preferentially induces N3-Alkyl-A at specific lex equilibrium binding sites,
      the formations of which are strongly inhibited by distamycin; (b) reactivity
      toward Gs is still present, albeit to a lesser extent when compared to N-(2
      chloroethyl)-N-cyclohexyl-N-nitrosourea and to CENU; (c) 91% of the 49 CENU-lex
      p53 mutations (45 of 49) were bp substitutions, 29 of which were GC-->AT
      transitions, mainly at 5' purine G sites; (d) all AT-targeted mutations but one
      were AT-->TA transversions; (e) the distribution of the CENU-lex mutations along
      the p53 cDNA was not random, with position 273 (codon 91), where only GC-->AT
      transitions were observed, being a real (n = 3, P < 0.0002) CENU-lex mutation hot
      spot; and (f) a shift in DNA alkylation sites between lesion spectra induced by
      CENU-lex and N-(2-chloroethyl-N-cyclohexyl-N-nitrosourea was associated with an
      increased lethality and a decreased mutagenicity, whereas no dramatic change in
      mutational specificity was observed. Hence, it is tempting to conclude that, in
      this experimental system, N3-Alkyl-A is more lethal than mutagenic, whereas O6
      alkylguanine is a common premutational lesion formed at non-lex binding sites.
      These results suggest that CENU derivatives with virtually absolute specificity
      for A residues would make targeting of lethal, nonmutagenic lesions at A+T-rich
      regions possible, and this may represent a new strategy for the development of
      new chemotherapeutic agents with a higher therapeutic index.

PMID- 9973220
TI  - Bax is frequently compromised in Burkitt's lymphomas with irreversible resistance
      to Fas-induced apoptosis.
AB  - We have analyzed the Fas-mediated death pathway in a panel of 11 Epstein-Barr
      virus (EBV)-negative and 10 EBV-positive Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines. We
      show that the increased expression of Fas in EBV-positive cell lines is mediated
      via LMP-1. Four of the 21 BL cell lines are readily responsive to Fas-mediated
      cell death signals. Of the remaining 17 cell lines, 10 can be sensitized by up
      regulating Fas either via exogenous expression of LMP-1 or via treatment with
      CD40L. These same cell lines can also be sensitized by treatment with
      cycloheximide (CHX), which, however, does not result in up-regulation of Fas.
      Neither up-regulation of Fas, nor treatment with CHX, restore Fas sensitivity in
      seven BL cell lines. Further analyses indicated that 5 of the 7 cell lines (and
      none of the 14 responsive cell lines) were also compromised in the
      integrity/expression of the proapoptotic gene Bax. Thus, in most BL cell lines,
      the Fas pathway seems to be inhibited, although the mechanism of inhibition
      varies. The correlation between Bax mutation and irreversible (by CD40L or CHX)
      Fas resistance raises the possibility, for the first time, that Bax may play a
      critical function in Fas-mediated cell death in BL.

PMID- 9973221
TI  - Yeast proteins related to the p40/laminin receptor precursor are required for 20S
      ribosomal RNA processing and the maturation of 40S ribosomal subunits.
AB  - Numerous studies have linked the overexpression of the Mr 37,000 laminin receptor
      precursor (37-LRP) to tumor cell growth and proliferation. The role of this
      protein in carcinogenesis is generally considered in the context of its putative
      role as a precursor for the Mr 67,000 high-affinity laminin receptor. Recent
      studies have shown that 37-LRP, also termed p40, is a component of the small
      ribosomal subunit indicating that it may be a multifunctional protein. The p40/37
      LRP protein is highly conserved phylogenetically, and closely related proteins
      have been identified in species as evolutionarily distant as humans and the
      yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast homologues of p40/37-LRP are encoded by a
      duplicated pair of genes, RPS0A and RPS0B. The Rps0 proteins are essential
      components of the 40S ribosomal subunit. Previous results have shown that cells
      disrupted in either of the RPS0 genes have a reduction in growth rate and reduced
      amounts of 40S ribosomal subunits relative to wild-type cells. Here, we show that
      the Rps0 proteins are required for the processing of the 20S rRNA-precursor to
      mature 18S rRNA, a late step in the maturation of 40S ribosomal subunits.
      Immature subunits that are depleted of Rps0 protein that contain the 20S rRNA
      precursor are preferentially excluded from polysomes, which indicates that their
      activity in protein synthesis is dramatically reduced relative to mature 40S
      ribosomal subunits. These data demonstrate that the assembly of Rps0 proteins
      into immature 40S subunits and the subsequent processing of 20S rRNA represent
      critical steps in defining the translational capacity of yeast cells. If the
      function of these yeast proteins is representative of other members of the p40/37
      LRP family of proteins, then the role of these proteins as key components of the
      protein synthetic machinery should also be considered as a basis for the linkage
      between the their overexpression and tumor cell growth and proliferation.

PMID- 9973222
TI  - Activation of neurotrophin-3 receptor TrkC induces apoptosis in medulloblastomas.
AB  - Elevated expression of the neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) receptor TrkC by childhood
      medulloblastomas is associated with favorable clinical outcome. Here, we provide
      evidence that TrkC is more than simply a passive marker of prognosis. We
      demonstrate that: (a) medulloblastomas undergo apoptosis in vitro when grown in
      the presence of NT-3; (b) overexpression of TrkC inhibits the growth of
      intracerebral xenografts of a medulloblastoma cell line in nude mice; and (c)
      trkC expression by individual tumor cells is highly correlated with apoptosis
      within primary medulloblastoma biopsy specimens. TrkC-mediated NT-3 signaling
      promotes apoptosis by activating multiple parallel signaling pathways and by
      inducing immediate-early gene expression of both c-jun and c-fos. Considered
      collectively, these results support the conclusion that the biological actions of
      TrkC activation affect medulloblastoma outcome by inhibiting tumor growth through
      the promotion of apoptosis.

PMID- 9973223
TI  - Expression of endothelin 1 and endothelin A receptor in ovarian carcinoma:
      evidence for an autocrine role in tumor growth.
AB  - In the present study, we have investigated the expression of endothelin 1 (ET-1)
      and the ET(A) receptor (ET(A)R) and ET(B) receptor (ET(B)R) in primary (n = 30)
      and metastatic (n = 8) ovarian carcinomas and their involvement in tumor growth.
      By reverse transcription-PCR and Northern blot analysis, we detected ET-1 mRNA in
      90% of primary and 100% of metastatic ovarian carcinomas. ET-1 mRNA expression
      was significantly higher in tumors than in normal ovarian tissues (n = 12; P <
      0.01). ET(A)R mRNA was also detected in 84% of the carcinomas examined, whereas
      ET(B)R mRNA was expressed in 50% of the tumors. The in vivo presence of mature ET
      1 and ET(A)R was confirmed by immunohistochemistry, demonstrating a higher
      expression in primary and metastatic cells. Ten primary cultures of ovarian
      tumors secreted ET-1 and were positive for ET-1 and ET(A)R mRNA, whereas only 40%
      expressed ET(B)R mRNA. Radioligand binding studies showed that ET-1-producing
      cells also expressed functional ET(A)R, whereas no specific ET(B)R could be
      demonstrated. ET-1 stimulated dose-dependent [3H]thymidine incorporation and
      enhanced the mitogenic effect of epidermal growth factor. The ET(A)R-selective
      antagonist BQ 123 strongly inhibited ET-1-stimulated growth and substantially
      reduced the basal growth rate of unstimulated cells, whereas the ET(B)R-selective
      antagonist BQ 788 had no effect. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate a
      novel mechanism in the growth control of ovarian carcinoma in vivo mediated by
      the ET-1 autocrine loop that selectively occurs via the ET(A)R.

PMID- 9973224
TI  - Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors in
      hematopoietic malignancies.
AB  - Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in angiogenesis
      by acting as a potent inducer of vascular permeability as well as serving as a
      specific endothelial cell mitogen. The importance of angiogenic factors such as
      VEGF, although clearly established in solid tumors, has not been fully elucidated
      in human hematopoietic neoplasms. We examined the expression of mRNA and protein
      for VEGF in 12 human hematopoietic tumor cell lines, representing multiple
      lineages and diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Our
      results revealed that VEGF message was expressed in these cells and that the
      corresponding protein was secreted into the extracellular environment. Five of
      the 12 cell lines were also found to express the Flt-1 receptor for VEGF at a
      moderate to strong level, suggesting an autocrine pathway. When human vascular
      endothelial cells were exposed to recombinant human VEGF, there was an increase
      in the mRNA for several hematopoietic growth factors including macrophage colony
      stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and interleukin 6.
      Plasma cells in the bone marrow from patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma
      were found to express VEGF, whereas both the Flt-1 and KDR high affinity VEGF
      receptors were observed to be markedly elevated in the normal bone marrow myeloid
      and monocytic cells surrounding the tumor. These data raise the possibility that
      VEGF may play a role in the growth of hematopoietic neoplasms such as multiple
      myeloma through either a paracrine or an autocrine mechanism.

PMID- 9973225
TI  - Chemotherapy augments TRAIL-induced apoptosis in breast cell lines.
AB  - Expression and function of the TRAIL apoptotic pathway was investigated in normal
      and malignant breast epithelial cells. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-TRAIL
      extracellular domain fusion proteins were produced to analyze TRAIL-induced
      apoptosis. Only GST-TRAIL constructs containing regions homologous to the Fas
      self-association and ligand binding domains could induce apoptosis. GST-TRAIL
      induced significant (>90%) apoptosis in just one of eight normal and one of eight
      malignant breast cell lines. All other lines were relatively resistant to TRAIL
      induced apoptosis. Activating TRAIL receptors DR4 and DR5 were expressed in all
      normal and malignant breast cell lines. The inhibitory receptor TRID was highly
      expressed in one of four normal and two of seven malignant breast cell lines.
      DR4, DR5, or TRID expression did not correlate with sensitivity to TRAIL-induced
      apoptosis. Incubation of cell lines with doxorubicin or 5-fluorouracil
      significantly augmented TRAIL-induced apoptosis in most breast cell lines. By
      fractional inhibition analysis, the toxicity of the combination of TRAIL and
      doxorubicin or 5-fluorouracil was synergistic compared with either agent alone.
      In contrast, melphalan and paclitaxel augmented TRAIL-induced apoptosis in few
      cell lines, and methotrexate did not augment it in any cell line. Augmentation of
      TRAIL-induced apoptosis by doxorubicin or 5-fluorouracil was mediated through
      caspase activation. This was evidenced by the fact that chemotherapy agents that
      synergized with TRAIL (e.g., doxorubicin) themselves caused cleavage of caspase-3
      and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and their toxicity was blocked by the
      caspase inhibitor Z-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-CH2 (ZVAD-fmk). The combination of TRAIL and
      doxorubicin caused significantly greater caspase-3 and PARP cleavage, and the
      combined toxicity also was inhibited by ZVAD-fmk. In contrast, chemotherapy
      agents that did not augment TRAIL-induced apoptosis (e.g., methotrexate) caused
      minimal caspase-3 and PARP cleavage by themselves, and their toxicity was not
      inhibited by ZVAD-fmk. These drugs also did not increase caspase-3 or PARP
      cleavage when combined with TRAIL. In summary, few breast cell lines are
      sensitive to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, and no difference in sensitivity is found
      between normal and malignant cell lines. Treatment with chemotherapy provides an
      approach to sensitize breast cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

PMID- 9973226
TI  - Stimulation of breast cancer invasion and metastasis by synuclein gamma.
AB  - We recently identified and cloned novel breast cancer-specific gene BCSG1 by
      direct differential cDNA sequencing. BCSG1 has a great sequence homology with the
      Alzheimer's disease related neural protein synuclein (SNC); thus, it was also
      named SNC-gamma. Overexpression of SNC-gamma in breast cancer cells leads to a
      significant increase in motility and invasiveness in vitro and a profound
      augmentation of metastasis in vivo. Our data suggest that this member of the
      neural protein SNCs might have important functions outside the central nervous
      system and may play a role in breast cancer progression.

PMID- 9973227
TI  - Comparative genomic hybridization of cancer of the gastroesophageal junction:
      deletion of 14Q31-32.1 discriminates between esophageal (Barrett's) and gastric
      cardia adenocarcinomas.
AB  - Incidence rates have risen rapidly for esophageal and gastric cardia
      adenocarcinomas. These cancers, arising at and around the gastroesophageal
      junction (GEJ), share a poor prognosis. In contrast, there is no consensus with
      respect to clinical staging resulting in possible adverse effects on treatment
      and survival. The goal of this study was to provide more insight into the genetic
      changes underlying esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinomas. We have used
      comparative genomic hybridization for a genetic analysis of 28 adenocarcinomas of
      the GEJ. Eleven tumors were localized in the distal esophagus and related to
      Barrett's esophagus, and 10 tumors were situated in the gastric cardia. The
      remaining seven tumors were located at the junction and could not be classified
      as either Barrett-related, or gastric cardia. We found alterations in all 28
      neoplasms. Gains and losses were distinguished in comparable numbers. Frequent
      loss (> or = 25% of all tumors) was detected, in decreasing order of frequency,
      on 4pq (54%), 14q (46%), 18q (43%), 5q (36%), 16q (36%), 9p (29%), 17p (29%), and
      21q (29%). Frequent gain (> or = 25% of all tumors) was observed, in decreasing
      order of frequency, on 20pq (86%), 8q (79%), 7p (61%), 13q (46%), 12q (39%), 15q
      (39%), 1q (36%), 3q (32%), 5p (32%), 6p (32%), 19q (32%), Xpq (32%), 17q (29%),
      and 18p (25%). Nearly all patients were male, and loss of chromosome Y was
      frequently noted (64%). Recurrent high-level amplifications (> 10% of all tumors)
      were seen at 8q23-24.1, 15q25, 17q12-21, and 19q13.1. Minimal overlapping regions
      could be determined at multiple locations (candidate genes are in parentheses):
      minimal regions of overlap for deletions were assigned to 3p14 (FHIT, RCA1), 5q14
      21 (APC, MCC), 9p21 (MTS1/CDKN2), 14q31-32.1 (TSHR), 16q23, 18q21 (DCC, P15) and
      21q21. Minimal overlapping amplified sites could be seen at 5p14 (MLVI2), 6p12
      21.1 (NRASL3), 7p12 (EGFR), 8q23-24.1 (MYC), 12q21.1, 15q25 (IGF1R), 17q12-21
      (ERBB2/HER2-neu), 19q13.1 (TGFB1, BCL3, AKT2), 20p12 (PCNA), 20q12-13 (MYBL2,
      PTPN1), and Xq25. The distribution of the imbalances revealed similar genetic
      patterns in the three GEJ tumor groups. However, loss of 14q31-32.1 occurred
      significantly more frequent in Barrett-related adenocarcinomas of the distal
      esophagus, than in gastric cardia cancers (P = 0.02). The unclassified, "pure
      junction" group displayed an intermediate position, suggesting that these may be
      in part gastric cardia tumors, whereas the others may be related to (short
      segment) Barrett's esophagus. In conclusion, this study has, fist, provided a
      detailed comparative genomic hybridization-map of GEJ adenocarcinomas documenting
      new genetic changes, as well as candidate genes involved. Second, genetic
      divergence was revealed in this poorly understood group of cancers.

PMID- 9973228
TI  - Variants of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and perianal skin and their
      relation to human papillomaviruses.
AB  - High-risk types of human papillomaviruses (hrHPVs) may be a necessary cause in
      cervical cancer and in some subtype of anal, vulvar, and penile cancers. Large
      studies aimed at characterizing hrHPV-associated and non-hrHPV-associated
      subtypes of anal carcinomas are, however, lacking. We searched for human
      papillomavirus type 16 and 13 other hrHPVs in tumor tissue by PCR and performed a
      systematic histological evaluation of specimens from 386 patients with anal
      cancer (86% invasive; 302 women and 84 men). Cancers in women and homosexual men
      were more often hrHPV positive (P < 0.01) and located in the anal canal (P < or =
      0.01) than were cancers in heterosexual men. In both women and men, anal canal
      cancers contained hrHPV clearly more often than did perianal skin cancers, and
      increasing hrHPV positivity was seen with higher localization in the anal canal.
      Indeed, 95 and 83% of cancers involving the anal canal in women and men,
      respectively, were hrHPV positive versus 80 and 28% of perianal skin cancers (P
      trend < 0.001). Basaloid feature, adjacent anal intraepithelial neoplasia, poor
      or absent keratinization, and a predominance of small or medium neoplastic cells
      were all strongly positively associated with hrHPV status. Like cancer of the
      uterine cervix, the development of cancer of the anal canal may require infection
      with hrHPV, whereas a dual etiology of perianal skin cancers bears parallels to
      vulvar and penile cancers.

PMID- 9973229
TI  - Focal adhesion kinase-dependent apoptosis of melanoma induced by tyrosine and
      phenylalanine deficiency.
AB  - We found previously that restriction of tyrosine (Tyr) and phenylalanine (Phe)
      inhibited growth and metastasis of B16BL6 murine melanoma and arrested these
      cells in the G0-G1 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we report that deprivation of
      these two amino acids in vitro induces apoptosis in B16BL6 and in human A375
      melanoma cells but not in nontransformed, neonatal murine epidermal cells or
      human infant foreskin fibroblasts. Four days after deprivation of Tyr and Phe in
      vitro, 37% of B16BL6 and 51% of A375 melanoma cells were undergoing apoptosis.
      Apoptosis was not associated with elevation in intracellular calcium or
      alteration in p53 or c-myc protein expression. Expression and Tyr phosphorylation
      of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) were inhibited in both melanoma cell lines by
      deprivation of Tyr and Phe but not by deprivation of glutamine or serum. Tyr
      phosphorylation of FAK in Tyr- and Phe-deprived melanoma cells was enhanced
      within 30 min of refeeding with complete DMEM. FAK protein expression recovered
      within 60 min, and cell viability recovered within 24 h. Genistein, a tyrosine
      kinase inhibitor that specifically inhibits Tyr phosphorylation of FAK, did not
      induce apoptosis in A375 melanoma cells at a concentration of 50 microM.
      Genistein prevented the recovery of cell viability upon refeeding with Tyr and
      Phe to previously deprived A375 melanoma cells. These data collectively indicate
      that apoptosis induced by Tyr and Phe deprivation is FAK-dependent.

PMID- 9973230
TI  - The 21-aminosteroid U-74389F attenuates hyperexpression of GAP-43 and NADPH
      diaphorase in the spinal cord of wobbler mouse, a model for amyotrophic lateral
      sclerosis.
AB  - The wobbler mouse suffers an autosomal recessive mutation producing severe
      neurodegeneration and astrogliosis in spinal cord. It has been considered a model
      for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We have studied in these animals the
      expression of two proteins, the growth-associated protein (GAP-43) and the NADPH
      diaphorase, the nitric oxide synthesizing enzyme, employing immunocytochemistry
      and histochemistry. We found higher expression of GAP-43 immunoreactivity in
      dorsal horn, Lamina X, corticospinal tract and ventral horn motoneurons in
      wobbler mice compared to controls. Weak NADPH-diaphorase activity was present in
      control motoneurons, in contrast to intense labeling of the wobbler group. No
      differences in diaphorase activity was measured in the rest of the spinal cord
      between control and mutant mice. A group of animals received subcutaneously for 4
      days a 50 mg pellet of U-74389F, a glucocorticoid-derived 21-aminosteroid with
      antioxidant properties but without glucocorticoid activity. U-74389F slightly
      attenuated GAP-43 immunostaining in dorsal regions of the spinal cord from
      wobblers but not in controls. However, in motoneurons of wobbler mice number of
      GAP-43 immunopositive neurons, cell processes and reaction intensity were reduced
      by U-74389F. The aminosteroid reduced by 50% motoneuron NADPH-diaphorase
      activity. Hyperexpression of GAP-43 immunoreactivity in wobbler mice may
      represent an exaggerated neuronal response to advancing degeneration or muscle
      denervation. It may also be linked to increased nitric oxide levels. U-74389F may
      stop neurodegeneration and/or increase muscle trophism and stop oxidative stress,
      consequently GAP-43 hyperexpression was attenuated. Wobbler mice may be important
      models to evaluate the use of antioxidant steroid therapy with a view to its use
      in human motoneuron disease.

PMID- 9973231
TI  - Early treatment with cyclosporin A ameliorates the reduction of muscarinic
      acetylcholine receptors in gerbil hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia.
AB  - Recent evidence has suggested that cyclosporin A (CsA), an immunosuppressive
      agent, has neuroprotective properties. However, its mechanisms associated with
      this activity remain unclear. We have previously shown that post-ischemic
      administration of CsA daily for 14 days prevented the decrease of muscarinic
      acetylcholine receptor binding in the hippocampus in the gerbil model of 5-min
      transient forebrain ischemia. In the present study, CsA (5 mg/kg, subcutaneously)
      was administered to each animal just after, 2 and 6 h after ischemia so as not to
      exert its immunosuppressive effect. Initial CsA treatment significantly restored
      the declined muscarinic acetylcholine receptor binding of the hippocampus 14 days
      after ischemia similar to the previous report. However, CsA did not alter
      reactive changes of astrocytes and microglia in the CA1 area of the hippocampus,
      which had been suppressed by daily administration. These results indicate that
      CsA could positively modulate the hippocampal acetylcholine neurotransmission
      system broken down through the ischemia-induced pyramidal cell death and its
      action mechanism may have no relation to the immunosuppressive properties.

PMID- 9973232
TI  - Effects of AF64A on gene expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in the
      septo-hippocampal pathway and striatum in vivo.
AB  - AF64A (ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion) was stereotaxically administered
      bilaterally (1 nmol/side) into rat lateral cerebral ventricles. Choline
      acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity and ChAT mRNA levels were measured at
      predetermined time points in the septo-hippocampal pathway and striatum, both
      well identified as rich in cholinergic neurons. AF64A caused a rapid but
      transient increase in ChAT mRNA (167%, P < 0.05) and ChAT activity (164%, P <
      0.01) in the septum. By day 7 post treatment, there was a significant decrease in
      ChAT mRNA (42.5% of control, P < 0.05) in the septum although the ChAT activity
      still stayed high. This decreased ChAT mRNA level in the septum lasted for at
      least four weeks, and was paralleled by a long-lasting decrease in ChAT activity
      in the hippocampus. In the striatum, on the other hand, there were no observed
      changes in either ChAT activity or ChAT mRNA. These data suggest that the long
      term effect of AF64A on the septo-hippocampal cholinergic pathway may, at least
      in part, be due to an action of AF64A on gene expression in the cholinergic
      neuron. The difference in the response to AF64A between the septo-hippocampal and
      striatal cholinergic systems might be due to their difference in neuron types.

PMID- 9973233
TI  - Differential effects of chemical sympathectomy on expression and activity of
      tyrosine hydroxylase and levels of catecholamines and DOPA in peripheral tissues
      of rats.
AB  - Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA and activity and concentrations of 3,4
      dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and catecholamines were examined as markers of
      sympathetic innervation and catecholamine synthesis in peripheral tissues of
      sympathectomized and intact rats. Chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine
      (6-OHDA) markedly decreased norepinephrine and to a generally lesser extent TH
      activities and dopamine in most peripheral tissues (stomach, lung, testis,
      duodenum, pancreas, salivary gland, spleen, heart, kidney, thymus). Superior
      cervical ganglia, adrenals and descending aorta were unaffected and vas deferens
      showed a large 92% decrease in norepinephrine, but only a small 38% decrease in
      TH activity after 6-OHDA. Presence of chromaffin cells or neuronal cell bodies in
      these latter tissues, indicated by consistent expression of TH mRNA, explained
      the relative resistance of these tissues to 6-OHDA. Stomach also showed
      consistent expression of TH mRNA before, but not after 6-OHDA, suggesting that
      catecholamine synthesizing cells in gastric tissue are sensitive to the toxic
      effects of 6-OHDA. Tissue concentrations of DOPA were mainly unaffected by 6
      OHDA, indicating that much of the DOPA in peripheral tissues is synthesized
      independently of local TH or sympathetic innervation. The differential effects of
      chemical sympathectomy on tissue catecholamines, DOPA, TH mRNA and TH activity
      demonstrate that these variables are not simple markers of sympathetic
      innervation or catecholamine synthesis. Other factors, including presence of
      neuronal cell bodies, parenchymal chromaffin cells, non-neuronal sites of
      catecholamine synthesis and alternative sources of tissue DOPA, must also be
      considered when tissue catecholamines, DOPA and TH are examined as markers of
      sympathetic innervation and local catecholamine synthesis.

PMID- 9973234
TI  - Stimulation of immunoreactive insulin release by glucose in rat brain
      synaptosomes.
AB  - The effect of glucose on the release of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) in
      synaptosomes isolated from rat brain was studied. In the absence of glucose
      synaptosomes release about 4% (0.77 microIU/mg protein) of total content. Glucose
      increases significantly the IRI released by synaptosomes. Addition of the
      glycolytic inhibitor iodoacetic acid (IAA), decreased the glucose-induced release
      of IRI by about 50%, suggesting that glucose metabolism is involved. The
      observation that glucose provides a concentration related signal for IRI release
      indicates that this synaptosomal preparation may be useful as a model for
      research on the mechanism of insulin release in brain.

PMID- 9973235
TI  - Inactivation of the purified bovine mu opioid receptor by sulfhydryl reagents.
AB  - We have investigated the role of cysteine residues in a highly purified mu opioid
      receptor protein (muORP) by examining the effect of -SH reagents on the binding
      of opioid ligands. Treatment of muORP, which is devoid of additional proteins,
      eliminates complications that arise from reaction of -SH reagents with other
      components, such as G proteins. Reagents tested include N-ethylmaleimide, 5,5'
      dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic) acid, and two derivatives of methanethiosulfonate.
      Specific opioid binding was inactivated by micromolar concentrations of all -SH
      reagents tested. Agonist binding ([3H]DAMGO) was much more sensitive to
      inactivation than antagonist binding ([3H]bremazocine). Prebinding muORP with 100
      nM naloxone protected antagonist and agonist binding from inactivation by -SH
      reagents. The results of these experiments strongly suggest that at least one,
      and possibly more, reactive cysteine residue(s) is present on the mu opioid
      receptor protein molecule, positioned near the ligand binding site and accessible
      to -SH reagents.

PMID- 9973236
TI  - Immunohistochemical localization of calmodulin-dependent cyclic phosphodiesterase
      in the human brain.
AB  - The amplification of cyclic nucleotide 'second messenger' signals within neurons
      is controlled by phosphodiesterases which are responsible for their degradation.
      Calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase (CaMPDE) is an abundant enzyme in brain
      which carries out this function. For the first time, we have localized CaMPDE in
      the normal human brain at various ages, using a mononoclonal antibody designated
      A6. This antibody was generated using standard techniques, purified, and applied
      to tissue sections. Autopsy specimens of human brain with no neuropathological
      abnormalities were selected representing a range of pre- and postnatal ages.
      Sections of various brain regions were evaluated for immunoreactivity, graded as
      nil, equivocal, or definite. We demonstrated definite CaMPDE immunohistochemical
      staining in neocortex, especially in neurons in layers 2 and 5. There was
      definite neuronal immunoreactivity in the hippocampus, and in the subiculum. The
      striatum had definite patchy neuronal staining. Definite terminal staining in the
      globus pallidus externa and substantia nigra pars reticulata outlined resident
      neurons, interpreted as axonal terminal staining. Cerebellar Purkinje cells
      showed definite immunoreactivity. In the developing brain, definite
      immunohistochemical staining was seen in the cerebellar external granular layer.
      The expression of CaMPDE in specific subsets of neurons suggests they may
      correlate with cells having dopaminergic innervation and/or high levels of
      neuronal integration.

PMID- 9973237
TI  - Effect of ammonia and methionine sulfoximine on myo-inositol transport in
      cultured astrocytes.
AB  - Ammonia causes astrocyte swelling which is abrogated by methionine sulfoximine
      (MSO). Since myo-inositol is an important osmolyte, we investigated the effects
      of ammonia and MSO on myoinositol flux in cultured astrocytes for periods up to
      72 hours. Uptake of myo-inositol was significantly decreased by 26.7 (P < 0.05)
      and 39.3 (P < 0.006) percent after 48 hours of exposure to 5 or 10 mM ammonia,
      respectively. The maximum rate of uptake was 14.0+/-0.5 nmol/hour/mg protein
      which was reduced to 7.45+/-0.27 and 7.02+/-0.57 nmoles/hour/mg protein by 5 or
      10 mM ammonia, respectively. The Kms by Michaelis-Menten equation for the
      control, and in the presence of 5, or 10 mM ammonia were 32.5+/-4.52, 44.4+/
      5.82, and 39.3+/-7.0 microM, respectively. Kms by Hanes-Woolf plot for the
      control, 5, or 10 mM ammonia were 25, 45, and 40 microM, respectively. Treatment
      of astrocytes with either 5 or 10 mM NH4Cl for 6 hours caused a decrease in myo
      inositol content by 66% and 58%, respectively. MSO (3 mM) partially diminished
      the ammonia-induced inhibition of myo-inositol uptake and decreased myo-inositol
      content by 31% after 24 hours. Additionally, ammonia increased myo-inositol
      efflux briefly through the fast efflux component but had little effect on myo
      inositol efflux through the slow efflux component of astrocytes exposed to
      ammonia for up to 72 hours. Predominantly decreased myo-inositol influx coupled
      with brief efflux through the fast component may represent an adaptive response
      to diminish the extent of ammonia-induced astrocyte swelling.

PMID- 9973238
TI  - Interaction of nitric oxide donors and ascorbic acid on D-[3H] aspartate efflux
      from rat striatal slices.
AB  - There are conflicting reports in the literature concerning the neuroprotective
      effect of ascorbic acid on excitotoxic processes in which excessive glutamate
      release and nitric oxide are supposed to be major factors. To study the influence
      of ascorbate on the nitric oxide modulated glutamate release rat striatal slices,
      preloaded with the tritiated glutamate analog D-aspartate, were used. The high
      potassium-induced efflux of D-[3H]aspartate was concentration dependently
      stimulated by the nitric oxide donors sodium nitroprusside, S-nitroso-N
      acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) or 5-amino 3-morpholinyl-1,2,3-oxadiazolium chloride
      (SIN-1), as well as by solutions of gaseous nitric oxide and, interestingly, by
      cyanide. Only the stimulation of D-[3H]aspartate release by SNAP and
      nitroprusside was affected by ascorbate in terms of a highly significant
      potentiation. Ascorbate was shown to exert its effect primarily by influencing
      the decomposition of these nitric oxide donors rather than by a direct
      interaction of ascorbate with nitric monoxide on glutamate release.

PMID- 9973240
TI  - Effects of L-carnitine on the formation of fatty acid ethyl esters in brain and
      peripheral organs after short-term ethanol administration in rat.
AB  - A study was undertaken in rats to evaluate the effects of short-term oral ethanol
      administration on the levels of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) in brain and
      peripheral organs in the presence and absence of pretreatment with L-carnitine.
      Administration of ethanol to rats for seven days resulted in fatty acid ethyl
      ester formation, particularly in the heart and brain, but also in the kidney and
      liver. FAEE generation was associated with a significant increase of GSH
      transferase activity. Treatment with L-carnitine significantly reduced both FAEE
      and GSH transferase activity, and these effects were associated with a
      significant decrease in alcohol blood concentrations. The present evidence
      supports the hypothesis that fatty acid ethyl esters could be mediators involved
      in the production of alcohol-dependent syndromes. Administration of L-carnitine
      through an increment in lipid metabolism and turnover, and by the modulation of
      cellular antioxidant enzymes, greatly reduces these metabolic abnormalities
      supporting its potential usefulness as a pharmacological tool in alcoholism
      management.

PMID- 9973239
TI  - U18666A inhibits intracellular cholesterol transport and neurotransmitter release
      in human neuroblastoma cells.
AB  - To determine if neurochemical function might be impaired in cell models with
      altered cholesterol balance, we studied the effects of U18666A (3-beta-[(2
      diethyl-amino)ethoxy]androst-5-en-17-one) on intracellular cholesterol metabolism
      in three human neuroblastoma cell lines (SK-N-SH, SK-N-MC, and SH-SY5Y). U18666A
      (< or =0.2 microg/ml) completely inhibited low density lipoprotein (LDL)
      stimulated cholesterol esterification in SK-N-SH cells, while cholesterol
      esterification stimulated by 25-hydroxycholesterol or bacterial sphingomyelinase
      was unaffected or partially inhibited, respectively. U18666A also blocked LDL
      stimulated downregulation of LDL receptor and caused lysosomal accumulation of
      cholesterol as measured by filipin staining. U18666A treatment for 18 h resulted
      in 70% inhibition of K+-evoked norepinephrine release in phorbol ester
      differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, while release stimulated by the calcium ionophore
      A23187 was only slightly affected. These results suggest that U 18666A may
      preferentially block a voltage-regulated Ca2+ channel involved in norepinephrine
      release and that alterations in neurotransmitter secretion might be a feature of
      disorders such as Niemann-Pick Type C, in which intracellular cholesterol
      transport and distribution are impaired.

PMID- 9973241
TI  - Regulation of M1 muscarinic receptor-mediated signaling in intact cells by
      exogenous, but not endogenously produced, nitric oxide.
AB  - Regulation of nitric oxide (NO) formation is critical to ensure maintenance of
      appropriate cellular concentrations of this labile, signaling molecule. This
      study investigated the role exogenous and endogenously produced NO have in
      feeding back to regulate NO synthesis in intact cells. Two NO donors inhibited
      activation of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in response to the muscarinic receptor
      agonist carbachol in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with
      the M1 muscarinic receptor and nNOS. The presence of the NO scavenger [2-(4
      Carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium salt] (C
      PTIO) potentiated carbachol-induced activation of nNOS in transfected CHO cells.
      C-PTIO also potentiated nNOS activity in response to the Ca2+ ionophore
      ionomycin. In contrast, the NO scavenger oxyhemoglobin depressed carbachol- and
      ionomycin-induced NO formation. These discrepant results suggest that it is
      unlikely that endogenously produced NO induces feed back inhibition at the level
      of nNOS activation itself. Exogenous sources of NO inhibited carbachol-induced
      inositol phosphates formation. However, endogenously produced NO did not appear
      to feed back to regulate phosphoinositide hydrolysis as there was no difference
      in [3H]inositol phosphates formation between cells that do or do not express
      nNOS. There was also no change in carbachol-induced [3H]inositol phosphates
      formation in the presence or absence of a NOS inhibitor or the NO scavenger C
      PTIO. A decrease in the carbachol-mediated transient Ca2+ peak was observed in
      cells that express nNOS as compared to cells lacking the enzyme, suggesting that
      endogenous NO might inhibit receptor mediated Ca2+ signaling. This conclusion,
      however, was not supported by the lack of ability of a NOS inhibitor to modulate
      carbachol-induced Ca2+ elevations. Taken together, these results highlight
      differences in the regulation of the nNOS activation cascade by endogenous vs.
      exogenous sources of NO.

PMID- 9973243
TI  - Abstracts of the meeting of the fortieth anniversary of the oldest society for
      neurochemistry in the world: the Japanese Society for Neurochemistry (JSN).

PMID- 9973242
TI  - Presynaptic dopaminergic function in the nucleus accumbens following chronic
      opiate treatment and precipitated withdrawal.
AB  - Naloxone treatment at three days following implantation of pellets containing
      morphine base increased uptake of tritiated dopamine by the nucleus accumbens but
      did not alter efflux of tritiated dopamine by the nucleus accumbens or tritiated
      norepinephrine by the hippocampus. At six days following placement of pellets
      containing morphine base, withdrawal score was increased after treatment with
      either saline or naloxone, indicating that animals were undergoing spontaneous
      opiate withdrawal. Fractional efflux of tritiated dopamine was decreased at this
      time point following intermittent stimulation with 317 and 1000 microM 4
      aminopyridine, for striatal slices obtained from animals pretreated with either
      saline or naloxone. For the nucleus accumbens at six days after placement of
      morphine pellets, similar decreases in the efflux of tritiated dopamine were only
      observed in slices obtained from naloxone treated animals. Fractional dopamine
      efflux was also diminished after in vitro exposure to rising concentrations of 4
      aminopyridine, amphetamine, or cocaine for tissue obtained from the nucleus
      accumbens, but not for slices from the striatum at six days following morphine
      pellet implantation. In conclusion, deficits in dopamine efflux by the nucleus
      accumbens occur at a time when animals are undergoing spontaneous opiate
      withdrawal at six days following morphine pellet implantation, but do not occur
      at an earlier time point when withdrawal is precipitated by naloxone treatment.
      These deficits are apparent for brain slices obtained from the striatum or
      nucleus accumbens after exposure to rising concentrations of different in vitro
      treatments, with tissue obtained from the nucleus accumbens being more sensitive
      than the striatum to dopamine efflux produced by a wider range of treatments.

PMID- 9973244
TI  - Cytokine involvement in cancer anorexia/cachexia: role of megestrol acetate and
      medroxyprogesterone acetate on cytokine downregulation and improvement of
      clinical symptoms.
AB  - The characteristic clinical picture of anorexia, tissue wasting, loss of body
      weight accompanied by a decrease in muscle mass and adipose tissue, and poor
      performance status that often precedes death has been named the cancer-related
      anorexia/cachexia syndrome (CACS). Chronic administration of pro-inflammatory
      cytokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor
      necrosis factor (TNF) either alone or in combination, is capable of reproducing
      the different features of CACS. High serum levels of these cytokines have been
      found in cancer patients, which seem to correlate with progression of the tumor.
      This paper describes a series of experimental and clinical studies demonstrating
      that: (1) high serum levels of some cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, and TNF, are
      present in advanced-stage cancer patients, particularly those with CACS; (2)
      megestrol acetate (MA) has a beneficial therapeutic effect on CACS symptoms, such
      as appetite, body weight, and quality-of-life; (3) MA downregulates the synthesis
      and release of cytokines and relieves the symptoms of CACS; (4) cytokines play a
      key role in the onset of CACS; (5) medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) reduces the
      in vitro production of cytokines and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) by
      peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of cancer patients; and (6) MA and MPA
      reduce the cisplatin-induced 5-HT release in vitro from PBMC of cancer patients.
      Based on these results, a clinical study incorporating MA/MPA in combination with
      chemotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy may be warranted.

PMID- 9973245
TI  - Kaposi's sarcoma pathogenesis: a link between immunology and tumor biology.
AB  - Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) was a rare disease in Europe and North America until a
      decade ago, when it became the most common neoplasm complicating the acquired
      immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), where it acquires an aggressive course.
      Clinical and experimental data suggest that, at least in early stage, KS may not
      be a true sarcoma, but an hyperplastic-proliferative lesion that may regress. At
      least three components characterize KS lesions: (1) neoangiogenesis and
      proliferation of spindle-shaped cells of endothelial and macrophage cell origin,
      some of which may originate from a circulating precursor; (2) a cellular
      infiltrate represented by macrophages, lymphoid cells, mast cells, and
      neutrophils; and (3) the infection of spindle cells and mononuclear cells with a
      new virus of the Herpesvirinae family defined KS-associated herpesvirus or human
      herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8). KS lesions are highly responsive, in terms of growth, to
      inflammatory cytokines (IC) and many lesional cell components are able to secrete
      cytokines and chemokines, which induce paracrine-autocrine mechanisms of growth,
      angiogenesis, and promote further cellular recruitment. The association between
      HHV-8 and KS is close; however, the role of the virus in KS development is yet
      unknown. Nevertheless, the virus has the potential to encode for homologs of
      cellular cytokines and some chemokines and its reactivation is sensitive to
      stimuli provided by IC. This review focuses on these aspects of KS pathogenesis,
      trying to reconcile many of the clinical and experimental observations. Finally,
      the role of the HIV-1 Tat protein as a factor of progression in AIDS-KS as well
      as the role of cellular and HHV-8 encoded proto-oncogenes as factors and markers
      of progression of KS to a true malignancy is reviewed.

PMID- 9973246
TI  - The molecular biology of breast cancer: accelerating clinical applications.
AB  - Recent advances in basic science have led to a better understanding of the
      molecular events important in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Very little of
      this new knowledge, however, has had a significant impact on improving the
      diagnosis and therapy of breast cancer. We review many of the molecular events
      important in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, including inherited abnormalities
      in BRCA-1 and BRCA-2, p53, ATM, and PTEN and sporadic alterations in growth
      factors and their receptors, signal transduction, cell cycle control, DNA repair,
      cell death, angiogenesis, and invasion and metastasis. We suggest ways to speed
      up clinical applications of the new molecular knowledge base through the use of
      preclinical disease models, development of high throughput sample analysis and
      infrastructure programs to facilitate translational research, implementation of
      practice guidelines, and development of regional oncology networks. Only through
      the implementation of such a deliberate, multifaceted strategy will the gap
      between the research laboratory and the clinic be closed.

PMID- 9973247
TI  - The role of Pax3 and Pax7 in development and cancer.
AB  - Pax genes consist of a family of transcription factors that are essentially
      required for the genesis of a variety of tissues and organs. Pax3 and Pax7 are
      specifically expressed in the dorsal neural tube and the developing somite. Loss
      of-function mutations of Pax3 in Splotch mice and in Waardenburg syndrome in man
      revealed that Pax3 is necessary for the proper formation of caudal neural crest
      derivatives and for the migration of myoblasts into the limb. Mice with a mutated
      Pax7 gene suffer from defects in cephalic neural crest derivatives only and
      indicate that both genes may functionally share some redundancy. Gain-of-function
      mutations creating fusion proteins consisting of PAX3 or PAX7 and another
      transcription factor of the forkhead family (FKHR) are associated with alveolar
      rhabdomyosarcomas. The analyses of Pax3 and Pax7 function in normal development
      indicate that Pax3 (possibly also Pax7) triggers neoplastic development by
      maintaining cells in a deregulated undifferentiated and proliferative state in
      alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas.

PMID- 9973248
TI  - Chronic retroviruses and oncogenesis.
AB  - Chronic retroviruses are associated with both malignant and nonmalignant diseases
      in vertebrates. This review addresses the pathogenetic basis of neoplastic
      processes that have been directly or indirectly associated with chronic
      retroviruses.

PMID- 9973249
TI  - Role of the third intracellular loop for the activation of gonadotropin
      receptors.
AB  - Hyperfunctional endocrine thyroid and testicular disorders can frequently be
      traced back to gainof-function mutations in glycoprotein hormone receptor genes.
      Deletion mutations in the third intracellular (i3) loop of the TSH receptor have
      recently been identified as a cause of constitutive receptor activity. To examine
      whether the underlying mechanism of receptor activation applies to all
      glycoprotein hormone receptors, we created deletion mutations in the LH and FSH
      receptors. In analogy to the situation with the TSH receptor, a deletion of nine
      amino acids resulted in constitutive activity irrespective of the location of
      deletions within the i3 loop of the LH receptor. In contrast, only one (delta563
      566) of four different 4-amino acid deletion mutants displayed agonist
      independent activity. Systematic examination of the structural requirements for
      this effect in the delta563-566 mutant revealed that only deletions including
      D564 resulted in constitutive receptor activity. Replacement of D564 by G, K, and
      N led to agonist-independent cAMP formation while introduction of a negatively
      charged E silenced constitutive receptor activity, indicating that an anionic
      amino acid at this position may be required to maintain an inactive receptor
      conformation. Insertion of A residues up- and downstream of D564 did not perturb
      receptor quiescence, showing that a certain degree of spatial freedom of the
      negatively charged amino acid within the context of the i3 loop is well
      tolerated. In contrast to the results obtained with the LH receptor, deletion of
      the corresponding D567 from the i3 loop of the FSH receptor did not cause
      constitutive receptor activation, highlighting significant differences in the
      activation mechanism of gonadotropin receptors.

PMID- 9973251
TI  - Subcellular distribution and function of Rab3A, B, C, and D isoforms in insulin
      secreting cells.
AB  - Insulin-secreting cells express four GTPases of the Rab3 family. After separation
      of extracts of INS-1 cells on a sucrose density gradient, the bulk of the A, B,
      and C isoforms was recovered in the fractions enriched in insulin-containing
      secretory granules. Rab3D was also mainly associated with secretory granules, but
      a fraction of this isoform was localized on lighter organelles. Analyses by
      confocal microscopy of immunostained HIT-T15 cells transfected with epitope
      tagged constructs confirmed the distribution of the Rab3 isoforms. Transfection
      of HIT-T15 cells with GTPase-deficient mutants of the Rab3 isoforms decreased
      nutrient-induced insulin release to different degrees (D>B>A>>C), while
      overexpression of Rab3 wild types had minor or no effects. Expression of the same
      Rab3 mutants in PC12 cells provoked an inhibition of K+-stimulated secretion of
      dense core vesicles, indicating that, in beta-cells and neuroendocrine cells, the
      four Rab3 isoforms play a similar role in exocytosis. A Rab3A/C chimera in which
      the carboxyterminal domain of A was replaced with the corresponding region of C
      inhibited insulin secretion as Rab3A. In contrast, a Rab3C/A chimera containing
      the amino-terminal domain of C was less potent and reduced exocytosis as Rab3C.
      This suggests that the degree of inhibition obtained after transfection of the
      Rab3 isoforms is determined by differences in the variable amino-terminal region.

PMID- 9973250
TI  - Growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6)/adhesion related kinase (Ark) signaling
      promotes gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal survival via extracellular
      signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt.
AB  - We identified Ark, the mouse homolog of the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl (Ufo,
      Tyro7), in a screen for novel factors involved in GnRH neuronal migration by
      using differential-display PCR on cell lines derived at two windows during GnRH
      neuronal development. Ark is expressed in Gn10 GnRH cells, developed from a tumor
      in the olfactory area when GnRH neurons are migrating, but not in GT1-7 cells,
      derived from a tumor in the forebrain when GnRH neurons are postmigratory. Since
      Ark (Ax1) signaling protects from programmed cell death in fibroblasts, we
      hypothesized that it may play an antiapoptotic role in GnRH neurons. Gn10 (Ark
      positive) GnRH cells were more resistant to serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis
      than GT1-7 (Ark negative) cells, and this effect was augmented with the addition
      of Gas6, the Ark (Ax1) ligand. Gas6/Ark stimulated the extracellular signal
      regulated kinase, ERK, and the serine-threonine kinase, Akt, a downstream
      component of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) pathway. To determine whether
      ERK or Akt activation is required for the antiapoptotic effects of Gas6/Ark in
      GnRH neurons, cells were serum starved in the absence or presence of Gas6, with
      or without inhibitors of ERK and PI3-K signaling cascades. Gas6 rescued Gn10
      cells from apoptosis, and this effect was blocked by coincubation of the cells
      with the mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor, PD98059, or
      wortmannin (but not rapamycin). These data support an important role for Gas6/Ark
      signaling via the ERK and PI3-K (via Akt) pathways in the protection of GnRH
      neurons from programmed cell death across neuronal migration.

PMID- 9973252
TI  - Down-regulation of liver JAK2-STAT5b signaling by the female plasma pattern of
      continuous growth hormone stimulation.
AB  - The suppression of male-specific, GH pulse-induced, liver transcription in adult
      female rats has been linked to the down-regulation of STAT5b activation by the
      female plasma pattern of near-continuous GH exposure. The mechanism underlying
      this down-regulation was studied in the rat liver cell line CWSV-1, where
      continuous GH suppressed the level of activated (tyrosine- phosphorylated) STAT5b
      to approximately 10-20% of the maximal GH pulse-induced STAT5b signal within 3 h.
      In contrast to the robust JAK2 kinase-dependent STAT5b activation loop that is
      established by a GH pulse, JAK2 kinase signaling to individual STAT5b molecules
      was found to be short lived in cells treated with GH continuously. Moreover,
      maintenance of the low-level STAT5b signal required ongoing protein synthesis and
      persisted for at least 7 days provided that GH was present in the culture
      continuously. Increased STAT5b DNA-binding activity was observed in cells treated
      with the proteasome inhibitor MG132, suggesting that at least one component of
      the GH receptor (GHR)-JAK2-STAT5b signaling pathway becomes labile in response to
      continuous GH treatment. The phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor pervanadate
      fully reversed the down-regulation of STAT5b DNA-binding activity in continuous
      GH-treated cells by a mechanism that involves both increased STAT5b activation
      and decreased STAT5b dephosphorylation. Moreover, the requirement for ongoing GH
      stimulation and active protein synthesis to maintain STAT5b activity in
      continuous GH-treated cells were both eliminated by pervanadate treatment,
      suggesting that phosphotyrosine dephosphorylation may be an obligatory first step
      in the internalization/degradation pathway for the GHR-JAK2 complex. Finally, the
      sustaining effect of the serine kinase inhibitor H7 on GH pulse-induced JAK2
      signaling to STAT5b was not observed in continuous GH-treated cells. These
      findings suggest a model where continuous GH exposure of liver cells down
      regulates the STAT5b pathway by a mechanism that involves enhanced
      dephosphorylation of both STAT5b and GHR-JAK2, with the latter step leading to
      increased internalization/degradation of the re-ceptor-kinase complex.

PMID- 9973253
TI  - Reconstitution of the protein kinase A response of the rat prolactin promoter:
      differential effects of distinct Pit-1 isoforms and functional interaction with
      Oct-1.
AB  - PRL gene transcription is primarily regulated by dopamine, which lowers cAMP
      levels and inhibits protein kinase A (PKA) activity. Current data indicate that
      the cAMP/PKA response maps to the most proximal Pit-1/Pit-1beta binding site
      footprint I (FP I) on the rat PRL (rPRL) promoter. Pit-1, a POU-homeo domain
      transcription factor, is specifically expressed in the anterior pituitary and is
      required both for the normal development of anterior pituitary cell types,
      somatotrophs, lactotrophs, and thyrotrophs, and for the expression of their
      hormones: GH, PRL, and TSHbeta. Pit-1 has been shown to functionally interact,
      via FP I, with several transcription factors, including Oct-1, a ubiquitous
      homeobox protein, and thyrotroph embryonic factor, which is found in lactotrophs,
      to activate basal rPRL promoter activity. Pit-1beta/GHF-2, a distinct splice
      isoform of Pit-1, acts to inhibit Ras-activated transcription from the rPRL
      promoter, which is mediated by a functional interaction between Pit-1 and Ets-1
      at the most distal Pit-1 binding site (FP IV). In this manuscript we show 1) that
      the Pit-1beta isoform not only fails to block PKA activation, but is, in fact, a
      superior mediator of the PKA response; 2) that the PKA response requires intact
      POU-specific and POU-homeo domains of Pit-1; and 3) that Oct-1, but not
      thyrotroph embryonic factor, functions as a Pit-1-interacting factor to mediate
      an optimal PKA response.

PMID- 9973254
TI  - Stimulation of aromatase P450 promoter (II) activity in endometriosis and its
      inhibition in endometrium are regulated by competitive binding of steroidogenic
      factor-1 and chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor to the same
      cis-acting element.
AB  - In stromal cells of endometriosis, marked levels of aromatase P450 (P450arom)
      mRNA and activity are present and can be vigorously stimulated by (Bu)2cAMP or
      PGE2 to give rise to physiologically significant estrogen biosynthesis. Since
      eutopic endometrial tissue or stromal cells lack P450arom expression, we studied
      the molecular basis for differential P450arom expression in endometriosis and
      eutopic endometrium. First, we demonstrated by rapid amplification of cDNA 5'
      ends that P450arom expression in pelvic endometriotic lesions is regulated almost
      exclusively via the alternative promoter II. Then, luciferase reporter plasmids
      containing deletion mutations of the 5'-flanking region of promoter II were
      transfected into endometriotic stromal cells. We identified two critical
      regulatory regions for cAMP induction of promoter II activity: 1) a-214/-100 bp
      proximal region responsible for a 3.7-fold induction, and 2) a -517/ -214 distal
      region responsible for potentiation of cAMP response up to 13-fold. In the -214/
      100 region, we studied eutopic endometrial and endometriotic nuclear protein
      binding to a nuclear receptor half-site (NRHS, AGGTCA) and an imperfect cAMP
      response element (TGCACGTCA). Using electrophoretic mobility shift assay, cAMP
      response element-binding activity in nuclear proteins from both endometriotic and
      eutopic endometrial cells gave rise to formation of identical DNA-protein
      complexes. The NRHS probe, on the other hand, formed a distinct complex with
      nuclear proteins from endometriotic cells, which migrated at a much faster rate
      compared with the complex formed with nuclear proteins from eutopic endometrial
      cells. Employing recombinant proteins and antibodies against steroidogenic factor
      1 (SF-1) and chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor (COUP-TF),
      we demonstrated that COUP-TF but not SF-1 bound to NRHS in eutopic endometrial
      cells, whereas SF-1 was the primary NRHS-binding protein in endometriotic cells.
      In fact, COUP-TF transcripts were present in both eutopic endometrial (n = 12)
      and endometriotic tissues (n = 8), whereas SF-1 transcripts were detected in all
      endometriotic tissues (n = 12), but in only 3 of 15 eutopic endometrial tissues.
      Moreover, we demonstrated a dose-dependent direct competition between SF-1 and
      COUP-TF for occupancy of the NRHS, to which SF-1 bound with a higher affinity.
      Finally, overexpression of SF-1 in eutopic endometrial and endometriotic cells
      strikingly potentiated baseline and cAMP-induced activities of -517 promoter II
      construct, whereas overexpression of COUP-TF almost completely abolished these
      activities. In conclusion, COUP-TF might be one of the factors responsible for
      the inhibition of P450arom expression in eutopic endometrial stromal cells, which
      lack SF-1 expression in the majority (80%) of the samples; in contrast, aberrant
      SF-1 expression in endometriotic stromal cells can override this inhibition by
      competing for the same DNA-binding site, which is likely to account for high
      levels of baseline and cAMP-induced aromatase activity.

PMID- 9973255
TI  - The Adrenomedullin gene is a target for negative regulation by the Myc
      transcription complex.
AB  - The Myc family of transcription factors plays a central role in vertebrate growth
      and development although relatively few genetic targets of the Myc transcription
      complex have been identified. In this study, we used mRNA differential display to
      investigate gene expression changes induced by the overexpression of the MC29 v
      Myc oncoprotein in C3H10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts. We identified the transcript of
      the adrenomedullin gene (AM) as an mRNA that is specifically down-regulated in v
      Myc overexpressing C3H10T1/2 cell lines as well as in a Rat 1a cell line
      inducible for c-Myc. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the mouse AM promoter
      reveals the presence of consensus CAAT and TATA boxes as well as an initiator
      element (INR) with significant sequence similarity to the INR responsible for Myc
      mediated repression of the adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP). Reporter gene
      assays confirm that the region of the AM promoter containing the INR is the
      target of Myc-mediated repression. Exogenous application of AM peptide to
      quiescent C3H10T1/2 cultures does not stimulate growth, and constitutive
      expression of AM mRNA in C3H10T1/2 cells correlates with a reduced potential of
      the cells to be cotransformed by v-Myc and oncogenic Ras p21. Additional studies
      showing that AM mRNA is underrepresented in C3H10T1/2 cell lines stably
      transformed by Ras p21 or adenovirus E1A suggest that AM gene expression is
      incompatible with deregulated growth in this cell line. We propose a model in
      which the repression of AM gene expression by Myc is important to the role of
      this oncoprotein as a potentiator of cellular transformation in C3H10T1/2 and
      perhaps other cell lines.

PMID- 9973256
TI  - A novel mechanism for cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate regulation of gene
      expression by CREB-binding protein.
AB  - The pituitary-specific transcription factor, Pit-1, is necessary to mediate
      protein kinase A (PKA) regulation of the GH, PRL, and TSH-beta subunit genes in
      the pituitary. Since these target genes lack classical cAMP DNA response elements
      (CREs), the mechanism of this regulation was previously unknown. We show that
      CREB binding protein (CBP), through two cysteine-histidine rich domains (C/H1 and
      C/H3), specifically and constitutively interacts with Pit-1 in pituitary cells.
      Pit-1 and CBP synergistically activate the PRL gene after PKA stimulation in a
      mechanism requiring both an intact Pit-1 amino-terminal and DNA-binding domain. A
      CBP construct containing the C/H3 domain [amino acids (aa) 1678-2441], but not
      one lacking the C/H3 domain (aa 1891-2441), is sufficient to mediate this
      response. Neither construct augments PKA regulation of CRE-containing promoters.
      Fusion of either CBP fragment to the GAL4 DNA-binding domain transferred complete
      PKA regulation to a heterologous promoter. These findings provide a mechanism for
      CREB-independent regulation of gene expression by cAMP.

PMID- 9973257
TI  - Ligand-activated retinoic acid receptor inhibits AP-1 transactivation by
      disrupting c-Jun/c-Fos dimerization.
AB  - In the presence of retinoic acid (RA), the retinoid receptors, retinoic acid
      receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR), are able to up-regulate
      transcription directly by binding to RA-responsive elements on the promoters of
      responsive genes. Liganded RARs and RXRs are also capable of down-regulating
      transcription, but, by contrast, this is an indirect effect, mediated by the
      interaction of these nuclear receptors not with DNA but the transcription factor
      activating protein-1 (AP-1). AP-1 is a dimeric complex of the protooncoproteins c
      Jun and c-Fos and directly regulates transcription of genes important for
      cellular growth. Previous in vitro results have suggested that RARs can block AP
      1 DNA binding. Using a mammalian two-hybrid system, we report here that human
      RARalpha (hRARalpha) can disrupt in a RA-dependent manner the homo- and
      heterodimerization properties of c-Jun and c-Fos. This inhibition of dimerization
      is cell specific, occurring only in those cells that exhibit RA-induced
      repression of AP-1 transcriptional activity. Furthermore, this mechanism appears
      to be specific for the RARs, since another potent inhibitor of AP-1 activity, the
      glucocorticoid receptor, does not affect AP-1 dimerization. Our data argue for a
      novel mechanism by which RARs can repress AP-1 DNA binding, in which liganded
      RARs are able to interfere with c-Jun/c-Jun homodimerization and c-Jun/c-Fos
      heterodimerization and, in this way, may prevent the formation of AP-1 complexes
      capable of DNA binding.

PMID- 9973258
TI  - Estrogen receptor domains E and F: role in dimerization and interaction with
      coactivator RIP-140.
AB  - We have used the yeast two-hybrid system to localize the ligand-dependent
      dimerization domain of the estrogen receptor-alpha (ER) to region E in vivo. In
      this system, the cDNAs corresponding to the A-D, E, E/F, A-E (deltaF), and full
      length (wtER) domains of the human ER were each cloned into the yeast two-hybrid
      vectors GAL4 DB and GAL4 TA and expressed in different combinations in yeast
      harboring a GAL1-lacZ reporter. The reporter was used as a relative measure of
      the interaction between the ER domains, through reconstitution of GAL4 activity.
      We found that the interaction of E or E/F domains of the ER with full-length ER
      is estradiol dependent and estrogen responsive element independent, as measured
      by the reconstitution of GAL4 activity from GAL4-E domain-containing fusion
      protein interactions. In the presence of F domain, this activity is reduced 10
      fold. The results suggest that sequences in the F domain are inhibitory to the
      dimerization signal that is present in the E region. We propose that the full
      length ER contains intrinsic dimerization restraints contributed by regions
      outside domain E that are released upon binding hormone agonist. In addition, we
      have demonstrated that coactivator RIP140 is able to interact with the ER in vivo
      at the E domain of the receptor in the presence of estrogen. Yeast two-hybrid
      analysis shows that RIP140 does not homodimerize in the presence or absence of
      estrogens. We present evidence showing that the ER has the inherent ability to
      interact with RIP140 in the presence of antiestrogens, but sequences inherent in
      the ER itself that are present outside of the E domain compromise this ability.

PMID- 9973259
TI  - Effects of mineralocorticoid receptor gene disruption on the components of the
      renin-angiotensin system in 8-day-old mice.
AB  - Targeted disruption of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) gene results in
      pseudohypoaldosteronism type I with failure to thrive, severe dehydration,
      hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and high plasma levels of renin, angiotensin II, and
      aldosterone. In this study, mRNA expression of the different components of the
      renin-angiotensin system (RAS) were evaluated in liver, lung, heart, kidney and
      adrenal gland to assess their response to a state of extreme sodium depletion.
      Angiotensinogen, renin, angiotensin-I converting enzyme, and angiotensin II
      receptor (AT1 and AT2) mRNA expressions were determined by Northern blot and RT
      PCR analysis. Furthermore, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry allowed
      us to identify the cell types involved in the variation of the RAS component
      expression. In the heterozygous mice (MR+/-), compared with wild-type mice
      (MR+/+), there was no significant variation of any mRNA of the RAS components. In
      MR knockout mice (MR-/-), compared with wild-type mice, there were significant
      increases in the expression level of several RAS components. In the liver,
      angiotensinogen and AT1 receptor mRNA expressions were moderately stimulated. In
      the kidney, renin mRNA was increased up to 10-fold and in situ hybridization
      showed a marked recruitment of renin-producing cells; however, the levels of
      angiotensin-I converting enzyme mRNA and AT1 mRNA were not changed.
      Interestingly, in adrenal gland, renin expression was also strongly up-regulated
      in a thickened zona glomerulosa, whereas AT1 mRNA expression remained unchanged.
      Altogether, these results demonstrate that in the MR knockout mice model, RAS
      component expressions are differentially altered, renin being the most stimulated
      component. Angiotensinogen and AT1 in the liver are also increased, but the other
      elements of the RAS are not affected.

PMID- 9973260
TI  - Cell membrane and nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs) originate from a single
      transcript: studies of ERalpha and ERbeta expressed in Chinese hamster ovary
      cells.
AB  - The existence of a putative membrane estrogen receptor (ER) has been supported by
      studies accomplished over the past 20 yr. However, the origin and functions of
      this receptor are not well defined. To study the membrane receptor, we
      transiently transfected cDNAs for ERalpha or ERbeta into Chinese hamster ovary
      (CHO) cells. Transfection of ERalpha resulted in a single transcript by Northern
      blot, specific binding of labeled 17beta-estradiol (E2), and expression of ER in
      both nuclear and membrane cell fractions. Competitive binding studies in both
      compartments revealed near identical dissociation constants (K(d)S) of 0.283 and
      0.287 nM, respectively, but the membrane receptor number was only 3% as great as
      the nuclear receptor density. Transfection of ERbeta3 also yielded a single
      transcript and nuclear and membrane receptors with respective Kd values of 1.23
      and 1.14 nM; the membrane receptor number was only 2% compared with expressed
      nuclear receptors. Estradiol binding to CHO-ERalpha or CHO-ERbeta activated
      Galphaq and G(alpha)s proteins in the membrane and rapidly stimulated
      corresponding inositol phosphate production and adenylate cyclase activity.
      Binding by 17-beta-E2 to either expressed receptor comparably enhanced the
      nuclear incorporation of thymidine, critically dependent upon the activation of
      the mitogen-activated protein kinase, ERK (extracellular regulated kinase). In
      contrast, c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity was stimulated by 17-beta-E2 in ERbeta
      expressing CHO, but was inhibited in CHO-ERalpha cells. In summary, membrane and
      nuclear ER can be derived from a single transcript and have near-identical
      affinities for 17-beta-E2, but there are considerably more nuclear than membrane
      receptors. This is also the first report that cells can express a membrane
      ERbeta. Both membrane ERs activate G proteins, ERK, and cell proliferation, but
      there is novel differential regulation of c-Jun kinase activity by ERbeta and
      ERalpha.

PMID- 9973261
TI  - Transcriptional regulation by a naturally occurring truncated rat estrogen
      receptor (ER), truncated ER product-1 (TERP-1).
AB  - Truncated estrogen receptor product-1 (TERP-1) is a naturally occurring rat
      estrogen receptor (ER) variant transcribed from a unique start site and
      containing a unique 5'-untranslated region fused to exons 5-8 of ERalpha. TERP-1
      is detected only in the pituitary, and TERP-1 mRNA levels are highly regulated
      during the estrous cycle, exceeding those of the full-length ERalpha on
      proestrus. These data suggest that TERP-1 may play a role in estrogen- regulated
      feedback in the pituitary. We examined the ability of TERP-1 to modulate gene
      transcription in transiently transfected ER-negative (Cos-1) and ER-positive
      pituitary (alphaT3 and GH3) cell lines. In Cos-1 cells transiently cotransfected
      with TERP-1 and either ERalpha or ERbeta, low levels of TERP-1 (ratios of < 1:1
      with ER) enhanced transcription of model promoters containing estrogen response
      elements by an average of 3- to 4-fold above that seen with ER alone. At higher
      concentrations of TERP-1 (> 1:1 with ER) transcription was inhibited. TERP-1 also
      had a biphasic action on transcription in the alphaT3 and GH3 pituitary cell
      lines, although the stimulatory action was less pronounced. TERP-1 actions were
      dependent on ligand-activated ER as TERP-1 did not bind estradiol in transfected
      Cos-1 cells or in vitro, and estrogen antagonists prevented the stimulatory
      effects of TERP-1. Coimmunoprecipitation studies suggest that TERP-1 does not
      bind with high affinity to the full-length ERalpha. However, TERP-1 may compete
      with ER for binding sites of receptor cofactors because steroid receptor
      coactivator-1 (SRC-1) rescued the inhibitory actions of TERP-1. The ability of
      TERP-1 to both enhance and inhibit ER-dependent promoter activity suggests that
      TERP-1 may play a physiological role in estrogen feedback in the rat pituitary.

PMID- 9973262
TI  - Glucocorticoid receptor/signal transducer and activator of transcription 5
      (STAT5) interactions enhance STAT5 activation by prolonging STAT5 DNA binding and
      tyrosine phosphorylation.
AB  - The regulation of casein gene expression by both PRL and glucocorticoids has been
      a well studied paradigm for understanding how the signaling pathways regulated by
      these two hormones interact in the nucleus. Previous studies have demonstrated
      that the downstream effectors of these pathways, signal transducer and activator
      of transcription 5 (STAT5) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), are associated
      via protein-protein interactions and act synergistically to enhance beta-casein
      gene transcription. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy was used to
      demonstrate that PRL-activated STAT5 can translocate GR into the nucleus, and
      that ligand-bound GR can translocate STAT5 into the nucleus. This provided
      further support of an interaction between the two proteins. To better understand
      the mechanism of transcriptional synergy between STAT5 and GR, experiments were
      performed in cells transiently transfected with STAT5 alone or with STAT5 and GR.
      GR cotransfection enhanced the DNA-binding activity of STAT5 without affecting
      STAT5 protein levels. The enhancement of STAT5 DNA binding by GR resulted in the
      formation of a complex that exhibited prolonged DNA binding after PRL treatment.
      This was correlated with increased STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting
      that GR enhances STAT5 DNA binding by modulating the rate of STAT5
      dephosphorylation. In contrast, cotransfection of the estrogen receptor resulted
      in an overall decrease in STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation, without changing the
      kinetics of dephosphorylation. Enhancement of STAT5 activity by GR is, therefore,
      one component of the transcriptional synergy exhibited by STAT5 and GR at the
      beta-casein promoter and is an example of how transcription factors at a
      composite response element may modulate each other's activity.

PMID- 9973263
TI  - D5 dopamine receptors mediate estrogen-induced stimulation of hypothalamic atrial
      natriuretic factor neurons.
AB  - Whereas progesterone and dopamine share a common central pathway to modulate
      sexual behavior in female rats, the way in which estrogen is involved remains
      unclear. In a long-term rat hypothalamic cell culture system, atrial natriuretic
      factor-producing neurons were identified as candidate sites for integration of
      sex steroid action. Estrogen induces the expression of progesterone receptors in
      atrial natriuretic factor neurons and also augments neuronal functions by
      increasing expression of constitutively active D5 receptors that generate cAMP in
      a ligand-independent manner. Such a cross-talk mechanism allows estrogen to exert
      its effects via the adenylyl cyclase-cAMP system by augmenting dopamine receptor
      activity, an action that may play an important integrative role in facilitating
      female sexual behavior.

PMID- 9973264
TI  - Annual physiological changes in individually housed squirrel monkeys (Saimiri
      sciureus).
AB  - This study investigated whether annual changes in physiology occur in
      individually housed squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Physiological measures
      were monitored for 20 months. Over the course of the study, all individually
      housed males and females exhibited clear annual changes in gonadal and adrenal
      hormone levels, and males exhibited species-typical changes in body weight.
      Females exhibited a typical pattern of hormonal changes, with elevations in
      gonadal steroids occurring during the same months as elevations in cortisol.
      Males, however, exhibited an atypical pattern, as elevations in hormone levels
      were not synchronized with each other; rather, elevations in testosterone
      occurred out of phase with changes in cortisol and body weight. The timing of
      annual events in individually housed subjects was compared to that in nearby
      social groups, in which the timing of the breeding season from year to year was
      determined by social group formations and was outside the naturally occurring
      breeding season. Elevations of ovarian and adrenocortical hormones in
      individually housed females were synchronized with indices of breeding in
      heterosexual social groups. Similarly, weight gain in males was associated with
      elevations in cortisol and, as with socially housed males, tended to precede
      seasonal breeding in the social groups. In contrast, annual testosterone
      elevations for individually housed males were not synchronized with breeding in
      nearby social groups. We conclude that direct physical interaction is not
      required for the annual expression of breeding readiness. Synchrony of
      seasonality among squirrel monkeys may be accomplished by distant social cues in
      females, but males may require physical interaction for complete synchrony of
      annual physiological changes.

PMID- 9973265
TI  - Morphological characterization of ejaculated cynomolgus monkey (Macaca
      fascicularis) sperm.
AB  - The aim of this study was to give reference values for the frequency of
      morphological sperm abnormalities present in the semen from non-experimental
      cynomolgus monkeys as well as for the dimensions of sperm heads. Spermatozoa from
      the liquid portion of electroejaculates from 14 cynomolgus monkeys were air-dried
      as smears, fixed, and stained with Harris's Haematoxylin and subjected to visual
      analysis of morphology and computer-aided analysis of ten morphometric variables.
      The majority (83%) of sperm were morphologically normal. Tail defects were the
      most common (11%), and showed the highest variation between individuals, the
      values ranging between 4 and 23%. Head abnormalities consisted of large,
      tapering, and amorphous forms but were not frequent (0.4%), the values ranging
      between 0 and 1.3%. Midpiece imperfections were found in all the individuals; the
      mean percentage was 5%, and the range varied between 3 and 9%. Tail plus midpiece
      was the only multiple abnormality observed, with a mean value of 1.5% and a range
      between 0 and 8%. The majority of these double defects consisted of a coiled tail
      together with a coiled midpiece. Mean values for the morphometric parameters
      characterizing sperm heads were as follows: area 17.2 microm2, perimeter 15.2
      microm, length 5.8 microm, width 4.0 microm, L/W ratio 1.5, gray-level 98,
      ellipticity 0.2, first shape factor 0.9, second shape factor 1.4, and third shape
      factor 1.1. Overall coefficients of variation for the majority of parameters were
      below 7%, showing the great homogeneity in the dimensions of cynomolgus sperm
      heads. Most useful parameters for sperm characterization, according to their low
      variability, were perimeter, length, width, L/W ratio, and shape factors.
      Differences in these parameters were, however, observed between monkeys.

PMID- 9973266
TI  - Perception of novel changes in a familiar environment by socially-housed rhesus
      monkeys.
AB  - Many animals appear to have a sophisticated spatial representation of their
      environment. The development of these representations depends on the joint
      abilities of discriminating novel objects and remembering their locations.
      Variations of a detection of novelty paradigm were used to determine the nature
      and limitations of these abilities in rhesus monkeys. Socially-housed monkeys at
      two facilities (UMASS Primate Laboratory and the New England Regional Primate
      Research Center) were exposed to novelty detection tasks using a vertical object
      grid arranged on a mesh wall of the animals' pens. Monkeys rapidly responded with
      increased exploration to the replacement of one familiar object with a novel
      object, to the movement of a familiar object to a novel location, and to the
      swapping of two familiar objects. However, novelty of object was more salient
      than novelty of place. In these initial studies, monkeys were given continuous
      access to the grid, and only one or two changes occurred on a given day. In
      subsequent studies, the task difficulty was varied either by reducing the length
      of grid exposure or increasing the number of changed objects/session.
      Surprisingly, only a reduction in length of exposure markedly affected novelty
      detecting abilities. Rhesus monkeys clearly possessed the dual novelty detecting
      abilities. These skills were negatively affected only when monkeys' access to the
      grid was limited. The procedure employed here provided a convenient way to assess
      complex cognitive abilities in a group setting. It also relied on rhesus monkeys'
      inherent attraction to novelty and required only their species-typical behavior
      for assessment.

PMID- 9973267
TI  - Geographic variation in the calls of wild chimpanzees: a reassessment.
AB  - Male chimpanzees produce a species-typical call, the pant hoot, to communicate to
      conspecifics over long-distances. Calls given by males from the well-known Gombe
      and Mahale populations typically consist of four different phases: an
      introduction, build-up, climax, and let-down. Recent observations suggest that
      chimpanzees living in the Kibale National Park, Uganda, consistently give calls
      that lack a build-up and are thus qualitatively distinguishable acoustically from
      those made by other East African conspecifics. We analyzed additional recordings
      from Mahale and Kibale to re-examine geographic variation in chimpanzee calls.
      Results indicate that males from both sites produce pant hoots containing all
      four parts of the call. Calls made by chimpanzees from the two populations,
      however, differ in quantitative acoustic measures. Specifically, males at Kibale
      initiate their calls with significantly longer elements and build-up over briefer
      periods at slower rates than individuals from Mahale. Kibale males also deliver
      acoustically less variable calls than chimpanzees at Mahale. Although climax
      elements do not differ between populations in any single acoustic feature,
      discriminant function analysis reveals that acoustic variables can be used in
      combination to assign calls to the correct population at rates higher than that
      expected by chance. Ecological factors related to differences in habitat
      acoustics, the sound environment of the local biota, and body size are likely to
      account for these observed macrogeographic variations in chimpanzee calls.

PMID- 9973268
TI  - Social housing and pregnancy outcome in captive pigtailed macaques.
AB  - We present a retrospective analysis of 30 years of breeding records from a colony
      of pigtailed macaques at the University of Washington's Regional Primate Research
      Center, specifically examining the effects on pregnancy outcome of sire presence,
      presence of other pregnant females, group stability, overall group size, and dam
      age and parity. Data on 2,040 pregnancies (1,890 live births) of socially housed
      pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were obtained from the Washington Regional
      Primate Research Center's animal colony records from 1967 to 1996. Our results
      suggest that the presence of the sire and other pregnant females, fewer moves,
      and lower parity increases the probability of a viable birth. In viable and
      nonviable births, gestation length was positively related to contact with the
      sire and other pregnant females, number of moves, and dam age. Once the effect of
      gestational age was taken into account, birthweight increased with increasing
      parity and decreased with dam age. Clinical treatment of the dam decreased as
      sire presence and group size increased and number of moves decreased. The length
      of treatment was dependent on the number of moves experienced by the dam, with
      more moves associated with longer treatments. Sire presence was the single most
      important factor in nearly all measures of reproductive outcome.

PMID- 9973269
TI  - Elevated ovarian expression and serum concentration of alpha inhibin in the
      luteal phase during follicular development in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri
      boliviensis) compared to the human.
AB  - The goal of the present investigation was to determine in the squirrel monkey the
      source and pattern of inhibin, a hormone known to effect reproductive steroid
      levels via pituitary and ovarian mechanisms. Since this seasonally polyestrous
      species is known to have elevated serum levels of reproductive steroids compared
      to other primates, the levels of ovarian alpha subunit mRNA expression and serum
      total alpha inhibin, estradiol, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone were
      measured and compared to human levels. Expression of the alpha subunit was robust
      in monkey luteal tissue compared to expression in human luteal tissue. Squirrel
      monkey serum inhibin peaked 4 days after the luteinizing hormone surge and
      correlated with progesterone changes. These luteal serum levels of inhibin were
      greater than 12 times higher than the human levels yet bio-LH activities were
      less than in the human during the luteal phase. Inhibin concentrations during the
      nonbreeding season were generally half the levels measured in the breeding season
      and undetectable in ovariectomized animals. However, exogenous FSH stimulation
      induced a marked rise in inhibin, which correlated with an estradiol rise. In
      conclusion, abundant alpha inhibin subunit expression in the luteal ovary of the
      squirrel monkey and loss of serum delectability in ovariectomized animals
      indicates that the principle source of inhibin in the squirrel monkey is the
      ovary. Elevated serum inhibin levels during the luteal phase concurrent with
      ovulatory-size follicular development is unique among species studied thus far.
      Possible simultaneous inhibin production from both follicular and luteal tissue
      may be responsible for the exceptionally high inhibin levels.

PMID- 9973270
TI  - Protein fate in neurodegenerative proteinopathies: polyglutamine diseases join
      the (mis)fold.

PMID- 9973271
TI  - Biological implications of the DNA structures associated with disease-causing
      triplet repeats.

PMID- 9973272
TI  - Fragile sites-cytogenetic similarity with molecular diversity.

PMID- 9973273
TI  - Myotonic dystrophy: the role of RNA CUG triplet repeats.

PMID- 9973275
TI  - Overgrowth syndromes and the regulation of signaling complexes by proteoglycans.

PMID- 9973274
TI  - The yeast connection to Friedreich ataxia.

PMID- 9973276
TI  - Inherited colorectal polyposis and cancer risk of the APC I1307K polymorphism.
AB  - Germ-line and somatic truncating mutations of the APC gene are thought to
      initiate colorectal tumor formation in familial adenomatous polyposis syndrome
      and sporadic colorectal carcinogenesis, respectively. Recently, an isoleucine-
      >lysine polymorphism at codon 1307 (I1307K) of the APC gene has been identified
      in 6%-7% of the Ashkenazi Jewish population. To assess the risk of this common
      APC allelic variant in colorectal carcinogenesis, we have analyzed a large cohort
      of unselected Ashkenazi Jewish subjects with adenomatous polyps and.or colorectal
      cancer, for the APC I1307K polymorphism. The APC I1307K allele was identified in
      48 (10.1%) of 476 patients. Compared with the frequency in two separate
      population control groups, the APC I1307K allele is associated with an estimated
      relative risk of 1.5-1.7 for colorectal neoplasia (both P=.01). Furthermore,
      compared with noncarriers, APC I1307K carriers had increased numbers of adenomas
      and colorectal cancers per patient (P=.03), as well as a younger age at
      diagnosis. We conclude that the APC I1307K variant leads to increased adenoma
      formation and directly contributes to 3%-4% of all Ashkenazi Jewish colorectal
      cancer. The estimated relative risk for carriers may justify specific clinical
      screening for the 360,000 Americans expected to harbor this allele, and genetic
      testing in the setting of long-term-outcome studies may impact significantly on
      colorectal cancer prevention in this population.

PMID- 9973277
TI  - Molecular mechanism of angelman syndrome in two large families involves an
      imprinting mutation.
AB  - Patients with Angelman syndrome (AS) and Prader-Willi syndrome with mutations in
      the imprinting process have biparental inheritance but uniparental DNA
      methylation and gene expression throughout band 15q11-q13. In several of these
      patients, microdeletions upstream of the SNRPN gene have been identified,
      defining an imprinting center (IC) that has been hypothesized to control the
      imprint switch process in the female and male germlines. We have now identified
      two large families (AS-O and AS-F) segregating an AS imprinting mutation,
      including one family originally described in the first genetic linkage of AS to
      15q11-q13. This demonstrates that this original linkage is for the 15q11-q13 IC.
      Affected patients in the AS families have either a 5.5- or a 15-kb microdeletion,
      one of which narrowed the shortest region of deletion overlap to 1.15 kb in all
      eight cases. This small region defines a component of the IC involved in AS (ie.,
      the paternal-to-maternal switch element). The presence of an inherited imprinting
      mutation in multiple unaffected members of these two families, who are at risk
      for transmitting the mutation to affected children or children of their
      daughters, raises important genetic counseling issues.

PMID- 9973278
TI  - Imprinting-mutation mechanisms in Prader-Willi syndrome.
AB  - Microdeletions of a region termed the "imprinting center" (IC) in chromosome
      15q11-q13 have been identified in several families with Prader-Willi syndrome
      (PWS) or Angelman syndrome who show epigenetic inheritance for this region that
      is consistent with a mutation in the imprinting process. The IC controls
      resetting of parental imprints in 15q11-q13 during gametogenesis. We have
      identified a larger series of cases of familial PWS, including one case with a
      deletion of only 7.5 kb, that narrows the PWS critical region to <4. 3 kb
      spanning the SNRPN gene CpG island and exon 1. Identification of a strong DNase I
      hypersensitive site, specific for the paternal allele, and six evolutionarily
      conserved (human-mouse) sequences that are potential transcription-factor binding
      sites is consistent with this region defining the SNRPN gene promoter. These
      findings suggest that promoter elements at SNRPN play a key role in the
      initiation of imprint switching during spermatogenesis. We also identified three
      patients with sporadic PWS who have an imprinting mutation (IM) and no detectable
      mutation in the IC. An inherited 15q11-q13 mutation or a trans-factor gene
      mutation are unlikely; thus, the disease in these patients may arise from a
      developmental or stochastic failure to switch the maternal-to-paternal imprint
      during parental spermatogenesis. These studies allow a better understanding of a
      novel mechanism of human disease, since the epigenetic effect of an IM in the
      parental germ line determines the phenotypic effect in the patient.

PMID- 9973279
TI  - High prevalence of mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau in a
      population study of frontotemporal dementia in the Netherlands.
AB  - Mutations in microtubule-associated protein tau recently have been identified in
      familial cases of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We report the frequency of tau
      mutations in a large population-based study of FTD carried out in the Netherlands
      from January 1994 to June 1998. Thirty-seven patients had >/=1 first-degree
      relative with dementia. A mutation in the tau gene was found in 17.8% of the
      group of patients with FTD and in 43% of patients with FTD who also had a
      positive family history of FTD. Three distinct missense mutations (G272V, P301L,
      R406W) accounted for 15.6% of the mutations. These three missense mutations, and
      a single amino acid deletion (DeltaK280) that was detected in one patient,
      strongly reduce the ability of tau to promote microtubule assembly. We also found
      an intronic mutation at position +33 after exon 9, which is likely to affect the
      alternative splicing of tau. Tau mutations are responsible for a large proportion
      of familial FTD cases; however, there are also families with FTD in which no
      mutations in tau have been found, which indicates locus and/or allelic
      heterogeneity. The different tau mutations may result in disturbances in the
      interactions of the protein tau with microtubules, resulting in
      hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, assembly into filaments, and subsequent cell
      death.

PMID- 9973280
TI  - Genotype/Phenotype analysis of a photoreceptor-specific ATP-binding cassette
      transporter gene, ABCR, in Stargardt disease.
AB  - Mutation scanning and direct DNA sequencing of all 50 exons of ABCR were
      completed for 150 families segregating recessive Stargardt disease (STGD1). ABCR
      variations were identified in 173 (57%) disease chromosomes, the majority of
      which represent missense amino acid substitutions. These ABCR variants were not
      found in 220 unaffected control individuals (440 chromosomes) but do cosegregate
      with the disease in these families with STGD1, and many occur in conserved
      functional domains. Missense amino acid substitutions located in the amino
      terminal one-third of the protein appear to be associated with earlier onset of
      the disease and may represent misfolding alleles. The two most common mutant
      alleles, G1961E and A1038V, each identified in 16 of 173 disease chromosomes,
      composed 18.5% of mutations identified. G1961E has been associated previously, at
      a statistically significant level in the heterozygous state, with age-related
      macular degeneration (AMD). Clinical evaluation of these 150 families with STGD1
      revealed a high frequency of AMD in first- and second-degree relatives. These
      findings support the hypothesis that compound heterozygous ABCR mutations are
      responsible for STGD1 and that some heterozygous ABCR mutations may enhance
      susceptibility to AMD.

PMID- 9973281
TI  - Molecular analysis of SALL1 mutations in Townes-Brocks syndrome.
AB  - Townes-Brocks syndrome (TBS) is an autosomal dominantly inherited malformation
      syndrome characterized by anal, renal, limb, and ear anomalies. Recently, we
      showed that mutations in the putative zinc finger transcription factor gene SALL1
      cause TBS. To determine the spectrum of SALL1 mutations and to investigate the
      genotype-phenotype correlations in TBS, we examined 23 additional families with
      TBS or similar phenotypes for SALL1 mutations. In 9 of these families mutations
      were identified. None of the mutations has previously been described. Two of
      these mutations are nonsense mutations, one of which occurred in three unrelated
      families. Five of the mutations are short deletions. All of the mutations are
      located 5' of the first double zinc finger (DZF) encoding region and are
      therefore predicted to result in putative prematurely terminated proteins lacking
      all DZF domains. This suggests that only SALL1 mutations that remove the DZF
      domains result in TBS. We also present evidence that in rare cases SALL1
      mutations can lead to phenotypes similar to Goldenhar syndrome. However,
      phenotypic differences in TBS do not seem to depend on the site of mutation.

PMID- 9973282
TI  - De novo alu-element insertions in FGFR2 identify a distinct pathological basis
      for Apert syndrome.
AB  - Apert syndrome, one of five craniosynostosis syndromes caused by allelic
      mutations of fibroblast growth-factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), is characterized by
      symmetrical bony syndactyly of the hands and feet. We have analyzed 260 unrelated
      patients, all but 2 of whom have missense mutations in exon 7, which affect a
      dipeptide in the linker region between the second and third immunoglobulin-like
      domains. Hence, the molecular mechanism of Apert syndrome is exquisitely
      specific. FGFR2 mutations in the remaining two patients are distinct in position
      and nature. Surprisingly, each patient harbors an Alu-element insertion of
      approximately 360 bp, in one case just upstream of exon 9 and in the other case
      within exon 9 itself. The insertions are likely to be pathological, because they
      have arisen de novo; in both cases this occurred on the paternal chromosome.
      FGFR2 is present in alternatively spliced isoforms characterized by either the
      IIIb (exon 8) or IIIc (exon 9) domains (keratinocyte growth-factor receptor
      [KGFR] and bacterially expressed kinase, respectively), which are differentially
      expressed in mouse limbs on embryonic day 13. Splicing of exon 9 was examined in
      RNA extracted from fibroblasts and keratinocytes from one patient with an Alu
      insertion and two patients with Pfeiffer syndrome who had nucleotide
      substitutions of the exon 9 acceptor splice site. Ectopic expression of KGFR in
      the fibroblast lines correlated with the severity of limb abnormalities. This
      provides the first genetic evidence that signaling through KGFR causes syndactyly
      in Apert syndrome.

PMID- 9973283
TI  - Identification and characterization of a mutation, in the human UDP-galactose-4
      epimerase gene, associated with generalized epimerase-deficiency galactosemia.
AB  - Epimerase-deficiency galactosemia results from impairment of the human enzyme UDP
      galactose-4-epimerase (hGALE). We and others have identified substitution
      mutations in the hGALE alleles of patients with the clinically mild, peripheral
      form of epimerase deficiency. We report here the first identification of an hGALE
      mutation in a patient with the clinically severe, generalized form of epimerase
      deficiency. The mutation, V94M, was found on both GALE alleles of this patient.
      This same mutation also was found in the homozygous state in two additional
      patients with generalized epimerase deficiency. The specific activity of the V94M
      hGALE protein expressed in yeast was severely reduced with regard to UDP
      galactose and partially reduced with regard to UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine. In
      contrast, two GALE-variant proteins associated with peripheral epimerase
      deficiency, L313M-hGALE and D103G-hGALE, demonstrated near-normal levels of
      activity with regard to both substrates, but a third allele, G90E-hGALE,
      demonstrated little, if any, detectable activity, despite near-normal abundance.
      G90E originally was identified in a heterozygous patient whose other allele
      remains uncharacterized. Thermal lability and protease-sensitivity studies
      demonstrated compromised stability in all of the partially active mutant enzymes.

PMID- 9973284
TI  - DNA rearrangements on both homologues of chromosome 17 in a mildly delayed
      individual with a family history of autosomal dominant carpal tunnel syndrome.
AB  - Disorders known to be caused by molecular and cytogenetic abnormalities of the
      proximal short arm of chromosome 17 include Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A
      (CMT1A), hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP), Smith
      Magenis syndrome (SMS), and mental retardation and congenital anomalies
      associated with partial duplication of 17p. We identified a patient with
      multifocal mononeuropathies and mild distal neuropathy, growth hormone
      deficiency, and mild mental retardation who was found to have a duplication of
      the SMS region of 17p11.2 and a deletion of the peripheral myelin protein 22
      (PMP22) gene within 17p12 on the homologous chromosome. Further molecular
      analyses reveal that the dup(17)(p11.2p11.2) is a de novo event but that the
      PMP22 deletion is familial. The family members with deletions of PMP22 have
      abnormalities indicative of carpal tunnel syndrome, documented by
      electrophysiological studies prior to molecular analysis. The chromosomal
      duplication was shown by interphase FISH analysis to be a tandem duplication.
      These data indicate that familial entrapment neuropathies, such as carpal tunnel
      syndrome and focal ulnar neuropathy syndrome, can occur because of deletions of
      the PMP22 gene. The co-occurrence of the 17p11.2 duplication and the PMP22
      deletion in this patient likely reflects the relatively high frequency at which
      these abnormalities arise and the underlying molecular characteristics of the
      genome in this region.

PMID- 9973285
TI  - Clear correlation of genotype with disease phenotype in very-long-chain acyl-CoA
      dehydrogenase deficiency.
AB  - Very-long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) catalyzes the initial rate
      limiting step in mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation. VLCAD deficiency is
      clinically heterogenous, with three major phenotypes: a severe childhood form,
      with early onset, high mortality, and high incidence of cardiomyopathy; a milder
      childhood form, with later onset, usually with hypoketotic hypoglycemia as the
      main presenting feature, low mortality, and rare cardiomyopathy; and an adult
      form, with isolated skeletal muscle involvement, rhabdomyolysis, and
      myoglobinuria, usually triggered by exercise or fasting. To examine whether these
      different phenotypes are due to differences in the VLCAD genotype, we
      investigated 58 different mutations in 55 unrelated patients representing all
      known clinical phenotypes and correlated the mutation type with the clinical
      phenotype. Our results show a clear relationship between the nature of the
      mutation and the severity of disease. Patients with the severe childhood
      phenotype have mutations that result in no residual enzyme activity, whereas
      patients with the milder childhood and adult phenotypes have mutations that may
      result in residual enzyme activity. This clear genotype-phenotype relationship is
      in sharp contrast to what has been observed in medium-chain acyl-CoA
      dehydrogenase deficiency, in which no correlation between genotype and phenotype
      can be established.

PMID- 9973286
TI  - Prevalence and phenotype consequence of FRAXA and FRAXE alleles in a large,
      ethnically diverse, special education-needs population.
AB  - We conducted a large population-based survey of fragile X (FRAXA) syndrome in
      ethnically diverse metropolitan Atlanta. The eligible study population consisted
      of public school children, aged 7-10 years, in special education-needs (SEN)
      classes. The purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence among whites
      and, for the first time, African Americans, among a non-clinically referred
      population. At present, 5 males with FRAXA syndrome (4 whites and 1 African
      American), among 1,979 tested males, and no females, among 872 tested females,
      were identified. All males with FRAXA syndrome were mentally retarded and had
      been diagnosed previously. The prevalence for FRAXA syndrome was estimated to be
      1/3,460 (confidence interval [CI] 1/7,143-1/1,742) for the general white male
      population and 1/4, 048 (CI 1/16,260-1/1,244) for the general African American
      male population. We also compared the frequency of intermediate and premutation
      FRAXA alleles (41-199 repeats) and fragile XE syndrome alleles (31-199 repeats)
      in the SEN population with that in a control population, to determine if there
      was a possible phenotype consequence of such high-repeat alleles, as has been
      reported previously. No difference was observed between our case and control
      populations, and no difference was observed between populations when the probands
      were grouped by a rough estimate of IQ based on class placement. These results
      suggest that there is no phenotype consequence of larger alleles that would cause
      carriers to be placed in an SEN class.

PMID- 9973287
TI  - DNA variation in a 5-Mb region of the X chromosome and estimates of sex
      specific/type-specific mutation rates.
AB  - We describe a new approach for the study of human genome variation, based on our
      solid-phase fluorescence chemical mismatch-cleavage method. Multiplex screening
      rates >/=80 kb/36-lane gels are achieved, and accuracy of mismatch location is
      within +/-2 bp. The density of differences between DNA from any two humans is
      sufficiently low, and the estimate of their position is accurate enough, to avoid
      sequencing of most polymorphic sites when defining their allelic state.
      Furthermore, highly variable sequences, such as microsatellites, are
      distinguished easily, so that separate consideration can be given to loci that do
      and do not fit the definition of infinite mutation sites. We examined a 5-Mb
      region of Xq22 to define the haplotypes of 23 men (9 Europeans, 9 Ashkenazim, and
      5 Pygmies) by reference to DNA from one Italian man. Fifty-eight 1.5-kb segments
      revealed 102 segregating sites. Seven of these are shared by all three groups,
      two by Pygmies and Europeans, two by Pygmies and Ashkenazim, and 19 by Ashkenazim
      and Europeans. Europeans are the least polymorphic, and Pygmies are the most
      polymorphic. Conserved allelic associations were recognizable within 40-kb DNA
      segments, and so was recombination in the longer intervals separating such
      segments. The men showed only three segregating sites in a 16.5-kb unique region
      of the Y chromosome. Divergence between X- and Y-chromosome sequences of humans
      and chimpanzees indicated higher male mutation rates for different types of
      mutations. These rates for the X chromosomes were very similar to those estimated
      for the X-linked factor IX gene in the U.K. population.

PMID- 9973288
TI  - Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome: the HRPT2 locus is within a 0.7-cM region
      on chromosome 1q.
AB  - Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (HPT-JT) is an autosomal dominant disease
      characterized by the development of multiple parathyroid adenomas and multiple
      fibro-osseous tumors of the maxilla and mandible. Some families have had affected
      members with involvement of the kidneys, variously reported as Wilms tumors,
      nephroblastomas, and hamartomas. The HPT-JT gene (HRPT2) maps to chromosome 1q25
      q31. We describe further investigation of two HPT-JT families (K3304 and K3349)
      identified through the literature. These two expanded families and two previously
      reported families were investigated jointly for linkage with 21 new, closely
      linked markers. Multipoint linkage analysis resulted in a maximum LOD score of
      7.83 (at recombination fraction 0) for markers D1S2848-D1S191. Recombination
      events in these families reduced the HRPT2 region to approximately 14.7 cM. In
      addition, two of these four study families (i.e., K3304 and K11687) share a 2.2
      cM length of their (expanded) affected haplotype, indicating a possible common
      origin. Combining the linkage data and shared-haplotype data, we propose a 0.7-cM
      candidate region for HRPT2.

PMID- 9973289
TI  - A gene for autosomal recessive symmetrical spastic cerebral palsy maps to
      chromosome 2q24-25.
AB  - Cerebral palsy has an incidence of approximately 1/500 births, although this
      varies between different ethnic groups. Genetic forms of the disease account for
      approximately 1%-2% of cases in most countries but contribute a larger proportion
      in populations with extensive inbreeding. We have clinically characterized
      consanguineous families with multiple children affected by symmetrical spastic
      cerebral palsy, to locate recessive genes responsible for this condition. The
      eight families studied were identified from databases of patients in different
      regions of the United Kingdom. After ascertainment and clinical assessment, we
      performed a genomewide search for linkage, using 290 polymorphic DNA markers. In
      three families, a region of homozygosity at chromosome 2q24-q25 was identified
      between the markers D2S124 and D2S148. The largest family gave a maximum LOD
      score of 3.0, by multipoint analysis (HOMOZ). The maximum combined multipoint LOD
      score for the three families was 5.75. The minimum region of homozygosity is
      approximately 5 cM between the markers D2S124 and D2S2284. We have shown that a
      proportion of autosomal recessive symmetrical spastic cerebral palsy maps to
      chromosome 2q24-25. The identification of genes involved in the etiology of
      cerebral palsy may lead to improved management of this clinically intractable
      condition.

PMID- 9973290
TI  - Mapping of a familial moyamoya disease gene to chromosome 3p24.2-p26.
AB  - Moyamoya disease is characterized by bilateral stenosis and/or occlusion of the
      terminal portion of the internal carotid artery. Moyamoya disease is prevalent
      among patients <10 years of age. Although most cases appear to be sporadic,
      approximately 10% occur as familial cases. The incidence of familial cases has
      been increasing because noninvasive diagnostic equipment, such as magnetic
      resonance imaging and magnetic-resonance angiography, can detect the disease in
      almost all affected patients, including asymptomatic patients, during screening
      studies. In this study, we performed a total genome search to identify the
      location of a familial moyamoya disease gene in 16 families, assuming an unknown
      mode of inheritance. A linkage was found between the disease and markers located
      at 3p24.2-26. A maximum NPL score of 3.46 was obtained with marker D3S3050. This
      is the first genetic locus found to be involved in the molecular pathogenesis of
      familial moyamoya disease.

PMID- 9973291
TI  - Limb mammary syndrome: a new genetic disorder with mammary hypoplasia,
      ectrodactyly, and other Hand/Foot anomalies maps to human chromosome 3q27.
AB  - We report on a large Dutch family with a syndrome characterized by severe hand
      and/or foot anomalies, and hypoplasia/aplasia of the mammary gland and nipple.
      Less frequent findings include lacrimal-duct atresia, nail dysplasia,
      hypohydrosis, hypodontia, and cleft palate with or without bifid uvula. This
      combination of symptoms has not been reported previously, although there is
      overlap with the ulnar mammary syndrome (UMS) and with ectrodactyly, ectodermal
      dysplasia, and clefting syndrome. Allelism with UMS and other related syndromes
      was excluded by linkage studies with markers from the relevant chromosomal
      regions. A genomewide screening with polymorphic markers allowed the localization
      of the genetic defect to the subtelomeric region of chromosome 3q. Haplotype
      analysis reduced the critical region to a 3-cM interval of chromosome 3q27. This
      chromosomal segment has not been implicated previously in disorders with
      defective development of limbs and/or mammary tissue. Therefore, we propose to
      call this apparently new disorder "limb mammary syndrome" (LMS). The SOX2 gene at
      3q27 might be considered an excellent candidate gene for LMS because the
      corresponding protein stimulates expression of FGF4, an important signaling
      molecule during limb outgrowth and development. However, no mutations were found
      in the SOX2 open reading frame, thus excluding its involvement in LMS.

PMID- 9973292
TI  - Mapping of primary congenital lymphedema to the 5q35.3 region.
AB  - Primary lymphedema is a chronic tissue swelling, most frequently of the lower
      limbs, resulting from deficient lymphatic drainage. The variability of the
      affected phenotype, incomplete penetrance, lack of large families, and possible
      genetic heterogeneity have hampered the identification of causative genes until
      now. We carried out a genomewide search, using a four-generation North American
      family with dominantly inherited primary congenital lymphedema (PCL), otherwise
      known as "Milroy disease," or "hereditary lymphedema type I" (MIM 153100).
      Linkage to markers from the 5q35.3 region in this and four additional, British
      families was established. A minimum of 79 directly scorable haplotypes (37
      affected) in five families conspicuously segregated with the most telomeric
      region of 5q35.3, thus suggesting a major locus for PCL in this vicinity. No
      recombination was observed with D5S408 (Z = 10.03) and D5S2006 (Z = 8.46) with a
      combined multipoint score of 16.55. While D5S2073 and WIAF-2213 defined the upper
      centromeric boundary, no recombinants were obtained for the last telomeric marker
      of D5S2006. Four unaffected subjects were identified as gene carriers and
      provided an estimated penetrance ratio of.84 for this condition. A few of the
      positionally mapped genes in the 5q35 region that may potentially be involved in
      the etiology of this condition are CANX, FGFR4, HK3, and hnRPH1.

PMID- 9973293
TI  - Identification of a new autosomal dominant limb-girdle muscular dystrophy locus
      on chromosome 7.
AB  - We report the identification of a new locus for autosomal dominant limb-girdle
      muscular dystrophy (LGMD1) on 7q. Two of five families (1047 and 1701)
      demonstrate evidence in favor of linkage to this region. The maximum two-point
      LOD score for family 1047 was 3.76 for D7S427, and that for family 1701 was 2.63
      for D7S3058. Flanking markers place the LGMD1 locus between D7S2423 and D7S427,
      with multipoint analysis slightly favoring the 9-cM interval spanned by D7S2546
      and D7S2423. Three of five families appear to be unlinked to this new locus on
      chromosome 7, thus establishing further heterogeneity within the LGMD1 diagnostic
      classification.

PMID- 9973294
TI  - Novel locus for autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia, on chromosome
      8q.
AB  - Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous
      group of disorders characterized by insidiously progressive spastic weakness in
      the legs. Genetic loci for autosomal dominant HSP exist on chromosomes 2p, 14q,
      and 15q. These loci are excluded in 45% of autosomal dominant HSP kindreds,
      indicating the presence of additional loci for autosomal dominant HSP. We
      analyzed a Caucasian kindred with autosomal dominant HSP and identified tight
      linkage between the disorder and microsatellite markers on chromosome 8q (maximum
      two-point LOD score 5.51 at recombination fraction 0). Our results clearly
      establish the existence of a locus for autosomal dominant HSP on chromosome 8q23
      24. Currently this locus spans 6.2 cM between D8S1804 and D8S1774 and includes
      several potential candidate genes. Identifying this novel HSP locus on chromosome
      8q23-24 will facilitate discovery of this HSP gene, improve genetic counseling
      for families with linkage to this locus, and extend our ability to correlate
      clinical features with different HSP loci.

PMID- 9973295
TI  - Brachydactyly type B: clinical description, genetic mapping to chromosome 9q, and
      evidence for a shared ancestral mutation.
AB  - Autosomal dominant brachydactyly type B (BDB) is characterized by nail aplasia
      with rudimentary or absent distal and middle phalanges. We describe two unrelated
      families with BDB. One family is English; the other family is Canadian but of
      English ancestry. We assigned the BDB locus in the Canadian family to an 18-cM
      interval on 9q, using linkage analysis (LOD score 3.5 at recombination fraction
      [theta] 0, for marker D9S938). Markers across this interval also cosegregated
      with the BDB phenotype in the English family (LOD score 2.1 at straight theta=0,
      for marker D9S277). Within this defined interval is a smaller (7.5-cM) region
      that contains 10 contiguous markers whose disease-associated haplotype is shared
      by the two families. This latter result suggests a common founder among families
      of English descent that are affected with BDB.

PMID- 9973296
TI  - Brachydactyly type B: linkage to chromosome 9q22 and evidence for genetic
      heterogeneity.
AB  - Brachydactyly type B (BDB), an autosomal dominant disorder, is the most severe of
      the brachydactylies and is characterized by hypoplasia or absence of the terminal
      portions of the index to little fingers, usually with absence of the nails. The
      thumbs may be of normal length but are often flattened and occasionally are
      bifid. The feet are similarly but less severely affected. We have performed a
      genomewide linkage analysis of three families with BDB, two English and one
      Portugese. The two English families show linkage to the same region on chromosome
      9 (combined multipoint maximum LOD score 8.69 with marker D9S257). The 16-cM
      disease interval is defined by recombinations with markers D9S1680 and D9S1786.
      These two families share an identical disease haplotype over 18 markers,
      inclusive of D9S278-D9S280. This provides strong evidence that the English
      families have the same ancestral mutation, which reduces the disease interval to
      <12.7 cM between markers D9S257 and D9S1851 in chromosome band 9q22. In the
      Portuguese family, we excluded linkage to this region, a result indicating that
      BDB is genetically heterogeneous. Reflecting this, there were atypical clinical
      features in this family, with shortening of the thumbs and absence or hypoplasia
      of the nails of the thumb and hallux. These results enable a refined
      classification of BDB and identify a novel locus for digit morphogenesis in 9q22.

PMID- 9973297
TI  - Genetic mapping to 10q23.3-q24.2, in a large Italian pedigree, of a new syndrome
      showing bilateral cataracts, gastroesophageal reflux, and spastic paraparesis
      with amyotrophy.
AB  - We have recently observed a large pedigree with a new rare autosomal dominant
      spastic paraparesis. In three subsequent generations, 13 affected individuals
      presented with bilateral cataracts, gastroesophageal reflux with persistent
      vomiting, and spastic paraparesis with amyotrophy. Bilateral cataracts occurred
      in all affected individuals, with the exception of one patient who presented with
      a chorioretinal dystrophy, whereas clinical signs of spastic paraparesis showed a
      variable expressivity. Using a genomewide mapping approach, we mapped the
      disorder to the long arm of chromosome 10 on band q23.3-q24.2, in a 12-cM
      chromosomal region where additional neurologic disorders have been localized. The
      spectrum of phenotypic manifestations in this family is reminiscent of a smaller
      pedigree, reported recently, confirming the possibility of a new syndrome.
      Finally, the anticipation of symptoms suggests that an unstable trinucleotide
      repeat may be responsible for the condition.

PMID- 9973298
TI  - Mapping of a new autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia to chromosome 22.
AB  - The autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCAs) are a clinically and
      genetically heterogeneous group of disorders. The clinical symptoms include
      cerebellar dysfunction and associated signs from dysfunction in other parts of
      the nervous system. So far, five spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) genes have been
      identified: SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, and SCA7. Loci for SCA4 and SCA5 have been
      mapped. However, approximately one-third of SCAs have remained unassigned. We
      have identified a Mexican American pedigree that segregates a new form of ataxia
      clinically characterized by gait and limb ataxia, dysarthria, and nystagmus. Two
      individuals have seizures. After excluding all known genetic loci for linkage, we
      performed a genomewide search and identified linkage to a 15-cM region on
      chromosome 22q13. A maximum LOD score of 4.3 (recombination fraction 0) was
      obtained for D22S928 and D22S1161. This distinct form of ataxia has been
      designated "SCA10." Anticipation was observed in the available parent-child
      pairs, suggesting that trinucleotide-repeat expansion may be the mutagenic
      mechanism.

PMID- 9973299
TI  - Congenital motor nystagmus linked to Xq26-q27.
AB  - Congenital motor nystagmus (CMN) is a hereditary disorder characterized by
      bilateral ocular oscillations that begin in the first 6 mo of life. It must be
      distinguished from those genetic disorders-such as ocular albinism (OA),
      congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB), and blue-cone monochromatism (BCM)
      in which nystagmus accompanies a clinically apparent defect in the visual sensory
      system. Although CMN is presumed to arise from a neurological abnormality of
      fixation, it is not known whether the molecular defect is located in the eye or
      in the brain. It may be inherited in an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive,
      or X-linked pattern. Three families with CMN inherited in an X-linked,
      irregularly dominant pattern were investigated with linkage and candidate gene
      analysis. The penetrance among obligate female carriers was 54%. Evaluation of
      markers in the region of the genes for X-linked OA, CSNB, and BCM revealed no
      evidence of linkage, supporting the hypothesis that CMN represents a distinct
      entity. The gene was mapped to chromosome Xq26-q27 with the following markers:
      GATA172D05 (LOD score 3.164; recombination fraction [theta] = 0.156), DXS1047
      (LOD score 10.296; theta = 0), DXS1192 (LOD score 8.174; theta = 0.027), DXS1232
      (LOD score 6.015; theta = 0.036), DXS984 (LOD score 6.695; theta = 0), and
      GATA31E08 (LOD score 4.940; theta = 0.083). Assessment of haplotypes and
      multipoint linkage analysis, which gave a maximum LOD score of 10.790 with the 1
      LOD-unit support interval spanning approximately 7 cM, place the gene in a region
      between GATA172D05 and DXS1192. Evaluation of candidate genes CDR1 and SOX3 did
      not reveal mutations in affected male subjects.

PMID- 9973301
TI  - The central Siberian origin for native American Y chromosomes.
AB  - Y chromosomal DNA polymorphisms were used to investigate Pleistocene male
      migrations to the American continent. In a worldwide sample of 306 men, we
      obtained 32 haplotypes constructed with the variation found in 30 distinct
      polymorphic sites. The major Y haplotype present in most Native Americans was
      traced back to recent ancestors common with Siberians, namely, the Kets and
      Altaians from the Yenissey River Basin and Altai Mountains, respectively. Going
      further back, the next common ancestor gave rise also to Caucasoid Y chromosomes,
      probably from the central Eurasian region. This study, therefore, suggests a
      predominantly central Siberian origin for Native American paternal lineages for
      those who could have migrated to the Americas during the Upper Pleistocene.

PMID- 9973302
TI  - Comparison of the power and accuracy of biallelic and microsatellite markers in
      population-based gene-mapping methods.
AB  - Because of their great abundance and amenability to fully automated genotyping,
      single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and simple insertion/deletion are emerging
      as a new generation of markers for positional cloning. Although the efficiency
      and cost associated with the markers are important in the mapping of human
      disease genes, the power to detect the linkage between the marker and the disease
      locus, as well as the accuracy of the estimation of the map location of the
      disease gene, dictate the selection of the markers. Both the power and the
      accuracy depend not only on the type of the markers but also on other factors,
      such as the age of the disease mutation, the magnitude of the genetic effect, the
      marker-allele distribution in the population, mutation rates of marker loci, the
      frequency of the disease allele, the recombination fraction, and the methods for
      mapping the human disease genes. In this article, we develop a mathematical
      framework and the analytical formulas for calculation of the power and the
      accuracy and investigate the impact that the aforementioned factors have on the
      power and the accuracy, by using two population-based gene-mapping methods
      likelihood-based linkage-disequilibrium mapping and the
      transmission/disequilibrium test, for both biallelic SNPs and microsatellites.
      These studies provide not only guidance in selection of the markers and in the
      design of the sample scheme for positional cloning but also insight into the
      biological bases of the mapping of human disease genes.

PMID- 9973300
TI  - Linkage of low-density lipoprotein size to the lipoprotein lipase gene in
      heterozygous lipoprotein lipase deficiency.
AB  - Small low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles are a genetically influenced
      coronary disease risk factor. Lipoprotein lipase (LpL) is a rate-limiting enzyme
      in the formation of LDL particles. The current study examined genetic linkage of
      LDL particle size to the LpL gene in five families with structural mutations in
      the LpL gene. LDL particle size was smaller among the heterozygous subjects,
      compared with controls. Among heterozygous subjects, 44% were classified as
      affected by LDL subclass phenotype B, compared with 8% of normal family members.
      Plasma triglyceride levels were significantly higher, and high-density
      lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were lower, in heterozygous subjects,
      compared with normal subjects, after age and sex adjustment. A highly significant
      LOD score of 6.24 at straight theta=0 was obtained for linkage of LDL particle
      size to the LpL gene, after adjustment of LDL particle size for within-genotype
      variance resulting from triglyceride and HDL-C. Failure to adjust for this
      variance led to only a modest positive LOD score of 1.54 at straight theta=0.
      Classifying small LDL particles as a qualitative trait (LDL subclass phenotype B)
      provided only suggestive evidence for linkage to the LpL gene (LOD=1. 65 at
      straight theta=0). Thus, use of the quantitative trait adjusted for within
      genotype variance, resulting from physiologic covariates, was crucial for
      detection of significant evidence of linkage in this study. These results
      indicate that heterozygous LpL deficiency may be one cause of small LDL particles
      and may provide a potential mechanism for the increase in coronary disease seen
      in heterozygous LpL deficiency. This study also demonstrates a successful
      strategy of genotypic specific adjustment of complex traits in mapping a
      quantitative trait locus.

PMID- 9973303
TI  - Power of association and linkage tests when the disease alleles are unobserved.
AB  - Genomewide association studies have been advocated as a promising alternative to
      genomewide linkage scans for detection of small-effect genes in complex diseases.
      Comparisons of power and sample size between the two strategies have shown
      considerable advantages for the association studies. These comparisons assume
      that the set of markers includes the exact disease-related polymorphism. A
      concern, however, is that the power of an association study decreases when this
      is not the case, because of discrepant allele frequencies and less-than-maximum
      disequilibrium between the disease-related polymorphism and its nearest marker.
      Here, we quantify this concern by comparing the sample sizes needed by the two
      strategies when the markers exclude the disease-related polymorphism. For
      affected sib pairs and their parents, we found that incomplete disequilibrium and
      differing allele frequencies can have substantial negative impact on the power of
      association studies, resulting, in some circumstances, in little gain and even in
      loss of power, compared with linkage analysis. We provide some guidelines for
      choosing between strategies, for the detection of genes for complex diseases.

PMID- 9973304
TI  - Both recessive and dominant forms of anhidrotic/hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia
      map to chromosome 2q11-q13.

PMID- 9973305
TI  - Mosaicism and sporadic familial adenomatous polyposis.

PMID- 9973306
TI  - HPS gene mutations in Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.

PMID- 9973307
TI  - RB1 gene mutations in peripheral blood DNA of patients with isolated unilateral
      retinoblastoma.

PMID- 9973308
TI  - TDT clarification.

PMID- 9973309
TI  - Role of iron in anthracycline cardiotoxicity: new tunes for an old song?
AB  - The clinical use of anticancer anthracyclines is limited by the development of a
      distinctive and life-threatening form of cardiomyopathy upon chronic treatment.
      Commonly accepted mechanistic hypotheses have assigned a pivotal role to iron,
      which would act as a catalyst for free radical reactions and oxidative stress.
      Although perhaps involved in acute aspects of anthracycline cardiotoxicity, the
      role of free radical-based mechanisms in long-term effects has been challenged on
      both experimental and clinical grounds, and alternative hypotheses independent of
      iron and free radicals have flourished. More recently, studies of the role of C
      13 hydroxy metabolites of anthracyclines have provided new perspectives on the
      role of iron in the cardiotoxicity of these drugs, showing that such metabolites
      can impair intracellular iron handling and homeostasis. The present review
      applies a multisided approach to the critical evaluation of various hypotheses
      proposed over the last decade for the role of iron in anthracycline-induced
      cardiotoxicity. The main goal of the authors is to build a unifying pattern that
      would both account for hitherto unexplained experimental observations and help
      design novel and more rational strategies toward a much-needed improvement in the
      therapeutic index of anthracyclines.

PMID- 9973310
TI  - Evolving ideas about osmosis and capillary fluid exchange.
AB  - When a solute is dissolved in water at (T, pel), the temperature and external
      pressure applied to the solution, the water in the solution is altered as is pure
      liquid water at (T, pel - piH2Ol). The liquid water and the water in the solution
      are in equilibrium when piH2Ol is the osmotic pressure of the water in the
      solution. Every partial molar property of the water in the solution at (T, pel),
      including its vapor pressure, chemical potential, volume, internal energy,
      enthalpy and entropy, is identical with the same molar property of pure liquid
      water at (T, pel - piH2Ol). This elementary fact was deduced by Hulett in 1903
      from a thought experiment; he concluded that the internal tension in the force
      bonding the water is the same in both solution and pure liquid water, in
      equilibrium, at these differing applied pressures. Hulett's understanding of
      osmosis and the means by which the water was altered by the solute were neglected
      and abandoned. Competing ideas included the notions that the solute attracts the
      water into the solution and that the solute lowers the activity (or
      concentration) of the water in the solution. These ideas imply that the solute
      acts on the solvent at the semipermeable membrane separating the solution and
      water. Hulett's theory of osmosis requires that the solute alter the water at the
      free surface of the solution where the solute exerts an internal pressure on the
      boundary of the solution retaining the solute. Fluid exchange across the
      capillary endothelium is influenced, in part, by colloidal proteins in the
      plasma. The role of the proteins in capillary fluid exchange must be
      reinterpreted based on Hulett's view, the only valid view of osmosis.

PMID- 9973311
TI  - Glucose and free radicals impair the antioxidant properties of serum albumin.
AB  - Epidemiological data consistently show that reduced levels of serum albumin,
      which is the most abundant protein in plasma, are associated with an increased
      mortality risk. Various biological properties evidenced by direct effects of the
      albumin molecule may explain its beneficial effects. The present work aimed to
      investigate in vitro whether glycation or free radicals or both factors would
      affect the antioxidant properties of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Glycation was
      performed by long-term incubations (60 days) of BSA with increasing
      concentrations of glucose (up to 500 mmol/l) at 37 degreesC. Minimally oxidized
      BSA was obtained after controlled incubations of dialyzed BSA samples with a
      water-soluble free radical generator [2,2' azo-bis(2-amidinopropane) HCl]. The
      glycation-mediated modifications and the free radical-induced conformational
      changes of BSA were monitored using intrinsic fluorescence measurements of the
      tryptophan residues and acrylamide as a quenching agent. Thiol groups, Amadori
      glycophore contents, and boronate binding were also measured. We found that the
      changes observed in the conformation of the BSA molecule were associated with
      modifications of its antioxidant properties. The latter were studied by the
      copper-mediated oxidation of human low density lipoproteins and the free radical
      induced blood hemolysis test. Our data support the concept that oxidative-induced
      BSA modifications are important determinants in the antioxidant properties of
      BSA. Glycated BSA still behaved as an antioxidant but became pro-oxidant in the
      presence of copper, probably by generating oxygenated species. These data confirm
      the key role of metals ions in this process. Although these results warrant
      further in vivo investigations, we propose that, considering the poor glucose
      control found in diabetics as well as the key role of oxidative stress in
      vascular complications, glycation-mediated and free radical-induced impairment of
      the antioxidant properties of albumin might be important parameters in vascular
      complications encountered in diabetes.

PMID- 9973312
TI  - Synergy between cyclo-oxygenase-2 induction and arachidonic acid supply in vivo:
      consequences for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug efficacy.
AB  - Prostanoids produced via the action of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) appear central
      to many inflammatory conditions. Here we show in LPS-treated rats, however, that
      COX-2 induction alone does not greatly increase prostanoid production in vivo.
      For this, a second, arachidonic acid liberating stimulus is also required. Thus,
      only after intravenous injection of bradykinin or exogenous arachidonic acid was
      a marked increase in prostanoid formation seen. There is, therefore, synergy
      between proinflammatory mediators: both induction of COX-2 protein and an
      increase in the supply of arachidonic acid are required to greatly enhance
      prostanoid production. Second, we show that supplying arachidonic acid to
      increase prostanoid production reduces the effectiveness of both currently used
      nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (diclofenac) and novel COX-2
      selective inhibitors (NS-398, celecoxib) as inhibitors of COX-2 activity. Our
      data lead to two important conclusions. First, increased prostanoid production in
      inflammation is a two-component response: increased COX-2 expression and
      increased arachidonic acid supply. Second, the supply of arachidonic acid to COX
      2 determines the effectiveness of NSAIDs. NSAIDs and selective COX-2 inhibitors,
      therefore, will generally be less effective at more inflamed sites, providing a
      rationale for the very high doses of NSAIDs required in human conditions such as
      rheumatoid arthritis.--Hamilton, L. C., Tomlinson, A. M., Mitchell, J. A.,
      Warner, T. D. Synergy between cyclo-oxygenase-2 induction and arachidonic acid
      supply in vivo: consequences for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug efficacy.

PMID- 9973313
TI  - A caspase inhibitor fully protects rats against lethal normothermic liver
      ischemia by inhibition of liver apoptosis.
AB  - Apoptosisis activated during the early phase of reperfusion after liver ischemia
      and after liver transplantation in animals. However, the molecular basis of
      ischemia-induced cell death remains poorly understood. In this study we show that
      hepatocytes from ischemic liver lobes undergo apoptosis after reperfusion. In
      vivo pretreatment of rats with a specific inhibitor of caspases abrogates the
      apoptotic response in ischemic liver lobes. Inhibition of apoptosis can be
      accounted for by total inhibition of caspase activation as assessed in an
      enzymatic assay and by specific affinity labeling. Treatment with a caspase
      inhibitor fully protects rats from death induced by ischemia/reperfusion. These
      findings indicate that liver injury after ischemia/reperfusion can be prevented
      by inhibition of caspases. Thus, caspase inhibitors may have important
      therapeutic implications in liver ischemic diseases and after liver
      transplantation.

PMID- 9973314
TI  - Self-renewal, maturation, and differentiation of the rat myelomonocytic
      hematopoietic stem cell.
AB  - Hematopoiesis is viewed as a differentiating system emanating from a pluripotent
      hematopoietic stem cell capable of both self-renewal and differentiation. By
      identifying and characterizing a novel and highly specific in vitro mitogenic
      response to the N-acetyl glucosamyl/sialic acid specific, stem cell-binding
      lectin wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), we demonstrate the existance of a rare
      (0.1%), plastic adherent precursor in rat bone marrow capable of proliferation
      (two to seven divisions) in response to WGA. Stimulated cells possess a lineage
      (lin)low/- immunophenotype and immature blastoid morphology (WGA blasts). A
      subsequent proliferative response to stem cell factor (SCF), the ligand for the
      proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase c-kit, is characterized by an initial
      maturation in immunophenotype and subsequent self-renewal of cells (SCF blasts)
      without differentiation for at least 50 generations. Although granulocyte colony
      stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin (IL) -6, IL-7, and IL-11 synergize with
      SCF to increase blast colony formation, cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage
      CSF or IL-3 are without significant effect. At all time points in culture,
      however, cells rapidly differentiate to mature neutrophils with dexamethasone or
      to mainly monocytes/macrophages in the presence of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3,
      characterized by cell morphology and cytochemistry. Removal of SCF during blast
      maturation, self-renewal, or induction of differentiation phases results in
      apoptotic cell death. Data indicate a pivotal role for SCF/c-kit interaction
      during antigenic maturation, self-renewal, and apoptotic protection of these
      lineage-restricted progenitors during non-CSF-mediated induction of
      differentiation. This approach provides a source of many normal, proliferating
      myelomonocytic precursor cells, and introduces possible clinical applications of
      ex vivo expanded myeloid stem cells.

PMID- 9973315
TI  - Ligand-induced internalization of CD38 results in intracellular Ca2+
      mobilization: role of NAD+ transport across cell membranes.
AB  - CD38, a transmembrane glycoprotein widely expressed in vertebrate cells, is a
      bifunctional ectoenzyme catalyzing the synthesis and hydrolysis of cyclic ADP
      ribose (cADPR). cADPR is a universal second messenger that releases calcium from
      intracellular stores. Since cADPR is generated by CD38 at the outer surface of
      many cells, where it acts intracellularly, increasing attention is paid to
      addressing this topological paradox. Recently, we demonstrated that CD38 is a
      catalytically active, unidirectional transmembrane transporter of cADPR, which
      then reaches its receptor-operated intracellular calcium stores. Moreover, CD38
      was reported to undergo a selective and extensive internalization through non
      clathrin-coated endocytotic vesicles upon incubating CD38(+) cells with either
      NAD+ or thiol compounds: these endocytotic vesicles can convert cytosolic NAD
      into cADPR despite an asymmetric unfavorable orientation that makes the active
      site of CD38 intravesicular. Here we demonstrate that the cADPR-generating
      activity of the endocytotic vesicles results in remarkable and sustained
      increases of intracellular free calcium concentration in different cells exposed
      to either NAD+, or GSH, or N-acetylcysteine. This effect of CD38-internalizing
      ligands on intracellular calcium levels was found to involve a two-step
      mechanism: 1) influx of cytosolic NAD+ into the endocytotic vesicles, mediated by
      a hitherto unrecognized dinucleotide transport system that is saturable,
      bidirectional, inhibitable by 8-N3-NAD+, and characterized by poor dinucleotide
      specificity, low affinity, and high efficiency; 2) intravesicular CD38-catalyzed
      conversion of NAD+ to cADPR, followed by outpumping of the cyclic nucleotide into
      the cytosol and subsequent release of calcium from thapsigargin-sensitive stores.
      This unknown intracellular trafficking of NAD+ and cADPR based on two distinctive
      and specific transmembrane carriers for either nucleotide can affect the
      intracellular calcium homeostasis in CD38(+) cells.

PMID- 9973316
TI  - Oxygen tension modulates beta-globin switching in embryoid bodies.
AB  - Little is known about the factors influencing the hemoglobin switch in
      vertebrates during development. Inasmuch as the mammalian conceptus is exposed to
      changing oxygen tensions in utero, we examined the effect of different oxygen
      concentrations on beta-globin switching. We used an in vitro model of mouse
      embryogenesis based on the differentiation of blastocyst-derived embryonic stem
      cells to embryoid bodies (EBs). Cultivation of EBs at increasing oxygen
      concentrations (starting at 1% O2) did not influence the temporal expression
      pattern of embryonic (betaH1) globin compared to the normoxic controls (20% O2).
      In contrast, when compared to normoxically grown EBs, expression of fetal/adult
      (betamaj) globin in EBs cultured at varying oxygen concentrations was delayed by
      about 2 days and persisted throughout differentiation. Quantitation of hemoglobin
      in EBs using a 2,7-diaminofluorene-based colorimetric assay revealed the
      appearence of hemoglobin in two waves, an early and a late one. This observation
      was verified by spectrophotometric analysis of hemoglobin within single EBs.
      These two waves might reflect the switch of erythropoiesis from yolk sac to fetal
      liver. Reduced oxygenation is known to activate the hypoxia-inducible factor-1
      (HIF-1), which in turn specifically induces expression of a variety of genes
      among them erythropoietin (EPO). Although EBs increased EPO expression upon
      hypoxic exposure, the altered beta-globin appearance was not related to EPO
      levels as determined in EBs overexpressing EPO. Since mRNA from both mouse HIF
      1alpha isoforms was detected in all EBs tested at different differentiation
      stages, we propose that HIF-1 modulates beta-globin expression during
      development.

PMID- 9973317
TI  - Myelinolytic lesions in spinal cord of cobalamin-deficient rats are TNF-alpha
      mediated.
AB  - Repeated intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.)microinjection of tumor necrosis factor
      alpha (TNF-alpha) into normal rats causes intramyelin and interstitial edema in
      the white matter of the spinal cord (SC). This response is identical to that
      observed in the SC white matter of rats made cobalamin (Cbl) deficient by total
      gastrectomy (TG). Immunoblot analysis showed that: 1) the level of the
      biologically active form of the TNF-alpha protein (17 kDa) is higher in the SC of
      totally gastrectomized (TGX) rats 2 months after TG, i.e., at the postoperative
      time when edema is observed; 2) SC levels of TNF-alpha protein (17 kDa) in 2-mo
      TGX-, Cbl-treated rats are reduced to control. Repeated i.c.v. microinjections of
      anti-TNF-alpha antibodies, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) or
      interleukin-6 (IL-6) into TGX rats, begun shortly after TG, substantially reduced
      both intramyelin and interstitial edema in the SC white matter. This study
      provides the first evidence that the hallmark myelin damage of Cbl-deficient
      central neuropathy, which is a pure myelinolytic disease, is not caused directly
      by the withdrawal of the vitamin itself, but reflects enhanced production of the
      biologically active form of TNF-alpha by SC cells. This study thus supports the
      view that TGF-beta1 and IL-6 may act as neuroprotective agents in Cbl deficiency
      central neuropathy.

PMID- 9973318
TI  - A role for preadipocytes as macrophage-like cells.
AB  - Several lines of evidence have supported a link betweeen adipose tissue and
      immunocompetent cells. This link is illustrated in obesity, where excess
      adiposity and impaired immune function have been described in both humans and
      genetically obese rodents. In addition, numerous factors involved in inflammatory
      response are secreted by both preadipocytes and macrophages. Here we show that
      proliferating preadipocytes in cell lines and primary cultures, develop
      phagocytic activity toward microorganisms. This is demonstrated by phagocytosis
      assays and confocal microscopy. This function disappears when preadipocytes stop
      proliferating and differentiate into adipocytes. After phagocytosis,
      preadipocytes show microbicide activity via an oxygen-dependent mechanism. In
      addition, preadipocytes as well as adipocytes are stained with MOMA-2, a marker
      of monocyte-macrophage lineage, but are negative for specific mature macrophage
      markers (F4/80 and Mac-1). These results suggest that preadipocytes could
      function as macrophage-like cells and raise the possibility of a potential direct
      involvement of adipose tissue in inflammatory processes.

PMID- 9973319
TI  - Regulation of the L-type Ca2+ channel during cardiomyogenesis: switch from NO to
      adenylyl cyclase-mediated inhibition.
AB  - In adult mammalian cardiomyocytes, stimulation of muscarinic receptors
      counterbalances the beta-adrenoceptor-mediated increase in myocardial
      contractility and heart rate by decreasing the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa) (1, 2).
      This effect is mediated via inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and subsequent
      reduction of cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+
      channels (3). Little is known, however, about the nature and origin of this
      pivotal inhibitory pathway. Using embryonic stem cells as an in vitro model of
      cardiomyogenesis, we found that muscarinic agonists depress ICa by 58 +/-3%
      (n=34) in early stage cardiomyocytes lacking functional beta-adrenoceptors. The
      cholinergic inhibition is mediated by the nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP system since it
      was abolished by application of NOS inhibitors (L-NMA, L-NAME), an inhibitor of
      the soluble guanylyl cyclase (ODQ), and a selective phosphodiesterase type II
      antagonist (EHNA). The NO/cGMP-mediated ICa depression was dependent on a
      reduction of cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) levels since application of the
      catalytic subunit of PKA or of the PKA inhibitor PK) prevented the carbachol
      effect. In late development stage cells, as reported for ventricular
      cardiomyocytes (2, 4), muscarinic agonists had no effect on basal ICa but
      antagonized beta-adrenoceptor-stimulated ICa by 43 +/-4% (n=16). This switch in
      signaling pathways during development is associated with distinct changes in
      expression of the two NO-producing isoenzymes, eNOS and iNOS, respectively. These
      findings indicate a fundamental role for NO as a signaling molecule during early
      embryonic development and demonstrate a switch in the signaling cascades
      governing ICa regulation.

PMID- 9973320
TI  - Sustained microgravity reduces intrinsic wound healing and growth factor
      responses in the rat.
AB  - Spaceflight is known to diminish bone mass and reduce immune function, suggesting
      that repair of connective tissue might be impaired in a microgravity environment.
      Fisher 344 rats were used to test wound healing responses in the orbiting Space
      Shuttle Endeavour by preflight implantation of polyvinyl acetal sponge disks in
      which pellets were placed to release either platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF
      BB), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), or placebo. Control groups on the
      ground included a matched environment group in similar housing modules and
      temperature control groups in cages at 22 degreesC and 28 degreesC. After 12 days
      of implantation and 10 days in orbit, the removed sponges were analyzed for
      histological and biochemical responses. Growth factor responses were
      histologically evident after release of PDGF-BB and bFGF in ground controls,
      whereas only immediate-release bFGF and delayed-release PDGF-BB showed
      significant responses in microgravity. Biochemical data confirmed that
      cellularity was increased by both factors in ground sponges; however, this
      response was significantly blunted in flight sponges (P<0.005, ANOVA),
      irrespective timing of factor release. Collagen content was 62% lower in sponges
      from animals with 10 days of microgravity exposure (P<0.01, ANOVA) and further
      reduced by bFGF. These data suggest that orbital exposure retards the capacity of
      wounds to heal and respond to exogenous stimuli.

PMID- 9973321
TI  - Invasive isolates of Neisseria meningitidis possess enhanced immunoglobulin A1
      protease activity compared to colonizing strains.
AB  - Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae
      possess the ability to cleave human IgA1 antibodies, and all successfully
      colonize and occasionally invade the human upper respiratory tract. N.
      meningitidis invades the bloodstream after a period of nasopharyngeal
      colonization. We directly compared levels of IgA1 protease activity in strains
      (n=52) derived from the cerebrospinal fluid or blood of patients with
      meningococcal disease with strains of N. meningitidis obtained from asymptomatic
      carriers (n=25). IgA1 protease activity was determined by a sensitive
      semiquantitative ELISA assay. Levels of IgA1 protease activity were significantly
      higher (P<0.0001) in strains associated with invasive meningococcal disease (98%
      with detectable activity, mean = 580 mU) than with those obtained from
      asymptomatic carriers (76% with detectable activity, mean = 280 mU). Despite
      marked variation in enzyme activity, almost all strains (96%) possessed the gene
      for IgA1 protease. Given the panmictic population structure of the bacterial
      isolates investigated, these data, obtained from two groups infected with N.
      meningitidis, but with markedly different clinical outcomes, provide the first
      quantitative evidence that IgA1 protease activity is a virulence determinant that
      contributes to the pathogenic phenotype, and suggest IgA1 protease as a potential
      target for prophylaxis.

PMID- 9973322
TI  - Caspase-mediated cleavage of APC results in an amino-terminal fragment with an
      intact armadillo repeat domain.
AB  - During the effector phase of apoptosis, caspase activation appears to be
      responsible for the distinctive structural changes of apoptosis and perhaps for
      some of the changes in function of the doomed cells. There is therefore interest
      in identifying caspase substrates and the details of the cleavage events. Here we
      define precisely the event responsible for generation of a stable 90 kDa fragment
      from the oncosuppressor protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). Using synthetic
      radiolabeled APC peptides as substrate, we demonstrate cleavage by cytosolic
      extracts from preapoptotic cells. This cleavage was reproduced by recombinant
      caspase-3 and blocked by a tetrapeptide inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO, which is specific
      for caspase-3 family members. Inhibitors specific for caspase-1 and -8 however,
      were less effective in blocking APC cleavage. Mutation of a candidate DNID
      caspase-3 target site completely abolished cleavage. This cleavage may be of
      biological importance since the 90 kDa fragment consists of a sequence that is
      highly conserved in the human, rat, mouse, Xenopus, and Drosophila APC, although
      wide sequence divergence is observed in Drosophila immediately carboxy-terminal
      to the DNID site. Furthermore, cleavage at this site separates two significant
      functional domains: an amino-terminal armadillo repeat and an adjacent series of
      beta-catenin binding sites. Further circumstantial evidence for the significance
      of APC-related pathways in apoptosis is provided by the observation that
      apoptosis also induces cleavage of beta-catenin itself, a protein known to
      accumulate in cells depleted in functional APC and that appears to link cell-cell
      signaling to changes in transcription and cell movement.

PMID- 9973323
TI  - Enhancement by vasoactive intestinal peptide of gamma-interferon production by
      antigen-stimulated type 1 helper T cells.
AB  - Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuroendocrine mediator in immune
      tissues that affects many T cell functions through two homologous high-affinity G
      protein-coupled receptors, termed VIPR1 and VIPR2. Antigen-stimulated secretion
      of gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) by sperm whale myoglobin-specific Th1 cells of
      DBA/2 mouse I-Ed-restricted clones, which express VIPR1 and VIPR2, was enhanced
      by 10(-10) M to 10(-7) M VIP. Enhancement of IFN-gamma secretion reached a mean
      maximum of fourfold for VIP and threefold for a VIPR2-selective agonist, without
      any effect of a VIPR1-selective agonist. Secretion of IFN-gamma by PMA and
      ionomycin-stimulated clones of Th1 cells was not altered by VIP. Antigen
      stimulated secretion of IFN-gamma by T cell receptor-transgenic, influenza
      hemagglutinin-specific, and cytokine-differentiated mouse lymph node Th1 cells,
      which also express VIPR1 and VIPR2, was enhanced by 10(-10) M to 10(-8) M VIP.
      Enhancement of IFN-gamma secretion increased to a maximum of 14-fold for VIP, 14
      fold for the VIPR2-selective agonist, and 20-fold for the VIPR1-selective
      agonist. In contrast to VIP suppression of interleukin production and lack of
      effect on IFN-gamma production by T cells stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody or a
      mitogenic lectin, generation of IFN-gamma by antigen-stimulated T cells is
      enhanced significantly by physiological concentrations of VIP.

PMID- 9973324
TI  - Identification of 'tissue' transglutaminase binding proteins in neural cells
      committed to apoptosis.
AB  - Overexpression of 'tissue' transglutaminase (tTG) in the human neuroblastoma
      cells increases spontaneous apoptosis and renders these cells highly susceptible
      to death induced by various stimuli. We used immunoprecipitation to identify
      cellular proteins that interact specifically with tTG in SK-N-BE(2) -derived
      stable transfectants. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
      analysis showed that tTG binding proteins have molecular masses of 110, 50, 22,
      14, and 12 kDa. Microsequencing and computer search analyses allowed us to
      identify these polypeptides as the beta-tubulin (50 kDa), the histone H2B (14
      kDa), and two GST P1-1-truncated forms (22 and 12 kDa). The specificity of the
      interaction between tTG and these proteins was confirmed by competing tTG binding
      with purified enzyme and by detecting tTG in immunoprecipitates obtained using
      beta-tubulin or GST P1-1 mAb's. Here we demonstrate that the GST P1-1 acts as an
      efficient acyl donor as well as acceptor tTG substrate both in cells and in
      vitro. The tTG-catalyzed polymerization of GST P1-1 leads to its functional
      inactivation and is competitively inhibited by GSH. By contrast, the tTG-beta
      tubulin interaction does not result in the cross-linking of this cytoskeletal
      protein, which suggests that microtubules act as the anchorage site for tTG and
      GST P1-1 interaction.

PMID- 9973325
TI  - Elementary [Ca2+]i signals generated by electroporation functionally mimic those
      evoked by hormonal stimulation.
AB  - The generation of oscillations and global Ca2+ waves relies on the spatio
      temporal recruitment of elementary Ca2+ signals, such as 'Ca2+ puffs'. Each
      elementary signal contributes a small amount of Ca2+ into the cytoplasm,
      progressively promoting neighboring Ca2+ release sites into an excitable state.
      Previous studies have indicated that increases in frequency or amplitude of such
      hormone-evoked elementary Ca2+ signals are necessary to initiate Ca2+ wave
      propagation. In the present study, an electroporation device was used to rapidly
      and reversibly permeabilize the plasma membrane of HeLa cells and to allow a
      limited influx of Ca2+. With low field intensities (100-500 V/cm), brief (50-100
      micros) electroporation triggered localized Ca2+ signals that resembled hormone
      evoked Ca2+ puffs, but not global signals. With such low intensity
      electroporative pulses, the Ca2+ influx component was usually undetectable,
      confirming that the electroporation-induced local signals represented Ca2+ puffs
      arising from the opening of intracellular Ca2+ release channels. Increasing
      either the frequency at which low-intensity electroporative pulses were applied,
      or the intensity of a single electroporative pulse (>500 V/cm), resulted in
      caffeine-sensitive regenerative Ca2+ waves. We suggest that Ca2+ puffs caused by
      electroporation functionally mimic hormone-evoked elementary events and can
      activate global Ca2+ signals if they provide a sufficient trigger.

PMID- 9973327
TI  - Differential regulation of somatostatin receptor types 1-5 in rat aorta after
      angioplasty.
AB  - Treatment of restenosis after angioplasty with octapeptide somatostatin (SST)
      analogs has met with variable success. These analogs bind with high affinity to
      only two SST receptor (SSTR) subtypes (2 and 5), display moderate affinity for
      SSTR3, and low affinity for SSTR1 and 4. To optimize the vasculoprotective effect
      of SST, we have investigated the pattern of expression of all five SSTRs in rat
      thoracic aorta in the resting state and at 15 min, 3, 7, and 14 days after
      balloon endothelial denudation. SSTR1-5 were analyzed as mRNA by semiquantitative
      reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and as protein by
      immunocytochemistry. All five SSTRs were expressed in rat aorta both as mRNA and
      protein and displayed a time-dependent, subtype-selective response to endothelial
      denudation. mRNA for SSTR1 and 2 increased acutely (SSTR1 > SSTR2) on days 3 and
      7, coincident with smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, and declined to basal
      levels by day 14. SSTR3 and 4 displayed a different pattern with a delayed, more
      gradual increase in mRNA beginning at days 3-7 and continued to increase
      thereafter. SSTR5 mRNA was constitutively expressed at a low level and showed no
      change during the 2 wk postinjury period. By immunohistochemistry, SSTR1-5
      antigens were localized predominantly in SMC that were present in the media or
      had migrated into the intima; antigen expression correlated with receptor mRNA
      expression. Notably, only SSTR1,3,4 were expressed in the intima: SSTR1 and 4
      during the proliferative burst and SSTR3 and 4 after proliferation, when SMC
      migration into the intima continues. These results demonstrate dynamic changes in
      SSTR1-5 expression after vascular trauma localized to areas of vascular SMC
      migration and replication. In view of their early and prominent induction, SSTR1
      may be the optimal subtype to target for inhibition of myointimal proliferation,
      and SSTR3 and 4 for migration and remodeling.

PMID- 9973326
TI  - Role of ets factors in the activity and endothelial cell specificity of the mouse
      Tie gene promoter.
AB  - The Tie gene encodes an endothelial cell receptor tyrosine kinase necessary for
      normal vascular development. The Tie gene promoter targets expression of
      heterologous genes specifically to endothelial cells in transgenic mice. Here we
      have characterized the promoter sequences critical for endothelial cell-specific
      activity in cultured cells and transgenic mice. Progressive deletions and site
      directed mutations of the promoter showed that the critical endothelial cell
      specific elements are an octamer transcription factor binding site and several
      Ets binding sites located in two clusters within 300 bp upstream of the major
      transcription initiation site. Among members of the Ets transcription factor
      family tested, NERF-2 (a novel transcription factor related to the ets factor ELF
      1), which is expressed in endothelial cells, and ETS2 showed the strongest
      transactivation of the Tie promoter; ETS1 gave lower levels of stimulation and
      the other Ets factors gave little or no transactivation. Furthermore, the Tie
      promoter directed the production of high amounts of human growth hormone into the
      circulation of transgenic mice. The secreted amounts correlated with transgene
      copy number, being relatively insensitive to the effects of the transgene
      integration site. These properties suggest that Tie promoter activity is
      controlled by endothelial cell Ets factors and that it has potential for use in
      vectors for endothelial cell-specific gene expression.

PMID- 9973328
TI  - A new role for neurotrophins: involvement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor
      and neurotrophin-4 in hair cycle control.
AB  - Neurotrophins exert many biological effects not directly targeted at neurons,
      including modulation of keratinocyte proliferation and apoptosis in vitro. Here
      we exploit the cyclic growth and regression activity of the murine hair follicle
      to explore potential nonneuronal functions of neurotrophins in the skin, and
      analyze the follicular expression and hair growth-modulatory function of BDNF, NT
      4, and their high-affinity receptor, TrkB. The cutaneous expression of BDNF and
      NT-4 mRNA was strikingly hair cycle dependent and peaked during the spontaneous,
      apoptosis-driven hair follicle regression (catagen). During catagen, BDNF mRNA
      and immunoreactivity, as well as NT-4-immunoreactivity, were expressed in the
      regressing hair follicle compartments, whereas TrkB mRNA and immunoreactivity
      were seen in dermal papilla fibroblasts, epithelial strand, and hair germ. BDNF
      or NT-4 knockout mice showed significant catagen retardation, whereas BDNF
      overexpressing mice displayed acceleration of catagen and significant shortening
      of hair length. Finally, BDNF and NT-4 accelerated catagen development in murine
      skin organ culture. Together, our data suggest that BDNF and NT-4 play a
      previously unrecognized role in skin physiology as agents of hair growth control.
      Thus, TrkB agonists and antagonists deserve exploration as novel hair growth
      modulatory drugs for the management of common hair growth disorders.

PMID- 9973329
TI  - (R)-alpha-lipoic acid-supplemented old rats have improved mitochondrial function,
      decreased oxidative damage, and increased metabolic rate.
AB  - A diet supplemented with (R)-lipoic acid, a mitochondrial coenzyme, was fed to
      old rats to determine its efficacy in reversing the decline in metabolism seen
      with age. Young (3 to 5 months) and old (24 to 26 months) rats were fed an AIN
      93M diet with or without (R)-lipoic acid (0.5% w/w) for 2 wk, killed, and their
      liver parenchymal cells were isolated. Hepatocytes from untreated old rats vs.
      young controls had significantly lower oxygen consumption (P<0. 03) and
      mitochondrial membrane potential. (R)-Lipoic acid supplementation reversed the
      age-related decline in O2 consumption and increased (P<0.03) mitochondrial
      membrane potential. Ambulatory activity, a measure of general metabolic activity,
      was almost threefold lower in untreated old rats vs. controls, but this decline
      was reversed (P<0.005) in old rats fed (R)-lipoic acid. The increase of oxidants
      with age, as measured by the fluorescence produced on oxidizing 2',7'
      dichlorofluorescin, was significantly lowered in (R)-lipoic acid supplemented old
      rats (P<0.01). Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, an indicator of lipid peroxidation,
      were increased fivefold with age in cells from unsupplemented rats. Feeding rats
      the (R)-lipoic acid diet reduced MDA levels markedly (P<0.01). Both glutathione
      and ascorbic acid levels declined in hepatocytes with age, but their loss was
      completely reversed with (R)-lipoic acid supplementation. Thus, (R)-lipoic acid
      supplementation improves indices of metabolic activity as well as lowers
      oxidative stress and damage evident in aging.

PMID- 9973331
TI  - Physiological characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during exotoxin A
      synthesis: glutamate, iron limitation, and aconitase activity.
AB  - Glutamate enhances the yield of exotoxin A (ETA), which is induced by iron
      limitation, from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We tested the possibility that glutamate
      affects growth during iron restriction. We confirmed that iron limitation caused
      early entry into stationary phase but had no effect on the exponential growth
      rate. We showed that glutamate, as well as citrate and isocitrate, partially
      overcame this growth limitation. Glutamate had no effect on toxA (ETA-encoding)
      transcription, which implies that glutamate primarily increases the number of
      toxin-producing cells. In contrast, citrate and isocitrate diminished toxA
      transcription. Since glutamate, citrate, and isocitrate stimulated growth, we
      suspected a block in the citric acid cycle. Iron limitation reduced the activity
      of the iron-containing aconitase 12-fold but had no effect on isocitrate
      dehydrogenase activity, which was assayed as a control. There is a reciprocal
      relationship between aconitase activity and ETA synthesis, and this correlation
      does not appear to be coincidental because aconitase-specific effectors affect
      ETA synthesis. We tested whether a metabolic block is sufficient to induce ETA
      synthesis, but an aconitase-specific inhibitor diminished ETA production, which
      argues against this possibility. Finally, we present preliminary evidence that
      iron limitation may reversibly and posttranslationally inactivate aconitase in
      vivo. In summary, the environmental factors that stimulate ETA synthesis are
      related: glutamate bypasses an iron limitation-dependent metabolic block that
      causes entry into stationary phase. We speculate that one or more of the
      aconitases in P. aeruginosa may contribute to the control of virulence factor
      synthesis.

PMID- 9973330
TI  - Bacterial adhesins: common themes and variations in architecture and assembly.

PMID- 9973332
TI  - Mycoplasma pneumoniae protein P30 is required for cytadherence and associated
      with proper cell development.
AB  - The attachment organelle of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a polar, tapered cell
      extension containing an intracytoplasmic, electron-dense core. This terminal
      structure is the leading end in gliding motility, and its duplication is thought
      to precede cell division, raising the possibility that mutations affecting
      cytadherence also confer a defect in motility or cell development. Mycoplasma
      surface protein P30 is associated with the attachment organelle, and P30 mutants
      II-3 and II-7 do not cytadhere. In this study, the recombinant wild-type but not
      the mutant II-3 p30 allele restored cytadherence when transformed into P30
      mutants by recombinant transposon delivery. The mutations associated with loss of
      P30 in mutant II-3 and reacquisition of P30 in cytadhering revertants thereof
      were identified by nucleotide sequencing of the p30 gene. Morphological
      abnormalities that included ovoid or multilobed cells having a poorly defined tip
      structure were associated with loss of P30. Digital image analysis confirmed
      quantitatively the morphological differences noted visually. Transformation of
      the P30 mutants with the wild-type p30 allele restored a normal morphology, as
      determined both visually and by digital image analysis, suggesting that P30 plays
      a role in mycoplasma cell development. Finally, the P30 mutants localized the
      adhesin protein P1 to the terminal organelle, indicating that P30 is not involved
      in P1 trafficking but may be required for its receptor-binding function.

PMID- 9973333
TI  - Presence of acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase and propionyl-CoA carboxylase in
      autotrophic Crenarchaeota and indication for operation of a 3-hydroxypropionate
      cycle in autotrophic carbon fixation.
AB  - The pathway of autotrophic CO2 fixation was studied in the phototrophic bacterium
      Chloroflexus aurantiacus and in the aerobic thermoacidophilic archaeon
      Metallosphaera sedula. In both organisms, none of the key enzymes of the
      reductive pentose phosphate cycle, the reductive citric acid cycle, and the
      reductive acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) pathway were detectable. However, cells
      contained the biotin-dependent acetyl-CoA carboxylase and propionyl-CoA
      carboxylase as well as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. The specific enzyme
      activities of the carboxylases were high enough to explain the autotrophic growth
      rate via the 3-hydroxypropionate cycle. Extracts catalyzed the CO2-, MgATP-, and
      NADPH-dependent conversion of acetyl-CoA to 3-hydroxypropionate via malonyl-CoA
      and the conversion of this intermediate to succinate via propionyl-CoA. The
      labelled intermediates were detected in vitro with either 14CO2 or [14C]acetyl
      CoA as precursor. These reactions are part of the 3-hydroxypropionate cycle, the
      autotrophic pathway proposed for C. aurantiacus. The investigation was extended
      to the autotrophic archaea Sulfolobus metallicus and Acidianus infernus, which
      showed acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA carboxylase activities in extracts of
      autotrophically grown cells. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity is unexpected in
      archaea since they do not contain fatty acids in their membranes. These aerobic
      archaea, as well as C. aurantiacus, were screened for biotin-containing proteins
      by the avidin-peroxidase test. They contained large amounts of a small biotin
      carrying protein, which is most likely part of the acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA
      carboxylases. Other archaea reported to use one of the other known autotrophic
      pathways lacked such small biotin-containing proteins. These findings suggest
      that the aerobic autotrophic archaea M. sedula, S. metallicus, and A. infernus
      use a yet-to-be-defined 3-hydroxypropionate cycle for their autotrophic growth.
      Acetyl-CoA carboxylase and propionyl-CoA carboxylase are proposed to be the main
      CO2 fixation enzymes, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase may have an anaplerotic
      function. The results also provide further support for the occurrence of the 3
      hydroxypropionate cycle in C. aurantiacus.

PMID- 9973334
TI  - Pseudomonas aeruginosa fur overlaps with a gene encoding a novel outer membrane
      lipoprotein, OmlA.
AB  - A novel outer membrane lipoprotein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is encoded by the
      omlA gene, which was identified immediately upstream of the fur (ferric uptake
      regulator) gene. The omlA and fur genes were divergently transcribed and had
      overlapping promoter regions. The proximal fur P2 promoter and the omlA promoter
      shared a 5-bp DNA motif for their -10 promoter elements. The distal fur P1
      promoter was located within the omlA coding sequence, and the omlA and fur T1
      mRNAs overlapped by 154 nucleotides. Optimal expression of both fur and omlA
      required roughly 200 bp of DNA upstream of the promoter regions, suggesting the
      presence of cis-acting transcriptional activation elements located within the
      omlA and fur genes, respectively. The levels of Fur and OmlA proteins had no
      influence on omlA or fur expression, excluding any trans-acting cross-regulation
      between fur and omlA. Expression of omlA was constitutive regardless of growth
      phase, oxygen tension, iron concentration, pH, and temperature. OmlA contained a
      signal sequence typical of bacterial lipoproteins, with a cysteine as a putative
      cleavage and lipid attachment site. Inhibition of signal peptidase II by
      globomycin resulted in failure to process OmlA, thus giving strong evidence that
      OmlA is a lipoprotein. Cell fractionation followed by Western blot analysis
      indicated that all OmlA protein is localized in the outer membrane. Mature OmlA
      was an acidic (pI = 4. 5) protein of 17.3 kDa and had close to 40% amino acid
      sequence identity to SmpA (small protein A) of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae,
      and Haemophilus influenzae, a protein of unknown function. All P. aeruginosa
      strains tested as well as Pseudomonas fluorescens were found to produce OmlA. A
      mutant strain with impaired production of OmlA but no change in the expression of
      the overlapping fur gene was constructed. The omlA mutant was hypersusceptible to
      anionic detergents such as sodium dodecyl sulfate and deoxycholate, and it showed
      increased susceptibility to various antibiotics, including nalidixic acid,
      rifampin, novobiocin, and chloramphenicol. A structural role of OmlA in
      maintaining the cell envelope integrity is proposed.

PMID- 9973335
TI  - Genetic and transcriptional analyses of the Vibrio cholerae mannose-sensitive
      hemagglutinin type 4 pilus gene locus.
AB  - The mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin (MSHA) of the Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor
      biotype is a member of the family of type 4 pili. Type 4 pili are found on the
      surface of a variety of gram-negative bacteria and have demonstrated importance
      as host colonization factors, bacteriophage receptors, and mediators of DNA
      transfer. The gene locus required for the assembly and secretion of the MSHA
      pilus has been localized to a 16.7-kb region of the V. cholerae chromosome.
      Sixteen genes required for hemagglutination, including five that encode prepilin
      or prepilin-like proteins, have been identified. Examination of MSHA-specific
      cDNAs has localized two promoters that drive expression of these genes. This
      evidence indicates that the MSHA gene locus is transcriptionally organized into
      two operons, one encoding the secretory components and the other encoding the
      structural subunits, an arrangement unique among previously characterized type 4
      pilus loci. The genes flanking the MSHA locus encode proteins that show homology
      to YhdA and MreB of Escherichia coli. In E. coli, the yhdA and mreB genes are
      adjacent to each other on the chromosome. The finding that the MSHA locus lies
      between these two E. coli homologs and that it is flanked by a 7-bp direct repeat
      suggests that the MSHA locus may have been acquired as a mobile genetic element.

PMID- 9973336
TI  - Cell cycle control of a holdfast attachment gene in Caulobacter crescentus.
AB  - Attachment to surfaces by the prosthecate bacterium Caulobacter crescentus is
      mediated by an adhesive organelle, the holdfast, found at the tip of the stalk.
      Indirect evidence suggested that the holdfast first appears at the swarmer pole
      of the predivisional cell. We used fluorescently labeled lectin and transmission
      electron microscopy to detect the holdfast in different cell types. While the
      holdfast was readily detectable in stalked cells and at the stalked poles of
      predivisional cells, we were unable to detect the holdfast in swarmer cells or at
      the flagellated poles of predivisional cells. This suggests that exposure of the
      holdfast to the outside of the cell occurs during the differentiation of swarmer
      to stalked cells. To investigate the timing of holdfast synthesis and exposure to
      the outside of the cell, we have examined the regulation of a holdfast attachment
      gene, hfaA. The hfaA gene is part of a cluster of four genes (hfaABDC),
      identified in strain CB2A and involved in attachment of the holdfast to the polar
      region of the cell. We have identified the hfaA gene in the synchronizable C.
      crescentus strain CB15. The sequence of the CB2A hfaA promoter suggested that it
      was regulated by sigma54. We show that the transcription of hfaA from either
      strain is not dependent on sigma54. Using a hfaA-lacZ fusion, we show that the
      transcription of hfaA is temporally regulated during the cell cycle, with maximal
      expression in late-predivisional cells. This increase in expression is largely
      due to the preferential transcription of hfaA in the swarmer pole of the
      predivisional cell.

PMID- 9973337
TI  - Identification of a Streptococcus pneumoniae gene locus encoding proteins of an
      ABC phosphate transporter and a two-component regulatory system.
AB  - The Escherichia coli Pst system belongs to the family of ABC transporters. It is
      part of a phosphate (PHO) regulon which is regulated by extracellular phosphate.
      Under conditions of phosphate limitation, the response regulator PhoB is
      phosphorylated by the histidine kinase PhoR and binds to promoters that share a
      consensus PHO box. Under conditions of phosphate excess, PhoR, Pst, and PhoU
      downregulate the PHO regulon. Screening of a library of pneumococcal mutants with
      defects in exported proteins revealed a putative two-component regulatory system,
      PnpR-PnpS, and a downstream ABC transporter, similar to the Pst system in E. coli
      including a gene encoding a PhoU protein. Similar to E. coli, mutagenesis of the
      ATP-binding cassette gene, pstB, resulted in decreased uptake of phosphate. The
      effects of the loss of the pneumococcal Pst system extended to decreased
      transformation and lysis. Withdrawal of phosphate led to transformation
      deficiency in the parent strain R6x but not to penicillin tolerance, suggesting
      that reduced bacterial death was independent of phosphate. None of these
      phenotypes was observed in the pneumococcal loss-of-function mutant phoU. By
      using a lacZ reporter construct, it was demonstrated that expression of the two
      component regulatory system PnpR-PnpS was not influenced by different
      concentrations of phosphate. These results suggest a more complex role of the Pst
      system in pneumococcal physiology than in that of E. coli.

PMID- 9973338
TI  - Analysis of phosphorylated sphingolipid long-chain bases reveals potential roles
      in heat stress and growth control in Saccharomyces.
AB  - Sphingolipid long-chain bases and their phosphorylated derivatives, for example,
      sphingosine-1-phosphate in mammals, have been implicated as signaling molecules.
      The possibility that Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells also use long-chain-base
      phosphates to regulate cellular processes has only recently begun to be examined.
      Here we present a simple and sensitive procedure for analyzing and quantifying
      long-chain-base phosphates in S. cerevisiae cells. Our data show for the first
      time that phytosphingosine-1-phosphate (PHS-1-P) is present at a low but
      detectable level in cells grown on a fermentable carbon source at 25 degreesC,
      while dihydrosphingosine-1-phosphate (DHS-1-P) is only barely detectable.
      Shifting cells to 37 degreesC causes transient eight- and fivefold increases in
      levels of PHS-1-P and DHS-1-P, respectively, which peak after about 10 min. The
      amounts of both compounds return to the unstressed levels by 20 min after the
      temperature shift. These data are consistent with PHS-1-P and DHS-1-P being
      signaling molecules. Cells unable to break down long-chain-base phosphates, due
      to deletion of DPL1 and LCB3, show a 500-fold increase in PHS-1-P and DHS-1-P
      levels, grow slowly, and survive a 44 degreesC heat stress 10-fold better than
      parental cells. These and other data for dpl1 or lcb3 single-mutant strains
      suggest that DHS-1-P and/or PHS-1-P act as signals for resistance to heat stress.
      Our procedure should expedite experiments to determine how the synthesis and
      breakdown of these compounds is regulated and how the compounds mediate
      resistance to elevated temperature.

PMID- 9973340
TI  - Spectra of spontaneous growth-dependent and adaptive mutations at ebgR.
AB  - A comparison of the spectra of spontaneous growth-dependent and adaptive
      mutations in ebgR shows that both spectra are dominated by insertion sequence
      (IS)-mediated mutations. The difference between growth-dependent mutations (61%
      IS mediated) and adaptive mutations (80% IS mediated) is highly significant (P <
      0.0001). In contrast, the spectra of growth-dependent and adaptive non-IS
      mediated mutations do not differ from each other and therefore do not provide
      support for the hypothesis that adaptive and growth-dependent mutations arise by
      substantially different mechanisms.

PMID- 9973339
TI  - Expression and study of recombinant ExoM, a beta1-4 glucosyltransferase involved
      in succinoglycan biosynthesis in Sinorhizobium meliloti.
AB  - Here we report on the overexpression and in vitro characterization of a
      recombinant form of ExoM, a putative beta1-4 glucosyltransferase involved in the
      assembly of the octasaccharide repeating subunit of succinoglycan from
      Sinorhizobium meliloti. The open reading frame exoM was isolated by PCR and
      subcloned into the expression vector pET29b, allowing inducible expression under
      the control of the T7 promoter. Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)/pLysS containing exoM
      expressed a novel 38-kDa protein corresponding to ExoM in N-terminal fusion with
      the S-tag peptide. Cell fractionation studies showed that the protein is
      expressed in E. coli as a membrane-bound protein in agreement with the presence
      of a predicted C-terminal transmembrane region. E. coli membrane preparations
      containing ExoM were shown to be capable of transferring glucose from UDP-glucose
      to glycolipid extracts from an S. meliloti mutant strain which accumulates the
      ExoM substrate (Glcbeta1-4Glcbeta1-3Gal-pyrophosphate-polyprenol). Thin-layer
      chromatography of the glycosidic portion of the ExoM product showed that the
      oligosaccharide formed comigrates with an authentic standard. The oligosaccharide
      produced by the recombinant ExoM, but not the starting substrate, was sensitive
      to cleavage with a specific cellobiohydrolase, consistent with the formation of a
      beta1-4 glucosidic linkage. No evidence for the transfer of multiple glucose
      residues to the glycolipid substrate was observed. It was also found that ExoM
      does not transfer glucose to an acceptor substrate that has been hydrolyzed from
      the polyprenol anchor. Furthermore, neither glucose, cellobiose, nor the
      trisaccharide Glcbeta1-4Glcbeta1-3Glc inhibited the transferase activity,
      suggesting that some feature of the lipid anchor is necessary for activity.

PMID- 9973341
TI  - The signal transduction protein GlnK is required for NifL-dependent nitrogen
      control of nif gene expression in Klebsiella pneumoniae.
AB  - In Klebsiella pneumoniae, transcription of the nitrogen fixation (nif) genes is
      regulated in response to molecular oxygen or availability of fixed nitrogen by
      the coordinated activities of the nifA and nifL gene products. NifA is a nif
      specific transcriptional activator, the activity of which is inhibited by
      interaction with NifL. Nitrogen control of NifL occurs at two levels:
      transcription of the nifLA operon is regulated by the global ntr system, and the
      inhibitory activity of NifL is controlled in response to fixed nitrogen by an
      unknown factor. K. pneumoniae synthesizes two PII-like signal transduction
      proteins, GlnB, which we have previously shown not to be involved in the response
      of NifL to fixed nitrogen, and the recently identified protein GlnK. We have now
      cloned the K. pneumoniae glnK gene, studied its expression, and shown that a null
      mutation in glnK prevents NifL from responding to the absence of fixed nitrogen,
      i.e., from relieving the inhibition of NifA activity. Hence, GlnK appears to be
      involved, directly or indirectly, in NifL-dependent regulation of nif gene
      expression in K. pneumoniae. Comparison of the GlnB and GlnK amino acid sequences
      from six species of proteobacteria identifies five residues (residues 3, 5, 52,
      54, and 64) which serve to distinguish the GlnB and GlnK proteins.

PMID- 9973342
TI  - An unusual oxygen-sensitive, iron- and zinc-containing alcohol dehydrogenase from
      the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus.
AB  - Pyrococcus furiosus is a hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows optimally at 100
      degreesC by the fermentation of peptides and carbohydrates to produce acetate,
      CO2, and H2, together with minor amounts of ethanol. The organism also generates
      H2S in the presence of elemental sulfur (S0). Cell extracts contained NADP
      dependent alcohol dehydrogenase activity (0.2 to 0.5 U/mg) with ethanol as the
      substrate, the specific activity of which was comparable in cells grown with and
      without S0. The enzyme was purified by multistep column chromatography. It has a
      subunit molecular weight of 48,000 +/- 1,000, appears to be a homohexamer, and
      contains iron ( approximately 1.0 g-atom/subunit) and zinc ( approximately 1.0 g
      atom/subunit) as determined by chemical analysis and plasma emission
      spectroscopy. Neither other metals nor acid-labile sulfur was detected. Analysis
      using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy indicated that the iron was
      present as low-spin Fe(II). The enzyme is oxygen sensitive and has a half-life in
      air of about 1 h at 23 degreesC. It is stable under anaerobic conditions even at
      high temperature, with half-lives at 85 and 95 degreesC of 160 and 7 h,
      respectively. The optimum pH for ethanol oxidation was between 9. 4 and 10.2 (at
      80 degreesC), and the apparent Kms (at 80 degreesC) for ethanol, acetaldehyde,
      NADP, and NAD were 29.4, 0.17, 0.071, and 20 mM, respectively. P. furiosus
      alcohol dehydrogenase utilizes a range of alcohols and aldehydes, including
      ethanol, 2-phenylethanol, tryptophol, 1,3-propanediol, acetaldehyde,
      phenylacetaldehyde, and methyl glyoxal. Kinetic analyses indicated a marked
      preference for catalyzing aldehyde reduction with NADPH as the electron donor.
      Accordingly, the proposed physiological role of this unusual alcohol
      dehydrogenase is in the production of alcohols. This reaction simultaneously
      disposes of excess reducing equivalents and removes toxic aldehydes, both of
      which are products of fermentation.

PMID- 9973343
TI  - Purification and molecular characterization of the tungsten-containing
      formaldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon
      Pyrococcus furiosus: the third of a putative five-member tungstoenzyme family.
AB  - Pyrococcus furiosus is a hyperthermophilic archaeon which grows optimally near
      100 degreesC by fermenting peptides and sugars to produce organic acids, CO2, and
      H2. Its growth requires tungsten, and two different tungsten-containing enzymes,
      aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase (AOR) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
      ferredoxin oxidoreductase (GAPOR), have been previously purified from P.
      furiosus. These two enzymes are thought to function in the metabolism of peptides
      and carbohydrates, respectively. A third type of tungsten-containing enzyme,
      formaldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase (FOR), has now been characterized. FOR is
      a homotetramer with a mass of 280 kDa and contains approximately 1 W atom, 4 Fe
      atoms, and 1 Ca atom per subunit, together with a pterin cofactor. The low
      recovery of FOR activity during purification was attributed to loss of sulfide,
      since the purified enzyme was activated up to fivefold by treatment with sulfide
      (HS-) under reducing conditions. FOR uses P. furiosus ferredoxin as an electron
      acceptor (Km = 100 microM) and oxidizes a range of aldehydes. Formaldehyde (Km =
      15 mM for the sulfide-activated enzyme) was used in routine assays, but the
      physiological substrate is thought to be an aliphatic C5 semi- or dialdehyde,
      e.g., glutaric dialdehyde (Km = 1 mM). Based on its amino-terminal sequence, the
      gene encoding FOR (for) was identified in the genomic database, together with
      those encoding AOR and GAPOR. The amino acid sequence of FOR corresponded to a
      mass of 68.7 kDa and is highly similar to those of the subunits of AOR (61%
      similarity and 40% identity) and GAPOR (50% similarity and 23% identity). The
      three genes are not linked on the P. furiosus chromosome. Two additional (and
      nonlinked) genes (termed wor4 and wor5) that encode putative tungstoenzymes with
      57% (WOR4) and 56% (WOR5) sequence similarity to FOR were also identified. Based
      on sequence motif similarities with FOR, both WOR4 and WOR5 are also proposed to
      contain a tungstobispterin site and one [4Fe-4S] cluster per subunit.

PMID- 9973345
TI  - Hydride-Meisenheimer complex formation and protonation as key reactions of 2,4,6
      trinitrophenol biodegradation by Rhodococcus erythropolis.
AB  - Biodegradation of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (picric acid) by Rhodococcus erythropolis
      HLPM-1 proceeds via initial hydrogenation of the aromatic ring system. Here we
      present evidence for the formation of a hydride-Meisenheimer complex (anionic
      sigma-complex) of picric acid and its protonated form under physiological
      conditions. These complexes are key intermediates of denitration and productive
      microbial degradation of picric acid. For comparative spectroscopic
      identification of the hydride complex, it was necessary to synthesize this
      complex for the first time. Spectroscopic data revealed the initial addition of a
      hydride ion at position 3 of picric acid. This hydride complex readily picks up a
      proton at position 2, thus forming a reactive species for the elimination of
      nitrite. Cell extracts of R. erythropolis HLPM-1 transform the chemically
      synthesized hydride complex into 2,4-dinitrophenol. Picric acid is used as the
      sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source by R. erythropolis HLPM-1.

PMID- 9973344
TI  - Gene targeting in Penicillium chrysogenum: disruption of the lys2 gene leads to
      penicillin overproduction.
AB  - Two strategies have been used for targeted integration at the lys2 locus of
      Penicillium chrysogenum. In the first strategy the disruption of lys2 was
      obtained by a single crossing over between the endogenous lys2 and a fragment of
      the same gene located in an integrative plasmid. lys2-disrupted mutants were
      obtained with 1.6% efficiency when the lys2 homologous region was 4.9 kb, but no
      homologous integration was observed with constructions containing a shorter
      homologous region. Similarly, lys2-disrupted mutants were obtained by a double
      crossing over (gene replacement) with an efficiency of 0.14% by using two lys2
      homologous regions of 4.3 and 3.0 kb flanking the pyrG marker. No homologous
      recombination was observed when the selectable marker was flanked by short lys2
      homologous DNA fragments. The disruption of lys2 was confirmed by Southern blot
      analysis of three different lysine auxotrophs obtained by a single crossing over
      or gene replacement. The lys2-disrupted mutants lacked alpha-aminoadipate
      reductase activity (encoded by lys2) and showed specific penicillin yields double
      those of the parental nondisrupted strain, Wis 54-1255. The alpha-aminoadipic
      acid precursor is channelled to penicillin biosynthesis by blocking the lysine
      biosynthesis branch at the alpha-aminoadipate reductase level.

PMID- 9973346
TI  - Two nucleotide transport proteins in Chlamydia trachomatis, one for net
      nucleoside triphosphate uptake and the other for transport of energy.
AB  - The genome of Chlamydia trachomatis, one of the most prominent human pathogens,
      contains two structural genes coding for proteins, herein called Npt1Ct and
      Npt2Ct (nucleoside phosphate transporters 1 and 2 of C. trachomatis), exhibiting
      68 and 61% similarity, respectively, to the ATP/ADP transporter from the
      intracellular bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii at the deduced amino acid level.
      Hydropathy analysis and sequence alignments suggested that both proteins have 12
      transmembrane domains. The putative transporters were expressed as histidine
      tagged proteins in Escherichia coli to study their biochemical properties. His10
      Npt1Ct catalyzed ATP and ADP transport in an exchange mode. The apparent Km
      values were 48 (ATP) and 39 (ADP) microM. ATP and ADP transport was specific
      since AMP, GTP, CTP, UTP, dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP did not inhibit uptake. In
      contrast, His10-Npt2Ct transported all four ribonucleoside triphosphates with
      apparent Km values of 31 microM (GTP), 302 microM (UTP), 528 microM (CTP), and
      1,158 microM (ATP). Ribonucleoside di- and monophosphates and
      deoxyribonucleotides were not substrates. The protonophore m
      chlorocarbonylcyanide phenylhydrazone abolished uptake of all nucleoside
      triphosphates by Npt2Ct. This observation indicated that His10-Npt2Ct acts as a
      nucleosidetriphosphate/H+ symporter energized by the proton motive force across
      the Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membrane. We conclude that Npt1Ct provides
      chlamydiae with energy whereas Npt2Ct catalyzes the net uptake of ribonucleoside
      triphosphates required for anabolic reactions.

PMID- 9973347
TI  - Active efflux and diffusion are involved in transport of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
      cell-to-cell signals.
AB  - Many gram-negative bacteria communicate by N-acyl homoserine lactone signals
      called autoinducers (AIs). In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell-to-cell signaling
      controls expression of extracellular virulence factors, the type II secretion
      apparatus, a stationary-phase sigma factor (sigmas), and biofilm differentiation.
      The fact that a similar signal, N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone, freely
      diffuses through Vibrio fischeri and Escherichia coli cells has led to the
      assumption that all AIs are freely diffusible. In this work, transport of the two
      P. aeruginosa AIs, N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC12-HSL) (formerly
      called PAI-1) and N-butyryl homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) (formerly called PAI-2),
      was studied by using tritium-labeled signals. When [3H]C4-HSL was added to cell
      suspensions of P. aeruginosa, the cellular concentration reached a steady state
      in less than 30 s and was nearly equal to the external concentration, as expected
      for a freely diffusible compound. In contrast, [3H]3OC12-HSL required about 5 min
      to reach a steady state, and the cellular concentration was 3 times higher than
      the external level. Addition of inhibitors of the cytoplasmic membrane proton
      gradient, such as azide, led to a strong increase in cellular accumulation of
      [3H]3OC12-HSL, suggesting the involvement of active efflux. A defined mutant
      lacking the mexA-mexB-oprM-encoded active-efflux pump accumulated [3H]3OC12-HSL
      to levels similar to those in the azide-treated wild-type cells. Efflux
      experiments confirmed these observations. Our results show that in contrast to
      the case for C4-HSL, P. aeruginosa cells are not freely permeable to 3OC12-HSL.
      Instead, the mexA-mexB-oprM-encoded efflux pump is involved in active efflux of
      3OC12-HSL. Apparently the length and/or degree of substitution of the N-acyl side
      chain determines whether an AI is freely diffusible or is subject to active
      efflux by P. aeruginosa.

PMID- 9973348
TI  - Conditional stability of the HemA protein (glutamyl-tRNA reductase) regulates
      heme biosynthesis in Salmonella typhimurium.
AB  - In many bacteria, including the enteric species Salmonella typhimurium and
      Escherichia coli, heme is synthesized starting from glutamate by a pathway in
      which the first committed step is catalyzed by the hemA gene product, glutamyl
      tRNA reductase (HemA). We have demonstrated previously that when heme limitation
      is imposed on cultures of S. typhimurium, HemA enzyme activity is increased 10-
      to 25-fold. Western (immunoblot) analysis with monoclonal antibodies reactive
      with HemA revealed that heme limitation results in a corresponding increase in
      the abundance of the enzyme. Similar regulation was also observed for E. coli.
      The near absence of regulation of hemA-lac operon fusions suggested a
      posttranscriptional control. We report here the results of pulse-labeling and
      immunoprecipitation studies of this regulation. The principal mechanism that
      contributes to elevated HemA abundance is protein stabilization. The half-life of
      HemA protein is approximately 20 min in unrestricted cells but increases to >300
      min in heme-limited cells. Similar regulation was observed for a HemA-LacZ hybrid
      protein containing almost all of the HemA protein (416 residues). Sodium azide
      prevents HemA turnover in vivo, suggesting a role for energy-dependent
      proteolysis. This was confirmed by the finding that HemA turnover is completely
      blocked in a lon clpP double mutant of E. coli. Each single mutant shows only a
      small effect. The ClpA chaperone, but not ClpX, is required for ClpP-dependent
      HemA turnover. A hybrid HemA-LacZ protein containing just 18 amino acids from
      HemA is also stabilized in the lon clpP double mutant, but this shorter fusion
      protein is not correctly regulated by heme limitation. We suggest that the 18 N
      terminal amino acids of HemA may constitute a degradation tag, whose function is
      conditional and modified by the remainder of the protein in a heme-dependent way.
      Several models are discussed to explain why the turnover of HemA is promoted by
      Lon-ClpAP proteolysis only when sufficient heme is available.

PMID- 9973349
TI  - Characterization of insertions of IS476 and two newly identified insertion
      sequences, IS1478 and IS1479, in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris.
AB  - Thirty-two plasmid insertion mutants were independently isolated from two strains
      of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris in Taiwan. Of the 32 mutants, 14 (44%),
      8 (25%), and 4 (12%) mutants resulted from separate insertions of an IS3 family
      member, IS476, and two new insertion sequences (IS), IS1478 and IS1479. While
      IS1478 does not have significant sequence homology with any IS elements in the
      EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ database, IS1479 demonstrated 73% sequence homology with IS1051
      in X. campestris pv. dieffenbachiae, 62% homology with IS52 in Pseudomonas
      syringae pv. glycinea, and 60% homology with IS5 in Escherichia coli. Based on
      the predicted transposase sequences as well as the terminal nucleotide sequences,
      IS1478 by itself constitutes a new subfamily of the widespread IS5 family,
      whereas IS1479, along with IS1051, IS52, and IS5, belongs to the IS5 subfamily of
      the IS5 family. All but one of the IS476 insertions had duplications of 4 bp at
      the target sites without sequence preference and were randomly distributed. An
      IS476 insertion carried a duplication of 952 bp at the target site. A model for
      generating these long direct repeats is proposed. Insertions of IS1478 and
      IS1479, on the other hand, were not random, and IS1478 and IS1479 each showed
      conservation of PyPuNTTA and PyTAPu sequences (Py is a pyrimidine, Pu is a
      purine, and N is any nucleotide) for duplications at the target sites. The
      results of Southern blot hybridization analysis indicated that multiple copies of
      IS476, IS1478, and IS1479 are present in the genomes of all seven X. campestris
      pv. campestris strains tested and several X. campestris pathovars.

PMID- 9973350
TI  - Impact of either elevated or decreased levels of cytochrome bd expression on
      Shigella flexneri virulence.
AB  - Shigella spp. are the major cause of bacillary dysentery worldwide. The
      pathogenic process involves bacterial invasion and lysis of the phagocytic
      vacuole, followed by replication and movement within the cell cytoplasm and,
      ultimately, spread directly into adjacent cells. This study demonstrates that S.
      flexneri cytochrome bd expression is necessary for normal intracellular survival
      and virulence. Cytochrome bd is one of two terminal oxidases in the bacterial
      respiratory chain that reduce molecular oxygen to water, utilizing intermediates
      shuttled through the electron transport chain. S. flexneri mutants that contain a
      disruption in the cydC locus, which leads to defective cytochrome bd expression,
      or in the riboflavin (ribE) or ubiquinol-8 (ubiH) biosynthetic pathway, which
      leads to elevated cytochrome bd expression, were evaluated in intracellular
      survival and virulence assays. The cydC mutant formed significantly smaller
      plaques, had significantly decreased intracellular survival, and had a 100-fold
      increase in lethal dose for mice compared with the wild type. The ribE and ubiH
      mutants each formed significantly larger plaques and had a 10-fold decrease in
      lethal dose for mice compared with the wild type. The data indicate that
      expression of cytochrome bd is required for S. flexneri intracellular survival
      and virulence.

PMID- 9973351
TI  - Identification and characterization of a two-component sensor-kinase and response
      regulator system (DcuS-DcuR) controlling gene expression in response to C4
      dicarboxylates in Escherichia coli.
AB  - The dcuB gene of Escherichia coli encodes an anaerobic C4-dicarboxylate
      transporter that is induced anaerobically by FNR, activated by the cyclic AMP
      receptor protein, and repressed in the presence of nitrate by NarL. In addition,
      dcuB expression is strongly induced by C4-dicarboxylates, suggesting the presence
      of a novel C4-dicarboxylate-responsive regulator in E. coli. This paper describes
      the isolation of a Tn10 mutant in which the 160-fold induction of dcuB expression
      by C4-dicarboxylates is absent. The corresponding Tn10 mutation resides in the
      yjdH gene, which is adjacent to the yjdG gene and close to the dcuB gene at
      approximately 93.5 min in the E. coli chromosome. The yjdHG genes (redesignated
      dcuSR) appear to constitute an operon encoding a two-component sensor-regulator
      system (DcuS-DcuR). A plasmid carrying the dcuSR operon restored the C4
      dicarboxylate inducibility of dcuB expression in the dcuS mutant to levels
      exceeding those of the dcuS+ strain by approximately 1.8-fold. The dcuS mutation
      affected the expression of other genes with roles in C4-dicarboxylate transport
      or metabolism. Expression of the fumarate reductase (frdABCD) operon and the
      aerobic C4-dicarboxylate transporter (dctA) gene were induced 22- and 4-fold,
      respectively, by the DcuS-DcuR system in the presence of C4-dicarboxylates.
      Surprisingly, anaerobic fumarate respiratory growth of the dcuS mutant was
      normal. However, under aerobic conditions with C4-dicarboxylates as sole carbon
      sources, the mutant exhibited a growth defect resembling that of a dctA mutant.
      Studies employing a dcuA dcuB dcuC triple mutant unable to transport C4
      dicarboxylates anaerobically revealed that C4-dicarboxylate transport is not
      required for C4-dicarboxylate-responsive gene regulation. This suggests that the
      DcuS-DcuR system responds to external substrates. Accordingly, topology studies
      using 14 DcuS-BlaM fusions showed that DcuS contains two putative transmembrane
      helices flanking a approximately 140-residue N-terminal domain apparently located
      in the periplasm. This topology strongly suggests that the periplasmic loop of
      DcuS serves as a C4-dicarboxylate sensor. The cytosolic region of DcuS (residues
      203 to 543) contains two domains: a central PAS domain possibly acting as a
      second sensory domain and a C-terminal transmitter domain. Database searches
      showed that DcuS and DcuR are closely related to a subgroup of two-component
      sensor-regulators that includes the citrate-responsive CitA-CitB system of
      Klebsiella pneumoniae. DcuS is not closely related to the C4-dicarboxylate
      sensing DctS or DctB protein of Rhodobacter capsulatus or rhizobial species,
      respectively. Although all three proteins have similar topologies and functions,
      and all are members of the two-component sensor-kinase family, their periplasmic
      domains appear to have evolved independently.

PMID- 9973352
TI  - Inhibition of homologous recombination by the plasmid MucA'B complex.
AB  - By its functional interaction with a RecA polymer, the mutagenic UmuD'C complex
      possesses an antirecombination activity. We show here that MucA'B, a functional
      homolog of the UmuD'C complex, inhibits homologous recombination as well. In F-
      recipients expressing MucA'B from a Ptac promoter, Hfr x F- recombination
      decreased with increasing MucA'B concentrations down to 50-fold. In damage
      induced pKM101-containing cells expressing MucA'B from the native promoter,
      recombination between a UV-damaged F lac plasmid and homologous chromosomal DNA
      decreased 10-fold. Overexpression of MucA'B together with UmuD'C resulted in a
      synergistic inhibition of recombination. RecA[UmuR] proteins, which are resistant
      to UmuD'C inhibition of recombination, are inhibited by MucA'B while promoting
      MucA'B-promoted mutagenesis efficiently. The data suggest that MucA'B and UmuD'C
      contact a RecA polymer at distinct sites. The MucA'B complex was more active than
      UmuD'C in promoting UV mutagenesis, yet it did not inhibit recombination more
      than UmuD'C does. The enhanced mutagenic potential of MucA'B may result from its
      inherent superior capacity to assist DNA polymerase in trans-lesion synthesis. In
      the course of this work, we found that the natural plasmid pKM101 expresses
      around 45,000 MucA and 13,000 MucB molecules per lexA(Def) cell devoid of LexA.
      These molecular Muc concentrations are far above those of the chromosomally
      encoded Umu counterparts. Plasmid pKM101 belongs to a family of broad-host-range
      conjugative plasmids. The elevated levels of the Muc proteins might be required
      for successful installation of pKM101-like plasmids into a variety of host cells.

PMID- 9973353
TI  - Purification, characterization, and cloning of a eubacterial 3-hydroxy-3
      methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, a key enzyme involved in biosynthesis of
      terpenoids.
AB  - The eubacterial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (EC
      1.1.1.34) was purified 3,000-fold from Streptomyces sp. strain CL190 to apparent
      homogeneity with an overall yield of 2.1%. The purification procedure consisted
      of (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, heat treatment and anion exchange, hydrophobic
      interaction, and affinity chromatographies. The molecular mass of the enzyme was
      estimated to be 41 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis and 100 to 105 kDa by gel filtration chromatography, suggesting
      that the enzyme is most likely to be a dimer. The enzyme showed a pH optimum of
      around 7.2, with apparent Km values of 62 microM for NADPH and 7.7 microM for HMG
      CoA. A gene from CL190 responsible for HMG-CoA reductase was cloned by the colony
      hybridization method with an oligonucleotide probe synthesized on the basis of
      the N-terminal sequence of the purified enzyme. The amino acid sequence of the
      CL190 HMG-CoA reductase revealed several limited motifs which were highly
      conserved and common to the eucaryotic and archaebacterial enzymes. These
      sequence conservations suggest a strong evolutionary pressure to maintain amino
      acid residues at specific positions, indicating that the conserved motifs might
      play important roles in the structural conformation and/or catalytic properties
      of the enzyme.

PMID- 9973354
TI  - Analysis of rpoS mRNA in Salmonella dublin: identification of multiple
      transcripts with growth-phase-dependent variation in transcript stability.
AB  - In Salmonella dublin, rpoS encodes an alternative sigma factor of the RNA
      polymerase that activates a variety of stationary-phase-induced genes, including
      some virulence-associated genes. In this work, we studied the regulation and
      transcriptional organization of rpoS during growth. We found two transcripts, 2.3
      and 1.6 kb in length, that represent the complete rpoS sequence. The 2.3-kb
      transcript is a polycistronic message that also includes the upstream nlpD gene.
      It is driven by a weak promoter with increasing activity when cells enter early
      stationary growth. The 1.6-kb message includes 566 bp upstream of the rpoS start
      codon. It is transcribed from a strong sigma70 RNA polymerase-dependent promoter
      which is independent of growth. The decay of this transcript decreases
      substantially in early stationary growth, resulting in a significant net increase
      in rpoS mRNA levels. These levels are approximately 10-fold higher than the
      levels of the 2.3-kb mRNA, indicating that the 1.6-kb message is mainly
      responsible for RpoS upregulation. In addition to the 2.3- and 1.6-kb
      transcripts, two smaller 1.0- and 0.4-kb RNA species are produced from the nlpD
      rpoS locus. They do not allow translation of full-length RpoS; hence their
      significance for rpoS regulation remains unclear. We conclude that of four
      transcripts arising from the nlpD-rpoS locus, only one plays a significant role
      in rpoS expression in S. dublin. Its upregulation when cells enter stationary
      growth is due primarily to an increase in transcript stability.

PMID- 9973355
TI  - Functional determinants of the Escherichia coli fis promoter: roles of -35, -10,
      and transcription initiation regions in the response to stringent control and
      growth phase-dependent regulation.
AB  - Escherichia coli Fis is a small DNA binding and bending protein that has been
      implicated in a variety of biological processes. A minimal promoter sequence
      consisting of 43 bp is sufficient to generate its characteristic growth phase
      dependent expression pattern and is also subject to negative regulation by
      stringent control. However, information about the precise identification of
      nucleotides contributing to basal promoter activity and its regulation has been
      scant. In this work, 72 independent mutations were generated in the fis promoter
      (fis P) region from -108 to +78 using both random and site-directed PCR
      mutagenesis. beta-Galactosidase activities from mutant promoters fused to the
      (trp-lac)W200 fusion on a plasmid were used to conclusively identify the
      sequences TTTCAT and TAATAT as the -35 and -10 regions, respectively, which are
      optimally separated by 17 bp. We found that four consecutive substitutions within
      the GC-rich sequence just upstream of +1 and mutations in the -35 region, but not
      in the -10 region, significantly reduced the response to stringent control.
      Analysis of the effects of mutations on growth phase-dependent regulation showed
      that replacing the predominant transcription initiation nucleotide +1C with a
      preferred nucleotide (A or G) profoundly altered expression such that high levels
      of fis P mRNA were detected during late logarithmic and early stationary phases.
      A less dramatic effect was seen with improvements in the -10 and -35 consensus
      sequences. These results suggest that the acute growth phase-dependent regulation
      pattern observed with this promoter requires an inefficient transcription
      initiation process that is achieved with promoter sequences deviating from the 
      10 and -35 consensus sequences and, more importantly, a dependence upon the
      availability of the least favored transcription initiation nucleotide, CTP.

PMID- 9973356
TI  - Molecular cloning, sequencing, purification, and characterization of Pseudomonas
      aeruginosa ribosome recycling factor.
AB  - Ribosome recycling factor (RRF) is required for release of 70S ribosomes from
      mRNA on reaching the termination codon for the next cycle of protein synthesis.
      The RRF-encoding gene (frr) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was functionally
      cloned by using a temperature-sensitive frr mutant of Escherichia coli and
      sequenced. The P. aeruginosa frr was mapped at 30 to 32 min of the P. aeruginosa
      chromosome. The deduced amino acid sequence of RRF showed a 64% identity to that
      of E. coli RRF. In an assay including E. coli polysome and elongation factor G,
      purified recombinant RRF of P. aeruginosa released monosomes from polysomes. This
      is the first case in which an RRF homologue was found to be active in
      heterogeneous ribosome recycling machinery. The genes for ribosomal protein S2
      (rpsB), elongation factor Ts (tsf), and UMP kinase (pyrH) are located upstream of
      frr. The arrangement of the genes, rpsB-tsf-pyrH-frr, resembles those reported
      for E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. Even in the cyanobacterium genome, the
      arrangement pyrH-frr is conserved. Although RRF homologues are found in
      eukaryotic cells, phylogenetic analysis suggests that they were originally
      present within the members of the phylogenetic tree of prokaryotic RRF. This
      finding suggests that the ribosome recycling step catalyzed by RRF is specific
      for prokaryotic cells and that eukaryotic RRF is required for protein synthesis
      in organelles, which are believed to be phylogenetically originated from
      prokaryotes.

PMID- 9973357
TI  - Rapid purification and properties of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from
      Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
AB  - Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) (EC 1.2.1.8) catalyzes the last,
      irreversible step in the synthesis of the osmoprotectant glycine betaine from
      choline. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa this reaction is also an obligatory step in
      the assimilation of carbon and nitrogen when bacteria are growing in choline or
      choline precursors. We present here a method for the rapid purification to
      homogeneity of this enzyme by the use of ion-exchange and affinity
      chromatographies on 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose, which results in a high yield of pure
      enzyme with a specific activity at 30 degreesC and pH 7.4 of 74.5 U/mg of
      protein. Analytical ultracentrifugation, gel filtration, chemical cross-linking,
      and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggest that BADH
      from P. aeruginosa is a homodimer with 61-kDa subunits. The amino acid
      composition and the N-terminal sequence of 21 amino acid residues showed
      significant similarity with those of the enzymes from Xanthomonas translucens and
      Escherichia coli. Neither BADH activity nor BADH protein was found in cell
      extracts from bacteria grown in the absence of choline. In contrast to other
      BADHs studied to date, the Pseudomonas enzyme cannot use positively charged
      aldehydes other than betaine aldehyde as substrates. The oxidation reaction has
      an activation energy of 39.8 kJ mol-1. The pH dependence of the velocity
      indicated an optimum at pH 8.0 to 8.5 and the existence of two ionizable groups
      with macroscopic pK values of 7.0 +/- 0.1 and 9. 7 +/- 0.1 involved in catalysis
      and/or binding of substrates. The enzyme is inactivated at 40 degreesC, but
      activity is regained when the heated enzyme is cooled to 30 degreesC or lower. At
      the optimum pH of 8.0, the enzyme is inactivated by dilution, but it is stable at
      pH 6.5 even at very low concentrations. Also, P. aeruginosa BADH activity is
      rapidly lost on removal of K+. In all cases studied, inactivation involves a
      biphasic process, which was dependent on the enzyme concentration only in the
      case of inactivation by dilution. NADP+ considerably protected the enzyme against
      these inactivating conditions.

PMID- 9973358
TI  - Analysis of the type 1 pilin gene cluster fim in Salmonella: its distinct
      evolutionary histories in the 5' and 3' regions.
AB  - The type 1 pilin encoded by fim is present in both Escherichia coli and
      Salmonella natural isolates, but several lines of evidence indicate that
      similarities at the fim locus may be an example of independent acquisition rather
      than common ancestry. For example, the fim gene cluster is found at different
      chromosomal locations and with distinct gene orders in these closely related
      species. In this work we examined the fim gene cluster of Salmonella, the genes
      of which show high nucleotide sequence divergence from their E. coli
      counterparts, as well as a different G+C content and codon usage. DNA
      hybridization analysis revealed that, among the salmonellae, the fim gene cluster
      is present in all isolates of S. enterica but is absent from S. bongori.
      Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the fimA and fimI genes yield an estimate of
      phylogeny that is in satisfactory congruence with housekeeping and other
      virulence genes examined in this species. In contrast, phylogenetic analyses of
      the fimZ, fimY, and fimW genes indicate that horizontal transfer of this region
      has occurred more than once. There is also size variation in the fimZ, fimY, and
      fimW intergenic regions in the 3' region, and these genes are absent in isolate
      S2983 of subspecies IIIa. Interestingly, the G+C contents of the fimZ, fimY, and
      fimW genes are less than 46%, which is considerably lower than those of the other
      six genes of the fim cluster. This study demonstrates that horizontal
      transmission of all or part of the same gene cluster can occur repeatedly, with
      the result that different regions of a single gene cluster may have different
      evolutionary histories.

PMID- 9973360
TI  - IS1634, a novel insertion element creating long, variable-length direct repeats
      which is specific for Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small-colony type.
AB  - A new insertion sequence, IS1634, has been identified in Mycoplasma mycoides
      subsp. mycoides small-colony type (SC). IS1634 shows structural and functional
      similarities to IS1549 of Mycobacterium smegmatis and with it seems to form a new
      class or family of insertion sequences. IS1634 has a size of 1,872 bp, including
      two 13-bp terminal inverted repeats. It contains an open reading frame (ORF)
      encoding a product of 533 amino acids which shows similarity to the transposase
      of IS1549 and to a lesser extent to the transposases of IS elements of the IS4
      family. IS1634 is present at about 30 copies in the genome of all 22 different
      field strains of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC tested. Characteristic of IS1634
      are the long and variable-length direct repeats at the sites of insertion which
      were found to reach up to about 500 bp. IS1634 is specific to M. mycoides subsp.
      mycoides SC and is not present in any of the other members of the M. mycoides
      cluster. Neither was it found in other closely related Mycoplasma species of
      ruminants.

PMID- 9973359
TI  - Conversion of 3-chlorocatechol by various catechol 2,3-dioxygenases and sequence
      analysis of the chlorocatechol dioxygenase region of Pseudomonas putida GJ31.
AB  - Pseudomonas putida GJ31 contains an unusual catechol 2,3-dioxygenase that
      converts 3-chlorocatechol and 3-methylcatechol, which enables the organism to use
      both chloroaromatics and methylaromatics for growth. A 3.1-kb region of genomic
      DNA of strain GJ31 containing the gene for this chlorocatechol 2,3-dioxygenase
      (cbzE) was cloned and sequenced. The cbzE gene appeared to be plasmid localized
      and was found in a region that also harbors genes encoding a transposase, a
      ferredoxin that was homologous to XylT, an open reading frame with similarity to
      a protein of a meta-cleavage pathway with unknown function, and a 2
      hydroxymuconic semialdehyde dehydrogenase. CbzE was most similar to catechol 2,3
      dioxygenases of the 2.C subfamily of type 1 extradiol dioxygenases (L. D. Eltis
      and J. T. Bolin, J. Bacteriol. 178:5930-5937, 1996). The substrate range and
      turnover capacity with 3-chlorocatechol were determined for CbzE and four related
      catechol 2,3-dioxygenases. The results showed that CbzE was the only enzyme that
      could productively convert 3-chlorocatechol. Besides, CbzE was less susceptible
      to inactivation by methylated catechols. Hybrid enzymes that were made of CzbE
      and the catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase of P. putida UCC2 (TdnC) showed that the
      resistance of CbzE to suicide inactivation and its substrate specificity were
      mainly determined by the C-terminal region of the protein.

PMID- 9973361
TI  - The Enterococcus faecalis pyr operon is regulated by autogenous transcriptional
      attenuation at a single site in the 5' leader.
AB  - The 5' end of the Enterococcus faecalis pyr operon specifies, in order, the
      promoter, a 5' untranslated leader, the pyrR gene encoding the regulatory protein
      for the operon, a 39-nucleotide (nt) intercistronic region, the pyrP gene
      encoding a uracil permease, a 13-nt intercistronic region, and the pyrB gene
      encoding aspartate transcarbamylase. The 5' leader RNA is capable of forming stem
      loop structures involved in attenuation control of the operon. No attenuation
      regions, such as those found in the Bacillus subtilis pyr operon, are present in
      the pyrR-pyrP or pyrP-pyrB intercistronic regions. Several lines of evidence
      demonstrate that the E. faecalis pyr operon is repressed by uracil via
      transcriptional attenuation at the single 5' leader termination site and that
      attenuation is mediated by the PyrR protein.

PMID- 9973362
TI  - sn-glycerol-1-phosphate-forming activities in Archaea: separation of archaeal
      phospholipid biosynthesis and glycerol catabolism by glycerophosphate
      enantiomers.
AB  - In Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, sn-glycerol-1-phosphate (G-1-P)
      dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of the Archaea-specific backbone
      of phospholipids, G-1-P, from dihydroxyacetonephosphate (DHAP). The possible G-1
      P-forming activities were surveyed in cell-free extracts of six species of
      Archaea. All the archaeal cell-free homogenates tested revealed the ability to
      form G-1-P from DHAP. In addition, activities of G-3-P-forming glycerol kinase
      and G-3-P dehydrogenase were also detected in four heterotrophic archaea, while
      glycerol kinase activity was not detected in two autotrophic methanogens. These
      results show that G-1-P is produced from DHAP by G-1-P dehydrogenase in a wide
      variety of archaea while exogenous glycerol is catabolized via G-3-P.

PMID- 9973363
TI  - Specific effects of a recB mutation on the HfrH strain of Escherichia coli.
AB  - The recB268::Tn10 mutation was introduced into the HfrH strain of Escherichia
      coli. Compared with recB F- and recB F+ cells, the viability of this mutant
      strain was much lower. Compared with wild-type HfrH, the recB derivative donated
      much shorter fragments of its chromosome to the recipient. It is suggested that
      the recB gene product (i.e., RecBCD enzyme) participates in Hfr transfer.

PMID- 9973364
TI  - Auxins upregulate expression of the indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase gene in
      Azospirillum brasilense.
AB  - Transcription of the Azospirillum brasilense ipdC gene, encoding an indole-3
      pyruvate decarboxylase involved in the biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid
      (IAA), is induced by IAA as determined by ipdC-gusA expression studies and
      Northern analysis. Besides IAA, exogenously added synthetic auxins such as 1
      naphthaleneacetic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxypropionic acid, and p
      chlorophenoxyacetic acid were also found to upregulate ipdC expression. No
      upregulation was observed with tryptophan, acetic acid, or propionic acid or with
      the IAA conjugates IAA ethyl ester and IAA-L-phenylalanine, indicating structural
      specificity is required for ipdC induction. This is the first report describing
      the induction of a bacterial gene by auxin.

PMID- 9973365
TI  - Cloning and characterization of arylamine N-acetyltransferase genes from
      Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: increased expression
      results in isoniazid resistance.
AB  - Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) are found in many eukaryotic organisms,
      including humans, and have previously been identified in the prokaryote
      Salmonella typhimurium. NATs from many sources acetylate the antitubercular drug
      isoniazid and so inactivate it. nat genes were cloned from Mycobacterium
      smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and expressed in Escherichia coli and
      M. smegmatis. The induced M. smegmatis NAT catalyzes the acetylation of
      isoniazid. A monospecific antiserum raised against pure NAT from S. typhimurium
      recognizes NAT from M. smegmatis and cross-reacts with recombinant NAT from M.
      tuberculosis. Overexpression of mycobacterial nat genes in E. coli results in
      predominantly insoluble recombinant protein; however, with M. smegmatis as the
      host using the vector pACE-1, NAT proteins from M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis
      are soluble. M. smegmatis transformants induced to express the M. tuberculosis
      nat gene in culture demonstrated a threefold higher resistance to isoniazid. We
      propose that NAT in mycobacteria could have a role in acetylating, and hence
      inactivating, isoniazid.

PMID- 9973367
TI  - Bacteriophage T4 gp2 interferes with cell viability and with bacteriophage lambda
      Red recombination.
AB  - The T4 head protein, gp2, promotes head-tail joining during phage morphogenesis
      and is also incorporated into the phage head. It protects the injected DNA from
      degradation by exonuclease V during the subsequent infection. In this study, we
      show that recombinant gp2, a very basic protein, rapidly kills the cells in which
      it is expressed. To further illustrate the protectiveness of gp2 for DNA termini,
      we compare the effect of gp2 expression on Red-mediated and Int-mediated
      recombination. Red-mediated recombination is nonspecific and requires the
      transient formation of double-stranded DNA termini. Int-mediated recombination,
      on the other hand, is site specific and does not require chromosomal termini. Red
      mediated recombination is inhibited to a much greater extent than is Int-mediated
      recombination. We conclude from the results of these physiological and genetic
      experiments that T4 gp2 expression, like Mu Gam expression, kills bacteria by
      binding to double-stranded DNA termini, the most likely mode for its protection
      of entering phage DNA from exonuclease V.

PMID- 9973366
TI  - The lethal effect of a benzamide derivative, 3-methoxybenzamide, can be
      suppressed by mutations within a cell division gene, ftsZ, in Bacillus subtilis.
AB  - 3-Methoxybenzamide (3-MBA), which is known to be an inhibitor of ADP
      ribosyltransferase, inhibits cell division in Bacillus subtilis, leading to
      filamentation and eventually lysis of cells. Our genetic analysis of 3-MBA
      resistant mutants indicated that the primary target of the drug is the cell
      division system involving FtsZ function during both vegetative growth and
      sporulation.

PMID- 9973368
TI  - Cell surface galactosylation is essential for nonsexual flocculation in
      Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
AB  - We have isolated fission yeast mutants that constitutively flocculate upon growth
      in liquid media. One of these mutants, the gsf1 mutant, was found to cause
      dominant, nonsexual, and calcium-dependent aggregation of cells into flocs. Its
      flocculation was inhibited by the addition of galactose but was not affected by
      the addition of mannose or glucose, unlike Saccharomyces cerevisiae FLO mutants.
      The gsf1 mutant coflocculated with Schizosaccharomyces pombe wild-type cells,
      while no coflocculation was found with galactose-deficient (gms1Delta) cells.
      Moreover, flocculation of the gsf1 mutant was also inhibited by addition of cell
      wall galactomannan from wild-type cells but not from gms1Delta cells. These
      results suggested that galactose residues in the cell wall glycoproteins may be
      receptors of gsf1-mediated flocculation, and therefore cell surface
      galactosylation is required for nonsexual flocculation in S. pombe.

PMID- 9973369
TI  - Chromosomal changes during experimental evolution in laboratory populations of
      Escherichia coli.
AB  - Short-term rates of chromosome evolution were analyzed in experimental
      populations of Escherichia coli B that had been propagated for 2,000 generations
      under four thermal regimens. Chromosome alterations were monitored in 24
      independent populations by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of DNA treated with
      five rare-cutting restriction enzymes. A total of 11 changes, 8 affecting
      chromosome size and 3 altering restriction sites, were observed in these
      populations, with none occurring in strains cultured at 37 degreesC. Considering
      the changes detected in these experimental populations, the rate of chromosome
      alteration of E. coli is estimated to be half of that observed in experimental
      populations of yeast.

PMID- 9973370
TI  - The virulence plasmid of Salmonella typhimurium is self-transmissible.
AB  - Most isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium contain a 90-kb
      virulence plasmid. This plasmid is reported to be mobilizable but nonconjugative.
      However, we have determined that the virulence plasmid of strains LT2, 14028, and
      SR-11 is indeed self-transmissible. The plasmid of strain SL1344 is not. Optimal
      conjugation frequency requires filter matings on M9 minimal glucose plates with a
      recipient strain lacking the virulence plasmid. These conditions result in a
      frequency of 2.9 x 10(-4) transconjugants/donor. Matings on Luria-Bertani plates,
      liquid matings, or matings with a recipient strain carrying the virulence plasmid
      reduce the efficiency by up to 400-fold. Homologs of the F plasmid conjugation
      genes are physically located on the virulence plasmid and are required for the
      conjugative phenotype.

PMID- 9973371
TI  - Lack of genetic differentiation between two geographically diverse samples of
      Candida albicans isolated from patients infected with human immunodeficiency
      virus.
AB  - The patterns of genetic variation of samples of Candida albicans isolated from
      patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in Durham, N.C., and Vitoria,
      Brazil, were compared. Genotypes for 126 strains were obtained at 16 polymorphic
      restriction sites distributed on nine PCR fragments. The results indicated
      evidence of clonality both within and between these two geographically diverse
      samples. The samples are genetically very similar, with little evidence of
      genetic differentiation.

PMID- 9973373
TI  - Cutting edge: dominant effect of Ile50Val variant of the human IL-4 receptor
      alpha-chain in IgE synthesis.
AB  - Two variants of the IL-4R alpha-chain (IL-4Ralpha) gene have been recently
      identified in association with different atopic disorders. To clarify the
      etiological relationship between the two variants, we analyzed responsiveness to
      IL-4 of transfectants with four kinds of IL-4Ralpha carrying either Val or Ile at
      50 and either Gln or Arg at 551. The substitution of Ile for Val augmented STAT6
      activation, proliferation, and transcription activity of the Iepsilon promoter by
      IL-4, whereas that of Arg for Gln did not change these IL-4 signals. Arg551 was
      not associated with atopic asthma in the Japanese population. CD23 expression and
      IgE synthesis by IL-4 were augmented in Ile50-bearing PBMC, compared with those
      bearing Val50. Taken together, substitution of Arg551 does not enhance the IL-4
      signal for generation of germline epsilon transcript, whereas the substitution of
      Ile50 contributes to enhancement of IgE synthesis.

PMID- 9973372
TI  - Cutting edge: MHC class I triggering by a novel cell surface ligand costimulates
      proliferation of activated human T cells.
AB  - BY55 is a human cell surface molecule whose expression is restricted to NK cells,
      a subset of circulating CD8+ T lymphocytes, and all intestinal intraepithelial T
      lymphocytes. Here, we report that BY55 is a novel NK receptor showing broad
      specificity for both classical and nonclassical MHC class I molecules, and that
      optimal binding requires a prior aggregation of MHC class I complexes. Using BY55
      transfectants, we have identified functional consequences of MHC class I/ligand
      interactions for the class I-bearing cell. The triggering of MHC class I
      molecules on human T cell clones by BY55 delivered a potent proliferative signal
      in the presence of soluble CD3 mAb. The costimulatory signal provided by MHC
      class I ligation was only seen in activated, and not resting, peripheral blood T
      cells. This observation represents an additional and/or alternative pathway to
      CD28 costimulation and may be of particular relevance in memory T cells lacking
      CD28, such as intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes, which are CD28- but
      BY55+.

PMID- 9973374
TI  - Cutting edge: coordinate regulation of IFN regulatory factor-1 and the polymeric
      Ig receptor by proinflammatory cytokines.
AB  - The polymeric IgR (pIgR) mediates transcytosis of IgA across epithelial barriers
      of mucous membranes and exocrine glands. Synthesis of pIgR is up-regulated by the
      proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-1 in HT-29 human colon
      carcinoma cells. We previously reported that IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha induce
      production of the transcription factor IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) in HT-29
      cells and that IRF-1 binds to an element in exon 1 of the PIGR gene. We now
      report that levels of IRF-1 and pIgR mRNA are coordinately regulated in HT-29
      cells by TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-1beta. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in
      vivo expression of pIgR mRNA is greatly depressed in the intestine and liver of
      IRF-1-deficient mice. Our findings indicate a major role for the IRF-1
      transcription factor in regulation of the PIGR gene and suggest a model for
      regulation of important genes in the mucosal immune system by proinflammatory
      cytokines.

PMID- 9973375
TI  - Antigen-induced coreceptor down-regulation on thymocytes is not a result of
      apoptosis.
AB  - The various stages of T cell development are typically characterized by the
      expression level of the two coreceptors, CD4 and CD8. During the CD4+CD8+ (double
      positive, DP) stage of development, thymocytes that perceive a low avidity signal
      through the TCR go on to differentiate (positive selection), and ultimately down
      regulate one coreceptor to express either CD4 or CD8. Alternatively, thymocytes
      that perceive a high avidity signal down-regulate both coreceptors and are
      induced to die via apoptosis (negative selection). However, it has recently been
      suggested that positively selected thymocytes may also partially down-regulate
      both coreceptors before up-regulating the one coreceptor that is ultimately
      expressed. This would imply that coreceptor down-regulation (dulling) is not a
      consequence of commitment to the death pathway. To explore this possibility, we
      have utilized an in vitro assay to demonstrate that dulling occurred in response
      to both positive and negative selecting ligands in vitro, was not a result of
      nonspecific membrane perturbation, was not dependent on the type of APC, and
      occurred before death in vitro. Furthermore, when thymocyte apoptosis was
      blocked, CD4 and CD8 were down-regulated in response to TCR stimulation. These
      data suggest that dulling in response to TCR ligation is distinct from death, and
      support a model in which DP dulling occurs during both positive and negative
      selection. The biological implications of this phenomenon are discussed.

PMID- 9973376
TI  - IL-17 is produced by some proinflammatory Th1/Th0 cells but not by Th2 cells.
AB  - IL-17 is defined as a proinflammatory cytokine and produced by activated CD4+ T
      cells. In rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue, high levels of IL-17 contribute
      to IL-6 production by synoviocytes. The present study was performed to see
      whether Th cells that produce IL-17 are associated with the Th1, Th2, or Th0
      subset. Thirty-three CD4+, alphabeta+ T cell clones were developed from synovial
      membranes and synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Thirteen clones
      were defined as Th1 since they produced IFN-gamma but not IL-4, and four clones
      were defined as Th0 type that produced both IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Sixteen clones
      were defined as Th2 since they produced high levels of IL-4 and/or IL-10 but not
      IFN-gamma. IL-17 was measured in a bioassay, where IL-6 production from
      synoviocytes was a measurement for IL-17 activity in the presence and absence of
      blocking anti-IL-17 mAb. Three Th1 clones and two Th0 clones produced IL-17. In
      contrast, none of the sixteen Th2 clones analyzed produced IL-17. In addition,
      six Th2 clones were further cultured in conditions that induced a switch to Th1
      type. Induction of this Th1 phenotype also led to production of IL-17 in two of
      these clones. The results demonstrate that some cells of the Th1/Th0 phenotype
      produce IL-17 but not cells of the Th2 phenotype. Thus, IL-17 may define a new
      subset of T cells, and IL-17 production appears to be a mechanism for Th1/Th0
      cells, the most frequent Th subtype present in the rheumatoid synovium, to
      contribute to the local inflammatory reactions.

PMID- 9973377
TI  - CD4-mediated inhibiton of IL-2 production in activated T cells.
AB  - The role of CD4 in T cell activation has been attributed to its capacity to
      increase the avidity of interaction with APC and to shuttle associated Lck to the
      TCR/CD3 activation complex. The results presented in this study demonstrate that
      ligation of CD4 inhibits ongoing responses of preactivated T cells. Specifically,
      delayed addition of CD4-specific mAb is shown to inhibit Ag- or mAb-induced
      responses of both primary T cells and T cell clonal variants. The Ag responses of
      the latter are independent of the adhesion provided by CD4; thus the observed
      inhibition is not due to blocking CD4-MHC interactions. Further, analysis of the
      clonal variants demonstrates that CD4-associated Lck is not essential for the
      inhibition observed, as anti-CD4 inhibits responses of clonal variants,
      expressing a form of CD4 unable to associate with Lck (double cysteine-mutated
      CD4). The inhibition is counteracted by the addition of exogenous IL-2,
      demonstrating that the block is not due to a lesion in IL-2 utilization, rather
      its production. It is demonstrated that the delayed addition of anti-CD4 results
      in a rapid reduction in steady-state levels of IL-2 mRNA in both primary T cells
      and clonal variants.

PMID- 9973378
TI  - IL-4 selectively inhibits IL-2-triggered Stat5 activation, but not proliferation,
      in human T cells.
AB  - IL-2 activates several distinct signaling pathways that are important for T cell
      activation, proliferation, and differentiation into both Th1 and Th2 phenotypes.
      IL-4, the major cytokine that promotes differentiation of Th2 cells, has been
      shown to block signaling of the Th1-promoting cytokine IL-12. As IL-2 synergizes
      with IL-12 in promoting Th1 differentiation, the effects of IL-4 on IL-2 signal
      transduction were investigated. IL-4 suppressed activation of DNA binding and
      tyrosine phosphorylation of the transcription factor Stat5 by IL-2, and
      suppressed the expression of the IL-2-inducible genes CD25, CIS, the PGE2
      receptor, and cytokine responsive (CR) genes CR1 and CR8. Activation of Stat5 by
      cytokines that share a common gamma receptor subunit, IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15, was
      suppressed by preculture in IL-4. Activation of the Jak1 and Jak3 kinases that
      are proximal to Stat5 in the IL-2-Jak-STAT signaling pathway was suppressed, and
      this correlated with inhibition of IL-2Rbeta subunit expression. In contrast to
      suppression of Stat5, proliferative responses to IL-2 were augmented in IL-4
      cultured cells, and activation of proliferative pathways leading to activation of
      mitogen activated protein kinases, induction of expression of Myc, Fos, Pim-1,
      and cyclin D3, and decreased levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27
      were intact. These results identify molecular mechanisms underlying interactions
      between IL-4 and IL-2 in T cells and demonstrate that one mechanism of regulation
      of IL-2 activity is selective and differential modulation of signaling pathways.

PMID- 9973379
TI  - Regulation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 by Src kinases.
AB  - Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4) is a cell surface receptor
      expressed on activated T cells that can inhibit T cell responses induced by
      activation of the TCR and CD28. Studies with phosphorylated peptides based on the
      CTLA-4 intracellular domain have suggested that tyrosine phosphorylation of CTLA
      4 may regulate its interactions with cytoplasmic proteins that could determine
      its intracellular trafficking and/or signal transduction. However, the kinase(s)
      that phosphorylate CTLA-4 remain uncharacterized. In this report, we show that
      CTLA-4 can associate with the Src kinases Fyn and Lck and that transfection of
      Fyn or Lck, but not the unrelated kinase ZAP70, can induce tyrosine
      phosphorylation of CTLA-4 on residues Y201 and Y218. A similar pattern of
      tyrosine phosphorylation was found in pervanadate-treated Jurkat T cells stably
      expressing CTLA-4. Phosphorylation of CTLA-4 Y201 in Jurkat cells correlated with
      cell surface accumulation of CTLA-4. CTLA-4 phosphorylation induced the
      association of CTLA-4 with the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2, but not with
      phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In contrast, Lck-induced phosphorylation of CD28
      resulted in the recruitment of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, but not SHP-2.
      These findings suggest that phosphorylation of CD28 and CTLA-4 by Lck activates
      distinct intracellular signaling pathways. The association of CTLA-4 with Src
      kinases and with SHP-2 results in the formation of a CTLA-4 complex with the
      potential to regulate T cell activation.

PMID- 9973381
TI  - Processing and release of IL-16 from CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells is activation
      dependent.
AB  - IL-16 is synthesized as a precursor molecule of 68 kDa (pro-IL-16) that is
      processed by caspase-3, a member of the IL-1 converting enzyme (ICE) family. This
      cleavage results in a 13-kDa carboxy terminal peptide, which constitutes the
      bioactive secreted form of IL-16. We have previously reported constitutive IL-16
      mRNA expression and pro-IL-16 protein in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Although
      bioactive IL-16 protein is present in unstimulated CD8+ T cells, there is no
      bioactive IL-16 present in CD4+ T cells. Along these lines, unstimulated CD8+ T
      cells contain active caspase-3. In the current studies we investigated the
      regulation of IL-16 protein and mRNA expression in CD4+ T cells and determined
      the kinetics of secretion following stimulation of the TCR. CD4+ T cells release
      IL-16 protein following antigenic stimulation, and this release is accelerated in
      time by costimulation via CD28. However, CD3/CD28 costimulation did not alter IL
      16 mRNA appearance or stability in either CD4+ or CD8+ T cells. The secretion of
      bioactive IL-16 from CD4+ T cells correlated with the appearance of cleavage of
      pro-caspase-3 into its 20-kDa active form. Thus, resting CD8+ T cells contain
      active caspase-3 that is capable of cleaving pro-IL-16, whereas CD4+ T cells
      require activation for the appearance of active caspase-3. The mechanism of
      release or secretion of bioactive IL-16 is currently unknown, but does not
      correlate with cellular apoptosis.

PMID- 9973380
TI  - Selective expression of a novel surface molecule by human Th2 cells in vivo.
AB  - The search for reliable marker molecules discriminating between human Th1 and Th2
      cells identified a gene encoding a novel member of the G protein-coupled
      leukocyte chemoattractant receptor family, which is selectively expressed in Th2
      but not Th1 lineage cells, thereby named CRTH2 (chemoattractant receptor
      homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells). Studies with anti-CRTH2 mAbs
      demonstrated that CRTH2 was expressed in a small population (0.4-6.5%) of CD4+ T
      cells in fresh PBMCs of healthy adults, but no remarkable expression was seen in
      B cells and NK cells. In some cases, CD8+ T cells ( approximately 3.5%) expressed
      CRTH2. Phenotypes of CD4+ T cells expressing CRTH2 were CD45RA-, CD45RO+, and
      CD25+, similar to those of Ag-activated effector/memory T cells. Freshly isolated
      CRTH2+ CD4+ T cells produced Th2- but little or no Th1-type cytokines upon
      stimulation with PMA and ionomycin. In addition, an allergen-induced
      proliferative response in fresh PBMCs was significantly and selectively reduced
      by subtracting CRTH2+ cells. Together, these results indicate that CRTH2 is
      selectively expressed in vivo in an activated state of Th2 cells including
      allergen-responsive Th2 cells, suggesting its pivotal roles in ongoing Th2-type
      immune reactions.

PMID- 9973382
TI  - Timing and casting for actors of thymic negative selection.
AB  - We have recently proposed a new model for the differentiation pathway of
      alphabeta TCR thymocytes, with the CD4 and CD8 coreceptors undergoing an
      unexpectedly complex series of expression changes. Taking into account this new
      insight, we reinvestigated the timing of thymic negative selection. We found
      that, although endogenous superantigen-driven thymic negative selection could
      occur at different steps during double-positive/single-positive cell transition,
      this event was never observed among CD4lowCD8low TCRint CD69+ thymocytes, i.e.,
      within the first subset to be generated upon TCR-mediated activation of immature
      double-positive cells. We confirm a role for CD40/CD40L interaction, and the
      absence of involvement of CD28 costimulation, in thymic deletion in vivo.
      Surprisingly, we found that thymic negative selection was impaired in the absence
      of Fas, but not FasL, molecule expression. Finally, we show involvement in
      opposing directions for p59fyn and SHP-1 molecules in signaling for thymic
      negative selection.

PMID- 9973383
TI  - Isolation of MHC class I-restricted tumor antigen peptide and its precursors
      associated with heat shock proteins hsp70, hsp90, and gp96.
AB  - We have previously demonstrated that vaccination with heat shock proteins hsp70,
      hsp90, and gp96 elicits specific immunity against the tumor from which the hsps
      were purified. Although the association of tumor Ag peptides with these hsps have
      been suggested, the identification of the peptides or their precursors stripped
      from the hsps remained to be resolved. We show in this report that an Ld
      restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitope of a mouse leukemia RLmale symbol1 and
      its precursors are associated with the chaperones hsp90 and hsp70 in the cytosol
      and gp96 in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Hsp70 was associated with
      only final sized octamer, while hsp90 was found to associate with the octamer and
      two distinct precursor peptides. The gp96 was associated with the octamer and one
      of the two precursors. Thus, each of the hsps bound a distinct set of peptides.
      Our results have demonstrated for the first time that the hsps associate not only
      with final sized tumor Ag peptide but also with its precursors. The implication
      of this evidence is also discussed in terms of the roles of hsps in MHC class I
      Ag processing/presentation.

PMID- 9973384
TI  - Comparison of lung dendritic cells and B cells in stimulating naive antigen
      specific T cells.
AB  - Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized APCs that are important in priming naive T
      cells and can be manipulated in vitro and in vivo to enhance immunizations
      against microorganisms and tumors. A limitation in the development of suitable
      immunotherapeutic vaccines for the lung is incomplete information on the role of
      DCs and other potential APCs in the lung in priming naive T cells. In the current
      study, we analyzed the relative contributions of murine lung DCs and B cells to
      process and present OVA to naive CD4+ OVA323-339-specific (DO11.10) T cells in
      vitro. We also examined their expression of MHC class II and accessory molecules
      before and after maturation in culture. Similar to DCs from other sites, freshly
      isolated lung DCs can process OVA, spontaneously up-regulate MHC class II and
      accessory molecules during overnight culture, and stimulate naive T cells in an
      Ag-specific manner. In contrast, freshly isolated lung B cells were unable to
      both process and present native OVA. Furthermore, under conditions of limited
      OVA323-339 peptide exposure, B cells had a significantly diminished capacity to
      stimulate T cells, and this correlated with a decreased density of both MHC class
      II and important costimulatory molecules as compared with lung DCs.

PMID- 9973385
TI  - Specificity of the SH2 domains of SHP-1 in the interaction with the
      immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif-bearing receptor gp49B.
AB  - Inhibitory receptors on hemopoietic cells critically regulate cellular function.
      Despite their expression on a variety of cell types, these inhibitory receptors
      signal through a common mechanism involving tyrosine phosphorylation of the
      immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM), which engages Src homology
      2 (SH2) domain-containing cytoplasmic tyrosine or inositol phosphatases. In this
      study, we have investigated the proximal signal-transduction pathway of an ITIM
      bearing receptor, gp49B, a member of a newly described family of murine NK and
      mast cell receptors. We demonstrate that the tyrosine residues within the ITIMs
      are phosphorylated and serve for the association and activation of the
      cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1. Furthermore, we demonstrate a physiologic
      association between gp49B and SHP-1 by coimmunoprecipitation studies from NK
      cells. To address the mechanism of binding between gp49B and SHP-1, binding
      studies involving glutathione S-transferase SHP-1 mutants were performed.
      Utilizing the tandem SH2 domains of SHP-1, we show that either SH2 domain can
      interact with phosphorylated gp49B. Full-length SHP-1, with an inactivated amino
      SH2 domain, also retained gp49B binding. However, binding to gp49B was disrupted
      by inactivation of the carboxyl SH2 domain of full-length SHP-1, suggesting that
      in the presence of the phosphatase domain, the carboxyl SH2 domain is required
      for the recruitment of phosphorylated gp49B. Thus, gp49B signaling involves SHP
      1, and this association is dependent on tyrosine phosphorylation of the gp49B
      ITIMs, and an intact SHP-1 carboxyl SH2 domain.

PMID- 9973386
TI  - Processing of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein for class I-restricted recognition:
      dependence on TAP1/2 and mechanisms for cytosolic localization.
AB  - Processing of viral proteins for recognition by CTL involves degradation of the
      proteins in the cytosol of an infected cell followed by transport of the
      resulting peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by the TAP1/2 complex.
      Uncertainty exists over the site of processing of viral envelope (env) proteins
      since the extracellular domains of env proteins are not present in the cytosol
      where the class I Ag-processing pathway begins. Rather, the ectodomains of env
      proteins are cotranslationally translocated into the ER during biosynthesis. To
      analyze env protein processing, we used the herpes simplex virus protein ICP47 to
      block peptide transport by TAP1/2 and examined the effects of TAP blockade on the
      processing of the HIV-1 env protein. For the majority of env-specific CD8+ CTL,
      the processing pathway required TAP1/2-mediated transport of cytosolic peptides
      into the ER. To determine how env peptides are generated in the cytosol, we
      analyzed the processing of two TAP1/2-dependent epitopes containing N-linked
      glycosylation sites. In each case, processing involved glycosylation-dependent
      posttranslational modification of asparagine residues to aspartic acid. These
      results are consistent with cotranslational translocation of env into the ER,
      where glycosylation occurs. This is followed by export of a fraction of the newly
      synthesized protein into the cytosol, where it is deglycosylated, with conversion
      of the asparagines to aspartic acid residues. Following cytoplasmic proteolysis,
      env peptides are retransported by TAP1/2 into the ER, where association with
      class I occurs. Thus, the env protein can enter the class I pathway through
      multiple distinct processing mechanisms.

PMID- 9973387
TI  - Lymphotoxin alphabeta is expressed on recently activated naive and Th1-like CD4
      cells but is down-regulated by IL-4 during Th2 differentiation.
AB  - Lymphotoxin (LT) is a cytokine that orchestrates lymphoid neogenesis and
      formation of germinal center reactions. LT exists as a membrane heterotrimer of
      alpha and beta subunits and is secreted as a homotrimer, LTalpha3. Using
      LTbetaR.Fc, expression of LTalphabeta on CD4 T cell subsets was investigated in a
      TCR transgenic model. LTalphabeta was evident 24-72 h after activation of naive T
      cells with specific Ag, and declined thereafter. Early expression was independent
      of IFN-gamma and IL-12, however, IL-12 prolonged expression. LTalphabeta was
      reinduced within 2-4 h after Ag restimulation, but declined by 24 h regardless of
      IL-12 or IFN-gamma priming. Exposure of naive T cells to IL-4 did not affect
      early LTalphabeta expression at 24 h, but resulted in subsequent down-regulation.
      IL-4-differentiated Th2 effectors did not re-express LTalphabeta, and LTalphabeta
      was transiently found on Th1 clones but not Th2 clones. LTalpha3 and TNF were
      immunoprecipitated from supernatants and lysates of IL-12 primed cells but not IL
      4 primed cells. These studies demonstrate that LTalphabeta is expressed by
      activated naive CD4 cells, unpolarized IL-2-secreting effectors, and Th1
      effectors. In contrast, loss of surface LTalphabeta and a lack of LTalpha3 and
      TNF secretion is associated with prior exposure to IL-4 and a Th2 phenotype.

PMID- 9973388
TI  - Tpm1, a locus controlling IL-12 responsiveness, acts by a cell-autonomous
      mechanism.
AB  - Th phenotype development is controlled not only by cytokines but also by other
      parameters including genetic background. One site of genetic variation between
      murine strains that has direct impact on Th development is the expression of the
      IL-12 receptor. T cells from B10.D2 and BALB/c mice show distinct control of IL
      12 receptor expression. When activated by Ag, B10.D2 T cells express functional
      IL-12 receptors and maintain IL-12 responsiveness. In contrast, under the same
      conditions, BALB/c T cells fail to express IL-12 receptors and become
      unresponsive to IL-12, precluding any Th1-inducing effects if subsequently
      exposed to IL-12. Previously, we identified a locus, which we termed T cell
      phenotype modifier 1 (Tpm1), on murine chromosome 11 that controls this
      differential maintenance of IL-12 responsiveness. In this study, we have produced
      a higher resolution map around Tpm1. We produced and analyzed a series of
      recombinants from a first-generation backcross that significantly narrows the
      genetic boundaries of Tpm1. This allowed us to exclude from consideration certain
      previous candidates for Tpm1, including IFN-regulatory factor-1. Also, cellular
      analysis of F1(B10.D2 x BALB/c) T cells demonstrates that Tpm1 exerts its effect
      on IL-12 receptor expression in a cell-autonomous manner, rather than through
      influencing the extracellular milieu. This result strongly implies that despite
      the proximity of our locus to the IL-13/IL-4 gene cluster, these cytokines are
      not candidates for Tpm1.

PMID- 9973389
TI  - Alterations in CD4-binding regions of the MHC class II molecule I-Ek do not
      impede CD4+ T cell development.
AB  - The T cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8 enhance T cell responses to TCR signals by
      participating in complexes containing TCR, coreceptor, and MHC molecules. These
      ternary complexes are also hypothesized to play a seminal role during T cell
      development, although the precise timing, frequency, and consequences of TCR
      coreceptor-MHC interactions during positive selection and lineage commitment
      remain unclear. To address these issues, we designed transgenic mice expressing
      mutant I-Ek molecules with reduced CD4-binding capability. These transgenic lines
      were crossed to three different lines of I-Ek-specific TCR transgenic mice, and
      the efficiency of production of CD4+ lineage cells in the doubly transgenic
      progeny was assessed. Surprisingly, replacing wild-type I-Ek molecules with these
      mutant molecules did not affect the production of CD4+CD8- thymocytes or CD4+
      peripheral T cells expressing any of the three TCRs examined. These data, when
      considered together with other experiments addressing the role of coreceptor
      during development, suggest that not all MHC class II-specific thymocytes require
      optimal and simultaneous TCR-CD4-MHC interactions to mature. Alternatively, it is
      possible that these particular alterations of I-Ek do not disrupt the CD4-MHC
      interaction adequately, potentially indicating functional differences between I-A
      and I-E MHC class II molecules.

PMID- 9973390
TI  - Evidence for immune regulation in the induction of transplantation tolerance: a
      conditional but limited role for IL-4.
AB  - Most experimental models of allograft tolerance depend on manipulation of immune
      responses at the time of transplant. In such systems, the graft itself probably
      plays an important role in the induction of unresponsiveness but as a consequence
      may suffer immune mediated damage. Ideally, recipients would be made specifically
      unresponsive before transplant such that the graft is protected from the outset.
      In this report, we demonstrate that CBA mice pretreated with donor-specific
      transfusion plus anti-CD4 Ab 28 days before transplant accept cardiac allografts
      indefinitely without further intervention. Adoptive transfer of spleen cells from
      mice with long term surviving grafts results in donor-specific graft acceptance
      in naive secondary recipients, indicating that tolerance in this system involves
      immuneregulation. Regulation develops as a result of the pretreatment protocol
      alone, since transfer of cells from pretreated but untransplanted mice to naive
      recipients also leads to prolonged allograft survival without additional therapy.
      Neutralizing IL-4 at the time of tolerance induction had no effect on graft
      outcome in primary recipients. However, removal of IL-4 from the adoptive
      transfer donors at the time of tolerance induction prevented long term
      engraftment in the majority of secondary recipients. Our data demonstrate that
      pretreatment of transplant recipients can establish immune regulation powerful
      enough to override the responses of an intact immune repertoire and that under
      stringent conditions at least, development of this regulatory population may in
      part be dependent on IL-4.

PMID- 9973391
TI  - TCR, LFA-1, and CD28 play unique and complementary roles in signaling T cell
      cytoskeletal reorganization.
AB  - T cells interacting with APCs undergo rearrangement of surface receptors and
      cytoskeletal elements to face the zone of contact with the APC. This polarization
      process is thought to affect T cell signaling by organizing a specialized domain
      on the T cell surface and to direct T cell effector function toward the
      appropriate APC. We have investigated the contribution of TCR, CD28, and LFA-1
      signaling to T cell cytoskeletal polarization by assaying the response of an Ag
      specific Th1 clone toward a panel of transfected APCs expressing MHC class II
      alone or in combination with ICAM-1 or B7-1. We show that polarization of talin,
      an actin-binding protein, occurs in response to integrin engagement. In contrast,
      reorientation of the T cell microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) is dependent on
      and directed toward the site of TCR signaling, regardless of whether integrins or
      costimulatory molecules are engaged. MTOC reorientation in response to peptide
      MHC complexes is sensitive to the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor
      wortmannin. CD28 coengagement overcomes this sensitivity, as does activation via
      Ab cross-linking of the TCR or via covalent peptide-MHC complexes, suggesting
      that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is not required per se but rather plays a role
      in signal amplification. Engagement of TCR in trans with LFA-1 results in
      separation of MTOC reorientation and cortical cytoskeletal polarization events,
      indicating that the two processes are not directly mechanistically linked. These
      studies show that T cells mobilize individual cytoskeletal components in response
      to distinct and specific cell surface interactions.

PMID- 9973392
TI  - Monocytes stimulate expression of the Bcl-2 family member, A1, in endothelial
      cells and confer protection against apoptosis.
AB  - We have investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of
      peripheral blood monocytes to block apoptosis induction in endothelial cells.
      Monocytes stimulated the expression of the bcl-2 homologue A1 in serum-starved
      endothelial cells after 6 h of coincubation, with elevated A1 levels persisting
      for up to 21 h. IL-1 and TNF also stimulated A1 expression at 6 h, but A1
      transcript levels fell by 21 h. Direct cellular contact with monocytes was
      required for stimulation of A1 mRNA in endothelial cells. Stimulation of
      endothelial cell A1 mRNA by monocytes was not inhibited by anti-beta2 integrin
      Abs, but anti-platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) mAb reduced
      A1 transcript levels at 21 h. Studies employing either TNF on its own, or anti
      TNF in endothelium/monocyte cocultures showed that TNF plays a role in the early
      (6-h) stimulation of A1, but is less important for the sustained elevation of A1
      levels at 21 h. Serum-starved endothelial cells demonstrated increased survival
      and decreased apoptosis after coculture with monocytes. IL-10 reduced A1 mRNA
      expression in, as well as survival of, endothelial cells that were cocultured
      with monocytes. In comparison with A1, Bcl-2 was expressed at low levels and was
      up-regulated by monocytes only at 21 h, while neither Bax nor Bcl-xL levels were
      altered by monocytes. The interaction of monocytes with endothelium during the
      course of an inflammatory reaction may provide survival signals to endothelial
      cells.

PMID- 9973393
TI  - CD40-CD154 interaction and IFN-gamma are required for IL-12 but not prostaglandin
      E2 secretion by microglia during antigen presentation to Th1 cells.
AB  - IL-12 and PGE2 promote and inhibit, respectively, the development of Th1
      responses. Production of these mediators by APC residing in the central nervous
      system (CNS) may be involved in the local regulation of the T cell phenotype
      during infectious and autoimmune CNS diseases. In the present study we have
      examined IL-12 and PGE2 secretion by cultured microglia and astrocytes from the
      mouse brain upon Ag-dependent interaction with I-Ad-restricted, OVA323-339
      specific TCR transgenic Th1 and Th2 cell lines. We show that microglia, which
      restimulate efficiently both Th1 and Th2 cells, secrete IL-12 upon Ag-dependent
      interaction with Th1, but not with Th2 cells. Th1-driven IL-12 production depends
      on TCR ligation by MHC class II/peptide complexes, CD40 engagement on microglia,
      and IFN-gamma secretion by activated Th1 cells. Th1 and, to a lesser extent, Th2
      cells also stimulate the production of PGE2 by microglia. T cell-mediated
      induction of PGE2 requires MHC class II/peptide/TCR interactions but does not
      depend on CD40 engagement or on the presence of IFN-gamma. Astrocytes, which
      preferentially activate Th2 cells, fail to produce IL-12 and secrete negligible
      amounts of PGE2 upon interaction with either Th1 or Th2 cells. These results
      suggest that during CNS infection or immunopathology, IL-12 produced by microglia
      upon Ag-specific interaction with Th1 cells may further skew the immune response
      to Th1, whereas the T cell-dependent production of PGE2 by microglia may
      represent a negative feedback mechanism, limiting the propagation of Th1
      responses.

PMID- 9973394
TI  - cAMP up-regulates cell surface expression of lymphocyte CXCR4: implications for
      chemotaxis and HIV-1 infection.
AB  - The chemokine receptor CXCR4 mediates lymphocyte chemotaxis in response to
      stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and functions as a coreceptor for T cell
      tropic strains of HIV-1. We examined the role of the cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA)
      signaling pathway in regulating expression of CXCR4. In response to exogenous
      dibutyryl cAMP or cAMP-inducing ligands, cell surface expression of CXCR4 was
      increased by up to 10-fold on CD3/CD28-stimulated PBMC and by up to sixfold on
      unstimulated PBMC. cAMP did not alter receptor mRNA levels or affect the size of
      the total CXCR4 pool. However, cAMP did significantly reduce CXCR4
      internalization rates and thereby increased the fraction of the total CXCR4 pool
      expressed on the cell surface. cAMP-induced increases in CXCR4 expression
      counteracted SDF-1-induced receptor internalization and enhanced both chemotactic
      response to SDF-1 and cellular vulnerability to HIV-1 infection. Thus, altered
      chemokine receptor expression may provide one mechanism by which cAMP-inducing
      ligands influence lymphocyte localization and HIV pathogenesis.

PMID- 9973395
TI  - Endotoxin down-regulates T cell activation by antigen-presenting liver sinusoidal
      endothelial cells.
AB  - Endotoxin is physiologically present in portal venous blood at concentrations of
      100 pg/ml to 1 ng/ml. Clearance of endotoxin from portal blood occurs through
      sinusoidal lining cells, i.e., Kupffer cells, and liver sinusoidal endothelial
      cells (LSEC). We have recently shown that LSEC are fully efficient APCs. Here, we
      studied the influence of endotoxin on the accessory function of LSEC. Incubation
      of Ag-presenting LSEC with physiological concentrations of endotoxin lead to
      >/=80% reduction of the accessory function, measured by release of IFN-gamma from
      CD4+ T cells. In contrast, conventional APC populations rather showed an increase
      of the accessory function after endotoxin treatment. Inhibition of the accessory
      function in LSEC by endotoxin was not due to lack of soluble costimulatory
      signals, because neither supplemental IL-1beta, IL-2, IFN-gamma, or IL-12 could
      rescue the accessory function. Ag uptake was not influenced by endotoxin in LSEC.
      However, we found that endotoxin led to alkalinization of the endosomal/lysomal
      compartment specifically in LSEC but not in bone marrow macrophages, which
      indicated that Ag processing, i.e., proteolytic cleavage of protein Ags into
      peptide fragments, was affected by endotoxin. Furthermore, endotoxin treatment
      down-regulated surface expression of constitutively expressed MHC class II, CD80,
      and CD86. In conclusion, it is conceivable that endotoxin does not alter the
      clearance function of LSEC to remove gut-derived Ags from portal blood but
      specifically affects Ag processing and expression of the accessory molecules in
      these cells. Consequently, Ag-specific immune responses by CD4+ T cells are
      efficiently down-regulated in the hepatic microenvironment.

PMID- 9973396
TI  - Protein interactions of Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing inositol
      phosphatase (SHIP): association with Shc displaces SHIP from FcgammaRIIb in B
      cells.
AB  - Our recent studies revealed that the inositol phosphatase Src homology 2 (SH2)
      domain-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP) is phosphorylated and associated
      with Shc exclusively under negative signaling conditions in B cells, which is due
      to recruitment of the SHIP SH2 domain to the FcgammaRIIb. In addition, we
      reported that SHIP-Shc interaction involves both SHIP SH2 and Shc phosphotyrosine
      binding domains. These findings reveal a paradox in which the single SH2 domain
      of SHIP is simultaneously engaged to two different proteins: Shc and FcgammaRIIb.
      To resolve this paradox, we examined the protein interactions of SHIP. Our
      results demonstrated that isolated FcgammaRIIb contains SHIP but not Shc;
      likewise, Shc isolates contain SHIP but not FcgammaRIIb. In contrast, SHIP
      isolates contain both proteins, revealing two separate pools of SHIP: one bound
      to FcgammaRIIb and one bound to Shc. Kinetic studies reveal rapid SHIP
      association with FcgammaRIIb but slower and more transient association with Shc.
      Affinity measurements using a recombinant SHIP SH2 domain and phosphopeptides
      derived from FcgammaRIIb (corresponding to Y273) and Shc (corresponding to Y317)
      revealed an approximately equal rate of binding but a 10-fold faster dissociation
      rate for FcgammaRIIb compared with Shc phosphopeptide and yielding in an affinity
      of 2.1 microM for FcgammaRIIb and 0.26 microM for Shc. These findings are
      consistent with a model in which SHIP transiently associates with FcgammaRIIb to
      promote SHIP phosphorylation, whereupon SHIP binds to Shc and dissociates from
      FcgammaRIIb.

PMID- 9973397
TI  - T cell epitopes of a lipocalin allergen colocalize with the conserved regions of
      the molecule.
AB  - In this study we characterized the human T cell-reactive sites of the major cow
      dander allergen, Bos d 2, a member of the lipocalin protein family. We showed
      that Bos d 2 contains only a limited number of epitopes. This is in contrast to
      many other allergens, which usually contain multiple T cell epitopes throughout
      the molecule. The epitopes of Bos d 2 were primarily concentrated in the
      conserved regions of the molecule. One of the epitopes was recognized by all the
      cow-asthmatic individuals regardless of their HLA phenotype. Computer-predicted T
      cell epitopes on Bos d 2, other lipocalin allergens, and human endogenous
      lipocalins were situated in similar locations on these molecules and corresponded
      to experimentally identified epitopes on Bos d 2. The results suggest that human
      endogenous lipocalins could be involved in the modulation of immune responses
      against exogenous lipocalin allergens. In addition, our findings are likely to
      facilitate the development of new forms of immunotherapy against allergies
      induced by the important group of lipocalin allergens.

PMID- 9973398
TI  - Induction of specific T cell tolerance by Fas ligand-expressing antigen
      presenting cells.
AB  - Autocrine interaction of Fas and Fas ligand leads to apoptosis of activated T
      cells, a process that is critical for the maintenance of peripheral T cell
      tolerance. Paracrine interactions of Fas ligand with T cells also may play an
      important role in the maintenance of tolerance, as Fas ligand can create immune
      privileged sites and prevent graft rejection by inducing apoptosis in T cells. We
      surmised that APCs that express Fas ligand might directly induce apoptosis of T
      cells during presentation of Ag to the T cells, thus inducing Ag-specific,
      systemic T cell tolerance. Here, we show that profound, specific T cell
      unresponsiveness to alloantigen was induced by treatment of H-2k mice with H-2b
      APCs that expressed Fas ligand and that profound T cell unresponsiveness specific
      for the H-Y Ag was induced by treatment of H-2Db/H-Y TCR transgenic female mice
      with H-2Db/H-Y APCs that expressed Fas ligand. The induction of this systemic T
      cell tolerance required the expression of Fas ligand on the APCs as well as the
      expression of Fas on the T cells. The tolerance was restricted to the Ag
      presented by the APCs. The rapid and profound clonal deletion of the Ag-specific,
      peripheral T cells mediated by the Fas ligand-expressing APCs contributed to the
      induction of tolerance. These findings demonstrate that Ag-specific T cell
      tolerance can be induced by APCs that express Fas ligand and suggest a novel
      function for APCs in the induction of T cell apoptosis. Furthermore, they
      indicate a novel immunointervention strategy for treatment of graft rejection and
      autoantigen-specific autoimmune diseases.

PMID- 9973399
TI  - Profound enhancement of T cell activation mediated by the interaction between the
      TCR and the D3 domain of CD4.
AB  - CD4 plays an important role in the activation and development of CD4+ T cells.
      This is mediated via its bivalent interaction with MHC class II molecules and the
      TCR:CD3 complex through p56lck. Recent studies have implicated a third site of
      interaction between the membrane-proximal extracellular domains of CD4 and the
      TCR. Due to these multiple interactions, direct evidence for the functional
      importance of this extracellular association has remained elusive. Furthermore,
      the residues that mediate this interaction are unknown. In this study, we
      analyzed the function of 61 CD4 mutants. Alanine substitution of just 2 residues,
      either Q114/F182 or F182/F201, which are partially buried and located close to
      the D2/D3 interface, completely abrogated CD4 function. Direct evidence for the
      functional importance of TCR:CD4.D3 interaction was obtained using an anti
      CD3fos:anti-CD4jun-bispecific Ab. Surprisingly, it induced strong T cell
      activation in hybridomas transfected with cytoplasmic-tailless CD4, despite the
      lack of association with either p56lck or MHC class II molecules. However, this
      effect was completely abrogated with the CD4 mutants Q114A/F182A or F182A/F201A.
      These data demonstrate that TCR:CD4.D3 interaction can have a profound effect on
      T cell activation and obviates the need for receptor oligomerization.

PMID- 9973400
TI  - TNF receptor p55 plays a pivotal role in murine keratinocyte apoptosis induced by
      ultraviolet B irradiation.
AB  - Excess exposure of skin to ultraviolet B (UVB) results in the appearance of so
      called sunburn cells. Although it has been demonstrated that sunburn cells
      represent apoptotic keratinocytes, the molecular mechanisms for UVB-induced
      apoptosis in keratinocytes have not been fully elucidated. The cytokine, TNF
      alpha, has been shown to induce apoptosis in a variety of cell types. Since UVB
      induces keratinocytes to release TNF-alpha, we hypothesized that TNF-alpha is
      involved in UVB-induced apoptosis in keratinocytes. In order to confirm this
      hypothesis and to further delineate which type of TNF receptor signaling mediates
      the apoptosis pathway, we performed both in vivo and in vitro experiments using
      gene-targeted knockout mice lacking either the TNF p55 receptor or the TNF p75
      receptor. In the in vivo study, wild-type and mutant mice were exposed to UVB,
      and apoptotic keratinocytes were detected by examining DNA fragmentation using in
      situ nick-end labeling. For the in vitro experiments, keratinocytes derived from
      the wild-type and mutant mice were irradiated with UVB, and the degree of
      apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry, nick-end labeling of DNA, and a DNA
      ladder assay. Both in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated that the deletion of
      TNF receptor p55 could suppress UVB-induced apoptosis in keratinocytes. Our
      observations support the notion that TNF-alpha is involved in UVB-induced
      keratinocyte apoptosis, and demonstrate that p55 receptor signaling plays a
      pivotal role in this event.

PMID- 9973401
TI  - Distinct effects of Jak3 signaling on alphabeta and gammadelta thymocyte
      development.
AB  - Janus kinase 3 (Jak3) plays a central role in the transduction of signals
      mediated by the IL-2 family of cytokine receptors. Targeted deletion of the
      murine Jak3 gene results in severe reduction of alphabeta and complete
      elimination of gammadelta lineage thymocytes and NK cells. The developmental
      blockade appears to be imposed on early thymocyte differentiation and/or
      expansion. In this study, we show that bcl-2 expression and in vivo survival of
      immature thymocytes are greatly compromised in Jak3-/- mice. There is no gross
      deficiency in rearrangements of the TCRdelta and certain gamma loci in pre-T
      cells, and a functional gammadelta TCR transgene cannot rescue gammadelta lineage
      differentiation in Jak3-/- mice. In contrast, a TCRbeta transgene is partially
      able to restore alphabeta thymocyte development. These data suggest that the
      signals mediated by Jak3 are critical for survival of all thymocyte precursors
      particularly during TCRbeta-chain gene rearrangement, and are continuously
      required in the gammadelta lineage. The results also emphasize the fundamentally
      different requirements for differentiation of the alphabeta and gammadelta T cell
      lineages.

PMID- 9973402
TI  - Evidence for repression of IL-2 gene activation in anergic T cells.
AB  - The induction of clonal anergy in a T cell inhibits IL-2 secretion because of the
      development of a proximal signal transduction defect. Fusion of anergic murine T
      cells to human Jurkat T leukemia cells and formation of heterokaryons failed to
      result in a complementation of this signaling defect and restoration of murine IL
      2 mRNA inducibility. Instead, signal transduction to the human IL-2 gene became
      disrupted. Heterokaryons formed by the fusion of anergic murine T cells to normal
      murine T cells also failed to accumulate intracellular IL-2 protein in response
      to stimulation either with the combination of CD3 and CD28 mAbs or with ionomycin
      plus a protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester. The results argue against a
      loss-of-function signaling defect as the sole basis for clonal anergy induction
      and document the presence of a dominant-acting repressor molecule that inhibits
      signal transduction to the IL-2 gene within viable anergic T cells.

PMID- 9973403
TI  - Elevation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and reactive oxygen
      intermediate levels are early events and occur independently from activation of
      caspases in Fas signaling.
AB  - Stimulation of the CD95/Fas/Apo-1 receptor leads to apoptosis through activation
      of the caspase family of cysteine proteases and disruption of the mitochondrial
      transmembrane potential (Deltapsim). We show that, in Jurkat human T cells and
      peripheral blood lymphocytes, Fas-induced apoptosis is preceded by 1) an increase
      in reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) and 2) an elevation of Deltapsim. These
      events are followed by externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS), disruption of
      Deltapsim, and cell death. The caspase inhibitor peptides, DEVD-CHO, Z-VAD.fmk,
      and Boc-Asp.fmk, blocked Fas-induced PS externalization, disruption of Deltapsim,
      and cell death, suggesting that these events are sequelae of caspase activation.
      By contrast, in the presence of caspase inhibitors, ROI levels and Deltapsim of
      Fas-stimulated cells remained elevated. Because ROI levels and Deltapsim are
      regulated by the supply of reducing equivalents from the pentose phosphate
      pathway (PPP), we studied the impact of transaldolase (TAL), a key enzyme of the
      PPP, on Fas signaling. Overexpression of TAL accelerated Fas-induced
      mitochondrial ROI production, Deltapsim elevation, activation of caspase-8 and
      caspase-3, proteolysis of poly(A)DP-ribose polymerase, and PS externalization.
      Additionally, suppression of TAL diminished these activities. Therefore, by
      controlling the balance between mitochondrial ROI production and metabolic supply
      of reducing equivalents through the PPP, TAL regulates susceptibility to Fas
      induced apoptosis. Early increases in ROI levels and Deltapsim as well as the
      dominant effect of TAL expression on activation of caspase-8/Fas-associated death
      domain-like IL-1beta-converting enzyme, the most upstream member of the caspase
      cascade, suggest a pivotal role for redox signaling at the initiation of Fas
      mediated apoptosis.

PMID- 9973404
TI  - Activation of the signal transducer glycoprotein 130 by both IL-6 and IL-11
      requires two distinct binding epitopes.
AB  - The coordination and regulation of immune responses are primarily mediated by
      cytokines that bind to specific cell surface receptors. Glycoprotein 130 (gp130)
      belongs to the family of class I cytokine receptors and is the common signal
      transducing receptor subunit shared by the so-called IL-6 type cytokines (IL-6,
      IL-11, ciliary neurotrophic factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, and
      cardiotrophin-1). The inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-11 induce gp130
      homodimerization after binding to their specific alpha receptors, which leads to
      the activation of the Janus kinase/STAT signal transduction pathway. A molecular
      model of IL-6/IL-6R/gp130, which is based on the structure of the growth
      hormone/growth hormone receptor complex, allowed the selection of several amino
      acids located in the cytokine-binding module of gp130 for mutagenesis. The
      mutants were analyzed with regard to IL-6- or IL-11-induced STAT activation and
      ligand binding. It was found that Y190 and F191 are essential for the interaction
      of gp130 with IL-6 as well as IL-11, suggesting a common mode of recognition of
      helical cytokines by class I cytokine receptors. Furthermore, the requirement of
      the gp130 N-terminal Ig-like domain for ligand binding and signal transduction
      was demonstrated by the use of deletion mutants. Thus, besides the observed
      analogy to the growth hormone/growth hormone receptor complex, there is a
      substantial difference in the mechanism of receptor engagement by cytokines that
      signal via gp130.

PMID- 9973405
TI  - A critical tyrosine residue in the cytoplasmic tail is important for CD1d
      internalization but not for its basolateral sorting in MDCK cells.
AB  - The CD1 family of polypeptides is divided into two groups, the CD1b and CD1d
      group. Both groups are involved in stimulation of T cell response. Molecules of
      the CD1b group can present Ag derived from bacterial cell walls to T cells; the
      process of Ag acquisition is thought to take place in endosomes. Little is known
      about Ag presentation by CD1d. We therefore studied the intracellular trafficking
      of human CD1d in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and COS cells. CD1d was found
      in endosomal compartments after its internalization from the plasma membrane. It
      is therefore possible that CD1d acquires its yet unidentified exogenous ligand in
      the same compartments as the MHC class II and CD1b molecules. CD1d contains a
      tyrosine-based sorting signal in its cytoplasmic tail that is necessary for
      internalization. Furthermore, the cytoplasmic tail of CD1d also contains a signal
      for basolateral sorting that is, however, different from the internalization
      signal.

PMID- 9973406
TI  - The mapping of the Lyn kinase binding site of the common beta subunit of IL
      3/granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor/IL-5 receptor.
AB  - It has been shown that a membrane-proximal region within common beta (betac)
      receptor of IL-3/granulocyte-macrophage CSF/IL-5 (amino acids 450-517) is
      important for Lyn binding. We have shown previously that Lyn kinase is physically
      associated with the IL-5R betac subunit in unstimulated cells. The result
      suggests that this association involves binding modules that are not activation
      or phosphorylation dependent. The objective of this study was to map the exact
      Lyn binding site on betac. Using overlapping and/or sequential peptides derived
      from betac 450-517, we narrowed down the Lyn binding site to nine amino acid
      residues, betac 457-465. The P-->A mutation in this region abrogated the binding
      to Lyn, indicating a critical role of proline residues. We created a cell
      permeable Lyn-binding peptide by N-stearation. This cell-permeable peptide
      blocked the association of Lyn, but not Jak2 with betac in situ. We also
      investigated the betac binding site of Lyn kinase. Our results suggest that the N
      terminal unique domain of Lyn kinase is important for binding to betac receptor.
      To our knowledge, this is the first molecular identification of the Lyn binding
      site of betac receptor. This finding may help develop specific inhibitors of Lyn
      coupled signaling pathways.

PMID- 9973407
TI  - Class II-associated invariant chain peptide-independent binding of invariant
      chain to class II MHC molecules.
AB  - The class II-associated invariant chain peptide (CLIP) region of invariant chain
      (Ii) is believed to play a critical role in the assembly and transport of MHC
      class II alphabetaIi complexes through its interaction with the class II peptide
      binding site. The role of the CLIP sequence was investigated by using mutant Ii
      molecules with altered affinity for the DR1 peptide-binding site. Both high- and
      low-affinity mutants were observed to efficiently assemble with DR1 and mediate
      transport to endosomal compartments in COS cell transfectants. Using N- and C
      terminal truncations, a region adjacent to CLIP within Ii(103-118) was identified
      that can complement loss of affinity for the peptide-binding site in mediating
      efficient assembly of alphabetaIi. A C-terminal fragment completely lacking the
      CLIP region, Ii(103-216), was observed binding stably to class II molecules in
      immunoprecipitation studies and experiments with purified proteins. The Ii(103
      118) region was required for this binding, which occurs through interactions
      outside of the alphabeta peptide-binding groove. We conclude that strong
      interactions involving Ii(103-118) and other regions of Ii cooperate in the
      assembly of functional alphabetaIi under conditions where CLIP has little or no
      affinity for the class II peptide-binding site. Our results support the
      hypothesis that the CLIP sequence has evolved to avoid high-stability
      interactions with the peptide-binding sites of MHC class II molecules rather than
      as a promiscuous binder with moderate affinity for all class II molecules.

PMID- 9973408
TI  - Lipopolysaccharide inhibits TNF-induced apoptosis: role of nuclear factor-kappaB
      activation and reactive oxygen intermediates.
AB  - LPS, a component of the cell wall in Gram-negative bacteria, induces inflammation
      and septic shock syndrome by stimulating various inflammatory cytokines including
      TNF. How LPS affects the TNF-mediated cellular responses, however, is not
      understood. In this study, the effect of LPS on TNF-mediated apoptosis in human
      histiocytic lymphoma U-937 cells was investigated. We found that treatment of
      cells with LPS completely abolished TNF-mediated cytotoxicity and activation of
      caspase-3. LPS-chelating antibiotic, polymyxin B, suppressed the antiapoptotic
      activity, indicating the specificity of the effect. Within minutes, LPS through
      CD14 induced the activation of NF-kappaB, degradation of IkappaBalpha (inhibitory
      subunit of NF-kappaB) and IkappaBbeta, and nuclear translocation of p65. An
      antioxidant, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, which blocked LPS-induced NF-kappaB
      activation, also abolished the antiapoptotic effects of LPS at the same time.
      Besides TNF, the apoptosis induced by taxol and okadaic acid was also sensitive
      to LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation, whereas that induced by H2O2, doxorubicin,
      daunomycin, vincristine, and vinblastine was NF-kappaB insensitive. Tumor cells
      that constitutively expressed NF-kappaB also showed resistance to the apoptotic
      effects of TNF, taxol, and okadaic acid, but sensitivity to all other agents,
      indicating the critical role of NF-kappaB in blocking apoptosis induced by
      certain agents. Overall, these results indicate that LPS induces resistance to
      the apoptotic effects of TNF and other agents, and that NF-kappaB activation,
      whether induced or constitutive, inhibits this apoptosis.

PMID- 9973409
TI  - Structure and genomic organization of a second cluster of immunoglobulin heavy
      chain gene segments in the channel catfish.
AB  - The structure, organization, and partial sequence of a 25-kb genomic region
      containing a second cluster of H chain gene segments in the channel catfish
      (Ictalurus punctatus) has been determined. Multiple VH gene segments,
      representing different VH families, are located upstream of a germline-joined
      VDJ. The VDJ segment has a split leader sequence and a single open reading
      consistent with that expressed in members of the VH1 family. Downstream of the
      germline-joined VDJ is a single JH segment and two pseudogene exons structurally
      similar to the Cmu1 and Cmu2 exons of the functional gene. Both pseudogene exons
      are multiply crippled with RNA splice sites destroyed, and open reading frames
      are interrupted by termination codons, insertions, and/or deletions. Sequence
      alignment of a 10.8-kb region within the second H chain cluster with the genomic
      sequence of the nine JH segments and the functional Cmu within the first H chain
      gene cluster indicates that the second H chain gene cluster probably arose by a
      massive duplication event. The JH region of the VDJ, the coding and flanking
      regions of the single JH segment, and the pseudogene Cmu exons were readily
      aligned with homologous segments in the first gene cluster. This duplication
      event may have extended to include the upstream VH segments. A member of the Tc1
      mariner family of transposable elements is located downstream of the pseudogene
      Cmu2, which suggests that the transposition may have contributed to the evolution
      of the duplicated Cmu.

PMID- 9973410
TI  - Interaction of murine MHC class I molecules with tapasin and TAP enhances peptide
      loading and involves the heavy chain alpha3 domain.
AB  - In human cells the association of MHC class I molecules with TAP is thought to be
      mediated by a third protein termed tapasin. We now show that tapasin is present
      in murine TAP-class I complexes as well. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a
      mutant H-2Dd molecule that does not interact with TAP due to a Glu to Lys
      mutation at residue 222 of the H chain (Dd(E222K)) also fails to bind to tapasin.
      This finding supports the view that tapasin bridges the association between class
      I and TAP and implicates residue 222 as a site of contact with tapasin. The
      inability of Dd(E222K) to interact with tapasin and TAP results in impaired
      peptide loading within the endoplasmic reticulum. However, significant
      acquisition of peptides can still be detected as assessed by the decay kinetics
      of cell surface Dd(E222K) molecules and by the finding that prolonged viral
      infection accumulates sufficient target structures to stimulate T cells at 50%
      the level observed with wild-type Dd. Thus, although interaction with tapasin and
      TAP enhances peptide loading, it is not essential. Finally, a cohort of Dd(E222K)
      molecules decays more rapidly on the cell surface compared with wild-type Dd
      molecules but much more slowly than peptide-deficient molecules. This suggests
      that some of the peptides obtained in the absence of an interaction with tapasin
      and TAP are suboptimal, suggesting a peptide-editing function for tapasin/TAP in
      addition to their role in enhancing peptide loading.

PMID- 9973411
TI  - Germline structure and differential utilization of Igha and Ighb VH10 genes.
AB  - Ab heavy chains encoded by mouse VH10 genes have been of particular interest due
      to their frequent association with DNA binding. We reported previously that VH10
      sequences are over-represented in the preimmune repertoire considering the
      apparent number of germline-encoded VH10 gene segments. In this report, we show
      that the VH10 family consists of three and two germline genes in the Igha and
      Ighb haplotypes, respectively. The complete nucleotide sequences of these five
      genes, including promoters and recombination signal sequences, were determined
      and allow unambiguous assignment of allelic relationships. The usage of
      individual VH10 genes varied significantly and ranged from 0.2% to an
      extraordinary 7.2% of the VH genes expressed by splenic B cells. Since the
      promoter and recombination signal sequence elements of all five VH10 genes are
      identical, we suggest that the few amino acid differences encoded by these five
      germline VH10 genes determine their representation in the preimmune repertoire.
      Rearrangements of the most frequently used VH10 gene have an apparent bias for
      histidine at position 95 of complementarity-determining region-3 (CDR3). These
      CDR3s are also biased for asparagine, an amino acid associated with the CDRs of
      DNA binding Abs. Together, these results suggest that high VH10 gene use is the
      result of B cell receptor-mediated selection and may involve DNA and/or ligands
      that share antigenic features with DNA.

PMID- 9973412
TI  - AIDS primary central nervous system lymphoma: molecular analysis of the expressed
      VH genes and possible implications for lymphomagenesis.
AB  - AIDS-associated primary central nervous system lymphomas are late events that
      have an extremely poor prognosis. Despite different hypotheses, the brain
      localization of these B cell lymphomas remains an enigma. To better define the
      cell origin of the lymphomas and the possible role of the B cell receptor (BCR)
      in the brain localization and/or in the oncogenic transformation, we analyzed the
      V region genes of the Ig heavy chain expressed by lymphoma cells in five randomly
      selected patients. After amplifying the rearranged VHDJH DNA by PCR, cloning, and
      sequencing of the amplified products, we observed that: 1) of the five lymphomas
      analyzed, four were clearly monoclonal; 2) there was no preferential use of one
      peculiar VH family or one peculiar segment of gene; 3) the mutation analysis
      showed that an Ag-driven process occurred in at least two cases, probably before
      the oncogenic event; and 4) there was no intraclonal variability, suggesting that
      the hypermutation mechanism is no longer efficient in these lymphoma B cells.
      Taken together, our results suggest that distinct Ags could be recognized by the
      BCR of the lymphoma cells in different patients and that, if the Ags are
      responsible for the brain localization of these B cells bearing mutated BCR,
      other factors must be involved in B cell transformations in primary central
      nervous system lymphoma.

PMID- 9973413
TI  - TFEC is a macrophage-restricted member of the microphthalmia-TFE subfamily of
      basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper transcription factors.
AB  - The murine homologue of the TFEC was cloned as part of an analysis of the
      expression of the microphthalmia-TFE (MiT) subfamily of transcription factors in
      macrophages. TFEC, which most likely acts as a transcriptional repressor in
      heterodimers with other MiT family members, was identified in cells of the
      mononuclear phagocyte lineage, coexpressed with all other known MiT subfamily
      members (Mitf, TFE3, TFEB). Northern blot analysis of several different cell
      lineages indicated that the expression of murine TFEC (mTFEC) was restricted to
      macrophages. A 600-bp fragment of the TATA-less putative proximal promoter of
      TFEC shares features with many known macrophage-specific promoters and
      preferentially directs luciferase expression in the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line
      in transient transfection assays. Five of six putative Ets motifs identified in
      the TFEC promoter bind the macrophage-restricted transcription factor PU.1 under
      in vitro conditions and in transfected 3T3 fibroblasts; the minimal luciferase
      activity of the TFEC promoter could be induced by coexpression of PU.1 or the
      related transcription factor Ets-2. The functional importance of the tissue
      restricted expression of TFEC and a possible role in macrophage-specific gene
      regulation require further investigation, but are likely to be linked to the role
      of the other MiT family members in this lineage.

PMID- 9973414
TI  - Atypical VH-D-JH rearrangements in newborn autoimmune MRL mice.
AB  - Antinuclear Abs are the hallmark of the autoimmune disease systemic lupus
      erythematosus (SLE). The ability of self reactive autoantibodies to bind to DNA
      and nucleosomes is partly conferred by an increased number of arginine and
      asparagine residues in the heavy chain third complementarity determining region.
      This increased content of cationic residues is primarily the result of unusual VH
      D-JH rearrangements, which include D-D fusions and D gene inversions. While self
      Ag-driven clonal expansion is a major contributor to the production of
      antinuclear Abs in lupus, we explore in this study the hypothesis that newly
      emerging B cells from autoimmune mice display more frequently these unusual VH-D
      JH rearrangements. To this end, libraries of PCR-generated VH-D-JH junctions from
      MRL and C3H newborn livers were analyzed. When compared with the C3H controls, D
      and JH gene usage in MRL junctions suggests a greater frequency of secondary D-JH
      rearrangements in this strain. Furthermore, B cells from the autoimmune-prone MRL
      mice have significantly increased numbers of atypical VH-D-JH rearrangements (D-D
      fusions and D inversions). Therefore, B cells from MRL mice manifest intrinsic
      defects that could confer an increased propensity to produce unusual VH-D-JH
      rearrangements early in ontogeny.

PMID- 9973415
TI  - MHC class II-dependent NK1.1+ gammadelta T cells are induced in mice by
      Salmonella infection.
AB  - We observed the emergence of a novel population of gammadelta T cells expressing
      NK1.1 Ag in the peritoneal cavity of mice infected with Salmonella choleraesuis.
      The NK1.1+gammadelta T cells accounted for approximately 20% of all gammadelta T
      cells emerging in the peritoneal cavity of C57BL/6 mice and expressed
      preferentially rearranged Vgamma4-Jgamma1 and Vdelta6.3-Ddelta1-Ddelta2-Jdelta1
      genes with N diversity. The gammadelta T cells proliferated vigorously in
      response to PHA-treated spleen cells and produced IFN-gamma in the culture
      supernatant. However, spleen cells from Abetab-deficient mice were unable to
      stimulate the gammadelta T cells. Furthermore, the NK1.1+gammadelta T cells were
      stimulated not only by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing wild-type IAb
      but also by those expressing IAb/Ealpha52-68 or IAb/pigeon cytochrome c-derived
      analogue peptide complex. These proliferation activities were inhibited by mAb
      specific for IAb chain. Consistent with these findings, the emergence of
      NK1.1+gammadelta T cells was reduced in the peritoneal cavity of Abetab-deficient
      mice after Salmonella infection, whereas NK1.1+gammadelta T cells were rather
      abundant in the peritoneal cavity of Salmonella-infected beta2m-deficient mice.
      Moreover, the NK1.1+gammadelta T cells were easily identified in the thymus of
      beta2m-deficient but not Abetab-deficient mice. Our results indicated that MHC
      class II expression is essential for development and activation of NK1.
      1+gammadelta T cells in the thymus and the periphery.

PMID- 9973416
TI  - In vivo IL-12 production and IL-12 receptors beta1 and beta2 mRNA expression in
      the spleen are differentially up-regulated in resistant B6 and susceptible A/J
      mice during early blood-stage Plasmodium chabaudi AS malaria.
AB  - As previously reported, blood-stage Plasmodium chabaudi AS malaria is lethal by
      days 10-12 postinfection in susceptible A/J mice that mount an early,
      predominantly Th2 response. In contrast, resistant C57BL/6 (B6) mice clear the
      infection by 4 wk with an early Th1 response. In this study, we analyzed in vivo
      production of IL-12, a potent Th1-inducing cytokine, during the first 5 days
      after P. chabaudi AS infection in these mice. By day 2, serum IL-12 p70 levels
      were significantly increased in B6 mice over basal levels and were also
      significantly higher compared with A/J mice that showed no significant changes in
      serum p70 levels after infection. Splenectomy of resistant B6 mice before
      infection demonstrated that the spleen is the major source of systemic IL-12 in
      these hosts. Splenic mRNA levels of both p40 and p35 were significantly higher in
      A/J mice; however, the ratios of p40/p35 mRNA levels were similarly up-regulated
      in both strains. Furthermore, B6 but not A/J mice showed significant up
      regulation of splenic IL-12R beta2 mRNA over basal levels by days 3 and 4,
      coincident with sustained up-regulation of splenic IFN-gamma mRNA levels on days
      3-5. However, IL-12R beta1 mRNA levels in the spleen were similarly up-regulated
      in both mouse strains by day 3. Taken together, these data suggest that high
      systemic IL-12 production, accompanied by an early and sustained up-regulation of
      both IL-12R beta1 and beta2 mRNA levels in the spleen, as occurs in resistant B6
      mice, appears to preferentially induce protective Th1 responses against blood
      stage malaria.

PMID- 9973417
TI  - Innate immunity in insects: the role of multiple, endogenous serum lectins in the
      recognition of foreign invaders in the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis.
AB  - Unlike vertebrates, insects do not have an Ab-based nonself recognition system,
      and must rely totally on innate immunity to defend themselves from microbial
      invaders. The most likely candidates for recognizing foreign material in insects
      are the lectins, which have already been shown to be important in mammalian
      innate immunity. The hemolymph of the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis, contains
      multiple lectins, designated BDL1, BDL2, BDL3, and GSL (beta-1,3-glucan-specific
      lectin), two of which, namely BDL1 and GSL, have close similarities to acute
      phase reactants. These endogenous molecules, as well as Con A, wheat germ
      agglutinin, and Helix pomatia agglutinin, have been shown to induce an enhanced
      phagocytic response by B. discoidalis plasmatocytes. This effect is related to
      the carbohydrates presented on the surface of the microorganism and to the sugar
      specificities of the lectins. Thus, the mannose-specific lectins, BDL1 and Con A,
      both increase the phagocytosis of baker's yeast and Escherichia coli, whereas the
      N-acetyl-D-glucosamine/N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-specific lectins, BDL2, wheat
      germ agglutinin, and H. pomatia agglutinin, induce the phagocytosis of Bacillus
      cereus and E. coli. GSL, specific for beta-1,3-glucan, and the N-acetyl-D
      galactosamine-specific BDL3, only enhance the phagocytosis of yeast and B.
      cereus, respectively. Phenylthiourea, an inhibitor of the prophenoloxidase
      system, caused either total, partial, or no inhibition of the lectin-induced
      increase in phagocytosis, indicating that this immune enhancement results, in
      some cases, from at least two closely linked mechanisms. These results show that
      the endogenous lectins in the cockroach hemolymph are capable of acting as
      nonself recognition molecules for a wide range of microorganisms, and thus
      obviate the necessity of Abs in these animals.

PMID- 9973418
TI  - Measles virus infection synergizes with IL-4 in IgE class switching.
AB  - Increasing evidence suggests that viral infections are associated with the
      induction and exacerbation of asthma. One characteristic of human asthma is an
      increase in the levels of circulating IgE. Previous studies have shown that
      circulating IgE levels are elevated during the early phase of infection with
      measles virus (MV). We have shown previously that one mechanism by which viral
      infections can increase IgE levels is via an induction of IgE class switching
      through the activation of the antiviral protein kinase (dsRNA-activated protein
      kinase), leading to the activation of multiple NF-kappaB complexes. Therefore, to
      determine whether infection with MV can also induce IgE class switching, we
      infected the human Ramos B cell line with the Edmonston strain of MV. Infecting
      Ramos cells with MV did not result directly in either the activation of dsRNA
      activated protein kinase or IgE class switching. However, a synergistic effect on
      IgE class switching was observed when Ramos cells were infected with MV before IL
      4 treatment. Ab cross-linking of the MV receptor, CD46, mimicked the effects of
      MV infection in synergizing with IL-4 to induce IgE class switching, suggesting
      that viral hemagglutinin is involved in this synergistic effect. These data
      provide the first indication of a potential mechanism for MV-induced IgE up
      regulation and suggest a model for a viral-induced exacerbation of IgE-mediated
      disorders such as asthma.

PMID- 9973419
TI  - Mucosal DNA vaccine immunization against measles with a highly attenuated
      Shigella flexneri vector.
AB  - An intranasal vaccine vector would elicit protective immunity at the respiratory
      mucosa, the portal of entry and the primary site for replication for measles
      virus (MV) and other respiratory viruses. In a murine model of pulmonary
      Shigella, we demonstrate here that a candidate-attenuated Shigella vaccine vector
      is safely tolerated in IFN-gamma deficient mice at an inoculum that is 1 million
      fold higher than the inoculum of the wild-type parent strain that would be lethal
      for greater than 90% of these mice. Also, following intranasal inoculation, the
      Deltaasd Shigella harboring a DNA MV vaccine plasmid induces a vigorous MV
      specific Th1-type (both CD8+ CTL and IFN-gamma) and, to a lesser degree, Th2-type
      responses among splenocytes in addition to low levels of IgG and IgA in the
      serum. Priming for MV-specific CTL responses was possible in mice that had prior
      infection with a wild-type Shigella of the same serotype. Remarkably, mice
      immunized by the intranasal route with attenuated Shigella harboring the DNA MV
      vaccine plasmid had a level of MV-specific CTL activity among splenocytes that
      was comparable with levels observed in mice immunized by the i.p. route with
      attenuated Salmonella typhi harboring the same DNA vaccine plasmid, despite the
      fact that Shigella remained localized to the lungs, yet Salmonella disseminated
      to the spleen following inoculation. Thus, Deltaasd Shigella represents a very
      useful vector for delivery of DNA vaccines to mucosal lymphoid tissues.

PMID- 9973420
TI  - CpG oligodeoxynucleotides can circumvent the Th2 polarization of neonatal
      responses to vaccines but may fail to fully redirect Th2 responses established by
      neonatal priming.
AB  - Neonatal murine responses to a panel of conventional vaccines differ
      qualitatively from adult responses by a particular polarization toward a Th2
      pattern and a frequent limitation of the Th1 and CTL responses required for
      protection against intracellular microorganisms. In contrast, DNA vaccines induce
      adult-like Th1/CTL neonatal responses against the same vaccine Ags. In this
      report, we show that this can be related to their content in unmethylated CpG
      motifs. Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing CpG motifs activate neonatal APCs
      to produce IL-12 in vitro and induce adult-like Th1 responses to tetanus toxoid
      and measles Ags in vivo, with production of IgG2a-specific Abs and adult-like
      secretion of IFN-gamma and IL-5 by Ag-specific T cells. However, in spite of
      their capacity to trigger neonatal B cell proliferation in vitro, CpG-ODN only
      partially enhanced early life Ab responses. Finally, using Th1-driving CpG-ODN
      with the boosting dose of a protein vaccine was sufficient to redirect adult but
      not neonatally primed Th2 responses. These observations could be important for
      the development of novel vaccines that will have to be effective early in life.

PMID- 9973421
TI  - Specific activated T cells regulate IL-12 production by human monocytes
      stimulated with Cryptococcus neoformans.
AB  - IL-12 production mediated by a T cell-independent and/or T cell-dependent pathway
      was investigated in human monocytes responding to Cryptococcus neoformans. The
      data of this study showed that: 1) appreciable levels of IL-12 were observed when
      freshly isolated monocytes were exposed to acapsular C. neoformans or Candida
      albicans and secretion occurred within 24-48 h of incubation; 2) monocytes alone
      were poor producers of IL-12 when stimulated with encapsulated C. neoformans; 3)
      the presence of specific anti-glucuronoxylomannan mAb favored IL-12 secretion and
      Fc cross-linking could play a role; 4) monocytes were able to secrete consistent
      levels of IL-12 when cultured with activated T cells responding to C. neoformans;
      5) the maximum secretion of IL-12 was observed at 5-7 days of culture and was
      strongly regulated by the presence of endogenous IFN-gamma; and 6) the
      interaction between CD40 on monocytes and CD40 ligand on activated T lymphocytes
      responding to C. neoformans played a critical role in IL-12 secretion. These data
      highlight the mechanisms of IL-12 production by human monocytes exposed to C.
      neoformans, indicating a possible biphasic secretion of IL-12, dependent on the
      direct effect of fungal insult, and characterized by consistent secretion of IL
      12 that is dependent on the interaction of CD40 with the CD40 ligand expressed on
      activated T cells responding to C. neoformans.

PMID- 9973422
TI  - The inflammatory response to nonfatal Sindbis virus infection of the nervous
      system is more severe in SJL than in BALB/c mice and is associated with low
      levels of IL-4 mRNA and high levels of IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells.
AB  - SJL mice are susceptible to inflammatory autoimmune diseases of the central
      nervous system (CNS), while BALB/c mice are relatively resistant. To understand
      differences in immune responses that may contribute to autoimmune neurologic
      disease, we compared the responses of SJL and BALB/c mice to infection with
      Sindbis virus, a virus that causes acute nonfatal encephalomyelitis in both
      strains of mice. Clearance of virus was similar, but SJL mice developed a more
      intense inflammatory response in the brain and spinal cord and inflammation
      persisted for several weeks. Analysis of lymphocytes isolated from brains early
      after infection showed an absence of NK cells in SJL mice, while both strains of
      mice showed CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. During the second week after infection, CD4+ T
      cells increased in SJL mice and the proportion of CD8+ T cells decreased, while
      the opposite pattern was seen in BALB/c mice. Expression of IL-10 mRNA was higher
      and IL-4 mRNA was lower in the brains of infected SJL than in BALB/c mice, while
      expression of the mRNAs of IL-6, IL-1beta, TNFalpha, and the Th1 cytokines IL-2,
      IL-12, and IFN-gamma was similar. Lymphocytes isolated from the CNS of SJL mice
      produced large amounts of IL-10. CNS lymphocytes from both strains of mice
      produced IFN-gamma in response to stimulation with Sindbis virus, but not in
      response to myelin basic protein. These data suggest that IL-10-producing CD4+ T
      cells are differentially recruited to or regulated within the CNS of SJL mice
      compared with BALB/c mice infected with Sindbis virus, a characteristic that may
      be related to low levels of IL-4, and is likely to be involved in susceptibility
      of SJL mice to CNS inflammatory diseases.

PMID- 9973423
TI  - Role of TNF-alpha in pulmonary host defense in murine invasive aspergillosis.
AB  - Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a common and devastating complication of
      immunosuppression, whose incidence has increased dramatically in tandem with the
      increase in the number of immunocompromised patients. Given the role of TNF-alpha
      in other pulmonary infections, we hypothesized that TNF-alpha is an important
      proximal signal in murine invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Intratracheal
      challenge with Aspergillus fumigatus conidia in both neutropenic
      (cyclophosphamide-treated) and nonneutropenic BALB/c mice resulted in the time
      dependent increase in lung TNF-alpha levels, which correlated with the histologic
      development of a patchy, peribronchial infiltration of mononuclear and
      polymorphonuclear cells. Ab-mediated neutralization of TNF-alpha resulted in an
      increase in mortality in both normal and cyclophosphamide-treated animals, which
      was associated with increased lung fungal burden as determined by histology and
      as quantified by chitin content. Depletion of TNF-alpha resulted in a reduced
      lung neutrophil influx in both normal and cyclophosphamide-treated animals, which
      occurred in association with a decrease in lung levels of the C-X-C chemokine,
      macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and the C-C chemokines macrophage inflammatory
      protein-1alpha and JE. In cyclophosphamide-treated animals, intratracheal
      administration of a TNF-alpha agonist peptide (TNF70-80) 3 days before, but not
      concomitant with, the administration of Aspergillus conidia resulted in improved
      survival from 9% in control mice to 55% in TNF70-80-treated animals. These
      studies indicate that TNF-alpha is a critical component of innate immunity in
      both immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts, and that pretreatment with a
      TNF-alpha agonist peptide in a compartmentalized fashion can significantly
      enhance resistance to A. fumigatus in neutropenic animals.

PMID- 9973424
TI  - IFN-gamma is required for viral clearance from central nervous system
      oligodendroglia.
AB  - Infection of the central nervous system (CNS) by the JHM strain of mouse
      hepatitis virus (JHMV) is a rodent model of the human demyelinating disease
      multiple sclerosis. The inability of effective host immune responses to eliminate
      virus from the CNS results in a chronic infection associated with ongoing
      recurrent demyelination. JHMV infects a variety of CNS cell types during the
      acute phase of infection including ependymal cells, astrocytes, microglia,
      oligodendroglia, and rarely in neurons. Replication within the majority of CNS
      cell types is controlled by perforin-dependent virus-specific CTL. However,
      inhibition of viral replication in oligodendroglia occurs via a perforin
      independent mechanism(s). The potential role for IFN-gamma as mediator
      controlling JHMV replication in oligodendroglia was examined in mice deficient in
      IFN-gamma secretion (IFN-gamma0/0 mice). IFN-gamma0/0 mice exhibited increased
      clinical symptoms and mortality associated with persistent virus, demonstrating
      an inability to control replication. Neither antiviral Ab nor CTL responses were
      diminished in the absence of IFN-gamma, although increased IgG1 was detected in
      IFN-gamma0/0 mice. Increased virus Ag in the absence of IFN-gamma localized
      almost exclusively to oligodendroglia and was associated with increased CD8+ T
      cells localized within white matter. These data suggest that although perforin
      dependent CTL control virus replication within astrocytes and microglia, which
      constitute the majority of infected CNS cells, IFN-gamma is critical for control
      of viral replication in oligodendroglia. Therefore, different mechanisms are used
      by the host defenses to control virus replication within the CNS, dependent upon
      the phenotype of the targets of virus replication.

PMID- 9973425
TI  - Vascular endothelial cell expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 at the onset of
      eliciting contact hypersensitivity in mice: evidence for a dominant role of TNF
      alpha.
AB  - We have studied vascular endothelial activation and increased expression of ICAM
      1 and VCAM-1 at the onset of the elicitation phase of oxazolone contact
      hypersensitivity in mice. By measuring the local uptake of i.v. administered
      radiolabeled anti-ICAM-1 and anti-VCAM-1 mAb, we found that endothelial ICAM-1
      and VCAM-1 was increased by 4 h after challenge, 2 h later than the first peak of
      ear swelling and 125I-labeled human serum albumen uptake. Increased expression of
      endothelial ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 was significantly greater in sensitized animals
      than in naive animals. Anti-TNF-alpha antiserum significantly inhibited both the
      increase in ear thickness (p < 0.01), and the up-regulation of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1
      expression (p < 0.01 for both) at 4 h. In contrast, the combination of anti-IL
      1alpha and IL-1beta had only a small inhibitory effect on ICAM-1 expression (p <
      0.05) and no significant effect on increased ear thickness or on VCAM-1
      expression. A mixture of anti-TNF-alpha, anti-IL-1alpha, and IL-1beta was no more
      inhibitory for endothelial ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression than anti-TNF-alpha
      alone. ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression at 4 h was unaffected by a combination of mAb
      against alpha4 and beta2 integrins, whereas expression at 24 h was significantly
      inhibited (p < 0.05), suggesting that the release of TNF-alpha and other
      cytokines involved in the initiation of the response may not require leukocyte
      traffic or other leukocyte functions involving these integrins. We conclude that
      the early up-regulation of endothelial ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 during the elicitation
      of contact hypersensitivity is primarily due to the immune-dependent local
      release of TNF-alpha.

PMID- 9973426
TI  - VCAM-1 expression on human dermal microvascular endothelial cells is directly and
      specifically up-regulated by substance P.
AB  - Sensory nerves in skin are capable of releasing multiple neuropeptides, which
      modulate inflammatory responses by activating specific cutaneous target cells.
      Extravasation of particular subsets of leukocytes depends upon the regulated
      expression of cellular adhesion molecules such as VCAM-1 on microvascular
      endothelial cells. We examined the direct effect of cutaneous neuropeptides on
      the expression and function of human dermal microvascular endothelial cell
      (HDMEC) VCAM-1. A significant increase in VCAM-1 immunostaining of microvascular
      endothelium was observed in vivo following capsaicin application to human skin.
      Multiple cutaneous sensory C-fiber-released neuropeptides were evaluated for
      their ability to induce VCAM-1 cell surface expression on HDMEC. Only substance P
      (SP) was found to be capable of inducing HDMEC VCAM-1 expression. This SP
      mediated VCAM-1 induction appeared to be a direct effect that did not require the
      release of other HDMEC-derived soluble factors. Increased HDMEC VCAM-1 mRNA
      expression was detected 1 h after the addition of SP, with peak mRNA increase at
      6-9 h postinduction. FACS studies demonstrated a 6.5-fold increase in endothelial
      cell surface VCAM-1 expression detectable 16 h after addition of SP, which was
      specifically blocked by a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist. Increased VCAM-1 cell
      surface expression on SP-treated HDMEC resulted in a 4-fold increase in the
      functional binding of 51Cr-labeled MOLT-4 T cells. These data indicate that SP is
      capable of directly and specifically up-regulating functional endothelial VCAM-1
      expression and thus may play a key role in modulating certain inflammatory
      responses in the skin.

PMID- 9973427
TI  - IL-18 up-regulates perforin-mediated NK activity without increasing perforin
      messenger RNA expression by binding to constitutively expressed IL-18 receptor.
AB  - IL-18 is a powerful inducer of IFN-gamma production, particularly in
      collaboration with IL-12. IL-18, like IL-12, also augments NK activity. Here we
      investigated the molecular mechanism underlying the up-regulation of killing
      activity of NK cells by IL-18. IL-18, like IL-12, dose dependently enhanced NK
      activity of splenocytes. This action was further enhanced by costimulation with
      IL-12. Treatment with anti-IL-2R Ab did not affect IL-18- and/or IL-12-augmented
      NK activity, and splenocytes from IFN-gamma-deficient mice showed enhanced NK
      activity following stimulation with IL-12 and/or IL-18. Splenocytes from the mice
      deficient in both IL-12 and IL-18 normally responded to IL-18 and/or IL-12 with
      facilitated NK activity, suggesting that functional NK cells develop in the
      absence of IL-12 and IL-18. IL-18R, as well as IL-12R mRNA, was constitutively
      expressed in splenocytes from SCID mice, which lack T cells and B cells but have
      intact NK cells, and in those from IL-12 and IL-18 double knockout mice. NK cells
      isolated from SCID splenocytes expressed IL-18R on their surface. IL-18, in
      contrast to IL-12, did not enhance mRNA expression of perforin, a key molecule
      for exocytosis-mediated cytotoxicity. However, pretreatment with concanamycin A
      completely inhibited this IL-18- and/or IL-12-augmented NK activity. Furthermore,
      IL-18, like IL-12, failed to enhance NK activity of splenocytes from perforin
      deficient mice. These data suggested that NK cells develop and express IL-12R and
      IL-18R in the absence of IL-12 or IL-18, and that both IL-18 and IL-12 directly
      and independently augment perforin-mediated cytotoxic activity of NK cells.

PMID- 9973428
TI  - Decreased leukotriene C4 synthesis accompanies adherence-dependent nuclear import
      of 5-lipoxygenase in human blood eosinophils.
AB  - The enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) catalyzes the synthesis of leukotrienes (LTs)
      from arachidonic acid (AA). Adherence or recruitment of polymorphonuclear
      neutrophils (PMN) induces nuclear import of 5-LO from the cytosol, which is
      associated with enhanced LTB4 synthesis upon subsequent cell stimulation. In this
      study, we asked whether adherence of human eosinophils (EOS) causes a similar
      redistribution of 5-LO and an increase in LTC4 synthesis. Purified blood EOS
      examined either in suspension or after adherence to fibronectin for 5 min
      contained only cytosolic 5-LO. Cell stimulation resulted in activation of 5-LO,
      as evidenced by its translocation to membranes and LTC4 synthesis. As with PMN,
      adherence of EOS to fibronectin for 120 min caused nuclear import of 5-LO.
      Unexpectedly, however, adherence also caused a time-dependent decrease in LTC4
      synthesis: EOS adhered for 120 min produced 90% less LTC4 than did cells adhered
      for 5 min. Adherence did not diminish the release of [3H]AA from prelabeled EOS
      or reduce the synthesis of the prostanoids thromboxane and PGE2. Also, inhibition
      of LTC4 production caused by adherence could not be overcome by the addition of
      exogenous AA. Adherence increased, rather than decreased, LTC4 synthase activity.
      However, the stimulation of adherent EOS failed to induce translocation of 5-LO
      from the nucleoplasm to the nuclear envelope. This resistance to activation of
      the nuclear pool of 5-LO with diminished LT production represents a novel mode of
      regulation of the enzyme, distinct from the paradigm of up-regulated LT synthesis
      associated with intranuclear localization of 5-LO observed in PMN and other cell
      types.

PMID- 9973429
TI  - Activated T cells acquire endothelial cell surface determinants during
      transendothelial migration.
AB  - Activated T cells acquire endothelial cell (EC) plasma membrane constituents
      during transendothelial migration. This was assessed using an in vitro model
      system in which human peripheral blood CD4+ T cells migrated through confluent
      monolayers of HUVEC. Flow cytometry of migrated CD4+ T cells demonstrated that
      activated, but not resting, T cells acquired a variety of endothelial surface
      determinants, including CD31, CD49d, CD54, CD61, and CD62E. The extracellular
      domains of these molecules were detected on migrated T cells with mAbs, including
      those directed to the ligand-binding regions. A number of approaches were
      employed to document that the acquisition of these molecules was uniquely
      accomplished by activated T cells and clearly involved transfer from both resting
      and TNF-alpha-activated EC. Acquisition of endothelial markers by activated T
      cells occurred as part of the transfer of membrane components, as migrating T
      cells acquired EC membranes prelabeled with the lipophilic dye, 3,3'
      dihexadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate (DiOC-16), along with EC surface proteins.
      Thus, during transendothelial migration, activated T cells acquire endothelial
      membrane components, and as a result may deliver them to perivascular sites.

PMID- 9973430
TI  - Role of resident peritoneal macrophages and mast cells in chemokine production
      and neutrophil migration in acute inflammation: evidence for an inhibitory loop
      involving endogenous IL-10.
AB  - The roles played by resident macrophages (Mphi) and mast cells (MCs) in
      polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) accumulation and chemokine production within
      the mouse peritoneal cavity in response to administration of zymosan (0.2 and 1
      mg), LPS (1 mg/kg), and thioglycolate (0.5 ml of a 3% suspension) were
      investigated. A marked reduction (>95%) in intact MC numbers was obtained by
      pretreatment with the MC activator compound 48/80, whereas resident Mphi were
      greatly diminished (>85%) by a 3-day treatment with liposomes encapsulating the
      cytotoxic drug dichloromethylene-bisphosphonate. No modulation of thioglycolate
      induced inflammation was seen with either pretreatment. Removal of either MCs or
      Mphi attenuated LPS-induced PMN extravasation without affecting the levels of the
      chemokines murine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and KC measured in the
      lavage fluids. In contrast, MC depletion inhibited PMN accumulation and murine
      monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and KC production in the zymosan peritonitis
      model. Removal of Mphi augmented the accumulation of PMN elicited by the latter
      stimulus. This was due to an inhibitory action of Mphi-derived IL-10 because
      there was 1) a time-dependent release of IL-10 in the zymosan exudates; 2) a
      reduction in IL-10 levels following Mphi, but not MC, depletion; and 3) an
      increased PMN influx and chemokine production in IL-10 knockout mice. In
      conclusion, we propose a stimulus-dependent role of resident MCs in chemokine
      production and the existence of a regulatory loop between endogenous IL-10 and
      the chemokine-mediated cellular component of acute inflammation.

PMID- 9973431
TI  - Role of p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase in spontaneous apoptosis of human
      neutrophils.
AB  - Neutrophils constitutively undergo apoptosis at both normal and inflamed sites:
      an important process that limits the toxic potential of the neutrophil. However,
      the signal pathway for neutrophil apoptosis is currently unknown. In this study,
      we evaluated the role of p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the
      spontaneous apoptosis of neutrophils in vitro. We found that p38-MAPK was
      constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated and activated during spontaneous apoptosis
      of neutrophils. Inhibition of p38-MAPK by SB203580 and an antisense
      oligonucleotide delayed apoptosis by approximately 24 h. The antioxidants
      catalase and N-acetylcysteine delayed neutrophil apoptosis, but failed to inhibit
      phosphorylation and activation of p38-MAPK. Granulocyte-macrophage CSF and anti
      Fas Ab, which altered the rate of apoptosis, did not affect phosphorylation and
      activation of p38-MAPK. These results suggest that the constitutive
      phosphorylation and activation of p38-MAPK are involved in the program of
      spontaneous apoptosis in neutrophils.

PMID- 9973432
TI  - Negative feedback between prostaglandin and alpha- and beta-chemokine synthesis
      in human microglial cells and astrocytes.
AB  - The understanding of immune surveillance and inflammation regulation in cerebral
      tissue is essential in the therapy of neuroimmunological disorders. We
      demonstrate here that primary human glial cells were able to produce alpha- and
      beta-chemokines (IL-8 > growth related protein alpha (GROalpha) >> RANTES >
      microphage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha and MIP-1beta) in parallel to PGs
      (PGE2 and PGF2alpha) after proinflammatory cytokine stimulation: TNF-alpha + IL
      1beta induced all except RANTES, which was induced by TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma.
      Purified cultures of astrocytes and microglia were also induced by the same
      combination of cytokines, to produce all these mediators except MIP-1alpha and
      MIP-1beta, which were produced predominantly by astrocytes. The inhibition of PG
      production by indomethacin led to a 37-60% increase in RANTES, MIP-1alpha, and
      MIP-1beta but not in GROalpha and IL-8 secretion. In contrast, inhibition of IL-8
      and GRO activities using neutralizing Abs resulted in a specific 6-fold increase
      in PGE2 but not in PGF2alpha production by stimulated microglial cells and
      astrocytes, whereas Abs to beta-chemokines had no effect. Thus, the production of
      PGs in human glial cells down-regulates their beta-chemokine secretion, whereas
      alpha-chemokine production in these cells controls PG secretion level. These data
      suggest that under inflammatory conditions, the intraparenchymal production of
      PGs could control chemotactic gradient of beta-chemokines for an appropriate
      effector cell recruitment or activation. Conversely, the elevated intracerebral
      alpha-chemokine levels could reduce PG secretion, preventing the exacerbation of
      inflammation and neurotoxicity.

PMID- 9973433
TI  - Vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating
      polypeptide enhance IL-10 production by murine macrophages: in vitro and in vivo
      studies.
AB  - Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a neuropeptide present in the lymphoid
      microenvironment, and the structurally related pituitary adenylate cyclase
      activating polypeptide (PACAP) act as potent anti-inflammatory agents that
      inhibit the function of activated macrophages and TH cells. Previous reports
      showed that VIP/PACAP inhibit IL-6 and TNF-alpha production in LPS-stimulated
      macrophages. The present study reports on the effect of VIP/PACAP on IL-10
      production. Although VIP/PACAP do not induce IL-10 by themselves, they enhance IL
      10 production in LPS-stimulated macrophages. The specific VPAC1 receptor mediates
      the stimulatory effect of VIP/PACAP, and cAMP is the major second messenger
      involved. VIP/PACAP increase IL-10 mRNA in LPS-stimulated cells, and the effect
      of transcriptional and protein synthesis inhibitors indicates de novo IL-10
      production. Electromobility shift assays show that VIP/PACAP induce an increase
      in nuclear cAMP response element (CRE)-binding complexes, with CRE binding
      protein as the major active component. Treatments with either a VPAC1 antagonist
      or a protein kinase A inhibitor abolish IL-10 stimulation and, concomitantly, the
      increase in CRE binding. Effects similar to the in vitro stimulation of IL-10
      were obtained in vivo in mice treated with LPS and VIP or PACAP. The
      neuropeptides induce increased levels of IL-10 in both serum and peritoneal
      fluid, and increased expression of the IL-10 mRNA in peritoneal exudate cells.
      The stimulation of IL-10 production in activated macrophages represents a novel
      anti-inflammatory activity of VIP and PACAP, which presumably acts in vivo in
      conjunction with the inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF
      alpha to reduce the magnitude of the immune response.

PMID- 9973434
TI  - Resistance to Fas-mediated T cell apoptosis in asthma.
AB  - Over activation of CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood and airway tissues is
      characteristic of asthma; therefore, we investigated whether activated T cells
      from asthmatic subjects have altered apoptotic potential through the Fas death
      receptor. We found that mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood T cells of asthmatic
      subjects expressed cell surface Fas, but failed to undergo the normal degree of
      apoptosis after Fas receptor ligation. T cells from asthmatics exhibited normal
      apoptotic responses to gamma-irradiation (dependent on IL-1 converting enzyme
      family proteases), ceramide, and mitogen challenge, suggesting functional
      integrity of the apoptotic pathway. Furthermore, the defect in Fas-dependent
      apoptosis was overcome by prestimulation with allogeneic accessory cells instead
      of mitogen. Taken together, the findings suggest that selective resistance to Fas
      dependent apoptosis reflects altered Ag-driven, accessory cell-dependent
      signaling and that ineffective activation of Fas signal transduction may
      contribute to T cell-dependent immunoinflammation in asthma.

PMID- 9973435
TI  - A transgenic model to analyze the immunoregulatory role of IL-10 secreted by
      antigen-presenting cells.
AB  - IL-10 is a cytokine secreted by a wide variety of cells type that has pleiotropic
      stimulatory and suppressive activities on both lymphoid and myeloid cells in
      vitro. To analyze the consequences of high IL-10 secretion by APCs in immune
      responses, we produced transgenic mice expressing human IL-10 directed by the MHC
      class II Ea promoter. Despite alterations in the development of T and B cells, no
      gross abnormalities were detected in peripheral lymphocyte populations or serum
      Ig levels. However, when immunized using conditions that give either a Th2-type
      or a Th1-type response, IL-10 transgenic mice failed to mount a significant T or
      B cell immune response to OVA. IL-10 transgenic mice were also highly susceptible
      to infection with intracellular pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes or
      Leishmania major, in contrast to IL-10 transgenic mice, where the transgene was
      express in T cells. Finally, the recently described stimulatory effect of IL-10
      on CD8+ T cells was confirmed by the ability of IL-10 transgenic mice to limit
      the growth of immunogenic tumors by a CTL-mediated mechanism. These results
      demonstrate, that, depending on the type of immune response, IL-10 can mediate
      immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory activities in vivo.

PMID- 9973436
TI  - A hsp70-2 mutation recognized by CTL on a human renal cell carcinoma.
AB  - We performed T cell cloning experiments with a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte
      subpopulation derived from a renal cell carcinoma tumor site (RCC-7) in which the
      TCR clonotypic repertoire had been analyzed in terms of TCRBV complementarity
      determining region 3 size distribution. We report in this work the
      characterization of one of the five RCC-specific MHC class I-restricted CTL
      clones isolated in RCC-7. This TCRBV6J1S1 CTL recognized only the autologous RCC
      7 tumor cell line in the context of HLA-A*0201, and the Ag is encoded by a
      mutated form of the hsp70-2 gene found in the tumor cells, but not in autologous
      PBLs nor in 47 other tumors. The identification of this gene was achieved by
      cotransfecting into COS cells a cDNA library of RCC-7 together with HLA-A*0201.
      Transfectants expressing the Ag were identified by their ability to stimulate TNF
      release by the CTL clone. The antigenic peptide is a decamer with a mutated
      residue at position 8. Half-maximal lysis was obtained with only 5 x 10(-11) M of
      decapeptide in target sensitization assays compared with 5 x 10(-8) M for the
      wild-type decapeptide. This difference in recognition was not related to
      difference in binding HLA-A*0201-presenting molecules, as assessed in an
      immunofluorescence-based peptide-binding assay using T2 cells. Constitutive hsp70
      expression in various tumors suggests that this stress-induced protein may be
      recognized in situ by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. The finding in the tumor of
      a mutated form of the stress-induced hsp70-2 gene whose product is specifically
      recognized by TILs with high avidity is discussed in view of the present use of
      mycobacteria or heterologous heat-shock proteins as immunomodulators or as
      subunit vaccine candidates.

PMID- 9973437
TI  - Novel HLA-Cw8-restricted T cell epitopes derived from tyrosinase-related protein
      2 and gp100 melanoma antigens.
AB  - The identification of T cell epitopes presented by alternative HLA-B and -C
      alleles may provide a means to counteract the tumor escape mechanism based on the
      selection of tumor cells no longer susceptible to HLA-A-restricted T cell
      recognition. Several T cell clones and lines were obtained from T lymphocytes
      purified from melanoma-infiltrated or noninfiltrated lymph nodes of a patient who
      remained disease free 8 yr after surgery. Selected T cells recognized the
      autologous melanoma as evaluated by direct cytolysis and production of cytokines.
      These effectors were directed against the tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2)
      and gp100 melanoma epitopes restricted by HLA-Cw8. The nonamer and decamer
      peptides containing the sequence ANDPIFVVL (residues 387-395) of TRP-2 and the
      octamer, nonamer, and decamer peptides containing the sequence SNDGPTLI (residues
      71-78) of gp100 reconstituted the epitope for TRP-2- and gp100-specific T cell
      lines and clones, respectively. However, only the nonameric form of TRP-2 and the
      nonameric and octameric forms of gp100 were able to induce peptide-specific T
      cells recognizing the autologous tumor in an HLA-class I-restricted fashion from
      PBMC of the melanoma patient studied. Together these data indicate that HLA-Cw8
      can restrict the recognition of gp100 and TRP-2 epitopes by CTL, and that such
      peptides could stimulate a patient's PBL, suggesting that these Ags could have
      contributed to a systemic immunity against melanoma.

PMID- 9973438
TI  - Changes in the fine specificity of gp100(209-217)-reactive T cells in patients
      following vaccination with a peptide modified at an HLA-A2.1 anchor residue.
AB  - In a recent clinical trial, HLA-A2+ melanoma patients were vaccinated with a
      peptide derived from the melanoma Ag gp100, which had been modified at the second
      position (g9-209 2M) to enhance MHC binding affinity. Vaccination led to a
      significant increase in lymphocyte precursors in 10 of 11 patients but did not
      result in objective cancer responses. We observed that some postvaccination PBMC
      cultures were less reactive with tumor cells than they were with g9-209 peptide
      pulsed T2 cells. In contrast, g9-209-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte
      cultures generally reacted equally with tumor cells and g9-209 peptide-pulsed T2
      cells. To investigate this difference in T cell reactivity, T cell cloids derived
      from the PBMC of three patients vaccinated with g9-209 2M were compared with T
      cell cloids isolated from g9-209-reactive TIL cultures. All of the T cell cloids
      obtained from TIL reacted with HLA-A2+, gp100+ melanoma cell lines as well as
      with g9-209 and g9-209 2M peptide-pulsed targets. In contrast, only 3 of 20 PBMC
      derived T cell cloids reacted with melanoma cell lines in addition to g9-209 and
      to g9-209 2M peptide-pulsed targets. Twelve of twenty PBMC-derived cloids reacted
      with g9-209 and g9-209 2M peptide-pulsed targets but not with melanoma cell
      lines. And 5 of 20 PBMC-derived cloids recognized only the g9-209 2M-modified
      peptide-pulsed targets. These results suggest that immunizing patients with the
      modified peptide affected the T cell repertoire by expanding an array of T cells
      with different fine specificities, only some of which recognized melanoma cells.

PMID- 9973439
TI  - Biased TCR repertoire in infiltrating lesional T cells in human Bancroftian
      filariasis.
AB  - To investigate the hypothesis that T cells recognizing specific Ags localize to
      the site of disease activity in human bancroftian filariasis, we have compared
      the repertoire of TCR Vbeta gene segments in lesions vs blood in individual
      patients by RT-PCR ELISA. Vbeta14 and Vbeta24 were overrepresented (5% greater in
      tissue compared with PBMCs and/or tissue/PBMC ratios in the highest 5% of all
      tissue/PBMC ratios for all Vbetas for all subjects) in 50% and 40% of study
      subjects, respectively. Overrepresentation of these two Vbetas did not occur in
      any control subject. In comparing three patient groups, the proportion of
      individuals meeting at least one criterion for Vbeta14 overrepresentation was
      shown to increase in tandem with our current concepts of disease progression
      (asymptomatic filariasis = 25%; clinical filariasis with active infection = 60%;
      clinical filariasis without active infection = 71%). In 6 of the 10 individuals
      with Vbeta14 overrepresentation, Vbeta14 represented >20% of the entire lesional
      Vbeta repertoire. All but one of the 20 study subjects had at least one Vbeta
      gene segment that was overrepresented in tissue compared with PBMCs. Only a small
      number of Vbetas, usually three or less, were overrepresented in any single
      filariasis patient. However, in the same tissue, no differences between patient
      groups were found when IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-12 mRNA
      expression were examined. Taken together, these findings suggest that, in
      principle, in essentially all patients, whether with subclinical or with clinical
      filariasis, distinct and limited T cell populations are concentrated in affected
      tissue.

PMID- 9973440
TI  - Direct analysis of viral-specific CD8+ T cells with soluble HLA-A2/Tax11-19
      tetramer complexes in patients with human T cell lymphotropic virus-associated
      myelopathy.
AB  - Human T cell lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy is a slowly
      progressive neurologic disease characterized by inflammatory infiltrates in the
      central nervous system accompanied by clonal expansion of HTLV-I-reactive CD8+ T
      cells. In patients carrying the HLA-A2 allele, the immune response is primarily
      directed to the Tax11-19 peptide. The frequency, activation state, and TCR usage
      of HLA-A2/Tax11-19 binding T cells in patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy
      was determined using MHC class I tetramers loaded with the Tax11-19 peptide.
      Circulating Tax11-19-reactive T cells were found at very high frequencies,
      approaching 1:10 circulating CD8+ T cells. T cells binding HLA-A2/Tax11-19
      consisted of heterogeneous populations expressing different chemokine receptors
      and the IL-2R beta-chain but not the IL-2R alpha-chain. Additionally, Tax11-19
      reactive CD8+ T cells used one predominant TCR Vbeta-chain for the recognition of
      the HLA-A2/Tax11-19 complex. These data provide direct evidence for high
      frequencies of circulating Tax11-19-reactive CD8+ T cells in patients with HTLV-I
      associated myelopathy.

PMID- 9973441
TI  - Integrin engagement regulates proliferation and collagenase expression of
      rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts.
AB  - Growth of and metalloproteinase production by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs)
      in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) contribute to cartilage and bone
      destruction associated with development of the expanding inflammatory tissue
      referred to as pannus. Increased levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in
      the pannus suggest that intracellular signals generated through integrin
      receptors might control these processes. We developed a cell culture system
      permitting accurate assessment of the effect of cell adhesion to various ECM
      proteins on FLS phenotype. We show that FLS proliferation to platelet-derived
      growth factor requires a second signal provided by adhesion to an ECM protein.
      Fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen, or laminin could provide the second signal
      and was similarly required for the proliferation of FLSs from RA or
      osteoarthritis patients. Adhesion to fibronectin, collagen, or Arg-Gly-Asp
      peptide down-regulated collagenase expression. Primarily alphav integrin
      receptors mediated this down-regulation upon adhesion to fibronectin. Loss of
      cell adhesion and TNF-alpha stimulation synergistically increased collagenase
      expression. Increased collagenase expression upon nonadherence was mimicked by
      treatment with cytochalasin B, suggesting that the loss of cytoskeletal structure
      associated with a change in cell shape mediates increased collagenase in
      nonadherent cells. Thus, although increased fibronectin in the lining layer in RA
      might be expected to inhibit collagenase expression, the change in cell shape
      associated with this multilayer structure might actually lead to increased
      collagenase expression.

PMID- 9973442
TI  - Frequency of class I HLA-restricted anti-HIV CD8+ T cells in individuals
      receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
AB  - Peptide/MHC tetrameric complexes were used to enumerate the frequency of HLA
      class I-restricted epitope-specific CD8+ T cells in 18 HLA-A*0201 HIV type 1
      infected asymptomatic patients. HLA-A*0201 molecules were complexed to HIV Gag
      p17 (amino acids 77-85) and reverse transcriptase (amino acids 464-472) peptides,
      biotinylated, and bound to streptavidin-phycoerythrin to form tetramers. We show
      in this study that 17 of 18 HIV-1-infected asymptomatic patients have circulating
      frequencies of 1/50-1/1000 CD8+ T cells that recognize both Gag and Pol CTL
      epitopes or either epitope alone. The functional nature of these cells is open to
      interpretation, as we show that despite relatively high frequencies of fresh
      epitope-specific CD8+ T cells, variant epitope sequences in viral plasma progeny
      were rare. In addition, the majority of tetramer-positive cells did not display
      discernible fresh CTL activity; only after restimulation with specific peptide in
      culture was there an expansion of epitope-specific CD8+ cells, correlating with
      high CTL activity. These data suggest that fresh tetramer-stained cells probably
      represent memory precursors; we demonstrate, with the application of highly
      active antiretroviral therapy, that the interruption of chronic antigenic
      stimulation causes significant reductions in the frequency of these cells in five
      of six patients. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that persistently
      replicating viral populations are probably required to maintain high frequencies
      of HIV-1 epitope-specific CD8+ T cells in asymptomatic chronically infected
      individuals

PMID- 9973443
TI  - Immune-mediated destruction of melanocytes in halo nevi is associated with the
      local expansion of a limited number of T cell clones.
AB  - The beta-chain repertoire of the T cells that infiltrate spontaneously regressing
      nevi (the halo nevus phenomenon) was studied. In addition to the infiltration of
      the halo nevi by cutaneous lymphocyte-associated Ag-positive lymphocytes,
      oligoclonal expansion of T cells was observed in all halo nevi of all patients. T
      cells using the same TCR beta-chain were observed in distinct halo nevi of the
      same patient but not in his peripheral blood, demonstrating a local expansion of
      common clones that are most likely activated by the Ag(s) shared by independent
      halo nevi of the same patient.

PMID- 9973444
TI  - Signs of immaturity of splenic dendritic cells from the autoimmune prone
      biobreeding rat: consequences for the in vitro expansion of regulator and
      effector T cells.
AB  - From the biobreeding-diabetic prone (BB-DP) rat, an animal model for endocrine
      autoimmunity, phenotype and function of splenic dendritic cells (DC) were
      studied. Furthermore, the suppressive effect of peritoneal macrophages (pMphi)
      from the BB-DP rat in the MLR was investigated. Lower numbers of splenic DC were
      isolated from BB-DP rats than from control Wistar rats. In the preautoimmune
      phase, DC of the BB-DP rat had a lower surface MHC class II expression (and in
      preliminary data, a lower CD80 expression), ingested more bacteria, and had a
      lower stimulatory potency in the syngeneic (syn)MLR as compared with control DC.
      During disease development, the MHC class II expression further decreased, and a
      low stimulatory activity became evident in the allogeneic (allo)MLR. With regard
      to the expansion of suppressor/regulatory T cells, a lower percentage of RT6+ T
      cells but higher percentages of CD45RClow T cells were induced by BB-DP DC in
      synMLR, but not in alloMLR. An increase in the CD4/CD8 T cell ratio was observed
      in both the syn- and alloMLR due to a relative weak expansion of CD8+ T cells
      with DC of the BB-DP rat. Resident pMphi isolated from BB-DP or Wistar rats were
      equally effective in suppressing the DC-driven synMLR. In conclusion, splenic DC
      from the BB-DP rat have a lower accessory cell function already at young age,
      before the development of disease, and expanded different subsets of
      effector/suppressor T cells in vitro as compared with those from Wistar rats. The
      dysfunction of DC from BB-DP rats is likely to be caused by their relative
      immaturity as indicated by their low class II and costimulatory molecule
      expression and relatively high phagocytic activity.

PMID- 9973445
TI  - Mimicry between the hepatitis B virus DNA polymerase and the antigenic targets of
      nuclear and smooth muscle antibodies in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
AB  - Autoantibodies to nuclear and smooth muscle are common in hepatitis B virus (HBV)
      infection. To understand their origin, we scanned protein databases and found
      that HBV-DNA polymerase (HBV-pol) shares 7-9 amino acid sequences with nuclear
      (MHC II trans-activator, nuclear pore core protein, nuclear mitotic apparatus,
      and polymyositis sclerosis Ag) and smooth muscle proteins (caldesmon and myosin).
      Twenty-mer peptides with relevant homologues and an irrelevant control peptide
      were constructed and ELISAs were established. Sixty-five children with chronic
      HBV infection, 104 patients with other chronic liver diseases (CLD), 36 patients
      with extrahepatic autoimmune diseases, and 24 healthy controls were investigated.
      Double reactivity to HBV-pol peptides and corresponding self homologues was
      observed in 40% of HBV-positive patients as compared with four (4%) with other
      chronic liver diseases, two (6%) with extrahepatic autoimmune diseases, and in
      none of the healthy controls (p < 0.001 for all). Double reactivity to myosin or
      caldesmon peptides and their HBV-pol homologues was associated with anti-smooth
      muscle Ab positivity by immunofluorescence (p < 0.05 for both). HBV-positive sera
      double reactive for myosin or caldesmon and their homologous HBV-pol peptides
      also reacted with the native proteins on immunoblot. Fifty to ninety percent Ab
      inhibition to individual HBV-pol and HBV-pol99-118 peptides was noted by
      preincubation with individual HBV-pol/self homologue peptide and native proteins,
      respectively, but not with control peptide. Our results show that cross-reactive
      immunity targeting homologous sequences of viral and self proteins may partly
      account for autoantibody production in HBV infection.

PMID- 9973446
TI  - Identification of autoimmune T cells among in vivo expanded CD25+ T cells in
      multiple sclerosis.
AB  - Although clonal expansion of autoimmune T cells has been reported in multiple
      sclerosis (MS), very limited information is available on specificities, clonal
      size, or activation state of the expanded clones. Here we address the issue of
      clonal expansion by using a novel technique demonstrating clonotypes defined by
      single-strand conformation polymorphism of TCR beta-chain cDNAs. Examination of
      activated T cells (CD3+CD25+) isolated from the peripheral blood of MS revealed
      limited numbers (20 approximately 82) of expanded clones defined by single-strand
      conformation polymorphism clonotype. To estimate the Ag specificities of dominant
      clonotypes in the activated T cells, these samples were examined in parallel with
      Th1 T cell clones specific for myelin basic protein or proteolipid protein (PLP)
      derived from the same patients. Analysis of two patients demonstrated that the
      dominant clonotypes would contain those specific for myelin basic protein or PLP.
      Although the majority of the clonotypes could be detected only transiently, a
      PLP95-116-specific clonotype was found to persist for over 1 yr. Thus, single
      strand conformation polymorphism clonotype analysis allows us to monitor the
      kinetics of given T cell clones in vivo and could provide useful information for
      designing clonotype (Id)-specific manipulation of human diseases such as MS.

PMID- 9973448
TI  - A re-evaluation of the frequency of CD8+ T cells specific for EBV in healthy
      virus carriers.
AB  - EBV is a gammaherpesvirus that can establish both nonproductive (latent) and
      productive (lytic) infections within the cells of its host. Although T cell
      responses to EBV latent proteins have been well characterized, little is known
      about the importance of responses to lytic proteins in long term virus carriers.
      Here we have compared the frequencies of CD8+ T cells specific for EBV latent and
      lytic Ags in healthy virus carriers, using three techniques: limiting dilution
      analysis, enzyme-linked immunospot assay, and FACS staining with tetrameric MHC
      peptide complexes. T cells specific for EBV lytic protein epitopes were readily
      detectable in all donors and were usually more abundant than those specific for
      latent epitopes. We infer that direct T cell control of viral replicative lesions
      is maintained in long term carriers of EBV and is an important component of the
      immune response to this virus. Estimates of CD8+ T cell frequencies varied
      considerably according to methodology; values obtained from MHC-peptide tetramer
      staining were, on the average, 4.4-fold higher than those obtained from enzyme
      linked immunospot assays, which were, in turn, on the average, 5.3-fold higher
      than those obtained from limiting dilution analysis. Tetramer staining showed
      that as many as 5.5% circulating CD8+ T cells in a virus carrier were specific
      for a single EBV lytic protein epitope. Such values are much greater than
      previously imagined and illustrate how antigenic challenge from a persistent
      herpesvirus can influence the composition of the host's CD8+ T cell pool.

PMID- 9973447
TI  - Blocking OX-40/OX-40 ligand interaction in vitro and in vivo leads to decreased T
      cell function and amelioration of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.
AB  - The OX-40R is a member of the TNF receptor family and is expressed primarily on
      activated CD4+ T cells. When the OX-40R is engaged by the OX-40 ligand (OX-40L),
      a potent costimulatory signal occurs. We have identified a population of CD11b+
      cells, isolated from the central nervous system (CNS) of mice with actively
      induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), that expresses OX-40L.
      Moreover, the expression of OX-40L was found to be associated with paralytic
      episodes of EAE and was reduced or absent at disease recovery. These CD11b+ cells
      also coexpressed B7 and MHC class II. Therefore, to address the relative
      contributions of OX-40R/OX-40L and CD28/B7 to the costimulation of myelin
      specific T cells, blocking studies were performed using soluble OX-40R and/or
      soluble CTLA-4. CD11b+ cells isolated from the CNS of mice with actively induced
      EAE were able to present Ag to proteolipid protein 139-151-specific T cell lines
      in vitro. The addition of soluble OX-40R:Ig to CD11b+ brain microglia/macrophages
      inhibited T cell proliferation by 50-70%. The addition of CTLA-4:Ig inhibited T
      cell proliferation by 20-30%, and the combination inhibited T cell proliferation
      by 95%. In vivo administration of soluble OX-40R at the onset of actively induced
      or adoptively transferred EAE reduced ongoing signs of disease, and the mice
      recovered more quickly from acute disease. The data imply that OX-40L, expressed
      by CNS-derived APC, acts to provide an important costimulatory signal to EAE
      effector T cells found within the inflammatory lesions. Furthermore, the data
      suggest that agents designed to inhibit the OX-40L/OX-40R complex may be useful
      for treating autoimmune disease.

PMID- 9973449
TI  - An altered peptide ligand specifically inhibits Th2 cytokine synthesis by
      abrogating TCR signaling.
AB  - Altered peptide ligands (APL) can modify T cell effector function by their
      diversity in binding to the TCR or MHC class II-presenting molecules. The
      capacity to inhibit Th2 cytokine production by allergen-specific T cells would
      contribute to combating allergic inflammation. The presence of APL generated by
      Ala-substitutions in a synthetic dodeca-peptide spanning an immunodominant
      epitope of bee venom phospholipase A2 (PLA) was investigated in human T cells.
      Four of five substituted peptides reduced proliferation, IL-4, and IFN-gamma
      production by cloned PLA-specific Th0 cells proportionately. However, one APL,
      PLA-F82A, inhibited IL-4 but had no effect on IFN-gamma production. This
      uncoupling of IL-4 from IFN-gamma production was also observed on immunogenic
      restimulation of the cloned T cells pre-exposed to the APL/APCs. It appeared to
      result from lower affinity of binding to MHC class II by the APL compared with
      the native peptide. The APL also inhibited IL-4 production by polyclonal T cells.
      In consequence of the change in cytokine secretion, the production of IgG4 in
      vitro increased by PLA-F82A stimulation, compared with the native peptide.
      Exposure of the cloned T cells to either the APL or the native peptide, in the
      absence of professional APC, induced anergy such that proliferation and
      production of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 was abrogated on immunogenic rechallenge.
      Defective T cell activation appeared to result from alterations in transmembrane
      signaling through the TCR, specifically to lack of tyrosine phosphorylation of
      the tyrosine kinase, ZAP-70.

PMID- 9973450
TI  - Clonal expansion of CD4+ TCRbetabeta+ T cells in TCR alpha-chain- deficient mice
      by gut-derived antigens.
AB  - A population of CD4+ alpha-beta+ T cells increases in the mucosal and peripheral
      lymphoid tissues of TCRalpha-chain-deficient mice with inflammatory bowel
      disease. The alpha-beta+ T cells, which produce predominantly IL-4, mediate the
      proliferation of colonic epithelial crypts and the infiltration of large numbers
      of IgA-producing plasma cells into the lamina propria of the colon. To examine
      whether enteric Ags were recognized by a population of monoclonal alpha-beta+ T
      cells leading to the intestinal inflammation, we examined the usage and
      clonotypes of TCR expressed by the alpha-beta+ T cells in TCRalpha-chain
      deficient mice with inflammatory bowel disease. Analyses of immunoprecipitates by
      two dimensional electrophoresis and single-cell RT-PCR revealed that TCR of the
      alpha-beta+ T cells was a homodimer of beta-chains that was capable of
      recognizing luminal bacterial Ags. PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism
      analysis of TCR Vbeta transcripts revealed monoclonal accumulation of the alpha
      beta+ T cells in the colonic lamina propria of the diseased mice. DNA sequencing
      revealed the accumulation of the alpha-beta+ T cells with the same CDR3 sequences
      in the colon. These findings suggest that the pathogenic CD4+ alpha-beta+ T cells
      expressing a homodimeric form of the TCRbeta-chains can be clonally expanded upon
      the stimulation with gut-derived Ags.

PMID- 9973451
TI  - CD1 expression by dendritic cells in human leprosy lesions: correlation with
      effective host immunity.
AB  - A potential role for the CD1 family of lipid Ag-presenting molecules in
      antimicrobial immunity in vivo was investigated in human leprosy skin lesions.
      Strong induction of three CD1 proteins (CD1a, -b, and -c) was observed in dermal
      granulomas in biopsy samples of involved skin from patients with the tuberculoid
      form of leprosy or with reversal reactions, which represent clinical patterns of
      disease associated with active cellular immunity to Mycobacterium leprae. In
      contrast, lesions from patients with the lepromatous form of the disease who lack
      effective cell-mediated immunity to the pathogen did not show induction of CD1
      proteins. Thus, expression of CD1 correlated directly with effective immunity to
      M. leprae, as assessed by the clinical course of infection. CD1a, -b, and -c
      could be induced to similar levels on monocytes from the blood of either
      tuberculoid or lepromatous leprosy patients. This suggested that the absence of
      expression in lepromatous lesions was most likely due to local factors at the
      site of infection as opposed to a primary defect of the CD1 system itself. The
      majority of cells expressing CD1 in leprosy lesions were identified as a
      population of CD83+ dendritic cells. Initial in vitro studies of the Ag
      presenting function of CD1+CD83+ monocyte-derived dendritic cells showed that
      such cells were highly efficient APCs for CD1-restricted T cells. These results
      indicate that the CD1 system can be up-regulated in human infectious diseases in
      vivo, and may play a role in augmenting host defense against microbial pathogens.

PMID- 9973452
TI  - B7.2 has opposing roles during the activation versus effector stages of
      experimental autoimmune thyroiditis.
AB  - APCs provide costimulatory and down-regulatory signals to Ag-activated T cells
      through interactions between B7.1 and B7.2 on APCs with either CD28 or CTL Ag-4
      expressed on T cells. Recipients of mouse thyroglobulin (MTg)-primed spleen cells
      activated in the presence of anti-B7.2 had decreased experimental autoimmune
      thyroiditis (EAT) severity compared with recipients of cells cultured with
      control rat Ig or anti-B7.1. Blocking B7.2 during in vivo priming also suppressed
      the ability of MTg-primed spleen cells to transfer EAT, implicating a role for
      B7.2 for priming and in vitro activation of EAT effector cells. In contrast,
      administration of anti-B7.2 or anti-B7.2 Fab to recipients of MTg-activated
      spleen cells increased the severity of EAT compared with recipients receiving
      control Ig. Thyroids from anti-B7.2-treated recipients had increased expression
      of IL-4 mRNA compared with thyroids from rat Ig-treated controls. Both B7.1 and
      B7.2 molecules were expressed in the thyroids of mice with EAT, although B7.2 was
      more prevalent than B7.1. Administration of both anti-B7.1 and anti-B7.2 to
      recipient mice suppressed the development of EAT, while anti-B7.1 treatment alone
      had no effect on EAT severity. The suppression of EAT was not observed when anti
      B7.1 and anti-B7.2 treatment was delayed until 7 days after cell transfer,
      suggesting a requirement for B7 in the initiation of EAT in recipient mice. These
      results suggest that costimulation is required during the effector phase of EAT
      and that B7.2 may have opposing roles in the activation versus effector stages of
      autoreactive T cells.

PMID- 9973453
TI  - Cutting edge: the CD45 tyrosine phosphatase is an inhibitor of Lck activity in
      thymocytes.
AB  - A widely accepted model for regulation of the Lck tyrosine kinase is that it is
      activated by CD45-mediated dephosphorylation of its COOH-terminal negative
      regulatory tyrosine (Tyr505). Previous work from our laboratory, however, found
      that despite hyperphosphorylation of Tyr505, the activity of Lck from CD45- T
      cell lines was actually increased due to hyperphosphorylation of the positive
      regulatory tyrosine, residue 394. To avoid potential complications introduced by
      transformed cells, in this study we have characterized the effect of CD45 on Lck
      activity in normal cells. Lck in thymocytes from CD45-/- mice was
      hyperphosphorylated on tyrosine residues. Importantly, and in disagreement with
      the model that CD45 only activates Lck in vivo, the kinase activity of Lck from
      cells lacking CD45 was substantially increased. These results support a model in
      which CD45 dephosphorylates both Tyr505 and Tyr394, the net effect in normal
      thymocytes being a decrease in enzymatic activity.

PMID- 9973454
TI  - Cutting edge: chronic intestinal inflammation in STAT-4 transgenic mice:
      characterization of disease and adoptive transfer by TNF- plus IFN-gamma
      producing CD4+ T cells that respond to bacterial antigens.
AB  - We generated transgenic mice for STAT-4, a regulatory protein specifically
      associated with IL-12 signaling, under the control of a CMV promoter. These mice
      expressed strikingly increased nuclear STAT-4 levels in lamina propria CD4+ T
      lymphocytes upon systemic administration of dinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet
      hemocyanin and developed chronic transmural colitis characterized by infiltrates
      of mainly CD4+ T lymphocytes. The latter cells produced predominantly TNF and IFN
      gamma but not IL-4 upon activation with alphaCD3/CD28 or autologous bacterial
      Ags, consistent with a Th1-type cell response. Furthermore, chronic colitis in
      STAT-4 transgenic mice could be adoptively transferred to SCID mice by colonic
      and splenic CD4+ T cells that were activated with Ags from autologous bacterial
      flora. These data establish a critical molecular signaling pathway involving STAT
      4 for the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation, and targeting of this
      pathway may be relevant for the treatment of colitis in humans.

PMID- 9973455
TI  - Fas ligand and Fas are expressed constitutively in human astrocytes and the
      expression increases with IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha, or IFN-gamma.
AB  - Fas ligand (FasL) and Fas are mediators of apoptosis, which are implicated in the
      peripheral deletion of autoimmune cells, activation-induced T cell death, and
      cytotoxicity mediated by CD8+ T cells. Fas is also believed to be involved in
      several central nervous system diseases, but until now, the effector cells
      expressing FasL in the brain have not been identified. We investigated the
      expression levels of Fas and FasL with the stimulation of cytokines and the
      possible effector cells targeting Fas-bearing cells. Our data demonstrated that:
      1) FasL is expressed constitutively on astrocytes taken from a fetus or an adult
      and that its expression increases when these cells are treated with IL-1, IL-6,
      or TNF-alpha in which the pretreatment of IFN-gamma triggers astrocytes to
      express more FasL; 2) astrocytes induce apoptosis in MOLT-4 cells through FasL;
      3) Fas is also expressed constitutively and is up-regulated by IL-1, IL-6, or TNF
      alpha in which the pretreatment of IFN-gamma triggers astrocytes to express more
      Fas; 4) apoptosis occurs when fetal astrocytes are treated with agonistic anti
      Fas IgM Ab after culture with IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha; and 5) TNF-related
      apoptosis inducing ligand is up-regulated in fetal astrocytes with stimuli of IL
      1 or TNF-alpha. These findings suggest a possible role of astrocytes in the
      induction of apoptosis in central nervous system diseases.

PMID- 9973456
TI  - Differential effects of IL-2 and IL-15 on the death and survival of activated TCR
      gamma delta+ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes.
AB  - TCR gamma delta+ cells are enriched in the intestine mucosa and constitute
      approximately half of the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (iIEL) in mice.
      They are likely activated by self and foreign Ags in situ, but little is known
      about how the activated gamma delta iIEL are regulated. In the iIEL compartment,
      IL-2 is produced by activated TCR alpha beta+ iIEL, and IL-15 message is detected
      in iIEL and in the epithelial cells. We found surface expression of IL-2 as well
      as IL-15Rs on activated gamma delta iIEL, and examined the effects of IL-2 and IL
      15 on the survival and death of gamma delta iIEL during secondary stimulation
      through TCR. We found that both cytokines supported growth of the restimulated
      gamma delta iIEL, but exerted different effects on their survival. A significant
      higher number of live cells were recovered from the gamma delta iIEL cultures
      restimulated in IL-15 than in IL-2. Quantitation of apoptotic cells showed more
      cell death in the IL-2 group than in the IL-15 group. The cell death was
      associated with restimulation through TCR and was not caused by insufficient
      growth factor, thus representing activation-induced cell death. Western blot
      analyses found no difference in the levels of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins between the
      two groups. However, the level of Bcl-xL protein diminished with time in the IL-2
      group whereas the level was sustained in the IL-15 group, which may contribute to
      the pro-survival effect of IL-15. These results demonstrated that the survival of
      activated gamma delta iIEL is differentially regulated by IL-2 and IL-15.

PMID- 9973457
TI  - Mucosally induced systemic T cell unresponsiveness to ovalbumin requires CD40
      ligand-CD40 interactions.
AB  - CD40 ligand (CD40L) gene-disrupted (CD40L-/-) mice were employed to examine the
      role of costimulatory signals via CD40L-CD40 interactions in mucosally induced
      tolerance. CD40L-/- and control (CD40L+/+) mice of the same C57BL/6 x 129/J
      background were immunized orally with 25 mg of OVA before systemic challenge with
      OVA in CFA. While CD40L+/+ mice showed reductions in Ag-specific T cell responses
      including delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and proliferative responses, CD40L
      /- mice underwent normal T cell responses. Further, cytokine analysis of splenic
      CD4+ T cells showed that both Th1-type (e.g., IFN-gamma and IL-2) and Th2-type
      (e.g., IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10) responses were maintained in CD40L-/- mice
      orally immunized with OVA, whereas these cytokine responses in CD40L+/+ mice were
      significantly reduced. In addition, splenic CD4+ T cells from CD40L-/- mice
      orally immunized with OVA provided B cell help in Ag-specific Ab-forming cells
      when the cells were cultured with naive B cells in the presence of Ag and CD40L
      transfected cell lines. In contrast, an identical culture condition containing
      splenic CD4+ T cells from orally tolerized CD40L+/+ mice did not exhibit helper
      activity. Taken together, these findings indicate that CD40L and CD40
      interactions are essential for the induction of systemic T cell unresponsiveness
      to orally administered Ag.

PMID- 9973458
TI  - Direct delivery of the Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin to the MHC
      class I antigen presentation pathway.
AB  - Among bacterial toxins, the adenylate cyclase toxin of Bordetella pertussis
      (CyaA) has a unique mechanism of entry that consists in the direct translocation
      of its catalytic domain across the plasma membrane of target cell, a mechanism
      supposed to be independent of any endocytic pathway. Here, we report that the
      CyaA toxin is delivered to the cytosolic pathway for MHC class I-restricted Ag
      presentation. Using peritoneal macrophages as APC, we show that the OVA 257-264
      CD8+ epitope genetically inserted into a detoxified CyaA (CyaA-OVA E5) is
      presented to CD8+ T cells by a mechanism requiring 1) proteasome processing, 2)
      TAP, and 3) neosynthesis of MHC class I. We demonstrate that the presentation of
      CyaA-OVA E5, like the translocation of CyaA into eukaryotic cells, is dependent
      on extracellular Ca2+ and independent of vacuolar acidification. Moreover,
      inhibitors of the phagocytic and macropinocytic endocytic pathways do not affect
      the CyaA-OVA E5 presentation. The absence of specific cellular receptors for CyaA
      correlates with the ability of various APC to present the recombinant CyaA toxin,
      including dendritic cells, macrophages, splenocytes, and lymphoid tumoral lines.
      Taken together, our results show that the CyaA presentation pathway is not cell
      type specific and is unrelated to a defined type of endocytic mechanism. Thus, it
      represents a new and unconventional delivery of an exogenous Ag into the
      conventional cytosolic pathway.

PMID- 9973459
TI  - A genome-wide search identifies two susceptibility loci for experimental
      autoimmune encephalomyelitis on rat chromosomes 4 and 10.
AB  - Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an autoimmune disease of the
      central nervous system that exhibits many pathologic similarities with multiple
      sclerosis. The genetic loci that contribute to mononuclear cell infiltration of
      the central nervous system and clinical manifestations of EAE in the rat were
      investigated in the F2 progeny of the highly susceptible Lewis and resistant
      Brown Norway strains. The data confirmed that the Lewis allele of a MHC-linked
      gene is necessary, but not sufficient, to confer EAE susceptibility in the F2
      progeny. Subsequent analyses were thus restricted to the subset of the F2 animals
      with EAE-predisposing MHC genotypes. A genome-wide scan approach was performed
      using 103 microsatellite markers covering 85% of the genome. Two non-MHC regions
      were identified, one near the centromere of chromosome 4 and the other on the
      long arm of chromosome 10, that significantly contributed to the disease. In
      addition, three regions on chromosomes 9, 13, and 17 were suggestive for linkage.
      Congenic mapping is now needed to reduce the support intervals encoding the loci
      of interest to sizes amenable to physical mapping and to eventually demonstrate
      the involvement of some of the candidate genes of immunologic importance
      localized in these regions.

PMID- 9973460
TI  - TCR-independent pathways mediate the effects of antigen dose and altered peptide
      ligands on Th cell polarization.
AB  - We examined the role of the peptide/MHC ligand in CD4+ T cell differentiation
      into Th1 or Th2 cells using a TCR alphabeta transgenic mouse specific for
      hemoglobin (Hb)(64-76)/I-Ek. We identified two altered peptide ligands of Hb(64
      76) that retain strong agonist activity but, at a given dose, induce cytokine
      patterns distinct from the Hb(64-76) peptide. The ability of these peptides to
      produce distinct cytokine patterns at identical doses is not due to an intrinsic
      qualitative property. Each peptide can induce Th2 cytokines at low concentrations
      and Th1 cytokines at high concentrations and has a unique range of concentrations
      at which these distinct effects occur. The pattern of cytokines produced from
      limiting dilution of naive T cells demonstrated that the potential to develop an
      individual Th1 or Th2 cell is stochastic, independent of Ag dose. We propose that
      the basis for the observed effects on the Th1/Th2 balance shown by the altered
      peptide ligands and the amount of Ag dose involves the modification of soluble
      factors in bulk cultures that are the driving force that polarize the population
      to either a Th1 or Th2 phenotype.

PMID- 9973461
TI  - Regulation of cell survival during B lymphopoiesis: apoptosis and Bcl-2/Bax
      content of precursor B cells in bone marrow of mice with altered expression of IL
      7 and recombinase-activating gene-2.
AB  - B cell development in mouse bone marrow depends critically upon IL-7. To examine
      the possible in vivo trophic role of IL-7, we have quantitated apoptosis and Bcl
      2 family proteins in populations of phenotypically defined B lineage cells in IL
      7-deficient and IL-7-overexpressing mice. Using immunofluorescence labeling,
      multiparameter flow cytometry, and a short-term culture assay, we show that the
      apoptotic rates of precursor B cells, but not of more mature B cells, are
      enhanced by IL-7 gene deletion, associated with increased intracellular content
      of Bax and decreased Bcl-2, while, conversely, an IL-7 transgene suppresses
      precursor B cell apoptosis and produces low Bax and high Bcl-2 levels. During
      normal B cell development, high Bax/Bcl-2 ratios characterize cells undergoing
      greatest apoptotic cell death. Pro-B cells in RAG-2-/- mice, all destined to
      abort, show elevated Bax levels and Bax/Bcl-2 ratios. By comparison with the
      elevated rate of pro-B cell apoptosis in RAG-2-/- mice, provisional estimates
      have been made for the fraction of pro-B cells undergoing apoptosis in normal
      mice (70%), IL-7-/- mice (85%), and IL-7 transgenic mice (35%). The results
      demonstrate that IL-7 strongly promotes in vivo cell survival and maintains
      antiapoptotic Bcl-2/Bax ratios during the development of precursor B cells in
      mouse bone marrow.

PMID- 9973462
TI  - The p65 subunit of NF-kappa B is redundant with p50 during B cell proliferative
      responses, and is required for germline CH transcription and class switching to
      IgG3.
AB  - B cells lacking individual NF-kappa B/Rel family members exhibit defects in
      activation programs. We generated small resting B cells lacking p65 or p50 alone,
      or lacking both p50 and p65, then evaluated the ability of these cells to
      proliferate, secrete Ig, and undergo Ig class switching. B cells lacking p65
      proliferated well in response to all stimuli tested. However, these cells
      demonstrated an isolated defect in switching to IgG3, which was associated with a
      decrease in gamma 3 germline CH gene expression. Whereas, previously reported, B
      cells lacking p50 alone had a severe proliferative defect in response to LPS, a
      moderate defect in response to CD40 ligand (CD40L), and normal proliferation to
      Ag receptor cross-linking using dextran-conjugated anti-IgD Abs (alpha delta
      dex), B cells lacking both p50 and p65 exhibited severely impaired proliferation
      in response to LPS, alpha delta-dex, and CD40L. This defect could be overcome by
      simultaneous administration of alpha delta-dex and CD40L. In response to this
      latter combination of stimuli, B cells lacking both p50 and p65 secreted Ig and
      underwent isotype switching to IgG1 as efficiently as B cells lacking p50 alone.
      These data demonstrate a role for the p65 subunit of NF-kappa B in germline CH
      gene expression as well as functional redundancy between p50 and p65 during
      proliferative responses.

PMID- 9973463
TI  - The role of CD80, CD86, and CTLA4 in alloimmune responses and the induction of
      long-term allograft survival.
AB  - Blocking the interaction of the CD28 costimulatory receptor with its ligands,
      CD80 and CD86, inhibits in vivo immune responses, such as allograft rejection,
      and in some instances induces tolerance. Previously, we found that CTLA4Ig, which
      blocks the CD28/CTLA-4 (CD152) ligands CD80 and CD86, can be used to induce
      transplantation tolerance to vascularized allografts. Recent data suggest that an
      intact CD152-negative signaling pathway is essential for induction of tolerance
      to nominal Ags. Here, we show that blockade of CD152 using an anti-CD152 mAb at
      the time of transplantation prevents the induction of long-term allograft
      survival by agents that target CD80 and CD86. In contrast, CD152 signals are not
      required for the maintenance of established graft survival. We also report for
      the first time that blockade of CD86 alone can induce long-term graft survival.
      This requires that anti-CD86 mAb is given on the day of transplantation and also
      depends upon an intact CD152 pathway. This result, plus experiments using CD80
      deficient mice, suggests a dominant role for CD80 molecules on donor cells as the
      relevant ligand for CD152. We additionally find that blockade of CD152 at the
      time of transplantation does not interfere with the effectiveness of anti-CD154
      mAbs, suggesting distinct mechanisms for inhibition of graft rejection by
      blocking the CD28 vs CD154 pathways.

PMID- 9973464
TI  - CD38-mediated signaling events in murine pro-B cells expressing human CD38 with
      or without its cytoplasmic domain.
AB  - To elucidate the signaling mechanism of CD38 (a transmembrane molecule highly
      expressed in immature hemopoietic cells), we transfected Ba/F3 murine pro-B cells
      with a cDNA encoding human CD38. CD38 ligation with anti-CD38 Abs caused rapid,
      transient, dose-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins, including
      the tyrosine kinase TEC and the adaptor molecule CBL, and association of tyrosine
      phosphorylated proteins with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase p85. Exposure to anti
      CD38 Abs or their F(ab')2 and Fab also induced tight aggregation of CD38
      transfected Ba/F3 cells, which appeared to be Ca2+ and Mg2+ independent and did
      not involved LFA-1. Aggregation was abrogated by addition of the tyrosine kinase
      inhibitor herbimycin A and was delayed by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase
      inhibitor wortmannin, suggesting a link between biochemical events and cellular
      effects induced by CD38. Cell aggregation was accompanied by a decrease in cell
      recovery. After 3 days of culture on bone marrow-derived stroma, the mean (+/-SD)
      cell recovery in the presence of anti-CD38 (T16) was 10.5 +/- 9.2% (n = 7) of
      that in parallel cultures with an isotype-matched nonreactive Ab. Finally, CD38
      ligation in Ba/F3 cells expressing a mutant human CD38 lacking the cytoplasmic
      domain induced tyrosine phosphorylation with intensity and kinetics similar to
      those seen with the entire protein. It also induced cell aggregation and
      decreased cell recovery. We conclude that CD38 triggers remarkably similar
      signaling pathways in human and murine immature B cells. This signaling is
      independent of the CD38 cytoplasmic domain, suggesting the existence of accessory
      transmembrane molecules associated with CD38.

PMID- 9973465
TI  - Lymphotactin acts as an innate mucosal adjuvant.
AB  - Lymphotactin (Lptn) is a C chemokine produced predominantly by NK and CD8
      positive (CD8+) T cells including gammadelta TCR-positive (TCR+) intraepithelial
      lymphocytes. Lptn is chemotactic for NK and T cells and likely plays an important
      role in maintaining the integrity of the epithelium and in mucosal immune
      responses. In this study, we characterized the immune responses to OVA given
      intranasally with Lptn to mice. This regimen enhanced OVA-specific serum Ab
      responses and Ab titers in mucosal secretions. Lptn also enhanced OVA-specific Ab
      forming cells in mucosal and systemic compartments. CD4-positive (CD4+) T cells
      isolated from mucosal compartments and spleens of mice intranasally immunized
      with OVA plus Lptn displayed higher OVA-specific proliferative responses and
      greater synthesis of IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10 than did CD4+ T
      cells from mice given OVA without Lptn. These studies indicate that Lptn has
      adjuvant properties and suggest that Lptn present in the mucosa has the potential
      to enhance mucosal and systemic Ab responses through help provided by Th1- and
      Th2-type cells to link the initial innate signals of the mucosa with the acquired
      immune system.

PMID- 9973466
TI  - Identification of tyrosine phosphorylation sites in the CD28 cytoplasmic domain
      and their role in the costimulation of Jurkat T cells.
AB  - The cytoplasmic domain of CD28 contains four tyrosine residues. Because signal
      transduction by CD28 appears to involve its tyrosine phosphorylation, we
      determined sites of CD28 tyrosine phosphorylation using mutants of mouse CD28
      that retained tyrosine at one position, with the remaining three positions
      mutated to phenylalanine. When expressed in Jurkat cells and stimulated by mAb,
      only the mutants with tyrosine at position 170 or 188 were tyrosine
      phosphorylated. Phosphorylation of Tyr170 recruits phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase
      to CD28. Tyr188 has not been associated with any specific signaling event, but we
      found that ligation of CD28 by the natural ligand B7.2 also induced
      phosphorylation of Tyr188, suggesting that this event is of physiological
      importance. Consistent with that possibility, mutation of Tyr188 to phenylalanine
      severely impaired the ability of mouse CD28 to deliver a costimulus for the
      expression of CD69 and the production of IL-2. The functional consequences of the
      mutation of Tyr188 were unique; mutation of the other three tyrosines,
      individually or in combination, did not impair costimulation. Therefore, of the
      four CD28 tyrosine residues only Tyr188 is required for signaling in Jurkat
      cells, suggesting that its phosphorylation is a key event in the costimulation of
      T cells.

PMID- 9973467
TI  - Dose-dependent induction of distinct anergic phenotypes: multiple levels of T
      cell anergy.
AB  - T cell anergy has been proposed as one of the mechanisms underlying peripheral T
      cell tolerance. In recent years, the functional relevance of T cell anergy has
      been studied extensively in vitro and in vivo, using different species, cell
      systems, and ways to induce anergy. Although these studies concurred about the
      induction of unresponsiveness, conflicting findings were obtained with respect to
      the function of anergic T cells and to the persistence of T cell anergy. In the
      present study, T cell anergy was induced through T-T presentation of the specific
      Ag by rat MHC class II+ T cells in the absence of professional APC. We show that,
      depending on the Ag dose with which T cells were incubated, distinct anergic
      phenotypes were induced. Incubation of T cell clones with a low (suboptimal) Ag
      dose induced hyporesponsiveness. Incubation with a higher (optimal) Ag dose
      induced an anergic state capable of exerting immunoregulatory effects. Incubation
      with a high (supraoptimal) Ag dose led to an anergic suppressive phenotype that
      was persistent and was not reversed by APC, Ag, and rIL-2. These findings
      demonstrate that T cell anergy is not confined to a single state of functional
      inactivation. Instead, multiple levels of T cell anergy exist. Thus, anergic T
      cells can contribute to the regulation of the immune response either in a
      persistent and active manner or in a passive manner, depending on their level of
      T cell anergy.

PMID- 9973468
TI  - Use of antagonist peptides to inhibit in vitro T cell responses to Par j1, the
      major allergen of Parietaria judaica pollen.
AB  - Antigenic peptides with substituted side chains inhibit immune responses to a
      number of recall Ags from infectious agents in vitro. Here we show that the same
      strategy can be applied to peptides derived from a pollen protein, the major
      allergen of Parietaria judaica(Par j1), a plant responsible for most allergenic
      sensitization in the southern Mediterranean area. Three T cell lines responding
      to Par j1 protein were used to identify a stimulatory peptide. Two different
      monosubstituted altered peptide ligands (APL) were identified that bound to the
      HLA-DR of the responders, did not stimulate the T cell lines on their own, and
      decreased the response to subsaturating amounts of the unmodified stimulatory
      peptide. Most important, these APL were able to inhibit the response of these
      cell lines to intact Par j1 protein. A third monosubstituted peptide bound to the
      HLA-DR but did not show inhibitory activity. The two APL had a lower affinity
      than the unsubstituted peptide for the HLA-DR. The last two observations make MHC
      blockade an unlikely explanation for the observed effect. These results indicate
      the action of a specific peptide-mediated antagonism that may be useful in
      controlling the T cell component of an allergic response.

PMID- 9973469
TI  - Fas ligand induction in human NK cells is regulated by redox through a
      calcineurin-nuclear factors of activated T cell-dependent pathway.
AB  - Fas ligand (FasL) on cytotoxic lymphocytes is important for mediating apoptosis
      of activated lymphocytes and other target cells. We have reported that NK cell
      functions, such as proliferation, cell death, and killing activity, are subject
      to regulation by cellular redox status. Here, we report that expression of FasL
      protein and mRNA in activated NK cells is also regulated by redox. Ligation of
      CD16 on IL-2-preactivated NK cells resulted in reduction of intracellular
      peroxide level as well as induction of FasL expression. This CD16-induced FasL
      expression was suppressed by oxidative stress, including thiol deprivation or
      treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Addition of thiol-reducing compounds,
      such as L-cystine, 2-ME, or N-acetyl cysteine, restored FasL expression. These
      data suggest that CD16 stimulation requires cellular reducing status for FasL
      induction in NK cells. Because FasL gene activation following CD16 cross-linking
      is regulated by the NF of activated T cells (NFAT), we examined the effect of
      oxidative stresses on NFAT activation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays
      revealed that both thiol insufficiency and H2O2 treatment suppressed DNA-binding
      activity of NFAT and that addition of thiol-reducing compounds reversed or even
      enhanced it. Furthermore, these oxidative stresses inhibited activity of
      calcineurin, a serine/threonine phosphatase that regulates NFAT activation. These
      results suggest that suppression of calcineurin and NFAT activation is a
      mechanism by which oxidative stress inhibits FasL induction in activated NK cells
      and further support the hypothesis that thiol-reducing compounds might be
      required for maintenance of optimal NK functions under physiologic oxidative
      conditions.

PMID- 9973470
TI  - Intranasally induced immunological tolerance is determined by characteristics of
      the draining lymph nodes: studies with OVA and human cartilage gp-39.
AB  - Mucosal tolerance is a naturally occurring immunological phenomenon that prevents
      harmful inflammatory responses to ingested or inhaled environmental,
      predominantly nondangerous, Ags. The nasal mucosa is an extremely efficient
      compartment in the induction of immunological tolerance which can be exploited in
      Ag-specific treatment of autoimmune disease. With the use of a model Ag (OVA) and
      an Ag implicated in the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (human cartilage
      gp-39), we here show in a mouse model that the superficial cervical and internal
      jugular lymph nodes that drain the nasal mucosa are instrumental in the induction
      of tolerance. Removal of these lymph nodes abrogates tolerance induction, which
      can be restored by transplantation of superficial cervical lymph nodes, but not
      of peripheral lymph nodes. The results indicate that lymph nodes that directly
      drain the nasal mucosa constitute a unique microenvironment which favors the
      induction of immunological tolerance.

PMID- 9973471
TI  - Evidence of positive cross-regulation on Th1 by Th2 and antigen-presenting cells:
      effects on Th1 induced by IL-4 and IL-12.
AB  - The response of Th cells to cytokines is normally strictly regulated, such that
      following antigenic stimulation, Th cells respond for only a short period of
      time, after which they become refractory to cytokine-mediated effects. IL-12, a
      costimulator of Th1 having no proliferation-inducing capacity of its own, allows
      Th1 clones and lines to respond to IL-4 when they would otherwise be unable to
      respond to this cytokine. Cells that have proliferated in response to IL-4 plus
      IL-12 are fully able to be subsequently activated by specific Ag and APC.
      Additionally, the response to IL-4 of Th1 effector cells derived from normal
      murine spleen is enhanced significantly by IL-12. Furthermore, in the presence of
      IL-12, stimulated Th2 can induce proliferation of Th1 via IL-4 production, in a
      dual chamber culture system. We hypothesize that the effects of IL-4 and IL-12
      represent a novel, positive cross-regulatory pathway that acts on Th1, and is
      mediated by Th2 (the IL-4 source) and APC (the IL-12 source). We propose this as
      a way for a Th2 immune response to positively influence an ongoing or waning Th1
      response.

PMID- 9973472
TI  - Dual MHC class I and class II restriction of a single T cell receptor: distinct
      modes of tolerance induction by two classes of autoantigens.
AB  - In the final stages of thymic development, immature T cells undergo three
      distinct processes (positive selection, negative selection, and lineage
      commitment) that all depend on interactions of thymocyte TCRs with MHC molecules.
      It is currently thought that TCRs are preferentially restricted by either MHC
      class I or class II molecules. In this report, we present direct evidence that
      the TCR previously described as H-Y/H-2Db specific cross-reacts with H-2IAb if
      expressed in CD4+ cells. We also demonstrate an increase in thymocyte numbers in
      H-Y TCR-trangenic mice deficient in MHC class II, suggesting a relatively
      discrete form of negative selection by MHC class II compared with that induced by
      H-Y/H-2Db. We propose that inability to generate CD4+ T cells expressing H-Y TCR
      in different experimental settings may be due to tolerance to self-MHC class II.
      These results, therefore, support an intriguing possibility that tolerance to
      self may influence and/or interfere with the outcome of the lineage commitment.

PMID- 9973473
TI  - Specific CD3 epsilon association of a phosphodiesterase 4B isoform determines its
      selective tyrosine phosphorylation after CD3 ligation.
AB  - cAMP-specific phosphodiesterases (PDE) comprise an extensive family of enzymes
      that control intracellular levels of cAMP and thus regulate T cell responses. It
      is not known how the function of these enzymes is altered by TCR engagement. We
      have examined this issue by studying one of the PDE isozymes (PDE4B). PDE4B RNA
      and protein were detected in resting PBLs, and the levels of PDE4B protein
      increased with cell cycling. In peripheral blood T cells, two previously reported
      PDE4B isoforms could be detected: one was 75-80 kDa (PDE4B1) and the other was 65
      67 kDa (PDE4B2). These two isoforms differed in their N-terminal sequence, with
      the presence of four potential myristylation sites in the PDE4B2 that are absent
      in PDE4B1. Consequently, only PDE4B2 was found in association with the CD3var
      epsilon chain of the TCR. In addition, although both isoforms were phosphorylated
      in tyrosines in pervanadate-stimulated T cells, only the TCR-associated PDE4B2
      was tyrosine-phosphorylated following CD3 ligation. The kinetics of
      phosphorylation of TCR-associated PDE4B2 correlated with changes in cAMP levels,
      suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation of the TCR-associated PDE4B isoform upon
      engagement of this receptor may be an important regulatory step in PDE4B
      function. Our results reveal that selectivity of PDE4B activation can be achieved
      by differential receptor association and phosphorylation of the alternatively
      spliced forms of this PDE.

PMID- 9973474
TI  - CD40 activation boosts T cell immunity in vivo by enhancing T cell clonal
      expansion and delaying peripheral T cell deletion.
AB  - In this report we show that activation of APC with an agonist anti-CD40 mAb
      profoundly alters the behavior of CD4 T cells in vivo. Stimulation of mice with
      anti-CD40 2 days before, but not 1 day after, administration of superantigen
      (SAg) enhanced CD4 and CD8 T cell clonal expansion by approximately threefold.
      Further, CD40 activation also delayed peripheral T cell deletion after
      activation. Dying, activated T cells were quantitated by detecting extracellular
      phosphatidylserine with concomitant staining for SAg-reactive T cells using a TCR
      Vbeta-specific mAb. Upon close examination, it was shown that CD40 activation
      delayed the death of the activated T cells. Additionally, it was found that
      enhanced survival of CD4 T cells was equally dependent on APC expression of B7-1
      and B7-2. This is in contrast to CD8 T cells, which did not depend as much on B7
      1 as B7-2. Thus, CD40 activation indirectly promotes T cell growth and delays the
      death of SAg-stimulated CD4 T cells in vivo. These data suggest that one way CD40
      activation promotes a more robust immune response is by indirectly increasing the
      production of effector T cells and by keeping them alive for longer periods of
      time.

PMID- 9973475
TI  - Positive recognition of MHC class I molecules by the Ly49D receptor of murine NK
      cells.
AB  - Members of the murine Ly49 family of receptors have been shown to inhibit and
      activate NK cell function. Subsets of Ly49-expressing NK cells mediate the
      rejection of bone marrow cell allografts and the lysis of allogeneic
      lymphoblasts. In this report we have studied Ly49-mediated positive and negative
      signaling in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay using sorted NK cell subsets as
      effectors and a panel of 51Cr-labeled Con A lymphoblasts as targets in the
      presence or the absence of Abs to Ly49 and/or class I molecules. Our results
      demonstrate that the activating receptor Ly49D delivers stimulatory signals for
      target cell lysis upon interacting with H2-Dd, Dr, and Dsp2, but not H2b or H2k
      class I Ags. On the other hand, the inhibitory receptor Ly49G2 delivers negative
      signals for target cell lysis upon interacting with Dd, Dr, and H2k, but not H2b
      or Dsp2, class I Ags. Furthermore, Ly49-mediated negative signaling dominates
      Ly49D-mediated positive signaling. Thus, lysis of class I MHC-bearing targets by
      NK cells is not merely the consequence of the absence of an Ly49-mediated
      negative signal, but also requires positive recognition of class I molecules by
      certain Ly49 receptors. Activation of NK cells by nonself class I molecules was
      not predicted by the missing self hypothesis.

PMID- 9973476
TI  - Human effector memory T cells express CD86: a functional role in naive T cell
      priming.
AB  - The glycoprotein CD86 expressed on APCs provides a costimulatory signal necessary
      for an efficient activation of naive T cells. In contrast, there is controversy
      about the condition of expression and the function of CD86 on T cells. In this
      study, we have analyzed the phenotype and the biological activity of CD86+ T
      cells generated from human PBMC. Results show that CD86 expression on T cells is
      induced by long term stimulation via CD3 and IL-2R and is down-regulated as the
      cells become quiescent. The CD86-expressing cells are memory effector T cells: 1)
      they express CD45RO and high levels of the activation markers CD25, CD54, and HLA
      Dr; 2) they selectively express CD30, CD40-ligand, and CD70; and 3) in response
      to stimulation, most of them produce IFN-gamma before dying by apoptosis. We then
      analyzed whether CD86 expressed on T cells is functional. Results show that
      paraformaldehyde-fixed CD86+ T cells enhance the proliferation and production of
      IFN-gamma by anti-CD3 mAb-stimulated naive T cells and induce proliferation of
      resting allogenic T cells. All these effects are prevented by neutralizing anti
      CD86 mAbs. In contrast, we report no autocrine effect of CD86 in CD86+ T cell
      activation. In conclusion, these data show that human memory effector T cells
      express a functional form of CD86 that can costimulate naive T cell responses.

PMID- 9973477
TI  - Lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1-phosphate protection of T cells from
      apoptosis in association with suppression of Bax.
AB  - Members of a subfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), encoded by five
      different endothelial differentiation genes (edgs), specifically mediate effects
      of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) on cellular
      proliferation and differentiation. Mechanisms of suppression of apoptosis by LPA
      and S1P were studied in the Tsup-1 cultured line of human T lymphoblastoma cells,
      which express Edg-2 and Edg-4 GPCRs for LPA and Edg-3 and Edg-5 GPCRs for S1P. At
      10-10 M to 10-7 M, both LPA and S1P protected Tsup-1 cells from apoptosis induced
      by Abs to Fas, CD2, and CD3 plus CD28 in combination. Apoptosis elicited by C6
      ceramide was inhibited by S1P, but not by LPA, in part because ceramide
      suppressed expression of Edg-2 and Edg-4 surface receptors for LPA without
      affecting Edg-3 surface receptors for S1P. At 10-9 M to 10-7 M, LPA and S1P
      significantly suppressed cellular levels of the apoptosis-promoting protein Bax,
      without altering the levels of Bcl-xL or Bcl-2 assessed by Western blots and
      immunoassays. Transfections of pairs of antisense plasmids for Edg-2 plus Edg-4
      and Edg-3 plus Edg-5, and hygromycin selection of transfectants with reduced
      expression of the respective Edg R proteins in Western blots, inhibited both
      protection from apoptosis and reduction in cellular levels of Bax by LPA and S1P.
      Thus, LPA and S1P protection from apoptosis is mediated by distinct Edg GPCRs and
      may involve novel effects on Bax regulatory protein.

PMID- 9973478
TI  - Calcium-dependent activation of TNF family gene expression by Ca2+/calmodulin
      kinase type IV/Gr and calcineurin.
AB  - CD40 ligand (L), FasL, and TNF-alpha are members of the TNF family of cytokines.
      All are expressed by T lymphocytes shortly after activation but have distinct
      effector functions. Transcription of these genes can be induced by stimulation of
      T cells by calcium ionophore alone and requires the calcineurin-dependent
      transcription factor NF of activated T cells. We have examined a second calcium
      dependent signaling pathway, mediated by calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV
      (CaMKIV) in transcriptional activation of TNF family genes. In reporter gene
      assays using constructs driven by the promoters of human CD40L, FasL, or TNF
      alpha along with vectors expressing constitutively active CaMKIV and calcineurin,
      we have demonstrated that each promoter is activated by calcineurin and CaMKIV in
      a synergistic fashion. Furthermore, specific inhibition of CaMKIV by chemical
      means and by a dominant negative mutant of CaMKIV impairs the ionomycin-induced
      activity of all three promoters as well as protein expression of CD40L and TNF
      alpha. Our results indicate that activation of gene expression by calcineurin and
      CaMKIV is common to members of the TNF cytokine family.

PMID- 9973479
TI  - Beta 1 integrin cross-linking inhibits CD16-induced phospholipase D and secretory
      phospholipase A2 activity and granule exocytosis in human NK cells: role of
      phospholipase D in CD16-triggered degranulation.
AB  - Recent data indicate that integrin-generated signals can modulate different
      receptor-stimulated cell functions in both a positive (costimulation) and a
      negative (inhibition) fashion. Here we investigated the ability of beta 1
      integrins, namely alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 fibronectin receptors, to
      modulate CD16-triggered phospholipase activation in human NK cells. beta 1
      integrin simultaneous cross-linking selectively inhibited CD16-induced
      phospholipase D (PLD) activation, without affecting either phosphatidylinositol
      phospholipase C or cytosolic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymatic activity. CD16
      induced secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) protein release as well as its enzymatic activity
      in both cell-associated and soluble forms were also found to be inhibited upon
      beta 1 integrin coengagement. The similar effects exerted by specific PLD
      pharmacological inhibitors (2,3-diphosphoglycerate, ethanol) suggest that in our
      experimental system, sPLA2 secretion and activation are under the control of a
      PLD-dependent pathway. By using pharmacological inhibitors (2,3
      diphosphoglycerate, wortmannin, ethanol) we also demonstrated that PLD activation
      is an important step in the CD16-triggered signaling cascade that leads to NK
      cytotoxic granule exocytosis. Consistent with these findings, fibronectin
      receptor engagement, by either mAbs or natural ligands, resulted in a selective
      inhibition of CD16-triggered, but not of PMA/ionomycin-induced, degranulation
      that was reversed by the exogenous addition of purified PLD from Streptomyces
      chromofuscus.

PMID- 9973480
TI  - Serial TCR engagement and down-modulation by peptide:MHC molecule ligands:
      relationship to the quality of individual TCR signaling events.
AB  - In the present study, we examined the relationships among quantitative aspects of
      TCR engagement as measured by receptor down-modulation, functional responses, and
      biochemical signaling events using both mouse and human T cell clones. For T
      cells from both species, ligands that are more potent in inducing functional
      responses promote TCR down-modulation more efficiently than weaker ligands. At
      low ligand density, the number of down-modulated TCR exceeds the number of
      available ligands by as much as 80-100:1 in the optimal human case, confirming
      the previous description of serial ligand engagement of TCR (Valitutti, et al.
      1995. Nature 375:148-151). A previously unappreciated relationship involving TCR
      down-modulation, the pattern of proximal TCR signaling, and the extent of serial
      engagement was revealed by analyzing different ligands for the same TCR.
      Functionally, more potent ligands induce a higher proportion of fully tyrosine
      phosphorylated zeta-chains and a greater amount of phosphorylated ZAP-70 than
      less potent ligands, and the number of TCR down-modulated per available ligand is
      higher with ligands showing this full agonist-like pattern. The large number of
      receptors showing partial zeta phosphorylation following exposure to weak ligands
      indicates that the true extent of TCR engagement and signaling, and thus the
      amount of sequential engagement, is underestimated by measurement of TCR down
      modulation alone, which depends on full receptor activation. These data provide
      new insight into T cell activation by revealing a clear relationship among
      intrinsic ligand quality, signal amplification by serial engagement, functional T
      cell responses, and observable TCR clearance from the cell surface.

PMID- 9973481
TI  - IL-2, but not IL-4 and other cytokines, induces phosphorylation of a 98-kDa
      protein associated with SHP-2, phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase, and Grb2.
AB  - Binding of IL-2 to its receptor activates several biochemical pathways, including
      JAK-STAT, Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase, and phosphatidylinositol 3'
      kinase (PI 3'-kinase) pathways. Recently, it has been shown that the SH2
      containing phosphatase, SHP-2, becomes phosphorylated in response to IL-2
      stimulation, associates with PI3'-kinase and Grb2, and can exert a positive
      regulatory role in IL-2 signaling. We now report the identification of a
      prominent 98-kDa protein (p98) found to be phosphorylated in response to IL-2
      stimulation and coprecipitated with SHP-2, the p85 subunit of PI 3'-kinase and
      Grb2. Interestingly, whereas IL-4 is known to activate PI 3'-kinase, we did not
      observe any p98 phosphorylation in response to IL-4 stimulation. p98 can form a
      multipartite complex with all these proteins as immunodepleting with anti-p85
      antiserum substantially reduced the amount of p98 immunoprecipitated by SHP-2 and
      Grb2; the converse was also true. Furthermore, phosphorylation of p98 did not
      occur in cells lacking JAK3, suggesting that it may be a JAK substrate. Finally,
      deglycosylation of p98 did not alter its migration, suggesting p98 is not a
      member of the recently described SHP substrate/signal-regulatory proteins family
      of transmembrane glycoproteins. Thus p98 is a prominent IL-2-dependent substrate
      that associates with multiple proteins involved in IL-2 signaling and may play an
      important role in coupling the different signal transduction pathways activated
      by IL-2.

PMID- 9973482
TI  - Mitogen-activated protein kinase activation through Fc epsilon receptor I and
      stem cell factor receptor is differentially regulated by phosphatidylinositol 3
      kinase and calcineurin in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells.
AB  - Aggregation of high affinity FcR for IgE (Fc epsilon RI) on mast cells activates
      intracellular signal transduction pathways, including the activation of protein
      tyrosine kinases, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase), and protein kinase
      C. Binding of stem cell factor (SCF) to its receptor (SCFR, c-Kit) on mast cells
      also induces increases in intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity and activation of
      PI3-kinase. Although ligation of both receptors induces Ras and Raf-1 activation,
      the downstream consequences of these early activation events are not well
      defined, except for the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases
      (ERK). Addition of Ag (OVA) to mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC)
      sensitized with anti-OVA IgE triggers the activation of three members of the
      mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK),
      p38 MAP kinase (p38), and extracellular signal-regulated kinases. SCF similarly
      activates all three MAP kinases. Wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI3-kinase,
      inhibited both Fc epsilon RI- and SCFR-mediated JNK activation and partially
      inhibited Fc epsilon RI, but not SCFR-mediated p38 activation. Cyclosporin A
      inhibited Fc epsilon RI-mediated JNK and p38 activation, but did not affect the
      activation of these kinases when stimulated through the SCFR. Wortmannin and
      cyclosporin A inhibited Fc epsilon RI-mediated production of TNF-alpha and IL-4
      in addition to serotonin release in BMMC. These results indicate that both PI3
      kinase and calcineurin may contribute to the regulation of cytokine gene
      transcription and the degranulation response by modulating JNK activity in BMMC.

PMID- 9973483
TI  - Immunosuppressive leflunomide metabolite (A77 1726) blocks TNF-dependent nuclear
      factor-kappa B activation and gene expression.
AB  - Leflunomide is a novel immunosuppressive and antiinflammatory agent currently
      being tested for treatment of autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection. NF
      kappa B is a transcription factor activated in response to a wide variety of
      inflammatory stimuli, including TNF, but whether leflunomide blocks NF-kappa B
      activation is not known. In the present report we demonstrate that treatment of a
      human T cell line (Jurkat) with leflunomide blocks TNF-mediated NF-kappa B
      activation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with maximum inhibition at 5-10
      microM. Inhibition was not restricted to TNF-induced activation, because
      leflunomide also inhibited NF-kappa B activation induced by other inflammatory
      agents, including phorbol ester, LPS, H2O2, okadaic acid, and ceramide.
      Leflunomide blocked the degradation of I kappa B alpha and subsequent nuclear
      translocation of the p65 subunit, steps essential for NF-kappa B activation. This
      correlated with inhibition of dual specificity-mitogen-activated protein kinase
      kinase as well as an Src protein tyrosine kinase, p56lck, by leflunomide.
      Reducing agents did not reverse the effect of leflunomide. Leflunomide also
      suppressed the TNF-activated NF-kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression. Our
      results thus indicate that leflunomide is a potent inhibitor of NF-kappa B
      activation induced by a wide variety of inflammatory stimuli, and this provides
      the molecular basis for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects.

PMID- 9973484
TI  - Functional expression of receptors for calcitonin gene-related peptide,
      calcitonin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide in the human thymus and thymomas
      from myasthenia gravis patients.
AB  - The molecular and functional expression of serpentine membrane receptors for
      vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and
      calcitonin (CT) were characterized in human thymus and thymomas from myasthenia
      gravis (MG) patients and thymic epithelial cells either in primary culture (PTEC)
      or transformed by the simian virus 40 large T (SV40LT) oncogene (LT-TEC). Using
      RT-PCR combined with Southern analysis, we identified the PCR products
      corresponding to the receptor (-R) transcripts for VIP, CGRP, and CT in thymus
      from control subjects and MG patients with either hyperplasia or thymoma. Similar
      expressions of the VIP- and CGRP-R transcripts were observed in PTEC, whereas the
      CT-R message was not detected. In LT-TEC, the signals for VIP-R, CGRP-R, and CT-R
      transcripts were seen with a lower intensity than those in control and MG thymus.
      In agreement with our molecular analysis, 1) VIP was the most potent peptide
      among VIP-related peptides (VIP > PACAP > PHM > PHV) to stimulate cAMP production
      through specific type 1 VIP receptors in both PTEC and LT-TEC; 2) cAMP generation
      was induced by CGRP in PTEC and by CT in LT-TEC; 3) in frozen thymic sections and
      by flow cytometry, type 1 VIP-R, CGRP-R, and CT-R were localized in epithelial
      cells; and 4) in parallel, the transcription of the acetylcholine receptor alpha
      subunit (the main autoantigen in MG) was induced by CGRP and CT in PTEC and LT
      TEC, respectively. Our data suggest that the neuroendocrine peptides VIP, CGRP,
      and CT may exert functional roles during MG and malignant transformation of the
      human thymus.

PMID- 9973485
TI  - The orientation and nature of the interaction between beef insulin-specific TCRs
      and the insulin/class II MHC complex.
AB  - Recent crystallographic studies suggest that TCR interact with peptide/class I
      MHC complexes in a single preferred orientation. Although similar studies have
      not been performed for class II-restricted TCR, it has been proposed that T cell
      recognition of peptide/class II complexes has similar orientational restrictions.
      This study represents a functional approach to systematic analysis of this
      question. Twenty-one mutant A beta(d) molecules were produced by alanine scanning
      mutagenesis and assessed for their ability to present species variants of insulin
      to a panel of beef insulin-specific T cell hybridomas with limited TCR alpha-
      and/or beta-chain sequence differences. We demonstrate that all beef insulin
      specific TCR have the same orientation on the insulin/Ad complex, such that the
      alpha-chain interacts with the carboxyl-terminal region of the A beta(d) alpha
      helix, and the beta-chain complementarity-determining region 3 interacts with the
      carboxyl-terminal portion of the peptide, consistent with that observed for
      crystallized TCR-peptide/class I complexes. Despite this structural constraint,
      even TCR that share structural similarity show remarkable heterogeneity in their
      responses to the panel of MHC mutants. This variability appears to result from
      conformational changes induced by binding of the TCR to the complex and the
      exquisite sensitivity of the threshold for T cell activation.

PMID- 9973486
TI  - Extensive junctional diversity in Ig light chain genes from early B cell
      progenitors of mu MT mice.
AB  - Nontemplated (N) nucleotide additions contribute significantly to the junctional
      diversity of all Ag receptor chains in adult mice except Ig light (L) chains,
      primarily because terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) expression is
      turned off at the time of their rearrangement in pre-B cells. However, because
      some Ig L chain gene rearrangements are detectable earlier during B cell ontogeny
      when TdT expression is thought to be maximal, we have examined the junctional
      processing of kappa- and lambda-chain genes of CD45(B220)+CD43+ pro-B cells from
      mu MT mice. We found that both kappa and lambda coding junctions formed in these
      B cell precursors were extensively diversified with N-region additions. Together,
      these findings demonstrate that Ig L chain genes are equally accessible to TdT in
      pro-B cells as Ig heavy chain genes. Surprisingly, however, the two L chain
      isotypes differed in the pattern of N addition, which was more prevalent at the
      lambda-chain locus. We observed the same diversity pattern in pre-B cells from
      TdT-transgenic mice. These results suggest that some aspects of TdT processing
      could be influenced by factors intrinsic to the sequence of Ig genes and/or the
      process of V(D)J recombination itself.

PMID- 9973487
TI  - Functional characterization of the somatic hypermutation process leading to
      antibody D1.3, a high affinity antibody directed against lysozyme.
AB  - The impact of somatic hypermutation on the affinity of Abs directed against
      protein Ags remains poorly understood. We chose as a model the secondary response
      Ab D1.3 directed against hen egg lysozyme. During the maturation process leading
      to this Ab, five replacement somatic mutations occurred. After reconstituting the
      germline Ab from which D1.3 originated, we assessed the energetic and kinetic
      importance of each of the somatic mutations, individually or combined, using the
      BIAcore apparatus. We found that the mutations induced an overall 60-fold
      improvement of affinity, principally due to a decrease in the kinetic rate of
      dissociation. We showed that their effects were additive and context independent;
      therefore, in the case of D1.3, the order in which somatic mutations were
      introduced and selected is unimportant. Interestingly, most of the affinity
      improvement was due to a single somatic mutation (Asn50-->Tyr in VL), involving a
      residue that belongs to the functional interface between Ab D1.3 and lysozyme.
      This replacement could either establish new Van der Waals contacts between the Ab
      and the Ag or help stabilize the conformation of a closely situated crucial
      residue of the Ab paratope. The four other mutations played only a marginal part
      in affinity maturation; potential reasons for which these mutations were
      nevertheless selected are discussed.

PMID- 9973488
TI  - Molecular mechanisms and selection influence the generation of the human V lambda
      J lambda repertoire.
AB  - To define the lambda light chain repertoire in humans, a single-cell PCR
      technique using genomic DNA obtained from individual peripheral B cells was
      employed. Of the 30 known functional V lambda genes, 23 were detected in either
      the nonproductive or productive repertoires. Specific V lambda genes, including
      2A2, 2B2, 1G, and 4B, were overexpressed in the nonproductive repertoire, whereas
      some V lambda genes, such as 3R, 2A2, 2B2, 1C, 1G, and 1B, were overexpressed in
      the productive repertoire. Comparison of the nonproductive and productive
      repertoires indicated that no V lambda genes were positively selected, whereas a
      number of V lambda genes, including 4C, 1G, 5B, and 4B, were negatively
      regulated. All four of the functional J lambda segments were found in both
      repertoires, with J lambda 7 observed most often. Evidence of terminal
      deoxynucleotidyltransferase activity was noted in nearly 80% of nonproductive V
      lambda J lambda rearrangements, and exonuclease activity was apparent in the
      majority. Despite this, the mean CDR3 length was 30 base pairs in both productive
      and nonproductive repertoires, suggesting that it was tightly regulated at the
      molecular level. These results have provided new insights into the dimensions of
      the human V lambda repertoire and the influences that shape it.

PMID- 9973489
TI  - Identification of residues in the first domain of human Fc alpha receptor
      essential for interaction with IgA.
AB  - The FcR family contains multiple receptors for Igs, of which the most distantly
      related ( approximately 20%) is the IgA receptor (human Fc alpha R), being more
      homologous ( approximately 35%) to another family of killer-inhibitory receptor
      related immunoreceptors with a 19q13.4 chromosomal location in humans. This study
      of the Fc alpha R demonstrated that, like several IgG receptors, Fc alpha R is a
      low affinity receptor for Ab (Ka approximately 106 M-1). Rapid dissociation of
      the rsFc alpha R:IgA complex (t1/2 approximately 25 s) suggests that monomer IgA
      would bind transiently to cellular Fc alpha Rs, while IgA immune complexes could
      bind avidly. Mutagenesis of histidyl 85 and arginyl 82, in the FG loop of domain
      1, demonstrated that these residues were essential for the IgA-binding activity
      of Fc alpha R, while arginyl 87 makes a minor contribution to the binding
      activity of the receptor. This site is unusual among the Fc receptors (Fc gamma
      RII, Fc gamma RIII, and Fc epsilon RI), in which the ligand binding site is in
      domain 2 rather than domain 1, but like Fc alpha R, the FG loop comprises part of
      the ligand binding site. The putative F and G strands flanking the Fc alpha R
      ligand binding site are highly homologous in the other killer-inhibitory receptor
      related immunoreceptors, suggesting they comprise a conserved structural element
      on which divergent FG loops are presented and participate in the specific ligand
      interactions of each of these receptors.

PMID- 9973490
TI  - Increased TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes from aged humans: changes in
      TNF-alpha receptor expression and activation of caspases.
AB  - Aging is characterized by increased T cell lymphopenia, T cell dysfunction, and
      increased serum TNF levels. In this study, we have examined the role of TNF
      induced apoptosis in T cell deficiency in lymphocytes from aged humans. The
      constitutive expression of TNF receptors (TNFRI and TNFRII) and the adapter
      molecules, including TNFR-associated death domain protein (TRADD), TNFR
      associated factor 2 (TRAF-2), and receptor interacting protein (RIP), were
      analyzed both at the protein level by flow cytometry or Western blotting, and at
      the mRNA level using quantitative PCR or Northern blotting in lymphocytes from
      aged and young subjects. The susceptibility of T cells to undergo TNF-induced
      apoptosis was analyzed using terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated UTP
      end-labeling (TUNEL) and DNA ladder assays. Caspase (caspase-8 and caspase-3)
      activation was compared between aged and young subjects using Western blotting
      and colorimetric assays. In lymphocytes from aged humans, there was an increased
      susceptibility of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to undergo TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis,
      as observed by TUNEL assay and DNA fragmentation ladder assay. Increased TNF
      alpha-induced apoptosis was also observed in both CD45RA+ and CD45RO+ T cells
      from aging subjects. An increased constitutive expression of TNFRI and TRADD and
      decreased expression of TNFRII and TRAF-2 were observed in lymphocytes from aged
      as compared with young controls. In addition, there was an early and increased
      activation of caspases (caspase-8 and caspase-3) involved in TNFR/TNF signaling
      pathway, as evident by early cleavage of caspase-8, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase
      (PARP), and caspase-3 substrate DEVD-p-nitroamilide NA. These data suggest that
      an increased TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis may play a role in T cell deficiency
      associated with human aging.

PMID- 9973491
TI  - Position effects of variable region carbohydrate on the affinity and in vivo
      behavior of an anti-(1-->6) dextran antibody.
AB  - IgG is a glycoprotein with an N-linked carbohydrate structure attached to the CH2
      domain of each of its heavy chains. In addition, the variable regions of IgG
      often contain potential N-linked carbohydrate addition sequences that frequently
      result in the attachment of V region carbohydrate. Nonetheless, the precise role
      of this V region glycan remains unclear. Studies from our laboratory have shown
      that a naturally occurring somatic mutant of an anti-dextran Ab that results in a
      carbohydrate addition site at Asn58 of the VH has carbohydrate in the
      complementarity-determining region 2 (CDR2) of the VH, and the presence of
      carbohydrate leads to an increase in affinity. However, carbohydrate attached to
      nearby positions within CDR2 had variable affects on affinity. In the present
      work we have extended these studies by adding carbohydrate addition sites close
      to or within all the CDRs of the same anti-dextran Ab. We find that carbohydrate
      is attached to all the novel addition sites, but the extent of glycosylation
      varies with the position of the site. In addition, we find that the position of
      the variable region carbohydrate influences some functional properties of the Ab,
      including those usually associated with the V region such as affinity for Ag as
      well as other characteristics typically attributed to the Fc such as half-life
      and organ targeting. These studies suggest that modification of variable region
      glycosylation provides an alternate strategy for manipulating the functional
      attributes of the Ab molecule and may shed light on how changes in carbohydrate
      structure affect protein conformation.

PMID- 9973492
TI  - Context-dependent immunogenicity of an S206G-substituted H-2Db-restricted simian
      virus 40 large T antigen epitope I variant.
AB  - SV40 large tumor Ag (Tag) contains four H-2b-restricted (I, II/III, IV, and V)
      CTL epitopes. A hierarchy exists among these CTL epitopes. CTL directed against
      epitopes I, II/III, and IV are readily detected following immunization of H-2b
      mice with SV40, Tag-transformed syngeneic cells, or a vaccinia recombinant that
      expresses full-length Tag, while epitope V-specific CTL are not. The mechanisms
      that define this hierarchy remain unknown. Initial studies have shown that the
      locations of epitopes I and V within SV40 Tag do not determine the immunological
      potencies of these epitopes. Like the wild-type Tag, derivatives in which the
      locations of epitopes I and V were precisely reversed within Tag failed to induce
      epitope V-specific CTL, but did induce epitope I-specific CTL. The use of an
      S206G-substituted epitope I variant (GAINNYAQKL) revealed that the S206G variant
      sequence induced CTL when located within the native epitope I context, but failed
      to do so when located within the epitope V context of Tag. Mutagenesis of
      residues adjacent to the S206G-substituted epitope I variant revealed that the
      identity of the residue flanking the amino terminus of the S206G variant was
      critical when it resided within the epitope V location, but not within the
      epitope I location. These results demonstrate that effects imposed by both
      regional context and adjacent residues can modulate immunogenicity, but that the
      relative importance of such effects varies in an epitope-dependent manner.

PMID- 9973493
TI  - Molecular basis of human complement C1s deficiency.
AB  - This is the first report on the molecular basis of human complement C1s
      deficiency. Two abnormalities in the C1s gene were identified in a Japanese
      family, including one patient, by using exon-specific PCR, single-strand
      conformation polymorphism analysis, and nucleotide sequencing. A deletion of 4
      bp, TTTG, was identified in exon X when using genomic DNA from the patient, his
      father, and his paternal grandmother. They were all heterozygous for the
      mutation. The mutant gene encodes a truncated C1s from the N terminus to the
      short consensus repeat domain. By further sequencing the PCR products, a nonsense
      mutation from G to T was identified at codon 608 in exon XII in the patient, his
      mother, and his sister. They were all heterozygous for the nonsense mutation. The
      mutant gene encodes a truncated form of C1s that lacks the C-terminal 80 amino
      acids. These results indicate that the patient was a compound heterozygote with
      the 4-bp deletion on the paternal allele and the nonsense mutation on the
      maternal allele. The levels of serum C1s seem to be correlated to the genotypes
      of the C1s gene in which no C1s was detected in the patient, and one-half of the
      normal level in the family members who are heterozygous for either mutation. The
      present study demonstrates that the disease is inherited in an autosomal
      recessive mode.

PMID- 9973494
TI  - Two human neonatal IgM antibodies encoded by different variable-region genes bind
      the same linear peptide: evidence for a stereotyped repertoire of epitope
      recognition.
AB  - Two monoclonal IgM Abs have been produced from lymphocytes isolated from two
      human umbilical cord bloods. These mAbs recognize a conformational epitope
      present in a CNBr digestion fraction of lactoferrin. Linear epitopes recognized
      by each mAb were selected from several phage display peptide libraries. In each
      case, phages displaying a peptide with a motif defined by [WF],G,[EQS],N were
      recovered. Phages displaying that motif bound equally well to either mAb but did
      not bind to control IgM. A peptide bearing this motif competed with the phage
      displayed peptides for binding to either mAb. The same peptide also competes with
      a component of the CNBr digestion fraction of lactoferrin for Ab binding in
      ELISA. The Abs use different families of VH, JH, and VK gene cassettes but use
      the same JK cassette. All segments are virtually identical to their germline gene
      counterparts. This work provides further evidence that certain innate
      specificities are stereotyped among individuals.

PMID- 9973495
TI  - Signal transduction pathways involved in the activation of NF-kappa B, AP-1, and
      c-fos by Mycoplasma fermentans membrane lipoproteins in macrophages.
AB  - Mycoplasma fermentans-derived membrane lipoproteins (LAMPf) have been
      demonstrated to stimulate monocytic cells and to induce the secretion of
      proinflammatory cytokines by a mechanism involving the triggering of protein
      tyrosine kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades. Herein, we have
      examined the effects of LAMPf on the activation of a series of transcription
      factors potentially involved in cytokine gene expression. LAMPf was capable of
      inducing NF-kappa B, activated protein 1 (AP-1), and c-fos activation in
      macrophages and of stimulating NF-kappa B and AP-1 transactivation. Furthermore,
      we have delineated the contribution of each mitogen-activated protein kinase
      pathway to the LAMPf-mediated activation of AP-1, c-fos, and NF-kappa B. Whereas
      the selective extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway inhibitor PD-98059
      did not affect the LAMPf-mediated transactivation of AP-1, c-fos, or NF-kappa B,
      the specific p38 inhibitor SB203580 abrogated this activity. A c-Jun N-terminal
      kinase-dominant negative was shown to block the activation of AP-1 without
      altering NF-kappa B or c-fos activation by LAMPf. In addition, D609, a selective
      inhibitor of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C, was shown to block
      both translocation and transactivation of either NF-kappa B or AP-1 in response
      to LAMPf. Although LAMPf-mediated macrophage activation is CD14 independent, we
      could not distinguish between the intracellular mechanisms leading to the
      macrophage activation triggered by either LPS or LAMPf. This suggests that
      macrophages display a common signaling machinery leading to the secretion of
      proinflammatory cytokines in response to different bacterial products. The
      comprehension of these mechanisms may help to better understanding the bacterial
      pathogenesis and to elucidate general mechanisms of macrophage activation leading
      to cytokine secretion.

PMID- 9973496
TI  - Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin enhances pathogenicity of simian
      immunodeficiency virus infection and accelerates progression to AIDS in macaques:
      a role of persistent T cell activation in AIDS pathogenesis.
AB  - It has recently been proposed that Mycobacterium tuberculosis may enhance the
      pathogenicity of HIV infections and accelerate the course of HIV disease. This
      hypothesis has been tested in the present study using a simian immunodeficiency
      virus of macaques (SIVmac)/Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG)
      coinfected macaque model. Naive and chronically SIVmac-infected monkeys were
      evaluated. Following BCG inoculation, the SIVmac-infected monkeys exhibited the
      dominant responses of TCR-beta complementarity-determining region 3-restricted T
      cell subpopulations. This BCG-driven T cell activation correlated with a marked
      increase in viral loads in SIVmac-infected monkeys. Moreover, the prolonged T
      cell activation coincided with the enhanced decline of CD4+ PBL counts and the
      accelerated progression to clinical AIDS in the coinfected monkeys, suggesting
      that Mycobacterium-driven T cell activation may be the mechanism underlying the
      enhanced pathogenicity of AIDS virus infection in the coinfected individuals.
      Within 2 to 7 mo after BCG coinfection, all chronically SIVmac-infected monkeys
      died from SIV-induced AIDS including tuberculosis-like disease. Surprisingly, the
      naive monkeys manifested a T cell activation-related toxic shock syndrome and a
      profound depletion of CD4+ lymphocytes 2 wk after simultaneous SIVmac/BCG
      inoculation. These naive animals died 2 mo after SIVmac/BCG inoculation, with the
      evidence of the persistent SIV p27 antigenemia and SIVmac-induced disease. In
      contrast, the normal monkeys not infected with SIVmac survived BCG infection; the
      control SIVmac-infected animals showed a natural course of chronic SIV infection.
      Thus, results from this SIV/BCG coinfection model strongly support the hypothesis
      that active coinfection with HIV and Mycobacterium can impact remarkably on the
      AIDS virus-induced disease.

PMID- 9973497
TI  - IL-12 administered during Chlamydia psittaci lung infection in mice confers
      immediate and long-term protection and reduces macrophage inflammatory protein-2
      level and neutrophil infiltration in lung tissue.
AB  - Protection against infections with the intracellular bacterium Chlamydia spp.
      requires Th1-polarized CD4+ T cell immunity. In BALB/c mouse lung infections,
      immediate innate and nascent Chlamydia-specific immune responses following
      intranasal inoculation of Chlamydia psittaci strain B577 were modulated by 7-day
      i.p. administration of murine rIL-12, the initiation cytokine for Th1 immunity.
      Treatment with IL-12 reduced the severity of chlamydial pneumonia, abolished
      mortality (37.5% in untreated mice), and significantly reduced numbers of
      chlamydial organisms in lungs. On day 4 after inoculation, the
      neutrophil:macrophage ratio in bronchointerstitial pneumonias was 1.96 in
      untreated mice and 0.51 in IL-12-treated mice. This immediate, IL-12-mediated
      shift in innate inflammatory phenotype was correlated with a significant
      reduction of lung concentrations of the neutrophil chemoattractant macrophage
      inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 (putative murine homologue of human IL-8), monocyte
      chemotactic protein-1, and TNF-alpha; and a reduction in MIP-1alpha and IFN
      gamma, at high-dose infection only, and IL-12-independent IL-10 levels. Chlamydia
      specific Ab titers and Ig isotype ratios indicated an IL-12-dependent Th1 shift.
      Recall responses of IL-12-primed mice to secondary chlamydial lung infection
      eliminated chlamydiae more effectively and generated a lung cytokine profile
      conducive to perpetuation of the Th1 memory population. These data support the
      hypothesis that genetic differences in endogenous IL-12 production and response
      pathways could determine disease outcomes characterized by poor chlamydial
      clearance and a purulent inflammatory infiltrate vs effective elimination of
      chlamydiae in a macrophage-dominated response.

PMID- 9973498
TI  - Isolation of high avidity melanoma-reactive CTL from heterogeneous populations
      using peptide-MHC tetramers.
AB  - Immunogenic peptides of human tumor Ag have been used to generate antigen
      specific CTL. However, the vast majority of these peptide-specific CTL clones are
      of low avidity and are peptide, but not tumor, reactive. Peptide-MHC tetramers
      have been shown to bind specific TCRs with sufficient affinity to be useful
      reagents for flow cytometry. In this paper we demonstrate that peptide-MHC
      tetramers can also be used to selectively identify high avidity tumor-reactive
      CTL and enrich, from a heterogeneous population, the subpopulation of peptide
      reactive T cells that can lyse tumor targets. The melanoma proteins, MART-1 and
      gp100, were used to induce potentially tumor-reactive T cells, and the intensity
      of T cell staining by TCR binding of specific peptide-MHC tetramers was assessed.
      A range of fluorescence intensity was detected, and the magnitude of tetramer
      binding was correlated with T cell avidity. The population of peptide-reactive T
      cells was phenotypically similar with regard to expression of TCR and adhesion
      molecules, suggesting that this differential avidity for tumor cells reflected
      differential affinity of the TCR for its peptide-MHC ligand. Sorting, cloning,
      and expansion of tetramerhigh CTL from a heterogeneous population of peptide
      stimulated PBMCs enabled rapid selection of high avidity tumor-reactive CTL
      clones, which retained their functional and tetramerhigh phenotype on re
      expansion. These results demonstrate that the avidity of a T cell for its tumor
      target is due to the specific affinity of the TCR for its peptide-MHC ligand,
      that this interaction can be described using peptide-MHC tetramers and used to
      isolate high avidity tumor-reactive CTL.

PMID- 9973499
TI  - Mitogenic activity of purified capsular polysaccharide A from Bacteroides
      fragilis: differential stimulatory effect on mouse and rat lymphocytes in vitro.
AB  - Bacteroides fragilis, a Gram-negative colonic bacterium, induces the formation of
      abscesses associated with intra-abdominal sepsis in humans. The singular ability
      of this organism to modulate abscess formation in experimental rodent models
      resides in the structurally distinct and ionically charged capsular
      polysaccharides A (PS A) and B (PS B). The regulation of abscess formation in
      animals is dependent on T lymphocytes. However, the manner in which PS A
      interacts with T cells remains unknown. We therefore tested the T cell
      stimulatory capacity of purified PS A on mouse and rat lymphocytes in cellular
      proliferation assays and found that the PS A molecule possesses mitogenic
      characteristics distinguishable from those of the polyclonal B cell activator
      LPS, the T cell mitogen Con A, and staphylococcal enterotoxin A superantigen.
      Further, PS A stimulated proliferation of normal mouse and rat lymphocytes
      differentially. Mouse B cells responded to PS A in a fashion that did not require
      exogenous APC function, while rat T lymphocyte responses to PS A required APC
      function derived from autologous or xenogenic feeder cells. Cellular depletion
      experiments showed that the CD4+ subset of rat spleen cells was the primary
      responder cell type to PS A in vitro. The differential stimulatory effects of PS
      A on mouse and rat lymphocytes may reflect its ability to stimulate different
      lymphocyte subsets in vivo through the activities of receptor/counter-receptor
      pairs present on responder lymphocytes and cognate APC.

PMID- 9973500
TI  - The role of actin microfilaments in the down-regulation of the degranulation
      response in RBL-2H3 mast cells.
AB  - Cross-linking of FcepsilonRI on rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells initiates a
      signaling cascade leading to degranulation of the cells and the release of
      inflammatory mediators. Inhibitors that disrupt microfilaments, such as
      latrunculin and cytochalasin D, do not cause any degranulation on their own, but
      they do enhance FcepsilonRI-mediated degranulation. Dose-response studies show a
      good correlation between inhibition of actin polymerization and increased
      degranulation. In RBL cells, latrunculin causes a decrease in basal levels of
      filamentous actin (F-actin), while cytochalasin D does not. This is particularly
      evident in the Triton-insoluble pool of F-actin which is highly cross-linked and
      associated with the plasma membrane. A concentration of 500 nM latrunculin
      decreases the basal level of Triton-insoluble F-actin by 60-70% and total F-actin
      levels by 25%. Latrunculin increases both the rate and extent of Ag-induced
      degranulation while having no effect on pervanadate-induced degranulation.
      Pervanadate activates the signaling pathways directly and bypasses the cross
      linking of the receptor. RBL cells, activated through FcepsilonRI in the presence
      of latrunculin, show increased phospholipase activity as well as increased
      tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk and increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the
      receptor itself by the tyrosine kinase Lyn. This indicates that the very earliest
      signaling events after receptor cross-linking are enhanced. These results suggest
      that actin microfilaments may interact, either directly or indirectly, with the
      receptor itself and that they may regulate the signaling process at the level of
      receptor phosphorylation. Microfilaments may possibly act by uncoupling Lyn from
      the cross-linked receptor.

PMID- 9973501
TI  - TCR vaccines against T cell lymphoma: QS-21 and IL-12 adjuvants induce a
      protective CD8+ T cell response.
AB  - Tumor-specific TCR can serve as an effective target for active immunotherapy of T
      cell malignancies. Using the murine T cell tumor model C6VL, vaccination with
      C6VL TCR protected mice from a subsequent lethal dose of tumor cells. This study
      characterizes the immune mechanisms involved in the tumor protection, and the
      influence of immunologic adjuvants in inducing a protective immune response.
      Immune responses induced by TCR vaccines formulated with various adjuvants: QS
      21, IL-12, SAF-1, CD40L, and GM-CSF were compared. QS-21, IL-12, and SAF-1 biased
      the humoral immune response toward Th1-type, reflected by the induction of IgG2a
      and IgG2b anti-C6VL TCR Abs. CD40L and GM-CSF exclusively produced IgG1 Abs,
      reflecting a Th2-type immune response. In our tumor model system, only vaccines
      containing adjuvants that induced a Th1-type immune response favored tumor
      protection. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CD8+ T cells were necessary and
      sufficient for tumor protection using anti-CD8 mAb depletion and adoptive cell
      transfer experiments. Transfer of hyperimmune serum containing anti-C6VL TCR Abs
      into na ive mice had modest anti-tumor effects and was not sufficient to prevent
      tumor growth. TCR-vaccinated B cell-deficient mice were not protected against
      C6VL tumor, and tumor protection was not completely restored after hyperimmune
      serum transfer. Thus, B cells may serve as important APCs in inducing a
      protective immune response. Based on these results future TCR vaccines should be
      designed to maintain native TCR conformation, as well as induce a strong Th1-type
      immune response.

PMID- 9973502
TI  - IFN-gamma-mediated control of Coxiella burnetii survival in monocytes: the role
      of cell apoptosis and TNF.
AB  - The treatment of infectious diseases caused by intracellular bacteria, such as Q
      fever, may benefit from cytokines acting on macrophages. Monocytic THP-1 cells
      were infected with Coxiella burnetii, the etiological agent of Q fever, and then
      treated with IFN-gamma. While C. burnetii multiplied in untreated monocytes, IFN
      gamma reduced bacterial viability after 24 h of treatment and reached maximum
      inhibition after 96 h. IFN-gamma also affected the viability of infected cells.
      Cell death resulted from apoptosis; occurring 24 h after the addition of IFN
      gamma, it reached a maximum after 48 h and was followed by necrosis. Reactive
      oxygen intermediates were not required for C. burnetii killing, since monocytes
      from patients with chronic granulomatous disease were microbicidal in response to
      IFN-gamma. The role of cytokines was also investigated. IFN-gamma elicited a
      moderate release of IL-1beta in infected monocytes. Moreover, the IL-1 receptor
      antagonist did not affect C. burnetii survival, suggesting that IL-1beta was not
      involved in the bacterial killing induced by IFN-gamma. TNF was involved in IFN
      gamma-induced killing of C. burnetii and cell death. IFN-gamma induced mRNA
      expression and sustained secretion of TNF. Neutralizing Abs to TNF as well as Abs
      directed against TNF receptors I and II, significantly prevented IFN-gamma
      dependent killing of C. burnetii and cell death. These results suggest that IFN
      gamma promotes the killing of C. burnetii in monocytes through an apoptotic
      mechanism mediated in part by TNF.

PMID- 9973503
TI  - Fc gamma receptor-mediated activation of phospholipase D regulates macrophage
      phagocytosis of IgG-opsonized particles.
AB  - Receptors for the Fc portion of IgG (Fc gamma Rs) integrate the innate and
      acquired components of immunity by coupling the specific recognition of IgG Abs
      to the activation of phagocytic leukocytes. Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms
      that regulate phagocyte stimulation by Fc gamma Rs may permit therapeutic
      modulation to augment immunoprotective aspects and minimize damage to host
      tissues in diverse inflammatory diseases. Since phospholipase D (PLD) has been
      linked to the stimulation of cytotoxic leukocyte responses, we characterized Fc
      gamma R-dependent activation of PLD in human macrophages. IgG-coated SRBCs (EIgG)
      stimulated a 9.4-fold increase in PLD activity compared with SRBCs treated with
      control Ab (p < 0. 001), determined by formation of the PLD-specific product
      phosphatidylethanol in the presence of 0.5% ethanol. Levels of phosphatidic acid,
      the physiologic product of PLD-mediated catalysis, were significantly increased
      in the absence of ethanol (6.4-fold, p < 0.001). PLD activity was also stimulated
      by immune complex-coated latex beads or cross-linking of Abs specific for Fc
      gamma RI, Fc gamma RII, or Fc gamma RIII. Phagocytosis of EIgG was reduced by two
      inhibitors of PLD-mediated signaling, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate or 1-butanol.
      Addition of purified PLD restored control levels of phagocytosis in cells in
      which endogenous PLD was inhibited. The tyrosine kinase inhibitors genistein and
      herbimycin A caused concordant reductions in Fc gamma R-stimulated PLD activity
      and phagocytosis. These studies demonstrate that Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis
      is accompanied by tyrosine kinase-dependent activation of PLD and support the
      hypothesis that stimulation of PLD functions to regulate the ingestion of IgG
      opsonized particles.

PMID- 9973504
TI  - Expression of the neutrophil chemokine KC in the colon of mice with enterocolitis
      and by intestinal epithelial cell lines: effects of flora and proinflammatory
      cytokines.
AB  - IL-10 plays an important role in preventing excessive inflammation to the normal
      flora in the intestinal lumen. The purpose of this study was to compare the
      effect of normal flora on inflammation in mice in which the IL-10 gene was
      disrupted. IL-10 knock-out mice housed in germfree conditions remained healthy
      while those housed in conventional conditions developed colitis after weaning,
      suggesting that IL-10 inhibits the adverse responses to luminal Ag. Crypt
      abscesses were present in virtually all of the diseased animals as evidenced by
      flattening of the epithelial cells and a large number of neutrophils in the lumen
      of the crypt. Since KC is a chemokine that is capable of recruiting neutrophils
      in mice, mRNA and protein for KC was measured. Increased levels of both KC mRNA
      and protein were detected in the colon of diseased mice. To determine whether the
      epithelial cells were capable of synthesizing KC and contributing to neutrophil
      accumulation in the crypts, a murine intestinal epithelial cell line (Mode-K) was
      shown to express mRNA and protein for KC. Two cytokines induced in association
      with colitis in these mice, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, increased the expression of
      KC mRNA and protein in murine epithelial cells. However, IL-10 was incapable of
      decreasing the induction of KC, even though the cells expressed the IL-10
      receptor. These results suggest that the neutrophil chemokine KC is produced by
      gastrointestinal epithelial cells in response to inflammatory mediators that are
      expressed following exposure to normal flora in animals lacking IL-10.

PMID- 9973505
TI  - The beta-glucan-binding lectin site of mouse CR3 (CD11b/CD18) and its function in
      generating a primed state of the receptor that mediates cytotoxic activation in
      response to iC3b-opsonized target cells.
AB  - Mouse leukocyte CR3 (Mac-1, alphaMbeta2 integrin) was shown to function as a
      receptor for beta-glucans in the same way as human CR3. Soluble zymosan
      polysaccharide (SZP) or pure beta-glucans labeled with FITC or 125I bound in a
      saturable and reversible manner to neutrophils, macrophages, and NK cells. This
      lectin activity was blocked by anti-CD11b mAb M1/70 or 5C6 and did not occur with
      leukocytes from CR3-/- (CD11b-deficient) mice. SZP preparations containing
      primarily mannose or glucose bound to CR3, and the binding of 125I-labeled beta
      glucan to CR3 was competitively inhibited by beta-glucans from barley or seaweed,
      but not by yeast alpha-mannan. Also, as with human CR3, the lectin site of mouse
      CR3 was inhibited by alpha- or beta-methylglucoside (but not D-glucose), alpha-
      or beta-methylmannoside, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Phagocytosis of zymosan and
      serum-opsonized zymosan was partially inhibited by anti-CR3 and was reduced to
      <40% of normal with leukocytes from CR3-/- mice. As with neutrophils from
      patients with CD18 deficiency, neutrophils from CR3-/- mice exhibited no
      phagocytosis of particulate beta-glucan. SZP or beta-glucans primed CR3 of
      neutrophils, macrophages, and NK cells for cytotoxicity of iC3b-opsonized tumor
      cells that otherwise did not trigger killing. beta-Glucan priming for
      cytotoxicity was inhibited by anti-CR3 and did not occur with leukocytes from CR3
      /- mice. The primed state of macrophage and NK cell CR3 remained detectable for
      18 to 24 h after pulsing with beta-glucans. The similarity of mouse and human CR3
      in response to beta-glucans highlights the utility of mouse tumor models for
      development of therapeutic beta-glucans.

PMID- 9973506
TI  - Bacterial DNA containing CpG motifs stimulates lymphocyte-dependent protection of
      mice against lethal infection with intracellular bacteria.
AB  - Bacterial DNA containing unmethylated CpG motifs activates mammalian lymphocytes
      and macrophages to produce cytokines and polyclonal Ig. These include IFN-gamma,
      IL-12, TNF-alpha, and IL-6, which are important in the control of intracellular
      bacterial infection. Here, we show that bacterial DNA, as well as synthetic
      oligonucleotides containing CpG motifs, induce protection against large lethal
      doses of Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) and Listeria
      monocytogenes. Methylation of DNA at CpG dinucleotides or inversion of the motif
      abolished this protection. Surprisingly, DNA-mediated protection was highly
      dependent on lymphocytes, particularly B cells, as well as the production of IFN
      gamma. Optimal protection was elicited 2-3 days after inoculation with DNA and
      persisted for up to 2 wk. Further, animals surviving lethal challenge developed
      pathogen-specific secondary immunity. These findings indicate that host innate
      immune responses to bacterial DNA may contribute to the induction of protective
      immunity to bacteria and the subsequent development of memory.

PMID- 9973507
TI  - Bacterial superantigens induce down-modulation of CC chemokine responsiveness in
      human monocytes via an alternative chemokine ligand-independent mechanism.
AB  - Staphylococcal superantigens (SAgs) are very potent T cell mitogens, but they can
      also activate monocytes by binding directly to MHC class II molecules in a manner
      independent of TCR coengagement. Induction of proinflammatory cytokines and
      chemokine expression in monocytes by superantigens has recently been reported.
      Here we report that superantigen stimulation of human peripheral blood monocytes
      results in a rapid, dose-dependent, and specific down-regulation of chemokine
      (macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), monocyte chemotactic
      protein-1 and MIP-1beta) binding sites (e.g., CCR1, CCR2, and CCR5), which
      correlates with a concomitant hyporesponsiveness of human monocytes to these CC
      chemokine ligands. This down-regulation occurs 15-30 min following superantigen
      stimulation and is specific to chemokine receptors, in that binding and
      responsiveness of monocytes to the chemoattractant formyl-tripeptide FMLP are not
      affected. We further demonstrate that SAg-induced down-modulation of chemokine
      binding and monocyte hyporesponsiveness to the chemokines MIP-1alpha, monocyte
      chemotactic protein-1, and MIP-1beta is mediated through cellular protein
      tyrosine kinases, and the down-modulation can be mimicked by an MHC class II
      specific mAb. Additionally, our observations indicate that SAg-induced loss of
      chemokine binding and monocyte responsiveness is probably mediated by secreted
      serine proteinases. Bacterial SAg-induced down-modulation of chemokine
      responsiveness represents a previously unrecognized strategy by some bacteria to
      subvert immune responses by affecting the intricate balance between chemokine and
      chemokine receptor expression and function.

PMID- 9973508
TI  - Conserved CTL epitopes shared between HIV-infected human long-term survivors and
      chimpanzees.
AB  - Certain HIV-1 infected humans that do not progress to AIDS have been documented
      to share particular MHC class I alleles that appear to correlate with long-term
      survival. HIV-1-infected chimpanzees are relatively resistant to progression to
      AIDS. Out of a group of 10 chimpanzees with CTL activity and nonprogressive HIV-1
      infection, 2 animals with prominent cytolytic CD3+CD8+ T cell responses to HIV-1
      Ags were studied in detail. Characterization of these CTL revealed that they
      contained the granzymes A and B, T cell intracellular Ag-1, and perforin and
      induced calcium-dependent cytolysis that correlated with the presence of
      apoptotic nuclei in target cells. These CTL responses were directed against two
      gagpeptides, which were found to be identical to previously described epitopes
      recognized in the context of HLA-B27 and HLA-B57 molecules. The latter two
      restriction elements occur with increased frequency in human long-term survivor
      cohorts. Phylogenetic comparisons revealed that the chimpanzee restriction
      elements, Patr-B*02and -B*03, described here do not show any obvious similarity
      with the HLA-B*27 and -B*57 alleles, suggesting that CTL responses to HIV-1 in
      distinct primate species may be controlled by different types of HLA-B-like
      molecules. The CTL responses in these two chimpanzees are directed, however,
      against highly conserved epitopes mapping across the majority of HIV-1 clades.

PMID- 9973509
TI  - Anti-KS: identification of autoantibodies to asparaginyl-transfer RNA synthetase
      associated with interstitial lung disease.
AB  - Autoantibodies to five of the aminoacyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases have been
      described, and each is associated with a syndrome of inflammatory myopathy with
      interstitial lung disease (ILD) and arthritis. Serum KS, from a patient with ILD
      and inflammatory arthritis without evidence of myositis, immunoprecipitated a
      tRNA that was distinct from that precipitated by any described anti-synthetase or
      other reported tRNA-related Abs, along with a protein of 65 kDa. KS serum and IgG
      fraction each showed significant (88%) inhibition of asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase
      (AsnRS) activity, but not of any of the other 19 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
      activities. Among 884 patients with connective tissue diseases tested, only two
      other sera were found to immunoprecipitate tRNAs and proteins of identical gel
      mobility. These two and KS showed identical immunodiffusion lines using HeLa cell
      extract. The new sera significantly inhibited AsnRS without significant effects
      on other synthetases tested. Both patients had ILD but neither had evidence of
      myositis. These data strongly suggest that these three sera have autoantibodies
      to AsnRS, representing a sixth anti-synthetase. Anti-KS was more closely
      associated with ILD than with myositis. Further study of this Abs might prove
      useful in dissecting the stimuli responsible for the genesis of anti-synthetase
      autoantibodies.

PMID- 9973510
TI  - In vitro and in vivo dependency of chemokine generation on C5a and TNF-alpha.
AB  - Under a variety of conditions, alveolar macrophages can generate early response
      cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1), complement components, and chemotactic cytokines
      (chemokines). In the current studies, we determined the requirements for TNF
      alpha and the complement activation product C5a in chemokine production in vitro
      and in vivo. Two rat CXC chemokines (macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 and
      cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)) as well as three rat CC
      chemokines (MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1)
      were investigated. Chemokine generation in vitro was studied in rat alveolar
      macrophages stimulated with IgG immune complexes in the absence or presence of
      Abs to TNF-alpha or C5a. The rat lung injury model induced by IgG immune complex
      deposition was employed for in vivo studies. Abs to TNF-alpha or C5a were
      administered intratracheally or i.v., and effects on chemokine levels in
      bronchoalveolar lavage fluids were quantitated by ELISA. Both in vitro and in
      vivo studies demonstrated the requirements for TNF-alpha and C5a for full
      generation of CXC and CC chemokines. In vitro and in vivo blockade of TNF-alpha
      or C5a resulted in significantly reduced production of chemokines. Supernatant
      fluids from in vitro-stimulated macrophages revealed by Western blot analysis the
      presence of C5a/C5adesArg, indicating intrinsic generation of C5a/C5adesArg by
      alveolar macrophages and explaining the higher efficiency of intratracheal vs
      i.v. blockade of C5a in reducing chemokine production. These results underscore
      the central role of both TNF-alpha and C5a, which appear to function as autocrine
      activators to promote CXC and CC chemokine generation by alveolar macrophages.

PMID- 9973511
TI  - CD95 (Fas/Apo-1) as a receptor governing astrocyte apoptotic or inflammatory
      responses: a key role in brain inflammation?
AB  - Astrocytes are a major cellular component of the brain that are capable of
      intense proliferation and metabolic activity during diverse inflammatory brain
      diseases (such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's dementia, tumor, HIV
      encephalitis, or prion disease). In this biological process, called reactive
      gliosis, astrocyte apoptosis is frequently observed and could be an important
      mechanism of regulation. However, the factors responsible for apoptosis in human
      astrocytes are poorly defined. Here, we report that short term cultured
      astrocytes derived from different brain regions express significant levels of
      CD95 at their surface. Only late passage astrocytes are sensitive to CD95
      ligation using either CD95 mAb or recombinant CD95 ligand. Blocking experiments
      using caspase inhibitors with different specificities (DEVD-CHO, z-VAD-fmk, and
      YVAD-cmk), an enzymatic activity assay, and immunoblotting show that
      CPP32/caspase-3 play a prominent role in CD95-induced astrocyte death. In
      contrast, early passage astrocytes are totally resistant to death, but a
      significant increase in astrocytic IL-8 secretion (p < 0.001, by Wilcoxon's test
      for paired samples) is observed after CD95 triggering. Production of IL-8
      contributes to the resistance of astrocytes to CD95 ligation. Furthermore, in the
      presence of IFN-gamma, resistant astrocytes became sensitive to CD95-mediated
      death. These data suggest that microenvironmental factors can influence the
      consequences of CD95 ligation on astrocytes. Therefore, we propose that CD95
      expressed by human astrocytes plays a pivotal role in the regulation of astrocyte
      life and death and may be a key factor in inflammatory processes in the brain,
      such as reactive gliosis.

PMID- 9973512
TI  - Phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 and the release of arachidonic acid
      in human neutrophils.
AB  - Kinases mediating phosphorylation and activation of cytosolic phospholipase A2
      (cPLA2) in intact cells remain to be fully characterized. Platelet-activating
      factor stimulation of human neutrophils increases cPLA2 phosphorylation. This
      increase is inhibited by PD 98059, a mitogen-activated protein
      (MAP)/extracellular signal-regulating kinase (erk) 1 inhibitor, but not by SB
      203580, a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, indicating that this action is mediated
      through activation of the p42 MAP kinase (erk2). However, platelet-activating
      factor-induced arachidonic acid release is inhibited by both PD 98059 and SB
      203580. Stimulation by TNF-alpha increases cPLA2 phosphorylation, which is
      inhibited by SB 203580, but not PD 98059, suggesting a role for p38 MAP kinase.
      LPS increases cPLA2 phosphorylation and arachidonic acid release. However,
      neither of these actions is inhibited by either PD 98059 or SB 203580. PMA
      increases cPLA2 phosphorylation. This action is inhibited by PD 98059 but not SB
      203580. Finally, FMLP increases cPLA2 phosphorylation and arachidonic acid
      release. Interestingly, while the FMLP-induced phosphorylation of cPLA2 is not
      affected by the inhibitors of the p38 MAP kinase or erk cascades, both inhibitors
      significantly decrease arachidonic acid release stimulated by FMLP. SB 203580 or
      PD 98059 has no inhibitory effects on the activity of coenzyme A-independent
      transacylase.

PMID- 9973513
TI  - Expression and function of the chemokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 in sepsis.
AB  - Neutrophils (polymorphonuclear neutrophils; PMN) and a redundant system of
      chemotactic cytokines (chemokines) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of
      the acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with sepsis. PMN express two
      cell surface receptors for the CXC chemokines, CXCR1 and CXCR2. We investigated
      the expression and function of these receptors in patients with severe sepsis.
      Compared with normal donors, CXCR2 surface expression was down-regulated by 50%
      on PMN from septic patients (p < 0.005), while CXCR1 expression persisted. In
      vitro migratory responses to the CXCR1 ligand, IL-8, were similar in PMN from
      septic patients and normal donors. By contrast, the migratory response to the
      CXCR2 ligands, epithelial cell-derived neutrophil activator (ENA-78) and the
      growth-related oncogene proteins, was markedly suppressed in PMN from septic
      patients (p < 0.05). Ab specific for CXCR1 blocked in vitro migration of PMN from
      septic patients to IL-8 (p < 0.05), but not to FMLP. Thus, functionally
      significant down-regulation of CXCR2 occurs on PMN in septic patients. We
      conclude that in a complex milieu of multiple CXC chemokines, CXCR1 functions as
      the single dominant CXC chemokine receptor in patients with sepsis. These
      observations offer a potential strategy for attenuating adverse inflammation in
      sepsis while preserving host defenses mediated by bacteria-derived peptides such
      as FMLP.

PMID- 9973514
TI  - Neutrophil recruitment by human IL-17 via C-X-C chemokine release in the airways.
AB  - IL-17 is a recently discovered cytokine that can be released from activated human
      CD4+ T lymphocytes. This study assessed the proinflammatory effects of human (h)
      IL-17 in the airways. In vitro, hIL-17 increased the release of IL-8 in human
      bronchial epithelial and venous endothelial cells, in a time- and concentration
      dependent fashion. This effect of hIL-17 was inhibited by cotreatment with an
      anti-hIL-17 Ab and was potentiated by hTNF-alpha. In addition, hIL-17 increased
      the expression of hIL-8 mRNA in bronchial epithelial cells. Conditioned medium
      from hIL-17-treated bronchial epithelial cells increased human neutrophil
      migration in vitro. This effect was blocked by an anti-hIL-8 Ab. In vivo,
      intratracheal instillation of hIL-17 selectively recruited neutrophils into rat
      airways. This recruitment of neutrophils into the airways was inhibited by an
      anti-hIL-17 Ab and accompanied by increased levels of rat macrophage inflammatory
      protein-2 (rMIP-2) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. The BAL neutrophilia
      was also blocked by an anti-rMIP-2 Ab. The effect of hIL-17 on the release of hIL
      8 and rMIP-2 was also inhibited by glucocorticoids, in vitro and in vivo,
      respectively. These data demonstrate that hIL-17 can specifically and selectively
      recruit neutrophils into the airways via the release of C-X-C chemokines from
      bronchial epithelial cells and suggest a novel mechanism linking the activation
      of T-lymphocytes to recruitment of neutrophils into the airways.

PMID- 9973515
TI  - Anti-ICAM-1 monoclonal antibody R6.5 (Enlimomab) promotes activation of
      neutrophils in whole blood.
AB  - R6.5 (BIRR-1, Enlimomab), a murine IgG2a mAb to the human ICAM-1, inhibits
      leukocyte adhesion to the vascular endothelium, thereby decreasing leukocyte
      extravasation and inflammatory tissue injury. In initial clinical trials, R6.5
      proved to be beneficial in reducing both disease activity in refractory
      rheumatoid arthritis and the incidence of acute rejection after kidney and liver
      allograft transplantations. However, adverse effects such as fever, leukopenia,
      or cutaneous reactions were not infrequent. We studied the effects of R6.5 on
      neutrophil function in whole blood samples ex vivo. Surprisingly, at the
      concentrations achieved in clinical trials, R6. 5 activated neutrophilic
      granulocytes, as indicated by a significant increase in expression of the
      adhesion molecule beta2-integrin CD11b, a concurrent decrease in L-selectin
      expression, and an enhancement of the oxidative burst activity. Neutrophil
      activation was not exerted by an anti-ICAM-1 mAb of the IgG1 isotype, by isotype
      matched, irrelevant anti-2-phenyloxazolone mAb, or by F(ab')2 fragments of R6.5.
      Neutrophil activation was completely inhibited by soluble complement receptor
      type 1. We conclude that in whole blood, R6.5 activates resting neutrophils in a
      complement-dependent manner. This finding can explain, at least in part, the side
      effects associated with R6.5 therapy.

PMID- 9973516
TI  - Vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating
      polypeptide inhibit endotoxin-induced TNF-alpha production by macrophages: in
      vitro and in vivo studies.
AB  - Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide synthesized by immune cells
      that can modulate several immune aspects, including the function of cells
      involved in the inflammatory response, such as macrophages and monocytes. The
      production and release of cytokines by activated phagocytes are important events
      in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. There is abundant evidence
      that the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha is an important mediator of shock and
      organ failure complicating Gram-negative sepsis. VIP has been shown to attenuate
      the deleterious consequences of this pathologic phenomenon. In this study we have
      investigated the effects of VIP and the structurally related neuropeptide
      pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP38) on the production of
      TNF-alpha by endotoxin-activated murine peritoneal macrophages. Both
      neuropeptides rapidly and specifically inhibit the LPS-stimulated production of
      TNF-alpha, exerting their action through the binding to VPAC1 receptor and the
      subsequent activation of the adenylate cyclase system. VIP and PACAP regulate the
      production of TNF-alpha at a transcriptional level. In vitro results were
      correlated with an inhibition of both TNF-alpha expression and release in
      endotoxemic mice in vivo. The immunomodulatory role of VIP in vivo is supported
      by the up-regulation of VIP release in serum and peritoneal fluid by LPS and
      proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6. These findings
      support the idea that under toxicity conditions associated with high LPS doses,
      VIP and PACAP could act as protective mediators that regulate the excessive
      release of TNF-alpha to reduce inflammation or shock.

PMID- 9973517
TI  - Immunostimulatory CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides cause extramedullary murine
      hemopoiesis.
AB  - Bacterial DNA and the synthetic CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) derived thereof
      have attracted attention because they activate cells of the adaptive immune
      system (lymphocytes) and the innate immune system (APCs) in a sequence-dependent
      manner. Here, we addressed whether CpG-ODNs affect hemopoiesis. Challenging mice
      with immunostimulatory CpG-ODN sequences led to transient splenomegaly, with a
      maximum increase of spleen weight at day 6. The induction of splenomegaly by CpG
      ODNs was sequence-specific, dose-dependent, and associated with an increase in
      splenic cell count, in numbers of granulocyte-macrophage CFUs (GM-CFUs), and
      early erythroid progenitors (burst-forming units-erythroid). The transfer of
      spleen cells from CpG-ODN-pretreated animals into lethally irradiated syngeneic
      mice yielded an increase of spleen CFUs. Furthermore, the challenge of
      sublethally irradiated mice with CpG-ODNs caused radioprotective effects, in that
      recovery of GM-CFUs and cytotoxic T cell function was enhanced. The increase in
      GM-CFU and CTL function correlated with an enhanced resistance to Listeria
      infection in irradiated mice. We conclude from these data that CpG-ODNs trigger
      extramedullary hemopoiesis, and that this finding could be of therapeutic
      relevance in myelosuppression.

PMID- 9973518
TI  - Modulation of airway inflammation by passive transfer of allergen-specific Th1
      and Th2 cells in a mouse model of asthma.
AB  - Although evidence is strong that Th cells play a major role in mediating the
      airway inflammation observed in asthma, the relative contributions of the Th cell
      subsets, Th1 and Th2, are unclear. It has been suggested that asthma is driven by
      Th2 predominant responses in the lung, but other data suggest a role for Th1
      cells as well. Here we show by intracellular cytokine staining and flow
      cytometric analysis that in the murine model of OVA-induced airway inflammation,
      both Th1 and Th2 cells are recruited to the airways. Th1 cells predominate early
      in the response and Th2 cells predominate late. We further show that increasing
      the number of Th1 cells by passive transfer of OVA-specific Th1 cells results in
      increased inflammation. This effect is observed regardless of whether the T cells
      are transferred before sensitization or after airway inflammation is already in
      progress. Transfer of Th1 cells also results in increased recruitment of host T
      cells of both Th1 and Th2 phenotypes. Passive transfer of Th2 cells results in
      little change in the inflammatory response. These results demonstrate that Ag
      specific Th1 cells are not protective in this model of asthma, but rather may
      potentiate the inflammatory response.

PMID- 9973519
TI  - Determinant spreading associated with demyelination in a nonhuman primate model
      of multiple sclerosis.
AB  - Definition of the immune process that causes demyelination in multiple sclerosis
      is essential to determine the feasibility of Ag-directed immunotherapy. Using the
      nonhuman primate, Callithrix jacchus jacchus (common marmoset), we show that
      immunization with myelin basic protein and proteolipid protein determinants
      results in clinical disease with significant demyelination. Demyelination was
      associated with spreading to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)
      determinants that generated anti-MOG serum Abs and Ig deposition in central
      nervous system white matter lesions. These data associate intermolecular
      "determinant spreading" with clinical autoimmune disease in primates and raise
      important issues for the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9973520
TI  - Cross-linking of CD44 on rheumatoid synovial cells up-regulates VCAM-1.
AB  - CD44 is a ubiquitous molecule also known as hyaluronic acid or homing receptor.
      However, the cellular functions and its role in inflammation, for example,
      rheumatoid synovitis, are currently unknown. In this study, we propose a novel
      function for CD44. Using synovial cells from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients,
      we demonstrated that CD44 cross-linking and binding to hyaluronan augmented VCAM
      1 expression and subsequently VCAM-1-mediated cell adhesion. Briefly, we found
      that 1) rheumatoid synovial cells highly expressed CD44; 2) cross-linking of CD44
      markedly but transiently augmented VCAM-1 expression and its mRNA transcription
      much more than did IL-1beta and TNF-alpha; 3) hyaluronan, especially when
      fragmented, also up-regulated VCAM-1; 4) CD44 activated the transcription factor
      AP-1; and 5) the integrin-dependent adhesive function of RA synovial cells to T
      cells was also amplified by CD44 cross-linking. These results indicate that the
      adhesion of RA synovial cells to matrices such as hyaluronic acid through CD44
      could up-regulate VCAM-1 expression and VCAM-1-mediated adhesion to T cells,
      which might in turn cause activation of T cells and synovial cells in RA
      synovitis. We therefore propose that such cross-talking among distinct adhesion
      molecules may be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation, including RA
      synovitis.

PMID- 9973521
TI  - IFN-alpha 2B enhances Th1 cytokine responses in bladder cancer patients receiving
      Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy.
AB  - Combination therapy with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) plus IFN
      alpha for superficial bladder cancer has been demonstrated to be more effective
      than either single agent alone in animal studies and of suggested greater
      efficacy in clinical studies. However, the mechanism by which IFN-alpha enhances
      BCG-mediated antitumor activity is poorly understood. Using PBMCs from bladder
      cancer patients, IFN-alpha was found to substantially enhance the efficacy of BCG
      to induce IFN-gamma production. Among 34 patients tested, 80% showed >4-fold
      increase. This effect of IFN-alpha was observed in both initial and memory
      responses to BCG. In addition, IFN-alpha up-regulated BCG-induced IL-12 and TNF
      alpha and down-regulated BCG-induced IL-10. Neutralizing endogenous IL-10 or
      adding exogenous IL-12 provided further synergy for IFN-gamma production. In
      clinical practice, intravesical IFN-alpha 2B (50 million units (MU)/dose) was
      observed to accelerate urinary IFN-gamma production to low-dose BCG (one-tenth or
      one-third of a full dose) in patients treated with combination therapy compared
      with BCG alone. These results suggest that IFN-alpha is a potent BCG enhancer
      that polarizes the BCG-induced immune response toward the cellular immune pathway
      by promoting Th1 cytokine expression and reducing Th2 cytokine expression. This
      study provides an immunological basis for future rational use of IFN-alpha in
      conjunction with intravesical BCG for bladder cancer immunotherapy.

PMID- 9973522
TI  - "Allergen engineering": variants of the timothy grass pollen allergen Phl p 5b
      with reduced IgE-binding capacity but conserved T cell reactivity.
AB  - One problem of conventional allergen-specific immunotherapy is the risk of
      anaphylactic reactions. A new approach to make immunotherapy safer and more
      efficient might be the application of engineered allergens with reduced IgE
      binding capacity but retained T cell reactivity. Using overlapping dodeca
      peptides, the dominant T cell epitopes of the timothy grass pollen allergen Phl p
      5b were identified. By site-directed mutagenesis outside these regions, point and
      deletion mutants were generated. Allergen variants were analyzed for IgE-binding
      capacity with sera of different grass pollen allergic patients by Western
      blotting, Dot blotting, and EAST inhibition test, and for histamine releasing
      capacity with peripheral blood basophils from different patients. The deletion
      mutants revealed significantly reduced IgE reactivity and histamine releasing
      capacity, compared with the wild-type Phl p 5b. Furthermore, in vivo skin prick
      tests showed that the deletion mutants had a significantly lower potency to
      induce cutaneous reactions than the wild-type Phl p 5b. On the other hand, T cell
      clones and T cell lines from different allergic patients showed comparable
      proliferation after stimulation with allergen variants and wild-type Phl p 5b.
      Considering their reduced anaphylactogenic potential together with their
      conserved T cell reactivity, the engineered allergens could be important tools
      for efficient and safe allergen-specific immunotherapy.

PMID- 9973523
TI  - Genetic dissection of SLE pathogenesis: adoptive transfer of Sle1 mediates the
      loss of tolerance by bone marrow-derived B cells.
AB  - Sle1 is a potent autoimmune susceptibility locus on chromosome 1 originally
      identified in a genome scan of testcross progeny between the systemic lupus
      erythematosus-prone NZM2410 strain and C57BL/6. We subsequently produced
      B6.NZMc1, a congenic strain carrying the NZM2410-derived Sle1 genomic interval on
      the B6 background and demonstrated that Sle1 mediated the loss of tolerance to
      chromatin in both the B and T cell compartments. In this communication, we show
      by adoptive transfer experiments that the autoimmune phenotypes of Sle1 are
      completely reconstituted in B6 radiation chimeras receiving B6.NZMc1 bone marrow
      but not by the reciprocal reconstitution, demonstrating that Sle1 is functionally
      expressed in B cells. In additional experiments, cotransfer of mixtures of bone
      marrow derived from B6.NZMc1 and nonautoimmune congenic B6 mice carrying allelic
      T and B cell markers showed that only B cells derived from B6.NZMc1 bone marrow
      produced anti-chromatin autoantibodies. In contrast, increased expression of CD69
      was equivalent in CD4+ T cells derived from either B6.NZMc1 or congenic B6 bone
      marrow, suggesting that either T cell population could be activated subsequent to
      loss of tolerance in the B cell compartment. These findings indicate that the
      expression of Sle1 in B cells is essential for the development of autoimmunity.

PMID- 9973524
TI  - A conformation-dependent epitope in Addison's disease and other endocrinological
      autoimmune diseases maps to a carboxyl-terminal functional domain of human
      steroid 21-hydroxylase.
AB  - Idiopathic Addison's disease develops as a consequence of autoimmune destruction
      of steroid-producing cells in the adrenal gland. A major autoantigen is 21
      hydroxylase (21OH; P450c21), which is involved in the biosynthesis of cortisol
      and aldosterone in the adrenal cortex. We selected a number of functionally
      important 21OH amino acid substitutions, found in patients with congenital
      adrenal hyperplasia, to study their effects on the binding of 21OH autoantibodies
      (21OHAb) to 21OH. The ability of 21OHAb to bind in vitro transcribed and
      translated wild-type 21OH and five different 21OH mutant proteins was quantified
      by liquid-phase assays. Sera from 21OHAb-positive patients with idiopathic
      Addison's disease (n = 24), Graves' disease (n = 3), and insulin-dependent
      diabetes mellitus (n = 1) were used. While the P105L, delE196, and G291S
      mutations had no effect on autoantibody binding, the P453S mutation had a
      considerable effect, and the R483P mutation almost completely abolished binding.
      Synthetic peptides corresponding to linear epitopes defined by amino acids 447
      461 and 477-491 were unable to compete with wild-type 21OH for binding to
      autoantibodies. Direct 21OH DNA sequencing could not reveal any specific genetic
      variation in alleles found in 21OHAb-positive patients. We conclude that the
      region involving R483 plays a key role in the formation of a three-dimensional
      epitope in a functionally important C-terminal domain of the enzyme.

PMID- 9973525
TI  - Extracellular HIV-1 tat protein up-regulates the expression of surface CXC
      chemokine receptor 4 in resting CD4+ T cells.
AB  - Here we report that synthetic HIV-1 Tat protein, immobilized on a solid
      substrate, up-regulates the surface expression of the CXC-chemokine receptor 4
      (CXCR4), but not of the CC-chemokine receptor 5 in purified populations of
      primary resting CD4+ T cells. The Tat-mediated increase of CXCR4 occurred in a
      well-defined range of concentrations (1-10 nM of immobilized Tat) and time period
      (4-8 h postincubation). Moreover, the increase of CXCR4 was accompanied by an
      increased entry of the HXB2 T cell line-tropic (X4-tropic), but not of the BaL
      macrophage-tropic strain of HIV-1. The ability of Tat to up-regulate CXCR4
      expression was abrogated by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide,
      clearly indicating the requirement of de novo synthesis. As Tat protein is
      actively released by HIV-1 infected cells, our data indicate a potentially
      important role for extracellular Tat in rendering bystander CD4+ T cells more
      susceptible to infection with X4-tropic HIV-1 isolates.

PMID- 9973526
TI  - Adjuvanticity of the cholera toxin A1-based gene fusion protein, CTA1-DD, is
      critically dependent on the ADP-ribosyltransferase and Ig-binding activity.
AB  - The ADP-ribosylating enterotoxins, cholera toxin (CT) and Escherichia coli heat
      labile toxin, are among the most powerful immunogens and adjuvants yet described.
      An innate problem, however, is their strong toxic effects, largely due to their
      promiscuous binding to all nucleated cells via their B subunits. Notwithstanding
      this, their exceptional immunomodulating ability is attracting increasing
      attention for use in systemic and mucosal vaccines. Whereas others have separated
      adjuvanticity from toxicity by disrupting the enzymatic activity of the A1
      subunit by site-directed mutagenesis, we have constructed a nontoxic molecule
      that combines the full enzymatic activity of the A1 subunit with a B cell
      targeting moiety in a gene fusion protein, the CTA1-DD adjuvant. Despite its more
      selective binding properties, we found comparable adjuvant effects of the novel
      CTA1-DD adjuvant to that of CT. Here we unequivocally demonstrate, using a panel
      of mutant CTA1-DD molecules, that the immunomodulating ability of CTA1-DD is
      dependent on both an intact enzymatic activity and the Ig-binding ability of the
      DD dimer. Both agents, CT and CTA1-DD, ADP-ribosylate intact B cells. However,
      contrary to CT, no increase in intracellular cyclic AMP in the targeted cells was
      detected, suggesting that cyclic AMP may not be important for adjuvanticity. Most
      remarkably, CTA1-DD achieves similar immunomodulating effects to CT using a
      ganglioside-GM1 receptor-independent pathway for internalization.

PMID- 9973527
TI  - Expression of the IL-12 receptor beta 1 and beta 2 subunits in human
      tuberculosis.
AB  - To determine whether the Th1 response in tuberculosis correlated with IL-12R
      expression, we measured expression of the IL-12R beta 1 and IL-12R beta 2
      subunits, as well as IL-12R beta 2 mRNA expression in tuberculosis patients and
      healthy tuberculin reactors. In tuberculosis patients, IFN-gamma production by
      Mycobacterium tuberculosis-stimulated PBMC was reduced, the percentages of T
      cells expressing IL-12R beta 1 and IL-12R beta 2 were significantly decreased,
      and IL-12R beta 2 mRNA expression was also markedly reduced. In contrast, in
      pleural fluid and lymph nodes at the site of disease in tuberculosis patients, in
      which IFN-gamma production is enhanced, IL-12R beta 2 mRNA expression was also
      increased. In M. tuberculosis-stimulated peripheral blood T cells from
      tuberculosis patients, anti-IL-10 and anti-TGF-beta enhanced IL-12R beta 1 and IL
      12R beta 2 expression, and IFN-gamma production. In M. tuberculosis-stimulated
      peripheral blood T cells from healthy tuberculin reactors, recombinant IL-10 and
      TGF-beta reduced IL-12R beta 1 and IL-12R beta 2 expression, as well as IFN-gamma
      production. In combination with prior studies showing increased production of TGF
      beta by blood monocytes from tuberculosis patients, this suggests that increased
      TGF-beta production is the underlying abnormality that reduces IL-12R beta 1 and
      IL-12R beta 2 expression in tuberculosis. Our findings provide evidence that IL
      12R expression correlates well with IFN-gamma production in human tuberculosis,
      and that expression of IL-12R beta 1 and IL-12R beta 2 may play a central role in
      mediating a protective Th1 response.

PMID- 9973528
TI  - A novel 22q11.2 microdeletion in DiGeorge syndrome.

PMID- 9973529
TI  - Activation of Vav and Ras through the nerve growth factor and B cell receptors by
      different kinases.
AB  - Engagement of the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) or the nerve growth factor
      receptor (NGFR/TrkA) induces activation of multiple tyrosine kinases, resulting
      in phosphorylation of numerous intracellular substrates. We show that addition of
      NGF or anti-IgM antibody leads to the early tyrosine phosphorylation of p95(vav),
      which is expressed exclusively in hematopoietic cells; NGF, similar to
      crosslinking the BCR, also results in the rapid activation of Ras. The
      phosphorylation of Vav and activation of Ras triggered by NGF is mediated through
      Trk tyrosine kinase, whereas signaling through the BCR uses a different tyrosine
      kinase. We also show that NGF induces tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc and its
      association with Grb2. Vav and Ras with the adaptor proteins Shc and Grb2 appear
      to serve as a link between different receptor-mediated signaling pathways and, in
      human B cells, may play an important regulatory role in neuroimmune interactions.

PMID- 9973530
TI  - The CD8beta ectodomain contributes to the augmented coreceptor function of
      CD8alphabeta heterodimers relative to CD8alphaalpha homodimers.
AB  - Within the lymphoid compartment, CD8 is expressed either as an alphaalpha
      homodimer or as an alphabeta heterodimer. Prior functional characterization of
      CD8alpha transfectants has demonstrated that CD8alphaalpha homodimers can
      reconstitute T cell responses in the absence of the CD8beta subunit. In order to
      now examine the role of CD8beta in TCR recognition, the CD8alpha cDNA alone or in
      combination with CD8beta cDNA was transfected into the mouse T cell hybridoma,
      N15wt, specific for VSV8/Kb. Comparison of antigen-induced IL-2 production
      reveals that CD8alphabeta+ transfectants are 100-fold more sensitive in molar
      terms of peptide than CD8alphaalpha+ transfectants. This enhancement of IL-2
      production is independent of CD8alpha or CD8beta cytoplasmic tails as
      demonstrated by analysis of cytoplasmic deletion mutants CD8alpha'beta,
      CD8alphabeta', and CD8alpha'beta'. These results indicate that the ectodomain of
      the CD8beta chain greatly enhances the coreceptor function of the CD8alphabeta
      molecule, at least for certain class I MHC restricted alphabeta TCRs.

PMID- 9973531
TI  - IgG subclass switching is associated with the severity of experimental autoimmune
      encephalomyelitis induced with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide in NOD
      mice.
AB  - We have recently shown that a single dose of the myelin oligodendrocyte
      glycoprotein (MOG) peptide 35-55 produces a relapsing-remitting demyelinating
      disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lewis rats. In this study we have
      assessed the possibility that a subclass of anti-MOG35-55 antibodies influences
      the clinical outcome of these diseases by examining the classes and isotypes of
      anti-MOG35-55 antibody produced during the course of MOG35-55-induced
      demyelinating disease in NOD mice. Following immunization, 7 of the 21 injected
      mice had only mild diseases, while the 14 others had severe progressive and/or
      relapsing-remitting diseases. There were no differences in anti-MOG35-55 IgG,
      IgA, IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG3 antibody titers between the severe and mild
      symptoms groups. High levels of IgG2b antibody to MOG35-55 were detected in all
      mice with severe symptoms. In contrast, none of the mice which contracted a mild
      disease produced anti-MOG35-55 IgG2b. These results suggest that in NOD mice, the
      IgG2b antibody response to MOG35-55 is associated with the severity of this MS
      like demyelinating disease.

PMID- 9973532
TI  - The cytoplasmic and the transmembrane domains are not sufficient for class I MHC
      signal transduction.
AB  - Class I MHC molecules deliver activation signals to T cells. To analyze the role
      of the cytoplasmic and the transmembrane (TM) domains of class I MHC molecules in
      T cell activation, Jurkat cells were transfected with genes for truncated class I
      MHC molecules which had only four intracytoplasmic amino acids and no potential
      phosphorylation sites or native molecules or both. Cross-linking either the
      native or the truncated molecules induced IL-2 production even under limiting
      stimulation conditions of low engagement of the stimulating mAb. Moreover, direct
      comparison of transfected truncated and native class I MHC molecules expressed on
      the same cell revealed significant stimulation induced by cross-linking the
      truncated molecules, despite low expression. In addition, truncated class I MHC
      molecules were as able to synergize with CD3, CD2, or CD28 initiated IL-2
      production as native molecules. In further experiments, hybrid constructs made of
      the extracellular portion of the murine CD8 alpha chain and of the TM and the
      intracytoplasmic domains of H-2Kk class I MHC molecule were transfected into
      Jurkat T cells. The expression of the transfected hybrid molecules was comparable
      to that of the native HLA-B7 molecules. Cross-linking the intact monomorphic HLA
      A,B,C epitope or the polymorphic HLA-B7 epitope induced IL-2 production upon
      costimulation with PMA. In contrast, cross-linking the hybrid molecules generated
      neither an increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) nor
      stimulated IL-2 production. By contrast, cross-linking intact murine class I MHC
      molecules induced [Ca2+]i, signal and IL-2 production in transfected Jurkat
      cells. The data therefore indicate that unlike many other signaling molecules,
      signaling via class I MHC molecules does not involve the cytoplasmic and the TM
      portions of the molecule, but rather class I MHC signal transduction is likely to
      be mediated by the extracellular domain of the molecule.

PMID- 9973533
TI  - Mycobacterium avium complex activates nuclear factor kappaB via induction of
      inflammatory cytokines.
AB  - A variety of microorganisms has been reported to directly induce NF-kappaB, a
      critical step in the regulation of genes involved in the cellular immune
      response. In this study, we demonstrate that proinflammatory cytokines such as
      tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) produced upon activation by the
      Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) preceed NF-kappaB activity in U937, a human
      monocytoid cell line. MAC induction of TNFalpha mRNA expression was detected
      within 15 min after MAC infection, whereas enhanced NF-kappaB binding activity
      was not detected until 90 to 120 min postinfection. Supershift analysis revealed
      increased p50 in the MAC-induced NF-kappaB binding complexes. Consistent with an
      autocrine mechanism, anti-TNFalpha antibody and dexamethasone, a known cytokine
      inhibitor, both completely suppressed the effect of MAC on the induction of NF
      kappaB. Taken together, these findings suggest that exposure of monocyte cell
      membranes to MAC induces endogenous TNFalpha, which in turn enhances NF-kappaB
      binding activity. The rapid induction of TNFalpha may be important in the initial
      host response to MAC infection.

PMID- 9973534
TI  - Effects of in utero alcohol exposure on B cell development in neonatal spleen and
      bone marrow.
AB  - The effects of in utero alcohol exposure on neonatal lymphopoiesis were examined
      in a murine model of fetal alcohol syndrome. At birth, both immature and mature B
      cells were decreased in the spleens of neonatal animals and these subpopulations
      of B cells did not recover to normal levels until 3-4 weeks of life. Pre-B cells
      and total B cells were decreased as well in the bone marrow of ethanol-exposed
      animals. By 3-4 weeks of life, the number of B cells in the bone marrow recovered
      to normal levels, but the pre-B cells remained below normal levels through 5
      weeks of age. Furthermore, a recently described early B cell progenitor was
      reduced in frequency in ethanol-exposed neonates. Together, these data suggest
      that in utero exposure to ethanol can result in abnormalities in B cell
      development that may initiate at an early stage of B cell development.

PMID- 9973535
TI  - Aging increases CD8 T cell apoptosis induced by hyperstimulation but decreases
      apoptosis induced by agonist withdrawal in mice.
AB  - Apoptosis of T cells is thought to play a critical role in intrathymic T cell
      selection, in controlling the strength of the immune response to antigens, and in
      peripheral modulation of the T cell repertoire by influencing memory cell
      formation and survival. Peripheral T lymphocyte apoptosis or activation-induced
      cell death can be induced in vitro by repeated stimulation through the T cell
      receptor (TCR), and several groups have reported that aging increases the
      susceptibility of T cells to hyperstimulation-induced cell death in mice and
      humans. Alternately, apoptosis can also be induced in T cells by withdrawal of
      TCR stimulation from T cell blasts late in the activation process. This agonist
      withdrawal cell death, unlike apoptosis induced by repeated stimulation, is Fas-
      and TNFalpha-independent but is modulated by CD30 ligation. We show here that
      aging leads to an increase in susceptibility to apoptosis induced by repeated
      stimulation, but also to a decline in mouse CD8 T cell sensitivity to apoptosis
      induced by agonist withdrawal. Cell mixture experiments show that intercellular
      signals are required for the induction of apoptosis after agonist withdrawal and
      that the CD8 cells from aged mice can respond to these death-inducing signals but
      cannot produce them. A defect in this form of apoptosis after cessation of TCR
      signaling might contribute to the accumulation of functionally ineffective CD8
      cells in aging mice.

PMID- 9973536
TI  - Cloning thymic precursor cells: demonstration that individual pro-T1 cells have
      dual T-NK potential and individual pro-T2 cells have dual alphabeta-gammadelta T
      cell potential.
AB  - Thymic progenitors have the capacity to generate alphabeta T cells, gammadelta T
      cells, and NK cells. To determine whether these three lineages derive from a
      single precursor cell or from different precursors, a procedure was developed for
      cloning precursor cells from mouse embryonic thymus. The progeny of each pro-T
      cell clone were then tested for the potential to generate alphabeta, gammadelta,
      and NK cells. Of these precursor clones, about half displayed dual potential,
      developing into either T cells or NK cells, demonstrating the existence of a
      common T/NK precursor cell in the thymus. The other half of the clones were
      restricted to T cell development. No precursor clones were restricted to NK
      development. The common T/NK precursors were shown to be of the pro-T1 (CD25(-))
      stage whereas the T-restricted precursors were shown to be of the later pro-T2
      (CD25(+)) stage. Both alphabeta and gammadelta T cells were generated from all
      clones derived from either pro-T1 or -T2 precursors. This shows that commitment
      of a cell to the alphabeta versus gammadelta lineages does not precede
      rearrangement of the TCR genes (which occurs immediately after the pro-T2 stage).

PMID- 9973537
TI  - Inhibition of NK cells by murine CMV-encoded class I MHC homologue m144.
AB  - Murine cytomegalovirus (CMV)-encoded protein m144 is homologous to class I MHC
      heavy-chain and is thought to regulate NK-cell-mediated immune responses in vivo.
      To examine the effects of m144 on NK cytotoxicity in vitro, various cell lines
      were transfected with wild-type m144 or a chimeric construct in which the
      cytoplasmic domain of m144 was replaced with green fluorescence protein. Burkitt
      lymphoma line Raji expressed a significant level of m144 as determined by anti
      m144 mAb binding or the green fluorescence of the fusion protein. The level of
      m144 expression was relatively low compared with that of transfected murine class
      I MHC Dd. However, m144 on Raji cells partially inhibited antibody-dependent cell
      mediated cytotoxicity of IL-2-activated NK cells. NK cells from the CMV
      susceptible BALB/c as well as those from the resistant C57BL/6 mice were
      inhibited by m144. Antibodies against the known murine NK inhibitory receptors Ly
      49A, C, G, and I did not affect the inhibitory effect of m144. These results
      suggest that the murine CMV class I MHC homologue m144 partially inhibits NK
      cells by interacting with a novel inhibitory receptor.

PMID- 9973538
TI  - Immunodetection of lymphocyte subpopulations involved in allograft rejection in a
      teleost, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.).
AB  - Monoclonal antibodies which recognize antigenic determinants expressed by T-cells
      and Ig-bearing cells, respectively, allowed lymphocyte subpopulations involved in
      allograft rejection of muscle transplants to be identified in the teleost fish
      Dicentrarchus labrax (L.). The monoclonal antibody DLT15 first allowed
      recognizing T-cells involved in an in vivo antigen-driven cellular response in
      teleosts. Immunohistochemical studies showed a high density of lymphocytes in
      allografts and provided evidence of predominance of T-cells. The heterogeneity of
      the cell populations recognized by the antibodies was evidenced by the different
      size, cytology, and staining patterns of T-cells and Ig-bearing cells.

PMID- 9973539
TI  - Antagonistic effects of an alternative splice variant of human IL-4, IL-4delta2,
      on IL-4 activities in human monocytes and B cells.
AB  - IL-4 is a pleiotropic cytokine which exerts its actions on various lineages of
      hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells. This cytokine is one of the central
      regulators of immunity in health and disease states. An alternative splice
      variant, in which the second of four exons is omitted, has been recently
      described and designated as IL-4delta2. The variant has been previously described
      as a potential naturally occurring antagonist of human IL-4 (hIL-4)-stimulated T
      cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the effects of recombinant
      human (rh) IL-4delta2 on monocytes and B cells. In monocytes, rhIL-4delta2
      blocked inhibitory action of hIL-4 on LPS-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression and
      subsequent prostaglandin E2 secretion. In B cells, rhIL-4delta2 was an antagonist
      of the hIL-4-induced synthesis of IgE and expression of CD23. Our results broaden
      the spectrum of hIL-4-antagonistic activities of rhIL-4delta2, thus creating the
      background for the potential use of rhIL-4delta2 as a therapeutic anti-hIL-4
      agent.

PMID- 9973541
TI  - The role of folate transport and metabolism in neural tube defect risk.
AB  - Neural tube defects (NTDs) are common congenital malformations in humans. While
      etiologically heterogeneous, for the most part they are multifactorial in their
      pathogenesis, having both genetic and environmental factors contributing to their
      development. In recent years, there has been a great deal of epidemiologic
      evidence demonstrating that women who received multivitamins containing folic
      acid periconceptionally had significantly reduced occurrence and recurrence risks
      for producing infants with such malformations. Unfortunately, the mechanism(s)
      underlying the beneficial effects of folic acid is not well understood. In this
      article, we review the fundamental embryological processes involved in closing
      the neural tube, the relevant epidemiologic data on folic acid supplementation
      and relative NTD risk, as well as several recent studies of candidate genes for
      NTD sensitivity that are involved in folate transport and metabolism.

PMID- 9973542
TI  - Blood levels of ammonia and nitrogen scavenging amino acids in patients with
      inherited hyperammonemia.
AB  - Plasma levels of glutamine (456 determinations), alanine (434 determinations),
      and asparagine (431 determinations) and corresponding ammonia levels (260
      determinations) were retrospectively analyzed in 30 patients with hyperammonemia
      secondary to urea cycle disorders (including 3 patients with amino acid transport
      defects) and 5 patients with propionic acidemia (PA). All patients had elevated
      glutamine levels on one or more testing except for 2 patients with severe PA and
      1 patient with a mild urea cycle disorder. All but 4 patients with urea cycle
      disorders showed a maximal glutamine level higher than 100 micromol/dl, and 3
      patients had a maximal glutamine level of higher than 200 micromol/dl. The only
      exceptions were 2 asymptomatic ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC)-deficient
      females, 1 male with mild OTC deficiency, and 1 patient with citrullinemia (CIT)
      whose plasma glutamine levels were never above 100 micromol/L. Patients with CIT
      and argininosuccinic aciduria (ASA) showed statistically significant lower levels
      of glutamine than patients with other urea cycle disorders. However, the maximal
      glutamine level did not directly correlate with severity of the disorder and
      within disorders correlated inversely with severity of outcome. Patients with PA
      showed statistically significant lower glutamine, alanine, and asparagine levels
      than patients with urea cycle disorders and the severity of this disorder
      correlated inversely with plasma glutamine levels. Plasma ammonia levels showed a
      positive correlation with glutamine in patients with carbamyl phosphate
      synthetase I and OTC deficiency and a negative correlation in patients with PA.
      Although, most patients also showed elevated levels of alanine and asparagine,
      their levels generally did not show a good correlation with glutamine (R2 = 0.25
      and 0.34, respectively).

PMID- 9973543
TI  - Differential effects of biotin deficiency and replenishment on rat liver pyruvate
      and propionyl-CoA carboxylases and on their mRNAs.
AB  - Although the role of vitamins as prosthetic groups of enzymes is well known,
      their participation in the regulation of their genetic expression has been much
      less explored. We studied the effect of biotin on the genetic expression of rat
      liver mitochondrial carboxylases: pyruvate carboxylase (PC), propionyl-CoA
      carboxylase (PCC), and 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC). Rats were made
      biotin-deficient and were sacrificed after 8 to 10 weeks, when deficiency
      manifestations began to appear. At this time, hepatic PCC activity was 20% of the
      control values or lower, and there was an abnormally high urinary excretion of 3
      hydroxyisovaleric acid, a marker of biotin deficiency. Biotin was added to
      deficient primary cultured hepatocytes. It took at least 24 h after the addition
      of biotin for PCC to achieve control activity and biotinylation levels, whereas
      PC became active and fully biotinylated in the first hour. The enzyme's mass was
      assessed in liver homogenates from biotin-deficient rats and incubated with
      biotin to convert the apocarboxylases into holocarboylases, which were detected
      by streptavidin blots. The amount of PC was minimally affected by biotin
      deficiency, whereas that of the alpha subunits of PCC and of MCC decreased
      substantially in deficient livers, which likely explains the reactivation and
      rebiotinylation results. The expression of PC and alphaPCC was studied at the
      mRNA level by Northern blots and RT/PCR; no significant changes were observed in
      the deficient livers. These results suggest that biotin regulates the expression
      of the catabolic carboxylases (PCC and MCC), that this regulation occurs after
      the posttranscriptional level, and that pyruvate carboxylase, a key enzyme for
      gluconeogenesis, Krebs cycle anaplerosis, and fatty acid synthesis, is spared of
      this control.

PMID- 9973544
TI  - The benzoquinone ansamycin geldanamycin stimulates proteolytic degradation of
      focal adhesion kinase.
AB  - FAK is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase involved in adhesion-mediated signal
      transduction whose level of expression is related to the invasiveness of
      malignant tumors. In seeking strategies to downregulate FAK, we treated various
      cell lines in vitro with the benzoquinone ansamycin geldanamycin (GA) which was
      previously described as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, but recently has been shown
      to exert its effects by interfering with the chaperone function of members of the
      hsp90 family of heat-shock proteins. We evaluated the effects of benzoquinone
      ansamycins on FAK steady-state protein level and FAK half-life in breast and
      prostate carcinoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and 3T3 fibroblasts. Our data demonstrate
      that GA stimulates the proteolytic degradation of FAK in all cell lines examined
      and markedly reduces the half-life of newly synthesized FAK protein without
      significantly altering the level of FAK mRNA. These data demonstrate FAK to be
      another tyrosine kinase sensitive to the destabilizing effects of benzoquinone
      ansamycins and further show that small molecule-mediated pharmacologic modulation
      of FAK protein level is a feasible approach to the interdiction of FAK function.

PMID- 9973545
TI  - Expression patterns of folate binding proteins one and two in the developing
      mouse embryo.
AB  - Expression patterns of mRNAs coding for the murine folate binding proteins one
      and two (FBP1 and FBP2) were determined by ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) in
      highly inbred SWV/Fnn mouse embryos. Tissue samples for RPA were collected from
      the anterior neural tube throughout the period of embryonic development, as well
      as from maternal- and fetal-derived term placenta. The peak in expression of FBP1
      occurred in term placental tissue compared to neural tissue from any time point.
      This relative increase in FBP1 expression occurred in placental tissue of
      embryonic, as opposed to maternal, origin. The expression of FBP2 did not differ
      statistically between any timepoints or tissues examined. Expression of both FBP1
      and FBP2 was slightly elevated throughout the period of neural tube closure
      (Gestational Days 8 through 10), although not significantly. These data fit the
      anticipated expression patterns of the homologues of human folate receptors alpha
      and beta, thus helping to resolve some of the confusion secondary to the
      nomenclature associated with this gene family. Furthermore, the expression of
      these two genes in the neural tube closure stage of embryological development
      supports their involvement in regulatory events related to normal neural tube
      morphogenesis.

PMID- 9973546
TI  - Sensitivity of synthetic surfactants to albumin inhibition in preterm rabbits.
AB  - Surfactant can be inhibited in vivo by plasma proteins invading the alveolar
      space during acute lung injury. The resistance to protein inhibition of
      surfactant preparations with various synthetic surfactant proteins B and C (B and
      C) was tested in preterm rabbits. Surfactants consisted of a palmitic acid
      containing phospholipid mixture (PL) with full-length SP-B peptide (B1-78), one
      of two SP-B mutants (Bserine and BR236C), the synthetic SP-B mimic KL4 (UCLA
      KL4), a natural SP-B (Bbovine), synthetic palmitoylated SP-C peptide (C1-35), a
      combination of B1-78 + C1-35, a combination of BR236C + C1-35, and the clinical
      surfactant Survanta. Preterm rabbits born at 28 days of gestation were ventilated
      and received 100 mg/kg of albumin intratracheally at 30 min and 100 mg/kg of
      surfactant at 45 min after birth. Dynamic lung compliance (tidal volume/mean
      airway pressure) decreased from 0.82 to 0.57 mL/kg/cm H2O after albumin
      instillation and to 0.43 mL/kg/cm H2O over a 60-min period after saline placebo.
      Treatment with B1-78 + C1-35 and BR236C + C1-35 surfactant and Survanta returned
      dynamic compliance to prealbumin values, B1-78, BR236C, Bbovine, and C1-35
      surfactant stabilized dynamic compliance, but PL, Bserine, and UCLA-KL4
      surfactant were unable to prevent a further deterioration in dynamic compliance.
      These data suggest that a combination of synthetic surfactant peptides B1-78 and
      C1-35 and the clinical surfactant Survanta confer a high degree of resistance to
      surfactant inhibition by human albumin in ventilated preterm rabbits.

PMID- 9973547
TI  - Activity of IMP- and AMP-preferring isoforms of 5'-nucleotidase from human
      seminal plasma with AMP analogues.
AB  - AMP analogues modified at various positions of the molecule were checked as
      substrates for the two soluble isoforms of 5'-nucleotidase from human seminal
      plasma. These isoforms were isolated to near homogeneity by affinity
      chromatographies. AMP derivatives were differently dephosphorylated by both the
      isoforms depending on the site of modification in the natural compound. Changes
      in the phosphate moiety reduced significantly hydrolysis by the IMP-preferring
      form, whereas the AMP-preferring form was less affected. The AMP-preferring form
      was characterized by a relatively broad specificity toward substrate analogues
      indicating that the binding domains for the phosphate moiety of these isoforms
      are not identical. Substitutions at the C-8 adenine base reduced the hydrolysis
      rate of both the enzymes and variations of the syn-anti conformational
      equilibrium resulted in different effects on catalysis by both forms. Therefore,
      the orientation of the heterocyclic base around the glycosidic bond may not be
      the crucial factor affecting binding and catalytic activity. Hydrogen bonding
      potential of base N-7 was essential for the binding and catalysis of the IMP- but
      not of the AMP-preferring form. This was the most striking difference between the
      studied isoforms. Modifications and substitutions of 6-amino function, better
      accepted by the IMP-preferring form than by the AMP-preferring form, indicated
      that no essential hydrogen bonding is required for catalytic activity. The
      binding was however significantly slowed in 6-SH-PuMP. Hydrogen bonding potential
      of N-1 was significant for the hydrolysis rate of the IMP- but not of the AMP
      preferring form. We suggest that these human seminal plasma isoforms of soluble
      5'-nucleotidase, characterized by unique features, may represent the tissue
      specific expression of the polymorphic gene.

PMID- 9973548
TI  - Effects of Ca2+ on erythrocyte membrane skeleton-bound phosphofructokinase, ATP
      levels, and hemolysis.
AB  - Erythrocyte Ca2+ overload is known to occur in several different disease states,
      and to affect the erythrocyte membrane deformability. We show here that an
      increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration in erythrocytes, induced by
      ionomycin, caused a reduction in ATP levels. Concomitant to the fall in ATP, a
      marked activation of phosphofructokinase (PFK) (EC 2.7.1.11), the rate-limiting
      enzyme in glycolysis, in the membrane skeleton fraction occurred. The increase in
      the membrane skeleton-bound PFK activity was most probably mediated by Ca2+, as
      direct addition of Ca2+ to the membrane skeleton fraction from the erythrocyte
      induced an enhancement of the bound PFK activity. Time-response curves revealed
      that erythrocyte hemolysis did not occur during the first 30 min of incubation
      with ionomycin, when the membrane skeleton-bound PFK was activated. Longer
      incubation time resulted in solubilization of the membrane skeleton-bound PFK and
      a concomitant hemolysis of the erythrocytes. These results suggest that the Ca2+
      induced activation of membrane skeleton-bound PFK, and thereby glycolysis, the
      sole source of energy in erythrocytes, may be a defense mechanism to surmount the
      damage induced by high Ca2+ levels.

PMID- 9973549
TI  - Genome-wide scan for CAG/CTG repeat expansions in Pimas with early onset of type
      2 diabetes mellitus.
AB  - The expansion of polymorphic CAG/CTG repeats in specific genes causes several
      neurodegenerative disorders and in many instances the length of the disease
      causing repeat correlates with the onset age and/or severity of symptoms. Type 2
      diabetes mellitus has features in common with diseases resulting from
      trinucleotide repeat expansion, including a variable age of disease onset and
      penetrance. We have investigated whether CAG/CTG repeat expansion contributes to
      the genetic etiology of type 2 diabetes in the Pima Indians, a population with
      the highest reported prevalence of this disease. Using the Repeat Expansion
      Detection (RED) method, we determined the size range in nondiabetic Pimas to be
      between (CAG)20 and (CAG)130 (mean repeat length = 195 bp), which is
      significantly larger than the mean size reported in Caucasians (150 bp). We
      compared the distribution of CAG/CTG repeat lengths among 40 Pimas with an early
      onset of type 2 diabetes (<22 years) and 38 nondiabetic subjects (>55 years). A
      240-bp CAG/CTG RED product was found more frequently in early onset diabetics
      relative to nondiabetic controls (26% vs 11%), whereas a 210-bp band was more
      prominent in unaffected subjects (29% vs 13%); however, these differences were
      not statistically significant. In one Pima kindred, we also identified large RED
      products (>/=360 bp) that displayed intergenerational instability among family
      members. However, these expansions were not associated with diabetes or any other
      clinical abnormalities in the carriers. We conclude that this unstable CAG/CTG
      repeat may represent a novel locus, consisting of large, but apparently
      nonpathogenic, unstable sequences.

PMID- 9973551
TI  - Volume 64, number 3 (1998), in article no. GM982708, "Epstein-barr virus-infected
      marmoset cells transfected with c-myc Do not form lymphomas in mice with severe
      combined Immunodeficiency," by babak salimi, maurice R. G. O'Gorman, daina
      variakojis, moshe bendet, malka newman, elisheva poupko, and ben Z. Katz, pages
      205-212 

PMID- 9973550
TI  - A novel luteinizing hormone receptor mutation in a patient with familial male
      limited precocious puberty: effect of the size of a critical amino acid on
      receptor activity.
AB  - Familial male-limited precocious puberty (FMPP) is a form of luteinizing hormone
      releasing hormone (LHRH)-independent isosexual precocious puberty caused by gain
      of-function mutations of the luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor
      (hLHR). The most common mutation is 1733 A>G, which causes substitution of Asp
      578 by Gly. In this study, a male infant presented at the age of 20 months with
      accelerated sexual development was analyzed for the presence of activating
      mutations of the hLHR. Analysis of exon 11 of the hLHR gene by genomic polymerase
      chain reaction (PCR), asymmetric PCR, and dideoxy sequencing identified a single
      base substitution, 1734 T>A, which led to the replacement of Asp-578 by Glu. The
      same mutation was found in the mother. Expression of the mutated hLHR in HEK 293
      cells demonstrated elevated basal levels of intracellular cAMP in the transfected
      cells confirming the constitutive activating nature of the mutated hLHR. A
      possible genotype-phenotype relationship of the hLHR mutations was examined by a
      comparison of the in vitro activities of the hLHRs carrying the Asp578Gly,
      Asp578Tyr, Asp578Trp, and Asp578Glu mutations in HEK 293 cells. A positive
      correlation between the size of the substituting amino acid and the basal level
      of intracellular cAMP of cells expressing the mutated receptor was demonstrated.

PMID- 9973552
TI  - Phosphorylation of either crh or HPr mediates binding of CcpA to the bacillus
      subtilis xyn cre and catabolite repression of the xyn operon.
AB  - Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) of several Bacillus subtilis catabolic genes
      is mediated by ATP-dependent phosphorylation of Ser46 of the histidine-containing
      protein (HPr), a phosphocarrier protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP): sugar
      phosphotransferase system. A recently discovered HPr-like protein of B. subtilis,
      Crh, cannot be phosphorylated by PEP and enzyme I but becomes phosphorylated at
      Ser46 by the ATP-dependent, metabolite-activated HPr kinase. Genetic data
      suggested that Crh is also implicated in CCR. We here demonstrate that in a ptsH1
      crh1 mutant, in which Ser46 of both HPr and Crh is replaced with an alanyl
      residue, expression of the beta-xylosidase-encoding xynB gene was completely
      relieved from CCR. No effect on CCR could be observed in strains carrying the
      crh1 allele, suggesting that under the experimental conditions P-Ser-HPr can
      substitute for P-Ser-Crh in CCR. By contrast, a ptsH1 mutant was slightly
      relieved from CCR of xynB, indicating that P-Ser-Crh can substitute only partly
      for P-Ser-HPr. Mapping experiments allowed us to identify the xyn promoter and a
      catabolite responsive element (cre) located 229 bp downstream of the
      transcription start point. Using DNase I footprinting experiments, we could
      demonstrate that similar to P-Ser-HPr, P-Ser-Crh stimulates binding of CcpA to
      the xyn cre. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was found to strongly enhance binding of
      the P-Ser-HPr/CcpA and P-Ser-Crh/CcpA complexes to the xyn cre, but had no effect
      on binding of CcpA alone.

PMID- 9973553
TI  - A mathematical model for synergistic eukaryotic gene activation.
AB  - The precise biochemical mechanism underlying the synergistic action of gene
      activators on eukaryotic transcription has eluded a solution, largely because of
      the technical difficulties inherent in analyzing the mechanics of a 2.5 MDa
      complex comprising greater than 50 polypeptide components. To complement the
      biochemical approach we have employed mathematical modeling as a means to
      understand the mechanism of synergy. Parameters relevant to activated
      transcription were varied in a simple biochemical system and the data were
      compared to the transcriptional response predicted by a multi-component
      statistical model. We found that the model achieved a consistent, semi
      quantitative description of the measured transcriptional response, and enabled
      the characterization and measurement of thermodynamic parameters in the in vitro
      system. The results provide evidence for the existence of cooperativity in the
      activation process beyond what would be predicted from one current model
      suggesting that activators function solely by simple recruitment of the general
      transcription machinery to the promoter.

PMID- 9973554
TI  - NF-Y histone fold alpha1 helices help impart CCAAT specificity.
AB  - NF-Y is a conserved trimeric transcriptional activator with an extremely high
      specificity for CCAAT boxes. The NF-YB and NF-YC subunits have histone fold
      motifs with a high degree of homology to NC2alpha/beta, a TBP-binding repressor.
      The histone fold is composed of three alpha helices, alpha1, alpha2, alpha3,
      separated by short loops. Structural data on core histones showed that alpha1 are
      involved in DNA-binding. To understand the molecular basis of NF-Y sequence
      specificity, we constructed deletion and swapping mutants, in which the alpha1 of
      NC2 and archeal HMfB, a bona fide histonic protein, was placed in NF-YB and NF
      YC. Our analysis indicates that (i) subunit interactions are normal; (ii) NF-YB
      NF-YC and NC2alpha/beta do not form heterodimers and NC2 cannot associate NF-YA.
      (iii) None of the NF-Y swaps can complex with TBP on a TATA box. (iv) Specific
      residues, R47 and K49 in NF-YC and N61 in NF-YB, are crucial for CCAAT-binding.
      We conclude that specificity of the NF-Y trimer is not due to NF-YA only, but
      stems in part from the contribution of the histone fold alpha1, particularly that
      of NF-YB.

PMID- 9973555
TI  - Conformational changes of the upstream DNA mediated by H-NS and FIS regulate E.
      coli RrnB P1 promoter activity.
AB  - The two proteins FIS and H-NS had previously been shown to regulate ribosomal RNA
      (rRNA) transcription by interacting with the promoter upstream DNA. FIS is known
      as an activator whereas H-NS had been demonstrated to function as a repressor.
      Details of the antagonistic control mechanisms are not yet solved. Here, we have
      addressed the question how the two proteins cooperate to exert both, positive and
      negative control of rRNA transcription. By mobility shift experiments and
      footprinting studies we show that FIS and H-NS binding sites partially overlap
      but appear to interact with different sites of a curved DNA helix. Although not
      mutually exclusive, the two proteins compete each other for binding. Both
      proteins, by changing the DNA curvature, effect circularization reactions of DNA
      fragments in different ways. Our results imply that binding of the proteins
      induces alternate DNA conformations with favourable or unfavourable topology for
      the formation of active transcription complexes. Together the findings presented
      here help to answer some of the open questions about the concerted molecular
      mechanism of transcription factors for the regulation of stable RNA synthesis.

PMID- 9973556
TI  - Probing the rRNA environment of ribosomal protein S5 across the subunit interface
      and inside the 30 S subunit using tethered Fe(II).
AB  - A newly developed 30 S subunit reconstitution system using a complete set of
      recombinant proteins was used to study the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) neighborhood of
      ribosomal protein S5 in 30 S subunits and 70 S ribosomes by directed hydroxyl
      radical probing. Using three cysteine-containing mutant S5 proteins derivatized
      with 1-(p-bromoacetamidobenzyl)-Fe(II)-EDTA, we expanded on experiments carried
      out earlier using a natural protein reconstitution system. Natural 16 S rRNA,
      Fe(II)-S5, and the other recombinant ribosomal proteins were reconstituted into
      30 S subunits. Both 30 S subunits and 70 S ribosomes containing Fe(II)-S5 were
      purified, and hydroxyl radicals were generated in situ from the tethered Fe(II).
      In 30 S subunits, 16 S rRNA nucleotides targeted by two positions on S5, C21 and
      C99, were virtually identical to those observed in the previous work, supporting
      the validity of the recombinant protein reconstitution system for probing
      studies. Interestingly, new cleavages were detected using Fe(II)-C129-S5,
      possibly reflecting incorporation of more derivatized protein into 30 S subunits
      due to the increased reconstitution efficiency of the recombinant protein system.
      These newly targeted positions overlap, but are distinct from, those observed
      using Fe(II) tethered to C21, which is near C129 in the S5 structure. In 70 S
      ribosomes, the cleavage pattern of 16 S rRNA was very similar to that observed in
      30 S subunits for all target sites except for the absence of those at the extreme
      5' end of 16 S rRNA. Additionally, probing of 70 S ribosomes from Fe-C99-S5
      results in cleavage of 23 S rRNA in the 1690-1770 region of domain IV. These data
      provide constraints for the three-dimensional location of nucleotides within
      domain IV of 23 S ribosomal RNA relative to known features of the 30 S subunit.

PMID- 9973557
TI  - ErmE methyltransferase recognizes features of the primary and secondary structure
      in a motif within domain V of 23 S rRNA.
AB  - The Erm methyltransferases confer resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and
      streptogramin B (MLS) antibiotics by methylation of a single adenosine base
      within bacterial 23 S ribosomal RNA. The ErmE methyltransferase, from the
      macrolide-producing bacterium Saccharopolyspora erythraea, recognizes a motif
      within domain V of the rRNA that specifically targets adenosine 2058 (A2058) for
      methylation. Here, we define the structure of the RNA motif by a combination of
      molecular genetics and biochemical probing. The core of the motif has the primary
      sequence 2056-GGAHA-2060, where H is any nucleotide except guanosine, and ErmE
      methylates at the adenosine in bold. For efficient recognition by ErmE, this
      sequence must be displayed within a particular secondary structure. An irregular
      stem (helix 73) is required immediately 5' to A2058, with an unpaired nucleotide,
      preferably a cytidine residue, at position 2055. Nucleotides 2611 to 2616 are
      collectively required to form part of the 3'-side of helix 73, but there is
      little or no restriction on the identities of individual nucleotides here. There
      are minor preferences in the identities of nucleotides 2051 to 2055 that are
      adjacent to the motif core, although their main role is in maintaining the
      irregular secondary structure. The essential elements of the ErmE motif are
      conserved in bacterial 23 S rRNAs, and thus presumably also form the recognition
      motif for other Erm methyltransferases.

PMID- 9973558
TI  - Sites of interaction of streptogramin A and B antibiotics in the peptidyl
      transferase loop of 23 S rRNA and the synergism of their inhibitory mechanisms.
AB  - Streptogramin antibiotics contain two active A and B components that inhibit
      peptide elongation synergistically. Mutants resistant to the A component
      (virginiamycin M1 and pristinamycin IIA) were selected for the archaeon
      Halobacterium halobium. The mutations mapped to the universally conserved
      nucleotides A2059 and A2503 within the peptidyl transferase loop of 23 S rRNA
      (Escherichia coli numbering). When bound to wild-type and mutant haloarchaeal
      ribosomes, the A and B components (pristinamycins IIA and IA, respectively)
      produced partially overlapping rRNA footprints, involving six to eight
      nucleotides in the peptidyl transferase loop of 23 S rRNA, including the two
      mutated nucleotides. An rRNA footprinting study, performed both in vivo and in
      vitro, on the A and B components complexed to Bacillus megaterium ribosomes,
      indicated that similar drug-induced effects occur on free ribosomes and within
      the bacterial cells. It is inferred that position 2058 and the sites of mutation,
      A2059 and A2503, are involved in the synergistic inhibition by the two
      antibiotics. A structural model is presented which links A2059 and A2503 and
      provides a structural rationale for the rRNA footprints.

PMID- 9973559
TI  - Mechanism-based inhibition of C5-cytosine DNA methyltransferases by 2-H
      pyrimidinone.
AB  - DNA duplexes in which the target cytosine base is replaced by 2-H pyrimidinone
      have previously been shown to bind with a significantly greater affinity to C5
      cytosine DNA methyltransferases than unmodified DNA. Here, it is shown that 2-H
      pyrimidinone, when incorporated into DNA duplexes containing the recognition
      sites for M.HgaI-2 and M.MspI, elicits the formation of inhibitory covalent
      nucleoprotein complexes. We have found that although covalent complexes are
      formed between 2-H pyrimidinone-modified DNA and both M.HgaI-2 and M.MspI, the
      kinetics of complex formation are quite distinct in each case. Moreover, the
      formation of a covalent complex is still observed between 2-H pyrimidinone DNA
      and M.MspI in which the active-site cysteine residue is replaced by serine or
      threonine. Covalent complex formation between M.MspI and 2-H pyrimidinone occurs
      as a direct result of nucleophilic attack by the residue at the catalytic
      position, which is enhanced by the absence of the 4-amino function in the base.
      The substitution of the catalytic cysteine residue by tyrosine or chemical
      modification of the wild-type enzyme with N-ethylmaleimide, abolishes covalent
      interaction. Nevertheless the 2-H pyrimidinone-substituted duplex still binds to
      M.MspI with a greater affinity than a standard cognate duplex, since the 2-H
      pyrimidinone base is mis-paired with guanine.

PMID- 9973560
TI  - Identification of three aspartic acid residues essential for catalysis by the
      RusA holliday junction resolvase.
AB  - RusA is a Holliday junction resolvase encoded by the cryptic prophage DLP12 of
      Escherichia coli K-12 that can be activated to promote homologous recombination
      and DNA repair in resolution-deficient mutants lacking the RuvABC proteins.
      Database searches with the 120 amino acid residue RusA sequence identified 11
      homologues from diverse species, including one from the extreme thermophile
      Aquifex aeolicus, which suggests that RusA may be of ancient bacterial ancestry.
      A multiple alignment of these sequences revealed seven conserved or invariant
      acidic residues in the C-terminal half of the E. coli protein. By making site
      directed mutations at these positions and analysing the ability of the mutant
      proteins to promote DNA repair in vivo and to resolve junctions in vitro, we
      identified three aspartic acid residues (D70, D72 and D91) that are essential for
      catalysis and that provide the first insight into the active-site mechanism of
      junction resolution by RusA. Substitution of any one of these three residues with
      asparagine reduces resolution activity >80-fold. The mutant proteins retain the
      ability to bind junction DNA regardless of the DNA sequence or of the mobility of
      the crossover. They interfere with the function of the RuvABC proteins in vivo,
      when expressed from a multicopy plasmid, an effect that is reproducible in vitro
      and that reflects the fact that the RusA proteins have a higher affinity for
      junction DNA in the presence of Mg2+ than do the RuvA and RuvC proteins. The D70N
      protein has a greater affinity for junctions in Mg2+ than does the wild-type,
      which indicates that the negatively charged carboxyl group of the aspartate
      residue plays a critical role at the active site of RusA. Electrostatic
      repulsions between D70, D72 and D91 may help to form a classical Mg2+-binding
      pocket.

PMID- 9973561
TI  - Toxic mutations in the recA gene of E. coli prevent proper chromosome
      segregation.
AB  - The recA gene of Escherichia coli is the prototype of the recA/RAD51/DMC1/uvsX
      gene family of strand transferases involved in genetic recombination. In order to
      find mutations in the recA gene important in catalytic turnover, a genetic screen
      was conducted for dominant lethal mutants. Eight single amino acid substitution
      mutants were found to prevent proper chromosome segregation and to kill cells in
      the presence or absence of an inducible SOS system. All mutants catalyzed some
      level of recombination and constitutively stimulated LexA cleavage. The mutations
      occur at the monomer-monomer interface of the RecA polymer or at residues
      important in ATP hydrolysis, implicating these residues in catalytic turnover.
      Based on an analysis of the E96D mutant, a model is presented in which slow RecA
      DNA dissociation prevents chromosome segregation, engendering lexA-independent,
      lethal filamentation of cells.

PMID- 9973562
TI  - On the in vivo function of the RecA ATPase.
AB  - The Escherichia coli RecA protein is the prototype of the RecA/RAD51/DMC1 family
      of strand transferases acting in genetic recombination. The E96D mutant was
      previously isolated in a screen for toxic recA mutants and was found to
      constitutively derepress the SOS genes and inhibit chromosome segregation in E.
      coli. Here, we have found that the E96D mutation lowers the RecA kcat value for
      ATP hydrolysis 100-fold. Use of this mutant reveals that the ATPase and branch
      migration activities of RecA are not necessarily required for catalyzing in vivo
      recombinational pairing and LexA cleavage. In addition to its effect on ATP
      hydrolysis, the mutation causes ATP to more strongly promote the transition to
      the biologically active, extended conformation of the RecA enzyme. The enhanced
      ATP binding is apparently the cause for a broader nucleic acid ligand
      specificity. The use of RNA and double-stranded DNA as cofactors for LexA
      cleavage could give rise to the inappropriate, constitutive derepression of the
      SOS genes. This underscores the need for the ATP affinity to be optimized so that
      RecA becomes selectively activated only during DNA repair and recombination
      through binding single-stranded DNA.

PMID- 9973563
TI  - Two distinct mechanisms operate in the reactivation of heat-denatured proteins by
      the mitochondrial Hsp70/Mdj1p/Yge1p chaperone system.
AB  - The yeast mitochondrial Hsp70, Ssc1p, functions as a molecular chaperone with its
      partner proteins, Mdj1p (DnaJ homologue) and Yge1p (GrpE homologue). We have
      purified a mature form of Ssc1p from yeast mitochondria and those of Mdj1p and
      Yge1p from Escherichia coli overexpresser cells. With these purified components
      of the mitochondrial Hsp70 chaperone system, we have succeeded in reconstituting
      their chaperone functions in the protection of firefly luciferase against thermal
      damage in vitro. Heat-denatured luciferase is prevented from irreversible
      aggregation and is maintained in a refolding-competent state by Ssc1p and/or
      Mdj1p at 42 degreesC. Luciferase denatured at 42 degreesC is actively reactivated
      by Ssc1p, Mdj1p and/or Yge1p after lowering the temperature to 25 degreesC. The
      reactivation process of heat-denatured luciferase shows two-phase kinetics. The
      slow refolding process requires either Ssc1p or Mdj1p at 42 degreesC but the
      presence of Ssc1p, Mdj1p and Yge1p, and ATP hydrolysis, is essential at 25
      degreesC. The slow refolding of luciferase involves multiple rounds of formation
      and dissociation of the complex between luciferase and Mdj1p/Ssc1p. On the other
      hand, the fast refolding process is most enhanced when luciferase is incubated
      with Ssc1p alone at 42 degreesC, and it requires neither the assistance of Mdj1p
      and Yge1p nor ATP hydrolysis. We have observed a similar two-pathway reactivation
      of heat-denatured luciferase by the bacterial Hsp70 and the yeast cytosolic Hsp70
      systems.

PMID- 9973564
TI  - The first gene in the biosynthesis of the polyketide antibiotic TA of Myxococcus
      xanthus codes for a unique PKS module coupled to a peptide synthetase.
AB  - The polyketide antibiotic TA is synthesized by the Gram negative bacterium
      Myxococcus xanthus in a multi-step process in which a unique glycine-derived
      molecule is used as a starter unit and elongated through the condensation of 11
      acetate molecules by polyketide synthases (PKSs). Analysis of a 7.2 kb DNA
      fragment, encoding the protein that carries out the first condensation step,
      revealed that the fragment constitutes a single open reading frame, referred to
      as Ta1, which lacks the 5' and 3' ends and displays two regions of similarity to
      other proteins. The first 1020 amino acid residues at the N terminus of the
      polypeptide are similar to sequences of the large family of enzymes encoding
      peptide synthetases. They are followed by a second region displaying a high
      degree of similarity to type I PKS genes. The genetic analysis of this open
      reading frame is compatible with the proposed chemical structure of TA. The data
      indicate that the genes encoding TA have a modular gene organization, typical of
      a type I PKS system. The unusual feature of Ta1 is that the first PKS module of
      TA resides on the same polypeptide as the peptide synthetase functional unit.

PMID- 9973565
TI  - Characterization of the interactions between human cdc25C, cdks, cyclins and cdk
      cyclin complexes.
AB  - We have overexpressed and purified human dual-specificity phosphatase cdc25C from
      a prokaryotic expression system at high levels and in a soluble, active form, and
      have studied and quantified its potential to interact with cdks, cyclins and
      preformed cdk-cyclin complexes by fluorescence spectroscopy and size-exclusion
      chromatography. Our data indicate that human cdc25C forms stable complexes,
      through hydrophobic contacts, with cdk and cyclin monomers, as well as with
      preformed cdk-cyclin complexes. In vitro, cdc25C interacts with cyclin monomers
      with high affinity, with tenfold less affinity with cdks, and with intermediate
      affinity with cdk-cyclin complexes. Moreover, changes observed in the intrinsic
      fluorescence of cdks, cyclins and cdk-cyclin complexes upon interaction with
      cdc25C are indicative of concomitant conformational changes within cdks and
      cyclins. From our results, we propose that in vitro, in the presence of monomeric
      cdks and cyclins, cdc25C forms stable ternary complexes, first through a high
      affinity interaction with a cyclin, which may then help target cdc25C towards a
      cdk. We discuss the biological relevance of our results and propose that a
      similar, two-step mechanism of interaction between cdc25C and cdk-cyclin
      complexes may occur in vivo.

PMID- 9973566
TI  - The ectodomain of HA2 of influenza virus promotes rapid pH dependent membrane
      fusion.
AB  - To better understand the roles of different regions of influenza hemagglutinin in
      membrane fusion, we have studied the fusion properties of large unilamellar
      vesicles in the presence of constructs comprising the 127 amino acid ectodomain
      of the HA2 fragment (FHA2) as well as mutated forms of FHA2 containing single
      amino acid substitutions, the 95 amino acid truncated form of FHA2 lacking the N
      terminal fusion peptide (SHA2), the 20 amino acid N-terminal fusion peptide and
      the ten amino acid peptide corresponding to the kinked loop region of FHA2. The
      100 nm liposomes were made from dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine,
      dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol in equimolar ratio. At pH 5 a high
      rate of lipid mixing was observed with FHA2 present, even at very low molar
      concentrations, whereas much lower rates were observed using the shorter
      constructs: SHA2, the fusion peptide, and the loop peptide. Concentrations of
      FHA2 which promoted extensive lipid mixing also induced leakage of aqueous
      contents. Marked effects of FHA2 were also observed with liposomes of egg
      phosphatidylcholine. All of the changes observed with the liposomes were highly
      pH-dependent, with only negligible changes occurring at pH 7. The results
      demonstrate the potent action of FHA2 in promoting lipid mixing and demonstrate
      the contribution of other regions of the ectodomain of FHA2, in addition to the
      fusion peptide, to the mechanism of acceleration of membrane fusion. The results
      also indicate that the pH dependence of fusion is not due solely to changes in
      the interactions between the HA1 and HA2 subunits. Thus, the "spring loaded
      energy" is not required to bring about the apposition of the two membranes,
      considering that FHA2 is already in its thermostable conformation. The acidic
      amino acid residues in the kinked loop region appear to play a particularly
      important role in the pH-dependent fusion process as demonstrated by the marked
      loss of lipid mixing activity of mutant forms of FHA2.

PMID- 9973567
TI  - Determination of the residence time of water molecules hydrating B'- DNA and B
      DNA, by one-dimensional zero-enhancement nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy.
AB  - The residence time of water in the minor groove of the d(CGCGAATTCGCG) duplex has
      been determined by a recent measurement combining nuclear Overhauser enhancements
      (NOE, ROE) and 17O relaxation dispersion. The time is in the range of
      nanoseconds, so that it may be measured by a rather simple method proposed here,
      namely the choice of conditions such that the NOE between the observed DNA proton
      and a nearby water proton is zero. This condition is realized when the residence
      time of the water molecule is 0.178 times the nuclear magnetic resonance period
      (e.g. 0.297 ns at 600 MHz). It may be achieved by varying the magnetic field
      and/or the temperature. The zero-NOE measurement may be performed by one
      dimensional NMR, and has therefore good sensitivity. We have developed excitation
      sequences which suppress two spurious contributions to the NOE: from neighboring
      exchangeable protons and from H3' protons whose chemical shift is close to that
      of water. The method is applied here to the comparison of residence times of
      water next to B-DNA and next to B'-DNA, the latter corresponding to better
      stacked, propeller-twisted base-pairs and a correspondingly narrower minor
      groove. In the minor groove of [d(CGCGAATTCGCG)]2, a B'-DNA duplex, the residence
      time of the water molecule next to H2 of adenine(6) (underlined), is 0.6 ns at 10
      degreesC, in good agreement with the value obtained previously. The residence
      time is slightly but distinctly shorter for the water next to A5, suggesting non
      cooperative departure of these two molecules which are presumed to be part of the
      hydration spine. Near A5 and A4 of [d(AAAAATTTTT)]2, another B'-DNA duplex, the
      residence times are approximately twice as long, but the activation enthalpies
      are about the same, ca. 38 kJ/mol. The residence time in the minor groove of the
      regular B-DNA sequence d(CGCGATCGCG) was 0.3 ns at 10 degreesC, shorter than in
      the case of the B'-DNA sequences by factors of 2 and 4, respectively. The
      temperature dependence is less, with an activation enthalpy of 27 kJ/mol. The
      major groove residence times are comparable for the three sequences, and a few
      times shorter than those of minor groove water. A value of 0.36 ns, or even more
      in case of rotation of water, is obtained around -8 degreesC. The most striking
      aspect of these results is the relatively small difference in the residence times
      of reputedly fast and slow-exchanging water molecules bound to DNA in biological
      conditions. This suggests that the spine of hydration is perhaps not a major
      stabilizer of the B'-DNA structure as compared with B-DNA.

PMID- 9973568
TI  - Three-dimensional placement of the conserved 530 loop of 16 S rRNA and of its
      neighboring components in the 30 S subunit.
AB  - Nucleotides 518-533 form a loop in ribosomal 30 S subunits that is almost
      universally conserved. Both biochemical and genetic evidence clearly implicate
      the 530 loop in ribosomal function, with respect both to the accuracy control
      mechanism and to tRNA binding. Here, building on earlier work, we identify
      proteins and nucleotides (or limited sequences) site-specifically photolabeled by
      radioactive photolabile oligoDNA probes targeted toward the 530 loop of 30 S
      subunits. The probes we employ are complementary to 16 S rRNA nucleotides 517
      527, and have aryl azides attached to nucleotides complementary to nucleotides
      518, 522, and 525-527, positioning the photogenerated nitrene a maximum of 19-26
      A from the complemented rRNA base. The crosslinks obtained are used as
      constraints to revise an earlier model of 30 S structure, using the YAMMP
      molecular modeling package, and to place the 530 loop region within that
      structure.

PMID- 9973569
TI  - NMR structure of Escherichia coli glutaredoxin 3-glutathione mixed disulfide
      complex: implications for the enzymatic mechanism.
AB  - Glutaredoxins (Grxs) catalyze reversible oxidation/reduction of protein disulfide
      groups and glutathione-containing mixed disulfide groups via an active site Grx
      glutathione mixed disulfide (Grx-SG) intermediate. The NMR solution structure of
      the Escherichia coli Grx3 mixed disulfide with glutathione (Grx3-SG) was
      determined using a C14S mutant which traps this intermediate in the redox
      reaction. The structure contains a thioredoxin fold, with a well-defined binding
      site for glutathione which involves two intermolecular backbone-backbone hydrogen
      bonds forming an antiparallel intermolecular beta-bridge between the protein and
      glutathione. The solution structure of E. coli Grx3-SG also suggests a binding
      site for a second glutathione in the reduction of the Grx3-SG intermediate, which
      is consistent with the specificity of reduction observed in Grxs. Molecular
      details of the structure in relation to the stability of the intermediate and the
      activity of Grx3 as a reductant of glutathione mixed disulfide groups are
      discussed. A comparison of glutathione binding in Grx3-SG and ligand binding in
      other members of the thioredoxin superfamily is presented, which illustrates the
      highly conserved intermolecular interactions in this protein family.

PMID- 9973570
TI  - Single molecule force spectroscopy of spectrin repeats: low unfolding forces in
      helix bundles.
AB  - Spectrin repeats fold into triple helical coiled-coils comprising approximately
      106 amino acid residues. Using an AFM-related technique we measured the force
      required to mechanically unfold these repeats to be 25 to 35 pN. Under tension,
      individual spectrin repeats unfold independently and in an all-or-none process.
      The dependence of the unfolding forces on the pulling speed reveals that the
      corresponding unfolding potential is shallow with an estimated width of 1.5 nm.
      When the unfolded polypeptide strand is relaxed, several domains refold within
      less than a second. The unfolding forces of the alpha-helical spectrin domains
      are five to ten times lower than those found in domains with beta-fold, like
      immunoglobulin or fibronectin Ill domains, where the tertiary structure is
      stabilized by hydrogen bonds between adjacent strands. This shows that the forces
      stabilizing the coiled-coil lead to a mechanically much weaker structure than
      multiple hydrogen-bonded beta-sheets.

PMID- 9973571
TI  - Experimental evolution of a dense cluster of residues in tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase:
      quantitative effects on activity, stability and dimerization.
AB  - A dense cluster of eight residues was identified at the crossing of two alpha
      helices in tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) from the thermophile Bacillus
      stearothermophilus. Its mechanism of evolution was characterized. Four residues
      of this cluster are not conserved in TyrRS from the mesophile Escherichia coli.
      The corresponding mutations were constructed in TyrRS(Delta1), a derivative of
      TyrRS from B. stearothermophilus in which the anticodon binding domain is
      deleted. Mutations I52L (i.e. Ile52 into Leu), M55L and L105V did not affect the
      activity of TyrRS(Delta1) in the pyrophosphate exchange reaction whereas T51P
      increased it. The kinetic stabilities of TyrRS(Delta1) and its mutant derivatives
      at 68.5 degreesC were determined from experiments of irreversible thermal
      precipitation. They were in the order L105V<I52L<T51P<Wild Type</=M55L; mutation
      I52L partially compensated L105V in these experiments whereas M55L was coupled
      neither to I52L nor to L105V. Mutations I52L and L105V affected the stability of
      the dimeric TyrRS(Delta1) at different steps of its unfolding by urea, monitored
      under equilibrium conditions by spectrofluorometry or size exclusion
      chromatography. I52L destabilized the association between the subunits even
      though residue Ile52 is more than 20 A away from the subunit interface. L105V
      destabilized the monomeric intermediate of unfolding. The two mutational
      pathways, going from the wild-type TyrRS(Delta1) to the I52L-L105V double mutant
      through each of the single mutants were not equivalent for the stability of the
      monomeric intermediate and for the total stability of the dimer. One pathway
      contained two neutral steps whereas the other pathway contained a destabilizing
      step followed by a stabilizing step. Mutation I52L allowed L105V along the first
      pathway and compensated it along the second pathway. Thus, the effects of I52L
      and L105V on stability depended on the structural context. The gain in activity
      due to T51P was at the expense of a slight destabilization.

PMID- 9973572
TI  - Probing residual structure and backbone dynamics on the milli- to picosecond
      timescale in a urea-denatured fibronectin type III domain.
AB  - The energy landscape for the denatured state of a protein provides a key to
      understanding early folding events. We have attempted to map this landscape for
      the third fibronectin type III domain from human tenascin (TNfn3), a compact 9.5
      kDa beta-sandwich protein, through measurement of 15N backbone dynamics on the
      milli- to picosecond timescale and a number of structural parameters. TNfn3 was
      fully denatured with 5 M urea and buffered at pH 4.9 with 50 mM acetate. Under
      these conditions, multinuclear NMR experiments were used to complete a full
      spectral assignment. Secondary chemical shifts, 3JHNHalpha coupling constants,
      amide proton temperature coefficients, interresidue nuclear Overhauser
      enhancement (NOE) intensities, R1 and R2 15N relaxation rates, and {1H-15N}
      steady-state NOE enhancements were analyzed at 11.74 T (500 MHz) and 303 K.
      Several parameters were also measured at 278 K. Off-resonance T1rho experiments
      at 14.1 T (600 MHz) and 278 K reveal a lack of motion on the milli- to
      microsecond timescale, indicating that no element of residual structure in the
      denatured domain is persistant. Although increased sample viscosity dampens
      overall mobility at the lower temperature, the dynamic propensities of individual
      residues are temperature independent. Reduced mobility correlates to regions of
      extreme hydrophobicity or polarity. In these same regions, several other measures
      for random coil behavior are perturbed. Evidence for two nascent turn-like
      structures is reported. Otherwise, residual structure correlates more strongly to
      characteristics of individual residues than to structural elements of the native
      state.

PMID- 9973573
TI  - Thermodynamics of model prions and its implications for the problem of prion
      protein folding.
AB  - Prion disease is caused by the propagation of a particle containing PrPSc, a
      misfolded form of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC). PrPC can re-fold to
      form PrPSc with loss of alpha-helical structure and formation of extensive beta
      sheet structure. Here, we model this prion folding problem with a simple, low
      resolution lattice model of protein folding. If model proteins are allowed to re
      fold upon dimerization, a minor proportion of them (up to approximately 17%)
      encrypts an alternative native state as a homodimer. The structures in this
      homodimeric native state re-arrange so that they are very different in
      conformation from the monomeric native state. We find that model proteins that
      are relatively less stable as monomers are more susceptible to the formation of
      alternative native states as homodimers. These results suggest that less-stable
      proteins have a greater need for a well-designed energy landscape for protein
      folding to overcome an increased chance of encrypting substantially different
      native conformations stabilized by multimeric interactions. This conceptual
      framework for aberrant folding should be relevant in Alzheimer's disease and
      other disorders associated with protein aggregation.

PMID- 9973574
TI  - Hydrogen exchange kinetics of proteins in denaturants: a generalized two-process
      model.
AB  - The recent progress in measurements on the amide hydrogen exchange (HX) in
      proteins under varying denaturing conditions, both at equilibrium and in
      transient relaxation, necessitates the development of a unifying theory which
      quantitatively relates the HX rates to the conformational energetics of the
      proteins. We present here a comprehensive kinetic model for the site-specific HX
      of proteins under varying solvent denaturing conditions based on the two-state
      protein folding model. The generalized two-process model considers both
      conformational fluctuations and residual protections, respectively, within the
      folded and unfolded states of a protein, as well as a global kinetic folding
      unfolding transition between the two states. The global transition can be either
      rapid or slow, depending on the solvent condition for the protein. This novel
      model is applicable to the traditional equilibrium HX measurements in both EX2
      and EX1 regimes, and also the recently introduced transient pulse-labeling HX
      experiments. A set of simple analytical equations is provided for quantitative
      interpretation of experimental data. The model emphasizes the use of full time
      course of bi-exponential HX kinetics, rather than fitting time-course data to
      single rate constants, to obtain quantitative information about fluctuating
      conformers within the folded and unfolded states of proteins. This HX kinetic
      model naturally unfolds into a simple two-state and two-stage kinetic
      interpretation for protein folding. It suggests that the various observed
      intermediates of a protein can be interpreted as dominant isomers of either the
      folded or the unfolded state under different solvent conditions. This simple,
      minimalist's view of protein folding is consistent with various recent
      experimental observations on folding kinetics by HX.

PMID- 9973575
TI  - A strategy for the isolation of catalytic activities from repertoires of enzymes
      displayed on phage.
AB  - We have aimed at developing a general methodology for the isolation of enzymatic
      activities from large repertoires of protein displayed on the surface of a
      filamentous phage. When selecting for protein binders by phage display, phage
      particles with suitable specificities are physically isolated by affinity capture
      and amplified by bacterial infection. Selection for catalysis mediated by enzymes
      displayed on filamentous phage is more difficult, as reaction products (which
      represent the biochemical memory of the reaction catalysed by the phage particle)
      diffuse away after the reaction is complete. We reasoned that if we were able to
      anchor the reaction products on the phage surface, the catalytically active
      phages could then be physically isolated using specific anti-product affinity
      reagents. We achieve the conditional anchoring of reaction substrates and
      products on phage by displaying enzyme-calmodulin chimeric proteins on
      filamentous phage as gene III fusions. Such phage particles can be targeted in a
      stable fashion (koff<10(-4) s(-1)) by chemical derivatives of a calmodulin
      binding peptide. The peptide-phage complexes are stable in purification
      procedures such as capture with magnetic beads and polyethylene glycol
      precipitation, and can be conditionally dissociated by addition of calcium
      chelators. Glutathione-S-transferase and an endopeptidase were used in model
      selection experiments to demonstrate that it is possible to isolate catalytic
      activities from calmodulin-tagged enzymes displayed on filamentous phage, with
      enrichment factors >50 per round of selection.

PMID- 9973576
TI  - Hormonal modulation of phagocytosis and intracellular growth of Mycobacterium
      avium ss. paratuberculosis In bovine peripheral blood monocytes.
AB  - In this study, we evaluated the effects of several hormones (i.e. growth hormone,
      prolactin, vitamin D3, luteinizing hormone, oxytocin) on the phagocytosis and
      intracellular survival of Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis within bovine
      peripheral blood monocytes. Phagocytosis of M. avium ss. paratuberculosis
      declined in a dose-dependent manner when monocytes were exposed to increasing
      amounts of recombinant bovine growth hormone, with little phagocytosis occurring
      at a growth hormone concentration of 50 ng/ml. The other hormones tested had
      little effect on phagocytosis. Continuous exposure of bovine monocytes to bovine
      growth hormone (10 ng per ml) resulted in enhanced intracellular bacillary
      growth. This was detected within 3 days of monocyte infection, and resulted in a
      1 Log10 greater number of M. avium ss. paratuberculosis in growth hormone
      treated, than control, monocytes at 12 days of infection. When monocytes were
      incubated with growth hormone for only the first 5 days of a 12 day incubation
      period, a further increase in bacillary multiplication was observed. A similar
      increase in bacillary multiplication was observed when M. avium ss.
      paratuberculosis monocytes were incubated with prolactin for the first 5 days of
      a 12 day incubation period. These data indicate that varying levels of growth
      hormone and prolactin can affect the intracellular multiplication of M. avium ss.
      paratuberculosis in bovine monocytes.

PMID- 9973577
TI  - Tetranucleotide repeats identify novel virulence determinant homologues in
      Neisseria meningitidis.
AB  - Numerous outer membrane components of Neisseria meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae
      exhibit phase variable expression (the rapid, reversible on/off switching of
      phenotypic expression). Many of the genes encoding these outer membrane
      components contain simple repetitive DNA motifs (mononucleotides, dinucleotides,
      tetranucleotides and other repeats) which mediate this variation. One such repeat
      motif, the tetranucleotide 5;-(GCAA)n-3;, is associated with phase-variable LPS
      biosynthetic genes in the pathogen Haemophilus influenzae. We have previously
      shown that N. meningitidis strain MC58 contains this repeat motif in at least
      three distinct genetic loci. In this study all three of these loci were
      investigated: two were cloned and identified as novel loci and designated nmrep1
      and nmrep2. The third locus was assigned to a previously cloned gene and here is
      designated nmrep3. The distribution of these loci, and the number of repeat units
      at each locus was investigated in a range of strains. This analysis revealed that
      the nmrep1 and nmrep2 loci are present in all 45 strains examined, with 41/45
      containing nmrep3. Sequences associated with nmrep1 showed no homology with
      reported proteins, but amino acid sequences of open reading frames of nmrep2 and
      nmrep3 exhibited sequence homology to the adhesins Aida of Escherichia coli and
      Prn of Bordetella sppand IcsA of Shigella flexneri which is involved in
      intracellular spread.

PMID- 9973578
TI  - Streptococcus pyogenes strains containing emm12 and emm55 possess a novel gene
      coding for distantly related SIC protein.
AB  - Streptococcus pyogenes infection and acute glomerulonephritis (AGN), a non
      suppurtave disease, are endemic in the Aboriginal people of the Northern
      Territory (NT) of Australia. Vir typing, a locus-specific polymerase chain
      reaction (PCR)-based typing method [Gardiner, Hartas, Currie et al PCR Meth Appl
      1995 4: 288-93], has revealed high divergence among the NT streptococcal strains.
      A total of 76 Vir types (VTs) representing about 95% of the NT isolates were
      screened for sic, a gene for streptococcal inhibitor of complement function, by
      PCR and hybridization. This revealed that seven VTs are positive for sic, and
      there are two classes of the gene: those closely related to sic (CRS) originally
      described by Akesson, Sjoholm & Bjorck [ J. Biol. Chem. 1996 271: 1081-8] and
      those distantly related to sic (DRS). Among the CRS-positive VTs, VT16, VT78 and
      VT91 have emm (gene for M protein) encoding type 1 M protein or related
      specificity, and VT8 and VT101 contain emm57 or related alleles. Chromosomal
      location of CRS in emm57 is different from that in emm1 or related strains. The
      DRS-positive VT18 and VT52 contained emm55 and emm12 respectively, which are
      phylogenetically related. Strains of S. pyogenes types 1, 12, 55 and 57 are known
      to be associated with AGN. Restricted distribution of CRS and DRS among the M
      types historically associated with AGN suggests that these sic alleles may have a
      role in AGN pathogenesis.

PMID- 9973579
TI  - Frequency of apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele types in patients with Chlamydia
      associated arthritis and other arthritides.
AB  - Genetic background is important in determining whether certain infecting bacteria
      disseminate to the joint and cause arthritis. We assessed whether APOE genotype
      is associated with the presence of DNA from Chlamydia or other bacteria in
      synovial tissues of patients with various arthritides. Nucleic acids from
      synovial tissues of 135 patients were screened by PCR for DNA from Chlamydia
      trachomatis, C. pneumoniae and other bacteria (pan-bacteria). APOE genotype was
      determined by a PCR-based method for all patients in each of four resulting
      groups comprised of about 35 individuals each, positive for C. trachomatis only,
      C. pneumoniae only, other bacteria, or no bacteria. RT-PCR was used to assess
      synovial APOE expression. The latter assays confirmed that APOE mRNA is present
      in synovial tissue. Determination of APOE genotype showed that patients PCR
      negative in all assays, and those positive in the C. trachomatis - and pan
      bacteria- (excluding Chlamydia) directed assays, had distributions of the APOE
      epsilon2, epsilon3 and epsilon4 alleles mirroring those of the general population
      (i.e. about 8%, 79% and 13%, respectively). In contrast, 68% of patients with C.
      pneumoniae DNA in synovium possessed a copy of the epsilon4 allele. These results
      indicate that no association exists between APOE genotype and synovial presence
      of C. trachomatis or other bacteria. However, individuals bearing at least one
      copy of the APOE epsilon4 allele may be at increased risk for synovial infection
      by C. pneumoniae.

PMID- 9973580
TI  - Vacuolating cytotoxin purified from Helicobacter pylori causes mitochondrial
      damage in human gastric cells.
AB  - We investigated the effects of vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) prepared from
      Helicobacter pylori on the metabolism of gastric epithelial cells, AZ-521. VacA
      caused the ATP levels to decrease in a time-dependent manner; by approximately
      20% in 6 h, 35% in 12 h and 50% in 24 h, at a concentration of 120 nM. This
      decrease was also dependent on the concentration of VacA. To evaluate the
      impairment of mitochondria by VacA, mitochondrial membrane potential was
      estimated by flow cytometric analysis using 3, 3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide
      as a substrate. VacA decreased membrane potential with the relative fluorescence
      intensity of AZ-521 cells in 6 h from 52+/-3 to 24+/-1. Treatment of the cells
      with bafilomycin A1, a specific inhibitor of vacuolar ATPase proton pump, showed
      no apparent effect on these changes in the levels of ATP and the mitochondrial
      membrane potential. Secondly, we estimated the effect of VacA on oxygen
      consumption. VacA inhibited oxygen consumption in AZ-521 cells: the levels of PO
      2 in the medium of control cells decreased by 73% in 3 h and 37% in 6 h, whereas
      those in VacA-treated cells were 84% in 3 h and 59% in 6 h. Flow cytometric
      analysis showed the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase was increased by VacA.
      Taken together, VacA induced an inactivation of energy metabolism followed by
      mitochondrial damage, leading to impairment of the cell cycle in gastric
      epithelial cells.

PMID- 9973582
TI  - A Message from Preventive Medicine and Your Physician.

PMID- 9973581
TI  - Do movie stars encourage adolescents to start smoking? Evidence from California.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between
      adolescents' favorite movie stars and their smoking status, controlling for
      variables associated with smoking initiation. METHODS: The 1996 California
      Tobacco Survey questioned 6,252 adolescents about their favorite stars, smoking
      history, exposure to smokers, rebelliousness, knowledge and attitudes regarding
      smoking, and cigarette advertising and promotion. The top 10 favorite stars were
      tested for differential preference between ever and never smokers, defined as
      those who had never puffed on a cigarette. Never smokers were categorized as
      susceptible or nonsusceptible to smoking. RESULTS: Favorite stars differed
      significantly among adolescent ever and never smokers. A majority of favorite
      stars of ever smokers smoked on and off screen compared to favorite stars of
      never smokers. In multivariate analyses, adolescent never smokers who preferred
      favorite stars of adolescent ever smokers were significantly more likely to be
      susceptible to smoking (OR = 1.35; 95% CI 1.12, 1.62), even after adjustment for
      known predictors of adolescent smoking and demographic variables. This effect was
      only slightly weaker than that of exposure to friends and family who smoke (OR =
      1.45; 95% CI 1.13, 1.85). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence
      that stars who smoke on and off screen may encourage youth to smoke.

PMID- 9973583
TI  - The protective effect of good physical fitness when young on the risk of impaired
      glucose tolerance when old.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The role of physical activity or fitness on preventing impaired
      glucose tolerance (IGT) has not been widely investigated. The present case
      control study examined the relationship between the occurrence of IGT in men in
      their 50s and the level of their physical fitness while in their 30s. METHODS:
      The subjects consisted of 38 male Japan Self-Defense Forces officials in their
      50s who had IGT, as diagnosed by the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, and 60
      control individuals. Nine diabetics were included in the IGT cases. As an
      indicator of physical fitness between the ages of 30 and 39 years, we selected
      the best time recorded for each individual during that decade of life for the
      1,500-m physical fitness test run. We calculated the odds ratio for IGT in
      relation to selected risk factors (including physical fitness), and a logistic
      regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounding variables.
      RESULTS: The odds ratio (95% confidence interval, P value) for IGT with physical
      fitness in their 30s was 0.25 (0.11-0.58, P < 0.05). With adjustment for a
      parental history of diabetes and body mass index in both their 30s and their 50s,
      the odds ratio was 0.31 (0.11-0.86, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the
      occurrence of IGT, including diabetes, in men in their 50s can be reduced by
      maintaining a high level of physical fitness while in their 30s.

PMID- 9973584
TI  - Insufficiently active Australian college students: perceived personal, social,
      and environmental influences.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A sustainable pattern of participation in physical activity is
      important in the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. College
      students are in transition from an active youth to a more sedentary adult
      behavior pattern. METHODS: We assessed self-reported physical activity and other
      characteristics in a sample of 2,729 male and female students (median age was 20
      years) recruited from representative courses and year levels at four Australian
      College campuses. They were categorized as sufficiently or insufficiently active,
      using estimates of energy expenditure (kcal/week) derived from self-reported
      physical activity. Personal factors (self-efficacy, job status, enjoyment),
      social factors (social support from family/friends), and environmental factors
      (awareness of facilities, gym membership) were also assessed. RESULTS: Forty
      seven percent of females and 32% of males were insufficiently active. For
      females, the significant independent predictors of being insufficiently active
      were lower social support from family and friends, lower enjoyment of activity,
      and not working. For males, predictors were lower social support from family and
      friends, lower enjoyment of activity, and being older. CONCLUSIONS: Factors
      associated with physical activity participation (particularly social support from
      family and friends) can inform physical activity strategies directed at young
      adults in the college setting.

PMID- 9973585
TI  - Smoking cravings are reduced by self-massage.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Attempts at smoking cessation have been correlated with severe
      withdrawal symptoms, including intense cigarette cravings, anxiety, and depressed
      mood. Massage therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress hormones and
      improve mood. METHOD: Twenty adult smokers (M age = 32.6) were randomly assigned
      to a self-massage treatment or a control group. The treatment group was taught to
      conduct a hand or ear self-massage during three cravings a day for 1 month.
      RESULTS: Self-reports revealed lower anxiety scores, improved mood, and fewer
      withdrawal symptoms. In addition, the self-massage group smoked fewer cigarettes
      per day by the last week of the study. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest
      that self-massage may be an effective adjunct treatment for adults attempting
      smoking cessation to alleviate smoking-related anxiety, reduce cravings and
      withdrawal symptoms, improve mood, and reduce the number of cigarettes smoked.

PMID- 9973586
TI  - Potential errors resulting from sex and age difference in assessing family
      history of diabetes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus occurs nearly exponentially with aging and its
      occurrence differs between men and women in adulthood. Therefore, the sex and age
      of family members should be considered in assessing the family history. In this
      report the effects of sex and age on the positivity of family history were
      estimated numerically. METHODS: Sex- and age-specific proportion of a positive
      history of diabetes mellitus among 24,273 family members was obtained from a
      questionnaire survey of 2,316 high school students in Japan. By analyzing the sex
      and age-specific proportion with the logistic regression model, odds ratios were
      estimated which indicated potential bias or misclassification resulting from sex
      and age differences. RESULTS: The odds ratios were 1.97 (95% confidence interval,
      1.74-2.23) for the sex difference and 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.05)
      for an age difference of 1 year. This indicated that a male family member had a
      1.97 times higher chance of having a positive history than a female member and
      that a positive history increased by (1.05)y, where y was age difference in
      years. CONCLUSION: A control for sex and age of family members will be required
      in assessing the family history of diabetes mellitus as a risk factor.

PMID- 9973587
TI  - Sociodemographic and personal characteristics of adolescents engaged in weight
      loss and weight/muscle gain behaviors: who is doing what?
AB  - BACKGROUND: Prevalence rates of behaviors aimed at weight loss and weight/muscle
      gain among adolescents were examined across sociodemographic and personal
      anthropometric variables to provide insight into these behaviors and identify
      high-risk subgroups. METHODS: A statewide representative sample of 7th, 9th, and
      11th grade public school students from Connecticut completed a classroom
      administered survey on adolescent health in 1995-1996. The study sample in the
      present analysis included 9,118 adolescents. RESULTS: The most frequently
      reported weight control behavior was exercise followed by dieting. Disordered
      eating (vomiting, diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics) over the previous week was
      reported by 7.4% of the girls and 3.1% of the boys. Steroids were used by 0.5% of
      the girls and 2.3% of the boys. Girls in the highest BMI category were at
      greatest risk for disordered eating behaviors while boys in the lowest BMI
      category were at greatest risk for steroid use. African American and Hispanic
      girls were less likely than Caucasians to diet and exercise, but were more likely
      to report behaviors aimed at weight gain. Relatively high rates of disordered
      eating behaviors were reported by African American and Hispanic boys. Older girls
      reported slightly more dieting and disordered eating and less exercise than
      younger girls. Youth from low socioeconomic backgrounds were at greater risk for
      disordered eating than youth from high socioeconomic backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS:
      The findings suggest a need to widen our scope of thinking with regard to who is
      concerned with their body shape/size and at risk for engaging in potentially
      dangerous behaviors aimed at either weight loss or muscle gain.

PMID- 9973588
TI  - Evaluation of a motivational smoking cessation intervention for women in public
      health clinics.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A multicomponent motivational smoking cessation intervention was
      evaluated in 33 prenatal, family planning, and pediatric services in 12 public
      health clinics. Clinic-based intervention components were implemented by clinic
      personnel as part of routine medical visits. METHODS: The evaluation design
      included pre- and postintervention measurements of multiple study outcomes in a
      baseline (all clinics prior to the start of the intervention) and an experimental
      period (matchedpair random assignment of clinics to intervention or control
      conditions). Subjects were 683 (baseline) and 1,064 (experimental) smokers with
      measurements of smoking outcomes at both times. Mixed-effects regressions
      analyzed individual outcomes clustered within clinics and services. RESULTS:
      Control and intervention clinics had similar outcomes in the baseline period. In
      the experiment, outcomes improved in the intervention but not in the control
      clinics. Compared to controls, smokers exposed to the intervention were more
      likely to have quit (14.5 versus 7.7%) or take actions toward quitting and had
      higher mean action, stage of readiness, and motivation to quit scores. These
      positive effects persisted when clustering within clinics and services was
      controlled. CONCLUSIONS: This intervention, implemented by clinic personnel as
      part of routine medical visits, was effective under these natural conditions
      across different types of clinic service.

PMID- 9973589
TI  - Stage distributions for five health behaviors in the United States and Australia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A key variable for the design of individual and public health
      interventions is the Stage of Change. The five stages of readiness to change are
      Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, and Maintenance. The
      distribution of individuals across the stages of change can provide a valuable
      tool for designing health interventions. METHODS: The pattern of distribution
      across the stages of change for five behavioral risk factors is presented from
      five independent surveys, two from the United States and three from Australia.
      The five risk factors are smoking, low fat diet, regular exercise, reducing
      stress, and losing weight. Identical single-item questionnaire items for staging
      health behaviors were used in all surveys. RESULTS: The stage distributions for
      the five risk factors were similar across the five independent samples. In
      general, the pattern of stage distributions was stable across health risk
      factors, gender, country, and sample. CONCLUSIONS: Single-item survey measures of
      stage of change that are readily applicable to population studies appear to
      provide important information about the population characteristics of readiness
      to change behavioral risk factors. The stability of these distributions suggests
      that interventions matched by stage may have broad applicability.

PMID- 9973590
TI  - Long-term effects of aerobic exercise on psychological outcomes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although the literature on increased physical fitness and
      psychological outcomes has grown large, a number of methodological limitations
      remain unaddressed. The present study was designed to address a number of these
      limitations while examining the short- and long-term psychological effects
      following completion of a 12-week aerobic fitness program using bicycle ergometry
      (and confirmed increases in fitness). METHOD: Following completion of a 12-week
      aerobic fitness program (and through 12 months of follow-up), 82 adult
      participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Profile of Mood States,
      State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale.
      Physiological measures used to assess changes in aerobic fitness were maximal
      work load, submaximal heart rate at a standard work load, predicted maximum
      oxygen uptake, and resting heart rate. RESULTS: Exercise participants experienced
      a positive fitness change and psychological improvement over the initial 12-week
      program compared to a control group. At 1 year follow-up, physiological and
      psychological benefits remained significantly improved from baseline.
      CONCLUSIONS: Overall, results indicate that exercise-induced increases in aerobic
      fitness have beneficial short-term and long-term effects on psychological
      outcomes. We postulate that participants in the exercise group did not increase
      the amount of weekly exercise they performed over the 12-month follow-up period
      and thus the maintenance of the psychological improvements occurred concurrent
      with equal or lesser amounts of exercise.

PMID- 9973591
TI  - Modification in Quetelet index five months after myocardial infarction: relevance
      of biographic and personality characteristics.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Obesity can be considered as a risk factor for (re-)occurrence of
      coronary heart disease. METHODS: The relationship between modification in
      quetelet index and personality characteristics was assessed in 166 survivors of a
      first myocardial infarction (MI). Quetelet index (weight/(height)2) was
      calculated a few days after first MI and again 5 months later. A multiple
      regression analysis was executed, with the quetelet index after 5 months as
      dependent variable and adjustment for gender, age, and quetelet index at
      baseline. RESULTS: It was found that strong feelings of vital exhaustion and lack
      of tension significantly contributed to the prediction of increased quetelet
      index 5 months after a first MI. CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended that individually
      tailored interventions be used based on these personality characteristics to
      accomplish body weight reduction in MI patients.

PMID- 9973592
TI  - Hepatitis C in state correctional facilities.
AB  - BACKGROUND: No previous studies have examined the extent to which correctional
      facilities in the United States screen for and treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.
      METHODS: Medical directors of state correctional facilities responded to a survey
      assessing the degree to which prisons screen for and treat hepatitis C. To
      estimate numbers of inmates eligible for interferon treatment and to examine
      costs associated with HCV management, we constructed a feasibility model that
      incorporated screening criteria used in California and Rhode Island. RESULTS:
      Thirty-six states and Washington, DC, responded, resulting in a survey response
      rate of 73%, representing 77% of all inmates in state facilities nationwide.
      Colorado alone reported routine screening. Only California reported conducting a
      systematic seroprevalence study, which found that 39.4% of male inmates were
      hepatitis C antibody positive in 1994. Seventy-three percent of the respondents
      sometimes consider treating with interferon. Four states follow a standard
      protocol. The feasibility model suggests that treating suitably screened inmates
      is a reasonable expenditure for correctional systems. CONCLUSION: Prison may be
      an appropriate setting for treatment of hepatitis C. If accompanying substance
      abuse issues are addressed, instituting HCV treatment for certain eligible
      incarcerated individuals may be a worthy target for public health dollars.

PMID- 9973593
TI  - Effects of a lifestyle exercise intervention.

PMID- 9973594
TI  - Forward and retrograde trafficking in mitotic animal cells. ER-Golgi transport
      arrest restricts protein export from the ER into COPII-coated structures.
AB  - Protein transport arrest occurs between the ER and Golgi stack of mitotic animal
      cells, but the location of this block is unknown. In this report we use the
      recycling intermediate compartment protein ERGIC 53/p58 and the plasma membrane
      protein CD8 to establish the site of transport arrest. Recycled ERGIC 53/p58 and
      newly synthesised CD8 accumulate in ER cisternae but not in COPII-coated export
      structures or more distal sites. During mitosis the tubulovesicular ER-related
      export sites were depleted of the COPII component Sec13p, as shown by
      immunoelectron microscopy, indicating that COPII budding structures are the
      target for mitotic inhibition. The extent of recycling of Golgi stack residents
      was also investigated. In this study we used oligosaccharide modifications on CD8
      trapped in the ER of mitotic cells as a sensitive assay for recycling of Golgi
      stack enzymes. We find that modifications conferred by the Golgi stack-resident
      GalNac transferase do occur on newly synthesised CD8, but these modifications are
      entirely due to newly synthesised transferase rather than to enzyme recycled from
      the Golgi stack. Taken together our findings establish for the first time that
      the site of ER-Golgi transport arrest of mitotic cells is COPII budding
      structures, and they clearly speak against a role for recycling in partitioning
      of Golgi stack proteins via translocation to the ER.

PMID- 9973595
TI  - Formation of a primitive ectoderm like cell population, EPL cells, from ES cells
      in response to biologically derived factors.
AB  - The primitive ectoderm of the mouse embryo arises from the inner cell mass
      between 4.75 and 5.25 days post coitum, around the time of implantation.
      Positioned at a pivotal time in development, just prior to formation of the three
      germ layers of the embryo proper, the primitive ectoderm responds directly to the
      signals generated during gastrulation. We have identified a conditioned medium,
      MEDII, which caused the homogeneous conversion of ES cells to a morphologically
      distinct cell population, termed early primitive ectoderm-like (EPL) cells. EPL
      cells expressed the pluripotent cell markers Oct4, SSEA1 and alkaline
      phosphatase. However, the formation of EPL cells was accompanied by alterations
      in Fgf5, Gbx2 and Rex1 expression, a loss in chimaera forming ability, changes in
      factor responsiveness and modified differentiation capabilities, all consistent
      with the identification of EPL cells as equivalent to the primitive ectoderm
      population of the 5.5 to 6.0 days post coitum embryo. EPL cell formation could be
      reversed in the presence of LIF and withdrawal of MEDII, which suggested that EPL
      cell formation was not a terminal differentiation event but reflected the ability
      of pluripotent cells to adopt distinct cell states in response to specific
      factors. Partial purification of MEDII revealed the presence of two separable
      biological activities, both of which were required for the induction and
      maintenance of EPL cells. We show here the first demonstration of uniform
      differentiation of ES cells in response to biological factors. The formation of
      primitive ectoderm, both in vivo and in vitro, appears to be an obligatory step
      in the differentiation of the inner cell mass or ES cells into cell lineages of
      the embryonic germ layers. EPL cells potentially represent a model for the
      development of lineage specific differentiation protocols and analysis of
      gastrulation at a molecular level. An understanding of the active components of
      MEDII may provide a route for the identification of factors which induce
      primitive ectoderm formation in vivo.

PMID- 9973596
TI  - The cellular basis of corneal transparency: evidence for 'corneal crystallins'.
AB  - In vivo corneal light scattering measurements using a novel confocal microscope
      demonstrated greatly increased backscatter from corneal stromal fibrocytes
      (keratocytes) in opaque compared to transparent corneal tissue in both humans and
      rabbits. Additionally, two water-soluble proteins, transketolase (TKT) and
      aldehyde dehydrogenase class 1 (ALDH1), isolated from rabbit keratocytes showed
      unexpectedly abundant expression ( approximately 30% of the soluble protein) in
      transparent corneas and markedly reduced levels in opaque scleral fibroblasts or
      keratocytes from hazy, freeze injured regions of the cornea. Together these data
      suggest that the relatively high expressions of TKT and ALDH1 contribute to
      corneal transparency in the rabbit at the cellular level, reminiscent of enzyme
      crystallins in the lens. We also note that ALDH1 accumulates in the rabbit
      corneal epithelial cells, rather than ALDH3 as seen in other mammals, consistent
      with the taxon-specificity observed among lens enzyme-crystallins. Our results
      suggest that corneal cells, like lens cells, may preferentially express water
      soluble proteins, often enzymes, for controlling their optical properties.

PMID- 9973597
TI  - Regulation of c-met expression in B16 murine melanoma cells by melanocyte
      stimulating hormone.
AB  - B16 murine melanoma cells selected in vivo for enhanced liver metastatic ability
      (B16-LS9) show on the one hand an increased expression and constitutive
      activation of the proto-oncogene c-met (the receptor for hepatocyte growth
      factor/scatter factor), and on the other hand a more differentiated phenotype,
      when compared to the parental cell line, B16-F1. Following this observation, we
      have tried to establish whether there is a direct relationship between
      differentiation and c-met expression in B16 melanoma cells. Treatment of these
      cells with differentiating agents indicated that c-met expression was strongly
      induced by melanocyte stimulating hormone, while retinoic acid had almost no
      influence. c-met induction was triggered by engagement of the melanocortin
      receptor, cAMP elevation and PKA/PKC(&agr;) activation, as respectively shown by
      the effects of ACTH, cAMP elevating agents and specific PK inhibitors. Regulation
      of c-met expression via the melanocortin receptor and cAMP raises the intriguing
      possibility that autocrine and/or paracrine mechanisms acting in vivo on this
      circuit might influence (through c-met expression and activation) the metastatic
      behavior of these tumor cells, which we have shown to be dependent on their c-met
      expression.

PMID- 9973598
TI  - Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase translocation to the nucleus is induced by
      interleukin 1 and prevented by mutation of interleukin 1 receptor in human
      osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells.
AB  - Although interleukin 1 (IL-1) functions have been extensively characterized, the
      mechanisms by which IL-1 signals are transduced from the plasma membrane to the
      nucleus are less known. Recent evidence indicates that phosphatidylinositol 3
      kinase (PI3-kinase) could be activated by a direct association with the activated
      IL-1 receptor. In this study we analyzed the effects of IL-1 on the intracellular
      distribution of PI3-kinase in wild-type Saos-2 human osteosarcoma cells, and in
      cell clones overexpressing type I IL-1 receptor (IL-1RI). PI3-kinase
      intracellular distribution displays two distinct patterns. In quiescent cells,
      PI3-kinase is distributed through the cytoplasm, although a portion is present in
      the nucleus; following stimulation with IL-1, PI3-kinase is redistributed,
      increasing in the nuclear compartment. Both immunoblotting and immunofluorescence
      data indicate that IL-1 causes a rapid and transient translocation of PI3-kinase
      from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. This phenomenon is prevented by PI3-kinase
      inhibitors, suggesting that the maintenance of PI3-kinase activity is essential
      for IL-1-induced translocation. Indeed, in cell clones stably transfected with
      Y479F receptor mutant, in which the binding of the enzyme to the activated
      receptor is blocked, IL-1-induced PI3-kinase translocation to the nucleus is
      completely prevented. These data suggest that PI3-kinase translocation to the
      nucleus upon IL-1R activation is an early event in IL-1 signaling mechanism, and
      may be involved in transcriptional activation.

PMID- 9973599
TI  - Rab3 is present on endosomes from bovine chromaffin cells in primary culture.
AB  - Rab3a, a small GTP-binding protein, is believed to mediate Ca2+-dependent
      exocytosis. Consistent with such a role was the previously reported specific
      association of Rab3a with synaptic vesicles in neurons and secretory granules in
      adrenal chromaffin cells. Secretory vesicles are believed to be the final point
      of Rab3a membrane association, as it was shown by several groups that Rab3a
      dissociates from the secretory vesicle membrane during stimulated exocytosis. In
      chromaffin cells, Rab3a is not exclusively localized on secretory granules since
      a fraction is present on a previously unidentified subcellular compartment
      equilibrating at light sucrose density. This 'light' membraneous structure could
      be the starting point for reassociation of Rab3a with membranes involved in
      granule formation, or it could be a structure unrelated to granules. The present
      study used several subcellular fractionation techniques and immunomicroscopy to
      unravel the nature of the 'light' Rab3a-containing structures from bovine
      chromaffin cells in primary culture. After stimulation, amounts of both Rab3a-d
      and the granule marker dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH) increase transiently in
      sucrose gradient fractions enriched in endosomal markers. A diaminobenzidine
      induced density shift of endosomes alters the distribution of DbetaH and Rab3a-d.
      At the ultrastructural level, subplasmalemmal pleiomorphic organelles were
      detected by Rab3a-d-immunogold labelling. Taken together our data provide for the
      first time evidence that internalised secretory granule membranes go through an
      endosomal stage where Rab3a is present, resembling the neuronal synaptic vesicle
      cycle. This indicates that the endosome is an important trafficking route in the
      biogenesis/recycling of secretory vesicles in chromaffin cells, in which Rab3a
      could have an as yet unknown regulatory function, and could point to the
      existence of alternative recycling pathways for the chromaffin granule membrane.

PMID- 9973600
TI  - Bouquet formation in budding yeast: initiation of recombination is not required
      for meiotic telomere clustering.
AB  - Fluorescence in situ hybridization in combination with synaptonemal complex and
      spindle pole body immunostaining to both spread and structurally preserved nuclei
      from time course experiments disclosed prominent telomere clustering during
      meiotic prophase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was found that
      centromere clustering, which dominates vegetative nuclear structure, is rapidly
      lost after induction of meiosis. Telomeres tightly clustered during
      leptotene/zygotene-equivalent stages in the vicinity of the spindle pole body,
      giving rise to a classical chromosomal bouquet arrangement. This arrangement
      dissolved later during prophase. Painting of chromosomes XI revealed that
      initially compacted chromosome territories adopt an outstretched morphology in
      bouquet nuclei. This conformational state was associated with alignment and
      pairing. Chromosome condensation during pachytene rendered condensed and compact
      bivalents, and dispersed telomeres. Both the spo11 and rad50S recombination
      mutants formed bouquets, demonstrating that bouquet formation is recombination
      and synapsis independent.

PMID- 9973601
TI  - Cytological characterisation of the mutant phenotypes produced during early
      embryogenesis by null and loss-of-function alleles of the gammaTub37C gene in
      Drosophila.
AB  - We have studied the mutant phenotypes brought about during early embryogenesis by
      mutation in the gammaTub37C gene, one of the two isoforms of gamma-tubulin that
      have been identified in Drosophila. We have focused our attention on fs(2)TW1(1)
      and fs(2)TW1(RU34), a null and a hypomorph allele of this gene, whose sequences
      we report in this work. We have found that the abnormal meiotic figures observed
      in mutant stage 14 oocytes are not observed in laid oocytes or fertilised
      embryos, suggesting that these abnormal meiotic figures are not terminally
      arrested. We have also concluded that both null and hypomorph alleles lead to a
      total arrest of nuclear proliferation during early embryogenesis. This is in
      contrast to their effect on female meiosis-I where hypomorph alleles display a
      much weaker phenotype. Finally, we have observed that null and hypomorph alleles
      lead to some distinct phenotypes. Unfertilised laid oocytes and fertilised
      embryos deficient for gammaTub37C do not contain polar bodies and have a few
      bipolar microtubule arrays. In contrast, oocytes and embryos from weaker alleles
      do not have these microtubule arrays, but do contain polar bodies, or polar-body
      like structures. These results indicate that gammaTub37C is essential for nuclear
      proliferation in the early Drosophila embryo.

PMID- 9973602
TI  - Underexpression of the 43 kDa inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase is associated
      with spontaneous calcium oscillations and enhanced calcium responses following
      endothelin-1 stimulation.
AB  - The 43 kDa inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (5-phosphatase) hydrolyses the
      signalling molecules inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) and inositol
      1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4, 5)P4) and thereby regulates cellular
      transformation. To investigate the role Ins(1,4,5)P3-mediated Ca2+ oscillations
      play in cellular transformation, we studied Ins(1,4,5)P3-mediated Ca2+ responses
      in cells underexpressing the 43 kDa 5-phosphatase. Chronic reduction in 43 kDa 5
      phosphatase enzyme activity resulted in a 2.6-fold increase in the resting
      Ins(1,4,5)P3 concentration and a 4.1-fold increase in basal intracellular Ca2+.
      The increased Ins(1,4,5)P3 levels resulted in partial emptying (40%) of the
      Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+ store, however, store-operated Ca2+ influx remained
      unchanged. In addition, Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptors were chronically down-regulated in
      unstimulated cells, as shown by a 53% reduction in [3H]Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding to
      microsomal receptor sites. Agonist stimulation with endothelin-1 resulted in the
      rapid rise and fall of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 levels, with no
      significant differences in the rates of hydrolysis of these second messengers in
      antisense- or vector-transfected cells. These studies indicate, in contrast to
      its predicted action, the 43 kDa 5-phosphatase does not metabolise Ins(1, 4,5)P3
      and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 post agonist stimulation. Cells with decreased 43 kDa 5
      phosphatase activity exhibited spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations in the absence of
      any agonist stimulation, and increased sensitivity and amplitude of intracellular
      Ca2+ responses to both high and low dose endothelin-1 stimulation. We conclude
      the 43 kDa 5-phosphatase exerts a profound influence on Ins(1,4, 5)P3-induced
      Ca2+ spiking, both in the unstimulated cell and following agonist stimulation. We
      propose the enhanced Ca2+ oscillations may mediate cellular transformation in
      cells underexpressing the 43 kDa 5-phosphatase.

PMID- 9973603
TI  - Parasitophorous vacuoles of Leishmania mexicana acquire macromolecules from the
      host cell cytosol via two independent routes.
AB  - The intracellular parasite Leishmania survives and proliferates in host
      macrophages. In this study we show that parasitophorous vacuoles of L. mexicana
      gain access to cytosolic material via two different routes. (1) Small anionic
      molecules such as Lucifer Yellow are rapidly transported into the vacuoles by an
      active transport mechanism that is sensitive to inhibitors of the host cell's
      organic anion transporter. (2) Larger molecules such as fluorescent dextrans
      introduced into the host cell cytosol are also delivered to parasitophorous
      vacuoles. This transport is slower and sensitive to modulators of autophagy.
      Infected macrophages were examined by two novel assays to visualize and quantify
      this process. Immunoelectron microscopy of cells loaded with digoxigenin-dextran
      revealed label in multivesicular endosomes, which appeared to fuse with
      parasitophorous vacuoles. The inner membranes of the multivesicular vesicles
      label strongly with antibodies against lysobisphosphatidic acid, suggesting that
      they represent a point of confluence between the endosomal and autophagosomal
      pathways. Although the rate of autophagous transfer was comparable in infected
      and uninfected cells, infected cells retained hydrolyzed cysteine proteinase
      substrate to a greater degree. These data suggest that L. mexicana-containing
      vacuoles have access to potential nutrients in the host cell cytosol via at least
      two independent mechanisms.

PMID- 9973604
TI  - Integrin and cytoskeletal regulation of growth factor signaling to the MAP kinase
      pathway.
AB  - Integrin-mediated anchorage of NIH3T3 fibroblasts to the extracellular matrix
      component fibronectin permits efficient growth factor signaling to the p42 and
      p44 forms of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Since integrins bridge the
      extracellular matrix to focal adhesion sites and to the actin cytoskeleton, we
      analyzed the role of these integrin-associated structures in efficient growth
      factor activation of p42 and p44-MAPKs. Use of specific reagents that disrupt
      actin stress fiber and focal adhesion formation demonstrated that upon readhesion
      of NIH3T3 cells to fibronectin, cells that were poorly spread and lacked
      prominent focal adhesions but that formed cortical actin structures, efficiently
      signaled to p42 and p44-MAPKs upon EGF stimulation. In contrast, failure to form
      the cortical actin structures, despite attachment to fibronectin, precluded
      effective EGF signaling to p42 and p44-MAPKs. Actin cytoskeletal changes induced
      by expression of dominant-negative and constitutively active forms of Rho GTPases
      did not alter EGF activation of MAPK in adherent cells. However, active Cdc42,
      but not active Rac1 or RhoA, partially rescued EGF signaling to p44-MAPK in cells
      maintained in suspension. These data indicate that a limited degree of adhesion
      mediated cytoskeletal organization and focal adhesion complex formation are
      required for efficient EGF activation of p42 and p44-MAPKs. Our studies exclude a
      major role for the GTPases RhoA and Rac1 in the formation of cytoskeletal
      structures relevant for signaling, but indicate that structures regulated by
      Cdc42 enhance the ability of suspension cells to activate MAPK in response to
      growth factors.

PMID- 9973605
TI  - Cytocentrin is a Ral-binding protein involved in the assembly and function of the
      mitotic apparatus.
AB  - Cytocentrin is a cytosolic protein that transiently associates with the mitotic
      spindle poles in early prophase, and dissociates from them after completion of
      mitosis. Cloning of its cDNA demonstrated a high degree of homology with three
      proteins known to specifically interact with an activated form of Ral. Herein we
      demonstrate that overexpression of cytocentrin inhibits assembly of the mitotic
      spindle without affecting polymerization or distribution of interphase
      microtubules. Conversely, loss of cytocentrin expression leads to formation of
      monopolar spindles. These results indicate that association of cytocentrin with
      the centrosome may be essential for a timely separation of the diplosomes. They
      also implicate Ral GTPases and their related pathways in the assembly and
      function of the mitotic apparatus.

PMID- 9973606
TI  - The mechanism of facilitated cell membrane resealing.
AB  - Disruption of the plasma membrane evokes an exocytotic response that is required
      for rapid membrane resealing. We show here in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts that a second
      disruption at the same site reseals more rapidly than the initial wound. This
      facilitated response of resealing was inhibited by both low external Ca2+
      concentration and specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, bisindolylmaleimide
      I (BIS) and Go-6976. In addition, activation of PKC by phorbol ester facilitated
      the resealing of a first wound. BIS and Go-6976 suppressed the effect of phorbol
      ester on resealing rate. Fluorescent dye loss from a FM1-43 pre-labeled
      endocytotic compartment was used to investigate the relationship between
      exocytosis, resealing and the facilitation of resealing. Exocytosis of
      endocytotic compartments near the wounding site was correlated with successful
      resealing. The destaining did not occur when exocytosis and resealing were
      inhibited by low external Ca2+ concentration or by injected tetanus toxin. When
      the dye loaded cells were wounded twice, FM1-43 destaining at the second wound
      was less than at the first wound. Less destaining was also observed in cells pre
      treated with phorbol ester, suggesting newly formed vesicles, which were FM1-43
      unlabeled, were exocytosed in the resealing at repeated woundings. Facilitation
      was also blocked by brefeldin A (BFA), a fungal metabolite that inhibits vesicle
      formation at the Golgi apparatus. Lowering the temperature below 20 degrees C
      also blocked facilitation as expected from a block of Golgi function. BFA had no
      effect on the resealing rate of an initial wound. The facilitation of the
      resealing by phorbol ester was blocked by pre-treatment with BFA. These results
      suggest that at first wounding the cell used the endocytotic compartment to add
      membrane necessary for resealing. At a second wounding, PKC, activated by Ca2+
      entry at the first wound, stimulated vesicle formation from the Golgi apparatus,
      resulting in more rapid resealing of the second membrane disruption. Since
      vesicle pools were implicated in both membrane resealing and facilitation of
      membrane resealing, we reasoned that artificial decreases in membrane surface
      tension would have the same result. Decreases in surface tension induced by the
      addition of a surfactant (Pluronic F68 NF) or cytochalasin D facilitated
      resealing at first wounding. Furthermore, Pluronic F68 NF restored resealing when
      exocytosis was blocked by tetanus toxin. These results suggest that membrane
      resealing requires a decrease in surface tension and under natural conditions
      this is provided by Ca2+-dependent exocytosis of new membrane near the site of
      disruption.

PMID- 9973607
TI  - Splice variants of the nuclear dot-associated Sp100 protein contain homologies to
      HMG-1 and a human nuclear phosphoprotein-box motif.
AB  - Sp100 and PML are interferon-inducible proteins associated with a new class of
      nuclear domains (known as nuclear dots or PML bodies) which play a role in
      tumorigenesis, virus infections, and autoimmunity. While PML is extensively
      alternatively spliced, only two splice variants are known for Sp100. Here we
      describe the identification and characterization of several Sp100 splice variant
      proteins and support their existence by elucidation of the 3'-end of the Sp100
      gene. Some of the splice variants contain a domain of significant sequence
      similarity with two previously described highly related interferon-inducible
      nuclear phosphoproteins as well as to suppressin and DEAF-1, which altogether
      define a novel protein motif, termed HNPP-box. One class of splice variants
      contains an almost complete and highly conserved copy of the DNA-binding high
      mobility group 1 protein sequence and thus represent novel HMG-box proteins. When
      expressed transiently, both major classes of Sp100 splice variant proteins
      localize in part to nuclear dots/PML bodies and in addition to different nuclear
      domains. Furthermore, PML was occasionally redistributed. These data indicate
      that alternatively spliced Sp100 proteins are expressed, differ in part in
      localization from Sp100, and might bind to chromatin via the HMG domain.

PMID- 9973608
TI  - Molecular characterization and developmentally regulated expression of Xenopus
      lamina-associated polypeptide 2 (XLAP2).
AB  - Lamina-associated polypeptides 2 (LAP2alpha, beta, gamma)/thymopoietins (TPalpha,
      beta, gamma) are a family of proteins that are generated by alternative splicing
      from a single gene. These proteins have been primarily characterized in mammals.
      One member of this protein family, the integral membrane protein LAP2beta/TPbeta,
      has been localized to the inner nuclear membrane of somatic cells where it binds
      to chromatin and B-type lamins. By cDNA cloning we have characterized XLAP2, a
      Xenopus homologue of the mammalian LAP2beta. Using LAP2-specific antibodies, the
      Mr 68,000 XLAP2 was found to be the only member of the LAP2/TP family expressed
      in somatic cells and adult tissues. XLAP2 was not detected in oocytes, eggs and
      in early embryos up to the gastrula stage at the mRNA and protein level
      demonstrating that it is not synthesized from maternal mRNA. In counterpart
      oocytes, eggs, and embryos contained one LAP2-related integral membrane proteins
      of Mr 84,000. Northern blot analysis with the XLAP2 cDNA showed that a single
      hybridizing mRNA band of 1.8-2.0 kb was present in Xenopus somatic cells whereas
      two other hybridizing mRNA species of 2.8-3.0 and 0. 9-1.1 kb were present in
      oocytes, eggs and early embryos. All together, these results indicated that at
      least three distinct LAP2-related proteins might be expressed in Xenopus. The
      LAP2/TP protein of Mr 84,000 is present in the early embryos but its amount
      decreases during embryogenesis concomitant with the increase of XLAP2 in the
      embryo. Our results are the first description of the developmentally regulated
      expression of integral nuclear envelope proteins during early embryogenesis.

PMID- 9973609
TI  - Conserved domains in DNA repair proteins and evolution of repair systems.
AB  - A detailed analysis of protein domains involved in DNA repair was performed by
      comparing the sequences of the repair proteins from two well-studied model
      organisms, the bacterium Escherichia coli and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to
      the entire sets of protein sequences encoded in completely sequenced genomes of
      bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. Previously uncharacterized conserved domains
      involved in repair were identified, namely four families of nucleases and a
      family of eukaryotic repair proteins related to the proliferating cell nuclear
      antigen. In addition, a number of previously undetected occurrences of known
      conserved domains were detected; for example, a modified helix-hairpin-helix
      nucleic acid-binding domain in archaeal and eukaryotic RecA homologs. There is a
      limited repertoire of conserved domains, primarily ATPases and nucleases, nucleic
      acid-binding domains and adaptor (protein-protein interaction) domains that
      comprise the repair machinery in all cells, but very few of the repair proteins
      are represented by orthologs with conserved domain architecture across the three
      superkingdoms of life. Both the external environment of an organism and the
      internal environment of the cell, such as the chromatin superstructure in
      eukaryotes, seem to have a profound effect on the layout of the repair systems.
      Another factor that apparently has made a major contribution to the composition
      of the repair machinery is horizontal gene transfer, particularly the invasion of
      eukaryotic genomes by organellar genes, but also a number of likely transfer
      events between bacteria and archaea. Several additional general trends in the
      evolution of repair proteins were noticed; in particular, multiple, independent
      fusions of helicase and nuclease domains, and independent inactivation of
      enzymatic domains that apparently retain adaptor or regulatory functions.

PMID- 9973610
TI  - The evolutionary scrambling and developmental unscrambling of germline genes in
      hypotrichous ciliates.
AB  - Genes in the germline (micronuclear) genome of hypotrichous ciliates are
      interrupted by multiple, short, non-coding, AT-rich sequences called internal
      eliminated segments, or IESs. During conversion of a micronucleus to a somatic
      nucleus (macronucleus) after cell mating, all IESs are excised from the germline
      genes and the gene segments, called macronuclear-destined segments, or MDSs, are
      spliced. Excision of the approximately 150 000 IESs from a haploid germline
      genome in Oxytricha nova requires approximately 150 000 recombinant events. In
      three of 10 genes the MDSs are scrambled. During macronuclear development the
      MDSs are unscrambled, possibly by folding of the DNA to allow MDSs to ligate in
      the correct order. The nine MDSs in the actin I gene of O.nova are scrambled in
      the random order, 3-4-6-5-7-9-2-1-8, and MDS 2 is inverted. The 14 MDSs in the
      alphaTP gene of O.nova and Stylonychia mytilus are scrambled in the non-random
      order, 1-3-5-7-9-11-2-4-6-8-10-12-13-14. The 45 MDSs in the DNA pol alpha gene
      are non-randomly scrambled into an odd/even series, with an inversion of one
      third of the gene. Additional IESs have been inserted into these three genes
      during evolution of Oxytricha trifallax, slightly modifying scrambling patterns.
      The non-random scrambled patterns in the alphaTP and DNA pol alpha genes are
      explained by multiple, simultaneous IES insertions. The randomly scrambled
      pattern in the actin I gene may arise from an initially non-randomly scrambled
      pattern by recombination among multiple IESs. Alternatively, IESs inserted
      sporadically (individually) in a non-scrambled configuration might subsequently
      recombine, converting a non-scrambled gene into a randomly scrambled one. IESs
      shift along a DNA molecule, most likely as a result of mutations at MDS/IES
      junctions. Shifting of IESs has the effect of 'transferring' nucleotides from one
      MDS to another, but does not change the overall sequence of nucleotides in the
      combined MDSs. In addition to shifting in position, IESs accumulate mutations at
      a high rate and increase and decrease in length within a species and during
      speciation. The phenomena of IESs and of MDS scrambling represent remarkable
      flexibility of the hypotrich genome, possibly reflecting a process of MDS
      shuffling that facilitates the evolution of genes.

PMID- 9973611
TI  - FBI-1, a factor that binds to the HIV-1 inducer of short transcripts (IST), is a
      POZ domain protein.
AB  - The HIV-1 promoter directs the synthesis of two classes of transcripts, short,
      non-polyadenylated transcripts and full-length, polyadenylated transcripts. The
      synthesis of short transcripts is activated by a bipartite DNA element, the
      inducer of short transcripts or IST, located downstream of the HIV-1
      transcriptional start site, while the synthesis of full-length transcripts is
      activated by the viral activator Tat. Tat binds to the RNA element TAR, which is
      encoded largely between the two IST half-elements. Upon activation by Tat, the
      synthesis of short RNAs is repressed. We have previously purified a factor called
      FBI-1 (for factor that binds to IST) whose binding to wild-type and mutated ISTs
      correlated well with the abilities of these ISTs to direct the synthesis of short
      transcripts. Here, we report the cloning of cDNAs encoding FBI-1. FBI-1 contains
      a POZ domain at its N-terminus and four Kruppel-type zinc fingers at its C
      terminus. The C-terminus is sufficient for specific binding, and FBI-1 can form
      homomers through its POZ domain and, in vivo, through its zinc finger domain as
      well. In addition, FBI-1 associates with Tat, suggesting that repression of the
      short transcripts by Tat may be mediated through interactions between the two
      factors.

PMID- 9973612
TI  - A gene encoding an intestinal-enriched member of the Kruppel-like factor family
      expressed in intestinal epithelial cells.
AB  - The Kruppel-like factors make up a multigene family of transcription factors that
      have discrete patterns of expression, implying they play important biological
      roles in the tissues in which they are expressed. We have identified and
      characterized the cDNA for a novel murine transcription factor that is an
      additional member of the Kruppel-like family of transcription factors, named
      intestinal-enriched Kruppel-like factor (IKLF). This gene appears to be a homolog
      of the human BTEB-2 gene, although it exhibits a different pattern of tissue
      expression and the translated product is larger. IKLF is expressed in a limited
      number of tissues; the highest levels of IKLF expression are found in the
      digestive tract. IKLF shows temporal changes in expression during embryogenesis
      indicating that this gene is developmentally regulated. In addition, IKLF
      expression is limited to the epithelial lining of the intestine and is localized
      primarily to the base of the crypts in the adult intestine. The IKLF cDNA encodes
      for a 446 amino acid protein and is able to transactivate by binding specific DNA
      elements that are also recognized by other members of the Kruppel-like family. In
      addition, mutations in the activation domain attenuate the ability of this
      protein to function as a transcription factor. Collectively, these findings show
      that we have identified a transcription factor that is expressed predominantly in
      the epithelial crypt cells of the gastrointestinal tract and is a member of the
      Kruppel-like family of transcription factors.

PMID- 9973613
TI  - An allylic/acyclic adenosine nucleoside triphosphate for termination of DNA
      synthesis by DNA template-dependent polymerases.
AB  - An allylic adenosine triphosphate analog (AATP) was tested as a substrate for
      commercially available DNA polymerases. All but one of the enzymes assayed
      incorporated AATP opposite thymidine (T) with concomitant termination of the
      elongation reaction. A concentration of only 1 microM was sufficient for complete
      termination of the polymerization reaction for a short template mediated by Ampli
      Taq DNA polymerase FS (Taq FS). This result suggests that AATP could be used as a
      2',3'-dideoxyadenosine-5'-triphosphate (ddA) surrogate. Kinetics of incorporation
      revealed that AATP was 48 times less efficiently incorporated than ddA.
      Furthermore, AATP was used in dye-primer sequencing as a substitute for ddA.

PMID- 9973614
TI  - Escherichia coli RuvBL268S: a mutant RuvB protein that exhibits wild-type
      activities in vitro but confers a UV-sensitive ruv phenotype in vivo.
AB  - The RuvABC proteins of Escherichia coli process recombination intermediates
      during genetic recombination and DNA repair. RuvA and RuvB promote branch
      migration of Holliday junctions, a process that extends heteroduplex DNA.
      Together with RuvC, they form a RuvABC complex capable of Holliday junction
      resolution. Branch migration by RuvAB is mediated by RuvB, a hexameric ring
      protein that acts as an ATP-driven molecular pump. To gain insight into the
      mechanism of branch migration, random mutations were introduced into the ruvB
      gene by PCR and a collection of mutant alleles were obtained. Mutation of leucine
      268 to serine resulted in a severe UV-sensitive phenotype, characteristic of a
      ruv defect. Here, we report a biochemical analysis of the mutant protein
      RuvBL268S. Unexpectedly, the purified protein is fully active in vitro with
      regard to its ATPase, DNA binding and DNA unwinding activities. It also promotes
      efficient branch migration in combination with RuvA, and forms functional RuvABC
      Holliday junction resolvase complexes. These results indicate that RuvB may
      perform some additional, and as yet undefined, function that is necessary for
      cell survival after UV-irradiation.

PMID- 9973615
TI  - The exosome subunit Rrp43p is required for the efficient maturation of 5.8S, 18S
      and 25S rRNA.
AB  - The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Rrp43p co-purifies with four other 3'-->5'
      exoribonucleases in a complex that has been termed the exosome. Rrp43p itself is
      similar to prokaryotic RNase PH. Individual exosome subunits have been implicated
      in the 3' maturation of the 5.8S rRNA found in 60S ribosomes and the 3'
      degradation of mRNAs. However, instead of being deficient in 60S ribosomes,
      Rrp43p-depleted cells were deficient in 40S ribosomes. Pulse-chase and steady
      state northern analyses of pre-RNA and rRNA levels revealed a significant delay
      in the synthesis of both 25S and 18S rRNAs, accompanied by the stable
      accumulation of 35S and 27S pre-rRNAs and the under-accumulation of 20S pre-rRNA.
      In addition, Rrp43p-depleted cells accumulated a 23S aberrant pre-rRNA and a
      fragment excised from the 5' ETS. Therefore, in addition to the maturation of
      5.8S rRNA, Rrp43p is required for the maturation 18S and 25S rRNA.

PMID- 9973616
TI  - A single point mutation in the yeast TRP4 gene affects efficiency of mRNA 3' end
      processing and alters selection of the poly(A) site.
AB  - The yeast TRP4 mRNA 3' end formation element is a bidirectional element which
      functions in both orien-tations in an artificial in vivo test system. In this
      study, the role of 3' end formation was analysed in the context of the entire
      TRP4 gene. The 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of TRP4 was altered and changes
      were analysed for their influence on TRP4 gene expression. The 3'UTR in reverse
      orientation was fully functional and did not affect TRP4 gene expression.
      Exchanging the TRP4 3'UTR by the bidirectional ARO4 or the unidirectional GCN4 3'
      end formation element allowed efficient gene expression. Deletion of the entire
      TRP4 3'UTR resulted in 70% reduction of TRP4 mRNA and 50% reduced specific Trp4
      enzyme activity in comparison to wild-type. A single point mutation within the
      TRP4 3'UTR caused the same effect on gene expression. This point mutation did not
      only affect the efficiency of 3' end formation, but also produced new poly(A)
      sites which were situated upstream of the wild-type poly(A) sites. Therefore this
      sequence motif in the TRP4 3'UTR acts simultaneously as both an efficiency and
      positioning element.

PMID- 9973617
TI  - Gene replacement with linear DNA in electroporated wild-type Escherichia coli.
AB  - Gene replacement using linear double-stranded DNA fragments in wild-type
      Escherichia coli transformation is generally inefficient due to exonucleolytic
      degradation of incoming DNA. Recombination-proficient strains, in which the
      exonucleolytic activity of RecBCD is inactivated, have been used as
      transformation recipients to overcome this difficulty. Here we report that gene
      replacements using linear double-stranded donor DNA can be achieved in wild-type
      E.coli if electrocompetent cells are used. Using a plasmid target, we obtained
      10(2)-10(3) gene replacement events/microgram linear DNA. Using an independent
      chromosomal target, approximately 60 gene replacement events/microgram linear DNA
      were obtained. The presence of Chi sites on the linear DNA, which are known to
      block DNA degradation and stimulate recombination in E.coli, had no effect on
      gene replacement efficiency in either case. RecBCD-mediated exonucleolytic
      activity was found to be diminished in electroporated cells.
      Electrotransformation thus provides a simple way to perform gene replacements in
      many E.coli strains.

PMID- 9973618
TI  - MicroSAGE: a modified procedure for serial analysis of gene expression in limited
      amounts of tissue.
AB  - Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) is a powerful expression profiling
      method, allowing the analysis of the expression of thousands of transcripts
      simultaneously. A disadvantage of the method, however, is the relatively high
      amount of input RNA required. Consequently, SAGE cannot be used for the
      generation of expression profiles when RNA is limited, i.e. in small biological
      samples such as tissue biopsies or microdissected material. Here we describe a
      modification of SAGE, named microSAGE, which requires 500- to 5000-fold less
      starting material. Compared with SAGE, microSAGE is simplified due to
      incorporation of a 'single-tube' procedure for all steps from RNA isolation to
      tag release. Furthermore, a limited number of additional PCR cycles are
      performed. Using microSAGE gene expression profiles can be obtained from minute
      quantities of tissue such as a single hippocampal punch from a rat brain slice of
      325 micrometers thickness, estimated to contain, at most, 10(5) cells. This
      method opens up a multitude of new possibilities for the application of SAGE, for
      example the characterization of expression profiles in tissue biopsies, tumor
      metastases or in other cases where tissue is scarce and the generation of region
      specific expression profiles of complex heterogeneous tissues.

PMID- 9973619
TI  - Transfer RNA modification enzymes from Pyrococcus furiosus: detection of the
      enzymatic activities in vitro.
AB  - The modification patterns of in vitro transcripts of two yeast Saccharomyces
      cerevisiae tRNAs (tRNAPheand tRNAAsp) and one archaeal Haloferax volcanii tRNA
      (tRNAIle) were investigated in the cell-free extract of Pyrococcus furiosus
      supplemented with S -adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet). The results indicate that
      the enzymatic formation of 11 distinct modified nucleotides corresponding to 12
      enzymatic activities can be detected in vitro. They correspond to the formation
      of pseudouridines (Psi) at positions 39 and 55, 2' -O- ribose methylations at
      positions 6 (Am) and 56 (Cm), base methylations at positions 10 (m2G), 26 (m22G),
      37 (m1G), 49 (m5C), 54 (m5U) and 58 (m1A) and both the deamination and
      methylation of adenosine into m1I at position 57. Most of the detected modified
      nucleotides are common modifications found in other phylogenetic groups, while
      Am6, Cm56and m1I57are specific modifications found exclusively in Archaea. It is
      also shown that the enzymatic formation of m5C49, m5U54, Psi55and m1I57does not
      depend on the three-dimensional architecture of the tRNA substrate, since these
      modi-fications also occur in fragmented tRNAs as substrate.

PMID- 9973620
TI  - Novel non-isotopic detection of MutY enzyme-recognized mismatches in DNA via
      ultrasensitive detection of aldehydes.
AB  - A highly sensitive method to detect traces of aldehyde-containing
      apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in nucleic acids has been developed. Based on
      this method, a novel approach to detect DNA base mismatches recognized by the
      mismatch repair glycosylase MutY is demonstrated. Open chain aldehydes generated
      in nucleic acids due to spontaneous depurination, DNA damage or base excision of
      mismatched adenine by MutY are covalently trapped by a new linker molecule
      [fluorescent aldehyde-reactive probe (FARP), a fluorescein-conjugated
      hydroxylamine derivative]. DNA containing AP sites is FARP-trapped, biotinylated
      and immobilized onto neutravidin-coated microplates. The number of FARP-trapped
      aldehydes is then determined via chemiluminescence using a cooled ICCD camera. AP
      sites induced in plasmid or genomic calf thymus DNA via mild depurination or by
      simple incubation at physiological conditions (pH 7, 37 degreesC) presented a
      linear increase in chemiluminescence signal with time. The procedure developed,
      from a starting DNA material of approximately 100 ng, allows detection of
      attomole level (10(-18) mol) AP sites, or 1 AP site/2 x 10(7) bases, and extends
      by 1-2 orders of magnitude the current limit in AP site detection. In order to
      detect MutY-recognized mismatches, nucleic acids are first treated with 5 mM
      hydroxylamine to remove traces of spontaneous aldehydes. Following MutY treatment
      and FARP-labeling, oligonucleotides engineered to have a centrally located A/G
      mismatch demonstrate a strong chemiluminescence signal. Similarly, single
      stranded M13 DNA that forms mismatches via self-complementation (average of 3
      mismatches over 7429 bases) and treated with MutY yields a signal approximately
      100-fold above background. No signal was detected when DNA without mismatches was
      used. The current development allows sensitive, non-isotopic, high throughput
      screening of diverse nucleic acids for AP sites and mismatches in a microplate
      based format.

PMID- 9973621
TI  - Targeted gene repair directed by the chimeric RNA/DNA oligonucleotide in a
      mammalian cell-free extract.
AB  - Chimeric oligonucleotides consisting of RNA and DNA residues have been shown to
      catalyze site-directed genetic alteration in mammalian cells both in vitro and in
      vivo. Since the frequency of these events appears to be logs higher than the
      rates of gene targeting, a process involving homologous recombination, we
      developed a system to study the mechanisms of chimera-directed gene conversion.
      Using a mammalian cell-free extract and a genetic readout in Escherichia coli, we
      find that point mutations and single base deletions can be corrected at
      frequencies of approximately 0.1% and 0.005%, respectively. The reaction depends
      on an accurately designed chimera and the presence of functional hMSH2 protein.
      The results of genetic and biochemical studies reported herein suggest that the
      process of mismatch repair functions in site-directed gene correction.

PMID- 9973622
TI  - Cloning and characterization of the p42 subunit of mammalian translation
      initiation factor 3 (eIF3): demonstration that eIF3 interacts with eIF5 in
      mammalian cells.
AB  - Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) is a large multisubunit protein
      complex that plays an essential role in the binding of the initiator methionyl
      tRNA and mRNA to the 40S ribosomal subunit to form the 40S initiation complex.
      cDNAs encoding all the subunits of mammalian eIF3 except the p42 subunit have
      been cloned in several laboratories. Here we report the cloning and
      characterization of a human cDNA encoding the p42 subunit of mammalian eIF3. The
      open reading frame of the cDNA, which encodes a protein of 320 amino acids
      (calculated Mr35 614) has been expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant
      protein has been purified to homogeneity. The purified protein binds RNA in
      agreement with the presence of a putative RNA binding motif in the deduced amino
      acid sequence. The protein shows 33% identity and 53% similarity with the Tif35p
      subunit (YDR 429C) of yeast eIF3. Transfection experiments demonstrated that
      polyhistidine-tagged p42 protein, transiently expressed in human U20S cells, was
      incorporated into endogenous eIF3. Furthermore, eIF3 isolated from transfected
      cell lysates contains bound eIF5 indicating that a specific physical interaction
      between eIF5 and eIF3 may play an important role in the function of eIF5 during
      translation initiation in eukaryotic cells.

PMID- 9973623
TI  - Heat shock of HeLa cells inactivates a nuclear protein phosphatase specific for
      dephosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II.
AB  - Reversible phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest RNA
      polymerase II (RNAP II) subunit plays a key role in gene expression. Stresses
      such as heat shock result in marked changes in CTD phosphorylation as well as in
      major alterations in gene expression. CTD kinases and CTD phosphatase(s)
      contribute in mediating differential CTD phosphory-lation. We now report that
      heat shock of HeLa cells at temperatures as mild as 41 degreesC results in a
      decrease in CTD phosphatase activity in cell extracts. The obser-vation that this
      CTD phosphatase interacts with the RAP74 subunit of the general transcription
      factor TFIIF suggests that it corresponds to the previously charac-terized major
      CTD phosphatase. This conclusion is also supported by the finding that the
      distribution of the 150 kDa subunit of CTD phosphatase in cells is altered by
      heat shock. Although CTD phosphatase is found predominantly in low salt extracts
      in unstressed cells, immunofluorescence microscopy indicates that its
      intracellular localization is nuclear. The decrease in CTD phosphatase activity
      correlates with a decrease in amount of 150 kDa phosphatase subunit in the
      extracts. During heat shock, CTD phosphatase switches to an insoluble form which
      remains aggregated to the nuclear matrix fraction. In contrast, heat shock did
      not result in a redistribution of RAP74, indicating that not all nuclear proteins
      aggregate under these conditions. Accordingly, the heat-inactivation of both the
      CTD phosphatase and the TFIIH-associated CTD kinase might contribute to the
      selective synthesis of heat-shock mRNAs.

PMID- 9973624
TI  - Increased specificity of reverse transcription priming by trehalose and oligo
      blockers allows high-efficiency window separation of mRNA display.
AB  - We have developed a method for high-efficiency window separation of cDNA display
      by increasing the specificity of priming in reverse transcription. In the
      conventional method, two-base anchored oligo(dT) primers (5'dT16VN3', where N is
      any base and V is G, A or C) are used to make windows for the display of
      transcripts. However, reverse transcriptase often extends misprimed
      oligonucleotides. To avoid mispriming from dT16VN primers, we have developed two
      new technologies. One is higher temperature priming with reverse transcriptase
      thermoactivated by the disaccharide trehalose. The other is the use of
      competitive oligonucleotide blockers that hybridize to the non-selectively primed
      mRNAs, preventing the mispriming from the VN site. These methods were combined to
      improve restriction landmark cDNA scanning (RLCS), resulting in the elimination
      of the redundant signals that appear in different windows. This was achieved by
      the increased specificity of initiation of reverse trans-cription from the
      beginning of poly(A) sites. This method paves the way for the precise
      visualization of transcripts to allow expression profiles in individual tissues
      and at each developmental stage to be understood.

PMID- 9973625
TI  - Binding of the glucose-dependent Mig1p repressor to the GAL1 and GAL4 promoters
      in vivo: regulationby glucose and chromatin structure.
AB  - Binding of the MIG1 repressor to the glucose-repressible GAL1 and GAL4 promoters
      was analyzed in vivo by cyclobutane dimer footprinting in two yeast strains that
      show different glucose repression responses. Mig1p binding to the two promoters
      in both strains was glucose-induced. In cells subject to rapid and stringent
      glucose repression (S288c), long-term Mig1p binding in glucose-grown cells was
      inhibited by the formation of a competing chromatin structure. Under conditions
      where glucose repression was only partially effective (gal80 - or low glucose),
      the chromatin structure did not form and long-term Mig1p binding was observed The
      same long-term binding of Mig1p was seen in cells of a different strain (W303A)
      that shows only partial glucose repression of the GAL1 promoter. We conclude from
      these experiments that Mig1p binding to glucose-repressed promoters is glucose
      dependent but transient. We suggest that Mig1p functions at an early step in
      repression, but is not required to maintain the repressed state.

PMID- 9973626
TI  - The DNA-binding specificity of SOX9 and other SOX proteins.
AB  - SOX (SRY-related HMG box) proteins are transcription factors that have critical
      roles in the regulation of numerous developmental processes. They share at least
      50% homology in their HMG domains, which bind the DNA element AACAAT. How
      different SOX proteins achieve specific regulation of target genes is not known.
      We determined the DNA-binding specificity of SOX9 using a random oligonucleotide
      selection assay. The optimal SOX9 binding sequence, AGAACAATGG, contained a core
      DNA-binding element AACAAT, flanked by 5' AG and 3' GG nucleotides. The specific
      interaction between SOX9 and AGAACAATGG was confirmed by mobility shift assays,
      DNA competition and dissociation studies. The 5' AG and 3' GG flanking
      nucleotides enhance binding by SOX9 HMG domain, but not by the HMG domain of
      another SOX factor, SRY. For SRY, different 5' and 3' flanking nucleotides are
      preferred. Our studies support the notion that SOX proteins achieve DNA sequence
      specificity through subtle preferences for flanking nucleotides and that this is
      likely to be dictated by signature amino acids in their HMG domains. Furthermore,
      the related HMG domains of SOX9 and Sox17 have similar optimal binding sites that
      differ from those of SRY and Sox5, suggesting that SOX factors may co-evolve with
      their DNA targets to achieve specificity.

PMID- 9973627
TI  - Repair of 8-oxoguanine in DNA is deficient in Cockayne syndrome group B cells.
AB  - The incision of the 8-oxoguanine in DNA by normal and Cockayne Syndrome (CS) cell
      extracts has been investigated. The incision in extracts derived from CS cells
      was approximately 50% of the incision level compared with extracts prepared from
      normal cells. In contrast, the incision rate of uracil and thymine glycol was not
      defective in CS cells. The deficiency in 8-oxoguanine incision was also
      demonstrated in a CS family. Whereas the proband had markedly less incision
      compared with the normal siblings, the parents had intermediate levels. The low
      level of 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase in CS extracts correlates with the reduced
      expression of the 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase gene (hOGG1) in CS cells. Both the
      levels of expression of the hOGG1 gene and the incision of 8-oxoguanine in
      DNAincreased markedly after transfection of CS-B cells with the CSB gene. We
      suggest that the CSB mutation leads to deficient transcription of the hOGG1 gene
      and thus to deficient repair of 8-oxoguanine in DNA.

PMID- 9973628
TI  - Probing the environment of nascent RNA in Escherichia coli transcription
      elongation complexes utilizing a new fluorescent ribonucleotide analog.
AB  - We report the synthesis and characterization of 5-thioacetamidofluorescein
      uridine 5'-triphosphate (5-SF-UTP), and its application to the characterization
      of the environment of the nascent RNA during trans-cription. This analog
      specifically replaced UTP as a transcription substrate for Escherichia coli and
      T7 RNA polymerases, and yeast RNA polymerase III. Escherichia coli transcription
      complexes containing analog incorporated at only position +21 of the RNA were
      prepared. The RNA was then elongated in the absence of analog, moving the
      fluorescent group further away from the enzyme active site, and the fluorescence
      polarization was measured. Analog positioned near the 3' end of the transcript
      exhibited significantly increased polarization relative to that of free probe,
      consistent with the constrained environment of the RNA in the DNA-RNA hybrid.
      Analog positioned 14 nucleotides from the 3' end exhibited significantly
      decreased polarization relative to that at the 3' end of the RNA, but only
      slightly above that of free RNA, suggesting that the probe was on the solvent
      exposed surface of the polymerase. Molecular modeling of these analog-substituted
      RNAs produced structures consistent with the experimental data. The excellent
      substrate properties of this analog make it useful for the characterization of
      the environment of RNA not only during transcription and translation, but in any
      type of ribonucleoprotein complex.

PMID- 9973629
TI  - Coordination of kRNA editing and polyadenylation in Trypanosoma brucei
      mitochondria: complete editing is not required for long poly(A) tract addition.
AB  - Mitochondrial RNAs in Trypanosoma brucei are post-transcriptionally modified by
      the addition and deletion of uridylate residues in a process called kRNA editing.
      Unedited, partially edited and fully edited RNAs exist in the steady-state RNA
      population. Previous experiments have demonstrated that T.brucei mitochondrial
      RNAs contain both short (approximately 20 nt) and long (120-200 nt) poly(A)
      tracts. However, it is unknown exactly what poly(A) tract lengths are present on
      unedited, partially edited and fully edited RNAs. To gain insight into the role
      of the poly(A) tract in T.brucei mitochondria, ribosomal protein S12 (RPS12) RNAs
      with short and long poly(A) tracts were purified by hybrid selection and analyzed
      by RT-PCR and DNA sequencing. Unedited RPS12 RNAs were found almost exclusively
      in populations with short poly(A) tracts. Both partially and fully edited RPS12
      RNAs were found in populations with short and long poly(A) tracts. Therefore,
      there is a correlation between the presence of editing and the presence of the
      long poly(A) tract. Since a proportion of partially edited RPS12 RNAs contain
      long poly(A) tracts, it is unlikely that the long poly(A) tract is the sole
      signal for translation. Other implications for the role of polyadenylation in
      mitochondrial gene regulation are discussed.

PMID- 9973630
TI  - Mammalian polyadenylation sites: implications for differential display.
AB  - Differential display relies on a series of anchored primers to divide the total
      mRNA population into subsets of roughly equal size. However, this will only occur
      if the dinucleotide targeted by the anchor region of the anchored primers has a
      random frequency distribution [i.e. each of the 12 possible dinucleotides
      preceding the poly(A) tail occur with the same frequency]. Previous reports have
      suggested that this is not the case and that the frequency distribution of the
      targeted dinucleotide can vary as much as 10-fold. In an analysis of several
      hundred unrelated mammalian mRNA sequences, we confirmed that the frequency of
      this particular dinucleotide does vary, although <3-fold. Of equal importance,
      however, we found that the number of bands displayed with each of the respective
      anchored primers was not affected by these variations in dinucleotide frequency,
      suggesting that anchored primer promiscuity permits mispriming during the reverse
      transcription stage of differential display. Close examination of this issue
      suggested that both mispriming at the anchor region and internal mispriming are
      common in differential display reverse transcription and implies that repetitive
      sampling occurs exten-sively in differential display. Thus, reverse transcriptase
      mispriming may considerably reduce the efficiency of differential display.

PMID- 9973631
TI  - Structure of influenza virus panhandle RNA studied by NMR spectroscopy and
      molecular modeling.
AB  - The structure of a 34 nucleotide RNA molecule in solution, which contains the
      conserved panhandle sequences, was determined by NMR spectroscopy and molecular
      modeling. The partially double-strandedpanhandle structure of the influenza virus
      RNA serves to regulate initiation and termination of viral transcription as well
      as polyadenylation. The panhandle RNA consists of internal loop flanked by short
      helices. The nucleotides at or near the internal loop are crucial for polymerase
      binding and transcriptional activity. They show more flexible conformational
      character than the Watson-Crick base-paired region, especially for the backbone
      torsion angles of alpha, gamma and delta. Although residues A10 and A12 are
      stacked in the helix, the phosphodiester backbones are distorted. Residues A12,
      A13 and G25 show dynamic sugar conformations and the backbone conformations of
      these nucleotides are flexible. This backbone conformation and its associated
      flexibility may be important for protein-RNA interactions as well as base
      specific interactions.

PMID- 9973632
TI  - Unusual nucleotide conformations in GNRA and UNCG type tetraloop hairpins:
      evidence from Raman markers assignments.
AB  - High resolution NMR data on UNCG and GNRA tetraloops (where N is any of the four
      nucleotides and R is a purine) have shown that they contain ribonucleosides with
      unusual 2'-endo/anti and 3'-endo/syn conformations, in addition to the 3'
      endo/anti ones which are regularly encountered in RNA chains. In the current
      study, Raman spectroscopy has been used to probe these nucleoside conformations
      and follow the order (hairpin) to disorder (random chain) structural transitions
      in aqueous phase in the 5-80 degreesC temperature range. Spectral evolution of
      GCAA and GAAA tetraloops, as formed in very short hairpins with only three G.C
      base pairs in their stems (T m >60 degreesC), are reported and compared with
      those previously published on UUCG and UACG tetraloops, for which the syn
      orientation of the terminal guanine as well as the 2'-endo/anti conformation of
      the third rC residue have been confirmed by means of vibrational marker bands.
      Raman data obtained as a function of temperature show that the first uracil in
      the UUCG tetraloop is stacked and the two middle residues (rU and rC) are in the
      2'-endo/anti conformation, in agreement with the previously published NMR
      results. As far as the new data concerning the GNRA type tetraloops are
      concerned, they lead us to conclude that: (i) in both cases (GCAA and GAAA
      tetraloops) the adenine bases are stacked; (ii) the second rC residue in the GCAA
      tetraloop has a 3'-endo/anti conformation; (iii) the sugar pucker associated with
      the third rA residue in both tetraloops possibly undergoes a 3'-endo/2'-endo
      interconversion as predicted by NMR results; (iv) the stem adopts a regular A
      form structure; (v) all other nucleosides of these two GNRA tetraloops possess
      the usual 3'-endo/anti conformation.

PMID- 9973633
TI  - Manganese citrate improves base-calling accuracy in DNA sequencing reactions
      using rhodamine-based fluorescent dye-terminators.
AB  - While dideoxy-terminators labeled with rhodamine-based fluorescent dyes provide
      the most versatile method of automated DNA sequencing, variation in peak heights
      reduces base-calling accuracy. We describe a simple approach that uses additions
      of a manganese salt and the metal buffer sodium citrate (MnCit) to overcome this
      limitation. This modification reduces peak height variability >2-fold and
      significantly increases the number of accurately read bases in DNA sequences.

PMID- 9973634
TI  - Neural substrate for motor control of feeding in amphibians.
AB  - Descending pathways to premotor/motor centers and their cell groups of origin
      were studied by means of retrograde biocytin tracing experiments in the frog
      Discoglossus pictus and the plethodontid salamander Plethodon jordani, which
      differ remarkably in the structure and function of their feeding apparatus and
      their feeding strategy. Labeled neurons were found in 30 major cell groups
      located in the telencephalon, diencephalon, synencephalon, mesencephalon and
      rhombencephalon. The number and distribution of nuclei are very similar in both
      species. Furthermore, the descending pathways of these groups of neurons take the
      same courses inside the medulla oblongata. Axons of most nuclei descend either in
      the ventromedial or ventrolateral medulla oblongata, and it is concluded that the
      spatial arrangement of pathways is identical in the species studied. Bilateral
      electrical stimulation of the optic tectum of the plethodontid salamander
      Hydromantes italicus elicited strong discharges of short latencies in the
      hypoglossal nerve. In most hypoglossal motor neurons, excitatory postsynaptic
      potentials (EPSPs) of short latencies followed paired shocks applied at intervals
      as short as 3 ms, but showed temporal and spatial facilitation, suggesting that
      the EPSPs include mono- as well as polysynaptic components. In the ventral white
      matter, orthodromic single units were found that are candidates for excitatory
      reticular interneurons. These properties of tectal descending pathways in
      salamanders strongly differ from those found in toads. Differences in feeding
      behavior and its control by the premotor/motor networks between the species
      investigated do not appear to result from anatomically altered input or from a
      different organization of descending pathways to these premotor/motor centers,
      but rather from differences in local properties of reticular premotor networks as
      well as from different effects of neuromodulatory systems.

PMID- 9973635
TI  - Complex movement patterns: modifiability and constraints.
AB  - Most behaviours involve complex morphological systems and vice versa
      morphological systems are used by the organism in many different ways. During
      evolution and ontogeny changes in kinematics and function of skeletal and
      muscular systems must be coordinated with changes in their neural control.
      Neuromotor patterns are sometimes believed to be conserved in evolution, leading
      to diversification at the level of musculoskeletal design. Vertebrate motor
      patterns used in feeding are reviewed to examine this hypothesis. Stereotyped
      behaviour is not necessarily the result of phylogenetic constraints but may also
      result from the functional demands imposed by the mechanics of the jaw apparatus
      and the nature of the task performed. Sensory feedback and descending control not
      only contribute to 'online' control of movement but also shape the development of
      motor patterns and learning behaviour and indicate a potentially large
      flexibility. The neural and sensory apparatus that produces this flexibility will
      be subject to evolutionary modification. In the absence of a demand for
      flexibility motor patterns may become stereotyped in some species, while they are
      very flexible in others. To the extent that morphological systems perform
      independent movements during different behaviours, separate basic motor patterns
      may be required, which may be coordinated in different ways.

PMID- 9973636
TI  - The neural substrate for 'learned' and 'nonlearned' activities in birds: a
      discussion of the organization of bulbar reticular premotor systems with side
      lights on the mammalian situation.
AB  - The reticular formation of the brainstem contains premotor systems for various
      musculomotor systems. In this paper, the bulbar premotor systems for jaw and
      tongue movements, head and neck movements, locomotion, and respiration and
      vocalization in birds are reviewed and compared to premotor systems in mammals.
      Roughly, the bulbar reticular formation can be subdivided in three longitudinal
      zones: a dorsolateral (RPcdl) and a ventromedial (RPcvm) parvocellular zone and a
      gigantocellular zone (RGc). RPcdl contains premotor neurons for the jaw and neck
      system, RPcvm for the jaw, tongue and neck system, and RGc for the tongue and
      locomotory system. RPcdl receives input from the descending sensory trigeminal
      system, parts of RPcvm and RGc from vestibular nuclei, whereas the tectum has a
      projection to the contralateral RGc. RPcdl and RPcvm receive substantial
      telencephalic input through the occipitomesencephalic tract. The bulbar part of
      the respiratory system consists of a series of cell groups in the ventrolateral
      reticular formation and has connections with motor centers of the vocalization
      system. The similarities and differences between the avian and mammalian
      situation are discussed. Musculomotor systems participate in various activities.
      It is argued that a premotor system should possess sufficient flexibility to
      control the participation of a motor system in the different activities. This
      flexibility may permit the occurrence of learning processes in terms of refining
      basically existing motor patterns. The emergence of new and more complex motor
      patterns as in vocalization requires the involvement of hierarchically higher
      brain centers.

PMID- 9973637
TI  - Complete blood counts from umbilical cords of healthy term newborns by two
      automated cytometers.
AB  - Complete blood counts (CBC) of umbilical cord blood from 123 healthy term
      newborns were simultaneously performed with two different cytometers using laser
      as a light source. Medians (95% range) were: WBC 14.2 (7.8-24.3) x 10(9)/l,
      platelets 265 (174-363) x 10(9)/l, Hb 15.7 (12.5-18.2) g/dl, RBC 4.6 (3.9-5.5) x
      10(12)/l, MCV 106 (95-113) fl, PCV 0.49 (0.40-0.56), and MCH 33.8 (30.3-36.4) pg.
      Reticulocytes were 149 (95-212) x 10(9)/l or 3.3 (2.0-4.7)%; erythroblasts 5 (0
      24) per 100 WBC or 0.53 (0.00-3.20) x 10(9)/l. The counters agreed well except
      for MCHC. WBC counts showed the smallest difference irrespective of erythroblast
      number; platelets showed the largest difference. The lower limit for normal Hb
      should be fixed at 12.5 g/dl for the adequate diagnosis of anaemia from cord
      blood of term newborns.

PMID- 9973638
TI  - A human myeloid cell line producing stem cell growth factor, KPB-M15, secretes
      another growth factor active on murine hematopoietic progenitor cells.
AB  - Human stem cell growth factor (SCGF) produced by a myeloid cell line, KPB-M15,
      exhibits species-specific hematopoietic activities. However, KPB-M15-conditioned
      medium induced colony formation of mouse bone marrow cells. KPB-M15-derived
      colony-stimulating activity (CSA) was purified through Butyl-Toyopearl 650c and
      Cu2+ chelating-Sepharose 6B chromatography. TSK-G3000SW gel filtration of the
      purified preparation presented 3 distinct peaks around Vo, 150 kD and 85 kD. Gel
      fractions extracted from SDS-PAGE had macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M
      CSF)-specific amino acid sequences. PCR, Northern hybridization and ELISA
      demonstrated that KPB-M15 cells secreted a significant amount of M-CSF and IL-6.
      Anti-M-CSF but not anti-IL-6 antibody abrogated CSA in KPB-M15-CM. IL-6 hardly
      synergized with M-CSF to enhance colony formation. Collectively, M-CSF is a sole
      CSA for murine hematopoietic progenitor cells in KPB-M15-CM. This is the first
      report of a human myeloid cell line, KPB-M15, constitutively producing M-CSF in
      addition to SCGF and IL-6. It can be useful in investigating the mechanism of
      production of M-CSF.

PMID- 9973639
TI  - Expression of the Rh-related glycoprotein (Rh50).
AB  - The Rh50 glycoprotein is suspected of being involved in Rh antigen expression. We
      prepared Rh50 cDNA from a human bone marrow library by polymerase chain reaction
      and then subcloned this cDNA into various vectors. The vector containing Rh50
      cDNA produced a 30-kDa nonglycosylated form of Rh50 in a rabbit reticulocyte
      lysate system and produced partially glycosylated Rh50 (32 kDa) when microsomes
      were added to the system. COS-1 cells transiently transfected with the vector
      containing Rh50 cDNA produced partially glycosylated Rh50 (32 kDa) recognized by
      a Rh50-specific antibody. Surface expression of Rh50 in K562 cells was also
      detected by flow cytometry using mouse monoclonal antibody (2D10) specific to
      Rh50. Partially glycosylated Rh50 (32 kDa) was again isolated from the lysates of
      K562 cells metabolically labeled with [35S]-methionine or [3H]-mannose using anti
      Rh50 antisera. These systems (K562 and COS-1 cells) should prove useful for
      studying the transport of Rh proteins within the cell and the necessary
      components needed for Rh antigenicity at the cell surface.

PMID- 9973640
TI  - In vivo administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor increases the
      surface expression of sialyl-Lewis(x) on neutrophils in healthy volunteers.
AB  - We examined the in vivo effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)
      on the surface expression of putative counterligands for endothelial selectins on
      neutrophils in healthy volunteers. G-CSF (50 microg/m2/day) was administered
      subcutaneously to 5 healthy volunteers for 4 days. The expression of surface
      antigens on neutrophils was determined by flow cytometry and monoclonal
      antibodies. G-CSF administration increased the number of leukocytes, mainly of
      neutrophils, which was associated with an increase in the expression of the high
      affinity Fc receptor for IgG (FcRI, CD64) and CD14 on neutrophils. G-CSF
      administration decreased the surface expression of L-selectin on neutrophils,
      whereas it increased the expression of sialyl-Lewisx but not Lewisx on
      neutrophils. These findings suggest that G-CSF participates in the neutrophil
      endothelial cell interactions in vivo by modulating the expression of adhesion
      molecules and ligands for endothelial selectins on neutrophils.

PMID- 9973641
TI  - A case of atypical chronic myeloid leukemia regarded as MDS with
      myeloproliferative features.
AB  - We report a case of atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) who showed marked
      neutrophilia without dysplastic features, basophilia or monocytosis. These
      findings diverged somewhat from the FAB criteria for aCML. The patient's
      erythroid cells and megakaryocytes were dysplastic. His marrow cells formed no
      spontaneous colonies, as shown by cell culture. The cells formed many small-sized
      neutrophil colonies with G-CSF stimulation. Interestingly, they formed mainly
      neutrophil colonies with GM-CSF stimulation. These findings were different from
      those of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia cells and chronic granulocytic leukemia
      cells. This aCML case showed the cytological features of myelodysplastic
      syndrome.

PMID- 9973642
TI  - Human parvovirus B19 capsid antigen in granulocytes in parvovirus-B19-induced
      pancytopenia after bone marrow transplantation.
AB  - A patient with refractory anemia with an excess of blasts in transformation
      developed pancytopenia and a concurrent interstitial pneumonia 110 days after
      allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Bone marrow examination showed 0.4% giant
      proerythroblasts and 86.2% granulocytes, some of them large with a bizarre
      configuration and the others of normal size. Serum folate level was found low,
      0.6 ng/ml. Immunocytochemistry with a B19-specific monoclonal antibody MAB8292
      revealed B19 capsid antigen only in erythroblasts and large, bizarre
      granulocytes, but not in granulocytes of normal size. In situ hybridization of
      bone marrow cells using digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes detecting parvovirus B19
      also demonstrated positive signals in 8.5% of marrow cells. Parvovirus B19 DNA
      was isolated from the serum and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of this patient
      by the polymerase chain reaction. These findings suggest that neutropenia may be
      caused by an involvement with parvovirus B19 though a deficiency of folic acid
      may have in part contributed to the genesis of neutropenia in the patient. The
      relevance of parvovirus B19 to the interstitial pneumonia remains unclear.

PMID- 9973643
TI  - Band 3 Tokyo: Thr837-->Ala837 substitution in erythrocyte band 3 protein
      associated with spherocytic hemolysis.
AB  - We report a case of spherocytosis associated with erythrocyte band 3 deficiency.
      Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of erythrocyte membrane
      proteins showed that the patient's band 3 was reduced to about 80% of the control
      level. Molecular analysis revealed that this quantitative alteration was
      accompanied by a novel base change at codon 837 (ACG-->GCG) of the AE1 gene,
      resulting in substitution of alanine for threonine. In bone marrow mononuclear
      cells, both mutant and wild-type mRNA were comparably detected, suggesting that
      this mutation interfered with band 3 processing or assembly, leading to impaired
      accumulation of mutant band 3 in the plasma membrane.

PMID- 9973644
TI  - Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura complicating chronic myelogenous leukemia
      treated with interferon-alpha. A report of two successfully treated patients.
AB  - Two patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia are described in whom thrombotic
      thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) developed following treatment by interferon-alpha.
      In one of the patients, a lymphoblastic transformation was diagnosed
      concomitantly. Prompt institution of plasmapheresis, steroids and vincristine
      resulted in complete resolution. In the hitherto reported case of TTP
      complicating interferon-alpha treated chronic myelogenous leukemia, the course
      was fatal.

PMID- 9973645
TI  - Pure red cell aplasia associated to clonal CD8+ T-cell large granular
      lymphocytosis: dependence on cyclosporin A therapy.
AB  - This case report details a single patient with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA)
      associated with clonal CD3+, TCRalphabeta+, TCR-Vbeta8+, CD8+, CD57+ large
      granular lymphocytosis whose anaemia did not respond to conventional
      immunosuppressive therapy but did respond to cyclosporin A (CsA). The patient has
      become dependent on CsA for 7 years in order to control anaemia due to associated
      PRCA.

PMID- 9973646
TI  - Mononeuropathy multiplex in the course of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. A
      case report.
AB  - We report the simultaneous occurrence of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and
      mononeuropathy multiplex in a 21-year-old man. Electromyographic study revealed
      various axonal degenerative alterations in the right and left peroneal and right
      tibial nerves.

PMID- 9973647
TI  - Pure red cell aplasia responsive to interferon-alpha in a patient with hepatitis
      C virus infection.
AB  - A 51-year-old man presented with severe anemia, mild splenomegaly and elevated
      serum aspartate aminotransferase and serum alanine aminotransferase levels. The
      bone marrow findings were consistent with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) with a
      'maturation arrest' at the level of pronormoblast. The patient has been
      transfusion-dependent for 8 months. Following diagnosis of chronic active
      hepatitis due to hepatitis C virus (HCV), therapy with interferon-alpha was
      initiated. Two weeks later, the hemoglobin level stabilized, and he has not
      required any transfusion ever since. In spite of ongoing HCV viremia, cessation
      of interferon therapy, and deterioration of the liver function tests, the
      patient, followed for 2 years, maintains a high-normal hemoglobin level. To the
      best of our knowledge, this is the first report of prolonged PRCA corrected by
      interferon-alpha therapy, with or without an ongoing HCV infection. We speculate
      that the 'maturation arrest' of the erythroid lineage seen in the bone marrow was
      the result of an immune mechanism, possibly induced by the HCV, and that the
      elimination of this mechanism, rather than the elimination of the HCV, provided
      the opportunity for regeneration of erythropoiesis.

PMID- 9973648
TI  - Immunocytochemical staining of normal and leukemic myeloid cells with the
      antibody EBM11 (CD68).

PMID- 9973649
TI  - Impact of carotid endarterectomy upon cognitive functioning. A systematic review
      of the literature.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The extent to which carotid endarterectomy (CEA)
      influences cognitive functioning has been the subject of a number of studies
      often with conflicting conclusions. This paper systematically reviews the
      literature in an attempt to clarify this issue. RESULTS: Although the majority of
      studies (16/28) reported an improvement in cognition after surgery, a substantial
      minority (12/28) found no change. Studies before 1984 tended to report an
      improvement, while later studies tended to report no change in cognition.
      Cognitive improvement was also more likely the longer the time interval between
      CEA and assessment. The studies were found to differ on many methodological
      factors, e.g. sample size, type of patient and control group, severity and side
      of carotid stenosis, the range of cognitive tests and timing of postoperative
      assessment. CONCLUSION: Given the conflicting findings, and the methodological
      issues, it is not possible to draw a clear conclusion regarding the impact of
      carotid endarterectomy upon cognition. Future research which pays attention to
      these methodological factors is needed in order to adequately resolve the current
      debate.

PMID- 9973650
TI  - Small centrum ovale infarcts--a pathological study.
AB  - There are limited data, mainly clinical and radiological, on small centrum ovale
      infarcts (SCOIs). From a consecutive series of 159 autopsy brains we identified
      12 cases which on gross pathological examination harboured a total of 21 SCOIs.
      In the majority of lesions histology revealed a significant component of
      incompletely infarcted brain. Clinicopathological data suggested that the
      underlying mechanism was likely to have been cardioembolic in 3 cases, and
      possibly embolic from heart or aortic arch in a further 5. Two cases were due to
      ipsilateral carotid artery atheroma (i.e. 10 of 12 cases had possible embolic
      sources). The majority of lesions appeared to lie in arterial borderzones. The
      combined data suggest that SCOIs are pathologically and pathogenetically
      heterogeneous, and therefore that the term 'lacune' is inappropriate because this
      implies intrinsic small vessel disease as the underlying cause. Clinically,
      potentially treatable cardiac and large vessel pathology should be excluded.

PMID- 9973651
TI  - Neuropsychological features of dementia due to dural arteriovenous malformation.
AB  - We report two patients aged 65 and 61 years, who presented a subacute dementia
      with normal CT scan without contrast injection. Angiography showed a dural
      arteriovenous malformation. The patients improved dramatically with treatment of
      the malformation. Dementia was characterised by frontal dysfunction, emotional
      disorders, amnesic and praxic impairment. This neuropsychological pattern
      suggests a profile of global dementia in the field of vascular dementia.

PMID- 9973652
TI  - Age-related transcranial Doppler findings in the evaluation of cerebral
      circulation during postprandial and postural tests.
AB  - We used transcranial Doppler (TCD) to investigate whether there are cerebral
      circulation differences between young and elderly subjects in response to
      postprandial postural changes. Preprandial and postprandial systolic and
      diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, mean middle cerebral artery (MCA) velocity
      (Vmean MCA), systolic/diastolic MCA velocity ratio (Vs/Vd MCA) and pulsatility
      index (PI) were determined in 15 healthy elderly subjects (mean age 74.3 +/- 6.5
      years) and in 10 younger subjects (mean age 31.6 +/- 7. 2 years) in the supine
      position and after a postural change. As compared with young subjects, elderly
      ones showed a greater postprandial systolic pressure decline (p < 0.05)
      associated with a significant decrease of Vmean MCA (p < 0.05), and a greater
      increase of Vs/Vd and PI (p < 0.05 both). We conclude that, as compared with
      young subjects, elderly ones have reduced cerebrovascular adaptive response to
      pressure modifications induced by postprandial postural changes.

PMID- 9973653
TI  - Recurrence of bleeding in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.
AB  - To characterize the recurrence of bleeding in patients who had hypertensive
      intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH), the authors reviewed 989 patients who underwent
      treatment for HICH between 1989 and 1995. Fifty-three patients (5.4%) had two
      episodes of HICH within a median interval of 22.9 +/- 16.3 months (range 1.5-72
      months), and of these 3 (5.7%) had three episodes of HICH. The recurrence of
      bleeding most commonly occurred within 2 years of the first hemorrhage: in 66% of
      the 53 patients the second hemorrhage occurred soon after the first (within 1
      year in 34%, within 1-2 years in 32.1%). The site of the second hemorrhage was
      different from the initial site in all patients. Only 1 patient had a third
      hemorrhage in the same site as the second hemorrhage. The common patterns of
      recurrence were 'ganglionic (putamen/caudate nucleus)-thalamic' in 26.8% and
      'ganglionic-ganglionic' in 21.4%. The 'lobar-lobar' pattern was noted in only 2
      patients. The volume of the hematoma was increased at the second hemorrhage. The
      overall mortality was 28.3%. The risk of recurrent hemorrhage significantly
      increased in the patients who had antihypertensive therapy of less than 3 months
      after the initial attack compared to those with further long-term therapy (p <
      0.005). Long-term regular control for hypertension is needed to prevent recurrent
      hemorrhage.

PMID- 9973654
TI  - Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy after acute stroke: complications and
      outcome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review the complications and outcome of percutaneous endoscopic
      gastrostomy placement (PEG) in 74 patients with acute stroke. PATIENTS AND
      METHODS: Medical record review and follow-up of patients with acute stroke
      admitted to a referral center. RESULTS: There were no immediate procedure-related
      complications. Late complications included aspiration pneumonia (11%), PEG
      occlusion and replacement (6%), accidental PEG removal (6%), wound infection (3%)
      and fatal gastrointestinal bleeding in 1 patient. In 18 patients (28%), PEG could
      be subsequently removed due to improvement in swallowing. CONCLUSION: PEG
      provides an effective alternative method of enteral feeding, but its impact on
      outcome remains uncertain. Late complications occurred in one third of the
      patients, but were seldom life threatening. Removal of the gastrostomy tube and
      resumption of oral feeding was possible in more than a quarter of the patients.
      All our patients who received PEG placement after acute stroke remained severely
      disabled; one third of the patients died from systemic complications of their
      stroke.

PMID- 9973655
TI  - Ebselen in acute middle cerebral artery occlusion: a placebo-controlled, double
      blind clinical trial.
AB  - A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of ebselen was conducted in
      patients with complete occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Ebselen or
      placebo granules suspended in water (150 mg b.i.d. ) were orally administered
      within 12 h of onset and continued for 2 weeks. The major end points were the
      maximum volume of cerebral infarct measured on follow-up computed tomography and
      the Glasgow Outcome Scale score at 1 month. One hundred and five patients were
      enrolled in this trial. Although the intent-to-treat analysis of 99 patients (43
      given ebselen and 56 given placebo) did not reach statistical significance in
      reduction of the infarct volume (p = 0. 099), the protocol-compatible analysis of
      83 patients with complete occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (34 given
      ebselen and 49 given placebo) determined a significant reduction using ebselen
      treatment (p = 0.034). A good outcome was seen in approximately 15% more patients
      from the ebselen group, but the difference between the 2 groups was not
      significant (p = 0.129). There was a corresponding significant reduction in the
      volume of cerebral infarct and an improvement in the outcome of patients who
      started treatment within 6 h of onset. These findings may suggest that ebselen
      protected the brain from ischemic damage in the acute stage.

PMID- 9973656
TI  - Knowledge of stroke in Hong Kong Chinese.
AB  - A random telephone survey on knowledge of stroke was conducted in 1, 238 Hong
      Kong Chinese. Most respondents realized that effective treatment was available,
      that stroke was preventable and that it could be fatal or disabling. Sudden
      unilateral limb weakness, sudden speech and language disturbances, and sudden
      vertigo and clumsiness were better recognized than other warning symptoms of
      stroke. A slightly better recognition of symptoms of stroke was seen in those
      with a belief of knowing about stroke, providing a correct description of stroke,
      those with a positive household history of stroke and those with a better
      knowledge of potential risk factors. Most respondents would choose desirable
      actions if stroke was suspected in their family members or themselves. Friends
      and relatives, newspapers and magazines, and mass media provided the major
      sources of their knowledge.

PMID- 9973657
TI  - Transient muteness followed by dysarthria in patients with pontomesencephalic
      stroke. Report of two cases.
AB  - Dysarthria is the principal motor abnormality following vascular damage to
      pontine paramedian structures, owing to the involvement of corticobulbar fibres.
      Here we describe 2 cases of adults affected by dysarthria following transient
      muteness as the result of a stroke in pontomesencephalic structures. Their
      clinical outcome was very similar to that of young patients who have undergone
      surgery of the 4th ventricle. Recently the importance of pons involvement has
      also been underlined in these cases. This case report suggests the existence of a
      functional network for speech, in which the pontomesencephalon is an important
      station for the triggering and the efficacy of verbal production.

PMID- 9973658
TI  - Protein S deficiency, activated protein C resistance and sticky platelet syndrome
      in a young woman with bilateral strokes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Coagulation disorders are common in young adults (age less than 55
      years) with ischemic stroke. OBJECTIVES: To describe a young woman with bilateral
      strokes of undetermined etiology who had three significant hemostatic
      disturbances. These were protein S deficiency, Factor V Leiden heterozygosity,
      and sticky platelet syndrome. The Factor V Leiden mutation was also present in
      one of her children. CONCLUSIONS: Young patients with cryptogenic stroke warrant
      a thorough evaluation for hypercoagulable states. More than one coagulation
      disorder can coexist in the same patient and the spectrum of hemostatic
      abnormalities may influence the patient's treatment and may have implications for
      screening of other family members.

PMID- 9973659
TI  - ber die laquo;Omnipotenz>> der Chelattherapie.
AB  - About the 'Omnipotence' of the Chelation Therapy In the eighties the 'method of
      treatment proven in many thousands of cases over 20 years' was transferred from
      the USA to Germany (enjoys a priori considerable faith) using very dubious
      promises. It was Clarke et al. who introduced this 'therapy' in 1955. The dubious
      promise was to maintain that the chelation therapy eliminates or alleviates
      symptoms in the case of the following illnesses: Alzheimer's disease, senility,
      schizophrenia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, renal calculus,
      apoplectic coma, gallstones, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue
      syndrome, varicose veins, hypertension, failure of memory, scleroderma, Raynaud's
      disease, digitalis intoxication, intermittent claudication, diabetic ulcer,
      disturbance of the blood supply, ulcer on the legs, snake poison, impotence,
      emotional difficulties, defective hearing, vision disorder. There is not the
      slightest proof of effectiveness for any of the listed indications. The burden of
      proof lies with the supplier. Even in the case of the relatively often examined
      peripheral atherosclerotic changes (claudicatio intermittens) there is no proof
      that EDTA has a greater effect than placebo. For coronary heart disease too there
      is no evidence for any usefulness of the chelation therapy beyond that of a
      placebo effect. Only controlled studies can help to improve the therapy in the
      sense of 'Evidence-based medicine'. Retrospective investigations on thousands of
      patients cannot 'prove' anything, although this is maintained again andagain.

PMID- 9973660
TI  - Mastodynon(R) bei weiblicher Sterilitat.
AB  - Mastodynon(R) for Female Infertility. Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical
      Double-Blind Study OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The effects of Mastodynon(R), an Agnus
      castus-containing preparation, were investigated in 96 women with fertility
      disorders in a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.
      PATIENTS AND METHODS: 38 women with secondary amenorrhoea, 31 women with luteal
      insuffciency and 27 women with idiopathic infertility received 30 drops of
      Mastodynon or placebo twice a day over a period of 3 months. OUTCOME MEASURE AND
      RESULTS: The outcome measure, which was pregnancy or spontaneous menstruation in
      women with amenorrhoea and pregnancy or improved concentrations of luteal
      hormones in both other groups, was achieved in 31 out of 66 women who were
      suitable for evaluation. It was achieved more often in the Mastodynon group
      compared to the placebo group (57.6% versus 36.0%, p = 0.069). 15 women conceived
      during the observation period (n = 7 with amenorrhoea, n = 4 with idiopathic
      infertility, n = 4 with luteal insufficiency). In women with amenorrhoea or
      luteal insufficiency, pregnancy occurred in the Mastodynon group more than twice
      as often as in the placebo group. Under therapy no hormonal changes were found at
      a 5% significance level. Only very few undesirable drug effects were observed.
      CONCLUSION: In women with sterility due to secondary amenorrhoea and luteal
      insufficiency, a treatment with Mastodynon can be recommended over a period of 3
      to 6 months.

PMID- 9973661
TI  - Reliabilitat der energetischen Meridianmessung mit Prognos A(R).
AB  - Reliability of Energetic Meridian Measurement with Prognos A(R) OBJECTIVE: Is
      energetic measurement of the Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) meridians with
      Prognos A a reliable method? PATIENTS: 30 healthy volunteers from the staff of
      the Stauferklinik, Schwa bisch Gmu nd, Germany. DESIGN: Measuremeuts are taken 4
      times from each person at all terminal locations of the meridians (24 points) on
      fingers and toes with Prognos A. Breaks between each measurement run lastet 2-5
      min. The values of skin resistance are compared. RESULTS: Reliabilities of the
      single meridian measurements range between 0.44 and 0.82 with an overall
      reliability of 0.72. Lowest reliability is seen in yang -hollow organs, probably
      a due to their intense lability. Mediating of 4 single runs shows a reliability
      of 0.9. CONCLUSIONS: Our measurement of reliability confirms Prognos A as a
      reliable device of determinating skin resistance, especially with repeated
      measurements. Variations of the readings are probably due to the special quality
      of the meridian system; increased variations of special meridians seem to be
      explainable by their characteristic features defined in TCM.

PMID- 9973662
TI  - Moderierende Variablen der Placebowirkung.
AB  - Modifying Variables of the Placebo Effect This essay discusses the question which
      psychological variables modify the placebo effect. Experimental as well as
      clinical studies were considered. The placebo model referred to in this article
      is the model of expectancy induction and expectancy effect. Besides the strength
      of expectancy several other variables foster the placebo effect. These are for
      example (a) the attitude and expectation of the doctor or placebo prescriber, (b)
      the motivation to give rise to a change as well as the importance of a change for
      the individual and (c) the extent of freedom of choice with regard to the
      acceptance of the treatment. On the other hand, high levels of self-awareness and
      experience with the method tend to inhibit the placebo effect. The placebo effect
      does not seem to be modified by traditional personality traits like generalized
      anxiety and hypnotic susceptibility.

PMID- 9973663
TI  - Familial language impairment: more English evidence.
AB  - Subjects between the ages of 9 and 22 with a history of familial language
      impairment were tested on a wide range of linguistic tasks. The data show that
      they are not different from the non-impaired members of their family or from
      external controls in their ability to hear and understand the morphological
      marker for plural or to understand a narrative, but they are significantly
      different in recognizing or correcting grammatical errors, in producing tense or
      number marking, and in understanding sentences with non-canonical word order.
      This pattern of deficits is similar to that which occurs cross-linguistically and
      in on-line processing tasks. These data support the hypothesis that these
      subjects do not build normal representations in their grammar nor construct
      productive grammatical rules. However, they are able to use other means such as
      memory and explicit rules to simulate grammar.

PMID- 9973664
TI  - Morphological representation in specific language impairment: evidence from Greek
      word formation.
AB  - Specific language impairment (SLI) is characterized by difficulties in
      inflectional morphology. Here we investigate SLI morphological competence to
      build and represent complex word structure. We examine the findings of two tasks
      where SLI subjects' performance is compared to that of controls: (a) plural
      formation and (b) compound formation. Subjects were presented with real and novel
      singular nouns in Greek and required to form plurals and compounds in each
      respective task. Both plural formation and compound formation are productive
      processes readily observed in non-impaired youngsters, with typical non-impaired
      errors being mostly constrained over-generalizations. The SLI children whose
      performance we consider here are below par in their morphological competence and
      the findings suggest that they do not build lexical representations that
      represent sublexical features or complex word-internal structure.

PMID- 9973665
TI  - The operation of rendaku in the Japanese specifically language- impaired: A
      preliminary investigation.
AB  - Rendaku is a well-documented phenomenon in Japanese phonology in which a word
      initial voiceless obstruent becomes voiced when it is the second member of a
      compound (e.g., ori + kami --> origami 'paper folding'). It was hypothesized that
      Japanese specifically language-impaired (SLI) children who appear to rely on
      explicit declarative memory as opposed to implicit procedural memory to learn
      language would have difficulty forming such compounds: word-initial voiceless
      obstruents would remain unvoiced in the second members of non-frequent and novel
      compounds. Six Japanese SLI children, ranging in age from 8;9 to 12;1, 6 age
      matched non-SLI children and 4 younger non-SLI children were given a word
      formation task involving three different categories of compounds. A significant
      difference in performance between the groups was found. The data indicate that
      the SLI children did not in fact voice most of the initial obstruents of the
      second member in non-frequent and novel compounds, whereas the age-matched non
      SLI children did voice the appropriate obstruents of all the compounds and the
      younger non-SLI children voiced some initial obstruents of all the compounds.
      Qualitative differences in the responses provide evidence that the SLI children
      did not have or were unable to construct a productive procedural rule of voicing.

PMID- 9973666
TI  - Prosodic features of familial language impairment: constraints on stress
      assignment.
AB  - This paper is part of a study of prosodic features of familial language
      impairment (FLI) in English. It reports the results of a set of experiments
      designed to investigate the factors that play a role in the assignment of stress
      to words which are longer than two syllables. It appears that stress assignment
      in FLI is constrained by a restriction limiting the maximal size of the stress
      domain to a bisyllabic unit, formally defined as the minimal prosodic word. We
      hypothesize that this restriction is responsible for variable patterns of word
      truncation, stress levelling and compounding that characterize the production of
      polysyllabic words.

PMID- 9973667
TI  - Uninflected structure in familial language impairment: evidence from French.
AB  - We present the results of 20 French subjects with familial language impairment
      (FLI) on a linguistic battery task, with an emphasis on verb production. The
      results show strong qualitative differences between the verb production of FLI
      subjects and that of controls. Language-specific factors do not seem to determine
      the production of verbs in French FLI individuals. Rather, verb frequency and the
      inflectional status (uninflected vs. inflected) of the form seem to be
      determining factors in correct/incorrect production of a verb in a sentence
      context. The phonetic structure of French inflection provides additional
      arguments against the hypothesis of a processing deficit in FLI subjects. French
      tense morphemes are stressed and salient, and should therefore be produced
      without problems, according to the processing hypothesis. We found evidence
      contrary to this postulate. We therefore submit that the morphological deficit
      hypothesis is supported by the French data.

PMID- 9973668
TI  - Serum leptin levels in young females with insulin-dependent diabetes and the
      relationship to hyperandrogenicity and microalbuminuria.
AB  - To investigate the relationship between leptin levels and IDDM with and without
      microalbuminuria, fasting serum levels of leptin, insulin, insulin-like growth
      factor-1 (IGF-1), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), testosterone (SHBG) ratio,
      blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) were measured in 18 normo- and 11
      microalbuminuric females with >5 years of IDDM, and 24 healthy controls in late
      puberty. Leptin levels were higher in micro- than normoalbuminuric IDDM patients,
      and lower in healthy controls than in both IDDM groups (p < 0.05, respectively).
      In multiple regression analysis, presence of IDDM and BMI independently
      contributed to increased leptin values (R2 = 0.34, p < 0.001). Including IDDM
      females only, solely low IGF-1 and high testosterone/SHBG were associated with
      leptin (R2 = 0.39, p = 0.009). Albumin excretion rate (AER) was correlated to
      leptin (r = 0.48, p = 0.01). With AER as the dependent variable only serum leptin
      and diastolic blood pressure added to the regression (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.001). In
      conclusion, serum leptin, independently of BMI, is: (1) increased in IDDM females
      of late puberty; (2) associated with low IGF-1 and hyperandrogenemia, and (3)
      related to increased albumin excretion rate in IDDM females.

PMID- 9973669
TI  - Longitudinal evaluation of salivary cortisol levels in full-term and preterm
      neonates.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to test the practicability of sequential
      cortisol determinations in saliva of low birth weight neonates and to evaluate
      the impact of systemic and inhaled glucocorticoid therapy on saliva
      concentrations of cortisol in preterm neonates with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
      (BPD). Salivary cortisol levels were measured by RIA in saliva samples from 10
      full-term and 10 preterm healthy neonates and from 20 preterm neonates with BPD
      during systemic [dexamethasone (DEX); n = 10] or topical steroid therapy
      [budesonide (BUD); n = 10]. Saliva samples of each individual were collected on 3
      consecutive days at 06.00, 12. 00, 18.00 and 24.00 h. Cortisol levels in saliva
      ranged from 0.8 to 60.6 nmol/l (median 6.5 nmol/l) in full-term neonates, from
      0.6 to 52.1 nmol/l (median 5.5 nmol/l) in preterm neonates, from 0.4 to 14. 0
      nmol/l (median 1.0 nmol/l) in preterm neonates treated with DEX and from 0.4 to
      15.2 nmol/l (median 2.5 nmol/l) in preterm neonates treated with BUD.
      Autocorrelation analysis revealed a distinct endogenous cortisol rhythm in 2 of
      the 10 healthy full-term neonates and in 3 of the 10 healthy preterm neonates
      with a wavelength of 12-30 h. Salivary cortisol levels in preterm neonates
      treated with DEX or BUD were significantly lower than those measured in healthy
      preterm neonates. These results demonstrate that the measurement of salivary
      cortisol levels is a reliable and practicable way of assessing adrenal function
      in full-term and preterm neonates. This study also shows for the first time that
      some neonates display an endogenous cortisol rhythm which is not coupled to the
      exogenous day/night cycle. Furthermore, systemic and nebulized glucocorticoids
      suppress adrenal function in low-birth-weight neonates. After treatment these
      children should be closely monitored for potential adrenal insufficiency.

PMID- 9973670
TI  - Altered bone mineral density in patients with complete androgen insensitivity
      syndrome.
AB  - Androgens have major influences on the regulation of bone mineralization. Because
      of their unique peripheral metabolism androgens may act on bone via activation of
      the androgen and/or estrogen receptor. Patients with complete androgen
      insensitivity syndrome (cAIS) are natural models to assess androgen actions on
      bone. We studied bone mineral density (BMD) in 10 patients with cAIS (mean age
      13.70, range 4.7-19.8 years); 3 patients were studied before gonadectomy; the
      others were castrated and 6 were on hormonal replacement therapy. The BMD area
      (aBMD) was measured by dual energy X-ray; lumbar 'apparent' volumetric density
      (vBMD) was calculated using the formula vBMD = aBMD x [4/(pi x width)]. In the
      patients, aBMD (0.72 +/- 0.16 g/cm2) and vBMD (0.23 +/- 0.04 g/cm3) were
      significantly (p < 0.001) reduced in comparison with those of a control group (n
      = 15, age 5.0-20.5 years: aBMD 1.028 +/- 0.20 g/cm2; vBMD 0.35 +/- 0.04 g/cm3).
      Both aBMD and vBMD were also reduced in comparison with normal values for males
      (aBMD -2.66 +/- 0. 99 SDS, p < 0.001; vBMD -3.08 +/- 1.53 SDS, p < 0.0005) and
      females (aBMD -2.88 +/- 1.05 SDS, p < 0.001; vBMD -2.84 +/- 1.18 SDS, p < 0.
      0007). Real lumbar bone density, assessed by computed tomography in 1 patient,
      was also reduced (-6.2 SDS and -3.5 SDS for male and female normal values,
      respectively). Biochemical markers of bone metabolism were normal and not
      significantly different in patients and controls. Girls with cAIS did not have
      more fractures than controls. In conclusion, both aBMD and vBMD are reduced in
      cAIS patients, while bone turnover and the fracture risk seem not to be
      increased. Our data indicate that both androgens and estrogens may be required
      for acquisition of bone density during childhood.

PMID- 9973671
TI  - Does vitamin D receptor polymorphism influence the response of bone to brisk
      walking in postmenopausal women?
AB  - Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism may be a genetic factor affecting bone
      mineral density (BMD). This study examined the interaction of VDR genotype with
      the effect of an exercise intervention on bone measurements in UK postmenopausal
      women. 33 walkers, who completed 20.4 +/- 3.9 (mean +/- SD) min day-1 of brisk
      walking over 1 year, and 36 controls agreed to give DNA samples. BMD was measured
      at the lumbar spine, femoral neck and calcaneus by dual energy X-ray
      absorptiometry and broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA) was measured at the
      calcaneus. VDR genotype was determined by BsmI restriction fragment length
      polymorphisms and the presence, or absence, of the restriction site was signified
      by 'b' or 'B', respectively. At baseline there was no significant difference in
      BMD between VDR genotypes, but BUA was significantly higher in the BB genotype
      than in the Bb or bb genotype. Although there was no significant difference in 1
      year change (%) in BMD and BUA between the three genotypes, the 1-year changes in
      spinal BMD and BUA in the bb walkers (0.75 and 2.35%, respectively) were
      significantly different from those in the bb controls (-1.25 and -6.10%,
      respectively). These results suggest that in the bb genotype of VDR, bone may be
      more responsive to exercise than in other VDR genotypes in British postmenopausal
      women.

PMID- 9973672
TI  - Diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children and adolescents:
      towards a consensus. Ten years after the Availability of Recombinant Human Growth
      Hormone Workshop held in Pisa, Italy, 27-28 March 1998.
AB  - This article summarizes the content of an international workshop on the diagnosis
      and treatment of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in children and adolescents that
      was held in Pisa, Italy, in March 1998. The issues discussed are divided into
      those addressing the definition and diagnosis, and the treatment of GHD in
      children and adolescents, and those concerning the transition of patients with
      GHD from adolescence to adulthood. Recommendations are presented for improving
      the diagnosis and management of children and adolescents with GHD and issues are
      highlighted that require further studies to be undertaken before recommendations
      can be made.

PMID- 9973673
TI  - The embryogenesis of congenital vertebral dislocation: early embryonic buckling?
AB  - Congenital vertebral dislocation (CVD) is a rare congenital spinal malformation
      characterized by a translatory or rotatory vertebral displacement, or both, at a
      single level, that results in an abrupt angulation of the neural canal. The more
      caudal vertebra is dysplastic and appears at first glance to be posteriorly
      dislocated into the vertebral canal as a posterior hemivertebra, but is actually
      well aligned with the more caudal vertebral column. Unfortunately, the present
      classification of complex congenital vertebral anomalies is confusing, and CVD
      has been grouped together with other congenital vertebral malformations under the
      terms 'segmental spinal dysgenesis', 'medial spinal aplasia', and others.
      Moreover, a putative embryonic mechanism has never been proposed for CVD. Based
      upon our experience with 6 children and a critical review of the literature, we
      identify CVD as a distinct entity having characteristic anatomical features. We
      propose a novel putative embryonic mechanism - early embryonic 'buckling' - which
      likely occurs by the 6th embryonic week, prior to the period of axonal outgrowth
      and the beginning of vertebral chondrification.

PMID- 9973674
TI  - Hypothalamic hamartoma associated with multiple congenital abnormalities. Two
      patients and a review of reported cases.
AB  - We report 2 patients with hypothalamic hamartoma associated with multiple
      congenital abnormalities and analyze 42 (including our own) reported cases,
      including our 2 cases, of hypothalamic hamartoma or hypothalamic hamartoblastoma
      with multiple congenital abnormalities, to understand the timing of their
      occurrence and clarify the prognosis. To this end, we classified them into lethal
      and nonlethal cases. We found poly- and syndactyly, cleft or high-arched palate
      and nose abnormalities to be important manifestations of this syndrome. Major
      organ abnormalities and CNS and endocrine abnormalities occurred frequently among
      the lethal cases, very likely indicative of a disturbance of embryogenesis
      between gestational days 34-37 and thus implicated in a negative prognosis.

PMID- 9973675
TI  - Pediatric intracranial epidural abscess secondary to an infected scalp vein
      catheter.
AB  - The authors present a case of a 5-week-old infant developing a retrotorcular
      epidural abscess as a result of an infected scalp vein catheter. The abscess
      developed in the absence of sinusitis, otitis, trauma, or prior surgery. The
      diagnosis of epidural abscess was made on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging
      and ultrasound-guided aspiration of the fluid collection. An identified strain of
      Staphylococcus epidermidis was cultured from both the intravenous catheter and
      the abscess. The patient underwent a suboccipital craniectomy with drainage of
      the abscess and a 6-week total course of intravenous antibiotics. Magnetic
      resonance imaging 4 months after the procedure and 2.5-year pediatric clinic
      follow-up have demonstrated no evidence of neurologic deficit or recurrence. When
      present, a scalp vein catheter must be considered as an etiologic agent for an
      intracranial epidural abscess in this age-group.

PMID- 9973676
TI  - Diffuse cerebral vasospasm with ischemia after resection of a cerebellopontine
      angle primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a child.
AB  - This case report describes a 15-month-old female who developed diffuse cerebral
      vasospasm after resection of a cerebellopontine angle primitive neuroectodermal
      tumor. The patient developed an acute dense left hemiparesis 16 days
      postoperatively with partial right ptosis. Initial magnetic resonance imaging and
      diffusion study were unremarkable, though a magnetic resonance angiography 1 day
      later demonstrated severe intracranial vasospasm of both carotid and vertebral
      arteries. The vasospasm was confirmed with cerebral angiography. The patient
      progressed to bihemispheric infarcts with laminar necrosis despite combination
      therapy with anticoagulation, pharmacological hypertension, hypervolemia, and
      nimodipine. The clinical course, radiographic, and pathological findings are
      presented.

PMID- 9973677
TI  - Fusiform dilatations of the internal carotid artery following surgery for
      pediatric suprasellar tumors.
AB  - Fusiform dilatations of the internal carotid artery (FDCA) represent a vascular
      complication following surgery for suprasellar tumors in children. In a long-term
      follow-up of 62 children we identified 7 children (11.3%) with a FDCA. In all
      children the FDCA was present within 15 months following surgery. It was not
      related to radiotherapy or a distinct histology. In 3 children the FDCA remained
      unchanged during the follow-up, in 3 children there was a progression and 1 child
      revealed a regression within 6 months. Clinically the FDCA was inapparent in all
      cases and not treated. In a follow-up study of an adult population who underwent
      surgery for suprasellar tumors no case of FDCA was encountered. Potential
      pathomechanisms and indications for treatment are discussed.

PMID- 9973678
TI  - Treatment of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus in the preterm infant with a
      ventricular access device.
AB  - Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and subsequent posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus
      (PHH) commonly complicate the course of extremely preterm infants. Many methods
      for treating the hydrocephalus have been used, none of which are ideal. We
      present the largest series of infants with PHH treated with one modality, the
      ventricular access device (VAD). One hundred and forty-nine preterm infants with
      PHH were treated by placement of a VAD and serial taps to control intracranial
      pressure and ventricular size. Variables recorded include gender, race,
      gestational age, weight at birth, IVH grade, incidence of VAD infection,
      malfunction or local wound problems and indwelling time to either shunt placement
      or VAD removal. Of the 149 preterm infants, 91 were males and 58 females. The
      average birth weight was 994 g and the average gestational age at birth was 26.3
      weeks. Three infants were IVH grade 1, 8 were grade 2, 62 were grade 3 and 76
      were grade 4. VAD occlusion occurred in 15 infants (10%). Nine infants required
      contralateral VAD placement for a trapped ventricle. VAD infection occurred in 12
      infants (8%), 5 of whom were treated successfully with a combination of systemic
      and intra-VAD antibiotics without removal of the VAD. The total rate of revision
      was thus 20% (15 for occlusion, 9 for trapped ventricle, 7 for infection). Wound
      problems were minimal and consisted of 4 cerebrospinal fluid leaks and 14
      subgaleal fluid collections. For the 133 survivors, the rate of shunt placement
      was 88%. The VAD, while not ideal, is an excellent treatment at this time for
      PHH. It can be utilized for several months with acceptable rates of infection,
      blockage and wound complications. The VAD tap is simple to perform, not
      disruptive to minimal stimulation protocols, and can be done by physician
      extenders. In addition, medications can be administered via the access device,
      thus allowing treatment of some infections without VAD removal as well as
      instillation of thrombolytic agents such as urokinase.

PMID- 9973679
TI  - Avoiding complicated shunt systems by open fenestration of symptomatic fourth
      ventricular cysts associated with hydrocephalus.
AB  - Optimal treatment of the hydrocephalic patient with symptomatic Dandy-Walker
      malformation or trapped fourth ventricle remains controversial. We describe 6
      patients with symptomatic Dandy-Walker malformation or trapped fourth ventricle
      and hydrocephalus that were treated with an aggressive cyst fenestration. Four of
      the 6 patients had previously undergone five or more failed shunt procedures.
      There were no complications associated with surgery, and 5 of the 6 patients
      (83%) have remained asymptomatic with respect to their posterior fossa cysts. One
      patient has required subsequent fourth ventricular shunt placement. Median follow
      up was 26 months (range 12-66 months). We suggest that suboccipital craniectomy
      and open fenestration is a valid treatment option in hydrocephalic patients with
      symptomatic Dandy-Walker malformation or trapped fourth ventricle. Although the
      associated lateral ventriculomegaly will probably still require a
      ventriculoperitoneal shunt, the absence of a cystoperitoneal shunt system seems
      to minimize the incidence of complications and reoperation.

PMID- 9973680
TI  - Visually evoked potentials in 52 children requiring operative repair of
      craniosynostosis.
AB  - We evaluated the prevalence of pathological visually evoked potentials (VEP)
      before the appearance of papilledema or other signs of elevated intracranial
      pressure in children suffering from craniosynostosis. In 52 children (19 girls,
      33 boys, median age 7.6 months, mean age 7.6 months, range from 3 to 34 months)
      preoperative VEP were analyzed. In 13 patients, pathological VEP were observed.
      In all children, both eyes were involved. Only 1 child suffered from papillar
      anomalies. Latency was pathological in 12 children, whereas the amplitude was
      suppressed in only 2 children. In all children with preoperative pathological
      VEP, postoperative controls (n = 4) were improved or normal. Thus, VEP may be the
      first test for neuronal damage in craniosynostosis.

PMID- 9973681
TI  - A method of cranioplasty using coralline hydroxyapatite.
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Current cranioplasty materials include autologous or homologous
      bone grafts, wire mesh and methyl methacrylate, either alone or in combination.
      However, each material has its own unique disadvantages. Although hydroxyapatite
      has been used extensively in other specialties as a bone substitute, the
      coralline form has rarely been used to repair cranial bone defects. Coralline
      hydroxyapatite, similar to that found in bone, provides a matrix on which living
      tissue can form and grow. Because it is an ideal bioimplant, a method of
      cranioplasty using coralline hydroxyapatite was employed. METHODS: The
      hydroxyapatite granules are mixed with Avitene and autologous blood to form a
      paste which can be contoured as needed. RESULTS: Over the past few years, we have
      used hydroxyapatite either alone or in combination with tantalum mesh in 19
      pediatric patients for a variety of conditions. The cosmetic results were good to
      excellent. Furthermore, postoperative CT scans have documented bony substitution
      of the hydroxyapatite granules. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 43 months with a mean
      of 26 months. CONCLUSION: In neurosurgical procedures when a bone substitute is
      needed, hydroxyapatite is an effective alternative to other currently available
      materials.

PMID- 9973682
TI  - Chemical meningitis from bile reflux in a lumbar-gallbladder shunt.
AB  - OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: The gallbladder is used to divert cerebrospinal fluid
      (CSF) in patients with hydrocephalus when all other sites have been exhausted.
      This is seen in hydrocephalic patients who have reached teenage years but have
      undergone multiple shunt revisions, abdominal operations and repeated neck vein
      cannulations during childhood. One complication of the lumbar-gallbladder shunt
      is discussed as well as its pathophysiologic theory and management. CLINICAL
      PRESENTATION: A case of a patient with a lumbar-gallbladder shunt who developed
      chemical meningitis from reflux of bile into the CSF space is presented. The
      patient presented with generalized seizures. INTERVENTION: Included: ventilatory
      support, externalization of the shunt, correction of the metabolic abnormalities
      and administration of anticonvulsants and steroids. CONCLUSION: This case
      illustrates an unusual occurrence of reflux of bile into the CNS through a lumbar
      gallbladder shunt in a patient with long-term complex communicating
      hydrocephalus. It also demonstrates its mode of presentation and successful
      management. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of its kind.

PMID- 9973683
TI  - Pulmonary defence mechanisms.
AB  - Lung defence involves a wide array of mechanisms needed to remove inhaled
      particles and organisms. The various innate immune processes which take place
      either in the central or in the more distant airways are reviewed. The
      recruitment and the development of an adaptive immunity following the innate
      response are described. This entails the production of secretory immunoglobulins
      in the airways and either the influx of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in the
      alveoli to phagocytose more or less opsonized organisms or the activation of the
      T lymphocyte response to improve the removal of intracellular pathogens.

PMID- 9973684
TI  - The lung in diabetes mellitus.

PMID- 9973685
TI  - Diabetes mellitus induces a thickening of the pulmonary basal lamina.
AB  - Long-term diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by widespread alterations of
      basal lamina (BL). The purpose of the present work was to verify whether the lung
      is also a target organ damaged in DM. Electron microscopy was performed on lung
      and kidney samples (autopsic material) from 6 diabetics and 6 control subjects
      studying the thickening of BL of different structures (alveolar epithelial BL,
      endothelial capillary BL, both fused BL, BL of the glomerular capillary
      endothelium and BL of the renal tubules). The results were as follows: (1)
      alveolar epithelial BL (mean +/- SD) = 121 +/- 11 nm in controls and 176 +/- 27
      nm in diabetics (p < 0.01), (2) endothelial capillary BL = 164 +/- 14 nm in
      controls and 223 +/- 27 nm in diabetics (p < 0.001), (3) both BL fused = 222 +/-
      23 nm in controls and 316 +/- 62 nm in diabetics (p < 0.01), (4) BL of the
      glomerular capillary endothelium = 374 +/- 44 nm in controls and 626 +/- 249 in
      diabetics (p < 0.05) and (5) BL of the renal tubules = 602 +/- 94 nm in controls
      and 1,083 +/- 376 nm in diabetics (p < 0. 05). All parts of the lung are equally
      affected by DM. The thickening of BL is of the same magnitude in lung and kidney.
      There is no relationship between the thickening of the lung BL and the known
      duration and type of DM.

PMID- 9973686
TI  - Pulmonary gas exchange in life-long nonsmoking patients with diabetes mellitus.
AB  - In a companion paper, we have found that the alveolar epithelial basal lamina,
      endothelial basal lamina and both fused were significantly thicker in 6 autopsied
      diabetics than in 6 control subjects. The purpose of the present work was to
      assess whether these lesions have detrimental effects on gas exchange. We
      investigated 20 life-long nonsmoking subjects: 10 healthy subjects and 10 insulin
      dependent diabetics. All of them had one to four diabetic complications of the
      following organs: kidney, retina, nerves or arteries. Their pulmonary gas
      exchange and their transfer factor were measured at rest and during two levels of
      submaximal exercise. Spirometric data, specific airway conductance, transfer
      factor, transfer coefficient, oxygen consumption and arterial blood gases were
      normal and almost identical in both groups. In conclusion, the thickening of lung
      basal laminae has no detrimental effect on pulmonary gas exchange in insulin
      dependent diabetics with peripheral complications.

PMID- 9973687
TI  - Oxygen uptake and cardiac performance in obese and normal subjects during
      exercise.
AB  - Work capacity and cardiopulmonary performance were studied in a group of 11 young
      obese subjects (BMI 39.9 kg/m2) and a group of 10 young normal subjects (BMI 22
      kg/m2). First of all they underwent an incremental cycle ergometer test up to
      exhaustion. Subsequently, every subject of the two groups performed a constant
      work rate test at different work loads to estimate cardiac output (Q) below
      anaerobic threshold (AT) by a 20-second CO2 rebreathing method. Obese subjects
      had a significantly lower AT (79 vs. 109 W). The ratio between oxygen uptake and
      heart rate (VO2/HR) (O2 pulse) was higher in the obese group; nevertheless, this
      variable became significantly lower if we took into consideration the ratio
      between O2 pulse and kilogram fat-free body mass or kilogram body weight. Both
      these observations suggest that their reduced work tolerance is linked with a
      reduced oxygen supply to the muscles in activity. Q increased in similar ways in
      obese and normal subjects at the preset work rates. The ratio Q/body surface
      (cardiac index; CI) that we considered in order to try to minimize the
      differences in body sizes between the two groups, increased less in response to
      increasing work rates in our obese subjects than in normal subjects. As a whole,
      these data appear to be in line with a relatively less efficient cardiac
      performance during progressive work rates in obese subjects.

PMID- 9973688
TI  - Selection of reproducible forced expirograms: percentage or fixed-volume
      criterion.
AB  - The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the intrasession reproducibility of
      forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) depends on
      height and lung volume. FVC tracings of 740 subjects (350 males) from a general
      population sample living in North Italy were analyzed. Subjects filled out a
      standardized questionnaire and performed three acceptable FVC maneuvers following
      the American Thoracic Society recommendations. The differences between the
      largest and the second largest FVC and FEV1 were computed as absolute (DeltaFVC,
      DeltaFEV1) and as percentage values (DeltaFVC%, DeltaFEV1%). The higher the
      tertiles of the largest FVC and FEV1 were, the higher were DeltaFVC and
      DeltaFEV1. Regarding FVC, borderline differences in both sexes for DeltaFVC and
      in males significant differences for DeltaFVC% were found among the tertiles.
      Regarding FEV1, in both sexes DeltaFEV1 significantly differed among the
      tertiles. DeltaFVC and DeltaFEV1 correlated with height and lung volume in both
      sexes, except for DeltaFVC versus the largest FVC in females. When DeltaFVC and
      DeltaFEV1 were analyzed with respect to respiratory symptoms/diseases and smoking
      habit, no significant differences were observed in both sexes, except for
      DeltaFEV1 between ever- and never-smoking males. It may be concluded that the
      intrasession within-subject variability of FVC and FEV1 is proportional to lung
      volume and height, regardless of the sex, presence of symptoms and smoking habit.
      Thus, our results confirm the usefulness of a reproducibility criterion based on
      a percentage rather than on a fixed volume.

PMID- 9973690
TI  - Using 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphies to detect the lung
      injury induced by consuming Sauropus androgynus vegetable and comparison with
      conventional pulmonary function tests.
AB  - Consuming Sauropus androgynus, a Malaysian plant, to reduce body weight began to
      become fashionable in Taiwan in 1994. According to some reports, people consuming
      this vegetable developed lung injuries. From July to November 1995, there were 81
      nonsmoking women admitted to our hospital. Thirty-six cases had respiratory
      symptoms/signs and the remaining 45 had no symptoms/signs. We investigated these
      patients with pulmonary function tests (PFT) and technetium-99m DTPA radioaerosol
      inhalation lung scintigraphies (DTPA lung scan), a test to evaluate the lung
      ventilation and alveolar epithelial permeability. Eighteen patients had abnormal
      results in PFT, including obstructive type (n = 17), restrictive type (n = 5),
      and both (n = 4). There were 33 patients with abnormalities in DTPA lung scans,
      including unhomogeneous deposition of DTPA radioaerosols (n = 19), faster
      clearance of radioaerosols from lung (n = 26), and both (n = 12). Analyzing the
      results, we found that the patients with respiratory symptoms had a higher
      incidence of abnormal results of PFT and DTPA lung scans than the patients
      without respiratory symptoms (p < 0.05). Besides, we found that the DTPA lung
      scan was more sensitive than chest x-ray and PFT in detecting the lung injuries
      related to the consumption of S. androgynus (p < 0.05). Consuming S. androgynus
      can result in symptomatic or asymptomatic lung injuries, manifested as
      obstructive or restrictive ventilatory impairment, unhomogeneous radioaerosol
      distribution, and increased alveolar epithelial permeability. In addition,
      measurement of the 99mTc-DTPA clearance is the most sensitive test to detect the
      lung injuries caused by consuming S. androgynus.

PMID- 9973691
TI  - Effects of air pollution and weather conditions on asthma exacerbation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Meteorological conditions and a high concentration of air pollutants
      have been associated with increased respiratory morbidity. However, few studies
      have examined the association between asthma exacerbation and air pollution.
      OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the possible relationship of the concentration
      of black smoke and SO2 in the air, the local weather conditions and emergency
      room visits for asthma is investigated. METHODS: The weekly total of emergency
      room admissions for asthmatic adults during a 1-year period was recorded together
      with daily metereological conditions (average temperature, humidity, rainfall,
      wind speed and barometric pressure) and average weekly levels of daily pollutant
      concentrations (black smoke and SO2). The relationship was assessed by stepwise
      regression linear models and analysis of variance. The analysis took into account
      season and metereological variables. RESULTS: Both air pollutants correlated
      significantly with emergency room admissions for asthma (SO2 [r = 0. 32], black
      smoke [r = 0.35]); however, multiple regression analysis showed that black smoke
      was the only significant predictor of weekly visits. There were approximately 3.5
      admissions a week per SD of change (34.6 microg.m-3). There were no significant
      correlations between weekly emergency room visits and the weather variables.
      Analysis of the data stratified by season and weather conditions demonstrated
      that the association of black smoke with asthma exacerbation was more pronounced
      in autumn (r = 0.67) or when temperatures were higher than average. CONCLUSION:
      In our city, a high concentration of certain air pollutants is indeed associated
      with an increase in the number of hospital emergency room admissions for asthma.

PMID- 9973692
TI  - Effect of endothelin-1 on the serotonin-induced contraction of smooth muscle in
      the guinea pig trachea.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Endothelin (ET), a potent constrictor of smooth muscle including that
      of the airways, may contribute to the development of airway hyperresponsiveness.
      OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of ET-1 on the airway smooth muscle, we
      examined the effects of ET-1 on the serotonin-induced contraction of guinea pig
      tracheal smooth muscle. METHODS: The changes in isometric tension evoked by
      serotonin were measured before and after the application of a subthreshold dose
      (a dose which did not induce smooth muscle contraction by itself) of ET-1.
      RESULTS: Serotonin caused smooth muscle contraction in a dose-dependent manner.
      The subthreshold doses of ET-1 (1 pM) and sarafotoxin 6c (1 pM), a selective ETB
      receptor agonist, were found to potentiate significantly the contraction induced
      by serotonin. A potentiating effect of ET-1 was not altered by indomethacin or
      calphostin C, a protein kinase C inhibitor. CONCLUSION: These results suggest
      that a subthreshold concentration of ET-1 can potentiate serotonin-induced
      contraction of smooth muscle through the activation of ETB receptor, while in
      contrast cyclooxygenase and protein kinase C were found not to be involved in
      this mechanism.

PMID- 9973693
TI  - Severe toxic laryngo-tracheo-bronchitis in a drunken man.

PMID- 9973694
TI  - Casual recognition of an azygous continuation of the inferior vena cava in a
      patient with lung cancer.
AB  - Anomalous continuation of the inferior vena cava with an azygous vein is a rare
      vacular anomaly. The enlarged venous system may simulate adenopathies or
      mediastinal and retroperitoneal masses on the radiographs. We describe the case
      of a patient with lung cancer - a pathological condition which may cause
      adenopathies at these sites - and a dilated azygous-hemiazygous system resulting
      from failure of formation of the hepatic segment of the inferior vena cava.

PMID- 9973695
TI  - Mesalazine-induced eosinophilic pneumonia.
AB  - A 35-year-old woman with a 6-month history of ulcerative colitis and treatment
      with oral mesalazine (5-aminosalicylic acid) developed dry cough, low-grade fever
      and bilaterally wandering pulmonary infiltrates. Improvement in clinical symptoms
      and radiological abnormalities occurred spontaneously after discontinuation of
      mesalazine. The transbronchial lung biopsy demonstrated the organizing stage of
      eosinophilic pneumonia. Drug lymphocyte stimulation test was positive for
      mesalazine and negative for sulfasalazine and sulfapyridine. The present case
      indicates that although mesalazine-induced eosinophilic pneumonia is an extremely
      rare entity, its possibility should be fully considered in patients developing
      unexplained respiratory symptoms while on mesalazine therapy.

PMID- 9973696
TI  - Hemoglobin SC disease presenting as acute chest syndrome with ventilation
      perfusion mismatches.
AB  - Acute chest syndrome, characterized by fever, chest pain and pulmonary
      infiltrates, is a known complication of hemoglobin SC disease. A 41-year-old
      African male with previously unknown hemoglobinopathy developed an acute episode
      of fever, chest pain and dyspnea right after surgery for retinal detachment. The
      patient was suspected of having pulmonary thromboembolism. This was further
      suggested by a 'high probability' ventilation-perfusion scan. However, a
      pulmonary angiogram revealed no evidence of thromboembolism. Subsequently, the
      patient was recognized to have hemoglobin SC disease, with the acute chest
      syndrome. After appropriate treatment with antibiotics, hydration and exchange
      transfusion, the patient underwent another surgery without complications.

PMID- 9973697
TI  - Metastatic pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma with peculiar radiographic
      features.
AB  - We report a case of a pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma presenting as a
      solitary pulmonary nodule with subsequent systemic spread, including
      histologically documented gingival metastasis. Chest radiography and computed
      tomography at initial evaluation showed a solitary 2 cm pulmonary nodule,
      associated with pleural indentation and vascular convergence. The tumor later
      spread systemically, including multiple pulmonary nodules, bilateral pleural
      effusions, and gingival swelling and erosion. A biopsy of the gingival lesion
      showed histologic features identical to that of the lung biopsy.

PMID- 9973698
TI  - Severe barium sulfate aspirationinto the lung: clinical presentation, prognosis
      and therapy.
AB  - Aspiration of large amounts of barium sulfate is a rare incident during
      radiographic contrast procedures. Here we describe two patients, who developed
      acute dyspnea after aspiration of significant amounts of barium into the lung
      during an upper gastrointestinal radiographic contrast study. The regions of the
      lung involved depended on the position of the patients during and after
      aspiration. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed hypoxemia due to alveolar shunt
      with V/Q distribution disturbances. Bronchoscopy was performed to extract the
      contrast medium from the tracheobronchial tree. The patients could be discharged
      a few days later with normal lung function. Long-term prognosis is generally
      excellent due to the inert character of barium sulfate, even though impressive
      radiographic findings remain.

PMID- 9973699
TI  - Lung abscess caused by Paecilomyces lilacinus.
AB  - We report the case of a 57-year-old man who was referred to our department for
      further investigation of an abnormal chest shadow. Radiography on admission
      demonstrated a coin lesion in the right hilum. To make a final diagnosis, right
      middle lobectomy was performed and the mass was revealed to be a fungal abscess.
      Further examination confirmed that the fungus was Paecilomyces lilacinus. This is
      the first reported case of lung abscess caused by P. lilacinus in an otherwise
      healthy person.

PMID- 9973700
TI  - An unusual case of esophageal tuberculosis in an adult.
AB  - Tuberculous infection of the esophagus is a rare disease and usually occurs
      secondary to tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenopathy. We report a 74-year-old
      woman presenting with dysphagia and weight loss. The chest radiograph showed
      punctuated calcifications lining from the right hilar region to the paracardiac
      region. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a 0.5 x 5 cm lesion localized
      in the 25th cm of the esophagus covered partly with normal mucosa, partly
      demonstrating ulcerous areas. Biopsy revealed granulomatous infiltrates being
      tuberculoid in type. Thorax CT showed a calcified lymph node at the right hilum.
      The patient did not give consent to therapy and died 1 month later.

PMID- 9973701
TI  - What is your diagnosis? Multiple unilateral nodular pulmonary lesions in a lung
      transplant recipient. Diagnosis: focal intrapulmonary hemorrhage following
      transbronchial lung biopsy.

PMID- 9973702
TI  - Computer generated mandibular model: surgical role.
AB  - A life-size nylon model of a traumatized mandible was produced from CT scan data
      by the process of laser sintering. The model was used for pre-operative planning
      and for production of surgical aids in order to facilitate the restoration of a
      large bony defect. Vascularized iliac crest bone was harvested, titanium implants
      placed and the bone then grafted to the mandible.

PMID- 9973703
TI  - Primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity. Report of an unusual case.
AB  - Primary malignant melanoma is only rarely found in the oral cavity (estimated at
      between 0.2 and 8 per cent of all melanomas) and occurs approximately four times
      more frequently in the oral mucosa of the upper jaw, usually on the palate or
      alveolar gingivae. A case is reported of a malignant melanoma in the mouth of a
      74 year old male, which was originally diagnosed as reactive denture hyperplasia
      caused by a ill-fitting upper denture. Correction of the denture fault failed to
      stop the growth of the mass, which was therefore removed surgically. Histological
      examination revealed a melanin-producing tumour. A partial maxillectomy was
      performed and there was no evidence of recurrence over a three year follow-up
      period.

PMID- 9973704
TI  - Postoperative bleeding with factor VII deficiency: case report.
AB  - Factor VII deficiency was diagnosed during haematological investigation of a
      patient with multiple occurrences of postoperative bleeding after surgical
      extraction of an impacted upper left canine. The bleeding was eventually stopped
      with local measures without resorting to blood product transfusion which may have
      been necessary if local measures had failed to control bleeding. Abnormalities
      were also found in subsequent blood profiles and coagulation tests in other
      members of the patient's family.

PMID- 9973705
TI  - Supernumerary tooth in the maxillary sinus: case report.
AB  - The ectopic development of teeth has been reported in many locations including
      the nasal cavity, maxillary sinus and the chin. Ectopic teeth may be permanent,
      deciduous or supernumerary. A case is presented in which a supernumerary tooth
      erupted into the maxillary sinus of an 11 year old boy.

PMID- 9973706
TI  - Tongue piercing: case report and review of current practice.
AB  - Although oral piercing has been an uncommon practice in the Western world, the
      insertion of metal objects into intra-oral and peri-oral pierced sites is growing
      in popularity. Tongue piercing is one such practice whereby a metal barbell is
      inserted into the tongue after piercing with a 14-16 gauge needle. Pain, swelling
      and infection are the most serious consequences associated with this procedure.
      Other adverse outcomes include mucosal or gingival trauma, chipped or fractured
      teeth, increased salivary flow, calculus build-up, and interference with speech,
      mastication and swallowing. This article presents a case report on tongue
      piercing and highlights the procedure involved. Special attention is given to
      complications and dental implications associated with such an unusual practice.

PMID- 9973707
TI  - Fibrous dysplasia of the jaw bone: a review of 15 new cases and two cases of
      recurrence in Jamaica together with a case report.
AB  - The authors reviewed 15 new cases of fibrous dysplasia of the jaw bone and two
      cases of recurrence seen in Jamaica between 1980 and 1995. Only cases which had a
      histological confirmation of fibrous dysplasia were included. The clinical
      behaviour and radiological findings of these cases were studied from the case
      files, either at the Cornwall Regional Hospital or the Kingston Public Hospital
      in Jamaica.

PMID- 9973708
TI  - Prevalence of dental anomalies in orthodontic patients.
AB  - The prevalence of dental anomalies including agenesis, crown shape, tooth
      position, root shape, and invagination were examined in 111 orthodontic patients;
      74.77 per cent of the patients exhibited at least one dental anomaly.
      Invagination was found to be the most prevalent anomaly, whereas supernumerary
      teeth and root dilaceration were the least frequent anomalies. Dental
      invagination and short or blunt roots were significantly more prevalent in
      females than in males. Implications for orthodontic treatment planning are
      discussed.

PMID- 9973709
TI  - Root morphology of the maxillary first premolar in Singaporeans.
AB  - Extracted teeth were collected from clinical procedures performed in the Faculty
      of Dentistry, National University of Singapore. A selected sample of 957
      maxillary first premolars were subjected to visual examination and digital
      radiography. There was a higher incidence of two-root form (50.6 per cent) than
      previously reported for the Singaporean dentition. In the two-root category, 307
      teeth exhibited the fused-root form (two fused roots with two root canals) and
      177 were distinctively of the two-root form (two separate roots with two root
      canals and two foramina). The fused-root form was emphasized as an entity in this
      study. The one-root form accounted for 49.4 per cent. No three-root form was
      detected.

PMID- 9973710
TI  - Pain description and severity of chronic orofacial pain conditions.
AB  - A multidisciplinary pain centre study of 120 consecutive chronic orofacial pain
      patients assessed pain description and intensity ratings, gender differences,
      prevalence of concurrent conditions, and interinstrument relationships of the
      McGill Pain Questionnaire and visual analogue scale. Pain words chosen by
      patients to describe conditions were predominantly sensory words, and patients
      with concurrent conditions often listed words indicating a substantial affective
      component. Results showed pain intensity ratings of chronic orofacial pain
      conditions have similar or higher pain ratings when compared with other medical
      chronic pain conditions such as back pain, cancer pain and arthritis. There was a
      significantly higher female: male ratio (88:32) with gender playing an important
      but poorly understood causal role. The most frequent condition diagnosed was
      atypical facial pain (n = 40), followed by temporomandibular disorder (n = 32),
      atypical odontalgia (n = 29) and pathology of the orofacial region (n = 19).
      Temporomandibular disorder was present in 75 of the 120 subjects, as the sole
      pain complaint (n = 32) or as an associated secondary condition (n = 43),
      indicating concurrent pain conditions exist and may be related. There were
      significantly higher total pain scores of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in
      patients with multiple conditions compared with patients with a single condition.
      The visual analogue scale showed a significant correlation to the number of words
      chosen index of the McGill Pain Questionnaire for orofacial pain.

PMID- 9973711
TI  - Service-mix in general dental practice in Japan: a survey in a suburban area.
AB  - Overseas investigations have reported the amount and variety of dental services
      provided. An understanding of the current service-mix in private general practice
      is important in the anticipation of the future practice of dentistry. The main
      purpose of this study was to describe the service-mix of private general
      practitioners in Japan, which was recorded using the Australian Dental
      Association Dental Procedure Code. Some comparisons with previous studies were
      offered. The youngest age group and adolescents formed only a small percentage of
      the total patients, while the greatest percentage of patients occurred in the 45
      64 year age group. The services provided were mainly restorative, diagnostic
      advanced restorative and endodontic services. Preventive services represented a
      minority of dental activity, especially for young patients. Periodontic and
      orthodontic services were also remarkable for their low percentage in all age
      groups. In comparison with an Australian study, the percentage of preventive
      services was considerably lower. Movement toward a preventive emphasis in
      Japanese dentistry requires a change in the clinical model, de-emphasizing
      biomedical and aetiological approaches and placing greater emphasis on the
      patient and factors affecting dental practice.

PMID- 9973712
TI  - Determination of gold alloy loss during the production of cast dental
      restorations.
AB  - Values for the loss of high gold content dental alloy during the fabrication of
      three types of cast dental restorations were determined. The mass changes
      measured were for the melting, casting and cleaning processes and the docking and
      laboratory finishing procedures involved in producing the final restoration. The
      casting yield from the alloy cast was also determined. Five Brisbane dental
      laboratories participated and 407 cast restorations were assessed. The mean mass
      loss for the melting and casting process was 0.109 g (SD 0.326) per cast
      restoration, and 0.827 per cent (SD 1.805) of the total mass of alloy melted. The
      data were analysed in four categories: alloy crowns, metal-ceramic crowns, metal
      ceramic bridges, and combined. The mean total mass loss per restoration from
      docking and finishing for each of the four groups of cast dental restorations
      examined was 0.329 g, 0.350 g, 0.927 g and 0.363 g; 13.11, 28.30, 22.07 and 22.18
      as a per cent of the mass of the docked casting respectively. The yield of
      casting masses from the alloy cast were 19.97, 9.11, 29.10 and 13.71 per cent
      respectively, with all differences significant at the 0.001 level. These values
      indicate that the recommendation for 50 per cent addition of new alloy for each
      cast is impractical. The wide spread of the data precludes the establishment of a
      precise agreed value between dentists and technicians for expected loss. However,
      the use of the median or mean would provide a value which might be an equitable
      indicator in the long term. Alternatively, working values can be developed for
      individual dentist/technician partnerships.

PMID- 9973713
TI  - Abnormally high fluoride levels in commercial preparations of 40 per cent silver
      fluoride solution: contraindications for use in children.
AB  - Although a 40 per cent solution of silver fluoride would be expected to contain 6
      per cent fluoride (60,000 ppm), F-levels of 100,000 ppm and 120,000 ppm were
      found in 14 commercial samples analysed at The University of Western Australia in
      1993 and 1994. To determine whether F-levels in 40 per cent AgF preparations have
      remained high, the present investigation was aimed at analysing different batches
      of commercial preparations obtained more recently. Fluoride ion analysis was
      carried out on 24 AgF samples using the Ion-Selective Electrode technique.
      Independent analyses of the same samples were carried out by a private chemical
      testing laboratory (Genalysis). Ten samples supplied by Agson Chemical Export
      were found to contain between 75,000 and 100,000 ppm F-: Genalysis reported
      80,000 to 120,000 ppm. Fourteen samples supplied by Southern Dental Industries
      were found to contain between 70,000 and 120,000 ppm F-; Genalysis reported
      88,000 to 108,000 ppm F-. These results confirm significantly higher than
      expected F-levels (ANOVA p < 0.05) in commercial preparations of 40 per cent AgF.
      The solutions tested were found to contain a mixture of ammonium fluoride, sodium
      or potassium fluoride, and silver fluoride. The additional presence of silver
      difluoride and hydrofluoric acid resulting from the manufacturing process has
      been suggested as an explanation for the much higher than expected levels of
      fluoride ion. In view of possible toxicity of 40 per cent AgF in young children,
      it is concluded that such a highly concentrated solution should not be used
      clinically; instead, lower strength AgF solutions should be investigated for
      their efficacy in caries treatment.

PMID- 9973714
TI  - Polyvinyl siloxane impression materials: an update on clinical use.
AB  - Polyvinyl siloxane impression materials have applications in a variety of
      indirect procedures in prosthodontics and restorative dentistry. Favourable
      handling properties, good patient acceptance and excellent physical properties
      have resulted in their popularity in today's practice. In this review, the
      chemistry and important physical properties of polyvinyl siloxanes are
      summarized, and recent clinical questions of improved hydrophilics, tray
      adhesives, disinfection, and glove-induced polymerization inhibition are
      addressed.

PMID- 9973715
TI  - The old order changeth...

PMID- 9973716
TI  - Leaking gloves.

PMID- 9973717
TI  - Further report on dens evaginatus on wisdom teeth.

PMID- 9973718
TI  - Cracked tooth syndrome.

PMID- 9973719
TI  - Anaphylactic reactions to local anaesthetic agents.

PMID- 9973720
TI  - Use of acupuncture in dentistry.

PMID- 9973721
TI  - Inequalities in health--"it's the poor wot gets the blame".

PMID- 9973722
TI  - Service reviews in the Community Dental Service. Regional guidance produced by
      dental services managers and consultants in dental public health in the north
      west of England.

PMID- 9973723
TI  - Health years equivalents as a measurement of preferences for dental
      interventions.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility and importance of measuring preferences among
      treatment choices using Healthy Years Equivalents (HYE). DESIGN: Development of
      scenarios for alternative approaches to caries treatment. Completion of category
      rating and standard gamble questions elicited in personal interviews. SETTING:
      The provision of dental care to children in a public-funded dental health clinic.
      PARTICIPANTS: Random sample of the adult population of Hamilton, Ontario. MAIN
      OUTCOME MEASURES: The percentage of the sample unable to complete the interviews,
      time taken to perform interviews, ease of understanding of interviews,
      correlation between rank ordering and HYE scores. RESULTS: Ninety-six per cent of
      the sample were able to complete the HYE exercise. Inconsistencies between HYE
      scores and rank orders implying preference reversal occurred in 6% of those
      completing HYE scores for the two scenarios. The additional time taken by the HYE
      was of the order of 17 minutes but increased with the age of the subject. Where
      problems occurred, they were related to the method of measurement or the
      sensitivity of the chosen scale as opposed to additional requirements of the HYE.
      There was some evidence that HYEs and QALYs produced different scores even in the
      context of chronic constant health states. CONCLUSIONS: HYEs are a feasible and
      important practical method of measuring preferences among interventions.
      Alternative utility-based approaches, such as willingness to pay, may be required
      to detect differences in modest improvements in temporary health states.

PMID- 9973724
TI  - Oral health systems in Europe. Part II: The dental workforce.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the practice of dentistry and the dental
      workforce in eighteen European countries. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Semi-structured,
      in-depth validation interviews were carried out with key-informants from the main
      national dental associations of EU and associated countries. The interviews were
      structured around the responses to a previously completed questionnaire, whose
      topics and terminology had been agreed in advance with the collaborating
      associations. The resulting descriptions of dental practice and the dental
      workforce in each country were returned for further validation and correction by
      the collaborating associations. Ultimate editorial control over the review of
      each country's oral health system rested with the academic unit from which the
      associations jointly commissioned the study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: With the
      exception of Austria the primary training and registration of dentists is now
      more or less standard across Europe. However, wide international variation exists
      in the official recognition of dental specialists and auxiliaries. The Nordic
      countries of Sweden, Finland and Iceland recognise the broadest range of
      specialties. In contrast Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Belgium currently do not
      formally recognise any types of specialist practice. Fee-for-service is the
      dominant form of remuneration for dentists across Europe, but considerable
      variation exists in the level of fees, how they are decided and the proportion
      paid by the patient. When based upon standard questionnaires, semi-structured
      interviews with key informants are an effective method for capturing both the
      specifics of how an oral health system works, and the general similarities and
      differences between countries.

PMID- 9973725
TI  - Relationship between the care index and mean dmft/DMFT.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between the care index and the mean
      dmft/DMFT in different populations of 5-, 12- and 14-year old children. DESIGN:
      Information from recent studies of 5-, 12- and 14-year old children, co-ordinated
      by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) was used.
      The correlation between the mean dmft/DMFT and the care index for each health
      district was calculated for each age group, along with the linear regression
      equation of the care index in terms of dmft/DMFT. RESULTS: All the correlation
      coefficients were negative indicating that the care index would be expected to
      increase as the disease levels decrease. For the 5-year-old children in 1995/96
      three other factors for the same time period; dentist:population ratio, percent
      of children registered and standardised mortality ratio (SMR), were also included
      in the model. This did not change the negative relationship between dmft and the
      care index. CONCLUSIONS: The strong negative relationship between the care index
      and mean dmft/DMFT levels indicated that in a situation where disease levels are
      reducing over time, the care index would be expected to increase. Conversely in a
      situation where disease levels were increasing the care index would be expected
      to fall.

PMID- 9973726
TI  - Clinical judgement as a basis for choice of recall interval in child dental care?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Extending recall intervals can be an important strategy for making
      children's dental care more efficient. The purpose of this study was to describe
      the recall intervals that the clinicians decided were appropriate for children
      and adolescents when they were instructed to extend and individualise the
      routines based on clinical judgement. In addition, the effect on recall interval
      of the profession of the clinician (dentist or dental hygienist), the child's age
      and the need for fillings were studied. DESIGN: In a four week period in 1995,
      all dentists and dental hygienists in one county in Norway reported recall
      intervals for 2,513 children aged 3 to 18 years. RESULTS: The mean current
      interval since the previous examination was 17.1 months (SD = 4.7 months) and the
      mean proposed interval until the next examination was 16.4 months (SD = 4.4
      months). Approximately 50% of children were evaluated by the clinicians to be
      suitable for recall intervals of 20 months or more and 10% were assessed as
      requiring a new examination within 12 months. The length of the current recall
      interval, the age of the child, whether or not the child received fillings, and
      whether the decision-maker was a dentist or a dental hygienist were statistically
      significantly associated with the length of the proposed recall interval.
      CONCLUSIONS: Basing recall intervals on clinical judgement resulted in intervals
      longer than 12 months for the majority of the children.

PMID- 9973727
TI  - Oral health profile of schoolchildren, mothers and schoolteachers in Zanzibar.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyse oral health status and oral health practices of
      schoolchildren in Zanzibar, to assess oral health knowledge, attitudes and
      practices of the mothers, and to describe knowledge and attitudes of
      schoolteachers in relation to oral health education of children. DESIGN: Cross
      sectional surveys of standards 1 and 5 children and their mothers were carried
      out based on the WHO pathfinder principle. The children were clinically examined
      and the mothers responded to personal interviews. Self-administered
      questionnaires were used to collect information on a convenience sample of
      schoolteachers. SETTING: The surveys were conducted to aid the planning and
      evaluation of school-based oral health promotion in Zanzibar. SUBJECTS: Two
      hundred and fifty-nine standard 1 and 226 standard 5 children participated in the
      survey; the sample was balanced by gender and degree of urbanisation. A total of
      455 mothers (92% of original sample) and 123 schoolteachers (100% of sample) were
      included. OUTCOME MEASURES: For children, dental caries experience (dmft/DMFT)
      and CPI were recorded. For mothers, knowledge about causes and prevention of
      dental disease, dental attitudes and oral health behaviour were ascertained. For
      teachers, dental knowledge and attitudes to health education were investigated.
      RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The mean caries experiences were 2.1 dmft (standard 1)
      and 0.7 DMFT (standard 5) and the prevalence was higher in urban than in rural
      areas. Daily toothcleaning was reported for 59% of the children and 67% of the
      mothers. The use of traditional Miswaki was frequent in rural areas whereas
      toothbrushes were common in urban areas. The level of knowledge was similar for
      mothers and teachers. Training in oral health topics is needed for schoolteachers
      to provide for school-based health education of children.

PMID- 9973728
TI  - The efficacy and effectiveness of a primary preventive dental programme in non
      fluoridated areas of Victoria, Australia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and effectiveness of a primary preventive
      dental programme. DESIGN: A field trial comparing an intervention and control
      group over three years. The intervention group received a preventive programme
      which consisted of a weekly fluoride mouthrinse (0.2% neutral NaF), an annual
      application, replacement or repair of pit and fissure sealants, and an annual
      oral hygiene education programme. The control group received the oral hygiene
      education programme only. Examinations to record dental caries status were
      conducted annually for both study groups. SETTING: Five secondary colleges in two
      non-fluoridated regions of Victoria, Australia. SUBJECTS: 522 subjects aged 12-13
      years and considered at high risk of developing dental caries were recruited for
      the study; 256 received the preventive programme and 266 acted as controls.
      OUTCOME MEASURES: Dental caries was diagnosed according to World Health
      Organization criteria. RESULTS: Subjects in the intervention group who completed
      the three-year preventive programme (efficacy) incurred an average of 1.49 fewer
      decayed, missing or filled tooth surfaces than the control group. The difference
      was highly statistically significant. The programme also had a statistically
      significant impact when analysed by intention-to-treat (effectiveness), even when
      it was assumed that subjects lost to follow-up received minimal future benefit.
      Approximately 70% of the improvement in oral health was in the pit and fissure
      surfaces, with the remainder in the smooth surfaces. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive
      preventive dental programme introduced into adolescent populations at high risk
      of developing dental caries can result in significant improvements in their
      dental health. Further research is required to clarify the public health impact
      of school-based fluoride mouth rinsing.

PMID- 9973729
TI  - Orthodontic treatment demand--differences between urban and rural areas.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcome of orthodontic treatment and the desire for
      further treatment in 19-year-old young adults treated by specialists in urban and
      rural areas and to study the influence of the level of education of their
      parents. DESIGN: The individuals were clinically and retrospectively examined
      with reference to malocclusions and orthodontic treatment received during
      childhood and adolescence. SETTING: Orthodontic department in Kronoberg County,
      Sweden. SUBJECTS: From a sample of 302 young adults, all individuals who had
      received orthodontic treatment by specialists (n = 60) were selected. OUTCOME
      MEASURES: The individuals were compared according to outcome of treatment and
      place of residence. The pre-treatment need, the residual treatment need, the
      treatment results, and the desire for further treatment were estimated as well as
      treatment duration, number of visits, percentages of discontinued treatments and
      parents' level of education. RESULTS: There was a higher frequency of individuals
      without previous treatment and a lower frequency of specialist-treated
      individuals in rural areas than in urban areas in the county. The treatments
      implied substantial improvements, with a higher reduction of treatment need and a
      higher degree of success in patients from urban areas than from rural areas (P <
      0.01). There were no statistically significant differences according to gender,
      socio-economic factors, or desire for further treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results
      suggest a greater degree of tolerance towards malocclusions in individuals in
      rural areas than in urban areas.

PMID- 9973730
TI  - Permanent tooth loss among adults and children in Saudi Arabia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess tooth loss among various age
      groups in Saudi Arabia as a part of a national epidemiological study on oral
      conditions. DESIGN: Methodology was based on the WHO International Collaborative
      Study II. The sampling strategy covered Kingdom-wide sites in 10 regions with
      stratified cluster random samples. Data collection was confined to age-groups 6
      to 7, 12 to 13, 15 to 19, 20 to 29, 35 to 44 and 65 to 74 years. SETTING:
      Children and adults from the schools and households of the ten provinces of Saudi
      Arabia. Clinical examinations were performed in daylight to determine oral
      clinical status and the prevalence of tooth loss. SUBJECTS: A total of 7,377
      children and adults in the specified age-groups. OUTCOME MEASURES: Loss of
      permanent teeth assumed due to caries, assessed on clinical examination.
      Examiners reliability was calibrated using the kappa statistic. RESULTS: Tooth
      loss due to caries was 0.03 in the 6 to 7-year age-group; 0.12 at 12 to 13 years;
      0.29 at 15 to 19 years; 1.24 at 20 to 29 years; 4.15 at 35 to 44 years; and 15.79
      in the 65 to 74-year age-group. When compared by gender, a statistically
      significant difference was found between males and females for those aged 6 to 7,
      15 to 19, 20 to 29, and 35 to 44 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that
      tooth loss increases with age and differs for gender and socio-economic status.
      No differences found based on city or rural lifestyles.

PMID- 9973731
TI  - Dental services for adults with a learning disability: care managers' experiences
      and opinions.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate care managers' experiences in obtaining dental services
      for their clients. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Descriptive survey collecting
      qualitative and quantitative data by semi-structured interviews. SETTING: Inner
      London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. PARTICIPANTS: Care managers
      or their delegated representatives in all homes listed in June 1996 by the
      registration and inspection units of the boroughs' social services departments,
      under the Registered Homes Acts (1984; 1991). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Managers'
      experiences in obtaining dental services for their residents and their perception
      of their residents' current need for dental treatment. Perceived barriers to
      care. RESULTS: Managers perceived a current need for dental treatment in 14% of
      the residents. In 4 out of 80 homes (5%) none of the clients had seen a dentist
      during the preceding 12 months, but not because homes had been unable to obtain
      services. The most common reason given by managers was that clients were
      unwilling to accept care. Continuity of care and partnership between carers and
      dentists were seen as facilitating co-operation. Eighty five per cent of homes
      made some use of the Community Dental Services. CONCLUSIONS: Managers perceived
      that sufficient services were available in the area; the chief barrier to care
      was residents' reluctance to accept treatment. The Community Dental Service
      played an important role in the provision of dental services. Managers felt that
      the treatment of severely disabled patients required special skills and
      experience.

PMID- 9973732
TI  - Inequalities in children's caries experience: the nature and size of the UK
      problem.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To discuss, as part of a symposium on 'Dental Care for the
      Disadvantaged Child', the inequalities in caries experience between a minority of
      children who demonstrate substantial dental disease and have, as a consequence, a
      considerable need for dental care and the majority who have little disease.
      METHOD: 1) Analysing data from regular NHS surveys of the dental health of
      British children in a number of defined age groups and examining socio-economic
      factors which operate and influence levels of dental caries to answer questions
      such as "Do we understand which children need and get appropriate dental care?".
      2) Considering how appropriate future needs may be identified and addressed, and
      the gap between academic acceptance of new methodology and use by dental
      professionals may be narrowed. CONCLUSIONS: Integrated approaches to prevention
      should be focused on those children who have the greatest need in addition to the
      provision of appropriate, clinically effective, preventive and operative care for
      all children.

PMID- 9973733
TI  - What has general dental practice got to offer?

PMID- 9973734
TI  - A practitioners view.

PMID- 9973735
TI  - The present and future role of the community dental services.

PMID- 9973736
TI  - The case for secondary and tertiary care by specialist dental services.

PMID- 9973737
TI  - Dental care of the disadvantaged child--a teacher's point of view.

PMID- 9973738
TI  - Continuous monitoring of jugular bulb venous oxygen saturation for evaluation of
      cerebral perfusion during carotid endarterectomy.
AB  - In this study we examined whether continuous monitoring of jugular bulb venous
      oxygen saturation (SjO2) is applicable for the evaluation of cerebral
      hypoperfusion during carotid endarterectomy (CEA). The subjects were 25 patients
      who underwent elective CEA under general anaesthesia. After the carotid stump
      pressure (SP) was measured, SjO2 and the somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP)
      were monitored during the carotid test clamping for 10 min. There was no
      alteration in cardiovascular and respiratory status during the test clamping. No
      correlation was observed between SEP amplitude and SP (r = 0.16, p = 0.25).
      However, at clamping, SjO2 decreased from 70 to 64% (p < 0.01) with a reduction
      in SEP amplitude from 2.0 to 1.6 microV (p < 0.01). After declamping, SjO2
      increased from 65 to 70% (p < 0.01) with a recovery in SEP from 1.6 to 1.9 microV
      (p < 0.01). The changes in SEP amplitude and SjO2 correlated (r = 0.66, p <
      0.001). These results suggest that continuous monitoring of SjO2 is superior to
      SP measurement in the prediction of cerebral hypoperfusion caused by carotid
      clamping and applicable to CEA.

PMID- 9973739
TI  - Short-term effect of correcting leg length discrepancy on performance of a
      forceful body extension task in young adults.
AB  - In this study we assessed the short-term effect of correcting leg length
      discrepancy on a vigorously performed task of resisted full body extension in 10
      men, 18 to 35 years old, who had estimated leg length discrepancies of 10-15 mm.
      Using a cable ergometer we examined work performed, initial peak tension exerted
      on the ergometer, second peak tension, time to first peak tension, and mean
      velocity of the whole task. Each subject performed the task both with and without
      a heel lift, introduced to equalize leg length. The interval between testing
      under these two conditions was 48 hr. In the task of pulling the cable upward,
      each subject began from floor level with knees and trunk flexed, progressing to
      full body extension with the arms pulling the cable overhead with maximal effort.
      For each trial the task was repeated 15 times, with intervals of 90 seconds
      between the repetitions. Use of the lift failed to have a statistically
      significant effect on any of the variables, although it clearly enabled three of
      the subjects to exert greater strength with the arms and trunk during the second
      peak tension. This suggests that 1) overall body extension is influenced by too
      many factors to be affected in a consistently predictable way by a heel lift to
      correct leg length discrepancy, and 2) the heel lift may aid certain subjects
      with leg length discrepancy specifically during extension of the trunk in this
      task.

PMID- 9973740
TI  - Hepatic resection for cavernous hemangiomas of the liver.
AB  - In this report, we evaluate the indications of, and present our recent strategy
      for, cavernous hemangioma of the liver. Seven patients with cavernous hemangiomas
      of the liver, who underwent hepatic resection were enrolled in this study. The
      lesions were located in the right lobe in 3 patients, the left lobe in 2, and in
      both the right and left lobes in 2. The longest diameter of the lesions ranged
      from 1.4 to 14.5 cm (mean, 8.2 cm). The indications for hepatic resection were
      symptomatic lesions in 3 patients, lesions suspected to be hepatocellular
      carcinoma in 2, and symptomatic and growing lesions during follow-up in 2. Right
      lobectomy was performed in 2 patients, left lobectomy with caudate lobectomy in 1
      patient, and minor hepatic resection in the other 4 patients. One of the patients
      who underwent minor hepatic resection had recently received laparoscopy-assisted
      hepatic resection and one of the three patients who received transfusion during
      surgery was given an autotransfusion. There were no mortality, and morbidity was
      minimal. In conclusion, hepatic resection, including laparoscopy-assisted
      procedures, was considered a safe treatment. Hepatic resection for cavernous
      hemangioma should be performed only in patients with moderate to severe symptoms,
      complicated lesions or both, because most benign lesions have a good natural
      course. Furthermore, in the future, less invasive surgical procedures should be
      used whenever possible to treat these benign liver tumors.

PMID- 9973741
TI  - Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.
AB  - We evaluated the efficacy of percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) as
      compared with hepatectomy in 19 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In
      6 patients with tumors more than 3 cm in diameter, coagulation was inadequate
      after a single session of PMCT. Patients with multiple tumors had recurrence
      within 1 year. For single tumors 3 cm or less in diameter, the therapeutic
      effectiveness of PMCT was comparable to that of hepatectomy in cumulative
      survival and cancer-free survival rates. We conclude that PMCT should be used in
      the initial treatment of HCC only in patients with single tumors of up to 3 cm in
      diameter. Surgical removal is recommended for tumors of more than 3 cm in
      diameter.

PMID- 9973742
TI  - A surgically treated long-term survivor of hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor
      thrombi in the trunk of the portal vein.
AB  - Prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with tumor thrombi (TT) in
      the trunk of the portal vein (PV) has been extremely poor. There have been few
      reports of long-term survivors with such an advanced condition. In this article,
      the case of a 62-year-old woman of HCC, who survived for 6 years and 9 months
      after an operation, with TT in the trunk of the PV is described. The patient not
      only had a primary tumor of 4 cm in diameter with TT but also multiple
      intrahepatic metastases in the bilateral lobe of the liver. A palliative lateral
      segmentectomy with tumor thrombectomy through the incised left first branch of
      the PV was performed. Moreover, an intraoperative ethanol injection for residual
      intrahepatic metastatic tumors was performed subsequently. Hepatic arterial
      infusion of anti-cancer drug with Lipiodol, intraportal continuous infusion of 5
      FU and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy were performed suitably during the
      follow-up periods. The patient survived for 6 years and 9 months after operation
      and died of hepatic insufficiency with cancer. In this case a patient who
      suffered from HCC with TT in the trunk of the PV was successfully treated by
      multimodality procedures including hepatic resection with tumor thrombectomy.

PMID- 9973743
TI  - Laparoscopy-assisted hepatectomy for a large tumor of the liver.
AB  - We performed a laparoscopy-assisted hepatectomy on a 52-year-old woman with a
      large hepatic cavernous hemangioma (longest diameter, 8.5 cm). With the use of
      Pringle's maneuver, the left lateral segment of the liver was resected with a
      Cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) while lifting the abdominal wall.
      Postoperative hepatic dysfunction was mild and transient, resolving spontaneously
      early after surgery. We intend to expand the indications of this minimally
      invasive procedure for hepatic resection.

PMID- 9973745
TI  - Home births: an unresolved debate.

PMID- 9973744
TI  - Decreased serum neutral endopeptidase activity in children with bronchial asthma.

PMID- 9973746
TI  - Sanity and insanity--a personal view.

PMID- 9973747
TI  - The calcium channel blocker debate.
AB  - What, finally can we conclude from the work to date regarding the use of CCB's?
      The large clinical trials here give a number of clear messages to the prescriber.
      Short-acting dihydropyridine CCB's are unproven as prophylactic agents in
      ischaemic heart disease. In patients with poor left ventricular function post
      infarct, CCB's are associated with an unchanged or increased mortality. Use of
      medications in the treatment of hypertension should be with proven first-line
      therapeutic agents; beta-blockers, diuretics; and the long-acting dihydropyridine
      CCB's nifedipine GITS and nitrendipine. The final argument in the discussion over
      the safety or otherwise of calcium channel blockers will rest in the completion
      in the future of a number of prospective, randomised, place-controlled clinical
      drug trials. These trials are currently ongoing, and their results may not be
      available until after the year 2000.

PMID- 9973748
TI  - Use of the toxicology emergency laboratory services in common acute poisonings.

PMID- 9973749
TI  - ACE inhibitors and diabetic retinopathy.

PMID- 9973750
TI  - The treatment of opiate addiction during pregnancy.

PMID- 9973751
TI  - Linear IgA disease--a review of four patients.
AB  - Four cases of Linear IgA Disease (LAD) seen over a five year period are reviewed
      and our most recent LAD patient is described in detail. We summarise data on our
      patients and outline clinicopathologic features, aetiology and management of this
      unusual but important condition.

PMID- 9973752
TI  - How much of a general practitioner's prescribing is outside his/her control?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyse and quantify that portion of one General Practioner's
      prescribing that is outside his/her control. DESIGN: Detailed analysis of one
      General Practioner's General Medical Services prescribing over a three month
      period during 1996. SETTING: A Group Practice in Sligo, Ireland. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURES: The number and cost of items outside the General Practitioner's control
      expressed as a percentage of his total General Medical Services prescribing. The
      source of these items, and whether they are newly prescribed items or not.
      RESULTS: 12.8% numerically and 23.8%, costwise, of items prescribed by one GMS
      General Practitioner were found to be outside his control. Of these items,
      psychiatric outpatient consultations and medical in-patient discharges account
      for 22.8% and 18.4% numerically, respectively, and 25.7% and 22.6% costwise,
      respectively of the total numbers of items and costs outside his control.
      CONCLUSIONS: A relatively small proportion of items of a General Practitioners
      prescribing accounting for a disproportionately large amount of the costs are
      outside his control.

PMID- 9973753
TI  - A descriptive study of drug therapy and cost for elderly residents in a nursing
      home.
AB  - Drug therapy for 115 patients in Health Board contracted beds in a long-stay
      institution for the elderly were studied. The results were analysed for
      frequency, type and cost of medicines. 96.5% of patients received a total of 473
      routine medicines, an average of 4.1 medicines per patient, females received a
      higher number of medicines than males. The average cost per person per day was
      67.6p for all medicines. The most frequently prescribed medicines were for
      therapeutic groups CNS (32.3%) CVS (17.8%) and GIS (14.2%).

PMID- 9973754
TI  - A study of self-care among Irish doctors.
AB  - Little is known about the self care employed by Irish doctors, though studies in
      other countries suggest this is likely to be less than ideal. In this study 76
      doctors; general practitioner trainees, general practitioners and hospital
      consultants, completed a questionnaire on their self management of illness. High
      levels of self-prescribing and referral were discovered. The implications for the
      health of doctors in Ireland and the need for an occupational health service for
      doctors are discussed.

PMID- 9973755
TI  - Hyponatraemia, seizures and stupor associated with ecstasy ingestion in a female.

PMID- 9973756
TI  - Patient access to medical records.

PMID- 9973757
TI  - An evaluation of the CAGE questionnaire in an elderly psychiatrically ill
      population.

PMID- 9973758
TI  - A role for dopexamine hydrochloride in septic shock.

PMID- 9973759
TI  - Massive dilation of the urinary tract secondary to familial cranial diabetes
      insipidus.

PMID- 9973760
TI  - Geriatric dental care crisis.

PMID- 9973761
TI  - Latex allergy.

PMID- 9973762
TI  - World AIDS Day.

PMID- 9973763
TI  - The law and ethics in relation to dentists treating HIV-positive patients: report
      on a recent U.S. Supreme Court case.
AB  - The U.S. Supreme Court confirms that an HIV-seropositive patient is a
      "handicapped" person even if totally asymptomatic. Hence, the patient is
      illegally discriminated against if a dentist consequently refuses to treat the
      person in the same manner in which he or she treats other patients. Canadian
      dental care providers should be aware of this decision, because it is reasonable
      to expect that the high-level Canadian courts and the Supreme Court of Canada
      would follow this U.S. Supreme Court decision. In addition, the U.S. judgment in
      effect supports judgments in recent Canadian lower court cases.

PMID- 9973764
TI  - [Le Fort I surgery, sagittal osteotomy and genioplasty and their impact on the
      temporomandibular joint].
AB  - Dentofacial deformities of the jaws, teeth and middle and lower thirds of the
      face affect both function and appearance. Epidemiological studies show that many
      Americans suffer from a malocclusion, which alters the proportions of the face.
      Moreover, in about 5 per cent of cases, the deformity is great enough to cause a
      severe handicap. A number of years ago, only orthodontic therapy was available,
      its aim being to achieve an acceptable occlusal relation while improving
      appearance as much as possible. However, this therapy provided limited
      improvement. Consequently, serious cases were later treated surgically. Since the
      1970s, new surgical techniques have made it possible to reposition the jaws or
      dentoalveolar segments. As a result, today many more cases are treated in
      collaboration with orthodontists and surgeons. This article summarizes the main
      orthognathic surgical techniques, their procedures and their effects on
      temporomandibular disorders.

PMID- 9973765
TI  - The case for a strong anti-tobacco lobby by the CDA--if not now, when, and if not
      us, who?

PMID- 9973766
TI  - Exposure or absorption and the crucial question of limits for mercury.
AB  - Health Canada recently lowered the recommended maximum daily exposure of mercury
      from all sources for women of child-bearing age and for children less than 10
      years. This new exposure guideline does not seem to be based on any new
      scientific finding of human toxicity. The average daily intake of methylmercury
      (mainly from fish) that may cause demonstrable health effects in the most
      sensitive individual is 300 micrograms/day, or 4.3 micrograms Hg/day/kg body
      weight. The new, lower Health Canada limit is 95% below the level that may cause
      health effects. A number of studies have looked at methylmercury in human breast
      milk (where maternal consumption of fish is high), but no strong evidence of
      toxicity has been reported. The amount of mercury released from dental amalgam is
      minimal; a person would have to have 490 amalgam surfaces for there to be enough
      mercury vapour and ionic mercury given off from amalgam fillings to meet the
      maximum exposure guidelines. The uptake of food-related organic mercury is six
      times higher than the uptake of mercury from amalgam; moreover, food-related
      mercury is significantly more toxic. Many studies of amalgam-related mercury are
      flawed by confusion between exposure and absorption for the various forms of
      mercury, a limited selection of data, the ignoring of confounding variables or
      the misclassification of data.

PMID- 9973767
TI  - The TMD controversies continue.

PMID- 9973768
TI  - Bilateral dentigerous cysts--report of an unusual case and review of the
      literature.
AB  - Dentigerous cysts are the most common developmental cysts of the jaws, most
      frequently associated with impacted mandibular third molar teeth. Bilateral
      dentigerous cysts are rare and occur typically in association with a
      developmental syndrome. The reported occurrence of bilateral dentigerous cysts in
      the absence of a syndrome is rare and, to date, only 11 cases have been
      described. Here, we report a case of bilateral nonsyndromic, dentigerous cysts
      and review the literature for this unusual finding.

PMID- 9973769
TI  - Effects of ascorbic acid and carbohydrate ingestion on exercise induced oxidative
      stress.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We studied the effects of supplementation of vitamin C and
      carbohydrate on acute exercise-induced lipid peroxidation. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL
      DESIGN: two randomized controlled trials. PARTICIPANTS: 17 endurance athletes.
      INTERVENTIONS: in study I, nine athletes repeated twice a 10.5-km maximal run and
      ingested in a randomized single-blind order either 2.0 g vitamin C or placebo. In
      study II, eight athletes repeated twice a 27-km maximal run and ingested in
      randomly either 105 g carbohydrate or placebo. Venous blood samples were taken
      before the exercise, immediately after the exercise, and after a recovery period
      of 90 min (study I) or 120 min (study II). MEASURE: serum diene conjugation,
      lipid peroxidation. RESULTS: In study I, there was no difference in serum diene
      conjugation between the trials during exercise (pre- vs post-exercise). However,
      during the recovery period (post-exercise vs recovery sample) serum diene
      conjugation concentration decreased by 11% in the vitamin C trial but not in
      placebo (p = 0.028). In study II, there was no difference between the
      carbohydrate and placebo trials. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin C and carbohydrate do not
      prevent exercise-induced increase in oxidative stress, but vitamin C, being a
      potent aqueous antioxidant, seems to decrease the levels of diene conjugation
      during recovery after exercise. The clinical significance of this phenomenon
      needs further evaluation.

PMID- 9973770
TI  - Maximal power and force-velocity relationships during cycling and cranking
      exercises in volleyball players. Correlation with the vertical jump test.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to propose a test battery adjusted to
      volleyball players and to study the links between dynamic (vertical jump, force
      velocity relationships and maximal anaerobic power in cranking and cycling) and
      static (maximal voluntary force and rate of force development in isometric
      conditions) performances. METHODS: The relationships between braking force (F)
      and peak velocity (V) have been determined for cycling and cranking exercises in
      18 male volleyball players of a district league. According to previous studies,
      these F-V relationships were assumed to be linear and were expressed as follows:
      V = V0(1-F/F0), where V0 should be an estimate of the maximal velocity at zero
      braking force whereas F0 is assumed to be a braking force corresponding to zero
      velocity. Maximal anaerobic power in cycling (Pmax leg) and cranking (Pmax arm)
      were calculated as equal to 0.25 V0F0. The same subjects performed a vertical
      jump test (VJ) and a strength test on an isometric leg press with the measurement
      of the unilateral isometric maximal voluntary force (MVF) and indices of rate of
      isometric force development (RFD): maximal rate of force development (MRFD) and
      the time from 25% to 50% of MVF (T25-50). RESULTS: Pmax leg (15.8 +/- 1.4 W.kg-1)
      and V0 arm (259.6 +/- 13.1 rpm) were high but similar to the results of elite
      athletes, previously collected with the same protocols and the same devices. VJ
      was significantly with F0 leg, Pmax leg and Pmax arm related to body mass. The
      performances of the dynamic tests were significantly correlated and especially
      the parameters (V0, F0, Pmax) of the force velocity tests in cycling were
      significantly correlated with the same parameters in cranking. The results of the
      isometric tests (MVF, MRFD) were not correlated with VJ, except T25-50 of the
      left leg. CONCLUSIONS: A vertical jump test and a force velocity test with the
      arms are proposed for a test battery in volleyball players.

PMID- 9973771
TI  - Physical training of football players based on their positional rules in the
      team. Effects on performance-related factors.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of
      an individualized training programme for football players according to their
      positions in the team, by comparing it with a programme which did not
      differentiate roles, but utilized the same means for training. METHODS: Forty
      four young top level football players divided equally into an experimental and a
      control group were submitted to two different training programmes for an 8-month
      period. Each group consisted of 5 forwards, 6 midfielders, 4 fullbacks, 4
      centerbacks and 3 goalkeepers. The two groups had almost the same average age
      (17.8 +/- 0.6 and 17.7 +/- 0.6 yrs respectively), weight (72.6 +/- 4.7 and 72.8
      +/- 3.7 kg) and height (181.3 +/- 4.4 and 180.3 +/- 4.0 cm). The following
      measurements were taken before and after the training period in order to evaluate
      the aerobic and anaerobic (lactacid and alactacid) power as well as explosive and
      elastic power which are related to football performance: running tests of 30, 50,
      300 and 1,000 meters, squat jump (SJ), counter movement jump (CMJ) and repetition
      counter movement jump (test 15"). RESULTS: A percent improvement observed for
      forwards and centerbacks was significant, in comparison with the control group,
      in all tests but the 30 and 1,000 meters run, on the contrary fullbacks and
      midfielders demonstrated a significant improvement only in the 1000 m run test (p
      < 0.01). In addition, a significant increase (14%, p < 0.01) was observed in CMJ
      of goalkeepers in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group.
      CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that individualized training developed in accordance
      with the real model of football performance and the different mechanisms of
      bioenergetic processes, is a superior method of training and can optimise the
      performance of all player in the team.

PMID- 9973772
TI  - Effect of summer intermission on skeletal muscle of adolescent soccer players.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To study the effect of some weeks of rest on three groups of
      adolescent soccer players, who had undergone systematic training for eleven
      months. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Retrospective and comparative
      investigation; duration 4-8 weeks. SETTING: young amateur players from a Spanish
      football club were examined at the beginning and at the end of the summer rest
      period. PARTICIPANTS: 37 young soccer players aged 14, 15 and 16 years old. They
      were members of three football teams. INTERVENTIONS: during the rest period they
      were free from any training program. MEASURES: biopsies of M. vastus lateralis
      were taken immediately after training and after the summer holidays. The type,
      percentage and diameter of the fibers, as well as the enzymes of glycogen
      metabolism (glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase), glycolysis
      (phosphofructokinase and lactate dehydrogenase), oxidative metabolism (succinate
      dehydrogenase and citrate synthase) and creatine kinase and transaminase
      (aspartate and alanine aminotransferase) were studied. RESULTS: Detraining had an
      adaptation effect, decreasing the cross-sectional area of type I and type II
      fibers, and decreasing the activities of creatine kinase, citrate synthase,
      phosphofructokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results can help trainers to plan the length of the rest period
      between training.

PMID- 9973773
TI  - Morphological and performance characteristics as drop-out indicators in female
      gymnasts.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Aim of this study was to investigate if morphological and performance
      characteristics are significant indicators to predict drop-out in female
      gymnasts. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: comparative investigation between two
      groups of female gymnasts at the start of a 3-year follow-up period. SETTING:
      participants of the study came from two gymnastic clubs from the Antwerp region
      in Flanders, Belgium. PARTICIPANTS: in total, 81 female competitive gymnasts
      (mean age: 10.5 + 2.6 years) were investigated, of which 46 were continuing
      gymnasts, while 35 dropped-out from the sport during the following 3 years.
      MEASURES: included were a large battery of a anthropometric characteristics,
      skeletal maturation, physical fitness tests, and gymnastic-specific strength and
      flexibility tests. Differences between the two groups were analysed by means of
      the t-test and analysis of co-variance with chronological age as the co-variate.
      RESULTS: Compared to the gymnasts, the drop-outs were significant (p < 0.01)
      older (11.3 and 9.7 years respectively), more mature (skeletal ages are 10.6 and
      9.4 years respectively), taller (143.5 cm and 135.2 cm respectively), and heavier
      (36.0 kg and 29.4 kg respectively). Also for almost all other anthropometric
      dimensions, gymnasts were significantly (p < 0.01) smaller than the drop-outs,
      except for the biceps, triceps, medial calf, and thigh skinfolds. Concerning the
      fitness and gymnastic-specific test characteristics, the drop-outs performed also
      significantly (p < 0.01) better than the continuing gymnasts. The ANCOVA
      analysis, however, revealed that it was mainly the age factor that distinguished
      both groups. After controlling for chronological age, no differences between both
      groups could be demonstrated for almost all anthropometric and performance
      characteristics with the exception for upperarm circumference flexed, calf
      circumference, and biceps skinfold. For these variables, drop-outs showed still
      significant (p < 0.05) higher values compared to the gymnast's group.
      CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, it is concluded that factors related to the
      physical make-up and performance capacities of our gymnasts under study are minor
      indicators for the withdrawal from competitive gymnastics, and it is hypothesized
      that the social and psychological factors associated with the older age of the
      drop-out girls are presumably more important.

PMID- 9973774
TI  - Exercise without dietary restriction as a means to long-term fat loss in the
      obese cardiac patient.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To examine the effects of a 12-month daily walking program without
      dietary restriction on the metabolic rate, body composition and blood lipid
      profile of overweight and moderately obese patients following myocardial
      infarction. METHODS:  DESIGN: longitudinal training (preliminary study). SETTING:
      out-patient cardiac rehabilitation program. PARTICIPANTS: twelve consecutive
      volunteers (8M, 4F) with a body mass index of 25-40 kg/m2. Relative to average
      cardiac patients, the men but not the women were significantly heavier (100.8 vs
      77.4 kg [M], 70.7 vs 74.2 kg [F]) and fatter (hydrostatic estimate of body fat
      34.0% vs 23.1% [M]; 38.3% vs 36.3% [F]) than the general cardiac patient.
      MEASURES: body mass, hydrostatic weighing, triglycerides, total, HDL- and LDL
      cholesterol, resting and peak oxygen intake, one week food intake diaries.
      RESULTS: Daily walking increased progressively from 20 min to 43 min over 3
      months, and was then held constant for 9 months. Peak aerobic power increased
      24%, from 19.9 to 24.6 ml/[kg.min] (p < 0.001). Resting oxygen intake rose from
      3.1 to 3.4 ml/[kg.min], (p < 0.05). Energy intake increased from 6.10 to 6.57
      MJ/day, but body mass decreased by an average of 4.5 kg (p < 0.05, 4.1 kg [M],
      5.1 kg [F]), and body fat content diminished from 35.4 to 33.2% (p < 0.02, 1.8%
      [M], 3.2% [F]), with no change in lean body mass (57.7 vs 57.8 kg). Triglycerides
      diminished from 2.63 to 2.28 mmol/L (p < 0.005). Total and LDL-cholesterol also
      tended to change favorably (from 6.15 to 5.80 and 4.44 to 3.80 mmol/L
      respectively, but HDL-cholesterol was unchanged). CONCLUSIONS: A daily walking
      program without dietary restriction induces a favorable change in body
      composition and lipid profile in moderately obese cardiac patients. An exercise
      induced increase of resting metabolism apparently makes an important contribution
      to this outcome.

PMID- 9973776
TI  - The cardiovascular responses of male subjects to kung fu techniques.
      Expert/novice paradigm.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The primary aim was to assess cardiovascular responses of expert and
      novice subjects to kung fu techniques. It was hypothesised that experienced
      subjects would demonstrate improved economy of movement during the techniques,
      evidenced by reduced exercise intensity. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: a
      comparative design was established utilising two groups; experienced (group E),
      and novice (group N). SETTING: the experimentation took place under laboratory
      conditions, but was designed to maximise external validity. PARTICIPANTS: the
      only preselection variables were regular attendance at training and experience.
      Nine experienced males (group E, exp 9.5 +/- 5.2 yrs) and nine novice males
      (group N, exp 1.2 +/- 0.1 yrs) participated. The only exclusion guidelines were
      contraindications to participate within a maximal test, no subjects were excluded
      upon this basis. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASURES: each subject participated in three
      kung fu protocols (forms, kicking and punching). Each protocol, randomly
      allocated, consisted of ten work (30 sec) and ten rest periods (30 sec). MEASURES
      taken during the protocols were heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (VO2).
      These were expressed as a percentage of maximal values to reflect exercise
      intensity. RESULTS: During both the form protocol and punching protocol group E
      were found to be working at a significantly (p < 0.05) lower % VO2 max than group
      N (forms--group E = 71.5 +/- 5.3, group N = 82.1 +/- 6.1; punching--group E =
      37.5 +/- 2.1, group N = 40.6 +/- 2.6, p < 0.05). This suggests that experienced
      subjects were more economical when performing similar movement patterns.
      CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that cardiovascular responses to kung fu techniques
      differ depending upon experience level. It is difficult to directly relate this
      to improved economy since work output could not be accurately quantified. It was
      also found that kung fu protocols elicited exercise intensity into the
      cardiovascular training zone.

PMID- 9973775
TI  - Cardiovascular stress and lactate formation during gymnastic routines.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Carried out to investigate cardiovascular and metabolic response
      during various gymnastic routines [Pommel Horse (PH), Roman Ring (RR), Parallel
      Bar (PB), Horizontal Bar (HB) and Floor Exercise (FE)]. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL
      DESIGN: comparative and randomized. SETTING: General purpose, applicable on
      gymnastics training. Participants. Five male volunteers drawn from students
      attending sports coaching course in gymnastics at NIB, Patiala. A mixed
      population from all over India who had competitive experience of 6 to 10 years.
      INTERVENTIONS: no interventions. MEASURES: presence of heart rate overshooting,
      high lactate levels and individual characteristics of the gymnastics routines.
      RESULTS: In all the routines peak HR was much lower than maximum heart rate
      (HRmax) of the gymnasts. Mean HR was lowest in first set and highest in the final
      (3rd set) on all the apparatuses. Highest mean HR was recorded in HB followed by
      FE, RR, PB and PH respectively. After both first and third sets blood lactic acid
      (La) was highest in FE followed by RR, PB, HB and PH. La levels following the
      first set were 7.11, 6.77, 6.23, 5.97 and 5.18 mM/l, respectively. Third set
      values were 10.54, 10.16, 8.95, 8.74 and 8.04 mM/l. CONCLUSIONS: (a)
      Cardiovascular load in various gymnastic routines is considerably less than
      maximal running; (b) HR overshoot is common at the end of all the men's gymnastic
      routines; training evaluation or performance evaluation in gymnastics through
      heart rate should consider this fact to avoid any misinterpretation; (c) PH is
      physiologically least demanding among the five while FE and RR are most
      stressful; (d) repetition of gymnastic exercise routines with short rest pause
      may lead the gymnast to reach nearer to his lactate tolerance; (e) gymnastics
      activity is dominated by anaerobic metabolism.

PMID- 9973777
TI  - Isokinetic testing of flexor and extensor muscles in athletes suffering from low
      back pain.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to verify the usefulness of isokinetic
      testing in athletes with chronic low back pain (LBP) to obtain quantitative
      information for rehabilitation purposes. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: a
      comparative study. SETTING: Physiotherapy Department--Institute of Sports
      Medicine in Italy. PARTICIPANTS: 50 men, aged 25-65, practising running, cycling,
      triathlon, tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, skiing and golf. The patients
      were divided into two groups. Group A was treated for 3 months with postural
      exercises 2 or 3 times a week. Group B was treated for the same period of time
      with resistive exercises performed by resorting to specific machines.
      MEASUREMENTS: Before and after treatment, trunk muscle strength was evaluated by
      means of an isokinetic test carried out in a seated position. The isokinetic
      measurements used were peak torque (PT), work, power-in the best repetition and
      total work (TW) in four repetitions. Both the pain and the functional impairment
      during physical activity was evaluated by subjective visual analogic scale.
      RESULTS: The PT showed a parallel increase in flexor and extensor muscles in
      Group A. In Group B it increased by 32.2% at 60 degrees/s and 44.1% at 120
      degrees/s as for the extensor muscles while the flexion-to-extension ratio
      decreased significantly. The TW registered a bigger percentage increase in both
      groups (+21% at 60 degrees/s and +20.4% at 120 degrees/s in Group A; +36.5% at 60
      degrees/s and +50.3% at 120 degrees/s in Group B). CONCLUSIONS: The two
      rehabilitation programmes had the same effect on the course of LBP, but in Group
      B we observed a bigger increase in strength which could be potentially useful
      during a sports activity.

PMID- 9973778
TI  - Back injuries in competitive squash players.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The aim of this investigation was to examine the prevalence of back
      injuries in competitive squash players. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: a
      retrospective analysis was made using a cross-section of current competitive
      squash players (survivor population). SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: an attempt was made
      to distribute a questionnaire on back injuries to all competitive squash players
      registered in the Otago provincial area, New Zealand, (n = 1047), of which 495
      questionnaires were returned (47.3% compliance). INTERVENTIONS: variables were
      cross-tabulated and analysed via descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, chi
      analyses of trend and chi 2 tests of significance. MEASURES: the questionnaire
      obtained information on demographics, the level of play (ability), overall volume
      of play (average frequency and duration of all exposures), plus the occurrence
      and severity of back injury. RESULTS: Nearly 52% of the sample reported they had
      suffered back injury. Of these, 33.5% claimed squash initiated their injury,
      20.6% claimed squash exacerbated a previous back injury and the remaining 45.9%
      felt that squash had no detrimental effect on their back injury. Significantly
      higher frequencies of back injury were observed in males (56.5% compared to 46.4%
      in females, p = 0.033), in players of higher grade (p = 0.006),and with increased
      frequency (p = 0.01), but not duration of play (p = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: These
      results suggest that the greater activity and possible over-reaching for the ball
      associated with higher levels of play may increase the risk of back injury and
      provides tentative support for the notion that back injuries in squash players
      might be related to periods of relative over-use.

PMID- 9973779
TI  - Can emotive imagery aid in tolerating exertion efficiently?
AB  - BACKGROUND: The study examined the role of relaxation and aggressive types of
      imagery and the effect of goal orientations, self efficacy, self control, and
      determination on exertion tolerance. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: the
      participants underwent an exertive task in which they were required to squeeze a
      dynamometer, at 50% of their maximal hand-grip capacity, for as long as they
      could. Perceived exertion was measured every 15 sec during the task. The time
      that elapsed between rating exertion as "strong", and dropping the handbar under
      10% of the designated 50% criterion, was considered as the "zone of exertion
      tolerance". PARTICIPANTS: forty-eight female university students were randomly
      assigned into 3 groups. INTERVENTIONS: two imagery techniques, one under relaxing
      and one under aggressive conditions were taught and then applied. In the control
      condition, discussions were conducted. MEASURES: traits such as goal orientation
      (task and ego), physical self-efficacy and self-control were measured prior to
      performing the task, while rate of perceived exertion task-specific determination
      (i.e., task-related confidence, commitment, exertion tolerance, and effort
      investment) were measured before, during and after the task. RESULTS: The results
      showed an average of 31% and 28% increase in exertion tolerance in participants
      who used aggressive and relaxation imagery techniques respectively, compared to
      4% reduction in the controls. RM ANOVA indicated equality between the two imagery
      groups but both were significantly different from the control group. Physical
      self-efficacy, self-control, and task-specific determination were found
      nonsignificant, but their important roles in coping with aversive stimuli are
      highlighted. It was evident that the "coping" mechanism rather than the
      "distraction" mechanism accounted for the larger sustain in the "zone of exertion
      tolerance". CONCLUSIONS: Imagery can be used efficiently in exertion tolerance
      but more studies are needed on athletes.

PMID- 9973780
TI  - Brachytherapy in early prostate cancer--early experience.
AB  - Use of brachytherapy with radioactive seeds in the management of early prostate
      cancer is commonly used in the United States. The early experience has been
      reported from the prostate treatment centers in Seattle for the last 10 years. In
      this manuscript we are reporting our early experience of 150 radioactive seed
      implantations in early stage prostate cancer using either Iodine 125 or Palladium
      103 seeds. The average age of the patient is 66 years and the median Gleason
      score is 5.4 with a median PSA of 6. A brief description of the evolution of the
      treatment of prostate cancer as well as the preparation for the seed implantation
      using the volume study with ultrasound of the prostate, pubic arch study using CT
      scan of the pelvis and the complete planning using the treatment planning
      computers are discussed. We also have described the current technique which is
      used in our experience based on the Seattle guidelines. We plan a follow-up
      report with the results of the studies with longer follow-up.

PMID- 9973781
TI  - Use of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) for respiratory distress
      syndrome (RDS).

PMID- 9973783
TI  - Inhale deeply ... it's safe.

PMID- 9973782
TI  - Tax exempt hospitals' condition improves with new physician recruitment
      guidelines.

PMID- 9973784
TI  - [Association between carotid lesions evaluated by Doppler color echocardiography
      and cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly. Preliminary results].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The valuation of the extracranial carotid by echo color-Doppler takes
      on an extraordinary importance for the prevention of cerebral ictus at geriatric
      age. In this "naturalistic" study a population of old people (> 65 yrs) of
      Cagliari's province was considered in order to: 1) discriminate the lesions of
      the carotid that are imputed to atherosclerotic disease by anatomic changes of
      the arterial wall caused by aging; 2) study relations between lesions of the
      carotid and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: The carotids of 50 old subjects
      were studied by echo color-Doppler and the lesion classified in different classes
      of severity, according to the hemodynamic standard, comparing them with the
      presence of the most important cardiovascular risk factors. Hypercholesterolemia
      was the most frequent risk factor (76%), followed by hypertension (62%), over
      weight (54%) and smoking (42%). Moreover a diffused intima-media thickening (IMT)
      was constant in all the subjects with values > 0.75 mm; athero-sclerotic plaques
      were even present in 39 subjects which only in 4 cases could be considered at
      risk of cerebral ischemia. RESULTS: A significant correlation between the
      severity of the lesions and levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol for
      the male sex emerged, while for smoking only a trend of correlation has been
      obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Considering this experience it is suggested that in old
      subjects the presence of a diffused IMT with values > 0.75 mm must be considered
      as a marker of aging of the arterial wall of the carotid and not as a
      cardiovascular risk factor as reported in the literature for the middleaged.

PMID- 9973785
TI  - [Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the treatment of occlusion of the
      subclavian artery. Preliminary results].
AB  - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The authors examine the treatment of steno-occlusive
      diseases of the subclavian artery using transluminal percutaneous angioplasty in
      order to evaluate the correct indications and analyse the results. METHODS: The
      classic method was used according to Gruentzig's technique, following the
      surgical isolation of the brachial artery. All 15 patients (11 males, 4 females,
      mean age 64 years old) were suffering from stenosis of the subclavian ischemia
      during physical exercise (13), resting (2) or vertebrobasilar insufficiency.
      Diagnostic evaluation took the form of bilateral sphynghomanometric measurement,
      echo-Doppler of the cervico-brachial vessels when resting and during exercise, as
      well as selective arteriography in 13 cases. Intra- and postoperative
      arteriographic control was always performed and the method was declared
      successful if residual stenosis was less than 30% with a delta AP between the two
      lower limbs of less than 10 mmHg. Mean follow-up was 12 months. RESULTS: The
      immediate results included the onset of complications linked to hematoma of the
      arm and two small dissections of the subclavian artery which were treated
      conservatively. Residual stenosis, albeit not hemodynamically significant,
      appeared in 26.7% of patients (4 cases). One case of total occlusion without
      clinical symptoms and two non-hemodynamically significant re-stenoses were
      observed in the long term. CONCLUSIONS: The authors discuss the indications and
      results of this method and compare them with the data reported in the literature.

PMID- 9973787
TI  - [Thrombolytic therapy using r-TPA in Budd-Chiari syndrome in the course of
      myeloproliferative diseases].
AB  - Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rather unusual clinical entity; among others,
      myeloproliferative disorders not infrequently are reported as a cause of this
      syndrome. In the past prognosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome was usually very poor.
      However, in recent years treatment with fibrinolytic agents has proved to be
      often successful in Budd-Chiari syndrome, as well as in other thrombotic
      disorders. In particular, r-TPA has appeared to be effective, due to its
      thrombospecificity. Three cases of Budd-Chiari's syndrome associated with
      myeloproliferative disorders are described, in which r-TPA administration,
      together with treatment of underlying disease, resulted in a complete
      recanalization of sovrahepatic veins. r-TPA, due to its thrombospecificity, has
      been shown to be more effective than other thrombolytic agents; its use is
      associated with a lower number of hemorrhagic events and it may be repeated in
      the case of uncompleted response.

PMID- 9973786
TI  - [Epidemiologic evaluation of cardiac decompensation and its impact on health
      costs].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a frequent pathology that requires a high degree of
      hospitalization. These characteristics have a high assistance cost. The purpose
      of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, acuteness, predisposing factors and
      therapy carried out in patients of a northeastern Italian town, and to evaluate
      their impact on health costs. METHODS: We have examined patient under observation
      of the Department of Emergency at the Padua Hospital for 12 months. They had been
      hospitalized for heart failure symptoms. They all underwent individual and
      pharmacological anamnesis, objective exam, ECG, thorax X-rays and echocardiogram.
      The health expenses were calculated in relation to hospital stay, the cost of
      daily assistance, exams and medical treatments used. RESULTS: 630 patients of
      both sexes (422 males and 208 females) aged 74.6 +/- 6.1 were studied. Among
      significantly interrelated factors were: hypertension in 51.4% of the patients;
      diabetes mellitus in 9% of the patients; hypercholesterolemia in 31.3% of the
      patients; hypertriglyceridemia in 7.2% of the patients; cigarettes smoking in
      19.3% of the patients, whereas obesity was present in 19.7% of all the subjects.
      Heart diseases directly correlated with heart failure were respectively:
      myocardial ischemia (65.6%); hypertensive cardiopathy (14.7%); idiopathic
      dilatative (15%); and valvular cardiopathy (4.7%). In 9.5% of cases, patients
      presented episodes of TIA, ictus, or they were carriers of neurologic focal
      deficiencies. As far as NYHA functional class was concerned, the third was most
      prevalent with a different distribution (p < 0.05) between males and females. ACE
      inhibitors, digitalis and calcium antagonists are to be indicated among the most
      widely used drugs. The health cost for patients in this survey was deduced on the
      basis of: average; hospitalization stay (9.8 days); estimated daily expenses for
      patient and for further controls (L. 282,000); the area of users (85% of
      residents). Therefore the full hospital assistance of patients with heart failure
      is approximately L. 2.1 thousand millions. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high
      preponderance of heart failure, the frequent relation with vascular risk factors
      and with ischemic cardiopathy, further investigation is necessary to curb these
      high rates. On the other hand, the NYHA advanced state of patients is not likely
      to allow lower costs in relation to hospital admission or the reduction of
      hospital stay. Nevertheless, the individualization of standardized therapeutic
      protocols and an adequate home care surveillance follow-up may reduce the number
      of hospitalizations and consequently the connected health expenses.

PMID- 9973788
TI  - A secondary aortoenteric fistula, successfully treated with proper preoperative
      diagnosis.
AB  - A rare case, presented as a secondary aortoenteric fistula after an abdominal
      aortic aneurysmectomy with Y-graft replacement 9 months earlier, is reported. The
      course was clinically very unique, in that the first manifestation of the aorto
      enteric fistula occurred while the patient had already been hospitalized after
      the orthopaedic surgical treatment for the pyogenic vertebral spondylitis. After
      the episode of gastrointestinal bleeding, radiological studies were promptly
      collected, and with the proper diagnosis, a successful surgical treatment was
      given under the stable hemodynamic condition, and the patient recovered
      uneventfully. Retrospectively considered, there are several findings that would
      suggest that seemingly a secondary aorto enteric fistula could have resulted from
      an early process of the primary aorto enteric fistula having been under progress
      without any detectable manifestations before the previous aneurysmectomy. The
      diagnostic values of computed tomography and the scintigraphy for this rare
      clinical entity is also underlined.

PMID- 9973789
TI  - [Laparoscopic adrenalectomy. A retrospective comparison with traditional
      methods].
AB  - BACKGROUND: After 3 years from the introduction of laparoscopic adrenalectomy in
      an endocrine surgery unit the results are retrospectively compared with those
      achieved by traditional techniques with the aim of comparing the respective
      advantages. METHODS: During this period 68 laparoscopic adrenalectomies have been
      performed. The main pre-, intra- e postoperative parameters of the
      adrenalectomies for benign neoplasm have been examined. Mean follow-up was 51
      months (65.3 for open adrenalectomy and 18.8 for laparoscopic). RESULTS:
      Statistical studies were homogeneous between the two groups. The laparoscopic
      adrenalectomy--with the same effectiveness--thanks to less peritoneum and
      parietal stress, is followed by fewer postoperative complications, faster
      resumption of biological functions, earlier return to work and better cosmetic
      results. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our personal experience laparoscopic
      adrenalectomy is to be considered the treatment of choice in the majority of
      adrenal benign neoplasms.

PMID- 9973790
TI  - [99mTc pertechnetate scintigraphy and premedication for the search for ectopic
      gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Meckel's diverticulum (MD) is the most common anomaly of the large
      intestinal tract (1-3%) and is more frequent in children (62% < 2 years) and in
      males (66%). It often involves ectopic gastric mucosa which manifests through
      gastrointestinal bleeding in 50% of cases. 99m-Technetium scintigraphy (99mTcO4)
      is one of the procedures available for the non-invasive diagnosis of ectopic
      gastric mucosa. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients (11 females, 17 males), including
      16 children and 12 adults, aged 8 months-80 years old, were included in the
      study. The patients were admitted to hospital for hematochezia and melena (22)
      associated with abdominal pain (5): 3 patients repeatedly presented occult blood
      in their stools. Two patients only suffered from abdominal cramps and one only
      anemia. Patients were studied using plain abdominal radiographs and ultrasound;
      10 underwent gastroscopy and colonoscopy; radiological contrast studies were
      performed in 5 patients. All tests were inconclusive. All the patients were
      premedicated with oral cimetidine (20 mg/kg in pediatric patients and 300 mg
      q.i.d. for adults, 48 hours before the test) or with ranitidine i.v. (1 mg/kg,
      max 50 mg, in 20 minutes, one hour before the test); barium meals and colonoscopy
      were deferred for 2-3 days after examination. An intravenous injection of 37-180
      Mbq of 99mTcO4 was given followed by a dynamic study of the abdomen in anterior
      projection. Images were acquired for one hour or until the visualisation of
      abnormal foci of intake: in this case, lateral and oblique images were acquired
      for a better localisation of the suspicious area. Some patients were administered
      furosemide i.v. (0.75 mg/kg). All underwent a follow-up period of 12 months.
      RESULTS: Pertechnetate scintigraphy was positive in 10 cases and the presence of
      ectopic gastric mucosa was confirmed by surgery. The study was negative in 18
      cases: 3 of them were discharged with a diagnosis of Salmonella infection, polyp
      of the small bowel or ulcer of the large bowel respectively; the other 15
      patients did not show symptoms of onset during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These
      results confirm the high diagnostic accuracy of pertechnetate scintigraphy to
      detect ectopic gastric mucosa if associated with H2-receptor-blocking agent
      premedication.

PMID- 9973791
TI  - [Total gastrectomy and malnutrition].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The operation more frequently performed for gastric malignancy is
      total gastrectomy. METHODS: Our reconstructive technique is Roux en Y esophago
      jejunostomy, jejunal interposition after gastrectomy. In the next weeks after
      operation there is always an important, sometimes pathologic, slimming in
      gastrectomized patients. But is this slimming due to malnutrition or
      malabsorption? This is the real question. In our Institute a quarterly
      perspective clinical and instrumental follow-up for these patients has been
      prepared. RESULTS: We started with 41 patients, but we conducted the complete
      study only on 23. Of these patients, 56% have lost 10 kg weight, 25% 5 kg and 18%
      have not lost weight after 2 weeks from discharge dimission. But after 5 weeks,
      all patients had stabilized their own weight, and 18 months later the first two
      groups regained weight again, 1-2 kg. With our follow-up, we had educated
      patients to a correct personal natural diet necessary to normal social and
      working life. With our program in 3-4 weeks the weight of each patient was stable
      and we were able to control the malabsorption. CONCLUSIONS: Moreover, according
      to personal experience, it is important to plan a follow-up to rehabilitate
      patients to usual social life. This program allows to evaluate malnutrition and
      the possible iron or vit. B12 deficiency.

PMID- 9973792
TI  - Pylorus and pyloric vagus preserving gastrectomy treating 125 cases of peptic
      ulcer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: With a view to preventing the sequelae of conventional subtotal
      resection of stomach, such as dumping syndrome, intestinal fluid reflux and other
      such complications and maintaining the normal movable physiological function of
      the remnant stomach, we have designed a pylorus and pyloric vagus preserving
      gastrectomy (PPVPG). METHODS: As many as 125 cases of peptic ulcer (GU 49, DU 76)
      were so treated without a single death. Comparative studies were made with 48
      cases of operations done at the same period with Billroth. In reducing acid, both
      modes of operations are identical. RESULTS: 97.9% of the Billroth cases saw more
      than two degrees of intestinal fluid reflux, 5.8% of the PPVPG cases had only
      one. Dumping syndrome occurred in the Billroth cases, none in PPVPG cases. In
      gastric emptying, food digestion and absorption, body weight and life quality,
      PPVPG proved superior to Billroth. In the subsequent follow-ups for 5.5 years, no
      recurrence of the disorder has been reported, curative effect proved to be Visik
      I or II, 98.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Safe and adaptable to a wide variety of indications,
      PPVPG carves not only a new course for the surgical treatment of peptic ulcer,
      but also can be applied to other benign gastric lesion such as polyposis,
      leiomyoma and ectopic pancreas.

PMID- 9973793
TI  - [The role of drainage and antibiotic prophylaxis in thyroid surgery].
AB  - BACKGROUND: It is our habit to employ an open drainage after thyroid surgery in
      our department. We have also found a large number of surgical infections in these
      patients (5.8% vs 2.5). Aim of the study is to evaluate prospectively if
      contamination happens during surgical procedure or in a later time according to
      the presence of the open drainage. METHODS: From October 1995 to November 1996,
      113 patients who underwent a subtotal thyroidectomy were randomized into two
      groups: group A with antibiotic prophylaxis (57 patients) and group B without it
      (56 patients). RESULTS: One case (1.7%) of sepsis among 57 patients of group A
      and 2 cases (3.4%) among 56 patients of group B were observed. CONCLUSIONS: No
      statistical difference was found between the two groups despite antibiotic
      prophylaxis covering surgical procedure. It is personal opinion that sepsis arose
      after surgical procedure, due to the presence of the open drainage.

PMID- 9973794
TI  - [The surgical physiopathology of essential pulmonary emphysema and volume
      reduction intervention].
AB  - The breaking of the interalveolar septa represents, in the pathogenetic mechanism
      of emphysema, a final event, common to the different etiologic agents. This
      elementary injury causes a series of consequences, essentially of mechanic
      structural type (intrapulmonary aerial spaces-confining parenchyma collapse,
      bronchial obstruction, dead space augmentation) on the thin and articulate
      bronchoalveolar architecture, whose final rearrangement determines, at least in
      part, the clinical picture. In short, the break of alveolar septa involves the
      formation of intraparenchymal aerial spaces with collapse of the confining lung;
      the compensatory mechanism to this situation, involves the hyperexpansion of the
      thoracic cage and flattening of the diaphragm, with the aim of allowing
      ventilation of the healthy residual parenchyma. Because of the finite capability
      of expansion of the thoracic cage and of the diaphragm in respect to the
      theoretical capability of the lung of large intraparenchymal aerial spaces
      formation, it is easy to imagine that emphysema can cause a serious functional
      respiratory deficit even before a significant quantity of pulmonary parenchyma is
      destroyed by the pathogenic process. It may then be hypothesized that a simple
      reduction of the volume of the lung, even sacrificing a part of "working"
      parenchyma, might allow the residual lung to come back to a normal ventilation,
      wholly ameliorating the respiratory exchanges. The clinically more remarkable
      consequence of lung volume reduction is the amelioration of ventilation mechanics
      with a decreased respiratory work due to the shift of the tidal volume toward
      values less proximal to the maximal expandability of the thoracic wall and of the
      diaphragm. On the other end, it is possible to anticipate an equally significant
      effect on bronchial obstruction, due to the more favorable matching of the
      compliance of the thoracic wall and that of the lung. LVRS has significant effect
      on the TV sharing ratio between emphysematous spaces and residual healthy
      parenchyma; the hyperexpansion of the residual lung in fact causes the distension
      of the emphysematous spaces, continuing in the natural compensatory mechanism of
      the emphysema. The decreased ventilation and thus re-breathing of the residual
      emphysematous spaces, together with the improved ventilation may ameliorate
      hypercapnia. Obviously no direct effects can be expected from LVRS on the
      conditions of the alveolar membrane and thus on gas diffusion capacity through
      it. The time duration of the amelioration achieved with the lung volume reduction
      is still to be demonstrated.

PMID- 9973795
TI  - [The solitary rectal ulcer today. A review of the literature].
AB  - The solitary rectal ulcer (SRU) is a benign lesion of adults of either sex, which
      presents with chronic constipation, peculiar defecatory disorders, rectal
      prolapse and smaller psychological abnormalities. The characteristic appearance
      of this disease is a "neither being always ulcerate, nor always solitary" lesion,
      but often with polypoid or granular feature, typically localized in anterior
      rectal wall, a few inches from anal channel. Distinctive histopathological
      specimens are localized mucosal distortion, hypertrophic proliferation of
      muscularis mucosae and obliteration of lamina propria by fibroblasts and muscle
      fibres from the muscularis mucosae. Very few intermittent or recurrent symptoms
      are rectal bleeding and mucous discharge with defecations, difficulty of a
      complete ampullar evacuation and sometimes pelvic or rectoperineal pain. Clinical
      picture and endoscopic biopsies led to diagnosis. Barium enema, defecography,
      transrectal ultrasound, manometry and electromyography have an additional role.
      Medical treatment is performed by high-fiber diet, but biofeedback training is
      very helpful. Surgical management is as an excisional surgery, as a rectopexy if
      there is prolapse. Fecal diversion and rectocolic resection are considered only
      for patients with obstinate and severe symptoms. Even in patients who seem to
      advocate a surgical approach it is important to heal a dyskinetic puborectalis
      muscle.

PMID- 9973796
TI  - [Rare anorectal malformations. Intermediate-type anal agenesis with a
      rectocutaneous fistula].
AB  - A case of anal agenesia with recto-cutaneous fistula is presented. The recto
      cutaneous fistula in an intermediate or high anomaly seldom noticed so that it is
      not included in the common classifications. The surgical approach performed by us
      was that described by Mollard. The anterior perineal pull-through, under proximal
      protective enterostomy, allow to reduce the rate of postoperative complications
      and sequences and obtain--as in our patient--a normal continence and sphincteric
      function with an excellent esthetic outcome.

PMID- 9973797
TI  - [Cystic lymphangioma of the mesentery. A case of intestinal obstruction and a
      brief review of the literature].
AB  - Mesenteric cystic lymphangioma is a rare pathology which is not often described
      in the literature. Moreover, its etiopathogenesis is still uncertain. It may
      remain asymptomatic or it may present aspecific painful abdominal symptoms of the
      sub-acute type correlated with compressive phenomena or, more rarely, with acute
      intestinal obstruction. Surgery is the only form of treatment for both acute and
      sub-acute abdominal forms. The authors report a case of two mesenteric cystic
      lymphangiomas of the ileum which led to the onset of intestinal obstruction
      caused by ileal volvulus in a 45-year-old man.

PMID- 9973798
TI  - [Posttraumatic syringomyelia. A report of an atypical case].
AB  - An atypical case of post-traumatic syringomyelia is reported. Clinical
      presentation, electrophysiological and MR findings, as well as therapeutic
      efforts adopted for this case are discussed in the light of pertinent literature.

PMID- 9973799
TI  - [Adenocarcinoma of the duodenal bulb. A clinical case report].
AB  - A rare case of adenocarcinoma of the duodenal bulb, arising from adenoma and
      submitted to Whipple's procedure is presented. A diagnostic delay of about 3
      months, according to literature is observed. This delay is generally due to the
      low incidence of the illness, aspecific symptoms and frequent endoscopic and
      radiologic false negative, most of all in lesions of the third and fourth
      duodenal portions. Diagnostic tools for these duodenal tumors are endoscopy and
      upper gastrointestinal barium studies (UGI). CT is useful to determine
      preoperatively the stage of the illness and can occasionally show the primary
      duodenal lesion, as in this case. Surgical approach is still controversial,
      except in lesions of the second duodenal portion, where Whipple operation is the
      procedure of choice, if the tumor is resectable, of course. In the other duodenal
      portions some authors suggest segmental duodenal resections instead of Whipple's
      procedure.

PMID- 9973800
TI  - [The prevention of adhesions in surgery. A clinical review and experimental
      contribution].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The well-known soft tissue healing properties in some rat models as
      well as the modulating fibroblasts activity of heterologous collagen led us to
      the hypothesis that it is possible to prevent the peritoneal adhesions in the rat
      by interposition of the collagen after peritoneal surgery. METHODS: In this
      study, the use of Type I heterologous collagen in different physical forms (1%
      gel, lyophilized sponge, dehydrated film) for the postoperative peritoneal
      adhesions prevention has been evaluated. In the second part of the experiment;
      the 1% gel heterologous collagen including the recombinant tissue plasminogen
      activator (rtPA) has been applied. RESULTS: The results of both the experiments
      don't show any improvement in the number and the quality of the adhesions.
      CONCLUSIONS: It is cannot be excluded that, increasing the rtPA concentration it
      is possible to obtain better results, but the great cost and its potential
      systemic toxicity are limiting factors for its widespread use in order to prevent
      peritoneal adhesions.

PMID- 9973802
TI  - [Evaluation of the effect of a new milk formula with added nucleotides on some
      gastrointestinal functions. Results of a nation-wide study of 5009 infants.
      Pediatric Study Group].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The signs and symptoms of gastrointestinal function represent one of
      the most frequent reasons for pediatric consultation during the first four months
      of life. Few studies have evaluated these clinical conditions in relation to
      infant diet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a new formula
      enriched with nucleotides (Similac Formula Plus-Abbott) on fecal consistency,
      wind and regurgitation. METHODS: The study was carried out using an observational
      type, prospective design which involved 778 pediatricians throughout Italy. From
      November 1996 to June 1997, a total of 5009 healthy infants were evaluated: all
      were born at term, aged between newborn and 4 months old. For 2 weeks after the
      first examination (day 0), the parents kept a record of the number and
      consistency of feces, frequency of regurgitation and wind in each infant. This
      diary was given to the pediatrician during the second and last examination (day
      14). Any confusing variables, such as intercurrent pathologies, administration of
      drugs or diet supplements were reported to the pediatrician and corrected during
      analysis. RESULTS: During the course of the 2-week observation period, infants
      fed with Similac FormulaPlus showed a lower incidence of formed and hard feces
      compared to other milk formulas (34.7% vs 44.8%, p > 0.001), and likewise a lower
      incidence of severe regurgitation (9.7 vs 18.1%, p > 0.001) and wind (62.7% vs
      72.5%, p > 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that the new milk
      formula enriched with nucleotides has beneficial effects on the consistency of
      feces, wind and regurgitation and can therefore be regarded as a step towards the
      benefits which only breast feeding can offer.

PMID- 9973801
TI  - [Protective effect of oxatomide in infantile bronchial asthma. Double-blind study
      vs placebo].
AB  - BACKGROUND: This study has been designed to assess the protective effect of
      oxatomide in allergic bronchial asthma of the seasonal type in young children.
      METHODS: The study was carried out in a paediatric clinic; sixteen children
      divided into two balanced groups took oxatomide in an oral suspension at the
      dosage of 1 mg/kg/day, or placebo for a period of 2 months. Eight patients (7
      males, 1 female), aged 22 months +/- 2.83 (mean +/- SD) took oxatomide in an oral
      suspension at the dosage of 1 mg/kg/day, while the other eight (3 males, 5
      females; 22.13 months +/- 3.48) took placebo. Efficacy was assessed by monitoring
      cough, dyspnea at rest, dyspnea following exercise, wheezing, sleep disorders at
      baseline and after 15, 30 and 60 days of treatment, on the basis of a
      semiquantitative scale. All side effects were recorded. RESULTS: Persistent
      coughing was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) after two weeks' treatment with
      oxatomide. Sleep disorders and other symptoms remarkably improved. Dyspnea at
      rest and following exercise disappeared after 15 days' therapy, while the
      intensity of wheezing decreased after 30 days' active treatment. In all
      parameters examined, oxatomide was significantly more active than placebo at the
      first examination (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01). Oxatomide was well tolerated and only
      2 patients complained of drowsiness which required a reduction in dosage.
      CONCLUSIONS: Oxatomide, at the dose of 1 mg/kg/day, obtained a good control of
      respiratory symptoms.

PMID- 9973803
TI  - [Oxatomide in the treatment of atopic dermatitis].
AB  - BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of oxatomide in
      patients with atopic dermatitis, caused by alimentary allergy established by
      prick test and/or Rast and/or challenge test. METHODS: In the study, carried out
      in a paediatric clinic, 40 children (24 males, 16 females), aged between 6 months
      and 12 years, were randomized in two groups. Twenty children were treated with
      oxatomide (1 mg/kg/day) in one evening dose and the other 20 were treated at the
      same dosage, divided into two administrations. In the case of poor therapeutic
      response, 15 days after the start of treatment, it was possible to double the
      dosage. The skin symptoms were monitored for the efficacy. RESULTS: For all
      symptoms there was a significant reduction of severity within the fifteenth day
      (p < 0.01). Twenty eight children showed significant improvement with the
      disappearance of both cutaneous lesions and itching; to achieve these results in
      four cases (3 BID, 1 UID) it was necessary to double the dose (2 mg/kg/day).
      Eight children achieved a fair control of itching, with a slight improvement of
      eczema, while five children, despite the increase in dosage of the drug, did not
      get any substantial benefit. Three children were lost in follow-up, while in
      another case treatment was suspended because of the onset of an urticarious rash.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm the efficacy of oxatomide in the control of
      itching connected with alimentary allergy independently of the posological
      scheme. Tolerability was excellent in both groups and no important side-effects
      were recorded.

PMID- 9973804
TI  - [Vesico-ureteral reflux in pediatrics].
AB  - Vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) is the most frequent uropathy involving 1-2% of
      children. Genetics, familiarity, race gender and age intervene in the
      pathogenesis of VUR. In particular, neonatal VUR seems to represent a specific
      entity. Different factors determine a renal damage due to RVU: direct action of
      VUR (back pression), urinary tract infection (UTI), inflammatory mechanisms and
      renal dysplasia. Micturing cystourethrography and nuclear cystography are
      currently performed for the diagnosis of VUR, being ultrasound examination
      aspecific. Functional parameters are now investigated in association with new
      morphologic studies. The strict relationship of VUR and UTI is discussed. The
      treatment (medical, surgical) of VUR is not well established, although some
      guidelines can be suggested. Finally an adequate support must be given to the
      family for an optimal management.

PMID- 9973805
TI  - [Early deterioration of the mother-child relation. "Time with families" as a
      model for prevention and therapy].
AB  - "Time with families" is the model of service presented in this paper. Its
      approach is rooted in the theory of attachment by J. Bowlby. Starting from the
      observation of attachment patterns in mothers and children, this Service aims at
      promoting short-term, cost-effective and highly focused interventions enabling
      the child to structure secure "Internal Working Models". "Time with families"
      started in 1988 in the area served by the Health Welfare District 36 in
      Lombardia, as an integrated socio-sanitary program aimed at preventing problems
      in the early relations between mother and child. This program is the result of a
      cooperation between different services, including SIMEE, Family and Pediatric
      Counselling Services and Social Services. Three are the main components of the
      program: 1) the "First Days" program, based on health visits made by
      professionals to support the new mother in taking care of the newborn; 2) the
      clinic of child neuropsychiatry to evaluate and treat problems in the early
      relation between mother and child during his first three years of life through
      two technical approaches: short mother-child psychotherapy and functions'
      integrated therapy; 3) "Time with families", with a Day Center open for parents
      and children to ease their reciprocal relationships in this period of life, to
      start and realize clinical interventions and to offer individual and group
      counselling to parents. Thanks to this varied offer of services, its flexibility
      and multidisciplinarity of its approach, "Time with families" can be considered a
      bridge service between prevention and therapy, able to monitor and follow-up
      parents' and children's health conditions and to determine their styles of
      attachment so to intervene in at-risk situations to prevent future complications
      or long term consequences.

PMID- 9973806
TI  - [True splenic cysts. Two clinical cases].
AB  - Two case reports of epidermoid cyst of the spleen are presented. Only 700 cases
      have been reported so far. Although splenic cysts are benign lesions and could
      involve spontaneously, the risk of rupture of a large cyst is high, so a diameter
      of 5 cm was suggested as the higher limit for nonsurgical treatment. For many
      years the surgical treatment of splenic epidermoid cysts was splenectomy: however
      recognition of the short and long-term complications of radical splenectomy had
      led to the practice of splenic preservation (partial splenectomy, total
      cystectomy, laparoscopic cyst decapsulation).

PMID- 9973807
TI  - Simultaneous detection of HPV and other sexually transmitted agents in chronic
      urethritis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Many pathogens may be responsible of Non Gonococcal Urethritis (NGU)
      with the possible occurrence of symptomatic and asymptomatic mixed viral and
      bacterial infections. In particular, genital papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been
      searched since they are linked to both benign and malignant lesions of the penis
      and urethra and the presence of a potential male carried state has received
      limited scrutiny while the screening of sexually active females has received
      substantial attention. METHODS: In male patients affected by chronic NGU, the
      presence of DNA of Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2
      and human papillomaviruses by PCR and the occurrence of Gram positive and Gram
      negative micro-organisms, of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum, by
      conventional cultural methods have been investigated. RESULTS: Results obtained
      indicated a high percentage of mixed infections, up to 36%. Genital HPV DNA was
      detected in 31% of specimens positive for two or more agents, and HSV DNA was
      detected in 10% of studied population. CONCLUSIONS: The concomitant presence of
      different infectious agents could determine latent, sub-clinical or chronic
      infections with periodic reactivation. In particular results suggest that HPV and
      HSV may stimulate cytokine production which can up regulate the expression of
      other infectious agents and may be responsible for latent chlamydial infections
      characterised by the persistence of this micro-organism in an altered form,
      viable but in a culture negative state. Therefore an increased awareness of mixed
      infections is relevant to define the management and treatment of chronic
      urethritis.

PMID- 9973808
TI  - Nonpalpable undescending testis. Value of magnetic resonance imaging.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 18 male patients
      with 20 nonpalpable undescended testes and the results were compared with
      surgical findings. METHODS: The MRI examination located 13 (65%) of 20 gonads,
      all found at surgery. Eleven testes were found in the inguinal canal or just
      proximal to the internal inguinal ring, and two testes were demonstrated above
      the internal inguinal ring. RESULTS: Of the seven (35%) negative results, three
      were false negative and four agenetic testes were not found surgically. There was
      no false positive result. Thus, MRI had a sensitivity of 78.6% and specificity of
      100% in the demonstration of nonpalpable undescended testes. CONCLUSIONS: MRI
      appears to be a more reliable and noninvasive method for the localization of
      nonpalpable undescended testes.

PMID- 9973809
TI  - [Diverticula of the female urethra. Comparison of imaging techniques].
AB  - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Urethral diverticula is a rare pathology with an incidence
      varying between 0.3 and 6%. It is difficult to diagnose owing to the aspecificity
      of its clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the imaging
      techniques now available for its diagnosis. METHODS: The sample consisted of 19
      female patients aged between 20 and 53 years old undergoing diverticolectomy
      owing to urethral diverticula between 1980 and 1996 at the 4th Division of the
      Department of Urology at "La Sapienza" University of Rome. All patients underwent
      preoperative X-ray examinations (micturitional cystourethrography and P positive
      urethrography). A retrospective study was performed in order to evaluate the
      accuracy of the individual methods. RESULTS: Micturitional urethrocystography
      showed a sensitivity equivalent to 77% of cases. P positive urethrography showed
      a 85.7% accuracy rate. Lastly, transvaginal ultrasonography, which always showed
      the diverticular sac in all patients in which it was used, also highlighting
      multiple and divided diverticuli which were not visible using traditional
      radiology. The latter method is easy to use and well tolerated by patients;
      moreover, it shows the spatial relations of the diverticulum and allows the
      characteristics of periurethral tissues to be evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: The authors
      affirm that transvaginal ultrasonography is the first method of choice for the
      diagnosis of urethral diverticula.

PMID- 9973810
TI  - Hormonal profile of patients with Leydig cell tumors: a urologic cause of
      gynecomastia.
AB  - It is possible to hypothesize an alternative role for estrogens as a predisposing
      factor for testicular abnormalities: estrogen exposure during development in
      perinatal life may initiate cellular changes which would require estrogen and/or
      androgen later in life for promotion to hyperplasia or neoplasia. We reviewed the
      literature on Leydig cell tumors and the hormonal modifications they induce. In
      adult patients with Leydig cell tumors, although the serum estrogen (E2) and
      testosterone (T) varied, the T/E2 ratio was constantly low, and the chorionic
      gonadotropin administration produced an higher estrogen response than in normal
      men. Hormonal follow-up after orchidectomy for Leydig cell tumors has not been
      frequently described, and both normalization and lack of normalization of T, E2,
      gonadotropins and hCG have been reported. In the last part of the review we
      analyzed the principal urologic causes of gynecomastia in men. Testicular
      failure, either primary or secondary is a frequently found etiology for
      gynecomastia. Leydig cell tumors may elevate estrogen levels, and approximately
      20% of patients with these tumors have gynecomastia.

PMID- 9973811
TI  - Major surgery (radical cystectomy with urethrectomy) in a patient with von
      Willebrand's disease type I. Reliability and limits of hemocoagulative tests.
AB  - Patients with bleeding disorders frequently need medical or surgical care. The
      case is reported of a man with von Willebrand's disease type I undergoing radical
      cystectomy with urethrectomy for multicentric bladder cancer with neoplastic
      involvement of prostatic urethra, who developed serious bleeding complications
      which can not be predicted with conventional coagulation in laboratory. The use
      of the thromboelastograph (TEG) in the critical postoperative period was
      decisive. The tracing alterations allowed to assess the clotting disorder,
      constantly counterbalancing the baseline deficit and the blood loss.

PMID- 9973812
TI  - [Eosinophilic cystitis: an incidental diagnosis. An underdiagnosed entity].
AB  - The authors report on two cases of eosinophilic cystitis diagnosed by chance, are
      reported. Both patients had suffered from prostatic and vesical diseases. Since
      the endoscopic appearance and clinical manifestation of this disease are
      aspecific, the diagnosis of eosinophilic cystitis is always made on histological
      specimen. Even if it has been described as a rare entity, personal opinion is
      that the real incidence of eosinophilic cystitis is underestimated. The main
      features of pathogenesis and therapy are also described.

PMID- 9973813
TI  - [Sertoli cell tumor. Case report].
AB  - A case of Sertoli cell tumor is described. It represents 1% of testicular
      neoplasms. Its clinical features, histology, histogenesis and treatment on the
      basis of the current literature are reported. The malignant potential of this
      kind of tumor is also stressed.

PMID- 9973814
TI  - [Urologic complications of diverticulosis of the colon].
AB  - In this paper the complications of colonic diverticulosis are reported, on the
      basis of two clinical cases personally observed. In the first case, a 68 year-old
      man, the typical symptomatology with pneumaturia, cloudy urine and watery
      diarrhea suggested a uro-colonic fistula, therefore a fistula between sigma and
      bladder, caused by a perforate diverticulum, has been diagnosed by means of
      cystography and barium enema. In the second case, a 64 year-old woman, the
      irritative symptomatology, hematuria and endoscopic picture suggested a vesical
      neoplasia. An accurate examination with abdominal TAC and barium enema, showed a
      perforate diverticulum between uterus and bladder, without affecting the bladder
      lumen. The surgical treatment required, in both cases, a left hemicolectomy, a
      minimal bladder resection in the first case, and a greater one in the second
      case. During the discussion, the main etiopathogenetic causes of uro-colonic
      fistulae together with the variants in the onset symptomatology, have been
      stressed.

PMID- 9973815
TI  - [Secondary varicocele as a clinical manifestation of primitive retroperitoneal
      tumor].
AB  - The retroperitoneal primitive tumors are rare and the majority are malignant.
      Frequently the preoperative diagnosis is difficult because they show many
      clinical symptoms depending on the organs involved. A case of primitive
      retroperitoneal tumor with left varicocele syndrome as a first clinical
      manifestation is described.

PMID- 9973816
TI  - [Colposuspension with propylene mesh. A new technique for correction of urinary
      stress incontinence].
AB  - The results of colposuspension for correcting urinary stress incontinence, both
      transabdominal, like Burch procedure, and transvaginal like Stamey-Pereyra
      procedure are, up to date, good, but not perfect at long-term. The cutting of the
      tissues from distal end of the sutures seems to be the main reason of failure of
      the operation. The authors propose a new technique of colposuspension by means of
      a particular suture made by the joining a prolene-mesh and a prolene-suture
      bilaterally placed along the urethra to obtain a strong, but natural support
      without risk of urethral erosion. The authors present the preliminary report of
      the first sixteen consecutive operations performed in patients with genuine
      urinary stress incontinence of first and second degree, according to Blaivas
      classification, diagnosed by medical history, objective findings, urodynamic
      tests and cystography. The follow-up in all the patients was six months:
      undoubtedly brief, but sufficient to refer on the feasibility and the efficacy of
      the procedure, the easy performing and the scarce onset of early complications as
      wound infection or troubles related to the prolene-mesh.

PMID- 9973817
TI  - Indirect immunofluorescence for of anti-jejunum antibody detection in celiac
      disease: comparison among different antigenic substrates.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although anti-endomysium antibodies (EmA) are the most reliable
      serological markers of celiac disease (CD), there is a need for low-cost methods
      for screening programs, as clinically silent disease is increasingly recognized.
      AIM: To evaluate the suitability of monkey, rat and rabbit jejunum as a substrate
      for the determination of anti-jejunun antibodies (JAB) in CD. METHODS: JAB of IgA
      class were detected by indirect immunofluorescence on frozen sections of jejunum
      from monkeys, white rats and domestic rabbits. Sera from 61 untreated adults with
      biopsy-proven CD and EmA positivity in 57 out of 61 entered the study as true
      positives, while sera from 60 controls were considered as true negatives.
      RESULTS: The sections of monkey jejunum showed the characteristic pattern of
      elongated villous fluorescence, a ring-like positivity of the cryptal basement
      membrane, an endomysium-like fluorescence along the smooth muscle layers in the
      tunica muscolaris, while pericryptal fluorescence was not so evident on rat and
      rabbit jejunum. As compared to EmA positivity, the prevalence of JAB on monkey,
      rat and rabbit tissues was respectively 57/57, 54/57, 52/57. Two sera among 4 Ema
      negatives proved positive for JAB. No false positivity resulted from EmA and JAB
      on monkey jejunum, while a lower specificity was found for JAB on rat and rabbit
      substrates. CONCLUSIONS: Although monkey, rat and rabbit small intestine appeared
      to be a suitable alternative substrate for determination of IgA-JAB, because of
      its lower cost and higher availability, it cannot replace monkey oesophagus, and
      be recommended for wide use.

PMID- 9973818
TI  - Effects of gastrojejunostomy on pancreatic and gastric carcinoma, pancreatitis,
      gastric ulcer and other disease states of the gastro-intestinal tract.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To evaluate the palliative effects of gastrojejunostomy in patients
      who have been diagnosed with pancreatic and gastric carcinoma, and other
      disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. METHODS:  EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:
      retrospective medical records review. SETTING: Honolulu area teaching hospital.
      PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: one hundred and thirty-nine patients, 27 of whom had
      diagnosed pancreatic carcinoma while the remainder had other diagnoses ranging
      from gastric carcinoma, gastric ulcer, and cancers of nearby anatomical
      structures such as the ampulla of Vater, between 1985 and 1990. RESULTS: Forty
      eight percent (48%) of pancreatic cancer patients were female. The group
      consisted of 30% Japanese, 30% Caucasian, and 15% Hawaiians/part Hawaiians. Six
      (22%) underwent a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy (GJ), thirteen (48%) obtained a
      loop GJ, while the remainder (30%) had a Whipple. Seven (26%) had a biliary
      bypass besides their GJ. No significant difference existed with regard to the
      failure of GJ, whether it was performed on a patient with pancreatic cancer or
      for any other diagnosis. Incidence of delayed gastric emptying was similar
      between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Gastrojejunostomy is effective in patients
      with pancreatic cancer, and meets the goal of effective gastro-intestinal
      function regardless of the initial diagnosis.

PMID- 9973820
TI  - Usefulness of echocardiography in the assessment of internal medicine inpatients.
      An analysis according to ACC/AHA guidelines.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the importance of echocardiography in our
      Internal Medicine Institute. We think that this technique could have a large
      impact in the evaluation of the internistic inpatient who is usually affected by
      multiple pathological problems. METHODS: Analysis was performed according to the
      ACC/AHA guidelines for the application of echocardiography. The data of 1211
      consecutive inpatients were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-three per cent of all the
      patients had two or more associated diseases. Moreover, patients in whom
      echocardiography could be considered appropriate or useful were 67%. Our results
      point out that echocardiographic examination is generally a technique of great
      importance for the evaluation of internistic inpatients. CONCLUSIONS: This study
      could represent a useful background for a cost/benefit analysis that should
      evaluate the utility of a specifically-dedicated echocardiographic laboratory for
      optimal, autonomous management of internal medicine inpatients.

PMID- 9973819
TI  - Different reactivity against HCV proteins (RIBA 3) according to progression of
      liver damage.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Aim of the study was to assess the correlation between clinical stage
      of HCV-related liver disease and viraemia to immune response to different viral
      antigens. METHODS: We considered 1330 patients with HCV chronic infection
      followed up from 6 months up to 6 years divided into two groups according to RIBA
      3 (Abbott) response: Group I, 1231 patients with positivity for at least two
      bands (83 subjects with asymptomatic infection, 941 with chronic hepatitis, 201
      with cirrhosis and 6 with HCC); Group II, 99 patients with positivity at only one
      band (45 with asymptomatic infection, 53 with chronic hepatitis and 1 cirrhotic).
      RESULTS: We noticed a major percentage of positive patients for at least three
      bands in more severe clinical forms (90% of chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis versus
      60% of asymptomatics, p < 0.005, chi 2 test). Moreover we noticed a percentage
      increase of positivity for antibodies anti-c100 and anti-NS5 with the progression
      of liver damage, statistically significant differences between asymptomatics and
      patients with chronic forms. We also observed that viraemia is related neither to
      clinical stage nor to different reactivity to RIBA 3, albeit viraemia is usually
      detected more frequently among patients with liver damage, but unrelated to
      different reactivities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a clear correlation between
      number of reactivities towards HCV proteins and progression of liver damage,
      pointing out that immune response plays a direct role in the long-term outcome of
      HCV infection.

PMID- 9973821
TI  - Effect of pulsed magnetic fields on triglyceride and cholesterol levels in plasma
      of rats.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Liver is a crucial organ in metabolism. For instance liver is the
      main source of circulating lipoproteins. METHODS: In this paper cholesterol and
      triglyceride plasma levels were measured in male rats previously exposed to
      pulsed magnetic fields (PMF) used in therapy. Rats underwent a one-hour exposure
      to a 6 mT 12 Hz PMF. RESULTS: Twenty-four hours after the end of the exposure to
      the PMF the rats' livers were heavier, cholesterol and triglyceride plasma levels
      decreased. All these variations were significantly different according to a
      variance ratio test as was a rebound in triglyceride level 48 hours after the end
      of the exposure. Normal values were observed 48 and 96 hours after the end of
      exposure respectively for cholesterol and triglycerides. CONCLUSIONS: These
      alterations may be due to a reversible accumulation of either triglycerides or of
      their precursors in liver following acute exposure to a 12 Hz PMF.

PMID- 9973822
TI  - Loss of endothelium mediated vascular relaxation as a response to various
      clamping pressure. Part I. A pharmacological study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The contraction/relaxation response of thoracic aortal rings clamped
      with two clamping pressures to KCl, noradrenaline and carbachol was studied.
      METHODS: Clamp A had the tip pressure PA = 0.60 N/mm2 and clamp B PB = 5.16
      N/mm2. In fifteen Wistar albino rats, weighing 328 +/- 19 g (mean +/- SD) the
      thoracic aorta was occluded for 15 minutes and then three vascular rings (2 mm
      wide) were excised. The proximal unclamped ring served as a control. From distal
      rings the diameter of the aorta was calculated from their circumference 1.61 +/-
      0.01 mm (n = 15, dmin = 1.51 mm, dmax = 1.70 mm). The rings were challenged with
      cumulative additions of KCl (10-80 mmol/l) to measure the contraction. Then
      cumulative relaxation to carbachol (0.01-100 mumol/l) as a response to
      noradrenaline precontraction (0.1 mumol/l) was determined. RESULTS: A significant
      loss (p < 0.05) of vascular relaxation in all clamped rings (clamped with PA and
      PB clamping pressures) was seen. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were
      observed for contraction between clamped and control rings clamped with clamp A,
      however the rings clamped with clamp B showed a significant reduction in
      contraction (p < 0.05). No significant differences were seen from control rings
      between groups A and B (p > 0.05), or from clamped rings between groups A and B
      (p > 0.05) for both the contraction and relaxation part of experiments.
      CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial vascular layers are much more susceptible to pressure
      injuries than was previously believed.

PMID- 9973823
TI  - Loss of endothelium mediated vascular relaxation as a response to various
      clamping pressures. Part II. Direct measurements of clamping pressures and
      scanning electron microscope study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We used novel equipment for measuring the direct tip pressure (P) of
      a clamp arm on the vessel wall and studied the relationship between endothelial
      injuries and various clamping pressures. METHODS: A strain gauge was applied to
      the surgical clamp arm and connected via amplifier to a 12-bit analogue-digital
      converter on a PC--MSDOS computer. In the on-line in vivo measurements on rat
      thoracic aorta a momentary peak clamping pressure (MPCP) as well as the lower
      stationary clamping pressure (SCP) was defined. Clamping forces of two clamps
      commonly used in cardiovascular microsurgery were tested in the experiment on rat
      thoracic aortas: clamp A had the tip pressure p = 0.60 N/mm2 and clamp B p = 5.16
      N/mm2. After 15 minutes of occlusion, the thoracic aorta was excised and scanning
      electron microscopy studies for aortas clamped with clamp A and clamp B were
      performed. RESULTS: Great endothelial lacerations with complete disruption of the
      endothelial layer in the rings clamped with the clamp B were seen, but no
      disruption in rings clamped with clamp A. CONCLUSIONS: The clamping vessel wall
      injuries, particularly in endothelial layers, depend on the momentary peak
      clamping pressure as well on the lower stationary clamping pressure.

PMID- 9973824
TI  - Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin in hepatorenal syndrome.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The etiology of hepatorenal syndrome is still incompletely
      understood, but the non-osmotic release of arginine vasopressin (AVP) seems to
      have an important role in its pathogenesis. The aim of the study was to
      investigate the circulating plasma concentrations of AVP in patients with
      hepatorenal syndrome, compared with healthy controls, in relation with plasma
      osmolality. METHODS: Venous blood samples were drawn in 20 healthy subjects and
      in 20 patients with HRS for the determination of the plasma levels of AVP by
      radio-immunoassay and of plasma osmolality. The comparison between the two groups
      was carried out by the Student "t"-test for unpaired data; the plasma AVP levels
      were correlated with the values of plasma osmolality by linear regression
      analysis. RESULTS: The patients presented significantly (p < 0.001) higher plasma
      AVP levels in respect to controls; on the contrary, plasma osmolality was
      significantly lower in patients than in controls (p < 0.005). Whereas a
      significant (r = 0.83; p < 0.001) relationship was demonstrated between plasma
      AVP and osmolality in controls, no significant (r = 0.23; p > 0.05) correlation
      was found in patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the existence of an
      activation in the release of AVP in hepatorenal syndrome, due to the activation
      of the sympathetic adrenal system and to hyponatriemia. The contraction of
      diuresis in hepatorenal syndrome, on the other hand, is not due to a deficiency
      in plasma AVP. AVP release occurs despite low plasma osmolality, which normally
      inhibits its secretion. This great upset in functional organization, together
      with that of the atriopeptin-renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, could play an
      important role in promoting and/or in the maintenance of the hydro-electrolyte
      imbalance that characterizes the syndrome.

PMID- 9973825
TI  - Early dysfunction of iris sensory fibres in diabetic patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to propose transcutaneous electrical
      nerve stimulation (TENS) of the infratrochlear nerve as a noninvasive test useful
      in the detection of early iris small nerve fibre dysfunction in patients with
      diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A total of 32 diabetic patients with no symptoms or
      signs of diabetic neuropathy were enrolled from a clinical practice. Sixteen of
      them, 6 women and 10 men, ranging in age from 19 to 53 years, had been affected
      by IDDM for 13 +/- 2 years. The remainder, 6 women and 10 men, age range 32 to 58
      years, were suffering from NIDDM (duration of manifestation 5 +/- 1 years).
      Twenty-six healthy individuals, 11 women and 15 men, ranging in age from 21 to 47
      years, served as controls. Pupil area changes induced by TENS of the
      infratrochlear nerve were investigated. The electrical stimulus was not painful
      and consisted of a single square wave pulse of 40 mA intensity and 0.8 ms
      duration. Measurements were carried out by means of a TV monocular electronic
      pupillometer. RESULTS: A clear-cut miosis was provoked in controls (p < 0.01
      versus basal values 100 sec to 220 sec from stimulation). NIDDM patients also
      showed a miotic response, but it was slower in onset (p < 0.05 versus basal
      values 140 sec after stimulation) and shorter (p < 0.01 at 180 sec from
      stimulation) in duration. No pupillary changes were registered in IDDM patients.
      CONCLUSIONS: An abnormality of iris sensory nerve fibres in inducing pupillary
      constriction was detected in both diabetic groups. The differences in the
      severity of the dysfunction could be related to the differences in duration of
      the disease among the diabetic patients in the two groups. In conclusion, TENS of
      the infratrochlear nerve could represent an original noninvasive method in
      detecting early iris sensory alterations in diabetic patients.

PMID- 9973826
TI  - Nitrite plasma levels in type 1 and 2 diabetics with and without complications.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The authors thought it interesting to examine the interrelationship
      between nitric oxide and diabetes mellitus by the determination of the nitrite
      plasma levels, stable end-products of nitric oxide, in various clinical patterns
      of diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Our series consisted of 161 female subjects (mean
      age 54 +/- 7 years, disease duration 5 +/- 3 months) subdivided into: a) 13
      patients suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) without clinical and
      instrumental signs of micro- and macro-angiopathy; b) 148 suffering from non
      insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) of whom: 1) 52 without vascular
      complications (28 normal weight, BMI < 25, and 24 obese, BMI > 30); 2) 40 with
      clinical and instrumental signs of non hypertensive coronary heart disease (CHD);
      3) 25 with CHD and hypertension (arterial blood pressure over 160/95 mmHg); 4) 31
      with hypercholesterolemia (values over 250 mg/dl). All patients were examined in
      good glycometabolic conditions reached by oral hypoglycemiant (12 cases) or
      insulin (149 cases) treatment. As normal control 37 female subjects (mean age 48
      +/- 7) without internistic diseases were considered. For each sample we
      determined the plasma levels of nitrites by the Gutman and Hollywood method.
      RESULTS: Almost similar nitrite plasma levels in IDDM (17 +/- 0.5 mumol/L) and
      normal controls (17 +/- 0.2 mumol/L) were found; in non complicated non obese
      NIDDM a not significantly elevated value (21 +/- 0.8 mumol/L) as compared with
      the IDDM and control group was found; the obese NIDDM patients showed a value (18
      +/- 0.4 mumol/L) not significantly different in comparison with the non obese
      NIDDM group. In the NIDDM group with non hypertensive CHD) the nitrite values was
      almost similar (20 +/- 0.5 mumol/L) to the corresponding group without vascular
      complications. In the patients with CHD and hypertension the nitrite level was
      superimposable (20 +/- 0.7 mumol/L) on the one recorded in NIDDM patients without
      vascular complications and in those with CHD without hypertension. In NIDDM
      patients with hypercholesterolemia the mean nitrite value was sharply elevated
      (24 +/- 0.8 mumol/L); the difference between this group and those of non
      hypercholesterolemic, non obese, obese and CHD (with or without hypertension)
      patients was significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It is conceivable that diabetes
      mellitus per se causes a tendential not significant increase of NO production in
      comparison with normal controls; some factors such as blood pressure, overweight,
      disease duration, therapeutic treatment and coronary complications appear not to
      influence NO production. In hypercholesterolemic diabetic patients the nitrite
      enhanced level in plasma might mean a compensatory response to a continuous
      inactivation of NO involved in a protective competition towards damaging factors
      and chiefly against oxidised LDL.

PMID- 9973827
TI  - Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms: factors affecting the early postoperative
      outcome.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In spite of the progress in diagnosis and treatment of ruptured
      abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAA) the mortality rate still remains very high
      (varying from 15% to 50% according to various experiences). This study is aimed
      at analyzing the relative contribution of preoperative hemodynamic conditions and
      of operative and postoperative factors to outcome of patients operated on for
      ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. METHODS: For this purpose a retrospective
      case series involving 152 patients operated on in emergency for RAAA, during the
      period 1990-1994, has been reviewed. In this group we examined the site of
      rupture, the size of the aneurysms, the presence or not of a shock condition at
      admission, the existence of inflammatory aspects, the adopted type of prosthesis.
      RESULTS: The mortality rate was 24.3% (37 patients). In 10 patients (27%) the
      cause of death was an irreversible hemorrhagic shock. Eight patients (21.6%) died
      for an intestinal infarction. In 7 patients the fatal outcome was due to the
      development of an acute renal failure. Five patients (13.5%) underwent an acute
      myocardial infarction and other five a multiorgan failure. Two patients (5.5%)
      eventually died for respiratory insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our
      study seem to confirm that the outcome of patients affected by rupture of
      abdominal aortic aneurysms depends not only on the preoperative hemodynamic
      condition but also on the expertise of the surgical team.

PMID- 9973828
TI  - Effect of T-activin therapy on indomethacin modulation of lymphoproliferative
      response in vitro of melanoma patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Several studies showed that PGE-mediated immunosuppression in cancer
      patients may be differentially affected by conventional oncologic therapy.
      METHODS: Since there is little evidence about the action of immunotherapy on this
      suppression mechanism, we investigated the effect of therapy with a thymic agent
      T-activin, on in vitro modulation of lymphoproliferative response (LPR) by
      indomethacin. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that indomethacin added in vitro
      enhanced LPR in early stage melanoma patients before therapy. T-activin therapy
      as an adjunct to surgery improved this lymphocyte function; the post-therapy in
      vitro addition of indomethacin did not significantly affect mitogen response.
      However, in those patients whose LPR was insufficiently enhanced by immunotherapy
      (3/8), indomethacin had improved their lymphocyte response. In the control
      patient group treated by surgery alone, indomethacin significantly enhanced LPR
      in vitro six months after operation. Although obtained in a small number of
      patients, our results indicate that the enhancing effect of T-activin therapy on
      lymphoproliferative response may be, at least in part, due to the effect on PGE
      mediated suppressor cell activity. CONCLUSIONS: Furthermore, post-therapy in
      vitro testing may indicate a possible usefulness of this drug combination in some
      of the early stage melanoma patients.

PMID- 9973830
TI  - Branched graft technique for middle aortic syndrome. Three case reports.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Middle aortic syndrome is a rare disease caused by stenosis of the
      distal thoracic and abdominal aorta involving the visceral and renal arteries.
      METHODS: We performed reconstructive bypass surgery for three middle aortic
      syndrome patients. We used magnetic resonance angiography as well as conventional
      angiography to assess the stenotic vessels. According to these data, branched
      graft was fabricated preoperatively. We selected Dacron for aortic bypass graft,
      and ePTFE for the branch graft. In previous reports, branched graft was not
      applied for the surgery for middle aortic syndrome. RESULTS: Using this branched
      graft, the clamping time and ischemic time of the organs were shortened.
      CONCLUSIONS: Using branched graft prefabricated according to accurate
      preoperative angiographic findings, the reconstructive surgery is thought to
      proceed more safely.

PMID- 9973829
TI  - Systemic lupus erythematosus and pregnancy.
AB  - In this paper the authors underline the importance of SLE in women, above all
      those who become pregnant. This review also stresses the importance of an early
      diagnosis and the need to give correct information to pregnant women regarding
      the possible risks of pregnancy, both to the maternal organism and to the fetus.
      The authors also describe the main aspects of diagnosis and the management of
      this particular type of patient. In conclusion, they affirm that pregnancy should
      not be avoided categorically, but that it should be carefully planned and, once
      started, must be scrupulously monitored in view of the deterioration of SLE
      caused by pregnancy.

PMID- 9973831
TI  - Undiagnosed phaeochromocytoma following infrainguinal bypass surgery.
AB  - We present a rare case of undiagnosed phaeochromocytoma following infrainguinal
      bypass surgery. The patient, a 59-year-old lady, had a one year history of
      hypertension following a first femoro-tibial bypass and presented as a
      cardiorespiratory emergency in the admission room following her contralateral
      femoro-tibial bypass. The patient recovered after some days in intensive care
      despite a delayed diagnosis.

PMID- 9973832
TI  - Surgical repair of ventricular septal defect associated with absence of right
      superior vena cava and persistent left superior vena cava: a case report.
AB  - A nine-month-old boy, weighing 4840 g, with VSD associated with absent right
      superior vena cava and persistent left superior vena cava, successfully underwent
      surgical repair of VSD. This anomaly is rare and causes some surgical and
      electrophysiological problems. We discussed these problems and described the
      details of surgery in our case.

PMID- 9973833
TI  - Unusual development of an abdominal neoplasm in a patient with Maffucci's
      syndrome.
AB  - A case of Maffucci's syndrome complicated by a mixed abdominal tumor with ascites
      in a 23-year-old female patient is described. As far as we know, this is the
      first such case in the literature.

PMID- 9973834
TI  - Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy.
AB  - The authors report a 27-year-old woman with mitochondrial myopathy and
      respiratory failure requiring nasal-CPAP administration who successfully
      underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for chronic cholecystitis. The hypothesis
      that minimally invasive surgery results in less operative stress is truly
      substantiated by the experience with laparoscopy in such patients with high risk
      of perioperative and postoperative complications.

PMID- 9973835
TI  - Mefloquine-induced grand mal seizure in tubercular meningitis.
AB  - Mefloquine represents a promising antimalarial drug against Plasmodium
      falciparum. It has been related to an increase in seizure frequency in epileptic
      patients and should not be administered to patients with a history of
      convulsions, epilepsy in first degree relatives, or serious psychiatric
      disorders. We report a case of a man from the Ivory Coast complaining of fever,
      headache and anemia treated with chloroquine and subsequently with mefloquine in
      the suspicion of malaria, even in the absence of laboratory confirmation. When
      the patient came to our division, malaria was excluded, but the patient developed
      two convulsive episodes, respectively 4 and 7 days after the ingestion of the
      second therapeutic dose of mefloquine. Further investigation was performed;
      particularly an EEG showed abnormalities compatible with tendency for seizures,
      diffuse waves and spikes. CSF culture was positive for M. tuberculosis as well as
      urine, sputum and blood cultures. Anti-HIV antibodies were positive, so the final
      diagnosis was tuberculosis in HIV infection. As seizures are common signs of
      cerebral tuberculomas, but not of meningitis it is possible that tubercular
      meningitis might have enhanced severe neuropsychiatric side effects of
      mefloquine. Physicians should be aware that treatment with mefloquine with
      concomitant meningitis could have a risk of development of grand mal seizure.

PMID- 9973836
TI  - Silent myocardial ischemia induced by hypoglycemia.
AB  - Hypoglycemia is known to produce various EKG changes, including arrhythmias.
      Although these changes have been rarely documented, their presence may pose
      diagnostic and therapeutic problems in an emergency situation. We report the case
      of a 81-year-old man with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus who showed
      electrocardiographic features of acute myocardial ischemia during an episode of
      hypoglycemia; these alterations disappeared after glucose administration.

PMID- 9973837
TI  - Extracorporeal techniques during graft replacement of suprarenal abdominal aortic
      dissections.

PMID- 9973838
TI  - Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of genetically-engineered antibodies.
AB  - Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), because of their inherent specificity, are ideal
      targeting agents. They can be used to deliver radionuclides, toxins or cytotoxic
      drugs to a specific tissue or malignant cell populations. Intact immunoglobulin
      (IgG) molecules have several practical limitations of their pharmacology; their
      relatively large size of approximately 150,000 daltons leads to a slow clearance
      from the blood pool and the body resulting in significant exposure to normal
      organs with limited quantities delivered to tumors. The IgG molecule shows a
      relatively poor diffusion from the vasculature into and through the tumor.
      Attempts to modify the pharmacology of the Ig molecule have classically involved
      the use of proteases to generate F(ab')2 and Fab' fragments with molecular
      weights of approximately 100,000 and 50,000 daltons, respectively. Fv fragments
      of IgG are one of the smallest size functional modules of antibodies that retain
      high affinity binding of an antigen. Their smaller size, approximately 25,000
      daltons, enables better tumor penetration and makes them potentially more useful
      than a whole antibody molecule for clinical applications. Molecular cloning and
      expression of the variable region genes of IgG has greatly facilitated the
      generation of engineered antibodies. A single-chain Fv (scFv) recombinant
      protein, prepared by connecting genes encoding for heavy-chain and light-chain
      variable regions at the DNA level by an appropriate oligonucleotide linker,
      clears from the blood at much faster rate than intact IgG. The scFv fragment can
      retain an antigen-binding affinity similar to that of a monovalent Fab' fragment;
      this however, represents a relative decrease in binding affinity when compared to
      intact antibodies. The scFv with its faster clearance and lower affinity results
      in a lower percent-injected dose localizing in tumors when compared to the
      divalent IgG molecule. This may be adequate for imaging but probably not for
      therapy. The valency of the MAb fragment is critical for the functional affinity
      of an antibody to a cell surface or a polymeric antigen. In attempts to generate
      multivalent forms of scFv molecules, non-covalently linked scFv dimeric and
      trimeric molecules, disulfide linked dimeric scFvs, as well as covalently linked
      chimeric scFvs have been studied. These multivalent scFvs generally have a higher
      functional affinity than the monovalent form resulting in better in vivo
      targeting. Another way to alter the pharmacology of the scFvs is to modify its
      net charge. Charge-modified scFvs with desired isoelectric points (pI), have been
      prepared by inserting negatively charged amino acids on the template of the
      variable region genes. This can help to overcome undesirable elevations in renal
      uptake seen with most antibody fragments. In conclusion, genetic manipulations of
      the immunoglobulin molecules are effective means of altering stability,
      functional affinity, pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution of the antibodies
      required for the generation of the "magic bullet".

PMID- 9973839
TI  - Improving monoclonal antibody pharmacokinetics via chemical modification.
AB  - The aim of radioimmunotherapy in treating solid tumors is to target tumor sites
      while sparing normal tissues. This can best be achieved by using a monoclonal
      antibody (MAb) with high tumor uptake and rapid clearance. Because MAbs are
      basic, positively charged proteins, and mammalian cells are negatively charged,
      the electrostatic interactions between the two can create higher levels of
      background binding resulting in low tumor to normal organ ratios. To overcome
      this effect, investigators have attempted to improve MAb clearance by using
      various methods such as secondary agents as well as chemical and charge
      modifications of the MAb itself. The use of a second agent to remove the MAb
      involves using a biotinylated MAb followed by treatments with a molecule like
      avidin. Charge modification can be accomplished by conjugating a chemical moiety
      with a positive, negative or neutral charge to residues exposed on the surface of
      MAbs. Experimental results demonstrate that the lowering of the isoelectric point
      by this method correlates with a decreased clearance time and improved tumor
      targeting. Altering the pharmacokinetic characteristics of intact MAbs with
      charge modification can improve their clearance times to rates similar to those
      of MAb fragments. Several groups have reported on the effects of chemical
      modification using molecules such as dextran, PEG, lactose and biotin. Some of
      these modified MAbs retain the antigen binding specificity of the parent molecule
      and have improved clearance characteristics from blood and other organs. Hence,
      these methods can be used to improve both the diagnostic and therapeutic
      potential of MAbs by improving the signal to noise ratio and the absolute tumor
      accretion of MAb, respectively.

PMID- 9973840
TI  - Effects of linker chemistry on the pharmacokinetics of radioimmunoconjugates.
AB  - Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies reactive with tumor-associated antigens can
      selectively deliver cytotoxic or diagnostic isotopes to malignant cells in vivo.
      To achieve maximum retention of radiolabel in tumor and a more rapid clearance of
      radioisotope from normal tissues, six linker immunoconjugates were evaluated in
      studies using nude mice and beagle dogs. All radioimmunoconjugates contained a
      mouse monoclonal IgG (QCI) reactive with human ferritin. Different chemical
      linkages were inserted between immunoglobulins and the radiolabeled chelate
      (DTPA). Three linkers (ITCB, DSS and BSOCOES) were stable in in vitro and in vivo
      studies. Three linkers (EGS, DST and DSP) were labile in in vitro and in vivo
      studies. Indium-111 labeled antiferritin-containing ITCB or DSS linker showed
      high uptake in human hepatoma xenografts in nude mice. In addition, long blood
      half-lives and higher normal liver uptakes were noted. Studies of whole body
      retention of radioimmunoconjugates showed approximately three-fold faster
      elimination of radioimmunoconjugates containing a labile linker (EGS). EGS linker
      is the labile linker with the highest therapeutic ratio: higher tumor uptake, but
      low normal liver uptake and a shortened blood half-life of the
      radioimmunoconjugate. The differences in normal tissue uptake (liver) between EGS
      and ITCB were confirmed in beagle dogs. Urine elimination studies and incubation
      or radioimmunoconjugates in serum or tissue homogenates of tumor, liver or
      muscle, showed that enzymes in serum and liver homogenates were able to cleave
      the labile linkers, which led to a more rapid elimination of low molecular weight
      radioactive metabolites in urine. The metabolism of linker radioimmunoconjugates
      in tumor was less effective. The labile linker DSP appears less useful because
      sulphydryl groups that are generated by cleavage of cause higher uptake
      radioactivity in normal kidney. Biodistribution studies in nude mice were
      confirmed by serial immunoscintigraphy studies on individual mice. The
      immunoscintigraphy studies are semi-quantitative only, but enable the use of
      lower numbers of experimental animals. This is of particular significance in
      large experimental animals such as beagle dogs. The labile linker approach can
      reduce normal tissue radiation exposure. The study also provides an example of
      preclinical optimization of radioimmunoconjugates. Continued use of the
      appropriate preclinical animal models will accelerate more successful
      applications of radioimmunoconjugates in cancer patients.

PMID- 9973841
TI  - Strategies to reduce renal radioactivity levels of antibody fragments.
AB  - Antibody fragments such as Fab and single-chain Fv fragments possess many
      advantages over intact antibodies as vehicles to deliver radioactivity for
      diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, radiolabled antibody fragments
      exhibited high and persistent localization of the radioactivity in the kidney,
      which compromises diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic effectiveness. Recent
      studies indicated that the persistent localization of renal radioactivity would
      be originated from the re-absorption of glomerularly-filtered radiolabeled
      antibody fragments, followed by the retention of the radiometabolites generated
      after degradation in the lysosomal compartment of the renal cells. Two major
      approaches have been performed to reduce the renal radioactivity levels of
      antibody fragments. One is to block the reabsorption of radiolabeled antibody
      fragments themselves at the proximal tubular cells from the luminal fluid by
      administration of basic amino acids such as L-lysine. The other approach is to
      decrease the residence time of the radiometabolites within the lysosomal
      compartments of the renal cells by introducing a cleavable linkage between
      antibody fragments and radiometabolites of rapid urinary excretion. Another
      approach to reduce renal radioactivity levels of antibody fragments may be to
      release radiolabeled compound of urinary excretion from glomerularly-filtered
      antibody fragments before they are reabsorbed into the renal cells by the action
      of brush border enzymes present on the lumen of the renal proximal cells. In this
      paper, recent studies of the three approaches to reduce the renal radioactivity
      levels of antibody fragments are briefly reviewed.

PMID- 9973842
TI  - Liposomes for scintigraphic imaging: optimization of in vivo behavior.
AB  - Liposomes, microscopic lipid vesicles consisting of concentric phospholipid
      bilayers enclosing discrete aqueous spaces, have been investigated extensively as
      carries for drugs in attempts to achieve selective deposition and/or reduced
      toxicity. Liposomes radiolabeled with gamma emitters (67Ga, 111In and 99mTc) have
      been used for imaging purposes. Liposomes as formulated in the past, are rapidly
      taken up by cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system, primarily those located in
      liver and spleen. However, it has been shown during the last two decades that the
      in vivo behavior of liposomes can be modulated by modifying their formulation.
      The size and the lipid composition have a major influence on the blood clearance
      rate, hepatic uptake and splenic uptake of liposomes. The development of long
      circulating liposomes, in particular coating of the bilayer with
      polyethyleneglycol (PEG) resulted in liposomes that oppose recognition by the
      MPS, thus displaying even longer circulatory half-lives. By carefully adjusting
      the liposomal formulation, the in vivo characteristics of liposomes can be
      tailored such that they become suitable vehicles for imaging various pathological
      processes in vivo. Liposomes have been proposed for tumor imaging, for infection
      imaging and as blood pool markers. Here, the factors that determine the in vivo
      behavior of liposomes and the current status of liposome-based
      radiopharmaceuticals are reviewed.

PMID- 9973843
TI  - The influence of stereoisomerism on the pharmacokinetics of Tc
      radiopharmaceuticals.
AB  - The influence of stereoisomerism on the pharmacokinetics of Tc mono-oxo complexes
      is reviewed. Tc(V) monooxo complexes formed with N/S ligands have four donor
      groups from the ligands in an equatorial plane; the oxo ligand coordinates in an
      axial position. Stereoisomerism in Tc (V) mono-oxo complexes can be centered
      within the ligand (carbon atom in the chelate ring or ligating nitrogen of amine
      donors) or at the Tc. The metal center becomes chiral when an equatorial ligand
      has a head and a tail (i.e., the two ends of the ligand differ). All types of
      stereocenters can produce significantly different pharmacokinetic profiles for
      individual isomers. Thus, biological evaluation of separated stereoisomers is
      necessary to identify the optimal sterochemical configuration, particularly for
      radiopharmaceuticals targeted to receptor molecules with low specificity. Because
      of interspecies variation, there is ultimately no substitute for human testing.
      Although it is possible that the increase in non-specific binding of agents
      incorporating L-vs D-amino acids may more than offset any increased receptor
      binding, much more information is needed. Stereochemical factors can also lead to
      unpredictable differences in coordination geometry and thermodynamic preference
      of a single isomer; thus chemical characterization of stereoisomers continues to
      be an important component of radiopharmaceutical development.

PMID- 9973844
TI  - [Tobacco and chronic inflammatory bowel disease].

PMID- 9973845
TI  - Relationship between smoking and colonic involvement in inflammatory bowel
      disease.
AB  - The effects of smoking on the onset and clinical course of inflammatory bowel
      disease (IBD) have been widely debated. Although smoking appears to have a
      clearly unfavorable effect on the course in Crohn's Disease (CD), the
      relationship between smoking and localization of the disease is less clear. AIM:
      To evaluate, in our group of patients, the relationship between smoking and the
      development of ulcerative colitis (UC) or CD, and between smoking and the
      localization of CD in the large bowel or in other sites. PATIENTS AND METHODS:
      The smoking habits of 171 patients at the time of diagnosis were assessed with a
      questionnaire. Subjects were classified into three subgroups as smokers,
      nonsmokers and ex-smokers. Current smokers were grouped according to their level
      of consumption as those who smoked fewer than or more than 10 cigarettes per day.
      A total of 161 patients were studied (UC n = 69, CD n = 92). Patients with CD
      were divided into those with colonic disease and those with no colonic
      involvement. We evaluated the relationship between smoking and the form of IBD,
      localization (colonic or noncolonic) and the presence of perianal disease (PAD)
      in CD. The results were analyzed with the chi-squared test. RESULTS: Smoking was
      more frequent in patients with CD than in those with UC (72.8% vs 31.9%). Among
      patients with CD, more patients without colonic involvement were smokers (84.6%
      vs 64.2%). However, among patients with CD involving the colon, smoking was
      significantly more common (64.2%) than among patients who had UC (31.9%).
      CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm a relationship between smoking and CD. Smoking
      seems to be associated with some degree of protection of the colonic mucosa,
      especially in heavy smokers.

PMID- 9973846
TI  - Epidemiology and prevalence of seropositivity for hepatitis C virus in pregnant
      women in Granada.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To study personal and familial antecedents of risk and prevalence of
      infection by HCV in pregnant women in the south area of Granada. PATIENTS AND
      METHODS: We included in the study 3003 pregnant women of the south area of
      Granada during the period from January 1993 to December 1995. Anti-HCV was
      detected in the third trimester of pregnancy by second and third generation
      ELISA, and positive results were confirmed by RIBA 3. We also determined HCV-RNA
      and genotype. Finally, we analyzed ALT levels in 1171 (39%) pregnant women. We
      carried out an epidemiological survey of all pregnant women, which included the
      following personal antecedents: transfusion, intravenous drug use, liver
      diseases, risk profession and sexually transmitted diseases. We studied the same
      antecedents in the parents, husbands and other relatives. RESULTS: Prevalence of
      anti-HCV was 0.63% (19 cases) with ELISA and 0.53% with RIBA. HCV-RNA was
      positive in 14 (74%) genotype 1b (57%) being the most frequent. ALT was increased
      in 52 (4.4%) pregnant women, 7 (13.5%) of whom were anti-HCV positive, versus 12
      women (1%) in the normal ALT group (p < 0.001). In the epidemiological study we
      observed statistically significant differences in: a) housing characteristics
      [2125 (71%) anti-HCV negative pregnant women living in occupant-owned housing
      versus 7 (36%) in anti-HCV-positive group, p < 0.001]; b) personal antecedents of
      transfusion, chronic or acute hepatitis, or intravenous drug use (p < 0.001)
      (these factors were confirmed in the multivariable analysis), and c) familial
      antecedents of the husband (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this study we demonstrated
      that 0.53% of the pregnant women were infected by HCV; most of them were HCV-RNA
      positive and was genotype 1b was the most frequent. The risk factors most
      frequently associated with infection were antecedents of transfusion, intravenous
      drug use and acute or chronic hepatitis.

PMID- 9973847
TI  - Computerized tomographic assessment of the composition of gallstones.
AB  - We present the results of an in vitro study of biliary lithiasis (n = 106) with
      computerized tomography (CT). We analyzed the correlation between composition of
      gallstones (crystallographic analysis of thin sections and atomic absorption
      spectrophotometric analysis of total calcium content) with CT patterns
      (densitometry) and their corresponding attenuations. Six main CT patterns were
      distinguished: hypodense (homogeneous and heterogeneous), dense, homogeneous
      hyperdense, ringed hyperdense and irregular hyperdense. Statistically significant
      differences (p < 0.05) were found between attenuations for cholesterol (mixed and
      pure) and pigmentary stones. We found a good inverse correlation between
      attenuations and cholesterol content; the contents of pigment, inorganic calcic
      salts and total calcium content also showed significant direct correlations (p <
      or = 0.01). Of the samples classified as pure cholesterol type stones, 86.4%
      showed hypodense patterns, and the remaining 13.6% showed irregular hyperdense
      patterns. Of the pigmentary stones, 80% showed homogeneous hyperdense images. All
      stones that contained more than 3% calcium produced hyperdense patterns, whereas
      72.4% of the stones that contained less calcium produced hypodense images.
      Tomodensitometric measurements provided more information than simple radiography,
      and made it possible to distinguish a greater variety of gallstone types based on
      structural complexity.

PMID- 9973848
TI  - Current management of colonic volvulus. Results of a treatment protocol.
AB  - Colonic volvulus affects mainly the geriatric population and is associated with a
      high number of complications when treated by emergency surgery. The development
      of alternative methods has replaced and reduced the number of traditional
      surgical procedures. We present the results of treatment of colonic volvulus in a
      surgical service in Alicante, Spain. Between 1993 and 1997 a total of 17 cases in
      15 patients were diagnosed, 16 in the sigmoid colon and 1 in the cecum. In 9
      (60%) patients endoscopic devolvulation was successful. In 2 (22%) of these
      patients the problem recurred, and was resolved by a second endoscopic treatment.
      Three patients (20%) required surgery, and 3 others (20%) were treated with
      radiological reduction (barium enema) and rectal catheter. The average hospital
      stay of patients treated with endoscopy and barium enema was 2-3 days, being 7
      days in patients who underwent surgery. Management with endoscopy is initially
      effective in most cases of volvulus of the sigmoid colon. This procedure affords
      decompression and adequate preparation of selected patients for surgical
      resection, which is the treatment of choice and provides the greatest guarantee
      against subsequent recurrence.

PMID- 9973849
TI  - [Nitric oxide and inflammatory bowel disease].
AB  - Nitric oxide (NO) is an important biological mediator with effects on
      homeostasis, neurotransmission and immune function. Chronic inflammation of the
      intestinal mucosa in patients in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease has been
      reported to be associated with enhanced production of NO and nitric oxide
      synthase (NOS) activity. Whereas small amounts of NO produced by endothelial
      constitutive calcium-dependent NOS may act to preserve intestinal mucosa
      integrity, large amounts of NO synthesised by inducible calcium-independent NOS
      may play a key role in further aggravation of the inflammation and may be
      associated with the development of intestinal mucosal injury and amplification of
      immune response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this
      article we review NO pathways, mechanisms of action, functions, regulation,
      immunogenetics and the role played in IBD. A deeper knowledge of the NO
      physiopathology may allow new therapeutical approaches in IBD patients. In fact,
      the development of selective inhibitors of NOS isoforms could provide a novel
      therapeutic option in the management of IBD patients.

PMID- 9973850
TI  - [Respiratory insufficiency resulting in death in a patient with abdominal pain,
      generalized adenopathies and enlarged pancreas: case record].

PMID- 9973851
TI  - [Symptomatic gallstones in 80 year-old patients: surgery is the treatment of
      choice].

PMID- 9973852
TI  - [Commentary about a new type of horizontal laparoscopic gastroplasty].

PMID- 9973853
TI  - [Hypothyroidism presenting as intestinal pseudo-obstruction].

PMID- 9973854
TI  - [Carcinoid tumor presenting as intestinal necrosis].

PMID- 9973855
TI  - [Resolution of a case of gastric outlet obstruction after eradication of
      Helicobacter pylori].

PMID- 9973856
TI  - Thrombolysis in the management of acute myocardial infarction. Current status and
      future perspectives.
AB  - The optimal thrombolytic regimen is front-loaded alteplase with vigorous
      heparinization: the reperfusion treatment that leads to the lowest 30 day
      mortality. The role of heparin alone or in combination with thrombolysis is still
      unclear. Hirudin does not provide benefit over heparin, as we have seen in the
      trials, and glycoprotein blockers are promising in PTCA. They can also be
      effective in unstable angina and possibly in acute myocardial infarction.

PMID- 9973857
TI  - [The surgical treatment of acute myocardial infarct in the 90s].
AB  - At present, the treatment for acute myocardial infarction is revascularization
      during the critical initial period of six hours after the beginning of coronary
      occlusion. Despite the fact that surgery performed within this time period
      presents a hospital of mortality around 2%, and with excellent results in the
      long term, it is seldom used due to logistic limitations and capabilities of
      hospital infrastructures, high costs and the possibility of the surgical team
      initiating surgery inside the useful time period. Surgery is thus limited to the
      patients with suitable anatomy, who are not candidates or had failure of
      thrombolytic/angioplasty therapy and are in the six-hour period after initiation
      of symptoms. Surgery performed at a later stage has good results if performed in
      a non emergency situation, specially after the first 72 hours. Surgery continues
      to be the only treatment for the mechanical complications of infarction, and good
      results have recently been shown in ventricular septal ruptures, with hospital
      mortality of 14%, due to the use of an endoventricular patch in patients operated
      early, before the consequences of low cardiac output develop at systemic level.
      In the surgical treatment of mitral regurgitation, the tendency has been to use
      repair techniques whenever possible, but still with hospital mortality up to 15%.
      The recent advances of the techniques and tactics of myocardial preservation
      during surgery have made a very significant contribution to the better results we
      see today.

PMID- 9973858
TI  - New trends in echocardiographic evaluation of patients after myocardial
      infarction.

PMID- 9973859
TI  - Philosophy of antiarrhythmic approaches to ventricular tachyarrhythmias close to
      the 21st century.
AB  - The scientific basis and the reasoning underlying the changes in antiarrhythmic
      approaches to ventricular arrhythmias during recent decades are discussed. The
      early enthusiasm in the use of antiarrhythmic drugs in patients after myocardial
      infarction to prevent sudden cardiac death was severely affected by the results
      of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) which show an increased
      mortality of patients on sodium-channel antagonist antiarrhythmic drugs. A
      transient euphoria for drugs that prolong repolarization received criticism after
      premature termination of the Survival With Oral D-sotalol-trial (SWORD).
      Recently, attention has focused on the use of the implantable cardioverter
      defibrillator in both secondary and primary prevention of sudden death. In
      contrast, catheter ablation, although very useful in supraventricular
      tachycardia, still plays a limited role in the management of ventricular
      tachyarrhythmias in the presence of organic heart disease.

PMID- 9973860
TI  - Antiplatelet drugs in secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction.
AB  - Clopidogrel, a new ADP receptor antagonist, selectively and irreversibly inhibits
      ADP-induced platelet activation and aggregation thereby preventing
      atherothrombosis. Clopidogrel 75 mg o.d. and aspirin 325 mg o.d. were compared in
      the CAPRIE trial, a prospective international multicenter double-blind trial
      conducted in 19,185 high- risk patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic disease.
      Qualifying events for inclusion into the trial were ischemic stroke (IS) within
      the past six months, myocardial infarction (MI) within the past 35 days or
      peripheral arterial disease. Duration of treatment was one to three years. The
      primary efficacy end point was a composite cluster of IS, MI of vascular death.
      Overall, clopidogrel provided an 8.7% relative risk reduction (p = 0.043) in the
      occurrence of a first event of the cluster over and above aspirin and a favorable
      trend on each of the components of the primary end point. The greatest relative
      risk reduction was noted for prevention of MI (19.2%). In terms of number of
      events prevented per 1,000 patients and per year, clopidogrel is expected to
      prevent 24 major atherothrombotic events versus 19 with aspirin. Clopidogrel
      shows a favorable safety profile with fewer cases of gastrointestinal bleeding
      and better gastric tolerability.

PMID- 9973861
TI  - [Adjuvant therapy with a glycoprotein IIb-IIa inhibitor (abciximab) in coronary
      angioplasties with a high thrombotic risk].
AB  - INTRODUCTION: We retrospectively studied our experience with adjunctive therapy
      with glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitor (abciximab) on patients with a high risk of
      thrombotic complications during coronary angioplasty (PTCA). PATIENTS AND
      METHODS: From September 1996 to November 1997, we performed PTCA in 210 patients,
      and abciximab was given to 38 (18%) of them. The interventions were urgent
      (primary PTCA in acute myocardial infarction) in 55% of the cases. The mean age
      of patients was 68.6 +/- 12 years and 71% were male. The reasons for coronary
      intervention were: acute myocardial infarction in 21 patients (55.3%), unstable
      angina in 9 (23.7%) and stable angina in 8 (21%). Coronary stents were implanted
      in 13 patients (34%) and an intra aortic balloon pump was used in 4 (11%). The
      reasons for using abciximab were: thrombus containing lesion: 22 (57.9%); other
      type B2/C lesion characteristics: 6 (15.9%); acute closure post balloon PTCA: 9
      (23.7%), sub-acute stent thrombosis: 1 (2.6%). Oral acetilsalicilic acid and
      intravenous heparin were given to all patients at the beginning of the
      intervention. The mean APTT was 124 +/- 32 seconds at the end of the procedure.
      RESULTS: The arterial sheaths (8 French) were removed six hours after procedure,
      according to the normalisation of APTT values. Angiographic success in this group
      of patients was 100%. One patient died during hospitalisation due to left
      ventricular failure. There was no need for repeated angioplasty or coronary
      bypass grafting during hospital stay. The main complications related to the use
      of abciximab were: bleeding (requiring transfusion) in four patients 10.5%);
      severe thrombocytopenia (< 50,000 platelets/mm3): 1 (2.6%): cardiac tamponade
      (requiring pericardiocentesis): 1 (2.6%) and pseudo-aneurysm of femoral artery
      (requiring vascular surgery): 1 (2.6%). CONCLUSIONS: The use of abciximab as
      adjunctive therapy in this small group of patients undergoing coronary
      interventions with high risk of thrombotic complications is associated with high
      procedural success, but at the expense of high rates of bleeding complications.
      Therefore, special care must be applied during and after the procedure to enhance
      the safety of the patients treated with this drug.

PMID- 9973862
TI  - [An increase in renal dopamine production after the administration of
      radiographic contrast agents].
AB  - Renal vasoconstriction and anti-natriuresis conditioned by radiographic contrast
      agents (CA) may be antagonised by the administration of exogenous dopamine.
      However, the influence of CA on the activity of renal synthesis of dopamine has
      not been studied. This study assessed the daily urinary excretion of dopamine,
      its precursor. L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylaline (L-DOPA), and its metabolites (acid 3,
      4-dihydroxyphenylacetic, DOPAC; homovanillic acid, HVA) 24 hours before and 48
      hours following administration of a non ionic and hyposmolar (lopromide) CA in
      patients (n = 10; average age 61.3 +/- 4.3 years) submitted to coronary
      angiography. Urinary excretion of noradrenalin, a marker of sympathetic activity,
      was also assessed during the same period. The deputation of creatinine (Ccr) and
      the urinary excretion of sodium (UNa+) lowered after the administration of the CA
      (Ccr, 79.2 +/- 10.2 vs 72.2 +/- 9.6 ml/min/1.73 m2, p < 0.05; UNa+, 112.8 +/- 9.6
      vs 61.7 +/- 25.1 mmol/24 h, p < 0.05). On the contrary, the urinary excretion of
      potassium increased in the period of 24 h following the administration of the AC
      (31.7 +/- 5.2 vs 103.8 +/- 10.8 mmol/24 h, p < 0.05). There was an increase in
      the urinary excretion of dopamine as well as noradrelalin during the 24 hour
      period following the administration of the CA (dopamine, 1260.2 +/- 196.8 vs
      1571.5 +/- 170.2 mmol/24 h p < 0.5; noradrenalin, 186 +/- 36.6 mmol/24 h, p <
      0.05). On the contrary, the urinary excretion of L-DOPA lowered after the
      administration of the CA (115.4 +/- 25.5 vs 80.5 +/- 13.2 mmol/24 h, p < 0.05).
      These results conditioned an increase in the dopamine/L-DOPA ratio in the urine,
      after the administration of the CA (12.2 +/- 1.5 vs 22.2 +/- 4.5 mmol/24 h, p <
      0.05). In conclusion, the administration of CA is accompanied by an increase in
      the renal production of dopamine which, in these conditions, may act as a
      compensatory natriuretic hormone.

PMID- 9973863
TI  - [Therapeutic exhaustion in patients with an implantable cardioverter
      defibrillator. Are there predisposing factors?].
AB  - In patients (pts) with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD),
      antitachycardia pacing (ATP) schemes may be used followed by a limited number of
      endocavitary shocks in the same episode of ventricular tachycardia (VT) with the
      potential risk of therapeutic exhaustion. OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence of
      episodes of therapeutic exhaustion in a population of ICD carriers with ATP
      programmes and to attempt to determine their correlation with clinical variables.
      METHODS: Study of the episodes of VT treated by ICD in 8 patients (6 male; 2
      female) with an average age of 56 +/- 17 years with a follow-up > 6 months. The
      underlying pathology was: ischemic heart disease-5 patients; arrhythmogenic
      dysplasia of the right ventricle-1 patient; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-1
      patient; and operated pulmonary valve stenosis-1 patient. The authors considered
      therapeutic exhaustion to be the occurrence of episodes in which VT persisted
      after the application of ATP and the maximum number of shocks. The patients with
      episodes of therapeutic exhaustion (group A-3 patients) were compared with the
      remaining patients (group B-5 patients) with regard to the following parameters:
      age; ejection fraction; previous myocardial infarction (pMI; cardiac frequency
      during VT (cfVT); number of episodes of non-maintained VT (NMVT) without
      therapeutic intervention; > 20% reduction of the VT cycle after ATP (VTATP);
      intensity of programmable shocks (Icho); and medication with anti-arrhythmia
      drugs (AA). RESULTS: In a total of 262 VT records (duration > 2.5 sec. after
      detection) with treatment by ICD during an average follow-up of 11 months, 6
      episodes (2.3%) of therapeutic exhaustion were detected in 3 patients. Four of
      the episodes occurred in the same patient in a period of 4 hours, hospitalisation
      being necessary following syncope. In the other two cases, there were complaints
      of dizziness which subsided spontaneously a short time after the application of
      the last shock by the ICD. [table: see text] CONCLUSION: Therapeutic exhaustion
      occurred in about 2% of the VT treated with this population. The possibility of a
      high number of non maintained VT episodes being associated to a greater
      possibility of therapeutic exhaustion may have implications on ICD programming.

PMID- 9973864
TI  - [Streptococcus bovis endocarditis and colonic involvement].
AB  - McNeal and Blevins published the first report of Streptococcus bovis infective
      endocarditis in 1945. In 1951, McCoy suggested, for the first time, that an
      association could exist between Group D Streptococcus infective endocarditis and
      colon carcinoma; this association would be demonstrated later (1977) by Klein and
      unquestionably confirmed by several posterior works. Due to a clinical case of
      Streptococcus bovis infective endocarditis, which we had the opportunity of
      diagnosing, a review is made of the existent literature about the association
      between infection by this agent and the presence of lesions in the colon. Some
      recommendations are made in what respects the diagnosis and evaluation of
      patients with Streptococcus bovis infective endocarditis. Finally, the
      implications and therapeutic strategies in these patients are discussed.

PMID- 9973866
TI  - Recommendations of a Task Force of the the European Society of Cardiology and the
      European Resuscitation Council.

PMID- 9973867
TI  - "High-load" polyethylene glycol-polystyrene (PEG-PS) graft supports for solid
      phase synthesis.
AB  - The choice of a polymeric support is a key factor for the success of solid-phase
      methods for syntheses of organic compounds and biomolecules such as peptides and
      oligonucleotides. Classical Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS),
      performed on low cross-linked hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) beads, sometimes
      suffers from sequence-dependent coupling difficulties. The concept of
      incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) into supports for solid-phase synthesis
      represents a successful approach to alleviating such problems. Previous reports
      from our laboratories have shown the advantages of "low-load" PEG-PS (0.15-0.25
      mmol/g) for SPPS. Herein, we demonstrate that the beneficial aspects of the PEG
      PS concept can be extended with resins that have higher loadings (0.3-0.5
      mmol/g).

PMID- 9973868
TI  - The use of polyacrylamide-based peptide synthesis resins for the generation of
      antipeptide antibodies.
AB  - Antibodies directed against specific amino acid sequences can serve as probes for
      the protein molecules from which the sequence was derived, as well as affinity
      purification reagents. One of the major uses of synthetic peptides is for the
      production of such antibodies. Typically, antigens for this purpose are prepared
      by coupling the peptide to a macromolecular carrier such as bovine serum albumin
      or keyhole limpet hemocyanin. The steps for this process are peptide synthesis,
      peptide purification or desalting, coupling to the carrier protein, and purifying
      the peptide-protein conjugate. Techniques have emerged in which the amino acid
      sequence of interest is synthesized on a solid support using a noncleavable
      linkage and the resulting peptidyl-resin is injected into animals to elicit the
      antipeptide immune response. These procedures reduce the number of steps required
      to prepare the peptidyl-antigen. Water-compatible resins based on polyacrylamide
      have been utilized for this purpose. In this paper the composition of these
      supports and their use in the generation of antipeptide antibodies is reviewed.

PMID- 9973869
TI  - The psychophysical approach to manual materials handling task design.
AB  - For approximately three decades, researchers have utilized psychophysics to
      develop guidelines (weights, forces and frequencies) for manual materials
      handling tasks. Early work by Stover Snook and his colleagues provided the
      foundations of the experimental methodologies that would be used by other
      researchers as well as design data that would be used by practitioners.
      Currently, there are extensive psychophysical data for designing a variety of
      materials handling tasks. The current state of psychophysical data will be
      examined, and the psychophysical approach will be compared to the biomechanical
      and physiological approaches to setting limits for materials handling tasks. The
      advantages and disadvantages of the psychophysical approach will be discussed, as
      will the research needs required to address the current limitations of the
      psychophysical approach.

PMID- 9973870
TI  - Maximum acceptable forces of dynamic pushing: comparison of two techniques.
AB  - The purpose of this experiment was to investigate maximum acceptable initial and
      sustained forces while performing a push of 7.6 m, performed at a frequency of 1
      push min-1 on a magnetic particle brake treadmill and a high-inertia push-cart.
      Eight male industrial workers performed a 40 min treadmill pushing task in the
      context of a larger experiment and two, 2 h push-cart tasks with a unique water
      loading system. A psychophysical methodology was employed, whereby the subjects
      were asked to select a workload they could sustain for 8 h without straining
      themselves or without becoming unusually tired, weakened, overheated or out of
      breath. The results revealed that maximum acceptable initial and sustained forces
      of pushing on the high inertia cart were significantly higher (28 and 23%,
      respectively) than pushing forces on the magnetic particle brake treadmill. It
      was concluded that adjustments to the pushing and pulling data bank by Snook and
      Ciriello (1991) may be appropriate if verification of this experiment yields
      similar results.

PMID- 9973871
TI  - Beyond psychophysics: the need for a cognitive engineering approach to setting
      limits in manual lifting tasks.
AB  - The classical psychophysical approach to setting limits in manual lifting tasks
      is discussed in view of experimental procedures used, non-linearity of human
      perception of load heaviness, and the related experimental outcomes. The results
      of two studies investigating the human assessment of load acceptability and
      safety are presented. The first study compares the classical concept of the
      maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL) to the alternative concept of the
      maximum safe weight of lift (MSWL). The second study utilizes the linguistic
      magnitude estimation (LME) method to mathematically model human assessment of
      four categories of lifted loads, including the concepts of acceptable, safe, not
      too-heavy, and too-heavy loads for continuous lifting. It is shown that the
      concepts of the lifted load acceptability and safety are non-linear, and can be
      modelled with great accuracy using the third degree polynomials. This study also
      introduces and investigates the concept of the load indifference in assessment of
      load heaviness, and shows that lack of a cognitive benchmark introduces
      inconsistency in subjects' perception of load acceptability and safety compared
      to the concept of too-heavy load for continuous lifting. It is concluded that a
      new research approach to manual lifting tasks based on cognitive engineering is
      needed to improve the quality of research methodologies currently utilized in
      this field. This unexplored area of research should lead to greater understanding
      of human capacities and limitations in manual lifting tasks in the context of
      cultural and linguistic anthropology.

PMID- 9973872
TI  - Comparison of the sensitivity of three psychophysical techniques to three manual
      materials handling task variables.
AB  - The primary objective of the study was to determine the absolute and relative
      sensitivity of three psychophysical techniques of physical stress determination
      (Borg's Scale, the Visual Analogue Scale, and the Body Part Discomfort Rating) in
      varied manual materials handling tasks. Ten young male and ten young female
      university students lifted a 22 kg box onto a shelf 132 cm high. The industrial
      size box (40 x 20 x 20 cm) had two cut-out handles on the top middle of the two
      side panels. The shelf had restricted access allowing 5 and 10 mm clearance for
      access. The palletizing was performed in sagittal and 45 degrees asymmetrical
      postures under unlimited, 90% and 80% of stature headroom. The subjects lifted
      the box six times per minute for 5 min. After every lift the load was
      automatically delivered to the starting position. The 12 experimental conditions
      were randomized. Following each 5-min palletizing task the subjects were required
      to assess the immediately foregoing task on Borg's scale, the Visual Analogue
      scale, and a Body Part Discomfort Rating scale. All data were subjected to
      statistical analysis including multivariate analysis of variance and Scheffe post
      hoc multiple range test. Borg's scale was able to discriminate between two
      clearances, two symmetries and the three headrooms (p < 0.001). The Visual
      Analogue scale was able to differentiate between two symmetries and three
      headrooms (p < 0.01), but the Body Part Discomfort Rating could not differentiate
      between any task conditions. Based on the study it is suggested that an
      appropriate match between the task demands and the basis of a psychophysical tool
      is essential for valid and reliable information.

PMID- 9973873
TI  - Assessment of human muscle strength for engineering purposes: a review of the
      basics.
AB  - Contracting skeletal muscles pull on body segments to withstand or overcome
      internal and external opposing forces. Various methods and techniques can be
      employed for measuring muscular exertions. Information on strength that can be
      applied to objects such as hand tools or handling loads is of great importance
      for ergonomic design. This paper establishes a systematic context regarding: (1)
      the contractile muscle actions and their associated metabolic and circulatory
      processes, which are often the limiting factors for exertion; (2) the internal
      biomechanical effects of muscle contraction in terms of the application of muscle
      force to body links and the internal transmission of the generated torque through
      the body to the point of external exertion; (3) the various kinds of muscular
      efforts, ranging from strictly bounded statics (isometrics) to freely executed
      dynamics; and (4) the ensuing possibilities to measure human muscular
      capabilities for the application of this information to ergonomic design of tasks
      and equipment.

PMID- 9973874
TI  - Low-back stresses when learning to use a materials handling device.
AB  - This study examines the potential effect of short-term practice on low-back
      stresses during manual lifting and lowering of a 15 kg load, and while using two
      different types of materials handling devices (MHDs) to lift and lower a 40 kg
      load. The two MHDs used were an articulated balance arm and a pneumatic hoist.
      The expectation was that low-back dynamic moments, EMG measured torso muscle
      antagonism, and EMG predicted L4/L5 disc compression forces would rapidly
      decrease with practice, and that the manual lift-lower activities would be
      learned faster than the MHD-assisted exertions. Four naive male college age
      subjects performed 40 lift and lower exertions, both manually and with the two
      MHDs for a total of 24 experiments. Non-linear regressions of the peak and
      average low-back moments, EMGs and disc compression values revealed only small
      decreases in the values (from 2 to 14%) over the 40 trials, and it was only
      statistically significant for five of the 48 regressions. This would seem to
      indicate that if learning is present in these tasks it is going to be very slow
      learning, and thus future studies will need to include a much larger number of
      trials. The effects of MHDs on the learning rates when compared to manual lifting
      learning rates was not statistically significant. It was shown, however, that
      MHDs had a particularly beneficial effect on reducing L4/L5 compression forces
      during load lowering activities despite the MHD load being much heavier than the
      manual load. It also was found that the level of torso muscle co-contraction
      increased significantly (2-4 times) when MHD handling was involved compared to
      manual lifting and lowering.

PMID- 9973875
TI  - The effects of lifting speed on the peak external forward bending, lateral
      bending, and twisting spine moments.
AB  - Lifting tasks that involve twisting have been repeatedly implicated as
      contributing to the onset of occupational back injuries in epidemiological
      studies. The objective of this work was to quantify the three directional
      external moments acting on the spine during a sagittally symmetric and two
      asymmetric lifting tasks. A total of 15 subjects participated in the three
      lifting tasks. All tasks were performed at two qualitatively defined lifting
      speeds, 'slow' and 'fast', and with two load magnitudes: 10 and 20% of the
      subject's body weight. The mid-sagittal plane lifts were performed using two
      horizontal reach distances: 40 and 60 cm. A four-camera, two-forceplate motion
      and force measurement system were used to obtain the kinematic and kinetic data
      as the lifts were performed. A dynamic link-segment biomechanical model was used
      to quantify the reaction forces and moments at the ankle, knee, and hip and L5/S1
      joints. Results from all tasks showed increased sagittal plane (forward bending)
      spine moments with the heavier load and at the faster lifting speed (p < 0.001).
      Spine lateral bending and twisting moments increased during the mid-sagittal
      plane lifts with the greater reach distance and the faster lifting speed,
      respectively. The twisting moments on the spine were greatest as subjects lifted
      from in front and placed the load to the side but were dependent upon the lifting
      speed and the load magnitude. The lateral bending moments increased during this
      same task with the heavier load. However, the spine lateral bending moments were
      greatest when lifting from one side to the other.

PMID- 9973876
TI  - Determination of the effect of lift characteristics on dynamic performance
      profiles during manual materials handling tasks.
AB  - In any quantitative gait or occupational biomechanics investigation, the
      quantification of the different kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic
      parameters is essential towards assessment of functional capacity and development
      of a biomechanical profile of the task demands. In the current study, the authors
      presented a methodology for using inferential statistics to evaluate the effect
      of lift characteristics on phase-dependent and phase-independent variability in
      performance. Using a database of kinematic and kinetic profiles obtained from a
      manual lifting study, the phase-dependent effects of lift characteristics: box
      mass (load), mode (technique of lift), and speed (frequency of lift) were
      investigated through the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques, which
      recognize the vectorial constitution of the profiles. In addition, the Karhunen
      Loeve Expansion (KLE) feature extraction method was used for representing the
      lifting patterns of measured joint angular position, velocity, acceleration, and
      net muscular torque profiles obtained from a 2-D biomechanical lifting model in
      order to study the phase-independent effects. In comparison to traditional
      descriptive statistical analyses currently used in various occupational
      biomechanics experimental investigations, this method allows the significant
      information content of the time varying signal to be captured, enhancing the
      sensitivity of subsequent hypothesis testing procedures. The application of this
      technique to MMH investigations allows identification of the lift characteristics
      that dominate the variability of task demands, hence aiding in the design and
      assessment of ergonomic solutions.

PMID- 9973877
TI  - Muscle responses to simulated torque reactions of hand-held power tools.
AB  - The aim of this work was to investigate physiological responses to torque
      reaction forces produced by hand-held power tools used to tighten threaded
      fasteners. Such tools are used repetitively by workers in many industries and are
      often associated with upper limb musculoskeletal complaints. The tools considered
      for stimulation in this study had straight handles and required from 100 to 400
      ms to tighten fasteners to a peak torque of 1.0 to 2.5 Nm and from 50 to 150 ms
      for the torque to decay to zero. A tool stimulator was constructed to apply a
      programmed torque profile to a handle similar to that of a straight in-line power
      screwdriver. Wrist flexor and extensor surface EMGs and handle position were
      recorded as subjects held handles subjected to controlled torque loads that
      tended to flex the wrist. It was found that: (1) very high EMG values occurred
      even though torques were of short duration (50 to 600 ms) and the peak torques
      were low (7-28% of maximum strength); (2) high EMGs in anticipation of torque are
      directly related to torque build-up rate and peak torque; (3) high peak flexor
      and extensor EMGs during and following torque onset are related to torque build
      up rate and peak torque; (4) minimum time of peak EMGs of 72-87 ms following the
      onset of torques with 50 ms build-up suggests the contribution of an extensor
      muscle stretch reflex component; delayed peak for longer build-ups suggests a
      central control of muscle force in response to torque; (5) angular excursions of
      handles increase with decreasing torque build-up time and increasing torque
      magnitude causes increasing eccentric work; (6) the results show that the slow
      torque build-up times (450 ms) correspond to minimum peak EMGs; and (7)
      accumulated EMGs increase with increasing torque and torque build-up times.
      Further studies are needed to evaluate fatigue and musculoskeletal injuries
      associated with prolonged periods of tool use.

PMID- 9973878
TI  - Computer key switch force-displacement characteristics and short-term effects on
      localized fatigue.
AB  - This study investigates the effects of key switch design parameters on short-term
      localized muscle fatigue in the forearm and hand. An experimental apparatus was
      utilized for simulating and controlling key switch make force and travel using
      leaf spring mechanisms, and provided direct measurement of applied key strike
      force using strain gauge load cells. Repetitive key tapping was performed as fast
      as possible using the dominant index finger for 500 s per condition (8.3 min) and
      a work-rest schedule consisting of 15 s of key tapping alternating with 10 s of
      rest. One combination of two make force levels (0.31 and 0.71 N) and two over
      travel distances (0.5 and 4.5 mm) was presented randomly on four different days.
      Nine subjects participated. Localized muscle fatigue in the hand and forearm was
      assessed subjectively using a 10 cm visual analogue scale, and objectively using
      surface electromyography (EMG). Average peak key strike force exerted was 0.35 N
      less for the smaller make force and 0.59 N less for the longer over travel
      distance. Fatigue occurred in all cases but no significant differences were
      observed between key switch parameters based on RMS EMG. Subjective reports of
      localized fatigue after 500 s were less when the key switch make force was less;
      however, a corresponding over travel effect was not observed despite the greatly
      reduced key strike force for the longer over travel distance. This discrepancy
      may be explained by the greater finger movement that was observed with increased
      over travel. Although there was no apparent improvement in short-term discomfort
      from fatigue when over travel was increased, this study did not consider the
      potential long-term health benefits from reduced key strike force.

PMID- 9973879
TI  - Under-reporting of work-related disorders in the workplace: a case study and
      review of the literature.
AB  - Accurate reporting of work-related conditions is necessary to monitor workplace
      health and safety, and to identify the interventions that are most needed.
      Reporting systems may be designed primarily for external agencies (OSHA or
      workers' compensation) or for the employer's own use. Under-reporting of
      workplace injuries and illnesses is common due to a variety of causes and
      influences. Based on previous reports, the authors were especially interested in
      the role of safety incentive programmes on under-reporting. Safety incentive
      programmes typically reward supervisors and employees for reducing workplace
      injury rates, and thus may unintentionally inhibit proper reporting. The authors
      describe a case study of several industrial facilities in order to illustrate the
      extent of under-reporting and the reasons for its occurrence. A questionnaire and
      interview survey was administered to 110 workers performing similar tasks and
      several managers, health, and safety personnel at each of three industrial
      facilities. Although less than 5% of workers had officially reported a work
      related injury or illness during the past year, over 85% experienced work-related
      symptoms, 50% had persistent work-related problems, and 30% reported either lost
      time from work or work restrictions because of their ailment. Workers described
      several reasons for not reporting their injuries, including fear of reprisal, a
      belief that pain was an ordinary consequence of work activity or ageing, lack of
      management responsiveness after prior reports, and a desire not to lose their
      usual job. Interviews with management representatives revealed administrative and
      other barriers to reporting, stemming from their desire to attain a goal of no
      reported injuries, and misconceptions about requirements for recordability. The
      corporate and facility safety incentives appeared to have an indirect, but
      significant negative influence on the proper reporting of workplace injuries by
      workers. A variety of influences may contribute to under-reporting; because of
      under-reporting, worker surveys and symptom reports may provide more valuable and
      timely information on risks than recordable injury logs. Safety incentive
      programmes should be carefully designed to ensure that they provide a stimulus
      for safety-related changes, and to discourage under-reporting. A case-control
      study of similar establishments, or data before and after instituting safety
      incentives, would be required to more clearly establish the role of these
      programmes in under-reporting.

PMID- 9973880
TI  - Analysis of workers' compensation claims associated with manual materials
      handling.
AB  - Workers' compensation claims associated with manual materials handling (MMH)
      represent the single largest source of claims and costs. Surprisingly, there have
      been few analyses of such losses associated with MMH. An examination of the
      nature of the injuries associated with MMH as well as the body parts most
      frequently affected can lead to a better understanding of the losses attributed
      to MMH to suggest further research efforts. A large sample of MMH claims was
      analysed and stratified with respect to body part affected and the nature of the
      injury. The outcome measures examined were frequency (number of claims) and
      severity (cost measures) of the claims. The analyses revealed that the lower back
      area and upper extremities were the body parts associated with approximately 70%
      of the claims. Strain was the nature of injury most frequently reported (51.3%).
      Lower back area strains were the most frequently reported nature of injury and
      body part combination. Additionally, an analysis of median claims costs revealed
      the occurrence of a small number of very expensive traumatic injuries.

PMID- 9973881
TI  - The effectiveness of commonly used lifting assessment methods to identify
      industrial jobs associated with elevated risk of low-back disorders.
AB  - Low-back disorders (LBD) continue to be the most costly and common
      musculoskeletal problem facing society today. Investigators have developed tools
      or measures that are intended to identify jobs that will probably be associated
      with an elevated risk of low-back disorders. However, an important and not widely
      discussed issue associated with these tools and procedures has been that of the
      validity or effectiveness of the tools. Therefore the objective of this study was
      to evaluate the validity and effectiveness of two commonly used types of LBD
      assessment methods in terms of their ability to correctly associate jobs with LBD
      risk. The 1981 NIOSH Work Practices Guide for Manual Lifting and the 1991 NIOSH
      revised lifting equation, along with psychophysical measures were assessed for
      their ability to correctly identify high-, medium-, and low-risk (of LBD) jobs.
      Risk was defined according to a database of 353 industrial jobs representing over
      21 million person-hours of exposure. The results indicated that both NIOSH
      measures were predictive and resulted in odds ratios between 3.1 and 4.6. Higher
      odds ratios were found when the maximum horizontal distance was used to assess a
      job compared to the average horizontal distance. Further analyses indicated that
      the two NIOSH assessment methods classified risk in very different ways. The 1981
      NIOSH Guide demonstrated good specificity (91%) in that it identified low-risk
      jobs well but it also displayed low sensitivity by only correctly identifying 10%
      of the high-risk jobs. The 1993 NIOSH revised lifting equation, on the other
      hand, had better sensitivity. It correctly identified 73% of the high-risk jobs
      but did not identify low- and medium-risk jobs well. Using psychophysical
      criteria it was observed that 60% of the high-risk jobs would be judged to be
      acceptable, whereas, 64% and 91% of the medium- and low-risk jobs, respectively,
      would be judged to be acceptable. This study indicates that the different
      measures have various strengths and weaknesses. When controlling for occupational
      LBD it should be recognized that a variety of measures exist and that the measure
      that most appropriately assesses risk depends upon the characteristics of the
      job.

PMID- 9973882
TI  - Analysis of multiple activity manual materials handling tasks using A Guide to
      Manual Materials Handling.
AB  - Manual handling of materials continues to be a hazardous activity, leading to a
      very significant number of severe overexertion injuries. Designing jobs that are
      within the physical capabilities of workers is one approach ergonomists have
      adopted to redress this problem. As a result, several job design procedures have
      been developed over the years. However, these procedures are limited to designing
      or evaluating only pure lifting jobs or only the lifting aspect of a materials
      handling job. This paper describes a general procedure that may be used to design
      or analyse materials handling jobs that involve several different kinds of
      activities (e.g. lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, etc). The job
      design/analysis procedure utilizes an elemental approach (breaking the job into
      elements) and relies on databases provided in A Guide to Manual Materials
      Handling to compute associated risk factors. The use of the procedure is
      demonstrated with the help of two case studies.

PMID- 9973883
TI  - Do workplace interventions prevent low-back disorders? If so, why?: a
      methodologic commentary.
AB  - The demand for workplace interventions to prevent low-back disorders has
      increased in recent years. At the same time, a crisis in the literature has
      become apparent: there are conflicting reports on whether or not these
      interventions work. With the aim of understanding the reason for the dissension
      in the literature, six studies were selected for close examination. These were
      studies of interventions based on differing principles, i.e. a change in
      organizational ethos to promote back safety, back belt use, the introduction of
      ergonomic devices, and back-strengthening exercises. If the studies are taken at
      face value, any of the interventions, regardless of type, has a tremendous
      effect. Methodological problems inherent in these studies may provide a clue to
      why essentially different interventions were found to be consistently successful.
      Study design quality has long been noted to exert a particular influence on the
      evaluation of outcomes: the quality of the study design is often inversely
      related to reported outcomes. Of the six studies selected for examination, four
      did not include a contemporaneous control group, five did not randomly assign
      subjects to test and control groups, and none included a placebo group. Given
      these research designs, variables other than those tested by the studies may have
      produced the reported results. These variables include 'beliefs of the
      intervention providers' and 'coalescence of the work group', both of which are
      discussed. Two approaches, the pragmatic and the explanatory, may be used to
      study workplace interventions to prevent low-back disorders. Most of the examined
      studies are pragmatically oriented. Having dealt with study design problems
      expeditiously, these studies may be characterized as more immediately responsive
      to the demand to evaluate workplace interventions than explanatory studies. On
      the other hand, explanatory studies, most notably associated with randomized
      clinical trials in medicine, are more rigorous. Enough pragmatically oriented
      studies have been conducted to suggest that workplace interventions may have an
      effect on low-back disorders. More conclusive explanatory studies may now be
      conducted.

PMID- 9973884
TI  - Osteoporosis in men.

PMID- 9973885
TI  - Longevity: the ultimate gender gap.

PMID- 9973886
TI  - Pills and potency: blood pressure drugs and sexual dysfunction.

PMID- 9973887
TI  - I know that transplanted organs have helped many patients, but I've never heard
      of transplanting testicles. Is any research being done in this area?

PMID- 9973888
TI  - Abdominal fat.

PMID- 9973889
TI  - New guides to herbal remedies.

PMID- 9973890
TI  - Hearing loss.

PMID- 9973891
TI  - Medicine and the media.

PMID- 9973892
TI  - New migraine drugs.

PMID- 9973893
TI  - Hot flashes and PMS.

PMID- 9973894
TI  - I just read about a recent report, which concluded that high consumption of milk
      was associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. This flies in the face of
      everything I've heard about calcium. Is it really true?

PMID- 9973895
TI  - I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been taking methotrexate. I'm interested in
      the new drugs that have been in the news lately. Just how effective are they?

PMID- 9973896
TI  - Cardiac MR imaging.

PMID- 9973897
TI  - Morphological abnormalities revealed after successful intra-arterial thrombolysis
      of infra-inguinal native arteries and bypasses.
AB  - PURPOSE: To characterise morphological abnormalities depicted after successful
      intra-arterial thrombolysis; to determine whether these differed in infra
      inguinal native arteries and bypasses; and to evaluate whether balloon
      angioplasty was an appropriate treatment of stenoses in the acute phase after
      thrombolysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patient records, radiology records, and
      angiograms from 47 patients with acute or subacute occlusions of infra-inguinal
      arteries (n = 21) or bypasses (n = 26) successfully treated with continuous intra
      arterial infusion of streptokinase, urokinase or tissue plasminogen activator
      were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Angiographic morphological abnormalities
      were depicted in 18 of 21 arteries (86%) and in 23 of 26 bypasses (88%), the most
      common abnormality being stenoses. Haemodynamically significant stenoses were
      found in 15 arteries (71%) and 18 bypasses (69%). The majority of the stenoses
      were successfully treated with balloon angioplasty, both in native arteries
      (12/15; 80%) and in bypasses (14/18; 78%). CONCLUSION: Morphological
      abnormalities are most often shown after successful intra-arterial thrombolysis
      in arteries, autogenous and non-autogenous bypasses. In all types of conduits,
      stenoses are the most commonly revealed lesion, which in the majority of cases
      can be treated with balloon angioplasty. Short-term outcome after catheter
      directed thrombolysis and angioplasty seems fair.

PMID- 9973898
TI  - Central assessment of bilateral phlebograms in a major multicentre
      thromboprophylactic trial. Reasons for inadequate results.
AB  - PURPOSE: To determine the cause of inadequate bilateral phlebograms at central
      assessment. A major antithrombotic trial was evaluated to identify and apply
      corrective measures for reducing inadequate results in future multicentre trials.
      MATERIAL AND METHODS: The inadequate results in 253 out of 1,827 patients having
      undergone bilateral phlebography following total hip replacement were reviewed by
      two central assessors using strict criteria for evaluability. The reasons for
      inadequate findings were assessed and ranked. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:
      Insufficient contrast filling, especially of the anterior tibial, common femoral
      and iliac veins, was the most common reason for disqualifying examinations.
      Unilateral examinations and obscuring metallic devices were the second and third
      most common reasons, respectively. Efforts should be made to standardize the
      phlebography technique, to use a large volume of contrast without tourniquets,
      and to obtain an appropriate number of views to visualize the deep veins.

PMID- 9973899
TI  - Respiratory monitoring during MR imaging. The clinical value of a new fibre
      optical monitor.
AB  - PURPOSE: To assess the clinical utility of a fibre-optical monitor for
      respiratory monitoring in patients undergoing MR imaging without general
      anaesthesia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients were included
      at each of 3 MR units (300 patients in total). The technicians estimated the
      value of monitoring the respiratory rate on a 5-graded scale. Conditions that
      might complicate the MR examination were noted. RESULTS: The respiratory monitor
      was well tolerated by 99% of the patients. It was rated as valuable or very
      valuable in one-third of the total group, but in slightly more than two-thirds of
      the group of patients with some condition that might have complicated the MR
      examination. The estimated value of respiratory rate monitoring did not correlate
      to the age or sex of the patients, the type of examination, or to whether
      contrast medium was used or not, but it was significantly more often considered
      valuable in patients placed in the head-first position than in those placed in
      feet-first. CONCLUSION: Respiratory rate monitoring during MR imaging seems to be
      valuable in many patients, particularly if some condition that might complicate
      the MR examination is present.

PMID- 9973900
TI  - Thymus size in preterm infants evaluated by ultrasound. A preliminary report.
AB  - PURPOSE: To sonographically evaluate the thymic size in preterm infants. MATERIAL
      AND METHODS: In 6 healthy infants, born in gestational weeks 34-37, and 6 infants
      born in weeks 24-32, the thymic volume estimate (the thymic index) was assessed.
      The measurements were compared to the estimates calculated from the prediction
      model for neonates. RESULTS: The slightly preterm infants fit the prediction
      model. In cases where the results failed to fit into the model, it was adjusted
      in order to cover lower birth rates. The extremely preterm infants initially had
      a very low thymic index but, when healthy, they reached the normal range.
      CONCLUSION: With the knowledge of the birth weight it is now possible to predict
      the thymic size in healthy infants weighing 2,070 g or more.

PMID- 9973901
TI  - Thymus size in infants from birth until 24 months of age evaluated by ultrasound.
      A longitudinal prediction model for the thymic index.
AB  - PURPOSE: To do a follow-up sonography assessment of the thymic size in infants at
      an age of 24 months, and to create a longitudinal prediction model for the thymic
      index covering all ages from birth to 24 months. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Of 37
      infants examined in an earlier investigation, 34 attended a 24-month follow-up
      examination. The thymic index, a volume estimate, was assessed by sonography and
      compared to clinical variables, breast-feeding status and illness. The
      longitudinal prediction model was based on data throughout 2 years. RESULTS:
      There was no significant relation between the thymic index and the clinical
      variables, breast-feeding status or illness at 24 months. An overall test for the
      effect of breast-feeding status at 4 months for infants from 0-24 months was
      significant, as was the actual body length of the infants from 0-8 months.
      Prediction models were estimated. CONCLUSION: Based on a 24-month longitudinal
      sonography study, prediction models are presented whereby the thymic size, as an
      index, can be predicted at all times from birth to 24 months of age.

PMID- 9973902
TI  - Differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions with T2*-weighted first pass
      perfusion imaging.
AB  - PURPOSE: Invasive breast carcinomas and fibroadenomas are often difficult to
      differentiate in dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR imaging of the breast,
      because both tumors can enhance strongly after contrast injection. The purpose of
      this study was to evaluate whether the addition of T2*-weighted first pass
      perfusion imaging can increase the differentiation of malignant from benign
      lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine patients with invasive carcinomas and 10
      patients with contrast enhancing fibroadenomas were examined by a dynamic
      contrast-enhanced T1-weighted 3D sequence immediately followed by a single slice
      T2*-weighted first pass perfusion sequence positioned in the contrast-enhancing
      lesion. RESULTS: The carcinomas and the fibroadenomas were impossible to
      differentiate based on the contrast enhancement characteristics in the T1
      weighted sequence. The signal loss in the T2*-weighted perfusion sequence was
      significantly stronger in the carcinomas than in the fibroadenomas (p = 0.0004).
      CONCLUSION: Addition of a T2*-weighted first pass perfusion sequence with a high
      temporal resolution can probably increase the differentiation of fibroadenomas
      from invasive carcinomas in contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the breast.

PMID- 9973903
TI  - Plain radiography of the lumbosacral spine. An audit of referrals from general
      practitioners.
AB  - PURPOSE: To evaluate how referrals from Norwegian general practitioners for plain
      radiography of the lumbosacral spine conform to clinical recommendations, and
      whether non-conforming referrals yield important findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      The clinical information reported in referral letters of 323 patients was
      compared with recommendations given in a Norwegian and in a British "guide".
      Additional clinical data were obtained by interviewing 100 of the patients. Using
      all available information, a new comparison was performed. Radiological findings
      were obtained from the routine reports. RESULTS: Of the 323 referrals, 24% (37%)
      conformed to the Norwegian (British) "guide", 34% (46%) did not conform, and 42%
      (18%) were considered uncertain, mainly because of lack of pertinent information
      in the referral letters. A total of 182 examinations were in disagreement with
      one or both "guides". Only 4 of these examinations revealed potentially important
      findings (osteoporotic fractures in 2 patients, uncertain sacroiliac joint
      arthritis in 1 patient, and "probably benign" sclerotic densities in 1 patient).
      In the interview group, the proportion of non-conforming referrals was 40% (48%)
      based on the referral letters, and 31% (30%) when the interview data were taken
      into account. CONCLUSION: A great proportion of referrals for plain radiography
      of the lumbosacral spine do not conform to recent clinical recommendations.
      Referrals outside the advised criteria yield few relevant findings and could
      probably be cancelled. They require at least supplementary information to justify
      radiography.

PMID- 9973904
TI  - MR evaluation of the articular cartilage of the femoral head during traction.
      Correlation with resected femoral head.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to evaluate the articular cartilage of the hip joint
      with MR during traction and compare the findings with the resected specimen or
      arthroscopic findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight healthy volunteers, 5 patients
      with osteonecrosis, 5 with acetabular dysplasia, and 5 with advanced
      osteoarthrosis underwent MR imaging to evaluate the articular cartilage of the
      hip joint. Coronal fat-suppressed 3D spoiled gradient-echo (SPGR) images were
      obtained during traction. Identical imaging was performed of all the resected
      femoral heads of the osteonecrosis and advanced osteoarthrosis patients, and was
      correlated with the macroscopic pathological findings. RESULTS: The traction was
      effective and the femoral articular cartilage was clearly identified in all 8
      control subjects, and in all cases of osteonecrosis and acetabular dysplasia. In
      4 cases of osteonecrosis, chondral fracture was identified in the boundary
      between the necrosis and the normal area. In all cases of advanced
      osteoarthrosis, cartilage was identified only at the medial side. The MR images
      of osteonecrosis and advanced osteoarthrosis corresponded well with the MR images
      of the resected femoral heads and the macroscopic findings. CONCLUSION: Fat
      suppressed 3D-SPGR during continuous leg traction was useful in detecting
      cartilage abnormalities.

PMID- 9973905
TI  - MR imaging of lipoma and liposarcoma.
AB  - PURPOSE: To evaluate whether lipoma, atypical lipomatous tumors, and liposarcomas
      can be differentiated by MR images. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The MR images of 59
      lipomatous lesions and liposarcomas were retrospectively reviewed. Apart from
      size, surgical site, location and margins, the percentage of fat of the tumor
      volume was assessed as none, 1-75%, 75-95%, or 95-100%. RESULTS: None of the 18
      liposarcomas contained fat that could be recognized by MR imaging. The 3 atypical
      lipomatous tumors all contained fat but less than 75% of the tumor volume. In 32
      of 38 ordinary lipomas, the percentage of fat was 95-100%, and in 4 less than 95%
      of the tumor volume. Two lipomas did not contain fat that could be recognized by
      MR imaging. CONCLUSION: A lesion which predominantly has a fat signal is, in all
      probability, an ordinary lipoma. Lesions with less fat, but still mostly fatty,
      may either be lipoma or atypical lipomatous tumor. In this group, the
      discrimination between these two entities cannot be based upon imaging features.
      In the absence of a fat signal, liposarcoma or lipoma cannot be differentiated
      from other soft tissue tumors.

PMID- 9973906
TI  - MR imaging in amyopathic dermatomyositis.
AB  - PURPOSE: Amyopathic dermatomyositis is a distinct clinical entity with cutaneous
      involvement but no myopathy. We conducted a prospective study to investigate the
      role of MR imaging in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Out of 40 Chinese
      patients presenting with dermatomyositis, based on clinical assessment and normal
      serum muscle enzymes 10 were diagnosed as having amyopathic dermatomyositis.
      These 10 patients underwent MR imaging for evaluation of any subclinical muscle
      involvement. RESULTS: Three patients demonstrated abnormal signal intensity in
      muscles on both T2- and fat suppression sequences. Thus, one-third of patients
      with dermatomyositis and clinically normal muscles may have detectable muscle
      inflammation on MR images, indicating that MR has a potential role for locating
      the relevant biopsy site and for longitudinal follow up. Six of the 10 patients
      had malignant disease diagnosed before or after diagnosis of the cutaneous
      manifestation. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma was the most common malignant disease in
      this group of patients. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is recommended for demonstrating
      subclinical muscle involvement in patients with the clinical diagnosis of
      amyopathic dermatomyositis. We also recommend screening for malignancy,
      particularly nasopharyngeal carcinoma, in Southern Chinese patients with
      dermatomyositis.

PMID- 9973907
TI  - Muscle metabolism of professional athletes using 31P-spectroscopy.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to examine muscle metabolism in athletes by 31P
      spectroscopy (MRS) and to evaluate to what degree the respective resonance
      spectrum correlates with the kind of muscle exercise. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      Twelve runners and 12 young ice skaters were studied by 31P-spectroscopy of the
      gastrocnemic medialis muscle and the vastus medialis muscle using a surface coil
      at 1.5 T. RESULTS: Sprinters displayed a higher phosphocreatinine/inorganic
      phosphate (PCr/Pi) and PCr/beta-ATP ratios than marathon runners. The respective
      parameters for middle distance runners were in between. Ice skaters could
      prospectively be divided into sprint- and long-distance runners by our results
      which correlated with the athletes' training performance. CONCLUSION: 31P
      spectroscopy can evaluate the distribution of muscle fiber types. Thus, the
      athlete's potential for sprint- or long-distance running can be determined.
      Additional studies will have to demonstrate to what extent training may change
      muscle fiber distribution.

PMID- 9973908
TI  - MR findings in primary retroperitoneal schwannoma.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the MR findings in primary retroperitoneal schwannoma.
      MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seven cases of primary retroperitoneal schwannoma, in whom
      the diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically, were analyzed retrospectively.
      The following items were reviewed at MR imaging: tumor diameter, margin,
      homogeneity, signal intensity as compared to normal renal parenchyma,
      presence/absence of infiltration into adjacent organs, and, in 1 and 4 cases, the
      enhancement on Gd-dynamic images and post-contrast T1-weighted images,
      respectively. RESULTS: Tumor diameter was 5.5 +/- 3.1 cm, ranging from 2.5 to 10
      cm in the 6 benign schwannomas, and 12 cm in 1 malignant. The tumor margin was
      regular in all of the benign cases and irregular in the malignant one. The
      malignant case showed infiltration into the liver and duodenum. Four of the
      benign schwannomas showed a homogeneous, and 2 presented a heterogeneous pattern,
      while the malignant schwannoma was heterogeneous. On T1-weighted images, the
      benign schwannomas were hypointense in 4 cases, isointense in 1 and mixed in 1,
      while on T2-weighted images, they were hyperintense in 5 and mixed in 1. The
      malignant case showed mixed intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images. On
      enhanced T1-weighted images, capsular, septal enhancement was noted in 2 cases,
      overall enhancement in 2, and, on Gd-dynamic images, late enhancement was shown.
      CONCLUSION: On MR imaging, primary retroperitoneal schwannomas show different
      signal intensity characteristics, including cystic degeneration. There are,
      however, no specific characteristics of these tumors.

PMID- 9973909
TI  - Correlation of angiography and MR imaging in cerebral vasculitis.
AB  - PURPOSE: MR imaging and cerebral angiography were correlated in patients with
      primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) to assess the relative
      roles of these imaging modalities in the diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 9
      patients, MR imaging and angiography were compared with regard to the relative
      involvement of each major vascular territory. Vascular territories assessed were
      the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries, and the posterior fossa.
      RESULTS: All patients had angiographic findings consistent with vasculitis in
      multiple vascular territories. MR findings ranged from normal to diffusely
      abnormal. One patient had a completely normal MR investigation. Of 50 territories
      affected by vasculitis on angiography, 17 (34%) were normal on MR. CONCLUSION:
      Relative to cerebral angiography, MR imaging is a poor indicator of the presence
      or absence of PACNS. Angiography is indicated when clinical suspicion of PACNS is
      strong, regardless of the findings on MR.

PMID- 9973910
TI  - Evaluation of the pituitary gland in idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
AB  - PURPOSE: Evaluation of the pituitary gland has been carried out in idiopathic
      hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) to test the potential of MR imaging in
      differentiating IHH patients from normals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-seven
      patients (aged 18-30 years), and 20 volunteers (aged 20-30 years) were studied by
      T1-weighted MR imaging. Length (LA and LP), height (H), width (W), area (AA and
      AP), and volume (V1A, V1B V2A, V2P) of the pituitary gland were determined.
      (Subscripts P and A refer to measurements made with and without the posterior
      lobe, respectively.) V1 and V2 were estimated using two different methods.
      RESULTS: In the control group, LB W and V2A exhibited significant differences
      between female and male volunteers. While W was the only parameter that did not
      show significant difference between normals and patients (in both men and women),
      all other parameters except LB H and AP showed statistically significant
      differences between normals and IHH patients in both males and females. While LP
      was significantly different between normals and patients (men), H and AP were
      significantly different between normals and patients only in the female group.
      CONCLUSION: Correlation analysis between various parameters has shown that LA can
      be used for evaluating the pituitary in both the male and female IHH patients.

PMID- 9973911
TI  - MR myelography of sacral meningeal cysts.
AB  - PURPOSE: To describe the findings of sacral meningeal cysts (SMCs) on MR
      myelography and assess its value for the diagnosis of SMCs. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      We evaluated the MR images and MR myelograms obtained from 10 patients with SMC.
      MR myelograms were obtained using a 2D or 3D single-shot fast spin-echo sequence.
      In 5 patients, X-ray myelograms and postmyelographic CT images were compared with
      the MR myelograms. RESULTS: A total of 33 SMCs were diagnosed within the spinal
      canal and/or sacral foramen. MR myelograms clearly revealed each cyst as a well
      defined mass showing hyperintensity (10 cysts) or isointensity (23 cysts)
      compared to cerebrospinal fluid. MR myelograms demonstrated SMCs better than X
      ray myelograms and postmyelographic CT images in 3 of the 5 patients. CONCLUSION:
      MR myelography can be an adjunct to conventional imaging techniques when surgical
      treatment is indicated, because it can precisely delineate the extent of SMCs.

PMID- 9973912
TI  - Transcatheter adrenal arterial embolization of cortisol-producing tumors. Two
      cases of Cushing's syndrome.
AB  - Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed in 2 patients with
      Cushing's syndrome caused by adrenal adenoma by using a mixture of absolute
      ethanol and iohexol. In 1 patient successful suppression of the hypersecretion of
      cortisol has continued for 9 months after TAE without complications. However, in
      the other patient, TAE was discontinued due to marked hypertension and
      tachycardia induced by a massive release of catecholamines from the embolized
      "normal" part of the tumor-bearing adrenal gland during the procedure. These
      results suggest that it is important to perform TAE of only the arterial branches
      feeding the tumor.

PMID- 9973913
TI  - Accessory wandering spleen associated with short pancreas. A pediatric case
      report.
AB  - We present an extremely rare case of a 5-year-old girl with short pancreas
      associated with three accessory spleens, one of which was a large wandering
      spleen. The diagnosis was established by US and CT. A large accessory wandering
      spleen is considered to be at risk of torsion and infarction as well as
      susceptible to abdominal trauma. The authors discuss the difficulty of
      establishing the diagnosis and underline the importance of US and CT as pre
      operative diagnostic tools.

PMID- 9973914
TI  - Time dependence of iopamidol and iodixanol in arthrography of the knee.
AB  - PURPOSE: The safety and diagnostic efficacy of iodixanol (Visipaque) 270 mg I/ml
      was compared to that of iopamidol (Iopamiron) 300 mg I/ml in knee arthrography.
      MATERIAL AND METHODS: This trial was a bi-center double-blind trial including 128
      patients (iodixanol/iopamidol 64/64 patients). Efficacy was evaluated by blinded
      grading of the diagnostic quality of the p.a. images taken 0, 12 and 25 min after
      contrast administration by the examining radiologist and later at a consensus
      evaluation by two experienced skeletal radiologists. Adverse events were
      recorded. RESULTS: No patient experienced any adverse event. The proportion of
      better images at both 12 and 25 min after injection was higher in the iodixanol
      group compared to the iopamidol group both by the examining radiologist and at
      the consensus evaluation. CONCLUSION: In the knee joint iodixanol is a safe
      contrast medium. The contrast effect of iodixanol lasted longer than that of
      iopamidol, which can be important when performing arthrography, especially CT
      arthrography, where the time between puncture and examination can be prolonged.

PMID- 9973915
TI  - Effects of iodixanol on renal function immediately after abdominal angiography.
      Clinical comparison with iomeprol and ioxaglate.

PMID- 9973916
TI  - Abnormal chromosome 8 copy number in stage I to stage IV breast cancer studied by
      fluorescence in situ hybridization.
AB  - To test the hypothesis that the frequency of abnormal chromosome 8 copy number
      increases with the severity of the disease as defined by an increase in clinical
      stage, we conducted a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) study of a sample
      of 42 breast cancer specimens utilizing a protocol that was optimized by our
      laboratory. Cytogenetic results, obtained from blinded analyses of archival
      specimens, demonstrated that the higher clinical stages (i.e., stages III and IV)
      yield higher frequencies of abnormal chromosome 8 copy number. Specifically,
      45.45% and 50% of the stage I and stage II cases, respectively, were abnormal,
      whereas 63.64% and 60% of the stage III and stage IV cases, respectively, were
      abnormal for chromosome 8 copy number. The overall frequency of abnormal
      chromosome 8 copy number was 54.76% (23 of 42 tumors studied). When the results
      of a control probe were taken into account, 34.78% (8 of 23) of the abnormal
      cases were trisomic, whereas the remaining cases were likely triploid. Thus, the
      present data not only established that chromosome 8 trisomy is a recurrent
      finding in breast cancer, but also confirmed a higher frequency of occurrence of
      abnormal chromosome 8 copy number with the higher clinical stages. Future
      experiments utilizing additional specimens in this laboratory and from other
      laboratories are necessary to confirm and extend the findings of the present
      study.

PMID- 9973917
TI  - Chromosomal aberrations during progression of chronic myeloid leukemia identified
      by cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic tools: implication of 1q12-21.
AB  - To study the genomic abnormality underlying the acute transformation of chronic
      myeloid leukemia (CML), 15 CML patients in blast crisis (BC), 3 in accelerated
      phase (AP), and 20 in chronic phase (CP) were analyzed by conventional
      cytogenetics, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), and dual-color chromosomal
      painting. Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome was identified in every case studied. Only
      5 among 20 CP patients had additional abnormalities while 13 of 18 patients with
      disease progression (BC + AP) showed extra numerical and/or structural
      chromosomal aberrations. Cytogenetically, the most common chromosome gains during
      BC and AP were double or triple Ph chromosomes (5 of 14 cases) and trisomy 8 (5
      of 14 cases). Trisomies 7 and 17 (1 of 14 cases each) were also observed. CGH
      analysis detected genetic imbalances in eight cases. Gains of chromosome 20 (3
      cases) and 17q (2 cases) were observed, respectively. The recurrent chromosome
      loss was the deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17, seen in one case with
      i(17)(q10) and one case with an unbalanced translocation (1;17). In one case, a
      very complex chromosomal rearrangement,
      del(3),del(6),der(6)t(17;3;6),der(17)t(6;17), was seen. A novel finding of this
      work is the involvement of chromosome 1(q12-21qter) in CML disease progression.
      Overrepresentation of 1(q12-21qter) region was detected by CGH in one case which
      had a derivative chromosome 17. This abnormal chromosome was later confirmed by
      fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) painting to be a fusion between
      chromosome 1 and 17 to form the der(17)t(1;17) (q12-21;p11). Two other cases
      showed the same region being involved in translocations, t(1;10)(q12-21;q26) and
      t(1;11)(q12-21;p15). It is possible that one or more genes residing on chromosome
      1q12-21 may be important in the acute transformation of CML. In conclusion, we
      find that the combined use of CGH, chromosome painting, and classic cytogenetic
      analysis allows a better evaluation of the genomic aberration involved in CML
      blastic transformation, and offers new directions for its further molecular
      investigations.

PMID- 9973918
TI  - Biclonal chromosomal aberrations in a child with myelodysplastic syndrome.
AB  - Hematological malignancies and premalignant diseases are generally of monoclonal
      origin. The prognostic and therapeutic significance of finding two genetically
      independent clones remains to be determined. We followed a case of childhood
      myelodysplastic syndrome showing biclonal chromosomal abnormalities (+8, -7) by
      conventional cytogenetic examination and double target fluorescence in situ
      hybridization (FISH). A 7-year-old girl presented with Plaut-Vincent angina and
      leukopenia. The cytogenetic aberration of +8 was the first sign to suggest MDS.
      Serial bone marrow controls, prompted by a progressive clinical course detected
      myelodysplastic changes and a new clonal aberration (-7). The presence of -7 and
      +8 in two independent clones was verified by double-target FISH. While at
      diagnosis and during cytokine treatment more cells showed +8, after successful
      all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) therapy, the clone with -7 predominated. Following
      allogeneic bone marrow transplantation the patient displayed donor-derived
      hematopoesis. Our data stress the significance of cytogenetic and FISH
      examinations in detecting specific genetic abnormalities and progressive clonal
      changes as an indicator and guideline for therapy. Different cell clones
      characterized by different genetic changes might be associated with different
      biologic features reflected in their response to treatment.

PMID- 9973920
TI  - Study of chromosome 12 copy number in breast cancer using fluorescence in situ
      hybridization.
AB  - Trisomy 12 is the most frequent numerical chromosomal abnormality reported in
      chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Its significance in other cancers, however,
      has not been extensively investigated until recently. Less than 20 cases of
      polysomy for chromosome 12 have been studied thus far. The most recent data in
      the literature suggest that gain of chromosome 12 may be a recurrent and
      sometimes early event in breast carcinogenesis. To test the hypothesis that a
      subset of breast cancer may be characterized by chromosome 12 trisomy, we
      conducted a retrospective study of 40 specimens. Of these, ten were stage I, ten
      were stage II, ten were stage III, and ten were stage IV. Out of the total
      sample, 12 cases (30%) were found to be presumably trisomic, if a conservative
      cutoff point of greater than or equal to 15% cells with three signals is adopted.
      Furthermore, some, but not all, of the 12 cases were found to be likely triploid,
      when data from a control chromosome 17 probe were taken into account. Thus, our
      data support the hypothesis that a subset of breast cancer exists which is
      characterized by an abnormal copy of chromosome 12, in either a diploid or a
      triploid background.

PMID- 9973919
TI  - A combined cytogenetic and molecular approach to diagnosis in a case of
      desmoplastic small round cell tumor with a complex translocation (11;22;21).
AB  - Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) has recently been described as a
      discrete tumor entity. It is distinguished from other small round cell tumors by
      its prominent desmoplastic quality, its preponderance in adolescent males, its
      almost exclusive intraabdominal location, a multi-immunophenotypic profile, and
      its aggressive nature. Diagnosis on histology alone is not always unequivocal. A
      recurrent t(11;22)(p13;q12) translocation has recently been described in this
      tumor, and a chimeric RNA fusion product formed from the WT1 and EWS genes is
      detectable by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We
      describe the use of a multi-faceted approach using conventional G-banding,
      fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and RT-PCR to assist the diagnosis of a
      case of DSRCT with a complex variant t(11;22;21)(p13;q12;q22.1) translocation and
      demonstrate the value of a combined approach to genetic investigation of solid
      tumors.

PMID- 9973921
TI  - Replication pattern in cancer: asynchronous replication in multiple myeloma and
      in monoclonal gammopathy.
AB  - In this study we evaluated the replication pattern and cell-cycle dynamics of
      cells from patients considered to have a premalignant condition (monoclonal
      gammopathy, or MGUS) and patients with multiple myeloma (MM), as well as healthy
      controls. We applied the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique with
      the TP53, RB-1 and 21q22 loci on the patient's cells. Asynchrony was determined
      by the presence of one single and one set of double dots in the same cell. The
      rate of asynchronic replication was significantly higher in the cells from MM
      patients, with intermediate value in the cells from MGUS, while the lowest rate
      was in cells from controls. We suggest that these results may reflect the changes
      in gene replication and cell-cycle progression that occur in premalignant and
      malignant cells.

PMID- 9973922
TI  - The contribution of deficient DNA repair to chromosomal radiosensitivity of CHO
      cells after G2 irradiation.
AB  - We compared cytogenetic responses of the parental Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)
      cell line and its DNA repair-deficient strains to irradiation during the G2
      phase. Chromatid breaks were quantified in cells entering metaphase in the
      presence or absence of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) 0.5-1.5 hours after exposure
      to x-rays or UV-C. Addition of ara-C, an inhibitor of DNA repair replication,
      significantly increased chromatid break frequency (CBF) in the parental line, but
      not in the strains deficient in nucleotide excision repair (NER). This increase
      (ara-C effect) was comparable to that in repair-proficient normal human
      lymphocytes. We conclude that CBF in cells entering metaphase in the presence of
      ara-C 0.5-1.5 hours after DNA damage represents a functional in vitro assay for
      evaluating the DNA repair capacity of mammalian cells in culture.

PMID- 9973923
TI  - Loss of heterozygosity of the TP53 tumor suppressor gene and detection of point
      mutations by the non-isotopic RNAse cleavage assay in prostate cancer.
AB  - Mutation within the TP53 tumor suppressor gene is a frequent occurrence in human
      cancers, resulting in a poor prognosis, response to therapy, and overall survival
      time. Mutations have been primarily detected in advanced prostate cancer;
      however, the involvement of the gene through loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in
      primary prostate cancers has not been investigated due to lack of identifiable
      polymorphisms within this gene. Using the nonisotopic RNAse cleavage assay
      (NIRCA), we screened for point mutations and identified an ApaI restriction site
      polymorphism located in intron 7 within the TP53 gene. This polymorphism allowed
      us to detect LOH in informative samples in a population of patients that
      underwent prostate biopsies and a population that underwent radical
      prostatectomies. Within the combined study population, 31 of 80 patients (38.75%)
      were informative for the polymorphism. Loss of heterozygosity was detected in 10
      of the 31 samples (32.3%). Point mutations were identified in two samples. The
      identification of LOH in these patients suggests that the TP53 tumor suppressor
      gene may play a more active role in prostate cancer than was previously believed.

PMID- 9973925
TI  - Jumping translocation of 1q as the sole aberration in a case of follicular
      lymphoma.
AB  - Cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies in a case of
      follicular lymphoma grade III showed a "jumping translocation" of chromosome 1q21
      qter to chromosomes Xq28 and 18q23, which resulted in a partial trisomy 1q as the
      only chromosome aberration. This case represents, to the best of our knowledge,
      the first report of a jumping translocation in a malignant lymphoma occurring as
      the sole aberration.

PMID- 9973924
TI  - Involvement of MLL gene in a t(10;11)(q22;q23) and a t(8;11)(q24;q23) identified
      by fluorescence in situ hybridization.
AB  - We describe two cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia, classified as M4 and M5 in
      the French-American-British nomenclature, with an 11q23 rearrangement at
      karyotypic analysis. The involvement of the MLL gene with two new partner loci on
      chromosome 10q22 and 8q24, respectively, was demonstrated by fluorescence in situ
      hybridization using a YAC clone B22B2L.

PMID- 9973926
TI  - Cytogenetic analyses of 85 testicular germ cell tumors: comparison of
      postchemotherapy and untreated tumors.
AB  - Cytogenetic analyses of 85 testicular germ cell tumors, of which 54 were
      karyotypically abnormal, showed recurrent breakpoints at chromosome bands 1p36,
      1p13-1qh, 11q23, 19q13, and the pericentromeric regions of the acrocentric
      chromosomes. Postchemotherapy tumors had significantly more rearrangements of
      bands 3p25-p26, 6q16-q21, 8p22-p23 when compared with untreated tumors, while
      untreated tumors had more rearrangements of 9p22-p24 when compared with
      postchemotherapy tumors. Frequent breakpoints also were identified at 15q15 and
      9qh in untreated tumors. Tumors of different histopathology, clinical stage, and
      treatment status showed no significant differences in the frequencies of i(12p)
      positive and i(12p)-negative tumors.

PMID- 9973927
TI  - Near-haploidy in a malignant sacrococcygeal teratoma.
AB  - Cytogenetic analysis of a malignant sacrococcygeal teratoma in an adult patient
      revealed near-haploid (77%), near-diploid (19%), and polyploid (4%) cells. The
      near-haploid cells had a karyotype of
      25,XX,der(5)t(5;7)(p15;p13),+7,der(9)t(6;9)(p21;q34),r(17)(p13q25) . In the near
      diploid and polyploid cells identical copies of the structural chromosomal
      changes were found. Although some of the anomalies observed appear unique to this
      case, a common breakpoint in chromosome 6 was previously reported as specific in
      a subgroup of extragonadal germ cell tumors of adults.

PMID- 9973928
TI  - Duplication of band 12q24 in acute myeloblastic leukemia.
AB  - Cytogenetic studies of two patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia, classified
      as M1 and M2, showed a partial duplication of the distal part of the long arm of
      chromosome 12 (12q24) as the sole detectable chromosome abnormality. High white
      blood cell count was common to the two leukemic children. Fluorescence in situ
      hybridization analysis with the use of a whole-chromosome 12 painting probe and a
      telomeric probe confirmed the apparent absence of any translocation. The genes
      involved in the duplication could not be ascertained, but several candidate genes
      such as growth-factor receptors or genes encoding transcription factors localized
      to 12q22-q24 should be investigated in the molecular analysis of these
      duplications.

PMID- 9973929
TI  - Karyotype evolution in a case of uterine angioleiomyoma.
AB  - Clonal karyotypic alterations of a uterine angioleiomyoma of a 41-year-old woman
      are reported. Cytogenetically a stemline of the tumor and two related subclones
      with additional abnormalities due to karyotypic evolution were identified:
      46,X,t(X;11)(p11.4;p15)/46, idem,inv(2)(p15q13)/46,
      idem,inv(2)(p15q13),t(5;20)(q13;q13.2). None of the aberrations observed in the
      present case has been reported in uterine smooth muscle tumors before.

PMID- 9973931
TI  - Cytogenetic investigation in subependymoma.

PMID- 9973930
TI  - 3p13 region: a possible location of a tumor suppressor gene involved in uveal
      melanoma.
AB  - To contribute to a better understanding of the role of chromosomal rearrangements
      in the tumorigenesis of uveal melanoma, we present a case in which a structural
      aberration of chromosome 3 could indicate the specific region in which an uveal
      melanoma tumor suppressor gene could be located. We obtained a primary cell
      culture, characterized by cytogenetic study, through GTG- and CBG-banding
      techniques by using a mechanical dissection of a tumor sample obtained from an
      uveal melanoma. Cytogenetic analysis performed in the primary cell culture
      highlighted the presence of a structural rearrangement involving chromosomes 3
      and 22. A t(3;22)(p13;p11) was observed as the only present clonal aberration.
      The 3p13 breakpoint involved in the aberration observed in our case could be
      essential in restricting the candidate region for the locus of an uveal melanoma
      tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3.

PMID- 9973932
TI  - Trisomy 12 resulting from isochromosomes of both 12p and 12q in a case of B-CLL.

PMID- 9973933
TI  - Cytogenetic findings in a malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the breast.

PMID- 9973934
TI  - Abnormalities in the p34cdc2-related PITSLRE protein kinase gene complex (CDC2L)
      on chromosome band 1p36 in melanoma.
AB  - The two genes encoding the PITSLRE protein kinase isoforms, CDC2L1 and CDC2L2,
      are localized to human chromosome band 1p36. The PITSLRE protein kinases are a
      part of the p34cdc2 supergene family. Several protein products of the CDC2L locus
      may be effector(s) in apoptotic signaling. The larger PITSLRE p110 isoforms
      appear to regulate some aspect of RNA splicing/transcription during the cell
      cycle. One or more of these genes may function as tumor suppressor genes in
      melanoma. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, one allele of the CDC2L gene
      complex on chromosome 1 was either deleted or translocated in 8 of 14 different
      melanoma cell lines. We also observed mutations in the 5' promoter region of the
      CDC2L1 gene in four different cell lines relative to normal melanocytes using PCR
      SSCP analysis and direct DNA sequencing. Western blot analysis revealed decreased
      level of PITSLRE protein expression in several cell lines, as well as in four
      surgical malignant melanoma specimens relative to normal melanocytes. Thus, the
      decreased PITSLRE protein expression appears to result from deletion of the CDC2L
      alleles and possibly by mutations within the 5' promoter region. We propose that
      aberrations in the CDC2L genes may contribute to the pathogenesis or progression
      of melanoma.

PMID- 9973935
TI  - Validation of primed in situ labeling (PRINS) for interphase analysis:
      comparative studies with conventional fluorescence in situ hybridization and
      chromosome analyses.
AB  - Primed in situ labeling (PRINS) is a rapidly developing new technology with wide
      ranging clinical applications. To assess the sensitivity, specificity, and
      accuracy of PRINS, we carried out a retrospective study on cultured bone marrow
      cells to detect aneuploidy for chromosomes 7, 8, and 12. The results were then
      compared to the results of previous fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and
      chromosome analyses (CA). In patients who showed aneuploidy with CA, both FISH
      and PRINS confirmed the aneuploidy in interphase cells. FISH and PRINS also
      showed excellent correlation with conventional cytogenetic analysis for the
      detection of mosaic aneuploidies. However, both FISH and PRINS showed
      significantly higher sensitivity in the detection of abnormal clones compared to
      CA. In 9 of the 17 cases, there were no significant differences in the detection
      rates between the two methods. Based on our studies, we conclude that PRINS is as
      sensitive as FISH in most cases for aneuploidy detection; and that PRINS, like
      FISH, is more sensitive than conventional CA for aneuploidy detection.

PMID- 9973936
TI  - Deletion of HMG17 in uterine leiomyomas with ring chromosome 1.
AB  - Uterine leiomyomas are characterized by several subgroups with characteristic
      chromosomal aberrations, mainly 12q14-15, 6p21, or interstitial deletions of
      chromosomes 3 and 7. For the first two subgroups, aberrations of the HMGIC and
      HMGIY genes have been described and are held responsible for tumor initiation.
      For other subgroups no molecular findings have been described as of yet. We focus
      here on a smaller subgroup of uterine leiomyomas with a ring chromosome 1 either
      as the only karyotypic deviation or occurring along with other abnormalities. In
      the p-arm of chromosome 1 HMG17, another member of the high-mobility group of
      proteins has been localized to the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p35) with two PAC
      clones on metaphase spreads of a uterine leiomyoma ring(1). Hybridization signals
      for these probes were not detected within the ring chromosome consistent with
      loss or deletion of HMG17. These findings suggest that HMG17 does not play a
      mechanistic role in leiomyoma similar to that observed with other high-mobility
      proteins.

PMID- 9973937
TI  - A combined approach of conventional and molecular cytogenetics for detailed
      karyotypic analysis of the small cell lung carcinoma cell line U2020.
AB  - Until recently the ability to analyze complex karyotypic rearrangements was
      totally dependent upon light microscopy of G-banded chromosomes. Developments in
      the area of molecular cytogenetics have revolutionized such analysis, making it
      possible to determine the nature of complex rearrangements. An extensive analysis
      has been made of the small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cell line U2020, using a
      combined approach of conventional and molecular cytogenetics, enabling a highly
      detailed karyotype to be constructed revealing rearrangements previously
      undetected by G-banding alone. This approach offers the opportunity to reassess
      other tumor karyotypes, particularly those of high complexity found in solid
      tumors, for tumor-specific consistent rearrangements indecipherable by
      conventional karyotyping.

PMID- 9973938
TI  - Deletion of cell division cycle 2-like 1 gene locus on 1p36 in non-Hodgkin
      lymphoma.
AB  - Our laboratories have documented a significantly high occurrence of chromosome
      1p36 rearrangements in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The cell division cycle 2-like
      1(CDC2L1) (also known as TP58 or PITSLRE) gene, a protein kinase implicated in
      apoptotic signaling, is located at the very distal region of chromosome 1p36 and
      is likely to be disrupted by structural rearrangements involving 1p36. To
      determine the molecular consequences of the recurrent involvement of the 1p36
      region, we examined metaphases containing 1p36 abnormalities from 31 specimens
      derived from 26 patients for the possible deletion of CDC2L1 by fluorescence in
      situ hybridization (FISH) using the TP58clk-1 DNA probe. Twenty-three cases
      exhibited the loss of CDC2L1 from the abnormal chromosome 1. In 2 of 26 cases,
      the gene locus was translocated to the partner chromosome, and in four specimens,
      all derived from one case, CDC2L1 was not deleted. This pilot investigation
      suggests that 1p36 rearrangements, and consequently the loss of the CDC2L1 gene
      locus, is important in NHL. This work also opens avenues for further molecular
      studies and prognostic correlations.

PMID- 9973939
TI  - Trisomy 8 in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma detected by fluorescence in situ
      hybridization.
AB  - Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common malignant soft-tissue tumor in
      childhood. Cytogenetic studies of this tumor are rare. In one study trisomy 8 was
      found to be a primary cytogenetic abnormality. In view of the findings of trisomy
      8 in a multitude of cancers, we conducted a pilot study to test the hypothesis
      that a subset of rhabdomyosarcoma also exists with trisomy 8. Accordingly,
      archival tissues of 12 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma were retrieved and fluorescence
      in situ hybridization (FISH) using a chromosome 8-specific, alpha-satellite probe
      was undertaken on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections using the
      protocol optimized in the Cytogenetics Laboratory at Rhode Island Hospital. The
      results obtained demonstrated that 6 of 12 tumors showed chromosome 8 trisomy,
      when a 15% threshold is adopted. In addition, one case was borderline, with 11%
      of the cells found positive for three fluorescent signals. Future experiments
      utilizing additional specimens from our centers as well as from other
      laboratories are needed to confirm and extend the findings of the present study.

PMID- 9973940
TI  - Analysis of sperm chromosome complements before, during, and after chemotherapy.
AB  - Sperm chromosomal abnormalities were assessed in testicular cancer patients
      before, during, and after BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin) chemotherapy
      (CT). Multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was employed
      to detect aneuploidy for chromosomes 1, 12, X, and Y, and diploidy. Sperm samples
      were cryopreserved and coded before analysis to facilitate "blind" analysis.
      Complete results at all time points was available for only one patient. A total
      of 60,400 sperm were analyzed: 20,004 before CT, 20,005 during CT, and 20,391
      after CT. There was a significant increase in the frequency of 24,XY sperm during
      (0.33%) and post-CT (0.34%) compared to pre-CT (0.14%). This study suggests that
      there may be a significantly increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities in sperm
      of CT patients during and immediately post-CT, similar to that shown in animal
      models.

PMID- 9973941
TI  - Trisomy 7 and trisomy 8 in dividing and non-dividing tumor cells in Dupuytren's
      disease.
AB  - Cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic analysis is reported in a series of 40
      tissue samples from 36 patients with Dupuytren's disease, presenting as palmar
      and/or finger nodules. No consistent structural chromosome changes could be
      found. Instead, recurrent clonal numerical abnormalities were demonstrated in 22
      of 40 tissue nodules, involving trisomies of chromosome 7 or 8 and loss of the Y
      chromosome. In addition, we showed that trisomy 7 and trisomy 8 were also present
      in non-dividing cells.

PMID- 9973942
TI  - Plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumor with a clonal cytogenetic anomaly.
AB  - Plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumors are rare lesions of proposed myofibroblastic
      origin occurring primarily in infants and children. There is a characteristic
      biphasic histology comprised of both fibroblastic and histiocyte-like components.
      These tumors tend to be locally aggressive with prognosis dependent on
      completeness of resection. A previous cytogenetic case report of this tumor
      described a stemline clone with a karyotype of 46,XY,-6,-8,
      del(4)(q25q31),del(20)(q11.2),+der(8)t(8;?) (p22;?),+mar. We report a different
      cytogenetic finding in another plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumor which
      demonstrated a simpler karyotype of 46,XY,t(4;15)(q21;q15). The implications of
      cytogenetic heterogeneity in fibroblastic tumors is briefly discussed.

PMID- 9973943
TI  - A case of childhood acute myeloid leukemia associated with inversion (7)(p21q31).
AB  - We describe a case of acute myeloid leukemia in a 2 1/2-year-old boy presenting
      with a mediastinal tumor causing respiratory distress, and lymph node enlargement
      in the cervical and inguinal regions. Apart from myeloid markers CD13 and CD33,
      blast cells also expressed stem cell marker CD34 and megakaryocytic marker CD61.
      Cytogenetically, inv(7)(p21q31) was found in 9/25 and 15/25 analyzed metaphases
      from short-term cultures of lymph node and bone marrow cells, respectively. The
      patient is in continued complete remission 26 months post diagnosis. The case
      demonstrates that chromosome aberrations other than inv(16), t(8;21), and t(9;11)
      may be associated with extramedullary disease, and that not all chromosome 7
      aberrations are prognostic adverse findings.

PMID- 9973944
TI  - Jumping translocations of 3q in acute promyelocytic leukemia.
AB  - Jumping translocation is a rare phenomenon, seldom reported to occur in cancer. A
      complex four-way translocation involving chromosomes 3, 9, 15, and 17 was
      identified in the chromosome study on a patient with a history of an acute
      promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In the follow-up studies, the same complex
      rearrangement exhibited a jumping translocation between chromosomes 3 and 9 in
      one clone and 3 and 6 in another clone. This is the first reported case of
      jumping translocation in APL.

PMID- 9973945
TI  - Bleomycin-induced chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes derived from patients
      with lamellar ichthyosis.
AB  - Patients affected by some genetic skin defects, for example, dyskeratosis
      congenita or scleroderma, may present spontaneous or induced chromosomal
      fragility. Hence we performed a cytogenetic analysis in families of patients
      affected by lamellar ichthyosis, an autosomal recessive disease not yet fully
      characterized at the cellular and molecular levels. Chromosomal fragility was
      assayed in untreated lymphocyte cultures and in those supplemented with
      aphidicolin or bleomycin. Cells from some affected patients and some of their
      parents showed hypersensitivity to the radiomimetic agent bleomycin.

PMID- 9973946
TI  - Amplification of BCR-ABL rearrangement in atypical Philadelphia chromosome: a new
      variant detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization in one case of acute
      lymphoblastic leukemia.
AB  - We report on a 67-year-old woman with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who was
      supposed to have a variant Philadelphia (Ph) translocation identified by
      conventional cytogenetic techniques. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
      analysis demonstrated the presence of an amplification of BCR-ABL rearrangement
      at locus 22q11. This is the first observation, to our knowledge, of a duplicated
      BCR-ABL chimeric gene within the derived chromosome 22 in ALL. Our observation
      supports the possibility of detecting a variant Ph chromosome at the single-cell
      level by FISH analysis.

PMID- 9973947
TI  - Elliptocytosis in myelodysplastic syndrome associated with translocation
      (1;5)(p10;q10) and deletion of 20q.
AB  - Acquired elliptocytosis is a red blood cell abnormality occasionally associated
      with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). A Japanese male with MDS who presented with
      elliptocytosis had mild anemia and hypercellular bone marrow with three lineage
      dysplasia. He was diagnosed with refractory anemia of MDS. Cytogenetic analysis
      of bone marrow cells showed 47,XY,+1,der(1;5)(q10;p10),t(1;5)
      (p10;q10),del(20)(q11) in 70% of the analyzed cells. Analysis of red blood cell
      membrane proteins by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
      showed normal electrophoretic patterns with no quantitative abnormalities of each
      protein. Del(20q) and/or t(1;5)(p10;q10) might be associated with elliptocytosis
      in this patient.

PMID- 9973948
TI  - Increased karyotype precision using fluorescence in situ hybridization and
      spectral karyotyping in patients with myeloid malignancies.
AB  - We studied seven patients with various malignant hematologic disorders using
      fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and one of these patients with spectral
      karyotyping (SKY). With appropriate probes, the t(8;21) and inv(16) were
      confirmed in two patients and the karyotypic precision was increased in five
      others using FISH and SKY. Two of three patients with 12p rearrangements had a
      deletion of one TEL allele. Thus, these newer techniques are an important adjunct
      to accurate chromosome analysis in malignancy.

PMID- 9973949
TI  - Simultaneous occurrence of chronic myelogenous leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma
      at diagnosis.
AB  - We describe a case with the simultaneous occurrence of chronic myelogenous
      leukemia (CML) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Peripheral blood (PB) and bone
      marrow (BM) smears showed typical CML features. Lymph node biopsy exhibited a
      large-cell NHL. The Philadelphia chromosome or its molecular counterpart, the BCR
      ABL gene fusion, by detecting with dual color-(DC) fluorescence in situ
      hybridization (FISH), was detected reliably both in metaphase spreads from BM and
      in interphase nuclei from BM and follow-up PB cells, but was not detected in the
      lymph node cells. Clinical features and laboratory findings show this case having
      a coexistence of CML and NHL.

PMID- 9973950
TI  - Trisomy 10 as a sole chromosomal abnormality in AML-M2.

PMID- 9973951
TI  - Trisomy 8 and trisomy 14 in plantar fibromatosis.

PMID- 9973952
TI  - Predictive value of the polymerase chain reaction for the partially duplicated
      MLL gene transcript in acute myeloid leukemia.

PMID- 9973954
TI  - A multimodal approach in the diagnosis of patients with hematopoietic disorders.
AB  - Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of relatively ill-defined
      hematopoietic disorders in which both qualitative and quantitative defects of the
      hematopoietic cells cause bone marrow dysfunction. With an incidence estimated to
      be approximately 1 per 100,000 persons per year, MDS mainly affects the elderly.
      Myelodysplastic syndromes share many features with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia;
      in fact, a proportion of patients with MDS eventually develop acute myeloid
      leukemia. To illustrate a multimodal approach in the diagnosis of patients with
      hematopoietic disorders, we describe a 66-year-old patient with a question of
      myelodysplastic syndrome, leukemia, and two translocations involving chromosome
      10:t(5;10) and t(7;10). These structural rearrangements effectively gave rise to
      monosomy for part of the long arm of chromosome 5 and for the long arm of
      chromosome 7. Findings of del(5q) and del(7) in MDS have been reported in the
      literature. The results of chromosome morphometry, which was conducted to compare
      the lengths of all relevant chromosome segments, are consistent with the
      hypothesized chromosomal abnormalities. The investigational technique of
      fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using both painting and alpha
      satellite probes, was used as an adjunct to conventional cytogenetics to further
      delineate the nature of the chromosome abnormalities observed in the GTG-banded
      studies. Confirmatory studies utilizing the new technique of spectral karyotyping
      (SKY) were also carried out. Thus, the multimodal approach of hematopathology,
      GTG-banding, chromosome morphometry, FISH, and SKY can be very useful for
      delineating complex cytogenetic cases.

PMID- 9973953
TI  - High rate of chromosomal abnormalities in HTLV-I-infected T-cell colonies derived
      from prodromal phase of adult T-cell leukemia: a study of IL-2-stimulated colony
      formation in methylcellulose.
AB  - To detect chromosomal abnormalities in prodromal phase of adult T-cell leukemia
      (ATL), we established a clonal culture method for human T-lymphotropic virus type
      I (HTLV-I) infected T-cells in methylcellulose containing recombinant human
      interleukin 2 (rhIL-2). We tried to analyze chromosomes of 187 colonies (4, 23,
      69, 74, and 17, from HTLV-I-uninfected normal T-cells, HTLV-I-Infected normal T
      cells, HTLV-I carriers, smoldering ATL, and chronic ATL, respectively), using
      chromosomal banding methods. In the prodromal group, 53% of colonies (84/160)
      (36/69, 37/74, 11/17 in HTLV-I carriers, smoldering ATLs, and chronic ATL,
      respectively) had chromosomal abnormal clones. In HTLV-I carriers, multiple
      clones with simple chromosomal abnormalities were observed. In more progressed
      chronic ATL, more complex chromosomal abnormalities were detected, and specific
      colonies were selected. Thus, colonies in the prodromal phase of ATL are
      characterized by cytogenetical clonal evolution and clonal changes.

PMID- 9973955
TI  - Deletion 7q in B-cell low-grade lymphoid malignancies: a cytogenetic/fluorescence
      in situ hybridization and immunopathologic study.
AB  - Ten cases presenting a simple karyotype and del(7q) as a primary event were
      selected out of 353 patients referred as B-cell low-grade malignant
      lymphoproliferative disorders. Chromosome 7-specific painting probes confirmed
      the deletion that was tentatively assigned to bands q31q35. Chromosome 7 was
      involved in an interstitial deletion in seven cases, in an unbalanced
      translocation in two cases, and in a ring chromosome in one case. Common
      clinical/hematological features included advanced age, marked splenomegaly, and
      peripheral blood monoclonal IgM(D) lymphocytosis. Regardless of morphologic
      entity, most cases shared lymphoplasmacytoid features. Deletion 7q may delineate
      a variety of low-grade B-cell lymphoid disorders characterized by a common
      clinical history and immunopathologic similarities. The cytogenetic pattern and
      the ongoing work on molecular mapping of this deletion suggest that the loss of a
      putative tumor-supressor gene at 7q31q32 may constitute an early event in their
      pathogenesis.

PMID- 9973956
TI  - Cytogenetic changes in two cases of subependymal giant-cell astrocytoma.
AB  - Cytogenetic analysis of subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas (SEGAs) from two
      patients presenting the clinical symptoms of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)
      revealed clonal chromosomal changes, resulting in the partial loss of chromosome
      22q in both tumors. Immunohistochemically, tumors exhibited features of glial
      differentiation, while ultrastructural studies identified the characteristic
      paracrystalline inclusions within the tumor cells. To our knowledge, it is the
      first cytogenetic description of SEGAs associated with TSC.

PMID- 9973957
TI  - Frequent hypomethylation in Wilms tumors of pericentromeric DNA in chromosomes 1
      and 16.
AB  - Rearrangements in the pericentromeric heterochromatin of chromosome 1 or 16 are
      often found in many types of cancers, including Wilms tumors, and have been
      suggested to contribute to oncogenesis or tumor progression. The oncogenic
      potential of these rearrangements has been ascribed to the resulting chromosome
      arm imbalances affecting the dosage of tumor suppressor genes or protooncogenes.
      Because DNA hypomethylation has been linked to rearrangements in the
      pericentromeric regions of chromosome 1 and 16 in two types of non-cancer cell
      populations, we examined methylation of normally highly methylated satellite DNA
      sequences in these regions in Wilms tumors. Hypomethylation was found to be
      frequent in juxtacentromeric (satellite 2) sequences and, especially, in
      centromeric (satellite alpha) sequences of chromosome 1. Hypomethylation of
      satellite 2 DNA of chromosome 16 showed a high degree of concordance with that of
      satellite 2 DNA of chromosome 1. We discuss the relationship of this satellite
      DNA hypomethylation in Wilms tumors to chromosome aberrations, as determined by
      assays for loss of heterozygosity.

PMID- 9973959
TI  - Pathological and karyotypic abnormalities in advanced gastric carcinomas.
AB  - Twenty samples of stomach cancers were analyzed by conventional cytogenetic and
      histopathological techniques. Nineteen tumors were diagnosed as adenocarcinomas
      and one as an adenosquamous carcinoma. Multiple and complex chromosomal
      abnormalities were found in the cases evaluated cytogenetically. This
      heterogeneity of chromosomal changes appears to indicate a certain correlation
      with tumor progression. Histological analysis showed a distinctive growth pattern
      of gastric cancer samples and a potential for invasiveness and recurrence for all
      tumors as well as a poor prognosis.

PMID- 9973958
TI  - Jumping translocation of homogeneously staining region and tetraploidy with
      double minutes in acute myelomonocytic leukemia.
AB  - We report a 71-year-old patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMMoL) who
      had complicated chromosomal abnormalities showing diploidy with a jumping
      translocation of a homogeneously staining region (hsr) and tetraploidy with
      double minutes (dmin). The analysis of gene amplification showed that hsr and
      dmin were the results of C-ETS 1 gene amplification. After induction
      chemotherapy, tetraploidy with dmin completely disappeared, while diploidy with
      hsr and del(11)(q23) remained until the patient died. It is speculated that hsr
      is more stable than dmin during chemotherapy and that the presence of tetraploidy
      is not necessarily a factor of poor response to chemotherapy for acute leukemia.

PMID- 9973960
TI  - Can genetic instability be studied at the single chromosome level in cancer
      cells? Evidence from human melanoma cells.
AB  - We evaluated whether genetic instability, which is the hallmark of cancer cells,
      can be investigated at the single chromosomal level. We established in culture
      and examined a human malignant melanoma cell line and its 11 distinct clones as
      well as peripheral blood cultures from the original patient by G-banding, C
      banding, and silver-staining (AgNOR) techniques. There were six marker
      chromosomes common to most of the 11 clones and eight or nine additional marker
      chromosomes found in only one or in very few clones. Chromosome 1 had a
      pericentric inversion in the C-banded region in both the tumor and the lymphocyte
      metaphase spreads. This same homologue was also involved in the formation of one
      of the shared marker chromosomes; this marker, in turn, was rearranged to form
      two unique markers in one clone. Our findings suggest that genetic instability
      can be studied at the single chromosome level. Moreover, this study further
      supports our earlier contention that peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures can
      show chromosomal lesions that are stable markers in cancer cells.

PMID- 9973961
TI  - Adult precursor-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia with translocations involving
      chromosome band 19p13 is associated with poor prognosis.
AB  - Cytogenetic translocations involving chromosome band 19p13, the site of the E2A
      gene, have previously been reported in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemias
      (ALL) in association with a precursor-B cell immunophenotype and poor prognosis.
      We studied the frequency, pathologic findings, and clinical course of adults with
      leukemia with 19p13 translocations. Six patients with t(1;19) (q23;p13) and one
      patient with t(17;19)(q21;p13), all with ALL, were identified over an 8-year
      period from among 183 adult ALL patients (2.7%); t(1;19) was observed in 2.2% and
      t(17;19) in 0.5% of these patients. The seven patients (four females and three
      males) ranged from 18 to 59 years of age (median 33). All cases had a precursor-B
      cell immunophenotype, and a distinctive expression of surface markers (CD10,
      CD19, TdT, and HLA-Dr positive, usually negative for CD20, CD34, and negative for
      myeloid-associated antigens CD13, CD14, and CD33). The blast cells in one case
      expressed CD15. All patients were treated with combination chemotherapy and three
      patients received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. All patients had early
      (range 6-20 months) relapses, and died due to progressive disease 7-29 months
      after diagnosis. Similar to pediatric patients, adults with 19p13 leukemias
      usually do not respond to intensive therapy and have short survival. The poor
      prognosis of this group of adult ALL patients highlights the importance of
      detecting 19p13 translocations by cytogenetic analysis or molecular studies.

PMID- 9973962
TI  - Limited nonrandom chromosomal aberrations in a recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma
      of the parotid gland.
AB  - We present the cytogenetic, interphase fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH)
      and DNA content findings in a clinically aggressive adenoid cystic carcinoma
      (ADCC) of the parotid gland. The tumor manifested diploid chromosomal and DNA
      content by cytogenetic, interphase FISH and flow cytometry. G-banding analysis
      revealed inv(5)(p15.2q33) and t(6;15)(q25;q15) as the only structural alterations
      in all 30 metaphases examined. The limited structural abnormalities found in this
      recurrent lesion suggest that they may constitute a primary or early event in the
      development of this tumor. The involvement of 6q region in our tumor and in some
      of the previously reported ADCC supports the association between this region and
      the evolution of at least a subset of these tumors.

PMID- 9973964
TI  - Complex translocation (6;21;8), a variant of t(8;21), with trisomy 4 in a patient
      with acute myelogenous leukemia (M2).
AB  - The t(8;21)(q22;q22) is the second-most frequently observed nonrandom karyotypic
      abnormality associated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), especially in FAB
      M2. Trisomy 4 is also a specific chromosomal abnormality for AML FAB M2 or M4. We
      experienced a 37-year-old woman with a morphologically AML FAB M2 carrying a rare
      complex translocation (6;21;8)(p21;q22;q22) resulting in AML1 gene rearrangement.
      A subclone with an additional chromosomal abnormality, trisomy 4, was also
      revealed. Similarly to the typical t(8;21), a conventional chemotherapy
      successfully induced into complete remission associated with a recovery of normal
      karyotype, 46,XX, although AML1/MTG8 (ETO) chimera mRNA was detected by reverse
      transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

PMID- 9973963
TI  - Inversion (6)(p23q15) as the sole anomaly in a low-grade intraosseous
      osteosarcoma.
AB  - We describe the finding of an inversion (6)(p23q15) as the sole anomaly in short
      term cultures from an intraosseous low-grade osteosarcoma.

PMID- 9973965
TI  - Double minute chromosomes in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome transforming
      into acute myeloid leukemia.
AB  - Presence of double minute chromosomes (dmin) is rare in bone marrow cells in
      patients with preleukemia and leukemia. We describe a case of myelodysplastic
      syndrome-refractory anemia with excess of blasts (MDS-RAEB) associated with two
      unrelated pathological chromosomal clones that developed during the progression
      of the disease. The patient was followed cytogenetically for a period of 4 years.
      At the time of transition into RAEB-T and later to acute myeloid leukemia (AML),
      dmin were associated with resistance to chemotherapy. Fluorescence in situ
      hybridization study proved that the dmin in this case were c-MYC amplicons. At
      the terminal stage of the disease, dmins were present in all 50 analyzed cells.

PMID- 9973966
TI  - No chromosomal instability in offspring of survivors of childhood malignancy.
AB  - Chromosomal instability was examined in 20 apparently healthy children of
      survivors of childhood malignancy. As compared to controls, no increase of
      spontaneous or bleomycin-induced aberrations (including gaps, breaks, sister
      chromatid exchanges, pulverization, and premature centromere divisions) were
      found in these "index children." The results suggest that the offspring of
      subjects previously receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for childhood
      malignancy are probably at no increased risk of latent chromosomal instability.

PMID- 9973967
TI  - Identification of a ring chromosome in a myxoid malignant fibrous histiocytoma
      with chromosome microdissection and fluorescence in situ hybridization.
AB  - We investigated the origin of a ring chromosome in a myxoid malignant fibrous
      histiocytoma (MFH) by microdissection and fluorescence in situ hybridization
      (FISH) analyses. Cytogenetically, only two ring chromosomes were observed; the
      smaller ring was seen more frequently. The latter was microdissected, and the
      material used for FISH. Hybridization of the microdissected labeled DNA to normal
      metaphase cells revealed that the signal localized only to 20q. Three signals
      were seen in the tumor cells using either the microdissected 20q probe or
      chromosome 20 centromeric probe, indicating the involvement of both the long arm
      and the centromere in the ring chromosome. The short arm of chromosome 20 did not
      appear to be involved in the formation of the ring chromosome.

PMID- 9973969
TI  - Trisomy 10 in acute myeloid leukemia: revisited.

PMID- 9973970
TI  - Interscapulo-thoracic resection for malignant tumors of the shoulder joint
      region. 1928.

PMID- 9973971
TI  - Endoprosthetic replacement for primary malignant tumors of the proximal femur.
AB  - Fifty-four patients had endoprosthetic replacement of the proximal femur after
      resection of primary malignant or aggressive bone tumors. The mean age of the
      patients was 41 years. The average duration of followup was 9 years (range, 5-24
      years). At the time of this review 35 patients are surviving. There were six
      revisions of the acetabulum and seven revisions of the femoral component. The
      survivorship of the prostheses without revision was 77% at 10 years falling to
      57% at 20 years. There was a 13% risk of amputation and a 1.8% incidence of
      infection. The mean of the functional scores of the 35 living patients was 83%
      (range, 60%-97%). This study showed that successful long term results can be
      obtained with cemented massive endoprostheses despite the incidence of recognized
      complications including polyethylene wear and aseptic loosening.

PMID- 9973968
TI  - Translocation (17;22)(q22;q13) in a case of subcutaneous dermatofibrosarcoma
      protuberans in an adult.

PMID- 9973972
TI  - Algorithm for the surgical treatment of malignant lesions of the proximal tibia.
AB  - Complications are common among patients treated for malignant lesions of the
      proximal tibia and can be difficult to manage. This investigation was a
      retrospective review of 40 patients treated with total knee replacements after
      proximal tibial resections. Various reconstructive methods were used to fix the
      prosthetic stems, reestablish the extensor mechanism, and provide soft tissue
      coverage. Thirty-one patients had adequate followup to allow for review of
      prosthetic outcome (means, 78 months; range, 25-193 months). Seven patients died
      with less than 2 years followup, and two patients had postoperative acute
      infections treated by early amputation to allow chemotherapy to resume promptly.
      The overall 5-, 8-, and 12-year event free prostheses survival rates were 62%,
      33%, and 16%, respectively. Prognostic factors for prosthetic survival were
      analyzed (age, gender, type of excision, type of prosthesis, type of fixation,
      and percent of bone resected). None were statistically significant. Patients with
      less than 40% of the tibia resected had better prosthetic survival at 5 years.
      The durability of uncemented stem fixation exceeded that of cemented stems.
      Expected survival of prostheses after revision was 52% at 8 years. The major
      cause of limb loss was infection. Failure to reconstruct soft tissues
      satisfactorily caused most failures. Aggressive multistage management of
      infection is needed. Prosthetic knee replacement is most suitable for patients
      with cancers that require chemotherapy and for those patients who have short
      potential survival.

PMID- 9973973
TI  - Marginal excision for osteosarcoma with caffeine assisted chemotherapy.
AB  - The authors report on intentional marginal excision for osteosarcoma in
      conjunction with caffeine assisted chemotherapy for the purpose of preservation
      of good limb function. Twenty-seven patients with osteosarcoma (22 patients with
      Stage IIB and five with Stage IIIB) preoperatively were given three-to-five
      courses of intraarterial cisplatin and caffeine without or with doxorubicin. For
      26 (96%) responders to the chemotherapy, limb salvage surgery was conducted by
      means of an intentional marginal procedure, which led to the preservation of
      important structures such as major neurovascular bundles, tendons, ligaments,
      muscles, and the epiphysis. Tumors were located in the distal femur in 11
      patients, the proximal tibia in eight, the proximal fibula in four, the proximal
      humerus in two, and the proximal femur in one patient. The histologic response of
      these 26 patients to the preoperative chemotherapy showed no viable cells in 19
      patients with Stage IIB osteosarcoma and only scattered foci of viable cells in
      two patients with Stage IIB and five patients with Stage IIIB osteosarcoma. As
      for reconstruction, distraction osteogenesis was performed in eight patients,
      allograft or autoclaved bone and prosthesis composite in four, autoclaved bone in
      two, osteochondral allograft in two, megaprosthesis in six, and resection alone
      in four patients. The average functional evaluation of the 26 patients was 91% of
      normal. Local tumor recurrence was seen in one patient, whereas 18 patients with
      Stage IIB osteosarcoma remain diseasefree with a mean followup of 61 months. Two
      patients with Stage IIB osteosarcoma and four patients with osteosarcoma Stage
      IIIB died of the disease. Intentional marginal excision for osteosarcoma in
      conjunction with caffeine assisted chemotherapy is advantageous because it
      results in the preservation of healthy important structures, with joint
      preservation possible in selected cases. This approach should help to improve the
      success rate of limb salvage surgery for osteosarcoma and to preserve the
      function of the affected limb.

PMID- 9973975
TI  - Long-term results of limb salvage with the Fabroni custom made endoprosthesis.
AB  - In 1972 the authors began working on a limb amputation method using custom
      endoprostheses. Because of the biomechanical characteristics of these prostheses,
      good long-term results have been achieved. The current study presents the
      analysis of 27 cases, including 11 total femoral replacements, with a followup
      between 10 to 24 years (median, 14.4 years), with an overall score of 75% using
      the International Symposium On Limb Salvage evaluation system. Analyzing this
      surviving group, the authors realize that proximal humerus and proximal femur
      prosthesis with total or partial joint replacement have better scores of
      prosthetic survival, limb function, and patient acceptance and the lowest rates
      of mechanical complications. However, the replacement involving the knee had more
      complications and worse scores. The authors conclude that the simplest prosthetic
      design implanted had the fewest intrinsic prosthetic complications. Reducing the
      stiffness of a prosthesis and increasing the range of movement of the joint
      involved decreasing the stress forces between the prosthesis and the bone. This
      may have contributed to the favorable outcomes reported in the series.

PMID- 9973974
TI  - Long-term followup of patients with autogenous resection arthrodesis of the knee.
AB  - Arthrodesis of the knee may be indicated for the reconstruction after resection
      of tumor around the knee. Since the introduction of this technique, resection
      arthrodesis using segmental autogenous grafts has been the principal method of
      reconstruction. From August 1967 to February 1985, 73 patients underwent
      resection arthrodesis using autogenous grafts. All procedures were performed for
      malignant or potentially malignant lesions. Ten-year followup was available on 40
      patients. The reconstructive procedure was performed using an intramedullary rod
      and hemicortical femoral or tibial grafts with a single autogenous
      nonvascularized fibula or with dual nonvascularized fibulae. Despite a high
      surgical complication rate, the majority of patients achieved successful limb
      salvage. Independent ambulation was achieved by 86% of the patients. A
      Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional evaluation in 32 available patients at a
      mean of 17 years showed the majority of patients functioning satisfactorily. Long
      term followup of these patients shows continued durability of the reconstruction
      and a persistent high level of function and patient satisfaction. Resection
      arthrodesis using massive autogenous grafts should continue to be in the
      armamentarium of the orthopaedic oncologist.

PMID- 9973976
TI  - Reoperation for failed prosthetic replacement used for limb salvage.
AB  - Patients with segmental bone and joint replacement prostheses because of tumors
      increasingly need revision surgery because of their long term survival. Between
      1970 and 1990, 208 custom prosthetic replacements were performed for limb salvage
      in patients with tumors. Reoperations were required in 52 patients. The mean time
      to reoperation was 37 months. The reoperation procedures included 35 prosthetic
      revisions, 11 amputations, four arthrodeses, one vascularized fibular graft, and
      one open reduction and internal fixation of a fracture with supplemental bone
      graft. Functional assessment using the new Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scoring
      system was available for the 36 living patients, and their mean rating was 63%
      (18.9) at 12 years' mean followup. Of the 35 patients who received a new
      prosthesis, 12 (33%) patients needed a third operation at mean followup of 68
      months. The probability of prosthetic survival in the group of 35 patients
      needing revision to the same or another prosthesis was 79% at 5 years and 65% at
      10 years. The chance and frequency of needing reoperation increased as patients
      survived longer. Reoperations for tumor recurrence or infection usually resulted
      in amputation. Reoperation for failed initial segmental bone and joint prosthetic
      replacement is feasible and effective and can be done without jeopardizing
      subsequent patient and implant survival or without significantly affecting
      functional results compared with the values before reoperation.

PMID- 9973977
TI  - Etiology and results of tumor endoprosthesis revision surgery in 64 patients.
AB  - From December 1980 to December 1995, 278 patients underwent primary custom
      endoprosthesis replacements for neoplastic disease at the University of
      California, Los Angeles and have been followed up for a minimum of 2 years or to
      death. The endoprosthesis reconstruction failed in 64 patients, including 10
      additional patients referred for revision of their replacements. Failure was
      defined as the complete removal of a prosthesis for any reason. The cause of
      failure were aseptic loosening (44%), fatigue fracture (16%), local recurrence
      (14%), infection (13%), and failure of the expansion mechanism (6%). Forty-eight
      of 64 failed endoprostheses were managed by endoprosthesis reconstruction with
      most being revised using the same type of prosthesis. Nine of these patients with
      failed replacements experienced a second failure and four went on to require an
      amputation. Aseptic loosening and mechanical failure accounted for most of the
      failures and they were revised successfully. Sixty percent of the infected cases
      were salvaged satisfactorily by endoprosthetic revision, whereas, 89% of the
      local recurrences resulted in amputation. Based on endoprosthesis survival the 7
      year failure rates were 31% and 34% for primary and revision reconstructions,
      respectively. The functional results for the patients with endoprosthesis
      revisions either were better, unchanged, or on average only slightly lower than
      results of patients with a surviving endoprosthesis.

PMID- 9973978
TI  - Rotationplasty in skeletally immature patients. Long-term followup results.
AB  - Twenty-one skeletally immature patients with a Grade IIB osteosarcoma about the
      knee were treated with a modified Van Nes rotationplasty. Fourteen patients were
      followed up for 4 to 10.5 years (mean followup, 8 years). Functional assessment
      using Enneking's method showed all had good or excellent results. No patient
      thought that the reconstruction affected their ability to achieve recreational,
      sporting, or career goals. The reconstruction is durable and is not associated
      with an increase in late complications.

PMID- 9973979
TI  - Limb salvage and outcome of osteosarcoma. The University of Muenster experience.
AB  - One hundred thirty-six patients with non-metastatic high grade osteosarcoma
      treated from 1978 to 1994 in one institution with a multidisciplinary approach
      that included intravenous neoadjuvant chemotherapy were studied to evaluate which
      factors influence the outcome of modern orthopaedic therapy. Anatomic location,
      tumor volume, surgical margins, complications, and functional outcome were
      analyzed. Seventy-nine patients had a limb salvage procedure, 21 had a
      rotationplasty, and 33 had an amputation. Limb salvage consisted of 32
      endoprostheses, 39 allograft replacements, six autograft replacements, and two
      shortening procedures. Three patients died during preoperative chemotherapy
      treatment. At a mean followup of 43 months, 81 patients continue to be disease
      free, three are alive after local recurrence, 17 are alive after having
      metastatic lesions, five are alive with metastatic lesions present, and 30
      patients died of their disease. Forty-seven patients had pulmonary metastatic
      lesions, 14 had osseous metastatic lesions, three had abdominal metastatic
      lesions, two had lymphatic metastatic lesions, and eight patients had skip
      metastatic lesions. Prognosis correlated with chemotherapy response, surgical
      margins, and tumor volume. The minor complication rate for limb salvage was 4%
      and the major complication rate was 52%. Amputations had a 6% minor complication
      rate and 34% major complication rate. Rotationplasties had 10% minor and 48%
      major complication rates. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional evaluation
      after limb salvage showed that 23 (38%) patients had more than 75% of the maximum
      functional score, 34 (56%) were from 50% to 75%, and three (5%) less than 50%. Of
      the rotationplasties, six (67%) were functionally better than 75% and three (33%)
      were functionally better than from 50% to 75%. In the group of amputations, 13
      (56%) were from 50% to 75%, and 10 (44%) less than 50%. The extent of
      preoperative necrosis, surgical margins, and tumor volume are the most important
      prognostic factors. The increase in limb salvage procedures and the better long
      term survival of patients results in a higher rate of immediate and delayed
      complications. Functional outcome after rotationplasty is superior to limb
      salvage reconstruction and amputation.

PMID- 9973980
TI  - Evaluating functional outcome in patients with lower extremity sarcoma.
AB  - The Short Form 36, The Toronto Extremity Salvage Score, and the 1987 and 1993
      Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Rating Scales were compared as measures of
      functional status for patients with lower extremity sarcoma. The study included
      97 patients with lower extremity sarcoma and evaluated each measure on the
      following measurement properties: conceptual framework; statement of the purpose;
      feasibility; breadth of content; depth of measurement; cross sectional and
      longitudinal reliability; and validity and responsiveness. The Short Form 36
      represents patients' perceptions of their physical and mental health and is
      practical to use. However, the validity of the measure is questionable for the
      patients with sarcoma because the subscale structure could not be reproduced in
      the current data. The Toronto Extremity Salvage Score meets all standards of
      measurement with the exception of breadth of content as it measures only physical
      function. The 1987 and 1993 Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scales do not meet the
      standards of measurement. In choosing an outcome measure for the extremity
      sarcoma population, the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score has superior measurement
      properties when compared with the Short Form 36 or the 1987 and 1993
      Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scales. The Toronto Extremity Salvage Score is a
      reliable and efficient measure for monitoring patients and for use in clinical
      trials.

PMID- 9973981
TI  - Biologic attachment of an allograft bone and tendon transplant to a titanium
      prosthesis.
AB  - An Achilles tendon allograft with its bony insertion was used to bridge a
      Titanium implant, containing an endoprosthetic tendon anchor, and the sheep
      biceps muscle. Twelve sheep were operated on unilaterally and followed up
      clinically and histologically for 2, 4 (n = 2), 8, and 12 months (n = 4). Full
      function of the front limb was regained after 8 to 12 weeks. There were no signs
      of mechanical loosening at all times. The morphologic changes at the bone block
      and implant fixation site were an initial revascularization of the allograft
      bone, which was observed at 2 months and enhanced at 4 months but occurred
      without any evidence of bone remodeling. This was changed in all specimens taken
      at 8 and 12 months where intensive new bone development, remodeling, and bone
      ingrowth in the titanium implant was found. Bone mass was shifted significantly
      to the tendon insertion half of the bone block because of a creeping substitution
      of the cancellous allograft bone and bone ingrowth to the implant. Overall bone
      mass slightly decreased with time but resorption of allograft bone outweighed new
      bone development only at lesser loaded areas. Transplantation of a bone and
      tendon allograft to an implant resulted in a revitalized, mechanically stable,
      and biologically anchored compound.

PMID- 9973982
TI  - Intraepiphyseal resection of the proximal tibia and its impact on lower limb
      growth.
AB  - From 1989 through 1996, 10 children affected by high grade bone tumors of the
      proximal tibia underwent an intraepiphyseal intercalary resection. The residual
      epiphyseal bone segment measured less than 2 cm in thickness in all cases and
      reconstruction always was performed using the combination of a vascularized
      fibular autograft and a massive bone allograft. The proximal epiphyseal
      osteosynthesis was fixed by small fragment screws. The aim of this study was to
      report the growth pattern of the residual proximal tibial epiphysis and to
      evaluate any possible lower limb discrepancy and/or deformity after the end of
      skeletal maturity. At current followup six patients were available for the final
      evaluation. Radiographic documentation included computed tomography scan of both
      knees before surgery, a panoramic radiographic view and a computed tomography
      scan of both lower limbs after the end of skeletal growth. The length of both
      femurs and tibias, the size of the tibial plateau and of the opposite distal
      femur, and any possible deformity of femur or tibia were measured and compared
      with the preoperative data. No patient had a limb length discrepancy greater than
      3.5 cm. In all cases the ipsilateral femur had a valgus deformity of the hip
      develop. In two patients this deformity was associated with an elongation of the
      femur, partially compensating for the shortening of the tibia. The tibial plateau
      close to reconstruction grew less than the contralateral one (range 2%-8%) but
      maintained its normal relationship with the distal femur. None of these patients
      reported any restriction in recreational activities. They could walk, run, and
      jump. Their functional result according the International Society of Limb Salvage
      functional grading system was satisfactory in all cases.

PMID- 9973983
TI  - Local and systemic control after ablative and limb sparing surgery in patients
      with osteosarcoma.
AB  - Limb salvage surgery in patients with osteosarcoma is reported to cause a higher
      rate of local recurrences with a poorer chance of survival. It was the aim of the
      study to analyze differences between ablative and limb sparing surgery in
      patients with osteosarcoma who are treated with chemotherapy with respect to
      local and systemic tumor control and to determine independent prognostic factors.
      One hundred thirty consecutive patients younger than the age of 21 years who were
      operated on at the authors' institution for osteosarcoma of the extremities were
      reviewed. Histologic evaluations of surgical margins according to Enneking and
      coworkers revealed mostly wide (n = 109) and radical (n = 10) resection margins.
      The 5-year disease free survival rate was 60% for those patients treated by
      amputation and 71% for those treated by limb salvage. The overall local
      recurrence rate was 2.3%; 4.3% for ablation but only 1.2% for limb sparing
      surgeries. Multivariate analysis showed an independent effect of tumor volume,
      response to chemotherapy, and as expected, metastases at the time of diagnosis on
      overall survival. These data indicate that in patients where wide or radical
      tumor resection can be achieved, no difference in the outcome between ablative
      and limb sparing surgery occurred in local and systemic tumor control.

PMID- 9973985
TI  - Functioning muscle transplantation after wide excision of sarcomas in the
      extremity.
AB  - Free functioning muscle transplantation was performed after resection of 23
      sarcomas in the extremity. There were 21 soft tissue sarcomas and two malignant
      bone tumors. The tumor resection was performed with a wide margin in all except
      two patients who had a marginal margin in a limited area. The consequent
      extensive soft tissue defect received free musculocutaneous flaps, the motor
      nerve of which was repaired in the recipient site. The most frequent procedure
      was latissimus dorsi transplantation to replace thigh muscles in 17 cases. The
      other donors included gracilis, tensor fascia lata, and rectus femoris, which
      were selected according to the site of defects. Patients were followed up for a
      mean of 60 months (range, 13-119 months). The grafted muscles showed
      reinnervation at a mean of 6 months postoperatively in all patients except for a
      75-year-old patient. Obtained contraction of the muscles was powerful in 18
      patients and fair in four patients. Performance of the salvaged limb
      significantly improved after recovery of the muscles. Although there were five
      distant recurrences, local recurrence was seen in one patient with systemic
      metastases. Because muscle loss could be compensated functionally for by the
      innervated free muscle transfer, the method encouraged surgeons to perform more
      radical tumor excisions and this may have contributed to the excellent local
      tumor control that was achieved. Thus, functioning muscle transplantation was
      extremely useful in limb salvage surgery from the functional and oncologic
      viewpoints.

PMID- 9973984
TI  - Failures after operation for skeletal metastatic lesions of long bones.
AB  - This study was based on 192 patients treated surgically for 228 metastatic
      lesions of the long bones from 1986 through 1995. The survival rate was 0.3 at 1
      year after surgery. The surgical treatment consisted of resection and
      reconstruction of the involved bone (18), intralesional curettage (133), or
      stabilization only (77). Reconstruction was achieved by an endoprosthesis in 54
      cases, by an osteosynthetic device in 162, by cement only in 10. In two cases no
      reconstruction was performed. The local failure rate was 11% and the median time
      to failure was 8 months. Local failure was most frequent in patients with kidney
      cancer (24%) and in diaphyseal and distal femoral lesions (20%). Among 162
      operations involving osteosynthetic devices, 22 (14%) were failures as compared
      with one of 54 (2%) endoprostheses. Sixty percent of the patients received
      preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy. Five of the six patients who had
      surgery for local tumor progression had not received radiotherapy. Eight of 10
      nonunions and all five patients who developed a stress fracture had been treated
      with radiotherapy. It is concluded that endoprosthetic reconstructions are
      preferable to osteosynthetic devices. The skeletal complications associated with
      radiotherapy may be circumvented by the use of endoprostheses.

PMID- 9973986
TI  - Prognosis of early stage avascular necrosis of the femoral head.
AB  - Seventy-two femoral heads in 63 patients in whom avascular necrosis of the
      femoral head was in the early stage were followed up prospectively for a mean
      period of 6 years 1 month. All of the necrotic lesions were confirmed by magnetic
      resonance imaging. At the time of final outcome, 46 (64%) of the 72 hips were
      symptomatic. Necrotic lesions greater than 2/3 of the weightbearing portion on T1
      weighted central coronal images indicated a high risk of clinical deterioration.
      Fifty-nine of the 72 hips initially had necrotic lesions greater than 2/3 of the
      weightbearing portion, and 44 (75%) of these 59 hips were symptomatic at the
      final outcome. However, in the radiographic assessment of 15 (25%) asymptomatic
      hips, even when the necrotic lesions were greater than 2/3 of the weightbearing
      portion as shown by magnetic resonance imaging, the continuous absence of any
      radiographic abnormality indicated the possibility of a continuous asymptomatic
      stage for at least several years.

PMID- 9973987
TI  - Borderline necrosis of the femoral head.
AB  - To determine whether the histologic lesions classified by the system of Arlet et
      al as Type 2 (granular necrosis of fatty marrow) and Type 3 (complete medullary
      and trabecular necrosis) always progress to Type 4 (complete necrosis with
      marginal medullary fibrosis and appositional new bone formation), 10 femoral
      heads (nine patients) were monitored for 4 years using serial magnetic resonance
      images. These femoral heads had been diagnosed histologically as having either
      Type 2 (seven hips) or Type 3 (three hips) necrosis on initial core biopsies. On
      the initial magnetic resonance image, none of the femoral heads showed any focal
      lesions indicative of osteonecrosis. In all instances, superselective angiography
      showed interruption of the superior retinacular artery, and the bone marrow
      pressure was elevated. During a followup period of 48 to 54 months, no patient
      had a reactive low signal intensity band develop on T1 weightings, as evidence of
      a reparative process around the necrotic portion of the lesion, or any other
      findings of osteonecrosis on magnetic resonance images. These findings suggest
      that some Type 2 and 3 lesions of Arlet et al may not develop an obvious reactive
      interface of reparative revascularization and thus may not progress to definite
      and classic Type 4 osteonecrosis. This study supports the hypothesis that there
      is an ischemic threshold between reversible intraosseous hypoxia (bone marrow
      edema syndrome) and irreversible intraosseous anoxia (classic bone infarction or
      osteonecrosis) and suggests that borderline necrosis occurs in the transition
      zone of this ischemic threshold and is nonprogressive.

PMID- 9973988
TI  - Dislocation after total hip arthroplasty using the anterolateral abductor split
      approach.
AB  - The three basic surgical approaches used most commonly in total hip arthroplasty
      are transtrochanteric, posterior, and anterolateral. Complications related to
      each of these surgical approaches have been reported including dislocation,
      trochanteric nonunion, heterotopic ossification, neurovascular damage,
      postoperative limp, and implant malalignment. The anterolateral abductor split
      approach previously has been reported to allow ease of access into the hip joint,
      optimum joint visualization, protection of neurovascular structures of the hip,
      and predictable results for postoperative hip function restoration. Reviewing a
      large consecutive series of primary total hip arthroplasty cases (1518), the
      authors report an overall dislocation rate less than 1% (12:1518; 0.79%).
      Stratified by preoperative diagnosis, patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty
      after trauma, or presenting with congenital dysplastic hip are at the highest
      risk for postoperative dislocation. Primary total hip arthroplasty using the
      anterolateral, abductor split approach can minimize the rate of postoperative
      dislocation in the prevailing preoperative diagnostic categories.

PMID- 9973989
TI  - Metal release and excretion from cementless titanium alloy total knee
      replacements.
AB  - Concentrations of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium were measured in the serum and
      urine of patients with titanium alloy cementless primary total knee arthroplasty
      components. Patients were categorized in one of five groups. In Group 1, the
      patellar and tibial articulating surfaces were made of carbon fiber reinforced
      ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene. In Group 2, the patellar and tibial
      surfaces were made of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene. In Group 3, the
      femoral titanium alloy articulating surface was nitrogen ion implanted with
      ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene patellar and tibial articulating
      surfaces. Patients in Group 4 had failed patellar components, and Group 5 was
      comprised of age and gender matched control subjects without implants. Serum
      concentrations of titanium were approximately 50 times greater in patients with
      failed patellar components (Group 4) and approximately 10 times greater in
      patients with carbon fiber reinforced polyethylene bearing surfaces (Group 1)
      when compared with Groups 2 and 3 and the control subjects (Group 5). For
      aluminum and vanadium, no detectable differences were observed among any of the
      groups. In addition, analysis of 24-hour urine samples showed no significant
      differences in titanium, aluminum, or vanadium concentrations among any of the
      groups. Elevated serum titanium levels may serve as a marker of patellar
      component failure or accelerated femoral component wear in total knee
      replacements with titanium alloy bearings. The toxicologic ramifications of these
      findings are unknown.

PMID- 9973990
TI  - Screw home motion after total knee replacement.
AB  - The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of muscle force and the
      posterior cruciate ligament on screw home motion in patients with total knee
      replacement in a posterior cruciate ligament retaining prosthesis (10 knees) and
      a posterior cruciate ligament substituting prosthesis (10 knees). Screw home
      motion was examined with only active extension and with two types of externally
      loaded active extension (2 kg and body weight). Screw home motion was measured
      with a 6 degrees of freedom electrogoniometer (instrumented spatial linkage).
      Retaining the posterior cruciate ligament maintained screw home motion, with and
      without external load to muscles, whereas substituting the posterior cruciate
      ligament maintained screw home motion only under the full external load of body
      weight. This was not seen with a 2-kg external load. As for the normal knee, it
      appears that screw home motion of a prosthetic knee is influenced, not only by
      the presence of ligamentous structures, but also by the activity of the muscles.
      The activity of the muscles may have a much greater effect on screw home motion
      with currently used prosthetic designs than does the presence of ligamentous
      structures.

PMID- 9973991
TI  - Long-term osteoarthritic changes in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed
      knees.
AB  - To consolidate the indications for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and
      clarify the long-term prognosis associated with current surgical and
      rehabilitation techniques, the incidence of osteoarthritis in arthroscopically
      anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed knees requires investigation. Seventy
      two patients with anterior cruciate ligament ruptures who were active in sports
      requiring sidestepping and pivoting, or who had recurrent episodes of giving way,
      underwent arthroscopic bone-patellar tendon-bone anterior cruciate ligament
      reconstruction. These patients were evaluated for meniscal damage and
      osteoarthritic changes at the time of surgery and followed up for 7 years. Fifty
      three patients underwent radiographic evaluation at 7 years, which included
      anteroposterior, lateral, skyline, and 30 degrees posteroanterior weightbearing
      views. Radiographic evaluation was performed by three independent surgeons and
      graded as per International Knee Documentation Committee criteria. Results
      revealed that knees with chronic anterior cruciate ligament deficiency, even
      those with intact menisci before reconstruction, suffered early osteoarthritic
      changes. More severe changes were seen with meniscectomy. Acute anterior cruciate
      ligament reconstruction with meniscal preservation was shown to have the lowest
      incidence of degenerative change. Controversy exists regarding the timing of
      anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. This study supports early
      reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament deficient knees before episodes of
      giving way occur in individuals intent on continuing activities that involve
      sidestepping and pivoting.

PMID- 9973992
TI  - 12-year outcome after modified Watson-Jones tenodesis for ankle instability.
AB  - In a retrospective study, the long term outcome of the modified Watson-Jones
      tenodesis according to Lemberger and Kramer was determined using a questionnaire,
      clinical examination, radiographic data, including stress views, measurement of
      plantar pressure distribution, and peroneal reaction times on a tilt board.
      Twenty-five male patients (mean age, 34 years) with a mean followup of 12 years
      from surgery were available for examination. Eighteen patients (72%) were
      classified clinically as having excellent or good results. The higher presence of
      osteophytes in the surgically treated ankle in comparison with the opposite side
      indicated the progression of arthrosis with time, but this finding could not be
      related to the reconstruction method. Anterior drawer and talar tilt were reduced
      significantly in comparison with the preoperative stress radiographs. No
      differences in plantar pressure distribution were seen between the patients'
      surgically treated and nonsurgically treated feet. The peroneal reaction times of
      the peroneus brevis and peroneus longus muscles were significantly shorter in the
      surgically treated foot compared with the opposite side. It was concluded that
      the modified Watson-Jones tenodesis effectively corrected lateral ankle
      instability with no clinical deterioration with time and no influence on gait.

PMID- 9973993
TI  - Bone tumors of the coracoid process of the scapula.
AB  - Bone tumors of the coracoid process of the scapula are rare, and diagnosis and
      treatment often are delayed. The records of 18 patients with bone tumors of the
      coracoid process were reviewed. Histologic types included eight cases of ordinary
      chondrosarcoma, three cases of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma, two cases of
      osteoid osteoma, and one case each of osteosarcoma, plasmacytoma, lymphoma, giant
      cell tumor, and aneurysmal bone cyst. All 18 patients had shoulder pain, and
      eight of them had been treated with steroid injections for nonneoplastic
      conditions. Radiologically, chondrosarcoma did not always show clear cortical
      destruction, and one giant cell tumor had features mimicking those of
      chondrosarcoma. Five patients (three with dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma, one
      with chondrosarcoma, one with plasmacytoma) died of disease. The coracoid process
      was the site with a markedly high proportion of chondrosarcomas. Bone tumors of
      the coracoid process may be difficult to detect on plain radiographs. In the
      patient with persistent shoulder pain unresponsive to the selected treatment,
      additional imaging studies should be considered to eliminate the possibility of a
      bone lesion.

PMID- 9973994
TI  - Sacroiliac joint tuberculosis. Classification and treatment.
AB  - The authors treated 16 patients with tuberculosis of the sacroiliac joint. Twelve
      were treated surgically and four were treated conservatively. The clinical
      symptoms were buttock and low back pain in all patients, and most had difficulty
      walking (68.6%) and had radicular pain in their lower limbs (50%). Of the 16
      patients, four (15%) had associated tuberculous spondylitis, six (37.5%) had an
      abscess in the gluteal region, and two (12.5%) had an abscess in the inguinal
      region. The diagnosis was proven by pathologic specimen in 12 patients and by
      clinical symptoms, laboratory data, and radiologic findings in the remaining four
      patients. The authors classified tuberculous sacroiliitis into four types based
      on the clinical and radiologic findings. Types 1 and 2 were treated
      conservatively with chemotherapy alone, whereas Types 3 and 4 were treated with
      surgery and chemotherapy. Healing occurred and was evident in patients who had
      curettage and arthrodesis (Types 3 and 4) at a mean of 20.8 months, which was
      comparable with healing in the patients who had chemotherapy alone that occurred
      at a mean of 23.5 months (Types 1 and 2). The authors suggest that the new
      classification will be helpful in determining the therapeutic plan of tuberculous
      sacroiliitis.

PMID- 9973995
TI  - Analysis of prosthetic femoral heads retrieved at autopsy.
AB  - This study examined 24 prosthetic femoral heads retrieved at autopsy from
      patients with clinically and radiographically successful arthroplasties. Four
      alumina ceramic and 20 cobalt chrome heads in service for an average of 8.5 years
      were examined with a contact and a laser stylus profilometer. The authors
      documented general increases in surface roughness of the cobalt chrome and
      ceramic femoral heads attributable to in vivo articulation and also observed wear
      polishing around the apical region of the cobalt chrome heads. The roughness of
      the prosthetic femoral heads was compared with the polyethylene wear in the
      matching liners. No relationship was found between femoral head roughness values
      and polyethylene wear or component duration in situ. The only variable related to
      the pattern of head roughness and polyethylene wear was the presence of embedded
      particle debris in the polyethylene liner. Roughness parameters for cobalt chrome
      heads without embedded debris in the polyethylene liner were fairly uniform
      around the head. Roughness values, which were higher for heads associated with
      debris, had a decreasing gradient of surface roughness from the equator to the
      apex. In addition, the polyethylene wear rate for cups with embedded particle
      debris in the liner was significantly greater than the wear rate for cups without
      embedded debris. This study also showed a strong correlation between surface
      roughness values measured with the contact profilometer and values measured with
      the noncontact laser profilometer. However, laser profilometer values were four
      to six times higher, indicating that roughness parameters measured by the two
      different profilometers cannot be compared directly. Findings of this study point
      consistently to the influence of third body wear particles on prosthetic femoral
      head roughness and polyethylene wear. These results stress the importance of
      minimizing all foreign body debris in maintaining a well functioning articular
      couple.

PMID- 9973996
TI  - Marrow cell culture on poly-L-lactic acid fabrics.
AB  - Bone marrow cells from rat femurs were cultured in Eagle Minimum Essential Medium
      containing 15% fetal calf serum until confluence. After the cells were
      trypsinized, they were subcultured on fabrics made of biodegradable poly-L-lactic
      acid for 2 weeks in the medium containing fetal calf serum, ascorbic acid
      phosphate, beta-glycerophosphate, and with and without dexamethasone. In the
      presence of dexamethasone, the fabrics showed many mineralized nodules together
      with cuboidal shaped cells that had osteoblastic activity, as evidenced by high
      alkaline phosphatase activity and the appearance of osteocalcin messenger
      ribonucleic acid. However, in the absence of dexamethasone, nodules did not form
      and many fibroblastic cells appeared with no evidence of osteoblastic activity.
      These results indicate the possibility of making a hybrid ligament substitute
      having an in vitro prefabricated bone anchor.

PMID- 9973997
TI  - Rigid or sliding plate. A mechanical evaluation of osteotomy fixation in sheep.
AB  - Fracture fixation using rigid plates leads to direct bone union, but it also may
      lead to complications because of stress protection osteopenia. This study aims to
      compare the mechanical characteristics restored during the callus formation after
      an osteotomy is fixed with two types of internal plate fixation. Twenty-four
      adult female sheep were divided randomly into three groups of eight each, which
      were euthanized at 2, 4, and 6 months after operation. Half of them had their
      osteotomized radius fixed with a seven hole dynamic compression plate, whereas in
      the remainder a sliding plate was used. The sliding plate consists of two halves
      connected together in such a way as to permit axial sliding of the one within the
      other, thus allowing cyclic axial load transfer at the fracture site. Bone strips
      obtained from the healthy (control) and the surgically treated side were
      subjected to four-point bending tests. The effective modulus of elasticity,
      ultimate bending strength, and energy absorption to fracture (toughness) were
      calculated. All parameters were restored more quickly in the sliding plate group,
      but there was no statistically significant difference observed at 6 months when
      all the osteotomies were united completely. Thus, the sliding plate, by allowing
      axial loading at the fracture site, led to a faster callus maturation and hence
      bony union, which, hopefully, will permit earlier full weightbearing and
      functional recovery of the injured limb.

PMID- 9973998
TI  - A 90-year-old woman presenting with hip pain.

PMID- 9973999
TI  - The next 10 years--the bone and joint decade.

PMID- 9974000
TI  - [Clinical studies of patients with spinal cord metastases].
AB  - Eighty-one patients with spinal-cord tumors are hospitalized in the Clinic of
      Emergency Neurology and Neurosurgery over the period 1988 through 1997. Of the
      total number, 74 patients of which 25 presenting metastases from neoplasms with
      primary location out of the central nervous system, are subjected to operation.
      There are 4 tumors involving the cervical segment, 1--cervicothoracic, 17-
      thoracic, 1--thoracolumbar, and 2--lumbar segment. Histological verification is
      done in all patients operated on. The indications for undertaking surgery in this
      particular contingent of patients are discussed.

PMID- 9974001
TI  - [Pathophysiologically advisable operations on the biliary-hepatic-pancreatic
      system].
AB  - Nowadays, the modern operative treatment of biliary-hepatic-pancreatic diseases
      is pathogenetically substantiated. In lithiasis and cholecystitis removal of the
      gallbladder should be undertaken only after assessment of the patency and output
      of the biliary tree (i.e. from the biliary canal) following visual, instrumental
      and if necessary--manometric and intraoperative cholangiographic study. To
      eliminate an obstacle--calculus or postampullar papillitis--it is necessary to
      perform papillotomy or papilloplasty using a balloon catheter introduced through
      the choledochus and electric knife if practicable. Since 1970, an operation of
      the kind is carried out in 79 patients, and with deperitonization (denervation
      and delymphatization)--in eleven patients presenting cholangiohepatitis and
      biliopancreatitis. In twelve patients, owing to pathological changes in the
      preampullar portion of choledochus, choledochoduodenostomy according to a
      modified technique, type "frog mouth", is done in the distal choledochus with
      formation of a distal convex flap from the anterior wall of te choledochus with
      an anti-reflux effect. In pre-combined with postampullar stenosis papillotomy and
      papilloplasty are performed, and if necessary dilatation or osteowirsungotomy
      plus drainage. In unobstructued cholangiohepatitis and biliopancreatitis, it is
      sufficient to supplement cholecystectomy with Kehr drainage. The ideal
      echinococcotomy is done according to a personal modification through hydraulic
      stratification of the fibrous capsule (1958). Segmental resection is necessitated
      in marginal, petrified and suppurated cysts in 28 patients, and lobectomy--in
      two. Resections are performed by hydraulic and instrumental division and
      hemostasis along the lines of anatomical separation or in the pericyst space.

PMID- 9974002
TI  - [The significance of congenital inhibitor deficiency in acute pancreatitis].
AB  - In the past few years, genotype influence on the occurrence and developmental
      course of acute pancreatitis is ever more frequently accounted for. Forty-three
      patients presenting mild (2), medium-severe (33) and severe (6) form of the
      disease are covered by the study, undertaken with the purpose to assay the role
      played by some immunoglobulins and polymorphic plasma proteins in this particular
      disease. In evaluating plasma proteins a deficit of the protease inhibitor Alpha1
      antitrypsin is found in twelve patients. However in two cases only Alpha1
      antitrypsin deficit is associated with deficiency of the other protease inhibitor
      -the Alpha2 macroglobulin. In acute pancreatitis patients a genetically
      determined deficit of protease inhibitory activity is documented, considered a
      good reason to undertake conservative management using protease inhibitors in the
      initial phases of the condition.

PMID- 9974003
TI  - [Immune deficiency in the genesis of acute postoperative pancreatitis (initial
      studies)].
AB  - The issue of acute postoperative pancreatitis (APP) development is discussed
      against the background of the immune state of the organism. The problem in itself
      is by no means a new one. Attention is called to the major role of
      immunodeficiency as an underlying cause of APP. Proceeding from experience had
      with two observations, the early results of researches along this line are
      presented.

PMID- 9974004
TI  - [A clinico-morphological parallel in peptic ulcer in middle and old age].
AB  - Based of clinical and obduction case material covering the period 1990-1997, the
      clinical profile, morphological patterns and therapeutic approach, consistent
      with the specificity of age, complications of the basic disease and presence of
      concomitant diseases, are summed up. The results of biopsy and necropsy studies,
      following statistical processing by the methods of variation and correlation
      analysis, afford information on the morbidity in either gender, as well as on the
      location and morphological patterns of ulcers, their complications and associated
      diseases. Over the period 1990 through 1997, a total of 5425 cases are subjected
      to obduction study. Of them 799 (14.7 per cent) are with ulcers, 543 men and 256
      women at 2.1-to-1 male-to-female ratio. Four-hundred fifty-nine (54.4 per cent)
      are in advanced and old age, at male-to-female ratio 1.9-to-1. There are 362
      gastric ulcer patients (45 per cent), 237 men and 125 women, at male-to-female
      ratio 1.8-to-1. Of the latter 176 (48.6 per cent) are in advanced and old age, 94
      men and 82 women at approximative male-to-female ratio 1-to-1.

PMID- 9974005
TI  - [The organ-conserving treatment of early carcinoma of the breast. I. The
      biological, histological and radiobiological bases. II. Radiotherapy--an
      essential component in the organ-conserving surgery of early carcinoma of the
      breast].
AB  - One of the major achievements in the last 20 years is the awareness that
      mutilating surgery--mastectomy--is a biologically obsolete therapeutic approach,
      and no longer indicated in the treatment of early breast cancer which in turn,
      has a dramatic effect insofar as mammary gland preservation is obviously an
      important consideration for each woman. Either of the operative procedures-
      quadrantectomy and lumpectomy--should be by all means followed by radiotherapy
      with a view to control local recurrences of the process. Clinical trials covering
      borderline disciplines assay the contribution of the answers to a number of
      questions, as follows: 1) Is the effect of conservative mammary gland treatment
      comparable to that of mastectomy? 2) Is radiotherapy an essential component of
      conservative breast surgery? 3) Is conservative surgery indicated in all cases
      presenting early breast carcinoma? 4) Which are the factors exerting influence on
      the conservative therapeutic approach to breast cancer?

PMID- 9974006
TI  - [Relaparotomy in middle-aged and elderly patients with peritonitis following a
      primary operation for digestive pathology--II].
AB  - The study covers 39,233 patients presenting biliodigestive pathology of which
      12,230 in advanced and senile age, admitted to the emergency surgery section of
      the EMI "NI Pirogov" over a 12-year period (1985 through 1996). Of the total
      number, 6555 or 53.71 per cent are subjected to operation, with postoperative
      deaths amounting to 477 (7.27 per cent). In 320 cases (4.88 per cent) 218 men and
      102 women, relaparotomy is done for postoperative peritonitis with 55 per cent
      lethality. Postoperative peritonitis is usually observed after operative
      treatment of ulcers. Operations for bleeding ulcers are performed in 175 patients
      of which 32 (18.28 per cent) are relaparotomized. Those operated for
      postoperative peritonitis are 65 per cent with 21 fatal outcomes; the commonest
      cause of death is insufficiency of the anastomosis or duodenal stump, followed by
      subhepatic and interfold abscesses.

PMID- 9974007
TI  - [Technics for laparoscopic cholecystectomy--their use and results].
AB  - In mini-invasive surgery mainly two operative techniques for laparoscopic
      cholecystectomy are familiar and implemented in practice--"American" and "French"
      technique. Over the period May 1993 to September 1997, in the two surgical
      clinics of H. M. I.--Pleven a total of 311 laparoscopic cholecystectomies are
      performed. Of them 218 are done according to the "American" technique, 87-
      according to the "French" technique, and six patients are operated using the so
      called "lifting" technique. In the appear submitted the advantages and
      shortcomings of the two techniques for laparoscopic cholecystectomy are
      comparatively studied. The timing of operative intervention CO2 quantity
      expenditure and intraoperative complications are analyzed. The choice of
      technique for laparoscopic cholecystectomy depends on the surgeon's personal
      judgement, but under given situations one of the two techniques or a combination
      thereof should be mandatorily used.

PMID- 9974008
TI  - [The use of Diprivan in CO2 laser microlaryngosurgery (MLS)].
AB  - It is the aim of the study to outline the advantages of Diprivan anesthesia in
      laser microlaryngosurgery. The types of endotracheal tubes used in laser MLS are
      described, with emphasis on their contribution to prevent ignition and fire
      accidents. The anesthesiological technique employed during surgical interventions
      is discussed. After comparative assessment with conventional techniques, the
      inference is reached that Diprivan is a further alternative available, and should
      be considered in the choice of anesthesiological techniques for MLS.

PMID- 9974009
TI  - [The use of Diprivan as an anticonvulsant in the early postoperative period of an
      otogenic brain abscess].
AB  - This is a report on a female patient with otogenic cerebellar abscess and
      symptomatic generalized convulsions, irresponsive to conventional diazepam and
      phenobarbital therapy. Fractionated propofol administration yields good effect
      without noteworthy changes in respiration and circulation.

PMID- 9974010
TI  - [Minicholecystectomy--the technical aspects].
AB  - In current interventional medicine operations on the gallbladder and biliary
      tracts, performed by "mini" access are ever more widely used in practice.
      Cholecystectomy done through minilaparotomy is an attractive procedure with well
      established superiorities, irrespective of the enthusiasm for laparoscopic
      accomplishment of the interventions in this particular field of surgery.
      Approbation of the method initiates in the early 80-ies, and ever since then it
      marks a ceaseless improvement in technical respect. In this report reference is
      made to a number of technical hints, rendering the procedure safer and readily
      accessible in the routine surgical practice, as well as successfully competing
      with laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PMID- 9974011
TI  - [Sphincter-preserving operations in the treatment of carcinoma of the middle and
      lower third of the rectum].
AB  - The prerequisites for sphincter-salvaging interventions in the operative
      management of carcinoma of the middle and lower third of rectum are analyzed.
      Reference is made to 96 scientific publications of the issue, with due
      consideration given to the anatomical and physiological prerequisites for
      coloanal anastomoses. Updated knowledge of intramural diffusion of the neoplastic
      process in distal direction promotes the performing of ablastic surgical
      intervention with resection line 2 cm beneath the tumor. The practical
      implications of total mesorectal excision for reducing local recurrences are
      underscored. Analysis of the summed up literature data warrant the assumption
      that in the event of differentiated carcinoma of the rectum, located 1.5-2 cm
      above linea dentata, sphincter-salvaging operation should be undertaken with a
      priority given to direct manual coloanal, transanal anastomosis. This type of
      surgical interventions are attractive on account of the likelihood to preserve
      the anal sphincter complex--a fact having an essential practical bearing on the
      lifestyle of patients. Eventual local relapses lend themselves readily to
      diagnosis and treatment by abdominoperineal extirpation. Thus the latter may be
      deferred in time, and in most patients it may prove unnecessary altogether.

PMID- 9974012
TI  - [Acute surgical abdomen in middle and old age].
AB  - Proceeding from a comprehensive literature survey the urgency of acute abdomen
      conditions in elderly and senile patients is thoroughly discussed. Not
      infrequently, geriatric surgeons face serious difficulties of diagnostic and
      therapeutic character relating to the severity of clinical picture and elevated
      postoperative lethality, explaining in turn the great surge of interest in the
      problem. Recent achievements along this line, surgery in particular, provide for
      adequate conditions for performing early surgical interventions with reduced
      intraoperative risk in elderly and old age patients presenting acute abdomen.

PMID- 9974013
TI  - [Colitis cystica profunda--apropos a case].

PMID- 9974014
TI  - [Invasive thymoma growing into the pericardium, lung and pleura--the importance
      of thymectomy with resection and reconstruction of the adjacent structures].

PMID- 9974015
TI  - [A giant retroperitoneal cyst deriving from the vestiges of a mullerian duct].

PMID- 9974016
TI  - [Bilateral tubo-ovarian actinomycosis and rheumatoid arthritis].

PMID- 9974017
TI  - [A one-stage combined approach to tumors in the anterobasal portions of the third
      ventricle].
AB  - Regardless of the current progress in microneurosurgery, the operative management
      of tumors in the third ventricle is associated with a number of difficulties, and
      poses a serious challenge to surgeons. A numerous group of neoplasms with the
      aforementioned location are characterized by developmental course with secondary
      involvement of the III ventricle. Usually, it is a matter of tumors with
      suprasellar evolution (craniopharyngiomas, hypophyseal adenomas etc), penetrating
      through lamina terminalis and growing within the cavity of the ventricle. Radical
      removal of some of these tumors requires a many-staged approach--basal and
      transventricular--undertaken at different periods of time. The analysis covers
      five patients presenting tumors of the III ventricle--4 craniopharyngiomas and 1
      dermoid cyst--where single stage basal (across lamina terminalis) and direct
      (transcallosal or across the lateral ventricle) access to the third ventricle is
      gained. The situations where such an approach is practicable, the peculiarities
      of the surgical technique, and the treatment results are discussed.

PMID- 9974018
TI  - [Atraumatic procedures in common abdominal operations].
AB  - The surgical tactics and technical improvements are discussed against the
      background of personal experience with some common abdominal operations, among
      which the appendectomy variant leaving the cecum intra-abdominally and using
      chain retrograde ligature in some cases, with choice of access according to the
      requirements of the individual case. Special attention is called to retrocecal
      extraperitoneal complications and Meckel's diverticulum--clinical picture and
      operative tactics. Emphasis is laid on the advantages of intestinal anastomoses-
      latero-lateral variant, termino-terminal technique in colo-colostomy and
      possibilities of latero-terminal sigmoidorectoanastomosis.

PMID- 9974019
TI  - [Intra-arterial therapy as a treatment method in acute pancreatitis].
AB  - Intra-arterial therapy has a definite place in the complex management of
      pancreatitis. Drug infusion into the celiac trunk and a. mesenterica superior is
      a procedure bringing about the highest concentration (16-18 times) in the
      pathological focus (Briskinikol), inactivation of vasoactive and toxic products,
      interference with autolysis of the gland, allowing in turn the administration of
      smaller drug amounts. Intraarterial therapy (IT) is carried out in 18 patients
      presenting destructive pancreatitis: total necrosis--2, focal necrosis--8 and
      hemorrhagic pancreatitis--8, with ages ranging from 25 to 65 years, in a poor
      general condition. IT is conducted after catheterization of truncus celiacus and
      celiacography, with infusion effected through single time introduction of 0.5 per
      cent novocain solution, heparin, kontrikal, Petphtoruracil, antibiotic and
      atropine.

PMID- 9974020
TI  - [Decontamination in colorectal surgery].
AB  - The results of perioperative decontamination in a series of 136 patients
      presenting diseases of the colon and rectum are evaluated. Of the total 74 are
      subjected to operation according to schedule, and 62 are operated on an emergency
      basis. Perioperatively, metronidazole plus a cephalosporin antibiotic
      (cephazolin, cephalothin or cephamandol) are administered. Primary anastomoses
      are done in 32 cases operated according to schedule, and in fourteen patients
      operated in the emergency room. Insufficiency of the anastomosis is recorded in
      3.5 per cent in the former group, and in 15 per cent in the latter group (p >
      0.05). Operative wound suppuration occurs in 5.4 per cent against 13 per cent (p
      > 0.05), with lethality amounting to 1.3 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively
      (p < 0.001). Postoperative pneumonia is registered in 4 per cent of those
      operated on schedule and in 9.6 per cent of those operated by urgency (p > 0.05).
      In either group there is not a single case of operative wound dehiscence. In
      colorectal operations antibacterial prophylaxis applied perioperatively proves
      effective in combating systemic and local inflammatory complications.

PMID- 9974021
TI  - [Hemorrhages from the gastrointestinal tract in middle-aged and elderly patients-
      the diagnostic-treatment procedures and mortality dynamics].
AB  - Hemorrhages from the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract pose serious
      surgical problems because of their rather elevated incidence, diverse
      etiopathogenesis, difficulties in diagnostic and therapeutic approach, and last
      but not least, owing to the high mortality rate. The incidence of patients with
      ulcers amount to 420 per 100,000 population, with those in advanced and old-age
      accounting for 15-40 per cent of the total number of affections. In this
      contingent ulcers run a course associated with a number of peculiarities
      conditioned by severe lesions, caused by an acute and prolonged blood loss, not
      infrequently associated with a serious co-morbidity typical of this age. For this
      reason periodic analysis of lethality due to hemorrhages in the upper segments of
      the gastrointestinal tract contribute greatly: to evaluate the factors affecting
      thanatogenesis of this particular disease. establish the dynamic pattern of
      mortality, and specify the therapeutic tactics influencing such dynamics.

PMID- 9974022
TI  - [Intraoperative echography in the diagnosis and treatment of minor
      intraparenchymal cysts in multiple hepatic echinococcosis--a report on 3 cases].
AB  - Personal experience with the treatment of minor intraparenchymally located cysts,
      arising from multiple liver echinococcus is described. The practicability of a
      different intraoperative technique is discussed. Emphasis is laid on the positive
      results of application of puncture-aspiration method with ensuing sclerosis,
      carried out under intraoperative echographic monitoring.

PMID- 9974023
TI  - [The surgical treatment of perforated gastric and duodenal ulcers in middle-aged
      and elderly patients--an analysis of the 1985-1996 period].
AB  - The problem relating to perforated gastric and duodenal ulcers (PGDU) treatment
      is still pressing nowadays not only on account of the constant mortality rate
      (6.7-14.55 per cent according to personal data), but also on account of the lack
      of universally accepted tenets for their management, irrespective of the fact
      that the first operative interventions were done more than 100 years earlier, and
      so far, more than 50 palliative and radical procedures have been suggested.
      Between 20 and 40 per cent of all ulcer patients are individuals in advanced and
      senile age. In this contingent a characteristic feature is the elevated incidence
      of complications, one of them being perforation, necessitating operative
      treatment and exposing elderly patients to serious surgical and anesthesiological
      hazards.

PMID- 9974024
TI  - [Continuous thoracic epidural anesthesia in abdominal surgery].
AB  - General anesthesia, applied under emergency conditions in both geriatric patients
      and patients presenting considerable in severity concomitant diseases (pulmonary
      and cardiovascular), is associated with serious risks in terms of restoring
      adequate consciousness, effective spontaneous respiration and pulmonary drainage,
      not infrequently requiring continuous mechanical ventilation of the patients. A
      procedure alternative to general anesthesia in abdominal surgery is described,
      consisting in the application of continuous thoracic epidural anesthesia (CTEDA),
      reaching i.v. thoracic segment, providing for analgesia of the whole abdomen and
      myorelaxation promoting accomplishment of the operative intervention against the
      background of preserved consciousness and spontaneous respiration. This is a
      report on 70 patients operated under CTEDA in the clinic of emergency surgery,
      University Hospital "Queen Giovanna"--Sofia, in the period June 1994 through
      April 1998. The methodology, superiorities and general organic effects of this
      particular type of anesthesia are comprehensively discussed. Emphasis is laid on
      the important role played by CTEDA in postoperative analgesia of patients in
      intensive care units, and on the contribution of the method to exclude any
      opiates, till recently considered as the most effective for pain relief in the
      post-operative period.

PMID- 9974026
TI  - [Secondary sclerosing cholangitis after echinococcectomy].
AB  - This is case report concerning secondary caustic sclerosing cholangitis following
      scolecide with concentrated sodium chloride solution (30%) during operation on a
      liver echinococcus cyst with involvement of the extrahepatic biliary apparatus
      only. Hepatojejunostomy is performed. Histological study of the liver
      demonstrates evidence of severe cholangitis, purulent cholangiolitis and
      suspected secondary biliary cirrhosis. In conclusion, it is stressed that dynamic
      postoperative follow-up of patients is mandatory to make early diagnosis of the
      complication and undertake operative treatment anticipating the development of a
      cirrhotic process. The search for new, effective scolicides, not damaging the
      biliary apparatus and hepatic parenchyma, is strongly recommended.

PMID- 9974025
TI  - [The use of ketamine in an experimental model of generalized cerebral ischemia].
AB  - Thus far, a sufficiently effective cerebroprotective substances has not been
      discovered. Glutamate overproduction plays a key role in ischemic brain lesion.
      Ketamine is assigned to the group of commonly used clinical anesthetics, being
      also familiar as NMDA antagonist. Sodium fluoride-induced cerebral ischemia in
      mice is used as a model of circulatory ischemic lesion. As shown by the
      experimental data, simultaneous administration of NaF + ketamine has no effect
      whatsoever on the survivorship of animals, as compared to that in the control
      group treated with NaF alone. Beforehand treatment of mice with 150 mg/kg
      ketamine brings about considerable prolongation of the survival term (15 per cent
      of the animals survive for more than 2 hours). The inference is reached that
      ketamine is endowed with cerebroprotective activity largely attributable to
      glutamate antagonism at the level of ischemia involved neurons.

PMID- 9974028
TI  - [Relaparotomy after an appendectomy].
AB  - The analysis covers 2555 appendectomies, performed on an emergency and scheduled
      surgery basis in the clinic of emergency surgery.--State University Hospital
      "Queen Giovanna", Sofia, over the period 1985-1997. Relaparotomy is necessitated
      in 28 cases (1.09 per cent) because of various postoperative complications. Data
      are presented on the number of relaparotomies, done under conditions of emergency
      and scheduled surgery, and with a special reference to the pathoanatomical
      character of appendicitis. The underlying causes of undertaking relaparotomy and
      postoperative lethality are analyzed. As shown by the obtained results post
      relaparotomy mortality rate is the highest after primary operation for
      destructive form of appendicitis and advanced form of peritonitis.

PMID- 9974027
TI  - [The pre- and postoperative monitoring of the immunological indices and tumor
      markers in colorectal carcinoma].
AB  - The onset of immunological reaction against colorectal carcinoma is based on
      superficial changes in the malignant cell components following the formation of
      antigen structures. This explains the interest in the issue and defines the aim
      of the study. Over a 5-year period, in the Emergency Surgery Clinic, 86 patients
      with histologically diagnosed colorectal carcinoma (46 men and 40 women) are
      examined prior to surgery, and 107 patients (55 men and 52 women)--after the
      operation. The tumor markers CEA, CA 19-9, AFP and immunoglobulin IgA are tested
      using ELISA and RIA methods. Conventional ultrasound, scintigraphic and CT
      studies are carried out to detect liver metastases. The obtained results undergo
      statistical processing with correlation analysis and sensitivity and specificity
      coefficients. Among those examined preoperatively elevated CEA levels (CEA > 2.5
      ng/ml) are recorded in 42 cases (48.9%), and for CA 19-9 (CA 19-9 > 37 E/ml)--in
      40 (46.5%). From the patients with complicated colorectal carcinoma in the
      postoperative period 83 are clinically healthy (77.6%); of the latter marker
      positive are 16 (19.3%), and marker-negative--67 (80.7%). Relapses and metastases
      are registered in 24 cases (22.4%) of which marker-positive--19 (79.2%). Liver
      and abdominal lymph node metastases are detected by US, scintigraphy and CT
      study. All three imaging methods contribute to diagnose liver metastases in 14
      patients (13%). In 32 patients (18 men and 14 women) postsurgical monitoring of
      immunological IgA levels and tumor markers is done over period ranging from 7-10
      days to 2 years postoperatively. Correlative dependences between IgA and CEA (R =
      +0.99), and between IgA and CA 19-9 (R = +0.97) are also documented. The
      sensitivity of both markers (CEA and CA 19-9) is low, varying between 38 and 51
      per cent, with specificity amounting to 61-67 per cent. The paradoxically high
      elevation of tumor markers prior to operation shows a constant decrease at 3
      months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The sensitivity of both markers (CEA and CA
      19-9) is low (38-51%), and that is why their use in screening examinations lacks
      clinical relevance. 2. CEA specificity is by no means high (61-67%), and it may
      become positive in a number of nononcological diseases (liver cirrhosis and
      hepatitis, inflammation diseases of GIT and lungs). 3. Plasma CEA and CA 19-9
      levels correlate well with the neoplastic process progression/regression. 4.
      Preoperative CEA level has a prognostic value for postsurgical relapses. 5. High
      IgA levels are indicators for relapses or metastases from colorectal carcinoma.
      6. Tumor histological verification correlates also with the high CEA levels and
      with the depth of tumor infiltration into the intestinal wall. 7. The dynamic
      assessment of tumor markers postoperatively has a high informative value in all
      colorectal carcinoma patients. 8. Pre- and postoperative high CEA levels are
      observed in patients assigned to the poor prognosis group, and should be given
      adjuvant therapy.

PMID- 9974030
TI  - [A rare vascular variation of the upper extremity].

PMID- 9974029
TI  - [Resection of the v. portae and its reconstruction with the v. jugularis interna
      in pancreatic cancer].

PMID- 9974031
TI  - [A case of recurrent hepatic echinococcosis with perforation of the cyst into the
      retroperitoneal space].

PMID- 9974032
TI  - [The surgical treatment of extrahepatic bile duct lithiasis].
AB  - Data concerning operative treatment of 227 patients with lithiasis of the
      extrahepatic biliary ducts, covering an eleven-year period (1985 to 1995
      inclusive), are presented. In all cases diagnosis and operation are done in the
      Second Surgical Clinic at the Medical University--State University Hospital
      "Alexandrovska"--Sofia. By type the surgical interventions are distributed as
      follows: external drainage of hepaticocholedochus--122 cases (53.74 per cent),
      choledochoduodenostomy 69 (30.39 per cent) and transduodenal
      papillosphincterotomy 36 (15.85 per cent). Fifteen patients develop postoperative
      complications (6.60 per cent), and in five patients the outcome is fatal with
      postoperative lethality amounting to 2.20 per cent. The basic indications for the
      various types of surgical interventions are established.

PMID- 9974033
TI  - [Rare forms of abdominal echinococcosis complicated by rupture].
AB  - This is a report on a series of twelve patients presenting ruptured echinococcus
      in the abdominal cavity, hollow abdominal organ and retroperitoneal space,
      observed in the period 1985 to 1997. The diagnostic and therapeutic problems
      faced are discussed with a special reference to the necessity of giving due
      consideration to these comparatively rare, but by no means less precarious
      complications in the clinical course of hydatid disease, particularly in endemic
      regions, such as Bulgaria.

PMID- 9974034
TI  - [The role of the surgeon in treating multiple organ failure].
AB  - Over the period 1990 through 1995, thirty-five patients with multiorgan
      insufficiency (MOI) undergo treatment. Abdominal operations are performed in all
      of them, except for one male patient aged 31 years, dying of bilateral pneumonia
      and metabolic disorders resulting from duodenal stenosis. Overall mortality rate
      amounts to 77 per cent (20 cases). Programmed peritoneal lavage (PPL) is done in
      seventeen patients with lethality 77 per cent (13 cases). In two instances
      iatrogenic damage to the spleen contribute to fatal septic complications
      development. All PPL treated patients with fatal outcome have bilateral
      pneumonia. MOI prevention is still closely linked to prophylaxis against the
      complications producing it. Programmed peritoneal lavage in immunocompromised and
      malnourished patients is a risk factor equally serious as the septic noxa being
      attacked, and what is more it runs the risk of inflicting additional iatrogenic
      noxae. General endotracheal anesthesia in PPL is likewise a factor demanding
      further clarification.

PMID- 9974035
TI  - [Phyllodes tumors of the breast].
AB  - Phyllodes tumors are mixed tumors of the mammary gland. They account for 0.3 to
      0.5 per cent of all breast tumors. This is a report on nineteen cases presenting
      phyllodes tumors. Depending on the number of mitoses, growth pattern and atypism
      degree, the neoplasms are classified as benign (12 cases), borderline (2) and
      malignant (5). Fourteen of them (9 with benign and 5 with malignant phyllodes
      tumors) undergo clinical follow-up study. A case with bilateral location of the
      neoplasm exhibiting strongly expressed susceptibility to relapse is described.
      The basic methods of preoperative diagnosis and the operative treatment
      procedures used are outlined.

PMID- 9974036
TI  - [An analysis of postoperative mortality in patients with large-intestine
      occlusive ileus due to tumor origin].
AB  - A total of 232 patients presenting occlusive ileus caused by colorectal carcinoma
      undergo operative treatment in the period 1979 through 1990. In 160 of them the
      tumor is located in the colon, and in seventy-two--in the rectum. One-hundred
      twenty-two radical and 110 palliative operations are performed (52.58 and 47.42
      per cent, respectively). Postoperative lethality amounts to 24.57 per cent, with
      underlying causes peritonitis (35.08%) and severe ileus intoxication (21.05%).
      The causes of postoperative lethality are analyzed with a special reference to
      tumor location, extensiveness of the surgical intervention, clinical course of
      the disease, concurrent complications and concomitant diseases. The lowest is the
      mortality rate following radical two-stage operations with removal of the
      neoplasm in the first stage.

PMID- 9974037
TI  - [Laparoscopy and laparoscopic echography in the diagnosis of pancreatic
      diseases].
AB  - The potentials of laparoscopy (LS) and laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) in
      diagnosing pancreatic diseases are assayed. The study covers forty-five patients
      of which 36 presenting carcinoma of the pancreas, and nine-acute peritonitis.
      APUD (VIP) is documented in one case. For the purpose laparoscope R. Wolf and 7.5
      MHz echolaparoscopic linear probe obtained from the Aloka company are employed.
      The LUS technique used in pancreatic diseases is described in details. In the
      group of pancreatic carcinoma patients 72.2 per cent prove to be inoperable.
      Emphasis is laid on the superiorities of LUS over transabdominal echography and
      laparoscopy in diagnosing, staging and resectability evaluation of pancreatic
      carcinomas, as well as in terms of establishing the indications and
      practicability of the procedure in acute pancreatitis. LS and LUS are the only
      preoperative alternative to intraoperative echography, since imaging, endoscopic
      and histomorphological diagnostic methods are combined. LS in conjunction with
      LUS are no longer considered as a synonym of peritoneoscopy which in turn,
      considerably augments the possibilities of the method in handling diseases of the
      pancreas.

PMID- 9974038
TI  - [Hemodynamic changes and nitric oxide production in an experimental model of
      sepsis].
AB  - Nitric [correction of Nitrous] oxide is most likely a queer "end mediator" giving
      rise to vasoplegia in septic shock patients. The study is aimed at comparative
      assessment of kinetic changes in the synthesis of nitric [correction of nitrous]
      oxide in experimentally induced sepsis model with the corresponding hemodynamic
      parameters. The laboratory animals--pigs--are divided up in two groups, and
      exposed to general narcosis induction, orotracheal intubation and mechanical
      ventilation under controlled regimen. The hemodynamic parameters studied include:
      MAP, CO and SVR. Additional endotoxin (1 mg/50 ml) in the form of infusion is
      given to the animals in the sepsis group. Nitrate production mirrors NO
      synthesis, insofar as there are no other relevant mechanisms of nitrate
      synthesis. The kinetic parameters of nitrate production are estimated using
      stable nitrate isotopes--N15. The theory of compartment models and appropriate
      computerized simulation are used to calculate the respective constants. In the
      endotoxin treated group (n = 5) a significantly higher level of synthesis of
      induced NO production is documented--26 +/- 9 mumol/h, as compared to production
      in the control group--6 +/- 7 mumol/h, as well as a significant increase in
      cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance reduction. The good correlation
      between enhanced NO production and hemodynamic response (increase in cardiac
      output and decrease in systemic vascular resistance) corroborates the validity of
      the method.

PMID- 9974039
TI  - [Telepathology or a new form in the diagnostic work on surgical pathology].

PMID- 9974040
TI  - [Intensive therapy units--the links in the risk for the development and spread of
      hospital infections].
AB  - An epidemiological study on the wide spreading of nosocomial infections among
      patients admitted to intensive care units in Bulgaria is carried out, covering
      the period 1982 through 1996. The proportion of nosocomial infections registered
      in the aforementioned wards accounts for 4.66 +/- 0.33 per cent of the overall in
      patient infectious pathology. Eight per cent of the patients discharged from
      intensive care units develop infections originating in hospitals. The predominant
      nosological entities recorded include pulmonary infections, operative wound
      suppurations and urinary system infections. More than 15 microorganisms, causing
      agents of infectious processes, are isolated with E. coli ranking first, followed
      by Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc. The partial registration of
      nosocomial infection cases in the various intensive care units interferes greatly
      with the practical implementation of updated and adequate measures for
      prophylaxis and struggle against the infections. Thus, conditions are created
      promoting prolongation and rising cost of the inpatient treatment, continuous
      disability, premature death and reduced efficiency of the medical cares
      delivered.

PMID- 9974041
TI  - [Choledochoduodenal anastomosis--pro and contra].
AB  - Choledochoduodenostomy (CDS), suggested by T. Roth, and performed for the first
      time by O. Sprengel (1891), became a definitely affirmed operation after the
      publications of F. Sasse (1913). From purely anatomical standpoint, CDS
      contributes to bypass all problems relating to obstruction in the retroduodenal,
      transpancreatic and intramural segments of the hepatocholedochus with a wide
      orifice for spontaneous passage of eventual newly formed or residual concrements
      being secured. The basic indications for performing CDS include: multiple
      concrements in the extrahepatic biliary ducts, ampullar stenosis, cholangitis,
      chronic pancreatitis, cyst induced enlargement of choledochus and the like. It is
      worth noting that in most patients more than a single indication are present. The
      major shortcomings of the procedure with a reference to the long-term results are
      attributed to potentialities of cholangitis and cholangiohepatitis development,
      and "blind sac" formation between the anastomosis and p. Vateri. It is
      established that all patients with poor post-CDS results have stenosis of the
      anastomosis, or else, the restoration of papillary patency fails (endoscopically
      confirmed), i.e. they are most frequently a sequel of technical errors. CDS is a
      safe, readily performed and effective surgical procedure with few (sporadic)
      postoperative complications, including patients undergoing long-term follow-up
      study.

PMID- 9974042
TI  - [An emergency operation in pulmonary histiocytosis X].

PMID- 9974043
TI  - [Gastrectomy in stomach ulcer].

PMID- 9974044
TI  - [Acute surgical abdomen in Crohn's disease].

PMID- 9974045
TI  - [A rare variant of the a. vertebralis sinistra].

PMID- 9974046
TI  - [A rare case of acute cholecystitis combined with a mucocele of the appendix].

PMID- 9974047
TI  - The presyringomyelic myelopathic state: a plausible hypothesis.

PMID- 9974048
TI  - What is the role of MR spectroscopy in the evaluation and treatment of brain
      neoplasms?

PMID- 9974049
TI  - The link between diagnosis and therapy.

PMID- 9974050
TI  - The rapidly expanding role of MR imaging techniques in the endovascular treatment
      of CNS diseases.

PMID- 9974051
TI  - The "presyrinx" state: a reversible myelopathic condition that may precede
      syringomyelia.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alteration of CSF flow has been proposed to be an
      important mechanism leading to the development of syringomyelia. We hypothesize
      that a "presyrinx" condition attributable to a potentially reversible alteration
      in normal CSF flow exists and that its appearance may be caused by variations in
      the competence of the central canal of the spinal cord. METHODS: Five patients
      with clinical evidence of myelopathy, no history of spinal cord trauma,
      enlargement of the cervical spinal cord with T1 and T2 prolongation but no
      cavitation, evidence of altered or obstructed CSF flow, and no evidence of
      intramedullary tumor or a spinal vascular event underwent MR imaging before and
      after intervention that alleviated obstruction to CSF flow. RESULTS:
      Preoperatively, all patients had enlarged spinal cords and parenchymal T1 and T2
      prolongation without cavitation. Results of MR examinations after intervention
      showed resolution of cord enlargement and normalization or improvement of cord
      signal abnormalities. In one patient with severe arachnoid adhesions who
      initially improved after decompression, late evolution into syringomyelia
      occurred in association with continued CSF obstruction. CONCLUSION: Nontraumatic
      obstruction of the CSF pathways in the spine may result in spinal cord
      parenchymal T2 prolongation that is reversible after restoration of patency of
      CSF pathways. We refer to this MR appearance as the "presyrinx" state and stress
      the importance of timely intervention to limit progression to syringomyelia.

PMID- 9974052
TI  - Is reversible enlargement of the spinal cord a presyrinx state?

PMID- 9974053
TI  - Percutaneous biopsy of the thoracic and lumbar spine: transpedicular approach
      under fluoroscopic guidance.
AB  - Eighteen patients with vertebral lesions located in the thoracic or lumbar spine
      underwent percutaneous biopsy performed via a transpedicular approach under
      fluoroscopic guidance. This technique led to an accurate diagnosis in 16 cases
      (89%). No complications were encountered. For percutaneous lumbar and thoracic
      vertebral biopsy, the transpedicular approach is a safe and accurate alternative
      to the posterolateral approach.

PMID- 9974054
TI  - Lumbar extradural hemangiomas: report of three cases.
AB  - The CT, MR, and histologic findings of three patients with surgically proved
      lumbar extradural cavernous and arteriovenous hemangiomas are reported. All three
      patients suffered from radicular and low back pain that disappeared completely or
      nearly so after total surgical excision. In each case, neuroimaging studies
      showed a well-defined ventrally located extradural mass with no bone involvement.
      On MR images, all lesions were homogeneous and isointense on noncontrast T1
      weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images relative to the
      intervertebral disk. Homogeneous enhancement was seen in one of the two cases in
      which contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images were obtained. Purely extradural
      hemangiomas should be included in the differential diagnosis of lumbar extradural
      soft-tissue lesions. Features that may help to distinguish this entity from the
      more common extruded disk herniation or neurogenic tumors are its homogeneous
      high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, ovoid shape, and lack of anatomic
      relationship with the adjacent intervertebral disk or exiting nerve root.

PMID- 9974055
TI  - Persistence of the notochordal canal: MR and plain film appearance.
AB  - We report a case of an unusually prominent persistent notochordal canal involving
      the T12-L5 vertebrae. This rare anatomic variation was discovered as an
      incidental finding in a patient with lymphoma undergoing MR imaging for
      evaluation of back pain. MR images showed a vertically oriented canal contiguous
      with the intervertebral disks traversing the anterior aspect of each affected
      vertebral body. Plain films showed a sclerotic rimmed central channel that flared
      at each vertebral endplate to merge with the disk spaces.

PMID- 9974056
TI  - Diagnostic and therapeutic consequences of repeat brain imaging and follow-up
      vascular imaging in stroke patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recently, the diagnostic and therapeutic importance of
      repeat radiologic imaging in stroke patients has been questioned. The aim of this
      study was to show the therapeutic and diagnostic consequences of both repeat
      brain imaging and follow-up vascular imaging in this group of patients. METHODS:
      Neuroradiologic images and reports as well as clinical records of 317 patients
      (209 men and 108 women; mean age, 63 years) were reviewed retrospectively to
      determine the number of modifications made to the diagnosis and therapeutic
      regimen and to the classification of neuroradiologic findings. RESULTS: Two
      hundred thirty-eight repeat imaging procedures were performed in 171 patients. Of
      these, 76 were vascular imaging examinations (11 CT angiograms, 13 MR angiograms,
      52 digital subtraction angiograms) and 162 were cross-sectional brain imaging
      studies (54 MR images, 108 CT scans). Forty of the 76 vascular imaging procedures
      and 77 of the 162 repeat cross-sectional brain imaging studies led to important
      diagnostic modifications with consequences for the patients' therapy and
      prognosis. CONCLUSION: Our study establishes that vascular imaging methods as
      well as cross-sectional brain imaging used as repeat imaging procedures in stroke
      patients can have important diagnostic and therapeutic consequences. We believe
      that repeat imaging in selected subgroups will be cost-effective.

PMID- 9974057
TI  - Severe occlusive carotid artery disease: hemodynamic assessment by MR perfusion
      imaging in symptomatic patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral hemodynamic status has been reported to
      influence the occurrence and outcome of acute stroke. The purpose of this study
      was to assess hemodynamic compromise in symptomatic patients with severe
      occlusive disease of the carotid artery by the use of echo-planar perfusion
      imaging. METHODS: Spin-echo echo-planar perfusion imaging was performed in 11
      patients (two had bilateral disease) with severe stenosis or occlusion of the
      carotid artery who had experienced either a recent transient ischemic attack or
      minor stroke. Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) maps and relative mean
      transit time (rMTT) maps were generated from the time-concentration curve.
      Findings on T2-weighted images, angiograms, rCBV maps, and rMTT maps were
      compared and assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. RESULTS: Although the
      abnormalities on T2-weighted images were absent, minimal, and/or unrelated to the
      degree of stenosis or collateral circulation, rMTT maps showed much larger and
      more distinct perfusion abnormalities along the vascular distribution of the
      affected vessels in all 13 vascular territories of the 11 patients. Despite
      obvious abnormalities on rMTT maps, none of the patients had evidence of
      decreased rCBV in the affected brain tissue (increased in three, normal in
      eight). A statistically significant difference in rMTT values was found between
      the affected and unaffected brain tissue, whereas no significant difference was
      seen in rCBV values. CONCLUSION: Echo-planar perfusion imaging is a noninvasive
      and rapid method for evaluating the hemodynamics in severe occlusive carotid
      artery disease and the compensatory vascular changes, and it may be useful in
      patient management.

PMID- 9974058
TI  - Ultrafast diffusion-sensitive MR imaging of brain on an open scanner at 0.2 T.
AB  - We describe new strategies for fast diffusion-sensitive MR imaging of ischemic
      brain or spinal cord lesions. The methods provide diagnostic image quality in
      less than 1 s per section and are used in conjunction with low-field-strength
      open MR scanners. Single-shot sequences combine diffusion-sensitive preparation
      with a modified fast spin-echo data acquisition. Results are presented from
      healthy volunteers and from two patients with recent and older ischemic brain
      lesions.

PMID- 9974059
TI  - Dynamic CT measurement of cerebral blood flow: a validation study.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our objective was to develop a method to correct for the
      effect of partial volume averaging (PVA) in the CT measurement of contrast
      enhancement in small arteries, and to validate a dynamic contrast-enhanced CT
      method for the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). METHODS:
      Contrast-enhanced CT scans of tubes of known inner diameters were obtained to
      estimate the size-dependent scaling factors (PVSF) due to PVA. The background
      subtracted image profiles of the contrast-filled tubes were fitted to gaussian
      curves, and the standard deviations (SDs) of these curves were correlated with
      the PVSF of each tube. In the second part of this investigation, 13 studies were
      performed in six New Zealand white rabbits under normal conditions. Dynamic CT
      measurements of rCBF, regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), and regional mean
      transit time (rMTT) were calculated in the left and right parietal lobes and the
      basal ganglia. The CT rCBF values were compared with those obtained by the
      microsphere method, which is the standard of reference. RESULTS: We found strong
      correlations for the SDs of the gaussian curves to the known inner diameters of
      the tubes and to their size-related PVSF. These correlations demonstrated that
      the error from PVA in the measurement of arterial enhancement can be corrected
      without knowledge of the actual size of the artery. The animal studies revealed a
      mean (+/- SD) rCBF of 73.3 +/- 31.5 mL/100 g per minute, a mean rCBV of 1.93 +/-
      0.74 mL/100 g, and a mean rMTT of 1.81 +/- 1.02 seconds. A strong correlation was
      found between rCBF values derived by the CT and the microsphere methods.
      CONCLUSION: We have validated a new dynamic CT method for measuring rCBF. The
      accuracy of this technique suggests that it can be used as an alternative
      diagnostic tool to assess the cerebral hemodynamics in experimental and clinical
      situations.

PMID- 9974060
TI  - CNS vasculitis in autoimmune disease: MR imaging findings and correlation with
      angiography.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR findings in CNS vasculitis and their correlation with
      angiography have not been clearly defined. We therefore explored three hypotheses
      regarding CNS vasculitis associated with autoimmune disease: 1) MR imaging is
      highly sensitive; 2) a typical MR appearance exists; and, 3) MR and angiographic
      findings correlate well. METHODS: We studied 18 patients with CNS vasculitis
      associated with autoimmune disease, characterized the MR lesions by type, size,
      number, and location, and correlated the MR findings with those of angiography.
      RESULTS: All patients with CNS vasculitis had abnormalities on MR studies. On
      average, four +/- two lesions per patient were detected on MR images. The lesions
      were located in the subcortical white matter (n = 20), cortical gray matter (n =
      16), deep gray matter (n = 16), deep white matter (n = 9), and cerebellum (n =
      9). Only 65% of MR lesions were evident on angiograms; 44% of the lesions
      revealed on angiograms were detected by MR. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is sensitive
      for CNS vasculitis. Lesions attributable to CNS vasculitis in autoimmune disease
      are distributed nearly equally among cortical, subcortical, and deep gray matter
      structures. The modest correlation between MR imaging and angiography suggests
      that the two techniques provide different information about CNS vasculitis and
      that both types of studies are needed for the complete assessment of damage
      caused by vascular abnormalities.

PMID- 9974061
TI  - Perfusion and diffusion imaging: a potential tool for improved diagnosis of CNS
      vasculitis.

PMID- 9974062
TI  - Characteristic MR lesion pattern and correlation of T1 and T2 lesion volume with
      neurologic and neuropsychological findings in cerebral autosomal dominant
      arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL).
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical
      infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is an arteriopathy related to a
      genetic defect of the notch 3 gene on chromosome 19. The purpose of this study
      was to evaluate lesion distribution and volume using MR imaging and to correlate
      the lesion volume with the neurologic and neuropsychological findings. METHODS:
      Twenty members of two families (14 with CADASIL as determined by linkage
      analysis, six healthy) were studied with MR imaging. Two observers evaluated the
      MR findings semiquantitatively and quantitatively. MR results were then
      correlated with neurologic and neuropsychological findings. RESULTS: A typical
      pattern of lesion distribution in patients with CADASIL was found: the frontal
      lobe was the site with the highest lesion load, followed by the temporal lobe and
      the insula. The total lesion volume on T1-weighted MR images correlated
      significantly with the degree of disability and the degree of impairment in
      neuropsychological functions (including attention, memory, and conceptual and
      visuospatial functions). CONCLUSION: In CADASIL patients, a common pattern of
      cerebral lesion distribution is found. The total T1 lesion volume is an important
      parameter to correlate with disability, as it may prove to be helpful in
      predicting the natural history of the disease.

PMID- 9974063
TI  - Cerebral arteriovenous malformations: diagnostic value of echo-enhanced
      transcranial Doppler sonography compared with angiography.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to examine the clinical
      value of echo-enhanced transcranial power Doppler sonography (EE-TCD), including
      it ability to assess hemodynamic parameters of the intracranial vasculature, in
      patients with suspected cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and to
      compare this method with angiography. METHODS: Sixteen patients with suspected
      cerebral AVMs were examined with EE-TCD and angiography. As an echo-enhancing
      agent, SHU 508A (Levovist) was administered intravenously by bolus injection in
      nine patients and by continuous infusion in seven. Sonograms were reviewed
      without knowledge of other imaging results and were correlated with angiographic
      findings. RESULTS: Angiography showed AVMs in 12 of 16 patients. Eleven lesions
      were located in the anterior or middle fossa and one was in the posterior fossa.
      EE-TCD was slightly less sensitive in the detection of AVMs (92%, 11/12 lesions),
      since in one patient the lacking acoustic window did not allow a transcranial
      examination. EE-TCD slightly underestimated AVM size compared with angiographic
      findings but showed feeding arteries with sufficient acoustic properties. In
      seven patients (58%), angiography revealed a coincidental blood supply from
      another intracranial or extracranial vessel, which was missed by EE-TCD in all
      cases. Assessment of peak systolic velocities and resistive indexes resulted in a
      higher (mean, 191.1 cm/s) and a lower (mean, 45.7%) value, respectively, in the
      feeding arteries as compared with the contralateral arteries (mean, 101.8 cm/s
      and 55.6%, respectively). Side-to-side differences were significantly higher in
      patients with AVMs than in those without a malformation. Signal enhancement was
      markedly longer with continuous infusion (mean, 520 seconds +/- 28.2) than with
      bolus injection (mean, 145 seconds +/- 10.5) of the contrast agent. CONCLUSION:
      In our limited study group, EE-TCD was a sensitive method for the detection of
      AVMs, and Levovist proved to be a safe and effective echo-enhancing substance.

PMID- 9974064
TI  - Follow-up of conservatively managed epidural hematomas: implications for timing
      of repeat CT.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Small asymptomatic epidural hematomas (EDHs) are
      frequently managed nonoperatively with good neurologic outcome. Our goals were to
      determine the frequency and timing of enlargement of acute traumatic EDHs that
      are not immediately surgically evacuated as well as to identify factors
      associated with rehemorrhage. METHODS: Of 252 consecutive patients with acute
      traumatic EDH who were treated over a 5-year period, 160 were managed
      nonoperatively. Their CT scans, imaging reports, and medical records were
      reviewed retrospectively. Parameters analyzed as possible predictors of
      rehemorrhage during nonoperative management were size of the EDH, presence of an
      associated fracture, contralateral brain injury, midline shift, coagulopathy, and
      neurologic and physiological injury as measured by the Revised Trauma Score. We
      compared discharge discharge disposition as a proxy for neurologic condition at
      discharge. RESULTS: The EDH enlarged in 37 (23%) of the 160 patients during
      conservative management. Mean enlargement was 7 mm, and the mean time to
      enlargement was 8 hours after injury and 5.3 hours after CT diagnostics. EDH
      enlargement occurred within 36 hours after injury in all cases. Of the parameters
      analyzed, only a high Revised Trauma Score correlated significantly with EDH
      rehemorrhage, suggesting that intubation and chemical paralysis may prevent
      rehemorrhage through the restriction of head movement and the control of blood
      pressure. The subgroup of patients with rehemorrhage experienced no difference in
      neurologic outcome despite a higher rate of clinical deterioration. CONCLUSION:
      EDH enlargement occurs frequently, but early. Repeat imaging with CT is most
      appropriate within 36 hours after injury.

PMID- 9974065
TI  - Conservative management of epidural hematomas: is it safe and is it cost
      effective?

PMID- 9974066
TI  - Classification of biopsy-confirmed brain tumors using single-voxel MR
      spectroscopy.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our purpose was to develop a classification scheme and
      method of presentation of in vivo single-voxel proton spectroscopic data from
      astrocytomas that most closely match the classification scheme determined from
      biopsy specimens. Since in vivo proton spectroscopy is noninvasive, it may be an
      attractive alternative to intracranial biopsy. METHODS: Single-voxel spectra were
      acquired using the point-resolved spectroscopic pulse sequence as part of the
      Probe spectroscopy package on a G.E. 1.5-T Signa scanner. Subjects consisted of
      27 patients with biopsy-confirmed brain tumors (13 with glioblastoma multiforme,
      six with anaplastic astrocytoma, and eight with low-grade astrocytoma). The
      patients were divided into groups based on the histologic subtype of their tumor
      for different treatment protocols. RESULTS: Metabolic peak areas were normalized
      for each metabolite (choline, creatine, N-acetylaspartate, lactate) to the area
      of the unsuppressed water peak and to the area of the creatine peak. Kruskal
      Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests showed statistically
      significant differences among the tumor groups for all the area ratios. The
      lactate/water ratio could be used to distinguished all three tumor groups,
      whereas the choline/water ratio distinguished low-grade astrocytomas from the two
      high-grade groups. Both the choline and lactate ratios could be used to separate
      the high-grade from the low-grade tumors. CONCLUSION: Specific relative metabolic
      peak area ratios acquired from regions of contrast-enhancing brain tumor can be
      used to classify astrocytomas as to histopathologic grade.

PMID- 9974067
TI  - Focal lesion in the splenium of the corpus callosum in epileptic patients:
      antiepileptic drug toxicity?
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Discrete focal lesions in the splenium of the corpus
      callosum on MR images in epileptic patients have received little attention in the
      literature. Our purpose was to describe these lesions, which may be related to
      the toxicity of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and to discuss the possible
      mechanisms of their development. METHODS: We examined six patients with epilepsy
      whose brain MR imaging findings showed a discrete focal nonhemorrhagic lesion in
      the splenium of the corpus callosum. The medical records and MR images were
      reviewed retrospectively with respect to the patients' clinical history,
      medication, and laboratory findings to determine the etiology of the lesion.
      RESULTS: In all six patients MR imaging showed a focal lesion in the splenium of
      the corpus callosum, which was ovoid in shape and 15 to 19 mm in size. In the
      three patients who received contrast material, there was no enhancement of the
      lesion. Four of six patients had a history of medication with dilantin, in two of
      whom the level of serum dilantin was found to be elevated (22.3 micrograms/mL and
      70.4 micrograms/mL, respectively). Vigabatrin was administered in three patients,
      one of whom took dilantin together with vigabatrin. In two patients, the focal
      lesion in the corpus callosum disappeared on follow-up MR images after withdrawal
      of dilantin and/or vigabatrin. CONCLUSION: A discrete, focal, ovoid,
      nonhemorrhagic lesion in the splenium of the corpus callosum may be seen on brain
      MR images of patients with epilepsy. The lesion is considered to be reversible
      demyelination related to AEDs toxicity.

PMID- 9974068
TI  - Interscanner variation in brain MR lesion load measurements in multiple sclerosis
      using conventional spin-echo, rapid relaxation-enhanced, and fast-FLAIR
      sequences.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Different MR pulse sequences have been proposed for
      measuring multiple sclerosis (MS)-related abnormalities. The reproducibility of
      measured brain MS lesion volumes was compared for MR images performed using
      different scanners and different pulse sequences. METHODS: Nine patients with
      relapsing-remitting MS were each imaged on two scanners and, on each occasion,
      dual-echo conventional spin-echo, dual-echo rapid-acquisition relaxation-enhanced
      (RARE), and fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (fast-FLAIR) images were
      obtained. The lesion volume present on each image was evaluated three times by a
      single observer in random order, using a local thresholding technique. RESULTS:
      The mean lesion volumes present on fast-FLAIR images were significantly higher
      than those measured on dual-echo conventional spin-echo and RARE images. The mean
      intraobserver coefficients of variation for the different sequences and scanners
      ranged from 3.0% to 4.2% (no statistically significant difference). For each of
      the sequences, the use of different scanners introduced a variability that was
      higher than the intraobserver variability: the interscanner coefficient of
      variation was 7.4% for conventional spin-echo, 9.5% for RARE, and 18.5% for fast
      FLAIR images. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that the use of different scanners
      significantly influences lesion loads measured from MR images of patients with MS
      and establishes that newer sequences are more susceptible to measurement
      variability. It also indicates that, if newer sequences are to be used in
      clinical trials, careful standardization is needed.

PMID- 9974069
TI  - Comparative MR analysis of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus in diagnosing
      Alzheimer disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our purpose was to use volumetric MR imaging to compare
      the extent of atrophy and discriminative ability of the volumes of two temporal
      lobe structures, the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus, between patients with
      Alzheimer disease and control subjects. METHODS: The study group consisted of 30
      patients with probable Alzheimer disease diagnosed according to the National
      Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the
      Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria and
      32 healthy control subjects. The MR volumes of the entorhinal cortex and the
      hippocampus were used for the discriminant function and receiver operator
      characteristic analysis as well as multivariate analysis of variance for repeated
      measures to compare their discriminative power. RESULTS: Compared with control
      subjects, patients with Alzheimer disease had significantly smaller volumes of
      the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus on both sides. Both the receiver
      operator characteristic and the discriminant function analyses using both volumes
      classified control subjects and Alzheimer patients with a high degree of accuracy
      (approximately 90%). Significant group x region interaction favoring hippocampal
      volumetry was determined by multivariate analysis of variance. CONCLUSION: The
      volumetric measurements of both the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus have
      comparably high discriminative power in diagnosing Alzheimer disease. In clinical
      practice, hippocampal volumetry may be more feasible, because the method is
      easier to use and has less variability.

PMID- 9974070
TI  - Venous hypertension associated with a posterior fossa dural arteriovenous
      fistula: another cause of bithalamic lesions on MR images.
AB  - We report a case of a posterior fossa arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with bithalamic
      hyperintensity of MR images. The thalamic abnormality improved after surgery,
      suggesting reversible venous hypertension as the pathogenesis of the finding, as
      opposed to infarction. This manifestation of a posterior fossa AVF should be
      considered in the differential diagnosis of bilateral thalamic disease.

PMID- 9974071
TI  - Complete duplication or extreme fenestration of the basilar artery.
AB  - We describe a 42-year-old man with complete duplication or extreme fenestration
      of the basilar artery. We review the developmental anatomy and embryology and
      discuss the possible clinical implications and associated findings of this
      anomaly.

PMID- 9974072
TI  - Metastatic adenopathy from nasopharyngeal carcinoma: successful response to
      radiation therapy assessed by color duplex sonography.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although the role of gray-scale sonography for neck nodes
      is well documented, it plays a limited role in the evaluation of nodal response
      to treatment. This preliminary limited study sought to determine color duplex
      sonographic changes in successfully treated metastatic nodes from nasopharyngeal
      carcinoma. METHODS: Fourteen patients with nodal metastases from nasopharyngeal
      carcinoma were studied. A pretreatment sonogram was obtained for all patients.
      Patients were divided into two groups of seven: in one group, repeat sonograms
      were obtained 8 weeks after completion of treatment; in the second group,
      sonograms were obtained 16 weeks after treatment. The features studied included
      distribution of intranodal vascularity, resistive and pulsatility indexes, and
      peak systolic velocity. In 11 patients, follow-up sonograms were obtained 1 year
      after treatment. RESULTS: The majority (90%) of malignant nodes from
      nasopharyngeal carcinoma have an increased central and peripheral vascularity, a
      high resistive index (0.8), and a high pulsatility index (1.8). After radiation
      therapy to the nodes, a reduction in intranodal vascularity and a statistically
      significant reduction in the resistive index (0.58 to 0.59) and pulsatility index
      (0.91 to 0.93) are found. Although a similar reduction in the peak systolic
      velocity is observed, it is not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our
      preliminary findings suggest that after radiation therapy for malignant nodes in
      nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a reduction in intranodal vascularity is found, and the
      resistive and pulsatility indexes may return to benign parameters as early as 8
      weeks after completion of treatment.

PMID- 9974073
TI  - Dilated venous plexus of the hypoglossal canal mimicking disease.
AB  - This article describes a case of prominent emissary veins of the hypoglossal
      canal protruding into the cerebellomedullary cistern mimicking disease, such as a
      nerve sheath tumor. The diagnosis and differentiation in this instance were
      confirmed by MR angiography and a review of alternative imaging planes. A
      diagnosis of hypoglossal canal lesions should be made with caution, as these
      lesions are quite rare, and vascular anomalies, such as those described, may
      mimic disease in this region.

PMID- 9974074
TI  - Pigmented villonodular synovitis of the temporomandibular joint: diagnostic
      imaging and endovascular therapeutic embolization of a rare head and neck tumor.
AB  - We report a case of pigmented villonodular synovitis involving the
      temporomandibular joint that presented as a rapidly growing tumor with extension
      through the skull base into the middle cranial fossa. The case is of interest not
      only because of the unusual extensive infiltration of this tumor but also because
      of the role modern diagnostic imaging and endovascular therapeutic techniques
      played in its diagnosis and management.

PMID- 9974075
TI  - Location of the primary motor cortex in schizencephaly.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Functional reorganization of the brain can result from
      congenital brain disorders as well as from brain infarction. The purpose of our
      study was to use functional MR imaging to determine whether reorganization of
      brain function occurs in patients with schizencephaly. METHODS: Four patients
      with schizencephaly (three right-handed, one ambidextrous) presented with
      seizures. Associated lesions included agenesis of the corpus callosum (n = 1) and
      absence of the septum pellucidum (n = 1). Functional MR imaging was performed in
      each patient using a single-section fast low-angle shot (FLASH) blood oxygen
      level-dependent (BOLD) technique at 1.5 T in a standard head coil. The motor
      cortex was initially identified on an axial T1-weighted anatomic image. Thirty
      consecutive images were obtained during a motor task consisting of repetitive
      finger-to-thumb opposition. The percentage of change in increased signal
      intensity was calculated for the primary motor area. An ipsilateral activation
      index was used to compare the affected with the unaffected hemisphere. RESULTS:
      The percentage of change in increased signal intensity in the area of activation
      ranged from 4.8% +/- 0.9 to 9.2% +/- 1.2 (mean, 5.6% +/- 1.5). The ipsilateral
      activation index in the affected hemisphere was 0.00 to 0.38, whereas that in the
      unaffected hemisphere was 15.4 to infinity. The difference in the ipsilateral
      activation index between each hemisphere was considered significant. CONCLUSION:
      Our results showed increased activation in the unaffected hemisphere in patients
      with schizencephaly, which may reflect functional reorganization of the motor
      area in patients with this congenital disorder.

PMID- 9974076
TI  - Polyarteritis nodosa presenting as temporal arteritis in a 9-year-old child.
AB  - A 9-year-old Haitian girl presented initially with monocular blindness and an
      isolated temporal arteritis, confirmed by angiographic studies and temporal
      artery biopsy findings. CT and MR studies of the intracranial circulation showed
      only an enlarged, dense superficial temporal artery. Systemic workup revealed a
      mildly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mild changes in white and red
      blood cells, and a remote history of sensorineural hearing loss. Pathologic
      examination of the biopsy specimen narrowed the differential diagnosis to giant
      cell temporal arteritis and polyarteritis nodosa. Treatment with corticosteroids
      alone failed, and the child returned 1 month later with severe systemic illness
      and encephalopathy. MR studies showed multiple cortical and subcortical foci of
      increased T2 signal, and gyriform enhancement on T1-weighted images. Renal and
      mesenteric arteriograms showed innumerable tiny aneurysms at branch points in
      small and medium-sized vessels, typical of polyarteritis nodosa. We found no
      previous reports of this initial presentation in the pediatric population for
      either polyarteritis nodosa or giant cell temporal arteritis.

PMID- 9974077
TI  - Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis: complete neuroradiologic evaluation and
      follow-up of two cases.
AB  - Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis (ECCL) is a rare neurocutaneous syndrome
      characterized by unilateral scalp, facial, and ocular lesions and ipsilateral
      cerebral malformations. To define the neuroimaging features of this disorder we
      studied two patients affected by ECCL and compared our data with those reported
      in the literature. Sonographic, CT, and MR imaging examinations showed quite
      specific CNS findings that are highly suggestive of the diagnosis of ECCL. To our
      knowledge this is the first report of a complete neuroradiologic evaluation and
      follow-up of this disorder.

PMID- 9974078
TI  - Surgically confirmed incorporation of a chronically retained neurointerventional
      microcatheter in the carotid artery.
AB  - A woman reported painful thrombosis of the superficial femoral artery 16 months
      after a transfemoral microcatheter was glued into a cerebral arteriovenous
      malformation and transected at the groin. When the catheter was removed, a
      portion was found to be incorporated into the wall of the carotid artery. This
      case demonstrates that portions of a retained microcatheter may be incorporated
      into the arterial wall while other portions may remain mobile and cause late
      peripheral arterial symptoms.

PMID- 9974079
TI  - Major complications of percutaneous embolization of skull-base tumors.
AB  - The technique of direct intratumoral injection of permanent liquid polymerizing
      agent was initially described in 1994 and has evolved significantly with
      experience. We report complications that occurred in two patients during
      injection of Histoacryl and offer suggestions to prevent such complications in
      the future. In one patient, the glue settled in the right middle cerebral artery;
      in the second, the glue entered the left ophthalmic artery through a collateral
      branch. Although the fundamental injection technique has not changed, we suggest
      additional precautions and modifications to make this procedure a safer and more
      valuable element in the overall management of patients with difficult skull-base
      tumors.

PMID- 9974080
TI  - The growth and development of the Annals of Human Biology: a 25-year
      retrospective.
AB  - The history of the founding in 1958 of the Society for the Study of Human Biology
      is outlined, and the circumstances in which the Annals of Human Biology began
      publication in 1974. The contents of the papers published 1974-1997 are reviewed;
      about 40% concern Population Biology, 40% Auxology and 20% Population Physiology.
      Some outstanding contributions in the first two of these fields are mentioned.
      Many consist of groups of papers from an ongoing study: 11 papers from the Otmoor
      villages study by Harrison and colleagues, and 11 concerning the growth of
      children in the Zurich Longitudinal Study, by Gasser and colleagues. Papers
      concerning the analysis of growth data and modelling of the growth curve,
      especially by Healy, are noted, and papers giving evidence of mini-spurts in
      growth and the saltation-stasis growth model are recalled. Wilson's papers on
      catch-up and growth regulation in twins are reviewed; also the contribution to
      growth-as-a-mirror of social conditions by workers at the Stockholm Institute of
      Education. The National Study of Health and Growth, led by Rona, contributed 13
      papers over 14 years to the Annals, and there were outstanding one-off papers
      from the National Child Development Study, and the Cuban National Growth Study of
      1972, and concerning the secular trend towards greater leg length in Japan, the
      upward social mobility of the taller of pairs of brothers, the growth of 18th
      century children in Vienna and Stuttgart and the measurements of 19th century
      slaves in the USA.

PMID- 9974081
TI  - Physiological variation and adaptability in human populations.
AB  - This review traces some of the developments in population physiology based on
      contributions to the Annals over the last 25 years. Two broad themes are evident,
      physiological systems variation and adaptation, and by way of introduction an
      historical perspective of their relationship within human ecology is explored.
      Studies of physical fitness and work capacity, and the efforts to create
      standardized field procedures make up a number of the early papers. Longitudinal
      studies have provided reliable reference standards for Westernized populations,
      but are virtually non-existent for primitive groups. The relative importance of
      phenotypic and genotypic variations in working capacity have yet to be clearly
      defined. The level of habitual activity during childhood contributes to the
      development of ventilatory capacity though constitutional influences are of major
      importance. Variability in strength and motor performance of skeletal muscles are
      shown to have a direct bearing on aspects of growth, development and biological
      maturation. Physical and psychological stress in communities have been
      investigated. These and other studies contribute valuable data on the issue of
      stress, hypertension and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. On the theme of
      human adaptability, high altitude populations, variations in thermal tolerance
      and adaptations in ageing populations have all received recent investigation.
      Highland people of all ages have considerably larger lung volumes than coastal
      dwellers. Haematological, biochemical and pulmonary function show adaptive
      phenomena that vary in different highland groups. In the tropical biome, more
      recent work includes the functional consequences of malnutrition, ethnic and
      cultural differences in work capacity, and the effects of endemic disease on
      physical performance. Annals of Human Biology papers have more recently
      contributed to investigations on morphological and physiological changes with
      human ageing. Though there is a decline in the ability to adapt to environmental
      stresses with age this may be met by changes in adaptational strategy in
      physiological systems.

PMID- 9974082
TI  - The genetics of hand-clasping--a review and a familial study.
AB  - Hand-clasping refers to the preferential tendency for individuals to clasp the
      hands together. This paper reviews the previous literature on family data and
      twins, and reports new data. In this study about 55% of the population are left
      hand-claspers, 44% are right-hand-claspers, and the remaining 1% report that they
      have no preference or are indifferent. Familial data suggest that hand-clasping
      may be under genetic control: although the data do not fit any straightforward
      recessive or dominant Mendelian model, they are compatible with the type of model
      invoking fluctuating asymmetry which has been used to explain the inheritance of
      handedness and arm-folding. It is possible that hand-clasping, as for example arm
      folding, may be an idiosyncrasy due to or influenced by physical bilateral
      differences in the hands. All data together are suggestive of a genetic basis,
      although environmental influences are also evident.

PMID- 9974083
TI  - Hormonal factors in the development of differences in strength between boys and
      girls during adolescence: a longitudinal study.
AB  - The development of elbow flexor (biceps) and knee extensor (quadriceps) strength
      has been followed in a mixed longitudinal study of 50 boys and 50 girls from the
      age of 8 to 17 years. Sex differences in strength emerged at the time of peak
      height velocity and were especially marked for the biceps. Data for individual
      children were aligned to the time of peak height velocity and associations
      between strength, height, weight and circulating testosterone were investigated
      using multi-level modelling. The results show that, for girls, quadriceps
      strength is proportional to height and weight while for boys there is an
      additional factor which can be fully attributed to increasing levels of
      testosterone. Testosterone is important in explaining differences in biceps
      strength between the sexes but an additional factor is also required. It is
      suggested that, in addition to a direct effect on muscle, testosterone could have
      a second indirect action on biceps strength by promoting growth in length of the
      humerus as part of the general development of the male upper limb girdle.

PMID- 9974084
TI  - Strength and its relationship to changes in fat-free mass, total body potassium,
      total body water and IGF-1 in adults with growth hormone deficiency: effect of
      treatment with growth hormone.
AB  - The present investigation examined changes in strength in growth hormone
      deficient (GHD) adults following treatment with recombinant human growth hormone
      (rhGH), and assessed their relationship to changes in fat-free mass (FFM), total
      body potassium (TBK), total body water (TBW), the concentration of TBK and TBW
      per kg FFM, and insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The investigation was
      double-blind and placebo-controlled for a period of 6 months; this was followed
      by a period of open treatment for a further 6 months. Patients were assigned
      randomly to experimental (E) and control (C) groups. In the first 6 months group
      E received rhGH and group C placebo; in the second 6 months both groups received
      rhGH. Serial data were analysed for 23 males (11 group E, 12 group C) and 20
      females (10 group E, 10 group C). Body composition was assessed by dual energy X
      ray absorptiometry, TBK and TBW. Muscle strength was recorded for arm flexion,
      leg extension and hand grip. Significant increases in FFM occurred in the first 6
      months in group E (2.3 kg males, 1.4 kg females) and in the second 6 months in
      group C (2.4 kg males, 1.4 kg females). There was a modest increase in absolute
      strength with time, although only three increments were significant (knee
      extension in group E males and arm flexion in groups E and C females), all of
      which occurred during the 6-12 month period. Allometric scaling did not improve
      the identification of significant increments of strength. The mean concentrations
      of TBK (males 57.0-58.6, females 51.4-53.9 mmol) and TBW (males 0.65-0.69,
      females 0.65-0.68 l) per kg FFM, were significantly smaller at all stages of the
      trial than the reference values, suggesting that treatment had not fully
      normalized these variables. Likewise, the relationship between most of the
      increments of regional and total strength, and the corresponding increments of
      FFM, were generally poor and not significant. It was concluded that the reduced
      concentrations of TBK and TBW per kg FFM, which may be the effect of an
      inappropriate dose regime or mode of delivery, may, in part, contribute to the
      anomaly between increases in strength and FFM.

PMID- 9974085
TI  - Genetics of human body size and shape: evidence for an oligogenic control of
      adiposity.
AB  - In a previous study by the authors in each of the pedigree samples from
      Kirghizstan, Turkmenia and Chuvashia, four principal factors supposedly
      controlled by four non-overlapping gene subsets were found. About 90% of total
      variation of adiposity as assessed by 22 measurements of skinfolds,
      circumferences and indices were covered by these factors. This study provides
      results of segregation analysis of each of these four factors. By the usual
      transmission probability tests, major gene (MG) control was accepted in all 12
      analyses--four traits in three populations. Some of the most parsimonious MG
      models included non-MG effects, such as correlation of residuals between spouses,
      between parent and offspring and between sibs. The Kirghizian samples showed a
      significant assortative mating effect as measured by the correlation between
      genotypic values at putative MG in spouses. The proportion of the trait variance
      attributable to the MG effect varied from 0.296 (factor F4 in the Chuvashia
      sample) to 0.596 (the same factor in the Kirghizian sample). It is assumed that
      four independent large-effect genes can be recognized in the genetic control of
      adiposity determining, respectively, individual predisposition to accumulate
      subcutaneous fat, its distribution between the body trunk and extremities,
      predisposition to accumulate inner fat and its distribution between the upper and
      lower body parts. In each population, unification of the four most parsimonious
      MG models forms oligogenic models explaining from 0.364 (Chuvashia) to 0.540
      (Kirghizstan) of total adiposity.

PMID- 9974086
TI  - Age at menarche and urbanization in Cameroon: current status and secular trends.
AB  - Status quo data on the age at menarche were obtained on samples of Cameroonian
      girls living in urban (Yaounde) (n = 205), suburban (n = 505) and rural areas (n
      = 201). Mean ages at menarche, estimated by probit analysis, are 13.18 years (SD
      1.08) in Yaounde, 13.98 years (SD 1.55) in the suburban area, and 14.27 years (SD
      1.65) in the rural area. The early menarcheal age observed in Yaounde girls
      attending 'privileged schools' (12.72 years, SD 1.18) substantiates the
      hypothesis that in good environmental conditions Africans are as early-maturing
      as Asiatic or Mediterranean populations. Comparison with retrospective data on
      age at menarche during previous decades reveals the presence of a clear secular
      trend towards earlier maturation, at a rate of 2.5-3.2 months per decade, only in
      the main cities of the country (Yaounde/Douala) and a lack of temporal variation
      in rural areas. The degree of urbanization influences maturational age and its
      evolution, probably through improvements in the nutritional standards.

PMID- 9974087
TI  - [The main principles of the decrees on perinatal care].

PMID- 9974088
TI  - [Can we improve the neuro-intellectual and behavioral prognosis of premature
      infants by modifying their environment?].

PMID- 9974089
TI  - [Pediatrics in question].

PMID- 9974090
TI  - [Cerebral anomalies associated with growth hormone insufficiency in children:
      major markers for diagnosis?].
AB  - PATIENTS AND METHODS: The role of cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in
      the diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in children has been studied in
      100 children. The diagnosis of GH deficiency was assessed at a mean age of 6.7 +/
      4.1 years: morphological abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) region
      have been studied in three different groups: in the first group (70 cases), the
      neurohypophysis was present and normally located; in the second group (ten cases)
      it was missing; in the third group (20 cases) the neurohypophysis was ectopic
      (truncated stalk syndrome with ectopic neurohypophysis, small antehypophysis,
      thin or non-visualized stalk). RESULTS: In the majority of cases, children
      presenting with only one morphological abnormality of the HP region (ectopic
      neurohypophysis or small antehypophysis or non-visualized or thin stalk) had an
      isolated GH deficiency. When multiple morphological abnormalities were present,
      anterior pituitary deficiency was multiple in more than half the cases. Cerebral
      midline anomalies (above all Chiari I malformation and basipharyngeal canal) had
      been observed in 20% of the children presenting with GH deficiency. In the
      majority of cases (95%), these anomalies were associated with one or more
      abnormalities of the HP region. A familial case is reported: morphological
      anomalies of the HP region were different for both siblings. Genetic factors are
      evoked. CONCLUSION: The severity of the hormone deficiency is correlated to the
      ectopic location of the neurohypophysis, the thin appearance or non visibility of
      the pituitary stalk and the associated midline anomalies.

PMID- 9974091
TI  - [Contralateral transinguinal laparoscopy in unilateral inguinal hernia].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Indication for surgical exploration of the contralateral groin during
      unilateral herniorraphy in children is the subject of a worldwide debate. Routine
      exploration based on the likelihood of a patent processus vaginalis (PV)
      according to age, gender or side to some extent leads to unnecessary procedures,
      while routine abstention may leave a peritoneal sac, likely to later induce a
      symptomatic hernia in about 10% of cases. METHODS AND PATIENTS: One hundred and
      twenty-five children aged from 1 month to 15 years underwent transinguinal
      laparoscopic assessment of the contralateral groin, using a 3 mm trocar and a 70
      degrees telescope gently introduced through the exposed PV. Surgical exploration
      was performed only in those patients who exhibited a patent PV, and in patients
      where the groin was poorly visualized due to technical problems. RESULTS:
      Regardless of age, contralateral surgery was not considered in 88 (70%) of the
      125 children. Among the 37 patients that were operated upon, eight had a negative
      exploration due to an erroneous endoscopic evaluation. Surgery was avoided in 35
      (56%) of the 62 infants aged less than 2 years, including nine of the 13
      prematures who were previously routinely operated upon. Conversely, in the 63
      older patients who were readily spared from surgical exploration, the videoscopic
      evaluation allowed appropriate selection for contralateral surgery in six.
      CONCLUSION: A routine policy, either of surgery or observation, is no longer
      indicated as a quick, safe and cost-effective method is available to detect a
      patent PV. The transinguinal laparoscopy is safe and could be easily performed by
      surgeons already skilled in pediatric herniorraphy. Therefore, the videoscopic
      transinguinal contralateral evaluation is worth being promoted to ensure an
      appropriate surgery tailored to the anatomical features.

PMID- 9974092
TI  - [Sentinel surveillance of diarrhea in Ksar-Hellal (Tunisia)].
AB  - BACKGROUND: In order to simplify the national data collection related to
      diarrhea, a sentinel surveillance system was implemented in the Ksar-Hellal
      district (Tunisia). POPULATION AND METHODS: This system was based on 461 cases of
      diarrhea collected from health centers and hospitals between June 1994 and
      December 1995. RESULTS: The collected information confirmed the previous data
      provided by the national system: frequency of diarrhea in health centers (4.14%),
      occurrence of the disease especially in the summer period, rate of
      hospitalization (10%) and low proportion of severe dehydration. The system also
      gave some new information related to the proportion of persistent diarrhea
      (7.1%), the low frequency of malnutrition (11%) and the etiology. CONCLUSION: The
      sentinel surveillance system validates information previously provided by the
      National Surveillance System. It also gave new information not obtained by the
      classical surveillance system.

PMID- 9974093
TI  - [Benign infantile convulsions. French collaborative study].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Benign infantile non febrile seizures are not well known, leading us
      to study their clinical and EEG characteristics. METHODS: Between 1981 and 1994,
      we assembled 34 patients with the following inclusion criteria: non febrile
      seizures between 1 month and 2 years of age, normal personal history, no
      abnormality on clinical, biological and radiological investigations, normal
      developmental outcome with at least 1 year follow-up. RESULTS: These 34 patients
      were recognized as 14 familial cases (identical seizures affecting parents) and
      11 non familial cases. The other nine cases had different or undefined epilepsy
      in the family. The clinical and EEG characteristics were the same: at the mean
      age of 6 months, brief partial seizures (often secondarily or apparently
      generalized) occurring in a cluster of two to 12 episodes a day for a mean
      duration of 2.5 days, with ictal EEG showing focal discharge, often slow waves or
      focal spikes on post-ictal tracing and normal interictal EEG. CONCLUSION: The
      clinical and EEG characteristics are important in order to recognize this type of
      infantile convulsions (familial or not familial), which have a good prognosis and
      need no aggressive treatment.

PMID- 9974094
TI  - [Benign intracranial hypertension: an unrecognized complication of corticosteroid
      therapy].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Benign intracranial hypertension is due to an increased intracranial
      pressure of unknown cause. The initial symptoms, complications and associations
      with medical conditions are discussed. CASE REPORT: A 6-year-old girl developed
      symptoms of benign intracranial hypertension following reduction of oral
      corticosteroid therapy. Laboratory studies and head-computed tomographic scan
      were normal. Examination of the optic discs showed bilateral papilledema and the
      cerebrospinal fluid pressure was increased. The patient was given prednisone
      therapy 1 mg/kg daily initially, associated with acetazolamide, and removal of 25
      mL of cerebrospinal fluid. All the symptoms resolved and the treatment was
      gradually decreased. The child developed no further visual failure. CONCLUSION:
      Benign intracranial hypertension with the risk of permanent visual loss is a
      complication underrecognized in children. All patients receiving large doses of
      the corticosteroids who complain of headache or blurring vision, particularly
      following a reduction of corticosteroid dosage, should have an ophtalmoscopic
      examination to exclude this complication.

PMID- 9974095
TI  - [Holoprosencephaly with neurogenic hypernatremia].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Semi-lobar holoprosencephalies can be seldom complicated by
      neurogenic hypernatremia, which must be distinguished from other causes of
      hypernatremia. CASE REPORT: In two admitted children with semi-lobar
      holoprosencephaly, 7 months and 4 years old, biological data revealed chronic
      hypernatremia and hyperosmolarity without clinical signs of dehydration, which
      were finally attributed to a neurogenic hypernatremia. CONCLUSION: Neurogenic
      hypernatremia must be clearly differentiated from other causes of hypernatremia
      since it never causes specific complications.

PMID- 9974096
TI  - [Precocious puberty secondary to an intramedullary germinoma].
AB  - BACKGROUND: hCG secreting tumors are responsible for 21% of precocious puberties
      in boys. Usual localizations are hepatic, cerebral, mediastinal and gonadic. CASE
      REPORT: A 4-year-old boy developed precocious puberty with rapid evolution. Serum
      beta hCG suggested germinal etiology, but radiological procedures failed to find
      any usual localization. Further occurrence of pain in the legs led to carry out a
      lumbar puncture. The high cerebrospinal fluid/blood gradient of beta hCG
      suggested the presence of an intramedullar tumor. Medullar magnetic resonance
      imaging found a large tumor facing L1 and L2. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this
      localization is described for only the second time.

PMID- 9974097
TI  - [Value of pulmonary gas exchange study during exercise in the diagnosis of a
      muscular glycogenosis].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of muscular glycogen storage disease is usually
      difficult to demonstrate as symptoms normally consist of muscular cramps and
      exercise intolerance. Informations obtained from the study of the pulmonary gas
      exchange during exercise in a young patient with a glycogen storage disease are
      reported. CASE REPORT: The ventilatory and gas exchange responses to a cyclo
      ergometer exercise were studied in a 17-year-old girl during a ramp-like test (5
      W/min). The temporal profile of CO2 production (VCO2) response was clearly
      abnormal: VCO2 was always lower than oxygen consumption throughout the test,
      reflecting the lack of lactate buffering by the bicarbonates due to the absence
      of lactate production. The respiratory ratio was still around 0.75 at the peak of
      the test. In contrast, responses were perfectly normal in the other members of
      the family, allowing rejection of the diagnosis of glycogen storage disease
      without any blood sampling. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates the benefit of
      studying pulmonary gas exchange during exercise for a non-invasive diagnosis of
      muscular glycogen storage disease and detection of the disease in the other
      members of family.

PMID- 9974098
TI  - [Benign familial infantile convulsions].
AB  - Benign familial infantile convulsion is a syndrome recently identified among the
      epileptic seizures of infancy. The main characteristics are: occurrence before
      one year of age, brief epileptic bursts of partial type seizures with secondary
      generalization, excellent prognosis with normal mental and motor development,
      high familial incidence. This syndrome appears genetically heterogeneous.

PMID- 9974099
TI  - [Treatment of infantile visceral leishmaniasis].
AB  - Visceral leishmaniasis is an endemic disease in the Mediterranean Basin. Children
      are one of the targets of the infection. Treatment usually requires parenteral
      injections of pentavalent antimony (Glucantime or Pentostam), but the high
      frequency of adverse events and the occurrence of primary or secondary resistance
      cases limit the use of these medications. Diamidines (Pentacarinat) or
      amphotericin B derivatives are alternatives to antimony. Unfortunately,
      pharmacokinetics and optimal dosage of diamidines are not well-known, and
      numerous adverse events are described. Liposomal preparations of amphotericin B
      enhance its efficiency and tolerance, and the duration of treatment may be
      reduced to 5 days. Moreover, primary resistance to amphotericin B is not
      described in immunocompetent children. Allopurinol associated with antimony seems
      no more efficient than antimony alone. Aminosidine is not evaluated.

PMID- 9974100
TI  - [Prenatal inhibition of intestinal vasoactive peptide and cerebral excitatory
      lesions in the newborn mouse].
AB  - The glutamatergic agent ibotenate induces cortical plate and white matter lesions
      in the newborn mouse, mimicking brain lesions of the human neonate. In this
      model, co-treatment with ibotenate and a vasoactive intestinal peptide antagonist
      (VA) aggravates the excitotoxic lesions, suggesting a protective role of
      endogenous VIP. On the other hand, prenatal injection of VA is followed by a
      dramatic depletion of astrocytes in the neocortex. Since astrocytes produce
      numerous neuronotrophic agents, we studied the consequences of a decreased
      astrocytic density by prenatal VIP blockade on the excitotoxic brain lesions in
      newborn mice. Pregnant females were pre-treated with VA during the last 2 days of
      gestation and ibotenate was intracerebrally injected on postnatal day (P) 2 or
      P5. When compared to controls, pups pre-treated with VA and injected with
      ibotenate at P2 displayed a significant reduction of the white matter lesion size
      while cortical plate lesion was not affected. This protective effect disappeared
      when ibotenate was injected at P5. White matter protection by VA pre-treatment
      did not seem to be linked to the decreased astrocytic density since, i) this
      astrocytic paucity concerns only superficial cortical layers and does not affect
      white matter, ii) protective effects are only observed at P2 while astrocytic
      density reduction is observed at P2 and P5. This white matter protection could be
      secondary to an up-regulation of VIP receptors: an increased density of VIP
      receptors, which was described in other developmental models following VA
      treatment, could increase the efficacy of the endogenous VIP after an excitotoxic
      insult.

PMID- 9974101
TI  - [Precocious maturation of auditory evoked potentials in prematures: influence of
      gestational age and sex].
AB  - In humans, the onset of the auditory function occurs at the beginning of the
      third trimester of pregnancy. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) can be
      recorded in preterm neonates as early as 25-26 weeks of gestational age. The
      latency of BAEP waves show a significant decrease according to increasing age to
      achieve adult values at the end of the first month after birth for wave I and
      near 3 to 5 years old for waves III and V. Auditory evoked responses are
      influenced by gender, notably with significantly higher wave latencies in males
      than in females. These gender differences in auditory function appear early in
      humans, some being observed as soon as 34 weeks of gestational age.

PMID- 9974102
TI  - [Infant quality of life: criteria of parents and professionals. Development of an
      evaluation instrument].
AB  - A survey was performed using open-ended questionnaires to be completed by parents
      or care-givers dealing with very young children (less than 3 years old) in order
      to study their opinions concerning the child's quality of life. About 800
      questionnaires were analyzed with a content-analysis method. Nine categories and
      about 40 elementary criteria were distinguished. Some criteria were widely
      quoted. Others appeared useful to discriminate between care givers and parents,
      between different situations encountered by the child, and his/her age. This
      information will be used to develop a young child's quality of life scale.

PMID- 9974103
TI  - [Selective brain cooling].
AB  - The brain is especially sensitive to heat stress. To limit the increase of
      intracranial heat in case of hyperthermia or fever, a system of selective cooling
      is put on. It includes two heat-exchangers. The first one, in the face and scalp
      skin, disperses calories through sweat evaporation. The second one is
      intracranial, close to the arteries which irrigate the brain. They are connected
      by a vascular network. In these conditions, the arterial blood temperature, of
      which cerebral temperature depends upon, is reduced by the cooled venous blood
      which comes from subcutaneous tissues through the skull wall. On feverish
      children, increasing such a selective cooling by face fanning can limit cerebral
      thermal stress.

PMID- 9974104
TI  - [Thermal comfort and fever or research on how to feel better].
AB  - Thermic comfort is the affective perception of temperature (to be or not
      comfortable). It depends on the difference between thermoregulatory central set
      point and body temperature. Any measures which help to reduce this difference is
      felt as pleasant, and vice-versa. This must be taken into consideration in the
      prescriptions and advices for feverish children. Thus antipyretic therapy, and
      face fanning are always felt as pleasant, while undressing and tepid baths may be
      felt as unpleasant.

PMID- 9974105
TI  - [School refusal anxiety].
AB  - School refusal mainly affects 11-13-year-old children but may be observed at any
      age from 5 to 15 years. It has two main clinical varieties: 1) school phobia in
      which the refusal attitude is directed toward school itself or an aspect of
      school environment; 2) separation anxiety in which the refusal of going to school
      is related to the separation with attached relatives, frequently the mother.
      Early recognition and intervention are determining factors for the prognosis.
      Hospital management and/or medication (imipramine) may be necessary in severe
      forms.

PMID- 9974106
TI  - [Convulsions after EMLA cream application].

PMID- 9974107
TI  - [Fetal alcohol syndrome and pyloric stenosis].

PMID- 9974108
TI  - [Effect of nitric oxide on the doppler profile of the anterior cerebral artery in
      the newborn].

PMID- 9974109
TI  - [Neutropenia in a newborn secondary to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim administered
      to the mother].

PMID- 9974110
TI  - [Bacterial meningitis in infants and children at the Brazzaville University
      Hospital].

PMID- 9974111
TI  - [Epiglottitis: pathology in young children?].

PMID- 9974112
TI  - [Infant growth formulas: useful for whom?].

PMID- 9974113
TI  - [Baths for the treatment of fever: antiquated treatment, sham treatment?].

PMID- 9974114
TI  - [Phototherapy and sudden infant death].

PMID- 9974115
TI  - [Labyrinth malformation manifesting as pneumococcal meningitis].

PMID- 9974116
TI  - Delayed behavioral effects following intrahippocampal injection of aggregated A
      beta (1-42).
AB  - Beta amyloid protein (A beta) is the major extracellular component of Alzheimer's
      disease (AD) plaques. In the current study, A beta (1-42) was aggregated in vitro
      using a method which produces A beta aggregates similar to those found in the AD
      brain. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in two-lever operant chambers
      under an alternating lever cyclic-ratio (ALCR) schedule. When performance was
      stable on the ALCR schedule, six subjects were injected (bilaterally into the CA3
      area of the dorsal hippocampus) with 5.0 microliters aggregated A beta in
      suspension, and the remaining six subjects were injected with 5.0 microliters
      sterile water. Behavioral testing resumed 5 days after surgery and continued for
      90 days post-injection. Aggregated A beta injection did not affect the number of
      lever switching errors made in a daily session but did affect the number of
      incorrect lever response perseverations. After approximately 30 days post
      injection, aggregated A beta injection detrimentally affected ability to track
      the changing parameters of the schedule, and decreased the efficiency by which
      subjects obtained reinforcers. From approximately day 50 post-injection onward, A
      beta-injected subjects demonstrated significantly higher numbers of incorrect
      lever response perseverations than did sterile water-injected subjects. These
      effects appeared to be central rather than peripheral, as A beta injection did
      not decrease running response rates under the ALCR schedule. The delayed onset of
      behavioral effects seen in this and other behavioral studies may be a result of a
      cascade of potentially harmful responses induced through glial activation
      following aggregated A beta injection.

PMID- 9974117
TI  - Apoptotic DNA fragmentation and upregulation of Bax induced by transient ischemia
      of the rat retina.
AB  - This study was performed to examine the involvement of apoptosis and the
      expression of bcl-2 family genes in ischemia-induced retinal injury. Retinal
      ischemia was induced in adult rats by raising the intraocular pressure to 130
      mmHg for 45 min. Selective damage to the inner retina was observed 7 days after
      ischemia. No terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end
      labeling (TUNEL) positive cells were observed in the normal retina, but there was
      a significant number of TUNEL positive cells 6-48 h after transient ischemia
      followed by a decrease at 96 and 168 h. The number of TUNEL positive cells
      reached a maximum at 24 h after ischemia. DNA laddering was observed on agarose
      gel electrophoresis with the retinas 24 and 48 h after ischemia but not in the
      normal retina. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
      (RT-PCR) revealed that bax gene expression did not change immediately after
      cessation of ischemia, but gradually increased as early as 6 h, reached a peak at
      24 h, then decreased to near baseline levels at 168 h. On the other hand, bcl-2
      gene expression showed no obvious changes at any time after transient ischemia.
      Moreover, intense Bax protein immunoreactivity was detected in the retinal
      sections at 24 h after ischemia although little immunoreactivity was present in
      the normal sections. These results suggest that apoptosis associated with the
      expression of Bax is involved in retinal cell loss after ischemic insult.

PMID- 9974118
TI  - Neuronal activity in the lateral geniculate nucleus associated with ponto
      geniculo-occipital waves lacks lamina specificity.
AB  - Ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves are spontaneously occurring field potentials
      recorded in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) just prior to and during
      rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Facilitated discharge rates of LGN neurons are
      associated with PGO waves. In kittens during the critical period of visual system
      development, both visual experience and PGO waves appear capable of influencing
      the course of development through activity-dependent mechanisms. Retinal
      innervation of LGN segregates into eye-specific laminae and is critical to
      supporting the role of binocular visual experience in development. We sought to
      determine whether neuronal activity associated with PGO waves also exhibits
      lamina specificity. PGO wave-related discharges were examined in LGN neurons
      identified as to lamina location in adult cats administered urethane anesthesia
      and the reserpine-like compound, RO4-1284. Spontaneous activity of LGN neurons
      was related to the occurrence of PGO-like waves in all cells studied. No factors
      could be found that differentiated lamina location and PGO wave-related
      discharges. We conclude that the PGO wave influence on neuronal activity in the
      visual system is fundamentally different from that derived from visual
      experience. The implications of this difference for the role of the two sources
      of activation in the control of neural activity in development are discussed.

PMID- 9974119
TI  - Effect of dextromethorphan, a NMDA antagonist, on DNA repair in rat photochemical
      thrombotic cerebral ischemia.
AB  - Photochemical thrombotic ischemia model was used to study the possible roles of
      excision repair cross-complementing group 6 (ERCC6), a DNA repair gene, in the
      neuroprotection of dextromethorphan (DM), a NMDA antagonist, in ischemic brain
      injury. The results showed that no obvious ERCC6 mRNA expression was found in the
      perifocal area of irradiated cerebral cortex before 24 h postischemia. Then, the
      number of ERCC6 mRNA positive cells gradually enhanced, and attained a peak value
      at 72 h after light irradiation, which followed a declined tendency at 7-day
      postlesion. These results suggest that DNA repair gene ERCC6 mRNA expression in
      the perifocal area may be involved in the pathophysiological processes following
      the photochemical thrombotic cerebral ischemia. By the administration of DM, we
      observed that it can significantly upregulate the expression of ERCC6 mRNA in the
      perifocal area at 48 h after ischemic event. The neuroprotective mechanisms of DM
      may be related to the upregulation of DNA repair gene ERCC6 mRNA.

PMID- 9974120
TI  - Peripheral administration of novel anti-inflammatories can attenuate the effects
      of chronic inflammation within the CNS.
AB  - In the present study we investigated whether nitroflurbiprofen (NFP) or nitro
      aspirin can reduce the inflammatory response induced by continuous infusion of
      lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the fourth ventricular space of the rat's brain for
      30 days. The chronic LPS infusion produced an extensive inflammation that was
      particularly evident in the hippocampus, subiculum and entorhinal and piriform
      cortices. Daily peripheral administration of NFP dose-dependently, and
      significantly, attenuated the brain inflammation as indicated by the decreased
      density and reactive state of microglial cells. Daily peripheral administration
      of nitro-aspirin also attenuated the brain inflammation, but to a much lesser
      degree than NFP. The results demonstrated that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
      drugs (NSAIDs) could reduce brain inflammation and that NFP is an effective anti
      inflammatory agent.

PMID- 9974121
TI  - Effect of selegiline on dopamine concentration in the striatum of a primate.
AB  - Monoamine oxidase (MAO) has two subtypes, A and B, that have different
      distributions between the rodent and the human. In the striatum, dopamine (DA) of
      the rat seems to be metabolized by MAO A, and DA of the human is largely
      deaminated by MAO B. MAO in the striatum of common marmosets is also type B.
      Using in vivo microdialysis, we investigated the pharmacological activity of
      selegiline, a selective irreversible inhibitor of MAO B, in the striatum of
      marmosets. Intraperitoneal co-administration of selegiline (1 mg kg-1, i.p.) with
      levodopa/carbidopa (10/2.5 mg kg-1, i.p.) did not significantly increase
      extracellular concentration of DA in the striatum of common marmosets compared
      with control animals receiving levodopa/carbidopa alone. Daily pretreatment with
      0.1 mg kg-1 (i.p.) selegiline for two weeks, however, dramatically increased
      extracellular concentration of DA to about seven times that of control animals
      treated with levodopa/carbidopa alone in marmosets. Such an increase in
      extracellular concentrations of DA could not be observed in a similar study with
      Wistar rats. This study showed that chronic administration of a small dose of
      selegiline caused a marked increase in extracellular DA concentration in the
      striatum of primates, but not in the rodents.

PMID- 9974122
TI  - Rapid effects of corticosterone on cardiovascular neurons in the rostral
      ventrolateral medulla of rats.
AB  - The present study has explored possible fast actions of corticosteroid hormones
      on activity of cardiovascular neurons of the rostral ventrolateral medulla.
      Experiments were conducted in 60 urethane-anesthetized, artificially ventilated
      adult rats. Extracellular recordings of unitary firings were made from the RVLM
      with multi- or single-barreled microelectrodes. Barosensitive cardiovascular
      neurons were identified through activation of the baroreceptor reflex by
      electrical stimulation of the aortic nerve and by intravenous injection of
      phenylephrine. In 52 barosensitive cardiovascular neurons, iontophoretically
      applied corticosterone sulfate increased the ongoing activity of 30 (57.7%)
      neurons, the other 22 (42.3%) neurons being unaffected. In 16 bulbospinal pre
      sympathetic neurons, iontophorized corticosterone increased the firing rate of 12
      neurons. Intravenously applied corticosterone (0.2 mg) increased the firing rates
      of 5 out of 12 bulbospinal pre-sympathetic neurons. The average baseline activity
      of cardiovascular neurons sensitive to corticosterone was found to be
      significantly less than that of the cardiovascular neurons insensitive to
      corticosterone. In 64 non-cardiovascular neurons, the firing rate of 13 (20.3%)
      neurons increased, 23 (36.0%) decreased and 28 (43.7%) remained unchanged
      following local application of corticosterone. The changes in firing rates of
      RVLM neurons following application of corticosterone occurred rapidly and were
      dependent on the doses of the agent. RU-38486 was able to reduce or block the
      rapid effects of corticosterone on cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular neurons.
      The results demonstrated that corticosterone may fast, non-genomically, modulate
      the activity of central regulators of the cardiovascular system and suggested
      that fast non-genomic actions of corticosteroid hormones may be an important
      mechanism in the integration of the autonomic nervous and the cardiovascular
      systems during some conditions such as stress.

PMID- 9974123
TI  - Regenerative effect of human recombinant NGF on capsaicin-lesioned sensory
      neurons in the adult rat.
AB  - Nerve growth factor (NGF) has the ability to increase the content of peptide
      transmitter in intact primary sensory afferents of the adult rat. We have
      previously shown that NGF can also induce a refill of peptide transmitters in
      capsaicin-depleted peptidergic nerve terminals of the rat paw skin upon
      intraplantar injection. The present study was aimed at investigating the
      neurochemical, immunohistochemical and functional recovery of peripheral and
      central terminals of capsaicin-lesioned afferents following administration of
      recombinant human NGF-beta (rhNGF-beta). The systemic capsaicin treatment in
      adult rats by 50 mg/kg s.c. (day 0) was followed by intraplantar rhNGF-beta
      injections (4 micrograms each) into one hind paw on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and by the
      analysis on day 8. The content of the marker peptide calcitonin gene-related
      peptide (CGRP) showed a 100% NGF-induced recovery in the peripheral (sciatic
      nerve) and central axons (lumbar dorsal roots) on the side of the NGF treatment
      and also in the contralateral sciatic nerve and lumbar dorsal roots. In the
      terminals of the hind paw skin, the recovery of the CGRP content, as measured by
      radioimmunoassay, was 100% in the plantar and 80% in the dorsal skin
      ipsilaterally, and 55% in the dorsal and plantar hind paw skin contralaterally.
      In the lumbar dorsal spinal cord, CGRP content recovered by 85% bilaterally. The
      morphological appearance of the sensory nerve terminals was visualized by CGRP
      immunohistochemistry. In the paw skin, the CGRP-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR) nerve
      endings were restricted to a fragmentary subepidermal plexus after the capsaicin
      treatment, whereas the subsequent NGF treatment caused a bilateral recovery of
      the subepidermal plexus and an intact reinnervation of the epidermis and blood
      vessels with free nerve terminals. The capsaicin-induced fragmentation of the
      CGRP terminal plexus in laminae I and II of the lumbar spinal dorsal horn was
      also markedly repaired on both sides by the intraplantar NGF injections. The NGF
      treatment caused the CGRP nerve terminals in the spinal cord to regain their
      ability of releasing transmitter upon capsaicin stimulation as shown in tissue
      slice superfusion experiments. These results show that within one week, rhNGF
      beta can induce a complete reinnervation of skin and spinal cord with intact CGRP
      IR nerve terminals after an acute capsaicin lesion.

PMID- 9974124
TI  - Regulation of the expression of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors and their
      endogenous ligands during rat sciatic nerve degeneration and regeneration: a role
      for PBR in neurosteroidogenesis.
AB  - Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) and their endogenous ligands, the
      diazepam-binding inhibitor derived-peptides, are present in Schwann cells in the
      peripheral nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the influence
      of reversible (freeze-injury) and permanent (transection and ligature) nerve
      lesion on PBR density and on the levels of their endogenous ligands, by
      autoradiography (using [3H]PK11195) and radioimmunoassay (using antisera directed
      against the octadecaneuropeptide (ODN), a diazepam-binding inhibitor fragment).
      The potential role of PBR on peripheral nerve steroidogenesis, was studied by
      investigating the effect of specific PBR agonists and antagonists on pregnenolone
      levels in the sciatic nerve. Sixteen to 30 days after nerve lesion, PBR density
      and ODN-LI level were highly increased. Their expression returned to normal level
      when regeneration was completed 60 days after freeze-injury, but remained
      elevated when regeneration did not occur in transected distal stumps. Reverse
      phase HPLC analysis of ODN-LI showed that in control nerve extracts, the major
      immunoreactive peak co-elutes with triakontatetraneuropeptide (TTN). After freeze
      injury, intermediate molecular forms eluting between ODN and TTN were predominant
      and remained elevated at day 60. The greater accumulation of intermediate forms
      when regeneration is allowed to occur may indicate a particular role of these
      forms in axonal elongation and myelination. Ro5-4864, a high affinity PBR agonist
      increased pregnenolone concentration in the sciatic nerve. This effect was
      antagonised by PK11195, a high affinity PBR antagonist, which had no effect on
      pregnenolone basal level, indicating a specific action of PBR in neurosteroid
      production. These results suggest a role for PBR and their endogenous ligands in
      peripheral nerve regeneration. A trophic effect could be exerted via stimulation
      of steroid synthesis.

PMID- 9974125
TI  - Net efflux of cysteine, glutathione and related metabolites from rat hippocampal
      slices during oxygen/glucose deprivation: dependence on gamma-glutamyl
      transpeptidase.
AB  - Extracellular metabolism of the protective substance glutathione (gamma-glutamyl
      cysteinyl-glycine) may generate cysteine, glycine, several gamma-glutamyl
      containing dipeptides and possibly free glutamate, all of which could participate
      in neurotoxicity. In the present study, we have examined how blockage of gamma
      glutamyl transpeptidase, the key enzyme in glutathione degradation, influences
      the extracellular concentrations of glutathione, cysteine and related metabolites
      during anoxia/aglycemia of rat hippocampal slices. The net efflux, i.e., the
      increase in extracellular concentration due to changes in release and/or uptake,
      of cysteine, cysteine sulfinate, gamma-glutamyl-glutamate, gamma-glutamyl
      glutamine, glutathione, gamma-glutamyl-cysteine and glutamate increased as a
      result of anoxia/aglycemia. These increases in net efflux of cysteine, cysteine
      sulfinate, gamma-glutamyl-glutamate and gamma-glutamyl-glutamine were reduced or
      blocked by acivicin, an inhibitor of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. In contrast,
      acivicin caused an increase in both basal and anoxia/aglycemia-induced net efflux
      of glutathione whereas the basal and anoxia/aglycemia-induced efflux of glutamate
      was unchanged by acivicin treatment. The effect of acivicin on the efflux of
      gamma-glutamyl-cysteine was similar to that of glutathione although less
      pronounced. Addition of beta-mercaptoethanol to the incubation medium during and
      after 30 min of anoxia/aglycemia decreased the net efflux of cysteine sulfinate
      specifically, indicating that the increase in cysteine sulfinate during
      anoxia/aglycemia may be partly derived from the spontaneous oxidation of
      cysteine. The results suggest that gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase may be involved
      in the regulation of the extracellular concentrations of cysteine, several gamma
      glutamyl-containing dipeptides and glutathione but not glutamate during ischemia.

PMID- 9974126
TI  - Down-regulation of cannabinoid receptor agonist-stimulated [35S]GTP gamma S
      binding in synaptic plasma membrane from chronic ethanol exposed mouse.
AB  - In our previous study, we demonstrated that chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure down
      regulated the cannabinoid receptors (CB1) in mouse brain synaptic plasma membrane
      (SPM) (Basavarajappa et al., Brain Res. 793 (1998) 212-218). In the present
      study, we investigated the effect of chronic EtOH (4-day inhalation) on the CB1
      agonist stimulated guanosine-5'-O-(3-[35S]thio)-triphosphate ([35S]GTP gamma S)
      binding in SPM from mouse. Our results indicate that the net CP55,940 stimulated
      [35S]GTP gamma S binding was increased with increasing concentrations of CP55,940
      and GDP. This net CP55,940 (1.5 microM) stimulated [35S]GTP gamma S binding was
      reduced significantly (-25%) in SPM from chronic EtOH group (175 +/- 5.25%,
      control; 150 +/- 8.14%, EtOH; P < 0.05). This effect occurs without any
      significant changes on basal [35S]GTP gamma S binding (152.1 +/- 10.7 for
      control, 147.4 +/- 5.0 fmol/mg protein for chronic EtOH group, P > 0.05). Non
      linear regression analysis of net CP55,940 stimulated [35S]GTP gamma S binding in
      SPM showed that the Bmax of cannabinoid stimulated binding was significantly
      reduced in chronic EtOH exposed mouse (Bmax = 7.58 +/- 0.22 for control; 6.42 +/-
      0.20 pmol/mg protein for EtOH group; P < 0.05) without any significant changes in
      the G-protein affinity (Kd = 2.68 +/- 0.24 for control; 3.42 +/- 0.31 nM for EtOH
      group; P > 0.05). The pharmacological specificity of CP55,940 stimulated [35S]GTP
      gamma S binding in SPM was examined with CB1 receptor antagonist, SR141716A and
      these studies indicated that CP55,940 stimulated [35S]GTP gamma S binding was
      blocked by SR141716A with a decrease (P < 0.05) in the IC50 values in the SPM
      from chronic EtOH group. These results suggest that the observed down-regulation
      of CB1 receptors by chronic EtOH has a profound effect on desensitization of
      cannabinoid-activated signal transduction and possible involvement of CB1
      receptors in EtOH tolerance and dependence.

PMID- 9974127
TI  - Lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis do not impair prepulse inhibition
      and latent inhibition of fear-potentiated startle in the rat.
AB  - The present study tested if lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM)
      affect prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response and latent
      inhibition (LI) of fear-potentiated startle. The NBM is known to play an
      important role in learning and memory. Recently, the interest of research focused
      on its role in attentional and response selection processes. We here tested the
      effect of excitotoxic NBM-lesions on PPI, a phenomenon of sensorimotor gating
      that occurs at early stages of information processing. We also assessed the
      lesion effects on LI, a phenomenon of reduced conditioning after stimulus
      preexposure that can be used to measure selective attention. Bilateral infusions
      into the NBM of 80 nmol of quinolinic acid markedly reduced the number of choline
      acetyltransferase immunopositive neurons in the NBM and lead to a pronounced
      reduction of acetylcholine esterase in the cortex and the amygdala. However, no
      effects on PPI, fear-conditioning, or LI of fear-potentiated startle were found.
      Therefore, we conclude that there is no NBM-driven attentional or response
      selection process involved in PPI. Furthermore, the simple association learning
      in the classical conditioning paradigm used for fear-potentiated startle or LI is
      unaffected by NBM-lesions.

PMID- 9974128
TI  - On the effect of chemically activated fine muscle afferents on interneurones
      mediating group I non-reciprocal inhibition of extensor ankle and knee muscles in
      humans.
AB  - In a previous paper it was shown that muscle nociceptive discharge depressed the
      activity of interneurones mediating group I non-reciprocal inhibition (or Ib
      interneurones) in humans [A. Rossi, B. Decchi, Changes in Ib heteronymous
      inhibition to soleus motoneurons during cutaneous and muscle nociceptive
      stimulation in humans, Brain Res. 774 (1997) 55-61.]. However, since nociceptive
      discharge depressed the size of the soleus H-reflex (by which Ib inhibition was
      tested) the question arises as to whether modification of motoneurone membrane
      conductance per se could depress the size of Ib inhibitory post-synaptic
      potentials. The results of the present study suggest that the contribution of
      motoneurone hyperpolarization to Ib disinhibition is negligible and that muscle
      nociceptive discharge actually depresses the activity of these pathways.

PMID- 9974129
TI  - Ecto-ATPase activity in cerebellum: implication to the function of synaptic
      transmission.
AB  - The involvement of ATP in synaptic transmission was examined in synapses on
      granule cells of the rat cerebellum using ecto-ATPase activity. Reaction product
      was found in a majority but not all synapses between axodendritic, axoaxonic, and
      dendrodendritic appositions of granule cells and was associated with
      extracellular surface of both pre- and postsynaptic membranes. Specificity of the
      detection was justified by using diethyl pyrocarbonate, specific inhibitor of
      ecto-ATPase activity. These observations provide direct morphological evidence in
      support of the view that ATP participates in synaptic transmission and indicate
      functional heterogeneity of synapses in cerebellum.

PMID- 9974130
TI  - Neurokinin-1 receptors and spinal cord control of blood pressure in spontaneously
      hypertensive rats.
AB  - In this study we examined blood pressure and heart rate responses to intrathecal
      administration of a synthetic NK1-receptor agonist, H2N-(CH2)4-CO-Phe-Phe-Pro
      NmeLeu-Met-NH2 (GR 73,632), in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their
      progenitor strain, the Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY). Sodium pentobarbitone
      anaesthetised rats with implanted intrathecal catheters were paralysed
      (pancuronium dibromide) and artificially ventilated. Injection of GR 73,632 at
      the T9 spinal level evoked dose-dependent increases in mean arterial pressure
      (MAP) in WKY and SHR. SHR had a lower MAP response threshold than WKY but
      increase in response with increasing dose was less in SHR than WKY. Biphasic
      blood pressure responses at high doses were observed in both strains. Prior
      administration of the NK1-receptor antagonist (3 aR,7aR)-7,7-diphenyl-2-[1-imino
      2(methoxyphenyl)ethyl] perhydroisoindol-4-one (RP 67,580) significantly reduced
      the pressor response in WKY but not SHR. The depressor response was not
      attenuated in either strain.

PMID- 9974131
TI  - Effects of electrical stimulation of the tentacular digits of a slug upon the
      frequency of electrical oscillations in the procerebral lobe.
AB  - To find the primary mechanism for the frequency changes of electrical
      oscillations in the procerebral (PC) lobe of a slug, we electrically stimulated
      the tip, middle and basal regions of the digits of the superior and inferior
      tentacles and recorded the local field potentials from the PC lobe. Stimuli to
      the middle and basal regions of the digits of the inferior tentacle significantly
      decreased the frequency of electrical oscillations in the PC lobe, whereas those
      to the tip regions of the digits of the inferior tentacle and all regions of the
      digits of the superior tentacle increased it. These findings suggest that the
      change in the frequency of electrical oscillations in the PC lobe depends on the
      excited region in the digits, providing the first presentation of the
      physiological difference in the olfactory function between the superior and
      inferior tentacles.

PMID- 9974132
TI  - 5-HT agonist-induced phase-advances of the circadian pacemaker are diminished by
      chronic antidepressant drug treatment.
AB  - Serotonin (5-HT) and its agonists alter the timing of the circadian pacemaker.
      Previous research has shown that when they are injected 4 h before or after the
      onset of wheel-running, they phase-advance or delay, respectively, the timing of
      the pacemaker. Because serotonergic interventions alter 5-HT receptor number in
      the hypothalamus, we asked whether chronic treatment with an antidepressant drug
      (AD) that modifies serotonergic function could alter the phase-shifting effects
      of the 5-HT agonist 8-hydroxydipropylaminotetralin (8-OH-DPAT). Hamsters were
      treated chronically with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), clorgyline, and
      then injected with 8-OH-DPAT or vehicle (VEH) either 4 h before or after the
      onset of wheel-running. MAOI treatment decreased the magnitude of both 8-OH-DPAT-
      and VEH-induced phase advances, but not the magnitude of 8-OH-DPAT-induced phase
      delays. The results indicate that 8-OH-DPAT-induced phase-advances and delays are
      functionally distinct with regard to adaptive changes during chronic AD
      treatment.

PMID- 9974134
TI  - BDNF-dependent enhancement of exocytosis in cultured cortical neurons requires
      translation but not transcription.
AB  - Neurotrophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), are
      involved in acute modulation of synaptic plasticity. Different modes of action of
      BDNF have been described with time courses ranging from seconds to hours, but the
      sequence of cellular processes responsible for BDNF-dependent modulation of
      synaptic plasticity is unknown. We have used optical imaging of the styryl dye,
      FM1-43, which selectively labels synaptic vesicles, to investigate potential
      presynaptic effects of BDNF. Addition of BDNF to cultured cortical neurons for 3
      h produced a significant enhancement of exocytosis upon modest depolarization.
      BDNF had no effect on exocytosis either immediately or after incubation for 30
      min. BDNF-dependent enhancement of exocytosis was blocked by the tyrosine kinase
      inhibitor, K252a, but not by K252b, consistent with signalling via the TrkB
      receptor. Having demonstrated that the BDNF-dependent enhancement of synaptic
      vesicle release was present only after 1 h, we investigated whether de novo gene
      transcription and/or protein synthesis were involved. Addition of the inhibitors
      of RNA synthesis, actinomycin D, or 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl
      benzimidazole (DRB), did not affect the enhancement of exocytosis produced by
      BDNF. However, the effect of BDNF was blocked by the inhibitors of translation,
      cycloheximide or anisomycin. Our results indicate a rapid BDNF-dependent
      enhancement of neurotransmitter release that requires translation but not
      transcription.

PMID- 9974133
TI  - Neuroprotective action of a novel compound--M50463--in primary cultured neurons.
AB  - The neuroprotective effects of a novel synthetic compound, M50463, have been
      determined by using embryonic rat neocortical neurons in various culture
      conditions. M50463 was initially characterized as a potent specific ligand for a
      voltage-dependent sodium channel by radioligand binding studies. In fact, M50463
      inhibited neuronal cell death induced by veratrine and inhibited an increase of
      the intracellular calcium level in neurons evoked by veratrine. In addition to
      such expected effects, M50463 had the ability to prevent glutamate neurotoxicity,
      to promote the neuronal survival in serum-deprived medium and to prevent nitric
      oxide-induced neurotoxicity. These results suggested that M50463 is not a simple
      sodium channel blocker, but a neuroprotective agent which has some crucial
      mechanism of action on neuronal death occurring in various situations, and it is
      a novel, innovative candidate for neuroprotective therapy for various
      neurodegenerative disorders.

PMID- 9974135
TI  - Preferential injury of oligodendroblasts by a short hypoxic-ischemic insult.
AB  - One-week-old rat pups were subjected to an acute 10 min severe hypoxic-ischemic
      insult. Over the next 24 h, during the reperfusion period, O4 immunocytochemistry
      demonstrated that oligodendroblasts underwent degenerative changes that were
      coincident with induction of heme oxygenase. We suggest that the increased
      vulnerability of oligodendroblasts to oxidative stress following an hypoxic
      ischemic insult may contribute to the pathogenesis of periventricular
      leukomalacia.

PMID- 9974136
TI  - Neurons of the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus show a circadian rhythm in membrane
      properties that is lost during prolonged whole-cell recording.
AB  - The suprachiasmatic nucleus is commonly considered to contain the main pacemaker
      of behavioral and hormonal circadian rhythms. Using whole-cell patch-clamp
      recordings, the membrane properties of suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons were
      investigated in order to get more insight in membrane physiological mechanisms
      underlying the circadian rhythm in firing activity. Circadian rhythmicity could
      not be detected either in spontaneous firing rate or in other membrane properties
      when whole-cell measurements were made following an initial phase shortly after
      membrane rupture. However, this apparent lack of rhythmicity was not due to an
      unhealthy slice preparation or to seal formation, as a clear day/night difference
      in firing rate was found in cell-attached recordings. Furthermore, in a
      subsequent series of whole-cell recordings, membrane properties were assessed
      directly after membrane rupture, and in this series we did find a significant
      day/night difference in spontaneous firing rate, input resistance and frequency
      adaptation. As concerns the participation of different subpopulations of
      suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons expressing circadian rhythmicity, cluster I
      neurons exhibited strong rhythmicity, whereas no day/night differences were found
      in cluster II neurons. Vasopressin-containing cells form a subpopulation of
      cluster I neurons and showed a more pronounced circadian rhythmicity than the
      total population of cluster I neurons. In addition to their strong rhythm in
      spontaneous firing rate they also displayed a day/night difference in membrane
      potential.

PMID- 9974138
TI  - Rapid cloning of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction of G-protein-coupled
      receptor kinase 6: an improved method to determine 5'- and 3'-cDNA ends.
AB  - Rapid cloning of 5'- and 3'-cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (5'-/3'-RACE-PCR)
      is useful to determine unknown 5'- and 3'-cDNA termini. Even if the method can
      yield complete cDNA sequences within a couple of days, the RACE procedure bears
      some characteristic traps and often results in amplification of unspecific PCR
      products. Here we used improved 5'- and 3'-RACE-PCR protocols to obtain the
      complete cDNA sequence of the G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6) from a
      rat brain cDNA library. The use of an anchored oligo-(dT)16-V-primer in the cDNA
      synthesis, the addition of single-sided PCR steps prior to the RACE-PCRs and the
      optimization of the dA-tailing reaction conditions in 5'-RACE enhanced RACE-PCR
      efficiency. Taken together, the method is a tool to determine unknown 5' and 3'
      cDNA ends and enables the detection of different transcription initiation sites
      and mRNA splice variants even from small tissue samples like distinct brain
      regions. The extensive troubleshooting section discusses typical problems of each
      substep and contains additional references for support protocols.

PMID- 9974137
TI  - Highly sensitive radioactive in situ hybridization using full length hydrolyzed
      riboprobes to detect alpha 2 adrenoceptor subtype mRNAs in adult and developing
      rat brain.
AB  - The mRNA expression of highly homologous alpha 2 adrenoceptor subtypes was
      determined using a highly sensitive in situ hybridization protocol that allowed
      the detection of low abundance mRNA. Full-length 35S-labeled riboprobes specific
      for alpha 2A, alpha 2B and alpha 2C adrenoceptors were used for maximal
      sensitivity. The probes were hydrolyzed to an average length of 600 bp which, in
      combination with proteinase K digestion, resulted in optimal probe penetration in
      developmental and adult tissue. The expression intensity could be quantified and
      the ontogeny of receptor mRNA expression determined. At the same time receptor
      binding sites or functional proteins could be detected simultaneously in adjacent
      sections, because fresh frozen and post-fixed tissue was used.

PMID- 9974139
TI  - Anoxic and hypoxic immature rat model for measurement of monoamine using in vivo
      microdialysis.
AB  - The immature brain is considered relatively resistant to anoxia and ischemia.
      Although hypoxia without ischemia has not been considered to produce brain damage
      in immature rats as well as in adult rats (S. Levine, Anoxic-ischemic
      encephalopathy in rats, Am. J. Pathol., 36 (1960) 1-17 [8]; D.E. Levy, J.B.
      Brieley, D.G. Silverman, F. Plum, Brief hypoxia-ischemia initially damages
      cerebral neurons, Arch. Neurol., 32 (1975) 450-456 [9]; J.E. Rice, R.C. Vannucci,
      J.B., Brieriey, The influence of immaturity on hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in
      rat, Ann. Neurol., 9 (1981) 131-141 [14]), hypoxia in postnatal period is
      possible to cause a functional brain damage (T. Hender, P. Lundborg, Regional
      changes in monoamine synthesis in the developing rat brain during hypoxia, Acta.
      Physiol. Scand., 106 (1979) 139-143 [3]; W. Ihle, J. Gross, R. Moller, Effect on
      chronic postnatal hypoxia on dopamine uptake by synaptosomes from striatum of
      adult rats, Biomed. Biochem. Acta., 44 (1985) 433-437 [7]; A. Lun, J. Gross, M.
      Beyer, H.D. Fischer, C. Wustmann, J. Schmidt, K. Hecht, The vulnerable period of
      perinatal hypoxia with regard to dopamine release and behavior in adult rats,
      Biomed. Biochem. Acta., 45 (1986) 619-627 [10]). Using microdialysis, we studied
      the anoxic or hypoxic effect on catecholamine metabolism in immature rat brain by
      measuring extracellular concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), and
      its metabolites and also 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA), the serotonin
      metabolite. DA is a well established excitatory neurotransmitter (R.C. Vannucci,
      Experimental biology of cerebral hypoxia-ischemia: relation to perinatal brain
      damage, Pediatr. Res., 27 (1990) 317-326 [16]), and in the previous report using
      hypoxic 7-day-old rat pups increase of DA was not detected without additional
      stimulations (K. Gordon, D. Johnston, M.V. Robinson, T.E. Statman, J.B. Becker,
      F. Silverstein, Transient hypoxia alters striatal catecholamine metabolism in
      immature brain: An in vivo microdialysis study, J. Neurochem., 54 (1990) 605-611
      [2]). Whereas recently in newborn piglets, hypoxic hypoxia produced increase of
      extracellular DA (C.-C. Huang, N.S. Lajevardi, O. Tammela, A. Pastuszko,
      Relationship of extracellular dopamine in striatum of newborn piglets to cortical
      oxygen pressure, Neurochem. Res., 19 (1994) 649-655 [6]; Olano, M., Song, D.,
      Murphy, S., Wilson, D. F. and Pastuszko, A., Relationships of dopamine, cortical
      oxygen pressure, and hydroxyl radicals in brain of newborn piglets during hypoxia
      and posthypoxic recovery, J. Neurochem., 65 (1995) 1205-1212 [13]). We consider
      that hypoxic ischemic brain damage of human newborns that we can treat is a
      damage, which does not show overt neuropathological changes. We therefore tried
      to show that transient anoxia and hypoxia caused biochemical alteration if the
      exposure did not produce marked morphological changes. This rodent model is
      adequate to study perinatal asphyxia and alteration of monoamine level could be
      useful for evaluation of brain damage, even if it is not detected histologically.

PMID- 9974140
TI  - A simple pressure microinjecting system for delivery of small substance volumes
      to the brain: application to the developmental study of thalamo-cortical
      projections in foetal and neonatal rats.
AB  - We describe a reliable and inexpensive method for placing injections of
      anatomical tracers into the brain of lower mammals. The pressure microinjecting
      system we developed is specifically designed to deliver very small amount of
      substances. The injecting portion of the system is relatively easy to assemble
      and can be repeatedly used for multiple experimental sessions. The system has
      been validated with experiments of multiple fluorescent retrograde tracing. In
      these experiments the populations of thalamo-cortical neurons were consistently
      labeled by the tracers injected bilaterally and symmetrically in the cortex of
      foetal and neonatal rats.

PMID- 9974141
TI  - An optimised procedure for prenatal ethanol exposure with determination of its
      effects on central nervous system connections.
AB  - We describe the protocol set-up to investigate an experimental model of foetal
      alcohol syndrome in the rat. The protocol has been devised to expose specific
      cell populations of the central nervous system to ethanol during their
      neurogenesis and has been applied to the study of diencephalo-telencephalic
      connections. We were able to demonstrate specific permanent changes of the adult
      thalamo-cortical circuitry. Our protocol can be applied to study other aspects of
      central nervous system-ethanol interactions, such as neurotransmitter and
      receptor patterns. It can also represent a useful tool to test the effects of
      different diets to prevent nutritional deficiencies and the efficacy of drug
      treatments to prevent foetal alcohol syndrome. We have shown in fact that ethanol
      induced thalamo-cortical alterations are partially prevented by concurrent
      administration of acetyl-L-carnitine. Finally, the present protocol can be used
      to investigate the effects of ethanol exposure on the development of different
      brain structures. To this purpose, the gestational period for ethanol exposure
      must be chosen according to the peak of neurogenesis for the investigated
      structure.

PMID- 9974142
TI  - An on-line method for the measurement of total protein output in biological
      fluids and secretory tissues after stimulation of intrinsic nerves and
      identification of neurotransmitters using immunohistochemical techniques.
AB  - Proteins are essential ingredients of life and thus it is essential to measure
      the level of proteins in biological fluids and tissue homogenates. Several
      methods have previously been described in the literature for the estimation of
      proteins using either certain dyes which bind to specific groups of polypeptide
      side chains producing a protein dye colour complex, methods involving copper
      binding to peptide bonds or application of an eosin B red dye. In this study, an
      on-line automated technique based on the Lowry method has been used to estimate
      total protein output from the isolated lacrimal segments. This method can also be
      used to estimate total protein from saliva, or any other biological fluid, tissue
      homogenates or secretory tissues. The on-line automated method for the estimation
      of total protein from secretory tissues and biological fluid was designed mainly
      to obtain a rapid, simple and consistent graphical interpretation of result
      within 40-50 min of starting the experiment. The original chart recording of the
      time-course response can also be used for publication purposes. With this method,
      it is possible to investigate the effect of electrical field stimulation on the
      intrinsic secretomotor nerves employing either wire or platinum electrodes
      embedded in the perfusing chamber. Moreover, the tissue can also be stimulated
      with different concentrations of either drugs, hormones or neurotransmitters for
      different time periods. This method can also be combined with morphology whereby
      the stimulated tissue can be processed for neuropeptide or neurotransmitter
      immunohistochemistry to determine which neurotransmitters or neuropeptides are
      involved in the physiological responses. The automated method is simple and rapid
      and moreover, it can estimate accurately and directly at physiological pH small
      amount (ng-microgram) of proteins in effluent samples depending on the
      sensitivity of the chart recorder. In this study, neuropeptides and
      neurotransmitters were used as secretagogues in addition to electrical field
      stimulation.

PMID- 9974143
TI  - Markers for neuronal degeneration in organotypic slice cultures.
AB  - This protocol describes ways of monitoring spontaneous or induced neuronal
      degeneration in organotypic brain slice cultures. Hippocampal cultures (4-week
      old) are grown in normal serum-free control medium, or exposed to the neurotoxin
      trimethyltin (TMT) (0.5-100 microM) for 24 h or the excitotoxic glutamate agonist
      kainic acid (KA) (5-25 microM) for 48 h followed by 24 h or 48 h, respectively,
      in normal medium. Corticostriatal slice cultures (also 4-week-old) are exposed to
      KA (6-24 microM) for 48 h and normal medium for control. The resulting
      neurodegeneration is estimated by (a) propidium iodide (PI) uptake, (b) lactate
      dehydrogenase (LDH) efflux to the culture medium, (c) ordinary Nissl cell
      staining, (d) staining by the neurodegenerative marker Fluoro-Jade (FJ), (e)
      neuronal microtubule degeneration by immunohistochemical staining for microtubule
      associated protein 2 (MAP2), and (f) Timm sulphide silver staining for heavy
      metal alterations. Both hippocampal and corticostriatal slice cultures show a
      dose- and time-dependent increase in PI uptake and LDH efflux after exposure to
      TMT and KA. The mean PI uptake and the LDH efflux into the medium correlate well
      for both types of cultures. Both TMT and KA exposed hippocampal cultures display
      in vivo patterns of differential neuronal vulnerability as evidenced by PI
      uptake, FJ staining and MAP2 immunostaining. Corticostriatal slice cultures
      exposed to a high dose of KA display extensive striatal and cortical degeneration
      in FJ staining as suggested by a high PI uptake. A change in Timm sulphide silver
      staining in deep central parts of some control cultures, corresponds to areas
      with loss of cells in cell staining, loss of MAP2 staining, PI uptake, and FJ
      staining. We conclude that organotypic brain slice cultures, in combination with
      appropriate markers in standardized protocols, represent feasible means for
      studies of excitotoxic and neurotoxic compounds.

PMID- 9974144
TI  - Differentiating condition-induced facilitation, inhibition and disinhibition in a
      complex series of reflexes in an electromyogram.
AB  - In man, the principal exteroceptive reflexes evoked by intra-oral stimulation
      involve the jaw-closing muscles and include inhibitory and excitatory responses
      [H.W. van der Glas, A. De Laat, D. van Steenberghe, Oral pressure receptors
      mediate a series of inhibitory and excitatory periods in the masseteric post
      stimulus EMG complex following tapping of a tooth in man, Brain Res. 337 (1985)
      117-125.]. These reflexes can be observed in electromyograms (EMGs) recorded with
      bipolar surface electrodes. The likelihood that these reflexes play important
      roles in the integrative actions of the jaw has led to interest in the
      physiological control mechanisms by which they may be modulated. It has been
      reported recently that the complex series of jaw reflexes evoked by non-painful
      tapping on human teeth can be modulated by the application of noxious stimulation
      to the hand [S.W. Cadden, H.W. van der Glas, F. Lobbezoo, A. van der Bilt,
      Effects of remote noxious stimulation on exteroceptive reflexes in human jaw
      closing muscles, Brain Res. 726 (1996) 189-197.] or by exercises which produce a
      change in mental state [S.W. Cadden, H.W. van der Glas, F. Lobbezoo, A. van der
      Bilt, The influence of attentional factors on short- and long-latency jaw
      reflexes in man, Arch. Oral Biol. 41 (1996) 995-998.]. The effects of remote
      noxious stimuli and mental exercises usually involved transient increases in
      electromyographic (EMG) activity around the interfaces between the successive
      inhibitory and excitatory reflexes. As the mechanisms underlying the tap-induced
      inhibitory and excitatory reflexes may show some temporal overlap [H.W. van der
      Glas, A. De Laat, D. van Steenberghe, Oral pressure receptors mediate a series of
      inhibitory and excitatory periods in the masseteric post-stimulus EMG complex
      following tapping of a tooth in man, Brain Res. 337 (1985) 117-125.], these
      condition-induced increases in EMG activity could, in the simplest hypothesis,
      have been due to either (i) a condition-induced inhibition of the tap-induced
      inhibitory influences on the motoneurones (i.e., disinhibition) and/or (ii) a
      condition-induced facilitation of the tap-induced excitatory influences
      underlying the subsequent excitatory reflexes. In the present protocol, we
      describe how it is possible to differentiate between these different underlying
      mechanisms. The method includes a regression analysis of the relationship between
      condition-induced changes in amplitude of a reflex and the reflex amplitude under
      control conditions after taking account of the effect of chance. The analysis is
      applied on reflex data pooled from various subjects. Although this method of data
      analysis is illustrated with trigeminal reflexes, it is potentially of use for
      other complex extracellular recordings including those in other fields of motor
      control (e.g., EMGs from muscles other than jaw ones).

PMID- 9974145
TI  - Serial sectioning of thick tissue with a novel vibrating blade microtome.
AB  - Vibrating blade microtomes are used extensively in biological research to section
      non-frozen tissue. There are a wide variety of commercial instruments available
      for this purpose, however, they are designed to cut thin sections primarily from
      a tissue block less than one centimeter in height. Herein is described a simple
      modification of a microscope frame that creates a vibrating blade microtome
      capable of producing a sequential series of sections through three centimeters of
      tissue. We illustrate the use of this device to identify and reconstruct a column
      of rat spinal motor neurons retrogradely labeled from a peripheral muscle.

PMID- 9974146
TI  - A technique for 125I-labelling of neurotrophins and the use of retrograde axonal
      transport as a bioassay.
AB  - The protocol presented here details a technique which enables the neurotrophins
      nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), and
      brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to be labelled using 125I and the
      bioactivity of these labelled proteins determined using an in vivo bioassay. We
      have found that the simplest and most effective method for 125I-labelling of
      neurotrophic factors is the IODO-GEN method. Following the iodination of
      neurotrophins it must be established that the labelling procedure has not
      affected the biological activity of the protein. Traditional methods of assaying
      the bioactivity of 125I-labelled neurotrophins have several disadvantages and a
      much easier protocol to use is the retrograde axonal transport of these proteins
      in sympathetic and sensory neurons of adult mice. High specific activity 125I
      labelled neurotrophin, to which known amounts of unlabelled neurotrophin are
      added, is injected into the right anterior eye chamber of adult mice under
      anaesthetic and the animals are left to recover for 16 h, after which they are
      sacrificed and both superior cervical ganglia (SCG) and trigeminal ganglia (TGG)
      are removed. The accumulated radioactivity in each ganglion is determined using a
      gamma-counter and the amount of neurotrophin transported is calculated by
      subtracting the counts obtained on the non-injected side from those present on
      the injected side. By comparing the amount of protein injected with the amount
      transported, the specific activity of the bioactive labelled neurotrophin can be
      determined.

PMID- 9974147
TI  - Intracellular filling and reconstruction of identified neurons in fixed rat brain
      slices.
AB  - A simple technique for the morphological characterization of pre-labelled neurons
      in fixed brain slices is described. Neurons are retrogradely-labeled with a
      carbocyanine dye and the tissue is fixed and sliced. Individual labeled cells
      from the interior of a slice are then visualized on an upright fluorescence
      microscope and impaled with a micropipet containing rhodamine or fluorescein
      peroxidase conjugates. The cells are filled by iontophoresis, postfixed, and the
      peroxidase is oxidized into a permanent, opaque reaction product. The dendritic
      morphology of the neurons is then reconstructed under camera lucida and
      quantified.

PMID- 9974148
TI  - The partner preference paradigm: a method to study sexual motivation and
      performance of female rats.
AB  - Sexual behavior of the female rat consists of initiative, as well as receptive
      components. Previous studies on female sexual behavior have focused on the
      reflexive response to a male's mount, i.e., the lordosis reflex, whereas the
      initiative and soliciting gestures that are exhibited by the female during
      copulation were ignored by most researchers. This bias led to a misconception of
      the female's role in the sexual act, according to which the female is passive and
      submissive, whereas the male rat is sexually dominant or even aggressive. In this
      paper, we describe a procedure, the partner preference paradigm, designed to
      investigate and quantify sexual motivation, initiation and solicitation in female
      rats. In this paradigm, the female can control the sexual act because the
      mobility of her sexual partner is limited. This setting enables to measure a
      variety of soliciting behaviors that reflect the active seeking of sexual contact
      by an estrous female. In addition, this paradigm enables the evaluation of the
      females' motivation to engage in a sexual act, by measuring the preference for a
      sexually appropriate over an indifferent partner. Moreover, the partner
      preference paradigm may be easily adopted for studies in male subjects, allowing
      the comparison of males' and females' responses to various experimental
      conditions.

PMID- 9974149
TI  - An evaluation of the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases:
      mitochondrial mutations and oxidative pathology, protective nuclear responses,
      and cell death in neurodegeneration.
AB  - There is mounting evidence for mitochondrial involvement in neurodegenerative
      diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral
      sclerosis. Mitochondrial DNA mutations, whether inherited or acquired, lead to
      impaired electron transport chain (ETC) functioning. Impaired electron transport,
      in turn, leads to decreased ATP production, formation of damaging free-radicals,
      and altered calcium handling. These toxic consequences of ETC dysfunction lead to
      further mitochondrial damage including oxidation of mitochondrial DNA, proteins,
      and lipids, and opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, an
      event linked to cell death in numerous model systems. Although protective nuclear
      responses such as antioxidant enzymes and bcl-2 may be induced to combat these
      pathological changes, such a vicious cycle of increasing oxidative damage may
      insidiously damage neurons over a period of years, eventually leading to neuronal
      cell death. This hypothesis, a synthesis of the mitochondrial mutations and
      oxidative stress hypotheses of neurodegeneration, is readily tested
      experimentally, and clearly points out many potential therapeutic targets for
      preventing or ameliorating these diseases.

PMID- 9974150
TI  - The planum temporale: a systematic, quantitative review of its structural,
      functional and clinical significance.
AB  - The planum temporale (PT) is a triangular area situated on the superior temporal
      gyrus (STG), which has enjoyed a resurgence of interest across several
      disciplines, including neurology, psychiatry and psychology. Traditionally, the
      planum is thought to be larger on the left side of the brain in the majority of
      normal subjects [N. Geschwind, W. Levitsky, Human brain: left-right asymmetries
      in temporal speech regions, Science 161 (1968) 186-87.]. It coincides with part
      of Wernicke's area and it is believed to consist cytoarchitectonically of
      secondary auditory cortex. Consequently, it has long been thought to be
      intimately involved in language function. The PT is, therefore, of relevance to
      disorders where language function is impaired, such as schizophrenia and
      dyslexia. The gross anatomical boundaries remain in dispute, and only recently
      has its cytoarchitecture begun to be studied again after 60 years silence, and
      finally its functional significance is only now being explored. In the first part
      of this review the structural aspects and anatomical boundaries of the PT in the
      normal brain from post mortem and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and methods of
      measurement are discussed. In the second part, studies of the functional
      significance of the PT in the normal brain are reviewed critically. Finally a
      meta-analysis of MRI measurements of the distribution of planum anatomy in normal
      subjects is presented. Comparison is made with clinical populations, including
      schizophrenia and dyslexia, and the influence of handedness and gender on such
      measurements is quantified. Although there are many ways of defining and
      measuring the PT with a wide variety of results, overall there is a significant
      leftward asymmetry in normals, which is reduced in left handers and females. The
      leftward asymmetry is much reduced in patients with schizophrenia due to a
      relatively larger right PT than normal controls. The review is intended to guide
      future researchers in this area.

PMID- 9974151
TI  - Branching and/or collateral projections of spinal dorsal horn neurons.
AB  - Branching and/or collateral projections of spinal dorsal horn neurons is a common
      phenomenon. Evidence is presented for the existence of STTm/STTl, STTc/STTi,
      STT/SMT, STT/SRT, SCT/DCPS, SST/DCPS, SCT/SST, STT/SHT, STeT/SHT, STeTs and other
      doubly or multiply projecting spinal neurons that have been anatomically and
      physiologically identified and named based on the locations of the cells of
      origin and their terminations in the brain. These newly discovered spinal
      projection neurons are characterized by a single cell body and branched axons
      and/or collaterals that project to two or more target areas in the brain. These
      novel populations of neurons seem to be a fuzzy set of spinal projection neurons
      that function as an intersection set of the corresponding single projection
      spinal neurons and to be at an intermediate stage phylogenetically.
      Identification strategies are discussed, and general concluding remarks are made
      in this review.

PMID- 9974152
TI  - Metabotropic glutamate receptors: electrophysiological properties and role in
      plasticity.
AB  - Electrophysiological research on mGluRs is now very extensive, and it is clear
      that activation of mGluRs results in a large number of diverse cellular actions.
      Studies of mGluRs and on ionic channels has clearly demonstrated that mGluR
      activation has a widespread and potent inhibitory action on both voltage-gated
      Ca2+ channels and K+ channels. Inhibition of N-type Ca2+ channels, and inhibition
      of Ca(++)-dependent K+ current, IAHP, and IM being particularly prominent.
      Potentiation of activation of both Ca2+ and K+ channels has also been observed,
      although less prominently than inhibition, but mGluR-mediated activation of non
      selective cationic channels is widespread. In a small number of studies,
      generation of an mGluR-mediated slow excitatory postsynaptic potential has been
      demonstrated as a consequence of the effect of mGluR activation on ion channels,
      such as activation of a non-selective cationic channels. Although certain mGluR
      modulation of channels is a consequence of direct G-protein-linked action, for
      example, inhibition of Ca2+ channels, many other effects occur as a result of
      activation of intracellular messenger pathways, but at present, little progress
      has been made on the identification of the messengers. The field of study of the
      involvement of mGluRs in synaptic plasticity is very large. Evidence for the
      involvement of mGluRs in one form of LTD induction in the cerebellum and
      hippocampus is now particularly impressive. However, the role of mGluRs in LTP
      induction continues to be a source of dispute, and resolution of the question of
      the exact involvement of mGluRs in the induction of LTP will have to await the
      production of more selective ligands and of selective gene knockouts.

PMID- 9974153
TI  - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis associated with mutations in superoxide dismutase:
      a putative mechanism of degeneration.
AB  - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurologic disease that
      rapidly progresses from mild motor symptoms to severe motor paralysis and
      premature death. Until recently, there were few substantive studies conducted on
      the pathogenesis of the disease. With the genetic linkage of mutations in the
      superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) gene with familial ALS patients, new avenues for
      study have become available including transgenic mice and culture models.
      Although not yet providing a complete picture of the disease mechanism, studies
      utilizing these model systems have greatly advanced our understanding of the
      mechanism of degeneration and should eventually lead to putative therapeutic
      agents. In this review, we will present the important findings from these model
      systems, provide a framework in which to evaluate these findings, and speculate
      on the mechanism of degeneration initiated by the mutations in SOD-1.

PMID- 9974154
TI  - Mu- and delta-opioid receptor densities in respiratory-related brainstem regions
      of neonatal swine.
AB  - The piglet displays similar postnatal development in respiration and sleep-wake
      behavior to the human. To shed light on the possible influence of opioid systems
      on these functions, this study assessed the density of mu- and delta-opioid
      receptors in brainstems of 2-3 and 5-7 (young), 14-17 (intermediate) and 20-21
      (older) day-old piglets, using quantitative autoradiography. Serial 10 microns
      sections from fresh-frozen brains were incubated with either mu-(125I-DAGO) or
      delta-(125I-DPDPE) opioid ligands. The binding characteristics of each receptor
      remained unchanged over the age-range studied. delta-opioid receptor density was
      minimal in the young piglets, and increased over the age-range studied in all
      brainstem regions. mu-opioid receptor density exceeded delta-opioid density in
      all brainstem regions in young and older piglets, and remained unchanged with
      age. We conclude that, as in other species, the development of delta-opioid
      receptors in swine lags behind that of mu-opioid receptors, and that the
      distribution of each in the piglet's brainstem is distinct. The present findings
      help explain the changing influence of the mu- and delta-opioid systems on
      breating and state during postnatal development.

PMID- 9974155
TI  - Ontogeny of rolipram-sensitive, low-K(m), cyclic AMP-specific phosphodiesterase
      in rat brain.
AB  - The postnatal development of rolipram-sensitive, low-K(m), cyclic AMP-specific
      phosphodiesterase (PDE4) was investigated in discrete regions of rat brain using
      a PDE4 activity assay and immunoblot analyses with K116, a PDE4 antibody. The
      Vmax for cyclic AMP hydrolysis by PDE4 was lower at birth when compared to adult
      levels in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and neostriatum. K(m) values for cyclic
      AMP hydrolysis by PDE4, in contrast, did not change throughout the observed
      period in any brain region tested. The developmental patterns for PDE4 were
      significantly different among the examined brain regions. PDE4 activity in
      olfactory bulb and hippocampus also was found to be lower at birth in comparison
      to adult levels. Immunoblot analyses showed that developmental patterns of PDE4
      were significantly different for the various subtypes, and also varied
      substantially across brain regions. The results suggest that PDE4 might be
      differentially regulated by different ontogenetic events.

PMID- 9974156
TI  - Change of expression of full-length and truncated TrkBs in the developing monkey
      central nervous system.
AB  - We examined the expression of full-length TrkB (TrkBTK+) and truncated TrkB
      (TrkBTK-) in the central nervous system (CNS) of the macaque monkey (Macaca
      fascicularis) using a western blot analysis. At the adult stage, the levels of
      TrkBTK+ in cerebral cortices were higher than those in other structures of CNS
      and the expressions of TrkBTK+ in the association cortices (except area PE) were
      relatively lower than those in the primary cortices. In contrast, TrkBTK- in the
      hippocampus and the cerebellum was significantly higher than in other structures.
      In various developing cerebral cortices, TrkBTK+ was detected at the same levels
      from embryonic day 120 (E120) to the adult period. In contrast, the expression of
      TrkBTK- increased remarkably after the newborn stage (NB), reached the maximum
      level at postnatal day 60 (P60) and maintained the same level into adulthood. The
      peaks of TrkBTK- in the association cortices were more delayed than in the
      primary cortices. The expression of TrkBTK- occurred at a time that correlates
      with the elimination of axons and the down-regulation of neuropeptides. The
      present study suggests that TrkBTK- plays an important role in the axonal
      remodelling and that it may act as a negative effector of TrkBTK+ in the primate
      CNS, reducing responsiveness to BDNF and/or NT-4/5.

PMID- 9974157
TI  - Changes in mRNA levels for group I metabotropic glutamate receptors following in
      utero hypoxia-ischemia.
AB  - The expression of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5)
      and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (IP3R1) mRNA was studied by in
      situ hybridization in the developing rat hippocampus after in utero hypoxia
      ischemia. In utero hypoxia-ischemia was induced by clamping the uterine blood
      vessels of near-term fetuses for 10 min. Fetuses were delivered surgically,
      resuscitated and raised by foster mothers until postnatal day 7 and 14. Results
      indicated a temporal delay in the expression of mGluR1 mRNA in the dentate gyrus
      of the ischemic animals. The mGluR1 mRNA level was significantly lower in the
      ischemic animals at postnatal day 7, but reached a similar level as that of
      controls at postnatal day 14. In utero hypoxia-ischemia did not change the
      temporal-spatial expression pattern of either mGluR5 or IP3R1 mRNA in the
      hippocampus. Between postnatal day 7 and 14, mGluR5 mRNA showed a high and
      relatively constant expression, whereas IP3R1 mRNA levels were increased in all
      regions examined. The differences in the expressions of group I mGluRs indicate
      that these receptors may have different functions during hippocampal development
      and may play different roles in excitotoxicity.

PMID- 9974158
TI  - Distribution and developmental changes in metabotropic glutamate receptor
      messenger RNA expression in the rat lumbar spinal cord.
AB  - Using in situ hybridisation, the regional distribution of primary transcripts and
      splice variants of all metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes (mGluR) currently
      known to be expressed in the spinal cord have been studied in the lumbar
      enlargement of the rat spinal cord. In adult animals, the messenger RNA of the
      mGluR subtypes 1, 5, 3, 4 and 7 were differentially expressed. The transcripts of
      mGluR1 and 5 were most abundant with mGluR5 messenger RNA being concentrated in
      the superficial dorsal horn. In contrast, the mGluR2 transcript was not
      detectable with the sensitivity of the method. Secondly, age related changes
      (postnatal days 1, 7, 12, 21) in the postnatal expression of mGluR1-5 and 7
      transcripts have been investigated. mGluR1 and 7 messenger RNA showed a general
      decrease in spinal expression from postnatal day 1 to day 21. Quantitative
      densitometry showed high mGluR3 and 5 messenger RNA levels especially in the
      superficial dorsal horn at birth, however these levels decreased with age. In
      addition to changes in density, the regional distribution of mGluR3 messenger RNA
      was altered with postnatal development. Up to postnatal day 12, mGluR3 messenger
      RNA expression was almost exclusively restricted to the spinal grey matter, but
      with postnatal day 21 a strong additional expression in the white matter
      occurred. Distribution of mGluR4 messenger RNA showed little change in the dorsal
      horn, however motoneuronal expression emerged during development. These changes
      may suggest different roles for mGluRs in the maturation of spinal transmission
      of the rat nervous system.

PMID- 9974159
TI  - Maturation of visual receptive field properties in the rat superior colliculus.
AB  - Visually responsive neurons were recorded in the superficial layers of rat
      superior colliculus from postnatal day 12 to 28. Receptive field properties such
      as size, type (ON, OFF, ON-OFF and motion sensitive) and direction selectivity
      were analyzed to disclose changes during maturation. Although some aspects of
      sensory properties are modified during development (latency, receptive field
      sizes, and proportions of receptive field types), a high level of sophistication
      is also present in young animals even before eyelid opening. For instance,
      direction selective and direction biased cells, which require complex synaptic
      relations, are already observed when the first light evoked responses emerge in
      the superior colliculus (P13), strongly suggesting that this property develops
      without visual experience. Furthermore, direction selectivity is present in the
      colliculus prior to the appearance of visually evoked activity in the cortex.
      This indicates that direction selectivity can not be attributable to incoming
      cortical afferents. This study provides the first direct evidence that, unlike
      the cat, the rat's cortico-tectal pathway is only weakly involved in the
      establishment of direction selectivity in collicular neurons.

PMID- 9974160
TI  - Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the North
      American opossum, Didelphis virginiana.
AB  - The objectives of the present study were to determine if axons of all ascending
      tracts grow through the lesion after transection of the thoracic spinal cord
      during development in the North American opossum, and if so, whether they reach
      regions of the brain they normally innervate. Opossum pups were subjected to
      transection of the mid-thoracic cord at PD5, PD8, PD12, PD20, or PD26 and
      injections of Fast Blue (FB) into the lower thoracic or upper lumbar cord 30-40
      days or 6 months later. In the PD5 transected cases, labeled axons were present
      in all of the supraspinal areas labeled by comparable injections in unlesioned,
      age-matched controls. In the experimental cases, however, labeled axons appeared
      to be fewer in number and in some areas more restricted in location than in the
      controls. When lesions were made at PD8, labeled axons were present in the brain
      of animals allowed to survive 30-40 days prior to FB injections but they were not
      observed in those allowed to survive 6 months. When lesions were made at PD12 or
      later, labeled axons were never found rostral to the lesion. It appears,
      therefore, that axons of all ascending spinal pathways grow though the lesion
      after transection of the thoracic cord in developing opossums and that they
      innervate appropriate areas of the brain. Interestingly, the critical period for
      such growth is shorter than that for most descending axons, suggesting that
      factors which influence loss of developmental plasticity are not the same for all
      axons.

PMID- 9974161
TI  - Development of O4+/O1- immunopanned pro-oligodendroglia in vitro.
AB  - In this study, O4+/O1- pro-oligodendroglia isolated by immunopanning from
      cerebral hemispheres of P3-P5 rats were evaluated during their maturation in
      culture. Immunopanning yielded 3-4 x 10(5) cells/cerebrum, with 98% O4+ and 6%
      O1+. There was heterogeneity in the morphologies of immunopanned cells ranging
      from simple bipolar cells to more complex multipolar cells. As a first step in
      determining potential differentiative responses of mature oligodendroglia, we
      examined glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in response to fetal
      bovine serum (FBS) by cultures established from O4+/O1- immunopanned cells grown
      for 1, 14, or 21 days, exposed to 20% FBS for 6-7 days and fixed and
      immunostained on days 7, 21 or 28 in culture (DIC). When immunopanned cells were
      exposed to FBS following 1 day in serum-free medium, 88% expressed GFAP and when
      immunopanned cells were cultured for 14 days prior to FBS exposure, 78% expressed
      GFAP. By contrast, when cells were cultured for 21 days prior to FBS exposure
      (when a majority of the cells expressed O1 and myelin basic protein (MBP)), only
      19% of the cells expressed GFAP (p < 0.001). Cells that were O4+/GFAP- even in
      the presence of FBS often exhibited a mature oligodendroglial morphology. Among
      immunopanned cells that responded to FBS by expression of GFAP, both process
      bearing (similar to type 2 astroglia) and flattened, polygonal (similar to type 1
      astroglia) GFAP+ cells were observed. These results confirm the utility of
      immunopanning for the isolation of pro-oligodendroglia and demonstrate that
      oligodendroglia that develop in vitro from O4+/O1- immunopanned cells become
      resistant to GFAP induction by FBS.

PMID- 9974162
TI  - Regional distribution of cerebral blood volume and cerebral blood flow in newborn
      piglets--effect of hypoxia/hypercapnia.
AB  - The relationship between regional parenchymal cerebral blood volume (CBV),
      regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the calculated mean transit time (MTT) was
      investigated in 14 newborn piglets. The effects of combined hypoxic hypoxia (PaO2
      = 32 +/- 5 mm Hg) and hypercapnia (paCO2 = 68 +/- 5 mm Hg) were measured in seven
      animals. Remaining animals served as the control group. During baseline
      conditions the highest CBF and CVB values were found in the lower brainstem and
      cerebellum, whereas white matter exhibited the lowest values (p < 0.05). MTT was
      prolonged within the cerebral cortex (2.34 +/- 0.42 s-1) compared with the
      thalamic MTT (1.53 +/- 0.38 s-1) (p < 0.05). Under moderate hypoxia/hypercapnia,
      a CBF increase to the forebrain (p < 0.05) resulted in an elevated brain oxygen
      delivery (p < 0.05) and so CMRO2 remained unchanged. Moreover, a moderate
      increase of CBV and a marked shortening of MTT occurred (p < 0.05). The CBV
      increase was higher in structures with lowest baseline values, i.e., thalamus
      (66% increase) and white matter (62% increase) (p < 0.05). MTT was between 22% of
      baseline in the lower brainstem and 49% in white matter (p < 0.05). We conclude
      that under normoxic and normocapnic conditions the newborn piglets exhibit a
      comparatively enlarged intraparenchymal CBV. Moderate hypoxia and hypercapnia
      induced a marked increase in cerebral blood flow which appears to be caused by an
      increased perfusion velocity, expressed by a strongly reduced mean transit time
      and by a concomitant CBV increase.

PMID- 9974163
TI  - Neurotrophic factors BDNF and GDNF protect embryonic chick spinal cord
      motoneurons from ethanol neurotoxicity in vivo.
AB  - Maternal consumption of ethanol is widely recognized as a leading cause of mental
      and physical deficits. Many populations of the central nervous system are
      affected by the teratogenic effects of ethanol. Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) have
      been shown to protect against ethanol neurotoxicity in culture, although there
      have been no demonstrations of such protection in vivo, in specific neuronal
      populations. Previous studies have demonstrated that ethanol is toxic to
      developing chick embryo motoneurons when administered from embryonic day 10 (E10)
      to E15. NTFs such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line
      derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) have been shown to support developing spinal
      cord motoneurons, and when exogenously applied, decrease naturally occurring cell
      death, and protect against axotomy. The concurrent delivery of BDNF or GDNF with
      ethanol to the embryonic chick from E10 to E15 was designed to examine the
      capacity of these NTFs to provide in vivo neuroprotection for this ethanol
      sensitive motoneuron population. Analysis of motoneuron numbers indicated that
      both BDNF and GDNF provided protection to developing spinal cord motoneurons from
      ethanol toxicity, restoring motoneuron numbers to control levels. This study
      represents the first demonstration of in vivo neuroprotection from ethanol
      toxicity with respect to specific neuronal populations.

PMID- 9974164
TI  - Delayed neuronal loss after administration of intracerebroventricular kainic acid
      to preweanling rats.
AB  - Excitotoxins, such as kainic acid (KA), have been shown to produce both immediate
      and delayed neuronal degeneration in adult rat brain. While preweanling rats have
      been shown to be resistant to the immediate neurotoxicity of KA, the presence of
      delayed neuronal loss has not been investigated in such animals. To determine
      whether intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of KA would produce
      delayed neuronal loss, preweanling rats were administered 5 nmol or 10 nmol KA
      i.c.v. on postnatal day 7 (P7) and then examined at P14, P45, and P75. Using
      three-dimensional, non-biased cell counting, neuronal loss was observed in the
      CA3 subfield of the hippocampal formation at P45 and P75 in animals administered
      10 nmol KA, as compared to animals administered 5 nmol KA or artificial
      cerebrospinal fluid. Further, the amount of immunoreactivity to jun, the protein
      product of the immediate early gene, c-jun, adjusted for the number of remaining
      neurons was increased in the same brain areas. Antibody labeling of inducible
      heat shock protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein was not similarly
      increased in animals administered i.c.v. KA. The data suggest that while i.c.v.
      KA does not produce immediate neuronal loss in preweanling rats, the hippocampus
      is altered so that neuronal loss occurs after a delay, perhaps through apoptosis.
      These findings may be relevant to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders,
      such as schizophrenia, that are characterized by early limbic-cortical deficits
      but onset of illness in young adulthood.

PMID- 9974165
TI  - Neuronal activity influences the growth of barrels in developing rat primary
      somatosensory cortex without affecting the expression pattern of four major GABAA
      receptor alpha subunits.
AB  - Thalamic innervation plays a major role in parcellation of neocortex and
      maturation of cortical circuits. While the underlying mechanisms are unknown,
      lesion studies have identified GABAA receptors in neocortex as molecular targets
      of thalamic regulation [J. Paysan, A. Kossel, J. Bolz, J.M. Fritschy, Area
      specific regulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor subtypes by thalamic
      afferents in developing rat neocortex, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94 (1997) 6995
      7000]. To determine the factors regulating the expression of GABAA receptors, the
      overall level of neuronal activity was chronically modulated in neonatal rat
      cortex. Slices of Elvax polymer loaded with the N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA)
      receptor antagonist MK-801 or with brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were
      placed unilaterally over the left parietal cortex in newborn animals. Unlike
      thalamic lesions (Paysan et al., 1997), these chronic drug treatments did not
      alter the laminar distribution or the expression level of the four major GABAA
      receptor alpha subunit isoforms (alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 5) in primary
      somatosensory cortex (S1), as assessed immunohistochemically after one week. In
      particular, the staining of the barrel field in layers III-IV, which is very
      prominent with the alpha 1-subunit, was preserved in the drug-treated hemisphere.
      Even systemic administration of MK-801 at birth, which resulted in pronounced
      retardation of cortical development, had no effect on the laminar distribution
      and staining intensity of the four GABAA receptor alpha subunit variants.
      However, the size of barrels in S1, as measured in tangential sections stained
      for the GABAA receptor alpha 1 subunit, was enlarged upon chronic, topical
      blockade of NMDA receptors with MK-801 and was reduced to the same extent upon
      chronic exposure to BDNF. Thus, these pharmacological treatments modulated
      cortical growth, possibly by exerting opposite effects on neuronal activity in
      S1. The results suggest that the parcellation of somatosensory cortex and the
      laminar distribution of GABAA receptor subtypes are governed primarily by factors
      independent of thalamocortical activity.

PMID- 9974166
TI  - Apoptosis in early ocular morphogenesis in the mouse.
AB  - Development of the eye requires complex interactions between tissues,
      extracellular matrix and growth factors. Most cells of the optic primordia grow
      and differentiate into discrete ocular structures; however, other cells have
      death as their developmental fate. The most common mechanisms of cell death are
      apoptosis and necrosis. We have identified the cell death that occurs during
      ocular morphogenesis in ZRDCT-N mice as apoptosis. Mouse embryos, ages E8.5
      E11.5, were embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 5 microns and stained with
      hematoxylin or by the terminal deoxytransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end
      labeling (TUNEL) method. The spatial and temporal distribution of apoptotic cells
      was mapped at 0.5 day intervals using a computerized image analysis system, and 3
      D reconstructions were made at each embryonic age. Our data indicate that
      apoptosis plays a role in normal ocular morphogenesis and provides the groundwork
      for studies of abnormal ocular development.

PMID- 9974167
TI  - Naltrindole administration during the preweanling period and manipulation affect
      adrenocortical reactivity in young rats.
AB  - The effect of a daily injection of the delta-selective opioid antagonist
      naltrindole (1 mg/kg), from birth to postnatal day 19, on basal and post-stress
      corticosterone levels in 25-day old rats of both sexes was investigated. The
      effects of manipulation were studied by including two control groups, one group
      received daily injections of saline and a second one was not manipulated. The
      stress protocol consisted of a 3 min swimming session in water at 20 degrees C.
      Corticosterone determinations were performed by radioimmunoassay. Control non
      manipulated animals showed a significant increase in corticosterone levels in
      response to stress. Manipulation decreased basal hormone levels in females and
      prevented the stress-induced rise in corticosterone in males. Functional blockade
      of the delta-receptor during the preweanling period by the naltrindole treatment
      inhibited the corticosterone response to stress in females. The results indicate
      the existence of sex differences in the effects of manipulation on hypothalamus
      pituitary-adrenal axis activity and the involvement of the delta-opioid receptor
      in the modulation of the adrenocortical response to stress during the postnatal
      period.

PMID- 9974168
TI  - Pentylenetetrazol seizures induce cell suffering but not death in the immature
      rat brain.
AB  - To investigate whether long-term functional consequences of status epilepticus
      (SE) induced by pentylenetetrazol in 10-day-old rats correlated with cell injury
      and/or death, acid fuchsin and TUNEL staining were performed between 4 to 144 h
      after SE. Acid fuchsin stained hippocampus, amygdala and cerebral cortex at 24 h
      but not at 72 and 144 h. No DNA fragmentation was apparent at any time. Thus,
      immature neurons subjected to sustained seizures suffer transiently but survive
      probably by activating repair processes.

PMID- 9974169
TI  - The maturation of corticocollicular neurons in mice.
AB  - The location and development of the neurons that give rise to the
      corticocollicular projection were studied in C57BL/6J and 129SV/CPorJ
      anophthalmic mice. The first neurons that project to the superior colliculus
      appear in the subplate zone at E13 in C57BL/6J mice. Cortical plate neurons reach
      the colliculus about 2 days later. The appearance and development of these
      neurons are delayed by about 2 days in the anophthalmic strain.

PMID- 9974170
TI  - Bcl-2 and Bax expression following methylazoxymethanol acetate-induced apoptosis
      in the external granule cell layer of the developing rat cerebellum.
AB  - Since Bcl-2 protects a variety of cell types from programmed cell death, whereas
      Bax promotes apoptosis, the present study examines Bcl-2 and Bax proteins, and
      bcl-2 and bax mRNA expression in the developing cerebellum of the rat following
      methylazoxymethanol (MAM) acetate administration by using immunohistochemistry,
      Western blotting and Northern blotting. Bcl-2 expression in the developing
      cerebellum is observed in proliferating and differentiating cells, whereas Bax
      expression is higher in differentiating cells than in proliferating cells during
      development. Administration of MAM (0.05 microliter/g, i.p.) at postnatal day 3
      produces apoptotic cell death, as detected by the characteristic morphology and
      positivity with the method of in situ end-labeling of nuclear DNA fragmentation
      of dying cells, in the external granule cell layer of the cerebellum. Dying cells
      are not stained with Bcl-2 and Bax antibodies. Furthermore, no modification in
      the intensity of Bcl-2 and Bax protein bands and in the intensity of Bcl-2 and
      bax mRNA bands on Western and Northern blots, respectively, were observed between
      control and treated rats. These data indicate that MAM-induced apoptosis is not
      associated with modifications in the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax.

PMID- 9974171
TI  - Differential sensitivity of tachykinin vs. enkephalin gene expression in the
      posterior striatum in response to acute p-chloroamphetamine treatment during
      postnatal development.
AB  - The acute effects of the monoamine releaser p-chloroamphetamine (pCA, 10 mg/kg,
      i.p.) on preprotachykinin (PPT) and preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA expression in the
      anterior (A-STR) vs. posterior (P-STR) striatum were studied in rodents at
      postnatal days (PND) 10, 21 and 35. Northern analysis 4 h post-injection yielded
      no significant mRNA changes within the A-STR of any pCA group. However,
      significant increases (80-200% of saline control) in PPT mRNA levels occurred
      within the P-STR at all three postnatal ages. Interestingly, pCA did not increase
      PPE mRNA levels within the P-STR until PND 35 (150% of saline control). Such
      observation suggests that tachykinin neurons of the P-STR achieve an earlier
      monoamine-responsive signal transduction linkage to gene regulation as compared
      to enkephalin neurons. Given its predominance in the caudal regions of the
      striatum, 5-HT neurotransmission at the 5-HT2 receptor is suggested to play a
      central role in this mechanism.

PMID- 9974172
TI  - The neurobiology of cannabinoid transmission: from anandamide signaling to higher
      cerebral functions and disease.

PMID- 9974174
TI  - The CB1 cannabinoid receptor in the brain.
AB  - The CB1 cannabinoid receptor in brain is a G-protein-coupled receptor that exists
      as a protein possessing seven transmembrane helices that span the membrane. The
      intracellular surface is able to interact with f1p4oteins of the Gi/o family to
      regulate effector proteins, including adenylate cyclase, Ca2+ channels, and K+
      channels, and to stimulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. The CB1
      cannabinoid receptor recognizes three classes of agonist ligands: cannabinoid,
      eicosanoid, and aminoalkylindole. These agonist subtypes may interact with the
      CB1 cannabinoid receptor by some common points of association, yet may have
      subtle differences in the way that they interact with the receptor protein. This
      may be evident in the allosteric regulation by monovalent cations and individual
      agonists. The juxtamembrane region of the C-terminal is able to activate G
      proteins. It is proposed that conformational changes in the receptor induced by
      agonist ligands may alter the conformation or exposure of the juxtamembrane C
      terminal region extending from helix VII.

PMID- 9974173
TI  - Biochemistry of the endogenous ligands of cannabinoid receptors.
AB  - In 1992 the discovery of the first endogenous ligand of cannabinoid receptors,
      anandamide, provided conclusive support to the hypothesis that an "endogenous
      cannabinoid regulatory system" exists in mammalian nervous tissue. Anandamide (N
      arachidonoyl-ethanolamine) was the first of a series of long-chain fatty acid
      derivatives, including two other polyunsaturated N-acylethanolamines and 2
      arachidonoyl-glycerol, found to exert cannabimimetic properties in either central
      or peripheral tissues. Here we review the current knowledge on the biochemical
      bases of the formation and inactivation of endogenous cannabinoid ligands as well
      as of their interaction with cannabinoid receptor subtypes.

PMID- 9974175
TI  - The functional neuroanatomy of brain cannabinoid receptors.
AB  - The effects of the primary psychoactive constituent of marijuana, delta 9
      tetrahydrocannabinol, are mediated by cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. The CB1
      receptors display a unique central nervous system (CNS) distribution and are
      present in mammalian brain at higher levels than most other known G-protein
      coupled receptors. The highest levels occur in several areas involved in motor
      control and hippocampus. Cannabinoid effects on CNS activities, including
      movement, memory, nociception, endocrine regulation, thermoregulation, sensory
      perception, cognitive functions, and mood, correlate with the regional
      distribution of cannabinoid receptors and their activation of specific G-protein
      mediated signal transduction systems in various brain regions.

PMID- 9974176
TI  - Function of cannabinoid receptors in the neuroendocrine regulation of hormone
      secretion.
AB  - Marijuana and its cannabinoid constituents have profound effects on anterior
      pituitary hormone secretion. Exposure to delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits
      gonadotropin, prolactin, growth hormone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone release
      and stimulates the release of corticotropin. Consequently, cannabinoid exposure
      could have profound effects on the function of the reproductive system,
      lactation, metabolism, and on the endocrine stress axis. The acute effects of
      cannabinoids on the endocrine system are consistent with its actions on brain
      neurotransmitter systems involved in the regulation of neuropeptides that
      modulate anterior pituitary hormone secretion. Although cannabinoid receptors
      appear to play a major role in the ability of cannabinoids to influence hormone
      release, much remains to be learned concerning their function in the
      neuroendocrine regulation of hormone secretion.

PMID- 9974177
TI  - Cannabinoid transmission and pain perception.
AB  - The use of cannabis for the management of a wide range of painful disorders has
      been well documented in case reports throughout history. However, clinical
      evaluations of cannabis and its psychoactive constituent THC have not led to a
      consensus regarding their analgesic effectiveness. On the other hand, THC and its
      synthetic derivatives have been shown to be effective in most animal models of
      pain. These antinociceptive effects are mediated through cannabinoid receptors in
      the brain that in turn appear to interact with noradrenergic and kappa opioid
      systems in the spinal cord to modulate the perception of painful stimuli. The
      endogenous ligand, anandamide, is also an effective antinociceptive agent. The
      extent to which the endogenous cannabinoid system is involved in the modulation
      of pain is currently unknown.

PMID- 9974178
TI  - Endogenous cannabinoid signaling.

PMID- 9974179
TI  - Role of cannabinoid receptors in memory storage.
AB  - Studies have shown that delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive
      ingredient in marijuana, produces memory deficits similar to those produced by
      neurochemical lesions of the hippocampus. Such lesions impair performance in
      short-term spatial memory tasks learned prior to the lesion. Animals trained in
      the behavioral task following the lesion can still perform the task, but learn a
      different behavioral strategy. Cannabinoid agonists impair behavioral performance
      in a delay-dependent manner similar to that produced by lesions, but also shift
      the behavioral response strategy. A possible role for cannabinoid receptors and
      endogenous cannabinoids may thus be to regulate the storage (i.e., encoding) of
      information, as well as the means by which that information is retrieved.

PMID- 9974180
TI  - Role of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the regulation of motor activity.
AB  - One of the prominent pharmacological features of drugs acting at the brain
      cannabinoid receptor (CB1) is the induction of alterations in motor behavior.
      Catalepsy, immobility, ataxia, or the impairment of complex behavioral acts are
      observed after acute administration of either natural and synthetic cannabinoid
      receptor agonists or the endogenous CB1 ligand anandamide. The dense presence of
      CB1 receptors in the cerebellum and in the basal ganglia, especially at the
      outflow nuclei (substantia nigra and the internal segment of the globus
      pallidus), supports the existence of an endogenous cannabinoid system regulating
      motor activity. In the basal ganglia, the functionality of the anandamide-CB1
      system is poorly understood. Dual effects are often observed after the
      administration of CB1 ligands in animal models of pharmacological manipulation of
      basal ganglia transmitter systems, indicating that the activity of the anandamide
      CB1 system depends on the ongoing activation of the different elements of the
      basal ganglia. This finding is in agreement with the proposed activity-dependent
      release of anandamide from a plasmalemma precursor. Additionally, a potential
      state-dependent bidirectional coupling of the CB1 receptor to the adenylate
      cyclase transduction system has also been described. From this perspective, the
      endogenous cannabinoid system can be proposed as a local regulator of
      neurotransmission processes within the basal ganglia. This system may serve as a
      counterregulatory homeostatic mechanism preserving the functional role of basal
      ganglia circuits in coding the serial order of events that constitute movement.

PMID- 9974181
TI  - Cannabinoid transmission and reward-related events.
AB  - The reward/reinforcement circuitry of the mammalian brain consists of
      synaptically interconnected neurons associated with the medial forebrain bundle,
      linking the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum.
      Electrical stimulation of this circuit supports intense self-stimulation in
      animals and, in humans, produces intense pleasure or euphoria. This circuit is
      strongly implicated in the neural substrates of drug addiction and in such
      addiction-related phenomena as withdrawal dysphoria and craving. This circuit is
      also implicated in the pleasures produced by natural rewards (e.g., food, sex).
      Cannabinoids are euphorigenic in humans and have addictive liability in
      vulnerable persons, but were long considered "anomalous" drugs of abuse, lacking
      pharmacological interaction with these brain reward substrates. It is now clear,
      however, that cannabinoids activate these brain substrates and influence reward
      related behaviors. From these actions, presumably, derive both the abuse
      potential of cannabinoids and the possible clinical efficacy in dysphoric states.

PMID- 9974182
TI  - Brain cannabinoid systems as targets for the therapy of neurological disorders.
AB  - Unprecedented developments in cannabinoid research within the past decade include
      discovery of a brain (CB1) and peripheral (CB2) receptor; endogenous ligands,
      anandamide, and 2-arachidonylglycerol; cannabinoid drug-induced partial and
      inverse agonism at CB1 receptors, antagonism of NMDA receptors and glutamate, and
      antioxidant activity; and preferential CB1 receptor localization in areas
      subserving spasticity, pain, abnormal involuntary movements, seizures, and
      amnesia. These endogenous structures and chemicals and mechanisms are potentially
      new pathophysiologic substrates, and targets for novel cannabinoid treatments, of
      several neurological disorders.

PMID- 9974183
TI  - The role of nitric oxide in digoxin-induced arrhythmias in guinea-pigs.
AB  - We have investigated the effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (L-NAME),
      nitric oxide precursor (L-arginine) and nitric oxide donor (sodium nitroprusside)
      on digoxin-induced arrhythmias both in guinea-pig isolated hearts and in
      anaesthetised animals. Sodium nitroprusside (0.1 mumol kg-1 min.-1 for 70 min.)
      caused a marked inhibition in mortality and arrhythmia score but L-NAME (10 mg kg
      1) and L-arginine (30 mg kg-1 intravenous bolus followed by 10 mg kg-1 min.-1 for
      60 min.) treatments were ineffective in anaesthetised guinea-pigs. None of the
      drugs markedly affected the time of onset of first arrhythmias or ventricular
      fibrillation incidence. In isolated heart experiments, nitric oxide generated by
      either L-arginine (1 mM) or sodium nitroprusside (1 mM) significantly reduced the
      arrhythmia score whereas L-NAME (1 mM) had no effect. Ventricular fibrillation
      incidence was totally abolished by sodium nitroprusside and none of the hearts
      treated with L-arginine had an irreversible ventricular fibrillation. L-NAME
      decreased ventricular tachycardia duration but increased ventricular fibrillation
      duration. There were no marked changes in the time of onset of first arrhythmias
      with these drugs in in vitro experiments. These results suggest that nitric oxide
      may play a modulatory role in the digoxin-induced arrhythmias in guinea-pigs.

PMID- 9974185
TI  - Induction of hepatic CYP2B in foetal and neonatal rats after maternal
      administration of phenobarbital.
AB  - We examined hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) induction in rat foetuses and neonates
      by phenobarbital administered through placenta or breast feeding. In an
      intraperitoneal study, phenobarbital was administered intraperitoneally to mother
      rats once a day for 7 consecutive days before delivery. The livers were removed
      from foetuses, neonates, and mothers just before and 5 and 10 days after
      delivery. In oral administration study, water containing phenobarbital was given
      orally ad libitum from day 13 of pregnancy to 3 weeks after delivery (end of
      lactation). The livers were removed from neonates and mothers just before and one
      week after delactation. Phenobarbital administered intraperitoneally increased
      both the activity and the protein expression of CYP2B in 5-day-old neonates, even
      though the administration ended before delivery. This increase had disappeared in
      10-day-old neonates. In mother rats, phenobarbital increased CYP2B just before
      and 5 days after delivery, while no increase was detected 10 days after delivery.
      Phenobarbital administered orally also increased both the activity and the
      protein expression of CYP2B of neonates and mothers during lactation and this
      increase also disappeared 1 week after delactation. Neither activity nor protein
      expression of CYP3A were induced in perinates at any age examined in either
      administration route. In mother rats, increase in CYP3A was found only just
      before delivery in the peritoneal administration study. Our results suggest that
      phenobarbital administered through placenta or breast milk transiently induces
      hepatic CYP2B in newborn rats but that the influence of phenobarbital does not
      last long.

PMID- 9974184
TI  - Long-term changes in brain following continuous phencyclidine administration: an
      autoradiographic study using flunitrazepam, ketanserin, mazindol, quinuclidinyl
      benzilate, piperidyl-3,4-3H(N)-TCP, and AMPA receptor ligands.
AB  - Phencyclidine induces a model psychosis which can persist for prolonged periods
      and presents a strong drug model of schizophrenia. When given continuously for
      several days to rats, phencyclidine and other N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)
      antagonists induce neural degeneration in a variety of limbic structures,
      including retrosplenial cortex, hippocampus, septohippocampal projections, and
      piriform cortex. In an attempt to further clarify the mechanisms underlying these
      degeneration patterns, autoradiographic studies using a variety of receptor
      ligands were conducted in animals 21 days after an identical dosage of the
      continuous phencyclidine administration employed in the previous degeneration
      studies. The results indicated enduring alterations in a number of receptors:
      these included decreased piperidyl-3,4-3H(N)-TCP (TCP), flunitrazepam, and
      mazindol binding in many of the limbic regions in which degeneration has been
      reported previously. Quinuclidinyl benzilate and (AMPA) binding were decreased in
      anterior cingulate and piriform cortex, and in accumbens and striatum. Piperidyl
      3,4-3H(N)-TCP binding was decreased in most hippocampal regions. Many of these
      long-term alterations would not have been predicted by prior studies of the
      neurotoxic effects of continuous phencyclidine, and these results do not suggest
      a unitary source for the neurotoxicity. Whereas retrosplenial cortex, the
      structure which degenerates earliest, showed minimal alterations, some of the
      most consistent, long term alterations were in structures which evidence no
      immediate signs of neural degeneration, such as anterior cingulate cortex and
      caudate nucleus. In these structures, some of the receptor changes appeared to
      develop gradually (they were not present immediately after cessation of drug
      administration), and thus were perhaps due to changed input from regions
      evidencing neurotoxicity. Some of these findings, particularly in anterior
      cingulate, may have implications for models of schizophrenia.

PMID- 9974186
TI  - Pharmacokinetics of bisphosphonates in rabbits.
AB  - Clodronate, pamidronate and etidronate are commonly used bisphosphonates, which
      accumulate extensively in arteries and some other tissues. We compared their
      pharmacokinetics in rabbits with those of tiludronate, the drug newly introduced
      to clinical use. The 14C-labelled drugs were given intravenously and plasma drug
      levels were monitored for up to 24 hr. The dose-related plasma concentrations of
      tiludronate and etidronate were clearly higher and decreased more slowly than
      those of clodronate and pamidronate (P < 0.001). Already at 5 min., the
      concentrations of tiludronate and etidronate were higher than those of clodronate
      and pamidronate (P = 0.016). At 24 hr, plasma concentration of tiludronate was 12
      +/- 6.6%, of etidronate 18 +/- 2.5%, of clodronate 0.8 +/- 0.2%, and of
      pamidronate 1.4 +/- 0.4% of the dose per body weight. With the same dose (25
      mg/kg), absolute AUC0-24 hr for tiludronate and etidronate was 9-11 times larger
      than for clodronate. AUC0-24 hr for pamidronate (2.5 mg/kg) was 11% of that for
      clodronate. Plasma clearance of tiludronate and etidronate was 9-15 times slower
      than that of clodronate and pamidronate. At 24 hr, the mean tissue-to-plasma
      ratio of tiludronate for aorta was 1.2-1.6. For bone, spleen, liver and kidneys
      the ratio varied from 5.4 to 52.6. The results suggest that 1) tiludronate and
      etidronate are removed from plasma much slower than clodronate and pamidronate,
      and 2) the potential of tiludronate to concentrate in arteries and bone is
      generally smaller than previously found with the other bisphosphonates.

PMID- 9974187
TI  - Tizanidine protects mice against convulsions induced by lidocaine: involvement of
      alpha 2-adrenoceptors.
AB  - The effects of alpha-adrenoceptors agents on seizures induced by intraperitoneal
      administration of lidocaine (75 mg/kg) were studied in mice. Pretreatment with
      the selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, tizanidine, decreased the incidence
      of seizures induced by lidocaine. Tizanidine increased the latency to the first
      seizure in those animals which progressed to seizures. The blockade of alpha 2
      adrenoceptors with yohimbine or phentolamine counteracted the protection induced
      by tizanidine. The selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, prazosin, did not
      modify the protection induced by tizanidine. The alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist
      clonidine also increased the latency to the first seizure induced by lidocaine.
      The protective effect of clonidine was also reversed by pretreatment with the
      selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine. Taken together, these
      results suggest that alpha 2-adrenoceptors are involved in seizures induced by
      lidocaine.

PMID- 9974188
TI  - The rat Subcutaneous Air Sac model: a quantitative assay of antiangiogenesis in
      induced vessels.
AB  - A new in vivo experimental model--the Subcutaneous Air Sac (SAS) model-has
      recently been presented to replace a previous in vivo rabbit cornea assay where
      neovascularisation was induced by chemical injury of the cornea or by
      implantation of tumour cells intracorneally, a methodology which is believed to
      cause severe pain to the animals. In the SAS model, an air sac is induced by
      injection of air subcutaneously on the back of the animal. After 10-14 days the
      air sac appears as an almost transparent avascular membrane in which induction of
      new vessels can be studied. We present recent developments of this technique: In
      the SAS-tumour technique, vascular endothelial growth factor-producing tumour
      cells are inoculated subcutaneously directly on the membrane, and the formation
      of new vessels is measured 8 days later. In the SAS-pellet technique, slow
      release pellets containing angiogenic factors, basic fibroblast growth factor or
      vascular endothelial growth factor are implanted on the subcutaneous membrane by
      a simple operation. The formation of new vessels is measured 10 days later. The
      ability of the SAS-tumour- and SAS-pellet techniques to detect an antiangiogenic
      effect of a systemically administered compound was investigated using the
      fumagillin analogue TNP-470 (o-chloroacetyl-carbamoyl)-fumagillol) as a positive
      control given subcutaneously for 7 and 9 days, respectively. At a dose of 10 mg
      TNP-470/kg/day the angiogenesis was reduced by approximately 70% in the SAS
      tumour technique and by 40-60% in the SAS-pellet technique. The animals were
      unaffected by the SAS methodology. The SAS-tumour and SAS-pellet models are
      considered complementary and make use of simple and almost similar techniques
      which facilitate the evaluation.

PMID- 9974189
TI  - A comparison of the efficacy of acetylcholinesterase reactivators against
      cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate (GF agent) by in vitro and in vivo methods.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to compare the therapeutic efficacy of a new
      acetylcholinesterase reactivator, designated BI-6 (1-(2
      hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium)-4-(4-carbamoylpyridinium )-2-butene dibromide),
      with presently used oximes (pralidoxime, obidoxime, methoxime) and H-oximes (HI
      6, HLo-7) by in vitro and in vivo methods. In vitro, methoxime seems to be the
      most efficacious reactivator of GF agent-inhibited acetylcholinesterase because
      the phosphorylation of acetylcholinesterase by GF agent markedly increases its
      affinity for the enzyme. The oxime BI-6 is more efficacious than other presently
      used oximes (pralidoxime, obidoxime) but its reactivating efficacy does not reach
      the efficacy of H-oximes tested. On the other hand, obidoxime and pralidoxime
      appear to be very poor reactivators of GF agent-inhibited acetylcholinesterase
      because the phosphonylation of acetylcholinesterase by GF agent markedly
      decreases their affinity to the enzyme. In vivo, H oximes (HI-6, HLo-7) are the
      most efficacious antidotes for the treatment of acute poisoning with GF agent in
      rats while the presently used oximes such as pralidoxime and obidoxime are
      practically ineffective. BI-6 and methoxime are more efficacious than pralidoxime
      and obidoxime, nevertheless their therapeutic efficacy does not reach the
      efficacy of H oximes. Our results show that the ability of oximes to reactivate
      GF agent-inhibited acetylcholinesterase in vitro usually corresponds to their
      therapeutic effects against GF agent in vivo.

PMID- 9974190
TI  - Cholecystokinin receptor mechanism(s) and morphine tolerance in mice.
AB  - In a previous work, the effects of cholecystokinin receptor agonists on tolerance
      to morphine antinociception were evaluated. In the present study, the influence
      of cholecystokinin antagonists on the inhibition of tolerance to morphine
      antinociception by cholecystokinin agonists has been investigated. Maximum
      tolerance to morphine antinociception was obtained by morphine administration (50
      mg/kg) to mice once daily for 4 days. The cholecystokinin receptor agonists
      caerulein (0.005 mg/kg) or cholecystokinin-8 (0.01 mg/kg) but not unsulfated
      cholecystokinin-8 (0.01 mg/kg) decreased the development of tolerance to morphine
      (9 mg/kg). The cholecystokininA receptor antagonist MK-329 (1 mg/kg) or the
      cholecystokininB receptor antagonist L-365,260 (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) also
      diminished the tolerance to morphine antinociception. When animals were
      challenged with different doses of MK-329 (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) against
      cholecystokinin-8 (0.01 mg/kg), caerulein (0.005 mg/kg) or unsulfated
      cholecystokinin-8 (0.01 mg/kg) on day 4 in tolerant mice, different response were
      obtained. Higher doses of MK-329 (1 mg/kg) caused a small decrease in attenuation
      of the morphine tolerance induced by cholecystokinin-8 and caerulein. Low doses
      of L-365, 260 diminished the effect of cholecystokinin-8 on morphine tolerance.
      Conversely high doses of the drug potentiated the response of caerulein (0.005
      mg/kg). When animals were treated with MK-329 or L-365,260 before unsulfated
      cholecystokinin-8, reduction of the tolerance to morphine antinociception was
      obtained. These data indicate that both cholecystokinin receptors may modulate
      morphine tolerance.

PMID- 9974191
TI  - Exercise and organ transplantation.
AB  - Life-saving treatment of disease by organ transplantation has become increasingly
      important. Annually over 35,000 transplantations of vital organs are carried out
      world-wide and the demand for knowledge regarding exercise in daily life for
      transplant recipients is growing. The present review describes whole-body and
      organ reactions to both acute exercise and regular physical training in persons
      who have undergone heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas or bone marrow
      transplantation. In response to acute exercise, the majority of cardiovascular,
      hormonal and metabolic changes are maintained after transplantation. However, in
      heart transplant recipients organ denervation reduces the speed of heart rate
      increase in response to exercise. Furthermore, lack of sympathetic nerves to
      transplanted organs impairs the normal insulin and renin responses to exercise in
      pancreas and kidney transplant recipients, respectively. In contrast, surgical
      removal of sympathetic liver nerves does not inhibit hepatic glucose production
      during exercise, and denervation of the lungs does not impair the ability to
      increase ventilation during physical exertion. Most studies show that physical
      training results in an improved endurance and strength capacity in almost all
      groups of transplant recipients, which is of importance for their daily life.
      With a little precaution, organ transplant recipients can perform exercise and
      physical training and obtain effects comparable with those achieved in the
      healthy population of similar age.

PMID- 9974192
TI  - One-leg standing balance and sports activity.
AB  - The objective of the present cross-sectional study was to estimate one-leg
      standing balance in athletes and to investigate the relationship with type and
      amount of sports activity. The study comprised 339 active, competitive, non
      pregnant athletes, aged 14-24 years from two sports clubs in the county of
      Aarhus, Denmark. The athletes answered a questionnaire about occupation and
      sports activity. One-leg standing balance was measured as the maximum time of one
      legged balancing. The mean of the maximum time of one-legged balancing was 29 s
      (interquartile range 11.25-33.5 s). One-leg standing balance was positively
      associated with years of participation in basketball and was not associated with
      sex and age. We conclude that participation in basketball may induce
      significantly adaptive effects on standing balance.

PMID- 9974193
TI  - Motor performance in different dynamic tests in knee rehabilitation.
AB  - Functional dynamic tests are increasingly used in rehabilitation after injuries
      of the lower extremities. In these tests quantitative measures (e.g. time,
      height, distance) are mainly used as parameters, whereas the quality of the
      neuromuscular performance is poorly evaluated. In the present study the
      neuromuscular performance of leg muscles in different motor tasks was
      investigated 10-16 months after ACL-reconstruction. In 39 subjects with
      arthroscopically assisted ACL-reconstruction and 20 controls, isometric knee
      extensor strength, thigh circumference, knee stability, subjective knee function
      and the neuromuscular performance (by kinematic data and EMG) during three
      dynamic tests (stair descending, one-legged drop jump, one-legged cyclic hops)
      were measured. During the strength measurements a superimposed twitch technique
      was used for the detection of neuromuscular inhibition. The results demonstrate a
      significantly reduced Lysholm-Score and a distinct strength deficit, but no
      neuromuscular inhibition and no differences in knee stability in the operated
      leg. Besides reduced motor abilities of the injured leg, significant differences
      of the neuromuscular performance could be detected. It was evident that different
      test conditions revealed different persisting changes of the neuromuscular
      performance, which could not be detected by kinematic parameters alone.

PMID- 9974194
TI  - Supplement use and nutritional habits in Norwegian elite athletes.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to examine nutritional and supplemental habits
      among international alpine- and cross-country skiers and power sport athletes in
      Norway. Data from all the athletes of the National alpine skiing team (ALP; n =
      33, 19 men and 14 women) and the National cross-country skiing team (CRO; n = 34,
      17 men and 17 women) plus a mixed group of power sport athletes (POW: n = 33, all
      men) from the National teams of boxers, weightlifters and track and field
      athletes, were collected through a semi-structured interview during their annual
      medical examination. Twenty percent of all the athletes reported unsatisfactory
      nutritional habits (CRO 6%, ALP 27% and POW 27%; CRO vs. ALP/POW P < 0.05). Eight
      four percent used one or more micronutrient supplement (ALP 70%, POW 88%, CRO
      95%; ALP vs. CRO/POW P < 0.01). Power sport athletes had the most frequent use of
      supplemental creatine (45%), proteins/amino acids (30%), vitamins (88%) and
      minerals (82%), and CRO had the most frequent intake of iron (94%), vitamin C
      (88%) and fish oils (91%). Among ALP, only 7% of the female athletes supplemented
      iron regularly compared to 37% of male ALP (P < 0.05) Overall, male athletes
      supplemented mostly on a regular basis and female athletes more on an occasional
      basis. The results show that in spite of differences between sport groups, many
      elite athletes report unsatisfactory nutritional habits. Micronutrient
      supplementation was prevalent, but varied between both groups of sports and
      gender.

PMID- 9974195
TI  - The effect of aerobic training in girls with idiopathic scoliosis.
AB  - The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of aerobic
      training in girls with idiopathic scoliosis, in selective respiratory parameters
      (VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/VC% FEV1/FVC) as well as the ability to perform aerobic work
      (PWC170). The training group consisted of 20 young girls with a mean age of 13.5
      +/- 0.16 years. They wore a Boston-type brace for a mean period of 0.30 +/- 0.04
      years and suffered from a scoliotic curve (27.4 +/- 1.9 degrees). They followed a
      two-month training program on the cycloergometer. Each training session lasted 30
      min and was performed four times a week. The control group consisted of 20 girls
      with a mean age of 13.6 +/- 0.18 years and they wore the same type of brace for a
      mean period of 0.24 +/- 0.04 years. They also suffered from a scoliosis (29.5 +/-
      1.8 degrees). The results of the study revealed that aerobic training sustained
      (VC, FEV1, FEV1/VC) or improved significantly (FVC, FEV1/FVC) the parameters of
      pulmonary function, while the respective parameters (VC, FVC) for the control
      group were reduced during the two-month period. The ability to perform aerobic
      work increased 48.1% (P < 0.01) in the training group, while it decreased 9.2% (P
      < 0.01) in the control group.

PMID- 9974196
TI  - Prevention of injuries in young female players in European team handball. A
      prospective intervention study.
AB  - Young female players in European handball have a very high injury incidence, up
      to 50 injuries per 1000 hours of game. More than half of these injuries happen
      without any external cause. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of
      an intervention programme designed to reduce the number of injuries in young
      female players in European handball, with special emphasis on injuries in the
      lower extremities. The programme was created using elite athlete training
      programmes and those designed for rehabilitation of injured athletes with
      functional instability of their ankles and rupture of the anterior cruciate
      ligament. It included the use of an ankle disk for 10-15 min at all practice
      sessions, for one 10-month season (August 1995-May 1996). Twenty-two teams
      participated in the study, and were randomly assigned to the intervention or
      control group. Eleven teams with 111 players were randomised to the intervention
      group and 11 teams with 126 players to the control group. Data were analysed
      using a t-test for continuous variables, chi2-analysis and Fisher's exact test
      for dichotomous variables and multivariate methods to determine odds-ratios. The
      results indicated that using the intervention programme decreased the numbers of
      both traumatic and overuse injuries significantly. The differences in injuries
      between the groups were 80% during games and 71% during practice. In addition,
      the players in the control group had a 5.9 times higher risk of acquiring an
      injury than the players in the intervention group.

PMID- 9974197
TI  - Salmeterol and physical performance at -15 degrees C in highly trained
      nonasthmatic cross-country skiers.
AB  - The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study was to
      investigate possible improvement in physical performance at an ambient
      temperature of -15 degrees C by an inhaled dose of 50 micrograms salmeterol in 8
      highly trained nonasthmatic cross-country skiers. FEV1 was measured before,
      during and after the treadmill exercise protocol, which consisted of a warm-up
      run, runs of 10 min at 90% and 5 min at 80% VO2max, followed by a timed run to
      exhaustion. Despite a significant improvement in FEV1, salmeterol did not have a
      beneficial effect on heart rate, blood lactate concentration, respiratory
      exchange ratio, oxygen uptake or minute ventilation during the exercise protocol.
      Running time to exhaustion was not significantly different from placebo. This
      lack of enhancement of exercise performance in healthy endurance athletes further
      supports the recent approval of salmeterol for prophylactic use by asthmatic
      athletes during training and competition.

PMID- 9974198
TI  - Eye injuries in sports.
AB  - In a retrospective study from 1988 to 1998, eye injuries were found in 553
      patients. Seventy-six (13.7%) of these injuries were associated with sport. The
      mechanism of trauma was for the most part a ball (71.1%) or a club (13.2%). Most
      eye injuries occurred in soccer (35.5%), which is, by far, the most widespread
      sport in this region of Norway. A disproportionately high number of the injuries
      occurred in floorball (17.1%), bandy (13.2%), and squash (10.5%). The rules in
      these sports may, in theory, be strict enough to prevent eye injuries in most
      cases. However, these rules are often neglected in informal activities.
      Strategies for educating the general public about the potentially serious effect
      of eye injuries in sports exposed to such risk are of great importance.

PMID- 9974200
TI  - Five-year outcome of 13 patients with an initially undiagnosed anterior cruciate
      ligament rupture.
AB  - We evaluated retrospectively the 5-year outcome of 13 patients with an initially
      undiagnosed and thus untreated anterior cruciate ligament rupture. At follow-up,
      these patients experienced decreased knee function and moderate to severe knee
      instability. They had attempted to reduce their discomfort by decreasing their
      activity level during the follow-up period. Immediately after the 5-year
      examination, 6 of the patients decided to have a late reconstruction of the
      ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. These results agree with previous reports of
      the natural course of anterior cruciate ligament ruptures.

PMID- 9974199
TI  - Calf muscle atrophy and Achilles tendon healing following experimental tendon
      division and surgery in rats. Comparison of postoperative immobilization of the
      muscle-tendon complex in relaxed and tensioned positions.
AB  - We used a rat model to study the effects of immobilization of the calf muscle
      tendon complex after an experimental Achilles tendon repair. Immobilizations of
      the complex in either a relaxed or tensioned position were compared by
      histochemical and morphometric analyses at the site of the tendon injury as well
      as in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle bellies. The type of immobilization did
      not affect the healing of the tendon injury because no reruptures occurred in
      either of the treatment groups and the average tendon end-to-end distance did not
      differ between the groups. However, immobilization in a relaxed position led to a
      significantly more extensive fiber atrophy in the calf muscles. In clinical
      practice, these results suggest that rehabilitation after Achilles tendon surgery
      can be early and gradually tension- and load-increasing without a significant
      increase in the risk of rerupture of the tendon.

PMID- 9974201
TI  - Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in 19-year-old individuals who
      have undergone orthodontic treatment.
AB  - Fifty-five per cent of the 1554 19-year old subjects in Halmstad, Sweden, born in
      1975, have received orthodontic treatment. Among these, 520 have been treated by
      specialists (specialist group) and 340 by general practitioners after
      consultation with specialists (consultation group). The aims were to study the
      prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in these
      two groups on a long-term basis, to identify any possible difference between the
      groups, and to compare the results with those from a previously presented
      epidemiological study (control group). From the population of orthodontically
      treated subjects, a sample was randomly selected to represent the two groups, and
      260 subjects agreed to attend for investigation, the participation rate being
      77%. The investigation consisted of a questionnaire and clinical examination
      focusing on function and dysfunction of the masticatory system. Severe signs and
      symptoms of TMD were rare, the prevalence did not differ significantly between
      the two orthodontic groups, and the results were similar in the control group.
      The prevalence of several signs and symptoms was more common in females than in
      males. No significant correlation between TMD signs and symptoms and occlusal
      contact recordings was found. It was concluded that the vast majority of the 19
      year old individuals who had undergone orthodontic treatment had well-functioning
      masticatory systems, and severe signs and symptoms of TMD were rare.

PMID- 9974202
TI  - Treatment of malocclusions in children and adolescents at a public dental service
      clinic in Sweden: extent and cost.
AB  - This study was undertaken to investigate the extent and the cost of orthodontic
      consultation and treatment of malocclusions in 19-year-olds at a Public Dental
      Service (PDS) clinic. A further aim was to evaluate the group of patients who
      discontinued their treatment prematurely. A total of 223 patient records were
      reviewed. The results showed that every second patient (106 of 223) was seen by a
      specialist for orthodontic evaluation. Of these, 54% (57 of 106) were treated
      with removable appliance, 29% (31 of 106) benefited from interceptive treatment
      without appliance and 12% (13 of 106) were referred to a specialist clinic. The
      costs for specialist consultations comprised 19% of the overall orthodontic
      treatment cost. Premature interruption of treatment with removable appliance was
      found in 17% (10 of 57) of the patients. This group consumed 12% of the overall
      orthodontic treatment cost. Reasons for discontinuing treatment included problems
      with co-operation and motivation and a lack of parental support. Seventy per cent
      of those who discontinued their treatment prematurely had been treated with an
      activator.

PMID- 9974203
TI  - A five-year evaluation of fissure sealants applied by dental assistants.
AB  - The aim of this study was to evaluate if sealings of fissures is a preventive
      method appropriate for delegation to auxiliary personnel. After a two-day course,
      giving theoretical as well as practical knowledge, 77 dental assistants working
      at twelve dental clinics, sealed 3218 first and second permanent molars in
      children. The material used was the light-cured resin Delton Opaque. The sealings
      were examined once a year by the childrens ordinary dentists, using
      internationally accepted criteria. The result showed a total retention rate of
      91% after one year and 69% after five. There were differences in success rate
      between the clinics, the majority demonstrating a five-year total retention rate
      between 70 and 94%. It was evident that the retention of sealings was influenced
      by the age of the children but not by the position of teeth in the mouth. The
      main part of failures appeared during the first year (35%) and failures were
      essentially due to fractures (64%). Eight percent of all teeth present at the end
      of the five-year period had become carious. The dental assistants sealed the
      fissures without any assistance and none of them had any previous experience of
      fissure sealings. In our opinion, sealing of fissures is a method well suited for
      delegation to dental assistants after proper education but should be followed up,
      as the success rate showed a great variation.

PMID- 9974204
TI  - Dental survey at school with the purpose to select children with no actual need
      of dental treatment.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to develop an examination method to select children
      without from children with need of dental treatment. Furthermore the objective
      was that these examinations could be performed as a survey at school, without
      utilizing an expensive and fully equipped dental clinic but still maintain the
      certainty for the individual not to be at increased risk to be declared false
      caries-free, in comparison with ordinary examination at a dental clinic. The
      material comprised 88 children 10-13 years old. The children were subject to a
      survey-examination at school and a few weeks later at a dental clinic by the same
      examiner. Initially the children were examined at school by two examiners in
      order to measure the inter-examiner variability. The results showed that 2 of the
      88 examined children (2.3%) were judged false healthy at school examination with
      respect to caries. The inter-examiner variability in diagnosing caries was
      greater than the intra-examiner variability between survey at school and
      examination at the dental clinic.

PMID- 9974205
TI  - Changes in Swedish dental health 1968-91.
AB  - Studies of changes in dental health are essential in discussions of national
      health policy matters. In the Level of Living Survey representative samples of
      the population aged 18-75 were interviewed in 1968, 1974, 1981, and 1991. In the
      1991 survey those aged 76+ were also interviewed. Between all the four waves of
      the survey edentulousness and partial edentulousness decreased and the proportion
      of persons with teeth with many fillings, crowns or bridges increased. After 1974
      the proportion of persons with teeth in good condition with few or no fillings
      also increased. The fall in edentulousness indicated a greater improvement in
      dental health than did the rise of the proportion of people with teeth in good
      condition. Age-specific comparisons showed that the change affected older people
      most. The largest fall in edentulousness and partial edentulousness was in ages
      above 50. This fall led to a nearly equal increase in the same ages of persons
      that had teeth with many fillings, crowns or bridges. This has meant that dental
      care needs have risen among older people in particular. The results are discussed
      in connection with the national dental health insurance scheme which was
      introduced in 1974.

PMID- 9974206
TI  - Financing the delivery of public-sector animal health services in Jamaica: pre-
      and post-privatization.
AB  - Lack of adequate financing was a major reason for the privatization of veterinary
      services in Jamaica in 1992. The belief was that, with privatization, funding of
      animal health services delivery would improve, since staff numbers and clinical
      activities undertaken by the Veterinary Division were reduced. However, analyses
      of data revealed that, in most cases, privatization neither improved nor stemmed
      the declines, that had started before privatization, in the measures or
      indicators used. It was concluded that privatization of veterinary services did
      not result in any appreciable improvement in the financing of the delivery of
      public-sector animal health services in Jamaica in the short term.

PMID- 9974207
TI  - Susceptibility to tropical theileriosis of calves born to dams immunized with
      Theileria annulata (Hisar) cell culture vaccine.
AB  - The susceptibility/immune status to tropical theileriosis of calves born of
      immunized dams was evaluated. Six cows were vaccinated with the Theileria
      annulata cell culture vaccine in the eighth month of pregnancy. Sera from the
      immunized dams exhibited very high post-vaccination antibody titres as determined
      by the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test. The calves born to these dams
      did not show antibodies against T. annulata at the time of birth (IFA titres of <
      1:20). The new-born calves were fed colostrum from their mothers and were
      challenged with T. annulata-infected ground tick supernate at 5-7 days of age.
      All the calves developed fever (from day 5-6 onwards) and parasitological
      reactions (from day 8-9 onwards) after challenge. There was a significant
      decrease in the haemoglobin and packed cell volume of the calves after challenge.
      All the calves showed signs of acute theileriosis by day 9-10 after challenge and
      had to be treated with buparvaquone in order to save their lives. The study
      indicated that detectable levels of anti-theilerial antibodies were not
      transferred from immune dams to their offspring. All the calves born to immunized
      dams were fully susceptible to theileriosis and thus themselves needed
      vaccination.

PMID- 9974208
TI  - Traditional livestock in semi-arid north eastern Zimbabwe: Mashona cattle.
AB  - Productivity data were gathered from Mashona cows (n = 187) in 28 traditionally
      managed herds in two areas, separated by a corridor 20-30 km wide of almost
      uninhabited bush in NE Zimbabwe. Cattle are kept primarily to provide oxen for
      work. Cows in the southern area, which had been more affected by drought in 1991
      92, were younger (7.2 vs. 9.1 years) and had a longer median calving interval
      (548 vs. 406 days). Metrical data (n = 105 cows) showed these cattle to be larger
      bodied than those in the northern area (heart girth 146 vs. 144 cm). Market
      prices, estimated by respondents, were higher for oxen and herds were smaller in
      the south, and calf survival was believed by owners to be more influenced by
      season of birth in this area. Data were obtained on 531 calves. Before the age of
      12 months 6.2% died, a low proportion compared with other studies. Most were
      retained in herds but 11.5% were slaughtered, sold or given away. All owners
      practised castration, selecting fast growing, strong bull calves for breeding.

PMID- 9974209
TI  - Incidence of gross reproductive abnormalities in small east African zebu cattle.
AB  - Reproductive organs from mature Small East African zebu (SEAZ) heifers and cows
      slaughtered at the Morogoro abattoir were collected twice a month and evaluated
      over a period of 12 months. Out of the 402 animals from which reproductive organs
      were taken, 54% were pregnant, 24% were actively cycling and 22% were non
      cycling. Various gross abnormalities were observed in the reproductive organs of
      about 16% of the cattle, and the major reproductive abnormality in both total and
      the non-cycling animals was various degrees of fibrous adhesion between the ovary
      and the infundibulum and mesosalpinx. It is concluded that, contrary to common
      belief, a majority of the female SEAZ cattle that are slaughtered are fertile.

PMID- 9974210
TI  - The effect of gonadotrophin releasing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone in
      conjunction with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin on the superovulatory response
      in crossbred sheep in India.
AB  - Thirty-two mature crossbred (Fine Wool Synthetic, FWS) sheep developed for fine
      wool production in India were treated for superovulation and oestrus
      synchronization in spring season. The ewes were randomly allocated to four
      treatment groups in a factorially designed experiment. For induction of
      superovulation, pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) was administered alone
      (group 1), in combination with gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) (group 2)
      or with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (group 3) and with both (group 4).
      Oestrus was synchronized in all the ewes by two injections of prostaglandin F2
      alpha (PGF, 10 mg each) administered at an interval of 10 days. Superovulation
      treatment started 48 h prior to the second PGF injection. The proportion of ewes
      in oestrus did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) in the four groups. The use of
      GnRH set the ewes into oestrus earlier than the ewes in the other groups.
      Treatment with PMSG (800 IU) in conjunction with 4 micrograms of Buserilin (GnRH)
      increased the ovulation rate (9.1 +/- 2.6 corpora lutea (CL)) above that observed
      when PMSG was used alone (3.0 +/- 0.7 CL). The use of FSH (0.5 U ovagen) in
      conjunction with PMSG was characterized by a decrease in the proportion of ewes
      with < or = 2 CL (4/8 vs 7/8; p < 0.05) and in the number of ovulations, i.e. CL
      observed (2.4 +/- 0.6 vs 9.1 +/- 2.6), and a nonsignificant increase in the
      incidence of large follicles (LF) (4.6 +/- 1.28 vs 3.25 +/- 0.6; p > 0.05). The
      interaction between treatments of FSH and GnRH was not significant (p > 0.05). It
      is concluded that use of GnRH, in conjunction with either PMSG alone or PMSG plus
      FSH treatment, advanced the onset of oestrus and increased the ovulation rate in
      FWS sheep.

PMID- 9974211
TI  - Decreased densities of intramembranous particles and cytochemically detectable
      cholesterol in microvilli of starved rat enterocytes.
AB  - The densities of intramembranous particles (IMPs) and of sterol complexes induced
      by treatment of filipin were studied by freeze-fracture replication of intact
      intestine and/or isolated brush border membranes (BBM) of well-fed and starved
      rats. The density of IMPs and filipin-sterol complexes (FSCs) decrease
      considerably during starvation. Biochemical estimations show a decrease in the
      levels of cholesterol and proteins with respect to phospholipids during
      starvation which is in agreement with morphological findings. It is suggested
      that these changes may play a role in regulating membrane fluidity which in turn
      affects absorption of nutrients through BBM.

PMID- 9974212
TI  - Cell position-dependent reciprocal feedback regulation of type I collagen gene
      expression in cultured human skin fibroblasts.
AB  - In order to investigate possible cell positional effects on the gene expression
      of human dermal fibroblasts, the authors cultured the cells on non-coated
      polystyrene culture dishes, type I collagen-coated dishes, or collagen gels
      formed by type I collagen, or suspended them in type I collagen gels and measured
      collagen synthesis by the cells. The production rate of type I collagen was
      similar whether cells were cultured on non-coated polystyrene or on type I
      collagen-coated dishes, but it was suppressed significantly when the cells were
      placed within the collagen gel matrix. Time-dependent expression of genes for
      alpha 1 (I) and alpha 2 (I) collagen chains was measured by Northern blot
      analysis. A significant increase in mRNA levels for these chains was observed
      when the cells were cultured for three days on type I collagen-coated dishes or
      on collagen gels. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the mRNA levels
      was observed after 2 days and later, when the cells were cultured within type I
      collagen gel matrix. These results indicate that human dermal fibroblasts
      recognize their position on or in type I collagen (extracellular matrix) and
      respond by changing their expression patterns of type I collagen chain genes. The
      results of the kinetics of gene expression also suggest that upregulation and
      downregulation of type I collagen genes are controlled by different mechanisms.

PMID- 9974213
TI  - Localization and distribution of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating
      polypeptide in the rat epididymis.
AB  - Previous investigation has provided evidence for the control of electrogenic
      chloride secretion by pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP)
      across the rat epididymal epithelium using electrophysiological measurement of
      transepithelial transport in cultured epididymal system. Hence, it suggests that
      epididymal and sperm functions are subject to control by a local PACAP system in
      the rat epididymis. In the present study, localization and distribution of PACAP
      in the rat epididymal duct was studied by an indirect immunofluorescence
      technique in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy.
      Immunoreactivity for PACAP was found in all regions of the epididymal duct.
      However, the intensity of immunoreactivity for PACAP was stronger in the caput
      and corpus regions when compared to that of the cauda epididymidis. Much weaker
      immunostaining for PACAP, as compared to those found in other regions, was
      observed in the cauda epididymal tubules which are in close proximity to the vas
      deferens. No immunoreactivity for PACAP was found in epididymal spermatozoa.
      Together with the previous finding, the present results suggest that PACAP may
      exhibit a regional difference in its expression along the epididymal duct and it
      may act in a paracrine or autocrine fashion in the regulation of epididymal
      chloride secretion and hence fluid secretion, thus regulating epididymal and
      sperm functions along the epididymal duct.

PMID- 9974214
TI  - Localization of annexin VI in the adult and neonatal heart.
AB  - Annexins are a major family of intracellular Ca(2+)-binding proteins which have
      been implicated in a variety of cellular functions. In this paper the authors
      have used confocal microscopy to compare the distribution of annexin VI in
      vibratome sections of the rat adult left ventricle and striated muscle of the rat
      oesophagus. It is shown that in rat cardiac myocytes annexin VI is associated
      with only the sarcolemma and intercalated discs. In contrast, it is demonstrated
      that in rat skeletal muscle annexin VI is associated with the sarcoplasmic
      reticulum, in addition to the plasma membrane, suggesting that annexin VI is
      regulating different processes in these tissues. Also shown is that in vibratome
      sections of the neonatal rat left ventricle, annexin VI has a different
      subcellular location to that observed in the terminally differentiated adult
      myocyte. In these differentiating neonatal cells annexins VI is also associated
      with specific subcellular structures. Furthermore, using confocal microscopy of
      isolated myocytes the authors demonstrate that the association of annexin VI with
      the sarcolemma is stable even after cells are treated with the intracellular
      calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, to greatly deplete cytosolic calcium levels. This
      demonstrates that annexin VI associates tightly with the sarcolemma, and suggests
      that components in addition to phospholipid are involved in binding annexin VI to
      the membrane. These results demonstrate that the subcellular location of annexin
      VI is differentially regulated, and suggest that annexin VI is required for a
      process or processes characteristic of the sarcolemma, and of the sarcoplasmic
      reticulum of skeletal but not of heart muscle.

PMID- 9974216
TI  - Binding properties of bovine ocular lens zeta-crystallin to right-handed B-DNA,
      left-handed Z-DNA, and single-stranded DNA.
AB  - Bovine zeta-crystallin has the ability to bind with different DNAs. Initially,
      this protein was named regulatory factor 36 (Kang et al., 1985), but it has been
      shown to be an ocular lens zeta-crystallin (Jornvall et al., 1993), which is
      considered an enzyme-crystallin (Rodakanaki et al., 1989). The enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantitate the binding of bovine zeta
      crystallin to purified high molecular weight double-stranded (ds-) and single
      stranded (ss-) DNA (bovine and synthetic DNA). ELISA quantitation was achieved by
      the addition of anti-zeta-crystallin antibodies to the DNA-zeta-crystallin
      complex, using a novel immunochemical avidin-biotin method. Zeta-crystallin shows
      much greater binding intensity for ss-DNA and for ds-Z-DNA than for ds-B-DNA. It
      also reacts slightly more with ds-Z-DNA than ss-DNA. Therefore, we speculate that
      zeta-crystallin may act as a transcriptional enhancer (outer lens cortex),
      possibly binding to Z-DNA regulatory elements within lens crystallin genes. It
      may also act to protect DNA from endogenous DNase activity and as a DNA unwinding
      (destabilizing) protein also involved with transcription, occurring in normal
      adult bovine lens nucleated secondary fiber cells.

PMID- 9974215
TI  - Modulation of osteogenic differentiation in human skeletal cells in Vitro by 5
      azacytidine.
AB  - Cellular differentiation is controlled by a variety of factors including gene
      methylation, which represses particular genes as cell fate is determined. The
      incorporation of 5-azacytidine (5azaC) into DNA in vitro prevents methylation and
      thus can alter cellular differentiation pathways. Human bone marrow fibroblasts
      and MG63 cells treated with 5azaC were used as models of osteogenic progenitors
      and of a more mature osteoblast phenotype, respectively. The capacity for
      differentiation of these cells following treatment with glucocorticoids was
      investigated. 5azaC treatment led to significant expression of the osteoblastic
      marker alkaline phosphatase in MG63 osteosarcoma cells, which was further
      augmented by glucocorticoids; however, in human marrow fibroblasts alkaline
      phosphatase activity was only observed in glucocorticoid-treated cultures. MG63
      cells represent a phenotype late in the osteogenic lineage in which demethylation
      is sufficient to induce alkaline phosphatase activity. Marrow fibroblasts are at
      an earlier stage of differentiation and require stimulation with glucocorticoids.
      In contrast, the expression of osteocalcin, an osteoblastic marker, was
      unaffected by 5azaC treatment, suggesting that regulation of expression of the
      osteocalcin gene does not involve methylation. These models provide novel
      approaches to the study of the control of differentiation in the marrow
      fibroblastic system.

PMID- 9974217
TI  - Alterations in distribution of actin binding proteins in uterine stromal cells
      during decidualization in the rat.
AB  - Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the involvement of the actin
      associated binding proteins, tropomyosin, alpha-actinin and gelsolin with the
      formation of the decidual cell reaction during early pregnancy in the rat.
      Tropomyosin was present in the uterine myometrium, but absent from the both
      decidual and non-decidual stromal cells. alpha-Actinin was absent from non
      decidual stromal cells, but present in decidual cells. Gelsolin was present in
      non-decidual cells close to the uterine stroma as well as in transformed decidual
      cells. Both gelsolin and alpha-actinin were concentrated around the periphery of
      the cell. It is proposed that these actin-binding proteins may be involved with
      the cellular transformations associated with decidualization.

PMID- 9974218
TI  - The biostimulatory effect of red laser irradiation on pig blood platelet
      function.
AB  - The molecular mechanisms of laser-induced changes in the cell structure and
      function are not well known. The authors examined the effects of low-power laser
      irradiation on unnucleated pig blood platelets. The obtained results showed that
      laser irradiation (1-5 J) caused in blood platelets lipid peroxidation (measured
      as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and superoxide anion generation,
      concomitant with the release of adenine nucleotides and proteins from platelets.
      The maximum platelet response to laser irradiation was observed when doses of 1.8
      2 J were used. Our results indicate that red laser irradiation induces: (1)
      platelet secretory process and the release of substances stored in the specific
      granules (adenine nucleotides, proteins); and (2) lipid peroxidation partly due
      to stimulation of endogenous arachidonate and production of its metabolites
      reacting with thiobarbituric acid.

PMID- 9974219
TI  - Enhancement of neutral trehalase activity by oxidative stress in the fission
      yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
AB  - Addition of hydrogen peroxide, menadione, or plumbagin to growing cultures of the
      fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe increased trehalase activity. The effect
      was inhibited only slightly in the presence of cycloheximide, indicating that the
      stimulation of trehalase triggered by oxidative stress is mostly due to
      posttranscriptional activation. Northern blot analysis of trehalase mRNA level
      revealed that oxidative stress also induces a moderate rise in transcription of
      trehalase. Mutants disrupted in genes encoding elements of the mitogen-activated
      protein kinase (MAPK) cascade showed a reduced increase in trehalase activity
      upon oxidative challenge, which was coincident with a block in transcription of
      trehalase. Taken together, the results support the idea that the enhancement of
      trehalase by oxidative stress is due to enzyme activation (via the Pka1/Sck1
      phosphorylation pathway) and induction of trehalase mRNA (via the MAPK signaling
      pathway). In spite of the trehalase increase, a net accumulation of trehalose was
      noticed during the oxidative stress.

PMID- 9974220
TI  - The tbf-1 gene from the white truffle Tuber borchii codes for a structural cell
      wall protein specifically expressed in fruitbody.
AB  - This paper reports the purification and localization of a Tuber borchii Vittad,
      fruitbody protein (TBF-1) and the cloning of the encoding gene. TBF-1 is
      detectable by SDS-PAGE analyses only in this white truffle species and presents a
      molecular mass of 11,994 Da. TBF-1 was purified by one-step Reversed-Phase HPLC
      and its complete amino acid sequence was determined after digestion with trypsin
      and N-Asp endoproteinase. Polyclonal antibodies were produced and tested in
      immunofluorescence and immunogold experiments, providing information about the
      protein localization. It was detected mostly on the hyphal walls, where it was
      colocalized with beta-1,3-glucans and chitin. The sporal wall was not labeled.
      The encoding gene (tbf-1) was cloned using several techniques involving PCR. The
      coding region consists of a 360-bp open reading frame interrupted by an intron,
      with another intron following the stop codon. A putative signal peptide of 12
      amino acids was found at the N-terminal. Northern blot analysis revealed that tbf
      1 is highly expressed in unripe and ripe fruitbodies and was not detectable in
      culture mycelium or ectomycorrhizal roots.

PMID- 9974221
TI  - Recombinant glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger B1 in chemostat and pH
      auxostat cultures.
AB  - The production of glucoamylase (GAM) by Aspergillus niger B1, a genetic
      transformant containing an additional 20 copies of the homologous glucoamylase
      gene (glaA) was studied in nutrient (maltodextrin)-limited chemostat and nutrient
      excess pH auxostat cultures. In these culture systems the specific production
      rate of GAM increased with dilution rate and reached a maximum (up to 15.0 mg GAM
      [g biomass]-1 h-1) when A. niger B1 was grown at its maximum specific growth rate
      in pH auxostat culture, indicating that GAM is a growth-associated product. The
      appearance of spontaneous morphological mutants was observed in all continuous
      flow cultures grown at pH 5.4, with a light brown mutant always displacing the
      parental strain. However, no morphological mutants were observed in cultures
      grown at pH 4.0. Further, when A. niger B1 was grown in pH auxostat culture, the
      specific production rate of GAM was 31% higher at pH 4.0 than at pH 5.4. Southern
      blot analyses showed that some morphological mutants (including the light brown
      mutant) isolated from a pH auxostat culture had lost copies of the glaA genes.

PMID- 9974222
TI  - Distribution of the fungal transposon Restless: full-length and truncated copies
      in closely related strains.
AB  - The fungal transposon Restless of Tolypocladium inflatum ATCC 34921 is a member
      of the hAT family of mobile DNA elements. In order to study the distribution of
      this transposon we have looked at 13 fungal strains, most of which are
      taxonomically related to strain ATCC 34921. Three strains, which show identical
      banding patterns in a comparative RAPD analysis with strain ATCC 34921, similarly
      carry multiple copies of Restless. In addition, 1 T. inflatum strain and 2
      Beauveria nivea strains contain only a few or even single copies of the
      transposon. Inverse PCR and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that 1 strain
      contains a nonmobile truncated version of the element, while the other one
      harbors a full-length transposon copy which was named Restless-2. The presence of
      a single transposon copy of Restless in a defined Beauveria strain indicates
      recent acquisition of this transposon, since class II transposons usually occur
      in several copies per haploid genome. Notably, the corresponding genomic location
      is not occupied by a transposon copy in strain ATCC 34921.

PMID- 9974223
TI  - Lovastatin triggers an apoptosis-like cell death process in the fungus Mucor
      racemosus.
AB  - The filamentous dimorphic fungus Mucor racemosus possesses three ras genes,
      Mras1, 2, and 3, whose expression is correlated to morphogenesis of the fungus.
      Lovastatin, an indirect inhibitor of protein prenylation, altered the processing
      of MRas1 protein, blocked the accumulation of MRas3 protein, and caused the
      MRas1/p20 protein complex to disappear in M. racemosus. Concurrently it arrested
      sporangiospore germination, decreased growth rate, caused a loss of cell
      viability accompanied by cell shrinkage, increased cell density and cytoplasm
      condensation, and triggered DNA fragmentation, resulting in nucleosomes and
      nucleosome multimers. The specific morphological and biochemical events seen in
      Mucor cell death, particularly DNA fragmentation, resemble the best known
      characteristics of classical apoptosis in mammalian cells and prompted us to
      classify lovastatin-induced cell death as an apoptosis-like process. Lovastatin
      did not cause cell death in a leucine auxotroph of Mucor grown in YNB minimal
      medium, conditions which support only spherical growth during spore germination.
      Exogenous dibutyryl-cAMP initiated morphogenesis from hyphal (polar) growth to
      yeast-like (spherical) growth during spore germination and strongly prevented
      cell death which resulted from lovastatin treatment. Wortmannin added together
      with dibutyryl-cAMP showed a synergistic effect in the prevention of fungal cell
      death. These data suggest that the regulation of lovastatin-induced cell death in
      Mucor requires a signal transduction pathway(s) involving cAMP whose function is
      specific to a particular developmental stage.

PMID- 9974224
TI  - Health effects of microwave exposures: a review of the recent (1995-1998)
      literature.
AB  - Occupational or residential exposures to radio frequency radiation, including
      microwaves, have been alleged to result in health problems, including leukemia,
      other cancers, and reproductive mishaps. This review covers the recent literature
      (from 1995 to 1998) dealing with possible health effects, including original
      studies, reviews, commentaries, and editorials. A number of these articles have
      presented misconceptions, errors in citation, and inaccuracies regarding the
      alleged effects. Epidemiological reviews and studies dealing with exposures to
      radio frequency radiation from television transmitters, cellular telephones and
      towers, magnetic resonance imaging, phased array radar systems, and other
      occupational exposures are analyzed. On the basis of studies reported in the past
      several years, one can conclude that the evidence for any proven health effects
      of low-level microwave exposure is minimal to non-existent.

PMID- 9974225
TI  - Electron nuclear double resonance determined structures of enzyme reaction
      intermediates: structural evidence for substrate destabilization.
AB  - Angle selective ENDOR of nitroxyl spin-labels is briefly reviewed to illustrate
      the methodology of structure analysis developed in our laboratory for
      characterizing catalytically competent intermediates of enzyme catalyzed
      reactions. ENDOR structure determination of a reaction intermediate of alpha
      chymotrypsin formed with a kinetically specific spin-labeled substrate and of an
      enzyme-inhibitor complex formed with a spin-labeled transition-state inhibitor
      analog is briefly described. Both spin-labeled molecules bound in the active site
      of the enzyme are found in torsionally distorted conformations. It is suggested
      that this torsionally distorted state in which the bound ligand is of higher
      potential energy than in the ground state conformation reflects substrate
      destabilization in the course of the enzyme catalyzed reaction.

PMID- 9974226
TI  - Applications of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to study
      interactions of iron proteins in cells with nitric oxide.
AB  - Nitric oxide and species derived from it have a wide range of biological
      functions. Some applications of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)
      spectroscopy are reviewed, for observing nitrosyl species in biological systems.
      Nitrite has long been used as a food preservative owing to its bacteriostatic
      effect on spoilage bacteria. Nitrosyl complexes such as sodium nitroprusside,
      which are added experimentally as NO-generators, themselves produce paramagnetic
      nitrosyl species, which may be seen by EPR. We have used this to observe the
      effects of nitroprusside on clostridial cells. After growth in the presence of
      sublethal concentrations of nitroprusside, the cells show they have been
      converted into other, presumably less toxic, nitrosyl complexes such as
      (RS)2Fe(NO)2. Nitric oxide is cytotoxic, partly due to its effects on
      mitochondria. This is exploited in the destruction of cancer cells by the immune
      system. The targets include iron-sulfur proteins. It appears that species derived
      from nitric oxide such as peroxynitrite may be responsible. Addition of
      peroxynitrite to mitochondria led to depletion of the EPR-detectable iron-sulfur
      clusters. Paramagnetic complexes are formed in vivo from hemoglobin, in
      conditions such as experimental endotoxic shock. This has been used to follow the
      course of production of NO by macrophages. We have examined the effects of
      suppression of NO synthase using biopterin antagonists. Another method is to use
      an injected NO-trapping agent, Fe-diethyldithiocarbamate (Fe-DETC) to detect
      accumulated NO by EPR. In this way we have observed the effects of depletion of
      serum arginine by arginase. In brains from victims of Parkinson's disease, a
      nitrosyl species, identified as nitrosyl hemoglobin, has been observed in
      substantia nigra. This is an indication for the involvement of nitric oxide or a
      derived species in the damage to this organ.

PMID- 9974227
TI  - A point about electron paramagnetic resonance detection of irradiated foodstuffs.
AB  - This paper makes a point about the identification of irradiated foodstuffs by
      means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) or electron spin resonance (ESR).
      EPR is the most accurate method for such routine applications since radicals are
      stabilised for a long time in all (or part of) foods that are in solid and dry
      states; consequently, EPR can be applied to meat and fish bones, fruit and
      relative products (from vegetal origin). More details are given for mollusc
      shells, such as oysters and mussels.

PMID- 9974228
TI  - The effect of automated compensation for incongruent axes on teleoperator
      performance.
AB  - Teleoperation is frequently performed with misalignments between operator or
      camera viewing direction and controller orientation. Examples of this occur in
      endoscopic surgery and in teleoperation with multiple camera views. The objective
      of this study was to find a method to automatically compensate for those
      misalignments so that human operators performing tasks under such scenarios could
      achieve levels of performance comparable to aligned conditions without additional
      training requirements. In this paper we report on a set of experiments conducted
      to test a method developed for that purpose. Participants were asked to track a
      randomly moving target on a computer display using a cursor controlled with a
      joystick. Performance was recorded under various visual-motor misalignments with
      and without automated compensation. Results indicated significant improvements in
      operator performance through use of automatic compensation only under certain
      types of misalignment. Actual or potential applications of this research include
      teleoperation and endoscopic surgery.

PMID- 9974229
TI  - Effects of display resolution on visual performance.
AB  - The role of display resolution in visual information processing was investigated
      in 2 experiments. Experiment 1 examined the effects of 2 CRT conditions
      (resolutions of 60 and 120 dots per inch [dpi]) and a paper control condition
      (255 dpi) on proofreading speed and accuracy. The results showed that reading
      performance was significantly better in the paper condition than in the 2 CRT
      conditions. Experiment 2 examined the effects of 3 different CRT resolutions (62,
      69, and 89 dpi) on eye movement parameters (fixation duration and number of
      fixations) in a visual search task. Further, search reaction times (RTs) and
      observers' ratings of visual fatigue were analyzed. RTs and fixation durations
      were significantly increased in the low-resolution condition (62 dpi) as compared
      with the high-resolution condition (89 dpi). The significant interaction between
      display resolution and time both for search RTs and fixation durations was taken
      as evidence for stronger fatigue in the low-resolution conditions. Additionally,
      the extent of visual fatigue correlates both with search RTs and eye movement
      parameters. This finding gives rise to the assumption that observers'
      responsiveness to effects of display resolution in terms of visual fatigue
      differs markedly. Actual or potential applications of this research include
      recommendations for the use of high-resolution displays (90 dpi and greater) to
      optimize visual performance, to make prolonged on-screen viewing more
      comfortable, and to avoid visual fatigue.

PMID- 9974230
TI  - A comparison of seven visual fatigue assessment techniques in three data
      acquisition VDT tasks.
AB  - We compared 7 methods of measuring visual fatigue--accommodation power, visual
      acuity, pupil diameter, critical fusion frequency (CFF), eye movement velocity,
      subjective rating of visual fatigue, and task performance--for their sensitivity
      to visual load. In the experiment, 10 participants performed a monitoring task at
      2 viewing distances, read articles under 2 levels of screen contrast, and tracked
      visual targets at 2 different speeds. The same measurement techniques, excluding
      pupil diameter and eye movement velocity, were compared by extending the task
      time from 20 to 60 min with the same VDT tasks to test for possible improvement
      in sensitivity. The results indicated that sensitivities of accommodation power,
      visual acuity, and CFF were greatly improved by a longer task period, but these 3
      measurement techniques did not distinguish among tasks. Pupil diameter, eye
      movement velocity, and subjective rating of visual fatigue were sensitive in
      differentiating tracking from reading and monitoring tasks. Eye movement velocity
      and subjective rating were sensitive to the changes in target velocity of the
      tracking task. Although task performance was not directly comparable to other
      measurement techniques, it helped to ensure that participants maintained the same
      performance level by devoting more resources to the high-load conditions. Actual
      or potential applications of this research include using some of these assessment
      techniques for the design of adaptive displays.

PMID- 9974231
TI  - Context effects in subjective mental workload ratings.
AB  - The impact of performance context on subjective mental workload ratings was
      assessed with the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) and the NASA
      Task Load Index (TLX). In Experiment 1, a strong context effect was demonstrated.
      A low range of task difficulty produced considerably higher ratings on a common
      set of difficulty levels than did a high range of task difficulty. In Experiment
      2, increasing the participants' range of experiences during practice eliminated
      the context effect. We recommend that methods for standardizing context, such as
      providing experience with the complete difficulty range, be developed for
      subjective mental workload evaluations. Actual or potential applications of this
      research include providing methodologies for controlling context effects in
      practical assessments of mental workload to increase the validity of subjective
      measures.

PMID- 9974232
TI  - Measures and interpretations of vigilance performance: evidence against the
      detection criterion.
AB  - Operators' performance in a vigilance task is often assumed to depend on their
      choice of a detection criterion. When the signal rate is low this criterion is
      set high, causing the hit and false alarm rates to be low. With increasing time
      on task the criterion presumably tends to increase even further, thereby further
      decreasing the hit and false alarm rates. Virtually all of the empirical evidence
      for this simple interpretation is based on estimates of the bias measure beta
      from signal detection theory. In this article, I describe a new approach to
      studying decision making that does not require the technical assumptions of
      signal detection theory. The results of this new analysis suggest that the
      detection criterion is never biased toward either response, even when the signal
      rate is low and the time on task is long. Two modifications of the signal
      detection theory framework are considered to account for this seemingly
      paradoxical result. The first assumes that the signal rate affects the relative
      sizes of the variances of the information distributions; the second assumes that
      the signal rate affects the logic of the operator's stopping rule. Actual or
      potential applications of this research include the improved training and
      performance assessment of operators in areas such as product quality control, air
      traffic control, and medical and clinical diagnosis.

PMID- 9974233
TI  - Evaluation of supermarket bagging using a wrist motion monitor.
AB  - The supermarket industry has one of the highest numbers of repeated trauma
      illnesses. Checkout departments have a rate of musculoskeletal injuries 2 to 3
      times higher than that of other supermarket departments. The primary objective of
      this study was to quantify the wrist motions required to bag groceries using a
      wrist motion monitor. The wrist motions included deviations, velocities, and
      accelerations for flexion-extension, radial-ulnar, and pronation-supination
      directions. The independent variables were handle type and object location.
      Objects with finger-thumb couplings required more extreme pronations, greater
      wrist velocities for pronation-supination deviations, and greater wrist
      accelerations for pronation-supination deviations than did other objects. Objects
      with 10-cm hand couplings required more extreme flexion, larger ranges of
      movement for radial-ulnar deviations and pronation-supination deviations, and
      greater wrist velocities in the radial-ulnar and pronation-supination directions
      than did 5-cm objects. The right and front locations required more extreme
      deviations than did the left and back locations. Because finger-thumb and 10-cm
      hand couplings require larger wrist deviations and greater velocities, these
      objects may pose a greater risk of developing cumulative trauma disorders to the
      bagger. Potential applications of this research include engineering design of
      grocery packaging and supermarket bagging workstations.

PMID- 9974234
TI  - How automatic is manual gear shifting?
AB  - Manual gear shifting is often used as an example of an automated (vs. controlled)
      process in driving. The present study provided an empirical evaluation of this
      assumption by evaluating sign detection and recall performance of novice and
      experienced drivers driving manual shift and automatic transmission cars in a
      downtown area requiring frequent gear shifting. The results showed that manual
      gear shifting significantly impaired sign detection performance of novice drivers
      using manual gears compared with novice drivers using an automatic transmission,
      whereas no such differences existed between the two transmission types for
      experienced drivers. The results clearly demonstrate that manual gear shifting is
      a complex psychomotor skill that is not easily (or quickly) automated and that
      until it becomes automated, it is an attention-demanding task that may impair
      other monitoring aspects of driving performance. Actual or potential applications
      of this research include a reevaluation of the learning process in driving and
      the need for phased instruction in driving from automatic gears to manual gears.

PMID- 9974369
TI  - Low molecular weight heparin versus acenocoumarol in the secondary prophylaxis of
      deep vein thrombosis.
AB  - The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous
      weight-adjusted dose low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) compared with oral
      anticoagulant (OA) in the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism. In a
      prospective multicenter trial, 202 patients with symptomatic proximal deep vein
      thrombosis (DVT) were included. As soon as the diagnosis of DVT was confirmed by
      phlebography, 101 were randomly assigned to receive LMWH (nadroparin) for
      secondary prophylaxis and 101 to receive OA (acenocoumarol). Patients in both
      groups were initially treated with nadroparin in a dose of 85 anti-Xa IU/kg s.c.
      every 12 h. Secondary prophylaxis with either nadroparin, 85 anti-Xa IU/kg s. c.
      once daily, or acenocoumarol was continued for at least 3 months. Three patients
      in the LMWH group and 6 in the OA group were excluded from analysis for various
      reasons. During the one-year combined secondary prophylaxis and surveillance
      period, 7 of of the 98 evaluable patients (7.1%) in the LMWH group and 9 of the
      95 evaluable patients (9.5%) in the OA group had a documented recurrence of
      venous thromboembolism (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.61). Of these, 2 patients who
      received LMWH and 7 patients on acenocoumarol had recurrences in the 3-month
      period of secondary prophylaxis. Four patients (4.1%) in the LMWH group developed
      bleeding complications during this study period, as compared with 7 (7.4%) in the
      OA group (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.37). There were two major bleedings, one in
      the LMWH group and one in the OA group. Eleven patients died, 5 (5.1%) in the
      LMWH group and 6 (6.3%) in the OA group. It is concluded that nadroparin in a
      dose of 85 anti-Xa IU/kg s.c. once daily provides an effective and safe
      alternative to oral anticoagulants in the secondary prophylaxis of DVT.

PMID- 9974370
TI  - Thrombomodulin: a new marker for placental abruption.
AB  - Thrombomodulin (TM), a marker of endothelial cell damage, has been localized to
      the placental syncytiotrophoblast. A prospective cohort study of twenty-five
      pregnant women who were admitted with a clinical diagnosis of placental abruption
      was undertaken. Abruption was confirmed after delivery in eight cases (Group 1).
      Group 2 consisted of seventeen patients with no clinical or pathologic evidence
      of placental abruption after delivery. TM was significantly elevated in Group 1
      (71.59+/-5.35 vs. 48.29+/-3.53 ng/ml, p = 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity
      of TM > or =60 ng/ml as a marker for abruption was 87.5 and 76.5%, respectively.
      In comparison, the sensitivity of an abnormal coagulation profile, maternal
      Kleihauer-Betke and ultrasound in patients with abruption was 0, 16.7 and 28.6%,
      respectively. TM is a highly sensitive and specific marker for acute placental
      abruption.

PMID- 9974371
TI  - Immune tolerance therapy for haemophilia A patients with acquired factor VIII
      alloantibodies: comprehensive analysis of experience at a single institution.
AB  - Immune Tolerance Therapy for Haemophilia A Patients with Acquired Factor VIII
      Alloantibodies: Comprehensive Analysis of Experience at a Single Institution
      Eleven children with severe haemophilia A associated with the IVS 22 inversion
      and acquired high titre neutralising antibodies to factor VIII underwent immune
      tolerance induction. HLA class I and high resolution class II type is detailed
      for each patient. A three phase approach to immune tolerance induction was used.
      During phase 1, which lasted a median of six weeks, patients received factor VIII
      100 IU/kg twice daily. Phase 2 comprised a factor VIII dose reduction to 100
      IU/kg once daily, and continued for a median duration of 14 weeks. Subsequently
      10 of the 11 patients satisfied the criteria of absent factor VIII neutralising
      activity by the Bethesda method, and a factor VIII elimination half life of
      greater than 5 h, allowing progression to phase 3, a further factor VIII dose
      reduction to 50 IU/kg three times weekly. A model for dose reduction as factor
      VIII tolerance evolves, based on pharmacokinetic analysis, is described.

PMID- 9974372
TI  - Inhibitors in German hemophilia A patients treated with a double virus
      inactivated factor VIII concentrate bind to the C2 domain of FVIII light chain.
AB  - To reduce the risk of transmission of hepatitis A virus, an Octapharma produced
      factor VIII (fVIII) concentrate treated with solvent detergent (FVIII-SD) was
      further pasteurized after purification. This product, Octavi SDPlus (FVIII-SDP),
      was marketed in Europe in 1993 to 1995. Inhibitors appeared from September to
      October, 1995, in 12 of 109 previously treated German hemophilia A patients. A
      study of similarly treated Belgian patients, who also developed inhibitors, had
      shown antibodies to the fVIII light chain (domains A3-C1-C2) only. In the present
      study, the epitope specificity of 8 German inhibitor plasmas was also found to be
      restricted to the light chain. In radioimmunoprecipitation assays to localize the
      light chain epitope(s), antibody binding to heavy chain (domains A1-A2-B) was 11
      148 fold lower than to the C2 domain, and binding to recombinant A3-C1 was barely
      detectable. These results were supported by >95% neutralization of a high
      responder inhibitor titer by the C2 domain.

PMID- 9974373
TI  - TFPIbeta, a second product from the mouse tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI)
      gene.
AB  - Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) contains three Kunitz domains separated by
      two connecting regions. We have cloned another naturally occurring TFPI gene
      product from a mouse lung cDNA library which we have called TFPIbeta. TFPIbeta is
      derived from alternative splicing of the TFPI gene. Analysis of the cDNA shows
      that mouse TFPIbeta protein is identical to TFPI from the N'-terminus through the
      second connecting region. However, mouse TFPIbeta possesses neither a third
      Kunitz domain nor an Arg, Lys-rich C'-terminus but instead has a completely
      different C'-terminal (beta-domain) sequence which is not homologous to any known
      protein. Northern blot analyses show that the tissues for mouse TFPIbeta
      synthesis are heart and lung; in contrast, TFPI appears in Northern blots of
      heart and spleen. Both TFPIbeta and TFPI messages first appear in 7-day-old mouse
      embryos, but only the TFPI mRNA persists until 17 days. Purified recombinant
      TFPIbeta shows an apparent molecular weight of 38 kDa. Kinetic studies indicate
      that mouse TFPIbeta is a slow-binding enzyme inhibitor for human factor Xa. In
      addition, heparin does not enhance the inhibition of factor Xa by mouse TFPIbeta
      although it does accelerate factor Xa inhibition by TFPI.

PMID- 9974375
TI  - A new enzyme immunoassay for soluble fibrin in plasma, with a high discriminating
      power for thrombotic disorders.
AB  - Fibrin formation is a multistep process initiated by thrombin. At first thrombin
      converts fibrinogen to fibrin molecules which in vivo form soluble complexes with
      fibrinogen. Soluble fibrin is considered to be an early biochemical marker for
      intravascular fibrin formation and impending thrombotic events, such as deep
      venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) and disseminated intravascular
      coagulopathy (DIC). A new enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed on the basis of
      a monoclonal antibody directed against a fibrin specific neo-epitope located on
      the gamma-chain of fibrinogen; gamma-(312-324). In addition, it was possible to
      prepare a lyophilized reference material of thrombin-generated soluble fibrin,
      that allowed for full antigen recovery after reconstitution with buffer. Assay
      conditions, e.g. solid phase-Ig concentration and buffer composition, sample and
      conjugate dilution, and incubation times were optimised. The present assay was
      found to be specific (no interference of homologous antigens) and reproducible
      (intra-assay CV 4-8%, interassay CV 4-9%), and therefore highly suited for
      measuring soluble fibrin levels in a plasma milieu. The median normal value for
      soluble fibrin was determined in plasma samples obtained from apparently healthy
      volunteers (n = 81) and found to be 0.040 microg/ml, with a range (10-90
      percentiles) of 0.026-0.059 microg/ml. A retrospective study showed that soluble
      fibrin levels were highly significantly increased in patients with a confirmed
      diagnosis of DIC (median 1.042 microg FEU/ml, range 0.160-2.319 microg/ml, n =
      21, P<0.0001 vs. normal). PE (median 0.527 microg FEU/ml, range 0.084-1.234
      microg/ml, n = 29, P<0.0001 vs normal) and DVT (median 0.126 microg FEU/ml, range
      0.059-0.878 microg/ml, n = 36, P<0.0001 vs. normal), as determined by the Mann
      Whitney U-Test.

PMID- 9974374
TI  - Performance of a new fibrin monomer assay to exclude deep vein thrombosis in
      symptomatic outpatients.
AB  - In this study we prospectively assessed the reliability of a new fibrin monomer
      assay in 106 outpatients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis of the
      lower limb. According to the results of the objective tests and using different
      cut-off points we calculated the sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive
      value of the fibrin monomer assay. The prevalence of deep vein thrombosis was
      44.3% (31.1% proximal, 13.2% distal). Using a cut-off level of plasma fibrin
      monomer of 3.5 microg/ml, a sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive
      value of 100% (95% CI: 94-100%), 35.6% (95% CI: 23-48%) and 100% (95% CI: 86
      100%), respectively, were obtained. The exclusion rate was 19.8% (95% CI: 12-27%)
      of all referred patients. These accuracy indices compared favourably with the
      respective results of a routine D-dimer ELISA used for comparison. CONCLUSION:
      This new fibrin monomer assay appears to be a reliable method for the exclusion
      of deep vein thrombosis in symptomatic outpatients.

PMID- 9974376
TI  - Local calibration of international normalised ratio improves between laboratory
      agreement: results from the UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme. UK
      NEQAS (Blood Coagulation) Steering Committee.
AB  - In the present study we have performed local calibration of International
      Normalised Ratio (INR) measurement systems in a large series of laboratories. We
      assigned INRs to five lyophilised plasma calibrants, one prepared from normal
      plasma and four using plasma from warfarinised patients, using different
      International Reference Preparations for Thromboplastin. These five calibrants,
      and two lyophilised test plasmas were analysed by 349 centres using 60 different
      thromboplastin instrument combinations. Plasma calibrants were assigned INRs
      using the WHO reference thromboplastin RBT-90 or the European reference
      thromboplastin CRM 149R. Each participating centre determined PTs of the
      calibrants with their local system. These PTs were then used to construct a local
      calibration graph relating PT to INR. The PTs of test plasmas were converted
      directly into INR using the local calibration model and into INR using the
      conventional method. The overall medians of conventionally derived INRs of two
      test plasmas analysed in 349 centres were 2.50 and 3.10, compared to 2.47 and
      3.04 after local calibration where RBT-90 was employed to assign INRs to
      calibrants. Use of CRM 149R to assign INRs to calibrants led to a significant
      (p<0.0001) increase in INR to 2.7 and 3.36 respectively. When results were
      grouped according to the thromboplastin employed, agreement between results with
      different reagents was improved by local calibration. There was a significant
      reduction (p<0.01) in the spread of results in different centres as indicated by
      a reduction in coefficient of variation.

PMID- 9974377
TI  - Influence of three types of automated coagulometers on the international
      sensitivity index (ISI) of rabbit, human, and recombinant human tissue factor
      preparations--a multicenter study.
AB  - Five tissue factor reagents and three types of automated instruments for
      prothrombin time (PT) determination were studied in an international multicenter
      collaborative exercise. The purpose of this work was to determine the
      international sensitivity index (ISI) for each combination of reagent and
      instrument against the international reference preparation RBT/90. Each type of
      instrument was used by 3 or 4 centers to assess the interlaboratory variation of
      the ISI. The interlaboratory variation of the ISI for each combination of reagent
      and instrument ranged between 0.4% and 7.8% coefficient of variation. For three
      reagents, the mean ISI values for ACL (nephelometric) and STA (mechanical) were
      practically identical, but the mean ISI values for MLA (photo-optical) were at
      least 10% higher. For two other reagents prepared from rabbit tissue, the mean
      ISI values increased in the order ACL, STA, MLA. The widest range of mean ISI
      values was noted with one rabbit tissue factor reagent: 1.68 for ACL and 2.00 for
      MLA. Exclusion of patient specimens with INR <1.5 and INR >4.5 determined by the
      international reference preparation resulted in a slight decrease of the mean
      ISI. The interlaboratory variation of the International Normalized Ratio (INR)
      was assessed from the results obtained with common lyophilized and deep-frozen
      plasmas. The use of instrument-specific ISI values resulted in reduced
      interlaboratory variation of the INR. It is recommended that thromboplastin
      manufacturers provide instrument-specific ISI values.

PMID- 9974378
TI  - A longitudinal study of the relationships between haemostatic, lipid, and
      oestradiol changes during normal human pregnancy.
AB  - Increased activation of both blood coagulation and fibrinolysis occurs during
      normal pregnancy. The responsible mechanisms are unclear, but may include
      increases in both oestradiol and blood lipids. We, therefore, studied the
      associations between fasting serum oestradiol, plasma cholesterol and
      triglyceride, and Factor VII activity, PAI activity, t-PA antigen, fibrin D
      dimer, and vWF antigen in 10 women, each sampled on 6 occasions between 10 weeks
      and 35 weeks during normal pregnancy. Strong and similar individual correlations
      were observed between increases in FVII, PAI, t-PA and D-dimer (but not vWF) and
      increases in both oestradiol and triglyceride. Associations between increments in
      plasma cholesterol and haemostatic factors (except for FVII), were somewhat
      weaker. We, therefore, suggest that oestradiol-induced hypertriglyceridaemia may
      be a cause of elevations in plasma Factor VII activity, PAI and t-PA, and fibrin
      turnover (D-dimer) during normal pregnancy, but is poorly related to the increase
      in vWF antigen.

PMID- 9974379
TI  - Double fluorescent-amplification refractory mutation detection (dF-ARMS) of the
      factor V Leiden and prothrombin mutations.
AB  - Simultaneous fluorescent [F] detection of the factor V Leiden (G1691A) and the
      prothrombin 3'-untranslated region (G20210A) mutations were performed in a single
      tube polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplification refractory mutation detection
      system (ARMS) formed the basis of this assay design. Fluorescent-labelled primers
      incorporated into amplicons during the reaction facilitated detection directly by
      GeneScan analysis without further manipulation. To test the efficacy of this
      double [F]-ARMS (dF-ARMS) method, 48 patients with unexplained thrombotic
      tendencies were investigated for their factor V Leiden and prothrombin genotypes.
      These results corresponded exactly with data achieved using the more conventional
      methods of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-PCR and direct DNA
      sequencing. Three out of the 48 patients in this group were found to be compound
      heterozygotes.

PMID- 9974381
TI  - Genesis and evolution of the 1997-98 El Nino 
AB  - The 1997-98 El Nino was, by some measures, the strongest on record, with major
      climatic impacts felt around the world. A newly completed tropical Pacific
      atmosphere-ocean observing system documented this El Nino from its rapid onset to
      its sudden demise in greater detail than was ever before possible. The
      unprecedented measurements challenge existing theories about El Nino-related
      climate swings and suggest why climate forecast models underpredicted the
      strength of the El Nino before its onset.

PMID- 9974380
TI  - Efficient bypass of a thymine-thymine dimer by yeast DNA polymerase, Poleta.
AB  - The RAD30 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for the error
      free postreplicational repair of DNA that has been damaged by ultraviolet
      irradiation. Here, RAD30 is shown to encode a DNA polymerase that can replicate
      efficiently past a thymine-thymine cis-syn cyclobutane dimer, a lesion that
      normally blocks DNA polymerases. When incubated in vitro with all four
      nucleotides, Rad30 incorporates two adenines opposite the thymine-thymine dimer.
      Rad30 is the seventh eukaryotic DNA polymerase to be described and hence is named
      DNA polymerase eta.

PMID- 9974383
TI  - Giant wormlike rubber micelles 
AB  - A low molecular weight poly(ethyleneoxide)-poly(butadiene) (PEO-PB) diblock
      copolymer containing 50 weight percent PEO forms gigantic wormlike micelles at
      low concentrations (<5 percent by weight) in water. Subsequent generation of free
      radicals with a conventional water-based redox reaction leads to chemical cross
      linking of the PB cores without disruption of the cylindrical morphology, as
      evidenced by cryotransmission electron microscopy and small-angle neutron
      scattering experiments. These wormlike rubber micelles exhibit unusual
      viscoelastic properties in water.

PMID- 9974382
TI  - Mechanism of zeolite A nanocrystal growth from colloids at room temperature.
AB  - The formation and growth of crystal nuclei of zeolite A from clear solutions at
      room temperature were studied with low-dose, high-resolution transmission
      electron microscopy in field emission mode and with in situ dynamic light
      scattering. Single zeolite A crystals nucleated in amorphous gel particles of 40
      to 80 nanometers within 3 days at room temperature. The resulting nanoscale
      single crystals (10 to 30 nanometers) were embedded in the amorphous gel
      particles. The gel particles were consumed during further crystal growth at room
      temperature, forming a colloidal suspension of zeolite A nanocrystals of 40 to 80
      nanometers. On heating this suspension at 80 degrees C, solution-mediated
      transport resulted in additional substantial crystal growth.

PMID- 9974385
TI  - Dislocations faster than the speed of sound 
AB  - It is thought that dislocations cannot surpass the sound barrier at the shear
      wave velocity because the energy spent in radiation has a singularity there.
      Atomistic simulations show that dislocations can move faster than the speed of
      sound if they are created as supersonic dislocations at a strong stress
      concentration and are subjected to high shear stresses. This behavior is
      important for the understanding of low-temperature deformation processes such as
      mechanical twinning and may be relevant for the dynamics of tectonic faults. The
      motion of the dislocations at a speed of 2 times the shear wave velocity can be
      understood from a linear elastic analysis, but many of the peculiarities of the
      supersonic dislocations are dominated by nonlinear effects that require a
      realistic atomistic description.

PMID- 9974384
TI  - Ordered mesoporous polymers of tunable pore size from colloidal silica templates.
AB  - Ordered mesoporous polymers have been prepared by replication of colloidal
      crystals made from silica spheres 35 nanometers in diameter. The pores in the
      colloidal crystals were filled with divinylbenzene (DVB), ethyleneglycol
      dimethacrylate (EDMA), or a mixture of the two. Polymerization and subsequent
      dissolution of the silica template leaves a polycrystalline network of
      interconnected pores. When mixtures of DVB and EDMA are used, the pore size of
      the polymer replicas can be varied continuously between 35 and 15 nanometers
      because the polymer shrinks when the silica template is removed.

PMID- 9974386
TI  - Chemical analysis of polar stratospheric cloud particles 
AB  - A balloon-borne gondola carrying a particle analysis system, a backscatter sonde,
      and pressure and temperature sensors was launched from Kiruna, Sweden, on 25
      January 1998. Measurements within polar stratospheric cloud layers inside the
      Arctic polar vortex show a close correlation between large backscatter ratios and
      enhanced particle-related water and nitric acid signals at low temperatures.
      Periodic structures in the data indicate the presence of lee waves. The H2O/HNO3
      molar ratios are consistently found to be above 10 at atmospheric temperatures
      between 189 and 192 kelvin. Such high ratios indicate ternary solution particles
      of H2O, HNO3, and H2SO4 rather than the presence of solid hydrates.

PMID- 9974387
TI  - A 0.5-million-year record of millennial-scale climate variability in the north
      atlantic 
AB  - Long, continuous, marine sediment records from the subpolar North Atlantic
      document the glacial modulation of regional climate instability throughout the
      past 0.5 million years. Whenever ice sheet size surpasses a critical threshold
      indicated by the benthic oxygen isotope (delta18O) value of 3.5 per mil during
      each of the past five glaciation cycles, indicators of iceberg discharge and sea
      surface temperature display dramatically larger amplitudes of millennial-scale
      variability than when ice sheets are small. Sea-surface temperature oscillations
      of 1 degrees to 2 degreesC increase in size to approximately 4 degrees to 6
      degreesC, and catastrophic iceberg discharges begin alternating repeatedly with
      brief quiescent intervals. The glacial growth associated with this amplification
      threshold represents a relatively small departure from the modern ice sheet
      configuration and sea level. Instability characterizes nearly all observed
      climate states, with the exception of a limited range of baseline conditions that
      includes the current Holocene interglacial.

PMID- 9974388
TI  - A kuroko-type polymetallic sulfide deposit in a submarine silicic caldera 
AB  - Manned submersible studies have delineated a large and actively growing Kuroko
      type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit 400 kilometers south of Tokyo in Myojin
      Knoll submarine caldera. The sulfide body is located on the caldera floor at a
      depth of 1210 to 1360 meters, has an area of 400 by 400 by 30 meters, and is
      notably rich in gold and silver. The discovery of a large Kuroko-type
      polymetallic sulfide deposit in this arc-front caldera raises the possibility
      that the numerous unexplored submarine silicic calderas elsewhere might have
      similar deposits.

PMID- 9974389
TI  - A giant protease with potential to substitute for some functions of the
      proteasome.
AB  - An alanyl-alanyl-phenylalanyl-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin-hydrolyzing protease
      particle copurifying with 26S proteasomes was isolated and identified as
      tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII), a cytosolic subtilisin-like peptidase of
      unknown function. The particle is larger than the 26S proteasome and has a rod
      shaped, dynamic supramolecular structure. TPPII exhibits enhanced activity in
      proteasome inhibitor-adapted cells and degrades polypeptides by exo- as well as
      predominantly trypsin-like endoproteolytic cleavage. TPPII may thus participate
      in extralysosomal polypeptide degradation and may in part account for
      nonproteasomal epitope generation as postulated for certain major
      histocompatibility complex class I alleles. In addition, TPPII may be able to
      substitute for some metabolic functions of the proteasome.

PMID- 9974390
TI  - Role of NADH shuttle system in glucose-induced activation of mitochondrial
      metabolism and insulin secretion.
AB  - Glucose metabolism in glycolysis and in mitochondria is pivotal to glucose
      induced insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells. One or more factors derived
      from glycolysis other than pyruvate appear to be required for the generation of
      mitochondrial signals that lead to insulin secretion. The electrons of the
      glycolysis-derived reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) are
      transferred to mitochondria through the NADH shuttle system. By abolishing the
      NADH shuttle function, glucose-induced increases in NADH autofluorescence,
      mitochondrial membrane potential, and adenosine triphosphate content were reduced
      and glucose-induced insulin secretion was abrogated. The NADH shuttle evidently
      couples glycolysis with activation of mitochondrial energy metabolism to trigger
      insulin secretion.

PMID- 9974391
TI  - Conserved structures of mediator and RNA polymerase II holoenzyme.
AB  - Single particles of the mediator of transcriptional regulation (Mediator) and of
      RNA polymerase II holoenzyme were revealed by electron microscopy and image
      processing. Mediator alone appeared compact, but at high pH or in the presence of
      RNA polymerase II it displayed an extended conformation. Holoenzyme contained
      Mediator in a fully extended state, partially enveloping the globular polymerase,
      with points of apparent contact in the vicinity of the polymerase carboxyl
      terminal domain and the DNA-binding channel. A similarity in appearance and
      conformational behavior of yeast and murine complexes indicates a conservation of
      Mediator structure among eukaryotes.

PMID- 9974392
TI  - Crystallographic evidence for preformed dimers of erythropoietin receptor before
      ligand activation.
AB  - Erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) is thought to be activated by ligand-induced
      homodimerization. However, structures of agonist and antagonist peptide complexes
      of EPOR, as well as an EPO-EPOR complex, have shown that the actual dimer
      configuration is critical for the biological response and signal efficiency. The
      crystal structure of the extracellular domain of EPOR in its unliganded form at
      2.4 angstrom resolution has revealed a dimer in which the individual membrane
      spanning and intracellular domains would be too far apart to permit
      phosphorylation by JAK2. This unliganded EPOR dimer is formed from self
      association of the same key binding site residues that interact with EPO-mimetic
      peptide and EPO ligands. This model for a preformed dimer on the cell surface
      provides insights into the organization, activation, and plasticity of
      recognition of hematopoietic cell surface receptors.

PMID- 9974393
TI  - Erythropoietin receptor activation by a ligand-induced conformation change.
AB  - Erythropoietin and other cytokine receptors are thought to be activated through
      hormone-induced dimerization and autophosphorylation of JAK kinases associated
      with the receptor intracellular domains. An in vivo protein fragment
      complementation assay was used to obtain evidence for an alternative mechanism in
      which unliganded erythropoietin receptor dimers exist in a conformation that
      prevents activation of JAK2 but then undergo a ligand-induced conformation change
      that allows JAK2 to be activated. These results are consistent with
      crystallographic evidence of distinct dimeric configurations for unliganded and
      ligand-bound forms of the erythropoietin receptor.

PMID- 9974394
TI  - Hunting behavior of a marine mammal beneath the antarctic fast Ice 
AB  - The hunting behavior of a marine mammal was studied beneath the Antarctic fast
      ice with an animal-borne video system and data recorder. Weddell seals stalked
      large Antarctic cod and the smaller subice fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki, often
      with the under-ice surface for backlighting, which implies that vision is
      important for hunting. They approached to within centimeters of cod without
      startling the fish. Seals flushed P. borchgrevinki by blowing air into subice
      crevices or pursued them into the platelet ice. These observations highlight the
      broad range of insights that are possible with simultaneous recordings of video,
      audio, three-dimensional dive paths, and locomotor effort.

PMID- 9974395
TI  - A copper cofactor for the ethylene receptor ETR1 from Arabidopsis.
AB  - The ETR1 receptor from Arabidopsis binds the gaseous hormone ethylene. A copper
      ion associated with the ethylene-binding domain is required for high-affinity
      ethylene-binding activity. A missense mutation in the domain that renders the
      plant insensitive to ethylene eliminates both ethylene binding and the
      interaction of copper with the receptor. A sequence from the genome of the
      cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain 6803 that shows homology to the ethylene
      binding domain of ETR1 encodes a functional ethylene-binding protein. On the
      basis of sequence conservation between the Arabidopsis and the cyanobacterial
      ethylene-binding domains and on in vitro mutagenesis of ETR1, a structural model
      for this copper-based ethylene sensor domain is presented.

PMID- 9974396
TI  - A molecular phylogeny of reptiles.
AB  - The classical phylogeny of living reptiles pairs crocodilians with birds,
      tuataras with squamates, and places turtles at the base of the tree. New evidence
      from two nuclear genes, and analyses of mitochondrial DNA and 22 additional
      nuclear genes, join crocodilians with turtles and place squamates at the base of
      the tree. Morphological and paleontological evidence for this molecular phylogeny
      is unclear. Molecular time estimates support a Triassic origin for the major
      groups of living reptiles.

PMID- 9974397
TI  - Systematic review on the risk and benefit of different cholesterol-lowering
      interventions.
AB  - Meta-analyses have investigated the efficacy of cholesterol-lowering
      interventions in relation to the underlying risk of coronary heart disease and
      the extent and duration of cholesterol reduction. We systematically reviewed the
      efficacy of antilipidemic interventions on major mortality outcomes in relation
      to drug classes. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from 1966 through October 1996
      for randomized, controlled trials of any cholesterol-lowering interventions
      reporting mortality data. We included 59 trials involving 85 431 participants in
      the intervention and 87 729 participants in the control groups. We pooled these
      trials into 7 pharmacological categories of cholesterol-lowering interventions:
      statins (13 trials), fibrates (12 trials), resins (8 trials), hormones (8
      trials), niacin acid (2 trials), n-3 fatty acids (3 trials), and dietary
      interventions (16 trials). Of the cholesterol-lowering interventions, only
      statins showed a large and statistically significant reduction in mortality from
      coronary heart disease (risk ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to
      0. 79) and from all causes (risk ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.86). For both all
      cause and cardiovascular mortality, the difference between statins and the
      combined estimate of the other classes of agents was unlikely to be due to chance
      (P<0.02 for both comparisons). Meta-regression analysis demonstrated that
      variability in results across trials could be largely explained on the basis of
      differences in the magnitude of cholesterol reduction. Statins have the largest
      effect on the reduction of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, and this
      result recommends their use in preference to other antilipidemic agents. The
      greater effect of statins is likely due to the larger reduction in cholesterol.

PMID- 9974398
TI  - Vascular gene transfer : from bench to bedside.

PMID- 9974399
TI  - Genetic analysis of the thermolabile variant of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate
      reductase as a risk factor for ischemic stroke.
AB  - Mild hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease.
      Homozygosity for the C677T mutation in the gene for 5,10
      methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is frequently associated with
      hyperhomocysteinemia, particularly in individuals with low levels of serum
      folate, and has been directly associated with cardiovascular disease in certain
      populations. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the C677T
      mutation, which causes thermolabile MTHFR, is a risk factor for ischemic stroke
      in the Irish population. The homozygous C677T genotype has previously been
      associated with coronary heart disease in Ireland. We collected blood from 174
      individuals (minimum age 60 years) who had suffered an ischemic stroke that was
      confirmed by computed tomography brain scan. Control subjects (n=183) aged >/=60
      years, who had never suffered a stroke or transient ischemic attack, were
      recruited from hospitals and active retirement groups in the same geographical
      area. MTHFR genotypes were determined and other known risk factors for stroke
      were documented. In the control group, the frequency of subjects with the
      homozygous C677T genotype was 10.4%. In patients who had suffered ischemic
      stroke, the frequency was 15.5%. This difference was not statistically
      significant. The odds ratio of stroke for C677T homozygotes, with other genotypes
      as a reference group, was 1.59, 95% CI=0.85, 2.97. The data indicate that the
      homozygous C677T MTHFR genotype is at most a moderate risk factor for ischemic
      stroke.

PMID- 9974400
TI  - Expression of markers of platelet activation and the interpatient variation in
      response to abciximab.
AB  - Our study concerns the biological effects of abciximab (c7E3 Fab, ReoPro), a
      powerful new antiplatelet drug that blocks glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa complexes.
      Samples were examined from 6 patients with coronary artery disease who received a
      bolus of abciximab followed by a 10- microg/min infusion for at least 18 hours
      before percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Inhibition of ADP-induced
      PA was maximal for 4 patients but partial (79% and 53%) for 2 others during the
      infusion. Flow cytometry performed with monoclonal antibodies (PAC-1, AP-6, and
      F26) specific for the "activated" GP IIb-IIIa complex revealed large decreases in
      the expression of activation markers on platelets during therapy, but these
      decreases were less marked when inhibition of ADP-induced PA was incomplete.
      Residual aggregation was seen for all patients during the infusion when TRAP 14
      mer peptide or thrombin was the stimulus. Unblocked GP IIb-IIIa complexes were
      detected on thrombin-stimulated platelets from the patients by immunoelectron
      microscopy performed using the monoclonal antibody AP-2. Unblocked GP IIb-IIIa
      complexes were also detected by flow cytometry when platelets preincubated for 1
      hour in vitro with abciximab under saturating conditions were (1) incubated with
      TRAP 14-mer or (2) permeabilized with Triton X-100. In confirming interpatient
      variation in the platelet response to a standard dose of abciximab, our results
      also show that an uninhibited internal pool of GP IIb-IIIa complexes may mediate
      a residual response to strong agonists.

PMID- 9974401
TI  - Oleic acid inhibits endothelial activation : A direct vascular antiatherogenic
      mechanism of a nutritional component in the mediterranean diet.
AB  - Because oleic acid is implicated in the antiatherogenic effects attributed to the
      Mediterranean diet, we investigated whether this fatty acid can modulate
      endothelial activation, ie, the concerted expression of gene products involved in
      leukocyte recruitment and early atherogenesis. We incubated sodium oleate with
      human umbilical vein endothelial cells for 0 to 72 hours, followed by
      coincubation of oleate with human recombinant tumor necrosis factor, interleukin
      (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-4, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or
      phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate for a further 6 to 24 hours. The endothelial
      expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin, and
      intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was monitored by cell surface enzyme
      immunoassays or flow cytometry, and steady-state levels of VCAM-1 mRNA were
      assessed by Northern blot analysis. At 10 to 100 micromol/L for >24 hours, oleate
      inhibited the expression of all adhesion molecules tested. After a 72-hour
      incubation with oleate and a further 16-hour incubation with oleate plus 1
      microg/mL LPS, VCAM-1 expression was reduced by >40% compared with control.
      Adhesion of monocytoid U937 cells to LPS-treated endothelial cells was reduced
      concomitantly. Oleate also produced a quantitatively similar reduction of VCAM-1
      mRNA levels on Northern blot analysis and inhibited nuclear factor-kappaB
      activation on electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Incubation of endothelial
      cells with oleate for 72 hours decreased the relative proportions of saturated
      (palmitic and stearic) acids in total cell lipids and increased the proportions
      of oleate in total cell lipids without significantly changing the relative
      proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Although less potent than
      polyunsaturated fatty acids in inhibiting endothelial activation, oleic acid may
      contribute to the prevention of atherogenesis through selective displacement of
      saturated fatty acids in cell membrane phospholipids and a consequent modulation
      of gene expression for molecules involved in monocyte recruitment.

PMID- 9974402
TI  - Adventitial angiogenesis early after coronary angioplasty : correlation with
      arterial remodeling.
AB  - The spatial correlation between arterial wall microvessels and the accumulation
      of atherosclerotic plaque is well documented. The role of these microvessels in
      the development of primary and restenotic lesions is not known. To investigate
      the effect of interventional procedures on arterial wall microvessels, we studied
      the adventitial microvascularity of porcine coronary arteries subjected to
      angioplasty. Twenty-two juvenile domestic swine were subjected to single or
      repeated (double) balloon angioplasty of the coronary arteries, with the interval
      between the first and second injury being 14 days. The number, density, and size
      of adventitial microvessels were measured 1 hour as well as 3, 7, 14, and 28 days
      after injury. One hour after single balloon injury, there were very few intact
      adventitial microvessels. Adventitial microvessel number, microvessel area
      density, and microvessel size were maximal 3 days after single (SI) and double
      (DI) injury but subsequently underwent progressive regression. Adventitial
      endothelial cell replication, as assessed by the incorporation of
      bromodeoxyuridine, was very low for the majority of arteries. Maximal endothelial
      cell replication indices were observed 3 days after SI and DI (eg, 12.0+/-3.3%).
      Early after SI the central arterial lumen area transiently increased, then
      renarrowed. The lumen area did not change after DI. Arterial remodeling occurred,
      as the accumulation of intimal and medial mass was correlated with expansion of
      the external elastic lamina. Adventitial microvessel area density was correlated
      with central arterial luminal area (R=0.34, P=0.04). The adventitial microvessel
      area density and the microvessel size index were greater late after DI compared
      with SI. These data indicate that adventitial angiogenesis occurs within 3 days
      after balloon injury and that regression of adventitial microvessels after SI
      corresponds with arterial narrowing. Changes in the adventitial microvasculature
      may be a component of arterial remodeling after balloon angioplasty.

PMID- 9974403
TI  - Low-density lipoprotein enhances platelet secretion via integrin-alphaIIbbeta3
      mediated signaling.
AB  - LDL is known to increase the sensitivity of human platelets for agonists and to
      induce aggregation and secretion independently at high concentrations, but its
      mechanism of action is largely obscure. To clarify how LDL increases platelet
      sensitivity, cells were incubated in lipoprotein-poor plasma and treated with
      collagen at a concentration that induced approximately 20% secretion of 14C
      serotonin. Preincubation with LDL (30 minutes at 37 degreesC) enhanced secretion
      in a dose-dependent manner to 60+/-14% at a concentration of 2 g LDL protein/L.
      Similar stimulation by LDL was seen when secretion was induced by the thrombin
      receptor-activating peptide. This enhancement was strongly reduced (1) in the
      presence of monoclonal antibody PAC1 against activated alphaIIbbeta3, a
      polyclonal antibody against alphaIIb, and in the presence of the fibrinogen
      peptides GRGDS and HHLGGAKQAGDV; (2) in alphaIIbbeta3-deficient platelets; and
      (3) after dissociation of alphaIIbbeta3. In contrast, binding of 125I-LDL to
      normal platelets in the presence of PAC1, anti-alphaIIb, GRGDS, and HHLGGAKQAGDV,
      and to alphaIIbbeta3-deficient platelets was normal. LDL increased the surface
      expression of fibrinogen in lipoprotein-poor plasma and fibrinogen-free medium,
      suggesting that extracellular and granular fibrinogen bind to alphaIIbbeta3 after
      platelet-LDL interaction. Platelets deficient in fibrinogen (<0.5% of normal) or
      von Willebrand Factor (<1% of normal) but containing normal amounts of other
      ligands for alphaIIbbeta3 preserved responsiveness to LDL, indicating that
      occupancy of alphaIIbbeta3 was not restricted to fibrinogen. Inhibition of
      protein kinase C (bisindolylmaleimide) diminished fibrinogen binding and
      sensitization by LDL; inhibition of tyrosine kinases (herbimycin A) left
      fibrinogen binding unchanged but diminished sensitization by LDL. We conclude
      that an increased concentration of LDL, such as observed in homozygous familial
      hypercholesterolemia, sensitizes platelets to stimulation by collagen and
      thrombin receptor-activating peptide via ligand-induced outside-in signaling
      through integrin-alphaIIbbeta3.

PMID- 9974404
TI  - Two-chain factor VIIa generated in the pericardium during surgery with
      cardiopulmonary bypass : relationship to increased thrombin generation and
      heparin concentration.
AB  - Several recent studies have proposed that coagulation is triggered during
      cardiopulmonary bypass surgery by extrinsic pathway activation involving factor
      VIIa generation, but the methodology was indirect. Therefore, 12 patients were
      studied during routine cardiac and cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Samples were
      taken before, during, and after bypass from the perfusate, from the aorta
      (retrograde cardiac drainage), pericardium, and collected suction fluid
      originating from the whole operative field. These samples were analyzed by enzyme
      linked immunosorbent assay for 2-chain factor VIIa, by prothrombin F1+2 assay, by
      thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) assay, and for heparin concentration. Factor VIIa,
      F1+2, and TAT levels in samples from the pericardium were greatly elevated (mean,
      0.92 to 1.01, 227 to 334, and 399 to 526 microg/L, respectively; preoperative
      mean, 0.33, 32.3, and 1.90 microg/L, respectively; P<0. 05 for all), whereas
      levels in suction fluid were less consistently high. Factor VIIa and both F1+2
      and thrombin-antithrombin levels in samples from the aorta, pericardium, and
      suction fluid were significantly correlated (r=0.57, P<0.001, n=111; and r=0.51,
      P<0. 001, n=105, respectively), and all were inversely correlated with heparin
      levels (r>-0.35, P<0.001, n>92). There was no evidence of factor VIIa generation
      in the circuit during bypass surgery, and both F1+2 and thrombin-antithrombin
      levels rose only approximately 2-fold, probably because heparin levels were
      higher than they were in the pericardium (P<0.05). We concluded that appreciable
      activation of factor VII occurs on the pericardium and that this is associated
      with increased thrombin generation. Ineffective local heparinization may be
      partly responsible. These results suggest that pericardium-induced activation of
      factor VII should be the target of anticoagulant strategies during
      cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

PMID- 9974405
TI  - Expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, -2, and -3 during
      neointima formation in organ cultures of human saphenous vein.
AB  - Degradation of the extracellular basement membrane is implicated in
      atherosclerosis, restenosis after angioplasty, and intimal thickening of vein
      grafts. Upregulation of metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 accompanies neointima
      formation in cholesterol-fed rabbits, in rat and pig models of angioplasty, and
      in organ cultures of human saphenous veins. MMPs are inhibited by binding to
      tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs). Relatively little is known about their
      regulation in relationship to neointima formation; thus, we investigated TIMP
      expression in the organ culture model. Qualitative reverse transcriptase
      polymerase chain reaction of mRNA extracted from veins showed that TIMP-1, TIMP
      2, and TIMP-3 are each expressed before and after culture. Zymography revealed
      that TIMP-1 was the most abundant TIMP secreted and that its secretion increased
      dramatically between 0 to 2 and 12 to 14 days of culture. An enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay showed that TIMP-1 secretion increased from 3.2+/-1.5 (mean+/
      SE) to 32+/-6 ng/mg wet weight per day (n=5, P<0.01). Immunocytochemical testing
      localized the increased expression of TIMP-1 to neointimal smooth muscle cells.
      Although less abundant, TIMP-2 secretion also increased from 0.8+/-0. 3 to 4.7+/
      0.2 ng/mg wet weight per day (n=5, P<0.001), and tissue levels increased from
      33+/-7 to 150+/-70 ng/mg wet weight (P<0.05). TIMP-2 was also immunolocalized to
      neointimal smooth muscle cells and their surrounding matrix. TIMP-3 was not
      secreted but was detected variably and constitutively in tissue extracts (160+/
      120 and 170+/-100 ng/mg wet weight [n=9] on days 2 and 14, respectively). TIMP-3
      was found in the cells and extracellular matrix of the media and adventitia
      before culture and to a lesser extent in the neointima after 14 days of culture.
      Rates of total TIMP secretion on day 14 exceeded those of MMP-2 and MMP-9 (10.6+/
      1.9 and 15.6+/-2.3 ng/mg wet weight per day, respectively). Consistent with this,
      in situ zymography showed that MMP gelatinase activity was highly localized to
      cell bodies in the media and neointima. Secretion of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 is greatly
      increased during neointima formation in human saphenous veins. TIMP-1 is readily
      released, whereas TIMP-2 remains partially attached and TIMP-3 exclusively
      attached to the extracellular matrix. Regulation of TIMP expression is therefore
      an important determinant of net MMP activity during neointima formation,
      restricting it to the pericellular environment.

PMID- 9974406
TI  - Mass concentration of plasma phospholipid transfer protein in normolipidemic,
      type IIa hyperlipidemic, type IIb hyperlipidemic, and non-insulin-dependent
      diabetic subjects as measured by a specific ELISA.
AB  - Mean plasma phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) concentrations were measured for
      the first time by using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. PLTP
      mass levels and phospholipid transfer activity values, which were significantly
      correlated among normolipidemic plasma samples (r=0.787, P<0.0001), did not
      differ between normolipidemic subjects (3.95+/-1.04 mg/L and 575+/-81 nmol. mL-1.
      h-1, respectively; n=30), type IIa hyperlipidemic patients (4. 06+/-0.84 mg/L and
      571+/-43 nmol. mL-1. h-1, respectively; n=36), and type IIb hyperlipidemic
      patients (3.90+/-0.79 mg/L and 575+/-48 nmol. mL-1. h-1, respectively; n=33). No
      significant correlations with plasma lipid parameters were observed among the
      various study groups. In contrast, plasma concentrations of the related
      cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) were higher in type IIa and type IIb
      patients than in normolipidemic controls, and significant, positive correlations
      with total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were noted.
      Interestingly, plasma PLTP mass concentration and plasma phospholipid transfer
      activity were significantly higher in patients with non-insulin-dependent
      diabetes mellitus (n=50) than in normolipidemic controls (6.76+/-1. 93 versus
      3.95+/-1.04 mg/L, P<0.0001; and 685+/-75 versus 575+/-81 nmol. mL-1. h-1,
      P<0.0001, respectively). In contrast, CETP levels did not differ significantly
      between the 2 groups. Among non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients,
      PLTP levels were positively correlated with fasting glycemia and glycohemoglobin
      levels (r=0.341, P=0.0220; and r=0.382, P=0.0097, respectively) but not with
      plasma lipid parameters. It is proposed that plasma PLTP mass levels are related
      to glucose metabolism rather than to lipid metabolism.

PMID- 9974407
TI  - Study of the prothrombin gene 20201 GA variant in FV:Q506 carriers in
      relationship to the presence or absence of juvenile venous thromboembolism.
AB  - The G20210A transition of the prothrombin gene has been identified as a common
      but probably mild hereditary risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE).
      However, the prothrombin gene variant might contribute to the penetrance of
      thromboembolic disease in many patients with other prothrombotic defects, such as
      the FV:R506Q mutation. In this investigation, the A20210 allele was found in 9 of
      450 healthy controls (2%). Among 89 asymptomatic FV:Q506 carriers, 3 subjects
      were doubly affected (3.4%). In contrast, of 263 unrelated carriers of the
      FV:Q506 mutant with a history of juvenile VTE, 30 also had the prothrombin gene
      G20210A variant (11.4%), including 25 of 220 patients who were heterozygous
      (11.4%) and 5 of 43 homozygous (11.6%) for FV:Q506. Thus, the A20210 allele of
      the prothrombin gene is significantly overrepresented in symptomatic FV:Q506
      carriers compared with healthy controls (P<0.0001) and asymptomatic relatives
      carrying the FV mutant (P=0.02). Persons homozygous for the 20210A allele were
      not found. A statistically significant increase in the prevalence of more unusual
      sites of venous thrombosis at clinical onset was found in doubly affected
      patients (9 of 30; 30%) compared with patients without the prothrombin gene
      variant (26 of 233; 11. 1%) (P=0.004). First VTE occurred spontaneously in 53.3%
      of all doubly affected patients (16 of 30) and in 28.3% of all simply affected
      patients (66 of 233) (P=0.005). Among patients with VTE preceded by
      circumstantial risk factors, the A20210 allele was found in 7.7% (14 of 181). We
      conclude that the A20210 allele of the prothrombin gene is frequently coinherited
      in symptomatic FV:Q506 carriers and possibly influences age, site, and type of
      thrombotic onset manifestation in these patients.

PMID- 9974408
TI  - Fluid shear stress induction of the tissue factor promoter in vitro and in vivo
      is mediated by Egr-1.
AB  - Hemodynamic forces such as fluid shear stress have been shown to modulate the
      activity of an expanding family of genes involved in vessel wall homeostasis and
      the pathogenesis of vascular disease. We have investigated the effect of shear
      stress on tissue factor (TF) gene expression in human endothelial cells (ECs) and
      in a rat arterial model of occlusion. As measured by reverse transcriptase
      polymerase chain reaction, exposure of ECs to 1.5 N/m2 shear stress resulted in a
      time-dependent induction of endogenous TF transcripts of over 5-fold. Transient
      transfection of TF promoter mutants into cultured ECs suggests the involvement of
      the transcription factor Egr-1 in mediating the response of the TF promoter to
      shear stress. To address the importance of flow induction of Egr-1 in vivo, we
      have established a flow-restricted rat arterial model and determined the level of
      expressed Egr-1 and TF at the site of restricted flow using immunohistochemistry.
      We report an increase in the level of Egr-1 and TF protein in ECs expressed at
      the site of restricted flow. Elevated expression of Egr-1 and TF is restricted to
      a highly localized area, as evidenced by the fact that no significant increase in
      level can be detected at arterial sites distal to the site of occlusion. These
      findings suggest a direct role for Egr-1 in flow-mediated induction of TF and
      further substantiate the importance of shear stress as a modulator of vascular
      endothelial gene function in vivo.

PMID- 9974409
TI  - Urokinase activates the Jak/Stat signal transduction pathway in human vascular
      endothelial cells.
AB  - Endothelial cells demonstrate high urokinase expression and upregulation of
      urokinase receptors in response to vascular injury. Urokinase receptor binding
      facilitates endothelial cell migration into an arterial wound; however, the
      signaling cascade induced by the urokinase receptor in this cell type is
      incompletely understood. Because the Janus kinase (Jak)/signal transducer and
      activator of transcription (Stat) pathway seems to be important for vessel
      function, we investigated the hypothesis that urokinase receptor binding
      activates Jak/Stat signaling in human vascular endothelial cells. Incubation of
      endothelial cells with urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA,1 nmol/L)
      induced a rapid and pronounced increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of several
      proteins with a molecular weight between 80 to 90 and 130 to 140 kDa. The same
      pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation was found after treatment with 1 nmol/L ATF,
      the urokinase amino-terminal fragment, which is devoid of proteolytic activity
      but still binds to the urokinase receptor. Using coimmunoprecipitation
      techniques, we demonstrated that the activated urokinase receptor is associated
      with 2 cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases of the Jak family, viz, Jak1 and Tyk2. uPA
      and ATF induced a time-dependent activation of both kinases, as shown by
      immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis. Using electrophoretic mobility
      shift and supershift assays, we then demonstrated that Stat1 is rapidly activated
      in endothelial cells in response to uPA and ATF. Furthermore, Stat1 specifically
      binds to the regulatory elements interferon-gamma activation site/interferon
      stimulated response element. The uPA-induced, time-dependent translocation of
      Stat1 to cell nuclei was confirmed by confocal microscopy study and
      immunoblotting of nuclear extracts with an anti-Stat1 antibody. This study
      provides evidence for a novel signaling pathway for uPA in human vascular
      endothelial cells. Direct activation of the Jak/Stat system via the uPA-receptor
      complex may be an important mechanism for endothelial cell migration and/or
      proliferation during angiogenesis and after vascular injury.

PMID- 9974410
TI  - Polymorphism of the methionine synthase gene : association with homocysteine
      metabolism and late-onset vascular diseases in the Japanese population.
AB  - Methionine synthase and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)
      sequentially catalyze the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. A point
      mutation in the encoding region of the methionine synthase gene, which results in
      substitution of an aspartic acid for a glycine residue (D919G), has been
      identified in patients of the cblG genetic complementation group; these patients
      exhibit significantly decreased methionine synthase activity. Nevertheless, the
      D919G mutation has also been reported to be common in the general population. In
      this study, we analyzed the distribution of methionine synthase D/G polymorphism
      in the Japanese population and examined the extent to which it is associated with
      altered homocysteine metabolism and late-onset vascular diseases. We studied 215
      patients with coronary artery disease, 251 patients with histories of ischemic
      stroke, and 257 control subjects. The methionine synthase genotype was analyzed
      by polymerase chain reaction followed by HaeIII digestion; allele frequencies for
      the D919G variant of the enzyme proved to be similar in all 3 subject groups
      (control subjects, 0.17; coronary artery disease patients, 0. 17; and ischemic
      stroke patients, 0.19). Furthermore, in patients with ischemic stroke, plasma
      levels of homocyst(e)ine and folate were similar, irrespective of methionine
      synthase genotype. Thus, the methionine synthase D919G mutation was found to be
      common in the Japanese general population, and it appears unlikely that this
      polymorphism has a major effect on homocysteine metabolism and/or the onset of
      vascular diseases.

PMID- 9974411
TI  - The T allele of the hepatic lipase promoter variant C-480T is associated with
      increased fasting lipids and HDL and increased preprandial and postprandial
      LpCIII:B : European Atherosclerosis Research Study (EARS) II.
AB  - The common C-480T transition in the hepatic lipase (HL) promoter has been shown
      to be associated with lower HL activity and increased high density lipoprotein
      (HDL) cholesterol. We examined the frequency and lipid associations of this HL
      polymorphism in 385 healthy, young (18- to 28-year-old) men whose fathers had had
      a premature myocardial infarction (designated cases) and 405 age-matched
      controls. These individuals were participants in the European Atherosclerosis
      Research Study II postprandial trial, who had been recruited from 11 European
      countries in 4 regions (the Baltic; United Kingdom; and central and southern
      Europe). Overall, the frequency of the T allele was 0.207 in controls and 0.244
      in cases (P=0.08). The T allele was associated with higher fasting plasma total
      cholesterol (P<0.01), triglycerides (P<0.01), and HDL cholesterol (P<0.01). The
      strongest association was found with apolipoprotein (apo) A-I concentration,
      which was 10% higher in individuals homozygous for the T allele compared with
      those homozygous for the C allele (P<0.001). This polymorphism had no effect on
      the rise in plasma triglyceride levels after a fatty meal. However, before and
      after the fat load was ingested, levels of particles containing both apoC-III and
      apoB (LpC-III:B) were higher in carriers of the T allele, with homozygotes having
      23% and 27% higher levels preprandially and postprandially, respectively, than
      those homozygous for the C allele (P<0.05). Thus, our results demonstrate that
      the C-480T polymorphism in the HL promoter is associated with alterations in
      plasma lipids and lipoproteins and the accumulation of atherogenic LpC-III:B
      particles.

PMID- 9974412
TI  - Tissue factor pathway inhibitor is expressed by human monocyte-derived
      macrophages : relationship to tissue factor induction by cholesterol and oxidized
      LDL.
AB  - Lipid-laden macrophages express tissue factor (TF), which may activate the
      extrinsic coagulation pathway on rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque. Tissue
      factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a major regulator of TF-induced coagulation.
      We evaluated the possibility that monocyte-derived macrophages express this
      protein, thereby contributing to regulation of TF activity (TFact). Equally, we
      investigated the effect of cholesterol and of oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) on the
      expression of TFPI and TF by human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDMs). Northern
      blot analysis of TFPI mRNA from cultured HMDMs revealed a single band at 4.2 kb
      with weak intensity; this finding was confirmed by reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction. Gel filtration of HMDM supernatants showed the
      presence of an active 100-kDa form of TFPI, which was confirmed by sodium dodecyl
      sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions; under
      reducing conditions, however, the immunoblot revealed a 40-kDa form of TFPI. The
      TFPI in HMDM supernatants possessed heparin-binding affinity, suggesting
      potential interaction of TFPI with heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Stimulation of
      foam cell formation by incubation of macrophages for 48 hours with exogenous free
      cholesterol indicated that neither the biological activity nor the de novo
      synthesis of TFPI protein was affected. In contrast, cholesterol loading with
      exogenous free cholesterol induced significant upregulation of total TFact (2.6
      fold: 25.0 versus 9.4 mU/mg cell protein, cholesterol-treated versus control
      cells; P<0. 05); such induction was not correlated with an elevation in TF
      antigen (8.5 versus 7.8 ng/mg cell protein, cholesterol-treated versus control
      cells). Similarly, cholesterol-rich Ox-LDL induced an increase in TFact (1.9
      fold: 18.9 versus 10.0 mU/mg cell protein, Ox-LDL-treated versus control cells;
      P<0.05); by contrast, the amount of TF antigen remained unchanged (7.1 versus 7.9
      ng/mg cell protein, Ox-LDL-treated versus control cells). Our data indicate that
      enhancement of the procoagulant activity of TF in macrophage-derived foam cells
      is not counterbalanced by upregulation of TFPI activity, suggesting that lesion
      foam cells are in a procoagulant state; they may therefore contribute to thrombus
      generation on plaque rupture.

PMID- 9974413
TI  - Determinants of plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 : A study of
      normotensive twins.
AB  - We investigated whether plasma levels of the plasminogen activator inhibitor type
      1 antigen (PAI-1:Ag) are genetically determined in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic
      (DZ) twins. Twenty-five pairs of healthy twins underwent measurements of PAI-1:Ag
      and other variables, including body mass index, mean blood pressure, plasma renin
      activity, insulin, and glucose. To ascertain the zygosity of twins, highly
      discriminating micro- and minisatellite systems with variable numbers of tandem
      repeats were analyzed by PCR amplification followed by polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis. Subjects were also genotyped for the 4G/5G polymorphism by PCR.
      Estimates of genetic variance and heritability were obtained for PAI-1:Ag, and
      for body mass index, mean blood pressure, plasma renin activity, glucose, and
      insulin by jointly examining data in a path analysis with TWINAN90. Results
      showed that 12 pairs of twins were MZ and 13 were DZ. All tests of genetic
      variance [within pair (WP): F=6.24, P=0.002; among component (AC): F=2.62,
      P=0.04; average absolute difference t test=3. 00, P=0.004] showed significant
      genetic variance of PAI-1:Ag, but not of the other variables. Three tests of
      heritability (WP=0.837, P=0.002; AC=1.791, P<0.05; intraclass correlation: 1.180,
      P=0.001) consistently showed significant PAI-1:Ag heritability. Additive genetic
      influences (A), dominance genetic effect (D), and random environmental influences
      (E) accounted for 0.714, 0.154, and 0.132 of PAI-1:Ag variance, respectively. No
      effect of different 4G/5G genotypes was found. Thus, these results show
      significant genetic variance and heritability of PAI-1:Ag and suggest that A is
      more important than both D and E in determining PAI-1:Ag variance.

PMID- 9974414
TI  - Glucose phosphorylation is essential for the turnover of neutral lipid and the
      second stage assembly of triacylglycerol-rich ApoB-containing lipoproteins in
      primary hepatocyte cultures.
AB  - Primary hepatocytes cultured in a medium supplemented with amino acids and
      lipogenic substrates responded to increased extracellular glucose by increasing
      the secretion of VLDL apoB. This effect was accompanied by an increased secretion
      of VLDL triacylglycerol (TAG) derived from endogenous stores. Glucose also
      stimulated intracellular TAG mobilization via the TAG lipolysis/esterification
      cycle. All these effects were abolished in the presence of mannoheptulose (MH),
      an inhibitor of glucose phosphorylation. Glucose also gave rise to a modest (50%
      to 60%) increase in the incorporation of 35S methionine into newly synthesized
      apoB (P<0.05) and to a doubling of newly-synthesized apoB secretion as VLDL (P<0.
      05). The magnitude of these effects was similar for apoB-48 and for apoB-100. MH
      inhibited apoB-48 and apoB-100 synthesis and VLDL secretion at all glucose
      concentrations. The effects of glucose and MH on the secretion of newly
      synthesized apoB-48 or apoB-100 as small dense particles were less pronounced.
      Glucose had no effects on the posttranslational degradation of newly-synthesized
      apoB-100 or apoB-48. However, this process was significantly enhanced by MH. The
      results suggest that glucose stimulates TAG synthesis, turnover, and output as
      VLDL. These effects are associated with an increased VLDL output of apoB mediated
      mainly by an increase in the net synthesis of both apoB-48 and apoB-100. All
      these changes are prevented by interference with glucose phosphorylation. Output
      of small, dense, apoB-containing particles is relatively unaffected by the
      glucose and MH-induced changes in TAG synthesis and lipolysis, an observation
      which suggests that only the bulk lipid addition step of VLDL assembly is
      affected by changes in glucose metabolism.

PMID- 9974415
TI  - Serum paraoxonase after myocardial infarction.
AB  - HDL has been shown to prevent the oxidative modification of LDL. The antioxidant
      activity of HDL is believed to reside in its enzymes, particularly paraoxonase.
      Human serum paraoxonase (PON1) is closely associated with a specific HDL
      subfraction also containing apoA1 and clusterin. Recently PON1 has been
      implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We have examined the activity,
      concentration, and specific activity of PON1 in 50 patients on admission to
      hospital immediately after acute myocardial infarction (MI) and in 48 age- and
      gender-matched controls. Serum PON1 activity and concentration were significantly
      lower in patients with MI than in controls (activity, 221.5 [99.3 to 303.2] nmol.
      min-1. mL-1 in controls and 130.1 [78.9 to 230.3] nmol. min-1. mL-1 in MI
      patients [P<0.05]; concentration, 95.7 [73.2 to 135.5] microg/mL in controls and
      35.4 [21.6 to 51.3] microg/mL in MI patients [P<0.001]). PON1-specific activity
      was significantly higher in patients with MI than in controls (1.5 [0.9 to 2.9]
      versus 3.4 [2.0 to 8.5] nmol. min-1. microg-1 [P<0.001]) due to the much lower
      PON1 concentration. PON1 activity had risen significantly (P<0.05) to 158.1 (85.4
      to 282.0) nmol. min-1. mL-1 at day 42 but was still significantly less than that
      of controls. No significant variation in PON1 concentration occured in the days
      after MI or at 6 weeks. Also, no significant variation in specific activity was
      seen after MI. When the patients were divided into subgroups based on whether or
      not they received thrombolytic therapy on admission to hospital, no significant
      difference in PON1 levels was observed. Serum HDL cholesterol in patients with MI
      on admission was not significantly different than in controls, and the decrease
      that occurred by the fifth day after MI did not explain the lower PON1 levels. We
      conclude that low serum PON1 activity in patients with MI may be a consequence of
      the coronary event itself or could have been present before MI. The low PON1
      activity was also not explicable on the basis of PON1 genotypes because the
      prevalence of genotypes associated with low activity was not sufficient to
      explain fully the difference in activity levels between patients and controls.
      The explanation for the low PON1 activity was most likely a decrease in serum
      PON1 concentration. The importance of PON1 as a predictive risk factor for MI
      should be assessed in future studies.

PMID- 9974416
TI  - Phenotype and genotype expression in pseudohomozygous factor VLEIDEN : the need
      for phenotype analysis.
AB  - The presence of a DNA mutation is frequently used to define a disease or a risk
      state. Because DNA typing has become easy and convenient in contrast to protein
      characterization, it is generally assumed that a mutation if present (or not) at
      the DNA level will be also present (or not) in the corresponding protein.
      However, discrepancies between phenotype and genotype can occur. A point mutation
      in the coagulation factor V gene (G1691-->A, resulting in an Arg506-->Gln amino
      acid substitution in the factor V molecule [factor VLEIDEN], leading to activated
      protein C resistance) is the most common genetic risk factor for familial
      thrombophilia. A pseudohomozygous factor VLEIDEN phenotype would occur if a
      heterozygous individual for factor VLEIDEN also did not express the "normal" (non
      Leiden) factor V allele. However, to date, no data have been available to confirm
      the presence of only the factor VLEIDEN form in the plasma of these individuals.
      Platelet mRNA from 2 presumed pseudohomozygous patients and their family members
      was isolated, the amplified partial cDNAs were sequenced or restricted, and the
      allelic bands were quantified. Both patients were found to be heterozygous for
      the G1691-->A substitution at both the DNA and mRNA levels. The presence of
      either the normal or mutated form of factor V in the patients' plasmas was
      investigated using a monoclonal antibody to factor V that recognizes an epitope
      located between residues 307 and 506 of the factor Va heavy chain. No normal
      factor V could be detected in the plasmas of the 2 propositi. The present data
      demonstrate absence of a correlation between genotype at position 1691 (at the
      DNA and mRNA levels) and the corresponding phenotype data found in the plasmas of
      patients with pseudohomozygous factor VLEIDEN. Overall, these data suggest the
      existence of heterogeneous genetic "lesions," which interfere with factor V
      expression, processing, secretion, and/or stability. Because the presence of the
      factor VLEIDEN molecule in plasma is directly related to pathology,
      identification and quantification of the circulating forms of factor V in plasma
      may be required for the diagnosis of individuals with activated protein C
      resistance.

PMID- 9974417
TI  - Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist FK633 could not prevent neointimal thickening in
      stent implantation model of canine coronary artery.
AB  - The platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist appears to reduce the
      need for revascularization after coronary angioplasty. However, since the effect
      of GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist on the in-stent neointimal thickening has not
      been clarified, we examined it in the canine model. The beagle dogs were assigned
      to the control (n=7) or the GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist FK633 group (n=7).
      FK633 was administered by subcutaneous osmotic pumps (0.2 mg. kg-1. h-1) and an
      intravenous bolus injection (1 mg/kg) before stenting. A coil stent was implanted
      in the left circumflex coronary arteries. The platelet aggregation capability was
      significantly (<5%) and consistently reduced by FK633 except for the mild
      elevation (10% to 30%) on the next day of stenting. Hearts were excised 3 months
      after stent implantation. The area of intima and media and the area stenosis were
      obtained from the sections of the stented arteries. The area of intima and media
      and the area stenosis (1.3+/-0.2 mm2, 41.8+/-7.5% and 1.3+/-0.2 mm2, 33.9+/-6.7%
      in the FK633 and the control group, respectively) were not different between the
      groups. We conclude that, although GP IIb/IIIa antagonist FK633 prevented the
      platelet aggregation significantly and consistently, it could not prevent the
      neointimal thickening after stent implantation in canine coronary artery.

PMID- 9974418
TI  - Compound heterozygosity for an apolipoprotein A1 gene promoter mutation and a
      structural nonsense mutation with apolipoprotein A1 deficiency.
AB  - Apolipoprotein (apo) A1 plays a central role in the metabolism of HDL. We
      describe a novel genetic variant of the apoA1 gene identified in a patient with
      low concentrations of plasma HDL cholesterol. The proband, a 12-year-old Japanese
      boy, exhibited markedly low levels of both plasma apoA1 and HDL cholesterol.
      Genomic DNA sequencing of apoA1 genes of the patient showed a compound
      heterozygosity for an A to C substitution at 27 bp upstream of the transcription
      start site of 1 apoA1 allele, and a C to T substitution in another allele at
      residue 84 resulting in aberrant termination. The point mutation at nucleotide
      position -27 changed ATAAATA of the putative TATA box signal sequence to ATACATA.
      In addition to this mutation, the patient was heterozygous for a G to A
      substitution at position -75. Immunoblotting of an isoelectric focusing
      electrophoresis gel of the proband's plasma showed a trace amount of normal
      apoA1. No measurable plasma apoA1 and HDL cholesterol in a patient with
      homozygosity for nonsense mutation at residue 84 has been reported previously. To
      determine the effects of substitution either at position -27 or -75, plasmids
      containing the 5'-flanking region of the human apoA1 promoter fused to the CAT
      reporter gene were constructed and transfected in HepG2 cells. A construct with
      the A to C substitution at position -27 showed 41. 8+/-4.2%, and G to A
      substitution at position -75 showed 72.8+/-15. 2% (means+/-SD, n=3) of CAT
      activities, compared with the wild-type promoter sequence. A construct with the
      double substitutions at positions -27 and -75 showed only 22.8+/-1.3% (mean+/-SD,
      n=3) activity relative to the wild type. Our patient is the first case with a
      TATA box mutation etiologically related to lipoprotein disorders.

PMID- 9974419
TI  - Relationships of cerebral MRI findings to ultrasonographic carotid
      atherosclerosis in older adults : the Cardiovascular Health Study. CHS
      Collaborative Research Group.
AB  - Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has demonstrated a high prevalence of
      infarct-like lesions, white matter hyperintensities, and evidence of cerebral
      atrophy in older adults. While these findings are generally believed to be
      related to ischemia and atherosclerosis, their relationship to atherosclerosis in
      the carotid arteries remains to be explored. Study subjects were part of the
      multicenter Cardiovascular Health Study, a cross-sectional study of 3502 women
      and men >/=65 years of age undergoing cranial MRI and carotid ultrasonography.
      MRI infarcts were detected in 1068 participants (29.3%) and measurable carotid
      plaque in 2745 (75.3%). MRI infarcts, ventricular and sulcal widening, and white
      matter score were strongly associated with carotid intimal-medial thickness (IMT)
      and stenosis degree after adjustment for age and sex (all P<0. 01). Associations
      with plaque characteristics were less strong and less consistent; MRI infarcts
      were weakly associated only with surface irregularity, and ventricular size was
      weakly associated only with lesion density (both P<0.04). In contrast, sulcal
      widening was strongly related to plaque characteristics, with scores being higher
      in those with heterogeneous and irregular plaque (both P<0. 009). Adjustment for
      other risk factors, and for carotid IMT/stenosis, removed associations of MRI
      findings with plaque characteristics except for weak relationships remaining
      between MRI infarcts and surface irregularity and between sulcal score and
      heterogeneous plaque (both P<0.03). MRI abnormalities show strong and consistent
      relationships with increasing carotid IMT and stenosis degree but less strong
      associations with plaque characteristics, especially after adjusting for IMT and
      stenosis.

PMID- 9974420
TI  - Differential association of common carotid intima-media thickness and carotid
      atherosclerotic plaques with parental history of premature death from coronary
      heart disease : the EVA study.
AB  - Familial aggregation of coronary heart disease (CHD) has been reported in several
      studies. The specific underlying mechanisms and the relative contribution of
      atherosclerosis to the subsequent CHD events in subjects with family history are
      not well established. This study examined the association of parental history of
      premature death from CHD with ultrasound carotid measurements of atherosclerosis
      in a population of 1040 subjects aged 59 to 71 years. Ultrasound examination
      included measurements of intima-media thickness at the common carotid arteries
      (at sites free of plaques) and assessment of atherosclerotic plaques in the
      extracranial carotid arteries. Subjects who reported that 1 or both parents had
      sudden death or died of myocardial infarction before the age of 65 years were
      considered positive for parental history of premature death from CHD (n=53,
      5.1%). The prevalence of atheromatous plaques was higher in subjects with history
      of premature death from CHD compared with those without history (41.5% versus
      20.5%, P<0.001). Age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio of atheromatous plaques
      associated with parental history of premature death from CHD was 2.85 (95%
      confidence interval, 1.60 to 5.08; P<0.001). Multivariate adjustment for major
      known cardiovascular risk factors did not markedly alter the results (odds ratio,
      2.70; P<0.002). In contrast, common carotid intima-media thickness was not
      associated with parental history of premature death from CHD (0.66+/-0.11 versus
      0.66+/-0.12 mm, P=0.76). These findings were observed in both men and women. In
      conclusion, parental history of premature death from CHD is strongly associated
      with carotid plaques. Familial transmission of CHD risk does not seem to be
      specifically mediated by arterial wall thickening measured at sites free of
      plaques.

PMID- 9974421
TI  - Selectin blockade reduces neutrophil interaction with platelets at the site of
      deep arterial injury by angioplasty in pigs.
AB  - The adhesion of neutrophils to damaged arterial surfaces is increased in the
      presence of platelets by a mechanism implicating platelet P-selectin. Such
      interactions may enhance thrombus formation and the vascular response to injury.
      In this study, we investigated the effects of a selectin blocker (CY-1503), an
      analogue of sialyl Lewisx, on platelet and neutrophil interactions after arterial
      injury produced by angioplasty in pigs.51Cr-platelet deposition and 111In
      neutrophil adhesion were quantified on intact, mildly and deeply injured carotid
      arterial segments, produced by balloon dilation, in control (saline, n=8) and
      treated (CY-1503, 15 mg/kg IV, n=7) pigs. The hematological parameters, the
      aggregation of whole blood in response to adenosine diphosphate, and the
      activating clotting time, as well as the heart rate and mean arterial blood
      pressure, were similar among groups and were not influenced significantly by CY
      1503. The level of platelet and neutrophil adhesion increased significantly with
      the severity of arterial injury but was not influenced by CY-1503 on intact and
      mildly injured arterial segments. However, at the site of deep arterial injury,
      CY-1503 treatment was associated with a 58% reduction (P<0.01) in neutrophil
      adhesion, from 446.7+/-72.6x10(3) neutrophils/cm2 in the control group to 186.8+/
      38.7x10(3) neutrophils/cm2 in the CY-1503-treated group, whereas platelet
      deposition remained unchanged (43.4+/-15.6x10(6) platelets/cm2 versus 50.1+/
      12.2x10(6) platelets/cm2 in the control group). In in vitro adhesion experiments,
      using isolated platelet and neutrophil suspensions, we found that CY-1503
      interfered with the adhesion of neutrophils to damaged arterial surfaces only in
      the presence of platelets. In contact with thrombogenic arterial surfaces,
      adherent and activated platelets supports neutrophil adhesion at the site of deep
      injury by an adhesive interaction involving neutrophil sialyl Lewisx. The
      inhibitory effect of CY-1503 on neutrophil interaction with adherent platelets
      may be clinically relevant in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal
      coronary angioplasty where platelet and neutrophil interactions may enhance the
      acute and chronic arterial response to injury.

PMID- 9974423
TI  - Cholesterol or triglyceride loading of human monocyte-derived macrophages by
      incubation with modified lipoproteins does not induce tissue factor expression.
AB  - Macrophages/foam cells localized in cholesterol- and triglyceride-rich regions of
      atherosclerotic plaques express high levels of tissue factor (TF), the essential
      cofactor and receptor of factor VIIa. It is not clear whether modified
      lipoproteins, for which several agonistic effects on macrophages have been
      described, are independent stimuli of TF expression in these cells. Therefore, we
      studied the effect of short-term (1 day) and long-term (4 to 7 days) incubation
      of human monocyte-derived macrophages cultured in suspension with modified and
      native LDLs or VLDLs on the expression of TF mRNA, antigen, and activity. We used
      native LDL or VLDL, moderately oxidized LDL or VLDL, severely oxidized LDL or
      VLDL, acetylated LDL, and beta-VLDL at a protein concentration of 100 microg/mL.
      Cholesterol loading occurred within 9 hours after the addition of acetylated LDL
      and continued during long-term incubation. Incubation of severely oxidized LDL
      for 7 days resulted in a slight increase in cholesterol content. Triglyceride
      loading was observed during short-term and long-term incubation with native and
      modified VLDLs. Neither cholesterol nor triglyceride loading resulted in
      expression of TF. Bacterial LPS still could induce TF expression in lipid-laden
      macrophages. Our results show that incubation with modified lipoproteins or lipid
      loading does not lead to TF expression in monocyte-derived macrophages cultured
      in suspension. This suggests that induction of TF expression in foam cells in the
      atherosclerotic lesion is triggered by additional or other components.

PMID- 9974422
TI  - Inhibition of arterial thrombus formation by ApoA1 Milano.
AB  - The mutant form of human apoA1, known as apoA1 Milano, is formed as a result of
      arginine 173 to cysteine substitution and inhibits experimental atherosclerosis
      in cholesterol-fed animals. This study was designed to determine if apoA1 Milano
      would modify arterial thrombogenesis. Sprague Dawley rats were intravenously
      administered the carrier alone (n=8) or apoA1 Milano (20 mg. kg-1. d-1 for 4 to
      10 days, n=17). The abdominal cavity was opened, and the abdominal aorta was
      isolated. Whatman paper impregnated with 35% FeCl3 was wrapped around the surface
      of the aorta, and aortic flow was recorded continuously. In carrier-treated rats,
      an occlusive platelet-fibrin-rich thrombus was formed in 21.2+/-4.1 (mean+/-SD)
      minutes. Treatment of rats with apoA1 Milano markedly delayed time to thrombus
      formation (38.8+/-11.9 versus 21.2+/-4.1 minutes, P<0. 01), inhibited platelet
      aggregation (25+/-7% versus 50+/-11%, P<0. 01), and reduced weight of the
      thrombus (18.5+/-1.8 versus 23.7+/-2. 3 mg/cm, P<0.01). Total cholesterol and HDL
      levels remained similar in both groups of rats, but plasma apoA1 Milano levels
      were elevated in apoA1 Milano-treated rats. In in vitro studies, incubation of
      platelets with apoA1 Milano reduced ADP-induced platelet aggregation by about
      50%, but apoA1 Milano had no direct effect on vasoreactivity. This study provides
      further evidence for critical role of platelets in thrombosis. Use of apoA1
      Milano offers a novel approach to inhibit arterial thrombosis.

PMID- 9974424
TI  - Focal increases in vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intimal macrophages at
      atherosclerosis-susceptible sites in the rabbit aorta after short-term
      cholesterol feeding.
AB  - We tested the hypotheses that vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)
      expression on endothelium at lesion-prone sites in the rabbit aorta correlates
      with exposure to plasma cholesterol and that macrophage accumulation is
      associated with endothelial cells expressing VCAM-1. After rabbits were fed 0.25%
      cholesterol for 2 weeks, VCAM-1 expression was selectively increased at the
      distal and lateral portions of the major abdominal branches. In the arch and the
      celiac, superior mesenteric, and renal artery branches, VCAM-1 expression was
      positively correlated with the plasma cholesterol integrated over the duration of
      the experiments. After 2 weeks of cholesterol feeding, more macrophages were
      present around distal and lateral portions of the intercostal arteries and major
      abdominal branches relative to nonbranch regions. In the arch and around the
      intercostals and major abdominal branches, macrophage densities were positively
      correlated with the integrated plasma cholesterol. VCAM-1 and macrophage levels
      were correlated in lesion-prone regions. In normocholesterolemic rabbits, 23+/-4%
      (mean+/-SEM) of the macrophages were directly associated with VCAM-1-positive
      endothelium. After 2 weeks of 0.25% cholesterol feeding, the association
      increased to 37+/-4% (P<0.015). Associations were highest around the lateral and
      distal regions of the major abdominal branches. These results suggest that (1)
      VCAM-1 expression and intimal macrophage densities are influenced by plasma
      cholesterol and regional factors such as arterial fluid dynamics and (2) VCAM-1
      plays a significant role in the localization of macrophages.

PMID- 9974425
TI  - Is the response of serum lipids and lipoproteins to postmenopausal hormone
      replacement therapy modified by ApoE genotype?
AB  - Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has favorable effects on the
      serum lipid profile, and it also decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
      The apolipoprotein E genotype has influence on serum levels of lipids and
      lipoproteins; apoE allele epsilon4 (apoE4) is associated with high total and LDL
      cholesterol levels. Genotype also influences the lipid responses to treatment
      with diet and statins, but the effect of HRT in different apoE genotypes is
      unknown. We studied the effects of HRT on the concentrations of serum lipids in
      apoE4-positive early postmenopausal women (genotypes 3/4 and 4/4) compared with
      apoE4-negative women (genotypes 2/3 and 3/3) in a population-based, prospective 5
      year study. In all, 232 early postmenopausal women were randomized into 2
      treatment groups: an HRT group (n=116), which received a sequential combination
      of 2 mg estradiol valerate (E2Val) from day 1 to 21 and 1 mg cyproterone acetate
      (CPA) from day 12 to 21 (Climen), and a placebo group (n=116), which received 500
      mg/d calcium lactate. Serum concentrations of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and
      triglycerides were measured at baseline and after 2 and 5 years of treatment. A
      total of 154 women completed the final analysis. During the follow-up period,
      serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations decreased in the HRT
      group in apoE4-negative women (8.1% and 17.1%, respectively; P<0.001) but did not
      change in the HRT group in apoE4-positive women or in the placebo group. Serum
      HDL cholesterol concentrations decreased in the placebo group (apoE4-negative,
      3.9%, P=0.015; apoE4-positive, 8.1%, P=0.004) but did not change significantly in
      the HRT group. Serum triglyceride levels tended to increase in both study groups
      and genotypes (15.1% to 36.2%, P<0.038 to 0.001), but no differences were
      observed between the study groups or genotypes, respectively. Our finding was
      that in postmenopausal Finnish women LDL cholesterol levels in apoE4-negative
      subjects respond more favorably to HRT than those in apoE4-positive subjects.
      This finding has potential importance in postmenopausal women with
      hypercholesterolemia, if confirmed in other studies.

PMID- 9974426
TI  - Analysis of LDL receptor gene mutations in Italian patients with homozygous
      familial hypercholesterolemia.
AB  - The aim of this study was the characterization of mutations of the LDL receptor
      gene in 39 Italian patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, who
      were examined during the period 1994 to 1996. The age of the patients ranged from
      1 to 64 years; one third of them were older than 30. Plasma LDL cholesterol level
      ranged from 10.8 to 25.1 mmol/L. The residual LDL receptor activity, measured in
      cultured fibroblasts of 32 patients, varied from <2% to 30% of normal and was
      inversely correlated with the plasma LDL cholesterol level (r=-0.665; P<0.003).
      The most severe coronary atherosclerosis was observed in those patients with the
      lowest residual LDL receptor activity (</=5% of normal) and the highest plasma
      LDL cholesterol levels. Twenty-nine patients (23 of whom were unrelated) were
      found to be homozygotes at the LDL receptor locus. In this group we discovered 2
      major rearrangements and 12 different point mutations (9 in the coding region and
      3 in splice sites). Some mutations (D200G, C358R, V502M, G528D, and P664L) were
      found in 3 or more unrelated patients. Patients with the same mutation shared the
      same haplotype at the LDL receptor gene locus and came from the same geographic
      area. Ten patients (9 of whom were unrelated) were found to be compound
      heterozygotes. The mutations found in this group consisted of one large deletion
      and 12 point mutations (11 in the coding sequence and one in a splice site). In 3
      compound heterozygotes we failed to identify the second mutant allele at the LDL
      receptor locus. These observations confirm the allelic heterogeneity underlying
      familial hypercholesterolemia in the Italian population and indicate that the
      variability of phenotypic expression of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia
      is, to a large extent, related to the type of mutation of the LDL receptor gene.

PMID- 9974427
TI  - Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found in wine, inhibits tissue factor
      expression in vascular cells : A possible mechanism for the cardiovascular
      benefits associated with moderate consumption of wine.
AB  - A number of studies suggest that moderate consumption of red wine may be more
      effective than other alcoholic beverages in decreasing the risk of coronary heart
      disease mortality. The phytochemical resveratrol found in wine, derived from
      grapes, has been thought to be responsible for cardiovascular benefits associated
      with wine consumption because it was shown to have antioxidant and antiplatelet
      activities. In the present investigation, we examined the effect of resveratrol
      on induction of tissue factor (TF) expression in vascular cells that were exposed
      to pathophysiological stimuli. The data presented herein show that resveratrol,
      in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the expression of TF in endothelial cells
      stimulated with a variety of agonists, including interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta),
      tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A similar
      inhibition of TF induction was also seen in LPS stimulated monocytes that were
      pretreated with resveratrol before their stimulation with LPS. In addition,
      resveratrol was shown to inhibit the LPS-induced expression of TNFalpha mRNA in
      endothelial cells and of TNFalpha and IL-1beta mRNA in monocytes. Nuclear run-on
      analysis in endothelial cells showed that resveratrol inhibited TF expression at
      the level of transcription. However, resveratrol did not significantly alter the
      binding of the transcription factors c-Fos/c-Jun and c-Rel/p65, the transcription
      factors required for the induction of TF promoter in both endothelial cells and
      monocytes. Similarly, resveratrol had no significant effect on the binding of NF
      kappaB in endothelial cells stimulated with IL-1beta, TNFalpha, and LPS. Overall,
      our data show that resveratrol could effectively suppress the aberrant expression
      of TF and cytokines in vascular cells, but it requires further investigation to
      understand how resveratrol exerts its inhibitory effect.

PMID- 9974428
TI  - The relationship between risk factor levels and presence of coronary artery
      calcification is dependent on apolipoprotein E genotype.
AB  - An important research question in the study of the genetics of coronary artery
      disease (CAD) is whether information about genetic variation will improve our
      ability to predict CAD beyond established risk factors. This question is
      especially relevant to the goal of identifying young, asymptomatic adults with
      coronary atherosclerosis who would benefit most from interventions to reduce
      risk. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) detected by electron-beam computed
      tomography is a relatively new method for detecting coronary atherosclerosis in
      asymptomatic individuals that has been shown to be a more accurate indicator of
      coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals than other noninvasive
      techniques. In a study of asymptomatic women (n=169) and men (n=160) between the
      ages of 20 and 59 representative of the Rochester, Minnesota population, we used
      logistic regression to ask whether the most common Apolipoprotein (Apo) E
      genotypes (epsilon3/2, epsilon3/3, and epsilon4/3) predict the presence of CAC.
      The addition of information about ApoE genotypes to logistic models containing
      each separate risk factor did not improve prediction of CAC (P>0.10 in both women
      and men). However, there was significant evidence (P<0.10) that associations
      between variation in the probability of having CAC and variation in body mass
      index, plasma total cholesterol, and plasma ApoB in men and body mass index,
      plasma triglycerides, plasma ApoA1, and plasma ApoE in women were dependent on
      ApoE genotype. Thus, variation in the gene coding for ApoE may play a role in
      determining the contribution of established risk factors to risk of CAC.

PMID- 9974429
TI  - Large-artery elastic properties in young men : relationships to serum
      lipoproteins and oxidized low-density lipoproteins.
AB  - Measures of arterial elasticity have been proposed as surrogate markers for
      asymptomatic atherosclerosis. We investigated the relations of serum
      lipoproteins, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), and familial
      hypercholesterolemia (FH) to arterial elasticity among young men. As a marker of
      arterial elasticity we measured compliance in the thoracic aorta by using
      magnetic resonance imaging and in the common carotid artery by using ultrasound.
      LDL diene conjugation was used as a marker of ox-LDL. In study I, 25 healthy men
      (aged 29 to 39) were classified into 2 extreme groups according to previously
      measured high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio (HDL
      C/TC ratio). In study II, the healthy men were used as controls for 10 age
      matched asymptomatic patients with FH. In healthy men, the group with low HDL
      C/TC ratio had decreased carotid artery compliance (2. 3+/-0.4% versus 1.9+/
      0.5%/10 mm Hg, P=0.034). In univariate analysis, the compliance of the carotid
      artery associated with ox-LDL (r =-0.49, P=0.016) and HDL-C/TC ratio (r=0.41,
      P=0.040). In multivariate regression analyses, ox-LDL was the only independent
      determinant for compliance of the carotid artery (P=0.016). Aortic elasticity was
      not related to standard lipid variables, but the compliance of the ascending
      aorta associated with ox-LDL (r=-0.44, P=0.030). In FH patients, arterial
      elasticity was similar to that in controls. We conclude that elasticity of the
      common carotid artery is affected by serum lipid profile in young men. The
      current study demonstrates for the first time an in vivo association between ox
      LDL and arterial elasticity suggesting that oxidative modification of LDL may
      play a role in the alteration of arterial wall elastic properties.

PMID- 9974430
TI  - Quantitative trait locus analysis of plasma lipoprotein levels in an autoimmune
      mouse model : interactions between lipoprotein metabolism, autoimmune disease,
      and atherogenesis.
AB  - The autoimmune MRL/lpr mouse strain, a model for systemic lupus erythematosus,
      exhibited an unusual plasma lipoprotein profile, suggesting a possible
      interaction of autoimmune disease and lipoprotein metabolism. In an effort to
      examine the genetic basis of such interactions, and to study their relationship
      to atherogenesis, we performed a quantitative trait locus analysis using a total
      of 272 (MRL/lprxBALB/cJ) second generation (F2) intercross mice. These mice were
      examined for levels of total plasma cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, VLDL and LDL
      cholesterol, unesterified cholesterol, autoantibodies, and aortic fatty streak
      lesions. Using a genome scan approach, we identified 4 quantitative trait loci
      controlling plasma lipoprotein levels on chromosomes (Chrs) 5, 8, 15, and 19. The
      locus on Chr 15 exhibited lod scores of 11.1 for total cholesterol and 6.7 for
      VLDL and LDL cholesterol in mice fed an atherogenic diet, and it contains a
      candidate gene, the sterol regulatory element binding protein-2. The locus on Chr
      5 exhibited lod scores of 3.8 for total cholesterol and 4.1 for unesterified
      cholesterol in mice fed an atherogenic diet, and this locus has been observed in
      2 previous studies. The locus on Chr 8 exhibited a lod score of 3.1 for
      unesterified cholesterol in mice fed a chow diet. This locus contains the
      lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase gene, and decreased activity of the enzyme
      in the MRL strain suggests that this gene underlies the quantitative-trait locus.
      The locus on Chr 19 exhibited a lod score of 8.4 for HDL cholesterol and includes
      the Fas gene, which is mutated in MRL/lpr mice and is primarily responsible for
      the autoimmune phenotype in this cross. That the Fas gene is responsible for the
      HDL quantitative-trait loci is supported by the finding that autoantibody levels
      were strongly correlated with HDL cholesterol levels (rho=-0.37, P<0.0001) among
      the F2 mice. HDL cholesterol levels were in turn significantly associated with
      aortic fatty streak lesions among the F2 mice (rho=-0.17, P=0.006). Further,
      there was a threshold effect of autoantibody levels on the development of fatty
      streak lesions (rho=0.45, P=0.004 for 42 F2 mice with anti-dsDNA Ab over 0.5 OD).
      Our results support the concept that the high prevalence of coronary artery
      disease in systemic lupus erythematosus is due in part to a reduction of HDL
      cholesterol levels resulting from the autoimmune disease.

PMID- 9974431
TI  - Gene polymorphism of t-PA is associated with forearm vascular release rate of t
      PA.
AB  - We have observed marked interindividual differences in release rates of tissue
      type plasminogen activator (t-PA) among healthy subjects. The objective of the
      current study was to test the hypothesis that there is an association between a
      genetic variation at the t-PA locus and the in vivo release rate of t-PA. Fifty
      one healthy males were studied at rest in the morning and 27 of these were also
      subjected to a mental stress test. Net release rates of total t-PA across the
      forearm vascular bed were calculated as the product of the venoarterial
      concentration gradient and forearm plasma flow. Zygosity for an Alu-repeat
      polymorphism in intron 8 of the t-PA gene was determined by a polymerase chain
      reaction. Basal t-PA release rates differed markedly by genotype (ANOVA, P<0.05);
      subjects homozygous for the insertion had a significantly higher release rate
      (mean 10.9 ng. min-1. L-1, n=19) than both heterozygotes (4.5 ng. min-1. L-1,
      n=26) and subjects homozygous for the deletion (0.9 ng. min-1. L-1, n=6). After 2
      minutes of mental stress release rates had increased approximately 2-fold in all
      groups. Arterial and venous plasma levels of t-PA were unrelated to genotype. In
      conclusion, the current results provide the first evidence of an association
      between a common genetic variation at the t-PA locus and interindividual
      differences in net release rates of t-PA in vivo. The relationship is not
      reflected by circulating steady-state plasma levels and can thus not be disclosed
      by conventional venous plasma sampling.

PMID- 9974432
TI  - Renal transplantation from living donors.

PMID- 9974433
TI  - Delivering inhaled corticosteroids to patients.

PMID- 9974434
TI  - Radiosurgery for brain tumours.

PMID- 9974435
TI  - Points for pain: waiting list priority scoring systems.

PMID- 9974436
TI  - Breast implants: evidence based patient choice and litigation.

PMID- 9974438
TI  - Educated adults have fewer sex problems in the US 

PMID- 9974439
TI  - In brief 

PMID- 9974437
TI  - Antiabortionists ordered to pay $108m for threats of violence.

PMID- 9974441
TI  - NICE to sort clinical "wheat from chaff" 

PMID- 9974440
TI  - US medical association reaches agreement with sacked editor.

PMID- 9974442
TI  - Antibiotics may prevent heart attacks 

PMID- 9974444
TI  - Rush for primary care groups 

PMID- 9974443
TI  - Advertising standards authority finds against Nestle.

PMID- 9974445
TI  - US debates treatment of marginally viable babies.

PMID- 9974446
TI  - European court upholds UK ban on Halcion.

PMID- 9974447
TI  - Edinburgh university fined forlack of safety checks 

PMID- 9974448
TI  - Consultant physicians should be appraised annually 

PMID- 9974449
TI  - Former French ministers on trial over blood.

PMID- 9974450
TI  - Spain cuts waiting times for surgery.

PMID- 9974451
TI  - Mild cervical dysplasia often reverts to normal 

PMID- 9974452
TI  - UN study reports Asian economic crisis has hit women's health.

PMID- 9974453
TI  - Testicular cancer increases in ontario 

PMID- 9974454
TI  - Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and
      reactive psychosis of early onset: case-control study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine prenatal and perinatal risk factors for subsequent
      development of schizophrenia and affective and reactive psychosis. DESIGN: Three
      population based, case-control studies conducted within a Sweden-wide cohort of
      all children born during 1973-9. This was done by linking individual data from
      the Swedish birth register, which represents 99% of all births in Sweden, to the
      Swedish inpatient register. SUBJECTS: Patients listed in inpatient register as
      having been first admitted to hospital aged 15-21 years with a main diagnosis of
      schizophrenia (n=167), affective psychosis (n=198), or reactive psychosis
      (n=292). For each case, five controls were selected. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risks
      of schizophrenia and affective and reactive psychosis in relation to pregnancy
      and perinatal characteristics. RESULTS: Schizophrenia was positively associated
      with multiparity (odds ratio 2.0), maternal bleeding during pregnancy (odds ratio
      3.5), and birth in late winter (odds ratio 1.4). Affective psychosis was
      associated with uterine atony (odds ratio 2.2) and late winter birth (odds ratio
      1.5). Reactive psychosis was related to multiparity (odds ratio 2.1). An
      increased risk for schizophrenia was found in boys who were small for their
      gestational age at birth (odds ratio 3.2), who were number four or more in birth
      order (odds ratio 3.6), and whose mothers had had bleeding during late pregnancy
      (odds ratio 4.0). CONCLUSIONS: A few specific pregnancy and perinatal factors
      were associated with the subsequent development of psychotic disorder,
      particularly schizophrenia, in early adult life. The association of small size
      for gestational age and bleeding during pregnancy with increased risk of early
      onset schizophrenia among males could reflect placental insufficiency.

PMID- 9974455
TI  - Catch-up growth in childhood and death from coronary heart disease: longitudinal
      study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine whether catch-up growth during childhood modifies the
      increased risk of death from coronary heart disease that is associated with
      reduced intrauterine growth. DESIGN: Follow up study of men whose body size at
      birth was recorded and who had an average of 10 measurements taken of their
      height and weight through childhood. SETTING: Helsinki, Finland. SUBJECTS: 3641
      men who were born in Helsinki University Central Hospital during 1924-33 and who
      went to school in Helsinki. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hazard ratios for death from
      coronary heart disease. RESULTS: Death from coronary heart disease was associated
      with low birth weight and, more strongly, with a low ponderal index at birth. Men
      who died from coronary heart disease had an above average body mass index at all
      ages from 7 to 15 years. In a simultaneous regression the hazard ratio for death
      from the disease increased by 14% (95% confidence interval 8% to 19%; P<0.0001)
      for each unit (kg/m3) decrease in ponderal index at birth and by 22% (10% to 36%;
      P=0.0001) for each unit (kg/m2) increase in body mass index at 11 years of age.
      Body mass index in childhood was strongly related to maternal body mass index,
      which in turn was related to coronary heart disease. The extent of crowding in
      the home during childhood, although related to body mass index in childhood, was
      not related to later coronary heart disease. CONCLUSION: The highest death rates
      from coronary heart disease occurred in boys who were thin at birth but whose
      weight caught up so that they had an average or above average body mass from the
      age of 7 years. Death from coronary heart disease may be a consequence of poor
      prenatal nutrition followed by improved postnatal nutrition.

PMID- 9974456
TI  - Follow up study of longstanding depression as predictor of mortality in elderly
      people living in the community.

PMID- 9974457
TI  - Historical cohort study of in utero exposure to uterotonic drugs and cognitive
      function in young adult life.

PMID- 9974459
TI  - What is research? 

PMID- 9974458
TI  - Giant cell arteritis and thyroid dysfunction: multicentre case-control study. The
      Groupe de Recherche sur l'Arteritea Cellules Geantes.

PMID- 9974460
TI  - A half mixed compound? 

PMID- 9974461
TI  - Cross sectional study of symptom attribution and recognition of depression and
      anxiety in primary care.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of patients' causal attributions of common
      somatic symptoms on recognition by general practitioners of cases of depression
      and anxiety and to test the hypothesis that normalising attributions make
      recognition less likely. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: One general
      practice of eight doctors in Bristol. SUBJECTS: 305 general practice attenders.
      MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The rate of detection by general practitioners of cases of
      depression and anxiety as defined by the general health questionnaire. RESULTS:
      Consecutive attenders completed the general health questionnaire and the symptom
      interpretation questionnaire, which scores style of symptom attribution along the
      dimensions of psychologising, somatising, and normalising. General practitioners
      detected depression or anxiety in 56 (36%; 95% confidence interval 28% to 44%) of
      the 157 patients who scored highly on the general health questionnaire. Subjects
      with a normalising attributional style were less likely to be detected as cases;
      doctors did not make any psychological diagnosis in 46 (85%; 73% to 93%) of 54
      patients who had high questionnaire and high normalising scores. Those with a
      psychologising style were more likely to be detected; doctors did not detect 21
      (38%; 25% to 52%) of 55 patients who had high questionnaire and high
      psychologising scores. The somatisation scale was not associated with low
      detection rates. This pattern of results persisted after adjustment for age, sex,
      general health questionnaire score, and general practitioner. CONCLUSIONS:
      Normalising attributions minimise symptoms and are non-pathological in character.
      The normalising attributional style is predominant in general practice attenders
      and is an important cause of low rates of detection of depression and anxiety.

PMID- 9974462
TI  - Experiences with "rapid appraisal" in primary care: involving the public in
      assessing health needs, orientating staff, and educating medical students.

PMID- 9974465
TI  - The inventor of matches 

PMID- 9974463
TI  - Recent advances: oncology.

PMID- 9974464
TI  - Haemochromatosis and exercise related joint pains.

PMID- 9974466
TI  - ABC of sexual health: homosexual men and women.

PMID- 9974467
TI  - High altitude medicine 

PMID- 9974469
TI  - The plague returns 

PMID- 9974468
TI  - Perspectives of commissioners and cancer specialists in prioritising new cancer
      drugs: impact of the evidence threshold.

PMID- 9974470
TI  - Meta-analysis of diabetes care in general practice. All glucose meters must be
      subject to formal quality control measures.

PMID- 9974471
TI  - Evidence based patient information. Doctors should be encouraged to develop
      information resources on the internet.

PMID- 9974472
TI  - Diagnosing serious child abuse. Death from Munchausen syndrome by proxy is
      overestimated.

PMID- 9974473
TI  - Vitamin B-6. Many have found relief from disorders for which no effective
      treatment exists.

PMID- 9974474
TI  - Albumin controversy continues. Meta-analysis has affected use of albumin.

PMID- 9974476
TI  - Labour's health policy is having paradoxical effect in Iberian countries.

PMID- 9974475
TI  - Beyond conflict of interest. What is truth as it relates to albumin?

PMID- 9974477
TI  - Early regrafting after primary liver transplantation carries increased risk of
      death.

PMID- 9974479
TI  - William james archibald craig 

PMID- 9974478
TI  - Community health services must be considered in proposals for integrated records.

PMID- 9974486
TI  - The emperor has no clothes on 

PMID- 9974487
TI  - Snow in chicago 

PMID- 9974488
TI  - Early life and adult disease 

PMID- 9974489
TI  - Adverse prenatal and perinatal factors are associated with schizophrenia of early
      onset 

PMID- 9974490
TI  - Catch-up growth in childhood is linked with increased risk of coronary heart
      disease 

PMID- 9974491
TI  - Depression may be missed in patients who "normalise" their symptoms 

PMID- 9974492
TI  - Longstanding depression, but not recovery from depression, predicts mortality in
      old people 

PMID- 9974493
TI  - Uterotonic drugs have no adverse effects on cognitive function 

PMID- 9974494
TI  - Thyroid dysfunction is not more common in people with giant cell ateritis 

PMID- 9974495
TI  - Sedation for pediatric imaging studies.
AB  - This article discusses safe sedation for pediatric imaging. Emphasis is placed
      upon implementation of an institutional sedation program according to guidelines
      of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Standards for patient assessment and
      preparation, sedative administration, monitoring, and discharge are reviewed. A
      comparison of available sedative agents is also provided.

PMID- 9974496
TI  - Transcranial Doppler in the newborn with asphyxia.
AB  - Transcranial Doppler of infants suffering hypoxia-ischemia may demonstrate high
      diastolic flow in the early postasphyxial and hyperemic phase of the insult. This
      increase in diastolic flow decreases the resistive index. The use of the
      resistive index to quickly assess the infant at the bedside may become more
      important with the advent of newer neuroprotective strategies.

PMID- 9974497
TI  - Transcranial Doppler imaging in pediatric abnormalities in older children.
AB  - Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a noninvasive diagnostic ultrasound study which
      uses a 2 megahertz pulsed Doppler transducer to measure the velocity and
      pulsatility of blood flow within the major intracranial arteries. It has proved
      to be extremely useful as a screening test or to help confirm the diagnosis of
      several clinical conditions in infants and children. Some of the proved
      indications for TCD is for evaluating cerebrovascular occlusive disease
      especially in screening children with sickle cell disease, hydrocephalus,
      asphyxia and cerebral edema, confirming brain death, arteriovenous malformations,
      and vasoplasm. TCD technique, indications, and common pathological findings are
      emphasized.

PMID- 9974498
TI  - Diffusion imaging in pediatric hypoxic ischemia injury.
AB  - This article is a brief review on the physics of diffusion imaging as well as the
      pertinent adult literature regarding stroke and diffusion imaging. The remainder
      of the article focuses on the potential uses of diffusion imaging for the
      evaluation of hypoxic ischemia injury in pediatric populations. In particular,
      diffusion changes in hypoxic ischemia injury in newborns are reviewed as the
      diffusion abnormalities in immature brain may behave in a manner different from
      adults.

PMID- 9974499
TI  - Disorders of cortical formation: radiologic-pathologic correlation.
AB  - The advent of newer imaging techniques, such as high resolution MR imaging and
      surface reconstructions of 3-dimensional data sets, has led to a greater in-vivo
      understanding of cortical malformations of the brain. The disorders of cortical
      formation are illustrated with routine imaging, surface reconstruction, and
      pathologic specimens.

PMID- 9974500
TI  - Hydrocephalus in children: neurosurgical and neuroimaging concerns.
AB  - The neuroimaging of hydrocephalus from the perspective of the pediatric
      neurosurgeon is discussed. Processes with new developments in therapy and imaging
      are described, including congenital causes of hydrocephalus, unilateral
      hydrocephalus, trapped fourth ventricle, and benign external hydrocephalus.

PMID- 9974501
TI  - Imaging of the pediatric orbit and visual pathways: computed tomography and
      magnetic resonance imaging.
AB  - Techniques for pediatric MR imaging and computed tomography and anatomy of the
      orbit and intracranial visual pathways are presented and reviewed in this
      article. Imaging findings are presented for the following categories of
      abnormality: a) orbital anomalies related to congenital disorders of the brain,
      b) disorders of the orbit (ocular, nonocular, or multicompartmental), c)
      disorders of the intracranial visual pathways (suprasellar cistern, optic
      radiations, or occipital cortex), and d) disorders of gaze (extraocular muscles,
      cranial nerves, and brainstem). Careful assessment of the clinical findings,
      anatomic location of the visual impairment, and familiarity with disorders that
      often affect pediatric patients are helpful in guiding neuroimaging evaluation of
      the child with ocular, orbital, or central patterns of visual disturbance.

PMID- 9974502
TI  - Head and neck vascular anomalies of childhood.
AB  - Vascular anomalies of the head and neck are common lesions of childhood. The
      vascular anomalies can be divided into hemangiomas and vascular malformations.
      Each of these lesions has a characteristic imaging appearance. Correctly
      classifying the anomaly is essential in directing the treatment of these lesions.

PMID- 9974503
TI  - Imaging of pediatric temporal bone abnormalities.
AB  - Disorders involving the temporal bone in children may be associated with
      considerable morbidity. Hearing loss occurring during childhood may impair
      cognitive development and should therefore be diagnosed and treated as soon as
      possible. Thin section high resolution CT and MR imaging of the temporal bone
      provide critical information about a variety of developmental, inflammatory,
      traumatic, and neoplastic disorders, and are used for diagnostic purposes and to
      help determine therapeutic options.

PMID- 9974504
TI  - Imaging of neuroendocrine disorders of childhood.
AB  - This article focuses on the neuroendocrine disorders of childhood. The commonly
      associated neuroradiologic abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis are
      covered in detail.

PMID- 9974505
TI  - Imaging the central nervous system effects of radiation and chemotherapy of
      pediatric tumors.
AB  - New developments in radiotherapy and chemotherapy have resulted in significant
      improvements in survival from childhood tumors. Stereotactic radiosurgery and
      other conformed field radiotherapy treatments allow precise localization of
      tumors. Through small beam sizes, these new radiation techniques deliver steep
      dose gradients at the field edges permitting the prescribed dose to be given to
      the tumor while avoiding vital structures only millimeters away. Newer
      chemotherapy regimens allow radiotherapy to be postponed until the child's brain
      can better tolerate radiation. The MR imaging and CT scans appearance of treated
      childhood brain tumors and the new developments in radiation and chemotherapy are
      discussed.

PMID- 9974506
TI  - Neuroimaging of scoliosis in childhood.
AB  - A curvature abnormality may be the initial or major presenting feature in a child
      with disease of the spinal column or spinal neuraxis. A simplified classification
      of common spinal curvature abnormalities of childhood include idiopathic,
      congenital/dysraphic, skeletal dysplasia, neurofibromatosis, and painful. The
      great majority of childhood scoliosis falls into the idiopathic category.
      Atypical clinical or radiographic features in a presumed idiopathic scoliosis may
      indicate an otherwise occult tumor or hydrosyringomyelia, or may be a consequence
      of increasing curvature with disk protrusion, nerve impingement, or cord
      attenuation. Neuroimaging beyond plain films is commonly necessary for atypical
      idiopathic scoliosis and for the other categories of scoliosis listed.

PMID- 9974508
TI  - Calculation of effective elastic moduli of polycrystalline materials including
      nontextured samples and fiber textures.

PMID- 9974507
TI  - Local-density studies of the structure and electronic properties of B and S in an
      Fe grain boundary.

PMID- 9974509
TI  - Mechanical degradation and viscous dissipation in B2O3.

PMID- 9974510
TI  - Criticality in the plastic deformation of L12 intermetallic compounds.

PMID- 9974511
TI  - Quantum-interference asymmetries in the multiphoton radio-frequency sideband
      spectra of 57Fe.

PMID- 9974512
TI  - Thermodynamics of nucleation in current-carrying conductors.

PMID- 9974513
TI  - Computer simulation of domain formation in the order-disorder phase transition of
      the KSCN model.

PMID- 9974515
TI  - Nature of phosphorus embrittlement of the Fe Sigma 3

PMID- 9974514
TI  - Exciton energy and its pressure dependence in alkali halides.

PMID- 9974517
TI  - Transport and scattering mean free paths of classical waves.

PMID- 9974516
TI  - Evolution of precipitates in lead-implanted aluminum: A backscattering and
      channeling study.

PMID- 9974518
TI  - Medium-range interactions and structural complexity in aluminum-based
      intermetallic compounds.

PMID- 9974519
TI  - Relation between the beta and rapidly quenched liquid phases of gallium.

PMID- 9974520
TI  - Anomalies in the liquid structure of Ga metal.

PMID- 9974521
TI  - Thermodynamics and structure of liquid binary alloys calculated using an analytic
      pair potential.

PMID- 9974522
TI  - Structural transformation in densified silica glass: A molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9974523
TI  - Reflection spectra of dense amorphous SiO2 in the vacuum-uv region.

PMID- 9974524
TI  - Loop algorithms for quantum simulations of fermion models on lattices.

PMID- 9974525
TI  - Electronic-Raman-scattering study of the low-lying energy levels of trivalent
      cerium-doped yttria.

PMID- 9974526
TI  - Independent determination of local grain boundary and pumping diffusion
      coefficients.

PMID- 9974528
TI  - Measurement of the acoustic-phonon mean free path in a free-standing metal film.

PMID- 9974527
TI  - Variational calculation for large bipolarons in the strong-coupling limit.

PMID- 9974530
TI  - Ferromagnetic-resonance studies of granular giant-magnetoresistive materials.

PMID- 9974529
TI  - Observation and assignment of silent and higher-order vibrations in the infrared
      transmission of C60 crystals.

PMID- 9974531
TI  - Magnetic excitations in the dilute anisotropic antiferromagnet FexZn1-xF2.

PMID- 9974532
TI  - Antiferromagnetic coupling in (111)-oriented Co/Pt superlattices.

PMID- 9974533
TI  - Magnetic phase transition of stage-2 CucCo1-cCl2-graphite intercalation
      compounds.

PMID- 9974534
TI  - Physical properties of rare-earth metal-ion vermiculite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9974535
TI  - Magnetic form factor for itinerant-electron systems.

PMID- 9974536
TI  - Model calculation of the crystal-field magnetostriction and its temperature
      dependence in the itinerant uniaxial ferromagnet Y2Fe17.

PMID- 9974537
TI  - Anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the presence of a magnetic field for
      arbitrary dimension and spin.

PMID- 9974539
TI  - Spin-gap fixed points in the double-chain problem.

PMID- 9974538
TI  - Kondo and crystal-field effects in the compound YbPtGa.

PMID- 9974541
TI  - Magnetic multilayers with (Nb,Mo,Cr) spacer materials.

PMID- 9974540
TI  - Finite-temperature properties of quantum antiferromagnets in a uniform magnetic
      field in one and two dimensions.

PMID- 9974542
TI  - Spin fluctuations in gamma -Fe and in Fe3Pt Invar from local-density-functional
      calculations.

PMID- 9974544
TI  - Gapless phases in an S=1/2 quantum spin chain with bond alternation.

PMID- 9974543
TI  - Relaxation of degenerate crystal-field excitations in cubic metals.

PMID- 9974545
TI  - Flux flow of Abrikosov vortices in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9974546
TI  - Superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor junction in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9974548
TI  - Spin-wave velocity, entropy, and magnetization in bcc solid 3He.

PMID- 9974547
TI  - Interaction between mixed-valent rare-earth impurities in BCS superconductors.

PMID- 9974549
TI  - Vortices in two-dimensional superconducting weakly coupled wire networks.

PMID- 9974551
TI  - Magnetoelastic theory of type-II superconductors in the mixed state.

PMID- 9974550
TI  - Superconductivity at 15 K in the metastable ScNi2B2C compound.

PMID- 9974552
TI  - Phase transitions in an interacting boson model with near-neighbor repulsion.

PMID- 9974553
TI  - Conductance regimes in superconducting junctions of atomic size.

PMID- 9974554
TI  - Singlet pairing in the double-chain t-J model.

PMID- 9974556
TI  - Cooper-pair current through ultrasmall Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9974555
TI  - Weak-localization and Maki-Thompson superconducting fluctuation effects in
      crystalline disordered Ti-Al-(Sn,Co) alloys at T>Tc.

PMID- 9974557
TI  - Conserving approximations for the attractive Holstein and Hubbard models.

PMID- 9974558
TI  - Correlated squeezed-state approach for the ground state of a system with strong
      electron-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9974559
TI  - Charge-carrier density and interplane coupling in Y2Ba4Cu7O15: A Cu NMR-NQR
      study.

PMID- 9974561
TI  - Optical conductivity of the Hubbard model at finite temperature.

PMID- 9974560
TI  - Spin-gap formation in bilayer cuprates due to enhanced interlayer pairing.

PMID- 9974562
TI  - Dynamic Cooper-pair breaking by tunnel injection of quasiparticles into a high-Tc
      YBa2Cu3O7 superconductor.

PMID- 9974563
TI  - Resistivity, magnetic-susceptibility, and specific-heat studies of ErBa2(Cu(1
      x)Mx)3O7-y

PMID- 9974564
TI  - Vortex depinning frequency in YBa2Cu3O7-x superconducting thin films: Anisotropy
      and temperature dependence.

PMID- 9974565
TI  - Explanation of the dissipation observed in several high-temperature
      superconductors using a modified Ambegaokar-Halperin model.

PMID- 9974566
TI  - Microwave response of anisotropic high-temperature-superconductor crystals.

PMID- 9974567
TI  - Anisotropic resistivity of Bi2Sr2CuOx crystals.

PMID- 9974568
TI  - Magneto-optical measurements of the surface step of magnetic induction in
      YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals: Direct evidence of the influence of the surface
      barrier.

PMID- 9974570
TI  - Anisotropy of the magnetic properties of c-axis-aligned HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta
      powders.

PMID- 9974569
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of fluctuation magnetization of two-dimensional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9974571
TI  - Electrodynamics of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4: Comparison with Nb and YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9974572
TI  - Critical behavior of phase transitions in potassium-dihydrogen-phosphate-type
      ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9974573
TI  - Implantation-induced structural changes in evaporated amorphous Ge.

PMID- 9974574
TI  - Thermal conductivity of solid nitrogen.

PMID- 9974576
TI  - Raman-active phonons of the spin-1 chain antiferromagnets R2BaNiO5 (R=Gd and Y).

PMID- 9974575
TI  - Mesoscopic spin tunneling in the hard-random-axis-magnet amorphous alloy Tb2Fe.

PMID- 9974577
TI  - Edge states in antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains.

PMID- 9974578
TI  - Phase diagram of the Ashkin-Teller quantum spin chain.

PMID- 9974579
TI  - Anomalous phase transition in URu2Si2.

PMID- 9974581
TI  - Flux flow and flux cutting in type-II superconductors carrying a longitudinal
      current.

PMID- 9974580
TI  - Direct measurement of single-vortex diameters by electron holography.

PMID- 9974582
TI  - Phase diagram of the extended attractive Hubbard model in one dimension.

PMID- 9974584
TI  - Influence of magnetic imperfections on the low-temperature properties of d-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9974583
TI  - Capacity of a pinning site for trapping quantized vortices in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9974585
TI  - Raman scattering from YBa2Fe3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9974587
TI  - Role of Ca in enhancing the superconductivity of YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9974586
TI  - Superconducting gap and order parameter in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x.

PMID- 9974589
TI  - Dielectric spectroscopy in SrTiO3.

PMID- 9974588
TI  - Anomalous helium-bubble growth in palladium.

PMID- 9974590
TI  - Dynamics of polybutadiene above the glass transition studied by Brillouin light
      scattering.

PMID- 9974592
TI  - Large Fermi surface of the one-dimensional Kondo lattice model.

PMID- 9974591
TI  - Valence states of Sm in SmRuSn3.

PMID- 9974593
TI  - Evidence for nuclear multiphoton transitions in 57Fe based on radio-frequency
      sidebands to the forbidden hyperfine components of the 14.4-keV transition.

PMID- 9974594
TI  - Ultrasmall-moment static magnetism in CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9974595
TI  - Anisotropic physical properties of the Kondo semiconductor CeRhSb.

PMID- 9974596
TI  - Combined Josephson and charging behavior of the supercurrent in the
      superconducting single-electron transistor.

PMID- 9974597
TI  - Andreev reflection in nanoscale metal-superconductor devices.

PMID- 9974598
TI  - Spin gap and superconductivity in the three-dimensional attractive Hubbard model.

PMID- 9974599
TI  - Irradiation-induced crossover from point defects to correlated disorder pinning
      in Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox single crystals.

PMID- 9974600
TI  - Far-infrared transmission of Ba1-xKxBiO3 thin films.

PMID- 9974602
TI  - 199Hg Knight shift and spin-lattice relaxation in HgBa2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9974601
TI  - Competition between magnetism and superconductivity in rare-earth nickel boride
      carbides.

PMID- 9974603
TI  - Spin-charge separation in the two-dimensional Hubbard and t-J models at low
      electronic density.

PMID- 9974605
TI  - X-ray-absorption studies of the d-orbital occupancies of selected 4d/5d
      transition metals compounded with group-III/IV ligands.

PMID- 9974604
TI  - Erratum: Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of transition-metal-doped BaTiO3:
      Effect of material processing on Fermi-level position

PMID- 9974606
TI  - Luminescence of the self-trapped exciton in KI under pressure.

PMID- 9974607
TI  - Tetragonal distortion and structural stability of indium at high pressures.

PMID- 9974608
TI  - Grain-boundary melting: A Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9974610
TI  - Thermal conductivity of the Ih and XI phases of ice.

PMID- 9974609
TI  - High-pressure resistance study of NpSb up to 23 GPa.

PMID- 9974611
TI  - Temperature dependence of cross-relaxation processes in Pr3+-doped yttrium
      aluminum garnet.

PMID- 9974613
TI  - Intermediate 4f bonding structure for samarium under pressure.

PMID- 9974612
TI  - Multiple-scattering analysis of NEXAFS spectra of molecular oxygen anions in
      differently grown cesium oxides.

PMID- 9974614
TI  - Measurement of up-conversion energy-transfer probabilities in Ho:Y3Al5O12 and
      Tm:Y3Al5O12.

PMID- 9974615
TI  - Theory of second-harmonic generation from atom pairs in solids.

PMID- 9974616
TI  - Unequal wave vectors in short- versus long-range ordering in intermetallic
      compounds.

PMID- 9974617
TI  - Proton-glass dielectric behavior and phase diagram of Cs1-x(NH4)xH2AsO4.

PMID- 9974619
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy of a Nd3+-exchanged beta "-alumina crystal.

PMID- 9974618
TI  - First-principles simulated-annealing study of phase transitions and short-range
      order in transition-metal and semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9974620
TI  - K-shell ionization under zone-axis electron-diffraction conditions.

PMID- 9974621
TI  - Nonequilibrium dielectric behavior in glasses at low temperatures: Evidence for
      interacting defects.

PMID- 9974622
TI  - Electronic structure of icosahedral Al70Pd20Mn10.

PMID- 9974624
TI  - Variational approach to the quantum lattice fluctuations in the Su-Schrieffer
      Heeger model: The ground state.

PMID- 9974623
TI  - Structural properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. IV. A molecular-dynamics
      investigation and comparison to experiments.

PMID- 9974625
TI  - Momentum distributions and final-state effects in neutron scattering.

PMID- 9974626
TI  - Dynamical properties and related optical spectra of fullerenes: The bond-charge
      model description.

PMID- 9974627
TI  - Chaotic motion of diffuse domain walls in magnetic garnets.

PMID- 9974629
TI  - Spin-spin correlations in a finite-sized spherical model under twisted boundary
      conditions.

PMID- 9974628
TI  - Spectroscopic properties of Cr3+ ions at the defect sites in cubic
      fluoroperovskite crystals.

PMID- 9974630
TI  - Spin-polarized photoelectron diffraction using circularly polarized x rays.

PMID- 9974631
TI  - Periodic diamagnetic domain structures in metals under a quantizing magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9974632
TI  - Magnetic ordering in U2Pd2In and U2Pd2Sn.

PMID- 9974633
TI  - Effects of vacancies in the triangular spin-1/2 antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9974634
TI  - Oblique-incidence far-infrared reflectivity study of the uniaxial antiferromagnet
      FeF2.

PMID- 9974635
TI  - Susceptibility and excitation spectrum of (VO)2P2O7 in ladder and dimer-chain
      models.

PMID- 9974636
TI  - Flux measurements on ferromagnetic microprobes by electron holography.

PMID- 9974637
TI  - General spin-3/2 Ising model in a honeycomb lattice: Exactly solvable case.

PMID- 9974639
TI  - Schwinger-boson mean-field theory for the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic
      Heisenberg model with a square lattice.

PMID- 9974638
TI  - gamma -ray polarization in transmission through a noncubic and nonmagnetic single
      crystal.

PMID- 9974640
TI  - Static chaos and scaling behavior in the spin-glass phase.

PMID- 9974641
TI  - Finite-size scaling of the frustrated Heisenberg model on a hexagonal lattice.

PMID- 9974643
TI  - Magnetoresistance and magnetization studies of the Laves-phase compound
      Ce(Fe0.92Al0.08)2.

PMID- 9974642
TI  - Crossover in the specific heat of dilute magnets induced by critical spin-wave
      dynamics.

PMID- 9974644
TI  - Spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome-acute lattice: High-temperature
      expansion and exact-diagonalization studies.

PMID- 9974645
TI  - Spin-wave stiffness of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet at zero temperature.

PMID- 9974646
TI  - Dynamical T=0 correlations of the S=1/2 one-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet with 1/r2 exchange in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9974648
TI  - Orbitally degenerate spin-fluctuation model for heavy-fermion superconductivity.

PMID- 9974647
TI  - Particle excitations in the anyon gas at zero and finite temperature.

PMID- 9974650
TI  - Integral-equation approach for the Bean critical-state model in demagnetizing and
      nonuniform-field geometries.

PMID- 9974649
TI  - Two-dimensional resonant modes in stacked Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9974651
TI  - Tc suppression and conduction mechanisms in Bi2.1Sr1.93Ca0.97-xRxCu2O8+y (R=Pr,
      Gd, and Er) systems.

PMID- 9974652
TI  - Iterated perturbation theory for the attractive Holstein and Hubbard models.

PMID- 9974653
TI  - Effective action of a magnetic monopole in three-dimensional electrodynamics with
      massless matter and gauge theories of superconductivity.

PMID- 9974655
TI  - Monte Carlo method for a lattice superconductor with free surfaces.

PMID- 9974654
TI  - Dynamics of boson quantum films.

PMID- 9974656
TI  - Midinfrared conductivity in orientationally disordered doped fullerides.

PMID- 9974657
TI  - Temperature and electric-field dependence of hopping transport in low-dimensional
      devices.

PMID- 9974658
TI  - Phase diagram of flux creep in melt-textured and single-crystalline YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9974659
TI  - Critical current of a lateral Josephson junction for layered superconductors.

PMID- 9974660
TI  - Microstructure of directionally solidified high-critical-current YBa2Cu3O7
      Y2BaCuO5 composites.

PMID- 9974661
TI  - Electronic phase separation: Extended mean-field calculations for CuO2 layers in
      high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9974662
TI  - Spin-phonon renormalization of the excitation energy in a dilute two-dimensional
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9974663
TI  - Electromagnetic phenomena related to a low-frequency plasma in cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9974664
TI  - Tb oxidation state and hybridization in Y0.9Tb0.1Ba2Cu3O7- delta ( delta =0.02,
      0.84): A magnetic-susceptibility and x-ray-absorption study.

PMID- 9974665
TI  - Long-time magnetic relaxation in a detwinned YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystal.

PMID- 9974666
TI  - Systematic study of the growth-temperature dependence of structural disorder and
      superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9974667
TI  - Spin susceptibility and gap structure of the fractional-statistics gas.

PMID- 9974668
TI  - Broad resistivity transitions in c-axis-in-plane-aligned a-axis-oriented
      YBa2Cu3Ox thin films.

PMID- 9974670
TI  - Small-angle multiple scattering in a dilute system with single refractive
      scattering on the inhomogeneities.

PMID- 9974669
TI  - Finite-temperature conductivity in the planar t-J model.

PMID- 9974671
TI  - Enhanced charge localization in the organic alloys

PMID- 9974672
TI  - One-dimensional chiral XY model for the Dhd phase of hexahexylthiotriphenylene.

PMID- 9974673
TI  - Neutron spectroscopic evidence of concentration-dependent hydrogen ordering in
      the octahedral sublattice of beta -TbH2+x.

PMID- 9974674
TI  - Phonon dispersion in Ni0.55Pd0.45 and Ni0.5Fe0.5 alloys.

PMID- 9974675
TI  - Generalized quantum Mattis spin glasses with p-spin interactions.

PMID- 9974676
TI  - Reassessment of the conduction-electron spin resonance of alkali metals in
      zeolites.

PMID- 9974678
TI  - Spin-triplet contribution to zero-field splittings for Fe2+ in GeFe2O4.

PMID- 9974677
TI  - X-ray-absorption study of the magnetic moments in thin Ni layers on Fe(100).

PMID- 9974679
TI  - Reentrant phase transition in the quantum-spin-glass model with the pseudoinverse
      rule.

PMID- 9974680
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in the Ho5Os4Ge10 system.

PMID- 9974681
TI  - Anomalous symmetry dependence of Rh13 magnetism.

PMID- 9974682
TI  - Superconducting phonon structure in the transition from tunneling to contact
      regime.

PMID- 9974683
TI  - Fluctuation phenomena in excess conductivity and magnetization of single-crystal
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y.

PMID- 9974684
TI  - Magnetic order of RBa2Cu4O8 (R=rare earth) due to dipole-dipole and exchange
      interactions.

PMID- 9974685
TI  - Collective creep of vortex bundles in YBa2Cu3O7 crystals.

PMID- 9974686
TI  - Density of normal carriers below Tc and thermal resistance of twin boundaries in
      YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals.

PMID- 9974687
TI  - Orientational disorder and the band gap of solid molecular hydrogen under
      pressure.

PMID- 9974688
TI  - Glassy transition in the three-dimensional random-field Ising model.

PMID- 9974689
TI  - Eliashberg treatment of the microwave conductivity of niobium.

PMID- 9974690
TI  - Supercurrent determined from the Aharonov-Bohm effect in mesoscopic
      superconducting rings.

PMID- 9974691
TI  - Imaging of the dynamic magnetic structure in a parallel array of shunted
      Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9974692
TI  - Quasiparticle dispersion in the cuprate superconductors and the two-dimensional
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9974693
TI  - In- and out-of-plane vortex correlations in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9974694
TI  - Freezing electronic correlations by polaronic instabilities in doped La2NiO4.

PMID- 9974696
TI  - Origin of dissipation in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9974695
TI  - Effect of oxygen stoichiometry on the vortex-glass phase transition in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta thin films.

PMID- 9974697
TI  - Sign reversals in the vortex-state Hall effect in Y-Ba-Cu-O: Correlations with
      the normal-state Seebeck coefficient.

PMID- 9974698
TI  - Calculations of the total energy, electron-phonon interaction, and Stoner
      parameter for metals.

PMID- 9974699
TI  - Symmetrized partial-wave method for density-functional cluster calculations.

PMID- 9974700
TI  - Numerical-scaling experiments in Anderson localization.

PMID- 9974701
TI  - Missing particles and modes.

PMID- 9974702
TI  - Applications of Engel and Vosko's generalized gradient approximation in solids.

PMID- 9974703
TI  - Temperature dependence of the Hartree-Fock approximation.

PMID- 9974704
TI  - Electronic properties of f-electron metals using the generalized gradient
      approximation.

PMID- 9974705
TI  - Equation-of-motion approach to the Hubbard model in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9974706
TI  - Pseudogap formation in the symmetric Anderson lattice model.

PMID- 9974707
TI  - Local-field effects in NiO and Ni.

PMID- 9974708
TI  - Inelastic plasmon and interband electron-scattering potentials for Si from
      dielectric matrix calculations.

PMID- 9974709
TI  - Semiempirical tight-binding band structure of II3V2 semiconductors: Cd3P2, Zn3P2,
      Cd3As2, and Zn3As2.

PMID- 9974710
TI  - Photoluminescence of excitons bound to the isoelectronic hydrogen-related defects
      B711 (1.1377 eV) in silicon.

PMID- 9974711
TI  - Free energies, structures, and diffusion of point defects in Si using an
      empirical potential.

PMID- 9974712
TI  - Microvoid, Si, H, and Al dynamics in a-Si:H/Al2O3/Al structures: A small-angle x
      ray-scattering and infrared-absorption study.

PMID- 9974713
TI  - S-Cu-related metastable complex defect in Si by optical detection of magnetic
      resonance.

PMID- 9974715
TI  - Equilibrium temperature in intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon under
      illumination.

PMID- 9974714
TI  - Influence of transition-metal type and content on local-order properties of Zn1
      xMxS (M=Mn,Fe,Co) alloys studied using XANES spectroscopy.

PMID- 9974716
TI  - Conduction-band states and surface core excitons in InSb(110) and other III-V
      compounds.

PMID- 9974717
TI  - Pressure-induced symmetry breaking in tetrahedral networks.

PMID- 9974718
TI  - Ab initio study of hydrogenation effects in amorphous silicon carbide.

PMID- 9974719
TI  - Quantum theory of impact ionization in coherent high-field semiconductor
      transport.

PMID- 9974721
TI  - Steady-state optical modulation spectroscopy of p-type a-Si:H.

PMID- 9974720
TI  - Two-phonon resonant magneto-Raman scattering from direct-gap semiconductors.

PMID- 9974722
TI  - Ultrafast carrier-carrier scattering among photoexcited nonequilibrium carriers
      in GaAs.

PMID- 9974723
TI  - Identification of the migration path of interstitial carbon in silicon.

PMID- 9974724
TI  - Localization and diffusion of energy via confined phonon modes in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9974726
TI  - Radiative recombination at the AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs heterostructure interface by two
      dimensional excitons.

PMID- 9974725
TI  - STM study of surface reconstructions of Si(111):B.

PMID- 9974727
TI  - Exciton mixing in the magnetophotoluminescence excitation spectra of shallow
      strained InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9974728
TI  - Selection rules of intersubband transitions in conduction-band quantum wells.

PMID- 9974730
TI  - Excitonic and other interband transitions in TlInS2 single crystals.

PMID- 9974729
TI  - Thermal vibration amplitudes and structure of As on Si(001).

PMID- 9974732
TI  - Reflectance study of the oscillator strength of excitons in semiconductor quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9974731
TI  - Strain and interdiffusion in semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9974733
TI  - Raman line-shape analysis of random and spontaneously ordered GaInP2 alloy.

PMID- 9974735
TI  - Direct derivation of effective-mass equations for microstructures with atomically
      abrupt boundaries.

PMID- 9974734
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced localization effects on radiative recombination in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9974736
TI  - Integer quantum Hall transition: An alternative approach and exact results.

PMID- 9974737
TI  - Multiband theory of Bloch-electron dynamics in a homogeneous electric field.

PMID- 9974738
TI  - Surface phase transition and interface interaction in the alpha -Sn/InSb{111}
      system.

PMID- 9974739
TI  - Two-dimensional versus three-dimensional behavior of a free-carrier gas in delta 
      doped p-type GaAs(001).

PMID- 9974741
TI  - General relation between carrier spatial distributions and the generation
      function in photoconductors.

PMID- 9974740
TI  - Green's-function approach to the electronic structure of double-barrier quantum
      well heterostructures.

PMID- 9974742
TI  - Interband magneto-optical studies of resonant polaron coupling in CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9974743
TI  - Local structures around Mn luminescent centers in Mn-doped nanocrystals of ZnS.

PMID- 9974744
TI  - Analysis of time behavior in the breakdown of the integral quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9974745
TI  - Numerical analysis of electron-wave detection by a wedge-shaped point contact.

PMID- 9974746
TI  - Tunneling between a pair of parallel Hall droplets.

PMID- 9974747
TI  - Anomalous dynamic scaling on the ion-sputtered Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9974748
TI  - Electrophonon resonance in AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs quasi-two-dimensional quantum wells.

PMID- 9974750
TI  - Variations of the hole effective masses induced by tensile strain in In1
      xGaxAs(P)/InGaAsP heterostructures.

PMID- 9974749
TI  - Persistent currents of interacting electrons in one-dimensional disordered rings.

PMID- 9974751
TI  - Coulomb interaction and persistent currents in ensembles of mesoscopic metal
      rings.

PMID- 9974752
TI  - Self-consistent electronic-structure calculation of rectangular modulation-doped
      GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wires.

PMID- 9974753
TI  - Ultrafast Faraday spectroscopy in magnetic semiconductor quantum structures.

PMID- 9974754
TI  - Efficient calculation of the scattering rates in valence-band quantum wells.

PMID- 9974755
TI  - Transmission and reflection times of phonon packets propagating through
      superlattices.

PMID- 9974756
TI  - Magnetoexcitons in quantum wires with an anisotropic parabolic potential.

PMID- 9974758
TI  - Theory of asymmetric broadening and shift of excitons in quantum structures with
      rough interfaces.

PMID- 9974757
TI  - Sensitivity of wave-function envelopes upon interface position: Semiconductor
      insulator boundary.

PMID- 9974759
TI  - Degenerate Landau bands with interband disorder: A semiclassical picture.

PMID- 9974760
TI  - Fine structure of electron-transmission spectra across AlAs single barriers.

PMID- 9974761
TI  - Self-consistent calculations of edge channels in laterally confined two
      dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9974762
TI  - Normal-incidence linear and nonlinear infrared optical response of L-valley
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9974763
TI  - Universal spectral correlations in diffusive quantum systems.

PMID- 9974764
TI  - Electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation mediated by one-dimensional
      excitons in polysilanes.

PMID- 9974765
TI  - Propagation and attenuation of pseudo surface acoustic modes at the (111) face of
      a GaAs crystal studied by Brillouin spectroscopy.

PMID- 9974766
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetism of the semimetals ErAs and ErxSc1-xAs.

PMID- 9974767
TI  - Polariton effects in four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9974768
TI  - Second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of asymmetric quantum wells.

PMID- 9974769
TI  - Transfer-energy-dependent escape rate of electrons through a small-capacitance
      tunnel junction.

PMID- 9974771
TI  - Structural properties of granular PdxC1-x films.

PMID- 9974770
TI  - Strain dependence of the valence-band offset in InAs/GaAs heterojunctions
      determined by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9974772
TI  - Photoemission from adsorbate-covered Ag films: The dispersion relation for Ag
      plasma excitation.

PMID- 9974774
TI  - O- ions in front of a metal surface: Application to an O(1D,1S) quenching
      process.

PMID- 9974773
TI  - Structure of Ni(100)-c(2 x 2)-Na: A LEED analysis.

PMID- 9974776
TI  - Comparison of theoretical methods for the calculation of extended x-ray
      absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9974775
TI  - Spectroscopic signature of Cu on W(110) from scanning tunneling microscopy and
      inverse photoemission.

PMID- 9974777
TI  - Evidence for rhombohedral boron nitride in cubic boron nitride films grown by ion
      assisted deposition.

PMID- 9974778
TI  - Voltage-activated charge motion measured by a mesoscopic two-tunnel-junction
      system.

PMID- 9974779
TI  - Moving gold atoms with an atomic-force-microscope tip: A study of dimer and
      trimer formation on NaCl(100).

PMID- 9974780
TI  - Relativistic electronic structure of random alloys and their surfaces by linear
      band-structure methods.

PMID- 9974781
TI  - Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of small rhodium clusters.

PMID- 9974782
TI  - Adsorption on a stepped substrate.

PMID- 9974783
TI  - First-principles calculations of the surface relaxation and electronic structure
      of Zr(0001).

PMID- 9974785
TI  - Model for the shapes of islands and pits on (111) surfaces of fcc metals.

PMID- 9974784
TI  - Atomic-scale structure and electronic properties of highly tetrahedral
      hydrogenated amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9974786
TI  - Analytical solution of generalized Burton-Cabrera-Frank equations for growth and
      post-growth equilibration on vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9974787
TI  - Nonrelativistic multiple-scattering theory of a spin-polarized electron.

PMID- 9974788
TI  - Probing the electronic structure in M2Mo6Se6: Quadrupole couplings measured by
      NMR.

PMID- 9974790
TI  - Valence-band spectra of alpha -TeO2.

PMID- 9974789
TI  - Dimensionality crossovers of the sigma plasmon in coaxial carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9974791
TI  - Effective-medium theory for two-component nonlinear composites.

PMID- 9974792
TI  - Hot-electron cooling and hot-phonon generation with collision broadening.

PMID- 9974793
TI  - Real-space Green's-function approach to study the effects of disorder on the
      frequency spectrum of Si/Ge alloys.

PMID- 9974794
TI  - Two-electron state and negative-U property of sulfur DX centers in GaAs1-xPx.

PMID- 9974797
TI  - Theoretical model of excitons for type-II quantum-wire systems.

PMID- 9974795
TI  - Exciton oscillator strength in quantum wells: From localized to free resonant
      states.

PMID- 9974796
TI  - Structural analysis of the (1 x 1)-Bi/GaAs(110) interface.

PMID- 9974798
TI  - Determination of the fundamental and split-off band gaps in zinc-blende CdSe by
      photomodulation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9974800
TI  - Ordering of amorphous silicon during solid-phase epitaxy studied by scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9974799
TI  - Time-resolved electron-temperature measurement in a highly excited gold target
      using femtosecond thermionic emission.

PMID- 9974802
TI  - Decomposition approach to a two-dimensional electron system with an even
      denominator filling factor.

PMID- 9974801
TI  - Resonant resistance enhancement in double-quantum-well GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9974804
TI  - Resonant tunneling through quantum-dot arrays.

PMID- 9974803
TI  - Multipole edge plasmons of two-dimensional electron-gas systems.

PMID- 9974805
TI  - Possible metal-insulator transition at B=0 in two dimensions.

PMID- 9974807
TI  - X-ray-absorption dichroism of Dy at interfaces.

PMID- 9974806
TI  - Modification of spatiotemporal pattern formation in an excitable medium by
      continuous variation of its intrinsic parameters: CO oxidation on Pt(110).

PMID- 9974808
TI  - Light-intensity dependence of the photoconductivity in C60 films.

PMID- 9974809
TI  - Valence-electron distribution of cesium crown-ether electrides.

PMID- 9974810
TI  - Electride-electron locations in the crystalline electride

PMID- 9974812
TI  - Atomic geometry and electronic structure of native defects in GaN.

PMID- 9974811
TI  - Role of quantum fluctuations in the temperature dependence of intragap absorption
      in an MX chain complex.

PMID- 9974813
TI  - Interdiffusion of the group-III sublattice in In-Ga-As-P/In-Ga-As-P and In-Ga
      As/In-Ga-As heterostructures.

PMID- 9974815
TI  - Instantons and the spectral function of electrons in the half-filled Landau
      level.

PMID- 9974816
TI  - Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy of strained Si1-xGex layers.

PMID- 9974814
TI  - Resonant tunneling through donor molecules.

PMID- 9974817
TI  - Visible photoluminescence from N-dot ensembles and the linewidth of ultrasmall
      AlyIn1-yAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9974819
TI  - Type-II-->type-I transition in (GaX)n/(InX)n (001) superlattices (X=P, Sb) as a
      function of period n.

PMID- 9974818
TI  - Experimental characterization of electron trajectories in antidot lattices.

PMID- 9974820
TI  - Arsenic-deficient GaAs(001)-(2 x 4) surfaces: Scanning-tunneling-microscopy
      evidence for locally disordered (1 x 2) Ga regions.

PMID- 9974821
TI  - Si 2p core-level chemical shifts at the H/Si(111)-(1 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9974822
TI  - Electro-optic detection of Bloch oscillations.

PMID- 9974823
TI  - Biexciton effects in femtosecond nonlinear transmission of semiconductor quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9974824
TI  - Simultaneous influence of disorder and Coulomb interaction on photon echoes in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9974825
TI  - Supercurrent transport through a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9974826
TI  - Origin of RHEED intensity oscillations during the growth of (Y,Dy)Ba2Cu3O7-x thin
      films.

PMID- 9974827
TI  - Structural analyses of ordered rubidium phases on Ru(0001) using low-energy
      electron diffraction.

PMID- 9974828
TI  - Magnetic linear dichroism and spin polarization in 3d-band photoemission.

PMID- 9974829
TI  - Constraints on small graphitic helices.

PMID- 9974831
TI  - X-ray-scattering measurements of the transient structure of a driven charge
      density wave.

PMID- 9974830
TI  - Erratum: Absorption and luminescence studies of free-standing porous silicon
      films

PMID- 9974832
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetism of KMF3 (M=Mn,Fe,Co,Ni).

PMID- 9974834
TI  - Conserving approximations: Electron gas with exchange effects.

PMID- 9974833
TI  - Dynamical local-field factors and effective interactions in the three-dimensional
      electron liquid.

PMID- 9974836
TI  - Electrical resistivities of gamma -phase FexNi80-xCr20 alloys.

PMID- 9974835
TI  - Electrical conductivity of lithium-intercalated thiophosphate NiPS3 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9974837
TI  - Magnetic, transport, and structural properties of Fe1-xIrxSi.

PMID- 9974839
TI  - Phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory of charge-density-wave spectra.

PMID- 9974838
TI  - Density-functional calculation of the electronic structure and equilibrium
      geometry of iron pyrite (FeS2).

PMID- 9974840
TI  - Inequivalence of weak localization and coherent backscattering.

PMID- 9974842
TI  - Luttinger liquid in a solvable two-dimensional model.

PMID- 9974841
TI  - Manifestation of quantum chaos in electronic band structures.

PMID- 9974844
TI  - Use of the Lloyd formula for binary alloys.

PMID- 9974843
TI  - First-principles calculation of NiO valence spectra in the impurity-Anderson
      model approximation.

PMID- 9974845
TI  - Cooperons at the metal-insulator transition revisited: Constraints on the
      renormalization group and a conjecture.

PMID- 9974847
TI  - Phonon scattering from residual defects in GaAs: Observation of optically induced
      metastability by phonon imaging.

PMID- 9974846
TI  - Charge-density-wave structure in NbSe3.

PMID- 9974848
TI  - Dynamics of the nitrogen-bound excitons in 6H SiC.

PMID- 9974849
TI  - Time-convolutionless reduced-density-operator theory of an arbitrary driven
      system coupled to a stochastic reservoir: Quantum kinetic equations for
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9974850
TI  - Iron and chromium impurities in ZnSe as centers of nonradiative recombination.

PMID- 9974852
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics study of structural, dynamical, and electronic
      properties of liquid Ge.

PMID- 9974851
TI  - Hydrodynamic fluctuations of a hot-electron gas.

PMID- 9974853
TI  - Picosecond energy relaxation rates of hot excitonic molecules in CdSe.

PMID- 9974854
TI  - Normal-state tunnel junction as a tunable quasimonochromatic phonon source.

PMID- 9974855
TI  - Theory of Zener tunneling and Wannier-Stark states in semiconductors.

PMID- 9974856
TI  - Ab initio calculations of anharmonicity of the C-H stretch mode in HCN and GaAs.

PMID- 9974858
TI  - Nucleation and initial growth phase of diamond thin films on (100) silicon.

PMID- 9974857
TI  - Tetrahedral structures and phase transitions in III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9974859
TI  - Microscopic calculation of second-harmonic generation at semiconductor surfaces:
      As/Si(111) as a test case.

PMID- 9974860
TI  - Phonon-assisted tunneling from a two-dimensional emitter state.

PMID- 9974861
TI  - Temperature-dependent optical band gap of the metastable zinc-blende structure
      beta -GaN.

PMID- 9974862
TI  - Ultrafast phase dynamics of coherent emission from excitons in GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9974864
TI  - Electron-electron interaction and the persistent current in a quantum ring.

PMID- 9974863
TI  - C60-induced reconstruction of the Ge(111) surface.

PMID- 9974865
TI  - Scattering-matrix method for ballistic electron transport: Theory and an
      application to quantum antidot arrays.

PMID- 9974866
TI  - Initial stages of InAs epitaxy on vicinal GaAs(001)-(2 x 4).

PMID- 9974867
TI  - Quenching mechanisms of nonlocal transport in laterally confined two-dimensional
      systems.

PMID- 9974868
TI  - Hole subband states of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells within the 6 x 6 Luttinger
      model.

PMID- 9974869
TI  - Theoretical study of grain boundaries in Si: Effects of structural disorder on
      the local electronic structure and the origin of band tails.

PMID- 9974870
TI  - Spin-split subbands and magneto-oscillations in III-V asymmetric
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9974872
TI  - Carrier-gain dynamics in InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs strained-layer single-quantum-well
      diode lasers: Comparison of theory and experiment.

PMID- 9974871
TI  - Atomic arrangements of 16 x 2 and (17,15,1) 2 x 1 structures on a Si(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9974873
TI  - Current fluctuations in strongly electron-correlated one-dimensional double
      barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9974874
TI  - Limitations to the realization of noncentrosymmetric SimGen superlattices.

PMID- 9974875
TI  - Local-field effect on the linear optical intersubband absorption in multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9974876
TI  - Influence of quantum-interference effects on hole mobility in superlattices.

PMID- 9974877
TI  - Fano effect of resonant Raman scattering in a semiconductor quantum well.

PMID- 9974878
TI  - Effects of spin-orbit interaction on the envelope-function equations for
      semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9974879
TI  - Effective-mass theory for GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wires and corrugated
      superlattices grown on (311)-oriented substrates.

PMID- 9974880
TI  - Hydrogen adsorption on GaAs(110): A study of the surface optical properties.

PMID- 9974881
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of the GaAs/ZnSe(001) interface.

PMID- 9974882
TI  - Hysteresis and defects of spin-polarized edge states in the integer quantum Hall
      regime.

PMID- 9974883
TI  - Magnetotransport in a two-dimensional tight-binding model.

PMID- 9974884
TI  - Dynamics of electric-field domains and oscillations of the photocurrent in a
      simple superlattice model.

PMID- 9974885
TI  - Tight-binding model for the transverse Shubnikov-de Haas effect in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9974887
TI  - Electronic structures of As/Si(001) 2 x 1 and Sb/Si(001) 2 x 1 surfaces.

PMID- 9974886
TI  - Nonparabolicity and a sum rule associated with bound-to-bound and bound-to
      continuum intersubband transitions in quantum wells.

PMID- 9974888
TI  - Schottky-barrier height and electronic structure of the Si interface with metal
      silicides: CoSi2, NiSi2, and YSi2.

PMID- 9974889
TI  - Electronic structure of n-type delta -doping multiple layers and superlattices in
      silicon.

PMID- 9974890
TI  - Current-voltage characteristic in narrow channels and low-voltage breakdown of
      the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9974892
TI  - Electric-field-induced Gamma -X mixing between Stark ladders in short-period
      GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9974891
TI  - Dielectric function and collective modes of two-dimensional interacting bosons.

PMID- 9974893
TI  - Drastic suppression of scattering and activated behavior in mesoscopic quantum
      Hall systems with smooth confinement.

PMID- 9974894
TI  - Quantum fluctuations of the charge near the Coulomb-blockade threshold.

PMID- 9974896
TI  - Nonadiabatic processes during the oxidation of Li layers.

PMID- 9974895
TI  - Optical anisotropy in InAs/AlSb superlattices.

PMID- 9974897
TI  - Dislocation-mediated healing of ideal and adsorbed monolayers with vacancy
      damage.

PMID- 9974898
TI  - Observation of valence-band structure in the LVV Auger spectra of thin epitaxial
      sodium layers.

PMID- 9974899
TI  - Dynamic scaling of the island-size distribution and percolation in a model of
      submonolayer molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9974900
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy studies of the S-induced reconstruction of Cu(100).

PMID- 9974901
TI  - Reconstructive interactions in mixed N+O layers on Rh(110).

PMID- 9974902
TI  - Charge-density-wave transformation induced by Na intercalation into 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9974903
TI  - Spin-polarized electrons at interfaces: Co/Cu systems.

PMID- 9974904
TI  - Optical absorption of C60: Singlet single-excitation calculations.

PMID- 9974905
TI  - One-dimensional quantum liquid comprised of particles with an arbitrary number of
      internal degrees of freedom.

PMID- 9974906
TI  - Variational theory for a finite-U periodic Anderson model: Application to heavy
      electron materials.

PMID- 9974907
TI  - Calculation of atomic forces using the linearized-augmented-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9974908
TI  - Solid solubilities of magnetic ions in diluted magnetic semiconductors grown
      under equilibrium conditions.

PMID- 9974909
TI  - Electron transport through antidot superlattices in Si/Si0.7Ge0.3
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9974911
TI  - Inelastic events do not just randomize the phase.

PMID- 9974910
TI  - Coherent electronic backscattering in ballistic microstructures.

PMID- 9974912
TI  - Thermalization of a one-dimensional electron gas by many-body Coulomb scattering:
      Molecular-dynamics model for quantum wires.

PMID- 9974914
TI  - Determination of the Compton wavelength on a superlattice.

PMID- 9974913
TI  - Resonant tunneling in two dimensions via an impurity.

PMID- 9974915
TI  - Calculated defect states in semiconductor superlattices within a tight-binding
      model.

PMID- 9974916
TI  - Possiblity of terahertz emission with a time-dependent amplitude in semiconductor
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9974918
TI  - Quantum and many-body effects on the capacitance of a spherical-shell quantum
      dot.

PMID- 9974917
TI  - Implications of the two-band model for quantum wells.

PMID- 9974919
TI  - Zeeman splitting of the excitonic recombination in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs single quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9974920
TI  - Pressure coefficient of the PbTe metastable CsCl-type-phase energy gap.

PMID- 9974921
TI  - Surface-phonon dispersion curves and the longitudinal resonance in Ag(001)
      observed by helium-atom scattering.

PMID- 9974922
TI  - Fractal properties of a one-dimensional film surface.

PMID- 9974924
TI  - Comment on "Growth and characterization of epitaxial cubic boron nitride films on
      silicon"

PMID- 9974923
TI  - Tight-binding molecular-dynamics study of transition-metal clusters.

PMID- 9974925
TI  - Role of covalent bonding in the polarization of perovskite oxides: The case of
      KNbO3.

PMID- 9974926
TI  - High-resolution temperature-dependent photoemission spectroscopy of FeSi:
      Evidence for localized states.

PMID- 9974927
TI  - Identification of neutral bond-centered muonium in n-type semiconductors by
      longitudinal muon-spin relaxation.

PMID- 9974928
TI  - Intersubband L-valley and heavy-hole transitions in undoped GaSb/AlSb
      superlattices.

PMID- 9974929
TI  - Shifts and widths of metal-overlayer quantum-well states near EF observed by
      photoemission.

PMID- 9974931
TI  - Dynamic image potential in mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9974930
TI  - Radiative lifetimes of excitons in quantum wires.

PMID- 9974932
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in lateral surface superlattices.

PMID- 9974933
TI  - Reaction pathway for Sb-dimer rotation in conversion of Sb4 precursors on
      Si(001).

PMID- 9974934
TI  - Observation of solid-hexatic-liquid phase transitions of submonolayer xenon on
      graphite by transmission-electron diffraction.

PMID- 9974935
TI  - Sulfur chemisorption on Ni(111): The clock structure of the (5 sqrt 3 x 2)S
      phase.

PMID- 9974936
TI  - Hybridization and the effective mass of quantum-well states in magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9974937
TI  - Time-resolved two-photon photoemission from Cu(100): Energy dependence of
      electron relaxation.

PMID- 9974938
TI  - Single-electron tunneling effects in granular metal films.

PMID- 9974939
TI  - Thermodynamics of superconducting UPt3 under uniaxial pressure.

PMID- 9974940
TI  - Structural and elastic properties of Ge after Kr-ion irradiation at room
      temperature.

PMID- 9974941
TI  - Femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy of soft modes in structural phase
      transitions of perovskites.

PMID- 9974942
TI  - Kinetics of the martensitic transition in In-Tl alloys.

PMID- 9974944
TI  - Temperature dependence of the homogeneous width of Eu3+ spectral lines in
      silicate glass measured by accumulated photon echoes.

PMID- 9974943
TI  - Corrections of residual fluorescence distortions for a glancing-emergence-angle x
      ray-absorption technique.

PMID- 9974945
TI  - Electron correlation in CaF2 studied in threshold-excited soft-x-ray
      fluorescence.

PMID- 9974946
TI  - Entropy change between the beta phase and the martensite in Cu-based shape-memory
      alloys.

PMID- 9974947
TI  - Geometrical microstructure of FeNb3+-VO defects in KNbO3.

PMID- 9974948
TI  - Structural and bonding properties of solid tellurium from first-principles
      calculations.

PMID- 9974950
TI  - K+LMM resonant Auger spectra of solid KF.

PMID- 9974949
TI  - Mechanical instabilities in AlPO4.

PMID- 9974952
TI  - Spatial phase modulation due to the thermal nonlinearity in semiconductor-doped
      glasses.

PMID- 9974951
TI  - Computer simulations of 1q and 2q modulated phases in the tetragonal model.

PMID- 9974953
TI  - Structure of sputtered and melt-spun Ni-Zr glassy metals.

PMID- 9974955
TI  - Oscillatory instabilities in directionally solidified eutectics.

PMID- 9974954
TI  - Excitation oscillations in conformationally disordered chains with random traps.

PMID- 9974957
TI  - Nucleation in disordered media.

PMID- 9974956
TI  - Tight-binding models for hot dense hydrogen.

PMID- 9974958
TI  - Origin of depolarization dispersion of totally symmetric fundamental transitions
      in the resonance Raman effect of soluble cis-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9974960
TI  - Theory of diffusion in a porous medium with applications to pulsed-field-gradient
      NMR.

PMID- 9974959
TI  - Anharmonic gap mode in a one-dimensional diatomic lattice with nearest-neighbor
      Born-Mayer-Coulomb potentials and its interaction with a mass-defect impurity.

PMID- 9974961
TI  - Optical phonons, crystal-field transitions, and europium luminescence-excitation
      processes in Eu2BaCoO5: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9974963
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering study of the spin dynamics in the Haldane-gap system
      Ni(C2H8N2)2NO2ClO4.

PMID- 9974964
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of CuCl2 graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9974962
TI  - Variational cumulant expansion for the Heisenberg model with the critical
      temperature determined to third order.

PMID- 9974965
TI  - Magnetic short-range order and magnetic moments of Co-Mn and Ni-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9974966
TI  - Effect of a magnetic field on a vibrating reed with anisotropic susceptibility.

PMID- 9974969
TI  - Propagation of a hole on a Neel background.

PMID- 9974967
TI  - First-principle study of hybridization effects and magnetic ordering in
      correlated-electron uranium systems.

PMID- 9974968
TI  - Field-induced magnetism in uranium compounds: UGe3 and URh3.

PMID- 9974970
TI  - Equation of motion for two coupled spin-1 nuclei under a coherent and random
      Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9974971
TI  - Magnetism of UT2Si2 (T=Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni,Cu,Ru,Rh,Pd,Os) from spin-density
      functional calculations.

PMID- 9974972
TI  - sigma -model study of Haldane-gap antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9974973
TI  - Ordering process and Bloch-wall dynamics in a nearly one-dimensional anisotropic
      spin system.

PMID- 9974974
TI  - Finite-size analysis of the structure factors in the one-dimensional spin-1/2
      antiferromagnetic XXZ model.

PMID- 9974975
TI  - Polarized-neutron-diffraction study of the magnetization density in hexagonal
      Y2Fe17.

PMID- 9974977
TI  - Detailed magnetization study of quenched random ferromagnets. I. Low-lying
      magnetic excitations.

PMID- 9974976
TI  - Pressure- and field-dependent behavior of YbCu4Au.

PMID- 9974978
TI  - Detailed magnetization study of quenched random ferromagnets. II. Site dilution
      and percolation exponents.

PMID- 9974979
TI  - Critical exponents at the ferromagnetic phase transition of Fe100-xPtx single
      crystals.

PMID- 9974980
TI  - Nonlocal distribution of the recombination energy in spin-polarized atomic
      hydrogen.

PMID- 9974982
TI  - Dynamics of an ac-driven string of fluxons in a multilayered Josephson junction.

PMID- 9974981
TI  - Superconducting fluctuation effects on the thermoelectric coefficient above the
      transition temperature.

PMID- 9974984
TI  - Cross-talk effects in superconductor-insulator-normal-metal trilayers.

PMID- 9974983
TI  - Hysteretic ac losses and susceptibility of thin superconducting disks.

PMID- 9974985
TI  - Nonadiabatic analysis of the Josephson critical current influenced by quantum
      phase fluctuations.

PMID- 9974986
TI  - Spatiotemporal chaos in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9974987
TI  - Dynamics of row-switched states in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9974988
TI  - Influence of induced magnetic fields on Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction
      arrays.

PMID- 9974989
TI  - In-plane thermoelectric power of c-axis-oriented Sr1-xNdxCuO2- delta thin films.

PMID- 9974990
TI  - Decrease in critical temperature due to disorder and magnetic correlations in two
      dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9974991
TI  - Evidence for parallel junctions within high-Tc grain-boundary junctions.

PMID- 9974992
TI  - Observation of Hendricks-Teller partial order in a tetragonal cuprate
      superconductor: La1.68Nd0.14Na0.10K0.082CuO4.

PMID- 9974993
TI  - Nonadiabatic and nonlocal electron-phonon interaction and phonon-plasmon mixing
      in the high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9974995
TI  - Low-temperature quantum relaxation of single two-dimensional vortices in an
      epitaxial Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3Ox thin film.

PMID- 9974994
TI  - Hall coefficient for oxygen-reduced Nd2-xCexCuO4- delta.

PMID- 9974996
TI  - Superconductivity in (LuC)2(Ni2B2) and (LuC)(Ni2B2).

PMID- 9974997
TI  - Phonon self-energy in a d-wave superconductor with retardation, finite
      temperature, and impurities.

PMID- 9974998
TI  - Scaling in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9974999
TI  - Reversible magnetization of radiation-disordered YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals.

PMID- 9975000
TI  - Charge excitation and the normal-state transport properties in the flux-binding
      phase of the t-J model.

PMID- 9975001
TI  - Flux creep through columnar defects.

PMID- 9975002
TI  - Disorder-induced transition of the vortex lattice in YBa2Cu3O7 crystals and
      films.

PMID- 9975003
TI  - Observation of in-plane anisotropy of vortex pinning by inclined columnar
      defects.

PMID- 9975004
TI  - Crystal structure of Sr0.875Nd0.125CuO2- delta superconducting thin films.

PMID- 9975006
TI  - Doping dependence of the electronic structure and magnetic order in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9975005
TI  - Phonons and superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975007
TI  - Order and disorder in the ensemble of Cu-O chain fragments in oxygen-deficient
      planes of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9975008
TI  - Critical-state-model parameters of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7: Critical current in
      thin slabs and field penetration in hollow cylinders.

PMID- 9975009
TI  - Relation of extended Van Hove singularities to high-temperature superconductivity
      within strong-coupling theory.

PMID- 9975011
TI  - Topology of forward scattering of neutrons from imperfect multilayers.

PMID- 9975010
TI  - UV-spectroscopy study of the Ce7Rh3 empty and filled valence states.

PMID- 9975012
TI  - Far-infrared study of low-frequency vibrational states in As2S3 glass.

PMID- 9975013
TI  - Spontaneous optical flashes in proton-irradiated solid deuterium.

PMID- 9975014
TI  - Ferromagnetic transition of the Kondo lattice with Coulomb repulsion: Exact
      results.

PMID- 9975015
TI  - dc and ac resistivity of amorphous UCu4+xAl8-x thin films.

PMID- 9975016
TI  - Magnetic ordering of Mn overlayers on GaAs(100).

PMID- 9975018
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in a two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet in
      a uniform field.

PMID- 9975017
TI  - Spin-disordered states in the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the
      triangular lattice.

PMID- 9975019
TI  - Crystallography and magnetism of the heavy-fermion compound YbBiPt.

PMID- 9975020
TI  - Dichroic interference effects in circularly polarized soft-x-ray resonant
      magnetic scattering.

PMID- 9975022
TI  - Thermodynamics and excitation spectrum of a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor
      in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9975021
TI  - Magnetism-induced ordering in two and three dimensions.

PMID- 9975023
TI  - Negative four-probe conductances of mesoscopic superconducting wires.

PMID- 9975024
TI  - Effect of uniaxial pressure on the superconducting transition in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975025
TI  - Calorimetric studies on the magnetic order of Pb2Sr2TbCu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9975026
TI  - Effective electron-electron interaction in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9975027
TI  - Anisotropy of superconducting Pb2Sr2(Y0.7Ca0.3)Cu3O8+ delta and Pb2Sr2Y1-yCu3O8+
      delta.

PMID- 9975028
TI  - Thermoelectric power above the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.

PMID- 9975029
TI  - Comment on "Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation studies of the
      amorphous Cu-Hf alloys prepared by mechanical alloying and melt spinning"

PMID- 9975030
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation studies of
      the amorphous Cu-Hf alloys prepared by mechanical alloying and melt spinning' "

PMID- 9975031
TI  - Delayed electron emission from electronically sputtered C60- ions.

PMID- 9975032
TI  - Semiconductorlike transport in highly ordered Al-Cu-Ru quasicrystals.

PMID- 9975033
TI  - Localization of light in coherently amplifying random media.

PMID- 9975034
TI  - Structural and dynamical properties of metastable Al:Si solid solutions
      calculated by the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9975035
TI  - Possible soliton motion in ac-driven damped nonlinear lattices.

PMID- 9975037
TI  - Photoemission and inverse-photoemission study of superconducting YNi2B2C: Effects
      of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions.

PMID- 9975036
TI  - Imaging short-range magnetic order by spin-polarized photoelectron holography.

PMID- 9975038
TI  - Observation of Josephson self-coupling in Nb/AlOx/Nb tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9975039
TI  - Magnetic pair breaking in HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9975040
TI  - Anomalous behavior of the complex conductivity of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7 observed with
      THz spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975041
TI  - Exact solution of a one-dimensional fermion model with interchain tunneling.

PMID- 9975042
TI  - Linear ac magnetic response near the vortex-glass transition in single
      crystalline YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975043
TI  - Flux cutting in YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals: Experiment and phenomenological
      model.

PMID- 9975044
TI  - Absence of a second antiferromagnetic transition in pure YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9975045
TI  - Erratum: Transition-metal granular solids: Microstructure, magnetic properties,
      and giant magnetoresistance

PMID- 9975046
TI  - Spectroscopic study and crystal-field analysis of Cm3+ in the cubic-symmetry site
      of ThO2.

PMID- 9975047
TI  - Photoconductivity in KTaO3:Li single crystals.

PMID- 9975048
TI  - Thermal fluctuations and NMR spectra of incommensurate insulators.

PMID- 9975049
TI  - 57Fe-ion implantation in laser-deposited cupric and cuprous oxide films:
      Mossbauer spectroscopy and x-ray-diffraction studies.

PMID- 9975050
TI  - Extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure and perturbed-angular-correlation study
      of impurity clustering in dilute nickel alloys.

PMID- 9975051
TI  - Absorption-line-shape model for F-center-CN--molecule defect pairs in CsCl.

PMID- 9975052
TI  - Projectile and target autoionization electron emission in 700-eV Ne+-Na/M (M=Cr,
      Cu, Mo, and Pt) collisions.

PMID- 9975053
TI  - Nonmonotonic dependence of the positron lifetimes on the dopant content in La
      doped BaTiO3.

PMID- 9975055
TI  - Radiation damage in NaCl. I. Optical-absorption experiments on heavily irradiated
      samples.

PMID- 9975054
TI  - Renormalization-group calculation of Tc-T* of the nematic-isotropic phase
      transition.

PMID- 9975056
TI  - Radiation damage in NaCl. II. The early stage of F-center aggregation.

PMID- 9975058
TI  - Radiation damage in NaCl. IV. Raman scattering.

PMID- 9975057
TI  - Radiation damage in NaCl. III. Melting phenomena of sodium colloids.

PMID- 9975059
TI  - Radiation-enhanced diffusion in amorphous Ni-Zr studied by in situ electron
      irradiation in a transmission electron microscope.

PMID- 9975060
TI  - Experimental verification of light localization for disordered multilayers in the
      visible-infrared spectrum.

PMID- 9975061
TI  - Confinement potential and pi -electron delocalization in polyconjugated organic
      materials.

PMID- 9975062
TI  - Equilibrium properties of a quadrupolar glass.

PMID- 9975063
TI  - Effects of frustration and localization of states in the Penrose lattice.

PMID- 9975064
TI  - Electronic structure and transport in a model approximant of the decagonal
      quasicrystal Al-Cu-Co.

PMID- 9975066
TI  - Soliton dynamics and interaction in a deterministic aperiodic nonlinear lattice.

PMID- 9975065
TI  - Localized modes in inhomogeneous one-dimensional anharmonic lattices.

PMID- 9975067
TI  - Tracer diffusion in lattices with double occupancy of sites.

PMID- 9975068
TI  - Mossbauer study of SnO lattice dynamics.

PMID- 9975069
TI  - Paramagnetic scattering from the valence-fluctuation compound YbAl3.

PMID- 9975070
TI  - Intrinsic and induced Mn moments in Dy1-xYxMn2.

PMID- 9975072
TI  - Competition between singlet formation and magnetic ordering in one-dimensional
      spin systems.

PMID- 9975071
TI  - Magnetostatic modes in semi-infinite magnetic-nonmagnetic superlattices for an
      arbitrary-angle magnetization geometry.

PMID- 9975074
TI  - Thermoremanent-magnetization relaxation in the insulating spin glass Co1-xMnxCl2

PMID- 9975073
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram of Y2CuO4: Weak ferromagnetism and metamagnetic
      transition.

PMID- 9975075
TI  - Model calculation for the susceptibility of a quantum spin glass.

PMID- 9975076
TI  - Effects of hydrogen doping on UPd2Al3.

PMID- 9975077
TI  - Aspects of strongly correlated insulators.

PMID- 9975079
TI  - Infinite-range-interaction M-component quantum spin glasses: Statics and dynamics
      in the large-M limit.

PMID- 9975078
TI  - Relation between interface roughness and giant magnetoresistance in MBE-grown
      polycrystalline Fe/Cr superlattices.

PMID- 9975080
TI  - Transfer-matrix scaling from disorder-averaged correlation lengths for diluted
      Ising systems.

PMID- 9975081
TI  - Interpretation of the giant magnetoresistance effect in Co/Cu(100) multilayers
      with the quantum model of giant magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9975082
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of a free-standing Co monolayer and of multilayers which
      contain Co monolayers.

PMID- 9975084
TI  - Critical behavior near a symmetry-breaking surface and the stress tensor.

PMID- 9975083
TI  - Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Fe16N2.

PMID- 9975085
TI  - Micromagnetic theory of spin waves in rare-earth-transition-metal compounds.

PMID- 9975086
TI  - Generalization of the Abragam relaxation function to a longitudinal field.

PMID- 9975087
TI  - Spin bags in the doped t-J model.

PMID- 9975088
TI  - Exact spectra, spin susceptibilities, and order parameter of the quantum
      Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice.

PMID- 9975089
TI  - Quantum corrections to the resistance of Mo/Si multilayers.

PMID- 9975090
TI  - Numerical investigation of the flow properties of He II.

PMID- 9975092
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in ideal superconducting arrays at zero temperature.

PMID- 9975091
TI  - Granular behavior in polycrystalline Sm2-xCexCuO4-y compounds.

PMID- 9975094
TI  - Magnetization of symmetric 0- pi Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9975093
TI  - Quantum Hall fluid of vortices in a two-dimensional array of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9975095
TI  - Proximity effect of thin films on superconducting substrates.

PMID- 9975097
TI  - Transfer-integral expansion for the d-p model of the CuO2 plane: A single hole in
      the antiferromagnetic state.

PMID- 9975096
TI  - Electron-correlation effects on the properties of LaxSr1-xTiO3.

PMID- 9975099
TI  - Self-consistent calculations of superconductivity in a nearly antiferromagnetic
      Fermi liquid.

PMID- 9975098
TI  - Impurity effects on the spin excitation spectrum in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9975100
TI  - Mossbauer, crystal-structure, magnetic, and Raman studies of the (Y,Ce)2Sr2CuFeO8
      compound isomorphic to superconductors with the T* structure.

PMID- 9975101
TI  - Response function of the t-J model calculated using anyon techniques.

PMID- 9975102
TI  - Bosonization of lattice fermions.

PMID- 9975103
TI  - Intergranular and intragranular critical currents in silver-sheathed Pb-Bi-Sr-Ca
      Cu-O tapes.

PMID- 9975105
TI  - Bihybridization model of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9975104
TI  - Anomalous band folding due to the BiO superstructure in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 studied by
      angle-resolved photoemission.

PMID- 9975106
TI  - Superconductivity and valence state of Tl in TlA2-xLaxCuO5 and TlA2Ca1-xGdxCu2O7
      (A=Ba,Sr).

PMID- 9975108
TI  - d-wave model for microwave response of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9975107
TI  - Effect of Abrikosov-Gor'kov impurities on Raman shifts and changes in phonon
      widths.

PMID- 9975109
TI  - Superconductivity of the Pr-doped (Y,Eu)Ba2Cu4O8 system.

PMID- 9975110
TI  - Quantum statistical mechanics of vortices in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9975111
TI  - Symmetry dependence of phonon line shapes in superconductors with anisotropic
      gaps.

PMID- 9975112
TI  - Energy cost associated with vortex crossing in superconductors.

PMID- 9975113
TI  - Bosonic high-Tc superconductivity in two dimensions.

PMID- 9975114
TI  - Discontinuity and quasitricritical behavior near Tc in ferroelectric triglycine
      selenate.

PMID- 9975116
TI  - Power-law eigenstates of a regular Vicsek fractal with hierarchical interactions.

PMID- 9975115
TI  - High-pressure transformations of C60 to diamond and sp3 phases at room
      temperature and to sp2 phases at high temperature.

PMID- 9975117
TI  - Interfacial quality and giant magnetoresistance in MBE-grown Co/Cu(111)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9975119
TI  - Mossbauer study of antiferromagnetic CuFeS2-xSex.

PMID- 9975118
TI  - Magnetic-polarization effect of Pd layers in Fe/Pd multilayers.

PMID- 9975120
TI  - Quantum Heisenberg model with long-range ferromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9975122
TI  - Variations of Tc for changes in the spin-fluctuation spectral weight.

PMID- 9975121
TI  - Calculation of the low-spin and high-spin states of Ih Co13.

PMID- 9975123
TI  - Magnetic dynamic hysteresis of a resistively shunted Josephson-junction array.

PMID- 9975125
TI  - Metal-insulator transition and superconductivity in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975124
TI  - Unusual hole dependence of Tc in HgBa2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9975127
TI  - hcp-to-bcc pressure-induced transition in Mg simulated by ab initio molecular
      dynamics.

PMID- 9975126
TI  - Angular dependence of specular resonant nuclear scattering of x rays.

PMID- 9975128
TI  - Stability of carbon nitride solids.

PMID- 9975129
TI  - Glass-forming tendency, percolation of rigidity, and onefold-coordinated atoms in
      covalent networks.

PMID- 9975130
TI  - Enhancement of molecular interactions in strongly scattering dielectric composite
      optical media.

PMID- 9975131
TI  - Magnetoelastic behavior of NbSe3.

PMID- 9975132
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the orientation dependence of the magneto-optical
      Kerr effect in Co.

PMID- 9975133
TI  - Gap states, local moments, and magnetic dynamics in a Mott-Hubbard
      antiferromagnet doped with static impurities.

PMID- 9975135
TI  - High-field superconducting transition induced by correlated disorder.

PMID- 9975134
TI  - Spin softening in models with competing interactions: A high-anisotropy expansion
      to all orders.

PMID- 9975136
TI  - Two-dimensional angular-correlation-of-annihilation-radiation study of kappa 
      (BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9975138
TI  - Effect of superconducting fluctuations on spin susceptibility and NMR relaxation
      rate.

PMID- 9975137
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy into YBa2Cu4O8: Intralayer and interlayer analysis.

PMID- 9975139
TI  - Degenerate Anderson impurity model in the presence of spin-orbit and crystal
      field splitting.

PMID- 9975141
TI  - Resistance noise near the Anderson transition.

PMID- 9975140
TI  - Electronic structure of Bi2CuO4.

PMID- 9975142
TI  - Assignment of a photoemission feature in the O-2s-O-2p band gaps of TiO2 and
      V2O5.

PMID- 9975143
TI  - Angle-resolved soft-x-ray fluorescence and absorption study of graphite.

PMID- 9975144
TI  - Corrections to Migdal's theorem for spectral functions: A cumulant treatment of
      the time-dependent Green's function.

PMID- 9975146
TI  - Electronic excitations in 3d transition metals.

PMID- 9975145
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the one-dimensional Hubbard model with random
      hopping and random potentials.

PMID- 9975147
TI  - Fourth-order gradient corrections to the exchange-only energy functional:
      Importance of

PMID- 9975148
TI  - Excitonic n-string in linear chains: Electronic structure and optical properties.

PMID- 9975149
TI  - Simplified electronic-structure model for hydrogen-bonded systems: Water.

PMID- 9975150
TI  - Recursive diagonalization and analytical formulation of the scattering matrix for
      large-scale scattering problems.

PMID- 9975151
TI  - Density-functional approach to LCAO methods.

PMID- 9975152
TI  - Comparison of two cluster-expansion methods for the energetics of Pd-V alloys.

PMID- 9975153
TI  - Acceleration schemes for ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations and electronic
      structure calculations.

PMID- 9975154
TI  - Hall effect and conductivity in pyrite NiS2.

PMID- 9975155
TI  - Theory of the orbital Kondo effect with assisted hopping in strongly correlated
      electron systems: Parquet equations, superconductivity, and mass enhancement.

PMID- 9975156
TI  - Investigation of the Luttinger parameters for InP using hot-electron
      luminescence.

PMID- 9975157
TI  - Femtosecond photomodulation spectroscopy of a-Si:H and a-Si:Ge:H alloys in the
      midinfrared.

PMID- 9975158
TI  - Optically detected electron-nuclear double resonance of the S=1 excited state of
      the PGa-YP defect in GaP: The neighboring 31P and 69Ga and 71Ga shells.

PMID- 9975159
TI  - Bonding of H-CAs pairs in AlxGa1-xAs alloys.

PMID- 9975160
TI  - Spectroscopic ellipsometry study of Zn1-xCoxSe alloys grown on GaAs.

PMID- 9975161
TI  - Hydrogen diffusion in a-Si:H stimulated by intense illumination.

PMID- 9975162
TI  - Influence of electron-hole correlations on the absorption of GaAs in the presence
      of nonthermalized carriers.

PMID- 9975163
TI  - Splitting of the metastable EL2 acceptor state.

PMID- 9975165
TI  - Structural study of a-Si and a-Si:H films by EXAFS and Raman-scattering
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975164
TI  - Impurity-related photoluminescence from silicon at room temperature.

PMID- 9975166
TI  - Structural and optical properties of Zn1-xCdxGa2Se4 and Zn1-xCdxGa2Se4:Co2+
      single crystals.

PMID- 9975167
TI  - Far-infrared spin resonance in the II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductors Zn1
      xMnxSe, Cd1-xMnxSe, and Zn1-xCoxS.

PMID- 9975168
TI  - Resonant inter-valence-band Raman scattering of photoexcited holes in germanium.

PMID- 9975169
TI  - Effect of pressure on a defect-related band-resonant vibrational mode in
      implanation-disordered GaAs.

PMID- 9975170
TI  - Ultrafast relaxation of highly photoexcited carriers in p-type and intrinsic
      GaAs.

PMID- 9975171
TI  - Ab initio study of piezoelectricity and spontaneous polarization in ZnO.

PMID- 9975172
TI  - Calculated and measured uv reflectivity of SiC polytypes.

PMID- 9975173
TI  - Effective-medium tight-binding model for silicon.

PMID- 9975174
TI  - Bonding in the molybdenum silicides.

PMID- 9975175
TI  - Electronic properties of cubic and hexagonal SiC polytypes from ab initio
      calculations.

PMID- 9975176
TI  - Dynamics of singlet excitations in conjugated polymers: Poly(phenylenevinylene)
      and poly(phenylphenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9975177
TI  - Quasiparticle band structures of six II-VI compounds: ZnS, ZnSe, ZnTe, CdS, CdSe,
      and CdTe.

PMID- 9975178
TI  - Network models of quantum percolation and their field-theory representations.

PMID- 9975179
TI  - Correlation energy of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9975180
TI  - Theoretical studies of halogen-semiconductor-surface interactions: The
      Cl/GaAs(110) system.

PMID- 9975181
TI  - Thermal-mismatch-strain relaxation in epitaxial CaF2, BaF2/CaF2, and
      PbSe/BaF2/CaF2 layers on Si(111) after many temperature cycles.

PMID- 9975183
TI  - Conductance quantization in a periodically modulated channel.

PMID- 9975182
TI  - Surfactant-mediated growth of Ge on Si(111).

PMID- 9975185
TI  - Electron band structure in a two-dimensional periodic magnetic field.

PMID- 9975184
TI  - Surface morphology of Pb overlayers grown on Si(100)-(2 x 1).

PMID- 9975186
TI  - Femtosecond spin spectroscopy in magnetically tunable heterostructures.

PMID- 9975187
TI  - Magnetoconductance of a nanoscale antidot.

PMID- 9975188
TI  - Density of states for double-barrier quantum-well structures under the influence
      of external fields and phase-breaking scattering.

PMID- 9975189
TI  - Exciton dynamics in GaAs quantum wells under resonant excitation.

PMID- 9975190
TI  - Electronic structure of the arsenic-passivated Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9975191
TI  - Surface states and reconstruction of epitaxial sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 R30 degrees Er
      silicide on Si(111).

PMID- 9975192
TI  - Evaluation of various approximations used in the envelope-function method.

PMID- 9975194
TI  - Metallization, surface photovoltage, and quantum-well-type resonance for K
      covered Si(100) observed via valence-band photoemission.

PMID- 9975193
TI  - Single-monolayer ordered phases of C60 molecules on Si(111)-(7 x 7) surfaces.

PMID- 9975195
TI  - Model for the Pb center at the (111) Si/SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9975196
TI  - Far-infrared radiation-induced inter-edge-channel scattering in a high magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9975197
TI  - Low-temperature growth on Si(111) substrates.

PMID- 9975199
TI  - Exciton binding energies in a dielectric quantum well in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9975198
TI  - Stabilization of the asymmetric Ge dimer on Si(100) by charge transfer.

PMID- 9975200
TI  - Infrared-absorption spectra of acceptors confined in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells in the presence of an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9975201
TI  - First-principles calculations of (GaP)m/(AlP)n superlattices.

PMID- 9975202
TI  - Electromodulation spectroscopy of an array of modulation-doped GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs
      quantum dots: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9975203
TI  - Confined and interface acoustic phonons in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9975204
TI  - Exchange interaction in quantum-wire subbands.

PMID- 9975205
TI  - Atomic-scale imperfections and fluctuations in the transmission properties of a
      quantum dot.

PMID- 9975206
TI  - Competition between thermally induced resonant tunneling and phonon-assisted
      tunneling in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9975208
TI  - Conductance and conductance fluctuations of narrow disordered quantum wires.

PMID- 9975207
TI  - Correlations in coupled layers of electrons and holes.

PMID- 9975210
TI  - Microscopic-balance-equation theory of the real-space transfer in semiconductor
      multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9975209
TI  - Charged spin-texture excitations and the Hartree-Fock approximation in the
      quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9975211
TI  - Laser-stimulated nonthermal particle emission from InP and GaAs surfaces.

PMID- 9975213
TI  - Suppression of the Josephson effect by quantum fluctuations in the fractional
      quantum Hall state.

PMID- 9975212
TI  - Electroluminescence study of resonant tunneling in GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9975214
TI  - Layer-by-layer resolved core-level shifts in CaF2 and SrF2 on Si(111): Theory and
      experiment.

PMID- 9975215
TI  - Interfacial reaction of C60 with silver.

PMID- 9975216
TI  - Structural analysis of the nitrogen-adsorbed NbC(111) surface.

PMID- 9975217
TI  - Reintroduction of ionic structure in the self-consistent jellium model for metal
      clusters: Pseudopotential perturbation theory.

PMID- 9975218
TI  - Adsorption-isotherm study of monolayer films of N2 on BN.

PMID- 9975219
TI  - Surface band structures on Nb(001).

PMID- 9975220
TI  - Ag-Au superlattice band structure.

PMID- 9975221
TI  - Simulations of length-scale change for finger growth in intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9975222
TI  - Dynamic scaling of island-size distribution in submonolayer growth of 1 x 1
      films.

PMID- 9975223
TI  - Structures of surfaces and amorphous samples obtained by EXAFS measurements in
      the x-ray Raman-scattering mode.

PMID- 9975224
TI  - Anharmonicity but absence of surface melting on Al(001).

PMID- 9975225
TI  - Interference, resonances, and bound states at the Pd(001) and Rh(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9975226
TI  - Surface melting and layering transitions from a lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9975227
TI  - Surface dielectric response of uniaxial crystals: Application to graphite.

PMID- 9975228
TI  - Adatom yields, sputtering yields, and damage patterns of single-ion impacts on
      Pt(111).

PMID- 9975229
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of adatom formation under keV-ion bombardment of
      Pt(111).

PMID- 9975230
TI  - Total-energy calculations using a gradient-expanded kinetic-energy functional.

PMID- 9975231
TI  - Electron-phonon interaction in one dimension: Exact spectral properties.

PMID- 9975232
TI  - Fermi surface of noble metals: Full-potential generalized-gradient-approximation
      calculations.

PMID- 9975233
TI  - Edge magnetoplasmons of two-dimensional electron-gas systems.

PMID- 9975235
TI  - Anomalous magnetoresistance plateaus of an H-shaped quantum wire.

PMID- 9975234
TI  - Measurement of the direct energy gap of Al0.5In0.5P: Implications for the band
      discontinuity at Ga1-xInxP/AlyIn1-yP heterojunctions.

PMID- 9975236
TI  - Hierarchy theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect: Two physically equivalent
      formulations.

PMID- 9975237
TI  - Metastable oxygen-induced ordered structure on the Si(001) surface.

PMID- 9975238
TI  - Reconstruction on Si(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9975239
TI  - Second-harmonic generation from SiO2/Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9975240
TI  - Theoretical simulation of scanning-tunneling-microscopy images of the GaAs(001)
      beta (2 x 4) and beta (4 x 2) surfaces.

PMID- 9975241
TI  - Impurity states in doubly doped systems: Investigation of donor-donor and donor
      acceptor pairs.

PMID- 9975242
TI  - Hysteresis in the low-temperature photoconductivity of C60 films.

PMID- 9975243
TI  - Low-angle neutron and x-ray scattering of hydrogenated and deuterated Mo/V
      superlattices.

PMID- 9975244
TI  - Mode-locking hysteresis in the globally coupled model of charge-density waves.

PMID- 9975245
TI  - Optical properties of beta -C3N4 and its pressure dependence.

PMID- 9975247
TI  - Band dispersion in C60(111): An angle-resolved photoemission study.

PMID- 9975246
TI  - Skutterudite antimonides: Quasilinear bands and unusual transport.

PMID- 9975248
TI  - Photoinduced charge transfer in poly(p-phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9975250
TI  - Exciton binding energies in shallow GaAs-AlyGa1-yAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9975249
TI  - Vacancy defects in photoexcited GaAs studied by positron two-dimensional angular
      correlation of annihilation radiation.

PMID- 9975251
TI  - Control of single-electron tunneling by surface acoustic waves.

PMID- 9975253
TI  - Conductance distribution of a quantum dot with nonideal single-channel leads.

PMID- 9975252
TI  - Influence of the electron-hole spatial separation on the magnetoluminescence
      measurements of the fractional-quantum-Hall-effect energy gaps.

PMID- 9975254
TI  - Statistics of fluctuations of wave functions of chaotic electrons in a quantum
      dot in an arbitrary magnetic field.

PMID- 9975255
TI  - Kinetics of surfactant-mediated epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9975256
TI  - Atomic imaging by x-ray-fluorescence holography and electron-emission holography:
      A comparative theoretical study.

PMID- 9975257
TI  - Conduction-electron effect in quantum tunneling diffusion of hydrogen on metal
      surfaces.

PMID- 9975258
TI  - Initial stage of oxygen chemisorption on Na/Pt and Na/Cr: An autoionization
      electron-spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9975259
TI  - Erratum: Photoacoustic investigation of the quantum size effect and thermal
      properties in ZrO2 nanoclusters

PMID- 9975260
TI  - Spin-charge separation at small length scales in the two-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9975261
TI  - Localization and mobility edges in one-dimensional deterministic potentials.

PMID- 9975263
TI  - Alloying effects of Kondo insulators.

PMID- 9975262
TI  - Doping dependence of Ni 2p x-ray-absorption spectra of MxNi1-xO (M=Li,Na).

PMID- 9975264
TI  - Resonant photoemission study of CeO2.

PMID- 9975265
TI  - Charge-transfer effect on the linewidth of Fe K alpha x-ray fluorescence spectra.

PMID- 9975266
TI  - Higher-order finite-difference pseudopotential method: An application to diatomic
      molecules.

PMID- 9975267
TI  - Critical and bicritical properties of Harper's equation with next-nearest
      neighbor coupling.

PMID- 9975268
TI  - Falicov-Kimball model and its relation to the Hubbard model: Studies on clusters.

PMID- 9975269
TI  - Dielectric response in insulators: A wave-vector- and frequency-dependent model.

PMID- 9975270
TI  - Optical reflectivity and Raman spectra of Sr2FeO4 under pressure.

PMID- 9975271
TI  - Statistical properties and statistical interaction for particles with spin: The
      Hubbard model in one dimension and a statistical spin liquid.

PMID- 9975272
TI  - Mechanism of spin and charge separation in one-dimensional quantum
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9975273
TI  - Charge gap in the one-dimensional dimerized Hubbard model at quarter-filling.

PMID- 9975274
TI  - Interacting electrons on a square Fermi surface.

PMID- 9975275
TI  - Electronic structures of disordered Ag-Mg alloys.

PMID- 9975276
TI  - Magnetic ground-state properties and spectral distributions. I. X-ray-absorption
      spectra.

PMID- 9975277
TI  - Magnetic ground-state properties and spectral distributions. II. Polarized
      photoemission.

PMID- 9975278
TI  - Absorption-edge singularities for a nonequilibrium Fermi sea. I. Second-order
      perturbation theory.

PMID- 9975279
TI  - Absorption-edge singularities for a nonequilibrium Fermi sea. II. Second-order
      diagrammatic expansion.

PMID- 9975280
TI  - Observation of time-nonreversible optical interaction with zinc-blende
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9975281
TI  - Linear and nonlinear optical properties of four polytypes of SiC.

PMID- 9975282
TI  - Exciton self-trapping at an isoelectronic center in silicon.

PMID- 9975283
TI  - Interpretation of infrared data in neutron-irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9975285
TI  - Electronic structure of the SbGa heteroantisite defect in GaAs:Sb.

PMID- 9975286
TI  - Up to fifth-order Raman scattering of InP under nonresonant conditions.

PMID- 9975284
TI  - Structure of a-Si1-xCx:H alloys by wide-angle x-ray scattering: Detailed
      determination of first- and second-shell environment for Si and C atoms.

PMID- 9975288
TI  - Valence-band density of states of near-noble-metal (Ni,Pd,Pt) monosilicides by
      using soft-x-ray-emission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975287
TI  - Small-bipolaron hopping conductivity in chalcogenide glasses.

PMID- 9975289
TI  - Quantum magnetotransport in a nondegenerate two-dimensional electron gas under
      extremely strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975290
TI  - Transferable nonorthogonal tight-binding scheme for silicon.

PMID- 9975291
TI  - Density dependence of electron scattering at low density.

PMID- 9975292
TI  - Pulsed-light soaking of hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9975293
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of phonon-assisted luminescence from
      polyexcitons in Si.

PMID- 9975294
TI  - Temperature and many-body effects on the intersubband transition in a
      GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As multiple quantum well.

PMID- 9975295
TI  - Exciton formation and hole-spin relaxation in intrinsic quantum wells.

PMID- 9975296
TI  - Quantum waveguide transport in serial stub and loop structures.

PMID- 9975297
TI  - Strain relief by microroughness in surfactant-mediated growth of Ge on Si(001).

PMID- 9975298
TI  - Infrared and Raman studies on a-Ge1-xSnx:H thin films.

PMID- 9975299
TI  - Mechanism of apparent reflection of electrons from extra probes investigated by
      the magnetic electron-focusing effect.

PMID- 9975300
TI  - Surface-potential dependence of interface-state passivation in metal-tunnel-oxide
      silicon diodes.

PMID- 9975301
TI  - Reflectivity and photoluminescence measurements in ZnS epilayers grown by metal
      organic chemical-vapor deposition.

PMID- 9975302
TI  - Barrier height versus confinement efficiency for the optical phonons in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9975303
TI  - Critical layer thickness for self-assembled InAs islands on GaAs.

PMID- 9975304
TI  - Theoretical investigations of resonant tunneling in asymmetric multibarrier
      semiconductor heterostructures in an applied constant electric field.

PMID- 9975306
TI  - Magnetoluminescence studies in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs single heterojunctions:
      Observation of parity-forbidden Landau-level transitions.

PMID- 9975305
TI  - Continuum model of the optical modes of vibration of an ionic crystal slab.

PMID- 9975307
TI  - Currents in the compressible and incompressible regions of the two-dimensional
      electron gas.

PMID- 9975308
TI  - Lack of band-offset transitivity for semiconductor heterojunctions with polar
      orientation: ZnSe-Ge(001), Ge-GaAs(001), and ZnSe-GaAs(001).

PMID- 9975309
TI  - Defect-excitation processes involved in laser-induced atomic emission and laser
      ablation of nonmetallic solids.

PMID- 9975310
TI  - Modeling of electroabsorption in semiconductor quantum structures within the
      eight-band k

PMID- 9975312
TI  - Dispersion of GaAs(110) surface phonons measured with HREELS.

PMID- 9975311
TI  - Lateral subband transitions in the luminescence spectra of a one-dimensional
      electron-hole plasma in In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9975313
TI  - Spin-flip Raman scattering in CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe multiple quantum wells: A model
      system for the study of electron-donor binding in semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9975315
TI  - Final-state excitations in the photoluminescence spectra of InxGa1-xAs-InP
      quantum wells at low and high carrier density.

PMID- 9975314
TI  - Langevin molecular dynamics with quantum forces: Application to silicon clusters.

PMID- 9975316
TI  - Phonons in the quantum Hall effect: A nonlinear-dynamics picture.

PMID- 9975318
TI  - Tetrahedron-model analysis of silicon nitride thin films and the effect of
      hydrogen and temperature on their optical properties.

PMID- 9975317
TI  - Evidence of one-dimensional excitons in GaAs V-shaped quantum wires.

PMID- 9975319
TI  - Exciton thermalization in quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9975320
TI  - Cathodoluminescence imaging of quantum wells: The influence of exciton transfer
      on the apparent island size.

PMID- 9975321
TI  - Dynamics and spin relaxation of excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9975322
TI  - Improved modeling of excitons in type-II semiconductor heterostructures by use of
      a three-dimensional variational function.

PMID- 9975324
TI  - In-plane birefringence of GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9975323
TI  - Calculation of Raman scattering by acoustic phonons in superlattices.

PMID- 9975325
TI  - Edge states of composite fermions.

PMID- 9975326
TI  - Quantum-mechanical evolution of real-space transfer.

PMID- 9975328
TI  - Doping-profile effects on the tunneling times of electrons confined in double
      barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9975327
TI  - Electromagnetic absorption in finite systems and the crossover to macroscopic
      behavior.

PMID- 9975330
TI  - Nonadiabatic particle transport in a one-dimensional electron system.

PMID- 9975329
TI  - Magneto-optical spectroscopy of free- and bound-electron-hole excitations in the
      presence of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9975331
TI  - Quantum study of magnetotransport in antidot superlattices.

PMID- 9975332
TI  - Four-wave mixing and terahertz emission from three-level systems in quantum
      wells: Effects of inhomogeneous broadening.

PMID- 9975333
TI  - Theoretical study of Cl adsorption on the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9975334
TI  - Inversion asymmetry, hole mixing, and enhanced Pockels effect in quantum wells
      and superlattices.

PMID- 9975335
TI  - Electronic properties and valence-band offset of strained ZnTe/CdTe (001)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9975336
TI  - Edge-state properties and bulk eigenenergy spectra of periodically modulated two
      dimensional electron systems in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9975337
TI  - Low-temperature electronic transport properties in thin films of Pd and PdH0.3.

PMID- 9975338
TI  - Relaxation process of charge transfer in C60.

PMID- 9975339
TI  - Growth mode and electronic structure of the epitaxial C60(111)/GeS(001)
      interface.

PMID- 9975340
TI  - Electrostatic potentials for metal-oxide surfaces and interfaces.

PMID- 9975342
TI  - Electronic and geometrical structure of rutile surfaces.

PMID- 9975341
TI  - Simulation of surface segregation free energies.

PMID- 9975343
TI  - Unoccupied electronic structure of Al(111).

PMID- 9975345
TI  - Absence of photoinduced electron transfer from the excitonic electron-hole bound
      state in polydiacetylene conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9975344
TI  - Staging and interlayer interaction in the misfit-layer compounds (RS)nNbS2
      (R=La,Ce; n=0.6,1.2) studied by Raman and infrared spectroscopies.

PMID- 9975346
TI  - Controlled synthesis and quantum-size effect in gold-coated nanoparticles.

PMID- 9975347
TI  - Theoretical study of the orientational epitaxy of the reconstructed (001)
      surfaces of Au and Pt.

PMID- 9975348
TI  - Electronic properties of ultrathin Cu and Fe films on TiO2(110) studied by
      photoemission and inverse photoemission.

PMID- 9975350
TI  - Electron-momentum spectroscopy of the core state of solid carbon.

PMID- 9975351
TI  - Surface anharmonicities and disordering on Ni(100) and Ni(110).

PMID- 9975349
TI  - Effective-medium theory for the optical properties of diamond and diamondlike
      films.

PMID- 9975352
TI  - Anisotropy of diffusion along steps on the (111) faces of gold and silver.

PMID- 9975353
TI  - Surface core-level shifts for simple metals.

PMID- 9975354
TI  - Brillouin scattering from shear horizontal surface phonons in silicon on
      insulator structures: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9975355
TI  - Equilibrium surface segregation of interstitials on bcc(001) surfaces: A lattice
      gas approach.

PMID- 9975356
TI  - Electronic correlation effects in a fullerene molecule studied by the variational
      Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9975357
TI  - Effects of orbital nonorthogonality on band structure within the tight-binding
      scheme.

PMID- 9975358
TI  - Partition functions for strongly correlated fermion systems.

PMID- 9975359
TI  - Wentzel-Bardeen singularity and phase diagram for interacting electrons coupled
      to acoustic phonons in one dimension.

PMID- 9975360
TI  - Stacking-fault excitons in AgBr microcrystals with twin planes.

PMID- 9975361
TI  - Alloy-assisted Auger recombination in ternary III-V compounds.

PMID- 9975363
TI  - Binding and transition energies of off-center D- impurity states in quantum wells
      and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975362
TI  - Optical spectroscopic studies of InAs layer transformation on GaAs surfaces.

PMID- 9975364
TI  - Photocurrent spectroscopy of Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum wells in p-i-n
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9975365
TI  - Edge-dislocation intersections in diamond cubic crystals.

PMID- 9975367
TI  - Short-wavelength phonon emission from a metal-semiconductor interface.

PMID- 9975366
TI  - Resistance fluctuations in diffusive transport at high magnetic fields in narrrow
      Si transistors.

PMID- 9975369
TI  - Interference oscillations of the acoustic phonon-assisted magnetotunneling in
      double quantum wells.

PMID- 9975368
TI  - Rate of electron tunneling in double quantum wells with nonideal interfaces.

PMID- 9975370
TI  - Electronic properties of semiconducting graphitic microtubules.

PMID- 9975371
TI  - Vibrational spectra of multishell fullerenes.

PMID- 9975372
TI  - d4 identification of the satellite in the Mn 3d photoemission spectra of Cd1
      xMnxTe alloys.

PMID- 9975373
TI  - Comment on "Adsorption of C60 on Ta(110): Photoemission and C K-edge studies"

PMID- 9975374
TI  - Correlation between broad-band noise and frequency fluctuations of narrow-band
      noise in the charge-density wave in NbSe3.

PMID- 9975375
TI  - Observation of a fluctuating charge-density wave in the unoccupied electronic
      structure of (TaSe4)2I.

PMID- 9975376
TI  - Phonon-induced nonmetal-metal transition of a doped polyaniline.

PMID- 9975379
TI  - Association of a zero-bias anomaly in electron tunneling in AlxGa1-xAs with the
      DX defect.

PMID- 9975377
TI  - Origin of multiple-peak photoluminescence spectra of light-emitting porous
      silicon.

PMID- 9975378
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations of Si clusters using the higher-order
      finite-difference-pseudopotential method.

PMID- 9975380
TI  - Cyclotron-resonance oscillations in a two-dimensional electron-hole system.

PMID- 9975382
TI  - Orientation relationship of aligned carbon-hydrogen complexes in GaAs formed by
      the decomposition of trimethylgallium to the directions of the (2 x 4) surface
      reconstruction observed during growth.

PMID- 9975381
TI  - Structural determination of the Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3-Bi surface by x-ray
      standing waves and scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9975383
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in periodic antidot arrays.

PMID- 9975384
TI  - Adsorbate symmetry and Fermi resonances of methoxide adsorbed on Mo(110) as
      studied by surface infrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975385
TI  - Low-temperature scanning-tunneling-microscopy observations of the Si(001) surface
      with a low surface-defect density.

PMID- 9975386
TI  - Structure of D2 in zeolite.

PMID- 9975387
TI  - Optical properties of zoisite.

PMID- 9975388
TI  - Melting and melt structure of MgO at high pressures.

PMID- 9975389
TI  - Time-resolved fragmentation cross-section simulation of C60++C60 collisions.

PMID- 9975390
TI  - Electronic structure and structural phase stability in BaS, BaSe, and BaTe.

PMID- 9975391
TI  - EPR and optical studies of Co2+ ions in MgO from local-spin-density molecular
      orbital calculations.

PMID- 9975392
TI  - Lifetime effect on the multiplet structure of 4d x-ray-photoemission spectra in
      heavy rare-earth elements.

PMID- 9975393
TI  - Rearrangements in model face-centered-cubic solids.

PMID- 9975394
TI  - Relaxation rate of conserved and nonconserved order parameters in replacive
      transitions.

PMID- 9975395
TI  - Dynamics of the IR-to-blue wavelength upconversion in Pr3+-doped yttrium aluminum
      garnet and LiYF4 crystals.

PMID- 9975396
TI  - Thickness dependence of the dielectric susceptibility of ferroelectric thin
      films.

PMID- 9975397
TI  - High-pressure x-ray diffraction on potassium and rubidium up to 50 GPa.

PMID- 9975398
TI  - Microstructural defects in nanocrystalline iron probed by x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975399
TI  - Dislocation loops in finite systems.

PMID- 9975400
TI  - Atomic structure of amorphous Al100-2xCoxCex (x=8, 9, and 10) and Al80Fe10Ce10
      alloys: An XAFS study.

PMID- 9975401
TI  - Ordered and disordered phases in Al-Ni-Co decagonal quasicrystals.

PMID- 9975403
TI  - Structural trends in amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9975402
TI  - Observation of the freezing line in a deuteron glass.

PMID- 9975404
TI  - Effect of the zero-point rotational motions on the quadrupolar glass order
      parameter in solid hydrogen.

PMID- 9975405
TI  - Mean-field theory for alkali-metal-doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9975406
TI  - Binary tiling quasicrystals and matching rules.

PMID- 9975407
TI  - Theory of electromigration failure in polycrystalline metal films.

PMID- 9975408
TI  - Thermally stimulated polarization-depolarization current and polarization
      conductivity in ionically conducting glasses.

PMID- 9975409
TI  - Vibrational analysis of polyaniline: A comparative study of leucoemeraldine,
      emeraldine, and pernigraniline bases.

PMID- 9975410
TI  - Hopping theory of heat transport in disordered systems.

PMID- 9975411
TI  - Spatial disorder dependence of the conductance of a random resistor network.

PMID- 9975412
TI  - One-dimensional bipolaron in the strong-coupling limit.

PMID- 9975413
TI  - Magnetocrystalline anisotropy of 3d-4f intermetallics: Breakdown of the linear
      theory.

PMID- 9975414
TI  - Magnetic-susceptibility and heat-capacity measurements on PrRhSb.

PMID- 9975415
TI  - Cluster Monte Carlo dynamics for the antiferromagnetic Ising model on a
      triangular lattice.

PMID- 9975416
TI  - Magnetic properties of Cu80Co20 and Cu80Co15Fe5 melt-spun ribbons.

PMID- 9975417
TI  - Phase boundaries in ultrathin magnetic films.

PMID- 9975418
TI  - Magnetic properties of CocNi1-cCl2-FeCl3 graphite bi-intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9975419
TI  - Thickness-dependent oscillation of the magneto-optical properties of Au
      sandwiched (001) Fe films.

PMID- 9975420
TI  - Magnetic behavior of dilute Rh impurities in Au1-xFex alloys: A perturbed-angular
      correlation study.

PMID- 9975421
TI  - Competition between the Glauber and Kawasaki dynamics in the antiferromagnetic
      Ising model.

PMID- 9975422
TI  - Elementary excitation spectrum for the multichannel Kondo model at finite
      temperatures.

PMID- 9975423
TI  - Thermal contraction at the spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9975425
TI  - Magnetic and magnetoelastic properties in tetragonal TbPO4.

PMID- 9975424
TI  - Crystal field and Kondo effects in CeCu6 and CeAl3.

PMID- 9975426
TI  - Role of hydrogen-sublattice ordering for magnetic and metal-semiconductor
      transitions in beta -HoH2+x.

PMID- 9975427
TI  - Dynamics of Ising spin glasses above the freezing temperature.

PMID- 9975428
TI  - Mean-field theory for critical phenomena in bilayer systems.

PMID- 9975429
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram of (DyxGd1-x)Fe11Ti alloys.

PMID- 9975430
TI  - Mossbauer, magnetic, and electronic-structure studies of YFe12-xMox compounds.

PMID- 9975432
TI  - Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida polarization in some inhomogeneous situations.

PMID- 9975431
TI  - Orbital and spin sum rules in x-ray magnetic circular dichroism.

PMID- 9975433
TI  - Numerical studies of the two-dimensional XY model with symmetry-breaking fields.

PMID- 9975434
TI  - Renormalization-group analysis of long-range order in the two-dimensional
      antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9975435
TI  - Collective-variable approach to the dynamics of nonlinear magnetic excitations
      with application to vortices.

PMID- 9975436
TI  - Slow quantum oscillations in the semimetallic spin-density-wave state of
      tetramethyltetraselenafulvalinium nitrate (TMTSF)2NO3.

PMID- 9975438
TI  - Bosonization in two dimensions: A space-time tunneling approach.

PMID- 9975437
TI  - High-field magnetoresistance of the Bechgaard salt (TMTSF)2NO3: Quantum
      oscillations in the spin-density-wave state and phase transitions.

PMID- 9975439
TI  - Quantum and classical behavior of single-particle dynamics in dense liquid 4He.

PMID- 9975440
TI  - Specific heat of the organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2I3.

PMID- 9975441
TI  - Structural effects of hydrostatic pressure in Sr1-xMxCuO2 (M=La,Ca) and
      Sr4Cu6O10.

PMID- 9975442
TI  - Fulde-Ferrell state in quasi-two-dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9975443
TI  - Proximity effect and charging in mesoscopic normal-metal-superconductor junction
      systems.

PMID- 9975444
TI  - Thermal depinning of a single superconducting vortex in Nb.

PMID- 9975445
TI  - Calculations of the superconducting critical temperature with vertex corrections.

PMID- 9975447
TI  - Fluxon-density waves in a modulated Josephson ring.

PMID- 9975446
TI  - Josephson effect in nanoscopic structures.

PMID- 9975448
TI  - Long Josephson junctions driven by biharmonic signals.

PMID- 9975449
TI  - Influence of the environment on charge quantization in small superconducting
      islands.

PMID- 9975450
TI  - Properties of an electron bubble approaching the surface of liquid helium.

PMID- 9975451
TI  - Time-dependent equations for phase differences and a collective mode in Josephson
      coupled layered superconductors.

PMID- 9975452
TI  - Temperature derivative of the superfluid density and flux quantization as
      criteria for superconductivity in two-dimensional Hubbard models.

PMID- 9975453
TI  - Phase locking of Fiske modes in sine-Gordon systems.

PMID- 9975454
TI  - Flux phase, Neel antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity in the t-J model.

PMID- 9975455
TI  - Theory of electron-hole asymmetry in doped CuO2 planes.

PMID- 9975456
TI  - Origin of the Tc depression and the role of charge transfer and dimensionality in
      ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9975458
TI  - Damping of spin waves for a doped antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9975457
TI  - Evolution of hole and magnon spectra of the two-dimensional t-J model with
      doping.

PMID- 9975459
TI  - Theory and experiment on electromagnetic-wave-propagation velocities in stacked
      superconducting tunnel structures.

PMID- 9975460
TI  - q dependence of the dynamic susceptibility chi "(q, omega ) in superconducting
      YBa2Cu3O6.6 (Tc=46 K).

PMID- 9975461
TI  - Phase-slip dissipation and dimensionality above the irreversibility line in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x.

PMID- 9975462
TI  - Estimation of the doping dependence of the Neel temperature in high-Tc copper
      oxides.

PMID- 9975464
TI  - Resistive transition for YBa2Cu3O7- delta -Y2BaCuO5 composites: Influence of a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9975463
TI  - Influence of hole doping on spin dynamics in lightly doped copper oxide
      superconductors.

PMID- 9975465
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional vortex-glass transition observed in epitaxial
      Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox thin films.

PMID- 9975466
TI  - Elementary physical properties and crystal structures of LaRh2B2C and LaIr2B2C.

PMID- 9975467
TI  - Measurements of 3d occupancy from Cu L2,3 electron-energy-loss spectra of rapidly
      quenched CuZr, CuTi, CuPd, CuPt, and CuAu.

PMID- 9975468
TI  - Influence of inelastic interactions on the angular distribution of 2-keV
      electrons.

PMID- 9975469
TI  - Spectral response of the orientational glass Ar1-x(N2)x.

PMID- 9975470
TI  - Order and disorder in Ni3V: Effective pair interactions and the role of
      electronic excitations.

PMID- 9975472
TI  - Optical free-induction decay in fractal clusters.

PMID- 9975471
TI  - Temperature-induced amorphization of SiO2 stishovite.

PMID- 9975473
TI  - Scaling properties of the ferromagnetic state in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9975475
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in hybrid magnetic nanostructures including both layers
      and clusters.

PMID- 9975474
TI  - Large low-temperature magnetoresistance in weakly spin-correlated CeCu2Sn2 and
      CeNi2Sn2.

PMID- 9975476
TI  - Mean-field phase diagrams of AT2X2 compounds.

PMID- 9975477
TI  - NMR relaxation in half-integer antiferromagnetic spin chains.

PMID- 9975478
TI  - Magnetic structure of Gd2CuO4: Low-temperature anomalies in ac susceptibility.

PMID- 9975480
TI  - Doping dependence of the susceptibility in the two-dimensional Hubbard model
      close to half-filling.

PMID- 9975479
TI  - Quantum liquid of vortices in superconductors at T=0.

PMID- 9975481
TI  - Binding of holes to magnetic impurities in a strongly correlated system.

PMID- 9975482
TI  - Effect of sample shape on the low-field peak in the magnetization of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9975483
TI  - Magnetic irreversibility in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 fibers irradiated by neutrons.

PMID- 9975484
TI  - 1s x-ray-absorption spectroscopy of C60: The effects of screening and core-hole
      relaxation.

PMID- 9975485
TI  - Interatomic force constants from first principles: The case of alpha -quartz.

PMID- 9975486
TI  - Successive structural phase transitions in a hexagonal linear-chain ferroelectric
      crystal RbMnBr3.

PMID- 9975487
TI  - Reversible pressure-induced structural transitions between metastable phases of
      silicon.

PMID- 9975489
TI  - Time decay of the remanent magnetization in TDAE-C60.

PMID- 9975488
TI  - Structure of GaSb to 35 GPa.

PMID- 9975490
TI  - Spin-dependent transmission of low-energy electrons through ultrathin magnetic
      layers.

PMID- 9975492
TI  - Anisotropic spin diffusion in a saturated 3He-4He solution.

PMID- 9975491
TI  - Influence of the magnetic-layer thickness on the interlayer exchange coupling:
      Competition between oscillation periods.

PMID- 9975493
TI  - Electric-field tuning of the superconductor-insulator transition in granular Al
      films.

PMID- 9975494
TI  - Onset of ferromagnetic exchange in adsorbed 3He films.

PMID- 9975495
TI  - Discontinuity in the low-field magnetization of single-crystal Tl2Ba2CuO6 with
      H||||ab.

PMID- 9975496
TI  - Erratum: Nonadiabatic small-polaron hopping conduction in Li-doped and undoped
      Bi4Sr3Ca3CuyOx (0 <= y <= 5)

PMID- 9975497
TI  - Acoustic velocities and refractive index of SiO2 glass to 57.5 GPa by Brillouin
      scattering.

PMID- 9975498
TI  - Elastic properties of B2-NiTi and B2-PdTi.

PMID- 9975499
TI  - Scaling in ferroelectrics with critical points induced by an electric field.

PMID- 9975500
TI  - Complete elastic moduli of La2-xSrxCuO4 (x=0.00 and 0.14) near the tetragonal
      orthorhombic structural phase transition.

PMID- 9975501
TI  - Pressure-induced kinetics of ferroelectric phase transitions.

PMID- 9975502
TI  - Photoelectric domain structure in ruby: Studies with electric-field modulation of
      photon echo.

PMID- 9975504
TI  - Direct observation of spontaneous strain variation and domain evolution in the
      phase transition of NdP5O14.

PMID- 9975503
TI  - Laser-field-induced superionic transition.

PMID- 9975505
TI  - Thermal hysteresis effects in the ferroelectric-ferroelastic phase transition in

PMID- 9975506
TI  - Evidence of anomalous hopping and tunneling effects on the conductivity of a
      fractal Pt-film system.

PMID- 9975508
TI  - Theory of the crystal structures of selenium and tellurium: The effect of
      generalized-gradient corrections to the local-density approximation.

PMID- 9975507
TI  - Nature of the ferroelectric phase transition in PbTiO3.

PMID- 9975509
TI  - Evidence for the crossover process after optical excitation of the F center in
      NaI.

PMID- 9975510
TI  - Influence of ion-electron interaction on the formation mechanism of depleted
      zones in displacement cascades in metals.

PMID- 9975511
TI  - Computer simulations of disordering kinetics in irradiated intermetallic
      compounds.

PMID- 9975513
TI  - Identification of a hyperlattice of a quasiperiodic structure based on
      experimental observations.

PMID- 9975512
TI  - Molecular dynamics of ferroelectric polymeric systems as studied by incoherent
      quasielastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9975514
TI  - Conformational and electronic properties of flexible conducting polymer chains.

PMID- 9975515
TI  - Reverse Monte Carlo study of structure changes in amorphous Pd52Ni32P16 upon
      annealing.

PMID- 9975516
TI  - Dielectric measurement of the model glass transition in orientationally
      disordered cyclo-octanol.

PMID- 9975517
TI  - Estimation of the free-charge-carrier concentration in fast-ion conducting Na2S
      B2S3 glasses from an analysis of the frequency-dependent conductivity.

PMID- 9975519
TI  - Renormalization-group analysis of extended electronic states in one-dimensional
      quasiperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9975518
TI  - Augmented-space recursive method for the study of short-ranged ordering effects
      in binary alloys.

PMID- 9975520
TI  - Correlated atomic motions in glassy selenium.

PMID- 9975521
TI  - Defect-induced Raman spectra in doped CeO2.

PMID- 9975522
TI  - Interaction of a group of dislocations within the framework of the continuum
      Frenkel-Kontorova model.

PMID- 9975523
TI  - Interimpurity transfer in condensed media: Breakdown of coherent tunneling and
      conditions for the creation of localized states.

PMID- 9975524
TI  - Percolation effects in two-component nonlinear composites: Crossover from linear
      to nonlinear behavior.

PMID- 9975525
TI  - Interdiffusion and free-boundary problem for r-component (r >= 2) one-dimensional
      mixtures showing constant concentration.

PMID- 9975526
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering study of phonon eigenvectors and frequencies in Si.

PMID- 9975528
TI  - Transition between bipolaron and polaron states in doped heterocycle polymers.

PMID- 9975527
TI  - Lattice dynamics and hyperfine interactions in ZnF2 single crystals.

PMID- 9975529
TI  - Quantum electrodynamics of resonant energy transfer in condensed matter. II.
      Dynamical aspects.

PMID- 9975530
TI  - Lattice dynamics and dielectric properties of incipient ferroelectric TiO2
      rutile.

PMID- 9975531
TI  - Concentration dependence of the conductivity and diffusivity in one-dimensional
      anharmonic lattices.

PMID- 9975532
TI  - Lattice dynamics of SiC polytypes within the bond-charge model.

PMID- 9975533
TI  - Nonuniversal diffusivity exponent for the soft-percolation process in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9975535
TI  - Quantum theory of the strong magneto-optical effect of Ce-substituted yttrium
      iron garnet.

PMID- 9975534
TI  - Magnetic and pairing correlations in coupled Hubbard planes.

PMID- 9975536
TI  - Nonlinear self-localized dipole-exchange surface spin waves on ferromagnetic
      media.

PMID- 9975538
TI  - Orbital magnetization of a finite anyon system: A Hartree calculation on a
      cylinder.

PMID- 9975537
TI  - Numerical diagonalization study of an S=1/2 ladder model with open boundary
      conditions.

PMID- 9975539
TI  - Phase diagram of thin antiferromagnetic films in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975540
TI  - Longitudinal-relaxation effects on transverse magnetization and the nuclear
      magnetic-resonance line shape.

PMID- 9975541
TI  - Crossover from in-plane to perpendicular magnetization in ultrathin Ni/Cu(001)
      films.

PMID- 9975542
TI  - Magnetostatic surface and guided modes of lateral-magnetic-superlattice films.

PMID- 9975543
TI  - Spin-flip scattering of low-energy electrons from magnetic surfaces near their
      ordering temperature: Application to Cr(110).

PMID- 9975544
TI  - Pressure dependence of the magnetic order in RMn2 (R=rare earth).

PMID- 9975545
TI  - Oscillatory interlayer exchange coupling in Co/Ru multilayers and bilayers.

PMID- 9975546
TI  - Thermodynamics and spin gap of the Heisenberg ladder calculated by the look-ahead
      Lanczos algorithm.

PMID- 9975547
TI  - Scaling theory for the quantum spin-glass transition.

PMID- 9975548
TI  - Hyperuniversality of a fully anisotropic three-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9975549
TI  - Effects of randomness at interfaces on the exchange coupling in magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9975550
TI  - Surface impedance of a type-II superconductor in dc magnetic fields parallel and
      tilted to the superconductor border.

PMID- 9975551
TI  - Cancellation of quasiparticle mass enhancement in the conductance of point
      contacts.

PMID- 9975552
TI  - Anisotropic flux pinning in a network of planar defects.

PMID- 9975553
TI  - Trial shadow wave function for the ground state of 4He.

PMID- 9975554
TI  - Exact-diagonalization study of the Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor repulsion.

PMID- 9975556
TI  - Anomalous vortex diffusion in proximity-junction arrays.

PMID- 9975555
TI  - Electrodynamics of the organic superconductorsinebreak kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2
      and kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9975557
TI  - Enhancement of superconductivity and observation of antilocalization in thin
      metal films by suppression of electron-interaction effects.

PMID- 9975558
TI  - Effect of competition between point and columnar disorder on the behavior of flux
      lines in (1+1) dimensions.

PMID- 9975559
TI  - Kinetic inductance of Josephson-junction arrays: Dynamic and equilibrium
      calculations.

PMID- 9975561
TI  - Nuclear-spin-lattice relaxation-rate measurements in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975560
TI  - Unconventional superconducting order parameters without nodes: The density of
      states and impurity scattering.

PMID- 9975562
TI  - Chemical doping and intergranular magnetic-field effects in bulk thallium-based
      superconductors.

PMID- 9975563
TI  - Magnetic screening in proximity-coupled superconductor/normal-metal bilayers.

PMID- 9975564
TI  - Initial-vortex-entry-related magnetic hysteresis in thin-film SQUID
      magnetometers.

PMID- 9975565
TI  - Effects of hole doping and electron-phonon interaction on the electronic
      structure of Ba1-xKxBiO3 studied by photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975566
TI  - High-frequency random telegraph voltage noise in high-Tc thin films.

PMID- 9975567
TI  - Angular scaling of the microwave magnetodissipation in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x.

PMID- 9975568
TI  - Charge-transfer and barrier-layer effects in YBa2Cu3O7 superlattices.

PMID- 9975570
TI  - Effect of oxygen stoichiometry in CuO.

PMID- 9975569
TI  - Normal modes and specific heat of a lattice of undamped pancake vortices in thin
      superconducting mulitlayers.

PMID- 9975571
TI  - Dynamic phenomena in superconducting oxides measured by ESR.

PMID- 9975572
TI  - Anisotropic flux dynamics in single-crystalline and melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9975573
TI  - Magnetic properties of slablike Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9975574
TI  - Dopant interactions in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975575
TI  - Abrikosov flux lattice in planar crystals of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9975576
TI  - Resistive behavior of high-Tc superconductors with a logarithmiclike pinning
      potential.

PMID- 9975578
TI  - Range of the t-J model parameters for CuO2 planes: Experimental data constraints.

PMID- 9975577
TI  - Observation of the effects of phonon dispersion on the Frohlich-interaction
      induced second-order Raman scattering in Pb2Sr2PrCu3O8.

PMID- 9975579
TI  - Volume dependence of the superconducting transition temperature for the high
      temperature superconductor HgBa2Ca2-xPbxCu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9975580
TI  - Ballistic-electron emission into vacuum from a scanning-tunneling-microscope tip
      through free-standing gold films.

PMID- 9975581
TI  - High-pressure study of Fe3O4 through the Verwey transition.

PMID- 9975582
TI  - Elastic moduli of the Laves-phase pseudobinary compounds Zr(AlxFe1-x)2 as
      determined by ultrasonic measurements.

PMID- 9975584
TI  - Average Gibbs energy per lattice defect.

PMID- 9975583
TI  - Autler-Townes modulation of coherent transients in photoexcited color centers.

PMID- 9975585
TI  - Generating functional for a nonequilibrium system coupled to two reservoirs.

PMID- 9975586
TI  - Angular dependence of circular magnetic x-ray dichroism in rare-earth compounds.

PMID- 9975587
TI  - Parametric excitation of nonlinear waves in a one-dimensional system of
      interacting magnons.

PMID- 9975588
TI  - Origin of magnetic dichroism in angular-resolved photoemission from ferromagnets.

PMID- 9975589
TI  - Unrestricted Hartree-Fock upper bounds for the total energy of the Hubbard model
      on a Bethe lattice of infinite connectivity.

PMID- 9975591
TI  - Nuclear relaxation rate in layered superconductors with unconventional pairing.

PMID- 9975590
TI  - Quantum phase transition in the frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9975592
TI  - Phase roughening transition in Josephson-junction ladders in random magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9975593
TI  - Transverse ac susceptibility of strips and disks with complex linear resistivity.

PMID- 9975594
TI  - Phase shift, the Marshall sign, and the Luttinger-liquid behavior in one
      dimension.

PMID- 9975596
TI  - Vibrating-reed studies of flux penetration in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9975595
TI  - High-pressure Raman study of the coupling of crystal-field excitations to phonons
      in Nd-containing cuprates.

PMID- 9975597
TI  - Size limitation of vortex fluctuations in transport-current-carrying
      Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 high-temperature superconductors with preferential grain
      orientation.

PMID- 9975598
TI  - Thermally assisted flux-flow approach to the irreversibility line.

PMID- 9975599
TI  - Critical behavior and the Harris criterion for the random Potts model on
      hierarchical lattices.

PMID- 9975600
TI  - Raman scattering in diamond at high pressure: Isotopic effects.

PMID- 9975601
TI  - Crystal-field effects in PrCu2Si2: An evaluation of evidence for heavy-fermion
      behavior.

PMID- 9975603
TI  - Brownian motion and magnetism.

PMID- 9975602
TI  - Effect of impurities on the low-temperature nonlinear spin-density-wave
      transport.

PMID- 9975604
TI  - Bloch oscillation and topological quantization.

PMID- 9975605
TI  - Superconductivity in the ternary nickel silicide Lu2Ni3Si5.

PMID- 9975606
TI  - Structure of a vortex line in a dx2-y2 superconductor.

PMID- 9975607
TI  - Upper critical field in a spin-charge-separated superconductor.

PMID- 9975609
TI  - Precision measurement of the in-plane penetration depth lambda ab(T) in YBa2Cu3O7
      delta using grain-boundary Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9975608
TI  - Critical magnetic fields of superconducting Ba6C60.

PMID- 9975610
TI  - Dynamically assisted interlayer hopping in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9975612
TI  - Metal-insulator transitions and dilute electron and hole doping in the extended
      Hubbard (d-p) model.

PMID- 9975611
TI  - Transport in polyaniline networks near the percolation threshold.

PMID- 9975613
TI  - Path-length distribution of electrons reflected elastically from solids.

PMID- 9975615
TI  - Ionic-covalent transition in titanium oxides.

PMID- 9975614
TI  - Two-phase coexistence and semimetallic states in conducting polymers.

PMID- 9975616
TI  - Back-flow electric current: dc current as a quadratic response to an ac field.

PMID- 9975617
TI  - Chebyshev expansions for the scattering matrices in full-potential Korringa-Kohn
      Rostoker band-structure calculations.

PMID- 9975618
TI  - Theory of magnetotransport in a composite medium with periodic microstructure for
      arbitrary magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975620
TI  - Pseudoparticle-operator description of an interacting bosonic gas.

PMID- 9975619
TI  - Extended Hubbard model at weak coupling.

PMID- 9975622
TI  - Cyclotron resonance and strong phonon coupling in n-type ZnS at high magnetic
      fields up to 220 T.

PMID- 9975621
TI  - Low-energy properties of fermions with singular interactions.

PMID- 9975623
TI  - Exciton magnetic polarons in the semimagnetic alloys Cd1-x-yMnxMgyTe.

PMID- 9975624
TI  - Bose condensation and superfluidity of excitons in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9975625
TI  - Structural study of crystallization of a-Ge using extended x-ray-absorption fine
      structure.

PMID- 9975626
TI  - Positron-lifetime measurements between 300 and 800 K in GaAs and GaP.

PMID- 9975628
TI  - Temperature dependence of the EL2 metastability in semi-insulating GaAs: Thermal
      hysteresis between the metastable and reverse transitions.

PMID- 9975627
TI  - Stimulated Brillouin scattering of electromagnetic waves in magnetized
      semiconductor plasmas.

PMID- 9975629
TI  - Raman-scattering spectra of coupled LO-phonon-hole-plasmon modes in p-type GaAs.

PMID- 9975630
TI  - Lattice-constant dependence of the dynamical effective charge in AlAs and GaAs.

PMID- 9975631
TI  - Composition-dependent energy spectrum of electrons in Hg1-xFexSe solid solution.

PMID- 9975632
TI  - Structure of amorphous semiconductors: Reverse Monte Carlo studies on a-C, a-Si,
      and a-Ge.

PMID- 9975634
TI  - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theory of the valence band and semicore Ga
      3d states in GaN.

PMID- 9975633
TI  - Magnetic properties of Cr-based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9975635
TI  - Raman studies of intrasubband plasmons in laterally modulated two-dimensional
      electron gases.

PMID- 9975636
TI  - Intermittent breakdown of current-oscillation tori in n-type GaAs epitaxial
      layers.

PMID- 9975637
TI  - Ultrafast nonlinearities in semiconductor laser amplifiers.

PMID- 9975638
TI  - Theoretical study of the anharmonic decay of nonequilibrium LO phonons in
      semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9975639
TI  - Symmetry breaking in pseudomorphic V-groove quantum wires.

PMID- 9975640
TI  - Crossover from single-level to multilevel transport in artificial atoms.

PMID- 9975641
TI  - Electronic transport in metallic iron disilicide.

PMID- 9975642
TI  - Effects of an impurity on the conductance and thermopower of a saddle-point
      potential quantum point contact.

PMID- 9975643
TI  - First-principles calculations of band-edge electronic states of silicon quantum
      wires.

PMID- 9975644
TI  - Intensity dependence of the photoreflectance amplitude in semiconductors.

PMID- 9975646
TI  - Exchange interaction of excitons in GaAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9975645
TI  - Photoelectron core-level spectroscopy and scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of
      the sulfur-treated GaAs(100) surface.

PMID- 9975647
TI  - Ab initio study of cesium chemisorption on the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9975648
TI  - Electronic structure of GaF3 films grown on GaAs via exposure to XeF2.

PMID- 9975649
TI  - Surface core-level shifts of Si(111)7 x 7: A fundamental reassessment.

PMID- 9975650
TI  - Quantum wells with corrugated interfaces: Theory of electron states.

PMID- 9975651
TI  - Characterization of Si/Si1-xGex/Si quantum wells by space-charge spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975652
TI  - Exciton-phonon interaction in CdSe and CuCl polar semiconductor nanospheres.

PMID- 9975653
TI  - Carrier thermalization in sub-three-dimensional electronic systems: Fundamental
      limits on modulation bandwidth in semiconductor lasers.

PMID- 9975654
TI  - Atomic rearrangement at ZnTe/CdSe interfaces.

PMID- 9975655
TI  - Epitaxial continued-layer structure of Sb on GaAs(110) as observed by grazing
      incidence x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9975656
TI  - Epitaxial growth mechanisms and structure of CaF2/Si(111).

PMID- 9975657
TI  - Vibrational modes on Si(111)1 x 1-As studied by electron-energy-loss
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975659
TI  - Topological defects, orientational order, and depinning of the electron solid in
      a random potential.

PMID- 9975658
TI  - Absence of localization and large dc conductance in random superlattices with
      correlated disorder.

PMID- 9975660
TI  - Exciton properties and optical response in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9975662
TI  - Confinement, surface, and chemisorption effects on the optical properties of Si
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9975661
TI  - Bloch oscillations of excitonic wave packets in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9975663
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of

PMID- 9975664
TI  - Calculations of second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities in III-V and II
      VI semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9975665
TI  - Correlated-interfacial-roughness anisotropy in Si1-xGex/Si superlattices.

PMID- 9975666
TI  - Surface electronic structure of Tm(0001) and Yb(111).

PMID- 9975667
TI  - Inner-shell promotions in low-energy Li+-Al collisions at clean and alkali
      covered Al(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9975668
TI  - Importance of confined fields in near-field optical imaging of subwavelength
      objects.

PMID- 9975669
TI  - Electronic structure of ultrathin Fe films on TiO2(110) studied with soft-x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopy and resonant photoemission.

PMID- 9975670
TI  - Surface core-level shifts and atomic coordination at a stepped W(110) surface.

PMID- 9975671
TI  - Theory of strained-layer epitaxial growth near step flow.

PMID- 9975672
TI  - Effect of defects on the stability of heteroepitaxial ceramic interfaces studied
      by computer simulation.

PMID- 9975674
TI  - Local structure of c(2 x 2)-Na on Al(001): Experimental evidence for the
      coexistence of intermixing and on-surface adsorption.

PMID- 9975673
TI  - Picosecond ultrasonic study of localized phonon surface modes in Al/Ag
      superlattices.

PMID- 9975676
TI  - Interface hybridization and spectral distribution in strongly correlated
      itinerant magnetic systems.

PMID- 9975675
TI  - Statistical treatment of dynamical electron diffraction from growing surfaces.

PMID- 9975677
TI  - Relation between the surface impedance and the extinction theorem on a rough
      surface.

PMID- 9975679
TI  - Energy dependence of the Nernst-Ettingshausen effect induced by pulsed laser
      light in bismuth films.

PMID- 9975678
TI  - 1.681-eV luminescence center in chemical-vapor-deposited homoepitaxial diamond
      films.

PMID- 9975680
TI  - Electron-stimulated desorption of positive ions from physisorbed monolayers of
      H2, HD, and D2 on graphite and D2 on Kr-plated graphite.

PMID- 9975682
TI  - Stabilized jellium model for the average electron density.

PMID- 9975681
TI  - Electron-stimulated desorption total-removal cross sections for H2 and HD
      monolayers physisorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9975684
TI  - Ab initio calculation of thermodynamic properties of silicon.

PMID- 9975683
TI  - Concise calculations of the ground-state energy for the strongly bound exciton
      phonon system.

PMID- 9975685
TI  - Model of magnetic and chemical disorder in dilute magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9975687
TI  - Derivation of an asymptotic expression in Beenakker's general fluctuation formula
      for random-matrix correlations near an edge.

PMID- 9975686
TI  - Excitons in a spatiotemporal lattice.

PMID- 9975688
TI  - Electron density in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs-based two-dimensional systems in the quantum
      Hall regime.

PMID- 9975689
TI  - Bulk and surface phonon polaritons in three-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9975690
TI  - Current scaling in the integer quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9975691
TI  - Bulk and surface densities of states of 0.3- microm-thick hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon films using photothermal deflection spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975692
TI  - Focusing and defocusing in electron scattering along atomic chains.

PMID- 9975693
TI  - Studies on H-terminated Si(100) surfaces by second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9975695
TI  - Photoacoustic characterization of the thermal properties of a semiconductor-glass
      two-layer system.

PMID- 9975694
TI  - Adsorption mechanism and kinetics of chlorine on Si(100)-2 x 1: A theoretical
      study.

PMID- 9975696
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy images of Ge adsorbed on an As-covered Si(001)
      surface.

PMID- 9975698
TI  - Negative differential conductance in quantum waveguides.

PMID- 9975697
TI  - Pressure-induced conduction-band crossover in a ZnSe/ZnS0.18Se0.82 symmetric
      superlattice.

PMID- 9975699
TI  - Conduction anisotropy in layered semiconductors.

PMID- 9975700
TI  - Nonvariational approach to impurity states in quantum wires.

PMID- 9975701
TI  - Exciton dynamics in disordered quantum wells: Localized and delocalized regimes.

PMID- 9975702
TI  - Localized excitons in cubic Zn1-xCdxS lattice matched to GaAs.

PMID- 9975703
TI  - Approaches to the tunneling time based on the Larmor clock and absorption
      probabilities as particular cases of the stay-time method.

PMID- 9975704
TI  - Time-resolved vacuum Rabi oscillations in a semiconductor quantum microcavity.

PMID- 9975705
TI  - Effect of the structural anisotropy and lateral strain on the surface phonons of
      monolayer xenon on Cu(110).

PMID- 9975707
TI  - Interaction between neutral sodium clusters: Short-range behavior.

PMID- 9975706
TI  - Spin-resolved photoemission from Pt/Fe(001).

PMID- 9975708
TI  - Lennard-Jones-potential calculation of C60 stage-one graphite.

PMID- 9975709
TI  - Localization in the interacting-random-dimer model.

PMID- 9975710
TI  - Stationary nature of the density-functional free energy: Application to
      accelerated multiple-scattering calculations.

PMID- 9975711
TI  - Influence of pseudocore valence-band hybridization on the crystal-structure phase
      stabilities of transition metals under extreme compressions.

PMID- 9975712
TI  - Tight-binding total-energy method for transition and noble metals.

PMID- 9975713
TI  - Magnetic energy bands of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9975714
TI  - Excitons in poly(para-phenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9975716
TI  - Defect-defect hole transfer and the identity of border traps in SiO2 films.

PMID- 9975715
TI  - Effect of pressure on defect-related emission in heavily silicon-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9975717
TI  - Direct mapping of the CoSi2/Si(111) interface by ballistic-electron-emission
      microscopy and modulation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975718
TI  - Time-resolved Raman-spectroscopic evidence for efficient electron trapping in a
      photodarkened CdSxSe1-x-doped glass: Photocontrol of electrons in semiconductor
      microcrystallites.

PMID- 9975719
TI  - Current-density-functional theory of quantum dots in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9975720
TI  - Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9975721
TI  - Evidence of biexcitonic contributions to four-wave mixing in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9975723
TI  - Thin-foil surface-plasmon modification in scanning-probe microscopy.

PMID- 9975722
TI  - Cyclotron resonance line shape in a Wigner crystal.

PMID- 9975724
TI  - Step-facilitated dissociation of small metal clusters: A molecular-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9975725
TI  - Bias-dependent STM images of charge-density waves on TaS2.

PMID- 9975726
TI  - Erratum: Phonon properties of (311) GaAs/AlAs superlattices

PMID- 9975728
TI  - Electronic structure, phase stability, equation of state, and pressure-dependent
      superconducting properties of Zr3Al.

PMID- 9975727
TI  - Dynamical scaling and decay of correlations for spinodal decomposition at Tc.

PMID- 9975729
TI  - Combined electron-microscope surface-decoration and helium-atom-scattering study
      of the layer-by-layer photon-stimulated desorption from NaCl cleavage faces.

PMID- 9975730
TI  - Experimental observation of static disorder in C60 by diffuse neutron scattering.

PMID- 9975731
TI  - Phenomenological study of the size effect on phase transitions in ferroelectric
      particles.

PMID- 9975732
TI  - Mixed-valence transition in YbInCu4.

PMID- 9975733
TI  - Application of a rate kinetic model of lyoluminescence on heat-treated samples.

PMID- 9975734
TI  - High-pressure studies of solid iodine by Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975735
TI  - Infrared characterization of Ge-doped cultured quartz crystals.

PMID- 9975736
TI  - Frustration on the triangular lattice and incommensurability.

PMID- 9975737
TI  - Point-defect computer simulation including angular forces in bcc iron.

PMID- 9975739
TI  - Atomistic computer simulations of yttrium iron garnet as an approach to studying
      its defect chemistry: Extrinsic defects.

PMID- 9975738
TI  - Pressure dependence of the Imma phase of silicon.

PMID- 9975740
TI  - Influence of the defect structure on the refractive indices of undoped and Mg
      doped lithium niobate.

PMID- 9975741
TI  - Phonon properties of KNbO3 and KTaO3 from first-principles calculations.

PMID- 9975742
TI  - Evolution of helium bubbles in aluminum during heavy-ion irradiation.

PMID- 9975743
TI  - Channeling study on damage in potassium titanyl phosphate induced by ion
      irradiation.

PMID- 9975744
TI  - Power law with two parameters for the viscosity of normal and supercooled water.

PMID- 9975745
TI  - Spatial patterns of sound propagation in sand.

PMID- 9975746
TI  - Shear modulus of coevaporated Ni1-xZrx thin films.

PMID- 9975747
TI  - O-D.O deuteron intra- and interbond exchange and frequency-dependent order
      parameter in deuteron glasses studied by two-dimensional exchange NMR.

PMID- 9975748
TI  - Phase separation, clustering, and fractal characteristics in glass: A magic-angle
      spinning NMR spin-lattice relaxation study.

PMID- 9975749
TI  - Structural properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. I. A high-resolution
      neutron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9975750
TI  - Structural properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. II. An inelastic neutron
      scattering study.

PMID- 9975751
TI  - Structural properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. III. NMR investigations.

PMID- 9975753
TI  - Interrelation between the stability of extended normal modes and the existence of
      intrinsic localized modes in nonlinear lattices with realistic potentials.

PMID- 9975752
TI  - Dynamics of hydrogen in alpha -LaNi5 hydride investigated by neutron scattering.

PMID- 9975754
TI  - Classical solitons for a one-dimensional many-body system with inverse-square
      interaction.

PMID- 9975755
TI  - Dynamics of a Vicsek fractal: The boundary effect and the interplay among the
      local symmetry, the self-similarity, and the structure of the fractal.

PMID- 9975756
TI  - Photoinduced neutral solitons up to room temperature in soluble trans
      polyacetylene.

PMID- 9975758
TI  - Quantized Hall conductance and its sign reversal in field-induced spin-density
      waves.

PMID- 9975757
TI  - Investigation of anharmonic lattice vibrations with coherent phonon polaritons.

PMID- 9975759
TI  - Role of excited states in the low-temperature dynamics of tunneling centers in
      metals: The orbital Kondo effect.

PMID- 9975760
TI  - Ferromagnetism in FeCu metastable alloys.

PMID- 9975761
TI  - Contributions to zero-field splitting from spin triplets of 3d4 and 3d6 ions in
      tetragonal symmetry.

PMID- 9975762
TI  - Renormalization-group study of the coupled XY-Ising models.

PMID- 9975763
TI  - Combined effect of hybridization and exchange Coulomb interaction on magnetic
      ordering in correlated-f-electron cerium systems.

PMID- 9975764
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the magnetic ordering in the insulating regime of
      the perovskites RNiO3 (R=Pr and Nd).

PMID- 9975766
TI  - Theory of nonlinear surface spin waves.

PMID- 9975765
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of transition-metal thin films: Convergence properties.

PMID- 9975767
TI  - Path-integral approach to the quasiclassical theory for giant magnetoresistance
      in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9975768
TI  - Decoupling of the spin-wave and the spin-flip contributions for the anisotropic
      Heisenberg systems: A way to interpret the experimental data on the La2CuO4-type
      magnetics.

PMID- 9975769
TI  - Optical and magneto-optical properties of PrSb.

PMID- 9975770
TI  - Lagrangian treatment of magnetic dielectrics.

PMID- 9975771
TI  - Structural effects on the magnetism of small vanadium clusters.

PMID- 9975773
TI  - Autocorrelation times for the N-fold-way Monte Carlo algorithm.

PMID- 9975772
TI  - Microscopic calculations of the finite-size spectrum in the Kondo problem.

PMID- 9975774
TI  - 19-vertex version of the fully frustrated XY model.

PMID- 9975775
TI  - Neutron-scattering cross section of the S=1/2 Heisenberg triangular
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9975776
TI  - Linear and nonlinear ac susceptibility of the canted-spin system:
      Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2.

PMID- 9975778
TI  - Exact ground state of an open S=1/2 long-range Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin
      chain.

PMID- 9975777
TI  - From the Hubbard model to classical spin-fluctuation theory.

PMID- 9975779
TI  - Influence of the 3D-2D crossover on the critical current of Nb/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9975781
TI  - Theory of the decay luminescence spectrum of a Bose-condensed interacting exciton
      gas.

PMID- 9975780
TI  - Investigation of the influence of a magnetic field on the chemical potential of
      electrons in superconducting and ferromagnetic thin films.

PMID- 9975782
TI  - Dynamics of vortex liquids in Ginzburg-Landau theories with applications to
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9975783
TI  - Binding of electrons to the surface of liquid helium.

PMID- 9975784
TI  - Nonlinear viscous vortex motion in two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9975785
TI  - BCS superconductivity with fixed number parity.

PMID- 9975786
TI  - Phase separation in the s-f model.

PMID- 9975787
TI  - Raman-active phonons and mode softening in superconducting HgBa2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9975788
TI  - Infrared-active phonons and the superconducting gap of Tc-reduced double-chain
      YBa2Cu4O8 superconductors.

PMID- 9975789
TI  - Frequency dependence of the surface impedance of YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films in a
      dc magnetic field: Investigation of vortex dynamics.

PMID- 9975790
TI  - Kohn anomalies in superconductors.

PMID- 9975791
TI  - High-frequency flux dynamics in single-crystal Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9975792
TI  - Oxygen-sublattice ordering and intercalation mechanism of chlorine in YBa2Cu3O6+
      delta.

PMID- 9975793
TI  - Substitution of Ga for Cu in RBa2Cu3-xGaxO7-y systems (R=Yb, Er, Y, Dy, Gd, Eu,
      and Nd).

PMID- 9975795
TI  - Properties and structure of the F-doped (Bi,Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor.

PMID- 9975794
TI  - Two-dimensional and three-dimensional vortex lattice dynamics in DyBa2Cu3O7-(Y1
      xPrx)Ba2Cu3O7 coupled heterostructures.

PMID- 9975796
TI  - Normal-state magnetic susceptibility in TlSr2(Lu1-xCax)Cu2Oy from the underdoped
      to the overdoped regime.

PMID- 9975797
TI  - Anomalous peak at low fields in the magnetization versus temperature curve in
      bulk ceramic high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9975798
TI  - Density of states in unconventional superconductors: Impurity-scattering effects.

PMID- 9975799
TI  - Anomalous crystal chemistries of the 111In-->111Cd and 181Hf-->181Ta probes in
      rutile TiO2 studied using perturbed-angular-correlation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975800
TI  - Electron-lattice and electron-electron coupling in conjugated polymers: Minimum
      total-energy calculations on the Hubbard-Peierls Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9975801
TI  - Critical correlations and susceptibilities in the random-field spherical model.

PMID- 9975802
TI  - Plaquette expansion of the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9975803
TI  - Soft longitudinal modes in spin-singlet CuGeO3.

PMID- 9975804
TI  - Magnetisatization-induced optical second-harmonic generation: A probe for
      interface magnetism.

PMID- 9975805
TI  - Numerical simulation of flux-pinning dynamics for a defect in a type-II
      superconductor.

PMID- 9975806
TI  - NMR study of the 89Y resonance in fluorinated YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9975807
TI  - Tunable atomic-scale Josephson effect in dislocated high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9975808
TI  - Phonon localization and martensitic transformation in NixAl1-x alloys.

PMID- 9975809
TI  - High-temperature phase diagram of the fullerene C60.

PMID- 9975811
TI  - Coherence effects in the low-temperature Hall coefficient of the heavy-fermion
      system UPd2Al3.

PMID- 9975810
TI  - Small-angle scattering by fractal aggregates: A numerical investigation of the
      crossover between the fractal regime and the Porod regime.

PMID- 9975812
TI  - Kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet: Elementary excitations and low-temperature
      specific heat.

PMID- 9975813
TI  - Magnetic circular dichroism in 4f photoemission from terbium.

PMID- 9975814
TI  - Thermodynamics of the fully frustrated quantum Josephson-junction array: A hybrid
      Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9975815
TI  - Tunneling through a superconducting double barrier and the resonant suppression
      of Andreev reflection.

PMID- 9975816
TI  - Effects of transport current and columnar defects on the rf penetration depth of
      NbSe2.

PMID- 9975817
TI  - Gap anisotropy in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta by ultrahigh-resolution angle-resolved
      photoemission.

PMID- 9975818
TI  - Deformation superstructures, tweed, and oxygen-vacancy ordering associated with
      phase transformations in YBa2Cu3Oz.

PMID- 9975819
TI  - Competition between polarons and bipolarons in nondegenerate conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9975821
TI  - Electron correlation in extended systems: Fourth-order many-body perturbation
      theory and density-functional methods applied to an infinite chain of hydrogen
      atoms.

PMID- 9975820
TI  - Selective deexcitation of the 4d94fn+1 excited states studied by resonant
      photoemission in LaCl3 and CeCl3.

PMID- 9975822
TI  - Interpretive crystal-field parameters: Application to Nd3+ in GdVO4 and YVO4.

PMID- 9975823
TI  - Stress tuning of the magnetic properties of a near-metallic sample of silicon
      doped with phosphorus.

PMID- 9975824
TI  - Exact exchange-potential band-structure calculations by the LMTO-ASA method: MgO
      and CaO.

PMID- 9975825
TI  - Electron spin resonance of Nd3+ and Yb3+ in CdFe4P12.

PMID- 9975826
TI  - Relativistic photoemission theory for space-filling potentials.

PMID- 9975827
TI  - Static dielectric response of the electron gas.

PMID- 9975829
TI  - TiTe2: Inconsistency between transport properties and photoemission results.

PMID- 9975828
TI  - Electronic structure and valence-band spectra of FeBO3.

PMID- 9975830
TI  - Embedded-quantum-cluster study of local relaxations and optical properties of
      Cr3+ in MgO.

PMID- 9975831
TI  - Electronic states of photocarriers in porous silicon studied by photomodulated
      infrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975832
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the electronic, structural, and dynamical properties of
      Zn-based semiconductors.

PMID- 9975833
TI  - Observation of crossover from three- to two-dimensional variable-range hopping in
      template-synthesized polypyrrole and polyaniline.

PMID- 9975834
TI  - Diffusion-melting correlations and the compensation effect in atomic diffusion in
      Si and Ge.

PMID- 9975835
TI  - Deep defects in narrow-gap semiconductors.

PMID- 9975836
TI  - Enhanced carrier photogeneration by defects in conjugated polymers and its
      mechanism.

PMID- 9975838
TI  - Discriminative temperature dependencies of differential light-scattering cross
      sections from an electron gas in semiconductors with a nonparabolic dispersion of
      energy bands.

PMID- 9975837
TI  - Theoretical possibility of stage corrugation in Si and Ge analogs of graphite.

PMID- 9975839
TI  - Low-temperature magnetic, thermal, and transport properties of FeSi.

PMID- 9975841
TI  - All-electron local-density and generalized-gradient calculations of the
      structural properties of semiconductors.

PMID- 9975840
TI  - Effect of ordering on the energy spectrum of narrow-gap III-V alloys: Possibility
      of the transition into the gapless state.

PMID- 9975843
TI  - Optical third-harmonic studies of the dispersion in chi -bar(3) for gallium
      nitride thin films on sapphire.

PMID- 9975842
TI  - Ideal crystal stability and pressure-induced phase transition in silicon.

PMID- 9975844
TI  - Surface reconstructions of InSb(100) observed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9975845
TI  - Structure of a Si(100)2 x 2-Ga surface.

PMID- 9975847
TI  - Thermoelectric properties of a very-low-mobility two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9975846
TI  - Coulomb blockade of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9975848
TI  - Mechanisms of the adsorption of oxygen molecules and the subsequent oxidation of
      the reconstructed dimers on Si(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9975849
TI  - Transport properties of a 1D-1D'-1D quantum system.

PMID- 9975850
TI  - Model for the emission of Si+ ions during oxygen bombardment of Si(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9975851
TI  - Bond-length relaxation in Si1-xGex alloys.

PMID- 9975852
TI  - Electronic structure of free-standing (ZnSe)m(ZnS)n (001) strained-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9975853
TI  - Spectrally resolved four-wave mixing in semiconductors: Influence of
      inhomogeneous broadening.

PMID- 9975854
TI  - Raman modes of the GeS-type orthorhombic phase of PbTe.

PMID- 9975855
TI  - Renormalization effects in the dense electron-hole magnetoplasma of a strained
      InxGa1-xAs/GaAs single quantum well after picosecond excitation.

PMID- 9975856
TI  - Scattering rates of Wannier states in superlattices in an electric field.

PMID- 9975858
TI  - Instantaneous contribution in time-resolved four-wave mixing from GaAs quantum
      wells near zero time delay.

PMID- 9975857
TI  - Hole energy levels and intersubband absorption in modulation-doped Si/Si1-xGex
      multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9975859
TI  - Nonlinear carrier-plasmon interaction in a one-dimensional quantum plasma.

PMID- 9975860
TI  - Thermodynamics of biexcitons in a GaAs quantum well.

PMID- 9975861
TI  - Pressure- and laser-tuned Raman scattering in II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals:
      Electron-phonon coupling.

PMID- 9975862
TI  - Periodic modulation of Coulomb-blockade oscillations in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975864
TI  - Local-interference theory of conductance fluctuations in ballistic metallic point
      contacts: Combination of near and remote backscattered trajectories.

PMID- 9975863
TI  - Metal-overlayer-induced charge-transfer effects in thin SiO2-Si structures.

PMID- 9975865
TI  - Method of obtaining the stable unit-cell shape in the strained superlattice.

PMID- 9975867
TI  - Interband absorption due to dipole coupling and interference in isolated quantum
      wire structures.

PMID- 9975866
TI  - Description of resonant tunneling near threshold.

PMID- 9975869
TI  - Generalized Laughlin wave functions including the effect of Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9975868
TI  - Low- and high-temperature phases of a Pb monolayer on Ge(111) from ab initio
      molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9975870
TI  - Random-matrix theory of quantum size effects on nuclear magnetic resonance in
      metal particles.

PMID- 9975871
TI  - Modulation-doped quantum-well wires: Elementary excitation spectra.

PMID- 9975872
TI  - Shallow donor impurities in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9975873
TI  - Type-II band alignment in Si/Si1-xGex quantum wells from photoluminescence line
      shifts due to optically induced band-bending effects: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9975874
TI  - Calculations of the spin dependence of transport and optical properties in wide
      parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9975875
TI  - Low-temperature dynamical simulation of spin-boson systems.

PMID- 9975876
TI  - Density-functional calculation for quasi-two-dimensional hole gases.

PMID- 9975877
TI  - Density-functional calculation of Landau levels for quasi-two-dimensional hole
      gases.

PMID- 9975878
TI  - Density-functional calculations for grain boundaries in aluminum.

PMID- 9975879
TI  - Scattering of a surface plasmon polariton by a surface defect.

PMID- 9975880
TI  - Delocalization of the Fe 3d levels in the quasi-two-dimensional correlated
      insulator FePS3.

PMID- 9975882
TI  - Temperature variation of the time of inelastic electron relaxation in disordered
      bismuth films.

PMID- 9975881
TI  - Structure and growth of butane films adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9975883
TI  - Two-dimensional silicide 5 x 3 structure on Cu(001) as seen by scanning tunneling
      microscopy and helium-atom scattering.

PMID- 9975885
TI  - Ag/Fe(001) interface.

PMID- 9975884
TI  - Deposition, diffusion, and aggregation of atoms on surfaces: A model for
      nanostructure growth.

PMID- 9975886
TI  - Femtosecond-tunable measurement of electron thermalization in gold.

PMID- 9975888
TI  - Scattering of electromagnetic waves from a bounded medium with a random surface.

PMID- 9975887
TI  - Band-theory calculation of image states on a metal surface.

PMID- 9975889
TI  - Ab initio studies of hydrocarbon adsorption on stepped diamond surfaces.

PMID- 9975890
TI  - Improved mean-field scheme for the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9975891
TI  - Integrable multiparametric impurity model.

PMID- 9975892
TI  - Transport properties of a one-dimensional two-component quantum liquid with
      hyperbolic interactions.

PMID- 9975893
TI  - Validity of the semiclassical interpretation of resonant magnetotunneling
      spectroscopy experiments.

PMID- 9975894
TI  - Electronic structure of three-dimensional quantum dots in tilted magnetic fields.

PMID- 9975895
TI  - Characterization of effective masses in strained quantum-well laser structures.

PMID- 9975896
TI  - Magnetic field dependence of two-dimensional static shielding in the hydrodynamic
      model.

PMID- 9975897
TI  - Bogoliubov theory of Coulomb-coupled

PMID- 9975898
TI  - Dipole spectra of holes in quantum dots.

PMID- 9975899
TI  - Effect of band mixing on hole transport along the axis of a semiconductor
      superlattice.

PMID- 9975900
TI  - Resonant transport in coupled quantum wells: A probe for scattering mechanisms.

PMID- 9975901
TI  - Critical size for a metal-nonmetal transition in transition-metal clusters.

PMID- 9975902
TI  - Molecular structure of a crystal phase coexisting with kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2
      studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9975904
TI  - Characterization of self-affinity in the global regime.

PMID- 9975903
TI  - Magic numbers of silicon clusters.

PMID- 9975905
TI  - Charge-induced vibrational shifts and vibronic coupling constant in charged C60n-

PMID- 9975906
TI  - Comment on "Metastable length states of a random system: TaS3"

PMID- 9975907
TI  - Parabolic valence-band dispersion in GaAs for optical interband transitions.

PMID- 9975909
TI  - Current fluctuation in the Bohm-Aharonov effect.

PMID- 9975908
TI  - EPR and ENDOR study of the Pb center in porous silicon.

PMID- 9975911
TI  - Large reduction in hot-carrier energy-loss rates in CdSe caused by nonequilibrium
      optical phonons.

PMID- 9975910
TI  - Coherent light emission from condensing polaritons.

PMID- 9975912
TI  - Tunneling between two-dimensional electron gases in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9975913
TI  - Dimer-row correlations on a Si(001) surface with double-atomic-height steps.

PMID- 9975914
TI  - High-resolution electron microscopy and inelastic light scattering of purified
      multishelled carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9975915
TI  - Multiple-scattering effects in x-ray-absorption fine structure: Chromium in a
      tetrahedral configuration.

PMID- 9975916
TI  - Site determination of radioactive atoms from the interference effect of electron
      capture x rays.

PMID- 9975917
TI  - Spectator and participator Auger transitions by resonant excitation of the Mo
      2p3/2 orbital in Li2MoO4, MoO3, and MoS2.

PMID- 9975918
TI  - Physical properties and structural chemistry of Ce(Ni1-xGax)5 alloys.

PMID- 9975919
TI  - First-principles study of stability and local order in bcc-based Fe-Cr and Fe-V
      alloys.

PMID- 9975920
TI  - Variational charge relaxation in ionic crystals: An efficient treatment of
      statics and dynamics.

PMID- 9975921
TI  - Size dependence of the ferroelectric transition of small BaTiO3 particles: Effect
      of depolarization.

PMID- 9975922
TI  - EPR and 14N electron-nuclear double-resonance measurements on the ionized nearest
      neighbor dinitrogen center in diamond.

PMID- 9975923
TI  - Coexistence of one- and three-dimensional Fermi surfaces and heavy cyclotron mass
      in the molecular conductor (DMe-DCNQI)2Cu.

PMID- 9975924
TI  - Pulsed-NMR study of the long-range order in solid H2 and D2.

PMID- 9975925
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the structural and electronic properties of carbon and
      boron nitride using ultrasoft pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9975926
TI  - NMR spectra of pure 13C diamond.

PMID- 9975927
TI  - Dynamics of two-level systems in glasses.

PMID- 9975928
TI  - Occupancy of central sites in the Zn49Mg32 quasicrystal from total-energy
      computations on its crystal approximant.

PMID- 9975929
TI  - Strong-fluctuation theory for a mean electromagnetic field in a statistically
      homogeneous random medium with arbitrary anisotropy of electrical and statistical
      properties.

PMID- 9975930
TI  - Phason strain in an energetic growth model of a quasicrystal.

PMID- 9975931
TI  - NMR and NQR study of the electronic and structural properties of Al-Cu-Fe and Al
      Cu-Ru quasicrystals.

PMID- 9975932
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering studies of poly(p-phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9975933
TI  - Governing equations for the coupled electromagnetics and acoustics of porous
      media.

PMID- 9975935
TI  - Persistent and transient spectral hole burning in Pr3+- and Eu3+-doped silicate
      glasses.

PMID- 9975934
TI  - Disorder in the commensurate intergrowth compound C1TET-TTF(AuI2)0.8.

PMID- 9975937
TI  - Electrical response of heterogeneous systems and Debye's problem.

PMID- 9975936
TI  - Electrical response of heterogeneous systems containing inclusions with permanent
      multipoles.

PMID- 9975938
TI  - Local-mode dynamics in YH2 and YD2 by isotope-dilution neutron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9975940
TI  - Computer simulation of the domain dynamics of a quenched system with a large
      number of nonconserved order parameters: The grain-growth kinetics.

PMID- 9975939
TI  - Optimal control of laser-generated acoustic waves in solids.

PMID- 9975941
TI  - Interplay of disorder and anharmonicity in heat conduction: Molecular-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9975942
TI  - Cross relaxation and atomic motion in LiNbO2.

PMID- 9975943
TI  - Overlap length in spin glasses imposed by magnetic field perturbations.

PMID- 9975944
TI  - Magnetic transition in highly frustrated SrCr8Ga4O19: The archetypal kagome-acute
      system.

PMID- 9975945
TI  - Exchange and spin-orbit contributions to spin-polarized LEED rotation curves of
      magnetic films: Fe/W(001).

PMID- 9975946
TI  - Mesoscopic noise in disordered FeZr films: Hydrogen clustering and spin-glass
      effects.

PMID- 9975947
TI  - Numerical study of a two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet with random
      ferromagnetic bonds.

PMID- 9975948
TI  - Lattice-vibration and spin-fluctuation effects on photoemission from
      ferromagnetic Ni.

PMID- 9975949
TI  - Potts model in an asymmetric random field.

PMID- 9975950
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of the dynamic spin correlations in CsNiCl3 above Neel
      ordering.

PMID- 9975951
TI  - Electronic structure, magnetic, and Fermi-surface properties of UPd2Al3.

PMID- 9975952
TI  - Simulation study of NMR line shapes in a classical nuclear-spin system with two
      isotopes.

PMID- 9975953
TI  - Microwave gap enhancement in low-Tc superconducting thin films.

PMID- 9975954
TI  - Magnetic order induced by hydrogen in superconducting RBa2Cu4O8 (R=Y,Gd) studied
      by Mossbauer and NQR techniques.

PMID- 9975956
TI  - Resistivity, Hall effect, Nernst effect, and thermopower in the mixed state of
      La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9975955
TI  - Suppression of superconductivity by two-channel Kondo impurities.

PMID- 9975957
TI  - Multiple Andreev and elastic interface scattering in superconductor-normal-metal
      superconductor junctions.

PMID- 9975958
TI  - Quantum effects in the structural properties of supercritical 4He.

PMID- 9975959
TI  - Frequency dependence of sound propagation in superfluid-filled porous media.

PMID- 9975961
TI  - Evidence for Josephson vortices in (BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9975960
TI  - Superfluid turbulence in a nonuniform rectangular channel.

PMID- 9975962
TI  - BCS-Bose model of exotic superconductors: Generalized coherence length.

PMID- 9975963
TI  - Quantum interference on the kagome-acute lattice.

PMID- 9975964
TI  - Surface tension and kinetic coefficient for the normal/superconducting interface:
      Numerical results versus asymptotic analysis.

PMID- 9975965
TI  - Testing models of the symmetry of the superconducting pairing state by low
      temperature electron irradiation of an untwinned single crystal of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9975966
TI  - Eliashberg function of cuprates and fullerides from gap measurements.

PMID- 9975967
TI  - Magnetization of a superconductor: Results from the critical-state model.

PMID- 9975968
TI  - Hall effect in the mixed state of superconducting L1.85Ce0.15CuO4 (L=Nd,Sm)
      single crystals.

PMID- 9975969
TI  - Multiple peaks in the ac susceptibility of untwinned Y-Ba-Cu-O single crystals: A
      manifestation of the peak effect.

PMID- 9975971
TI  - Nearly antiferromagnetic Fermi-liquid description of magnetic scaling and spin
      gap behavior.

PMID- 9975970
TI  - Crystal structure of (Cu,C)Ba2Ca3Cu4O11+ delta (Tc=117 K) by neutron-powder
      diffraction analysis.

PMID- 9975973
TI  - Transition temperature and irreversibility line of cobalt-doped single-crystal
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta : The effect of high-pressure oxygen annealing.

PMID- 9975972
TI  - Effects of local moments on the magnetization of HoBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9975974
TI  - Overdoped metals in the Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta and TlSr2CaCu2O7- delta systems.

PMID- 9975976
TI  - Superconducting correlations in Hubbard chains with correlated hopping.

PMID- 9975975
TI  - 151Eu Mossbauer spectroscopy and x-ray-diffraction studies on the Pb2Ba2EuCu3O8+
      delta system.

PMID- 9975977
TI  - Spin fluctuations in La2-xSrxCuO4: NMR versus inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9975979
TI  - Itinerant frustrated antiferromagnets: New phases induced by anisotropy or a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9975978
TI  - Nitrogen-related defect in CaO.

PMID- 9975980
TI  - Quantum-well states and exchange coupling in fcc (111) magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9975981
TI  - Structure of sputtered Fe/Si multilayers.

PMID- 9975982
TI  - Temperature-induced magnetic anisotropies in Co/Cu(1 1 17).

PMID- 9975984
TI  - Third sound and energetics in 3He-4He mixture films.

PMID- 9975983
TI  - Neutron scattering in a dx2-y2-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9975985
TI  - Relation between pseudospin-rotation invariance and a supersolid.

PMID- 9975986
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau coefficients for high-Tc superconductors with a deformable
      lattice model.

PMID- 9975987
TI  - Polaron formation and local magnetic moments in cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9975988
TI  - Phase transition in RbC60: Vibrational and electronic properties.

PMID- 9975989
TI  - Diffusion coefficient for interacting lattice gases.

PMID- 9975991
TI  - Effective chiral-spin Hamiltonian for odd-numbered coupled Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9975990
TI  - Magnetic coupling of interfaces: A surface-Green's-function approach.

PMID- 9975993
TI  - Competition between pinning and melting in the two-dimensional vortex lattice.

PMID- 9975992
TI  - Tricritical behavior of the frustrated XY antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9975994
TI  - Low-frequency noise in the normal state of thin-film high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9975995
TI  - Scaling of the Hall coefficient and resistivity in underdoped and overdoped
      RBa2Cu3Oy films.

PMID- 9975997
TI  - Erratum: Line-shape description for Mossbauer conversion-electron and
      transmission geometries

PMID- 9975996
TI  - Absence of anomalous copper vibrations in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9975998
TI  - Erratum: Binding of electrons to the surface of liquid helium

PMID- 9975999
TI  - Temperature and concentration dependences of acoustic velocity and damping in Rb1
      x(ND4)xD2AsO4 mixed crystals by Brillouin backscattering.

PMID- 9976000
TI  - Commensurate-incommensurate phase transition in the presence of crystal
      deformation.

PMID- 9976001
TI  - Anisotropic gamma -ray resonance scattering from a zinc single crystal and the
      uncertainty principle.

PMID- 9976002
TI  - Dynamics in incommensurate phases studied by NMR: Theory and relaxation
      measurements on 87Rb satellites in Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9976003
TI  - Disordering and dissolution of gamma ' precipitates under ion irradiation.

PMID- 9976004
TI  - Symmetry change at the fcc-distorted-fcc phase transition of lanthanides under
      pressure.

PMID- 9976005
TI  - Frequency upconversion of orange light into blue light in Pr3+-doped fluoroindate
      glasses.

PMID- 9976006
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of rhodium impurity ions in KTiOPO4 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9976008
TI  - High-pressure structural study of barium to 90 GPa.

PMID- 9976007
TI  - Structural phase transformations and the equations of state of calcium
      chalcogenides at high pressure.

PMID- 9976010
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative decays of La 4d ionized and excited states.

PMID- 9976009
TI  - Isotope effects in KH2PO4-type crystals.

PMID- 9976011
TI  - Dynamics of infrared-to-visible upconversion in Cs3Lu2Br9:1%Er3+

PMID- 9976012
TI  - Phase transitions and superconductivity of black phosphorus and phosphorus
      arsenic alloys at low temperatures and high pressures.

PMID- 9976013
TI  - Charge effects in the structure of an almost-ionic solid: Molecular-dynamics
      studies.

PMID- 9976014
TI  - Metal-semiconductor transition and structural change in (BEDT-TTF)3(ClO4)2.

PMID- 9976015
TI  - Measurement of the soft polariton in KTa0.93Nb0.07O3 by time-resolved four-wave
      mixing.

PMID- 9976016
TI  - Energy-level and line-strength analysis of optical transitions between Stark
      levels in Nd3+:Y3Al5O12.

PMID- 9976017
TI  - External field in the Landau theory of a weakly discontinuous phase transition:
      Pressure effect in the martensitic transitions.

PMID- 9976019
TI  - Dielectric and electro-optical studies of a ferroelectric copolysiloxane.

PMID- 9976018
TI  - Thermodynamics of atom-vacancy solid solution from a self-diffusion Arrhenius
      plot.

PMID- 9976020
TI  - Static structure factor of dilute solutions of polydisperse fractal aggregates.

PMID- 9976022
TI  - Small polarons and the electronic properties of Mo2S3.

PMID- 9976021
TI  - Disorder-induced resonance coupling of waves.

PMID- 9976023
TI  - Moment-expansion-method calculations of phonon line shapes in argon.

PMID- 9976024
TI  - Percolative diffusion of a dumbbell interstitial defect on a fcc lattice:
      Calculation of a percolation threshold with use of a series method.

PMID- 9976025
TI  - Gamma phonons and microscopic structure of orthorhombic KNbO3 from first
      principles calculations.

PMID- 9976026
TI  - Strong Mn-Mn distance dependence of the Mn interlayer coupling in SmMn2Ge2
      related compounds and its role in magnetic phase transitions.

PMID- 9976027
TI  - Soliton-phonon interaction in anharmonic quasi-one-dimensional ferromagnetic
      crystals: Soliton-induced modification of the speed of sound.

PMID- 9976028
TI  - Paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition during growth of ultrathin Co/Cu(001)
      films.

PMID- 9976029
TI  - 1/N expansion for the Schwinger-boson theory of quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9976030
TI  - Magnetism in the spin-density-wave alloy Cr1-xMnx (x=0.007).

PMID- 9976032
TI  - Antiferromagnetic stacked triangular lattices with Heisenberg spins: Phase
      transition and effect of next-nearest-neighbor interaction.

PMID- 9976031
TI  - Ground-state properties of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9976033
TI  - Magnetism of carbon clusters.

PMID- 9976034
TI  - Axial anisotropy of Co2+ in CdS from magnetization-step and high-frequency EPR.

PMID- 9976036
TI  - Spin configurations of ABX3 antiferromagnets in an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9976035
TI  - Raman-scattering study of CuGeO3 in the spin-Peierls phase.

PMID- 9976038
TI  - Statistical mechanics of nonuniform magnetization reversal.

PMID- 9976037
TI  - Fluctuations and instabilities of ferromagnetic domain-wall pairs in an external
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9976039
TI  - Transition from superconductivity to heavy-fermion behavior in U-doped Lu2Fe3Si5.

PMID- 9976040
TI  - Flux lattice and vortex structure in 2H-NbSe2 in inclined fields.

PMID- 9976041
TI  - Titanium nuclear magnetic resonance in metallic superconducting lithium titanate
      and its lithium-substituted derivatives Li1+xTi2-xO4 (0<x<0.10).

PMID- 9976042
TI  - Structure of the excitation spectrum of liquid 4He.

PMID- 9976043
TI  - Electronic structure and superconducting energy gap in Rb3C60 single crystals
      studied by photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976045
TI  - Effect of a fluctuating magnetic field on weak localization in a two-dimensional
      disordered system.

PMID- 9976044
TI  - Low-temperature vortex dynamics in a high-temperature superconductor.

PMID- 9976046
TI  - Depinning phase transitions in two-dimensional lattice Coulomb solids.

PMID- 9976047
TI  - Long-range Coulomb forces and the behavior of the chemical potential of electrons
      in metals at a second-order phase transition.

PMID- 9976048
TI  - Raman-active phonons in thin a- and c-axis-oriented (YBa2Cu3O7)m(PrBa2Cu3O7)n
      superlattices.

PMID- 9976049
TI  - Spin gaps and bilayer coupling in YBa2Cu3O7- delta and YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9976050
TI  - Collective modes of anisotropic narrow-band Bloch-electron superconductors with
      nearest-neighbor pairing interaction.

PMID- 9976051
TI  - Cu K-edge x-ray-absorption spectroscopic study on the octahedrally coordinated
      trivalent copper in the perovskite-related compounds La2Li0.5Cu0.5O4 and LaCuO3.

PMID- 9976052
TI  - Nuclear-quadrupole-resonance investigation of copper in Sm1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9976053
TI  - Anisotropy of the irreversibility lines for c-axis-aligned HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta
      powders.

PMID- 9976054
TI  - Superexchange, hole-hole interactions, and oxygen spin dynamics in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976055
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless vortex-scaling equations with nonzero current drives.

PMID- 9976057
TI  - Flux motion in thin superconductors with inhomogeneous pinning.

PMID- 9976056
TI  - Mobility and aggregation of oxygen in YBa2Cu3O6+x in the low-concentration limit.

PMID- 9976058
TI  - Magnetic-resonance modes for Eu2-xGdxCuO4, a compound with coupled paramagnetic
      weak-ferromagnetic excitations.

PMID- 9976059
TI  - Mechanical properties of model nanostructures.

PMID- 9976060
TI  - Thermal compression of colloidal crystals: Paradox of the repulsion-only
      assumption.

PMID- 9976062
TI  - Resonantly induced dipole-dipole interactions in the diffusion of scalar waves.

PMID- 9976061
TI  - Raman scattering from phonons in YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9976063
TI  - Temperature dependence of the spin-dependent scattering in Co/Cu multilayers
      determined from perpendicular-giant-magnetoresistance experiments.

PMID- 9976065
TI  - Single-atom point contacts in the superconducting state.

PMID- 9976064
TI  - Giant magnetoimpedance in nonmagnetostrictive amorphous wires.

PMID- 9976066
TI  - Hartree calculation of local magnetic fields in an anyon superconductor:
      Dependence on the background dielectric constant.

PMID- 9976067
TI  - Nonequilibrium effect in the current-voltage characteristics of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta in the direction of the c axis.

PMID- 9976068
TI  - Proton-glass behavior in a solid solution of (betaine phosphate)0.15 (betaine
      phosphite)0.85.

PMID- 9976069
TI  - Titanium-III warwickites: A family of one-dimensional disordered magnetic
      systems.

PMID- 9976071
TI  - Josephson effect in unconventional superconducting contacts.

PMID- 9976070
TI  - Magnetic dichroism in L2,3 emission of Fe, Co, and Ni following energy-dependent
      excitation with circularly polarized x rays.

PMID- 9976072
TI  - Robustness of the midgap states predicted to exist on a {110} surface of a dx2a
      x2b-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9976073
TI  - Giant flux creep through surface barriers and the irreversibility line in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9976074
TI  - Static and dynamic mechanisms of the anomalous field dependence of magnetization
      in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O single crystals.

PMID- 9976075
TI  - Charge delocalization in poly(o-toluidine) fibers.

PMID- 9976076
TI  - Electron mean free path in Be metal.

PMID- 9976077
TI  - Electron transport in fluid argon in combined electric and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9976078
TI  - Photonic band structures of two-dimensional systems containing metallic
      components.

PMID- 9976079
TI  - Electron-electron interaction in thin bismuth films.

PMID- 9976080
TI  - Low-field Hall coefficient of alpha -phase CuAl and dilute magnetic CuAl(Fe)
      alloys.

PMID- 9976082
TI  - Corrected atomic limit in the local-density approximation and the electronic
      structure of d impurities in Rb.

PMID- 9976081
TI  - Exciton optical absorption in self-similar aperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9976083
TI  - Two-electron self-consistent-field study of 2kF broken-symmetry states in
      correlated monatomic and diatomic Peierls-Hubbard chains.

PMID- 9976084
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in the presence of strong correlations.

PMID- 9976085
TI  - Optical properties of one-dimensional pi -conjugated compounds: Study of the
      pressure-dependent linear properties of K-tetracyanoquinodimethane.

PMID- 9976086
TI  - Local vibrational modes of impurities in diamond.

PMID- 9976087
TI  - Magnetization and heat-capacity measurements on Zn1-xCrxTe.

PMID- 9976088
TI  - Valence-band energy spectrum of solid solutions of narrow-gap-semiconductor Bi2
      xSnxTe3 single crystals.

PMID- 9976090
TI  - Carrier-diffusion measurements in silicon with a Fourier-transient-grating
      method.

PMID- 9976089
TI  - Interpretation of magnetophotoluminescence spectra of narrow-gap IV-VI
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9976091
TI  - [001] strain-induced band mixing in zinc-blende semiconductors: Intravalence
      versus upper-conduction-valence band effects.

PMID- 9976093
TI  - Temperature enhancement of the photorefractive effect in GaAs due to the
      metastable state of the EL2 defect.

PMID- 9976092
TI  - Evidence from electrical transport and photoluminescence spectroscopy of a band
      of localized deep donors in high-purity n-type InP grown by chemical-beam
      epitaxy.

PMID- 9976094
TI  - Effect of carbon impurities on the density of states and the stability of
      hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9976095
TI  - Neutral-impurity scattering in isotopically engineered Ge.

PMID- 9976096
TI  - Theoretical investigation of alkali-metal doping in Si clathrates.

PMID- 9976097
TI  - Fano resonances due to coupled magnetoexciton and continuum states in bulk
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9976099
TI  - High-resolution Zeeman spectroscopy of Ni2+ in ZnS.

PMID- 9976098
TI  - Hydrogen and hydrogen dimers in c-C, Si, Ge, and alpha -Sn.

PMID- 9976101
TI  - Polymerization in liquid phosphorus: Simulation of a phase transition.

PMID- 9976100
TI  - Influence of atomic relaxations on the structural properties of SiC polytypes
      from ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9976102
TI  - Ab initio calculation of structural and lattice-dynamical properties of silicon
      carbide.

PMID- 9976104
TI  - Anderson impurity states in band-inverted semiconductor heterojunctions.

PMID- 9976103
TI  - Localized magnetic moments in Si:P near the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9976105
TI  - Depth-dependent disordering in a-Si produced by self-ion-implantation.

PMID- 9976106
TI  - Renormalization effects in the dense neutral magnetoplasma of quantum wells with
      two filled subbands.

PMID- 9976108
TI  - Multiphoton Wannier-Stark effect in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9976107
TI  - Defect-based model for room-temperature visible photoluminescence in porous
      silicon.

PMID- 9976109
TI  - Anisotropic transport properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in ordered
      disordered GaInP2 homojunctions: The structure of ordered domains.

PMID- 9976110
TI  - Lateral piezoelectric fields in strained semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9976111
TI  - Surface states in doped polymers.

PMID- 9976113
TI  - Final-state pseudopotential theory for the Ge 3d core-level shifts on the
      Ge/Si(100)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9976112
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of growth of Sb atoms on the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9976114
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in n-type In0.53Ga0.47As and In0.52Al0.48As studied
      by inelastic light scattering.

PMID- 9976116
TI  - X-ray observation of porous-silicon wetting.

PMID- 9976115
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of ballistic microstructures.

PMID- 9976118
TI  - Creation of electrically active nanoscale structures in a-Si films with a
      scanning tunneling microscope: Electronically induced changes in atomic bonding
      configurations.

PMID- 9976117
TI  - Auger photoelectron coincidence studies of the intrinsic and extrinsic processes
      in the Ga L23M45M45 Auger line of GaAs.

PMID- 9976119
TI  - Energy levels of a magnetopolaron bound to a Coulomb impurity in quantum-well
      wires.

PMID- 9976121
TI  - Laughlin state on stretched and squeezed cylinders and edge excitations in the
      quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9976120
TI  - Theoretical investigation of collective excitation of a multiple-quantum-well
      system superlattice.

PMID- 9976123
TI  - Magnetoplasma excitations in anharmonic electron dots.

PMID- 9976122
TI  - Optically induced density depletion of the two-dimensional electron system in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9976124
TI  - Theoretical study of a quantum-point-contact model.

PMID- 9976125
TI  - Band discontinuity at the (311)A GaAs/AlAs interface and possibility of its
      control by Si insertion layers.

PMID- 9976126
TI  - Quantum magnetotransport of electrons in double-barrier resonant-tunneling
      structures.

PMID- 9976127
TI  - Polaritons in semiconductor multiple-quantum-well structures with Forster-type
      interwell coupling.

PMID- 9976128
TI  - Collective excitations of a two-component one-dimensional quantum plasma confined
      in semiconductor quantum wires.

PMID- 9976130
TI  - Se/GaAs(110): Atomic and electronic structure.

PMID- 9976129
TI  - Phonon scattering between zero-dimensional electronic states: Spatial versus
      Landau quantization.

PMID- 9976131
TI  - Influence of Si-O bonding arrangements at kinks on second-harmonic generation
      from vicinal Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9976132
TI  - Systematic trends in self-consistent calculations of linear quantum wires.

PMID- 9976133
TI  - Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy of resonant tunneling in a GaAs-AlAs
      triple-barrier structure.

PMID- 9976134
TI  - Stark ladder and temporal oscillations in a narrow-band superlattice.

PMID- 9976136
TI  - Difference frequency mixing in p-type Si-Si1-xGex heterostructures via
      intersubband nonlinearities in the far infrared.

PMID- 9976135
TI  - Quantum point contacts with smooth geometries: Exact versus approximate results.

PMID- 9976137
TI  - Wannier exciton superradiance in a quantum-well microcavity.

PMID- 9976138
TI  - Continuum excitons in the fractional-quantum-Hall-effect regime: Steps in the
      filling-factor dependence of the energy.

PMID- 9976139
TI  - Quantized Hall conductivity of Bloch electrons: Topology and the Dirac fermion.

PMID- 9976140
TI  - Charge fluctuations in the single-electron box: Perturbation expansion in the
      tunneling conductance.

PMID- 9976141
TI  - Miniband transport in semiconductor superlattices in a quantized magnetic field.

PMID- 9976142
TI  - Tunneling between edge states in clean multiple GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs rings and
      increase of the phase coherence length with magnetic field.

PMID- 9976144
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in systems with random-magnetic-field scattering.

PMID- 9976143
TI  - Empirical atomic pseudopotentials for AlAs/GaAs superlattices, alloys, and
      nanostructures.

PMID- 9976145
TI  - Nyquist noise in the transition from mesoscopic to macroscopic transport.

PMID- 9976146
TI  - Resonance line shapes in quasi-one-dimensional scattering.

PMID- 9976147
TI  - Far-infrared absorption of a confined two-dimensional electron gas with an
      imbedded Coulomb impurity.

PMID- 9976149
TI  - HREELS scattering mechanism from diamond surfaces.

PMID- 9976148
TI  - Adsorbed states of NH3 and C6H6 on the Si(111)( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-B
      surface: Thermal-desorption and electron-energy-loss-spectroscopy studies.

PMID- 9976150
TI  - Interactions between alkali metals and oxygen on a reconstructed surface: An STM
      study of oxygen adsorption on the alkali-metal-covered Cu(110) surface.

PMID- 9976151
TI  - Nonlinear holographic crystallography.

PMID- 9976152
TI  - Polymerized C60 studied by first-principles molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9976153
TI  - Physics of the Be(0001) surface core-level spectrum.

PMID- 9976154
TI  - Electronic states of the pristine and alkali-metal-intercalated monolayer
      graphite/Ni(111) systems.

PMID- 9976155
TI  - Exchange-split electronic states of ultrathin Co layers on Cu(111).

PMID- 9976156
TI  - Optical absorption of fcc Co particles: Properties of conduction electrons of fcc
      Co.

PMID- 9976157
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of surface relaxation, stress, and disordering of
      Pb(110).

PMID- 9976158
TI  - Segregated Si on Fe96.5Si3.5(110): Domain-wall structures in a two-dimensional
      alloy.

PMID- 9976159
TI  - Surface core-level shifts of some 4d-metal single-crystal surfaces: Experiments
      and ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9976161
TI  - Alkali-metal adsorption on dissimilar alkali-metal monolayers preadsorbed on
      Cu(001): Li on Na and Na on Li.

PMID- 9976160
TI  - Orientation and substrate interaction of adsorbed CO and NO molecules probed by
      circular dichroism in the angular distribution of photoelectrons.

PMID- 9976162
TI  - Influence of surface excitations on electrons elastically backscattered from
      copper and silver surfaces.

PMID- 9976163
TI  - Electronic structures of small sulfur clusters.

PMID- 9976164
TI  - Layer-by-layer-resolved quantum-well states in ultrathin silver islands on
      graphite: A photoemission study.

PMID- 9976165
TI  - Simulation of cluster growth using a lattice gas model.

PMID- 9976166
TI  - Energetics and structure of toroidal forms of carbon.

PMID- 9976167
TI  - Deposition growth modes from numerical simulations.

PMID- 9976168
TI  - Crystallinity effects on the surface optical response in metals: Model
      calculations of the effect of surface states on dperp.

PMID- 9976169
TI  - Theory for the nonlinear optical response of transition metals: Polarization
      dependence as a fingerprint of the electronic structure at surfaces and
      interfaces.

PMID- 9976170
TI  - Optical-absorption spectra of A6C60 and A6C70: Theoretical evaluation of
      effective Coulomb interactions in Frenkel excitons.

PMID- 9976171
TI  - Generalization of the density-matrix method to a nonorthogonal basis.

PMID- 9976172
TI  - Coupled-cluster approximation for the linear E-e Jahn-Teller effect.

PMID- 9976174
TI  - Complete numerical description of nonlocal quantum diffusion in an array of
      magnetic-flux vortices.

PMID- 9976173
TI  - Acceptor level of substitutional Ni in diamond.

PMID- 9976175
TI  - Anomalous tunneling in a strong magnetic field and a smooth potential.

PMID- 9976176
TI  - Measurement of Si(111) surface stress by a microscopic technique.

PMID- 9976177
TI  - Radio-frequency absorption as a probe of the transition between the Wigner
      crystal and the fractionally quantized Hall state.

PMID- 9976179
TI  - Morphology and atomic structure of the sputtered and annealed Mo3Si and Cr3Si
      (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9976178
TI  - Electron focusing in two-dimensional electron gases grown on (311)B GaAs
      substrates.

PMID- 9976180
TI  - Femtosecond four-wave-mixing studies of exciton localization and exciton-exciton
      interaction in ZnSe/ZnxCd1-xSe quantum wells.

PMID- 9976181
TI  - Carrier dephasing in the gain region of an inverted semiconductor.

PMID- 9976182
TI  - Exchange reactions versus adsorption geometries for Se/GaAs(110).

PMID- 9976183
TI  - Long radiative lifetimes of biexcitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976185
TI  - Wigner crystal versus Hall insulator.

PMID- 9976184
TI  - Subquantum conductance steps in atom-sized contacts of the semimetal Sb.

PMID- 9976187
TI  - Two-dimensional inter-Landau-level excitations with small-period grating
      couplers.

PMID- 9976186
TI  - Observation of an electron-wave-function coherence length approaching the
      theoretical limit in a nearly ideal semiconductor-alloy superlattice.

PMID- 9976188
TI  - Analytical calculation of single-electron oscillations in one-dimensional arrays
      of tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9976189
TI  - Observation of a discontinous nonmetal-to-metal disorder-to-order transition in
      an alkali overlayer.

PMID- 9976190
TI  - Photoemission study of iron deposited on fullerenes.

PMID- 9976191
TI  - Photoexcitation of resonances in Ag films on Ni(111).

PMID- 9976193
TI  - Thermal relaxation of Ag(111).

PMID- 9976192
TI  - Influence of the adsorbed layer randomness on charge transfer in alkali-metal
      adsorption on metal surfaces.

PMID- 9976195
TI  - Electronic structure and relative stability of icosahedral Al-transition-metal
      clusters.

PMID- 9976194
TI  - Geometrical and electronic structure of the reconstructed diamond (100) surface.

PMID- 9976196
TI  - Growth of Co films on Cu(111) studied in real space.

PMID- 9976197
TI  - Electronic bonding and optical properties of the H2-H2O phase at high pressure.

PMID- 9976198
TI  - Evidence for density-wave domain structure in a mixed-band low-dimensional
      organic conductor.

PMID- 9976199
TI  - Structures of dislocations in GaAs and their modification by impurities.

PMID- 9976201
TI  - Anomalous temperature dependence of the correlated nu =1 quantum Hall effect in
      bilayer electron systems.

PMID- 9976200
TI  - Influence of shape on electron transport in ballistic quantum dots.

PMID- 9976202
TI  - Surface photovoltages due to pulsed sources: Implications for photoemission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976203
TI  - Toulouse limit for the overscreened four-channel Kondo problem.

PMID- 9976204
TI  - Quasi-ballistic-electron transport in random superlattices.

PMID- 9976205
TI  - Charge transfer at aluminum-C60 interfaces in thin-film multilayer structures.

PMID- 9976206
TI  - Plasmons and optical properties of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9976208
TI  - Fracture surfaces: Apparent roughness, relevant length scales, and fracture
      toughness.

PMID- 9976207
TI  - Dispersion at nuclear resonance in time-delayed interferometry.

PMID- 9976209
TI  - Experimental evidence of the crossover between bulk and thin-film optics.

PMID- 9976210
TI  - Erratum: Conduction-electron states in ferromagnetic semiconductors above the
      Curie temperature

PMID- 9976211
TI  - Erratum: Adsorbate-induced changes in the broadband infrared reflectance of a
      metal: Oxygen on Cu(100)

PMID- 9976213
TI  - Optical properties and electronic structure of the intermetallic phases NiAl,
      CoAl, and FeAl.

PMID- 9976212
TI  - Absolute deformation potentials of Al, Si, and NaCl.

PMID- 9976215
TI  - Magnetic circular dichroism at the K edge of nickel and iron.

PMID- 9976214
TI  - Order-N methods in self-consistent density-functional calculations.

PMID- 9976216
TI  - Band structure and chemical bonding in C58BN heterofullerenes.

PMID- 9976218
TI  - Electronic structure of K2NiF4.

PMID- 9976217
TI  - Slave-boson calculation of the Landau parameters of the one-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9976219
TI  - Partial screening in Ca silicides measured by Ca 2p electron-energy-loss
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976220
TI  - Slave-boson study of the t-t'-J model: Phase diagram, spin susceptibility, and
      Hall resistivity.

PMID- 9976221
TI  - Thermal expansion of the disordered conductors MNiSn (M=Ti,Zr,Hf).

PMID- 9976222
TI  - Hybridization strength in Ce compounds: A local-density study.

PMID- 9976223
TI  - Domain walls, spiral states, and phase separation in the extended Hubbard model:
      A Hartree-Fock analysis.

PMID- 9976224
TI  - Magnetic, thermal, transport, and structural properties of Sr2RuO4+ delta :
      Enhanced charge-carrier mass in a nearly metallic oxide.

PMID- 9976225
TI  - Gauge-invariant response functions of fermions coupled to a gauge field.

PMID- 9976227
TI  - Projector augmented-wave method.

PMID- 9976226
TI  - Cumulant expansion of the periodic Anderson model: General derivation.

PMID- 9976228
TI  - Spectral properties of the Hubbard bands.

PMID- 9976230
TI  - Modified muffin-tin potential for the study of semiconductors using the
      orthogonalized-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9976229
TI  - Fermi surface of alkali metals using the full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital
      method and the generalized gradient approximation.

PMID- 9976231
TI  - Optical properties and temperature dependence of the interband transitions of
      cubic and hexagonal GaN.

PMID- 9976232
TI  - Fine structure of a bound multiexciton complex in CdTe.

PMID- 9976233
TI  - Identification of the neutral V4+ impurity in cubic 3C-SiC by electron-spin
      resonance and optically detected magnetic resonance.

PMID- 9976234
TI  - Low-field negative magnetoresistance in the variable-range-hopping regime in
      copper indium diselenide.

PMID- 9976235
TI  - Influence of hydrogen-bonding configurations on the physical properties of
      hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9976236
TI  - Linear muffin-tin-orbital and k

PMID- 9976237
TI  - chi (3) formalism in optically excited semiconductors and its applications in
      four-wave-mixing spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976238
TI  - Third-order optical nonlinearities in semiconductors: The two-band model.

PMID- 9976239
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of amorphous Si from first-principles molecular
      dynamics simulations.

PMID- 9976241
TI  - Picosecond radiative decay of free and bound excitons and excitonic molecules in
      CdSe.

PMID- 9976240
TI  - Transferable tight-binding model for Si-H systems.

PMID- 9976242
TI  - Band-gap fluctuations in semiconducting solid solutions.

PMID- 9976243
TI  - Magnetotransport and photoluminescence of two-dimensional hole gases in Si/Si1
      xGex/Si heterostructures.

PMID- 9976244
TI  - Photoluminescence in silicon powder grown by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor
      deposition: Evidence of a multistep-multiphoton excitation process.

PMID- 9976245
TI  - Electron-energy-loss investigation of hole-plasmon excitation due to thermal
      indiffusion boron doping of Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9976246
TI  - Substitutional effects on the electronic transport of the Kondo semiconductor
      Ce3Bi4Pt3.

PMID- 9976247
TI  - Thermally activated carrier escape mechanisms from InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976248
TI  - Observation of above-barrier transitions in superlattices with small magnetically
      induced band offsets.

PMID- 9976249
TI  - Theoretical studies of electronic and structural properties of the Si/GaP(110)
      interface.

PMID- 9976251
TI  - Unified approach to the linear optical properties of strained (Si)n/(Ge)m
      superlattices.

PMID- 9976250
TI  - Surface electronic structure of InSb(1-bar 1-bar 1-bar)3 x 3 studied by angle
      resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9976252
TI  - Anomalous Au/Si barrier modification by a CaF2 intralayer.

PMID- 9976253
TI  - Surface transformations on annealed GaAs(001).

PMID- 9976254
TI  - Persistent spectral hole burning in semiconductor nanocrystals.

PMID- 9976255
TI  - Resonant-Raman-scattering study on short-period Si/Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9976257
TI  - Interfacial defects in Si1-xGex/Si quantum wells detected by deep-level transient
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976256
TI  - Contactless microwave study of shallow traps in thin-film CdSe.

PMID- 9976258
TI  - Electronic states and binding energies in ZnS-ZnSe superlattices.

PMID- 9976259
TI  - Femtosecond pulse distortion in GaAs quantum wells and its effect on pump-probe
      or four-wave-mixing experiments.

PMID- 9976260
TI  - Quantum oscillation and the Aharonov-Bohm effect in a multiply connected normal
      conductor loop.

PMID- 9976261
TI  - Theory of excitonic exchange splitting and optical Stokes shift in silicon
      nanocrystallites: Application to porous silicon.

PMID- 9976262
TI  - Defects on the Ag/Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 ) surface.

PMID- 9976264
TI  - Coulomb blockade of resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9976263
TI  - Quantum chaos in a deformable billiard: Applications to quantum dots.

PMID- 9976265
TI  - dc transport in perturbed multichannel quantum wires.

PMID- 9976266
TI  - Plateau behavior and the metal-insulator transition in delta -doping
      superlattices for transport along the growth direction.

PMID- 9976267
TI  - Coherent intraband and interband dynamics in double quantum wells: Exciton and
      free-carrier effects.

PMID- 9976268
TI  - Electronic structure of buried alpha -FeSi2 and beta -FeSi2 layers: Soft-x-ray
      emission and -absorption studies compared to band-structure calculations.

PMID- 9976269
TI  - Discrete electronic transport through a microwire in a longitudinal magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9976270
TI  - One-band model for a weakly coupled quantum-wire resonator.

PMID- 9976271
TI  - Structural, electronic, and optical properties of strained Si1-xGex alloys.

PMID- 9976272
TI  - Electronic properties of tubule forms of hexagonal BC3.

PMID- 9976273
TI  - Exciton dynamics in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs doped quantum wells.

PMID- 9976275
TI  - Ordering in Si-Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9976274
TI  - Biexcitons in short-pulse optical experiments in strong magnetic fields in GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9976276
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering in p-doped GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum-well structures:
      Scattering mechanisms and many-particle interactions.

PMID- 9976277
TI  - Second-harmonic generation in p-type asymmetric GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs-AlAs
      superlattices due to excitations between valence minibands.

PMID- 9976278
TI  - State mixing in InAs/GaAs quantum dots at the pressure-induced Gamma -X crossing.

PMID- 9976279
TI  - Theory of high-field-domain structures in superlattices.

PMID- 9976280
TI  - Mesoscopic quantum transport: Resonant tunneling in the presence of a strong
      Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9976281
TI  - Near-surface structure of low-energy-argon-bombarded Si(100).

PMID- 9976283
TI  - Cd and Te desorption from (001), (111)B, and (110) CdTe surfaces.

PMID- 9976282
TI  - Use of a narrow-gap prewell for the optical study of charge buildup and the Fermi
      energy edge singularity in a double-barrier resonant-tunneling structure.

PMID- 9976284
TI  - Charge exchange in low-energy proton-surface scattering studied by discrete
      variational X alpha cluster calculations.

PMID- 9976286
TI  - Thermal disordering of the Pt(110)-(1 x 2) surface.

PMID- 9976285
TI  - Brillouin-light-scattering study of long-wavelength acoustic phonons in single
      crystal dysprosium films.

PMID- 9976287
TI  - Theory of heat transfer by evanescent electromagnetic waves.

PMID- 9976289
TI  - Phase transition of monolayer Pb/Ge(111): beta - sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 R30 degrees 1 x
      1 at ~180 degreesC.

PMID- 9976288
TI  - Ne autoionization electron emission in collisions with clean and Cs and Na
      covered Mg, Al, and Si surfaces.

PMID- 9976290
TI  - Ultrafast spectroscopic studies of photoinduced electron transfer from
      semiconducting polymers to C60.

PMID- 9976292
TI  - Effective cluster interactions at alloy surfaces and charge self-consistency:
      Surface segregation in Ni-10 at. % Al and Cu-Ni.

PMID- 9976291
TI  - Kinetics of surface alloy formation: Cu(100)-c(2 x 2)Pd.

PMID- 9976293
TI  - Excitation energy and temperature-dependent Raman study of Rb3C60 films.

PMID- 9976295
TI  - Random-island structure of two-dimensional fine particles of guest atoms in the
      intercalation compounds AgxTiS2.

PMID- 9976294
TI  - X-ray diffraction and NMR study on the structure of Co/Cu superlattices with
      artificially modified interfaces.

PMID- 9976296
TI  - Morphological effects on the transport and magnetic properties of polymeric and
      colloidal carbon aerogels.

PMID- 9976298
TI  - Interaction of surface states with rows of adsorbed atoms and other one
      dimensional scatterers.

PMID- 9976297
TI  - Length dependence of conductance fluctuations in metallic nanobridges.

PMID- 9976299
TI  - LEED fine structures and trapping phenomena in inelastic scattering of electrons
      off Ag(001) and Ag(110).

PMID- 9976300
TI  - Electron-ion dynamics: A technique for simulating both electronic transitions and
      ionic motion in molecules and materials.

PMID- 9976301
TI  - Effects of electron correlation on the band gap of a chain of halogen-bridged
      transition-metal compounds.

PMID- 9976302
TI  - Vacuum-ultraviolet reflectance spectra and optical properties of nanoscale
      wurtzite boron nitride.

PMID- 9976303
TI  - Exact formula for nondiagonal Green's functions in condensed-matter physics.

PMID- 9976304
TI  - Zone-center optical phonons in InxGa1-xAs alloys.

PMID- 9976306
TI  - Phase diagram in a two-dimensional Coulomb-gas model.

PMID- 9976305
TI  - Magnetic-susceptibility analysis of polyaniline and its derivatives in terms of
      triplet bipolarons.

PMID- 9976307
TI  - Quantum confinement in nanometer-sized silicon crystallites.

PMID- 9976308
TI  - Biexciton binding energy in CuCl quantum dots.

PMID- 9976309
TI  - Observation of long-lived exciton magnetic polarons in Zn1-xMnxSe/ZnSe multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9976311
TI  - Eigenwave spectrum of surface acoustic waves on a rough self-affine fractal
      surface.

PMID- 9976310
TI  - Effect of argon atoms on charge distributions in small lithium clusters.

PMID- 9976312
TI  - Reflection high-energy electron-diffraction study of surface disorder and
      anomalous expansion of Pb(100).

PMID- 9976313
TI  - Spectral characteristics of conductance fluctuations in ballistic quantum dots.

PMID- 9976315
TI  - Correlation of surface core levels and structural building blocks for the Si(111)
      7 x 7 reconstruction through high-resolution core-level spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976314
TI  - Pressure tuning of the charge-density wave in the halogen-bridged transition
      metal solid Pt2Br6(NH3)4.

PMID- 9976316
TI  - Theory of Rabi splitting in cavity-embedded quantum wells.

PMID- 9976317
TI  - Quantum corrections to the thermoelectric transport in a system of interacting
      electrons and phonons.

PMID- 9976318
TI  - Interaction of a magnetic impurity with strongly correlated conduction electrons.

PMID- 9976320
TI  - Elimination of local-spin-density-approximation errors from electronic-structure
      calculations of Gd.

PMID- 9976319
TI  - Stability and single-particle properties of bosonized Fermi liquids.

PMID- 9976321
TI  - Transitions from conventional metals and insulators to Kondo metals and
      insulators.

PMID- 9976322
TI  - Projected random vectors and the recursion method in the electronic-structure
      problem.

PMID- 9976323
TI  - Photoemission study of composition- and temperature-induced metal-insulator
      transitions in Cr-doped V2O3.

PMID- 9976324
TI  - Correlation energy, structure factor, radial distribution function, and momentum
      distribution of the spin-polarized uniform electron gas.

PMID- 9976325
TI  - Low-energy optical excitation in rare-earth hexaborides.

PMID- 9976326
TI  - Anderson localization in strongly anisotropic metals.

PMID- 9976327
TI  - Spectral dimension and dynamics for Harper's equation.

PMID- 9976328
TI  - Strong correlations and disorder in d=

PMID- 9976329
TI  - Compositional short-range ordering in metallic alloys: Band-filling, charge
      transfer, and size effects from a first-principles all-electron Landau-type
      theory.

PMID- 9976330
TI  - First-principles all-electron theory of atomic short-range ordering in metallic
      alloys: D022- versus L12-like correlations.

PMID- 9976331
TI  - pi bonding versus electronic-defect generation: An examination of band-gap
      properties in amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9976332
TI  - Electronic structure of GaN with strain and phonon distortions.

PMID- 9976333
TI  - Calculation of bond lengths in an In1-xGaxAs1-yPy quaternary-alloy semiconductor.

PMID- 9976334
TI  - Electric-dipole spin-resonance study on extended defects in Czochralski-grown
      silicon developed by thermal treatment.

PMID- 9976335
TI  - First-principles calculation of native defect densities in Hg0.8Cd0.2Te.

PMID- 9976336
TI  - Energetics of large lattice strains: Application to silicon.

PMID- 9976338
TI  - Metastable-defect generation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9976337
TI  - Coulomb quantum kinetics and optical dephasing on the femtosecond time scale.

PMID- 9976339
TI  - Optical identification of the gallium vacancy in neutron-irradiated gallium
      arsenide.

PMID- 9976340
TI  - Evolution of surface morphology of Si(100)-(2 x 1) during oxygen adsorption at
      elevated temperatures.

PMID- 9976341
TI  - Photoluminescence from strained InAs monolayers in GaAs under pressure.

PMID- 9976342
TI  - Experimental investigation of the damping of low-frequency edge magnetoplasmons
      in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9976343
TI  - Resonant tunneling and resonance splitting: The inherent properties of
      superlattices.

PMID- 9976344
TI  - Finite-frequency shot noise in a single-electron transistor.

PMID- 9976345
TI  - Magneto-optical properties in ultrathin InAs-GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976346
TI  - Anisotropy effects on optical phonon modes in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976348
TI  - Optical investigation of the electronic structure of single ultrathin InAs layers
      grown pseudomorphically on (100) and (311)A GaAs substrates.

PMID- 9976347
TI  - Propagation of elastic waves in semiconductor superlattices under the action of a
      laser field.

PMID- 9976349
TI  - Ground-state energy of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal of finite density and
      thickness.

PMID- 9976350
TI  - Optical anisotropy of (311) superlattices.

PMID- 9976351
TI  - Scattering models of conduction around an antidot in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9976352
TI  - Resistance of a long wire in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9976353
TI  - Intrasubband scattering in highly excited semiconductor quantum wells with
      biaxial strain.

PMID- 9976354
TI  - Persistent current in a two-band disordered interacting one-dimensional ring.

PMID- 9976355
TI  - Raman-line-shape study of InxGa1-xAs on InP and GaAs substrates.

PMID- 9976356
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the Fermi-liquid parameters in the two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9976357
TI  - Planar vibrational modes as probes of interface structure.

PMID- 9976358
TI  - Bi-induced reconstructions on Si(100).

PMID- 9976360
TI  - First-order correction to phonon scattering due to dynamical screening in quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9976359
TI  - Simple model for multistability and domain formation in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9976361
TI  - Space-charge-mediated capture of electrons and holes in a quantum well.

PMID- 9976363
TI  - Electron-acoustic-phonon scattering rates in rectangular quantum wires.

PMID- 9976362
TI  - Photoemission study of the Si(111)3 x 1-K surface.

PMID- 9976364
TI  - Distinction between surface and bulk states in surface-photovoltage spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976365
TI  - Photogenerated carrier dynamics under the influence of electric fields in III-V
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9976366
TI  - Polar optical modes and electron-phonon interaction in semiconductor
      nanostructures.

PMID- 9976367
TI  - Compressibility of the two-dimensional electron gas: Measurements of the zero
      field exchange energy and fractional quantum Hall gap.

PMID- 9976368
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of density-functional theory for a semiconducting wire.

PMID- 9976369
TI  - Interface roughness and homogeneous linewidths in quantum wells and superlattices
      studied by resonant acoustic-phonon Raman scattering.

PMID- 9976370
TI  - Response function of the fractional quantized Hall state on a sphere. I. Fermion
      Chern-Simons theory.

PMID- 9976371
TI  - Response function of the fractional quantized Hall state on a sphere. II. Exact
      diagonalization.

PMID- 9976372
TI  - Dimensionality and potential-shape effects on D0 and D- ground states in quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9976374
TI  - Energetics and structure of negatively charged Cu clusters.

PMID- 9976373
TI  - Extended modifications of electronic structures caused by defects: Scanning
      tunneling microscopy of graphite.

PMID- 9976375
TI  - Light scattering from transparent substrates: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9976376
TI  - Transient-conductivity change induced by laser-pulsed excitation in semimetal
      films.

PMID- 9976377
TI  - Molecular states of CO interaction with 3d-metal surfaces.

PMID- 9976379
TI  - Multipole surface-plasmon modes on simple metals.

PMID- 9976378
TI  - Spin-flip low-energy electron-exchange scattering in NiO(100).

PMID- 9976381
TI  - Calculation of surface stress in a linear combination of atomic orbitals
      representation.

PMID- 9976380
TI  - Resonant electron transfer at metal surfaces: Theoretical analysis of scaling
      properties and universal behavior.

PMID- 9976382
TI  - Equilibrium and kinetics in the (111) surface of Cu-Ag alloys: Comparison between
      mean-field and Monte Carlo calculations.

PMID- 9976383
TI  - Treatment of thermal vibrations and local static disorder within tensor LEED.

PMID- 9976384
TI  - Prelude to etching: The surface interaction of chlorine on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9976385
TI  - Determination of bond ionicity using low-energy D+ scattering.

PMID- 9976386
TI  - Meromorphic degenerate nonlinear susceptibility: Phase retrieval from the
      amplitude spectrum.

PMID- 9976387
TI  - Measurement of a three-dimensional photonic band gap in a crystal structure made
      of dielectric rods.

PMID- 9976388
TI  - Enhancement of the electronic effective mass in quantum wires.

PMID- 9976389
TI  - Parity-controlled Coulomb-blockade effects identified by shot noise.

PMID- 9976390
TI  - Nonlinear current-voltage characteristics at quantum Hall resistance minima.

PMID- 9976391
TI  - Bound states of near-surface multiple-quantum-well structures: Evolution of the
      Tamm states with the cap-layer thickness.

PMID- 9976392
TI  - Na hyperoxidation states studied by core-level spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976393
TI  - Determination of silver coverage on Si(111) 3 x 1(6 x 1)-Ag surfaces.

PMID- 9976395
TI  - Photoemission study of the Ce/Rh(100) overlayer system: Hybridization of f and d
      states.

PMID- 9976394
TI  - Determination of the morphology of Ag deposits by photoreflectance.

PMID- 9976396
TI  - Origin of the -4.4 eV band in CdTe(100).

PMID- 9976397
TI  - Magnetoacoustic oscillations in (TMTSF)2ClO4 in high magnetic fields, where TMTSF
      is tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene.

PMID- 9976398
TI  - A7 structure: A family of photonic crystals.

PMID- 9976400
TI  - Passivation of copper by lithium in p-type GaAs.

PMID- 9976399
TI  - First-principles calculation of the electronic and optical properties of LiNbO3.

PMID- 9976401
TI  - Charge state and diffusivity of muonium in n-type GaAs.

PMID- 9976402
TI  - Optical studies of locally implanted magnetic ions in GaAs.

PMID- 9976403
TI  - Electric-field domains in semiconductor superlattices: Resonant and nonresonant
      tunneling.

PMID- 9976404
TI  - Profiles of the normal and inverted semiconductor interfaces: A Zeeman study in
      asymmetric Cd1-yZnyTe/CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9976405
TI  - Structure of GaAs(001) surfaces: The role of electrostatic interactions.

PMID- 9976407
TI  - Free and acceptor-bound excitons in the transition region between two-dimensional
      and quasi-three-dimensional GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs systems.

PMID- 9976406
TI  - Photon-assisted tunneling through a quantum dot.

PMID- 9976408
TI  - Localization of the surface acoustic longitudinal pseudomode of silicon in a
      buried SiO2 layer.

PMID- 9976409
TI  - Determination of the energy gap in the acoustic excitation of a superlattice.

PMID- 9976410
TI  - Acoustic-mode coupling and electron heating in thin metal films.

PMID- 9976411
TI  - Calculated orientation dependence of surface segregations in Pt50Ni50.

PMID- 9976412
TI  - Surface magnetoelastic coupling coefficients of single-crystal fcc Co thin films.

PMID- 9976413
TI  - Erratum: Surface transverse elastic waves in N-layer superlattices

PMID- 9976414
TI  - Erratum: Thermodynamic properties of Kondo insulators

PMID- 9976415
TI  - Low-temperature electronic and magnetic properties of single-crystal Ni3S2.

PMID- 9976416
TI  - Three-body scattering theory of correlated hole and electron states.

PMID- 9976418
TI  - Calculation of crystal-field parameters in the RNi5 (R=rare earth) system.

PMID- 9976417
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential calculations for aluminum-rich cobalt compounds.

PMID- 9976419
TI  - Theoretical analysis of the electronic structure of pure and hydrated forms of
      As2O5.

PMID- 9976420
TI  - Photoemission study of the electronic structure of CrCl3 and RuCl3 compounds.

PMID- 9976421
TI  - Approximations made in evaluating the residual electrical dc resistivity of
      disordered alloys.

PMID- 9976423
TI  - Exact result for the effective conductivity of a continuum percolation model.

PMID- 9976422
TI  - Electronic specific heat and thermoelectric power of an Anderson lattice with
      finite f-band width.

PMID- 9976424
TI  - Crystal and electronic structures and electrical, magnetic, and optical
      properties of two copper tetrahalide salts of bis(ethylenedithio)
      tetrathiafulvalene.

PMID- 9976425
TI  - Optical properties of PdO and PtO.

PMID- 9976427
TI  - 13C NMR study of the metal-insulator and structural phase transition in the
      organic conductor (fluoranthenyl)2PF6.

PMID- 9976426
TI  - Two-loop scattering amplitudes for the finite-charge infinite-U Hubbard model:
      Existence of a spin-exchange collective mode.

PMID- 9976428
TI  - Electron propagation in orientationally disordered fullerides.

PMID- 9976429
TI  - Explicit treatment of the gallium 3d electrons in GaN using the plane-wave
      pseudopotential method.

PMID- 9976430
TI  - Electron scattering by spatially correlated DX charges.

PMID- 9976431
TI  - Li on bond-center sites in Si.

PMID- 9976432
TI  - Dielectric function and critical points of cubic and hexagonal CdSe.

PMID- 9976433
TI  - Positron-annihilation studies of neutral and negatively charged As vacancies in
      GaAs.

PMID- 9976434
TI  - Faraday-rotation spectra of semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9976436
TI  - Photoconduction extended x-ray-absorption fine structure of GaAs.

PMID- 9976435
TI  - Carrier-carrier scattering rates within nonequilibrium optically injected
      semiconductor plasmas.

PMID- 9976437
TI  - Phonon dispersions of silicon and germanium from first-principles calculations.

PMID- 9976438
TI  - Semiconductor energy gaps in the average Fock approximation.

PMID- 9976440
TI  - Laser-induced suppression of electron tunneling in a biased asymmetric double
      quantum well.

PMID- 9976439
TI  - Conductance sum rule for the hierarchical edge states of the fractional quantum
      Hall effect.

PMID- 9976441
TI  - Transfer-matrix approach to quantum transport in two-dimensional geometries.

PMID- 9976443
TI  - ac conductivity of mesoscopic rings: The discrete-spectrum limit.

PMID- 9976442
TI  - Ge(100) 2 x 1 and c(4 x 2) surface reconstructions studied by ab initio total
      energy molecular-force calculations.

PMID- 9976445
TI  - Quantum theory of the interaction of quantum-well excitons with electromagnetic
      waveguide modes.

PMID- 9976444
TI  - Interdiffusion process in lattice-matched InxGa1-xAsyP1-y/InP and GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9976446
TI  - Fluorescence-line narrowing in CdSe quantum dots: Surface localization of the
      photogenerated exciton.

PMID- 9976448
TI  - Optical gain due to phonon-assisted exciton transitions in quantum wires.

PMID- 9976447
TI  - Optical properties of quasi-one-dimensional thiophene-based oligomers.

PMID- 9976449
TI  - Conductance spectroscopy in coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9976450
TI  - Magneto-Raman scattering in GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9976451
TI  - Interfacial structure of two-dimensional epitaxial Er silicide on Si(111).

PMID- 9976452
TI  - Absorption in p-type Si-SiGe strained quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9976453
TI  - Combined HREELS and Raman study of GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9976454
TI  - Anyonic ions, energy bands, and photoluminescence of fractional quantum Hall
      systems.

PMID- 9976455
TI  - Theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect: The two-phase model.

PMID- 9976456
TI  - Impurity scattering in mesoscopic quantum wires and the Laguerre ensemble.

PMID- 9976457
TI  - Theoretical calculations of shallow acceptor states in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells in the presence of an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9976458
TI  - Effect of mass discontinuity in the Wigner theory of resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9976460
TI  - Electronic band structure of AlxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs/GaAs double-barrier
      superlattices.

PMID- 9976459
TI  - Missing-dimer complexes and dimers on the Ge(001) surface.

PMID- 9976461
TI  - Resonant coupling between confined and unconfined states in a finite-period
      In0.24Ga0.76As/GaAs strained-layer superlattice.

PMID- 9976462
TI  - Anisotropic interference of degenerate four-wave mixing in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9976463
TI  - dc and high-frequency transport in quasi-one-dimensional quantum wires with rough
      boundaries.

PMID- 9976464
TI  - Schottky barriers and their properties in superionic crystals.

PMID- 9976465
TI  - Conductance fluctuations, weak localization, and shot noise for a ballistic
      constriction in a disordered wire.

PMID- 9976466
TI  - Electrical properties of He-implantation-produced nanocavities in silicon.

PMID- 9976467
TI  - Hologram recording with mutually orthogonal polarized waves in
      Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6:Ce.

PMID- 9976468
TI  - I-V characteristics of 1D-0D-1D double-barrier structures and persistence of fine
      structure at high temperatures.

PMID- 9976469
TI  - Phonon-assisted Gamma -X transition rates in type-II superlattices.

PMID- 9976470
TI  - Scaling in quantum chaos: A study of quantum dots.

PMID- 9976471
TI  - Random-matrix study of multiprobe mesoscopic devices. II. A four-probe one
      dimensional system.

PMID- 9976472
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering due to bound-carrier spin flip in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9976473
TI  - Influence of bounded geometry on electrocapillary instability.

PMID- 9976474
TI  - Surface melting of gallium single crystals.

PMID- 9976475
TI  - Direct evidence for interface-induced perpendicular spin orientation and spin
      reorientation in terbium-coated thin iron films.

PMID- 9976476
TI  - Ab initio calculations of hydrogen adsorption on (100) surfaces of palladium and
      rhodium.

PMID- 9976477
TI  - Surface structure of cubic aluminum oxide.

PMID- 9976479
TI  - Theoretical analysis of the O(1s) binding-energy shifts in alkaline-earth oxides:
      Chemical or electrostatic contributions.

PMID- 9976478
TI  - Deexcitation processes in adsorbates.

PMID- 9976480
TI  - Stability of vacancy defects in MgO: The role of charge neutrality.

PMID- 9976481
TI  - Different modes of water aggregation on (111) surfaces of fluorite structures.

PMID- 9976482
TI  - Ab initio studies of diamond(100) surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9976483
TI  - Effects of weak localization and superconducting fluctuations on the frequency
      dependence of the conductivity in copper-semiconductor sandwiches.

PMID- 9976484
TI  - Symmetry analysis of the 2a phase of C60.

PMID- 9976485
TI  - Inelastic exchange scattering in electron-energy-loss spectroscopy: Localized
      excitations in transition-metal and rare-earth systems.

PMID- 9976486
TI  - Static hyperpolarizability of polymers: Exact Hubbard results.

PMID- 9976487
TI  - Magnetic-resonance studies of tellurium-doped AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9976488
TI  - Spin splitting of cyclotron resonance in the conduction band of ZnTe.

PMID- 9976489
TI  - Impurity band in p-type beta -FeSi2.

PMID- 9976490
TI  - Effects of hydrogen on the annealing behavior of neutron-radiation-induced
      defects in Si.

PMID- 9976491
TI  - Effect of scattering in the potential barriers on the tunneling transparency of a
      disordered superlattice.

PMID- 9976493
TI  - Numerical study of the effect of Coulomb repulsion on resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9976492
TI  - Large-scale ab initio study of the binding and diffusion of a Ge adatom on the
      Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9976494
TI  - Strain effects on the microscopic structure of an InxGa1-xAs epilayer in InxGa1
      xAs/GaAs heterostructures: A theoretical study.

PMID- 9976495
TI  - Ab initio molecular-orbital study on successive hydrogen-elimination reactions
      with low activation energies in the a-Si:H formation process: Cluster-size
      dependence of activation energies.

PMID- 9976496
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher tunneling effects and edge states in double
      barrier structures.

PMID- 9976497
TI  - Phonon-drag thermopower of quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9976498
TI  - Quantum oscillation in multiply connected mesoscopic rings at finite temperature.

PMID- 9976499
TI  - Donors and excitons in triangular GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976501
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Y-Cu-O caused by a change in the
      structural modulation.

PMID- 9976500
TI  - Photon-induced universal conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic Au films.

PMID- 9976503
TI  - Anomalous variation of phonon Raman intensities near the metal-to-Mott-insulator
      transition in titanium oxide systems.

PMID- 9976502
TI  - Correct formulation of the 1/N expansion for the slave-boson approach within the
      functional integral.

PMID- 9976504
TI  - Local hydrogen vibrational modes in GaAs doped with S, Se, and Te.

PMID- 9976505
TI  - First-principles study of antisite and interstitial phosphorus impurities in
      ZnSe.

PMID- 9976506
TI  - Relationships between the band gaps of the zinc-blende and wurtzite modifications
      of semiconductors.

PMID- 9976507
TI  - Effect of thermal annealing on the conduction- and valence-band quantum shifts in
      porous silicon.

PMID- 9976508
TI  - Spatial correlations of remote impurity charges: Mechanism responsible for the
      high mobility of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9976509
TI  - Hole delocalization in CdTe/Cd1-xZnxTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9976510
TI  - Temperature-dependent polarization in

PMID- 9976511
TI  - Structure of the Mn-induced Cu(100)-c(2 x 2) surface.

PMID- 9976512
TI  - Temperature-dependent exchange splitting of unoccupied electronic states in
      Gd(0001).

PMID- 9976513
TI  - Ultrahigh-pressure phase transformations in the Ce0.43Th0.57 alloy: Implications
      for f-electron behavior under compression.

PMID- 9976514
TI  - Optical study of LiKSO4 crystals under uniaxial pressure.

PMID- 9976515
TI  - Zero-phonon transitions and the Stokes shift of Mn2+-doped perovskites:
      Dependence on the metal-ligand distance.

PMID- 9976516
TI  - Optical activity and birefringence of the incommensurate phase of Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9976518
TI  - Ab initio multiconfiguration self-consistent-field calculations of the excited
      states of a Mn impurity in CaF2.

PMID- 9976517
TI  - Cluster model of the energy of vacancy formation in metals.

PMID- 9976519
TI  - Phase transition in C60 observed by positron annihilation.

PMID- 9976520
TI  - Monte Carlo analysis of percolation of line segments on a square lattice.

PMID- 9976522
TI  - Electron-localization effects on the conducting and magnetic states in
      polyaniline copolymers.

PMID- 9976521
TI  - Structure factors in germanium at 0.342 and 1.382 MeV.

PMID- 9976523
TI  - Amorphization of metallic systems induced by low-temperature ion-beam mixing.

PMID- 9976524
TI  - NMR in substitutionally disordered incommensurate (Rb1-xKx)2 ZnCl4.

PMID- 9976525
TI  - Amorphization in Fe-Si multilayers by solid-state reaction.

PMID- 9976526
TI  - Theoretical study of pyrrole oligomers: Electronic excitations, relaxation
      energies, and nonlinear optical properties.

PMID- 9976527
TI  - Simulation of growth of Ni-Zr interfacial amorphous regions under nonequilibrium
      conditions.

PMID- 9976528
TI  - Ultrasonic relaxations in lanthanide phosphate glasses.

PMID- 9976529
TI  - Electronic Kapitza conductance at a diamond-Pb interface.

PMID- 9976530
TI  - Infrared-reflectivity study of ZrO2-HfO2 solid solutions.

PMID- 9976531
TI  - Use of integral-equation theory in determining the structure and thermodynamics
      of liquid alkali metals.

PMID- 9976532
TI  - Polarons as nucleation droplets in nondegenerate polymers.

PMID- 9976533
TI  - Time-dependent mean-field theory for tunneling in electron-phonon systems.

PMID- 9976534
TI  - Diagrammatic treatment of light scattering by a collection of Kerr particles.

PMID- 9976535
TI  - Bistable switching of nuclear polarization states in gallium oxide.

PMID- 9976536
TI  - Electric-field effects on the spin-density wave in magnetic ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9976538
TI  - Surface-enhanced magnetic moment and ferromagnetic ordering of Mn ultrathin films
      on fcc Co(001).

PMID- 9976537
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectra of Ni2+-doped Zn(BF4)2

PMID- 9976540
TI  - Dynamics of one-dimensional Heisenberg spin glasses in the high-field limit.

PMID- 9976539
TI  - Finite-size scaling in the presence of an inhomogeneous external field: An
      analytical-model treatment.

PMID- 9976541
TI  - 4f orbital and spin magnetism in cerium intermetallic compounds studied by
      magnetic circular x-ray dichroism.

PMID- 9976542
TI  - Temperature dependence of resonant x-ray magnetic scattering in holmium.

PMID- 9976543
TI  - Magnetic coupling and magnetic transitions in interstitial compounds of the
      series Er2Fe17Cx.

PMID- 9976544
TI  - Curie temperature for three-dimensional binary Ising ferromagnets.

PMID- 9976546
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of the spin-state transition and magnetic correlations
      in La1-xSrxCoO3 (x=0 and 0.08).

PMID- 9976545
TI  - Doping-induced magnetic phase transition in poly(3-alkylthiophenes).

PMID- 9976547
TI  - Wave-vector region probed by zero-field muon-spin-relaxation measurements in
      paramagnets near the Curie temperature.

PMID- 9976549
TI  - Excitation spectra of S=1 antiferromagnetic chains.

PMID- 9976548
TI  - Finite-lattice extrapolations for a Haldane-gap antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9976551
TI  - Generalized cluster algorithms for frustrated spin models.

PMID- 9976550
TI  - High-temperature study of the Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in the XY
      model on the triangular lattice.

PMID- 9976552
TI  - Superexchange anisotropy in the cuprates.

PMID- 9976553
TI  - Effects of surface anisotropy on hysteresis in fine magnetic particles.

PMID- 9976554
TI  - Collapsing cycloidal structures in the magnetic phase diagram of erbium.

PMID- 9976555
TI  - Effect of a magnetic field on Mott-Hubbard systems.

PMID- 9976556
TI  - Exact results of the one-dimensional 1/r2 supersymmetric t-J model without
      translational invariance.

PMID- 9976557
TI  - Investigation of different classes of variational functions for the triangular
      and kagome-acute spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9976558
TI  - Weak antiferromagnetic coupling in sputtered NiCo/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9976559
TI  - Effective-action approach to Bose-Einstein condensation and superconductivity of
      a charged ideal nonrelativistic Bose gas.

PMID- 9976560
TI  - Arbitrary-coupling electron-ripplon system on liquid-helium films.

PMID- 9976561
TI  - Second virial coefficient of helium adsorbed on liquid hydrogen.

PMID- 9976562
TI  - Second-quantization description of Andreev reflection and the relation to
      quasiparticle wave approaches.

PMID- 9976563
TI  - Driven diffusion in the two-dimensional lattice Coulomb gas: A model for flux
      flow in superconducting networks.

PMID- 9976565
TI  - Tunneling and thermoelectric effect in generalized tunnel junctions in the
      presence of electron-hole asymmetry.

PMID- 9976564
TI  - Observation of vortex dynamics in two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9976566
TI  - Doping dependence of the thermopower of high-Tc cuprates: Tight-binding band
      model.

PMID- 9976567
TI  - Effects of fluxon dynamics on higher harmonics of ac susceptibility in type-II
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976568
TI  - Electronic structure and crystal chemistry of niobium oxide phases.

PMID- 9976570
TI  - Superconductivity in the multiband Hubbard model with long-range Coulomb
      repulsion.

PMID- 9976569
TI  - Oxygen deficiencies in the F-doped Bi2-xPbxSr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconductors studied
      by positron annihilation.

PMID- 9976571
TI  - Structural effects of hydrostatic pressure in orthorhombic La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9976572
TI  - Iron doping in the deoxygenated YBa2(Cu1-xFex)3Oy compounds.

PMID- 9976573
TI  - Electron and positron states in HgBa2CuO4.

PMID- 9976575
TI  - Effect of the impurity scattering on the zero-temperature penetration depth in
      dx2-y2 symmetry.

PMID- 9976574
TI  - Hall-effect measurements of HgBa2CaCu2O6+ delta.

PMID- 9976576
TI  - First flux-penetration fields in L2-xCexCuO4-y single crystals.

PMID- 9976578
TI  - Different types of dislocations in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9976579
TI  - Investigation of precipitate formation on laser-ablated YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin
      films.

PMID- 9976577
TI  - Electron tunneling and transport in the high-Tc superconductor Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9976580
TI  - Magnetic and calorimetric studies of anomalous Pr antiferromagnetic ordering in
      orthorhombic Pb2Sr2PrCu3O8.

PMID- 9976581
TI  - Wannier-function approach to phase transitions in superconducting films.

PMID- 9976582
TI  - Origin of the formation of the tetragonal phase near the surface of quenched
      YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9976583
TI  - Thickness dependence of the irreversibility line in YBa2Cu3O7 epitaxial thin
      films.

PMID- 9976584
TI  - Nernst, Seebeck, and Hall effects in the mixed state of YBa2Cu3O7- delta and
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x thin films: A comparative study.

PMID- 9976585
TI  - Strong surface-pinning effects in polycrystalline HgBa2CuO4+ delta
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976587
TI  - Three-tunnel-capacitor model for single-electron tunneling in layered thin films.

PMID- 9976586
TI  - Crossover in temperature dependence of penetration depth lambda (T) in
      superconducting YBa2Cu3O7- delta films.

PMID- 9976588
TI  - Validity of the rigid-band picture for the t-J model.

PMID- 9976589
TI  - Local distortions of the Tl-O layers in Tl-based high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976590
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta thin films associated
      with vortex-string pairing.

PMID- 9976591
TI  - Density of states in layered short-coherence-length superconducting structures.

PMID- 9976593
TI  - Number of independent parameters needed to define a projector.

PMID- 9976592
TI  - Universality of frequency and field scaling of the conductivity measured by ac
      susceptibility of a YBa2Cu3O7 film.

PMID- 9976595
TI  - Ab initio derivation of the model Hamiltonian parameters: Application to
      polyenes.

PMID- 9976594
TI  - Spectral gaps for electromagnetic and scalar waves: Possible explanation for
      certain differences.

PMID- 9976596
TI  - Nonanomalous diffusion in Vycor porous glass.

PMID- 9976597
TI  - Antisymmetric exchange interactions and weak ferromagnetism in Bi2CuO4.

PMID- 9976598
TI  - Ground-state wave function of antiferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9976599
TI  - Surface and bulk magnetostatic modes in a ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic superlattice.

PMID- 9976600
TI  - Direct calculation of spin stiffness for spin-1/2 Heisenberg models.

PMID- 9976601
TI  - Enhanced magneto-optical Kerr effect in spontaneously ordered FePt alloys:
      Quantitative agreement between theory and experiment.

PMID- 9976602
TI  - Origin of the temperature dependence of the giant magnetoresistance in magnetic
      granular solids.

PMID- 9976603
TI  - Monte Carlo calculations for liquid 4He at negative pressure.

PMID- 9976604
TI  - Phase separation and oxygen variation in Pr-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9976606
TI  - Temperature dependence of the positron annihilation parameters in Bi2
      xPbxCa2Sr2Cu3Oy and Bi2CaSr2Cu2Oy superconductors.

PMID- 9976605
TI  - Rotational vortex-flux characteristics of a type-II superconductor.

PMID- 9976607
TI  - Suppression of the superconducting gap and the spin-fluctuation gap of YBa2Cu3Oy
      (y=7.0 and 6.76) by Zn substitution as measured by Gd3+ electron-spin resonance.

PMID- 9976609
TI  - Calculation of the exponent micro for the gauge glass model.

PMID- 9976608
TI  - Vortex-lattice melting in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta epitaxial films: Role of the
      oxygen stoichiometry.

PMID- 9976610
TI  - Sizable oxygen isotope effects in the electron-doped Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9976611
TI  - T2 dependence of the resistivity in the Cu-O chains of YBa2Cu3O6.9.

PMID- 9976612
TI  - Fermi-liquid behavior in the electrical resistivity of K3C60 and Rb3C60.

PMID- 9976613
TI  - Pressure dependence of superconductivity in simple-cubic Na2CsC60.

PMID- 9976614
TI  - Comment on "Reentrant transition in the Ising spin system with an infinite-range
      coupling and a Gaussian random field"

PMID- 9976615
TI  - Harmonic generation by a one-dimensional conductor: Exact results.

PMID- 9976616
TI  - Kinetics of spinodal decomposition in the Ising model with vacancy diffusion.

PMID- 9976618
TI  - Specific heat and critical field of LuNi2B2C.

PMID- 9976617
TI  - Increases in giant magnetoresistance by ion irradiation.

PMID- 9976620
TI  - Density of states near an impurity in an unconventional superconductor.

PMID- 9976619
TI  - Minimum critical length for superconductivity in one-dimensional wires.

PMID- 9976621
TI  - Gap renormalization in dirty anisotropic superconductors: Implications for the
      order parameter of the cuprates.

PMID- 9976622
TI  - Disorder-induced reduction of the anomalous Hall voltage in proton- and Ag21+-ion
      irradiated Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 epitaxial films.

PMID- 9976623
TI  - Simple model for critical currents in anisotropic type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9976624
TI  - Effect of quantum fluctuations of vortices on reversible magnetization in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976626
TI  - Erratum: Absence of precursor effects above the martensitic transformation in a
      virgin crystal of Li metal

PMID- 9976625
TI  - c-axis response of YBa2Cu4O8: A pseudogap and possibility of Josephson coupling
      of CuO2 planes.

PMID- 9976627
TI  - Mechanism of Snoek-Koster relaxation in body-centered-cubic metals.

PMID- 9976629
TI  - Spectroscopy and upconversion of CsCdBr3:Pr3+

PMID- 9976628
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of gamma -Fe at high pressure.

PMID- 9976630
TI  - Temperature dependence of the hyperfine electric-field-gradient tensor at 181Ta
      in HfO2.

PMID- 9976632
TI  - Correlation between anomalous hydrogen absorption and 56Fe-bonding strength in
      the Zr(AlxFe1-x)2 system.

PMID- 9976631
TI  - Polarization spectroscopy of potassium halide crystals doped with divalent
      germanium ions.

PMID- 9976633
TI  - Elastic and vibrational properties of pseudomorphic FeSi films.

PMID- 9976635
TI  - Hydrodynamic description of elastic solids with open boundary conditions
      undergoing a phase transition.

PMID- 9976634
TI  - Grain-boundary diffusion and segregation of gold in copper: Investigation in the
      type-B and type-C kinetic regimes.

PMID- 9976636
TI  - Hydrogen internal-friction peak and interaction of dissolved interstitial atoms
      in Nb and Ta.

PMID- 9976638
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of glassy Cu33Y67.

PMID- 9976637
TI  - Investigation of the optical-absorption bands of Nb4+ and Ti3+ in lithium niobate
      using magnetic circular dichroism and optically detected magnetic-resonance
      techniques.

PMID- 9976639
TI  - 93Nb NMR in the incommensurate and quasicommensurate phases of barium sodium
      niobate.

PMID- 9976641
TI  - Small-angle x-ray scattering study on the interface in block copolymers with
      fractal properties.

PMID- 9976640
TI  - Bragg diffraction of waves in one-dimensional doubly periodic media.

PMID- 9976642
TI  - Experimental Ammann-line analysis of phasons in the Al-Cu-Co-Si decagonal
      quasicrystal.

PMID- 9976644
TI  - Critical behavior of the weakly nonlinear conductivity and flicker noise of two
      component composites.

PMID- 9976643
TI  - Thermal-history-dependent transition in pressed pellets of ClO4--doped poly(3
      methylthiophene).

PMID- 9976645
TI  - Critical behavior of crystals with long-range correlations caused by point
      defects with degenerate internal degrees of freedom.

PMID- 9976646
TI  - Perturbation theory of low-dimensional quantum liquids. I. The pseudoparticle
      operator basis.

PMID- 9976647
TI  - Perturbation theory of low-dimensional quantum liquids. II. Operator description
      of Virasoro algebras in integrable systems.

PMID- 9976649
TI  - Phonon scattering in chemical-vapor-deposited diamond.

PMID- 9976648
TI  - Vibrations of hydrogen and deuterium in solid solution with lutetium.

PMID- 9976650
TI  - Faraday effect and multiple scattering of light.

PMID- 9976651
TI  - Polaron ground-state energy in d dimensions.

PMID- 9976652
TI  - Ab initio lattice dynamics and charge fluctuations in alkaline-earth oxides.

PMID- 9976654
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial Fe/Pt(001) multilayers.

PMID- 9976653
TI  - Magnetocrystalline anisotropy in ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9976655
TI  - Theory of Dzyaloshinski-Moriya antiferromagnetism in distorted CuO2 and NiO2
      planes.

PMID- 9976656
TI  - Magnetic circular x-ray dichroism measurements of Fe-Co alloys and Fe/Co
      multilayers.

PMID- 9976657
TI  - Ground and excited states of KNiF3: An ab initio cluster-model approach.

PMID- 9976658
TI  - Random antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains.

PMID- 9976660
TI  - Effects of solitons in the critical behavior of an anisotropic Heisenberg model
      in two dimensions.

PMID- 9976659
TI  - Three commensurate magnetic structures in the solid solution U(Ni0.25Cu0.75)2Si2,
      observed by neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9976661
TI  - Classical theory of giant magnetoresistance in granular metals.

PMID- 9976662
TI  - Avalanches in a fluctuationless first-order phase transition in a random-bond
      Ising model.

PMID- 9976663
TI  - Coercivity mechanism of sintered Pr17Fe75B8 and Pr17Fe53B30 permanent magnets.

PMID- 9976664
TI  - First-principles calculation of magnetic x-ray dichroism in Fe and Co
      multilayers.

PMID- 9976665
TI  - Entropy functional for layered Ising models: Weak-coupling limit.

PMID- 9976666
TI  - Heisenberg antiferromagnet and the XY model at T=0 in three dimensions.

PMID- 9976667
TI  - Ordinary, extraordinary, and normal surface transitions: Extraordinary-normal
      equivalence and simple explanation of ||T-Tc||2- alpha singularities.

PMID- 9976668
TI  - Magnetic and electronic properties of substitutional FeN cluster impurities in
      Cr: Transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic FeN.

PMID- 9976670
TI  - Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Fe-Y alloys.

PMID- 9976669
TI  - String correlations of the antiferromagnetic spin-1 chain: Excited states and
      magnetic-field effects.

PMID- 9976671
TI  - Magnetic properties of finite antiferromagnetic superlattices: Statics, dynamics,
      and the surface spin-flop phase.

PMID- 9976672
TI  - Dynamic behavior of Josephson-coupled layered structures.

PMID- 9976673
TI  - Flux noise and vortex dissipation for two-dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9976675
TI  - Coherent transport through a T-shaped mesoscopic superconducting junction.

PMID- 9976674
TI  - Charge solitons and quantum fluctuations in two-dimensional arrays of small
      Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9976676
TI  - Effect of phonons on the Josephson current density in superconductor-normal-metal
      superconductor junctions with a strong-coupling normal layer.

PMID- 9976677
TI  - Quantum shot noise in a normal-metal-superconductor point contact.

PMID- 9976678
TI  - Ultrasonic investigation of amorphous superconducting films.

PMID- 9976679
TI  - Periodic microwave absorption in superconductors.

PMID- 9976680
TI  - Technique for measuring the Cooper-pair velocity, density, and mass using Doppler
      splitting of the plasmon resonance in low-dimensional superconductor
      microstructures.

PMID- 9976682
TI  - Coulomb-gas representation of the two-dimensional XY model on a torus.

PMID- 9976681
TI  - Theory of Cooper-pair mass spectroscopy by the current-induced contact-potential
      difference.

PMID- 9976683
TI  - Electronic structure of Ni-based superconducting quaternary compounds: YNi2B2X
      (X=B, C, N, and O).

PMID- 9976684
TI  - Thin superconductors in a perpendicular magnetic ac field. II. Circular disk.

PMID- 9976685
TI  - Comparison of the influence of Ni and Zn impurities on the electromagnetic
      properties of YBa2Cu3O6.95.

PMID- 9976686
TI  - Anomalous Hall effect from vortex motion in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9976688
TI  - Spin gap and magnetic excitations in the cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9976687
TI  - Neutron spectroscopic studies of the crystal field in HoBa2Cu3Ox (6 <= x <= 7).

PMID- 9976689
TI  - Paramagnetism and macroscopic magnetic properties of single-crystal YxGd1
      xBa2Cu2.43Al0.19O6+y.

PMID- 9976690
TI  - Variation of antiferromagnetic Pr ordering in the Tl(Ba1-xSrx)2PrCu2O7- delta
      system.

PMID- 9976691
TI  - Femtosecond spectroscopic studies of the ultrafast relaxation process in the
      charge-transfer state of insulating cuprates.

PMID- 9976692
TI  - Reducing vortex motion in YBa2Cu3O7 crystals with splay in columnar defects.

PMID- 9976693
TI  - Electronic structure of PrBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9976694
TI  - Oxygen isotope effect on Neel temperature in various antiferromagnetic cuprates.

PMID- 9976695
TI  - Hopping conductivity in fully oxygenated PrBa2Cu3Oy, YBa2Cu2CoOy, and
      PrBa2Cu2CoOy.

PMID- 9976696
TI  - Superconductivity of the oxycarbonate Tl0.5Pb0.5Sr4Cu2CO3O7: A magnetic study.

PMID- 9976697
TI  - Theory of hole superconductivity. II.

PMID- 9976698
TI  - Locked-unlocked transition of the flux-line-lattice configuration for a (La1
      xSrx)2CuO4 (x=0.075) single crystal with a small demagnetizing factor.

PMID- 9976699
TI  - Optical study of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 single crystals: Normal and superconducting
      properties.

PMID- 9976700
TI  - Europium substitution effects in superconducting YBa2Cu4O8 synthesized under one
      atmosphere oxygen pressure.

PMID- 9976701
TI  - Pairing correlations in a two-layer Hubbard model.

PMID- 9976702
TI  - Twin spacing and the structural phase transitions in RBa2Cu3O7- delta high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9976703
TI  - Effect of pressure and quenching on superconductive La2CuO4+ delta (0< delta
      <0.1).

PMID- 9976704
TI  - Nonlinear field-induced dynamics of interphase boundaries at some diffusionless
      phase transitions.

PMID- 9976705
TI  - Copper-ion point defects in the photorefractive material (KxNa1-x)0.4(SryBa1
      y)0.8Nb2O6.

PMID- 9976706
TI  - Asymmetric envelope and dark solitons in diatomic chains.

PMID- 9976707
TI  - Concentration dependence of the zero-temperature spontaneous resistive anisotropy
      in (Pd1-xFex)95Mn5.

PMID- 9976708
TI  - Giant volume magnetostriction in the FeRh alloy.

PMID- 9976709
TI  - First-principles study of the magnetization density in CeFe2.

PMID- 9976710
TI  - Contactless conductivity measurements on La2CuO4 at radio frequencies.

PMID- 9976712
TI  - Lower critical fields in an ellipsoid-shaped YBa2Cu3O6.95 single crystal.

PMID- 9976711
TI  - de Haas-van Alphen effect in the vortex state of Nb3Sn.

PMID- 9976713
TI  - Electron density of states in the borocarbide intermetallic superconductors.

PMID- 9976715
TI  - Distribution of nonequivalent aluminum sites revealed in Al-Cu-Ru and Al-Cu-Fe
      quasicrystals by 27Al NQR.

PMID- 9976714
TI  - Photonic dispersion relation in a one-dimensional quasicrystal.

PMID- 9976716
TI  - Kinetic model for equilibrium and nonequilibrium segregation in concentrated
      alloys under irradiation.

PMID- 9976717
TI  - Dependence of giant magnetoresistance on grain size in Co/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9976718
TI  - Density-correlation functions in Calogero-Sutherland models.

PMID- 9976719
TI  - Dynamics of commensurate chromium alloys.

PMID- 9976720
TI  - Relaxation in the neighborhood of a magnetic impurity in the s=1/2 Heisenberg
      chain at high temperatures.

PMID- 9976721
TI  - Effective mass of one 4He atom in liquid 3He.

PMID- 9976723
TI  - Observation of vortex-glass-to-liquid transition in the high-Tc superconductor
      Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10.

PMID- 9976722
TI  - Normal-state Nernst effect in a Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8+ delta epitaxial film.

PMID- 9976724
TI  - Superconductivity up to 164 K in HgBa2Cam-1CumO2m+2+ delta (m=1, 2, and 3) under
      quasihydrostatic pressures.

PMID- 9976725
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic disordered systems for arbitrary
      scattering potentials.

PMID- 9976726
TI  - Bond-charge-site-charge interaction and metal-insulator transitions.

PMID- 9976727
TI  - X-ray-photoemission spectroscopy and optical reflectivity of yttrium-stabilized
      zirconia.

PMID- 9976728
TI  - Local-field correction for the electron gas: Effects of the valley degeneracy.

PMID- 9976729
TI  - Two-photon absorption in conjugated polymers: Contributions of excitonic and
      biexcitonic states.

PMID- 9976730
TI  - Electronic-structure calculations and molecular-dynamics simulations with linear
      system-size scaling.

PMID- 9976731
TI  - Density-functional theory of macroscopic stress: Gradient-corrected calculations
      for crystalline Se.

PMID- 9976732
TI  - Field-induced magnetism in itinerant f-electron systems: U, Pu, and Ce.

PMID- 9976734
TI  - Solution of the Boltzmann transport equation in an arbitrary one-dimensional
      potential profile.

PMID- 9976733
TI  - Bistability of the Te donor in AlSb:Te bulk crystals.

PMID- 9976735
TI  - Femtosecond relaxation of carriers generated by near-band-gap optical excitation
      in compound semiconductors.

PMID- 9976736
TI  - Structure and properties of amorphous gallium arsenide by tight-binding molecular
      dynamics.

PMID- 9976737
TI  - Nitrogen in germanium: Identification of the pair defect.

PMID- 9976738
TI  - Luminescence of deep phosphorous and arsenic impurities in ZnSe at high pressure.

PMID- 9976740
TI  - Optical and structural properties of III-V nitrides under pressure.

PMID- 9976739
TI  - Field dependence of the longitudinal muon polarization for anomalous muonium.

PMID- 9976741
TI  - Atomic rearrangement at the interface of annealed ZnSe films grown on vicinal
      Si(001) substrates.

PMID- 9976742
TI  - Effect of annealing on a Ge thin film on a Si(111)7 x 7 surface: A study using
      ARUPS, XPD, and LEED.

PMID- 9976743
TI  - Temperature-dependent surface morphologies for Br-etched Si(100)-2 x 1.

PMID- 9976744
TI  - Shake-up intersubband processes in quantum-well luminescence.

PMID- 9976745
TI  - Interaction between Wannier-Stark states in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9976746
TI  - Resistance fluctuations in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9976747
TI  - Inter-edge-state scattering in the spin-polarized quantum Hall regime with
      current injection into inner states.

PMID- 9976748
TI  - Investigation of the photoluminescence-linewidth broadening in periodic multiple
      narrow asymmetric coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9976749
TI  - Geometry of the Ge(111)-Au( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees reconstruction.

PMID- 9976750
TI  - Binding energies and diamagnetic shifts for free excitons in symmetric coupled
      double quantum wells.

PMID- 9976751
TI  - Nonequilibrium-Green's-function theory of transport in interacting quantum dots.

PMID- 9976753
TI  - Dynamical localization in a one-dimensional crystal with an impurity under the
      action of an electric field.

PMID- 9976752
TI  - Spectrum and binding of an off-center donor in a spherical quantum dot.

PMID- 9976754
TI  - Polarization of tunneling-assisted recombination of two-dimensional holes.

PMID- 9976755
TI  - Magnetic tailoring of the nature of the fundamental optical transition in a
      ZnSe/(Zn,Mn)Se heterostructure.

PMID- 9976756
TI  - Oscillatory tunneling between quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9976757
TI  - Atomic-resolution study of overlayer formation and interfacial mixing in the
      interaction of phosphorus with Si(001).

PMID- 9976758
TI  - Additional dimer-row structure of 3C-SiC(001) surfaces observed by scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9976759
TI  - Resonant second-harmonic generation in type-II heterostructures of
      InP/Al0.48In0.52As.

PMID- 9976760
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of the (110) surface of direct-gap III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9976762
TI  - Tight-binding calculation of electronic states in a triangular symmetrical
      quantum well.

PMID- 9976761
TI  - Electrostatics of inter-Landau-level diodes.

PMID- 9976763
TI  - Coherent and sequential photoassisted tunneling through a semiconductor double
      barrier structure.

PMID- 9976764
TI  - Spectroscopy of the potential profile in a ballistic quantum constriction.

PMID- 9976765
TI  - Enhanced conductance near zero voltage bias in mesoscopic superconductor
      semiconductor junctions.

PMID- 9976766
TI  - Sliding motion of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9976767
TI  - Theory of the dispersion of ultrafast nonlinear refraction in zinc-blende
      semiconductors below the band edge.

PMID- 9976768
TI  - Triple-electron collisions in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9976770
TI  - Relation between persistent current and band structure of finite-width mesoscopic
      rings.

PMID- 9976769
TI  - First-principles study of steps on the Si(111):H surface.

PMID- 9976771
TI  - Two-body interactions in the integer quantum Hall effect: A path integral
      approach.

PMID- 9976772
TI  - Tunneling through rectangular quantum dots at high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9976773
TI  - Hierarchical models with inverse-square interaction in harmonic confinement.

PMID- 9976775
TI  - Triplet transitions of D- centers in quantum wells in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9976774
TI  - Tunneling between two two-dimensional electron systems in a strong magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9976776
TI  - Optical measurements of temperature in a quasi-two-dimensional exciton system.

PMID- 9976778
TI  - Mechanism of metastable 1S0 He* deexcitation on the Pd(111) surface with adsorbed
      NO.

PMID- 9976777
TI  - Comparison of the spin splittings between the e1h1 and e2h2 excitons in a
      ZnSe/Zn0.85Mn0.15Se multiple-quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9976779
TI  - Alkali core-level binding-energy shifts in alkali/4d-metal interface systems.

PMID- 9976780
TI  - Structure of Al(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-Na: A LEED study.

PMID- 9976781
TI  - Low-energy electron-energy-loss spectroscopy of solid films of argon: Surface and
      bulk valence excitons.

PMID- 9976783
TI  - Elastic-electron-scattering effects on angular distributions in x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976782
TI  - Bond ionicity of alkaline-earth oxides studied by low-energy D+ scattering.

PMID- 9976784
TI  - Moire pattern in scanning tunneling microscopy of monolayer graphite.

PMID- 9976786
TI  - Geometry and unoccupied electronic states of Ba and BaO on W(001).

PMID- 9976785
TI  - Change in the electronic states of graphite overlayers depending on thickness.

PMID- 9976787
TI  - Theory of friction: The role of elasticity in boundary lubrication.

PMID- 9976789
TI  - Surface polaritons on gold-wire gratings.

PMID- 9976788
TI  - Boron hydride analogues of the fullerenes.

PMID- 9976790
TI  - Significance of quantum size effects in the conductivity of granular PdxC1-x
      films.

PMID- 9976791
TI  - Auger-photoelectron-coincidence spectra of Ni in pure and alloy systems.

PMID- 9976793
TI  - Angular distribution of electrons reflected elastically from noncrystalline solid
      surfaces.

PMID- 9976792
TI  - Intensity and polarization oscillation of secondary electrons emitted from
      Au/Fe(110).

PMID- 9976794
TI  - Theory of optical-second-harmonic generation from stepped metal surfaces.

PMID- 9976795
TI  - Ab initio study of antiphase boundaries and stacking faults in L12 and DO22
      compounds.

PMID- 9976796
TI  - First-principles determination of equilibrium crystal shapes for metals at T=0.

PMID- 9976797
TI  - Mobility and diffusion of a particle coupled to a Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9976798
TI  - Stochastic resonances and the mobility edge in a three-dimensional tight-binding
      Anderson model.

PMID- 9976799
TI  - High-pressure study of picosecond exciton dynamics in solid C60.

PMID- 9976801
TI  - Out-of-phase noise in charge-density waves carrying ac current.

PMID- 9976800
TI  - Unusual specific-heat contribution in exfoliated graphite.

PMID- 9976802
TI  - Disorder-induced vibration-mode coupling in SiO2 films observed under normal
      incidence infrared radiation.

PMID- 9976803
TI  - Observation of ballistic transport in double-barrier resonant-tunneling
      structures by electroluminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976805
TI  - Different Fermi-level pinning positions between epitaxial and rotational Al/Si
      interfaces.

PMID- 9976804
TI  - Wave functions and Fermi surfaces of strongly coupled two-dimensional electron
      gases investigated by in-plane magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9976806
TI  - Electron tunneling through single-barrier heterostructures in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9976808
TI  - Structure of the sulfur-passivated GaAs(001) surface.

PMID- 9976807
TI  - Magneto-optical studies of acceptors confined in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976809
TI  - Nonlinear transport in a quantum point contact due to soft-disorder-induced
      coherent mode mixing.

PMID- 9976810
TI  - Impurities in a quantum dot: A comparative study.

PMID- 9976811
TI  - Effect of the Coulomb repulsion on the ac transport through a quantum dot.

PMID- 9976812
TI  - Simple formula for the persistent current in disordered one-dimensional rings:
      Parity and interaction effects.

PMID- 9976813
TI  - Symmetry of surface states.

PMID- 9976814
TI  - Observation of a double-step-single-step phase transition on a vicinal surface of
      Cu83Pd17(110).

PMID- 9976815
TI  - Electron energy-loss and photoemission studies of solid C84.

PMID- 9976817
TI  - Second-harmonic signal through the orientational phase transition in fullerene
      films.

PMID- 9976816
TI  - Intercalation of AsF5 in C60.

PMID- 9976819
TI  - Spin-orbit scattering and the Kondo effect.

PMID- 9976818
TI  - Suppression of persistent currents in one-dimensional disordered rings by the
      Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9976820
TI  - Linear temperature dependence of resistivity in a three-dimensional disordered
      system.

PMID- 9976821
TI  - Implementation of gradient-corrected exchange-correlation potentials in Car
      Parrinello total-energy calculations.

PMID- 9976822
TI  - Site-specified tunneling spectroscopy of local density of states in the charge
      density-wave state of 1T-TaSe2 at 77 K.

PMID- 9976823
TI  - Energetics of the As vacancy in GaAs: The stability of the 3+ charge state.

PMID- 9976824
TI  - Transport and level anticrossing in strongly coupled double quantum wells with in
      plane magnetic fields.

PMID- 9976825
TI  - Observation of composite-fermion thermopower at half-filled Landau levels.

PMID- 9976826
TI  - Molecular-beam epitaxial GaAs/AlAs superlattices in the (311) orientation.

PMID- 9976827
TI  - Chiral tubules of hexagonal BC2N.

PMID- 9976829
TI  - Electron-electron interactions and the Hall insulator.

PMID- 9976828
TI  - Intrinsic inductive characteristics of resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9976830
TI  - One- and two-phonon scattering processes in ZnSe/ZnSxSe1-x superlattices studied
      by micro-Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976831
TI  - Edge state and terrace state for Cu on W(331) and W(110).

PMID- 9976832
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the properties of the Gd(0001) surface.

PMID- 9976833
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of the atomic-scale structure of TiO2(110)-(1
      x 1).

PMID- 9976834
TI  - Photoemission spectra and charge-density waves of K.

PMID- 9976835
TI  - Mapping of short-range adhesive forces by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9976836
TI  - Nucleation with a critical cluster size of zero: Submonolayer Fe inclusions in
      Cu(100).

PMID- 9976837
TI  - Dynamic Jahn-Teller-induced infrared absorption of a charged C60- molecule.

PMID- 9976838
TI  - Erratum: Distribution of electron density and magnetocapacitance in the regime of
      the fractional quantum Hall effect

PMID- 9976839
TI  - Erratum: Transport of one-dimensional interacting fermions through a barrier

PMID- 9976840
TI  - Stochastic ground-state processes.

PMID- 9976841
TI  - Ab initio study of MnO and NiO.

PMID- 9976842
TI  - Ab initio calculation of melting and thermodynamic properties of crystal and
      liquid aluminum.

PMID- 9976843
TI  - Energy loss by charged particles in complex media.

PMID- 9976844
TI  - Crystal-structure effects in the Ce L3-edge x-ray-absorption spectrum of CeO2:
      Multiple-scattering resonances and many-body final states.

PMID- 9976845
TI  - Discrete fluctuators and broadband noise in the charge-density wave in NbSe3.

PMID- 9976846
TI  - Possibility of Li-Mg and Al-Mg hydrides being metallic.

PMID- 9976847
TI  - Anisotropic optical properties of an oriented-emeraldine-base polymer and an
      emeraldine-hydrochloride-salt polymer.

PMID- 9976848
TI  - Conduction-band density of states in solid argon revealed by low-energy-electron
      backscattering from thin films: Role of the electron mean free path.

PMID- 9976849
TI  - One-dimensional localization with correlated disorder.

PMID- 9976851
TI  - Self-consistent Green's-function technique for bulk and surface impurity
      calculations: Surface core-level shifts by complete screening.

PMID- 9976850
TI  - Scaling phenomena in a unitary model of directed propagating waves with
      applications to one-dimensional electrons in a time-varying potential.

PMID- 9976852
TI  - Electronic structure, magnetism, and Fermi surfaces of Gd and Tb.

PMID- 9976853
TI  - Range of forces on host-metal atoms around interstitial hydrogen in Pd and Nb.

PMID- 9976854
TI  - Mean-field solution of the continuum Frohlich problem at finite temperature.

PMID- 9976856
TI  - Galvanomagnetic properties and band structure of monoclinic SrAs3.

PMID- 9976855
TI  - Photocreated metastable states in polysilanes.

PMID- 9976857
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the dynamic process of the illumination of GaAs.

PMID- 9976859
TI  - Natural intrinsic EX center in thermal SiO2 on Si: 17O hyperfine interaction.

PMID- 9976858
TI  - Hopping in disordered conducting polymers.

PMID- 9976861
TI  - Defect formation and diffusion in heavily doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9976860
TI  - Magnetotransport in InP-based dilute single delta layers.

PMID- 9976862
TI  - Femtosecond kinetics of photoexcited carriers in germanium.

PMID- 9976863
TI  - Infrared luminescence and application of a vibronic-coupling Hamiltonian to the
      level structure of CdTe:Fe2+

PMID- 9976865
TI  - Tight-binding quantum molecular-dynamics simulations of hydrogen in silicon.

PMID- 9976864
TI  - Metastable triplet state of the vacancy-oxygen center in silicon: An ab nitio
      cluster study.

PMID- 9976866
TI  - Magnetic-field effects in diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9976867
TI  - Impurity-bound magnetic polarons in diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9976868
TI  - Localization in a random magnetic field: The semiclassical limit.

PMID- 9976870
TI  - Eigenstates for an Anderson model of an ordered-lattice-disordered-lattice
      junction.

PMID- 9976869
TI  - Optical properties of PbSe/Pb1-xMnxSe multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9976871
TI  - Exciton dimensionality and confinement studied by resonant Raman scattering in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs Bragg-confining structures and superlattices.

PMID- 9976873
TI  - Calculation of the second-order optical nonlinear susceptibilities in biased
      AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976872
TI  - Electronic properties of AlxGa1-xSb/InAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976875
TI  - Temperature-induced manipulation of nucleation during Si and Ge molecular-beam
      epitaxy.

PMID- 9976874
TI  - Theory of the photoluminescence spectra of porous silicon.

PMID- 9976876
TI  - Multiple-order Raman scattering and the density of vibrational states in a-GaAs.

PMID- 9976877
TI  - Electronic structure of the Si(100) c(4 x 2) and p(2 x 2) surfaces.

PMID- 9976878
TI  - Mechanistic analysis from molecular-dynamics simulations: keV-particle-induced
      desorption from Si{001}

PMID- 9976879
TI  - Second hyperpolarizability of one-dimensional semiconductors.

PMID- 9976880
TI  - Theory of hole conductivity in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9976881
TI  - Magneto-optical study of excitonic binding energies, band offsets, and the role
      of interface potentials in CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9976882
TI  - Interaction of exciton polaritons with the surface potential of thin
      semiconductor films: s-polarization geometry.

PMID- 9976883
TI  - Disorder-induced resonant tunneling in planar quantum-dot nanostructures.

PMID- 9976884
TI  - Impurity effects on chiral one-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9976885
TI  - Improved effective-bond-orbital model for superlattices.

PMID- 9976886
TI  - Electron-phonon quantum kinetics in pulse-excited semiconductors: Memory and
      renormalization effects.

PMID- 9976887
TI  - Arsine adsorption on Si(100) 2 x 1: A photoemission and scanning-tunneling
      microscopy study.

PMID- 9976888
TI  - Optical study of the strain effect in pseudomorphic In1-xGaxAs-InP
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9976889
TI  - Interband optical transitions in quantum wells with nonideal interfaces.

PMID- 9976890
TI  - Electron-phonon scattering in Ga1-xAlxAs quantum-well structures in an electric
      field.

PMID- 9976891
TI  - Domination of adatom-induced over defect-induced surface states on p-type
      GaAs(Cs,O) at room temperature.

PMID- 9976892
TI  - Elastic and inelastic scattering in quantum dots in the Coulomb-blockade regime.

PMID- 9976893
TI  - Material and optical approaches to exciton polaritons in multiple quantum wells:
      Formal results.

PMID- 9976894
TI  - Second-harmonic response of chemically modified vicinal Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9976895
TI  - Magneto-optical study of interface mixing in the CdTe-(Cd,Mn)Te system.

PMID- 9976897
TI  - Local-bonding trends in the cohesion of metals.

PMID- 9976896
TI  - Time-dependent transport in interacting and noninteracting resonant-tunneling
      systems.

PMID- 9976898
TI  - Theoretical studies on the structure of the endohedral complexes Na C60 and Na
      C70.

PMID- 9976899
TI  - Influence of ion pseudopotential on the electronic shell structure of metal
      clusters.

PMID- 9976900
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of cluster diffusion in a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9976901
TI  - Effect of the band structure on charge exchange during atom-surface collisions.

PMID- 9976902
TI  - Electrical and optical properties and structural changes of diamondlike carbon
      films during thermal annealing.

PMID- 9976903
TI  - Layering transition in confined molecular thin films: Nucleation and growth.

PMID- 9976904
TI  - Roles of grain size and strain on antiferromagnetic order in nanocrystalline
      chromium.

PMID- 9976905
TI  - Cooperative radiative decay of disordered molecular monolayers.

PMID- 9976906
TI  - Electronic and geometric structure of clean Pt3Ti(111).

PMID- 9976907
TI  - Control of photon emission by scanning tunneling microscopy in air.

PMID- 9976909
TI  - Improved nonorthogonal tight-binding Hamiltonian for molecular-dynamics
      simulations of silicon clusters.

PMID- 9976908
TI  - Energy-resolved electron-momentum densities of graphite films.

PMID- 9976910
TI  - Adsorbate-induced changes of linear and nonlinear electronic-response properties
      and second-harmonic generation at simple metal surfaces.

PMID- 9976911
TI  - Surface electronic fluctuations in metals and Raman light scattering.

PMID- 9976912
TI  - Quantum fluctuations of D5d polarons on C60 molecules.

PMID- 9976913
TI  - Hindered rotation of solid 12C60 and 13C60.

PMID- 9976914
TI  - Tight-binding parametrization of first-principles electronic dispersion in
      orientationally disordered A3C60.

PMID- 9976915
TI  - Optical properties and electronic structures of CeSn3 and LaSn3.

PMID- 9976916
TI  - Temperature dependence of the positronium work function in aluminum.

PMID- 9976917
TI  - Two-photon absorption in semiconductor nanocrystals.

PMID- 9976918
TI  - Second-harmonic generation from a GaAs/Al1-xGaxAs asymmetric quantum-well
      structure.

PMID- 9976919
TI  - Magnetic quantum effects in amorphous-hydrogenated-silicon double Schottky
      diodes.

PMID- 9976920
TI  - Determination of one-dimensional subband spacings in InAs/AlSb ballistic
      constrictions using magnetic-field measurements.

PMID- 9976921
TI  - Theoretical investigation of observed magnetic-polaron energies in quantum wells.

PMID- 9976922
TI  - Nonperturbative scaling behavior of the coherent semiconductor Bloch equations in
      the low-density regime.

PMID- 9976923
TI  - Current-voltage characteristics of a tunnel junction with resonant centers.

PMID- 9976925
TI  - Very low energy surface of silicon.

PMID- 9976924
TI  - Hot electrons and nonequilibrium LA phonons in delta -doped GaAs.

PMID- 9976926
TI  - Effects of dielectric mismatch on the impurity binding energies in GaAs-Ga1
      xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976928
TI  - Transmittance fluctuations and nonlinearity in random chains in the presence of
      applied electric fields.

PMID- 9976927
TI  - Impurity states in a spherical GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum dot: Effects of the
      spatial variation of dielectric screening.

PMID- 9976929
TI  - Size-dependent ionization energy of a metallic cluster: Resolution of the
      classical image-potential paradox.

PMID- 9976930
TI  - Temperature dependence of the resistance of one-dimensional metal films with
      dominant Nyquist phase breaking.

PMID- 9976931
TI  - Shake-up effects and intermolecular tunneling in C60 ions.

PMID- 9976932
TI  - Wannier and Bloch orbital computation of the nonlinear susceptibility.

PMID- 9976933
TI  - Capacitance spectroscopy in quantum dots: Addition spectra and decrease of
      tunneling rates.

PMID- 9976934
TI  - Effect of Coulomb charging energy on electron oscillations in a coupled-quantum
      dot structure.

PMID- 9976935
TI  - Atomic origins of the surface components in the Si 2p core-level spectra of the
      Si(111)7 x 7 surface.

PMID- 9976936
TI  - Numerical studies of the impedance of blocking electrodes with fractal surfaces.

PMID- 9976937
TI  - Femtosecond time-resolved four-wave mixing from biexcitons in GaAs quantum wells:
      Dominance of the interaction-induced signal.

PMID- 9976938
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced resonance in four-wave mixing in GaAs.

PMID- 9976939
TI  - Coherent transient cyclotron emission from photoexcited GaAs.

PMID- 9976940
TI  - Role of Coulomb-correlated electron-hole pairs in ZnSe-based quantum-well diode
      lasers.

PMID- 9976942
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the quantum-Hall-liquid-insulator transition.

PMID- 9976941
TI  - Femtosecond intersubband relaxation in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9976943
TI  - Dynamic magnetoconductance fluctuations and oscillations in mesoscopic wires and
      rings.

PMID- 9976944
TI  - Negative-electron-affinity effects on the diamond (100) surface.

PMID- 9976945
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy investigation of the quantum-size effect in
      epitaxial CoSi2/Si(111).

PMID- 9976946
TI  - Epitaxial growth of C60 on Ag(110) studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and
      tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9976947
TI  - Erratum: Large low-energy oscillator strength for Ce 4f electrons in the solid
      state

PMID- 9976948
TI  - String defects in condensed-matter systems as optical fibers.

PMID- 9976949
TI  - Extremely early stage of ferroelastic domain formation observed by laser
      refraction.

PMID- 9976950
TI  - Domain formation and elastic long-range interaction in ferroelectric perovskites.

PMID- 9976952
TI  - Crystallization kinetics.

PMID- 9976951
TI  - Magnetic quenching of the three-photon annihilation rate in some molecular
      solids.

PMID- 9976953
TI  - Instability of the axisymmetric shape of two-dimensional nuclei as a function of
      the relaxation of the order-parameter field.

PMID- 9976955
TI  - High-pressure polymorphism of the copper(I) halides: A neutron-diffraction study
      to ~10 GPa.

PMID- 9976954
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of solid hydrogen sulfide under high pressure.

PMID- 9976956
TI  - Observation of defects in deformed and hydrogen-charged iron by electron
      microscopy.

PMID- 9976958
TI  - Anharmonic effects in potassium-dihydrogen-phosphate-type ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9976957
TI  - Peierls-Nabarro model of dislocations in silicon with generalized stacking-fault
      restoring forces.

PMID- 9976959
TI  - Structural investigation of xenon-ion-beam-irradiated glassy carbon.

PMID- 9976960
TI  - Crystal structure and elastic-constant anomalies in the magnetic 3d transition
      metals.

PMID- 9976961
TI  - Properties of monovacancies and self-interstitials in bcc Na: An ab initio
      pseudopotential study.

PMID- 9976962
TI  - Instability of tetrahedral bonding for the C100 molecule.

PMID- 9976964
TI  - Electronic properties of alpha -quartz under high pressure and the transition to
      the amorphous phase.

PMID- 9976965
TI  - Temperature dependence of nuclear forward scattering of synchrotron radiation in
      alpha -57Fe.

PMID- 9976963
TI  - Dielectric, elastic, piezoelectric, electro-optic, and elasto-optic tensors of
      BaTiO3 crystals.

PMID- 9976966
TI  - Theoretical studies of the stability of ordered A8B compounds.

PMID- 9976967
TI  - Composition dependence of bulk alloy properties.

PMID- 9976968
TI  - Simulations of void-filled vitreous silica to interpret the origin of the first
      sharp diffraction peak.

PMID- 9976969
TI  - Local structural motifs in a quenched model monatomic liquid.

PMID- 9976970
TI  - Electronic structure and conductivity in a model approximant of the icosahedral
      quasicrystal Al-Cu-Fe.

PMID- 9976971
TI  - Small-angle neutron-scattering investigation of long-range correlations in silica
      aerogels: Simulations and experiments.

PMID- 9976972
TI  - Wave transmission through lossy media in the strong-localization regime.

PMID- 9976973
TI  - Molecular dynamics of the alpha relaxation during crystallization of a glassy
      polymer: A real-time dielectric spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9976974
TI  - Nonequilibrium phonon transport in amorphous layers.

PMID- 9976975
TI  - Evolution of the radial distribution function of liquid iodine along the
      coexistence curve.

PMID- 9976976
TI  - Thermal conductivity of densified a-SiO2 from 15 K to room temperature.

PMID- 9976977
TI  - Dynamics of irreversible island growth during submonolayer epitaxy.

PMID- 9976978
TI  - Systematic study of the vibrational properties of poly(phenylene vinylene) and
      related oligomers.

PMID- 9976979
TI  - Thermal conductivity of a-Si:H thin films.

PMID- 9976980
TI  - Magnetoelectric effect in composites of piezoelectric and piezomagnetic phases.

PMID- 9976982
TI  - Angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance in exchange-coupled Co/Ru/Co
      trilayer structures.

PMID- 9976981
TI  - Effects of domains on giant magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9976983
TI  - Surface-induced transitions in Fe/Gd multilayers studied by magnetoresistance
      measurements.

PMID- 9976984
TI  - Structural studies of Fe/Pd magnetic multilayers by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9976985
TI  - Coupled-cluster approximation for a spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet with
      anisotropic exchange interaction and easy-plane single-ion anisotropy.

PMID- 9976986
TI  - Magnetic properties of Co-Nb/Pd multilayered films.

PMID- 9976987
TI  - Interlayer exchange coupling and weakened surface exchange in ultrathin epitaxial
      Fe(100)/Pd(100)/MgO(100) structures.

PMID- 9976989
TI  - Magnetic behavior of an amorphous ferromagnet for temperatures close to, and
      above, the Curie point: Structural relaxation effects.

PMID- 9976988
TI  - Effects of a Gaussian random field in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass.

PMID- 9976990
TI  - NQR and NMR studies on the electron-spin correlation time in paramagnetic
      insulators.

PMID- 9976992
TI  - Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation-time reduction in small particles.

PMID- 9976991
TI  - Interfaces of Ce/Fe and La/Fe multilayers probed by magnetic circular x-ray
      dichroism.

PMID- 9976994
TI  - Thermal-expansion and inverse-magnetic-susceptibility anomalies in amorphous Y-Fe
      alloys.

PMID- 9976993
TI  - Theory of amorphous metallic magnetism with self-consistent amplitude
      fluctuations and its application to amorphous Fe.

PMID- 9976995
TI  - Photoelectron-diffraction effects and circular dichroism in core-level
      photoemission.

PMID- 9976996
TI  - Topological theory of magnetism in nanostructured ferromagnets.

PMID- 9976997
TI  - Calculation of the singlet-triplet gap of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model
      on a ladder.

PMID- 9976998
TI  - Systematic 1/S study of the two-dimensional Hubbard model at half-filling.

PMID- 9976999
TI  - Antiferromagnetic order in the periodic Anderson model at half filling: A
      rigorous result.

PMID- 9977000
TI  - Ferromagnetic resonance in a suspension of single-domain particles.

PMID- 9977001
TI  - Histogram-importance-sampling Monte Carlo method for the q-state Potts model.

PMID- 9977002
TI  - Square-lattice frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet of spin 1/2 in a strong
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9977004
TI  - Anisotropy effects on the magnetic properties of an S=1 antiferromagnetic
      Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9977003
TI  - Enhancement of anisotropy due to fluctuations in quasi-one-dimensional
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9977005
TI  - Dynamics of two-dimensional frustrated Josephson arrays.

PMID- 9977007
TI  - Anomalous temperature dependence of vortex elastic properties in the flux-flow
      regime of Mo77Ge23/Ge multilayer superconductors.

PMID- 9977006
TI  - Pressure shift and broadening of the resonance line of barium atoms in liquid
      helium.

PMID- 9977010
TI  - Resonance phenomena in the current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson
      junction.

PMID- 9977009
TI  - Ballistic charge transport in superconducting weak links.

PMID- 9977008
TI  - Conductivity coherence factors in the conventional superconductors Nb and Pb.

PMID- 9977011
TI  - Oxygen intercalation, stage ordering, and phase separation in La2NiO4+ delta with
      0.05 <~ delta <~ 0.11.

PMID- 9977012
TI  - Bunched fluxons in coupled Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9977013
TI  - Resistance peak at the resistive transition in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9977015
TI  - Orientations of oxygen hole states and ionicity of bismuth atoms in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9977016
TI  - Thermal conductivity of impurity-doped high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9977014
TI  - c-axis-orientation-dependent vortex images in epitaxial thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9977017
TI  - ac response of the flux-line liquid in the high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9977018
TI  - Electron-energy-loss spectrum of the cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9977019
TI  - Preparation and transport properties of single-phase TlBa1+xLa1-xCuO5 (0 <= x <=
      0.5).

PMID- 9977020
TI  - a-axis-projected electron-positron-momentum density and positron-annihilation
      spectra in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9977021
TI  - Single-spin fluid, spin gap, and d-wave pairing in YBa2Cu4O8: A NMR and NQR
      study.

PMID- 9977022
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions of nonequilibrium charge carriers in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta investigated by picosecond resonance Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977023
TI  - Temperature and doping dependence of the quasiparticle spectrum for holes in the
      spin-polaron model of copper oxides.

PMID- 9977024
TI  - Iron at high pressure: Linearized-augmented-plane-wave computations in the
      generalized-gradient approximation.

PMID- 9977025
TI  - High-pressure phase of magnetite.

PMID- 9977026
TI  - Nose-Hoover molecular-dynamics study of self-pipe-diffusion in gold using many
      atom interactions.

PMID- 9977028
TI  - Magnetization behavior of thick epitaxial Gd(0001) films on W(110).

PMID- 9977027
TI  - Optical absorption in paired correlated random lattices.

PMID- 9977029
TI  - Magnetization curling reversal for an infinite hollow cylinder.

PMID- 9977031
TI  - Chirality operators for Heisenberg spin systems.

PMID- 9977030
TI  - Magnetic interactions in Fe-Zr-B-Cu nanocrystalline materials at elevated
      temperatures.

PMID- 9977032
TI  - Dressed fluxon in a Josephson window junction.

PMID- 9977033
TI  - Nonuniversal electron-electron interaction effects on the fluctuation
      conductivity above the superconducting transition.

PMID- 9977034
TI  - Energy current and thermal conductivity for Josephson-junction array models of
      granular superconductors.

PMID- 9977035
TI  - Stabilization of critical temperature with respect to repulsion in strong-coupled
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977036
TI  - LaPt2B2C: A conventional borocarbide superconductor.

PMID- 9977037
TI  - Angular dependence of the fluctuation-induced magnetization of single-crystalline
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 near Tc.

PMID- 9977038
TI  - High-magnetic-field transport properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

PMID- 9977039
TI  - Electron transport and phonon coupling in K3C60.

PMID- 9977040
TI  - Multiplication mechanisms of electronic excitations in KBr and KBr:Tl crystals.

PMID- 9977041
TI  - Spectroscopic manifestation of a confinement-type lattice anharmonicity.

PMID- 9977042
TI  - Neutron-scattering study on the spin-Peierls transition in a quasi-one
      dimensional magnet CuGeO3.

PMID- 9977044
TI  - Bose-Hubbard model and superfluid staircases in 4He films.

PMID- 9977043
TI  - Spin gaps in coupled t-J ladders.

PMID- 9977045
TI  - Reduced-density-matrix analysis of superconducting correlation in two-dimensional
      and two-chain Hubbard models.

PMID- 9977046
TI  - Crystal structure and superconductivity in the Ni-based ternary compound LaNiSi.

PMID- 9977047
TI  - Absence of an energy gap in measurements of Cu-O superconductors with high
      resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977048
TI  - Evidence for an unconventional superconducting order parameter in YBa2Cu3O6.9.

PMID- 9977049
TI  - Interplane charge transport in YBa2Cu3O7-y: Spin-gap effect on in-plane and out
      of-plane resistivity.

PMID- 9977050
TI  - Erratum: Importance of Coulomb interactions in anisotropic superconductors

PMID- 9977051
TI  - Erratum: Structural, dynamical, and electronic properties of CaCuO2

PMID- 9977052
TI  - Relaxation modes of fluoride interstitials in gadolinium-doped SrF2.

PMID- 9977053
TI  - High-resolution optical spectroscopy of YAG:Nd: A test for structural and
      distribution models.

PMID- 9977054
TI  - Interfacial structural characteristics and grain-size limits in nanocrystalline
      materials crystallized from amorphous solids.

PMID- 9977055
TI  - Universal compressibility behavior of dense phases.

PMID- 9977056
TI  - New high-pressure phase of GaAsO4: Implications for shape-memory materials.

PMID- 9977057
TI  - Positron stopping in elemental systems: Monte Carlo calculations and scaling
      properties.

PMID- 9977059
TI  - Linear-programming method for obtaining effective cluster interactions in alloys
      from total-energy calculations: Application to the fcc Pd-V system.

PMID- 9977058
TI  - Phase relation, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of La-Co-Si alloys.

PMID- 9977060
TI  - Memory effect, defect density wave, and related microdomain structure in an
      incommensurate phase of barium sodium niobate.

PMID- 9977061
TI  - Stopping power of a two-dimensional electron gas for heavy particles.

PMID- 9977062
TI  - Radiative corrections to the Compton cross section.

PMID- 9977063
TI  - Mossbauer characterization of gamma -FeSi2 precipitates in Si(100).

PMID- 9977064
TI  - Nickel defect centers in diamond.

PMID- 9977065
TI  - Elastic lattice in an incommensurate background.

PMID- 9977066
TI  - Effective-charge theory for the electronic stopping of heavy ions in solids:
      Stripping criteria and target-electron models.

PMID- 9977068
TI  - Free energies of point defects in sodium from first-principles molecular-dynamics
      simulations.

PMID- 9977067
TI  - Free-energy calculations in solids from first-principles molecular dynamics:
      Vacancy formation in sodium.

PMID- 9977069
TI  - Lattice- and molecular-dynamics studies of RbLiSO4.

PMID- 9977070
TI  - Theoretical studies of phase transitions in the mixed crystals CsxRb1-xLiSO4.

PMID- 9977071
TI  - Low-temperature thermal conductivity of icosahedral Al70Mn9Pd21.

PMID- 9977072
TI  - X-ray-diffraction studies of the three-dimensional structure within iodine
      intercalated poly(3-octylthiophene).

PMID- 9977073
TI  - Trends in the structural stability of aluminum-rich transition-metal aluminides.

PMID- 9977075
TI  - Energy-level statistics of electrons in a two-dimensional quasicrystal.

PMID- 9977074
TI  - Excitation decay in one-dimensional disordered systems with paired traps.

PMID- 9977076
TI  - Optical absorption and localization of eigenmodes in disordered clusters.

PMID- 9977077
TI  - Vibrational dynamics and structure of graphitic amorphous carbon modeled using an
      embedded-ring approach.

PMID- 9977078
TI  - Temperature dependence of Raman scattering in stabilized cubic zirconia.

PMID- 9977079
TI  - Static and dynamical properties of solid chlorine.

PMID- 9977081
TI  - Classical effective Hamiltonians, Wigner functions, and the sign problem.

PMID- 9977080
TI  - Transition from a mixed-valent system to a magnetically ordered Kondo lattice in
      Ce(NiSi)2-x(CuGe)x.

PMID- 9977082
TI  - Exact representation of the large-U Hubbard model and its application.

PMID- 9977083
TI  - Angular-resolved linear and circular dichroism in core-level photoemission of
      metallic systems.

PMID- 9977084
TI  - Fluctuation and elastic properties of domain walls in two-dimensional dipolar
      systems.

PMID- 9977086
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of a generalized two-level system: Exact results in the
      large-flavor-number limit.

PMID- 9977085
TI  - Enhanced magnetic moments in bcc Fe films.

PMID- 9977087
TI  - Semiclassical calculations of the anisotropic magnetoresistance of NiFe-based
      thin films, wires, and multilayers.

PMID- 9977089
TI  - Giant magnetostriction of amorphous TbxFe1-x (0.10<x<0.45) thin films and its
      correlation with perpendicular anisotropy.

PMID- 9977088
TI  - Angular dependence of the giant magnetoresistance effect.

PMID- 9977090
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of the Delta -chain model in a uniform magnetic field.

PMID- 9977091
TI  - Mean-field theory for spin-reorientation phase transitions in magnetic thin
      films.

PMID- 9977092
TI  - Effective mass approach to the RKKY interaction in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9977093
TI  - Hubbard Hamiltonian: Highly correlated electrons from the perspective of the
      theory of disordered systems.

PMID- 9977094
TI  - Temperature dependence of the ESR spectrum of CsNiCl3.

PMID- 9977095
TI  - Theory of giant magnetoresistance for parallel and perpendicular currents in
      magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9977096
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of the large-U Hubbard model from high-temperature
      expansions.

PMID- 9977097
TI  - Zero-temperature dynamics of the one-dimensional XXZ and t-J models: A weak
      coupling continued-fraction analysis.

PMID- 9977099
TI  - Kondo coherence gap and superconductivity in the Ce1-xLaxRhSb system.

PMID- 9977098
TI  - Spin flux and magnetic solitons in an interacting two-dimensional electron gas:
      Topology of two-valued wave functions.

PMID- 9977100
TI  - Effects of boron substitution on the superconducting state of UBe13.

PMID- 9977101
TI  - Resonant valence-band and Cu 3p photoemission at the Cu L3 threshold of
      Bi2Sr2CuO6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9977102
TI  - Local perturbation of an order parameter induced by an impurity in anisotropic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977103
TI  - Systematic variation of superconductivity for the quaternary borocarbide system
      RNi2B2C (R=Sc, Y, La, Th, U, or a lanthanide).

PMID- 9977105
TI  - Flux pinning in large Josephson junctions with columnar defects.

PMID- 9977104
TI  - Magnetic levitation force and penetration depth in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9977106
TI  - NMR measurements on 3He adsorbed on Grafoil at submonolayer coverages and
      millikelvin temperatures.

PMID- 9977108
TI  - Superconducting instability in the infinite-U Anderson lattice in the presence of
      crystal electric fields.

PMID- 9977107
TI  - Disorder-induced depinning transition.

PMID- 9977109
TI  - Structural, superconducting, and magnetic properties of YNi2B2C and ErNi2B2C.

PMID- 9977111
TI  - Charge-transfer fluctuation, d-wave superconductivity, and the B1g Raman phonon
      in cuprates.

PMID- 9977110
TI  - Neutron scattering from a dx2-y2-wave superconductor with strong impurity
      scattering and Coulomb correlations.

PMID- 9977112
TI  - Sign reversal of the Hall effect in untwinned single-crystal superconducting
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9977114
TI  - Thermal-diffusivity measurements of an oriented superconducting-film-substrate
      composite using the mirage technique.

PMID- 9977113
TI  - Critical-current characteristics of c-axis-oriented (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox silver
      sheathed tapes from 10 K to Tc0.

PMID- 9977115
TI  - Barriers to vortex-line cutting in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9977116
TI  - Tc degradation in cuprate superconductors from the resistivity of YBa2(Cu1
      xMx)4O8 for M=Fe and Ni.

PMID- 9977117
TI  - Local ordering and charge transfer during room-temperature annealing of quenched
      tetragonal YBa2Cu3O6.25.

PMID- 9977118
TI  - Pairing fluctuations in a one-dimensional copper oxide model.

PMID- 9977119
TI  - Hall effect of as-grown oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox thin films.

PMID- 9977120
TI  - Underdoped, optimally doped, and overdoped superconductors TlSr2(R1-xCax)Cu2O7-
      delta (R=Lu or Tl).

PMID- 9977121
TI  - Coexistence of electrons and holes in BaBi0.25Pb0.75O3- delta detected by
      thermoelectric-power measurements.

PMID- 9977123
TI  - Coupling of displacive and order-disorder transformations in hydrogen-bonded
      ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9977122
TI  - Surface barrier in Hg-based polycrystalline superconductors.

PMID- 9977124
TI  - Pressure-induced phase transition in LiCsSO4.

PMID- 9977126
TI  - Debye-Porod law of diffraction for diffusion in porous media.

PMID- 9977125
TI  - bcc arsenic at 111 GPa: An x-ray structural study.

PMID- 9977127
TI  - Momentum distributions in quantum and nearly classical liquids.

PMID- 9977128
TI  - Angle-resolved study of magnetic dichroism in photoemission using linearly
      polarized light.

PMID- 9977129
TI  - Self-induced gap solitons in Heisenberg ferromagnetic chains.

PMID- 9977130
TI  - Magnetic properties of Mn/Cu(001) and Mn/Ni(001) c(2 x 2) surface alloys.

PMID- 9977131
TI  - Intrinsic spin-density-wave magnetism in Cu-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9977132
TI  - Disorder-induced covariation of the residual resistance ratio and superconducting
      Tc of amorphous Zr60Cu40.

PMID- 9977134
TI  - Vortex unbinding and layer decoupling in a quasi-two-dimensional superconductor.

PMID- 9977133
TI  - X-ray-absorption sum rule for linear dichroism: Application to high-Tc cuprate
      oxides.

PMID- 9977135
TI  - Normal-state transport properties in the flux-binding phase of the t-J model.

PMID- 9977136
TI  - Tc degradation in disordered cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9977137
TI  - Micro-Raman study of the role of pressure in mercury-based superconductors.

PMID- 9977138
TI  - Field-effect conductance of La2CuO4.

PMID- 9977139
TI  - Comment on "Large magnetoresistance in an amorphous Co68.1Fe4.4Si12.5B15
      ferromagnetic wire"

PMID- 9977140
TI  - Dipolon dispersion relation and plasmons in high-Tc superconducting materials.

PMID- 9977142
TI  - Ab initio study of polytetrahedral packing: The Al-Mg system.

PMID- 9977141
TI  - Reply to "Dipolon dispersion relation and plasmons in high-Tc superconducting
      materials"

PMID- 9977143
TI  - Determination of the mobility edge in the Anderson model of localization in three
      dimensions by multifractal analysis.

PMID- 9977144
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance for superparamagnetic particles: Melt-spun granular CuCo.

PMID- 9977145
TI  - Temperature-dependent Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction.

PMID- 9977146
TI  - NMR investigation of the quaternary-intermetallic-compound superconductor
      YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9977147
TI  - Magnetic structure of ErNi2B2C.

PMID- 9977149
TI  - Eliashberg function in an amorphous simple metal alloy Sn1-xCux determined by
      electron tunneling.

PMID- 9977148
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of antiferromagnetic order in the magnetic
      superconductor ErNi2B2C.

PMID- 9977151
TI  - Singlet-ground-state paramagnetic centers in CuO2 layers as seen from 169Tm NMR
      in TmBa2Cu3O6+x superconductors.

PMID- 9977150
TI  - Eliashberg function of amorphous metals.

PMID- 9977152
TI  - Observation of neutral lines during flux creep in thin high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9977153
TI  - Low-temperature vortex state of the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 in
      high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977154
TI  - Dimensional crossover field as a function of oxygen stoichiometry in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta thin films.

PMID- 9977155
TI  - Erratum: BCS pairing in a correlated narrow-band metal

PMID- 9977156
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of ferroelectric clusters.

PMID- 9977157
TI  - Electric-field gradients at the 111In and 111mCd sites in undoped and Mg-doped
      LiNbO3.

PMID- 9977158
TI  - Electron spin-echo-detected excitation spectroscopy of manganese-doped Ba3(VO4)2:
      Identification of tetrahedral Mn5+ as the active laser center.

PMID- 9977159
TI  - Nucleation and growth transformation kinetics.

PMID- 9977160
TI  - Spontaneous and field-assisted transition in K0.984Li0.016TaO3: The polar pattern
      by birefringence and second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9977161
TI  - Effect of positional disorder of anions on the conduction mechanism of the one
      dimensional conductors (TTF)(BF4)0.02(Cl)0.60 and (TTF)(SCN)0.09(Cl)0.66.

PMID- 9977162
TI  - Ni3+-Ni3+ pair transitions in highly doped LiNbO3:Ni.

PMID- 9977163
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of phase transitions in quasi-one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9977164
TI  - Impurity-induced incommensuration in antiferroelectric La-modified lead zirconate
      titanate.

PMID- 9977165
TI  - Effect of deviation from stoichiometry and thermal annealing on amorphous gallium
      antimonide films.

PMID- 9977166
TI  - Infrared study of the dynamics of boroxol rings in the crystallization of
      BaFe12O19 microcrystals in borate glasses.

PMID- 9977168
TI  - Interface motion in random media at finite temperature.

PMID- 9977167
TI  - Energy transport in one-dimensional harmonic chains.

PMID- 9977169
TI  - Bichromatic excitation of coherent Raman beats in rare-earth solids.

PMID- 9977170
TI  - Quantum-mechanical theory of stress-assisted fluctuational breakaway of
      dislocation kinks from pinning centers in crystals.

PMID- 9977171
TI  - Temperature dependence of the thermoelectric effect of ion-bombarded NbN films:
      Evidence for the suppression of phonon drag and for renormalization.

PMID- 9977172
TI  - Two-dimensional diffusion of hydrogen in ZrBe2H1.4.

PMID- 9977173
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid behavior for holes in doped two-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9977175
TI  - Phase transitions in cubic models with random anisotropic exchange.

PMID- 9977174
TI  - Parallel magnetoresistance in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9977176
TI  - Structure and magnetism of epitaxially strained Pd(001) films on Fe(001):
      Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9977178
TI  - Exact solution of the model of degenerate electrons interacting with an impurity.

PMID- 9977177
TI  - Phase diagram of a six-state chiral Potts model.

PMID- 9977180
TI  - Phase transition of the S=1/2 quantum anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet on
      the triangular lattice.

PMID- 9977179
TI  - Semiclassical description of the frustrated antiferromagnetic chain.

PMID- 9977182
TI  - Nonlinear microwave properties of superconducting Nb microstrip resonators.

PMID- 9977181
TI  - Critical behavior of random transverse-field Ising spin chains.

PMID- 9977183
TI  - Suppression of the order parameter in homogeneous disordered superconductors.

PMID- 9977185
TI  - Total-dielectric-function approach to electron and phonon response in solids.

PMID- 9977184
TI  - Measurements of the dc Josephson current in proximity systems.

PMID- 9977187
TI  - Thermal and quantum creep of vortices trapped by twin boundaries and columnar
      defects.

PMID- 9977186
TI  - Commensurability effects in large Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9977188
TI  - Effective Lagrangians for BCS superconductors at T=0.

PMID- 9977189
TI  - Spectral linewidth of autonomous and injection-locked flux-flow oscillators.

PMID- 9977191
TI  - Vortex-lattice melting in two-dimensional superconducting networks and films.

PMID- 9977190
TI  - Spatially resolved flux flow in long-overlap Josephson tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9977192
TI  - Nonlocal conductivity in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9977193
TI  - Josephson current in an anisotropic d-wave model.

PMID- 9977194
TI  - Magnetic behavior of R2Cu2O5 cuprates studied by neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9977195
TI  - Collective modes and implications for c-axis optical experiments in layered
      cuprates.

PMID- 9977197
TI  - Infrared reflectivity of La2CuO4: Anharmonic shell-model analysis.

PMID- 9977196
TI  - Large-shift Raman scattering in insulating parent compounds of cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977198
TI  - Anharmonicity in the c direction of high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9977199
TI  - Aging of the microstructure of melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7/Y2BaCuO5 composites and
      implications on their superconducting properties.

PMID- 9977200
TI  - Field and temperature dependence of the c-axis critical current in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta single crystals at the melting and two-dimensional decomposition fields.

PMID- 9977202
TI  - Electronic structure of superconductors without apical oxygen: Sr2CuO2F2,
      Sr2CuO2Cl2, and Ca2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9977201
TI  - Critical behavior of vortices in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9977204
TI  - Microwave hysteretic losses in YBa2Cu3O7-x and NbN thin films.

PMID- 9977203
TI  - Exact calculation of the vortex-antivortex interaction energy in the anisotropic
      three-dimensional XY model.

PMID- 9977205
TI  - X-ray thermal-diffuse-scattering study of soft modes in paraelectric BaTiO3.

PMID- 9977207
TI  - Atomistic simulation of the behavior of diamond under compressive stress.

PMID- 9977206
TI  - Evidence of a reversible microcrystal-quasicrystal phase transition in decagonal
      Al-Cu-Co(-Si).

PMID- 9977208
TI  - Optical alignment of axial Fe centers in KTaO3.

PMID- 9977209
TI  - Distribution of large currents in finite-size random resistor networks.

PMID- 9977210
TI  - Phase diagrams of a diluted Ising thin ferromagnetic film in a transverse field.

PMID- 9977211
TI  - Origin of the temperature dependence of the giant magnetoresistance in magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9977212
TI  - t-J model studied by the power Lanczos method.

PMID- 9977213
TI  - Antiferromagnetic Potts models on the square lattice.

PMID- 9977214
TI  - Effective theory of the phase transition in Heisenberg stacked triangular
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9977215
TI  - 1/f noise in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x bicrystal grain-boundary Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9977216
TI  - Doping in isoelectronic cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9977218
TI  - Temperature dependence of the local structure of YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9977217
TI  - Tunneling times for one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9977219
TI  - Normal-state 1/f noise in YBa2Cu3O7- delta /PrBa2Cu3O7- delta superlattices with
      a two-unit-cell-thick YBa2Cu3O7- delta layer in one period.

PMID- 9977220
TI  - Magnetic correlation length for undoped and lightly doped La2CuO4-y.

PMID- 9977221
TI  - Observation of lattice melting in a single crystal: The ferroelastic phase
      transition in Na2CO3.

PMID- 9977222
TI  - Kossel diffraction in perfect crystals: X-ray standing waves in reverse.

PMID- 9977223
TI  - Born effective charges of barium titanate: Band-by-band decomposition and
      sensitivity to structural features.

PMID- 9977224
TI  - Explanation of delocalization in the continuous random-dimer model.

PMID- 9977226
TI  - Lattice fluctuations well above the spin-Peierls transition in the linear-chain
      system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9977225
TI  - Lattice dynamics of metals from density-functional perturbation theory.

PMID- 9977227
TI  - Concentration dependence of the kinetic energy in 3He-4He mixtures.

PMID- 9977228
TI  - Raman scattering in K4C60 and Rb4C60 fullerenes.

PMID- 9977229
TI  - Superconducting fluctuations in the microwave conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      single crystals.

PMID- 9977230
TI  - Orientation dependence of grain-boundary critical current densities in high-Tc
      bicrystals.

PMID- 9977231
TI  - Irreversible properties of micrometer-thick, superconducting MoGe/Ge multilayers
      as a function of anisotropy.

PMID- 9977232
TI  - Penetration depth in layered superconductors: Application to the cuprates and
      conventional multilayers.

PMID- 9977233
TI  - Elasto-optical study of stabilized cubic zirconia.

PMID- 9977234
TI  - Photoemission and electron-energy-loss-spectroscopy study of BaRuO3.

PMID- 9977235
TI  - Comparison of the energies of vanadium donor levels in doped SnO2 and TiO2.

PMID- 9977237
TI  - Optical properties of rutile near its fundamental band gap.

PMID- 9977236
TI  - Femtosecond excited-state dynamics of a conjugated ladder polymer.

PMID- 9977238
TI  - Electronic states of alkali-metal-doped C60 phases.

PMID- 9977239
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in the high-level
      doping concentration regime: Metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9977240
TI  - Quasiparticle band structure of bulk hexagonal boron nitride and related systems.

PMID- 9977241
TI  - Short- and long-range order of the binary Madelung lattice.

PMID- 9977242
TI  - Spin-orbit-induced lattice instabilities in the half-filled hopping Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9977243
TI  - Tight-binding calculation of the elastic constants of fcc and hcp transition
      metals.

PMID- 9977244
TI  - Localization of heavy particles in metals: reexamined.

PMID- 9977245
TI  - Kramers-Kronig relations and sum rules for the second-harmonic susceptibility.

PMID- 9977246
TI  - Miller's rule and the static limit for second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9977247
TI  - Ultraviolet inverse-photoemission and photoemission spectroscopy studies of
      diluted magnetic semiconductors Cd1-xMnxTe (0 <= x <= 0.7).

PMID- 9977248
TI  - Raman line asymmetry in alloys and in ion-implanted polar crystals.

PMID- 9977250
TI  - Photogeneration of polaron pairs in conducting polymers.

PMID- 9977249
TI  - Off-diagonal disorder and activation energy of high-field hopping motion.

PMID- 9977251
TI  - Laser-induced band-gap collapse in GaAs.

PMID- 9977252
TI  - Local vibrational modes of substitutional Mg2+, Ca2+, and S2- in zinc-blende and
      wurtzite II-VI semiconductors.

PMID- 9977253
TI  - Obstacles in three-dimensional bulk systems: The residual-resistivity-dipole
      problem.

PMID- 9977254
TI  - Ab initio investigation of the native defects in diamond and self-diffusion.

PMID- 9977255
TI  - Optical and magneto-optical properties of (La1-xCex)2S3 crystals.

PMID- 9977256
TI  - Nature of the thermopower in bipolar semiconductors.

PMID- 9977257
TI  - Transient response of an optically pumped short-cavity semiconductor laser.

PMID- 9977258
TI  - High-current ballistic transport through variable-width constrictions in a high
      mobility two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9977259
TI  - Tunneling transmission in quantum wires in the presence of magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977261
TI  - Recombination processes and photoluminescence intensity in quantum wells under
      steady-state and transient conditions.

PMID- 9977260
TI  - Exciton localization in corrugated GaAs/AlAs superlattices grown on (311) GaAs
      substrates.

PMID- 9977262
TI  - Scaling of an anomalous metal-insulator transition in a two-dimensional system in
      silicon at B=0.

PMID- 9977263
TI  - Microscopic calculation of the electron-optical-phonon interaction in ultrathin
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs alloy quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9977264
TI  - Quantum magnetotransport in a mesoscopic antidot lattice.

PMID- 9977265
TI  - Electronic and acoustic-phonon inter-Landau-level Raman scattering in GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9977267
TI  - Quantum oscillations in the cyclotron phonon emission from a heated two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9977266
TI  - Tunneling density of states and plasmon excitations in double-quantum-well
      systems.

PMID- 9977268
TI  - Stimulated emission of a microcavity dressed exciton and suppression of phonon
      scattering.

PMID- 9977269
TI  - Equilibrium structure and bonding of small silicon clusters studied using an
      orbital-free kinetic-energy functional.

PMID- 9977270
TI  - Dynamic model of epitaxial growth in ternary III-V semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9977272
TI  - Interband optical transitions in double quantum wells with nonsymmetrical
      scattering.

PMID- 9977271
TI  - Coupling of image states to quantum-well states for Au on Pd(111).

PMID- 9977273
TI  - Resonant scattering on impurities in the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9977274
TI  - Surface phonons of hydrogen-terminated semiconductor surfaces. I. The H:Si(111)
      (1 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9977275
TI  - Surface phonons of hydrogen-terminated semiconductor surfaces. II. The H:C(111)
      (1 x 1) system.

PMID- 9977277
TI  - Optical emission diagnostics of C60-containing laser-ablated plumes for carbon
      film deposition.

PMID- 9977276
TI  - Surface premelting in Al(110) observed by core-level photoemission.

PMID- 9977278
TI  - Vibrational correlation functions of hydrogen-terminated C(111)-(1 x 1) and
      Si(111)-(1 x 1) surfaces.

PMID- 9977279
TI  - Electronic structure of the chromium dioxide (001) surface.

PMID- 9977280
TI  - Electronic transitions and excitations in solid C70 studied by EELS and XPS C 1s
      satellite structures.

PMID- 9977281
TI  - Monolayer instability: An upper bound for the wetting and nonwetting of a
      substrate by a solid monolayer.

PMID- 9977282
TI  - Photoemission study of quantum confinement by a finite barrier:
      Cu/Co(wedge)/Cu(100).

PMID- 9977283
TI  - Excitation-energy transfer and metastable-particle desorption from electron
      bombarded Xe films with N2 and CO top layers.

PMID- 9977284
TI  - Growth of Au on Ni(110): A semiempirical modeling of surface alloy phases.

PMID- 9977285
TI  - Comparative study on energy- and structure-related properties for the (100)
      surface of beta -SiC.

PMID- 9977286
TI  - Structure and stability of molybdenum carbide clusters (MoC4)n (n=1 to 4) and
      their anions.

PMID- 9977287
TI  - Pb layer-by-layer growth at very low temperatures.

PMID- 9977288
TI  - Surface excitations in metals: Brillouin and Raman light scattering.

PMID- 9977290
TI  - Calculation of x-ray-diffraction profiles from vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9977289
TI  - Interaction of hydrogen with the Ag(111) surface.

PMID- 9977291
TI  - Phase separation and step roughening of vicinal Si(111): An x-ray-scattering
      study.

PMID- 9977293
TI  - Exchange corrections to the static Lindhard screening function.

PMID- 9977292
TI  - Electronic structure and x-ray magnetic dichroism in random substitutional alloys
      of f-electron elements.

PMID- 9977294
TI  - Magnetoresistance of icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe from 80 mK to 80 K.

PMID- 9977295
TI  - NMR chemical shift in PbTe and spin-orbit effects.

PMID- 9977296
TI  - Energy band gaps of silicon-carbon alloys.

PMID- 9977297
TI  - Strong quantum-size effects in a layered semiconductor: MoS2 nanoclusters.

PMID- 9977298
TI  - Heat-activated magnetic exchange coupling across Ge barriers and Ge/Si
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9977300
TI  - Modification of valence-band symmetry and Auger threshold energy in biaxially
      compressed InAs1-xSbx.

PMID- 9977299
TI  - Time-dependent behavior of a resonant-tunneling diode.

PMID- 9977301
TI  - High-resolution time-of-flight mass-spectroscopy study of synchrotron-radiation
      induced chemical reactions on Si(100).

PMID- 9977302
TI  - Embedding method for confined quantum systems.

PMID- 9977303
TI  - Tight-binding calculation of electronic states in an inverse parabolic quantum
      well.

PMID- 9977304
TI  - Transport theory in metallic films: Crossover from the classical to the quantum
      regime.

PMID- 9977305
TI  - Static polarizability associated with multipole surface plasmons in metallic
      surfaces.

PMID- 9977306
TI  - Effects of small-angle scattering on Weiss oscillations in a GaAs lateral
      superlattice.

PMID- 9977307
TI  - Application of adaptive curvilinear coordinates to the electronic structure of
      solids.

PMID- 9977308
TI  - Gradient correction for positron states in solids.

PMID- 9977309
TI  - Three-dimensional electronic instabilities in polymerized solid AC60.

PMID- 9977310
TI  - Dependence of the hole lifetime on uniaxial stress in Ga-doped Ge.

PMID- 9977311
TI  - Electric-field-induced Raman scattering in GaAs: Franz-Keldysh oscillations.

PMID- 9977312
TI  - Magneto-optical probe of the two-dimensional hole-system low-temperature ground
      states.

PMID- 9977313
TI  - Zeeman splitting and g factor of heavy-hole excitons in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9977314
TI  - Structural characterization of stepped Ga/Si(112) surfaces.

PMID- 9977315
TI  - Geometrical effect of composite fermions.

PMID- 9977317
TI  - Premelting of thin wires.

PMID- 9977316
TI  - Solid-state luminescence: Probe for ion-solid interactions.

PMID- 9977319
TI  - Charge-density-wave instabilities in a multisubband quasi-one-dimensional
      electron system.

PMID- 9977318
TI  - Perpendicular giant magnetoresistance of multilayered Co/Cu nanowires.

PMID- 9977320
TI  - Extended Hubbard model with off-site interactions: Two-particle spectrum and
      Auger line shapes.

PMID- 9977321
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in perovskite oxides: Tunneling experiments.

PMID- 9977322
TI  - Symmetric periodic Anderson model in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9977324
TI  - Effect of electron correlation on vibrational frequencies of Ag modes in C60.

PMID- 9977323
TI  - Theoretical study of electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of alpha 
      Fe2O3 (hematite).

PMID- 9977325
TI  - Nonlinear optical studies of monomolecular films under pressure.

PMID- 9977326
TI  - Quasiparticle excitation energies for the F-center defect in LiCl.

PMID- 9977327
TI  - Two-particle spectra of heavy-fermion systems.

PMID- 9977328
TI  - Exactly solvable Kondo-lattice model.

PMID- 9977330
TI  - Hydrodynamic model for the degenerate free-electron gas: Generalization to
      arbitrary frequencies.

PMID- 9977329
TI  - Ground states of integrable quantum liquids.

PMID- 9977332
TI  - Nature of the insulating state in the three-band Hubbard model: A tight-binding
      approach.

PMID- 9977331
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of hexagonal yttrium trihydride.

PMID- 9977333
TI  - Valency and 4f covalency of Cs2RbTbF7.

PMID- 9977334
TI  - Time-resolved study of electron-hole plasmas near the liquid-gas critical point
      in Si: Evidence for a second condensed phase.

PMID- 9977335
TI  - Effect of strong electromagnetic radiation on the screening of the Coulomb
      potential in a quantized magnetic field.

PMID- 9977336
TI  - Nonequilibrium phase transitions and amorphization in Si, Si/GaAs, Ge, and
      Ge/GaSb at the decompression of high-pressure phases.

PMID- 9977337
TI  - Coherent phonon oscillations in GaAs.

PMID- 9977338
TI  - Interplay of strain and superlattice ordering on GaInP2 quantum-well valence
      subband structure.

PMID- 9977340
TI  - Modification of growth kinetics in surfactant-mediated epitaxy.

PMID- 9977339
TI  - Superstructures of the Pb/Ge(001) system.

PMID- 9977341
TI  - Magnetoconductance of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9977342
TI  - Interface roughening of Ge delta layers on Si(111).

PMID- 9977343
TI  - Optical anisotropy and spontaneous ordering in Ga0.5In0.5P: An investigation
      using reflectance-difference spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977345
TI  - X-ray diffraction from amorphous Ge/Si Cantor superlattices.

PMID- 9977344
TI  - Stability of magnetic polaron states in two-dimensional semimagnetic
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9977346
TI  - Effect of phase breaking on the ac response of mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9977347
TI  - Electronic properties of semiconductor superlattices in high-frequency
      electromagnetic fields.

PMID- 9977349
TI  - Superradiance of Frenkel excitons with any degree of excitation prepared by a
      short-pulse laser.

PMID- 9977348
TI  - Quantum Hall effect and inter-edge-state tunneling within a barrier.

PMID- 9977351
TI  - Two-dimensional electron transport in the presence of magnetic flux vortices.

PMID- 9977350
TI  - Quantum effects in the Raman spectrum of a quantum dot.

PMID- 9977352
TI  - Spectral properties of classical two-dimensional clusters.

PMID- 9977353
TI  - D- states in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9977354
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of impact-ionization-induced breakdown and current
      filamentation in delta -doped GaAs.

PMID- 9977356
TI  - Effect of a voltage probe on the phase-coherent conductance of a ballistic
      chaotic cavity.

PMID- 9977355
TI  - Ballistic transport through chaotic cavities: Parametric correlations and the
      weak localization peak in a Brownian-motion model.

PMID- 9977357
TI  - Infrared observation of transverse and longitudinal polar optical modes of
      semiconductor films: Normal and oblique incidence.

PMID- 9977359
TI  - Composition dependence of solid-phase epitaxy in silicon-germanium alloys:
      Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9977358
TI  - Real-space observation of (111) facet formation on vicinal Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9977360
TI  - Electron escape rate from coupled multiple quantum wells: Effects of coherence
      length and hopping.

PMID- 9977361
TI  - Finite computational cell-size effects and the nature of the melting transition
      of Kr adlayers deposited on graphite.

PMID- 9977362
TI  - Quantitative evaluation of plasmon losses in thin magnesium films and its
      application to the thickness determination.

PMID- 9977363
TI  - Indium adatom diffusion and clustering on stepped copper surfaces.

PMID- 9977364
TI  - Atomic-hydrogen interaction with metallic lithium: An ab initio embedded-cluster
      study.

PMID- 9977365
TI  - Energetics of small Pt clusters on Pt(111): Embedded-atom-method calculations and
      phenomenology.

PMID- 9977367
TI  - L-subshell fluorescence yields for metallic uranium and thorium.

PMID- 9977366
TI  - Evolution to equilibrium of the shape of an island formed by the aggregation of
      adsorbed atoms.

PMID- 9977368
TI  - Surface-induced alteration of adsorbate electronic structure and intramolecular
      vibrational coupling: The vibrational spectrum of 2-propoxide on Mo(110) as
      determined by ab initio calculations and experiments.

PMID- 9977370
TI  - Critical exponents for a one-dimensional model of fermions with correlated
      hopping.

PMID- 9977369
TI  - Atomic-scale friction observed with a two-dimensional frictional-force
      microscope.

PMID- 9977372
TI  - Consistent structural properties for AlN, GaN, and InN.

PMID- 9977371
TI  - Geometry and quantum delocalization of interstitial oxygen in silicon.

PMID- 9977373
TI  - Biexciton formation in GaAs/AlAs type-II superlattices under extremely low
      excitation powers.

PMID- 9977375
TI  - Effects of hydrogen on Er/p-type Si Schottky-barrier diodes.

PMID- 9977374
TI  - Manifestation of spin degrees of freedom in the double fractional quantum Hall
      system.

PMID- 9977376
TI  - Increase of the e1-hh3 exciton oscillator strength in quantum-well structures
      under the type-I-type-II transition.

PMID- 9977377
TI  - Interface alloying effects on the LO and TO phonons in Si/Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9977378
TI  - Experimental evidence of anisotropy in the E0 and E1 optical spectra of
      corrugated GaAs/AlAs quantum-wire superlattices.

PMID- 9977379
TI  - Clustering effect and residual stress in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained layer grown by
      metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition.

PMID- 9977380
TI  - Ab initio calculation of electronic properties of periodically Si- delta -doped
      GaAs.

PMID- 9977381
TI  - Spin-resolved nature of 3s photoemission from ferromagnetic iron.

PMID- 9977383
TI  - Observation of nuclear forward scattering from 83Kr in bulk and monolayer films.

PMID- 9977382
TI  - Analysis of extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure spectra of transition-metal
      sulfides and sulfur on nickel surfaces.

PMID- 9977384
TI  - Spin-polarized photoemission study of the Fe 3s multiplet.

PMID- 9977385
TI  - Low-energy electronic absorption of C60-

PMID- 9977386
TI  - Surface core-level shifts and surface states for the heavy lanthanide metals.

PMID- 9977387
TI  - Comment on "Self-interaction-corrected density-functional formalism"

PMID- 9977388
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Self-interaction-corrected density-functional formalism' "

PMID- 9977389
TI  - Comment on "Upper-conduction-band effects in heavily strained low-dimensional
      zinc-blende semiconductor systems"

PMID- 9977390
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Upper-conduction-band effects in heavily strained low
      dimensional zinc-blende semiconductor systems' "

PMID- 9977391
TI  - Comment on "Oscillator strength and sum rule for intersubband transitions in a
      superlattice"

PMID- 9977392
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Oscillator strength and sum rule for intersubband
      transitions in a superlattice' "

PMID- 9977393
TI  - Universality classes, statistical exclusion principle, and properties of
      interacting fermions.

PMID- 9977394
TI  - Resonant tunneling of L-valley electrons in GaSb-based double-barrier
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9977395
TI  - Origin of magic angular momenta in few-electron quantum dots.

PMID- 9977396
TI  - Microscopic reaction mechanisms in hydrogen-loaded germanosilicate fibers:
      Formation of divalent Ge defects.

PMID- 9977397
TI  - Double chain structures on the Sb-terminated GaAs(111)B surface.

PMID- 9977398
TI  - Observation of Fabry-Perot modes in the upper branch of the polariton in ZnSe
      GaAs epilayers.

PMID- 9977400
TI  - External field-dependent enhancement of internal Coulomb interactions in time
      resolved four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9977399
TI  - Electron correlations and Coulomb gap in a two-dimensional electron gas in high
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977401
TI  - Hot electrons and nonequilibrium phonons in a multiple delta -layer-doped GaAs
      structure.

PMID- 9977402
TI  - Electron-concentration-dependent quantum-well luminescence: Evidence for a
      negatively charged exciton.

PMID- 9977404
TI  - Nanoroughness localization of excitons in GaAs multiple quantum wells studied by
      transient four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9977403
TI  - Breakdown of the quantum Hall effect in InAs/AlSb quantum wells due to
      counterflowing edge channels.

PMID- 9977405
TI  - Honeycomb structure of adatoms surrounding substituted atoms: Cu(111)-(2 x 2)
      3Li.

PMID- 9977406
TI  - Erratum: C60-induced reconstruction of the Ge(111) surface

PMID- 9977407
TI  - Erratum: Cyclotron resonance line shape in a Wigner crystal

PMID- 9977408
TI  - Brillouin spectroscopic evidence for a relaxation mode in ferroelectric PbHPO4
      and PbDPO4.

PMID- 9977409
TI  - Fluctuations during freezing and melting at the solid-liquid interface of xenon.

PMID- 9977410
TI  - Structural changes of ZrO2-CeO2 solid solutions around the monoclinic-tetragonal
      phase boundary.

PMID- 9977412
TI  - Line-delocalization transitions in the presence of quenched disorder.

PMID- 9977411
TI  - General features of latent track formation in magnetic insulators irradiated with
      swift heavy ions.

PMID- 9977413
TI  - Refined treatment of the model of linearly coupled anharmonic oscillators and its
      application to the temperature dependence of the zone-center soft-mode
      frequencies of KTaO3 and SrTiO3.

PMID- 9977414
TI  - High-pressure low-symmetry phases of cesium halides.

PMID- 9977415
TI  - Interplay between potential and magnetic disorder in a quasi-one-dimensional
      system.

PMID- 9977417
TI  - Low-temperature glasslike properties in (NaCl)1-x(NaCN)x.

PMID- 9977416
TI  - Anomalous alloying behavior induced by ion irradiation in a system with a large
      positive heat of mixing.

PMID- 9977418
TI  - Site-occupation tendencies for ternary additions (Fe, Co, Ni) in beta -phase
      transition-metal aluminides.

PMID- 9977419
TI  - Raman excitation profiles of conjugated segments in solution.

PMID- 9977420
TI  - Three-dimensional effects on extended states in disordered models of polymers.

PMID- 9977422
TI  - Low-frequency Raman scattering in glasses.

PMID- 9977421
TI  - Stability of the replica-symmetric solution of a quadrupolar glass model with
      random strain fields.

PMID- 9977423
TI  - Partial spectral weights of disordered CuxPd1-x alloys including the
      photoemission matrix-element effect.

PMID- 9977424
TI  - Large-scale fluctuations in the diffusive decomposition of solid solutions.

PMID- 9977425
TI  - Origin of the tunneling states in SiO2.

PMID- 9977427
TI  - Enhancement of heat capacity above the Neel temperature in Gd1-xYxNi2Si2 alloys,
      and its implications.

PMID- 9977426
TI  - Nonstandard relaxation behavior in ionically conducting materials.

PMID- 9977428
TI  - Granular Co/Ag multilayers: Relation between nanostructure, and magnetic and
      transport properties.

PMID- 9977430
TI  - Spin-wave anomalies in reentrant spin glasses of Au1-xFex alloys.

PMID- 9977429
TI  - Spin-polarized-electron scattering studies of the Fe bilayer on W(100): Theory
      and experiment.

PMID- 9977431
TI  - Magnetic circular dichroism in core-level photoemission from Gd, Tb, and Dy in
      ferromagnetic materials.

PMID- 9977433
TI  - Magnetic properties of CocMn1-cCl2-FeCl3 graphite bi-intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9977432
TI  - Mesoscopic electrical noise from spins in Au1-xFex.

PMID- 9977434
TI  - Chiral perturbation theory, finite-size effects, and the three-dimensional XY
      model.

PMID- 9977435
TI  - Intrinsic magnetic properties of RFe10Mo2 compounds (R=Y, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy,
      Ho, Er, or Tm).

PMID- 9977436
TI  - Renormalization-group theory of the random-field Ising model in three dimensions.

PMID- 9977437
TI  - Complete solution of the XXZ model on finite rings: Finite-temperature structure
      factors.

PMID- 9977438
TI  - Long-range magnetic order in Fe3O4/NiO superlattices.

PMID- 9977439
TI  - Solution of the two-impurity Kondo model: Critical point, Fermi-liquid phase, and
      crossover.

PMID- 9977440
TI  - Crossover from a spin-density wave to the quantum Neel ground state.

PMID- 9977441
TI  - Quantum dimer calculations on the spin-1/2 kagome-acute Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9977442
TI  - High-field magnetoresistance oscillations in alpha -

PMID- 9977443
TI  - Effects of next-nearest-neighbor hopping on the hole motion in an
      antiferromagnetic background.

PMID- 9977444
TI  - Microwave dielectric studies of the spin-density-wave state in (TMTSF)2PF6.

PMID- 9977445
TI  - Chiral and spin order in the two-dimensional +/-J XY spin glass: Domain-wall
      scaling analysis.

PMID- 9977446
TI  - Numerical solution of the spin-2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains using a
      projector method.

PMID- 9977447
TI  - Energy transport via quasiparticle and phonon diffusion in superheated
      superconducting granule detectors after nuclear recoils.

PMID- 9977448
TI  - Magnetic-field effects on submillimeter absorptivity in epitaxial thin films of
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9977449
TI  - Observation of glass behavior at low fields in polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9977450
TI  - Superconductivity in the quaternary compounds LNi4B4C with L=Y, Ho, Er, and Tm.

PMID- 9977451
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetism in the Sc5-xDyxIr4Si10 system.

PMID- 9977452
TI  - Abrikosov-vortex-energy change due to an electric-field effect.

PMID- 9977453
TI  - Pseudotetragonal and orthorhombic ordered structures in substoichiometric
      YBa2Cu3O6+x oxides at x<0.4.

PMID- 9977454
TI  - Attraction induced by many-body effects in the quasi-one-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9977455
TI  - Structure and superconductivity without apical oxygens in (Ca,Na)2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9977456
TI  - Effect of interaction anisotropy on the superconducting transition temperature.

PMID- 9977458
TI  - Dynamics of a driven single flux line in superconductors.

PMID- 9977457
TI  - Single-collective-degree-of-freedom models of macroscopic quantum nucleation.

PMID- 9977459
TI  - Defect motions and smearing of Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction ladders under
      magnetic frustration.

PMID- 9977460
TI  - Simultaneous diagonal and off-diagonal order in the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9977461
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau model of hexagonal superconductors: Application to UPt3.

PMID- 9977462
TI  - Microwave observation of the vortex locked-in state in YBa2Cu3O7 thin films with
      columnar defects.

PMID- 9977463
TI  - Model for the variation upon doping of the isotope coefficient in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977464
TI  - Secondary-ion-mass-spectroscopy study of oxygen tracer diffusion in a c-axis
      oriented YBa2Cu3O7- delta film.

PMID- 9977465
TI  - Magnetic ordering of Nd3+ ions in the high-temperature superconductor NbBa2Cu3
      xGaxO7-y (0<x <= 0.5 and 0.05<y<0.15).

PMID- 9977466
TI  - Implications of magnetic-hysteresis-loop scaling in high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977467
TI  - Irreversibility line and the hierarchy of weak links in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ Delta.

PMID- 9977468
TI  - Site-specific and doping-dependent electronic structure of YBa2Cu3Ox probed by O
      1s and Cu 2p x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977469
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetism in Y1-xPrxSr2Cu2.7Mo0.3O7- delta.

PMID- 9977470
TI  - Influence of neutron irradiation damage on the equilibrium properties of the
      polycrystalline Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconductor.

PMID- 9977472
TI  - Correlated local distortions of the TlO layers in Tl2Ba2CuOy: An x-ray-absorption
      study.

PMID- 9977471
TI  - Proximity effect in YBa2Cu3O7- delta /YBa2(Cu1-xCox)3O7- delta /YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      junctions: From the clean limit to the dirty limit the clean limit to the dirty
      limit with pair breaking.

PMID- 9977473
TI  - Transport characterization of calcium-doped YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9977474
TI  - Cubic-to-rhombohedral transformation in boron nitride induced by laser heating:
      In situ Raman-spectroscopy studies.

PMID- 9977475
TI  - Direct observation of anticrossing behavior in a luminescent Cr3+-doped system.

PMID- 9977476
TI  - Second sharp diffraction peak in the structure factor of binary covalent network
      glasses.

PMID- 9977477
TI  - Induced changes in the distribution of the tunneling states.

PMID- 9977478
TI  - Glass-transition temperature: Relation between low-frequency dynamics and medium
      range order.

PMID- 9977479
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the thermodynamic properties and atomic temperature
      factors of SiO2 alpha -quartz and stishovite.

PMID- 9977480
TI  - Polaron-type states in dislocated crystals: A gauge-theory approach.

PMID- 9977481
TI  - Anisotropic exchange-interaction model: From the Potts model to the exchange
      interaction model.

PMID- 9977482
TI  - Monte Carlo mean-field method for spin systems.

PMID- 9977484
TI  - Magnetic behavior of CeIr2B2.

PMID- 9977483
TI  - Magnetic properties of BaRu1-xRhxO3 and Sr2Ru1-xRhxO4.

PMID- 9977485
TI  - Magnetoresistance anomalies in the Gd-based alloys.

PMID- 9977486
TI  - Propagating photonic modes below the gap in a superconducting composite.

PMID- 9977487
TI  - Structure of the defect layers in the oxide compound (Ca0.3Sr0.7)0.95CuO2-z.

PMID- 9977489
TI  - Magnetically modulated microwave absorption in the 2212 and 2223 phases of the Bi
      Sr-Ca-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9977488
TI  - Phase separation of hydrogenated La2-xSrxCu(Fe)O4.

PMID- 9977490
TI  - Comment on "Double resistive superconducting transition in Sm2-xCexCuO4-y"

PMID- 9977492
TI  - Comment on "Anisotropic growth of twinned cubic crystals"

PMID- 9977491
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Double resistive superconducting transition in Sm2-xCexCuO4
      y' "

PMID- 9977493
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Anisotropic growth of twinned cubic crystals' "

PMID- 9977494
TI  - Vibrational modes in C70: A first-principles study.

PMID- 9977495
TI  - Structural and magnetic behavior of the S=2 layered ferromagnet CsMnF4 under
      hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9977497
TI  - Electronic and structural properties of La3Ni2B2N3.

PMID- 9977496
TI  - Influence of structural disorder on magnetic order: An ab initio study of
      amorphous Fe, Co, and Ni.

PMID- 9977498
TI  - Supersolid phases in underdamped Josephson arrays: Quantum Monte Carlo
      simulations.

PMID- 9977500
TI  - Superconducting order parameter in bilayer cuprates: Occurrence of pi phase
      shifts in corner junctions.

PMID- 9977499
TI  - Photoemission spectra of Sr2CuO2Cl2: A theoretical analysis.

PMID- 9977501
TI  - Josephson flux-flow resonances in overdamped long YBa2Cu3O7 grain-boundary
      junctions.

PMID- 9977502
TI  - Erratum: Flux creep with logarithmic U(j) dependence

PMID- 9977503
TI  - Erratum: Antiferromagnetism in the Ho5Os4Ge10 system

PMID- 9977505
TI  - Crystal-to-glass-transition induced elastic anomaly of cerium-iron multilayer
      films and texture-related mechanical properties after hydrogenation.

PMID- 9977504
TI  - Fractal structure of porous solids characterized by adsorption.

PMID- 9977506
TI  - Structural aspects of C82 and C76 crystals studied by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9977507
TI  - Pressure evolution of the cinnabar phase of HgTe.

PMID- 9977508
TI  - Cluster and domain-state dynamics of ferroelectric Sr1-xCaxTiO3 (x=0.007).

PMID- 9977509
TI  - Betaine arsenate as a system with two instabilities.

PMID- 9977510
TI  - Low-frequency single-molecule dynamics in incommensurate biphenyl.

PMID- 9977511
TI  - Nuclear magnetic resonance of Co2+ in LiGa5O8 detected by optical spectral hole
      burning.

PMID- 9977512
TI  - Calculations of the geometry and optical properties of FMg centers and dimer (F2
      type) centers in corundum crystals.

PMID- 9977513
TI  - Formation of metastable excited Ti and Ni atoms during ion sputtering.

PMID- 9977514
TI  - Two-stage melting in two dimensions: First-principles approach.

PMID- 9977515
TI  - Raman study of pressure-induced phase transitions in RbIO4.

PMID- 9977517
TI  - Scaling behavior of free-volume holes in polymers probed by positron
      annihilation.

PMID- 9977516
TI  - Porosity evolution in SnO2 xerogels during sintering under isothermal conditions.

PMID- 9977518
TI  - Atomic clusters and electrons in the Burkov model of AlCuCo.

PMID- 9977519
TI  - Nanocrystalline precipitates formed by aging of bcc disordered Fe-Ni-Mo alloys.

PMID- 9977520
TI  - Electronic transport of quasicrystals with random phason strain: The two
      dimensional Penrose lattice.

PMID- 9977521
TI  - Pulsed nuclear-quadrupole resonance in nonuniformly disordered systems.

PMID- 9977522
TI  - Deep inelastic neutron scattering off D2 and H2 and momentum distributions of
      nuclei in diatomic molecules.

PMID- 9977523
TI  - Analysis of the ESR linewidth in pristine trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9977524
TI  - Experimental evidence of strong phonon scattering in isotopical disordered
      systems: The case of LiHxD1-x.

PMID- 9977525
TI  - Correlation-function analysis of nonlinear and nonadiabatic systems: Polaron
      tunneling.

PMID- 9977526
TI  - Phonon interference in BaTiO3: High-pressure Raman study.

PMID- 9977527
TI  - Specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity of FeF2 at the Neel
      temperature.

PMID- 9977528
TI  - Single-ion magnetic anisotropy of rare-earth-transition-metal compounds and its
      description by means of analytical expressions.

PMID- 9977530
TI  - Magnetic exchange coupling mediated by bound states.

PMID- 9977529
TI  - Antiferromagnetic Invar and anti-Invar in Fe-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9977532
TI  - Magnetoconductance fluctuations in mesoscopic spin glasses.

PMID- 9977531
TI  - A perturbative and variational approach to quantum lattice Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9977533
TI  - Magnetic-breakdown phenomena and recursive band structures.

PMID- 9977534
TI  - Spontaneous magnetic order in random dipolar solids.

PMID- 9977535
TI  - Effect of topological disorder on the itinerant magnetism of Fe and Co.

PMID- 9977536
TI  - Domain-wall relaxation near the disorder transition of Bloch walls in Sr
      hexaferrite.

PMID- 9977537
TI  - Scaling regimes, crossovers, and lattice corrections in two-dimensional
      Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9977538
TI  - Specific heat of a three-dimensional metal near a zero-temperature magnetic phase
      transition with dynamic exponent z=2, 3, or 4.

PMID- 9977539
TI  - Effect of hydrogen absorption on the cerium electronic state in CeFe11Ti: An x
      ray-absorption and circular-magnetic-dichroism investigation.

PMID- 9977540
TI  - Magnetic properties of the noncollinear antiferromagnet KNiCl3.

PMID- 9977541
TI  - Microscopic theory of normal liquid 3He.

PMID- 9977542
TI  - Calculation of the upper critical field of V/Ag and Nb/Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9977543
TI  - Imaginary part of the self-energy of a layered two-dimensional disordered
      electron gas.

PMID- 9977544
TI  - Low-temperature structural transitions and Tc suppression in La2-xMxCuO4 (M=Ba,
      Sr).

PMID- 9977545
TI  - Thermal voltage noise in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9977547
TI  - Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell state in quasi-one-dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9977546
TI  - Microscopic analysis of the nondissipative force on a line vortex in a
      superconductor: Berry's phase, momentum flow, and the Magnus force.

PMID- 9977548
TI  - Static and dynamic transport in parity-sensitive systems.

PMID- 9977549
TI  - Transport properties of the superconducting Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10-DyBa2SnO5.5
      percolation system.

PMID- 9977550
TI  - Two-dimensional vortex and phase fluctuations from current-voltage
      characteristics of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x films with various oxygen contents.

PMID- 9977551
TI  - Magnetic relaxation and the flux diffusion barrier for TlSr2Ca2Cu3Oy doped with
      Pb and Ba determined by complex ac susceptibility measurements.

PMID- 9977552
TI  - Local time-dependent magnetization of superconducting films in the presence of a
      transport current.

PMID- 9977553
TI  - Magnetic flux noise in strongly anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9977554
TI  - Superconducting fluctuations in Tl-based single crystals: Evidence of universal
      features and derivation of basic parameters.

PMID- 9977555
TI  - Anisotropic three-dimensional XY model and vortex-loop scaling.

PMID- 9977556
TI  - Order of the fundamental vortex transformation in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9977557
TI  - Existence of superconductivity in oxygen-disordered YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9977558
TI  - Nonlinear effective activation energy and field dependence of the critical
      current density in HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9977559
TI  - Hydrostatic-pressure effects on the a-axis resistance of monocrystalline
      Bi2.2(Sr,Ca)2.8Cu2O8+y.

PMID- 9977560
TI  - Superconducting fluctuations in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox thin films: Paraconductivity,
      excess Hall effect, and magnetoconductivity.

PMID- 9977562
TI  - EPR study of the dynamic spin susceptibility in heavily doped YBa2Cu3O6+ delta.

PMID- 9977561
TI  - Magnetic penetration depth in Ni- and Zn-doped YBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7 films.

PMID- 9977563
TI  - Vacuum tunneling spectroscopy and asymmetric density of states of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta.

PMID- 9977564
TI  - Order-parameter symmetries, phase diagrams, and physical properties of two
      dimensional unconventional superconductors. I. d-wave-pairing superconductivity.

PMID- 9977565
TI  - Order-parameter symmetries, phase diagrams, and physical properties of two
      dimensional unconventional superconductors. II. p-wave-pairing superconductivity.

PMID- 9977566
TI  - Electronic excitations in electron-doped cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9977567
TI  - Resistivity as a function of temperature for models with hot spots on the Fermi
      surface.

PMID- 9977568
TI  - Preferential occupancy and composition-driven c-axis variation in
      (Pb0.5Cd0.5)(Sr,Y,Ca)3Cu2O7- delta.

PMID- 9977569
TI  - Pb0.4Bi1.6Sr2CaCu2O8+x and oxygen stoichiometry: Structure, resistivity, Fermi
      surface topology, and normal-state properties.

PMID- 9977570
TI  - Magnetic and charge-transfer phase separation in the three-band t-J model.

PMID- 9977571
TI  - Infrared reflectivity of untwinned YBa2(Cu1-xZnx)3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9977572
TI  - Blue upconversion with excitation into Tm ions at 780 nm in Yb- and Tm-codoped
      fluoride crystals.

PMID- 9977574
TI  - Kinetics of phase transitions in solid solutions of ferroelectric perovskites.

PMID- 9977573
TI  - Phase transitions and amorphization of KH2PO4 at high pressure.

PMID- 9977575
TI  - Localization in fractal spaces: Exact results on the Sierpinski gasket.

PMID- 9977576
TI  - Stability limit of the replica-symmetric phase of a simple quadrupolar glass
      model.

PMID- 9977578
TI  - Effect of 13C isotopic substitution on the Raman spectrum of C60.

PMID- 9977577
TI  - Percolative conduction in two-component strongly nonlinear composites.

PMID- 9977579
TI  - Freezing of the incommensurate modulation dynamics in (PbySn1-y)2P2Se6.

PMID- 9977580
TI  - Phase diagrams of the diluted and random-bond Ising model.

PMID- 9977582
TI  - Relation between magnetic and structural anisotropy in the Ni23Se12(PEt3)13
      cluster compound.

PMID- 9977581
TI  - Circular magnetic dichroism in spin-resolved Fe 3p photoemission.

PMID- 9977584
TI  - Approximate treatment of the spin polarization of a degenerate electron gas in
      the presence of a potential in one dimension.

PMID- 9977583
TI  - Influence of crystalline boundaries on spin- and charge-density waves in
      chromium.

PMID- 9977585
TI  - Thermal properties of gauge fields common to anyon superconductors and spin
      liquids.

PMID- 9977587
TI  - New phase of superconducting NbN stabilized by heteroepitaxial film growth.

PMID- 9977586
TI  - Core-level binding energies of Ba, Sr, Ca, and Y for high-Tc superconductors and
      related oxides: A measure of hole concentration.

PMID- 9977588
TI  - Phase coherence in a two-dimensional array of normal and superconducting wires.

PMID- 9977589
TI  - Delocalization and fragmentation of collective modes in doped 4He drops.

PMID- 9977590
TI  - Josephson coupling, in-plane pinning, and vortex dimensionality in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta.

PMID- 9977591
TI  - Thermal conductivity of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9977593
TI  - Synthesis and magnetism of Bi2Sr2RCu2O8+ delta (R=Y, Pr, and Tb) systems.

PMID- 9977592
TI  - Resistive upper critical field of thin films of underdoped YBa2(Cu0.97Zn0.03)3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9977594
TI  - Melting line with quantum correction in a melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7- delta sample.

PMID- 9977596
TI  - Pressure-temperature phase diagram of solid hydrogen sulfide determined by Raman
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977595
TI  - Consistency between the Lorentz-force independence of the resistive transition in
      the high-Tc superconductors and the standard theory of flux flow.

PMID- 9977597
TI  - Spin-orientation dependence in neutron reflection from a single magnetic film.

PMID- 9977599
TI  - Spin dynamics of La2CuO4 and the two-dimensional Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9977598
TI  - Remarkable difference in the effects of nonmagnetic impurities on the Haldane and
      spin-Peierls systems.

PMID- 9977600
TI  - Photon-activated switch behavior in the single-electron transistor with a
      superconducting island.

PMID- 9977601
TI  - Equivalent phenomena for commensurate vortex states and zero field in a modulated
      sine-Gordon system.

PMID- 9977602
TI  - Role of vortices in the mutual coupling of superconducting and normal-metal
      films.

PMID- 9977604
TI  - Vortex lattice of layered superconductors in parallel magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977603
TI  - Vortex liquid in single-crystal YBa2(Cu1-xFex)3O7- delta of varying anisotropy.

PMID- 9977605
TI  - Exactly solvable model of fermions with disorder.

PMID- 9977606
TI  - Tight-binding electronic-structure calculations and tight-binding molecular
      dynamics with localized orbitals.

PMID- 9977607
TI  - Reflection of electrons and phonon-assisted Landauer resistance.

PMID- 9977608
TI  - Molecular-exciton approach to spin-charge crossovers in dimerized Hubbard and
      excitonic chains.

PMID- 9977609
TI  - Small-signal ac response of an electron gas under a strong dc bias.

PMID- 9977610
TI  - Accuracy of alloy partial densities of states as determined by valence-band
      photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9977611
TI  - Band structure in adaptive curvilinear coordinates.

PMID- 9977612
TI  - Charge redistribution in Au-metalloid intermetallics: A Au L2,3-edge x-ray
      absorption study.

PMID- 9977614
TI  - Vacancy-formation energies for fcc and bcc transition metals.

PMID- 9977613
TI  - Use of the generalized gradient approximation in pseudopotential calculations of
      solids.

PMID- 9977615
TI  - dc-conduction mechanism and Peierls gap in organic and inorganic charge-density
      wave conductors.

PMID- 9977617
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of iron multilayers on Au(001): First-principles calculations
      in terms of the fully relativistic spin-polarized screened KKR method.

PMID- 9977616
TI  - Numerical-renormalization-group approach to Anderson localization.

PMID- 9977618
TI  - Self-consistent full-potential total-energy Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker band-structure
      method: Application to silicon.

PMID- 9977619
TI  - Stability and elastic properties of hydrogen-loaded Ti1-xAlx alloys: An ab initio
      study.

PMID- 9977620
TI  - Optical spectra in (La,Y)TiO3: Variation of Mott-Hubbard gap features with change
      of electron correlation and band filling.

PMID- 9977621
TI  - Behavior of chi (2) during a laser-induced phase transition in GaAs.

PMID- 9977623
TI  - Exchange energies, bound magnetic polarons, and magnetization in CdSe:Co and
      CdS:Co.

PMID- 9977622
TI  - Influence of annealing on the hydrogen bonding and the microstructure of
      diamondlike and polymerlike hydrogenated amorphous carbon films.

PMID- 9977624
TI  - Microscopic structure and multiple charge states of a PtH2 complex in Si.

PMID- 9977625
TI  - Low-temperature transport properties of p-type CoSb3.

PMID- 9977626
TI  - Time-resolved IR-absorption spectroscopy of hot-electron dynamics in satellite
      and upper conduction bands in GaP.

PMID- 9977627
TI  - Donor-acceptor pair recombination in synthetic type-IIb semiconducting diamond.

PMID- 9977629
TI  - Transverse-velocity-fluctuation autocorrelation function of holes in silicon: The
      effect of valence-band anisotropy.

PMID- 9977628
TI  - Far-infrared picosecond time-resolved measurement of the free-induction decay in
      GaAs:Si.

PMID- 9977630
TI  - First-principles pseudopotential study of the structural phases of silicon.

PMID- 9977631
TI  - Photoconductivity response time in amorphous semiconductors.

PMID- 9977632
TI  - First-principles studies of the structural and optical properties of crystalline
      poly(para-phenylene).

PMID- 9977633
TI  - Lithium passivation and electric-field-assisted reactivation of acceptors in
      GaAs.

PMID- 9977634
TI  - Anomalous tunneling in a strong magnetic field and smooth random potential: The
      universal distribution of the localization lengths.

PMID- 9977635
TI  - Formation of anion vacancies by Langmuir evaporation from InP and GaAs (110)
      surfaces at low temperatures.

PMID- 9977636
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation study of the electronic structure of fcc Mn thin films
      grown on a GaAs(001) surface.

PMID- 9977637
TI  - Kinetics of CuPt-type ordered phase formation in III-V semiconductor alloys
      during (001) epitaxial growth due to step flow.

PMID- 9977638
TI  - Disordered structure of cubic iron silicide films on Si(111).

PMID- 9977639
TI  - Magnetoanisotropy in Zn1-xMnxSe strained epilayers.

PMID- 9977640
TI  - Hot-electron magnetotransport in quantum wires.

PMID- 9977641
TI  - Phonon satellite strengths in the photoluminescence spectra of a type-II
      GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As superlattice at elevated pressures.

PMID- 9977642
TI  - Hydrogen interactions with cavities in helium-implanted germanium.

PMID- 9977643
TI  - Observation of the integer quantum Hall effect by magnetic coupling to a Corbino
      ring.

PMID- 9977645
TI  - Phonon-mediated asymmetric Fano profiles in a semiconductor quantum well.

PMID- 9977644
TI  - Influence of the depolarization effect on second-harmonic generation in
      asymmetric quantum wells.

PMID- 9977646
TI  - Electronic structure of AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs-AlyGa1-yAs single quantum wells subjected
      to in-plane magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977647
TI  - Excitonic properties and resonance widths in biased (Ga,In)As-GaAs double quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9977648
TI  - Intersubband transitions in InAs/AlSb quantum wells studied by resonant Raman
      scattering.

PMID- 9977649
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of (ZnS)n/(Si2)m superlattices.

PMID- 9977650
TI  - Classical and weak localization processes in a tunable ballistic-electron cavity.

PMID- 9977651
TI  - Electronic structure of (Zn,Cd)(S,Se)-based polytype superlattices.

PMID- 9977653
TI  - Spectral boundary of a positive random potential in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9977652
TI  - Exciton states in two-dimensional systems of GaAs/AlAs multi-quantum-well
      structures under high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977654
TI  - Resonant magnetopolaron effect in D- centers in quantum wells.

PMID- 9977655
TI  - Theory of photoluminescence of magnetopolarons in quantum wells containing high
      densities of electrons.

PMID- 9977656
TI  - Surface structure transitions on InAs and GaAs (001) surfaces.

PMID- 9977657
TI  - Approach to mesoscopic magnetic measurements.

PMID- 9977658
TI  - Ballistic propagation of interface optical phonons.

PMID- 9977659
TI  - Theory of the elasto-optic coupling for surface Brillouin scattering in a
      supported bilayer.

PMID- 9977660
TI  - Light-scattering study of the localization of longitudinal acoustic pseudomodes
      in a buried silica layer.

PMID- 9977661
TI  - Quantum transport in antidot arrays in magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977662
TI  - Influence of atomic-scale roughness on Raman selection rules in the ultrathin
      layer (GaAs)n1(AlAs)n2 superlattices.

PMID- 9977663
TI  - Structure of fractional edge states: A composite-fermion approach.

PMID- 9977664
TI  - Real-space approach to the multicomponent-envelope-function problem in
      semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9977665
TI  - Nanocrystals of diluted magnetic semiconductors: Model for magnetic polaron.

PMID- 9977666
TI  - Composite fermions and the energy gap in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9977667
TI  - Many-body effects and carrier dynamics in CdSe/CdS Stark superlattices.

PMID- 9977668
TI  - Electron relaxation times due to the deformation-potential interaction of
      electrons with confined acoustic phonons in a free-standing quantum well.

PMID- 9977669
TI  - Nonresonant carrier transport through high-field domains in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9977670
TI  - Microscopic structure of the discommensurate phases in Ge(111)/Ga. I. Atomic
      structure within domains.

PMID- 9977671
TI  - Microscopic structure of the discommensurate phases in Ge(111)/Ga. II. Domain
      superstructure and discommensurations.

PMID- 9977672
TI  - Thermal decomposition of a fullerene mix.

PMID- 9977673
TI  - Electronic structure of Au and Ag overlayers on Ru(001): The behavior of the
      noble-metal d bands.

PMID- 9977674
TI  - Surface diffusion of H on Ni(100): Interpretation of the transition temperature.

PMID- 9977675
TI  - Nearest-neighbor influence on hydrocarbon adsorption on diamond (111) studied by
      ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9977676
TI  - Interpretations of atomic-resolution images in atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9977678
TI  - Comprehensive photoluminescence-detected magnetic-resonance study of C60 and C70
      glasses and films.

PMID- 9977677
TI  - Localization and the field intensity of surface-phonon polaritons.

PMID- 9977679
TI  - Charge transfer and structure in C60 adsorption on metal surfaces.

PMID- 9977680
TI  - Temperature-dependent vibrational spectra of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9977681
TI  - Structure and bonding at metal-ceramic interfaces: Ag/CdO(001).

PMID- 9977683
TI  - Attractive step-step interactions, tricriticality, and faceting in the
      orientational phase diagram of silicon surfaces between

PMID- 9977682
TI  - Second-harmonic generation from C60 thin films at 1.064 microm.

PMID- 9977684
TI  - Conductivity of metallic films and multilayers.

PMID- 9977686
TI  - Quantum size effect on optical absorption in a small spherical shell.

PMID- 9977685
TI  - Tuning and breakdown of faceting under externally applied stress.

PMID- 9977687
TI  - Darwin theory of heterostructure diffraction.

PMID- 9977688
TI  - Theory of Brillouin scattering from corrugated surfaces.

PMID- 9977689
TI  - Origin of the high-binding-energy structure in the 3d core-level spectra of
      divalent Eu compounds.

PMID- 9977690
TI  - Changes in the electronic structure of Ti4O7 across the semiconductor
      semiconductor-metal transitions.

PMID- 9977691
TI  - Optical conductivity in the Mott-Hubbard insulator V2O3.

PMID- 9977692
TI  - Self-consistent first-principles technique with linear scaling.

PMID- 9977693
TI  - Effective-mass single and double acceptor spectra in GaAs.

PMID- 9977694
TI  - Surface structure of Si(100)-(1 x 1)-2H determined by tensor LEED: Substrate
      interlayer relaxations.

PMID- 9977695
TI  - Unusual island structures in Ag growth on Si(100)-(2 x 1).

PMID- 9977697
TI  - Persistent currents in the presence of a transport current.

PMID- 9977696
TI  - Domain-wall kinetics and tunneling-induced instabilities in superlattices.

PMID- 9977698
TI  - Charge-flux composites and fractional statistics.

PMID- 9977699
TI  - Capacitance of gated GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures subject to in-plane
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977700
TI  - Dispersion of exciton polaritons in cavity-embedded quantum wells.

PMID- 9977701
TI  - Calculation of surface-induced optical anisotropy for a dipolium model via d
      parameter theory.

PMID- 9977702
TI  - Soft incommensurate reconstruction on Pb/Si(111): Structure, stress modulation,
      and phase transition.

PMID- 9977703
TI  - Electronic band structure of the Pt{100} surface.

PMID- 9977704
TI  - Surface structure of epitaxial Gd(0001) films on W(110) studied by quantitative
      LEED analysis.

PMID- 9977705
TI  - Surface-structure determination using anomalous x-ray scattering: Underpotential
      deposition of copper on Pt(111).

PMID- 9977706
TI  - Dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in C60: Self-trapped excitons and resonant Raman
      scattering.

PMID- 9977707
TI  - Implications of Fumi's theorem for auxiliary particle methods.

PMID- 9977708
TI  - Anomalous photoconductance band in C60 single crystal.

PMID- 9977710
TI  - Electron and light-hole energy oscillations and band overlapping in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9977709
TI  - Pulsed-light-induced annealing of metastable defects in hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9977711
TI  - Excitonic enhancement of optical gain in quantum wells.

PMID- 9977712
TI  - Exciton dynamics within growth islands of GaAs/Al0.17Ga0.83As single quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9977713
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in a one-dimensional lateral superlattice: Nearly
      dissipationless transport across high potential barriers.

PMID- 9977714
TI  - Soft-x-ray Faraday rotation at Fe L2,3 edges.

PMID- 9977716
TI  - Photoemission from the valence band of C60: Bandwidth and phonon broadening.

PMID- 9977715
TI  - Direct probing of the adsorbate-substrate chemical bond using angle-dependent x
      ray-emission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977717
TI  - Reflection (e,2e) spectroscopy on surfaces.

PMID- 9977719
TI  - Appearance and disappearance of polarization and intensity oscillation of
      secondary electrons emitted from Au/Fe.

PMID- 9977718
TI  - Nonlocal effects in the resistance of one-dimensional wires with dangling side
      branches.

PMID- 9977721
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group studies of the alternating Hubbard model.

PMID- 9977720
TI  - Erratum: Evidence for rhombohedral boron nitride in cubic boron nitride films
      grown by ion-assisted deposition

PMID- 9977722
TI  - Theory of the metal-insulator transition in dicyanoquinonediimine salt mixed
      valence organic conductors.

PMID- 9977724
TI  - Shubnikov-de Haas effect in low-stage acceptor-type graphite intercalation
      compounds.

PMID- 9977723
TI  - Kondo insulators modeled by the one-dimensional Anderson lattice: A numerical
      renormalization-group study.

PMID- 9977725
TI  - High-energy electron-energy-loss study of sodium-tungsten bronzes.

PMID- 9977727
TI  - Theory of the direct and indirect forces for a single impurity atom in the
      electron gas.

PMID- 9977726
TI  - X-ray-scattering study of charge- and spin-density waves in chromium.

PMID- 9977728
TI  - Verwey transition in magnetite: Finite-temperature mean-field solution of the
      Cullen-Callen model.

PMID- 9977729
TI  - Pressure effects on electron charge densities and lattice dynamics in CsCl and
      CsI.

PMID- 9977730
TI  - Phase stabilities in the Pt-W system: Thermodynamic and electronic-structure
      calculations.

PMID- 9977732
TI  - Superconductivity in an exactly solvable Hubbard model with bond-charge
      interaction.

PMID- 9977731
TI  - Electronic structure of CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9977733
TI  - Electronic structure of Be2C.

PMID- 9977734
TI  - Selectively excited core-to-core fluorescence of potassium halides.

PMID- 9977735
TI  - Exact renormalization procedure for conductance fluctuations for hierarchical
      lattices.

PMID- 9977736
TI  - Anderson-Hubbard model in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9977737
TI  - Density-functional theory and the v-representability problem for model strongly
      correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9977738
TI  - Effects of the spin-orbit interaction in Heusler compounds: Electronic structures
      and Fermi surfaces of NiMnSb and PtMnSb.

PMID- 9977739
TI  - Band gap and stability in the ternary intermetallic compounds NiSnM (M=Ti,Zr,Hf):
      A first-principles study.

PMID- 9977740
TI  - Electronic properties of icosahedral systems: Energy spectrum, wave functions,
      and dc conductance.

PMID- 9977741
TI  - Short- and long-range-order effects on the electronic properties of III-V
      semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9977742
TI  - Strain-induced birefringence in GaAs.

PMID- 9977743
TI  - Calculations of local and gap modes in III-V semiconductors based on ab initio
      descriptions of the host crystals.

PMID- 9977744
TI  - X-ray photogeneration in amorphous selenium: Geminate versus columnar
      recombination.

PMID- 9977745
TI  - Frenkel pairs in low-temperature electron-irradiated InP: X-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9977746
TI  - Dislocation-related electroluminescence at room temperature in plastically
      deformed silicon.

PMID- 9977747
TI  - Identifying and quantifying point defects in semiconductors using x-ray
      absorption spectroscopy: Si-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9977748
TI  - Resonantly excited photoluminescence spectra of porous silicon.

PMID- 9977750
TI  - Ab initio ground-state correlation calculations for semiconductors with the local
      ansatz.

PMID- 9977749
TI  - Supersymmetry and electron-hole excitations in semiconductors.

PMID- 9977751
TI  - Electronic structure and phase stability of GaAs1-xNx alloys.

PMID- 9977752
TI  - Electron correlations for ground-state properties of group-IV semiconductors.

PMID- 9977753
TI  - Analysis of the moving-photocarrier-grating technique for the determination of
      mobility and lifetime of photocarriers in semiconductors.

PMID- 9977754
TI  - Variational and diffusion quantum Monte Carlo calculations at nonzero wave
      vectors: Theory and application to diamond-structure germanium.

PMID- 9977755
TI  - Pulse propagation and many-body effects in semiconductor four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9977756
TI  - First-principles study of the compensation mechanism for nitrogen acceptors in
      ZnSe.

PMID- 9977757
TI  - Silicon-hydrogen bonding and hydrogen diffusion in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9977759
TI  - Hole relaxation in p-type InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs quantum wells observed by
      ultrafast midinfrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9977758
TI  - Optical investigations of defects in Cd1-xZnxTe.

PMID- 9977760
TI  - Mechanism of surface reaction in the deposition process of a-Si:H by rf glow
      discharge.

PMID- 9977761
TI  - Ground states of large quantum dots in magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977762
TI  - Luminescence properties of a cubic silicon cluster octasilacubane.

PMID- 9977763
TI  - Spectral statistics of nondiffusive disordered electron systems: A comprehensive
      approach.

PMID- 9977764
TI  - Small calculated second-harmonic generation in Si1Ge1.

PMID- 9977765
TI  - Spectroscopic study of intraminiband and interminiband tunneling in finite
      superlattices.

PMID- 9977766
TI  - Exact solutions for barrier D- states at high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977767
TI  - Effect of the Coulomb interaction on far-infrared absorption in a square-well
      quantum dot.

PMID- 9977768
TI  - Optical nonlinearities in multiple quantum wells: Generalized Elliott formula.

PMID- 9977769
TI  - Control of hydrogenation and modulation of the structural network in Si:H by
      interrupted growth and H-plasma treatment.

PMID- 9977770
TI  - Corrugation-induced transverse voltage in a lateral superlattice.

PMID- 9977771
TI  - Theory of spontaneous-emission lifetime of Wannier excitons in mesoscopic
      semiconductor quantum disks.

PMID- 9977772
TI  - Microscopic many-particle wave functions for the fractional quantum Hall effect
      in periodic geometry.

PMID- 9977773
TI  - Large-angle bond-rotation relaxation for CdTe(110).

PMID- 9977774
TI  - Influence of gauge-field fluctuations on composite fermions near the half-filled
      state.

PMID- 9977775
TI  - Degree and state of polarization of the time-integrated coherent four-wave mixing
      signal from semiconductor multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9977776
TI  - Atomic-scale structure of disordered Ga1-xInxP alloys.

PMID- 9977778
TI  - Nonlinear currents in Voronoi networks.

PMID- 9977777
TI  - Neutral-donor-bound collective excitations in the bulk and in quantum wells.

PMID- 9977779
TI  - Transport properties of a quantum wire in the presence of impurities and long
      range Coulomb forces.

PMID- 9977781
TI  - Degeneracy of multicomponent quantum Hall states satisfying periodic boundary
      conditions.

PMID- 9977780
TI  - Atomic dynamics and structure of the Ge(111)c(2 x 8) surface.

PMID- 9977783
TI  - Solution of the Boltzmann equation in a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9977782
TI  - Orientation as a key parameter in the valence-subband-structure engineering of
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9977785
TI  - Negatively charged magnetoexcitons in quantum dots.

PMID- 9977784
TI  - Charging effects and increasing transparency in double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9977786
TI  - Escape and response times of double-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9977787
TI  - Converse piezoelectric effect in

PMID- 9977788
TI  - Diffusion of electrons in random magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977789
TI  - Phase-diagram study in the half-integral fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9977791
TI  - Persistent currents in a one-dimensional ring for a disordered Hubbard model.

PMID- 9977790
TI  - Polarization dependence of beating phenomena at the energetically lowest exciton
      transition in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9977792
TI  - Influence of hydrogen adsorption on the optical properties of the GaAs(100)-c(4 x
      4) surface.

PMID- 9977794
TI  - Surface stress, surface elasticity, and the size effect in surface segregation.

PMID- 9977793
TI  - Vacancy kinetics and sputtering of GaAs(110).

PMID- 9977795
TI  - Ordered structures in SixGe1-x alloy thin films.

PMID- 9977797
TI  - Formation of mixed metallocarbohedrenes.

PMID- 9977796
TI  - Application of a polarizable point-ion shell model to a two-dimensional periodic
      structure: The NiO (001) surface.

PMID- 9977798
TI  - Size dependence of the lattice parameter of small palladium particles.

PMID- 9977799
TI  - Equilibrium interphase interfaces and premelting of the Pb(110) surface.

PMID- 9977800
TI  - Chemisorption and thermally activated etching of Si(100)-2 x 1 by iodine.

PMID- 9977801
TI  - Effect of stoichiometry on the structure of TiO2(110).

PMID- 9977803
TI  - Spin-resolved x-ray photoemission from ferromagnetic nickel.

PMID- 9977802
TI  - Surface reconstruction of ErSi1.7(0001) investigated by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9977805
TI  - Electron-energy-loss spectroscopy study of C76.

PMID- 9977804
TI  - Conduction-electron screening in the bulk and at low-index surfaces of Ta metal.

PMID- 9977806
TI  - Fractal character of cold-deposited silver films determined by low-temperature
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9977807
TI  - Solution of the inverse scattering problem in specular reflection.

PMID- 9977808
TI  - Epitaxial growth of fcc clusters.

PMID- 9977809
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of palladium clusters supported on
      graphite.

PMID- 9977810
TI  - First-principles study on electronic structure of the (001) surface of SrTiO3.

PMID- 9977812
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of thin-film growth by energetic cluster impact.

PMID- 9977811
TI  - Electron density of (1 x 2)Pt(110) from He reflectivity measurements.

PMID- 9977813
TI  - Theory of electron transport in a two-dimensional layer on the solid hydrogen
      surface.

PMID- 9977814
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy. I. Theoretical framework and coherence effects.

PMID- 9977815
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy. II. Calculation of images of atomic and molecular
      adsorbates.

PMID- 9977817
TI  - Low-temperature properties of epsilon -FeSi from ab initio band theory.

PMID- 9977816
TI  - Interconnection between the period of geometric oscillations in a longitudinal
      field and the Fermi surface.

PMID- 9977818
TI  - Fermi surface in an organic metal, bis(ethylenedioxy)tetrathiafulvalene chloride.

PMID- 9977819
TI  - Electronic structure of Pr in PdPr0.014.

PMID- 9977820
TI  - Optical cross section for the EL2-->EL2(*) metastable transformation.

PMID- 9977822
TI  - Dimensionality of exciton-state renormalization in highly excited semiconductors.

PMID- 9977821
TI  - Evidence for the formation of tellurium-hydrogen complexes in crystalline
      silicon.

PMID- 9977823
TI  - Experimental study of tunneling escape through double-barrier resonant-tunneling
      structures.

PMID- 9977824
TI  - Quantum transport through a one-dimensional ring with tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9977825
TI  - Far-infrared absorption in coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9977827
TI  - Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in nearly parallel magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9977826
TI  - Dangling-bond adsorption site for potassium on Si(100)-(2 x 1).

PMID- 9977828
TI  - Exchange energy for electrons in two dimensions: Effects of finite temperature
      and finite thickness.

PMID- 9977829
TI  - Josephson phenomena and quantum ferromagnetism in double-layer quantum Hall
      systems.

PMID- 9977830
TI  - Observation of extreme field-induced mass deviations in double quantum wells.

PMID- 9977832
TI  - Photonic gaps in the dispersion of surface plasmons on gratings.

PMID- 9977831
TI  - Giant field-induced variation of the cyclotron mass in coupled two-dimensional
      electron gases.

PMID- 9977833
TI  - Disorder and absorption edges in ion-irradiated hydrogenated amorphous carbon
      films.

PMID- 9977834
TI  - Morphological instability caused by asymmetry in step kinetics.

PMID- 9977835
TI  - Symmetry properties of chiral carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9977836
TI  - Comment on "Role of interfacial oxide-related defects in the red-light emission
      in porous silicon"

PMID- 9977837
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Role of interfacial oxide-related defects in the red-light
      emission in porous silicon' "

PMID- 9977838
TI  - Exciton dispersion in a structure of N coupled multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9977839
TI  - Ab initio molecular dynamics in adaptive coordinates.

PMID- 9977840
TI  - Two-peak photoluminescence and light-emitting mechanism of porous silicon.

PMID- 9977841
TI  - Stability and dynamics of surface vacancies on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9977842
TI  - Ab initio study of structure and dynamics of the Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9977843
TI  - Subpicosecond spectroscopy of the optical nonlinearities of CuCl quantum dots.

PMID- 9977844
TI  - Interface exciton magnetic polaron in ZnSe/Zn1-xMnxSe quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9977845
TI  - Phase coherence and trajectory trapping around one or two independently
      controllable antidots in quantum wires.

PMID- 9977847
TI  - Multistability of conductance in doped semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9977846
TI  - chi (5) signature in the four-wave-mixing signal from a GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As
      superlattice.

PMID- 9977848
TI  - Determination of mode-cutoff wavelengths and refractive-index profile of planar
      optical waveguides with a photon scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9977850
TI  - Convergent real-space cluster expansion for configurational disorder in ionic
      systems.

PMID- 9977849
TI  - Synthesis of BxCyNz nanotubules.

PMID- 9977851
TI  - High-pressure behavior in alpha -AlPO4: Amorphization and the memory-glass
      effect.

PMID- 9977853
TI  - Fracture simulations using large-scale molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9977852
TI  - Defect clustering and self-healing of electron-irradiated boron-rich solids.

PMID- 9977855
TI  - Using parametric B splines to fit specular reflectivities.

PMID- 9977854
TI  - Modeling the O2--O2- interaction for atomistic simulations.

PMID- 9977856
TI  - Phonon anomaly, central peak, and microstructures in Ni2MnGa.

PMID- 9977857
TI  - NMR study of ammonium magnesium langbeinite.

PMID- 9977858
TI  - Phase diagram for UPd3 subject to symmetry-breaking stress and magnetic field.

PMID- 9977859
TI  - X-ray-scattering study of the cubic-to-tetragonal transition and its precursive
      phenomenon in V3Si.

PMID- 9977860
TI  - Water diffusion in zeolite 4A beds measured by broad-line magnetic resonance
      imaging.

PMID- 9977861
TI  - Lifshitz tail in a model of interacting particles.

PMID- 9977862
TI  - Nonexponentiality and thermal variation of nuclear relaxation in glasses.

PMID- 9977863
TI  - Transition between flocculation and percolation of a diffusion-limited cluster
      cluster aggregation process using three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation.

PMID- 9977864
TI  - Electronic structure of decagonal Al65Co15Cu20 and Al70Co15Ni15.

PMID- 9977865
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of interface alloying.

PMID- 9977866
TI  - Resonant nonlinear optical properties and excited-state dynamics of pristine,
      oxygen-doped, and photopolymerized C60 in the solid state.

PMID- 9977867
TI  - Quantum mechanics, quantum-classical correspondence, thermodynamics, and response
      of a small anharmonic periodic chain.

PMID- 9977869
TI  - Perturbative approach to the dynamics of a linear chain with hierarchical
      coupling.

PMID- 9977868
TI  - Intermolecular Raman scattering and electron-energy-loss studies of AxC60.

PMID- 9977870
TI  - Advances in the effective-potential Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9977871
TI  - Enhanced nonlinear response of fractal clusters.

PMID- 9977872
TI  - Tunneling systems in polycrystalline metals: Absence of electron-assisted
      relaxation.

PMID- 9977873
TI  - Femtosecond spectroscopy of electron-electron and electron-phonon energy
      relaxation in Ag and Au.

PMID- 9977874
TI  - Strongly correlated spin-phonon systems: A scenario for heavy fermions.

PMID- 9977875
TI  - Individual-domain-wall motion in Ni0.77Mn0.23 observed via resistance
      fluctuations.

PMID- 9977876
TI  - Importance of electronic structure of the M ions for the heavy-fermion behavior
      in CexM1-xPb3 (M=Y,Th).

PMID- 9977877
TI  - Magnetic behavior of transition-metal impurities in alkali-earth metals.

PMID- 9977879
TI  - Nuclear magnetic resonance on oriented nuclei: Resonance shift with the external
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9977878
TI  - Double-peak structure of the dynamical structure factor in diluted Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9977880
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetic properties of LaFeO3 at high pressure.

PMID- 9977882
TI  - Critical behavior of randomly pinned spin-density waves.

PMID- 9977881
TI  - Possibility for an intermediate-spin ground state in the charge-transfer material
      SrCoO3.

PMID- 9977883
TI  - Theory of electromagnetic modes of a magnetic superlattice in a transverse
      magnetic field: An effective-medium approach.

PMID- 9977884
TI  - Aggregation and segregation in a mixture of magnetic and nonmagnetic particles.

PMID- 9977885
TI  - Enhanced magnetization of nanoscale colloidal cobalt particles.

PMID- 9977887
TI  - Empty electronic states in magnetic thin films: Fe on Au(100), Ag(100), and
      Cu(100).

PMID- 9977886
TI  - Ferrimagnetism in diluted mixed Ising spin systems.

PMID- 9977888
TI  - Possibility of various magnetic configurations in the Cr (Fe) monolayer deposited
      on vicinal surfaces of Fe (Cr).

PMID- 9977889
TI  - Superfluidity of lattice semions.

PMID- 9977890
TI  - Magnetization and resistivity of UNi4B in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9977891
TI  - Spin dynamics of the triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnet: A Schwinger-boson
      approach.

PMID- 9977892
TI  - Effective lattice actions for correlated electrons.

PMID- 9977893
TI  - Orbital magnetization in the hopping regime.

PMID- 9977894
TI  - Nonplanar spiral states of the t-J model with classical spins.

PMID- 9977895
TI  - Correlation of impurity potential, s-d scattering, and giant magnetoresistance in
      magnetic granular alloys.

PMID- 9977897
TI  - Enhanced magnetism in amorphous Co-Y alloys: An ab initio approach.

PMID- 9977896
TI  - Spatial periodicity of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain with
      competing interactions.

PMID- 9977899
TI  - Theory of anomalous proximity effects in phase-coherent structures.

PMID- 9977898
TI  - Strong-coupling limit of Eliashberg theory.

PMID- 9977900
TI  - Interlayer coupling and the metal-insulator transition in Pr-substituted
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y.

PMID- 9977901
TI  - Heat-capacity studies in the Y5-xDyxOs4Ge10 system.

PMID- 9977903
TI  - Quasiparticle effective mass in the superconducting phase of heavy-fermion
      systems.

PMID- 9977902
TI  - Undulating vortices in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9977905
TI  - Spin and charge dynamics of the two-dimensional t-J model at intermediate
      electron densities: Absence of spin-charge separation.

PMID- 9977904
TI  - Low-angle resistivity anomaly in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9977907
TI  - Stability of the vortex lattice in a rotating superfluid.

PMID- 9977906
TI  - Uniform coupling of microwaves to nonlinear resonant modes in Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9977908
TI  - Optical conductivity of the infinite-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9977909
TI  - Crossover from two- to three-dimensional behavior in superfluids.

PMID- 9977910
TI  - Nonmagnetic impurities in two-dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9977911
TI  - Self-consistent microscopic theory of surface superconductivity.

PMID- 9977912
TI  - Upper critical field in the gauge model.

PMID- 9977914
TI  - Doping dependence of the Fermi surface in the t-J model.

PMID- 9977913
TI  - Superconducting micronets: The Wheatstone bridge.

PMID- 9977915
TI  - Resistivity transitions in applied magnetic fields in epitaxial thin films of Fe-
      and Zn-doped YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9977916
TI  - Relationship between pressure-induced charge transfer and the superconducting
      transition temperature in YBa2Cu3O7- delta superconductors.

PMID- 9977917
TI  - Equilibrium superconducting properties of grain-aligned HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9977918
TI  - Charge transfer in high-Tc superconducting superlattices.

PMID- 9977920
TI  - London penetration depth in a tight-binding model of layered narrow-band
      anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9977921
TI  - Evidence for d-wave superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7- delta from far-infrared
      conductivity.

PMID- 9977919
TI  - Superconductivity in the Sr-Ca-Cu-O system and the phase with infinite-layer
      structure.

PMID- 9977923
TI  - Unusual thickness dependence of the magnetic critical-current density for
      granular high-Tc films.

PMID- 9977922
TI  - Relaxation of persistent current and the energy barrier Ueff(J) close to Tc in a
      grain-aligned YBa2Cu3O7- delta ring.

PMID- 9977924
TI  - Thermoelectric power and resistivity of La1.8Sr0.2CaCu2O6- delta and the effects
      of O2 hot-isostatic-press annealing.

PMID- 9977925
TI  - Role of Ba-site Pr in quenching superconductivity of Y1-yPryBa2Cu3Ox and related
      materials.

PMID- 9977926
TI  - Current-voltage measurements of thin YBa2Cu3O6.9 films compared with a modified
      Ambegaokar-Halperin theory.

PMID- 9977927
TI  - Evaluation of oxygen isotope experiments on Pr-, Ca-, and Zn-substituted
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9977928
TI  - Mechanism of charge-spin separation in the t-J model: Dynamics of U(1) gauge
      theory with multiple gauge fields.

PMID- 9977929
TI  - Existence of hole pockets in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9977930
TI  - Topological defects in the Abrikosov lattice of vortices in type-II
      superconductors.

PMID- 9977931
TI  - Thermal boundary resistance and diffusivity for YBa2Cu3O7- delta films.

PMID- 9977932
TI  - ESR of Gd3+ and Er3+ in Pr2-xCexCuO4.

PMID- 9977933
TI  - Electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta and Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8: Near-O-1s
      threshold excitation x-ray fluorescence studies.

PMID- 9977934
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance study of the dimer state of KC60 and its transformations.

PMID- 9977935
TI  - Localized vibrational modes around bipolarons in polythiophene.

PMID- 9977936
TI  - Nature of the first diffraction peak in glassy selenium.

PMID- 9977937
TI  - Optical phonon modes in GaN and AlN.

PMID- 9977938
TI  - Disorder-induced fluctuations in the magnetic properties of an Anderson-Hubbard
      model.

PMID- 9977940
TI  - Magnetic properties of spherical fcc clusters with radial surface anisotropy.

PMID- 9977939
TI  - Evidence of spin-glass ordering in sputtered Y81.9Tb2.6Si15.5 metallic glasses.

PMID- 9977941
TI  - Flux-lattice melting and depinning in the weakly frustrated two-dimensional XY
      model.

PMID- 9977942
TI  - Possibility of reconciliation on the type of the order parameter in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9977943
TI  - pi -vortex state in a long 0- pi Josephson junction.

PMID- 9977944
TI  - Observation of an electromagnetic absorption peak in the millimeter wave range in
      liquid helium at the superfluid lambda transition.

PMID- 9977945
TI  - Instability in the current-biased 0- pi Josephson junction.

PMID- 9977947
TI  - Numerical investigations on interactions between tangles of quantized vortices
      and second sound.

PMID- 9977946
TI  - Vortex renormalization in three space dimensions.

PMID- 9977948
TI  - Pair breaking by magnetic impurities in ultrathin superconducting films: Tc
      degradation mechanisms in disordered superconductors.

PMID- 9977949
TI  - Critical supersaturation of 3He-4He liquid mixtures at low temperatures.

PMID- 9977950
TI  - Three-dimensional XY scaling of the resistivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single
      crystals.

PMID- 9977951
TI  - CuO2 bilayer containing magnetic impurities.

PMID- 9977952
TI  - Paraconductivity along the a and b axes in YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9977953
TI  - Disorder effects in the t-J model.

PMID- 9977955
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Correlation functions for ionic motion from NMR relaxation
      and electrical conductivity in the glassy fast-ion conductor
      (Li2S)0.56(SiS2)0.44' "

PMID- 9977954
TI  - Comment on "Correlation functions for ionic motion from NMR relaxation and
      electrical conductivity in the glassy fast-ion conductor (Li2S)0.56(SiS2)0.44"

PMID- 9977956
TI  - Critical temperature of two coupled Ising planes.

PMID- 9977957
TI  - Reply to the Comment "Critical temperature of the two coupled Ising planes"

PMID- 9977958
TI  - Comment on "Particle-size effects on the value of TC of MnFe2O4: Evidence for
      finite-size scaling"

PMID- 9977959
TI  - Comment on "Generalization of the Abragam relaxation function to a longitudinal
      field"

PMID- 9977960
TI  - Comment on "Angle dependence of the upper critical field of superconducting
      superlattices"

PMID- 9977961
TI  - Room-temperature compressibility of C60: Intercalation effects with He, Ne, and
      Ar.

PMID- 9977962
TI  - Conducting phase of rapidly cooled AC60 (A=Cs and Rb).

PMID- 9977963
TI  - High-pressure phase of copper(I) iodide.

PMID- 9977964
TI  - Hydrogenation of titanium-based quasicrystals.

PMID- 9977965
TI  - Absence of a first-order metamagnetic transition in CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9977967
TI  - Induced Rh magnetic moments in Fe-Rh and Co-Rh alloys using x-ray magnetic
      circular dichroism.

PMID- 9977966
TI  - Spatial distribution of mobile holes in the t-J model.

PMID- 9977968
TI  - Anomalous flux pinning in a torus of thoriated UBe13.

PMID- 9977969
TI  - Quasiparticle dispersion of the t-J and Hubbard models.

PMID- 9977970
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the c-axis plasma edge of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9977971
TI  - Additive quasiparticle and vortex Hall conductivities in La2-xSrxCuO4 and
      untwinned YBa2Cu3O6.93.

PMID- 9977973
TI  - Erratum: Electron-phonon interaction near Van Hove singularities

PMID- 9977972
TI  - Distribution of magnetic flux in high-Tc grain-boundary junctions enclosing
      hexagonal and triangular areas.

PMID- 9977974
TI  - Erratum: Vortex depinning frequency in YBa2Cu3O7-x superconducting thin films:
      Anisotropy and temperature dependence

PMID- 9977975
TI  - Erratum: Ginzburg-Landau theory of fluctuation magnetization of two-dimensional
      superconductors

PMID- 9977976
TI  - Nitrogen diffusion and distribution in the Y2Fe17 lattice.

PMID- 9977977
TI  - In situ high-pressure x-ray-diffraction study of TlReO4 to 14.5 GPa: Pressure
      induced phase transformations and the equation of state.

PMID- 9977978
TI  - Model of track formation.

PMID- 9977979
TI  - Neutron-powder-diffraction study of the long-range order in the octahedral
      sublattice of LaD2.25.

PMID- 9977980
TI  - Relaxation effects during the densification of ultrafine powders at high
      hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9977981
TI  - High-pressure laser spectroscopy of Cr3+:Gd3Sc2Ga3O12 and Cr3+:Gd3Ga5O12.

PMID- 9977982
TI  - Decomposition of Fe2B by mechanical grinding.

PMID- 9977983
TI  - High-pressure synthesis, characterization, and equation of state of cubic C-BN
      solid solutions.

PMID- 9977985
TI  - EPR evidence of extrinsic symmetry-breaking defects in nominally pure KTaO3.

PMID- 9977984
TI  - Features of incommensurate phases in K2SeO4, K2ZnCl4, and Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9977986
TI  - Phase separation in sputtered amorphous metal-germanium alloys.

PMID- 9977988
TI  - Swift-uranium-ion-induced damage in sapphire.

PMID- 9977987
TI  - Mossbauer and energy-dispersive x-ray-diffraction studies of the pressure-induced
      crystallographic phase transition in C-type Yb2O3.

PMID- 9977989
TI  - Sputtering of LiF films induced by low-energy Ar+ impact.

PMID- 9977990
TI  - Determination of internal strain by optical measurements.

PMID- 9977991
TI  - Pressure-induced polymorphism in CuCl: An ab initio study.

PMID- 9977992
TI  - Diffuse x-ray scattering from thin films with defects.

PMID- 9977993
TI  - Dimerization in KC60 and RbC60.

PMID- 9977994
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of hydrogen diffusion in niobium.

PMID- 9977995
TI  - Theory and computer simulation of diffuse scattering from lattice-gas models:
      Structure-factor calculations for the high-temperature superconductor
      YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9977996
TI  - Long-range intensity correlations in wave reflection from a disordered medium.

PMID- 9977997
TI  - Saxon-Hutner-Luttinger theorem in various physical models in one dimension.

PMID- 9977998
TI  - Energy master equation: A low-temperature approximation to Bassler's random-walk
      model.

PMID- 9978000
TI  - Comparison of neutron-scattering data for tetrahedral amorphous carbon with
      structural models.

PMID- 9977999
TI  - Glass-transition dynamics of a polyurethane gel using ultrasonic spectroscopy,
      dynamic light scattering, and dynamical mechanical thermal analysis.

PMID- 9978002
TI  - Short-range order in crystalline, amorphous, liquid, and supercooled germanium
      probed by x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978001
TI  - Quantum interference in liquid metals.

PMID- 9978003
TI  - Raman scattering study and lattice-dynamics investigation of the NaMnF3
      perovskite.

PMID- 9978005
TI  - Isotopic order by phonon-induced interactions.

PMID- 9978004
TI  - Soliton excitations in one-dimensional diatomic lattices.

PMID- 9978006
TI  - Extrapolation to infinite Trotter number in path-integral Monte Carlo simulations
      of solid-state systems.

PMID- 9978008
TI  - Numerical studies of chiral ordering in three-dimensional XY spin glasses.

PMID- 9978007
TI  - Phenomenologial dynamics of C70.

PMID- 9978010
TI  - Two-dimensional spin-polarized states of Ag on Fe(100).

PMID- 9978009
TI  - Zero-point spin fluctuations and the magnetovolume effect in itinerant-electron
      magnetism.

PMID- 9978011
TI  - Spin excitations in the longitudinally modulated magnetic phase of erbium.

PMID- 9978013
TI  - Interference of scattering pathways in Raman heterodyne spectroscopy of
      multilevel atoms.

PMID- 9978012
TI  - Effect of carbon substitution on the magnetic properties and crystalline phases
      of melt-spun Nd4Fe77.5B18.5 alloys.

PMID- 9978014
TI  - Crystal-field excitations and magnetic properties of Ho3+ in HoVO4.

PMID- 9978016
TI  - Magnetic properties of some equiatomic ternary rare-earth compounds.

PMID- 9978015
TI  - Finite-temperature phase diagram of the t-J model: Renormalization-group theory.

PMID- 9978017
TI  - Monte Carlo study of magnetic order at ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic
      surfaces: Implications for spin-polarized photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9978019
TI  - Quantum-field-theory approach to the Heisenberg Hamiltonian, modified spin-wave
      theory, and application to an antiferromagnet with a square lattice.

PMID- 9978018
TI  - Single-crystal and powder electron-nuclear double resonance of RbCl:O2-: A
      comparison between the spin Hamiltonian parameters obtained from both
      experiments.

PMID- 9978020
TI  - Theory of spin-polarized angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of
      ferromagnetic nickel surfaces.

PMID- 9978021
TI  - Competing hybridization and consequences for magnetic ordering in ternary and
      quaternary correlated-electron systems.

PMID- 9978022
TI  - Magnetic and hyperfine properties of fcc Fe.

PMID- 9978023
TI  - Static critical behavior of the ferromagnetic Ising model on the quasiperiodic
      octagonal tiling.

PMID- 9978024
TI  - Internal friction of dislocations in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9978025
TI  - Kondo effect in systems of reduced dimensionality.

PMID- 9978026
TI  - Frustrated bonds and long-range order in quasi-two-dimensional magnets.

PMID- 9978027
TI  - Perpendicular anisotropy and spin reorientation in epitaxial Fe/Cu3Au(100) thin
      films.

PMID- 9978029
TI  - Asymptotic critical behavior of Ni.

PMID- 9978028
TI  - Thermodynamics of the exactly solvable two-chain and multichain quantum spin
      models.

PMID- 9978030
TI  - Experimental and theoretical study of extremely dilute Sc and Fe impurities in Gd
      and Tb.

PMID- 9978031
TI  - Magnetic phases of the two-dimensional Hubbard model at low doping.

PMID- 9978032
TI  - Magnetic properties of the dipolar Heisenberg antiferromagnet Gd in GdBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9978033
TI  - Spin-resolved substrate band mapping in Fe/Cu(100): Application of the spin
      filter effect.

PMID- 9978034
TI  - Band-theoretical investigation of the magneto-optical Kerr effect in Fe and Co
      multilayers.

PMID- 9978035
TI  - Pressure effects and specific heat in superconducting HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9978036
TI  - Temperature dependence of even-odd electron-number effects in the single-electron
      transistor with a superconducting island.

PMID- 9978037
TI  - Phase transition in the lattice Coulomb gas.

PMID- 9978038
TI  - Effect of an interband interaction on narrow-band superconductivity.

PMID- 9978039
TI  - Thermal expansion and magnetostriction of superconducting URu2Si2.

PMID- 9978040
TI  - Superconductivity in spinel-type compounds CuRh2S4 and CuRh2Se4.

PMID- 9978041
TI  - Soliton localization in disordered one-dimensional Josephson transmission lines.

PMID- 9978043
TI  - Density-density response of dilute 3He-4He mixtures at low temperatures.

PMID- 9978042
TI  - Inductance effects and dimensionality crossover in hybrid superconducting arrays.

PMID- 9978044
TI  - Influence of oxygen stoichiometry on the irreversible magnetization and flux
      creep in RBa2Cu3O7- delta (R=Y,Tm) single crystals.

PMID- 9978045
TI  - Semiempirical estimation of the intermolecular electron-phonon coupling in K3C60
      and Rb3C60.

PMID- 9978046
TI  - Critical behavior of superfluid 4He films adsorbed in aerogel glass.

PMID- 9978047
TI  - Effect of memory and dynamical chaos in long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9978048
TI  - Charge and spin ordering in La2-xSrxNiO4.00 with x=0.135 and 0.20.

PMID- 9978049
TI  - Cation distributions and possible phase separation in Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta from
      synchrotron powder x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9978050
TI  - Field-induced granularity in a well-textured (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy tape.

PMID- 9978051
TI  - Determination of oxygen content and cation valences in superconducting Tl-based
      cuprates by a wet chemical method.

PMID- 9978052
TI  - Effect of columnar defects on the elastic behavior of vortices in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta thin films.

PMID- 9978053
TI  - Relation of local Cu2+ spins, crystal microstructure, and charge transport in the
      CuO2 plane in Bi2Sr2CuOy.

PMID- 9978055
TI  - Influence of a surface-depressed order parameter on the Josephson critical
      current in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x nonhysteretic break junctions.

PMID- 9978054
TI  - Time dependence of the paramagnetic Meissner effect: Comparison between model
      calculations and experiments.

PMID- 9978057
TI  - Effective Coulomb interactions between doped carriers in the high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9978056
TI  - Unpaired vortices and layer decoupling in quasi-two-dimensional superconductors:
      A model calculation.

PMID- 9978058
TI  - Frenkel excitons in random systems with correlated Gaussian disorder.

PMID- 9978060
TI  - Strong evidence of an isotope effect in the diffusion of a NaCl and CsCl
      solution.

PMID- 9978059
TI  - Scattering times and mean free path in AlCuFe quasicrystalline thin films.

PMID- 9978062
TI  - Phase locking in a thermostat: Fermi resonance in metals.

PMID- 9978061
TI  - Energy spectra and level statistics of Fibonacci and Thue-Morse chains.

PMID- 9978063
TI  - Inverse magnetoresistance in the simple spin-valve system Fe1-xVx/Au/Co.

PMID- 9978064
TI  - Phonon anomalies at the magnetic phase transition in SrRuO3.

PMID- 9978065
TI  - Magnetic and nonmagnetic Ce in the borocarbides.

PMID- 9978066
TI  - Simple theory of giant magnetoresistance in a magnetic trilayer.

PMID- 9978067
TI  - Magnetism of 4d and 5d adlayers on Ag(001) and Au(001): Comparison between a
      nonrelativistic and a fully relativistic approach.

PMID- 9978068
TI  - Quantum effects on the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the
      ferromagnetic two-dimensional XXZ model.

PMID- 9978069
TI  - Positive field-cooled dc susceptibility in granular superconductors interpreted
      through numerical simulations on a simple Josephson-junction-array model.

PMID- 9978070
TI  - Composition dependence of the oxygen isotope effect in Ba1-xKxBiO3: Evidence for
      oxygen-mass dependence of the coupling constant.

PMID- 9978072
TI  - Role of orthorhombic distortion, second-nearest-neighbor hopping, and Coulomb
      repulsion on the superconducting transition temperature and isotope-shift
      exponent.

PMID- 9978071
TI  - Superconducting anisotropy of YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9978073
TI  - Roton-pair creation by electron bubbles in helium.

PMID- 9978075
TI  - Dynamics of supercooled water: Mode-coupling theory approach.

PMID- 9978074
TI  - Dissipation in high-temperature superconductors: From short- to long-range
      percolative order.

PMID- 9978076
TI  - Supercooled liquid dynamics for the charged hard-sphere model.

PMID- 9978077
TI  - Calculation of the strain-induced shifts in the infrared-absorption peaks of
      cubic boron nitride.

PMID- 9978078
TI  - Selection rules for oscillations of the interlayer exchange coupling as a
      function of ferromagnet thickness.

PMID- 9978079
TI  - Unrestricted Hartree-Fock study of transition-metal oxides: Spin and orbital
      ordering in perovskite-type lattice.

PMID- 9978080
TI  - Giant anomalies of the thermal expansion at the spin-Peierls transition in
      CuGeO3.

PMID- 9978081
TI  - Evidence of dilution-induced Griffiths instabilities in K2Cu1-xZnxF4 and Fe1
      xZnxF2.

PMID- 9978082
TI  - More evidence for magnetic ordering in CeCu6 at mK temperatures.

PMID- 9978083
TI  - Exactly solvable nonequilibrium Kondo problem.

PMID- 9978085
TI  - Tunnel junctions of unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9978084
TI  - Origin of the R-ion effect on Tc in RBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9978086
TI  - Flux-line crossing in the vortex-liquid phase of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9978087
TI  - Generic superconducting phase behavior in high-Tc cuprates: Tc variation with
      hole concentration in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9978088
TI  - Interplay between electron-electron interactions and impurities in one
      dimensional rings.

PMID- 9978089
TI  - Construction of tight-binding-like potentials on the basis of density-functional
      theory: Application to carbon.

PMID- 9978090
TI  - Ground-state properties of ordered, partially ordered, and random Cu-Au and Ni-Pt
      alloys.

PMID- 9978091
TI  - Organization of infrared effects in the resonating-valence-bond gauge theory.

PMID- 9978092
TI  - Impurity-induced modulations in NbSe3 detected by atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9978093
TI  - Mean-field energies of spin-flux phases.

PMID- 9978094
TI  - Electronic structure of organic superconductors kappa -(ET)2Cu

PMID- 9978096
TI  - Ensuring the constancy of the chemical potential within the local-density
      approximation for exchange and correlation: Implications for near-edge x-ray
      absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9978095
TI  - Detailed microscopic calculation of phonon-mediated electron-electron scattering
      in aluminum.

PMID- 9978097
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of three phases of titanium dioxide: Rutile,
      anatase, and brookite.

PMID- 9978098
TI  - Lanczos-type algorithm for excited states of very-large-scale quantum systems.

PMID- 9978099
TI  - Proof for an upper bound in fixed-node Monte Carlo for lattice fermions.

PMID- 9978100
TI  - Consistent bosonization treatment of interacting fermion systems in dimensions
      higher than one: Requirement for a Luttinger-liquid state.

PMID- 9978101
TI  - Integral thermodynamic properties of Mo and W in the nonempirical effective
      potential approach.

PMID- 9978102
TI  - Correlation effect on magnetoconductance in the strongly localized regime with
      spin-orbit interaction.

PMID- 9978103
TI  - Electronic correlations in the excited states of the Hubbard model on a
      tetrahedron.

PMID- 9978104
TI  - Perturbation approach to the reflection and transmission of light.

PMID- 9978106
TI  - Conformational influence on the hopping conductivity in pig insulin.

PMID- 9978105
TI  - Observation of high-temperature spin-freezing behavior in Cd1-x-yMnxFeyTe.

PMID- 9978107
TI  - E1, E2, and E0' transitions and pressure dependence in ordered Ga0.5In0.5P.

PMID- 9978109
TI  - Tight-binding study of the {113} planar interstitial defects in Si.

PMID- 9978108
TI  - Visible photoluminescence from silicon-backbone polymers.

PMID- 9978110
TI  - Muon-spin-resonance study of muonium dynamics in Si and its relevance to
      hydrogen.

PMID- 9978112
TI  - Dynamic bond-strength variation for hydrogen-donor pairs in semiconductors.

PMID- 9978111
TI  - First-principles calculations of the energy barrier to dislocation motion in Si
      and GaAs.

PMID- 9978113
TI  - Relativistic electronic structure, effective masses, and inversion-asymmetry
      effects of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC).

PMID- 9978114
TI  - Conduction- and valence-band effective masses in spontaneously ordered GaInP2.

PMID- 9978115
TI  - Grating-induced cyclotron-resonance anomaly in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9978117
TI  - Internal photoemission spectroscopy for a PtSi/p-type Si Schottky-barrier diode.

PMID- 9978116
TI  - Optical linewidth and field fluctuations in piezoelectric quantum wells.

PMID- 9978118
TI  - Second-order optical susceptibility of biased quantum wells in the interband
      regime.

PMID- 9978119
TI  - Influence of electrode Fermi energy on interband tunneling.

PMID- 9978120
TI  - Calculation and photoresponse measurement of the bound-to-continuum infrared
      absorption in p-type GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978121
TI  - Influence of interface localization on the binding energy of acceptor bound
      excitons in narrow GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978122
TI  - Mesoscopic mechanisms of the photovoltaic effect and microwave absorption in
      granular metals.

PMID- 9978124
TI  - Domain-boundary-induced metastable reconstructions during epitaxial growth of
      Si/Si(111).

PMID- 9978123
TI  - Raman spectra of GaAs with ultrathin InAs layers inserted.

PMID- 9978126
TI  - Defects generated by misfit strain in SiGe/Si(001).

PMID- 9978125
TI  - Thermoelectric figure of merit of composite superlattice systems.

PMID- 9978127
TI  - High-pressure study of the deformation potentials of Cd1-xZnxTe/ZnTe quantum
      wells via photoluminescence.

PMID- 9978128
TI  - Temperature dependence of photoconductivity and noise in CdS-based devices.

PMID- 9978129
TI  - Magnetotransport of a two-dimensional electron gas in a spatially random magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9978130
TI  - Optical investigations in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum wells grown by metalorganic
      molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9978132
TI  - LO-phonon emission in an AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs-AlyGa1-yAs single quantum well with two
      occupied electronic subbands.

PMID- 9978131
TI  - Reduced electron-phonon relaxation rates in quantum-box systems: Theoretical
      analysis.

PMID- 9978133
TI  - Temperature dependence of luminescence efficiency, exciton transfer, and exciton
      localization in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires and quantum dots.

PMID- 9978135
TI  - Rocking-curve analysis of reflection high-energy electron diffraction from the
      Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-Al, -Ga, and -In surfaces.

PMID- 9978134
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the effect of a magnetic field on the Landau-level
      structure of a modulation-doped single heterojunction having two occupied
      subbands.

PMID- 9978136
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance of GaN films grown by organometallic
      chemical-vapor deposition.

PMID- 9978138
TI  - 1s-2p+/- infrared-absorption spectra of donor-doped quantum wells under electric
      and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978137
TI  - Avalanche amplification of multiple resonant tunneling through parallel silicon
      microcrystallites.

PMID- 9978139
TI  - Intersubband optical response of semiconductor quantum wells dressed by strong
      infrared fields.

PMID- 9978140
TI  - Dressed S matrices in models with long-range interactions.

PMID- 9978141
TI  - Ab initio calculations of SiC(110) and GaAs(110) surfaces: A comparative study
      and the role of ionicity.

PMID- 9978142
TI  - Intervalley scattering in GaAs/AlAs resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9978143
TI  - Hydrodynamic electron flow in high-mobility wires.

PMID- 9978144
TI  - Mesoscopic fluctuations of eigenfunctions and level-velocity distribution in
      disordered metals.

PMID- 9978145
TI  - Fano resonances in the magnetoresistance of a quantum wire doped with magnetic
      impurities.

PMID- 9978146
TI  - Single-particle states on a sphere with a magnetic field and disorder.

PMID- 9978147
TI  - Direct pathway for sticking/desorption of H2 on Si(100).

PMID- 9978148
TI  - Persistent spin currents induced by the Aharonov-Casher effect in mesoscopic
      rings.

PMID- 9978149
TI  - Impurity scattering and transport of fractional quantum Hall edge states.

PMID- 9978150
TI  - Acoustic excitations of a confined two-dimensional electron liquid in a magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9978151
TI  - Collective modes of soliton-lattice states in double-quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9978152
TI  - Bipolar charge redistribution in resonant-tunneling light-emitting diodes.

PMID- 9978153
TI  - Cyclotron-resonance measurements on p-type strained-layer Si1-xGex/Si
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9978154
TI  - Structural study of the close-packed two-dimensional phases of Pb on Ge(111) and
      Si(111).

PMID- 9978155
TI  - UV reflectivity of GaN: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9978157
TI  - Quasiparticle bands in a two-dimensional crystal found by GW and quantum Monte
      Carlo calculations.

PMID- 9978156
TI  - Transverse diffusion of minority carriers confined near the GaAs surface plane.

PMID- 9978158
TI  - Green's-function calculations of valence photoemission spectra of Pd2CO and
      Pt2CO.

PMID- 9978159
TI  - Multifractal behavior of the distribution of secondary-electron-emission sites on
      solid surfaces.

PMID- 9978160
TI  - Theory of ultrashort nonlinear multiphoton photoelectric emission from metals.

PMID- 9978161
TI  - Theory of friction: Stress domains, relaxation, and creep.

PMID- 9978162
TI  - Electronic structure of La-intercalated graphite.

PMID- 9978163
TI  - Reconstructive adsorption of Na on Al(111) studied by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9978165
TI  - Structural rearrangements in the C/W(001) surface system.

PMID- 9978164
TI  - Brillouin-zone-selection effects in graphite photoelectron angular distributions.

PMID- 9978166
TI  - Properties of small clusters at ionic surfaces: (NaCl)n clusters (n=1-48) at the
      (100) MgO surface.

PMID- 9978167
TI  - Direct atomic imaging of Ag(100) and Ag(111) by inverting quasielastically
      scattered electron-diffraction patterns.

PMID- 9978168
TI  - Density-functional calculation of the bulk and surface geometry of beryllium.

PMID- 9978169
TI  - Uncertainty, topography, and work function.

PMID- 9978170
TI  - Experimental interatomic Auger rates in sodium halides.

PMID- 9978172
TI  - Near-field scattering from subwavelength metallic protuberances on conducting
      flat substrates.

PMID- 9978171
TI  - Valence-band structure of alkali halides determined from photoemission data.

PMID- 9978173
TI  - Structure, melting, and order tendencies of A13B13 Lennard-Jones heteroclusters
      with additive and nonadditive collision diameters.

PMID- 9978174
TI  - Simulation of the melting behavior of small silicon clusters.

PMID- 9978175
TI  - Atomic clusters: Building blocks for a class of solids.

PMID- 9978176
TI  - Casimir forces between spherical particles in a critical fluid and conformal
      invariance.

PMID- 9978177
TI  - Theory of the multiphoton photoelectric effect: A stepwise excitation process.

PMID- 9978178
TI  - Anharmonic localized surface vibrations in a scalar model.

PMID- 9978180
TI  - Contributions of higher angular momentum states to lateral resolution in scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9978179
TI  - Interaction of hydrogen with the Be(0001) surface.

PMID- 9978181
TI  - Temperature dependence of the rate of defect tunneling in metals.

PMID- 9978182
TI  - Femtosecond spectral relaxation of alpha -conjugated hexamethylsexithiophene in
      solution.

PMID- 9978183
TI  - Phase diagram of an extended Hubbard model with correlated hopping at half
      filling.

PMID- 9978185
TI  - Orthogonality catastrophe and non-Fermi liquids.

PMID- 9978184
TI  - Polymorphism of carbon forms: Polyhedral morphology and electronic structures.

PMID- 9978186
TI  - Magnetic perturbations of excitons bound to an isoelectronic hydrogen-related
      defect in silicon.

PMID- 9978188
TI  - Interpretation of near-band-edge photoreflectance spectra from CdTe.

PMID- 9978187
TI  - Stress effects on HgI2 optical properties.

PMID- 9978189
TI  - Observation of the effect of electron-electron scattering on the impurity-limited
      resistivity of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978190
TI  - Effect of superlattice structure on the thermoelectric figure of merit.

PMID- 9978191
TI  - Surface elastic waves in superlattices: Sagittal localized and resonant modes.

PMID- 9978192
TI  - Observation of lateral electrostatic quantum-interference effects in a AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs heterostructure.

PMID- 9978194
TI  - Self-sustained Aharonov-Bohm flux in mesoscopic rings: Continuum hard-core boson
      model.

PMID- 9978193
TI  - Carrier lifetime in deep-etched InxGa1-xAs/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9978196
TI  - Localization in semiconductor quantum-wire nanostructures.

PMID- 9978195
TI  - Quadrupole excitations of quantum dots.

PMID- 9978197
TI  - Forward-electron-scattering study of the surface structure and phase transition
      on W(001).

PMID- 9978198
TI  - One-electron contributions to the surface core-level shifts in transition metals.

PMID- 9978199
TI  - Electronic structures of giant fullerenes with Ih symmetry.

PMID- 9978200
TI  - Electronic structure and transport properties of fullerene nanotubules.

PMID- 9978201
TI  - Correction of experimental low-energy electron-diffraction intensities.

PMID- 9978202
TI  - He adsorption and intercalation in C60 fullerite crystals.

PMID- 9978204
TI  - Structure of the Si12 cluster.

PMID- 9978203
TI  - Strong-field magnetoresistance anisotropy in thin composite films with a periodic
      microstructure.

PMID- 9978205
TI  - Ferromagnetism of 4d and 5d transition-metal monolayers on Ag(111).

PMID- 9978206
TI  - Localized Ba 4d and 5p excitations above the ionization limit observed in BaF2.

PMID- 9978207
TI  - Transport properties of coupled one-dimensional interacting electron systems with
      impurities.

PMID- 9978209
TI  - Luminescence from excited states in strain-induced InxGa1-xAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9978208
TI  - Light-induced relaxing dipoles in n-type AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9978210
TI  - Single electron switching in a parallel quantum dot.

PMID- 9978211
TI  - Time-resolved photoluminescence of a two-dimensional hole system in the extreme
      quantum limit.

PMID- 9978213
TI  - Giant backscattering peak in angle-resolved Andreev reflection.

PMID- 9978212
TI  - Microscopic structure of the GaAs(001)-(6 x 6) surface derived from scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9978214
TI  - Enhanced energy and phase relaxation of excitons in the presence of bare
      electrons.

PMID- 9978216
TI  - Spin-polarized photoemission studies of the exchange splitting of the Gd 5d
      electrons near the Curie temperature.

PMID- 9978215
TI  - Phonon contribution to quasiparticle lifetimes in Cu measured by angle-resolved
      photoemission.

PMID- 9978217
TI  - Fermi-liquid versus Luttinger-liquid behavior and metal-insulator transition in
      N,N'-dicyanoquinonediimine-Cu salt studied by photoemission.

PMID- 9978218
TI  - Erratum: Adsorbate symmetry and Fermi resonances of methoxide adsorbed on Mo(110)
      as studied by surface infrared spectroscopy

PMID- 9978219
TI  - Ionization energy for charged particles in Ge.

PMID- 9978220
TI  - Equilibrium-density equation for classical interacting particles.

PMID- 9978222
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopic studies of sodium polyphosphate glasses.

PMID- 9978221
TI  - Effect of turbostratic disorder in graphitic carbon hosts on the intercalation of
      lithium.

PMID- 9978223
TI  - Short-range atomic structure of 1 wt. % Ga delta -stabilized plutonium by x-ray
      absorption fine-structure spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978224
TI  - Crystallization mechanism of dehydrated amorphous LiBO2.

PMID- 9978225
TI  - Optical study on the phase transition of lead lanthanum zirconate titanate
      Pb0.92La0.08(Zr0.70Ti0.30)0.98O3 ceramics.

PMID- 9978226
TI  - Low-temperature phase transformation in Li-10 at. % Mg.

PMID- 9978227
TI  - Excited-state-absorption and upconversion studies of Nd3+-doped single crystals
      Y3Al5O12, YLiF4, and LaMgAl11O19.

PMID- 9978229
TI  - XAFS near-edge structure of As2S3: A comparison of experiment and theory.

PMID- 9978228
TI  - Anisotropic covalent bonding and photopolymerization of C70.

PMID- 9978231
TI  - Correlated static atomic displacements and transmission-electron-microscopy
      contrast in compositionally homogeneous disordered alloys.

PMID- 9978230
TI  - Dielectric echo experiments on (KBr)1-x(KCN)x.

PMID- 9978232
TI  - Evolution of phases and microstructure in Fe81B13.5Si3.5C2 metallic glass during
      electron-beam and pulsed-laser irradiation.

PMID- 9978233
TI  - Structure and properties of nonconventional glasses in the binary bismuth cuprate
      system.

PMID- 9978234
TI  - Prediction of the external shape of ideal icosahedral quasicrystals.

PMID- 9978235
TI  - Propagation of carriers in a one-dimensional quasicrystal.

PMID- 9978236
TI  - First-principles molecular dynamics of liquid cesium and rubidium.

PMID- 9978237
TI  - Incoherent exciton trapping in self-similar aperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9978239
TI  - Spin-lattice relaxation of F centers in mixed alkali halides: KBrxCl1-x.

PMID- 9978238
TI  - Electrical resistivity of a fractal network: The scattering of extended
      electronic states by both fractons and phonons.

PMID- 9978240
TI  - Quantum electron dynamics in periodic and aperiodic sequences.

PMID- 9978242
TI  - Explanation of anomalous polariton dynamics in LiTaO3.

PMID- 9978241
TI  - Squeezed excited states in exciton-phonon systems.

PMID- 9978243
TI  - Nuclear quadrupole spin-lattice relaxation in anharmonic molecular crystals.

PMID- 9978244
TI  - Use of finite size and applied magnetic field to characterize the interimpurity
      interaction in a spin glass.

PMID- 9978245
TI  - Influence of temperature and magnetic field on ferrimagnetic CePtGe2.

PMID- 9978247
TI  - Static thermodynamic quantities of quantum Heisenberg spin glasses with
      anisotropic interaction in applied magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978246
TI  - Ordered phase for the infinite-range Potts-glass model.

PMID- 9978248
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of a real ferromagnet near the coexistence condition.

PMID- 9978250
TI  - Dynamics of vortices in a two-dimensional easy-plane antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9978249
TI  - Weak suppression of ferromagnetism in tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene-(C60)1
      x(C70)x.

PMID- 9978251
TI  - Spin-wave theory of impurity states near the interface between two ferromagnets.

PMID- 9978252
TI  - Two-magnon absorption of electromagnetic waves in the exchange noncollinear
      antiferromagnet Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9978253
TI  - Phase diagram of ultrathin ferromagnetic films with perpendicular anisotropy.

PMID- 9978254
TI  - Enhanced Fe 3d spectral weight near the Fermi level in Fe overlayers on Cr.

PMID- 9978255
TI  - Local-spin-selective x-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism of
      MnP.

PMID- 9978256
TI  - Raman study of Kramers doublets in Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9978257
TI  - Theoretical aspects of the FecNi1-c Invar alloy.

PMID- 9978258
TI  - Electronic structures and Curie temperatures of iron-based rare-earth permanent
      magnet compounds.

PMID- 9978260
TI  - Theory of finite-size effects and vortex penetration in small Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9978259
TI  - Proximity effect in superconductor-insulator-superconductor Josephson tunnel
      junctions: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9978261
TI  - LUMO band of K-doped C60 single phases: A photoemission and yield-spectroscopy
      study.

PMID- 9978262
TI  - Electronic structure of a vortex line in a type-II superconductor: Effect of
      atomic crystal fields.

PMID- 9978263
TI  - Enhancement of electron-phonon interactions in the nonequilibrium solid solutions
      Al1-xSix.

PMID- 9978264
TI  - Renormalized theory of repulsive bosons in two dimensions.

PMID- 9978265
TI  - Weak-link magnetically modulated resistance response in granular superconducting
      systems.

PMID- 9978266
TI  - Incompressible quantum Hall states in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9978267
TI  - Thermoelectric flux in superconducting hollow cylinders.

PMID- 9978268
TI  - Cavitation in 3He-4He liquid mixtures at low temperatures.

PMID- 9978270
TI  - Density of states of a layered S/N d-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9978269
TI  - Collective modes of spin, density, phase, and amplitude in exotic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9978271
TI  - Phase diagrams of the electronic state of the one-dimensional d-p model.

PMID- 9978273
TI  - Different Pr3+ environments in Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4: A Raman crystal-field excitation
      study.

PMID- 9978272
TI  - Quantum depinning of flux lines from columnar defects.

PMID- 9978274
TI  - Condensate pair fluctuations in a two-dimensional d-wave superconductor and Raman
      scattering.

PMID- 9978275
TI  - Evidence for a vortex-liquid-vortex-glass transition in epitaxial
      Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta thin films.

PMID- 9978277
TI  - Ergodic versus nonergodic behavior in oxygen-deficient high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9978276
TI  - Cluster-configuration-interaction analysis of Cu 2p and valence-band
      photoemission measurements on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Bi2Sr2CuO6 superconductors.

PMID- 9978278
TI  - Gaplessness and properties of layered superconductors: Application to high-Tc
      cuprates.

PMID- 9978279
TI  - Low-frequency suppression of random-telegraph-noise spectra in high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9978280
TI  - Thermal fluctuations and critical current in twinned single crystals.

PMID- 9978281
TI  - Isothermal phase transition and elastic energy dissipation in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9978282
TI  - X-ray-absorption studies of electron doping and band shifts in R2-xCexCuO4- delta
      (R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd).

PMID- 9978283
TI  - Flux pinning and critical current in layered type-II superconductors in parallel
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978284
TI  - Zn, Ce, Pr, and Th doping in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9978285
TI  - Sum rules for polarization-dependent x-ray absorption.

PMID- 9978287
TI  - Ground state and vibrations of dipoles on a honeycomb lattice.

PMID- 9978286
TI  - Pressure dependence of phase-transition temperatures in oxygenated single
      crystalline La2CuO4.035.

PMID- 9978288
TI  - 19F ligand hyperfine structure in the room-temperature electron-paramagnetic
      resonance spectra of Mn2+ substituting for Zr4+ sites in Cd2ZrF8

PMID- 9978289
TI  - Magnetic phases in UCu2Ge2.

PMID- 9978290
TI  - Nuclear Schottky effect in thulium.

PMID- 9978291
TI  - Spin configurations of pi electrons in quasi-one-dimensional organic
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9978292
TI  - Magnetoresistance behavior of ternary Ce alloys.

PMID- 9978293
TI  - Influence of thermal fluctuations on single-vortex pinning in Rb3C60 fullerene
      superconductors.

PMID- 9978295
TI  - Collective pinning of vortices in very thin amorphous Mo79Ge21 films.

PMID- 9978294
TI  - Hubbard model and fullerenes: Stability of the Nagaoka state.

PMID- 9978296
TI  - Confined and extended optical phonons in an ultrathin-layer YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7
      superlattice.

PMID- 9978297
TI  - Landau damping in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9978298
TI  - Thermoelectric power and resistivity measurements on oxygen-annealed
      HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta superconductors.

PMID- 9978300
TI  - Symmetries of the superconducting order parameter arising from an interlayer
      tunneling mechanism.

PMID- 9978299
TI  - Thermally activated behavior of 1/f noise in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9978301
TI  - Enhancement of persistent photoconductivity in insulating high-Tc thin films.

PMID- 9978302
TI  - Raman study of YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals grown by a pulling technique:
      Overdoped, underdoped, and nonsuperconducting state.

PMID- 9978303
TI  - Origin of zero-bias conductance peaks in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9978304
TI  - 35Cl spin-lattice relaxation in incommensurate bis(4-chlorophenyl)sulfone.

PMID- 9978305
TI  - Orientationally ordered states in solid C60.

PMID- 9978306
TI  - Fast oscillations in the surface impedance of (TMTSF)2ClO4 in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9978307
TI  - Complete optical response of the magnetic fullerene derivative
      tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene-C60.

PMID- 9978308
TI  - Coster-Kronig contributions to magnetic circular dichroism in the L2,3 x-ray
      fluorescence of iron.

PMID- 9978309
TI  - Interference effects on the critical current in a clean-limit superconductor
      normal-metal-superconductor junction.

PMID- 9978310
TI  - Spin-paramagnetic transition of ultrathin granular Al films in a tilted magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9978311
TI  - Quasiparticle spectrum in the high-Tc superconducting state.

PMID- 9978312
TI  - Electronic band structure of the superconductor Sr2RuO4.

PMID- 9978313
TI  - Vortex channeling along twin planes in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9978314
TI  - Transport studies of bulk Pb0.2Hg0.8Ba2Ca1.75Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9978315
TI  - Superconducting energy gap in Bi1.8Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta studied by
      photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978316
TI  - c-axis microwave conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta in the superconducting state.

PMID- 9978317
TI  - Order-N density-matrix electronic-structure method for general potentials.

PMID- 9978318
TI  - Electronic structure of La1-xSrxMnO3 studied by photoemission and x-ray
      absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978319
TI  - Soft-x-ray linear-dichroism and magnetic-circular-dichroism studies of CeRh3B2:
      Large crystal-field splitting and anomalous ferromagnetism.

PMID- 9978320
TI  - Defect structures in a layer-by-layer photonic band-gap crystal.

PMID- 9978321
TI  - Influence of superexchange on Ni 2p x-ray-absorption spectroscopy in NiO.

PMID- 9978322
TI  - Electronic structure of antimony-doped tin oxide.

PMID- 9978324
TI  - Orbital polarization in metallic f-electron systems.

PMID- 9978323
TI  - Signatures of Fano resonances in four-wave-mixing experiments.

PMID- 9978325
TI  - Dominant density parameters and local pseudopotentials for simple metals.

PMID- 9978326
TI  - Single-particle spectral function of a generalized Hubbard model: Metal-insulator
      transition.

PMID- 9978327
TI  - Hopping transport in a magnetic field: Kadanoff-Baym-Keldysh approach and
      magnetoconductivity.

PMID- 9978328
TI  - Experimental and theoretical electronic distributions in Al-Cu-based alloys.

PMID- 9978330
TI  - Real-space electronic-structure calculations: Combination of the finite
      difference and conjugate-gradient methods.

PMID- 9978329
TI  - Electronic structure and total-energy calculations by a semi-self-consistent
      augmented-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9978331
TI  - Charge-transfer multiplet analysis of the resonant 2p3p3p Auger spectra of CaF2.

PMID- 9978332
TI  - Quasiparticle spectra and the calculation of thermodynamics for a two-dimensional
      Fermi liquid.

PMID- 9978333
TI  - High-temperature series expansion for the extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9978334
TI  - Electronic transport through a planar defect in the bulk.

PMID- 9978335
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopy of strongly correlated systems: Effects of nonlocal
      interactions.

PMID- 9978336
TI  - Insulator-metal transition and giant magnetoresistance in La1-xSrxMnO3.

PMID- 9978338
TI  - Photothermal reflection versus temperature: Quantitative analysis.

PMID- 9978337
TI  - Theory of reflectance-difference spectroscopy in ordered III-V semiconductor
      alloys.

PMID- 9978340
TI  - Intervalley electron scattering in the presence of a planar interface.

PMID- 9978339
TI  - Free magnetic polaron: A nonlinear Hamiltonian approach.

PMID- 9978341
TI  - Deep levels in hafnium- and zirconium-doped indium phosphide.

PMID- 9978342
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the statistics of electron capture by shallow donors in
      silicon at low temperatures.

PMID- 9978343
TI  - Introduction of metastable vacancy defects in electron-irradiated semi-insulating
      GaAs.

PMID- 9978344
TI  - Hierarchy of density matrices in coherent semiconductor optics.

PMID- 9978346
TI  - Ultrafast laser-induced order-disorder transitions in semiconductors.

PMID- 9978345
TI  - Zero-field-splitting parameters of Cr2+ ion in GaAs.

PMID- 9978347
TI  - Polarized electroabsorption spectroscopy of highly ordered poly(2-methoxy,5-(2'
      ethyl-hexoxy)-p-phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9978348
TI  - Transient nonlinear electrical transport of hot electrons in nonpolar
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9978349
TI  - Damped Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction among local magnetic moments in
      the impurity-band regime of doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9978350
TI  - Photoacoustic investigation of transport in semiconductors: Theoretical and
      experimental study of a Ge single crystal.

PMID- 9978352
TI  - Nonequilibrium total-dielectric-function approach to the electron Boltzmann
      equation for inelastic scattering in doped polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9978351
TI  - Nonequilibrium dynamics of hot carriers and hot phonons in CdSe and GaAs.

PMID- 9978353
TI  - Electron-electron interactions, coupled plasmon-phonon modes, and mobility in n
      type GaAs.

PMID- 9978354
TI  - Chemistry at the Al- and Au-ZnSe(100) interfaces.

PMID- 9978355
TI  - InAs(110)-p(1 x 1)-Sb(1 ML): Electronic structure and surface bonding.

PMID- 9978356
TI  - Precise nonequilibrium distribution function for a one-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978357
TI  - Interaction of oxygen with a Rb-covered InSb(111) surface.

PMID- 9978358
TI  - Formation of facets and pyramidlike structures in molecular-beam-epitaxy growth
      of Si on a singular Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9978359
TI  - Direct and Rb-promoted SiOx/ beta -SiC(100) interface formation.

PMID- 9978360
TI  - Free-carrier and intersubband infrared absorption in p-type Si1-xGex/Si multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9978361
TI  - Ellipsometric and thermoreflectance spectra of epitaxial InSb films.

PMID- 9978362
TI  - Enhancement of nonradiative recombination due to resonant electron capture in
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9978364
TI  - Theory of the interface exciton in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9978363
TI  - Shape transition in the epitaxial growth of gold silicide in Au thin films on
      Si(111).

PMID- 9978365
TI  - Choking of electron flow: A mechanism of current saturation in field-effect
      transistors.

PMID- 9978367
TI  - Theoretical study of strained thin quantum wells grown on vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9978366
TI  - Energy levels and exciton oscillator strength in submonolayer InAs-GaAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9978368
TI  - Coherent vertical transport of excitons in multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9978369
TI  - Excitons in self-organized semiconductor/insulator superlattices: PbI-based
      perovskite compounds.

PMID- 9978370
TI  - Nonlocal optical response of assemblies of semiconductor spheres.

PMID- 9978371
TI  - Excitons and fundamental absorption in quantum wells.

PMID- 9978372
TI  - High-frequency damping of plasmons in quasi-one-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9978373
TI  - Exciton Stark and Landau ladders in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattice.

PMID- 9978374
TI  - Nonlinear steady-state mesoscopic transport: Formalism.

PMID- 9978375
TI  - Microcavity exciton-polariton splitting in the linear regime.

PMID- 9978377
TI  - Comparison of the (2 x 2) reconstructions of GaAs{111} surfaces.

PMID- 9978376
TI  - Selection rules and dispersion of GaAs/AlAs multiple-quantum-well optical phonons
      studied by Raman scattering in right-angle, forward, and backscattering in-plane
      geometries.

PMID- 9978378
TI  - Structural and electronic properties during the initial stages of Ge-GaAs(110)
      interface formation.

PMID- 9978380
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in a disordered double-barrier junction.

PMID- 9978379
TI  - Fractional exclusion statistics and anyons.

PMID- 9978382
TI  - Capacitance of electron wires in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9978381
TI  - Coherent effects induced by static and time-dependent electric fields in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9978383
TI  - Theoretical study of the Si(100) surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9978385
TI  - Multiphonon-assisted tunneling through deep levels: A rapid energy-relaxation
      mechanism in nonideal quantum-dot heterostructures.

PMID- 9978384
TI  - Low-temperature transport of excitons in type-II GaAs/AlAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978386
TI  - Magneto-optical study of quantum-well electronic structure using disorder-induced
      resonant acoustic-phonon Raman scattering.

PMID- 9978387
TI  - Small-cone method of directly forming atomic images from energy-dependent
      photoelectron-diffraction data.

PMID- 9978388
TI  - Growth mechanisms and defects in boronated CVD diamond as identified by scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9978390
TI  - Spin-flip scattering for the electrical property of metallic-nanoparticle thin
      films.

PMID- 9978389
TI  - Model study of keV-ion mixing of metallic interfaces: Influence of materials
      properties and deposited energy.

PMID- 9978391
TI  - Calculated properties of a prototypical ionic monolayer.

PMID- 9978392
TI  - Hidden structure of the low-energy spectrum of a one-dimensional localized
      Frenkel exciton.

PMID- 9978393
TI  - Evidence for the leading role of the stacking-fault triangle in the Si(111) 1 x 1
      ->7 x 7 phase transition.

PMID- 9978394
TI  - Interpretation of the control of the photon emission stimulated by STM.

PMID- 9978396
TI  - Wetting on rough self-affine surfaces.

PMID- 9978395
TI  - Theory of ion-stimulated electron emission from simple metals: Explicit
      calculations.

PMID- 9978398
TI  - Finite-conical-well model for vertically adsorbed diatomic molecules.

PMID- 9978397
TI  - First-principles studies of NO chemisorption on rhodium, palladium, and platinum
      surfaces.

PMID- 9978399
TI  - Melting transition in two dimensions: A finite-size scaling analysis of bond
      orientational order in hard disks.

PMID- 9978400
TI  - Absorption spectroscopic measurements of plume density and temperature in
      production of nanocrystalline NbAl3 by laser ablation deposition.

PMID- 9978401
TI  - Roughening transitions of driven surface growth.

PMID- 9978402
TI  - Structural, electronic, and vibrational properties of diamond (100), (111), and
      (110) surfaces from ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9978403
TI  - Width of the plasmon resonance in metal clusters.

PMID- 9978404
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in the two-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9978405
TI  - Symmetric stress tensor in the local-density-functional framework using a
      separable nonlocal pseudopotential.

PMID- 9978406
TI  - Efficient quasiparticle band-structure calculations for cubic and noncubic
      crystals.

PMID- 9978407
TI  - Electronic and structural properties of cubic BN and BP.

PMID- 9978408
TI  - Comparative spectroscopic studies of Cs- and K-doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9978409
TI  - Coherent oscillations in semiconductor microcavities.

PMID- 9978410
TI  - Annealing effect on native-oxide/Si(111) interfaces studied by second-harmonic
      generation.

PMID- 9978412
TI  - Skyrmions in higher Landau levels.

PMID- 9978411
TI  - Reconstruction of the GaAs (311)A surface.

PMID- 9978413
TI  - Experimental determination of the quasiparticle charge and the energy gap in the
      fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9978415
TI  - Proposed magnetoinductance measurements in the quantum-Hall-effect regime:
      Current distribution in edge channels.

PMID- 9978414
TI  - Entangled electronic states in multiple-quantum-dot systems.

PMID- 9978416
TI  - Quantum-conductance-fluctuation correlation range and amplitude as a parameter
      independent probe of the localized-to-extended-state transition in narrow Si
      MOSFET's.

PMID- 9978417
TI  - Spatially indirect transitions due to coupling between a hole accumulation layer
      and a quantum well in resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9978418
TI  - Surface core-level shifts on Nb(001).

PMID- 9978419
TI  - Thermal diffuse scattering from surface-melted Pb(110).

PMID- 9978420
TI  - Comment on "Role played by N and N-N impurities in type-IV semiconductors"

PMID- 9978421
TI  - Nearest-neighbor isotopic fine structure of the AsP gap mode in GaP.

PMID- 9978422
TI  - Structure of negatively charged muonium in n-type GaAs.

PMID- 9978423
TI  - Structural characterization of (In,Ga)As quantum dots in a GaAs matrix.

PMID- 9978424
TI  - Effect of spatial dispersion on acoustoelectric current in a high-mobility two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978425
TI  - Correlation between photoluminescence and density of electronic states in laser
      deposited porous silicon.

PMID- 9978426
TI  - Chemical-state-resolved x-ray standing-wave analysis using chemical shift in
      photoelectron spectra.

PMID- 9978427
TI  - Suppression of the Kondo effect in quantum dots by even-odd asymmetry.

PMID- 9978428
TI  - Role of Ge surface segregation in Si/Ge interfacial ordering: Interface formation
      on a monohydride surface.

PMID- 9978429
TI  - Importance of the additional step-edge barrier in determining film morphology
      during epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9978430
TI  - Metallic conductivity and metal-insulator transition in (AC60)n (A=K, Rb, and Cs)
      linear polymer fullerides.

PMID- 9978432
TI  - Further lowering of work function by oxygen adsorption on the K/Si(001) surface.

PMID- 9978431
TI  - Determination of step-edge barriers to interlayer transport from surface
      morphology during the initial stages of homoepitaxial growth.

PMID- 9978433
TI  - Indium-induced lowering of the Schwoebel barrier in the homoepitaxial growth of
      Cu(100).

PMID- 9978435
TI  - Photoacoustic-spectra studies on BaX2:Eu2+ (X=F,Cl,Br) phosphors.

PMID- 9978434
TI  - Crystalline-amorphous transition in silicate perovskites.

PMID- 9978436
TI  - Enhancement of the electron-irradiation-induced amorphization of Zr2Ni and Zr3Al
      by hydrogen.

PMID- 9978437
TI  - X-ray-scattering study of the metal-phthalocyanine-iodine quasi-one-dimensional
      molecular conductors.

PMID- 9978438
TI  - Rotational dynamics of solid C70 investigated by the muon-spin-rotation
      technique.

PMID- 9978439
TI  - Crossover and scaling in a nearly antiferromagnetic Fermi liquid in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9978440
TI  - Crystal fields of U3+:LaCl3 under pressure.

PMID- 9978441
TI  - Phase transitions in systems with extremely short-ranged attractions: A density
      functional theory.

PMID- 9978442
TI  - Asymptotic behavior of the perturbation expansion in critical dynamics.

PMID- 9978444
TI  - Orientational and translational disorder in semiconducting Zintl compounds.

PMID- 9978443
TI  - Bonding nature in tellurite glasses.

PMID- 9978446
TI  - Probability of return to the origin at short times: A probe of microstructure in
      porous media.

PMID- 9978445
TI  - Defect formation and evolution in TeO2-containing borosilicate glass films
      derived from a sol-gel process.

PMID- 9978447
TI  - Theory of the energy spectrum of excess electrons in highly polarizable fluids.

PMID- 9978449
TI  - Dense quasiperiodic decagonal disc packing.

PMID- 9978448
TI  - Random-phase calculations of frequency-dependent polarizabilities and
      hyperpolarizabilities of long polyene chains.

PMID- 9978451
TI  - Dynamical diffraction in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9978450
TI  - Embedded-atom model of glass-forming Si-metal alloys.

PMID- 9978452
TI  - Resonance Raman scattering in Cr4+-doped forsterite.

PMID- 9978453
TI  - Excitations, order parameters, and phase diagram of solid deuterium at megabar
      pressures.

PMID- 9978454
TI  - Vibrational spectroscopy and soft-mode behavior in Rochelle salt.

PMID- 9978456
TI  - Fast domain growth through density-dependent diffusion in a driven lattice gas.

PMID- 9978455
TI  - Asymptotic expansions in the path-integral approach to the bipolaron problem.

PMID- 9978457
TI  - Theory of phonon-phonon interaction in anharmonic crystals with randomly
      distributed isotopic impurities.

PMID- 9978458
TI  - Electron-phonon interaction, localization, and polaron formation in one
      dimensional systems.

PMID- 9978460
TI  - Antiferromagnetic domain walls.

PMID- 9978459
TI  - Resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat of YbAgCu4 in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978461
TI  - Multiple wave-vector extensions of the NMR pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo
      diffusion measurement.

PMID- 9978462
TI  - Microwave-envelope soliton threshold powers and soliton numbers.

PMID- 9978464
TI  - Magnetoelastic properties and level crossing in HoVO4.

PMID- 9978463
TI  - Subsidiary-absorption spin-wave-instability processes in yttrium iron garnet thin
      films: Coupled lateral standing modes, critical modes, and the kink effect.

PMID- 9978465
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram, static properties, and relaxation of the insulating spin
      glass CoCl2

PMID- 9978466
TI  - First-principles calculations of the electronic structure and magnetic properties
      of 3d transition-metal impurities in bcc and amorphous iron.

PMID- 9978467
TI  - Crystal-electric-field interaction in R2Zn17 intermetallics.

PMID- 9978468
TI  - Effects of temperature and hydrostatic pressure on the magnetoelasticity of a
      commensurate spin-density-wave antiferromagnetic Cr-3.5 at. % Al alloy single
      crystal.

PMID- 9978470
TI  - Dissipation and interference effects in macroscopic magnetization tunneling and
      coherence.

PMID- 9978469
TI  - Coupling between magnetized layers.

PMID- 9978471
TI  - Simultaneous determination of Fe 3p spin-orbit and exchange splittings in
      photoemission.

PMID- 9978472
TI  - Spin-wave resonance and magnetic properties in amorphous Co95-xZr5Mx (M=Zr,Nb,Ti)
      and Co91-xZr9Ptx thin films.

PMID- 9978473
TI  - Domain growth in the three-dimensional random-field Ising magnet Fe0.5Zn0.5F2.

PMID- 9978474
TI  - Muon-spin-relaxation study of magnetic order in RNiO3 (R=rare earth) below the
      metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9978475
TI  - Thermomagnetics of reversible transverse susceptibility.

PMID- 9978476
TI  - Axial anisotropy of Co2+ in CdSe from the magnetization step and EPR.

PMID- 9978477
TI  - Renormalization of the anisotropic linear XY model.

PMID- 9978478
TI  - Phase transitions in ferromagnets with dipolar interactions and uniaxial
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9978479
TI  - Calculations of the ferromagnet-to-spin-glass transition in diluted magnetic
      systems with an RKKY interaction.

PMID- 9978481
TI  - Superconducting fluctuations in one-dimensional multiband models.

PMID- 9978480
TI  - Critical behavior of a frustrated spin-1 Ising model.

PMID- 9978482
TI  - Specific heat of thin 3He films on a disordering substrate.

PMID- 9978484
TI  - Collective modes with a sound spectrum in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9978483
TI  - Scaling of thin-film Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y resistivity-current isotherms at low
      fields: Implications for vortex phase transitions and universality.

PMID- 9978486
TI  - Current-voltage characteristics of two-dimensional vortex-glass models.

PMID- 9978485
TI  - Flux-flow Hall effect in clean type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9978487
TI  - Andreev spectroscopy of Josephson coupling.

PMID- 9978488
TI  - Gap-function anisotropy and collective modes in a bilayer superconductor with
      Cooper-pair tunneling.

PMID- 9978489
TI  - Linear response of thin superconductors in perpendicular magnetic fields: An
      asymptotic analysis.

PMID- 9978490
TI  - Vortex-induced strain and flux lattices in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9978491
TI  - Quantum vortex fluid in two dimensions.

PMID- 9978492
TI  - Observation of vortex-lattice melting by NMR spin-lattice relaxation in the mixed
      state.

PMID- 9978493
TI  - Failure of hydrodynamics within the vortex-liquid phase.

PMID- 9978494
TI  - Phonon squeezing via correlations in the superconducting electron-phonon
      interaction.

PMID- 9978495
TI  - Wetting of 3He-4He mixtures on cesium and other alkali metals.

PMID- 9978496
TI  - Defect model for nonstoichiometry in YBa2Cu3O6+y.

PMID- 9978497
TI  - Transverse magnetoresistance of YBa2Cu3Ox single crystals with different oxygen
      content.

PMID- 9978498
TI  - Susceptibility and Knight-shift anomalies in cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9978499
TI  - Charge transfer and superconductor-metal-insulator transitions in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9978500
TI  - Structure and superconductivity of HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9978501
TI  - Unusual insulating phase at low temperature in thin indium films.

PMID- 9978502
TI  - Evidence for nonuniversal behavior of paraconductivity caused by predominant
      short-wavelength Gaussian fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O6.9.

PMID- 9978503
TI  - Effects of oxygen on the magnetic order of the rare-earth ions in RBa2Cu3O6+x
      (R=Dy, Er, Nd).

PMID- 9978504
TI  - Critical sheet resistance and two-dimensional properties of Bi2Sr2CuOx thin
      films.

PMID- 9978506
TI  - Mechanisms of heat conductivity in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9978505
TI  - Limits to the critical transport current in superconducting (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10
      silver-sheathed tapes: The railway-switch model.

PMID- 9978507
TI  - Spin pseudogap and interplane coupling in Y2Ba4Cu7O15: A 63Cu nuclear spin-spin
      relaxation study.

PMID- 9978509
TI  - Vortex dynamics in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 crystal with columnar defects.

PMID- 9978508
TI  - Observation of current strings in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

PMID- 9978510
TI  - Laser heating of YBa2Cu3O7 films in Raman experiments.

PMID- 9978511
TI  - Dynamic susceptibility and photoemission in the t-t'-J model.

PMID- 9978512
TI  - Magnetism and pairing in Hubbard bilayers.

PMID- 9978513
TI  - Impurity-induced virtual bound states in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9978514
TI  - Negative pressure effects in high-pressure oxygen-intercalated C60.

PMID- 9978516
TI  - Molecular-dynamics method for simulating heterogeneous condensed matter at
      constant pressure.

PMID- 9978515
TI  - Changes in structure and electronic state from C60 fullerene to amorphous
      diamond.

PMID- 9978518
TI  - Free-electron-like Hall effect and deviations from free-electron behavior in Ca
      Al amorphous alloys.

PMID- 9978517
TI  - Enhanced inelastic backscattering of electrons from disordered media.

PMID- 9978519
TI  - Inhomogeneity of the spatial distribution of vibrational modes in a computer
      model of amorphous argon.

PMID- 9978520
TI  - Effects of defects on the friction between film and substrate in a microbalance
      experiment.

PMID- 9978521
TI  - Anomalous dependence of the o-D2 roton linewidth on the p-D2 concentration in (p
      D2)x(o-D2)1-x mixed crystals.

PMID- 9978522
TI  - Hyperfine structure of Gd3+ in Bi2Te3 from EPR.

PMID- 9978523
TI  - Dynamical scaling in ferric oxide spin glasses.

PMID- 9978524
TI  - Generalized susceptibility and magnetic ordering in rare-earth nickel boride
      carbides.

PMID- 9978525
TI  - Nonmagnetic impurity in the spin-gap state.

PMID- 9978526
TI  - Escape-field distribution for escape from a metastable potential well subject to
      a steadily increasing bias field.

PMID- 9978527
TI  - Observation of Cu2+ spin resonance in Gd2CuO4.

PMID- 9978529
TI  - Violation of Anderson's theorem for superconductors with nonretarded
      interactions.

PMID- 9978528
TI  - Pancake vortex in a superconducting cylinder.

PMID- 9978530
TI  - Relationship between the roton minimum and T lambda in 4He.

PMID- 9978531
TI  - Problems with the vortex-boson mapping in 1+1 dimensions.

PMID- 9978532
TI  - Relaxation towards phase-locked dynamics in long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9978533
TI  - Relationship between planar-copper-apical-oxygen bond length and charge transfer
      in YBa2Cu3O7- delta superconductors.

PMID- 9978534
TI  - Coexistence of metallic and nonmetallic charge transport in PrBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9978536
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering across the unconventional charge gap in FeSi.

PMID- 9978535
TI  - High-precision calculation of crystallographic phase-transition pressures for
      aluminum.

PMID- 9978537
TI  - Phase transitions in the symmetric Kondo-lattice model in two and three
      dimensions.

PMID- 9978539
TI  - Riser fluctuations and vortices at Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9978538
TI  - Penetration-depth anisotropy in unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9978541
TI  - Scaling behavior of the magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition
      in two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9978540
TI  - Brinkman-Rice transition driven by interatomic repulsion in hexagonal copper
      oxides.

PMID- 9978542
TI  - Generation of ultrasonic waves by ac magnetic fields in the mixed state of high
      Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9978543
TI  - Transport properties of zinc-doped YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9978544
TI  - Electronic structure of HgBa2CaCu2O6+ delta epitaxial films measured by x-ray
      photoemission.

PMID- 9978545
TI  - Erratum: Surface and bulk magnetostatic modes in a ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic
      superlattice

PMID- 9978546
TI  - Computationally efficient representation for elastostatic and elastodynamic
      Green's functions for anisotropic solids.

PMID- 9978547
TI  - Melting temperature of Na from linear-response-theory molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9978548
TI  - Ion-beam-induced transformation of diamond.

PMID- 9978549
TI  - Phase transitions in CdTe to 28 GPa.

PMID- 9978550
TI  - Solid-solid interface and solid solution of oxides with rock-salt structure:
      Lattice properties.

PMID- 9978551
TI  - Phase transitions of the striped domain-wall phases of S on Ru(0001).

PMID- 9978552
TI  - Effect of pressure on energy levels of Sm2+ in BaFCl and SrFCl.

PMID- 9978553
TI  - Excitonic energy transfer in Au-doped and undoped Kr solids.

PMID- 9978555
TI  - Simple phenomenological approach to premelting and sublattice melting in Frenkel
      disordered ionic crystals.

PMID- 9978554
TI  - Defect structure of ferrous oxide Fe1-xO.

PMID- 9978556
TI  - Electronic stopping of heavy ions in the Kaneko model.

PMID- 9978557
TI  - Nonempirical phase equilibria in the W-Mo-Cr system.

PMID- 9978559
TI  - Identification of spatially confined states in two-dimensional quasiperiodic
      lattices.

PMID- 9978558
TI  - Density of states of electrons in liquid lithium.

PMID- 9978560
TI  - Nucleation of quasicrystals by rapid cooling of a binary melt: A molecular
      dynamics study.

PMID- 9978561
TI  - Effects of interaction-potential nonlinearities and restoring-force
      anharmonicities in the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation.

PMID- 9978562
TI  - Gauss procedure for the construction of self-localized solitons in discrete
      systems.

PMID- 9978563
TI  - Recovery of an N-body potential from a universal cohesion equation.

PMID- 9978564
TI  - Temperature dependence of acoustic attenuation in silicon.

PMID- 9978565
TI  - Determination of the fluorine-fluorine potential in fluoroperovskites and
      prediction of phonon dispersion curves.

PMID- 9978566
TI  - Structure and dynamics of two-dimensional lattices in random pinning potentials.

PMID- 9978567
TI  - Quantum diffusion of muonium in the alkali halides.

PMID- 9978569
TI  - Theory of Raman light scattering in the many-sublattice exchange-noncollinear
      magnets UO2, RMnO3, and Nd2CuO4 (R=rare-earth ion).

PMID- 9978568
TI  - Exchange frustration and transverse spin freezing in iron-rich metallic glasses.

PMID- 9978570
TI  - Real-space density-matrix renormalization-group study of the Kondo necklace.

PMID- 9978571
TI  - Definition and measurement of the surface magnetoelastic coupling coefficients in
      thin films and multilayers.

PMID- 9978572
TI  - Epitaxial strain and magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin Co films on W(110).

PMID- 9978573
TI  - Disorder-induced optical and paramagnetic properties in zirconium dioxide: Role
      of low-symmetry crystal fields.

PMID- 9978574
TI  - Constant-magnetic-field effect in Neel relaxation of single-domain ferromagnetic
      particles.

PMID- 9978575
TI  - Effects of spin-dependent spectral weight on magnetic circular x-ray dichroism:
      Applications to R(NixCo1-x)5 intermetallic compounds.

PMID- 9978576
TI  - Anisotropy and orientational dependence of magnetization reversal processes in
      epitaxial ferromagnetic thin films.

PMID- 9978577
TI  - Quantum fluctuations of solitons in two-dimensional anisotropic sigma models.

PMID- 9978578
TI  - Nuclear magnetic relaxation and electron-spin fluctuation in a triangular-lattice
      Heisenberg antiferromagnet CsNiBr3.

PMID- 9978579
TI  - Energy-gap suppression in heavy-fermion semiconductors by nonmagnetic impurities.

PMID- 9978581
TI  - Brillouin-zone mapping of the existence conditions for interface bilayer spin
      waves.

PMID- 9978580
TI  - Perturbed-angular-correlation study of static and dynamic quadrupole interactions
      in the Laves-phase hydrides HfV2Hx.

PMID- 9978582
TI  - Spin dynamics in the amorphous antiferromagnet Si:P.

PMID- 9978583
TI  - Metamagnetism in the Cr2V4-xMoxO13+0.5x solid solutions.

PMID- 9978584
TI  - Magnetization reversal process of Zn-bonded anisotropic Sm-Fe-N permanent
      magnets.

PMID- 9978585
TI  - Striped phases in two-dimensional dipolar ferromagnets.

PMID- 9978586
TI  - Simulated-annealing method for fermion systems at finite temperature.

PMID- 9978587
TI  - Electron transport in magnetic inhomogeneous media.

PMID- 9978588
TI  - Trigonal interactions in holmium.

PMID- 9978589
TI  - Spin diffusion of the t-J model.

PMID- 9978590
TI  - Anderson-Yuval approach to the multichannel Kondo problem.

PMID- 9978592
TI  - Low-temperature properties of a spin-1 antiferromagnetic chain.

PMID- 9978591
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility in the spin-Peierls system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9978594
TI  - Impurities in s=1 Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9978593
TI  - Reorientation transitions of first and second order in thin ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9978595
TI  - Elementary excitations of S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains with bond
      alternation.

PMID- 9978597
TI  - Critical behavior of the uniform susceptibility of a Fermi liquid near an
      antiferromagnetic transition with dynamic exponent z=2.

PMID- 9978596
TI  - Low-energy and dynamical properties of a single hole in the t-Jz model.

PMID- 9978598
TI  - Electronic structure of RNi2B2C (R=rare earth) from x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978600
TI  - Raman-active intramolecular CH2 and C=C vibrations and microwave surface
      impedance studies of the organic superconductor kappa -

PMID- 9978599
TI  - High-angle grain-boundary junctions in YBa2Cu3O7: Normal-state resistance and 1/f
      noise.

PMID- 9978601
TI  - Appearance of vortices in rotating He II.

PMID- 9978602
TI  - Influence of inelastic effects on differential conductance of a high-Tc
      superconductor/metal junction.

PMID- 9978603
TI  - Observation of low-lying levels in UBe13.

PMID- 9978605
TI  - Low-magnetic-field critical behavior in strongly type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9978604
TI  - Computational simulation of type-II superconductivity including pinning
      phenomena.

PMID- 9978606
TI  - Phase transition in the XY gauge glass.

PMID- 9978608
TI  - Relevance of interchain pair hopping in correlated Hubbard chains.

PMID- 9978607
TI  - Electron microscopy investigation of iodine intercalated in Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox:
      Location and ordering of I3- molecules.

PMID- 9978610
TI  - Surface and size effect of a dxy-state superconductor.

PMID- 9978609
TI  - Nonlinear Meissner effect in unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9978611
TI  - Matrix model approach to the flux-lattice melting in two-dimensional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9978613
TI  - Twin-boundary pinning of superconducting vortex arrays.

PMID- 9978612
TI  - Thin-film anisotropic transport measurement on tilted Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9978614
TI  - Flux quantization in weak links in melt-textured bulk YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9978615
TI  - Effects of magnetic history on the ac magnetic susceptibility of granular
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta superconductors in weak fields.

PMID- 9978616
TI  - Superconductivity in the two-dimensional Hubbard model: One-particle correlation
      functions.

PMID- 9978617
TI  - Superconducting ground state in a model with bond-charge interaction.

PMID- 9978618
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering in superconductors as a probe of anisotropic electron
      pairing.

PMID- 9978619
TI  - Critical-current anisotropy due to inclined and crossed linear defects.

PMID- 9978620
TI  - Penetration-depth calculations in the ab and c directions in a layered S/N
      superconductor.

PMID- 9978621
TI  - Bloch-Gruneisen behavior for the in-plane resistivity of Bi2Sr2CuOx single
      crystals.

PMID- 9978622
TI  - Nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation by gaseous krypton.

PMID- 9978623
TI  - Composition dependence of the ferroelectric-paraelectric transition in the mixed
      system PbZr1-xTixO3.

PMID- 9978624
TI  - Structure and stability of several high-pressure crystalline polymorphs of
      silica.

PMID- 9978625
TI  - dc conductivity of molybdenum tellurite glasses.

PMID- 9978626
TI  - Statistics of fluctuations for two types of crossover: From the ballistic to
      diffusive regime and from the orthogonal to unitary ensemble.

PMID- 9978627
TI  - Spatial distribution of defects in LiF induced by low-energy electron
      bombardment: Evidence for rapid hot-hole diffusion.

PMID- 9978628
TI  - Absence of acoustic signature of the quadrupolar Kondo effect in U0.2Y0.8Pd3.

PMID- 9978630
TI  - Phase transition in the spatially anisotropic classical XY model.

PMID- 9978629
TI  - Occasional appearance of antiferromagnetism in mainly ferromagnetic samples of
      UCu2Si2.

PMID- 9978631
TI  - Scaling law for a magnetic impurity model with two-body hybridization.

PMID- 9978632
TI  - Spin-wave interaction effects in the Neel phase of the J1-J2-J3 model.

PMID- 9978633
TI  - Magnetoelectric effect in fibrous composites with piezoelectric and piezomagnetic
      phases.

PMID- 9978634
TI  - Intrinsic magnetic resonance in superparamagnetic systems.

PMID- 9978635
TI  - High- and low-spin transition of Ru4+ in the perovskite-related layered system
      Srn+1RunO3n+1 (n=1, 2, and

PMID- 9978636
TI  - Superconducting and calorimetric properties of the quaternary borocarbide
      superconductor LaPd2B2C.

PMID- 9978637
TI  - Symmetry of trapped-field profiles in square columnar Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9978638
TI  - Superconductivity in Y0.6Pr0.4Ba2-xSrxCu3O7- delta : The role of apical oxygen in
      hybridization.

PMID- 9978639
TI  - Critical scaling of third-harmonic transmissivity near the Bose-glass transition
      in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals with columnar defects.

PMID- 9978640
TI  - Superconducting transition temperatures from anisotropic interactions.

PMID- 9978641
TI  - Singlet stripe phases in the planar t-J model.

PMID- 9978643
TI  - Comment on "Structures of sodium metal"

PMID- 9978642
TI  - Raman study of the copper isotope effect in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9978644
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Structures of sodium metal' "

PMID- 9978645
TI  - Comment on "Perimeter-maximum-diameter method for measuring the fractal dimension
      of a fractured surface"

PMID- 9978646
TI  - Phase separation and phase transitions in KC60: A 13C NMR study.

PMID- 9978648
TI  - Significant enhancement of optical nonlinearity by quantum lattice fluctuations
      in pi -conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9978647
TI  - Role of the interface in ion-induced alloy phase formation in an immiscible Y-Ta
      system.

PMID- 9978650
TI  - Observation of a possible oxygen isotope effect on the effective mass of carriers
      in YBa2Cu3O6.94.

PMID- 9978649
TI  - Quantum critical behavior in a two-layer antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9978651
TI  - Pressure effect on the double-exchange ferromagnet La1-xSrxMnO3 (0.15 <= x <=
      0.5).

PMID- 9978653
TI  - Superconducting phases of La2CuO4+ delta prepared by electrochemical oxidation at
      ambient temperature.

PMID- 9978652
TI  - Phonon structure in the tunneling conductance of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9978654
TI  - 89Y NMR study of the effect of Zn substitution on the spin dynamics of YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9978655
TI  - Optical properties of radiation defect centers involving single and paired Mn2+
      centers in CaF2:Mn.

PMID- 9978656
TI  - Magnetic correlations on the insulating side of the metal-insulator transition in
      amorphous Si1-xMnx.

PMID- 9978657
TI  - Electron correlation and dimerization in trans-polyacetylene: Many-body
      perturbation theory versus density-functional methods.

PMID- 9978658
TI  - Nonlinearities in bismuth under supersonic electron drift.

PMID- 9978659
TI  - Density-functional description of the electronic structure of LaMO3
      (M=Sc,Ti,V,Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni).

PMID- 9978660
TI  - Hole-polaron formation in the two-dimensional Holstein t-J model: A variational
      Lanczos study.

PMID- 9978661
TI  - Breakdown of the quasiparticle picture in the low-density limit of the one
      dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9978662
TI  - Two-band singlet-hole model for the copper oxide plane.

PMID- 9978663
TI  - Analysis of separable nonlocal pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9978664
TI  - Effects of orientational disorder on the electronic structure and transport in
      AxC70.

PMID- 9978666
TI  - Alternative local approach to nonorthogonal tight-binding theory: Environment
      dependence of the interaction parameters in an orthogonal basis.

PMID- 9978665
TI  - Constraints on pairings in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9978667
TI  - Order-N spectral method for electromagnetic waves.

PMID- 9978669
TI  - Excitonic optical nonlinearities and transport in the layered compound
      semiconductor GaSe.

PMID- 9978668
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of Pr3+ ions in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9978670
TI  - Raman-scattering probe of anharmonic effects in GaAs.

PMID- 9978671
TI  - Space-charge-limited photocurrent transients: The influence of bimolecular
      recombination.

PMID- 9978672
TI  - Intrinsic radiative lifetimes of donor-acceptor pair excitations in diamond.

PMID- 9978674
TI  - Optical absorption of free small polarons at high temperatures.

PMID- 9978673
TI  - Silicon defects in diamond.

PMID- 9978675
TI  - k

PMID- 9978677
TI  - Polarization dependence of the frequency-domain four-wave-mixing response of
      excitons in GaAs.

PMID- 9978678
TI  - Electronic states associated with dislocations in p-type silicon studied by means
      of electric-dipole spin resonance and deep-level transient spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978676
TI  - High-field hopping transport in band tails of disordered semiconductors.

PMID- 9978679
TI  - Improved hydrodynamical model for carrier transport in semiconductors.

PMID- 9978680
TI  - Optical detection of magnetic resonance of nitrogen and nickel in high-pressure
      synthetic diamond.

PMID- 9978681
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance identification of hydrogen-passivated sulfur
      centers in silicon.

PMID- 9978682
TI  - High-pressure effects in the layered semiconductor germanium selenide.

PMID- 9978683
TI  - Path-integral Monte Carlo simulation of hydrogen in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9978685
TI  - Pressure-induced Hall-effect spectroscopy of silicon DX states in planar doped
      GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9978684
TI  - Tight-binding model and interactions scaling laws for silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9978686
TI  - Phonon broadening of excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978688
TI  - Interface luminescence of GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs heterostructures: Threshold effect of
      the interface formation conditions.

PMID- 9978689
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic three-dimensional multiply connected
      normal-wire networks.

PMID- 9978687
TI  - Well-width dependence of the optical anisotropies in (001) and (110)
      semiconductor quantum wells: The effect of spin-orbit split-off bands.

PMID- 9978691
TI  - Overlayer growth and electronic properties of the Bi/GaSb(110) interface.

PMID- 9978690
TI  - Germanium 70Ge/74Ge isotope heterostructures: An approach to self-diffusion
      studies.

PMID- 9978692
TI  - Nonlinear I(V) characteristics of Luttinger liquids and gated Hall bars.

PMID- 9978693
TI  - Characteristics of the conductance of a quantum waveguide containing an array of
      stubs: Numerical simulation.

PMID- 9978694
TI  - Grazing-incidence diffraction from multilayers.

PMID- 9978695
TI  - Carrier-carrier scattering in photoexcited intrinsic GaAs quantum wells and its
      effect on femtosecond plasma thermalization.

PMID- 9978696
TI  - Semiclassical theory of shot-noise suppression.

PMID- 9978698
TI  - Generalized circular ensemble of scattering matrices for a chaotic cavity with
      nonideal leads.

PMID- 9978699
TI  - Fano resonances in the optical spectra of semiconductor quantum structures.

PMID- 9978697
TI  - Coulomb gap in a two-dimensional electron gas with a close metallic electrode.

PMID- 9978701
TI  - Electron-electron scattering in a two-dimensional electron gas in a strong
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9978700
TI  - (001)-surface-induced bulk states and surface resonances in II-VI zinc-blende
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9978702
TI  - Wetting of monovalent metals on semiconductors and insulators.

PMID- 9978703
TI  - Random-matrix theory and the cumulants of the conductance for quasi-one
      dimensional mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9978704
TI  - Conduction-band spin splitting and negative magnetoresistance in A3B5
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9978705
TI  - Andreev resonances in the current-voltage characteristics of a normal-metal
      superconductor junction.

PMID- 9978706
TI  - Ultrafast carrier relaxation and vertical-transport phenomena in semiconductor
      superlattices: A Monte Carlo analysis.

PMID- 9978707
TI  - Elementary excitations and off-diagonal long-range order in double-layer quantum
      Hall systems.

PMID- 9978708
TI  - Ultrafast edge photoexcitation and coherent oscillations in tunnel-coupled double
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9978709
TI  - Reflectivity of the quantum grating and the grating polariton.

PMID- 9978711
TI  - Shape resonances in photoemission for CO molecules adsorbed on metallic surfaces:
      A model including backscattering.

PMID- 9978710
TI  - Impurity necklaces in the two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978713
TI  - Phase transitions of argon multilayer films on graphite: Evolution from
      multilayer film to bulk solid.

PMID- 9978712
TI  - Adsorption of sodium and potassium on a gold(100) surface: An example of alkali
      metal-induced deconstruction.

PMID- 9978714
TI  - Orientational disorder in C60 below Ts: A diffuse-neutron-scattering study.

PMID- 9978716
TI  - Capillary phenomena in extremely thin zeolite channels and metal-dielectric
      interaction.

PMID- 9978715
TI  - Two-dimensional electron-scattering processes on Na-dosed Cu(111): A two-photon
      photoemission study.

PMID- 9978717
TI  - Structure and dynamics of the reconstructed Au(511) surface.

PMID- 9978719
TI  - Charge transfer, doping, and interface morphologies for Al-C60.

PMID- 9978718
TI  - Full structure determination of an alkali-metal/CO coadsorption phase for Co{101
      bar0}-c(2 x 2)-(K+CO).

PMID- 9978721
TI  - Epitaxial lines and the metastability of bcc cobalt.

PMID- 9978720
TI  - Determination of electrophysical properties of a layered structure with a
      statistically rough surface via an inversion method.

PMID- 9978722
TI  - Electronic structure and scanning-tunneling-microscopy image of molybdenum
      dichalcogenide surfaces.

PMID- 9978724
TI  - Transmission of electromagnetic waves through thin metal films with randomly
      rough surfaces.

PMID- 9978723
TI  - Intermixing at Au-In interfaces as studied by photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978725
TI  - Transport in channels and films with rough surfaces.

PMID- 9978727
TI  - Electronic structure, surface states, surface energy, and work function of the
      Cu(100) surface.

PMID- 9978726
TI  - Predicted c(2 x 2) buckling reconstruction of monolayer Mn on Fe(001) and its
      importance to the interfacial magnetic ordering.

PMID- 9978728
TI  - Equilibrium structure and migration of a single dimer vacancy on the Si(001)
      surface.

PMID- 9978729
TI  - Frenkel-Kontorova model with a nonconvex transverse degree of freedom: A model
      for reconstructive surface growth.

PMID- 9978730
TI  - Core-level shifts in bulk alloys and surface adlayers.

PMID- 9978732
TI  - Mechanism for the metal-insulator transition in Sr2Ir1-xRuxO4.

PMID- 9978731
TI  - Reality of the eigenfrequencies of periodic elastic composites.

PMID- 9978733
TI  - Carbon- and oxygen-related point defects created by annealing the dicarbon
      radiation-damage center in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9978735
TI  - Dielectric scaling of the self-energy scissor operator in semiconductors and
      insulators.

PMID- 9978734
TI  - Electronic and elastic properties of edge dislocations in Si.

PMID- 9978736
TI  - Hole refraction from strained Si1-xGex/Si heterostructures.

PMID- 9978737
TI  - Exciton states in the GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs corrugated superlattices grown on (311)
      oriented substrates.

PMID- 9978738
TI  - Effects of hydrogen impurities on the diffusion, nucleation, and growth of Si on
      Si(001).

PMID- 9978740
TI  - Fermi level of low-temperature-grown GaAs on Si- delta -doped GaAs.

PMID- 9978739
TI  - Selection rules in Raman scattering by plasmons in quantum wires.

PMID- 9978741
TI  - Fano resonances in transport across a quantum well in a tilted magnetic field.

PMID- 9978742
TI  - Conductance distribution in quantum dots with point contacts.

PMID- 9978743
TI  - Destruction of the quantum Hall effect with increasing disorder.

PMID- 9978745
TI  - Lateral size effects on cells in ferroelectric films.

PMID- 9978744
TI  - Observation of induced dipoles between small palladium clusters and alpha -(0001)
      Al2O3.

PMID- 9978746
TI  - Scaling of level statistics at the disorder-induced metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9978747
TI  - Magnetothermopower oscillations in a lateral superlattice.

PMID- 9978748
TI  - Charged pseudospin textures in double-layer quantum Hall systems with spontaneous
      interlayer coherence.

PMID- 9978749
TI  - Schottky contacts on a highly doped organic semiconductor.

PMID- 9978750
TI  - Native defects in gallium nitride.

PMID- 9978751
TI  - Composite fermions traversing a potential barrier.

PMID- 9978752
TI  - Homogeneous linewidths of excitons in CdTe/(Cd,Zn)Te single quantum wells.

PMID- 9978754
TI  - Investigation of miniband formation in a graded-gap superlattice by
      electroreflectance spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978753
TI  - Resonant coupling of electrons and excitons in an aperiodic superlattice under
      electric fields studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978755
TI  - Bloch oscillations at room temperature.

PMID- 9978756
TI  - Collective transport in two-dimensional magnetic bubble arrays.

PMID- 9978757
TI  - Advacancy-induced step bunching on vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9978759
TI  - Near-infrared emission of Cr4+-doped garnets: Lifetimes, quantum efficiencies,
      and emission cross sections.

PMID- 9978758
TI  - Erratum: Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in a random magnetic
      field

PMID- 9978760
TI  - Model of electron-proton correlation in quasi-one-dimensional halogen-bridged
      mixed-valence complexes: Role of proton motion.

PMID- 9978762
TI  - Localization properties of Kronig-Penney incommensurate potentials.

PMID- 9978761
TI  - Reference force field and charge-density-wave amplitude of mixed-valence halogen
      bridged Pt complexes.

PMID- 9978763
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn alloys and approximant
      phases.

PMID- 9978764
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of alpha and beta phases of silicon
      nitride, silicon oxynitride, and with comparison to silicon dioxide.

PMID- 9978765
TI  - Optical properties and electronic structures of alpha - and gamma -Ce.

PMID- 9978766
TI  - Local-density-derived semiempirical pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9978767
TI  - Spin-polarized Hartree-Fock approximation at nonzero temperatures.

PMID- 9978768
TI  - Elastic constants of hexagonal transition metals: Theory.

PMID- 9978769
TI  - Model for a strongly correlated insulator: FeSi.

PMID- 9978770
TI  - Analytical molecular orbitals and band structures of solid C60.

PMID- 9978771
TI  - Acoustic properties of gallium selenide.

PMID- 9978772
TI  - Ultrafast thermalization of nonequilibrium holes in p-type tetrahedral
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9978773
TI  - Deep-level defects responsible for persistent photoconductivity in Ga-doped Cd1
      xMnxTe.

PMID- 9978774
TI  - Cu L3 core-hole effects in the x-ray absorption of CuCl.

PMID- 9978775
TI  - ac conductivity of glassy Bi4-nPbnSr3Ca3Cu4Ox semiconductors (with n=0.0, 0.1,
      0.5, and 1.0): Precursors for high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9978776
TI  - Electronic and transformation properties of a metastable defect introduced in n
      type GaAs by alpha -particle irradiation.

PMID- 9978778
TI  - Band gap of porous silicon.

PMID- 9978777
TI  - Temperature dependence of photoluminescence in porous silicon and its
      interpretation using the porous-cluster model.

PMID- 9978779
TI  - Frenkel pairs in low-temperature electron-irradiated InP: Optical-absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978780
TI  - Optical investigation of the DX centers in GaAs under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9978781
TI  - Observation of the nearest-neighbor magnetization step in CdS:Co by Faraday
      rotation in magnetic fields to 60 T.

PMID- 9978782
TI  - Chemical and structural studies of disorder and defects in a-GeSe2 films as a
      function of thermal annealing.

PMID- 9978783
TI  - Brillouin-scattering measurements of surface-acoustic-wave velocities in silicon
      at high temperatures.

PMID- 9978784
TI  - Composite fermions, edge currents, and the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9978785
TI  - Size effects in optical second-harmonic generation by metallic nanocrystals and
      semiconductor quantum dots: The role of quantum chaotic dynamics.

PMID- 9978786
TI  - Transition from one- to two-subband occupancy in the 2DEG of back-gated
      modulation-doped GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9978787
TI  - Saturation and voltage quenching of porous-silicon luminescence and the
      importance of the Auger effect.

PMID- 9978788
TI  - Vertical transport in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices by a microwave time-of-flight
      technique.

PMID- 9978789
TI  - Magneto-optics and valence-band discontinuity in a HgTe-Hg1-xCdxTe superlattice.

PMID- 9978790
TI  - Form of kinetic energy in effective-mass Hamiltonians for heterostructures.

PMID- 9978792
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of the Na/Si(111)-(3 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9978791
TI  - cw photoluminescence determination of thermally activated fast X--> Gamma
      interlayer electron scattering in type-II GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9978793
TI  - Tunneling and nonparabolicity effects in in-plane magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978794
TI  - Cyclotron-resonance studies in relaxed InxGa1-xAs (0 <= x <= 1) epilayers.

PMID- 9978795
TI  - Interaction of above-Fermi-edge magnetoexciton states from different subbands in
      dense two-dimensional electron magnetoplasma.

PMID- 9978796
TI  - Optical measurements of electronic band structure in tensile strain (Ga,In)P
      (Al,Ga,In)P quantum wells.

PMID- 9978798
TI  - Depletion layers, plasmon dispersion, and the effects of temperature in
      degenerate InSb(100): A study by electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9978797
TI  - High-resolution x-ray-photoemission study of metastable Fe silicide core-electron
      states.

PMID- 9978799
TI  - Electron-interface-phonon interaction and scattering in asymmetric semiconductor
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9978800
TI  - Field-modulated diffusivity of excitons in coupled asymmetric quantum wells.

PMID- 9978801
TI  - Spin-orbit interaction, triplet lifetime, and fine-structure splitting of
      excitons in highly porous silicon.

PMID- 9978803
TI  - Charge oscillations in double quantum wells: Nonlinear effects caused by the
      Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9978802
TI  - Artificial impurity in interacting electron droplets in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9978804
TI  - Emission of short-wavelength phonons in tunneling through Schottky barriers.

PMID- 9978805
TI  - Raman scattering due to interface optical phonons in GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9978806
TI  - Influence of interfacial atomic structure on the Schottky-barrier height of
      Si(111)-Pb.

PMID- 9978807
TI  - Bernstein modes in quantum wires and dots.

PMID- 9978809
TI  - Thermopower of mesoscopic and disordered systems.

PMID- 9978808
TI  - Ab initio studies of GaN epitaxial growth on SiC.

PMID- 9978810
TI  - Theory of quantum-wire formation on corrugated surfaces.

PMID- 9978811
TI  - Heteroepitaxy of beta -FeSi2 on Si by gas-source MBE.

PMID- 9978813
TI  - Interfaces, confinement, and resonant Raman scattering in Ge/Si quantum wells.

PMID- 9978812
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscope study of the alpha and beta phases of the GaAs
      (001)-(2 x 4) reconstruction.

PMID- 9978815
TI  - Possible bistability of the persistent current of two interacting electrons in a
      quantum ring.

PMID- 9978814
TI  - Hole subbands and effective masses in p-doped

PMID- 9978816
TI  - Tunneling between edge channels and the bulk of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978818
TI  - Temperature relaxation and the Kapitza-boundary-resistance paradox.

PMID- 9978817
TI  - Interacting one-dimensional electron gas with open boundaries.

PMID- 9978819
TI  - Orientational probing of polymeric thin films by NEXAFS: Calculations on
      polytetrafluoroethylene.

PMID- 9978820
TI  - Variations of LEED intensities with angle of incidence and the influence on spot
      profiles.

PMID- 9978821
TI  - Anisotropy of the stress on fcc(110) surfaces.

PMID- 9978822
TI  - Inelastic energy loss and charge exchange in low-energy heavy ions scattered from
      Cu and Cu-alloy surfaces.

PMID- 9978823
TI  - Reactive crystal growth in two dimensions: Silicon nitride on Si(111).

PMID- 9978824
TI  - Binding of Li atoms adsorbed on metal surfaces.

PMID- 9978825
TI  - Phase diagram of the Cu-Pd surface alloy: A first-principles calculation.

PMID- 9978826
TI  - Near-field microscopy of surface-plasmon polaritons: Localization and internal
      interface imaging.

PMID- 9978828
TI  - Quantitative study of the decay of intensity oscillations in transient layer-by
      layer growth.

PMID- 9978827
TI  - Temperature- and composition-dependent photoluminescence from the guest ion in
      intercalated layered aluminosilicate compounds.

PMID- 9978829
TI  - Surface-structure determination of Sc(0001) using LEED and STM.

PMID- 9978830
TI  - Structure and stability of Si45 clusters: A generalized tight-binding molecular
      dynamics approach.

PMID- 9978832
TI  - Dielectric function and local-field effects of TiSe2.

PMID- 9978831
TI  - Vacancy island nucleation and inverse growth of InSb(110).

PMID- 9978833
TI  - Spin-density-wave state of tetramethyltetraselenafulvalinium phosphate
      (TMTSF)2PF6: Pressure and magnetic-field effects.

PMID- 9978835
TI  - Photocurrent calculations in beryllium using a local dielectric model.

PMID- 9978834
TI  - High-resolution photoemission spectroscopy of the Verwey transition in Fe3O4.

PMID- 9978836
TI  - Electronic structure of insulating Zr3N4 studied by resonant photoemission.

PMID- 9978837
TI  - Generating tight-binding Hamiltonians with finite-difference methods.

PMID- 9978838
TI  - Spin-orbit coupling parameters and electron g factor of II-VI zinc-blende
      materials.

PMID- 9978839
TI  - Adsorption-state-specific C 1s core-level chemical shifts of thiophene on
      Si(111)7 x 7 by photoemission spectroscopy at 340 eV.

PMID- 9978840
TI  - Self-consistent current-voltage characteristics of superconducting
      nanostructures.

PMID- 9978841
TI  - Experimental determination of the pressure dependence of the barrier height of
      metal/

PMID- 9978842
TI  - Theory of a type of quantum amplification: Phase-sensitive amplification by
      frequency upconversion.

PMID- 9978843
TI  - Cyclotron effective mass of a two-dimensional electron layer at the GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs heterojunction subject to in-plane magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978844
TI  - Exceptionally slow dephasing of electronic continuum states in a semiconductor.

PMID- 9978845
TI  - Full-potential total-energy investigation on the lattice relaxation at the two
      types of NiSi2/Si(111) interface.

PMID- 9978846
TI  - Phonon scattering on two-dimensional electrons in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9978847
TI  - Thermoelectric resonant transport through the Anderson impurities.

PMID- 9978849
TI  - Disorder-tuned transition between a quantum Hall liquid and Hall insulator.

PMID- 9978848
TI  - Evidence for quantum states corresponding to families of stable and chaotic
      classical orbits in a wide potential well.

PMID- 9978850
TI  - Phase breaking in ballistic quantum dots: Transition from two- to zero
      dimensional behavior.

PMID- 9978852
TI  - Influence of metastable states of two-dimensional electrons on the electronic
      properties of composite fermions.

PMID- 9978851
TI  - Resonant-energy relaxation of terahertz-driven two-dimensional electron gases.

PMID- 9978853
TI  - Quenching of excitonic optical transitions by excess electrons in GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9978854
TI  - Low-temperature anti-Stokes luminescence mediated by disorder in semiconductor
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9978855
TI  - Many-electron theory of Auger surface-ion neutralization.

PMID- 9978856
TI  - Explanation of the conductivity minimum in tin- and tellurium-doped bismuth.

PMID- 9978857
TI  - Surface second-harmonic generation from chiral materials.

PMID- 9978858
TI  - Degenerate ground states of the two-dimensional U=

PMID- 9978859
TI  - Ab initio total-energy pseudopotential calculations for polymorphic B2O3
      crystals.

PMID- 9978860
TI  - Linear system-size scaling methods for electronic-structure calculations.

PMID- 9978861
TI  - Electronic structures of transition-metal mono-oxides in the self-interaction
      corrected local-spin-density approximation.

PMID- 9978862
TI  - Optical properties of LaSr2Ga11O20 crystals containing Cr3+

PMID- 9978863
TI  - Individual versus collective pinning in charge-density-wave systems with
      impurties.

PMID- 9978864
TI  - Falicov-Kimball model and the problem of valence and metal-insulator transitions.

PMID- 9978865
TI  - Cu local density of states in CuAu I from photoemission measurements.

PMID- 9978866
TI  - Statistics and power spectrum of the electron fluctuations in semiconductors.

PMID- 9978867
TI  - GW self-energy calculations of carrier-induced band-gap narrowing in n-type
      silicon.

PMID- 9978868
TI  - Reactivation kinetics of acceptors in hydrogenated InP during unbiased annealing.

PMID- 9978870
TI  - Stimulated Brillouin scattering in magnetized direct-gap semiconductors.

PMID- 9978869
TI  - NMR evidence for the metallic nature of highly conducting polyaniline.

PMID- 9978872
TI  - Current-voltage characteristics of porous-silicon layers.

PMID- 9978871
TI  - Analysis of ionized-impurity-scattering relaxation time and mobility by the phase
      shift method for two interacting valence bands.

PMID- 9978873
TI  - Boson peak in the Raman spectra of amorphous gallium arsenide: Generalization to
      amorphous tetrahedral semiconductors.

PMID- 9978874
TI  - Spin correlations in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9978875
TI  - Nature of bonding of alkali metals to Si(111).

PMID- 9978876
TI  - Combined theoretical and experimental investigation of the adsorption geometry of
      Ga on Si(100) at low coverage.

PMID- 9978878
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect on a lattice.

PMID- 9978877
TI  - Nonradiative processes and luminescence spectra in porous silicon.

PMID- 9978880
TI  - Derivation of a general expression for the momentum matrix elements within the
      envelope-function approximation.

PMID- 9978879
TI  - Electron streaming caused by inelastic acoustic-phonon scattering in quantum
      wires.

PMID- 9978881
TI  - Electronic states in one-dimensional polymeric superlattices: A tight-binding
      approach.

PMID- 9978883
TI  - Spin-superlattice formation in a type-II ZnSe/Zn0.96Fe0.04Se multiple-quantum
      well structure.

PMID- 9978882
TI  - Transient picosecond Raman studies of high-field electron transport in GaAs-based
      p-i-n nanostructure semiconductors.

PMID- 9978884
TI  - Phonon properties and Raman response of (113) GaAs/AlAs corrugated superlattices.

PMID- 9978885
TI  - Simple fit to the ground-state energy of the two-dimensional electron gas in the
      fractional quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9978886
TI  - Visible photoluminescence from nanocrystallite Ge embedded in a glassy SiO2
      matrix: Evidence in support of the quantum-confinement mechanism.

PMID- 9978888
TI  - Theory of one-phonon Raman scattering in semiconductor microcrystallites.

PMID- 9978887
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of defect formation in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9978889
TI  - Self-consistent density of states for heterostructures in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978890
TI  - Exchange-enhanced spin splitting in a two-dimensional electron system with
      lateral modulation.

PMID- 9978891
TI  - Statistical properties of level widths and conductance peaks in a quantum dot.

PMID- 9978892
TI  - Formation of step structures by As deposition on a double-domain Si(001)
      substrate.

PMID- 9978893
TI  - Temperature dependence of the band overlap in InAs/GaSb structures.

PMID- 9978894
TI  - Theory of resonant tunneling through a quantum wire.

PMID- 9978895
TI  - Coulomb blockade at almost perfect transmission.

PMID- 9978896
TI  - Excitation spectrum and collective modes of composite fermions.

PMID- 9978897
TI  - First-principles study of the electronic and optical properties of confined
      silicon systems.

PMID- 9978898
TI  - Correlated few-electron states in vertical double-quantum-dot systems.

PMID- 9978899
TI  - Anomalous Urbach tail in GaAs.

PMID- 9978900
TI  - Phonon renormalization effects in photoexcited quantum wires.

PMID- 9978901
TI  - Low-temperature interface reactions in layered Au/Sb films: In situ investigation
      of the formation of an amorphous phase.

PMID- 9978902
TI  - Unoccupied electronic resonances of Sc adsorbed on W(001) by k-resolved inverse
      photoemission.

PMID- 9978903
TI  - Conductivity of tridecylmethylammonium-Au(dmit)2 Langmuir-Blodgett films under
      hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9978905
TI  - Alkali-metal chemisorption on Ta(110).

PMID- 9978904
TI  - Origin of the extended fine structure in the secondary-electron-emission spectrum
      of graphite.

PMID- 9978906
TI  - Alkali-metal-fulleride phase equilibria.

PMID- 9978907
TI  - Collective resonances in silver clusters: Role of d electrons and the
      polarization-free surface layer.

PMID- 9978909
TI  - Linear transport theory of magnetoconductance in metallic multilayers: A real
      space approach.

PMID- 9978908
TI  - Initial-state and scattering-factor effects in photoelectron holography.

PMID- 9978910
TI  - Relation between lattice order and energy-resolved momentum densities in carbon
      films.

PMID- 9978912
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of surface diffusion.

PMID- 9978911
TI  - Periodic orbits and shell structure in octupole deformed potentials.

PMID- 9978913
TI  - Deformed-jellium model for the fission of multiply charged simple metal clusters.

PMID- 9978914
TI  - Electronic shell effects in triaxially deformed metal clusters: A systematic
      interpretation of experimental observations.

PMID- 9978915
TI  - Fast and versatile method for full-potential total energies: Applications to
      ordered and disordered alloys.

PMID- 9978917
TI  - Optical properties of Fe-Rh alloys.

PMID- 9978916
TI  - Large-U limit of a Hubbard model in a magnetic field: Chiral spin interactions
      and paramagnetism.

PMID- 9978918
TI  - Carbon and silicon vacancies in electron-irradiated 6H-SiC.

PMID- 9978920
TI  - Valence-band offset at AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs: Application of average-bond-energy theory
      in conjunction with the cluster expansion method.

PMID- 9978919
TI  - Resonance formalism for the transmission probability of symmetrical multibarrier
      resonant-tunneling structures.

PMID- 9978921
TI  - Free-carrier effect on exciton dynamics in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978923
TI  - Negative-differential band-gap renormalization in type-II GaAs/AlAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9978922
TI  - Photoluminescence study of silicon donors in n-type modulation-doped GaAs/AlAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9978924
TI  - Ground state of a quantum disk by the effective-index method.

PMID- 9978925
TI  - STM study of superstructures formed in the Pd/Si(111) system.

PMID- 9978926
TI  - Kinetics of intermixing in Au/Ag(110) heteroepitaxy: A molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9978928
TI  - Nitrogen adsorption on Rh(110).

PMID- 9978927
TI  - Resonant second-order Raman spectra of C60 on Ag and In surfaces.

PMID- 9978929
TI  - Complex surface alloy formed by Li deposition on Cu(001) determined by dynamical
      low-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9978931
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of C59X (X=B,N): The extended Su-Schrieffer
      Heeger model.

PMID- 9978930
TI  - Adsorbate-induced surface expansion: Indicator of the propensity for a structural
      transformation.

PMID- 9978932
TI  - Origin of metallic surface core-level shifts.

PMID- 9978933
TI  - Simulations of polycrystalline growth in 2+1 dimensions.

PMID- 9978934
TI  - Phonon modes of diamond (100) surfaces from ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9978935
TI  - Variational wave functions for the Mott transition: The 1/r Hubbard chain.

PMID- 9978936
TI  - Susceptibility of the one-dimensional dimerized Hubbard model.

PMID- 9978937
TI  - Luminescence from monolayer-thick Ge quantum wells embedded in Si.

PMID- 9978939
TI  - X-ray-edge singularity in nonequilibrium systems.

PMID- 9978938
TI  - Virtual excitation of the Fermi-edge singularity in modulation-doped quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9978940
TI  - Quantum conductance fluctuations and classical short-path dynamics.

PMID- 9978941
TI  - Laughlin-liquid-Wigner-solid transition at high density in wide quantum wells.

PMID- 9978942
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of surface morphology at the initial growth
      stage of Si on a 7 x 7 superlattice surface of Si(111).

PMID- 9978943
TI  - Magnetism of 4d and 5d transition metal adlayers on Ag(001): Dependence on the
      adlayer thickness.

PMID- 9978944
TI  - Erratum: Ellipsometric studies of magnetic phase transitions of Fe-Rh alloys

PMID- 9978945
TI  - Erratum: Valence-band offsets and band tailoring in compound strained-layer
      superlattices

PMID- 9978947
TI  - Theoretical studies of vacancies in Al and Cu.

PMID- 9978946
TI  - Suppression of the metal-to-insulator transition in BaVS3 with pressure.

PMID- 9978948
TI  - Charge-density-wave glass state in quasi-one-dimensional conductors.

PMID- 9978949
TI  - Photoemission, x-ray absorption, and inverse-photoemission studies of valence
      fluctuating Sm3Se4.

PMID- 9978950
TI  - Density-of-states calculations and multiple-scattering theory for photons.

PMID- 9978952
TI  - Molecular structure and chemical bonding in K3C60 and K6C60.

PMID- 9978951
TI  - Numerical implementation of absorbing and injecting boundary conditions for the
      time-dependent Schrodinger equation.

PMID- 9978953
TI  - Full-potential band calculations on YTiO3 with a distorted perovskite structure.

PMID- 9978955
TI  - Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of 3d transition-metal aluminides
      with equiatomic composition.

PMID- 9978954
TI  - Picosecond quantum-beat spectroscopy of quadrupole polaritons in Cu2O.

PMID- 9978956
TI  - Use of the Ising model in the study of substitutional alloys.

PMID- 9978957
TI  - Optically detected magnetic-resonance study of a metastable selenium-related
      center in silicon.

PMID- 9978958
TI  - Photobleaching of light-induced paramagnetic defects in fast and slow processes
      in a-Si1-xNx:H alloys.

PMID- 9978959
TI  - Photoluminescence in a-C:H films.

PMID- 9978960
TI  - Agglomeration of self-interstitials in Si observed at 450 degreesC by high
      resolution transmission electron microscopy.

PMID- 9978961
TI  - Optical and electrical properties of hydrogen-passivated gallium antimonide.

PMID- 9978963
TI  - Origin of the 4.1-eV luminescence in pure CsI scintillator.

PMID- 9978962
TI  - Time-convolutionless reduced-density-operator theory of an arbitrary driven
      system coupled to a stochastic reservoir. II. Optical gain and line-shape
      function of a driven semiconductor.

PMID- 9978964
TI  - Observation of slow dangling-bond relaxation in p-type hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9978966
TI  - Thermal diffusion of a two-layer system.

PMID- 9978965
TI  - Temperature dependence of carrier relaxation in semiconductor doped glasses.

PMID- 9978967
TI  - Thermoelectric power of hot carriers in the nonequilibrium-statistical-operator
      approach.

PMID- 9978968
TI  - Hopping transport on a fractal: ac conductivity of porous silicon.

PMID- 9978969
TI  - Anomalous conductivity and electron-coupling-constant scaling in metallic
      phosphorous-doped silicon.

PMID- 9978970
TI  - Theoretical studies of arsine adsorption on Si(100).

PMID- 9978971
TI  - Phase transition in a many-electron gas in a two-dimensional polar-semiconductor
      quantum well.

PMID- 9978972
TI  - Light-emission mechanism of Si-MOS tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9978973
TI  - X-ray diffraction from laterally structured surfaces: Total external reflection.

PMID- 9978974
TI  - Plasmon dispersion and electron heating in a drifting two-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9978976
TI  - Interface study of heteroepitaxial diamond films on silicon (001) substrates.

PMID- 9978975
TI  - Donor 1s-2p+/- transitions in doped GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells: Effects of
      electric and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9978977
TI  - Magnetoelectric spectrum and transport properties of a shallow asymmetric quantum
      channel.

PMID- 9978978
TI  - Inadequacy of the one-dimensional approximation for resonant-tunneling-diode
      current-voltage calculations.

PMID- 9978979
TI  - Conductance-quantization broadening mechanisms in quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9978980
TI  - Noninteger conductance steps in a gapped double electron waveguide.

PMID- 9978981
TI  - Resonant electron capture in AlxGa1-xAs/AlAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9978982
TI  - Iron environment in pseudomorphic iron silicides epitaxially grown on Si(111).

PMID- 9978983
TI  - X-ray diffraction from Si/Ge layers: Diffuse scattering in the region of total
      external reflection.

PMID- 9978984
TI  - Laser-induced band-bending variation on room-temperature CdTe(110)1 x 1 surfaces
      observed in photoemission and through the Franz-Keldish effect in surface
      differential reflectivity.

PMID- 9978985
TI  - Band nonparabolicity and central-cell corrections for D- centers in GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9978986
TI  - Geometry and electronic band structure of an ordered monolayer deposition of Bi
      on III-V(110) semiconductor surfaces.

PMID- 9978987
TI  - Nuclear-quadrupole-resonance studies of As2Se3 fibers.

PMID- 9978988
TI  - Cyclotron resonance of two-dimensional interface polarons.

PMID- 9978989
TI  - Au/n-ZnSe contacts studied with use of ballistic-electron-emission microscopy.

PMID- 9978990
TI  - Tunneling and quantum noise in one-dimensional Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9978991
TI  - Reactive adsorption and diffusion of Ti on Si(001) by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9978992
TI  - Coulomb blockade and current-voltage characteristics of ultrasmall double tunnel
      junctions with external circuits.

PMID- 9978994
TI  - Inverse problem for multiple scattering of fast charged particles in a mesoscopic
      medium.

PMID- 9978993
TI  - Surface-shift low-energy photoelectron diffraction: Clean and hydrogenated
      GaAs(110) surface-structure relaxation.

PMID- 9978995
TI  - Very-low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of oxygen on Cu(001).

PMID- 9978997
TI  - Ultrathin films of Pt on TiO2(110): Growth and chemisorption-induced surfactant
      effects.

PMID- 9978996
TI  - Molecular-quantum-electrodynamics calculation of multipolar optical harmonics
      generation from isotropic media in the presence of a surface.

PMID- 9978998
TI  - Order-to-disorder phase-transition study of Pb on Ge(111).

PMID- 9979000
TI  - Theory of lithium islands and monolayers: Electronic structure and stability.

PMID- 9978999
TI  - Hexagonal packing of Fe layers in Fe/Ru superlattices.

PMID- 9979001
TI  - Quantum size effect on optical second-harmonic generation in small metallic
      particles.

PMID- 9979002
TI  - Self-annihilation of surface precipitates on compound films by alternate
      impinging of molecular beams.

PMID- 9979003
TI  - Inconsistency between height-height correlation and power-spectrum functions of
      scale-invariant surfaces for roughness exponent alpha ~1.

PMID- 9979004
TI  - In situ STM studies of Cu underpotential deposition on Au(100) in the presence of
      sulfate and chloride anions.

PMID- 9979006
TI  - Time-independent tunneling current of a tip-sample system in scanning tunneling
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979005
TI  - Coincidence electron spectroscopy of W(100) in the threshold-energy region.

PMID- 9979007
TI  - Mossbauer investigation of the growth of the Fe multilayer in Fe(100)/Ag(100)
      structures.

PMID- 9979008
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of the dynamical excitations in commensurate monolayer
      films of nitrogen molecules on graphite: A test of the corrugation in the
      nitrogen-graphite potential.

PMID- 9979010
TI  - Growth and structural characterization of Ni/Co superlattices.

PMID- 9979009
TI  - Electromagnetic surface response for a solid with one-dimensional crystallinity.

PMID- 9979011
TI  - Hydrodynamic model for second-harmonic generation at conductor surfaces with
      continuous profiles.

PMID- 9979012
TI  - Bulk properties of the stabilized uniform interstitial electron gas in metals.

PMID- 9979013
TI  - Linear-response theory revisited.

PMID- 9979014
TI  - Theoretical search for ZnSe-based quaternaries.

PMID- 9979015
TI  - Demonstration of semiconductor characterization by phonon sidebands in
      photoluminescence.

PMID- 9979016
TI  - Transport properties of Kondo holes in a Kondo insulator.

PMID- 9979018
TI  - Hall effect over integral filling factors in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires.

PMID- 9979017
TI  - Two-parameter scaling of the hopping conductivity of n-type CdSe.

PMID- 9979019
TI  - Density-functional theory of Wigner crystallization in two dimensions.

PMID- 9979020
TI  - Binding energy of a hydrogenic donor and of a Wannier exciton in the ||z||2/3
      quantum well.

PMID- 9979021
TI  - Time-resolved spectroscopy of biexciton luminescence in ZnxCd1-xSe-ZnSySe1-y
      multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9979022
TI  - Electric-field and temperature tuning of exciton-photon coupling in quantum
      microcavity structures.

PMID- 9979024
TI  - Disorder-induced radiative decay of excitons in type-I indirect-gap quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9979023
TI  - Resonance magnetoresistance of coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9979026
TI  - Bound on the group velocity of an electron in a one-dimensional periodic
      potential.

PMID- 9979025
TI  - Rigorous upper bound for the persistent current in systems with toroidal
      geometry.

PMID- 9979028
TI  - Phenomenological equations of the kinetics of heterogeneous adsorption with
      interaction between adsorbed molecules.

PMID- 9979027
TI  - Hydrogen-induced reconstruction of W(001): Predictions of the four-position
      model.

PMID- 9979029
TI  - Relative stability of hexagonal and planar structures of hypothetical C3N4
      solids.

PMID- 9979030
TI  - Electronic structure of Si46 and Na2Ba6Si46.

PMID- 9979031
TI  - Two-loop scattering amplitudes for the t-J model: Evidence for a spin-exchange
      collective mode.

PMID- 9979032
TI  - Energetics of bond-centered hydrogen in strained Si-Si bonds.

PMID- 9979033
TI  - Electron states in a quasi-one-dimensional charge channel over liquid helium in
      the presence of a transverse magnetic field.

PMID- 9979034
TI  - Weak ferroelectricity in antiferroelectric lead zirconate.

PMID- 9979036
TI  - Dynamics of order-parameter-conserving Ising models at T>Tc.

PMID- 9979035
TI  - Temperature dependence of the YAG:Cr3+ fluorescence lifetime over the range 77 to
      900 K.

PMID- 9979037
TI  - Phase-transition mechanism in (NH4)2SO4.

PMID- 9979038
TI  - Multielectron excitations at the L edges in rare-earth ionic aqueous solutions.

PMID- 9979039
TI  - Effects of ballistic atom movements on ordering transitions of binary alloys.

PMID- 9979040
TI  - Frequency dependence of the complex dielectric permittivity of ferroelectric
      relaxors.

PMID- 9979041
TI  - Derivation of electron-gas interatomic potentials from quantum-mechanical
      descriptions of ions in crystals.

PMID- 9979042
TI  - Computer simulation of vapor-liquid phase separation in two- and three
      dimensional fluids. II. Domain structure.

PMID- 9979043
TI  - Path-integral Monte Carlo study of crystalline Lennard-Jones systems.

PMID- 9979044
TI  - Stacking-fault imaging using transmission ion channeling.

PMID- 9979045
TI  - Dechanneling of MeV protons by 60 degrees dislocations.

PMID- 9979046
TI  - Influence of disorder on the field-modulated spectra of polydiacetylene films.

PMID- 9979047
TI  - Coherent phenomena in inelastic backscattering of electrons from disordered
      media.

PMID- 9979048
TI  - Anomalous-diffusion model of ionic transport in oxide glasses.

PMID- 9979049
TI  - Magnetoconductivity of quasicrystals in the insulating regime.

PMID- 9979050
TI  - Elastic-wave propagation through disordered and/or absorptive layered systems.

PMID- 9979051
TI  - Quadrupolar random-field model for orientational glasses.

PMID- 9979052
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of structural relaxation in metallic glasses.

PMID- 9979054
TI  - Ground state of a general electron-phonon Hamiltonian is a spin singlet.

PMID- 9979053
TI  - Asymmetric exclusion model for mixed ionic conductors.

PMID- 9979056
TI  - 23Na NMR evidence for a change of diffusion mechanism in NaClO4-poly(propylene
      oxide).

PMID- 9979055
TI  - Clump phase in a two-dimensional solitonlike potential.

PMID- 9979057
TI  - Nonuniversality in random-matrix ensembles with soft level confinement.

PMID- 9979058
TI  - Nonlinear acoustic response of glasses in the tunneling model.

PMID- 9979059
TI  - Vibrational study of 13C-enriched C60 crystals.

PMID- 9979061
TI  - Temperature dependence of phonon lifetimes in dielectric crystals.

PMID- 9979060
TI  - Specific heat and phase diagrams of H2 adsorbed on D2- or HD-plated graphite.

PMID- 9979062
TI  - Randomly coupled Ising models.

PMID- 9979063
TI  - Detailed field- and temperature-dependent ac-susceptibility study of Ru-doped
      CeFe2.

PMID- 9979064
TI  - Magnetic phase transitions and crystal-field splitting in K2UX5 (X=Cl,Br,I).

PMID- 9979065
TI  - Site occupancies of Si atoms and Curie temperatures for Sm2Fe17-xSix.

PMID- 9979066
TI  - Two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet with perturbing spin defects.

PMID- 9979067
TI  - Structure and magnetic properties of RFe11.35Nb0.65 and RFe11.35Nb0.65Ny (R=Y,
      Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, and Lu).

PMID- 9979068
TI  - Strong anisotropies in MBE-grown Co/Cr(001): Ferromagnetic-resonance and magneto
      optical Kerr-effect studies.

PMID- 9979070
TI  - Temperature dependence of magnetic anisotropy and magnetostriction.

PMID- 9979069
TI  - Ising ferromagnet on a fractal family: Thermodynamical functions and scaling
      laws.

PMID- 9979071
TI  - Spin-dependent transmission of polarized electrons through a ferromagnetic iron
      film.

PMID- 9979073
TI  - Nonlinear temperature variation of magnetic viscosity in nanoscale FeOOH
      particles.

PMID- 9979072
TI  - Green's function study of one-dimensional spin-1/2 Ising-Heisenberg ferromagnets.

PMID- 9979074
TI  - Thermopower and resistivity behavior in Ce-based Kondo-lattice systems: A
      phenomenological approach.

PMID- 9979076
TI  - Two extended versions of the continuous two-dimensional Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9979075
TI  - Anisotropic two-dimensional Heisenberg model studied by the Schwinger-boson
      Gutzwiller-projection method.

PMID- 9979077
TI  - Optical absorption in the phase-modulated antiferromagnetic state of a t-t'-J
      model.

PMID- 9979078
TI  - Thermodynamic analysis of Fe72Pt28 Invar.

PMID- 9979079
TI  - Electronic structures of CeNiSn, CePdSn, and CePtSn.

PMID- 9979080
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram of the UFe1-xNixAl system.

PMID- 9979081
TI  - Chemical bonding in the UFe1-xNixAl alloys.

PMID- 9979082
TI  - Raman study of one-dimensional spin fluctuations in the spin-1 Heisenberg-chain
      compound Y2BaNiO5: Contrast with simple expectations.

PMID- 9979083
TI  - Spiral spin states in a generalized Kondo lattice model with classical localized
      spins.

PMID- 9979084
TI  - Metal-semimetal transitions in the extended Hubbard model on the fcc lattice:
      Implications for superconducting fullerides.

PMID- 9979085
TI  - Locations of Rb ions in A2RbC60 (A=Na,K) superconductors.

PMID- 9979086
TI  - Phase coherence in two-dimensional type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9979088
TI  - Electromagnetic waves in a Josephson junction in a thin film.

PMID- 9979087
TI  - One-dimensional bosons, the Luther-Emery condition, and phase transitions in low
      dimensional systems.

PMID- 9979090
TI  - Frustrated XY models with accidental degeneracy of the ground state.

PMID- 9979089
TI  - Atomic- and electron-beam spectroscopy of rarefied semiquantum media.

PMID- 9979091
TI  - Experimental and numerical study of dynamic regimes in a discrete sine-Gordon
      lattice.

PMID- 9979092
TI  - Onset of vortices in thin superconducting strips and wires.

PMID- 9979093
TI  - Growth-kinetics-induced structural disorder in Bi2(Sr1-xCax)3Cu2Oy thin films
      studied by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9979094
TI  - Thermoelectric power in single-layer copper oxides.

PMID- 9979095
TI  - Thermopower of an untwinned YBa2Cu3O7- delta crystal.

PMID- 9979097
TI  - Structural modifications in bismuth cuprates: Effects on the electronic structure
      and Fermi surface.

PMID- 9979096
TI  - Crossover from two-dimensional to three-dimensional magnetic structure in
      Pr1.5Ce0.5Sr2GaCu2O9.

PMID- 9979098
TI  - Normal-state reentrant behavior in superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8/Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10
      intergrowth single crystals.

PMID- 9979099
TI  - Softening of a reststrahlen band in CuO near the Neel transition.

PMID- 9979100
TI  - Elastic broadening of quasiparticle energy levels in vortex cores of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979101
TI  - Loop-expansion study of the single-hole spectral function in the t-J model.

PMID- 9979102
TI  - 63,65Cu and 17O spin-echo decay and the static susceptibility chi '(q) in
      La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9979103
TI  - Neutron-diffraction studies on the time dependence of the oxygen ordering in
      La2NiO4.105.

PMID- 9979105
TI  - Density of states in layered superconductor-insulator structures.

PMID- 9979104
TI  - Emergence of two superconducting phases (33 K and 40 K) and their relation to
      structural phase transitions in crystalline La2CuO4.011.

PMID- 9979107
TI  - Crystal and electronic structures of the two-dimensional transition-metal-complex
      molecule alpha -

PMID- 9979106
TI  - Pressure-induced metallization of ZnSe.

PMID- 9979108
TI  - 2p-3d resonant Auger scattering by K+ ions of KMnF3 without the influence of the
      crystal-field splitting.

PMID- 9979109
TI  - Optical and ESR study of Er3+ in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9979111
TI  - Perturbed phonons in pyrolytic graphite studied by neutron-scattering techniques.

PMID- 9979110
TI  - Infrared and Raman evidence for dimers and polymers in RbC60.

PMID- 9979112
TI  - Asymmetric impurity modes in nonlinear lattices.

PMID- 9979113
TI  - Spin-density distribution in ferromagnetic alpha "-Fe16N2.

PMID- 9979114
TI  - Prediction and measurement of perpendicular giant magnetoresistances of
      Co/Cu/Ni84Fe16/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9979115
TI  - Induced spin polarization and interlayer exchange coupling of the systems
      Rh/Co(0001) and Ru/Co(0001).

PMID- 9979116
TI  - Absence of the anomalous second length scale in the bulk of a terbium single
      crystal.

PMID- 9979117
TI  - Effects of an electrostatic field on the normal and superconducting states of a
      Mo-C film.

PMID- 9979118
TI  - Pair excitations in the ground state of a two-dimensional attractive Fermi gas.

PMID- 9979119
TI  - Anharmonic electron and phonon effects in the c-axis infrared conductivity of
      high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9979120
TI  - Chain contribution to the Seebeck coefficient in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9979121
TI  - Landau theory of phase separation in cuprates.

PMID- 9979122
TI  - Mechanism of the electric-field effect in the high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9979123
TI  - Thermodynamic parameters of HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8-x from high-field magnetization.

PMID- 9979125
TI  - Dependence of the Josephson coupling of unconventional superconductors on the
      properties of the tunneling barrier.

PMID- 9979124
TI  - c-axis charge dynamics in the bilayer t-J model: A numerical study.

PMID- 9979126
TI  - Comment on "Localization in a one-dimensional Thue-Morse chain"

PMID- 9979127
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Localization in a one-dimensional Thue-Morse chain' "

PMID- 9979128
TI  - Evidence for possible 4f bands at T >> TK in the heavy-fermion single crystal
      CePt2+x.

PMID- 9979129
TI  - Iron exchange-field penetration into the amorphous interphase of nanocrystalline
      materials.

PMID- 9979130
TI  - Metal-phase stability of (TMTSF)2ClO4 in high magnetic fields, where TMTSF is
      tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene.

PMID- 9979131
TI  - Spin correlations at finite temperature in an S=1 one-dimensional
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9979132
TI  - X-ray magnetic-circular-dichroism study of Fe/V multilayers.

PMID- 9979133
TI  - Magnetic and electronic properties in hole-doped manganese oxides with layered
      structures: La1-xSr1+xMnO4.

PMID- 9979134
TI  - Anomalous vortex dynamics in kappa -

PMID- 9979135
TI  - Nonergodic dynamics of the two-dimensional random-phase sine-Gordon model:
      Applications to vortex-glass arrays and disordered-substrate surfaces.

PMID- 9979136
TI  - Metallic ground state of CuO chains in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9979137
TI  - ab-plane optical properties of Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta.

PMID- 9979139
TI  - Erratum: Dielectric relaxation and piezoelectric coupling in the mixed proton
      glass crystal K0.61(NH4)0.39H2PO4

PMID- 9979138
TI  - Anisotropic surface impedance of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9979141
TI  - Quenching of the total luminescence of Ho3+ in HoLiF4 crystals.

PMID- 9979140
TI  - Time-resolved differential fragmentation cross sections of C60++C60 collisions.

PMID- 9979142
TI  - Elastic softening in the rotator phase of the perfluoroalkane C24F50.

PMID- 9979143
TI  - Elastic scattering of polarized light in multiply domained KH2PO4.

PMID- 9979145
TI  - Modified-hypernetted-chain determination of the phase diagram of rigid C60
      molecules.

PMID- 9979144
TI  - Symmetry breaking and structural changes at the neutral-to-ionic transition in
      tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil.

PMID- 9979146
TI  - Ab initio study of the structural properties of LiF, NaF, KF, LiCl, NaCl, and
      KCl.

PMID- 9979147
TI  - Theory of electron backscattering from crystals.

PMID- 9979148
TI  - Augmented-space recursive technique for the analysis of alloy phase stability in
      random binary alloys.

PMID- 9979149
TI  - Crystal growth in undercooled melts of the intermetallic compounds FeSi and CoSi.

PMID- 9979150
TI  - Reciprocal-space analysis of short-range-order intensities by the cluster
      variation method.

PMID- 9979151
TI  - Inhomogeneous broadening of electron-paramagnetic-resonance and optical spectra
      of V4+ in CaYAlO4.

PMID- 9979152
TI  - Valence electronic structure of polycrystalline SiC as observed by (e,2e)
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979153
TI  - Three-body effect on the lattice dynamics of Pd-10% Fe alloys.

PMID- 9979154
TI  - Quantum tunneling in solid D2 and solid H2.

PMID- 9979156
TI  - Breakdown of two-phase random resistor networks.

PMID- 9979155
TI  - Energy and charge trapping by localized vibrations: Electron-vibrational coupling
      in anharmonic lattices.

PMID- 9979158
TI  - Jahn-Teller effect and on-site interaction for C60n-

PMID- 9979157
TI  - Violent fluctuations of the fracton density of states on the percolation cluster
      and its backbone.

PMID- 9979159
TI  - Resonances in driven dynamical lattices.

PMID- 9979161
TI  - Adiabatic theory for the bipolaron.

PMID- 9979160
TI  - Normal and anomalous nuclear spin-lattice relaxation at high temperatures in Sc
      H(D), Y-H, and Lu-H solid solutions.

PMID- 9979163
TI  - Thermoelastic properties of perfect crystals with nonprimitive lattices. II.
      Application to KCl and NaCl.

PMID- 9979162
TI  - Thermoelastic properties of perfect crystals with nonprimitive lattices. I.
      General theory.

PMID- 9979164
TI  - Strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of <100>-oriented Ni-Cu
      superlattices.

PMID- 9979165
TI  - Kondo scattering from atomic two-level tunneling systems in metals: Enhanced
      conductance, critical-bias transitions, and the non-Fermi-liquid electronic
      state.

PMID- 9979166
TI  - Magnetic properties of NdNi1-xCoxO3 samples: Evidence of spin-glass behavior.

PMID- 9979167
TI  - Effect of fractons on the exciton dynamics in dilute magnets.

PMID- 9979168
TI  - Analysis of the dependence of spin-spin correlations on the thermal treatment of
      nanocrystalline materials.

PMID- 9979169
TI  - Effect of a magnetic field on Ni-Pt alloys.

PMID- 9979171
TI  - Phase transitions in Ising ferromagnets with biquadratic exchange interactions.

PMID- 9979170
TI  - Microscopic magnetization reversal processes and magnetic domain structure in
      epitaxial Fe/GaAs(001) films.

PMID- 9979172
TI  - Ground-state properties of a spin-1 Heisenberg ferromagnet with an arbitrary
      crystal-field potential.

PMID- 9979174
TI  - Search for the nondimerized quantum nematic phase in the spin-1 chain.

PMID- 9979173
TI  - Random frustration in a two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9979175
TI  - Neel orders, Haldane gap, and Kondo singlet phase in the anisotropic Kondo chain.

PMID- 9979176
TI  - Extraordinary Hall effect in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9979178
TI  - Interlayer-coupling energy of magnetic trilayers in a one-band tight-binding
      model.

PMID- 9979177
TI  - Mean-field renormalization-group approaches to the surface on a semi-infinite
      Ising model with a random surface field.

PMID- 9979179
TI  - Magnetization of S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9979181
TI  - Nonequilibrium in normal-conductor/superconductor microconstrictions.

PMID- 9979180
TI  - Temperature dependence of the normal and inverse magnetoresistance in magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9979183
TI  - Optical study of electronic structures and phonons in alkali-metal-doped C60.

PMID- 9979182
TI  - Comparison of strontium-induced and oxygen-induced holes in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9979184
TI  - Magnetic self-field entry into a current-carrying type-II superconductor. II.
      Helical vortices in a longitudinal magnetic field.

PMID- 9979185
TI  - Motion of a Josephson vortex under a temperature gradient.

PMID- 9979186
TI  - Neutron-powder-diffraction study of the nuclear and magnetic structures of the
      antiferromagnetic superconductor HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9979187
TI  - Space-time tunneling bosonization: An application to the N-coupled Luttinger
      chains.

PMID- 9979189
TI  - 2D-3D vortex-line transition in two-layer Josephson arrays.

PMID- 9979188
TI  - Phase diagram of multiply connected superconductors: A thin-wire loop and a thin
      film with a circular hole.

PMID- 9979191
TI  - Self-consistent theory of superconducting mesoscopic weak links.

PMID- 9979190
TI  - Enhanced electron pairing in a lattice of Berry-phase molecules.

PMID- 9979192
TI  - Superconducting current in a ballistic double superconducting-normal-metal
      superconducting structure.

PMID- 9979193
TI  - Off-diagonal long-range order: Meissner effect and flux quantization.

PMID- 9979194
TI  - Vortex-chain state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta : Experimental evidence for
      coexistence of two vortex orientations.

PMID- 9979195
TI  - Infrared and microwave spectra of an energy gap in high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979196
TI  - Field- and temperature-dependent surface resistance of superconducting
      polycrystalline multiple-phase Hg-Ba-Ca-Cu-O: Evidence for dirty-limit behavior.

PMID- 9979197
TI  - Cu 2p core-level XPS of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuOy: An analysis from bond valence sums and
      Madelung potentials.

PMID- 9979198
TI  - Nesting mechanism for d-symmetry superconductors.

PMID- 9979199
TI  - Fluctuation of vortices and the fluxon transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y single
      crystals.

PMID- 9979201
TI  - Quantum interference and critical currents in polycrystalline high-Tc samples.

PMID- 9979200
TI  - Tunneling, alpha 2F( omega ), and transport in superconductors: Nb, V, VN, Ba1
      xKxBiO3, and Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9979202
TI  - Structure and relaxation of the trapped magnetic flux in Y-Ba-Cu-O
      superconductors in magnetic fields below the first critical field Hc1.

PMID- 9979204
TI  - Electron-phonon coupling and d-wave superconductivity in the cuprates.

PMID- 9979203
TI  - Observation of a van Hove singularity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x with angle-resolved
      photoemission.

PMID- 9979205
TI  - Correlation-enhanced electron-phonon interaction in a strongly correlated
      electron system.

PMID- 9979206
TI  - Gauge symmetry breaking, collective modes, and boson superconductivity in the t-J
      model.

PMID- 9979207
TI  - Gauge invariance and transport properties in superconductors above Tc.

PMID- 9979208
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential plane-wave calculations of the electronic structure of
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9979209
TI  - Superconducting and magnetic properties of TlSr2Ca1-xRxCu2O7

PMID- 9979210
TI  - Shear relaxation of (NaCN)1-x(KCN)x quadrupolar glasses.

PMID- 9979211
TI  - High-pressure transitions to a postcotunnite phase in ionic AX2 compounds.

PMID- 9979212
TI  - Differences in elastic behavior between pentagonal and decagonal quasicrystals.

PMID- 9979213
TI  - Hierarchical mobility edges in a class of one-dimensional generalized Fibonacci
      quasilattices.

PMID- 9979215
TI  - Linear approximation in the kinetic Ising model on fractals.

PMID- 9979214
TI  - Structural study of silica particle dispersions by ultra-small-angle x-ray
      scattering.

PMID- 9979216
TI  - Large-cell renormalization group and order parameter for site percolation
      problems.

PMID- 9979217
TI  - Giant magnetoimpedance in the ferromagnetic alloy Co75-xFexSi15B10.

PMID- 9979218
TI  - Magnon-excitation contribution to the interface magnetization in Co/Cu
      superlattices.

PMID- 9979220
TI  - Magnetic properties of layered antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9979219
TI  - Dipolar effects in a Heisenberg ferromagnetic bilayer.

PMID- 9979221
TI  - Superconducting critical temperature for realistic couplings.

PMID- 9979222
TI  - Anisotropy of the electronic structure and superconducting gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9979223
TI  - Effect of strong correlation on the in-plane electronic properties of the high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979224
TI  - Bose-glass behavior of the vortex system in epitaxial Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta films
      with columnar defects.

PMID- 9979225
TI  - Experimental evidence for Bose-glass behavior in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 crystals with
      columnar defects.

PMID- 9979226
TI  - Momentum dependence of the linewidth of Raman-active phonons in the normal state
      of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9979227
TI  - Comment on "Quadrupolar glass freezing in solid hydrogen: Distribution functions
      for the orientational order parameters"

PMID- 9979228
TI  - Phase transitions in KC60: Dimer formation via rapid quenching.

PMID- 9979229
TI  - Effect of finite concentration in Kondo alloys: Approach to the heavy-fermion
      problem.

PMID- 9979231
TI  - Electronic localization in Rb4C60 from bulk magnetic measurements.

PMID- 9979230
TI  - Equilibrium dynamics of a paramagnetic cluster.

PMID- 9979232
TI  - Hall-effect studies of the mixed state of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta (0 <= x <= 0.42)
      and YBa2Cu3Oy (6.65 <= y <= 6.84) single crystals.

PMID- 9979233
TI  - Superconducting energy gap and antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in the
      superconductor YNi2B2C: An NMR study.

PMID- 9979234
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in a vortex liquid.

PMID- 9979235
TI  - Bi3.9Sr3.3Ca1.3(Cu0.961Fe0.039)3Ox: A high-Tc structure close to the two
      dimensional limit.

PMID- 9979236
TI  - Electronic structures of gallium and indium across the solid-liquid transition.

PMID- 9979237
TI  - Periodic boundary conditions in ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9979238
TI  - Electronic structure of icosahedral Al65Cu20Ru15 studied by photoemission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979239
TI  - Incommensurate ground states in a one-dimensional model for electron-libron
      coupling in polyaniline.

PMID- 9979240
TI  - Electronic states and transport in quasicrystals investigated by perturbation
      theory.

PMID- 9979241
TI  - Site preference of ternary additions in Ni3Al.

PMID- 9979242
TI  - Optimized l-convergency in the solution of Poisson's equation with space-filling
      cells.

PMID- 9979243
TI  - Universal statistics of transport in disordered conductors.

PMID- 9979244
TI  - Exact solution of the Landau fixed point via bosonization.

PMID- 9979245
TI  - All-electron study of gradient corrections to the local-density functional in
      metallic systems.

PMID- 9979246
TI  - Kondo-lattice model in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9979247
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the pressure-induced metallization and the collapse
      of the antiferromagnetic state of NiI2.

PMID- 9979248
TI  - Application of the coupled-cluster method to the periodic Anderson model.

PMID- 9979249
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in semiconductor alloys probed by persistent
      photoconductivity.

PMID- 9979250
TI  - Conductance and localization in a system of coupled conjugated polymer chains.

PMID- 9979251
TI  - Semiclassical density-of-states and optical-absorption analysis of amorphous
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9979253
TI  - Many-body theory of room-temperature optical nonlinearities in bulk
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9979252
TI  - Dynamics of the H-CAs complex in GaAs determined from Raman measurements.

PMID- 9979254
TI  - Theoretical study of H-P and H-B complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9979256
TI  - Identification of vacancy defects in compound semiconductors by core-electron
      annihilation: Application to InP.

PMID- 9979255
TI  - Hydrogen passivation of EL2 defects and H2*-like complex formation in gallium
      arsenide.

PMID- 9979257
TI  - Observation of quasidirect transitions in In1-xGaxP/graded GaP (0.58 <= x <=
      0.75) alloys near the Gamma -X1 crossover.

PMID- 9979258
TI  - Absolute negative resistance in double-barrier heterostructures in a strong laser
      field.

PMID- 9979259
TI  - Determination of the surface structures of the GaAs(001)-(2 x 4) As-rich phase.

PMID- 9979260
TI  - Quantum confinement of holes in Si1-xGex/Si quantum wells studied by admittance
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979261
TI  - Generalized diffusion-reaction model for the low-field charge-buildup instability
      at the Si-SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9979262
TI  - Atomic bond configuration of Ge(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-Au: A low
      energy electron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9979263
TI  - Electric-field effects on above-barrier states in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattice.

PMID- 9979264
TI  - Excitation-induced phase shifts of heavy- and light-hole quantum beats in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9979266
TI  - Surface band structure of Si(111)2 x 1.

PMID- 9979265
TI  - Spin relaxation in intrinsic GaAs quantum wells: Influence of excitonic
      localization.

PMID- 9979268
TI  - Linear polarization of photoluminescence emission and absorption in quantum-well
      wire structures: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9979267
TI  - AlxGa1-xAs intervalley scattering rates from field-assisted photoemission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979269
TI  - Effect of a magnetic field on the excitonic luminescence line shape in a quantum
      well.

PMID- 9979270
TI  - Optical Fermi-edge singularities in a one-dimensional electron system with
      tunable effective mass.

PMID- 9979271
TI  - Current-voltage calculations for InAs/AlSb resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9979272
TI  - Energy gaps in strained In1-xGaxAs/In1-yGayAszP1-z quantum wells grown on (001)
      InP.

PMID- 9979274
TI  - Longitudinal magnetoresistance in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9979273
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in three-dimensional field-induced spin-density-wave phases
      with a tilted magnetic field.

PMID- 9979275
TI  - Temperature dependence of the intersubband transitions of doped quantum wells.

PMID- 9979276
TI  - Atomic structure of Na-adsorbed Si(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9979277
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm effect in quasi-one-dimensional In0.77Ga0.23As/InP rings.

PMID- 9979278
TI  - Quasiparticle excitations in GaAs1-xNx and AlAs1-xNx ordered alloys.

PMID- 9979279
TI  - Fermionic Chern-Simons theory for the fractional quantum Hall effect in bilayers.

PMID- 9979280
TI  - Influence of the form of disorder on the persistent current of an interacting
      system.

PMID- 9979281
TI  - Strain and piezoelectric fields in arbitrarily oriented semiconductor
      heterostructures. I. Multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9979282
TI  - Strain and piezoelectric fields in arbitrarily oriented semiconductor
      heterostructures. II. Quantum wires.

PMID- 9979283
TI  - Interfacial strain-enhanced reconstruction of Au multilayer films on Rh(100).

PMID- 9979284
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy observation of K-induced reconstructions on
      Au(110).

PMID- 9979285
TI  - Onset of fast step-velocity oscillations during growth by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9979286
TI  - Coverage dependence of quantum tunneling diffusion of hydrogen and deuterium on
      Ni(111).

PMID- 9979287
TI  - Molecular-dynamics description of early film deposition of Au on Ag(110).

PMID- 9979288
TI  - Vapor-pressure-isotherm study of monolayer CO films adsorbed on BN.

PMID- 9979289
TI  - X-ray-scattering studies of the interfacial structure of Au/GaAs.

PMID- 9979290
TI  - Excitons and exciton confinement in crystalline organic thin films grown by
      organic molecular-beam deposition.

PMID- 9979292
TI  - Interaction of H2 and He with metal atoms, clusters, and ions.

PMID- 9979291
TI  - Low-energy H+, He+, N+, O+, and Ne+ scattering from metal and ionic-compound
      surfaces: Neutralization and electronic excitation.

PMID- 9979293
TI  - Au overlayer structures on a Ni(110) surface.

PMID- 9979294
TI  - Electronic structure and elastic properties of Au/Cr(001) superlattices.

PMID- 9979295
TI  - Effect of silver-nanoparticle aggregation on surface-enhanced Raman scattering
      from benzoic acid.

PMID- 9979296
TI  - Interaction of hydrogen with TaC(111) and NbC(111) surfaces: Angle-resolved
      photoemission study.

PMID- 9979297
TI  - Molecular-statics and molecular-dynamics study of diffusion along

PMID- 9979298
TI  - Elucidation of hydrogen-induced (1 x 2) reconstructed structures on Pd(110) from
      100 to 300 K by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9979299
TI  - Force-constant model of a fullerene based on a first-principles method and bond
      population analysis: Applications to C60 and C70.

PMID- 9979300
TI  - Molecular-dynamics subplantation studies of carbon beneath the diamond (111)
      surface.

PMID- 9979302
TI  - Inelastic electron scattering and magnetic collective response of mesoscopic
      carbon structures.

PMID- 9979301
TI  - Optical absorption and photoluminescence in pristine and photopolymerized C60
      solid films.

PMID- 9979303
TI  - Ground-state correlations and linear response of metal clusters.

PMID- 9979305
TI  - Transmission of low-energy O+ ions through ultrathin films of Ar, Kr, and Xe.

PMID- 9979304
TI  - Dynamics of step roughening on vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9979306
TI  - Transmission of low-energy oxygen ions through ultrathin rare-gas films:
      Molecular-dynamics simulation.

PMID- 9979307
TI  - Electronic dispersion relations of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride formed on
      the Ni(111) surface.

PMID- 9979308
TI  - Time-resolved optical Kerr response of C84 in CS2.

PMID- 9979310
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of high-field hopping on a bond-disordered lattice.

PMID- 9979309
TI  - Density-functional calculations for cerium metal.

PMID- 9979311
TI  - Tilted magnetic field effect on a double-layer quantum Hall system.

PMID- 9979312
TI  - Hydrogen-induced breakdown of low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy of Si.

PMID- 9979313
TI  - Excitonic nonlinear optical processes in GaAs quantum-well wires.

PMID- 9979314
TI  - Magneto-optical absorption spectrum of a D- ion in a GaAs-Ga0.75Al0.25As quantum
      well.

PMID- 9979315
TI  - Electric-field-induced changes in the transmission spectrum of a superlattice.

PMID- 9979316
TI  - Finite-temperature fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9979318
TI  - Broadening of quantum-dot energy levels due to short-range elastic scatterers.

PMID- 9979317
TI  - Observation of large h/2e oscillations in semiconductor antidot lattices.

PMID- 9979319
TI  - Dynamics of carrier-capture processes in GaxIn1-xAs/GaAs near-surface quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9979320
TI  - Structural analyses of Cs+CO coadsorbed on Ru(0001).

PMID- 9979321
TI  - Matrix effects of secondary neutrals: Laser postionization investigations of
      particles sputtered from clean and oxidized metals.

PMID- 9979322
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopy of transition-metal clusters: Correlation of valence
      electronic structure to reactivity.

PMID- 9979323
TI  - Optical transmittance of a two-dimensional triangular photonic lattice.

PMID- 9979324
TI  - Exact results for the Kondo effect in a Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9979326
TI  - Photoinduced Hall-current measurements in photorefractive sillenites.

PMID- 9979325
TI  - Influence of the carrier distribution on carrier-carrier scattering in GaAs.

PMID- 9979327
TI  - Nature of anticrossing between donor energy levels in GaAs.

PMID- 9979329
TI  - Electron-acoustic-phonon scattering rates in cylindrical quantum wires.

PMID- 9979328
TI  - Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy and reflection high-energy electron
      diffraction of submonolayer coverages of Si grown on GaAs(001) by molecular-beam
      epitaxy.

PMID- 9979330
TI  - Band offsets and exciton binding energies in Zn1-xCdxSe-ZnSe quantum wells grown
      by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy.

PMID- 9979332
TI  - Spin orientation at semiconductor heterointerfaces.

PMID- 9979331
TI  - Effect of phase breaking on quantum transport through chaotic cavities.

PMID- 9979333
TI  - Direct evidence of tunneling between edge states across a gate-induced potential
      barrier.

PMID- 9979335
TI  - Femtosecond dephasing in CdS quantum dots determined by nondegenerate four-wave
      mixing.

PMID- 9979334
TI  - Kondo resonance in tunneling phenomena through a single quantum level.

PMID- 9979336
TI  - Interface intermixing influence on the electronic and optical properties of Si/Ge
      strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9979337
TI  - General relation between density of states and dwell times in mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9979338
TI  - Dislocations and the reconstruction of (111) fcc metal surfaces.

PMID- 9979339
TI  - Absolute appearance energy of Li+ ions field-desorbed from W(111).

PMID- 9979341
TI  - Electron-electron correlations in diamond: An x-ray-scattering experiment.

PMID- 9979340
TI  - Effects of Ce-Lu substitution on the d valence states of Laves phases.

PMID- 9979342
TI  - Thermodynamics of FeSi.

PMID- 9979343
TI  - Electronic structure of point defects in rutile TiO2.

PMID- 9979344
TI  - Stability of the Peierls instability for ring-shaped molecules.

PMID- 9979345
TI  - Dielectric relaxation in a Rb0.30MoO3 crystal.

PMID- 9979346
TI  - Magnetoconductance of quasicrystals and their approximants: A study of quantum
      interference effects.

PMID- 9979347
TI  - Bosonization on a lattice: The emergence of the higher harmonics.

PMID- 9979348
TI  - Electronic structure of graphite: Effect of hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9979349
TI  - Impurity spin coupled to a strongly correlated electron system: Ground-state
      properties.

PMID- 9979350
TI  - Electronic structure and optical response of L-CePd5.

PMID- 9979351
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of the metal-insulator transition in NdNiO3.

PMID- 9979352
TI  - Relaxation of a hot-electron-two-mode-phonon system in highly excited CdS1-xSex
      crystals.

PMID- 9979353
TI  - Photoacoustic spectroscopic study of energy gap, optical absorption, and thermal
      diffusivity of polycrystalline ZnSexTe1-x (0 <= x <= 1) alloys.

PMID- 9979354
TI  - Excitation spectrum of Fe2+ in a tetrahedral potential: Dynamic Jahn-Teller
      effect.

PMID- 9979355
TI  - Exciton localization by magnetic polarons and alloy fluctuations in the diluted
      magnetic semiconductor Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9979356
TI  - NMR study of the electronic properties and crystal structure of the
      semiconducting compound Al2Ru.

PMID- 9979357
TI  - Hydrogen-mediated creation and annihilation of strain in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9979359
TI  - Empirical interatomic potential for Si-H interactions.

PMID- 9979358
TI  - Photoluminescence of excitons bound to the isoelectronic hydrogen-related defects
      B80(1.1470 eV) and B191(1.1431 eV) in silicon.

PMID- 9979360
TI  - Structural properties of Si1-xGex alloys: A Monte Carlo simulation with the
      Stillinger-Weber potential.

PMID- 9979362
TI  - Optical properties of HgSe.

PMID- 9979361
TI  - Composition and thermal-annealing-induced short-range ordering changes in
      amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide films as investigated by extended x-ray
      absorption fine structure and infrared absorption.

PMID- 9979363
TI  - Calculated structural and electronic properties of CdSe under pressure.

PMID- 9979364
TI  - Full-zone hole dispersion relations in Si using Schur-complement decomposition.

PMID- 9979365
TI  - Electromagnetic fields and dielectric response in empirical tight-binding theory.

PMID- 9979366
TI  - Plasmon and quasiparticle band structures in beta -SiC.

PMID- 9979367
TI  - Quantum interference in the system of Lorentzian and Fano magnetoexciton
      resonances in GaAs.

PMID- 9979368
TI  - Effects of site correlations on the local structure of strain-relaxed
      semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9979369
TI  - Simple trial function for shallow donor D0 states in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9979370
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance analysis of the natural intrinsic EX center in thermal
      SiO2 on Si.

PMID- 9979371
TI  - Location of deuterium on the silicon (100) monohydride surface determined by
      transmission-ion channeling.

PMID- 9979372
TI  - Center-of-mass quantization of excitons in CdTe/Cd1-xZnxTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9979373
TI  - Plasmons in lateral-surface superlattices with periodically structured interfaces
      under normally applied electric fields.

PMID- 9979374
TI  - Microscopic-scale lateral inhomogeneities of the GaSe-Ge heterojunction energy
      lineup.

PMID- 9979375
TI  - Lateral n-i-p-i superlattices in Si metal-oxide-semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9979376
TI  - Relaxation-induced polarized luminescence from InxGa1-xAs films grown on
      GaAs(001).

PMID- 9979377
TI  - Theoretical and experimental investigations of the electronic structure for
      selectively delta -doped strained InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9979378
TI  - Rb adsorption on the Si(001)2 x 1 surface: An x-ray-standing-waves study.

PMID- 9979379
TI  - Magnetic von Neumann lattice for two-dimensional electrons in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9979381
TI  - Low-temperature growth and ion-assisted deposition.

PMID- 9979380
TI  - Atomic structure of the Sb/Si(100)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9979382
TI  - Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in a square superlattice.

PMID- 9979383
TI  - Phase considerations in the Thomas-WKB theory: Film structures, quantum wells,
      and quantum wires.

PMID- 9979384
TI  - Electric-field dependence of low-temperature recombination in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9979385
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations for metastable impurity states in delta -doping
      superlattices.

PMID- 9979386
TI  - Electron-electron interaction in ballistic electron beams.

PMID- 9979387
TI  - Disorder effects on luminescence in delta -doped n-i-p-i superlattices.

PMID- 9979388
TI  - Shot-noise suppression in resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9979389
TI  - Tight-binding calculation of spin splittings in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9979390
TI  - Coherent transport through a coupled-quantum-dot system with strong intradot
      interaction.

PMID- 9979392
TI  - Excitonic properties of Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9979391
TI  - Spontaneous interlayer coherence in double-layer quantum Hall systems: Charged
      vortices and Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transitions.

PMID- 9979393
TI  - Exciton spectroscopy in Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum wells.

PMID- 9979394
TI  - Balance equations for hot-electron transport in a general energy band in crossed
      magnetic and electric fields.

PMID- 9979395
TI  - Optical properties of the Pb2+-based aggregated phase in a CsCl host crystal:
      Quantum-confinement effects.

PMID- 9979396
TI  - Energetics of vicinal Si(111) steps using empirical potentials.

PMID- 9979397
TI  - Influence of electromagnetic environmental fluctuations on resonant tunneling
      through double-barrier systems.

PMID- 9979398
TI  - Phonon-assisted ballistic resistance.

PMID- 9979399
TI  - Conductance fluctuations due to a bistable scatterer in a weakly connected
      conductor.

PMID- 9979400
TI  - Vibrational properties of the Si(111)Ga( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 ) surface.

PMID- 9979401
TI  - Haldane's fractional exclusion statistics for multicomponent systems.

PMID- 9979402
TI  - Light-assisted magnetotunneling through a semiconductor double-barrier structure.

PMID- 9979404
TI  - Strains in epitaxial films: The general case.

PMID- 9979403
TI  - Quenching of excitonic quantum-well photoluminescence by intense far-infrared
      radiation: Free-carrier heating.

PMID- 9979405
TI  - Interaction of ytterbium with solid ammonia and xenon studied using photoelectron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979406
TI  - Carbon nitride films synthesized by combined ion-beam and laser-ablation
      processing.

PMID- 9979407
TI  - First-principles calculation of the electronic structure for a bielectrode
      junction system under strong field and current.

PMID- 9979408
TI  - Surface structures and electron affinities of bare and hydrogenated diamond
      C(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9979409
TI  - X-ray reflection and transmission by rough surfaces.

PMID- 9979410
TI  - Adsorbate structure in the H-induced p4g reconstruction of the Cu(001) surface.

PMID- 9979411
TI  - Surface and size effects on ferroelectric films with domain structures.

PMID- 9979412
TI  - Evidence for truncated octahedral structures in supported gold clusters.

PMID- 9979413
TI  - Elastic properties of individual nanometer-size supported gold clusters.

PMID- 9979414
TI  - Theory of surface polaritons in polycrystals.

PMID- 9979415
TI  - Diffuse-x-ray-scattering measurements of roughness on ion-etched multilayer
      interfaces.

PMID- 9979417
TI  - Theory of the optical and microwave properties of metal-dielectric films.

PMID- 9979416
TI  - Growth kinetics of CaF2/Si(111) heteroepitaxy: An x-ray photoelectron diffraction
      study.

PMID- 9979418
TI  - Surface shift of the occupied and unoccupied 4f levels of the rare-earth metals.

PMID- 9979419
TI  - High stability of two-dimensional islands during surfactant-mediated epitaxial
      growth.

PMID- 9979420
TI  - Unified treatment of temperature, concentration, and electric-field dependences
      of variable-range-hopping conductivity.

PMID- 9979422
TI  - Ultrathin films of body-centered-cubic Co on TiAl(010).

PMID- 9979421
TI  - Metal-ceramic interfaces: Overlayer-induced reconstruction and magnetism of 4d
      transition-metal monolayers.

PMID- 9979423
TI  - Low-energy electron scattering by N2 molecules physisorbed on Ag: Study of the
      resonant vibrational excitation process.

PMID- 9979424
TI  - Electronic structure of vacancies in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9979425
TI  - Inhomogeneous charge transfer in an incommensurate system.

PMID- 9979426
TI  - Hydrogenation of Si(113) surfaces by photoelectrochemical treatment.

PMID- 9979427
TI  - Persistent currents without parity effect.

PMID- 9979428
TI  - Two-dimensional electron-lattice scattering at low temperature.

PMID- 9979429
TI  - Hot-phonon generation in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices: Observations and
      implications on the coherence length of LO phonons.

PMID- 9979430
TI  - Resonant tunneling of a Wannier exciton through a single-barrier heterostructure.

PMID- 9979431
TI  - Quantum-confined Stark effects in CdS1-xSex quantum dots.

PMID- 9979432
TI  - Heavy- and light-hole band crossing in a variable-strain quantum-well
      heterostructure.

PMID- 9979433
TI  - Fluctuations of monatomic steps on Si(001).

PMID- 9979434
TI  - Fractal aspects related to the Si oxidation process.

PMID- 9979435
TI  - Raman scattering of the optical vibrational modes in (GaAs)n(AlAs)n superlattices
      grown on (311)A and (311)B surfaces.

PMID- 9979437
TI  - Nearly localized states in weakly disordered conductors.

PMID- 9979436
TI  - Experimental determination of the effect of alloy composition on the band
      alignment of the CdTe-Cd1-xMnxTe heterojunction.

PMID- 9979439
TI  - Resonant bipolaron coupling in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9979438
TI  - Atomic-force microscopy on the Si(111)7 x 7 surface.

PMID- 9979440
TI  - Conductance of idealized rough channels.

PMID- 9979442
TI  - Resonant Coulomb screening of charging of a localized state.

PMID- 9979441
TI  - Multiple-capacitance magnetic-field-dependent Coulomb blockade energetics.

PMID- 9979443
TI  - Double-tip scanning tunneling microscope for surface analysis.

PMID- 9979444
TI  - X-ray scattering from rotational disorder in epitaxial films: An unconventional
      mosaic crystal.

PMID- 9979445
TI  - X-ray diffraction studies of ordered chloride and bromide monolayers at the
      Au(111)-solution interface.

PMID- 9979447
TI  - Melting of A12B Lennard-Jones heteroclusters: A comparative simulation study.

PMID- 9979446
TI  - Insulating phase of mercury in thin quench-condensed films.

PMID- 9979449
TI  - Distribution functions and balance equations of drifting Bloch electrons in an
      electric field.

PMID- 9979448
TI  - Energetics and atomic steps in the reconstruction of the Pt(110) plane.

PMID- 9979450
TI  - Reply to "Distribution functions and balance equations of drifting Bloch
      electrons in an electric field"

PMID- 9979451
TI  - Comment on "Semimetal-to-semiconductor transition in bismuth thin films"

PMID- 9979452
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Semimetal-to-semiconductor transition in bismuth thin
      films' "

PMID- 9979453
TI  - Model for photoinduced anisotropy and its dark relaxation in chalcogenide
      glasses.

PMID- 9979454
TI  - Pressure-driven metal-insulator transition in La-doped SmS: Excitonic
      condensation.

PMID- 9979455
TI  - Charge-conjugation symmetry breaking and the absorption spectra of
      polyphenylenes.

PMID- 9979456
TI  - Cluster-ordered array on the Si(001) surface formed by Al deposition.

PMID- 9979458
TI  - Quantum magnetotransport theory for bound-state electrons in lateral surface
      superlattices.

PMID- 9979457
TI  - Time-resolved photoluminescence of spatially direct and indirect transitions in
      GaAs /AlxGa1-xAs wires.

PMID- 9979459
TI  - Electroluminescence spectroscopy in a high magnetic field of the ballistic
      electron energy distribution in single-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9979460
TI  - Semiclassical quantum percolation in the quantum Hall system.

PMID- 9979461
TI  - Quantum-dot ground states in a magnetic field studied by single-electron
      tunneling spectroscopy on double-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9979462
TI  - Structure of the magnetoexciton and optical properties in fractional quantum Hall
      systems.

PMID- 9979464
TI  - Electron-electron interactions in one- and three-dimensional mesoscopic
      disordered rings: A perturbative approach.

PMID- 9979463
TI  - Energy spectra of anyonic ions and anyonic excitons in fractional quantum Hall
      systems.

PMID- 9979465
TI  - Magneto-optical-Kerr-effect study of spin-polarized quantum-well states in a Au
      overlayer on a Co(0001) ultrathin film.

PMID- 9979466
TI  - Structural phase transition of K adsorbed on Al(111) investigated using second
      harmonic generation.

PMID- 9979467
TI  - Erratum: Electron propagation in orientationally disordered fullerides

PMID- 9979469
TI  - Determination of the static scaling exponent of self-affine interfaces by
      nonspecular x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9979468
TI  - First-principles temperature-pressure phase diagram of magnesium.

PMID- 9979470
TI  - Two-level-system-related zero-bias anomaly in point-contact spectra.

PMID- 9979471
TI  - Electronic excitations produced by deep-level promotion during atomic collisions
      in solids.

PMID- 9979472
TI  - Quadrupolar effects in the temperature dependence of the lattice parameters of
      HoP1-xVxO4.

PMID- 9979473
TI  - Site-selective spectroscopy of erbium-doped SrTiO3, Sr2TiO4, and Sr3Ti2O7.

PMID- 9979475
TI  - Humidity-dependent structural transition of guanosine and disodium adenosine 5'
      triphosphate crystals studied by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979474
TI  - Critical acoustic behavior of the relaxor ferroelectric Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 in the
      intertransition region.

PMID- 9979476
TI  - Birefringence and orientational order in two-component plastic
      methylchloromethanes.

PMID- 9979477
TI  - Pressure-induced phase transformations in AlAs: Comparison between ab initio
      theory and experiment.

PMID- 9979478
TI  - Charge-exchange processes in titanium-doped sapphire crystals. I. Charge-exchange
      energies and titanium-bound excitons.

PMID- 9979480
TI  - Localization, antilocalization, and delocalization in one-dimensional disordered
      lattices.

PMID- 9979479
TI  - Charge-exchange processes in titanium-doped sapphire crystals. II. Charge
      transfer transition states, carrier trapping, and detrapping.

PMID- 9979481
TI  - Theoretical study of p- and n-type doping of the leucoemeraldine base form of
      polyaniline: Evolution of the geometric and electronic structure.

PMID- 9979482
TI  - Local structure in beta -Ti1-yVyHx studied by inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9979483
TI  - Generalized measures for physical properties of nonperiodic chains.

PMID- 9979485
TI  - Two-stage melting in two dimensions in a system with dipole interactions.

PMID- 9979484
TI  - EXAFS and x-ray structural studies of (Tb2O3)0.26(P2O5)0.74 metaphosphate glass.

PMID- 9979486
TI  - Experimental determination of pair interactions in a Fe0.804V0.196 single
      crystal.

PMID- 9979487
TI  - Determination of the atomic structure of disordered systems on the basis of
      limited Q-space information.

PMID- 9979488
TI  - Madelung energy for random metallic alloys in the coherent potential
      approximation.

PMID- 9979489
TI  - Electrical response of heterogeneous systems of nonlinear inclusions.

PMID- 9979490
TI  - Phonons in one-dimensional Peierls systems with internal degrees of freedom.

PMID- 9979491
TI  - Effective mass of helium atoms in one-dimensional microporous channels.

PMID- 9979492
TI  - Ab initio investigation of the vibrational and geometrical properties of solid
      C60 and K3C60.

PMID- 9979493
TI  - Magnetic impurities coupled to quantum antiferromagnets in one dimension.

PMID- 9979494
TI  - Magnetic structure and spin dynamics of the Pr and Cu in Pr2CuO4.

PMID- 9979495
TI  - Exact solutions for Ising-model correlations in the 3-12 (extended kagome-acute)
      lattice.

PMID- 9979497
TI  - Magnetic and transport measurements on RAuAl (R=La, Ce, and Nd) compounds: Kondo
      lattice behavior of CeAuAl.

PMID- 9979496
TI  - Random-field-crossover scaling in Mn0.35Zn0.65F2.

PMID- 9979499
TI  - Mean-field transfer-matrix study of the magnetic phase diagram of CsNiF3.

PMID- 9979498
TI  - Large finite-size effect of giant magnetoresistance in magnetic granular thin
      films.

PMID- 9979500
TI  - Neutron depolarization in aligned holmium and tests of time-reversal invariance.

PMID- 9979502
TI  - Collective excitations and screening properties of a condensed charged Bose gas.

PMID- 9979501
TI  - Polarized XAS studies of ternary nickel oxides.

PMID- 9979503
TI  - Magnetoplasma resonances and nonlinear mode coupling in pools of ions trapped
      below the surface of superfluid helium.

PMID- 9979505
TI  - Two theorems on superconductivity in tight-binding metals.

PMID- 9979504
TI  - Charge instabilities and phase separation in three-band extended Hubbard models:
      Effect of O-O hopping.

PMID- 9979506
TI  - Magnetoinductance of a superconducting Sierpinski gasket.

PMID- 9979507
TI  - Magnetic oscillations and quasiparticle band structure in the mixed state of type
      II superconductors.

PMID- 9979508
TI  - Off-diagonal interactions, Hund's rules, and pair binding in C60.

PMID- 9979510
TI  - Simple model for the dc flux transformer in layered superconductors with
      Josephson coupling.

PMID- 9979509
TI  - Normal-state electronic Raman-scattering efficiencies of YBa2Cu3O7- delta,
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10: Effects of local-density-approximation Fermi
      surface mass fluctuations.

PMID- 9979511
TI  - Hall effect in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9979513
TI  - Mobility of electrons in a quasi-one-dimensional conducting channel on the liquid
      helium surface.

PMID- 9979512
TI  - Short-range antiferromagnetic orientational correlations in Rb3C60.

PMID- 9979514
TI  - Liaison between superconductivity and phase separation.

PMID- 9979516
TI  - Analysis of pinning effects in YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals after fast
      neutron irradiation.

PMID- 9979515
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility and low-temperature structure of the linear chain cuprate
      Sr2CuO3.

PMID- 9979517
TI  - Vortex lattices in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9979519
TI  - Positron trapping in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta and the Fermi surface of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9979518
TI  - Phonon anomalies in a-axis-oriented (YBa2Cu3O7)m(PrBa2Cu3O7)n superconducting
      superlattices: Evidence for an anisotropic gap function.

PMID- 9979520
TI  - Reversible magnetization, critical fields, and vortex structure in grain-aligned
      YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9979521
TI  - Hole pockets in the t-J model.

PMID- 9979522
TI  - Nonlinear supercurrent response in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9979523
TI  - Impurity effects in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9979524
TI  - Superconducting Tc for a model spin-fluctuation spectrum with four sharp peaks in
      the corners of the Brillouin zone.

PMID- 9979525
TI  - Hole-hole superconducting pairing in the t-J model induced by spin-wave exchange.

PMID- 9979526
TI  - Accumulated photon echo in neodymium-doped disordered yttrium fluoride crystals.

PMID- 9979527
TI  - Periodic surface instabilities in stressed polymer solids.

PMID- 9979528
TI  - Surface magnetization and critical behavior of a hierarchical quantum Ising
      chain.

PMID- 9979530
TI  - Dynamical scaling from multiscale measurements.

PMID- 9979529
TI  - Field-induced localization in Fibonacci and Thue-Morse lattices.

PMID- 9979531
TI  - Charge Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in thin granular films due to charge
      confinement.

PMID- 9979532
TI  - Superconducting transition in two bidimensional t-J lattices with interplane
      single-electron hopping.

PMID- 9979533
TI  - In-plane electrical resistivity of La2-xSrxCuO4 at constant volume.

PMID- 9979535
TI  - Complex resistivity of the mixed state in high-Tc superconductors with random and
      regular pinnings.

PMID- 9979534
TI  - Scaling of the normal-state transport properties of underdoped YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9979536
TI  - Vortex-lattice structure in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9979537
TI  - Effects of electron correlation in crystal-field splittings of Sm2+ in MFCl-type
      hosts.

PMID- 9979538
TI  - Fluctuations of the number of energy levels at the mobility edge.

PMID- 9979540
TI  - Oscillatory exchange coupling with a period of two Fe monolayers in
      Au/Fe/Au/Fe/Au(001).

PMID- 9979539
TI  - Effect of crystal size reduction on lattice symmetry and cooperative properties.

PMID- 9979541
TI  - Dependence of giant magnetoresistance on oxygen stoichiometry and magnetization
      in polycrystalline La0.67Ba0.33MnOz.

PMID- 9979543
TI  - Direct calculation of the spin stiffness in the J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9979542
TI  - Ultrasonic study of the magnetic phase diagram of the spin-Peierls system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9979544
TI  - Unusual electronic structure near EF in the organic superconductor kappa -

PMID- 9979546
TI  - Resistance scaling at the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.

PMID- 9979545
TI  - Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation and antiferromagnetic spin correlations in
      superconducting thiospinel Cu1.5Co1.5S4.

PMID- 9979547
TI  - Multiplet effects in the quasiparticle band structure of the f1-f2 Anderson
      model.

PMID- 9979549
TI  - Thermopower of the superconducting cuprates.

PMID- 9979548
TI  - Magnetothermal conductivity of Ba1-xKxBiO3 crystals.

PMID- 9979550
TI  - Low-temperature increase of resistive critical fields in certain superconductors:
      A simple fluctuation approach.

PMID- 9979551
TI  - Erratum: Magnetocaloric approach to type-II superconductors

PMID- 9979552
TI  - Erratum: Editorial Note: Inner-space reconstruction of quasicrystal structure
      factors

PMID- 9979553
TI  - Reentrant structural phase transitions induced by external magnetic fields in
      TmxLu1-xPO4 and TbxY1-xVO4 crystals.

PMID- 9979554
TI  - Electronic and structural properties of alkaline-earth oxides under high
      pressure.

PMID- 9979556
TI  - Temperature variation of the ESR parameters of the self-trapped-electron center
      in PbCl2.

PMID- 9979555
TI  - Orthogonal strains and onset of plasticity in shocked LiF crystals.

PMID- 9979557
TI  - Nonlinear excitation of capillary waves by the Marangoni motion induced with a
      modulated laser beam.

PMID- 9979559
TI  - Arrival times for dissipative, nonlinear second-sound waves in solids.

PMID- 9979558
TI  - Photoconductivity in n-type beta -FeSi2 single crystals.

PMID- 9979561
TI  - In-plane resistivity from a two-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9979560
TI  - Theoretical analysis of the thermal conductivity of diamond in a two-step model.

PMID- 9979563
TI  - Variational analyses of series expansions of the Potts model.

PMID- 9979562
TI  - Ferromagnetic Kondo lattice behavior in CeNiSb.

PMID- 9979564
TI  - Frequency and temperature dependence of the transport relaxation rate of the
      Kondo alloy U0.2Y0.8Pd3: Evidence for non-Fermi-liquid behavior.

PMID- 9979565
TI  - Self-consistent three-pole approximation study of the spin dynamics in two
      dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg paramagnets.

PMID- 9979566
TI  - Crossover from extensive to nonextensive behavior driven by long-range
      interactions.

PMID- 9979567
TI  - Muon-spin-relaxation studies on the heavy-fermion system with non-Fermi-liquid
      behavior CeCu5.9Au0.1.

PMID- 9979568
TI  - Pair model of magnetostriction for hexagonal close-packed crystals.

PMID- 9979569
TI  - Temporal response of the thermal boundary resistance in superfluid helium.

PMID- 9979570
TI  - Flux-flow fingerprint of disorder: Melting versus tearing of a flux-line lattice.

PMID- 9979571
TI  - Lower critical field of YNi2B2C and the influence of granularity.

PMID- 9979572
TI  - Evidence of unusual hybridization: Electrical resistivity and specific heat of Y1
      xTbxBa2Cu3O7 single crystals.

PMID- 9979573
TI  - Observation of magnetic-field penetration via dendritic growth in superconducting
      niobium films.

PMID- 9979574
TI  - Nonlocal interaction in a system of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9979575
TI  - XPS study of the O 1s spectra of (Bi,Pb)2Sr2CaCu2Ox and Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979576
TI  - Charge distribution in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7: A valency model for the depression of Tc.

PMID- 9979577
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility studies on PrxY1-xBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals in the
      insulating regime.

PMID- 9979578
TI  - Imaging of electromagnetic resonances in a YBa2Cu3O7- delta bicrystal grain
      boundary Josephson junction.

PMID- 9979579
TI  - Interpretation of the oblique Abrikosov flux lattice in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9979580
TI  - Lattice-embedded multiconfigurational self-consistent-field calculations of the
      Mn-perturbed F-center defect in CaF2:Mn.

PMID- 9979581
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of fragmentation of C60 colliding with H2.

PMID- 9979582
TI  - X-ray powder diffraction from carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles.

PMID- 9979583
TI  - In situ nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of deformation-generated
      vacancies in aluminum.

PMID- 9979584
TI  - Determination of triple points in the phase diagram of praseodymium.

PMID- 9979585
TI  - Role of

PMID- 9979586
TI  - Magnetic-field response of the interphase boundary dynamics in perovskite solid
      solutions.

PMID- 9979587
TI  - Anharmonicity effects on the extended x-ray-absorption fine structure: The case
      of beta -AgI.

PMID- 9979588
TI  - Efficient effective-energy method for lattice-Green's-function simulations of
      fracture.

PMID- 9979589
TI  - Anharmonic contribution to the Debye-Waller factor for copper, silver, and lead.

PMID- 9979590
TI  - Sharp line emission of KZnF3:Cr3+

PMID- 9979591
TI  - Site-selective laser spectroscopy of Mo3+ in phosphate glass.

PMID- 9979592
TI  - First-principles investigations of atomic disorder effects on magnetic and
      structural instabilities in transition-metal alloys.

PMID- 9979593
TI  - Statistical and transport properties of quasiperiodic layered structures: Thue
      Morse and Fibonacci.

PMID- 9979594
TI  - Unstable periodic orbits and characterization of the spatial chaos in a nonlinear
      monatomic chain at the T=0 first-order phase-transition point.

PMID- 9979595
TI  - Dense branched growth of (SCN)x and ion transport in the poly(ethyleneoxide)
      NH4SCN polymer electrolyte.

PMID- 9979596
TI  - Effects of nonlinearity on the time evolution of single-site localized states in
      periodic and aperiodic discrete systems.

PMID- 9979597
TI  - Frequency moments of the spectral density of an atomic-displacement time
      correlation function of a three-dimensional Lennard-Jones crystal in the
      classical and quantum regimes.

PMID- 9979598
TI  - Thermal conductivity of sputtered oxide films.

PMID- 9979599
TI  - Numerical simulations of aerogel sintering.

PMID- 9979600
TI  - Dissipation function of the first-order phase transformation in solids via
      internal-friction measurements.

PMID- 9979602
TI  - Exact property of the autocorrelation function of a conserved spin component.

PMID- 9979601
TI  - Dissipation function of the first-order phase transformation in VO2 ceramics by
      internal-friction measurements.

PMID- 9979603
TI  - Spin-glass-like ordering of the magnetic moments of interacting nanosized
      maghemite particles.

PMID- 9979605
TI  - Spin correlations in low-dimensional spin-1/2 antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9979604
TI  - Spectroscopic study of the electronic states of single-crystal CuGeO3.

PMID- 9979607
TI  - Anisotropic Heisenberg ferromagnetic model in two dimensions.

PMID- 9979606
TI  - Magnetic properties of the Gd(Ni1-xCox)2B2C series: Macroscopic and microscopic
      studies.

PMID- 9979608
TI  - Ferromagnetic coupling in nonmetallic Cu2+ compounds.

PMID- 9979609
TI  - Magnetic studies of some orthovanadates.

PMID- 9979610
TI  - Influence of spin-orbit coupling on the transport and magnetic properties of
      Co3Pd97.

PMID- 9979611
TI  - Temperature dependence of the giant magnetoresistance in Ni-Co/Cu, Ni-Fe/Cu, and
      Co-Fe/Cu multilayer films.

PMID- 9979612
TI  - Brillouin scattering in Co/Cu/Co and Co/Au/Co trilayers: Anisotropy fields and
      interlayer magnetic exchange.

PMID- 9979613
TI  - Role of interfacial roughness in the giant magnetoresistance in Co/Cu
      superlattices.

PMID- 9979614
TI  - Cavity-fields approach to quadrupolar glass.

PMID- 9979615
TI  - Static and dynamical properties of a magnetic impurity in a strongly correlated
      electronic system.

PMID- 9979616
TI  - Ultrasonic study of the magnetic phase diagrams of CsNi0.98M0.02Cl3 (M=Co, Fe,
      Mg).

PMID- 9979617
TI  - Landau theory of quantum spin glasses of rotors and Ising spins.

PMID- 9979618
TI  - Theory of interlayer magnetic coupling.

PMID- 9979619
TI  - Confinement of spinons in the CPM-1 model.

PMID- 9979620
TI  - Magnetic profiles of compositionally tailored Permalloy-copper films: A
      theoretical and experimental comparison. I. Growth and stoichiometric
      characterization using scanning Auger microscopy.

PMID- 9979621
TI  - Magnetic profiles of compositionally tailored Permalloy-copper films: A
      theoretical and experimental comparison. II. Spin-wave resonance.

PMID- 9979622
TI  - Oxygen dependence of the crystal structure of HgBa2CuO4+ delta and its relation
      to superconductivity.

PMID- 9979623
TI  - High-field fluctuations of a kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9979624
TI  - Interactions of collective excitations with vortices in superfluid systems.

PMID- 9979626
TI  - Quasiparticle spectrum around a vortex line in a d-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9979625
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of (NH3)xK3C60.

PMID- 9979628
TI  - High-frequency pumping of Josephson soliton oscillators.

PMID- 9979627
TI  - Some consequences of flux avalanches in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9979629
TI  - Spatiotemporal chaos in rf-driven Josephson junction series arrays.

PMID- 9979631
TI  - Thermal expansion of V3Si with controlled martensite-phase morphology.

PMID- 9979630
TI  - Excitation spectrum of a type-II superconductor in a very high magnetic field
      with randomly pinned vortices.

PMID- 9979632
TI  - Exact scaling relations in one- and two-dimensional Luttinger liquids:
      Competition between superconductivity and antiferromagnetism.

PMID- 9979633
TI  - Muon-spin-rotation studies of the temperature dependence of the magnetic
      penetration depth in the YBa2Cu3Ox family and related compounds.

PMID- 9979635
TI  - Two different thermally activated flux-flow regimes in oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3O7
      x thin films.

PMID- 9979634
TI  - Electronic structure as a function of doping in YBa2Cu3Ox(6.2 <= x <= 6.9)
      studied by angle-resolved photoemission.

PMID- 9979636
TI  - Penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 thin films from far-infrared transmission.

PMID- 9979637
TI  - Unconventional lattice stiffening in superconducting La2-xSrxCuO4 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9979638
TI  - Analysis of the nonequilibrium photoresponse of superconducting films to pulsed
      radiation by use of a two-temperature model.

PMID- 9979639
TI  - Temperature-dependent tunneling spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals with
      well-defined Bi2Sr2CuO6 epitaxial layers.

PMID- 9979640
TI  - Raman electronic continuum in a spin-fluctuation model for superconductivity.

PMID- 9979641
TI  - Phenomenological models for the gap anisotropy of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 as measured by
      angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9979642
TI  - Interlayer vortices and edge dislocations in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9979644
TI  - Spin-charge separation in the t-J model: Magnetic and transport anomalies.

PMID- 9979643
TI  - Effect of the three-site hopping term on the t-J model.

PMID- 9979645
TI  - Charge transport in junctions between d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9979647
TI  - Hydroxyl defects in germanium-doped quartz: Defect dynamics and radiation
      effects.

PMID- 9979646
TI  - Phase transformation of BeSe and BeTe to the NiAs structure at high pressure.

PMID- 9979648
TI  - Grain-boundary atomic structure in nanocrystalline palladium from x-ray atomic
      distribution functions.

PMID- 9979649
TI  - Relationship between OH- defect reorientation rates and the quenching of the F
      center luminescence in alkali halides.

PMID- 9979650
TI  - Photochromic centers and impurities in nominally pure KTaO3 and K1-xLixTaO3.

PMID- 9979651
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of interfacial roughening in twinned orthorhombic
      Dy(As0.15V0.85)O4.

PMID- 9979652
TI  - Face-centered-cubic to orthorhombic phase transition in single-crystal RbC60
      analyzed by Raman scattering.

PMID- 9979653
TI  - Intrinsic ductility criterion for interfaces in solids.

PMID- 9979654
TI  - Movement of the interphase boundary in KNbO3 under pressure.

PMID- 9979655
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of pretransitional dynamics in the deuterated
      diacetylene monomer 2,4-hexadiynylene bis(p-toluenesulfonate).

PMID- 9979657
TI  - Critical behavior of hierarchical Ising models.

PMID- 9979656
TI  - Photoemission investigation of the electronic-structure changes in Zr-Ni-Cu
      metallic glasses upon hydrogenation.

PMID- 9979658
TI  - Near-infrared dynamics of photoexcitations in a substituted polyacetylene.

PMID- 9979659
TI  - Evidence of amorphization in molecular-dynamics simulations on irradiated
      intermetallic NiAl.

PMID- 9979660
TI  - Acoustic properties of oxide glasses at low temperatures.

PMID- 9979661
TI  - Glass transition in a Fredrickson-Anderson model with chemical reactions.

PMID- 9979663
TI  - Microscopic mechanisms for kinetic friction: Nearly frictionless sliding for
      small solids.

PMID- 9979662
TI  - Gradual freezing of orientational degrees of freedom in cubic Ar1-x(N2)x
      mixtures.

PMID- 9979664
TI  - Thermal conductivity and accommodation coefficient of spin-polarized atomic
      hydrogen gas.

PMID- 9979665
TI  - Common interatomic potential model for the lattice dynamics of several cuprates.

PMID- 9979666
TI  - Diffusion of atoms and molecules in the solid hydrogens.

PMID- 9979668
TI  - Magnetic properties of disordered Ising systems with various probability
      distributions of the exchange integrals.

PMID- 9979667
TI  - Three-dimensional antiferromagnetic transition of iodine-doped fluoro-aluminum
      phthalocyanine with a disordered polymer chain.

PMID- 9979669
TI  - Crystal structures and low-temperature behaviors of the heavy-fermion compounds
      CeRuGe3 and Ce3Ru4Ge13 containing both trivalent and tetravalent cerium.

PMID- 9979670
TI  - Ferromagnetic and freezing transitions in electron liquids: Exchange and Coulomb
      effects at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9979671
TI  - Inergodicity and dynamical phase transitions in the soft spherical spin-glass
      model.

PMID- 9979673
TI  - High-intensity gamma -ray scattering from alkali halide crystals.

PMID- 9979672
TI  - Role of applied transverse field in a ferrimagnetic bilayer system with
      disordered interfaces.

PMID- 9979674
TI  - Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, domains, and misfit strain in epitaxial Ni/Cu1
      xNix/Cu/Si (001) thin films.

PMID- 9979675
TI  - High magnetic fields and the correlation gap in SmB6.

PMID- 9979676
TI  - Ce5Ni6In11: An intermediate heavy-fermion system.

PMID- 9979677
TI  - Staggered magnetization in La2-xSrxCuO4 from 139La NQR and microSR: Effects of Sr
      doping in the range 0<x<0.02.

PMID- 9979678
TI  - Method of identification of the NMR origin in magnetically ordered substances:
      Application to the Mn1+ delta Sb alloy system.

PMID- 9979679
TI  - Theoretical study of the interaction between a magnetic nanotip and a magnetic
      surface.

PMID- 9979680
TI  - Charge-density waves and strain waves in thin epitaxial Cr(001) films on Nb.

PMID- 9979681
TI  - Zero-temperature magnetism in the periodic Anderson model in the limit of large
      dimensions.

PMID- 9979682
TI  - ESR study of soft ferromagnetic

PMID- 9979683
TI  - Static magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements of the copper-oxygen
      cluster compound BaCuO2+x.

PMID- 9979684
TI  - Self-consistent analysis of single-particle excitations in a spin-density-wave
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9979685
TI  - Conformal anomaly and critical exponents of the XY Ising model.

PMID- 9979686
TI  - Normal modes of vortices in easy-plane ferromagnets.

PMID- 9979688
TI  - Magnetic-field influence on the semiconductor-superconductor transition in glassy
      Ag-Si-Te alloys.

PMID- 9979687
TI  - Intermediate valence of Ce in Y1-xCexNi2B2C (x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1).

PMID- 9979689
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of normal metals with charge-density or spin-density
      waves.

PMID- 9979690
TI  - Thermal decays in a hot Fermi gas.

PMID- 9979692
TI  - Amplitude-dependent sound-velocity increase in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9979691
TI  - Andreev reflections and resonance tunneling in Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9979693
TI  - Irreversible magnetic response of the simplest three-dimensional Josephson
      junction network.

PMID- 9979694
TI  - Collective pinning and the Hall effect in superconductors.

PMID- 9979695
TI  - Magnetic-spin-echo response to a moving vortex lattice in a type-II
      superconductor.

PMID- 9979696
TI  - Variational approach to superconductive networks.

PMID- 9979697
TI  - Theory of phase locking in small Josephson-junction cells.

PMID- 9979698
TI  - Coulomb drag in normal metals and superconductors: Diagrammatic approach.

PMID- 9979699
TI  - Specific heat of superfluids near the transition temperature.

PMID- 9979700
TI  - Vortex pair production and decay of a two-dimensional supercurrent by a quantum
      field-theory approach.

PMID- 9979701
TI  - Effects of impurity vertex correction on the NMR coherence peak in s-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979702
TI  - Vortex pinning and lock-in effect in a layered superconductor with large in-plane
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9979703
TI  - Homogeneous nucleation of crystalline order in superdense liquid 4He.

PMID- 9979704
TI  - Theory of spin dynamics in high-Tc copper oxide superconductors. Application to
      neutron scattering.

PMID- 9979705
TI  - Growth mechanisms of coevaporated SmBa2Cu3Oy thin films.

PMID- 9979706
TI  - Charge transfer in YBa2Cu3O6 doped with fluorine: Infrared reflectance and Raman
      scattering studies.

PMID- 9979707
TI  - Superconductivity in lanthanum cuprates: A layered-electron-gas model.

PMID- 9979708
TI  - Phonon renormalization and symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.

PMID- 9979709
TI  - Mixed-state thermoelectric and thermomagnetic effects of a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      single crystal.

PMID- 9979710
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and crystal-field effects in neodymium
      cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9979711
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau equations for a d-wave superconductor with applications to vortex
      structure and surface problems.

PMID- 9979712
TI  - Time dependence of the magnetization of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 displaying the paramagnetic
      Meissner effect.

PMID- 9979713
TI  - EPR study of localized Cu2+ paramagnetic ions and Cu2+ pairs in the oxygen
      deficient PrBa2Cu3O6+x and Pr0.5R0.5Ba2Cu3O6+x (R=Y,Er) compounds.

PMID- 9979714
TI  - Comparison of pinning parameters between low-Tc superconductors and YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9979715
TI  - Derivation and numerical study of the singlet-triplet model for cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979716
TI  - Ground-state properties and dynamics of the bilayer t-J model.

PMID- 9979717
TI  - High-Tc superconductivity of iodine-intercalated Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox: An interlayer
      coupling model.

PMID- 9979718
TI  - Theory of double-sided flux decorations.

PMID- 9979719
TI  - Nonlocal response of grain-boundary-type Josephson junctions to local
      perturbation.

PMID- 9979720
TI  - Inelastic light scattering from collective modes in a layered superconductor with
      Cooper-pair tunneling.

PMID- 9979721
TI  - Thermal formation of vacancies in Fe3Si.

PMID- 9979722
TI  - Disorder, impurity, and isotope effects in the Raman-active libron spectrum of
      crystalline C60.

PMID- 9979723
TI  - Spin-polarized Auger-electron diffraction study of the magnetic poisoning of
      Fe(001) by sulfur.

PMID- 9979724
TI  - High-pressure effects on the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3.

PMID- 9979726
TI  - First-principles calculation of antiferromagnetic NMR absorption curves.

PMID- 9979725
TI  - Magnetic anisotropies of aligned carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9979727
TI  - Doping effects on the magnetic phase diagram of the spin-Peierls system CuGe1
      xSixO3.

PMID- 9979728
TI  - Prediction of an undimerized, insulating, antiferromagnetic ground state in
      halogen-bridged linear-chain Ni compounds.

PMID- 9979730
TI  - Selection rules for oscillations of the giant magnetoresistance with nonmagnetic
      spacer layer thickness.

PMID- 9979729
TI  - Effect of conduction-electron interactions on Anderson impurities.

PMID- 9979731
TI  - Asymmetric giant magnetoresistance in Co10Cu90 magnetic granular alloys.

PMID- 9979732
TI  - Static magnetic order in the one-dimensional conductor RbC60.

PMID- 9979733
TI  - Magnetism in RbC60 studied by muon-spin rotation.

PMID- 9979734
TI  - Influence of phase transitions on the ionic conductivity of protonic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9979735
TI  - Deformation-induced time-reversal symmetry breaking in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9979736
TI  - Substantial pressure effects on the electrical resistivity and ferromagnetic
      transition temperature of La1-xCaxMnO3.

PMID- 9979737
TI  - Collective modes and their coupling to pair-breaking excitations in layered d
      wave superconductors.

PMID- 9979738
TI  - Uniaxial-stress-induced superconductivity in organic conductors.

PMID- 9979739
TI  - Vortex dynamics in a model of superflow: The role of acoustic excitations.

PMID- 9979740
TI  - Microwave properties of borocarbide superconductors RNi2B2C (R=Y,Er,Tm,Ho).

PMID- 9979741
TI  - c-axis normal conductivity of YBa2Cu3Ox as a function of x.

PMID- 9979742
TI  - Evidence for the shift of the transition temperature in RBa2Cu4O8 by thermal
      conductivity measurements.

PMID- 9979743
TI  - 89Y NMR study of Zn-induced local moments and pair breaking in Y(Ba1-yLay)2(Cu1
      xZnx)4O8.

PMID- 9979744
TI  - Umklapp scattering from spin fluctuations in copper oxides.

PMID- 9979745
TI  - Pinning influence on high-field reversible magnetization in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      single crystals.

PMID- 9979746
TI  - Anisotropy, pinning, and the mixed-state Hall effect.

PMID- 9979747
TI  - Anisotropy and dimensional crossover of the vortex state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      crystals.

PMID- 9979748
TI  - NMR studies of superconducting Na2AC60 (A=Cs, Rb, and K) fullerides.

PMID- 9979749
TI  - Confinement and the confined-localized-orbital-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9979750
TI  - Urbach tail of anatase TiO2.

PMID- 9979752
TI  - Infrared transient absorption and electronic state of localized self-trapped
      excitons in KCl:I.

PMID- 9979751
TI  - Propagation of carriers in a random-dimer model: The interplay between disorder
      and electric field.

PMID- 9979753
TI  - Shape analysis of the level-spacing distribution around the metal-insulator
      transition in the three-dimensional Anderson model.

PMID- 9979754
TI  - Self-consistent spin-spin and density-density correlations in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9979755
TI  - Hydrogen permeation through thin silicon oxide films.

PMID- 9979756
TI  - Optical absorption in amorphous semiconductors.

PMID- 9979758
TI  - Quantum effects on the phonon excitations of one-dimensional electron-phonon
      systems.

PMID- 9979757
TI  - Positive magnetoresistance in the variable-range-hopping regime in copper indium
      diselenide on either side of the critical field Bc.

PMID- 9979759
TI  - Layered semiconductor GeS as a birefringent stratified medium.

PMID- 9979761
TI  - Persistent currents induced by spin-orbit coupling in one-dimensional mesoscopic
      rings.

PMID- 9979760
TI  - Saturation of the strong-coupling regime in a semiconductor microcavity: Free
      carrier bleaching of cavity polaritons.

PMID- 9979762
TI  - Monolayer islands in an interrupted-growth type-II single quantum well.

PMID- 9979763
TI  - Surface stoichiometry determination using reflection high-energy electron
      diffraction and atomic-layer epitaxy: The case of ZnTe(100).

PMID- 9979764
TI  - Electron-electron-interaction-induced instability in double quantum-wire
      structures.

PMID- 9979765
TI  - Electronic structure of (GaAs)m(AlAs)n superlattices grown in the

PMID- 9979766
TI  - Quantum size effect and persistent hole burning of CuI nanocrystals.

PMID- 9979767
TI  - Dual Aharonov-Casher effect and persistent dipole current.

PMID- 9979768
TI  - Spin-triplet negatively charged excitons in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9979769
TI  - Correlations in coupled electron and hole layers of finite thickness.

PMID- 9979771
TI  - Shot noise in mesoscopic diffusive conductors in the limit of strong electron
      electron scattering.

PMID- 9979770
TI  - Chaos in resonant-tunneling superlattices.

PMID- 9979772
TI  - Experimental evidence for a Coulomb gap in two dimensions.

PMID- 9979774
TI  - Determining activation energies and relaxation times of individual electron traps
      by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9979773
TI  - Temperature dependence of the Hartree-Fock approximation in two dimensions.

PMID- 9979776
TI  - Water adsorption on a BaF2(111) surface in air observed with force microscopy.

PMID- 9979775
TI  - Surface relaxation of the clean and Mg-contaminated Li(100) surface.

PMID- 9979777
TI  - Optical properties of C60 vibrations.

PMID- 9979779
TI  - Orientational epitaxy of high-quality C60 films on Ag(111).

PMID- 9979778
TI  - Surface relief accompanying martensitic transitions in an Fe-Ni-C alloy by atomic
      force microscopy and phenomenological theory of martensitic crystallography.

PMID- 9979780
TI  - Effect of resonating paramagnetic centers on the current of the scanning
      tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9979781
TI  - Structure of C-stabilized fcc Fe on diamond: Epitaxial growth of austenite.

PMID- 9979782
TI  - Lateral confinement of surface states on stepped Cu(111).

PMID- 9979783
TI  - Specific heat of ideal particles in multilayer systems.

PMID- 9979784
TI  - Hydrodynamic model of an inhomogeneous electron gas.

PMID- 9979785
TI  - X-ray-absorption edge shifts in rare-earth-transition-metal compounds.

PMID- 9979786
TI  - Possible stress-induced phase transition in o-TaS3.

PMID- 9979788
TI  - Systematic variation of the electronic structure of 3d transition-metal
      compounds.

PMID- 9979787
TI  - Electronic structure and hybridization effects in Hume-Rothery alloys containing
      transition elements.

PMID- 9979789
TI  - Fermions with long-range interaction.

PMID- 9979790
TI  - Electronic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors DCNQI (N,N'
      dicyanoquinonediimine)-Cu salts.

PMID- 9979792
TI  - Fluctuations in the current-voltage relation in a sliding charge-density wave.

PMID- 9979791
TI  - Light amplification and localization in randomly layered media with gain.

PMID- 9979793
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in C60 polymers.

PMID- 9979795
TI  - Dynamics of tunneling centers in metallic systems.

PMID- 9979794
TI  - Alternative to Gutzwiller's approach.

PMID- 9979796
TI  - Symmetry, degeneracy, and uncoupled modes in two-dimensional photonic lattices.

PMID- 9979797
TI  - Ground state and magnetic susceptibility of intermediate-valence Tm impurities.

PMID- 9979798
TI  - Transport in metals with electron-electron scattering.

PMID- 9979799
TI  - Theory of fermion liquids.

PMID- 9979800
TI  - Optical sum rules for inhomogeneous electron systems.

PMID- 9979801
TI  - Quantum critical phenomena and conformal invariance.

PMID- 9979802
TI  - Coverage-dependent spectral evolution in correlated systems: An exact
      diagonalization study of a generic overlayer model.

PMID- 9979804
TI  - First-principles study of several hypothetical silica framework structures.

PMID- 9979803
TI  - Metallic microwave dielectric response of polyacetylene.

PMID- 9979805
TI  - Independent variation of the density and the potential in density-functional
      methods.

PMID- 9979807
TI  - Statistical mechanics of high-field transport in semiconductors.

PMID- 9979806
TI  - Optical and electronic-structure study of cubic and hexagonal GaN thin films.

PMID- 9979808
TI  - Raman scattering from MeV-ion implanted diamond.

PMID- 9979810
TI  - Structure and dynamics of carbon, silicon, and hydrogen complexes in AlAs, GaAs,
      and AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9979809
TI  - Evidence of two kinds of acceptors in undoped semi-insulating GaAs: Positron
      trapping at gallium vacancies and negative ions.

PMID- 9979811
TI  - First-principles calculations of effective-mass parameters of AlN and GaN.

PMID- 9979812
TI  - Photoinduced localized magnetic polaron and luminescence in Eu chalcogenides,
      especially in EuTe.

PMID- 9979813
TI  - Theory of the anisotropy of ultrafast nonlinear refraction in zinc-blende
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9979814
TI  - Scaling hypothesis for corrections to total energy and stress in plane-wave-based
      ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9979815
TI  - Lifetime measurement of high-wave-number biexcitons in CuCl.

PMID- 9979817
TI  - Electromodulation spectra of a single AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs modulation-doped
      heterojunction: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9979816
TI  - dc transport in dissipative disordered one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9979818
TI  - Photoemission study of the Si(111)6 x 1-Cs surface.

PMID- 9979819
TI  - Optical-phonon Raman-scattering study of short-period GaAs-AlAs superlattices: An
      examination of interface disorder.

PMID- 9979820
TI  - Statistics of magnetoconductance in ballistic cavities.

PMID- 9979821
TI  - Experimental determination of the atomic structure of a H-terminated Si{111}
      surface.

PMID- 9979823
TI  - Confinement effect in a quantum well dot induced by an InP stressor.

PMID- 9979822
TI  - Theory on STM images of Si(001) surface near defects.

PMID- 9979824
TI  - Numerical analysis of ballistic-electron transport in magnetic fields by using a
      quantum point contact and a quantum wire.

PMID- 9979825
TI  - Reflection high-energy electron diffraction and photoemission study of GaSb(100)
      reconstructions.

PMID- 9979826
TI  - Bound-free intersubband absorption in p-type doped semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9979827
TI  - Time-resolved luminescence study of self-trapped-exciton relaxation in quasi-one
      dimensional halogen-bridged mixed-valence metal complexes.

PMID- 9979829
TI  - Etching of Si(100)-2 x 1 with chlorine: Reaction pathways, energy anisotropies,
      and atomic-scale phenomena.

PMID- 9979828
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of SiH3 radical deposition on hydrogen-terminated
      silicon (100) surfaces.

PMID- 9979830
TI  - Spectral characteristics of conductance fluctuations in ballistic quantum dots:
      The influence of finite magnetic field and temperature.

PMID- 9979832
TI  - Excitons in a quantum wire subjected to a magnetic field.

PMID- 9979831
TI  - Intraband absorption in semiconductor quantum wells in the presence of a
      perpendicular magnetic field.

PMID- 9979834
TI  - Porous silicon formation: Stability analysis of the silicon-electrolyte
      interface.

PMID- 9979833
TI  - Semiconductor Bloch equations in a homogeneous magnetic field.

PMID- 9979835
TI  - Structures and reactions of missing dimers in epitaxial growth of Ge on Si(100).

PMID- 9979836
TI  - Magnetotransport through disordered and anisotropic antidot lattices in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9979837
TI  - Elastic strains in GaAs/AlAs quantum dots studied by high-resolution x-ray
      diffraction.

PMID- 9979838
TI  - dc Josephson current through a quantum dot coupled with superconducting leads.

PMID- 9979840
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm effect in a cavity formed by two quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9979839
TI  - Multisubband electron transport in delta -doped semiconductor systems.

PMID- 9979841
TI  - Circular polarization of far-infrared modes in antidot arrays.

PMID- 9979842
TI  - Effect of a random adiabatic potential on the optical properties of two
      dimensional excitons.

PMID- 9979843
TI  - Inelastic scattering, multifractality, and scaling in the integer quantum Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9979845
TI  - Indications from 195Pt NMR for a temperature-dependent metal-nonmetal transition
      of small platinum particles in zeolites.

PMID- 9979844
TI  - Spectral statistics in the lowest Landau band.

PMID- 9979846
TI  - Interactions of iron implants in transition metals.

PMID- 9979847
TI  - Magnetization of graphene tubules.

PMID- 9979848
TI  - Surface sensitivity of Kikuchi-electron diffraction patterns.

PMID- 9979849
TI  - Theoretical study of the collective electronic excitations in single- and
      multiple-shell fullerenes.

PMID- 9979851
TI  - Thermal roughening of Cu(115): An energy-resolved helium-atom-beam scattering
      study.

PMID- 9979850
TI  - Growth and morphology of Ni/Cu(100) ultrathin films: An in situ study using
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9979853
TI  - Effect of impurity on ion neutralization.

PMID- 9979852
TI  - Effect of the tip structure on atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9979854
TI  - Self-consistent calculations in spherical metal clusters with uniformly averaged
      realistic pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9979855
TI  - Quantized conductance in atom-sized wires between two metals.

PMID- 9979857
TI  - Growth and morphology of ultrathin Fe films on Cu(001).

PMID- 9979856
TI  - Mechanism of melting in submonolayer films of nitrogen molecules adsorbed on the
      basal planes of graphite.

PMID- 9979858
TI  - Mechanism of nanostructure formation with the scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9979859
TI  - Static polarizabilities of single-wall carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9979860
TI  - Bulk defects and surface roughening in epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9979862
TI  - Band-spectrum cutoff in a one-dimensional compound crystal.

PMID- 9979861
TI  - Erratum: Adsorption of hydrocarbons on a diamond (111) surface: An ab initio
      quantum-mechanical study

PMID- 9979863
TI  - Single-particle Green's functions of the Calogero-Sutherland model at couplings
      lambda =1/2, 1, and 2.

PMID- 9979865
TI  - Absolute band-structure determination by target current spectroscopy: Application
      to Cu(100).

PMID- 9979864
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of the one-dimensional organic metal
      bis(thiodimethylene)-tetrathiafulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane.

PMID- 9979866
TI  - Low-order moment expansions to tight binding for interatomic potentials:
      Successes and failures.

PMID- 9979867
TI  - Localized-itinerant electronic transition in the perovskite system La1-xCaxVO3.

PMID- 9979868
TI  - Bulk and surface electronic structures of MgO.

PMID- 9979869
TI  - Electromigration of substitutional impurities in metals: Theory and application
      in Al and Cu.

PMID- 9979871
TI  - Theory and convergence properties of the screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method.

PMID- 9979870
TI  - Density-functional approach to the valence change in SmS: Normal and high
      pressure phases.

PMID- 9979872
TI  - First-principles theory of short-range order, electronic excitations, and spin
      polarization in Ni-V and Pd-V alloys.

PMID- 9979873
TI  - Physical properties of a-Si:H based compositional periodic multilayers.

PMID- 9979874
TI  - Transfer mechanism between pseudodonor excited singlet and triplet states of the
      S-Cu complex defect in silicon.

PMID- 9979876
TI  - Microscopic structures of Sb-H, Te-H, and Sn-H complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9979875
TI  - Optical properties of cubic boron nitride.

PMID- 9979877
TI  - Electronic properties of hydrogen-derived complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9979878
TI  - First-principles pseudopotential study of the phase stability of the III-V
      semiconductors GaAs and AlAs.

PMID- 9979879
TI  - Finite-temperature resonant magnetotunneling in AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs-AlyGa1-yAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9979880
TI  - [sdot ]Si=Si3 defect at thermally grown]

PMID- 9979882
TI  - Exact nonequilibrium transport through point contacts in quantum wires and
      fractional quantum Hall devices.

PMID- 9979881
TI  - Conductance oscillations related to the eigenenergy spectrum of a quantum dot in
      weak magnetic fields.

PMID- 9979883
TI  - Temperature dependence of the fundamental direct transitions of bulk Ge and two
      Ge/SiGe multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9979884
TI  - Admittance spectroscopy studies of boron delta -doped Si quantum wells.

PMID- 9979886
TI  - Resistance magneto-oscillations of superlattices.

PMID- 9979885
TI  - Exciton/biexciton energies in rectangular GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum-well wires
      including finite Al-graded band offsets with application to third-order optical
      susceptibilities.

PMID- 9979888
TI  - Transmittance and Bragg reflectivity of two-dimensional photonic lattices.

PMID- 9979887
TI  - Biexciton on a one-dimensional lattice.

PMID- 9979890
TI  - Quantum interference resonator: Effects of disorder.

PMID- 9979889
TI  - Effective masses in In1-xGaxAs superlattices derived from Franz-Keldysh
      oscillations.

PMID- 9979891
TI  - Geometrical-confinement effects on excitons in quantum disks.

PMID- 9979893
TI  - Plasmons in imperfect parabolic quantum-well wires: Self-consistent calculations.

PMID- 9979892
TI  - Impurity-breakdown-induced current filamentation in a dipolar electric field.

PMID- 9979894
TI  - Stimulated Brillouin scattering of laser radiation in a compensated magnetoactive
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9979895
TI  - Atomic displacements of Mo(100) surface phases measured by ion scattering.

PMID- 9979896
TI  - Electronic states in the stage-3 mercury chloride graphite intercalation
      compound.

PMID- 9979897
TI  - Nonlinear optical properties of the substituted fullerenes C59X (X=B,N).

PMID- 9979898
TI  - Room-temperature Coulomb blockade from a self-assembled molecular nanostructure.

PMID- 9979899
TI  - Energetics of diffusion on the (100) and (111) surfaces of Ag, Au, and Ir from
      first principles.

PMID- 9979900
TI  - Polymorphism and metastability in NbN: Structural predictions from first
      principles.

PMID- 9979901
TI  - Metastability of NbN in the ordered vacancy NbO phase.

PMID- 9979902
TI  - Spin-orbit coupling, exchange interaction, and hybridization in the
      photoexcitation of the Ni 3p core level.

PMID- 9979904
TI  - Static and low-frequency shear compliance of TaS3.

PMID- 9979903
TI  - Insulator-metal transition in solid hydrogen: Implication of electronic-structure
      calculations for recent experiments.

PMID- 9979906
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of Se-doped AlSb: Evidence for negative U
      of the DX center.

PMID- 9979905
TI  - Effect of photodarkening on dynamics of visible and infrared photoluminescence in
      CdSxSe1-x-doped glass.

PMID- 9979907
TI  - Anomalies in the pressure dependence of the effective charge in cubic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9979909
TI  - Thermopower of composite fermions.

PMID- 9979908
TI  - Light from porous silicon by multiphoton vibronic excitation.

PMID- 9979910
TI  - Cross-sectional lateral-force microscopy of semiconductor heterostructures and
      multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9979911
TI  - Magnetotransport in a nonplanar two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9979913
TI  - Stretched-exponential carrier relaxation in semiconductors.

PMID- 9979912
TI  - Andreev reflection at the superconductor-two-dimensional-electron-gas interface
      by a quantum point contact.

PMID- 9979914
TI  - Observation of both heavy- and light-hole excitons in (25-60)-nm diameter GaAs
      (Al,Ga)As quantum dots.

PMID- 9979916
TI  - Quantum magnetic confinement and transport in spherical two-dimensional electron
      gases.

PMID- 9979915
TI  - Electronic structure of buried Si layers in GaAs(001) as studied by soft-x-ray
      emission.

PMID- 9979917
TI  - Dimer-vacancy-dimer-vacancy interaction on the Si(001) surface: The nature of the
      2 x n structure.

PMID- 9979918
TI  - Optically detected far-infrared resonances in doped GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9979919
TI  - Cyclotron-resonance anomalies in an antidot array measured by microwave
      photoconductivity.

PMID- 9979920
TI  - Giant conductance oscillations controlled by supercurrent flow through a
      ballistic mesoscopic conductor.

PMID- 9979921
TI  - Renormalization of the one-dimensional conductance in the Luttinger-liquid model.

PMID- 9979922
TI  - Plasmon-phonon coupling in one-dimensional semiconductor quantum-wire structures.

PMID- 9979923
TI  - General picture of quantum Hall transitions in quantum antidots.

PMID- 9979924
TI  - Dynamical properties of quantum Hall edge states.

PMID- 9979925
TI  - Time-resolved photoluminescence investigations of electric-field domain formation
      in GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9979926
TI  - Spin-twist-driven persistent current in a strongly correlated two-dimensional
      electron system: A manifestation of the gauge field.

PMID- 9979927
TI  - Universal fluctuation of the Hall conductance in a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9979928
TI  - Probing oscillatory hydration potentials using thermal-mechanical noise in an
      atomic-force microscope.

PMID- 9979929
TI  - Spin-resolved iron surface density of states.

PMID- 9979930
TI  - Electrical-transport measurements of KC60.

PMID- 9979931
TI  - Formation and survival of H- and C- ions transiting ultrathin carbon foils at keV
      energies.

PMID- 9979932
TI  - Brillouin-scattering determination of the elastic constants of epitaxial fcc C60
      film.

PMID- 9979933
TI  - Use of x-ray reflectivity for determining the Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3-Bi surface
      structures.

PMID- 9979934
TI  - Diffusion processes and growth on stepped metal surfaces.

PMID- 9979936
TI  - Strain-induced destabilization of crystals: Lattice dynamics of the cubic
      tetragonal phase transition in ZrO2.

PMID- 9979937
TI  - Coordination-dependent equations of state and pair potentials for cold metal
      crystals.

PMID- 9979935
TI  - Crystal grain growth during phase transformation in cerium metal at high
      pressure.

PMID- 9979938
TI  - Absence of interaction between ferroelectric and incommensurate transitions in
      Ba2NaNb5(1-x)Ta5xO15.

PMID- 9979939
TI  - Pressure strengthening: A way to multimegabar static pressures.

PMID- 9979940
TI  - Derivation of the equations of motion of interacting parallel edge dislocations
      from a Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9979941
TI  - Raman-scattering investigation of the hexagonal perovskite RbZnF3.

PMID- 9979942
TI  - Neutron-scattering and ab initio molecular-dynamics study of vibrations in glassy
      GeSe2.

PMID- 9979944
TI  - Crystal-field splitting in CeB6 as observed by high-resolution photoemission.

PMID- 9979943
TI  - Transition-metal impurities in Fe: Magnetic- and hyperfine-field properties.

PMID- 9979945
TI  - Structure and magnetic properties of Sr2-xAxIrO4 (A=Ca and Ba).

PMID- 9979946
TI  - Magnetotransport properties of La0.6Pb0.4MnO3- delta and Nd0.6(Sr0.7Pb0.3)0.4MnO3
      delta single crystals.

PMID- 9979947
TI  - Tricritical behavior of two-dimensional scalar field theories.

PMID- 9979948
TI  - Zero-field muon spin lattice relaxation rate in a Heisenberg ferromagnet at low
      temperature.

PMID- 9979949
TI  - Plane-wave-basis pseudopotential study of the ground-state properties of Ni.

PMID- 9979950
TI  - Spin stiffnesses of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular
      lattice.

PMID- 9979951
TI  - Phase transitions in the three-state antiferromagnetic Potts model.

PMID- 9979952
TI  - Effective-action approach to a bilayer frustrated antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9979953
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome
      lattice.

PMID- 9979955
TI  - Tunneling and localization in a two-state system interacting with a phonon bath.

PMID- 9979954
TI  - Cyclotron resonance in ideal superconductors.

PMID- 9979956
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetism in DyNi2B2C single crystals.

PMID- 9979957
TI  - Theory of charge transfer at the high-Tc superconductor/electrolyte interface.

PMID- 9979958
TI  - Gapless time-reversal-symmetry-breaking superconductivity.

PMID- 9979959
TI  - Statistics and superfluidity.

PMID- 9979960
TI  - Phase diagram of the two-dimensional t-J model at low doping.

PMID- 9979961
TI  - Quantum depinning in layered superconductors with defects produced by
      irradiation.

PMID- 9979962
TI  - Mossbauer studies of pressure-induced amorphization in the molecular crystal
      SnBr4.

PMID- 9979964
TI  - Time-resolved fractoluminescence spectra of silica glass in a vacuum and nitrogen
      atmosphere.

PMID- 9979963
TI  - Reflection and transmission of x rays by graded interfaces.

PMID- 9979965
TI  - Evaluation of the accuracy of the free-energy-minimization method.

PMID- 9979966
TI  - Evaluation of soft x-ray yield of Al from 27.557-MeV neutral particles.

PMID- 9979967
TI  - High-pressure neutron-diffraction study of the metallization process in PrNiO3.

PMID- 9979968
TI  - Structural behavior of palladium (II) oxide and a palladium suboxide at high
      pressure: An energy-dispersive x-ray-diffraction study.

PMID- 9979969
TI  - Pressure dependence of the refractive index of monoclinic and yttria-stabilized
      cubic zirconia.

PMID- 9979970
TI  - Fracturing of brittle homogeneous solids: Finite-size scalings.

PMID- 9979972
TI  - Influence of uniaxial deformation on the phase transformation in lithium.

PMID- 9979971
TI  - Effect of oxygen impurities on the critical properties of the (2 x 2)-2H/Ni(111)
      order-disorder phase transition.

PMID- 9979974
TI  - Electronic structure, electron transport properties, and relative stability of
      icosahedral quasicrystals and their 1/1 and 2/1 approximants in the Al-Mg-Zn
      alloy system.

PMID- 9979973
TI  - Monte Carlo and molecular-dynamics investigation of

PMID- 9979975
TI  - Structure of borate glasses from neutron-diffraction experiments.

PMID- 9979976
TI  - First-principles molecular-dynamics simulation of expanded liquid rubidium.

PMID- 9979977
TI  - Theoretical models for the liquid-vapor and metal-nonmetal transitions of alkali
      fluids.

PMID- 9979978
TI  - Excess of low-energy excitations in glasses.

PMID- 9979979
TI  - Basis-set convergence of highly defected sites in amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9979980
TI  - Four-photon spectroscopy of collective interactions between water molecules and
      electromagnetic radiation.

PMID- 9979981
TI  - Specific-heat study of nanocrystalline palladium.

PMID- 9979982
TI  - Evidence of two-dimensional clusters as precursors of an instability in BaZnF4.

PMID- 9979983
TI  - Nonlinearity and trapping in excitation transfer: Dimers and trimers.

PMID- 9979984
TI  - EPR study of hydrogen ions in stressed CaO crystals.

PMID- 9979985
TI  - Anomalous temperature dynamics of impurities in metals: A kinetic model.

PMID- 9979986
TI  - Thermal-phonon resonance.

PMID- 9979988
TI  - Numerical analysis of Hahn echoes in solids.

PMID- 9979987
TI  - Nonlinear transport of polarons.

PMID- 9979989
TI  - Magnetism, phase composition, and hyperfine fields of melt-spun Nd-Fe-B alloys
      with a few percent of neodymium.

PMID- 9979990
TI  - Mechanically induced structural and magnetic changes in the GdAl2 Laves phase.

PMID- 9979991
TI  - X-ray-scattering study of higher harmonic satellites near the antiferromagnetic
      phase transitions in rare-earth metals.

PMID- 9979992
TI  - Onsager reaction field theory of a spatially anisotropic Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9979993
TI  - Ground state in CeAl3: A Ce1-xLaxAl3 study.

PMID- 9979994
TI  - Magnetic interactions in Cu(L-isoleucine)2

PMID- 9979995
TI  - Modeling of the magnetic properties of the Cr-Fe interface.

PMID- 9979996
TI  - Spin-echo NMR of 159Tb in a single crystal of TbNi5.

PMID- 9979998
TI  - Magnetic and Mossbauer-effect studies of U6Fe hydride.

PMID- 9979997
TI  - Vortices in Schwinger-Boson mean-field theory of two-dimensional quantum
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9979999
TI  - Nontopological thermal solitons in isotropic ferromagnetic lattices.

PMID- 9980000
TI  - Magnetic impurity in a system of correlated electrons.

PMID- 9980001
TI  - Charge- and spin-density-wave ordering transitions in strongly correlated metals.

PMID- 9980003
TI  - Giant geometric oscillations of ultrasonic absorption.

PMID- 9980002
TI  - Conformal-field-theory approach to the two-impurity Kondo problem: Comparison
      with numerical renormalization-group results.

PMID- 9980004
TI  - Modulated structures stabilized by spin softening: An expansion in inverse spin
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9980005
TI  - Relativistic full-potential photoemission theory for ferromagnetic materials.

PMID- 9980006
TI  - Theory of phonon-assisted multimagnon optical absorption and bimagnon states in
      quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9980007
TI  - Discontinuous spin-glass transition in a random quantum Heisenberg magnet.

PMID- 9980008
TI  - Ferrimagnetism in Ni4Nb2O9.

PMID- 9980009
TI  - Significance of Al doping for antiferromagnetic AFII ordering in YBa2Cu3-xAlxO6+
      delta materials: A single-crystal neutron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9980010
TI  - Dipolar broadening of I=1/2 NMR spectra of solids.

PMID- 9980011
TI  - Ising expansion for the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9980012
TI  - Electronic structure of alpha t-(BEDT-TTF)2I3: A photoemission study.

PMID- 9980014
TI  - Superconductivity from a non-Fermi-liquid: A Ginzburg-Landau approach.

PMID- 9980013
TI  - Critical state in a circular two-dimensional superconductor and magnetization of
      thin Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4- delta and YBa2Cu3O7- delta films in a transverse field.

PMID- 9980015
TI  - Relation between the Josephson frequency and the Arrhenius rate for the
      nucleation of 2 pi phase slips in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9980016
TI  - Surface state effects in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9980017
TI  - Spin fluctuations in metallic glasses Zr75(NixFe1-x)25 at ambient and higher
      pressures.

PMID- 9980019
TI  - Josephson-vortex Cherenkov radiation.

PMID- 9980018
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetism in the La2-xNdxRh3Si5 system.

PMID- 9980020
TI  - Flux creep in inhomogeneous superconductors.

PMID- 9980022
TI  - Proximity-induced superconductivity in an antiferromagnetic exchange field.

PMID- 9980021
TI  - Barium contributions to the valence electronic structure of YBa2Cu3O7- delta,
      PrBa2Cu3O7- delta, and other barium-containing compounds.

PMID- 9980023
TI  - High-accuracy differential thermal analysis: A tool for calorimetric
      investigations on small high-temperature-superconductor specimens.

PMID- 9980024
TI  - Surface-sensitive paramagnetic Meissner effect in YBa2Cu3Ox single crystals.

PMID- 9980025
TI  - Transport properties of (BiPb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 textured tapes in the mixed state.

PMID- 9980026
TI  - Oxidation state and magnetic properties of Pb2Sr2Tb1-xYxCu3O8.

PMID- 9980027
TI  - Vortex dynamics in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7 probed by 63Cu nuclear spin echo
      measurements in the presence of transport current pulses.

PMID- 9980028
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to layered superconductors.

PMID- 9980029
TI  - Resonant two-magnon Raman scattering in parent compounds of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980030
TI  - Phase diagram of a two-dimensional lattice-gas model of oxygen ordering in
      YBa2Cu3Oz with realistic interactions.

PMID- 9980031
TI  - Erratum: Superconducting correlations in Hubbard chains with correlated hopping

PMID- 9980032
TI  - High-pressure Raman investigation on CdMoO4 and pressure-induced phase
      transformations.

PMID- 9980033
TI  - O-anion transport measured in several R2M2O7 pyrochlores using perturbed-angular
      correlation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980034
TI  - Modeling the effect of coincidence site lattice boundaries on grain growth
      textures.

PMID- 9980036
TI  - Observation and explanation of one-dimensional x-ray speckle patterns from
      synthetic multilayers.

PMID- 9980035
TI  - Extended Mie-Gruneisen theory applied to C60 in the disordered fcc phase.

PMID- 9980037
TI  - Positon annihilation at vacancies in Hg0.8Cd0.2Te crystals after electron
      irradiation.

PMID- 9980038
TI  - One-dimensional behavior of ferroelastic domain arrays in neodymium
      pentaphosphate.

PMID- 9980040
TI  - Near-surface and bulk short-range order in Cu3Au.

PMID- 9980039
TI  - bct to bcc iron in (001) FeIr superlattices: Relation between structure and
      magnetism.

PMID- 9980041
TI  - Critical region of the nematic-isotropic phase transition in the epsilon
      expansion.

PMID- 9980042
TI  - Lattice-parameter variation with carbon content of martensite. I. X-ray
      diffraction experimental study.

PMID- 9980043
TI  - Lattice-parameter variation with carbon content of martensite. II. Long
      wavelength theory of the cubic-to-tetragonal transition.

PMID- 9980045
TI  - Theory of the structural and electronic properties of alpha -Ga(001) and (010)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9980044
TI  - Ab initio calculations of structural and electronic properties of gallium solid
      state phases.

PMID- 9980046
TI  - Theoretical analysis of x-ray-absorption spectra at the silicon K and L2,3 edges
      of crystalline and amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9980047
TI  - Quasielastic incoherent scattering in fractal systems.

PMID- 9980048
TI  - Photoinduced structural changes in amorphous As2S3 as measured by differential
      anomalous x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9980049
TI  - Characterization of porous glass by adsorption of dibromomethane in conjunction
      with small-angle x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9980051
TI  - Fundamentals, overtones, and combinations in the Raman spectrum of graphite.

PMID- 9980050
TI  - Analytical expressions for zero-field splittings of 3d5 ions in low-symmetry
      fields and their applications.

PMID- 9980052
TI  - Kinetic approach to multiple pathway diffusion with traps.

PMID- 9980053
TI  - Creation of stable Frenkel defects by vacuum uv radiation in KBr crystals under
      conditions of multiplication of electronic excitations.

PMID- 9980054
TI  - Mossbauer sum rules for use with synchrotron sources.

PMID- 9980055
TI  - Raman scattering from small spherical particles.

PMID- 9980056
TI  - Pressure-induced orientational ordering in C60 single crystals studied by Raman
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980057
TI  - Magnetic properties and specific-heat studies of the metal-insulator transition
      in BaCo0.9Ni0.1S2-y.

PMID- 9980058
TI  - Internal stress distribution in glass-covered amorphous magnetic wires.

PMID- 9980059
TI  - Tetrahis(dimethylamino)ethylene-C60: Multicomponent superexchange and Mott
      ferromagnetism.

PMID- 9980060
TI  - Low-temperature calorimetric properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles.

PMID- 9980062
TI  - CeFeGe3: A concentrated Kondo compound with a stable valency and high Kondo
      temperature.

PMID- 9980061
TI  - Spin polarization of Mn layers on Fe(001).

PMID- 9980063
TI  - Magnon dispersion of the dipolar ferromagnet EuS near the zone center.

PMID- 9980065
TI  - Field-dependent ac susceptibility of amorphous (Fe1-xMnx)75P16B6Al3: Weakly
      frustrated regime.

PMID- 9980064
TI  - Magnetic interactions and the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect in KCuF3.

PMID- 9980066
TI  - Critical exponent eta in S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains with alternating
      interaction.

PMID- 9980067
TI  - Quantum phase transitions in a three-dimensional frustrated S=1/2 Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9980068
TI  - Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation via paramagnetic impurities in solids with
      arbitrary space dimension.

PMID- 9980069
TI  - Evidence of the Jahn-Teller splitting of C60- in C60
      tetraphenylphosphoniumchloride from an electron-spin-relaxation study.

PMID- 9980071
TI  - Evidence of extended orientational order in amorphous Fe/Sm thin films.

PMID- 9980070
TI  - Magnetic anisotropies in body-centered-cubic cobalt films.

PMID- 9980073
TI  - Calculation of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in Gd.

PMID- 9980072
TI  - Phase transitions in the one-dimensional pair-hopping model: A renormalization
      group study.

PMID- 9980074
TI  - Two-dimensional XXZ model on a square lattice: A Monte Carlo simulation.

PMID- 9980075
TI  - Devil's staircase in Kondo semimetals at low temperatures.

PMID- 9980076
TI  - Anisotropic spin Hamiltonians due to spin-orbit and Coulomb exchange
      interactions.

PMID- 9980077
TI  - Mossbauer-NMR double resonance.

PMID- 9980078
TI  - Comparison between linked-cluster expansion methods for the Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet on the square lattice.

PMID- 9980079
TI  - Quantum field theory of metallic spin glasses.

PMID- 9980080
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid behavior near a T=0 spin-glass transition.

PMID- 9980081
TI  - Magnetic ordering in Fe-containing spinodally decomposing materials synthesized
      from laser plasma.

PMID- 9980082
TI  - Inductive measurements and study of the upper critical field in UBe13 single
      crystals as a function of field orientation.

PMID- 9980083
TI  - Possibilities for superconductivity in two-dimensional GaAs bilayers.

PMID- 9980084
TI  - Dependence of Tc on the physical parameters in single-layered copper oxides.

PMID- 9980085
TI  - Origin of the Magnus force on a vortex in fermion superfluids and
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980087
TI  - Chaos in rf-driven long Josephson junctions in the presence of an external field.

PMID- 9980086
TI  - Upper critical field for an unconventional superconducting film: A kink due to
      the boundary conditions.

PMID- 9980088
TI  - 13C NMR studies of the normal and superconducting states of the organic
      superconductor kappa -(ET)2Cu

PMID- 9980089
TI  - Single-hole properties in the t-J and strong-coupling models.

PMID- 9980090
TI  - Current and field pattern in rectangular and inhomogeneous superconductors.

PMID- 9980091
TI  - Superconducting, magnetic, and charge correlations in the doped two-chain Hubbard
      model.

PMID- 9980092
TI  - Measurements of magnetic screening lengths in superconducting Nb thin films by
      polarized neutron reflectometry.

PMID- 9980093
TI  - Systematics of pure and doped 4He clusters.

PMID- 9980094
TI  - Existence of the Abrikosov vortex state in two-dimensional type-II
      superconductors without pinning.

PMID- 9980095
TI  - Josephson junction ladders: Ground state and relaxation phenomena.

PMID- 9980096
TI  - Microscopic derivation of magnetic-flux-density profiles, magnetization
      hysteresis loops, and critical currents in strongly pinned superconductors.

PMID- 9980097
TI  - Logarithmic current density dependence of the activation barrier in
      superconducting HgBa2CaCu2O6+x.

PMID- 9980098
TI  - Observation of Pr and Gd ordering in the 2212-type compounds
      (Pb0.5Cu0.5)2(Ba0.5Sr0.5)2RCu2O8 (R=Pr,Gd).

PMID- 9980099
TI  - Band structure in autolocalization and bipolaron models of high-temperature
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9980100
TI  - Electronic structure of PrBa2Cu3O7: A local-spin-density approximation with on
      site Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9980101
TI  - Magnetic and transport properties of Zn-doped YBa2Cu3O7 in the normal state.

PMID- 9980102
TI  - Magnetic penetration depth and condensate density of cuprate high-Tc
      superconductors determined by muon-spin-rotation experiments.

PMID- 9980103
TI  - Thermoelectric power of bulk (Bi,Pb)2-2:2:2:3 cuprates with the 2a x 2b x c
      superstructure.

PMID- 9980104
TI  - Suppression of superconductivity in the L1-xPrxBa1.7Sr0.3Cu3O7 (L=Yb and Lu)
      system: Observation of the hole localization effect.

PMID- 9980105
TI  - Defect chemistry and oxygen diffusion in the HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta superconductor:
      A computer simulation study.

PMID- 9980106
TI  - Nonadiabatic superconductivity. I. Vertex corrections for the electron-phonon
      interactions.

PMID- 9980107
TI  - Nonadiabatic superconductivity. II. Generalized Eliashberg equations beyond
      Migdal's theorem.

PMID- 9980108
TI  - Particle-flux separation in Chern-Simons theory and the Landau-level gap of
      composite fermions.

PMID- 9980109
TI  - Interlayer charge dynamics of the uniform resonating-valence-bond state.

PMID- 9980111
TI  - Quantum intrinsic Hall creep.

PMID- 9980110
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau parameter in YBa2Cu3O6.95 below the irreversibility temperature
      as measured by micro+SR in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9980113
TI  - Effect of proximity coupling of chains and planes on the penetration-depth
      anisotropy in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9980112
TI  - Infrared conductivity in layered d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9980114
TI  - Structural, Mossbauer, and Raman studies of the (Y,Ce)2Sr2Cu2FeO8+y compound.

PMID- 9980115
TI  - Strong-coupling superconductivity in the two-dimensional t-J model supplemented
      by a hole-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9980116
TI  - Quasiparticle damping in two-dimensional superconductors with unconventional
      pairing.

PMID- 9980117
TI  - Comment on "Brillouin-scattering study of the elastic constants of phenothiazine
      through the phase transition"

PMID- 9980118
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Brillouin-scattering study of the elastic constants of
      phenothiazine through the phase transition' "

PMID- 9980119
TI  - Comment on "Scaling analysis of amorphous Fe90-xMnxZr10 alloys near the
      paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition"

PMID- 9980121
TI  - Comparison of Raman- and neutron-scattering data for glass-forming systems.

PMID- 9980120
TI  - Comment on "Upper bound for spontaneous magnetization in the Hubbard model"

PMID- 9980122
TI  - Frustration, randomness, and the spin-glass transition.

PMID- 9980124
TI  - Density-matrix algorithm for the calculation of dynamical properties of low
      dimensional systems.

PMID- 9980123
TI  - Oscillations in the Hall resistivity in Co(Fe)/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9980126
TI  - Spin susceptibility and low-lying excitations in the Haldane-gap compound
      Y2BaNiO5.

PMID- 9980125
TI  - NMR relaxation rates for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9980127
TI  - Soft phonons in superconducting LuNi2B2C.

PMID- 9980128
TI  - Low-temperature structural behavior of Sr2RuO4.

PMID- 9980129
TI  - Magnetic anomaly and the peak effect in superconducting CeRu2.

PMID- 9980130
TI  - Magnetic levitation force of semi-infinite type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9980131
TI  - Optical conductivity of nonmetallic Ba0.69K0.31BiO3 single crystals: Evidence for
      bipolaron formation.

PMID- 9980132
TI  - Phi 0/2 vortices in a defect-containing Josephson-junction array.

PMID- 9980133
TI  - Infrared optical excitations in La2NiO4.

PMID- 9980134
TI  - a-b plane anisotropy of the superconducting gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9980135
TI  - Influence of twins on the peak effect and vortex pinning in YBa2Cu3Oy single
      crystals.

PMID- 9980136
TI  - Anisotropy and Lorentz-force dependence of the critical currents in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta thick films deposited on nickel-alloy substrates.

PMID- 9980138
TI  - Surface flux pinning in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9980137
TI  - Oxidation state of mercury in HgBa2(Ca0.86Sr0.14)2Cu3O8+ delta studied by x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980139
TI  - Transport properties of organic conductors: Influence of the statistics of
      distances between charged centers.

PMID- 9980141
TI  - Photonic-band-structure calculation of material possessing Kerr nonlinearity.

PMID- 9980140
TI  - Influence of local-field anisotropy in the description of the resonance in
      dielectrics and their corresponding Argand diagrams.

PMID- 9980142
TI  - Self-consistent tight-binding method.

PMID- 9980144
TI  - Asymmetric bands in solids due to interplay of topological and substitutional
      defects.

PMID- 9980143
TI  - Resonant excitation x-ray fluorescence from C60.

PMID- 9980146
TI  - Master equation for a particle coupled to a two-level reservoir.

PMID- 9980145
TI  - Equation-of-motion treatment of the impurity Anderson model with a finite on-site
      Coulomb repulsion.

PMID- 9980147
TI  - Occupation numbers in density-functional calculations.

PMID- 9980149
TI  - Hydrogen rebonding and defect formation in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9980150
TI  - Subpicosecond hot-hole relaxation in germanium studied by time-resolved inter
      valence-band Raman scattering.

PMID- 9980148
TI  - Band-warping-induced transverse population inversion of hot heavy holes in
      germanium at high electric fields.

PMID- 9980152
TI  - Evidence of a bipolaronic, insulating state of Na submonolayer on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9980151
TI  - Normalized reflection spectra in GaAs/InxGa1-xAs single quantum wells: Structure
      characterizations and excitonic properties.

PMID- 9980153
TI  - Nearly flat bands at the GaP(110) surface.

PMID- 9980154
TI  - Binding energies and oscillator strengths of excitons in thin GaAs/Ga0.7Al0.3As
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9980155
TI  - Excitonic lifetime for double-barrier heterostructures in the presence of
      phonons.

PMID- 9980156
TI  - Atomic structure of Ga and As atoms on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9980158
TI  - Transmission coefficient and stationary-phase tunneling time of an electron
      through a heterostructure.

PMID- 9980157
TI  - Capacitive nature of atomic-sized structures.

PMID- 9980160
TI  - Mechanism of reflection high-energy electron-diffraction intensity oscillations
      during molecular-beam epitaxy on a Si(001) surface.

PMID- 9980159
TI  - Coupling between magnetic monolayers in a quantum well.

PMID- 9980161
TI  - Third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility and photoluminescence in porous
      silicon.

PMID- 9980162
TI  - Magnetic focusing in parallel quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9980163
TI  - Reconstruction and growth of Ag on the Si(111)- sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 -Ag surface at
      low temperature.

PMID- 9980164
TI  - Lattice accommodation of low-index planes: Ag(111) on Si(001).

PMID- 9980166
TI  - Persistent currents in multichannel interacting systems.

PMID- 9980165
TI  - Electronic structure of an atomic wire on a hydrogen-terminated Si(111) surface:
      First-principles study.

PMID- 9980168
TI  - Double quantum well in a semiconductor microcavity: Three-oscillator model and
      ultrafast radiative decay.

PMID- 9980167
TI  - Electronic structure of GaAs with an InAs (001) monolayer.

PMID- 9980169
TI  - Effect of the adatom presence on stabilizing Si(111)-n x n dimer-adatom-stacking
      fault structures.

PMID- 9980170
TI  - Complex polaritons in periodic layered media.

PMID- 9980171
TI  - Charge transfer at interfaces in MoxV1-x/V superlattices.

PMID- 9980172
TI  - Hydrogen adsorption on ErSi1.7(0001).

PMID- 9980173
TI  - Long-range-order effects on the ion neutralization process.

PMID- 9980175
TI  - Charge exchange in low-energy He+ ion scattering from solid surfaces.

PMID- 9980174
TI  - Self-consistent method for the calculation of surface electronic structure and
      its application to Cu(110).

PMID- 9980176
TI  - Third-harmonic coefficient in a Au-film percolation system deposited on fracture
      surfaces of alpha -Al2O3 ceramics.

PMID- 9980177
TI  - Optical response of arbitrary clusters of structured particles.

PMID- 9980178
TI  - Microscopic theory of surface resistivity.

PMID- 9980180
TI  - Exact determination of the phase in neutron reflectometry.

PMID- 9980179
TI  - Water chemisorption and reconstruction of the MgO surface.

PMID- 9980181
TI  - Retrieval of phase information in neutron reflectometry.

PMID- 9980182
TI  - Transport velocity in two-dimensional random media.

PMID- 9980183
TI  - Exchange and correlation in the quasi-one-dimensional electron gas: The local
      field correction.

PMID- 9980184
TI  - Resonant valence-band satellite in NiGa.

PMID- 9980185
TI  - Influence of long-range Coulomb interaction on the metal-insulator transition in
      one-dimensional strongly correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9980186
TI  - Activation entropy and Gibbs free energy for conduction in yttria-stabilized
      zirconia single crystals.

PMID- 9980187
TI  - Bosonization of interacting fermions in arbitrary dimension beyond the Gaussian
      approximation.

PMID- 9980188
TI  - Quasiparticle band structure of silicon carbide polytypes.

PMID- 9980189
TI  - Nonradiative recombination and its influence on the lifetime distribution in
      amorphous silicon (a-Si:H).

PMID- 9980191
TI  - Characterization of the 1117-meV and 1052-meV optical transitions in heat-treated
      Si.

PMID- 9980190
TI  - Valence-band changes in Sb2-xInxTe3 and Sb2Te3-ySey by transport and Shubnikov-de
      Haas effect measurements.

PMID- 9980192
TI  - Introduction and recovery of point defects in electron-irradiated Te- and Si
      doped GaAs studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980194
TI  - Photoluminescence of tetrahedrally coordinated a-Si1-xCx:H.

PMID- 9980193
TI  - Electron-positron Car-Parrinello methods: Self-consistent treatment of charge
      densities and ionic relaxations.

PMID- 9980196
TI  - Fluctuation tail of valence bands in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9980195
TI  - Two-electron semiconductor gate.

PMID- 9980197
TI  - Photon emission from hot electrons in silicon.

PMID- 9980198
TI  - Self-consistent GW for a quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor.

PMID- 9980199
TI  - Magneto-optical effects on shallow donor states in 6H-SiC in high magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9980201
TI  - Local disorder in crystalline and amorphous germanium.

PMID- 9980200
TI  - Two-photon generation of excitonic molecules in CuCl: An exactly solvable
      bipolariton model and high-precision experiments.

PMID- 9980202
TI  - Theory of hydrogen-decorated gallium vacancies in GaAs and of their radiative
      complexes.

PMID- 9980203
TI  - High-pressure phase transitions in Zn1-xMnxSe: A Raman-scattering and
      photoluminescence study.

PMID- 9980204
TI  - Anharmonic Keating model for group-IV semiconductors with application to the
      lattice dynamics in alloys of Si, Ge, and C.

PMID- 9980205
TI  - Size dependence of lateral quantum-confinement effects of the optical response in
      In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9980206
TI  - Hot-electron magnetophonon resonance of quantum wells in tilted magnetic fields.

PMID- 9980208
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced plasmon polaritons in finite quasiperiodic conducting
      superlattices.

PMID- 9980207
TI  - Carrier effective masses in symmetrically strained (GaIn)As/Ga(PAs) multiple
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9980209
TI  - Transition between quantum Hall conductor and Hall insulator in Si MOSFET's.

PMID- 9980211
TI  - Evidence of internal photoemission in the CO2-laser-induced negative potential in
      homojunctions.

PMID- 9980210
TI  - Zn(S,Se)-based superlattices and quantum wells: Band offsets, excitons, linear
      and nonlinear optical properties.

PMID- 9980213
TI  - Hole subbands in strained quantum-well semiconductors in

PMID- 9980212
TI  - Diffusion-induced nucleation model for the formation of porous silicon.

PMID- 9980214
TI  - Oscillatory photoemission cross section for simple-metal quantum wells.

PMID- 9980215
TI  - Dimensionality effects on strain and quantum confinement in lattice-mismatched
      InAsxP1-x/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9980216
TI  - Dependence of inter-edge-channel scattering on temperature and magnetic field:
      Insight into the edge-confining potential.

PMID- 9980217
TI  - Clean and Cs-exposed Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 :B surface studied with high
      resolution photoemission.

PMID- 9980218
TI  - Intrinsic optical anisotropy of quantum wells in cubic crystals.

PMID- 9980219
TI  - Heating of two-dimensional electrons by a high electric field in a quantizing
      magnetic field: Consequences in Landau emission and in the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9980220
TI  - Electron transport in the presence of random impurities: Transition from
      ballistic to diffusive regimes.

PMID- 9980222
TI  - Electronic structure of the InP(110) surface studied by empirical Green's
      function calculations.

PMID- 9980221
TI  - Interface structure of ZnS/Si(001) and comparison with ZnSe/Si(001) and
      GaAs/Si(001).

PMID- 9980223
TI  - Coherent transport of charge through a double barrier in a Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9980224
TI  - Resistance of planar barriers.

PMID- 9980225
TI  - Nonlinear Schrodinger equation on a circle.

PMID- 9980226
TI  - Melting of the Wigner lattice at T=0.

PMID- 9980227
TI  - Two-dimensional electron-gas mobility in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs: Deformation-potential
      study including hydrostatic-pressure effects.

PMID- 9980228
TI  - Effect of incoherence on current and shot noise in resonant tunneling: An exactly
      solvable model.

PMID- 9980229
TI  - Spin effects in a confined two-dimensional electron gas: Enhancement of the g
      factor, spin-inversion states, and their far-infrared absorption.

PMID- 9980230
TI  - Electron mobility in two coupled delta layers.

PMID- 9980232
TI  - Effects of remote impurity scattering including donor correlations in a branching
      electron waveguide.

PMID- 9980231
TI  - Linear and nonlinear waves in edge channels.

PMID- 9980233
TI  - Steady-state hopping conduction in the conduction-band tail of a-Si:H studied in
      thin-film transistors.

PMID- 9980234
TI  - Two-dimensional electron liquid in a weak magnetic field.

PMID- 9980236
TI  - Luminescence and efficiency of an ideal photovoltaic cell with charge carrier
      multiplication.

PMID- 9980235
TI  - Optically detected cyclotron resonance on GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells and
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9980237
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the phonon dispersion in bulk InP and in the InP(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9980238
TI  - Freezing transitions and order-disorder processes in multilayer xenon films on
      graphite.

PMID- 9980239
TI  - Oxidation of metal surfaces at 15 K: The quantum nature of oxidation.

PMID- 9980240
TI  - Kinetic-energy distributions of O- produced by dissociative electron attachment
      to O2 physisorbed on a Kr substrate.

PMID- 9980241
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscope observation of the homoepitaxial diamond (001) 2 x
      1 reconstruction observed under atmospheric pressure.

PMID- 9980242
TI  - Structural and physical properties of the misfit intercalation compounds HgxTaS2
      (x=0.58, 1.19, and 1.3).

PMID- 9980243
TI  - Temperature-dependent adsorption of hydrogen, deuterium, and neon on porous Vycor
      glass.

PMID- 9980246
TI  - Model of scanning force microscopy on ionic surfaces.

PMID- 9980244
TI  - Correlation between screening and electron effective mass across the nonmetal
      metal transition in ultrathin films.

PMID- 9980245
TI  - Step and kink dynamics on Au(110) and Pb(111) studied with a high-speed STM.

PMID- 9980247
TI  - Interactions of Br with Si(111)-7 x 7: Chemisorption, step retreat, and terrace
      etching.

PMID- 9980249
TI  - Low-coverage nonpseudomorphic and metastable structures of magnetic Fe on
      Cu(001).

PMID- 9980248
TI  - Computation of the energetics of surface vacancy and interstitial generation in
      silver halide.

PMID- 9980250
TI  - Surface-plasmon energy gaps and photoluminescence.

PMID- 9980251
TI  - Approach to surface structure determination with the scanning tunneling
      microscope: Multiple-gap imaging and electron-scattering quantum-chemistry
      theory.

PMID- 9980252
TI  - NMR investigation of the binding of CO on supported Pd clusters.

PMID- 9980253
TI  - Adsorption site, growth, and structure of Co on Cu(111) determined by multiple
      scattering analysis of x-ray-absorption spectra.

PMID- 9980254
TI  - Hydrogen-adsorption-induced phase transitions on Pt(100)-hex and the surface
      structure of Pt(100)-(1 x 1)H.

PMID- 9980255
TI  - Many-body effects on the surface tension of inert fluid-substrate interfaces.

PMID- 9980256
TI  - Resonant scattering of surface acoustic waves by hydrogen crystallites.

PMID- 9980257
TI  - Infrared and differential-scanning-calorimetry study of the room-temperature
      cubic phase of RbC60.

PMID- 9980258
TI  - Density-functional-based construction of transferable nonorthogonal tight-binding
      potentials for Si and SiH.

PMID- 9980260
TI  - Model potential based on tight-binding total-energy calculations for transition
      metal systems.

PMID- 9980259
TI  - Fermi-Dirac distribution in ab initio Green's-function calculations.

PMID- 9980262
TI  - Erratum: Low-temperature electron mobility in a delta -doped semiconductor

PMID- 9980261
TI  - Erratum: Temperature-dependent exciton linewidths in semiconductors

PMID- 9980263
TI  - Erratum: Geometry and electronic band structure of an ordered monolayer
      deposition of Bi on III-V(110) semiconductor surfaces

PMID- 9980264
TI  - Erratum: Aharonov-Bohm effect in quasi-one-dimensional In0.77Ga0.23As/InP rings

PMID- 9980265
TI  - Imaging charge-density-wave strains with electromodulated transmission.

PMID- 9980266
TI  - Spin-resolved 3p and 3s core-level photoemission spectra of ferromagnetic nickel.

PMID- 9980267
TI  - Magnetic short-range order versus long-range order in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9980269
TI  - Decay dynamics of the homogeneously broadened photoluminescence from porous
      silicon.

PMID- 9980268
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in the spiral phase of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9980271
TI  - Exciton dynamics in electroluminescent polymers studied by femtosecond time
      resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980272
TI  - Efficient interchain photoluminescence in a high-electron-affinity conjugated
      polymer.

PMID- 9980270
TI  - Distinct exciton-polaron resonance in the infrared edge emission of semimagnetic
      Hg1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9980274
TI  - Statistical properties of random banded matrices with strongly fluctuating
      diagonal elements.

PMID- 9980273
TI  - Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the photoluminescence of porous silicon.

PMID- 9980275
TI  - Femtosecond carrier dynamics in Ge measured by a luminescence up-conversion
      technique and near-band-edge infrared excitation.

PMID- 9980276
TI  - Logarithmic temperature dependence of conductivity at half-integer filling
      factors: Evidence for interaction between composite fermions.

PMID- 9980277
TI  - Variation of the wave-function localization on the monolayer scale in GaSb
      quantum wells probed by magnetoluminescence.

PMID- 9980278
TI  - Barrier-confinement-controlled carrier transport into quantum wires.

PMID- 9980279
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of the microscopic structure of the Si(001)
      SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9980280
TI  - Composite-fermion effective masses.

PMID- 9980281
TI  - Influence of potential fluctuations on quantum transport through chaotic
      cavities.

PMID- 9980282
TI  - Quantitative determination of many-body-induced interlayer charge transfer in
      bilayer electron systems via Shubnikov-de Haas measurements.

PMID- 9980284
TI  - Magnetoresistance oscillations in 50-nm-wide GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple-edge
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9980283
TI  - Picosecond dynamics of excitons in cubic GaN.

PMID- 9980285
TI  - Enhancement of spin splitting due to spatial confinement in InxGa1-xAs quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9980286
TI  - Theory of the spin-flip excitations in the nu =1 quantum Hall liquid.

PMID- 9980287
TI  - Experimental determination of the quasiparticle decay length xi qp in a diffusive
      superconducting quantum well.

PMID- 9980288
TI  - Tunneling edges at strong disorder.

PMID- 9980289
TI  - Tuning of the quantum-Hall-effect-state-insulator transition by tilting of
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9980290
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of Fano interference in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattice in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9980291
TI  - Photoemission study of the band gap on cesiated Ge(111)1 x 1:As.

PMID- 9980292
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetic behavior of Ni13 clusters.

PMID- 9980293
TI  - Structures of head-group and tail-group monolayers in a Langmuir-Blodgett film.

PMID- 9980294
TI  - Completion of the structural determination of and rationalization of the surface
      structure sequence (2 x 1)-->(3 x 3)-->(4 x 4) formed on Cu(001) with increasing
      Li coverage.

PMID- 9980296
TI  - Intermolecular charge-transfer excitation in C60 films: Evidence from
      luminescence and photoconductivity.

PMID- 9980295
TI  - Electronic states and stability of the insulating RbC60 dimer phase.

PMID- 9980297
TI  - Clean-surface study of stage-1 alkali-metal graphite intercalation compounds by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9980298
TI  - Unusual surfactant effect and the stability of pseudomorphic gamma -Fe films.

PMID- 9980299
TI  - Semiempirical model for the electrical properties of La1-xCaxCoO3.

PMID- 9980300
TI  - Electronic structure of the lead monoxides: Band-structure calculations and
      photoelectron spectra.

PMID- 9980301
TI  - Absorption-edge singularities for a nonequilibrium Fermi sea. III. Determinantal
      nonperturbative theory.

PMID- 9980302
TI  - Electronic structure of stoichiometric and Ar+-bombarded ZrO2 determined by
      resonant photoemission.

PMID- 9980304
TI  - Near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure of crystalline silicon dioxides.

PMID- 9980303
TI  - Dynamic and static structure factor of electrons in Si: Inelastic x-ray
      scattering results.

PMID- 9980305
TI  - Electronic structure of beta -PbO2 and its relation with BaPbO3.

PMID- 9980307
TI  - Low-energy properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model near half filling.

PMID- 9980306
TI  - Metallic photonic band-gap materials.

PMID- 9980308
TI  - Spin-dependent Mn K-edge XANES of MnO and MnF2: Full multiple-scattering
      analysis.

PMID- 9980309
TI  - Optical studies of the growth of Cd1-xZnxS nanocrystals in borosilicate glass.

PMID- 9980310
TI  - eta mechanism and Berry's phase in the Hubbard model with a long-range
      interaction.

PMID- 9980311
TI  - Energy transport in photoexcited crystals of K3

PMID- 9980312
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential calculations of the atomic and electronic structure of
      the Ta (100) and (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9980313
TI  - Chemical hardness, linear response, and pseudopotential transferability.

PMID- 9980315
TI  - Correlation energy functionals for ab initio calculations: Application to
      transition metals.

PMID- 9980314
TI  - Electronic structure and valence-band spectra of Bi4Ti3O12.

PMID- 9980316
TI  - Ab initio calculation of the optical and photoelectron properties of RuO2.

PMID- 9980317
TI  - Electronic structure of cuprates containing sulfur and phosphorus oxyanions.

PMID- 9980318
TI  - Stability, chemical bonding, and vibrational properties of amorphous carbon at
      different mass densities.

PMID- 9980319
TI  - Coexistence of short- and large-scale phase variations in a charge-density wave
      weakly coupled to impurities.

PMID- 9980320
TI  - Resonant photoemission study on the boron 1s exciton of the wide-band-gap
      semiconductor c-BN.

PMID- 9980322
TI  - Si K, Si L, and Cr K x-ray valence-band studies of bonding in chromium silicides:
      Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9980321
TI  - Vibrational spectroscopy of group-II-acceptor-hydrogen complexes in GaP.

PMID- 9980323
TI  - 11B NMR and relaxation study of boron nitride.

PMID- 9980325
TI  - First-principles study of DX centers in CdTe, ZnTe, and CdxZn1-xTe alloys.

PMID- 9980324
TI  - Nonradiative recombination processes in nickel- and iron-doped ZnS and ZnSe
      studied by photoinduced electron-spin resonance.

PMID- 9980326
TI  - Effect of the image potential on excitons in semi-infinite semiconductors.

PMID- 9980328
TI  - Electronic charge distribution in crystalline germanium.

PMID- 9980327
TI  - Structure and visible photoluminescence of porous Si1-xGex.

PMID- 9980329
TI  - First-principles study of phosphorus and nitrogen impurities in ZnSe.

PMID- 9980330
TI  - Outgoing excitonic resonance in multiphonon Raman scattering from polar
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9980331
TI  - Use of zinc diffusion into GaAs for determining properties of gallium
      interstitials.

PMID- 9980332
TI  - Surface electronic and atomic structure of ErSi1.7 on Si(111).

PMID- 9980334
TI  - Static and dynamic correlation functions of a two-dimensional quantum electron
      fluid.

PMID- 9980333
TI  - Mesoscopic ring under the influence of time-periodical flux: Aharonov-Bohm
      oscillations and transmission of wave packets.

PMID- 9980336
TI  - InAs/GaAs pyramidal quantum dots: Strain distribution, optical phonons, and
      electronic structure.

PMID- 9980335
TI  - Optical intersubband transitions in conduction-band quantum wells.

PMID- 9980337
TI  - Hydrogenic impurity levels, dielectric constant, and Coulomb charging effects in
      silicon crystallites.

PMID- 9980338
TI  - Electron mobility in two-dimensional modulation-doped In1-xAlxAs/In1-yGayAs alloy
      systems.

PMID- 9980339
TI  - Performance of correlation functionals in ab initio chemisorption cluster-model
      calculations: Alkali metals on Si(111).

PMID- 9980340
TI  - Effect of ion bombardment on deep photoluminescence bands in p-type boron
      modulation-doped Si layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9980341
TI  - Excitonic absorption in CdTe-based piezoelectric quantum wells.

PMID- 9980342
TI  - Identification of surface core-level shift origin for prototypical Cs/Si(100) 2 x
      1 system by photoemission EXAFS.

PMID- 9980343
TI  - Exciton s states in semiconductor quantum wells in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9980345
TI  - InAsSb/InAs: A type-I or a type-II band alignment.

PMID- 9980344
TI  - Exciton magnetic polarons in short-period CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe superlattices.

PMID- 9980346
TI  - Wave-packet dynamics in quantum wells.

PMID- 9980347
TI  - Photoelectric emission from negative-electron-affinity diamond (111) surfaces:
      Exciton breakup versus conduction-band emission.

PMID- 9980348
TI  - Structural and physical properties of mercury-iron selenide layers and quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9980349
TI  - Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy of strain nonuniformities in Si1-xGex/Si
      structures.

PMID- 9980350
TI  - Spin-split cyclotron resonance and spatial distribution of interacting electrons.

PMID- 9980351
TI  - Initial- and final-state effects in the conduction bands of 2H-MoS2(0001) studied
      by k||-resolved inverse photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980352
TI  - Evidence for quantum confinement in porous silicon from photoluminescence
      measurements.

PMID- 9980353
TI  - Band structure and electro-optical properties of mixed type-I/type-II InxGa1
      xAs/InyGa1-yAs superlattices.

PMID- 9980354
TI  - Hexagonal crystallization in a two-dimensional electron gas with disorder.

PMID- 9980355
TI  - Resonant tunneling in the presence of a two-level fluctuator: Low-frequency
      noise.

PMID- 9980356
TI  - Screening in clean mesoscopic rings.

PMID- 9980357
TI  - Density-functional theory of quantum wires and dots in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9980358
TI  - Direct and indirect magnetoexcitons in symmetric InxGa1-xAs/GaAs coupled quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9980359
TI  - Optical properties of Sb-terminated GaAs and InP (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9980360
TI  - Photoconductance oscillations in a two-dimensional quantum point contact.

PMID- 9980361
TI  - Observation of the formation of a carbon-rich surface layer in silicon.

PMID- 9980363
TI  - Semiclassical theory of the perpendicular magnetoresistance in superlattices.

PMID- 9980362
TI  - Theory of direct creation of quantum-well excitons by hole-assisted electron
      resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9980364
TI  - Conductance of a quantum dot with a Hubbard interaction in the presence of a
      boson field.

PMID- 9980365
TI  - Roughness of heterointerfaces and averaging effects by excitons: Interpretation
      of cathodoluminescence images.

PMID- 9980366
TI  - Electronic subband structure of InP/InxGa1-xP quantum islands from high-pressure
      photoluminescence and photoreflectance.

PMID- 9980367
TI  - Magnetotransport in a pseudomorphic GaAs/Ga0.8In0.2As/Ga0.75Al0.25As
      heterostructure with a Si delta -doping layer.

PMID- 9980369
TI  - Exact effective-mass theory for heterostructures.

PMID- 9980368
TI  - Energy band structure and linear optical properties of Si and Ge strained along
      the

PMID- 9980370
TI  - Foundations of the envelope-function theory for phonons in heterostructures.

PMID- 9980371
TI  - Wigner-crystal states for the two-dimensional electron gas in a double-quantum
      well system.

PMID- 9980372
TI  - Wigner-crystal phases in bilayer quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9980373
TI  - Quantum versus semiclassical treatment of multiphonon effects in He-atom
      scattering from surfaces.

PMID- 9980374
TI  - Faceting and reconstruction of stepped Au(111).

PMID- 9980375
TI  - Ab initio study of local d-d excitations in bulk CoO, at the CoO(100) surface,
      and in octahedral Co2+ complexes.

PMID- 9980377
TI  - Core-level satellite excitations of K/Al(100) and K/Al(111).

PMID- 9980378
TI  - Origin of the vibrational shift of CO chemisorbed on Pt(111).

PMID- 9980376
TI  - Second-harmonic generation in centrosymmetric molecular films: Analysis under
      anisotropic conditions.

PMID- 9980380
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation-stimulated evaporation and defect formation in a-SiO2.

PMID- 9980379
TI  - Structural determination of a W(001)c(2 x 2)-Ag surface by x-ray photoelectron
      diffraction with multiple-scattering analysis.

PMID- 9980381
TI  - Energy and lifetime of the sigma resonance of oriented O2 physisorbed on Ag(110).

PMID- 9980382
TI  - Positron dynamics in surface-charged solid argon.

PMID- 9980383
TI  - Dynamical effective potentials in electron tunneling: Path-integral study.

PMID- 9980384
TI  - Indirect bulk plasmon generation by electrons reflected above the solid surface.

PMID- 9980385
TI  - Bonding mechanism at bimetallic interfaces: Pd overlayer on various substrates.

PMID- 9980386
TI  - Dispersion-force effects in interfacial premelting of ice.

PMID- 9980387
TI  - Universality of the scaling exponents for the T=0 conductivity and Hall
      coefficient for very weakly compensated barely metallic silicon.

PMID- 9980388
TI  - Response to "Universality of the scaling exponents for the T=0 conductivity and
      Hall coefficient for very weakly compensated barely metallic silicon"

PMID- 9980389
TI  - Comment on "Suppression of conductance fluctuations in short one-dimensional
      conductors"

PMID- 9980390
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy: Energetics from statistical analysis.

PMID- 9980391
TI  - Kinetics of the first-order phase transition in CuAu from atomistic Landau
      theory.

PMID- 9980392
TI  - Measurement and interpretation of nonuniversal critical exponents in disordered
      conductor-insulator composites.

PMID- 9980393
TI  - Heat transport and nonthermal excitations in vibrational hopping systems.

PMID- 9980394
TI  - Rigorous results on a first-order phase transition in antiferromagnetic spin-1/2
      coupled chains.

PMID- 9980395
TI  - Frustrated spin-1/2 model in two dimensions with columnar dimer states as
      possible ground states.

PMID- 9980397
TI  - Magnetic, nonmagnetic, and non-Fermi-liquid ground state of an impurity
      fluctuating between two magnetic configurations.

PMID- 9980396
TI  - Commensurate and modulated magnetic phases in orthorhombic AC60 (A=K,Rb).

PMID- 9980398
TI  - Violation of universality for Ising spin-glass transitions.

PMID- 9980399
TI  - Theory of circular dichroism in photon STM experiments on magnetic samples.

PMID- 9980400
TI  - Hidden order and symmetry breaking in the ground state of a spin-1/2
      antiferromagnetic Heisenberg ladder.

PMID- 9980401
TI  - Finite-size scaling study of the vortex-free three-dimensional XY model.

PMID- 9980402
TI  - Interlayer magnetic coupling of multilayer structures with palladium spacer
      layers.

PMID- 9980403
TI  - 17O NQR study of glass order in Rb0.5(NH4)0.5H2PO4.

PMID- 9980405
TI  - Sublattice switching in the three-dimensional ordered phase of the triangular
      lattice antiferromagnet CsCoCl3.

PMID- 9980404
TI  - Structure dependence of the ferromagnetic transition temperature in rhombohedral
      La1-xAxMnO3 (A=Na, K, Rb, and Sr).

PMID- 9980407
TI  - Self-consistent Born approximation for the hole motion in the three-band model: A
      comparison with photoemission experiments.

PMID- 9980406
TI  - Absence of a substrate state for 3He in a 3He-4He bulk mixture in proximity to a
      strong-binding surface.

PMID- 9980408
TI  - Self-consistent study of the Josephson effect for the d-wave superconductor
      insulator-superconductor junction.

PMID- 9980410
TI  - Pressure coefficient of the superconducting transition temperature within the van
      Hove scenario.

PMID- 9980409
TI  - Frequency dependence of the local ac magnetic response in type-II
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980411
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta thin
      films.

PMID- 9980412
TI  - IcRn product in c-axis Josephson junctions involving high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980413
TI  - van Hove singularity scenario and hole density in CaCuO2: Pressure effects.

PMID- 9980414
TI  - Structure and energetics of antiferroelectric PbZrO3.

PMID- 9980415
TI  - Morphology, structure, and growth of nanoparticles produced in a carbon arc.

PMID- 9980416
TI  - Theory of structural, electronic, vibrational, and superconducting properties of
      high-pressure phases of sulfur.

PMID- 9980418
TI  - Raman and birefringence studies of the low-temperature phase transitions in LiK1
      xRbxSO4 crystals.

PMID- 9980417
TI  - Structure-stability relationships for all-silica structures.

PMID- 9980419
TI  - Order-disorder transition at the (001) surface of a 3 at. %-Au-rich Cu3Au
      crystal.

PMID- 9980420
TI  - Structure of helium and neon in zeolite.

PMID- 9980421
TI  - Nephelauxetic effects on Sm2+ and Eu3+ in ternary MYX compounds.

PMID- 9980423
TI  - Equation-of-state behavior for different phases of lead under strong compression.

PMID- 9980422
TI  - Mechanical instabilities of homogeneous crystals.

PMID- 9980424
TI  - Slowing down of 3-eV Sm ions in Eu compounds.

PMID- 9980425
TI  - Statistics of avalanches in martensitic transformations. I. Acoustic emission
      experiments.

PMID- 9980426
TI  - Statistics of avalanches in martensitic transformations. II. Modeling.

PMID- 9980427
TI  - Magnetic-resonance measurements on the 5A2 excited state of the neutral vacancy
      in diamond.

PMID- 9980428
TI  - Spectroscopic studies and crystal-field analysis of Cm3+ and Gd3+ in LuPO4.

PMID- 9980429
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy between states of opposite parities.

PMID- 9980430
TI  - NMR pressure study of 27Al and 65Cu in the Al65Cu20Ru15 quasicrystal.

PMID- 9980431
TI  - Anomalous electrical resistivities of decagonal approximants.

PMID- 9980432
TI  - Model of vitreous SiO2 generated by an ab initio molecular-dynamics quench from
      the melt.

PMID- 9980433
TI  - Ordering process in the induction period of crystallization of poly(ethylene
      terephthalate).

PMID- 9980435
TI  - Exact self-energy of the many-body problem from conserving approximations.

PMID- 9980434
TI  - Nondissipative fluctuator splitting renormalization and its magnetic field
      tuning.

PMID- 9980436
TI  - Vertex function for the coupling of an electron with intramolecular phonons:
      Exact results in the antiadiabatic limit.

PMID- 9980437
TI  - Evolution and stability of self-localized modes in a nonlinear inhomogeneous
      crystal lattice.

PMID- 9980438
TI  - Formation of large bipolarons.

PMID- 9980440
TI  - Degenerate helix spin configuration supported by three-site biquadratic exchange.

PMID- 9980441
TI  - Ab initio optimized pseudopotential calculations of magnetic systems.

PMID- 9980439
TI  - Observation of magnetization saturation of CuGeO3 in ultrahigh magnetic fields up
      to 500 T.

PMID- 9980442
TI  - Analytic calculation of the spin sum rule at the L2,3 edges of Cu2+

PMID- 9980443
TI  - Photoacoustic investigation of the temperature and magnetic-field dependence of
      the specific-heat capacity and thermal conductivity near the Curie point of
      gadolinium.

PMID- 9980444
TI  - Superparamagnetic relaxation of Fe deposited on MgO(001).

PMID- 9980446
TI  - First-order valence phase transition in CeNi1-xCoxSn alloys.

PMID- 9980445
TI  - Magnetic behavior of the heavy-fermion system UPd2Ga3.

PMID- 9980447
TI  - Gaussian critical regime and specific-heat amplitude ratio in dipolar
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9980449
TI  - Spin dynamics and spin-polarized EELS spectra of model itinerant-electron
      magnetic films.

PMID- 9980448
TI  - Correlation between structure and magnetic behavior of Fe-P amorphous alloys.

PMID- 9980450
TI  - Extended solubility and spin-glass behavior in a Ag-Gd solid solution prepared by
      mechanical alloying.

PMID- 9980451
TI  - Phase stability and low-temperature specific heat up to 14 T of BaCuOx as a
      function of oxygen stoichiometry.

PMID- 9980452
TI  - Edge states in open antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9980453
TI  - Low-temperature two-dimensional order-disorder magnetic transition in TbRu2Si2
      within a square-modulated magnetic phase.

PMID- 9980455
TI  - Response of superconductive films to localized energy deposition.

PMID- 9980454
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of vortex lattice structure in deformable anisotropic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980457
TI  - Peltier effect in normal-metal-superconductor microcontacts.

PMID- 9980456
TI  - Sound transmission phenomena and phase-separation kinetics at the superfluid
      normal interface of liquid 3He-4He mixtures.

PMID- 9980458
TI  - Spiral fluxons and a characteristic frequency in two-dimensional Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9980460
TI  - Characterization of low-temperature electronic states of the organic conductors
      alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2MHg(SCN)4 (M=K, Rb, and NH4) by specific-heat measurements.

PMID- 9980459
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance studies of the hole-doping effect on (Tl0.5Pb0.5)Sr2(Ca1
      xYx)Cu2O7 high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9980461
TI  - Investigation of the dB/dH effect using trapped flux in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9980463
TI  - Electronic structure and phase-stability studies on superconducting YNi2B2C,
      YRh3B, and nonsuperconducting YNi4B.

PMID- 9980462
TI  - Perturbation of tunneling processes by mechanical degrees of freedom in
      mesoscopic junctions.

PMID- 9980464
TI  - Reversible and irreversible magnetization of the Chevrel-phase superconductor
      PbMo6S8.

PMID- 9980465
TI  - Elastic chain in a random potential: Simulation of the displacement correlation
      function and relaxation.

PMID- 9980466
TI  - First-principles calculation of the electronic and optical properties of the
      organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9980468
TI  - Superconductivity in the Van Vleck metals.

PMID- 9980467
TI  - Quantum smectic and supersolid order in helium films and vortex arrays.

PMID- 9980469
TI  - Two-hole bound states in a modified t-J model.

PMID- 9980471
TI  - Hall effect and flux dynamics in YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 multilayers in the mixed
      state.

PMID- 9980470
TI  - Relationship between superconductor and metal-insulator transitions in a large
      class of tetragonal 1:2:3 cuprates Ca-R-Ba-Cu-O (R=La,Nd).

PMID- 9980472
TI  - Raman spectrum of Pr2CuO4: Crystal-field transitions of Pr3+ and the A* mode.

PMID- 9980474
TI  - Flux-diffusion-induced anomalies in the field-cooled magnetization of high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9980473
TI  - Structural, magnetic, and heat-capacity studies on Zn- and Ga-substituted
      PrBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9980475
TI  - Temperature dependence of midinfrared peaks in high-Tc perovskites.

PMID- 9980476
TI  - Local probe of vortex pinning energies in the Bose glass.

PMID- 9980477
TI  - Staggered magnetic susceptibility in high-Tc systems: A scaling approach.

PMID- 9980479
TI  - Comment on "Impurity effects in d-wave superconductors"

PMID- 9980478
TI  - Layer-rigidity model and the mechanism for ion-diffusion-controlled kinetics in
      the bismuth cuprate 2212-to-2223 transformation.

PMID- 9980480
TI  - Erratum: Alternative approach to the dynamics of polarons in one dimension

PMID- 9980481
TI  - Exact results of a hard-core interacting system with a single impurity.

PMID- 9980482
TI  - Reversible propagating fingers in an antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

PMID- 9980483
TI  - Electronic transport in winding chains.

PMID- 9980485
TI  - Static properties of the S=1 one-dimensional antiferromagnet AgVP2S6.

PMID- 9980484
TI  - Relaxation and shear viscosity in mixed ionic melts.

PMID- 9980487
TI  - Crucial tests of spin filtering.

PMID- 9980486
TI  - Interpretation of x-ray-absorption dichroism experiments.

PMID- 9980488
TI  - Influence of an externally applied magnetic field on vectorial interaction in
      LiNbO3:Fe crystals.

PMID- 9980489
TI  - Exact finite-size spectrum for the multi-channel Kondo model and Kac-Moody fusion
      rules.

PMID- 9980490
TI  - Magnetically inhomogeneous ground state of CeAl3: An NMR study.

PMID- 9980491
TI  - Large crystalline-induced magnetic anisotropy and field-direction-dependent
      magnetoresistance in Co(11-bar00)/Cr(211) superlattices.

PMID- 9980492
TI  - Probing oscillatory exchange coupling with a paramagnet.

PMID- 9980494
TI  - Korteweg-de Vries equation in the vortex dynamics of an ultraclean type-II
      superconductor.

PMID- 9980493
TI  - High-pressure electron-spin dynamics in disordered conducting polymers.

PMID- 9980495
TI  - Anomalous magnetization in single-crystal kappa -

PMID- 9980496
TI  - Evidence for a strong spin-phonon interaction in cupric oxide.

PMID- 9980497
TI  - Anomalous phonon damping and thermal conductivity in insulating cuprates.

PMID- 9980498
TI  - Out-of-plane transverse resistivity in high-Tc superconductors as a signature of
      flow of rigid vortex lines.

PMID- 9980499
TI  - c-axis response of single- and double-layered cuprates.

PMID- 9980500
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator
      transition in Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3.

PMID- 9980501
TI  - Effect of pin density on planar vortex mobility.

PMID- 9980502
TI  - Permanent photoinduced changes in the transport properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta thin films.

PMID- 9980504
TI  - Small-angle multiple neutron scattering in fractal media.

PMID- 9980503
TI  - Electric-field-dependent dielectric constant and nonlinear susceptibility in
      SrTiO3.

PMID- 9980505
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the high-pressure crystal structures of Ce and Th.

PMID- 9980506
TI  - Size-induced diffuse phase transition in the nanocrystalline ferroelectric
      PbTiO3.

PMID- 9980507
TI  - Mechanism of the incommensurate phase in lead oxide alpha -PbO.

PMID- 9980508
TI  - Neutron- and x-ray-scattering study of the two length scales in the critical
      fluctuations of SrTiO3.

PMID- 9980509
TI  - Phase-transition sequence of Rb2ZnCl4 obtained by study of internal vibrational
      modes.

PMID- 9980510
TI  - Cadmium and indium defects in ceria and their interaction with oxygen vacancies
      and small polarons.

PMID- 9980511
TI  - Test of the Peierls-Nabarro model for dislocations in silicon.

PMID- 9980512
TI  - Helium-atom-scattering study of multiphonon processes on LiF(001)<100> with
      temperature variation for specular and off-specular angles.

PMID- 9980513
TI  - Localized basis for effective lattice Hamiltonians: Lattice Wannier functions.

PMID- 9980514
TI  - High-pressure x-ray- and neutron-diffraction studies of BaF2: An example of a
      coordination number of 11 in AX2 compounds.

PMID- 9980515
TI  - Stability and the equation of state of alpha -manganese under ultrahigh pressure.

PMID- 9980516
TI  - Polarization-strain coupling in the mixed ferroelectric KTa1-xNbxO3.

PMID- 9980517
TI  - Stability of the hard-sphere icosahedral quasilattice.

PMID- 9980519
TI  - Simulations of liquid semiconductors using quantum forces.

PMID- 9980518
TI  - Mechanism of charge transport in discotic liquid crystals.

PMID- 9980521
TI  - Bismuth disproportionation in BaBiO3 studied by infrared and visible reflectance
      spectra.

PMID- 9980520
TI  - Low-temperature many-electron hopping conductivity in the Coulomb glass.

PMID- 9980522
TI  - Rotational dynamics of C604- and electronic excitation in Rb4C60.

PMID- 9980523
TI  - Dynamical instabilities in alpha -quartz and alpha -berlinite: A mechanism for
      amorphization.

PMID- 9980524
TI  - Characterization of the diffraction spectra of one-dimensional k-component
      Fibonacci structures.

PMID- 9980525
TI  - Interpretation of the band-structure results for elastic and acoustic waves by
      analogy with the LCAO approach.

PMID- 9980527
TI  - Statistical description of history-dependent creep constitutive equations for
      viscoelastic media.

PMID- 9980526
TI  - Applications of lattice-dynamic models to 67Zn Lamb-Mossbauer factors and second
      order Doppler shifts.

PMID- 9980528
TI  - Retarded modes of a lateral antiferromagnetic/nonmagnetic superlattice.

PMID- 9980529
TI  - Systematic analysis of the magnetic susceptibility in the itinerant electron
      model.

PMID- 9980530
TI  - Measurement of the spin-excitation continuum in one-dimensional KCuF3 using
      neutron scattering.

PMID- 9980531
TI  - Effects of coupling between chains on the magnetic excitation spectrum of KCuF3.

PMID- 9980532
TI  - Magnetic and electronic properties of gamma -Fe and gamma -Fe/Al particles in
      copper.

PMID- 9980533
TI  - First-principles calculations of electrical conductivity and giant
      magnetoresistance of Co||Cu||Co spin valves.

PMID- 9980534
TI  - Electronic theory for the nonlinear magneto-optical response of transition metals
      at surfaces and interfaces: Dependence of the Kerr rotation on the polarization
      and magnetic easy axis.

PMID- 9980535
TI  - Origin of orbital magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy in TX ordered
      alloys (where T=Fe,Co and X=Pd,Pt).

PMID- 9980536
TI  - Pseudotemperature Monte Carlo study of a ground-state phase transition of the
      antiferromagnetic spin-S Ising model on a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9980537
TI  - Magnetic behavior of antiferromagnetically coupled layers connected by
      ferromagnetic pinholes.

PMID- 9980538
TI  - In-plane magnetization anisotropy in Gd2CuO4 single crystals.

PMID- 9980539
TI  - Magnetic anisotropies of sputtered Fe films on MgO substrates.

PMID- 9980540
TI  - Tunneling of a heavy particle with spin in a metal.

PMID- 9980542
TI  - Hole burning in a well-characterized noise field: Nonadherence to the Bloch
      equations.

PMID- 9980541
TI  - Effect of pressure on the Curie temperature of Fe3Pt.

PMID- 9980544
TI  - Renormalization-group study of interacting electrons.

PMID- 9980543
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice:
      Topological excitations.

PMID- 9980545
TI  - Spin-dependent electron scattering in ferromagnetic Co layers on Cu(111).

PMID- 9980546
TI  - Phase diagram of magnetic multilayers: The role of biquadratic exchange.

PMID- 9980547
TI  - Angular dependence of coercivity in Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets: Proof that coherent
      rotation is not involved.

PMID- 9980548
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of antiferromagnetic EuNi5P3 and mixed-valent
      EuNi2P2 in magnetic fields to 7 T.

PMID- 9980549
TI  - Frequency-dependent Cooper-pair tunneling in ultrasmall superconductor-insulator
      superconductor junctions.

PMID- 9980550
TI  - Vortex-pair production in superconducting films.

PMID- 9980551
TI  - Subharmonic structure of Shapiro steps in frustrated superconducting arrays.

PMID- 9980552
TI  - Euler Monte Carlo calculations for liquid 4He and 3He.

PMID- 9980553
TI  - Paramagnetic moment in field-cooled superconducting plates: Paramagnetic Meissner
      effect.

PMID- 9980555
TI  - Superconductivity and electrical properties in single-crystalline ultrathin Nb
      films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9980554
TI  - Influence of carrier injection on the metal-insulator transition in electron- and
      hole-doped R1-xAxNiO3 perovskites.

PMID- 9980556
TI  - Effect of impurity scattering on a (d+s)-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9980557
TI  - Magnetic scaling in cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9980558
TI  - Electronic structure of the CuO3 chains in RBa2Cu3O6+x (R=Y or a rare earth).

PMID- 9980559
TI  - Universal behavior of susceptibility in the 110 K phase of the Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      system.

PMID- 9980560
TI  - Van Hove scenario for d-wave superconductivity in cuprates.

PMID- 9980561
TI  - Field-induced aging effects in inhomogeneous superconductors.

PMID- 9980562
TI  - Analysis and prediction of the critical current density across

PMID- 9980563
TI  - Point-contact characteristics of high-angle YBa2Cu3O7- delta step-edge junctions.

PMID- 9980564
TI  - Superconductivity in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9980565
TI  - Micro-Raman study of isotope substitution in YBa2Cu318O6.2 during local laser
      annealing.

PMID- 9980566
TI  - Influence of Y2BaCuO5 particles on the microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7-x (123)
      Y2BaCuO5 (211) melt-textured superconductors.

PMID- 9980567
TI  - Doping and temperature dependence of c-axis optical phonons in YBa2Cu3Oy single
      crystals.

PMID- 9980569
TI  - Exact criterion for choosing the hopping operator in the four-slave-boson
      approach.

PMID- 9980568
TI  - Optical constants of lithium triborate crystals in the 55-71 eV region.

PMID- 9980570
TI  - Spectral weight transfer and mass renormalization in Mott-Hubbard systems SrVO3
      and CaVO3: Influence of long-range Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9980571
TI  - Band reconstructions of KxC60 caused by the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect.

PMID- 9980572
TI  - Canonical orbitals of the self-interaction-corrected local-spin-density
      approximation in doped systems.

PMID- 9980573
TI  - Exact diagonalization study of the two-dimensional t-J-Holstein model.

PMID- 9980575
TI  - Polaron-pair binding due to interchain coupling in conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9980574
TI  - Bandlike and localized states at extended defects in silicon.

PMID- 9980576
TI  - Electronic properties of (111) twin boundaries and twinning superlattices in lead
      sulfide.

PMID- 9980578
TI  - Laughlin wave function and one-dimensional free fermions.

PMID- 9980577
TI  - Suppression of deformation-potential electron-acoustic-phonon coupling in Si
      delta -doped GaAs structures.

PMID- 9980580
TI  - Experiments on inelastic scattering in the integer quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9980579
TI  - Reconstruction-dependent orientation of Ag(111) films on Si(001).

PMID- 9980581
TI  - Metallic nature of the symmetric dimer model of Si(001)-(2 x 1).

PMID- 9980583
TI  - Self-oscillations of domains in doped GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9980582
TI  - Correlation effects in a quantum dot at high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9980584
TI  - Inelastic light scattering from a modulated two-dimensional electron gas in
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9980586
TI  - Prediction of sawtooth oscillations in an electron Y-branch switch.

PMID- 9980585
TI  - Fractional periods of persistent currents in frustrated systems.

PMID- 9980588
TI  - Composite-fermion analysis of the double-layer fractional quantum Hall system.

PMID- 9980587
TI  - Hartree contribution to the band-gap renormalization in semiconductor
      microstructures.

PMID- 9980589
TI  - Electronic states of digital versus analog graded quantum wells.

PMID- 9980591
TI  - Effective-field approach to the Gaussian random-matrix model.

PMID- 9980590
TI  - Probing growth-related disorder by high-field transport in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9980592
TI  - Thermovoltage across a vacuum barrier investigated by scanning tunneling
      microscopy: Imaging of standing electron waves.

PMID- 9980594
TI  - Step barrier for interlayer diffusion in Fe/Fe(100) epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9980593
TI  - Short-range magnetic order in FeN and NiN clusters.

PMID- 9980595
TI  - Possibility of a ferromagnetic Rh(001) surface: A plane-wave-basis partial-core
      pseudopotential approach.

PMID- 9980596
TI  - 3d and 4d x-ray-photoelectron spectra of Pr under gradual oxidation.

PMID- 9980597
TI  - Divalent scandium atoms in the cage of C84.

PMID- 9980598
TI  - Multiple-scattering calculations of the uranium L3-edge x-ray-absorption near
      edge structure.

PMID- 9980599
TI  - X-ray-absorption problem in metals within the one-electron approximation.

PMID- 9980600
TI  - Effect of charge transfer to the conduction band within a single-impurity model
      on the Ni 2p core-level line shapes of Ni compounds.

PMID- 9980601
TI  - Charge-density-wave phase slip and contact effects in NbSe3.

PMID- 9980603
TI  - Effect of electronic correlation on the shape of a large bipolaron: Four-lobed
      planar large bipolaron in an ionic medium.

PMID- 9980602
TI  - Electronic structure of PrNiO3 studied by photoemission and x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy: Band gap and orbital ordering.

PMID- 9980604
TI  - Quadratic response theory of the energy loss of charged particles in an electron
      gas.

PMID- 9980605
TI  - Spectral correlations from the metal to the mobility edge.

PMID- 9980606
TI  - Asymmetric Hubbard chain at half-filling.

PMID- 9980608
TI  - Anderson-Mott transition as a quantum-glass problem.

PMID- 9980607
TI  - Magnetoresistance of multiply connected Al samples.

PMID- 9980610
TI  - Hydrogen diffusion in a-Si:H: Solution of the tracer equations including capture
      by exchange.

PMID- 9980609
TI  - Nonlinear transport in photoexcited plasma in semiconductors: Non-Ohmic mobility
      and a generalized Einstein relation.

PMID- 9980611
TI  - Calculation of the line shape of one-phonon replicas in polar semiconductors
      having direct forbidden band gaps.

PMID- 9980612
TI  - Characterization of a strain-inducing defect in CdTe by magnetoluminescence
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980613
TI  - d-band excitations in II-VI semiconductors: A broken-symmetry approach to the
      core hole.

PMID- 9980614
TI  - High-resolution study of the magnetic-field effect on the 4E state of Mn2+ in
      cubic ZnS by laser spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980615
TI  - Effects of ordering on the electron effective mass and strain deformation
      potential in GaInP2: Deficiencies of the k

PMID- 9980616
TI  - Atomic motions in an unusual molecular semiconductor: NaSn.

PMID- 9980617
TI  - Theory of femtosecond photon-echo decay in semiconductors.

PMID- 9980618
TI  - Preparation of a-GeOx:H alloys: Vibrational, optical, and structural properties.

PMID- 9980619
TI  - In-plane dispersion relations of InAs/AlSb/GaSb/AlSb/InAs interband resonant
      tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9980620
TI  - Surface crystal field at the Er/Si(111) interface studied by soft-x-ray linear
      dichroism.

PMID- 9980621
TI  - Quasiepitaxial growth of the organic molecular semiconductor 3,4,9,10
      perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride.

PMID- 9980622
TI  - Scattering interference of energetic electrons along atomic chains: The effect of
      the atomic environment.

PMID- 9980623
TI  - Radiative states in type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9980624
TI  - Edge states, Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, and thermodynamic and spectral
      properties in a two-dimensional electron gas with an antidot.

PMID- 9980625
TI  - Optical properties of twinning superlattices in diamond-type and zinc-blende-type
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9980626
TI  - Surface modification of GaAs(110) by low-energy ion irradiation.

PMID- 9980627
TI  - Hofstadter spectra in two-dimensional superlattice potentials with arbitrary
      modulation strength.

PMID- 9980628
TI  - Landau levels in the presence of dilute short-range scatterers.

PMID- 9980630
TI  - Relative importance of self-consistency and variable symmetry in the calculation
      of exciton energies in type-I and type-II semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9980629
TI  - Structural and electronic evolution on the Ge(111)-Ag surface.

PMID- 9980631
TI  - Valence band structure, edge states, and interband absorption in quantum-well
      wires in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9980632
TI  - Many-body analysis of the effects of electron density and temperature on the
      intersubband transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9980633
TI  - Theoretical study on interband tunneling of holes through GaAs/AlAs/GaAs single
      barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9980634
TI  - Universal equilibrium currents in the quantum Hall fluid.

PMID- 9980636
TI  - Molecular-orbital study of Li and LiOH adsorbed on a Cu(001) surface.

PMID- 9980635
TI  - Optical-phonon emission in GaAs/AlAs multiple-quantum-well structures determined
      by hot-electron luminescence.

PMID- 9980637
TI  - Bi-intercalation of ICl into a stage-5 FeCl3 graphite intercalation compound.

PMID- 9980638
TI  - Effects of surface roughness on the electronic shell structure of metal clusters.

PMID- 9980639
TI  - Chemical shifts and coupling interactions for the bonding vibrational modes for
      CO/Cu(111) and (100) surfaces.

PMID- 9980640
TI  - Scattering of He atoms from KCN(001): Analysis of the energy exchange.

PMID- 9980642
TI  - Modified tight-binding equations for wave functions of semi-infinite crystals and
      interfaces.

PMID- 9980641
TI  - Determination of fractal dimension by cyclic I-V studies: The Laplace-transform
      method.

PMID- 9980643
TI  - Electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in alkali-metal-doped C60.

PMID- 9980644
TI  - Influence of a polarizable medium on the nonlocal optical response of a metal
      surface.

PMID- 9980645
TI  - Surface states and photoemission of magnetic multilayer systems.

PMID- 9980646
TI  - Crack stability and branching at interfaces.

PMID- 9980647
TI  - Theory of the excitonic effect in solid C60.

PMID- 9980648
TI  - Coarsening and slope evolution during unstable spitaxial growth.

PMID- 9980649
TI  - Erratum: Low-frequency Raman scattering from small silver particles embedded in
      SiO2 thin films

PMID- 9980650
TI  - High-resolution electron microscopy of discommensuration in the nearly
      commensurate phase on warming of 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9980651
TI  - Phase-transition behavior of the spontaneous polarization and susceptibility of
      ferroelectric thin films.

PMID- 9980653
TI  - Transmission electron microscopy study of high-Zr-content lead zirconate
      titanate.

PMID- 9980652
TI  - Measurement of the linear polarization of channeling radiation in silicon and
      diamond.

PMID- 9980654
TI  - Nonempirical calculation of the Pb(Sc0.5Ta0.5)O3-PbTiO3 quasibinary phase
      diagram.

PMID- 9980655
TI  - Stable and x-ray induced commensurate and incommensurate phases in betaine
      calcium chloride dihydrate.

PMID- 9980656
TI  - Disorder-driven pretransitional tweed pattern in martensitic transformations.

PMID- 9980657
TI  - Damage-depth profiling of an ion-irradiated polymer by monoenergetic positron
      beams.

PMID- 9980658
TI  - Ab initio calculations of structures, and Raman and infrared spectra of vitreous
      B2O3.

PMID- 9980659
TI  - 87Rb NMR of the structural phase transition in RbSCN.

PMID- 9980660
TI  - Ion-beam modification of fullerene.

PMID- 9980662
TI  - Nuclear superfluorescence: A feasibility study based on the generalized Haake
      Reibold theory.

PMID- 9980661
TI  - Ion implantation in tetrahedral amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9980663
TI  - Photorefractive effect in Cd13P4S22I2.

PMID- 9980665
TI  - Calculations of positron lifetimes in a jog and vacancies on an edge-dislocation
      line in Fe.

PMID- 9980664
TI  - Near-edge optical absorption in liquid iodine under high pressure.

PMID- 9980666
TI  - Magnetic and calorimetric study of a single grain of quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn.

PMID- 9980668
TI  - Effective parameters of a statistically homogeneous fluid with strong density and
      compressibility fluctuations.

PMID- 9980667
TI  - Atomic-structure model of i-(Al0.570Cu0.108Li0.322).

PMID- 9980670
TI  - Explanation for the sqrt E -dependent mobilities of charge transport in
      molecularly doped polymers.

PMID- 9980669
TI  - Electrophysical properties of metal-solid-electrolyte composites.

PMID- 9980671
TI  - Nanoscale-crystallite nucleation and growth in amorphous solids.

PMID- 9980672
TI  - Static, dynamic, and electronic properties of liquid gallium studied by first
      principles simulation.

PMID- 9980673
TI  - Brillouin and Raman cross sections in silicate glasses.

PMID- 9980675
TI  - Subpicosecond time-resolved Raman investigation of optical phonon modes in Cr
      doped forsterite.

PMID- 9980674
TI  - Phonon distribution in a model polariton system.

PMID- 9980676
TI  - Mobius inversion transform for diamond-type materials and phonon dispersions.

PMID- 9980678
TI  - Dynamical renormalization of anharmonic lattices at the onset of fracture:
      Analytical results for scaling, noise, and memory.

PMID- 9980677
TI  - Tracer-diffusion study of Cu+ diffusion in CuBr.

PMID- 9980680
TI  - Effect of spin-phonon interaction on the Raman spectra of quasi-two-dimensional
      Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9980679
TI  - Fluctuation subharmonic and multiharmonic phonon transmission and Kapitza
      conductance between crystals with very different vibrational spectra.

PMID- 9980682
TI  - Aging in spin glasses as a random walk: Effect of a magnetic field.

PMID- 9980681
TI  - Mode assignment for magnetic excitations associated with Co2+ impurities in
      antiferromagnetic FeF2.

PMID- 9980683
TI  - Bosonic mean-field theory for frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9980684
TI  - Nuclear-quadrupole double-resonance study of the solid solution Rb1-xTlxH2PO4.

PMID- 9980685
TI  - Magnetic reorientation transition of Gd(0001)/W(110) films.

PMID- 9980686
TI  - Polar magneto-optics in simple ultrathin-magnetic-film structures.

PMID- 9980688
TI  - Spin-glass-like behavior of the incommensurate composite phase LaCrS3.

PMID- 9980687
TI  - Polarization and interlayer coupling in Co-Nb/Pd multilayers.

PMID- 9980689
TI  - Hyperfine magnetic field in mechanically alloyed Fe-Cu.

PMID- 9980691
TI  - Block spins and chirality in the frustrated Heisenberg model on kagome-acute and
      triangular lattices.

PMID- 9980690
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in Fe/Ag multilayers and its anomalous temperature
      dependence.

PMID- 9980692
TI  - Line of continuously varying criticality in the Ashkin-Teller quantum chain.

PMID- 9980693
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance versus spin-dependent recombination: Excited
      triplet states of structural defects in irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9980694
TI  - Effects of Fermi-surface topology on the electronic properties of the two
      dimensional t-t' model.

PMID- 9980695
TI  - Proximity-induced superconductivity in a narrow metallic wire.

PMID- 9980696
TI  - Registered state and a two-dimensional Bose liquid of 4He in mesopores of
      hectorite.

PMID- 9980697
TI  - Vortex-lattice melting in superconducting fullerene Rb3C60.

PMID- 9980699
TI  - Vortices in stratified and nonlocal superconductors.

PMID- 9980698
TI  - Magnetic transitions and nearly reentrant superconducting properties of HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9980700
TI  - Structural and dynamical properties of superfluid helium: A density-functional
      approach.

PMID- 9980701
TI  - Nucleation in supersaturated solutions of 3He in 4He at negative pressures.

PMID- 9980702
TI  - Complete inversion of the Meissner effect in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta ceramics at
      ultralow fields.

PMID- 9980703
TI  - Generalized Gorkov's equation for nonequilibrium superconductivity.

PMID- 9980704
TI  - Bounds for the phonon-roton dispersion in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9980705
TI  - Elastic theory of flux lattices in the presence of weak disorder.

PMID- 9980706
TI  - Properties of odd-gap superconductors.

PMID- 9980707
TI  - Impurity effects on the anisotropic s-wave superconductor of the interlayer pair
      tunneling mechanism.

PMID- 9980708
TI  - Participation-ratio entropy and critical fluctuations in the thermodynamics of
      pancake vortices.

PMID- 9980709
TI  - Electron-spin-lattice relaxation in GdBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9980710
TI  - Physical quantities in nearly antiferromagnetic and superconducting states of the
      two-dimensional Hubbard model and comparison with cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9980711
TI  - Transport critical current in c-axis-oriented Bi1.8Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy/Ag tapes.

PMID- 9980712
TI  - Quantum tunneling of flux lines in a high-Tc superconductor.

PMID- 9980713
TI  - Low-field ac-susceptibility study of flux creep in metal-substituted ErBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9980715
TI  - Role of elasticity associated with oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3Oz.

PMID- 9980714
TI  - Magnetic relaxation and quantum tunneling of vortices in a polycrystalline
      Hg0.8Tl0.2Ba2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta superconductor.

PMID- 9980716
TI  - Structural aspects of pressure-dependent hole ordering in La1.67M0.33NiO4 (M=Ca,
      Sr, or Ba).

PMID- 9980717
TI  - Manifestation of a clear gap structure from point-contact and tunneling
      spectroscopy of YBa2Cu3O7-x and YbBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals.

PMID- 9980718
TI  - Relationship of Sr2RuO4 to the superconducting layered cuprates.

PMID- 9980720
TI  - Negative-U extended Hubbard model for doped barium bismuthates.

PMID- 9980719
TI  - Structural stability of LuBa2Cu3O7- delta and superconductivity in thin films of
      Lu1-xMxBa2Cu3O7- delta (M=Pr, Tb, and Ce).

PMID- 9980721
TI  - Synthesis and characterization of compounds Sr2RMCu2O8- delta (R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu,
      Gd; M=Nb, Ta).

PMID- 9980722
TI  - Comment on "Optical absorption measurements of hydrogen at megabar pressures"

PMID- 9980723
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Optical absorption measurements of hydrogen at megabar
      pressures' "

PMID- 9980724
TI  - Comment on "Multiple-histogram Monte Carlo study of the Ising antiferromagnet on
      a stacked triangular lattice"

PMID- 9980725
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Multiple-histogram Monte Carlo study of the Ising
      antiferromagnet on a stacked triangular lattice' "

PMID- 9980726
TI  - Lifshitz-Slyozov scaling for late-stage coarsening with an order-parameter
      dependent mobility.

PMID- 9980727
TI  - Detection of paramagnetic centers on amorphous-SiO2 grain surfaces using
      positronium.

PMID- 9980728
TI  - Generalization of the Schwartz-Soffer inequality for correlated random fields.

PMID- 9980729
TI  - Indirect exchange coupling for orthogonal anisotropies.

PMID- 9980731
TI  - Incommensurate lattice modulation in the spin-Peierls system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980730
TI  - Spin-density-wave transition and resistivity minimum of the Bechgaard salt
      (TMTSF)2NO3 at high magnetic field, where TMTSF is
      tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene.

PMID- 9980732
TI  - Magnetic excitations in a highly frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9980734
TI  - Propagating S=1/2 particles in S=1 Haldane-gap systems.

PMID- 9980733
TI  - Reversed time in Mossbauer time spectra.

PMID- 9980735
TI  - Numerical renormalization-group study of the correlation functions of the
      antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9980736
TI  - Pressure-induced polymerization of ternary fulleride superconductors.

PMID- 9980737
TI  - Clear distinction between the underdoped and overdoped regime in the Tc
      suppression of Cu-site-substituted high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9980739
TI  - Thermal conductivity and structural instability in La- and Cu-site-substituted
      La2CuO4.

PMID- 9980738
TI  - Observation of below-gap plasmon excitations in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 films.

PMID- 9980740
TI  - Magnetotransport behavior of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7: A possible role for
      surface barriers.

PMID- 9980741
TI  - Phonon-drag thermopower correlations to Tc in superconducting SrxNd1-xCuO2- delta
      : Evidence for phonon-mediated pairing in the high-Tc parent compounds.

PMID- 9980743
TI  - Negative magnetoresistance in the c-axis resistivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta and
      YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9980742
TI  - Critical scaling of the transport behavior and the magnetic phase diagram of
      polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9980744
TI  - Anomalous magnetization in single-crystal Tl2Ba2CuO6: Evidence of dimensional
      crossover.

PMID- 9980746
TI  - Light scattering from gap excitations and bound states in SmB6.

PMID- 9980745
TI  - Influence of charge and magnetic ordering on the insulator-metal transition in
      Pr1-xCaxMnO3.

PMID- 9980747
TI  - Barrier between localized and shallow neutral donor states in GaAs:Ge.

PMID- 9980749
TI  - Hydrogen interactions with self-interstitials in silicon.

PMID- 9980748
TI  - Ab initio electronic-structure calculations for II-VI semiconductors using self
      interaction-corrected pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9980751
TI  - Enhanced optical properties in porous silicon microcavities.

PMID- 9980750
TI  - Holographic time-of-flight measurements of the hole-drift mobility in a
      photorefractive polymer.

PMID- 9980752
TI  - Spin splitting of conduction subbands in GaAs-Ga0.7Al0.3As heterostructures.

PMID- 9980753
TI  - Lead-induced transition to chaos in ballistic mesoscopic billiards.

PMID- 9980754
TI  - Observation of Wannier-Stark ladder transitions in InxGa1-xAs-GaAs piezoelectric
      superlattices.

PMID- 9980755
TI  - Subpicosecond hole tunneling by nonresonant delocalization in asymmetric double
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9980756
TI  - Path-dependent conductivity in the regime of floating delocalized states.

PMID- 9980757
TI  - Metal-semiconductor fluctuation in the Sn adatoms in the Si(111)-Sn and Ge(111)
      Sn ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3)R30 degrees reconstructions.

PMID- 9980759
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot.

PMID- 9980758
TI  - Symmetry and electronic structure of the Mn impurity in ZnS nanocrystals.

PMID- 9980761
TI  - Transport through dirty Luttinger liquids connected to reservoirs.

PMID- 9980760
TI  - Resonance fluorescence and polariton effects in GaAs thin layers.

PMID- 9980762
TI  - Observation of the nu =1 quantum Hall effect in a strongly localized two
      dimensional system.

PMID- 9980763
TI  - Far-infrared response of holes in quantum dots: Band structure effects and the
      generalized Kohn's theorem.

PMID- 9980764
TI  - Effect of strain on surface diffusion and nucleation.

PMID- 9980765
TI  - Promotion of catalytic reactions by depopulation of surface states.

PMID- 9980766
TI  - Atomic- and electronic-structure study on the layers of 4Hb-TaS2 prepared by a
      layer-by-layer etching technique.

PMID- 9980767
TI  - Superstructures and defect structures revealed by atomic-scale STM imaging of
      WO3(001).

PMID- 9980768
TI  - Predictions for neutron scattering and photoemission experiments on CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980769
TI  - Submonolayers of adsorbates on stepped Co/Cu(100): Switching of the easy axis.

PMID- 9980770
TI  - Mechanisms of initial alloy formation for Pd on Cu(100) studied by STM.

PMID- 9980771
TI  - Localized orbital theory of electronic structure: A simple application.

PMID- 9980773
TI  - Photoemission and bremsstrahlung isochromat spectra of U3P4 and U3As4.

PMID- 9980772
TI  - Impurity effects on atomic bonding in Ni3Al.

PMID- 9980774
TI  - X-ray-edge singularities with nonconstant density of states: A renormalization
      group approach.

PMID- 9980776
TI  - Fine structure and fractional M/N Aharonov-Bohm effect.

PMID- 9980775
TI  - Resonance Raman enhancement for photoinduced polaronic states of a quasi-one
      dimensional mixed-valence platinum complex.

PMID- 9980777
TI  - Pressure effects on the electronic structure and low-temperature states in the
      alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2MHg(SCN)4 organic-conductor family (M=K, Rb, Tl, NH4).

PMID- 9980779
TI  - Conjugate-gradient methods for metallic systems and band-structure calculations.

PMID- 9980778
TI  - Symmetry-selective resonant inelastic x-ray scattering of C60.

PMID- 9980780
TI  - Effects of geometric Berry phase on persistent currents in large-U one
      dimensional Hubbard rings.

PMID- 9980781
TI  - Mixed boson-fermion description of correlated electrons: Fluctuation corrections
      in the symmetric treatment.

PMID- 9980782
TI  - Chemical pressure and charge-density waves in rare-earth tritellurides.

PMID- 9980783
TI  - Dielectric function and optical conductivity of TiOx (0.8<x<1.3) determined from
      electron energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980784
TI  - Significance of nonorthogonality in tight-binding models.

PMID- 9980785
TI  - Significance of nonorthogonality in tight-binding models. II. The possibility of
      high-Tc superconductivity in intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9980787
TI  - Fermi surfaces and electronic topological transitions in metallic random alloys.
      II. AgcPd1-c.

PMID- 9980786
TI  - Fermi surfaces and electronic topological transitions in metallic random alloys.
      I. The influence on equilibrium properties.

PMID- 9980788
TI  - Optimized effective potentials for semiconductors.

PMID- 9980789
TI  - Impurity-induced narrow bands of continuous electronic states in doped
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9980790
TI  - Observation of In antisite and Fe-related defects in 30-MeV electron-irradiated
      Fe-doped semi-insulating InP.

PMID- 9980792
TI  - Comprehensive numerical simulation of defect density and temperature-dependent
      transport properties in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9980791
TI  - Effect of band nonparabolicity on the magnetoexciton binding energy in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9980793
TI  - Long-wavelength acoustic-mode-enhanced electron emission from Se and Te donors in
      silicon.

PMID- 9980795
TI  - Quasiparticle Boltzmann equation in semiconductors.

PMID- 9980794
TI  - Optical functions of ion-implanted, laser-annealed heavily doped silicon.

PMID- 9980796
TI  - Nonlinear optical susceptibilities of semiconductors: Results with a length-gauge
      analysis.

PMID- 9980797
TI  - Quadrupole interactions of 19F implanted in germanium and gallium arsenide.

PMID- 9980798
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy of ZnSe under uniaxial stress.

PMID- 9980800
TI  - Quantum-confinement-induced Gamma -->X transition in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum films,
      wires, and dots.

PMID- 9980799
TI  - Effect of impurities on the current magnification in mesoscopic open rings.

PMID- 9980801
TI  - Persistent-photoconductivity effect in delta -doped Al0.48In0.52As/Ga0.47In0.53As
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9980802
TI  - Stability and electronic properties of nanoscale silicon clusters.

PMID- 9980803
TI  - Measurement of the In0.52Al0.48As valence-band hydrostatic deformation potential
      and the hydrostatic-pressure dependence of the In0.52Al0.48As/InP valence-band
      offset.

PMID- 9980804
TI  - Optically detected cyclotron-resonance studies of radiative processes in AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs high-electron-mobility structures.

PMID- 9980805
TI  - Experimental determination of the conduction-band offset at GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs
      heterojunctions with the use of ballistic electrons.

PMID- 9980806
TI  - Edge-state transport in finite antidot lattices.

PMID- 9980807
TI  - Fourfold anisotropy and structural behavior of epitaxial hcp Co/GaAs(001) thin
      films.

PMID- 9980808
TI  - Surface phonons of the Si(111)-7 x 7 reconstructed surface.

PMID- 9980809
TI  - Phenomenological electrodynamics of electronic superlattices.

PMID- 9980810
TI  - Coupling of geometric confinement and magnetic confinement in In0.09Ga0.91As/GaAs
      quantum wells in magnetic fields with varying orientations.

PMID- 9980812
TI  - Theoretical study of Ti adsorption on Si(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9980811
TI  - Thermal carrier emission from a semiconductor quantum well.

PMID- 9980813
TI  - Effect of magnetic modulation on Bloch electrons on a two-dimensional square
      lattice.

PMID- 9980814
TI  - Linear-response theory of Coulomb drag in coupled electron systems.

PMID- 9980815
TI  - Magnetoplasmon emission versus Landau-level scattering in resonant tunneling
      through double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9980816
TI  - Electron relaxation in the quantum-Hall-effect geometry: One- and two-phonon
      processes.

PMID- 9980817
TI  - Two-photon photoelectron spectroscopy of GaP(110) after sputtering, annealing,
      and multishot laser damage.

PMID- 9980819
TI  - Enhanced charge and spin currents in the one-dimensional disordered mesoscopic
      Hubbard ring.

PMID- 9980818
TI  - Plasmon enhancement of Coulomb drag in double-quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9980820
TI  - Charge transfer at double-layer to single-layer transition in double-quantum-well
      systems.

PMID- 9980821
TI  - Lifetime of two-dimensional electrons measured by tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9980822
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm effect induced by mutual inductance for an array of mesoscopic
      rings.

PMID- 9980823
TI  - Photon-assisted transport through quantized energy states in a lateral dual-gate
      device.

PMID- 9980824
TI  - Raman spectroscopy of C60 solid films.

PMID- 9980825
TI  - Theory of carbon nanotube growth.

PMID- 9980826
TI  - Necessity of self-energy corrections in LEED theory for Xe(111): Comparison
      between theoretical and experimental spin-polarized LEED data.

PMID- 9980827
TI  - Growth of conjugated oligomer thin films studied by atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9980828
TI  - Statistical error analysis of surface-structure parameters determined by low
      energy electron and positron diffraction: Data errors.

PMID- 9980829
TI  - Determination of the surface atomic geometry of PbTe(100) by dynamical low-energy
      electron-diffraction intensity analysis.

PMID- 9980830
TI  - Evidence for crystal-field splitting in surface-atom photoemission from
      potassium.

PMID- 9980831
TI  - Scaling and dynamics of low-frequency hysteresis loops in ultrathin Co films on a
      Cu(001) surface.

PMID- 9980832
TI  - Initial stages of the growth of SrF2 on InP.

PMID- 9980833
TI  - Circular dichroism in the angular distribution of core photoelectrons from
      Si(001): A photoelectron-diffraction analysis.

PMID- 9980834
TI  - Static conductivity and superconductivity of carbon nanotubes: Relations between
      tubes and sheets.

PMID- 9980835
TI  - Terrace distribution during sputtering and recovery of InSb(110) studied by He
      atom scattering.

PMID- 9980836
TI  - Surface plasmon dispersion and damping on Ag(111).

PMID- 9980837
TI  - Electronic structure, total energies, and STM images of clean and oxygen-covered
      Al(111).

PMID- 9980838
TI  - Structure, stability, and vibrational properties of polymerized C60.

PMID- 9980839
TI  - Ab initio calculation of phonon spectra for graphite, BN, and BC2N sheets.

PMID- 9980840
TI  - Low-load friction behavior of epitaxial C60 monolayers under Hertzian contact.

PMID- 9980842
TI  - Up-converted luminescence by two- and three-photon excitation in LaF3:Nd3+
      crystals.

PMID- 9980841
TI  - Luminescence spectra of uranyl ions adsorbed on disperse SiO2 surfaces.

PMID- 9980843
TI  - Off-center sites in some lightly intercalated alkali-metal fullerides.

PMID- 9980845
TI  - Phonons of the cis-polyacetylene chain.

PMID- 9980844
TI  - Theoretical stability limit of diamond at ultrahigh pressure.

PMID- 9980846
TI  - Spin stiffness of frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets: Finite-size scaling.

PMID- 9980847
TI  - Pressure effects on the magnetoresistance in doped manganese perovskites.

PMID- 9980848
TI  - Exactly solvable multichain supersymmetric t-J model.

PMID- 9980849
TI  - Observation of photoinduced bulk current in metals.

PMID- 9980850
TI  - Ferromagnetic resonance and magnetic homogeneity in a giant-magnetoresistance
      material La2/3Ba1/3MnO3.

PMID- 9980851
TI  - Electron spin resonance of Er3+ in YBiPt.

PMID- 9980852
TI  - Gap-formation mechanism of the Kondo-necklace model.

PMID- 9980853
TI  - Magnetic coupling in 3d transition-metal monolayers and bilayers on bcc (100)
      iron.

PMID- 9980854
TI  - Charge fluctuations on a superconducting island.

PMID- 9980855
TI  - Raman modes of the apical oxygen in mercury-based superconductors.

PMID- 9980857
TI  - Normal-state transport and magnetic properties of RNi2B2C (R=Y, Ho, La).

PMID- 9980856
TI  - Soft-x-ray-emission studies of YNi2B2C and LaNi2B2C: Observation of the B 2p and
      C 2p partial density of states.

PMID- 9980859
TI  - Odd parity and line nodes in heavy-fermion superconductors.

PMID- 9980858
TI  - Statistical interparticle potential between two anyons.

PMID- 9980860
TI  - Quasiparticle-pair interference effect in proximity-coupled junction ladders.

PMID- 9980862
TI  - Theory of superexchange in CuO2.

PMID- 9980861
TI  - Magnetic-field effect on the specific heat of PrBa2(Cu1-xGax)3O7- delta.

PMID- 9980863
TI  - Polarization selection rules and superconducting gap anisotropy in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9980864
TI  - Metal-antiferromagnetic insulator transition in the charge-transfer model.

PMID- 9980865
TI  - Theoretical study on Cl L23 NEXAFS and UV absorption data for metal chlorides.

PMID- 9980867
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy and n-body distribution functions in condensed
      matter. II. Data analysis and applications.

PMID- 9980866
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy and n-body distribution functions in condensed
      matter. I. Theory.

PMID- 9980868
TI  - Atomistic simulation of thermomechanical properties of beta -SiC.

PMID- 9980869
TI  - E-symmetry phonon polaritons in PbTiO3.

PMID- 9980870
TI  - First-principles study of solid Ar and Kr under high compression.

PMID- 9980871
TI  - Range profiles in self-ion-implanted crystalline Si.

PMID- 9980872
TI  - Electronic structure and phase stability study in the Ni-Ti system.

PMID- 9980873
TI  - Ab initio atomistic simulation of the strength of defective aluminum and tests of
      empirical force models.

PMID- 9980874
TI  - Site-selective laser-spectroscopy studies of the intrinsic 1.9-eV luminescence
      center in glassy SiO2.

PMID- 9980875
TI  - 14N NMR study of the glass transition in (NH4I)0.44(KI)0.56.

PMID- 9980876
TI  - Thermodynamics and vibrational excitations of a two-dimensional nanoscale model
      material.

PMID- 9980877
TI  - Dielectric relaxation of liquids at the surface of a porous glass.

PMID- 9980878
TI  - Features of a eutectoid reaction in a Ti-40 at. % Al alloy: Evidence for an
      amorphous-state formation from a crystal.

PMID- 9980879
TI  - Effective-medium theories for spheroidal particles randomly oriented on a plane:
      Application to the optical properties of a SiC whisker-Al2O3 composite.

PMID- 9980880
TI  - Anharmonic effects and second-neighbor interactions of local modes in Cr4+-doped
      forsterite probed by higher-order resonance Raman scattering.

PMID- 9980881
TI  - Long-range electron-phonon correlation and Peierls dimerization in the one
      dimensional molecular-crystal model.

PMID- 9980883
TI  - Microscopic theory of orientational disorder and lattice instability in solid
      C70.

PMID- 9980882
TI  - Quasisoliton states in a two-dimensional discrete model.

PMID- 9980884
TI  - Exciton solitons in molecular crystals.

PMID- 9980886
TI  - Ground state of a triangular quantum antiferromagnet: Fixed-node Green-function
      Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9980885
TI  - Ultrasonic study of magnetoelastic effects in the spin-Peierls state of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980887
TI  - Magnetostatic modes in Fibonacci magnetic and nonmagnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9980888
TI  - Semiclassical description of spin ladders.

PMID- 9980889
TI  - Low-temperature susceptibilities of the quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets (6MAP)CuCl3 and (3MAP)CuCl3: Spin-Peierls transition versus
      broken-chain effects.

PMID- 9980890
TI  - Room-temperature magnetic phases of Fe on fcc Co(001) and Ni(001).

PMID- 9980891
TI  - Surface magnetism studied within the mean-field approximation of the Hubbard
      model.

PMID- 9980892
TI  - Spin polarization and magnetic dichroism in photoemission from core and valence
      states in localized magnetic systems. IV. Core-hole polarization in resonant
      photoemission.

PMID- 9980894
TI  - Electronic states induced by interface doping of Cu/Ni(100) with Co.

PMID- 9980893
TI  - Pressure effects on the dimerization in the spin-Peierls state of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980895
TI  - Local magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic FeBr2.

PMID- 9980896
TI  - Evidence of spin-density-wave to spin-glass transformation in YNd Alloys.

PMID- 9980897
TI  - Magnetic structure of monolayer-range Cr films deposited on Fe(001).

PMID- 9980898
TI  - Magnetic properties and giant magnetoresistance of melt-spun granular Cu100-x-Cox
      alloys.

PMID- 9980899
TI  - Characterization of the structural and magnetic fluctuations near the spin
      Peierls transition in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980900
TI  - Large length-scale fluctuations at the spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980901
TI  - Current-perpendicular and current-parallel giant magnetoresistances in Co/Ag
      multilayers.

PMID- 9980902
TI  - Electric field in superconductors with rectangular cross section.

PMID- 9980903
TI  - Effect of disorder on synchronization in prototype two-dimensional Josephson
      arrays.

PMID- 9980904
TI  - Model for low-field microwave absorption in granular type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9980905
TI  - Phonon-induced electron-electron interaction in disordered superconductors.

PMID- 9980907
TI  - Conductance anomalies for normal-metal-insulator-superconductor contacts.

PMID- 9980906
TI  - Optical properties of single-crystal La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9980909
TI  - Magnetic properties of superconducting K3C60 and Rb3C60 synthesized from large
      single-crystal fullerenes.

PMID- 9980908
TI  - Nonlinear transport of electrons in a quasi-one-dimensional channel on the liquid
      helium surface.

PMID- 9980910
TI  - Electron correlation in the kappa -phase family of BEDT-TTF compounds studied by
      13C NMR, where BEDT-TTF is bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene.

PMID- 9980911
TI  - Superconductivity at 8 K in samarium-doped C60.

PMID- 9980912
TI  - Chern-Simons superconductivity at finite magnetic field.

PMID- 9980913
TI  - Transport properties and vortex-glass melting in TlnBa2Ca2Cu3Ox (n=1,2) films:
      Correlation of scaling exponents with crystal anisotropy.

PMID- 9980914
TI  - Crystal structure of HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta at high pressure (to 8.5 GPa)
      determined by powder neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9980916
TI  - Low-temperature superstructures and incommensurate phases of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9980915
TI  - Raman study of intermultiplet crystal-field excitations in Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9980917
TI  - Pinning mechanisms in YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9980919
TI  - Optical properties of YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9980918
TI  - Oxygen ordering and phase separation in La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9980920
TI  - Defect mechanism of photoinduced superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9980921
TI  - Changes of the dimensionality and Tc through the iodine intercalation and
      oxidation in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single crystals.

PMID- 9980922
TI  - Influence of next-nearest-neighbor electron hopping on the static and dynamical
      properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9980923
TI  - Excitation spectra of the negative-U Hubbard model: A small-cluster study.

PMID- 9980924
TI  - Discontinuity lines in rectangular superconductors with intrinsic and extrinsic
      anisotropies.

PMID- 9980925
TI  - First-principles calculation of the transition temperature Tc for HgBa2CuO4+
      delta high-temperature superconductors via dipolon theory.

PMID- 9980926
TI  - Chromium clustering and ordering in Hg1-xCrxSr2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9980927
TI  - Magnetoresistance of PrBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9980928
TI  - Erratum: Analysis of cubic zero-field splitting of Fe3+ and Mn2+ in tetrahedral
      coordination

PMID- 9980929
TI  - Erratum: Interactions for odd- omega gap singlet superconductors

PMID- 9980930
TI  - Erratum: Observation of an electromagnetic absorption peak in the millimeter wave
      range in liquid helium at the superfluid lambda transition

PMID- 9980931
TI  - Destruction of Peierls dimerization in the molecular-crystal model: Effects of
      quantum phonon fluctuations.

PMID- 9980932
TI  - Identification of local spin fluctuations by weak localization.

PMID- 9980934
TI  - Spin-wave excitation spectra and spectral weights in square lattice
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9980933
TI  - Magnetic coupling at the Mn/Fe(001) interface.

PMID- 9980935
TI  - Anomalous hydrostatic pressure dependence of the Curie temperature of the Kondo
      lattice compound YbNiSn to 38 GPa.

PMID- 9980936
TI  - Spin-resolved Fe L3M45M45 Auger transition on and off resonance: The effect of
      exchange correlation.

PMID- 9980937
TI  - Low-temperature order in the heavy-fermion compound CeCu6.

PMID- 9980938
TI  - Dynamical properties of the single-hole t-J model on a 32-site square lattice.

PMID- 9980939
TI  - Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9980940
TI  - Numerical simulation of vortex arrays in thin superconducting films.

PMID- 9980941
TI  - Ground-state properties of the one-dimensional Kondo lattice at partial band
      filling.

PMID- 9980942
TI  - Evidence for chain superconductivity in near-stoichiometric YBa2Cu3Ox single
      crystals.

PMID- 9980943
TI  - Anisotropy of the penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7- delta : Josephson-tunneling
      studies.

PMID- 9980944
TI  - Interplane coupling in the superconductor Y2Ba4Cu7O15 as revealed by NQR spin
      echo double resonance.

PMID- 9980945
TI  - Parity of the order parameter in high-temperature superconductors with respect to
      a pi /2 rotation.

PMID- 9980946
TI  - Antiferromagnetic excitations and van Hove singularities in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9980947
TI  - XAFS measurements of negatively correlated atomic displacements in HgBa2CuO4+
      delta.

PMID- 9980948
TI  - Hall anomaly in the vortex state of La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9980949
TI  - Boson mediators of high-Tc superconductivity: Phonons versus composite bosons
      from the superconducting phenomenology.

PMID- 9980950
TI  - Intensity of the B1g phonon Raman scattering in YBa2Cu3O7: Comparison of normal
      and superconducting states.

PMID- 9980951
TI  - High-pressure fluorescence line narrowing of Eu(III)-doped sodium disilicate
      glass.

PMID- 9980952
TI  - Evidence for diffusion-limited kinetics of ion-beam-induced epitaxial
      crystallization in silicon.

PMID- 9980953
TI  - Irradiation-induced amorphization of graphite.

PMID- 9980954
TI  - Static crossover behavior in the neighborhood of a Lifshitz point.

PMID- 9980955
TI  - Properties of B2O: An unsymmetrical analog of carbon.

PMID- 9980956
TI  - sp3 content of mass-selected ion-beam-deposited carbon films determined by
      inelastic and elastic electron scattering.

PMID- 9980957
TI  - Analysis of the x-ray-absorption near-edge-structure spectra of La1-xNdxNiO3 and
      LaNi1-xFexO3 perovskites at the nickel K edge.

PMID- 9980958
TI  - Magnetic effects in electroplasticity of metals.

PMID- 9980960
TI  - Ostwald ripening in disordered systems.

PMID- 9980959
TI  - Temperature measurements and dissociation of shock-compressed liquid deuterium
      and hydrogen.

PMID- 9980961
TI  - Optical anisotropies in chalcogenide glasses induced by band-gap light.

PMID- 9980962
TI  - Optical properties of ordered In0.5Ga0.5P alloys.

PMID- 9980963
TI  - Dimensional crossover in the effective nonlinear response in random nonlinear
      resistor networks.

PMID- 9980964
TI  - Molecular hydrogen in porous Vycor glass.

PMID- 9980965
TI  - Strain relaxation and self-organization phenomena in heteroepitaxial systems.

PMID- 9980966
TI  - Evaluation of spectroscopic properties of Yb3+-doped glasses.

PMID- 9980967
TI  - Lattice vibrations in Yb-pnictide compounds.

PMID- 9980968
TI  - Ionic transport in crystalline SiO2: The role of alkali-metal ions and hydrogen
      impurities.

PMID- 9980969
TI  - Elastic strain energy of inhomogeneous solids.

PMID- 9980970
TI  - Normal and oblique specular reflectivity of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980971
TI  - Finite-size corrections to the correlation function of the spherical model at d
      >= 4.

PMID- 9980973
TI  - Model calculation of two-ion magnetostriction in the itinerant uniaxial
      ferromagnet Y2Fe17.

PMID- 9980972
TI  - Random-exchange quantum Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9980974
TI  - Effect of an oblique magnetic field on the superparamagnetic relaxation time.

PMID- 9980975
TI  - Magnetic impurity coupled to a strongly correlated electron system in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9980976
TI  - Antiparallel ordered magnetic moments of heavy and light f atoms in the (U1
      xTbx)Co2Ge2 solid solutions studied by neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9980977
TI  - Analytical study of the thermodynamic behavior of an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg
      model.

PMID- 9980978
TI  - Magnetic-field behavior of the spin-density-wave state in (TMTSF)2AsF6.

PMID- 9980979
TI  - Exchange mixing and soliton dynamics in the quantum spin chain CsCoCl3.

PMID- 9980981
TI  - Theory for the magnetic phase diagram of thin films: Role of domain formation.

PMID- 9980980
TI  - Strong-coupling theory for the thermodynamics of spin-1 planar magnetic chains.

PMID- 9980982
TI  - Relationship between weak ferromagnetism and magnetic irreversibilities in
      Gd2CuO4.

PMID- 9980983
TI  - 1H NMR observation of the critical slowing down in ammonium chloride.

PMID- 9980984
TI  - Magnetoresistance of CeCu2Si2: Differences and similarities to UBe13.

PMID- 9980985
TI  - Non-Arrhenius relaxation in micromagnetic models of systems with many degrees of
      freedom.

PMID- 9980986
TI  - Experimental determination of the magnetic phase diagram of Gd/Fe multilayers.

PMID- 9980987
TI  - Electrical transport in corrugated multilayered structures.

PMID- 9980988
TI  - Frequency of ferromagnetic resonance in ferrofluids.

PMID- 9980989
TI  - Magnetoelastic coupling and order parameter in the spin-Peierls system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9980991
TI  - Evidence for phase selectivity in excimer-laser-induced amorphization of
      thermally annealed Fe66Co18B15Si glassy ferromagnet.

PMID- 9980990
TI  - Noncollinear and collinear magnetic structures in exchange coupled Fe/Cr(001)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9980992
TI  - Anyonlike particles in three dimensions.

PMID- 9980993
TI  - Transport properties of Cu-O chains in Sr2CuO3+ delta.

PMID- 9980994
TI  - Interactions and pinning energies in the Bose glass phase of vortices in
      superconductors.

PMID- 9980996
TI  - Calculation of the magnetic flux density distribution in type-II superconductors
      with finite thickness and well-defined geometry.

PMID- 9980995
TI  - Sodium dimers on the surface of liquid 4He.

PMID- 9980997
TI  - Quantum effects in a superconducting-glass model.

PMID- 9980998
TI  - Coherence lengths for three-dimensional superconductors in the BCS-Bose picture.

PMID- 9980999
TI  - Pairing in a tight-binding model with occupation-dependent hopping rate: Exact
      diagonalization study.

PMID- 9981000
TI  - Specific-heat analysis of rare-earth transition-metal borocarbides: An estimation
      of the electron-phonon coupling strength.

PMID- 9981001
TI  - Quantum phase transitions of interacting bosons and the supersolid phase.

PMID- 9981002
TI  - Pairing correlations with s* and dx2-y2 symmetry in a disordered Cu4O8 cluster.

PMID- 9981004
TI  - Effect of the non-s-wave phase shifts of the impurity potential in a d-wave
      superconductor.

PMID- 9981003
TI  - Signatures of the electron-phonon interaction in the far-infrared.

PMID- 9981006
TI  - s- and d-wave mixing in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9981005
TI  - Charge-transfer excitations in the cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9981007
TI  - Observation of variable-range hopping up to 900 K in the YLaxBa2-xCu3O7- delta
      system.

PMID- 9981009
TI  - Excitation spectrum of the attractive Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981008
TI  - Quasiparticle spectrum in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9981010
TI  - Superconductivity at 55 K in La0.7Sr1.3Cu(O,F)4+ delta with reduced CuO2 sheets
      and apical anions.

PMID- 9981012
TI  - Normal-state transport properties of slightly overdoped YBa2Cu3Oy crystals
      prepared by a crystal-pulling technique.

PMID- 9981011
TI  - Superconductor superlattice model for small-angle grain boundaries in Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9981013
TI  - Magnetic and pair correlations of the Hubbard model with next-nearest-neighbor
      hopping.

PMID- 9981015
TI  - Trace map, Cantor set, and the properties of a three-component Fibonacci lattice.

PMID- 9981014
TI  - Far-infrared spectroscopy study of an uncoupled mode in a two-dimensional
      photonic lattice.

PMID- 9981016
TI  - Frequency dependence of the hopping magnetoconductivity in disordered systems.

PMID- 9981018
TI  - Multiple-scattering approach to the s-f model in ferromagnetic semiconductors
      above the Curie temperature.

PMID- 9981017
TI  - Use of hydrostatic pressure to resolve phonon replicalike features in the
      photoluminescence spectrum of beryllium-doped silicon.

PMID- 9981019
TI  - Incorporation of incompleteness in the k

PMID- 9981020
TI  - Thermal and electrical properties of the Ge:Sb:Te system by photoacoustic and
      Hall measurements.

PMID- 9981021
TI  - Fermi-level pinning of Ag on Si(111)-(7 x 7).

PMID- 9981022
TI  - Analytic modeling of the conductance in quantum point contacts with large bias.

PMID- 9981023
TI  - Irradiation-induced defect states in epitaxial n-type Si1-xGex alloy layers.

PMID- 9981024
TI  - Hydrogen adsorption on the GaAs(001)-(2 x 4) surface: A scanning-tunneling
      microscopy study.

PMID- 9981025
TI  - Interface-induced localization in AlSb/InAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9981026
TI  - Quasi-one-dimensional structures and metallization for the deposition of K on
      GaAs(100) As-rich surfaces.

PMID- 9981027
TI  - Quantum regime for in-plane magnetoresistance of double quantum wells.

PMID- 9981029
TI  - Edge structure of fractional quantum Hall systems from density-functional theory.

PMID- 9981028
TI  - Magnetophotoluminescence measurement of the formation time of an exciton in
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9981030
TI  - Surface superstructures of quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor beta -(BEDT
      TTF)2PF6 crystal studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9981032
TI  - Bragg diffraction peaks in x-ray diffuse scattering from multilayers with rough
      interfaces.

PMID- 9981031
TI  - Symmetric and asymmetric fission of metal clusters.

PMID- 9981033
TI  - Surface energy and stability of stress-driven discommensurate surface structures.

PMID- 9981034
TI  - Pairing in alkaline-earth-metal-doped fullerenes.

PMID- 9981035
TI  - Dwell time and asymptotic behavior of the probability density.

PMID- 9981036
TI  - Restricted electron motion in a one-dimensional organic conductor: Pulsed
      gradient spin-echo ESR in (fluoroanthene)2PF6.

PMID- 9981037
TI  - Wake potential of a charged particle in a strongly coupled two-dimensional
      electron gas.

PMID- 9981038
TI  - Optical reflectivity and carrier localization in incommensurate misfit layer
      compounds (MS)xTaS2 (M=rare-earth metal, Pb, Sn).

PMID- 9981039
TI  - Electronic structure of NbxMo100-x solid solutions.

PMID- 9981040
TI  - Charge-spin separation in 2D Fermi systems: Singular interactions as modified
      commutators, and solution of the 2D Hubbard model in the bosonized approximation.

PMID- 9981041
TI  - Extension of a local-orbital density-functional method to transition metals:
      Application to Pt(110) surface relaxation.

PMID- 9981042
TI  - Microscopic theory of the pseudogap and Peierls transition in quasi-one
      dimensional materials.

PMID- 9981043
TI  - Unoccupied states and charge transfer in Cu-Pd alloys studied by bremsstrahlung
      isochromat spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and LIII absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981044
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a one-dimensional Wigner crystal ring.

PMID- 9981045
TI  - Partial spectral weights of disordered Cu-Au alloys.

PMID- 9981046
TI  - Generalized local approximation to the exchange potential.

PMID- 9981047
TI  - Temperature dependence of the far-infrared reflectance spectra of Si:P near the
      metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9981049
TI  - Bulk electronic structure of Ce compounds studied by x-ray photoemission and x
      ray absorption spectroscopies.

PMID- 9981048
TI  - Theory of Anderson localization in an electric field.

PMID- 9981050
TI  - Identification of the 1.19-eV luminescence in hexagonal GaN.

PMID- 9981051
TI  - Parity issues, stress results, and oscillator strengths of the rotational
      tunneling (H,Be) and (D,Be) complexes in silicon: The rigid rotor in a
      tetrahedral field.

PMID- 9981052
TI  - Photoluminescence mechanism in hydrogenated amorphous silicon studied by
      frequency-resolved spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981053
TI  - Properties of intrinsic point defects in silicon determined by zinc diffusion
      experiments under nonequilibrium conditions.

PMID- 9981054
TI  - Free-exciton states in crystalline GaTe.

PMID- 9981055
TI  - Self-interaction corrections in semiconductors.

PMID- 9981056
TI  - Vacancy model for substitutional Ni-, Pd-, Pt-, and Au0 in silicon.

PMID- 9981057
TI  - Sn submonolayer-mediated Ge heteroepitaxy on Si(001).

PMID- 9981058
TI  - Ultrahigh-magnetic-field cyclotron resonance in a two-dimensional electron gas at
      the grain boundary of Hg1-x-yCdxMnyTe.

PMID- 9981059
TI  - Absorption of Li on the Si(100)2 x 1 surface studied with high-resolution core
      level spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981061
TI  - Time-resolved photoluminescence of pseudomorphic SiGe quantum wells.

PMID- 9981060
TI  - As overlayer on GaAs(110) studied with photoemission.

PMID- 9981062
TI  - Exciton localization by a fractional monolayer of ZnTe inserted in a wide CdTe
      quantum well.

PMID- 9981063
TI  - Energy-selective reaction of the hydrogen-passivated Si surface with carbon
      tetrafluoride via dissociative electron attachment.

PMID- 9981064
TI  - Magnetoconductance oscillations in periodically modulated quasi-one-dimensional
      electron systems.

PMID- 9981065
TI  - Elasticity-based theory of misfit-induced structural defects at semiconductor
      interfaces.

PMID- 9981066
TI  - Bound states of a negative test charge due to many-body effects in the two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9981067
TI  - Coulomb-blockade oscillations in a quantum dot strongly coupled to leads.

PMID- 9981069
TI  - Simulation of a lattice model for the evolution of Si(001) surfaces exposed to
      oxygen at elevated temperatures.

PMID- 9981068
TI  - Network model of localization in a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9981070
TI  - Elastic light scattering from semiconductor structures: Localized versus
      propagating intermediate electronic excitations.

PMID- 9981071
TI  - Theory of strong inelastic cotunneling.

PMID- 9981072
TI  - Surface morphology of Ge(001) during etching by low-energy ions.

PMID- 9981073
TI  - Properties of the yellow luminescence in undoped GaN epitaxial layers.

PMID- 9981075
TI  - Low-energy vibrations at the InSb(110) surface.

PMID- 9981074
TI  - Low-temperature nonequilibrium transport in a Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9981076
TI  - Fermi-liquid analysis on a Wolff model for resonant tunneling through a single
      quantum level.

PMID- 9981077
TI  - Family of low-energy elongated Sin (n <= 50) clusters.

PMID- 9981078
TI  - Reflectance anisotropy of the GaAs(001) (2 x 4) surface: Ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9981079
TI  - Effects of screening on the Hofstadter butterfly.

PMID- 9981080
TI  - Direct measurement of the free-energy barrier to nucleation from the size
      distribution of dendritic crystallites in a-Si thin films.

PMID- 9981081
TI  - Bragg-confining structures with conventional and effective-mass superlattices.

PMID- 9981083
TI  - Transfer-energy-dependent escape rate of electrons influenced by dynamical flux
      fields.

PMID- 9981082
TI  - Insensitivity to time-reversal symmetry breaking of universal conductance
      fluctuations with Andreev reflection.

PMID- 9981084
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in the presence of an antidot potential.

PMID- 9981085
TI  - Kinetics of interlayer transport prior to nucleation.

PMID- 9981086
TI  - p(n x 1) superstructures of Pb on Cu(110).

PMID- 9981087
TI  - Detachment effects during homoepitaxial growth of compact islands.

PMID- 9981088
TI  - Observation of two successive quantum supershells in a 15 000-electron fermionic
      system.

PMID- 9981089
TI  - Anisotropic thermal displacements of adsorbed atoms and molecules on surfaces
      studied by low-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9981090
TI  - X-ray structure analysis on alkali metals adsorbed on Ge(001)(2 x 1).

PMID- 9981091
TI  - Energetics of steps on Pt(111).

PMID- 9981092
TI  - Small-angle x-ray scattering under grazing incidence: The cross section in the
      distorted-wave Born approximation.

PMID- 9981093
TI  - Effective particle-hole interaction and the optical response of simple-metal
      clusters.

PMID- 9981094
TI  - Growing wetting films: An x-ray study.

PMID- 9981095
TI  - Theory of sputter yield fluctuations and calculation of the variance.

PMID- 9981096
TI  - Surface-dimer and bulk-atom imaging of the Si(001) (2 x 1) surface by Kikuchi
      electron holography.

PMID- 9981097
TI  - Effect of isotopic disorder on the Fu modes in crystalline C60.

PMID- 9981098
TI  - Sum-frequency generation on isotropic surfaces: General phenomenology and
      microscopic theory for jellium surfaces.

PMID- 9981099
TI  - Electron emission via Auger-ion neutralization at surfaces with adsorbed alkali
      metal submonolayers.

PMID- 9981100
TI  - Diffusion in a generalized (dense and mobile) model of a lattice gas.

PMID- 9981101
TI  - Diffusion coefficient for interacting lattice gases: Repulsive interactions.

PMID- 9981102
TI  - Model calculation of the charge transfer in low-energy He+ scattering from
      metallic surfaces.

PMID- 9981103
TI  - Comment on "Gutzwiller approximation in the Fermi hypernetted-chain theory"

PMID- 9981104
TI  - Erratum: Tetrahedral structures and phase transitions in III-V semiconductors

PMID- 9981106
TI  - Erratum: Theoretical study of strained thin quantum wells grown on vicinal
      surfaces

PMID- 9981105
TI  - Erratum: Exact solutions for barrier D- states at high magnetic fields

PMID- 9981108
TI  - Erratum: Optical measurements of electronic band structure in tensile strain
      (Ga,In)P-(Al,Ga,In)P quantum wells

PMID- 9981107
TI  - Erratum: Structure of negatively charged muonium in n-type GaAs

PMID- 9981109
TI  - Polarization and dynamical charge of ZnO within different one-particle schemes.

PMID- 9981111
TI  - Evidence for deterministic chaos as the origin of electrical tree breakdown
      structures in polymeric insulation.

PMID- 9981110
TI  - Direct observation of a narrow band near the gap edge of FeSi.

PMID- 9981112
TI  - Strong optical nonlinearities in porous silicon: Femtosecond nonlinear
      transmission study.

PMID- 9981114
TI  - Theory for quantum-dot quantum wells: Pair correlation and internal quantum
      confinement in nanoheterostructures.

PMID- 9981113
TI  - External-field-induced electric dipole moment of biexcitons in a semiconductor.

PMID- 9981115
TI  - Theory of the adatom-induced reconstruction of the SiC(0001) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3
      surface.

PMID- 9981116
TI  - Symmetry-breaking instabilities in symmetric coupled-quantum-dot structures.

PMID- 9981117
TI  - Effect of surface termination on the electrical conductivity and broad-band
      internal infrared reflectance of a diamond (110) surface.

PMID- 9981118
TI  - Carrier-distribution-dependent band-gap renormalization in modulation-doped
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9981120
TI  - Resonant tunneling through two impurities in disordered barriers.

PMID- 9981119
TI  - Room-temperature conductance spectroscopy of CdSe quantum dots using a modified
      scanning force microscope.

PMID- 9981121
TI  - MBE growth and study of strain-compensated AlzGa1-z-xInxAs/AluGa1-u-vInvAs/InP
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9981122
TI  - Valence-band physics and the optical properties of GaN epilayers grown onto
      sapphire with wurtzite symmetry.

PMID- 9981123
TI  - Composite fermions and Landau-level mixing in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9981124
TI  - Response function of a two-dimensional electron gas in a unidirectional periodic
      potential.

PMID- 9981125
TI  - Transport in an inhomogeneous interacting one-dimensional system.

PMID- 9981126
TI  - Landau-level mixing and extended states in the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9981127
TI  - One-dimensional band structures: Rare gases on Pt(110)1 x 2.

PMID- 9981129
TI  - Nonlinear plasmon response in highly excited metallic clusters.

PMID- 9981128
TI  - X-ray diffuse-scattering study of interfacial morphology and conformal roughness
      in metallic multilayers.

PMID- 9981130
TI  - Misfit accommodation in heteroepitaxy by inclined stacking faults.

PMID- 9981131
TI  - Atom-specific surface magnetometry.

PMID- 9981132
TI  - Fundamental studies on the structures and properties of some B12-based crystals.

PMID- 9981133
TI  - Effects of quantum fluctuations on the photoinduced midgap absorption in an MX
      chain complex

PMID- 9981135
TI  - Electron relaxation in the conduction band of wide-band-gap oxides.

PMID- 9981134
TI  - Inelastic processes versus diffraction effects: Polar-angle energy-loss spectra
      of the graphite K edge.

PMID- 9981136
TI  - Electrons in extended systems.

PMID- 9981137
TI  - Midgap states in doped Mott insulators in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9981138
TI  - Linked-cluster expansion around mean-field theories of interacting electrons.

PMID- 9981140
TI  - Electronic structure and superconductivity in strongly correlated systems in the
      pseudogap regime.

PMID- 9981139
TI  - From the atomic limit to a metal-insulator transition in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981141
TI  - Exact exchange potential band-structure calculations for simple metals: Li, Na,
      K, Rb, and Ca.

PMID- 9981142
TI  - Excitons in C60 studied by temperature-dependent optical second-harmonic
      generation.

PMID- 9981143
TI  - Low-temperature electron mobility studied by cyclotron resonance in ultrapure
      GaAs crystals.

PMID- 9981144
TI  - Composition and temperature-induced effects on the phonon spectra of narrow-band
      gap Hg1-xCdxTe.

PMID- 9981146
TI  - Length mismatch in random semiconductor alloys. IV. General multinary compounds.

PMID- 9981145
TI  - Deep-center photoluminescence in nitrogen-doped ZnSe.

PMID- 9981147
TI  - Low-energy Raman scattering from Co2+ electronic transitions in CdS:Co.

PMID- 9981148
TI  - Magnetopolaron effect on the donor transition energies in ZnSe.

PMID- 9981149
TI  - Warm-electron power loss in GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs multiple quantum wells: Well-width
      dependence.

PMID- 9981150
TI  - {111} defects in 1-MeV-silicon-ion-implanted silicon.

PMID- 9981151
TI  - Ab initio study of hydrogen adsorption on the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface.

PMID- 9981152
TI  - Photocarrier recombination in AlyIn1-yAs/AlxGa1-xAs self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9981153
TI  - Electronic transport in nanostructures consisting of magnetic barriers.

PMID- 9981154
TI  - Free-carrier effects on the excitonic absorption of n-type modulation-doped Zn1
      xCdxSe/ZnSe multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9981155
TI  - Two-dimensional states at the HgTe/Hg0.05Cd0.95Te interface as determined from
      the tunneling investigations.

PMID- 9981156
TI  - Theory of electromagnetic response and collective excitations in antidots.

PMID- 9981157
TI  - Dimer-vacancy defects on the Si(001)-2 x 1 and the Ni-contaminated Si(001)-2 x n
      surfaces.

PMID- 9981159
TI  - Self-interaction-corrected density-functional theory of subband renormalization
      in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9981158
TI  - Quantum Boltzmann equation of composite fermions interacting with a gauge field.

PMID- 9981160
TI  - Ultrafast relaxation and transfer of charge carriers in type-II heterodoping (n-i
      p-i) superlattices.

PMID- 9981162
TI  - Two-dimensional electrons in lateral magnetic superlattices.

PMID- 9981161
TI  - Excitonic superradiance to exciton-polariton crossover and the pole
      approximations.

PMID- 9981163
TI  - GaAs(110) surface electronic structure by metastable deexcitation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981164
TI  - Conductance and its fluctuations in disordered systems: Scaling behavior from a
      ballistic to localized limit.

PMID- 9981165
TI  - Coexistence of the Franz-Keldysh and Wannier-Stark effect in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981166
TI  - Collapse of spin splitting in the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9981167
TI  - Hydrogen interaction with Sb-terminated GaAs and InP (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9981168
TI  - Spectral and transport characteristics of an arbitrarily bent planar quantum
      electron guide.

PMID- 9981169
TI  - Contacts and edge-state equilibration in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9981170
TI  - Unified approach to electron transport in double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9981171
TI  - Statistics of prelocalized states in disordered conductors.

PMID- 9981173
TI  - Theoretical studies of multishell fullerenes.

PMID- 9981172
TI  - Temporal dynamics of a magnetoexciton in a quantum well.

PMID- 9981174
TI  - Positronium formation and the phases of two-dimensional oxygen physisorbed on
      graphite.

PMID- 9981175
TI  - Indium-induced layer-by-layer growth and suppression of twin formation in the
      homoepitaxial growth of Cu(111).

PMID- 9981176
TI  - Electronic structure of ultrathin ordered iron oxide films grown onto Pt(111).

PMID- 9981178
TI  - Equilibration of crystal surfaces.

PMID- 9981177
TI  - Binding of electrons to the surface of helium clusters.

PMID- 9981179
TI  - Theoretical study of the stability of beryllium oxide (110) and (001) surfaces in
      dense wurtzite and layered graphitic phases.

PMID- 9981180
TI  - Silica-aerogel thermal expansion induced by submonolayer helium adsorption.

PMID- 9981181
TI  - Grazing-incidence neutron diffraction by thin films with resonance enhancement.

PMID- 9981182
TI  - Neutron and x-ray scattering off atomic clusters.

PMID- 9981183
TI  - High-quality epitaxial growth of gamma -alumina films on alpha -alumina sapphire
      induced by ion-beam bombardment.

PMID- 9981184
TI  - Calculation of effective Coulomb interaction for Pr3+, U4+, and UPt3.

PMID- 9981185
TI  - First-principles calculations of the Coulomb pseudopotential micro*: Application
      to Al.

PMID- 9981186
TI  - Fullerene nanotubes in electric fields.

PMID- 9981187
TI  - Optical gap of CuO.

PMID- 9981189
TI  - Effect of nonlocal corrections to the local-density approximation on total-energy
      calculations of K, Rb, and Cs.

PMID- 9981188
TI  - Effect of k-space integration on self-consistent surface magnetic anisotropy
      calculations.

PMID- 9981190
TI  - Exciton magnetophotoluminescence affected by magnetic polarons and alloy
      fluctuations in Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9981191
TI  - Origin and nature of the band gap in beta -FeSi2.

PMID- 9981192
TI  - Cathodoluminescence from interband transitions in germanium (111) and gallium
      arsenide (100) crystals.

PMID- 9981193
TI  - Impact ionization rate in ZnS.

PMID- 9981194
TI  - Role of d electrons in the zinc-blende semiconductors ZnS, ZnSe, and ZnTe.

PMID- 9981195
TI  - Optical absorption near the fundamental absorption edge in GaSb.

PMID- 9981196
TI  - Transition behavior from coupled to uncoupled CdTe/ZnTe asymmetric double quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9981197
TI  - Anomalous quenching of photoemission from bulk states by deposition of Cs on
      InAs(100).

PMID- 9981198
TI  - Direct optical transitions in indirect semiconductors: The case of Ge twinning
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981199
TI  - Defectlike nature of the interface in AB/CD-type superlattices.

PMID- 9981200
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of Pb on Si(111).

PMID- 9981201
TI  - Temperature dependence of the shallow-donor bound-exciton-emission linewidth in
      high-purity InP.

PMID- 9981202
TI  - Interface phonons in spherical GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9981203
TI  - Exciton recombination dynamics in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9981204
TI  - Short-range correlation in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9981205
TI  - Emission of transverse acoustic phonons by two-dimensional electrons due to
      heterointerface vibrations.

PMID- 9981206
TI  - Effect of a parallel magnetic field on the resonant-tunneling current through a
      quantum wire.

PMID- 9981207
TI  - Scattering matrix of a three-terminal junction in one dimension.

PMID- 9981208
TI  - Angular pinning and domain structure of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal in a III
      V semiconductor.

PMID- 9981210
TI  - Three-dimensional energy band in stage-1 acceptor graphite intercalation
      compounds.

PMID- 9981211
TI  - Electronic states and stability of selenium clusters.

PMID- 9981209
TI  - Charge accumulation in the two-dimensional electron gas emitter of a resonant
      tunneling diode.

PMID- 9981212
TI  - Quantitative structural analysis of fcc Fe(2 x 1) on Cu(001): A medium-energy ion
      scattering study.

PMID- 9981213
TI  - Surface structural transformations during ammonia oxidation on Rh(110).

PMID- 9981214
TI  - Work function and surface energy of optimized lithium slabs.

PMID- 9981215
TI  - Electronic-structure-induced deformations of liquid metal clusters.

PMID- 9981216
TI  - Up-converted luminescence and excited-state excitation spectroscopy of Cr4+ ions
      in forsterite.

PMID- 9981217
TI  - Effects of electrostatic field on the phase properties of mixed-stack organic
      charge-transfer compounds.

PMID- 9981218
TI  - Electronic structure of the semimetals Bi and Sb.

PMID- 9981219
TI  - Phase transition and electron localization in 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9981220
TI  - 3d-resonance-photoemission study of CeB6 and PrB6.

PMID- 9981221
TI  - Gauge properties of k

PMID- 9981222
TI  - Band theory of linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of some binary ionic
      insulators.

PMID- 9981224
TI  - Electronic structure approach for complex silicas.

PMID- 9981223
TI  - Solution of the Boltzmann equation for multilayer systems.

PMID- 9981225
TI  - Theoretical zero-temperature phase diagram for neptunium metal.

PMID- 9981227
TI  - Anderson localization in anisotropic electronic systems under the influence of
      weak external electric and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981226
TI  - Total-energy global optimizations using nonorthogonal localized orbitals.

PMID- 9981228
TI  - Gaps in the Heisenberg-Ising model.

PMID- 9981229
TI  - Photochemical reactions in GeO2-SiO2 glasses induced by ultraviolet irradiation:
      Comparison between Hg lamp and excimer laser.

PMID- 9981230
TI  - Deep-acceptor-mediated photoquenching of the midgap donor EL2 in semi-insulating
      GaAs.

PMID- 9981231
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of trans-polysilene (SiH)x: Many-body
      perturbation theory versus density-functional methods.

PMID- 9981232
TI  - EPR spectra and magnetization of Eu2+ ions in PbSe.

PMID- 9981233
TI  - Electron-hole interaction effects in the absorption spectra of phenylene-based
      conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9981235
TI  - Nonlinear response and driven chaos in n-type GaAs compensated with Ni
      impurities.

PMID- 9981234
TI  - Defect-induced absorption-band-edge values in beta -FeSi2.

PMID- 9981236
TI  - Minority-carrier-induced release of hydrogen from donors in silicon.

PMID- 9981237
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of the vacancy and vacancy-hydrogen interactions in
      silicon.

PMID- 9981238
TI  - Electron correlation effects in screened hydrogenic impurity states in many
      valley semiconductors.

PMID- 9981240
TI  - Dynamic response of a two-dimensional electron gas: Exact treatment of Coulomb
      exchange in the random-phase approximation.

PMID- 9981239
TI  - Energies and structural properties of hydrogen and related defects in molecular
      dynamics-modeled a-Si:H.

PMID- 9981241
TI  - Transition from chaotic to regular behavior of electrons in a stadium-shaped
      quantum dot in a perpendicular magnetic field.

PMID- 9981242
TI  - Two-dimensional magnetic polarons: Anisotropic spin structure of the ground state
      and magneto-optical properties.

PMID- 9981243
TI  - Growth mechanism of thin silicon oxide films on Si(100) studied by medium-energy
      ion scattering.

PMID- 9981244
TI  - Influence of different phonon modes on the exciton ground-state energy in a
      quantum well in an electric field.

PMID- 9981245
TI  - Charge transport in thin films of semiconducting oligothiophenes.

PMID- 9981246
TI  - Breakdown of correlated diffusion in quasiballistic quantum wires at high
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981247
TI  - Bulk exciton polaritons in GaAs microcavities.

PMID- 9981248
TI  - Auger-electron diffraction in the low kinetic-energy range: The Si(111)7 x 7
      surface reconstruction and Ge/Si interface formation.

PMID- 9981249
TI  - Ballistic-electron-emission-microscopy investigation of hot-carrier transport in
      epitaxial CoSi2 films on Si(100) and Si(111).

PMID- 9981250
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential calculations of the band lineups at strained ZnS/ZnSe
      interfaces: Including the 3d electrons of Zn as valence states.

PMID- 9981252
TI  - Infrared absorption due to two-dimensional-electron-gas collective excitation in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9981251
TI  - Boundary-structure determination of Ag/Si(111) interfaces by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9981253
TI  - Adsorption of Li, Cs, and O on CdTe.

PMID- 9981254
TI  - Anomalous low-temperature dopant diffusivity and defect structure in Sb- and Sb/B
      implanted annealed silicon samples.

PMID- 9981255
TI  - Influence of electron temperature and carrier concentration on electron-LO-phonon
      intersubband scattering in wide GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9981256
TI  - Joule heat in point contacts.

PMID- 9981257
TI  - Tunneling magnetoplasmon excitations in the semiclassical limit and integer
      quantum Hall regime for double-quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9981258
TI  - Efficient scheme for GW quasiparticle band-structure calculations with
      applications to bulk Si and to the Si(001)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9981260
TI  - Behavior of the energy gap near a commensurate-incommensurate transition in
      double-layer quantum Hall systems at nu =1.

PMID- 9981259
TI  - First-principles study of the structural properties of MgS-, MgSe-, ZnS-, and
      ZnSe-based superlattices.

PMID- 9981261
TI  - Persistent currents in a quantum ring: Effects of impurities and interactions.

PMID- 9981262
TI  - Nonlocal electrodynamics of arrays of quantum dots.

PMID- 9981263
TI  - Possible mechanism for the room-temperature stabilization of the Ge(111) T>300
      degreesC phase by Ga.

PMID- 9981264
TI  - Tunneling of laser-generated free electrons in semiconductor double wells.

PMID- 9981265
TI  - Optical properties of (311)-oriented GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9981266
TI  - Analytical solutions for the optical absorption of semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9981267
TI  - Transport in quasi-two-dimensional systems under a weak magnetic field.

PMID- 9981268
TI  - Correlation effects in the impurity-limited mobility of quantum wires.

PMID- 9981269
TI  - III-V(110) surface dynamics from an ab initio frozen-phonon approach.

PMID- 9981271
TI  - Finite-difference approach to edge-state transport in quantum wires and
      multiterminal devices.

PMID- 9981270
TI  - Macroscopic Coulomb-blockade effect in a constant-current-driven light-emitting
      diode.

PMID- 9981272
TI  - Coupling between surface-polariton and edge-plasmon excitations in coupled finite
      half-plane superlattices.

PMID- 9981273
TI  - Theoretical investigation of Na adsorption on the Al(111) surface.

PMID- 9981274
TI  - Dynamic-scaling exponents and the roughening kinetics of gold electrodeposits.

PMID- 9981275
TI  - Ion-surface interactions in the electron-stimulated desorption of Cl+ from
      Cl2/Si(111)-7 x 7.

PMID- 9981276
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscope investigation of a 215-MeV Ne-irradiated graphite
      surface.

PMID- 9981277
TI  - Quenching of metal sticking by photo-oxidation of an amorphous semiconductor: Zn
      on GeS2.

PMID- 9981278
TI  - Heterodeposition on metallic surfaces: Structure and energetics in the Pd/Ag(110)
      and Pt/Ag(110) systems.

PMID- 9981279
TI  - Evidence for an inhomogeneous-homogeneous transition in the surface local
      electrostatic potential of K-covered Al(100).

PMID- 9981280
TI  - Electronic structures of C60 and C70 adsorbed on the Cu(111) surface and
      intramolecular STM images.

PMID- 9981282
TI  - Mechanism of carbon nanotube formation in the arc discharge.

PMID- 9981281
TI  - H2S interaction with Cu(100)-(2 sqrt 2 x sqrt 2 )R45 degrees-O: Formation of a
      metastable ||05 52||-sulfur surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9981283
TI  - Nonlinear photomagnetism of metals: Theory of nonlinear photoinduced dc current.

PMID- 9981285
TI  - Kinetics of nonequilibrium shape change in gold clusters.

PMID- 9981284
TI  - Reconstructed Sc2C84 monolayer on the Ag(111)1 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9981287
TI  - Structure and dynamics of the Cu(001) surface investigated by medium-energy ion
      scattering.

PMID- 9981286
TI  - Segregation profiles in Cu3Au above the order-disorder transition.

PMID- 9981288
TI  - Theoretical study of cubic structures based on fullerene carbon clusters: C28C
      and (C28)2.

PMID- 9981290
TI  - Adsorption-site mixing at a continuous order-disorder phase transition.

PMID- 9981289
TI  - Optical and electrical properties of thin films.

PMID- 9981291
TI  - Phonon-libron dynamics of a commensurate molecular monolayer: (2 x 1)
      CO2/NaCl(100).

PMID- 9981292
TI  - Kinetics of surface steps in the presence of impurities: Patterns and
      instabilities.

PMID- 9981293
TI  - Helium-atom-scattering study of the dispersion curves of step-localized phonons
      on Cu(211) and Cu(511).

PMID- 9981295
TI  - All-electron local and gradient-corrected density-functional calculations of Nan
      dipole polarizabilities for n=1-6.

PMID- 9981294
TI  - Stability of periodic domain structures in a two-dimensional dipolar model.

PMID- 9981296
TI  - Comment on "Observation of time-nonreversible optical interaction with zinc
      blende semiconductors"

PMID- 9981298
TI  - Many-body calculation of the magnetic, optical, and charge-transfer spectra of
      solid oxygen in the alpha and beta phases.

PMID- 9981297
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Observation of time-nonreversible optical interaction with
      zinc-blende semiconductors' "

PMID- 9981299
TI  - Electronic structure of the misfit-layer compound (SnS)1.17NbS2 deduced from band
      structure calculations and photoelectron spectra.

PMID- 9981300
TI  - Dual-space approach for density-functional calculations of two- and three
      dimensional crystals using Gaussian basis functions.

PMID- 9981302
TI  - Parameter consistency in multienergetic k

PMID- 9981301
TI  - Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopic study of oriented p-sexiphenyl: Wave
      number conservation and blurring in a short model compound of poly(p-phenylene).

PMID- 9981303
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of KNiF3 perovskite.

PMID- 9981305
TI  - Effect of hole doping on the electronic structure of Nd1-xSrxTiO3.

PMID- 9981304
TI  - X-ray emission, photoelectron spectra, and electronic structure of Sr2CuO2F2+
      delta.

PMID- 9981306
TI  - Slave-particle quantization and sum rules in the t-J model.

PMID- 9981307
TI  - Analytic treatment of Mott-Hubbard transition in the half-filled Hubbard model
      and its thermodynamics.

PMID- 9981308
TI  - Ab initio study of antiferromagnetic rutile-type FeF2.

PMID- 9981309
TI  - Correct continuum limit of the functional-integral representation for the four
      slave-boson approach to the Hubbard model: Paramagnetic phase.

PMID- 9981310
TI  - Single-particle spectral density of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981312
TI  - Dynamical correlations in a Hubbard chain with a resonating-valence-bond ground
      state.

PMID- 9981311
TI  - Fermi surface of ferromagnetic fcc cobalt.

PMID- 9981313
TI  - Atomic screening and intersite Coulomb repulsion in strongly correlated systems.

PMID- 9981315
TI  - Density-functional theory on a lattice: Comparison with exact numerical results
      for a model with strongly correlated electrons.

PMID- 9981314
TI  - Calculation of elastic constants in UC, US, and UTe.

PMID- 9981316
TI  - Consistent thermodynamic study of the solid and liquid phases of tungsten.

PMID- 9981317
TI  - Midinfrared picosecond spectroscopy studies of Auger recombination in InSb.

PMID- 9981318
TI  - Interaction between copper and point defects in silicon irradiated with 2-MeV
      electrons.

PMID- 9981319
TI  - Real-space coupled-oscillator approach to the radiative decay of conjugated
      polymers.

PMID- 9981320
TI  - Phonon confinement in GaAs by defect formation studied by real-time Raman
      measurements.

PMID- 9981321
TI  - Band-edge dynamics and trapping in ZnSe crystals.

PMID- 9981322
TI  - Application of generalized gradient approximations: The diamond- beta -tin phase
      transition in Si and Ge.

PMID- 9981323
TI  - Theory of electron two-band self-trapping in atomic soft configurations:
      Hybridization of states, formation of negative-U centers, and anharmonic atomic
      dynamics.

PMID- 9981324
TI  - Chemisorption of Cl on the Si(100)-2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9981325
TI  - Adsorption of K on Si(100)2 x 1 at room temperature studied with photoelectron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981326
TI  - Trap distribution for charge carriers in poly(paraphenylene vinylene) (PPV) and
      its substituted derivative DPOP-PPV.

PMID- 9981327
TI  - Comparison between the electronic dielectric functions of a GaAs/AlAs
      superlattice and its bulk components by spectroscopic ellipsometry using core
      levels.

PMID- 9981328
TI  - Spectroscopy of the optical vibrational modes in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures
      with monolayer-wide AlxGa1-xAs barriers.

PMID- 9981329
TI  - Dynamic interaction of bulk acoustic waves with a two-dimensional electron gas at
      an AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterojunction in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981330
TI  - Green's-function study of the electron tunneling in a double-barrier
      heterostructure.

PMID- 9981331
TI  - Quantization of excitons in CuCl epitaxial thin films: Behavior between a two
      dimensional quantum well and the bulk.

PMID- 9981333
TI  - Temperature dependence of phase breaking in ballistic quantum dots.

PMID- 9981332
TI  - Polarization retention in the visible photoluminescence of porous silicon.

PMID- 9981334
TI  - Size-mismatch disorder at the surface of semiconductors.

PMID- 9981336
TI  - X-ray standing-wave study of an Sb-terminated GaAs(001)-(2 x 4) surface.

PMID- 9981335
TI  - Smoothed density of states of electrons and smoothed frequency spectrum of
      phonons for a mesoscopic system.

PMID- 9981337
TI  - Microscopic mechanisms governing exciton-decay kinetics in type-II GaAs/AlAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981339
TI  - Excitons in type-II quantum dots: Finite offsets.

PMID- 9981338
TI  - Influence of light on the confinement potential of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9981340
TI  - Theory of mesoscopic transport in disordered wires.

PMID- 9981341
TI  - Energy gaps of semiconducting nanotubules.

PMID- 9981342
TI  - Dynamic response and thermodynamics of mesoscopic metal rings at constant
      particle number.

PMID- 9981343
TI  - Many-electron effects on ballistic transport.

PMID- 9981344
TI  - W

PMID- 9981346
TI  - Quantum many-body states of excitons in a small quantum dot.

PMID- 9981345
TI  - Transmission resonances and zeros in multiband models.

PMID- 9981347
TI  - Antiresonant hopping conductance and negative magnetoresistance in quantum-box
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981349
TI  - Magnetotransport phenomena in periodically delta -doped structures.

PMID- 9981348
TI  - Linewidth analysis of the photoluminescence of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells
      (x=0.09, 0.18, 1.0).

PMID- 9981350
TI  - Composite-fermion description of correlated electrons in quantum dots: Low-Zeeman
      energy limit.

PMID- 9981351
TI  - Ballistic transport in electron stub tuners: Shape and temperature dependence,
      tuning of the conductance output, and resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9981352
TI  - Method for calculating photo- and electroreflectance spectra from semiconductor
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9981354
TI  - Density profile in a weakly modulated two-dimensional system in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9981353
TI  - Oscillations in the diffusion thermopower of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9981356
TI  - Directed inelastic hopping of electrons through metal-insulator-metal tunnel
      junctions.

PMID- 9981355
TI  - Rectification coefficient of a quantum dot with interacting electrons.

PMID- 9981357
TI  - Multiple-scattering effect of surface-plasmon polaritons in light emission from
      tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9981358
TI  - Effects of nonlocal ion pseudopotential on the electronic shell structure of
      metal clusters.

PMID- 9981359
TI  - Surface disordering without surface roughening.

PMID- 9981360
TI  - Generation of optical standing waves around mesoscopic surface structures:
      Scattering and light confinement.

PMID- 9981362
TI  - Effect of small-cluster mobility and dissociation on the island density in
      epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9981361
TI  - Quantum theory of infrared-reflection spectroscopy from adsorbate-covered metal
      surfaces in the anomalous-skin-effect frequency region.

PMID- 9981363
TI  - Anisotropic roughening of vicinally miscut Ag(110): X-ray-reflection profile
      analysis using the domain-matrix method.

PMID- 9981364
TI  - Incommensurate structures and epitaxial growth of Li on Ru(0001): A quantitative
      low-energy electron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9981365
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of polymeric fullerene chains.

PMID- 9981366
TI  - Three-dimensional reconstruction by holographic LEED: Proper identification of
      the reference wave.

PMID- 9981367
TI  - Comparison of molecular dynamics and variational transition-state-theory
      calculations of the rate constant for H-atom association with the diamond {111}
      surface.

PMID- 9981368
TI  - Structural determination of the S-passivated InP(100)-(1 x 1) surface by
      dynamical low-energy electron-diffraction analysis.

PMID- 9981370
TI  - Onset of d screening in alkali and alkaline earths.

PMID- 9981369
TI  - Influence of multiple elastic and inelastic scattering on photoelectron line
      shape.

PMID- 9981371
TI  - Linewidth of intramolecular vibrations of carbon monoxide adsorbate on metal
      surfaces: A possible mechanism.

PMID- 9981373
TI  - Multiple-scattering calculations of x-ray-absorption spectra.

PMID- 9981372
TI  - Nonadiabatic effects in charge transfer in atom-surface scattering.

PMID- 9981374
TI  - Spin-split masses and metamagnetic behavior of almost-localized fermions.

PMID- 9981375
TI  - Photonic band gaps in a two-dimensional graphite structure.

PMID- 9981376
TI  - Change of electronic properties on the doping-induced insulator-metal transition
      in La1-xSrxVO3.

PMID- 9981378
TI  - Real-space adaptive-coordinate electronic-structure calculations.

PMID- 9981377
TI  - Mixed-space formalism for the dielectric response in periodic systems.

PMID- 9981379
TI  - Effect of non-Ohmic back contacts in capacitance transient measurements on
      hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9981380
TI  - Charge-density-wave dynamics in the molecular conductor (perylene)2Pt(mnt)2
      (mnt=maleonitriledithiolate).

PMID- 9981381
TI  - Suppression of the Auger recombination due to spin polarization of excess
      carriers and Mn2+ ions in the semimagnetic semiconductor Cd0.95Mn0.05S.

PMID- 9981382
TI  - Dependence of the electron mobility on the acceptor concentration in Si delta 
      doped GaAs.

PMID- 9981384
TI  - Surface reconstructions of zinc-blende GaN/GaAs(001) in plasma-assisted molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9981383
TI  - Band-structure analysis of the conduction-band mass anisotropy in 6H and 4H SiC.

PMID- 9981385
TI  - Stochastic resonance and nonlinear response in double-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9981386
TI  - Excitons in high magnetic fields in disordered two-dimensional systems: Weak
      localization effects for composite neutral particles.

PMID- 9981387
TI  - Evidence for a photocurrent Fano resonance in an artificial nanostructure.

PMID- 9981388
TI  - Reconstruction of the GaAs(001) surface induced by submonolayer Si deposition.

PMID- 9981390
TI  - Dispersion of optical second-harmonic generation from Si(111)7 x 7.

PMID- 9981389
TI  - Temperature dependence of the free-exciton-emission linewidth in high-purity InP.

PMID- 9981391
TI  - Accommodation of strain in ultrathin InAs/GaAs films.

PMID- 9981393
TI  - Time-resolved nonlinear luminescence of biexcitons in ZnSe-ZnxMg1-xSySe1-y single
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9981392
TI  - Nanocrystalline Ge filaments in the pores of a mesosilicate.

PMID- 9981395
TI  - Zero-bias anomaly of tunneling into the edge of a two-dimensional electron
      system.

PMID- 9981394
TI  - Crossover from global to local rule for the Coulomb blockade in small tunnel
      junctions.

PMID- 9981396
TI  - Ballistic conductance of composite fermions.

PMID- 9981397
TI  - Nonlinear calculation of the stopping power of a two-dimensional electron gas for
      heavy particles.

PMID- 9981398
TI  - Strong-confinement approach for impurities in quantum dots.

PMID- 9981399
TI  - Direct structure determination of a composite double-layer surface alloy by x-ray
      photoelectron diffraction: p(2 x 2)-Na/Al(111).

PMID- 9981400
TI  - Spin dynamics of triplet photoexcitations in C60: Evidence for a dynamic Jahn
      Teller effect.

PMID- 9981401
TI  - The Hofstadter spectrum of the Wigner crystal.

PMID- 9981402
TI  - X-ray-reflectivity fine structure and EXAFS.

PMID- 9981403
TI  - Radiation effects on Li-vacancy ordering in beta -LiAl.

PMID- 9981404
TI  - Melting maximum in alkali metals.

PMID- 9981406
TI  - Mass transport in ionic crystals induced by the ponderomotive action of a high
      frequency electric field.

PMID- 9981405
TI  - Decimation studies of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field: Higher-order limit
      cycles underlying the phase diagram.

PMID- 9981408
TI  - Estimation of the intrinsic magnetic susceptibility of Y1-xUxPd3 and UCu5-xPdx.

PMID- 9981407
TI  - One-dimensional Ising model with long-range interactions: A renormalization-group
      treatment.

PMID- 9981409
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in Cr100-xFex bulk granular alloys.

PMID- 9981410
TI  - Determination of magnetic anisotropy in Fe/Cu multilayers: Equivalence of dynamic
      and static measurements.

PMID- 9981411
TI  - Antiphase domain and magnetic interactions in partially ordered Ni3Mn.

PMID- 9981412
TI  - Nonmonotonic dependence of magnetic viscosity on thermal relaxation rate.

PMID- 9981413
TI  - Topological disorder as an origin of a magnetic moment on Mn in Al-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9981414
TI  - Entropy of spin models by the Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9981415
TI  - Magnetism of Fe on Au(100) in the monolayer limit.

PMID- 9981416
TI  - Anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with open boundary conditions.

PMID- 9981417
TI  - Hall effect and magnetoresistance in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4- delta films.

PMID- 9981419
TI  - Phonon-induced d-wave pairing in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981418
TI  - Critical magnetic field in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9981420
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to the Coulomb pseudopotential for C60.

PMID- 9981421
TI  - Josephson current-phase relationships with unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9981422
TI  - 89Y NMR and Cu NQR of hydrogenated oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3O6.7.

PMID- 9981424
TI  - Properties of YbAgCu4 at high pressures and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981423
TI  - Plastic energies in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9981425
TI  - Ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in KNbO3 at high pressure.

PMID- 9981426
TI  - Crystal structure of germanium quenched from the melt under high pressure.

PMID- 9981427
TI  - Effect of quenching processes on the decay of fast luminescence from barium
      fluoride excited by VUV synchrotron radiation.

PMID- 9981428
TI  - Cathodoluminescence microcharacterization of the defect structure of quartz.

PMID- 9981429
TI  - Dynamics of the freezing process in relaxor ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9981430
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy at the Fe L2,3 threshold in iron oxides.

PMID- 9981431
TI  - Origin of ordering in B2-type transition-metal aluminides: Comparative study of
      the defect properties of PdAl, NiAl, and FeAl.

PMID- 9981432
TI  - EPR of tungsten impurities in KTiOPO4 single crystals grown from molten tungstate
      solutions.

PMID- 9981433
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies on the shock-induced phase transition of a MgF2
      crystal.

PMID- 9981435
TI  - Inelastic scattering of fast electrons by crystals.

PMID- 9981434
TI  - Phase separation, oxygen composition, and a glass transition due to freezing-in
      of the oxygen rearrangement in La2NiO4.094 single crystals.

PMID- 9981436
TI  - Distribution of K ions in intermediate KC60.

PMID- 9981437
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy investigation of the martensitic structural
      transformation in the RCu (R=rare earth) series.

PMID- 9981438
TI  - Phase diagrams of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model for semiconducting alloy
      systems (ABD2)1-x(CD)2x or

PMID- 9981439
TI  - Structural and electrical transport properties of Al-Cu-Cr quasicrystals.

PMID- 9981441
TI  - Effects of synthesis conditions on existence and nonexistence of the ArF excimer
      laser and x-ray induced B2 alpha band in type-III fused silicas.

PMID- 9981440
TI  - Effect of variation in the glass-former network structure on the relaxation
      properties of conductive Ag+ ions in AgI-based fast ion conducting glasses.

PMID- 9981443
TI  - Theory of electron energy loss in a random system of spheres.

PMID- 9981442
TI  - Characterization of free volume in atomic models of metallic glasses.

PMID- 9981444
TI  - Hamiltonian map approach to resonant states in paired correlated binary alloys.

PMID- 9981446
TI  - Observation of transitionlike behavior and a slow thermal relaxation process in
      icosahedral quasicrystals.

PMID- 9981445
TI  - Phonon modes and vibrational entropy of mixing in Fe-Cr.

PMID- 9981447
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of orientational order in liquids and glasses and its
      relation to the glass transition.

PMID- 9981448
TI  - Energy transfer within a regular distribution of donors and acceptors:
      Application to the upconversion dynamics of Er3+:YAlO3 and Er3+:YAG.

PMID- 9981449
TI  - Phonon densities of states and vibrational entropies of ordered and disordered
      Ni3Al.

PMID- 9981451
TI  - Correlated squeezed-state approach for a dissipative two-state system.

PMID- 9981450
TI  - Evaluation of the displacement-displacement correlation function of a one
      dimensional crystal: A comparison of the results of perturbation theory with the
      Mori-Dupuis method.

PMID- 9981452
TI  - Strongly nonlinear response of fractal clusters.

PMID- 9981454
TI  - Theory of nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation in the presence of
      diffusive motion of nuclei.

PMID- 9981453
TI  - Raman scattering from fractals: Simulation on large structures by the method of
      moments.

PMID- 9981455
TI  - Ultrafast vibrational dynamics by time-delayed nondegenerate optical four-wave
      mixing in condensed matter.

PMID- 9981457
TI  - Quantum heat-bath theory of dechanneling.

PMID- 9981456
TI  - Fractal versus quasiclassical diffusive transport in a class of quantum systems.

PMID- 9981458
TI  - Theoretical study on quantum effects in triangular antiferromagnets with axial
      anisotropy using the numerically constructed Bogoliubov transformation for
      magnons.

PMID- 9981459
TI  - Optical-absorption bands by exciton-magnon coupling in quasi-two-dimensional
      antiferromagnets (CnH2n+1NH3)2MnCl4 (n=1,2,3).

PMID- 9981460
TI  - 63,65Cu NMR and NQR study of the Cu2+ electronic state and the spin dynamics in
      the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3.

PMID- 9981461
TI  - Xenon on ferromagnetic surfaces: A spin-resolved photoemission study.

PMID- 9981462
TI  - Magnetoresistance in GeAu thin films exhibiting variable-range-hopping
      conductivity.

PMID- 9981463
TI  - Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of the S=1 Heisenberg chain
      Ni(C2H8N2)2Ni(CN)4: Experiments and theory.

PMID- 9981464
TI  - Magnetic properties of nanostructured CoSm/FeCo films.

PMID- 9981465
TI  - Oscillatory magnetism in compounds of iron with 4d metals.

PMID- 9981466
TI  - Low-temperature magnetoresistance of gamma -phase FexNi80-xCr20 alloys near the
      critical composition for ferromagnetism.

PMID- 9981467
TI  - Magnetoresistance properties of thin films of the metallic oxide ferromagnet
      SrRuO3.

PMID- 9981468
TI  - Magnetic aftereffect experiments at low temperature: Linear response and quantum
      noise.

PMID- 9981469
TI  - Magnetic properties of Gd-Y alloys: Regularities and anomalies.

PMID- 9981470
TI  - Thermoremanent magnetization as a probe of the field-quenched states in spin
      glasses.

PMID- 9981471
TI  - Simultaneous thermodynamic and transport measurements of the field-induced spin
      density-wave transitions in (TMTSF)2ClO4.

PMID- 9981473
TI  - Effects of realistic band structures on the interlayer coupling strengths in
      magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9981472
TI  - Stochastic resonance and phase shifts in superparamagnetic particles.

PMID- 9981474
TI  - Magnetic transitions in triangular antiferromagnets with distorted exchange
      structure.

PMID- 9981475
TI  - Phase transition, longitudinal spin fluctuations, and scaling in a two-layer
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9981476
TI  - Discovery of a spin-singlet ground state with an energy gap in CaCuGe2O6.

PMID- 9981477
TI  - Thermal relaxation in arrays of coupled ferromagnetic particles.

PMID- 9981478
TI  - Magnetic phase transition in the metal-rich rare-earth carbide halides Gd2XC (X=
      Br,I).

PMID- 9981479
TI  - Surface and bulk magnetic properties of pyrite NiS2: Magnetization and neutron
      scattering studies.

PMID- 9981481
TI  - Formation of the Haldane phase by soliton-pair dissociation: Results from a
      cluster approximation.

PMID- 9981480
TI  - Relativistic calculations of the magneto-optical Kerr spectra in (001) and (111)
      US, USe, and UTe.

PMID- 9981482
TI  - Anisotropic magneto-optical Kerr effect of hcp and fcc Co from first principles.

PMID- 9981483
TI  - Cooperative ordering of holes and spins in La2NiO4.125.

PMID- 9981484
TI  - Superfluid Rayleigh criterion.

PMID- 9981485
TI  - Optical observation of thermohydrodynamic flow in thin layers of superfluid 4He
      with a free surface.

PMID- 9981486
TI  - Terahertz transmission of a Ba1-xKxBiO3 film probed by coherent time-domain
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981487
TI  - Thermal conductivity of type-II superconductors in the mixed state: Electron
      vortex scattering.

PMID- 9981488
TI  - Scattering mechanisms in Rb-doped single-crystal C60.

PMID- 9981489
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in superconducting arrays with a general capacitance matrix.

PMID- 9981490
TI  - Tunneling, relaxation of spin-polarized quasiparticles, and spin-charge
      separation in superconductors.

PMID- 9981491
TI  - Spectral properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981492
TI  - Superfluid turbulence in the low-temperature limit.

PMID- 9981493
TI  - Unbiased estimators in quantum Monte Carlo methods: Application to liquid 4He.

PMID- 9981494
TI  - Symmetries and mean-field phases of the extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981495
TI  - Magnetic and superconducting properties of single-crystal TmNi2B2C.

PMID- 9981496
TI  - Magnetism and superconductivity in single-crystal ErNi2B2C.

PMID- 9981497
TI  - Three-dimensional to two-dimensional crossover in layered high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9981498
TI  - Phonon renormalization and c-axis phonon-plasmon mixing in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9981499
TI  - Elastic and nonlinear acoustic properties of YBa2Cu3O7-x ceramics with different
      oxygen contents.

PMID- 9981500
TI  - Electron-spectroscopy investigation of the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y
      single-crystal cleaved surfaces.

PMID- 9981502
TI  - Magnetism of Fe, Ni, and Zn in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4: Comparison of experiment and
      theory.

PMID- 9981501
TI  - Fluctuational phenomenological model for the magnetodissipation in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9981503
TI  - Magnetoconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9981504
TI  - Superconducting-state thermodynamic parameters and anisotropy of HgBa2Can-1CunOy
      by reversible magnetization measurements.

PMID- 9981505
TI  - Thermally induced dimensional crossover in single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9981507
TI  - Identifying the superconducting pairing state of high-Tc oxides by the Josephson
      effect.

PMID- 9981506
TI  - Mixed valency of Pr in a Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7 bilayer.

PMID- 9981508
TI  - Evidence for three-dimensional flux creep in thin-film Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9981510
TI  - Simulated flux-lattice melting and magnetic-field distributions in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9981509
TI  - Angular dependence of microwave dissipation by vortices in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin
      films.

PMID- 9981511
TI  - Superconductivity in ultrathin quench-condensed Pb/Sb and Pb/Ge multilayers.

PMID- 9981512
TI  - Erratum: Magnetic susceptibility of carbon structures

PMID- 9981513
TI  - Modulated structure of NiTa2Se7 in its incommensurate charge-density-wave state
      at 16 K.

PMID- 9981514
TI  - Determination of potentially homogeneous-nucleation-based crystallization in o
      terphenyl and an interpretation of the nucleation-enhancement mechanism.

PMID- 9981515
TI  - Electric-field-gradient calculations on cadmium in cadmium-helium vacancy
      clusters in tungsten.

PMID- 9981516
TI  - Inhomogeneous broadening of optical transitions dominated by low-symmetry crystal
      field components in Cr3+-doped gallogermanates.

PMID- 9981517
TI  - Computer simulation of defects in KTaO3.

PMID- 9981518
TI  - Oxygen defects in BaFBr and BaFCl.

PMID- 9981519
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of self-organized microstructure under irradiation.

PMID- 9981520
TI  - Homogeneous broadening and hyperfine structure of optical transitions in
      Pr3+:Y2SiO5.

PMID- 9981521
TI  - Response of helium bubbles in gold to displacement-cascade damage.

PMID- 9981522
TI  - Pressure-induced strong mode coupling and phase transitions in KNbO3.

PMID- 9981524
TI  - Infrared fundamentals and phase transitions in CO2 up to 50 GPa.

PMID- 9981523
TI  - Origin of the critical scattering on two length scales in SrTiO3: A high-energy
      synchrotron-radiation diffraction study.

PMID- 9981525
TI  - Molecular approach to the modeling of elasticity and piezoelectricity of SiC
      polytypes.

PMID- 9981526
TI  - Structure and ferroelasticity of the ferroelastic crystal KMnCl3.

PMID- 9981527
TI  - Order-disorder transformation in Fe-Al under ball milling.

PMID- 9981529
TI  - Model for vacancy-loop nucleation in displacement cascades.

PMID- 9981528
TI  - Optical transitions of the H centers in alkali halides.

PMID- 9981530
TI  - Structural instabilities in KTaO3 and KNbO3 described by the nonlinear oxygen
      polarizability model.

PMID- 9981532
TI  - 1H and 2H NMR studies of dynamic orientational, translational, and dipolar orders
      in the doubly reentrant liquid crystal 4-cyanobenzoyloxy-

PMID- 9981531
TI  - Defect structure in neutron-irradiated beta -6LiAl and beta -7LiAl: Electrical
      resistivity and Li diffusion.

PMID- 9981533
TI  - Structure and properties of silicon XII: A complex tetrahedrally bonded phase.

PMID- 9981534
TI  - Order-disorder in a model lattice-mismatched binary alloy.

PMID- 9981535
TI  - Unified description of the soft and the relaxational mode in the dielectric
      response of ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9981536
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of the temperature-dependent size of polyelectrolyte chains.

PMID- 9981537
TI  - Disorder and electronic properties of substituted perylene radical-cation salts.

PMID- 9981538
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of liquid boron from a molecular-dynamics
      simulation.

PMID- 9981539
TI  - Interface growth in a two-spin facilitated kinetic Ising model.

PMID- 9981540
TI  - Relationship between structure and conductivity in liquid carbon.

PMID- 9981541
TI  - Lyapunov exponent and transfer-matrix spectrum of the random binary alloy.

PMID- 9981542
TI  - Electron wave transport in coherently absorptive random media.

PMID- 9981543
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of hydrogen diffusion in niobium: Influence of
      imperfections.

PMID- 9981544
TI  - Effects of static crystal field on the homogeneous width of the 5D0-7F0 line of
      Eu3+ and Sm2+ in solids.

PMID- 9981545
TI  - Time- and charge-dependent atom-atom potentials for vibronic coupling in
      nonequilibrium electronic states.

PMID- 9981546
TI  - Phonons in CuGeO3 studied using polarized far-infrared and Raman-scattering
      spectroscopies.

PMID- 9981547
TI  - Polaronic relaxation in perovskites.

PMID- 9981548
TI  - Motion of heavy particles coupled to fermionic and bosonic environments in one
      dimension.

PMID- 9981549
TI  - Critical parameters for the d=3 Ising model in a film geometry.

PMID- 9981550
TI  - Percolation effects in two-component strongly nonlinear composites: Universal
      scaling behavior.

PMID- 9981551
TI  - Quantized spin currents in two-dimensional chiral magnets.

PMID- 9981553
TI  - Net-charge-compensation effects on the crystal field and the spin Hamiltonian for
      the Fe3+ ions at the K+-vacancy sites in Fe3+:KZnF3 and Fe3+:KMgF3 crystals.

PMID- 9981552
TI  - 139La NQR relaxation and microSR study of Zn-doping effects in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9981555
TI  - Magnetic susceptibilities of V3+ in corundum: Magnetic anisotropy at high fields.

PMID- 9981554
TI  - Magnetic properties of a superlattice of amorphous multilayered films.

PMID- 9981556
TI  - Interfacial-roughness effects on giant magnetoresistance and interlayer coupling
      in Co/Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9981557
TI  - Hyperfine-enhanced nuclear polarization in NdGaO3.

PMID- 9981558
TI  - CeCoAl4: An incommensurate antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9981559
TI  - Spin dynamics in pure and Zn-doped CuGeO3 by muon spin relaxation: Spin-Peierls
      and spin-glass transitions.

PMID- 9981560
TI  - Magnetic anomalies in UPd2Ge2 induced by iron doping.

PMID- 9981561
TI  - Micromagnetics at a finite temperature using the ridge optimization method.

PMID- 9981562
TI  - Spin correlations in the two-dimensional quantum s=1/2 XY model.

PMID- 9981563
TI  - Gaussian, exponential, and power-law decay of time-dependent correlation
      functions in quantum spin chains.

PMID- 9981564
TI  - Evolution of a magnetic state in YbCu5-xGax.

PMID- 9981565
TI  - Types of temperature dependence of single-ion magnetic anisotropy constants by
      general thermodynamic considerations.

PMID- 9981566
TI  - Upsilon point in a spin model.

PMID- 9981567
TI  - Photoemission study of valence electrons in La(Co1-xFex)13 (x=0,0.2).

PMID- 9981568
TI  - Toulouse limit of the multichannel Kondo model.

PMID- 9981569
TI  - Domain walls in the quantum transverse Ising model.

PMID- 9981571
TI  - Hole dynamics in generalized spin backgrounds in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9981570
TI  - Incommensurate state of CsCuCl3 in a transverse magnetic field.

PMID- 9981572
TI  - SU(2) coherent-state path integral for the Heisenberg ferromagnet.

PMID- 9981573
TI  - Resonant x-ray and neutron diffraction study of USb0.8Te0.2.

PMID- 9981575
TI  - Redox mechanism for the generation of holes in TlBa1-xSrxLaCuO5+ delta : A
      neutron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9981574
TI  - Bulk and surface magnetism and interplanar spacings in Gd from first-principles
      calculations.

PMID- 9981576
TI  - Critical fields of the superconducting fullerene RbCs2C60.

PMID- 9981577
TI  - Surface barriers, irreversibility line, and pancake vortices in an aligned
      HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta superconductor.

PMID- 9981579
TI  - Far-infrared magnetoconductivity of a high-Tc superconducting film.

PMID- 9981578
TI  - Inductive measurements of UPt3 in the superconducting state.

PMID- 9981580
TI  - Coherence effects in a normal-metal-insulator-superconductor junction.

PMID- 9981581
TI  - Relation between normal-state and superconductive properties of niobium sputtered
      films.

PMID- 9981582
TI  - Microwave surface impedance of proximity-coupled Nb/Al bilayer films.

PMID- 9981583
TI  - Mo6Se8-cluster-based superconducting compounds Cs2Mo12Se14 and Rb4Mo18Se20:
      Evidence for a strongly correlated and anisotropic electron system.

PMID- 9981584
TI  - Transport properties of a three-dimensional array of Josephson junctions in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9981585
TI  - Magnetic vortices in a distributed Josephson junction with electrodes of finite
      thickness.

PMID- 9981586
TI  - Monte Carlo analysis of the two-dimensional XY model. I. Self-consistent boundary
      conditions.

PMID- 9981587
TI  - Monte Carlo analysis of the two-dimensional XY model. II. Comparison with the
      Kosterlitz renormalization-group equations.

PMID- 9981588
TI  - Finite-size effects on the vortex-glass transition in thin YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      films.

PMID- 9981589
TI  - Electronic structure of the surfaces of layered copper oxides.

PMID- 9981590
TI  - Vortex unbinding and layer decoupling in epitaxial Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta films.

PMID- 9981591
TI  - Properties of high-Tc Josephson junctions with Y0.7Ca0.3Ba2Cu3O7- delta barrier
      layers.

PMID- 9981593
TI  - Model of oxygen diffusion in YBa2Cu3O6+x with next-nearest-neighbor hopping: A
      Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9981592
TI  - In-plane penetration-depth anisotropy in a d-wave model.

PMID- 9981594
TI  - Nonlinear U(j) dependence determined directly from low-electric-field E-js curves
      in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9981595
TI  - Sound attenuation by helicon modes in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9981596
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential calculations for the electronic structure of low-Tc
      LuNi2B2C and the related compound LuNiBC.

PMID- 9981598
TI  - Spin-density-wave transition in a two-dimensional spin liquid.

PMID- 9981597
TI  - Spin polarons in the t-t'-J model.

PMID- 9981600
TI  - Random-matrix-theory approach to the intensity distributions of waves propagating
      in a random medium.

PMID- 9981599
TI  - Comment on "Spectrum of 180 degrees Bloch-type domain-wall excitations in yttrium
      iron garnet"

PMID- 9981601
TI  - Origin of the <11/20> atomic short-range order in Au-rich Au-Fe alloys.

PMID- 9981602
TI  - Coulomb gap at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9981603
TI  - Coupled quasiparticle-boson systems: The semiclassical approximation and discrete
      nonlinear Schrodinger equation.

PMID- 9981605
TI  - Electron interaction on the giant magnetoresistance in the perpendicular
      geometry.

PMID- 9981604
TI  - Intrinsic localized spin modes in ferromagnetic chains with on-site anisotropy.

PMID- 9981606
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice.

PMID- 9981607
TI  - Quasiparticle spectrum in a nearly antiferromagnetic Fermi liquid: Shadow and
      flat bands.

PMID- 9981608
TI  - Onset of superconductivity in the antiferromagnetically ordered state of single
      crystal DyNi2B2C.

PMID- 9981609
TI  - Supercurrent force on Andreev-reflected quasiparticles and excess currents.

PMID- 9981611
TI  - Transport properties of extended-s-state superconductors.

PMID- 9981610
TI  - Surface-barrier effects in grain-aligned HgBa2CuO4+ delta, HgBa2CaCu2O6+ delta,
      and HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta compounds.

PMID- 9981612
TI  - Superconducting phase of a two-chain Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981614
TI  - Weak localization coexisting with a magnetic field in a normal-metal
      superconductor microbridge.

PMID- 9981613
TI  - Competition between magnetism and superconductivity in TmNi2B2C observed by muon
      spin rotation.

PMID- 9981615
TI  - Multilayer pinning in a-axis-oriented EuBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superconducting
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981617
TI  - Evidence for two vortex phase transitions in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films.

PMID- 9981616
TI  - Mixed-state quasiparticle spectrum for d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9981618
TI  - Effect of Zn doping on charge transport in YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9981620
TI  - Conductivity of a metal with inverse-power-law correlated impurities.

PMID- 9981619
TI  - Variations of electronic states in La2-xSrxCuO4 (x=0 to 0.30) investigated by
      scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981621
TI  - Charge and spin dynamics of the two-dimensional t model in leading order of a 1/N
      expansion.

PMID- 9981622
TI  - Two-dimensional t-J model at low electron density.

PMID- 9981623
TI  - Negative magnetoresistance as a result of hopping conduction in polycrystalline
      thin films of beta -FeSi2.

PMID- 9981624
TI  - Exchange interaction in diluted magnetic semiconductors: Crystal-structure
      induced anisotropy.

PMID- 9981625
TI  - Acoustic scattering of electrons in degenerate semiconductors at low lattice
      temperatures.

PMID- 9981627
TI  - Theoretical study on the high-pressure phase transformation in ZnSe.

PMID- 9981626
TI  - Direct observation of electron relaxation in intrinsic GaAs using femtosecond
      pump-probe spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981628
TI  - Polaron effects on the impurity binding energy in quantum wires.

PMID- 9981630
TI  - Retarded electromagnetic response of a spherical quantum dot: A self-consistent
      field calculation.

PMID- 9981629
TI  - Landau-level populations and slow energy relaxation of a two-dimensional electron
      gas probed by tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981631
TI  - In situ study of Fermi-level pinning on n- and p-type GaAs (001) grown by
      molecular-beam epitaxy using photoreflectance.

PMID- 9981632
TI  - Acoustic plasma wave in a quantum-size cylindrical electron-hole plasma.

PMID- 9981633
TI  - Defect creation in amorphous-silicon thin-film transistors.

PMID- 9981634
TI  - Effect of polarization screening length on electron-pump cotunneling errors.

PMID- 9981635
TI  - Observation of persistent spectral hole burning in CuBr quantum dots.

PMID- 9981636
TI  - Observation of spin-splitting crossing between subbands in the optically detected
      cyclotron-resonance spectra of In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As heterojunctions.

PMID- 9981638
TI  - Interedge tunneling and the fractional quantum Hall effect in double-quantum-well
      systems.

PMID- 9981637
TI  - Behavior of In0.48Ga0.52P/(Al0.2Ga0.8)0.52In0.48P quantum-well luminescence as a
      function of temperature.

PMID- 9981639
TI  - Transport properties of a Si/SiGe quantum point contact in the presence of
      impurities.

PMID- 9981641
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy and spectroscopy simulation of the GaAs(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9981640
TI  - Theory of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations around the nu =1/2 filling factor of the
      Landau level: Effect of gauge-field fluctuations.

PMID- 9981642
TI  - Universal correlations in random matrices and one-dimensional particles with long
      range interactions in a confinement potential.

PMID- 9981643
TI  - Weak localization and the transmission matrix.

PMID- 9981644
TI  - Au/GaAs interface annealing study by positron-lifetime spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981645
TI  - Hot-phonon effects in femtosecond luminescence spectra of electron-hole plasmas
      in CdS.

PMID- 9981646
TI  - Determination of the band offset of CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe multiple quantum wells with
      very low x values.

PMID- 9981647
TI  - Bleaching of excitons in a (Zn,Cd)Se/Zn(S,Se)/(Zn,Mg)(S,Se) laser diode under
      lasing conditions.

PMID- 9981648
TI  - Influence of electron-electron scattering on shot noise in diffusive contacts.

PMID- 9981649
TI  - Electron-electron momentum relaxation in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9981650
TI  - Cu-O atomic chains observed on an ultrathin film of Cu(110).

PMID- 9981651
TI  - K-induced surface vibrations on Ni(111).

PMID- 9981652
TI  - Electronic structures and stability of Si60 and C6060 clusters.

PMID- 9981653
TI  - Dynamical screening in Auger processes near metal surfaces.

PMID- 9981655
TI  - Local density of states for the strained V-Ta(100) interface.

PMID- 9981654
TI  - Oxygen diffusion in solid C60: A molecular-dynamics calculation.

PMID- 9981656
TI  - Freezing and melting of mercury in porous glass.

PMID- 9981658
TI  - Reflectance of conducting polypyrrole: Observation of the metal-insulator
      transition driven by disorder.

PMID- 9981657
TI  - Shape isomerism in sodium clusters with 10 <= Z <= 44: Jellium model with
      quadrupole, octupole, and hexadecapole deformations.

PMID- 9981659
TI  - Deducing correlation parameters from optical conductivity in the Bechgaard salts.

PMID- 9981660
TI  - Nonlocal screening effects on core-level photoemission spectra investigated by
      large-cluster models.

PMID- 9981661
TI  - Transport studies in H3PO4-doped polyaniline.

PMID- 9981662
TI  - Two-dimensional Hubbard-Holstein model.

PMID- 9981663
TI  - Resonant photoemission spectra at the 4f and 5p levels of Tm across the 4d-4f
      absorption threshold.

PMID- 9981664
TI  - Plasmon lifetime, zone-boundary collective states, and energy-loss spectra of
      lithium.

PMID- 9981665
TI  - General separability of linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities.

PMID- 9981666
TI  - Geometrical approach to bosonization of D>1 dimensional (non)-Fermi liquids.

PMID- 9981667
TI  - Correlation effects in ionic crystals: The cohesive energy of MgO.

PMID- 9981668
TI  - Excitons, biexcitons, and the band gap in poly(p-phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9981669
TI  - Self-oscillations at photoinduced impurity breakdown in GaAs.

PMID- 9981670
TI  - Relation between the metastability of EL2 and the photosensitivity of local
      vibrational modes in semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9981671
TI  - Microscopic structure of the DX center in Si-doped AlxGa1-xAs: Observation of a
      vacancy by positron-annihilation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981672
TI  - Reaction kinetics of hydrogen-gold complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9981673
TI  - First-principles calculation of Ga-based semiconductors.

PMID- 9981674
TI  - Occupied electronic states of CaSi2 and CaSi: Soft-x-ray-fluorescence
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981676
TI  - Electronic transport in lightly doped CoSb3.

PMID- 9981675
TI  - Size, shape, and composition of luminescent species in oxidized Si nanocrystals
      and H-passivated porous Si.

PMID- 9981677
TI  - Field-induced exciton breaking in conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9981678
TI  - Spatiotemporal dynamics of photon echoes from continuum states in semiconductors.

PMID- 9981679
TI  - Ab initio investigation of the dislocation structure and activation energy for
      dislocation motion in silicon carbide.

PMID- 9981680
TI  - Strain splitting of nitrogen acceptor levels in ZnSe.

PMID- 9981681
TI  - Structural and optoelectronic properties of indium-doped a-Ge:H thin films.

PMID- 9981682
TI  - Properties of gallium-doped hydrogenated amorphous germanium.

PMID- 9981683
TI  - Ab initio calculations of two-photon absorption spectra in semiconductors.

PMID- 9981685
TI  - Aggregate defects of gold and platinum with lithium in silicon: II. Electronic
      structure calculations.

PMID- 9981684
TI  - Aggregate defects of gold and platinum with lithium in silicon: I. Magnetic
      resonance investigations.

PMID- 9981686
TI  - Damped plasma waves in photoexcited plasma in semiconductors.

PMID- 9981687
TI  - Second-sound wave in photoinjected plasma in semiconductors.

PMID- 9981688
TI  - Conditions for conductance quantization in realistic models of atomic-scale
      metallic contacts.

PMID- 9981689
TI  - Boundaries and junctions in two parity-violating models in 2+1 dimensions.

PMID- 9981690
TI  - Laser processes and optical nonlinearities in ZnSe heterostructures.

PMID- 9981691
TI  - Theoretical study of band-edge states in Sn1Gen strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9981693
TI  - Intrinsic high-frequency characteristics of tunneling heterostructure devices.

PMID- 9981692
TI  - Flicker noise induced by dynamic impurities in a quantum point contact.

PMID- 9981694
TI  - Bloch oscillations and other dynamical phenomena of electrons in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981696
TI  - Dynamics of exciton diffusion in SiGe quantum wells on a ssV-groove patterned Si
      substrate.

PMID- 9981695
TI  - Tight-binding study of ZnSe/ZnTe strained superlattices: Determination of the
      band offset from the optical properties.

PMID- 9981697
TI  - Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry study of the growth of amorphous and
      microcrystalline silicon thin films prepared by alternating silicon deposition
      and hydrogen plasma treatment.

PMID- 9981698
TI  - Directional coupling in dual-branch electron-waveguide junctions.

PMID- 9981699
TI  - Diffuse scattering in partially ordered III-V semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9981700
TI  - Anomalous diffusion in a high magnetic field and the quasiparticle density of
      states.

PMID- 9981701
TI  - Heteroepitaxial diamond films on silicon (001): Interface structure and
      crystallographic relations between film and substrate.

PMID- 9981702
TI  - Tilting in the arsenic-induced c(4 x 4) reconstruction of the GaAs{001} surface.

PMID- 9981703
TI  - Aligned carbon-hydrogen complexes in GaAs formed by the decomposition of
      trimethylgallium during low-pressure metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy.

PMID- 9981705
TI  - Current characteristics of the double-barrier Al0.25Ga0.75As/Al0.45Ga0.55As/GaAs
      single-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9981704
TI  - Ultrafast relaxation of photoexcited carriers in semiconductor quantum wires: A
      Monte Carlo approach.

PMID- 9981707
TI  - Effect of spin degeneracy on scaling in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9981706
TI  - Quasi-three-dimensional Green's-function simulation of coupled electron
      waveguides.

PMID- 9981708
TI  - Weak localization effects on spin relaxation of excitons in quantum wells.

PMID- 9981710
TI  - Effects of epitaxial strain and ordering direction on the electronic properties
      of GaSb/InSb and InAs/InSb superlattices.

PMID- 9981709
TI  - Dynamics of an atomic switch computed by first-principles molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9981711
TI  - Thermoelectric properties of a series of Landauer barriers.

PMID- 9981713
TI  - Magneto-optical studies of the type-I/type-II crossover and band offset in
      ZnTe/Zn1-xMnxTe superlattices in magnetic fields up to 45 T.

PMID- 9981712
TI  - Nonlinear optical study of the Si(111)7 x 7 to 1 x 1 phase transition:
      Superheating and the nature of the 1 x 1 phase.

PMID- 9981714
TI  - Spontaneous Aharonov-Casher effect of neutral hard-core bosons in one-dimensional
      mesoscopic rings.

PMID- 9981715
TI  - Resonant acoustic-phonon modes in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9981716
TI  - Theory of hopping magnetoresistance induced by Zeeman splitting.

PMID- 9981717
TI  - Electronic structure of intercalated graphite studied by soft-x-ray-emission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981718
TI  - Load dependence of two-dimensional atomic-scale friction.

PMID- 9981720
TI  - Polygonal spiral of coil-shaped carbon nanotubules.

PMID- 9981719
TI  - Electric-current transmission through the contact of two metals.

PMID- 9981721
TI  - Theory of the contribution to sliding friction from electronic excitations in the
      microbalance experiment.

PMID- 9981723
TI  - Oriented N2 molecules intercalated in C24Rb.

PMID- 9981722
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of nickel oxide surfaces.

PMID- 9981724
TI  - Resistance of atomic wires.

PMID- 9981725
TI  - Chemisorption of Li on jellium: Local density of states and nuclear-spin
      relaxation.

PMID- 9981726
TI  - Annihilation of positrons trapped at the alkali-metal-covered transition-metal
      surface.

PMID- 9981727
TI  - Diffusion of Cu on Cu surfaces.

PMID- 9981728
TI  - Ab initio study of the surface and interfacial properties of a layered MgO/NiO
      film.

PMID- 9981729
TI  - Low-energy-electron stimulated desorption of metastable particles from condensed
      N2 and CO.

PMID- 9981731
TI  - Monte Carlo study of temperature-programmed desorption spectra with attractive
      lateral interactions.

PMID- 9981730
TI  - Phase transitions in bcc(110) binary-alloy thin films.

PMID- 9981733
TI  - Diffuse scattering and orientational correlations in solid C60.

PMID- 9981732
TI  - Asymptotic shape of elastic networks.

PMID- 9981734
TI  - Dimer-row pattern formation in diamond (100) growth.

PMID- 9981736
TI  - Erratum: Femtosecond hole relaxation in n-type modulation-doped quantum wells

PMID- 9981735
TI  - Smoothing of rough surfaces.

PMID- 9981737
TI  - CriticalbehavioroftheT=0 2kF density-wave phase transition in a two-dimensional
      Fermi liquid.

PMID- 9981738
TI  - Electronic-structure calculations based on the finite-element method.

PMID- 9981739
TI  - Transverse-electric polarized nonlinear guided polaritons in films with a
      steplike dielectric function.

PMID- 9981740
TI  - de Haas-van Alphen study of the charge-transfer salt alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4
      in pulsed magnetic fields of up to 54 T.

PMID- 9981741
TI  - Temperature dependence of electronic states in (TaSe4)2I.

PMID- 9981742
TI  - Electric-field activated variable-range hopping transport in PrBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9981743
TI  - Fluctuation effects in quasi-one-dimensional conductors: Optical probing of
      thermal lattice fluctuations.

PMID- 9981745
TI  - Drude weight and dc conductivity of correlated electrons.

PMID- 9981744
TI  - Heavy-fermion semiconductor behavior of the SU(Nd) Anderson lattice model.

PMID- 9981746
TI  - Hot-electron relaxation: An exactly solvable model and improved quantum kinetic
      equations.

PMID- 9981747
TI  - Effects of quantum lattice fluctuations on the charge-density wave of halogen
      bridged mixed-valence transition-metal linear complexes.

PMID- 9981749
TI  - Dielectric susceptibility measurements of the primary and secondary relaxation in
      polybutadiene.

PMID- 9981748
TI  - Fluctuation effects on the electrodynamics of quasi-one-dimensional conductors
      above the charge-density-wave transition.

PMID- 9981750
TI  - Energy and momentum conservation during energetic-carrier generation and
      recombination in silicon.

PMID- 9981751
TI  - Nuclear-spin echoes in GaAs:Zn and GaAs:In.

PMID- 9981752
TI  - Observation of Fano resonance in heavily doped p-type silicon at room
      temperature.

PMID- 9981753
TI  - Tight-binding molecular-dynamics study of point defects in GaAs.

PMID- 9981754
TI  - Computer model of tetrahedral amorphous diamond.

PMID- 9981755
TI  - Positron effective mass in silicon.

PMID- 9981757
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of electron drift velocity in low-temperature-grown
      gallium arsenide in a Schottky-barrier model.

PMID- 9981756
TI  - High-field electron-drift measurements and the mobility edge in hydrogenated
      amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9981758
TI  - Cryogenic cooling using tunneling structures with sharp energy features.

PMID- 9981760
TI  - Phonon scattering of two-dimensional electrons in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9981759
TI  - Initial stage of Ag growth on Si(001) studied by high-resolution Rutherford
      backscattering spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981761
TI  - Phonons and radiative recombination in self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9981762
TI  - Confined excitons in semiconductors: Correlation between binding energy and
      spectral absorption shape.

PMID- 9981763
TI  - Imaging of edge channels in the integer quantum Hall regime by the lateral
      photoelectric effect.

PMID- 9981764
TI  - Temperature dependence of electron focusing in In1-xGaxAs/InP heterojunctions.

PMID- 9981765
TI  - Double 2s-1s resonance in LO-phonon-assisted secondary emission of quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9981766
TI  - Electron transmission through a single nonabrupt GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs barrier
      subjected to an electric field.

PMID- 9981767
TI  - Energy distribution of interface states in the band gap of GaAs determined from x
      ray photoelectron spectra under biases.

PMID- 9981769
TI  - Core-level shifts on clean and adsorbate-covered Si(113) surfaces.

PMID- 9981768
TI  - Folded phonons from lateral periodicity in (311) GaAs/AlAs corrugated
      superlattices.

PMID- 9981771
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy and photoemission study of an alkali-metal-induced
      structural phase transition: Si(111)-(7 x 7) into Si(111)-Na(3 x 1).

PMID- 9981770
TI  - Electron transport through one-dimensional lateral surface superlattices in
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981772
TI  - Ge overlayers on Si(001) studied by surface-extended x-ray-absorption fine
      structure.

PMID- 9981773
TI  - Transmitted-acoustic-phonon drag between two-dimensional electron gases in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs systems at low temperatures: Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9981774
TI  - Phosphine adsorption and decomposition on Si(100) 2 x 1 studied by STM.

PMID- 9981775
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics study of the stability and optical properties of
      ultrasmall III-V hydrogenated clusters.

PMID- 9981776
TI  - Electron localization in a two-dimensional system with random magnetic flux.

PMID- 9981777
TI  - Variational quantum Monte Carlo study of two-dimensional Wigner crystals:
      Exchange, correlation, and magnetic-field effects.

PMID- 9981779
TI  - Singularities in the Fermi-liquid description of a partially filled Landau level
      and the energy gaps of fractional quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9981778
TI  - Binding and diffusion of hydroxyl radicals on Si(100): A first-principles study.

PMID- 9981780
TI  - Photoluminescence of the electron-dressed confined X- exciton in an n-type
      AlAs/GaAs resonant tunneling device.

PMID- 9981781
TI  - Quantum-confined Stark effects in semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9981782
TI  - Coupling between electrons and acoustic phonons in semiconductor nanostructures.

PMID- 9981783
TI  - Spatial-confinement effect on phonons and excitons in PbI2 microcrystallites.

PMID- 9981785
TI  - Laser chemical-vapor deposition of titanium nitride.

PMID- 9981784
TI  - Path-length distribution of photoelectrons emitted from homogeneous
      noncrystalline solids: Consequences for inelastic-background analysis.

PMID- 9981787
TI  - Magnetic hyperfine field on 111Cd in metastable bcc cobalt.

PMID- 9981786
TI  - Epitaxial growth of bismuth films and bismuth-antimony heterostructures.

PMID- 9981788
TI  - Growth of C60 thin films on GeS(001) studied by scanning force microscopy.

PMID- 9981789
TI  - Surface diffusion and continuous phase transitions in adsorbed overlayers.

PMID- 9981790
TI  - Interaction of atomic hydrogen with the diamond C(111) surface studied by
      infrared-visible sum-frequency-generation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981791
TI  - Analysis of the T1u

PMID- 9981793
TI  - Electronic states of the cap structure in the carbon nanotube.

PMID- 9981792
TI  - Mechanistic study of atomic desorption resulting from the keV-ion bombardment of
      fcc{001} single-crystal metals.

PMID- 9981794
TI  - Enhanced scattering from a planar waveguide structure with a slightly rough
      boundary.

PMID- 9981795
TI  - Electronically driven adsorbate excitation mechanism in femtosecond-pulse laser
      desorption.

PMID- 9981796
TI  - Mercury surface-plasmon dispersion: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9981797
TI  - Copper adsorption potentials of MgO(001).

PMID- 9981798
TI  - Pairing in C60: A Gutzwiller approach.

PMID- 9981799
TI  - Classical and quantum size effects in electron conductivity of films with rough
      boundaries.

PMID- 9981800
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of Li- and Cu-doped beta -rhombohedral boron
      constructed from icosahedral and truncated icosahedral clusters.

PMID- 9981802
TI  - Comment on "Relation between copper L x-ray fluorescence and 2p x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopies"

PMID- 9981801
TI  - Theory of exciton spectra of incompressible quantum liquids.

PMID- 9981803
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Relation between copper L x-ray fluorescence and 2p x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopies' "

PMID- 9981805
TI  - Pressure-induced insulator-metal transitions in the spinless Falicov-Kimball
      model.

PMID- 9981804
TI  - Density-functional molecular dynamics with real-space finite difference.

PMID- 9981807
TI  - Large-scale electronic-structure calculations with multigrid acceleration.

PMID- 9981806
TI  - Density-functional theory and strong interactions: Orbital ordering in Mott
      Hubbard insulators.

PMID- 9981808
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group calculation of correlation functions in the
      one-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981809
TI  - Reentrant insulator-metal transition in the half-filled Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981810
TI  - Phase slip and the spatiotemporal response of charge-density waves in NbSe3.

PMID- 9981811
TI  - First-principles calculation of the electronic structure of condensed spin
      polarized excited triplet-state helium.

PMID- 9981812
TI  - Excitons in a II-VI semiconductor microcavity in the strong-coupling regime.

PMID- 9981813
TI  - Intrinsic bistability by charge accumulation in an L-valley state in GaSb-AlSb
      resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9981814
TI  - Coulomb-gas approach to quantum motion in random magnetic fields.

PMID- 9981815
TI  - Crossover between different regimes of current distribution in the quantum Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9981816
TI  - Universal dissipative resistivity in the fractional quantum Hall effect of two
      dimensional hole systems.

PMID- 9981817
TI  - Layer-depopulation- and magnetic-field-induced resistance oscillations in a
      triple-layer electron system.

PMID- 9981819
TI  - Magnitude and sign of the carrier-magnetic-ion exchange-interaction term in the
      monolayer regions next to the interface between a magnetic and nonmagnetic
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9981818
TI  - High-resolution structural study of Bi on Si(001).

PMID- 9981820
TI  - Magneto-optical spectroscopy of positively charged excitons in GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9981821
TI  - Interband second-harmonic generation in Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9981823
TI  - Edge of the two-dimensional electron gas in a gated heterostructure.

PMID- 9981822
TI  - Diamagnetic shift as a measure of the penetration of a quasi-two-dimensional
      exciton into quantum-well barriers.

PMID- 9981824
TI  - Landauer conductance of Luttinger liquids with leads.

PMID- 9981825
TI  - Hybrid excitons in parallel organic and inorganic semiconducting quantum wires.

PMID- 9981826
TI  - C60 on Al(111): Covalent bonding and surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9981827
TI  - Investigation of the absorption edge of C60 fullerite.

PMID- 9981829
TI  - Band-gap closure of Ar(H2)2 under pressure.

PMID- 9981828
TI  - Temperature dependence of surface phonons of Al(110).

PMID- 9981831
TI  - Ion-velocity-dependent track formation in yttrium iron garnet: A thermal-spike
      analysis.

PMID- 9981830
TI  - Paramagnetic electron traps in reduced stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9981832
TI  - Evolution of a ferroelastic domain structure in an incommensurate phase of barium
      sodium niobate (Ba2NaNb5O15).

PMID- 9981833
TI  - Radial distribution function of a new form of amorphous diamond shock induced
      from C60 fullerene.

PMID- 9981834
TI  - Homogeneous line broadening in long-lived nuclear states.

PMID- 9981835
TI  - Kink dynamics in the highly discrete and coupled sine-Gordon system.

PMID- 9981836
TI  - Spin-dependent surface transmission in 3d metals: Implications for magnetic
      dichroism measurements of the valence bands.

PMID- 9981837
TI  - Lattice model for exchange-coupled ferromagnetic multilayer systems.

PMID- 9981838
TI  - Pseudo-marginal-Fermi-liquid behavior in antiferromagnetic metals.

PMID- 9981839
TI  - Extended high-temperature series for the N-vector spin models on three
      dimensional bipartite lattices.

PMID- 9981840
TI  - Weak-coupling approach to hole-doped S=1 Haldane systems.

PMID- 9981841
TI  - Electronic structure and enhancement of magnetic moments in the ferromagnetic
      nitride Fe16N2.

PMID- 9981842
TI  - Superconductivity of ZrRuSi prepared at high pressure.

PMID- 9981843
TI  - Thermodynamics and response of a spin-charge-separated superconductor.

PMID- 9981844
TI  - Effect of superconducting correlation on the localization of quasiparticles in
      low dimensions.

PMID- 9981845
TI  - Light scattering from electronic excitations in YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9981846
TI  - Vortex dynamics below the flux-lattice melting transition in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9981847
TI  - Anomalous magnetic behavior in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y single crystals near the
      superconducting-transition regime.

PMID- 9981848
TI  - Evidence of redistribution of the itinerant holes below Tc in Ba2Sr2CaCu2O8
      superconductors: A polarized x-ray-absorption study.

PMID- 9981849
TI  - Superconductivity from correlated hopping.

PMID- 9981850
TI  - Long-range Coulomb repulsion and finite-size approximations.

PMID- 9981851
TI  - Phase diagrams of bcc alloys at low temperatures with ballistic atom movements.

PMID- 9981852
TI  - Quasielastic neutron scattering from anharmonic oscillators subject to weak
      frictional forces.

PMID- 9981853
TI  - Stresses in strained GeSi stripes: Calculation and determination from Raman
      measurements.

PMID- 9981854
TI  - Electron correlation in the self-trapped hole and exciton in the NaCl crystal.

PMID- 9981855
TI  - Dynamics of a photoinduced phase transition in polydiacetylene crystals.

PMID- 9981856
TI  - Severe creep of a crystalline metallic layer induced by swift-heavy-ion
      irradiation.

PMID- 9981857
TI  - Lattice location of Pr3+ ions in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9981858
TI  - Quadrupolar phases in UPd3.

PMID- 9981859
TI  - Ab initio Hartree-Fock study of structural and electronic properties of beta 
      Si3N4 and beta -C3N4 compounds.

PMID- 9981860
TI  - First-principles theory of ferroelectric phase transitions for perovskites: The
      case of BaTiO3.

PMID- 9981862
TI  - Landau theory of a constrained ferroelastic in two dimensions.

PMID- 9981861
TI  - Vacancies and impurities in aluminum and magnesium.

PMID- 9981864
TI  - X-ray absorption at the Ca K edge in natural-garnet solid solutions: A full
      multiple-scattering investigation.

PMID- 9981863
TI  - X-ray-absorption fine-structure standards: A comparison of experiment and theory.

PMID- 9981866
TI  - Ergodic-nonergodic glass transition and enthalpy relaxation of a supercooled
      liquid

PMID- 9981865
TI  - Reconciling ionic-transport properties with atomic structure in oxide glasses.

PMID- 9981867
TI  - Phason elasticity of a three-dimensional quasicrystal: A transfer-matrix method.

PMID- 9981868
TI  - Microscopic theory of chain pullout in polymeric liquid crystals.

PMID- 9981869
TI  - Structural free volumes and systematics of positron lifetimes in quasicrystalline
      decagonal and adjacent crystalline phases of Al-Ni-Co, Al-Cu-Co, and Al-Ni-Fe
      alloys.

PMID- 9981870
TI  - Quantum diffusion and localization of positive muons in superconducting aluminum.

PMID- 9981872
TI  - Homogeneous and inhomogeneous linewidths of Eu3+ in disordered crystalline
      systems.

PMID- 9981871
TI  - Internal oscillations of solitons in (CH3)4NMnCl3 above and below TN.

PMID- 9981874
TI  - Stability of metastable structures in dissipative ac dynamics of the Frenkel
      Kontorova model.

PMID- 9981873
TI  - Infrared absorption in oxides in the presence of both large and small polarons.

PMID- 9981875
TI  - Dynamical symmetry of chaotic systems.

PMID- 9981877
TI  - Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and temperature-dependent reorientation
      transition of the magnetization in CeH2/Fe multilayers.

PMID- 9981876
TI  - Spin diffusion on a lattice: Classical simulations and spin coherent states.

PMID- 9981878
TI  - Quenching of orbital momentum by crystalline fields in a multichannel Kondo
      impurity.

PMID- 9981880
TI  - Spin relaxation effects in the perpendicular magnetoresistance of magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9981879
TI  - Correlation between the interface structure and magnetic and transport properties
      for Co/Cu(110) and Ni8Fe2/Cu/Co/Cu(110) superlattices.

PMID- 9981881
TI  - Itinerant electrons in strong magnetic fields: Onset of a metamagnetic
      transition.

PMID- 9981882
TI  - Comparison of branching ratio and sum-rule analyses of magnetic circular
      dichroism in x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9981883
TI  - 57Fe Mossbauer investigations on the Dy0.73Tb0.27Fe2-xNix and Ho0.85Tb0.15Fe2
      yNiy systems.

PMID- 9981885
TI  - Aharonov-Casher effect in the Heisenberg spin chain with many impurities.

PMID- 9981884
TI  - Response of Ising systems to oscillating and pulsed fields: Hysteresis, ac, and
      pulse susceptibility.

PMID- 9981886
TI  - Observation of x-ray magnetic scattering in Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9981887
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group studies of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg system
      with dimerization and frustration.

PMID- 9981888
TI  - Magnetic-field effect on sound propagation as a probe of electronic structure and
      electron interaction in an itinerant-electron ferromagnet.

PMID- 9981889
TI  - Strong changes in the magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Cu(001) films due to
      submonolayer quantities of a nonmagnetic overlayer.

PMID- 9981890
TI  - Magnetic properties of quantum Heisenberg ferromagnets with long-range
      interactions.

PMID- 9981891
TI  - Simple formulation of the two-channel Kondo model.

PMID- 9981892
TI  - Four-coloring model on the square lattice: A critical ground state.

PMID- 9981893
TI  - Electron scattering at interfaces: A tight-binding approach.

PMID- 9981895
TI  - Interaction of two localized spins in an itinerant ferromagnetic medium.

PMID- 9981894
TI  - J1-J2 quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice: A group
      symmetry analysis of order by disorder.

PMID- 9981896
TI  - Critical behavior of the three-dimensional random-field Ising model: Two-exponent
      scaling and discontinuous transition.

PMID- 9981897
TI  - Longitudinal spin relaxation in simple stochastic models for disordered systems.

PMID- 9981898
TI  - Lifting of multiphase degeneracy by quantum fluctuations.

PMID- 9981899
TI  - Phase transitions in the uniformly frustrated XY model with frustration parameter
      f=1/3 studied with use of the microcanonical Monte Carlo technique.

PMID- 9981900
TI  - Topological solitons and geometrical frustration.

PMID- 9981901
TI  - Frustrated spin-Peierls chains.

PMID- 9981902
TI  - Subsurface correlations in the d-wave Josephson junction.

PMID- 9981903
TI  - Observation of granularity in YNi2B2C superconductors containing normal impurity
      phases.

PMID- 9981905
TI  - Time-dependent functional theory for superconductors.

PMID- 9981904
TI  - Extraordinary sensitivity of the internal Doppler effect in a superfluid 4He-3He
      admixture.

PMID- 9981906
TI  - Analytical results for giant Shapiro steps in Josephson arrays.

PMID- 9981907
TI  - Magnetism and superconductivity in RPtSi (R=La, Ce, Nd, and Sm).

PMID- 9981908
TI  - Spin and charge modes of the t-J ladder.

PMID- 9981909
TI  - Andreev scattering in the anisotropic heavy-fermion superconductor UPt3.

PMID- 9981910
TI  - Statistical quasiparticles in transverse dynamics of gases.

PMID- 9981911
TI  - Evidence for two-particle normal-state tunneling in Ba1-xKxBiO3 native-barrier
      tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9981913
TI  - Oxygen isotope effect on the effective mass of carriers from magnetic
      measurements on La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9981912
TI  - Temperature-dependent x-ray diffuse scattering from single crystals of La2
      xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9981914
TI  - Epitaxial growth and critical currents in (013)/(103)- and (110)-oriented
      YBa2Cu3Ox films.

PMID- 9981915
TI  - Pressure effect on the Tc of HgBa2CuO4+ delta with 0.07 <= delta <= 0.39.

PMID- 9981916
TI  - Thermally activated flux motion in a-axis YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superlattices.

PMID- 9981917
TI  - Thermodynamic and electromagnetic properties of hard-core charged bosons on a
      lattice.

PMID- 9981919
TI  - Critical Josephson current in a model Pb/YBa2Cu3O7- delta junction.

PMID- 9981918
TI  - Charge fluctuations in the four-band extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9981920
TI  - Charge dynamics in the planar t-J model.

PMID- 9981922
TI  - Electronic structure and Fermi surface of the two-dimensional three-band Hubbard
      model in doped cuprates.

PMID- 9981921
TI  - Correlation of flux lines in single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with columnar defects.

PMID- 9981923
TI  - Erratum: Nonlinear travelling waves in ferroelectrics

PMID- 9981924
TI  - Erratum: Electron-phonon coupling and d-wave superconductivity in the cuprates

PMID- 9981925
TI  - Total-energy study of hydrogen ordering in PdHx (0 <~ x <~ 1).

PMID- 9981926
TI  - Photoactivation of hole centers in cubic stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9981927
TI  - Direct observation of rough-smooth twin structure in silver halides by high
      resolution electron microscopy.

PMID- 9981928
TI  - Pressure-induced critical behavior of KMnF3 close to Pc=3.1 GPa: X-ray
      diffraction results.

PMID- 9981929
TI  - Volume-expansion-induced lattice instability and solid-state amorphization.

PMID- 9981930
TI  - Crossover exponents in percolating superconductor-nonlinear-conductor mixtures.

PMID- 9981931
TI  - First-principles calculations of the vibrational properties of H centers in KCl
      crystals.

PMID- 9981932
TI  - Low-temperature magnetic phase of UCu2Ge2: A macroscopic, mesoscopic, and
      microscopic study.

PMID- 9981934
TI  - Stability of the insulating phase in the chiral Kondo-lattice model.

PMID- 9981933
TI  - Enhanced magnetic anisotropy energy density for superparamagnetic particles of
      cobalt.

PMID- 9981935
TI  - Scaling field of the anisotropic XY model in one dimension.

PMID- 9981936
TI  - Impurity energy level in the Haldane gap.

PMID- 9981937
TI  - Magnetic consequences of NO chemisorption on (100) metal surfaces.

PMID- 9981939
TI  - Equivalence of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg ladder to a single S=1 chain.

PMID- 9981938
TI  - High-energy paramagnetic spectral response of CeNi2.

PMID- 9981941
TI  - Continuous Josephson media and vortices.

PMID- 9981940
TI  - Near constancy of the pressure dependence of Tc across families of organic and
      fullerene superconductors.

PMID- 9981942
TI  - Cylindrical Korteweg-de Vries solitons in the vortex dynamics of an ultraclean
      type-II superconductor.

PMID- 9981944
TI  - Disorder and superconductivity in Mo/Si multilayers.

PMID- 9981943
TI  - Resonant macroscopic quantum tunneling in small Josephson junctions: Effect of
      temperature.

PMID- 9981945
TI  - Stability of multicharged vortices in a model of superflow.

PMID- 9981946
TI  - Influence of the critical current distribution on the remanent magnetization in
      thin YBa2Cu3O7 films.

PMID- 9981947
TI  - Magnetization jump and the vortex-lattice melting transition in YBa2Cu3Oy.

PMID- 9981948
TI  - Overdoped regime of the high-Tc superconductor HgBa2CuO4+ delta and the relation
      between normal and superconducting carrier densities.

PMID- 9981949
TI  - Intrinsic high-Tc Josephson junctions in random-telegraph-noise fluctuators.

PMID- 9981950
TI  - Anisotropic pressure dependence of the resistivity in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9981951
TI  - Specific-heat critical behavior of the structural random-field system Dy(AsxV1
      x)O4.

PMID- 9981953
TI  - Pressure-induced phase transition of quartz-type GaPO4.

PMID- 9981952
TI  - Metastable structures of solid hydrogen.

PMID- 9981955
TI  - O- holes associated with alkali acceptors in BaTiO3.

PMID- 9981954
TI  - High-pressure Brillouin scattering and elastic properties of liquid and solid
      methane.

PMID- 9981956
TI  - Roughening and preroughening in the six-vertex model with an extended range of
      interaction.

PMID- 9981957
TI  - Polarization of a semi-infinite crystal by a point defect at the surface.

PMID- 9981958
TI  - Equilibrium phase transitions in a porous medium.

PMID- 9981959
TI  - Theoretical study of lithium intercalation in rutile and anatase.

PMID- 9981961
TI  - Stability and phonons of KTaO3.

PMID- 9981960
TI  - Electron emission from 57Fe nuclei excited with synchrotron radiation.

PMID- 9981962
TI  - Conductivity in quasicrystals via hierarchically variable-range hopping.

PMID- 9981963
TI  - Simulation of radiation-induced structural transformation in amorphous metals.

PMID- 9981964
TI  - Central-force model with the next-nearest-neighbor interaction: A series
      approach.

PMID- 9981965
TI  - Structure and bonding in liquid tellurium.

PMID- 9981966
TI  - Role of phason defects on the conductance of a one-dimensional quasicrystal.

PMID- 9981967
TI  - Experimental evidence of the formation of a reentrant spin-glass phase in
      alloying two ferromagnetic CoPt3 and MnPt3 compounds.

PMID- 9981968
TI  - Local magnetic properties of PrBa2Cu3O6+x: NMR and NQR in crystals.

PMID- 9981969
TI  - Low-temperature thermodynamic study of the XY model using a self-consistent
      harmonic approximation.

PMID- 9981970
TI  - Real-space renormalization-group study of the phase diagram of two coupled
      quantum spin-1/2 chains.

PMID- 9981971
TI  - Properties of lightly doped t-J two-leg ladders.

PMID- 9981972
TI  - Influence of vanadium on spin- and charge-density waves in chromium.

PMID- 9981973
TI  - Role of bound states of magnetic layers in the theory of multilayer interaction.

PMID- 9981975
TI  - Doping an optimized resonance-valence-bond state: A picture of spin-charge
      separation.

PMID- 9981974
TI  - NMR study of the ferromagnetic phases of SmMn2Ge2 as a function of temperature
      and pressure.

PMID- 9981976
TI  - Calculated magneto-optical Kerr effect in Fe, Co, and Ni.

PMID- 9981977
TI  - Coherent aspects of the local dipolar field in echo dynamics: A spectral
      narrowing effect.

PMID- 9981978
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic properties of TbNi2B2C single crystals.

PMID- 9981980
TI  - Continuum-field description of one-dimensional dimerized spin-1/2 Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9981979
TI  - Magneto-optical properties of MnBi and MnBiAl.

PMID- 9981981
TI  - Impurity scattering of spin waves in a doped Mott-Hubbard antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9981982
TI  - Generalized t-t'-J model: Parameters and single-particle spectrum for electrons
      and holes in copper oxides.

PMID- 9981983
TI  - Magnetic ordering in the three-dimensional site-disordered Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9981984
TI  - Muon-spin-relaxation study of the critical longitudinal spin dynamics in a
      dipolar Heisenberg ferromagnet.

PMID- 9981985
TI  - Quantum nucleation of magnetic bubbles.

PMID- 9981986
TI  - Magnetic pair breaking in disordered superconducting films.

PMID- 9981987
TI  - Quasiparticle current in ballistic constrictions with finite transparencies of
      interfaces.

PMID- 9981988
TI  - Surface superconductivity and Hc3 in UPt3.

PMID- 9981989
TI  - Specific heat of an anisotropic superconductor: Nb3X4 with X=S, Se, and Te.

PMID- 9981990
TI  - Vortices in stratified superconductors: Application to magnetic force microscopy.

PMID- 9981991
TI  - Motion of holes on the triangular lattice studied using the t-J model.

PMID- 9981992
TI  - Decoupling excitations in the far-infrared spectra of a c-axis YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      single crystal.

PMID- 9981993
TI  - Theory of the spin gap in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9981994
TI  - Effect of an electric field on oxygen ordering and superconducting temperature of
      YBa2Cu3O6+x thin films.

PMID- 9981995
TI  - d-wave superconductivity in a strongly correlated electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9981996
TI  - Instability of a tilted vortex line in magnetically coupled layered
      superconductors.

PMID- 9981998
TI  - Dynamics of two-dimensional pancake vortices in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9981997
TI  - Many-body correlation corrections to superconducting pairing in two dimensions.

PMID- 9981999
TI  - Erratum: Microwave dielectric studies of the spin-density-wave state in
      (TMTSF)2PF6

PMID- 9982000
TI  - Erratum: Thermoelectric power and resistivity of La1.8Sr0.2CaCu2O6- delta and the
      effects of O2 hot-isostatic-press annealing

PMID- 9982001
TI  - Erratum: Theoretical study on quantum effects in triangular antiferromagnets with
      axial anisotropy using the numerically constructed Bogoliubov transformation for
      magnons

PMID- 9982003
TI  - X-ray scattering and x-ray fluorescence from materials with rough interfaces.

PMID- 9982002
TI  - Thermal and vibrational investigation of crystal nucleation and growth from a
      physically confined and supercooled liquid.

PMID- 9982004
TI  - Spectroscopic properties and upconversion mechanisms in Er3+-doped fluoroindate
      glasses.

PMID- 9982006
TI  - Electric field dependence of pocket and nonpocket impurity gap modes in KI and
      the establishment of Ag+ quadrupolar deformability.

PMID- 9982005
TI  - Pressure dependence of static and dynamic ionicity of SiC polytypes.

PMID- 9982007
TI  - 1H NMR study of proton motions in thallium-deficient TlH2PO4.

PMID- 9982009
TI  - Anharmonic interatomic potentials of diatomic and linear triatomic molecules
      studied by extended x-ray-absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9982008
TI  - High-pressure elastic properties of the VI and VII phase of ice in dense H2O and
      D2O.

PMID- 9982010
TI  - Analysis of magnetic-resonance signals from mixed lattices with application to
      the AsO44- center in the Rb1-x(NH4)xH2PO4 proton glass.

PMID- 9982011
TI  - Spatially resolved optical studies of F-center diffusion in KBr crystals.

PMID- 9982012
TI  - First-principles calculation of the pressure dependence of phase equilibria in
      the Al-Li system.

PMID- 9982013
TI  - Spatial and temporal scaling of oxide cluster aggregation on a liquid-gallium
      surface.

PMID- 9982014
TI  - Coherent forward-scattering amplitude in transmission and grazing incidence
      Mossbauer spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982015
TI  - Model interatomic potential for simulations in selenium.

PMID- 9982016
TI  - Multiple-edge EXAFS refinement: Short-range structure in liquid and crystalline
      Sn.

PMID- 9982017
TI  - Effect of host glass on the optical absorption properties of Nd3+, Sm3+, and Dy3+
      in lead borate glasses.

PMID- 9982018
TI  - Hyperfine interactions at europium sites in oxide glasses.

PMID- 9982019
TI  - Ab initio analysis of structural stability in the compound Ni3V.

PMID- 9982021
TI  - Molecular dynamics on a realistic model for a strong glass.

PMID- 9982020
TI  - Critical concentration in percolating systems containing a high-aspect-ratio
      filler.

PMID- 9982023
TI  - Resistivity minima in concentrated gamma -Cu100-xMnx alloys (36 <~ x <~ 83).

PMID- 9982022
TI  - Optical investigation of Eu3+ in a sodium borosilicate glass: Evidence for two
      different site distributions.

PMID- 9982024
TI  - Coulomb interactions in two-dimensional lattice structures.

PMID- 9982025
TI  - Particle-size effect on the percolation and conductivity of dispersed ionic
      conductors: A random sequential packing model.

PMID- 9982026
TI  - Phase-field model for activated reaction fronts.

PMID- 9982028
TI  - Formation of dislocation patterns: Computer simulations.

PMID- 9982027
TI  - Lattice dynamics of skutterudites: First-principles and model calculations for
      CoSb3.

PMID- 9982029
TI  - Accuracy of Davydov's |D1> approximation for soliton dynamics in proteins.

PMID- 9982030
TI  - Electromagnetic properties of composites containing elongated conducting
      inclusions.

PMID- 9982031
TI  - Low-frequency elastic properties of the incommensurate ferroelastic

PMID- 9982032
TI  - Criticality and multifractality of the Potts ferromagnetic model on fractal
      lattices.

PMID- 9982034
TI  - Critical behavior of the random-field Ising model.

PMID- 9982033
TI  - Magnetic structure of GdNi2B2C by resonant and nonresonant x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9982035
TI  - Impurity and doping effects on the pseudoenergy gap in CeNiSn: A Sn NMR study.

PMID- 9982036
TI  - Elementary excitations in the Delta chain.

PMID- 9982037
TI  - Quantum solitons in the sawtooth lattice.

PMID- 9982039
TI  - Magnetic texture determination using nonpolarized neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9982038
TI  - Self-consistent study of the impurity-doped Mott-Hubbard insulator.

PMID- 9982040
TI  - Off-equilibrium dynamics in finite-dimensional spin-glass models.

PMID- 9982041
TI  - Two-magnon scattering and the spin-phonon interaction beyond the adiabatic
      approximation.

PMID- 9982042
TI  - Antiferromagnet-ferromagnet transition in the one-dimensional frustrated spin
      model.

PMID- 9982043
TI  - Orbital moment and magnetic circular dichroism at the K edge in ferromagnetic
      cobalt.

PMID- 9982044
TI  - Muon-spin-rotation measurements in the kagome lattice systems: Cr-jarosite and Fe
      jarosite.

PMID- 9982045
TI  - Three-dimensional ordering in bct antiferromagnets due to quantum disorder.

PMID- 9982046
TI  - U2Pt15Si7: Competition between magnetism and the formation of a heavy-fermion
      ground state.

PMID- 9982048
TI  - Magnetic structures of holmium-lutetium alloys and superlattices.

PMID- 9982047
TI  - Nature of the Verwey transition in magnetite (Fe3O4) to pressures of 16 GPa.

PMID- 9982049
TI  - History-dependent phenomena in spin-glass mean-field models.

PMID- 9982050
TI  - Dynamic susceptibility of a reentrant ferromagnet.

PMID- 9982051
TI  - Equilibrium thermodynamics of cobalt-copper slabs.

PMID- 9982053
TI  - Optical and magneto-optical properties of Co/Pt multilayers.

PMID- 9982052
TI  - Evidence for collective spin dynamics above the ordering temperature in La1
      xCaxMnO3+ delta.

PMID- 9982054
TI  - Linear-response theory applied to the dynamics of submicronic magnetic particles.

PMID- 9982056
TI  - Theory of the bipolar spin switch.

PMID- 9982055
TI  - Spin-glass and antiferromagnet critical behavior in a diluted fcc
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9982057
TI  - 151Eu Mossbauer study of transition-metal/Eu multilayers.

PMID- 9982058
TI  - Vortices in superconducting films: Statistics and fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9982059
TI  - Evolution from the vortex state to the critical state in a square-columnar
      Josephson-junction array.

PMID- 9982060
TI  - Bosonic and fermionic single-particle states in the Haldane approach to
      statistics for identical particles.

PMID- 9982061
TI  - Phase diagram of the unconventional superconductor UPt3 in the weak-crystal-field
      model.

PMID- 9982062
TI  - Thermoelectric properties of mesoscopic superconductors.

PMID- 9982063
TI  - Electronic structure of Ni-substituted Y(Ni1-xMx)2B2C superconductors.

PMID- 9982064
TI  - Spectrum of resonant plasma oscillations in long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9982065
TI  - Suspension of superfluid helium using cesium-coated surfaces.

PMID- 9982066
TI  - Angular dependence of c-axis plasma frequency and critical current in Josephson
      coupled superconductors at high fields.

PMID- 9982067
TI  - Flux-pinning mechanism of proximity-coupled planar defects in conventional
      superconductors: Evidence that magnetic pinning is the dominant pinning mechanism
      in niobium-titanium alloy.

PMID- 9982068
TI  - dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor-Luttinger-liquid-superconductor
      system.

PMID- 9982069
TI  - Correlated-basis-function analysis of the transverse Ising model.

PMID- 9982070
TI  - Electron states and electron-phonon coupling in the BEDT-TTF-based organic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9982071
TI  - Interaction of vortices with ultrasound and the acoustic Faraday effect in type
      II superconductors.

PMID- 9982072
TI  - Supercurrent flow through an effective double-barrier structure.

PMID- 9982074
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of vortices in superconductors with short coherence length.

PMID- 9982073
TI  - Properties of bound, resonant, and regular continuum states of the excitation
      spectrum of symmetric liquid 4He films at T=0 K.

PMID- 9982075
TI  - Anomalous Pr ordering in HgSr2PrCu2O6+ delta and the systematic variation of
      TN(Pr) for the Hg-1212-type systems.

PMID- 9982076
TI  - Thermal-difference reflectance spectroscopy of the high-temperature cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9982078
TI  - ac-susceptibility study of critical current density in metal-substituted
      ErBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9982077
TI  - Classification of the interlayer coupling in high-Tc cuprates from low-field
      magnetization studies.

PMID- 9982079
TI  - Simulation of experimental results on high-Tc superconductors: A phenomenological
      model.

PMID- 9982080
TI  - High-frequency behavior of layered superconductors with Josephson coupling.

PMID- 9982081
TI  - Superconducting order parameter symmetry in multilayer cuprates.

PMID- 9982082
TI  - Electric-field-dependent variable-range hopping conductance in quasi-two
      dimensional systems: Application to PrBa2Cu3O7-y-based superconductor-normal
      metal-superconductor junctions.

PMID- 9982083
TI  - Zinc-induced modification of the dynamical magnetic susceptibility in the
      superconducting state of YBa2Cu3O6+x as revealed by inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9982084
TI  - Localization effects in Co- and Ni-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y.

PMID- 9982085
TI  - Structural, magnetic, and crystalline electric-field effects in single crystals
      of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9982086
TI  - Charge transfer in high-Tc (Y/Pr)Ba2Cu3O7 superlattices.

PMID- 9982088
TI  - First-principles investigation of 180 degrees domain walls in BaTiO3.

PMID- 9982087
TI  - Reply to "Charge transfer in high-Tc (Y/Pr)Ba2Cu3O7 superlattices"

PMID- 9982089
TI  - Dynamics of the strain-mediated phase transition in KDCO3: A thermal neutron spin
      echo study.

PMID- 9982091
TI  - Longitudinal, transverse, and perpendicular magnetoimpedance in nearly zero
      magnetostrictive amorphous alloys.

PMID- 9982090
TI  - Interplay of atomic and solid-state effects in inner-shell-resonant photoelectron
      spectra.

PMID- 9982092
TI  - Simple method for calculating the speed of sound in tight-binding models:
      Application to the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.

PMID- 9982093
TI  - Interplay of Jahn-Teller effect and Kondo effect for orbitally degenerate
      impurity ions.

PMID- 9982094
TI  - Magnetic x-ray Compton scattering.

PMID- 9982096
TI  - Infinite number of exponents for a spin-glass transition.

PMID- 9982095
TI  - Magnetic circular dichroism and orbital momentum coupling in 4d photoemission
      from Gd(0001).

PMID- 9982097
TI  - Giant Josephson current through a single bound state in a superconducting tunnel
      junction.

PMID- 9982098
TI  - Fractional flux quanta in superconducting solenoids.

PMID- 9982099
TI  - Gap formation and magnetic ordering in URu2Si2 probed by high-field
      magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9982100
TI  - Vortex structure and Josephson supercurrents in stacked double Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9982101
TI  - Absence of antiferromagnetic correlations in YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9982102
TI  - Effective mass anisotropy of HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10 measured on a microcrystal by means
      of miniaturized torque magnetometry.

PMID- 9982103
TI  - 63,65Cu indirect spin-spin coupling in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9982105
TI  - Large-U cluster-Hamiltonian expansion of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9982104
TI  - In-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivity of a large single crystal of
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9982106
TI  - Semianalytical form for the local-field correction.

PMID- 9982107
TI  - Band tails, length scales, and localization.

PMID- 9982108
TI  - Control of the finite-size corrections in exact diagonalization studies.

PMID- 9982109
TI  - Mixed ultrasoft/norm-conserved pseudopotential scheme.

PMID- 9982110
TI  - Temperature-dependent photoemission spectral weight in La0.6Sr0.4MnO3.

PMID- 9982111
TI  - Insulator-to-metal transition in Kondo insulators under a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9982113
TI  - Inelastic interaction of nonequilibrium electrons with acoustic phonons at low
      lattice temperatures.

PMID- 9982112
TI  - Optical absorption and interband transitions in CePd7.

PMID- 9982114
TI  - Electron-electron scattering in far-infrared quantum cascade lasers.

PMID- 9982115
TI  - Gamma -X intervalley-scattering time constant for GaAs estimated from hot
      electron noise spectroscopy data.

PMID- 9982116
TI  - Determination of deformation-potential constants from quantum-limit cyclotron
      resonance linewidths for Ge with anisotropic scattering.

PMID- 9982117
TI  - Precursor defect to the vacancy-dioxygen center in Si.

PMID- 9982118
TI  - Time-resolved observation of coherent phonons by the Franz-Keldysh effect.

PMID- 9982119
TI  - Dispersion theory of the polaron in a quasi-one-dimensional structure.

PMID- 9982120
TI  - E1 transition in (113)-oriented GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells: Confinement
      effects and optical anisotropy.

PMID- 9982121
TI  - Structures of atomic steps on the 7 x 7 reconstructed Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9982122
TI  - Impurity band and magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator transition in a doped
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattice.

PMID- 9982123
TI  - Phonon strain-shift coefficients of Si1-xGex grown on Ge(001).

PMID- 9982124
TI  - Reconstructions on the Si(113) surface.

PMID- 9982125
TI  - Quantum limits on classical permanent memories.

PMID- 9982126
TI  - Direct determination of exact charge states of surface point defects using
      scanning tunneling microscopy: As vacancies on GaAs (110).

PMID- 9982127
TI  - Tight-binding study of optical properties in short-period In0.53Ga0.47As/InP
      superlattices.

PMID- 9982128
TI  - Electronic-transport properties of parallel double-ring systems.

PMID- 9982129
TI  - Landau quantization and the Aharonov-Bohm effect in a two-dimensional ring.

PMID- 9982130
TI  - Nonlinear piezoelectricity: The effect of pressure on CdTe.

PMID- 9982131
TI  - Theory of phonon replicas in superlattice photoluminescence excitation spectra.

PMID- 9982132
TI  - Magneto-optical determination of exciton binding energies in quantum-wire
      superlattices.

PMID- 9982133
TI  - Magneto-optics in a square-well quantum dot.

PMID- 9982134
TI  - Dimensional effects in photoelectron spectra of Ag deposits on GaAs(110)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9982135
TI  - Effects of scattering centers on the energy spectrum of a quantum dot.

PMID- 9982136
TI  - Diffusion of electrons in two-dimensional disordered symplectic systems.

PMID- 9982137
TI  - Quantum breathing mode for electrons with 1/r2 interaction.

PMID- 9982138
TI  - Skyrmion liquid in SU(2)-invariant quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9982140
TI  - Quantitative theory of third-harmonic generation in an (InAs)0.7(GaSb)0.3/(AlSb)
      superlattice.

PMID- 9982139
TI  - Gap shift and bistability in two-dimensional nonlinear optical superlattices.

PMID- 9982141
TI  - Different quantum behavior of the E1 and E2 spectral structures in Ge
      nanocrystals.

PMID- 9982143
TI  - Structure model for the type-C defect on the Si(001) surface.

PMID- 9982142
TI  - Electron stimulated desorption of negative and positive hydrogen ions from
      hydrogenated silicon surfaces.

PMID- 9982144
TI  - Optical properties of the vibrations in charged C60 molecules.

PMID- 9982145
TI  - van der Waals attraction between simple metal clusters: Core effects using
      realistic pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9982147
TI  - Exact treatment of exchange in Kohn-Sham band-structure schemes.

PMID- 9982146
TI  - Berry phase, hyperorbits, and the Hofstadter spectrum: Semiclassical dynamics in
      magnetic Bloch bands.

PMID- 9982148
TI  - Hybridization effects in unoccupied 4f states of Ce compounds.

PMID- 9982149
TI  - Semiclassical analysis of the quantum interference corrections to the conductance
      of mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9982151
TI  - Green's-function theory for row and periodic defect arrays in photonic band
      structures.

PMID- 9982150
TI  - Magnetic circular dichroism of the S 2p, Co 2p, and Co 3p core absorption and
      orbital angular momentum of the Co 3d state in low-spin CoS2.

PMID- 9982152
TI  - Derivation of nondiagonal effective dielectric-permeability tensors for
      magnetized granular composites.

PMID- 9982153
TI  - Optical sum rules and effective-medium theories for a polycrystalline material:
      Application to a model for polypyrrole.

PMID- 9982154
TI  - Electronic properties of strongly correlated states in dicyanoquinonediimine-Cu
      organic conductors.

PMID- 9982155
TI  - Anisotropy of the hole drift mobility in barium titanate.

PMID- 9982156
TI  - 3s2p inelastic x-ray scattering of CaF2.

PMID- 9982158
TI  - Pressure dependence of the electrical residual resistivity of disordered alloys.

PMID- 9982157
TI  - Ab initio calculation of electronic structure, crystal field, and intrinsic
      magnetic properties of Sm2Fe17, Sm2Fe17N3, Sm2Fe17C3, and Sm2Co17.

PMID- 9982159
TI  - Hexagonal photonic-band-gap structures.

PMID- 9982161
TI  - Linear-scaling density-functional-theory technique: The density-matrix approach.

PMID- 9982160
TI  - Andersen's force theorem and the local stress field.

PMID- 9982163
TI  - Ground-state instabilities in the one-dimensional Penson-Kolb-Hubbard model.

PMID- 9982162
TI  - t2g versus all 3d localization in LaMO3 perovskites (M=Ti-Cu): First-principles
      study.

PMID- 9982164
TI  - Application of empirical interatomic potentials to liquid Si.

PMID- 9982166
TI  - Deep-level transient-spectroscopy study of rhodium in indium phosphide.

PMID- 9982165
TI  - Role of radiolytic oxygen in the x-ray production and thermal annealing of
      defects in high-purity amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9982167
TI  - Disordering of natural superlattice in (Ga,In)P induced by electron irradiation.

PMID- 9982168
TI  - Lattice distortions and electronic structure in the negative silicon vacancy.

PMID- 9982169
TI  - Effective Hamiltonian and exchange integrals in IV-VI semimagnetic semiconductors
      at finite temperature.

PMID- 9982170
TI  - Dynamics of conformational defects in poly(3-hexyl)thiophene.

PMID- 9982171
TI  - Quantum saturation and condensation of excitons in Cu2O: A theoretical study.

PMID- 9982172
TI  - Influence of a phonon bath on the hierarchy of electronic densities in an
      optically excited semiconductor.

PMID- 9982174
TI  - Investigation of the spatial distribution of dangling bonds in light-soaked
      hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9982173
TI  - Contribution of quantum and thermal fluctuations to the elastic moduli and
      dielectric constants of covalent semiconductors.

PMID- 9982175
TI  - Band spectra of rectangular graph superlattices.

PMID- 9982176
TI  - Effects of finite spin-orbit splitting on optical properties of spherical
      semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9982177
TI  - Surface plasmon in a two-dimensional Anderson insulator with interactions.

PMID- 9982179
TI  - Dielectric function of the two-dimensional electron liquid: An analytical
      fitting.

PMID- 9982178
TI  - Electron-phonon scattering in a two-dimensional electron gas in a very strong
      magnetic field near the percolation threshold.

PMID- 9982180
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of the spatial transport of excitons in a quantum well
      structure.

PMID- 9982181
TI  - Dimer reconstruction and electronic surface states on clean and hydrogenated
      diamond (100) surfaces.

PMID- 9982182
TI  - Quasiparticle effective mass for the two- and three-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9982183
TI  - Electronic spectral function for a two-dimensional electron system in the
      fractional quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9982184
TI  - Transient-estimate Monte Carlo in the two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9982185
TI  - Current fluctuations in a single tunnel junction.

PMID- 9982187
TI  - Electron-electron interactions and two-dimensional-two-dimensional tunneling.

PMID- 9982186
TI  - Theory of single-electron tunneling in resonant-tunneling diodes including
      scattering and multiple subbands at finite temperature.

PMID- 9982189
TI  - Local aspects of the As-stabilized 2 x 3 reconstructed (001) surface of strained
      Inx Ga1-xAs alloys: A first-principles study.

PMID- 9982188
TI  - Enhanced transmission through a disordered potential barrier.

PMID- 9982190
TI  - Exciton localization by potential fluctuations at the interface of InGaAs/GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9982191
TI  - Low-temperature photoluminescence of disordered thin-layer GaAs/AlAs
      superlattices: Experiment.

PMID- 9982192
TI  - Low-temperature photoluminescence of disordered thin-layer GaAs/AlAs
      superlattices: Kinetic model.

PMID- 9982193
TI  - Electronic structures of fullerenes Cn with Ih symmetry and n=20k2.

PMID- 9982195
TI  - Bending of a film-substrate system by epitaxy.

PMID- 9982194
TI  - Morphology of islanded transition-metal films on graphite studied by extreme-UV
      reflectivity.

PMID- 9982196
TI  - Chemisorption and fragmentation of C60 on Pt(111) and Ni(110).

PMID- 9982197
TI  - Atomic arrangement at the AlN/SiC interface.

PMID- 9982198
TI  - Substrate and hydrogen phonons of the ordered p(2 x 1) and (2 x 2) phase and of
      the anomalous (1 x 1) phase of hydrogen on W(110).

PMID- 9982199
TI  - Adsorption, migration, and superlattice formation of benzene on Pd(110).

PMID- 9982200
TI  - Ultraviolet photoelectron spectra of C86 and C90.

PMID- 9982201
TI  - First-layer island growth during epitaxy.

PMID- 9982203
TI  - Energy and angular distributions of hyperthermal-energy Li+ scattered from
      Cu(001).

PMID- 9982202
TI  - Effects of carbon on Fe-grain-boundary cohesion: First-principles determination.

PMID- 9982204
TI  - Excitation of phonons in medium-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9982205
TI  - High-resolution 13C NMR study of oxygen intercalation in C60.

PMID- 9982206
TI  - Dry friction in the Frenkel-Kontorova-Tomlinson model: Static properties.

PMID- 9982207
TI  - Comment on "Density-functional description of the electronic structure of LaMO3
      (M=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni)"

PMID- 9982208
TI  - Comment on "Structure of the Mn-induced Cu(100) c(2 x 2) surface"

PMID- 9982209
TI  - Erratum: Nyquist noise in the transition from mesoscopic to macroscopic transport

PMID- 9982210
TI  - Magnetoconductance anisotropy and interference effects in variable-range hopping.

PMID- 9982211
TI  - Photoemission study of itinerant ferromagnet Cr1- delta Te.

PMID- 9982213
TI  - Time-dependent specific heat below 1 K in the spin-density-wave state of
      (TMTSF)2PF6.

PMID- 9982212
TI  - Ab initio electric-field gradients and electron densities at 27Al, 57Fe, and 67Zn
      in the spinels ZnAl2O4 and ZnFe2O4.

PMID- 9982214
TI  - Singularity of the density of states in the two-dimensional Hubbard model from
      finite-size scaling of Yang-Lee zeros.

PMID- 9982215
TI  - Compton-scattering study of the electronic properties of the transition-metal
      alloys FeAl, CoAl, and NiAl.

PMID- 9982216
TI  - Manipulation of the spin-orbit coupling using the Dirac equation for spin
      dependent potentials.

PMID- 9982218
TI  - Interstitial-oxygen-atom diffusion in MgO.

PMID- 9982217
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotentials for interacting atoms.

PMID- 9982220
TI  - Mechanism and kinetics of the ion-assisted nucleation in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9982219
TI  - Behavior of silicon-, sulfur-, and tellurium-related DX centers in liquid-phase
      epitaxy and vapor-phase-epitaxy GaAs1-xPx alloys.

PMID- 9982221
TI  - Hydrogen migration in polycrystalline silicon.

PMID- 9982223
TI  - Lattice properties of strained GaAs, Si, and Ge using a modified bond-charge
      model.

PMID- 9982222
TI  - Photoemission study of amorphous carbon modifications and comparison with
      calculated densities of states.

PMID- 9982224
TI  - Transport analysis of the thermalization and energy relaxation of photoexcited
      hot electrons in Ge-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9982225
TI  - Optical-absorption spectrum near the exciton band edge in CuGaS2 at 5 K.

PMID- 9982227
TI  - Model and results for a deep level with two different configurations in
      Hg0.3Cd0.7Te.

PMID- 9982226
TI  - Evidence for correlated hole distribution in neutron-transmutation-doped
      isotopically controlled germanium.

PMID- 9982228
TI  - Lifetimes of positrons trapped at Si vacancies.

PMID- 9982229
TI  - Hot-carrier energy-loss rates in alloy semiconductors.

PMID- 9982230
TI  - Energy barrier to reorientation of the substitutional nitrogen in diamond.

PMID- 9982232
TI  - Dopant and carrier concentration in Si in equilibrium with monoclinic SiP
      precipitates.

PMID- 9982231
TI  - Point defects and their reactions in e--irradiated GaAs investigated by x-ray
      diffraction methods.

PMID- 9982233
TI  - Multiple-channel resonant tunneling in a tunneling junction with an impurity
      cluster.

PMID- 9982234
TI  - Role of structural saturation and geometry in the luminescence of silicon-based
      nanostructured materials.

PMID- 9982235
TI  - Donor levels and the microscopic structure of the DX center in n-type Si-doped
      AlxGa0.51-xIn0.49P grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982236
TI  - Kink-induced buckled dimers on Si(001) and Ge(001) at room temperature studied by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9982237
TI  - Absolute transmission, reflection, and absorption studies in GaAs/AlAs quantum
      wells containing a photoexcited electron gas.

PMID- 9982238
TI  - Surface roughening during low-temperature Si epitaxial growth on singular vs
      vicinal Si(001) substrates.

PMID- 9982240
TI  - Resonant-mode conversion and transmission of phonons in superlattices.

PMID- 9982239
TI  - Reconstruction-dependent electron-hole recombination on GaAs(001) surfaces
      studied by using near-surface quantum wells.

PMID- 9982241
TI  - X-ray scattering in disordered superlattices: Theory and application to FeF2/ZnF2
      superlattices.

PMID- 9982242
TI  - Single-electron tunneling through a double quantum dot: The artificial molecule.

PMID- 9982243
TI  - Intersubband resonances in InAs/AlSb quantum wells: Selection rules, matrix
      elements, and the depolarization field.

PMID- 9982244
TI  - Temperature and density dependence of the electron Lande g factor in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9982245
TI  - Atomic and electronic structures of oxygen-adsorbed Si(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9982246
TI  - Static and dynamic properties of coupled electron-electron and electron-hole
      layers.

PMID- 9982247
TI  - Crossover in tunneling hops in systems of strongly localized electrons.

PMID- 9982248
TI  - Hopping conduction in semiconductor superlattices in a quantized magnetic field.

PMID- 9982249
TI  - Photoluminescence studies of current-induced nonequilibrium states in
      magnetically quantized two-dimensional electron gases.

PMID- 9982250
TI  - Successes and failures of the k

PMID- 9982251
TI  - Coulomb drag of edge excitations in the Chern-Simons theory of the fractional
      quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9982253
TI  - Coherent magnetotransport in confined arrays of antidots. I. Dispersion relations
      and current densities.

PMID- 9982252
TI  - Time-resolved transport between resonantly coupled Landau levels in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9982254
TI  - Coherent magnetotransport in confined arrays of antidots. II. Two-terminal
      conductance.

PMID- 9982255
TI  - Structure determination of a Sb monolayer on Ge(111) from first-principles
      calculations.

PMID- 9982256
TI  - Growth of Co on a stepped and on a flat Cu(001) surface.

PMID- 9982257
TI  - Molecular-dynamics investigation of early film growth of Pt/Au(100) and
      Au/Pt(100) and an interdiffusive growth mode.

PMID- 9982258
TI  - Density-functional periodic study of the adsorption of hydrogen on a palladium
      (111) surface.

PMID- 9982259
TI  - Electronic structure of small copper oxide clusters: From Cu2O to Cu2O4.

PMID- 9982260
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission study of SrTiO3 (100) and (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9982261
TI  - Atomic-structure determination of diamond using Auger-electron diffraction.

PMID- 9982262
TI  - Exciton-induced lattice relaxation and the electronic and vibrational spectra of
      silicon clusters.

PMID- 9982263
TI  - Embedding approach to the isolated adsorbate.

PMID- 9982265
TI  - Kinetic roughening of surfaces: Derivation, solution, and application of linear
      growth equations.

PMID- 9982264
TI  - Identification of electrostatic and van der Waals interaction forces between a
      micrometer-size sphere and a flat substrate.

PMID- 9982266
TI  - Interaction of Rydberg atoms with a metal surface in the presence of an external
      electric field.

PMID- 9982268
TI  - Spin-polarized tunneling with GaAs tips in scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9982267
TI  - Photoelectrical properties of semiconductor tips in scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9982269
TI  - Strain-induced growth-mode transition of V in epitaxial Mo/V(001) superlattices.

PMID- 9982270
TI  - Linear-response calculation of electron-phonon coupling parameters.

PMID- 9982271
TI  - Optically detected magnetic-resonance study of triplet-state dynamics in C70.

PMID- 9982273
TI  - Infrared absorption related to the metastable state of arsenic antisite defects
      in electron-irradiated GaAs.

PMID- 9982272
TI  - Electronic structure and the metal-insulator transition in NiS2-xSex.

PMID- 9982274
TI  - Determination of the limiting mobility of a two-dimensional electron gas in
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures and direct measurement of the energy relaxation
      time.

PMID- 9982275
TI  - Measurements of a composite fermion split-gate device.

PMID- 9982276
TI  - Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas in a spatially
      random magnetic field.

PMID- 9982277
TI  - Nonlinear electron-wave directional coupler.

PMID- 9982278
TI  - Optical second-harmonic electroreflectance spectroscopy of a Si(001) metal-oxide
      semiconductor structure.

PMID- 9982279
TI  - Scaling of surface roughness in a heterogeneous film growth system: GexSi1-x on
      Si.

PMID- 9982280
TI  - Phase diagram of vortices in double-layer quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9982281
TI  - Spectral correlation and response functions in quantum dots.

PMID- 9982283
TI  - Electronic conduction through organic molecules.

PMID- 9982282
TI  - Microscopic study of the pressure-induced structural phase transition of ZnTe.

PMID- 9982284
TI  - Theory of Andreev reflection in a junction with a strongly disordered
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9982286
TI  - Instability of the disordered critical points of Dirac fermions.

PMID- 9982285
TI  - Nonequilibrium optical-phonon population by sequential resonant tunneling in GaAs
      AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9982287
TI  - Photoluminescence decay times in strong-coupling semiconductor microcavities.

PMID- 9982289
TI  - Negative-electron-affinity effect on the surface of chemical-vapor-deposited
      diamond polycrystalline films.

PMID- 9982288
TI  - Influence of island mobility on island size distributions in surface growth.

PMID- 9982290
TI  - One-dimensional commensurate-incommensurate transition: Bromide on the Au(100)
      electrode.

PMID- 9982291
TI  - Trapped electrons in solid deuterium.

PMID- 9982293
TI  - Far-infrared reflectivity and Raman spectra of Ba5Nb4O15.

PMID- 9982292
TI  - Thermal expansion of chromium at high temperature.

PMID- 9982295
TI  - Electron-beam analysis of polymerized KC60.

PMID- 9982294
TI  - Evidence for correlation effects in Sr2RuO4 from resonant and x-ray photoemission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982296
TI  - Inversion and the phase problem in specular reflection.

PMID- 9982297
TI  - Interfaces in the Ising quantum chain and conformal invariance.

PMID- 9982298
TI  - Bond hybridization in Au alloys: Extracting structural information from the x-ray
      absorption white line.

PMID- 9982300
TI  - Evidence for a supercooled plastic-crystal phase in solid ethanol.

PMID- 9982299
TI  - Fluctuation effects in the Ising model with reduced interaction and quenched
      disorder.

PMID- 9982301
TI  - Theoretical study of Fe-Mn-Al alloys in the fcc disordered phase.

PMID- 9982303
TI  - Dynamical replica theory for disordered spin systems.

PMID- 9982302
TI  - Pressure-induced polymerization of fullerenes: A comparative study of C60 and
      C70.

PMID- 9982304
TI  - Kondo resonance energies in CePd3.

PMID- 9982306
TI  - Quasi-one-dimensional organic unsaturated ferromagnetism: Some rigorous results.

PMID- 9982305
TI  - Variational analyses of series expansions for the exchange-interaction model.

PMID- 9982308
TI  - Semiclassical transport theory of inhomogeneous systems.

PMID- 9982307
TI  - Chemical pressure effects on the crystallographic and magnetic behavior of
      CeNiGa3.

PMID- 9982309
TI  - Magnetoresistance in La1-xSrxCoO3 for 0.05 <~ x <~ 0.25.

PMID- 9982310
TI  - Critical behavior of a quantum spherical model in a random field.

PMID- 9982311
TI  - Short-range Potts spin-glass model: Renormalization-group method.

PMID- 9982312
TI  - Core-level magnetic-circular-dichroism study of an Fe single crystal, Fe-Pt
      alloys, and an Fe/Pt multilayer.

PMID- 9982313
TI  - Curie-temperature enhancement of ferromagnetic phases in nanoscale heterogeneous
      systems.

PMID- 9982314
TI  - Interfacial roughness, correlation length, and giant magnetoresistances in
      NiFeCo/Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9982315
TI  - Statistical interactions of vortices in superconducting films.

PMID- 9982316
TI  - Quantitative analysis of Josephson-quasiparticle current in superconducting
      single-electron transistors.

PMID- 9982317
TI  - Effect of pressure on the superconducting Tc of lanthanum.

PMID- 9982318
TI  - Superconductivity in heavy-fermion CeRh2Si2.

PMID- 9982319
TI  - Splitting of the resistive transition of copper oxide superconductors: Intrinsic
      double superconducting transitions versus extrinsic effects.

PMID- 9982320
TI  - Evidence for a non-s-wave superconducting order parameter in YBa2Cu3O6.6 with
      Tc=60 K.

PMID- 9982321
TI  - Model of c-axis resistivity of high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9982323
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential study of the structural phase transformations of ZnS
      under high pressure.

PMID- 9982322
TI  - Mechanism of tritium diffusion in lithium oxide.

PMID- 9982324
TI  - Observation of planar oscillations of MeV protons in silicon using ion channeling
      patterns.

PMID- 9982325
TI  - Model-independent determination of the strain distribution for a Si0.9Ge0.1/Si
      superlattice using x-ray diffractometry data.

PMID- 9982326
TI  - Observation of persistent spectral hole burning of Eu3+ in beta "-alumina at 110
      K.

PMID- 9982328
TI  - Thermal properties of iron at high pressures and temperatures.

PMID- 9982327
TI  - Effect of melting and electron-phonon coupling on the collapse of depleted zones
      in copper, nickel, and alpha -iron.

PMID- 9982329
TI  - Fourth-order contributions to the 7F6-->5D4 two-photon transition of Tb3+ in a
      cubic lattice.

PMID- 9982330
TI  - Phonon density of states and low-temperature specific heat of quasi-one
      dimensional (TaSe4)2I and (NbSe4)3I.

PMID- 9982331
TI  - Unusual low-frequency elastic anomalies around the upper incommensurate phase of

PMID- 9982332
TI  - Compressibility of C60 in the temperature range 150-335 K up to a pressure of 1
      GPa.

PMID- 9982333
TI  - Structural investigations of the amorphous alloy Al30Ge70 under high pressure.

PMID- 9982334
TI  - Localization of electromagnetic waves in two-dimensional disordered systems.

PMID- 9982335
TI  - Glass transition of associated solvents studied by fluorescence measurement of
      doped chromophores.

PMID- 9982336
TI  - Resonant neutron scattering from certain anharmonic potentials.

PMID- 9982337
TI  - Branching ratio of uv and blue upconversions of Tm3+ ions in glasses.

PMID- 9982338
TI  - Microstructural analysis of simulated liquid and amorphous Ni.

PMID- 9982339
TI  - Two-matrix models and their possible relevance to disordered systems.

PMID- 9982340
TI  - Time and composition dependence of mechanical alloying of Fe1-xSnx.

PMID- 9982341
TI  - Solidification kinetics in SiGe alloys.

PMID- 9982342
TI  - Elastic interfacial waves in discrete and continuous media.

PMID- 9982343
TI  - Brownian-motion model of parametric correlations in ballistic cavities.

PMID- 9982344
TI  - Fock-space approach to the kinetic Ising model.

PMID- 9982345
TI  - Cooperative Jahn-Teller effect and electron-phonon coupling in La1-xAxMnO3.

PMID- 9982346
TI  - Concentration dependence of optical phonons in the TiO2-SnO2 system.

PMID- 9982347
TI  - Variational study of the discrete Holstein model.

PMID- 9982348
TI  - Validity of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation in the context of the
      fluorescence depolarization of a spin-boson system.

PMID- 9982350
TI  - Electronic band structure in a periodic magnetic field.

PMID- 9982349
TI  - Spin scattering in ferromagnetic thin films.

PMID- 9982351
TI  - Magnetic behavior of stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric GdAs single crystals.

PMID- 9982352
TI  - Spin-wave excitation in a quasi-one-dimensional organic ferromagnet.

PMID- 9982353
TI  - Numerical study of the random transverse-field Ising spin chain.

PMID- 9982354
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy and weak ferromagnetism of single-crystal TbNi2B2C.

PMID- 9982355
TI  - Magnetic structure of TbNi2B2C.

PMID- 9982356
TI  - Quantum-well states and induced magnetism in Fe/CuN/Fe bcc (001) trilayers.

PMID- 9982357
TI  - Random magnetic order in Al-Mn liquids.

PMID- 9982358
TI  - Antiferromagnetic spin ladders: Crossover between spin S=1/2 and S=1 chains.

PMID- 9982360
TI  - Lifetime of vortices in two-dimensional easy-plane ferromagnets.

PMID- 9982359
TI  - Temperature-dependent pitch and phase diagram for incommensurate XY spins in a
      slab geometry.

PMID- 9982361
TI  - Effects of magnetic order on the upper critical field of UPt3.

PMID- 9982362
TI  - H-T phase diagrams of the double transition in thoriated UBe13.

PMID- 9982363
TI  - Nucleation of vortices inside open and blind microholes.

PMID- 9982364
TI  - Exact results on superconductivity due to interband coupling.

PMID- 9982365
TI  - Monte Carlo calculation of the current-voltage characteristics of a two
      dimensional lattice Coulomb gas.

PMID- 9982366
TI  - Infrared conductivity of a dx2-y2-wave superconductor with impurity and spin
      fluctuation scattering.

PMID- 9982367
TI  - Two-order-parameter phenomenological theory of the phase diagram of liquid
      helium.

PMID- 9982368
TI  - Finite bandwidth effects on the transition temperature and NMR relaxation rate of
      impure superconductors.

PMID- 9982369
TI  - Interface-potential approach to surface states in type-I superconductors.

PMID- 9982370
TI  - Strong rare-earth size dependence of Tc in RSr2Cu2.85Re0.15Oz.

PMID- 9982371
TI  - Mixed-state Hall-effect studies in high-Tc-superconducting (YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      )n/(PrBa2Cu3O7- delta )m superlattices.

PMID- 9982373
TI  - Resonant magnon Raman scattering in PrBa2Cu3O7 single crystals.

PMID- 9982372
TI  - X-ray-induced photoconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6 between 70 and 300 K.

PMID- 9982374
TI  - Current transport and electronic states in a,b-axis-oriented
      YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7/YBa2Cu3O7 sandwich-type junctions.

PMID- 9982376
TI  - Critical fluctuations and lowest-Landau-level scaling of the specific heat of
      high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9982375
TI  - Raman study of crystal-field excitations in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9982377
TI  - Theory of flux penetration into thin films with field-dependent critical current.

PMID- 9982379
TI  - Matching and surface barrier effects of the flux-line lattice in superconducting
      films and multilayers.

PMID- 9982378
TI  - Comparison of the low-temperature specific heat of Fe- and Co-doped
      Bi1.8Pb0.2Sr2Ca(Cu1-xMx)2O8 (M=Fe or Co): Anomolously enhanced electronic
      contribution due to Fe doping.

PMID- 9982380
TI  - Charged domain-wall dynamics in doped antiferromagnets and spin fluctuations in
      cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9982381
TI  - Unusual magnetic-field dependence of the electrothermal conductivity in the mixed
      state of cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9982382
TI  - Magneto-optical study of flux penetration and critical current densities in

PMID- 9982383
TI  - Anisotropy in magnetic dynamics of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9982385
TI  - Bilayers of chiral spin states.

PMID- 9982384
TI  - T-matrix formulation of impurity scattering in correlated systems.

PMID- 9982386
TI  - Theory of inelastic x-ray scattering in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9982388
TI  - Method for determining the critical-state response of superconductors in tape
      geometry.

PMID- 9982387
TI  - In-plane and out-of-plane magnetoresistance in La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystals.

PMID- 9982389
TI  - Effective single-band models for the high-Tc cuprates. I. Coulomb interactions.

PMID- 9982391
TI  - Erratum: Soliton excitations in one-dimensional diatomic lattices

PMID- 9982390
TI  - Effective single-band models for the high-Tc cuprates. II. Role of apical oxygen.

PMID- 9982392
TI  - Erratum: Anisotropy and dimensional crossover of the vortex state in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta crystals

PMID- 9982393
TI  - Degenerate Blume-Emery-Griffiths model for the martensitic transformation.

PMID- 9982394
TI  - Channeling radiation of electrons in natural diamond crystals and their coherence
      and occupation lengths.

PMID- 9982395
TI  - Surface-induced ordering and disordering in face-centered-cubic alloys: A Monte
      Carlo study.

PMID- 9982397
TI  - Holographic recording and beam coupling in ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12.

PMID- 9982396
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of partial edge dislocations in copper and gold:
      Interactions, structures, and self-diffusion.

PMID- 9982398
TI  - Local-density-functional calculations for defect interactions in Al.

PMID- 9982400
TI  - Consistent partial structure factors for amorphous Ni0.33(ZryHf1-y)0.67 using x
      ray and neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9982399
TI  - Systematics in the commensurate-incommensurate phase transition in

PMID- 9982401
TI  - Contribution of the vibrational free energy to phase stability in substitutional
      alloys: Methods and trends.

PMID- 9982402
TI  - Icosahedral quasicrystal decoration models. I. Geometrical principles.

PMID- 9982403
TI  - Icosahedral quasicrystal decoration models. II. Optimization under realistic Al
      Mn potentials.

PMID- 9982404
TI  - Partial disorder and molecular motion of 4-chlorobiphenyl studied by 35Cl NQR and
      Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982406
TI  - Completely quantized theory of homogeneous line broadening in long-lived nuclear
      states.

PMID- 9982405
TI  - Lattice dynamics of II-VI materials using the adiabatic bond-charge model.

PMID- 9982407
TI  - Beyond the isotropic-model approximation in the theory of thermal conductivity.

PMID- 9982408
TI  - Time-retarded interactions in systems with tunneling states and strong electron
      phonon coupling.

PMID- 9982409
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics study of diffusion and defects in solid Li3N.

PMID- 9982410
TI  - Ab initio calculations of interaction energies of magnetic layers in noble
      metals: Co/Cu(100).

PMID- 9982411
TI  - Enhanced giant magnetoresistance in spin-valves sandwiched between insulating
      NiO.

PMID- 9982412
TI  - Quantum-well states in Cu/Co overlayers and sandwiches.

PMID- 9982413
TI  - Induced magnetization in thin epitaxial V films on Fe (100).

PMID- 9982414
TI  - Oscillatory magnetoresistance in the charge-transfer salt beta "-(BEDT-TTF)2AuBr2
      in magnetic fields up to 60 T: Evidence for field-induced Fermi-surface
      reconstruction.

PMID- 9982415
TI  - 13C NMR of the organic ferromagnet TDAE-C60.

PMID- 9982416
TI  - Magnetic properties of the ZnFe2O4 spinel.

PMID- 9982418
TI  - Quantum phase transition in square- and triangular-lattice spin-1/2
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9982417
TI  - Scaling theory of the Kondo screening cloud.

PMID- 9982419
TI  - Absence of gap for infinite half-integer spin ladders with an odd number of legs.

PMID- 9982421
TI  - Theory of nuclear magnetic relaxation in Haldane-gap antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9982420
TI  - Anomalous moment and anisotropy behavior in Fe3O4 films.

PMID- 9982423
TI  - Magneto-optical Kerr effect in a paramagnetic overlayer on a ferromagnetic
      substrate: A spin-polarized quantum size effect.

PMID- 9982422
TI  - Calculated spin and orbital moments in the surfaces of the 3d metals Fe, Co, and
      Ni and their overlayers on Cu(001).

PMID- 9982424
TI  - Dynamical critical transition of an antiferromagnetic Ising model in an
      oscillating field.

PMID- 9982426
TI  - Nonlinear spin dynamics in nuclear magnets.

PMID- 9982425
TI  - Ferromagnetism in correlated electron systems: Generalization of Nagaoka's
      theorem.

PMID- 9982427
TI  - Magnetic properties of 4d transition-metal clusters.

PMID- 9982428
TI  - Phase-coherent conductance of a superconductor-normal-metal quantum
      interferometer.

PMID- 9982429
TI  - Enhanced nonlinear response of superconductor-normal-conductor composite wires
      and strips.

PMID- 9982430
TI  - Low-field vortex dynamics over seven time decades in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      single crystal for temperatures 13 <~ T <~ 83 K.

PMID- 9982431
TI  - Transition between different quantum states in a mesoscopic system: The
      superconducting ring.

PMID- 9982432
TI  - Critical fields and mixed-state properties of the layered organic superconductor
      kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2I3.

PMID- 9982433
TI  - Diffusive and ballistic motion in superconducting hybrid structures.

PMID- 9982434
TI  - Deviations from Fermi-liquid behavior in (2+1)-dimensional quantum
      electrodynamics and the normal phase of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9982435
TI  - Flux motion and phase transitions in superconducting (K,Ba)BiO3 single crystals.

PMID- 9982436
TI  - Conserving and gapless approximations for an inhomogeneous Bose gas at finite
      temperatures.

PMID- 9982437
TI  - Observation of both pair and quasiparticle tunneling in intrinsic junction stacks
      fabricated on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single crystals.

PMID- 9982438
TI  - Far-infrared c-axis response of La1.87Sr0.13CuO4 determined by ellipsometry.

PMID- 9982439
TI  - Energy-gap structure of a t-J bilayer.

PMID- 9982440
TI  - Nonresonant microwave absorption study of intrinsic Josephson coupling in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

PMID- 9982441
TI  - Local density of states of quasiparticles near the interface of nonuniform d-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9982443
TI  - Stability analysis of a model for the defect structure of YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9982442
TI  - Magnetic ordering in PrBa2Cu3-yAlyO6+x.

PMID- 9982444
TI  - Observation of dynamic flux-line relaxation in ion-irradiated Bi2Sr1.8CaCu2Ox by
      Lorentz microscopy.

PMID- 9982446
TI  - Near-edge x-ray-absorption study of transition-metal-implanted YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9982445
TI  - Sign reversal of the Hall resistivity of single-crystalline
      Bi1.95Sr1.65La0.4CuO6+ delta and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9982447
TI  - Resistivity and Hall effect of metallic oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox films in the
      normal state.

PMID- 9982448
TI  - Imaginary part of the optical conductivity of Ba1-xKxBiO3.

PMID- 9982449
TI  - Synthesis of Ba1-xKxBiO3 ceramic specimens: Electron paramagnetic resonance and
      microwave absorption.

PMID- 9982450
TI  - Quadruple perovskites L'L"Ba2Cu2Ti2O11 as good candidates for high-temperature
      superconductors: Role of oxygen defects.

PMID- 9982451
TI  - Vortex pinning in the frozen vortex lattice in YBa2Cu3O7-x films.

PMID- 9982452
TI  - Three-dimensional superconducting behavior and thermodynamic parameters of
      HgBa2Ca0.86Sr0.14Cu2O6- delta.

PMID- 9982453
TI  - Comment on "X-ray-absorption fine structure in embedded atoms"

PMID- 9982454
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'x-ray-absorption fine structure in embedded atoms' "

PMID- 9982455
TI  - Comment on "Theory of giant magnetoresistance effects in Fe/Cr multilayers: Spin
      dependent scattering from impurities"

PMID- 9982456
TI  - Comment on "Flux flow and flux cutting in type-II superconductors carrying a
      longitudinal current"

PMID- 9982457
TI  - Transient absorption of vibrationally excited FH(CN-) centers in cesium halides:
      Insight into the electronic-to-vibrational energy transfer.

PMID- 9982458
TI  - Quartzlike polymorph of ice.

PMID- 9982459
TI  - Dominant role of E' centers in x-ray-induced, visible luminescence in high-purity
      amorphous silicas.

PMID- 9982460
TI  - Homogeneous linewidth of the 5D0-7F0 transition of trivalent europium in a
      fluorophosphate glass.

PMID- 9982461
TI  - Soft-x-ray fluorescence study of buried silicides in antiferromagnetically
      coupled Fe/Si multilayers.

PMID- 9982462
TI  - Spin and charge gaps in the one-dimensional Kondo-lattice model with Coulomb
      interaction between conduction electrons.

PMID- 9982463
TI  - Kondo effect in a Luttinger liquid: A boundary-conformal-field-theory approach.

PMID- 9982465
TI  - Double degeneracy and Jahn-Teller effects in colossal-magnetoresistance
      perovskites.

PMID- 9982464
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in ammoniated K3C60.

PMID- 9982466
TI  - Calculation of the magnetoresistance in RhFe.

PMID- 9982467
TI  - Phase transitions in the Heisenberg spin ladder with ferromagnetic legs.

PMID- 9982468
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of magnetic vortices in single-crystal and ion-damaged NbSe2.

PMID- 9982469
TI  - Columnar defects and vortex fluctuations in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9982471
TI  - Optical conductivity of a t-J ladder.

PMID- 9982470
TI  - Far-infrared transmission study on Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y thin films.

PMID- 9982472
TI  - First-order superconductor-to-insulator transition: Evidence for a supersolid
      phase.

PMID- 9982474
TI  - Electronic structure of insulating salts of the kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2X family
      studied by low-temperature specific-heat measurements.

PMID- 9982473
TI  - de Haas-van Alphen study in the superconducting state of YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9982476
TI  - epsilon expansion of the conductivity at the superconductor-Mott-insulator
      transition.

PMID- 9982475
TI  - Highly anisotropic superconductivity in the organic conductor alpha -(BEDT
      TTF)2NH4Hg(SCN)4.

PMID- 9982477
TI  - Strong temperature dependence of the c-axis gap parameter of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      intrinsic Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9982478
TI  - Thermal noise in superconducting quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9982480
TI  - Vortex plastic flow, local flux density, magnetization hysteresis loops, and
      critical current, deep in the Bose-glass and Mott-insulator regimes.

PMID- 9982479
TI  - Amplification of the c-axis vortex correlation by twin-boundary pinning at the
      vortex liquid-solid phase transition.

PMID- 9982481
TI  - Transport properties of Bi2Sr2CuO6 single crystals: Possibility of interplane
      coupling in the weakly localized regime.

PMID- 9982483
TI  - Change of parity of the order parameter in high-temperature superconductors due
      to impurities.

PMID- 9982482
TI  - 63Cu NMR probe of superconducting properties in HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta : A possible
      reason for Tc=133 K.

PMID- 9982484
TI  - Optical conductivity of the U=

PMID- 9982485
TI  - Evidence for strong interaction between the 5f 2 and 5f 17p1 configurations of
      U4+ in the octahedral sites of Cs2UBr6 and Cs2ZrBr6.

PMID- 9982486
TI  - Symmetrization of atomic forces within the full-potential linearized augmented
      plane-wave method.

PMID- 9982487
TI  - Nonlocal kinetic-energy-density functionals.

PMID- 9982488
TI  - Evolution of carrier density in the series YCu5-xInx.

PMID- 9982490
TI  - Ferromagnetic superexchange in Cr-based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9982489
TI  - Effects of electrically active impurities on the bond energy in silicon: Ab
      initio total energy cluster study.

PMID- 9982491
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced crossover from Mott variable-range hopping to weakly
      insulating behavior.

PMID- 9982493
TI  - Geometrical effect on the electron escape rate in a mesoscopic ring with an
      Aharonov-Bohm magnetic flux.

PMID- 9982492
TI  - The s-d and p-d exchange interaction in Zn1-xFexTe.

PMID- 9982494
TI  - Degeneracy of Landau levels and quantum group slq(2).

PMID- 9982495
TI  - Dispersion of optical second-harmonic generation of Si(111) 7 x 7 during oxygen
      adsorption.

PMID- 9982496
TI  - Dependence of tunneling transparency of the disordered superlattice on the
      parameters of impurity centers located inside the barriers.

PMID- 9982497
TI  - Current-carrying ground states in mesoscopic and macroscopic systems.

PMID- 9982499
TI  - Experimental manifestation of the effect of disorder on exciton binding energy in
      mixed crystals.

PMID- 9982498
TI  - D- centers probed by resonant tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982500
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of exciton spin relaxation in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9982501
TI  - Coupling of lateral and vertical electron motion in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires
      and dots.

PMID- 9982502
TI  - Weak and strong localization in low-dimensional semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9982504
TI  - Photon drag effect in tunnel-coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9982503
TI  - Generation of spin-polarized currents in Zeeman-split Tomonaga-Luttinger models.

PMID- 9982505
TI  - Pseudopotential calculations of nanoscale CdSe quantum dots.

PMID- 9982506
TI  - Phase rigidity and h/2e oscillations in a single-ring Aharonov-Bohm experiment.

PMID- 9982507
TI  - Photoluminescence of the two-dimensional hole gas in p-type delta -doped Si
      layers.

PMID- 9982509
TI  - Single-mode quantum wires.

PMID- 9982508
TI  - Hofstadter-type energy spectra in lateral superlattices defined by periodic
      magnetic and electrostatic fields.

PMID- 9982510
TI  - Composite-fermion excitations and the electronic spectra of fractional quantum
      Hall systems.

PMID- 9982511
TI  - Ballistic composite fermions in semiconductor nanostructures.

PMID- 9982512
TI  - Mapping connectivity in discontinuous metal films with a scanning tunneling
      microscope.

PMID- 9982513
TI  - Transformation of a graphite superlattice into triangular dislocations.

PMID- 9982514
TI  - Helium-atom-scattering measurements of surface-phonon dispersion curves of the
      C(111)-H(1 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9982515
TI  - Simulation model for self-ordering of strained islands in molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982516
TI  - Multielectron neutralization channels in ion-surface scattering.

PMID- 9982518
TI  - Localization in quasi-one-dimensional systems with a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9982517
TI  - Electronic structure of CuV2S4.

PMID- 9982519
TI  - Optimized wave functions for quantum Monte Carlo studies of atoms and solids.

PMID- 9982521
TI  - Dirac fermions with disorder in two dimensions: Exact results.

PMID- 9982520
TI  - Direct k-space photoemission imaging of the Fermi surface of Cu.

PMID- 9982522
TI  - Ab initio electronic structure, magnetism, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy of
      UGa2.

PMID- 9982523
TI  - Polarons and bipolarons in strongly interacting electron-phonon systems.

PMID- 9982524
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the one-dimensional Holstein model of spinless
      fermions.

PMID- 9982525
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of the charged boson fluid at T=0.

PMID- 9982526
TI  - Quantum group, Bethe ansatz equations, and Bloch wave functions in magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9982527
TI  - Dynamics of a heavy particle in a Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9982528
TI  - Model for quantitative analysis of reflection-electron-energy-loss spectra:
      Angular dependence.

PMID- 9982529
TI  - Experimental test of model for angular and energy dependence of reflection
      electron-energy-loss spectra.

PMID- 9982530
TI  - Ab initio investigation of the structure and electronic properties of the
      energetic solids TATB and RDX.

PMID- 9982531
TI  - Photoluminescence and optical absorption in neutron-irradiated crystalline
      quartz.

PMID- 9982532
TI  - Electronic structure anisotropy and d-configuration in Ni-based materials.

PMID- 9982533
TI  - Non-Gaussian 1/f noise: Experimental optimization and separation of high-order
      amplitude and phase correlations.

PMID- 9982535
TI  - Strong-coupling expansion for the Hubbard model in arbitrary dimension using
      slave bosons.

PMID- 9982534
TI  - First-principles free-energy calculations on condensed-matter systems: Lattice
      vacancy in silicon.

PMID- 9982537
TI  - Influence of gradient corrections to the local-density-approximation on the
      calculation of hyperfine fields in ferromagnetic Fe, Co, and Ni.

PMID- 9982536
TI  - Overlayer-induced anomalous interface magnetocrystalline anisotropy in ultrathin
      Co films.

PMID- 9982538
TI  - Energetics and hydrogen passivation of carbon-related defects in InAs and
      In0.5Ga0.5As.

PMID- 9982539
TI  - First-principles study of the structure and energetics of neutral divacancies in
      silicon.

PMID- 9982540
TI  - Nonlocality and many-body effects in the optical properties of semiconductors.

PMID- 9982541
TI  - Verification of EL2 electronic absorption effect on charge transfer in semi
      insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9982543
TI  - Vibrational spectra of defects in silicon: An orbital radii approach.

PMID- 9982542
TI  - Optical processes related to arsenic vacancies in semi-insulating GaAs studied by
      positron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982544
TI  - Electron velocity overshoot and nonequilibrium phonons in a GaAs-based p-i-n
      nanostructure studied by transient subpicosecond Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982546
TI  - Photoluminescence study of the one-dimensional material ZrS3 and its solid
      solution Zr1-xHfxS3.

PMID- 9982545
TI  - Nonequilibrium phonon dynamics and electron distribution functions in InP and
      InAs.

PMID- 9982547
TI  - Laser-power dependence of absorption changes in Ge-doped SiO2 glass induced by a
      KrF excimer laser.

PMID- 9982549
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of c-Si derived by quantum path-integral Monte Carlo
      simulations.

PMID- 9982548
TI  - Measurements and analysis of the gap and local modes of BGa impurities in GaP.

PMID- 9982550
TI  - Coherent optical generation of nonequilibrium electrons studied via band-to
      acceptor luminescence in GaAs.

PMID- 9982551
TI  - Nonequilibrium phonon effects on the transient high-field transport regime in
      InP.

PMID- 9982552
TI  - Resonance pattern in electronic transmittance for two identical coupled random
      dimer chains under different lead configurations.

PMID- 9982553
TI  - Submonolayer structure of an abrupt Al/GaAs{001}-(2 x 4) interface.

PMID- 9982554
TI  - Formation of GaAs/AlAs(001) interfaces studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9982556
TI  - Electronic, structural, and dynamical properties of the GaAs(110):Ge surface.

PMID- 9982555
TI  - Calculated Schwoebel barriers on Si(111) steps using an empirical potential.

PMID- 9982557
TI  - Band structure of holes in p-type delta -doping quantum wells and superlattices.

PMID- 9982559
TI  - Many-electron ground states in anisotropic parabolic quantum dots.

PMID- 9982558
TI  - Correlations, compressibility, and capacitance in double-quantum-well systems in
      the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9982560
TI  - Electron interference in a T-shaped quantum transistor based on Schottky-gate
      technology.

PMID- 9982562
TI  - Parametric conductance correlation for irregularly shaped quantum dots.

PMID- 9982561
TI  - Coulomb scattering lifetime of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9982564
TI  - Scattering-matrix method for the tight-binding model of heterostructure
      electronic states.

PMID- 9982563
TI  - Anisotropic hole subband states and interband optical absorption in

PMID- 9982565
TI  - Enhancement of spin-dependent hole delocalization in degenerate asymmetric double
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9982567
TI  - Spin-ordering and magnon collective modes for two-dimensional electron lattices
      in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9982566
TI  - Chaotic dynamics of electric-field domains in periodically driven superlattices.

PMID- 9982568
TI  - Coherent resonant tunneling in ac fields.

PMID- 9982569
TI  - Influence of typical environments on quantum processes.

PMID- 9982570
TI  - Ballistic transmission of composite fermions in a side-gated crossed-wire
      junction.

PMID- 9982571
TI  - Second virial coefficient for contact-interacting anyons.

PMID- 9982572
TI  - Electron-electron scattering in linear transport in two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9982573
TI  - Shot noise in the presence of phonon-assisted transport through quasiballistic
      nanowires.

PMID- 9982574
TI  - Interaction of excitons with a generalized Morse surface potential: p
      polarization geometry of the incident light at a semiconductor surface.

PMID- 9982575
TI  - One- and two-photon-dressed effects in infrared-coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9982576
TI  - Dynamic changes in reflectance anisotropy from the Si(001) surface during gas
      source molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982578
TI  - Defect-pool model and the hydrogen density of states in hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9982577
TI  - Pressure dependence of the photoluminescence of strained (001) and (111) InxGa1
      xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9982580
TI  - Electric-field-induced Mott metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9982579
TI  - Energy spectrum of a Bloch electron on a highly anisotropic two-dimensional
      lattice in a strong magnetic field: The analogy with the Wannier-Stark ladder.

PMID- 9982581
TI  - Charged Skyrmions: A condensate of spin excitons in a two-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9982582
TI  - Collective behavior in the single-electron charging regime through classical
      molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9982583
TI  - Intradonor absorption spectra under external fields in quantum wells.

PMID- 9982585
TI  - Resistance resonances from a magnetic impurity in an electron waveguide.

PMID- 9982584
TI  - Effects of spin-orbit coupling on persistent current and electronic thermal
      capacity in one-dimensional conducting rings.

PMID- 9982586
TI  - Analytical theory of NEXAFS from diatomic molecules.

PMID- 9982588
TI  - In situ characterization of epitaxially grown thin layers.

PMID- 9982587
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional quantum states of H2 in stage-2 Rb-intercalated graphite.

PMID- 9982589
TI  - Final-state scattering in angle-resolved ultraviolet photoemission from copper.

PMID- 9982591
TI  - Collective excitations of multishell carbon microstructures: Multishell
      fullerenes and coaxial nanotubes.

PMID- 9982590
TI  - In situ sequential STM imaging of structural changes resulting from the
      electrodissolution of silver crystal surfaces in aqueous perchloric acid: The
      roughening kinetics.

PMID- 9982592
TI  - Ion-beam mixing of Ag/Fe and In/Fe layers studied by hyperfine techniques.

PMID- 9982593
TI  - Structures of Fe3O4 (111) surfaces observed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9982594
TI  - Unexpected adsorption sites for potassium and rubidium adsorption on Ag(111).

PMID- 9982595
TI  - Capture zones and scaling in homogeneous thin-film growth.

PMID- 9982596
TI  - Conductance in disordered nanowires: Forward and backscattering.

PMID- 9982597
TI  - Theoretical study of adsorption of Cu, Ag, and Au on the NaCl(100) surface.

PMID- 9982598
TI  - Surface polaritons on metallic wire gratings studied via power losses.

PMID- 9982599
TI  - Detailed theoretical photoelectron angular distributions for LiF(100).

PMID- 9982600
TI  - Infrared reflectance studies on a Fe3O4 film deposited on a MgO substrate:
      Observation of the substrate longitudinal optic phonon resonance peak in the film
      geometry.

PMID- 9982601
TI  - Coupling, resonance transmission, and tunneling of surface-plasmon polaritons
      through metallic gratings of finite length.

PMID- 9982602
TI  - Local density of unoccupied states in ion-beam-mixed Pd-Ag alloys.

PMID- 9982603
TI  - Analysis of angle-resolved photoemission data of PbS (001) surfaces within the
      direct-transition model.

PMID- 9982605
TI  - Electronic structure of silver overlayers on W(100).

PMID- 9982604
TI  - Adlayer core-level shifts of admetal monolayers on transition-metal substrates
      and their relation to the surface chemical reactivity.

PMID- 9982606
TI  - Surface-plasmon mode on a random rough metal surface: Enhanced backscattering and
      localization.

PMID- 9982607
TI  - Resonant photoelectron spectroscopy on NiO.

PMID- 9982608
TI  - Energy shift of the Cu L3M4,5M4,5 Auger line excited by proton impact on Cu(110):
      Enhanced electron correlations at the surface.

PMID- 9982609
TI  - Magnetism and structure of small clusters: An exact treatment of electron
      correlations.

PMID- 9982611
TI  - Locking of the tunneling distance in STM-type junctions: The influence of surface
      acoustic waves.

PMID- 9982610
TI  - Competition between vibrational excitation and dissociation in collisions of H2
      with Cu(100).

PMID- 9982612
TI  - Erratum: Coulomb interaction and persistent currents in ensembles of mesoscopic
      metal rings

PMID- 9982613
TI  - Erratum: Currents in the compressible and incompressible regions of the two
      dimensional electron gas

PMID- 9982614
TI  - Erratum: Magnetic energy bands of carbon nanotubes

PMID- 9982615
TI  - Erratum: Current-density-functional theory of quantum dots in a magnetic field

PMID- 9982616
TI  - Erratum: Green's-function calculations of valence photoemission spectra of Pd2CO
      and Pt2CO

PMID- 9982618
TI  - Erratum: Universal equilibrium currents in the quantum Hall fluid

PMID- 9982617
TI  - Erratum: Experimental determination of the quasiparticle charge and the energy
      gap in the fractional quantum Hall effect

PMID- 9982619
TI  - Optical and transport studies of Ni(dmit)2-based organic conductors.

PMID- 9982621
TI  - Influence of quasiparticle damping on magnetic stability.

PMID- 9982620
TI  - Improved treatment of retarded self-energy calculations in perturbation theory.

PMID- 9982622
TI  - Further orbital-free kinetic-energy functionals for ab initio molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9982623
TI  - Electronic structure of Li12Si7.

PMID- 9982624
TI  - Electronic structure and bonding in skutterudite-type phosphides.

PMID- 9982626
TI  - Electronic structure of Pt in polyyne.

PMID- 9982625
TI  - Electronic origins of ordering in multicomponent metallic alloys: Application to
      the Cu-Ni-Zn system.

PMID- 9982627
TI  - Superhyperfine structures of the relaxed excited state of the F centers in KCl
      observed by zero-frequency optical detection of electron-nuclear double
      resonance.

PMID- 9982629
TI  - Alternative equations of motion for dynamical simulated annealing of the density
      functional.

PMID- 9982628
TI  - Dispersive photoconductivity in the layered perovskite Nd2Ti3O9.

PMID- 9982630
TI  - Nonlinear optical susceptibilities of conjugated polymers: Damping, resonances,
      and scaling laws.

PMID- 9982632
TI  - Spin-gap phase of strongly correlated fermions.

PMID- 9982631
TI  - O 1s near-edge x-ray absorption of La2-xSrxNiO4+ delta : Holes, polarons, and
      excitons.

PMID- 9982633
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential study of Fe, Co, and Ni employing the spin-polarized
      LAPW approach.

PMID- 9982634
TI  - Conducting state of polyaniline films: Dependence on moisture.

PMID- 9982635
TI  - Semiconductor band switching by charging a small grain with a single electron.

PMID- 9982636
TI  - X-ray diffraction examinations of EL2-like defect metastability in low
      temperature gallium arsenide.

PMID- 9982637
TI  - Terms linear in k in the band structure of wurtzite-type semiconductors.

PMID- 9982638
TI  - Coexistence of the DX center with nonmetastable states of the donor impurity in
      Si-doped AlxGa1-xAs: Effects on the low-temperature electron mobility.

PMID- 9982639
TI  - Raman spectroscopy of Cd1-xCrxS.

PMID- 9982640
TI  - Fe-based semimagnetic semiconductors with two anions.

PMID- 9982641
TI  - Radiation ionization energy in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9982642
TI  - Calculation of second-order optical response in semiconductors.

PMID- 9982643
TI  - Theory of photoinduced charge transfer in a molecularly doped conjugated polymer.

PMID- 9982644
TI  - Suppression of Si-Ge interfacial vibration mode in the Raman spectrum of a Si6Ge4
      superlattice.

PMID- 9982645
TI  - Multiple phase structures of NiSi2 on Si(001): An atomic view.

PMID- 9982647
TI  - Efficient exciton energy transfer between widely separated quantum wells at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9982646
TI  - Ion-energy effects in silicon ion-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982648
TI  - Theory of exciton recombination from the magnetically induced Wigner crystal.

PMID- 9982649
TI  - Modified Lanczos procedure for Wannier-Stark resonances in solids.

PMID- 9982650
TI  - Structures of low-lying states of a four-electron system in a quantum dot.

PMID- 9982651
TI  - Hydrostatic-pressure determination of tensile-strained GaxIn1-xP-(AlyGa1
      y)0.52In0.48P quantum-well band offsets.

PMID- 9982652
TI  - Excitonic molecules and stimulated emission in a ZnSe single quantum well.

PMID- 9982653
TI  - Charging and infrared spectroscopy of self-assembled quantum dots in a magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9982654
TI  - Compressibility of the electron gas: Analytical results for width effects within
      the Hartree-Fock approximation.

PMID- 9982655
TI  - Influence of growth direction and strain conditions on the band lineup at
      GaSb/InSb and InAs/InSb interfaces.

PMID- 9982656
TI  - Theory for the cyclotron resonance of holes in strained asymmetric Ge-SiGe
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9982657
TI  - Screening effects on the confined and interface polarons in cylindrical quantum
      wires.

PMID- 9982658
TI  - Eckardt frame theory of interacting electrons in quantum dots.

PMID- 9982659
TI  - Optimization of resonant intersubband nonlinear optical susceptibility in
      semiconductor quantum wells: The coordinate transform approach.

PMID- 9982660
TI  - Charged steps on III-V compound semiconductor surfaces.

PMID- 9982661
TI  - Numerical study of localization in the two-state Landau level.

PMID- 9982662
TI  - Edge of the Laughlin droplet.

PMID- 9982663
TI  - Hydrostatic-pressure coefficient of the direct band-gap energy of AlxGa1-xAs for
      x=0-0.35.

PMID- 9982664
TI  - Microwave modulation of circularly polarized exciton photonluminescence in
      GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9982665
TI  - Resonance in the Fermi-edge singularity of one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9982666
TI  - Theory of Si 2p core-level shifts at the Si(001)-SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9982667
TI  - Dissipative quantum transport in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9982669
TI  - Elasticity theory of straight dislocations in a multilayer.

PMID- 9982668
TI  - Heavy-hole-light-hole quantum beats in nonlinear transmission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982670
TI  - Spin-flip Raman-scattering studies of compensating donor centers in nitrogen
      doped zinc selenide grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982672
TI  - Cavity-polariton photoluminescence in semiconductor microcavities: Experimental
      evidence.

PMID- 9982671
TI  - Effects of the finite band width in a two-dimensional electron gas: The
      renormalization constant and the effective mass.

PMID- 9982673
TI  - Ground-state description of quasi-one-dimensional polarons with arbitrary
      electron-phonon coupling strength.

PMID- 9982674
TI  - Spatially resolved Raman scattering from hot acoustic and optic plasmons.

PMID- 9982675
TI  - Vacancylike structure of the DX center in Te-doped AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9982677
TI  - Interference of current distortion patterns and magnetoresistance anisotropy in a
      composite with periodic microstructure.

PMID- 9982676
TI  - Linearized quantum transport equations: ac conductance of a quantum wire with an
      electron-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9982678
TI  - Optical properties of magnetic sawtooth superlattices.

PMID- 9982679
TI  - Quasiclassical calculation of magnetoresistance oscillations of a two-dimensional
      electron gas in spatially periodic magnetic and electrostatic fields.

PMID- 9982680
TI  - Layer-KKR theory of negative-ion formation in adsorbed molecules.

PMID- 9982682
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of the phase transition between H/Si(100)-(2 x 1)
      and H/Si(100)-(3 x 1).

PMID- 9982681
TI  - Moire pattern in scanning tunneling microscopy: Mechanism in observation of
      subsurface nanostructures.

PMID- 9982683
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of pentagon-heptagon pair defects in carbon
      nanotubes.

PMID- 9982684
TI  - Clear evidence for strain changes according to Co layer thickness in metastable
      Co/Pd(111) multilayers: An extended x-ray absorption fine structure study.

PMID- 9982685
TI  - Elastic field of a surface step: Atomistic simulations and anisotropic elastic
      theory.

PMID- 9982686
TI  - Roughening and melting of stepped aluminum surfaces.

PMID- 9982687
TI  - Simulations of low-temperature annealing of crystal surfaces.

PMID- 9982688
TI  - Heat-capacity study of butane on graphite.

PMID- 9982689
TI  - Growth of Cr on Cu(001) studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9982690
TI  - Initial growth of Mg films on Ru(0001): An efficient approximation scheme for the
      LEED analysis of incommensurate structures.

PMID- 9982691
TI  - Enhanced epitaxial growth on substrates modified by ion sputtering: Ge on
      GaAs(110).

PMID- 9982692
TI  - Data evaluation technique for electron-tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982693
TI  - Thermal conductance and the Peltier coefficient of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9982694
TI  - Two-photon electron emission from smooth and rough metal films in the threshold
      region.

PMID- 9982695
TI  - Dissociation of polyatomic ions at surfaces: The influence of mechanical and
      electronic energy transfer.

PMID- 9982696
TI  - Focused inelastic resonances in the scattering of He atoms from NaCl(001).

PMID- 9982697
TI  - Magnetostrictive model for the determination of the energy diagram of dysprosium
      epitaxial films.

PMID- 9982698
TI  - General potential-energy function for H/Ni and dynamics calculations of surface
      diffusion, bulk diffusion, subsurface-to-surface transport, and absorption.

PMID- 9982699
TI  - Dynamical screening effects in surface ionization: Application to C60.

PMID- 9982700
TI  - Band-theoretical description of the magneto-optical spectra of UAsSe.

PMID- 9982701
TI  - Self-consistent order-N density-functional calculations for very large systems.

PMID- 9982702
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group method in momentum space.

PMID- 9982703
TI  - Strain-induced reduction of 1/f noise of sliding charge-density waves.

PMID- 9982704
TI  - Effects of weak disorder on two coupled Hubbard chains.

PMID- 9982705
TI  - Chemical trends in band offsets of Zn- and Mn-based II-VI superlattices: d-level
      pinning and offset compression.

PMID- 9982706
TI  - Magnetic relaxation studied by transient reflectivity in Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9982707
TI  - Picosecond-luminescence study of exciton formation dynamics in CdSe.

PMID- 9982708
TI  - Vacuum Rabi coupling enhancement and Zeeman splitting in semiconductor quantum
      microcavity structures in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9982709
TI  - Local-field effect in the second-harmonic-generation spectra of Si surfaces.

PMID- 9982710
TI  - Theory of GaN(101-bar0) and (112-bar0) surfaces.

PMID- 9982712
TI  - Temperature dependence of the photoluminescence of ZnSe/ZnS quantum-dot
      structures.

PMID- 9982711
TI  - Nucleation and growth of Fe on GaAs(001)-(2 x 4) studied by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9982713
TI  - Size dependence of electron-LO-phonon coupling in semiconductor nanocrystals.

PMID- 9982714
TI  - Experimental study of the effect of quantum-well structures on the thermoelectric
      figure of merit.

PMID- 9982715
TI  - Optical properties of strained InP quantum dots in Ga0.5In0.5P studied by space
      charge techniques.

PMID- 9982716
TI  - Nonlinear optical effects in strain-induced laterally ordered (InP)2/(GaP)2
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9982717
TI  - Subband renormalization in dense electron-hole plasmas in In0.53Ga0.47As/InP
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9982718
TI  - Nature of optical transitions in self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9982719
TI  - Magnetoplasma excitations in electron rings.

PMID- 9982720
TI  - Weakly correlated exciton pair states in large quantum dots.

PMID- 9982721
TI  - Dimensional crossover and confinement-induced optical anisotropy in GaAs T-shaped
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9982722
TI  - Zero-Hall-resistance state in a semimetallic InAs/GaSb superlattice.

PMID- 9982724
TI  - Analysis of the x-ray diffuse scattering in C60 from microscopic models.

PMID- 9982723
TI  - Electron scattering by steps in a vicinal heterointerface.

PMID- 9982726
TI  - Cluster diffusion by evaporation-condensation.

PMID- 9982725
TI  - Theory of a scanning tunneling microscope with a two-protrusion tip.

PMID- 9982727
TI  - Spin-polarized photoelectrons excited by circularly polarized radiation from a
      nonmagnetic solid.

PMID- 9982728
TI  - Suppression of the magnetocrystalline bulk anisotropy in thin epitaxial Co(110)
      films on Cu(110).

PMID- 9982730
TI  - Lattice relaxation at vacancy aggregates in diamond.

PMID- 9982729
TI  - Effect of photoinduced defect sites on the photoluminescence of sodium cryptand
      sodide.

PMID- 9982731
TI  - Evidence for domain-type dynamics in the ergodic phase of the PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3
      relaxor ferroelectric.

PMID- 9982732
TI  - Validity of generalized scattering equations and corresponding inelastic-cross
      section expressions for comprehensive electron diffraction conditions.

PMID- 9982733
TI  - Expanded-volume phases of silicon: Zeolites without oxygen.

PMID- 9982734
TI  - Stretched-exponential relaxation modeled without invoking statistical
      distributions.

PMID- 9982735
TI  - Two- and three-dimensional polarons with extended coherent states.

PMID- 9982736
TI  - Inhomogeneous quantum diffusion.

PMID- 9982738
TI  - Improved formulation of the effective-potential Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9982737
TI  - Late stages of phase separation in Al1-xSix solid solutions.

PMID- 9982739
TI  - Zero-temperature spin-wave spectrum of the critical two-layer S=1/2
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9982740
TI  - Canted coupling of buried magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9982741
TI  - Instability of planar vortices in layered ferromagnets with nonmagnetic
      impurities.

PMID- 9982742
TI  - Hall effect in the quadrupolar Kondo ground state.

PMID- 9982743
TI  - Suppression of the superconducting transition temperature Tc around x~0.115 in
      La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9982744
TI  - Exchange integral and the charge gap of the linear-chain cuprate Sr2CuO3.

PMID- 9982745
TI  - Nonmonotonic superconducting transitions in mesoscopic Al structures induced by
      radio-frequency radiation.

PMID- 9982746
TI  - Dynamically induced disorder in the vortex lattice of 2H-NbSe2.

PMID- 9982747
TI  - Occurrence of superconductivity in Ca- and Sr-doped PrSr2Cu2.7Mo0.3O7- delta.

PMID- 9982748
TI  - Effect of impurities on the transport properties in the Van Hove scenario.

PMID- 9982750
TI  - Thermodynamics and critical fields of YBa2(Cu1-xNix)3O7- delta from a d-wave
      model of superconductivity.

PMID- 9982749
TI  - Dependence of the flux-creep time scale on sample size for melt-textured
      YBa2Cu3O7 by ac-susceptibility measurements.

PMID- 9982752
TI  - Change of absorption spectra in type-Ib diamond with heavy neutron irradiation.

PMID- 9982751
TI  - Theoretical analysis of laser-induced effects in silver halides.

PMID- 9982753
TI  - Depth profiles of interstitial halogen defects in high-energy ion-bombarded RbI
      by micro-Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982755
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of displacement cascades in Cu-Au solid solutions.

PMID- 9982754
TI  - Pressure-dependent Knight shift in Na and Cs metal.

PMID- 9982756
TI  - Light-induced kinetic effects in solids.

PMID- 9982758
TI  - High-pressure ultrasonic study of the Cr-0.3 at.% Ru single-crystal alloy in the
      commensurate spin-density-wave phase and through the Neel point.

PMID- 9982757
TI  - Reversible phase transition between the metastable phases of tetracyanoethylene
      under high pressure.

PMID- 9982759
TI  - Heat capacity and the orientational transition in solid C60.

PMID- 9982760
TI  - Lattice dynamics and hyperfine interactions in ZnO and ZnSe at high external
      pressures.

PMID- 9982762
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy of Nd3+-exchanged beta -alumina crystal.

PMID- 9982761
TI  - Surface effects and size effects on ferroelectrics with a first-order phase
      transition.

PMID- 9982763
TI  - Hydrogen in porous Vycor glass.

PMID- 9982764
TI  - Antiphase boundaries, inversion, and ferroelastic domains in the striped-type
      superstructure of gamma -brass Cu-Al alloys.

PMID- 9982765
TI  - Low-frequency vibrations in a model glass.

PMID- 9982767
TI  - Influence of one-fold-coordinated atoms on mechanical properties of covalent
      networks.

PMID- 9982766
TI  - Irreversible frustrated spinodal decomposition in simultaneous interpenetrating
      polymer networks: Small-angle x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9982768
TI  - Diffusion and magnetic relaxation in model porous media.

PMID- 9982769
TI  - Electronic transport in quasicrystals: An approach to scattering with fractional
      multicomponent Fermi surfaces.

PMID- 9982770
TI  - Relaxational and vibrational dynamics in the glass-transition range of a strong
      glass former B2O3.

PMID- 9982771
TI  - Quasiharmonic periodic traveling-wave solutions in anharmonic potentials.

PMID- 9982772
TI  - Interaction of discrete breathers with electrons in nonlinear lattices.

PMID- 9982773
TI  - Non-Markovian effects on quantum beats.

PMID- 9982774
TI  - Numerical evaluation of frequency-moment sum rules for dynamical structure
      factors.

PMID- 9982775
TI  - Magnetic structure and anisotropy of Ga- and Al-substituted LaCo5 and YCo5
      intermetallics.

PMID- 9982776
TI  - Dynamic finite-size effect in the classical spin van der Waals model.

PMID- 9982778
TI  - Critical behavior of the two-dimensional step model.

PMID- 9982777
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial Co/Mn superlattices: An angular-dependent
      ferromagnetic resonance study.

PMID- 9982779
TI  - Universal correction to scaling amplitude ratios for inhomogeneous ferromagnets
      with continuous symmetry.

PMID- 9982780
TI  - Spinons, solitons, and magnons in one-dimensional Heisenberg-Ising
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9982781
TI  - Phase diagram of CeCu2(Si1-xGex)2.

PMID- 9982783
TI  - Knight shift, electric-field gradient, and electronic state in the spin-Peierls
      compound CuGeO3: 63,65Cu NMR in a single crystal.

PMID- 9982782
TI  - Self-consistent Gaussian approximation for classical spin systems:
      Thermodynamics.

PMID- 9982784
TI  - Magnetic exchange-coupling effects in asymmetric trilayer structures of MBE-grown
      Co/Cr/Fe.

PMID- 9982785
TI  - Magnetic-circular-dichroism study of the valence states of perpendicularly
      magnetized Ni(001) films.

PMID- 9982786
TI  - Effect of host paramagnetic ions on the Gd3+ EPR linewidth in diluted Van-Vleck
      paramagnets TmxLu1-xPO4 and HoxY1-xVO4 and EPR spectra of Er3+ in HoxY1-xVO4.

PMID- 9982787
TI  - Dimerized ground state and magnetic excitations in CaCuGe2O6.

PMID- 9982788
TI  - Athermal magnetization avalanches and domain states in the site-diluted
      metamagnet FexMg1-xCl2.

PMID- 9982789
TI  - Ferromagnetic interactions in nanostructured systems with two different Curie
      temperatures.

PMID- 9982790
TI  - Magnetic anisotropies and general on-site Coulomb interactions in the cuprates.

PMID- 9982791
TI  - Jordan-Wigner approach to the spin excitation spectrum in the Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9982793
TI  - Macroscopic theory of giant magnetoresistance in magnetic granular metals.

PMID- 9982792
TI  - Physical properties of the Ce(Ru1-xFex)2Ge2 series.

PMID- 9982794
TI  - Magnetic and transport dc properties of inductive Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9982796
TI  - Luttinger-liquid behavior and superconducting correlations in t-J ladders.

PMID- 9982795
TI  - One-hole motion in the two-dimensional frustrated t-J model.

PMID- 9982797
TI  - Variational approach to the Hubbard model in a C60 cluster.

PMID- 9982798
TI  - Optical properties of single-crystal Sr2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9982799
TI  - Accommodation of vortices to columnar defects: Evidence for large entropic
      reduction of vortex localization.

PMID- 9982800
TI  - Superconducting properties of fractal Nb/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9982801
TI  - Helical instability of a magnetic flux line in a current-carrying superconducting
      film.

PMID- 9982802
TI  - Dynamic interaction of mesoscopic Josephson junctions with quantized
      electromagnetic fields.

PMID- 9982804
TI  - Exact diagonalization plus renormalization-group theory: Accurate method for a
      one-dimensional superfluid-insulator-transition study.

PMID- 9982803
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of conductance in microjunctions employing
      nonhomogeneous superconducting electrodes.

PMID- 9982805
TI  - Determination of the valence of Pr in (Eu1.5-xPrxCe0.5)Sr2Cu2NbO10
      superconducting compounds by electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982806
TI  - Optical properties of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9982807
TI  - Raman-active phonons in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2O8+d (x=0-1): Effects of hole filling and
      internal pressure induced by Y doping for Ca, and implications for phonon
      assignments.

PMID- 9982808
TI  - Magnetization jumps and irreversibility in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9982809
TI  - Coherent versus incoherent transport in layered doped Mott insulators.

PMID- 9982810
TI  - Temperature and doping dependence of the penetration depth in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+
      delta.

PMID- 9982811
TI  - Effect of pressure on Tc and the "intrinsic" Tc of cuprates.

PMID- 9982813
TI  - High-field and low-temperature magnetization and flux creep in untwinned
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9982812
TI  - Monte Carlo study of vortex fluctuations in vortex-line phases.

PMID- 9982814
TI  - Vortex avalanches at one thousandth the superconducting transition temperature.

PMID- 9982815
TI  - Pressure effect on Tc for (Yb1-xPrx)Ba2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9982816
TI  - Nonlinear magneto-optical response of s- and d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9982817
TI  - Raman electronic continuum in a dx2-y2 superconductor: Inelastic scattering.

PMID- 9982818
TI  - Comment on "Crystallization kinetics"

PMID- 9982819
TI  - Comment on "Adiabatic theory for the bipolaron"

PMID- 9982820
TI  - Erratum: Peierls-Nabarro model of dislocations in silicon with generalized
      stacking-fault restoring forces

PMID- 9982821
TI  - Erratum: Test of the Peierls-Nabarro model for dislocations in silicon

PMID- 9982822
TI  - Erratum: Calculation of the strain-induced shifts in the infrared-absorption
      peaks of cubic boron nitride

PMID- 9982823
TI  - Erratum: Mixed-state thermoelectric and thermomagnetic effects of a
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single crystal

PMID- 9982824
TI  - Monte Carlo study of a compressible Ising antiferromagnet on a triangular
      lattice.

PMID- 9982825
TI  - High-resolution electron microscopy and modeling of homologous series in
      nonstoichiometric lead-niobium oxides.

PMID- 9982827
TI  - Dilute and dense systems of random copolymers in the equilibrium state.

PMID- 9982826
TI  - Vibronic theory of the stability and hysteresis in bistable mixed-valence
      molecular salts.

PMID- 9982828
TI  - Structural anisotropy in amorphous Fe-Tb thin films.

PMID- 9982829
TI  - Structural transitions in octagonal, decagonal, and dodecagonal quasicrystals.

PMID- 9982830
TI  - Magnetic-field effects on localization in a fractal lattice.

PMID- 9982831
TI  - Local icosahedral structures in binary-alloy clusters from molecular-dynamics
      simulation.

PMID- 9982832
TI  - Diffusion of Brownian particles trapped between two walls: Theory and dynamic
      light-scattering measurements.

PMID- 9982834
TI  - Molecular dynamics with quantum forces: Vibrational spectra of localized systems.

PMID- 9982833
TI  - Quantum lattice motion and optical absorption in conjugated polymers: Adiabatic
      theory.

PMID- 9982835
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of the C60 fullerite at high temperatures: Calculations
      taking into account the intramolecular degrees of freedom and strong
      anharmonicity of the lattice vibrations.

PMID- 9982837
TI  - Low-frequency dielectric susceptibility of Li+-doped KCl.

PMID- 9982836
TI  - Interplay of orbital degeneracy and superconductivity in a molecular conductor.

PMID- 9982838
TI  - Harmonic behavior of metallic glasses up to the metastable melt.

PMID- 9982839
TI  - First-principles molecular-dynamics simulations for neutral p-chloranil and its
      radical anion.

PMID- 9982840
TI  - Anharmonic calculations of the optical-phonon lifetime for crystals with the
      diamond structure.

PMID- 9982841
TI  - Surface and confined optical phonons in CdSxSe1-x nanoparticles in a glass
      matrix.

PMID- 9982842
TI  - Weak-coupling phase diagram of the two-chain Hubbard model.

PMID- 9982843
TI  - Transverse-random-field mixed Ising model with arbitrary spins.

PMID- 9982844
TI  - Resistivity saturation in substitutionally disordered gamma -Fe80-xNixCr20 (14 <~
      x <~ 30) alloys.

PMID- 9982846
TI  - Exchange stiffness, magnetization, and spin waves in cubic and hexagonal phases
      of cobalt.

PMID- 9982845
TI  - Effect of Y substitution in La-Ca-Mn-O perovskites showing giant
      magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9982847
TI  - Nonlinear self-channeling and beam shaping of magnetostatic waves in
      ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9982849
TI  - Phase transitions of the bilayered spin-S Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9982848
TI  - Magnetic linear dichroism in spin-resolved Fe 2p photoemission.

PMID- 9982850
TI  - Observation of a dimerized state in the S=1/2 quasi-one-dimensional
      antiferromagnet Sr14Cu24O41.

PMID- 9982851
TI  - Bilayer Heisenberg model studied by the Schwinger-boson Gutzwiller-projection
      method.

PMID- 9982852
TI  - Observation of an anomalous quasi-one-dimensional behavior in Na2Ru4O9- delta
      single crystals.

PMID- 9982853
TI  - Phase transition of the dissipative one-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9982854
TI  - Calculation of the exchange coupling between two magnetized layers embedded in a
      metal.

PMID- 9982855
TI  - Eddy currents and spin excitations in conducting ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9982857
TI  - Multiphonon excitations in boson quantum films.

PMID- 9982856
TI  - Excitations in a thin liquid 4He film from inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9982858
TI  - Superconducting wires and fractional flux.

PMID- 9982859
TI  - Nonuniform superconductivity due to the orbital magnetic effect in a d-wave
      superconductor in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9982860
TI  - Electronic-structure effects in the suppression of superconductivity in
      hydrogenated Zr2Rh.

PMID- 9982862
TI  - Flux creep and flux jumping.

PMID- 9982861
TI  - Manifestation of quasiparticle branch imbalance in resistive measurements of
      mesoscopic superconductors.

PMID- 9982863
TI  - Doping and high-pressure study on Lu(Ni1-xAx)BC with A=Cu and V.

PMID- 9982864
TI  - Butterfly magnetization in YBa2Cu3-xFexO7-y: Correlation with the microstructure
      and the macrostructure.

PMID- 9982865
TI  - Temperature dependence of the magnetic-flux penetration into disk-shaped
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9982866
TI  - Synchronization and phase locking in two-dimensional arrays of Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9982867
TI  - E1g model of superconducting UPt3.

PMID- 9982868
TI  - Phase locking between Fiske and flux-flow modes in coupled sine-Gordon systems.

PMID- 9982869
TI  - Toulouse points and non-Fermi-liquid states in the mixed-valence regime of the
      generalized Anderson model.

PMID- 9982870
TI  - Influence of phase composition on the reentrant superconducting properties of
      Tm2Fe3Si5.

PMID- 9982871
TI  - Quantization of superflow circulation and magnetic flux with a tunable offset.

PMID- 9982872
TI  - Optical conductivity of a layered superconductor.

PMID- 9982873
TI  - Modulation structure in Bi2Sr1.8La0.2Cu1-xMxOy (M=Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn).

PMID- 9982874
TI  - Effect of HgI2 intercalation on Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy: Interlayer coupling effect.

PMID- 9982876
TI  - Interaction between localized and conduction-electron spins in the high-Tc
      superconductor Gd:EuBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9982875
TI  - Percolative vortex motion in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9982877
TI  - Photoexcited carrier relaxation and localization in Bi2Sr2Ca1-yYyCu2O8 and
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta : A study by femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982878
TI  - Paramagnetic Meissner effect in high-temperature superconductors: Experiments and
      interpretation.

PMID- 9982879
TI  - Universal Tc suppression by in-plane defects in high-temperature superconductors:
      Implications for pairing symmetry.

PMID- 9982880
TI  - Effect of oxygen defects on transport properties and Tc of YBa2Cu3O6+x:
      Displacement energy for plane and chain oxygen and implications for irradiation
      induced resistivity and Tc suppression.

PMID- 9982881
TI  - Scaling of the specific heat and magnetization of YBa2Cu3O7 in magnetic fields up
      to 7 T.

PMID- 9982882
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau equations for a d-wave superconductor with nonmagnetic
      impurities.

PMID- 9982883
TI  - Dependence of the critical temperature on atomic structure in orthorhombic
      YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9982884
TI  - Influence of Pr doping and oxygen deficiency on the scattering behavior of
      YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9982885
TI  - Dielectric polarization noise through the glass transition.

PMID- 9982886
TI  - Lateral transport in disordered layered media.

PMID- 9982887
TI  - Defect formation in SiO2:GeO2 glasses studied by irradiation with excimer laser
      light.

PMID- 9982888
TI  - Photoinduced generation and reorientation of linear dichroism in AsSe glassy
      films.

PMID- 9982889
TI  - Theory of tunneling magnetoresistance in granular magnetic films.

PMID- 9982891
TI  - Magnetic circular x-ray-dichroism study of Co/Pt(111).

PMID- 9982890
TI  - Resonant two-magnon Raman scattering in cuprate antiferromagnetic insulators.

PMID- 9982892
TI  - Extraordinary Hall effect in giant magnetoresistive Fe/Cr multilayers: The role
      of interface scattering.

PMID- 9982893
TI  - Competition between the singlet-spin liquid state and the magnetic ground state
      in a two-chain spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic ladder compound LaCuO2.5: A 63Cu NMR
      study.

PMID- 9982894
TI  - High-resolution photoemission study of CeRu2: The dual character of 4f electrons.

PMID- 9982895
TI  - Vortex pinning by disordered columnar defects in large Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9982896
TI  - Microscopic theory of vortex pinning: Impurity terms in the Ginzburg-Landau free
      energy.

PMID- 9982897
TI  - Theory of the Josephson effect in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9982898
TI  - Manifestations of the pseudogap in the boson-fermion model for Bose-Einstein
      condensation-driven superconductivity.

PMID- 9982900
TI  - Three-dimensional gap structure in layered high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9982899
TI  - Interlayer tunneling in a non-Fermi-liquid metal.

PMID- 9982901
TI  - Interplanar coupling, induced superconductivity, and van Hove singularity in high
      Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9982902
TI  - Pressure dependence of thermopower in YBa2Cu3O6.96 and YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9982903
TI  - Confinement of spin and charge in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9982905
TI  - Photodissociation dynamics of gas-phase C60 probed by optical emission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982904
TI  - Decay of the self-trapped exciton and Frenkel-pair formation in NaF: An ab initio
      study.

PMID- 9982906
TI  - Effect of pressure on the optical-absorption edges of CsGeBr3 and CsGeCl3.

PMID- 9982907
TI  - Band-structure parameters by genetic algorithm.

PMID- 9982908
TI  - Peierls instability of a one-dimensional quantum liquid.

PMID- 9982909
TI  - Representation of the t-J model using decoupled spin and charge variables.

PMID- 9982911
TI  - Nb4N3: Polymorphism in crystalline niobium nitrides.

PMID- 9982910
TI  - Kondo hole behavior in Ce0.97 La0.03Pd3.

PMID- 9982913
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance of a Au-Au pair in heat-treated silicon.

PMID- 9982912
TI  - Ammonia as an active doping source gas of hydrogenated amorphous germanium films.

PMID- 9982914
TI  - Finite-size effects in the exciton-phonon coupled system.

PMID- 9982916
TI  - Intraband inversion due to ultrashort carrier lifetimes in proton-bombarded InP.

PMID- 9982915
TI  - Superexchange and spin-glass formation in semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9982917
TI  - Real-space investigation of initial growth process of hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon on a graphite substrate.

PMID- 9982918
TI  - Atomic geometry and bonding on the GaAs(001)- beta 2(2 x 4) surface from ab
      initio pseudopotential calculations.

PMID- 9982919
TI  - Shakeup processes in the recombination spectra of negatively charged excitons.

PMID- 9982920
TI  - Localization and mesoscopic persistent current in a disordered metal ring.

PMID- 9982921
TI  - Gor'kov and Eliashberg linear-response theory: Rigorous derivation and limits of
      applicability.

PMID- 9982923
TI  - Electronic structure of a buried NiSi2 or CoSi2 layer in bulk Si.

PMID- 9982924
TI  - Magic numbers and optical-absorption spectrum in vertically coupled quantum dots
      in the fractional quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9982922
TI  - Adatom-adatom and adatom-surface interactions: Islands and chains of Cl on
      GaAs(110).

PMID- 9982925
TI  - Magnetoplasmons in a ring-shaped two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9982926
TI  - Coulomb charging at large conduction.

PMID- 9982927
TI  - Influence of energy level alignment on tunneling between coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9982929
TI  - L-band recombination in InxGa1-xP/In0.5Al0.5P multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9982930
TI  - Femtosecond study of exciton tunneling in (Zn,Cd)Se/ZnSe asymmetric double
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9982928
TI  - Size-dependent two-photon excitation spectroscopy of CdSe nanocrystals.

PMID- 9982931
TI  - Comparison of bond character in hydrocarbons and fullerenes.

PMID- 9982932
TI  - Interlayer interactions in LiC6: Compressibility and thermal expansion.

PMID- 9982934
TI  - Low-temperature reconstruction pathway to the Si(111)( sqrt(3) x sqrt(3) )R30
      degrees-Ag interface.

PMID- 9982933
TI  - Heat capacity of thin films of 3He adsorbed on a heterogeneous substrate.

PMID- 9982935
TI  - Enhanced photon stimulated ion-desorption yields from chemisorbed molecules
      through bond-selective core-electron excitation.

PMID- 9982936
TI  - Surface-enhanced Raman scattering at elevated temperatures.

PMID- 9982937
TI  - Anisotropic second-harmonic generation of electric quadrupolar origin in copper
      phthalocyanine films epitaxially grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9982938
TI  - Weighted-density approximation in metals and semiconductors.

PMID- 9982939
TI  - Photon focusing, internal diffraction, and surface states in periodic dielectric
      structures.

PMID- 9982940
TI  - Electronic structure and chemical-bonding mechanism of Cu3N, Cui3NPd, and related
      Cu(I) compounds.

PMID- 9982941
TI  - Bond-order potentials: Theory and implementation.

PMID- 9982942
TI  - Structure of solid-state systems from embedded-cluster calculations: A divide-and
      conquer approach.

PMID- 9982943
TI  - Extended Huckel tight-binding study of the effect of pressure and uniaxial stress
      on the electronic structure of alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4 and kappa -(BEDT
      TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9982944
TI  - Linear-scaling tight binding from a truncated-moment approach.

PMID- 9982945
TI  - Orbital and spin orderings in YVO3 and LaVO3 in the generalized gradient
      approximation.

PMID- 9982946
TI  - Nonmetal-metal transition in metal-molten-salt solutions.

PMID- 9982947
TI  - Nonrelativistic fermions coupled to transverse gauge fields: The single-particle
      Green's function in arbitrary dimensions.

PMID- 9982948
TI  - Electronic properties of the narrow-band material alpha -RuCl3.

PMID- 9982949
TI  - Microwave absorption in insulating dielectric ionic crystals including the role
      of point defects.

PMID- 9982950
TI  - Theory of nonlinear optical response of excitons in solid C60.

PMID- 9982952
TI  - Finite-size effects and unsaturated ferromagnetism of two-component Hubbard rings
      in a strong magnetic field: Exact results.

PMID- 9982951
TI  - Resonant magnetoabsorption of millimeter-wave radiation in the quasi-two
      dimensional organic metals alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2MHg(SCN)4 (M=K,Tl).

PMID- 9982953
TI  - Five-level k

PMID- 9982954
TI  - Energy states of Be in GaAs.

PMID- 9982955
TI  - Hydrogen passivation of shallow donors S, Se, and Te in GaAs.

PMID- 9982956
TI  - Possibility of a metastable state for a transition-metal impurity in
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9982957
TI  - Generalized Monte Carlo approach for the study of the coherent ultrafast carrier
      dynamics in photoexcited semiconductors.

PMID- 9982958
TI  - Screening and energy loss by hot carriers in semiconductors.

PMID- 9982959
TI  - Host-isotope fine structure of local and gap modes of substitutional impurities
      in zinc-blende and wurtzite II-VI semiconductors.

PMID- 9982960
TI  - Local and gap modes of substitutional 3d transition-metal ions in zinc-blende and
      wurtzite II-VI semiconductors.

PMID- 9982962
TI  - Low-temperature transport properties of NdBiPt.

PMID- 9982961
TI  - Effect of negative differential conductivity in a driven diffusive lattice gas.

PMID- 9982963
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy study of Si growth on a Si(111) sqrt(3) x sqrt(3) 
      B surface.

PMID- 9982964
TI  - Dynamic growth steps of n x n dimer-adatom-stacking-fault domains on the quenched
      Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9982966
TI  - Landau levels and persistent currents in nonuniform magnetic fields.

PMID- 9982965
TI  - Interband transitions in AlxGa1-xAs/AlAs quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9982967
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional electron gas: Exchange and correlation energies.

PMID- 9982968
TI  - Impurity center in a single quantum well in the presence of a strong magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9982969
TI  - Observation of interface states by high-resolution electron-energy-loss
      spectroscopy in metal-GaAs(110) junctions.

PMID- 9982970
TI  - Coulomb blockade in a quantum dot coupled strongly to a lead.

PMID- 9982971
TI  - Self-consistent calculation of resonant tunneling in asymmetric double barriers
      in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9982972
TI  - Statistics of skyrmions in quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9982973
TI  - Intrasubband excitations of composite fermions in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9982974
TI  - Radiative recombination in cylindrical GaAs-(Ga,Al)As quantum-well wires under
      quasistationary excitation conditions.

PMID- 9982975
TI  - Quantum transport theory of Weiss oscillations quenching of a two-dimensional
      electron gas in a strong periodic potential.

PMID- 9982976
TI  - Raman scattering in single-variant spontaneously ordered GaInP2.

PMID- 9982977
TI  - Photoluminescence due to positively charged excitons in undoped GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9982978
TI  - Spectroscopic investigations of photoinduced changes of the spatial distribution
      of charge carriers in modulation-doped quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9982979
TI  - Classical continuum theory of the dipole-forbidden collective excitations in
      quantum strips.

PMID- 9982980
TI  - Random matrix theory and mesoscopic fluctuations.

PMID- 9982981
TI  - Finite-difference method for the calculation of low-energy positron diffraction.

PMID- 9982982
TI  - X-ray photoelectron-diffraction analysis of oxygen chemisorption on the GaAs(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9982983
TI  - Oxygen-related defects in Si studied by variable-energy positron annihilation
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9982984
TI  - Theory of polariton photoluminescence in arbitrary semiconductor microcavity
      structures.

PMID- 9982985
TI  - Length dependence of quantized conductance in ballistic constrictions fabricated
      on InAs/AlSb quantum wells.

PMID- 9982986
TI  - Electronic transport in nanoscale contacts with rough boundaries.

PMID- 9982987
TI  - Quantum conductance fluctuations in the large-size-scale regime.

PMID- 9982988
TI  - Supercurrent states in one-dimensional finite-size rings.

PMID- 9982989
TI  - Empirical bond polarizability model for fullerenes.

PMID- 9982990
TI  - Adsorption geometry of OH adsorbed at F centers on a NaCl(100) surface.

PMID- 9982991
TI  - First-principles calculations of beta -SiC(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9982993
TI  - Anisotropic optical response of the diamond (111)-2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9982992
TI  - Persistent quantum-size effect in aluminum films up to twelve atoms thick.

PMID- 9982995
TI  - Formation of C60 dimers: A theoretical study of electronic structure and optical
      absorption.

PMID- 9982994
TI  - Dynamics of surface alloying: Determination of diffusion barriers from
      photoelectron spectra.

PMID- 9982996
TI  - Computation of electrostatic fields in low-symmetry systems: Application to STM
      configurations.

PMID- 9982998
TI  - Comment on "Hopping transport in a magnetic field: Kadanoff-Baym-Keldysh approach
      and magnetoconductivity"

PMID- 9982997
TI  - Disordered flat phase and phase diagram for restricted solid-on-solid models of
      fcc (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9982999
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Hopping transport in a magnetic field: Kadanoff-Baym
      Keldysh approach and magnetoconductivity' "

PMID- 9983000
TI  - Erratum: Dominant density parameters and local pseudopotentials for simple metals

PMID- 9983001
TI  - Erratum: In-plane dispersion relations of InAs/AlSb/GaSb/AlSb/InAs interband
      resonant-tunneling diodes

PMID- 9983002
TI  - Observation of liquid carbon on diamond films under pulsed IR and UV laser
      irradiation.

PMID- 9983003
TI  - Mean escape depth of signal photoelectrons ejected from solids by polarized x
      rays.

PMID- 9983004
TI  - High-pressure melting curves of alkali halides.

PMID- 9983005
TI  - Self-similarity of dielectric relaxation and conductivity in cross-linking
      systems.

PMID- 9983006
TI  - Effect of pressure on the atomic volume of Zn, Cd, and Hg up to 75 GPa.

PMID- 9983008
TI  - Interference between Judd-Ofelt and Wybourne-Downer mechanisms in the 5D0-7FJ
      (J=2,4) transitions of Sm2+ in solids.

PMID- 9983007
TI  - Hydrogen ordering in superstoichiometric rare-earth hydrides for a system with an
      energy-constants ratio p=V2/V1<1: LaH2+x.

PMID- 9983009
TI  - Phenomenological model of elastic distortions near the spin-Peierls transition in
      CuGeO3.

PMID- 9983011
TI  - Collective dynamics in glasses and its relation to the low-temperature anomalies.

PMID- 9983012
TI  - Evidence of strong short-range order in (Fe0.2Co0.8)75SixB25-x amorphous alloys
      from EXAFS spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983010
TI  - Electric-field gradients at 111Cd in delafossite oxides ABO2 (A=Ag, Cu; B=Al, Cr,
      Fe, In, Nd, Y).

PMID- 9983013
TI  - Effective-medium theory for the electric-field dependence of the hopping
      conductivity of disordered solids.

PMID- 9983014
TI  - Structure and thermodynamic properties of liquid transition metals: An embedded
      atom-method approach.

PMID- 9983015
TI  - Failure of fiber bundles with local load sharing.

PMID- 9983016
TI  - Landau damping and lifting of vibrational degeneracy in metallic potassium
      fulleride.

PMID- 9983017
TI  - Muonium localization in solid krypton.

PMID- 9983018
TI  - Monte Carlo method for obtaining the ground-state properties of quantum spin
      systems.

PMID- 9983019
TI  - Exchange interactions and magnetism of Co2+ in Zn1-xCoxTe.

PMID- 9983020
TI  - Origin of the second length scale found above TN in UO2.

PMID- 9983021
TI  - UxM1-xPt3 (M=Y, Lu, In) compounds with the AuCu3 structure.

PMID- 9983023
TI  - Quantum version of a spherical model: Crossover from quantum to classical
      critical behavior.

PMID- 9983022
TI  - Cationic and magnetic order in LiNiO2- and NiO-type Li-Ni mixed oxides.

PMID- 9983024
TI  - Universality class of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in mixed-valence systems.

PMID- 9983026
TI  - Local-field distribution in systems with dipolar interparticle interaction.

PMID- 9983025
TI  - High-resolution magnetic x-ray diffraction from neodymium.

PMID- 9983028
TI  - Quantum dynamical calculations on the magnetization reversal in clusters of spin
      1/2 particles: Resonant coherent quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9983027
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of one-dimensional spin-1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg
      chains: Green's-function approach.

PMID- 9983029
TI  - Collective excitations in itinerant spiral magnets.

PMID- 9983030
TI  - Low-temperature magnetic structure of UNiGe.

PMID- 9983032
TI  - Magnetic excitations and effects of magnetic fields on the spin-Peierls
      transition in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9983031
TI  - Connection between giant magnetoresistance and structure in molecular-beam
      epitaxy and sputtered Fe/Cr superlattices.

PMID- 9983033
TI  - Weak ferromagnetism in the low-temperature tetragonal phase of the cuprates.

PMID- 9983034
TI  - Nonlocal Coulomb interactions and the magnetic anisotropies in the low
      temperature phases of the cuprates.

PMID- 9983035
TI  - Paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb.

PMID- 9983036
TI  - Nature of the magnetic order in superconducting and nonsuperconducting HoNi2
      xCoxB2C.

PMID- 9983038
TI  - Diagrammatic derivation of Bose condensate fractions.

PMID- 9983037
TI  - Response of niobium-based superconducting tunnel junctions in the soft-x-ray
      region 0.15-6.5 keV.

PMID- 9983039
TI  - Phase diagram of a model of correlated hopping of electrons in a lattice of Berry
      molecules.

PMID- 9983041
TI  - Tilt instabilities and multiple coexisting vortex orientations in flux-line
      liquids.

PMID- 9983040
TI  - Raman-scattering and weak-ferromagnetism studies in Eu2CuO4.

PMID- 9983042
TI  - Spin-phonon coupling in the single-layer extended t-J model.

PMID- 9983043
TI  - Oxygen dependence of the transport properties of Nd1.78Ce0.22CuO4+/- delta.

PMID- 9983044
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering study of antiferromagnetic fluctuations in
      YBa2Cu3O6.97.

PMID- 9983045
TI  - Large-shift Raman scattering features in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9983046
TI  - c-axis negative magnetoresistance and fluctuation conductivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox
      single crystals.

PMID- 9983047
TI  - Dissipative and Hall quantum creep in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9983048
TI  - Nonlinear effective barriers for flux diffusion and critical current density of
      HgBa2Ca2Cu3Ox based upon ac susceptibility measurement.

PMID- 9983049
TI  - Scaling of the thermoelectric power in a wide temperature range in Bi2Sr2Ca1
      xNdxCu2Oy (x=0-0.5): Experiment and interpretation.

PMID- 9983050
TI  - Quasiparticle structure and coherent propagation in the t-Jz-Jperp model.

PMID- 9983051
TI  - Oxidation state of Ce in Pb2Sr2Ce1-xCaxCu3O8.

PMID- 9983053
TI  - Nonadiabatic superconductivity: The role of van Hove singularities.

PMID- 9983052
TI  - Grain-boundary-induced magneto-far-infrared resonances in superconducting
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9983054
TI  - Origin of magnetic coupling in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9983055
TI  - Comment on "Thermal hysteresis effects in the ferroelectric-ferroelastic phase
      transition in

PMID- 9983056
TI  - Dual alkali-metal-ion channel structures in poly(p-phenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9983057
TI  - Enhanced local moment formation in a chiral Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9983058
TI  - Itinerant and local-moment antiferromagnetism in V2-yO3: A NMR study.

PMID- 9983059
TI  - Size dependence of Kondo scattering in point contacts: Fe impurities in Cu.

PMID- 9983061
TI  - Phase transition in the three-dimensional +/-J Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9983060
TI  - Giant-magnetoresistance anomaly associated with a magnetization process in
      UFe4Al8.

PMID- 9983062
TI  - Local moments coupled to a strongly correlated electron chain.

PMID- 9983063
TI  - Impurity state in the Haldane gap for an S=1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain
      with bond doping.

PMID- 9983064
TI  - NMR investigation of the electronic structure of the RbC60 polymer phase.

PMID- 9983066
TI  - Spatiotemporal dynamics of domain-wall solitons in the fully frustrated Josephson
      junction ladder arrays.

PMID- 9983065
TI  - Thermodynamical properties of an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin system on a
      fractal lattice of dimension between one and two.

PMID- 9983067
TI  - Screening in Josephson-junction ladders.

PMID- 9983069
TI  - Critical and noncritical behavior of the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii
      transition.

PMID- 9983068
TI  - Muon-spin-rotation studies of HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9983070
TI  - Transition temperature and a spatial dependence of the superconducting gap for
      multilayer high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9983072
TI  - Effects of intrabilayer coupling on the magnetic properties of YBa2Cu3O6.

PMID- 9983071
TI  - Theory of the c-axis penetration depth in the cuprates.

PMID- 9983074
TI  - Phase separation and softening of the O2,3 in-phase mode in the YBa2Cu3Ox
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983073
TI  - Scaling in spin susceptibility of high-Tc cuprates: A model with nondegenerate
      fermions.

PMID- 9983075
TI  - Percolation transition of the vortex lattice and c-axis resistivity in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9983077
TI  - Formation of satellite bands in the ionization spectra of extended systems.

PMID- 9983076
TI  - Molecular first hyperpolarizability of push-pull polyenes: Relationship between
      electronic and vibrational contribution by a two-state model.

PMID- 9983078
TI  - Memory loss and Auger processes in a many-body theory of charge transfer.

PMID- 9983079
TI  - Magneto-optical study of paraexcitons in NaI.

PMID- 9983080
TI  - Positron states in noble liquids: Affinity, effective mass, and mobility.

PMID- 9983081
TI  - Investigation of hole-doped insulating La1-xSrxCrO3 by soft-x-ray absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983082
TI  - Quantum interference from sums over closed paths for electrons on a three
      dimensional lattice in a magnetic field: Total energy, magnetic moment, and
      orbital susceptibility.

PMID- 9983083
TI  - F-center formation by Br K-hole Auger decay in KBr.

PMID- 9983085
TI  - Pressure-dependent properties of SiC polytypes.

PMID- 9983084
TI  - Compton profile of vanadium carbide and vanadium nitride.

PMID- 9983086
TI  - Band bending within inhomogeneously doped semiconductors with multilevel
      impurities. I. Theory.

PMID- 9983087
TI  - Band bending within inhomogeneously doped semiconductors with multilevel
      impurities. II. Examples.

PMID- 9983088
TI  - Electronic structure of the N-V center in diamond: Experiments.

PMID- 9983089
TI  - Electronic structure of the N-V center in diamond: Theory.

PMID- 9983090
TI  - Nonlinear optics of conjugated polymers: A coupled exciton-phonon-gas approach.

PMID- 9983091
TI  - Second-harmonic generation resonant to the 1S orthoexciton level of cuprous
      oxide.

PMID- 9983092
TI  - Coupled solitons in resonant Raman interaction of intense polaritons.

PMID- 9983093
TI  - Electron-screening effects on the self-trapping of polarons.

PMID- 9983094
TI  - Ga-bound excitons in 3C-, 4H-, and 6H-SiC.

PMID- 9983095
TI  - Wannier excitons and Franz-Keldysh effect of polydiacetylene chains diluted in
      their single crystal monomer matrix.

PMID- 9983096
TI  - Photoluminescence spectrum and dynamics in oxidized silicon nanocrystals: A
      nanoscopic disorder system.

PMID- 9983097
TI  - Saddle-point configurations for self-interstitial migration in silicon.

PMID- 9983098
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance study of efficient two-layer conjugated
      polymer light-emitting diodes.

PMID- 9983099
TI  - Growth of Si on different GaAs surfaces: A comparative study.

PMID- 9983100
TI  - In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry of GaAs(001) surface reconstructions.

PMID- 9983102
TI  - Segregation and diffusion on semiconductor surfaces.

PMID- 9983101
TI  - Adatom diffusion on Ge(111) and the corresponding activation energy barrier.

PMID- 9983103
TI  - Edge excitations of paired fractional quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9983105
TI  - Transverse magnetoresistance of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions in the presence
      of parallel magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983104
TI  - Quantum-well states in metallic-thin-film overlayers.

PMID- 9983106
TI  - Cesium-induced electronic states and space-charge-layer formation in Cs/InSb(110)
      interface.

PMID- 9983107
TI  - Electronic states in antidot lattices: Scattering-matrix formalism.

PMID- 9983108
TI  - Resonant magnetotunneling spectroscopy of p-type-well interband tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9983109
TI  - Hole magnetoplasmons in quantum dots.

PMID- 9983111
TI  - Formula for Coulomb effect on the nonlinear optical responses in quantum wells.

PMID- 9983110
TI  - Quantum interference effects in a strongly fluctuating magnetic field.

PMID- 9983112
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced modulation of intersubband scattering in a double-barrier
      resonant-tunneling structure.

PMID- 9983113
TI  - Exact propagators for a two-dimensional electron in quadratic potentials and a
      transverse magnetic field.

PMID- 9983114
TI  - Optics of multiple quantum wells uniaxially stressed along the growth axis.

PMID- 9983115
TI  - Raman-scattering probe of anharmonic effects due to temperature and compositional
      disorder in III-V binary and ternary alloy semiconductors.

PMID- 9983116
TI  - Background charge noise in metallic single-electron tunneling devices.

PMID- 9983118
TI  - Stochastic treatment of the dynamics of excitons and excitonic molecules in CuCl
      nanocrystals.

PMID- 9983117
TI  - Exciton ionization induced by an electric field in a strongly coupled GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs superlattice.

PMID- 9983120
TI  - Effect of composite nonmagnetic spacer layer on exchange coupling in magnetic
      superlattices.

PMID- 9983119
TI  - Si(001)/B surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9983121
TI  - Thermal ionization of excitons in V-shaped quantum wires.

PMID- 9983122
TI  - Geometric structure of Be(101-bar0).

PMID- 9983124
TI  - Structure of the diamond (111) surface: Single-dangling-bond versus triple
      dangling-bond face.

PMID- 9983123
TI  - Adsorption and temperature-dependent decomposition of SO2 on Cu(100) and Cu(111):
      A fast and high-resolution core-level spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9983125
TI  - First-principles study of the H-induced reconstruction of W(110).

PMID- 9983126
TI  - Relaxation of hcp(0001) surfaces: A chemical view.

PMID- 9983127
TI  - Initial stages of metal encapsulation during epitaxial growth studied by STM:
      Rh/Ag(100).

PMID- 9983129
TI  - Pattern-formation study of macroscopic dense branching morphology in
      Bi0.69Al0.27Mn/SiO films.

PMID- 9983128
TI  - Green's-tensor approach in the theory of the surface or interface vibrational
      contribution to thermodynamic properties of solids.

PMID- 9983130
TI  - Quantum delocalization of H on Pd(110): A vibrational study.

PMID- 9983131
TI  - First-principles calculation of the longitudinal phonon in the surface-normal
      direction of a zirconium(0001) slab: Localization mode at the subsurface.

PMID- 9983133
TI  - High-resolution core-level study of 6H-SiC(0001).

PMID- 9983132
TI  - Nonuniversality in models of epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9983134
TI  - Electronic structure of 6H-SiC(0001).

PMID- 9983135
TI  - Experimental study of the valence-band region of Mg-Pd and Ba-Pd interfaces with
      and without hydrogen and of Mg and Ba hydrides.

PMID- 9983137
TI  - Curvature-induced bonding changes in carbon nanotubes investigated by electron
      energy-loss spectrometry.

PMID- 9983136
TI  - Integrity of quantum-well resonances in metallic overlayers.

PMID- 9983138
TI  - Dynamics of low-energy-electron stimulated desorption of metastable particles
      from N2 condensed on Xe and Kr films.

PMID- 9983139
TI  - Energy loss of MeV protons specularly reflected from metal surfaces.

PMID- 9983140
TI  - Catalytic oxidation of the GaAs(110) surface promoted by a Cs overlayer.

PMID- 9983142
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the C60 infrared spectrum.

PMID- 9983141
TI  - Energy minimization using the classical density distribution: Application to
      sodium chloride clusters.

PMID- 9983143
TI  - Dimerization and fusion of C60 molecules caused by molecular collision.

PMID- 9983144
TI  - Structure of kinks for a complex ground state.

PMID- 9983145
TI  - Adhesion in NiAl-Cr from first principles.

PMID- 9983146
TI  - Lattice dynamics of ultrathin layers of KBr grown epitaxially on RbCl(001).

PMID- 9983148
TI  - Theoretical study of the electromigration wind force for adatom migration at
      metal surfaces.

PMID- 9983147
TI  - Strain and confined resonances in ultrathin alkali-metal films.

PMID- 9983149
TI  - Fluorescence decay in aperiodic Frenkel lattices.

PMID- 9983150
TI  - Effects of lithium intercalation on the electronic properties of FePS3 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9983151
TI  - Iron clusters supported in a zeolite matrix: Comparison of different magnetic
      characterizations.

PMID- 9983152
TI  - NMR study of the anomalous metallic state below the CDW transition temperature in
      Rb3Cu8S6: A possibility of self-organized spinless solitons.

PMID- 9983154
TI  - Kinetics of surfactant-mediated epitaxy of III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9983153
TI  - Binding energies of hydrogen to the Si(111) 7 x 7 surface studied by statistical
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9983155
TI  - Equivalence of the transmission-eigenvalue density in supersymmetric and scaling
      theories of disordered wires without time-reversal symmetry.

PMID- 9983156
TI  - Tunneling conductance of Luttinger liquids: Resonances.

PMID- 9983157
TI  - Structural and spectroscopic investigations of CdS/HgS/CdS quantum-dot quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9983158
TI  - Magnetic switching and thermal enhancement of quantum transport through
      nanowires.

PMID- 9983160
TI  - Electron confinement in a-Si:H and an effective-mass theorem for amorphous
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9983159
TI  - Symmetry breaking of the admittance of a classical two-dimensional electron
      system in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9983161
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of InP(001) surfaces prepared by UHV
      decapping of metal-organic vapor-phase-epitaxy-grown samples.

PMID- 9983162
TI  - Magneto-optical evidence of the percolation nature of the metal-insulator
      transition in the two-dimensional electron system.

PMID- 9983163
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9983164
TI  - Electron weak localization in disordered films.

PMID- 9983165
TI  - Extending the high-frequency limit of a single-electron transistor by on-chip
      impedance transformation.

PMID- 9983166
TI  - Paired states in the even integer quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9983167
TI  - Low-frequency anomalies and scaling of the dynamic conductivity in the quantum
      Hall effect.

PMID- 9983168
TI  - Electron drift reversal caused by remaining holes in semiconductor superlattices
      due to effective-mass filtering.

PMID- 9983169
TI  - Raman efficiency in a planar microcavity.

PMID- 9983171
TI  - Ultrafast photoexcited cyclotron emission: Contributions from real and virtual
      excitations.

PMID- 9983170
TI  - Large and irregular shift of photoluminescence excitation spectra observed in
      photochemically etched porous silicon.

PMID- 9983172
TI  - Prediction of a pure-carbon planar covalent metal.

PMID- 9983173
TI  - Confinement mechanism for strong temperature dependence of the interlayer
      exchange coupling in Co/Cu(001).

PMID- 9983174
TI  - Quantum-well-driven magnetism in thin films.

PMID- 9983176
TI  - Structural properties of bulk copper: Pseudopotential plane-wave-basis study.

PMID- 9983175
TI  - Resonant enhancement of second-harmonic generation of electric quadrupole origin
      in phthalocyanine films.

PMID- 9983177
TI  - Comparative study of nonlinear localized modes of diatomic chains with two types
      of quartic nonlinearity.

PMID- 9983179
TI  - Evidence for a local lattice distortion in Ca-doped LaMnO3.

PMID- 9983178
TI  - Relaxation jumps of strong vibration.

PMID- 9983180
TI  - Renormalized effective-medium theory for weakly nonlinear composites.

PMID- 9983181
TI  - 1H NMR study of the dimensional crossover in C10H21NH3Cl.

PMID- 9983182
TI  - ESR study of potassium-doped aligned carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9983184
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group study of the spin-1/2 XXZ antiferromagnet on
      the Bethe lattice.

PMID- 9983183
TI  - Method for solving integrable A2 spin chains combining different representations.

PMID- 9983185
TI  - Electronic contributions to spin-wave characteristics in antiferromagnetic
      metals.

PMID- 9983186
TI  - Amorphous iron revisited: An ab initio study.

PMID- 9983187
TI  - Exchange coupling in single-crystalline spinel-structure (Mn,Zn)Fe2O4/CoFe2O4
      bilayers.

PMID- 9983188
TI  - Double-exchange interaction in electron-doped CaMnO3- delta perovskites.

PMID- 9983189
TI  - Perpendicular giant magnetoresistance of Co/Cu multilayers on grooved substrates:
      Systematic analysis of the temperature dependence of spin-dependent scattering.

PMID- 9983190
TI  - Proton NMR in a TDAE-C60 single crystal.

PMID- 9983191
TI  - Effect of annealing on the giant Hall effect.

PMID- 9983192
TI  - Superconductivity in a spin liquid: A one-dimensional example.

PMID- 9983193
TI  - Superconducting-critical-temperature oscillations in Nb/CuMn multilayers.

PMID- 9983194
TI  - Anisotropy and two length scales in the magnetic critical scattering in the heavy
      fermion superconductor UPd2Al3.

PMID- 9983196
TI  - Indication for an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983195
TI  - Normal-state Nernst effect of a high-critical-temperature superconductor.

PMID- 9983197
TI  - High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the momentum
      dependence of the superconducting gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9983198
TI  - Multiatom covalent bonding and the formation enthalpy of Na2K.

PMID- 9983199
TI  - First-principles theory of iron up to earth-core pressures: Structural,
      vibrational, and elastic properties.

PMID- 9983200
TI  - Lattice-dynamical study of the structure and elasticity of dodecasil-3C at
      elevated temperatures.

PMID- 9983201
TI  - Higher-order elasticity of cubic metals in the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9983202
TI  - Pressure-induced distortions of Pb(NO3)2 isomorphs.

PMID- 9983203
TI  - Ferroelastic phase transitions in the K3Na(SeO4)2 glaserit-type crystal.

PMID- 9983205
TI  - Molecular-dynamics prediction of structural anomalies in ferroelectric and
      dielectric BaTiO3-SrTiO3-CaTiO3 solid solutions.

PMID- 9983204
TI  - ac-field-dependent structure-property relationships in La-modified lead zirconate
      titanate: Induced relaxor behavior and domain breakdown in soft ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9983207
TI  - Secondary-electron and negative-ion emission from Al: Effect of oxygen coverage.

PMID- 9983206
TI  - Diffraction of atoms from stepped surfaces: A semiclassical chaotic S-matrix
      study.

PMID- 9983208
TI  - Localized fluoride diffusion and defect equilibrium in CaF2:Eu3+ using site
      selective spectroscopy and high-pressure techniques.

PMID- 9983209
TI  - Structural scattering of phonons in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9983210
TI  - Microstructural evolution of source rocks during hydrocarbon generation: A small
      angle-scattering study.

PMID- 9983211
TI  - Lattice dynamics of BC2N.

PMID- 9983213
TI  - Phonon localization in one-dimensional quasiperiodic chains.

PMID- 9983212
TI  - Orientational defects on a hydrogen-bonded chain.

PMID- 9983214
TI  - Voltage distribution in a two-component random system.

PMID- 9983215
TI  - Solid C76: NMR studies of molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9983216
TI  - Theoretical studies of carrier transport in HgI2.

PMID- 9983217
TI  - Determination of a distribution of relaxation frequencies based on experimental
      relaxational data.

PMID- 9983218
TI  - Matrix mean-field theory for the paramagnetic susceptibility of disordered
      magnets.

PMID- 9983220
TI  - Crossover from two- to three-dimensional critical behavior for nearly
      antiferromagnetic itinerant electrons.

PMID- 9983219
TI  - High-temperature-series study of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg ferromagnet.

PMID- 9983222
TI  - Calculated spin polarization and magnetic dichroism of photoelectron diffraction
      spectra for magnetite below the Verwey temperature.

PMID- 9983221
TI  - Total spin and antiferromagnetic correlation in the Kondo model.

PMID- 9983223
TI  - Hyperfine fields at the Ba site in the antiferromagnet YBa2Cu3O6.05.

PMID- 9983224
TI  - Monoclinic microdomains and clustering in the colossal magnetoresistance
      manganites Pr0.7Ca0.25Sr0.05MnO3 and Pr0.75Sr0.25MnO3.

PMID- 9983226
TI  - Thermal variation of the relaxation time of the magnetic moment of gamma -Fe2O3
      nanoparticles with interparticle interactions of various strengths.

PMID- 9983225
TI  - Magnetism and structural distortion in the La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 metallic ferromagnet.

PMID- 9983227
TI  - Oscillatory total spin in ferromagnet/metal(or insulator)/ferromagnet sandwich
      structures.

PMID- 9983229
TI  - ESR in conducting polymers: Oxygen-induced contribution to the linewidth.

PMID- 9983228
TI  - Thermopower of single-crystal Nd1-x(Sr,Pb)xMnO3- delta.

PMID- 9983231
TI  - Pattern dynamics of parametrically excited spin waves near the instability
      threshold.

PMID- 9983230
TI  - ESR studies on the Haldane material Ni(C3H10N2)2NO2ClO4: Polarization analysis
      and frequency-field diagram.

PMID- 9983232
TI  - Ordered arrangement of proton pairs in the PrNiInH1.29 system.

PMID- 9983233
TI  - Accuracy of the density-matrix renormalization-group method.

PMID- 9983234
TI  - Experimental observation of guided polarized neutrons in magnetic-thin-film
      waveguides.

PMID- 9983235
TI  - Quantum critical behavior of disordered itinerant ferromagnets.

PMID- 9983236
TI  - Short-distance behavior of the energy density near surfaces of critical systems.

PMID- 9983237
TI  - Rapid oscillations in the organic conductor (TMTSF)2ClO4.

PMID- 9983238
TI  - Magneto-oscillations in the high-magnetic-field state of (TMTSF)2ClO4.

PMID- 9983240
TI  - Magnetocrystalline anisotropy of YCo5 and related RECo5 compounds.

PMID- 9983239
TI  - Spin-flop phase and heavy fermion behavior in CePb3.

PMID- 9983241
TI  - Intrinsic electrical transport and magnetic properties of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 and
      La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 MOCVD thin films and bulk material.

PMID- 9983242
TI  - First-order transition at TC in the orthomanganites.

PMID- 9983243
TI  - Spin susceptibility of boron carbides: Dissociation of singlet small bipolarons.

PMID- 9983244
TI  - X-ray-absorption sum rules in jj-coupled operators and ground-state moments of
      actinide ions.

PMID- 9983246
TI  - Surface vibrations of a 4He droplet and the universality of the dispersion
      relation.

PMID- 9983245
TI  - Electrical and magnetic properties of (Ca1-xAx)2MnO4 (A=La and Na).

PMID- 9983247
TI  - Collective modes in the electronic polarization of double-layer systems in the
      superconducting state.

PMID- 9983249
TI  - Interaction potential between vortex lines for uniaxial superconductors in the
      London approximation.

PMID- 9983248
TI  - Kinetic-equation approach to diffusive superconducting hybrid devices.

PMID- 9983250
TI  - Stability analysis of a two-dimensional uniaxial vortex glass.

PMID- 9983251
TI  - Quantized conductance in semiconductor-superconductor-junction quantum point
      contacts.

PMID- 9983253
TI  - Phase locking of Josephson junctions in a two-dimensional array.

PMID- 9983252
TI  - Charge-vortex duality in double-layered Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9983254
TI  - Chaos and thermal noise in a Josephson junction coupled to a resonant tank.

PMID- 9983256
TI  - c-axis optical spectra and charge dynamics in La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9983255
TI  - Hubbard model with smooth boundary conditions.

PMID- 9983257
TI  - Experimental proof of the electronic charge-transfer mechanism in a YBa2Cu3O7-x
      based field-effect transistor.

PMID- 9983258
TI  - Explanation of the zero-bias anomaly in the tunneling characteristics of single
      crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with intrinsic Josephson tunneling.

PMID- 9983259
TI  - Implications of dx2-y2 symmetry and faceting for the transport properties of
      grain boundaries in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9983260
TI  - Determination of the onset of bulk pinning and the low-temperature
      irreversibility line in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9983261
TI  - Collective mode and the c-axis critical current of a Josephson-coupled
      superconductor at high parallel magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983262
TI  - Influence of columnar defects on vortex dynamics in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 from out-of
      plane and flux transformer transport measurements.

PMID- 9983263
TI  - Crossover effects in the temperature dependence of the critical current in
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9983264
TI  - Pressure dependence of Tc in cuprate superconductors: Application to (CaxLa1
      x)(Ba1.75-xLa0.25+x)Cu3Oy.

PMID- 9983265
TI  - Effect of 3d ion substitution in the RBa2Cu3-xMxO7 (R=Sm, Dy; M=Fe, Ni and Zn)
      system: Implications of R ion dependence and disorder.

PMID- 9983266
TI  - Crystal structures of Hg-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors with enhanced flux pinning:
      Hg1-xRexSr2Can-1CunO2n+2+ delta (n=2,3; x

PMID- 9983268
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Infrared-reflectance spectra of heat-treated, sol-gel
      derived silica' "

PMID- 9983267
TI  - Comment on "Infrared-reflectance spectra of heat-treated, sol-gel-derived silica"

PMID- 9983269
TI  - Erratum: Superconducting correlations in the one-band Hubbard model with
      intermediate on-site and weak attractive intersite interactions

PMID- 9983270
TI  - Erratum: Antiferromagnetic excitations and van Hove singularities in YBa2Cu3O6+x

PMID- 9983271
TI  - Heat-diffusion central peak in the dielectric susceptibility of ferroelectric
      materials.

PMID- 9983272
TI  - Ion-beam mixing induced by atomic and cluster bombardment in the electronic
      stopping-power regime.

PMID- 9983273
TI  - Theory and numerical simulations of defect ordering in irradiated materials.

PMID- 9983274
TI  - Irradiation effects in Ag-Fe bilayers: Ion-beam mixing, recrystallization, and
      surface roughening.

PMID- 9983275
TI  - Vibrational properties of the layered semiconductor germanium sulfide under
      hydrostatic pressure: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9983276
TI  - Characteristics of sensitized emission in laser crystals.

PMID- 9983277
TI  - Impact fragmentation of an ideal brittle crystal.

PMID- 9983279
TI  - Transport properties of waves in absorbing random media with microstructure.

PMID- 9983278
TI  - Second-order phase transition in crystals with long-range correlated quenched
      defects.

PMID- 9983280
TI  - Influence of heat treatment on the tunneling states in neutron-irradiated quartz.

PMID- 9983281
TI  - Spectral function for a conducting sheet containing circular inclusions.

PMID- 9983282
TI  - Hysteresis, avalanches, and disorder-induced critical scaling: A renormalization
      group approach.

PMID- 9983283
TI  - Curvature of acoustic slowness surface of anisotropic solids near symmetry axes.

PMID- 9983284
TI  - Nonlocal charge-transfer effects in the lattice dynamics of classical ionic
      crystals.

PMID- 9983285
TI  - Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model applied to chains of finite length.

PMID- 9983287
TI  - Low-frequency electrical noise in Ni: The effects of magnetic fluctuations.

PMID- 9983286
TI  - Time evolution of models described by a one-dimensional discrete nonlinear
      Schrodinger equation.

PMID- 9983288
TI  - Second-harmonic generation in magnetic colloids by orientation of the
      nanoparticles.

PMID- 9983289
TI  - Nonlinear self-localized magnetoelastic surface waves in antiferromagnetic media.

PMID- 9983290
TI  - Variational evidence for spin liquids in frustrated lattices.

PMID- 9983291
TI  - Spin-Peierls lattice fluctuations of pure and Si- and Zn-substituted CuGeO3.

PMID- 9983292
TI  - Relaxation and aging in Ising systems.

PMID- 9983294
TI  - Magnetic excitations in the sinusoidal spin phase of Er and Tm.

PMID- 9983293
TI  - Variation of f-electron localization in diluted US and UTe.

PMID- 9983295
TI  - Spin dynamics in the linear-chain S=1 antiferromagnet Ni(C3H10N2)2N3(ClO4).

PMID- 9983297
TI  - Domain-wall dynamics in aligned bound Sm2Fe17.

PMID- 9983296
TI  - Magnetic properties of Pm in NdNi.

PMID- 9983298
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance and microstructures in CoAg granular films fabricated
      using ion-beam co-sputtering technique.

PMID- 9983299
TI  - Magnetic and transport properties of NiFe/Ag and Co/NiFe/Co/Ag multilayers.

PMID- 9983301
TI  - Magneto-optic properties and ferromagnetism of (In,Mn)As/(In,Al)As/(Ga,Al)Sb
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9983302
TI  - Deuterium site occupancy in YDx by magic-angle-spinning NMR.

PMID- 9983300
TI  - Interlayer magnetic coupling: The torque method.

PMID- 9983303
TI  - Phase transitions in a spin-1 model with plaquette interaction on the square
      lattice.

PMID- 9983304
TI  - Local properties at Fe and Co impurities in Nb1-xMox alloys.

PMID- 9983305
TI  - Kondo effect in flux phases.

PMID- 9983306
TI  - Raman response in doped antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9983307
TI  - Giant magnetoresistive behavior near the metamagnetic transition in
      Ce(Fe0.93Ru0.07)2.

PMID- 9983309
TI  - Electrical and magnetic properties of Fe3-zAlzO4 (z<0.06).

PMID- 9983308
TI  - Size-dependence study of the spin glass CuMn (1%).

PMID- 9983310
TI  - Sharp photoemission spectra in the quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9983311
TI  - Shadow wave function for liquid and solid 3He.

PMID- 9983312
TI  - ac properties of an anisotropic layered superconductor.

PMID- 9983314
TI  - Effect of gate voltage on critical current in controllable superconductor-normal
      metal-superconductor Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9983313
TI  - Electronic thermal conductivity and the Wiedemann-Franz law for unconventional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983315
TI  - Evolution from BCS superconductivity to Bose condensation: Calculation of the
      zero-temperature phase coherence length.

PMID- 9983316
TI  - Topological defects in the random-field XY model and the pinned vortex lattice to
      vortex glass transition in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9983317
TI  - Effect of diffusive boundaries on surface superconductivity in unconventional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983318
TI  - Variational theory of elastic manifolds with correlated disorder and localization
      of interacting quantum particles.

PMID- 9983319
TI  - Superconductivity in amorphous Ta/Ge multilayers.

PMID- 9983320
TI  - Quantum-liquid regimes for spin chains coupled to phonons: Phonon density wave
      versus magnetic order.

PMID- 9983322
TI  - Low-temperature properties and specific anisotropy of pure anisotropically paired
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983321
TI  - Rare-earth ion size effect on resistivity, susceptibility, and superconductivity
      of RBa2Cu3-xZnxO7-y (R= Yb, Er, Y, Dy, Gd, Eu, Sm, and Nd).

PMID- 9983323
TI  - Vortex dynamics in YBa2Cu3O7- delta superconducting films: Experimental evidence
      for an instability in the vortex system at high current densities.

PMID- 9983325
TI  - ac magnetic hysteresis loops of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O 110-K-phase superconductors and the
      effect of microstructural alteration.

PMID- 9983324
TI  - Thermal fluctuation effects on the magnetization above and below the
      superconducting transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 crystals in the weak magnetic field
      limit.

PMID- 9983326
TI  - Quasiparticle lifetimes and signatures of the superconductor order-parameter
      symmetry in phonon linewidths.

PMID- 9983327
TI  - Microwave-induced dc voltages in a YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystal.

PMID- 9983328
TI  - Vortex structure and resistive transitions in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9983330
TI  - Vortex structure in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9983329
TI  - Reversible magnetization and anisotropy in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9983331
TI  - Phase separation and valence instabilities in cuprate superconductors: Effective
      one-band-model approach.

PMID- 9983332
TI  - Structural phase transitions in bulk YBa2Cu3O6+x with x=0.35 and x=0.36.

PMID- 9983334
TI  - Lattice dynamics of RbC60 in its rotator, polymer, and dimer phase: A neutron
      scattering investigation.

PMID- 9983333
TI  - Fast in situ x-ray-diffraction studies of chemical reactions: A synchrotron view
      of the hydration of tricalcium aluminate.

PMID- 9983335
TI  - Calculation of the turnover in the vibrational frequencies of solid hydrogen at
      high pressures.

PMID- 9983336
TI  - Ferromagnetism-induced reentrant structural transition and phase diagram of the
      lightly doped insulator La1-xSrxMnO3 (x <~ 0.17).

PMID- 9983337
TI  - Temperature dependence of the spin-Peierls energy gap and anomalous line shapes
      in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9983338
TI  - Analytical results for a hole in an antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9983339
TI  - Neutron-scattering and susceptibility study of spin chains and spin ladders in
      (Sr0.8Ca0.2)14Cu24O41.

PMID- 9983341
TI  - Crossover from O(3) to O(4) behavior in weakly frustrated antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9983340
TI  - Muon-spin-relaxation studies of magnetic order in heavily doped La2-xSrxNiO4+
      delta.

PMID- 9983342
TI  - Raman-scattering evidence for free spinons in the one-dimensional spin-1/2 chains
      of Sr2CuO3 and SrCuO2.

PMID- 9983343
TI  - Direct observation of particle-hole mixing in the superconducting state by angle
      resolved photoemission.

PMID- 9983345
TI  - High-precision penetration-depth measurement of YBa2Cu3O7- delta as a function of
      oxygen content.

PMID- 9983344
TI  - Direct observation of optical magnons in YBa2Cu3O6.2.

PMID- 9983346
TI  - Josephson plasma resonance in a single-layered cuprate Bi2(Sr,La)2CuOy.

PMID- 9983347
TI  - Doping dependence of the O 1s core-level photoemission in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983348
TI  - Analysis of the lock-in transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single crystals
      through microwave dissipation.

PMID- 9983350
TI  - Absence of a magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator transition in Kondo
      insulators.

PMID- 9983349
TI  - Nature of the electronic states in the layered perovskite noncuprate
      superconductor Sr2RuO4.

PMID- 9983351
TI  - O(N) tight-binding methods with finite electronic temperature.

PMID- 9983352
TI  - Specific heat of the half-filled Hubbard chain: A Feynman path-integral Monte
      Carlo investigation.

PMID- 9983353
TI  - Nonperturbative results for attractive Hubbard pairings in triangular lattices.

PMID- 9983355
TI  - Phase coherence in a random one-dimensional system of interacting fermions: A
      density-matrix renormalization-group study.

PMID- 9983354
TI  - Pressure-induced charge transfer in Li and Al alloys.

PMID- 9983356
TI  - Effect of X radiation on the plastic deformation of II-VI compounds.

PMID- 9983357
TI  - n-type doping in Cd2SnO4: A study by EELS and photoemission.

PMID- 9983358
TI  - Determination of the electron effective-mass tensor in 4H SiC.

PMID- 9983359
TI  - Possibility of coherent light emission from excitons in crystalline GaTe.

PMID- 9983360
TI  - Semiconductor effective charges from tight-binding theory.

PMID- 9983361
TI  - Ab initio studies of adatom vacancies on the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface.

PMID- 9983362
TI  - Surface-sensitive x-ray standing-wave study of Si(111) sqrt(3) x sqrt(3) -Ag.

PMID- 9983363
TI  - Direct determination of the step-edge formation energies of the energetically
      stable and unstable double-layer step edges of Si(001).

PMID- 9983364
TI  - Oxide-cluster nucleation, growth, and saturation on Si(001)-(2 x 1) surfaces:
      Atomic-scale measurements and models.

PMID- 9983365
TI  - Doublet structure in the absorption coefficient for tunneling-split intersubband
      transitions in double quantum wells.

PMID- 9983366
TI  - Measurement of the optical band gap and crystal-field splitting in wurtzite CdTe.

PMID- 9983367
TI  - Exchange- and correlation-induced charge transfer observed in independently
      contacted triple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9983368
TI  - Leggett's conjecture for a mesoscopic ring.

PMID- 9983370
TI  - Elastic scattering theory for electronic waves in quantum corrals.

PMID- 9983371
TI  - Size effect on exciton-phonon scattering in quantum wires.

PMID- 9983369
TI  - Fermi resonance solitary wave on the interface between two layers of organic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9983372
TI  - Transmission of interacting electrons through a one-dimensional periodic
      potential.

PMID- 9983373
TI  - Universal excess noise in resonant tunneling via strongly localized states.

PMID- 9983374
TI  - Photoinhibition of the quantum confined Stark effect in piezoelectric multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9983375
TI  - Evidence for resonant electron capture and charge buildup in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9983377
TI  - Cantilever dynamics in quasinoncontact force microscopy: Spectroscopic aspects.

PMID- 9983376
TI  - Relaxation process of the self-trapping exciton in C60.

PMID- 9983378
TI  - Local thermodynamic properties of a stepped metal surface: Cu(711).

PMID- 9983379
TI  - Collective excitations in a single-layer carbon nanotube.

PMID- 9983380
TI  - Size effects in the ultrafast electronic dynamics of metallic tin nanoparticles.

PMID- 9983381
TI  - Electronic localization in the cuprates.

PMID- 9983382
TI  - Periodic boundary conditions in ab initio calculations. II. Brillouin-zone
      sampling for aperiodic systems.

PMID- 9983383
TI  - Magnetoresistance extremum at the first-order Verwey transition in magnetite
      (Fe3O4).

PMID- 9983384
TI  - Orbital disproportionation of conduction-electron density in cubic lattices with
      threefold degenerate site orbitals.

PMID- 9983385
TI  - Electronic transport in the metallic state of oriented poly(p-phenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9983386
TI  - Shubnikov-de Haas effect and magnetic breakdown in the low-temperature charge
      density-wave state for the thallium purple bronze TlMo6O17.

PMID- 9983387
TI  - Analytical results on quantum interference and magnetoconductance for strongly
      localized electrons in a magnetic field: Exact summation of forward-scattering
      paths.

PMID- 9983388
TI  - Electronic polarizability in a correlated electron system with strong covalency.

PMID- 9983389
TI  - Evidence for

PMID- 9983390
TI  - Wave propagation in nonlinear photonic band-gap materials.

PMID- 9983391
TI  - Dislocations and the motion of weakly pinned charge-density waves: Experiments on
      niobium triselenide containing mobile indium impurities.

PMID- 9983392
TI  - Substitutional site of Co2+ ions in single-crystalline AgGaS2:Co2+

PMID- 9983393
TI  - Spatial distribution of the wave function of the self-trapped exciton in AgCl.

PMID- 9983394
TI  - Neutron transmutation doping as an experimental probe for AsSe in ZnSe.

PMID- 9983395
TI  - Electronic and formation energies for deep defects in narrow-gap semiconductors.

PMID- 9983397
TI  - Density-functional theory of the nonlinear optical susceptibility: Application to
      cubic semiconductors.

PMID- 9983396
TI  - Electronic structure and physical properties of NbSi2.

PMID- 9983398
TI  - Experimental study of the energy-band structure of porous silicon.

PMID- 9983399
TI  - Photoinduced absorption of oriented poly

PMID- 9983400
TI  - Observation of resonant Raman scattering at the Si L2,3 core exciton.

PMID- 9983401
TI  - Pressure-tuned resonance Raman scattering in AgGaSe2.

PMID- 9983402
TI  - Surface phonons on InP(110) with the adiabatic bond-charge model.

PMID- 9983403
TI  - Two-stage phase transition of 12 x 1 reconstruction on Si(331).

PMID- 9983404
TI  - Effect of interfacial bonding on the structural and vibrational properties of
      InAs/GaSb superlattices.

PMID- 9983405
TI  - Shallow strained InxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yAs superlattices embedded in p-i-n diodes:
      Structural properties and optical response.

PMID- 9983406
TI  - Direct optical transitions in indirect-gap (Al0.5Ga0.5)0.51In0.49P by atomic
      ordering.

PMID- 9983407
TI  - Effect of intersite electron-electron interaction on the concentration of D- ions
      in quantum wells.

PMID- 9983409
TI  - Observation of lateral superlattice effects on stepped Cu(001).

PMID- 9983408
TI  - Electron-spectroscopic study of vertical In1-xGaxAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9983410
TI  - Microscopic excitation spectroscopy for zero-dimensional quantized states of
      individual InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9983411
TI  - Gain without inversion in interband transitions of semiconductor quantum wells
      from a single-particle perspective.

PMID- 9983413
TI  - Composite-fermion edge states and transport through nanostructures in the
      fractional quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9983412
TI  - Pseudoultrarelativistic behavior and specification of spinlike effects in the two
      dimensional electron gas in Kane semiconductors with direct and inverted band
      structure.

PMID- 9983414
TI  - Spin-flip scattering in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9983415
TI  - Microscopic model for a quantum cascade laser.

PMID- 9983416
TI  - Electron-phonon coupling in a delta -doped n-i-p structure in GaAs.

PMID- 9983417
TI  - Splitting of electronic levels with positive and negative angular momenta in
      In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum dots by a magnetic field.

PMID- 9983418
TI  - Site-selective fluorescence studies of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) and its
      derivatives.

PMID- 9983419
TI  - Nonlinear optical response due to resonant enhancement of the internal field with
      particular spatial distribution.

PMID- 9983421
TI  - Statistics of anyon gas and the factorizable property of thermodynamic
      quantities.

PMID- 9983420
TI  - Nonequilibrium dynamics of free quantum-well excitons in time-resolved
      photoluminescence.

PMID- 9983422
TI  - Topological phase transition in the nu =2/3 quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9983423
TI  - Thermoelectric properties of microstructures with four-probe versus two-probe
      setups.

PMID- 9983424
TI  - Two-dimensional modeling of pulsed-laser irradiated a-Si and other materials.

PMID- 9983426
TI  - Phase transformations of an InSb surface induced by strong femtosecond laser
      pulses.

PMID- 9983425
TI  - Linear-chain-model interpretation of resonant Raman scattering in GenSim
      microstructures.

PMID- 9983427
TI  - Photoconductance through quantum point contacts: Exact numerical results.

PMID- 9983429
TI  - Transition to one-dimensional behavior in the optical absorption of quantum-well
      wires.

PMID- 9983428
TI  - Compositional dependence of the luminescence of In0.49(AlyGa1-y)0.51P alloys near
      the direct-indirect band-gap crossover.

PMID- 9983430
TI  - Binding energy of two-dimensional biexcitons.

PMID- 9983431
TI  - Theory of semiballistic wave propagation.

PMID- 9983432
TI  - Microscopic derivation of rate equations for quantum transport.

PMID- 9983433
TI  - Spatial variations of hot-carrier transmission across CoSi2/Si interfaces on a
      nanometer scale.

PMID- 9983434
TI  - Experimental determination of the Fermi surface of thin Sc1-xErxAs epitaxial
      layers in pulsed magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983435
TI  - Experimental study of mesoscopic fluctuations in nonlinear conductance and
      magnetoconductance.

PMID- 9983436
TI  - Dynamics of nascent current filaments in low-temperature impurity breakdown.

PMID- 9983437
TI  - Spontaneous coherence and the quantum Hall effect in triple-layer electron
      systems.

PMID- 9983438
TI  - Fluctuation kinetics of an isolated Ag(110) step.

PMID- 9983439
TI  - Formation of (n x 1)-O/Ag(110) overlayers and the role of step-edge atoms.

PMID- 9983440
TI  - NO2 adsorption on Grafoil between 297 and 12 K.

PMID- 9983441
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of faceting on high-step-density TaC
      surfaces.

PMID- 9983442
TI  - Strain-induced local surface chemical ordering observed by STM.

PMID- 9983443
TI  - Kinetic analysis of the soldering reaction between eutectic SnPb alloy and Cu
      accompanied by ripening.

PMID- 9983444
TI  - Imaging of a surface state from clean Cu(001).

PMID- 9983445
TI  - Evaporation of single atoms from an adsorbate island or a step to a terrace:
      Evaporation rate and the underlying atomic-level mechanism.

PMID- 9983446
TI  - Simple metal clusters in magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983448
TI  - L-edge x-ray absorption in fcc and bcc Cu metal: Comparison of experimental and
      first-principles theoretical results.

PMID- 9983447
TI  - Theoretical study of the binding of Na clusters encapsulated in the C240
      fullerene.

PMID- 9983449
TI  - Static exchange and cluster modeling of core electron shakeup spectra of surface
      adsorbates: CO/Cu(100).

PMID- 9983451
TI  - Phase separation in the binary-alloy problem: The one-dimensional spinless
      Falicov-Kimball model.

PMID- 9983450
TI  - Conductance step for a single-atom contact in the scanning tunneling microscope:
      Noble and transition metals.

PMID- 9983452
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of the Coulomb glass: Role of correlations.

PMID- 9983454
TI  - Doped Mott insulator: Results from mean-field theory.

PMID- 9983453
TI  - Calculation of positron states and annihilation in solids: A density-gradient
      correction scheme.

PMID- 9983455
TI  - Dynamics of conversion of conduction electrons into a collective charge-density
      wave current.

PMID- 9983457
TI  - Assessment of the polarizabilities ( alpha, beta ) of a nonlinear optical
      compound

PMID- 9983456
TI  - Strong effects of photonic band structures on the diffraction of colloidal
      crystals.

PMID- 9983458
TI  - Pressure variation of the electrical conductivity of dolomite

PMID- 9983459
TI  - Defect dipole relaxation in polycrystalline dolomite

PMID- 9983460
TI  - Spin-polarization effects in (AB2)n polymeric chains.

PMID- 9983461
TI  - Structure of a-Si:H from Harris-functional molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9983462
TI  - Stark broadening of impurity absorption lines by inhomogeneous electric fields in
      highly compensated germanium.

PMID- 9983463
TI  - Interface stability of Ti(SiGe)2 and SiGe alloys: Tie lines in the ternary
      equilibrium diagram.

PMID- 9983465
TI  - Interstitial hydrogen and enhanced dissociation of C-H complexes in GaAs.

PMID- 9983464
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy study of ZnS and CdS under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9983466
TI  - Hydrogen passivation of Se and Te in AlSb.

PMID- 9983468
TI  - Polarization memory of photoluminescence in amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9983467
TI  - Recombination and photoluminescence mechanism in hydrogenated amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9983469
TI  - Elastic constants and related properties of tetrahedrally bonded BN, AlN, GaN,
      and InN.

PMID- 9983470
TI  - Theoretical and experimental studies of the interaction between sodium and
      oligothiophenes.

PMID- 9983471
TI  - Stress-induced self-organization of nanoscale structures in SiGe/Si multilayer
      films.

PMID- 9983472
TI  - Measurement and assignment of the size-dependent optical spectrum in CdSe quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9983473
TI  - Size dependence of exciton fine structure in CdSe quantum dots.

PMID- 9983474
TI  - Intrawell and interwell magnetoexcitons in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs coupled double quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9983476
TI  - Influence of ferromagnetic spin waves on persistent currents in one-dimensional
      mesoscopic rings.

PMID- 9983475
TI  - Quantum and transport mobilities in delta -doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9983477
TI  - Conductance through a quantum dot in an Aharonov-Bohm ring.

PMID- 9983478
TI  - Current fluctuations in mesoscopic systems with Andreev scattering.

PMID- 9983480
TI  - Resonance states of open quantum dots.

PMID- 9983479
TI  - Quasi-one-dimensional transport near the ballistic limit.

PMID- 9983481
TI  - Resonant tunneling in CdTe/Cd1-xMgxTe double-barrier single-quantum-well
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9983482
TI  - Edge states of integral quantum Hall states versus edge states of
      antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains.

PMID- 9983483
TI  - Optical absorption near the band edge in GaN grown by metalorganic chemical-vapor
      deposition.

PMID- 9983484
TI  - Femtosecond coherent fields induced by many-particle correlations in transient
      four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9983485
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced formation of exciton magnetic polarons in ZnSe/Zn1-xMnxSe
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9983486
TI  - Perpendicular-electric-field dependence of exciton binding energy studied by
      continuous-wave photoluminescence.

PMID- 9983487
TI  - Magnetoluminescence studies of InyAl1-yAs self-assembled quantum dots in AlxGa1
      xAs matrices.

PMID- 9983488
TI  - Linear and nonlinear optical properties of realistic quantum-wire structures: The
      dominant role of Coulomb correlation.

PMID- 9983489
TI  - Slow relaxation of excited states in strain-induced quantum dots.

PMID- 9983491
TI  - Green's functions theory for semiconductor-quantum-well laser spectra.

PMID- 9983490
TI  - Direct observation of magnetophonon resonances in Landau-level lifetimes of a
      semiconductor heterostructure.

PMID- 9983492
TI  - Comparison of classical and tight-binding molecular dynamics for silicon growth.

PMID- 9983493
TI  - Boundary conditions and spurious solutions in envelope-function theory.

PMID- 9983494
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy of CoSi2.

PMID- 9983495
TI  - Time-resolved spontaneous emission of excitons in a microcavity: Behavior of the
      individual exciton-photon mixed states.

PMID- 9983496
TI  - Exciton dynamics in a single quantum well with self-assembled islands.

PMID- 9983497
TI  - Dissipative tunneling in asymmetric double-quantum-well systems: A coherence
      phenomenon.

PMID- 9983498
TI  - Exciton fine structure in undoped GaN epitaxial films.

PMID- 9983500
TI  - Fokker-Planck description of the transfer-matrix limiting distribution in the
      scattering approach to quantum transport.

PMID- 9983499
TI  - Width dependence of quantum lifetimes in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9983502
TI  - Magnus force on skyrmions in ferromagnets and quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9983501
TI  - Exact effective action for fermions in one dimension with backscattering at a
      boundary.

PMID- 9983503
TI  - Mobility of grain boundary dislocations during the conservative untwisting of

PMID- 9983504
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the
      initial growth of the Sm-on-Pt(100) interface.

PMID- 9983505
TI  - Role of the tip atom in STM and AFM: Theory of atom transfer.

PMID- 9983507
TI  - Dynamical model for the interpretation of the geometry of the (4 x 2) CO layer
      adsorbed on MgO (001).

PMID- 9983506
TI  - Anisotropic diffusion between the step-up and the step-down directions on a
      Si(001) surface.

PMID- 9983508
TI  - Electronic structure of Eu and Yb graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9983509
TI  - Multifractal analysis of the spatial distribution of secondary-electron emission
      sites.

PMID- 9983511
TI  - CO on copper clusters: Orbital symmetry rules.

PMID- 9983510
TI  - Mossbauer study of the proximity gettering of cobalt atoms to He-induced
      nanosized voids in c-Si.

PMID- 9983512
TI  - Discrete-variational X alpha calculations of C60Fx with x=0, 36, and 48.

PMID- 9983513
TI  - Spectral statistics near the quantum percolation threshold.

PMID- 9983514
TI  - Radiative recombination and self-trapping of excitons via biexciton states in
      RbI.

PMID- 9983515
TI  - Optical-bias effect on transient electron-drift measurements in a-Si:H:
      Implications on the distribution and capture cross sections of the dangling
      bonds.

PMID- 9983516
TI  - Relaxation dynamics of electrons between Landau levels in GaAs.

PMID- 9983517
TI  - Coherent phonon-plasmon modes in GaAs:AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9983518
TI  - Etching of double-height-stepped Si(100)-2 x 1: Steps and their interactions.

PMID- 9983519
TI  - Adsorbed and substituted Sb dimers on GaAs(001).

PMID- 9983520
TI  - Valence-band maximum in the layered semiconductor WSe2: Application of constant
      energy contour mapping by photoemission.

PMID- 9983522
TI  - Concentrated oscillator strength of one-dimensional excitons in quantum wires
      observed with photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983521
TI  - Magnetoexciton anisotropy in quantum wells versus quantum wires.

PMID- 9983523
TI  - Evidence of the ordered growth of monomolecular ZnTe islands in CdTe/(Cd,Zn)Te
      quantum wells on a nominal (001) surface.

PMID- 9983524
TI  - Edge-state transport in separately contacted double-layer quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9983525
TI  - Ultrafast in-well screening of the piezoelectric field in (111) quantum wells.

PMID- 9983526
TI  - Crystal azimuthal-angle dependence of excited-state production and core
      rearrangement processes in Ne+ scattering on Al(111).

PMID- 9983527
TI  - Load-dependent topographic and friction studies of individual ion tracks in
      layered materials by scanning force microscopy and lateral force microscopy.

PMID- 9983529
TI  - Binding energy of the stabilized uniform interstitial electron gas in transition
      metals.

PMID- 9983528
TI  - Influence of gradient corrections on the bulk and surface properties of TiO2 and
      SnO2.

PMID- 9983531
TI  - Approach to density-functional ionization energy.

PMID- 9983530
TI  - Electronic states of the theta ' phase in Cu-Al alloys as compared to C16-CuAl2:
      Cu L alpha emission excited directly by undulator radiation.

PMID- 9983532
TI  - Depinning transition in Mott-Anderson insulators.

PMID- 9983533
TI  - Influence of intra-atomic correlation effects on 3d states in transition-metal
      compounds.

PMID- 9983534
TI  - Environment-dependent tight-binding potential model.

PMID- 9983535
TI  - Evidence for ideal insulating or conducting state in a one-dimensional integrable
      system.

PMID- 9983536
TI  - LO-phonon and plasmon coupling in neutron-transmutation-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9983537
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of particles with intermediate statistics.

PMID- 9983538
TI  - Resonant-tunneling spectroscopy of coupled hole subbands in strained Si/SiGe
      triple-barrier structures.

PMID- 9983539
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of In surface segregation during the growth of InxGa1-xAs
      on GaAs(001).

PMID- 9983540
TI  - Vicinal Si(100) surfaces under external strain.

PMID- 9983541
TI  - Persistent current of one-dimensional perfect rings under the canonical ensemble.

PMID- 9983542
TI  - Near-infrared photonic band gap of two-dimensional triangular air-rod lattices as
      revealed by transmittance measurement.

PMID- 9983543
TI  - Crossover behavior of the conductance oscillations in a quasi-one-dimensional
      ring in the ballistic limit.

PMID- 9983544
TI  - Absorption spectra of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs random superlattices at 2 K.

PMID- 9983545
TI  - Quantization effects in the conductance of metallic contacts at room temperature.

PMID- 9983546
TI  - Plasmons in a spatially modulated quasi-one-dimensional quantum wire.

PMID- 9983547
TI  - Interface ordering in Sim/Gen monolayer superlattices: A photoluminescence study.

PMID- 9983548
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of quantum charge fluctuations in the Coulomb blockade.

PMID- 9983549
TI  - Electron effective mass and nonparabolicity in Ga0.47In0.53As/InP quantum wells.

PMID- 9983550
TI  - Observation of conductance quantization of ballistic metallic point contacts at
      room temperature.

PMID- 9983551
TI  - Skyrmion excitations in quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9983552
TI  - Time-dependent resonant tunneling via two discrete states.

PMID- 9983554
TI  - Ground-state wave function of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9983553
TI  - Local far-infrared spectroscopy of edge states in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9983556
TI  - Pendulating orbits in large metal clusters.

PMID- 9983555
TI  - Composite-fermion wave functions in higher Landau levels.

PMID- 9983557
TI  - Impurity-induced modulations in PdxNbSe3 coupled to charge-density-wave
      formation.

PMID- 9983558
TI  - Effects of electrode interactions observed in a mechanically controllable break
      junction.

PMID- 9983559
TI  - Modifications of the electronic and magnetic properties of ultrathin Ni/Cu(100)
      films induced by stepwise oxidation.

PMID- 9983560
TI  - Structural study of the Si(100)2 x 2-In surface.

PMID- 9983561
TI  - Spin-reorientation transition in ultrathin Tb/Co films.

PMID- 9983562
TI  - Quantum vortex melting in Nb/CuMn multilayers.

PMID- 9983563
TI  - Experimental determination of the energy barrier for the Li262+ cluster.

PMID- 9983564
TI  - Ordering of a prototypical conjugated molecular system during monolayer growth on
      the (1 x 2)-Au(110) surface.

PMID- 9983565
TI  - Electronic excitation of O2 molecules physisorbed on Ag(110).

PMID- 9983567
TI  - Self-energy of electrons in graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9983566
TI  - Electronic structure of Ce-filled skutterudites.

PMID- 9983568
TI  - Local electronic structure of ZnS and ZnSe doped by Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni from x-ray
      absorption near-edge structure studies.

PMID- 9983569
TI  - Ground-state properties and relative stability between the L12 and DOa phases of
      Ni3Al by Nb substitution.

PMID- 9983570
TI  - Ab initio model-potential embedded-cluster study of Jahn-Teller parameters and
      electronic transition energies of Cr2+ in oxide and fluoride octahedral
      coordination.

PMID- 9983571
TI  - Electronic structure and half-metallic transport in the La1-xCaxMnO3 system.

PMID- 9983573
TI  - Perturbation formalism of an exact representation for the t-J model.

PMID- 9983572
TI  - Electronic structure of early 3d-transition-metal oxides by analysis of the 2p
      core-level photoemission spectra.

PMID- 9983574
TI  - Generalized-gradient approximations to density-functional theory: A comparative
      study for atoms and solids.

PMID- 9983575
TI  - Distribution of local density of states in disordered metallic samples:
      Logarithmically normal asymptotics.

PMID- 9983576
TI  - Comparison of the electronic structures and energetics of ferroelectric LiNbO3
      and LiTaO3.

PMID- 9983578
TI  - Correlation energy and its temperature dependence.

PMID- 9983577
TI  - Influence of weak dissipation on the photonic band structure of periodic
      composites.

PMID- 9983580
TI  - Slave-boson study in the SU(2)-invariant representation: Coupled layers in the
      one-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9983579
TI  - Energy spectrum of two-dimensional tight-binding electrons in a spatially varying
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9983581
TI  - Phase diagram for charge-density waves in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9983583
TI  - Pair breaking in semiclassical singlet small-bipolaron hopping.

PMID- 9983582
TI  - Electron-positron momentum density in diamond, Si, and Ge.

PMID- 9983585
TI  - Nonlinear Zeeman behavior of Cu2+ centers in ZnS and CdS explained by a Jahn
      Teller effect.

PMID- 9983584
TI  - Nonlinear excitations in polyacene.

PMID- 9983586
TI  - Plasmon Raman scattering and photoluminescence of heavily doped n-type InP near
      the Gamma -X crossover.

PMID- 9983588
TI  - Phonons as a probe of short-range order in Si1-xCx alloys.

PMID- 9983587
TI  - Quantum theory for exciton polaritons in a real-space representation.

PMID- 9983589
TI  - Free energy of the concerted-exchange mechanism for self-diffusion in silicon.

PMID- 9983590
TI  - Germanium negative-U center in GaAs.

PMID- 9983591
TI  - Carrier localization of as-grown n-type gallium nitride under large hydrostatic
      pressure.

PMID- 9983592
TI  - Solitary-wave conduction in p-type Ge under time-dependent voltage bias.

PMID- 9983594
TI  - Method of linear combination of structural motifs for surface and step energy
      calculations: Application to GaAs(001).

PMID- 9983593
TI  - Enhancement of electron-hole exchange interaction in CdSe nanocrystals: A quantum
      confinement effect.

PMID- 9983595
TI  - Thermally activated intersubband and hopping transport in center-doped p-type
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9983596
TI  - Low coverages of lithium on Si(001) studied with STM and ARUPS.

PMID- 9983598
TI  - Band structures of II-VI semiconductors using Gaussian basis functions with
      separable ab initio pseudopotentials: Application to prediction of band offsets.

PMID- 9983597
TI  - Epitaxy of CoSix (1<x<2) silicides on Si(111) studied by photoemission and
      extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure techniques.

PMID- 9983599
TI  - Nonlinear electroreflectance from gallium nitride using optical second-harmonic
      generation.

PMID- 9983600
TI  - Interface structure of MBE-grown CoSi2/Si/CoSi2 layers on Si(111): Partially
      correlated roughness and diffuse x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9983602
TI  - Acousto-optic modulation of III-V semiconductor multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9983601
TI  - Measuring interactions between tunnel-coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9983604
TI  - Polaron properties in quantum wells.

PMID- 9983603
TI  - Optical power limiting in multilayer systems with nonlinear response.

PMID- 9983605
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics study of electronic and optical properties of
      silicon quantum wires: Orientational effects.

PMID- 9983606
TI  - Screening of the electron-electron interaction by gate electrodes in
      semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9983607
TI  - Ultrafast carrier dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9983609
TI  - Optical properties of ZnSe and its modeling.

PMID- 9983608
TI  - Two-electron quantum disks.

PMID- 9983610
TI  - Flexible approach to exciton binding energies in type-I and type-II quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9983612
TI  - Formation times of electric-field domains in doped GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9983611
TI  - Quantum transport in disordered wires: Equivalence of the one-dimensional sigma
      model and the Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar equation.

PMID- 9983613
TI  - Energy levels of one and two holes in parabolic quantum dots.

PMID- 9983614
TI  - Integer quantum Hall effect for hard-core bosons and a failure of bosonic Chern
      Simons mean-field theories for electrons at a half-filled Landau level.

PMID- 9983615
TI  - Conductivity of coupled quantum wells under an in-plane magnetic field.

PMID- 9983616
TI  - Subpicosecond coherent carrier-phonon dynamics in semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9983618
TI  - Josephson current and proximity effect in Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9983617
TI  - Chemisorption of group-III metals on the (111) surface of group-IV
      semiconductors: In/Ge(111).

PMID- 9983619
TI  - Nonuniversal behavior of finite quantum Hall systems as a result of weak
      macroscopic inhomogeneities.

PMID- 9983620
TI  - Ion-beam-induced modification of fullerene films as studied by electron-energy
      loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983621
TI  - Fermi surface formed by zone folding in the stage-2 InCl3 graphite intercalation
      compound.

PMID- 9983622
TI  - Altered photoemission satellites at CaF2- and SrF2-on-Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9983624
TI  - Low-temperature electrical-transport properties of single-crystal bismuth films
      under pressure.

PMID- 9983623
TI  - Preparation and properties of highly tetrahedral hydrogenated amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9983625
TI  - Wetting of the Au(110) substrate: Homoepitaxial islands and layers.

PMID- 9983626
TI  - Adsorption of C60 molecules.

PMID- 9983627
TI  - Spin-orbit-induced spin polarization in W 4f photoemission.

PMID- 9983629
TI  - Analytical application of the recursion and moments methods to the electronic
      structure of C60: Exact solution for the pi and sigma states.

PMID- 9983628
TI  - Low-energy states for correlated-electron models in the strong-coupling limit.

PMID- 9983630
TI  - Bond-order potential and cluster recursion for the description of chemical bonds:
      Efficient real-space methods for tight-binding molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9983632
TI  - Ne-intercalated C60: Pressure dependence of Ne-site occupancies.

PMID- 9983631
TI  - Dissociation of H2 on W(100).

PMID- 9983633
TI  - Nanosecond-to-femtosecond laser-induced breakdown in dielectrics.

PMID- 9983634
TI  - Theory of the thermoelectric power or Seebeck coefficient: The case of phonon
      scattering for a degenerate free-electron gas.

PMID- 9983636
TI  - Two-center two-electron excitations identified in NEXAFS for solid Ne.

PMID- 9983635
TI  - Structural, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of bis-benzene-1,2
      dithiolato-Au(IV) crystals.

PMID- 9983637
TI  - Resonant photoemission study of ScF3 at the Sc 2p and F 1s absorption edges:
      Observation of the satellite structure due to the strong hybridization effect.

PMID- 9983639
TI  - Structure of electronic energy spectra of one-dimensional nonperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9983638
TI  - Cooperative effects of electron correlation and charge ordering on the metal
      insulator transition in quasi-one-dimensional deuterated (DMe-DCNQI)2Cu.

PMID- 9983640
TI  - Line shapes of the XPS U 4f spectra in some uranium compounds.

PMID- 9983641
TI  - Finite-size effects and Coulomb interactions in quantum Monte Carlo calculations
      for homogeneous systems with periodic boundary conditions.

PMID- 9983642
TI  - Spatially resolved studies of charge-density-wave dynamics and phase slip in
      NbSe3.

PMID- 9983643
TI  - Spectral properties of the Anderson impurity model: Comparison of numerical
      renormalization-group and noncrossing-approximation results.

PMID- 9983645
TI  - Resonant magneto-optical spin transitions in zinc-blende and wurtzite
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9983644
TI  - Numerical renormalization-group study of the one-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9983646
TI  - Identification of optical transitions in cubic and hexagonal GaN by spatially
      resolved cathodoluminescence.

PMID- 9983647
TI  - Photoconductive analysis of defect density of hydrogenated amorphous silicon
      during room-temperature plasma posthydrogenation, light soaking, and thermal
      annealing.

PMID- 9983648
TI  - Magnetophotoluminescence study of excited states associated with donor bound
      excitons in high-purity GaAs.

PMID- 9983649
TI  - 1H NMR study of spin dynamics in the I2-doped PBMPV conducting polymers.

PMID- 9983650
TI  - Lifetime studies of self-activated photoluminescence in heavily silicon-doped
      GaAs.

PMID- 9983652
TI  - Vanadium centers in ZnTe crystals. II. Electron paramagnetic resonance.

PMID- 9983651
TI  - Vanadium centers in ZnTe crystals. I. Optical properties.

PMID- 9983653
TI  - Raman study of interface roughness in (GaAs)n/(AlAs)n superlattices grown on
      tilted surfaces: Evidence of corrugation of the (113) interface.

PMID- 9983654
TI  - Effects of interchannel coupling in a two-dimensional electron gas at high
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983655
TI  - Raman study of free-standing porous silicon.

PMID- 9983656
TI  - Surface electronic structure of Si(001)2 x 2-In studied by angle-resolved
      photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983657
TI  - Unusually large absolute Raman scattering cross section of hydrogen vibrations on
      Si(111).

PMID- 9983658
TI  - Generalized superlattice K

PMID- 9983659
TI  - Vacancies in polycrystalline diamond films.

PMID- 9983660
TI  - Adsorption and film growth of C60 on the GaAs(001) 2 x 6 surface by molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9983661
TI  - Self-consistent determination of the band offsets in InAsxP1-x/InP strained-layer
      quantum wells and the bowing parameter of bulk InAsxP1-x.

PMID- 9983662
TI  - Envelope-function formalism for valence bands in wurtzite quantum wells.

PMID- 9983664
TI  - Compact formula for the density of states in a quantum well.

PMID- 9983663
TI  - Direct calculation of the transport properties of disordered AlAs/GaAs
      superlattices from the electronic and phonon spectra.

PMID- 9983665
TI  - Coherent dynamics of radiatively coupled quantum-well excitons.

PMID- 9983666
TI  - Dielectric response of an inhomogeneous quasi-two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9983667
TI  - Tunneling conductance of connected carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9983668
TI  - Theory of resonant magnetotunneling in nanostructures: Nonequilibrium Green's
      function approach.

PMID- 9983670
TI  - Low-frequency admittance of quantized Hall conductors.

PMID- 9983669
TI  - Pulsed-magnetic-field measurements of the composite-fermion effective mass.

PMID- 9983671
TI  - Adsorption isotherms and thermal fluctuations.

PMID- 9983672
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9983674
TI  - Simulations of atomic-scale sliding friction.

PMID- 9983673
TI  - Phonon dispersion at the Be(0001) surface.

PMID- 9983675
TI  - Electronic structure of helically coiled carbon nanotubes: Relation between the
      phason lines and energy band features.

PMID- 9983676
TI  - Magnetism of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition-metal impurities on Pd(001) and Pt(001)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9983677
TI  - Ab initio molecular dynamics using density-based energy functionals: Application
      to ground-state geometries of some small clusters.

PMID- 9983678
TI  - Structure and energetics of giant fullerenes: An order-N molecular-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9983679
TI  - Comment on "Theoretical investigation of observed magnetic-polaron energies in
      quantum wells"

PMID- 9983680
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Theoretical investigation of observed magnetic-polaron
      energies in quantum wells' "

PMID- 9983681
TI  - Exactly solvable extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9983682
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator phenomena in Pr1-xCaxMnO3 with controlled
      charge-ordering instability.

PMID- 9983683
TI  - Energy-averaged weak localization in chaotic microcavities.

PMID- 9983684
TI  - Exciton dynamics in a CdSe/ZnSe multiple quantum well.

PMID- 9983685
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity in p-type modulation-doped SiGe quantum wells.

PMID- 9983686
TI  - Adiabatic dynamics of superconducting quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9983687
TI  - Negatively and positively charged excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9983688
TI  - Signatures of electron correlations in the transport properties of quantum dots.

PMID- 9983689
TI  - Transition from classical to quantum response in semiconductor superlattices at
      THz frequncies.

PMID- 9983690
TI  - Resonant hyper-Raman and second-harmonic scattering in a CdS quantum-dot system.

PMID- 9983691
TI  - Observation of charge enhancement induced by graphite atomic vacancy: A
      comparative STM and AFM study.

PMID- 9983692
TI  - Evidence for strong surface magnetoelastic anisotropy in epitaxial Cu/Ni/Cu(001)
      sandwiches.

PMID- 9983693
TI  - Interfacial mixing of ultrathin Cr films grown on an Fe whisker.

PMID- 9983695
TI  - Genetic-algorithm energy minimization for point charges on a sphere.

PMID- 9983694
TI  - Epitaxial silver layer at the MgO(100) surface.

PMID- 9983696
TI  - H-plasma-annealed and homoepitaxially grown diamond (001) surface structure
      studied with reflection high-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9983698
TI  - Surface and grain-boundary amorphization: Thermodynamic melting of coesite below
      the glass transition temperature.

PMID- 9983697
TI  - Structural study on the high-pressure phase strontium III.

PMID- 9983699
TI  - Lennard-Jones potential model for the condensed phases of C70.

PMID- 9983700
TI  - High-pressure crystal structure of HgTe-IV.

PMID- 9983701
TI  - Size-induced structural transitions in the Cu-O and Ce-O systems.

PMID- 9983702
TI  - Local elastic expansion model for viscous-flow activation energies of glass
      forming molecular liquids.

PMID- 9983703
TI  - Corrections to scaling in two-dimensional polymer statistics.

PMID- 9983704
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of rare-earth-doped silicate glasses.

PMID- 9983705
TI  - Inhomogeneous localization of polar eigenmodes in fractals.

PMID- 9983706
TI  - Absorption-detected magnetic-resonance studies of photoexcitations in conjugated
      polymer/C60 composites.

PMID- 9983707
TI  - Microscopic approach to the quadrupolar-glass problem.

PMID- 9983708
TI  - Exact treatment of the electrostatic interactions and surface effects in
      electrorheological fluids.

PMID- 9983709
TI  - Polarization dependence of the Raman-active lattice modes of crystalline C60.

PMID- 9983711
TI  - Alkali spin-orbit interactions and the width of the conduction-electron spin
      resonance in superconducting alkali-metal fullerides.

PMID- 9983710
TI  - Canted antiferromagnetism in an insulating lightly doped La1-xSrxMnO3 with x <~
      0.17.

PMID- 9983713
TI  - Numerical evidence for the spin-Peierls state in the frustrated quantum
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9983712
TI  - Rotationally symmetric ordered phase in the three-state antiferromagnetic Potts
      model.

PMID- 9983714
TI  - Crystalline electric-field effects in single-crystal HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9983715
TI  - Bound-hole states induced by excess oxygen in La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9983716
TI  - Interpretation of the low damping of subthermal capillary waves (ripplons) on
      superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9983717
TI  - Perturbative solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation and the superconducting
      parameters.

PMID- 9983718
TI  - s- and dxy-wave components induced around a vortex in dx2-y2-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983719
TI  - Raman modes of RNi2B2C (R=Lu, Ho, Y) single crystals.

PMID- 9983721
TI  - Effect of substituting Ce at the Ca site on the high-temperature superconductor
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9983720
TI  - Collective modes in a tight-binding model of layered narrow-band anisotropic
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983722
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau equations for mixed s+d symmetry superconductors.

PMID- 9983723
TI  - STM images of a superconducting Cu-O plane and the corresponding tunneling
      spectrum in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9983724
TI  - Direct observation of stronger flux-line pinning of crossed compared to parallel
      linear defects.

PMID- 9983725
TI  - Electromagnetic absorption in an anisotropic layered superconductor.

PMID- 9983726
TI  - 19F NMR study of superconductive and nonsuperconductive Nd2CuO4-xFy.

PMID- 9983727
TI  - Effects of 200-MeV Ag-ion irradiation on magnetization in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y
      single crystal.

PMID- 9983728
TI  - Phonon anomalies in ab-plane optical conductivity of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9983729
TI  - Diffraction and absorption of inelastically scattered electrons for K-shell
      ionization.

PMID- 9983730
TI  - Elastic-constant anomalies in YbPO4.

PMID- 9983731
TI  - Simultaneous magnetic and chemical order-disorder phenomena in Fe3Ni, FeNi, and
      FeNi3.

PMID- 9983733
TI  - Theoretical consideration of the growth morphology of crystals.

PMID- 9983732
TI  - Chemical damage in poly(phenylene sulphide) from fast ions: Dependence on the
      primary-ion stopping power.

PMID- 9983734
TI  - Exact partition and pair-correlation functions for an Ising model with mirror
      image-type interactions.

PMID- 9983735
TI  - Spectroscopic site determinations in erbium-doped lithium niobate.

PMID- 9983737
TI  - Stochastic analysis of multiple-level recombination luminescence and retrapping
      in the steady state.

PMID- 9983736
TI  - Nearest-neighbor Ising antiferromagnet on the fcc lattice: Evidence for
      multicritical behavior.

PMID- 9983738
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of Cr4+-doped Ca2GeO4 and Mg2SiO4.

PMID- 9983740
TI  - Nuclear quadrupole interaction of 243Am3+ in LaCl3 measured via optical spectral
      hole burning.

PMID- 9983739
TI  - Temperature dependence of polar-angle distributions of atoms ejected from ion
      bombarded Au{111}

PMID- 9983741
TI  - Embedded-atom-method effective-pair-interaction study of the structural and
      thermodynamic properties of Cu-Ni, Cu-Ag, and Au-Ni solid solutions.

PMID- 9983742
TI  - Reverse Monte Carlo modeling of amorphous germanium.

PMID- 9983743
TI  - Low-frequency dynamics and medium-range order in vitreous silica.

PMID- 9983744
TI  - Quantum phonon optics: Coherent and squeezed atomic displacements.

PMID- 9983745
TI  - Small-particle composites. I. Linear optical properties.

PMID- 9983746
TI  - Small-particle composites. II. Nonlinear optical properties.

PMID- 9983747
TI  - Aggregation of a quenched Lennard-Jones system under shear.

PMID- 9983748
TI  - Icosahedral T1u+T1g Jahn-Teller problem.

PMID- 9983749
TI  - Effect of quantum lattice fluctuations on the dimerized ground state of the
      Takayama-Lin-Liu-Maki model.

PMID- 9983751
TI  - Magnetostrictive bending of a film-substrate system.

PMID- 9983750
TI  - Polarized-neutron-reflectivity confirmation of 90 degrees magnetic structure in
      Fe/Cr(001) superlattices.

PMID- 9983753
TI  - First-principles study of the magnetic hyperfine field in Fe and Co multilayers.

PMID- 9983752
TI  - Magnetoresistance of small Kondo systems.

PMID- 9983754
TI  - Magnetic coupling across a ferromagnetic-metal-alkali-metal interface.

PMID- 9983755
TI  - Hole motion in the Ising antiferromagnet: An application of the recursion method.

PMID- 9983756
TI  - Soft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism on a paramagnetic two-iron system.

PMID- 9983757
TI  - Electrical resistivity of heavy-fermion systems with nonmagnetic impurities.

PMID- 9983758
TI  - Monte Carlo study of O(3) antiferromagnetic models in three dimensions.

PMID- 9983759
TI  - Variational Hilbert-space-truncation approach to quantum Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets on frustrated clusters.

PMID- 9983761
TI  - High-energy-resolution photoemission study of CeNiSi2 and CePtSi2.

PMID- 9983760
TI  - Itinerant-electron theory of spin waves in hcp cobalt.

PMID- 9983762
TI  - Spin waves in a four-sublattice Heisenberg ferrimagnet or ferromagnet with
      different exchange constants (Jab=Jcd

PMID- 9983763
TI  - Heat-capacity and magnetic measurements on the Y(Ni2-xCox)B2C system.

PMID- 9983764
TI  - Magnetic properties of a quasi-one-dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnet: Copper
      benzoate.

PMID- 9983765
TI  - Magnetization and Hc2 of a kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9983767
TI  - Optical investigations of the heavy-fermion superconductor UNi2Al3.

PMID- 9983766
TI  - Simulations of the quantum model for CsNiF3.

PMID- 9983768
TI  - Temperature dependence of the transition-metal magnetic susceptibilities.

PMID- 9983769
TI  - Fractional-dimensional Fock spaces, second quantization, and dynamical
      interaction of particles with Haldane's exclusion statistics.

PMID- 9983770
TI  - Magnons in antiferromagnetically coupled superlattices.

PMID- 9983771
TI  - Square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with two kinds of nearest-neighbor
      regular bonds.

PMID- 9983772
TI  - Paramagnetic spectral response of CePd3: A comparative investigation of neutron
      inelastic scattering from single-crystal and polycrystalline samples.

PMID- 9983773
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetism in the Heusler alloys MPd2Pb (M=rare earth, Th,
      and U).

PMID- 9983774
TI  - Two-dimensional Fermi liquid in the highly correlated regime: The second layer of
      3He adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9983776
TI  - Theory for tunneling spectroscopy of anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9983775
TI  - Mixing of the order parameters with dx2-y2- and dxy-wave symmetry in d-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9983777
TI  - Vortex structure around a magnetic dot in planar superconductors.

PMID- 9983778
TI  - Nuclear spin relaxation due to random motion of vortex bundles.

PMID- 9983779
TI  - Strong-coupling expansions for the pure and disordered Bose-Hubbard model.

PMID- 9983780
TI  - Superfluidity and film structure in 4He adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9983781
TI  - Vortex reflection at boundaries of Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9983783
TI  - Self-field effects in Josephson junction arrays.

PMID- 9983782
TI  - Critical imperfect nesting in (TMTSF)2PF6.

PMID- 9983784
TI  - Optical absorption in the strong-coupling limit of Eliashberg theory.

PMID- 9983785
TI  - Absence of reentrance in superconducting arrays with positional disorder.

PMID- 9983786
TI  - Polaronic optical absorption in electron-doped and hole-doped cuprates.

PMID- 9983787
TI  - Experimental hole densities in HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2+ delta compounds from near-edge
      x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983788
TI  - Magnetic studies of Ta doping in Pr1.5Ce0.5Sr2Cu2NbO10.

PMID- 9983790
TI  - Disorder-induced decoupling of pancake vortices in a layered superconductor.

PMID- 9983789
TI  - SmBa2Cu3O7- delta ceramics processed under oxygen pressure of 250 bar:
      Enhancement of intragrain superconducting properties.

PMID- 9983791
TI  - Fluctuations in the microwave conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals in
      zero dc magnetic field.

PMID- 9983792
TI  - Critical currents and pinning mechanisms in directionally solidified YBa2Cu3O7
      Y2BaCuO5 composites.

PMID- 9983793
TI  - Variation of the temperature dependence of the penetration depth in HgBa2CuO4+
      delta with oxidation.

PMID- 9983794
TI  - Vortex fluctuations and interlayer coupling in cuprates.

PMID- 9983795
TI  - Angular dependence of the in-plane energy gap of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 by tunneling
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983796
TI  - Spin correlation and spin gap in quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 cuprate oxides: A
      63Cu NMR study.

PMID- 9983797
TI  - Influence of twin boundaries on Josephson junctions between high-temperature and
      conventional superconductors.

PMID- 9983798
TI  - Renormalization of the electron-phonon interaction by strong electronic
      correlations in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9983799
TI  - Bipolaron anisotropic flat bands, Hall mobility edge, and metal-semiconductor
      duality of overdoped high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9983801
TI  - Crossover from three-dimensional to two-dimensional vortex fluctuations in the
      irreversibility line of the Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta (0 <~ x <~ 0.55) system.

PMID- 9983800
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to anisotropic superconductors at finite
      temperature.

PMID- 9983802
TI  - Comment on "Kinetics of spinodal decomposition in the Ising model with vacancy
      diffusion"

PMID- 9983803
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Kinetics of spinodal decomposition in the Ising model with
      vacancy diffusion' "

PMID- 9983804
TI  - Erratum: Model calculation of the crystal-field magnetostriction and its
      temperature dependence in the itinerant uniaxial ferromagnet Y2Fe17

PMID- 9983805
TI  - Erratum: 139La NQR relaxation and microSR study of Zn-doping effects in La2CuO4

PMID- 9983807
TI  - High-temperature heat capacity and thermal expansion of SrTiO3 and SrZrO3
      perovskites.

PMID- 9983806
TI  - High-precision calculation of the equation of state and crystallographic phase
      stability for aluminum.

PMID- 9983809
TI  - Thermal spike effects in low-energy single-ion impacts on graphite.

PMID- 9983808
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of the impulse approximation in ZrH2.

PMID- 9983810
TI  - Vibrational behavior of bcc Cu-based shape-memory alloys close to the martensitic
      transition.

PMID- 9983811
TI  - Continuous-wave and pulsed EPR studies of Cr2+ defects in CaF2.

PMID- 9983812
TI  - Acoustic dispersion of (NH3C2H5)2MnCl4 near the structural phase transition at
      226 K.

PMID- 9983813
TI  - Effect of turbostratic disorder on the staging phase diagram of lithium
      intercalated graphitic carbon hosts.

PMID- 9983815
TI  - Pb displacements in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 perovskites.

PMID- 9983814
TI  - Structural, elastic, and high-pressure properties of cubic TiC, TiN, and TiO.

PMID- 9983816
TI  - Microscopic study of superionic transition.

PMID- 9983818
TI  - Effect of quantum lattice fluctuations on the optical-absorption spectrum of
      degenerate and nondegenerate polymers.

PMID- 9983817
TI  - Nonlinear resonance study of the periodic motion of the explosive crystallization
      front in glasses.

PMID- 9983819
TI  - Influence of a glass matrix on acoustic phonons confined in microcrystals.

PMID- 9983820
TI  - Evaluation of Gruneisen parameters, third-order elastic constants, and other
      associated properties of amorphous As.

PMID- 9983822
TI  - Effect of latent heat on oscillatory and cellular mode coupling in rapid
      directional solidification.

PMID- 9983821
TI  - Model for the glass transition in amorphous solids based on fragmentation.

PMID- 9983823
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of the melting of hexagonal and square lattices in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9983825
TI  - Replica treatment of the effective elastic behavior of a composite.

PMID- 9983824
TI  - Atomic (phason) hopping in perfect icosahedral quasicrystals Al70.3Pd21.4Mn8.3 by
      time-of-flight quasielastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9983826
TI  - Lattice distortions around frozen and mobile hydrogen in niobium: A molecular
      dynamics study.

PMID- 9983828
TI  - Dynamics of a strongly damped two-level system.

PMID- 9983827
TI  - Diffusion and localization of muonium in Na-doped KCl.

PMID- 9983829
TI  - Squeezed oscillatory states in extended exciton-phonon systems.

PMID- 9983830
TI  - Polarons and bipolarons in a four-site periodic chain of spinless fermions.

PMID- 9983831
TI  - Magnetic impurity in a Luttinger liquid: A conformal field theory approach.

PMID- 9983832
TI  - Berry's phase and quantum dynamics of ferromagnetic solitons.

PMID- 9983833
TI  - Reorientational transition of the magnetic anisotropy in Co/Cr(001)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9983834
TI  - Hybridization effects in U2T2X compounds: Magnetic structures of U2Rh2Sn and
      U2Ni2In.

PMID- 9983836
TI  - Full-potential linear-muffin-tin-orbital calculations of the magnetic properties
      of rare-earth-transition-metal intermetallics. II. Nd2Fe14B.

PMID- 9983835
TI  - Full-potential linear-muffin-tin-orbital calculations of the magnetic properties
      of rare-earth-transition-metal intermetallics. I. Description of the formalism
      and application to the series RCo5 (R=rare-earth atom).

PMID- 9983837
TI  - Full-potential linear-muffin-tin-orbital calculations of the magnetic properties
      of rare-earth-transition-metal intermetallics. III. Gd2Fe17Z3 (Z=C,N,O,F).

PMID- 9983839
TI  - Static critical behavior of a weakly frustrated Ising model on the octagonal
      tiling.

PMID- 9983838
TI  - Onset of incommensurability at the valence-bond-solid point in the S=1 quantum
      spin chain.

PMID- 9983841
TI  - Optical and magneto-optical properties of MnBi film.

PMID- 9983840
TI  - Momentum-dependent effects in 4f photoemission spectra from strongly correlated
      CeBe13.

PMID- 9983842
TI  - Magnetic properties and domain-wall motion in single-crystal
      BaFe10.2Sn0.74Co0.66O19.

PMID- 9983843
TI  - Dynamical measurement of domain-wall nucleation and annihilation in individual
      amorphous Co particles.

PMID- 9983845
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the three-dimensional chiral clock model.

PMID- 9983844
TI  - Structure, electron-transport properties, and giant magnetoresistance of hole
      doped LaMnO3 systems.

PMID- 9983846
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of S=2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9983847
TI  - Pressure effects on intermolecular interactions of the organic ferromagnetic
      crystalline beta -phase p-nitrophenyl nitronyl nitroxide.

PMID- 9983848
TI  - Temperature-independent magnetic relaxation in rare-earth layers.

PMID- 9983849
TI  - Weak universality in the two-dimensional randomly disordered three-state Potts
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9983851
TI  - Relaxation in S=1/2 quantum spin chains: The role of second neighbor
      interactions.

PMID- 9983850
TI  - Giant magnetic hardening of a Fe-Zr-B-Cu amorphous alloy during the first stages
      of nanocrystallization.

PMID- 9983852
TI  - Magnetic moments in as-deposited and annealed Ni layers on Fe(001): An x-ray
      dichroism study.

PMID- 9983853
TI  - EPR study of Fe3+ impurities in crystalline BiVO4.

PMID- 9983855
TI  - Static properties of a quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9983854
TI  - Simple theory for spin-lattice relaxation in metallic rare-earth ferromagnets.

PMID- 9983856
TI  - Magnetic-dipolar- and isotropic-exchange-interaction study of Ni2+ pairs by EPR
      in Ni:Zn(BF4)2

PMID- 9983857
TI  - Virial theorem for the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory.

PMID- 9983858
TI  - Plasmon dispersion and broadening in A3C60 (A=K, Rb).

PMID- 9983859
TI  - Frequency and temperature dependence of the microwave surface impedance of
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films in a dc magnetic field: Investigation of vortex
      dynamics.

PMID- 9983860
TI  - Annular Josephson tunnel junctions in an external magnetic field: The statics.

PMID- 9983861
TI  - Observation of an interplay between single-electron charging effects and
      superconductivity in YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9983862
TI  - Incommensurate antiferromagnetism in the intermetallic superconductor HoNi2B2C.

PMID- 9983863
TI  - Superconducting and calorimetric properties of ThPt2B2C and the anomalous Tc
      variation for nonmagnetic RPt2B2C systems (R = Y, Th, La).

PMID- 9983864
TI  - Quantized levitation states of superconducting multiple-ring systems.

PMID- 9983866
TI  - Surface superconductivity and order-parameter suppression in UPt3.

PMID- 9983865
TI  - Magnetic levitation, suspension, and superconductivity: Macroscopic and
      mesoscopic.

PMID- 9983867
TI  - Anisotropic scaling in threshold critical dynamics of driven directed lines.

PMID- 9983868
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced crossover from 2e to e periodicity in the superconducting
      single-electron transistor.

PMID- 9983869
TI  - NMR and NQR study of Ca-substituted superconducting YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9983870
TI  - Effect of the magnetic field on the c-axis resistance peak in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x
      epitaxial films.

PMID- 9983871
TI  - Raman investigation of YBa2-xLaxCu3O7 ceramics.

PMID- 9983872
TI  - Effects of Zn substitution for Cu on Raman phonon anomalies in double-chain
      YBa2Cu4O8 superconductors.

PMID- 9983873
TI  - Hall effect and magnetoresistance in copper oxide metals.

PMID- 9983874
TI  - Dynamical properties of high-temperature-superconductor granular bridge
      junctions: Inhomogeneous Josephson-junction-array model.

PMID- 9983875
TI  - 2D and 3D percolation in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9983876
TI  - Phonon Raman scattering in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu4O8 (x=0-1) and (Y1-xPrx)2Ba4Cu7O15- delta
      (x=0-0.6).

PMID- 9983878
TI  - Conductance anomalies in a normal-metal-d-wave superconductor junction.

PMID- 9983877
TI  - Mixed-symmetry superconductivity in two-dimensional Fermi liquids.

PMID- 9983879
TI  - Momentum density and Fermi surface of Nd2-xCexCuO4- delta.

PMID- 9983880
TI  - Equation of state for the pressure- and temperature-induced transition in
      ferroelectric telluric acid ammonium phosphate.

PMID- 9983882
TI  - Scaling properties of wave functions and transport coefficients in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9983881
TI  - Imma phase of germanium at ~80 GPa.

PMID- 9983884
TI  - Power-law dependence on frequency of the Raman-scattering intensity of
      percolating networks.

PMID- 9983883
TI  - Subdiffusive and superdiffusive quantum transport and generalized duality.

PMID- 9983885
TI  - Interplay between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of TDAE-C60: An ESR
      study of high-temperature annealed samples.

PMID- 9983887
TI  - Soliton in an inhomogeneous weak ferromagnet with the Dzialoshinski-Moriya
      interaction.

PMID- 9983886
TI  - Spin-state transition and high-spin polarons in LaCoO3.

PMID- 9983888
TI  - Spin dynamics of SrCu2O3 and the Heisenberg ladder.

PMID- 9983889
TI  - Strong clamping of the ferromagnetic transition in epitaxial Er.

PMID- 9983890
TI  - Variational study of the random-field XY model.

PMID- 9983891
TI  - Spin gap in CaV4O9: A large-S approach.

PMID- 9983892
TI  - Charge dynamics of Ce-based compounds: Connection between the mixed valent and
      Kondo-insulator states.

PMID- 9983893
TI  - Thermoelectric effect in La1-xSrxMnO3.

PMID- 9983895
TI  - Phases of two coupled Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9983894
TI  - Correlation between quantum-size effects in the giant magnetoresistance and
      interlayer coupling in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9983896
TI  - Superconducting-state enhancement of thermal conductivity in the cuprates:
      Correlation with the pair density.

PMID- 9983897
TI  - 13C NMR hyperfine couplings, T1 anisotropy, and Korringa relations in Rb2CsC60:
      Search for effects of strong correlation.

PMID- 9983898
TI  - Positron-lifetime studies in YNi2B2C.

PMID- 9983899
TI  - Structural distortion and superconductivity in (Nd1-xTbx)1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9983900
TI  - Superconductor-insulator transition in ultrathin Pb films: Localization and
      superconducting coherence.

PMID- 9983901
TI  - Depinning of caged interstitial vortices in superconducting a-WGe films with an
      antidot lattice.

PMID- 9983902
TI  - Possible phononic mechanism for dx2-y2 superconductivity in the presence of short
      range antiferromagnetic correlations.

PMID- 9983904
TI  - Ultrasound attenuation in gap-anisotropic systems.

PMID- 9983903
TI  - Structures of single vortex and vortex lattice in a d-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9983905
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic penetration depth of grain-aligned HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+ delta.

PMID- 9983906
TI  - Increased phase-breaking scattering rate in Zn-doped YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9983907
TI  - Photoluminescence transient-decay study of the deep-donor bound-exciton-emission
      band in high-purity InP.

PMID- 9983908
TI  - Quantum lattice fluctuations in the ground state of nondegenerate polymers.

PMID- 9983909
TI  - Vanadium in CdTe: An electron-paramagnetic-resonance study.

PMID- 9983910
TI  - Semiclassical scattering theory for ballistic electron transport in semiconductor
      microstructures: Unitarity, coherent backscattering, and weak localization.

PMID- 9983911
TI  - Precise period doubling of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in a quantum dot at high
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983912
TI  - Spin-dependent resonant tunneling through semimetallic ErAs quantum wells in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9983913
TI  - Charged particles in random magnetic fields and the critical behavior in the
      fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9983914
TI  - Exact calculation of Maxwell equations for a tip-metallic interface
      configuration: Application to atomic resolution by photon emission.

PMID- 9983915
TI  - Vibrational analysis of cesium on Ru(0001).

PMID- 9983917
TI  - Expansivity and heat capacity data for Lu and Sc crystals from 1 to 300 K: Spin
      fluctuation and electron-phonon effects.

PMID- 9983916
TI  - Quasiparticle spectra of trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9983918
TI  - Linear thermal expansivity and Cp measurements for LuHx and LuDx (x=0.005 and
      0.053) single crystals.

PMID- 9983919
TI  - First-principles LCGO calculation of the magneto-optical properties of nickel and
      iron.

PMID- 9983920
TI  - ac conductivity of incommensurate lattices: Anatomy of wave functions.

PMID- 9983921
TI  - Phase diagram of the one-dimensional Anderson lattice.

PMID- 9983922
TI  - Model for a random-matrix description of the energy-level statistics of
      disordered systems at the Anderson transition.

PMID- 9983923
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the electronic structure of LaCoO3 by ab initio
      molecular-orbital calculations.

PMID- 9983924
TI  - Sound propagation in density wave conductors and the effect of long-range Coulomb
      interaction.

PMID- 9983925
TI  - Order-disorder and electronic transitions in Ag2+ delta S single crystals studied
      by photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9983926
TI  - Calculation of intensities in grazing-emission x-ray fluorescence.

PMID- 9983927
TI  - Generalized Kohn-Sham schemes and the band-gap problem.

PMID- 9983928
TI  - Vibronic energies in C60 n- and the Jahn-Teller effect.

PMID- 9983929
TI  - Theory of biexcitons in one-dimensional polymers.

PMID- 9983930
TI  - Hydrogen-effusion-induced structural changes and defects in a-Si:H films:
      Dependence upon the film microstructure.

PMID- 9983931
TI  - Ab initio study of fully relaxed divacancies in GaAs.

PMID- 9983932
TI  - Interband magnetotransmission and coherent Raman spectroscopy of spin transitions
      in diluted magnetic Pb1-xMnxSe.

PMID- 9983933
TI  - Morphological effects on the electronic band structure of porous silicon.

PMID- 9983934
TI  - Absorption edge, band tails, and disorder of amorphous semiconductors.

PMID- 9983935
TI  - Decay of high-frequency phonons in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9983936
TI  - Molecular-dynamics investigations of conformational fluctuations and low-energy
      vibrational excitations in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9983937
TI  - Collision-duration time for optical-phonon emission in semiconductors.

PMID- 9983938
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of initial stages of Au adsorption on vicinal
      Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9983940
TI  - Band structure of Al/Si/n-type GaAs with a strained Si interfacial layer.

PMID- 9983939
TI  - Exchange-correlation energy of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas: A Hartree
      self-consistent approach.

PMID- 9983941
TI  - Electronic states in quasi-one-dimensional wires with nonuniform magnetic fields.

PMID- 9983942
TI  - Relation between barrier conductance and Coulomb blockade peak splitting for
      tunnel-coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9983943
TI  - Many-body effects in transport through a quantum dot.

PMID- 9983944
TI  - Weak antilocalization and spin precession in quantum wells.

PMID- 9983945
TI  - Coherent electron transport across semiconductor heterojunctions with rough
      interfaces.

PMID- 9983946
TI  - Chern-Simons field theory of two-dimensional electrons in the lowest Landau
      level.

PMID- 9983947
TI  - Measurement of hot-electron scattering processes at Au/Si(100) Schottky
      interfaces by temperature-dependent ballistic-electron-emission microscopy.

PMID- 9983949
TI  - Heavy-hole scattering by confined nonpolar optical phonons in a single Si1
      xGex/Si quantum well.

PMID- 9983948
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in GaAs/AlAs superlattices: The role of electron state
      mixing.

PMID- 9983950
TI  - Role of excitons in double Raman resonances in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9983951
TI  - Analytical perturbation derivation of the exciton binding energy in generalized
      infinite quantum wells: Application to type-I and -II finite-quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9983952
TI  - Cs bonding at the Cs/GaAs(110) interface.

PMID- 9983953
TI  - Oxidation rate and surface-potential variations of silicon during plasma
      oxidation.

PMID- 9983954
TI  - Epitaxial growth of manganese on silicon: Volmer-Weber growth on the Si(111)
      surface.

PMID- 9983955
TI  - THz electromagnetic emission by coherent infrared-active phonons.

PMID- 9983956
TI  - CuPt-type ordering and dopant effect of In0.5Ga0.5P/GaAs using spectroscopic
      ellipsometry.

PMID- 9983958
TI  - Quantum theory for mesoscopic electric circuits.

PMID- 9983957
TI  - Theoretical study of one-dimensional chains of metal atoms in nanotubes.

PMID- 9983960
TI  - Quantum electronic transport through three-dimensional microconstrictions with
      variable shapes.

PMID- 9983959
TI  - Nonequilibrium quantum noise in chiral Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9983961
TI  - Electron-electron scattering in coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9983963
TI  - Stability and reactivity of C60 studied by all-electron mixed-basis molecular
      dynamics simulations at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9983962
TI  - O/Rh(100) p(2 x 2)-->c(2 x 2) order-disorder phase transition.

PMID- 9983964
TI  - Energetics of vicinal surfaces of fcc (111) transition metals.

PMID- 9983965
TI  - Structure of the p(2 x 3) Ni(110)-N surface studied by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9983966
TI  - Island-size distributions in submonolayer epitaxial growth: Influence of the
      mobility of small clusters.

PMID- 9983967
TI  - Al on Si(111): Phase diagram and atomic mechanisms.

PMID- 9983969
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of compressive stress generation.

PMID- 9983968
TI  - Field desorption of lithium.

PMID- 9983971
TI  - Surface Brillouin-scattering spectroscopy of media with nonuniform acousto-optic
      properties.

PMID- 9983970
TI  - Energies and lifetimes of atomic Rydberg states near metal surfaces.

PMID- 9983972
TI  - Oxidation of epitaxial Ce films.

PMID- 9983973
TI  - Kinetics of nucleation in surfactant-mediated epitaxy.

PMID- 9983974
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of slow copper cluster deposition.

PMID- 9983976
TI  - Optical absorption of 4d fcc transition-metal particles: Study of the
      contribution of the conduction-electron density to the correlation interaction.

PMID- 9983975
TI  - Surface-enhanced second-harmonic diffraction: Experimental investigation of
      selective enhancement.

PMID- 9983977
TI  - Magnetic interactions in TDAE-C60.

PMID- 9983979
TI  - Polarization-dependent optical parameters of arbitrarily anisotropic homogeneous
      layered systems.

PMID- 9983978
TI  - Erratum: Double chain structures on the Sb-terminated GaAs(111)B surface

PMID- 9983980
TI  - Electronic structure of cerium in the self-interaction-corrected local-spin
      density approximation.

PMID- 9983981
TI  - Electronic structure of nanometric Si/C, Si/N, and Si/C/N powders studied by both
      x-ray-photoelectron and soft-x-ray spectroscopies.

PMID- 9983982
TI  - Renormalization approach for transport and electronic properties of conducting
      polymers.

PMID- 9983983
TI  - Prospects for non-Fermi-liquid behavior of a two-level impurity in a metal.

PMID- 9983984
TI  - Localized low-energy excitations in strongly correlated metals.

PMID- 9983985
TI  - Electronic structure of rare-earth pnictides.

PMID- 9983986
TI  - Theoretical study of the evolution of electronic band structure of polythiophene
      due to bipolaron doping.

PMID- 9983987
TI  - Electron valence band of zirconium tetrafluoride.

PMID- 9983988
TI  - Importance of matrix correlations in dye-doped solid rare gases: A hole-burning
      study.

PMID- 9983989
TI  - Third-harmonic-generation spectroscopy of poly(p-phenylenevinylene): A comparison
      with oligomers and scaling laws for conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9983990
TI  - Electronic structure of defects and impurities in III-V nitrides: Vacancies in
      cubic boron nitride.

PMID- 9983991
TI  - Equation of state of metallic fluids near the critical point of phase transition.

PMID- 9983992
TI  - Transport properties, thermodynamic properties, and electronic structure of
      SrRuO3.

PMID- 9983993
TI  - Composition dependence of the structure and electronic properties of liquid Ga-Se
      alloys studied by ab initio molecular dynamics simulation.

PMID- 9983995
TI  - Hydrogen solubility and network stability in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9983994
TI  - Tight-binding molecular-dynamics study of density-optimized amorphous GaAs.

PMID- 9983996
TI  - Optically enhanced high-field NMR of GaAs.

PMID- 9983998
TI  - Density-functional-based construction of transferable nonorthogonal tight-binding
      potentials for B, N, BN, BH, and NH.

PMID- 9983997
TI  - Hydrostatic pressure dependence of isoelectronic bound excitons in beryllium
      doped silicon.

PMID- 9983999
TI  - Visible and near-infrared ultrafast optical dynamics of hexamethylsexithiophene
      in solution.

PMID- 9984001
TI  - Mechanism of carrier photogeneration in amorphous selenium: Fast transient
      photoconductivity.

PMID- 9984000
TI  - First-principles calculations of p-type impurities in cubic SiC.

PMID- 9984002
TI  - High-pressure effects on high-field magnetophotoluminescence in Cd1-xMxSe
      (M=Mn,Co).

PMID- 9984003
TI  - Role of chi (3) anisotropy in the generation of squeezed light in semiconductors.

PMID- 9984004
TI  - Ab initio study of the volume dependence of dynamical and thermodynamical
      properties of silicon.

PMID- 9984006
TI  - Aging effects on the transport properties in conducting polymer polypyrrole.

PMID- 9984005
TI  - Photoconductivity of poly(2,5-diheptyloxy-p-phenylene vinylene) in the air
      atmosphere: Magnetic-field effect and mechanism of generation and recombination
      of charge carriers.

PMID- 9984007
TI  - Changes of the occupied density of defect states of a-Si:H upon illumination.

PMID- 9984009
TI  - Electronic structure and EPC stability of the alpha -Sn/InSb(111)A nonpolar-polar
      heterojunction interface.

PMID- 9984008
TI  - Resonant photoemission studies of Pb1-xEuxTe.

PMID- 9984010
TI  - Recombination and thermal emission of excitons in shallow CdTe/Cd1-xMgxTe quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9984012
TI  - Flipping silicon dimers on Si(100) using scanning tip microscopy: A theoretical
      investigation.

PMID- 9984011
TI  - Resonant interaction of phonons with surface vibrational modes in a finite-size
      superlattice.

PMID- 9984013
TI  - Electron states and luminescence transition in porous silicon.

PMID- 9984015
TI  - Surface segregation and ordering in III-V semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9984014
TI  - Surface-defect formation on heavily doped InAs and GaAs layers studied by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9984016
TI  - Thermal formation of Zn-dopant-vacancy defect complexes on InP(110) surfaces.

PMID- 9984017
TI  - Stability, dynamical properties, and melting of a classical bilayer Wigner
      crystal.

PMID- 9984018
TI  - Sulfide-passivated GaAs(001). I. Chemistry analysis by photoemission and
      reflectance anisotropy spectroscopies.

PMID- 9984019
TI  - Sulfide-passivated GaAs (001). II. Electronic properties.

PMID- 9984021
TI  - Generalization of the k

PMID- 9984020
TI  - Capacitance-voltage characteristics of a Schottky junction containing SiGe/Si
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9984022
TI  - Model for carrier dynamics and photoluminescence quenching in wet and dry porous
      silicon thin films.

PMID- 9984023
TI  - Localization and delocalization of an electron in biased and unbiased quantum
      wells driven by a mono- and bichromatic laser field.

PMID- 9984024
TI  - Electron correlations in antidot arrays in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9984026
TI  - Multiple-quantum resonant reflection of ballistic electrons from a high-frequency
      potential step.

PMID- 9984025
TI  - Size dependence of the changeover from geometric to magnetic confinement in
      In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9984027
TI  - Two-dimensional electron gas in a linearly varying magnetic field: Quantization
      of the electron and current density.

PMID- 9984028
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids with spin-split Fermi
      points.

PMID- 9984029
TI  - Interface broadening and Raman scattering in Si1-xGex/Si superlattices.

PMID- 9984030
TI  - Excitation-intensity-dependent photoluminescence in semiconductor quantum wells
      due to internal electric fields.

PMID- 9984032
TI  - Time-resolved luminescence studies in an n-type Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSySe1-y quantum
      well.

PMID- 9984031
TI  - Optical spectroscopy in (Zn,Cd)Se-ZnSe graded-index separate-confinement
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9984033
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission from a GaAs (1-bar 1-bar 1-bar)-2 x 2 surface: Off
      normal emission study.

PMID- 9984034
TI  - Core level and valence-band studies of the (111)2 x 2 surfaces of InSb and InAs.

PMID- 9984035
TI  - Temperature dependence of strains and stresses in undercritical cubic
      superlattices and heterojunctions.

PMID- 9984036
TI  - Phonon properties of one-dimensional nanocrystalline solids.

PMID- 9984037
TI  - Solid-phase epitaxy induced by low-power pulsed-laser annealing of III-V compound
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9984038
TI  - Mechanism of electron-beam doping in semiconductors.

PMID- 9984039
TI  - Three-dimensional x-y model with a Chern-Simons term.

PMID- 9984040
TI  - Metallic character of the K/Si(100)-(2 x 1) interface at saturation coverage: A
      Mott-Hubbard model calculation of its near-Fermi-level band structure.

PMID- 9984041
TI  - Magnetotransport studies of strongly disordered annealed amorphous Fe/Si
      multilayers.

PMID- 9984042
TI  - Photoluminescence spectra of GaP/AlP short-period superlattices under high
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984043
TI  - Bipolaron lattice formation at metal-polymer interfaces.

PMID- 9984044
TI  - Time-periodic behavior of multiband superlattices in static electric fields.

PMID- 9984045
TI  - Quantum transport in the presence of a finite-range time-modulated potential.

PMID- 9984046
TI  - Hot-electron transport through Au/GaAs and Au/GaAs/AlAs heterojunction
      interfaces: Ballistic-electron-emission-microscopy measurement and Monte Carlo
      simulation.

PMID- 9984047
TI  - Renormalization group and exact diagonalization studies of Hubbard rings with
      impurities.

PMID- 9984048
TI  - Magnetoresistance of two-dimensional mesoscopic structures: A variational
      approach.

PMID- 9984049
TI  - Landau-Zener transitions and dissipation in a mesoscopic ring.

PMID- 9984050
TI  - Observation of oscillatory linewidth behavior in the magnetoluminescence of a
      modulation-doped InxGa1-xAs quantum well.

PMID- 9984052
TI  - III-V diluted magnetic semiconductor: Substitutional doping of Mn in InAs.

PMID- 9984051
TI  - Magneto-optic study of the interface in semimagnetic semiconductor
      heterostructures: Intrinsic effect and interface profile in CdTe-Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9984053
TI  - Shape of molecular adsorbates in STM images: A theoretical study of benzene on
      Pt(111).

PMID- 9984054
TI  - Potential-energy surface for H2 dissociation over Pd(100).

PMID- 9984055
TI  - Ab initio study of AlN and alpha -SiC (112-bar0) surface relaxation.

PMID- 9984056
TI  - Phase diagrams and rotated incommensurate phases of K, Rb, and Cs adsorbed on
      Ag(111).

PMID- 9984057
TI  - Theory of segregation using the equivalent-medium approximation and bond-strength
      modifications at surfaces: Application to fcc Pd-X alloys.

PMID- 9984058
TI  - Ab initio calculations of energies and self-diffusion on flat and stepped
      surfaces of Al and their implications on crystal growth.

PMID- 9984060
TI  - Background removal in surface electron spectroscopy: Influence of surface
      excitations.

PMID- 9984059
TI  - Hydrogen absorption by thin Pd/Nb films deposited on glass.

PMID- 9984061
TI  - Structure and bonding of small stoichiometric lithium oxide clusters.

PMID- 9984062
TI  - Exactly solvable model of surface second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9984063
TI  - Surface-induced bond anharmonicity probed through a two-phonon bound state:
      Methoxide adsorbed on Mo(110).

PMID- 9984064
TI  - Double surface-bulk melting and suppression of overheating at first-order phase
      transitions.

PMID- 9984065
TI  - Photoemission studies of the electronic properties of the Ce/Fe(100) and
      Ce/Fe(110) interfaces: Formation of a strongly hybridized cerium phase.

PMID- 9984066
TI  - Comment on "Constraints on pairings in the Hubbard model"

PMID- 9984068
TI  - Strongly interacting model for antiferromagnetism in one-dimensional C60
      polymers: AC60.

PMID- 9984067
TI  - Observation of Zeeman splitting in universal conductance fluctuations.

PMID- 9984070
TI  - Excitonic exchange splitting and Stokes shift in Si nanocrystals and Si clusters.

PMID- 9984069
TI  - Self-energy correction to unrestricted Hartree-Fock solutions of lattice models
      for 3d transition-metal oxides.

PMID- 9984071
TI  - Ab initio prediction of GaN (101-bar0) and (110) anomalous surface relaxation.

PMID- 9984072
TI  - Self-aggregation of quantum dots for very thin InAs layers grown on GaAs.

PMID- 9984073
TI  - Observation of ballistic transport in the upper subband of a two-dimensional
      electron system.

PMID- 9984074
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the level spacing of a small electron droplet.

PMID- 9984076
TI  - Optical anisotropy in 5-nm-scale T-shaped quantum wires fabricated by the cleaved
      edge overgrowth method.

PMID- 9984075
TI  - Dynamics of electron capture into quantum wires.

PMID- 9984077
TI  - Excitonic lifetimes in (Zn,Cd)Se/ZnSe and ZnSe/Zn(Se,S) quantum wires.

PMID- 9984078
TI  - Lateral correlation in mesoscopic structures on the silicon (001) surface
      determined by grating x-ray diffuse scattering.

PMID- 9984079
TI  - Grain-boundary dissociation by the emission of stacking faults.

PMID- 9984080
TI  - Selective laser removal of the dimer layer from Si(100) surfaces revealed by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9984081
TI  - Helium-adsorbate cross section on highly corrugated substrates.

PMID- 9984082
TI  - H-enhanced mobility and defect formation at surfaces: H on Be(0001).

PMID- 9984083
TI  - Resonantlike desorption of negative ions by core-level excitation under electron
      bombardment.

PMID- 9984085
TI  - Measurement of the hard-sphere equation of state using screened charged
      polystyrene colloids.

PMID- 9984084
TI  - Trapped charge migration in BaFBr:Eu2+: The recuperation of photostimulated
      luminescence.

PMID- 9984086
TI  - Effect of quantum fluctuations on structural phase transitions in SrTiO3 and
      BaTiO3.

PMID- 9984087
TI  - SC4: A metallic phase of carbon at terapascal pressures.

PMID- 9984088
TI  - Thermal residual stress in composites with anisotropic interphases.

PMID- 9984090
TI  - Microscopic modeling of the growth of order in an alloy: Nucleated and continuous
      ordering.

PMID- 9984089
TI  - Thermodynamics of polymorphism in the AC60 (A=K, Rb, Cs) alkali fullerides.

PMID- 9984091
TI  - Scaling behavior of the localization length in random dimer harmonic chains with
      thermal correlations.

PMID- 9984092
TI  - Spectral properties of the Vicsek fractal.

PMID- 9984093
TI  - Frequency dependence of phonon-polariton damping in lithium niobate.

PMID- 9984094
TI  - Critical exponents of self-avoiding walks in three dimensions.

PMID- 9984095
TI  - Negative spin-valve effect in Co65Fe35/Ag/(Co65Fe35)50Gd50 trilayers.

PMID- 9984097
TI  - Mean-field theory of the spin-Peierls state under magnetic field: Application to
      CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984096
TI  - Ground-state dynamical correlation functions: An approach using the density
      matrix renormalization-group method.

PMID- 9984098
TI  - Large magnetothermopower in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films.

PMID- 9984100
TI  - Possible quadrupolar ordering in a Kondo-lattice compound Ce3Pd20Ge6.

PMID- 9984099
TI  - Integrable open-boundary conditions for the one-dimensional Bariev chain.

PMID- 9984101
TI  - Dynamical universality class of Brownian motion and exact results for a single
      impurity s=1/2 XY chain.

PMID- 9984103
TI  - Temperature-dependent biquadratic coupling in antiferromagnetically coupled
      Fe/FeSi multilayers.

PMID- 9984102
TI  - Magnetic properties of beta -FeSi2 single crystals.

PMID- 9984105
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of trigonal iron.

PMID- 9984104
TI  - Accurate determination of the exchange constant in Sr2CuO3 from recent
      theoretical results.

PMID- 9984106
TI  - Onsager reaction field theory of the one-dimensional ferromagnet with long-range
      interactions.

PMID- 9984108
TI  - Estimation of superconducting transition temperature in metallic carbon
      nanotubes.

PMID- 9984107
TI  - Interlayer magnetic coupling: Effect of interface roughness.

PMID- 9984109
TI  - Conserving approximation for the three-band Hubbard model: Flat quasiparticle
      dispersion.

PMID- 9984110
TI  - Antiferromagnetic interactions and the superconducting gap function.

PMID- 9984111
TI  - Frequency dependence of giant Shapiro steps in ordered and site-disordered
      proximity-coupled Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9984112
TI  - Determination of the gap structure in UPt3 by thermal conductivity.

PMID- 9984114
TI  - Rigorous results on superconducting ground states for attractive extended Hubbard
      models.

PMID- 9984113
TI  - Neutron scattering from a collective spin fluctuation mode in a CuO2 bilayer.

PMID- 9984116
TI  - Surface barrier and lower critical field of the powdered Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO3.98
      superconductor.

PMID- 9984115
TI  - Single-crystal neutron-diffraction structures of reduced and oxygenated Nd2
      xCexCuOy.

PMID- 9984117
TI  - Anisotropic pairing caused by unscreened long-range interactions.

PMID- 9984118
TI  - Inhomogeneous spin structures in high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9984119
TI  - Thermoelectric power of high-pressure synthesized CuBa2Ca3Cu4O11- delta.

PMID- 9984120
TI  - Second-order elastic constants of AgCl from 20 to 430 degreesC.

PMID- 9984121
TI  - Temperature-dependent concentration quenching and site-dependent effects of Nd3+
      fluorescence in fluorophosphate glasses.

PMID- 9984122
TI  - ENDOR study of an O- ion observed in x-ray-irradiated carbonated hydroxyapatite
      powders.

PMID- 9984123
TI  - Possible disordered ground states for layered solids and their diffraction
      patterns.

PMID- 9984124
TI  - Effects of pressure and ambient species on orientational ordering in solid C70.

PMID- 9984125
TI  - Ferroelectric displacement of atoms in Rochelle salt.

PMID- 9984127
TI  - Electrostatic properties in zeolite-type materials from high-resolution x-ray
      diffraction: The case of natrolite.

PMID- 9984126
TI  - Optical second-harmonic generation at interfaces of ferroelectric nanoregions in
      SrSiO3:Ca.

PMID- 9984128
TI  - Raman scattering and the evolution of polar order in Li-doped and Nb-doped KTaO3.

PMID- 9984129
TI  - Interaction energies of 111In perturbed-angular-correlation probes with 3d and
      4sp impurities in Ag, Pd, and Rh.

PMID- 9984130
TI  - Universal features of the equation of state of solids from a pseudospinodal
      hypothesis.

PMID- 9984131
TI  - Microscopic dynamics of glycerol in its crystalline and glassy states.

PMID- 9984133
TI  - From a discrete to a continuum model for static antiphase boundaries.

PMID- 9984132
TI  - EXAFS studies of rare-earth metaphosphate glasses.

PMID- 9984135
TI  - Weighted two-particle Green's functions in the coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9984134
TI  - Elastic and anelastic properties, vibrational anharmonicity, and fractal bond
      connectivity of superionic glasses.

PMID- 9984136
TI  - Approximation of excitonic absorption in disordered systems using a compositional
      component-weighted coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9984138
TI  - Electron radiation damage and Li-colloid creation in Li2O.

PMID- 9984137
TI  - Asymmetry in the Brillouin spectra of organic fluids exposed to a temperature
      gradient.

PMID- 9984139
TI  - Dynamics of solvation in supercooled liquids confined to the pores of sol-gel
      glasses.

PMID- 9984140
TI  - Mid-IR and far-IR investigation of AgI-doped silver diborate glasses.

PMID- 9984141
TI  - Low-frequency noise in a phonon system of disordered insulators.

PMID- 9984142
TI  - Reconstruction of spectral densities of anharmonic phonons from their moments via
      the effective-potential method and the continued-fraction approach.

PMID- 9984143
TI  - Transverse interplanar forces and phonon spectra of strained Si, Ge, and Si/Ge
      superlattices.

PMID- 9984144
TI  - Secondary excitons in alkali halide crystals.

PMID- 9984145
TI  - Anharmonic interactions in beryllium oxide.

PMID- 9984146
TI  - Perturbed-angular-correlation study of 111Cd and 181Ta nuclear-quadrupole
      relaxations in the rare-earth dihydride DyH2+/- delta.

PMID- 9984147
TI  - Memory-function approach to interacting quasiparticle-boson systems.

PMID- 9984148
TI  - Intrinsic localized modes in the bulk and at the surface of anharmonic diatomic
      chains.

PMID- 9984149
TI  - Pressure dependence of Born effective charges, dielectric constant, and lattice
      dynamics in SiC.

PMID- 9984150
TI  - Elastic behavior of materials with multifractal structures.

PMID- 9984151
TI  - Relationship between morphology and magnetic behavior for Gd thin films on
      W(110).

PMID- 9984152
TI  - Electronic transport in ultrathin magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9984153
TI  - Quantum magnetic oscillations and rapid oscillation phenomena in (TMTSF)2X
      (X=ClO4 and NO3).

PMID- 9984154
TI  - Magnetism in CePtPb.

PMID- 9984155
TI  - Magnetization steps in Pb1-xEuxSe: Determination and identification of the
      dominant antiferromagnetic exchange constant.

PMID- 9984156
TI  - Reflection of electromagnetic radiation from structured metallic magnets.

PMID- 9984157
TI  - Conversion-electron Mossbauer study of the interfacial roughness in MBE-grown
      Ni80Fe20/Fe50Mn50 (111) bilayers.

PMID- 9984158
TI  - Model of thermally activated magnetization reversal in thin films of amorphous
      rare-earth-transition-metal alloys.

PMID- 9984160
TI  - Structure and magnetism of Fe/Si multilayers grown by ion-beam sputtering.

PMID- 9984159
TI  - Magnetism in the Hubbard model: An effective spin Hamiltonian approach.

PMID- 9984161
TI  - Dynamical properties of two coupled Hubbard chains at half-filling.

PMID- 9984162
TI  - Magnetic and structural properties of thin Fe films grown on Ni/Si.

PMID- 9984163
TI  - Magnetism in complex atomic structures: Grain boundaries in nickel.

PMID- 9984164
TI  - NMR study of the heavy-fermion alloy Ce(Cu1-xNix)2Ge2.

PMID- 9984166
TI  - Magnetic correlations of fine ferromagnetic particles studied by small-angle
      neutron scattering.

PMID- 9984165
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of glide-distorted fcc and of bcc ultrathin Fe/Cu(001) films.

PMID- 9984168
TI  - Intermediate-coupling theory of the spin polaron in the t-J model.

PMID- 9984167
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering investigation of the spin-Peierls system CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984169
TI  - Semiclassical description of angle-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations in
      quasi-one-dimensional metals.

PMID- 9984170
TI  - 87Rb NMR and the T' problem in Rb3C60.

PMID- 9984171
TI  - Magnetic impurity coupled to interacting conduction electrons.

PMID- 9984172
TI  - 3s photoemission spectra of Fe/Cu(100) films.

PMID- 9984174
TI  - Superheating fields of superconductors: Asymptotic analysis and numerical
      results.

PMID- 9984173
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of the superconducting energy gap in RNi2B2C (R=Y and Lu).

PMID- 9984176
TI  - Hydrodynamics of spatially ordered superfluids.

PMID- 9984175
TI  - Final-state effects on superfluid 4He in the deep inelastic regime.

PMID- 9984177
TI  - Superconducting proximity effect through high-quality high-conductance tunnel
      barriers.

PMID- 9984179
TI  - Fermi-liquid damping and NMR relaxation in superconductors.

PMID- 9984178
TI  - Anisotropic magnetoresistance of single-crystal HoNi2B2C and the interplay of
      magnetic and superconducting order.

PMID- 9984180
TI  - Heat transport and the nature of the order parameter in superconducting UPt3.

PMID- 9984182
TI  - Diamagnetic response of normal-metal-superconductor double layers.

PMID- 9984181
TI  - Magnetic hysteresis from the geometrical barrier in type-II superconducting
      strips.

PMID- 9984184
TI  - One-dimensional t-J model from a variational viewpoint.

PMID- 9984183
TI  - Phase diagram of superconductors from nonperturbative flow equations.

PMID- 9984185
TI  - Anisotropic superconductivity: (s+d)-wave model, (d+s)-wave model and the effect
      of normal impurities.

PMID- 9984186
TI  - Vortex state in a d-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9984187
TI  - Comparison of superconducting flux pinning due to ion irradiation and fishtail
      effects.

PMID- 9984188
TI  - Vortex-state resistance near parallel orientation in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9984190
TI  - Anisotropy studies on aligned HgBa2CaCu2O6+ delta powder: Confirmation of the
      collective-pinning theory for anisotropic materials.

PMID- 9984189
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of hard-core bosons on a three-dimensional lattice.

PMID- 9984191
TI  - Orthorhombically mixed s- and dx2-y2-wave superconductivity and Josephson
      tunneling.

PMID- 9984192
TI  - Ion-size effect on normal-state transport properties in R0.8Pr0.2Ba2Cu3O7-y
      systems (R=Yb, Er, Dy, Gd, Eu, and Nd).

PMID- 9984193
TI  - Normal-state magnetotransport in superconducting Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta to millikelvin
      temperatures.

PMID- 9984194
TI  - Influence of rare-earth ionic radius on the properties of Ni- and Fe-substituted
      RBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7-y systems (R=Y,Nd,Eu,Gd,Ho,Tm; M=Ni,Fe).

PMID- 9984195
TI  - Surface boundary conditions for the Ginzburg-Landau theory of d-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984196
TI  - Theoretical study of Cu-O chain fragments in the oxygen-deficient planes of
      YBa2Cu3O6+x. I. Microscopic properties.

PMID- 9984197
TI  - Theoretical study of Cu-O chain fragments in the oxygen-deficient planes of
      YBa2Cu3O6+x. II. Intrachain interactions and the chain fragment's length
      distribution.

PMID- 9984198
TI  - Effects of gap and band anisotropy on spin susceptibility in the oxide
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984199
TI  - Effect of cobalt doping on thermal conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      superconductor.

PMID- 9984200
TI  - 63Cu(2) nuclear quadrupole and nuclear magnetic resonance studies of YBa2Cu4O8 in
      the normal and superconducting states.

PMID- 9984201
TI  - Knight shift and spin-echo decay time of YBa2Cu4O8 and YBa2Cu3O7 in the
      superconducting state.

PMID- 9984202
TI  - Sign reversal of the Hall effect in superconducting YBa2(Cu1-xNix)3O7- delta
      single crystals.

PMID- 9984204
TI  - Pairing correlations in two-dimensional large-size Cu-O clusters: Nonlocal world
      line Monte Carlo algorithm.

PMID- 9984203
TI  - Vortex state of a d-wave superconductor in high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9984205
TI  - Transport properties of Pb-doped Bi4Sr3Ca3Cu4Ox semiconducting glasses and glass
      ceramic superconductors.

PMID- 9984206
TI  - Erratum: Thermal formation of vacancies in Fe3Si

PMID- 9984207
TI  - Fluctuation formula for elastic constants.

PMID- 9984208
TI  - Equation of state of cobalt up to 79 GPa.

PMID- 9984209
TI  - Interpretation of the analysis of Frenkel exciton fluorescence.

PMID- 9984210
TI  - Tight-binding study of interaction time in molecular switches.

PMID- 9984211
TI  - High-pressure Raman scattering of the stretching mode in nitrogen along the 300-K
      isotherm.

PMID- 9984212
TI  - Capillary condensation, invasion percolation, hysteresis, and discrete memory.

PMID- 9984214
TI  - Magnetic moment in Ni clusters estimated by an electronic-shell model.

PMID- 9984213
TI  - Explanation for the temperature dependence of plasma frequencies in SrTiO3 using
      mixed-polaron theory.

PMID- 9984215
TI  - Exact solution of a two-chain model of fermions.

PMID- 9984216
TI  - Spin-density fluctuation in paramagnets.

PMID- 9984217
TI  - Magnetotransport properties of SrRuO3 epitaxial thin films on (100) LaAlO3:
      Presence of localized magnetic moments.

PMID- 9984218
TI  - Quantum integrability for the one-dimensional Hubbard open chain.

PMID- 9984219
TI  - Magnetic excitation in the Hubbard-Hirsch model.

PMID- 9984220
TI  - Specific heat of UPd2Au3: Evidence for an unusual heavy-fermion state.

PMID- 9984222
TI  - Large enhancement of the perpendicular giant magnetoresistance in pseudorandom
      magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9984221
TI  - Giant moment of Fe16N2 as evidenced by 57Fe NMR studies.

PMID- 9984223
TI  - Ruderman-Kittel interaction in one dimension for arbitrary coupling constant.

PMID- 9984224
TI  - Torque method for the theoretical determination of magnetocrystalline anisotropy.

PMID- 9984225
TI  - Scaling properties of spin-reorientation transitions in magnetic thin films with
      surface anisotropy.

PMID- 9984226
TI  - Two-magnon light scattering in Bi2CuO4.

PMID- 9984227
TI  - Low-field phase diagram of layered superconductors: The role of electromagnetic
      coupling.

PMID- 9984228
TI  - NMR relaxation rate in the superconducting state of the organic conductor kappa 
      (BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9984230
TI  - Vortex-glass-type transition in YBa2Cu3O7- delta ceramics.

PMID- 9984229
TI  - Spin-glass ordering of Fe-doped La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9984231
TI  - Iodine intercalation in Bi2Sr2Ca(Cu1-zCoz)2O8+ delta with different delta values.

PMID- 9984232
TI  - Instability of the local charge-density-wave potential energy for BaBiO3- delta.

PMID- 9984233
TI  - Temperature dependence of the sublattice magnetization of the antiferromagnet
      Ca0.85Sr0.15CuO2.

PMID- 9984234
TI  - Evidence of apical oxygen in artificially superconducting SrCuO2-BaCuO2 thin
      films: A Raman characterization.

PMID- 9984235
TI  - Angular dependence of the artificially induced anistropy in a-axis-oriented
      EuBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superconducting superlattices.

PMID- 9984236
TI  - Femtosecond studies of the phase transition in Ti2O3.

PMID- 9984237
TI  - Structure, dynamics, and phase transitions in the fullerene derivatives C60O and
      C61H2.

PMID- 9984238
TI  - Tight-binding study of tilt grain boundaries in diamond.

PMID- 9984239
TI  - Model for radiation-induced electrical degradation of alpha -Al2O3 crystals.

PMID- 9984240
TI  - Raman scattering from boron-substituted carbon films.

PMID- 9984241
TI  - Irreversible structural changes in vitreous B2O3 under pressure.

PMID- 9984242
TI  - Polarized x-ray-absorption spectroscopy of the uranyl ion: Comparison of
      experiment and theory.

PMID- 9984243
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the domain growth in nonstoichiometric two-dimensional
      binary alloys.

PMID- 9984245
TI  - Electrical conductivity relaxation and nuclear magnetic resonance of Li
      conducting Li0.5La0.5TiO3.

PMID- 9984244
TI  - Many-body atomistic model potential for intermetallic compounds and alloys and
      its application to NiAl.

PMID- 9984246
TI  - Structure, dynamics, and electronic structure of liquid Ag-Se alloys investigated
      by ab initio simulation.

PMID- 9984248
TI  - Multiple Bragg diffraction in quasicrystals: The issue of centrosymmetry in Al-Pd
      Mn.

PMID- 9984247
TI  - Phonon attenuation in amorphous solids studied by picosecond ultrasonics.

PMID- 9984250
TI  - Universality class in the one-dimensional localization problem.

PMID- 9984249
TI  - Correlation of temperature dependence of quasielastic-light-scattering intensity
      and alpha -relaxation time.

PMID- 9984251
TI  - Onset of fragment formation in periodic expanding systems.

PMID- 9984253
TI  - Transmission of double-impurity atomic switches.

PMID- 9984252
TI  - Anomalous temperature dependence of the first diffraction peak in vitreous boron
      trioxide.

PMID- 9984255
TI  - Supersonic mechanisms for charge and energy transfers in anharmonic molecular
      chains.

PMID- 9984254
TI  - Isotopic anomaly in dimer emission from alloy liquid-metal-ion-source mass
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984256
TI  - Bounding of effective thermal conductivities of multiscale materials by essential
      and natural boundary conditions.

PMID- 9984257
TI  - Temperature dependence of the phonon broadening of the Si 2p XPS line.

PMID- 9984258
TI  - Vibrational analysis of wadeite K2ZrSi3O9 and comparisons with benitoite
      BaTiSi3O9.

PMID- 9984259
TI  - Inelastic x-ray scattering from TiC and Ti single crystals.

PMID- 9984261
TI  - Mobility and diffusivity in a generalized Frenkel-Kontorova model.

PMID- 9984260
TI  - Solitonic-exchange mechanism of surface diffusion.

PMID- 9984262
TI  - Second sound and characteristic temperature in solids.

PMID- 9984263
TI  - Transient Fourier-law deviation by molecular dynamics in solid argon.

PMID- 9984264
TI  - Elastic properties of superconducting Chevrel-phase compounds.

PMID- 9984265
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram of a partially frustrated triangular antiferromagnet: The
      row model.

PMID- 9984266
TI  - Eliminating metastability in first-order phase transitions.

PMID- 9984267
TI  - High-temperature expansion study of the Nishimori multicritical point in two and
      four dimensions.

PMID- 9984268
TI  - Success and failure of the Friedel-Anderson resonance model for magnetic
      impurities: 3d impurities on the surface of Au.

PMID- 9984269
TI  - Magnetic linear and circular dichroism in core-level photoemission and magnetic
      circular x-ray dichroism in absorption for ultrathin films Fe/Pd(100).

PMID- 9984270
TI  - Simulation of spin diffusion in a disordered system.

PMID- 9984271
TI  - Quantum decay of metastable states in small magnetic particles.

PMID- 9984272
TI  - Ground state of an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin system on a nontranslational
      lattice of dimension between one and two.

PMID- 9984274
TI  - 19F NMR study of KMnFeF6: A frustrated magnetic system.

PMID- 9984273
TI  - Magnetization studies of type-II antiferromagnetic EuTe/PbTe superlattices.

PMID- 9984275
TI  - Experimental study of the structural and magnetic properties of Fe/Tb
      multilayers.

PMID- 9984277
TI  - Theory of nonreciprocal optical effects in antiferromagnets: The case of Cr2O3.

PMID- 9984276
TI  - Specific heat below 1 mK and the electric-field gradient in indium.

PMID- 9984278
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of metastable fcc Cu-Fe alloys.

PMID- 9984279
TI  - Low-temperature transport of magnetic excitons in the quasi-one-dimensional
      antiferromagnet CsMnCl3

PMID- 9984280
TI  - ac susceptibility of Rb3C60 fine powder.

PMID- 9984281
TI  - Anomalous magnetization behavior of single-crystalline CeRu2.

PMID- 9984282
TI  - Infrared investigation of the broken-symmetry ground state in GeCuO3.

PMID- 9984283
TI  - Effect of anisotropy on magneto-optical properties of uniaxial crystals:
      Application to CrO2.

PMID- 9984285
TI  - Microwave response of superconducting platelet crystals.

PMID- 9984284
TI  - Analysis of angularly dependent ODNMR spectra of 151Eu3+ in LaF3.

PMID- 9984286
TI  - Critical behavior of the flux-line tension in extreme type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9984287
TI  - Interaction between a two-dimensional pancake vortex and a circular
      nonsuperconducting defect.

PMID- 9984288
TI  - Photoemission study of Ni borocarbides: Superconducting YNi2B2C and
      nonsuperconducting LaNi2B2C.

PMID- 9984289
TI  - Magnetic-coherence-length scaling in metallic multilayers.

PMID- 9984291
TI  - Phonon amplification using evaporation and adsorption of helium.

PMID- 9984290
TI  - Langevin simulations of two-dimensional vortex fluctuations: Anomalous dynamics
      and IV exponent.

PMID- 9984292
TI  - 199Hg and 63Cu NMR in superconducting HgBa2CuO4+ delta oriented powder.

PMID- 9984294
TI  - Ground state and excitations of the supersymmetric extended Hubbard model with
      long-range interaction.

PMID- 9984293
TI  - Phase separation and oxygen diffusion in electrochemically oxidized La2CuO4+
      delta : A static magnetic susceptibility study.

PMID- 9984295
TI  - Josephson tunneling in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9984296
TI  - Theory of photoemission in the Hubbard model for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9984297
TI  - Dynamical exponents for the current-induced percolation transition in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984299
TI  - Cooperative flux pinning in single crystals of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9984298
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of the ordering of ceramic superconductors: Chiral-glass,
      orbital-glass, and nonlinear susceptibilities.

PMID- 9984300
TI  - Anisotropy in the irreversible behavior of pointlike defects and twins in
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals with a peak effect.

PMID- 9984301
TI  - Accommodation of vortices to tilted line defects in high-Tc superconductors with
      various electronic anisotropies.

PMID- 9984302
TI  - High-frequency vortex response of anisotropic type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9984303
TI  - Vortex solid-to-liquid transition in DyBa2Cu3O7- delta /(Y0.45Pr0.55)Ba2Cu3O7-
      delta multilayers.

PMID- 9984304
TI  - Gas effusion spectra of HgBa2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9984305
TI  - Length-scale-dependent layer decoupling and critical fluctuations in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9984306
TI  - Role of out-of-plane copper orbitals in thallium cuprate.

PMID- 9984307
TI  - Quasiparticle damping and the coherence peak in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9984309
TI  - Erratum: Model for the glass transition in amorphous solids based on
      fragmentation

PMID- 9984308
TI  - Erratum: Dynamical properties of the single-hole t-J model on a 32-site square
      lattice

PMID- 9984310
TI  - Multicritical point in structurally incommensurate

PMID- 9984311
TI  - Anharmonic interatomic potentials of octahedral Pt-halogen complexes studied by
      extended x-ray-absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9984313
TI  - Atomistic simulation of ideal shear strength, point defects, and screw
      dislocations in bcc transition metals: Mo as a prototype.

PMID- 9984312
TI  - Near-neighbor mixing and bond dilation in mechanically alloyed Cu-Fe.

PMID- 9984314
TI  - Vibrational and electronic absorption study of bistable and stable FH(OH-)
      centers in alkali halides.

PMID- 9984315
TI  - Electronic-vibrational energy transfer between F centers and OH- impurities in
      KBr studied by Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman scattering.

PMID- 9984316
TI  - Electronic, vibrational, and configurational relaxation of the FH(OH-) center in
      KBr.

PMID- 9984317
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance measurements on the di-<001>-split interstitial
      center (R1) in diamond.

PMID- 9984318
TI  - ?

PMID- 9984319
TI  - Theoretical study of shear-modulus instabilities in the alkali metals under
      hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9984321
TI  - Simple equation of state for solids under compression.

PMID- 9984320
TI  - Pressure-induced disordering of sodium potassium sulfates and chromates.

PMID- 9984322
TI  - Melting of classical two-dimensional electrons on a helium film: A molecular
      dynamics study.

PMID- 9984323
TI  - Pressure-induced structural phase transitions in the AMnF4 series (A=Cs, Rb, K)
      studied by synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction: Correlation between hydrostatic
      and chemical pressure.

PMID- 9984324
TI  - Effect of the local electronic temperature on secondary-ion spectra.

PMID- 9984325
TI  - Structural changes in diamond and amorphous carbon induced by low-energy ion
      irradiation.

PMID- 9984326
TI  - Analysis of dissipation of a burst-type martensite transformation in a Fe-Mn
      alloy by internal friction measurements.

PMID- 9984327
TI  - First-principles determination of the tensile and slip energy barriers for B2
      NiAl and FeAl.

PMID- 9984329
TI  - Bonding and electronic structure in zirconia pseudopolymorphs investigated by
      electron energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984328
TI  - Order-disorder phase transition in p-chloronitrobenzene studied by NQR and DTA.

PMID- 9984330
TI  - Short-range order in linear binary alloys: Delocalization of states versus memory
      of ordered band structures.

PMID- 9984332
TI  - Dynamics of quadrupolar glasses.

PMID- 9984331
TI  - Long-range correlations in nonequilibrium quantum Lorentz gases.

PMID- 9984333
TI  - Microbranching instability and the dynamic fracture of brittle materials.

PMID- 9984334
TI  - Band theory of induced magnetic moments in CoM (M=Rh, Ru) alloys.

PMID- 9984335
TI  - Temperature dependence of positron-annihilation lifetime, free volume,
      conductivity, ionic mobility, and number of charge carriers in a polymer
      electrolyte polyethylene oxide complexed with NH4ClO4.

PMID- 9984337
TI  - Dynamical Jahn-Teller effect and Berry phase in positively charged fullerenes:
      Basic considerations.

PMID- 9984336
TI  - Shell-model lattice dynamics and Mossbauer recoilless fraction of SnO.

PMID- 9984338
TI  - Critical properties of the one-dimensional spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg
      model in the presence of a uniform field.

PMID- 9984339
TI  - Universality class of O(N) models.

PMID- 9984340
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of LaCuO2.5.

PMID- 9984341
TI  - Frustrated pyrochlore oxides, Y2Mn2O7, Ho2Mn2O7, and Yb2Mn2O7: Bulk magnetism and
      magnetic microstructure.

PMID- 9984342
TI  - Commensurate and incommensurate magnetic structures of UNiGe.

PMID- 9984344
TI  - X-ray magnetic scattering study of three-dimensional magnetic order in the quasi
      one-dimensional antiferromagnet Nd2BaNiO5.

PMID- 9984343
TI  - Magnetic gap excitations in a one-dimensional mixed spin antiferromagnet
      Nd2BaNiO5.

PMID- 9984345
TI  - Magnetic excitations in the itinerant ferromagnet UFe2.

PMID- 9984347
TI  - Spin dynamics of chromium. II. Incommensurate alloys.

PMID- 9984346
TI  - Spin dynamics of chromium. I. Formalism and commensurate alloys.

PMID- 9984349
TI  - Two-dimensional spin fluctuations of Ho3+ in HoBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9984348
TI  - Synchrotron x-ray-scattering study of magnetic-field-induced transitions in Cu1
      x(Zn, Ni)xGeO3.

PMID- 9984350
TI  - Static computational micromagnetism of demagnetization processes in nanoscaled
      permanent magnets.

PMID- 9984351
TI  - Ising spin glass: Replica-symmetric cluster expansion in finite dimensions.

PMID- 9984352
TI  - Strong-coupling analysis of two-dimensional O(N) sigma models with N <~ 2 on
      square, triangular, and honeycomb lattices.

PMID- 9984353
TI  - Phonons in pure and doped CuGeO3 spin-Peierls crystals: Raman and ultrasonic
      studies.

PMID- 9984355
TI  - Electronic and magnetic states in the giant magnetoresistive compounds.

PMID- 9984354
TI  - Identification of molybdenum in 6H-SiC by magnetic resonance techniques.

PMID- 9984357
TI  - Contact angle of liquid He mixtures on Cs: Evidence for 3He at the He-Cs
      interface.

PMID- 9984356
TI  - Multiple-scattering theory of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism: Implementation
      and results for the iron K edge.

PMID- 9984358
TI  - Bound states and Josephson current in mesoscopic s-wave superconductor-normal
      metal-d-wave superconductor junctions.

PMID- 9984360
TI  - Hamiltonian approach to the transport properties of superconducting quantum point
      contacts.

PMID- 9984359
TI  - Static and dynamic processes in a two-dimensional Josephson junction.

PMID- 9984361
TI  - Charge representation of a small two-dimensional Josephson-junction array in the
      quantum regime.

PMID- 9984363
TI  - Response of liquid 3He at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9984362
TI  - Magnetization of multiple-quanta vortex lattices.

PMID- 9984364
TI  - Electrical resistivity of UBe13 in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984366
TI  - Charge transport in voltage-biased superconducting single-electron transistors.

PMID- 9984365
TI  - Diagrammatic theory of random scattering matrices for normal-metal
      superconducting mesoscopic junctions.

PMID- 9984367
TI  - Hall effect in the two-dimensional metal Sr2RuO4.

PMID- 9984368
TI  - Electron scattering from interacting tunneling units: A model for high-Tc
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9984369
TI  - Pair breaking by impurities in the two-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9984370
TI  - Temperature dependence of the in-plane resistivity in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy
      single crystals.

PMID- 9984371
TI  - Crystal growth and anisotropic resistivity of Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuOy.

PMID- 9984372
TI  - Effect of oxygen content on the anomalies at successive phase transitions of
      La2CuO4+ delta single crystal below 320 K.

PMID- 9984373
TI  - Experimental investigation of the pairing state of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984374
TI  - Fluctuation-induced in-plane conductivity, magnetoconductivity, and diamagnetism
      of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals in weak magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984375
TI  - Variation of the in-plane penetration depth lambda ab as a function of doping in
      La2-xSrxCuO4+/- delta thin films on SrTiO3: Implications for the overdoped state.

PMID- 9984376
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of stripe-phase order of holes and spins in
      La1.48Nd0.4Sr0.12CuO4.

PMID- 9984377
TI  - Superconducting-plasma resonance along the c axis in various copper oxide
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984378
TI  - Comparative study of the characteristic length scales and fields of Hg-based high
      Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9984380
TI  - Linewidth of c-axis plasma resonance in Josephson-coupled superconductors.

PMID- 9984379
TI  - Growth, microstructure, and electrochemical oxidation of MBE-grown c-axis La2CuO4
      thin films.

PMID- 9984381
TI  - ac susceptibility of high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9984383
TI  - NMR and neutron-scattering experiments on the cuprate superconductors: A critical
      re-examination.

PMID- 9984382
TI  - Low-temperature ordering in YBa2Cu3O6+x oxides at x>0.5: Computer simulation.

PMID- 9984384
TI  - Infrared absorption in silicon from shallow thermal donors incorporating hydrogen
      and a link to the NL10 paramagnetic resonance spectrum.

PMID- 9984385
TI  - Microscope models of guest molecular vibrations in crystalline and glass hosts.

PMID- 9984386
TI  - Quantum effects in the dynamics of proton glasses.

PMID- 9984387
TI  - Diffusion of 54Mn and 59Fe in icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn single quasicrystals.

PMID- 9984388
TI  - Electronic Hamiltonian for transition-metal oxide compounds.

PMID- 9984389
TI  - Magnetic coupling in metallic granular systems.

PMID- 9984390
TI  - Y2BaNiO5: A nearly ideal realization of the S=1 Heisenberg chain with
      antiferromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9984391
TI  - Observation of S=1 fractional spins in the S=2 finite linear-chain Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet CsCr1-xMgxCl3.

PMID- 9984392
TI  - New phase diagram of Zn-doped CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984393
TI  - Molecular spin ladder in the Ni(dmit)2 (dmit=1,3-dithiol-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate)
      salt with a nitronyl nitroxide cation.

PMID- 9984395
TI  - Longitudinal current dissipation in Bose-glass superconductors.

PMID- 9984394
TI  - Magnetoresistance scaling in MBE-grown La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 thin films.

PMID- 9984396
TI  - Viscosity measurements in normal and superfluid 3He.

PMID- 9984398
TI  - Cooper-pair charge solitons: The electrodynamics of localized charge in a
      superconductor.

PMID- 9984397
TI  - Double-resonance NMR probes of structural distortions in alkali-metal-fulleride
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984399
TI  - Determination of 13C NMR isotropic Knight shift and deviation from BCS relation
      in A3C60 superconductors.

PMID- 9984400
TI  - High-resolution thermal expansion of superconducting fullerides A3C60 (A=K,Rb).

PMID- 9984401
TI  - Monte Carlo study of a three-dimensional vortex-glass model with screening.

PMID- 9984402
TI  - Influence of a magnetic field on the antiferromagnetic order in UPt3.

PMID- 9984404
TI  - Evidence of the temperature-dependent interlayer coupling from the anisotropic
      transport properties in Co-substituted single-crystal Bi2Sr2Ca(Cu1-xCox)2O8+
      delta.

PMID- 9984403
TI  - Density-of-states-driven anisotropies induced by momentum decoupling in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9984405
TI  - Superconductivity fluctuation effects on the thermal conductivity of
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9984406
TI  - Emission of picosecond electromagnetic pulses from optically excited
      superconducting bridges.

PMID- 9984407
TI  - Observation of multiple peaks in the magnetization curves of NdBa2Cu3O7 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9984408
TI  - Impurity scattering and localization in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9984409
TI  - Influence of oxygen-ordering kinetics on Raman and optical response in
      YBa2Cu3O6.4.

PMID- 9984410
TI  - High-frequency spin waves in YBa2Cu3O6.15.

PMID- 9984411
TI  - NMR evidence for common superconducting and pseudogap phase diagrams of YBa2Cu3O7
      delta and La2-xSrxCaCu2O6.

PMID- 9984412
TI  - Analytical expression for the optimized stop bands of fcc photonic crystals in
      the scalar-wave approximation.

PMID- 9984414
TI  - Adaptive finite-element method for electronic-structure calculations.

PMID- 9984413
TI  - Symmetrized density-matrix renormalization-group method for excited states of
      Hubbard models.

PMID- 9984415
TI  - Enhancement of the Kondo temperature of magnetic impurities in metallic point
      contacts due to the fluctuations of the local density of states.

PMID- 9984416
TI  - Shallow and deep traps in conjugated polymers of high intrachain order.

PMID- 9984417
TI  - Spin susceptibility and magnetic short-range order in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984418
TI  - Structural and vibrational properties of complexes formed by hydrogen and As
      antisites in gallium arsenide.

PMID- 9984419
TI  - Cathodoluminescence and photoinduced current spectroscopy studies of defects in
      Cd0.8Zn0.2Te.

PMID- 9984420
TI  - Jahn-Teller effect in ZnS:Fe2+ revisited with a modified Lanczos-type algorithm.

PMID- 9984421
TI  - Thermopower and conductivity activation energies in hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9984422
TI  - EPR study of the hyperfine structure of Yb3+ ion in Pb1-xYbxS, Pb1-xYbxSe, and
      Pb1-xYbxTe single crystals.

PMID- 9984423
TI  - Smooth monolayer As- and Ga-terminated GaAs(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9984424
TI  - Green's function of a two-dimensional interacting electron gas in a perpendicular
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9984425
TI  - Temperature and excitation intensity dependencies of the photoluminescence
      spectra of GaAs/(AlGa)As disordered superlattices.

PMID- 9984427
TI  - Direct manifestation of the Fermi pressure in a two-dimensional electron system.

PMID- 9984426
TI  - Drift current and thermal pressure effects in the electromagnetic instabilities
      of periodic semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9984428
TI  - Quantum-group treatment of substrate potential in the integer quantum Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9984430
TI  - Saturation of the internal photoemission effect in forward biased silicon
      junctions.

PMID- 9984429
TI  - Low-temperature electron mobility in a real delta -doped semiconductor.

PMID- 9984431
TI  - Electronic structure of semiconductor quantum wells in a tilted magnetic field.

PMID- 9984432
TI  - Tunneling calculations for systems with singular coupling matrices: Results for a
      simple model.

PMID- 9984433
TI  - Frozen electron solid in the presence of small concentrations of defects.

PMID- 9984434
TI  - Oscillator strengths for optical band-to-band processes in GaN epilayers.

PMID- 9984435
TI  - Type-II interface exciton in ZnSe/(Zn,Mn)Se heterostructures.

PMID- 9984436
TI  - Si 2p core-level shifts at the Si(100)-SiO2 interface: An experimental study.

PMID- 9984437
TI  - Shapes of 3He clusters.

PMID- 9984438
TI  - Hexagonal phase with mosaic structure of charge-density waves observed by
      scanning tunneling microscopy at the surface of a NbSe3 crystal.

PMID- 9984440
TI  - Adsorption and desorption kinetics of CO on Cu(110) studied by optical
      differential reflectance.

PMID- 9984439
TI  - Adhesive energy and charge transfer for MgO/Cu heterophase interfaces.

PMID- 9984441
TI  - Initial growth of insulating overlayers of NaCl on Ge(100) observed by scanning
      tunneling microscopy with atomic resolution.

PMID- 9984442
TI  - Nucleation and growth of Si/Si(111) observed by scanning tunneling microscopy
      during epitaxy.

PMID- 9984444
TI  - Nonlocal screening effects in 2p x-ray photoemission spectroscopy of NiO (100).

PMID- 9984443
TI  - Surface-induced broadening of photoemission core levels.

PMID- 9984445
TI  - Theory of the Seebeck coefficient in LaCrO3 and related perovskite systems.

PMID- 9984446
TI  - Spherical self-consistent atomic deformation model for first-principles energy
      calculations in ionic crystalline solids.

PMID- 9984447
TI  - Composite quasiparticle formation and the low-energy effective Hamiltonians for
      the one- and two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984448
TI  - Self-consistent GW and higher-order calculations of electron states in metals.

PMID- 9984449
TI  - Path-integral analysis of the exchange-correlation energy and potential in
      density-functional theory: Unpolarized systems.

PMID- 9984451
TI  - Vacancies, interstitials, and close Frenkel pairs on the zinc sublattice of ZnSe.

PMID- 9984450
TI  - Metal-insulator transitions due to self-doping.

PMID- 9984452
TI  - Exchange and radiative lifetimes for close Frenkel pairs on the zinc sublattice
      of ZnSe.

PMID- 9984453
TI  - Electronic properties of TiSi2 single crystals at low temperatures.

PMID- 9984454
TI  - Photoemission study of electronic structures of disordered Ni-Pt and Cu-Pt
      alloys.

PMID- 9984455
TI  - Electronic structure of La1-xSrxCrO3.

PMID- 9984457
TI  - Infrared intensities and Raman-scattering activities within density-functional
      theory.

PMID- 9984456
TI  - Excited states in metal voids.

PMID- 9984458
TI  - Microcavities in photonic crystals: Mode symmetry, tunability, and coupling
      efficiency.

PMID- 9984459
TI  - Point-charge electrostatics in disordered alloys.

PMID- 9984460
TI  - First-principles study of titanium oxides.

PMID- 9984461
TI  - Thermodynamics of the Falicov-Kimball model.

PMID- 9984462
TI  - Nitrogen-related dopant and defect states in CVD diamond.

PMID- 9984463
TI  - Hydrogen-related defects in polycrystalline CVD diamond.

PMID- 9984464
TI  - Optimized effective-potential calculations of Ge and GaAs.

PMID- 9984465
TI  - Fe, Ru, and Os disilicides: Electronic structure of ordered compounds.

PMID- 9984466
TI  - Metastable defect complexes in GaAs.

PMID- 9984467
TI  - Electric and magnetic dipole two-photon absorption in semiconductors.

PMID- 9984468
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering probe of alloying effect in GaAs1-xPx ternary alloy
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9984469
TI  - Picosecond and millisecond dynamics of photoexcited carriers in porous silicon.

PMID- 9984471
TI  - Electronic conduction above 4 K of slightly reduced oxygen-deficient rutile TiO2
      x.

PMID- 9984470
TI  - Real-space Green's-function approach applied to the phonon spectra of isolated
      impurities.

PMID- 9984473
TI  - Effects of quantum fluctuations of electrons and lattice in doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9984472
TI  - Carrier transport in amorphous silicon-based thin-film transistors studied by
      spin-dependent transport.

PMID- 9984474
TI  - Donor activation and electronic screening at an antimony delta layer in silicon.

PMID- 9984476
TI  - Simulation studies of photon-assisted quantum transport.

PMID- 9984475
TI  - Analysis of capacitance-voltage characteristics of Si1-xGex/Si quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9984477
TI  - Electronic structure of a Si delta -doped layer in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum
      barrier.

PMID- 9984479
TI  - Quantum interference effects in antidot lattices in magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984478
TI  - Carrier-carrier scattering in the gain dynamics of InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs diode
      lasers.

PMID- 9984480
TI  - First-principles studies of hydrogenated Si(111)-7 x 7.

PMID- 9984481
TI  - Exchange-correlation energy for a two-dimensional electron gas in a magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9984482
TI  - Electronic transport in quantum wires in nonuniform magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984483
TI  - Theoretical study on commensurability oscillation in anisotropic antidot
      lattices.

PMID- 9984484
TI  - Plasmon-pole approximation for semiconductor quantum-wire electrons.

PMID- 9984485
TI  - Separation of the sp3 and sp2 components in the C1s photoemission spectra of
      amorphous carbon films.

PMID- 9984486
TI  - Comparison of self-consistency iteration options for the Wigner function method
      of quantum device simulation.

PMID- 9984487
TI  - Exciton-polariton ladder in a semiconductor microcavity.

PMID- 9984488
TI  - Mechanisms for optical nonlinearities and ultrafast carrier dynamics in CuxS
      nanocrystals.

PMID- 9984489
TI  - Thermodynamics of a one-dimensional lattice system with long-range interelectron
      repulsion.

PMID- 9984490
TI  - Persistent current in disordered Aharonov-Bohm rings with interacting electrons.

PMID- 9984491
TI  - Generalized eigenproblem method for surface and interface states: The complex
      bands of GaAs and AlAs.

PMID- 9984492
TI  - Electric field effects on excitons in gallium nitride.

PMID- 9984493
TI  - Dynamic response of a two-dimensional electron gas: Effect of short-range
      correlations in the ladder approximation.

PMID- 9984495
TI  - Distribution of transmitted charge through a double-barrier junction.

PMID- 9984494
TI  - Dynamic admittance of mesoscopic conductors: Discrete-potential model.

PMID- 9984496
TI  - Diffuse scattering from interface roughness in grazing-incidence x-ray
      diffraction.

PMID- 9984497
TI  - Growth of Ag on Cu(100) studied by STM: From surface alloying to Ag
      superstructures.

PMID- 9984498
TI  - Direct reconstruction of three-dimensional atomic adsorption sites by holographic
      LEED.

PMID- 9984500
TI  - Calculation of the dielectric constant of monolayer films on a material surface.

PMID- 9984499
TI  - Localization phenomena in elastic surface-polariton scattering caused by surface
      roughness.

PMID- 9984501
TI  - Dielectric behavior of organic monolayers due to orientational phase transition.

PMID- 9984502
TI  - Buckled reconstruction of the alkali-metal (Na, K)-adsorbed Si(111)-(3 x 1)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9984503
TI  - Ab initio theory of surface segregation: Self-consistent determination of the
      concentration profile.

PMID- 9984505
TI  - Statistics of three-dimensional island growth for a reactive interface:
      Ni/GaAs(110).

PMID- 9984504
TI  - Membranes on rough self-affine surfaces.

PMID- 9984506
TI  - Plasma instabilities in a steady-state nonequilibrium one-dimensional solid-state
      plasma of finite length.

PMID- 9984508
TI  - Interactions of hydrogen and methyl radicals with diamond C(111) studied by sum
      frequency vibrational spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984507
TI  - Optical properties of self-affine thin films.

PMID- 9984509
TI  - Friction on adsorbed monolayers.

PMID- 9984510
TI  - Erratum: High-current ballistic transport through variable-width constrictions in
      a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas

PMID- 9984511
TI  - Pseudopotential variational quantum Monte Carlo approach to bcc lithium.

PMID- 9984513
TI  - Self-consistent GW0 results for the electron gas: Fixed screened potential W0
      within the random-phase approximation.

PMID- 9984512
TI  - Simple analytical embedded-atom-potential model including a long-range force for
      fcc metals and their alloys.

PMID- 9984514
TI  - Investigation of density functionals to predict both ground-state properties and
      band structures.

PMID- 9984515
TI  - Algebraic Bethe ansatz for the supersymmetric U model.

PMID- 9984516
TI  - Electronic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional halogen-bridged Ni complexes

PMID- 9984517
TI  - Photoemission spectral weight distribution in Y1-xCaxTiO3.

PMID- 9984518
TI  - Transfer of spectral weight in spectroscopies of correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9984519
TI  - Anderson localization for two interacting electrons in a disordered chain.

PMID- 9984520
TI  - Anderson transition and critical level statistics in 2.58 dimensions.

PMID- 9984522
TI  - Collective transport through charge-density-wave heterostructures.

PMID- 9984521
TI  - Anisotropic electrical resistivity of ferromagnetic Co-Pd and Co-Pt alloys.

PMID- 9984523
TI  - Exact boundary critical exponents and tunneling effects in integrable models for
      quantum wires.

PMID- 9984525
TI  - Additional electromagnetic waves and stimulated light scattering in the vicinity
      of an excitonic resonance.

PMID- 9984524
TI  - Electronic structure of Al3Ni and AlNi3 alloys.

PMID- 9984527
TI  - Atomic structure of defect complexes containing carbon and hydrogen in GaAs.

PMID- 9984526
TI  - Effects of point defects on lattice parameters of semiconductors.

PMID- 9984528
TI  - Point defects and their reactions in electron-irradiated GaAs investigated by
      optical absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984530
TI  - Spin-resonance determination of the electron effective g value of In0.53Ga0.47As.

PMID- 9984529
TI  - Polarization-dependent density-functional theory and quasiparticle theory:
      Optical response beyond local-density approximations.

PMID- 9984531
TI  - Anderson impurity in a semiconductor.

PMID- 9984533
TI  - Comparison between multiple trapping and multiple hopping transport in a random
      medium.

PMID- 9984532
TI  - Landau-like states in the magneto-optical spectrum of a shallow donor impurity:
      Theory versus experiment.

PMID- 9984534
TI  - Second-order Raman spectrum of AlSb from ab initio phonon calculations and
      evidence for overbending in the LO phonon branch.

PMID- 9984535
TI  - Displaced squeezed number states of the phonon field in polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9984536
TI  - Surface structure of the (3 x 1) and (3 x 2) reconstructions of Ge(113).

PMID- 9984538
TI  - Surface phonons of hydrogen-terminated semiconductor surfaces. III. Diamond (001)
      monohydride and dihydride.

PMID- 9984537
TI  - Influence of surfactant coverage on epitaxial growth of Ge on Si(001).

PMID- 9984539
TI  - Spontaneous coherence and collective modes in double-layer quantum-dot systems.

PMID- 9984540
TI  - Observation of a Cs-induced state in the band gap of GaP(110): Alkali-metal
      bonding and Fermi-level pinning.

PMID- 9984541
TI  - Two-photon transitions in systems with semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9984542
TI  - Long-range resonance transfer of electronic excitations in close-packed CdSe
      quantum-dot solids.

PMID- 9984544
TI  - Collective and single-particle excitations of the quasi-one-dimensional electron
      gas in the presence of a magnetic field.

PMID- 9984543
TI  - Wigner crystallization in the lowest Landau level for nu >= 1/5.

PMID- 9984545
TI  - Transmission spectrum of a tunneling particle interacting with dynamical fields:
      Real-time functional-integral approach.

PMID- 9984546
TI  - Theory of arbitrarily polarized quantum Hall states: Filling fractions and wave
      functions.

PMID- 9984547
TI  - Direct test of the composite-fermion model in quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9984548
TI  - Models for the integer quantum Hall effect: The network model, the Dirac
      equation, and a tight-binding Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9984549
TI  - Pressure dependence of the optic phonon energies in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9984550
TI  - Uniaxial-stress investigation of the phonon-assisted recombination mechanisms
      associated with the X states in type-II GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9984552
TI  - Eigenfunctions of electrons in weakly disordered quantum dots: Crossover between
      orthogonal and unitary symmetries.

PMID- 9984551
TI  - Electron-assisted exciton transfer and long-lived electrons and holes in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9984554
TI  - Model for diffusion and growth of silicon on Si(100) with inequivalent sites in a
      square lattice.

PMID- 9984553
TI  - Direct formation of vertically coupled quantum dots in Stranski-Krastanow growth.

PMID- 9984555
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy on Ga/Si(100).

PMID- 9984556
TI  - Strain and surface phenomena in SiGe structures.

PMID- 9984557
TI  - Lattice locations of silicon atoms in delta -doped layers in GaAs at high doping
      concentrations.

PMID- 9984558
TI  - Dephasing time of composite fermions.

PMID- 9984560
TI  - Optical absorption of wide quantum wires.

PMID- 9984559
TI  - Electronic structures and band offsets of heterocrystalline superlattices (3C
      AlN)3n/(2H-AlN)2n and (3C-SiC)3n/(2H-SiC)2n (n=1,2,3).

PMID- 9984561
TI  - Direct and indirect excitons in coupled GaAs/Al0.30Ga0.70As double quantum wells
      separated by AlAs barriers.

PMID- 9984562
TI  - Dynamic structure factor of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9984563
TI  - Giant oscillations of acoustoelectric current in a quantum channel.

PMID- 9984564
TI  - Noise temperature of n+nn+ GaAs structures.

PMID- 9984565
TI  - Monolayer Kr films adsorbed on BN.

PMID- 9984566
TI  - GaAs equilibrium crystal shape from first principles.

PMID- 9984568
TI  - Energy transfer, trapping, and the interaction potential in hyperthermal Na+
      scattering from Cu(001).

PMID- 9984567
TI  - Surface diffusion in the low-friction limit: Occurrence of long jumps.

PMID- 9984569
TI  - X-ray photoelectron-diffraction study of intermixing and morphology at the
      Ge/Si(001) and Ge/Sb/Si(001) interface.

PMID- 9984570
TI  - Potential, core-level, and d band shifts at transition-metal surfaces.

PMID- 9984571
TI  - Gibbs-Thomson formula for small island sizes: Corrections for high vapor
      densities.

PMID- 9984572
TI  - Imaging material properties by resonant tapping-force microscopy: A model
      investigation.

PMID- 9984573
TI  - Interpretation of photoelectron spectra in Cun - clusters including thermal and
      final-state effects: The case of Cu7 -

PMID- 9984574
TI  - Metastable states in hydrogenated amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9984575
TI  - Phase separation in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984576
TI  - Analytic continuation of the dynamic response function using an N-point Pade
      approximant.

PMID- 9984578
TI  - Gradient-corrected ab initio calculations of spin-spiral states in fcc-Fe and the
      effects of the atomic-spheres approximation.

PMID- 9984577
TI  - Magnetoresistance and magnetic breakdown in the quasi-two-dimensional conductors
      (BEDT-TTF)2MHg(SCN)4

PMID- 9984580
TI  - Ultrafast high-energy luminescence in a high-electron-affinity conjugated
      polymer.

PMID- 9984579
TI  - Anomalous effective charges and far-IR optical absorption of Al2Ru from first
      principles.

PMID- 9984581
TI  - Coulomb enhancement of Faraday rotation in semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9984583
TI  - Dimer bond geometry in D/Ge(100)-(2 x 1): A low-energy electron-diffraction
      structure analysis.

PMID- 9984582
TI  - Inequivalent atoms and imaging mechanisms in ac-mode atomic-force microscopy of
      Si(111)7 x 7.

PMID- 9984584
TI  - Spin splitting in a polarized quasi-two-dimensional exciton gas.

PMID- 9984585
TI  - Anomalous features of resonant hyper-Raman scattering in CuBr quantum dots:
      Evidence of exciton-phonon-coupled states similar to molecules.

PMID- 9984586
TI  - Drift-velocity degradation caused by an electric field during collision in one
      dimensional quantum wires.

PMID- 9984587
TI  - Experimental determination of Gamma -X intervalley transfer mechanisms in
      GaAs/AlAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9984588
TI  - Hierarchy of relaxation times in the system of Mn-ion spins in photoexcited
      semimagnetic quantum wells.

PMID- 9984589
TI  - Anisotropic surface acoustic wave scattering in quantum-wire arrays.

PMID- 9984591
TI  - Magnetic properties of the Skyrmion gas in two dimensions.

PMID- 9984590
TI  - Coulomb gaps in one-dimensional spin-polarized electron systems.

PMID- 9984592
TI  - Electronic spectral functions for quantum Hall edge states.

PMID- 9984593
TI  - Electron-phonon heat transport in arrays of Al islands with submicrometer-sized
      tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9984594
TI  - Large magnetotunneling effect at low magnetic fields in micrometer-scale
      epitaxial La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9984596
TI  - Green's-function approach to the optical nonlinearities in semiconductors and
      quantum-confined structures.

PMID- 9984595
TI  - Intrinsic band-edge photoluminescence from silicon clusters at room temperature.

PMID- 9984597
TI  - Photoinduced formation of dimers at a liquid/(001)GaAs interface.

PMID- 9984598
TI  - Raman scattering from acoustic phonons confined in Si nanocrystals.

PMID- 9984599
TI  - Electronic properties of carbon nanotubes with polygonized cross sections.

PMID- 9984600
TI  - Epitaxial growth and optical transitions of cubic GaN films.

PMID- 9984601
TI  - Nanostructural and local electronic properties of Fe/W(110) correlated by
      scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984603
TI  - Isostructural phase transition in InN wurtzite.

PMID- 9984602
TI  - Electronic-structure effect on core-level excitation and charge transfer in ions
      scattering from alkali-metal-covered surfaces.

PMID- 9984604
TI  - Positron bound states on hydride ions in thermochemically reduced MgO single
      crystals.

PMID- 9984605
TI  - Effect of Cu ions on the polarization and polar lattice vibrations of potassium
      sodium strontium barium niobate single crystals.

PMID- 9984606
TI  - Experimental and theoretical determination of the metastable Fe-V phase diagram.

PMID- 9984607
TI  - Infrared absorption of solid nitrogen at high pressures.

PMID- 9984608
TI  - Theoretical structural phase stability of BeO to 1 TPa.

PMID- 9984609
TI  - Oxygen interstitials in magnesium oxide: A band-model study.

PMID- 9984610
TI  - Analyses of the ab initio harmonic interatomic force constants of stishovite.

PMID- 9984611
TI  - Intrinsic thermal-resistive process of crystals: Umklapp processes at low and
      high temperatures.

PMID- 9984612
TI  - Single-polaron band structure of the Holstein model.

PMID- 9984613
TI  - Statics and dynamics of charge fluctuations in the t-J model.

PMID- 9984614
TI  - Critical dynamics in layer-structured (C18H37NH3)2SnCl6.

PMID- 9984615
TI  - Charge localization by static and dynamic distortions of the MnO6 octahedra in
      perovskite manganites.

PMID- 9984616
TI  - Hall-effect sign reversal in CaRuO3 and SrRuO3 thin films.

PMID- 9984617
TI  - Long-ranged interacting S=1 spin chain with the exact valence-bond-solid state.

PMID- 9984618
TI  - Thermodynamical properties of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome
      lattice.

PMID- 9984619
TI  - Valence-bond crystal phase of a frustrated spin-1/2 square-lattice
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9984620
TI  - Nagaoka state and degeneracy in the U=

PMID- 9984621
TI  - Magnetic neutron-scattering investigation of the field-induced Griffiths phase in
      FeCl2.

PMID- 9984622
TI  - Muon spin relaxation investigation of the spin dynamics of geometrically
      frustrated antiferromagnets Y2Mo2O7 and Tb2Mo2O7.

PMID- 9984623
TI  - Magnetic and electrical properties of the ferrimagnet Dy0.67Ca0.30MnO3+/-d.

PMID- 9984624
TI  - Spin-diffusion lengths of Cu1-xNix using current perpendicular to plane
      magnetoresistance measurements of magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9984625
TI  - Magnetic structure of TmNi2B2C.

PMID- 9984626
TI  - Evaluation of individual atomic displacements in mixed atomic rows in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu
      O by ion channeling.

PMID- 9984627
TI  - Theorem on pseudospin and eta -pairing superconductivity.

PMID- 9984628
TI  - Transverse ultrasound revisited: A directional probe of the A phase of UPt3.

PMID- 9984629
TI  - Fluxon-fluxon collision testing by a dissipative spot.

PMID- 9984630
TI  - Static properties of annular Josephson tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9984631
TI  - Phase separation in La2CuO4+ delta as probed by a paramagnetic surface defect.

PMID- 9984632
TI  - Spectral weight transfer in a doped strongly correlated insulator.

PMID- 9984633
TI  - Variational study of the spin-gap phase of the one-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9984634
TI  - Ordered states of substitutional cations in high-Tc superconducting systems.

PMID- 9984635
TI  - Observation of vortex-lattice melting in YBa2Cu3O7- delta by Seebeck-effect
      measurements.

PMID- 9984636
TI  - Local dynamics of YBa2Cu3O6+x and O(1)-defect dynamical stability.

PMID- 9984638
TI  - High-pressure EXAFS measurements of solid and liquid Kr.

PMID- 9984637
TI  - Temperature dependence of the elastic constants of LiKSO4 through a first-order
      structural phase transition.

PMID- 9984639
TI  - Structural, calorimetric, and Monte Carlo investigation of the order-disorder
      transition of BF4 in (CH 3)4NBF4.

PMID- 9984640
TI  - Thermodynamic model for solid-state amorphization in binary systems at interfaces
      and grain boundaries.

PMID- 9984641
TI  - Infrared-to-blue frequency upconversion in a Pr3+-doped silicate fiber.

PMID- 9984642
TI  - Hydrogen in Pd/Nb multilayers.

PMID- 9984644
TI  - Transferable atomistic model to describe the energetics of zirconia.

PMID- 9984643
TI  - 35Cl NQR in incommensurate bis(4-chlorophenyl) sulfone.

PMID- 9984645
TI  - ENDOR and pulsed ESR study of proton glass behavior in the mixed crystal (betaine
      phosphate)0.15(betaine phosphite)0.85.

PMID- 9984646
TI  - Magnetoresistance of Al90Y10 and Al90La10: Strong enhancement due to small
      crystalline precipitates in Al90La10.

PMID- 9984647
TI  - Photoluminescence in pyridine-based polymers: Role of aggregates.

PMID- 9984648
TI  - Mechanism of photoinduced anisotropy in chalcogenide glasses.

PMID- 9984650
TI  - Universal two-state reorientational dynamics of diatomic hydrides in fcc salt
      crystals.

PMID- 9984649
TI  - Phonon mechanism for the orthorhombic distortion in FeSi2 as compared to cubic
      CoSi2.

PMID- 9984651
TI  - Coherence tendencies in the transport of translationally invariant exciton-phonon
      systems.

PMID- 9984653
TI  - Nonlinear spin excitations in finite Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9984652
TI  - Intermediate phase for a classical continuum model.

PMID- 9984654
TI  - Magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic binary-alloy Ising thin films.

PMID- 9984655
TI  - Magnetic properties of superparamagnetic particles by a Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9984656
TI  - Dimer and Neel order-parameter fluctuations in the spin-fluid phase of the s=1/2
      spin chain with first- and second-neighbor couplings.

PMID- 9984657
TI  - Low-density ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984658
TI  - Magnetic phase diagram and magnetic structure of Gd(Sn1-xInx)3.

PMID- 9984659
TI  - Critical dynamics of the body-centered-cubic classical Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9984660
TI  - Static and dynamic response of cluster glass in La0.5Sr0.5CoO3.

PMID- 9984661
TI  - Magnetic resonance of type-I fcc antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9984663
TI  - Transitions in the direction of magnetism in Ni/Cu(001) ultrathin films and the
      effects of capping layers.

PMID- 9984662
TI  - Size-dependent magnetic properties of MnFe2O4 fine particles synthesized by
      coprecipitation.

PMID- 9984664
TI  - Magnetic moments in thin epitaxial Cr films on Fe(100).

PMID- 9984665
TI  - Photoluminescence-detected magnetic-resonance study of fullerene-doped pi 
      conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9984666
TI  - Interface roughening in driven magnetic systems with quenched disorder.

PMID- 9984667
TI  - Ising-Kondo lattice with transverse field: A possible f-moment Hamiltonian for
      URu2Si2.

PMID- 9984668
TI  - Spin-density wave versus superconducting fluctuations for quasi-one-dimensional
      electrons in two chains of Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9984670
TI  - High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of CeBi.

PMID- 9984669
TI  - Fermi-surface studies in the two-dimensional organic conductors (BEDT
      TTF)2MHg(SCN)4 (M=Tl,K,Rb,NH4).

PMID- 9984672
TI  - Emission of spin waves by a magnetic multilayer traversed by a current.

PMID- 9984673
TI  - Transport properties of L1-xSrxMnO3 (L=Pr, Nd; 1/4 <~ x <~ 1/2).

PMID- 9984671
TI  - Nonequilibrium orbital magnetization of strongly localized electrons.

PMID- 9984674
TI  - Analysis of scattering lengths in Co/Cu/Co and Co/Cu/Co/Cu spin-valves using a Ru
      barrier.

PMID- 9984675
TI  - Strong-coupling expansions for the anharmonic Holstein model and for the Holstein
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984676
TI  - Vortices in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9984677
TI  - Critical current of a quasi-one-dimensional superconducting wire.

PMID- 9984678
TI  - Superconducting properties of La3Ni2B2N3- delta.

PMID- 9984679
TI  - Magnetic and crystal-field properties of the magnetic superconductor DyNi2B2C
      from 161Dy Mossbauer spectroscopy.

PMID- 9984681
TI  - Macroscopic quantum tunneling in one-dimensional superconducting wires.

PMID- 9984680
TI  - Cross correlation of thermal flux noise in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9984682
TI  - Local density of states in a dirty normal metal connected to a superconductor.

PMID- 9984684
TI  - Pancake vortex near the sample surface.

PMID- 9984683
TI  - Flux flow and vortex tunneling in two-dimensional arrays of small Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9984685
TI  - Microscopic oscillations in the quantum nucleation of vortices subject to
      periodic pinning potential in a thin superconductor.

PMID- 9984686
TI  - Flux-line dynamics in YBa2Cu4O8 from 89Y NMR.

PMID- 9984687
TI  - Hall effect in moderately clean superconductors and the transverse force on a
      moving vortex.

PMID- 9984688
TI  - Asymmetric response of superconducting niobium-tunnel-junction x-ray detectors.

PMID- 9984689
TI  - Phase-coherent transport in hybrid superconducting structures: The case of d-wave
      superconductors.

PMID- 9984691
TI  - Superconducting instabilities of the non-half-filled Hubbard model in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9984690
TI  - Comparison of critical and lowest-Landau-level scaling of the specific heat of
      several YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9984692
TI  - Interlayer tunneling in a strongly correlated electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9984693
TI  - Vortex lattice dynamics in DyBa2Cu3O7/(Sr1-xCax)RuO3 multilayers.

PMID- 9984694
TI  - Transport and NMR studies of the effect of Ni substitution on superconductivity
      and the normal-state pseudogap in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9984695
TI  - Magnetic behavior in Li-doped La2CuO4.

PMID- 9984697
TI  - Erratum: Strongly nonlinear composite dielectrics: A perturbation method for
      finding the potential field and bulk effective properties

PMID- 9984696
TI  - Comparison of local structure measurements from c-axis polarized XAFS between a
      film and a single crystal of YBa2Cu3O7- delta as a function of temperature.

PMID- 9984698
TI  - Erratum: Frustrated spin-Peierls chains

PMID- 9984699
TI  - Erratum: Quantum nucleation of magnetic bubbles

PMID- 9984700
TI  - Erratum: Molecular dynamics on a realistic model for a strong glass

PMID- 9984701
TI  - Characterization of strain in crystal bilayers using ion-channeling patterns.

PMID- 9984702
TI  - Ab initio simulations of tetrahedral amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9984704
TI  - OH-content dependence of fractoluminescence spectra in silica glass.

PMID- 9984703
TI  - Evidence for the occurrence of a prototype structure in Sc under pressure.

PMID- 9984705
TI  - Pressure-induced thermodynamic properties of atom-vacancy solid solution.

PMID- 9984706
TI  - Capillary-wave roughening of surface-induced layering in liquid gallium.

PMID- 9984707
TI  - Nucleation in disordered systems.

PMID- 9984708
TI  - First-principles study of multiple order-disorder transitions in Cd2AgAu Heusler
      alloys.

PMID- 9984709
TI  - Fragile-glass behavior of a short-range p-spin model.

PMID- 9984710
TI  - Embedded-atom interatomic potentials for hydrogen in metals and intermetallic
      alloys.

PMID- 9984711
TI  - Far-infrared spectra of alkali germanate glasses and correlation with electrical
      conductivity.

PMID- 9984712
TI  - Quantum lattice motion and optical absorption in conjugated polymers:
      Nonadiabatic theory.

PMID- 9984713
TI  - Stability of bipolarons in the presence of a magnetic field.

PMID- 9984714
TI  - Breathing self-localized solitons in the quartic Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain.

PMID- 9984715
TI  - Dynamics of a charged particle in a magnetic-flux lattice.

PMID- 9984716
TI  - Demonstration of Avrami's kinetics: Connection with rate equations for clustering
      on surfaces.

PMID- 9984717
TI  - Observation of a magnetic-field-induced resonance in the homogeneous dephasing
      time for the 1D2-3H4 transition in Pr3+:YAlO3.

PMID- 9984718
TI  - Nonlinear resistivity and critical behavior of metal-overlayer percolation
      systems on epitaxial fullerene films.

PMID- 9984719
TI  - Theoretical study of the spin dynamics in CsNiF3, a one-dimensional ferromagnet
      with planar anisotropy, in an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9984720
TI  - Density-matrix renormalization-group study of S=1/2 Heisenberg spin chains:
      Friedel oscillations and marginal system-size effects.

PMID- 9984721
TI  - Dimerization and incommensurate spiral spin correlations in the zigzag spin
      chain: Analogies to the Kondo lattice.

PMID- 9984722
TI  - Antiferromagnetic interlayer correlations in annealed Ni80Fe20/Ag multilayers.

PMID- 9984724
TI  - Magnetic behavior in a series of cerium ternary intermetallics: Ce2T2In (T=Ni,
      Cu, Rh, Pd, Pt, and Au).

PMID- 9984723
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy in Fe/Cu(001) overlayers and interlayers: The high-moment
      ferromagnetic phase.

PMID- 9984726
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of the dynamics of reentrant Ising spin glasses.

PMID- 9984725
TI  - Dynamic magnetostatic interaction between amorphous ferromagnetic wires.

PMID- 9984727
TI  - Macroscopic quantum coherence of chirality of a domain wall in ferromagnets.

PMID- 9984728
TI  - Quantum theory of the coercive force and the capping effect for magnetic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9984729
TI  - Structure and enhanced magnetization in Fe/Pt multilayers.

PMID- 9984730
TI  - Oscillatory ferromagnetic interlayer coupling of Fe(110) thin films through (111)
      oriented Ag and Cu spacers.

PMID- 9984732
TI  - Magnetic-field and chemical-potential effects on the low-energy separation of the
      Hubbard chain.

PMID- 9984731
TI  - Nuclear-spin-lattice relaxation in natural clays via paramagnetic centers.

PMID- 9984733
TI  - Thermal properties at the low-temperature structural and magnetic phase
      transitions in Pr2NiO4 crystals.

PMID- 9984735
TI  - Spin-wave condensation and quantum melting of long-range antiferromagnetic order
      in the t-J model.

PMID- 9984734
TI  - Numerical model of quantum oscillations in quasi-two-dimensional organic metals
      in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9984736
TI  - Spin-disorder scattering and localization in magnetoresistive (La1
      xYx)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 perovskites.

PMID- 9984737
TI  - Mapping between multichannel exchange models.

PMID- 9984738
TI  - Direct evidence for the effect of lattice distortions in the transport properties
      of perovskite-type manganite films.

PMID- 9984739
TI  - Two- and three-dimensional magnetic correlations of Tb in Pb2Sr2TbCu3O8.

PMID- 9984740
TI  - Vortex dynamics in superfluids: Cyclotron-type motion.

PMID- 9984741
TI  - Microscopic approach to the response of 3He-4He mixtures.

PMID- 9984742
TI  - Theory of magnon-hole interaction for the anisotropic t-J model.

PMID- 9984743
TI  - Superconductivity from doping a spin-liquid insulator: A simple one-dimensional
      example.

PMID- 9984744
TI  - Pressure dependence of out-of-plane conduction in La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9984745
TI  - Subharmonic structures in Josephson tunneling.

PMID- 9984746
TI  - Charge transport and Zener tunneling in small Josephson junctions with
      dissipation.

PMID- 9984747
TI  - Quantum phase transitions in two dimensions: Experiments in Josephson-junction
      arrays.

PMID- 9984748
TI  - Current carried by bound states of a superconducting vortex.

PMID- 9984749
TI  - Superconductivity up to 8.9 K in two-layer RNi1-xCuxBC (R = Y, Lu).

PMID- 9984751
TI  - String model of the Cooper pair in the anisotropic superconductor.

PMID- 9984750
TI  - Current-phase relation in an intermediately coupled superconductor-superconductor
      junction.

PMID- 9984752
TI  - Quasiparticle dispersion of the insulating copper oxide Sr2CuO2Cl2 by employing
      vertical and horizontal double hoppings.

PMID- 9984753
TI  - Magnetic excitation and superconductivity in overdoped TlSr2CaCu2O7- delta : A
      63Cu NMR study.

PMID- 9984754
TI  - Anomalous thermoelectric power of Ag-containing (Bi,Pb)4Sr3Ca3Cu4Ox-type
      superconductors prepared by a glass-ceramic method.

PMID- 9984755
TI  - Anisotropy of the quasiparticle damping in the high-Tc superconductors
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and YBa2Cu3O6.9 as seen from angle-resolved photoemission
      experiments.

PMID- 9984756
TI  - Hall effect in the mixed state of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta detwinned single
      crystals.

PMID- 9984757
TI  - Quasiparticles in the spin-fermion model for CuO2 planes.

PMID- 9984758
TI  - Pressure dependence of the superconducting critical temperature of
      Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+y and Tl2Ba2Ca3Cu4O12+y up to 21 GPa.

PMID- 9984760
TI  - Dipolon-plasmon interaction in high-Tc superconducting materials.

PMID- 9984759
TI  - Gd3+ ESR determination of the local spin susceptibility in Gd:YBa2Cu3Oy high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9984761
TI  - Thermoelectric power of Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7- delta : Contributions from CuO2 planes
      and CuO chains.

PMID- 9984762
TI  - Dimensionality and pinning of magnetic vortices in the c-axis aligned
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta and (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10/Ag tapes irradiated by 5.8-GeV Pb
      ions.

PMID- 9984763
TI  - Comment on "Mechanism of the electric-field effect in the high-Tc cuprates"

PMID- 9984764
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Mechanism of the electric-field effect in the high-Tc
      cuprates' "

PMID- 9984765
TI  - Lattice distortion of NiO under high pressure.

PMID- 9984766
TI  - Crack bifurcations in a strained lattice.

PMID- 9984767
TI  - Insulator-metal transition of fluid molecular hydrogen.

PMID- 9984769
TI  - Temperature dependence of nuclear inelastic absorption of synchrotron radiation
      in alpha -57Fe.

PMID- 9984768
TI  - Infrared response of ordered polarons in layered perovskites.

PMID- 9984770
TI  - Theory of the density fluctuation spectrum of strongly correlated electrons.

PMID- 9984771
TI  - Thermopower and nature of the hole-doped states in LaMnO3 and related systems
      showing giant magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9984772
TI  - Correlation functions in the three-chain Hubbard ladder.

PMID- 9984774
TI  - Weak versus strong universality in the two-dimensional random-bond Ising
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9984773
TI  - Numerical evidence for multiplicative logarithmic corrections from marginal
      operators.

PMID- 9984775
TI  - Specific-heat anomaly in the Ising antiferromagnet FeBr2 in external magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9984776
TI  - Magnetic excitation spectrum of dimerized antiferromagnetic chains.

PMID- 9984777
TI  - Long-range magnetic ordering in the spin ladder compound LaCuO2.5 probed by muon
      spin relaxation.

PMID- 9984778
TI  - 63Cu nuclear relaxation in the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984779
TI  - Frustration-induced Raman scattering in CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984781
TI  - Impurity in a Luttinger liquid: A numerical study of the finite-size energy
      spectrum and of the orthogonality catastrophe exponent.

PMID- 9984780
TI  - Magnetic coupling in thermal-boundary resistance between thin silver films and
      liquid 3He in the millikelvin regime.

PMID- 9984782
TI  - Rehybridization and pairing in the cuprates.

PMID- 9984783
TI  - Lower critical fields of alkali-metal-doped fullerene superconductors.

PMID- 9984784
TI  - Current-voltage scaling of a Josephson-junction array at irrational frustration.

PMID- 9984785
TI  - Resistive quantum oscillations in superconducting aluminum microstructures.

PMID- 9984786
TI  - Pressure dependence of the electronic density of states and Tc in superconducting
      Rb3C60.

PMID- 9984787
TI  - CeRu2: A magnetic superconductor with extremely small magnetic moments.

PMID- 9984788
TI  - Pinning and the mixed-state thermomagnetic transport properties of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9984790
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the superconducting gap
      anisotropy in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x.

PMID- 9984791
TI  - Superconducting fluctuations and 63Cu NQR-NMR relaxation in YBa2Cu3O7- delta :
      Effect of magnetic field and a test for the pairing-state symmetry.

PMID- 9984789
TI  - Absence of a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7- delta films.

PMID- 9984793
TI  - Wide and asymmetric oxygen bond-stretching phonons in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9984794
TI  - Influence of magnetic ordering on the NiO valence band.

PMID- 9984792
TI  - Linear normal conductance in copper oxide tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9984796
TI  - Effect of zero-point corrections and k-point sampling on the structural stability
      determinations of alkali metals.

PMID- 9984795
TI  - Wave propagation in nonlinear multilayer structures.

PMID- 9984797
TI  - Detailed band structure for 3C-, 2H-, 4H-, 6H-SiC, and Si around the fundamental
      band gap.

PMID- 9984798
TI  - One-particle interchain hopping in coupled Hubbard chains.

PMID- 9984799
TI  - Calculations of the one-body electronic structure of the strongly correlated
      systems including self-energy effects.

PMID- 9984800
TI  - Geometrical non-Abelian bosonization approach for the two-dimensional Hubbard
      model.

PMID- 9984801
TI  - Optical activity of small-pitch helical-shaped dielectric media.

PMID- 9984802
TI  - Importance of a finite speed of heat propagation in metals irradiated by
      femtosecond laser pulses.

PMID- 9984804
TI  - Band-tail states and the localized-to-extended transition in amorphous diamond.

PMID- 9984803
TI  - Photonic band structures of a two-dimensional ionic dielectric medium.

PMID- 9984805
TI  - Microscopic identification of the compensation mechanisms in Si-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9984807
TI  - Photoabsorption spectroscopy on isolated GaNAsM clusters.

PMID- 9984806
TI  - Nonlinear picosecond excitation-correlation luminescence due to free electron
      hole pairs in GaAs.

PMID- 9984808
TI  - Intrarow diffusion of Au atoms in the Si(111)-(5 x 2)Au structure.

PMID- 9984809
TI  - Characterization of carbon-carbon bonds on the SiC(001)c(2 x 2) surface.

PMID- 9984810
TI  - Atomic structure of monatomic SB steps on clean Si(001) and Ni-contaminated
      Si(001).

PMID- 9984811
TI  - Binding energies and envelope functions of light-hole excitons in GaAs/InxGa1
      xAs/GaAs strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9984813
TI  - Charged and neutral exciton phase formation in the magnetically quantized two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9984812
TI  - Interwell excitons in GaAs superlattices.

PMID- 9984815
TI  - Frequency dependences in transport through a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid wire.

PMID- 9984814
TI  - Effect of electron-electron interactions on the average polarizability of a
      mesoscopic system.

PMID- 9984816
TI  - Quantum-constriction rectifier.

PMID- 9984818
TI  - Coulomb blockade of activated conduction.

PMID- 9984817
TI  - Radiative decay of collective excitations in an array of quantum dots.

PMID- 9984819
TI  - Persistent current in a one-dimensional ring of fractionally charged
      quasiparticles.

PMID- 9984820
TI  - Potential barriers in quantum Hall devices.

PMID- 9984821
TI  - Multifractality of the quantum Hall wave functions in higher Landau levels.

PMID- 9984822
TI  - Theory of ballistic-electron-emission microscopy of buried semiconductor
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9984823
TI  - Geometry and lattice formation of surface layers of Sn growing on InSb{111}A,B.

PMID- 9984824
TI  - Vibrational analysis of Nin clusters.

PMID- 9984825
TI  - Submonolayer scaling due to coalescence of subnanometric copper clusters on
      alumina.

PMID- 9984826
TI  - STM evidence of room-temperature charge instabilities in NbSe3.

PMID- 9984828
TI  - Dynamics of surface profile evolution through surface diffusion.

PMID- 9984827
TI  - Adsorbate site determination with the scanning tunneling microscope: C2H4 on
      Cu{110}

PMID- 9984829
TI  - Prediction of matrix-precipitate interfacial free energies: Application to Al
      Al3Li.

PMID- 9984831
TI  - Surface conductivity for Au or Ag on Si(111).

PMID- 9984830
TI  - Energy-resolved He-atom-scattering study of Ag(110) up to 900 K.

PMID- 9984832
TI  - Soft-x-ray emission study of Fe/V (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9984833
TI  - Classical singularities in chaotic atom-surface scattering.

PMID- 9984834
TI  - Evidence of charge transfer from Na adatoms to the Cs substrate: A collisionally
      excited autoionization electron-emission study.

PMID- 9984835
TI  - Core hole screening in chemisorption systems: Role of metal-adsorbate pi --> pi *
      charge transfer.

PMID- 9984837
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of red HgI2.

PMID- 9984836
TI  - Hund's-rule effects in the f 1-f 2 Anderson impurity model: Renormalization of
      Hund's-rule Coulomb interactions down to low energies.

PMID- 9984838
TI  - Theory of the optical conductivity of (TMTSF)2PF6 in the midinfrared range.

PMID- 9984840
TI  - Conductivity in a symmetry-broken phase: Spinless fermions with 1/d corrections.

PMID- 9984839
TI  - Conformation and electronic structure of polyethylene: A density-functional
      approach.

PMID- 9984841
TI  - First-principles theoretical study of metallic states of DCNQI-(Cu,Ag,Li)
      systems.

PMID- 9984842
TI  - Self-consistent strong-coupling-perturbation theory for the Anderson model based
      on Wick's theorem.

PMID- 9984843
TI  - Electrical transport properties of semimetallic GdX single crystals (X=P, As, Sb,
      and Bi).

PMID- 9984844
TI  - Conduction-electron spin relaxation and diffusion in the radical cation salt
      diperylene hexafluorophosphate.

PMID- 9984845
TI  - Resonant electron-phonon coupling: Magnetopolarons in InP.

PMID- 9984846
TI  - Neutral manganese acceptor in GaP: An electron-paramagnetic-resonance study.

PMID- 9984848
TI  - Photoinduced absorption and photoinduced reflectance in conducting
      polymer/methanofullerene films: Nonlinear-optical changes in the complex index of
      refraction.

PMID- 9984847
TI  - Nature of optical transitions in the charge-transfer region of ZnS:Co and
      ZnSe:Co.

PMID- 9984849
TI  - Infrared-ellipsometry evidence of disorder-induced vibrational frequency shifts
      in hydrogenated-amorphous-silicon thin films.

PMID- 9984850
TI  - Fourier-transform photoluminescence spectroscopy of excitons bound to group-III
      acceptors in silicon: Zeeman effect.

PMID- 9984851
TI  - Epitaxial growth of Si1-yCy alloys characterized as self-organized, ordered,
      nanometer-sized C-rich aggregates in monocrystalline Si.

PMID- 9984852
TI  - Magnetothermoelectric properties of the degenerate semiconductor HgSe:Fe.

PMID- 9984853
TI  - Finite-size effects in one-dimensional strained semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9984854
TI  - Band dispersions of the pi -bonded-chain reconstruction of Si(111)3 x 1-Li: A
      critical evaluation of theory and experiment.

PMID- 9984855
TI  - Mode locking in quantum-Hall-effect point contacts.

PMID- 9984856
TI  - Weak localization in back-gated Si/Si0.7Ge0.3 quantum-well wires fabricated by
      reactive ion etching.

PMID- 9984857
TI  - Exciton and trion spectral line shape in the presence of an electron gas in
      GaAs/AlAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9984858
TI  - Tunneling between parallel two-dimensional electron gases.

PMID- 9984859
TI  - Dissipative chaos in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9984861
TI  - Effect of strain on a second-order van Hove singularity in AlxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9984860
TI  - Self-consistent calculations and magnetoluminescence studies of strained
      InP/InxGa1-xAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9984863
TI  - Longitudinal magnetoresistance of superlattices caused by barrier inhomogeneity.

PMID- 9984862
TI  - Semiclassical scattering in a circular semiconductor microstructure.

PMID- 9984864
TI  - Integer quantum Hall effect in double-layer systems.

PMID- 9984865
TI  - Electrical properties of undoped GaxIn1-xP/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9984866
TI  - Surface acoustic-wave attenuation by a two-dimensional electron gas in a strong
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9984867
TI  - Multiple edges of a quantum Hall system in a strong electric field.

PMID- 9984869
TI  - Reflectance anisotropy of GaAs(100): Dislocation-induced piezo-optic effects.

PMID- 9984868
TI  - Classical analysis of a network model of quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9984870
TI  - Theory of charge-density and spin-density excitations for two electrons in a
      circular quantum dot.

PMID- 9984871
TI  - Probing optical-phonon propagation in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum-well samples via
      their nonequilibrium population.

PMID- 9984873
TI  - Electromagnetic properties of a dielectric grating. II. Quantum wells excited by
      surface waves.

PMID- 9984872
TI  - Electromagnetic properties of a dielectric grating. I. Propagating, evanescent,
      and guided waves.

PMID- 9984874
TI  - Effect of the spin split-off band on optical absorption in p-type Ga1-xInxAsyP1-y
      quantum-well infrared detectors.

PMID- 9984875
TI  - Electronic properties of the leaky quantum-well system Ag(111)/Au/Ag.

PMID- 9984876
TI  - Quantum transport theory for the ac response of interacting resonant-tunneling
      devices.

PMID- 9984878
TI  - Electron states and microstructure of thin a-C:H layers.

PMID- 9984877
TI  - Microstructure of CuAu-I-type ordered phase in III-V semiconductor alloys grown
      on a (001) substrate.

PMID- 9984879
TI  - Properties of two-dimensional Coulomb clusters confined in a ring.

PMID- 9984881
TI  - Fractal conductance fluctuations in generic chaotic cavities.

PMID- 9984880
TI  - Theory of time-resolved light emission from polaritons in a semiconductor
      microcavity under resonant excitation.

PMID- 9984882
TI  - Nonequilibrium dc noise in a Luttinger liquid with an impurity.

PMID- 9984883
TI  - Ultrathin epitaxial iron films on a highly asymmetrical substrate: Fe/Cu(311).

PMID- 9984884
TI  - Spatial structure determination of ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3)R30 degrees and (1.5 x
      1.5)R18 degrees CO or Cu(111) using angle-resolved photoemission extended fine
      structure.

PMID- 9984886
TI  - Evolution of surface morphology during growth and ion erosion of thin films.

PMID- 9984885
TI  - Influence of multiatom interactions on the shapes and energetics of two
      dimensional homoepitaxial clusters on close-packed metallic surfaces.

PMID- 9984887
TI  - Influence of growth conditions on subsequent submonolayer oxide decomposition on
      Si(111).

PMID- 9984888
TI  - Local magnetic properties and electronic structures of 3d and 4d impurities in Cu
      clusters.

PMID- 9984889
TI  - Surface resistivity induced by isolated atoms and atomic clusters on metallic
      surfaces.

PMID- 9984890
TI  - Coverage-dependent frequency for Li-atom vibrations on Cu(111).

PMID- 9984891
TI  - Characterization of self-limiting SiH2Cl2 chemisorption and photon-stimulated
      desorption as elementary steps for Si atomic-layer epitaxy.

PMID- 9984892
TI  - Mean escape depth of signal photoelectrons from amorphous and polycrystalline
      solids.

PMID- 9984893
TI  - Hindered and modulated rotational states and spectra of adsorbed diatomic
      molecules.

PMID- 9984894
TI  - Thermodynamical study of the interaction between clusters.

PMID- 9984895
TI  - Charge transfer for slow H atoms interacting with Al: Atomic levels and
      linewidths.

PMID- 9984896
TI  - Excitons in solid C60.

PMID- 9984897
TI  - Comment on "Many-body analysis of the effects of electron density and temperature
      on the intersubband transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells"

PMID- 9984899
TI  - Erratum: Environment-dependent tight-binding potential model

PMID- 9984898
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Many-body analysis of the effects of electron density and
      temperature on the intersubband transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum
      wells"'

PMID- 9984900
TI  - Polarization dependence of Born effective charge and dielectric constant in
      KNbO3.

PMID- 9984901
TI  - Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane
      wave basis set.

PMID- 9984902
TI  - Self-consistent relativistic full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker total-energy
      method and applications.

PMID- 9984904
TI  - Spin- and charge-rotation invariant approach to the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9984903
TI  - Estimates of electronic interaction parameters for LaMO3 compounds (M=Ti-Ni) from
      ab initio approaches.

PMID- 9984906
TI  - Phase-conjugated signal induced and enhanced by weak localization of excitonic
      polaritons.

PMID- 9984905
TI  - Differences between random-potential and random-magnetic-field localization in
      quasi-one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9984907
TI  - ac-conductivity measurements on La2NiO4+ delta.

PMID- 9984909
TI  - Large omnidirectional band gaps in metallodielectric photonic crystals.

PMID- 9984908
TI  - Electrons, pseudoparticles, and quasiparticles in the one-dimensional many
      electron problem.

PMID- 9984910
TI  - Electron scattering by a cut-off atomic potential: Application to electron
      properties in atomic liquids.

PMID- 9984911
TI  - Electronic phase transitions in the spin-1/2 Falicov-Kimball model.

PMID- 9984912
TI  - Properties of the layered BaCo1-xNixS2 alloy system.

PMID- 9984914
TI  - Shallow electron centers in silver halides.

PMID- 9984913
TI  - Ab initio optical conductivity in LaMO3 (M=Ti-Cu).

PMID- 9984915
TI  - Nature of the bulk defects in GaAs through high-temperature quenching studies.

PMID- 9984916
TI  - Single-site approximation for the s-f model in ferromagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9984917
TI  - Isotopic effects on the lattice constant in compound semiconductors by
      perturbation theory: An ab initio calculation.

PMID- 9984918
TI  - Ultrafast kinetics of evolution of optical phonons in a photoinjected highly
      excited plasma in semiconductors.

PMID- 9984919
TI  - Hall factor in strained p-type doped Si1-xGex alloy.

PMID- 9984920
TI  - Al-H and Al-D complexes in Si: A uniaxial-stress study of the hydrogen
      vibrational modes.

PMID- 9984921
TI  - Origin of buckling-dimer-row formation of Si(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9984923
TI  - Carrier relaxation and electronic structure in InAs self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9984922
TI  - Evidence for three surface components in the 3d core-level photoemission spectra
      of Ge(100)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9984924
TI  - Self-consistent density of states for a single- and double-quantum-well structure
      in a parallel magnetic field.

PMID- 9984925
TI  - Magneto-optical experiments on GaAs/InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs modulation-doped single
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9984926
TI  - Nature of one-dimensional excitons in polysilanes.

PMID- 9984927
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional electron-hole plasma in a quantum well: Hartree, exchange,
      and correlation energies.

PMID- 9984928
TI  - Systematics of properties of the electron gas in deep-etched quantum wires.

PMID- 9984929
TI  - Magnetoexcitons and correlated electrons in quantum dots in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9984930
TI  - Classical chaos and ballistic transport in a mesoscopic channel.

PMID- 9984931
TI  - Pseudopotential-based multiband k

PMID- 9984932
TI  - Dynamical response of double parabolically graded quantum wells.

PMID- 9984934
TI  - Effects of nonlocal response and level quantization on electronic excitations of
      a bimetallic jellium film in an AlxGa1-xAs heterostructure.

PMID- 9984933
TI  - Plasmon dispersion in strongly correlated superlattices.

PMID- 9984935
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in a double-barrier resonant-tunneling structure with
      three-dimensional electrodes.

PMID- 9984936
TI  - Signal propagation in electron waveguides: Transmission-line analogies.

PMID- 9984937
TI  - First-order resonant Raman scattering under an electric field.

PMID- 9984938
TI  - Phonons in semiconductor planar microcavities: A Raman scattering study.

PMID- 9984939
TI  - Theory of Raman spectra of heavily doped semiconductor multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9984940
TI  - Carrier relaxation and thermal activation of localized excitons in self-organized
      InAs multilayers grown on GaAs substrates.

PMID- 9984941
TI  - Rapid carrier relaxation in self-assembled InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9984942
TI  - Numerically stable Hermitian secular equation for the envelope-function
      approximation for superlattices.

PMID- 9984944
TI  - Fabrication and physical properties of radio frequency sputtered Cd1-xMnxS thin
      films.

PMID- 9984943
TI  - State filling and time-resolved photoluminescence of excited states in InxGa1
      xAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9984945
TI  - Quasiparticle lifetime in a two-dimensional electron system in the limit of low
      temperature and excitation energy.

PMID- 9984947
TI  - Polarized interacting exciton gas in quantum wells and bulk semiconductors.

PMID- 9984946
TI  - Effective-mass theory for InAs/GaAs strained coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9984948
TI  - Numerical calculation of the optical absorption in semiconductor quantum
      structures.

PMID- 9984949
TI  - Conductance fluctuations near the ballistic-transport regime.

PMID- 9984950
TI  - Origin of conductance fluctuations in large circular quantum dots.

PMID- 9984951
TI  - Single-impurity Anderson model out of equilibrium.

PMID- 9984952
TI  - Numerical confirmation of universality of transmission microsymmetry relations in
      a four-probe quantum dot.

PMID- 9984953
TI  - Transport properties of ion-implanted and chemically doped polyaniline films.

PMID- 9984954
TI  - Spontaneous interlayer coherence in double-layer quantum Hall systems: Symmetry
      breaking interactions, in-plane fields, and phase solitons.

PMID- 9984956
TI  - Ultrafast ellipsometry of coherent processes and exciton-exciton interactions in
      quantum wells at negative delays.

PMID- 9984955
TI  - Mossbauer study of the magnetic character and ordering process of the cubic gamma
      -FeSi2 phase obtained by Fe implantation into a Si(100) matrix.

PMID- 9984957
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of nonspecular x-ray scattering profiles from multilayers.

PMID- 9984958
TI  - Scaling behavior in submonolayer film growth: A one-dimensional model.

PMID- 9984959
TI  - Crystal growth and characterization of Cu-intercalated misfit-layer compounds.

PMID- 9984960
TI  - Amorphization in the vicinity of a grain boundary: A molecular-dynamics approach.

PMID- 9984961
TI  - Observation of a superlattice in silver-intercalated NbSe2 by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9984962
TI  - Morphological stability of alloy thin films.

PMID- 9984963
TI  - Final-state magnetic dichroism in Fe 3s photoemission.

PMID- 9984964
TI  - Low-energy electron microscopy study of step mobilities on Si(001).

PMID- 9984966
TI  - Brownian motion and shape fluctuations of single-layer adatom and vacancy
      clusters on surfaces: Theory and simulations.

PMID- 9984965
TI  - Ostwald ripening of two-dimensional islands on Si(001).

PMID- 9984967
TI  - Evidence for a strain-stabilized bct phase of cobalt deposited on Pd{100}: An x
      ray photoelectron diffraction study.

PMID- 9984968
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of ideal and reconstructed alpha -Sn (111)
      surface.

PMID- 9984969
TI  - Electronic effects in scanning tunneling microscopy of graphite: A Green's
      function calculation based on the tight-binding model.

PMID- 9984971
TI  - Structural and vibrational analysis of amorphous Au55 clusters.

PMID- 9984970
TI  - Electronic structure of silver and copper ultrathin films on V(100): Quantum-well
      states.

PMID- 9984972
TI  - A dynamically and kinetically consistent mechanism for H2 adsorption/desorption
      from Si(100)-2 x 1.

PMID- 9984974
TI  - Direct calculation of the two-photon line strength of a Gamma 1g- Gamma 1g
      transition in octahedral symmetry.

PMID- 9984973
TI  - Experimental and theoretical studies of the electronic structure of TiS2.

PMID- 9984975
TI  - Competition between the Mott transition and Anderson localization in one
      dimensional disordered interacting electron systems.

PMID- 9984976
TI  - Bandwidth dependence of insulator-metal transitions in perovskite cobalt oxides.

PMID- 9984977
TI  - Mott transition in degenerate Hubbard models: Application to doped fullerenes.

PMID- 9984978
TI  - Optical absorption of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9984980
TI  - Titanium-hydrogen defects in silicon.

PMID- 9984979
TI  - Optical conductivity of strongly correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9984982
TI  - Nondiffusive excitonic transport in GaAs and the effects of momentum scattering.

PMID- 9984983
TI  - Observation of compensating Ga vacancies in highly Si-doped GaAs.

PMID- 9984981
TI  - Optical detection of electron nuclear double resonance on a residual donor in
      wurtzite GaN.

PMID- 9984985
TI  - Step dynamics and equilibrium structure of monoatomic steps on Si(100)-2 x 1.

PMID- 9984984
TI  - Reconstruction transitions during molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs(111)B vicinal
      surfaces studied by scanning electron microscopy.

PMID- 9984986
TI  - Structure and properties of clean and In-covered Ge(103) surfaces.

PMID- 9984987
TI  - Surface unwetting during growth of Ag on Si(001).

PMID- 9984988
TI  - Topological characterization of delocalization in a spin-orbit coupling system.

PMID- 9984989
TI  - Zero-dimensional excitons in (Zn,Cd)Se quantum structures.

PMID- 9984990
TI  - Quantum wells with zero valence-band offset: Drastic enhancement of forbidden
      excitonic transitions.

PMID- 9984992
TI  - Observation of a D- triplet transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9984991
TI  - Evolution of the interband absorption threshold with the density of a two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9984993
TI  - Frequency-dependent admittance of a two-dimensional quantum wire.

PMID- 9984994
TI  - Thermopower of quantum nanowires in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9984995
TI  - Folded and confined one-dimensional plasmons in modulated wires.

PMID- 9984996
TI  - Pressure and alloy-composition dependence of Al/Ga1-xAlxAs (100) Schottky
      barriers.

PMID- 9984998
TI  - Nonlinear sigma model for partially polarized quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9984997
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of hole plasmons in a valence-band quantum well.

PMID- 9984999
TI  - Composite fermions with orbital magnetization.

PMID- 9985001
TI  - Effects of contact metals on electroluminescence from embedded nanosize-Si
      particle films.

PMID- 9985000
TI  - p- and n-type cubic GaN epilayers on GaAs.

PMID- 9985002
TI  - Optical transitions in beta -FeSi2 films.

PMID- 9985003
TI  - Thermally induced interface degradation in (111) Si/SiO2 traced by electron spin
      resonance.

PMID- 9985005
TI  - Monte Carlo determination of heteroepitaxial misfit structures.

PMID- 9985004
TI  - Grain boundary and surface energies of fcc metals.

PMID- 9985006
TI  - pi -bonded-trimer formation on the clean diamond C(111) surface.

PMID- 9985007
TI  - Structure and contrast in scanning tunneling microscopy of oxides: FeO monolayer
      on Pt(111).

PMID- 9985009
TI  - Magnetically split sp-derived states in fcc-like Fe/Cu(001).

PMID- 9985008
TI  - Mechanically stretched carbon nanotubes: Induction of chiral current.

PMID- 9985011
TI  - Random nucleation and growth kinetics.

PMID- 9985010
TI  - Magnetism of thin Fe films on Cu(100).

PMID- 9985012
TI  - Single C-C bond in (C60)22-

PMID- 9985013
TI  - Use of atomic-force microscopy and of a parallel irradiation geometry for in
      depth characterization of damage produced by swift Kr ions in silicon.

PMID- 9985014
TI  - Calculation of elastic constants in defected and amorphous silicon by quantum
      simulations.

PMID- 9985015
TI  - Ground-state properties and high-pressure phase of beryllium chalcogenides BeSe,
      BeTe, and BeS.

PMID- 9985017
TI  - X-ray study of the ferroelastic incommensurate phase of LiKSO4 under uniaxial
      pressure.

PMID- 9985016
TI  - Phase selection and transformation kinetics in KC60.

PMID- 9985018
TI  - Localization of light for dissipative and disordered one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9985019
TI  - Unpredicted density dependence of hydrogen bonding in water found by neutron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9985020
TI  - Properties of gallium in porous glass.

PMID- 9985021
TI  - Coupled optical interface modes in a Fibonacci dielectric superlattice.

PMID- 9985022
TI  - Localization of light: Dual symmetry between absorption and amplification.

PMID- 9985023
TI  - Method to measure the localization length in one dimension.

PMID- 9985024
TI  - Effect of tunneling disorder on the low-temperature heat capacities of 3He and
      4He in zeolite channels.

PMID- 9985025
TI  - Site correlation, anomalous diffusion, and enhancement of the localization
      length.

PMID- 9985026
TI  - Spin-wave hybridization and magnetic anisotropies in a thick bcc cobalt film.

PMID- 9985028
TI  - Effects of intrinsic spin on electronic transport through magnetic barriers.

PMID- 9985027
TI  - Magnetic properties of M13 clusters (M=Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, and Tc).

PMID- 9985029
TI  - High-temperature thermopower in La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 films: Evidence for polaronic
      transport.

PMID- 9985030
TI  - Vibrational mode of solitons in two-dimensional easy-plane antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985031
TI  - Nonmagnetic impurities in two- and three-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985033
TI  - Exact results for resonating-valence-bond states on two-dimensional (narrow)
      systems.

PMID- 9985032
TI  - Exchange integrals of vanadates as revealed by magnetic-susceptibility
      measurements of NaV2O5.

PMID- 9985034
TI  - Type-II antiferromagnetism in compounds of iron with 4d metals.

PMID- 9985036
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering studies of spin-wave excitations in the pnictides
      MnSb and CrSb.

PMID- 9985035
TI  - Behavior of magnetic impurities in gapless Fermi systems.

PMID- 9985037
TI  - Calculation of the out-of-plane dynamical correlation for CsNiF3.

PMID- 9985039
TI  - Rigorous results for the one-dimensional symmetric Anderson model.

PMID- 9985038
TI  - Correlation of the size effect with the thermoelectric power for the Pr-based
      manganites Pr0.7Ca0.3-xSrxMnO3.

PMID- 9985041
TI  - Oscillatory switching under a rapidly varying magnetic field.

PMID- 9985040
TI  - 1/N expansion for critical exponents of magnetic phase transitions in the CPN-1
      model for 2<d<4.

PMID- 9985042
TI  - Unusual beats of the perpendicular-current giant magnetoresistance and
      thermopower of magnetic trilayers.

PMID- 9985043
TI  - Angular dependence of giant magnetoresistance in a superlattice.

PMID- 9985044
TI  - Density evolution of the kinetic energy of fluid and solid 4He at T=6.1 K.

PMID- 9985046
TI  - Angular dependence of Ic(H) in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tapes.

PMID- 9985045
TI  - Mixed-state magnetoresistance in organic superconductors kappa -(BEDT
      TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9985047
TI  - Synthesis and properties of mixed alkali-metal-alkaline-earth fullerides.

PMID- 9985048
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in uranium intermetallics: Ab initio calculations for
      U2Pd2In and U2Pd2Sn.

PMID- 9985049
TI  - Effects of an anisotropic superstructure on surface phonons: The Bi-O surface of
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9985050
TI  - Low-temperature charge transport in PrBa2Cu4O8: Electronic states of the doped Cu
      O chain.

PMID- 9985051
TI  - Testing the relation of a spin gap to superconductivity in the copper oxides.

PMID- 9985052
TI  - Structural and unique magnetic properties of PrBa2Fe3O8.

PMID- 9985053
TI  - Nature of the pseudogap in the optical conductivity of oxygen-deficient
      YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9985054
TI  - Isotope effect and resistivity in the Hubbard model for d-wave superconductivity.

PMID- 9985055
TI  - Flux-lattice melting in artificially layered superconductors.

PMID- 9985056
TI  - Structural, magnetic, and transport properties of La2Cu1-xLixO4.

PMID- 9985057
TI  - Stripe structure in the CuO2 plane of perovskite superconductors.

PMID- 9985058
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in potassium and chlorine K beta x-ray emission from
      KCl.

PMID- 9985060
TI  - Pressure-induced lattice instability and solid-state amorphization.

PMID- 9985059
TI  - Short-range atomic-structure description of nanometric Si/C/N powders by x-ray
      absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985061
TI  - Pressure-induced phase transformations in amorphous selenium by x-ray diffraction
      and Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985062
TI  - Melting behavior of quasi-two-dimensional N2 adlayers deposited on graphite.

PMID- 9985063
TI  - Evidence of hexatic phase formation in two-dimensional Lennard-Jones binary
      arrays.

PMID- 9985064
TI  - Impossibility of observing a continuous commensurate-incommensurate transition.

PMID- 9985065
TI  - Time-resolved fluorescence-line narrowing and energy-transfer studies in a Eu3+
      doped fluorophosphate glass.

PMID- 9985066
TI  - Charge-transfer excitons in optical-absorption spectra of C60 dimers and
      polymers.

PMID- 9985067
TI  - Heat capacity of Fe3- alpha M alpha O4 (M=Zn, Ti, 0 <~ alpha <~ 0.04).

PMID- 9985068
TI  - Structure of the Jahn-Teller distorted Cr2+ defect in SrF2:Cr by electron-spin
      echo envelope modulation.

PMID- 9985070
TI  - Superspace description of quasiperiodic structures and the nonuniqueness of
      superspace embedding.

PMID- 9985069
TI  - Isotopic-substitution neutron-diffraction studies of (AgI)0.5(AgPO3)0.5 glass.

PMID- 9985072
TI  - Multielectron excitations at the L edges of barium in aqueous solution.

PMID- 9985071
TI  - Transfer matrix of a spherical scatterer.

PMID- 9985073
TI  - Raman studies between 11 and 300 K of the effects of Nd additive in ferroelectric
      lead-titanate ceramics.

PMID- 9985075
TI  - Ab initio molecular-dynamics study of the structural, vibrational, and electronic
      properties of glassy GeSe2.

PMID- 9985074
TI  - Transport of 29 cm-1 phonons in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9985076
TI  - Magnetic state of Ce in thin layers.

PMID- 9985077
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid scaling in heavy-fermion UCu3.5Al1.5 and UCu3Al2.

PMID- 9985079
TI  - Kondo screening of uranium in the dilute system (UxLa1-x)Ru2Si2.

PMID- 9985078
TI  - 3d transition-metal impurities in aluminum.

PMID- 9985080
TI  - Magnetic excitations from the singlet ground state in the S=1/2 quasi-one
      dimensional system Sr14-xYxCu24O41.

PMID- 9985082
TI  - Fermi surface of the one-dimensional Kondo-lattice model.

PMID- 9985081
TI  - Evolution from first-order valence transition to heavy-fermion behavior in YbIn1
      xAgxCu4.

PMID- 9985083
TI  - Magnetism of 3d transition-metal monolayers and two-dimensional Cr clusters
      deposited on Fe(001).

PMID- 9985084
TI  - Relation between anomalous magnetovolume behavior and magnetic frustration in
      Invar alloys.

PMID- 9985085
TI  - Nonreciprocal reflection of infrared radiation from structures with
      antiferromagnets and dielectrics.

PMID- 9985087
TI  - Sompolinsky irreversibility order parameter in random magnetic-anisotropy TbxY1
      xAl2 cubic intermetallics.

PMID- 9985086
TI  - Spin fluctuations in an amorphous alloy.

PMID- 9985088
TI  - Correlation between the structural and transport properties of as-grown epitaxial
      phase-separated Co-Ag thin films.

PMID- 9985090
TI  - Perylene radical cation salts with a five-eighths-filled conduction band: An ESR
      analysis.

PMID- 9985089
TI  - Domain-wall coercivity in ferromagnetic systems with nonuniform local magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9985091
TI  - Magnetic properties of NpGa3 at high pressures.

PMID- 9985092
TI  - Simulation of magnetovolume effects in ferromagnets by a combined molecular
      dynamics and Monte Carlo approach.

PMID- 9985093
TI  - Critical dynamics in the two-dimensional classical XY model: A spin-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9985094
TI  - Incommensurate stripe order in La2-xSrxNiO4 with x=0.225.

PMID- 9985095
TI  - Influence of a Kondo-hole impurity band on magnetic instabilities in Kondo
      insulators.

PMID- 9985096
TI  - Dependence of the interlayer coupling on the thickness of magnetic and outer
      nonmagnetic films.

PMID- 9985097
TI  - Perpendicular interface resistances of sputtered Ag/Cu, Ag/Au, and Au/Cu
      multilayers.

PMID- 9985098
TI  - Copper magnetic centers in oxygen deficient RBa2Cu3O6+x (R=Nd, Sm): An EPR and
      magnetic study.

PMID- 9985100
TI  - Critical properties of two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays with zero-point
      quantum fluctuations.

PMID- 9985099
TI  - Impurity centers in PbTiO3 single crystals: An electron-spin-resonance analysis.

PMID- 9985101
TI  - Nonlocal electrodynamics and low-temperature magnetization of clean high- kappa
      superconductors.

PMID- 9985103
TI  - Accurate analytic expression for the surface tension of a type-I superconductor.

PMID- 9985102
TI  - Thermally activated flux motion in a one-dimensional Josephson-junction array
      with self-inductances.

PMID- 9985105
TI  - Flux jumping in thin films.

PMID- 9985104
TI  - Nonlocal conductivity in the vortex-liquid regime of a two-dimensional
      superconductor.

PMID- 9985106
TI  - Vortex dynamics and defects in simulated flux flow.

PMID- 9985107
TI  - Modes of disorder and plastic flow of flux lines in superconductors.

PMID- 9985108
TI  - Charge-density waves and superconductivity as an alternative to phase separation
      in the infinite-U Hubbard-Holstein model.

PMID- 9985109
TI  - Formation of columnar defects in high-Tc superconductors by swift heavy ions.

PMID- 9985110
TI  - Hole dynamics in doped cuprates: High-Tc superconductivity originated from
      antiferromagnetic exchange as a direct attractive interaction.

PMID- 9985112
TI  - Vortex pairs in charged fluids.

PMID- 9985111
TI  - Interlayer coupling and the thermopower of cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9985113
TI  - Quasiparticle bands and superconductivity in bilayer cuprates.

PMID- 9985114
TI  - Supercurrent and quasiparticle interference between two d-wave superconductors
      coupled by a normal metal or insulator.

PMID- 9985115
TI  - Flux-pinning energy and critical current density in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta
      detwinned single crystals.

PMID- 9985116
TI  - Multiband electronic Raman scattering in bilayer superconductors.

PMID- 9985118
TI  - Flux pinning in Bi-2212/Ag-based wires and coils.

PMID- 9985117
TI  - Angle-dependent reversible and irreversible magnetic torque in single-crystalline
      Y2Ba4Cu8O16.

PMID- 9985119
TI  - Collective-pinning theory and the observed vortex dynamics in RBa2Cu3O7- delta
      crystals.

PMID- 9985120
TI  - Origin of Tc suppression due to R=Eu, Nd, and Pr in superconducting (La1
      xRx)1.82Sr0.18CuO4.

PMID- 9985121
TI  - Transient differential reflectivity and nonequilibrium electron relaxation in Y1
      x-yPrxCayBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9985122
TI  - van Hove scenario and thermopower behavior of the high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9985124
TI  - Growth of YBa2Cu4O8 thin films from sputtered precursors and their thermal
      stability.

PMID- 9985123
TI  - Evidence for 2D-3D magnetic ordering of Gd in high-Tc-related CaGdCuO3Cl and
      Ca4R2Cu3O8Cl4 (R=Gd,Sm).

PMID- 9985126
TI  - Erratum: Dynamical T=0 correlations of the S=1/2 one-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet with 1/r2 exchange in a magnetic field

PMID- 9985127
TI  - Erratum: Calculations of positron lifetimes in a jog and vacancies on an edge
      dislocation line in Fe

PMID- 9985125
TI  - Hole distribution in (Tl0.5Pb0.5)Sr2(Ca1-xYx)Cu2O7 studied by x-ray absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985129
TI  - Microscopic theory of the rhombohedral phase and transition to the monoclinic
      phase of solid C70.

PMID- 9985128
TI  - Observation of interference effects due to multiple reflection of fluorescent x
      rays in an organic thin film.

PMID- 9985130
TI  - Systematic search of materials with high-temperature structural phase
      transitions: Application to space group P212121.

PMID- 9985131
TI  - Total-energy study of electronic structure and mechanical behavior of C15 Laves
      phase compounds: NbCr2 and HfV2.

PMID- 9985132
TI  - Localization transition in three dimensions: Monte Carlo simulation of a
      nonlinear sigma model.

PMID- 9985133
TI  - Mossbauer investigation of intermixing during ball milling of Fe0.3Cr0.7 and
      Fe0.5W0.5 powder mixtures.

PMID- 9985135
TI  - Metal-insulator transition and localization in quasicrystalline Al70.5Pd21Re8.5
      xMnx alloys.

PMID- 9985134
TI  - Mossbauer study of the Fe-Si phases produced by Fe implantation followed by ion
      beam-induced epitaxial crystallization.

PMID- 9985136
TI  - Dynamical transition in sliding charge-density waves with quenched disorder.

PMID- 9985137
TI  - Electron-electron scattering rate in disordered mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9985138
TI  - Interplay between strength of disorder and the measure of chaos in the
      propagation of carriers.

PMID- 9985140
TI  - Acoustical polarons and bipolarons in two dimensions.

PMID- 9985139
TI  - Spectral representations of the electron energy loss in composite media.

PMID- 9985141
TI  - Ground-state energy of an exciton-(LO) phonon system in two and three dimensions:
      General outline and three-dimensional case.

PMID- 9985142
TI  - General properties of a polaron in motion.

PMID- 9985143
TI  - Ground state of a dissipative two-level system: Coupled-cluster approximation.

PMID- 9985145
TI  - Dielectric matrix calculation of the differential cross section for plasmon
      excitation and application to electron diffraction.

PMID- 9985144
TI  - Carbon dependence of Raman mode frequencies in Si1-x-yGexCy alloys.

PMID- 9985146
TI  - Extended model of the channel diffusivity in the rutile structure.

PMID- 9985147
TI  - Zig-zag version of the Frenkel-Kontorova model.

PMID- 9985149
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance of tetrahedral Fe3+ in Bi4Ge3O12 single crystals.

PMID- 9985148
TI  - 1/f noise in nonlinear inhomogeneous systems.

PMID- 9985150
TI  - Comparison of vortex normal modes in easy-plane ferromagnets and
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985151
TI  - Effect of magnetic dipolar interactions on the interchain spin-wave dispersion in
      CsNiF3.

PMID- 9985152
TI  - Columnar dimer and plaquette resonating-valence-bond orders in the quantum dimer
      model.

PMID- 9985154
TI  - Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction across a tunneling junction out of
      equilibrium.

PMID- 9985153
TI  - Heisenberg model with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction: A mean-field Schwinger
      boson study.

PMID- 9985156
TI  - Magnetic properties of chromium chalcogenide spinels: Cd1-xAgxCr2Se4 and Hg1
      xAgxCr2Se4.

PMID- 9985155
TI  - Interplay of the spin-density-wave state and magnetic field in the organic
      conductor alpha -(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4.

PMID- 9985157
TI  - Effect of pressure on Kondo insulators.

PMID- 9985158
TI  - Kondo disorder and non-Fermi-liquid behavior in UCu5-xPdx and CeCu5.9Au0.1.

PMID- 9985159
TI  - Antiferromagnetic exchange in two-leg spin-1/2 ladders.

PMID- 9985160
TI  - Dependence of magnetization reversal on the crystallite size in MnBi thin films:
      Experiment, theory, and computer simulation.

PMID- 9985161
TI  - Spin density and magnetism of rare-earth nickel borocarbides: RNi2B2C.

PMID- 9985162
TI  - Effects of annealing on the magnetoresistance and structure of Fe/Cr(110)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9985163
TI  - Effects of Fano resonances on the interlayer coupling in magnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9985165
TI  - Exact-diagonalization method for correlated-electron models.

PMID- 9985164
TI  - MgO codoping-induced change in the site distribution of Cr3+ ions in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9985166
TI  - Relationship between spin order and transport and magnetotransport properties in
      La0.67Ca0.33Mn1-xAlxOy compounds.

PMID- 9985167
TI  - Magnetotransport and magnetism in single-crystal PrBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9985168
TI  - Numerical calculation of the magnetodielectric anisotropy effect in magnetic
      fluids.

PMID- 9985169
TI  - Spin-up and nucleation of vortices in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9985170
TI  - Continuum electrodynamics of type-II superconductors in the mixed state: The dc
      and ac response.

PMID- 9985171
TI  - Dynamical susceptibility of a thermally excited neutral Fermi-liquid film.

PMID- 9985172
TI  - Spectral properties of the boson-fermion model in the superconducting state.

PMID- 9985174
TI  - Variational state based on the Bethe-ansatz solution and a correlated singlet
      liquid state in the one-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9985173
TI  - Pairing theory of polarons in real and momentum space.

PMID- 9985176
TI  - Magnetic-field-driven superconductor-insulator transition in granular In/InOx
      films.

PMID- 9985175
TI  - Superconducting properties of the attractive Hubbard model: A slave-boson study.

PMID- 9985177
TI  - Hole dispersion and symmetry of the superconducting order parameter for
      underdoped CuO2 bilayers and the three-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985179
TI  - Fractional Shapiro steps in electron interference in the presence of nonclassical
      microwaves.

PMID- 9985178
TI  - Spectral properties of the t-J model in the presence of hole-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9985180
TI  - Superconductivity enhancement in thin films of niobium in superconducting double
      barrier structures.

PMID- 9985181
TI  - Surface superconductivity in the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt3.

PMID- 9985182
TI  - Vortices at planar defects in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9985184
TI  - Critical state of periodically arranged superconducting-strip lines in
      perpendicular fields.

PMID- 9985183
TI  - Edge tunneling of vortices in superconducting thin films.

PMID- 9985185
TI  - Spectral flow, Magnus force, and mutual friction via the geometric optics limit
      of Andreev reflection.

PMID- 9985186
TI  - EXAFS study of local structure at the alkali ions in superconducting K2RbC60,
      K2CsC60, Rb2CsC60, and Rb3C60.

PMID- 9985187
TI  - NMR study in the superconducting silicon clathrate compound NaxBaySi46.

PMID- 9985188
TI  - High-efficiency frequency generation in a periodic array of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9985189
TI  - Thermal conductivity of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9985191
TI  - Density of states and order parameter in dirty anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9985190
TI  - Mechanism for magnetic-flux generation in grain boundaries of YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9985192
TI  - Doping and van Hove singularity dependence of Raman background in dx2-y2
      superconductors.

PMID- 9985193
TI  - Contrasting dynamic spin susceptibility models and their relation to high
      temperature superconductivity.

PMID- 9985194
TI  - Transport properties in the calcium-doped Nd-Ce-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9985195
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission study of Sr2RuO4.

PMID- 9985197
TI  - Vacuum tunneling spectroscopy of high-temperature superconductors: A critical
      study.

PMID- 9985196
TI  - Experimental observation of the lock-in transition in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta
      crystal near the lower critical field.

PMID- 9985198
TI  - Quantum depinning of vortices in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9985199
TI  - Crossover from bulk pinning to geometrical barrier in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox single
      crystal as revealed by a scanning ESR probe method.

PMID- 9985201
TI  - Similar depression of Tc by Zn and Ni impurities in 1:2:3
      (Ca0.4La0.6)(Ba1.35La0.65)(Cu1-zMz)3Oy.

PMID- 9985200
TI  - Temperature dependence of the far-infrared magnetotransmission of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta films.

PMID- 9985202
TI  - Local structure study about Co in YBa2(Cu1-xCox)3O7- delta thin films using
      polarized XAFS.

PMID- 9985203
TI  - Comment on "Superconductivity and Madelung potential of YBa2Cu3O6+x ordered
      superstructures"

PMID- 9985204
TI  - Atypical extended electronic states in an infinite Vicsek fractal: An exact
      result.

PMID- 9985205
TI  - Stacking characteristics of graphene shells in carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9985206
TI  - Pressure and temperature diagram of polymerized fullerite.

PMID- 9985207
TI  - Determination of the local molecular structure in amorphous polyaniline.

PMID- 9985208
TI  - Time-domain observation of nuclear contributions to the optical nonlinearities of
      glasses.

PMID- 9985210
TI  - Magnetization of Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4: A Heisenberg spin-ladder system.

PMID- 9985209
TI  - Coupled spin-boson systems far from equilibrium.

PMID- 9985211
TI  - Quasiparticle energy dispersion in doped two-dimensional quantum
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985212
TI  - Some exact results for the multicomponent t-J model.

PMID- 9985213
TI  - Long-range interactions and nonextensivity in ferromagnetic spin models.

PMID- 9985215
TI  - Exact two-spinon dynamical correlation function of the one-dimensional Heisenberg
      model.

PMID- 9985214
TI  - Intrinsic localized spin-wave modes in antiferromagnetic chains with single-ion
      easy-axis anisotropy.

PMID- 9985216
TI  - Observation of magnetic circular dichroism in resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
      at the L3 edge of gadolinium metal.

PMID- 9985218
TI  - Determination of spin direction in the spin-flop phase of Cr2O3.

PMID- 9985217
TI  - Noncollinear order contribution to the exchange coupling in Fe/Cr(001)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9985219
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance: Comparison of band-structure and interfacial-roughness
      contributions.

PMID- 9985221
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau equations for a mixed s+d symmetry superconductor with
      nonmagnetic impurities.

PMID- 9985220
TI  - Crossover from charge-localized state to charge-ordered state in Pr2/3Ca1/3MnO3.

PMID- 9985222
TI  - Quantum melting of a two-dimensional vortex lattice at zero temperature.

PMID- 9985223
TI  - Nonlocal effects in mesoscopic superconducting aluminum structures.

PMID- 9985224
TI  - Phase-dependent magnetoconductance fluctuations in a chaotic Josephson junction.

PMID- 9985225
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid behavior due to short-range order.

PMID- 9985226
TI  - Signature of the d-wave gap parameter in the field dependence of the
      electrothermal conductivity of high-Tc superconductors up to Tc.

PMID- 9985227
TI  - Flux pinning in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films with ordered arrays of columnar
      defects.

PMID- 9985228
TI  - Effects of Zn doping on the anisotropic penetration depth of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9985229
TI  - Vortex localization in single crystals of Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta with columnar
      defects.

PMID- 9985230
TI  - Heterogeneous electronic structure in CaVO3.

PMID- 9985232
TI  - Unified approach for the calculation of force constants and accelerated
      convergence of atomic coordinates.

PMID- 9985231
TI  - Charge and spin response of the spin-polarized electron gas.

PMID- 9985233
TI  - Low-temperature shear compliance of TaS3.

PMID- 9985234
TI  - Electronic structure and final-state effects in Nd2CuO4, La2CuO4, and Ca2CuO3
      compounds by multichannel multiple-scattering theory at the copper K edge.

PMID- 9985235
TI  - Phonon shifts relating to the defect structure in neutron-transmutation-doped
      semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9985237
TI  - Simple model for local moment formation in amorphous Si.

PMID- 9985236
TI  - Local-field and exchange-correlation effects in optical spectra of
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9985238
TI  - Jahn-Teller effect in the luminescence spectra of ZnS:V+ and ZnSe:V+

PMID- 9985239
TI  - Defect photoluminescence in polycrystalline diamond films grown by arc-jet
      chemical-vapor deposition.

PMID- 9985240
TI  - Localization of two-dimensional electrons in a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9985242
TI  - Influence of the kinetic energy of electrons on the formation of excitons in a
      shallow InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum well.

PMID- 9985241
TI  - Insulating behavior of alkali-metal-covered GaAs(110).

PMID- 9985243
TI  - Temperature-dependent optical anisotropy of the vicinal Si(001):(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9985244
TI  - Finite size corrections to the conductance of ballistic wires.

PMID- 9985245
TI  - Resonant reflection, cooling, and quasitrapping of ballistic electrons by dynamic
      potential barriers.

PMID- 9985246
TI  - Spin resonance in In0.53Ga0.47As under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9985247
TI  - Strain effects on excitonic transitions in GaN: Deformation potentials.

PMID- 9985249
TI  - Direct observation of the c(8 x 8) defect structure on Si(001) using scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9985248
TI  - Early stages of epitaxial growth of vanadium oxide at the TiO2(110) surface
      studied by photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9985250
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of C60/Al(111)-6 x 6: Inequivalent molecular sites
      and electronic structures.

PMID- 9985252
TI  - Comparative study of oxygen double exchange between O2 adsorbate and alkaline
      earth oxides.

PMID- 9985251
TI  - Stress relief via island formation of an isotropically strained bimetallic
      surface layer: The mesoscopic morphology of the Ag/Pt (111) surface alloy.

PMID- 9985253
TI  - Periodic traveling-wave solution of the Sakuma-Nishiguchi equation.

PMID- 9985254
TI  - Collective plasmon excitations in graphene tubules.

PMID- 9985255
TI  - Electronic states of the heteroepitaxial double-layer system: Graphite/monolayer
      hexagonal boron nitride/Ni(111).

PMID- 9985256
TI  - Friedel oscillations in the one-dimensional Kondo lattice model.

PMID- 9985257
TI  - Isochromat photon map induced by scanning tunneling microscopy from gold
      particles.

PMID- 9985258
TI  - Simulations of submicrometer-scale roughening on ion-bombarded solid surfaces.

PMID- 9985259
TI  - First-principles total-energy calculations for planar shear and cleavage
      decohesion processes in B2-ordered NiAl and FeAl.

PMID- 9985260
TI  - Quantum phase transitions involving a change in polarization.

PMID- 9985261
TI  - Correlation effects in MgO and CaO: Cohesive energies and lattice constants.

PMID- 9985262
TI  - Magnetoelectrodynamics of a three-dimensional organic conductor: Observation of
      cyclotron resonance in d2

PMID- 9985263
TI  - Electronic structure of heazlewoodite Ni3S2.

PMID- 9985264
TI  - First-principles investigation of the optical properties of crystalline poly(di-n
      hexylsilane).

PMID- 9985265
TI  - Effect of alloying on the electronic structure in CeNiSn.

PMID- 9985266
TI  - Electronic and volumetric effects in ternary compounds of ytterbium.

PMID- 9985267
TI  - Local approach to electronic excitations in MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO.

PMID- 9985269
TI  - Some properties of the eigenstates in the many-electron problem.

PMID- 9985268
TI  - Electron-hole system revisited: A variational quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9985270
TI  - Stability of charge-density waves under continuous variation of band filling in
      LaTe2-xSbx (0 <~ x <~ 1).

PMID- 9985271
TI  - Exact Friedel oscillations in the g=1/2 Luttinger liquid.

PMID- 9985272
TI  - High-field magnetoconductance in Anderson insulators.

PMID- 9985273
TI  - Correlation effects on electronic and optical properties of a C60 molecule: A
      variational Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9985274
TI  - Electronic structures and optical properties of low- and high-pressure phases of
      crystalline B2O3.

PMID- 9985275
TI  - Oscillatory dephasing in the presence of inhomogeneous broadening.

PMID- 9985276
TI  - Forward and backward self-consistent approach to coherent-light propagation in
      stratified structures.

PMID- 9985277
TI  - Numerical microcanonical ensemble method for calculation on statistical models
      with large lattice sizes.

PMID- 9985278
TI  - Weighted density approximation applied to diatomic molecules.

PMID- 9985279
TI  - Core-electron shake-up spectra of polyenes: A theoretical study on size and site
      dependences and excitonic character.

PMID- 9985280
TI  - Quantum-mechanical derivation of angular and torsional forces in well-bonded
      systems.

PMID- 9985281
TI  - First-principles study on metal-doped icosahedral B12 solids.

PMID- 9985282
TI  - Finite-temperature properties of a gauge theory of nonrelativistic fermions.

PMID- 9985283
TI  - All-electron study of the electronic properties of quartz with Al substitutional
      impurity.

PMID- 9985285
TI  - Unoccupied bulk and surface bands in the Gamma KX- Gamma KX plane of GaAs as
      observed by inverse photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985284
TI  - Low-temperature dynamic susceptibility of thin Cd1-xMnxTe films.

PMID- 9985286
TI  - Theoretical investigations of the interaction between electron and hole polarons
      in thiophene oligomers.

PMID- 9985287
TI  - Impurity modes in the optical stop bands of doped colloidal crystals.

PMID- 9985288
TI  - First-principles study of a tilt grain boundary in rutile.

PMID- 9985289
TI  - Spatial aspects connected with the nucleation process of current filamentation in
      p-type germanium.

PMID- 9985290
TI  - Analysis of space-charge wave effects in GaAs:EL2.

PMID- 9985291
TI  - Puckering models for the Si(113) surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9985292
TI  - Chemistry and electronic properties of metal-organic semiconductor interfaces:
      Al, Ti, In, Sn, Ag, and Au on PTCDA.

PMID- 9985293
TI  - Quasiparticle band structures of clean, hydrogen-, and sulfur-terminated Ge(001)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9985294
TI  - Quantum dot self-consistent electronic structure and the Coulomb blockade.

PMID- 9985295
TI  - First-principles study of the quaternary semiconductor superlattices
      (GaX)1/(YAs)1 (X=N, P; Y=Al, In).

PMID- 9985296
TI  - Theory of anyon excitons: Relation to excitons of nu =1/3 and nu =2/3
      incompressible liquids.

PMID- 9985298
TI  - Compressible and incompressible stripes in a narrow electron channel.

PMID- 9985297
TI  - Cyclotron resonance and spin states in GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs heterojunctions:
      Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9985300
TI  - Drag effect for a bilayer charged-Bose-gas system.

PMID- 9985299
TI  - High-pressure study of optical transitions in strained In0.2Ga0.8As/GaAs multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9985301
TI  - Spin instabilities in coupled semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9985304
TI  - Coupling of surface acoustic waves to a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9985303
TI  - Tunneling properties of AlxGa1-xAs and AlAs barriers studied by ballistic
      electron luminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985302
TI  - Chaotic electron dynamics around a single elliptically shaped antidot.

PMID- 9985305
TI  - Influence of dissipation on quantum Hall plateaus.

PMID- 9985306
TI  - Millikelvin magneto-optical studies of two-dimensional hole systems.

PMID- 9985308
TI  - Inelastic lifetimes of confined two-component electron systems in semiconductor
      quantum-wire and quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9985307
TI  - Acoustoconductivity of quantum wires.

PMID- 9985309
TI  - Theory of phonon shakeup effects on photoluminescence from the Wigner crystal in
      a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9985310
TI  - Raman study of Fano-like electron-phonon coupling in delta -doping GaAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9985312
TI  - Spontaneous symmetry breaking of exciton magnetic polarons in CdTe/Cd1-xMnxTe
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9985311
TI  - Gain spectroscopy of excitonic molecules and its dynamics in a ZnSe single
      quantum well.

PMID- 9985313
TI  - Empirical molecular-dynamics study of diffusion in liquid semiconductors.

PMID- 9985314
TI  - Defect evolution in Co-implanted Si during annealing at 1000 degreesC studied
      using variable-energy positrons and Rutherford backscattering.

PMID- 9985315
TI  - Controlling low-temperature tunneling dynamics with external fields.

PMID- 9985316
TI  - Electronic structure of a model nanocrystalline/amorphous mixed-phase silicon.

PMID- 9985317
TI  - In-plane transport properties of heavily delta -doped GaAs n-i-p-i superlattices:
      Metal-insulator transition, weak and strong localization.

PMID- 9985318
TI  - Binding energy of the complex (D+-X) with Gamma -X mixing in GaAs/AlAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9985319
TI  - Polariton effects in multiple-quantum-well structures of CdTe/Cd1-xZnxTe.

PMID- 9985321
TI  - Nonlinear theory of the current instability in a ballistic field-effect
      transistor.

PMID- 9985320
TI  - Frequency-locked, quasiperiodic, and chaotic motions of current-density filaments
      in a semiconductor device.

PMID- 9985323
TI  - Effect of dissipation on the ac response of a resonant-tunneling diode.

PMID- 9985322
TI  - Superconductor-semiconductor interaction effects in mesoscopic hybrid structures.

PMID- 9985324
TI  - Epitaxial interactions between molecular overlayers and ordered substrates.

PMID- 9985326
TI  - In situ investigation of the catalytic reaction H2 +1/2O2-->H2O on Pt(111) with
      second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9985325
TI  - Charge transfer and surface scattering at Cu-C60 planar interfaces.

PMID- 9985328
TI  - Critical temperature for mound formation in molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9985327
TI  - Structure of the alpha -Cr2O3 (0001) surface: An ab initio total-energy study.

PMID- 9985329
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of the dynamical excitations in commensurate
      submonolayer films of nitrogen molecules on graphite.

PMID- 9985331
TI  - Indium adsorption on the Au(111) surface at room temperature.

PMID- 9985330
TI  - Medium-energy ion-scattering study of the temperature dependence of the structure
      of Cu(111).

PMID- 9985333
TI  - Surface electronic structure of clean and hydrogen-chemisorbed SixGe1-x alloy
      surfaces.

PMID- 9985332
TI  - Solubility isotherms of hydrogen in epitaxial Nb(110) films.

PMID- 9985334
TI  - First-principles calculation of oxygen adsorption on Zr(0001) surface: Possible
      site occupation between the second and the third layer.

PMID- 9985336
TI  - Lifetime of surface plasmons of simple metals: Volume versus surface
      contributions.

PMID- 9985335
TI  - Magnetic dimers of transition-metal atoms on the Ag(001) surface.

PMID- 9985337
TI  - Two-dimensional adatom gas on the Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3)-Ag surface detected
      through changes in electrical conduction.

PMID- 9985338
TI  - Raman study of the polymerized state of RbC60 and CsC60.

PMID- 9985340
TI  - Hydrogen diffusion on Si(001).

PMID- 9985339
TI  - Location of ion-induced surface Auger decay processes from scattered-ion
      measurements.

PMID- 9985341
TI  - Pseudopotential effects in alkali clusters by the pseudo-Hamiltonian technique.

PMID- 9985342
TI  - Theoretical studies of spin-polarized LEED rotation curves: Clean W(100) and Fe
      overlayers on W(100).

PMID- 9985343
TI  - Role of hydrogen in the initial stage of diamond heteroepitaxy on silicon.

PMID- 9985344
TI  - Erratum: Unified treatment of temperature, concentration, and electric-field
      dependences of variable-range-hopping conductivity

PMID- 9985345
TI  - Tight-binding calculation of formation energies in multicomponent oxides:
      Application to the MgO-CaO phase diagram.

PMID- 9985346
TI  - Inelastic neutron scattering from single crystal Zn under high pressure.

PMID- 9985347
TI  - Comparative investigation of elastic diffuse scattering in C60 powders.

PMID- 9985348
TI  - Free-energy calculations of thermodynamic, vibrational, elastic, and structural
      properties of alpha -quartz at variable pressures and temperatures.

PMID- 9985349
TI  - Validity of Avrami's kinetics for random and nonrandom distributions of germs.

PMID- 9985351
TI  - Characterization of radiation-induced lattice vacancies in intermetallic
      compounds by means of positron-lifetime studies.

PMID- 9985350
TI  - Monte Carlo stochastic-dynamics study of dielectric response and nonergodicity in
      proton glass.

PMID- 9985352
TI  - Diffusion of iron and nickel in single-crystalline copper.

PMID- 9985354
TI  - Relaxation of electronic defects in pure and doped La2O3 observed by perturbed
      angular correlations.

PMID- 9985353
TI  - Even-parity excitons in condensed xenon.

PMID- 9985355
TI  - Redistribution of La-Al nearest-neighbor distances in the metallic glass
      Al0.91La0.09.

PMID- 9985356
TI  - Transport properties of random media: An energy-density CPA approach.

PMID- 9985357
TI  - Dynamics in discrete two-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equations in the
      presence of point defects.

PMID- 9985358
TI  - High-pressure Raman study of the N2 stretching vibration in argon-nitrogen
      mixtures at room temperature.

PMID- 9985359
TI  - Raman-scattering study of isotopically engineered crystalline C60.

PMID- 9985360
TI  - Evidence of a critical time in constrained kinetic Ising models.

PMID- 9985361
TI  - Collective particle flow through random media.

PMID- 9985362
TI  - Rotational motion of methyl groups in solids.

PMID- 9985363
TI  - One-center trapping of the holes in alkali halide crystals.

PMID- 9985364
TI  - Single-molecule kinetic energy of condensed normal deuterium.

PMID- 9985365
TI  - Energy relaxation dynamics in the optical excited state of myoglobin.

PMID- 9985366
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation at very low temperature: The spin stiffness of the two
      dimensional Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9985367
TI  - Static and dynamic simulation in the classical two-dimensional anisotropic
      Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9985368
TI  - Transfer-matrix Monte Carlo estimates of critical points in the simple-cubic
      Ising, planar, and Heisenberg models.

PMID- 9985369
TI  - Quantum spin ladders at T=0 and at high temperatures studied by series
      expansions.

PMID- 9985370
TI  - Spin dynamics in magnets: Equation of motion and finite temperature effects.

PMID- 9985372
TI  - Magnon band structure of periodic composites.

PMID- 9985371
TI  - Spin configurations in an amorphous random-anisotropy magnet.

PMID- 9985373
TI  - Growth of stabilized gamma -Fe films and their magnetic properties.

PMID- 9985374
TI  - Interacting small-particle systems: Modified local-mean-field model.

PMID- 9985375
TI  - Theory of interaction of light with an intensive spin wave in a ferromagnetic
      film.

PMID- 9985377
TI  - Shape anisotropy of magnetic heterostructures.

PMID- 9985376
TI  - Angular dependence of the perpendicular giant magnetoresistance of multilayers.

PMID- 9985378
TI  - Magnetoelastic contribution to the interface anisotropy of Pd/Co metallic
      multilayers.

PMID- 9985379
TI  - Magnetization studies of Ho/Y superlattices: Role of magnetoelastic coupling
      effects.

PMID- 9985380
TI  - Structural analysis of CuGeO3: Relation between nuclear structure and magnetic
      interaction.

PMID- 9985381
TI  - Theoretical studies of the temperature dependence of zero-field splitting of Cr3+
      centers in ruby.

PMID- 9985382
TI  - ESR of Gd3+ in magnetically ordered Eu2CuO4.

PMID- 9985384
TI  - Electron-nuclear double-resonance analysis of diatomic sulfur and selenium
      defects in NaBr and NaI.

PMID- 9985383
TI  - d=2 Ising strip with two surface fields solved using the transfer-matrix method.

PMID- 9985385
TI  - Tetragonal domain structure and magnetoresistance of La1-xSrxCoO3.

PMID- 9985386
TI  - Orbital and spin magnetic moments of TPt3 (T=V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co).

PMID- 9985387
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the specific heat over two decades of temperature in
      doped UPt3.

PMID- 9985388
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid theory of a compactified Anderson single-impurity model.

PMID- 9985390
TI  - Transition from magnetic to nonmagnetic ground state in a heavy-fermion compound
      Ce7Ni3 under high pressure.

PMID- 9985389
TI  - Spontaneous behavior and magnetic field and pressure effects on La2/3Ca1/3MnO3
      perovskite.

PMID- 9985391
TI  - Magnetic and transport properties of epitaxial Fe/V(001) superlattice films.

PMID- 9985392
TI  - Vortex line in superfluid 4He: A variational Monte Carlo calculation.

PMID- 9985393
TI  - Nonlinear pattern dynamics in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9985394
TI  - One-dimensional Josephson arrays as superlattices for single Cooper pairs.

PMID- 9985395
TI  - Charge solitons in one-dimensional arrays of serially coupled Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9985397
TI  - Recovery of superconductivity and the critical field in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9985396
TI  - Resonant macroscopic quantum tunneling in SQUID systems.

PMID- 9985398
TI  - Imaginary part of the infrared conductivity of a dx2-y2 superconductor.

PMID- 9985400
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of vortices in ultraclean type-II superconductors: Integrable
      wave equations in cylindrical geometry.

PMID- 9985399
TI  - Spatially resolved observation of the resistive transition in superconducting
      wire networks.

PMID- 9985401
TI  - From BCS-like superconductivity to condensation of local pairs: A numerical study
      of the attractive Hubbard model.

PMID- 9985402
TI  - Bond-charge interaction in the extended Hubbard chain.

PMID- 9985403
TI  - Conductivity onset and superconducting properties of quench-condensed gallium
      films deposited onto different substrates.

PMID- 9985404
TI  - Pressure-induced phonon softening and electronic topological transition in
      HgBa2CuO4.

PMID- 9985405
TI  - First-order melting and dynamics of flux lines in a model for YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9985406
TI  - Superconducting gap symmetries in YBa2Cu3O7- delta compatible with electronic
      Raman efficiencies and the local-density-approximation band structure.

PMID- 9985407
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility and the Landau Fermi-liquid parameter of the Hubbard
      model and the three-band CuO2 model.

PMID- 9985408
TI  - Conductivity peak, relaxation dynamics, and superconducting gap of YBa2Cu3O7
      studied by terahertz and femtosecond optical spectroscopies.

PMID- 9985409
TI  - Quantum creep and pinning properties of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Oxn films.

PMID- 9985410
TI  - Observation of a three-dimensional vortex-line liquid in a highly c-axis-oriented
      (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox silver-sheathed tape.

PMID- 9985412
TI  - Dynamics of a single hole in the two-dimensional t-J model in the presence of a
      magnetic field and the composite nature of quasiparticles.

PMID- 9985411
TI  - Single vortex creep in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 epitaxial thin films.

PMID- 9985413
TI  - Positron annihilation in the epitaxial superconducting thin-film GdBa2Cu3O7-
      delta studied by using a pulsed positron beam.

PMID- 9985414
TI  - Electronic structure of the 1 x 1 YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superlattice: A local-spin
      density approximation with on-site Coulomb interaction.

PMID- 9985415
TI  - Comment on "Fluctuations during freezing and melting at the solid-liquid
      interface of xenon"

PMID- 9985416
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Fluctuations during freezing and melting at the solid
      liquid interface of xenon' "

PMID- 9985417
TI  - High-pressure phase of solid hydrogen sulfide.

PMID- 9985418
TI  - Simple tiling model and phason kinetics for decagonal Al-Cu-Co.

PMID- 9985419
TI  - Quantizing charged magnetic domain walls: Strings on a lattice.

PMID- 9985420
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in the Kondo insulators: Slave-boson approach.

PMID- 9985421
TI  - Intersite Coulomb interaction and Heisenberg exchange.

PMID- 9985422
TI  - RCuO2.66 delafossites: A dilute s=1/2 kagome-like lattice.

PMID- 9985424
TI  - Universal low-temperature properties of quantum and classical ferromagnetic
      chains.

PMID- 9985423
TI  - Spin-glass behavior of frustrated two-dimensional Penrose lattice in the
      classical planar model.

PMID- 9985426
TI  - Interaction effect in the Kondo energy of the periodic Anderson-Hubbard model.

PMID- 9985425
TI  - Biperiodic oscillatory coupling as a function of the thickness of an embedded Ni
      layer in Co/Cu/Co/Ni/Co(100) and selection rules for the periods.

PMID- 9985427
TI  - Invar effect of SrRuO3: Itinerant electron magnetism of Ru 4d electrons.

PMID- 9985429
TI  - Superconductivity in electron liquids with and without intermediaries.

PMID- 9985428
TI  - Magnetic circular x-ray dichroism in transverse geometry: Importance of
      noncollinear ground state moments.

PMID- 9985431
TI  - Flux effect in superconducting hybrid Aharonov-Bohm rings.

PMID- 9985430
TI  - dx2-y2 superconductivity in a model of correlated fermions.

PMID- 9985432
TI  - Fourfold symmetry in the ab plane of the upper critical field for single-crystal
      Pb2Sr2Y0.62Ca0.38Cu3O8: Evidence for dx2-y2 pairing in a high-Tc superconductor.

PMID- 9985433
TI  - Nonlocal effects in the critical state of type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9985434
TI  - Creep of vortices from columnar defects.

PMID- 9985435
TI  - Effect of columnar defects on reversible magnetization of superconducting
      Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta.

PMID- 9985436
TI  - Large effect of columnar defects on the thermodynamic properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8
      single crystals.

PMID- 9985437
TI  - Simultaneous resistivity onset and first-order vortex-lattice phase transition in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9985438
TI  - Tilting of the CuO6 octahedra in La1.83-xEu0.17SrxCuO4 as seen by 151Eu Mossbauer
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985439
TI  - Molecular-orbital theory of monatomic and diatomic substitutional defects as
      shallow n-type dopants in diamond.

PMID- 9985440
TI  - Effect of electron-phonon interaction on a one-dimensional correlated electron
      system.

PMID- 9985441
TI  - Dielectric-matrix calculation of the volume-plasmon dispersion relation for
      silicon.

PMID- 9985442
TI  - Real-space multigrid-based approach to large-scale electronic structure
      calculations.

PMID- 9985443
TI  - Optical properties of solids within the independent-quasiparticle approximation:
      Dynamical effects.

PMID- 9985444
TI  - Electron momentum-space densities of Li metal: A high-resolution Compton
      scattering study.

PMID- 9985445
TI  - Theoretical and experimental study of the graphite 1s x-ray absorption edges.

PMID- 9985446
TI  - Electronic structure and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the alpha, beta, and
      gamma phases of Np.

PMID- 9985447
TI  - Electronic structure and elastic properties of the Ni3X (X=Mn, Al, Ga, Si, Ge)
      intermetallics.

PMID- 9985449
TI  - Temperature dependence of electronic states in the t-J model.

PMID- 9985448
TI  - Divergence of classical trajectories and weak localization.

PMID- 9985451
TI  - Evaluation of matrix elements of the 8 x 8 k

PMID- 9985450
TI  - Magnetic polaron in ferro- and antiferromagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9985452
TI  - Electronic structure of ordered silicon alloys: Direct-gap systems.

PMID- 9985453
TI  - Femtosecond investigation of the hot-phonon effect in GaAs at room temperature.

PMID- 9985454
TI  - Photoluminescence study of cadmium-related defects in oxygen-rich silicon.

PMID- 9985456
TI  - Structure and stability of steps on the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9985455
TI  - Substrate bias effects on the structural and electronic properties of tetrahedral
      amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9985457
TI  - Magnetotransport coefficients in a two-dimensional SiGe hole gas.

PMID- 9985458
TI  - Interband optical absorption in strained InAs/InxGa1-xSb type-II superlattices.

PMID- 9985459
TI  - Phase transitions in quantum dots.

PMID- 9985460
TI  - Magnetophonons in short-period superlattices.

PMID- 9985461
TI  - Electron dynamics in intentionally disordered semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9985462
TI  - Cotunneling in single-electron devices: Effects of stray capacitances.

PMID- 9985463
TI  - Dispersion of bulk exciton polaritons in a semiconductor microcavity.

PMID- 9985464
TI  - Time-domain theory of resonant Rayleigh scattering by quantum wells: Early-time
      evolution.

PMID- 9985466
TI  - Luminescence dynamics in type-II GaAs/AlAs superlattices near the type-I to type
      II crossover.

PMID- 9985465
TI  - Percolation of carriers through low potential channels in thick AlxGa1-xAs
      (x<0.35) barriers.

PMID- 9985468
TI  - Theory of the optical response of a dilute ensemble of semiconducting
      nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric matrix.

PMID- 9985467
TI  - Optimization of the confinement energy of quantum-wire states in T-shaped
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs structures.

PMID- 9985469
TI  - Mode splitting in side emission from vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

PMID- 9985471
TI  - Luminescence from amorphous silicon nanostructures.

PMID- 9985470
TI  - Microscopic calculation of valence-band states in semiconductor structures in the
      presence of a magnetic field.

PMID- 9985472
TI  - Dielectric properties of the quasi-two-dimensional electron liquid in
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9985473
TI  - Composition and structure of the GaN{0001-bar}-(1 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9985474
TI  - Instabilities of a persistent-photoconductivity semiconductor associated with
      heat transfer to a He-II film.

PMID- 9985475
TI  - Competing desorption pathways during epitaxial growth: LEEM investigation of
      Cu/W(110) heteroepitaxy.

PMID- 9985476
TI  - Oscillatory exchange coupling in Fe/Cr multilayers.

PMID- 9985477
TI  - Real-time x-ray-scattering measurement of the nucleation kinetics of cubic
      gallium nitride on beta -SiC(001).

PMID- 9985479
TI  - Excitation of phonons and forward focusing in x-ray photoemission from the
      valence band.

PMID- 9985478
TI  - Determination of the atomic geometries of the (110) surfaces of CuCl and CuBr by
      dynamical low-energy electron diffraction intensity analysis.

PMID- 9985480
TI  - Structure of polygonal defects in graphitic carbon sheets.

PMID- 9985481
TI  - Structural stability of adatom islands on fcc(111) transition-metal surfaces.

PMID- 9985482
TI  - Theory of surface and interface transverse elastic waves in N-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9985483
TI  - Effects of crystalline microstructure on epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9985484
TI  - Structural and electrical properties of a metallic rough-thin-film system
      deposited on liquid substrates.

PMID- 9985485
TI  - Simple model to calculate surface magnetization from spin-polarized metastable
      deexcitation spectroscopy: Fe/Ag(100).

PMID- 9985486
TI  - Charge transfer in hyperthermal energy collisions of Li+ with alkali-metal
      covered Cu(001). I. Dynamics of charge state formation.

PMID- 9985488
TI  - Dynamic polarizability of small simple metal clusters in dielectric media.

PMID- 9985487
TI  - Charge transfer in hyperthermal energy collisions of Li+ with alkali-metal
      covered Cu(001). II. Dynamics of excited-state formation.

PMID- 9985490
TI  - Phonon contributions to photohole linewidths observed for surface states on
      copper.

PMID- 9985489
TI  - Photoionization of metal clusters.

PMID- 9985492
TI  - Effects of orbital degeneracy on the Mott transition in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9985491
TI  - Wave-function and level statistics of random two-dimensional gauge fields.

PMID- 9985493
TI  - Hubbard model versus t-J model: The one-particle spectrum.

PMID- 9985494
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of the charge-ordering transition in La1.67Sr0.33NiO4.

PMID- 9985495
TI  - Force and conductance jumps in atomic-scale metallic contacts.

PMID- 9985496
TI  - 4d resonant inelastic x-ray scattering in gadolinium.

PMID- 9985498
TI  - Orthorhombic symmetry DX centers in S-doped GaSb, GaAs, and AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9985497
TI  - Pressure-induced distortion of the amorphous tetrahedral network in a-GaSb:
      Direct evidence from EXAFS.

PMID- 9985499
TI  - Continuum contribution to excitonic four-wave mixing due to interaction-induced
      nonlinearities.

PMID- 9985501
TI  - Spin splitting of subbands in quasi-one-dimensional electron quantum channels.

PMID- 9985500
TI  - Finite chain-length effect on nonlinear optical response in polysilane as
      investigated by electroabsorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985502
TI  - Current-induced decoupling of edge states in the integer quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9985503
TI  - dc transport in quantum wires.

PMID- 9985504
TI  - Femtosecond luminescence measurements of the intersubband scattering rate in
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells under selective excitation.

PMID- 9985505
TI  - Probing the band structure of a two-dimensional hole gas using a one-dimensional
      superlattice.

PMID- 9985506
TI  - Origin of the surface metallization in single-domain K/Si(100)2 x 1.

PMID- 9985508
TI  - Inhibition of spontaneous emission from quantum-well magnetoexcitons.

PMID- 9985507
TI  - Internal electron-electron interactions in one-dimensional systems detected by
      Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985510
TI  - Theory of electromagnetic response and collective excitations of a square lattice
      of antidots.

PMID- 9985509
TI  - Even-odd correlations in capacitance fluctuations of quantum dots.

PMID- 9985511
TI  - Reflection symmetric ballistic microstructures: Quantum transport properties.

PMID- 9985512
TI  - Dephasing of Bloch oscillations in epitaxial superlattices.

PMID- 9985513
TI  - Distribution of the absorption by chaotic states in quantum dots.

PMID- 9985515
TI  - Composite fermions in tilted magnetic fields and the effect of the confining
      potential width on the composite-fermion effective mass.

PMID- 9985514
TI  - Collective modes and electronic spectral function in smooth edges of quantum hall
      systems.

PMID- 9985516
TI  - Diffusion thermopower at even-denominator fractions.

PMID- 9985517
TI  - Controlling Schottky energy barriers in organic electronic devices using self
      assembled monolayers.

PMID- 9985518
TI  - Superradiant emission from Bloch oscillations in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9985519
TI  - Photoluminescent spectrum and dynamics of Si+-ion-implanted and thermally
      annealed SiO2 glasses.

PMID- 9985520
TI  - Evidence for the presence of the multipole plasmon mode on Ag surfaces.

PMID- 9985521
TI  - Size-related ferroelectric-domain-structure transition in a polycrystalline
      PbTiO3 thin film.

PMID- 9985522
TI  - Bonding properties of Li2Ca and Mg2Ca.

PMID- 9985523
TI  - Orientation and twins separation in a micellar cubic crystal under oscillating
      shear.

PMID- 9985524
TI  - Quantum simulation of high-density amorphous ice.

PMID- 9985525
TI  - Deconvolution of lifetime broadening at rare-earth LIII edges compared to
      resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements.

PMID- 9985526
TI  - Lattice sums as limit values of model liquid energies.

PMID- 9985527
TI  - Effective one-dimensionality of universal ac hopping conduction in the extreme
      disorder limit.

PMID- 9985528
TI  - Strain-induced shifts of the infrared-active phonon of cubic boron nitride.

PMID- 9985529
TI  - Line broadening in the collective dynamics of liquid and solid water.

PMID- 9985530
TI  - Two interacting particles in the Harper model.

PMID- 9985532
TI  - Dilution of a layered antiferromagnet: Magnetism in MnxZn1-xPS3.

PMID- 9985531
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering from La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 exhibiting giant
      magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9985533
TI  - Optimized mean-field theory for the three-dimensional XY spin model.

PMID- 9985534
TI  - Error reduction using covariance in quantum Monte Carlo simulations.

PMID- 9985535
TI  - Single-hole dispersion relation for the real CuO2 plane.

PMID- 9985536
TI  - Overscreened single-channel Kondo problem.

PMID- 9985538
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 and La0.8Ca0.2MnO3.

PMID- 9985537
TI  - 55Mn nuclear-magnetic-resonance study of the GdMn2 hydrides.

PMID- 9985539
TI  - Numerical results for the two-dimensional random-bond three-state Potts model.

PMID- 9985540
TI  - Evidence for low-Fe-moment state and Ru-enhanced antiferromagnetic exchange in
      glassy Fe90Zr10.

PMID- 9985541
TI  - X-ray photoemission measurements of La1-xCaxCoO3 (x=0, 0.5).

PMID- 9985542
TI  - Nuclear resonance small-angle scattering of x rays.

PMID- 9985543
TI  - Classical spins in van Hove superconductors.

PMID- 9985544
TI  - Thermally activated flux creep in K3C60 single crystals.

PMID- 9985546
TI  - Superconductivity in K3Ba3C60.

PMID- 9985545
TI  - Large copper isotope effect in oxygen depleted YBa2Cu3Oy: Importance of Cu
      dominated phonon modes in the pairing mechanism.

PMID- 9985547
TI  - 169Tm Mossbauer-spectroscopy study of the magnetic superconductor TmNi2B2C.

PMID- 9985548
TI  - Line-shape analyses of magnon Raman spectra of a PrBa2Cu2.7Al0.3O7 single
      crystal.

PMID- 9985549
TI  - dx2-y2 symmetry and the pairing mechanism.

PMID- 9985550
TI  - Specific heat and Knight shift of cuprates within the van Hove scenario.

PMID- 9985551
TI  - First-order flux-lattice melting of a frustrated XY model with a

PMID- 9985552
TI  - Site dependence of large oxygen isotope effect in Y0.7Pr0.3Ba2Cu3O6.97.

PMID- 9985554
TI  - Disorder-induced roughening in the three-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9985553
TI  - Universal Hall mobility in c-axis-oriented Y0.5Ca0.5Ba2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9985555
TI  - Constant-pressure first-principles studies on the transition states of the
      graphite-diamond transformation.

PMID- 9985557
TI  - First-principles calculation of positron annihilation characteristics at metal
      vacancies.

PMID- 9985556
TI  - Pretransitional dynamics of the structural phase transition in anthracene-TCNB: A
      comparison of Raman-scattering and inelastic-neutron-scattering experiments.

PMID- 9985558
TI  - Total yield and polar-angle distributions of biomolecules sputtered by fast heavy
      ions.

PMID- 9985559
TI  - Soft-x-ray emission and the local p-type partial density of electronic states in
      Y2O3: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9985561
TI  - Precursor effects and premartensitic transformation in Ni2MnGa.

PMID- 9985560
TI  - Statics and dynamics of incommensurate crystal phases.

PMID- 9985562
TI  - Annihilation of positronium in alpha -SiO2 investigated by combined angular
      correlation and lifetime measurements.

PMID- 9985563
TI  - Low-temperature excess specific heat and fragility in semicrystalline polymers.

PMID- 9985564
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance identification of a -CH2 -dot radical in irradiated
      amorphous SiO2:OH.

PMID- 9985566
TI  - Substitutional disorder in a Fibonacci chain: Resonant eigenstates and
      instability of the spectrum.

PMID- 9985565
TI  - Time-resolved EPR of spin-polarized mobile H atoms in amorphous silica: The
      involvement of small polarons.

PMID- 9985567
TI  - Length scaling of conductance distribution for random fractal lattices.

PMID- 9985568
TI  - Fracture of disordered three-dimensional spring networks: A computer simulation
      methodology.

PMID- 9985569
TI  - Low-lying excitation spectrum of quantum many-body systems.

PMID- 9985570
TI  - Femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy of self-trapping processes of holes and
      electron-hole pairs in alkali bromide crystals.

PMID- 9985571
TI  - Effect of lattice contraction on the Raman shifts of CdSe quantum dots in glass
      matrices.

PMID- 9985572
TI  - Dislocation theory of vibrational excitations in small-angle grain boundaries.

PMID- 9985573
TI  - Nonlinear viscoelasticity determined from internal friction.

PMID- 9985575
TI  - Spin waves in the antiferromagnet perovskite LaMnO3: A neutron-scattering study.

PMID- 9985574
TI  - Itinerant-to-localized electron transition in CaRu1-xSnxO3 and SrRu1-xPbxO3.

PMID- 9985576
TI  - Magnetic vortex mass in two-dimensional easy-plane magnets.

PMID- 9985578
TI  - Magnetic impurity coupled to a quantum spin chain: A quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9985577
TI  - Spiral phase and spin waves in the quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnet
      Ba2CuGe2O7.

PMID- 9985579
TI  - Spin fluctuations in itinerant electron antiferromagnetism and anomalous
      properties of Y(Sc)Mn2.

PMID- 9985580
TI  - Non-Fermi-liquid behavior in an extended Anderson model.

PMID- 9985581
TI  - Finite-size effects in a metallic multichannel ring with Kondo impurity:
      Persistent currents and magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9985582
TI  - Spin waves in antiferromagnetic thin films and multilayers: Surface and interface
      exchange and entire-cell effective-medium theory.

PMID- 9985583
TI  - Formation, propagation, reflection, and collision of microwave envelope solitons
      in yttrium iron garnet films.

PMID- 9985584
TI  - Critical behavior of the uniaxial ferromagnetic monolayer Fe(110) on W(110).

PMID- 9985585
TI  - X-ray-scattering study of the two magnetic correlation lengths in uranium
      antimonide.

PMID- 9985586
TI  - Magnetic disaccommodation phenomena in rare-earth intermetallic compounds.

PMID- 9985587
TI  - Dynamic susceptibility of a strong random anisotropy magnet.

PMID- 9985588
TI  - Magnetism of HgSe:Fe.

PMID- 9985589
TI  - High-frequency domain wall excitations in magnetic garnet films with in-plane
      magnetization.

PMID- 9985590
TI  - Field-dependent thermoelectric power and thermal conductivity in multilayered and
      granular giant magnetoresistive systems.

PMID- 9985591
TI  - Oxygen vacancies in BaTiO3.

PMID- 9985592
TI  - Recovery of nuclear magnetization under extreme inhomogeneous broadening.

PMID- 9985593
TI  - Magnetic properties and colossal magnetoresistance of La(Ca)MnO3 materials doped
      with Fe.

PMID- 9985595
TI  - Modification of the magnetic-field dependence of the Peierls transition by a
      magnetic chain.

PMID- 9985594
TI  - Structural changes and related effects due to charge ordering in Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3.

PMID- 9985596
TI  - Effects of band structure and spin-independent disorder on conductivity and giant
      magnetoresistance in Co/Cu and Fe/Cr multilayers.

PMID- 9985598
TI  - Transport properties of Co-Ni superlattices.

PMID- 9985597
TI  - Hall effect and thermoelectric power in UNiGa.

PMID- 9985599
TI  - Electronic and magnetic properties of single-crystal YNi2B2C from 11B and 89Y NMR
      and magnetic-susceptibility measurements.

PMID- 9985600
TI  - Temperature dependence of the magnetic circular dichroism of the c(2 x 2) Mn/Ni
      (100) surface alloy.

PMID- 9985601
TI  - Angle-resolved x-ray circular and magnetic circular dichroisms: Definitions and
      applications.

PMID- 9985602
TI  - Theory of the charged Bose gas: Bose-Einstein condensation in an ultrahigh
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9985603
TI  - Vortex pinning by cylindrical defects in type-II superconductors: Numerical
      solutions to the Ginzburg-Landau equations.

PMID- 9985604
TI  - Minisubbands in electron excitation spectra of layered short-coherence-length
      superconductors.

PMID- 9985605
TI  - Heavy quasiparticles and Cooper-pair interaction in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9985606
TI  - Electromagnetic response of the gauge-field model.

PMID- 9985607
TI  - Effects of 3.1-MeV proton and 1-GeV Au-ion irradiation on the magnetic flux noise
      and critical current of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9985608
TI  - Thermally activated escape from the zero-voltage state in long Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9985609
TI  - Magnetic force acting on a magnetic dipole over a superconducting thin film.

PMID- 9985610
TI  - Nucleation, pinning, and flow of vortices in Josephson-junction arrays with
      defects.

PMID- 9985611
TI  - Magnetic field decoupling and 3D-2D crossover in Nb/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9985613
TI  - Role of anisotropic impurity scattering in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9985612
TI  - Microstructural properties of Bi2Sr2Can-1CunOy multilayers grown by molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9985614
TI  - Force-balance equation for a pinned lattice of Abrikosov vortices.

PMID- 9985615
TI  - Interplay among critical temperature, hole content, and pressure in the cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9985616
TI  - c-axis ac susceptibility in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9985617
TI  - Cumulant approach to weakly doped antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9985618
TI  - Nonlinear microwave absorption in weak-link Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9985619
TI  - Nonlinear transverse magnetic moment in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9985621
TI  - Angular dependence of the irreversible magnetization of YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting
      thin films.

PMID- 9985620
TI  - Surface impedance of YBa2Cu3O7/Y0.6Pr0.4Ba2Cu3O7 bilayers: Possible evidence for
      the proximity effect.

PMID- 9985622
TI  - One-dimensional Brownian-motion model for transport measurements in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9985623
TI  - Origin of the irreversibility line in thin YBa2Cu3O7- delta films with and
      without columnar defects.

PMID- 9985625
TI  - Comment on "Observation of a possible oxygen isotope effect on the effective mass
      of carriers in YBa2Cu3O6.94"

PMID- 9985624
TI  - Strong dependence on doping of a low-activation-energy relaxation process in
      YBa2Cu3O6+x: Possible polaron relaxation.

PMID- 9985626
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Observation of a possible oxygen isotope effect on the
      effective mass of carriers in YBa2Cu3O6.94' "

PMID- 9985627
TI  - Erratum: Electronic Raman scattering in superconductors as a probe of anisotropic
      electron pairing

PMID- 9985628
TI  - Erratum: Symmetry dependence of phonon line shapes in superconductors with
      anisotropic gaps

PMID- 9985629
TI  - Erratum: Evolution from the vortex state to the critical state in a square
      columnar Josephson-junction array

PMID- 9985630
TI  - Erratum: Symmetry of trapped-field profiles in square columnar Josephson-junction
      arrays

PMID- 9985632
TI  - Evidence of a structural transition of the sixfold molybdenum coordination in the
      oxides: A statistical approach.

PMID- 9985631
TI  - Infrared absorption study of the hydrogen-bond symmetrization in ice to 110 GPa.

PMID- 9985633
TI  - Transferable model for the atomistic simulation of Al2O3.

PMID- 9985634
TI  - Growth phenomenon in amorphous solids irradiated with GeV heavy ions: Electronic
      energy-loss dependence of the initial growth rate.

PMID- 9985635
TI  - Behavior of the elastic properties near an intermediate phase transition in
      Ni2MnGa.

PMID- 9985636
TI  - Theory of nonclassical surface nucleation at change of volume transitions.

PMID- 9985638
TI  - Third-order dielectric susceptibility in a model quantum paraelectric.

PMID- 9985637
TI  - Phase transitions in lithium ammonium sulfate below room temperature: An
      ultrasonic study.

PMID- 9985639
TI  - Scintillation and ionization in allene-doped liquid argon irradiated with 18O and
      36Ar ions of 30 MeV/u.

PMID- 9985640
TI  - Phase diagram of carbon at high pressures and temperatures.

PMID- 9985642
TI  - Three-dimensional model of quasicrystalline atomic structure.

PMID- 9985641
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of thermodynamical properties of liquid copper.

PMID- 9985643
TI  - Fluctuation-dissipation theorem for frequency-dependent specific heat.

PMID- 9985644
TI  - Geometrical confinement and cooperativity in supercooled liquids studied by
      solvation dynamics.

PMID- 9985645
TI  - Anomalous behavior of the longitudinal mode Gruneisen parameter around the glass
      transition as revealed by Brillouin spectroscopy: Polyvinylacetate.

PMID- 9985646
TI  - Computational materials synthesis. I. A tight-binding scheme for hydrocarbons.

PMID- 9985647
TI  - Computational materials synthesis. II. A study of polymerization.

PMID- 9985648
TI  - Computational materials synthesis. III. Synthesis of hydrogenated amorphous
      carbon from molecular precursors.

PMID- 9985649
TI  - Site identification of protons in SrTiO3: Mechanism for large protonic
      conduction.

PMID- 9985651
TI  - Cooling-rate effects in amorphous silica: A computer-simulation study.

PMID- 9985650
TI  - Resonant and phonon-assisted excitation energy transfer in the R1 line of

PMID- 9985652
TI  - Perturbative renormalization group, exact results, and high-temperature series to
      order 21 for the N-vector spin models on the square lattice.

PMID- 9985653
TI  - Microscopic origin of dimerization in the CuO2 chains in Sr14Cu24O41.

PMID- 9985654
TI  - Presence of midgap states in CaV4O9.

PMID- 9985656
TI  - Specific heat of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet by a renormalization
      group approach.

PMID- 9985655
TI  - Dynamic critical exponents and sample independence times for the classical
      Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9985657
TI  - Pairing and phase separation in a one-dimensional spin-bag liquid.

PMID- 9985658
TI  - Cavity-fields approach to a simple model of axial quadrupolar glass.

PMID- 9985659
TI  - Magnetic phase transitions in the UFe1-xCoxAl system.

PMID- 9985660
TI  - Numerical renormalization-group study of a Kondo hole in a one-dimensional Kondo
      insulator.

PMID- 9985661
TI  - Magnetic phases of CsCuCl3: Anomalous critical behavior.

PMID- 9985662
TI  - Neutron study of the frustrated spinel compound Mg1+tFe2-2tTitO4 (t=0.55).

PMID- 9985663
TI  - Magnetic structure and anisotropy of thin Fe films on Cu(001) substrates.

PMID- 9985664
TI  - Effects of the surface and interface on the magneto-optical properties in (Co,
      Ni)/Cu(001) ultrathin films.

PMID- 9985665
TI  - Magnetoresistance and magnetization of Fe/Cr(001) superlattices with noncollinear
      magnetic ordering.

PMID- 9985666
TI  - Crystal and magnetic structures of the colossal magnetoresistance manganates Sr2
      xNd1+xMn2O7 (x=0.0, 0.1).

PMID- 9985667
TI  - Microscopic model of dispersive-motion relaxation.

PMID- 9985668
TI  - Electric-field gradient at the Fe nucleus in epsilon -FeSi.

PMID- 9985669
TI  - Self-consistency and symmetry in d dimensions.

PMID- 9985670
TI  - Line of multicritical Lifshitz points in the phase diagram of MnP.

PMID- 9985671
TI  - Time-integrated nuclear resonant forward scattering of synchrotron radiation.

PMID- 9985672
TI  - X-ray resonant Raman scattering in the rare earths.

PMID- 9985673
TI  - Vortex lines in the three-dimensional XY model with random phase shifts.

PMID- 9985674
TI  - Rapid suppression of the spin gap in Zn-doped CuGeO3 and SrCu2O3.

PMID- 9985676
TI  - Magnetoresistance of the spin-state-transition compound La1-xSrxCoO3.

PMID- 9985675
TI  - Magnetoresistive effects associated with the field-induced suppression of the
      antiferromagnetic transition in Ce(Fe0.92Ru0.08)2.

PMID- 9985677
TI  - Pauli limiting of the upper critical magnetic field for d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9985679
TI  - Solvable model for an impurity spin coupled to a one-dimensional superconductor.

PMID- 9985678
TI  - Temperature, current, and magnetic-field dependence of the activation energy in
      the vortex-glass phase of (K,Ba)BiO3 single crystals.

PMID- 9985681
TI  - Temperature and magnetic-field dependence of the superconducting order parameter
      in Zn studied by point-contact spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985680
TI  - Equilibrium properties of a Josephson-junction ladder with screening effects.

PMID- 9985682
TI  - Critical current and self-consistent order parameter of a superconductor-normal
      metal-superconductor junction.

PMID- 9985684
TI  - 13C NMR line-shape studies of the organic superconductor kappa -(ET)2Cu

PMID- 9985683
TI  - Inducing the paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb disks by surface ion
      implantation.

PMID- 9985685
TI  - Spatiotemporal dynamics and plastic flow of vortices in superconductors with
      periodic arrays of pinning sites.

PMID- 9985687
TI  - Electronic structure and electron-phonon coupling in stoichiometric and defective
      hydrides MPdH3 (M=Ca, Sr, Eu, Yb).

PMID- 9985686
TI  - Heat capacity of pancake vortices in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9985688
TI  - Superfluid-Bose-glass transition in weakly disordered commensurate one
      dimensional system.

PMID- 9985689
TI  - Quantum cavitation in liquid helium.

PMID- 9985690
TI  - Exponentially tapered Josephson flux-flow oscillator.

PMID- 9985691
TI  - Oxygen distribution, incommensurate modulation, and structural disorder in
      Bi2Sr2Ca1-yYyCu2O8+ delta and Bi10Sr15Fe10O46 single crystals.

PMID- 9985692
TI  - Magnetic properties: Mossbauer, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and specific-heat
      studies of Pr1.5Ce0.5MSr2Cu2Oz (M=Ta, In, Nb, Nb+Ga) compounds.

PMID- 9985693
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of defects in d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9985695
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo evidence for d-wave pairing in the two-dimensional Hubbard
      model at a van Hove singularity.

PMID- 9985694
TI  - Bilayer coupling in the yttrium-barium family of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9985696
TI  - I-V characteristics of Josephson-coupled layered superconductors with
      longitudinal plasma excitations.

PMID- 9985697
TI  - Density-functional theory of flux-lattice melting in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9985698
TI  - Vortex pinning in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 tapes irradiated by ions.

PMID- 9985699
TI  - Anisotropy of flux dynamics for YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9985700
TI  - d-wave superconductivity near charge instabilities.

PMID- 9985702
TI  - Changes of the local oxygen content and ordering at twin boundaries of high-Tc
      YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors.

PMID- 9985701
TI  - Oxygen content and superconductivity in Y0.8Ca0.2Ba2Cu3Oy (y=6.03-6.89).

PMID- 9985703
TI  - Transport properties of an engineered

PMID- 9985704
TI  - Synthesis and characterization of single crystals of the superconductors
      Hg0.8Bi0.2Ba2Can-1CunO2n+2+ delta (n=2,3).

PMID- 9985705
TI  - Spin dynamics in the Nd2-xCexCuO4 system: Estimation of the rate of spin
      fluctuations.

PMID- 9985706
TI  - Oxygen diffusion in epitaxial GdBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9985708
TI  - Structure and properties of microporous titanosilicate determined by first
      principles calculations.

PMID- 9985707
TI  - Direct observation of the current distribution in thin superconducting strips
      using magneto-optic imaging.

PMID- 9985709
TI  - Raman excitations and orientational ordering in deuterium at high pressure.

PMID- 9985710
TI  - Systematic approach to generate near-perfect periodic continuous random network
      models: Application to amorphous Si3N4.

PMID- 9985711
TI  - Local structure and symmetry elements of the decagonal quasicrystal Al70Co15Ni15.

PMID- 9985712
TI  - High-pressure Raman spectroscopy of solid oxygen.

PMID- 9985713
TI  - Evidence of magnetization-dependent polaron distortion in La1-xAxMnO3, A=Ca, Pb.

PMID- 9985714
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of the incommensurate phase of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9985715
TI  - Stabilization of local moments in gapless Fermi systems.

PMID- 9985716
TI  - Magnetic dichroism in photoemission as a spin-resolving probe for electronic
      correlations.

PMID- 9985717
TI  - Cation disorder and size effects in magnetoresistive manganese oxide perovskites.

PMID- 9985718
TI  - Magnetic ordering in the S=1/2 quasi-one-dimensional compound La6Ca8Cu24O41.

PMID- 9985719
TI  - Grain-boundary effects on the magnetoresistance properties of perovskite
      manganite films.

PMID- 9985720
TI  - Optical observation of the interplay between magnetic and elastic energy in a
      spin-Peierls system.

PMID- 9985721
TI  - X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the iron K edge in rare-earth-transition
      metal intermetallics: Experimental probe of the rare-earth magnetic moment.

PMID- 9985722
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the pairing correlation in the Hubbard ladder.

PMID- 9985723
TI  - Simulating the time-dependent dx2-y2 Ginzburg-Landau equations using the finite
      element method.

PMID- 9985724
TI  - Evidence for a quantum-vortex-liquid regime in ultrathin superconducting films.

PMID- 9985726
TI  - Coulomb correlations and pseudogap effects in a preformed pair model for the
      cuprates.

PMID- 9985725
TI  - Superconductivity of fcc fullerides containing off-centered octahedral cations.

PMID- 9985727
TI  - Dimensional crossover in the magnetic phase diagram of Bi2.15Sr1.85CaCu2O8+ delta
      crystals with different oxygen stoichiometry.

PMID- 9985728
TI  - Anomalous superconducting state gap size versus Tc behavior in underdoped
      Bi2Sr2Ca1-xDyxCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9985729
TI  - Rapid suppression of the superconducting gap in overdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9985730
TI  - Random-matrix theory of impurity band tails.

PMID- 9985731
TI  - Analytic solution for the ground-state energy of the extensive many-body problem.

PMID- 9985732
TI  - Simplex method for calculating two-particle spectral densities in two-dimensional
      interacting electron systems.

PMID- 9985733
TI  - Population analysis of plane-wave electronic structure calculations of bulk
      materials.

PMID- 9985734
TI  - Calculated high-pressure-induced electronic and structural phase transitions in
      Sr and Yb up to 50 kbar.

PMID- 9985735
TI  - Electronic structure, cohesive properties, and phase stability of crystalline
      metastable phases in Ni-Mo systems.

PMID- 9985736
TI  - Resonant photoemission study of pyrite-type NiS2, CoS2 and FeS2.

PMID- 9985738
TI  - RKKY interaction and Kondo screening cloud for strongly correlated electrons.

PMID- 9985737
TI  - Role of edge electron states in the formation of edge magnetoplasmons.

PMID- 9985740
TI  - Nonequilibrium carrier-carrier scattering in two-dimensional carrier systems.

PMID- 9985739
TI  - Frequency locking and nonlocal transport in charge-density-wave conductors.

PMID- 9985741
TI  - Nonlinear susceptibility of periodic composites with shell structure.

PMID- 9985742
TI  - Experimental evaluation of the electron-intramolecular-vibration coupling
      constants of tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene.

PMID- 9985744
TI  - X-ray resonant Raman scattering in NiO: Resonant enhancement of the charge
      transfer excitations.

PMID- 9985743
TI  - Effect of interchain separation on the photoinduced absorption spectra of
      polycarbazolyldiacetylenes.

PMID- 9985745
TI  - Bipolaron-induced third-order optical nonlinearity in conjugated conducting
      polymers.

PMID- 9985747
TI  - Raman scattering from optical phonons in InAs1-xSbx/InAs strained-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9985746
TI  - Binding energy for the intrinsic excitons in wurtzite GaN.

PMID- 9985748
TI  - X-ray-reflectivity study of Ge-Si-Ge films.

PMID- 9985749
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of size-dependent strain in quantum-wire structures.

PMID- 9985750
TI  - Dynamical simulation of optical phonon transfer in the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs
      single-barrier structure.

PMID- 9985751
TI  - Stokes shift in quantum wells: Trapping versus thermalization.

PMID- 9985752
TI  - Valley splitting in triangular Si(001) quantum wells.

PMID- 9985753
TI  - Even-odd filling-factor switching in one-dimensional lateral superlattices.

PMID- 9985754
TI  - Resonant magnetotunneling through individual self-assembled InAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9985755
TI  - Hydrogenic impurities in a quantum well wire in intense, high-frequency laser
      fields.

PMID- 9985756
TI  - Edge and bulk transport in variably connected quantum Hall conductor.

PMID- 9985757
TI  - Quantum Hall transitions in (TMTSF)2PF6.

PMID- 9985758
TI  - Effect of Coulomb enhancement on optical gain in (Zn,Cd)Se/ZnSe multiple quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9985759
TI  - Photoluminescence properties of surface-oxidized Ge nanocrystals: Surface
      localization of excitons.

PMID- 9985760
TI  - Coherence transfer via resonance Rayleigh scattering of exciton polaritons in a
      semiconductor microcavity.

PMID- 9985761
TI  - Spatial dependence of the strain-induced coupling in highly strained quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9985763
TI  - Equilibrium shape equation and possible shapes of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9985762
TI  - Composite fermions on a Haldane sphere: Quasielectron-quasihole symmetry.

PMID- 9985764
TI  - Mechanism for island formation during low-temperature growth on (100) surfaces of
      fcc metals.

PMID- 9985765
TI  - Adsorption sites and surface vibrations of the Cu(110)-(2 x 3)-N surface.

PMID- 9985766
TI  - Picosecond photoluminescence decay of Si-doped chemical-vapor-deposited diamond
      films.

PMID- 9985767
TI  - Localized electromagnetic modes in nonlinear superlattices.

PMID- 9985768
TI  - Exponential scaling of sputtered negative-ion yields with transient work-function
      changes on Cs+-bombarded surfaces.

PMID- 9985769
TI  - Strain-induced distortion of the bulk bands of gadolinium.

PMID- 9985771
TI  - Linear-response theory and lattice dynamics: A muffin-tin-orbital approach.

PMID- 9985770
TI  - Optimal basis sets for detailed Brillouin-zone integrations.

PMID- 9985773
TI  - KKR-ASA method in exact exchange-potential band-structure calculations.

PMID- 9985772
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions and related physical properties of metals from
      linear-response theory.

PMID- 9985774
TI  - Robust localized-orbital transferability using the Harris functional.

PMID- 9985776
TI  - Generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation hole of a many
      electron system.

PMID- 9985775
TI  - One-particle spectral weight of the three-dimensional single-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9985777
TI  - Electron energy spectra of one-dimensional nondiagonal nonperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9985778
TI  - Electronic structure of normal, inverse, and partially inverse spinels in the
      MgAl2O4 system.

PMID- 9985779
TI  - Effect of dispersion in the f band of the one-dimensional Anderson lattice model.

PMID- 9985781
TI  - Hydrostatic pressure effects on the free and self-trapped exciton states in CsI.

PMID- 9985780
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in oxygen-deficient LaNiO3-x perovskites.

PMID- 9985782
TI  - Searches for charge-density waves in the alkali metals: Recent neutron-scattering
      results for sodium.

PMID- 9985783
TI  - Electron-phonon scattering contributions to metallic resistivity at 0 K.

PMID- 9985784
TI  - High-temperature thermopower of LaMnO3 and related systems.

PMID- 9985785
TI  - Magnetoimpurity theory of resistivity and magnetoresistance for degenerate
      ferromagnetic semiconductors of the LaMnO3 type.

PMID- 9985786
TI  - Ultraviolet photorefraction and the superionic phase transition of alpha -LiIO3.

PMID- 9985787
TI  - Auger decay of degenerate and Bose-condensed excitons in Cu2O.

PMID- 9985788
TI  - Photoinduced conversion of optically active defects in germanium-doped silica.

PMID- 9985790
TI  - Nonlinear Berry phases for simple band representations. II. Bloch and Wannier
      functions composed of Gaussian orbitals.

PMID- 9985789
TI  - Oxygen 1s x-ray-absorption near-edge structure of Zn-Ni ferrites: A comparison
      with the theoretical calculations.

PMID- 9985791
TI  - Thermopower and high-pressure electrical conductivity measurements of template
      synthesized polypyrrole.

PMID- 9985793
TI  - Spin-density-wave instabilities for imperfectly nested Fermi surfaces:
      Application to BEDT-TTF salts.

PMID- 9985792
TI  - Carbon atomic chains in strong electric fields.

PMID- 9985794
TI  - Valence band of LiNixMn2-xO4 and its effects on the voltage profiles of LiNixMn2
      xO4/Li electrochemical cells.

PMID- 9985795
TI  - Ab initio study of oxygen point defects in GaAs, GaN, and AlN.

PMID- 9985796
TI  - Ion-beam processing of silicon at keV energies: A molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9985798
TI  - Local relaxations and electric-field gradient at the Cd site in heavily doped
      Si:Cd.

PMID- 9985797
TI  - Energy-level dynamics of deep gap states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon under
      illumination.

PMID- 9985799
TI  - Luminescence-intensity kinetics due to nonradiative capture by multiphonon
      emission in highly excited CdS and CdSe crystals.

PMID- 9985800
TI  - Higher-interband electroreflectance of long-range ordered Ga0.5In0.5P.

PMID- 9985801
TI  - Nitrogen interstitials in diamond.

PMID- 9985802
TI  - Pulse-propagation-induced higher orders of diffraction in transient four-wave
      mixing with semiconductors.

PMID- 9985804
TI  - Geometry and electronic structure of GaAs(001)(2 x 4) reconstructions.

PMID- 9985803
TI  - Traveling carrier-density waves in n-type GaAs at low-temperature impurity
      breakdown.

PMID- 9985806
TI  - Higher-order results for the relation between channel conductance and the Coulomb
      blockade for two tunnel-coupled quantum dots.

PMID- 9985805
TI  - Far-infrared absorption in parallel quantum wires with weak tunneling.

PMID- 9985807
TI  - Electronic structure of imperfect Si/Ge heterostructures.

PMID- 9985808
TI  - Energy levels of D0 and D- in graded quantum-well structures of GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs
      under magnetic fields.

PMID- 9985809
TI  - Dynamical phenomena in Fibonacci semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9985810
TI  - Deep-level transient spectroscopy study of narrow SiGe quantum wells with high Ge
      content.

PMID- 9985811
TI  - Plasmon modes and correlation functions in quantum wires and Hall bars.

PMID- 9985812
TI  - Resonant tunneling through ultrasmall quantum dots: Zero-bias anomalies, magnetic
      field dependence, and boson-assisted transport.

PMID- 9985813
TI  - Skyrmions in the quantum Hall effect at finite Zeeman coupling.

PMID- 9985814
TI  - Skyrmions and edge-spin excitations in quantum Hall droplets.

PMID- 9985815
TI  - Size-dependent transmission coefficients of edge channels in the quantum-Hall
      regime.

PMID- 9985816
TI  - Quasiholes and fermionic zero modes of paired fractional quantum Hall states: The
      mechanism for non-Abelian statistics.

PMID- 9985817
TI  - Charged pseudospin textures in double-layer quantum Hall systems: Bimerons and
      meron crystals.

PMID- 9985818
TI  - Bulk versus edge in the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9985819
TI  - Quantum confinement effects above the fundamental band gap in HgTe/Hg0.3Cd0.7Te
      heterostructures studied by resonant Raman scattering near the E1 edge.

PMID- 9985820
TI  - Two-dimensional excitonic emission in InAs submonolayers.

PMID- 9985821
TI  - Raman-spectroscopy investigations of photoinduced changes of the spatial charge
      carrier distribution in p-type modulation-doped quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9985822
TI  - Electro-optic exciton nonlinearities in Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9985824
TI  - Exciton localization and decomposition dynamics in cuprous halide nanocrystals.

PMID- 9985823
TI  - Magneto-optical study of interwell coupling in double quantum wells using diluted
      magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9985825
TI  - Coverage-dependent thermal reactions of digermane on Si(100)-(2 x 1).

PMID- 9985826
TI  - Semiconducting Mg2Si thin films prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9985827
TI  - Ballistic-electron-emission spectroscopy of Au/Si and Au/GaAs interfaces: Low
      temperature measurements and ballistic models.

PMID- 9985828
TI  - Electric-field-dependent intersubband transition via optical phonons in a doped
      thin-layer inserted quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9985829
TI  - Exciton properties in p-type GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells in the high doping
      regime.

PMID- 9985830
TI  - Excitons bound at interacting acceptors in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9985832
TI  - Theory of electronic and optical properties of magnetoexcitons in quantum-well
      wires.

PMID- 9985831
TI  - Center of mass quantization of excitons in Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum-wells.

PMID- 9985833
TI  - Magnetoconductance fluctuations in a strongly correlated disordered ring system
      at low temperatures.

PMID- 9985834
TI  - Properties of lateral Nb contacts to a two-dimensional electron gas in an
      In0.77Ga0.23As/InP heterostructure.

PMID- 9985835
TI  - Scattering theory of subsurface impurities observed in scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9985836
TI  - Surface mobility of Ag on Pd(100) measured by specular helium scattering.

PMID- 9985837
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study on the equilibrium structure and the stability of a
      cluster dimer.

PMID- 9985838
TI  - Size dependence of the lattice parameter for Pd clusters: A molecular-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9985840
TI  - Molecular orientational vibrations in monolayer systems.

PMID- 9985839
TI  - Inhibition of step-flow crystal growth on the {110} face of alpha -HgI2 by a high
      coverage factor.

PMID- 9985841
TI  - Adsorbate-atom-induced relaxation of thin Li(001) films.

PMID- 9985843
TI  - Pokrovsky-Talapov commensurate-incommensurate transition in the CO/Pd(100)
      system.

PMID- 9985842
TI  - Modeling of Ir adatoms on Ir surfaces.

PMID- 9985845
TI  - Growth and electronic structure of thin epitaxial Pd and Co films on W(100).

PMID- 9985846
TI  - Thermally induced core-electron binding-energy shifts in transition metals: An
      experimental investigation of Ta(100).

PMID- 9985844
TI  - Adsorption isotherm study of multilayer N2 films on BN.

PMID- 9985847
TI  - Quantum-well states and the short period of oscillation in Cu/Co(001)
      multilayers.

PMID- 9985848
TI  - c-axis resistivity of MoCl5 graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9985849
TI  - Initial stages of cesium incorporation on keV-Cs+-irradiated surfaces: Positive
      ion emission and work-function changes.

PMID- 9985850
TI  - Phenomenological electronic stopping-power model for molecular dynamics and Monte
      Carlo simulation of ion implantation into silicon.

PMID- 9985851
TI  - Contribution of charge-transfer processes to ion-induced electron emission.

PMID- 9985852
TI  - Resonant charge transfer in grazing scattering of alkali-metal ions from an
      Al(111) surface.

PMID- 9985854
TI  - Surprises in the orbital magnetic moment and g factor of the dynamic Jahn-Teller
      ion C60-

PMID- 9985853
TI  - Chemistry and kinetics of the interaction of hydrogen atoms with (100) InP
      surfaces: An in situ real-time ellipsometric study.

PMID- 9985856
TI  - Diffusion Monte Carlo study of jellium surfaces: Electronic densities and pair
      correlation functions.

PMID- 9985855
TI  - Multiplet structure in high-resolution and spin-resolved x-ray photoemission from
      gadolinium.

PMID- 9985857
TI  - Local binding trend and local electronic structures of 4d transition metals.

PMID- 9985858
TI  - Dielectric properties of orientationally ordered/disordered C60(111) films.

PMID- 9985859
TI  - Erratum: Surface structure of epitaxial Gd(0001) films on W(110) studied by
      quantitative LEED analysis

PMID- 9985860
TI  - Erratum: Theory of the thermoelectric power or Seebeck coefficient: The case of
      phonon scattering for a degenerate free-electron gas

PMID- 9985861
TI  - Erratum: Band-structure parameters by genetic algorithm

PMID- 9985862
TI  - Optical properties and electronic structures of equiatomic XTi (X=Fe, Co, and Ni)
      alloys.

PMID- 9985863
TI  - Straightforward gradient approximation for the exchange energy of s-p bonded
      solids.

PMID- 9985864
TI  - Gradient expansion of the exchange energy from second-order density response
      theory.

PMID- 9985865
TI  - One-dimensional pair hopping and attractive Hubbard models: A comparative study.

PMID- 9985866
TI  - Effect of finite impurity mass on the Anderson orthogonality catastrophe in one
      dimension.

PMID- 9985867
TI  - Conduction in LaCoO3 by small-polaron hopping below room temperature.

PMID- 9985868
TI  - Comparison of the temperature-dependent electronic structure of the perovskites
      La0.65A0.35MnO3 (A=Ca,Ba).

PMID- 9985870
TI  - Semiempirical local-field correction function for electrons in Li metal.

PMID- 9985869
TI  - Theory of electronic ferroelectricity.

PMID- 9985872
TI  - Use of polarized optical absorption to obtain structural information for Na+/Nd3+
      beta "-alumina.

PMID- 9985871
TI  - Electrical properties of NiS2-xSex single crystals: From Mott insulator to
      paramagnetic metal.

PMID- 9985873
TI  - Charge transfer in alkali-metal-doped polymeric fullerenes.

PMID- 9985874
TI  - Photon-echo attenuation in rare-earth-ion-doped crystals.

PMID- 9985875
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative processes in the optical cycle of the F3+ center in
      LiF.

PMID- 9985876
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopy of strongly correlated Yb compounds.

PMID- 9985877
TI  - Towards a self-consistent random-phase approximation for Fermi systems.

PMID- 9985878
TI  - Confinement and transverse conductivity in coupled Luttinger liquids.

PMID- 9985879
TI  - Numerical results for generalized resonating-valence-bond wave functions:
      Application to the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9985881
TI  - Localization and percolation in semiconductor alloys: GaAsN vs GaAsP.

PMID- 9985880
TI  - 3d semicore states in ZnSe, GaAs, and Ge.

PMID- 9985882
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of unstrained and strained wurtzite GaN.

PMID- 9985884
TI  - Formation of bound excitons by photoexcited carriers in p-type GaAs revealed by
      picosecond luminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985883
TI  - Band structure of CdS and CdSe at high pressure.

PMID- 9985885
TI  - Defect-related optical transitions in GaN.

PMID- 9985886
TI  - Electroluminescence of erbium-doped silicon.

PMID- 9985888
TI  - Semiconductor noise in the framework of semiclassical transport.

PMID- 9985887
TI  - Direct-gap reduction and valence-band splitting of ordered indirect-gap AlInP2
      studied by dark-field spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985889
TI  - Charge separation and transport in conjugated-polymer/semiconductor-nanocrystal
      composites studied by photoluminescence quenching and photoconductivity.

PMID- 9985891
TI  - Roughening and ripple instabilities on ion-bombarded Si.

PMID- 9985890
TI  - Atomic structure and faulted boundaries in the GaAs(001) beta (2 x 4) surface as
      derived from x-ray diffraction and line-shape analysis.

PMID- 9985893
TI  - First-principles pseudopotential calculations of passivated GaAs(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9985892
TI  - Intrinsic valence and conduction bands of Si(111)-1 x 1.

PMID- 9985894
TI  - Current and charge distributions of the fractional quantum Hall liquids with
      edges.

PMID- 9985896
TI  - Ultrafast energy relaxation in quantum dots.

PMID- 9985895
TI  - Dynamics of directly created excitons in asymmetric double quantum wells.

PMID- 9985897
TI  - Theory of coherent time-dependent transport in one-dimensional multiband
      semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9985900
TI  - Electron diffraction by periodic arrays of quantum antidots.

PMID- 9985899
TI  - Magnetotransport fluctuations in regular semiconductor ballistic quantum dots.

PMID- 9985898
TI  - Strong interaction of Fermi-edge singularity and exciton related to N=2 subband
      in a modulation-doped AlxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yAs/GaAs quantum well.

PMID- 9985901
TI  - Tunneling escape time of electrons from the quasibound Stark localized states in
      ultrathin barrier GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9985902
TI  - Electron capture in quantum wells via scattering by electrons, holes, and optical
      phonons.

PMID- 9985903
TI  - Electronic energy levels and energy relaxation mechanisms in self-organized
      InAs/GaAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9985904
TI  - Strain-related phenomena in GaN thin films.

PMID- 9985906
TI  - Hydrogen microstructure in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9985905
TI  - Edge-on micro-Raman assessment of trigonal modes in partially ordered GaInP2.

PMID- 9985907
TI  - Nanostructured GaN: Microstructure and optical properties.

PMID- 9985909
TI  - Theory of unconfined excitons trapped by a quantum well.

PMID- 9985908
TI  - Magnetopolaron-induced increase of the efficiency in two-LO-phonon Raman
      scattering from quantum wells.

PMID- 9985910
TI  - Exciton bound to an ionized donor impurity in semiconductor spherical quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9985911
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of intersubband relaxation in wide, uniformly doped
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9985912
TI  - Vibrational excitations in thin films studied by spatial dispersion Brillouin
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985913
TI  - Lasing in ZnSe/ZnS0.18Se0.82 superlattices.

PMID- 9985914
TI  - Integer quantum Hall effect with realistic boundary condition: Exact quantization
      and breakdown.

PMID- 9985915
TI  - Theory of optical-phonon limited hot-electron transport in quantum wires.

PMID- 9985916
TI  - Adsorbate-adsorbate interactions from statistical analysis of STM images:
      N/Ru(0001).

PMID- 9985917
TI  - Initial stages of Cu epitaxy on Ni(100): Postnucleation and a well-defined
      transition in critical island size.

PMID- 9985918
TI  - Evidence for the shear horizontal phonon mode on the NaCl(001) surface.

PMID- 9985919
TI  - Nitrogen-induced reconstruction of the Cu3Au(110) surface.

PMID- 9985920
TI  - Bias-dependent imaging of the In-terminated InAs(001) (4 x 2)/c(8 x 2) surface by
      STM: Reconstruction and transitional defect.

PMID- 9985921
TI  - Fractal surface dimension from cyclic I-V studies and atomic-force microscopy:
      Role of noncontiguous reaction sites.

PMID- 9985922
TI  - Local modification of Ag thin films on Si(100) by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9985923
TI  - Monolayer-period oscillation of secondary electrons and its application for
      determining the polarization oscillation period in Au/Fe(110).

PMID- 9985924
TI  - Substitutional adsorption of Li on Al: The structure of the Al(111)-( sqrt 3 x
      sqrt 3)R30 degrees-Li phase.

PMID- 9985926
TI  - Adsorption strains in porous silicon.

PMID- 9985925
TI  - Influence of adsorption on thin film thermodynamics.

PMID- 9985927
TI  - Method for evaluation of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier to interlayer transport in
      metal homoepitaxy.

PMID- 9985928
TI  - Temperature and orientation dependence of kinetic roughening during homoepitaxy:
      A quantitative x-ray-scattering study of Ag.

PMID- 9985929
TI  - Electronic-structure investigation of oxidized aluminum films with electron
      momentum spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985930
TI  - Edge state in graphene ribbons: Nanometer size effect and edge shape dependence.

PMID- 9985931
TI  - Magnetic dichroism in core-level x-ray photoemission with unpolarized excitation.

PMID- 9985933
TI  - Electronic structure of Pu compounds with group-IIIB metals: Two regimes of
      behavior.

PMID- 9985932
TI  - Phase transitions in a system of CH3(CH2)n-1 self-assembled on the Au(111)
      crystal surface.

PMID- 9985935
TI  - Density waves in a transverse electric field.

PMID- 9985934
TI  - Dynamical density-density correlations in one-dimensional Mott insulators.

PMID- 9985937
TI  - Long-mean-free-path ballistic hot electrons in high-purity GaAs.

PMID- 9985936
TI  - Electronic state of the organic salt (DI-DCNQI)2Ag, where DI-DCNQI is 2,5-diiodo
      N,N'-dicyanoquinonediimine.

PMID- 9985938
TI  - Influence of SiH4 deposition on the Si(111) 1 x 1-->7 x 7 phase transition.

PMID- 9985940
TI  - Exciton relaxation dynamics in quantum dots with strong confinement.

PMID- 9985939
TI  - Surfactant adsorption site and growth mechanism of Ge- on Ga-terminated Si(111).

PMID- 9985941
TI  - Hofstadter butterflies for flat bands.

PMID- 9985942
TI  - Ultrafast carrier dynamics on the Si(100)2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9985943
TI  - Single-particle excitations and many-particle interactions in quantum wires and
      dots.

PMID- 9985944
TI  - Theoretical study of atomic and electronic structures of atomic wires on an H
      terminated Si(100)2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9985946
TI  - Measurement of the conductance distribution function at a quantum Hall
      transition.

PMID- 9985945
TI  - Near-field optical spectroscopy of localized excitons in strained CdSe quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9985947
TI  - Comparing conductance quantization in quantum wires and quantum Hall systems.

PMID- 9985948
TI  - Universality and phase diagram around half-filled Landau levels.

PMID- 9985949
TI  - Temperature dependence of the spin polarization of a quantum Hall ferromagnet.

PMID- 9985950
TI  - Hybridization of single- and double-layer behavior in a double-quantum-well
      structure.

PMID- 9985951
TI  - Electronic structure of GaN measured using soft-x-ray emission and absorption.

PMID- 9985952
TI  - Spectrally resolved Overhauser shifts in single GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots.

PMID- 9985953
TI  - Nonlinear intersubband absorption of a hot quasi-two-dimensional electron plasma
      studied by femtosecond infrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9985954
TI  - Interaction of oxygen with a Cs-monolayer-covered Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9985956
TI  - Correlation between the scale-dependent fractal dimension of fracture surfaces
      and the fracture toughness.

PMID- 9985955
TI  - Energetics of AlN thin films and the implications for epitaxial growth on SiC.

PMID- 9985957
TI  - Exact island-size distributions for submonolayer deposition: Influence of
      correlations between island size and separation.

PMID- 9985959
TI  - Fully three-dimensional scattering calculations of standing electron waves in
      quantum nanostructures: The importance of quasiparticle interactions.

PMID- 9985958
TI  - The Ce 4f surface shift: A test for the Anderson-impurity Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9985960
TI  - Step-induced unusual magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Cu films: Ab initio
      study.

PMID- 9985962
TI  - Linear-response calculation of the Coulomb pseudopotential micro* for Nb.

PMID- 9985961
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy in (110) epitaxial DyFe2 Laves phase.

PMID- 9985963
TI  - Magnetic character of the deformable jellium.

PMID- 9985964
TI  - Pseudopotentials including semicore states, with an application to barium, alpha 
      cerium, and thorium.

PMID- 9985965
TI  - Distribution of level curvatures for the Anderson model at the localization
      delocalization transition.

PMID- 9985967
TI  - Quantum phase transition and long-range order in the ground state of a lattice of
      pseudospins coupled with optic phonons.

PMID- 9985966
TI  - Thermodynamics of metal-insulator systems: The two-fluid model in the presence of
      a magnetic field.

PMID- 9985969
TI  - Momentum-distribution critical exponents for the one-dimensional large-U Hubbard
      model in the thermodynamic limit.

PMID- 9985968
TI  - Effects of impurities and temperature on the thermal hysteresis of Ohmic
      resistance in Tl-doped blue bronze.

PMID- 9985970
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of the B12O2 crystal.

PMID- 9985971
TI  - Electronic structure, electronic decay, and desorption processes of molecular
      solid SiCl4 following core-level excitation.

PMID- 9985972
TI  - Defect-induced nucleation and growth of amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9985973
TI  - Calculations of the ground-state energy for strong- and intermediate-coupling
      exciton-phonon systems.

PMID- 9985975
TI  - Disorder and persistent photoconductivity in ZnxCd1-xSe semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9985974
TI  - Magnetopolaron effect on shallow indium donors in CdTe.

PMID- 9985976
TI  - Large atomic displacements associated with the nitrogen antisite in GaN.

PMID- 9985977
TI  - Electrostatic tip-sample interaction in immersion force microscopy of
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9985978
TI  - Model-dependent electronic structure of the Si(111)2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9985979
TI  - Defect-assisted relaxation in quantum dots at low temperature.

PMID- 9985980
TI  - Coupling between one-dimensional excitons and two-dimensional photons: Quantum
      wires in a microcavity.

PMID- 9985981
TI  - Electron scattering due to confined and extended acoustic phonons in a quantum
      wire.

PMID- 9985982
TI  - Electron interference due to localization paths in an Aharonov-Bohm ring.

PMID- 9985983
TI  - Reentrant resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9985984
TI  - Exchange interaction and phonon confinement in CdSe quantum dots.

PMID- 9985985
TI  - Single quantum dots as local probes of electronic properties of semiconductors.

PMID- 9985986
TI  - Quantum oscillation of the cyclotron mass in two-dimensional electron systems in
      silicon.

PMID- 9985987
TI  - Hysteretic voltage gap of a multijunction trap.

PMID- 9985988
TI  - Exact solution for charge solitons in two coupled one-dimensional arrays of small
      tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9985989
TI  - Quantum transport through periodically arranged magnetic barriers.

PMID- 9985990
TI  - Photon-assisted parity change and Andreev tunneling.

PMID- 9985992
TI  - Coherent patterns and self-induced diffraction of electrons on a thin nonlinear
      layer.

PMID- 9985991
TI  - Effect of uniaxial compression on quantum Hall plateaus and Shubnikov-de Haas
      oscillations in p-type GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9985993
TI  - Direct observation of above-barrier quasibound states in InxGa1-xAs/AlAs/GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9985995
TI  - Investigation of niobium clusters: Bare and CO-adsorption.

PMID- 9985994
TI  - Optical absorption spectroscopy of Si-Ge alloys and superlattices.

PMID- 9985996
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of collision, implantation, and fragmentation of Ag7 on
      Pd(100).

PMID- 9985997
TI  - Interactions between adsorbed Si dimers on Si(001).

PMID- 9985998
TI  - Group and energy velocities of acoustic surface waves in piezoelectrics.

PMID- 9985999
TI  - Observation of the Stranski-Krastanov growth transition in GdBa2Cu3O7- delta
      films.

PMID- 9986000
TI  - Generalized-gradient functionals in adaptive curvilinear coordinates.

PMID- 9986001
TI  - Calculation of the self-consistent-field electronic wave functions of crystals
      using Wannier-type functions: The case of LiH.

PMID- 9986002
TI  - Phase diagram of the extended Hubbard model at weak coupling.

PMID- 9986003
TI  - Microwave surface resistance of potassium in a perpendicular magnetic field:
      Effects of the charge-density wave.

PMID- 9986004
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetic properties of random alloys: Fully relativistic
      spin-polarized linear muffin-tin-orbital method.

PMID- 9986005
TI  - Electronic excitation spectra from ab initio band-structure results for LaMO3
      (M=Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni).

PMID- 9986006
TI  - Tight-binding treatment of the Hubbard model in infinite dimensions.

PMID- 9986007
TI  - Ground-state energy of the Hubbard model at half filling.

PMID- 9986008
TI  - Finite-U impurity Anderson model in the presence of an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9986009
TI  - Combining coupled-cluster and perturbative expansions through intermediate
      Hamiltonians: Theory and application to 1D and 2D spin lattices.

PMID- 9986010
TI  - Model for the electronic and vibronic structure of 4T1 levels of d 5 ions coupled
      to E vibrational modes: Case of the fluorescent level of Mn2+ in ZnS.

PMID- 9986011
TI  - Optical properties of the group-IVB refractory metal compounds.

PMID- 9986012
TI  - Experimental and theoretical study of the electronic structure of Fe, Co, and Ni
      aluminides with the B2 structure.

PMID- 9986014
TI  - Separable dual-space Gaussian pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9986013
TI  - Symmetrized projector quantum Monte Carlo studies of the ground state of C60.

PMID- 9986015
TI  - Coupled-mode calculation with the R-matrix propagator for the dispersion of
      surface waves on a truncated photonic crystal.

PMID- 9986016
TI  - Magnetostructural phase transitions in La1-xSrxMnO3 with controlled carrier
      density.

PMID- 9986017
TI  - Positron-annihilation investigation of vacancy agglomeration in electron
      irradiated float-zone silicon.

PMID- 9986018
TI  - Ab initio calculations of the cohesive, elastic, and dynamical properties of
      CoSi2 by pseudopotential and all-electron techniques.

PMID- 9986019
TI  - Ground state and excitations in polyacetylene chains.

PMID- 9986020
TI  - Spectroscopy and piezospectroscopy of the Lyman transitions and Fano resonances
      of indium in silicon.

PMID- 9986021
TI  - Deep donors in Cd1-xZnxTe:Cl.

PMID- 9986022
TI  - Dynamics of optical excitations in a ladder-type pi -conjugated polymer
      containing aggregate states.

PMID- 9986023
TI  - Field-dependent screening and dephasing in semiconductor Bloch equations.

PMID- 9986024
TI  - Nonequilibrium hole relaxation dynamics in an intrinsic semiconductor.

PMID- 9986026
TI  - Influence of polytypism on thermal properties of silicon carbide.

PMID- 9986025
TI  - Anisotropy of hole structures in polymers probed by two-dimensional angular
      correlation of annihilation radiation.

PMID- 9986028
TI  - Phase transformations and the nature of the semiconductor-to-metal transition in
      bulk a-GaSb and a-(Ge2)1-x(GaSb)x semiconductors under high pressure.

PMID- 9986027
TI  - High-field transport in model materials.

PMID- 9986029
TI  - Temperature dependence of the direct gaps of ZnSe and Zn0.56Cd0.44Se.

PMID- 9986030
TI  - dc-electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in Si(111)-SiO2-Cr metal
      oxide-semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9986031
TI  - Electronic structure of InAs(1-bar 1-bar 1-bar)2 x 2 and InSb(1-bar 1-bar 1-bar)2
      x 2 studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986033
TI  - Ground state of a two-dimensional electron liquid in a weak magnetic field.

PMID- 9986032
TI  - Tunneling studies of two-dimensional states in semiconductors with inverted band
      structure: Spin-orbit splitting and resonant broadening.

PMID- 9986035
TI  - Persistent magnetic moment of rotating mesoscopic rings and cylinders.

PMID- 9986034
TI  - Excitons in CdTe quantum wires with strain-induced lateral confinement.

PMID- 9986036
TI  - Boundary-element method for the calculation of electronic states in semiconductor
      nanostructures.

PMID- 9986037
TI  - Excited states and size-dependent electro-optical properties of CdSxSe1-x quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9986038
TI  - Energy band for manipulated atomic structures of Si, GaAs, and Mg on an
      insulating substrate.

PMID- 9986039
TI  - Envelope-function formalism for electrons in abrupt heterostructures with
      material-dependent basis functions.

PMID- 9986041
TI  - Short-range impurity in the vicinity of a saddle point and the levitation of the
      two-dimensional delocalized states in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9986040
TI  - Confinement effects and polarization dependence of luminescence from monolayer
      thick Ge quantum wells.

PMID- 9986042
TI  - Dynamical response of a one-dimensional quantum-wire electron system.

PMID- 9986043
TI  - Noninvasive determination of the ballistic-electron current distribution.

PMID- 9986044
TI  - Resonant tunneling through a coupled double quantum well in the presence of
      electron-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9986046
TI  - Spin relaxation of electrons in p-doped quantum wells via the electron-hole
      exchange interaction.

PMID- 9986045
TI  - Optical properties of arrays of quantum dots with internal disorder.

PMID- 9986047
TI  - Magnetic-field enhancement of the exciton-polariton splitting in a semiconductor
      quantum-well microcavity: The strong coupling threshold.

PMID- 9986048
TI  - Field effect on positron diffusion in semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9986049
TI  - Optical properties of quantum wires: Fermi-edge singularity exponents and the low
      density limit.

PMID- 9986050
TI  - Equispaced-level Hamiltonians with the variable effective mass following the
      potential.

PMID- 9986052
TI  - Silicon spreading in delta -doped GaAs(100): A high-resolution electron-energy
      loss-spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9986051
TI  - Atomic structure and thermal stability of two-dimensional Er silicide on Si(111).

PMID- 9986053
TI  - Phonoconductivity measurement of the phonon absorption by a two-dimensional hole
      gas in a GaAs heterojunction.

PMID- 9986054
TI  - Determination of deformation potentials in ZnSe/GaAs strained-layer
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9986055
TI  - Polaritonic effects in superlattices.

PMID- 9986056
TI  - Effects of the screened exchange interaction on the tunneling and Landau gaps in
      double quantum wells.

PMID- 9986057
TI  - Magnetoplasmon excitations in double-quantum-well systems in a parallel magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9986058
TI  - Transport mechanism of Gamma - and X-band electrons in AlxGa1-xAs/AlAs/GaAs
      double-barrier quantum-well infrared photodetectors.

PMID- 9986059
TI  - Two representations of the current density in charge-transport problems.

PMID- 9986060
TI  - Distribution-function analysis of mesoscopic hopping conductance fluctuations.

PMID- 9986061
TI  - Reaction of I2 with the (001) surfaces of GaAs, InAs, and InSb. I. Chemical
      interaction with the substrate.

PMID- 9986062
TI  - Reaction of I2 with the (001) surfaces of GaAs, InAs, and InSb. II. Ordering of
      the iodine overlayer.

PMID- 9986063
TI  - Perturbation theory of diffuse RHEED applied to rough surfaces: Comparison with
      supercell calculations.

PMID- 9986064
TI  - Atomic-scale friction image of graphite in atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9986065
TI  - Energetical preference of diamond nanoparticles.

PMID- 9986066
TI  - Chemisorption of H on Pd(111): An ab initio approach with ultrasoft
      pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9986067
TI  - Phase boundaries of nanometer scale c(2 x 2)-O domains on the Cu(100) surface.

PMID- 9986068
TI  - Controlled lateral and perpendicular motion of atoms on metal surfaces.

PMID- 9986069
TI  - Ultrathin films of cobalt on Fe{001} and the effect of oxygen.

PMID- 9986070
TI  - Electronic properties and magnetism of ruthenium clusters.

PMID- 9986071
TI  - Optical and structural properties of oligothiophene crystalline films.

PMID- 9986072
TI  - Atom-surface scattering under classical conditions.

PMID- 9986073
TI  - Surface structure and doping-induced etching of Si(100) by chlorine: First
      principles study.

PMID- 9986074
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies of defect generation in epitaxial Mo/W superlattices.

PMID- 9986075
TI  - Theory of the scanning tunneling microscope: Xe on Ni and Al.

PMID- 9986076
TI  - Bulk and surface electronic structure of Li2O.

PMID- 9986078
TI  - Temperature-dependent scanning tunneling spectroscopy of 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9986077
TI  - Structure and stability of TinNm clusters.

PMID- 9986079
TI  - Interaction of oxygen with silver at high temperature and atmospheric pressure: A
      spectroscopic and structural analysis of a strongly bound surface species.

PMID- 9986081
TI  - Onsager relations and hydrodynamic balance equations.

PMID- 9986080
TI  - Erratum: Electron in a magnetic field interacting with point impurities

PMID- 9986082
TI  - Energy-loss function in the two-pair approximation for the electron liquid.

PMID- 9986083
TI  - Lowest-order corrections to the RPA polarizability and GW self-energy of a
      semiconducting wire.

PMID- 9986084
TI  - Ab initio investigation of the electronic properties of planar and twisted
      polyparaphenylenes.

PMID- 9986085
TI  - Subgap optical absorption induced by quantum lattice fluctuations at the Peierls
      edge in PtCl chain complexes.

PMID- 9986087
TI  - Spin-gap phase in nearly half-filled one-dimensional conductors coupled with
      phonons.

PMID- 9986086
TI  - Theoretical and experimental study of positron annihilation with core electrons
      in solids.

PMID- 9986088
TI  - Semiempirical Hartree-Fock calculations for KNbO3.

PMID- 9986089
TI  - Color of pure and alkali-doped cerium sulfide: A local-density-functional study.

PMID- 9986090
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of WO3, LiWO3, NaWO3, and HWO3.

PMID- 9986091
TI  - Calculated optical properties of thorium, protactinium, and uranium metals.

PMID- 9986093
TI  - Nonlinear Berry phases for simple band representations.

PMID- 9986092
TI  - Complete band-structure determination of the quasi-two-dimensional Fermi-liquid
      reference compound TiTe2.

PMID- 9986094
TI  - Collective modes of the one-dimensional Fermi gas within the quasiparticle random
      phase approximation.

PMID- 9986095
TI  - Calculated optical properties of Si, Ge, and GaAs under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9986096
TI  - k

PMID- 9986098
TI  - Evaluation of some basic positron-related characteristics of SiC.

PMID- 9986097
TI  - Electronic structure and hyperfine interactions for deep donors and vacancies in
      II-VI compound semiconductors.

PMID- 9986099
TI  - Free exciton emission in GaN.

PMID- 9986100
TI  - Nonmonotonic decay of nonequilibrium polariton condensate in direct-gap
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9986102
TI  - Experimental evidence for luminescence from silicon oxide layers in oxidized
      porous silicon.

PMID- 9986101
TI  - Optically active erbium centers in silicon.

PMID- 9986103
TI  - Cohesive energies of cubic III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9986105
TI  - Complete theoretical analysis of the Kaplan-Solomon-Mott mechanism of spin
      dependent recombination in semiconductors.

PMID- 9986104
TI  - Phonon-induced dephasing of localized optical excitations.

PMID- 9986106
TI  - Localization and delocalization of electrons in narrow-band semiconductors under
      the action of strong time-dependent and constant electric fields.

PMID- 9986107
TI  - Self-diffusion on Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9986108
TI  - Electronic properties of Sb deposited on GaAs(110) in the submonolayer coverage
      regime.

PMID- 9986110
TI  - Quantum scars of classical orbits in small interacting electronic systems.

PMID- 9986109
TI  - Quantum conductance of carbon nanotubes with defects.

PMID- 9986112
TI  - Quantum transport through a periodic scatterer in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9986111
TI  - Recombination dynamics of localized excitons in a CdSe/ZnSe/ZnSxSe1-x single
      quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9986113
TI  - Low-temperature atomic dynamics of the Si(111)-7 x 7.

PMID- 9986114
TI  - Plasmon excitations and accumulation layers in heavily doped InAs(001).

PMID- 9986115
TI  - Hole confinement in boron delta -doped silicon quantum wells studied by deep
      level transient spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986116
TI  - Bound and resonant electron states in quantum dots: The optical spectrum.

PMID- 9986117
TI  - Energy subbands, envelope states, and intersubband optical transitions in one
      dimensional quantum wires: The local-envelope-states approach.

PMID- 9986118
TI  - Temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance of InxGa1-xAs antidot lattices.

PMID- 9986119
TI  - Elastic- and inelastic-scattering effects on electron magnetotunneling through a
      quantum well.

PMID- 9986120
TI  - Universal correlations of Coulomb-blockade conductance peaks and the rotation
      scaling in quantum dots.

PMID- 9986121
TI  - Specific heat and validity of the quasiparticle approximation in the half-filled
      Landau level.

PMID- 9986123
TI  - Topological disorder and conductance fluctuations in thin films.

PMID- 9986122
TI  - Interface properties and valence-band discontinuity of MnS/ZnSe heterostructures.

PMID- 9986124
TI  - Superlattice effects induced by atomic ordering on GaxIn1-xP Raman modes.

PMID- 9986125
TI  - Exciton localization, photoluminescence spectra, and interface roughness in thin
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9986127
TI  - Energy relaxation of an excited electron gas in quantum wires: Many-body electron
      LO-phonon coupling.

PMID- 9986126
TI  - Theoretical investigation of excitonic surface states in multilayer organic
      quantum wells: Radiative decay rates of the first and second surface excitons.

PMID- 9986129
TI  - Effect of exciton-carrier thermodynamics on the GaAs quantum well
      photoluminescence.

PMID- 9986128
TI  - Optical observation of impurity localized states at the edges of Landau subbands
      in doped quantum wells.

PMID- 9986130
TI  - Emission of acoustic and optical phonons by hot electrons in a two-dimensional
      electron system in parallel magnetic fields.

PMID- 9986131
TI  - Dynamic dielectric properties of a bounded solid-state plasma and a two
      dimensional electron sheet: Inverse dielectric function and coupled collective
      modes.

PMID- 9986132
TI  - Scattering of plasmons in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas containing a fixed
      point charge.

PMID- 9986133
TI  - Mesoscopic charge-density-wave junctions.

PMID- 9986134
TI  - Reflection of finite-width edge channels.

PMID- 9986135
TI  - Investigation of deep metastable traps in Si delta -doped GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As
      quantum-well samples using noise spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986137
TI  - X-ray absorption at the L2,3 edge of an anisotropic single crystal: Cadmium
      (0001).

PMID- 9986136
TI  - Structure of Mn films grown on (111) and (001) fcc Ir determined by EXAFS and the
      multiple-scattering approach.

PMID- 9986138
TI  - Structural determination of the Pd{110}(2 x 1)p2mg-CO system by means of high
      energy x-ray photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9986140
TI  - Atomic structure of amorphous nanosized silicon powders upon thermal treatment.

PMID- 9986139
TI  - Measurement of roughness at buried Si/SiO2 interfaces by transmission electron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9986141
TI  - Vibrational signatures for low-energy intermediate-sized Si clusters.

PMID- 9986142
TI  - Theoretical study of O adlayers on Ru(0001).

PMID- 9986143
TI  - Electronic and geometric structure of NH3 on Ge(001) under equilibrium adsorption
      conditions.

PMID- 9986145
TI  - First-order orientational-disordering transition on the (111) surface of C60.

PMID- 9986144
TI  - Self-diffusion on low-index metallic surfaces: Ag and Au (100) and (111).

PMID- 9986146
TI  - Electronic specific heat of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9986148
TI  - Oscillatory interaction of steps on W{110}

PMID- 9986147
TI  - Electron-energy losses in hemispherical targets.

PMID- 9986149
TI  - Determination of the electronic density of states near buried interfaces:
      Application to Co/Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9986151
TI  - Kinetics of nucleation-dominated step flow.

PMID- 9986150
TI  - Magnetic dichroism in valence-band photoemission from Co/Cu(001): Experiment and
      theory.

PMID- 9986152
TI  - Stability of NanPb (n <~ 7) clusters: A first-principles molecular-dynamics
      study.

PMID- 9986154
TI  - Surface polaritons in layered structures of anisotropic media.

PMID- 9986153
TI  - Computer simulation of the ground-state atomic configurations of Ni-Al clusters
      using the embedded-atom model.

PMID- 9986155
TI  - Stability and charge transfer of C3B ordered structures.

PMID- 9986156
TI  - Multiconfigurational symmetrized-projector quantum Monte Carlo method for low
      lying excited states of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9986157
TI  - Electron focusing in Ag and W single crystals.

PMID- 9986159
TI  - Localization of a disordered phonon system: Anderson localization of optical
      phonons in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9986158
TI  - Virtual states and photon-assisted tunneling.

PMID- 9986160
TI  - Weak localization of exciton polaritons in a quantum well.

PMID- 9986161
TI  - Long-lived charged multiple-exciton complexes in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9986162
TI  - Electronic structure of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9986163
TI  - Evidence of spontaneous formation of steps on silicon (100).

PMID- 9986164
TI  - Interchain photoluminescence in poly(phenylene vinylene) derivatives.

PMID- 9986165
TI  - Flux-periodic resistance oscillations in arrays of superconducting weak links
      based on InAs-AlSb quantum wells with Nb electrodes.

PMID- 9986166
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced resonant tunneling in parallel two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9986167
TI  - Magnetotransport and interlayer-edge channel tunneling of two-dimensional
      electrons in a double-quantum-well system.

PMID- 9986169
TI  - Experimental indication for supercurrents carried by opened transport channels.

PMID- 9986170
TI  - Many-Skyrmion wave functions and Skyrmion statistics in quantum Hall
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9986168
TI  - Electric-field domain formation in type-II superlattices.

PMID- 9986172
TI  - Spherosiloxane H8Si8O12 clusters on Si(001): First-principles calculation of Si
      2p core-level shifts.

PMID- 9986171
TI  - Dielectric enhancement of excitons in near-surface quantum wells.

PMID- 9986174
TI  - Incorporation of alkali metals on Pt(111).

PMID- 9986173
TI  - Effect of interface magnetic moments and quantum-well states on magnetization
      induced second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9986175
TI  - Numerical study of excitons in a two-dimensional organic dye aggregate.

PMID- 9986176
TI  - Fractal dimension of Li insertion electrodes studied by diffusion-controlled
      voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986177
TI  - Finite-size effects on the incommensurate phase transition of bis(4
      chlorophenyl)sulphone studied by 35Cl NQR.

PMID- 9986178
TI  - Effects of higher-coordination shells in garnets detected by x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy at the Al K edge.

PMID- 9986179
TI  - Computer-simulation study of the thermal conductivity of amorphous insulating
      solids.

PMID- 9986180
TI  - Fluctuating loops and glassy dynamics of a pinned line in two dimensions.

PMID- 9986181
TI  - Theory of inelastic x-ray scattering by phonons in ice.

PMID- 9986182
TI  - Effects of quantum lattice fluctuations on vibron pairing in two-site systems.

PMID- 9986183
TI  - Hyperuniversal amplitude ratios and the central charge of the spin-one Ising
      model.

PMID- 9986185
TI  - Tight-binding study of the ionization of iron clusters.

PMID- 9986184
TI  - Replica symmetry breaking for a simple model of a quadrupolar glass.

PMID- 9986186
TI  - Charge ordering and magnetoresistance in Nd1-xCaxMnO3 due to reduced double
      exchange.

PMID- 9986188
TI  - Competition between spin, charge, and bond waves in a Peierls-Hubbard model.

PMID- 9986187
TI  - Influence of side groups on 90 degrees superexchange: A modification of the
      Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson rules.

PMID- 9986190
TI  - Series expansion for the J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice.

PMID- 9986189
TI  - Monte Carlo calculation of the transition temperature of the anisotropic three
      dimensional XY model.

PMID- 9986191
TI  - Tensile stress dependence of the Curie temperature and hyperfine field in Fe-Zr-B
      (Cu) amorphous alloys.

PMID- 9986193
TI  - Giant magnetoresistance in Cu-Mn-Al.

PMID- 9986192
TI  - Structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of Fe/Au monatomic multilayers.

PMID- 9986194
TI  - NMR studies of Na atoms in silicon clathrate compounds.

PMID- 9986195
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to Fermi-liquid theory.

PMID- 9986196
TI  - Relaxation of charge imbalance in a d-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9986198
TI  - First-order vortex unbinding transition in thin superconducting films.

PMID- 9986197
TI  - Radiation linewidth of a long Josephson junction in the flux-flow regime.

PMID- 9986199
TI  - Conspicuous domination of polarization relaxation in kinetics of first-order
      phase transitions in perovskites.

PMID- 9986200
TI  - Superconductivity in a strongly correlated one-band system.

PMID- 9986201
TI  - Thermal conductivity of RNi2B2C (R=Y,Ho) single crystals.

PMID- 9986202
TI  - Effect of pressure on spin-gap behavior in Pr-doped and oxygen-deficient
      YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9986204
TI  - First-principles determination of the effects of boron and sulfur on the ideal
      cleavage fracture in Ni3Al.

PMID- 9986203
TI  - Spin-gap behavior in underdoped TlSr2(Lu0.7Ca0.3)Cu2Oy: 63Cu and 205Tl NMR
      studies.

PMID- 9986205
TI  - Hydrogen-induced lattice expansion in a (001)-oriented Mo/V superlattice.

PMID- 9986207
TI  - Thermal conductivity of C60 at pressures up to 1 GPa and temperatures in the 50
      300 K range.

PMID- 9986206
TI  - Positron studies of defects in ion-implanted SiC.

PMID- 9986208
TI  - Evaluation of time-dependent grain-size populations for nucleation and growth
      kinetics.

PMID- 9986209
TI  - Time dependence of dislocation arrays in ice during recrystallization.

PMID- 9986211
TI  - Optical activity in the incommensurate phase of ((CH3)4N)2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9986210
TI  - Synchrotron x-ray-scattering study of the normal-incommensurate phase transition
      in Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9986213
TI  - Evolution of long-range order and composition for radiation-induced precipitate
      dissolution.

PMID- 9986212
TI  - Influence of incommensurate modulation on the optical properties of the solid
      solution ((CH3)4N)2ZnCl2.8Br1.2.

PMID- 9986214
TI  - Phase transitions and glasslike behavior in Sr1-xBaxTiO3.

PMID- 9986215
TI  - Grain-size effect on structure and phase transformations for barium titanate.

PMID- 9986216
TI  - Improved R-space resolution of EXAFS spectra using combined regularization
      methods and nonlinear least-squares fitting.

PMID- 9986217
TI  - Low-mass secondary-ion ejection from molecular solids by MeV heavy ions: Radial
      velocity distributions.

PMID- 9986219
TI  - Experimental studies of atomic structure, electronic structure, and the
      electronic transport mechanism in amorphous Al-Cu-Y and Mg-Cu-Y ternary alloys.

PMID- 9986218
TI  - Self-consistent mean-field theory of asymmetric first-order structural phase
      transitions.

PMID- 9986220
TI  - Local atomic order and individual pair displacements of Fe46.5Ni53.5 and
      Fe22.5Ni77.5 from diffuse x-ray scattering studies.

PMID- 9986221
TI  - Kinetic features of phase separation under alloy ordering.

PMID- 9986222
TI  - Sharpening of enhanced backscattering peak in a disordered gain medium.

PMID- 9986224
TI  - Modulation instability and recurrence phenomena in anharmonic lattices.

PMID- 9986223
TI  - Measurements of the ballistic-phonon component resulting from nuclear and
      electron recoils in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9986225
TI  - Molecular dynamics and higher-order perturbation-theory results for the
      anharmonic free energy and equation of state of a Lennard-Jones solid.

PMID- 9986227
TI  - Stochastic approach to simulation of lattice vibrations in strongly anharmonic
      crystals: Anomalous frequency dependence of the dynamic structure factor.

PMID- 9986226
TI  - Nonadiabatic effects in a soliton ground state of an extended Jahn-Teller system
      in one dimension.

PMID- 9986229
TI  - Memory effects in the frictional damping of diffusive and vibrational motion of
      adatoms.

PMID- 9986228
TI  - Giant enhancement of cubic nonlinearity in a polycrystalline quasi-one
      dimensional conductor.

PMID- 9986230
TI  - Spin diffusion in one-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9986232
TI  - Griffiths singularities in the disordered phase of a quantum Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9986231
TI  - Tunneling theory for exchange coupling between two ferromagnets separated by an
      amorphous-semiconducting barrier.

PMID- 9986234
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in a disordered two-dimensional spin model.

PMID- 9986233
TI  - Quantum Griffiths singularities in the transverse-field Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9986235
TI  - Vortex statistics in a disordered two-dimensional XY model.

PMID- 9986236
TI  - Quantum orientational glasses: Large-M limit approach.

PMID- 9986237
TI  - Magnetically induced crystal structure and phase stability in Fe1-cCoc.

PMID- 9986238
TI  - Brillouin light scattering study of Fe/Cr/Fe (211) and (100) trilayers.

PMID- 9986239
TI  - Phase diagram for the striped phase in the two-dimensional dipolar Ising model.

PMID- 9986240
TI  - Surface-induced superparamagnetic relaxation in nanoscale ferrihydrite particles.

PMID- 9986241
TI  - Magnetic properties and magnetic phase diagram of the frustrated Co1-xFexPt3
      compounds.

PMID- 9986243
TI  - Nanoscale magnetic domain structures in epitaxial cobalt films.

PMID- 9986242
TI  - Magnetic order in the random-field Ising film Fe0.52Zn0.48F2.

PMID- 9986244
TI  - Universality of the Ising model on spherelike lattices.

PMID- 9986245
TI  - Critical behavior of weakly disordered anisotropic systems in two dimensions.

PMID- 9986247
TI  - Experimental study of ferromagnetic chains composed of nanosize Fe spheres.

PMID- 9986246
TI  - Electronic transport and Kondo effect in La1-xCex films.

PMID- 9986248
TI  - Raman scattering in a two-layer antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9986250
TI  - Superconducting order parameters with sign changes: The density of states and
      impurity scattering.

PMID- 9986249
TI  - London penetration depth of strongly coupled isotropic superconductors: Low
      temperature behavior.

PMID- 9986252
TI  - Critical statistical charge for anyonic superconductivity.

PMID- 9986251
TI  - Quasiparticle band in the frustrated t-t'-J model.

PMID- 9986253
TI  - Kinetics of vortex formation in superconductors with d pairing.

PMID- 9986255
TI  - Flux penetration into flat superconductors of arbitrary shape: Patterns of
      magnetic and electric fields and current.

PMID- 9986254
TI  - Complex conductivity of proximity-superconducting Nb/Cu bilayers.

PMID- 9986256
TI  - Robust critical behavior in YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9986257
TI  - Screening effect of Ohmic and superconducting planar thin films.

PMID- 9986258
TI  - Fast algorithms for Josephson-junction arrays: Busbars and defects.

PMID- 9986260
TI  - 63/65Cu/203/205Tl NMR study on the antiferromagnetic phase of the Tl-based high
      Tc oxide TlBa2YCu2O7.

PMID- 9986259
TI  - Eliashberg-type equations for correlated superconductors.

PMID- 9986261
TI  - Photovoltaic effect in small superconducting-normal-metal systems.

PMID- 9986263
TI  - Ion-size effect on transport properties in R0.9Ca0.1Ba2Cu3O7- delta systems
      (R=Tm, Ho, Gd, and Nd).

PMID- 9986262
TI  - Inverse photoemission in strongly correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9986264
TI  - Charge-transfer model of s- and d-wave pairing in the cuprates.

PMID- 9986265
TI  - Anomalous behavior of a Fermi system interacting with a bosonic critical mode.

PMID- 9986266
TI  - Transport properties of high-Tc Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta crystals near the
      superconducting transition.

PMID- 9986267
TI  - Magnetoresistivity of thin films of the electron-doped high-Tc superconductor
      Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4+/- delta.

PMID- 9986268
TI  - Theory of tunneling and photoemission spectroscopy for high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9986269
TI  - Interaction of two-dimensional vortices with linear ion tracks in the highly
      anisotropic layered cuprates.

PMID- 9986270
TI  - c-axis resistance peak above the critical temperature in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9986272
TI  - Tunneling in two-channel Kondo superconducting junctions.

PMID- 9986271
TI  - Pinning phenomena and critical current in proton-irradiated sintered YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9986274
TI  - Theory of superconducting Tc of doped fullerenes.

PMID- 9986273
TI  - Effect of van Hove singularities on a spin liquid.

PMID- 9986275
TI  - Erratum: Optical alignment of axial Fe centers in KTaO3

PMID- 9986277
TI  - Disorder effects of nitrogen impurities, irradiation-induced defects, and 13C
      isotope composition on the Raman spectrum in synthetic Ib diamond.

PMID- 9986276
TI  - Erratum: Electric-field-dependent variable-range hopping conductance in quasi-two
      dimensional systems: Application to PrBa2Cu3O7-y-based superconductor-normal
      metal-superconductor junctions

PMID- 9986278
TI  - Electron-irradiation- and ion-beam-induced amorphization of coesite.

PMID- 9986279
TI  - High-pressure densification of silica glass: A molecular-dynamics simulation.

PMID- 9986280
TI  - First-principles study of stability and vibrational properties of tetragonal
      PbTiO3.

PMID- 9986281
TI  - Cross-relaxation process between +3 rare-earth ions in LiYF4 crystals.

PMID- 9986282
TI  - Optical absorption and luminescence spectroscopy of U3+ in K2LaX5 (X=Cl,Br,I).

PMID- 9986283
TI  - Stability criteria for homogeneously stressed materials and the calculation of
      elastic constants.

PMID- 9986285
TI  - Dynamical diffraction in electron-energy-loss spectrometry: The independent Bloch
      wave model.

PMID- 9986284
TI  - Tricritical Lifshitz point in uniaxial ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9986286
TI  - Isotope-induced energy-spectrum renormalization of the Wannier-Mott exciton in
      LiH crystals.

PMID- 9986287
TI  - Changes in the voltage profile of Li/Li1+xMn2-xO4 cells as a function of x.

PMID- 9986288
TI  - Magnetic excitation spectra and thermodynamics of amorphous PrNi5.

PMID- 9986290
TI  - Percolation transition in conducting polymer networks.

PMID- 9986289
TI  - Structure determination of Ag-Ge-S glasses using neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9986291
TI  - Electromagnetic localization in one-dimensional stacks with random loss and gain.

PMID- 9986293
TI  - Fluctuation theory of relaxation phenomena in disordered conductors: How fitting
      laws such as those of Kohlrausch and Jonscher are obtained from a consistent
      approach.

PMID- 9986292
TI  - T-matrix approach to effective nonlinear elastic constants of heterogeneous
      materials.

PMID- 9986294
TI  - Mean-field theory of strongly nonlinear random composites: Strong power-law
      nonlinearity and scaling behavior.

PMID- 9986296
TI  - Magnetoabsorption of large bipolarons.

PMID- 9986295
TI  - Bond-stability criterion in chain dynamics.

PMID- 9986298
TI  - Vibronic intensities in the absorption spectra of Yb3+

PMID- 9986297
TI  - Raman scattering in calcium-doped C60.

PMID- 9986299
TI  - Brillouin and Raman scattering in natural and isotopically controlled diamond.

PMID- 9986301
TI  - Calculation of the recoilless gamma -ray emission spectra from a substitutional
      cation impurity diffusing via the <001> channels in the rutile structure.

PMID- 9986300
TI  - Random walk in the Cu/graphite mixtures.

PMID- 9986302
TI  - Theory of commensurable magnetic structures in holmium.

PMID- 9986303
TI  - Thermodynamics of the Ishimori-Haldane-Faddeev ferromagnetic chain: The field
      dependent case.

PMID- 9986304
TI  - S=2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain.

PMID- 9986306
TI  - Ferromagnetism in multiband Hubbard models: From weak to strong Coulomb
      repulsion.

PMID- 9986305
TI  - Pseudofermion method applied to the high-local-spin system.

PMID- 9986307
TI  - Compton scattering study of 4f magnetism in CeFe2.

PMID- 9986308
TI  - Structural relaxation and magnetic anisotropy in Co/Cu(001) films.

PMID- 9986309
TI  - Effect of S segregation on the surface magnetism of Fe(100).

PMID- 9986310
TI  - Effect of spin-system fluctuations on heat transport in RbMnF3 close to the Neel
      temperature.

PMID- 9986311
TI  - ac susceptibility of a DyFe11Ti single crystal.

PMID- 9986312
TI  - Magnetic properties, relaxation, and quantum tunneling in CoFe2O4 nanoparticles
      embedded in potassium silicate.

PMID- 9986313
TI  - Effect of Co substitution for Fe on magnetic and magnetostrictive properties in
      Sm0.88Dy0.12(Fe1-xCox)2 compounds.

PMID- 9986314
TI  - Analytical and computational study of magnetization switching in kinetic Ising
      systems with demagnetizing fields.

PMID- 9986316
TI  - Reorientation transitions in ultrathin ferromagnetic films by thickness- and
      temperature-driven anisotropy flows.

PMID- 9986315
TI  - Magnetization reversal dynamics in ultrathin magnetic layers.

PMID- 9986317
TI  - Magnetic and melting transitions of oxygen monolayers and multilayers physisorped
      on exfoliated graphite.

PMID- 9986318
TI  - fcc Fe films grown on a ferromagnetic fcc Co(100) substrate.

PMID- 9986319
TI  - Influence of exchange-coupled anisotropies on spin-wave frequencies in magnetic
      layered systems: Application to Co/CoO.

PMID- 9986320
TI  - Phase diagram of XY antiferromagnetic stacked triangular lattices.

PMID- 9986321
TI  - Closure of the Monte Carlo dynamical equations in the spherical Sherrington
      Kirkpatrick model.

PMID- 9986322
TI  - Phase diagram of disordered boson systems in the presence of random hopping.

PMID- 9986323
TI  - Thermal expansion of CePdSb near the ferromagnetic transition.

PMID- 9986324
TI  - Two-dimensional electrons in random magnetic fields: Universality class of random
      matrices.

PMID- 9986325
TI  - Gaussian-approximation formalism for evaluating decay of NMR spin echoes.

PMID- 9986326
TI  - Parquet-graph resummation method for vortex liquids.

PMID- 9986327
TI  - Temperature dependence of the low-field magnetization of granular
      superconductors.

PMID- 9986329
TI  - Superconductors of finite thickness in a perpendicular magnetic field: Strips and
      slabs.

PMID- 9986328
TI  - Absence of persistent magnetic oscillations in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9986330
TI  - Pressure dependence of the superconducting critical temperature of
      HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+y and HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10+y up to 30 GPa.

PMID- 9986331
TI  - Raman study of intermultiplet crystal-field transitions in Sm2CuO4.

PMID- 9986332
TI  - Size effects in the density of states in normal-metal-superconductor and
      superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor junctions.

PMID- 9986333
TI  - Electron-electron interaction and normal-state transport in superconducting Ti
      (Sn,Ge) alloys.

PMID- 9986334
TI  - Bosonization of the two-dimensional t-J model in the continuum limit.

PMID- 9986335
TI  - Desorption of oxygen from YBa2Cu3O6+x films studied by Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986336
TI  - Stripe structure of the CuO2 plane in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y by anomalous x-ray
      diffraction.

PMID- 9986337
TI  - Monte Carlo investigation of the role of initial conditions on oxygen diffusion
      in planar YBa2Cu3O6+c.

PMID- 9986338
TI  - Plane-chain coupling in YBa2Cu3O7: Impurity effect on the critical temperature.

PMID- 9986339
TI  - Anisotropic order parameters with s- and d-wave-like symmetry and the transition
      temperature in high-Tc layered superconductors.

PMID- 9986341
TI  - In-plane paraconductivity and fluctuation-induced magnetoconductivity in
      biperiodic layered superconductors: Application to YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9986340
TI  - Theory for dynamical short-range order and Fermi surface volume in strongly
      correlated systems.

PMID- 9986343
TI  - High-pressure structural phases of titanium dioxide.

PMID- 9986342
TI  - Dynamics of oxygen ordering in the cell-doubled phase of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9986344
TI  - High-resolution 13C NMR studies of high-pressure-polymerized C60: Evidence for
      the

PMID- 9986345
TI  - Structural phase transition and Tc distribution in Hf-doped LaMnO3 investigated
      using perturbed-angular-correlation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986346
TI  - Spatially and temporally resolved emission from aggregates in conjugated
      polymers.

PMID- 9986347
TI  - Uncertainty relation in fluctuations in the space and time domains in disordered
      optical media.

PMID- 9986348
TI  - Spectral hole burning in Eu3+-doped highly porous gamma -aluminum oxide.

PMID- 9986350
TI  - Scaling above the upper critical dimension in Ising models.

PMID- 9986349
TI  - Experimental evidence for the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in La0.65Ca0.35MnO3.

PMID- 9986351
TI  - Observation of internal interfaces in PtxCo1-x (x

PMID- 9986353
TI  - Magnetoresistance anomalies and multiple magnetic transitions in SmMn2Ge2.

PMID- 9986352
TI  - Theory of the anomalous magnetic phase transition in UNiSn.

PMID- 9986354
TI  - Susceptibility and low-temperature thermodynamics of spin-1/2 Heisenberg ladders.

PMID- 9986355
TI  - Photoemission spectra in t-J ladders with two legs.

PMID- 9986356
TI  - Observation of an antiferromagnetic resonance in the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3
      doped with Zn.

PMID- 9986357
TI  - Itinerant antiferromagnetism in the Mott compound V1.973O3.

PMID- 9986359
TI  - Quasimagnetic ordering of planar spins in a random anisotropy system:
      Dy(As0.35V0.65)O4.

PMID- 9986358
TI  - Dynamics in the dimerized and the high-field incommensurate phase of CuGeO3.

PMID- 9986360
TI  - Interlayer magnetic coupling: Effect of alloying in the spacer.

PMID- 9986361
TI  - Perovskite oxide superlattices: Magnetotransport and magnetic properties.

PMID- 9986362
TI  - Phase separation and the existence of superconductivity in a one-dimensional
      copper-oxygen model.

PMID- 9986363
TI  - Enhancement of persistent photoconductivity by uv excitation in GdBa2Cu3O6.3.

PMID- 9986364
TI  - Power-law dependence of the ab-plane penetration depth in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9986365
TI  - Superconductor-insulator transition in a disordered electronic system.

PMID- 9986367
TI  - ESR evidence for phonon-mediated resistivity in alkali-metal-doped fullerides.

PMID- 9986366
TI  - Anomalous magnetization and dimensional crossover of the vortex system in the
      organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2.

PMID- 9986368
TI  - Vortex dynamics in Rb3C60 observed by 87Rb and 13C NMR.

PMID- 9986369
TI  - Heavy-electron behavior in single-crystal YbNi2B2C.

PMID- 9986370
TI  - Resistivity of single- and multiple-domain thin films of PrBa2Cu3O7 from 0.05 to
      500 K.

PMID- 9986371
TI  - Excitons in insulating cuprates.

PMID- 9986372
TI  - Paramagnetic ac susceptibility at the first-order vortex-lattice phase
      transition.

PMID- 9986373
TI  - Specific heat of low-Tc Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta.

PMID- 9986374
TI  - Finite-temperature mobility of a particle coupled to a fermionic environment.

PMID- 9986375
TI  - Umklapp processes for electrons and their renormalization-group flow.

PMID- 9986377
TI  - Charge-ordered insulating state of Fe3O4 from first-principles electronic
      structure calculations.

PMID- 9986376
TI  - Towards a potential-based conjugate gradient algorithm for order-N self
      consistent total energy calculations.

PMID- 9986378
TI  - Electronic states of Cu in cuprate superconductors: Atomic model.

PMID- 9986379
TI  - Boltzmann-Green functions for nonequilibrium fluctuations in metallic systems.

PMID- 9986380
TI  - Applications of reflection positivity in strongly correlated electron systems.

PMID- 9986381
TI  - X-ray-absorption problem in metals within the one-electron approximation:
      Extension to finite temperature.

PMID- 9986382
TI  - Low-energy d-d excitations in MnO studied by resonant x-ray fluorescence
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986383
TI  - Line shape of the no-phonon luminescence of excitons bound to phosphorus in
      carbon-doped silicon.

PMID- 9986385
TI  - Model for the photoluminescence behavior of porous silicon.

PMID- 9986384
TI  - Evidence concerning the effect of topology on electrical switching in
      chalcogenide network glasses.

PMID- 9986386
TI  - Bloch oscillations in In-Ga-As-P/In-Ga-As-P heterostructures observed with time
      resolved transmission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986387
TI  - Structure and surface kinetics of bismuth adsorption on Si(001).

PMID- 9986388
TI  - Electronic properties of monolayer steps on (2 x 4)/c(2 x 8) reconstructed
      GaAs(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9986389
TI  - Surface kinetics of zinc-blende (001) GaN.

PMID- 9986391
TI  - Wigner-function approach to a single-electron tunnel junction.

PMID- 9986392
TI  - Conductance increase by electron-phonon interaction in quantum wires.

PMID- 9986390
TI  - Disorder mediated biexcitonic beats in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9986394
TI  - Observability of the magnetic band structure of lateral superlattices.

PMID- 9986393
TI  - Effect of interedge Coulomb interactions on the transport between quantum Hall
      edge states.

PMID- 9986395
TI  - Surface core levels of In adsorption on Si(001)2 x 1.

PMID- 9986396
TI  - Intensity-dependent electroabsorption line shape in Cd(S,Se) quantum dots.

PMID- 9986397
TI  - Quasiperiodic magnetoresistance oscillations in narrow quasiballistic wire in the
      quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9986398
TI  - Fermion Chern-Simons gauge theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect for
      electromagnetic polarization tensor.

PMID- 9986400
TI  - Surface core-level shift of InSb(111)-2 x 2.

PMID- 9986399
TI  - Electroluminescence spectroscopy of intervalley scattering and hot-hole transport
      in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs tunneling structure.

PMID- 9986401
TI  - RbF/Ge(111) interface formation studied by LEED, XPS, and UPS.

PMID- 9986403
TI  - Observation of laser-induced microscale knotted and unknotted vortex filaments on
      vaporizing tantalum surface.

PMID- 9986402
TI  - Time-dependent local-density approximation in real time.

PMID- 9986404
TI  - Size dependence of force between parallel planar jellium metal surfaces at small
      separation.

PMID- 9986405
TI  - Intermixing during growth of Cr on Fe(100) studied by proton- and electron
      induced Auger-electron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986406
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy observation of stress-driven surface diffusion due
      to localized strain fields of misfit dislocations in heteroepitaxy.

PMID- 9986408
TI  - Monte Carlo study of electron transmission and backscattering from metallic thin
      films.

PMID- 9986407
TI  - Excitonic spectra of solid C60.

PMID- 9986410
TI  - Anomalous branching ratio of the Cs 4d doublet in submonolayer depositions.

PMID- 9986409
TI  - Dependence of implanted K+ cluster formation on the shift of the W work function.

PMID- 9986411
TI  - Applications of a tight-binding total-energy method for transition and noble
      metals: Elastic constants, vacancies, and surfaces of monatomic metals.

PMID- 9986413
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity in one-dimensional electron systems with long-range
      Coulomb interactions.

PMID- 9986412
TI  - Accurate evaluation of the interstitial KKR Green function.

PMID- 9986415
TI  - Influence of lattice effects on the electron-positron interaction in metals.

PMID- 9986414
TI  - Critical behavior at the metal-insulator transition in three-dimensional
      disordered systems in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9986416
TI  - Magnetotransport and thermopower properties of the quasi-two-dimensional charge
      density-wave compounds (PO2)4 (WO3)2m (m=4,6).

PMID- 9986417
TI  - Energy-transfer processes between Tm3+ and Pr3+ Ions in CsCdBr3.

PMID- 9986418
TI  - Calculation of core-hole excitonic features on Al L23-edge x-ray-absorption
      spectra of alpha -Al2O3.

PMID- 9986419
TI  - Nonlinear optical response of conjugated polymers: Essential excitations and
      scattering.

PMID- 9986421
TI  - Dissipative quantum tunneling of a single defect in a disordered metal.

PMID- 9986420
TI  - Mid-infrared properties of a VO2 film near the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9986423
TI  - Clustering process of interstitial atoms in gallium phosphide studied by
      transmission electron microscopy.

PMID- 9986422
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study on atomistic structures of liquid silicon.

PMID- 9986424
TI  - Tight-binding models for compounds: Application to SiC.

PMID- 9986425
TI  - Coupled free-carrier and exciton relaxation in optically excited semiconductors.

PMID- 9986426
TI  - High-field mobility in an assembly of conjugated polymer segments.

PMID- 9986428
TI  - Anti-Stokes luminescence in chromium-doped ZnSe.

PMID- 9986427
TI  - Ground-state properties of isolated interstitial iron in silicon: Electronic
      structure and hyperfine interactions.

PMID- 9986429
TI  - Homogeneous linewidth of bound excitons in high-purity GaAs measured by spectral
      hole burning.

PMID- 9986430
TI  - Anharmonic effects in light scattering due to optical phonons in CuGaS2.

PMID- 9986431
TI  - Spectroscopy of donor-acceptor pairs in nitrogen-doped ZnSe.

PMID- 9986432
TI  - Defect identification using the core-electron contribution in Doppler-broadening
      spectroscopy of positron-annihilation radiation.

PMID- 9986433
TI  - Dependence of the lattice parameters and the energy gap of zinc-blende-type
      semiconductors on isotopic masses.

PMID- 9986435
TI  - Mechanism of carrier generation in poly(phenylene vinylene): Transient
      photoconductivity and photoluminescence at high electric fields.

PMID- 9986434
TI  - Ab initio pseudopotential calculations of B diffusion and pairing in Si.

PMID- 9986436
TI  - Measurement of diffusion and drift of charge carriers from photocurrent
      transients.

PMID- 9986437
TI  - Direct observation of ordered trimers on Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 R30 degrees-Au
      by scanned-energy glancing-angle Kikuchi electron wave-front reconstruction.

PMID- 9986438
TI  - Reconstruction of the Si(113) surface.

PMID- 9986439
TI  - Photoinduced electron coupling in delta -doped GaAs/In0.18Ga0.82As quantum wells.

PMID- 9986441
TI  - Optical properties of two interacting electrons in quantum rings: Optical
      absorption and inelastic light scattering.

PMID- 9986440
TI  - Fixed-phase quantum Monte Carlo method applied to interacting electrons in a
      quantum dot.

PMID- 9986442
TI  - Ground-state energy of an exciton in a quantum-dot superlattice grown on a
      terraced substrate.

PMID- 9986443
TI  - Magneto-optical properties of diluted magnetic PbSe/Pb1-xMnxSe superlattices.

PMID- 9986444
TI  - Relationship between nonparabolicity and confinement energies in
      In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wires.

PMID- 9986445
TI  - Band-edge exciton in quantum dots of semiconductors with a degenerate valence
      band: Dark and bright exciton states.

PMID- 9986446
TI  - Resonant tunneling in double-quantum-well triple-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9986447
TI  - Spatial distribution of the current density and electric field in mesoscopic
      quantum Hall conductors.

PMID- 9986448
TI  - Excitons of composite fermions.

PMID- 9986449
TI  - Conduction- and valence-band offsets at the hydrogenated amorphous silicon
      carbon/crystalline silicon interface via capacitance techniques.

PMID- 9986450
TI  - Picosecond time evolution of free electron-hole pairs into excitons in GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9986451
TI  - Hidden massive Dirac fermions in effective field theory for integral quantum Hall
      transitions.

PMID- 9986453
TI  - Strong alignment of self-assembling InP quantum dots.

PMID- 9986452
TI  - Magneto-photon-phonon resonances in two-dimensional semiconductor systems driven
      by terahertz electromagnetic fields.

PMID- 9986454
TI  - Gallium-mediated homoepitaxial growth of silicon at low temperatures.

PMID- 9986455
TI  - Picosecond phonon dynamics and self-energy effects in highly photoexcited
      germanium.

PMID- 9986456
TI  - Effective charge-spin models for quantum dots.

PMID- 9986458
TI  - Duality and universality for the Chern-Simons bosons.

PMID- 9986457
TI  - Variational quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the effective spin Lande g factor
      in a two-dimensional electron system.

PMID- 9986459
TI  - Transition from the integer quantum Hall state to the insulator state.

PMID- 9986460
TI  - Magneto-optical studies of excitons in Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum wells.

PMID- 9986461
TI  - Interparticle interaction in spin-aligned and spin-degenerate exciton systems and
      magnetoplasmas in II-VI quantum wells.

PMID- 9986462
TI  - Linewidth narrowing of polaritons.

PMID- 9986463
TI  - Quasiparticle properties of a coupled quantum-wire electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9986464
TI  - Exact results for interacting electrons in high Landau levels.

PMID- 9986465
TI  - Disorder-induced enhancement of the quantum size effects in quantum wires with a
      tunnel barrier.

PMID- 9986466
TI  - Theory of optical spectra of exciton condensates.

PMID- 9986467
TI  - Optical properties of passivated Si nanocrystals and SiOx nanostructures.

PMID- 9986469
TI  - Theory of surface vibrations in epitaxial thin films.

PMID- 9986468
TI  - Correlations in the interface structure of Langmuir-Blodgett films observed by x
      ray scattering.

PMID- 9986470
TI  - Step-density-wave phase of crystalline interfaces.

PMID- 9986471
TI  - Multilayer adsorption and desorption: Cs and Li on Ru(0001).

PMID- 9986472
TI  - Simple structure and soft elastic behavior of Mn on Fe{001}

PMID- 9986473
TI  - Exchange splitting of image states on Fe/Cu(100) and Co/Cu(100).

PMID- 9986475
TI  - Electronic structure, screening, and charging effects at a metal/organic
      tunneling junction: A first-principles study.

PMID- 9986474
TI  - Surface state at the K-bar point of the surface Brillouin zone on Cu{111}

PMID- 9986476
TI  - Optical response of C60 thin films and solutions.

PMID- 9986478
TI  - Inelastic and elastic processes in the transmission of F+, F-, and F2- from
      PF3/Ru(0001) through thin rare-gas films.

PMID- 9986477
TI  - Ehrlich-Schwoebel instability in molecular-beam epitaxy: A minimal model.

PMID- 9986479
TI  - Towards an understanding of liquid-metal embrittlement: Energetics of Ga on Al
      surfaces.

PMID- 9986480
TI  - Effects of liquid loading on surface acoustic waves in solids.

PMID- 9986481
TI  - High-resolution 13C NMR investigation in Cs4C60.

PMID- 9986483
TI  - Erratum: Surface-dimer and bulk-atom imaging of the Si(001) (2 x 1) surface by
      Kikuchi electron holography

PMID- 9986482
TI  - Density dependence of the electronic supershells in the homogeneous jellium
      model.

PMID- 9986484
TI  - Erratum: Ab initio study of hydrogen adsorption on the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface

PMID- 9986486
TI  - Erratum: Electronic structure and stability of the alpha -Sn/InSb(111)A nonpolar
      polar heterojunction interface

PMID- 9986485
TI  - Erratum: Selective laser removal of the dimer layer from Si(100) surfaces
      revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy

PMID- 9986487
TI  - Electron states in a nearly ideal random-network model of amorphous SiO2 glass.

PMID- 9986488
TI  - Intermediate-spin state and properties of LaCoO3.

PMID- 9986489
TI  - Dynamical mean-field theory for perovskites.

PMID- 9986490
TI  - Cohesive energy of 3d transition metals: Density functional theory atomic and
      bulk calculations.

PMID- 9986491
TI  - Magnetic-electric two-dimensional Euclidean group.

PMID- 9986492
TI  - Electronic occupation functions for density-matrix tight-binding methods.

PMID- 9986493
TI  - Spectral flow in the supersymmetric t-J model with a 1/r2 interaction.

PMID- 9986494
TI  - GW spectral functions of Gd and NiO.

PMID- 9986496
TI  - Electronic structure and orbital ordering in perovskite-type 3d transition-metal
      oxides studied by Hartree-Fock band-structure calculations.

PMID- 9986495
TI  - Mutual-exclusion statistics in exactly solvable models in one and higher
      dimensions at low temperatures.

PMID- 9986497
TI  - Perturbation study on the spin and charge susceptibilities of the two-dimensional
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9986499
TI  - Fermi-liquid-to-polaron crossover. II. Double exchange and the physics of
      colossal magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9986498
TI  - Fermi-liquid-to-polaron crossover. I. General results.

PMID- 9986501
TI  - Zero-bias anomaly in finite-size systems.

PMID- 9986500
TI  - Classical model of charge-density waves applied to mixed samples of TaS3.

PMID- 9986502
TI  - Phonon-drag effects on thermoelectric power.

PMID- 9986503
TI  - Effective medium theory of hopping transport.

PMID- 9986504
TI  - High resolution Compton scattering study of Be.

PMID- 9986505
TI  - Spin-polarized linear muffin-tin orbitals calculation of the interstitial-atom
      effect in gamma '-Fe4Z (Z=H, C, N).

PMID- 9986506
TI  - Spin-density-wave transition in systems with chemical dimerization.

PMID- 9986507
TI  - Valence-band electronic structure of MoS2 and Cs/MoS2(0002) studied by angle
      resolved x-ray photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986508
TI  - Gap formation and defect states in tetrahedral amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9986510
TI  - Self-interaction and relaxation-corrected pseudopotentials for II-VI
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9986509
TI  - Local modes of the H2* dimer in germanium.

PMID- 9986511
TI  - Variational quantum Monte Carlo ground state of GaAs.

PMID- 9986513
TI  - Possible self-trapped magnetic polaron in EuSe.

PMID- 9986512
TI  - Solid-state-concentration effects on the optical absorption and emission of
      poly(p-phenylene vinylene)-related materials.

PMID- 9986514
TI  - s,p-d exchange interaction in Cr-based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9986516
TI  - Photoluminescence in Zn1-xCoxSe under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9986515
TI  - Monte Carlo study of picosecond exciton relaxation and dissociation in
      poly(phenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9986517
TI  - Origin of characteristic subgap optical absorption in CVD diamond films.

PMID- 9986518
TI  - Host-isotope fine structure of the fundamental and second-harmonic transitions
      for the CAs local mode in GaAs.

PMID- 9986519
TI  - Subpicosecond photoconductivity of In0.53Ga0.47As: Intervalley scattering rates
      observed via THz spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986520
TI  - Kinetics of vacancy diffusion on Si(111) surfaces studied by scanning reflection
      electron microscopy.

PMID- 9986522
TI  - First-principles study on energetics of c-BN(001) reconstructed surfaces.

PMID- 9986523
TI  - Electronic structure and magneto-optics of self-assembled quantum dots.

PMID- 9986521
TI  - Disordering of the low-temperature c(4 x 2) structure of Ge(001) to the (2 x 1)
      reconstruction: Evidence for a mean-field transition.

PMID- 9986524
TI  - Many-body effects, space-charge potential, and valence-band mixing on the optical
      gain in quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9986525
TI  - Intersubband transitions in strained In0.07Ga0.93As/Al0.40Ga0.60As multiple
      quantum wells and their application to a two-colors photodetector.

PMID- 9986526
TI  - Exciton capture by shallow quantum wells in separate confinement
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9986527
TI  - Coulomb blockade of tunneling through a double quantum dot.

PMID- 9986528
TI  - Microscopic theory of coherent carrier dynamics and phase breaking in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9986529
TI  - Classical and quantum theory of a two-dimensional electron gas in time-dependent
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9986530
TI  - Efficient, numerically stable multiband k

PMID- 9986532
TI  - Chemical and structural contributions to the valence-band offset at GaP/GaAs
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9986531
TI  - Thermopower and conductivity of InAs/GaSb crossed-gap heterostructures in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9986533
TI  - Mobility modulation in vertical transport of hot electrons in multi-quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9986535
TI  - Magnetobiexcitonic states in a quantum wire.

PMID- 9986534
TI  - Analytic solutions for the valence subband mixing at the zone center of a
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum well under uniaxial stress perpendicular to the growth
      direction.

PMID- 9986536
TI  - Theoretical studies of the effects of a magnetic field on excitonic nonlinear
      optical properties of quantum wires.

PMID- 9986538
TI  - Optical response of three-dimensional photonic lattices: Solutions of
      inhomogeneous Maxwell's equations and their applications.

PMID- 9986537
TI  - Parameters of the magnetic polaron state in diluted magnetic semiconductors Cd-Mn
      Te with low manganese concentration.

PMID- 9986539
TI  - Sum-frequency generation in a two-dimensional photonic lattice.

PMID- 9986541
TI  - Exchanges between group-III (B, Al, Ga, In) and Si atoms on Si(111)- sqrt(3) x
      sqrt(3) surfaces.

PMID- 9986540
TI  - Bound states and threshold resonances in quantum wires with circular bends.

PMID- 9986543
TI  - Momentum conservation in macroscopic quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9986542
TI  - Compound formation under local thermal spikes during ion-beam mixing: Model and
      its experimental verification.

PMID- 9986544
TI  - Exact critical properties of the multicomponent interacting fermion model with
      boundaries.

PMID- 9986545
TI  - Physics of noise in quantum-confined field-effect transistors.

PMID- 9986547
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity in nonequilibrium systems.

PMID- 9986546
TI  - Calculation of the residual resistivity of three-dimensional quantum wires.

PMID- 9986548
TI  - Ballistic weak localization in regular and chaotic quantum-electron billiards.

PMID- 9986549
TI  - Quantum switching of polarization in mesoscopic ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9986550
TI  - Effective dielectric response of semiconductor composites.

PMID- 9986551
TI  - Heavy-light hole mixing at zinc-blende (001) interfaces under normal incidence.

PMID- 9986552
TI  - Interfacial roughness and related growth mechanisms in sputtered W/Si
      multilayers.

PMID- 9986553
TI  - Four-state planar model of the Si(111) surface reconstruction.

PMID- 9986554
TI  - Surface-scattering study of the interaction potential of He atoms with the step
      edges of the Cu(211) and Cu(511) vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9986555
TI  - Electronic structure of high- and low- temperature c(2 x 2)-Na/Al(001) phases
      from angle-scanned ultraviolet photoemission.

PMID- 9986556
TI  - Coverage-dependent study of the Cs/Si(100)2 x 1 surface using photoelectron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9986558
TI  - Kinetic Monte Carlo studies of early surface morphology in diamond film growth by
      chemical vapor deposition of methyl radical.

PMID- 9986557
TI  - Molecular dynamics of place exchange of metal adatoms with fcc (100) surfaces
      during deposition.

PMID- 9986559
TI  - Bond length and adsorbate vibrations of (2 x 3)N/Cu(110): A SEXAFS study.

PMID- 9986561
TI  - Self-diffusion and dynamic behavior of atoms at step edges of iridium surfaces.

PMID- 9986560
TI  - Anisotropic electron-beam damage and the collapse of carbon nanotubes.

PMID- 9986562
TI  - Relaxation of Al(001) and Al(110): Surface embedded Green function total-energy
      and force calculation.

PMID- 9986563
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of (e,2e) experiments on solids.

PMID- 9986564
TI  - Ground states of a one-dimensional lattice-gas model with an infinite-range
      nonconvex interaction. A numerical study.

PMID- 9986566
TI  - Properties of pure and compound clusters of Si, Ge, and Pb.

PMID- 9986565
TI  - Theoretical study of icosahedral Ni clusters within the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9986567
TI  - Photonic-band-structure effects for low-index-contrast two-dimensional lattices
      in the near-infrared.

PMID- 9986569
TI  - Spatial properties of nonlinear ac transport in a Luttinger liquid with an
      impurity.

PMID- 9986568
TI  - Exact solution for the general Peierls-Frohlich chain with disorder.

PMID- 9986570
TI  - Thermal conductivity of RB6 (R=Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Gd) single crystals.

PMID- 9986571
TI  - Ultrafast coherent transients due to exciton-continuum scattering in bulk GaAs.

PMID- 9986572
TI  - Impact of recombination centers on the spontaneous emission of semiconductors
      under steady-state and transient conditions.

PMID- 9986574
TI  - Manifestation of the Hofstadter butterfly in far-infrared absorption.

PMID- 9986573
TI  - Smooth-disorder effects in ballistic microstructures.

PMID- 9986575
TI  - Effect of the reduction of dimensionality on the exchange parameters in
      semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9986577
TI  - Rabi oscillations between Bloch bands.

PMID- 9986576
TI  - Observation of the ultrafast two-photon coherent biexciton oscillation in a
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum well.

PMID- 9986578
TI  - Tunneling through a barrier in a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid connected to
      reservoirs.

PMID- 9986579
TI  - Phonon bottleneck in self-formed InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum dots by
      electroluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence.

PMID- 9986580
TI  - Bistability and dynamic depopulation in transport through a system of weakly
      coupled quantum wires.

PMID- 9986581
TI  - Resonant Gamma -X- Gamma magnetotunneling in GaAs-AlAs-GaAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9986582
TI  - Transport properties of a quantum dot with superconducting leads.

PMID- 9986583
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect in bilayer two-dimensional hole-gas systems.

PMID- 9986584
TI  - Interface-induced conversion of infrared to visible light at semiconductor
      interfaces.

PMID- 9986585
TI  - Reversibility of the elementary mechanisms of atomic-layer epitaxy and
      sublimation of (001) CdTe.

PMID- 9986586
TI  - Attenuation of low-energy (<10 eV) O+ ions in transmission through adsorbed
      alkali-metal layers.

PMID- 9986587
TI  - Segregation-induced subsurface restructuring of FeAl(100).

PMID- 9986588
TI  - Local-field effects on photoemission of C60.

PMID- 9986589
TI  - Local transport properties of thin bismuth films studied by scanning tunneling
      potentiometry.

PMID- 9986590
TI  - Influence of dimensionality on deep tunneling rates: A study based on the
      hydrogen-nickel system.

PMID- 9986592
TI  - Ultrafast dynamics of electrons in image-potential states on clean and Xe-covered
      Cu(111).

PMID- 9986591
TI  - Electron localization in Co/Ni superlattices.

PMID- 9986593
TI  - Third-order elastic constants of bcc Cu-Al-Ni.

PMID- 9986595
TI  - Defect structure and Li-vacancy ordering in beta -LiGa.

PMID- 9986594
TI  - Structure and disorder in YbInCu4.

PMID- 9986596
TI  - Elastic properties of terbium.

PMID- 9986597
TI  - Arrhenius conduction restored by positional ordering of anions in the one
      dimensional conductor (TTF)(SCN)0.47(NO3)0.10.

PMID- 9986598
TI  - Phase transition in potassium dihydrogen phosphate induced by an applied static
      electric field.

PMID- 9986599
TI  - Multiphoton electron emission from Cu and W: An angle-resolved study.

PMID- 9986600
TI  - Martensitic phase transformation and lattice dynamics of fcc cobalt.

PMID- 9986601
TI  - Importance of rings on the microscopic properties of a strong glass.

PMID- 9986602
TI  - Splitting patterns of the electronic energy spectrum of a class of one
      dimensional generalized Fibonacci lattices.

PMID- 9986604
TI  - Homogeneous to inhomogeneous transition in charged colloids.

PMID- 9986603
TI  - Weak localization in an anisotropic crystal: Decagonal quasicrystal Al65Cu15Co20.

PMID- 9986605
TI  - Lattice dynamics of magnesium using pseudopotential and ab initio Hartree-Fock
      approaches.

PMID- 9986606
TI  - Heat-capacity comparison among the nanocrystalline, amorphous, and coarse-grained
      polycrystalline states in element selenium.

PMID- 9986607
TI  - Effective carrier doping by magnetic field into a pseudogapped state in CeNiSn: A
      Sn NMR study.

PMID- 9986608
TI  - Optical evidence of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in U1-xThxPd2Al3.

PMID- 9986610
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced multiple electronic states in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3+ delta.

PMID- 9986609
TI  - Anomalous magnetoresistance behavior of R2Ni3Si5 (R = Pr, Dy, Ho).

PMID- 9986611
TI  - One-dimensional free-electron spin susceptibility at finite temperature.

PMID- 9986612
TI  - Classical two-dimensional XXZ model: A test of a generalized self-consistent
      harmonic approximation.

PMID- 9986613
TI  - Normal modes of vortices in easy-plane antiferromagnets: Exact results and Born
      approximation.

PMID- 9986614
TI  - Observation and interpretation of a partial Gd twisted spin state in an epitaxial
      Gd/Fe bilayer.

PMID- 9986615
TI  - Giant magnetoimpedance effects in the soft ferromagnet Fe73.5CuNb3Si13.5B9.

PMID- 9986616
TI  - Interlayer exchange coupling in magnetic multilayers with misaligned Fermi
      surfaces.

PMID- 9986618
TI  - Nernst effect in anisotropic metals.

PMID- 9986617
TI  - Diffusion Monte Carlo study of two-dimensional liquid 4He.

PMID- 9986619
TI  - Anomalous magnetic properties in the single-crystal kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2
      superconductor.

PMID- 9986621
TI  - Electronic structure of Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta epitaxial films measured by x-ray
      photoemission.

PMID- 9986620
TI  - Interlayer fluxon interaction in Josephson stacks.

PMID- 9986622
TI  - Superconducting transition in Nb/Gd/Nb trilayers.

PMID- 9986624
TI  - Influence of Van Hove singularities on the thermal conductivity of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9986623
TI  - Observation of superconductivity in PrBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9986625
TI  - Phase diagram of Bi2.15Sr1.85CaCu2O8+ delta in the presence of columnar defects.

PMID- 9986626
TI  - Positive curvature in the temperature dependence of Hc2 in KxBa1-xBiO3.

PMID- 9986627
TI  - Raman spectra of Hg-based superconductors: Effect of oxygen defects.

PMID- 9986628
TI  - Optical and photoelectrical studies of charge-transfer processes in YAlO3:Ti
      crystals.

PMID- 9986629
TI  - Mesoscopic model of crack branching.

PMID- 9986630
TI  - Molecular motion and phase transition in K3C60 and Rb3C60 by nuclear magnetic
      resonance.

PMID- 9986631
TI  - In situ high-resolution infrared spectroscopy of a photopolymerized C60 film.

PMID- 9986632
TI  - Structural phase diagram of La1-xSrxMnO3+ delta : Relationship to magnetic and
      transport properties.

PMID- 9986633
TI  - Kinetics of irradiation-induced phase transformations in tricritical systems.

PMID- 9986634
TI  - Spectral and kinetic properties of the 4.4-eV photoluminescence band in a-SiO2:
      Effects of gamma irradiation.

PMID- 9986635
TI  - High-pressure and high-temperature studies on oxide garnets.

PMID- 9986636
TI  - Defect-induced condensation and the central peak at elastic phase transitions.

PMID- 9986637
TI  - Observation of ferroelectric domain structures by secondary-electron microscopy
      in as-grown KTiOPO4 crystals.

PMID- 9986638
TI  - Physical origin of photonic energy gaps in the propagation of surface plasmons on
      gratings.

PMID- 9986639
TI  - Thermodynamics at finite deformation of an anisotropic elastic solid.

PMID- 9986640
TI  - Model-independent analysis of inelastic-neutron-scattering data at high momentum
      transfer.

PMID- 9986642
TI  - Disclination dynamics in nematic liquid crystals.

PMID- 9986641
TI  - Spectral hole burning of Eu2+ in CaF2.

PMID- 9986644
TI  - Correlation between density of tunneling states and fragility of glasses.

PMID- 9986643
TI  - Random-network simulation of an ultracapacitor based on metal-solid-electrolyte
      composite.

PMID- 9986645
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering studies on glassy and liquid Ca0.4K0.6(NO3)1.4.

PMID- 9986646
TI  - Photoelectron spectra of an Al70Pd21Mn9 quasicrystal and the cubic alloy
      Al60Pd25Mn15.

PMID- 9986647
TI  - Heat capacity, adsorption isotherms, and quasielastic neutron scattering
      measurements of bilayer deuterium hydride adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9986648
TI  - Bistable self-organization of nuclear spins in conducting solids.

PMID- 9986649
TI  - Classical fluctuations and anisotropy in quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9986650
TI  - Spin-one ferromagnets with single-ion anisotropy in a perpendicular external
      field.

PMID- 9986651
TI  - Dynamical correlation functions of the S=1/2 nearest-neighbor and Haldane-Shastry
      Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains in zero and applied fields.

PMID- 9986652
TI  - Spontaneous staggered magnetization in antiferromagnetic Heisenberg-Ising chains.

PMID- 9986653
TI  - Two-magnon Raman scattering in a Mott-Hubbard antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9986654
TI  - Metallic ferromagnetism in a single-band model: Effect of band filling and
      Coulomb interactions.

PMID- 9986655
TI  - Persistent currents in coupled mesoscopic rings.

PMID- 9986656
TI  - Calculated oscillation periods of the interlayer coupling in Fe/Cr/Fe and
      Fe/Mo/Fe sandwiches.

PMID- 9986658
TI  - Spin excitations in the low-temperature phase of Tm.

PMID- 9986657
TI  - Magnetic structures of bct manganese in the bulk and at the (001) surface.

PMID- 9986659
TI  - Magnetic structure of dysprosium in epitaxial Dy films and in Dy/Er
      superlattices.

PMID- 9986660
TI  - ac susceptibility study on R2Fe14B single crystals (R=Y, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy,
      Ho, Er, Tm).

PMID- 9986661
TI  - Fully relativistic spin-polarized description of magnetic interface coupling: Fe
      multilayers in Au(100).

PMID- 9986662
TI  - Magnetic excitations and soft-mode transition in the quasi-one-dimensional mixed
      spin antiferromagnet Pr2BaNiO5.

PMID- 9986664
TI  - Magnetization steps of spin quartets.

PMID- 9986663
TI  - Mossbauer and muon studies of beta -(NH4)2FeF5.

PMID- 9986665
TI  - Magnetic relaxation and formation of magnetic domains in ultrathin films with
      perpendicular anisotropy.

PMID- 9986666
TI  - Spin-wave resonance in high-conductivity films: The Fe-Co alloy system.

PMID- 9986667
TI  - Theory of pulsed NMR studies on solid D2.

PMID- 9986668
TI  - Scaling analysis of a model Hamiltonian for Ce3+ impurities in a cubic metal.

PMID- 9986669
TI  - Simplified hydrodynamic analysis of superfluid turbulence in He II: Internal
      dynamics of inhomogeneous vortex tangle.

PMID- 9986670
TI  - Theory of first-order layering transitions in thin helium films.

PMID- 9986671
TI  - Surface contribution to Raman scattering from layered superconductors.

PMID- 9986673
TI  - Current-voltage relation for asymmetric ballistic superconducting junctions.

PMID- 9986672
TI  - Influence of magnetic field and Pincus states in normal-metal-superconductor
      tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9986674
TI  - Self-field effects on flux flow in two-dimensional arrays of Nb Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9986675
TI  - Magnetic relaxation in a superconducting disk.

PMID- 9986676
TI  - Evidence of surface superconductivity in 2H-NbSe2 single crystals.

PMID- 9986677
TI  - Transmission resonances in a semiconductor-superconductor junction quantum
      interference structure.

PMID- 9986679
TI  - Cooper-pair tunneling in small junctions with tunable Josephson coupling.

PMID- 9986678
TI  - Doubly shaped D2 excitation spectra of Cs and Rb atoms in superfluid helium due
      to a quadrupole bubble surface oscillation.

PMID- 9986680
TI  - Search for negative U in the Ba1-xKxBi1-yPbyO3 system using constrained density
      functional theory.

PMID- 9986681
TI  - Effect of anisotropy on the energy gap and the critical temperature in a strongly
      coupled layered superconductor.

PMID- 9986682
TI  - Effect of nonmagnetic impurities on the gap of a dx2-y2 superconductor as seen by
      angle-resolved photoemission.

PMID- 9986684
TI  - Finite-temperature real-energy-axis solutions of the isotropic Eliashberg
      integral equations.

PMID- 9986683
TI  - Quasiparticle and spin excitations for two coupled Hubbard planes and comparison
      with experiments on bilayer YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9986685
TI  - Vortex-liquid-vortex-crystal transition in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9986687
TI  - Superconductivity of Pr2-xCexCuO4+ delta single crystals with substitution of Ni
      and Co on the Cu position.

PMID- 9986686
TI  - Seebeck and Nernst effects in the mixed state of YBa2Cu3Oy single crystals: A
      probe for the scattering rate of quasiparticles.

PMID- 9986689
TI  - Aspects of the normal-state phase of copper oxide planes in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9986688
TI  - Doping dependence of the optical properties of Ba1-xKxBiO3.

PMID- 9986690
TI  - Photoemission and x-ray absorption study of superconducting and semiconducting
      Ba1-xKxBiO3 single crystals.

PMID- 9986691
TI  - Polarized and unpolarized neutron-scattering study of the dynamical spin
      susceptibility of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9986692
TI  - Raman study of the oxygen anharmonicity in YBa2Cu3Ox (6.4<x<7.0) superconductors.

PMID- 9986693
TI  - Observation of a geometrical resonance effect in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x break junctions.

PMID- 9986695
TI  - Determination of two-dimensional current patterns in flat superconductors from
      magneto-optical measurements: An efficient inversion scheme.

PMID- 9986694
TI  - Direction of tunneling in Pb/I/YBa2Cu3O7-x tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9986697
TI  - Normal-state transport behavior in pure, Pr-doped, and Ca-doped RBa2Cu3O7-y
      systems.

PMID- 9986696
TI  - Transport properties of high-temperature superconductors: Surface vs bulk effect.

PMID- 9986698
TI  - High-temperature resistance of the YBa2Cu3O6+x tetragonal phase.

PMID- 9986699
TI  - Phase-sensitive tunneling measurements in a bulk YBa2Cu3O7- delta dc SQUID.

PMID- 9986701
TI  - Erratum: Sign reversal of the Hall effect in superconducting YBa2(Cu1-xNix)3O7-
      delta single crystals

PMID- 9986700
TI  - Effect of high-pressure oxygen annealing in promoting superconductivity in
      YSr2Cu2.7Fe0.3Oy: Evidence for Fe coordination number change in the chains.

PMID- 9986702
TI  - A new single-photon emission computed tomography imaging agent for serotonin
      transporters: [123I]IDAM, 5-iodo-2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)benzyl
      alcohol.

PMID- 9986703
TI  - Effect of modifications of the alkylpiperazine moiety of trazodone on 5HT2A and
      alpha1 receptor binding affinity.
AB  - A series of triazolopyridine derivatives (compounds 2a-l) were synthesized in
      order to explore the effect of modifications of the alkylpiperazine moiety of
      trazodone (fragment A) on binding affinity for 5HT2A and alpha1 receptors. All of
      the synthesized compounds show a decrease of affinity for both 5HT2A and alpha1
      receptors, as compared to trazodone, with the exception of compounds 2b,c which
      bear a methyl group in an alpha position to the aliphatic nitrogen atom N1. These
      compounds showed a decrease of affinity only for the alpha1 receptor. The
      stereochemical influence of the piperazine moiety of compound 2c was also
      evaluated. Enantiomer (S)-2c showed the most significant differences between
      5HT2A and alpha1 receptor affinity (IC50 values) and among the corresponding
      functional properties (pA2 values). Since (S)-2c cannot generate the metabolite 4
      (3-chlorophenyl)piperazine this product was selected for further pharmacological
      studies.

PMID- 9986704
TI  - N-Substituted 2-(2,6-dinitrophenylamino)propanamides: novel prodrugs that release
      a primary amine via nitroreduction and intramolecular cyclization.
AB  - A series of N-dinitrophenylamino acid amides [(4-CONHZ-2, 6
      diNO2Ph)N(R)C(X,Y)CONHPhOMe] were prepared as potential bioreductive prodrugs and
      reduced radiolytically to study their rates of subsequent intramolecular
      cyclization. Compounds bearing a free NH group (R = H) underwent rapid
      cyclization in neutral aqueous buffers (t1/2 < 1 min) following 4-electron
      reduction, with the generation of a N-hydroxydihydroquinoxalinone and concomitant
      release of 4-methoxyaniline. Amine release from analogous N-methyl analogues (R =
      Me) was relatively slow. These results are consistent with intramolecular
      cyclization of a monohydroxylamine intermediate. The high rates of
      cyclization/extrusion by these very electron-deficient hydroxylamines suggest
      that the process is greatly accelerated by the presence of an H-bonding
      "conformational lock" between the anilino NH group and the adjacent o-nitro group
      (Kirk and Cohen, 1972). Changes in the phenylcarboxamide side chain or in C
      methylation in the linking chain had little effect on the rate of cyclization.
      The model compounds had 1-electron reduction potentials in the range appropriate
      for cellular reduction (-373 mV for a measured example) and appeared suitable for
      development as prodrugs that release amine-based effectors following enzymic or
      radiolytic reduction. Prodrug examples containing 4-aminoaniline mustard and 5
      amino-1-(chloromethyl)benz[e]indoline alkylating units were evaluated but were
      not activated efficiently by cellular nitroreductases. However, cell killing by
      the radiation-induced reduction of the latter prodrug was demonstrated.

PMID- 9986705
TI  - Identification and characterization of m1 selective muscarinic receptor
      antagonists1.
AB  - A series of esters of 1,4-disubstituted tetrahydropyridine carboxylic acids (I)
      has been synthesized and characterized as potential m1 selective muscarinic
      receptor antagonists. The affinity of these compounds for the five human
      muscarinic receptor subtypes (Hm1-Hm5) was determined by the displacement of [3H]
      NMS binding using membranes from transfected Chinese hamster ovarian cells. One
      of the most potent and selective compounds of this series is an analogue of I
      [11, R1 = (CH2)5CH3], which has an IC50 value of 27.3 nM at the m1 receptor and
      possesses 100-fold (m2), 48-fold (m3), 74-fold (m4), and 19-fold (m5)
      selectivities at the other receptors. Thus, this analogue appears to be more
      selective on the basis of binding than the prototypical m1 antagonist,
      pirenzepine. Functional data, such as the inhibition of carbachol-stimulated
      phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis, on selected analogues confirmed the muscarinic
      antagonistic properties of this chemical series.

PMID- 9986706
TI  - Ajoene is an inhibitor and subversive substrate of human glutathione reductase
      and Trypanosoma cruzi trypanothione reductase: crystallographic, kinetic, and
      spectroscopic studies.
AB  - Ajoene ((E,Z)-4,5,9-trithiadodeca-1,6,11-triene 9-oxide), a garlic-derived
      natural compound, is a covalent inhibitor as well as a substrate of human
      glutathione reductase (GR) and Trypanosoma cruzi trypanothione reductase (TR).
      The 2.1-A resolution crystal structure of GR inhibited by (E)-ajoene revealed a
      mixed disulfide between the active site Cys58 and the CH2=CH-CH2-SO-CH2-CH=CH-S
      moiety of ajoene. The modified enzyme has a markedly increased oxidase activity
      when compared to free GR. GR reduces (Z)-ajoene with a kcat/Km of 6.8 x 10(3) M-1
      s-1 yielding 4,5,9-trithiadodeca-1, 6,11-triene (deoxyajoene) and 4,8,9,13
      tetrathiahexadeca-1,6,10, 15-tetraene as stable reaction products. The reaction
      leads also to the formation of single-electron reduced products and concomitantly
      superoxide anion radicals as shown by coupling the reaction to the reduction of
      cytochrome c. The interactions between the flavoenzymes and ajoene are expected
      to increase the oxidative stress of the respective cell. The antiparasitic and
      cytostatic actions of ajoene may at least in part be due to the multiple effects
      on key enzymes of the antioxidant thiol metabolism.

PMID- 9986707
TI  - Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship of interleukin 1
      beta converting enzyme inhibitors: A comparative molecular field analysis study.
AB  - A three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study
      using the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) method was performed on a
      series of interleukin 1-beta converting enzyme (ICE) inhibitors. The compounds
      studied have been reported to be time-dependent inhibitors of ICE. This study was
      performed using 49 compounds, in which the CoMFA models were developed using a
      training set of 39 compounds. All the compounds were modeled using the X-ray
      crystal structure of tetrapeptide aldehyde inhibitor/ICE complex. The inhibitor
      compounds were considered both as neutral species and as P1 carboxylate ionized
      species. Superimpositions were performed using two alignment rules, namely, an
      alignment of the structures based on RMS fitting of the backbone heavy atoms of
      each structure to compound 2 and an alignment based on SYBYL QSAR rigid body
      field fit of the steric and electrostatic fields of the molecules to the fields
      of compound 2. Use of LUMO energies or ClogP as additional descriptors in the
      QSAR table did not improve the significance of the CoMFA models. Steric and
      electrostatic fields of the inhibitors were found to be the relevant descriptors
      for structure-activity relationships. The predictive ability of the CoMFA model
      was evaluated by using a test set of 10 compounds (r2pred as high as 0.859).
      Further comparison of the coefficient contour maps with the steric and
      electrostatic properties of the receptor show a high level of compatibility.

PMID- 9986708
TI  - Antitumor benzothiazoles. 7. Synthesis of 2-(4-acylaminophenyl)benzothiazoles and
      investigations into the role of acetylation in the antitumor activities of the
      parent amines.
AB  - 2-(4-Aminophenyl)benzothiazoles display potent and selective antitumor activity
      against inter alia breast, ovarian, colon, and renal cell lines, but their
      mechanism of action, though yet to be defined, may be novel. Metabolism is
      suspected to play a central role in the mode of action of these benzothiazoles
      since drug uptake and biotransformation were observed in sensitive cell lines
      (e.g., breast MCF-7 and MDA 468 cells) in vitro, whereas insensitive cell lines
      (e.g., prostate PC 3 cells) showed negligible uptake and biotransformation. N
      Acyl derivatives of the arylamines have been synthesized, and in vitro studies
      confirm N-acetylation and oxidation as the main metabolic transformations of 2-(4
      aminophenyl)benzothiazoles, with the predominant process being dictated by the
      nature of the 3'-substituent. The prototype amine 3 underwent mainly N
      acetylation in vitro, while 3'-substituted analogues 4 and 5 were primarily
      oxidized. N-Acetylation of 4 to 11 exerts a drastic dyschemotherapeutic effect in
      vitro, but acetylation of the halogeno congeners 5-7 gave acetylamines 12-14
      which substantially retain selective antitumor activity. In vivo pharmacokinetic
      studies in rats confirmed rapid and exclusive N-acetylation of the 3'-methyl
      analogue 4, but less acetylation with the 3'-chloro analogue 5. Distinct
      expression patterns of N-acetyltransferase NAT1 and NAT2 have been demonstrated
      in our panel of cell lines.

PMID- 9986709
TI  - The presence of substituents on the aryl moiety of the aryl phosphoramidate
      derivative of d4T enhances anti-HIV efficacy in cell culture: A structure
      activity relationship.
AB  - New substituted-aryl phosphoramidate derivatives of the anti-HIV drug d4T were
      synthesized as membrane-soluble intracellular prodrugs for the free bioactive
      phosphate to establish relationship(s) between compound structure and in vitro
      antiviral activity. The majority of compounds demonstrated an elevation of in
      vitro potency relative to that of the parent nucleoside, and unlike d4T, all
      retained full activity in thymidine kinase-deficient cells. The compound bearing
      a p-chloro aryl group (8e) expressed nanomolar activity in vitro, a 14-fold
      increase in activity relative to that of the unsubstituted phosphoramidate (100
      fold compared to d4T). An assay using pig liver esterase was used to establish
      the stability of the compounds to enzymatic degradation. While there was no
      apparent correlation between in vitro activity and half-life of enzymatic
      degradation, there was a close correlation between compound lipophilicity,
      determined by octanol/water partition coefficient, and in vitro potency. We
      suggest that substitutions made to the aryl moiety of the aryl phosphoramidate of
      d4T that result in enhancing lipophilicity may serve to increase the cellular
      uptake of the prodrug by passive diffusion, leading to the expression of
      antiviral potency at reduced prodrug concentrations.

PMID- 9986710
TI  - Dermorphin and deltorphin glycosylated analogues: synthesis and antinociceptive
      activity after systemic administration.
AB  - In the present paper we describe the synthesis of some dermorphin and deltorphin
      analogues beta-O- and alpha-C-glycosylated on the C-terminal amino acid residue
      and report their opioid receptor affinity and selectivity as well as their
      analgesic potency after subcutaneous injection in mice.

PMID- 9986711
TI  - Design of antineoplastic agents based on the "2-phenylnaphthalene-type"
      structural pattern. 4. Synthesis and biological activity of 2-chloro-3
      (substituted phenoxy)-1, 4-naphthoquinones and related 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4
      naphthoquinones.
AB  - The intermediate in the preparation of 1,3,7, 10-tetrahydroxybenzo[b]naphtho[2,3
      d]furan-6,11-dione (2), 2-chloro-5,8-dimethoxy-3-(3,5-dimethoxyphenoxy)-1,4
      naphthoquinone (8h), and corresponding hydroxyl, methoxyl, and acetoxyl analogues
      was found to possess interesting inhibitory activities in a number of cytotoxic
      test systems. Activities were also noticed in some 5, 8-dihydroxy-1,4
      naphthoquinone derivatives. A structure-activity discussion of compounds of this
      series is presented. The newly uncovered biological activity of 2-chloro-3
      (substituted phenoxyl)-1, 4-naphthoquinones and 2,3-bis(substituted phenoxy)-1, 4
      naphthoquinones may suggest an approach for the development of new classes of
      antineoplastic agents.

PMID- 9986712
TI  - A new class of pseudopeptide antagonists of the kinin B1 receptor containing
      alkyl spacers.
AB  - Four previously reported kinin receptor peptide antagonists, including the B1
      receptor-selective peptides desArg10-HOE 140 (H-D-Arg-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Thi-Ser-D
      Tic-Oic-OH) and B-9858 (H-Lys-Lys-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Igl-Ser-D-Igl-Oic-OH), have
      been modified by replacement of the central tetrapeptide Pro-Hyp-Gly-Xaa with
      linear alkyl spacers of variable length. The analogue of desArg10-HOE 140
      containing the 11-aminoundecanoic acid as spacer, MEN 11575 [H-D-Arg-Arg-NH
      (CH2)10-CO-Ser-D-Tic-Oic-OH], was found to be slightly more potent than the
      unmodified peptide (pA2 = 7.1) as a kinin B1 receptor antagonist in the rat ileum
      longitudinal smooth muscle assay. Moreover, MEN 11575 is devoid of residual
      agonist activity at the kinin B1 receptor (rat ileum) and antagonist activity at
      the kinin B2 receptor (guinea pig ileum longitudinal smooth muscle). Both these
      activities are displayed by the parent peptide desArg10-HOE 140. Therefore,
      despite its greatly simplified chemical structure, MEN 11575 shows an improved
      pharmacological profile in terms of both potency and selectivity, and it
      represents a good template for the development of new peptidomimetic kinin B1
      receptor antagonists. We also report an attempt to investigate the conformational
      role of the flexible, linear spacer of MEN 11575 and to design more constrained
      analogues, possibly locked in the bioactive conformation, using semirigid spacers
      based on Calpha-tetrasubstituted alpha-amino acids of the family of 1
      aminocycloalkane-1-carboxylic acids (Acnc).

PMID- 9986713
TI  - Structure-activity studies of conantokins as human N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor
      modulators.
AB  - The activities of conantokin-G (con-G), conantokin-T (con-T), and several novel
      analogues have been studied using polyamine enhancement of [3H]MK-801 binding to
      human glutamate-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and their structures have
      been examined using CD and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The potencies of con-G[A7], con
      G, and con-T as noncompetitive inhibitors of spermine-enhanced [3H]MK-801 binding
      to NMDA receptor obtained from human brain tissue are similar to those obtained
      using rat brain tissue. The secondary structure and activity of con-G are found
      to be highly sensitive to amino acid substitution and modification. NMR chemical
      shift data indicate that con-G, con-G[D8, D17], and con-G[A7] have similar
      conformations in the presence of Ca2+. This consists of a helix for residues 2
      16, which is kinked in the vicinity of Gla10. This is confirmed by 3D structure
      calculations on con-G[A7]. Restraining this helix in a linear form (i.e., con
      G[A7,E10-K13]) results in a minor reduction in potency. Incorporation of a 7-10
      salt-bridge replacement (con-G[K7-E10]) prevents helix formation in aqueous
      solution and produces a peptide with low potency. Peptides with the Leu5-Tyr5
      substitution also have low potencies (con-G[Y5,A7] and con-G[Y5,K7]) indicating
      that Leu5 in con-G is important for full antagonist behavior. We have also shown
      that the Gla-Ala7 substitution increases potency, whereas the Gla-Lys7
      substitution has no effect. Con-G and con-G[K7] both exhibit selectivity between
      NMDA subtypes from mid-frontal and superior temporal gyri, but not between
      sensorimotor and mid-frontal gyri. Asn8 and/or Asn17 appear to be important for
      the ability of con-G to function as an inhibitor of polyamine-stimulated [3H]MK
      801 binding, but not in maintaining secondary structure. The presence of Ca2+
      does not increase the potencies of con-G and con-T for NMDA receptors but does
      stabilize the helical structures of con-G, con-G[D8,D17], and, to a lesser
      extent, con-G[A7]. The NMR data support the existence of at least two independent
      Ca2+-chelating sites in con-G, one involving Gla7 and possibly Gla3 and the other
      likely to involve Gla10 and/or Gla14.

PMID- 9986714
TI  - Synthesis, pharmacological evaluation, and structure-activity relationship and
      quantitative structure-activity relationship studies on novel derivatives of 2,4
      diamino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists.
AB  - A new series of novel piperazine and non-piperazine derivatives of 2, 4-diamino
      6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline was synthesized and evaluated for binding affinity
      toward alpha1-adrenergic and other G-protein-coupled aminergic receptors. The
      alpha1-adrenoceptor (AR) subtype selectivity was also investigated for the most
      interesting compounds. Only compound 16 showed moderate selectivity toward the
      alpha1b-AR subtype. Selected compounds were tested in vivo in a dog model
      indicating activity on blood pressure and on the lower urinary tract. Compound 10
      showed in vivo potency close to that of prazosin. Powerful interpretative and
      predictive theoretical QSAR models have been obtained. The theoretical
      descriptors employed in the rationalization of the alpha1-adrenergic binding
      affinity depict the key features for receptor binding which can be summarized in
      an electrostatic interaction between the protonated amine function and a primary
      nucleophilic site of the receptor, complemented by short-range attractive (polar
      and dispersive) and repulsive (steric) intermolecular interactions. Moreover, on
      predictive grounds, the ad hoc derived size and shape QSAR model developed in a
      previous paper (Rastelli, G.; et al. J. Mol. Struct. 1991, 251, 307-318) proved
      to be successful in predicting nanomolar alpha1-adrenergic binding affinity for
      compound 28.

PMID- 9986715
TI  - Allosteric interactions of quaternary strychnine and brucine derivatives with
      muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.
AB  - The affinity and allosteric properties of 22 quaternary derivatives of strychnine
      and brucine at the m1-m4 subtypes of muscarinic receptors have been analyzed and
      compared. The subtype selectivity, in terms of affinity, was in general m2 > m4 >
      m1 > m3. The highest affinities were found for N-benzyl, N-2-naphthylmethyl, and
      N-4-biphenylylmethyl strychnine (13, 14, and 18, respectively). All the
      strychnine and brucine derivatives were positively cooperative with the
      antagonist, N-methylscopolamine, at m2 receptors and, in the case of the
      strychnine analogues, were positively cooperative with N-methylscopolamine at
      least at one other subtype. The strychnine analogues were negatively cooperative
      with the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, at all subtypes whereas brucine and
      five of the six derivatives examined were positively cooperative with
      acetylcholine at one or more subtypes (m1-m5) and exhibited different patterns of
      subtype selectivity. The ability to generate subtype-selective allosteric
      enhancers of acetylcholine binding and function may be of use in the development
      of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

PMID- 9986716
TI  - Synthesis of cytotoxic indenoisoquinoline topoisomerase I poisons.
AB  - A number of indenoisoquinolines were prepared and evaluated for cytotoxicity in
      human cancer cell cultures and for activity vs topoisomerase 1 (top1). The two
      most cytotoxic indenoisoquinolines proved to be cis-6-ethyl-5,6,12,13-tetrahydro
      2,3-dimethoxy-8, 9-(methylenedioxy)-5,11-dioxo-11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline (21)
      and cis-6-allyl-5,6,12,13-tetrahydro-2,3-dimethoxy-8, 9-(methylenedioxy)-5,11
      dioxo-11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline (22), both of which displayed submicromolar
      mean graph midpoints when tested in 55 human cancer cell cultures. Two of the
      most potent top1 inhibitors were 6-(3-carboxy-1-propyl)-5,6-dihydro-5, 11-dioxo
      11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline (26) and 6-ethyl-2, 3-dimethoxy-8,9
      (methylenedioxy)-11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinolinium chloride (27), both of which
      also inhibited top2, unwound DNA, and are assumed to be DNA intercalators.
      However, two additional potent top1 inhibitors, 6-allyl-5,6-dihydro-2,3-dimethoxy
      8, 9-(methylenedioxy)-5,11-dioxo-11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline (13c) and 5,6
      dihydro-6-(4-hydroxybut-1-yl)-2,3-dimethoxy-8, 9-methylenedioxy-5,11-dioxo-11H
      indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline (19a), did not unwind DNA and did not affect top2. Some
      of the DNA cleavage sites detected in the presence of the indenoisoquinolines
      were different from those seen with the camptothecins. The cleavage sites induced
      by the indenoisoquinolines were reversed by salt treatment, which is consistent
      with the reversible trapping of top1 cleavable complexes by the
      indenoisoquinolines. In general, the potencies of the indenoisoquinolines as top1
      inhibitors did not correlate with their potencies as cytotoxic agents, as some of
      the most cytotoxic agents had little if any effect on top1. On the other hand,
      the most potent of the indenoisoquinolines vs top1 were not the most cytotoxic.
      In several cases, moderate activity was observed for both cytotoxicity and
      activity vs top1.

PMID- 9986717
TI  - Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship analyses using
      comparative molecular field analysis and comparative molecular similarity indices
      analysis to elucidate selectivity differences of inhibitors binding to trypsin,
      thrombin, and factor Xa.
AB  - Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D QSAR) methods
      were applied using a training set of 72 inhibitors of the benzamidine type with
      respect to their binding affinities (Ki values) toward thrombin, trypsin, and
      factor Xa to yield statistically reliable models of good predictive power. Two
      methods were compared: the widely used comparative molecular field analysis
      (CoMFA) and the recently reported CoMSIA approach (comparative molecular
      similarity indices analysis). CoMSIA produced significantly better results for
      all correlations. Furthermore, in contrast to CoMFA, CoMSIA is not sensitive to
      changes in orientation of the superimposed molecules in the lattice. The
      correlation results obtained by CoMSIA were graphically interpreted in terms of
      field contribution maps allowing physicochemical properties relevant for binding
      to be easily mapped back onto molecular structures. The advantage of this feature
      is demonstrated using the maps to design new molecules. Finally, the CoMSIA
      method was applied to elucidate structural features among ligands which are
      responsible for affinity differences toward thrombin and trypsin. These
      selectivity-determining features were interpreted graphically in terms of spatial
      regions responsible for affinity discrimination. Such indicators are highly
      informative for the lead optimization process with respect to selectivity
      enhancement.

PMID- 9986718
TI  - Flavonoid-related modulators of multidrug resistance: synthesis, pharmacological
      activity, and structure-activity relationships.
AB  - A series of 28 flavonoid derivatives containing a N-benzylpiperazine chain have
      been synthesized and tested for their ability to modulate multidrug resistance
      (MDR) in vitro. At 5 microM, most compounds potentiated doxorubicin cytotoxicity
      on resistant K562/DOX cells. They were also able to increase the intracellular
      accumulation of JC-1, a fluorescent molecule recently described as a probe of P
      glycoprotein-mediated MDR. This suggests that these compounds act, at least in
      part, by inhibiting P-glycoprotein activity. As in other studies, lipophilicity
      was shown to influence MDR-modulating activity but was not the only determinant.
      Diverse di- and trimethoxy substitutions on N-benzyl were examined and found to
      affect the activity differently. The most active compounds had a 2,3, 4
      trimethoxybenzylpiperazine chain attached to either a flavone or a flavanone
      moiety (13, 19, 33, and 37) and were found to be more potent than verapamil.

PMID- 9986719
TI  - 1-aryl-4-[(5-methoxy-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-yl)alkyl]piperazines and
      their analogues: influence of the stereochemistry of the tetrahydronaphthalen-1
      yl nucleus on 5-HT1A receptor affinity and selectivity versus alpha1 and D2
      receptors. 5.
AB  - Some 1-aryl-4-[(5-methoxy-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-yl)-n
      propyl]piperazines and their alkylamino and alkylamido analogues, previously
      studied as 5-HT1A ligands, were prepared in enantiomerically pure form, and their
      absolute configuration was determined by chemical correlation or by chiroptical
      properties. They were evaluated for in vitro 5-HT1A, D2, and alpha1 receptor
      affinity by radioligand binding assays, to study the influence of the chiral
      carbon atom of the tetrahydronaphthalene nucleus on the 5-HT1A affinity and
      selectivity. Results indicated that, as regarding the 5-HT1A receptor affinity,
      there was no difference in affinity between (-)- and (+)-enantiomers as well as
      the racemate of each compound. The stereochemistry, instead, influenced the
      selectivity: all (-)-enantiomers displayed affinity values higher than those of
      (+)-isomers at D2 receptors, and conversely, all (+)-enantiomers displayed
      affinity values higher than those of (-)-isomers at alpha1 receptors. As a result
      of this trend, it is not possible to predict the isomer with a better selectivity
      profile. However, compounds (S)-(+)-2, (S)-(+)-4, and (R)-(+)-6 displayed high
      affinity for the 5-HT1A receptor (IC50 values ranging between 7.0 and 2.3 nM) and
      good selectivity (>/=250-fold) versus both D2 and alpha1 receptors. Furthermore,
      compounds (S)-(+)-4 and (R)-(-)-4 were submitted to the [35S]GTPgammaS binding
      assay for a preliminary evaluation of their intrinsic activity on the 5-HT1A
      receptor.

PMID- 9986720
TI  - Structure-activity relationships: analogues of the dicaffeoylquinic and
      dicaffeoyltartaric acids as potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus
      type 1 integrase and replication.
AB  - The dicaffeoylquinic acids (DCQAs) and dicaffeoyltartaric acids (DCTAs) are
      potent and selective inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)
      integrase. They also inhibit HIV-1 replication at nontoxic concentrations. Since
      integrase is an excellent target for anti-HIV therapy, structure-activity
      relationships were employed to synthesize compounds with: (1) improved potency
      against HIV-1 integrase, (2) improved anti-HIV effect in tissue culture, and (3)
      increased selectivity as indicated by low cellular toxicity. Thirty-four
      analogues of the DCTAs and DCQAs were synthesized and tested for cell toxicity,
      anti-HIV activity, and inhibition of HIV-1 integrase. Seventeen of the 34
      analogues had potent activity against HIV-1 integrase ranging from 0. 07 to >10
      microM. Seventeen analogues that were synthesized or purchased had no inhibitory
      activity against integrase at concentrations of 25 microM. Of the biologically
      active analogues, 7 of the 17 inhibited HIV replication at nontoxic
      concentrations. The most potent compounds were D-chicoric acid, meso-chicoric
      acid, bis(3,4-dihydroxydihydrocinnamoyl)-L-tartaric acid, digalloyl-L-tartaric
      acid, bis(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)-L-tartaric acid, dicaffeoylglyceric acid, and
      bis(3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetyl)-L-tartaric acid. Anti-HIV activity of the active
      compounds in tissue culture ranged from 35 to 0.66 microM. Structure-activity
      relationships demonstrated that biscatechol moieties were absolutely required for
      inhibition of integrase, while at least one free carboxyl group was required for
      anti-HIV activity. These data demonstrate that analogues of the DCTAs and the
      DCQAs can be synthesized which have improved activity against HIV integrase.

PMID- 9986721
TI  - Novel antitumor 2-cyanoaziridine-1-carboxamides.
AB  - A set of 20 2-cyanoaziridine-1-carboxamides was synthesized from 2-cyanoaziridine
      and appropriate isocyanates. These compounds were active against a variety of
      solid and hematological tumor cells in culture, including strains resistant to
      doxorubicin and mitoxantrone. Their potencies in these assays correlated with the
      lipophilicity of substituents. The N-phenyl derivative was more potent and
      equally effective to imexon, a cyclized 2-cyanoaziridine-1-carboxamide of
      clinical interest, against cloned fresh human tumors.

PMID- 9986722
TI  - Metallopeptidase inhibitors of tetanus toxin: A combinatorial approach.
AB  - The bacterial protein tetanus toxin (TeNt), which belongs to the family of zinc
      endopeptidases, cleaves synaptobrevin, an essential synaptic protein component of
      the neurotransmitter exocytosis apparatus, at a single peptide bond (Gln76
      Phe77). This protease activity is a particularly attractive target for designing
      potent and selective synthetic inhibitors as a possible drug therapy for tetanus.
      beta-Aminothiols mimicking Gln76 of synaptobrevin have been previously shown to
      inhibit the tetanus neurotoxin enzymatic activity in the 35-250 microM range.
      These compounds have now been modified to interact with S' subsites of the TeNt
      active site, with the aim of increasing their inhibitory potencies. Combinatorial
      libraries of pseudotripeptides, containing an ethylene sulfonamide or an m
      sulfonamidophenyl moiety as the P1 side chain and natural amino acids in P1' and
      P2' positions, were synthesized. The best inhibitory activity was observed with
      Tyr and His as P1' and P2' components, respectively. This led to new inhibitors
      of TeNt with Ki values in the 3-4 microM range. These molecules are the most
      potent inhibitors of TeNt described so far.

PMID- 9986724
TI  - Assistance in Manuscript Presentation.

PMID- 9986723
TI  - N-Methyl-5-tert-butyltryptamine: A novel, highly potent 5-HT1D receptor agonist.
AB  - It has been observed that reported 5-HT1D receptor agonists have at least one
      heteroatom (N, O, or S) on the 5-substituent of the indole. This has led to the
      hypothesis that a 5-substituent capable of participating in hydrogen bonding is
      critical for conveying high affinity. This article describes the synthesis and
      biological evaluation of a new series of 5-alkyltryptamine analogues, which does
      not have a heteroatom in the 5-substituent group. In contrast to the hypothesis,
      5-alkyltryptamines all exhibit high binding affinities for the human 5-HT1D
      receptor. The size of the lipophilic alkyl group at the 5-position of the indole
      has significant impact on the 5-HT1D binding affinity. Compounds with a tert
      butyl group at the 5-position such as 9d, 10, and 11 were identified. These
      analogues display high binding affinity (Ki < 1 nM) and moderate receptor
      selectivity in comparison with known antimigraine agents such as sumatriptan,
      naratriptan, rizatriptan, and VML-251.

PMID- 9986725
TI  - ANTHERIDIAL CHROMATIN CONDENSATION FACTOR FROM MALE SEX ORGANS OF CHARA
      TOMENTOSA.
AB  - Incubation of roots (Melandrium noctiflorum) in crude extracts obtained from
      maturing male sex organs of Chara tomentosa results in supercondensation of
      mitotic chromosomes. The observed changes, including a number of 'secondary
      effects', confirm precisely with all those kinds of alterations which are typical
      of M-phase cells in antheridial filaments during their progression from the
      proliferative period of development towards terminal differentiation into sperm
      cells. Biological assays performed with proteinaceous extracts of maturing
      antheridia indicate that the activity is confined merely to a fraction containing
      low molecular (4.5 kDa) peptides, termed as ACCF (antheridial chromatin
      condensation factor). Microchemical tests showed the acidic character of ACCF and
      its apparent ability to form cross-links with histones and DNA-histone complexes,
      mediated presumably by disulfide bridges. The characteristic punctate
      distribution of vesicles within the cytoplasm suggests the internalization of
      rhodamine-isothiocyanate labelled ACCF (ACCF-TRITC) by endocytosis, implying
      possible sequestering and nuclear translocation upon release from the
      endosomal/lysosomal compartment of the cell. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986726
TI  - Processing of the sperm protein Sp17 during the acrosome reaction and
      characterization as a calmodulin binding protein.
AB  - In this study we have demonstrated that the native rabbit sperm protein, Sp17, is
      a 22- to 24-kDa triplet of proteins in washed ejaculated rabbit spermatozoa and
      is unaffected by capacitation. However, during the acrosome reaction, Sp17 is
      processed from a 22- to 24-kDa triplet of proteins to a triplet of proteins at 17
      19 kDa by the removal of amino acids from the C-terminal. Recombinant rabbit Sp17
      (rRSp17) can also be proteolytically processed by acrosome-reacted spermatozoa in
      a similar manner. Protease inhibitors prevent the proteolytic processing of Sp17.
      Both forms of native Sp17 remain associated with acrosome-reacted spermatozoa and
      are solubilized by ionic detergents. Previously, sequence analysis of Sp17
      revealed that Sp17 amino acids 108-137 were 52% identical to the calmodulin
      binding domain of neuromodulin and contained an IQ motif found in other
      calmodulin binding proteins. In this study, a truncated recombinant Sp17,
      rRSp17CB, which lacks amino acids 118-146, including the potential calmodulin
      binding site, was made. Recombinant rabbit Sp17, but not rRSp17CB, binds to
      calmodulin in the presence of Ca2+ or EDTA, under reduced or nonreduced
      conditions in biotinylated-calmodulin overlay assays. In DSS crosslinker
      experiments, calmodulin bound to rRSp17 in a 1:1 ratio but not to rRSp17CB.
      Additionally, biotinylated rRSp17 interacts with native sperm calmodulin. We
      propose that the processing of native Sp17, by removing a C-terminal fragment
      during the acrosome reaction, might be a mechanism to regulate the calmodulin
      binding activity of Sp17 and provide calmodulin at specific sites after the
      acrosome reaction.

PMID- 9986727
TI  - Vezf1: A Zn finger transcription factor restricted to endothelial cells and their
      precursors.
AB  - Using retroviral entrapment vectors, we identified a novel mouse gene whose
      expression is restricted to vascular endothelial cells and their precursors in
      the yolk sac blood islands. A 3.68-kb cDNA corresponding to the endogenous
      transcript was isolated using genomic DNA flanking the entrapment vector
      insertion as a probe. We have named this gene Vezf1 for vascular endothelial zinc
      finger 1. Vezf1 encodes a protein with a predicted molecular mass of 56 kDa and
      that contains six putative zinc finger domains and shows high homology to a
      previously identified human gene, DB1, that is believed to be involved in
      regulating expression of cytokine genes such as interleukin-3. In situ
      hybridization analysis revealed the onset of expression in advanced primitive
      streak-stage embryos being located in the extraembryonic mesodermal component of
      the visceral yolk sac and in the anteriormost mesoderm of the embryo proper.
      During head-fold and somite stages, expression was restricted to vascular
      endothelial cells that arise during both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Vezf1
      related sequences were found to be highly conserved among higher vertebrate
      species that have acquired extraembryonic yolk sac membranes during evolution.
      The Vezf1 locus mapped to the proximal part of mouse chromosome 2, a region which
      has homology to human chromosome 9q. Vezf1 expression correlates temporally and
      spatially with the early differentiation of angioblasts into the endothelial cell
      lineage and the proliferation of endothelial cells of the embryonic vascular
      system. Thus, Vezf1 may play an important role in the endothelial lineage
      determination and may have an additional role during later stages of embryonic
      vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.

PMID- 9986728
TI  - The LIN-29 transcription factor is required for proper morphogenesis of the
      Caenorhabditis elegans male tail.
AB  - The Caenorhabditis elegans gene lin-29 encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor
      that is required for hypodermal cell terminal differentiation and proper vulva
      morphogenesis. Here we demonstrate that lin-29 is also required in males for
      productive mating. We show that lin-29 males can perform the early mating
      behaviors including response to hermaphrodite contact and vulva location, but
      they do not perform the subsequent steps of vulva attachment via spicule
      insertion and sperm transfer. Consistent with this observation, we found that lin
      29 mutant spicules are on average 43% shorter than wild-type spicules while other
      male mating structures appear unaltered. In lin-29 mutants, spicule development
      goes awry after the generation of spicule cells, when spicule morphogenesis
      occurs in wild-type males. We show that LIN-29 accumulates in many cells of the
      wild-type male tail, including those that form the spicules. We demonstrate,
      through analysis of genetic mosaics, that the formation of wild-type-length
      spicules requires lin-29(+) in the AB.p lineage, the lineage that gives rise to
      the spicules and other male copulatory structures. Our mosaic analysis also
      reveals a role for lin-29(+) in the P1 lineage, which mainly produces sex
      muscles, cells of the somatic gonad, and body wall muscles.

PMID- 9986730
TI  - Intracellular calcium release channel expression during embryogenesis.
AB  - The release of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) via either inositol 1,4, 5
      trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) or ryanodine receptors (RyR) activates a wide
      variety of signaling pathways in virtually every type of cell. In the present
      study we demonstrate that at early stages of development IP3R mRNA and functional
      IP3-gated Ca2+ release channels are widely expressed in virtually all tissues in
      murine embryos. As organogenesis proceeds, more specialized RyR channels are
      expressed in many cell types and the triggering mechanisms for intracellular Ca2+
      release become more diverse to include IP3-dependent and voltage-dependent and
      Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release. As development proceeds virtually all cell types
      continue to express IP3R channels but in excitable cells including skeletal and
      cardiac muscles the major Ca2+ release channels are RyRs. This developmental
      switch from predominantly IP3-mediated to both IP3-mediated and IP3-independent
      pathways for intracellular Ca2+ release is consistent with data showing that IP3R
      plays an important regulatory role in cellular proliferation and apoptosis,
      whereas RyR is required for other cellular functions including muscle
      contraction.

PMID- 9986729
TI  - Bone morphogenetic protein antagonism of Spemann's organizer is independent of
      Wnt signaling.
AB  - The Xenopus homeobox gene twin is involved in the Wnt-mediated induction of
      Spemann's organizer. Additionally, several lines of evidence indicate that bone
      morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play a role in repressing the formation of the
      organizer by antagonizing the expression of genes involved in organizer
      establishment. In order to determine at what level BMPs exert their effect, we
      measured the activity of different genes expressed within the organizer region.
      We report that BMP signaling can antagonize the induction of the dorsal-specific
      gene goosecoid but is unable to affect Wnt signaling at the level of twin. These
      results suggest that the antagonistic activities of BMPs in organizer formation
      occur postzygotically, independent of twin regulation, and that Wnt-like dorsal
      determinant signaling pathways do not crosstalk with BMPs.

PMID- 9986731
TI  - The dominant mutation Glazed is a gain-of-function allele of wingless that,
      similar to loss of APC, interferes with normal eye development.
AB  - Dominant mutations have served as invaluable tools for Drosophila geneticists.
      Here we analyze the dominant eye mutation Glazed (Gla) that was described by T.
      H. Morgan more than 50 years ago. We show that Gla causes the loss of
      photoreceptor cells during pupal stages, in a process reminiscent of apoptosis,
      with a concomitant overproduction of eye pigment. This phenotype is very similar
      to that caused by the loss of D-APC, a negative regulator of Wingless (Wg) signal
      transduction. Genetic analyses reveal however that the Gla gain-of-function
      phenotype can be reverted to wild-type. By generating a P-element-induced
      revertant of Gla we demonstrate that Gla is allelic to wg. The molecular lesion
      in Gla indicates that the insertion of a roo retrotransposon leads to ectopic
      expression of wg during pupal stages. We show that the Gla phenotype is similar
      to that caused by ectopic expression of Wg driven by the sevenless (sev)
      enhancer. In both cases Wg exerts its effect, at least in part, by negatively
      regulating the expression of the Pax2 homolog sparkling (spa). Gla represents not
      only the first dominant allele of wg, but it may also be the first allele ever
      described for wg.

PMID- 9986732
TI  - A role for DNA methylation in gastrulation and somite patterning.
AB  - DNA methylation constitutes an important epigenetic factor in the control of
      genetic information. In this study, we analyzed expression of the DNA
      methyltransferase gene and examined DNA methylation patterns during early
      development of the zebrafish. Maternal transcripts of the zebrafish DNA
      methyltransferase gene (MTase) are ubiquitously present at high levels in early
      embryos with overall levels decreasing after the blastula stage. At 24 h,
      methyltransferase mRNA is predominantly found in the brain, neural tube, eyes,
      and differentiating somites. Expression of MTase in the somites is highest in the
      anterior cells of the somites. Despite the high levels of MTase mRNA in blastula
      stage embryos, we observe DNA hypomethylation at the blastula and gastrula stages
      compared to sperm or older embryos. Zebrafish embryos treated with 5-azacytidine
      (5-azaC) and 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (5-azadC), nucleotide analogs known to induce
      cellular differentiation and DNA hypomethylation in mammalian cells, exhibit DNA
      hypomethylation and developmental perturbations. These defects are specifically
      observed in embryos treated at the beginning of the blastula period, just prior
      to midblastula transition. The most common phenotype is the loss of tail and
      abnormal patterning of somites. Head development is also affected in some
      embryos. Histological and in situ hybridization analyses reveal whole or partial
      loss of a differentiated notochord and midline muscle in treated embryos. When
      examined during gastrulation, 5-azaC-treated embryos have a shortened and
      thickened axial mesoderm. We propose that DNA methylation is required for normal
      gastrulation and subsequent patterning of the dorsal mesoderm.

PMID- 9986733
TI  - Retinoid signaling required for normal heart development regulates GATA-4 in a
      pathway distinct from cardiomyocyte differentiation.
AB  - Vitamin A is essential for normal embryonic cardiogenesis. The vitamin A
      deficient phenotype in the avian embryo includes an abnormal heart tube closed at
      the sinus venosus and the absence of large vessels that normally connect the
      embryonic heart to the developing circulatory system. In vitamin A-deficient
      embryos the expression of cardiomyocyte differentiation genes, including atrial
      specific myosin heavy chain, ventricular-specific myosin, and sarcomeric myosins
      as well as the putative cardiomyocyte specification gene Nkx-2.5, is not altered.
      However, the expression of transcription factor GATA-4 is severely decreased in
      the heart-forming regions of vitamin A-deficient stage 7-10 embryos.
      Significantly, GATA-4 transcripts are completely lacking in the lateral mesoderm
      posterior to the heart, in the area of the developing cardiac inflow tract that
      later displays prominent morphological defects, including a closed nonseptated
      heart lacking a sinus venosus. The administration of retinol to the vitamin A
      deficient embryo restores GATA-4 expression and completely rescues the vitamin A
      deficient phenotype. Our results indicate that GATA-4 is a component of the
      retinoid-mediated cardiogenic pathway unlinked to cardiomyocyte differentiation,
      but involved in the morphogenesis of the posterior heart tube and the development
      of the cardiac inflow tract.

PMID- 9986734
TI  - Myogenic determination occurs independently in somites and limb buds.
AB  - Gene targeting has indicated that the bHLH transcription factors Myf-5 and MyoD
      are required for myogenic determination because skeletal myoblasts and myofibers
      are entirely ablated in mouse embryos lacking both Myf-5 and MyoD. Entrance into
      the skeletal myogenic program during development occurs following the independent
      transcriptional induction of either Myf-5 or MyoD. To identify sequences required
      for the de novo induction of MyoD transcription during development, we
      investigated the expression patterns of MyoD-lacZ transgenes in embryos deficient
      in both Myf-5 and MyoD. We observed that a 258-bp fragment containing the core of
      the -20-kb MyoD enhancer activated expression in newly formed somites and limb
      buds in compound mutant embryos lacking both Myf-5 and MyoD. Importantly, Myf-5-
      and MyoD-deficient presumptive muscle precursor cells expressing beta
      galactosidase were observed to assume nonmuscle fates primarily as precartilage
      primordia in the trunk and the limbs, suggesting that these cells were
      multipotential. Therefore, cells are recruited into the MyoD-dependent myogenic
      lineage through activation of the -20-kb MyoD enhancer and this occurs
      independently in somites and limb buds.

PMID- 9986735
TI  - Identification of PLCgamma-dependent and -independent events during fertilization
      of sea urchin eggs.
AB  - At fertilization, sea urchin eggs undergo a series of activation events,
      including a Ca2+ action potential, Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum,
      an increase in intracellular pH, sperm pronuclear formation, MAP kinase
      dephosphorylation, and DNA synthesis. To examine which of these events might be
      initiated by activation of phospholipase Cgamma (PLCgamma), which produces the
      second messengers inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol, we used
      recombinant SH2 domains of PLCgamma as specific inhibitors. Sea urchin eggs were
      co-injected with a GST fusion protein composed of the two tandem SH2 domains of
      bovine PLCgamma and (1) Ca2+ green dextran to monitor intracellular free Ca2+,
      (2) BCECF dextran to monitor intracellular pH, (3) Oregon Green dUTP to monitor
      DNA synthesis, or (4) fluorescein 70-kDa dextran to monitor nuclear envelope
      formation. Microinjection of the tandem SH2 domains of PLCgamma produced a
      concentration-dependent inhibition of Ca2+ release and also inhibited cortical
      granule exocytosis, cytoplasmic alkalinization, MAP kinase dephosphorylation, DNA
      synthesis, and cleavage after fertilization. However, the Ca2+ action potential,
      sperm entry, and sperm pronuclear formation were not prevented by injection of
      the PLCgammaSH2 domain protein. Microinjection of a control protein, the tandem
      SH2 domains of the phosphatase SHP2, had no effect on Ca2+ release, cortical
      granule exocytosis, DNA synthesis, or cleavage. Specificity of the inhibitory
      action of the PLCgammaSH2 domains was further indicated by the finding that
      microinjection of PLCgammaSH2 domains that had been point mutated at a critical
      arginine did not inhibit Ca release at fertilization. Additionally, Ca2+ release
      in response to microinjection of IP3, cholera toxin, cADP ribose, or cGMP was not
      inhibited by the PLCgammaSH2 fusion protein. These results indicate that PLCgamma
      plays a key role in several fertilization events in sea urchin eggs, including
      Ca2+ release and DNA synthesis, but that the action potential, sperm entry, and
      male pronuclear formation can occur in the absence of PLCgamma activation or Ca2+
      increase.

PMID- 9986736
TI  - Autofluorescence of the diabetic and healthy human cornea in vivo at different
      excitation wavelengths.
AB  - Corneal autofluorescence is higher in diabetes mellitus patients with retinopathy
      than in healthy subjects. In this study, the excitation spectra of corneal
      autofluorescence of diabetic patients and healthy controls in the range 365 nm
      480 nm were compared in an attempt to identify the fluorophores responsible for
      corneal autofluorescence in health and disease (diabetes). Spectral measurements
      (from one eye) were recorded from five patients with proliferative diabetic
      retinopathy and five age-matched healthy controls, using a modified commercial
      scanning fluorophotometer with a mercury arc or a tungsten halogen lamp as
      excitation light source in combination with interference filters (excitation
      wavelengths: 365, 405, 420, 430, 436, 440, 450, 470 and 480 nm; bandwidth: 10
      nm). Fluorescence emission was measured in the range 532 nm-630 nm. The
      sensitivity of the modified fluorophotometer was calibrated by using the
      excitation spectrum of fluorescein as a reference. The corneal excitation
      efficiency of the diabetic patients was higher than that of the healthy controls
      at each wavelength investigated (Mann-Witney test P<0.0005). The ratio between
      the mean values of both groups was equal for each excitation wavelength (mean
      ratio 1.9+/-0.12s.d.,P>0. 2), suggesting that the excitation spectra were equal.
      This indicates that the same fluorophores are responsible for the corneal
      autofluorescence in both groups. The shapes of the excitation spectra suggest the
      involvement of flavins, NAD(P)H, and at least one other, as yet unidentified,
      fluorophore.

PMID- 9986737
TI  - Differing roles of adenosine receptor subtypes in retinal ischemia-reperfusion
      injury in the rat.
AB  - Adenosine has been shown to be a major component of the retina's endogenous
      reaction to ischemia. In earlier studies, the significant changes in adenosine
      concentration that occur during ischemia and the ensuing reperfusion period were
      documented. While previous studies have shown that adenosine is a mediator of the
      changes in blood flow that occur in response to ischemia, hypoxia, and
      hypoglycemia in the retina, little is known about other functional effects that
      result from these changes in adenosine concentration. Accordingly, the influence
      of adenosine receptor blockade on the functional and histological outcome
      following ischemia in rats was examined. Specific antagonists of the adenosine A1
      and A2a receptors were injected systemically, prior to ischemia of either 5, 30,
      or 60 min. The recovery of the electroretinogram a and b waves was followed for
      up to 7 days after ischemia, and retinal structure was examined by light
      microscopy. The adenosine A1 receptor antagonist DPCPX attenuated recovery after
      retinal ischemia of either 5 or 30 min, while the A2a receptor antagonist CSC
      dramatically protected retinal function and structure even with ischemia lasting
      up to 60 min. It was concluded that blockade of the A2a receptor, possibly
      combined with stimulation of the A1 receptor, may represent a potential new
      strategy for the prevention of ischemic damage in the retina.

PMID- 9986738
TI  - Basic FGF-induced down-regulation of IGF-I mRNA in cultured rat Muller cells.
AB  - Interactions among growth factors are important in a variety of physiological and
      pathological processes. The regulation of IGF-I mRNA expression by bFGF was
      investigated in cultured rat Muller cells and the mechanism of regulation
      studied. Muller cells from 1- to 3-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated and
      cultured with Eagle MEM+10% FCS. Cultured cells were identified by
      immunocytochemistry using antibodies against vimentin, carbonic anhydrase C, and
      glutamine synthetase. Cells of passage 1-4 were treated with bFGF, the PKC
      inhibitor H-7, calphostin C, the PKC activator PMA or the PKA inhibitor H-89, as
      well as the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin, or adenylate cyclase inhibitor
      SQ22536. IGF-I and bFGF expression levels were assessed by Northern blot
      analysis. The addition of bFGF to culture medium down-regulated IGF-I expression
      in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Decrease of IGF-I expression started at a
      bFGF concentration of 1 ng ml-1. IGF-I mRNA level declined to 44% of baseline
      level at 10 ng ml-1 of bFGF, and reached a trough of 40% at 50 ng ml-1. At 10 ng
      ml-1 of bFGF, down-regulation of IGF-I expression was observed as early as 4 hr
      (60%) after treatment, and reached a trough of 42% by 8 hr. The temporal and
      concentration dependence of IGF-I expression by addition of the PKC activator
      PMA, to culture medium was similar to that due to the addition of bFGF. The down
      regulation of IGF-I expression by bFGF (10 ng ml-1) and PMA (0.1 microM) was
      blocked by the PKC inhibitors H-7 (30 microM) and calphostin C (1 microM).
      Forskolin (5 microM), an adenylate cyclase activator, had activator, had no
      effect on IGF-I expression. SQ22536 (100 microM), an adenylate cyclase inhibitor,
      and H-89, a PKA inhibitor, had no inhibitory effect on bFGF-induced down
      regulation of IGF-I expression. These results indicate that bFGF down-regulates
      IGF-I expression in cultured rat M uller cells through PKC activation.

PMID- 9986739
TI  - Enhanced tenascin expression associated with reactive astrocytes in human optic
      nerve heads with primary open angle glaucoma.
AB  - Tenascin is a large extracellular matrix glycoprotein expressed in neural and non
      neural tissues. In the central nervous system, tenascin is synthesized by
      astrocytes during development and wound healing, forming barriers and affecting
      neurite outgrowth. In this study we examined tenascin expression in optic nerve
      heads of normal and glaucomatous eyes and found that there is upregulation of
      tenascin mRNA and protein in reactive astrocytes from human glaucomatous optic
      nerve heads compared to normal age-matched controls. In the prelaminar region
      there was a band of tenascin immunoreactivity around the blood vessels of
      glaucomatous, but not in normal eyes. However, tenascin mRNA was only localized
      to astrocytes, suggesting that astrocytes are the cellular source of tenascin. In
      the lamina cribrosa, tenascin immunoreactivity and gene expression were localized
      to astrocytes in the cribriform plates and inside the nerve bundles. In the post
      lamina region, tenascin immunoreactivity and gene expression were localized to
      astrocytes lining the pial septum immediately adjacent to the lamina cribrosa. In
      normal optic nerve heads, tenascin expression at the mRNA and protein levels was
      confined to clusters of astrocytes at the level of Bruch's membrane in the
      prelaminar optic nerve head. In glaucoma, enhanced expression of tenascin may be
      protective to the axons of the retinal ganglion cells by providing a barrier for
      humoral and/or blood-borne factors that may cause further neural damage. However,
      the precise role of tenascin in glaucomatous optic neuropathy is not yet
      elucidated.

PMID- 9986740
TI  - Localization of MIP 26 in nuclear fiber cells from aged normal and age-related
      nuclear cataractous human lenses.
AB  - The purpose of the current study was to localize the lens membrane protein, MIP
      26, in nuclear fiber cells from different regions of aged normal and age-related
      cataractous human lenses. Adult, juvenile, fetal and embryonic nuclear regions in
      aged normal and age-related nuclear cataractous lenses were morphologically and
      biochemically characterized using the technologies of immuno-gold (5 nm)
      labeling, semi-thin sections (200-500 nm), serial sections, DiI staining
      following by photobleaching, transmission electron microscopy and spot-blot
      analysis. Numbers of gold particles per micron length of plasma membrane and
      numbers of gold particles per square micron of cytosol in the embryonic-fetal and
      juvenile-adult nuclear regions were quantified. Results showed that the labeling
      pattern of MIP 26 localized to the cytosol was unique to senescent fiber cells
      from age-related cataractous lenses. Numbers of gold particles per square micron
      of cytosol in the embryonic-fetal nucleus of age-related cataractous lenses were
      significantly elevated (P<0.001) above numbers from fiber cells located within
      the adult or juvenile nuclei of the same lens or senescent fiber cells from aged
      normal lenses. Some of the cytosolic labeling in cataracts was localized to lipid
      vesicles, while the remaining labeling was negative for the lipid specific stain
      DiI. Spot blot analysis demonstrated that binding of the ant-MIP 26 serum was
      exclusive to large molecular weight components greater than 10 kDa, and not to
      small molecular weight fragments of the protein. The results of the current study
      supply further evidence that damage to membranes occurs in senescent fiber cells
      during age-related nuclear cataracts, resulting in the internalization of
      structures containing the membrane protein MIP 26.

PMID- 9986741
TI  - An immunohistochemical study of an autosomal dominant feline rod/cone dysplasia
      (Rdy cats).
AB  - An autosomal dominant, early onset feline model of rod/cone dysplasia has been
      described. The clinical features, light and electron microscopy, and the
      electrophysiology were documented. We have now examined in more detail the
      histopathological and immunohistochemical changes during the early phase of the
      disease using antibodies against opsin, synaptophysin, glial fibrillary acidic
      protein (GFAP) and an epithelial marker (MNF118). We have also demonstrated
      programmed cell death by a modified TUNEL (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase,
      Uridine triphosphate, Nick End Labelling) technique. In the Rdy cats, there was
      significant photoreceptor degeneration between 5 and 17 weeks of age. The TUNEL
      labeled cell and pyknotic cell counts in the outer nuclear layer peaked at around
      9 weeks of age. Accumulation of opsin in the entire outer nuclear layer of the
      retina was noted with opsin-immunolabeled rod neurite sprouting. There was a
      reduction in synaptophysin immunoreactivity in the outer plexiform layer. The
      Muller cells were activated and expressed GFAP. No significant change of
      immunolabeling of MNF118 was found. These findings closely parallel those seen in
      human RP.

PMID- 9986742
TI  - X-ray microanalysis of melanin granules of retinal pigment epithelium and choroid
      in hereditary copper deficient mice (macular mice).
AB  - The role of trace elements in vivo has not been completely clarified. Trace
      elements were studied in melanin granules in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)
      and choroid of hereditary copper-deficient macular mice as a model of Menkes'
      disease. The analysis of elements in these melanin granules was done by new
      methods: freeze-embedding and an energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX). We
      used 14-day- and 1-month-old male hemizygote macular mice for the experiments and
      normal litter-mates as controls. Melanin granules in RPE and choroid contained
      sulfur, chloride, calcium, iron, copper and zinc. Calcium and copper were
      especially abundant in 14-day-old hemizygote macular mice, although there were
      few melanin granules in their RPE. The fact that copper was most abundant in the
      melanin granules in the RPE of 14-day-old macular mice suggests that the
      synthesis of melanin granules in the RPE and choroid of the hemizygote macular
      mice cannot be completed because of the lower activity of copper-containing
      enzymes such as tyrosinase and the abnormal copper distribution in various
      organs. Therefore, the melanin granules in the RPE and choroid of hemizygote
      macular mice are irregular in shape and few in number. Large amounts of copper
      concentrated in melanin granules in the RPE and choroid of hemizygote macular
      mice might induce quantitative abnormalities of trace elements.

PMID- 9986743
TI  - Partial and full-thickness neuroretinal transplants.
AB  - Adult and embryonic rabbit retinal sheets were transplanted into the subretinal
      space of adult rabbits. The transplants were either full-thickness with intact
      layering, or gelatin embedded and vibratome sectioned with the inner retina
      removed. The full-thickness grafts were positioned subretinally by means of a
      glass capillary in which they were partially folded. The vibratome sectioned ones
      were placed using a plastic injector in which the gelatin embedded graft was
      flat. The embryonic full-thickness grafts were followed clinically up to 3
      months, and the other 3 transplant types up to 1 month postoperatively, after
      which the retina was sectioned and stained for light microscopy. Surgical
      complications were more common in eyes receiving vibratome sectioned grafts with
      10 out of 34 eyes displaying blood in the vitreous. Four of these eyes also
      developed total retinal detachment. Out of 17 eyes receiving full-thickness
      grafts, only one displayed these complications. Histologically, 11 out of 13
      embryonic full-thickness transplants revealed straight, laminated transplants
      with correct polarity, and with all normal retinal layers present. In these
      transplants, fusion with the host increased in time. Of the adult full-thickness
      transplants, only 1 out of 4 survived, and this graft showed signs of
      degeneration. The vibratome sectioned adult transplants in a few cases survived
      the first two postoperative weeks. In these grafts, both inner and outer retina
      were present, indicating an incomplete vibratome sectioning. With longer
      postoperative times, the number of surviving transplants in this group diminished
      considerably. All vibratome sectioned embryonic transplants developed into
      rosettes and sometimes also into laminated sections with reversed polarity. It
      can be concluded that in rabbits, the surgical technique used for vibratome
      sectioned transplants requires a larger sclerotomy and retinotomy, since they
      have to be kept flat in the transplanting instrument due to the surrounding
      gelatin. This technique is associated with a higher frequency of complications
      than the one used for full-thickness grafts which are more flexible and can be
      transplanted with a smaller instrument. Vibratome sectioning of embryonic grafts
      results in abnormal morphology and their adult counterparts only survive if the
      sectioning is incomplete. Adult full-thickness grafts show poor survival.
      Embryonic full-thickness transplants in the majority of cases develop into
      laminated retinas with layers parallel to the host retinal pigment epithelium.
      They also survive and integrate well with the host retina.

PMID- 9986744
TI  - Morphological changes of retinal pigment epithelium and choroid in rd-mice.
AB  - The sequence of degenerative changes in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and
      the choroid of retinal degeneration (rd)-mice was studied in correlation with
      photoreceptor changes. Three weeks to 26-month-old animals were investigated
      using light and transmission electron microscopy, enzyme histochemistry and
      quantitative morphology. Changes in the choriocapillaris (CC) were additionally
      studied by scanning electron microscopy of corrosion cast preparations. In 3-week
      old mice, in which most of the outer segments of photoreceptors in the central
      portion of the retina had disappeared but remnants of the cells were still
      present, the RPE was enlarged and showed elongated microvilli. In 8-week-old
      animals, the photoreceptors were completely absent in large areas of the
      posterior pole region. In these areas the RPE was also completely lost.
      Quantitative evaluation performed in histological serial sections showed that
      loss of RPE measured as length of RPE-free Bruch's membrane, continuously
      increased up to the age of 20 months. In 8-week-old animals, CC adjacent to
      degenerating RPE showed loss of fenestration. In 10-week-old animals, the CC
      disappeared in those areas where the RPE was already lacking. The loss of CC
      increased with increasing age and in 20-month-old animals 5-10% of the entire CC
      was lacking. Loss of the related arterioles and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
      phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive nerve fibers occurred only in
      approximately 2-year-old rd-mice. Compared to other animal models, RPE and CC
      defects in rd-mice are relatively large. The rd-mice might therefore provide a
      good tool to study factors involved in CC degeneration.

PMID- 9986745
TI  - alpha-Methyl-p-tyrosine inhibits latanoprost-induced melanogenesis in vitro.
AB  - The PGF2alpha derivative, latanoprost, is a recent anti-glaucoma drug that has
      been reported to induce a discrete incidence of increased iris pigmentation in
      men. The present experiments were made in order to study whether this phenomenon
      could be influenced by the tyrosinase inhibitor, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. Melanin
      content, melanin production and tyrosinase activity of cultured uveal melanocytes
      derived from irides of brown or brown-blue color were measured after adding
      latanoprost at different molar concentration with or without alpha-methyl-p
      tyrosine (10(-5)m). It was shown that latanoprost stimulated melanin content,
      melanin production and tyrosinase activity in a molar range between 10(-7) and
      10(-5)m in uveal melanocytes derived from irides of both brown and brown-blue
      color. The effect seemed to be more pronounced in melanocytes derived from irides
      of brown-blue color. The adding of alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine completely prevented
      latanoprost-induced stimulation of melanin production in uveal melanocytes
      derived from irides of both colors. These results suggest that latanoprost
      induced stimulation of melanin production, follows the metabolic pathway
      involving tyrosinase activity and may be relevant for the therapeutic application
      of latanoprost in glaucoma in order to reduce its side-effect resulting in
      increased iris pigmentation.

PMID- 9986746
TI  - Predominance of MMP-1 and MMP-2 in epiretinal and subretinal membranes of
      proliferative vitreoretinopathy.
AB  - Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their natural inhibitors (TIMPs) play an
      important role in matrix remodelling and their involvement in the formation of
      scar-like tissue in proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is unknown. In this
      study we investigated epiretinal and subretinal membranes of PVR for the presence
      of selected MMPs and TIMPs whose substrates are extracellular matrix components
      of these membranes. We examined 23 epiretinal membranes and 15 subretinal
      membranes of PVR for deposition of interstitial collagenase (MMP-1), stromelysin
      1 (MMP-3), gelatinase A (MMP-2), gelatinase B (MMP-9) and two tissue inhibitors
      of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) by immunohistochemical methods. Normal
      cadaveric retinas served as controls. We observed that a large proportion of
      epiretinal and subretinal membranes stained for MMP-1 and MMP-2, whilst MMP-3,
      MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were only observed in a small proportion of specimens.
      Normal cadaveric retinas stained for MMP-1 but not for MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9 or
      TIMP-1. TIMP-2 positive cells were observed within the inner and outer nuclear
      cell layers of normal retina. Presence of MMP-2, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 in epiretinal
      and subretinal membranes of PVR but not in normal retina indicates that these
      molecules may play an important role during the healing process that follows
      rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. An understanding of the mechanisms that
      control production and activity of these enzymes and their inhibitors may aid in
      the design of new therapeutic approaches to treat and prevent PVR.

PMID- 9986747
TI  - Truncation of betaA3/A1-crystallin during aging of the bovine lens; possible
      implications for lens optical quality.
AB  - During aging, extensive modifications of eye lens proteins take place, which may
      contribute to the development of cataract. Truncation of the accessible
      extensions of beta-crystallins has been suggested to be an important factor in
      this process. We therefore studied the truncations of bovine betaA3- and betaA1
      crystallin in more detail. These proteins are identical except for the length of
      their N-terminal extension, 30 and 13 residues, respectively. The water-soluble
      and -insoluble proteins from cortex and nucleus of bovine lenses of different
      ages were separated by 2D-gel electrophoresis and immuno-blotted with an
      antiserum against betaA3. Two major truncation products were detected, which by
      sequence analysis were found to correspond to betaA3 having lost 11 or 22 amino
      acids. betaA3(-11) was only observed in the nucleus, whereas betaA3(-22) was
      present both in cortex and nucleus. We argue, therefore, that each of these two
      products is produced by a separate proteolytic enzyme. betaA3(-22) can originate
      by cleavage of betaA3, betaA1 and betaA3(-11). Truncation of betaA3 occurs more
      readily than that of betaA1, while betaA3(-11) disappears at an intermediate
      rate. It appears that the longer the N-terminal extension, the easier proteolysis
      takes place. Truncated proteins are not necessarily prone to end up in the water
      insoluble fractions; other modifications leading to charge changes are more
      likely to be responsible for insolubilization. Truncation of the extensions of
      beta-crystallins could be a functional rather than a harmful process during aging
      of the lens; by modulating protein repulsion, it may help to maintain the protein
      concentration gradient that is necessary for the optical quality of the lens.

PMID- 9986748
TI  - Interactions of spatial and luminance information in the retina of chickens
      during myopia development.
AB  - Degrading the retinal image by frosted eye occluders produces elongated eyes and
      'deprivation myopia' in a variety of animal models. The postulated retinal
      'deprivation detector' is quite sensitive to even small changes in image contrast
      or spatial frequency composition. Because psychophysical experiments have shown
      that a decline in luminance shifts the contrast sensitivity function to lower
      spatial frequencies, it is likely that only a reduced spatial frequency range is
      available for image analysis to control eye growth. It is even possible that the
      compression might be sufficient to promote deprivation myopia. We have tested
      this hypothesis, using the animal model of the chicken. (1) At an ambient
      illumination of 550 lux (about 76 cd m-2), neutral density (ND) filters placed in
      front of the eye with 0.0, 0.5 or 1.0 log unit attenuation did not change
      refractive development. However, monocularly or binocularly attached filters with
      2 log units attenuation produced 5-7 D of myopia relative to normal eyes. Black
      occluders were not more effective. Frosted eye occluders with little effect on
      image brightness (about 0.5 log units attenuation) produced much more myopia
      (about 16 D compared with the controls). (2) The effects of the ND filters on
      refractive development could not be reproduced if the ambient illumination was
      reduced by 2 log units. Probably, minor effects on image quality were introduced
      by optical imperfections of the ND filters which were more critical at low
      retinal image brightness. (3) In an optomotor experiment (spatial frequency 0.2
      cyc deg-1, stripe speed 57 deg sec-1), it was shown that the chickens' contrast
      sensitivity was severely reduced when the eyes were covered by 2.0 ND filters.
      (4) Since there is evidence that changes in dopamine release from the retina may
      be one of the factors affecting the development of myopia, we have tested how
      selective these changes were for spatial information. It was found that dopamine
      release was controlled by both spatial and luminance information and that the
      inputs of both could be scarcely separated. (5) Because the experiments show that
      the eye becomes more sensitive to image degradation at low light, the human eye
      may also be more prone to develop myopia if the light levels are low during
      extended periods of near work.

PMID- 9986750
TI  - Ex vivo human corneal epithelial cells express membrane-bound precursor and
      mature soluble epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)
      alpha proteins.

PMID- 9986749
TI  - Protection from oxidative insult in glutathione depleted lens epithelial cells.
AB  - It has previously been shown that TEMPOL, n-propyl gallate and deferoxamine,
      compounds that limit the availability of Fe+2 and prevent the generation of
      hydroxyl radicals, protect cultured rabbit lens epithelial cells from H2O2
      induced damage. In view of the importance of glutathione as an antioxidant and
      the decrease in GSH that is known to accompany most forms of cataract, we
      investigated whether these compounds protected cultured lens epithelial cells
      from H2O2 when the cells were artificially depleted of glutathione. Treatment of
      lens epithelial cells with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), a compound that
      irreversibly binds to glutathione, or buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor
      of glutathione biosynthesis, reduced the glutathione content to an average of 15
      20% of the control values without a concomitant increase in oxidized glutathione.
      Morphological changes were assessed by phase contrast and electron microscopy. In
      order to assess growth, cells in 5 ml serum-free MEM were exposed to an initial
      concentration of 0. 05 mm H2O2 (for 50,000 cells) or 2 doses of 0.5 mm H2O2 (for
      800,000 cells). After exposure to H2O2, medium was replaced with MEM plus 8%
      rabbit serum; cells were fed on days 3 and 6 and counted on day 7. When 50,000 or
      800,000 cells with decreased glutathione were exposed to 0.05 or 0.5 mm H2O2 the
      H2O2 was cytotoxic, whereas cells treated with H2O2 alone remained viable but
      showed inhibited proliferation. An unexpected finding was that cells continued to
      remove H2O2 from the medium at normal rates even when the GSH level was reduced.
      Cells treated with CDNB or BSO alone exhibited morphological and growth
      properties comparable to untreated cells. Cells treated with CDNB or BSO and then
      with H2O2 exhibited decreased cell-to-cell contact, nuclear shrinkage, and
      arborization when viewed with phase-contrast microscopy and showed extensive
      nuclear and cytoplasmic degeneration at the EM level. Cell death was determined
      by dye exclusion and confirmed by video microscopy. When cells were treated with
      CDNB or BSO and subsequently treated with TEMPOL, n-propyl gallate or
      deferoxamine and then challenged with H2O2 cytotoxicity was prevented and the
      cells were capable of growth. The data show that H2O2 was not lethal to
      glutathione-depleted lens epithelial cells when they were treated with compounds
      that prevented the generation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, the
      results indicate that GSH has an important protective role independent of its
      ability to decompose H2O2 via glutathione peroxidase.

PMID- 9986751
TI  - Image restrained modeling of alphaB-crystallin.

PMID- 9986752
TI  - Characterization of the minimal osmotic response element of the bovine Na+/myo
      inositol cotransporter gene.

PMID- 9986753
TI  - Erratum 
AB  - It is regretted that a printer's error occurred during publication of this paper.
      The above title is correct. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986754
TI  - Announcements 

PMID- 9986755
TI  - Dielectric resonator-based flow and stopped-flow EPR with rapid field scanning: A
      methodology for increasing kinetic information.
AB  - We report methodology which combines recently developed dielectric resonator
      based, rapid-mix, stopped-flow EPR (appropriate for small, aqueous, lossy
      samples) with rapid scanning of the external (Zeeman) magnetic field where the
      scanning is preprogrammed to occur at selected times after the start of flow.
      This methodology gave spectroscopic information complementary to that obtained by
      stopped-flow EPR at single fields, and with low reactant usage, it yielded more
      graphic insight into the time evolution of radical and spin-labeled species. We
      first used the ascorbyl radical as a test system where rapid scans triggered
      after flow was stopped provided "snapshots" of simultaneously evolving and
      interacting radical species. We monitored ascorbyl radical populations either as
      brought on by biologically damaging peroxynitrite oxidant or as chemically and
      kinetically interacting with a spectroscopically overlapping nitroxide radical.
      In a different biophysical application, where a spin-label lineshape reflected
      rapidly changing molecular dynamics of folding spin-labeled protein, rapid scan
      spectra were taken during flow with different flow rates and correspondingly
      different times after the mixing-induced inception of protein folding. This
      flow/rapid scan method is a means for monitoring early immobilization of the spin
      probe in the course of the folding process.

PMID- 9986756
TI  - Analysis of J coupling-induced fat suppression in DIET imaging.
AB  - The DIET (or dual interval echo train) sequence, a modification of the fast spin
      echo (FSE) sequence that selectively reduces signal from fat in MR images, has
      been investigated. The DIET sequence uses an initial echo spacing longer than
      that of a conventional FSE sequence, thus allowing J coupling-induced dephasing
      to take effect. The sequence is evaluated theoretically, and its effectiveness on
      a hydrocarbon (1-pentene) is demonstrated numerically using density matrix
      calculations. The sequence is also evaluated experimentally using in vitro
      solutions and in vivo imaging. The efficacy of the sequence is compared for
      different lipid chemical structures, field strengths, and pulse sequence
      parameters.

PMID- 9986757
TI  - Dead time-dependent line distortions in absolute-value electron spin echo
      envelope modulation spectra.
AB  - It is shown that in pulse EPR experiments, absolute-value spectra can be
      distorted because of the instrumental dead time to an extent that the
      interpretation of the spectral features becomes impossible. The mathematical
      background for the description of the distortions is given, and the far-reaching
      consequences of the effect are illustrated by model calculations. A cross-term
      averaging procedure is proposed to get rid of these distortions in two-, three-,
      and four-pulse electron spin echo envelope modulation experiments. The potential
      of cross-term averaging is demonstrated in two- and three-pulse experiments on a
      single crystal and a powder sample.

PMID- 9986758
TI  - SPRITE MRI with prepared magnetization and centric k-space sampling 
AB  - A technique for imaging materials with short transverse relaxation times and
      prepared longitudinal magnetization is proposed. The technique is single-point
      ramped imaging with T1-enhancement (SPRITE) MRI with centric k-space sampling.
      The effects of transient state behavior on image resolution and signal/noise are
      estimated. Centric sampling in the basic SPRITE sequence gives increased signal
      to-noise and permits a quantitative determination of the MR parameters associated
      with longitudinal spin preparation. Spin-lock and inversion recovery preparation
      experiments are presented. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986759
TI  - Quantitative measurement of transverse and longitudinal cross-correlation between
      13C-1H dipolar interaction and 13C chemical shift anisotropy: application to a
      13C-labeled DNA duplex.
AB  - Measurement of both longitudinal and transverse relaxation interference (cross
      correlation) between 13C chemical shift anisotropy and 13C-1H dipolar
      interactions is described. The ratio of the transverse to longitudinal cross
      correlation rates readily yields the ratio of spectral densities J(0)/J(omegaC),
      independent of any structural attributes such as internuclear distance or
      chemical shift tensor. The spectral density at zero frequency J(0) is also
      independent of chemical exchange effects. With limited internal motions, the
      ratio also enables an accurate evaluation of the correlation time for overall
      molecular tumbling. Applicability of this approach to investigating dynamics has
      been demonstrated by measurements made at three temperatures using a DNA decamer
      duplex with purines randomly enriched to 15% in 13C.

PMID- 9986760
TI  - Modeling EPR powder spectra using numerical diagonalization of the spin
      hamiltonian 
AB  - A new modeling code, ZFSFIT (standing for Zero Field Splitting FITting), written
      in FORTRAN 77 is proposed. It is designed for computing and fitting EPR powder
      spectra described by any spin Hamiltonian including second- and fourth-order ZFS
      terms (S </= 52) and/or a hyperfine term (I </= 72). Based on numerical
      diagonalization of the spin Hamiltonian, this code computes the powder spectrum,
      the calculated angular dependencies, and the energy levels at any orientation.
      Least-squares refinement of the spin Hamiltonian parameters is performed either
      by adjusting powder line positions (EPRPLP module) or by directly fitting the
      powder spectra (ZFSFIT code). Especially, simultaneous fitting of EPR powder line
      positions recorded at distinct frequencies improves the accuracy of the refined
      EPR parameters. Superhyperfine effects as well as broadening effects due to site
      to-site distribution of g-, A-, and ZFS parameters are treated using first-order
      perturbation theory and can also be refined. Parameters for several distinct
      centers can be fitted simultaneously, allowing quantification of their relative
      amounts in the sample. After a description of the algorithm, determination of
      second- and fourth-order ZFS parameters of Cr3+, Mn2+, and Fe3+ centers in low
      symmetry sites in minerals are treated, including first evidence of structural
      Fe3+ centers in alphaAl(OH)3. The code is available without charge to academic
      users from the authors. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986761
TI  - A new Q-band EPR probe for quantitative studies of even electron metalloproteins.
AB  - Existing Q-band (35 GHz) EPR spectrometers employ cylindrical cavities for more
      intense microwave magnetic fields B1, but are so constructed that only one
      orientation between the external field B and B1 is allowed, namely the B
      perpendicular B1 orientation, thus limiting the use of the spectrometer to
      measurements on Kramers spin systems (odd electron systems). We have designed and
      built a Q-band microwave probe to detect EPR signals in even electron systems,
      which operates in the range 2 K </= T </= 300 K for studies of metalloprotein
      samples. The cylindrical microwave cavity operates in the TE011 mode with
      cylindrical wall coupling to the waveguide, thus allowing all orientations of the
      external magnetic field B relative to the microwave field B1. Such orientations
      allow observation of EPR transitions in non-Kramers ions (even electron) which
      are either forbidden or significantly weaker for B perpendicular B1. Rotation of
      the external magnetic field also permits easy differentiation between spin
      systems from even and odd electron oxidation states. The cavity consists of a
      metallic helix and thin metallic end walls mounted on epoxy supports, which
      allows efficient penetration of the modulation field. The first quantitative EPR
      measurements from a metalloprotein (Hemerythrin) at 35 GHz with B1 || B are
      presented.

PMID- 9986762
TI  - A cryogenically coolable microwave limiter 
AB  - A microwave (ca. 3 GHz) limiter, constructed using a GaAs PIN diode and
      microstrip impedance transformation circuit, limited 300-ns long 11-W microwave
      pulses to 70 mW at ca. 4.2 K. This limiter was implemented in a pulsed electron
      paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer to protect a low-noise microwave
      preamplifier from the high-power pulses. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986763
TI  - Offset profiles of selective pulses in isotopically labeled macromolecules.
AB  - The experimental verification of offset profiles and calibration of selective
      pulses in NMR is usually carried out with doped water samples but not under
      conditions typical of macromolecules with short T2, long T1, and possibly homo-
      and heteronuclear couplings. A new method for selective excitation in
      isotopically labeled macromolecules is shown to be particularly suited to this
      purpose. This is illustrated for a backbone amide resonance in a sample of 15N
      labeled human ubiquitin.

PMID- 9986764
TI  - Editing of chemical exchange-relayed NOEs in NMR experiments for the observation
      of protein-water interactions.
AB  - An experimental approach for the editing of exchange-relayed NOEs in water
      selective NOE experiments is presented. The proposed pulse sequence is based on
      the application during the NOE mixing time of continuous wave irradiation, which
      saturates resonances of relaying labile protons in slow chemical exchange with
      water. The technique can efficiently reduce the contributions of exchange-relayed
      NOE peaks that often crowd the water-selective NOE spectra and hide direct
      intermolecular NOEs between water and protein protons. The present approach opens
      new opportunities for the characterization of hydration by NMR, even in the
      proximity of polar labile groups.

PMID- 9986765
TI  - In vivo quantitation of cerebral metabolite concentrations using natural
      abundance 13C MRS at 1.5 T.
AB  - A method for the quantitation of cerebral metabolites on a clinical MR scanner by
      natural abundance 13C MRS in vivo is described. Proton-decoupled spectra were
      acquired with a power deposition within FDA guidelines using a novel coil design.
      myo-Inositol, quantified by a separate proton MRS, and readily detectable in 13C
      MRS, was used as an internal reference. Normal concentrations, measured in four
      control subjects, age 7 months to 12 years, were glutamate 9.9 +/- 0.7, glutamine
      5.6 +/- 1.0, and NAA 8.8 +/- 2.8 mmol/kg. In a patient diagnosed with Canavan
      disease, examined four times, glutamate was reduced to 46% of normal, 4.6 +/- 0.5
      mmol/kg. NAA was increased by 50% to 13.2 +/- 1.6 mmol/kg in 13C MRS, consistent
      with the 41% increase to 12.3 +/- 1.1 from control 8.7 +/- 1.1 mmol/kg assayed by
      1H MRS. Limited concentration of glutamate may impact on glutamatergic neurons
      and excitatory neurotransmission in Canavan disease. Quantitation of cerebral
      glutamate in human brain may have clinical value in human neuropathologies in
      which glutamate is believed to play a central role.

PMID- 9986766
TI  - Echo-planar imaging of porous media with spatial resolution below 100 &mgr;m 
AB  - A modified version of the echo-planar imaging technique incorporating a Carr
      Purcell train of 180 degrees rf pulses (PEPI) has been implemented on a standard
      spectrometer. It is demonstrated that artifacts in the image due to cumulative
      errors in the rf field can be reduced by replacing each 180 degrees pulse by a
      composite sequence of three rf pulses. Artifact-free 3D images at 94 &mgr;m voxel
      resolution are obtained within 15 min. This technique has been applied to study
      the drying process in an initially water-saturated model porous medium with
      characteristic T*2 of order 700 &mgr;s. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986767
TI  - Meetings calendar 

PMID- 9986768
TI  - Laser Excitation Spectra and Franck-Condon Factors for Bi2 X1Sigma+g -->
      A(0(+)u).
AB  - Laser excitation spectra of the lowest vibrational levels, v" = 2-5 and v' = 0-4,
      for the Bi2 X1Sigma+g --> A(0(+)u) system have been recorded for a wide range of
      rotational levels, 0 < J < 211, at Doppler-limited resolution of 0.013 cm-1. New
      rotational term values and spectroscopic constants are reported, improving the
      accuracy of predicted line positions for high rotational levels by as much as 0.8
      cm-1. In addition, Franck-Condon factors are computed and compared with
      experimental observations from CW laser-induced fluorescence spectra.

PMID- 9986769
TI  - Potential Energy Curves and Electronic Structure of Copper Nitrides CuN and CuN+
      Versus CuO and CuO+
AB  - Ab initio configuration interaction calculations for the diatomic CuO, CuN, CuO+,
      and CuN+ have been carried out, and potential energy curves are reported for
      several low-lying states of these systems. The electronic structure and bonding,
      not yet known for the neutral copper nitride and its cation, are examined and
      compared to those of the copper oxide systems. We find that the ground states of
      these systems are X2Pi (CuO), X3Sigma- (CuN), X3Sigma- (CuO+), and X4Sigma-
      (CuN+); their first low-lying excited states Y2Sigma+, 1Delta, 1Delta, and 2Pi
      are located at 0.69, 1.45, 2.32, and 2.09 eV, respectively. For CuO we found two
      unobserved quartet states, namely 4Sigma- (Te = 1.09 eV) and 4Pi (Te = 1.86 eV).
      We report equilibrium structural parameters for various electronic states of the
      studied systems and compare them with experimental values, where it is possible.
      Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986770
TI  - Dipole Moment Function of LiF and LiCl Obtained from the Herman-Wallis Analysis:
      A Comparative Study with the MBER Data.
AB  - FTIR absorption spectra of the fundamental bands of LiF and LiCl were measured
      with an apodized resolution of 0.01 cm-1. The Herman-Wallis analysis of these
      spectra led to the determination of the ratio of the dipole derivative to the
      permanent dipole moment, [ue/(du/dr)ere], for each molecule. The vibrational
      dependence of the dipole moment for each molecule has been already reported and
      these data were reanalyzed to determine the dipole moment function independently.
      The results from the Herman-Wallis analysis were compared with these results, and
      good agreement was found. This demonstrates that the Herman-Wallis analysis can
      produce reliable relative values of dipole moment functions. Copyright 1999
      Academic Press.

PMID- 9986771
TI  - Diode-Laser Spectra of 13C32S2: The nu3 Band.
AB  - By diode-laser spectroscopy, spectra have been recorded for isotopically enriched
      carbon disulfide 13C32S2 in the region of the nu3 band near 1500 cm-1. The data
      were fitted and new molecular constants were determined. We also observed bands
      of isotopomers 13C32S33S and 13C32S34S. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986772
TI  - Analysis of Line Positions and Strengths of H216O Ground and Hot Bands Connecting
      to Interacting Upper States: (020), (100), and (001).
AB  - High-resolution spectra of H216O were recorded with a Fourier-transform
      spectrometer covering transitions in the (020)-(010), (100)-(010), and (001)
      (010) bands from 1100 to over 2300 cm-1. Also included in the study were
      previously reported measurements of these bands and measurements of the (020)
      (000), (100)-(000), and (001)-(000) bands from 2620 cm-1 to 4500 cm-1. The
      linestrengths were fitted to a model which takes into account the interactions
      between the vibrational states (020), (100), and (001). The model included dipole
      moment matrix elements (also referred to as transition elements) represented by
      19 expansion coefficients for B-type transitions and 14 expansion coefficients
      for A-type band transitions. The most satisfactory results were obtained when the
      relative signs and values of the leading dipole moment terms of each of the three
      "hot" bands were as follows: u(020-010) = 1.936(97) x 10(-1) D, u(100-010) =
      3.876(19) x 10(-2) D, and u(001-010) = 2.523(75) x 10(-2) D. Hot water emission
      experimental frequencies from other studies were included in an analysis to
      obtain rotational energies for levels up to high J and/or Ka of the (020), (100),
      and (001) vibrational states. The results from this study provide a more accurate
      representation of the parameters than those available at present for the six
      bands. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986773
TI  - The Overtone Spectrum of H2 32S near 13 200 cm-1.
AB  - The intracavity laser absorption spectrum of H2 32S has been recorded near 13 200
      cm-1 with an equivalent absorption pathlength of 25 km. The observed spectrum is
      assigned to the (50(+/-), v2 = 1) states constituting a local mode pair in strong
      H22-type interaction. The rovibrational analysis has allowed the assignment of
      210 lines involving 86 rotational upper state levels which have been reproduced
      with a rms of 0.023 cm-1 close to the experimental accuracy. A perturbation
      affecting one line is assigned to a local interaction with the (40(+/-), v2 = 3)
      local mode pair. The influence of the bending excitation on the local mode
      character of the (n0(+/-), v2 = 1) stretch-bend combination levels is discussed
      on the basis of the values of the rotational constants and of the H22 interaction
      parameters. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986774
TI  - Observation of the nuCH Excited Vibrational Levels in the A1A" State of HCP by IR
      UV Double Resonance Spectroscopy.
AB  - Rovibrational levels with one quantum of CH stretch mode, (1, v2, v3), in the
      A1A" electronic state of HCP were observed for the first time by IR-UV double
      resonance spectroscopy. Nine vibrational levels were identified in the energy
      region of 37 500-40 800 cm-1. Perturbations similar to those in the (0, v2, v3)
      levels were also observed in many of the vibrational levels. It was found that
      the CH stretch frequency in the A1A" state is reduced about 270 cm-1 relative to
      that of the electronic ground state. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986775
TI  - The D' left and right arrow A' Transition in ClF.
AB  - The D' (2 (3)P2) left and right arrow A'(2 (3)Pi) transition in ClF is studied in
      emission, in fluorescence, and through OODR excitation experiments. The emission
      spectrum is excited in a flowing Tesla discharge of ClF in half an atmosphere of
      Ar and is photographed at high resolution. The excitation and fluorescence
      spectra are obtained by pumping through perturbed levels of the B (0(+) 3Pi)
      valence state. The emission data yield a detailed characterization of v' levels 0
      and 1 and v" levels 3-8. The excitation spectra extend the v' range to v' = 16
      and put both states on an absolute energy scale. The low-resolution fluorescence
      spectra span v" = 1-17, the upper limit of which lies within approximately 20 cm
      1 of dissociation. Key spectroscopic parameters (cm-1) from the study, valid for
      35Cl19F, are: T'e = 55 253, omega'e = 365.22, omegaex'e = 2.005, T"e = 18 257,
      omega"e = 363.53, omegaex"e = 8.30, B'e = 0.21790, a'e = 0.00175, B"e = 0.33412,
      a"e = 0.00631, R'e = 2.5069 A, R"e = 2.024 A. A near-dissociation fit of the D' -
      > A' emission and fluorescence data locates the first dissociation limit at 21
      495(5) cm-1, which is lower than the accepted value, but by just one standard
      error. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986776
TI  - Infrared Laser Spectroscopy of the nu4 and nu9 Band System of CH2F37Cl.
AB  - The spectra of CH2F37Cl (95% isotopically pure sample) have been recorded at high
      resolution with a tunable diode laser spectrometer in the regions 979-1030 and
      1108-1136 cm-1. The spectral analysis allowed us to assign about 2000 lines (J
      </= 61, Ka </= 26) of the nu9 band (nu0 = 1001.9360 cm-1), which, besides the
      expected c-type component, shows a more intense Coriolis-induced parallel
      component deriving its intensity from mixing with the nu4 vibrational state. In
      addition, the assignments of the nu4 band (nu0 = 1067.7138 cm-1), previously
      investigated, have been extended to higher Ka values and about 1300 new lines (J
      </= 69, 17 </= Ka </= 26) have been identified. The nu4 and nu9 bands have been
      fitted simultaneously to account for the first-order a- and b-type Coriolis
      coupling; interaction constants and excited state parameters up to the sextic
      terms have been obtained using Watson's A-reduction Hamiltonian in the Ir
      representation. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986777
TI  - Generation, Microwave Spectrum, and Ab Initio MO Calculation of trans-1
      Nitrosopropene, CH3CH&dbond;CH-NO (syn form).
AB  - trans-1-Nitrosopropene (syn form) was generated in the gas phase by pyrolysis of
      1-chloro-1-methyl-2-(hydroxyimino)ethane and identified by microwave
      spectroscopy. The microwave spectrum of the pyrolysate was observed in the
      frequency range from 8.0 to 40.0 GHz. The rotational constants (MHz) were
      determined as A = 34 025(390), B = 2315.62(2), and C = 2198.54(2) for
      CH3CH&dbond;CH-NO (normal species) and A = 34 012(530), B = 2300.04(3), and C =
      2182.70(2) for CH3CH&dbond;CH-15NO (15N isotopic species) in the ground
      vibrational state. The values of planar moment (Pcc = (Ia + Ib - Ic)/2) obtained
      for the normal and 15N isotopic species were found to be 1.62(10) and 1.52(13)
      uA2, respectively. These values are almost the same within the limit of errors.
      This suggests that the nitrogen atom lies in or is close to the ab inertial plane
      of the molecule and shows also that only two hydrogen atoms are located
      symmetrically out of the symmetry plane. The pyrolysate was determined to be
      trans-1-nitrosopropene by comparing the observed and calculated rotational
      constants, kappa (Ray's asymmetric parameter), and rs coordinates of the nitrogen
      atom. One vibrationally excited state was observed and assigned to the C-N
      torsional mode (158(50) cm-1). Interesting pyrolysates such as hydrogen cyanide
      and acetaldehyde were also detected during the pyrolysis of the precursor. The
      lifetime of trans-1-nitrosopropene is found to be ca. 5 s in the waveguide cell.
      Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986778
TI  - Effective Rotation-Vibration Parameters for the nu8 and nu4 + nu12 Bands of
      Ethane.
AB  - The jet-cooled spectrum of ethane in the region of the nu8 perpendicular
      fundamental vibration at 1472 cm-1 was recorded with a Fourier transform
      spectrometer at 0.01 cm-1 instrumental resolution. About 1150 lines were assigned
      to 18 subbands of nu8 ranging from K"DeltaK = -9 to +8. About 160 lines were
      assigned to three subbands (K"DeltaK = 0 to +2) of the nu4 + nu12 combination
      band near 1481 cm-1. Torsional splittings were observed for the majority of the
      transitions. A stack-by-stack analysis was performed, resulting in effective
      rovibrational parameters for the upper states nu8 and nu4 + nu12. A number of
      perturbations was observed and is discussed. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986779
TI  - Global Analysis of a-, b-, and c-Type Transitions Involving Tunneling Components
      of K = 0 and 1 States of the Methanol Dimer.
AB  - Spectral data on K = 0 and 1 levels of the methanol dimer available from previous
      and present Fourier transform microwave measurements have been interpreted
      globally, using a group-theoretically derived effective Hamiltonian and
      corresponding tunneling matrix elements to describe the splittings arising from a
      large number of tunneling motions. In the present work, 302 new measurements (40
      K = 1-1 and 262 K = 1-0 transitions) were added to the previous data set to give
      a total of 584 assigned transitions with J </= 6. As a result of the rather
      complete K = 0, 1 data set for J </= 4, the lone-pair exchange tunneling
      splittings were obtained experimentally. Matrix element expansions in J(J + 1)
      used in the previous K = 0 formalism were modified to apply to K > 0, essentially
      by making a number of real coefficients complex, as required by the generalized
      internal-axis-method tunneling formalism. To reduce the number of adjustable
      parameters to an acceptable level in both the K = 0 and K = 1 effective
      Hamiltonians (used in separate K = 0 and K = 1 least-squares fits), a rather
      large number of assumptions concerning probably negligible parameters had to be
      made. The present fitting results should thus be considered as providing
      assurance of the group-theoretical line assignments as well as a nearly
      quantitative global interpretation of the tunneling splittings, even though they
      do not yet unambiguously determine the relative contributions from all 25 group
      theoretically inequivalent tunneling motions in this complex, nor do they permit
      quantitative extrapolation to higher K levels. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986780
TI  - Analysis of the nu8 + nu9 Band of HNO3, Line Positions and Intensities, and
      Resonances Involving the v6 = v7 = 1 Dark State.
AB  - Using a high-resolution (R = 0.0025 cm-1) Fourier transform spectrum of nitric
      acid recorded at room temperature in the 1100-1240 cm-1 region, it has been
      possible to perform a more extended analysis of the nu8 + nu9 band of HNO3
      centered at 1205.7075 cm-1. As in a recent analysis of this band [W. F. Wang, P.
      P. Ong, T. L. Tan, E. C. Looi, and H. H. Teo, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 183, 407-413
      (1997)], the Hamiltonian used for the line positions calculation takes into
      account, for the upper state, the DeltaK = +/-2 anharmonic resonance linking the
      rotational levels of the v8 = v9 = 1 "bright" vibrational state and those of the
      "dark" v6 = v7 = 1 vibrational state. More than 4800 lines were assigned in the
      nu8 + nu9 band, which involve significantly higher rotational quantum numbers
      than in previous works. On the other hand, and surprisingly as compared to
      previous studies, the nu8 + nu9 band appears to be a hybrid band. In fact,
      nonnegligible B-type transitions could be clearly identified among the much
      stronger A-type lines. Accordingly, a set of individual line intensities were
      measured for lines of both types and were introduced in a least-squares fit to
      get the A- and B-type components of the transition moment operator. Finally, a
      synthetic spectrum of the 8.3-um region of HNO3 has been generated, using for the
      line positions and line intensities the Hamiltonian constants and the expansion
      of the transition moment operator which were determined in this work. In this
      way, the B-type and the A-type components of the nu8 + nu9 band appear to
      contribute for about (1/4) and (3/4), respectively, to the total band intensity.
      Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986781
TI  - Fourier Transform Emission Spectroscopy of the Visible Transitions of AuCl.
AB  - The visible electronic transitions of AuCl were observed at high resolution for
      the first time. The spectrum was recorded with the Fourier transform spectrometer
      associated with the McMath-Pierce solar telescope at Kitt Peak. The excited AuCl
      molecules were produced in a microwave discharge, with 4 Torr of helium seeded
      with 3% chlorine flowing over AuCl3 powder. Constants for the X1Sigma+, AOmega =
      1, and BOmega = 0(+) states of Au35Cl are presented. The AOmega = 1 and the
      BOmega = 0(+) states may be two spin-orbit components of a 3Pi electronic state,
      and molecular parameters for this excited 3Pi state also are given. Copyright
      1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986782
TI  - The Interacting v6 = 2 Levels of D3Si35Cl: A Tool to Determine Ground State
      Constants from High-Resolution Spectra in the 440-590 and 900-1100 cm-1 Regions.
AB  - High-resolution FTIR spectra of monoisotopic D3Si35Cl have been recorded in the
      regions 440-590 cm-1 (nu3/nu6) and 900-1100 cm-1 (2nu6/nu3 + nu6/2nu3). A
      detailed rovibrational study was done for the 2nu06, 2nu-/+26, and 2nu3 overtone
      bands and for the 2nu+/-26-nu+/-16, 2nu06-nu-/+16, and (nu3 + nu+/-16)-nu+/-16
      hot bands. For the first time the interactions occurring between the v6 = 2, v3 =
      v6 = 1, and v3 = 2 levels of any trideuterated silyl halide have been analyzed.
      The (nu3 + nu+/-16)-nu+/-16 hot band served to obtain accurate energies of the v3
      = v6 = 1 level, the nu3 + nu6 combination band not being detectable on our
      spectra. The first experimental determination of A0 and D0K for this molecule was
      undertaken by a well-established method, using the nu6, 2nu+/-26-nu+/-16, and 2nu
      /+26 bands. Ground state energy differences DeltaK(J) = E0(J, K) - E0(J, K - 3)
      were calculated for K values from 2 to 16. By a least-squares fit of 163 such
      differences, the A0 and D0K values thus obtained were (in cm-1): A0 =
      1.4278230(8) and D0K = 5.3916(31) x 10(-6). Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

PMID- 9986783
TI  - High J Pure Inversion Spectrum of ND3 in the v2 = 1 State.

PMID- 9986786
TI  - Lindsay M. Black (1907-1997) 

PMID- 9986784
TI  - Fitting Rovibrational Spectra of C3v Symmetric Top Molecules with Unitary
      Equivalent Parameter Sets: A Novel Application to the vt = 1 Level.

PMID- 9986787
TI  - Influenza virus inhibits cleavage of the HSP70 pre-mRNAs at the polyadenylation
      site.
AB  - Influenza virus infection is known to shut off the expression of host genes. To
      study the mechanism, we examined the effects of influenza A/Udorn/72 virus
      infection on the heat induction of a major heat shock protein, HSP70, in Madin
      Darby canine kidney cells. The induction of HSP70 protein synthesis was
      progressively suppressed with postinfection time when heat shock was applied.
      Northern hybridization analysis revealed the appearance of longer, heterogeneous
      HSP70 transcripts in the range of 2.7 to 30 kb with a concomitant decrease in the
      amount of the mature 2.7-kb mRNAs in the nucleus of the infected cells. Such
      longer beta-actin transcripts were also observed but with much less intensity.
      The longer HSP70 transcripts contained the downstream sequence of the
      polyadenylation site, as demonstrated by RNase protection with an antisense RNA
      probe containing the sequence through the polyadenylation sites. This clearly
      proved that influenza virus infection inhibits the polyadenylation-site cleavage
      of the pre-mRNAs by the host cleavage and polyadenylation machinery. One
      temperature-sensitive mutant virus carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation on
      the NS1 gene failed to inhibit the cleavage at the nonpermissive temperature,
      indicating that the NS1 protein is involved in the inhibition of the pre-mRNA
      cleavage. This is the first report of the down-regulation of cellular mRNA
      maturation at the point of polyadenylation-site cleavage by virus infection and
      identifies a new mechanism by which the influenza virus shuts off host gene
      expression.

PMID- 9986788
TI  - Transmission of human immunodeficiency type 1 viruses with intersubtype
      recombinant long terminal repeat sequences.
AB  - Retroviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) contain two RNA
      strands per virion, and recombination can occur frequently during reverse
      transcription. Recombination may occur between HIV-1 genomes of the same subtype
      or among genomes of two or more distinct subtypes present in an individual. In
      the current study, we found that recombinatorial events were not limited to viral
      structural genes such as gag and env, but rather, recombination could likewise
      occur within the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR). Intersubtype recombinant LTRs
      among HIV-1 subtypes A, C, and D were found in Tanzanian infants. By introducing
      novel LTR sequences, these recombinant LTR viruses may further increase the
      adaptive potential and fitness of HIV-1.

PMID- 9986789
TI  - Subtype G and multiple forms of A/G intersubtype recombinant human
      immunodeficiency virus type 1 in Nigeria.
AB  - Multiple human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genetic subtypes,
      intersubtype recombinants, and group O have been found in west central Africa. In
      Nigeria, where HIV-1 prevalence is rising rapidly, characterization of HIV-1
      strains has been limited. Each of three full-length genome sequences acquired to
      date shows evidence of recombination: two are largely subtype G with subtype A
      segments in the midgenome accessory region; the third, IbNG, is subtype G with
      the long terminal repeats and two segments of pol from subtype A. In this study,
      peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained in 1994-1995 from 10 patients
      hospitalized in northeastern Nigeria were evaluated by sequencing of the complete
      envelope and, from 7 patients, a portion of gag. Four patients harbored subtype G
      viruses and six patients had recombinant viruses. Two had strains sharing the A/G
      recombinant structure of IbNG. Two had a previously undescribed recombinant,
      mostly subtype A, whose carboxyl-terminal gp41 could not be classified. An A/G
      recombinant different from IbNG but similar to CA1, a Cameroonian strain, was
      found in one patient. The remaining patient had a strain that was otherwise
      subtype G but shared an unclassified carboxyl-terminal gp41 segment with the CA1
      like strains. Other subtypes and group O were not found.

PMID- 9986790
TI  - Host range of human T-cell leukemia virus type I analyzed by a cell fusion
      dependent reporter gene activation assay.
AB  - We constructed a sensitive and quantitative assay system to examine human T-cell
      leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) envelope (env) glycoprotein-mediated cell fusion
      in which T7 RNA polymerase in donor cells coexpressing env glycoproteins
      activates a reporter gene in recipient cells upon cell fusion. An efficient
      expression of HTLV-I env glycoproteins (gp46 and gp21) was observed in 293T cells
      transfected with an expression plasmid by both immunoblot and immunofluorescence
      analyses. The cells expressing env glycoproteins also exhibited self-fusion. By
      cocultivating the donor cells with recipient cells transfected with a reporter
      plasmid possessing the luciferase gene under the T7 promoter, the expression of
      luciferase was observed upon cell fusion. The activation of the luciferase gene
      was inhibited by either anti-env neutralizing antibody or synthetic peptide
      corresponding to env gp21, thus indicating the cell fusion to be specifically
      mediated by the HTLV-I env glycoproteins expressed in the donor cells. A broad
      range of cell lines exhibited susceptibility to HTLV-I env-mediated cell fusion
      by this assay. This newly established assay system may thus provide an efficient
      way both to study the fusion mechanisms mediated by HTLV-I env glycoproteins and
      to identify the HTLV-I receptor(s).

PMID- 9986791
TI  - A short region in the genome of hepatitis B virus is critical for maintenance of
      high transcript levels.
AB  - The majority of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transcripts are not normally spliced
      during the viral life cycle, but several splice donor and acceptor sites are
      conserved on HBV transcripts. In particular, the genome region between nt 450 and
      500 of the HBV genome appears to be rich in such sequences. In this study we
      deleted a short 30-nt sequence between a conserved splice donor site at HBV
      genome position 462 and a splice acceptor site at position 491, thus deleting the
      surface/polymerase open reading frames by 10 amino acid residues. At the
      transcriptional level, this deletion led to >99% reduction of the 2.1-kb class of
      subgenomic transcripts in transfected cells. Nuclear run-on experiments revealed
      that the transcription rate of the deleted 2.1-kb transcript is unchanged when
      compared with the wildtype, suggesting a posttranscriptional mechanism for the
      downregulation of the deleted transcript. In addition, experiments with a
      replication-competent HBV mutant containing the 30-nt deletion showed that the
      corresponding 10-amino-acid sequence within the reverse transcriptase domain of
      the polymerase protein appeared to be nonessential.

PMID- 9986792
TI  - Characterization of conformation-dependent anti-gp120 murine monoclonal
      antibodies produced by immunization with monomeric and oligomeric human
      immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope proteins.
AB  - Twenty-five conformation-dependent monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced by
      immunization of mice with oligomeric forms of the human immunodeficiency virus
      type 1 (HIV-1) envelope (env) glycoprotein were used to map exposed, immunogenic
      regions on oligomeric env. Based on MAb cross-competition, reactivity with
      diverse env proteins, and reactivity with a panel of gp120 mutants, seven
      distinct epitope clusters were identified. These include the classic CD4 binding
      site, V1/V2, and V3. in addition, several novel epitope clusters, including one
      mapping to the N- and C-termini of gp120, were identified. The locations of the
      seven epitope clusters on the gp120 core structure are proposed.

PMID- 9986793
TI  - Hepatitis A virus translation is rate-limiting for virus replication in MRC-5
      cells.
AB  - Translation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA is controlled by an internal ribosome
      entry site (IRES) located within the 5' untranslated region (UTR). In some cell
      types, the characteristically slow growth of HAV may be due to inefficient viral
      translation. We investigated whether this is true in MRC-5 cells, which are used
      for vaccine production. We measured the impact of two clusters of mutations in
      the 5' UTR on virus translation and replication: the AG group was selected during
      passage in African green monkey kidney cells, and the MR group was selected
      during subsequent passage in MRC-5 cells. The efficiency of cap-independent
      translation was assessed by inserting cDNA encoding an HAV IRES upstream of the
      chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene and transcription was driven in vivo by a
      hybrid T7/vaccinia virus system. A luciferase gene was inserted upstream of the
      IRES to serve as an internal control. Each HAV UTR was also inserted into an
      infectious cDNA clone; the average rate of viral RNA accumulation was determined
      for each mutant virus. In MRC-5 cells, the rate of virus replication was highly
      correlated with the efficiency of cap-independent translation (P = 0.006). The MR
      but not the AG mutations significantly increased both translation and viral RNA
      accumulation. Reversion of just one MR mutation (687 G to A) eliminated all of
      the replication-stimulating and translation-enhancing effects of the MR
      mutations. In the control BS-C-1 cells, there was no discernible correlation
      between the rate of virus replication and the efficiency of cap-independent
      translation (P = 0.136): the AG and MR groups combined had a small impact on
      translation, but no detectable impact on virus replication. We conclude that in
      MRC-5 cells viral translation is rate-limiting for HAV replication.

PMID- 9986794
TI  - Sp1 is involved in a protein kinase C-independent activation of human T cell
      leukemia virus type I long terminal repeat by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13
      acetate.
AB  - The long terminal repeat (LTR) of human T cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I)
      contains binding sites for several cellular transcription factors that can
      activate its expression independently of the viral transactivator Tax protein. In
      a previous study, we have shown that 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)
      induces a Tax-independent activation of the viral LTR expression. We have also
      noted that although most other TPA biological effects are attributed to its
      protein kinase C (PKC)-activating potential, this particular effect of TPA is PKC
      independent and antagonized by PKC activity. In addition, we have demonstrated
      that deletion of the ets-responsive region 1 (ERR-1) from the LTR abolishes its
      response to TPA. In the present study, we demonstrate that TPA exerts this effect
      by enhancing the binding of the Sp1 transcription factor to an Sp1-binding site
      located within ERR-1. This Sp1-binding stimulation was not diminished by a potent
      PKC-specific inhibitor like bisindolylmaleimide-I, indicating that it did not
      depend on PKC activity. However, no increase in Sp1 protein level could be
      detected in the TPA-treated cells, suggesting that TPA exerted its effect by a
      posttranslational modification of Sp1 protein rather than by stimulating its
      synthesis. Although the proximal Tax responsive 21-bp element also contains an
      Sp1-binding site, the present study shows that the modified Sp1 protein mediates
      the TPA effect on LTR only through the Sp1 site of the ERR-1.

PMID- 9986795
TI  - An internal polypyrimidine-tract-binding protein-binding site in the hepatitis C
      virus RNA attenuates translation, which is relieved by the 3'-untranslated
      sequence.
AB  - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA binds to several cellular proteins, which may
      regulate translation or replication of viral RNA. One of these is polypyrimidine
      tract-binding protein (PTB), which binds to the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and
      the 3'-end 98 nucleotides (nt) (X region) of HCV RNA. Both of these PTB-binding
      sites regulate HCV translation. In this study, we further investigated the nature
      of PTB binding on HCV RNA. UV cross-linking studies using HeLa cell extracts and
      a recombinant PTB showed that the PTB-5'-UTR binding was much weaker than the PTB
      3'-UTR binding. Unexpectedly, we found an even stronger PTB-binding site in the
      core-protein-coding region of HCV RNA. The binding domain was mapped to the 3'
      end of this region, which contains a pyrimidine-rich sequence highly conserved
      among HCV isolates. Using a set of synthetic HCV RNAs with or without this
      sequence in in vitro translation studies, we showed that the PTB-binding sequence
      in the core-coding region strongly inhibited translation of HCV RNA. This
      inhibition was relieved by the presence of the X region at the 3'-end.
      Furthermore, the previously reported translational enhancement by the HCV 3'-UTR
      was more pronounced when this PTB-binding site was present in the RNA. These
      results suggest that PTB binding to an internal site of HCV RNA provides another
      mechanism for regulation of HCV translation.

PMID- 9986796
TI  - Requirement for GP64 to drive efficient budding of Autographa californica
      multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus.
AB  - Budded virions (BV) of Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus
      (AcMNPV) contain a major envelope glycoprotein (GP64) that is present on the
      plasma membrane of infected cells. GP64 is acquired by virions during budding
      through the plasma membrane, the final step in assembly of the budded virion at
      the cell surface. Previous studies (S. A. Monsma, A. G. P. Oomens, and G. W.
      Blissard (1996). J. Virol. 70, 4607-4616) showed that insertional inactivation of
      the AcMNPV gp64 gene resulted in a virus unable to move from cell to cell and
      nonlethal to orally infected Trichoplusia ni larvae. To determine whether GP64 is
      involved in virion budding, we measured BV production from Sf9 cells infected
      with a gp64null virus. Sf9 cells infected with gp64null virus vAc64- were pulse
      labeled, and progeny BV were isolated on equilibrium sucrose gradients and
      quantified. BV production from vAc64- was reduced to approximately 2% of that
      from wild-type AcMNPV. Thus the GP64 protein is important for efficient virion
      budding. To determine whether the highly charged 7-amino acid cytoplasmic tail
      domain (CTD) of GP64 was required for virion production, we generated a series of
      GP64 constructs containing C-terminal truncations or substitutions. Modified
      forms of GP64 were analyzed in transfected cells and in recombinant viruses in
      which the wild-type gp64 gene was replaced with a modified gp64. Deletion of 1-7
      amino acids from the CTD did not affect GP64 trimerization, protein transport to
      the cell surface, or membrane fusion activity. However, deletions of 11 or 14
      amino acids, which removed the CTD and portions of the predicted transmembrane
      (TM) domain, were trimerized but were present at lower levels on the cell surface
      due to shedding of these truncated proteins. Comparisons of growth curves and
      quantitative measurements of labeled progeny BV production from recombinant
      viruses expressing either wild-type or mutant GP64 proteins showed that deletion
      of the 7-residue CTD only moderately reduced the production of infectious virions
      ( approximately 50%). However, deletions of the C terminal 11 or 14 amino acids
      had more substantial effects. Removal of the C terminal 11 amino acids reduced
      titers of infectious virus by 78-96% and labeled progeny virions were reduced by
      91-92%. Removal of 14 amino acids from the C terminus resulted in an
      approximately 98% reduction in progeny BV and a virus that was apparently
      incapable of efficient propagation in cell culture. Thus the GP64 CTD is not
      essential for production of infectious BV, but removal of the CTD results in a
      measurable reduction in budding efficiency. Deletion of the CTD plus small
      portions of the transmembrane domain resulted in shedding of GP64, reduced
      surface levels, and a dramatic reduction in the production of BV. Together, these
      data indicate that GP64 is an important and limiting factor in BV production.

PMID- 9986797
TI  - Internal processing of hepatitis C virus NS3 protein.
AB  - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protein contains at least three enzymatic activities:
      NS2-3 protease, NS3 serine protease, and NTPase/RNA helicase. It has been shown
      that NS2/3 cleavage is mediated by NS2-3 protease, whereas NS3 serine protease is
      responsible for the other four cleavage sites of the nonstructural (NS) region.
      In this study, we showed that the internal cleavage of NS3 protein produced two
      products of 49 kDa (NS3a) and 23 kDa (NS3b) when the entire NS3 region (aa 1027
      1657) or the whole open reading frame (aa 1-3010) was expressed in mammalian and
      insect cells. By means of site-directed mutagenesis, we demonstrated that
      NS3a/NS3b cleavage occurs within the RNA helicase sequence motif that is highly
      conserved in the Flaviviridae family and that neither NS2-3 protease nor NS3
      serine protease was responsible for this cleavage. The NS3 protease of
      flaviviruses, dengue virus type 2, for example, has been shown to mediate the
      internal cleavage of NS3. The NS3 proteins of HCV and dengue virus may thus be
      cleaved internally at the same sequence by different mechanisms of proteolysis.
      Also discussed is a possible role for the internal processing of HCV NS3 in the
      viral life cycle and its pathogenesis.

PMID- 9986798
TI  - Cis-acting functions of alfalfa mosaic virus proteins involved in replication and
      encapsidation of viral RNA.
AB  - cDNA clones of RNAs 1 and 2 of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) were slightly modified
      to permit transcription of infectious RNAs with T7 RNA polymerase. Together with
      transcripts of an available clone of AMV RNA 3, these transcripts were used to
      study cis- and trans-acting functions of AMV proteins in protoplasts from
      nontransgenic tobacco plants and from plants transformed with the P1 and P2
      genes, encoded by RNAs 1 and 2, respectively. Transgenic P1 was unable to
      complement mutations in the P1 gene in RNA 1, pointing to a cis-acting function
      of P1 in RNA 1 replication. A study of the replication of RNA 3 mutants in
      nontransgenic protoplasts revealed that coat protein (CP) expressed from RNA 3 in
      the inoculum is required in trans for replication and encapsidation of RNAs 1 and
      2 but is required in cis for replication and encapsidation of RNA 3. CP is
      required in the inoculum to initiate infection of nontransgenic plants and
      protoplasts. When protoplasts expressing both P1 and P2 (P12 protoplasts) were
      infected with RNAs 1, 2, and 3, initiation of replication of RNAs 1 and 2
      required the presence of CP in the inoculum, whereas the initiation of
      replication of RNA 3 did not. This demonstrated that CP expressed from RNA 3
      cannot substitute for the early function of CP in the inoculum. The results
      showed that CP in the inoculum is required to permit viral minus-strand RNA
      synthesis, whereas CP expressed from RNA 3 after the initiation of infection is
      required for plus-strand RNA synthesis.

PMID- 9986799
TI  - Safe determination of susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to
      antimycobacterial agents by flow cytometry.
AB  - We showed previously that susceptibility testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis
      labeled with fluorescein diacetate could be accomplished rapidly by using flow
      cytometry. However, safety was a major concern because mycobacteria were not
      killed prior to flow cytometric analysis. In this study, we developed a
      biologically safe flow cytometric susceptibility test that depends on detection
      and enumeration of actively growing M. tuberculosis organisms in drug-free and
      antimycobacterial agent-containing medium. The susceptibilities of 17 clinical
      isolates of M. tuberculosis to ethambutol, isoniazid, and rifampin were tested by
      the agar proportion and flow cytometric methods. Subsequently, all flow
      cytometric susceptibility test samples were inactivated by exposure to
      paraformaldehyde before analysis with a flow cytometer. Agreement between the
      results from the two methods was 98%. In addition, the flow cytometric results
      were available 72 h after the initiation of testing. The flow cytometric
      susceptibility assay is safe, simple to perform, and more rapid than conventional
      test methods, such as the BACTEC system and the proportion method.

PMID- 9986800
TI  - Prospective comparison of whole-blood- and plasma-based hepatitis C virus RNA
      detection systems: improved detection using whole blood as the source of viral
      RNA.
AB  - We previously demonstrated that whole blood contains significantly more hepatitis
      C virus (HCV) RNA than plasma. To validate the whole-blood-based HCV RNA
      detection method, a prospective comparison of HCV RNA detection in whole blood
      and plasma from 50 patients with chronic liver disease was undertaken. Whole
      blood and plasma aliquots were independently tested for HCV RNA by reverse
      transcriptase (RT) PCR assay, and plasma was tested by the Roche Amplicor assay.
      HCV RNA was detected in 35 of 50 (70%) whole-blood samples by RT-PCR but in only
      26 of 50 (52%) plasma samples tested by the Amplicor assay (P < 0.01). HCV RNA
      was detected in 85% of HCV antibody-positive patients by the whole-blood method
      compared with 74% of plasma samples by the Amplicor method. The five HCV antibody
      positive subjects who were negative by whole-blood-based RT-PCR assay were all
      receiving interferon therapy and had normal transaminases at the time of testing.
      HCV RNA was detected in 38% of HCV antibody-negative subjects by the whole-blood
      based RT-PCR assay compared with 6.25% of these patients by the Amplicor assay (P
      < 0. 05). There were nine samples in which HCV RNA was detected in whole blood
      but the Amplicor test was negative. Eight of the nine RNAs prepared from these
      whole-blood samples tested positive in the Amplicor assay, thus confirming the
      specificity of our results. This study demonstrates that whole-blood-based HCV
      RNA detection is more sensitive than currently available commercial tests and
      that whole-blood RNA is suitable for use in commercial assays.

PMID- 9986801
TI  - Detection and quantitation of human papillomavirus by using the fluorescent 5'
      exonuclease assay.
AB  - A method for the detection and quantitation of oncogenic human papillomavirus
      (HPV) was developed by using the fluorescent 5' exonuclease assay. The method is
      based on the amplification of a 180-bp fragment from the 3' part of the E1 open
      reading frame in a single PCR with type-specific probes for HPV types 16, 18, 31,
      33, and 35. The probes can be used separately or in combinations of up to three
      probes per assay. Quantitation over a range of 10(1) to 10(6) initial HPV copies
      was possible by using real-time detection of the accumulation of fluorescence
      with cycle number. Reconstitution experiments, performed to mimic mixed
      infections, showed that individual HPV types can be detected down to a ratio of
      about 1% in a mixture. The performance of the assay depends on DNA quality, the
      presence of PCR inhibitors, and the number of different probes used
      simultaneously. This homogeneous assay provides a fast and sensitive way of
      screening for oncogenic HPV types in biopsy specimens as well as cervical smear
      samples. The closed-tube nature of the assay and the inclusion of uracil N'
      glycosylase reduces cross contamination of PCR products to a minimum. A similar
      assay for beta-actin was used in parallel for quantitation of genomic DNA. After
      normalizing the samples for genomic DNA content, the mean number of HPV copies
      per cell could be calculated.

PMID- 9986802
TI  - Associations between virulence factors of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli
      and disease in humans.
AB  - Associations between known or putative virulence factors of Shiga toxin-producing
      Escherichia coli and disease in humans were investigated. Univariate analysis and
      multivariate logistic regression analysis of a set of 237 isolates from 118
      serotypes showed significant associations between the presence of genes for
      intimin (eae) and Shiga toxin 2 (stx2) and isolates from serotypes reported in
      humans. Similar associations were found with isolates from serotypes reported in
      hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome. The enterohemorrhagic E. coli
      (EHEC) hemolysin gene was significantly associated with isolates from serotypes
      found in severe diseases in univariate analysis but not in multivariate logistic
      regression models. A strong association between the intimin and EHEC-hemolysin
      genes may explain the lack of statistical significance of EHEC hemolysin in these
      multivariate models, but a true lack of biological significance of the hemolysin
      in humans or in disease cannot be excluded. This result warrants further
      investigations of this topic. Multivariate analysis revealed an interaction
      between the eae and stx2 genes, thus supporting the hypothesis of the synergism
      between the adhesin intimin and Shiga toxin 2. A strong statistical association
      was observed between the stx2 gene and severity of disease for a set of 112 human
      isolates from eight major serotypes. A comparison of 77 isolates of bovine origin
      and 91 human isolates belonging to six major serotypes showed significant
      associations of the genes for Shiga toxin 1 and EspP protease with bovine
      isolates and an increased adherence on HEp-2 cell cultures for human isolates,
      particularly from diarrheic patients and healthy persons.

PMID- 9986803
TI  - Dissemination of two methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones
      exhibiting negative staphylase reactions in intensive care units.
AB  - From December 1997 to March 1998, 25 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
      (MRSA) isolates exhibiting negative Staphylase (Oxoid Ltd., Basingstoke, England)
      reactions were identified from various clinical specimens from 13 patients in six
      intensive care units (ICUs) or in wards following a stay in an ICU at the
      National Taiwan University Hospital. The characteristics of these isolates have
      not been previously noted in other MRSA isolates from this hospital. Colonies of
      all these isolates were grown on Trypticase soy agar supplemented with 5% sheep
      blood and were nonhemolytic and unpigmented. Seven isolates, initially reported
      as Staphylococcus haemolyticus (5 isolates) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (2
      isolates) by the routine identification scheme and with the Vitek GPI system
      (bioMerieux Vitek, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.), were subsequently identified as S.
      aureus by positive tube coagulase tests, standard biochemical reactions, and
      characteristic cellular fatty acid chromatograms. The antibiotypes obtained by
      the E test, coagulase types, restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles of
      the staphylococcal coagulase gene, and random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns
      generated by arbitrarily primed PCR of the isolates disclosed that two major
      clones disseminated in the ICUs. Clone 1 (16 isolates) was resistant to
      clindamycin and was susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) and
      was coagulase type II. Clone 2 (eight isolates) was resistant to clindamycin and
      TMP-SMZ and was coagulase type IV. These two epidemic clones from ICUs are unique
      and underline the need for caution in identifying MRSA strains with colonial
      morphologies not of the typical type and with negative Staphylase reactions.

PMID- 9986804
TI  - Identification of the enteropathogens Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli
      based on the cadF virulence gene and its product.
AB  - Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are common causes of gastroenteritis
      in humans. Infection with C. jejuni or C. coli is commonly acquired by eating
      undercooked chicken. The goal of this study was to develop specific detection
      assays for C. jejuni and C. coli isolates based on the cadF virulence gene and
      its product. The cadF gene from C. jejuni and C. coli encodes a 37-kDa outer
      membrane protein that promotes the binding of these pathogens to intestinal
      epithelial cells. A fragment of approximately 400 bp was amplified from 38 of 40
      (95%) C. jejuni isolates and 5 of 6 (83.3%) C. coli isolates with primers
      designed to amplify an internal fragment of the cadF gene. PCR was then used to
      amplify Campylobacter DNA from store-bought chickens. A 400-bp band was amplified
      from 26 of the 27 chicken carcasses tested by the PCR-based assay. The CadF
      protein was detected in every C. jejuni and C. coli isolate tested, as judged by
      immunoblot analysis with a rabbit anti-C. jejuni 37-kDa serum. In addition,
      methanol-fixed samples of whole-cell C. jejuni and C. coli were detected with the
      rabbit anti-37-kDa serum by using an indirect-immunofluorescence microscopy
      assay. These findings indicate that the cadF gene and its product are conserved
      among C. jejuni and C. coli isolates and that a PCR assay based on the cadF gene
      may be useful for the detection of Campylobacter organisms in food products.

PMID- 9986805
TI  - Detection of viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis by reverse transcriptase-strand
      displacement amplification of mRNA.
AB  - Numerous assays have been described for the detection of DNA and rRNA sequences
      that are specific for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Although beneficial
      to initial diagnosis, such assays have proven unsuitable for monitoring
      therapeutic efficacy owing to the persistence of these nucleic acid targets long
      after conversion of smears and cultures to negative. However, prokaryotic mRNA
      has a typical half-life of only a few minutes and we have previously shown that
      the presence of mRNA is a good indicator of bacterial viability. The purpose of
      the present study was to develop a novel reverse transcriptase-strand
      displacement amplification system for the detection of M. tuberculosis alpha
      antigen (85B protein) mRNA and to demonstrate the use of this assay in assessing
      chemotherapeutic efficacy in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The assay was
      applied to sequential, noninduced sputum specimens collected from four patients:
      10 of 11 samples (91%) collected prior to the start of therapy were positive for
      alpha-antigen mRNA, compared with 1 of 8 (13%), 2 of 8 (25%), 2 of 8 (25%), and 0
      of 8 collected on days 2, 4, 7, and 14 of treatment, respectively. In contrast,
      39 of 44 samples (89%) collected on or before day 14 were positive for alpha
      antigen DNA. The loss of detectable mRNA corresponded to a rapid drop over the
      first 4 days of treatment in the number of viable organisms present in each
      sputum sample, equivalent to a mean fall of 0.43 log10 CFU/ml/day. Analysis of
      mRNA is a potentially useful method for monitoring therapeutic efficacy and for
      rapid in vitro determination of drug susceptibility.

PMID- 9986806
TI  - Improved detection of rhinoviruses in clinical samples by using a newly developed
      nested reverse transcription-PCR assay.
AB  - This paper describes the development and evaluation of a new nested reverse
      transcription (RT)-PCR for the detection of rhinovirus in clinical samples. The
      nucleotide sequences of the 5' noncoding regions of 39 rhinoviruses were
      determined in order to map the most conserved subregions. We designed a set of
      rhinovirus-specific primers and probes directed to these subregions and developed
      a new nested RT-PCR. The new assay includes an optimal RNA extraction method and
      amplicon identification with probe hybridization to discriminate between
      rhinoviruses and the closely related enteroviruses. It proved to be highly
      sensitive and specific. When tested on a dilution series of cultured viruses, the
      new PCR protocol scored positive at 10- to 100-fold-higher dilutions than a
      previously used nested RT-PCR. When tested on a collection of clinical samples
      obtained from 1,070 acute respiratory disease patients who had consulted their
      general practitioners, the new assay demonstrated a rhinovirus in 24% of the
      specimens, including all culture-positive samples, whereas the previously used
      PCR assay or virus culture detected a rhinovirus in only 3.5 to 6% of the
      samples. This new assay should help determine the disease burden associated with
      rhinovirus infections.

PMID- 9986807
TI  - Trends in antifungal use and epidemiology of nosocomial yeast infections in a
      university hospital.
AB  - This report describes both the trends in antifungal use and the epidemiology of
      nosocomial yeast infections at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
      between fiscal year (FY) 1987-1988 and FY 1993-1994. Data were gathered
      retrospectively from patients' medical records and from computerized databases
      maintained by the Pharmacy, the Program of Hospital Epidemiology, and the Medical
      Records Department. After fluconazole was introduced, use of ketoconazole
      decreased dramatically but adjusted use of amphotericin B decreased only
      moderately. However, the proportion of patients receiving antifungal therapy who
      were treated with amphotericin B declined markedly. In FY 1993-1994, 26 patients
      of the gastrointestinal surgery service received fluconazole. Among these
      patients, fluconazole use was prophylactic in 16 (61%), empiric in 3 (12%), and
      directed to a documented fungal infection in 7 (27%). Rates of nosocomial yeast
      infection in the adult bone marrow transplant unit increased from 6.77/1,000
      patient days in FY 1987-1988 to 10.18 in FY 1989-1990 and then decreased to 0 in
      FY 1992-1993. Rates of yeast infections increased threefold in the medical and
      surgical intensive care units, reaching rates in FY 1993-1994 of 6.95 and
      5.25/1,000 patient days, respectively. The rate of bloodstream infections
      increased from 0.044/1,000 patient days to 0.098, and the incidence of catheter
      related urinary tract infections increased from 0.23/1,000 patient days to 0.68.
      Although the proportion of infections caused by yeast species other than Candida
      albicans did not increase consistently, C. glabrata became an important
      nosocomial pathogen.

PMID- 9986808
TI  - Comparative analysis and serovar-specific identification of multiple-banded
      antigen genes of Ureaplasma urealyticum biovar 1.
AB  - Ureaplasma urealyticum is a causative agent of nongonococcal urethritis and is
      implicated in the pathogenesis of several other diseases. The species is divided
      into 14 serovars and two biovars, of which biovar 1 is most commonly isolated
      from clinical specimens. Reported associations between individual serovars and
      diseases have been difficult to confirm because of practical difficulties with
      serotyping. The multiple-banded antigen (MBA) is the predominant U. urealyticum
      antigen recognized during infections in humans and probably has a significant
      role in virulence. The 5' end of the MBA gene is relatively conserved but
      contains biovar, and possibly serovar, specificity. The 5' ends of the MBA genes
      of standard strains of U. urealyticum biovar 1, consisting of serovars 1, 3, 6,
      and 14, were amplified, cloned into pUC19, and sequenced to identify serovar
      specific differences. The 5' end of the MBA gene sequence of serovar 3 was
      identical with the previously published sequence and differed by only three bases
      from that of serovar 14. Significant differences between the MBA gene sequences
      allowed biovar 1 to be divided into two subgroups, containing serovars 3/14 and
      serovars 1 and 6, respectively, using primers UMS-125-UMA269 and UMS-125-UMA269'.
      Serovars 1 and 6 were distinguished by restriction enzyme analysis of the
      amplicon and/or by PCR specific for serovar 6. These methods were used to
      identify and type U. urealyticum in 185 (46.3%) of 400 genital specimens from
      women. Biovar 1 was detected in 89.2% and biovar 2 in 18.3% of positive
      specimens. Of 165 specimens containing U. urealyticum biovar 1, 22.2% contained
      more than one serovar and 46.7, 46.1, and 25.5% contained serovars 1, 3/14, and
      6, respectively. U. urealyticum was found in a significantly higher proportion of
      pregnant women than in sex workers and other women attending a sexually
      transmissible diseases clinic (P < 0.01). The methods described are relatively
      rapid, practicable, and specific for serotyping isolates and for direct detection
      and identification of individual serovars in clinical specimens containing U.
      urealyticum biovar 1.

PMID- 9986809
TI  - Comparison of agar dilution, disk diffusion, MicroScan, and Vitek antimicrobial
      susceptibility testing methods to broth microdilution for detection of
      fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae.
AB  - Fluoroquinolone resistance appears to be increasing in many species of bacteria,
      particularly in those causing nosocomial infections. However, the accuracy of
      some antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods for detecting fluoroquinolone
      resistance remains uncertain. Therefore, we compared the accuracy of the results
      of agar dilution, disk diffusion, MicroScan Walk Away Neg Combo 15 conventional
      panels, and Vitek GNS-F7 cards to the accuracy of the results of the broth
      microdilution reference method for detection of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin
      resistance in 195 clinical isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae collected
      from six U.S. hospitals for a national surveillance project (Project ICARE
      [Intensive Care Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology]). For ciprofloxacin, very
      major error rates were 0% (disk diffusion and MicroScan), 0.9% (agar dilution),
      and 2.7% (Vitek), while major error rates ranged from 0% (agar dilution) to 3.7%
      (MicroScan and Vitek). Minor error rates ranged from 12.3% (agar dilution) to
      20.5% (MicroScan). For ofloxacin, no very major errors were observed, and major
      errors were noted only with MicroScan (3.7% major error rate). Minor error rates
      ranged from 8.2% (agar dilution) to 18.5% (Vitek). Minor errors for all methods
      were substantially reduced when results with MICs within +/-1 dilution of the
      broth microdilution reference MIC were excluded from analysis. However, the high
      number of minor errors by all test systems remains a concern.

PMID- 9986810
TI  - The Borrelia burgdorferi 37-kilodalton immunoblot band (P37) used in
      serodiagnosis of early lyme disease is the flaA gene product.
AB  - The 37-kDa protein (P37) of Borrelia burgdorferi is an antigen that elicits an
      early immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody response in Lyme disease patients. The P37
      gene was cloned from a B. burgdorferi genomic library by screening with antibody
      from a Lyme disease patient who had developed a prominent humoral response to the
      P37 antigen. DNA sequence analysis of this clone revealed the identity of P37 to
      be FlaA, an outer sheath protein of the periplasmic flagella. Recombinant P37
      expression was accomplished in Escherichia coli by using a gene construct with
      the leader peptide deleted and fused to a 38-kDa E. coli protein. The recombinant
      antigen was reactive in IgM immunoblots using serum samples from patients
      clinically diagnosed with early Lyme disease that had been scored positive for B.
      burgdorferi anti-P37 reactivity. Lyme disease patient samples serologically
      negative for the B. burgdorferi P37 protein did not react with the recombinant.
      Recombinant P37 may be a useful component of a set of defined antigens for the
      serodiagnosis of early Lyme disease. This protein can be utilized as a marker in
      diagnostic immunoblots, aiding in the standardization of the present generation
      of IgM serologic tests.

PMID- 9986811
TI  - Measurement of urinary lactoferrin as a marker of urinary tract infection.
AB  - The usefulness of the measurement of urinary lactoferrin (LF) released from
      polymorphonuclear leukocytes and of an immunochromatography test strip devised
      for measuring urinary LF for the simple and rapid diagnosis of urinary tract
      infections (UTI) was evaluated. Urine specimens were collected from apparently
      healthy persons and patients diagnosed as suffering from UTI. In the preliminary
      study, the LF concentrations in 121 normal specimens and 88 specimens from
      patients (60 with UTI) were quantified by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
      The LF concentration was 3,300.0 +/- 646.3 ng/ml (average +/- standard error of
      the mean) in the specimens from UTI patients, whereas it was 30.4 +/- 2.7 ng/ml
      and 60.3 +/- 14.9 ng/ml in the specimens from healthy persons and the patients
      without UTI, respectively. Based on these results, a 200-ng/ml LF concentration
      was chosen as the cutoff value for negativity. Each urine specimen was reexamined
      with the newly devised immunochromatography (IC) test strip to calculate the
      indices of efficacy. Based on the cutoff value, it was calculated that the
      sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the IC
      test were 93.3, 89.3, 86.2, and 94.9%, respectively, compared with the results of
      the microscopic examination of the urine specimens for the presence of
      leukocytes. The respective indices for UTI were calculated as 95.0, 92.9, 89.7,
      and 96.6%. The tests were completed within 10 min. These results indicated that
      urine LF measurement with the IC test strip provides a useful tool for the simple
      and rapid diagnosis of UTI.

PMID- 9986812
TI  - Serologic testing for human granulocytic ehrlichiosis at a national referral
      center.
AB  - An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to identify patients with
      antibodies reactive to the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent. Serum
      samples collected from clinically ill individuals were submitted to the Centers
      for Disease Control and Prevention by physicians via state health departments
      from throughout the United States and tested against a panel of ehrlichial and
      rickettsial pathogens. Antibodies reactive to the HGE agent were detected in 142
      (8.9%) of 1,602 individuals tested. There were 19 confirmed and 59 probable (n =
      78) cases of HGE as defined by seroconversion or a fourfold or higher titer to
      the HGE agent than to the Ehrlichia chaffeensis antigens. The average age of
      patients with HGE was 57 years, and males accounted for 53 (68%) of the patients.
      Cases of HGE occurred in 21 states; 47 (60%) of the cases occurred in Connecticut
      (n = 14), New York (n = 18), and Wisconsin (n = 15). Onset of HGE was identified
      from April through December, with cases peaking in June and July. The earliest
      confirmed cases of HGE occurred in 1987 in Wisconsin and 1988 in Florida. No
      fatalities were reported among the 78 patients with confirmed or probable HGE.
      Reactivity to the HGE agent and to either Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia
      rickettsii, or Rickettsia typhi was infrequent; however, 74 (52%) of the 142
      individuals who were positive for HGE had at least one serum sample that also
      reacted to the E. chaffeensis antigen. Thirty-four persons with confirmed or
      probable human monocytic ehrlichiosis due to E. chaffeensis also had antibodies
      to the HGE agent in at least one serum sample. The specific etiologic agent for
      30 patients was not ascribed because of similarity of titers to both ehrlichial
      antigens. The use of both antigens may be required to correctly diagnose most
      cases of human ehrlichiosis, especially in geographic regions where both the HGE
      agent and E. chaffeensis occur.

PMID- 9986813
TI  - Genetic diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi in lyme disease patients as determined
      by culture versus direct PCR with clinical specimens.
AB  - Two hundred seventeen isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi originally cultured from
      skin biopsy samples or blood of early Lyme disease patients were genetically
      characterized by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing of
      the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer. Three major RFLP types were
      observed. Of the cultured isolates, 63 of 217 (29.0%) were type 1, 85 of 217
      (39.2%) were type 2, and 58 of 217 (26.7%) were type 3; mixtures of two RFLP
      types were obtained in 6.0% (13 of 217) of the cultures. Comparison of typing of
      B. burgdorferi performed directly on 51 patient skin specimens with typing of
      cultures originally isolated from the same tissue revealed that a much larger
      proportion of direct tissue samples had mixtures of RFLP types (43.1% by direct
      typing versus 5.9% by culture [P < 0.001). In addition, identical RFLP types were
      observed in only 35.5% (11 of 31) of the paired samples. RFLP type 3 organisms
      were recovered from blood at a significantly lower rate than were either type 1
      or type 2 strains. These studies demonstrate that the genetic diversity of B.
      burgdorferi patient isolates as determined by cultivation differs from that
      assessed by PCR performed directly on patient tissue.

PMID- 9986814
TI  - Rapid identification and typing of Staphylococcus aureus by PCR-restriction
      fragment length polymorphism analysis of the aroA gene.
AB  - The Staphylococcus aureus aroA gene, which encodes 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3
      phosphate synthase, was used as a target for the amplification of a 1,153-bp DNA
      fragment by PCR with a pair of primers of 24 and 19 nucleotides. The PCR
      products, which were detected by agarose gel electrophoresis, were amplified from
      all S. aureus strains so far analyzed (reference strains and isolates from cows
      and sheep with mastitis, as well as 59 isolates from humans involved in four
      confirmed outbreaks). Hybridization with an internal 536-bp DNA fragment probe
      was positive for all PCR-positive samples. No PCR products were amplified when
      other Staphylococcus spp. or genera were analyzed by using the same pair of
      primers. The detection limit for S. aureus cells was 20 CFU when the cells were
      suspended in saline; however, the sensitivity of the PCR was lower (5 x 10(2)
      CFU) when S. aureus cells were suspended in sterilized whole milk. TaqI digestion
      of the PCR-generated products rendered two different restriction fragment length
      polymorphism patterns with the cow and sheep strains tested, and these patterns
      corresponded to the two different patterns obtained by antibiotic susceptibility
      tests. Analysis of the 59 human isolates by our easy and rapid protocol rendered
      results similar to those of other assays.

PMID- 9986815
TI  - Rapid detection of the Chlamydiaceae and other families in the order
      Chlamydiales: three PCR tests.
AB  - Few identification methods will rapidly or specifically detect all bacteria in
      the order Chlamydiales, family Chlamydiaceae. In this study, three PCR tests
      based on sequence data from over 48 chlamydial strains were developed for
      identification of these bacteria. Two tests exclusively recognized the
      Chlamydiaceae: a multiplex test targeting the ompA gene and the rRNA intergenic
      spacer and a TaqMan test targeting the 23S ribosomal DNA. The multiplex test was
      able to detect as few as 200 inclusion-forming units (IFU), while the TaqMan test
      could detect 2 IFU. The amplicons produced in these tests ranged from 132 to 320
      bp in length. The third test, targeting the 23S rRNA gene, produced a 600-bp
      amplicon from strains belonging to several families in the order Chlamydiales.
      Direct sequence analysis of this amplicon has facilitated the identification of
      new chlamydial strains. These three tests permit ready identification of
      chlamydiae for diagnostic and epidemiologic study. The specificity of these tests
      indicates that they might also be used to identify chlamydiae without culture or
      isolation.

PMID- 9986816
TI  - Genetic diversity and population structure of Vibrio cholerae.
AB  - Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) of 397 Vibrio cholerae isolates,
      including 143 serogroup reference strains and 244 strains from Mexico and
      Guatemala, identified 279 electrophoretic types (ETs) distributed in two major
      divisions (I and II). Linkage disequilibrium was demonstrated in both divisions
      and in subdivision Ic of division I but not in subdivision Ia, which includes 76%
      of the ETs. Despite this evidence of relatively frequent recombination, clonal
      lineages may persist for periods of time measured in at least decades. In
      addition to the pandemic clones of serogroups O1 and O139, which form a tight
      cluster of four ETs in subdivision Ia, MLEE analysis identified numerous apparent
      clonal lineages of non-O1 strains with intercontinental distributions. A clone of
      serogroup O37 that demonstrated epidemic potential in the 1960s is closely
      related to the pandemic O1/O139 clones, but the nontoxigenic O1 Inaba El Tor
      reference strain is not. A strain of serogroup O22, which has been identified as
      the most likely donor of exogenous rfb region DNA to the O1 progenitor of the
      O139 clone, is distantly related to the O1/O139 clones. The close evolutionary
      relationships of the O1, O139, and O37 epidemic clones indicates that new cholera
      clones are likely to arise by the modification of a lineage that is already
      epidemic or is closely related to such a clone.

PMID- 9986817
TI  - Multicenter comparison of the sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Panel
      with the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory standards M27-A reference
      method for testing clinical isolates of common and emerging Candida spp.,
      Cryptococcus spp., and other yeasts and yeast-like organisms.
AB  - National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) standard guidelines
      are available for the antifungal susceptibility testing of common Candida spp.
      and Cryptococcus neoformans, but NCCLS methods may not be the most efficient and
      convenient procedures for use in the clinical laboratory. MICs of amphotericin B,
      fluconazole, flucytosine, itraconazole, and ketoconazole were determined by the
      commercially prepared Sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Panel and by
      the NCCLS M27-A broth microdilution method for 1,176 clinical isolates of yeasts
      and yeast-like organisms, including Blastoschizomyces capitatus, Cryptococcus
      spp., 14 common and emerging species of Candida, Hansenula anomala, Rhodotorula
      spp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, and Trichosporon
      beigelii. Colorimetric MICs of amphotericin B corresponded to the first blue well
      (no growth), and MICs of the other agents corresponded to the first purple or
      blue well. Three comparisons of MIC pairs by the two methods were evaluated to
      obtain percentages of agreement: 24- and 48-h MICs and 24-h colorimetric versus
      48-h reference MICs. The best performance of the YeastOne panel was with 24-h
      MICs (92 to 100%) with the azoles and flucytosine for all the species tested,
      with the exception of C. albicans (87 to 90%). For amphotericin B, the best
      agreement between the methods was with 48-h MIC pairs (92 to 99%) for most of the
      species tested. The exception was for isolates of C. neoformans (76%). These data
      suggest the potential value of the YeastOne panel for use in the clinical
      laboratory.

PMID- 9986818
TI  - Body lice as tools for diagnosis and surveillance of reemerging diseases.
AB  - Body lice are vectors of three bacteria which cause human disease: Rickettsia
      prowazekii, the agent of epidemic typhus; Bartonella quintana, the agent of
      trench fever; and Borrelia recurrentis, the agent of relapsing fever. A
      recrudescence of body lice is being observed as the numbers of individuals living
      under social conditions which predispose individuals to infestation have
      increased. Because this phenomenon may lead to the reemergence of infections
      transmitted by body lice, we aimed to assess the occurrence and prevalence of the
      three agents described above in more than 600 body lice collected from infested
      individuals in the African countries of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Burundi, in France,
      in Russia, and in Peru. The presence of the three bacteria in each louse was
      determined by specific PCR amplification, and the identities of the organisms
      detected were confirmed by determination of the nucleotide base sequences of the
      amplification products. Using this approach, we were able to confirm the presence
      of R. prowazekii in lice collected from refugees in Burundi, among whom typhus
      was epidemic, and the presence of B. quintana in lice collected from all
      locations except the Congo. B. recurrentis was never found. Molecular approaches
      are convenient tools for the detection and identification of bacterial DNA in
      body lice and for the epidemiological study of louse-borne bacteria from
      countries where no medical and biological laboratory facilities are available.

PMID- 9986819
TI  - Typing of clinical Mycobacterium avium complex strains cultured during a 2-year
      period in Denmark by using IS1245.
AB  - In the present study restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses with the
      recently described insertion sequence IS1245 as a probe was performed with
      clinical Mycobacterium avium complex strains cultured in Denmark during a 2-year
      period. The overall aim of the study was to disclose potential routes of
      transmission of these microorganisms. As a first step, the genetic diversity
      among isolates from AIDS patients and non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
      infected patients was described. In addition, a number of isolates from nonhuman
      sources cultured during the same period were analyzed and compared to the human
      isolates. A total of 203 isolates from AIDS patients (n = 90), non-HIV-infected
      patients (n = 91), and nonhuman sources (n = 22) were analyzed. The presence of
      IS1245 was restricted to Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium isolates. The majority
      of human isolates had large numbers of IS1245 copies, while nonhuman isolates
      could be divided into a high-copy-number group and a low-copy-number group.
      Groups of identical strains were found to be geographically widespread,
      comprising strains from AIDS patients as well as strains from non-HIV-infected
      patients. Samples of peat (to be used as potting soil) and veterinary samples
      were found to contain viable M. avium isolates belonging to genotypes also found
      in humans.

PMID- 9986820
TI  - Nested duplex PCR to detect Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis and
      its application in diagnosis of pertussis in nonmetropolitan Southeast
      Queensland, Australia.
AB  - A duplex PCR to detect Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis was
      developed with the insertion sequences IS481 (B. pertussis) and IS1001 (B.
      parapertussis) and evaluated with specimens from 520 consecutive patients
      presenting with possible pertussis. No culture-positive-PCR-negative results
      occurred, giving the method a sensitivity of 100%. For B. pertussis, 58 of 520
      patients (11.2%) were positive by PCR compared to 17 of 520 patients positive
      (3.3%) by culture. For B. parapertussis, 7 of 520 patients (1.3%) were positive
      by PCR compared to 2 of 520 patients positive (0.4%) by culture. Two patients
      were positive for both B. pertussis and B. parapertussis. Patient records were
      reviewed to determine the validity of PCR-positive-culture-negative results.
      Forty-two of 49 patients who could be evaluated fulfilled the criteria for a case
      definition of pertussis, with 32 patients being <1 year of age and having
      classical pertussis symptoms. The seven patients who did not fulfil the criteria
      were aged 7 to 55 years and had a persistent cough for >2 weeks. The method was
      also used to investigate a classroom outbreak in which B. pertussis culture was
      positive for 5 of 28 patients. All five culture-positive specimens were confirmed
      by PCR, and an additional eight were positive by PCR. Of 25 patients from a
      suspected pertussis outbreak in a girls' dormitory, seven of seven specimens were
      negative for B. pertussis, although 13 of 25 patients were positive for B.
      pertussis immunoglobulin M (IgM) (2 of which produced equivocal IgA results, with
      23 of 25 patients being negative). Five symptomatic patients were subsequently
      found to be positive (by IgM and particle agglutination assays) for Mycoplasma
      pneumoniae, demonstrating the value of PCR in rapidly excluding B. pertussis
      infection in an outbreak situation. Twenty-two of 71 (30. 1%) throat swabs were
      positive by PCR compared to 2 of 71 (2.8%) throat swabs positive by culture,
      indicating that a reassessment of the use of throat swabs should be considered,
      particularly for older patients, in contact tracing, and in situations in which
      specimen collection is difficult.

PMID- 9986821
TI  - TechLab and alexon Giardia enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits detect cyst
      wall protein 1.
AB  - A Giardia lamblia antigen detected by the TechLab Giardia Test (TechLab, Inc.,
      Blacksburg, Va.) and the Alexon ProSpecT Giardia microplate assay (Alexon, Inc.,
      Sunnyvale, Calif.) was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography from supernatant
      fluids of encystment cultures. Two major proteins (Mr 22,000 and 26,000) were
      observed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and
      Coomassie staining that did not resemble the GSA65 antigen reportedly detected by
      the Alexon test. These proteins reacted intensely with the monoclonal antibodies
      used in both commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Both
      proteins had identical N-terminal amino acid sequences and were identified as
      cyst wall protein 1 (CWP1). The 26-kDa form appeared early during encystment
      followed by the appearance of the 22-kDa form. Recombinant CWP1 (Mr 26,000) was
      strongly positive in both commercial tests. CWP1 was stable in human stool
      specimens, resistant to degradation by proteases and N- and O-glycanases, and
      unaffected by oxidation with sodium periodate. Two minor proteins with Mrs of
      32,000 and 39,000 were detected in CWP1 preparations by using a sensitive
      fluorescent protein stain. Both were identified as CWP2, and neither reacted with
      the monoclonal antibodies from the commercial tests. We analyzed 535 stool
      specimens for CWP1 by using both commercial ELISAs and resolved discrepant
      results by using routine ova and parasite examination (O&P) and on
      immunofluorescence antibody assay. The presence of CWP1 correlated well between
      both ELISAs (98.7% correlation). Our results demonstrate that both commercial
      ELISAs detect CWP1, which is a useful diagnostic marker because it is highly
      stable, is secreted in large amounts by encysting trophozoites, and correlates
      well with O&P.

PMID- 9986822
TI  - Improved silica-guanidiniumthiocyanate DNA isolation procedure based on selective
      binding of bovine alpha-casein to silica particles.
AB  - DNA purified from clinical cerebrospinal fluid and urine specimens by a silica
      guanidiniumthiocyanate procedure frequently contained an inhibitor(s) of DNA
      processing enzymes which may have been introduced by the purification procedure
      itself. Inhibition could be relieved by the use of a novel lysis buffer
      containing alpha-casein. When the novel lysis buffer was used, alpha-casein was
      bound by the silica particles in the first step of the procedure and eluted
      together with DNA in the last step, after which it exerted its beneficial effects
      for DNA-processing enzymes. In the present study we have compared the novel lysis
      buffer with the previously described lysis buffer with respect to double-stranded
      DNA yield (which was nearly 100%) and the performance of DNA-processing enzymes.

PMID- 9986823
TI  - Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae potentiation of porcine reproductive and respiratory
      syndrome virus-induced pneumonia.
AB  - An experimental model that demonstrates a mycoplasma species acting to potentiate
      a viral pneumonia was developed. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, which produces a
      chronic, lymphohistiocytic bronchopneumonia in pigs, was found to potentiate the
      severity and the duration of a virus-induced pneumonia in pigs. Pigs were
      inoculated with M. hyopneumoniae 21 days prior to, simultaneously with, or 10
      days after inoculation with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
      (PRRSV), which induces an acute interstitial pneumonia in pigs. PRRSV-induced
      clinical respiratory disease and macroscopic and microscopic pneumonic lesions
      were more severe and persistent in M. hyopneumoniae-infected pigs. At 28 or 38
      days after PRRSV inoculation, M. hyopneumoniae-infected pigs still exhibited
      lesions typical of PRRSV-induced pneumonia, whereas the lungs of pigs which had
      received only PRRSV were essentially normal. On the basis of macroscopic lung
      lesions, it appears that PRRSV infection did not influence the severity of M.
      hyopneumoniae infection, although microscopic lesions typical of M. hyopneumoniae
      were more severe in PRRSV-infected pigs. These results indicate that M.
      hyopneumoniae infection potentiates PRRSV-induced disease and lesions. Most
      importantly, M. hyopneumoniae-infected pigs with minimal to nondetectable
      mycoplasmal pneumonia lesions manifested significantly increased PRRSV-induced
      pneumonia lesions compared to pigs infected with PRRSV only. This discovery is
      important with respect to the control of respiratory disease in pigs and has
      implications in elucidating the potential contribution of mycoplasmas in the
      pathogenesis of viral infections of other species, including humans.

PMID- 9986824
TI  - Application of pbp1A PCR in identification of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus
      pneumoniae.
AB  - A seminested PCR assay, based on the amplification of the pneumococcal pbp1A
      gene, was developed for the detection of penicillin resistance in clinical
      isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The assay was able to differentiate between
      intermediate (MICs = 0.25 to 0.5 microgram/ml) and higher-level (MICs = >/=1
      microgram/ml) resistance. Two species-specific primers, 1A-1 and 1A-2, which
      amplified a 1,043-bp region of the pbp1A penicillin-binding region, were used for
      pneumococcal detection. Two resistance primers, 1A-R1 and 1A-R2, were designed to
      bind to altered areas of the pbp1A gene which, together with the downstream
      primer 1A-2, amplify DNA from isolates with penicillin MICs of >/=0.25 and >/=1
      microgram/ml, respectively. A total of 183 clinical isolates were tested with the
      pbp1A assay. For 98.3% (180 of 183) of these isolates, the PCR results obtained
      were in agreement with the MIC data. The positive and negative predictive values
      of the assay were 100 and 91%, respectively, for detecting strains for which the
      MICs were >/=0.25 microgram/ml and were both 100% for strains for which the MICs
      were >/=1 microgram/ml.

PMID- 9986825
TI  - Pneumolysin PCR-based diagnosis of invasive pneumococcal infection in children.
AB  - Blood-based pneumolysin PCR was compared to blood culture and detection of
      pneumolysin immune complexes, as well as to detection of antibodies to
      pneumolysin and to C polysaccharide, in the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection
      in 75 febrile children. Invasive pneumococcal infection was suspected on clinical
      grounds in 67 of the febrile children, and viral infection was suspected on
      clinical grounds in 8 of the febrile children. In addition, 15 healthy persons
      were examined to test the specificity of the PCR assay. Plasma, serum, and
      leukocyte fractions were analyzed by PCR. The combination of all test results led
      to the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection in 25 patients. Pneumolysin PCR was
      positive in 44% of these children, an increase occurred in the pneumolysin
      antibodies in 39% and in the C polysaccharide antibodies in 30% of the patients;
      pneumolysin immune complexes were found in convalescent serum in 30%, pneumolysin
      immune complexes occurred in acute-phase serum samples in 16%, and a positive
      blood culture was found in 20% of the patients. None of the healthy controls had
      positive results by PCR. The results suggest that the diagnosis of Streptococcus
      pneumoniae infection from blood samples necessitates the use of several different
      assays. Pneumolysin PCR was the most sensitive assay, but its clinical value is
      reduced by the fact that three blood fractions are needed.

PMID- 9986826
TI  - Molecular characterization of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae
      isolates from Bulgaria.
AB  - As part of an ongoing surveillance program of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus
      pneumoniae in Sofia, Bulgaria, 120 penicillin-resistant strains (PRSP) (most of
      them recovered from children hospitalized with pneumococcal disease) were
      analyzed by microbiological and molecular methods. Several unique features of
      this collection are of particular interest. (i) Most isolates (112 of 120) were
      also resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT) (97 of 120 isolates, or
      80%), and over 70% (86 of 120) of the isolates were resistant to at least three
      antibiotics in addition to penicillin. (ii) Close to 80% of all isolates were
      represented by large clusters of bacteria, each with a unique serotype,
      antibiotype, and chromosomal macrorestriction pattern (determined by pulsed-field
      gel electrophoresis), as well as unique restriction fragmentation length
      polymorphisms of the penicillin-binding protein genes pbp1a, pbp2x, and pbp2b.
      (iii) A large proportion (45 of 120, or 38%) of the strains belonged to two
      internationally spread epidemic clones of S. pneumoniae, the first expressing
      capsular type 23F and the second expressing serotype 9. (iv) A unique Bulgarian
      cluster composed of eight serotype 19F isolates was resistant to tetracycline,
      SXT, cefotaxime, and extremely high levels of penicillin and erythromycin.
      Nevertheless, this clone did not react with either the erm or the mef DNA probes,
      and thus the mechanism of macrolide resistance in this group of PRSP remains to
      be elucidated.

PMID- 9986827
TI  - Laboratory diagnosis of Toscana virus infection by enzyme immunoassay with
      recombinant viral nucleoprotein.
AB  - A recombinant enzyme immunoassay (rEIA) to detect serum immunoglobulin M (IgM)
      and IgG to Toscana virus (TOSV) was developed with the aim of establishing a
      simple and easily available assay for diagnosing acute and/or previous
      infections. The rEIA, based on the recombinant nucleoprotein of TOSV expressed in
      Escherichia coli, was evaluated with 97 serum samples collected in an area where
      TOSV is endemic and compared to an analogous assay based on cell-derived TOSV.
      Discordant results were resolved by immunoblotting (IB). Twenty-two of these
      samples, obtained from subjects hospitalized during the summer season with
      meningitis of suspected TOSV etiology, were further characterized by indirect
      immunofluorescence and IB, and detection of specific TOSV RNA sequences in the
      cerebrospinal fluid of these patients was attempted by nested PCR. The results
      indicated that rEIA was able to diagnose acute TOSV infection by detection of
      specific serum IgM in all of the subjects with TOSV meningitis confirmed by
      nested PCR or serology. The overall sensitivity and specificity of rEIA were both
      100% for IgM detection and 100 and 96.6%, respectively, for IgG detection. Thus,
      rEIA appears to be a simple and reliable laboratory test for the diagnosis of
      acute TOSV infection and for the assessment of immune status.

PMID- 9986828
TI  - Phylogenetic relationships of varieties and geographical groups of the human
      pathogenic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum Darling.
AB  - The phylogeny of 46 geographically diverse Histoplasma capsulatum isolates
      representing the three varieties capsulatum, duboisii, and farciminosum was
      evaluated using partial DNA sequences of four protein coding genes. Parsimony and
      distance analysis of the separate genes were generally congruent and analysis of
      the combined data identified six clades: (i) class 1 North American H. capsulatum
      var. capsulatum, (ii) class 2 North American H. capsulatum var. capsulatum, (iii)
      Central American H. capsulatum var. capsulatum, (iv) South American H. capsulatum
      var. capsulatum group A, (v) South American H. capsulatum var. capsulatum group
      B, and (vi) H. capsulatum var. duboisii. Although the clades were generally well
      supported, the relationships among them were not resolved and the nearest
      outgroups (Blastomyces and Paracoccidioides) were too distant to unequivocally
      root the H. capsulatum tree. H. capsulatum var. farciminosum was found within the
      South American H. capsulatum var. capsulatum group A clade. With the exception of
      the South American H. capsulatum var. capsulatum group A clade, genetic distances
      within clades were an order of magnitude lower than those between clades, and
      each clade was supported by a number of shared derived nucleotide substitutions,
      leading to the conclusion that each clade was genetically isolated from the
      others. Under a phylogenetic species concept based on possession of multiple
      shared derived characters, as well as concordance of four gene genealogies, H.
      capsulatum could be considered to harbor six species instead of three varieties.

PMID- 9986829
TI  - Validation of binary typing for Staphylococcus aureus strains.
AB  - Most of the DNA-based methods for genetic typing of Staphylococcus aureus strains
      generate complex banding patterns. Therefore, we have developed a binary typing
      procedure involving strain-differentiating DNA probes which were generated on the
      basis of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. We present and
      validate the usefulness of 15 DNA probes, according to generally accepted
      performance criteria for molecular typing systems. RAPD analysis with multiple
      primers was performed on 376 S. aureus strains of which 97% were methicillin
      resistant (MRSA). Among the 1,128 RAPD patterns generated, 66 were selected which
      identified 124 unique DNA fragments. From these amplicons, only 12% turned out to
      be useful for isolate-specific binary typing. The nature of the RAPD-generated
      DNA fragments was investigated by partial DNA sequence analysis. Several
      homologies with known S. aureus sequences and with genes from other species were
      discovered; however, 87% of the probe sequences are of previously unknown origin.
      The locations of most of the DNA probes on the chromosome of S. aureus NCTC 8325
      were determined by hybridization. Seven fragments were randomly dispersed along
      the genome, five were clustered within the 2500- to 2600-kb position of the
      genome, and the remaining four did not recognize complementary sequences in S.
      aureus NCTC 8325. A total of 103 S. aureus strains (69% MRSA) were used for the
      validation of the binary typing technique. The 15 DNA probes provided stable
      epidemiological markers, both in vitro (type consistency after serial passages on
      culture media) and in vivo (comparison of sequential isolates recovered from
      cases of persistent colonization). The discriminatory power of binary typing (D =
      0.998) exceeded that of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (D = 0.966) and RAPD
      analysis (D = 0.949). Reproducibility, measured by analyzing multiple strains
      belonging to a multitude of different epidemiological clusters, was comparable to
      that of other genotyping techniques used. Contribution of the DNA probes to the
      discriminatory power of the system was analyzed by comparison of dendrograms.
      This study demonstrates that binary typing is a robust tool for the genetic
      typing of S. aureus isolates.

PMID- 9986830
TI  - Detection of the 70-kilodalton histoplasma capsulatum antigen in serum of
      histoplasmosis patients: correlation between antigenemia and therapy during
      follow-up.
AB  - Histoplasmosis is an important systemic fungal infection, particularly among
      immunocompromised individuals, who may develop a progressive disseminated form
      which is often fatal if it is untreated. In such patients, the detection of
      antibody responses for both diagnosis and follow-up may be of limited use,
      whereas the detection of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum antigens may
      provide a more practical approach. We have recently described an inhibition
      enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection in patients' sera of
      a 69- to 70-kDa H. capsulatum var. capsulatum-specific antigen which appears to
      be useful in diagnosis. To investigate its potential for the follow-up of
      histoplasmosis patients during treatment, antigen titers in the sera of 16
      patients presenting with different clinical forms of histoplasmosis were
      monitored at regular intervals for up to 80 weeks. Sera from four of five
      patients with the acute form of the disease showed rapid falls in antigenemia,
      becoming antigen negative by week 14 (range, weeks 10 to 16). Sera from four
      patients with disseminated histoplasmosis showed falls in antigen levels; three
      of them became antigen negative by week 32; the fourth patient became negative by
      week 48. In contrast, antigen titers in four of six AIDS patients with the
      disseminated form of the disease remained positive throughout follow-up. Sera
      from only one patient who presented with the chronic form of the disease were
      analyzed, and this individual's serum became antigen negative by week 9. The
      inhibition ELISA is shown to be of particular use in the monitoring of non-AIDS
      patients with the acute and disseminated forms of the disease and may complement
      existing means of follow-up.

PMID- 9986831
TI  - Head-to-head evaluation of five chlamydia tests relative to a quality-assured
      culture standard.
AB  - Nucleic acid amplification tests offer superior sensitivity for the detection of
      Chlamydia trachomatis infection, but many laboratories still use nonamplification
      methods because of the lower cost and ease of use. In spite of their availability
      for more than a decade, few studies have directly compared the nonamplification
      tests. Such comparisons are still needed in addition to studies that directly
      compare individual nonamplification and amplification tests. The purpose of this
      study was to evaluate and compare the performance characteristics relative to
      culture of five different tests for the detection of C. trachomatis with and
      without confirmation of positive results. The tests were applied to endocervical
      specimens from 4,980 women attending family planning clinics in the northwestern
      United States. The five nonculture tests included Chlamydiazyme (Abbott),
      MicroTrak direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) (Syva), MicroTrak enzyme immunoassay
      (EIA) (Syva), Pace 2 (Gen-Probe), and Pathfinder EIA (Sanofi/Kallestad). All
      positive results obtained with a nonculture test (except MicroTrak DFA) were
      confirmed by testing the original specimens with a blocking antibody test
      (Chlamydiazyme), a cytospin DFA (MicroTrak EIA and Pathfinder EIA), and a probe
      competition assay (Pace 2). The prevalence of culture-proven chlamydia was 3.9%.
      The sensitivities of the nonculture tests were in a range from 62 to 75%, and
      significant differences between tests in terms of sensitivity were observed. The
      positive predictive value for each test was 0.85 or higher. The specificities of
      the nonculture tests without performance of confirmations were greater than 99%.
      Performing confirmatory tests eliminated nearly all of the false positives.

PMID- 9986832
TI  - PCR detection of adenovirus in a bone marrow transplant recipient: hemorrhagic
      cystitis as a presenting manifestation of disseminated disease.
AB  - Adenoviruses (AdV), causing fatal disseminated infections in bone marrow
      transplant (BMT) recipients, are associated not only with hemorrhagic cystitis
      (HC) but also with hepatitis, conjunctivitis, and viral interstitial pneumonia.
      The importance of this virus as a cause of disseminated disease, however, has
      remained underappreciated. AdV infection has been diagnosed primarily through the
      use of cell culture. The fact that cell culture is insensitive for detecting this
      virus has hindered recognition of the role that AdV may play in morbidity and
      mortality in BMT recipients. To emphasize these points, we describe a patient who
      presented with HC due to AdV serotype 11, genotype c, and died with disseminated
      infection. In addition to cell culture, this study used a newly developed PCR
      based method, capable of detecting all AdV serotypes tested, including different
      genotypes of serotype 11. The PCR result was positive in all culture-positive
      samples, including samples of urine, conjunctiva, and bronchoalveolar lavage
      (BAL). Importantly, the PCR method provided evidence of urinary shedding of AdV
      in a pretransplant, culture-negative specimen and showed dissemination in a
      subset of culture-negative specimens, including BAL, blood, and bone marrow
      samples. The lack of widespread awareness of the fact that localized infections
      may presage dissemination, and the previous associated lack of rapid, sensitive
      diagnostic assays, has impaired recognition of AdV infections in patients
      undergoing BMT. Early detection may contribute to therapy modification and
      avoidance of unwarranted diagnostic procedures. It may also assist in
      epidemiologic control of this highly infectious pathogen and lead to a renewed
      interest in preventive and therapeutic approaches.

PMID- 9986833
TI  - Rapid detection of epidemic strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
      aureus.
AB  - Fifty methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) initial isolates
      obtained from patients hospitalized in the orthopedic clinic of the Frankfurt
      University Hospital and 150 methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA)
      isolates were investigated in this study to determine whether the Slidex Staph
      Kit is capable of differentiating between MRSA and MSSA owing to its unique
      performance characteristics. The Slidex Staph-Kit is a combined latex
      hemagglutination test designed to detect clumping factor, protein A, and a
      specific surface immunogen for S. aureus. Clumping factor-positive strains cause
      erythrocytes sensitized with fibrinogen to hemagglutinate, thereby resulting in
      visible red clumps. S. aureus strains deficient in clumping factor agglutinate
      latex particles sensitized with specific antibodies against surface proteins of
      S. aureus, thereby resulting in visible white clumps. Our results demonstrate
      that white clumping has a 99% specificity as well as a 98% positive predictive
      value for MRSA. Clumping factor-negative MRSA, which have been reported to occur
      in several countries, are epidemic in the Frankfurt area and account for 80% of
      all MRSA initial isolates in the orthopedic clinic of the Frankfurt University
      Hospital. Genotyping of all MRSA isolates by macrorestriction analysis of
      chromosomal DNA revealed that 83% of clumping factor-negative MRSA are closely
      related to the "southern-German" epidemic strain. This is the first study
      demonstrating the Slidex Staph-Kit's capability for identifying epidemic clumping
      factor-negative S. aureus strains as methicillin resistant even prior to
      antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

PMID- 9986834
TI  - PCR detection of DNA specific for Trichosporon species in serum of patients with
      disseminated trichosporonosis.
AB  - Deep-seated trichosporonosis is a lethal opportunistic infection that
      disseminates rapidly and widely in immunocompromised patients, and early
      diagnosis is crucial for the treatment of this infection. We developed a novel
      nested-PCR assay that detects DNA specific for clinically important strains of
      Trichosporon in serum samples from patients with disseminated trichosporonosis.
      In this assay, two sets of oligonucleotide primers were derived from the sequence
      of 26S rRNA genes of Trichosporon asahii. The specific fragment was amplified
      from T. asahii and T. mucoides, but not from other microorganisms, including some
      other basidiomycetous fungi (Cryptococcus, Malassezia, Rhodotorula, and
      Sporobolomyces). Target DNA was detected by the nested PCR with as little as 5 fg
      of the extracted DNA of T. asahii. In a study using 11 clinical samples, the
      specific fragment was detected by the nested PCR in 64% (7 of 11) of sera from
      patients with histologically diagnosed disseminated trichosporonosis, while
      glucuronoxylomannan antigen was detected in only 54% (6 of 11) of the samples.
      Our new nested-PCR assay using serum samples can be performed repeatedly
      throughout the course of the disease. In addition, not only can it be used for
      early diagnosis of trichosporonosis, but it may also be beneficial for monitoring
      its progress or response to therapy.

PMID- 9986835
TI  - In vitro culture and drug sensitivity assay of Plasmodium falciparum with
      nonserum substitute and acute-phase sera.
AB  - The short-term in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in the asexual
      erythrocytic stage and the in vitro activities of eight standard antimalarial
      drugs were assessed and compared by using RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10%
      nonimmune human serum, 10% autologous or homologous acute-phase serum, or 0.5%
      Albumax I (lipid-enriched bovine serum albumin). In general, parasite growth was
      maximal with autologous (or homologous) serum, followed by Albumax I and
      nonimmune serum. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) varied widely,
      depending on the serum or serum substitute. The comparison of IC50s between
      assays with autologous and nonimmune sera showed that monodesethylamodiaquine,
      halofantrine, pyrimethamine, and cycloguanil had similar IC50s. Although the
      IC50s of chloroquine, monodesethylamodiaquine, and dihydroartemisinin were
      similar with Albumax I and autologous sera, the IC50s of all test compounds
      obtained with Albumax I differed considerably from the corresponding values
      obtained with nonimmune serum. Our results suggest that Albumax I and autologous
      and homologous sera from symptomatic, malaria-infected patients may be useful
      alternative sources of serum for in vitro culture of P. falciparum isolates in
      the field. However, autologous sera and Albumax I do not seem to be suitable for
      the standardization of isotopic in vitro assays for all antimalarial drugs.

PMID- 9986836
TI  - Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Aeromonas jandaei, A. schubertii, A.
      trota, and A. veronii biotype veronii.
AB  - Fifty-six isolates of four Aeromonas species, which have been documented as
      causative agents of human infections or isolated from human clinical specimens,
      were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using a MicroScan WalkAway
      conventional (overnight incubation) gram-negative panel. The four species tested
      and the number of isolates of each were as follows: Aeromonas jandaei, 17; A.
      schubertii, 12; A. trota, 15; and A. veronii biotype veronii, 12. All isolates of
      A. trota were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested, except cefazolin
      (20% of isolates were resistant) and cefoxitin (13% of isolates were resistant).
      All isolates of A. schubertii and A. veronii biotype veronii, as well as 88% of
      A. jandaei isolates, were resistant to ampicillin. Resistance to ampicillin
      sulbactam ranged from 25% of A. schubertii strains to 100% of A. veronii biotype
      veronii strains. Cefazolin resistance ranged from 17% of A. veronii biotype
      veronii isolates to 59% of A. jandaei isolates. Imipenem resistance was detected
      in 65% of A. jandaei strains and 67% of A. veronii biotype veronii strains. A.
      jandaei displayed resistance to piperacillin and ticarcillin in 53 and 71% of the
      isolates, respectively. A. veronii biotype veronii strains were 100% susceptible
      to piperacillin and 100% resistant to ticarcillin. These antibiogram data may be
      useful in establishing the identification of these four species when members of
      the genus Aeromonas are isolated from human clinical sources.

PMID- 9986837
TI  - Usefulness of PCR and antigen latex agglutination test with samples obtained by
      transthoracic needle aspiration for diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia.
AB  - In a large number of cases, the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is
      not established. Some cases are probably caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
      Transthoracic needle aspiration (TNA) culture has a limited sensitivity which
      might be improved by antigen detection or gene amplification techniques. We
      evaluated the capacity of a PCR assay and a latex agglutination test to detect S.
      pneumoniae in samples obtained by TNA from 95 patients with moderate-to-severe
      CAP. Latex agglutination and PCR had sensitivities of 52.2 and 91.3%,
      specificities of 88.7 and 83.3%, positive predictive values of 62.3 and 65.6%,
      and negative predictive values of 83.3 and 96.5%, respectively, when culture
      techniques were used as the "gold standard." When we considered expanded criteria
      for the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia as a standard for our calculations,
      latex agglutination and PCR had sensitivities of 53.6 and 89.7%, specificities of
      93.0 and 90.0%, positive predictive values of 78.9 and 81.3%, and negative
      predictive values of 80.3 and 94.7%, respectively. The additional diagnosis
      provided by the PCR assay compared to latex agglutination was 12.2% (95%
      confidence interval of the difference from 0.4 to 20. 1%). PCR was more sensitive
      than TNA culture, particularly in patients who had received prior antibiotic
      therapy (83.3 versus 33. 3%). Although PCR is a very sensitive and specific
      technique, it has not proved to be cost-effective in clinical practice.
      Conversely, latex agglutination is a fast and simple method whose results might
      have significant implications for initial antibiotic therapy.

PMID- 9986838
TI  - Genetic multilocus studies of different strains of Cryptococcus neoformans:
      taxonomy and genetic structure.
AB  - The genotypes of 107 strains of Cryptococcus isolated from the environment or
      from patients from various geographical areas were determined by multilocus
      enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE). We analyzed the relationships between genotype
      structure and serotype and between genotype structure and strain origin. Twelve
      of the 14 enzyme-encoding loci studied were polymorphic, giving rise to 48
      electrophoretic types. The genotypes of C. neoformans and C. laurentii were very
      similar. MLEE could not distinguish between these two pathogenic species. A
      correlation between the genetic multilocus structure and the origin of the sample
      (from the environment or patients) existed. A second analysis detected a
      correlation between genotype distribution and serotype. The second analysis
      considered three serotype groups (B, C, and A plus D plus A/D), proving that
      serotypes A, D, and A/D are closely related. MLEE is a useful epidemiological
      tool for improving our understanding of the biology of this fungus.

PMID- 9986839
TI  - Sensitivity and specificity of dipstick tests for rapid diagnosis of malaria in
      nonimmune travelers.
AB  - Swift diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in areas where the disease is
      not endemic is frequently complicated by the lack of experience on the side of
      involved laboratory personal. Diagnostic tools based on the dipstick principle
      for the detection of plasmodial histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP-2) and parasite
      specific lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH), respectively, have become available for
      the qualitative detection of P. falciparum malaria. In order to evaluate two of
      the currently available assays, specimens from 231 patients were screened during
      a prospective multicenter study. Among the screened specimens, samples from 53
      patients (22.9%) were positive for P. falciparum malaria by microscopy and/or
      PCR. While the test kit based on the detection of HRP-2 performed with a
      sensitivity of 92.5% and a specificity of 98.3%, the kit for the detection of
      pLDH showed a sensitivity of 88.5% and a specificity of 99.4%. Dipstick tests
      have the potential of enhancing speed and accuracy of the diagnosis of P.
      falciparum malaria, especially if nonspecialized laboratories are involved.

PMID- 9986840
TI  - Dual qualitative-quantitative nested PCR for detection of JC virus in
      cerebrospinal fluid: high potential for evaluation and monitoring of progressive
      multifocal leukoencephalopathy in AIDS patients receiving highly active
      antiretroviral therapy.
AB  - JC polyomavirus (JCV) is the causative agent of progressive multifocal
      leukoencephalopathy (PML), a central nervous system infection that mainly affects
      AIDS patients. The extensive application of highly active antiretroviral therapy
      (HAART) is leading to the appearance of "long-term" survival PML patients. A
      reliable and feasible qualitative-quantitative test for both the detection of JCV
      and follow-up of its viral burden in this emerging group of patients is clearly
      required. With this aim, a dual qualitative-quantitative nested PCR is presented
      in this study for the analysis of JCV DNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Two newly
      designed internal controls, one competitive and the other noncompetitive, have
      been constructed to adapt this PCR to either measure the JCV burden or to allow a
      highly confident determination of JCV presence or clearance. The analytical
      sensitivity of the technique allows the detection of 0.01 fg (three genomes) of
      JCV DNA. Its qualitative application has been evaluated by analyzing single CSF
      samples from a group of 17 patients with PML and a control group of 20 patients
      with diverse neurological conditions other than PML, yielding sensitivity and
      specificity values of 100 and 90%, respectively. The quantitative application has
      been evaluated in vitro in blind tests with samples including serial dilutions of
      JCV, and in all cases the samples were successfully ordered considering the JCV
      titer. The dual quantitative-qualitative application offered by this nested PCR
      may provide an answer to the new requirements for evaluating and finely
      monitoring PML in AIDS patients receiving HAART.

PMID- 9986841
TI  - Lactobacillus species identification, H2O2 production, and antibiotic resistance
      and correlation with human clinical status.
AB  - Lactobacilli recovered from the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, respiratory tract,
      and gut of 20 hospitalized immunocompromised septic patients were analyzed.
      Biochemical carbohydrate fermentation and total soluble cell protein profiles
      were used to identify the species. Hydrogen peroxide production was measured.
      Susceptibility to 19 antibiotics was tested by a diffusion method, and the MICs
      of benzylpenicillin, amoxicillin, imipenem, erythromycin, vancomycin, gentamicin,
      and levofloxacin were determined. A small number of species produced H2O2, and
      antibiotic susceptibilities were species related. Eighteen (90%) of the isolates
      were L. rhamnosus, one was L. paracasei subsp. paracasei, and one was L.
      crispatus. L. rhamnosus, L. paracasei subsp. paracasei isolates, and the type
      strains were neither H2O2 producers nor vancomycin susceptible (MICs, >/=256
      microgram/ml). L. crispatus, as well as most of the type strains of lactobacilli
      which belong to the L. acidophilus group, was an H2O2 producer and vancomycin
      susceptible (MICs, <4 microgram/ml).

PMID- 9986842
TI  - Cholera in Vietnam: changes in genotypes and emergence of class I integrons
      containing aminoglycoside resistance gene cassettes in vibrio cholerae O1 strains
      isolated from 1979 to 1996.
AB  - The number of cholera cases and the mortality rates reported from different
      regions of Vietnam varied considerably in the period from 1979 to 1996, with
      between 2,500 and 6,000 cases reported annually from 1992 to 1995. Annual
      mortality rates ranged from 2.0 to 9.6% from 1979 to 1983 to less than 1.8% after
      1983. Major cholera outbreaks were reported from the High Plateau region for the
      first time in 1994 and 1995; this is an area with limited access to health
      services and safe drinking-water supplies. All cases were associated with Vibrio
      cholerae O1. Using ribotyping, cholera toxin (CT) genotyping, and
      characterization of antibiotic susceptibility patterns and antibiotic resistance
      genes by PCR, we show that strains isolated after 1990 were clearly different
      from strains isolated before 1991. In contrast to strains isolated before 1991,
      94% of 104 strains isolated after 1990 showed an identical ribotype R1, were
      resistant to sulfamethoxazole and streptomycin, and showed a different CT
      genotype. Furthermore, PCR analysis revealed that sulfamethoxazole-resistant
      strains harbored class I integrons containing a gene cassette ant(3")-1a encoding
      resistance to streptomycin and spectinomycin. This is, to our knowledge, the
      first report of class I integrons in V. cholerae. The development of cholera and
      the changes in the phenotypic and genotypic properties of V. cholerae O1 shown in
      the present study highlight the importance of monitoring V. cholerae O1 in
      Vietnam as in other parts of the world. In particular, the emergence of the new
      ribotype R1 strain containing class I integrons should be further studied.

PMID- 9986843
TI  - Evaluation of two commercial kits and arbitrarily primed PCR for identification
      and differentiation of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Haemophilus
      aphrophilus, and Haemophilus paraphrophilus.
AB  - The closely related species Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Haemophilus
      aphrophilus, and Haemophilus paraphrophilus are common findings in oral
      microbiota. The aims of this study were to evaluate the applicability of the
      Rapid NH and API ZYM kits and arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) in the
      identification and differentiation of the three species from each other. The
      material included 62 clinical isolates and three reference strains of A.
      actinomycetemcomitans representing the 5 serotypes and 18 AP-PCR genotypes.
      Haemophilus species included 12 clinical isolates and 11 reference strains of H.
      aphrophilus, H. paraphrophilus, and 5 other species. For the PCR amplification,
      the oligonucleotide 5'-CAGCACCCAC-3' was used as a primer. Contrary to the
      consistent performance of API ZYM, the Rapid NH system was able to identify only
      10 of 65 (15%) A. actinomycetemcomitans isolates, whereas all Haemophilus species
      were correctly identified. The API ZYM test differentiated A.
      actinomycetemcomitans from H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus by negative beta
      galactosidase and alpha-glucosidase reactions and a positive esterase lipase
      reaction. However, the API ZYM test was unable to differentiate H. aphrophilus
      from H. paraphrophilus, it also could not differentiate A. actinomycetemcomitans
      serotypes from each other. Among the H. aphrophilus isolates three AP-PCR
      genotypes and among H. paraphrophilus isolates only one AP-PCR genotype, distinct
      from those of A. actinomycetemcomitans, were found. The Rapid NH test showed poor
      ability to identify clinical isolates of all A. actinomycetemcomitans serotypes.
      Moreover, AP-PCR genotyping proved to be a rapid method for the species
      differentiation of A. actinomycetemcomitans, H. aphrophilus, and H.
      paraphrophilus.

PMID- 9986844
TI  - Multicenter evaluation of the BACTEC MGIT 960 system for recovery of
      mycobacteria.
AB  - We evaluated the BACTEC MGIT 960 system, which is a fully automated, noninvasive
      system for the growth and detection of mycobacteria with a capacity to incubate
      and continuously monitor 960 7-ml culture tubes. We studied 3,330 specimens,
      2,210 respiratory and 1,120 nonrespiratory specimens, collected from 2,346
      patients treated at six sites. Processed specimens were inoculated into the
      BACTEC MGIT 960 and BACTEC 460 TB systems, as well as onto Lowenstein-Jensen
      slants and Middlebrook 7H11/7H11 selective plates. From all culture systems, a
      total of 362 isolates of mycobacteria were recovered; these were recovered from
      353 specimens collected from 247 patients. The greatest number of isolates of
      mycobacteria (289, or 80% of the 362 isolates) was recovered with the BACTEC MGIT
      960, followed by the BACTEC 460 TB (271, or 75%) and solid media (250, or 69%).
      From all culture systems a total of 132 isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
      complex were recovered. The greatest number of isolates of M. tuberculosis
      complex was recovered when liquid medium was combined with conventional solid
      media; the number recovered with BACTEC 460 TB plus solid media was 128 (97%),
      that recovered with BACTEC MGIT 960 plus solid media was 121 (92%), that
      recovered with BACTEC 460 TB was 119 (90%) and that recovered with all solid
      media combined was 105 (79%). The recovery with BACTEC MGIT 960 alone was 102
      (77%). The mean times to detection (TTD) for M. tuberculosis complex were 14.4
      days for BACTEC MGIT, 15.2 days for BACTEC 460 TB, and 24.1 days for solid media.
      The numbers of isolates of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) recovered were 172
      (100%) for all systems, 147 (85%) for BACTEC MGIT 960, 123 (72%) for BACTEC 460
      TB, and 106 (62%) for all solid media combined. The TTD for MAC in each system
      were 10.0 days for BACTEC MGIT 960, 10.4 days for BACTEC 460 TB, and 25.9 days
      for solid media. Breakthrough contamination rates (percentages of isolates) for
      each of the systems were 8.1% for BACTEC MGIT 960, 4.9% for BACTEC 460 TB, and
      21.1% for all solid media combined.

PMID- 9986845
TI  - Impact of microbiology practice on cumulative prevalence of respiratory tract
      bacteria in patients with cystic fibrosis.
AB  - Investigators participating in the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis project
      began to collect microbiological, pulmonary, and nutritional data on cystic
      fibrosis (CF) patients at 180 North American sites in 1994. Part of this study
      was a survey undertaken in August 1995 to determine microbiology laboratory
      practices with regard to pulmonary specimens from CF patients. The survey
      included a section on test ordering, completed by a site clinician, and a section
      on test performance and reporting, completed by each site's clinical microbiology
      laboratory staff. Seventy-nine percent of the surveys were returned. There was
      intersite consistency of microbiology laboratory practices in most cases. The
      majority of sites follow most of the CF Foundation consensus conference
      recommendations. There were differences in the frequency at which specimens for
      culture were obtained, in the use of selective media for Staphylococcus aureus
      and Haemophilus influenzae, and in the use of a prolonged incubation for
      Burkholderia cepacia. These variations in practice contribute to prevalence
      differences among sites and may result in differences in clinical care.

PMID- 9986846
TI  - Spread of amikacin resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated in
      Spain due to an epidemic strain.
AB  - Sixteen amikacin-resistant clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from nine
      different hospitals in Spain were investigated to determine whether the high
      incidence of amikacin-resistant A. baumannii was due to the dissemination of an
      amikacin-resistant strain or to the spread of an amikacin resistance gene. The
      epidemiological relationship studied by repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR and
      low-frequency restriction analysis of chromosomal DNA showed that the same clone
      was isolated in eight of nine hospitals, although other clones were also found.
      The strains were studied for the presence of the aph(3')-VIa and aac(6')-I genes,
      which encode enzymes which inactivate amikacin, by PCR. All 16 clinical isolates
      had positive PCRs with primers specific for the amplification of the aph(3')-VIa
      gene, whereas none had a positive reaction for the amplification of the aac(6')-I
      gene. Therefore, the high incidence of amikacin resistance among clinical A.
      baumannii isolates in Spain was mainly due to an epidemic strain, although the
      spread of the aph(3')-VI gene cannot be ruled out.

PMID- 9986847
TI  - Comparison of CHROMagar Salmonella medium and hektoen enteric agar for isolation
      of salmonellae from stool samples.
AB  - CHROMagar Salmonella (CAS), a new chromogenic medium, was retrospectively
      compared to Hektoen enteric agar (HEA) with 501 Salmonella stock isolates and was
      then prospectively compared to HEA for the detection and presumptive
      identification of Salmonella spp. with 508 stool samples before and after
      enrichment. All stock cultures (100%), including cultures of H2S-negative
      isolates, yielded typical mauve colonies on CAS, while 497 (99%) isolates
      produced typical lactose-negative, black-centered colonies on HEA. Following
      overnight incubation at 37 degreesC, a total of 20 Salmonella strains were
      isolated from the 508 clinical samples. Sensitivities for primary plating and
      after enrichment were 95% (19 isolates) and 100% (20 isolates), respectively, for
      CAS and 80% (16 isolates) and 100% (20 isolates), respectively, for HEA. The
      specificity of CAS (88.9%) was significantly higher than that of HEA (78.5%; P <
      0.0001). On the basis of its good sensitivity and specificity, CAS medium can be
      recommended for use for primary plating when human stool samples are screened for
      Salmonella spp.

PMID- 9986848
TI  - ABC medium, a new chromogenic agar for selective isolation of Salmonella spp.
AB  - We describe a new chromogenic agar medium, ABC medium (alphabeta-chromogenic
      medium), which includes two substrates, 3, 4-cyclohexenoesculetin-beta-D
      galactoside and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside, to
      facilitate the selective isolation of Salmonella spp. This medium exploits the
      fact that Salmonella spp. may be distinguished from other members of the family
      Enterobacteriaceae by the presence of alpha-galactosidase activity in the absence
      of beta-galactosidase activity. A total of 1, 022 strains of Salmonella spp. and
      300 other gram-negative strains were inoculated onto this medium. Of these, 1,019
      (99.7%) strains of Salmonella spp. produced a characteristic green colony,
      whereas only 1 strain (0.33%) of non-Salmonella produced a green colony. A total
      of 283 stool samples were cultured onto desoxycholate citrate (DC) agar and ABC
      medium by direct inoculation and after selective enrichment in selenite broth.
      Overall, the sensitivity and specificity were superior for ABC medium (100 and
      90.5%, respectively) than for DC agar (88 and 26.9%, respectively). We conclude
      that ABC medium offers a high degree of specificity for the detection of
      Salmonella spp. in stool samples.

PMID- 9986849
TI  - Isolation of Abiotrophia adiacens from a brain abscess which developed in a
      patient after neurosurgery.
AB  - We report the case of a patient who developed a large brain abscess after
      neurosurgery. Cerebrospinal fluid from the abscess drainage yielded Abiotrophia
      adiacens-specific PCR products and microorganisms that were identified by
      conventional microbiological methods and by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis as
      Abiotrophia adiacens, which was formerly classified as a member of nutritionally
      variant streptococci.

PMID- 9986850
TI  - Comparison of five PCR methods for detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in
      gastric tissues.
AB  - Five different PCR methods for the detection of Helicobacter pylori were
      evaluated. The results of this study indicate that of the five PCR methods
      examined, the ureC (glmM) gene PCR is the most sensitive and specific for the
      detection of H. pylori in gastric biopsy specimens.

PMID- 9986851
TI  - Case report and molecular analysis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in a
      South African Child.
AB  - This is the first case of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis from South Africa
      in which the molecular characteristics of the causative measles virus were
      examined. The virus found is classified as genotype D3, which has not previously
      been found in Africa and was last circulating in the United States before 1992.

PMID- 9986852
TI  - Clonal diversity of Chilean isolates of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli from
      patients with hemolytic-uremic syndrome, asymptomatic subjects, animal
      reservoirs, and food products.
AB  - To determine clonal relationship among Chilean enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli
      (EHEC) strains from different sources (clinical infections, animal reservoirs,
      and food), 54 EHEC isolates (44 of E. coli O157, 5 of E. coli O111, and 5 of E.
      coli O26) were characterized for virulence genes by colony blot hybridization and
      by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). By colony blotting, 12 different
      genotypes were identified among the 44 E. coli O157 isolates analyzed, of which
      the genetic profile stx1+ stx2+ hly+ eae+ was the most prevalent. All human O157
      strains that were associated with sporadic cases of hemolytic-uremic syndrome
      (HUS) carried both the stx1 and stx2 toxin-encoding genes and were eaeA positive.
      Only 9 of 13 isolates from human controls were stx1+ stx2+, and 8 carried the
      eaeA gene. Comparison of profiles obtained by PFGE of XbaI-digested genomic DNA
      showed a great diversity among the E. coli O157 isolates, with 37 different
      profiles among 39 isolates analyzed. Cluster analysis of PFGE profiles showed a
      wide distribution of clinical isolates obtained from HUS cases and asymptomatic
      individuals and a clonal relationship among O157 isolates obtained from HUS cases
      and pigs. Analysis of virulence genes showed that a correlation exists among
      strains with the genotype stx1+ stx2+ eae+ and pathogenic potential. A larger
      difference in the PFGE restriction patterns was observed among the EHEC strains
      of serogroups O26 and O111. These results indicate that several different EHEC
      clones circulate in Chile and suggest that pigs are an important animal reservoir
      for human infections by EHEC. Guidelines have been proposed for better practices
      in the slaughter of animals in Chile.

PMID- 9986853
TI  - Assessment of use of the COBAS AMPLICOR system with BACTEC 12B cultures for rapid
      detection of frequently identified mycobacteria.
AB  - The use of the COBAS AMPLICOR System (Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Basel,
      Switzerland), the only automated system for PCR testing, was evaluated for a
      rapid identification of mycobacteria with positive BACTEC 12B cultures. Two
      hundred ninety-six specimens with a growth index of >/=30 were analyzed for the
      presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium avium, and
      Mycobacterium intracellulare. Compared to traditional methods and provided that
      samples with PCR inhibition are retested at a 1:10 dilution, the sensitivity and
      specificity of the COBAS AMPLICOR System with BACTEC 12B cultures were 100 and
      98%, respectively. The COBAS AMPLICOR method is rapid and reliable for
      identifying the most common mycobacteria in cultures.

PMID- 9986854
TI  - Isolation of Legionella pneumophila by centrifugation of shell vial cell cultures
      from multiple liver and lung abscesses.
AB  - A 7-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
      and was treated with allogenic cord blood transplantation. At day 30 after graft,
      she developed a fever and multiple nodular lesions disseminated in the liver and
      lungs. All bacterial cultures attempted on liver and lung biopsy specimens and
      blood remained sterile on standard axenic media. However, inoculation of liver
      and lung biopsy specimens on eukaryotic cell monolayers by the centrifugation
      shell vial technique (M. Marrero and D. Raoult, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 40:197
      199, 1989) led to the recovery of a strain of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1,
      identified by 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing and serotyping. Our
      findings demonstrate that the centrifugation-cell culture method, which has
      previously been useful for the isolation of other strictly or facultatively
      intracellular bacteria, can also serve as a method for the recovery of L.
      pneumophila from clinical material.

PMID- 9986855
TI  - The IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism in particular multidrug
      resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains may evolve too fast for reliable use
      in outbreak investigation.
AB  - To study possible nosocomial transmission of multidrug-resistant (MDR)
      Mycobacterium tuberculosis, strain types and other information on 24, mostly
      human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, were collected. Isolates from 11
      patients had identical IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
      patterns as well as spoligotype patterns and resistance profiles. Noticeably,
      nine other isolates from related cases also exhibited identical spoligotypes but
      slightly different RFLP patterns. These results indicate that for some MDR
      strains, the evolutionary clock of IS6110 RFLP may run too fast for reliable
      interpretation of strain typing results over a period of a few years.

PMID- 9986856
TI  - Evaluation of the ultrasensitive Roche Amplicor HIV-1 monitor assay for
      quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA.
AB  - The ultrasensitive Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor test (Roche Diagnostic Systems) was
      evaluated for precision, linearity, and sensitivity and was compared to the
      standard Amplicor assay. The ultrasensitive assay reliably quantified samples in
      the range from 50 to 50,000 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA copies/ml
      with acceptable correlation with the standard Amplicor test.

PMID- 9986857
TI  - Comparative evaluation of first- and second-generation digene hybrid capture
      assays for detection of human papillomaviruses associated with high or
      intermediate risk for cervical cancer.
AB  - In the present study we comparatively evaluated the first- and second-generation
      Digene Hybrid Capture assays for detection of human papillomaviruses (HPV)
      associated with high or intermediate risk for cervical cancer in cervical
      specimens. Concordant results were obtained with 468 of 483 (96.8%) specimens.
      All 15 specimens which gave repeatedly discordant results were positive by the
      second-generation test only, and 14 of them tested PCR positive. The enhanced
      sensitivity of the second-generation assay is mainly a result of the
      reformulation of hybridization reagents and, to a lesser extent, a result of the
      addition of new HPV probes.

PMID- 9986858
TI  - Antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae
      strains causing childhood infections in Bangladesh, 1993 to 1997.
AB  - Three hundred sixty-two Streptococcus pneumoniae strains were isolated from
      children under 5 years of age at Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital from 1993 to
      1997. The strains were isolated from blood (n = 105), CSF (n = 164), ear swab (n
      = 61), eye swab (n = 20), and pus (n = 12). Of the 362 isolates, 42 (11.6%)
      showed intermediate resistance (MIC, <0.1 microgram/ml) and only 4 (1.1%) showed
      complete resistance (MIC, >2.0 microgram/ml) to penicillin. Penicillin resistance
      exhibited a strong relationship with serotype 14; 47.8% of the penicillin
      resistant strains belonged to this type. A remarkably high (64.1%) resistance to
      co-trimoxazole was observed, along with a significant increase during the time
      period studied; there was no relationship to capsular type. By way of contrast,
      penicillin resistance did not show any significant change during the study
      period. Resistance to chloramphenicol (2.2%) and erythromycin (1.1%) was rare.
      The high resistance to co-trimoxazole and its increasing trend demand elucidation
      of the clinical impact of pneumonia treatment by this antimicrobial and
      reconsideration of the World Health Organization recommendation for co
      trimoxazole administration to children with community-acquired pneumonia at the
      health care worker level in Bangladesh.

PMID- 9986859
TI  - Prevalence of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis in children with diarrhea in
      Japan.
AB  - In age-matched controlled studies performed in Japan, enterotoxigenic Bacteroides
      fragilis was isolated from 14.9% of 114 children aged 1 to 14 years with
      antibiotic-unassociated diarrhea (AUD) and 6.5% of 108 children aged 1 to 6 years
      with antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). The difference in comparison with
      control children, was significant for AUD children but not AAD children.

PMID- 9986860
TI  - Application of dried blood spot specimens for serologic subtyping of human
      immunodeficiency virus type 1 in Thailand.
AB  - Dried blood spot (DBS) specimens were assessed as an alternative to plasma for
      human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) serotyping by V3 loop peptide enzyme
      immunoassay. Nested PCR capable of distinguishing HIV-1 subtypes B and E was used
      as the reference standard. Ninety-two percent of DBS samples were typeable as
      either HIV-1 subtype B or E. Serotype results with DBS and plasma were identical
      for 254 of 257 specimens. A simple DBS collection method provides a convenient
      alternative for conducting HIV-1 serotype surveillance while retaining
      sensitivity and specificity.

PMID- 9986861
TI  - Human phaeohyphomycotic osteomyelitis caused by the coelomycete Phomopsis
      saccardo 1905: criteria for identification, case history, and therapy.
AB  - The Sphaeropsidales, coelomycetous fungi producing asexual conidia within
      enclosed conidiomata (pycnidia), are saprobic on numerous vascular plants.
      Despite their ubiquitous nature, only a limited number of genera have been
      documented as causing human disease. We report what we believe to be the first
      human case of osteomyelitis due to a Phomopsis species in a chronically
      immunosuppressed female. The patient developed a subcutaneous abscess on the
      distal phalanx of the right fourth finger complicated by osteomyelitis. Operative
      specimens revealed fungal hyphae and a pure culture of mould. The patient was
      treated with a 6-month course of itraconazole. At 16 months of follow-up, she
      remained free of recurrence. Phomopsis species differ from the similar, more
      frequently reported Phoma species by having immersed, thick-walled, multiloculate
      conidiomata and by the production of alpha (short, ellipsoidal) and beta (long,
      filamentous) conidia.

PMID- 9986862
TI  - Reproducibility and performance of the second-generation branched-DNA assay in
      routine quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA in plasma.
AB  - We examined the reproducibility of a second-generation branched-DNA (bDNA) assay
      (Quantiplex HIV RNA 2.0) for quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type
      1 (HIV-1) RNA in plasma by retesting 325 specimens on separate runs and on
      different lots. The performance of the bDNA test was also assessed by data
      analysis obtained during routine testing of 15,365 specimens. Upon retesting, 96
      and 86% of specimens displaying RNA levels above 5,000 and between 500 and 5, 000
      copies/ml, respectively, showed less than a 0.3 log10 (twofold) difference with
      their initial values. Assay variability was found to increase as viral load
      decreased. Overall, the bDNA version 2.0 assay was found to be a reproducible and
      efficient test for routine quantification of HIV-1 RNA in plasma.

PMID- 9986863
TI  - Comparison of simple and rapid methods for identifying enterococci intrinsically
      resistant to vancomycin.
AB  - Three different methodologies, reduction of litmus milk (LM) and acidification of
      arabinose (ARA), acidification of methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (MGP), and rapid
      motility (RM), for differentiating isolates of Enterococcus casseliflavus and
      Enterococcus gallinarum (intrinsically vancomycin-resistant enterococci [IVRE])
      from Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were evaluated. All 33
      isolates of E. faecalis tested reduced LM within 4 h and were negative in all
      other tests, while the 53 isolates of E. faecium were ARA positive only. In
      contrast, 45 of 46 (98%) IVRE isolates examined (26 E. casseliflavus and 20 E.
      gallinarum isolates) acidified MGP, 41 of 46 (89%) were LM and ARA positive, and
      45 of 46 (98%) were RM positive. Acidification of MGP was therefore the single
      most useful test for differentiating IVRE from vancomycin-resistant E. faecium
      and E. faecalis; however, a combination of LM-ARA and RM testing enabled the
      correct designation of organisms without the need for overnight incubation.

PMID- 9986864
TI  - Variation in structure and location of VanA glycopeptide resistance elements
      among enterococci from a single patient.
AB  - Forty-six VanA glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) from a single patient
      were investigated for variation in structure and location of VanA resistance
      elements. Together with identification to species level and pulsed-field gel
      electrophoresis, these data divided the GRE into 10 groups and subgroups.
      Combining data in this manner appears helpful when investigating the epidemiology
      of GRE.

PMID- 9986865
TI  - Comparison of the API Candida system with the AUXACOLOR system for identification
      of common yeast pathogens.
AB  - Two commercial systems for the identification of yeasts were evaluated by using
      159 clinical isolates that had also been identified by conventional biochemical
      and morphological methods. The API Candida system correctly identified 146
      isolates (91.8%), and the AUXACOLOR system correctly identified 145 isolates
      (91.2%). However, of the 146 isolates identified by the API Candida system, 23
      required supplemental biochemical tests or morphological assessment to obtain the
      correct identification. The AUXACOLOR system gave no identification in 13 cases
      (8.2%), while the API Candida system gave an unreadable profile in only one case.
      Incorrect identifications were more common with the API Candida system (12
      isolates; 7.5%) than with the AUXACOLOR system (1 isolate; 0.6%).

PMID- 9986866
TI  - Chronic urinary tract infection due to Candida utilis.
AB  - An elderly male was seen at an outpatient urology clinic over a period of 3 years
      with repeat urine specimens containing 10(4) to 10(5) CFU of a "Candida species,
      not C. albicans." The urine specimens were described as infected due to the
      presence of pyuria, but no antifungal therapy was administered. On two occasions,
      the patient presented to the emergency room and urine specimens were sent to the
      clinical microbiology laboratory. On both occasions, a yeast was isolated at
      concentrations of >10(5) CFU/ml. The organism was identified as the anamorphic
      yeast Candida utilis (teleomorph: Pichia jadinii) by conventional methods.
      Molecular methods, including karyotyping and restriction enzyme analysis,
      confirmed that the isolates were identical and were C. utilis. The patient
      developed benign prostatic hypertrophy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
      during the 3-year course. This report is the first demonstration of the isolation
      of the industrially important yeast C. utilis from a urinary tract infection. In
      the present case, the organism was associated with chronic, symptomatic disease.
      The significance of this unusual, low-virulence isolate from a case of urinary
      tract infection is discussed.

PMID- 9986867
TI  - Unexpected cross-reaction with Fusobacterium necrophorum in a PCR for detection
      of mycoplasmas.
AB  - Cross-reactions with Fusobacterium necrophorum were found in a PCR designed for
      detection of a wide range of mycoplasma species. Twenty-five strains of
      Fusobacterium were examined; all 14 F. necrophorum strains reacted positively,
      whereas all 7 Fusobacterium nucleatum strains reacted negatively. Two strains
      that were not F. necrophorum yielded variable results.

PMID- 9986868
TI  - Identification of contaminating fungal DNA sequences in Zymolyase.
AB  - When different preparations of Zymolyase were included in the pretreatment
      protocol of a panfungal PCR assay using a primer system for the 18S rRNA gene, an
      amplification product occurred in negative controls. The amplified fragment
      showed 100.0% sequence identity to the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex and
      Kluyveromyces lodderae. Lyticase, lysing enzymes, and proteinase K appeared to be
      free from fungal DNA.

PMID- 9986869
TI  - Optimal detection and identification of Mycobacterium haemophilum in specimens
      from pediatric patients with cervical lymphadenopathy.
AB  - Acid-fast bacilli from pediatric patients with lymphadenopathy were detected in
      the BACTEC radiometric system and in MB Redox broth, but not on Lowenstein Jensen
      medium. PCR amplification identified the isolates as Mycobacterium haemophilum,
      which has special nutrition requirements (iron supplements) for growth. Suitable
      culture medium ensures optimal recovery of this microorganism, avoiding
      underdiagnosis.

PMID- 9986870
TI  - Justification for use of a single trichrome stain as the sole means for routine
      detection of intestinal parasites in concentrated stool specimens.
AB  - Of 12,321 stool samples analyzed over a 6-year interval, 870 (7.1%) were positive
      for a total of 1,019 parasites, of which 1,011 (99.2%) were found in trichrome
      stained smears of unconcentrated specimens while only 479 (47.0%) were detected
      in iodine-stained smears of concentrated samples. Stool specimens were next
      analyzed by trichrome staining of both unconcentrated and concentrated specimens
      preserved in either mercury-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or cupric PVA. Of 2,198
      specimens, 171 (7.8%) were positive for a total of 208 parasites, 192 (92.3%) and
      204 (98.1%) of which were found in the unconcentrated and concentrated specimens,
      respectively (P < 0.05). In our patient population, examination of a single
      trichrome-stained smear of a concentrated stool specimen is a cost-effective
      alternative to routinely analyzing both concentrated and unconcentrated specimens
      for parasites.

PMID- 9986871
TI  - Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii: separate varietal status for Cryptococcus
      neoformans serotype A isolates.
AB  - Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans presently includes isolates which have
      been determined by the immunologic reactivity of their capsular polysaccharides
      to be serotype A and those which have been determined to be serotype D. However,
      recent analyses of the URA5 sequences and DNA fingerprinting patterns suggest
      significant genetic differences between the two serotypes. Therefore, we propose
      to recognize these genotypic distinctions, as well as previously reported
      phenotypic differences, by restricting C. neoformans var. neoformans to isolates
      which are serotype D and describing a new variety, C. neoformans var. grubii, for
      serotype A isolates.

PMID- 9986872
TI  - Aerobic and anaerobic microbiology of surgical-site infection following spinal
      fusion.
AB  - The aerobic and anaerobic microbiology of surgical-site infections (SSI)
      following spinal fusion was retrospectively studied. This was done by reviewing
      the clinical and microbiological records at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md.,
      from 1980 to 1992. Aspirates of pus from 25 infection sites showed bacterial
      growth. Aerobic bacteria only were recovered from 9 (36%) specimens, anaerobic
      bacteria only were recovered from 4 (16%), and mixed aerobic and anaerobic
      bacteria were recovered from 12 (48%). Sixty isolates were recovered: 38 aerobes
      (1.5 isolates per specimen) and 22 anaerobes (0.9 isolate per specimen). The
      predominant aerobes were Escherichia coli (n = 8) and Proteus sp. (n = 7). The
      predominant anaerobes were Bacteroides fragilis group (n = 9) and
      Peptostreptococcus sp. (n = 6) isolates. An increase in recovery of E. coli and
      B. fragilis was noted in patients with bowel or bladder incontinence. This study
      highlights the polymicrobial nature of SSI and the importance of anaerobic
      bacteria in SSI following spinal fusion.

PMID- 9986873
TI  - Use of restriction fragment analysis and sequencing of a serotype-specific region
      to type adenovirus isolates.
AB  - Restriction fragment analysis and sequencing of a serotype-specific region were
      used to type 12 and 2 clinical isolates, respectively. Both molecular methods
      produced clear-cut results that completely correlated with that of the
      neutralization test.

PMID- 9986874
TI  - Quality control in nucleic acid amplification methods: use of elementary
      probability theory.
AB  - Since it is not possible to state with certainty that contamination has occurred
      during a nucleic acid amplification assay in the absence of a positive result for
      a negative control, methods of elementary probability theory are used to
      illustrate how to identify those runs in which the possibility of contamination
      should be considered. The use of binomial and Poisson distributions and an
      analysis of clusters are presented with illustrative examples to demonstrate
      their use.

PMID- 9986875
TI  - hsp65 sequencing for identification of rapidly growing mycobacteria.
AB  - Partial sequencing of the hsp65 gene was used for the identification of rapidly
      growing mycobacteria (RGM). A 441-bp fragment (A. Telenti, F. Marchesi, M. Balz,
      F. Bally, E. Bottger, and T. Bodmer, J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:175-178, 1993) was
      amplified and sequenced by an automated fluorescence-based method involving
      capillary electrophoresis. Type strains of 10 RGM species were first studied.
      Each species had a unique nucleotide sequence, distinguishing it clearly from the
      other species. A panel of strains from the four main RGM species responsible for
      human infections, Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium
      fortuitum, and Mycobacterium peregrinum, was also studied. There were few
      sequence differences within each of these species (<2% of bases were different
      from the type strain sequence), and they had no effect on species assignment.
      hsp65 sequencing unambiguously differentiated M. chelonae and M. abscessus, two
      species difficult to identify by classical methods and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
      The devised procedure is a rapid and reliable tool for the identification of RGM
      species.

PMID- 9986876
TI  - Comparative study of susceptibilities of germinated and ungerminated conidia of
      Aspergillus fumigatus to various antifungal agents.
AB  - Conidia are used as inocula for the in vitro susceptibility testing of
      Aspergillus fumigatus. Since the MIC is defined on the basis of visible mycelial
      growth, conidia should germinate and produce sporelings (germinated conidia) for
      monitoring of the growth inhibition and fungicidal activity of a drug. If a
      compound is capable of inhibiting germination of conidia while affecting or not
      affecting the growth of the organism, the MIC obtained will be the concentration
      of the drug required for the inhibition of conidial germination but not
      necessarily that required for inhibition of the growth of the organism. We
      investigated the susceptibility of germinated and ungerminated conidia to
      amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, and SCH56592. The MICs of various
      antifungal agents for germinated conidia were almost identical to those obtained
      for ungerminated conidia. In addition, both the germinated and ungerminated
      conidia were killed with almost equal efficiency by all of the compounds tested
      when exposed to the drugs for 24 h. These results suggest that either germinated
      or ungerminated conidia could be used as inocula for in vitro susceptibility
      studies of A. fumigatus with identical results.

PMID- 9986877
TI  - Streptococcus bovis clone causing two episodes of endocarditis 8 years apart.
AB  - A patient had endocarditis caused by Streptococcus bovis twice 8 years apart.
      According to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) the two isolates were
      identical. Seven unrelated blood isolates of S. bovis yielded unique PFGE
      patterns. Considering this heterogeneous population structure our findings
      demonstrate the long-term persistence of an S. bovis clone in a patient with
      recurrent endocarditis.

PMID- 9986878
TI  - Evaluation of the fungitest kit by using strains from human immunodeficiency
      virus-infected patients: study of azole drug susceptibility.
AB  - One hundred eighteen Candida clinical isolates from human immunodeficiency virus
      infected patients were tested for their susceptibilities to fluconazole and
      itraconazole by Fungitest and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory
      Standards MIC method. Fungitest results depended on both yeast species and
      antifungal agents. This test is able to detect sensitive strains (97% agreement
      with results of the MIC method in tests with fluconazole and 84% agreement in
      tests with itraconazole) but has a poor capacity to detect resistant strains (26%
      agreement in tests with fluconazole and 5% agreement in tests with itraconazole).

PMID- 9986879
TI  - Identification of seven Treponema species in health- and disease-associated
      dental plaque by nested PCR.
AB  - Species-specific nested PCR was used to detect Treponema amylovorum, Treponema
      denticola, Treponema maltophilum, Treponema medium, Treponema pectinovorum,
      Treponema socranskii, and Treponema vincentii in dental plaque. Subjects with
      periodontitis harbored all species, but T. pectinovorum and T. vincentii were not
      found in plaque from disease-free subjects.

PMID- 9986880
TI  - In vitro susceptibilities of Candida dubliniensis isolates tested against the new
      triazole and echinocandin antifungal agents.
AB  - Candida dubliniensis is a newly recognized fungal pathogen causing mucosal
      disease in AIDS patients. Although preliminary studies indicate that most strains
      of C. dubliniensis are susceptible to established antifungal agents, fluconazole
      resistant strains have been detected. Furthermore, fluconazole-resistant strains
      are easily derived in vitro, and these strains exhibit increased expression of
      multidrug resistance transporters, especially MDR1. Because of the potential for
      the development of resistant strains of C. dubliniensis, it is prudent to explore
      the in vitro activities of several of the newer triazole and echinocandin
      antifungals against isolates of C. dubliniensis. In this study we tested 71
      isolates of C. dubliniensis against the triazoles BMS-207147, Sch 56592, and
      voriconazole and a representative of the echinocandin class of antifungal agents,
      MK-0991. We compared the activities of these agents with those of the established
      antifungal agents fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B, and 5-fluorocytosine
      (5FC) by using National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards microdilution
      reference methods. Our findings indicate that the vast majority of clinical
      isolates of C. dubliniensis are highly susceptible to both new and established
      antifungal agents. Strains with decreased susceptibilities to fluconazole
      remained susceptible to the investigational agents as well as to amphotericin B
      and 5FC. The increased potencies of the new triazole and echinocandin antifungal
      agents may provide effective therapeutic options for the treatment of infections
      due to C. dubliniensis.

PMID- 9986882
TI  - Pediatric cardiology: genetics 

PMID- 9986881
TI  - Identification of Shigella flexneri subserotype 1c in rural Egypt.
AB  - In a population-based study of diarrhea in rural, northern Egypt, 60 Shigella
      flexneri strains were identified, of which 10 could not be definitively
      serotyped. Serological analysis with commercial reagents suggested that they were
      serotype 1, but the strains failed to react with subserotype 1a- or 1b-specific
      antibodies. All 10 strains reacted with MASF 1c, a monoclonal antibody specific
      for a provisional S. flexneri subserotype, 1c, first identified in Bangladesh and
      not previously detected outside of that region. Our results show that S. flexneri
      subserotype 1c is not unique to Bangladesh and that the inability to detect it
      may reflect both the limited use of suitable screening methods and the rarity of
      this subserotype.

PMID- 9986883
TI  - An introduction to molecular biology: gene structure, expression, and mutation.
AB  - This mini-review outlines DNA structure and the regulation of gene expression. It
      then discusses the nature of mutations, techniques employed to detect them, and
      the limitations of these techniques.

PMID- 9986884
TI  - Aortic arch anomalies associated with chromosome 22q11 deletion (CATCH 22).
AB  - Chromosome 22q11 deletion or CATCH 22 is associated with DiGeorge syndrome,
      conotruncal anomaly face syndrome, and velocardiofacial syndrome. Associated
      congenital heart diseases include tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus, and
      ventricular septal defect. Associated anomalies of the aortic arch, aortic
      branches, ductus arteriosus, and pulmonary arteries are more frequent in patients
      with the deletion than in those without the deletion. Associated anomalies
      include right aortic arch, cervical aorta, aberrant origin or isolation of the
      subclavian artery, the absence of the ductus arteriosus, major aortopulmonary
      collateral arteries, isolation of the left pulmonary artery, and vascular ring
      formed by the right aortic arch, retroesophageal aortic arch, and left descending
      aorta.

PMID- 9986885
TI  - Elastin mutation and cardiac disease.
AB  - Characterization of the molecular basis of structural cardiac disease includes
      elucidating the pathogenesis of certain vascular disease by demonstrating
      mutations of the Elastin gene as the cause of familial supravalvular aortic
      stenosis (SVAS) and Williams' syndrome (WS). Defining the etiology of SVAS has
      clinical implications in terms of prenatal and presymptomatic diagnosis and
      possible earlier intervention with medical therapy. This review considers the
      evidence relating Elastin mutations to SVAS and WS and outlines the possible
      mechanisms by which these mutations give rise to cardiac disease. Finally, the
      implications which Elastin mutation identification has on current clinical
      practice and future research directions are considered.

PMID- 9986886
TI  - Turner's syndrome: cardiologic profile according to the different chromosomal
      patterns and long-term clinical follow-Up of 136 nonpreselected patients.
AB  - The preferential association between Turner's syndrome and congenital heart
      defects (CHD) have been well known since the first description by Morgagni. There
      are few studies about the different cardiologic problems stemming from different
      chromosomal patterns of X monosomies. We reviewed a large series of 136 patients
      with Turner syndrome without cardiologic preselection, 29 of whom had some kind
      of CHD (21.5%). Partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (PAPVD; 2.9%), aortic
      valve disease (stenosis and/or incompetence) (AoVD; 5. 1%), aortic coarctation
      (AoCo; 4.4%), and bicuspid aortic valve (BicAo; 14.7%) are much more frequent in
      Turner's syndrome than in the normal population, with the difference being
      statistically highly significant. In our cases, only the 45, X subjects showed
      severe CHD and multiple lesions, whereas the X-ring pattern was associated with
      an elevated prevalence of BicAo. Patients with X-deletion showed no signs of
      congenital heart malformations. Eleven patients, all with 45, X pattern, and
      significant CHD, underwent cardiac surgery at a mean age of 7.7 +/- 5.3 years
      (range 7 days-18 years) without complications. At follow-up of 3-18 years (8.6 +/
      5. 2), we were unable to observe any type of evolution of the remaining
      untreated cardiovascular anomalies.

PMID- 9986887
TI  - Complement activation, cytokines, and adhesion molecules in children undergoing
      cardiac surgery with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.
AB  - The effect of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on various blood parameters in
      children undergoing major cardiovascular surgery was investigated in a
      prospective clinical study. Blood samples of children with CPB (CPB group, n =
      18) or without CPB (control, n = 12) were collected before, during, and after
      surgery. The concentration of routine laboratory parameters, components of the
      complement system (C3, C4, C5, C1 inhibitor, total hemolytic complement, C3d, and
      C5a), circulating interleukins (IL-6 and IL-8) and soluble adhesion molecules
      (sICAM-1 and sE-selectin) were determined. In both groups of patients the serum
      concentrations of C3, C4, C5, and C1 inhibitor were significantly affected by the
      treatments (p < 0.001), decreased immediately after onset of anesthesia, were
      minimal during surgery, and increased thereafter. No significant differences in
      the kinetics of these parameters were detectable between CPB and control group.
      In the CPB group the activation of the alternative pathway (increased C3d) was
      found to be a specific response (p = 0.005), but also in the control group C3d
      and C5a concentration increased significantly (p < 0.022), indicating complement
      activation. None of the effects that would be expected after activation of the
      complement system were specific for the CPB group. In both groups the serum
      levels of IL-6 increased dramatically during and/or after surgery (p = 0.001),
      and IL-8 was detectable after surgery in 10/12 control patients. The
      concentration of sICAM-1 and sE-selectin decreased during surgery (p < 0.04) and
      later did not increase above baseline. Our data suggest that increased serum
      levels of inflammation mediators and increased consumption of complement and
      adhesion molecules occur during cardiovascular surgery. Although complement
      activation and ICAM-1 consumption are more pronounced in the CPB patients, none
      of these changes occurs exclusively in the CPB group. We conclude, therefore,
      that these changes are the combined effect of anesthesia, surgical trauma, and
      endothelial lesions. Additional, undefined CPB-induced reactions may also
      contribute the postoperative morbidity.

PMID- 9986888
TI  - Transcatheter occlusion of residual patent ductus arteriosus after surgical
      ligation.
AB  - The reported frequency of residual leaks after surgical ligation of patent ductus
      arteriosus (PDA) varies from 6% to 23%. Reports on percutaneous closure of PDA
      also involve patients with residual PDA after ligation, but specific data
      regarding this type of PDA are rare. Our objective was to assess retrospectively
      the characteristics of residual PDA relevant to transcatheter closure and
      occlusion results using three types of occluders. Twelve consecutive patients
      underwent transcatheter occlusion of residual PDA after surgical ligation at a
      median age of 4.6 years (range 3. 2-44.6 years) and median weight 16.5 kg (range
      13-62 kg). Three types of occluder were used: Gianturco coils, detachable Cook
      PDA coils, and the new Amplatzer duct occluder. The median diameter of residual
      PDA after ligation was 1.5 mm (range 0.9-4.2 mm). All PDAs were of type A
      morphology. Thirteen devices were successfully placed in the 12 patients, without
      embolization. There were no complications. At 1 month and 1 year follow-up all
      residual shunts were completely closed. Coils are particularly suitable for
      complete closure of residual leaks after surgical ligation of PDA. A 100% closure
      rate was achieved with a low number of implanted coils.

PMID- 9986889
TI  - Neonatal cardiac catheterization: A 10-year transition from diagnosis to therapy.
AB  - To assess the changing role of cardiac catheterization in the care of the
      neonate, a retrospective review of all catheterizations between January 1984 to
      December 1985 (group I) and January 1994 to December 1995 (group II) at C.S. Mott
      Children's Hospital was performed. Neonatal cardiac catheterization was performed
      more frequently (p = 0.02) in group I, comprising 14% (110 of 772) of all
      catheterizations versus 11% (93 of 880) in group II. Access was performed by
      cutdown in 15 patients (13 venous and 2 arterial), all in group I. In group I, 20
      of 110 patients (18%) had balloon atrial septostomies; no other catheter
      interventions were performed. Interventions were more frequent (p = 0.003) and
      varied in group II, including 15 septostomies, 17 balloon valvuloplasties (13
      pulmonary and 4 aortic), 2 coil embolizations of collaterals, and 1 cardiac
      biopsy. Despite the higher prevalence and complexity of interventions in group
      II, fluoroscopy times (median; range: 16 min; 2-55 vs 16 min; 1-107) were similar
      in both groups (p = not significant) as well as the prevalence of complications.
      Neonatal cardiac catheterizations are performed less frequently than they were a
      decade ago at our institution, and therapeutic interventions have become more
      common. Despite these changes, fluoroscopy time and the rate of complications
      have not increased.

PMID- 9986890
TI  - Tetralogy of Fallot in a patient with Killian-Pallister syndrome.
AB  - Killian-Pallister syndrome is a rare dysmorphic condition characterized by
      specific clinical manifestations and tetrasomy 12p. Although the association of
      this condition with congenital heart disease has been previously documented, no
      cases have been reported in association with Fallot's tetralogy. We report one
      such case.

PMID- 9986891
TI  - Tetralogy of Fallot with levoatrial cardinal vein.
AB  - A levoatrial cardinal vein is a rare congenital anomaly of the systemic veins. It
      is frequently associated with left-side obstructive anomalies. We report a case
      of tetralogy of Fallot with a levoatrial cardinal vein. The innominate vein was
      absent and two left upper pulmonary veins connected to this vein. There were no
      left-side obstructive anomalies.

PMID- 9986892
TI  - Kawasaki disease complicated by peripheral gangrene.
AB  - An 8.5-month-old male infant with Kawasaki disease (KD) received high-dose
      intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy on the fifth day after fever onset.
      However, multiple peripheral limb ischemias occurred 2 days later. Accordingly,
      heparin followed by dipyridamole was administered. Aside from a small amputation
      at the tip of the right middle finger, all other digital ischemias resolved. This
      presentation demonstrates that early recognition and management of peripheral
      gangrene in KD may keep its sequela to a minimum.

PMID- 9986893
TI  - Radiofrequency catheter ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia
      in a preschooler.
AB  - A 3-year-old girl presented with a febrile illness complicated by right
      ventricular outflow tract tachycardia, which persisted after resolution of the
      presumed viral infection. The tachycardia was intermittent, but was significantly
      exacerbated by exercise. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the ectopic focus was
      successfully performed and the child remains free of tachycardia 12 months later.
      A review of the literature suggests that RFA in children is increasingly seen as
      a safe and convenient option for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia,
      whereas the management of ectopic ventricular tachycardia in pediatric practice
      has not been well defined.

PMID- 9986894
TI  - Balloon valvuloplasty of critical pulmonary valve stenosis in a premature
      neonate.
AB  - Balloon dilatation of critical pulmonary valve stenosis in neonates with a weight
      of less than 2.5 kg is associated with specific problems, including temperature
      loss during the procedure, venous access, and problems related to the small size
      of the cardiac structures. We report our experience with balloon valvuloplasty in
      a premature newborn weighing 1.22 kg. Venous access was gained with a 4 French
      sheath, and balloon dilatation was performed with a 3.5 French 7-mm balloon
      catheter. Temperature loss of the baby was avoided by puncturing the femoral vein
      prior to the procedure on a neonatal open care system, wrapping the child in
      cotton, and covering the extremities with aluminium foil. The good result in our
      patient demonstrates that balloon valvuloplasty is a therapeutic option for
      treatment of critical pulmonary stenosis in premature infants.

PMID- 9986895
TI  - Massive biatrial myxomas in a child.
AB  - Cardiac myxomas are rarely diagnosed in children, and biatrial tumors are an
      unusual presentation in any age group. An 8-year-old boy with massive biatrial
      cardiac myxomas, who presented in acute cardiogenic shock with no preceding
      cardiac symptomatology, is reported.

PMID- 9986896
TI  - Obstructed infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in an adult.
AB  - Adult survival in patients with uncorrected obstructed infracardiac total
      anomalous pulmonary venous drainage has not been reported. A 17-year-old man who
      presented to us with features of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension was
      diagnosed to have obstructed pulmonary venous drainage to the hepatic vein.
      Presence of a large ventricular septal defect in this patient may have
      contributed favorably to survival.

PMID- 9986897
TI  - Acute inferior cardiac inflow obstruction resulting from inadvertent surgical
      closure of a prominent Eustachian valve mistaken for an atrial septal defect.
AB  - A 5-month-old boy with a VACTERL syndrome underwent cardiac surgery for
      correction of a common arterial trunk and closure of an atrial septal defect. A
      prominent Eustachian valve was mistaken for the atrial septum and surgically
      closed. Thirty months later, after gradual shrinking of the foramen ovale with
      associated reduction of the right-to-left shunt, the boy presented with acute
      symptoms of a lower inflow obstruction, characterized by hepatomegaly and
      engorged abdominal vein pattern (Medusa's head). The boy was reoperated
      successfully after the condition had been recognized.

PMID- 9986898
TI  - Neonatal ductus arteriosus aneurysm causing nerve palsies and airway compression:
      surgical treatment by decompression without excision.
AB  - A 4-kg male child, born at 34 weeks to a gestational diabetic mother, had a large
      ductus arteriosus aneurysm causing phrenic and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsies
      and large airway compression. The right and left atrial appendages and distal
      descending aorta were cannulated, allowing left heart partial or complete
      cardiopulmonary bypass as necessary. On bypass the ductus was ligated,
      decompressed, and oversewn but not excised. Examination 1 month later suggested
      resolution of the recurrent laryngeal palsy and echocardiography showed
      regression of the aneurysm. Ductus ligation and decompression was an effective
      surgical treatment, which is less likely to cause complications than resection.

PMID- 9986899
TI  - Successful treatment of postoperative right ventricular heart failure with the
      HIA-Medos-assist system in a 2-year-old girl.
AB  - One year after total correction of tetralogy of Fallot, reoperation was performed
      in a 2-year-old infant because of an aneurysm of the right ventricular outflow
      tract. After removal of the aneurysm, massive right ventricular failure occurred.
      Maximal medical inotropic support could not reestablish sufficient right
      ventricular function. Therefore, it was decided to implant the new HIA-Medos
      system as a right ventricular assist. In the postoperative period,
      echocardiographic controls showed increasing contractility of the right
      ventricle. The assist system was removed after 3 days and the infant was
      discharged in good condition on the 22nd postoperative day.

PMID- 9986900
TI  - The wandering pacemaker: intraperitoneal migration of an epicardially placed
      pacemaker and femoral nerve stimulation.
AB  - A premature child with congenital complete heart block had an epicardial single
      chamber pacemaker implanted at 2 days of age. At 21 months of age, while sitting
      or standing, the patient's right anterior thigh muscles contracted at her pulse
      rate. Surgical exploration revealed a free-floating pacemaker in her peritoneum.
      A new dual-chamber pacemaker was implanted into the abdominal wall with
      resolution of the child's symptoms.

PMID- 9986901
TI  - Double-lumen aortic arch by persistence of fifth aortic arch: A new case
      associated with coarctation.
AB  - A coarctation of aorta with double-lumen aortic arch due to persistence of an
      embryonic fifth aortic arch was recognized in a 13-day-old girl and successfully
      repaired using enlargement of the aorta by side-to-side anastomosis of the fourth
      and fifth aortic arches.

PMID- 9986902
TI  - Combination of rare systemic venous anomalies in a child with ventricular septal
      defect.

PMID- 9986905
TI  - Upcoming events in pediatric cardiology 

PMID- 9986904
TI  - From other journals 

PMID- 9986903
TI  - Low-dose sotalol in pediatric arrhythmia therapy.

PMID- 9986906
TI  - Growth hormone and a partial mediator of its biological action, insulin-like
      growth factor I.
AB  - This review summarizes data on two hormones, growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like
      growth factor I (IGF-I). Genes encoding these hormones are actively expressed in
      various tissues which can synthesize and secrete the corresponding hormones into
      the intracellular space and blood. Apart from the pituitary, GH gene is also
      expressed in mammary gland, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and blood cells. GH
      activates expression of the gene of IGF-I and stimulates its secretion by the
      liver, adipose tissue, thymus, and other tissues. The growth-stimulating effect
      of GH is mediated (at least partially) by IGF-I, but direct (IGF-I-independent)
      influence on target tissues is also possible. Genes encoding GH and IGF-I
      receptors are expressed in all organs and tissues, including various cells of the
      immune system. GH and IGF-I regulate the function of the immune system via
      endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine mechanisms.

PMID- 9986907
TI  - Termination of translation in eukaryotes: new results and new hypotheses.
AB  - Important new results obtained in studies of prokaryotic and eukaryotic
      translation termination during 1994-1998 are reviewed. Properties of the newly
      discovered factors RF3, eRF1, and eRF3 are described. Similarity and difference
      between prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems of translation termination and recent
      models of molecular mechanisms of protein synthesis at the termination stage are
      discussed. Hypotheses concerning the biological role of eRF3 are formulated and
      discussed.

PMID- 9986908
TI  - Affinity purification of Alu-DNA-repeat-binding proteins from human somatic
      cells.
AB  - A 66-kD Alu-DNA-repeat binding protein was identified in human somatic cell
      nucleoplasm. Gel shift assay, southwestern blotting, and affinity purification on
      DNA attached to a carrier were used. A 60-kD protein copurified with the 66-kD
      protein during affinity purification, probably due to protein--protein
      interactions. The gel shift assay reveals multiple complexes with exponential
      dependence of their relative mobility. The short binding site of the 66-kD
      protein was defined with the help of synthetic oligonucleotides. It is localized
      between the A and B boxes of RNA polymerase III promotor and is the same as that
      reported for the Alu-binding protein from human spermatozoids. The same short
      binding site, the similarity of the isolation procedure from germ and somatic
      cells, and similar binding properties and molecular masses suggest homology of
      the two proteins. The relationship of the proteins we studied and the Alu-DNA
      binding proteins described in the literature is discussed.

PMID- 9986909
TI  - Lucigenin as a substrate of microsomal NAD(P)H-oxidoreductases.
AB  - NADPH oxidation and cytochrome c reduction with and without lucigenin as well as
      NAD(P)H/lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence of rat liver microsomes were
      studied. An increased rate of NADPH oxidation and cytochrome c reduction in the
      presence of lucigenin was related to one-electron lucigenin reduction by
      microsomal NADPH reductases. The apparent Michaelis constant values for lucigenin
      (Km appLuc) were 3.6 and 5.0 microM in normoxygenic (pO2 = 150 +/- 5 mm Hg) and
      8.7 and 8.3 microM in hypoxygenic (pO2 = 45 +/- 4 mm Hg) media in the reactions
      of lucigenin-dependent NADPH oxidation and cytochrome c reduction, respectively.
      The maximal level of NADPH/lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence was registered
      at lucigenin concentration close to the mean K Luc/m app in the lucigenin
      reductase reaction. Increasing the lucigenin concentration from 5 to 100 microM
      was associated with a decrease in the chemiluminescence intensity; this could be
      due to the inactivation of cytochrome P450. In the presence of superoxide
      dismutase (SOD), the rate of lucigenin-dependent cytochrome c reduction and
      NADPH/lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence were decreased by 10 and 30%,
      respectively. The addition of lucigenin to microsomes which contain the reduced
      hemoprotein--CO complex was followed by the disappearance of the differential
      absorption spectrum specific for the carboxy complex and by increase in
      chemiluminescence intensity versus the control (without carboxy complex). Thus,
      lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence of microsomes may be due to some enzymes
      including lucigenin reductase (NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, NADH-cytochrome
      b5 reductase), generation of O2-. in the redox cycle of lucigenin radicals,
      dioxetane formation by (di)oxygenases, and catalytic action of the cytochrome
      P450 heme on dioxetane decomposition followed by light quantum emission. Thus,
      lucigenin cannot be used to measure the basal O2-. formation in tissue
      homogenates with high levels of NAD(P)H-oxidoreductases.

PMID- 9986910
TI  - Nondenaturing electrophoresis. Fractionating of photosynthetic pigment--protein
      complexes and blood plasma proteins.
AB  - Efficient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of labile proteins and protein
      complexes is reviewed. If only 0.001-0.01% SDS is dissolved in the electrode
      buffers, the detergent does not exhibit denaturing activity and guarantees high
      quality of electrophoresis. Even the structure and oxygen-producing activity of
      the labile photosystem PS2 are preserved after electrophoretic separation of
      photosynthetic pigment--protein complexes from Anacystis nidulans R2 or other
      cyanobacteria. The overall spectra of absorption or fluorescence of isolated
      pigment--protein complexes are equal to the corresponding spectra of the
      photosynthetic membrane. The distribution of chlorophyll molecules between the
      components of the photosynthetic apparatus coincides in spectral analysis data
      and gel fraction densitometry. More than 15 electrophoretic fractions of pigment-
      protein complexes of chloroplasts from green algae and higher plants were
      observed including some fractions of PS1, some spectrally different forms of
      light harvesting pigment--protein complexes, and their oligomers. High resolving
      capacity of electrophoresis was demonstrated by separation of plasma proteins.
      Low denaturing activity and low thermal dissipation of the electrode buffer
      solution allow the use of large diameter tubes (3.5 and 8 cm) in polyacrylamide
      gel electrophoresis. The cell destruction time and the membrane dissolving time
      are minimized. The method of electrophoretic staining of the gels was tested.

PMID- 9986911
TI  - Secretory immunoglobulins A from human milk possess affinity to oligonucleotides
      and nucleic acids.
AB  - The antibody (AB) fraction containing sIgA and IgG was isolated from human milk
      by Protein A-Sepharose chromatography and was shown to possess affinity to DNA
      cellulose. Ion-exchange HPLC of these AB on a TSK DEAE-5PW column resulted in the
      isolation of a fraction containing sIgA and oligonucleotides (ON). Gel-filtration
      of the AB fraction revealed the presence of ON with length 4-8 nucleotides co
      isolating with sIgA. sIgA Preparations purified on DEAE-Fractogel and DNA
      cellulose contained lipids which were phosphorylated in the presence of [gamma
      32P]ATP. The affinity of HPLC-purified IgG and sIgA to calf thymus DNA,
      Escherichia coli DNA and total tRNA, and plasmid DNA was demonstrated. IgG was
      shown to bind to thymus DNA and E. coli DNA, and sIgA was shown to bind to E.
      coli DNA and tRNA. Nucleic acids of intestinal microflora are supposed to
      participate in induction of the secretory immune response.

PMID- 9986912
TI  - Hydrogen peroxide inhibits the growth of cyanobacteria.
AB  - H2O2 at concentrations of 10(-5)-10(-4) M suppresses phototrophic growth of
      Anacystis nidulans and Anabaena variabilis in dialysis culture. The growth of the
      cyanobacteria resumed after a long adaptation period. In batch cultures, the
      growth of A. nidulans and A. variabilis was suppressed after one-time addition of
      10(-2)and 10(-3)-10(-2) M H2O2, respectively. Inducing intracellular H2O2
      formation by adding methylviologen, vitamin K3, or phenazine methosulfate
      suppresses the growth of both cyanobacteria. The catalase inhibitor salicylic
      acid suppresses the growth of A. nidulans and A. variabilis at a concentration of
      5.10(-3) M. The data suggest an inhibitory effect of H2O2 on the growth of the
      cyanobacteria. H2O2 is unlikely to serve as an electron donor during
      photosynthesis.

PMID- 9986913
TI  - Influence of hydration degree of aerosol OT reversed micelles in heptane on
      inhibitory effect of gallic acid polydisulfide in peroxidase-dependent oxidation
      of 3,3;,5,5;-tetramethylbenzidine.
AB  - Gallic acid polydisulfide (GAPD) inhibits with high efficiency
      tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) peroxidation at 20 degreesC in reversed aerosol OT
      (AOT) micelles in heptane with various hydration degrees w0 ranging from 8.3 to
      47.2. Like in aqueous medium, the inhibition constant Ki for GAPD is
      approximately 10(-6) M and decreases with increasing w0 from 15.3 to 25. In AOT
      micelles with various hydration degree, the initial rates of TMB oxidation
      catalyzed by peroxidase were determined in the absence of GAPD (v0). Using the
      dependencies of the induction time of TMB peroxidation on the initial GAPD
      concentration, the values of the stoichiometric coefficient for inhibition by
      GAPD (f) were calculated at various hydration degrees of AOT micelles. Increase
      of hydration degree of AOT micelles is accompanied by a decrease of coefficient f
      from 30-31 (at low hydration degree) to 11.5-12.5 (at w0 > 30), and this
      significantly exceeds the f values (2) typical for most known inhibitors.

PMID- 9986914
TI  - Effects of sulfur dioxide on lichen lipids and fatty acids.
AB  - Lipids and fatty acids were studied in some lichen species after exposure to 1
      ppm of aqueous sulfur dioxide. The changes in lipid composition are specific to
      the lichen species tested. The exposure of lichens to SO2 resulted in a slight
      reduction of the total phospholipid content. The amount of betaine lipid
      diacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine was increased in Stereocaulon paschale, but the
      level of this lipid was not changed in Peltigera aphthosa. An increase in fatty
      acid unsaturation in lichens in response to the effect of SO2 probably has
      adaptive significance.

PMID- 9986915
TI  - Kinetic properties of the activator complexes plasmin--staphylokinase and
      plasmin(ogen)--streptokinase in vitro.
AB  - Comparative kinetic and electrophoretic study of the interaction of plasminogen
      (PG) with equimolar concentrations of staphylokinase (SPK) and streptokinase (SK)
      at 4 and 37 degreesC showed that the PG--SK complex has fibrinolytic and esterase
      activities, whereas the PG--SPK complex was inactive. Both esterase and
      fibrinolytic activities were enhanced during the conversion of the PG--SPK
      complex to the complex of plasmin (PL) with SPK (PL--SPK) at 37 and 4 degreesC,
      while the PG--SK complex was rapidly converted to the PL--SK complex with higher
      esterase activity only at 37 degreesC. The catalytic efficiency of Z-Lys-pNP
      hydrolysis (kcat/Km) by the preformed PL--SPK complex was twofold lower than that
      in the case of the PL--SK complex. Incubation of the PL--SPK and PG--SK(PL--SK)
      complexes at 37 degreesC for 24 h was associated with the degradation of the
      proteins and with different kinetics of lowering of esterase, plasminogen
      activator, and fibrinolytic activities. The PL--SPK complex was considerably more
      stable than the PG--SK(PL--SK) complex; streptokinase degraded more rapidly than
      staphylokinase. Kinetics of lysis of fibrin clots by the two complexes were
      similar, but the efficiency of lysis of plasma clots by the PL--SPK complex was
      significantly higher than that in the case of the PG--SK(PL--SK) complex (at 0.03
      1 microM). Probably, unlike streptokinase, staphylokinase which is less
      susceptible to degradation in the PL--SPK complex and is released from the triple
      complex alpha2-antiplasmin--PL--SPK, forms a potentially highly active new
      complex with free molecules of plasminogen in the plasma.

PMID- 9986916
TI  - Lipid peroxidation in experimental ischemia of the brain.
AB  - Lipid peroxidation was studied in the brain of Mongolian gerbils under conditions
      of complete ischemia followed by recirculation in the left hemisphere without
      recirculation in the right hemisphere. Thiobarbituric acid reactive products and
      the intensity of Fe2+-induced chemiluminescence were determined. The content of
      lipid peroxidation products in the brain tissue was increased not only under
      conditions of recirculation, but also at the ischemia stage during the limited
      access of oxygen. Thus, the destructive effect of free radicals may occur even
      during the early stage of ischemic injury of the brain.

PMID- 9986917
TI  - Purification and some properties of thymidilate kinase from sea urchin.
AB  - Thymidilate kinase (EC 2.7.4.9, ATP:dTMP phosphotransferase) was isolated from
      eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. The enzyme preparation was
      purified by 1073-fold and was not contaminated with phosphatase or ATPase. The
      molecular weight of the sea urchin thymidilate kinase is 100 kD, and the pH
      optimum of its action is 8-8.5. The thymidilate kinase activity is maximal in the
      presence of 2-5 mM ATP and 10 mM MgCl2. In the reaction of phosphorylation with
      dTMP, Mg2+ can be partially substituted by other bivalent metal ions whose
      efficiency decreases in the series: Mg2+ > Mn2+ > Ca2+ = Cd2+ = Co2+. In the
      presence of Zn2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+ the thymidilate kinase is inactive. The
      sea urchin thymidilate kinase can utilize ATP, dCTP, and dTTP as donors of the
      phosphate group. Either dTMP or dCMP can serve as the acceptor of phosphate.
      Addition of thymidine and other nucleosides to the reaction medium has virtually
      no effect on the rate of dTMP phosphorylation.

PMID- 9986918
TI  - Reduction of nitrite by glycosylated amino acids and glycosylated albumin.
AB  - Glycosylated amino acids and glycosylated human serum albumin reduce nitrite to
      nitric oxide under anaerobic conditions. The amount of nitric oxide produced was
      recorded by generation of nitrosoHb from deoxyHb. Without preincubation after the
      addition of sodium nitrite, glucose or a mixture of glucose with amino acid or
      serum albumin did not cause spectrophotometrically detectible transformation of
      deoxyHb into nitrosoHb. The generation of NO increased with an increase in
      content of colored "final" products of amino acid and serum albumin glycosylation
      in the incubation mixture. The incubation of blood plasma of patients with
      diabetes mellitus with nitrite also resulted in the increased production of NO as
      compared to blood plasma of healthy subjects. During the incubation of healthy
      subjects' blood plasma with nitrite a small amount of NO was produced. The
      removal of low-molecular-weight compounds was accompanied by a significantly
      decreased generation of NO by blood plasma.

PMID- 9986919
TI  - Role of soluble guanylate cyclase in reactivation of choline esterase inhibited
      by phosphoorganic compounds.
AB  - The effects of possible activators of soluble guanylate cyclase were studied.
      Hydroxylamine and some oxime derivatives such as pyridinium aldoximes and
      bispyridinium dioxime (dipyroxime) were tested as possible guanylate cyclase
      activators. These compounds are known to be reactivators of choline esterase
      which has been preinhibited with phosphoorganic compounds. All the tested
      compounds were found to activate human platelet guanylate cyclase in the
      concentration range 10-6-10-3 M. The highest stimulatory affect was achieved at
      10-4 M with hydroxylamine and dipyroxime: 210 +/- 10 and 320 +/- 15%,
      respectively. Potassium ferricyanide oxidation of these compounds under mild
      conditions formed nitroprusside ion, as registered by the electrochemical
      (polarographic) method; this is evidence that these compounds are NO donors. It
      is concluded that the activation of guanylate cyclase by the tested compounds is
      associated with their ability to generate NO during their biotransformation. The
      possible role of guanylate cyclase activation by oxime derivatives in the
      mechanism underlying the reactivation of inhibited choline esterase at the cell
      level is discussed.

PMID- 9986920
TI  - Acute intrahippocampal injection of human interleukin-1beta stimulates the
      anterior pituitary POMC transcription and increases plasma levels of ACTH and
      corticosterone in the male rat.
AB  - It has been well documented that interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a major mediator
      for recruiting the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis following infectious
      disease. The recent localization of IL-1beta receptors in neurons of the
      hippocampus provides further support for the role of IL-1beta as a
      neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in the central nervous system. In this study, we
      investigated whether an acute intrahippocampal injection of IL-1beta is able to
      rapidly stimulate HPA activity. Seven days after bilateral implantation of a
      guide cannula into the hippocampus, human IL-1beta (10 ng/0.5 microliter/side)
      was injected to freely moving male rats. Following this, animals were sacrificed
      at times 20, 45 and 90 min postinjection and a kinetic analysis of hIL-1beta
      action on plasma ACTH and corticosterone (CORT) concentrations and nuclear
      processing of the anterior pituitary (AP) proopiomelanocortin (POMC) was
      conducted. Intrahippocampal administration of hIL-1beta significantly increased
      both plasma ACTH and CORT concentrations at 45 and 90 min postinjection. This
      increase in ACTH concentration paralleled a rise in AP POMC gene transcription.
      Moreover, the increase in AP POMC primary transcript was followed by an increase
      in AP POMC intermediate processing RNA. However, at these times, no significant
      hIL-1beta effect on the level of AP nuclear POMC mRNA was observed. Almost
      identical results were obtained after intraperitoneal injection of hIL-1beta. In
      conclusion, our data demonstrates that the hippocampal IL-1beta/IL-1beta receptor
      is directly and rapidly implicated in HPA activation, in the same manner as that
      observed after intraperitoneal administration of hIL-1beta. These results show
      that IL-1 action in the hippocampus could be of immunoneuroendocrine significance
      for the HPA axis activation during inflammatory states.

PMID- 9986921
TI  - Hyporesponsiveness of the pituitary to CRH during slow wave sleep is not mimicked
      by systemic GHRH.
AB  - During slow wave sleep (SWS) pituitary responsiveness to CRH is reduced. Since
      GHRH is involved in the promotion of SWS in humans and rats, it was examined
      whether the blunted CRH-induced ACTH and cortisol release during SWS could be
      mimicked by systemic GHRH. Young healthy men (n = 7) participated in 4 sleep
      endocrine protocols: (A) lights off at 23.00 h, intravenous injection of 50
      microgram CRH during the first SWS period; (B) lights off at 01.00 h, injection
      of 100 microgram GHRH at 23.00 h, followed by 50 microgram CRH at 23.30 h; (C)
      lights off at 01.00 h, injection of 50 microgram CRH at 23.30 h, and (D) lights
      off at 23.00 h, saline treatment only (= baseline condition). The sleep EEG was
      recorded during the lights off period and blood samples, collected every 20 min
      between 22.00 and 07.00 h, were assayed for GH, cortisol and ACTH. There was no
      significant difference in the sleep-associated GH peak between protocols. Plasma
      ACTH was significantly higher following CRH administration during wakefulness
      compared with CRH administration during SWS (protocols B and C vs. A; area under
      the curve (AUC) 23. 00-03.00 h: 9.6 +/- 4.8 and 7.3 +/- 2.0 vs. 6.1 +/- 1.1 ng/ml
      x min; p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in plasma ACTH
      concentration between the baseline condition and protocol A (CRH administration
      during SWS). Similarly, cortisol was significantly enhanced compared with
      baseline following CRH during wakefulness only. CRH induced an increase in EEG
      activity in the sigma frequency range, both when it was administered during
      wakefulness and SWS, while this effect was reduced by pre-treatment with GHRH. In
      summary, our data suggest that (1) the blunted CRH-induced release of ACTH and
      cortisol during SWS is not mimicked by systemic GHRH administration, and (2) CRH
      enhances sigma EEG activity possibly via modulation of afferent pathways from the
      median eminence to the thalamus and this effect is reduced by pre-treatment with
      GHRH.

PMID- 9986922
TI  - The role of the retrochiasmatic area in the control of pineal metabolism.
AB  - The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of neurotoxic
      ibotenic acid lesion of the retrochiasmatic area on the daily profile of pineal N
      acetylserotonin and melatonin synthesis and on the pineal metabolic reactivity to
      nocturnal short-term retinal photostimulation. Groups of rats were killed 6 h
      after lights off either in the dark of immediately after being photostimulated
      for 1 or 15 min. Additionally, groups of rats were sacrificed at six different
      time points throughout the 24-hour light-dark cycle. The results suggested the
      presence of two functionally distinct territories in the retrochiasmatic area.
      The basal retrochiasmatic area, an area situated immediately ventral to the third
      ventricle, behind the suprachiasmatic nuclei and in front of the arcuate nucleus,
      is implicated in the nocturnal inhibitory process induced by short-term retinal
      photostimulation. The lateral retrochiasmatic area, which is situated immediately
      lateral to the anterior periventricular nucleus, below the anterior hypothalamic
      nucleus and in front of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, is importantly
      involved in the control of the peak amplitude of the daily production of N
      acetylserotonin and melatonin by the pineal gland.

PMID- 9986923
TI  - Melatonin modulation of the daily prolactin secretion in intact and
      ovariectomized ewes. Relation to a phase of the estrous cycle and to the presence
      of estradiol.
AB  - The aim of this study was to investigate whether melatonin might modulate the
      daily prolactin secretion in the ewe during a period of ovarian activity and, if
      so, whether this modulatory action of melatonin was related to the presence of
      estradiol in the organism. Ewes in the late follicular and luteal phase, as well
      as overiectomized ewes without (OVX) and after 7 days of estradiol injections
      (OVX+E2) were examined. Melatonin was infused into the third brain ventricle (100
      microgram/100 microliter/h) from 14.00 to 18.00 h. The concentration of prolactin
      increased significantly during the infusion of melatonin in late follicular-phase
      ewes, but not in luteal-phase ewes, as compared to the concentration before the
      infusion: range from 204.0 +/- 31.7 to 272.2 +/- 50.1 ng/ml vs. range from 68.2
      +/- 31.8 to 94.7 +/- 33.1 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM, n = 4, p < 0.01) and to the
      concentration noted during control infusions: range from 130.0 +/- 58.0 to 179.3
      +/- 55.6 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM, n = 4, p < 0.05). In ovariectomized ewes, the
      concentration of prolactin during infusion of melatonin increased significantly,
      unrelated to the presence of estradiol, as compared to the concentration before
      infusion: range from 136.7 +/- 20.3 to 260.0 +/- 11.6 ng/ml vs. range from 41.6
      +/- 2.6 to 152.3 +/- 14.6 ng/ml in OVX ewes (mean +/- SEM, n = 4, p < 0.01) and
      range from 161.5 +/- 66.5 to 250.2 +/- 24.3 ng/ml vs. range from 61.2 +/- 1.7 to
      159.2 +/- 43.3 ng/ml in OVX+E2 ewes (mean +/- SEM, n = 4, p < 0.01).
      Concentrations during infusion of melatonin in OVX and OVX+E2 ewes were also
      significantly higher than during the control infusions: range from 7.2 +/- 1.7 to
      22.2 +/- 4.1 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM, n = 4, p < 0.001). These results indicate that
      melatonin may affect the daily secretion of prolactin in ewes during the breeding
      season, and suggest that the variable response of prolactin to the melatonin
      signal in intact and ovariectomized ewes relates to the interaction between both
      ovarian steroids - estradiol and progesterone - and the prolactin-releasing
      factor.

PMID- 9986924
TI  - Binding of the non-peptide vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist SR-49059 in the
      rat brain: an in vitro and in vivo autoradiographic study.
AB  - A potent non-peptide vasopressin (AVP) antagonist, SR-49059, displaying high
      stability and selective affinity for the V1a AVP receptor subtype, has recently
      been described. The objective of this study was to assess the binding properties
      and the penetrability of this compound in the rat brain. Both in vitro and in
      vivo binding autoradiography experiments were performed. In all studies, the
      liver was used as a reference V1a tissue. In vitro labelling of rat brain
      sections with [3H]SR-49059 was similar to that previously detected with [3H]AVP,
      which confirms that the majority of central AVP binding sites are V1a sites
      similar to peripheral V1a receptors. As expected, intense specific labelling
      occurred mainly in the lateral septum, the fundus striatum, the hypothalamic
      stigmoid nucleus and the area postrema-nucleus of the solitary tract complex. In
      vivo binding autoradiography showed that [3H]SR-49059 injected intravenously did
      not enter the brain parenchyma. Specific labelling was however clearly detectable
      in brain regions with permeable hematoencephalic barrier, the choroid plexus and
      other circumventricular organs expressing V1a receptors, namely the subfornical
      organ, the pineal gland and the area postrema. The specificity of [3H]SR-49059
      binding in the latter structures was confirmed by the fact that labelling was
      prevented by pretreatment of animals with high doses of nonradioactive SR-49059.
      In conclusion, our study shows that [3H]SR-49059 is a suitable probe to
      investigate V1a receptors in the rat brain. We also demonstrate that although
      this compound is not able to enter the brain tissue from the peripheral
      circulation, it does bind specifically to regions devoid of blood-brain barrier
      and known to be involved in autonomic regulations.

PMID- 9986925
TI  - Effect of serotonin inhibition on glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid expression
      in various brain structures.
AB  - Many studies have shown the existence of functional interactions between central
      neurotransmitter systems and the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis.
      Mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) are regulated
      by multiple factors including glucocorticoids themselves. Neurotransmitters such
      as serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT) can regulate brain corticosteroid
      receptors in a complex way. The present study examined the short-term (48 h)
      effects of parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA), a drug which specifically inhibits 5
      HT synthesis, on corticosteroid receptor levels and on the expression of their
      respective messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNA) in the rat hippocampus,
      hypothalamus and brain stem. The study was performed in bilaterally
      adrenalectomized animals, in order to avoid potential drug-induced changes in
      plasma corticosterone levels, which could secondarily regulate MR and GR. Short
      term inhibition of 5-HT synthesis by PCPA significantly increased the number of
      hippocampal MR-binding sites. PCPA treatment did not alter the number of GR
      binding sites in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and brain stem. We observed no
      change in the affinities of GR and MR sites in all the structures studied. In
      PCPA-treated rats, restoration of control 5-HT levels by injection of its
      immediate precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) brings the number of hippocampal
      MR-binding sites back to control levels. It can therefore be concluded that the
      increase in number of MR-binding sites induced by acute PCPA treatment is
      dependent on the decrease in 5-HT levels. The increase in hippocampal MR binding
      sites was correlated with an induction of their messengers, suggesting that 5-HT
      modulates the synthesis of MR protein. Although PCPA did not modify the number of
      hippocampal GR-binding sites, a decrease in hippocampal GR mRNA expression was
      observed. This study shows that 5-HT inhibits hippocampal mineralocorticoid
      receptor synthesis and that this effect is not mediated by changes in
      corticosterone hormone secretion, and illustrates the existence of complex
      mechanisms for corticosteroid receptor regulation in the hippocampus.

PMID- 9986926
TI  - Estrogens normalize the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress
      and increase glucocorticoid receptor immuno-reactivity in hippocampus of aging
      male rats.
AB  - Aging is associated with a disturbance in the regulation of the hypothalamic
      pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and reduced levels of glucocorticoid receptors (GR)
      in the hippocampus. To compensate for these effects, we have investigated whether
      estrogen therapy normalized the HPA response to stress and GR in hippocampus and
      paraventricular (PVN) nucleus. Young (3-4 months) and old (20 months) male
      Sprague-Dawley rats were bled by tail cut in the basal state and following ether
      stress. While basal and ether-stimulated levels of plasma corticosterone (CORT)
      were similar in the two groups, old animals presented a delayed termination of
      the response to ether stress. A dexamethasone inhibition test carried out in old
      animals, showed a failure to completely block plasma CORT after ether
      stimulation. Furthermore, in old rats GR-immunoreactive levels were reduced in
      CA1-CA2 hippocampal subfields and subiculum, while normal levels were obtained in
      CA3-CA4 and PVN. We observed that prolonged estrogen treatment (6 weeks) of old
      rats normalized the termination of the stress response, restored dexamethasone
      inhibition of plasma CORT, and increased GR immunoreactivity in CA1 and CA2
      hippocampal subfields and subiculum. The results suggest that estrogen treatment
      enhanced the glucocorticoid feedback signal by increasing GR in hippocampus, and
      corrected the disturbances in HPA axis regulation. These animal experiments may
      be important to elucidate the effects of estrogenic on the hippocampal and HPA
      dysfunction associated with aging and Alzheimer's disease in humans.

PMID- 9986928
TI  - Erratum: Transport near the metal-insulator transition: Polypyrrole doped with
      PF6

PMID- 9986927
TI  - In vivo characterization of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in rat
      hippocampus using glucocorticoid neuroendangerment as an endpoint.
AB  - 11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD) is the enzyme responsible for
      the interconversion of corticosterone (CORT) to 11-dehydrocorticosterone (11
      DHC). CORT is an adrenal hormone secreted during the stress response and it has
      widespread effects in many different target tissues. In addition, CORT can
      exacerbate damage caused by neurological insults, such as kainic acid-induced
      seizures. In addition to its protective role in the kidney, 11beta-HSD is also
      thought to play a role in steroid regulation in the brain. However, it is not
      known whether the enzyme is acting in vivo as a reductase or a dehydrogenase. If
      the enzyme is working as a reductase, converting 11-DHC to CORT, it has the
      potential to exacerbate neurotoxicity due to other agents. On the other hand,
      11beta-HSD could be neuroprotective if the enzyme is acting as a dehydrogenase,
      deactivating CORT by converting it into 11-DHC. To characterize the enzyme in
      vivo, we have utilized glucocorticoid neuroendangerment in the hippocampus as an
      indirect assay of 11beta-HSD function. We have shown that 11-DHC can exacerbate
      kainic acid toxicity in adrenalectomized (ADX) rats and this exacerbation is
      blocked by the 11beta-HSD antagonist, carbenoxolone; these findings suggest that
      11beta-HSD is working as a reductase in ADX rats. The presumptive reductase
      activity found in ADX rats was derived from both hippocampal and peripheral forms
      of the enzyme. In the presence of physiological levels of glucocorticoids,
      reductase activity was decreased and no dehydrogenase activity was detected. The
      present study demonstrates that 11beta-HSD reductase activity, both in vivo and
      in vitro, occurs only in the presence of low levels of circulating
      glucocorticoids.

PMID- 9986929
TI  - Erratum: Electronic-band parameters in strained Si1-xGex alloys on Si1-yGey
      substrates

PMID- 9986930
TI  - Erratum: Studies of ac hopping conduction at low temperatures

PMID- 9986931
TI  - Erratum: Effects of band nonparabolicity and central-cell corrections on the
      spectrum of Si donors in GaAs quantum wells

PMID- 9986932
TI  - Erratum: Prediction of giant chi (3) values from a calculation of excitonic
      nonlinear optical properties in rectangular GaAs quantum-well wires

PMID- 9986933
TI  - Erratum: First-principles molecular-dynamics simulation of liquid Li12Si7

PMID- 9986935
TI  - Erratum: Core-cancellation functions for evaluating exchange-correlation
      functions in first-principles pseudopotential calculations

PMID- 9986934
TI  - Erratum: Stretched-exponential decay of the luminescence in porous silicon

PMID- 9986936
TI  - Erratum: Spherical voids in the stabilized jellium model: Rigorous theorems and
      Pade representation of the void-formation energy

PMID- 9986938
TI  - Erratum: In situ infrared transmission study of Rb- and K-doped fullerenes

PMID- 9986937
TI  - Erratum: Relativistic band gaps in one-dimensional disordered systems

PMID- 9986939
TI  - Erratum: Itinerant-electron-type helical-spin-glass reentrant transition in
      Cr0.81Mn0.19Ge

PMID- 9986940
TI  - Erratum: Single-band Hubbard model for superconductivity and charge-density-wave
      order in the bismuth oxide superconductors

PMID- 9986941
TI  - Erratum: Electron band structure in a two-dimensional periodic magnetic field

PMID- 9986942
TI  - Erratum: g tensor for substitutional nitrogen in diamond

PMID- 9986943
TI  - Erratum: Effect of competition between point and columnar disorder on the
      behavior of flux lines in (1+1) dimensions

PMID- 9986944
TI  - Erratum: Initial-vortex-entry-related magnetic hysteresis in thin-film SQUID
      magnetometers

PMID- 9986946
TI  - Erratum: Pressure-induced kinetics of ferroelectric phase transitions

PMID- 9986945
TI  - Erratum: Exact exchange-potential band-structure calculations by the LMTO-ASA
      method: MgO and CaO

PMID- 9986947
TI  - Erratum: Field-induced transfer of an atom between two closely spaced electrodes

PMID- 9986948
TI  - Erratum: Auger intra-atomic transitions in grazing atom-surface collisions

PMID- 9986949
TI  - Erratum: Valence-electron distribution of cesium crown-ether electrides

PMID- 9986950
TI  - Erratum: Inelastic-phonon-scattering effect on the behavior of the thermoelectric
      power of metals

PMID- 9986951
TI  - Erratum: Simple model for multistability and domain formation in semiconductor
      superlattices

PMID- 9986952
TI  - Erratum: Quantum-dot ground states in a magnetic field studied by single-electron
      tunneling spectroscopy on double-barrier heterostructures

PMID- 9986954
TI  - Erratum: Resistivity as a function of temperature for models with hot spots on
      the Fermi surface

PMID- 9986953
TI  - Erratum: Cluster study of the neutron-scattering form factor for
      antiferromagnetic KNiF3 and NiO

PMID- 9986955
TI  - Erratum: Ion-surface interactions in the electron-stimulated desorption of Cl+
      from Cl2/Si(111)-7 x 7

PMID- 9986956
TI  - Erratum: Localization, antilocalization, and delocalization in one-dimensional
      disordered lattices

PMID- 9986958
TI  - Erratum: Sign reversal of the Hall effect in untwinned single-crystal
      superconducting YBa2Cu3O7- delta

PMID- 9986957
TI  - Erratum: Supercooled liquid dynamics for the charged hard-sphere model

PMID- 9986959
TI  - Erratum: Optical and ESR study of Er3+ in LiNbO3

PMID- 9986961
TI  - Erratum: Quantum interference in liquid metals

PMID- 9986960
TI  - Erratum: Kondo crossover in the self-consistent one-loop approximation

PMID- 9986962
TI  - Erratum: Simple trial function for shallow donor D0 states in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs
      quantum-well structures

PMID- 9986964
TI  - Erratum: Magnetotransport properties of La0.6Pb0.4MnO3- delta and
      Nd0.6(Sr0.7Pb0.3)0.4MnO3- delta single crystals

PMID- 9986963
TI  - Erratum: Dynamical properties and related optical spectra of fullerenes: The bond
      charge-model description

PMID- 9986965
TI  - Erratum: Magnetic penetration depth and condensate density of cuprate high-Tc
      superconductors determined by muon-spin-rotation experiments

PMID- 9986966
TI  - Erratum: Interaction of coupled plasmon-phonon modes with a point charge in a
      polar semiconductor

PMID- 9986967
TI  - Erratum: Magnetoplasma excitations in quantum-well wires

PMID- 9986968
TI  - Erratum: Inner-shell promotions in low-energy Li+-Al collisions at clean and
      alkali-covered Al(100) surfaces

PMID- 9986969
TI  - Erratum: Rigorous upper bound for the persistent current in systems with toroidal
      geometry

PMID- 9986970
TI  - Erratum: Bound on the group velocity of an electron in a one-dimensional periodic
      potential

PMID- 9986972
TI  - Erratum: Finite-temperature resonant magnetotunneling in AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs-AlyGa1
      yAs heterostructures

PMID- 9986971
TI  - Erratum: Logarithmic temperature dependence of conductivity at half-integer
      filling factors: Evidence for interaction between composite fermions

PMID- 9986973
TI  - Erratum: Enhanced optical properties in porous silicon microcavities

PMID- 9986974
TI  - Erratum: Superstructures and defect structures revealed by atomic-scale STM
      imaging of WO3(001)

PMID- 9986975
TI  - Erratum: Theory of charge transfer at the high-Tc superconductor/electrolyte
      interface

PMID- 9986976
TI  - Erratum: Coarsening and slope evolution during unstable epitaxial growth

PMID- 9986977
TI  - Erratum: Evidence of redistribution of the itinerant holes below Tc in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 superconductors: A polarized x-ray-absorption study

PMID- 9986979
TI  - Erratum: Superconducting phase of a two-chain Hubbard model

PMID- 9986978
TI  - Erratum: Growth and morphology of ultrathin Fe films on Cu(001)

PMID- 9986980
TI  - Erratum: Lattice dynamics of skutterudites: First-principles and model
      calculations for CoSb3

PMID- 9986981
TI  - Erratum: Transport properties of Pb-doped Bi4Sr3Ca3Cu4Ox semiconducting glasses
      and glass-ceramic superconductors

PMID- 9986982
TI  - Erratum: Probing oscillatory exchange coupling with a paramagnet

PMID- 9986983
TI  - Erratum: Large and irregular shift of photoluminescence excitation spectra
      observed in photochemically etched porous silicon

PMID- 9986984
TI  - Erratum: Anharmonic contribution to the Debye-Waller factor for copper, silver,
      and lead

PMID- 9986985
TI  - Erratum: Phi 0/2 vortices in a defect-containing Josephson-junction array

PMID- 9986986
TI  - Erratum: Aligned carbon-hydrogen complexes in GaAs formed by the decomposition of
      trimethylgallium during low-pressure metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

PMID- 9986987
TI  - Erratum: Analysis of the x-ray diffuse scattering in C60 from microscopic models

PMID- 9986988
TI  - Erratum: Effective masses in In1-xGaxAs superlattices derived from Franz-Keldysh
      oscillations

PMID- 9986989
TI  - Erratum: Excitation spectrum of the attractive Hubbard model

PMID- 9986990
TI  - Erratum: Magnetostrictive bending of a film-substrate system

PMID- 9986991
TI  - Erratum: Grain-boundary dissociation by the emission of stacking faults

PMID- 9986992
TI  - Environmental skin diseases and the impact of common dermatoses on medical
      readiness.
AB  - The environmental extremes in which soldiers exercise and fight, like the
      environmental extremes in which many civilians encounter occupationally and
      recreationally, can prove to be a significant cause for morbidity and decreased
      effectiveness. A variety of skin diseases are related to occupational exposure to
      dusts and ultraviolet radiation as a well known cause of cutaneous damage. As
      more is understood about the biochemical factors involved in frostbite injury,
      treatment recommendations have changed. Too much water, hot or cold, is a
      continued source of cutaneous misery to the soldier in the field. Finally, even
      common minor skin ailments can incapacitate the sufferer when confronted with
      unfavorable environments.

PMID- 9986993
TI  - Evaluation and management of nonmelanoma skin cancer. The military perspective.
AB  - As the incidence of melanoma skin cancer continues to increase in this country,
      so does the need for early detection and treatment of these tumors. This article
      discusses a military skin cancer screening clinic that encourages patient
      participation and the criteria and statistics regarding the different treatment
      modalities we employ to treat these skin cancers.

PMID- 9986994
TI  - Exotic virus infections of military significance. Hemorrhagic fever viruses and
      pox virus infections.
AB  - Military personnel are frequently deployed to distant locations around the world
      under conditions of great stress, which involve potential exposure to hazardous
      viruses that are not commonly seen in the developed world. This article will
      provide an overview of two clinical presentations of viral infections of
      potential military significance: hemorrhagic fever and poxvirus infections. The
      three viral hemorrhagic fever viruses described--dengue, hemorrhagic fever with
      renal syndrome, and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever--represent the diversity of
      potential hemorrhagic fever viruses that military forces may be exposed. Human
      poxvirus infections are currently uncommon but knowledge of these agents, will
      again become important should a terrorist threat of the use of smallpox become
      real and widespread use of vaccinia be considered to protect the military force.

PMID- 9986995
TI  - The prevention and treatment of cutaneous injury secondary to chemical warfare
      agents. Application of these finding to other dermatologic conditions and wound
      healing.
AB  - Chemical warfare agents are easily and inexpensively produced and are therefore
      potentially accessible to even underdeveloped nations and are a threat to
      civilian populations as well as advancing troops. Sulfur mustard is by far the
      most significant chemical warfare agent that produces cutaneous injury.
      Significant advances over the past few years have been made in understanding the
      pathophysiology of the lesions produced by sulfur mustard, as well as development
      of barrier creams and pre and post exposure therapies to moderate the damage and
      accelerate healing. Not only have these advances improved our understanding of
      the sulfur mustard injury and the care of the patients, these are potentially
      numerous applications for these findings in other dermatologic conditions
      including the treatment of chronic wounds.

PMID- 9986996
TI  - Dermatologists and the burn center.
AB  - Severe cutaneous disease and injury often is best treated in the specialized
      treatment environment of a burn center. Skilled burn treatment personnel combine
      critical care expertise with extensive clinical experience in the management of
      severe cutaneous injury and disease. In addition to thermal injury, the burn
      center is the ideal environment for patients with progressive toxic epidermal
      necrolysis, pemphigoid lesions, and invasive cutaneous infection. Recent research
      indicates that the burn wound is a dynamic structure whose ultimate extent is
      modifiable by manipulations of the local anatomic and molecular environment. The
      many unanswered questions on the pathogenesis and treatment of both the "medical"
      and "surgical" cutaneous processes require close collaboration between the
      dermatologist and the burn team.

PMID- 9986997
TI  - The United States military and leishmaniasis.
AB  - Leishmaniasis occurs not only in American travelers and military personnel alike
      but infects a significant portion of the world's population. The US military has
      made major contributions to the understanding of the complicated epidemiology of
      this parasite, the development of rapid reliable diagnostic tests, and to the
      development of safe, more efficient, and more effective treatment of
      leishmaniasis.

PMID- 9986998
TI  - Recognition and management of high-risk cutaneous tumors.
AB  - The majority of cutaneous malignancies can be treated by the military
      dermatologist in a clinical setting. Recognition of tumors at high risk for
      recurrence or metastasis is important for any dermatologist but especially list
      care. Providing optimal care includes knowledge about which patients should be
      medavacced to larger medical centers for advanced surgical and medical
      treatments.

PMID- 9986999
TI  - The history of teledermatology in the Department of Defense.
AB  - The Department of Defense (DoD) healthcare system supports the medical needs of
      service members while engaged in a variety of missions frequently in isolated,
      remote, and austere locations. As a result, the DoD has been a leader in the
      development of telemedicine, including teledermatology as a way to provide "good
      medicine in bad places." A brief technical history of teledermatology,
      representative DoD experiences including military unique concerns, and a novel
      approach to increase the access of DoD teledermatology consultation are presented
      in this article.

PMID- 9987000
TI  - Advanced laboratory techniques at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
      applicable to diagnosis and research in dermatology.
AB  - The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) is well known for providing expert
      pathology in many specialties and educational courses for civilian and military
      personnel. Some of the departments at the AFIP have also developed expertise in
      various advanced laboratory techniques for diagnosis and research that are
      applicable to dermatology and are not available at most medical centers.

PMID- 9987001
TI  - Lasers in the military for cutaneous disease and wound healing.
AB  - The clinical laser experience of military dermatologists mirrors that of their
      civilian counterparts; however, there are applications for lasers in dermatology
      in which there is special military relevance. These range from treatment of
      common diseases such as pseudofolliculitis barbae to noninvasive identification
      of shrapnel injuries on the battlefield using novel laser-based diagnostic
      techniques. Although some applications in this report are experimental, emerging
      technologies should allow for their clinical or field implementation in the near
      future.

PMID- 9987002
TI  - Unusual cutaneous infectious and parasitic diseases.
AB  - The cutaneous manifestations of thirteen unusual infections and parasitic
      diseases are described. Their geographic distribution, morphologic features of
      the causative organism, histopathologic changes, criteria for diagnosis, and
      treatment are included.

PMID- 9987003
TI  - The dermatologist's Baedeker. Preparation for medical assistance missions.
AB  - Dermatologists often participate in medical assistance missions in developing
      nations, achieving both humanitarian and personal objectives. This term outreach
      mission abroad and will serve as a guide for preparing oneself, personally and
      professionally, for the practical and philosophical aspects of humanitarian
      assistance. It will help one participate in such an endeavor in a safe,
      comfortable, healthy, productive, and enjoyable manner.

PMID- 9987004
TI  - The dermatologist in military operations.
AB  - The military dermatologist has a specific and significant role in military
      operations--in time of war as well as in peace. Many dermatologists are
      unfamiliar with the impact that our specialty and cutaneous disease has upon the
      ability of the military to fulfill the missions, duties, and responsibilities
      assigned by our government. This article highlights a few of the recent or
      ongoing types of military operations in which our specialty plays a prominent
      part.

PMID- 9987005
TI  - Treatment of diaper dermatitis.
AB  - Diaper rash therapy can be as simple as A, B, C, D, and E if you are able to
      identify generic diaper rash and exclude other causes. Components of diaper rash
      treatment include airing, barrier and other tropical product application,
      cleansing of the diaper area, diaper selection, and education of caregivers.
      Diaper rash therapy can be letter-perfect.

PMID- 9987006
TI  - Differential effects of adenosine receptor subtypes on release and reuptake of
      hippocampal serotonin.
AB  - To clarify the effects of adenosine receptor subtypes (A1, A2 and A3) on
      hippocampal serotonin (5-HT) release and 5-HT reuptake activity, hippocampal
      extracellular 5-HT levels were determined in vivo by microdialysis in freely
      moving rats. Selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine and DU24565
      increased extracellular 5-HT levels. Adenosine and A1 receptor agonist, 2-chloro
      N6-cyclopentyl-adenosine (CCPA), decreased extracellular 5-HT levels, whereas non
      selective antagonist, caffeine, and A1 antagonist, 8-cyclopentyl-1,3
      dimethylxanthine (CPT) increased them. When 5-HT reuptake activity was inhibited
      by DU24565 and fluoxetine, the effects of CPT and CCPA on 5-HT level were
      enhanced. A2A receptor agonist, CGS21680, A2 receptor agonist, PD125944, A2
      receptor antagonist, 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine (DMPX), and A3 receptor
      agonist, N6-2-(4-aminophenyl)ethyladenosine (APNEA) did not affect 5-HT levels;
      however, when A1 receptor was blocked by CPT, 5-HT levels were increased by
      adenosine, CGS21680 and PD125944, and decreased by DMPX and APNEA. Under
      conditions of A1 receptor blockade, pretreatment with DU24565 or fluoxetine,
      enhanced the stimulatory effects of CGS21680 and PD125944 as well as inhibitory
      effects of DMPX on 5-HT level, whereas the inhibitory effect of APNEA was
      abolished. These results indicate that the stimulatory effects of A2 receptor and
      inhibitory effects of A3 receptor on hippocampal extracellular 5-HT levels are
      masked or abolished by the inhibitory effects of A1 receptor. In addition,
      hippocampal serotonergic transmission might be modulated by hippocampal
      presynaptic adenosine receptor subtypes, and hippocampal 5-HT reuptake activity
      might be modulated by hippocampal A3 receptor.

PMID- 9987007
TI  - Prolonged expression of zinc finger immediate-early gene mRNAs and decreased
      protein synthesis following kainic acid induced seizures.
AB  - In the present study in situ hybridization was used to study the effect of kainic
      acid induced seizures on the expression of the zinc finger immediate-early genes
      (IEGs) NGFI-A, NGFI-B, NGFI-C, egr-2; egr-3 and Nurr1. Kainic acid markedly
      induced these IEGs especially in hippocampus, cortex and amygdala by 30 min. This
      induction gradually decreased and returned to baseline by 24 h in most regions.
      However, in the CA1 and CA3 subfields of hippocampus known to be damaged by
      kainic acid the expression of all the IEGs except egr-2 remained elevated for 24
      h. NGFI-A, NGFI-B, NGFI-C and to a lesser extent, Nurr1, remained elevated also
      in the subcortical region of the temporal lobe. By 24 h incorporation of 14C
      leucine decreased in the piriform cortex, amygdala, and in the CA1 and CA3
      subfields, but not in CA2 and dentate gyrus. These areas showing decreased
      protein synthesis in the hippocampus by 24 h showed prolonged IEG induction,
      whereas IEG expression returned to control levels in areas showing normal protein
      synthesis. In the temporal lobe decreased protein synthesis coexisted with
      decreased IEG expression, whereas areas in the vicinity of the region showing
      decreased protein synthesis demonstrated elevated IEG expression. The decreased
      protein synthesis was localized in areas where extensive neuronal death has
      occurred. This prolonged IEG induction in the hippocampus, which has been linked
      with neuronal death, could solely represent a prolonged mRNA turnover caused by
      disrupted protein synthesis. The prolonged IEG expression in the temporal lobe
      appeared to be localized in regions where the cells are in stress, but still
      viable. The sustained IEG expression might therefore either represent a stress
      response by which the neurons are trying to protect themselves or, alternatively,
      the IEG response may be an early sign indicating that these cells are initiating
      a pathway leading to programmed cell death.

PMID- 9987008
TI  - Nicotinic receptors in the rat prefrontal cortex: increase in glutamate release
      and facilitation of mediodorsal thalamo-cortical transmission.
AB  - The modulatory influence of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChRs) on
      thalamocortical transmission was characterized in the prelimbic area (PrL) of the
      rat prefrontal cortex. In the first experiment, rats received a unilateral
      excitotoxic lesion centred on the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD), and were
      sacrificed 1 week later. The lesion resulted in a 40% reduction of 3H-nicotine
      autoradiographic labelling in the ipsilateral prefrontal cortex, particularly in
      areas that are innervated by the MD. Electrophysiological experiments were
      subsequently performed in non-lesioned anaesthetized animals, in order to study
      modulation of short- and long-latency responses of PrL neurons evoked by
      electrical stimulation of the MD. The short-latency responses result from
      activation of the MD-PrL pathway and are mediated via AMPA-type glutamatergic
      receptors, whereas the long-latency responses reflect activation of the recurrent
      collaterals of cortical pyramidal neurons, Iontophoretic application of nicotinic
      agonists (nicotine, DMPP) facilitated both types of response. Local application
      of the nAChR antagonists dihydro-beta-erythroidine, mecamylamine and
      methyllycaconitine, prevented both kinds of facilitation. Finally, intracerebral
      microdialysis experiments were performed in order to test for nicotinic
      modulation of extracellular glutamate concentrations in the PrL. Direct
      application of nicotine via the dialysis probe increased glutamate levels in a
      dose-dependent manner. This effect was blocked by local perfusion of dihydro-beta
      erythroidine. These findings therefore provide anatomical and functional evidence
      for nAChR-mediated modulation of thalamocortical input to the prefrontal cortex.
      Such a mechanism may be relevant to the cognitive effects of nicotine and
      nicotinic antagonists.

PMID- 9987009
TI  - Stimulus-function, wind-up and modulation by diffuse noxious inhibitory controls
      of responses of convergent neurons of the spinal trigeminal nucleus oralis.
AB  - Extracellular unitary recordings were made from 53 spinal trigeminal nucleus
      oralis (Sp5O) convergent neurons in halothane-anaesthetized rats. The neurons had
      an ipsilateral receptive field including mainly oral or perioral regions. They
      responded to percutaneous electrical stimulation with two peaks of activation.
      The first had a short latency (4.3 +/- 0.3 ms) and low threshold (0.35 +/- 0.04
      mA), whereas the second had a longer latency (68.1 +/- 3.4 ms) and higher
      threshold (7.3 +/- 0.5 mA). Intracutaneous injection of capsaicin (0.1%) produced
      a strong and rapid reduction of the long-latency responses of Sp5O convergent
      neurons with little effect on the short-latency responses. In most cases (73%),
      the long-latency responses exhibited a wind-up phenomenon during repetitive (0.66
      Hz) suprathreshold electrical stimulation. These results suggest that C-fibres
      mediate the long-latency response of Sp5O convergent neurons. Regarding the C
      fibre-evoked responses, a linear relationship between the intensity of the
      applied current and the magnitude of the response was found within the one to
      three times threshold range. The Sp5O convergent neurons also encoded the
      intensity of mechanical stimuli applied to the skin or mucosa in the 5-50 g
      ranges. The evoked activity of Sp5O convergent neurons could be suppressed by
      noxious heat applied to the tail (52 degrees C) and long-lasting poststimulus
      effects followed this. These findings show that convergent neurons in the Sp5O
      resemble those in the deep laminae of the spinal dorsal horn and spinal
      trigeminal nucleus caudalis, and further support that the Sp5O plays a part in
      the processing of nociceptive information from the orofacial region.

PMID- 9987010
TI  - GABAC receptor rho subunits are heterogeneously expressed in the human CNS and
      form homo- and heterooligomers with distinct physical properties.
AB  - In the central nervous system, receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are
      responsible for inhibitory neurotransmission. Anatomical and electrophysiological
      studies indicate that GABAC receptors are composed of rho subunits. While the rho
      1 subunit of various species forms homooligomeric receptors with GABAC-like
      properties, molecular cloning has identified additional rho subunits whose
      functional role is unclear. By RT-PCR, we demonstrated that rho 1 expression is
      primarily restricted to the retina, whereas the rho 2 subunit was present in all
      brain regions tested. Transfection of HEK-293 cells with rho 2 cDNA resulted in
      GABA-gated whole-cell currents that differed from those mediated by the rho 1
      subunit in two respects: maximal amplitude (rho 1:rho 2 approximately 4:1) and
      inactivation time course (rho 1:rho 2 approximately 2:1). Cotransfection of rho 1
      and rho 2 cDNA in a 1:1 ratio generated whole-cell currents with large amplitudes
      characteristic of rho 1 but more rapid inactivation typical for rho 2. This
      observation suggested formation of heterooligomeric GABAC receptors with distinct
      features. Therefore, we tested the assembly of rho 1 and rho 2 subunits by
      cotransfecting rho 2 cDNA together with a chimeric rho 1 beta 1 subunit, known to
      interfere with rho 1 assembly in a dominant-negative fashion. Reduction of rho 2
      generated currents correlated with the ratio of chimeric to rho 2 cDNA. Secondly,
      we determined that the picrotoxinin sensitivity of cells transfected with various
      ratios of rho 1 and rho 2 cDNA differed from that expected of a pure mixture of
      homooligomeric receptors. The latter two observations support the idea that rho 1
      and rho 2 subunits form heterooligomeric GABAC receptors in mammalian cells.
      Together, our results indicate that the presence of both rho subunits enables the
      formation of heterooligomeric receptors with physical properties distinct from
      homooligomers, thus increasing the diversity of GABAC receptors in the CNS.

PMID- 9987011
TI  - Glutamate receptor phenotypes in the auditory brainstem and mid-brain of the
      developing rat.
AB  - Glutamate receptors mediate most excitatory synaptic transmission in the adult
      vertebrate brain, but their activation in developing neurons also influences
      developmental processes. However, little is known about the developmental
      regulation of the subunits composing these receptors. Here we have studied age
      dependent changes in the expression of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole
      (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits in the cochlear nucleus
      complex (CN), the superior olivary complex (SOC), the nuclei of the lateral
      lemniscus, and the inferior colliculus of the developing rat. In the lateral
      superior olive, the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, and the ventral nucleus
      of the lateral lemniscus, the distribution of AMPA receptor subunits changed
      drastically with age. While GluR1 and GluR2 subunits were highly expressed in the
      first 2 postnatal weeks, GluR4 staining was detectable only thereafter. GluR1 and
      GluR2 immunoreactivities rapidly decreased during the third postnatal week, with
      the GluR1 subunits disappearing from most neurons. In contrast, the adult pattern
      of the distribution of AMPA receptor subunits emerged gradually in most of the
      other auditory nuclei. Thus, progressive as well as regressive events
      characterized AMPA receptor development in some nuclei, while a monotonically
      maturation was seen in other regions. In contrast, the staining patterns of NMDA
      receptor subunits remained stable or only decreased during the same period.
      Although our data are not consistent with a generalized pattern of AMPA receptor
      development, the abundance of GluR1 subunits is a distinctive feature of early
      AMPA receptors. As similar AMPA receptors are present during plasticity periods
      throughout the brain, neurons undergoing synaptic and structural remodelling
      might have a particular need for these receptors.

PMID- 9987012
TI  - Enhanced synaptic transmission and reduced threshold for LTP induction in fyn
      transgenic mice.
AB  - To elucidate the physiological role of Fyn, we analysed the properties of
      synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices of mice
      overexpressing either wild-type Fyn (w-Fyn) or its constitutively active mutant
      (m-Fyn). These fyn-transgenes were driven by the calcium/calmodulin-dependent
      protein kinase II alpha promoter which turned on in the forebrain neurons
      including hippocampal pyramidal cells and in late neural development. In the
      hippocampal slices expressing m-Fyn the paired-pulse facilitation was reduced and
      the basal synaptic transmission was enhanced. A weak theta-burst stimulation,
      which was subthreshold for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in
      control slices, elicited LTP in CA1 region of the slices expressing m-Fyn. When a
      relatively strong stimulation was applied, the magnitude of LTP in m-Fyn slices
      was similar to that in control slices. By contrast, the basal synaptic
      transmission and the threshold for the induction of LTP were not altered in the
      slices overexpressing wild-type Fyn. To examine the effect of expression of m-Fyn
      on GABAergic inhibitory system, we applied bicuculline, a GABAA receptor blocker,
      to the hippocampal slices. The ability of bicuculline to enhance excitatory
      postsynaptic potentials was attenuated in slices expressing m-Fyn, suggesting
      that the overexpression of m-Fyn reduced the GABAergic inhibition. The
      enhancement of synaptic transmission and the reduction of GABAergic inhibition
      may contribute to the enhanced seizure susceptibility in the mice expressing m
      Fyn. Thus, these results suggest that regulation of Fyn tyrosine kinase activity
      is important for both synaptic transmission and plasticity.

PMID- 9987013
TI  - Protective effects of idebenone and alpha-tocopherol on beta-amyloid-(1-42)
      induced learning and memory deficits in rats: implication of oxidative stress in
      beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in vivo.
AB  - Amyloid beta-peptide (A beta), the major constituent of the senile plaques in the
      brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, is cytotoxic to neurons and has a
      central role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Previous studies have suggested
      that oxidative stress is involved in the mechanisms of A beta-induced
      neurotoxicity in vitro. In the present study, we examined whether oxidative
      stress contributes to learning and memory deficits caused by continuous
      intracerebroventricular infusion of A beta-(1-42). In the A beta-(1-42)-infused
      rats, spontaneous alternation behaviour in a Y-maze and spatial memory in a water
      maze task were significantly impaired, as compared with A beta-(40-1)-infused
      control rats. The retention of passive avoidance learning was also significantly
      impaired by treatment with A beta-(1-42). Potent antioxidants idebenone and alpha
      tocopherol prevented the behavioural deficits in Y-maze and water maze, but not
      passive avoidance, tasks in A beta-(1-42)-infused rats when they were repeatedly
      administered by mouth once a day from 3 days before the start of A beta infusion
      to the end of behavioural experiments. Lipid peroxide levels in the hippocampus
      and cerebral cortex of A beta-(1-42)-infused rats did not differ from those in
      control animals, and neither idebenone nor alpha-tocopherol affected the lipid
      peroxide levels. These results suggest that treatment with antioxidants such as
      idebenone and alpha-tocopherol prevents learning and memory deficits caused by A
      beta.

PMID- 9987014
TI  - Poly(ADP ribose) polymerase cleavage precedes neuronal death in the hippocampus
      and cerebellum following injury to the developing rat forebrain.
AB  - Transient unilateral forebrain hypoxia-ischaemia (HI) in 14-day-old rats produces
      infarction and delayed neuronal death in the frontal cortex. Cell death can also
      be observed in regions distant from the primary injury, a phenomenon known as
      diaschisis. While apoptosis is involved in selective neuronal death, its role in
      infarction and diaschisis remains poorly understood. Here, we have investigated
      the proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the occurrence
      of apoptosis in the hippocampus and the cerebellum following either HI or
      traumatic brain injury. We demonstrate that: (i) in vitro, PARP is cleaved during
      apoptosis but not necrosis in cultured neuronal (N1E) cells and Swiss 3T3
      fibroblasts; (ii) following HI, apoptotic cells can be detected by 4 h after
      injury in the hippocampus; (iii) in the ipsilateral hippocampus the appearance of
      cells with apoptotic morphology is preceded by a dramatic increase in PARP
      cleavage in the same region, starting immediately following HI and persisting for
      24 h; (iv) HI also induces apoptosis in the cerebellum and, as in the
      hippocampus, the appearance of cells with apoptotic morphology is preceded by
      PARP cleavage that is greater on the side ipsilateral to forebrain injury; and
      (v) similarly, traumatic brain injury to the forebrain leads to PARP cleavage and
      apoptosis in the cerebellum. We conclude that HI injury or traumatic injury to
      the developing rat forebrain leads to PARP cleavage in directly affected areas
      and in sites distant from the primary injury that precedes the appearance of
      cells with apoptotic morphology. Our results are consistent with a role for
      apoptotic cell death in infarction and in diaschisis resulting from forebrain
      injury to the developing brain.

PMID- 9987015
TI  - Protein kinase C modulates field-evoked transmitter release from cultured rat
      cerebellar granule cells via a dendrotoxin-sensitive K+ channel.
AB  - The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the control of neurotransmitter release
      from cultured rat cerebellar granule cells was investigated. Release of preloaded
      [3H]-D-aspartate which is incorporated into synaptic vesicles in this preparation
      was evoked by electrical field stimulation or elevated KCl. PKC activation by
      phorbol esters resulted in a large facilitation of field-evoked Ca(2+)-dependent
      [3H]-D-aspartate release and a lesser enhancement of KCl-stimulated release.
      Inhibition of PKC by Ro 31-8220 or staurosporine virtually abolished field-evoked
      release but had no effect on KCl-evoked release. Field-evoked, but not KCl
      evoked, synaptic vesicle exocytosis monitored by the fluorescent vesicle probe
      FM2-10 was inhibited by staurosporine. PKC was not directly modulating neurite
      Ca2+ channels coupled to release, as Ro 31-8220 did not inhibit these channels.
      Activation or inhibition of PKC modulated field-evoked plasma membrane
      depolarization, but had no effect on KCl-evoked depolarization, consistent with a
      regulation of Na+ or K+ channels activated by field stimulation. No modulation of
      field-evoked neurite Na+ influx was seen using phorbol esters. Phorbol ester
      induced facilitation of field-evoked [3H]-D-aspartate release and neurite Ca2+
      entry was non-additive with that produced by the specific K+ channel antagonist
      dendrotoxin-1, suggesting that PKC modulates transmitter release from field
      stimulated cerebellar granule cells by inhibiting a dendrotoxin-1-sensitive K+
      channel.

PMID- 9987016
TI  - The medullary dorsal reticular nucleus facilitates pain behaviour induced by
      formalin in the rat.
AB  - The influence of the dorsal reticular nucleus (DRt) on pain behaviour during the
      formalin test was studied in the rat by lesioning the nucleus through local
      application of electrical current or quinolinic acid. Animals in which the DRt
      was lesioned ipsilaterally to the paw injected with formalin spent less time in
      focused (licking, biting or scratching the injected paw) and total (focused pain
      behaviour plus protection of the injected paw during movements) pain behaviour,
      and showed paw-jerks less frequently than non-lesioned animals in both phases 1
      and 2 of the test. Animals in which the DRt was lesioned contralaterally to the
      injected paw presented a decrease in total pain behaviour and number of paw-jerks
      only during phase 2. The number of superficial (laminae I-II) and deep (laminae
      III-VI) spinal dorsal horn cells expressing the c-fos proto-oncogene 2 h after
      subcutaneous injection of formalin was reduced by 34% and 50%, respectively, in
      animals with an ipsilateral DRt lesion as compared to non-lesioned rats. No
      differences in c-fos expression were observed after lesioning the DRt
      contralateral to the formalin injection. The results indicate that the DRt is
      involved in the facilitation of nociception during the formalin test by enhancing
      the response capacity of dorsal horn neurons to noxious stimulation. It is
      suggested that the pronociceptive action of the DRt is mediated by the reciprocal
      connections it establishes with the spinal dorsal horn.

PMID- 9987017
TI  - The effects of NMDA-induced retrohippocampal lesions on performance of four
      spatial memory tasks known to be sensitive to hippocampal damage in the rat.
AB  - Four separate cohorts of rats were employed to examine the effects of cytotoxic
      retrohippocampal lesions in four spatial memory tasks which are known to be
      sensitive to direct hippocampal damage and/or fornix-fimbria lesions in the rat.
      Selective retrohippocampal lesions were made by means of multiple intracerebral
      infusions of NMDA centred on the entorhinal cortex bilaterally. Cell damage
      typically extended from the lateral entorhinal area to the distal ventral
      subiculum. Experiment 1 demonstrated that retrohippocampal lesions spared the
      acquisition of a reference memory task in the Morris water maze, in which the
      animals learned to escape from the water by swimming to a submerged platform in a
      fixed location. In the subsequent transfer test, when the escape platform was
      removed, rats with retrohippocampal lesions tended to spend less time searching
      in the appropriate quadrant compared to controls. Experiment 2 demonstrated that
      the lesions also spared the acquisition of a working memory version of the water
      maze task in which the location of the escape platform was varied between days.
      In experiment 3, both reference and working memory were assessed using an eight
      arm radial maze in which the same four arms were constantly baited between
      trials. In the initial acquisition, reference memory but not working memory was
      affected by the lesions. During subsequent reversal learning in which previously
      baited arms were now no longer baited and vice versa, lesioned animals made
      significantly more reference memory errors as well as working memory errors. In
      experiment 4, spatial working memory was assessed in a delayed matching-to
      position task conducted in a two-lever operant chamber. There was no evidence for
      any impairment in rats with retrohippocampal lesions in this task. The present
      study demonstrated that unlike direct hippocampal damage, retrohippocampal cell
      loss did not lead to a general impairment in spatial learning, implying that the
      integrity of the retrohippocampus and/or its interconnection with the hippocampal
      formation is not critical for normal hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and
      memory. This outcome is surprising for a number of current hippocampal theories,
      and suggests that other cortical as well as subcortical inputs to the hippocampus
      might be of more importance, and further raises the question regarding the
      functional significance of the retrohippocampal region.

PMID- 9987018
TI  - CaMKII-dependent phosphorylation of NR2A and NR2B is decreased in animals
      characterized by hippocampal damage and impaired LTP.
AB  - The calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) subserves activity
      dependent plasticity in central neurons. To examine in vivo the implication of
      CaMKII activity in synaptic plasticity, we used an animal model characterized by
      developmentally induced targeted neuronal ablation within the cortex and the
      hippocampus, and showing, at presynaptic level, molecular alterations leading to
      facilitation of glutamate release in hippocampal synapses (methylazoxymethanol
      treated rats, MAM-rats). We report here that at the postsynaptic side, the
      activity of CaMKII is markedly decreased in MAM-rats when compared to controls,
      although the concentration of the enzyme in Post Synaptic Density (PSD) is not
      altered. This effect is confined to PSD-associated CaMKII, as enzyme activity
      tested in the soluble fraction is unchanged in MAM-rats. In addition, the
      decreased activity is not due to inhibition by autophosphorylation in specific
      sites within the calmodulin-binding domain, as preincubation with purified
      phosphatases 1 and 2A failed to restore CaMKII activity in PSD of MAM-rats. The
      CaMKII-dependent phosphorylation of NR2A/B subunits of NMDA receptor is lower in
      MAM-rats when compared to controls (51.77 +/- 7.39% of controls level), as
      revealed in back-phosphorylation experiments. In addition, a treatment able to
      restore long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal slices from MAM-rats, e.g.
      exposure to D-serine, is able to restore CaMKII activity to the control value.

PMID- 9987020
TI  - Characteristics of slow and fast phases of the optocollic reflex (OCR) in head
      free pigeons (Columba livia): influence of flight behaviour.
AB  - The effect of behavioural context on the properties of slow and fast phases of
      the horizontal optocollic reflex (OCR) were investigated in head free pigeons for
      two situations, i.e.: (i) animals were hung in a harness ('resting condition');
      (ii) animals were additionally submitted to a frontal airflow that provoked a
      flight posture ('flying condition') [Bilo and Bilo (1983) J. Comp. Physiol., 153,
      111]. A 'transient flight' was also provoked in the 'resting condition' by
      tapping the breastbone region. Stimuli consisted either of velocity steps (30-300
      degrees/s) or of an increasing velocity stimulus (0-300 degrees/s). The amplitude
      of nystagmic beats and the OCR gain increased in the 'flying condition' and
      during 'transient flight' as compared to the 'resting condition'. The OCR working
      range was considerably extended toward high velocities by the flying behaviour.
      In the 'resting condition', spontaneous head oscillations generally triggered a
      high-gain OCR, close to that obtained in the 'flying condition'. One-third of the
      animals showed a higher gain in response to an increasing velocity stimulus than
      with step stimuli, in the high velocity range. The linear relation between
      amplitude and peak velocity of OCR fast phases was independent of the stimulation
      velocity in the 'resting condition', whereas the amplitude and peak velocity
      increased with the stimulation velocity in the 'flying condition'. In this
      condition, the fast phase velocity was correlated with the slow phase velocity,
      but not with the retinal slip velocity. Thus, both the slow and fast phases of
      the OCR are dependent on the behavioural context.

PMID- 9987019
TI  - Characterization of cultured dorsal root ganglion neuron P2X receptors.
AB  - P2X receptors for adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) comprise a family of ligand
      gated cation channels with distinct characteristics which are dependent on the
      receptor subunits (P2X1-7) expressed, and the homomeric or heteromeric assembly
      of protein subunits in individual cells. We describe the properties of P2X
      receptors expressed by cultured adult rat dorsal root ganglion cells on the basis
      of the time course of responses to ATP, alpha, beta-methylene adenosine 5'
      triphosphate (alpha, beta-meATP) and 2-methyl-thioadenosine 5'-triphosphate (2
      meSATP), and using the antagonists 2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) ATP (TNP-ATP),
      a novel and highly selective purinoceptor antagonist, suramin and iso
      pyridocalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',5' disulphonic acid (PPADS). ATP (10 microM)
      evoked inward currents in approximately 95% of neurons tested and > 80% responded
      with a fast transient inward current that rapidly inactivated during the
      continued presence of ATP. Of the remaining neurons, approximately 4% showed a
      sustained response and approximately 10% showed a combination of transient and
      sustained components. Rapid application of ATP, alpha,beta-meATP and 2meSATP
      demonstrated these to be full agonists of the rapidly inactivating P2X receptor
      (pA50 values = 5.83, 5.86 and 5.55, respectively), whilst uridine triphosphate
      (UTP) and 1-beta,gamma-methyleneadenosine 5'-triphosphate (1-beta,gamma-meATP)
      were ineffective as agonists. These rapidly inactivating responses could be
      inhibited by TNP-ATP, suramin and PPADS (pIC50 = 9.5, 6.5, 6.4, respectively).
      Using inactivation protocols, we demonstrate the presence of homomeric P2X3-like
      receptors and non-inactivating P2X receptors, which indicates that individual
      subsets of adult dorsal root ganglion neurons have distinct P2X receptor
      phenotypes, and that individual DRG neurons may express multiple P2X receptor
      subtypes.

PMID- 9987021
TI  - Chloride-dependent transport of NH4+ into bee retinal glial cells.
AB  - Mammalian astrocytes convert glutamate to glutamine and bee retinal glial cells
      convert pyruvate to alanine. To maintain such amination reactions these glial
      cells may take up NH4+/NH3. We have studied the entry of NH4+/NH3 into bundles of
      glial cells isolated from bee retina by using the fluorescent dye BCECF to
      measure pH. Ammonium caused intracellular pH to decrease by a saturable process:
      the rate of change of pH was maximal for an ammonium concentration of about 5 mM.
      This acidifying response to ammonium was abolished by the loop diuretic
      bumetanide (100 microM) and by removal of extracellular Cl-. These results
      strongly suggest that ammonium enters the cell by contransport of NH4+ with Cl-.
      Removal of extracellular Na+ did not abolish the NH(4+)-induced acidification.
      The NH(4+)-induced pH change was unaffected when nearly all K+ conductance was
      blocked with 5 mM Ba2+ showing that NH4+ did not enter through Ba(2+)-sensitive
      ion channels. Application of 2 mM NH4+ led to a large increase in total
      intracellular proton concentration estimated to exceed 13.5 mEq/L. As the cell
      membrane appeared to be permeable to NH3, we suggest that when NH4+ entered the
      cells, NH3 left, so that protons were shuttled into the cell. This shuttle, which
      was strongly dependent on internal and external pH, was quantitatively modelled.
      In retinal slices, 2 mM NH4+ alkalinized the extracellular space: this
      alkalinization was reduced in the absence of bath Cl-. We conclude that NH4+
      enters the glial cells in bee retina on a cotransporter with functional
      similarities to the NH4+(K+)-Cl- cotransporter described in kidney cells.

PMID- 9987022
TI  - Impaired glucocorticoid receptor function evolves in aberrant physiological
      responses to bacterial endotoxin.
AB  - The consequences of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) dysfunction for
      neuroimmunoendocrine responses to an inflammatory challenge were studied in
      transgenic mice expressing antisense RNA directed against the GR [GR-impaired (GR
      i) mice]. Mice were implanted intraperitoneally with a biotelemetry transmitter
      to monitor body temperature and locomotion. GR-i mice showed decreased locomotion
      and body temperature during the dark phase of the diurnal cycle. Intraperitoneal
      administration of saline caused a rapid increase in body temperature in control
      mice, which was terminated within 90 min. In GR-i mice, however, body temperature
      remained elevated for about 6 h. Intraperitoneal injection of endotoxin (10
      micrograms/mouse) produced a biphasic fever in control mice. However, in
      endotoxin-injected GR-i mice, body temperature was not significantly different
      from their saline-injected controls during the first 6 h. Body temperature then
      increased and remained elevated during the night period. Both strains showed
      hypolocomotion after endotoxin. In a second experiment, mice were injected
      intraperitoneally with saline or endotoxin and killed after 1, 3, 6 or 24 h. In
      GR-i mice, endotoxin caused an augmented rise in plasma ACTH, but not in
      corticosterone levels. The endotoxin-induced increase in serum levels of
      interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6 was not different between the strains.
      However, whereas in control mice tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels were below
      detection at the time points studied, substantial levels of this cytokine were
      found in the serum of GR-i mice 1 h after endotoxin administration. It may be
      concluded that life-long impairment of GR evolves in aberrant physiological and
      humoral responses to an acute inflammatory challenge. These findings expand our
      understanding about the neuroendocrine and physiological disturbances associated
      with stress-related disorders.

PMID- 9987023
TI  - Differential projection patterns of superior and inferior collicular neurons onto
      posterior paralaminar nuclei of the thalamus surrounding the medial geniculate
      body in the rat.
AB  - The thalamic nuclei at the medial border of the medial geniculate body (i.e. the
      suprageniculate nucleus, the medial division of the medial geniculate nucleus,
      the posterior intralaminar nucleus and the peripeduncular nucleus) which relay
      sensory information to the amygdala are thought to receive convergent input from
      multiple sites. In order to delineate the organization of these multimodal
      thalamic nuclei, the locations of superior and inferior collicular neurons
      projecting to these nuclei were studied by means of retrograde transport methods.
      Small injections of the tracer Miniruby were made into single paralaminar
      thalamic nuclei. Injections of Miniruby into the suprageniculate nucleus labelled
      predominantly neurons in the stratum opticum of the superior colliculus, whereas
      injections into the medial division of the medial geniculate body, the posterior
      intralaminar nucleus and the peripeduncular nucleus labelled predominantly
      neurons in the deep layers of the superior colliculus. These injections also
      labelled neurons in the inferior colliculus. The majority of retrogradely
      labelled neurons were found in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus
      and here predominantly in layer 2. Injections focused onto the medial division of
      the medial geniculate body additionally labelled magnocellular neurons in layer 3
      of the external nucleus and a few neurons in the central nucleus. More ventrally
      located injections, focused onto the posterior intralaminar and peripeduncular
      nucleus, almost exclusively labelled neurons in layer 1 of the external nucleus
      and the dorsal part of the dorsal nucleus. After injections into the
      suprageniculate nucleus, only neurons in layer 2 were found. Neurons in the
      central nucleus of the inferior colliculus were only found after injections that
      involved the medial division of the medial geniculate body. The present results
      suggest that, despite a considerable degree of convergence in this thalamic
      region, each of these thalamic nuclei receives a unique pattern of projections
      from the superior and inferior colliculi. It appears that the thalamic nuclei may
      be concerned mainly, but not exclusively, with a single sensory modality, and
      give rise to parallel multimodal and unimodal pathways to the amygdala.

PMID- 9987025
TI  - Pontine and medullary control of the respiratory activity in the trigeminal and
      facial nerves of the newborn mouse: an in vitro study.
AB  - In vitro, the respiratory activity in rodents is characterized by: (i) the
      rapidly peaking, slowly decrementing pattern of spontaneous and rhythmic active
      phases recorded from the motor rootlets, and (ii) the specific location of their
      rhythmic generator in the ventrolateral medulla. The aim of the present study was
      to assess whether the trigeminal and facial motor rootlets still exhibit
      respiratory activity in the absence of peripheral and higher cerebral structures,
      and to compare the onset of their active phases with that of other respiratory
      rootlets, using the in vitro isolated brainstem--spinal cord preparation of the
      newborn mouse and rat. Spontaneous rhythmic activity was recorded from the
      trigeminal and facial rootlets. It was regular and synchronized bilaterally and
      ipsilaterally with the hypoglossal or cervical C1-C6 rootlets. Brainstem
      transection experiments demonstrated that for both the trigeminal and facial
      rootlets, the spontaneous rhythmic activity originates from the medulla, in a
      region consistent with the pre-Botzinger complex and the rostral ventrolateral
      medulla. The pattern of the respiratory motor activity recorded from the
      trigeminal and facial rootlets was identical to the pattern recorded from the
      hypoglossal and cervical C1-C6 rootlets with rapidly peaking, slowly decrementing
      characteristics. The duration of the ascending part and the total duration of
      their active phases were similar. The onset of the active phases of the phrenic
      rootlets was delayed compared with that of the trigeminal, facial and hypoglossal
      rootlets. However, no difference in the onsets of the active phases of the
      cranial rootlets could be observed. Removal of the rostral pons suppressed the
      delay in onset of the active phases of the phrenic rootlets. Our findings show
      that: (i) rhythmic activities of the trigeminal and facial rootlets are preserved
      in absence of control by peripheral or high cerebral structures; (ii) the pattern
      and the location of the rhythmic generator for these activities are of the
      respiratory type; and (iii) the rostral pons is responsible for a delay in the
      onset of the active phases of the phrenic rootlets compared with that of the
      trigeminal, facial and hypoglossal rootlets.

PMID- 9987024
TI  - TrkA activation in the rat visual cortex by antirat trkA IgG prevents the effect
      of monocular deprivation.
AB  - It has been recently shown that intraventricular injections of nerve growth
      factor (NGF) prevent the effects of monocular deprivation in the rat. We have
      tested the localization and the molecular nature of the NGF receptor(s)
      responsible for this effect by activating cortical trkA receptors in monocularly
      deprived rats by cortical infusion of a specific agonist of NGF on trkA, the
      bivalent antirat trkA IgG (RTA-IgG). TrkA protein was detected by immunoblot in
      the rat visual cortex during the critical period. Rats were monocularly deprived
      for 1 week (P21-28) and RTA-IgG or control rabbit IgG were delivered by osmotic
      minipumps. The effects of monocular deprivation on the ocular dominance of visual
      cortical neurons were assessed by extracellular single cell recordings. We found
      that the shift towards the ipsilateral, non-deprived eye was largely prevented by
      RTA-IgG. Infusion of RTA-IgG combined with antibody that blocks p75NTR (REX),
      slightly reduced RTA-IgG effectiveness in preventing monocular deprivation
      effects. These results suggest that NGF action in visual cortical plasticity is
      mediated by cortical TrkA receptors with p75NTR exerting a facilitatory role.

PMID- 9987026
TI  - Local inhibition of hippocampal nitric oxide synthase does not impair place
      learning in the Morris water escape task in rats.
AB  - Recent studies have provided evidence that nitric oxide (NO) has a role in
      certain forms of memory formation. Spatial learning is one of the cognitive
      abilities that has been found to be impaired after systemic administration of an
      NO-synthase inhibitor. As the hippocampus has a pivotal role in spatial
      orientation, the present study examined the role of hippocampal NO in spatial
      learning and reversal learning in a Morris task in adult rats. It was found that
      N omega-nitro-L-arginine infusions into the dorsal hippocampus affected the
      manner in which the rats were searching the submerged platform during training,
      but did not affect the efficiency to find the spatial location of the escape
      platform. Hippocampal NO-synthase inhibition did not affect the learning of a new
      platform position in the same water tank (i.e. reversal learning). Moreover, no
      treatment effects were observed in the probe trials (i.e. after acquisition and
      after reversal learning), indicating that the rats treated with N omega-nitro-L
      arginine had learned the spatial location of the platform. These findings were
      obtained under conditions where the NO synthesis in the dorsal hippocampus was
      completely inhibited. On the basis of the present data it was concluded that
      hippocampal NO is not critically involved in place learning in rats.

PMID- 9987027
TI  - Cerebellar granule-cell-specific GABAA receptors attenuate benzodiazepine-induced
      ataxia: evidence from alpha 6-subunit-deficient mice.
AB  - Benzodiazepine- and alcohol-induced ataxias in rodents have been proposed to be
      affected by the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor alpha 6 subunit,
      which contributes to receptors specifically expressed in cerebellar granule
      cells. We have studied an alpha 6 -/- mouse line for motor performance and drug
      sensitivity. These mice, as a result of a specific genetic lesion, carry a
      precise impairment at their Golgi-granule cell synapses. On motor performance
      tests (rotarod, horizontal wire, pole descending, staircase and swimming tests)
      there were no robust baseline differences in motor function or motor learning
      between alpha 6 -/- and alpha 6 +/+ mice. On the rotarod test, however, the
      mutant mice were significantly more impaired by diazepam (5-20 mg/kg, i.p.), when
      compared with alpha 6 +/+ control and background C57BL/6J and 129/SvJ mouse
      lines. Ethanol (2.0-2.5 g/kg, i.p.) produced similar impairment in the alpha 6 -/
      and alpha +/+ mice. Diazepam-induced ataxia in alpha 6 -/- mice could be
      reversed by the benzodiazepine site antagonist flumazenil, indicating the
      involvement of the remaining alpha 1 beta 2/3 gamma 2 GABAA receptors of the
      granule cells. The level of activity in this synapse is crucial in regulating the
      execution of motor tasks. We conclude that GABAA receptor alpha 6 subunit
      dependent actions in the cerebellar cortex can be compensated by other receptor
      subtypes; but if not for the alpha 6 subunit, patients on benzodiazepine
      medication would suffer considerably from ataxic side-effects.

PMID- 9987028
TI  - Intrastriatal grafting of a GDNF-producing cell line protects striatonigral
      neurons from quinolinic acid excitotoxicity in vivo.
AB  - Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neurotrophic factor with
      a therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative disorders. GDNF is expressed in the
      adult striatum, but its signalling tyrosine kinase receptor, c-ret, has not been
      detected in this structure by in situ hybridization. In the present work, we
      first examined c-ret and GDNF receptor alpha 1 (GFR-alpha 1) expression using an
      RNAse protection assay, and found that both receptors are expressed in the adult
      rat striatum. We then examined whether GDNF was able to regulate the phenotype
      and/or prevent the degeneration of striatal projection neurons in a well
      characterized model of excitotoxic damage. A fibroblast cell line, engineered to
      overexpress GDNF, was grafted in adult rats striatum 24 h before quinolinic acid
      (QUIN) injection. QUIN injection alone or in combination with the control cell
      line induced a loss of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD)-, preprotachykinin A
      (PPTA)-, prodynorphin (DYN)- and preproenkephalin (PPE)-positive neurons. GDNF
      selectively prevented: (i) the loss of a subpopulation of striatonigral neurons
      expressing GAD and PPTA; (ii) the atrophy of PPTA-positive neurons; and (iii) the
      decrease in GAD, PPTA and DYN mRNA expression, after QUIN injection. Moreover, in
      unlesioned animals, GDNF increased the size of PPTA-positive neurons and up
      regulated their mRNA levels. In contrast, GDNF showed no effect in intact or
      lesioned striatopallidal PPE-positive neurons. Thus, our findings show that GDNF
      selectively regulates the phenotype and protects striatonigral neurons from QUIN
      induced excitotoxicity, suggesting that GDNF may be used for the treatment of
      striatonigral degenerative disorders, e.g. Huntington's disease and multiple
      system atrophy.

PMID- 9987029
TI  - A new pyrrolyl-quinoxalinedione series of non-NMDA glutamate receptor
      antagonists: pharmacological characterization and comparison with NBQX and
      valproate in the kindling model of epilepsy.
AB  - Antagonists at the ionotropic non-NMDA [AMPA (amino-methyl proprionic
      acid)/kainate] type of glutamate receptors have been suggested to possess several
      advantages compared to NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonists,
      particularly in terms of risk/benefit ratio, but the non-NMDA receptor
      antagonists available so far have not fulfilled this promise. From a large series
      of pyrrolyl-quinoxalinedione derivatives, we selected six new competitive non
      NMDA receptor antagonists. The basis of selection was high potency and
      selectivity for AMPA and/or kainate receptors, high in vivo potency after
      systemic administration, and an acceptable ratio between neuroprotective or
      anticonvulsant effects and adverse effects. Pharmacological characteristics of
      these novel compounds are described in this study with special emphasis on their
      effects in the kindling model of temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common type of
      epilepsy in humans. In most experiments, NBQX and the major antiepileptic drug
      valproate were used for comparison with the novel compounds. The novel non-NMDA
      receptor antagonists markedly differed in their AMPA and kainate receptor
      affinities from NBQX. Thus, while NBQX essentially did not bind to kainate
      receptors at relevant concentrations, several of the novel compounds exhibited
      affinity to rat brain kainate receptors or recombinant kainate receptor subtypes
      in addition to AMPA receptors. One compound, LU 97175, bound to native high
      affinity kainate receptors and rat GluR5-GluR7 subunits, i.e. low affinity
      kainate binding sites, with much higher affinities than to AMPA receptors. All
      compounds potently blocked AMPA-induced cell death in vitro and, except LU 97175,
      AMPA-induced convulsions in vivo. In the kindling model, compounds with a high
      affinity for GluR7 (LU 97175) or compounds (LU 115455, LU 136541) which potently
      bind to AMPA receptors and low affinity kainate receptor subunits were potent
      anticonvulsants in the kindling model, whereas the AMPA receptor-selective LU
      112313 was the least selective compound in this model, indicating that non-NMDA
      antagonists acting at both AMPA and kainate receptors are more effective in this
      model than AMPA receptor-selective drugs. Three of the novel compounds, i.e. LU
      97175, LU 115455 and LU 136541, exerted potent anticonvulsant effects without
      inducing motor impairment in the rotarod test. This combination of actions is
      thought to be a prerequisite for selective anticonvulsant drug action.

PMID- 9987030
TI  - Increased cyclin D1 in vulnerable neurons in the hippocampus after ischaemia and
      epilepsy: a modulator of in vivo programmed cell death?
AB  - Several observations suggest that delayed neuronal death in ischaemia, epilepsy
      and other brain disorders includes an apoptotic component, involving programmed
      cell death (PCD). PCD is hypothesized to result, in part, from aberrant control
      of the cell cycle. Because they are instrumental in mitosis, cyclins D are key
      markers to evaluate whether neurons indeed progress into the cell cycle in
      situations of pathology. Therefore, we investigated in rat brains, the expression
      of cyclins D in the delayed neuronal death that occurs following transient global
      ischaemia and kainate-induced seizures. Following a four-vessel occlusion insult,
      quantitative in situ hybridization revealed a highly significant and persistent
      100% increase of cyclin D1 mRNA in the vulnerable pyramidal neurons of the CA1
      hippocampal region. Ischaemia also induced a smaller and transient cyclin D1 mRNA
      increase in the resistant CA3 area and dentate gyrus. In contrast, the cyclin D2
      and D3 mRNAs, expressed constitutively in the adult rat hippocampus, were not
      upregulated. Following kainate-induced seizures, cyclin D1 mRNA was induced in
      the vulnerable CA3 region, and to a lesser extent, in non-vulnerable regions.
      Cyclin D1 immunohistochemistry revealed increased protein levels in the cytoplasm
      and nucleus of neurons commited to die after ischaemia. Double labelling
      experiments indicate that cyclin D1 is also expressed in reactive astrocytes but
      not in microglial cells. Finally, we report that in neurons, cyclin D1 expression
      peaks before nuclear condensation and the appearance of DNA fragmentation. We
      propose that cyclin D1, when expressed at high levels in lesioned neurons, may
      act as a modulator of apoptosis.

PMID- 9987031
TI  - Modulation of neurotransmitter release by dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium
      channels involves tyrosine phosphorylation.
AB  - Cultured rat cerebellar granule cells depolarized by high KCl, display a large
      component of Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels as
      defined by a sensitivity to 1 microM nifedipine. This Ca2+ influx is not coupled
      to neurotransmitter exocytosis but has implications for neuronal development. KCl
      stimulation in the absence of external Ca2+ followed by the readdition of Ca2+
      allows the coupling of a class of L-type Ca2+ channels to neurotransmitter
      exocytosis as assessed by loading of glutamatergic pools with [3H]-D-aspartate.
      KCl stimulation in the absence of external Ca2+ ('predepolarization') enhances
      tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular proteins, and inhibitors of tyrosine
      kinases block both phosphorylation and the neurotransmitter release coupled to
      the L-type Ca2+ channel. More specifically, an inhibitor of src family tyrosine
      kinases, PP1, blocks the effects of predepolarization suggesting a role for a src
      family kinase in the process. Furthermore, L-type Ca2+ channel recruitment and
      modulation of release could be activated with the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor
      sodium orthovanadate. The phosphoproteins enhanced by predepolarization, which
      include the cytoskeletal proteins focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and vinculin, are
      also highly phosphorylated early on in culture when neurite outgrowth occurs. As
      the neurons develop a network of neurites, both tyrosine phosphorylation and L
      type Ca2+ channel activity decrease. These results show a novel mechanism for the
      recruitment of L-type Ca2+ channels and their coupling to neurotransmitter
      release which involves tyrosine phosphorylation. This phenomenon has a role in
      cerebellar granule cell development.

PMID- 9987032
TI  - Subcellular distribution of survival motor neuron (SMN) protein: possible
      involvement in nucleocytoplasmic and dendritic transport.
AB  - Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is among the most common recessive autosomal
      diseases and is characterized by the loss of spinal motor neurons. A gene termed
      'Survival of Motor Neurons' (SMN) has been identified as the SMA-determining
      gene. Recent work indicates the involvement of the SMN protein and its associated
      protein SIP1 in spliceosomal snRNP biogenesis. However, the function of SMN
      remains unknown. Here, we have studied the subcellular localization of SMN in the
      rat spinal cord and more generally in the central nervous system (CNS), by light
      fluorescence and electron microscopy. SMN immunoreactivity (IR) was found in the
      different regions of the spinal cord but also in various regions of the CNS such
      as the brainstem, cerebellum, thalamus, cortex and hippocampus. In most neurons,
      we observed a speckled labelling of the cytoplasm and a discontinuous staining of
      the nuclear envelope. For some neurons (e.g. brainstem nuclei, dentate gyrus,
      cortex: layer V) and, in particular in motoneurons, SMN-IR was also present as
      prominent nuclear dot-like-structures. In these nuclear dots, SMN colocalized
      with SIP1 and with fibrillarin, a marker of coiled bodies. Ultrastructural
      studies in the anterior horn of the spinal cord confirmed the presence of SMN in
      the coiled bodies and also revealed the protein at the external side of nuclear
      pores complexes, in association with polyribosomes, and in dendrites, associated
      with microtubules. These localizations suggest that, in addition to its
      involvement in the spliceosome biogenesis, the SMN protein could also play a part
      in nucleocytoplasmic and dendritic transport.

PMID- 9987033
TI  - Different cortical organization of visceral and somatic sensation in humans.
AB  - Sensory stimuli from the visceral domain exhibit perceptual characteristics
      different from stimuli applied to the body surface. Compared with somatosensation
      there is not much known about the cortical projection and functional organization
      of visceral sensation in humans. In this study, we determined the cortical areas
      activated by non-painful electrical stimulation of visceral afferents in the
      distal oesophagus, and somatosensory afferents in the median nerve and the lip in
      seven healthy volunteers using whole-head magnetoencephalography. Stimulation of
      somatosensory afferents elicited short-latency responses (approximately 20-60 ms)
      in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) contralateral (median nerve) or
      bilateral (lip) to the stimulated side, and long-latency responses (approximately
      60-160 ms) bilaterally in the second somatosensory cortex (SII). In contrast,
      stimulation of visceral oesophageal afferents did not evoke discernible responses
      in SI but well reproducible bilateral SII responses (approximately 70-190 ms) in
      close vicinity to long-latency SII responses following median nerve and lip
      stimuli. Psychophysically, temporal discrimination of successive stimuli became
      worse with increasing stimulus repetition rates (0.25 Hz, 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, 2 Hz)
      only for visceral oesophageal, but not for somatosensory median nerve stimuli.
      Correspondingly, amplitudes of the first cortical response to oesophageal
      stimulation emerging in the SII cortex declined with increasing stimulus
      repetition rates whereas the earliest cortical response elicited by median nerve
      stimuli (20 ms SI response) remained unaffected by the stimulus frequency. Our
      results indicate that visceral afferents from the oesophagus primarily project to
      the SII cortex and, unlike somatosensory afferents, lack a significant SI
      representation. We propose that this cortical projection pattern forms the
      neurophysiological basis of the low temporal and spatial resolution of conscious
      visceral sensation.

PMID- 9987034
TI  - Myelin does not influence the choice behaviour of entorhinal axons but strongly
      inhibits their outgrowth length in vitro.
AB  - Myelin is crucial for the stabilization of the entorhinohippocampal projection
      during late development and is a non-permissive substrate for regrowing axons
      after lesion in the adult brain. We used two in vitro assays to analyse the
      impact of myelin on rat entorhinohippocampal projection neurons. A stripe assay
      was used to study the impact of myelin on the choice behaviour of axons from the
      entorhinal cortex (EC). Given a choice between alternating hippocampal membrane
      lanes from developmental stages ranging from early postnatal to adult, EC axons
      preferred to extend on early postnatal hippocampal membranes. Neither the
      neutralization of myelin-associated factors by a specific antibody (IN-1) nor the
      separation of myelin from membranes interfered with the axons' choice behaviour.
      The entorhinal axons showed no preference in the membrane combination of adult
      and myelin-free adult hippocampal membranes. These stripe assay experiments
      demonstrate that support for EC axon choice in the developing hippocampus is
      maturation-dependent and is not influenced by myelin. The application of IN-1 in
      the outgrowth assay and the separation of myelin from membranes, enhanced
      elongation of outgrowing entorhinal axons on adult hippocampal membranes, whereas
      a control antibody did not. This shows that myelin-associated factors have a
      strong inhibitory effect on the outgrowth length of entorhinal axons. In
      conclusion, we suggest that axonal elongation in the entorhinohippocampal system
      during development is strongly influenced by myelin-associated growth inhibition
      factors and that specific target finding of entorhinal axons is regulated by a
      different mechanism.

PMID- 9987035
TI  - Zn2+ entry produces oxidative neuronal necrosis in cortical cell cultures.
AB  - Evidence has accumulated that Zn2+ plays a central role in neurodegenerative
      processes following brain injuries including ischaemia or epilepsy. In the
      present study, we examined patterns and possible mechanisms of Zn2+
      neurotoxicity. Inclusion of 30-300 microM Zn2+ for 30 min caused neuronal
      necrosis apparent by cell body and mitochondrial swelling in cortical cell
      cultures. This Zn2+ neurotoxicity was not attenuated by antiapoptosis agents,
      inhibitors of protein synthesis or caspase. Blockade of glutamate receptors or
      nitric oxide synthase showed no beneficial effect against Zn2+ neurotoxicity.
      Interestingly, antioxidants, trolox or SKF38393, attenuated Zn(2+)-induced
      neuronal necrosis. Pretreatment with insulin or brain-derived neurotrophic factor
      increased the Zn(2+)-induced free radical injury. Kainate or AMPA facilitated
      Zn2+ entry and potentiated Zn2+ neurotoxicity in a way sensitive to trolox.
      Reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation were generated in the early phase
      of Zn2+ neurotoxicity. These findings indicate that entry and accumulation of
      Zn2+ result in generation of toxic free radicals and then cause necrotic neuronal
      degeneration under certain pathological conditions in the brain.

PMID- 9987036
TI  - Nitric oxide is required for expression of LTP that is induced by stimulation
      phase-locked with theta rhythm.
AB  - Long-term potentiation (LTP) can be induced by giving only one burst (five
      stimuli at 200 Hz) on the positive phase of sensory-induced theta rhythm in awake
      or anaesthetized rats, a stimulation protocol that mimics naturally occurring
      neuronal activity. Nitric oxide has been discussed as an important neuronal
      messenger in the induction of LTP. However, experiments testing inhibitors of
      nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in vitro produced contradictory results. The non
      specific NOS inhibitor Nitro-L-arginine (L-NARG) impaired LTP induced by high
      frequency stimulation (HFS) [from 155 +/- 7% to 122 +/- 8%), but completely
      blocked theta-dependent LTP induction (161 +/- 8% to 102 +/- 5%). NOS inhibitors,
      e.g. 7-nitro indazole (7-NI) or 1-(2-trifluoromethylphenyl) imidazole (TRIM) that
      are more selective for neuronal NOS and affect blood pressure less also impaired
      HFS-induced LTP (186 +/- 11% to 135 +/- 9% for TRIM) but completely blocked theta
      dependent LTP (154 +/- 7 to 91 +/- 8). L-Arginine reversed the effects of the NOS
      inhibitors tested. Therefore, NO appears to be a modulator that is important for
      synaptic plasticity in this more physiological stimulation technique in vivo. NO
      is not released in slice preparations in sufficient quantities or at the right
      timing. Instead, the unphysiologically strong HFS protocol appears to induce an
      NO-independent type of LTP in some cases.

PMID- 9987037
TI  - Sustained activation of hippocampal pyramidal cells by 'space clamping' in a
      running wheel.
AB  - In contrast to sensory cortical areas of the brain, the relevant physiological
      inputs to the hippocampus, leading to selective activation of pyramidal cells,
      are largely unknown. Pyramidal cells are thought to be phasically activated by
      spatial cues and a variety of sensory and motor stimuli. Here, we used a
      behavioural 'space clamp' method, which involved the confinement of the actively
      running animal in a defined position in space (running wheel) and kept sensory
      inputs constant. Twelve percent of the recorded CA1 pyramidal cells were
      selectively active while the rat was running in the wheel. Cell firing was
      specific to the direction of running and disappeared after rotating the recording
      apparatus. The discharge frequency of pyramidal cells and interneurons was
      sustained as long as the rat ran continuously in the wheel. Furthermore, the
      discharge frequency of pyramidal cells and interneurons increased with increasing
      running velocity, even though the frequency of hippocampal theta waves remained
      constant. The discharge frequency of some 'wheel-related' pyramidal cells could
      increase more than 10-fold between 10 and 100 cm/s, whereas the firing rate of
      'non-wheel' cells remained constantly low. We hypothesize that: (i) a necessary
      condition for place-specific discharge of hippocampal pyramidal cells is the
      presence of theta oscillation; and (ii) relevant stimuli can tonically and
      selectively activate hippocampal pyramidal cells as long as theta activity is
      present.

PMID- 9987038
TI  - Rapid desensitization converts prolonged glutamate release into a transient EPSC
      at ribbon synapses between retinal bipolar and amacrine cells.
AB  - The mechanisms underlying the conversion of prolonged glutamate release from
      ribbon synapses in bipolar cells to sustained and transient excitatory
      postsynaptic responses in identified retinal amacrine cells were studied in tiger
      salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) retina. A retina slice preparation with whole
      cell patch recording techniques under voltage- and current-clamp conditions was
      used to assay the electrical properties of bipolar and amacrine cells. Amacrine
      cells were categorized into two basic forms: (i) transient amacrine cells that
      respond to a step of light with a burst of spikes only at the transitions of the
      step; and (ii) sustained amacrine cells that respond with continuous spiking
      during the entire light step. The two cell types each had a characteristic
      morphology: transient amacrine cells possessed wide dendritic fields (chi = 375
      microns), while sustained cells had much more narrowly confined dendritic fields
      (chi = 85 microns). Whole cell voltage-gated currents of the transient and
      sustained cell types were not significantly different. Both cell types had spikes
      that were sensitive to tetradotoxin (TTX, 0.3 microM) with voltage deflections of
      up to 100 mV. Light-evoked excitatory synaptic currents relaxed rapidly in
      transient neurons (tau 1/2 = 100 ms) and more slowly in sustained neurons (tau
      1/2 = 1.2 s). EPSCs in both cells reversed near 0 mV. Rapid application of
      glutamate or kainate elicited rapidly desensitizing ionic currents (tau 1/2 = 85
      ms) followed by a slowly desensitizing component. Cyclothiazide, a drug that
      eliminates rapid desensitization, lengthened the time course of the glutamate
      gated current from tau 1/2 = 85 ms to about 3 s, and the relaxation kinetics of
      the glutamatergic EPSC from tau 1/2 = 85 ms to about 1.0 s. These data suggest
      that a key determinant in forming transient versus sustained responses in
      amacrine cells of vertebrate retina is the differences in their excitatory,
      glutamatergic synaptic inputs, and that rapid desensitization of glutamate
      receptors plays a role in converting the presynaptic signal associated with
      sustained glutamate release into a postsynaptic, transient signal at the ribbon
      synapse.

PMID- 9987039
TI  - Effects of dorsolateral spinal lesions on stretch reflex threshold and stiffness
      in awake cats.
AB  - Measurements of threshold angle and incremental dynamic stiffness (IDS) were
      derived from triceps surae stretch reflexes, elicited by ramp and hold flexion at
      the ankle joint of four cats that were tested while awake. Stretch reflexes were
      assessed from trials that began from different ankle joint start positions or
      were matched using a post-hoc analysis for initial background force during
      testing sessions before and following unilateral lesions of the dorsolateral
      funiculus at levels ranging from T13 to L3. Unilateral lesions of the
      dorsolateral funiculus (DLF) produced significant ipsilateral decreases in
      stretch reflex threshold and increases in reflex gain, measured as incremental
      dynamic stiffness (IDS). ANCOVA testing indicated that the reduction in
      threshold, but not the increase in IDS, was dependent upon the level of
      background force. Reflex testing from different start angles demonstrated that
      DLF lesions diminished the correlation between threshold and IDS. Intravenous
      infusion of ketamine dose-dependently reduced IDS, compared with testing in the
      unanaesthetized state. Postoperative reflex testing during infusion of ketamine
      at 22.2 mg/kg per h, when electromyographic responses were reduced to 24% of
      control levels, abolished differences in IDS between the ipsilateral and
      contralateral hindlimbs. These and related observations suggest that the
      postoperative increase in IDS in awake animals was not due to an increase in
      passive stiffness.

PMID- 9987040
TI  - Differential brain expression of a new beta-actin gene from zebrafish (Danio
      rerio).
AB  - It has been shown that actin genes exhibit distinct tissue and stage-specific
      patterns of expression. We have cloned a new beta-actin gene from the teleost
      zebrafish (Danio rerio), a well-established model for developmental studies, and
      analysed its expression by Northern blot and in situ hybridization studies. Our
      results suggest that in adult brain zebrafish, this new gene is expressed during
      neuronal cell proliferation.

PMID- 9987041
TI  - The late open artery hypothesis at the crossroad. The ACTOR study: aggressive
      versus conservative treatment of the infarct-related artery after acute MI. ACTOR
      Study Group.
AB  - The purpose of this multicenter study is to test the hypothesis that opening an
      occluded infarct-related artery late after acute myocardial infarction in
      asymptomatic patients without evidence of residual ischemia would reduce cardiac
      events over three years of follow-up. The search for an explanation of the
      complex relationship between the patency of the infarct-related artery and the
      clinical evolution of the patient who suffered an infarction led to the open
      artery hypothesis, whose interpretation comprises two different components. The
      first component attributes the benefit to the fact that the timing and the method
      of reperfusion treatment induce a significant degree of myocardial salvage
      through early and persistent recanalization, and this is defined as the "time
      dependent component" of the patent artery hypothesis. The second component
      ascribes the clinical benefit to late recanalization in conditions in which
      intermittent, early, spontaneous or pharmacologically-induced recanalization is
      unequivocally absent, and this is called the "time-independent" component. There
      are numerous mechanisms by which the patency of the infarct-related artery may
      potentially influence clinical evolution independently of myocardial salvage.
      Reperfusion may increase the stiffness of the infarct zone, thus limiting its
      expansion and dilation. It is also possible that restoration of flow through the
      vascular bed may provide a sort of "scaffolding", which limits the expansion of
      the necrotic myocardium. Patency of the infarct-related artery has also been
      suggested to confer electrical stability to the infarct area and could be the
      source of a collateral blood flow, thereby protecting the myocardium against
      future coronary events. Even if these data support the hypothesis that patency of
      the infarct-related artery has beneficial effects with regard to both LV function
      and survival, they do not provide definite grounds to change treatment strategy
      in post-acute myocardial infarction by referring all patients with occluded
      infarct arteries for mechanical revascularization. Hence, there is widespread
      consensus that a randomized study conducted in an adequately-sized population
      with clinically meaningful endpoints would provide the necessary degree of
      certainty. The ACTOR study should plan analysis of the status of infarct artery
      patency after the acute phase of myocardial infarction, excluding those patients
      who require myocardial revascularization on a clinical-angiographic basis and
      randomly allocating the remaining patients for PTCA or conservative treatment. If
      intervention with PTCA and stent for these patients is demonstrated to reduce
      clinical events at three years, then a policy of routine angiography after the
      acute phase of MI with the intent of percutaneous catheter revascularization for
      totally occluded infarct arteries would be justified.

PMID- 9987042
TI  - Clinical utility and safety of exercise testing in patients with hypertrophic
      cardiomyopathy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Exercise testing has long been employed in patients with hypertrophic
      cardiomyopathy (HCM), although concerns have constantly been expressed regarding
      its safety. This study reviews a large number of exercise tests performed in a
      community-based population with HCM, in terms of safety and clinical utility.
      METHODS: We analyzed a total of 243 maximal symptom-limited cycloergometer
      exercise tests performed at our institution in 138 patients with HCM (age 42 +/-
      14 years, M/F 99/39), who were followed systematically for 9.4 +/- 6.5 years.
      RESULTS: In none of the 243 exercise tests did cardiac arrest, hemodynamic
      collapse or malignant arrhythmia occur, although 53 of the study patients (38%)
      had > or = 1 risk factors including previous cardiac arrest, recurrent syncope,
      malignant family history and resting left ventricular outflow obstruction. Early
      termination of the test was necessary in only 8 patients due to symptomatic
      hypotension with dizziness, but none had syncope. Mean predicted functional
      capacity achieved by the study group was 77 +/- 22%. Poor performance (< 60% of
      predicted functional capacity) was observed in 32 patients (23%), and it was
      associated with a NYHA functional class > 1 and an abnormal blood pressure
      response to exercise. Non-malignant arrhythmias occurred in 41 patients (30%),
      including multiple premature ventricular beats (PVB), paroxysmal atrial
      fibrillation, non-sustained ventricular (NSVT) and supraventricular tachycardia.
      The combined presence of multiple exercise-induced PVB and NSVT on Holter ECG had
      a 14% positive but a 97% negative predictive value for sudden death or cardiac
      arrest. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Exercise testing is safe in a community-based population
      of patients with HCM, and provides useful information regarding functional
      capacity, efficacy of treatment, blood pressure response to exercise and
      inducible ischemia. Thus, ergometry should routinely be included in the standard
      evaluation and follow-up protocols of HCM patients. 2) Conversely, the utility of
      ergometry in the evaluation of the arrhythmic risk in HCM patients appears to be
      limited to the identification of low-risk patients.

PMID- 9987044
TI  - "Hybrid" and combined percutaneous and surgical intervention to treat selected
      cardiac patients: a new strategy.
AB  - The term "hybrid revascularization" describes the combined use of minimally
      invasive surgery without cardiopulmonary bypass and percutaneous coronary
      revascularization in selected cases. The theoretical advantage of a less invasive
      surgical intervention must be weighted against the need for additional
      percutaneous procedures, with their own risks and limitations. We describe our
      initial experience with hybrid revascularization at the Istituto Clinico
      Humanitas in Milan. From 7/97 to 10/98, twelve patients underwent hybrid
      revascularization or a combined percutaneous and surgical intervention. A
      "classic" hybrid approach, consisting of minimally-invasive direct coronary
      artery bypass to the left anterior descending coronary artery and angioplasty or
      stenting of arteries in the right coronary artery or circumflex territories, was
      used in nine patients. In three patients, myocardial revascularization could be
      completed with percutaneous procedures after bypass surgery without
      cardiopulmonary bypass (in two patients because of severe aortic calcification)
      or valve surgery in a patient with two previous bypass operations. In-hospital
      complications were observed in three patients. Two required urgent median
      sternotomy (one for impending cardiac tamponade, one for conversion to bypass on
      extra-corporeal circulation). One patient developed atheroembolism after
      percutaneous intervention: after hospital discharge, there was a recurrence of
      symptoms, clinical deterioration with renal failure and eventually death. At a
      mean follow-up of 152 +/- 91 days (range 17 to 283) after minimally-invasive
      surgery and 166 +/- 122 days (range 13 to 397) after angioplasty, all surviving
      patients are well and free of anginal symptoms. Closer collaboration between
      surgical and interventional operators may offer a novel approach to effective
      treatment of difficult patient subsets. However, our initial experience suggests
      that a cautious evaluation of possible risks and benefits must carefully be
      entertained in each patient who may be considered a candidate for hybrid
      revascularization or combined percutaneous and surgical intervention.

PMID- 9987043
TI  - The extent of regional wall motion abnormalities identifies patients at risk of
      extensive left ventricular remodeling: implications for the design of post
      myocardial infarction trials.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The FAMIS (Fosinopril in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study) was a
      multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial designed to evaluate the
      safety and the efficacy of fosinopril in reducing left ventricular enlargement
      after acute anterior myocardial infarction. We evaluated the echocardiographic
      examinations performed during the trial in order to assess the trend of the
      remodeling process over time and to evaluate the role of infarct size in
      identifying patients at risk of progressive left ventricular dilation. METHODS: A
      complete echocardiographic examination was performed on admission, before
      discharge and three months later. Patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery or
      PTCA had a further examination prior to the procedure. The echocardiograms were
      analyzed at a central laboratory, and the end-diastolic and end-systolic left
      ventricular volumes were computed by using a modified Simpson's rule technique.
      Regional wall motion was evaluated using the centerline method, analyzing the
      left ventricular boundary along 100 chords perpendicular to the centerline
      constructed midway between the end-diastolic and the end-systolic contours. A
      quantitative infarct-size index was then computed according to the number of
      chords with a fractional shortening equal to or less than 5%. RESULTS: Left
      ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volume index significantly increased
      over time (p < 0.0001); as a result, the stroke volume increased (p < 0.0001) but
      the ejection fraction did not change. Patients were then divided according to the
      three-month infarct-size index. For both end-diastolic and end-systolic volume,
      not only did larger infarcts had higher volumes, but there was also a greater
      increase from baseline to 3 months. Moreover, larger infarcts had a lower
      ejection fraction, with a further reduction over the three months, while smaller
      infarcts had higher values and an increase over time. An infarct-size index of 25
      or larger allowed prospective identification at the baseline examination of
      patients at risk of subsequent left ventricular dilation. CONCLUSIONS: In
      conclusion, patients at greatest risk of left ventricular dilation, namely those
      with larger infarct size, constitute a group that is worth considering for any
      therapeutic effort for reducing the remodeling process. These patients could in
      fact benefit from therapeutic strategies aimed at the reduction of left
      ventricular remodeling and should be studied in clinical trials.

PMID- 9987045
TI  - Influence of cigarette smoking on the electrocardiographic diagnosis of left
      ventricular hypertrophy in arterial hypertension.
AB  - Electrocardiography (ECG) has a lower sensitivity for the diagnosis of left
      ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in smokers than in non-smokers, but the explanation
      for this finding is not known. In the setting of the Progetto Ipertensione Umbria
      Monitoraggio Ambulatoriale (PIUMA) study, all subjects smoking > or = 15
      cigarettes/day (n = 121, 89 men, age 48 +/- 11 years) were selected from 1443
      untreated hypertensive subjects undergoing ECG and M-mode echocardiography, and
      matched with 484 hypertensive non-smokers by gender (same sex), age (+/- 5
      years), and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (both +/- 5 mmHg) in a case-to
      control design with a 1:4 matching ratio. Smokers and non-smokers did not differ
      by age, gender, body mass index, and blood pressure. The voltage of SV1 + RV5 or
      V6 and RI (p < 0.05), but not of SV3 + RaVL, was lower in smokers. Sensitivity of
      ECG was lower in smokers when using peripheral or left precordial voltage
      criteria (e.g. 11 vs 26% for Sokolow-Lyon voltage). When using definitions based
      on different criteria (voltage of S wave in V3, LV axis, LV strain), sensitivity
      was not dissimilar in smokers and non-smokers (e.g. 19 vs 18% for Romhilt-Estes
      score, 40 vs 34% for Perugia criterion). Thus, in hypertensive smokers,
      sensitivity of ECG is lower than in non-smokers when using peripheral or left
      precordial voltage criteria, probably due to increased chest size in smokers
      resulting from increased lung compliance. For LV hypertrophy detection, Sokolow
      Lyon voltage should be avoided in hypertensive smokers and replaced by other
      criteria (Cornell voltage, Romhilt-Estes score, Perugia criterion), which are not
      influenced by cigarette smoking.

PMID- 9987046
TI  - Clinical impact of local implementation of agreed guidelines for the management
      of patients with acute myocardial infarction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study sought to assess the impact of local implementation of
      clinical practice guidelines on the pattern of care and outcome in patients
      admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) with acute myocardial infarction.
      BACKGROUND: Development of clinical practice guidelines is among the most popular
      of the methods intended to promote translation of results from clinical trials
      into routine care. However, very little is known about the actual impact on
      routine care of the clinical guidelines for managing patients with acute
      myocardial infarction. METHODS: We reviewed a prospectively collected cohort of
      consecutive patients discharged with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction
      from S. Maria degli Angeli, a large community-based hospital in northeast Italy.
      Eighty-six patients treated in 1996 (before guideline implementation) were
      compared with 70 patients treated in 1997 (after guideline implementation) with
      respect to patterns of use of guideline-directed pharmacotherapies for acute
      myocardial infarction, diagnostic testing, length of CCU stay and clinical
      outcome. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in male gender, age, infarct
      location and severity. Patients managed before guideline implementation were less
      likely to receive thrombolysis (36 vs 50%; p = 0.05), i.v. beta-blockers at
      admission (13 vs 31%; p = 0.002), oral beta-blockers at CCU discharge (45 vs 74%;
      p = 0.0003). When these were given, patients managed before guideline
      implementation received lower dosages of i.v. heparin, as manifested by a lower
      proportion of patients reaching adequate aPTT levels at 24 hours (14 vs 62%, p <
      0.0001), and of oral beta-blockers (-50%, p < 0.0001), and higher dosage of
      aspirin (+100%, p < 0.0001). The time to mobilization (+1 day) and the length of
      CCU stay (+0.5 day) were longer in patients managed before guideline
      implementation (p < 0.0001). Incidence of major complications was similar between
      the two groups (19 vs 13%, respectively; p = ns). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with
      myocardial infarction managed after local implementation of clinical practice
      guidelines were more likely to receive evidence-based effective
      pharmacotherapies, and to have earlier mobilization and earlier discharge from
      CCU. This study strongly supports the role of local implementation of clinical
      practice guidelines to optimize management of patients with acute myocardial
      infarction.

PMID- 9987047
TI  - [Electrocardiographic changes during at term labor].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Electrocardiographic ST-changes are known to occur during pregnancy,
      puerperium and cesarean section or spontaneous labor under oxytocic, tocolytic
      and anesthetic treatment. The aim of the study was to detect ST-changes during
      spontaneous labor in healthy women, without anesthetic or oxytocic therapy, and
      to verify their relation to plasmatic electrolyte variations and other
      pathophysiologic factors. METHODS: Electrocardiograms were performed in 46
      healthy women (age 30.4 +/- 6) at term pregnancy, during labor, 12-24 hours after
      delivery and then again three months after delivery. Hemochrome and sideremia
      were tested before labor and electrolytes (Na, K, Cl, Mg, Ca) were tested during
      each electrocardiogram. The patients were divided in two groups, patients with
      (group A) and without (group B) ST-changes. RESULTS: Before labor, three patients
      (7%) were in group A with nonspecific ST-changes (flat ST and/or fluctuating T
      wave) in precordial leads V2-V3-V4; group B had 43 patients (93%). During labor,
      group A included 27 patients (59%): 16 (59%) showed T inversion, 23 (85%)
      nonspecific changes, and eight (30%) had ST shift < or = 0.5 mm, in precordial
      and inferior leads. The three patients in group A before labor showed increased
      changes during labor. Group B had 19 patients (41%). Heart rate and blood
      pressure were within normal range in all patients. Early after delivery, seven
      patients out of 27 in labor were still in group A (15% of total) with nonspecific
      ST-changes; group B had 39 patients (85%). Three months after delivery, all
      patients were in group B. A drop in plasmatic K, detected during labor in all
      patients and returning to normal soon after delivery, was higher in group A than
      in group B (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ST-changes detectable during labor, similar
      to the ones described during pregnancy and puerperium but greater and more
      frequent, are independent of anesthetic and/or oxytocic treatment; they are not
      ischemic and disappear after delivery. They are related to the drop in plasmatic
      K, hyperventilation, hormonal changes, uterine contractions, O2-consumption and
      pain.

PMID- 9987048
TI  - [Incidence of carotid atherosclerosis in patients undergoing a coronarographic
      study. A prospective study of 193 patients].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Many studies have identified the interrelationship between carotid
      artery disease (CD) and coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study
      was to evaluate the real incidence of CD, using an echo-duplex technique, in
      patients hospitalized for diagnostic coronary angiography. METHODS AND RESULTS:
      An ultrasound evaluation with echo-duplex of the carotid arteries was performed
      on 193 consecutive patients (152 males and 41 females) hospitalized for
      diagnostic coronary arteriography. Patients were divided into three groups:
      normal coronary angiography, coronary artery with stenosis < 70% (< 50% of left
      main), coronary artery with stenosis > or = 70% of a vessel (> or = 50% of left
      main). Carotid arteries were divided into normal arteries, arteries with stenosis
      < 50%, arteries with stenosis > or = 50% and < 70% and arteries with stenosis >
      or = 70%. Seventy-one patients had one-vessel disease, 42 had two-vessel disease
      and 49 had three-vessel disease (10 with left main disease). Out of 193 patients,
      86 had CD and of these, 64 had a lumen stenosis < 50% and 22 a lumen stenosis >
      or = 50%. There was a strong correlation between the degree of carotid lumen
      stenosis and the extent of CAD. Carotid artery stenosis > or = 50% was present in
      12.96% of the patients (21/162) with coronary stenosis > or = 70% of a vessel. In
      particular, 8.45% (6/71) and 9.52 (4/42) of patients with stenosis of 1 or 2
      coronary vessels; 22.45% (11/49) with stenosis of 3 coronary vessels [40% (4/10)
      when the left main artery was involved]. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the
      relatively high frequency of CD in patients with CAD and the correlation between
      the degree of carotid artery stenosis and the extent of CAD. This seems to
      justify the use of carotid echo-duplex investigation in patients hospitalized for
      diagnostic coronary angiography and indeed, it is mandatory before coronary
      revascularization (especially in aorta-coronary bypass).

PMID- 9987049
TI  - [Usefulness of atrial vulnerability in predicting atrial fibrillation in patients
      with sick sinus syndrome treated with DDD pacemaker].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with sick sinus
      syndrome (SSS) treated with dual-chamber pacing and it may complicate their
      management. This study was undertaken to establish the usefulness of atrial
      vulnerability (AV), determined by means of transesophageal electrophysiological
      study (TES), in predicting the risk of developing AF and in deciding the type and
      program of pacemaker (PM) to be implanted in patients with SSS. METHOD: AV was
      assessed preoperatively using TES in 81 consecutive patients with SSS. AV (AF > 1
      min) was divided into "low threshold" (induction with burst < or = 300/min) and
      "high threshold" (induction with burst > or = 350 min or with incremental ramp).
      The PM was programmed to ensure constant atrial capture in all patients. Follow
      up lasted three years. No patients received antiarrhythmic drugs. RESULT: AV was
      positive in 52% of patients (Group A) and negative in 48% of patients (Group B).
      A history of paroxysmal AF was present in 52% of patients in Group A and in 12%
      of patients in Group B. At follow-up, 38% of Group A and 2% of Group B patients
      had chronic AF. AV had sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (ppv)
      and negative predictive value (npv) of 94, 59, 38 and 97%, respectively. Thirty
      eight percent of patients showed low threshold vulnerability, with sensitivity,
      specificity, ppv and npv of 87, 92, 87 and 93%, respectively. Sensitivity,
      specificity, ppv and pnv for history of AF were 93, 100, 98 and 84%,
      respectively. When the vulnerability threshold and the history of paroxysmal AF
      were considered together, the sensitivity, specificity, ppv and npv was 94, 100,
      100 and 83%, respectively. Multivariate analysis was shown to be an independent
      predictive value only for history of AF (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSION: AV determined
      by means of TES, especially with a low induction threshold, shows excellent
      sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the risk of chronic AF. It could be
      useful in patients with SSS undergoing cardiac pacing who have never had AF, thus
      allowing a more accurate choice of the type and program of PM to be implanted.
      Case histories of paroxysmal AF could represent useful criteria for selecting
      patients at a high risk of developing chronic AF.

PMID- 9987050
TI  - [Doppler tissue imaging: a new method in the study of diastolic function in left
      ventricular hypertrophy].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Many factors influence diastolic function indexes obtained by
      monitoring left ventricular filling. Recent reports suggest that the study of
      myocardial wall velocity with Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) can give diastolic
      function parameters that are less affected by the same factors. An altered
      diastolic function has been demonstrated with invasive methods in patients with
      left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The aims of this study were 1) to compare a
      group of healthy subjects with a group of patients with LVH and presumably
      affected by diastolic dysfunction, to try to demonstrate if DTI could give new
      indexes to discriminate between the two groups; 2) to compare the indexes
      obtained with DTI against the ones given by Doppler study of left ventricular
      filling in the two populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients with
      LVH were compared to forty normal subjects. We studied the posterior wall
      velocity with pulsed DTI from parasternal view, measuring the early diastolic
      velocity (E'), the late diastolic velocity (A') and the E'/A' ratio. In addition,
      we estimated the usual ventricular filling parameters and the time interval
      between R wave of ECG and the peaks of E' and E waves. RESULTS: At left
      ventricular filling, patients with LVH showed an increase in A-wave peak velocity
      (mean 75.3 cm/s versus 66.4 cm/s; p < 0.05) and prolonged deceleration time (mean
      216 ms versus 181 ms; p < 0.05), as compared to normal reference subjects. E-wave
      peak velocity and E/A ratio did not differ between the two groups. At DTI,
      patients with LVH had decreased early diastolic velocity (E') (mean 9 cm/s versus
      12 cm/s; p < 0.05) and E'/A' ratio (mean 1.53 versus 1.91; p < 0.05) as compared
      to the control group. We observed an inverse correlation between E' wave and age
      in normal subjects. There was no correlation between the early diastolic
      myocardial velocity (E') and early inflow velocity (E) in both groups. A
      correlation was found between A and A' waves in normal subjects, but not in
      hypertrophic ones. The E'-wave peak always preceded the E-wave peak in all the
      subjects. CONCLUSION: Diastolic function indexes achieved by DTI can offer
      additional information that is independent of the data derived from left
      ventricular filling.

PMID- 9987051
TI  - Refractory angina despite patent coronary artery bypass grafts: treatment with
      transmyocardial laser revascularization and scintigraphic evidence of improved
      myocardial perfusion.
AB  - Progression of coronary artery disease that causes recurrent angina in patients
      who have already undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a challenge
      to cardiac surgeons. The presence of myocardial ischemia that is not due to
      bypass grafts occlusion, but to the quality of the coronary vessels characterized
      by diffuse atherosclerotic peripheral disease, makes the situation even more
      difficult, since it is not possible to perform myocardial revascularization
      either by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) or by means of new grafts.
      We report the case of a patient who, 4 years after triple CABG, developed
      refractory angina despite patency of bypass grafts (to left anterior descending
      artery, obtuse marginal branch and posterior descending) and maximally tolerated
      conventional medical treatment. Native coronary arteries were occluded. Because
      of the exiguous caliber of the distal portion of epicardial vessels and poor run
      off, a redo CABG was judged to be unfeasible. Transmyocardial laser
      revascularization (TMLR) was performed through left anterior thoracotomy,
      minimizing the risk of damage to the grafts. Clinical improvement (from CCS class
      IV to 0) and scintiscan showing improved myocardial perfusion to the laser
      treated regions confirm the effectiveness of TMLR in otherwise inoperable
      coronary artery disease.

PMID- 9987052
TI  - Autonomic neural control during acute myocardial ischemia after phenylephrine
      infusion and subsequent nitroglycerin-induced hypotension and bradycardia.
AB  - ST-elevation acute myocardial ischemia occurred after phenylephrine infusion in a
      patient with severe coronary artery disease and recent myocardial infarction. The
      subsequent administration of nitroglycerin led to a vasovagal response with
      symptomatic hypotension and bradycardia. During myocardial ischemia, heart-rate
      variability and baroreflex sensitivity analysis described a marked activation of
      sympathetic drive and severe impairment of baroreflex control. The nitroglycerin
      induced hypotension-bradycardia was associated with complex changes in the
      autonomic pattern characterized by subsequent phases of abrupt
      activation/deactivation of the two limbs of autonomic nervous system developing
      into a loss of neural control mechanisms.

PMID- 9987053
TI  - [Reversal left diastolic ventriculo-atrial flow induced by asynchronism in a
      patient with dilated cardiopathy and VVI pacemaker].
AB  - We studied a case of reversal atrioventricular diastolic flow in a 74-year-old
      patient suffering from chronic heart failure for six years, following double
      myocardial infarction on the inferior (in 1985) and the anterior wall (in 1992).
      During his last hospitalization, he had an arrhythmic complication (advanced
      atrioventricular block) that required a definitive implantation of a VVI
      pacemaker. The patient, a working man in good hemodynamic condition over the past
      several years, acknowledged symptoms of progressive functional decline three to
      six months prior to coming to our observation for a medical check-up. The surface
      electrocardiogram showed normal electrical PM activity. Echo-Doppler examination
      beyond the improved systolic function of left ventricle showed a variable E/A
      velocity ratio of mitral valve flow, due to the casual relationship between
      spontaneous atrial electrical activity and ventricular stimulation. In addition,
      at the surface ECG we frequently observed a retrograde atrioventricular flow
      during mean phase of diastole each time the P wave occurred at the end of T wave.
      This event did not occur when the T-P interval was longer (a few more
      milliseconds) and was thus similar to a normal atrioventricular ECG sequence. To
      summarize, we can affirm that in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and
      improved systolic function requiring pacemaker implantation, the sequential mode
      of ventricular stimulation must be preferred, especially if there is normal
      electrical activity in the right atrium.

PMID- 9987054
TI  - [If it is supposed to be specialization, make it true specialization].

PMID- 9987055
TI  - [Individual pressure profile in clinical practice].

PMID- 9987056
TI  - Voluntary movements and event-related potentials in Parkinsonians (stages 1-2).
AB  - The temporal analysis of goal-directed movements has revealed that the delay of
      movement initiation in Parkinsonians might be decreased or abolished by altering
      the preparatory set and increasing the motivation level of patients. Averaged
      event-related potentials (ERPs) during different psychomotor reactions to light
      stimuli, ignore condition and difference waves between attend (reactions) and
      ignore conditions were analyzed in 19 Parkinsonian patients (stages 1-2) and 12
      healthy subjects. A deceleration of psychomotor reactions in the patients was
      found to be accompanied by a decrease in ERPs, especially in frontal recording.
      This decrease was affected by an altered pre-stimulus preparatory set in the
      patients. The decrease of endogenous ERPs (difference waves) was associated to a
      greater extent with the motor acts than with cognitive operations. The
      deceleration of the voluntary movements in Parkinsonism is assumed to be
      connected with 'deficit' of the frontal activation due to a dysfunction of the
      basal ganglia.

PMID- 9987057
TI  - Effects of race, sex, and socioeconomic status upon cardiovascular stress
      responsivity and recovery in youth.
AB  - Cardiovascular (CV) responsivity to and recovery from acute laboratory stressors,
      as derived from aggregate scores of CV functioning during and after postural
      change, video game challenge, social competence interview, and parent-child
      conflict discussion, were evaluated in 272 youths [mean age 13.5 +/- 2.6 years;
      162 Blacks (77 males, 85 females), 110 Whites (60 males, 50 females)], all with a
      positive family history of essential hypertension. Blacks demonstrated greater
      systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and lower heart rate
      responsivity compared to Whites (all P values < 0.05). A race by neighborhood
      socioeconomic status (SES) interaction for SBP responsivity was also observed
      where low SES Whites and high SES Blacks had the greatest responsivity compared
      to their same race cohorts. Additionally, upper SES Whites had the lowest total
      peripheral resistance responsivity. For recovery, Blacks and males exhibited
      higher SBP during recovery compared to Whites and females, respectively. These
      findings extend previous studies and provide further support for the hypothesis
      that recovery from stress is a potentially informative component of the
      contribution of stress responsivity to cardiovascular disease.

PMID- 9987058
TI  - Changes in pupil reaction to light in melancholic patients.
AB  - The aim of the current study was to compare the pupil reaction to light in
      depressed patients and normal control subjects. Seven depressed patients with
      melancholic features according to DSM-IV criteria and 14 age- and gender-matched
      control subjects took part in the study. All were free of any medication for at
      least 2 weeks. All were aged between 25 and 50 years. An optical method was used
      to assess the pupil reaction to a single flash. Depressed patients manifested
      shorter latency for constriction than control subjects, and a marginal difference
      in the total work produced by acetylcholine. The results of the current study
      support the theory that there is a norepinephrine hypoactivity in melancholic
      depression, with less affected acetylcholine activity.

PMID- 9987059
TI  - Electrophysiological, behavioral, and subjective indexes of workload when
      performing multiple tasks: manipulations of task difficulty and training.
AB  - This study examined whether alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) and theta
      event-related synchronization (ERS) could successfully measure changes in
      cognitive workload and training while an operator was engaged in a continuous,
      interactive, control task(s). Alpha 1 (8-10 Hz) ERD, alpha 2 (10-12 Hz) ERD, and
      theta (3-7 Hz) ERS were determined for a communications event that occurred
      during multiple task workload conditions or as a single task. Other measures
      (alpha and theta EEG power, heart rate, respiration, eye blinks, behavioral
      performance, and subjective workload ratings) were also evaluated. Results showed
      that alpha 2 EEG, heart rate, behavioral, and subjective measures were sensitive
      to changes in workload in the multiple tasks. In addition, eye blink rate and
      behavioral measures were sensitive to training. Alpha ERD and theta ERS were not
      sensitive to workload and training in our interactive, multiple task environment.
      However, they were effective indexes of cognitive/behavioral demands within an
      interactive single task.

PMID- 9987060
TI  - The influence of psychotic states on the autonomic nervous system in
      schizophrenia.
AB  - Abnormal autonomic activity in patients with schizophrenia has been reported, but
      how psychotic states influence the autonomic nervous system (ANS) has remained
      unclear due to methodological limitations. The influence of psychotic states on
      ANS activity in patients with schizophrenia was investigated using a recently
      developed method of analysis based on heart rate variability which assesses
      cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic function separately. Cardiac autonomic
      function (CAF), together with psychotic states, was assessed at the beginning and
      the end of an 8-week study period in 53 patients with chronic schizophrenia. The
      CAF in age- and sex-matched control subjects was also examined. There were no
      significant differences between the patients and the control subjects in the mean
      R-R interval (RRI) or in the indices of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic
      function. In the patients who changed in psychotic states, the parasympathetic
      index was significantly decreased without significant changes in the sympathetic
      index when their psychotic states were more pronounced, suggesting psychotic
      states suppressed the parasympathetic function without affecting the sympathetic
      function. In these patients, the mean RRI was smaller when their psychotic states
      were more pronounced. Our results demonstrate that psychotic states affect the
      ANS, suggesting a relationship between cerebral cognitive and peripheral ANS
      activities, and that this is presumably mediated through the parasympathetic
      nervous system. These findings are discussed in comparison with previous reports
      on the CAF in schizophrenia.

PMID- 9987061
TI  - Dealing with baseline differences: two principles and two dilemmas.
AB  - Two principles are presented that describe directional confounds associated with
      baseline differences: Principle 1: Change scores are confounded with baseline
      whenever data are skewed. Principle 2: When baseline differences are real, ANCOVA
      has a directional bias that magnifies differences in one direction and masks
      those in the other direction. Both principles involve a directional bias that is
      related to the direction of baseline difference and the direction of the
      hypothesized difference in change. Ethical dilemmas arise if decisions (whether
      or not to transform, whether or not to use ANCOVA) are chosen in order to
      maximize power by capitalizing on the directional bias and Type 1 error.

PMID- 9987062
TI  - P300, handedness, and corpus callosal size: gender, modality, and task.
AB  - The P300 event-related potential (ERP) was elicited in left- and right-handed
      young adult male and female subjects (n = 20/group), with auditory and visual
      stimulus modalities from single-stimulus and oddball tasks. P300 amplitude was
      larger across all conditions for left- compared to right-handed subjects at
      anterior and central electrode sites. P300 latency was shorter across all
      conditions for left- compared to right-handers. Task type did not affect the ERP
      handedness differences. Male and female subjects demonstrated comparable ERP
      handedness effects, although smaller P300 components were obtained for males
      compared to females. When considered in the context of previously reported corpus
      callosal size differences for left- vs. right-handed and male vs. female
      participants, the findings suggest that the P300 reflects callosal size and inter
      hemispheric transmission efficacy.

PMID- 9987063
TI  - Risk for hypertension and diminished pain sensitivity in women: autonomic and
      daily correlates.
AB  - Research suggests an association between risk for hypertension and decreased pain
      sensitivity. However, few studies have utilized non-behavioral indices of pain to
      corroborate subjective reports or sought to generalize these findings to women.
      Furthermore, it has not been established whether results obtained using well
      controlled laboratory pain stimuli extend to naturalistic pain. In Study 1, 80
      young adult women with (N = 40) and without (N = 40) a parental history of
      hypertension and with either normatively low or high resting systolic blood
      pressure (SBP) were exposed to two experimental pain stimuli, finger pressure and
      the cold pressor test. In addition to behavioral pain measures, respiratory sinus
      arrhythmia (RSA) reactions to pain were also assessed. Women with a parental
      history of hypertension and/or normatively high resting SBP experienced
      significantly less pain, as assessed by both behavioral and RSA measures. In
      Study 2, 37 of the participants from Study 1 monitored their behaviors, affect,
      and physical symptoms, three times a day for 32 days. Laboratory pain sensitivity
      was significantly correlated with daily reports of pain but not gastrointestinal
      symptoms. The present results confirm an association between risk for
      hypertension and hypoalgesia in women and suggest generalizability of this
      relationship to everyday life.

PMID- 9987064
TI  - Alterations in nonenzymatic biochemistry in uremia: origin and significance of
      "carbonyl stress" in long-term uremic complications.
AB  - Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), formed during Maillard or browning
      reactions by nonenzymatic glycation and oxidation (glycoxidation) of proteins,
      have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including diabetes
      and uremia. AGEs, such as pentosidine and carboxymethyllysine, are markedly
      elevated in both plasma proteins and skin collagen of uremic patients,
      irrespective of the presence of diabetes. The increased chemical modification of
      proteins is not limited to AGEs, because increased levels of advanced
      lipoxidation end products (ALEs), such as malondialdehydelysine, are also
      detected in plasma proteins in uremia. The accumulation of AGEs and ALEs in
      uremic plasma proteins is not correlated with increased blood glucose or
      triglycerides, nor is it determined by a decreased removal of chemically modified
      proteins by glomerular filtration. It more likely results from increased plasma
      concentrations of small, reactive carbonyl precursors of AGEs and ALEs, such as
      glyoxal, methylglyoxal, 3-deoxyglucosone, dehydroascorbate, and malondialdehyde.
      Thus, uremia may be described as a state of carbonyl overload or "carbonyl
      stress" resulting from either increased oxidation of carbohydrates and lipids
      (oxidative stress) or inadequate detoxification or inactivation of reactive
      carbonyl compounds derived from both carbohydrates and lipids by oxidative and
      nonoxidative chemistry. Carbonyl stress in uremia may contribute to the long-term
      complications associated with chronic renal failure and dialysis, such as
      dialysis-related amyloidosis and accelerated atherosclerosis. The increased
      levels of AGEs and ALEs in uremic blood and tissue proteins suggest a broad
      derangement in the nonenzymatic biochemistry of both carbohydrates and lipids.

PMID- 9987065
TI  - The development of x-ray imaging to study renal function.
AB  - The well-established role of the kidney in control of blood volume and ultimately
      arterial blood pressure has been underscored by the demonstration of alterations
      in renal hemodynamics and function recognized as responsible for these and other
      regulatory mechanisms. Nevertheless, the spatial complexity of intrarenal
      structure and function has made evident the need to study these separately in
      different regions of the intact kidney. Because of the introduction of x-rays,
      assessment of renal function has indeed been one of their attractive
      applications. However, despite the appeal of their noninvasiveness, several
      limitations confounded the different x-ray techniques used, most of which
      remained unresolved until the development of computed tomography. Furthermore,
      the development of fast imaging, which allows repetitive analysis of the same
      region of interest during the transit of contrast medium, holds a great potential
      to estimate intrarenal distribution of blood flow and the dynamic characteristics
      of tubular fluid flow in individual nephron segments. This latter assessment
      requires the administration of filterable x-ray contrast medium, which is cleared
      from the plasma almost exclusively by glomerular filtration, and the generation
      of contrast dilution curves. A historical review of the development and progress
      of the various x-ray techniques used will help understand the past and present of
      x-ray imaging, and will make it easier to envision the importance of their future
      roles in the study of renal physiology and pathophysiology.

PMID- 9987066
TI  - Flaxseed ameliorates interstitial nephritis in rat polycystic kidney disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Flaxseed has demonstrated useful antiinflammatory properties in a
      number of animal models and human diseases. We undertook a study to determine if
      flaxseed would also modify clinical course and renal pathology in the Han:SPRD-cy
      rat. METHODS: Male Han:SPRD-cy rats were pair fed a 10% flaxseed of control rat
      chow diet for eight weeks from weaning. Tissue was harvested for analysis of
      cystic change, apoptosis, cell proliferation, and fibrosis. Tissue was also
      harvested for lipid analysis using gas chromatography. RESULTS: Animals thrived
      on both diets. Flaxseed-fed animals had lower serum creatinine (69 vs. 81
      mumol/liter, P = 0.02), less cystic change (1.78 vs. 2.03 ml/kg, P = 0.02), less
      renal fibrosis (0.60 vs. 0.93 ml/kg, P = 0.0009), and less macrophage
      infiltration (13.8 vs. 16.7 cells/high-power video field) of the renal
      interstitium than controls. The groups did not differ in renal tubular epithelial
      cell apoptosis and proliferation. Lipid analysis revealed significant renal
      enrichment of 18 and 20 carbon omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (total omega
      6:omega 3 ratio 3.6 vs. 9.1, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Flaxseed ameliorates
      Han:SPRD-cy rat polycystic kidney disease through moderation of the associated
      chronic interstitial nephritis. The diet alters renal content of polyunsaturated
      fatty acids in a manner that may promote the formation of less inflammatory
      classes of renal prostanoids.

PMID- 9987067
TI  - Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with persistent juxtamedullary
      expression of renin in the fetal kidney.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has been linked to impaired
      renal function and hypertension, suggesting that an adverse prenatal environment
      could alter kidney development and renin production. METHODS:
      Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were employed to localize renin
      containing cells (RCCs) in the deep, middle, and superficial zones of autopsy
      kidney sections, in parallel with histologic maturation, from unexplained
      stillborn fetuses of normal weight (N = 26) and stillborn fetuses with IUGR (N =
      17). RESULTS: In the control group, the number of RCC per 100 glomeruli in the
      deep zone decreased with advancing gestation from 40 at 20 weeks gestation to
      five at term (P < 0.001), whereas the opposite change was found in the
      superficial zone (increase from 5 per 100 to 55 per 100; P < 0.001). In the IUGR
      group, the density of RCCs in both the superficial and deep zones was similar to
      the control group at 20 weeks, and no shift in renin gene expression was observed
      as gestation advanced. Histologic maturation was unaltered. CONCLUSIONS: Renin
      gene expression persists and predominates in the deep renal cortex of the
      stillborn IUGR fetus, and could contribute to the pathogenesis of neonatal
      oliguria and/or hypertension during postnatal life.

PMID- 9987068
TI  - Cyclooxygenase metabolites mediate glomerular monocyte chemoattractant protein-1
      formation and monocyte recruitment in experimental glomerulonephritis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) has been shown to play a
      significant role in the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages in experimental
      glomerulonephritis. Whereas a number of inflammatory mediators have been
      characterized that are involved in the expression of MCP-1 in renal disease,
      little is known about repressors of chemokine formation in vivo. We hypothesized
      that cyclooxygenase (COX) products influence the formation of MCP-1 and affect
      inflammatory cell recruitment in glomerulonephritis. METHODS: The effect of COX
      inhibitors was evaluated in the antithymocyte antibody model and an anti
      glomerular basement membrane model of glomerulonephritis. Rats were treated with
      the COX-1/COX-2 inhibitor indomethacin and the selective COX-2 inhibitors
      meloxicam and SC 58125. Animals were studied at 1 hour, 24 hours, and 5 days
      after induction of the disease. RESULTS: Indomethacin, to a lesser degree the
      selective COX-2 inhibitors, enhanced glomerular MCP-1 and RANTES mRNA levels.
      Indomethacin enhanced glomerular monocyte chemoattractant activity an the
      infiltration of monocytes/macrophages at 24 hours and 5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Our
      studies demonstrate that COX products may serve as endogenous repressors of MCP-1
      formation in experimental glomerulonephritis. The data suggest that COX-1 and COX
      2 products mediate these effects differently because the selective COX-2
      inhibitors had less influence on chemokine expression.

PMID- 9987069
TI  - Up-regulation of hepatocyte growth factor receptor: an amplification and
      targeting mechanism for hepatocyte growth factor action in acute renal failure.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its c-met receptor comprise a
      signaling system that has been implicated in tissue repair and regeneration. HGF
      action is specifically targeted to the damaged organ following injury; however,
      the mechanism underlying this important targeting process remains to be
      elucidated. We reasoned that induction of c-met expression might be a critical
      factor in determining the site specificity of this receptor-ligand system. To
      test this hypothesis, we examined changes in activity of the HGF/c-met system in
      the folic acid model of acute tubular injury and repair. METHODS: Tissue HGF and
      c-met mRNA levels were detected by RNase protection assay and Northern blot
      analysis following acute renal injury induced by a single injection of folic
      acid. HGF and c-met proteins were examined by a specific enzyme immunoassay and
      Western blotting, respectively. C-met expression and trans-activation were
      investigated by exposing renal epithelial mIMCD-3 cells to various cytokines in
      vitro. RESULTS: Extremely rapid induction of renal HGF and c-met mRNA was
      observed beginning one hour following injection of folic acid. Circulating plasma
      HGF protein level rose dramatically (approximately 16-fold), peaking first at two
      hours and again at 24 hours following injection. Despite elevated HGF mRNA in the
      kidney, total kidney HGF protein actually decreased significantly at 24 hours
      following injury. On the other hand, both c-met mRNA and c-met protein were
      markedly increased in the kidney, where active renal tubule repair and
      regeneration take place. In vitro studies suggested that increased levels of HGF,
      as well as other cytokines, might account for enhanced c-met expression in renal
      tubular epithelial cells. Pretreatment of the cells with actinomycin D totally
      blocked c-met induction, suggesting that induced c-met expression occurs
      primarily at the transcriptional level. Using a cloned region of the c-met
      promoter coupled to a reporter gene, we demonstrated that HGF directly stimulated
      c-met promoter transactivation in renal epithelial cells. CONCLUSION: These
      results suggest that local up-regulation of c-met transcription in the kidney is
      crucial to renal tubule repair and regeneration, not only because it increases
      overall activity of this receptor-ligand system, but also as a mechanism
      targeting HGF action specifically to renal epithelia.

PMID- 9987070
TI  - Molecular mechanisms of glucose action on angiotensinogen gene expression in rat
      proximal tubular cells.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Clinical studies have shown that the angiotensin-converting enzyme
      (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor antagonists decrease
      proteinuria and slow the progression of nephropathy in diabetes, indicating that
      Ang II plays an important role in the development of nephropathy. We have
      previously reported that high levels of glucose stimulate the expression of rat
      angiotensinogen (ANG) gene in opossum kidney (OK) proximal tubular cells. We
      hypothesized that the stimulatory effect of D(+)-glucose on the expression of the
      ANG gene in kidney proximal tubular cells is mediated via de novo synthesis of
      diacylglycerol (DAG) and the protein kinase C (PKC) signal transduction pathway.
      METHODS: Immortalized rat proximal tubular cells (IRPTCs) were cultured in
      monolayer. The stimulatory effect of glucose on the activation of polyol pathway
      and PKC signal transduction pathway in IRPTCs was determined. The immunoreactive
      rat ANG (IR-rANG) in the culture medium and the cellular ANG mRNA were measured
      with a specific radioimmunoassay and a reverse transcription-polymerase chain
      reaction assay, respectively. RESULTS: D(+)-glucose (25 mM) markedly increased
      the intracellular levels of sorbitol, fructose, DAG, and PKC activity as well as
      the expression of IR-rANG and ANG mRNA in IRPTCs. These stimulatory effects of
      D(+)-glucose (25 mM) were blocked by an inhibitor of aldose reductase, Tolrestat.
      PKC inhibitors also inhibited the stimulatory effect of D(+)-glucose (25 mM) on
      the expression of the IR-rANG in IRPTCs. The addition of phorbol 12-myristate 13
      acetate further enhanced the stimulatory effect of D(+)-glucose (25 mM) on the
      expression of the IR-rANG in IRPTCs and blocked the inhibitory effect of
      Tolrestat. CONCLUSION: These studies suggest that the stimulatory effect of a
      high level of D(+)-glucose (25 mM) on the expression of the ANG gene in IRPTCs is
      mediated, at least in part, via the de novo synthesis of DAG, an activator of PKC
      signal transduction pathway.

PMID- 9987071
TI  - Gene therapy by transforming growth factor-beta receptor-IgG Fc chimera
      suppressed extracellular matrix accumulation in experimental glomerulonephritis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The evidence that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a key
      mediator in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases is now supported by several
      lines of investigation. This evidence provides a certain base for targeting TGF
      beta as an antifibrotic agent. METHODS: We generated a chimeric cDNA, termed TGF
      beta RII/Fc, encoding an extracellular domain of the TGF-beta type II receptor
      fused to the IgG-Fc domain, and tested whether TGF beta RII/Fc could be a novel
      strategy for treating glomerular diseases. RESULTS: In cultured BNul-7 cells,
      recombinant TGF beta RII/Fc reversed the antiproliferative response induced by
      TGF-beta 1. In addition, TGF beta RII/Fc diminished the TGF-beta 1-induced
      production of EIIIA-positive fibronectin in cultured normal rat kidney cells. We
      then introduced the chimeric cDNA into the muscle of the nephritic rats by the
      hemagglutinating virus of Japan liposome-mediated gene transfer method in order
      to block the TGF-beta activity in nephritic glomeruli through systemic delivery
      of chimeric molecules. Treatment with TGF beta RII/Fc gene transfection could
      suppress the glomerular TGF-beta mRNA in nephritic rats with a comparable effect
      in the reduction of extracellular matrix accumulation. CONCLUSION: TGF beta
      RII/Fc successfully inhibited the action of TGF-beta in vitro and in vivo, and
      gene therapy by chimeric TGF beta RII/Fc might be feasible for the therapy of
      glomerulosclerosis.

PMID- 9987072
TI  - Activation of mesangial cell signaling cascades in response to mechanical strain.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Mesangial cells (MCs) are constantly exposed to pulsatile stretch and
      relaxation in their role as architectural support for the glomerulus. There is no
      cell proliferation in normal glomeruli. In contrast, animal models of increased
      glomerular capillary pressure are characterized by resident glomerular cell
      proliferation and elaboration of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, resulting in
      glomerulosclerosis. This process can be ameliorated by maneuvers, such as
      angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition, that reduce glomerular capillary
      pressure. MCs grown on ECM-coated plates and exposed to cyclic stretch/relaxation
      proliferate and produce ECM protein, suggesting that this may be a useful in
      vitro model for MC behavior in response to increased physical forces. Previous
      work has shown induction of c-fos in response to application of mechanical strain
      to MCs, which may induce increases in AP-1 transcription factor activity, which,
      in turn, may augment ECM protein and transforming growth factor beta
      transcription and cell proliferation. Stimuli that lead to c-fos induction pass
      through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Three MAPK cascades
      have been characterized in mammalian cells--p44/42 (classic MAPK), the stress
      activated protein kinase/Jun terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) pathway, and p38/HOG--and
      mechanical strain activates p44/42 and SAPK/JNK in cardiac fibroblasts. However,
      in contrast to MCs, these cells do not proliferate in response to physical force.
      Accordingly, we studied activation of the MAPK pathways in MCs exposed to
      mechanical strain. METHODS: MCs (passages 5 to 10) cultured on type 1 collagen
      coated, flexible-bottom plates were exposed to 30, 60, or 120 minutes of cyclic
      strain (60 cycles/min) by computer-driven generation of vacuums of -14 and -28
      kPa, inducing 20% and 29% elongations in the diameter of the surfaces,
      respectively. Control MCs were grown on coated rigid bottom plates. Proliferation
      was assessed at 24 hours by 3H-thymidine incorporation. Protein levels (by
      Western blot) and activity assays for all three kinase cascades were performed at
      30, 60, and 120 minutes. RESULTS: Cyclic strain/relaxation lead to an approximate
      doubling of 3H-thymidine incorporation at 24 hours (N = 3, P < 0.05) only in
      cultures stretched 29%, but not in cultures stretched 20%. At -29% elongation,
      the increase in 3H-thymidine incorporation was preceded by early activation of
      MAPK signaling pathways. p44/42 activity increased to a maximum of eightfold
      greater than control at 60 minutes. p38/HOG activity was not measurable at
      baseline but was increased markedly at 30 minutes, which was sustained through to
      120 minutes. SAPK/JNK activity was present at a very low level in MCs and was not
      changed by stretch. However, it was markedly increased by sorbitol. In MCs
      stretched to 20% elongation, lesser increases in p44/42 were seen with a similar
      time course, whereas no increases in p38/HOG or SAPK could be detected at the
      time points studied. No increase in any kinase pathway activity was seen at any
      time in static cultures. CONCLUSIONS: High-pressure cyclic stretch leads to MC
      proliferation, preceded by marked activation of p44/42 and p38/HOG MAPKs. Cell
      proliferation is not seen with low-pressure stretch, and there is only modest
      p44/42 MAPK activation, suggesting that glomerular capillary hypertension may
      lead to cell proliferation and injury partly through differential activation of
      kinase cascades.

PMID- 9987073
TI  - High glucose alters the response of mesangial cell protein kinase C isoforms to
      endothelin-1.
AB  - BACKGROUND: High glucose causes glomerular mesangial growth and increased matrix
      synthesis contributing to diabetic glomerulopathy. Our purpose was to determine
      if high glucose alters endothelin-1 (ET-1) or platelet-derived growth factor-B
      activation of mesangial cell diacylglycerol-sensitive protein kinase C (PKC)
      isoforms and subsequent stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK;
      p42, p44). METHODS: Rat mesangial cells in primary culture were growth arrested
      for 48 hours in glucose 5.6 mM (NG) or 30 mM (HG). PKC-alpha, PKC-delta, and PKC
      epsilon translocation from the cytosol-to-membrane and cytosol-to-particulate
      (cytoskeleton, nucleus) cellular fractions were measured by immunoblot using
      isoform-specific monoclonal antibodies. PKC isoforms were visualized also by
      confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. MAPK activation was measured by
      immunoblot using phospho-MAPK antibody and by detection of Elk-1 fusion protein
      phosphorylation following phospho-MAPK immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: In NG, ET-1
      stimulated cytosol-to-membrane translocation of PKC-delta and PKC-epsilon but not
      PKC-alpha. In HG, the pattern of ET-1-stimulated PKC-delta and PKC-epsilon
      changed to a cytosol-to-particulate distribution, which was confirmed by confocal
      immunofluorescence imaging. Platelet-derived growth factor-B did not cause
      translocation of PKC-alpha, PKC-delta, or PKC-epsilon in either NG or HG. In HG,
      both basal and ET-1-stimulated MAPK activities were increased significantly. In
      HG, down-regulation of PKC isoforms with phorbol ester prevented the increased
      stimulation of MAPK by ET-1. CONCLUSION: In HG, the enhanced activation of
      mesangial cell MAPK by ET-1 is PKC dependent and associated with altered
      translocation of PKC-delta and PKC-epsilon. Enhanced mesangial cell signaling
      responsiveness to vasoactive peptides in HG may constitute an important mechanism
      contributing to diabetic nephropathy.

PMID- 9987074
TI  - Effects of new analogues of vitamin D on bone cells: implications for treatment
      of uremic bone disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The use of calcitriol in the treatment of uremic hyperparathyroidism
      and renal osteodystrophy is limited in many patients by hypercalcemic side
      effects. New less calcemic analogues of calcitriol are being developed, and some
      are under clinical evaluation. To investigate whether these compounds possess
      important differences in their action on bone cells, we have studied their
      effects [with and without parathyroid hormone (PTH)] on the release and synthesis
      of the resorptive osteotropic cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6). METHODS: MG 63 and
      SaOS-2 human osteoblastic cell lines were cultured for 6 or 24 hours in media
      containing calcitriol, the sterols of interest, or 1-34 synthetic PTH. IL-6
      release was assayed by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
      IL-6 mRNA levels were assessed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
      reaction. RESULTS: We found that calcitriol and paricalcitol behaved in a similar
      fashion, resulting in increased IL-6 release only at higher concentrations (10(
      7) to 10(-9) M). In contrast, 22-oxacalcitriol and 1,25
      dihydroxydihydrotachysterol2 stimulated release to a similar extent but at
      concentrations three to four orders of magnitude lower (10(-11) to 10(-13) M),
      despite being less potent as suppressers of parathyroid function than calcitriol.
      Studies of IL-6 mRNA showed a similar pattern of concentration and cell line
      dependent transcription. CONCLUSIONS: Compounds stimulating IL-6 release at
      concentrations achievable during the treatment of uremic hyperparathyroidism
      might favor continuing linked bone formation and resorption and thereby avoid
      adynamic bone disease while still allowing profound suppression of PTH.

PMID- 9987075
TI  - Endothelin receptor antagonists influence cardiovascular morphology in uremic
      rats.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In is generally held that renal failure results in blood pressure
      (BP)-independent structural changes of the myocardium and the vasculature. The
      contribution, if any, of endothelin (ET) to these changes has been unknown.
      METHODS: We morphometrically studied random samples of the left ventricle
      myocardium and small intramyocardial arteries in subtotally (5/6) nephrectomized
      (SNx) male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with either the selective ETA receptor
      antagonist BMS182874 (30 mg/kg/day) or the nonselective ETA/ETB receptor
      antagonist Ro46-2005 (30 mg/kg/day) in comparison with either sham-operated rats,
      untreated SNx, or SNx rats treated with the angiotensin-converting enzyme
      inhibitor trandolapril (0.1 mg/kg/day). RESULTS: Eight weeks later, systolic BP
      was lower in trandolapril-treated SNx compared with untreated SNx animals. No
      decrease in BP was seen following either ET receptor antagonist at the dose used.
      A significantly increased volume density of the myocardial interstitium was found
      in untreated SNx rats as compared with sham-operated controls. Such interstitial
      expansion was prevented by trandolapril and either ET receptor antagonist. SNx
      caused a substantial increase in the wall thickness of small intramyocardial
      arteries. The increase was prevented by trandolapril or BMS182874 treatment. The
      arteriolar wall:lumen ratio was significantly lower in all treated groups when
      compared with untreated SNx. In contrast, only trandolapril, but not the ET
      receptor antagonists, attenuated thickening of the aortic media in SNx animals.
      CONCLUSIONS: The ETA-selective and ETA/ETB-nonselective receptor antagonists
      appear to prevent development of myocardial fibrosis and structural changes of
      small intramyocardial arteries in experimental chronic renal failure. This effect
      is independent of systemic BP.

PMID- 9987076
TI  - Collagen secretion and growth of mesangial cells require
      geranylgeranylpyrophosphate.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The mevalonate pathway is important for the biosynthesis of
      isoprenoids such as geranylgeranylpyrophosphate (GGPP) and farnesylpyrophosphate,
      as well as cholesterol. It has been reported that treatment with 3-hydroxy-3
      methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor ameliorates glomerular
      injury in several experimental models of progressive glomerular disease. However,
      the effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor on mesangial cell function has not been
      fully understood. This investigation was performed to elucidate the role of a
      mevalonate metabolite(s) in mesangial cell proliferation and extracellular matrix
      accumulation. METHODS: Cycling or quiescent human mesangial cells were incubated
      in RPMI 1640 containing 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FCS) in the
      absence or presence of pravastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, and
      mevalonate metabolites. Type IV collagen secretion, mRNA expression, and
      [3H]thymidine incorporation were measured. Cell cycle phases were monitored by
      flow cytometry. RESULTS: Pravastatin inhibited FCS-stimulated type IV collagen
      secretion (IC50 = 210 microM) and mRNA expression. Pravastatin also inhibited FCS
      stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation (IC50 = 430 microM). Analysis with flow
      cytometry revealed that pravastatin inhibited the G1 to S phase transition of FCS
      stimulated mesangial cells. Mevalonate reversed these inhibitory effects of
      pravastatin completely. Among two major metabolites of mevalonate, GGPP and
      farnesylpyrophosphate, only GGPP reversed pravastatin-induced inhibition of type
      IV collagen secretion, DNA synthesis, and the G1 to S phase progression.
      CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that GGPP plays critical roles for the type IV
      collagen secretion and G1 to S phase transition in FCS-stimulated human mesangial
      cells.

PMID- 9987077
TI  - Direct lysosomal uptake of alpha 2-microglobulin contributes to chemically
      induced nephropathy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: An abnormal accumulation of alpha 2-microglobulin (alpha 2 mu) in
      kidney lysosomes of male rats has been described in the nephropathy resulting
      from exposure to a variety of chemicals. The increment in lysosomal levels of
      alpha 2 mu cannot be explained by a decrease in its proteolytic susceptibility.
      Because a portion of alpha 2 mu resides in the cytosol of kidney cells, we
      decided to analyze whether this cytosolic form also contributes to the abnormal
      lysosomal accumulation of alpha 2 mu after exposure to chemicals. METHODS: Intact
      kidney lysosomes were isolated from untreated or 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (TMP)
      treated rats, and their ability to take up alpha 2 mu was compared. RESULTS:
      alpha 2 mu can be directly transported into isolated lysosomes in the presence of
      the heat shock cognate protein of 73 kDa (hsc73). alpha 2 mu specifically binds
      to a lysosomal membrane glycoprotein of 96 kDa, previously identified as the
      receptor for the hsc73-mediated lysosomal pathway of protein degradation. In rats
      exposed to TMP, the specific lysosomal transport of alpha 2 mu increases, as well
      as the ability of lysosomes to directly transport other substrates for this
      pathway. The increased lysosomal transport is mainly due to an increase in the
      levels of the receptor protein in the lysosomal membrane. CONCLUSIONS: The hsc73
      mediated lysosomal pathway contributes to the normal degradation of alpha 2 mu in
      rat kidney and liver, and the activity of this pathway is increased after
      exposure to TMP. Our results suggest that the chemically induced accumulation of
      cytosolic alpha 2 mu in lysosomes is mediated by an increased rate of direct
      uptake into lysosomes.

PMID- 9987078
TI  - Effect of recombinant human erythropoietin on endothelial cell apoptosis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) induces endothelial cell
      growth and angiogenesis in vitro. The mechanisms are unknown. Because an increase
      in endothelial cell survival could play a role in this process, we examined the
      effect of rHuEPO on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis in bovine
      pulmonary artery endothelial cells (BPAECs). METHODS: Four groups of cells were
      studied. The first group was preincubated in serum-free medium followed by
      treatment with LPS. The second group was preincubated with rHuEPO followed by
      LPS. The third group was treated with only rHuEPO. Control cells were cultured in
      the absence of rHuEPO and LPS. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometric DNA
      analysis, propidium iodide staining, cellular DNA fragmentation by ELISA, and gel
      electrophoresis. RESULTS: LPS-treated cells showed an increase in hypodiploid DNA
      (36.4 +/- 6.1%) compared with controls (9.8 +/- 3.3%, P < 0.001). Preincubation
      with rHuEPO decreased this effect to 14.7 +/- 5.1% (P < 0.001). Apoptosis
      determined by propidium iodide was observed in 33 +/- 8% of LPS-treated cells,
      but in only 9 +/- 3% of cells preincubated with rHuEPO cells (P < 0.001).
      Similarly, DNA fragmentation was decreased in rHuEPO pretreated cells compared
      with LPS alone (0.155 OD +/- 0.02 vs. 0.538 +/- 0.09 OD, P < 0.001). DNA
      breakdown was observed in only LPS-treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results
      suggest that rHuEPO prevents LPS-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. This
      protective effect could be an important factor in the action of rHuEPO on
      vascular endothelium.

PMID- 9987079
TI  - Recruitment of renal tubular epithelial cells expressing verotoxin-1 (Stx1)
      receptors in HIV-1 transgenic mice with renal disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children are at risk of
      developing several renal parenchymal diseases, including hemolytic uremic
      syndrome (HUS). HUS is most frequently caused by infection with enteric
      Escherichia coli producing Shiga-like toxins (Stxs). In vitro studies have shown
      that cytokines known to be present at high systemic levels in HIV-1-infected
      children up-regulate the expression of the Stx glycolipid receptor (Gb3) in
      cultured endothelial cells. Thus, we studied whether HIV-1 or the HIV-associated
      "cytokine milieu" could modulate the expression of renal Stxs receptors in vivo.
      METHODS: We used HIV-1 transgenic mice (HIV-Tg) expressing a deletion mutant of
      HIV-1 (pNL4-3). These mice develop renal disease similar to that of HIV-1
      infected children. The expression of Gb3 was studied in renal sections from
      control and HIV-Tg mice by histochemistry, thin layer chromatography overlay
      studies, and high-pressure liquid chromatography. RESULTS: By histochemistry, we
      found a significant recruitment of renal tubular epithelial cells expressing Gb3
      in HIV-Tg mice with nephropathy, whereas kidneys from control mice showed limited
      staining in renal tubules. Gb3 was not found in glomeruli of either control or
      HIV-Tg mice. Thin layer chromatography overlay studies with Stxs and high
      pressure liquid chromatography studies confirmed the marked elevation of Gb3 in
      HIV-Tg kidneys with renal disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the
      presence of HIV-associated nephropathy is associated with the recruitment of
      renal tubular epithelial cells expressing Stx1 receptors. The up-regulation of
      Stx1 receptors in HIV-diseased kidneys may increase the sensitivity of these
      cells to the cytotoxic effects of Stxs.

PMID- 9987080
TI  - Extracellular matrix regulates apoptosis in human neutrophils.
AB  - BACKGROUND: During inflammation, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) migrate
      into the affected tissue interacting with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. We
      tested the hypothesis that PMN-matrix interaction affects PMN apoptosis. METHODS:
      Apoptosis of human PMNs was detected by DNA-fragmentation assay and was
      quantitated by flow cytometry, ultraviolet and light microscopy. Cell adhesion
      was assessed by a toluidine blue assay, and cell spreading was detected by phase
      contrast microscopy. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation was studied using Western
      blotting and confocal microscopy. RESULTS: PMN apoptosis was not different in
      unstimulated cultures on either surface-adherent fibronectin or on PolyHema, a
      surface that prevents cell adherence. However, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF
      alpha) treatment significantly increased apoptosis on fibronectin (37 +/- 4%)
      compared with PolyHema (20 +/- 3%). Tests on other matrix substances revealed
      that the percentage of apoptotic PMNs in the presence of TNF alpha was 8 +/- 1%
      on PolyHema, 26 +/- 4% on fibronectin, 17 +/- 2% on collagen I, 16 +/- 2% on
      collagen IV, and 16 +/- 3% on laminin (P < 0.05 for all matrices compared with
      PolyHema). Preincubation with genistein (50 microM) significantly inhibited TNF
      alpha-mediated apoptosis on fibronectin (39 +/- 4% to 21 +/- 4%) but not on
      PolyHema (21 +/- 4% to 16 +/- 4%). Genistein also reduced PMN spreading on
      fibronectin. In contrast, inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase and
      protein kinase C showed no effect on PMN apoptosis. Fibronectin strongly
      increased tyrosine phosphorylation of three 102, 63, and 54 kDa proteins. Five
      newly tyrosine-phosphorylated 185, 85, 66, 56, and 42 kDa bands were also
      visible. Using confocal microscopy, highest tyrosine phosphorylation was
      localized to sites of cell-matrix interaction. CONCLUSIONS: ECM influences
      apoptosis in TNF alpha-activated, adherent, spreading PMNs. The process is
      regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. Acceleration of apoptosis may shorten the
      PMN lifespan and thereby locally regulate inflammation.

PMID- 9987081
TI  - Induction of cyclooxygenase-2 in human synovial cells by beta 2-microglobulin.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Prostaglandins (PGs) are important mediators of inflammation in
      arthritis. We evaluated the role of the cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme, which
      regulates PG biosynthesis, in osteoarthropathy associated with hemodialysis
      associated amyloidosis (HAA) by characterizing COX-2 expression in beta 2
      microglobulin-treated human synovial cells. METHODS: We examined the effects of
      beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m), a major constituent protein of amyloid fibrils in
      HAA, on the COX-2 protein and mRNA expression in human synovial cells using
      Western blot and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: beta
      2m selectively increased the biosynthesis of COX-2 protein and induction of COX-2
      mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoabsorption of beta 2m-containing media by
      anti-beta 2m-specific antibody abrogated beta 2m-mediated COX-2 expression on
      synovial cells. On the other hand, dexamethasone markedly suppressed the
      induction of COX-2 protein and mRNA in beta 2m-stimulated synovial cells.
      CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that induction of COX-2 expression by beta 2m
      may be an important component of the inflammatory process in hemodialysis
      associated osteoarthropathy.

PMID- 9987082
TI  - Increased levels of transforming growth factor-beta in HIV-associated
      nephropathy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) is a
      renal disease of unknown pathogenesis. Recent evidence suggests that the
      fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) might be involved.
      We hypothesized that overproduction of TGF-beta in the kidney might be involved
      in the pathogenesis of HIVAN. METHODS: The mRNA and protein expression of TGF
      beta isoforms, TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2, and TGF beta 3, deposition of matrix
      proteins induced by TGF-beta, and levels of HIV Tat protein were studied in
      HIVAN. Controls included normal and diseased kidneys from HIV-positive and 
      negative patients. The ability of Tat to induce production of TGF-beta and matrix
      proteins was also studied in human mesangial cells. RESULTS: Normal kidneys, thin
      basement membrane nephropathy, and minimal change disease were negative for the
      three TGF-beta isoforms and Tat. In HIVAN, levels of TGF-beta isoforms and Tat
      were significantly increased, along with the expression of TGF-beta mRNA and
      deposition of matrix proteins stimulated by TGF-beta. Increased levels of TGF
      beta isoforms, but not Tat, were also found in other glomerular diseases
      characterized by matrix accumulation. HIV infection, in the absence of HIVAN, was
      not associated with an increase in TGF-beta or Tat expression. Tat stimulated the
      expression and production of TGF-beta 1 and matrix proteins by human mesangial
      cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that overproduction of TGF-beta is
      involved in the pathogenesis of HIVAN.

PMID- 9987083
TI  - Cl- channels in basolateral TAL membranes: XIII. Heterogeneity between
      basolateral MTAL and CTAL Cl- channels.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic phosphate
      (cAMP) analogues augment net NaCl absorption in microperfused mouse medullary
      thick ascending limb (MTAL) segments but not in cortical thick ascending limb
      (CTAL) segments. This ADH-dependent MTAL effect is due to increased apical
      Na+/K+/2Cl- admittance and apical K+ recycling accompanied by a rise in
      calculated intracellular Cl- concentrations and by a threefold rise in
      basolateral Cl- conductance. rbClC-Ka, a 75.2 member of the ClC family of Cl-
      channels, mediates net Cl- absorption in the MTAL. The gating characteristics of
      rbClC-Ka channels from their intracellular surfaces are, to our knowledge, unique
      among Cl- channels. The channels are activated by small increases in
      intracellular Cl- (K1/2 = 10 mM Cl-). Adenosine triphosphate plus the catalytic
      subunit of protein kinase A (ATP + PKA) gate rbClC-Ka when cytosolic Cl-
      concentrations are 25 mM. Thus, in mouse MTAL segments, ADH-dependent rises in
      cytosolic Cl- are primarily responsible for basolateral Cl- conductance
      increases. METHODS: These experiments compared the properties of Cl- channels
      fused into bilayers from basolaterally enriched vesicles from cultured mouse CTAL
      cells with rbClC-Ka channels. RESULTS: The key findings were that anti-rbClC-Ka,
      antibody that recognizes and blocks rbClC-Ka, recognized and blocked basolateral
      Cl- channels in CTAL cells, that the extracellular faces of the CTAL channels
      were, like rbClC-Ka, substrate gated with a K1/2 of approximately 170 mM Cl-, and
      that, unlike rbClC-Ka channels, cytosolic faces of basolateral CTAL Cl- channels
      were not gated by either increasing cytosolic Cl- concentrations or cytosolic
      (ATP + PKA). This failure of activation of basolateral CTAL Cl- channels was
      confirmed using excised patch clamp studies. Finally, on Western blots, anti
      rbClC-Ka recognized a 74 kDa band on basolateral CTAL vesicles. CONCLUSIONS:
      Basolateral CTAL Cl- channels probably share a high degree of structural homology
      and possibly molecular mass with rbClC-Ka channels. However, significant
      differences between rbClC-Ka channels and CTAL Cl- channels account for the
      inability of increasing either cytosolic Cl- or (PKA + ATP) to raise Po in CTAL
      basolateral Cl- channels.

PMID- 9987084
TI  - Increased dietary oxalate does not increase urinary calcium oxalate saturation in
      hypercalciuric rats.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Human calcium oxalate (CaOx) nephrolithiasis may occur if urine is
      supersaturated with respect to the solid-phase CaOx. In these patients, dietary
      oxalate is often restricted to reduce its absorption and subsequent excretion in
      an effort to lower supersaturation and to decrease stone formation. However,
      dietary oxalate also binds intestinal calcium which lowers calcium absorption and
      excretion. The effect of increasing dietary oxalate on urinary CaOx
      supersaturation is difficult to predict. METHODS: To determine the effect of
      dietary oxalate intake on urinary supersaturation with respect to CaOx and
      brushite (CaHPO4), we fed 36th and 37th generation genetic hypercalciuric rats a
      normal Ca diet (1.2% Ca) alone or with sodium oxalate added at 0.5%, 1.0%, or
      2.0% for a total of 18 weeks. We measured urinary ion excretion and calculated
      supersaturation with respect to the CaOx and CaHPO4 solid phases and determined
      the type of stones formed. RESULTS: Increasing dietary oxalate from 0% to 2.0%
      significantly increased urinary oxalate and decreased urinary calcium excretion,
      the latter presumably due to increased dietary oxalate-binding intestinal
      calcium. Increasing dietary oxalate from 0% to 2.0% decreased CaOx
      supersaturation due to the decrease in urinary calcium offsetting the increase in
      urinary oxalate and the decreased CaHPO4 supersaturation. Each rat in each group
      formed stones. Scanning electron microscopy revealed discrete stones and not
      nephrocalcinosis. X-ray and electron diffraction and x-ray microanalysis revealed
      that the stones were composed of calcium and phosphate; there were no CaOx
      stones. CONCLUSION: Thus, increasing dietary oxalate led to a decrease in CaOx
      and CaHPO4 supersaturation and did not alter the universal stone formation found
      in these rats, nor the type of stones formed. These results suggest the necessity
      for human studies aimed at determining the role, if any, of limiting oxalate
      intake to prevent recurrence of CaOx nephrolithiasis.

PMID- 9987085
TI  - Reduced endogenous endothelin-1-mediated vascular tone in chronic renal failure.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Endothelin-1 generated by the vascular endothelium contributes to
      basal vascular tone and blood pressure in healthy humans. Plasma concentrations
      of endothelin-1, which are elevated in chronic renal failure (CRF), may
      contribute to increased vascular tone. METHODS: We investigated the contribution
      of endogenous and exogenous endothelin-1 to the maintenance of vascular tone in
      patients with CRF (creatinine > or = 200 mumol/liter) and in age- and sex-matched
      healthy subjects. In a series of experiments, we measured forearm vascular
      responses to intra-arterial norepinephrine (30 to 240 pmol/min), endothelin-1 (5
      pmol/min), the selective endothelin A (ETA) receptor antagonist BQ-123 (3 mg/hr),
      the mixed endothelin-converting enzyme and neutral endopeptidase inhibitor
      phosphoramidon (30 nmol/min), and the selective neutral endopeptidase inhibitor
      thiorphan (30 nmol/min). RESULTS: The maximum reduction in forearm blood flow
      (FBF) to norepinephrine in CRF (33 +/- 7%) was similar to that in controls (43 +/
      7%, P = 0.53). Endothelin-1 also produced a similar reduction in FBF in CRF (35
      +/- 6%) and controls (36 +/- 5%, P = 0.81). BQ-123 increased FBF in CRF (11 +/-
      4%) but significantly less than in controls (44 +/- 10%, P = 0.02).
      Phosphoramidon increased FBF in CRF (68 +/- 20%), again significantly less than
      in controls (181 +/- 41%, P = 0.001). Thiorphan reduced FBF similarly in CRF (22
      +/- 6%) and controls (14 +/- 6%, P = 0.39). Responses to phosphoramidon were
      substantially greater than to BQ-123. CONCLUSIONS: These studies show that
      endogenous generation of endothelin-1 contributes to the maintenance of resting
      vascular tone in patients with CRF, as well as in healthy subjects. Although the
      contribution of endogenous endothelin-1 to resting vascular tone appears to be
      reduced in CRF, ETA receptor antagonism, and particularly endothelin-converting
      enzyme inhibition, should be explored as means by which to reduce vascular tone
      and blood pressure in patients with CRF.

PMID- 9987086
TI  - Low-protein diet and kidney function in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with
      diabetic nephropathy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Initiation of a low-protein diet (LPD) in patients with various
      nephropathies induces a faster initial and slower subsequent decline in the
      glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Whether this initial phenomenon is reversible
      or irreversible remains to be elucidated. METHODS: We performed an eight-week
      prospective, randomized, controlled study comparing the effect of an LPD with a
      normal-protein diet (NPD) in 29 insulin-dependent diabetic patients with diabetic
      nephropathy. At baseline, the patients were randomized to either an LPD (0.6 g.kg
      1.24 hr-1, LPD group, N = 14) or their NPD (NPD group, N = 15) for four weeks
      (phase I). Between weeks 4 and 8, all patients received their NPD (phase II,
      recovery). Dietary protein intake (g.kg-1.24 hr-1), GFR (51Cr-EDTA, ml.min-1.1.73
      m-2), albuminuria (enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay, mg.24 hr-1), and arterial
      blood pressure (Hawksley random zero sphygmomanometer, mm Hg) were measured at
      baseline and after four- and eight-weeks of follow-up. During the investigation,
      all patients in the LPD group (N = 12) and in the NPD group (N = 14) received
      their usual antihypertensive treatment. RESULTS: At baseline, the LPD group and
      the NPD group were comparable regarding dietary protein intake, GFR, albuminuria,
      and arterial blood pressure. During phase I, a significant decline in dietary
      protein intake, GFR, and albuminuria (mean, 95% CI) was observed in the LPD group
      [0.4 (0.3 to 0.5) g.kg-1.24 hr-1, 8.6 (3.2 to 13.9) ml.min-1.1.73 m-2, and 28.7
      (14.0 to 40.9)%, respectively] compared with the NPD group [0.0 (-0.1 to 0.2)
      g.kg-1.24 hr-1 (P < 0.0001 between diets), 2.5 (-1.8 to 6.8) ml.min-1.1.73 m-2 (P
      = 0.07 between diets), and 0.0 (-20.1 to 23.5)% (P < 0.05 between diets),
      respectively]. Conversely, during phase II, a significant increase in dietary
      protein intake, GFR, and albuminuria [mean, 95% CI; 0.3 (0.2 to 0.5) g.kg-1.24 hr
      1, 5.9 (0.8 to 11.1) ml.min-1.1.73 m-2, and 25.0 (4.5 to 49.6)%, respectively]
      took place in the LPD group compared with the NPD group [0.0 (-0.2 to 0.1) g.kg
      1.24 hr-1 (P < 0.0001 between diets), -2.9 (-6.4 to 0.6) ml.min-1.1.73 m-2 (P <
      0.01 between diets), and 2.9 (-18.3 to 29.7)% (P = 0.16 between diets),
      respectively]. Arterial blood pressure was comparable in the two groups of
      patients during phase I and II. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary protein restriction for four
      weeks induces a reversible decline in GFR and albuminuria in insulin-dependent
      diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy, whereas systemic blood pressure
      remains unchanged.

PMID- 9987087
TI  - Coadministration of albumin and furosemide in patients with the nephrotic
      syndrome.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In patients with nephrotic syndrome, the natriuretic effect of
      furosemide (FU) is diminished. The effect of coadministration of FU and human
      albumin (HA) has remained controversial. METHODS: In a double-blind, placebo
      controlled study, nine nephrotic patients (six males, 48 +/- 4 years) on
      standardized sodium chloride intake, in random order on three separate days,
      received by intravenous administration for 60 minutes either (a) 60 mg FU plus a
      sham infusion, (b) 60 mg FU plus 200 ml of a 20% solution of HA, or (c) sham
      infusion plus 200 ml of a 20% solution of HA. Urinary volume, sodium, albumin and
      FU excretion, renal hemodynamics, and plasma atrial natriuretic factor
      concentration were assessed. RESULTS: Administration of FU alone significantly (P
      < 0.01) increased mean cumulative urinary sodium (259 +/- 30 mmol) and volume
      excretion (2684 +/- 167 ml) in the first eight hours as compared with the HA
      infusion alone (118 +/- 12 mmol, 1827 +/- 141 ml). The coadministration of FU and
      HA caused an even more marked increase (P < 0.01 vs. HA alone) of urinary sodium
      (312 +/- 28 mmol) and volume excretion (3230 +/- 201 ml); the difference to FU
      administration alone was significant (P < 0.05). Plasma atrial natriuretic
      factor, serum albumin concentration, and urinary albumin excretion increased
      significantly on both HA infusion days, whereas urinary excretion of FU remained
      unchanged with HA coadministration. Glomerular filtration rate (CIn) was not
      significantly affected by any of the infusion protocols, but effective renal
      plasma flow (CPAH) increased significantly on both HA infusion days. CONCLUSIONS:
      Coadministration of HA potentiates the action of FU in patients with the
      nephrotic syndrome, but only modestly. This effect is mediated by changes in
      renal hemodynamics.

PMID- 9987088
TI  - Imprecision of the hemodialysis dose when measured directly from urea removal.
      Hemodialysis Study Group.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The postdialysis blood urea nitrogen (BUN; Ct) is a pivotal parameter
      for assessing hemodialysis adequacy by conventional blood-side methods, but Ct is
      relatively unstable because of hemodialysis-induced disequilibrium. The
      uncertainty associated with this method is potentially reduced or eliminated by
      measuring urea removed on the dialysate side, a more direct approach that can
      determine adequacy from the fraction of urea removed and by substituting an
      estimate of the equilibrated postdialysis BUN (Ceq) for Ct. For a patient with a
      known urea volume (V), Ceq, the equilibrated Kt/V (eKt/V), and the solute removal
      index (SRI) can be calculated from the predialysis BUN (C0), total urea nitrogen
      removed (A), and V from simple mass balance calculations (dialysate/volume
      method). However, a theoretical error analysis showed that relatively small
      errors in A, C0, or V are magnified when SRI or eKt/V is calculated using this
      method, especially at higher eKt/V values (for example, if eKt/V = 1.4 per
      dialysis, a 7% dialysate collection error causes a 20% error in eKt/V). METHODS:
      During three to four baseline dialyses in each of 39 patients enrolled in the
      pilot phase of the HEMO Study, "A" was measured using an instrument that sampled
      dialysate frequently (Biostat), and V was calculated from A, C0, and Ceq (median
      CV for V = 5.6%). The mean V was then applied to the dialysate/volume method to
      estimate eKt/V and SRI during two to five subsequent dialyses per patient
      (comparison dialyses). The accuracy and precision of these estimates were
      assessed by comparing them with eKt/V and SRI derived from a direct measurement
      of Ceq drawn 30 minutes after dialysis (reference method), from mathematical
      curve-fitting of sequential dialysate urea concentrations (dialysate curve-fit
      method), and from another blood-side method that estimates eKt/V from single pool
      Kt/V and the fractional rate of solute removal (rate method): eKt/V = spKt/V -
      0.6.K/V + 0.03. RESULTS: During 128 comparison dialyses, median absolute errors
      for calculated eKt/V compared with the reference method were 0.169, 0.061, and
      0.071 for the dialysate/volume method, the rate method, and the dialysate curve
      fitting method, respectively. The corresponding correlation coefficients were
      0.47, 0.88, and 0.81. For SRI, median absolute errors were 0.044, 0.018, and
      0.027, and the correlation coefficients were 0.54, 0.85, and 0.74 for the three
      methods. CONCLUSIONS: The precision of eKt/V and SRI measurements was
      significantly lower for the dialysate/volume method compared with the blood-side
      methods. Inclusion of the dialysate curve analysis provided by the Biostat
      restored precision to the dialysate method to a level comparable to that of the
      blood-side methods. New techniques employing dialysate urea analysis should
      include a concentration profile to avoid these inherent methodological errors and
      assure the accuracy of eKt/V and SRI.

PMID- 9987089
TI  - Inflammation enhances cardiovascular risk and mortality in hemodialysis patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis, a major problem in patients on chronic hemodialysis,
      has been characterized as an inflammatory disease. C-reactive protein (CRP), the
      prototypical acute phase protein in humans, is a predictor of cardiovascular
      mortality in the general population. We hypothesize that several of the classic,
      as well as nontraditional, cardiovascular risk factors may respond to acute phase
      reactions. An activated acute phase response may influence or predict
      cardiovascular risk. METHODS: In 280 stable hemodialysis patients, serum lipids,
      apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and B, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], fibrinogen, and serum
      albumin (Salb) were determined in relation to CRP and serum amyloid A (SAA), two
      sensitive markers of an acute phase response. Mortality was monitored
      prospectively over a two year period. RESULTS: Serum CRP and SAA were found to be
      elevated (more than 8 and more than 10 mg/liter, respectively) in 46% and 47% of
      the patients in the absence of clinically apparent infection. Patients with
      elevated CRP or SAA had significantly higher serum levels of Lp(a), higher plasma
      fibrinogen, and lower serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apo A
      I, and Salb than patients with normal CRP or SAA. The rise in Lp(a) concentration
      was restricted to patients exhibiting high molecular weight apo(a) isoforms.
      During follow-up, 72 patients (25.7%) had died, mostly due to cardiovascular
      events (58%). Overall mortality and cardiovascular mortality were significantly
      higher in patients with elevated CRP (31% vs. 16%, P < 0.0001, and 23% vs. 5%, P
      < 0.0001, respectively) or SAA (29% vs. 19%, P = 0.004, and 20 vs. 10%, P =
      0.008, respectively) and were also higher in patients with Salb of lower than 40
      g/liter (44% vs. 14%, P < 0.0001, and 34% vs. 6%, P < 0.0001, respectively).
      Univariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that age, diabetes, pre-existing
      cardiovascular disease, body mass index, CRP, SAA, Salb, fibrinogen, apo A-I, and
      Lp(a) were significantly associated with the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular
      mortality. During multivariate regression analysis, SAA, fibrinogen, apo A-I, and
      Lp(a) lost their predictive values, but age and CRP remained powerful independent
      predictors of both overall death and cardiovascular death. CONCLUSION: These
      results suggest that a considerable number of hemodialysis patients exhibit an
      activated acute phase response, which is closely related to high levels of
      atherogenic vascular risk factors and cardiovascular death. The mechanisms of
      activated acute phase reaction in patients on chronic hemodialysis remain to be
      identified. A successful treatment of the inflammatory condition may improve long
      term survival in these patients.

PMID- 9987090
TI  - Increased susceptibility to erythrocyte C5b-9 deposition and complement-mediated
      lysis in chronic renal failure.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Decreased red blood cell survival contributes to the anemia of
      chronic renal failure patients. Because patients on chronic dialysis therapy are
      frequently exposed to excessive complement activation, we investigated the
      susceptibility of this patient population to erythrocyte C5b-9 deposition,
      complement-mediated lysis, and ghost formation. METHODS: We developed a flow
      cytometric assay using antibodies to both glycophorin and the C5b-9 complex to
      detect C5b-9 deposition on intact erythrocytes and erythrocyte ghosts. Serum C5b
      9 levels and C5b-9 deposition on erythrocyte ghosts were measured by enzyme
      linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: A significant increase in C5b-9 deposition
      on intact erythrocytes was demonstrated in patients with advanced chronic renal
      failure (2.2 +/- 0.5%) and in patients on chronic maintenance hemodialysis (2.3
      +/- 0.4%) compared with normal volunteers (0.9 +/- 0.1%, P = 0.005 vs. chronic
      renal failure, P < 0.001 vs. chronic hemodialysis patients). There was also a
      significantly higher percentage of C5b-9-positive erythrocyte ghosts in patients
      with advanced chronic renal failure (20.6 +/- 5%) and in chronic hemodialysis
      patients (15.5 +/- 3.1%) compared with normal controls (2.6 +/- 0.9%, P < or =
      0.001 vs. advanced chronic renal failure and chronic hemodialysis patients).
      Treatment of erythrocyte preparations with cobra venom factor, which activates
      the complement cascade, resulted in dramatic increases in the percentages of C5b
      9-positive erythrocyte ghosts in patients with chronic renal failure (49.9 +/-
      6.9%) and in chronic hemodialysis patients (45.0 +/- 4.2%) compared with normal
      volunteers (22.3 +/- 2.7%, P < 0.001 vs. chronic renal failure and chronic
      hemodialysis patients). Erythrocyte membrane expression of the complement
      regulatory proteins CD59 and CD55 did not significantly differ between normal
      controls and hemodialysis patients. Plasma C5b-9 levels after cobra venom factor
      stimulation were higher in chronic renal failure patients (538 micrograms/ml)
      compared with normal controls (345 micrograms/ml, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:
      Patients with chronic renal failure and on hemodialysis therapy are susceptible
      to erythrocyte C5b-9 deposition with subsequent lysis and ghost formation.
      Susceptibility to complement-mediated erythrocyte injury may contribute to the
      anemia of chronic renal disease.

PMID- 9987091
TI  - Hyaluronan decreases peritoneal fluid absorption: effect of molecular weight and
      concentration of hyaluronan.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We have recently shown that the addition of hyaluronan to peritoneal
      dialysis solution could decrease the peritoneal fluid absorption rate, possibly
      through decreasing peritoneal tissue hydraulic conductivity. The physical
      chemical properties of hyaluronan were found to be both molecular weight and
      concentration dependent. In this study, we investigated the effects of different
      molecular weight as well as different concentrations of hyaluronan on the
      peritoneal fluid kinetics. METHODS: A four-hour dwell study was performed in 48
      male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 rats in each group) with 131I albumin (RISA) as an
      intraperitoneal volume marker. Each rat was intraperitoneally injected with 25 ml
      of 1.36% glucose dialysate alone (control) or with 0.01% hyaluronan (HA) with
      different molecular weights [85,000 (HA85K group), 280,000 (HA280K group),
      500,000 (HA500K group), and 4,000,000 (HA4M group) molecular wt] or with a
      different concentrations of hyaluronan [(molecular wt 500,000); 0.01% (0.01% HA
      group), 0.05% (0.05% HA group), 0.1% (0.1% HA group), and 0.5% (0.5% HA group)
      hyaluronan]. RESULTS: The peritoneal fluid absorption rate (as assessed by the
      RISA elimination rate, KE) was significantly decreased in the HA500K and H4M
      groups as well as in all the different concentration groups (with molecular wt
      500,000) as compared with the control group, resulting in significantly higher
      net fluid removal in these groups (except for the H4M group) as compared with the
      control group. In the 0.5% HA group (but not in the other hyaluronan groups), the
      direct lymphatic absorption (KEB) was also significantly decreased. The
      transcapillary ultrafiltration rate (Qu) was significantly lower in the HA4M
      group as compared with the control group but significantly higher in the 0.05% HA
      (and tended to be higher in the 0.1% HA group) as compared with the other groups.
      No difference in Qu was found between the 0.5% HA group as compared with the
      control group, despite a more marked decrease in KE in this group as compared
      with the H4M group. There were no significant differences in KE, Qu, and net
      fluid removal between the HA85K and HA280K groups and the control group.
      CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that (a) the addition of hyaluronan to dialysate
      could decrease peritoneal fluid absorption and thus increase the net
      ultrafiltration; this effect appears to be both size dependent and concentration
      dependent. (b) High molecular weight fraction of hyaluronan may also decrease the
      transcapillary Qu by decreasing tissue hydraulic conductivity. (c) A higher
      concentration of hyaluronan in dialysate resulted in a more marked decrease in
      peritoneal fluid absorption (absorption to peritoneal tissues as well as direct
      lymphatic absorption), possibly through both decreasing tissue hydraulic
      conductivity and increasing fluid viscosity. (d) Decreasing tissue hydraulic
      conductivity by adding a high concentration of hyaluronan to dialysate does not
      decrease the transcapillary ultrafiltration, possibly because the osmotic effect
      of hyaluronan may counterbalance the decrease in transcapillary ultrafiltration
      because of the decrease in tissue hydraulic conductivity.

PMID- 9987092
TI  - Nature and mediators of renal lesions in kidney transplant patients given
      cyclosporine for more than one year.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine (CSA) has improved patients and organ-graft survival
      rates, but its chronic nephrotoxicity is still an issue. Although prolonged
      vasoconstriction could contribute to chronic CsA tubulointerstitial changes by
      producing chronic ischemia, this relationship has been difficult to demonstrate
      thus far, and cellular origin and mediators of these structural alterations
      remain ill-defined. METHODS: As a part of a clinical trial in kidney transplant
      recipients on triple immunosuppressive therapy (CsA, azathioprine and steroid),
      which includes renal biopsy as "per protocol," 22 patients enrolled between 12
      and 24 months posttransplantation underwent renal hemodynamic evaluation by
      measuring glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow by the plasma
      clearance of unlabeled iohexol and the renal clearance of para-aminohippuric
      acid, respectively. In parallel, the CsA pharmacokinetic profile was also
      determined. A week later, a protocol biopsy of kidney graft was performed. Light
      microscopy examination and localization of endothelin-1, RANTES, monocyte
      chemoattractant protein-1 gene expression by in situ hybridization in the graft
      specimens were evaluated and related to the pattern of histologic lesions.
      RESULTS: Ten out of 22 kidney transplant recipients who underwent the protocol
      biopsy had CsA nephrotoxicity, eight had chronic rejection, and four had no
      lesions at histological examination. The total daily exposure to CsA was higher
      in patients with CsA nephrotoxicity than in those with chronic rejection or no
      lesions at biopsy. Renal function was preserved in the CsA toxicity group as
      compared with the chronic rejection group, despite some degree of renal
      hypoperfusion. Tubular atrophy and striped interstitial fibrosis were found in
      all patients with light microscopical evidence of CsA nephrotoxicity, whereas
      glomerular and arteriolar lesions were less frequent. Intense staining for
      endothelin-1, RANTES, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 mRNAs selectively
      localized at tubular epithelial cells was found in biopsies taken from patients
      with CsA nephrotoxicity, but not in the chronic graft rejection group, whose
      tubuli had only minimal staining for RANTES mRNA on a few occasions. CONCLUSION:
      Long-term CsA administration to kidney allograft recipients leads to
      tubulointerstitial injury independently of its vascular effect. The possible
      contribution to the development of interstitial fibrosis of inflammatory and
      growth factors released by tubular cells in which CsA accumulates is proposed.

PMID- 9987093
TI  - Effects of sodium nitroprusside on hemodialysis-induced platelet activation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis (HD) is associated with increased platelet activation as
      reflected by enhanced P-selectin expression on platelets and by increased
      formation of heterotypic platelet-leukocyte aggregates. Both may play a
      pathophysiologic role in HD-associated platelet dysfunction or the propagation of
      atherosclerosis. As nitric oxide (NO) is a potent inhibitor of platelet
      activation, we were interested in whether HD-induced platelet activation could be
      blunted by a NO donor. METHODS: After a pilot study in 12 patients to gain an
      estimate for the sample size, the main trial was conducted as a randomized,
      double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-way, cross-over study. Twelve patients
      received an infusion of sodium nitroprusside (1 microgram/kg/min for over 15 min)
      or placebo into the inlet port of the HD device. RESULTS: Platelet activation
      increased within five minutes after start of HD (P < 0.05). Infusion of sodium
      nitroprusside neither decreased platelet activation (P-selectin + platelets) nor
      affected the number of platelet-leukocyte aggregates (CD41+ neutrophils) as
      measured by flow cytometry. CONCLUSION: Although NO may have inhibitory effects
      on platelet activation in vivo, our results confirm recent findings showing that
      NO donors were ineffective in preventing platelet activation by extracorporeal
      circulation during cardiopulmonary bypass or plateletpheresis. Thus, NO donors do
      not appear to be ideal candidate drugs to inhibit HD-associated platelet
      activation.

PMID- 9987094
TI  - Early graft function and patient survival following cadaveric renal
      transplantation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The influence of events that occur early following renal
      transplantation such as delayed graft function (DGF) and acute rejection on long
      term graft survival has been widely reported, but its association with patient
      survival has received less attention. METHODS: We studied 589 patients who
      received their first cadaveric transplants between 1984 and 1993, all of whom
      received cyclosporine-based immunosuppression and who had a median follow-up of
      seven years. The following factors were identified, and both univariate and
      multivariate analyses were used to determine their association with long-term
      patient and graft survival: age, sex, duration of pretransplant dialysis, primary
      renal disease, immediate graft function (IGF), DGF, primary nonfunction (PNF),
      acute rejection, and serum creatinine at 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: Patients
      with PNF had a poorer survival than those with DGF and IGF (P = 0.01), but there
      was no difference in survival between DGF and IGF (P = 0.54). Good graft function
      (serum creatinine of less than 200 mumol/liter) at three months was predictive of
      better long-term patient survival (P = 0.03). Other factors associated with poor
      patient outcome were older age, diabetes, adult polycystic kidney disease, male
      gender, and acute rejection. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of
      death (51.8%). Good graft function at three months (P < 0.001) and an absence of
      rejection episodes (P = 0.01) were associated with better graft survival.
      CONCLUSION: Patients with poor levels of early graft function (but not DGF) and
      those with either acute rejection episodes or early graft loss are at an
      increased risk of early death. These high-risk groups should be targeted for
      interventional studies in an attempt to improve patient survival.

PMID- 9987095
TI  - Report of the annual statistical survey of the Japanese Society for Dialysis
      Therapy in 1996.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Nearly 170,000 patients were treated by maintenance renal replacement
      therapy (RRT) in Japan in 1996. The current status of Japanese patients on RRT
      might, in some way, be suggestive for patients on RRT in other countries.
      METHODS: The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy conducts a questionnaire
      survey of virtually every dialysis facility in Japan at the end of each year.
      Here we present the results of our survey of patients undergoing RRT as of the
      end of 1996, as well as five-year trends (1992-1996) in some of the data.
      RESULTS: The response rate was 99.8%. At the end of 1996, there were 167,192
      patients on maintenance RRT in Japan (1,328 persons per million population). The
      numbers of patients on maintenance RRT continued to increase during the five-year
      period. The gross mortality rate for that period ranged from 9.4% to 9.7%.
      Cuprammonium rayon was the most commonly used material (24.0%) for dialyzer
      membranes, followed by cellulose triacetate (18.7%). Approximately 5.0% of
      hemodialysis (HD) patients had a prior history of surgical release of carpal
      tunnel. The longer the years on HD therapy, the greater the proportion of
      patients with a history of such an operation. The predialysis plasma beta 2
      microglobulin concentration was highest in patients aged 30 to 45 years and
      declined slightly after the age of 45. There was no significant difference in the
      HbA1c level between continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and HD patients,
      both in whom diabetes was the disease causing renal failure. Moreover, among HD
      patients with diabetes, there was a clear tendency for the HbA1c level to be
      higher when the normalized protein catabolic rate was higher. CONCLUSION: This
      report summarizes the latest results of the survey on Japanese patients on RRT.

PMID- 9987096
TI  - The Banff 97 working classification of renal allograft pathology.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Standardization of renal allograft biopsy interpretation is necessary
      to guide therapy and to establish an objective end point for clinical trials.
      This manuscript describes a classification, Banff 97, developed by investigators
      using the Banff Schema and the Collaborative Clinical Trials in Transplantation
      (CCTT) modification for diagnosis of renal allograft pathology. METHODS: Banff 97
      grew from an international consensus discussion begun at Banff and continued via
      the Internet. This schema developed from (a) analysis of data using the Banff
      classification, (b) publication of and experience with the CCTT modification, (c)
      international conferences, and (d) data from recent studies on impact of
      vasculitis on transplant outcome. RESULTS: Semiquantitative lesion scoring
      continues to focus on tubulitis and arteritis but includes a minimum threshold
      for interstitial inflammation. Banff 97 defines "types" of acute/active
      rejection. Type I is tubulointerstitial rejection without arteritis. Type II is
      vascular rejection with intimal arteritis, and type III is severe rejection with
      transmural arterial changes. Biopsies with only mild inflammation are graded as
      "borderline/suspicious for rejection." Chronic/sclerosing allograft changes are
      graded based on severity of tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis. Antibody
      mediated rejection, hyperacute or accelerated acute in presentation, is also
      categorized, as are other significant allograft findings. CONCLUSIONS: The Banff
      97 working classification refines earlier schemas and represents input from two
      classifications most widely used in clinical rejection trials and in clinical
      practice worldwide. Major changes include the following: rejection with
      vasculitis is separated from tubulointerstitial rejection; severe rejection
      requires transmural changes in arteries; "borderline" rejection can only be
      interpreted in a clinical context; antibody-mediated rejection is further
      defined, and lesion scoring focuses on most severely involved structures.
      Criteria for specimen adequacy have also been modified. Banff 97 represents a
      significant refinement of allograft assessment, developed via international
      consensus discussions.

PMID- 9987097
TI  - The ethics of organ transplantation reconsidered: paid organ donation and the use
      of executed prisoners as donors.
AB  - We examine the arguments for and against the practice of paid organ donation and
      the use of judicially executed prisoners as seen in a world context. Although
      Western opinion is almost universally against both practices, we seek to
      establish that this has arisen largely from justification of an initial revulsion
      against both and not from reasoned ethical debate. In examining the most commonly
      cited arguments against these practices, we demonstrate that this revulsion
      arises mainly from the abuses to which both processes have been subjected, rather
      than the acts themselves, together with opposition to a death penalty. At the
      moment and for some future time, in the absence or shortage of dialysis in large
      parts of the developing world, transplanted organs represent the only means of
      treating end-stage renal failure. Thus, a clear ethical conflict arises as to
      whether greater harm or good is done by allowing individuals to die or adopting
      strategies for obtaining organs that raise ethical problems. We call for
      continued reasoned ethical debate on both issues, rather than accepting that the
      argument is already over.

PMID- 9987098
TI  - Ethics of paid organ donation and the use of executed prisoners as donors: a
      dialectic with professors Cameron and Hoffenberg.

PMID- 9987099
TI  - COX2 selective NSAIDs and renal function: gain without pain?

PMID- 9987100
TI  - Toward an effective gene therapy in renal disease.

PMID- 9987101
TI  - Prevention of restenosis of central venous stricture after percutaneous
      transluminal angioplasty and endovascular stenting by brachytherapy.

PMID- 9987102
TI  - Long-term analgesic use and renal disease.

PMID- 9987103
TI  - Insulin-like growth factor I in essential hypertension.

PMID- 9987104
TI  - Negative regulation of bacterial heat shock genes.
AB  - The expression of eubacterial heat shock genes is efficiently controlled at the
      transcriptional level by both positive and negative mechanisms. Positive control
      operates by the use of alternative sigma factors that target RNA polymerase to
      heat shock gene promoters. Alternatively, bacteria apply repressor-dependent
      mechanisms, in which transcription of heat shock genes is initiated from a
      classical housekeeping promoter and cis-acting DNA elements are used in concert
      with a cognate repressor protein to limit transcription under physiological
      conditions. Eight examples of negative regulation will be presented, among them
      the widespread CIRCE/HrcA system and the control by HspR in Streptomyces. Both
      mechanisms are designed to permit simple feedback control at the level of gene
      expression. Many bacteria have established sophisticated regulatory networks,
      often combining positive and negative mechanisms, in order to allow fine-tuned
      heat shock gene expression in an environmentally responsive way.

PMID- 9987105
TI  - Germination of Bacillus anthracis spores within alveolar macrophages.
AB  - The fatal character of the infection caused by inhalation of Bacillus anthracis
      spores results from a complex pathogenic cycle involving the synthesis of toxins
      by the bacterium. We have shown using immunofluorescent staining, confocal
      scanning laser microscopy and image cytometry analysis that the alveolar
      macrophage was the primary site of B. anthracis germination in a murine
      inhalation infection model. Bacillus anthracis germinated inside murine
      macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells and murine alveolar macrophages. Germination
      occurred in vesicles derived from the phagosomal compartment. We have also
      demonstrated that the toxin genes and their trans-activator, AtxA, were expressed
      within the macrophages after germination.

PMID- 9987106
TI  - The long-term cytoskeletal rearrangement induced by rabbit enteropathogenic
      Escherichia coli is Esp dependent but intimin independent.
AB  - Attaching and effacing rabbit enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (REPEC) of the
      O103 serogroup adhere diffusely on HeLa cells and trigger a slow progressive
      cytopathic effect (CPE) characterized by the recruitment of vinculin and the
      assembly of actin stress fibres. In contrast to REPEC O103, the reference human
      EPEC strain E2348/69 is unable to trigger the CPE. In this study, we have shown
      first that the fimbrial adhesin AF/R2, which mediates the diffuse adhesion of
      REPEC O103, was not sufficient to induce the CPE capability upon E2348/69. Non
      polar mutants of REPEC O103 for espA, espB, espD and eae were then constructed.
      The four mutants were unable to induce attaching and effacing lesions in the
      rabbit ileal loop model. The esp mutants were no longer able to induce the CPE,
      whereas the eae mutant still induced the CPE. Each espA, -B, -D mutant could be
      fully complemented in trans by the corresponding cloned esp genes from both the
      parental strain and the CPE-negative E2348/69 strain, indicating that no single
      esp encodes the information needed to confer the CPE phenotype. In conclusion,
      the CPE is the first example of an Esp-dependent but Eae (intimin)-independent
      alteration of the host cell cytoskeleton by certain EPEC strains.

PMID- 9987107
TI  - Emergence of recombinant strains of Helicobacter pylori during human infection.
AB  - Genetic recombination can be important evolutionarily in speeding the adaptation
      of organisms to new environments and in purging deleterious mutations. Here, we
      describe polymerase chain reaction (PCR), hybridization and DNA sequence-based
      evidence of six such exchanges between two strains of Helicobacter pylori during
      natural mixed infection of a patient in Lithuania. One parent strain contained
      the 37 kb long, virulence-associated cag pathogenicity island (PAI), and the
      other strain lacked this PAI. Most H. pylori from the patient had descended from
      the cag+ parent, but had become cag- during infection. This had resulted from
      transfer of DNA containing the 'empty site' allele from the cag- strain and
      homologous recombination, not from excision of the cag PAI without DNA transfer.
      Other cases of recombination involved genes for an outer membrane protein (omp5
      and omp29; also called HP0227 and HP1342) and a putative phosphoenolpyruvate
      synthase (ppsA; HP0121). Replacement of a short patch of DNA sequence (36-124 bp)
      was also seen. As the chance of forming any given recombinant is small, the
      abundance of recombinants in this patient suggests selection for particular
      recombinant genotypes during years of chronic infection. We suggest that genetic
      exchange among unrelated H. pylori strains, as documented here, is important
      because of the diversity of this gastric pathogen and its human hosts. Certain H.
      pylori recombinants may grow better in a given host than either parent. The
      vigour of growth, in turn, could impact on the severity of disease that infection
      can elicit.

PMID- 9987108
TI  - Type III secretion by Salmonella typhimurium does not require contact with a
      eukaryotic host.
AB  - The type III secretion system encoded by pathogenicity island I in Salmonella
      typhimurium delivers proteins to the external milieu and into the eukaryotic host
      cell. The principal factor in induction of the secretion system was found to be a
      change in the pH of the culture medium from acidic to mildly alkaline. The
      synthesis of components of the secretion machinery and the production and
      secretion of substrates occur simultaneously and do not require contact with a
      eukaryotic host cell. This argues against the concept that type III secretion in
      S. typhimurium is a process in which the delivery of a presynthesized pool of
      substrates is triggered by contact with a eukaryotic host cell.

PMID- 9987109
TI  - Novel ribosomal mutations affecting translational accuracy, antibiotic resistance
      and virulence of Salmonella typhimurium.
AB  - Many mutations in rpsL cause resistance to, or dependence on, streptomycin and
      are restrictive (hyperaccurate) in translation. Dependence on streptomycin and
      hyperaccuracy can each be reversed phenotypically by mutations in either rpsD or
      rpsE. Such compensatory mutations have been shown to have a ram phenotype
      (ribosomal ambiguity), increasing the level of translational errors. We have
      shown recently that restrictive rpsL alleles are also associated with a loss of
      virulence in Salmonella typhimurium. To test whether ram mutants could reverse
      this loss of virulence, we have isolated a set of rpsD alleles in Salmonella
      typhimurium. We found that the rpsD alleles restore the virulence of strains
      carrying restrictive rpsL alleles to a level close to that of the wild type.
      Unexpectedly, three out of seven mutant rpsD alleles tested have phenotypes
      typical of restrictive alleles of rpsL, being resistant to streptomycin and
      restrictive (hyperaccurate) in translation. These phenotypes have not been
      previously associated with the ribosomal protein S4. Furthermore, all seven rpsD
      alleles (four ram and three restrictive) can phenotypically reverse the
      hyperaccuracy associated with restrictive alleles of rpsL. This is the first
      demonstration that such compensations do not require that the compensating rpsD
      allele has a ribosomal ambiguity (ram) phenotype.

PMID- 9987110
TI  - The hprK gene of Enterococcus faecalis encodes a novel bifunctional enzyme: the
      HPr kinase/phosphatase.
AB  - The HPr kinase of Gram-positive bacteria is an ATP-dependent serine protein
      kinase, which phosphorylates the HPr protein of the bacterial phosphotransferase
      system (PTS) and is involved in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. The
      hprK gene from Enterococcus faecalis was cloned via polymerase chain reaction
      (PCR) and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence was confirmed by microscale
      Edman degradation and mass spectrometry combined with collision-induced
      dissociation of tryptic peptides derived from the HPr kinase of E. faecalis. The
      gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, which does not contain any ATP
      dependent HPr kinase or phosphatase activity. The homogeneous recombinant protein
      exhibits the expected HPr kinase activity as well as a P-Ser-HPr phosphatase
      activity, which was assumed to be a separate enzyme activity. The bifunctional
      HPr kinase/phosphatase acts preferentially as a kinase at high ATP levels of 2 mM
      occurring in glucose-metabolizing Streptococci. At low ATP levels, the enzyme
      hydrolyses P-Ser-HPr. In addition, high concentrations of phosphate present under
      starvation conditions inhibit the HPr kinase activity. Thus, a putative function
      of the enzyme may be to adjust the ratio of HPr and P-Ser-HPr according to the
      metabolic state of the cell; P-Ser-HPr is involved in carbon catabolite
      repression and regulates sugar uptake via the phosphotransferase system (PTS).
      Reinvestigation of the previously described Bacillus subtilis HPr kinase revealed
      that it also possesses P-Ser-HPr phosphatase activity. However, contrary to the
      E. faecalis enzyme, ATP alone was not sufficient to switch the phosphatase
      activity of the B. subtilis enzyme to the kinase activity. A change in activity
      of the B. subtilis HPr kinase was only observed when fructose-1,6-bisphosphate
      was also present.

PMID- 9987111
TI  - Translation initiation factor 3 antagonizes authentic start codon selection on
      leaderless mRNAs.
AB  - In this study, we have examined the influence of initiation factors on
      translation initiation of leaderless mRNAs whose 5'-terminal residues are the A
      of the AUG initiating codon. A 1:1 ratio of initiation factors to ribosomes
      abolished ternary complex formation at the authentic start codon of different
      leaderless mRNAs. Supporting this observation, in vitro translation assays using
      limiting ribosome concentrations with competing leaderless lambda cl and
      Escherichia coli ompA mRNAs, the latter containing a canonical ribosome binding
      site, revealed reduced cl synthesis relative to OmpA in the presence of added
      initiation factors. Using in vitro toeprinting and in vitro translation assays,
      we show that this effect can be attributed to IF3. Moreover, in vivo studies
      revealed that the translational efficiency of a leaderless reporter gene is
      decreased with increased IF3 levels. These studies are corroborated by the
      observed increased translational efficiency of a leaderless reporter construct in
      an infC mutant strain unable to discriminate against non-standard start codons.
      These results suggest that, in the absence of a leader or a Shine-Dalgarno
      sequence, the function(s) of IF3 limits stable 30S ternary complex formation.

PMID- 9987112
TI  - ClpP participates in the degradation of misfolded protein in Lactococcus lactis.
AB  - ClpP proteins constitute a family of homologous proteins found in both
      prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In Escherichia coli, ClpP is the
      proteolytic component of a large complex also containing either the ClpA or the
      ClpX ATPases. We show here that the clpP gene from the Gram-positive bacterium
      Lactococcus lactis encodes a 22-kDa protein that is induced by low pH and by the
      t-RNA analogue puromycin, which interferes with translation, resulting in the
      production of misfolded puromycyl-containing peptides. Northern blot and primer
      extension analysis showed that clpP expression is also induced by heat shock and
      that stress induction occurs at the transcriptional level independent of the
      CIRCE regulatory element often implicated in stress regulation in Gram-positive
      bacteria. When we disrupted the L. lactis clpP gene by insertional inactivation,
      the resulting mutant was more sensitive to both heat and puromycin than wild-type
      cells. Furthermore, cells lacking ClpP had a reduced ability to degrade puromycyl
      containing peptides, and they synthesized heat shock proteins constitutively in
      the absence of stress. Thus, our data suggest that ClpP plays a major role in the
      degradation of misfolded proteins.

PMID- 9987113
TI  - When drug inactivation renders the target irrelevant to antibiotic resistance: a
      case story with beta-lactams.
AB  - By challenging the efficiency of some of our most useful antimicrobial weapons,
      bacterial antibiotic resistance is becoming an increasingly worrying clinical
      problem. A good antibiotic is expected to exhibit a high affinity for its target
      and to reach it rapidly, while escaping chemical modification by inactivating
      enzymes and elimination by efflux mechanisms. A study of the behaviour of a beta
      lactamase-overproducing mutant of Enterobacter cloacae in the presence of several
      penicillins and cephalosporins showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration
      (MIC) values for several compounds were practically independent of the
      sensitivity of the target penicillin binding protein (PBP), even for poor beta
      lactamase substrates. This apparent paradox was explained by analysing the
      equation that relates the antibiotic concentration in the periplasm to that in
      the external medium. Indeed, under conditions that are encountered frequently in
      clinical isolates, the factor characterizing the PBP sensitivity became
      negligible. The conclusions can be extended to all antibiotics that are sensitive
      to enzymatic inactivation and efflux mechanisms and must overcome permeability
      barriers. It would be a grave mistake to neglect these considerations in the
      design of future antibacterial chemotherapeutic agents.

PMID- 9987114
TI  - Msn1p/Mss10p, Mss11p and Muc1p/Flo11p are part of a signal transduction pathway
      downstream of Mep2p regulating invasive growth and pseudohyphal differentiation
      in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
AB  - In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a network of signal transduction pathways governs
      the switch from yeast-type growth to pseudohyphal and invasive growth that occurs
      in response to nutrient limitation. Important elements of this network have been
      identified, including nutrient signal receptors, GTP-binding proteins, components
      of the pheromone-dependent MAP kinase cascade and several transcription factors.
      However, the structural and functional mapping of these pathways is far from
      complete. Here, we present data regarding three genes, MSN1/MSS10, MSS11 and
      MUC1/FLO11, which form an essential part of the signal transduction network
      establishing invasive growth. Both MSN1 and MSS11 are involved in the co
      regulation of starch degradation and invasive growth. Msn1p and Mss11p act
      downstream of Mep2p and Ras2p and regulate the transcription of both STA2 and
      MUC1. We show that MUC1 mediates the effect of Msn1p and Mss11p on invasive
      growth. In addition, our results suggest that the activity of Msn1p is
      independent of the invasive growth MAP kinase cascade, but the Mss11p is required
      for the activation of pseudohyphal and invasive growth by Ste12p. We also show
      that starch metabolism in S. cerevisiae is subject to regulation by components of
      the MAP kinase cascade.

PMID- 9987115
TI  - CtsR, a novel regulator of stress and heat shock response, controls clp and
      molecular chaperone gene expression in gram-positive bacteria.
AB  - clpP and clpC of Bacillus subtillis encode subunits of the Clp ATP-dependent
      protease and are required for stress survival, including growth at high
      temperature. They play essential roles in stationary phase adaptive responses
      such as the competence and sporulation developmental pathways, and belong to the
      so-called class III group of heat shock genes, whose mode of regulation is
      unknown and whose expression is induced by heat shock or general stress
      conditions. The product of ctsR, the first gene of the clpC operon, has now been
      shown to act as a repressor of both clpP and clpC, as well as clpE, which encodes
      a novel member of the Hsp100 Clp ATPase family. The CtsR protein was purified and
      shown to bind specifically to the promoter regions of all three clp genes. Random
      mutagenesis, DNasel footprinting and DNA sequence deletions and comparisons were
      used to define a consensus CtsR recognition sequence as a directly repeated
      heptad upstream from the three clp genes. This target sequence was also found
      upstream from clp and other heat shock genes of several Gram-positive bacteria,
      including Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus salivarius, S. pneumoniae, S.
      pyogenes, S. thermophilus, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus,
      Leuconostoc oenos, Lactobacillus sake, Lactococcus lactis and Clostridium
      acetobutylicum. CtsR homologues were also identified in several of these
      bacteria, indicating that heat shock regulation by CtsR is highly conserved in
      Gram-positive bacteria.

PMID- 9987116
TI  - Transient transcriptional activation of the Incl1 plasmid anti-restriction gene
      (ardA) and SOS inhibition gene (psiB) early in conjugating recipient bacteria.
AB  - The ardA gene of the enterobacterial plasmid CollbP-9 acts to alleviate
      restriction of DNA by type I systems, while psiB inhibits induction of the
      bacterial SOS response. Both genes are transferred early in a round of bacterial
      conjugation as part of the plasmid leading region. We report here that ardA and
      psiB are transcribed transiently after their conjugative transport into the
      recipient cell. Transcript levels, monitored by competitive reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of RNA templates, started to
      increase about 5 min after the initiation of conjugation in a cell population and
      probably before the first round of plasmid transfer was completed. Genetic
      evidence is given that the expression of ardA and psiB is activated when the
      genes enter the recipient cell on the transferring plasmid strand. It is proposed
      that these and other leading region genes function to promote the establishment
      of the immigrant plasmid in the new host and are expressed by transcription from
      promoters active only in single-stranded DNA.

PMID- 9987117
TI  - Role of SycD, the chaperone of the Yersinia Yop translocators YopB and YopD.
AB  - Extracellular Yersinia adhering at the surface of a eukaryotic cell translocate
      effector Yops across the plasma membrane of the cell by a mechanism requiring
      YopD and YopB, the latter probably mediating pore formation. We studied the role
      of SycD, the intrabacterial chaperone of YopD. By producing GST-YopB hybrid
      proteins and SycD in Escherichia coli, we observed that SycD also binds
      specifically to YopB and that this binding reduces the toxicity of GST-YopB in E.
      coli. By analysis of a series of truncated GST-YopB proteins, we observed that
      SycD does not bind to a discrete segment of YopB. Using the same approach, we
      observed that YopD can also bind to YopB. Binding between YopB and YopD occurred
      even in the presence of SycD, and a complex composed of these three proteins
      could be immunoprecipitated from the cytoplasm of Yersinia. In a sycD mutant, the
      intracellular pool of YopB and YopD was greatly reduced unless the lcrV gene was
      also deleted. As LcrV is known to interact with YopB and YopD and to promote
      their secretion, we speculate that SycD prevents a premature association between
      YopB-YopD and LcrV.

PMID- 9987118
TI  - On the mechanism of FtsH-dependent degradation of the sigma 32 transcriptional
      regulator of Escherichia coli and the role of the Dnak chaperone machine.
AB  - The Escherichia coli sigma 32 transcriptional regulator has been shown to be
      degraded both in vivo and in vitro by the FtsH (HflB) protease, a member of the
      AAA protein family. In our attempts to study this process in detail, we found
      that two sigma 32 mutants lacking 15-20 C-terminal amino acids had substantially
      increased half-lives in vivo or in vitro, compared with wild-type sigma 32. A
      truncated version of sigma 32, sigma 32 C delta, was purified to homogeneity and
      shown to be resistant to FtsH-dependent degradation in vitro, suggesting that
      FtsH initiates sigma 32 degradation from its extreme C-terminal region. Purified
      sigma 32 C delta interacted with the DnaK and DnaJ chaperone proteins in a
      fashion similar to that of wild-type sigma 32. However, in contrast to wild-type
      sigma 32, sigma 32 C delta was largely deficient in its in vivo and in vitro
      interaction with core RNA polymerase. As a consequence, the truncated sigma 32
      protein was completely non-functional in vivo, even when overproduced.
      Furthermore, it is shown that wild-type sigma 32 is protected from degradation by
      FtsH when complexed to the RNA polymerase core, but sensitive to proteolysis when
      in complex with the DnaK chaperone machine. Our results are in agreement with the
      proposal that the capacity of the DnaK chaperone machine to autoregulate its own
      synthesis negatively is simply the result of its ability to sequester sigma 32
      from RNA polymerase, thus making it accessible to degradation by the FtsH
      protease.

PMID- 9987119
TI  - Hemi-methylated oriC DNA binding activity found in non-specific acid phosphatase.
AB  - The lacZ-hobH fusion clone, containing an Escherichia coli DNA segment located at
      92 min on the chromosomal map, was screened as a producer of E. coli oriC hemi
      methylated binding activity. We have purified the protein encoded by this locus
      to near homogeneity. The protein corresponds to the monomeric form of a non
      specific acid phosphatase (NAP) whose gene has been designated aphA. oriC DNA
      footprinting experiments showed protection of hemi-methylated probe by partially
      purified NAP, but not by purified preparations. Yet, gel retardation experiments
      with an oriC oligonucleotide demonstrated DNA binding activity of purified NAP in
      the presence of Mg2+. This experiment also showed an increased affinity of the
      protein for the hemi-methylated probe compared with the fully or unmethylated
      form. Indirect immunofluorescene microscopy revealed the existence of discrete
      NAP foci at mid-cell in cells with two nucleoids, but at cell poles in those with
      one nucleoid.

PMID- 9987120
TI  - Carbon catabolite repression of the Aspergillus nidulans xlnA gene.
AB  - Expression of the Aspergillus nidulans 22 kDa endoxylanase gene, xlnA, is
      controlled by at least three mechanisms: specific induction by xylan or xylose;
      carbon catabolite repression (CCR); and regulation by ambient pH. Deletion
      analysis of xlnA upstream sequences has identified two positively acting regions:
      one that mediates specific induction by xylose; and another that mediates the
      influence of ambient pH and contains two PacC consensus binding sites. The
      extreme derepressed mutation creAd30 results in considerable, although not total,
      loss of xlnA glucose repressibility, indicating a major role for CreA in its CCR.
      Three consensus CreA binding sites are present upstream of the structural gene.
      Point mutational analysis using reporter constructs has identified a single site,
      xlnA.C1, that is responsible for direct CreA repression in vivo. Using the
      creAd30 derepressed mutant background, our results indicate the existence of
      indirect repression by CreA.

PMID- 9987121
TI  - ClpE, a novel member of the HSP100 family, is involved in cell division and
      virulence of Listeria monocytogenes.
AB  - We identified, in the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes,
      a previously unknown Clp ATPase, unique among the HSP100 proteins because of the
      presence of a short N-terminal region with a potential zinc finger motif. This
      protein of 726 amino acids is highly homologous to ClpE of Bacillus subtilis, and
      is a member of a new subfamily of HSP100/Clp ATPases. The clpE gene is
      transcribed as a monocistronic mRNA from a typical consensus sigma A promoter.
      clpE is not stimulated by various stresses, but is upregulated in a clpC mutant.
      This is the first example of cross-regulation between Clp ATPases. By
      constructing a clpE mutant of L. monocytogenes, we found that ClpE is required
      for prolonged survival at 42 degrees C and is involved in the virulence of this
      pathogen. A double mutant deficient in both ClpE and ClpC was avirulent in a
      mouse model and completely eliminated in the liver. Electron microscopy studies
      did not show any morphological alterations in clpE or clpC mutants. In the clpE
      clpC double mutant, however, cell division was affected, indicating that ClpE
      acts synergistically with ClpC in cell septation. These results show that the Clp
      chaperones play a crucial role in both cell division and virulence of L.
      monocytogenes.

PMID- 9987122
TI  - The B regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A is required for completion of
      macroconidiation and other developmental processes in Neurospora crassa.
AB  - rgb-1, encoding the tentative B regulatory subunit of the type 2A Ser/Thr
      phosphatase in Neurospora crassa, was isolated from cDNA and genomic libraries.
      Based on analysis of cDNA and genomic clones, rgb-1 is 3387 nucleotides in
      length, contains seven putative introns and encodes a 461-amino-acid polypeptide.
      Intron I, which is 5' to the presumed translation initiation codon, contains a
      uORF encoding 34 amino acids. Intron VI undergoes alternative splicing.
      Inactivation of rgb-1 by the repeat-induced point (RIP) mutation procedure
      produced progeny that grow slowly, have abnormal hyphal morphology, are female
      sterile and produce abundant amounts of arthroconidia. The rgb-1RIP strain does
      not produce major constriction chains or mature macroconidia. Minor constriction
      chains are formed, yet the growth process reverts to hyphal elongation.
      Microscopic and genetic analyses indicate that rgb-1 is a regulator of the
      budding subroutine of the macroconidiation process and that arthroconidiation,
      which shares common early and late events with macroconidiation, is induced as a
      default mechanism for asexual reproduction in this fungus.

PMID- 9987123
TI  - The cytoplasmic kinase domain of PhoR is sufficient for the low phosphate
      inducible expression of pho regulon genes in Bacillus subtilis.
AB  - PhoP-PhoR, one of three two-component systems known to be required to regulate
      the pho regulon in Bacillus subtilis, directly regulates the alkaline phosphatase
      genes that are used as pho reporters. Biochemical studies showed that B. subtilis
      PhoR, purified from Escherichia coli, was autophosphorylated in vitro in the
      presence of ATP. Phosphorylated PhoR showed stability under basic conditions but
      not acidic conditions, indicating that the phosphorylation probably occurs on a
      conserved histidine residue. Phospho-PhoR phosphorylated its cognate response
      regulator, PhoP in vitro. B. subtilis phoR was placed in the Bacillus chromosome
      under the control of the Pspac promoter, which is IPTG inducible. The wild-type
      phoR, under either native promoter or Pspac promoter with IPTG induction,
      resulted in a similar level of alkaline phosphatase production. Under high
      phosphate conditions, strains containing wild-type phoR, or phoR mutant gene
      products that lacked either the periplasmic domain, or both N-terminal
      transmembrane PhoR mutant gene products that lacked either the periplasmic
      domain, or both N-terminal transmembrane PhoR sequences or various extended N
      terminal sequences, showed no significant APase production. Under phosphate
      starvation conditions, in the presence of IPTG, all strains containing mutated
      phoR genes showed alkaline phosphatase induction patterns similar to that of the
      wild-type strain, although the fully induced level was lower in the mutants. The
      decrease in total alkaline phosphatase production in these mutant strains can be
      compensated completely or partially by increasing the copy number of the mutant
      phoR gene. These in vivo results suggest that the C-terminal kinase domain of
      PhoR is sufficient for the induction of alkaline phosphatase expression under
      phosphate-limited conditions, and that the regulation for repression of APase
      under phosphate-replete conditions remains intact.

PMID- 9987124
TI  - Molecular characterization of a novel peroxidase isolated from the ligninolytic
      fungus Pleurotus eryngii.
AB  - A haem peroxidase different from other microbial, plant and animal peroxidases is
      described. The enzyme is secreted as two isoforms by dikaryotic Pleurotus eryngii
      in peptone-containing liquid medium. The corresponding gene, which presents 15
      introns and encodes a 361-amino-acid protein with a 30-amino-acid signal peptide,
      was isolated as two alleles corresponding to the two isoforms. The alleles differ
      in three amino acid residues and in a seven nucleotide deletion affecting a
      single metal response element in the promoter. When compared with Phanerochaete
      chrysosporium peroxidases, the new enzyme appears closer to lignin peroxidase
      (LiP) than to Mn-dependent peroxidase (MnP) isoenzymes (58-60% and 55% identity
      respectively). The molecular model built using crystal structures of three fungal
      peroxidases as templates, also showed high structural affinity with LiP (C alpha
      distance 1.2 A). However, this peroxidase includes a Mn2+ binding site formed by
      three acidic residues (E36, E40 and D175) near the haem internal propionate,
      which accounts for the ability to oxidize Mn2+. Its capability to oxidize
      aromatic substrates could involve interactions with aromatic residues at the edge
      of the haem channel. Another possibility is long-range electron transfer, e.g.
      from W164, which occupies the same position of LiP W171 recently reported as
      involved in the catalytic cycle of LiP.

PMID- 9987125
TI  - prhJ and hrpG, two new components of the plant signal-dependent regulatory
      cascade controlled by PrhA in Ralstonia solanacearum.
AB  - hrp gene expression in the phytopathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum
      GMI1000 is induced through the HrpB regulator in minimal medium and upon co
      culture with plant cell suspensions. The putative outer membrane protein PrhA is
      specifically involved in hrp gene activation in the presence of plant cells and
      has been proposed to be a receptor of a plant-dependent signal transduction
      pathway. Here, we report on the identification of two regulatory genes, hrpG and
      prhJ, located at the right-hand end of the hrp gene cluster, that are required
      for full pathogenicity. HrpG belongs to the OmpR subclass of two-component
      response regulators and is homologous to HrpG, the activator of hrp genes in
      Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. PrhJ is a novel hrp regulatory protein,
      sharing homology with the LuxR/UhpA family of transcriptional activators. As for
      HrpG of X. c. pv. vesicatoria, HrpG is required for hrp gene expression in
      minimal medium, but, in addition, we show that it also controls hrpB gene
      activation upon co-culture with Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato cell suspensions.
      In contrast, PrhJ is specifically involved in hrp gene expression in the presence
      of plant cells. hrpG and prhJ gene transcription is plant cell inducible through
      the PrhA-dependent pathway. From these results, we propose a regulatory cascade
      in which plant cell signal(s) sensed by PrhA are transduced to the prhJ gene,
      whose predicted product controls hrpG gene expression. HrpG then activates the
      hrpB regulatory gene, and, subsequently, the remaining hrp transcriptional units
      in all known inducing conditions.

PMID- 9987126
TI  - Heterogeneous ribosome populations are present in Plasmodium berghei during
      development in its vector.
AB  - The genome of the rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, contains two sets
      of variant ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, termed the A and S types, that are
      expressed predominantly during the vertebrate and mosquito stages of the
      parasite's development respectively. Using in situ hybridization, we have
      examined the transcriptional activity of the A- and S-type rRNA genes, and the
      switch in expression of the ribosome populations that occurs after parasite
      transmission to the mosquito. By detection of precursor rRNA molecules, we show
      that A-type rRNA transcription is downregulated throughout development in the
      mosquito, whereas the initiation of S-type rRNA transcription is linked to the
      proliferative phase of the oocyst. Mature A-type rRNA persists during development
      of the zygote into the ookinete/young oocyst. In contrast, mature S-type rRNA is
      first detectable in young oocysts and is subsequently present at high levels
      during further development of oocysts and sporozoites. These results demonstrate
      that the switch in transcription between the A- and S-type rRNA genes is
      developmentally regulated, taking place only as the parasite begins to
      proliferate in the mosquito. A-type ribosomes are therefore not only
      translationally active in the early stages of development in the mosquito, but
      are also crucial at this phase.

PMID- 9987127
TI  - Involvement of the FtsH (HflB) protease in the activity of sigma 54 promoters.
AB  - The effect of FtsH, an essential inner membrane-bound protease, in the regulation
      of the sigma 54-dependent Pu promoter has been examined in vivo. Escherichia coli
      cells lacking FtsH failed to activate a Pu-lacZ fusion in response to the cognate
      enhancer-binding protein XylR. However, the intracellular concentrations of XylR
      and sigma 54, as well as their apparent physical integrity were the same
      regardless of the presence or absence of the protease. The loss of Pu activity in
      FtsH-minus cells was not due to the imbalance between sigma factors caused by the
      lack of the protease. ftsH mutants could not grow in media with glutamine as the
      only nitrogen source and failed also to induce the sigma 54 promoters PnifH by
      NifA and PpspA by PspF. These lesions were fully complemented by a ftsH+ plasmid.
      Therefore, part of the pleiotropic phenotype of FtsH-less cells corresponded to
      the lack of sigma 54 activity. Overproduction of sigma 54, however, restored both
      transcriptional activity of Pu and growth in glutamine of a ftsH strain. These
      observations suggested that the activity of sigma 54 is checked in vivo by an
      interplay of factors that ultimately determine the performance of cognate
      promoters under given physiological conditions.

PMID- 9987128
TI  - ComEA is a DNA receptor for transformation of competent Bacillus subtilis.
AB  - Competent cells of Bacillus subtilis efficiently bind and internalize DNA. ComEA
      and the seven proteins encoded by the comG operon are required in vivo for the
      binding step. We show here that ComEA, a bitopic membrane protein, is itself
      capable of high-affinity DNA binding. A domain necessary for DNA binding is
      located at the C-terminus of ComEA. Proteins with similar 60-80 amino acid
      residue domains are widespread among bacteria and higher organisms. ComEA shows a
      marked preference for double-stranded DNA and can bind to oligomers as small as
      22 bp in length. DNA binding by ComEA exhibits no apparent base sequence
      specificity. Using a membrane vesicle DNA-binding assay system we show that in
      the absence of cell wall, ComEA is still required for DNA binding, whereas the
      requirement for the ComG proteins is bypassed. We conclude that the ComG proteins
      are needed in vivo to provide access of the binding domain of ComEA to exogenous
      DNA. Possible specific roles for the ComG proteins are discussed.

PMID- 9987129
TI  - Borrelia burgdorferi erpT expression in the arthropod vector and murine host.
AB  - The expression of a Borrelia burgdorferi gene, erpT, was investigated throughout
      the spirochaete life cycle in the arthropod vector and the murine host. Three
      phage clones from a B. burgdorferi DNA expression library synthesized a 30 kDa
      antigen that was recognized by antibodies in the sera of B. burgdorferi-infected
      mice but not mice hyperimmunized with B. burgdorferi lysates. Differential
      antibody binding suggested that this protein was preferentially expressed in
      vivo. This antigen was designated ErpT, based upon 99.6% homology with the BBF01
      sequence in the B. burgdorferi genome. ErpT was not detected on spirochaetes
      cultured in BSK II medium by indirect immunofluorescence or in B. burgdorferi
      lysates by immunoblotting, implying that ErpT is not readily produced in vitro.
      erpT mRNA was not discernible by Northern blot but was identified by RNA
      polymerase chain reaction in vitro, indicating that erpT is expressed at low
      levels by cultured spirochaetes. erpT expression was then investigated in the
      vector and mice because B. burgdorferi do not normally reside in culture medium.
      RNA polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that
      erpT was expressed by a small minority of B. burgdorferi (11/500, 2.2%) within
      unfed ticks and then repressed during engorgement. erpT mRNA or ErpT antibodies
      were first detected in B. burgdorferi-infected mice at 4 weeks, suggesting that
      erpT was not expressed in the early stages of murine infection. Then, during
      persistent infection, RNA polymerase chain reaction showed that erpT was
      expressed by B. burgdorferi within the joints, heart and spleen, but not by
      spirochaetes in the skin. Immunization of mice with ErpT was antigenic but was
      not protective. These studies demonstrate that B. burgdorferi erpT is
      differentially expressed throughout the B. burgdorferi life cycle, in both the
      vector and the mammalian host, and is primarily expressed in extracutaneous sites
      during murine infection.

PMID- 9987130
TI  - Independent acquisition and insertion into different chromosomal locations of the
      same pathogenicity island in Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
AB  - We show that Yersinia pestis and pesticin-sensitive isolates of Y.
      pseudotuberculosis possess a common 34 kbp DNA region that has all the hallmarks
      of a pathogenicity island and is inserted into different asparaginyl tRNA genes
      at different chromosomal locations in each species. This pathogenicity island (YP
      HPI) is marked by IS100, has a G + C content different from its host, is flanked
      by 24 bp direct repeats, encodes a putative, P4-like integrase and contains the
      iron uptake virulence genes from the pgm locus of Y. pestis. These findings
      indicate independent horizontal acquisition of this island by Y. pestis and Y.
      pseudotuberculosis. The two YP-HPI locations and their possession of an integrase
      gene support a model of site-specific integration of the YP-HPI into these
      bacteria.

PMID- 9987132
TI  - The structural and functional organization of H-NS-like proteins is
      evolutionarily conserved in gram-negative bacteria.
AB  - The structural gene of the H-NS protein, a global regulator of bacterial
      metabolism, has been identified in the group of enterobacteria as well as in
      closely related bacteria, such as Erwinia chrysanthemi and Haemophilus
      influenzae. Isolated outside these groups, the BpH3 protein of Bordetella
      pertussis exhibits a low amino acid conservation with H-NS, particularly in the N
      terminal domain. To obtain information on the structure, function and/or
      evolution of H-NS, we searched for other H-NS-related proteins in the latest
      databases. We found that HvrA, a trans-activator protein in Rhodobacter
      capsulatus, has a low but significant similarity with H-NS and H-NS-like
      proteins. This Gram-negative bacterium is phylogenetically distant from
      Escherichia coli. Using theoretical analysis (e.g. secondary structure prediction
      and DNA binding domain modelling) of the amino acid sequence of H-NS, StpA (an H
      NS-like protein in E. coli), BpH3 and HvrA and by in vivo and in vitro
      experiments (e.g. complementation of various H-NS-related phenotypes and
      competitive gel shift assay), we present evidence that these proteins belong to
      the same class of DNA binding proteins. In silico analysis suggests that this
      family also includes SPB in R. sphaeroides, XrvA in Xanthomonas oryzae and VicH
      in Vibrio cholerae. These results demonstrate that proteins structurally and
      functionally related to H-NS are widespread in Gram-negative bacteria.

PMID- 9987131
TI  - ToxR co-operative interactions are not modulated by environmental conditions or
      periplasmic domain conformation.
AB  - ToxR is a transmembrane regulatory protein that controls virulence gene
      expression in Vibrio cholerae. Previous experiments using lambda repressor-ToxR
      chimeric proteins and a lambda repressor-controlled reporter system (OR1 PR
      lacZY) established that ToxR sequences can effectively dimerize the amino
      terminal domain of lambda repressor in Escherichia coli. However, in E. coli,
      ToxR does not respond to environmental signals that control virulence gene
      expression in V. cholerae. Here, we report the results of experiments designed to
      test whether environmental signals that modulate virulence gene expression in V.
      cholerae also modulate a monomer to dimerization transition of lambda-ToxR
      chimeras. When the OR1 PR-lacZY reporter fusion and chimeric proteins were
      transferred to V. cholerae, we unexpectedly found that lambda-ToxR chimeras did
      not dimerize significantly. Interestingly, experiments evaluating the ability of
      lambda-ToxR proteins to form tetramers in E. coli suggested that lambda-ToxR
      dimers could act co-operatively. Using a redesigned reporter system containing
      multiple lambda operator sites (OR1 OR2 OR3 PR-lacZY), we found that lambda-ToxR
      could dimerize quite efficiently in V. cholerae. These data imply that multiple
      DNA binding sites might enhance the ability of ToxR to dimerize in V. cholerae
      and suggest that ToxR dimers might be capable of co-operative interactions.
      However, we falled to correlate a monomer-dimer transition of the lambda-ToxR
      chimeras with changes in virulence gene expression in response to environmental
      signals in V. cholerae. Finally, because of conflicting results in the
      literature, the importance of membrane localization of ToxR and dimerization of
      the ToxR periplasmic domain was re-evaluated. This was accomplished by measuring
      the ability of various chimeric proteins to activate toxin gene expression in
      both E. coli and V. cholerae. These assays suggest that, in V. cholerae, deletion
      of the transmembrane domain has a profound effect on ToxR activity, although it
      is not an absolute requirement when ToxR is dimerized by a heterologous domain.
      In addition, we noted differences in chimeric protein activity when expressed in
      E. coli and V. cholerae. A construct substituting the monomeric MalE domain for
      the periplasmic domain of ToxR was unable to activate a ctx::lacZ reporter fusion
      in E. coli. Although the addition of leucine zipper sequences to this construct
      resulted in enhanced activity of the chimera in E. coli, both chimeras were able
      to produce wild-type levels of toxin in V. cholerae. These data support the
      notion that dimerization of ToxR stimulates its activity as a transcriptional
      activator in E. coli. In V. cholerae, however, we present data that do not
      demonstrate a correlation between dimerization of the periplasmic domain and ToxR
      activity.

PMID- 9987133
TI  - Masc2, a gene from Ascobolus encoding a protein with a DNA-methyltransferase
      activity in vitro, is dispensable for in vivo methylation.
AB  - We have shown previously that masc1, a gene encoding a putative C5-DNA
      methyltransferase (MTase), was necessary for the de novo 'Methylation Induced
      Premeiotically' (MIP) process and sexual reproduction in Ascobolus, whereas it
      was dispensable for maintenance methylation. A second MTase gene from Ascobolus,
      masc2, encodes a protein, Masc2, which possesses the large amino-terminal part
      characteristic of eukaryotic maintenance MTases. In vitro assays have shown that
      Masc2 displays a methylation activity, suggesting that it might be the MTase
      responsible for maintenance methylation. To check its function in vivo, we
      engineered a disruption of the masc2 gene. The resulting mutant strains did not
      exhibit any particular phenotype during either vegetative growth or sexual
      reproduction. Neither the masc2 mutation nor the double masc1 masc2 mutation had
      any detectable effect upon the maintenance of the pre-existing methylation of
      single gene copies previously subjected to MIP, natural retroelement-like repeats
      and tandemly repeated rDNA. The masc2 mutation did not alter either MIP or the
      other de novo methylation process that operates in vegetatives cells. Nor did it
      impair the meiotic process of methylation transfer. These results suggest that at
      least a third MTase gene responsible for maintenance and vegetative de novo
      methylation is present in Ascobolus.

PMID- 9987134
TI  - Mannopinic acid and agropinic acid catabolism region of the octopine-type Ti
      plasmid pTi15955.
AB  - Octopine-type Ti plasmids such as pTi15955, pTiA6 and pTiR10 direct the
      catabolism of at least eight compounds called opines that are released from crown
      gall tumours. Four of these compounds are denoted mannityl opines, each of which
      possesses a D-mannityl substituent on the nitrogen atom of either glutamate or
      glutamine. We have analysed a 20 kb region of the Ti plasmid pTi15955 that is
      required for the catabolism of two such opines, mannopinic acid and agropinic
      acid. A total of 12 genes in four operons were identified by DNA sequence
      analysis. Transposons Tn5lacZ and MudK were used to mutagenize these genes and to
      create aga-lacZ and moa-lacZ translational fusions. The expression of all fusions
      was induced by agropinic acid and by mannopinic acid. One of these four operons
      encodes an agropinic acid permease, whereas a second one encodes a mannopinic
      acid permease. A third operon contains three genes encoding probable catabolic
      enzymes, two of which (AgaF and AgaG) are thought to convert agropinic acid to
      mannopinic acid, while the third (AgaE) probably converts mannopinic acid to
      mannose and glutamate. AgaE resembles a bacterial amino acid deaminase, whereas
      AgaF and AgaG resemble two bacterial proteins that together catabolize
      substituted hydantoins, whose chemical structure resembles that of agropinic
      acid. The remaining operon encoded the MoaR protein, a negative regulator of
      itself and of the other three operons.

PMID- 9987135
TI  - MCM21 and MCM22, two novel genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are
      required for chromosome transmission.
AB  - The minichromosome maintenance genes, MCM21 and MCM22, have been cloned and are
      shown to code for the ORFs YDR318W and YJR135C respectively. Mutations in these
      genes caused a decrease in the stability of the minichromosome. This decrease in
      stability was associated with an increase in the copy number of the
      minichromosome in cells carrying it. Small circular dicentric plasmids were
      maintained relatively stably and structurally intact in the mutants compared with
      the wild-type strain. In the latter, such plasmids were mitotically unstable and,
      upon recovery, showed frequent rearrangements of their DNA. A centromere offered
      less obstruction to transcription in mutant cells than in the wild type, showing
      that both these mutants had a more relaxed kinetochore assembly. The mutant
      strains showed elevated rates of chromosome loss but not those of recombination.
      Both the mutations caused the cells to display a higher sensitivity towards the
      anti-mitotic drug benomyl. All these observations suggest that MCM21 and MCM22
      are important for chromosome segregation with a potential role in kinetochore
      function. These genes are non-essential, as their deletions from chromosomes did
      not cause loss of cell viability. However, exponentially growing mutant cells
      carrying the deletion of the MCM21 gene had a significant population of large
      budded cells with a single nucleus at the neck. Furthermore, the DNA content of
      these cells showed a shift towards 2N, suggesting a temporary pause of cells in
      G2 or in an early phase of mitosis. The mcm21 and mcm22 mutations do not show
      synthetic lethality or any further enhancement of growth defects, implying that
      they could be carrying out non-overlapping functions in chromosome segregation.

PMID- 9987136
TI  - Identification of target promoters for the Bacillus subtilis extracytoplasmic
      function sigma factor, sigma W.
AB  - The Bacillus subtilis sigW gene encodes an extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma
      factor that is expressed in early stationary phase from a sigW-dependent
      autoregulatory promoter, PW. Using a consensus-based search procedure, we have
      identified 15 operons preceded by promoters similar in sequence to PW. At least
      14 of these promoters are dependent on sigma W both in vivo and in vitro as
      judged by lacZ reporter fusions, run-off transcription assays and nucleotide
      resolution start site mapping. We conclude that sigma W controls a regulon of
      more than 30 genes, many of which encode membrane proteins of unknown function.
      The sigma W regulon includes a penicillin binding protein (PBP4*) and a co
      transcribed amino acid racemase (RacX), homologues of signal peptide peptidase
      (YteI), flotillin (YuaG), ABC transporters (YknXYZ), non-haem bromoperoxidase
      (YdjP), epoxide hydrolase (YfhM) and three small peptides with structural
      similarities to bacteriocin precursor polypeptides. We suggest that sigma W
      activates a large stationary-phase regulon that functions in detoxification,
      production of anti-microbial compounds or both.

PMID- 9987137
TI  - Cardiolipin synthase expression is essential for growth at elevated temperature
      and is regulated by factors affecting mitochondrial development.
AB  - Cardiolipin (CL) is a unique dimeric phospholipid localized primarily in the
      mitochondrial membrane. In eukaryotes, the enzyme CL synthase catalyses the
      synthesis of CL from two lipid substrates, CDP-diacylglycerol and
      phosphatidylglycerol. In earlier studies, we reported the purification of CL
      synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cloning of the gene CRD1
      (previously called CLS1) that encodes the enzyme. Because CL is an important
      component of the mitochondrial membrane, knowledge of its regulation will provide
      insight into the biogenesis of this organelle. To understand how CL synthesis is
      regulated, we analysed CRD1 expression by Northern blot analysis of RNA extracted
      from cells under a variety of growth conditions. CRD1 expression is regulated by
      mitochondrial development factors. CRD1 levels were 7- to 10-fold greater in
      stationary than in logarithmic growth phase, and threefold greater in wild-type
      than in rho 0 mutants. Expression was somewhat elevated during growth in
      glycerol/ethanol versus glucose media. In contrast, CRD1 expression was not
      regulated by the phospholipid precursors inositol and choline, and was not
      altered in the regulatory mutants ino2, ino4 and opi1. Mutations in cytochrome
      oxidase assembly, which led to reduced Crd1p enzyme activity, did not affect CRD1
      expression. The crd1 null mutant makes a truncated CRD1 message. Although the
      null mutant can grow on both fermentable and non-fermentable carbon sources at
      lower temperatures, it cannot form colonies at 37 degrees C. In conclusion, CRD1
      expression is controlled by factors affecting mitochondrial development, but not
      by the phospholipid precursors inositol and choline. Expression of CRD1 is
      essential for growth at elevated temperatures, suggesting that either CL or Crd1p
      is required for an essential cellular function.

PMID- 9987138
TI  - Characterization of the C-terminal domain essential for toxic activity of
      adenylate cyclase toxin.
AB  - Adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) of Bordetella pertussis belongs to the RTX family
      of toxins. These toxins are characterized by a series of glycine- and
      aspartaterich nonapeptide repeats located at the C-terminal half of the toxin
      molecules. For activity, RTX toxins require Ca2+, which is bound through the
      repeat region. Here, we identified a stretch of 15 amino acids (block A) that is
      located C-terminally to the repeat and is essential for the toxic activity of
      CyaA. Block A is required for the insertion of CyaA into the plasma membranes of
      host cells. Mixing of a short polypeptide composed of block A and eight Ca2+
      binding repeats with a mutant of CyaA lacking block A restores toxic activity
      fully. This in vitro interpolypeptide complementation is achieved only when block
      A is present together with the Ca2+ binding repeats on the same polypeptide.
      Neither a short polypeptide composed of block A only nor a polypeptide consisting
      of eight Ca2+ binding repeats, or a mixture of these two polypeptides, complement
      toxic activity. It is suggested that functional complementation occurs because of
      binding between the Ca2+ binding repeats of the short C-terminal polypeptide and
      the Ca2+ binding repeats of the CyaA mutant lacking block A.

PMID- 9987139
TI  - RpoN-dependent transcription of rpoH?

PMID- 9987140
TI  - The multidrug efflux protein NorM is a prototype of a new family of transporters.

PMID- 9987141
TI  - Safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated subunit influenza virus vaccine
      combined with MF59 adjuvant emulsion in elderly subjects, immunized for three
      consecutive influenza seasons.
AB  - A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a new influenza
      adjuvanted vaccine (FLUAD, Chiron Vaccines), compared with a conventional non
      adjuvanted influenza vaccine, was conducted in elderly ambulatory patients.
      Subjects were vaccinated with one dose of either vaccine each year for three
      consecutive years; 92 subjects received the first immunization, 74 subjects
      received the second and 67 subjects received the third. The primary objective of
      this study was to evaluate the safety of repetitive injections of the adjuvanted
      vaccine in elderly subjects. There were no reports of any vaccine-related serious
      adverse event or of safety concerns related to study vaccines after the first,
      second or third immunization. The adjuvanted vaccine induced more local reactions
      than the conventional vaccine; however, the reactions were normally mild and
      limited to the first 2-3 days after immunization. No statistically significant
      difference between groups in systemic postimmunization reactions was reported
      except for a mild, transient malaise after the first immunization. Compared with
      the first immunization, no increase in postimmunization reactions was seen after
      the second and third immunizations. Despite the small sample size of the trial,
      which was not powered to test immunogenicity differences, the antibody response
      was tested and resulted higher in the adjuvanted vaccine recipients, not only
      against the current season's vaccine strains, but also against heterologous
      vaccine strains.

PMID- 9987142
TI  - Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of the lyophilized Merieux seed and
      the World Health Organization working reference BCG vaccines in school-aged
      children in Senegal.
AB  - In order to validate two new lots of Merieux BCG vaccine (Merieux seed derived
      from strain 1072), a calibration study was performed to compare their safety and
      immunogenicity to a full dose of the WHO-reference BCG vaccine (Tokyo strain 172)
      as well as the WHO-reference vaccine given at 1/10 of its normal concentration,
      in an open, randomized, four-arm, multicenter study in Senegal. A total of 1041
      healthy Senegalese children aged 8-10 years were screened for participation in
      this study, of whom 548 had a negative Mantoux test and complied with inclusion
      and exclusion criteria. These children were randomly allocated a single dose of
      one of the following vaccines: full-dose Merieux BCG vaccine (lot E0650); full
      dose Merieux BCG vaccine (lot E0624); full-dose WHO-reference vaccine (Tokyo
      strain 172); or 1/10 dose WHO-reference vaccine. A follow-up examination,
      including a tuberculin test, was performed 10-12 weeks after BCG vaccination for
      465 (85%) children: 236 Merieux BCG vaccine (117 lot E0650; 119 lot E0624); 115
      full-dose WHO; 114 1/10 dose WHO. The percentage of subjects with a positive
      tuberculin test after vaccination was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in the 1/10
      dose group (81.5%) compared to the other three groups (> 96%). The mean
      induration diameter was significantly smaller in subjects who received the low
      dose of WHO vaccine compared to the others, according to analyses considering all
      subjects vaccinated, as well as only those subjects with a positive tuberculin
      test after vaccination. More children in the low-dose group did not have a
      vaccination scar, and the mean diameter of scars was smaller in this group. The
      rate of tuberculin reactions, the classification of reactions (Palmer and
      Edwards), and the characteristics of the vaccinal lesion were similar for the
      Merieux BCG vaccines and the full-dose WHO-reference vaccine. All vaccines were
      safe, as evidenced by the absence of adenitis or suppurative adenitis during the
      course of the study. Results from this trial show that the two lots of Merieux
      BCG vaccine behave equally as well as the full-dose WHO-reference BCG vaccine.
      The WHO-reference vaccine, given at 1/10 of its normal concentration was
      significantly less immunogenic, according to all parameters evaluated.

PMID- 9987143
TI  - Persistence of antibodies to the Salmonella typhi Vi capsular polysaccharide
      vaccine in South African school children ten years after immunization.
AB  - Between 10 and 11 years after children were vaccinated with Vi capsular
      polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi or meningococcal A + C control vaccine in a
      double blind randomized trial, we traced 83 subjects, aged 16-20 years. A blood
      sample was taken for determination of Vi antibody titres in both groups by
      radioimmunoassay. TO and TH titres were also done to assess if the participants
      had had recent exposure to typhoid fever. Fifty-eight percent of subjects in both
      groups had protective levels of Vi antibody against Salmonella typhi (a titre
      greater than 1 microgram ml-1). There was no significant difference in the levels
      of Vi antibodies in the cases versus the controls (p = 0.5). Two of the children
      who had received meningococcal A + C vaccine had recently had typhoid fever. Our
      data show that adolescents in typhoid endemic areas have high levels of Vi
      antibodies regardless of previous vaccination status, suggesting that Vi
      antibodies are acquired in adolescence by a large percentage of the population in
      this area. Moreover, Vi vaccination has led to ongoing antibody production in
      greater than 50% of Vi vaccinated children in an endemic area for a period of 10
      years. Ongoing antigenic exposure may have contributed to these antibody levels.

PMID- 9987144
TI  - For discussion: live attenuated vaccines for group B meningococcus.
AB  - Current attempts at preventing infections caused by group B Neisseria
      meningitidis are largely directed on generating immune responses to outer
      membrane proteins or the lipopolysaccharide of this organism. We suggest an
      alternative approach: the use of a live, attenuated strain of Neisseria
      meningitidis which could be delivered mucosally to elicit both local and systemic
      immune responses.

PMID- 9987145
TI  - A routine high-performance size-exclusion chromatography to determine molecular
      size distribution of Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines.
AB  - High-performance size exclusion chromatography has been used to determine the
      molecular size distribution of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate
      vaccines. Both high molecular weight preparations of native Hib capsular
      polysaccharide coupled to tetanus toxoid and low molecular weight vaccines with
      Hib oligosaccharides linked to the CRM197 nontoxic mutant diphtheria protein were
      analysed. Columns with different fractionation ranges were used for the two kinds
      of vaccines. This method showed to be rapid, accurate and reproducible for
      different lots of Hib vaccine of different composition produced by various
      manufacturers. It could replace more time-consuming chromatographic methods
      enabling control authorities to employ a single methodological approach for
      different Hib vaccines.

PMID- 9987146
TI  - Epitopic overload at the site of injection may result in suppression of the
      immune response to combined capsular polysaccharide conjugate vaccines.
AB  - Capsular polysaccharide (CP) conjugate vaccines targeting a variety of bacterial
      infections are currently under development and clinical evaluation. The inclusion
      of multiple CP serotypes combined in a single injection is an important maneuver
      being evaluated. The combination of CP conjugate vaccines into a single
      multivalent injection may result in competition among the different components
      and adversely affect the immunogenicity of any individual conjugate. We observed
      a reduction of 30-90% in antibody responses to several serotypes in mice when
      immunogenicity of a 12-valent Escherichia coli (E. coli) lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
      conjugate vaccine was compared to the immunogenicity of each monovalent vaccine
      evaluated separately. A reduction of 30% was observed in the Staphylococcus
      aureus (S. aureus) type 8 CP antibodies when a type 8-rEPA conjugate was combined
      with a type 5-rEPA conjugate. S. aureus types 5 and 8-rEPA conjugates were
      combined with 100 micrograms of either rEPA (homologous) or diphtheria toxoid
      (DT) (heterologous) carrier proteins, and evaluated in rEPA or DT primed mice.
      The addition of the homologous protein resulted in a 64% reduction in type 5 CP
      antibodies. The heterologous protein did not affect the immunogenicity of the
      type 5. We postulate that the free protein competed with the conjugate and
      recruited most of the rEPA primed T cells. In the case of the DT conjugates, the
      DT targeted different populations of the T cells, thus interference was not
      observed. These data suggested that the epitopic load rather than the antigenic
      load at the site of injection caused reduced immunogenicity of the conjugates. We
      theorize that individual components of multivalent CP vaccines conjugated to the
      same carrier proteins would compete for a limited number of specific carrier
      protein primed T cells. This would result in one or more components being
      unavailable in eliciting a sufficient immune response. The use of multiple
      carrier proteins should be considered as an approach to reduce interference when
      multivalent conjugate vaccines are to be formulated into a single injection.

PMID- 9987147
TI  - Effectiveness of a nationwide infant immunization program against Haemophilus
      influenzae b. The Israeli Pediatric Bacteremia and Meningitis Group.
AB  - An ongoing nationwide prospective surveillance program for invasive H. influenzae
      b (Hib) disease in Israel enabled us to study the effectiveness of a national
      infant Hib immunization program, which included all infants born since January
      1994. The vaccine used was Hib polysaccharide conjugated to outer membrane
      protein complex of Neisseria meningitidis b (PRP-OMPC). For the cohort born
      during the 3 years since January 1994, the vaccine effectiveness was 94.9% for
      all invasive Hib diseases and 96.6% for meningitis. The efficacy in fully
      immunized subjects was 98.7 and 99.5%, respectively. A herd immunity effect could
      be observed, since a reduction in cases also occurred among infants too young to
      be immunized. No increase in invasive cases caused by S. pneumoniae and N.
      meningitidis was observed during the study period. This is the first report
      outside North America and Western Europe that demonstrates a nationwide extensive
      reduction of invasive Hib disease within a short time of the introduction of Hib
      conjugate vaccines to the infant immunization program.

PMID- 9987148
TI  - The value of varicella vaccination in healthy children: cost-benefit analysis of
      the situation in France.
AB  - The purpose of the cost-benefit analysis described in this article is to
      determine the economic value of vaccination of healthy children against varicella
      in France. It is based on the results of two specific investigations--an
      epidemiological model and a prospective observational study (1832 cases studied)
      of the socio-economic consequences of varicella. This cost-benefit analysis was
      conducted from the viewpoint of the society and that of the patient, for
      vaccination coverage rates ranging from 10 to 90%. This analysis demonstrates the
      value of varicella vaccination when associated with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
      vaccination: if varicella and MMR vaccines are co-administered, the vaccination
      of 80% of the children against varicella leads to a reduction in medical costs
      associated with varicella including that of vaccination, ranging from 10 to 77%
      according to the values adopted for vaccination costs, varicella treatment costs,
      discount rate and vaccine efficacy. The results of this study also underline the
      benefits of a vaccination policy that aims to achieve a high rate of coverage,
      thereby reaping the highest benefit from vaccination, and also avoiding potential
      negative consequences.

PMID- 9987149
TI  - Murine gamma-herpesvirus 68 glycoprotein 150 protects against virus-induced
      mononucleosis: a model system for gamma-herpesvirus vaccination.
AB  - Murine gamma-herpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) is a model for the study of the pathogenesis
      of gamma-herpesviruses. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a highly related gamma
      herpesvirus that causes significant disease in humans. The major membrane antigen
      gp350 of EBV is a candidate vaccine antigen for protection against EBV-related
      disease. An MHV-68 glycoprotein, gp150, has significant homology to EBV gp350. We
      have therefore used the MHV-68 gp150 to model the potential efficacy of EBV gp350
      in protecting from virus-associated disease. A recombinant vaccinia virus
      expressing MHV-68 gp150 was constructed. This recombinant vaccinia virus was used
      to infect mice via the subcutaneous route. This vaccination resulted in
      production of MHV-68-neutralising antibodies. Mice were then challenged intra
      nasally with MHV-68. MHV-68-associated mononucleosis was virtually abrogated in
      immunised mice. However, mice did establish MHV-68 latency. The results suggest
      that gp350 may be effective as an immunogen to prevent EBV-associated infectious
      mononucleosis in humans that are EBV-seronegative.

PMID- 9987150
TI  - Human immune response to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane protein vaccine.
AB  - In order to evaluate in humans the safety and immunogenicity of a Pseudomonas
      aeruginosa vaccine composed of outer membrane proteins (OMPs), CFC-101, we
      carried out a phase I/IIa clinical trial in healthy male volunteers. Groups of
      six volunteers were immunized either subcutaneously (s.c.) or intramuscularly
      (i.m.) with three dosages of the vaccine three times at 7-day intervals. The
      vaccine was well tolerated by volunteers. Local reactions in the injection sites
      were generally mild and transient. Significant increases in OMP-specific antibody
      were observed in both route groups after vaccinations but was higher in the i.m.
      immunized group, where vaccination with 0.5 or 1.0 mg doses yielded 100%
      seroconversion. The specificity of the induced antibodies to P. aeruginosa OMP
      was demonstrated by western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation assay. An
      increase in Clq-binding capacity and ability to confer mice protection from
      lethal challenges with P. aeruginosa indicated the protective efficacy of the
      elicited antibodies. Based on these data, we concluded that the P. aeruginosa OMP
      vaccine is safe and effective in humans with an optimal dose of 0.5 and 1.0 mg
      and that i.m. is the better route than s.c. for this vaccine.

PMID- 9987151
TI  - Association of human leucocyte antigen phenotype with vaccine efficacy in
      patients receiving vaginal mucosal immunization for recurrent urinary tract
      infection.
AB  - Immune responses to specific antigens can be influenced by an individual's
      genetic make-up. We examined whether the efficacy of a vaginal mucosal vaccine
      for urinary tract infections (UTI) was affected by a patient's human leucocyte
      antigen (HLA) phenotype. Urinary tract infection data and the HLA phenotypes of
      47 women participating in a phase II clinical trial of immunization for recurrent
      UTI were statistically analysed for associations between HLA-A, -B, -DR, or -DQ
      phenotype and postimmunization infection course. Women who received the vaccine
      and had HLA-DR phenotypes other than DR2 had significantly delayed times to re
      infection compared with women receiving placebo. Vaccine-treated patients with
      the HLA-DR2 phenotype had re-infection courses that were not different than women
      receiving placebo. These results indicate that the efficacy of a vaginal mucosal
      UTI vaccine may be influenced by an individual's HLA-DR phenotype.

PMID- 9987152
TI  - Immunological properties of plaque purified strains of live attenuated
      respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for human vaccine.
AB  - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe lower respiratory tract disease
      in infants, young children, and the elderly. Efforts to develop satisfactory live
      or inactivated vaccines have not yet been proven successful. Our research focuses
      on the development of four purified live attenuated RSV sub-type A human vaccine
      clones. Temperature sensitive (ts) and attenuated purified clones of either cold
      adapted (ca) RSV or high-passage (hp) RSV were administered intra-nasally (i.n.)
      to BALB/c mice and tested for immunogenicity. All four clones produced
      significant anti-RSV F IgG2a and IgG1 titres in the sera of mice, RSV-specific
      neutralizing titres higher than those produced by their wild-type progenitor
      viruses, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity, and total protection against wild
      type (wt) viral challenge. These purified vaccine candidates await testing in
      humans to determine which contain the required balance between immunogenicity and
      attenuation.

PMID- 9987153
TI  - A comparison of alternate immunization regimes for measles in vaccinated
      populations.
AB  - Infants today lose maternal measles antibody sooner than in the past. This is
      related to demographic changes in maternal immunization. Data for rates of decay
      of maternal antibody and seroconversion after measles vaccination for infants
      born to naturally immune (Group 1) or vaccinated (Group 2) mothers have been used
      to evaluate two vaccination schedules: Regime 1, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) at 1
      year of age and Regime 2, monovalent measles at 6 months followed by MMR at 15
      months of age. Regime 2 costs less because MMR can be administered at 15 months
      with the last pentavalent booster. Months of protection/1000 children aged 0-15
      months (child-months of protection) were estimated for infant populations ranging
      from 0 to 100% Group 1 for Regimes 1 and 2. Regime 1 provides more child-months
      of protection only for 100% Group 1 populations. For the study population Regime
      2 provided at least 17% more child-months of protection than Regime 1. Regime 2
      provides increased medical and financial benefits in proportion to the number of
      Group 2 infants in the population and thus is ever more advantageous for today's
      increasingly vaccinated populations.

PMID- 9987154
TI  - Multivalent group A streptococcal vaccine designed to optimize the immunogenicity
      of six tandem M protein fragments.
AB  - One of the major challenges in the development of group A streptococcal M protein
      based vaccines is the multiplicity of M types expressed by these organisms.
      Previous studies have shown that multivalent vaccines containing as many as eight
      M protein fragments in tandem were immunogenic and evoked opsonic antibodies. It
      was also noted that the C-terminal fragments of these hybrid proteins were often
      not immunogenic or evoked only low levels of opsonic antibodies, suggesting that
      the C-terminus of the molecule may have been preferentially degraded or altered
      in vivo. In the present studies, we designed a hexavalent vaccine containing
      protective M protein peptides from types 24, 5, 6, 19, 1, and 3 group A
      streptococci. In order to "protect" the carboxy-terminal components, the amino
      terminal M24 fragment was reiterated on the carboxy-terminal end of the
      construct. The hexavalent vaccine was immunogenic in laboratory animals and
      evoked high titers of antibodies against each of the native M proteins
      represented in the vaccine and bactericidal antibodies against all six sterotypes
      of group A streptococci. The vaccine was equally immunogenic when delivered in
      alum or in complete Freund's adjuvant. None of the immune sera contained
      antibodies that crossreacted with human heart tissue. Our results show that
      complex multivalent group A streptococcal vaccines can be designed in such a way
      that each M protein fragment is immunogenic and evokes protective antibodies.

PMID- 9987155
TI  - Kinetics of formation of neutralizing antibodies against vaccinia virus following
      re-vaccination.
AB  - Administration of vaccinia immune globulin (VIG), derived from vaccinated healthy
      adult volunteers, is the treatment-of-choice for patients suffering from severe
      complications following smallpox vaccination. The present study was aimed to
      determine the time interval after vaccination, at which the highest titer of
      neutralizing antibodies is obtained. Ninety-nine 18-year-old soldiers, immunized
      with vaccinia virus at birth, participated in the study, 87 of whom had
      detectable antibodies against vaccinia virus prior to re-vaccination. Their
      initial average neutralizing antibodies titer (NT50) was 27. Fourteen days after
      re-vaccination the titer reached 152 and then dropped to 136, 119, 110 and 87 at
      21, 30, 45 and 60 d, respectively. The titers of vaccinia antibodies induced in
      vaccinees without detectable antibodies at the start of the study, were
      significantly lower and the titers observed after re-vaccination were: 62, 56,
      66, 38 and 34, at 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 d, respectively. In an additional study,
      65 volunteers vaccinated at birth and again at the age of 8 years old were re
      vaccinated. Fourteen days later their NT50 was higher than those vaccinated only
      at birth. It can be concluded that bleeding of vaccinees 14 d following re
      vaccination is the preferable time for the preparation of VIG.

PMID- 9987156
TI  - Studies on the structures and antigenic properties of rabies virus glycoprotein
      analogues produced in yeast cells.
AB  - We investigated two forms (designated as yGI and yGII) of rabies virus
      glycoprotein (G) analogues produced in the G cDNA-transfected yeast cells.
      Molecular weights of yGI and yGII were estimated as 66 and 56 kDa, respectively,
      according to their relative mobility in SDS-PAGE. Although being produced in
      large amounts, yGI was present mostly in insoluble forms and hardly extractable
      with non-ionic detergents. The yGI reacted with polyclonal anti-G antibodies, but
      did not react with our conformational epitope-specific anti-G monoclonal
      antibodies (G-MAbs). No protective immunity was induced by yGI in guinea pigs nor
      in mice. On the other hand, yGII was Triton-soluble, but was only small in amount
      (at most 1% of total G proteins) and was shown to lack the cytoplasmic domain.
      The yGII, however, reacted with the G-MAbs and induced protective immunity in
      guinea pigs as well. When the G-cDNA was expressed in animal cells in culture, a
      single form (about 66 kDa) of G protein was produced, which displayed similar
      behaviors as seen in its reactivity with the MAbs and intracellular distribution
      as seen in the virus-infected cells. These results suggest that most G protein
      molecules were not processed normally in yeast cells, resulting in abnormal
      folding and multimer formation, while only a small fraction were occasionally
      folded normally to have conformational epitopes but were mostly deprived of the C
      terminal portion.

PMID- 9987157
TI  - Sulfolipo-cyclodextrin in squalane-in-water as a novel and safe vaccine adjuvant.
AB  - Previously, we described synergistic adjuvanticity of combinations of synthetic
      sulfolipo(SL)-derivatives of polysaccharide (SL-polysaccharides) and squalane-in
      water emulsions (squalane/W). In this paper, effects of type of polysaccharide
      and nature of oil on adjuvanticity, reactogenicity and stability are described.
      SL-derivatives of the following polysaccharides were synthesised: synthetic
      polysucroses with weight-average molecular weight (MW) of 400,000 (Ficoll400),
      70,000 (Ficoll70) and 39,000 Da (Ficoll39), polyfructose of 5,000 Da (inulin),
      linear polyglucose of 1,200 Da (maltodextrin) and cyclic polyglucose of 1,135 Da
      (beta-cyclodextrin). The number of sulphate groups per monosaccharide of the
      different SL-polysaccharides varied between 0.15 and 0.23 and the number of lipid
      groups per monosaccharide between 1.15 and 1.29. Adjuvant formulations were
      prepared by incorporating these SL-polysaccharides into oil-in-water emulsions of
      either squalane, hexadecane, soya oil or mineral oil. Adjuvanticity of the
      formulations obtained for humoral responses to inactivated pseudorabies virus
      (PRV) and inactivated influenza virus strains A/Swine (A/Swine) and MRC-11 (MRC
      11) in pigs and MRC-11 and ovalbumin (OVA) in mice depended on the type of oil
      (squalane = mineral oil > hexadecane = soya oil) but not on the type of
      polysaccharide backbone of the SL-derivative. Reactogenicity assessed by local
      swelling in mice decreased with decreasing MW (SL-Ficoll400 = Ficoll70 = Ficoll39
      > SL-inulin = SL-maltodextrin > SL-cyclodextrin) when combined with squalane and
      decreased with the type of oil in the following order: squalane > mineral oil >
      hexadecane > soya oil when combined with SL-Ficoll400. Stability of the SL
      polysaccharide/squalane/W emulsions at elevated temperature increased with
      decreasing MW of the SL-polysaccharide (SL-Ficoll400 < SL-Ficoll70 = SL-Ficoll39
      < SL-inulin = SL-maltodextrin = SL-cyclodextrin). SL-cyclodextrin/squalane/W
      remained stable for > 2.5 years at 4 degrees C, > 18 weeks at 37 degrees C and >
      10 days at 60 degrees C. We concluded that reactogenicity and stability but not
      adjuvanticity of SL-polysaccharide/squalane/W formulations depended on the MW of
      SL-polysaccharide and that SL-cyclodextrin/squalane/W is a promising non-mineral
      oil adjuvant as it combines strong adjuvanticity (i.e. better than the mineral
      oil-based adjuvant presently applied) with low reactogenicity and good stability.

PMID- 9987158
TI  - Homing potentials of circulating antibody-secreting cells after administration of
      oral or parenteral protein or polysaccharide vaccine in humans.
AB  - The site of antigen encounter influences the Ig-distribution and homing
      potentials of circulating antibody-secreting cells (ASC) induced. After oral
      antigen administration, the majority ASC secrete the mucosal Ig-isotype, IgA, and
      all of them express the gut homing receptor (HR), alpha 4 beta 7, thus implying
      mucosal homing of these cells. Parenteral protein vaccine induces an IgG
      dominated response with a low proportion of alpha 4 beta 7 expressing cells.
      However, a polysaccharide vaccine, even if administered parenterally, elicits an
      IgA-dominated response, hence suggesting homing to the mucosa. In order to study
      the influence of the nature of the antigen on the targeting of the ASC response,
      the present work compares the homing potentials of circulating ASC in humans
      after administration of an oral Salmonella Typhi Ty21a vaccine (antigen studied:
      O-9,12 polysaccharide), an oral recombinant cholera vaccine (antigen studied:
      cholera toxin B-subunit, CTB protein), a parenteral pneumococcal vaccine (antigen
      studied: Pnc capsular polysaccharide 19F) or a parenteral tetanus toxoid vaccine
      (antigen studied: TT protein). alpha 4 beta 7 was expressed on a higher
      proportion of ASC induced by oral O-9,12 (99%) and CTB (99%) than by parenteral
      Pnc (70%) or TT (63%). L-selectin, the peripheral lymph node HR, was expressed on
      a smaller proportion of ASC induced by O-9,12 (37%) or CTB (43%) than of those
      induced by Pnc (78%) or TT (81%). The results imply that even if the nature of
      the antigen has a profound effect on the Ig-distribution of the ASC response, it
      does not seem to influence the targeting of the response.

PMID- 9987159
TI  - DNA-mediated immunization with glycoprotein D of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) in
      a murine model of EHV-1 respiratory infection.
AB  - DNA-mediated immunization was assessed in a murine model of equine herpesvirus 1
      (EHV-1) respiratory infection. A single intramuscular injection with plasmid DNA
      encoding EHV-1 glycoprotein D (EHV-1 gD), including its predicted C-terminal
      membrane anchor sequence, induced a specific antibody response detectable by 2
      weeks and maintained through 23 weeks post injection. A second injection at 4
      weeks markedly enhanced the antibody response and all EHV-1 gD-injected mice
      developed neutralizing antibodies. A lymphocyte proliferative response to whole
      EHV-1 was observed and a predominance of IgG2a antibodies after DNA injection was
      consistent with the generation of a type 1 helper T-cell (Th1) response.
      Following intranasal challenge with EHV-1, mice immunized with EHV-1 gD DNA were
      able to clear virus significantly more rapidly from lung tissue and showed
      reduced lung pathology, in comparison to control mice.

PMID- 9987160
TI  - Host immune responses to ribosome, ribosomal proteins, and RNA from Mycobacterium
      bovis bacille de Calmette-Guerin.
AB  - The ribosomes from BCG strongly induced delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin
      reactions in guinea pigs immunized with live BCG or heat killed Mycobacterium
      tuberculosis H37Rv, and also induced lymphocyte proliferative response in mice
      immunized with ribosomes. In contrast, neither ribosomal proteins nor RNA alone
      induced both DTH skin reactions and lymphocyte proliferative responses. Particle
      form consisted of ribosomal proteins and RNAs might be absolutely required for
      the activation of immune responses.

PMID- 9987161
TI  - Modulation of mucosal and systemic immunity by intranasal interleukin 12
      delivery.
AB  - Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is an important mediator of both cell-mediated and humoral
      immunity. We have now utilized a noninvasive intranasal (i.n.) delivery system to
      evaluate the ability of IL-12 to modulate both mucosal and systemic components of
      the immune system. Mice immunized i.n. with dinitrophenyl conjugated to ovalbumin
      (DNP-OVA) in combination with cholera toxin B subunit and IL-12 were found to
      have elevated levels of IFN-gamma and IL-10 mRNA transcripts in both lungs and
      spleens compared with mice not receiving IL-12. In addition, expression of lung
      IL-5 mRNA was inhibited. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid after IL-12
      treatment revealed a significant increase in IgG2a and unaltered IgG1 and IgA
      anti-OVA antibody levels. Serum IgG2a, IgG2b and IgG3 anti-DNP antibody levels
      were significantly increased by IL-12 given i.n., while serum IgG1 antibody
      levels were suppressed, results that are similar to those seen after systemic
      antigen plus IL-12 administration. Delivery of IL-12 i.n. also enhanced faecal
      IgG2a and suppressed IgA levels, in contrast to parenteral treatment which
      increased both faecal IgG2a and IgA antibody expression. These results provide
      evidence that i.n. IL-12 treatment can effectively modulate antigen-specific
      immune responses and enhance immunization strategies for mucosal vaccines.

PMID- 9987162
TI  - Protection against lethal Japanese encephalitis virus infection of mice by
      immunization with the highly attenuated MVA strain of vaccinia virus expressing
      JEV prM and E genes.
AB  - Genes encoding the glycosylated precursor of the membrane (prM) and envelope (E)
      proteins of a Korean strain of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) were inserted
      into the genome of the host-range restricted, highly attenuated, and safety
      tested MVA strain of vaccinia virus. MVA recombinants containing the JEV genes,
      under strong synthetic or modified H5 vaccinia virus promoters, were isolated.
      Synthesis of JEV prM and E proteins was detected by immunofluorescence
      microscopy, flow cytometry, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Mice
      inoculated and boosted by various routes with either of the MVA recombinants
      produced JEV neutralizing antibodies, that had titres comparable with those
      induced by an inactivated JEV vaccine, as well as haemagglutination-inhibiting
      antibodies. Mice immunized with 2 x 10(6) infectious units of MVA/JEV
      recombinants by intramuscular or intraperitoneal routes were completely protected
      against a 10(5) LD50 JEV challenge at 9 weeks of age.

PMID- 9987163
TI  - A chimeric protein comprised of bovine herpesvirus type 1 glycoprotein D and
      bovine interleukin-6 is secreted by yeast and possesses biological activities of
      both molecules.
AB  - Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) glycoprotein D (gD) engenders mucosal and
      systemic immunity and protects cattle from viral infection. Chimerization of
      cytokines with gD is being explored to confer intrinsic adjuvanticity on gD.
      Addition of the appropriate cytokine may convert gD into an antigen that
      specifically engenders protective mucosal immunity. Here DNA coding for the
      mature bovine interleukin-6 (IL-6) protein was fused through a synthetic glycine
      linker to the 3' end of DNA coding for the mature BHV-1 gD (tgD) external domain.
      It was cloned behind the yeast alpha prepro signal sequence and transfected into
      Pichia pastoris which secreted the chimeric protein (tgD-IL-6) as a 100 kDa
      molecule. This chimera combined the immunogenic properties of native gD and the
      in vitro biological activity of bovine IL-6 based on the following observations.
      A panel of BHV-1 gD-specific monoclonal antibodies recognizing five neutralizing
      epitopes on native gD reacted with tgD-IL-6. Sera from yeast tgD-IL-6-immunized
      mice neutralized BHV-1 infection in vitro. The chimeric protein enhanced total
      bovine immunoglobulin production 16-fold above tgD alone in pokeweed-stimulated
      bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P < 0.05). This chimeric protein may
      be a potent mucosal immunogen.

PMID- 9987164
TI  - Exposure to yellow fever vaccine in early pregnancy.
AB  - We report on a data collection concerning exposure to yellow fever vaccine (YFV)
      during early pregnancy, ascertained through the European Network of Teratology
      Information Services (TISs) and the Pharmacovigilance Department of Pasteur
      Merieux Connaught (PMC). Six TISs had had no inquiry about YFV. Five submitted
      prospectively collected cases. Seventy-four cases were analyzed, 58 with a
      completed follow-up. Pregnancies ended in 46 births, five voluntary abortions and
      seven spontaneous abortions. Three newborns had minor anomalies and two had major
      defects (ureteral stenosis and triphalangeal hallux). Although the sample is too
      small to rule out a moderate increased risk of adverse reproductive effect of
      YFV, it gives no argument for such an effect and should lead to reassure pregnant
      women who might be inadvertently vaccinated.

PMID- 9987165
TI  - Prevalence of diphtheria toxin antibodies in human sera from a cross-section of
      the Italian population.
AB  - A polycentric study was carried out between 1993 and 1995 in order to evaluate
      diphtheria immunity on a representative sample of population from different areas
      of Italy. To determine diphtheria antitoxin, sera from 5187 apparently healthy
      subjects, divided according to sex and age groups, were titrated using an ELISA
      indirect method. A basic protective titre of diphtheria antitoxin (> 0.01 IU ml
      1) was found in 4080 (78.6%) subjects. No statistically significant differences
      between males and females were observed. Our findings show that the proportion of
      susceptibles increases with age and a high proportion of adults no longer has
      diphtheria antitoxin at protective levels since toxigenic C. diphtheriae
      circulation is presently lacking in Italy.

PMID- 9987166
TI  - Immunoprophylaxis and immunotherapy against experimental visceral leishmaniasis.
AB  - The ability of the Leishmanial parasite, UR6 (MHOM/IN/1978/UR6) to act as a
      immunoprophylactic and immunotherapeutic agent against experimental visceral
      leishmaniasis in a hamster model was tested. The Leishmanial parasite, UR6,
      lacked LPG but possessed abundant message for kinetoplastid membrane protein-11
      (KMP-11), and failed to induce visceral infection when given through the
      intracardiac route, unlike the virulent Leishmania donovani, AG83
      (MHOM/IN/1983/AG83), the causative agent of Kala-azar. Priming of macrophage with
      UR6 in vitro, induced superoxide (O2-) generation whereas a similar experiment
      with virulent AG83 inhibited O2- generation. This observation prompted us to test
      the efficacy of UR6 as a immunoprophylactic and immunotherapeutic agent. It was
      observed that priming of hamsters with either live or sonicated UR6 in the
      absence of any adjuvant provided strong protection against subsequent virulent
      challenge. The UR6 mediated protection was also observed in hamsters having
      established infection. Furthermore, UR6 primed infected hamsters displayed a
      greatly extended life span as compared to infected hamsters. To our knowledge,
      this is the first report concerning the use of an atypical Leishmanial parasite,
      UR6 in immunoprophylaxis and immunotherapy in the absence of any adjuvant.

PMID- 9987167
TI  - Edward Jenner's Inquiry; a bicentenary analysis.
AB  - Edward Jenner's famous Inquiry was published 200 years ago. Probably few now know
      on what evidence he based his claims but most will be aware that they initiated
      controversy which to some extent still continues. This paper briefly reviews the
      Inquiry, analysing its merits and faults. Jenner's claims were based on slender
      experimental evidence and some of the information presented was incomplete and
      misleading. However Jenner's role in the introduction of vaccination was seminal
      and others could only test and extend his ideas. His reputation as the initial
      promoter of vaccination is justified.

PMID- 9987168
TI  - Mucosal vaccination with recombinant poxvirus vaccines protects ferrets against
      symptomatic CDV infection.
AB  - Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection of ferrets causes a disease characterized
      by fever, erythema, conjunctivitis and leukocytopenia, similar clinically to
      measles except for the fatal neurologic sequelae of CDV. We vaccinated juvenile
      ferrets twice at 4-week intervals by the intranasal or intraduodenal route with
      attenuated vaccinia (NYVAC) or canarypox virus (ALVAC) constructs containing the
      CDV hemagglutinin and fusion genes. Controls were vaccinated with the same
      vectors expressing rabies glycoprotein. Animals were challenged intranasally 4
      weeks after the second vaccination with virulent CDV. Body weights, white blood
      cell (WBC) counts and temperatures were monitored and ferrets were observed daily
      for clinical signs of infection. WBCs were assayed for the presence of viral RNA
      by RT-PCR. Intranasally vaccinated animals survived challenge with no virologic
      or clinical evidence of infection. Vaccination by the intraduodenal route did not
      provide complete protection. All control animals developed typical distemper.
      Ferrets can be effectively protected against distemper by mucosal vaccination
      with poxvirus vaccines.

PMID- 9987169
TI  - Vaccine potential of a recombinant glutathione S-transferase cloned from
      Schistosoma haematobium in primates experimentally infected with an homologous
      challenge.
AB  - Patas monkeys were twice immunized with a Schistosoma haematobium-derived
      recombinant glutathione S-transferase (Sh28GST) then challenged with an
      homologous calibrated challenge. BCG and Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) were
      used as adjuvants in two distinct protocols. Specific IgG and IgA antibody
      responses were intense and homogeneous in the animals receiving Sh28GST in the
      presence of FCA, whereas BCG could only induce moderate and heterogeneous
      antibody titres. No significant effect on worm burdens was evidenced 36 weeks
      post-infection in either group of Sh28GST-immunized animals compared to their
      matched controls receiving an irrelevant protein. Although not significant, 50%
      reductions in the numbers of eggs located in all tissues (FCA group) and in the
      urogenital system (BCG group) were noted. Moreover, the total number of excreted
      eggs was dramatically diminished by 60% and 77% in the BCG and FCA groups,
      respectively. These reductions reached 75% and 80% in the urines of vaccinated
      monkeys. Bladder pathology was also reduced in the animals displaying the lowest
      urinary egg excretions. There was no clear positive or negative correlate between
      antibody responses and individual levels of protection. Taken as a whole, our
      results show that Sh28GST was capable of significantly reducing S. haematobium
      worm fecundity in experimentally infected primates. Although FCA induced higher
      levels of protection, the efficacy of BCG as an adjuvant appeared sufficient to
      justify consideration of the future application of this new formulation as a
      vaccine against human urogenital schistosomosis.

PMID- 9987170
TI  - Urticaria following varicella vaccine associated with gelatin allergy.
AB  - An uncommon reaction to varicella vaccine has been urticaria. Based on two
      reports of urticaria believed to be due to gelatin in recipients of measles-mumps
      rubella vaccine, we suspected gelatin as the cause of generalized urticaria in
      two children after varicella vaccination. Intradermal testing with gelatin
      yielded a wheal and flare reaction in both children. We conclude that children
      known to be allergic to gelatin should not receive Oka/Merck varicella vaccine
      (VARIVAX).

PMID- 9987171
TI  - Human leukocyte antigens influence the immune response to a pre-S/S hepatitis B
      vaccine.
AB  - In this study we investigated the effects of a single pre-S/S (Hepagene)
      revaccination in a large population of multiple 'S' vaccinated anti-HBs antibody
      nonresponder individuals (< 3 IU/l). We investigate the influence of vaccine dose
      (5, 10, 20 and 40 micrograms/ml), number of previous 'S' containing vaccinations
      and the individuals HLA genotype on both B- and T-cell responses. We show that
      76% of persistently nonresponder individuals produce anti-HBs antibody (> 3 IU/l)
      following a single revaccination with Hepagene. This anti-HBs antibody response
      was dose dependent. The group that received 5 micrograms/ml of Hepagene vaccine
      produced significantly less anti-HBs antibody than those receiving 10, 20 and 40
      micrograms/ml doses (p < 0.05 in all cases). Individuals homozygous for HLA
      DRB1*0701; DQB1*0202 failed to produce > 100 IU/l of anti-HBs antibody, whereas,
      heterozygous individuals required > 10 micrograms/ml Hepagene vaccine. The T-cell
      responses to Hepagene were exclusive of the dose and magnitude of anti-HBs
      antibody responses. There was a trend towards increased stimulation indices in
      those individuals who received repeated 'S' containing vaccines. We have clearly
      shown that the immune response to Hepagene is influenced by the HLA genotype of
      the individual. However, further investigation is required to determine the
      specific role of these molecules in hepatitis B vaccine nonresponse. Hepagene is
      a registered trademark of Hedeva Pharma Ltd.

PMID- 9987172
TI  - Protection against anthrax toxin by vaccination with a DNA plasmid encoding
      anthrax protective antigen.
AB  - A DNA vaccine encoding the immunogenic and biologically active portion of anthrax
      protective antigen (PA) was constructed. Spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized
      intramuscularly with this vaccine were stimulated to secrete IFN gamma and IL-4
      when exposed to PA in vitro. Immunized mice also mounted a humoral immune
      response dominated by IgG1 anti-PA antibody production, the subclass previously
      shown to confer protection against anthrax toxin. A 1:100 dilution of serum from
      these animals protected cells in vitro against cytotoxic concentrations of PA.
      Moreover, 7/8 mice immunized three times with the PA DNA vaccine were protected
      against lethal challenge with a combination of anthrax protective antigen plus
      lethal factor.

PMID- 9987173
TI  - Effect of Mycobacterium sp. wall and Avridine on the antibody response, IgG
      isotype profile and proliferative response induced by foot and mouth disease
      virus (FMDV) vaccination in cattle.
AB  - Different immunomodulators have been previously tested in our laboratory as
      enhancers of the specific immune response to FMDV vaccines in a murine model [2
      4]. Here, we present results of two of these immunomodulators, a water-soluble
      fraction of the cell wall of Mycobacterium sp. (WSF) and a synthetic lipoamide,
      Avridine (AV), which were tested in bovines included in FMDV oil vaccines. Two
      different concentrations of inactivated viral antigen were employed and the
      effect of different concentrations of the adjuvants were studied when added to
      the lower viral dose. It is shown that the inclusion of these adjuvants in the
      higher concentration in vaccines formulated with low antigen concentration
      induced the same antibody levels as those induced by vaccines containing twice
      the concentration of virus, and no adjuvants, and as a commercial formulation
      which performed with 100% of protection in the potency test. The IgG isotypes
      profiles induced in these experimental vaccines differed from those elicited by
      the commercial and control vaccines. Both IgG1 and IgG2 were augmented by the
      experimental formulations. These adjuvants, specially the WSF, also enhanced the
      cellular immune response against the FMDV in antigen driven proliferation assays,
      thus acting on a broad range of immune mechanisms.

PMID- 9987174
TI  - Immunogenicity of recombinant Escherichia coli expressing the omp31 gene of
      Brucella melitensis in BALB/c mice.
AB  - BALB/c mice were immunized with recombinant Escherichia coli expressing the omp31
      gene of Brucella melitensis, a gene coding for a major outer membrane protein.
      Immunization resulted in the production of specific antibodies to B. melitensis
      in the serum, the production of which was considerably increased after boosting
      with a dose ten times lower than the first. A significant specific proliferative
      response of immune spleen cells to B. melitensis was observed 5 weeks after the
      first immunization but this response did not persist. Despite the induction of
      systemic humoral and cellular immune responses by recombinant E. coli expressing
      the B. melitensis omp31 gene, no significant protection against a challenge with
      smooth B. melitensis H38S was observed in immunized mice. These results
      demonstrate that despite the strong antibody response induced in mice,
      immunization with the recombinant Omp31 of B. melitensis does not confer any
      protective effect against a virulent smooth B. melitensis. However, its potential
      protective effect for protection against rough Brucella would be worth testing.

PMID- 9987175
TI  - Vaccination against the gastrointestinal nematode, Haemonchus contortus, using a
      purified larval surface antigen.
AB  - Sheep were immunized with a purified antigen (Hc-sL3) expressed on the surface of
      L3 larvae of the gastro-intestinal parasite, Haemonchus contortus, using
      different adjuvant and immunization routes. In the first experiment, intradermal
      immunization of sheep with Hc-sL3 and QuilA did not result in reductions in
      faecal egg counts after subsequent challenge infection while significant
      reductions were obtained when aluminium hydroxide (AH) was used as the adjuvant.
      Significant protection with Hc-sL3 absorbed on AH was confirmed in a second
      experiment and this protection was maintained when dextran sulphate was added to
      the Hc-sL3/AH mixture while the addition of pertussis toxin abrogated the
      protective effect. Significant levels of protection, as determined by reductions
      in both faecal egg counts and worm burdens, were also obtained when the Hc-sL3/AH
      mixture was injected into the rectal mucosa or the Hc-sL3 antigen was deposited
      on the surface of the rectal mucosa with cholera toxin. No correlations with
      antibody levels or isotype and protection were observed.

PMID- 9987176
TI  - Long-term follow-up of hepatitis A vaccination in children.
AB  - We conducted this follow-up study to evaluate the long-term immunogenicity of an
      inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in children. Ninety-six children who had
      seroconversion to antibody to HAV (anti-HAV) after receiving a three-dose
      schedule of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine were enrolled into this study. Sixty
      months after the initial vaccination, all vaccinees who received annual follow-up
      still had protective levels of anti-HAV. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of anti
      HAV, peaking at month 7 (4133 mIU/mL), kept declining throughout the follow-up
      period. The GMTs in months 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 were 1722, 896, 896, 645 and 403
      mIU/mL, respectively. Nine of the vaccinees were hepatitis B virus carriers.
      Their anti-HAV titers tended to be lower than those of the remaining vaccinees at
      all time-points, but the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). Natural
      booster was noted in one vaccinee during the follow-up period. In conclusion,
      inactivated hepatitis A vaccine is safe and immunogenic in children, the duration
      of protection against HAV infection is longer than five years.

PMID- 9987177
TI  - Priming of CD8+ CTL effector cells in mice by immunization with a stress protein
      influenza virus nucleoprotein fusion molecule.
AB  - Literature is accumulating which suggests the potential for stress proteins to
      form the basis of a novel vaccine technology. Immunization with mammalian tumor
      derived stress proteins and their associated peptides promote anti-tumor
      immunity. Vaccination with HIV-1 p24 antigen fused to mycobacterial heat shock
      protein (Hsp) Hsp71 enhances p24-specific immunity, as measured by p24-specific
      antibody production and in vitro cell proliferation and cytokine induction. An
      ovalbumin-Hsp71 fusion protein primes ovalbumin-specific CTL activity and
      resistance to challenge with an ovalbumin-expressing tumor. We have extended
      these observations by using a mycobacterial Hsp65 fusion molecule to prime CTL
      specific for a viral antigen. Gene fusion constructs were generated from DNA
      encoding Mycobacterium bovis strain BCG Hsp65 and individual fragments of
      influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) encompassing H-2Kd- and H-2Db-restricted CTL
      epitopes. The ability of these purified recombinant fusion proteins to prime NP
      specific CTL was assessed in mice of appropriate H-2 haplotypes. We observed that
      adjuvant-free immunization with either fusion protein elicited significant CTL
      activity when administered at doses of 10-100 micrograms per mouse. An NP fusion
      protein made with glutathione-S-transferase failed to elicit NP-specific CTL,
      indicating that the phenomenon requires Hsp65 sequences. A single immunization
      with the Hsp65-NP fusion protein elicited CTL activity which persisted for a
      minimum of 4 months post-immunization, at which time it could be boosted by a
      second immunization. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a member of
      the Hsp60 family priming for antigen-specific CTL activity when employed as a
      fusion protein partner.

PMID- 9987178
TI  - Development and in vitro characterization of recombinant vaccinia viruses
      expressing bovine leukemia virus gp51 in combination with bovine IL4 or IL12.
AB  - Type 1 and type 2 immune responses are modulated by IL12 or IL4, respectively, at
      the time of lymphocyte priming. Importantly, type 1 responses have been
      associated with resistance to retroviral infection in mice, humans, and
      ruminants. Specifically, vaccination of sheep with vaccinia virus expressing
      bovine leukemia virus (BLV) gp51 resulted in protective immunity with the
      characteristics of a type 1 response, whereas vaccination of cattle resulted in a
      non-protective type 2 response. In order to test the hypothesis that cattle
      inoculated with BLV gp51 and IL12 will respond with a type 1 response, a
      recombinant vaccinia virus expressing BLV gp51 together with bovine IL12 was
      developed and characterized in vitro. For induction of type 2 responses a
      recombinant vaccinia virus expressing gp51 with bovine IL4 was similarly
      constructed and characterized. In this study recombinant cassettes were developed
      containing either the BLVenv gene alone or in combination with bovine IL4 or the
      two genes, p35 and p40, encoding bovine IL12. Correct alignment with p7.5 or p11
      vaccinia promoters and orientation was confirmed by complete sequencing.
      Recombinant vaccinia viruses were generated by homologous recombination, selected
      based on large plaque formation due to reconstitution of the vp37 gene, and
      structurally confirmed by Southern blotting. Transcription of recombinant BLVenv,
      bovine IL4, p35 and p40 was demonstrated by RT-PCR. Expression of BLVenv gp51
      protein and bovine IL4 was shown by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting.
      Biologically active bovine IL4 expressed by vaccinia virus stimulated lymphoblast
      proliferation, B lymphocyte proliferation in the presence of CD40L, and inhibited
      IFN gamma secretion from PHA activated PBMC in a dose dependent fashion. Finally,
      bovine IL12 expression and biological function was confirmed by dose dependent
      induction of IFN gamma secretion by PHA activated PBMC and the moderate
      enhancement of lymphoblast proliferation. In conclusion, bovine IL12 and IL4
      expressed by recombinant vaccinia virus in vitro clearly exhibited type 1-type 2
      modulating properties.

PMID- 9987179
TI  - Prophylaxis moving to centre stage.

PMID- 9987180
TI  - Report on a meeting of a working party sponsored by the European Commission to
      discuss the ethical, legal and social aspects of research on vaccines and
      vaccination (BIOMED2 BMH4 983 197).

PMID- 9987181
TI  - Characterization of the periodontal microflora by the fatty acid profile of the
      broth-grown microbial population.
AB  - The applicability of fatty acid analysis to the characterization of periodontal
      microflora was investigated using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and the
      software of the Sherlock Microbial Identification System (MIS) from MIDI Inc.
      Sulcus fluid was collected with paper points and anaerobically cultured in broth
      at 35 degrees C for four days. The broth-grown microbial population was extracted
      and the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were separated by GLC. The investigation
      of 67 specimens from asymptomatic sulci and of 32 specimens from inflamed sulci
      showed that the patterns of FAME profiles, the clustering of FAME profiles by
      computerized 2-D plot procedure, and the determination of the peak area index
      (PAI) of the FAME profiles differentiate between normal and pathological sulcus
      flora. Comparison of the clinical sulcus rating and the FAME data indicated that
      a pathological FAME profile may precede manifest periodontitis, and the
      normalization of the FAME profile may precede healing. It is concluded that the
      FAME analysis of sulcus fluid is a diagnostic aid for periodontological
      surveillance, for the initiation of preventive treatment of periodontitis, and
      for controlling the antimicrobial efficiency of therapeutic measures.

PMID- 9987182
TI  - Growth parameters of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto at various temperatures.
AB  - Growth of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (prototype strain B-31) was studied
      in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly BSK-H liquid medium, supplemented with 4.5% rabbit
      serum and antibiotics (phosphomycin, rifampicin), at various temperatures to
      early stationary growth phase. The number of cells was determined by darkfield
      microscopy. In the range of cultivation temperatures of 25 degrees C to 37
      degrees C, generation time was between 8.26 and 12.36 h (the shortest one at 33
      degrees C), and the specific growth rate between 0.056 and 0.083 h-1 (the highest
      one at 33 degrees C). The optimum growth temperature for B. burgdorferi was 33
      degrees C, although good growth was also observed at 28 degrees C, 30 degrees C,
      35 degrees C and 37 degrees C. The strain grew well but slowly at the temperature
      of 25 degrees C, whereas no growth was observed at 20 degrees C.

PMID- 9987183
TI  - Evaluation of three methods for culturing alginate throat swabs from cystic
      fibrosis patients.
AB  - Deep throat swabs are usually cultured for potential respiratory pathogens in
      patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who do not produce sputum. Using alginate
      swabs, three methods were examined in the present study: (i) semiquantitative
      processing (direct plating); (ii) mere elution of swabs in Ringer's lactate
      followed by plating of the eluate; and (iii) complete quantitative processing
      (elution plus two-step dilution series). Throat swabs from 56 CF patients yielded
      122 isolates of potential respiratory pathogens. Semiquantitative processing (n =
      101 isolates) was not significantly inferior to elution (n = 104) and
      quantitative processing (n = 113; p > 0.05). Since semiquantitative processing is
      the simplest method, it is to be preferred, provided that alginate swabs are
      used.

PMID- 9987184
TI  - Phospholipase D-neutralization in serodiagnosis of Arcanobacterium haemolyticum
      and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infections.
AB  - Phospholipase D (PLD) neutralization was used to examine sera of humans (n = 40)
      with a spontaneous infection by Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, sheep and goats (n
      = 76 and 79 respectively) with a spontaneous infection by Corynebacterium
      pseudotuberculosis, mice (n = 26) experimentally immunized with PLD from A.
      haemolyticum (PLD-A) and mice (n = 28) experimentally immunized with PLD from C.
      pseudotuberculosis (PLD-C). PLD-A and PLD-C were also used as neutralizing
      antigens. A positive result of neutralization was due to an inhibition of the
      haemolytic synergism with the equi factor from Rhodococcus equi. The titres of
      sera neutralizing the homologous PLD were always significantly higher than those
      neutralizing the heterologous PLD. The proportion of sera that were able to
      neutralize the homologous PLD in sheep, goats and mice immunized with PLD-A
      significantly exceeded the proportion of sera that neutralized the heterologous
      PLD. The antigenic properties of PLD-A and PLD-C were similar but not identical.

PMID- 9987185
TI  - Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.I. in Ixodes ricinus ticks from Styria
      (Austria) and species identification by PCR-RFLP analysis.
AB  - A total of 1163 I. ricinus ticks were collected in 3 different regions (15
      localities) in Styria (Austria) in June 1997 and examined for the presence of
      spirochetes by dark field microscopy. The mean infection rate was 20.8%. Among
      310 adults, 24.2% were positive and among 853 nymphs, 19.6% were positive. All 15
      collection areas were shown to harbour infected nymphs with a positivity rate
      ranging from 5.8% (3/52) to 32.1% (18/56). Isolation attempts in BSKII medium
      resulted in 29 isolates. Species identification by PCR-RFLP analysis revealed 16
      strains of B. garinii, 10 strains of B. afzelii and 2 strains of B. burgdorferi
      s. s. One isolate showed a mixed population of B. garinii and B. afzelii. In two
      collection areas, all three major Borrelia species were shown to be present in
      the tick population.

PMID- 9987186
TI  - Influence of growth conditions on expression of immunoglobulin G binding in group
      A streptococci.
AB  - Many group A streptococci (GAS) bind the Fc part of IgG. In the present work, the
      possible influence of growth time and incubation atmosphere on the expression of
      the IgG binding activity by GAS of various serotypes was studied. Among 13 GAS
      reference strains, two categories were distinguished on aerobic incubation at 37
      degrees C, one expressing similar IgG binding activity at 6 h and 18 h (types M1,
      M4, M13, M15), and a second one which showed higher binding at 6 h than at 18 h
      (M9, M14, M22, M25, M48, M49). Only one strain (M36) bound less IgG at 6 h than
      at 18 h. Seven of the strains (M5, M6, M22, M25, M36, M48, M49) showed higher
      binding of IgG when grown in a 5% CO2 atmosphere than in air, whereas one strain
      (M14) showed a reverse pattern and in the remaining five strains, no influence
      was found. Protease activity was detected in the growth supernatant of most of
      the strains. For five selected strains, the time of appearance of supernatant
      protease activity coincided with a decay of surface IgG binding activity.
      Purified streptococcal cysteine protease was found to reduce or abolish the
      binding of IgG by each of three studied strains (M1, M13 and M15) and of type M1
      or M15 purified IgG binding material. When tested in the stationary phase, a
      majority of 62 clinical GAS isolates belonging to 6 different M types showed high
      protease activity but low binding of IgG. We conclude that streptococcal IgG
      binding is often better expressed on growth in 5% CO2 atmosphere than in air.
      Furthermore, due to its sensitivity to streptococcal protease, the IgG binding
      activity is mostly higher during the logarithmic than during the stationary phase
      of growth.

PMID- 9987187
TI  - Problems of identification in clinical microbiology exemplified by pig bite wound
      infections.
AB  - Our experience from attempts to identify bacteria isolated from boar bite/gore
      wounds is the background for a discussion of identification problems. Some
      organisms, although not very common or well-known, can be identified when using
      commercial kits or conventional methods, provided they are sufficiently
      characterized, as exemplified by Pasteurella aerogenes isolated from cases 1 and
      2. Some organisms may be wrongly identified, or not identified, by both
      commercial kits and conventional methods, unless seen by experienced
      microbiologists with knowledge of the original literature. This is exemplified by
      case 3, in which the final identification result was Bisgaard's taxon 15.
      Sometimes isolates cannot be identified even in reference laboratories and by
      using available identification tables and databases. In such cases, the organism
      involved may turn out to belong to a previously undescribed taxon. This is
      illustrated by the strains isolated from cases 4 and 5.

PMID- 9987188
TI  - Adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to yeast cells.
AB  - In order to get information as to whether direct interaction of H. pylori and
      yeasts may modulate the course of H. pylori infections, the adhesion of H. pylori
      to C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C.
      tropicalis and S. cereviseae was investigated. H. pylori adhered significantly
      more frequently to C. tropicalis (adhesion ratio > 10%) than to the other yeasts
      (adhesion ratios < 5%). On an average, no significant difference to the adhesion
      ratios of E. coli and S. aureus was found. Electron microscopic examinations
      showed that H. pylori cells contacted the cells of C. tropicalis either by knob
      like structures or by close surface-to-surface adhesion. Cholesterol-depleted H.
      pylori cells adhered to the yeast no more than cholesterol-carrying cells. There
      was no indication that a direct cooperation with yeasts plays a role in H. pylori
      infections.

PMID- 9987189
TI  - Comparative in-vitro activities of trovafloxacin, ciproflaxacin, ofloxacin, and
      broad-spectrum beta-lactams against aerobe blood culture isolates.
AB  - The in vitro activity of trovafloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone, was compared with
      that of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, fleroxacin, ceftazidime,
      piperacillin/tazobactam, and meropenem against 613 consecutively recovered blood
      isolates from recently hospitalized patients. Susceptibility testing was
      performed by agar dilution according to NCCLS guidelines. Test strains included
      Acinetobacter species (n = 26), Escherichia coli (n = 137), Enterobacter species
      (n = 27), Klebsiella species (n = 42), Proteus species (n = 16), Pseudomonas
      aeruginosa (n = 28), Serratia marcescens (n = 13), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
      (n = 7), enterococci (n = 54), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 38),
      Staphylococcus aureus (n = 137), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 27), beta
      haemolytic streptococci (n = 13), and viridans group streptococci (n = 48). The
      overall respective MICs at which 50% and 90% of isolates were inhibited (MIC50s
      and MIC90s) were as follows: trovafloxacin, 0.06 and 1 mg/l; ciprofloxacin, 0.25
      and 4 mg/l; ofloxacin, 0.5 and 4 mg/l; fleroxacin, 0.5 and 16 mg/l; ceftazidime,
      2 and 128 mg/l; piperacillin/tazobactam, 2 and 8 mg/l; meropenem, 0.06 and 4
      mg/l. For the quinolones, the rank order of activity against gram-negative
      microorganisms was ciprofloxacin > trovafloxacin > ofloxacin = fleroxacin,
      against gram-positive organisms, trovafloxacin > ciprofloxacin = ofloxacin >
      fleroxacin. Data obtained showed the similar activity of trovafloxacin and
      ciprofloxacin against gram-negative pathogens and the superior activity of
      trovafloxacin against gram-positive bacteria thus making it a potential candidate
      for the empiric treatment of patients with suspected bacteremia and sepsis.

PMID- 9987190
TI  - Changes in serum sensitivity and hydrophobicity in a clinical isolate of
      Klebsiella pneumoniae treated with subinhibitory concentrations of
      aminoglycosides.
AB  - The effects of subinhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of gentamicin, netilmicin
      and amikacin on the serum sensitivity and the cell surface hydrophobicity of
      Klebsiella pneumoniae were investigated. At concentrations 1/16 or 1/8 of the
      MICs, in all antibiotics significantly enhanced the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae
      to human serum as compared to nontreated bacteria. The higher concentration of
      the antibiotics tested was more efficient. Survival of bacteria under these
      conditions ranged from 24.1% to 36.7% after incubation with 10% serum for 180 min
      when compared with the viability of the control bacteria. Bacteria grown with the
      test antibiotics at sub-MICs (1/8 or 1/4 of the MICs) manifested an effective
      decrease of the surface hydrophobicity. The aminoglycosides which were more
      effective at a concentration of 1/4 of the MICs reduced bacterial hydrophobicity
      to 28.5% (gentamicin), 14.8% (netilmicin) and 12.7% (amikacin) of the nontreated
      bacteria.

PMID- 9987191
TI  - Killing effects of antibiotics and two-fold antimicrobial combinations on
      proliferating and non growing staphylococci.
AB  - Antimicrobial agents are generally tested against bacteria in the log phase of
      multiplication to produce the maximal bactericidal effect. In case of foreign
      body infections, bacteria may multiply less optimally. We examined the effects of
      several classes of lipophilic antistaphylococcal agents to determine their
      antimicrobial activity towards coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative
      staphylococci during the non-growing and slowly growing phases. Only two-fold
      combinations containing rifampicin were bactericidal (3-log kill) against
      Staphylococcus aureus. This was in contrast to growing bacteria in the log phase,
      in which a variety of antibiotics produced relevant killing. Concerning the
      staphylococci examined, antibiotic killing was greatly dependent on the growth
      rate. Most of the two-fold combinations containing rifampicin showed additive and
      synergistic antibacterial activity both in growth and stationary states as
      measured by the killing kinetics. The theoretical and clinical implications of
      delayed killing by chemotherapeutic agents for established bacterial infections
      and infections involving foreign bodies are discussed. Antimicrobial combinations
      including rifampicin and a second lipophilic antistaphylococcal drug may be most
      promising and appropriate as coating substances for intravascular devices or for
      clinical application in cases of implant infections.

PMID- 9987192
TI  - Catheter-related infections in long-term catheterized dogs. Observations on
      pathogenesis, diagnostic methods, and antibiotic lock technique.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Intravascular catheters are associated with severe infections in
      patients, but only few reports on this problem in animal research exist.
      OBJECTIVE: We report on catheter-related bacterial colonization and its
      consequences in long-term catheterized animals. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Foxhounds
      were instrumented with intravascular catheters and flow probes to study the
      regulation of renal blood flow and pressures. RESULTS: After flushing the
      catheters, alterations in renal blood flow were observed and these could be
      related to bacterial colonization of intravascular catheters with Pseudomonas
      species. After attention had been focused on aseptic technique in all
      experimental phases and prophylactic antibiotic lock instituted, the occurrence
      of Pseudomonas bacteremia ceased, and the magnitude and incidence of catheter
      related colonization and infection by Pseudomonas species dropped considerably.
      CONCLUSION: The catheter-related colonization that occurred spontaneously in
      these animals resembled findings in animal experiments in which catheter-related
      infections were deliberately induced as well as observations made with regard to
      catheter-related infections in patients. This report emphasizes the importance of
      asepsis when working with animals with long-term intravascular catheters. We
      suggest that monitoring for this complication, e.g., by means of catheter
      cultures at the time of removal, should routinely be part of protocols for animal
      experiments using long-term intravascular catheters.

PMID- 9987193
TI  - Contact with ticks and awareness of tick-borne diseases among the Czech
      population--a pilot study.
AB  - In the Czech Republic, the incidence of Lyme borreliosis (LB) has shown a rising
      trend since 1988. The goal of this study has been to find out to what extent a
      selected part of population is aware of ticks and of the relationship between
      ticks and LB. The study was based on a questionnaire survey. A total of 110
      respondents were selected, including 19 secondary school students, 32 blood
      donors, 44 park-goers, 15 countryside people. As many as 99% of the respondents
      were aware of the presence of ticks, 91% knew that ticks are sucking blood of
      humans and animals, 1.8% thought they eat leaves. 74.5% of the respondents expect
      ticks to reach them from the vegetation while 22% believe that ticks fall from
      the trees. Furthermore, 87% and 75% of the respondents indicated to have had
      ticks attached to the skin or to have removed a tick from other persons' skin,
      respectively. Only 6.7% of them had never come into contact with ticks. 17% of
      the respondents use disinfectant when removing a tick, while 67% use oil for tick
      removal. Almost 30% remove ticks with naked hands. Over 14% destroy the ticks by
      squashing them with naked fingers. Finally, about 11% of the population studied
      had never heard about LB and 41% were not aware of the risk of tick-borne
      encephalitis.

PMID- 9987194
TI  - Stabilization of dithranol in topical formulations.
AB  - The influence of different factors such as drug concentration, temperature, pH
      value, humidity, solubility and stabilizers on the antipsoriatic drug dithranol
      in topical formulations has been investigated. Dithranol was examined in
      lipophilic, hydrophilic and cream bases under defined conditions. Additionally,
      stabilizers have been investigated to protect dithranol against degradation. The
      drug stability in the formulations was measured by a selective HPLC system. The
      results showed a strong dependency of the degradation on the drug concentration.
      The influence of temperature is not of the same importance. Besides the pH value
      also the type of puffer system must be considerated. The most important effect on
      dithranol stability which has been directed is the solubility of the drug
      substance in the ointment base. With higher solubility a significantly
      accelerated degradation occurs. Degradations of dithranol in hydrophilic and
      lipophilic bases can be reduced by different stabilizers. Among others succinic
      acid and tartaric acid being most effective.

PMID- 9987195
TI  - Development of computerised procedures for the characterization of the tableting
      properties with eccentric machines. High precision displacement instrumentation
      for eccentric tablet machines.
AB  - The paper deals with the instrumentation of displacement on an eccentric machine.
      Two instrumentation variants are evaluated. A displacement instrumentation
      consisting of two transducers attached to the frame was corrected for a slight
      non-linear calibration curve and corrected for machine deformation. A powder
      height signal was calculated from both signals. Upon dynamic punch to punch
      compression the powder height signal showed an oscillation of +/- 17 microns in
      amplitude due to tilting of the upper punch holder. A newly developed direct
      powder height instrumentation consisting of a set of special punches and a
      special die was also corrected for nonlinearities and punch deformation. The
      signal was free from any tilting effects and its accuracy is in the order of
      magnitude of the surface roughness of the punches. The machine deformation is
      discussed in detail. The instrumentation of the frame of the eccentric press in
      terms of force is possible but less sensitive by a factor of 5.4 than the use of
      the force sensors. The total machine deformation reaches nearly 0.5 mm under
      maximum load which is more than is often expected. The deformation was found to
      be non-linear for about 2% of the total deformation, the remaining 98% are linear
      deformation.

PMID- 9987196
TI  - Effect of the substrate-binder interactions on the mechanical properties of
      compacts.
AB  - The effect of the substrate-binder interfacial interaction in granules, made of
      PVP and glass ballotini as model substrates, on the mechanical properties of
      rectangular compacts consisting of these granules was investigated by use of the
      four-point beam bending technique. The mechanical properties of the prepared
      compacts were correlated with the physico-chemical characteristics--contact
      angle, surface tension and binder concentration--of the granulation liquid. The
      mechanical strength and Young's modulus of the specimens both reached a maximum
      value when the binder concentration in the granulation liquid was increased to
      20% (w/v) for all granulation liquid volumes used. Above a 20% PVP concentration,
      the increasing granulation liquid contact angle hindered the binder spreading,
      creating weak regions in the compact and decreasing its mechanical strength.

PMID- 9987197
TI  - The use of some hydrophobic substances in tablet technology.
AB  - The objective of this work is to continue in a study of utilization of synthetic
      triacylglycerides of higher aliphatic acids as additives improving the flow
      properties of granulates and reducing die friction in the tabletting press. These
      effects are not supposed to interfere with the drug liberation velocity. We have
      evaluated the effects of the synthetic triacylglycerides in theophylline
      containing model tablets using magnesium stearate as the reference standard.
      Magnesium stearate is the lubricant of choice in the production, found in up to
      80% of all industrially produced tablets.

PMID- 9987198
TI  - [Investigations of drug release containing Cremophor emulsifiers].
AB  - Release of poorly soluble drug from several creams containing 50-75% water was
      investigated and the dependence of liberation on the emulsifier- and water
      content was established. The emulsifier content vs. liberation function can be
      described with a maximum curve, the relationship between drug release and
      viscosity can be characterized by a reciprocal or a logarithmic function.

PMID- 9987199
TI  - [Interspecies allometric scaling in pharmacokinetics of drugs].
AB  - Allometric scaling is an empirical examination of the relationships between the
      pharmacokinetic parameters and size (usually body weight, ratio of organ- and
      body weight, breathing number, etc.). Interspecies pharmacokinetics tend to
      approximate, the organism, as the sum of organs and tissues according to material
      balance. The allometric equations for the pharmacokinetic parameters were applied
      to scale the data with respect to pharmacokinetic time and remove the
      chronological time dependency. When the data of at least three species are
      available, the pharmacokinetic parameters can be fit according to body weight in
      log-log regression. Allometric scaling is not applicable in all cases, only when
      the selected species has similar physiological behaviour, such as protein
      binding, metabolism, etc. Valuable information for the evaluation of the effect
      and the biopharmaceutical characteristics may emerge from more creative data
      analysis based on all result collected during the preclinical evaluation of a new
      drug. Author examined the applicability of the interspecies scaling method in the
      case of a new drug depogen, using drotaverin as reference. The pharmacokinetic
      data were collected from mouse, rat and dog and during the evaluation human data
      were applied too. The usual pharmacokinetic parameters were determined (MRT, MAT,
      beta, etc.), the results of allometric analysis were collected and the standard
      deviation of measured and calculated values were given.

PMID- 9987200
TI  - Revised guidance to reduce risks to patients from health care workers exposed to
      HIV infection.

PMID- 9987201
TI  - Suspected viral haemorrhagic fever: rapid tests help to exclude dangerous
      infections.

PMID- 9987202
TI  - Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

PMID- 9987203
TI  - Disparities in drug development: the Japanese paradox.

PMID- 9987204
TI  - Obsessive-compulsive disorder in schizophrenia: epidemiologic and biologic
      overlap.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the co-existence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      with schizophrenia in terms of epidemiology and overlapping biologic substrates.
      METHODS: Review of the relevant literature. RESULTS: There appears to be a
      significant prevalence of OCD in schizophrenia--higher than what would be
      expected on the basis of calculated comorbidity figures. There is significant
      overlap in the proposed functional circuits of OCD and schizophrenia, which may
      lead to co-expression of symptoms. Although there is overlap in neurotransmitter
      dysfunction, the interactions are complex, especially in regard to the serotonin
      and dopamine systems. CONCLUSION: The expression of OCD in schizophrenia is
      complex but very intriguing. Theoretical hypotheses of the pathology of the 2
      disorders now need to be tested in larger controlled trials.

PMID- 9987206
TI  - Treatment of bipolar mixed state with olanzapine.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: An open trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of olanzapine in
      the treatment of bipolar mixed state. PARTICIPANTS: Nine inpatients at a
      provincial psychiatric hospital who met the DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I
      disorder, most recent episode mixed. INTERVENTION: Olanzapine was added to the
      existing drug regime in patients who had failed to respond to adequate trials of
      mood stabilizers used alone or in combination with neuroleptics. OUTCOME
      MEASURES: Patients were administered the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale,
      the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of
      Functioning (GAF) Scale before the initiation of olanzapine. These scales were
      repeated and patients were rated on the improvement subscale of the CGI at the
      time of discharge. RESULTS: Pretreatment means (and standard deviations [SD]) for
      the CGI scale, BPRS and GAF were 5.7 (1.1), 60.7 (13.7) and 17.8 (7.5),
      respectively. Post-treatment means and SD for the scales were 1.9 (0.6), 6.3
      (3.3) and 71.7 (5.6), respectively. Paired t-tests on all measures indicated
      significant improvement in symptoms with t = 9.43, p < 0.001 for CGI; t = -13.28,
      p < 0.001 for BPRS; t = -21.83, p < 0.001 for GAF. The mean improvement subscale
      score of the CGI was 1.3 (SD 0.5) at discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Olanzapine was well
      tolerated and was effective in the acute treatment of bipolar mixed state.

PMID- 9987205
TI  - Regulation of corticosteroid receptor gene expression in depression and
      antidepressant action.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Major alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)
      system are often seen in patients with depression, and can be reversed by
      successful antidepressant therapy. Persuasive evidence points to the involvement
      of a dysfunctional glucocorticoid receptor system in these changes. The authors
      developed a transgenic mouse to determine the mechanism for these changes.
      DESIGN: In vivo and in vitro animal experiments. ANIMALS: Transgenic mice
      expressing glucocorticoid receptor antisense RNA and control mice. INTERVENTIONS:
      In vivo: hormone assays and dexamethasone suppression tests; in vitro: cell
      transfection, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase assay, Northern blot analysis,
      binding assays of cytosolic receptor. OUTCOME MEASURES: Indicators of depressive
      disorder in transgenic mice, effect of antidepressant therapy on dexamethasone
      binding in transgenic mouse hippocampus, mouse behaviour, and glucocorticoid
      receptor activity. RESULTS: Transgenic mice showed no suppression of
      corticosterone with a dose of 2 mg per 100 g body weight dexamethasone. Treatment
      with amitriptyline reduced levels of corticotropin and corticosterone, increased
      glucocorticoid receptor mRNA concentrations and glucocorticoid binding capacity
      of several brain areas, and reversed behavioural changes. In vitro experiments
      also showed that desipramine increased glucocorticoid receptor mRNA. CONCLUSION:
      These transgenic mice have numerous neuroendocrine characteristics of human
      depression as well as altered behaviour. Many of these neuroendocrinologic and
      behavioural characteristics are reversed by antidepressants. The antidepressant
      induced increase in glucocorticoid receptor activity may render the HPA axis more
      sensitive to glucocorticoid feedback. This new insight into antidepressant drug
      action suggests a novel approach to the development of new antidepressant drugs.

PMID- 9987207
TI  - Switching to moclobemide to reverse fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in
      patients with depression.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of substituting moclobemide, a reversible
      monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor, for fluoxetine to reverse fluoxetine-induced
      sexual dysfunction in patients with depression. DESIGN: Prospective open trial.
      SETTING: Outpatient treatment. PARTICIPANTS: Five patients with depressive
      disorder who experienced sexual side effects during treatment with standard doses
      of fluoxetine (20 to 40 mg per day). INTERVENTION: Discontinuation of fluoxetine
      and replacement with moclobemide (300 to 600 mg per day) after a 2-week washout
      period. OUTCOME MEASURES: Libido, orgasmic function (in women) or erectile and
      ejaculatory function (in men), and overall improvement in sexual function during
      a follow-up period of 2 months to 3 years. RESULTS: Among patients receiving
      fluoxetine questioned about sexual side effects, 4 (1 man and 3 women) had
      treatment-related diminished libido with poor orgasmic response or partial
      erectile failure, and 1 female patient had enhanced sexual desire with intense
      clitoral stimulation. In all patients, sexual disturbances resolved completely
      after a 2-week washout period and a switch to treatment with moclobemide.
      Moclobemide was well tolerated. The antidepressant effect of moclobemide was
      comparable to that of fluoxetine. CONCLUSIONS: Moclobemide may be preferred as a
      treatment for depression in patients with fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction.

PMID- 9987208
TI  - Severity gradation of the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRAS) in
      outpatients.

PMID- 9987209
TI  - Possible new mechanism for the antiparkinsonian effect of amantadine.

PMID- 9987210
TI  - [Trophic niches in calyptrate Diptera in Rio de Janeiro, RJ].
AB  - Niche breadth and niche overlap of flies were estimated. The flies were breeding
      in different environments in Rio de Janerio (rural, urban and forest). It were
      used as a larvae substrate: banana mashed, mouse carcass, fish (sardine), bovine
      liver, shrimp and fresh human faeces. It were bred 14,294 flies, belonging to
      four families: Calliphoridae, Fanniidae, Muscidae and Sarcophagidae. The greater
      niche overlap values observed were: rural area: Phaenicia cuprina versus
      Chrysomya megacephala; urban area: Phaenicia eximia versus Sarcodexia innota and
      P. eximia versus Synthesiomyia nudiseta; forest area: P. eximia versus
      Hemilucilia flavifacies. The greater niche breadth recorded were: rural area:
      Peckia chrysostoma; urban area: S. nudiseta and Musca domestica; forest area:
      Euboettcheria collusor and P. eximia.

PMID- 9987211
TI  - Afrocentric perspective of adolescent pregnancy in African American families: a
      literature review.
AB  - This article gives a detailed overview of the literature on adolescent pregnancy
      in African American families. According to the latest data available from the
      National Center for Health Statistics (1998), the greatest decline in adolescent
      pregnancy was among African Americans. In spite of the decline of 21% from 1991
      1996, African American adolescent's birth rate was still almost twice the rate of
      European Americans. The purpose of this paper was to provide information that may
      assist health care professionals or others interested in repeat adolescent
      pregnancy to more effectively provide care and/or to conduct research from an
      Afrocentric perspective.

PMID- 9987212
TI  - A comparison of sexual behavior and self-esteem in young adult females with
      positive and negative tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
AB  - Contracting sexually transmitted diseases is a serious health problem faced by
      young women, in part, because they may routinely engage in risky sexual
      behaviors. This study describes the sexual behaviors of eighty-one young adult
      females who had positive and negative tests for STDs. The STD-negative group
      consisted of forty-nine African American females and the STD-positive group was
      thirty African American and two Caucasian females. The women completed the Safe
      Sex Behavior Questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. Demographic
      factors were also examined. The findings revealed that STD-negative females had
      higher self esteem and practiced safe sex more frequently. Also, women with
      higher education and incomes above $10,000 a year, plus a higher self-esteem
      level scored higher on the SSBQ, indicating the practice of safer sex. Age was
      not related to self esteem or the practice of safe sexual behavior. Implications
      for nurse practitioner practice are discussed.

PMID- 9987213
TI  - The ABC's of black hair and skin care.
AB  - This paper identifies the physiological basis for hair and skin care of African
      American children and adults. Culturally specific terms are included to assist
      readers from other cultures to understand and communicate with African-American
      clients. In addition to describing various hair styles used by African-Americans,
      products that can assist with caring for black hair and skin are also discussed.
      Black and African-American are used interchangeably.

PMID- 9987215
TI  - Unknowing and knowing.

PMID- 9987214
TI  - Enhancing scholarship and community service in historically black colleges and
      universities.
AB  - A project designed to enhance scholarship and community service at Historically
      Black College and University nursing programs was conducted. The project outcomes
      and unique opportunities from these experiences are described. The discussion
      centers on how 2 schools and individual participants used their experiences to
      enhance their professional development, provide education and opportunities to
      minority student nurses, and participate in community service in predominantly
      African American communities.

PMID- 9987216
TI  - Dumb and dumber???

PMID- 9987217
TI  - Suitability of patient education materials for cardiac catheterization.
AB  - Changes in healthcare delivery for such diagnostic procedures as cardiac
      catheterization have resulted in an emphasis on patient self-study, using
      booklets and videotapes given to them before the procedure. This transition
      mandates an evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of these
      materials. The purpose of this study was to systematically assess the suitability
      of materials used to prepare patients for cardiac catheterization. Three
      videotapes and four booklets were evaluated using the Suitability Assessment of
      Materials instrument. Concrete objective information (procedural and sensation
      information) was also evaluated. Scores revealed only one video and two booklets
      suitable for patient education. None received a superior rating. These results
      suggest that some patient educational materials used to prepare patients for
      cardiac catheterization are unsuitable. Clinicians should augment current
      suitable materials to enhance their effectiveness.

PMID- 9987218
TI  - Outcomes of nursing care: how do we know?
AB  - Nurses have become increasingly interested and involved in the area of outcomes
      to assure that the patient is represented as more than a composite of
      physiological variables. The use of outcome measures has helped nurses articulate
      their unique value and contribution to the well being of patients. Nevertheless,
      many measures presently used to evaluate an outcome do not identify or
      acknowledge the unique contribution of nurses. Clinical nurse specialists and
      other advanced practice nurses must use their "ways of knowing" to develop
      appropriate measures and outcomes. Through this careful inquiry, nurses will then
      be equipped to ask "nurse-driven" questions regarding the development of
      appropriate outcomes and outcome measures and to analyze the models in which care
      is presently delivered.

PMID- 9987219
TI  - What can we do with the CNS-case manager dilemma?

PMID- 9987220
TI  - Psychiatric consultation-liaison nursing: revisiting the role.
AB  - With their special training and assessment skills, psychiatric consultation
      liaison nurses have a long history of making important contributions to patient
      care and staff development. This article reviews how psychiatric consultation
      liaison nurses have traditionally approached and implemented the nursing
      consultation process. Issues facing psychiatric consultation-liaison nurses are
      discussed. Opportunities such as focusing on subspecialization; expanding
      practice settings; dealing with organization-based, rather than patient-based
      mental health issues; and entering intra- and entrepreneurial practice are also
      explored.

PMID- 9987221
TI  - Enhancing communication by using the Coordinated Care Classification System.
AB  - Because of the changes in our healthcare system, some clinical nurse specialists
      (CNSs) are having to expand their traditional roles of clinician, educator,
      consultant, leader, and researcher to include case management activities. The
      CNSs at Promina Gwinnett Health System in Lawrenceville, Georgia, have combined
      CNS and case manager activities and have adopted the title "CNS/Outcomes
      Coordinator." The CNS/Outcomes Coordinator is responsible for coordinating
      patient care, promoting team collaboration, and facilitating communication. To
      inform the healthcare team of the CNS/Outcomes Coordinator's patient
      responsibilities, the CNS/Outcomes Coordinators developed a Coordinated Care
      Classification System. This article describes how coordinating patient care,
      promoting team collaboration, and facilitating communication can be enhanced by
      the use of a classification system.

PMID- 9987222
TI  - Collaboration: clinical nurse specialists can lead the way.

PMID- 9987223
TI  - Interdisciplinary collaboration.
AB  - This quasiexperimental study investigated interdisciplinary collaboration over a
      16-month period on units using different collaborative practice strategies.
      Measures of collaboration and perceived physician involvement in collaborative
      practice were completed by 335 licensed staff members working on seven general
      adult units in an acute care hospital located in an academic medical center. Data
      were collected at two time points: in 1993 and 1995. A small but statistically
      significant decline in collaboration was found (p = 0.01) over the 16-month
      period. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference (p = 0.03) in
      collaboration related to the method used to develop collaborative paths. Post hoc
      Tukey's test indicated that the presence of a case manager without collaborative
      paths did show higher levels of collaboration (p = 0.05). Regardless of the
      strategy used, perceived high physician involvement was related to greater
      collaboration than perceived low involvement with differences increasing over
      time (p = 0.02). These findings suggest the importance of perceived physician
      involvement in collaborative practice to interdisciplinary collaboration.

PMID- 9987224
TI  - Outcomes for better or worse.

PMID- 9987225
TI  - The advanced practice nurse and measuring outcomes of care.

PMID- 9987227
TI  - Aesthetic research: film.

PMID- 9987226
TI  - Sexual assault: the role of the advanced practice nurse in identifying and
      treating victims.
AB  - Sexual assault is the fastest growing crime in the United States with an estimate
      that one in four women will be sexually assaulted before she reaches 18 years of
      age. Nevertheless, only 1 in 10 rapes is reported to law enforcement authorities.
      Although victims face cross-generational and long-term physical, emotional,
      cognitive, sexual, and spiritual damage, they seldom share this history unless
      directly questioned by a clinician. This article reviews the rapidly growing body
      of literature on sexual assault and the negative health effects on female victims
      and their families. Sexual assault is defined, incidence is discussed, the
      aftermath is explored, and the roles of advanced practice nurses are examined.

PMID- 9987228
TI  - See how far we have come!

PMID- 9987229
TI  - Using forensic autopsies to teach advanced pathophysiology.
AB  - Forensic autopsies can be used to help teach advanced pathophysiology. Currently,
      most faculty use commercially available slides and overheads, but these are poor
      substitutes for actual tissue, organs, and systems. Student participation in
      cadaver dissections or observation of hospital autopsies may be preferable, but
      these options are not always available in many schools of nursing. The forensic
      autopsy, however, allows students to directly observe a variety of pathologies
      and their sequelae, while exploring the multiplicity of factors that contribute
      to a person's death. In addition, students enhance their physical assessment
      skills and learn forensic content that can be applied to nursing practice.
      Bringing such real-world experiences to lectures and student assignments
      encourages these adult learners to actively participate in the integration of
      pathophysiology theory with autopsy observations.

PMID- 9987230
TI  - The clinical nurse specialist as expert practitioner in the
      obstetrical/gynecological setting.
AB  - The role of the advanced practice nurse (APN) continues to evolve in specialty
      areas while healthcare systems seek solutions to issues of cost-containment,
      equity in access, and quality care. APNs have a significant role in facilitating
      the positive outcomes of clients utilized as measurable indicators in a managed
      care environment. The CNS as expert practitioner in the obstetrical/gynecological
      hospital setting integrates specialty knowledge and demonstrates specialty skills
      when working with childbearing and perimenopausal women and their families.
      Maintaining a holistic orientation to practice and keeping comprehensive
      documentation of activities facilitate achievement of quality outcomes for
      patients in this specialty field. Competencies essential to successful
      implementation of the expert practitioner role include: clinical expertise,
      effective communication skills, critical thinking and analytical skills, and a
      theoretical orientation to problem solving. The Roy Adaptation Model is an
      effective framework that can be used by the CNS in the obstetrical/gynecological
      hospital setting to promote, maintain, and restore health, as well as facilitate
      positive patient outcomes.

PMID- 9987231
TI  - Barriers to prescriptive practice for psychiatric/mental health clinical nurse
      specialists.
AB  - Prescriptive authority for advanced practice psychiatric nurses (APPNs) has
      recently been legislated in many states. APPNs in Minnesota were granted
      prescriptive authority in 1995, but from 1995 to 1996 only 17 of 80 qualified
      APPNs in that state had received prescriptive authority. A survey on the barriers
      encountered in obtaining prescriptive authority was mailed to the 80 APPNs who
      completed a psychopharmacology course required for prescriptive authority. Of the
      54 (67.5%) APPNs who returned the questionnaire, 43 registered for the course for
      the purpose of prescriptive authority but only 17 of these respondents had
      received prescriptive authority. The major barriers to obtaining prescriptive
      authority reported by these APPNs were work setting limitations, personal comfort
      with prescribing, and ability to develop a collaborative agreement with a
      psychiatrist. Based on these APPNs' responses, suggestions are given for:
      increasing the acceptance of the prescriber role, developing support for the
      prescriber role, obtaining equitable reimbursement, and simplifying the process
      of obtaining prescriptive authority.

PMID- 9987232
TI  - A pivotal role for the CNS.

PMID- 9987233
TI  - Reducing readmission rates through discharge interventions.
AB  - Readmissions to the hospital account for a significant number of all hospital
      admissions. Early discharge and inadequate care both during and after
      hospitalization are among the causes cited. Increasingly complex care and an
      aging population mandate that clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) in acute care
      settings assume more pivotal roles in discharge planning and care. Discharge
      program and intervention models, and ways to incorporate discharge interventions
      into advanced practice in acute care hospitals, are discussed. In addition, the
      effectiveness of CNSs and their required qualifications are presented.

PMID- 9987234
TI  - The emperor and his clothes.

PMID- 9987235
TI  - The elderly type II diabetic: a treatment challenge.
AB  - Type II or noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus is the predominant type of
      diabetes in the elderly. Complexities of diabetes management with elderly
      patients are discussed, including differences in presenting signs and symptoms of
      the disease, treatment complications that occur with concomitant illnesses or age
      related physiological changes, and drug interactions that can lead to either hypo
      or hyperglycemia. The goals of treatment are discussed. Standard therapies,
      including diet, exercise, and medications, are reviewed with the special
      considerations of the geriatric patient in mind.

PMID- 9987237
TI  - Assessment and management of eating and feeding difficulties for older people: a
      NICHE protocol.
AB  - Adequate nutritional intake is critical to preserving the health of older people.
      When an elderly person requires assistance with eating, the most social of all
      activities of daily living, the assessment of nutritional issues becomes
      multidimensional and interdisciplinary. Management strategies should involve the
      professional nurse's attention to dietary needs, as well as the social, cultural,
      and interactive components of mealtime. Additionally, special strategies need to
      be developed for people with cognitive and physical disabilities.

PMID- 9987236
TI  - Use of a content methodology process to enhance feeding abilities threatened by
      ideational apraxia in people with Alzheimer's-type dementia.
AB  - Self-feeding behavior is often the first of a chain of self-maintenance skills to
      deteriorate in people with Alzheimer's-type dementia and is a major determinant
      of institutionalization. Moreover, nurses working in geriatric settings report
      the feeding of patients as a most difficult management problem. Of the various
      features of Alzheimer's-type dementia that can affect a person's ability to feed
      him- or herself, ideational apraxia can explain the loss of ability to
      conceptualize, plan, and execute the complex sequence of motor actions involving
      the use of tools or objects necessary for feeding. In this article, a systematic
      process is used to review the research literature to develop substantive content
      for nurses caring for people with feeding problems related to ideational apraxia.
      Ideational apraxia is a condition in which an individual is unable to plan
      movement related to an object because he or she has lost the perception of the
      object's purpose. The specific abilities necessary for feeding that are
      threatened by ideational apraxia are identified. A tool to assess these abilities
      is described, and nursing interventions aimed at enhancing or preserving existing
      abilities, preventing excess disability, or compensating for lost abilities are
      presented.

PMID- 9987239
TI  - Keeping a watchful eye. Receipt of preventive service screening recommendations
      by women in long-term care facilities.
AB  - This study explored the extent to which women in long-term care facilities
      received preventive screening services. Physical examination screening of women
      residents exceeded the 40% recommendation of Healthy People 2000 with the
      exception of clinical breast examination and Pap smears. Laboratory and screening
      procedures--cholesterol, thyroid, and tuberculin testing--fell short of
      recommendations. Nurses in long-term care have an opportunity to enhance
      residents' quality of life by ensuring consistent use of preventive screening
      services.

PMID- 9987238
TI  - When death is near: helping families cope.
AB  - By using caring behaviors and recognizing the grief process, the nurse can help
      the dying patient and family gain emotional control, complete unfinished
      business, work through anticipatory grief, and learn how to let go.

PMID- 9987240
TI  - Patterns of nursing home referrals to consultant dietitians.
AB  - A survey was conducted to evaluate nursing home referrals to consultant
      dietitians of residents with nutrition-related concerns, the frequency of such
      referrals, and the timeliness of dietitians' responses. The results showed that,
      although residents with significant weight loss and pressure ulcers constituted a
      higher proportion of nutrition concerns referred to the dietitian, most referrals
      were made from a week to a month after the nutrition concern was identified.
      Residents with tube feedings or dysphagia concerns were more likely to be
      referred in a more timely manner, within 1 to 2 days.

PMID- 9987241
TI  - Physician's orders and nurses' notes. When time is pressing, details can be lost.

PMID- 9987242
TI  - A case study of nursing liability. Patient transfer from one facility to another.
AB  - Ongoing health care transitions include shorter hospital stays for elderly
      patients who need additional subacute care before they return to independent
      living. When continued care will be carried out in another facility,
      attentiveness to transfer details is essential to complete a safe and effective
      move.

PMID- 9987243
TI  - Keeping an eye on the hidden effects of eye drops.

PMID- 9987244
TI  - Don't forget the water!

PMID- 9987246
TI  - The dismantling of affirmative action.

PMID- 9987245
TI  - Infection control in the home: 1998 update.

PMID- 9987247
TI  - Are we reaching the healthcare consumer?
AB  - With the diversity of our communities and waiting rooms increasing, can we
      continue to justify the lack of diversity among healthcare professionals? This
      article reports the demographic composition of the U.S. and compares those data
      with the professional healthcare workforce. With a non-White population of nearly
      25%, only 10% of RNs are non-White and about 12% of medical students are non
      White. Four reasons are presented for increasing diversity among healthcare
      professionals. These four include: improved culturally competent care, access to
      healthcare, healthcare outcomes and research, and provider access in high-need
      service areas. Healthcare organizations have gone on record as supporting
      increased diversity within high-skilled healthcare professions but without a
      commitment to increasing enrollments in professional healthcare programs,
      diversity goals will never be reached.

PMID- 9987248
TI  - Diversity in nursing: a challenge for the profession.
AB  - Affirmative action policies and programs have been in place since the 1960's to
      afford academic and job opportunities for women and minorities. The past few
      years have brought about debate and controversy over the benefits of affirmative
      action. In spite of affirmative action, minorities continue to be
      underrepresented in nursing. With the increase of minorities in the general
      population, nursing will be ill prepared to meet the challenge of providing care
      to a diverse society. One of the major reasons cited for an underrepresented
      minority population in nursing is the lack of recruitment and retention
      strategies. The answers are not in affirmative action alone, but from within
      nursing itself.

PMID- 9987249
TI  - Culturally diverse students enrolled in nursing: barriers influencing success.
AB  - Within the United States, the dominant culture is largely made up of Anglo Saxons
      whose values include the work ethic, thrift, success, independence, initiative,
      respect for others, privacy, cleanliness, youthfulness, attractive appearance,
      and a focus on the future (Spradley & Allender, 1996). For the last ten or more
      years, the number of international students enrolled in programs in health
      science within the U.S., including nursing, has increased more than 10%
      (Zikopoulos, 1990). Almost no data have been collected by schools of nursing on
      the difficulties they encounter while working with international students
      adjusting to and receiving an education in the U.S. (Colling & Liu, 1995). There
      are often many barriers that may influence culturally diverse and international
      students' success in nursing. These barriers may be environmental and located
      within the school of nursing or the college/university, or personal and student
      centered. The presence of appropriate support services on the college campus as
      well as within schools of nursing could enhance the success of culturally diverse
      students. Nursing and college/university faculty must become more aware of
      cultural difference in students and must use various strategies to retain these
      students.

PMID- 9987250
TI  - Experiences of ethnic minority faculty employed in predominantly white schools of
      nursing.
AB  - This qualitative study describes the bicultural experience of ten ethnic minority
      faculty employed in predominately white baccalaureate and higher degree nursing
      programs in the Southeastern section of the United States. Seven themes emerged
      from the data: (a) appraising, (b) proving, (c) fitting-in, (d) defending, (e)
      distancing, (f) being invisible, and (g) mentoring to describe their experience.
      Results also provided support for the authors' generated Bicultural Systems Model
      which evaluates why and to what extent a particular transaction or series of
      transactions between the person and the environment is perceived as stressful.
      The general perception among participants was that they were not fully accepted
      in the academic setting of predominately white nursing programs. As a result,
      some faculty were expending energy trying to convince others of their legitimacy;
      while others were choosing to distance themselves from the academic setting and
      white colleagues. This study indicates a need for dialogue between white and
      ethnic minority faculty to facilitate adoption of strategies that reduce the
      negative effects of the bicultural phenomenon.

PMID- 9987251
TI  - School preparation--it's not what it used to be!!

PMID- 9987252
TI  - Umbilical hernia, inguinal hernias, and hydroceles in children: diagnostic clues
      for optimal patient management.
AB  - The assessment of pediatric patients with a possible umbilical hernia, inguinal
      hernias, or hydroceles can often be problematic for the pediatric nurse
      practitioner. Understanding the embryologic processes related to these conditions
      may increase the diagnostic capabilities of the practitioner. Clues to assist in
      the differential diagnosis and current treatment modalities will be offered. Tips
      for parental guidance related to these conditions will enhance the team approach
      to effective referrals and optimal treatment of the children in this clinical
      population.

PMID- 9987253
TI  - Do the write thing: writing the clinically focused article.
AB  - Writing is both passion and pain. However, the pain can be easily modified with a
      better understanding of the writing process. With structure, a little know-how,
      and a lot of desire, eager nurse practitioners can soon write their first
      manuscript. The purpose of this article is to encourage pediatric nurse
      practitioners to write articles that pertain to their areas of clinical
      expertise. Examples are used to detail the writing process from idea formation to
      publication.

PMID- 9987254
TI  - Latex allergy: a relevant issue in the general pediatric population.
AB  - Although latex allergy is a widely recognized problem of the pediatric
      myelomeningocele population and of frequent users of latex products, it is often
      overlooked in the general pediatric population. The prevalence of latex in common
      household items and in medical environments increases one's exposure and thus
      one's possibility of sensitization to latex. Latex allergy may range from mild
      local reactions such as erythema to more severe systemic reactions such as asthma
      or anaphylaxis. The immunoglobulin E-mediated mechanism of these reactions has
      been confirmed serologically by the presence of latex-specific immunoglobulin E
      with radioallergosorbent testing. Because avoidance of latex is currently the
      only way to prevent reactions, the identification of household items that contain
      latex is extremely important. However, because inadvertent exposure to latex is
      not uncommon, Medic-Alert bracelets and an Epi-Pen should be provided for
      children allergic to latex. Pediatric nurses should consider latex allergy as a
      possible diagnosis in situations of unexplained allergic or anaphylactic
      reactions and should be aware of optimal therapeutic interventions.

PMID- 9987255
TI  - Intervention booster: adding a decision-making module to risk reduction and other
      health care programs for adolescents.
AB  - A generic adolescent intervention booster of the decision-making module, "Choices
      for Tomorrow: Decision Making as a Life Tool," is described for patient
      education. The intent of the intervention booster is refinement of adolescent
      decision-making skills by teaching a life tool for making lifestyle decisions
      (such as smoking and alcohol use) and other health-related decisions. An overview
      of the module is presented. The module includes a curriculum, a 17-minute life
      action videocassette, a participant's workbook, and two instruments to measure
      outcomes. The theoretical framework is based on the health/choice model, the
      Janis and Mann conflict model of decision making, and the Piagetian cognitive
      framework related to adolescent development. The decision-making module can be
      used alone or as a "booster" to supplement the content of new or existing
      intervention programs that are aimed at health promotion and maintenance during
      adolescence. Because the module was originally developed for adolescents who have
      survived cancer, a population that often experiences cognitive impairment from
      treatment, it includes cognitive remediation strategies (such as memory aids).
      The decision-making module can also be used in other learning situations with
      healthy or chronically ill adolescents and/or their parents.

PMID- 9987256
TI  - New strategies for the treatment of colic: modifying the parent/infant
      interaction.
AB  - INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to validate the effectiveness of
      behavior modification in treating colicky infants. Colic was defined as a self
      limiting condition in infants less than 4 months of age with a complex of
      physical behaviors and inconsolable crying (> 2 hours a day for 3 days). It was
      hypothesized that when parents are given specific instructions about how to
      respond quickly and appropriately to their infant's cues (modification of the
      parent/infant interaction), the amount of crying by the infant decreases. METHOD:
      A quasi-experimental design with an untreated control group and a pretest and
      posttest was used for the study. Twenty-three infants were randomly assigned to
      intervention, nonintervention, and control groups. Crying diaries kept by the
      parents were used to obtain quantitative measurements of crying before and after
      intervention. The Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) was used to
      measure parent/infant interaction. RESULTS: Crying was significantly reduced from
      3.79 hours per day to 1.12 hours per day (F = 46.00, df = 2, P < .05) among
      infants whose parents received interventions of individualized counseling and
      education. Caregivers of colicky infants in the intervention group scored lower
      on the NCAFS (F = 5.59, df = 2, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Findings support previous
      research suggesting that crying can be reduced by modifying parental responses to
      the infant.

PMID- 9987257
TI  - Latex allergy: development of a resource manual.

PMID- 9987258
TI  - The young child with a hearing loss.

PMID- 9987259
TI  - Managing urinary tract infections in children.

PMID- 9987260
TI  - Respiratory distress and kidney failure in a 9-month-old infant.

PMID- 9987261
TI  - Children's health insurance program--an opportunity for improvement.

PMID- 9987262
TI  - Bringing an early pediatric literacy program to the clinic setting.

PMID- 9987263
TI  - The importance of being "nice".

PMID- 9987264
TI  - School health services and managed care: a unique partnership for child health.
AB  - The inevitable merging of the world of managed care and school health services,
      particularly nursing services, will allow both to benefit from the resulting
      collaboration. The inclusion of the school nurse in the continuum of health care
      delivery promotes effective, timely, accessible, cost-effective services for
      children. Managed care offers an opportunity to bring to prominence the role of
      the school nurse and to increase school-based health services. School health
      services staff must begin credentialing, data gathering, and quality improvement
      activities prior to entering negotiations with managed care organizations.
      Success of this partnership could result in improved access to health care for
      millions of underserved school-aged children, greater attention to preventive
      services, and an optimal setting for health promotion activities leading to
      improved health for all children.

PMID- 9987265
TI  - The School Health Intensity Rating Scale: establishing reliability for practice.
AB  - It is important for school nurses to identify health care needs and nursing
      resources necessary to achieve desired health outcomes for the school-age
      population. The purpose of this study was to determine interrater reliability for
      the School Health Intensity Rating Scale (SHIRS), a tool developed to assess
      intensity of health care needs of the school-age population. Four school nurses
      assessed 20 fictitious student records using SHIRS. The SHIRS produced moderate
      kappa coefficients for more than half of the 15 parameters with 2 additional
      parameters near the moderate kappa range.

PMID- 9987266
TI  - Research award winner: neurodevelopmental assessment of at-risk learners by
      school nurses and their tools of choice.
AB  - Deficits and delays in neurological maturation and development are closely
      related to academic difficulties. Early assessment and identification of children
      with such problems promote remediation and the prevention of secondary problems.
      The purpose of this study was to determine whether school nurses in a region of
      one Western state perform screenings for neurological deficits, and if so, which
      tools were used, how results were or could be used, and the school nurses'
      opinions of the Quick Neurological Screening Test (QNST). A descriptive study
      design was used and data were gathered using a questionnaire. It was found that
      school nurses do not routinely perform neurological screening on children at risk
      for learning disabilities. Reasons for non-use of neurological screening tools
      were: time constraints, role ambiguity regarding the appropriateness of
      neurological screening by nurses, and lack of knowledge of neurodevelopmental
      screening. Recommendations for addressing these issues and opportunities for
      further research are proposed.

PMID- 9987267
TI  - School nurse web authoring.
AB  - Many school nurses are now surfing the World Wide Web for clinical and
      professional information. The Web is also a tool for providing professional
      services and delivering nursing care. Three applications for school nursing are
      featured: using the Web for professional publishing, a state association web
      page, and a school nurse office website.

PMID- 9987268
TI  - A holistic approach to meeting students' needs: using hypnotherapy techniques to
      assist students in managing their health.
AB  - Nursing education has long been holistic in its approach to aiding the client or
      family. Further, most nurses, especially school nurses, are holistic by nature.
      That is, school nurses see a person as a whole being, physical, emotional,
      mental, and spiritual. The more conscious nurses become of their holistic nature
      and the more they expand their knowledge and skills in holistic methods, the more
      they can assist students and families in having greater control over their
      health. Examples of selected holistic techniques and their positive effects when
      used by students with diabetes and asthma are illustrated in case studies.

PMID- 9987269
TI  - Managing DNR requests in the school setting.
AB  - States and school districts are increasingly faced with the potential of Do Not
      Resuscitate (DNR) orders for students with serious medical conditions. School
      nurses should assume leadership in developing both policy and procedural
      protocols, in addition to implementing approved DNR orders in schools. This
      article presents the current status of DNR policies nationally, legal
      considerations, and the issues to determine when managing DNR orders at the
      school site.

PMID- 9987270
TI  - Gathering support.

PMID- 9987271
TI  - Using abbreviations correctly.

PMID- 9987272
TI  - Quick guide to vaccines.

PMID- 9987274
TI  - Myths & facts.... about alcohol abuse.

PMID- 9987273
TI  - Treating oversedation and respiratory depression.

PMID- 9987275
TI  - Placing a PICC tip properly.

PMID- 9987276
TI  - Teaching a patient with diabetes how to protect her feet.

PMID- 9987277
TI  - Actionstat: myasthenia gravis cholinergic crisis.

PMID- 9987278
TI  - Balancing act: keeping blood pH in equilibrium.

PMID- 9987279
TI  - Mounting an offense against lobar pneumonia.

PMID- 9987280
TI  - Till death do us part.

PMID- 9987281
TI  - Administering urokinase for catheter clearance.

PMID- 9987282
TI  - Guide to nursing organizations.

PMID- 9987283
TI  - Building bridges from barriers.

PMID- 9987284
TI  - The highs and lows of autoimmune thyroid disease.

PMID- 9987285
TI  - Winning at scholarships.

PMID- 9987286
TI  - Preventing drug interactions.

PMID- 9987287
TI  - Metoclopramide and akathisia.

PMID- 9987288
TI  - Dueling over a position.

PMID- 9987289
TI  - Home for the holidays.

PMID- 9987290
TI  - Assessing an external fistula.

PMID- 9987291
TI  - Myths & facts ... about fractures.

PMID- 9987292
TI  - Writing a narrative discharge summary.

PMID- 9987293
TI  - Administering a Z-track i.m. injection.

PMID- 9987294
TI  - Collagen hemostasis devices.

PMID- 9987295
TI  - Managing common pediatric emergencies.

PMID- 9987296
TI  - Taking charge in a geriatric emergency.

PMID- 9987297
TI  - Mr. Meier was a man of few words.

PMID- 9987298
TI  - Power in numbers: reducing your risk of bloodborne exposures.

PMID- 9987299
TI  - New drugs 99, Part 1.

PMID- 9987300
TI  - Teaching incentive spirometry.

PMID- 9987301
TI  - Handling criticism with dignity.

PMID- 9987302
TI  - Actionstat: myxedema coma.

PMID- 9987303
TI  - Ondansetron and headache.

PMID- 9987304
TI  - Metamorphosis.

PMID- 9987305
TI  - President's reflections.

PMID- 9987306
TI  - Issues, times, and work during my NANDA presidency.

PMID- 9987307
TI  - Joining the computer-based patient record world.

PMID- 9987309
TI  - Nursing diagnosis: assimilation of the concept in Canadian nursing.

PMID- 9987308
TI  - NANDA historical highlights.

PMID- 9987310
TI  - They still don't know.

PMID- 9987311
TI  - Utilization of a classification of nursing diagnoses.

PMID- 9987313
TI  - Physiologic nursing diagnosis: its role and place in nursing taxonomy.

PMID- 9987312
TI  - Historical perspective: the National Conference Group for Classification of
      Nursing Diagnoses (1978, 1980).

PMID- 9987314
TI  - The translation of NANDA taxonomy I into ICD code.

PMID- 9987315
TI  - Case study: care of the caregiver--family member with a chronic illness.

PMID- 9987316
TI  - Beyond knowledge deficit to a proposal for information-seeking behaviors.
AB  - TOPIC: Nursing assessment of knowledge of informational needs. PURPOSE: To
      present of a brief evolutionary analysis of knowledge deficit in terms of its
      significance, application, and use, and to present a proposal diagnosis,
      "information-seeking behaviors." SOURCES: Literature review of knowledge deficit
      and "information-seeking behaviors." CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge deficit is a nursing
      diagnosis that is significant for identifying a patient's need for education or
      knowledge. Its application has revealed limitations to validity and subsequent
      use. "Information-seeking behaviors" is proposed as an alternative diagnosis.
      Antecedents and defining characteristics are presented and areas for future
      research proposed.

PMID- 9987317
TI  - Powerlessness regarding health-service barriers: construction of an instrument.
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to develop a scale to calculate college
      students' powerlessness regarding health service barriers (PHSB). METHODS: Scale
      items were generated to represent two domains of interest: powerlessness and
      college students' powerlessness regarding health service barriers. The final 20
      item instrument was subjected to multiple measures of validity with college
      students and panels of nurse experts in the area of nursing diagnosis.
      Reliability was assessed by two samples (n = 92 and n = 33) of college-age
      students. A final administration was conducted with 197 college students.
      FINDINGS: The PHSB scale was determined to be an accurate and consistent measure.
      CONCLUSIONS: This instrument will provide a reliable and valid measure to conduct
      research.

PMID- 9987318
TI  - Moving beyond content validation of nursing diagnoses.
AB  - TOPIC: Studies to establish construct and criterion-related validity of nursing
      diagnoses. PURPOSE: The overwhelming majority of previous studies addressed
      content validation by nurse experts. This paper describes strategies to move
      beyond content validation research to construct and criterion-related validation.
      SOURCES: The range of studies that should be conducted for development of nursing
      diagnoses are reviewed with examples drawn from the field of psychology. Existing
      studies on the diagnoses of ineffective breathing pattern, ineffective airway
      clearance and impaired gas exchange are used as examples. CONCLUSIONS: Many types
      of studies are needed for each nursing diagnosis. Increased funding and support
      for nursing diagnosis research will be facilitated by attention to the accuracy
      of nurses' diagnoses and outcomes of the diagnostic process.

PMID- 9987319
TI  - Marketing nursing in a nurse practitioner practice.

PMID- 9987320
TI  - The Center for Nursing Classification.

PMID- 9987321
TI  - Changing the face of corporate health care.

PMID- 9987322
TI  - Chronic illness management in the year 2005.
AB  - Nurses must study the future of chronic illness management so they can anticipate
      change and influence the direction it takes. The driving forces of change include
      social, technological, economic, political, and environmental factors. Pressure
      to provide value will require providers, insurers, and purchasers to cooperate
      and coordinate health care services. The preferable future of chronic illness
      management involves nurses functioning in the role of care coordinators in
      disease management. To achieve the preferable future the nursing community must
      communicate the ability of nurses to coordinate care, be involved in developing
      clinical practice guidelines, produce more highly educated nurse executives
      capable of assuming positions of power within the community, develop new models
      of care and new programs to facilitate change, form single service networks that
      can sub-contract with health plans, and prepare future advanced practice nurses
      in both the art of nursing and the business of caring.

PMID- 9987323
TI  - The triad of empowerment: leadership, environment, and professional traits.
AB  - Empowerment is defined as "moving decision making down to the lowest level where
      competent decisions can be made." In the hospital setting, this would most
      commonly be at the point of direct patient care or staff nurse level; however,
      this kind of empowerment requires an environment of autonomy where mutual trust
      and respect are encouraged. The empowerment process requires that staff be
      prepared to accept and effectively use expanded decision-making responsibilities.
      The professional accountabilities of the empowered nurse include having a sense
      of value about their work and willingness to provide the full scope of practice
      as well as ability to work as equal members of a comprehensive interdisciplinary
      team. In order to move into a fully empowered position, professional nurses need
      mentoring, education, awareness of political activism opportunities, and
      networking skills.

PMID- 9987324
TI  - Effects of hospital downsizing on surviving staff.
AB  - In 1993, 27% of 1,147 surveyed hospitals planned to decrease staff size in the
      next year. This study surveyed 48 vice presidents of nursing in North Carolina
      hospitals with an average inpatient census over 100 using a 13-item questionnaire
      in an effort to discover strategies that were helpful in effective downsizing
      endeavors. Of the 31 (48%) returned questionnaires, 11 (35%) of the VPs reported
      downsizing in the past 3 years, most of which required the closing of one or more
      units. The respondents ranked attrition as the most common strategy, followed by
      relocation, early retirement, a change in skill mix, and layoffs. The most
      important components in successful downsizing or reorganization efforts were: two
      way communication and sufficient planning, as well as seeking and using input
      from a broad group of staff (using both individual meetings and group
      forums/discussions).

PMID- 9987325
TI  - Determining cost drivers for pediatric home health services.
AB  - A variety of cost constraints threaten the financial viability of home health
      agencies. Thus, tools must be developed that expand the critical information
      resources that will be the key ingredient in successfully navigating the
      challenges in the volatile home health market. Identifying and analyzing the core
      processes with the pediatric home care team provided a template that could be
      used with other agency patient populations by producing cost trajectories based
      on anticipated care requirements and capturing information that could be used for
      both internal and external benchmarking. The cost drivers of key processes and
      activities must be known so that they can be controlled and appropriate rates for
      capitation contracts can be established. Activity-based management uses cost
      driver analysis, activity analysis and performance analysis, to determine
      strategies for redirecting the work processes and agency activities to achieve
      lasting cost reductions.

PMID- 9987326
TI  - Is it time to move on?

PMID- 9987327
TI  - Cost reduction: what a staff nurse can do.

PMID- 9987328
TI  - Specialty practice entrepreneur: the advanced practice nurse.
AB  - There are many opportunities in the health care arena to make a difference. The
      structured sense of change is "old school." New "surfers" of the system will be
      entrepreneurial in spirit, energy, and flexibility. There is no job description
      for the perfect person, only a sense of excitement and innovation that gives one
      the feeling energetic change is about to happen. In nursing, the risk takers are
      abundant in the APN role. It is the reason why they walk the line of
      provider/nurse. Making a difference to patients is important. Riding the waves of
      clinical care is the excitement. The final results are "the big waves" of life--a
      patient's life. A provider who defines the reality of practice creates a vision
      and skillfully bridges the road between the two. Design the surfboard--catch the
      wave.

PMID- 9987329
TI  - Setting the informatics standards: an overview of NIDSEC's information systems
      evaluation criteria.

PMID- 9987330
TI  - Micro-managing or leading: the clinician's challenge.
AB  - There are many reasons people micro-manage in leadership positions. Anyone who
      has moved into the ranks of leadership from a clinical position will experience
      the angst of having to adjust to a "hands off" style and to trust that working
      through others to get the job done will work. The first step is to recognize this
      tendency and to admit that it is perfectly natural for a clinician to have to
      make the transition from doing it alone to working through others. The next step
      is to take the time to surround yourself with people who are capable of becoming
      better at certain specialized areas than you are and then allowing them to work.
      And finally, it is important to always assess your ability to work through others
      effectively. One of the most demoralizing behaviors a leader can display is that
      of communicating distrust and lack of confidence by continually interfering with
      a person's ability to work effectively.

PMID- 9987331
TI  - Redefining the gold standard of health care AKA medical care.

PMID- 9987332
TI  - On target: a model to teach baccalaureate nursing students to apply critical
      thinking.
AB  - As nurses enter the 21st century, problem solving and critical thinking are
      critical to successful clinical practice. Studies have revealed that thought
      professionals may have critical thinking knowledge, they do not always use it in
      everyday practice. This article presents an education model that faculty members
      can use to teach baccalaureate nursing students to think critically and
      incorporate research findings into clinical practice. The model offers a four
      semester plan that can be integrated into programs of study.

PMID- 9987333
TI  - The devil is in the details: body fluid testing regulation and the erosion of
      nursing practice.
AB  - Nurses have long performed tests on simple body fluids (e.g., chem strip, urine
      Dip Stix, guaiac of stool, urine specific gravity). As a result of the
      interpretation of JCAHO regulations by hospital administrators, nurses no longer
      have access to the supplies necessary to perform these tests. This article
      discusses the background surrounding the issues of body fluid regulation and how
      the current JCAHO laboratory regulations erode the scope of nursing practice. The
      author makes specific suggestions for nurses to retain their practice in this
      area.

PMID- 9987334
TI  - Invest in yourself. Lessons learned from nurse entrepreneurs.

PMID- 9987335
TI  - Said another way. Is the ADN graduate prepared to practice in community settings?
AB  - The downsizing and closing of acute care facilities and the movement to community
      based healthcare services are decreasing the need for RNs in acute care
      facilities. In the past, the associate-degree nurse (ADN) has filled the majority
      of positions in acute care. With the trend to provide health services in
      community setting, will the ADN be prepared for positions in community
      facilities? ADN educators must reevaluate how they are educating students for
      practice. The author reviews the 1995 recommendations from the Pew Health
      Professions Commission and relevant current directives from the National League
      for Nursing.

PMID- 9987337
TI  - Health care's best value.

PMID- 9987336
TI  - The emerging health occupations. 1968.

PMID- 9987338
TI  - Strategic planning for postacute care.
AB  - The author examines workable approaches and benefits of using strategic planning
      to prepare for future postacute care.

PMID- 9987339
TI  - Medicare imposes new caps on postacute care.
AB  - Prospective payment systems are replacing the methods Medicare uses to reimburse
      home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, and rehabilitation hospitals,
      as well as imposing new limits on payments for outpatient rehabilitation
      services. Medicare stands to save substantial sums of money and possibly to
      hasten the formation of integrated delivery systems for postacute care.

PMID- 9987340
TI  - Legal risks in long-term care.
AB  - Although traditional liability principles apply in alternative settings, the
      application can change to accommodate the differing standards of care in long-ter
      care facilities.

PMID- 9987341
TI  - Questions & answers from the JCAHO. What's new for 1999? Part III.
AB  - The final part in this series outlines important changes to the JCAHO's
      performance improvement standards.

PMID- 9987342
TI  - A few points about point-of-care technology.
AB  - Managed care's focus on patient-centered care has made the need for point-of-care
      (POC) clinical systems more critical than ever. This article examines some of the
      more common POC options available, explains what nurses need to know to choose
      among them, and suggests ways to ensure that nursing's needs are addressed in the
      selection process.

PMID- 9987343
TI  - Partners in quality.
AB  - A university system counters funding cutbacks for nursing education by partnering
      with a hospital system. The partnership benefits both institutions.

PMID- 9987344
TI  - Change ... ouch!
AB  - Through change workshops, nurses can manage their emotions experienced during
      restructuring, such as losing familiarity, becoming insecure in their jobs, and
      grieving the loss of coworkers. The workshops focused on three themes:
      reminiscence, survival, and celebration.

PMID- 9987345
TI  - Cut training costs with computer-based tutorials.
AB  - New clinical information systems use client-server software applications that
      require knowledge of personal computers, Microsoft Windows, and mouse control.
      Here, the authors describe a low-cost training method to supplement classroom
      teaching.

PMID- 9987346
TI  - How to avoid age bias.
AB  - Data from the Department of Health and Human Services reveal that the nurse
      population is aging. To balance values and economic imperatives, nurse managers
      must be aware of the ethical dimensions when managing the older employee.

PMID- 9987347
TI  - Ease your management workload and develop staff.
AB  - A community hospital created a program where staff nurses work as house
      supervisors. The plan improves house supervisor coverage and provides opportunity
      for nursing staff development.

PMID- 9987348
TI  - LTC directors of nursing define educational needs.
AB  - Do nursing programs prepare directors of nursing in long-term-care facilities?
      This study examines their roles, academic and career goals, and their educational
      needs and preferences.

PMID- 9987349
TI  - Closing the distance.
AB  - Geriatric technicians work in the field, providing a link between care providers
      and rural elderly patients. In this study, the new role enhanced patient outcomes
      and satisfaction.

PMID- 9987350
TI  - Stress relief for critical care nurses.
AB  - Critical care nurses' stress levels have increased due to patient-focused care
      models that supplement staffing with unlicensed assistive personnel. Stat nurse
      programs can alleviate nurses' anxiety by providing short-term professional
      critical care assistance without disrupting structured health care models.

PMID- 9987351
TI  - What five regulatory trends mean to nursing practice.
AB  - Officials from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing report how
      developments in key areas will affect nursing practice.

PMID- 9987352
TI  - Decentralizing unit coordinator services.
AB  - Restructuring unit coordinator/unit clerk services by decentralizing this staff
      and having them report directly to nurse managers can totally integrate them into
      the functions and activities of a patient-centered team. This article describes
      how nurse managers can evaluate the feasibility of decentralizing unit
      coordinators in their own institutions.

PMID- 9987353
TI  - Infusion devices require educated users.
AB  - With increased use of intravenous therapy, nurse managers can use this guide to
      select and integrate appropriate equipment and educate staff.

PMID- 9987354
TI  - Taming your anger. Use these strategies to soothe the savage beast.

PMID- 9987355
TI  - Bedside nurses: realistic research competencies.

PMID- 9987356
TI  - CHES: committed to education.

PMID- 9987357
TI  - Ask AONE's experts ... about identifying nurse-specific cardiac outcomes.
AB  - Here, three nurse executives suggest how to identify nurse-specific outcomes
      indicators for the cardiac setting.

PMID- 9987358
TI  - Signposts for the next century.

PMID- 9987359
TI  - Long-distance nursing kindles multistate licensure debate.
AB  - Telehealth enables nurses to practice across state lines, but it also raises the
      critical issue of multistate licensure. This article explores nurses involvement
      in telehealth and the multistate licensure discussion--key issues, developments,
      players, and models currently being considered by states.

PMID- 9987360
TI  - New transfer rule encourages acute care partnerships.
AB  - To prepare for the Transfer Rule's financial impact, nurse leaders should
      understand these issues, ramifications, and strategies.

PMID- 9987361
TI  - Target high-risk areas for medication errors.
AB  - Medication errors are recently a more frequent basis for successful malpractice
      cases against nurses. Here, the author provides case examples and high-risk
      trends.

PMID- 9987362
TI  - Managed care may crunch GME programs.
AB  - Can teaching hospitals continue operating graduate medical education programs in
      a world of cost-conscious purchasers, competitive marketplaces, and cutbacks in
      Medicare's financial support? The absence of widely evident financial problems
      may slow efforts to establish national trust funds for graduate medical
      education.

PMID- 9987363
TI  - How does the JCAHO define new restraint standards?
AB  - The Joint Commission's restraint standards draw differences between restraint and
      behavior management and outline special circumstances for hospital-based long
      term care.

PMID- 9987365
TI  - Help for home health strategies.
AB  - Although home health care clearly isn't an industry for the weak-hearted, a sound
      strategic plan increases your chances for survival. These eight concepts can help
      nurse managers plan a multifaceted approach.

PMID- 9987364
TI  - Fiscally "fit" in a managed care system.
AB  - As Americans and their employers demand a more cost-effective, coordinated system
      of health care that achieves good clinical outcomes, managed care is transforming
      professional nursing. Here's help in understanding how to keep nursing fiscally
      "fit".

PMID- 9987366
TI  - Educate ICU assistive personnel.
AB  - Many institutions use assistive personnel in intensive care units (ICUs) to
      provide more cost-effective nursing care. One ICU uses a comprehensive,
      competency-based orientation program to help fulfill the assistive personnel's
      unique orientation needs.

PMID- 9987367
TI  - 10 trends for the new year.
AB  - Nurse managers can expect their new year's agenda to include issues related to
      span of control, Y2K compliance, recruitment and retention activities, and more.

PMID- 9987368
TI  - Can I talk to a nurse?
AB  - Nurses need education to go from bedside to "phoneside" nursing at the growing
      number of call centers. The authors tell how to build technical and procedural
      skills, a preparative knowledge base, and nurses' confidence.

PMID- 9987369
TI  - Climbing higher.
AB  - A New York hospital builds a more equitable clinical ladder system to include
      nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse
      midwives. The system defines the nurses' roles and specific performance criteria.

PMID- 9987371
TI  - Does your staff take orders by phone?

PMID- 9987372
TI  - Managed care perspective: survey of hospital professionals.

PMID- 9987370
TI  - Latex-allergic patients: operating room considerations.
AB  - With the potential for intraoperative reactions, it's imperative that operating
      room nurse managers are informed and prepared to handle latex-allergic patients.

PMID- 9987373
TI  - Keeping track of technology transfers.
AB  - Nurse managers can assess and control the influx of new technologies in their
      units and educate staff by understanding technology development history.

PMID- 9987375
TI  - From enemies to friends: nurses and computers unite.

PMID- 9987374
TI  - Ask AONE's experts ... about fulfilling the nurse's role in billing compliance.
AB  - Here, two nurse executives suggest how to identify nurse-specific outcomes
      indicators for the cardiac setting.

PMID- 9987376
TI  - What strategies can help us sensibly manage patient information?
AB  - Here, the JCAHO answers questions about managing information--security,
      confidentiality of medical records, and the completion of operative reports.

PMID- 9987377
TI  - No dumping: ED transfer risk.
AB  - The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) outlines how
      hospitals must screen, treat, and transfer emergency department patients-
      regardless of their ability to pay.

PMID- 9987378
TI  - Tech talk on multistate licensure.
AB  - Professional nursing associations, unions, state regulatory boards, and even
      Congress are hotly debating the topic of multistate licensure. This article
      discusses several hurdles to implementing a multistate licensure model and
      explains how technology can help to overcome them.

PMID- 9987379
TI  - Medicare increases managed care's accountability, Part 1.
AB  - This year marks the beginning of Medicare's Quality Improvement System for
      Managed Care (QISMC), a tool that monitors the quality of care that managed
      health plans give their Medicare and Medicaid members. QISMC, which requires
      health plans to demonstrate improvements in the quality of care, will increase
      health plans' administrative costs without increasing capitation rates.

PMID- 9987380
TI  - Learning that lasts for times that change. Staff of Nursing Management.

PMID- 9987381
TI  - Negotiation strategies for men and women.
AB  - The ability to negotiate plays a key role in one's professional and personal
      life. If men and women want to negotiate successfully, they must know the steps
      of negotiation plus the sex differences when approaching the negotiation process.

PMID- 9987382
TI  - Build institutional commitment to improving pain management.
AB  - In 1997, the University of Wisconsin began working collaboratively with the Joint
      Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to integrate
      pain assessment and treatment into the JCAHO standards and accreditation
      processes. Pain care committees are an effective mechanism for implementing these
      changes. The authors discuss the critical role nurse managers can play in the
      development and success of these committees' activities.

PMID- 9987383
TI  - The leader in you.
AB  - A practice-based theory of nursing leadership, the Integrated Leadership Practice
      Model, promotes job satisfaction and motivates staff to participate in activities
      that will produce quality customer outcomes. The author lists applications for
      nurse leaders.

PMID- 9987384
TI  - Want simple, superior resource management?
AB  - Many nurse managers practice enterprise-wide resource management across networked
      departments and facilities. Here's help in understanding how automation can ease
      the process.

PMID- 9987385
TI  - Y2K compliance countdown.
AB  - The new century brings unique challenges--especially Y2K compliance. This article
      presents nurse managers and executives with an overview of the issues and action
      steps to keep their organizations on track.

PMID- 9987386
TI  - Stop the carts.
AB  - Nurses and pharmacists at the University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics successfully
      implement an automated medication distribution system to cut costs, and find they
      also create measurable process improvements.

PMID- 9987387
TI  - Tracking patients, tracking costs.
AB  - Some 18.5% of hospitals employ a nurse case manager in the emergency department
      (ED) to decrease unnecessary hospital admissions, and address insurance company
      concerns about excessive ED visits. Consultants expect this management trend to
      increase.

PMID- 9987388
TI  - 11 easy ways to build rapport.

PMID- 9987389
TI  - Patient call system provides efficient delegation.

PMID- 9987390
TI  - Take the plunge: expanding the float pool to "closed" units.

PMID- 9987391
TI  - Pointed strategies for needlestick prevention.
AB  - Engineering, behavioral, and organizational changes can help nurse managers
      reduce or eliminate needlestick injuries on their units.

PMID- 9987392
TI  - Ask AONE's experts ... about implementing a case management program.
AB  - Here, two nurse executives explain how to work with administrators and physicians
      to implement a case management program.

PMID- 9987393
TI  - The second installment of the 1998 pay increase.

PMID- 9987395
TI  - To be or not CV?

PMID- 9987394
TI  - The real cost of nurse shortages.

PMID- 9987396
TI  - Dear Mr. Blair....

PMID- 9987397
TI  - Doing it our way. Interview by Frances Pickersgill.

PMID- 9987398
TI  - Health screening.

PMID- 9987399
TI  - Homing instinct. Interview by Jenny Knight.

PMID- 9987400
TI  - Desperately seeking health care.

PMID- 9987401
TI  - Get ready for e-mail.

PMID- 9987402
TI  - Medical Research Council: a new initiative.
AB  - The Medical Research Council recently announced a research initiative
      concentrating on disabling disorders of older people using multidisciplinary
      approaches. Here, we explain what the initiative will mean.

PMID- 9987403
TI  - Pneumothorax.
AB  - This article discusses different types of pneumothorax and aspects of management,
      including physiotherapy and the insertion and removal of chest drains.

PMID- 9987404
TI  - Community education: a portfolio approach.
AB  - The NHS Executive (NHSE) is encouraging the use of occupational standards in
      nurse education programmes. This article outlines the use of occupational
      standards in developing an assessment of competence strategy for students taking
      a specialist community nursing degree.

PMID- 9987405
TI  - Obsessive compulsive disorder: nature and treatment.
AB  - This article discusses the characteristics of people with obsessive compulsive
      disorder (OCD), their assessment, treatment and the increasing importance of self
      help.

PMID- 9987406
TI  - Nothing to declare.

PMID- 9987407
TI  - When your character comes into question.

PMID- 9987408
TI  - Don't attack me--I'm a student nurse.

PMID- 9987409
TI  - A time for connection is a time for healing.

PMID- 9987410
TI  - A meaningful health assessment course for baccalaureate nursing students.
AB  - In response to the challenge of teaching health assessment to large groups of
      entry-level BSN students with minimal experience in the health professions and a
      faculty belief that theory and practice are best actualized with small groups, a
      new health assessment course was implemented. Based on a philosophy of student
      accountability and self-direction in learning, faculty willingness to try new
      teaching strategies, and using computer testing, a successful course was
      developed. Students rotated through specific small group clinical labs while
      preparing with textbooks, study questions, videotapes, and computer-assisted
      instruction. Evaluation methods based on case application and the use of computer
      testing technology were implemented for this course. The result was increased
      satisfaction for the faculty and the students with enhanced application
      experiences supportive of the clinical practice.

PMID- 9987411
TI  - Spirituality and prayer: a new age paradigm for ethics.

PMID- 9987412
TI  - Elder caregivers: their challenges trials, and triumphs.
AB  - The growing percentage of Americans who are elderly and the prevalence of chronic
      medical conditions will soon necessitate an expanded system of home health care.
      Presently, the financial and physical burden of this care falls on the elder and
      the family. This article discusses the issues surrounding elder caregiving.

PMID- 9987413
TI  - Nurses as writers.
AB  - Although nurses are expected to be competent in on-the-job writing, most nurses
      receive little formal education in the types of writing required in practice.
      Thus, it is important for faculty in schools of nursing to include in the
      curricula various types of writing assignments to help students develop these
      skills. This article describes how at one university a course, "Nurses as
      Writers," provides opportunities for students to learn and practice the types of
      writing needed in their professional careers.

PMID- 9987414
TI  - Substance abuse in rural women.
AB  - Substance abuse is a significant problem for millions of women. Until recently,
      however, most research focused on urban men. As a result, there are significant
      gaps in our knowledge of substance abuse in women, especially in rural settings.
      This descriptive study examines risk factors for substance abuse among a small
      sample of rural women who are in treatment for substance abuse. The MAST and CES
      D were used for initial screening for alcoholism and depression. The NIMH
      Diagnostic Interview Schedule and Research Diagnostic Criteria were used to
      establish diagnoses of alcohol and drug abuse and comorbid disorders. Risk
      factors examined included family history, victimization, stressful life events,
      alcohol expectancies, and coping. Implications of findings for nursing assessment
      and intervention are discussed.

PMID- 9987416
TI  - The players weigh in.

PMID- 9987415
TI  - Factors associated with penile amputation in Thailand.
AB  - This report describes factors associated with the act of penile amputation by
      three female partners in southern Thailand. While gender-specific roles and
      paternalistic behaviors are normative in Thai society, specific precipitating
      factors for the three amputations included: (1) an immediate financial crisis
      that adversely affected one of the children in the family; (2) ingestion of drugs
      or alcohol by the husband immediately before the event; (3) public humiliation of
      the wife in the presence of a mia noi (secondary wife) or concubine within the
      week that preceded the incident. Understanding women's cultural preservation in
      Thailand may promote culturally sensitive and meaningful nursing care.

PMID- 9987417
TI  - Inspired by what we see on TV.

PMID- 9987418
TI  - Prevention of infective endocarditis in the pediatric congenital heart
      population.
AB  - In 1997, the American Heart Association updated recommendations for the
      prevention of sub-acute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) or infective endocarditis
      (IE) occurring in the pediatric population with congenital heart disease (Dajani,
      et al., 1997). Although uncommon, endocarditis remains an important cause of
      morbidity and mortality in children with cardiovascular disease, which
      constitutes the primary population at risk. Through comprehensive discharge
      planning and teaching, the advanced practice nurse (APN) and the pediatric
      cardiovascular nurse may contribute significantly toward preventing IE in this
      population. Nursing's role and responsibility is to convey the appropriate
      information to patients, families, and the staff who care for children with heart
      disease.

PMID- 9987419
TI  - Caring for children awaiting heart transplantation: psychosocial implications.
AB  - Heart transplantation presents an extremely stressful life transition for
      pediatric recipients and their families. The waiting period of the preoperative
      stage has been described as the most stressful aspect of the process. The stress
      and coping model of Lazarus and Folkman (1984) can be used as a conceptual
      framework for addressing stressors of pediatric transplant patients and their
      families. A case study of a preadolescent child awaiting heart transplantation in
      a hospital outside of a transplant center highlights common concerns, including
      feelings of isolation, depression, boredom, hopelessness, helplessness,
      exhaustion, lack of privacy, financial burdens, role strain, and family
      disruption. Psychosocial needs can be assessed and met, using a multidisciplinary
      approach. Because the preoperative stage can be stressful for nurses as well, the
      case study also explores the struggles of unit nurses trying to coordinate and
      manage the patient's care.

PMID- 9987420
TI  - Retention and use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills in parents of infants
      at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest.
AB  - Policies of most neonatal intensive care units include teaching cardiopulmonary
      resuscitation (CPR) to parents or other caretakers prior to infant hospital
      discharge. However, little is known about CPR skills retention in this population
      or the outcome of parents' use of CPR. This is a study to measure CPR skills 6
      months following CPR training to identify characteristics predicting successful
      performance and to determine if parents used CPR. A sample of 100 parents or
      related caretakers of infants at risk for an out-of-hospital respiratory or
      cardiac arrest 6 months following CPR training were asked to demonstrate CPR on
      an infant mannequin and 94 agreed to participate. Although they were excluded
      from the study if they had a CPR course within the past 2 years, 37% had taken
      CPR sometime in the past. Only one third of participants (n = 31, 33%) were able
      to perform satisfactory CPR. Those who demonstrated satisfactory CPR skills were
      more likely to have had previous CPR training and to have experienced higher
      levels of social support at the time of training than those who achieved
      unsatisfactory CPR performance ratings (p < .05). A logistic regression analysis
      revealed previous CPR training, social support, and level of anxiety at time of
      CPR training to be the most important predictors of CPR skills retention. Seven
      parents reported using CPR to resuscitate their infant who had suffered a
      respiratory arrest. All seven were successful. CPR skills decay is significant
      for caregivers of infants at high risk for cardiopulmonary arrest. Parents should
      be encouraged to review the steps of CPR frequently and to attend refresher
      classes. A significant proportion of parents of infants hospitalized in the
      neonatal intensive care unit are called upon to use CPR and are able to use it
      appropriately.

PMID- 9987421
TI  - Insertion of indwelling urethral catheters in infants and children: a survey of
      current nursing practice.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to identify current nursing practice standards for
      the insertion of indwelling urethral catheters in infants and children. A
      comparative descriptive design was used to survey a sample of 46 children's
      hospitals to determine recommended practice guidelines for size, type of
      catheter, insertion length, and source of nursing policies. Findings revealed a
      wide variation in practice often without a clear scientific or research base. In
      the absence of nursing research and established standards, it is essential that
      nurses base their practice decisions on an understanding of anatomical structure
      of the urethra and bladder and on knowledge of the dimensions of available
      catheters.

PMID- 9987422
TI  - The effects of a breastfeeding campaign on adolescent Korean women.
AB  - A sample of 412 Korean adolescent female students were surveyed to determine
      their attitudes, norms, and intentions toward breastfeeding. Before completing
      the survey, 207 of the students were exposed to a breastfeeding campaign. A panel
      presentation and a video stressed the importance and advantages of breastfeeding
      and presented breastfeeding as a positive experience for mothers. Students
      exposed to the campaign showed positive attitudes and norms toward breastfeeding
      and indicated their intent to breastfeed. The control group of 205 students who
      were not exposed to the campaign showed more positive attitudes and norms toward
      bottlefeeding and indicated their intent to bottlefeed rather than to breastfeed.
      Accordingly, a breastfeeding campaign can contribute to promoting positive
      attitudes and norms toward breastfeeding and to the positive intentions to choose
      breastfeeding.

PMID- 9987423
TI  - The child with traumatic brain injury returns to school.
AB  - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to be the leading cause of acquired
      disability in childhood (Lazar & Menaldino, 1995). As children with TBI return to
      home and schools, primary care clinicians and educators who often lack
      information about their long term abilities to function are encountering them
      more frequently. This article describes the pathophysiology of pediatric TBI and
      difficulties that can be encountered when the child returns to school and offers
      suggestions for nurses who can assist the child in receiving appropriate
      educational services.

PMID- 9987424
TI  - An ethical dilemma: who should know and who should tell.
AB  - According to the International Code for Nurses "The nurse holds in confidence
      personal information and uses judgment in sharing this information" (Guido, 1997,
      p. 390). Disclosing information involves using judgment. Who should know and who
      should tell the children when the parent is terminally ill is the focus of this
      family case study.

PMID- 9987425
TI  - A dilemma within the family: commentary on who should know and who should tell.
AB  - Dilemmas for nurses may reflect a conflict between values and the choices a
      patient and family may make. When the debate involves the young children of a
      dying family member, who decides what is best for the children and how does the
      conflict get resolved? Rarely are the solutions simple. Following professional
      principle is imperative. Respecting the perspective of the dying often requires a
      set of fine balancing strategies: those of the professional and those of the
      family.

PMID- 9987426
TI  - Pediatric management problems. Developmental delay due to environmental factors.

PMID- 9987427
TI  - Inhaled tobramycin (TOBI).
AB  - Inhaled tobramycin was recently approved by the FDA in a 300 mg formulation for
      inhalation. The new product, manufactured by PathoGenesis Corporation, is
      referred to as TOBI and is indicated for cystic fibrosis patients with
      Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The advantage of high dose inhaled tobramycin is a
      greater concentration of the drug delivered to bacteria in the lung with
      potentially reduced oto- and nephrotoxicity.

PMID- 9987428
TI  - Families in pediatric critical care: the best option.
AB  - Parental visitation in pediatric intensive care units, induction rooms, and
      postanesthesia care units is still limited despite the incongruence of such
      policies with existing stress and social-support theories. As recently as 1994, a
      survey of 125 randomly selected hospitals in 10 southeastern states found that
      57% restricted visits to pediatric patients in intensive care units to brief
      periods, 5 to 15 times per day (Whitis, 1994). Little justification can be found
      for these practices. Infection rates have not been found to increase with
      initiation of 24-hour visitation by family members and support persons. The
      positive emotional impact of parental presence during a child's hospitalization
      has been documented for both parents and children. To bring about changes to
      permit and support open visitation, several things are necessary. First, an
      understanding of the historical context of visitation policies is important.
      Second, efforts to dispel concerns are needed, including staff preparation.
      Third, a philosophical switch to family-centered care must be adopted.

PMID- 9987429
TI  - Children's Defense Fund focuses Congress on child care: both sides of the aisle
      submit proposals.

PMID- 9987430
TI  - PC savvy. A little maintenance goes a long way.

PMID- 9987431
TI  - Ethics in action. Whistle blowing.

PMID- 9987432
TI  - Ethics on the job. A survey. Quality vs. cost.
AB  - In this third installment in our series, nurses tell us how hospital cost-cutting
      measures have taken a bite out of quality of care, affecting everything from
      staffing levels to patient discharge to the availability of supplies. Depending
      on where you work, though, the news isn't all bad.

PMID- 9987433
TI  - Trauma! Chest injuries.
AB  - Chest trauma can range from broken ribs and knife wounds to collapsed lungs and
      bruised hearts. This detailed discussion of mechanism of injury, assessment
      findings, and treatment strategies will help you identify problems and increase
      your patients' chances for a quick and successful recovery.

PMID- 9987434
TI  - Bullets: damage by design.
AB  - The seemingly random devastation caused by bullets can be better understood--and
      predicted--by knowing how they're designed and how they act after entering the
      body.

PMID- 9987435
TI  - A case study in care.
AB  - Home care nursing isn't just changing dressings, checking blood pressure, or even
      giving i.v. therapy. It's providing a critical interface between the patient, the
      health system, and the patient's family. This story provides a compelling
      example.

PMID- 9987436
TI  - Cut the risks for cardiac cath patients.
AB  - As the list of interventions performed with the aid of femoral catheterization
      grows, so does the number of patients at risk for developing post-procedure
      problems. Here's a primer on how to recognize and prevent complications like
      pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistulas, and retroperitoneal hematoma.

PMID- 9987437
TI  - Abstinence is not the only answer.

PMID- 9987438
TI  - Why I became a nurse....

PMID- 9987439
TI  - The legal implications of latex allergy.

PMID- 9987440
TI  - What's causing this chest pain?

PMID- 9987441
TI  - Computers or cytotechnologists?

PMID- 9987442
TI  - Who should decide how effective cervical cancer screening will be?

PMID- 9987443
TI  - Automation of primary screening for cervical cancer. Sooner or later?

PMID- 9987444
TI  - Determining the utility and effectiveness of the NeoPath AutoPap 300 QC System
      used routinely.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate routine use of the NeoPath AutoPap 300 QC System (AP 300)
      as it influences diagnostic quality and operations in a large cytology
      laboratory. STUDY DESIGN: During a three-month period, 35,143 conventionally
      prepared consecutive cervical cytologic smears taken from non-high-risk women and
      evaluated as negative by our staff of 25 cytotechnologists were selected for
      processing by four AP 300 instruments. Slides flagged for review by the AP 300
      were reevaluated by our five quality control (QC) cytotechnologists. False
      negative (FN) results were compared with results of our current practice (CP),
      random-selection QC method, used during the preceding six months. RESULTS: A 240%
      increase was seen in the FN detection rate for atypical squamous cells of
      undetermined significance (ASCUS) and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) (n
      AP = 65 FN in 5,034 QC, n CP = 77 FN in 22,052 QC) and a 744% increase in the FN
      detection rate for low and high grade SIL (n AP = 24 FN/5,034 QC, n CP = 12
      FN/22,052 QC). The rate of overcall by cytotechnologists did not increase. The QC
      ASCUS/SIL ratio improved. FN biopsy correlation increased from 45% to 85% (n CP =
      17/38 agreement, n AP = 23/27 agreement). Turnaround time increased by one or
      more days for negative and 1.5 days for QC result reporting. Sensitivity varied
      among instruments. CONCLUSION: More FN results and greater specificity were seen
      using the AP 300 than using CP. As with other instrumentation, each laboratory
      should establish acceptable ranges of performance and baseline values for
      sensitivity and specificity.

PMID- 9987445
TI  - Does use of the AutoPap assisted primary screener improve cytologic diagnosis?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To correlate the ranked review slides by the AutoPap Assisted Primary
      Screener with the final cytologic diagnosis and to assess whether the ranking of
      slides improves diagnostic accuracy. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 5,865 consecutive
      conventional and suitable cervical/vaginal smears, including high-risk (HR)
      cases, were processed by the AutoPap System. All slides designated Review were
      manually screened by two cytotechnologists using the Ranked Review Report. All
      abnormal findings and reactive/reparative changes were referred to two attending
      cytopathologists for a final diagnosis. After screening, the Review slides called
      Within Normal Limits (WNL) were selected according to rank for a further Quality
      Control (QC) review by the supervisor. All HR cases not selected by AutoPap for
      QC review were also rescreened. The final diagnoses of the possibly
      abnormal/reactive/reparative referred slides were recorded and distributed in
      five ranks according to the Ranked Review Report assignment. RESULTS: Of 5,865
      slides, 5,120 (87%) qualified for scanning. The AutoPap System designated 3,840
      (75%) slides for manual review. One thousand three hundred forty-five slides were
      assigned for QC review. After elimination of nonqualified slides, 763 remained.
      Rescreening detected 1 high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), 2 low
      grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 5 atypical squamous cells of
      undetermined significance (ASCUS) and 5 Benign Reactive Changes (BRC). QC of 364
      HR cases revealed 1 LSIL, 2 ASCUS and 3 BRC. Ultimately, 313 (8.1%) smears were
      diagnosed as ASCUS or a more severe abnormality, 262 (6.8%) as
      reactive/reparative changes, 3,259 (84.8%) as WNL and 6 (0.1%) as unsatisfactory.
      Of 313 abnormal slides, 181 were ranked by the system in the 1st rank, 61 in the
      2nd, 38 in the 3rd, 19 in the 4th and 14 in the 5th. No HSIL or more severe
      lesions occurred in the fourth and fifth ranks. CONCLUSION: Our study validated
      the claim by the manufacturer that a significant epithelial abnormality is more
      likely to be present if a high score is assigned to a slide. The preliminary
      results support use of the AutoPap Assisted Primary Screener to improve cytologic
      diagnosis.

PMID- 9987446
TI  - Performance of the AutoPap primary screening system at Jefferson University
      Hospital.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the AutoPap System for primary
      screening of cervical/vaginal cytologic smears at the 25% no review rate at
      Jefferson University Hospital. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 5,865 consecutive
      conventional and suitable cervical/vaginal smears, including high-risk cases,
      were processed by the AutoPap System. Slides designated "no further review" (NFR)
      were manually screened by a cytopathologist (rapid screening) and a
      cytotechnologist (detailed screening) to detect epithelial abnormalities and
      assess the slide adequacy. The presence of Candida or Trichomonas was noted.
      Three cytopathologists determined the final diagnosis of all epithelial
      abnormalities by majority agreement. RESULTS: Of 5,865 slides, 5,120 (87%)
      qualified for scanning. The system classified 1,280 slides as NFR (25%) and 3,840
      (75%) as review. Manual screening of 1,280 slides classified as NFR revealed
      1,252 cases within normal limits, 10 atypical squamous cells of undetermined
      significance (4, favor low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 6 favor
      reactive) and 18 benign cellular changes. Adequacy assessment discrepancies were
      detected on 98 (19%) of 515 cases of satisfactory but limited by lack of
      endocervical component (SBLBLEC) and 15 (14%) of 105 cases on satisfactory but
      limited by inflammation/obscuration. Twenty-five percent of cases classified as
      SBLBLEC were vaginal smears. Trichomonas vaginalis was noted in 12 slides and
      Candida in 29. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results show that in our patient
      population, the AutoPap primary screener selected as NFR mostly slides within
      normal limits. The adequacy assessment discrepancies were comparable to those
      found in routine laboratory practice.

PMID- 9987447
TI  - PAPNET for cervical cytology screening. Experience in Greece.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To validate the efficacy of PAPNET for cervical cytology screening.
      STUDY DESIGN: From a total of 50,000 gynecologic cases we selected 24 primarily
      negative smears from patients who, during follow-up, developed a precancerous
      lesion or cancer in a short time, ranging from a few months to two years. These
      negative smears were rescreened by the PAPNET automated system and reevaluated by
      two observers. A third observer blindly reevaluated the same cases manually.
      RESULTS: Reevaluation after PAPNET screening showed one false negative smear, for
      a rate comparable to that of manual reevaluation, which also reclassified the
      same case. The time required to interpret a smear using the PAPNET system was
      approximately one minute, while the time required for conventional manual
      screening was approximately five. CONCLUSION: PAPNET is an efficient and fast
      screener for the detection of precancerous cervical lesions and cancer.

PMID- 9987448
TI  - Multicenter comparison of manual and automated screening of AutoCyte gynecologic
      preparations.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare AutoCyte SCREEN-assisted evaluation of AutoCyte PREP liquid
      based preparations with manual microscopic screening of the same preparations in
      a masked, multisite trial. STUDY DESIGN: AutoCyte PREPs were made using the
      CytoRich automated, liquidbased method from the residual cellular material on the
      collection device after a conventional cervical smear had been made. The study
      involved 1,676 samples collected sequentially from high-risk patients at two
      medical centers. The AutoCyte PREPs were then screened manually by
      cytotechnologists at one of two laboratory sites. All abnormal slides were
      reviewed by the site pathologists for final diagnosis. The PREPs were then
      remasked and screened using the AutoCyte SCREEN automated, interactive screening
      system, designed to select potentially abnormal slides for manual review while
      allowing the direct sign-out of negative slides. The AutoCyte SCREEN-assisted
      practice result was determined by combining the interactive SCREEN result with
      manual evaluation for those cases selected by SCREEN for manual review. All
      slides deemed abnormal were manually reviewed by an independent reference
      pathologist. The original manual review results were then compared to the
      AutoCyte SCREEN-assisted practice results stratified by the Bethesda categories
      of abnormal diagnoses as determined by the reference pathologist. RESULTS: Of the
      1,676 cases, 494 were determined to be abnormal (ASCUS+) by one or both of the
      study methods and also by the independent reference pathologist. Of these 494
      abnormal cases, 312 had a reference diagnosis of LSIL+, and 139 had a reference
      diagnosis of HSIL or cancer. The remainder of these cases were ASCUS or AGUS.
      Sensitivities and false negative proportions were stratified by the reference
      pathologist based on Bethesda categories as "truth" and compared. For LSIL+
      cases, manual screening alone had a sensitivity of 89% as compared to 98% for the
      AutoCyte SCREEN-assisted practice. Manual screening demonstrated 90% sensitivity
      to HSIL or greater abnormality as compared to 99% sensitivity by the AutoCyte
      SCREEN-assisted practice. CONCLUSION: There was a concurrent significant
      reduction in the false negative fraction using the AutoCyte SCREEN as part of
      screening practice. Specificity for both screening practices was equivalent.

PMID- 9987449
TI  - Utility of residual AutoCyte cervical cytology samples for image analysis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the utility of residual liquid-preserved cervical
      cytology samples for DNA profiling studies. STUDY DESIGN: Ninety-nine liquid
      preserved cervical cytology samples from a high-risk population were received two
      months after the initial diagnosis at another laboratory. Each residual sample
      was processed to yield one Papanicolaou-stained and one Feulgen-thionin-stained
      slide. The former were examined manually without knowledge of the submitted
      findings and were also examined on the AutoCyte SCREEN interactive system. DNA
      profiling of > 185 cells per case was performed on an RPW image analyzer. Results
      were compared with submitted diagnoses. RESULTS: The 99 cases included 59
      normals, 9 ASCUS/AGCUS, 16 HSIL, 12 carcinomas and 3 unsatisfactory.
      Interlaboratory agreement between residual and initial samples was good
      (unweighted kappa = .609). Abnormals were characterized by 2C deviation indices >
      2.0 and 5C exceeding rates > 4.37%. AutoCyte SCREEN system examination of
      residual slides of high grade abnormalities was 100% sensitive and 40% specific.
      CONCLUSION: Residual AutoCyte cervical cytology samples are stable and yield
      reproducible results for routine and ancillary studies of cervical cytologic
      abnormalities. The AutoCyte SCREEN system was 100% sensitive for high grade
      abnormalities in this enriched sample, even when operating on residual material.

PMID- 9987450
TI  - Semiautomated monolayer preparation of bronchial secretions using AutoCyte PREP.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Development of a method for semiautomated preparation of purified,
      representative and conventionally stained monolayer smears from bronchial
      secretions suitable for subjective and/or automated cytodiagnosis. STUDY DESIGN:
      Bronchial secretions from 50 patients with and 48 without carcinoma cells of
      different types were collected in Saccomanno's fixative. After routine pick-and
      smear processing, residual material was subjected to a mucolytic agent (ammonium
      thioglycolate). Separation of cells was performed by differential centrifugation
      through aqueous sucrose. The pellet was automatically processed by the AutoCyte
      PREP system. RESULTS: Slides revealed well-preserved, slightly shrunken,
      homogeneously distributed cells devoid of mucus, cellular debris and bacteria in
      monolayer arrangement nearly without overlap. Granulocytes were eliminated to a
      large extent. Comparison with pick-and-smear specimens showed more tumor cells
      per square centimeter of slide surface in 100% of AutoCyte PREP slides. The
      number of tumor cells per AutoCyte PREP slide was higher in 46% and lower in 54%.
      Selecting slides at random and requiring at least 10 abnormal cells to establish
      a tumor diagnosis were achieved in 82.7% if only one, in 88.0% if two and 94.0%
      if seven or eight AutoCyte PREP slides were investigated. CONCLUSION: The
      semiautomated method yielded conventionally stained, purified monolayer smears
      from bronchial secretions with cellular morphology suitable for evaluation by
      cytologists and screening machines. Representativity of AutoCyte PREP monolayers
      was superior to that of pick-and-smear slides.

PMID- 9987451
TI  - AutoCyte Interactive Screening System. Experience at a university hospital
      cytology laboratory.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the AutoCyte Interactive Screening System (AutoCyte
      Screen) as a prescreener for the cytologic detection of cervicovaginal
      abnormalities. STUDY DESIGN: Eight hundred fifty-six AutoCyte Preparation System
      from cervicovaginal samples were evaluated by AutoCyte-Screen. AutoCyte-Screen
      displayed 120 cell images and 6 low-power images for review by the
      cytotechnologist. The cytotechnologist classified the case as WNL, abnormal or
      unsatisfactory. AutoCyte-Screen then revealed its classification as either
      unsatisfactory, WNL, abnormal or undecided. These classifications were combined
      to form an interactive result that was compared to the diagnosis from previous
      manual review. RESULTS: Interactive results were as follows: 251 (29.3%)
      abnormal, 581 (67.9%) WNL and 24 (2.8%) unsatisfactory. The abnormal interactive
      result contained 15 ASCUS/AGUS and 25 SILs; the WNL interactive result contained
      5 ASCUS/AGUS and 2 SILs. No ASCUS/AGUS or SILs were in the unsatisfactory
      interactive category. The false negative proportion was 10.5% for the interactive
      diagnostic method vs. 15.7% for manual review for LSIL. CONCLUSION: The
      interactive use of AutoCyte-Screen can effectively select those cases which are
      most likely to contain an epithelial abnormality and could therefore be used as a
      triage system to select cases for manual review. A case with an interactive
      result of unsatisfactory and abnormal should receive full manual review, while
      those classified as WNL may require a less extensive review for quality assurance
      purposes. This resultant decrease in the manual screening load could increase
      laboratory efficiency.

PMID- 9987452
TI  - Direct-to-vial use of the AutoCyte PREP liquid-based preparation for cervical
      vaginal specimens in three European laboratories.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the AutoCyte PREP direct-to-vial procedure to the
      conventional Pap smear in two large and similar patient groups compiled from the
      testing experience of three cytology laboratories in Switzerland and France.
      STUDY DESIGN: Randomly selected, large patient groups were evaluated using either
      the conventional Pap smear or the AutoCyte PREP direct-to-vial liquid-based
      preparation. Results were then compared statistically as to disease detection and
      sample adequacy. RESULTS: Specimen adequacy was greatly improved in the group
      tested with the AutoCyte PREP. PREP also demonstrated a significant reduction in
      ASCUS and ASCUS:LSIL+ ratios. The three laboratories participating in this review
      found significantly improved detection of both low and high grade SIL. Routine
      use of AutoCyte PREP for cervical cytology screening offers substantial
      improvements in adequacy and disease detection.

PMID- 9987453
TI  - Cell block preparation as a diagnostic technique complementary to fluid-based
      monolayer cervicovaginal specimens.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preparation of cell blocks from fluid-based
      cervicovaginal specimens can add to the diagnostic accuracy of monolayer
      preparations from the same specimens. STUDY DESIGN: Cell block preparations were
      made from 100 cervicovaginal, fluid-based ThinPrep Pap test specimens. These
      specimens were collected in a fluid-based solution with a Papette or cytology
      brush and a scraper. After a monolayer slide was made, a determination was made
      if a cell block preparation was needed based on the morphologic findings on the
      slide. RESULTS: Cell block results aided the ThinPrep Pap diagnosis in 20% of
      specimens and were critical to the diagnosis in 5%. The cell block preparation
      was most useful in lesions where architecture and morphology were important, such
      as immature squamous metaplasia versus high grade squamous intraepithelial
      lesion, repair versus squamous carcinoma and tubal metaplasia versus atypical
      glandular cells of undetermined significance. It was also found that the presence
      of tissue fragments rather than single cells on the slide was an indication of
      the possibility that a cell block was productive. CONCLUSION: Cell block
      preparation in selected cases can be a valuable adjunct to monolayer slide
      preparations in the diagnosis of cervicovaginal lesions.

PMID- 9987454
TI  - Comparison of ThinPrep and Pap smear in relation to prediction of adenocarcinoma
      in situ.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the accuracy of reporting split-sample ThinPrep (SSTP) and
      the Pap smear (PS) in cases of histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma in situ
      (AIS) and to ascertain the reasons for any discrepancies. STUDY DESIGN:
      Comparison of prospective PS and ThinPrep (TP) predictions with unblinded review
      of TP slides. RESULTS: In 30 paired cytologic samples, AIS was originally
      accurately predicted by PS in 20 (67%) and SSTP in 14 (47%). In the 16 cases in
      which SSTP failed to predict AIS, on review 4 were regarded as cytologic
      undercalls, and in the remaining 12 no diagnostic material was found on the first
      TP slide. In eight of these, further TP slides were made; in three, diagnostic
      material was present on subsequent TP slides, and in five it was not. Differences
      in cytologic appearances of AIS were noted between TP and PS. CONCLUSION: Even
      though in routine practice SSTP did not perform as well as PS in predicting AIS,
      it has the potential to do so. These results cannot anticipate the performance of
      direct-to-vial TP with respect to prediction of AIS.

PMID- 9987455
TI  - ThinPrep Pap Test. Accuracy for glandular disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Although the ThinPrep Pap Test is replacing conventional Pap smears in
      many clinical practices, experience with the identification of glandular lesions
      is limited. In this study, ThinPrep cytology of glandular lesions was evaluated
      in a large, inner city teaching hospital with high rates of glandular
      abnormality. STUDY DESIGN: Six months of ThinPrep diagnoses in 1998, following
      nearly 100% conversion of the laboratory to the ThinPrep Pap Test, were compared
      to January-December 1997 conventional smear diagnoses for glandular disease.
      Biopsy confirmation was evaluated for these cases. Findings on all biopsy
      confirmed glandular cases were also compared to findings on cytology. RESULTS:
      Similar overall rates of glandular cytology were found. For conventional smears
      (12 months), 46 cases were diagnosed out of 43,289 smears (0.11%). For ThinPrep
      cytology (six months), 36 cases were diagnosed out of 25,783 slides (0.14%, P =
      NS). In the year 1997, 9 biopsy-confirmed conventional smear diagnoses of
      adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) or adenocarcinoma were noted versus 10 for six
      months of 1998 for the ThinPrep method. A statistically significant reduction in
      the number of miscellaneous nonglandular (squamous) biopsy diagnoses were found
      with ThinPrep glandular cytology (14 vs. 4 cases, P < .05). For known biopsy
      confirmed glandular cases of AIS or adenocarcinoma, a statistically significant
      reduction in the cytology false negative rate was noted with the ThinPrep method
      (17 vs. 4 cases, P < .02). CONCLUSION: The ThinPrep method provides more accurate
      diagnoses of glandular disease, with an increase in both sensitivity and
      specificity for glandular lesions.

PMID- 9987456
TI  - 100% rapid (partial) rescreening for quality assurance.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficiency of two methods for routine quality assurance
      in gynecologic cytology: random rescreening of 10% of negative gynecologic smears
      and rapid rescreening of all negative gynecologic smears. STUDY DESIGN: All
      gynecologic smears considered to be negative or benign and diagnosed between
      November 1, 1996, and December 31, 1997, were rescreened using the rapid, partial
      rescreening technique. Results were compared to those of the 10% random
      rescreening method. RESULTS: Comparing the 10% review of negatives to the rapid
      rescreening in two comparable periods of three months, the former required review
      by the supervisor of 160 cases in order to find a true false negative. With rapid
      rescreening, the supervisor had to review fewer than eight cases to find a true
      false negative. Also, rapid rescreening found about four times more true false
      negatives than random 10% review. CONCLUSION: Rapid rescreening of all negative
      gynecologic smears proved more efficient than 10% random rescreening.

PMID- 9987457
TI  - Surveillance and prevention of hepatitis B virus transmission.

PMID- 9987458
TI  - Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in the United States: the National
      Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1976 through 1994.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Data from 2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys
      (NHANES), NHANES II (1976-1980) and NHANES III (1988-1994), were analyzed to
      examine trends in the prevalence of hepatitis B infection in the United States.
      METHODS: Serum specimens were tested for markers of hepatitis B virus infection,
      and risk factors were determined from questionnaires. RESULTS: The overall age
      adjusted prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was 5.5% (95% confidence
      interval [CI] = 4.8, 6.2) in NHANES II, as compared with 4.9% (95% CI = 4.3, 5.6)
      in NHANES III. In both surveys, Black participants had the highest prevalence of
      infection (NHANES II, 15.8%; NHANES III, 11.9%). No differences in infection were
      found in the major racial groups between surveys, except for a decrease among
      those older than 50 years. Black race, increasing number of lifetime sexual
      partners, and foreign birth had the strongest independent associations with
      hepatitis B virus infection. CONCLUSIONS: Testing of participants in 2 national
      surveys demonstrates no significant decrease in hepatitis B virus infection,
      despite the availability of hepatitis B vaccine.

PMID- 9987459
TI  - Assessing prenatal hepatitis B screening in Illinois with an inexpensive study
      design adaptable to other jurisdictions.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study estimated, using an economical survey design adaptable to
      other jurisdictions, the proportion of birth admissions in Illinois hospitals in
      which mothers were not screened for hepatitis B surface antigen prior to
      delivery. It also identified factors associated with lack of screening. METHODS:
      Based on a cluster sampling design, 1372 birth records were sampled, and data
      were abstracted by local personnel at 56 hospitals. Selected data elements were
      reabstracted on a subsample to evaluate recording errors. RESULTS: Reabstracted
      data demonstrated 95% agreement among reviewers. Hepatitis B surface antigen
      screening was documented for 90.7% of mothers; 11% of responding hospitals
      accounted for 45% of nonscreened mothers. Risk factors for not being screened
      included no prenatal care, Medicaid or no insurance, and delivery at a hospital
      lacking a written hepatitis B surface antigen policy. CONCLUSIONS: In Illinois,
      prenatal hepatitis B surface antigen screening rates were high and similar to
      those in other states. Births without screening or transferred information
      clustered in a few hospitals. The methods used here can economically identify
      underscreened populations by sampling a large number of hospitals within
      designated areas.

PMID- 9987460
TI  - Breast-feeding and infant illness: a dose-response relationship?
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether breast-feeding has
      a dose-related protective effect against illness and whether it confers special
      health benefits to poor infants. METHODS: The association between breast-feeding
      dose and illnesses in the first 6 months of life was analyzed with generalized
      estimating equations regression for 7092 infants from the National Maternal and
      Infant Health Survey. Breast-feeding dose (ratio of breast-feedings to other
      feedings) was categorized as full, most, equal, less, or no breast-feeding.
      RESULTS: Compared with no breast-feeding, full breast-feeding infants had lower
      odds ratios of diarrhea, cough or wheeze, and vomiting and lower mean ratios of
      illness months and sick baby medical visits. Most breast-feeding infants had
      lower odds ratios of diarrhea and cough or wheeze, and equal breast-feeding
      infants had lower odds ratios of cough or wheeze. Full, most, and equal breast
      feeding infants without siblings had lower odds ratios of ear infections and
      certain other illnesses, but those with siblings did not. Less breast-feeding
      infants had no reduced odds ratios of illness. Findings did not vary by income.
      CONCLUSIONS: Full breast-feeding was associated with the lowest illness rates.
      Minimal (less) breast-feeding was not protective. Breast-feeding conferred
      similar health benefits in all economic groups.

PMID- 9987461
TI  - Consequences in Georgia of a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella infections: what
      you don't know might hurt you.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the impact in Georgia of a nationwide
      salmonellosis outbreak caused by ice cream products and the effectiveness of the
      subsequent warning against eating the implicated products. METHODS: A telephone
      survey of 250 randomly selected Georgia customers of the ice cream producer was
      conducted 13 to 17 days after the warning. RESULTS: Respondents from 179
      households representing 628 persons were interviewed. The median date of first
      hearing the warning was 5 days after it was issued, and 16 respondents (9%) had
      not heard it. Among those who had heard the warning, 42 (26%) did not initially
      believe the products were unsafe. In 22 (31%) of the 72 households that had the
      implicated ice cream when the respondent heard the warning, someone subsequently
      ate the ice cream. Diarrhea was reported in 26% (121/463) of persons who had
      eaten the products but in only 5% (8/152) who had not (odds ratio [controlling
      for household clustering] = 3.8; 95% confidence interval = 2.0, 7.5). We estimate
      this outbreak caused 11,000 cases of diarrhea in Georgia, 1760 (16%) with
      exposure after the warning. CONCLUSIONS: A large outbreak occurred in Georgia,
      much of which might have been prevented by a more timely and convincing warning.

PMID- 9987462
TI  - Going bare: trends in health insurance coverage, 1989 through 1996.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed trends in health insurance coverage in the United
      States from 1989 through 1996. METHODS: Data from annual cross-sectional surveys
      by the US Census Bureau were analyzed. RESULTS: Between 1989 and 1996, the number
      of uninsured persons increased by 8.3 million (90% confidence interval [CI] =
      7.7, 8.9 million). In 1996, 41.7 million (90% CI = 40.9, 42.5 million) lacked
      insurance. From 1989 to 1993, the proportion with Medicaid increased by 3.6
      percentage points (90% CI = 3.1, 4.0), while the proportion with private
      insurance declined by 4.2 percentage points (90% CI = 3.7, 4.7). From 1993 to
      1996 private coverage rates stabilized but did not reverse earlier declines.
      Consequently, the number uninsured continued to increase. The greatest increase
      in the population of uninsured [corrected] was among young adults aged 18 to 39
      years; rates among children also rose steeply after 1992. While Blacks had the
      largest percentage increase, Hispanics accounted for 36.4% (90% CI = 32.3%,
      40.5%) of the increase in the number uninsured. From 1989 to 1993, the majority
      of the increase was among poor families. Since then, middle-income families have
      incurred the largest increase. Northcentral and northeastern states had the
      largest increases in percent uninsured. CONCLUSIONS: Despite economic prosperity,
      the numbers and rates of the uninsured continued to rise. Principally affected
      were children and young adults, poor and middle income families, blacks, and
      Hispanics.

PMID- 9987463
TI  - Syringe exchange in the United States, 1996: a national profile.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This paper provides 1996 information on the status of US syringe
      exchange programs and compares these findings with data from our 1994 survey.
      METHODS: In November 1996, questionnaires were mailed to 101 syringe exchange
      programs. Program directors were contacted to conduct telephone interviews based
      on the mailed questionnaires. Data collected included number of syringes
      exchanged, syringe exchange program operations, legal status, and services
      offered. RESULTS: Eighty-seven programs participated in the survey. A total of 46
      (53%) were legal, 20 (23%) were illegal but tolerated, and 21 (24%) were illegal
      underground. Since 1994, there has been a 54% increase in the number of cities
      and a 38% increase in the number of states with syringe exchange programs. Eighty
      four programs reported exchanging approximately 14 million syringes, a 75%
      increase from 1994. Syringe exchange programs also provided a variety of other
      services and supplies, and legal programs were more likely than illegal ones to
      provide these services. CONCLUSION: Despite continued lack of federal funding,
      syringe exchange programs expanded in terms of the number of syringes exchanged,
      the geographic distribution of programs, and the range of services offered.

PMID- 9987464
TI  - Occupational class and ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States and
      11 European countries.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Twelve countries were compared with respect to occupational class
      differences in ischemic heart disease mortality in order to identify factors that
      are associated with smaller or larger mortality differences. METHODS: Data on
      mortality by occupational class among men aged 30 to 64 years were obtained from
      national longitudinal or cross-sectional studies for the 1980s. A common
      occupational class scheme was applied to most countries. Potential effects of the
      main data problems were evaluated quantitatively. RESULTS: A north-south contrast
      existed within Europe. In England and Wales, Ireland, and Nordic countries,
      manual classes had higher mortality rates than nonmanual classes. In France,
      Switzerland, and Mediterranean countries, manual classes had mortality rates as
      low as, or lower than, those among nonmanual classes. Compared with Northern
      Europe, mortality differences in the United States were smaller (among men aged
      30-44 years) or about as large (among men aged 45-64 years). CONCLUSIONS: The
      results underline the highly variable nature of socioeconomic inequalities in
      ischemic heart disease mortality. These inequalities appear to be highly
      sensitive to social gradients in behavioral risk factors. These risk factor
      gradients are determined by cultural as well as socioeconomic developments.

PMID- 9987465
TI  - Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption through worksites and families in the
      treatwell 5-a-day study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We report on the results of the Treatwell 5-a-Day study, a worksite
      intervention aimed at increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. METHODS:
      Twenty-two worksites were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) a minimal
      intervention control group, (2) a worksite intervention, and (3) a worksite-plus
      family intervention. The interventions used community-organizing strategies and
      were structured to target multiple levels of influence, following a
      socioecological model. Data were collected by self-administered employee surveys
      before and after the intervention; the response rate was 87% (n = 1359) at
      baseline and 76% (n = 1306) at follow-up. A process tracking system was used to
      document intervention delivery. RESULTS: After control for worksite, gender,
      education, occupation, race/ethnicity, and living situation, total fruit and
      vegetable intake increased by 19% in the worksite-plus-family group, 7% in the
      worksite intervention group and 0% in the control group (P = .05). These changes
      reflect a one half serving increase among workers in the worksite-plus-family
      group compared with the control group (P = .018). CONCLUSIONS: The worksite-plus
      family intervention was more successful in increasing fruit and vegetable
      consumption than was the worksite intervention. Worksite interventions involving
      family members appear to be a promising strategy for influencing workers' dietary
      habits.

PMID- 9987468
TI  - Universal HIV screening at a major metropolitan TB clinic: HIV prevalence and
      high-risk behaviors among TB patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the outcome of implementing a policy of universal
      screening of patients with tuberculosis (TB) for HIV infection at a major
      metropolitan public health TB clinic. METHODS: HIV serologic testing was
      completed on 768 (93%) of 825 eligible patients. Ninety-eight HIV-positive cases
      (13%) were compared with 670 HIV-negative cases. The presence of adult HIV risk
      factors was determined by structured interview and review of medical records.
      RESULTS: One or more HIV risk factors were present in 93% of HIV-positive cases
      and 42% of HIV-negative cases. CONCLUSIONS: The metropolitan TB clinic is well
      suited for HIV screening, and HIV-antibody testing and counseling should be
      provided to all TB patients.

PMID- 9987466
TI  - Can data-driven benchmarks be used to set the goals of healthy people 2010?
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Expert panels determined the public health goals of Healthy People
      2000 subjectively. The present study examined whether data-driven benchmarks
      provide a better alternative. METHODS: We developed the "pared-mean" method to
      define from data the best achievable health care practices. We calculated the
      pared-mean benchmark for screening mammography from the 1994 National Health
      Interview Survey, using the metropolitan statistical area as the "provider" unit.
      Beginning with the best-performing provider and adding providers in descending
      sequence, we established the minimum provider subset that included at least 10%
      of all women surveyed on this question. The pared-mean benchmark is then the
      proportion of women in this subset who received mammography. RESULTS: The pared
      mean benchmark for screening mammography was 71%, compared with the Healthy
      People 2000 goal of 60%. CONCLUSIONS: For Healthy People 2010, benchmarks derived
      from data reflecting the best available care provide viable alternatives to
      consensus-derived targets. We are currently pursuing additional refinements to
      the data-driven pared-mean benchmark approach.

PMID- 9987467
TI  - Exercise--it's never too late: the strong-for-life program.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This investigation determined whether an in-home resistance training
      program achieved health benefits in older adults with disabilities. METHODS: A
      randomized controlled trial compared the effects of assigning 215 older persons
      to either a home-based resistance exercise training group or a waiting list
      control group. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at 3 and 6 months
      following randomization. The program consisted of videotaped exercise routines
      performed with elastic bands of varying thickness. RESULTS: High rates of
      exercise adherence were achieved, with 89% of the recommended exercise sessions
      performed over 6 months. Relative to controls, subjects who participated in the
      program achieved statistically significant lower extremity strength improvements
      of 6% to 12%, a 20% improvement in tandem gait, and a 15% to 18% reduction in
      physical and overall disability at the 6-month follow-up. No adverse health
      effects were encountered. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide important evidence
      that home-based resistance exercise programs designed for older persons with
      disabilities hold promise as an effective public health strategy.

PMID- 9987469
TI  - Reducing AIDS risk among port workers in Santos, Brazil.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined the impact of worksite-based AIDS prevention
      program among port workers in Santos, Brazil, on sexual risk behavior for HIV
      infection. METHODS: Male port workers (n = 226) were followed in a 3-wave
      prospective cohort study. A multifaceted intervention costing US $90,000 for
      20,000 workers was conducted between waves 2 and 3. RESULTS: Heterosexual risk
      behavior showed no decline between waves 1 and 2 (before the intervention) but
      decreased substantially between waves 2 and 3 (after the intervention). This
      decrease resulted from both a decrease in nonprimary partners and an increase in
      condom use. CONCLUSIONS: This worksite-based AIDS program produced marked
      behavior change at modest cost.

PMID- 9987470
TI  - Persistence of susceptibility to measles in France despite routine immunization:
      a cohort analysis.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined the impact of French routine programs urging the
      combined measles-mumps-rubella immunization of 15-month-old children. METHODS: We
      applied a cohort analysis to surveillance data collected by general practitioners
      to estimate the cumulative incidence rate per 1000 unvaccinated children and the
      proportion of susceptible children, by age and for each birth cohort between 1985
      and 1995. RESULTS: More than 70% of unvaccinated children born in 1985 and 1986
      had measles by the age of 10. This incidence rate dramatically decreased after
      implementation of the routine measles-mumps-rubella immunization program in 1989,
      but the proportion of 5-year-olds susceptible to measles has not decreased
      appreciably. In 1996, more than 15% of the children born between 1990 and 1995
      were susceptible. CONCLUSIONS: The measles vaccine coverage achieved by the
      French routine immunization program remains insufficient as regards reducing the
      number of susceptible children.

PMID- 9987471
TI  - Peptic ulcer disease and exposure to domestic pets.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study assessed whether an association exists between household
      pets and peptic ulcer disease. METHODS: Canadian adults (n = 15,779) were asked
      about cats or dogs in their household and about history of peptic ulcer disease.
      Logistic regression was used to assess the association between pet ownership and
      a history of peptic ulcer disease, after adjustment for sociodemographic
      differences. RESULTS: No relationship was observed between report of household
      pets and a history of peptic ulcer disease (adjusted odds ratio = 1.14, 95%
      confidence interval = 0.95, 1.36). CONCLUSIONS: In a large sample of Canadian
      adults, no association was observed between pet ownership and a history of peptic
      ulcer disease.

PMID- 9987472
TI  - Sensory impairment and driving: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined the associations between vision, hearing, loss,
      and car accidents. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 3654 people aged 49 years
      and older in the Blue Mountains, Australia, was used. Each subject had a detailed
      eye examination and interview. RESULTS: Self-reported car accident rates in the
      past year among 2379 current drivers were 5.6% for those aged 49 to 79 years and
      9.1% for those 80 years and older. A 2-line difference in visual acuity was
      associated with increased risk of accidents (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] =
      1.6), as was visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the right eye (PR = 2.0), overall
      moderate hearing loss (PR = 1.9), and hearing loss in the right ear (PR = 1.8).
      CONCLUSIONS: Sensory loss in drivers may be an important risk factor for car
      accidents.

PMID- 9987473
TI  - Effectiveness of denial of handgun purchase to persons believed to be at high
      risk for firearm violence.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether denial of handgun
      purchase is an effective violence prevention strategy. METHODS: Individuals
      denied handgun purchase because of a prior felony conviction and handgun
      purchasers with a felony arrest at time of purchase were examined. RESULTS:
      Relative to those denied purchase, handgun purchasers were found to be at greater
      risk for subsequent offenses involving a gun (relative risk [RR] = 1.21, 95%
      confidence interval [CI] = 1.08, 1.36) or violence (RR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.11,
      1.39), after adjustment for number of prepurchase weapon/violence charges.
      CONCLUSIONS: Denial of handgun purchase to persons with a prior felony conviction
      may lower their rate of subsequent criminal activity.

PMID- 9987474
TI  - Deaths attributable to Alzheimer's disease in the United States.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study provided 2 estimates of the number of deaths attributable
      to Alzheimer's disease in the United States. METHODS: One estimate was based on
      data from the East Boston, Mass, study. The second was based on a simulation
      using population-based estimates of prevalence and separate estimates of excess
      death by duration of disease. RESULTS: Despite different methods and very
      different estimates of prevalence, these 2 methods led to very similar estimates
      of 173,000 and 163,000 excess deaths. CONCLUSIONS: These estimates suggest that
      7.1% of all deaths in the United States in 1995 are attributable to Alzheimer's
      disease, placing it on a par with cerebrovascular diseases as the third leading
      cause of death.

PMID- 9987475
TI  - Vasectomy in the United States, 1991 and 1995.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess whether the controversy surrounding
      publications linking vasectomy and prostate cancer has had an effect on vasectomy
      acceptance and practice in the United States. METHODS: National probability
      surveys of urology, general surgery, and family practices were undertaken in 1992
      and 1996. RESULTS: Estimates of the total number of vasectomies performed,
      population rate, and proportion of practices performing vasectomy were not
      significantly different in 1991 and 1995. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides no
      solid evidence that the recent controversy over prostate cancer has influenced
      vasectomy acceptance or practice in the United States. However, the use of
      vasectomy appears to have leveled off in the 1990s.

PMID- 9987476
TI  - Reading ability, education, and cognitive status assessment among older adults in
      Harlem, New York City.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study examined reported level of education and current reading
      ability as predictors of cognitive status among older African Americans in
      central Harlem, New York City. METHODS: A probability sample of 164
      noninstitutionalized older African Americans was assessed. Mini-Mental State
      Examination (MMSE) scores were regressed on education and reading ability
      measures. RESULTS: Reading ability and educational attainment were significant,
      independent predictors of MMSE performance. Within any level of education,
      subjects whose grade-equivalent reading ability exceeded reported level of
      education scored significantly higher on the MMSE. CONCLUSIONS: Reading ability
      may be useful in interpreting the results of cognitive screening among low
      educated and minority groups.

PMID- 9987477
TI  - Thalidomide and the Titanic: reconstructing the technology tragedies of the
      twentieth century.
AB  - The Titanic has become a metaphor for the disastrous consequences of an
      unqualified belief in the safety and invincibility of new technology. Similarly,
      the thalidomide tragedy stands for all of the "monsters" that can be
      inadvertently or negligently created by modern medicine. Thalidomide, once
      banned, has returned to the center of controversy with the Food and Drug
      Administration's (FDA's) announcement that thalidomide will be placed on the
      market for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum, a severe dermatological
      complication of Hansen's disease. Although this indication is very restricted,
      thalidomide will be available for off-label uses once it is on the market. New
      laws regarding abortion and a new technology, ultrasound, make reasonable the
      approval of thalidomide for patients who suffer from serious conditions it can
      alleviate. In addition, the FDA and the manufacturer have proposed the most
      stringent postmarketing monitoring ever used for a prescription drug, including
      counseling, contraception, and ultrasonography in the event of pregnancy. The
      Titanic/thalidomide lesson for the FDA and public health is that rules and
      guidelines alone are not sufficient to guarantee safety. Continuous vigilance
      will be required to ensure that all reasonable postmarketing monitoring steps are
      actually taken to avoid predictable and preventable teratogenic disasters.

PMID- 9987478
TI  - Public health developments in colonial Malaya: colonialism and the politics of
      prevention.
AB  - In both African and Asian colonies until the late 19th century, colonial medicine
      operated pragmatically to meet the medical needs first of colonial officers and
      troops, immigrant settlers, and laborers responsible for economic development,
      then of indigenous populations when their ill health threatened the well-being of
      the expatriate population. Since the turn of the century, however, the
      consequences of colonial expansion and development for indigenous people's health
      had become increasingly apparent, and disease control and public health programs
      were expanded in this light. These programs increased government surveillance of
      populations at both community and household levels. As a consequence, colonial
      states extended institutional oversight and induced dependency through public
      health measures. Drawing on my own work on colonial Malaya, I illustrate
      developments in public health and their links to the moral logic of colonialism
      and its complementarity to the political economy.

PMID- 9987479
TI  - Condom use in female sex workers in Italy.

PMID- 9987480
TI  - The protective effect of condoms and nonoxynol-9 against HIV infection: a
      response to Wittkowski and colleagues.

PMID- 9987481
TI  - Cost-effectiveness and Down syndrome.

PMID- 9987482
TI  - Carbon monoxide poisoning in the aftermath of hurricane Fran.

PMID- 9987483
TI  - [Diagnosis and surgical treatment of atrial septal defects in adults].
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The value of surgical closure of an atrial septal
      defect (ASD) in adults is currently under discussion, because the operative risk
      is thought to be high and there are no reliable data about postoperative change
      in quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The case notes of 205 patients (149
      women, 56 men, mean age 41.4 years) in whom an ASD had been surgically closed
      were analysed retrospectively. Preoperative symptoms, complications, arrhythmias,
      pulmonary artery pressure and the influence of the operative closure on quality
      of life (criteria of the New York Heart Association [NYHA]) were noted. RESULTS:
      At the time of diagnosis 138 (66%) of patients had complained of dyspnoea or
      palpitations, four had sustained a stroke and two had had endocarditis. Atrial
      fibrillation or flutter was present in 55 (27%). 47 (23%) were in class III or IV
      (NYHA). Mean age at operation was 42.2 (18-74.9) years. One patient, a woman with
      pulmonary hypertension, died and one patient suffered a stroke. The number of
      patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter fell to 31 (15%) postoperatively and
      176 patients (86%) moved to a better NYHA class, especially those who had been in
      class IV. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that surgical closure of ASD in adults is
      reasonable, because the operative mortality is low, the quality of life is
      improved postoperatively and there is a reduced incidence of arrhythmias.

PMID- 9987484
TI  - [Unusual case of disseminated sarcoidosis with prominent gastrointestinal
      symptoms].
AB  - HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS: A 63-year-old man had for 10 months suffered from
      marked weight loss, night sweats, diffuse abdominal pain and increased stool
      frequency. He was admitted to evaluate an ultrasonically abnormal focus in the
      liver parenchyma and elevated liver function parameters. His sclerae were
      obviously icteric and he looked under-weight. INVESTIGATIONS: He had a
      hypochromic microcytic anemia and abnormal liver and pancreatic function tests:
      total bilirubin 3.11 mg/dl, direct bilirubin 2.21 mg/dl, GOT21U/l, gamma-GT 422
      U/l, alkaline phosphatase 1449 U/l, alpha-amylase 481 U/l, lipase 2827 U/l. The
      serum creatinine level was elevated to 1.47 mg/dl. Computed tomography revealed
      enlarged liver and spleen as well as an enlargement of intraabdominal lymph
      nodes, chest radiogram and endoscopic cholangio-pancreatography were
      unremarkable. Biopsies from the lower duodenum, large intestine, bone marrow and
      liver showed inflammatory changes with Langhans-type mononuclear granulomas.
      Together with these findings an increased activity of the angiotensin-converting
      enzyme (ACE) indicated sarcoidosis, other causes having been excluded. TREATMENT
      AND COURSE: All signs and symptoms rapidly improved under prednisolone, and 4
      weeks after begin of treatment the biochemical abnormalities had clearly
      regressed. The raised serum levels of soluble IL-2 receptors and of neopterin,
      measures of sarcoidosis activity, had decreased. Activity of ACE had fallen.
      CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis can present with diverse clinical signs and symptoms. In
      a case of multi-system disease that cannot be readily classified, sarcoidosis
      should be included in the differential diagnosis.

PMID- 9987485
TI  - [Focal mycobacterial lymphadenitis after starting highly active antiretroviral
      therapy].
AB  - HISTORY AND FINDINGS: A 30-year-old man with a known HIV infection for 7 years
      presented for treatment with antiretroviral drugs. He was known to have had
      herpes zoster, oral hairy leukoplakia and recurrent Candida stomatitis, but was
      otherwise without symptoms. INVESTIGATIONS: The CD4 lymphocyte count was 19
      cells/mm3 and there were 41,000 HIV-RNA copies/ml. DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND
      COURSE: The HIV infection was in CDC stage B3, indicating the need for combined
      antiretroviral treatment. A week after starting stavudine, saquinavir and
      ritonavir he had to be admitted because of nausea and vomiting, colicky abdominal
      pain, diarrhea, fever up to 39 degrees C and a rise of C-reactive protein to 207
      mg/dl. Bacteriological examination of feces and biopsy of an enlarged
      retroperitoneal lymph node revealed atypical mycobacteria. Antituberculosis
      treatment was started. The CD4 cell count rose to 56/mm3 and the viral count fell
      to 11,000/ml. Each time after initiating a different antiviral regimen the
      symptoms recurred. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates an atypical manifestation
      of on opportunistic infection: during combined antiviral treatment the CD4 cell
      count rose and thus precipitated an heretofore subclinical mycobacterial
      infection with focal lymphadenitis. If, on starting antiretroviral treatment at a
      late HIV stage, new symptoms develop within 1-3 weeks, one should consider drug
      induced side effects or the onset of an opportunistic infection that has become
      manifest as the result of an improved immunological state.

PMID- 9987487
TI  - [Gastroesophageal reflux disease].

PMID- 9987486
TI  - [11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases: key enzymes in the action of
      mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids].

PMID- 9987488
TI  - [Social jurisdiction].

PMID- 9987489
TI  - [Air embolism].

PMID- 9987490
TI  - [Esophageal motility disorders in diabetics].

PMID- 9987491
TI  - [Inadvertent intravenous injection of adrenaline].

PMID- 9987492
TI  - [Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia type II].

PMID- 9987493
TI  - Advances in the diagnosis and management of impotence.

PMID- 9987494
TI  - [Gene therapy using anticancer drug-resistance genes].
AB  - Myelosuppression is a major dose-limiting factor in cancer chemotherapy.
      Introduction of drug-resistance genes into bone marrow cells of cancer patients
      has been proposed to overcome this limitation. In theory, any gene whose
      expression protects cells against the toxic effects of chemotherapy should be
      useful in vivo for this purpose. Among such genes, human multidrug-resistance
      gene (MDR1) and O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase gene (MGMT) have been
      studied most extensively for this purpose, and clinical trials of drug-resistance
      gene therapy have been started in the US for cancer patients who undergo high
      dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In
      Japan, our clinical protocol of MDR1 gene therapy, "A clinical study of drug
      resistance gene therapy to improve the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy
      against breast cancer", has been approved by our IRB and submitted to the
      government. To improve the efficacy and safety of this drug-resistance gene
      therapy, we have constructed a series of MDR1-bicistronic retrovirus vectors
      using a retrovirus backbone of Harvey murine sarcoma virus and internal ribosome
      entry site (IRES) from picornavirus to coexpress a second gene with the MDR1
      gene. MDR1-MGMT bicistronic vectors can be used to protect bone marrow cells of
      cancer patients from combination chemotherapy with MDR1-related anticancer agents
      and nitrosoureas. In addition, MDR1-bicistronic retrovirus vectors can be
      designed to use the MDR1 gene as an in vivo selectable marker to enrich the
      transduced cells which express therapeutic genes, if disease is curable by the
      expression of a single-peptide gene in bone marrow cells or any types of
      peripheral blood cells.

PMID- 9987495
TI  - Surgery and multimodal treatments in pancreatic cancer--a review on the basis of
      future multimodal treatment concepts.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To improve the surgical outcome after resection of pancreatic
      adenocarcinomas, multimodal treatment concepts need to be applied and improved.
      In spite of several positive studies, and the fact that multimodality treatment
      is the standard concept in major centers for pancreatic cancer surgery, a recent
      trial shed some doubt on the positive effect of adjuvant radiochemotherapy, so
      that the majority with reservations about multimodal treatment feel confirmed in
      their opinion that surgical treatment alone is sufficient therapy for resectable
      pancreatic cancer. The controversy among those for and against adjuvant treatment
      need an up-to-date review of the indications and results achievable with various
      treatment modalities. PATIENTS/METHODS: The literature on the indications and
      results of adjuvant/neoadjuvant therapies in pancreatic cancer was reviewed to
      provide a solid base for current recommendations and future developments. A
      special view was concentrated on the biology of the disease in the spontaneous
      course, after surgery and during/after various palliative and
      adjuvant/neoadjuvant treatment modalities, to characterize the disease for an
      optimally targeted treatment in conjunction with surgical removal of the tumor.
      The results of systemic and regional chemotherapy and radiotherapy either alone
      or in combination, before, during, and after surgery, were critically analyzed
      with respect to the oncological possibilities and pitfalls of each treatment
      method. RESULTS: In two randomized trials, one testing postoperative
      radiochemotherapy (GITSG), and one postoperative chemotherapy (Bakkevold), the
      adjuvant treatment achieved a significant prolongation of the median survival
      time. The 5- and 10-year survival rates were improved in the GITSG study. The
      EORTC-GITCCG trial could not confirm the benefit of adjuvant radiochemotherapy.
      This study had a different design than the GITSG trial. Several historical
      control studies supported the beneficial effect of postoperative
      radiochemotherapy. In three historical control trials using regional
      chemotherapy, one with intraoperative radiotherapy, the survival times were
      improved vs. surgery alone. Intraoperative or postoperative radiotherapy as
      single modalities might reduce local relapses, but a survival advantage is still
      debated. Preoperative neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy has several advantages
      (downstaging, devitalizing margins and lymph node metastases, compatibility of
      treatment vs. postoperative radiochemotherapy), and does not seem to increase the
      postoperative morbidity. Several trials have confirmed the feasibility of this
      concept, but no survival advantage has yet been proven. Systemic and regional
      chemotherapy is able to downstage primarily nonresectable pancreatic cancers.
      CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative adjuvant radiochemotherapy with up-to-date protocols
      can be recommended for routine treatment, if the surgeon or the patient desires
      to improve the usually remote prognosis after surgery alone. For those being
      undecisive or against adjuvant therapy, the participation in trials, e.g., ESPAC
      1 and 2 studies, is strongly recommended. Regarding our own positive experience
      with adjuvant regional chemotherapy and in view of the postresectional
      progression pattern, we currently favour adjuvant radiochemotherapy, with the
      chemotherapy delivered regionally via the celiac axis. This concept will be
      tested vs. surgery alone in the ESPAC 2 trial. Neoadjuvant therapies have a great
      potential, but should be conducted within studies, such as pre-, intra-, or
      postoperative radiotherapy.

PMID- 9987496
TI  - [Differences in therapeutic strategies for adult leukemia and lymphoma between
      Japan and western countries].
AB  - The purpose of this paper is to clarify the differences in therapeutic strategies
      for adult leukemia and lymphoma between Japan and western countries. Since in
      Japan, high-dose cytarabine for acute leukemia is not covered by health
      insurance, post-remission therapy might be less intense compared to western
      countries and it takes a long time to complete the therapy. The results of
      chemotherapy for adult acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in Japan have been
      inferior to those in foreign reports. Accordingly, many Japanese hematologists
      believe that adult ALL has a worse prognosis than acute myeloid leukemia (AML),
      and almost all young adult patients with ALL should receive allogeneic bone
      marrow transplantation (BMT) from related or unrelated donors. Japanese
      hematologists also consider that Interferon as the first-line chemotherapy for
      chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and that BMT from a HLA matched sibling donor
      should be done as soon as possible. Recently, some foreign reports of BMT from
      unrelated donors for CML revealed results comparable to BMT from related donors
      showing that even transplants from unrelated donors should be done as soon as
      possible. Since chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin's disease are so rare in
      Japan, the available drugs for these diseases are limited. The quality and
      quantity of Japanese clinical studies in this field are inferior to studies in
      western countries. This, in fact, is a more serious problem than the differences
      in therapeutic strategies.

PMID- 9987497
TI  - [Lung cancer].
AB  - The five year survival rate of lung cancer patients is only 10% in Japan. The
      staging system of c-TNM is more important than p-TNM when deciding treatment
      modality for lung cancer. Compared to other solid cancers, neoadjuvant therapy in
      lung cancer treatment has a more important position. A clinical protocol study
      should be carried out with the idea of "intent to treat" and medical oncology
      will play a more important role in the treatment of lung cancer.

PMID- 9987498
TI  - [Comparison in strategies for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas
      between Japan and western countries].
AB  - The recent strategies for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
      were reviewed and compared between Japan and western countries. The curative
      treatments for advanced HNSCC are radiotherapy and/or surgical resection. These
      standard treatment modalities are the same in both areas. However, combined
      treatment, especially including impact chemotherapy, was developed in western
      countries earlier than in Japan. The organ preservation modality to preserve the
      organ and physiological function has been under investigation in controlled
      randomized trials in western countries. Patients with advanced HNSCC, for
      example, achieving a complete response at the primary lesion after neo-adjuvant
      chemotherapy followed by curative radiotherapy or concomitant chemoradiotherapy
      including impact chemotherapy, receive organ-sparing treatment. This strategy for
      advanced HNSCC in Japan promises to be widespread in future.

PMID- 9987499
TI  - [Difference in strategy for breast cancer between western countries and Japan].
AB  - The history of breast cancer treatment has been largely that of western
      countries. Although Japan has had its own technological development, it does not
      have its own strategy for cancer treatment, especially for breast cancer. Thus
      the difference between western countries and Japan is obvious: USA and European
      countries are superior because of their scientific way of clinical research, such
      as "prospective randomized study", which has never been performed in Japan. We
      need to review our medical system in order to develop our own more effective
      types of therapy.

PMID- 9987500
TI  - [Gynecologic oncologists and their practice in the U.S.A].
AB  - The development of gynecologic oncology in the U.S.A. was briefly reviewed and
      the differences in treatment approaches to gynecologic cancers between Japan and
      U.S.A. were described. In 1969, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists was
      organized and the subspecialty of gynecologic oncology was created as a
      subsidiary division of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1970.
      In the same year the Gynecologic Oncology Group, which is a national
      collaborative research group, was established. It was decided that a gynecologic
      oncologist should have training and skills in all effective forms of treatment of
      gynecologic cancers: radical pelvic surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
      This subspecialty was a real success and became the model for such systems
      throughout the world. The role of the gynecologic oncologist is being recognized
      by the public in the U.S.A. Treatment approaches to cervical cancer, endometrial
      cancer and ovarian cancer in the U.S.A., which are different from ours, are also
      briefly described.

PMID- 9987501
TI  - [Prostate cancer].
AB  - Although the incidence of latent or incidental cancer of the prostate is quite
      similar among Japanese and Americans, the incidence of clinically manifest
      prostate cancer and the mortality rates of prostate cancer are significantly
      higher in the latter. But, recently, the incidence of clinical cancer in Japan
      has been increasing exponentially, and the change in dietary habits is considered
      to be a major cause of this increase. Comparing the histological differences of
      prostate cancer between the Japanese and the Americans, the cribriform pattern is
      predominant in Japanese clinically significant cancer. On the other hand, a
      simple glandular pattern is predominant in American clinically significant
      cancer. These differences between Japanese and American prostate cancer suggest
      that each prostate cancer arises from different sources. For the organ-confined
      prostate cancer (stage A2 and B); radical prostatectomy has been considered the
      definitive treatment. But radiotherapy is now considered another radical
      treatment for localized prostate cancer which results in reduced morbidity. A
      heavy particle beam and brachytherapy are an even more radical modality that can
      deliver a greater dose of radiation to a localized lesion without affecting the
      surrounding normal tissue. For locally advanced prostate cancer (stage C); For
      the purpose of downstaging and radical treatment of locally advanced prostate
      cancer, combination of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy and radical prostatectomy has
      been expected. This regimen resulted in a significant decrease of positive
      surgical margins, but did not result in decrease of PSA failure. The impact on
      patient survival will be determined by the long-term follow-up. For advanced
      prostate cancer (stage D); In the study of the comparison of bilateral
      orchiectomy with or without flutamide in stage D2 prostate cancer, neither
      significant improvement of combination group on progression-free survival nor
      overall survival has been shown. From this result, the true efficacy of MAB is
      not certain.

PMID- 9987502
TI  - [CBDCA, etoposide and epirubicin high-dose combination chemotherapy supported by
      peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) in metastatic breast cancer].
AB  - Six metastatic breast cancer patients, including one brain metastasis, one lung
      metastasis, three local recurrences and one bone metastasis, underwent multidrug
      chemotherapy with CBDCA, Etoposide (ETP) and Epirubicin (EPI). Each patient
      received two courses of PBSC mobilization chemotherapies and subsequently
      received high-dose chemotherapies for at least two courses. CBDCA AUC 4, ETP 300
      mg/m2 and EPI 40 mg/m2 were administered intravenously as a PBSC mobilization
      chemotherapy, and high-dose chemotherapies were performed under the regimen of
      CBDCA AUC 8, ETP 900 mg/m2 and EPI 60 mg/m2. Severe bone marrow suppression due
      to high-dose chemotherapies was off sct by autologous peripheral blood stem cell
      transplantation (PBSCT). The PBSC mobilization chemotherapies resulted in one CR,
      three PR, one NC and one PD in the six patients. The PD patient died before high
      dose chemotherapy. Consequently, the remaining five patients received the high
      dose chemotherapies, which achieved three CR, one PR and one PD in the five
      patients. The response rate of high-dose chemotherapy was 80% (4/5 cases). In
      overall outcome, three patients have continued 16, 12 and 10 months tumor-free
      survival, and three patients died of cancer progression. High-dose chemotherapy
      with CBDCA, ETP and EPI has led to increased CR rates in metastatic breast
      cancer, and such therapy has desirable effect on the patient's prognosis.

PMID- 9987503
TI  - [Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced cervical cancer].
AB  - Twenty-five patients with advanced cervical cancer (IIb-IVa) were treated with
      neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy or radiotherapy.
      According to the evaluation by MRI, complete response was achieved in 2 cases and
      partial response in 17 cases. Eventually the response rate was 76%. The response
      rate was higher in squamous cell carcinomas (85%) than adenocarcinomas or
      adenosquamous carcinomas (67%). The histological effect is superior in squamous
      cell carcinomas than adenocarcinomas or adenosquamous carcinomas. Radical
      hysterectomy was performed in 5 cases of 11 (45%) stage III-IVa cervical cancers.
      There was no correlation between tumor size and response to NAC. NAC therapy may
      be useful therapy in advanced cervical cancers, especially squamous cell
      carcinomas.

PMID- 9987504
TI  - [Pilot late phase II study of KRN8602 (MX2), a novel anthracycline derivative,
      for acute leukemia--a dose finding study in combination].
AB  - In order to determine the clinically optimal dose of KRN8602, a new anthracycline
      derivative, in combination therapy for acute leukemia, we performed a pilot late
      phase II study in combination with cytarabine (Ara-C) for acute myelogenous
      leukemia (AML), and with vincristine (VCR) and prednisolone (PSL) for acute
      lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). KRN8602 was given at a dose of 12 or 15 mg/m2 for 5
      consecutive days, Ara-C at a dose of 100 mg/m2 for 7 consecutive days, VCR 1.4
      mg/m2 (max. 2.0 mg/body) weekly for 4 weeks, and PSL 40 mg/m2 for principally 28
      consecutive days. Of 14 patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia entered in
      the study, thirteen patients were evaluable for safety and 12 were evaluable for
      response. In AML, there was 1 partial response (PR) in 4 patients at a dose of 12
      mg/m2. Against 1 complete response (CR) and 3 PRs in 4 patients at a dose of 15
      mg/m2. In ALL, there was 1 PR in 1 case at a dose of 12 mg/m2, and 1 CR and 2 PR
      in 3 at a dose of 15 mg/m2. Major toxicities were nausea/vomiting and anorexia,
      but incidences and grades of toxicities were not dose-dependent, and all
      toxicities were tolerable and manageable. From these results it is concluded that
      the optimal dose of KRN8602 is 15 mg/m2 for 5 consecutive days in combination
      with Ara-C for AML, and with VCR and PSL for ALL.

PMID- 9987505
TI  - [A combination of low-dose carboplatin (CBDCA) and radiation therapy in head and
      neck cancer patients--response and hematologenic toxicity].
AB  - A combination of carboplatin (CBDCA) and radiation therapy was performed in
      patients with head and neck cancer. The intravenous administration of CBDCA at a
      weekly dose of 100 mg/body was combined with external irradiation at a dose of
      1.8 Gy/day x 5/week during the same therapy period. We evaluated the effects of
      this method not only on survival and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with
      advanced cancer but also on local control and prevention of distant metastases in
      patients with early cancer. The subjects consisted of 31 patients with head and
      neck cancer who visited the Department of Otolaryngology, Showa University
      Hospital, Kanto Rosai Hospital and Yokohama Rosai Hospital between March 1993 and
      March 1995. Squamous cell carcinoma was found in all but one patient who had
      adenocarcinoma in the parotid gland. The patients were 27 males and 4 females
      ranging between 40 and 81 years of age (mean, 59 years). Twenty-six patients had
      previously untreated tumor, while 5 patients had recurrent tumor. The clinical
      stage was Stage I in 6, Stage II in 10, Stage III in 5 and Stage IV in 10
      patients. The original site of cancer was the larynx in 9, hypopharynx in 6,
      nasopharynx in 6 and elsewhere in 10 patients. The combined therapy was repeated
      for 2-9 courses (mean, about 5 courses). The total dose of CBDCA was 500 mg on
      average with a maximum of 900 mg. The total effective rate of the combined
      therapy was 93.3% with 12 cases of complete response (CR) and 16 cases of partial
      response (PR). The effective rate in patients with previously untreated tumor was
      92% because one patient showed a minor response (MR) and one patient showed no
      change (NC). The effective rate in patients with recurrent tumor was 100%.
      Concerning the clinical stage, all patients with Stage I-III disease showed CR or
      PR, while MR was found in 1, NC in 1 and progressive disease (PD) in 1 of 10
      patients with Stage IV disease, resulting in an effective rate of 71.4%. There
      were no CRs in Stage IV patients. Therapy was terminated due to side effects in 2
      patients. Excellent safety was confirmed by laboratory data.

PMID- 9987506
TI  - [Late phase II clinical study of RP56976 (docetaxel) in patients with
      advanced/recurrent head and neck cancer].
AB  - A late phase II clinical study of RP56976 (docetaxel), a new anticancer agent for
      advanced/recurrent head and neck cancer, was conducted in 29 institutions all
      over Japan as a multi-institutional cooperative study. Docetaxel was administered
      by 1 to 2-hour intravenous infusion at a dose of 60 mg/m2 every 3 to 4 weeks. Of
      63 patients eligible in this study, 59 were judged as complete cases. Complete
      response (CR) was observed in 1 patient, partial response (PR) in 13, no change
      (NC) in 25, and progressive disease (PD) in 20, for an overall response rate of
      22.2% (14/63, 95% CI: 12.7-34.5%) in eligible cases, and 23.7% (14/59, 95% CI:
      13.6-36.6%) in complete cases. Previously treated patients showed a 17.9% (10/56)
      response rate, whereas treatment--naive patients showed a 57.1% (4/7) response
      rate. Among 46 patients who received prior chemotherapy, one CR and 7 PR were
      observed with a 17.4% response rate. Major hematological toxicities were
      leucopenia in 95.1% (> or = grade 3, 59.7%) and neutropenia in 90.3% (> or =
      grade 3, 79.0%). Other severe toxicities (> or = grade 3) included anorexia in
      9.7% (6 cases), diarrhea in 3.2% (2 cases), dyspnea in 3.2% (2 cases), and
      fatigue in 3.2% (2 cases). One patient had a grade 3 interstitial pneumonia;
      however, symptoms were resolved by the administration of corticosteroids. During
      this study, one patient died due to multiple organ failure (MOF) caused by
      disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and this case was reported as a
      therapy-related death. Based on these results, docetaxel is an active agent for
      treatment of head and neck cancer.

PMID- 9987507
TI  - [Clinical studies of oral antiemetic drugs on delayed emesis induced by cancer
      chemotherapy].
AB  - The effects of oral antiemetic drugs on delayed emesis induced by emetogenic
      chemotherapy were studied in seventeen patients (43 courses) with gynecological
      malignancies. On day 1, all patients received intravenous granisetron (40
      micrograms/kg) and methylprednisolone (250 mg/body) for the control of acute
      emesis 0-24 hrs after receiving CDDP or CBDCA. Then they received each oral
      maintenance drug (dexamethasone 4 mg/day, ondansetron 4 mg/day and metoclopramide
      40 mg/day) for the control of delayed emesis from day 2 to day 5. Efficacy rates
      for delayed emesis were 82.4% in dexamethasone, 75.0% in metoclopramide and 50.0%
      in ondansetron. The complete response for delayed nausea was 88.5% in metoclopram
      ide, and the complete response for delayed anorexia of 64.7% in dexamethasone was
      higher than for other oral drugs. The results suggest the usefulness of oral
      antiemetic therapy of dexamethasone plus metoclopramide or ondansetron for
      delayed emesis induced by cancer therapy.

PMID- 9987508
TI  - [Effect of ondansetron hydrochloride injection and tablet against nausea and
      vomiting in lung cancer patients receiving carboplatin].
AB  - We investigated the efficacy of combination of ondansetron hydrochloride
      injection and tablet against nausea and vomiting in 22 lung cancer patients
      (total number of chemotherapy courses: 23) receiving chemotherapy of single-dose
      carboplatin (CBDCA) at a dose of 302.2 +/- 31.9 mg/m2. For suppressing emesis,
      the patients were given 4 mg of ondansetron injection on the day of CBDCA
      injection (Day 1), and 4 mg/day of ondansetron tablet for Days 2 to 5. The
      following results were obtained 5 days after the administration of carboplatin.
      1) Control of nausea graded 'Good' or better counted for 95% or higher of all
      cases for each day of the chemotherapy. A complete nausea suppression rate was
      seen in 91.3%, 81.0%, 71.4%, 63.6% and 71.4% from Day 1 to Day 5, respectively.
      2) Control of vomiting graded 'Major' control or better was achieved in 95% or
      more of all cases, for each day. The complete vomiting suppression rate observed
      from Day 1 to Day 5 was 91.3%, 78.3%, 65.2%, 69.6% and 91.3%, respectively. 3)
      Inhibitory effect on nausea and vomiting for each day of Days 1 to 5 graded as
      'Effective' or better was shown in 90% or higher of all cases; based on overall
      judgement for Days 1 to 5, all cases were graded as 'Effective' or better. 4) The
      proportion of cases which was evaluated as 'Can eat most of the meal' was 88.0%,
      73.9%, 50.7%, 50.7% and 65.2% from Days 1 to 5, respectively, against 95.7% prior
      to the start of chemotherapy. 5) No adverse drug reaction or abnormal clinical
      laboratory values were seen along with ondansetron. 6) In conclusion, combined
      treatment with ondansetron injection and tablet was considered clinically useful
      in control of nausea and vomiting during administration of carboplatin, and may
      also be useful for out-patient chemotherapy.

PMID- 9987509
TI  - [Accuracy of clinical prediction of survival for terminally ill cancer patients].
AB  - Accurate estimation of survival is vital for effective palliative care. To verify
      the value of clinical prediction of survival (CPS), a prospective study was
      performed on 150 terminally ill cancer patients. The CPS was highly correlated
      with actual survival (AS), but the accuracy was not significantly superior to the
      prediction by performance status alone. Serious pessimistic error, defined as AS
      was at least 28 days and twice as long as CPS, was recognized in 13%, while
      serious optimistic error, defined as AS was less than 28 days and half as long as
      CPS, in 15%. The frequency of serious error was not significantly different by
      physicians' experiences, patients' age, sex, primary disease, and metastatic
      locations, but was significantly higher in cases with better performance status.
      Also, unexpected changes resulting in death were experienced in 42% of another
      186 cases. The main underlying causes were pneumonia, bleeding, heart failure,
      intestinal perforation, cerebrovascular disease, hepatic/renal failure,
      hypoglycemia, sepsis and electrolyte imbalance. Clinical prediction was not
      sufficiently reliable and must be further improved.

PMID- 9987510
TI  - [Outpatient chemotherapy with oral UFT (tegafur and uracil) and cisplatin against
      metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma--an effective case].
AB  - A 64-year-old man underwent a left pneumonectomy for squamous cell carcinoma of
      the left lung in July 1995. In May 1996, right pelvic bone metastasis occurred
      and was well controlled by the concurrent chemoradiotherapy; UFT (600 mg/body,
      day 1-14) and cisplatin (80 mg/m2, day 8) with a total 50.4 Gy of irradiation. In
      August 1996, left renal metastasis occurred, but regressed after two cycles of
      combination chemotherapy with UFT and cisplatin. In January 1997, multiple lung
      metastasis occurred. In accordance with the patient's request, combination
      chemotherapy was performed at the outpatient clinic. UFT (250 mg/m2) was given
      orally every day while cisplatin (60-80 mg/m2), fractionated in 3 or 5 days, was
      intravenously administered at an interval of 4 weeks or longer. The patient has
      continued the treatment for one year without serious (G3, 4) adverse events.
      During the treatment, the tumor growth was slow with a repeated cycle of
      progression and regression. The outpatient chemotherapy using UFT and cisplatin
      is considered to be useful, especially for the better quality of life of
      patients.

PMID- 9987511
TI  - [A case of multiple early gastric cancer showing complete response to UFT-E after
      endoscopic mucosal resection].
AB  - A 78-year-old male underwent endoscopic mucosal resection for early gastric
      cancer (type II a) in the anterior wall of antrum. Follow-up endoscopy showed
      another early gastric cancer (type II c) in the posterior wall of cardia. He
      refused an operation. UFT-E 300 mg/day has been administered daily since then.
      After 6 months, a complete tumor response was observed. The patient has been in
      good health without any sign of relapse for 14 months after achievement of the
      complete response.

PMID- 9987512
TI  - [Effect of combination chemotherapy with mitomycin C and cisplatin on advanced
      gastric carcinoma].
AB  - A 71-year-old male with advanced gastric carcinoma with paraaortic lymph node
      metastases underwent distal gastrectomy. Cisplatin (CDDP) 50 mg/body was
      administered intravenously (i.v.) on day 1 followed by the administration of 5
      fluorouracil 500 mg/body/day i.v. on day 2 through day 7. After two courses of
      this regimen, further enlargement of paraaortic lymph nodes was revealed by CT
      scan, and chemotherapy was suspended. Multiple liver and lung metastases were
      diagnosed 6 months after initial diagnosis, and mitomycin C (MMC) 10 mg/body i.v.
      was administered on day 1 followed by CDDP 50 mg/body i.v. on day 2. After three
      courses of this regimen, partial response of the liver metastases and complete
      response of the lung metastases were observed, and the general condition was
      markedly improved without any adverse effect except slight nausea. Though the
      patient died of brain metastases one year after initial diagnosis, the
      combination chemotherapy with MMC and CDDP was nevertheless thought to improve
      his quality of life.

PMID- 9987513
TI  - [A case of small cell carcinoma of the stomach with multiple liver and lung
      metastases successfully treated by combined chemotherapy with cisplatin and
      etoposide].
AB  - We experienced a case of small cell carcinoma of the stomach in which
      chemotherapy had been markedly effective. A 54-year-old man was admitted to our
      hospital complaining of hematemesis. Gastric endoscopy showed a type 2 tumor at
      the lesser curvature of the cardia of the remnant stomach. Total gastrectomy,
      splenectomy and D2 lymph node dissection were performed. Histopathologically, the
      tumor was diagnosed as a small cell carcinoma with findings of t 2 n 1 in stage
      II, and conclusive curability was A. A month after the operation, CT-scan
      revealed multiple liver and lung metastases, so the patient was treated by
      combined chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide called PVP for three courses
      every four weeks for small cell lung cancer, which resulted in remarkable
      reduction of metastases (96% in the liver and 81% in the lung). This result
      suggests that PVP chemotherapy is effective in the treatment of small cell
      carcinoma of the stomach as well as the lung.

PMID- 9987514
TI  - [A case of unresectable pancreatic cancer responding to MTX/5-FU sequential
      therapy].
AB  - A 66-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of abdominal pain
      and jaundice. Upper gastrointestinal series and computed tomography revealed
      pancreatic cancer. Pancreatectomy could not be performed because of portal
      invasion and multiple liver metastasis. Cholecystectomy, choledochojejunostomy
      and gastrojejunostomy were performed. The patient was treated with methotrexate
      (MTX) 100 mg/m2 i.v. followed one hour later with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 700
      mg/m2. Leucovorin rescue of 10 mg po was given 24 hours after MTX administration.
      Treatment was repeated every 14 days. As a result, the size of a primary tumor of
      the pancreas was reduced (42%) on computed tomography, and the CEA level
      decreased to 27.8 ng/ml from 84 ng/ml. No side effects were observed. The patient
      continued to receive chemotherapy at our outpatient clinic for 20 months. She
      died of exacerbation of carcinomatous peritonitis 23 months after initial
      admission. Therefore, we conclude that MTX/5-FU sequential therapy seems
      beneficial to manage advanced pancreatic carcinoma from the viewpoint of
      antineoplastic activity as well as quality of life.

PMID- 9987515
TI  - [Outline of tumor invasion and metastasis].
AB  - Analysis of cancer genes and studies of cell growth, apoptosis and
      immortalization have shed light on how normal cells transform into malignant
      cancer cells. In addition, our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms by which
      cancer cells invade and traverse tissues and form distant metastases has been
      improved greatly. Several new therapeutic methods have been developed based on
      these new findings, and they are expected to provide patients with better
      choices.

PMID- 9987516
TI  - [Interventional trial for cancer prevention].
AB  - In cancer prevention studies, the methodology of the observational study (case
      control study, cohort study) and interventional study were introduced. We
      established a protocol for an interventional randomized controlled trial for
      prevention of colorectal cancer. The subjects were 200 patients with multiple
      colorectal tumors (adenoma and/or early cancer). Two regimens were formulated for
      prevention of colorectal cancer. One was dietary guidance alone (Regimen I), and
      the other was dietary guidance plus the eating of wheat bran biscuits (Regimen
      II). The main end point of the trial is recurrence of colorectal tumors after 2
      and 4 years. During the 4 years, 115 patients were recruited for Regimen I and
      116 patients for Regimen II who agreed to participate in this trial.

PMID- 9987517
TI  - [Significance and problems of quality-of-life assessment in clinical trials].
AB  - The importance of quality of life (QOL), as an outcome variable of cancer
      treatments, has rapidly become recognized not only in western countries but also
      in Japan. However, many problems remain to be resolved for QOL assessment
      methods. In this paper, we give outlines for the position of QOL as an outcome
      variable, the standpoint and purpose for QOL assessment, the appropriate range of
      QOL domains to be assessed, and the appropriate QOL measures. Furthermore, we
      introduce key points for the success of QOL assessment in clinical trials, the
      appropriate way to deal with missing data and appropriate methods for analysis in
      longitudinal studies.

PMID- 9987518
TI  - [Development of QOL questionnaires in Japan].
AB  - As the QOL questionnaires used for the field of clinical oncology in Japan, there
      are Japanese versions of the Functional Living Index Cancer (FLIC), WHOQOL,
      Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale (FACT) and European Organization
      for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C 30 (QLQ -C30). We also have the QOL
      Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs (QOL-ACD), which
      was originally developed in Japan. In this review, their characteristics, and the
      topics in their validation process are presented. Finally, the issues of cross
      cultural validation, metric equivalence of scoring between countries, and data
      missing in clinical study are also discussed.

PMID- 9987519
TI  - [Review process of new oncology drug application in Japan--role of MD reviewer].
AB  - On the basis of discussion by the Committee for Drug Safety Ensuring Measures,
      the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) has amended the Pharmaceutical
      Affairs Law and related laws, and is reforming its review system for approving
      new drugs. One of the most important changes in the review system is the
      establishment of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Evaluation Center (PMDEC) in
      July, 1997 under the National Institute of Health Sciences, a research institute
      under MHW. PMDEC, the Evaluation and Licensing Division at MHW and the
      Organization for Drug ADR Relief, R&D Promotion and Product Review (the Drug
      Organization) are in charge of drug approval, and reexamination and reevaluation
      applications. Before the reform new drug application reviews had been conducted
      mainly by the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council (CPAC). After the reform
      PMDEC, employing technical officials who have expertise in pharmacology,
      toxicology, biostatistics, clinical medicine, or other scientific fields, jointly
      review the applications with CPAC. The Evaluation and Licensing Division takes
      charge of administrative matters, such as final decisions on approvals,
      developing guidelines concerning the review process, international affairs, and
      regulatory instructions. During the early part of review the Drug Organization
      conducts a compliance review on the documents, which a sponsor submits with the
      approval application, and GCP inspection.

PMID- 9987520
TI  - [Current issues and perspectives in Japan Clinical Oncology Group].
AB  - Clinical trials can be classified either as "sponsored trials (sponsored by
      industries)" or "non-sponsored trials (funded by government etc.)". The former is
      for the application of the commercialization/import of new drugs by the
      government, and the latter basically seeks to establish and improve the "State of
      the Art" of medical treatments/prevention in certain disease fields. We present
      an overview of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG), which is a cooperative
      group funded by government for conducting non-sponsored cancer clinical trials,
      and the fundamental procedures managed by our JCOG Data Center. The problems and
      difficulties concerning data management in our trials, our roles and limitations
      as a non-commercial data coordinating center, future perspectives and issues on
      local data management are also discussed.

PMID- 9987521
TI  - [Present situation and future subjects of N.SAS study--based on experience of
      managing data center].
AB  - The "National Surgical Adjuvant Study" (N-SAS) was established as a study group
      on carcinostatics on the market as part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's
      1995/1996 consignment project. Patient registration started in October 1996, and
      later it was restructured as a consignment study by Taiho Pharmaceutical Co.,
      Ltd. in April 1997. It still continues to date. EPS Co., Ltd. has operated the
      "N.SAS Data Center" to conduct three clinical trials of N.SAS study. In the
      following, we analyse the current situation and subjects of N.SAS study from the
      viewpoint of the data center, recognising the necessity of infrastructure at
      medical institutions while complying with enforcement of newly GCP and GPMSP.
      First, the organization and function of N.SAS, and the role and position of data
      center on N.SAS study, are explained. Some notes are introduced from conducting
      In-house Monitoring on N.SAS, especially methods and formation of communicating
      information between N.SAS Data Center and institutions. We also propose an
      infrastructure which will be essential for smooth promotion of long-term and
      large-scale trials like the N.SAS study.

PMID- 9987522
TI  - [Clinical studies conducted in the U.S].
AB  - There are many things that we can learn from the clinical trials conducted in the
      U.S. They move ahead based on explicit basic principles regarding various matters
      such as the method for setting up the clinical trial system, selection of CRO,
      selection of investigators, monitoring activities that are mainly based on their
      direct access to source documents and sponsor's action when a lack of compliance
      with GCP occurs. The matters newly introduced in the Japanese new GCP have
      already been put into practice in the U.S. It is evident that compliance with
      these standards is ensured in the U.S. by the activities of study coordinators
      who take greater part in the clinical studies themselves. In order to expedite
      introduction of the study coordinator system in Japan even just a little,
      sponsors should consider providing medical institutions with relevant information
      as well as a chance to educate and train their study coordinators to optimize the
      function.

PMID- 9987523
TI  - [Improving the infrastructure for clinical trials in Japan].
AB  - It is necessary for us to reform the infrastructure for clinical trials in Japan
      in this new GCP era. Medical institutions for clinical trials should prepare to
      implement monitoring and auditing procedures for quality control and quality
      assurance of clinical trials. It is also necessary to ease the burden and improve
      the benefits of participating in clinical trials by subjects. Although there has
      been no effort to educate and train CRC/SC staff at all in Japan, future
      improvement in this area is needed to bring the quality of Japan's clinical
      trials up to international standards.

PMID- 9987524
TI  - [Roles of nurses in clinical trials of anticancer drug development].
AB  - In Japan nurses were not much involved in clinical trials in connection with new
      drug development in the field of cancer nursing in the past for the following
      reasons: 1) systems for cooperations among different services in hospital were
      not well established. 2) There was a lack of information about the drugs from
      physicians, 3) It was difficult to obtain informed consent from patients. In the
      new GCP system of Japan started last April in accordance with ICH-GCP, persons
      who support patients and assist physician investigators are desperately needed to
      maintain QA and QC of the clinical trials. Research nurses are the most suitable
      persons to fulfill such positions. The roles of research nurses in these settings
      are patient care, coordinator, data collecting and educator in the new system.

PMID- 9987525
TI  - [Need to establish academic research organization for cancer clinical trial and
      clinical research system having clinical investigators and study coordinators,
      with special reference to promotion of medical and life science research policy].
AB  - There are two types of cancer clinical trials in Japan. One is the therapeutic
      trial sponsored by a pharmaceutical company for approval of clinical use of new
      anticancer agent, and another is the clinical trial sponsored by an investigator
      for establishment of standard state-of-the-art therapy. Advances in cancer
      chemotherapy can not be achieved without active use of both types of cancer
      clinical trial. However, the infrastructure, such as academic research
      organization for cancer clinical trials and clinical research systems having
      clinical investigators and study coordinators, has not been sufficiently
      established. New GCP and the Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Instruments Act are
      applied only to the therapeutic trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, but
      not to clinical trials sponsored by investigators. There is no National Research
      Act to cover both types of clinical trial. In this paper, the problems mentioned
      above are summarized, and a proposal to solve these problems is presented. The
      Medical and Life Science Research Policy of the Japanese Government should be
      improved to promote both basic and clinical research. The promotion of clinical
      research is essential for improvement in the quality of medical practice,
      appropriate changes in the medical security system, and activation of
      pharmaceutical science.

PMID- 9987527
TI  - The Mayo Clinic gamma knife experience: indications and initial results.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review the results and expectations of contemporary stereotactic
      radiosurgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of
      1,033 consecutive patients who underwent gamma knife radiosurgery at Mayo Clinic
      Rochester between January 1990 and January 1998. RESULTS: The number of patients
      undergoing radiosurgery increased from 57 in 1990 to 216 in 1997. Of 97 patients
      with arteriovenous malformations who underwent follow-up angiography 2 years or
      more after a single radiosurgical procedure, 72 (74%) had complete obliteration
      of the vascular malformation. Of 209 patients who underwent radiosurgery for
      benign tumors (schwannomas, meningiomas, or pituitary adenomas) and had
      radiologic studies after 2 years or more of follow-up, tumor growth control was
      noted in 200 (96%). Tumor growth was also controlled in 90% of brain metastatic
      lesions at a median of 7 months after radiosurgery. Of 20 patients with
      trigeminal neuralgia and follow-up for more than 2 months, 14 (70%) were free of
      pain after radiosurgery. CONCLUSION: Radiosurgery is a safe and effective
      management strategy for a wide variety of intracranial disorders. Use of
      radiosurgical treatment should continue to increase as more data become available
      on the long-term results of this procedure.

PMID- 9987528
TI  - Congenitally bicuspid aortic valves: a surgical pathology study of 542 cases
      (1991 through 1996) and a literature review of 2,715 additional cases.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe a clinicopathologic study of a large group of congenitally
      bicuspid aortic valves surgically excised at a single institution. MATERIAL AND
      METHODS: The medical charts and bicuspid valves from patients undergoing aortic
      valve replacement at Mayo Clinic Rochester between 1991 and 1996 were
      retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The age of the 542 patients ranged from 1 to
      86 years (mean, 61), and 372 (69%) were men. Among these, 409 (75%) had pure
      aortic stenosis (AS), 73 (13%) had pure aortic insufficiency (regurgitation)
      (AI), 53 (10%) had combined AS and AI, and 7 (1%) had normal function. The mean
      age was higher for those with AS than AI (65 versus 46 years; P < 0.001), whereas
      the male-to-female ratio was higher for AI than AS (17.3:1 versus 1.7:1; P <
      0.001). The two cusps were not equal in size in 95%, and a raphe was present in
      76% (67% typical, 9% atypical). Raphal position was described in 315 and was
      between the right and left cusps in 270 (86%). Raphal absence occurred more often
      in valves with equal-sized cusps than unequal (33% versus 14%; P = 0.005).
      Moderate to severe calcification affected valves with AS more frequently than AI
      (99% versus 41%; P < 0.001). In contrast, annular dilatation was associated with
      AI more than AS (48% versus 11%; P < 0.001). Acquired commissural fusion involved
      valves with combined AS and AI more often than the other functional states (31%
      versus 14%; P = 0.002). Sixteen patients (age range, 18 to 78 years; 13 men) had
      infective endocarditis (6 active, 10 healed), including 10 with AI (9 men), 3
      with AS plus AI, 2 with AS, and 1 with normal function but embolization.
      CONCLUSION: Functionally, the most common fate of congenitally bicuspid aortic
      valves was calcific stenosis with or without regurgitation (85%). Because
      approximately 4 million US citizens have bicuspid valves and because valve
      replacement is currently the only treatment of symptomatic AS, this disorder will
      continue to affect health-care costs.

PMID- 9987529
TI  - Radiation-induced pneumonitis in the "nonirradiated" lung.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe six cases of radiation-induced organizing pneumonitis
      occurring outside the direct radiation field and to review clinical, radiologic,
      and histologic aspects of this entity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present detailed
      case reports of six women, with a mean age of 62.8 years (range, 50 to 75), who
      had received radiation therapy (mean dose, 6,560 cGy) for breast cancer. RESULTS:
      From 6 to 17 months (mean, 8.8) after the completion of radiotherapy, recurrent
      and migrating lung infiltrates were detected outside the radiation field in the
      six study patients. Three patients had pronounced respiratory symptoms, whereas
      the rest were minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic. Thoracic computed tomography
      showed dense alveolar infiltrates. Bronchoalveolar lavage in two patients
      revealed lymphocytosis (25% and 19%), and lung biopsy in five patients
      demonstrated a histologic pattern consistent with bronchiolitis obliterans
      organizing pneumonia. Even though the symptomatic patients showed prompt
      resolution of their symptoms and roentgenographic abnormalities after systemic
      corticosteroid therapy, the lung infiltrates recurred after corticosteroid
      therapy was discontinued. CONCLUSION: These six cases, including their prompt
      response to corticosteroid therapy, provide additional evidence that irradiation
      damages lung tissue outside of the direct treatment field and suggest that an
      immunologically mediated lymphocytic alveolitis may be responsible for the
      recurrent migratory organizing pneumonitis.

PMID- 9987530
TI  - Long-term results of laparoscopic splenectomy for immune thrombocytopenic
      purpura.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the results of laparoscopic splenectomy as a treatment for
      immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a
      retrospective study of all patients who underwent laparoscopic splenectomy for
      ITP at our institution between August 1992 and May 1997. RESULTS: Of 27 patients
      who underwent attempted laparoscopic splenectomy for ITP at our institution
      during the study period, 26 had completion of the procedure without conversion to
      an open splenectomy. The median postoperative hospital stay was 1.5 days, and no
      postoperative deaths occurred. In one patient, pancreatitis developed
      postoperatively. In four patients, splenectomy failed--two initially and two
      subsequently--and reinstitution of medical therapy was necessary. The other
      patients have remained free of medication, and 19 patients have platelet counts
      greater than 100 x 10(9)/L. The 3-year actuarial success rate was 81.5%. Response
      to corticosteroid therapy preoperatively may be an indicator of success of
      splenectomy. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic splenectomy is safe and allows prompt
      recovery. Long-term response rates are similar to those achieved with open
      splenectomy.

PMID- 9987531
TI  - Use of patient-centered function and symptom rating systems in spinal disorders.
AB  - The criteria for assessing patients with disorders of the lumbar spine have
      historically been subjective and variable. This situation has led to uncertainty
      about diagnostic criteria, operative indications, and surgical outcome. In an
      effort to improve the evaluation process, various patient-centered function and
      symptom rating systems, including questionnaires and functional tests, have
      recently been developed. This report reviews several of these rating systems and
      their role in the assessment of patients with back-related symptoms.

PMID- 9987532
TI  - Rapidly growing mycobacterial lung infection in association with esophageal
      disorders.
AB  - Esophageal or other swallowing disorders complicated by lipoid pneumonia are
      reported to be associated with pulmonary infections caused by rapidly growing
      mycobacteria. Herein we describe a 63-year-old woman with achalasia of the
      esophagus complicated by lung infection with Mycobacterium chelonae and a 47-year
      old man in whom long-term ingestion of mineral oil was complicated by lipoid
      pneumonia and M. fortuitum lung infection. A MEDLINE search of English language
      publications from 1966 to 1997 revealed 18 cases of lung infections caused by
      rapidly growing mycobacteria in patients with esophageal disorders. Of these 18
      patients and our 2 patients, 11 were men and 9 were women (mean age, 50 years).
      Achalasia was present in 11 patients, and 6 had lipoid pneumonia without evidence
      of esophageal disorders. Three patients had lipoid pneumonia caused by lipoid
      ingestion in the setting of achalasia or another swallowing disorder. In 14
      patients, lung infection was caused by M. fortuitum; in 5, M. chelonae; and in 1,
      a non-M. fortuitum rapidly growing mycobacterial infection. The most common
      clinical feature was fever, and the most common roentgenologic abnormality was
      the presence of unilateral or bilateral and patchy or dense infiltrates. The
      sputum was the most common source of isolation of rapidly growing mycobacteria.
      Achalasia and lipoid pneumonia are important risk factors for the development of
      lung infections caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria. Treatment of the
      esophageal disease might prevent occurrence of and facilitate recovery from these
      infections.

PMID- 9987533
TI  - Recrudescence of treated neurosyphilis in a patient with human immunodeficiency
      virus.
AB  - The natural history of syphilis has been altered by the human immunodeficiency
      virus (HIV) epidemic. Treatment of patients coinfected with syphilis and HIV is
      currently controversial; progression and relapse of neurosyphilis have been
      reported. This case report documents failure of primary treatment and
      neurosyphilitic recrudescence. In a 32-year-old HIV-positive woman with syphilis
      who had no additional sexual contacts, the disease progressed to neurosyphilis
      despite three intramuscular doses of penicillin. After extended intravenous
      penicillin treatment, neurosyphilis later recurred and re-treatment was
      necessary. Because many urban centers are affected by high rates of sexually
      transmitted diseases, including common coinfections of syphilis and HIV, further
      efforts should be made to identify subsets of patients who may be at high risk of
      syphilitic recrudescence.

PMID- 9987534
TI  - Gradually progressive dementia without discrete cerebrovascular events in a
      patient with Sneddon's syndrome.
AB  - A 37-year-old man sought medical advice because of an 8-year history of a slowly
      progressive dementing illness with no clinically apparent discrete strokelike
      episodes. Cognitive functioning was markedly, globally impaired without
      lateralizing or localizing features. Widespread livedo reticularis led to a
      diagnosis of Sneddon's syndrome. Antiphospholipid antibodies and lupus
      anticoagulant were negative. Magnetic resonance imaging showed widespread
      cerebral atrophy, cortical and subcortical cerebral infarcts, and extensive
      periventricular white matter abnormalities. Cerebral angiography revealed diffuse
      medium- and small-vessel occlusive disease, with numerous collaterals in the mid
      and distal circulation but no evidence of atherosclerosis or vasculitis. No other
      cause of a dementing illness was found. We postulate that our patient's dementia
      was due to the cumulative effects of multiple cerebral infarcts.

PMID- 9987535
TI  - Primary pulmonary melanoma: case report and literature review.
AB  - Primary pulmonary melanoma is a very rare disease, with only 19 cases previously
      reported in the English language literature. These cases suggest that melanoma
      can arise in the lung as a primary tumor, probably from residual melanoblasts.
      Primary pulmonary melanoma is frequently endobronchial and often manifests with
      symptoms of cough, hemoptysis, and lobar collapse. Aggressive surgical resection,
      irrespective of lymph node involvement, offers possible long-term survival in
      some patients. The diagnosis of primary pulmonary melanoma necessitates that both
      clinical and histologic criteria be fulfilled. Herein diagnostic criteria are
      proposed, and the diagnostic approach is discussed.

PMID- 9987536
TI  - Otto Meyerhof--Nobel Prize for studies of muscle metabolism.

PMID- 9987537
TI  - Life-threatening rashes: dermatologic signs of four infectious diseases.
AB  - Four infectious diseases that are associated with high rates of morbidity and
      mortality are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, meningococcal disease, staphylococcal
      toxic shock syndrome, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. These diseases
      necessitate a timely diagnosis and treatment, which may be facilitated by
      recognition of the characteristic cutaneous findings. Herein the clinical
      manifestations, diagnosis, and management are presented, with emphasis on the
      dermatologic signs of each disease. A dermatology consultation can be valuable,
      but all physicians should be familiar with the cutaneous findings of these
      potentially life-threatening diseases.

PMID- 9987538
TI  - 73-year-old woman with weakness and falls.

PMID- 9987539
TI  - Antifungal agents. Part II. The azoles.
AB  - Before 1978, amphotericin B and flucytosine were the only drugs available for the
      treatment of systemic fungal infections. The imidazoles, miconazole and
      ketoconazole, were introduced during the next 3 years. Intravenously administered
      miconazole served a limited therapeutic role and is no longer available. Orally
      administered ketoconazole, an inexpensive, effective, and convenient option for
      treating mucosal candidiasis, was widely used for a decade because it was the
      only available oral therapy for systemic fungal infections. During the 1990s, use
      of ketoconazole diminished because of the release of the triazoles--fluconazole
      and itraconazole. Fluconazole is less toxic and has several pharmacologic
      advantages over ketoconazole, including penetration into the cerebrospinal fluid.
      In addition, it has superior efficacy against systemic candidiasis,
      cryptococcosis, and coccidioidomycosis. Despite a myriad of drug interactions and
      less favorable pharmacologic and toxicity profiles in comparison with
      fluconazole, itraconazole has become a valuable addition to the antifungal
      armamentarium. It has excellent activity against sporotrichosis and seems
      promising in the treatment of aspergillosis. Itraconazole has replaced
      ketoconazole as the therapy of choice for nonmeningeal, non-life-threatening
      cases of histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, and paracoccidioidomycosis and is
      effective in patients with cryptococcosis and coccidioidomycosis, including those
      with meningitis. Further investigation into the development of new antifungal
      agents is ongoing.

PMID- 9987540
TI  - Radiosurgery as a future part of neurosurgery.

PMID- 9987541
TI  - Nomenclature of "paroxysmal sympathetic storms".

PMID- 9987542
TI  - Patient-physician agreement on reasons for outpatient visits.

PMID- 9987543
TI  - Thoughts on waiting for the millennium.

PMID- 9987545
TI  - Use of backrest elevation in critical care: a pilot study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Use of lower backrest positions occurs frequently and is a factor in
      the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia. OBJECTIVES: To determine the
      usual bed elevation and backrest position in a medical intensive care unit and
      their relationship to hemodynamic status and enteral feeding. METHODS: Data were
      collected in a 12-bed medical respiratory intensive care unit for 2 months. A
      protractor was used to measure the elevation of the head of the bed. Hemodynamic
      status was defined by systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure
      measurements retrieved from each patient's flow sheet. RESULTS: The sample
      included 347 measurements of 52 patients. Mean backrest elevation was 22.9
      degrees, and 86% of patients were supine. Backrest position differed
      significantly (P = .005) among nursing shifts (days, evenings, nights) but not
      for systolic (r = -0.04, P = .49), diastolic (r = 0.01, P = .83), or mean
      arterial blood pressure (r = -0.01, P = .84). Backrest elevation did not differ
      significantly between patients who were receiving enteral feedings and patients
      who were not (P = .23) or between patients receiving intermittent versus
      continuous nutrition (P = .22). CONCLUSIONS: Use of higher levels of backrest
      elevation (> or = 30 degrees) is minimal and is not related to use of enteral
      feeding or to hemodynamic status. The rationale for using lower backrest
      positions for critically ill patients may be based on convenience, the patient's
      comfort, or usual patterns in the unit. However, the dangers of supine
      positioning and its relationship to aspiration and ventilator-associated
      pneumonia should not be minimized.

PMID- 9987544
TI  - Agreement and clinical utility of 2 techniques for measuring cardiac output in
      patients with low cardiac output.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The reliability of cardiac output obtained with the bolus technique
      is a problem. OBJECTIVES: To compare measurements of cardiac output measured with
      bolus and continuous techniques in patients with low cardiac output and to
      determine if measurements obtained with the continuous technique increased the
      number of subsequent clinical decisions. METHODS: In 60 intensive care patients,
      a nurse recorded a single continuous cardiac output measurement and then obtained
      the mean of 3 consecutive bolus determinations. The medical records of these 60
      patients (experimental group) for the next 48 hours and of 60 other patients with
      regular or mixed venous oximetry catheters (control group) were reviewed to
      assess the occurrence of cardiac output events and the frequency of clinical
      decisions based on the events. RESULTS: Mean cardiac output was 4.46 L/min by the
      continuous technique and 5.20 L/min by the bolus technique (P = .011) for the
      experimental group. Median bias between the 2 types of measurements was -0.10
      L/min (P = .79). Twenty-three of the pairs (38%) had an absolute percent
      difference greater than 15%. Of these, 18 (78%) had a higher bolus reading.
      Treatment decisions per 48 hours were 9.9 for the experimental group and 8.6 for
      the control group (P = .014). Median length of stay was 2 days less in the
      experimental group (P = .02), and mean highest cardiac output was 0.81 L/min
      higher (P = .009). CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of cardiac output determined with
      the continuous technique may be more precise than measurements determined with
      the bolus technique. Continuous cardiac output information increases the number
      of treatment decisions and actions that may shorten hospital length of stay.

PMID- 9987546
TI  - Evidence-based practice: fever-related interventions.
AB  - Fever is a common phenomenon in critically ill patients. Ideally, all decisions
      about treatment of fever would be based on results of well-developed research
      studies. Instead, some research questions related to treatment of fever have been
      studied more extensively than others. This article is an evaluation of the
      usefulness of the research studies related to treatment of fever in the
      critically ill. Two questions are addressed: when is treatment of fever most
      beneficial to a critically ill patient, and how is fever most effectively treated
      in the critically ill? Evidence related to the treatment of fever is evaluated by
      using the recommendation levels of the research-based practice protocols of the
      American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

PMID- 9987547
TI  - Therapeutic paralysis of critically ill trauma patients: perceptions of patients
      and their family members.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Neuromuscular blocking agents are used in critically ill patients to
      induce therapeutic paralysis. These drugs leave patients fully immobile but
      conscious. Analgesics and sedatives are concomitantly administered with the
      paralytic agents. Little is known about what patients remember when they receive
      these combinations of drugs. Even less is known about the experiences and needs
      of the patients' family members during the patients' paralysis. OBJECTIVES: To
      obtain recollections of therapeutic paralysis in critically ill adult trauma
      patients and to determine the psychological, emotional, and educational needs of
      the patients' family members during the time the patients were paralyzed.
      METHODS: A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to investigate the
      "lived" experience of therapeutic paralysis of 11 pairs of subjects. Each pair
      consisted of one critically ill adult trauma patient and one member of the
      patient's family. RESULTS: The patients recalled their experience of therapeutic
      paralysis with vagueness, as if they had been dreaming. Few recalled pain or
      painful procedures. Patients remembered having nurses and family members provide
      emotional support and encouragement. Family members understood the rationale for
      use of the drugs. They remembered being encouraged to touch and talk with
      patients. The subjects suggested providing additional education about events that
      occur when paralysis is being reversed. CONCLUSIONS: Two confounding variables
      may have affected these findings: a liberalized visiting policy and use of
      effective pain and sedation protocols. Healthcare professionals and patients'
      family members should monitor bedside conversations and use touch and words of
      encouragement to support patients during therapeutic paralysis.

PMID- 9987548
TI  - Propylene glycol toxicity related to high-dose lorazepam infusion: case report
      and discussion.

PMID- 9987549
TI  - A post hoc descriptive study of patients receiving propofol.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Use of propofol has recently gained popularity in intensive care
      settings for patients receiving mechanical ventilation. This newer intravenous
      sedative is often preferred over other sedatives because of a rapid onset of
      action, easy titration that allows neurological assessment during administration,
      and quick arousability of patients after the drug is discontinued. OBJECTIVES: To
      determine the time to awakening after discontinuance of propofol in a sample of
      100 patients receiving mechanical ventilation who had received propofol for at
      least 12 hours. In addition, demographics, primary and secondary diagnoses,
      clinical signs and symptoms, propofol dosage and duration, and concomitant use of
      analgesics and sedatives were determined. METHODS: A descriptive post hoc design
      was used. Patients' medical records for an 18-month period in an urban hospital
      in the southwestern United States were reviewed. Sections used for data
      collection included each patient's admission sheet, the findings of the history
      and physical examination done by a physician, physicians' progress notes, nursing
      notes, critical care flow sheets, and records of medications administered.
      RESULTS: Although nursing documentation indicated 2 common side effects,
      decreases in heart rate (18%) and decreases in systolic blood pressure (17%),
      within the first hour of treatment with propofol, immediate arousability after
      the drug was discontinued was not observed. Mean Glasgow Coma Scale scores took
      longer than 30 minutes to return to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The awakening time of
      patients receiving propofol for a protracted period, usually in conjunction with
      other potentiating drugs, may be longer than is commonly cited in the literature.

PMID- 9987550
TI  - Advance directives: the emerging body of research.
AB  - BACKGROUND: With the passage of the Patient Self-Determination Act in 1990, new
      procedures and documents became available for planning end-of-life care. These
      new procedures and documents are now being examined scientifically. OBJECTIVE: To
      review existing research on the use of advance directives. DATA SOURCES: Computer
      search using Grateful Med software from the National Library of Medicine with
      MEDLINE and BIOETHICSLINE databases. STUDY SELECTION: Studies that showed an
      emerging consensus or reported vastly differing results were selected. Selected
      studies examined these specific areas: demographic data on patients with advance
      directives, completion rates, capacity to complete, patients' preferences,
      stability of patients' decisions over time, treatment choices, proxy decision
      makers, treatment provided, and cost. RESULTS: The body of important research
      about advance directives is growing. A profile of their clinical utility is
      emerging. CONCLUSIONS: The research done so far can stimulate future research and
      can begin to suggest possible changes in practice. However, the body of research
      is not yet large enough or well controlled enough to answer conclusively many of
      the questions about planning of end-of-life care.

PMID- 9987551
TI  - Low-molecular-weight heparin: an antithrombotic agent whose time has come.
AB  - LMWH (enoxaparin) should be used in combination with aspirin in the early phase
      of non-Q wave MI and in patients with unstable angina. The benefit of LMWH in
      acute coronary syndromes has been validated in several clinical trials. In
      addition, the use of LMWH is cost-effective when compared with use of UFH. The
      incidence of minor bleeding may be greater with LMWH than with UFH, most
      frequently due to ecchymosis at the injection site. However, the frequency of
      major bleeding did not differ between the two heparins. LMWH has been used
      successfully for the past 4 years by orthopedic surgeons in the prevention of
      pulmonary emboli. LMWH should replace UFH in the management of acute coronary
      syndromes.

PMID- 9987552
TI  - Health care professionals caring for critically ill patients.

PMID- 9987553
TI  - Improvement of end-of-life care.

PMID- 9987554
TI  - Case-control study of mesothelioma in South Africa.
AB  - BACKGROUND: South Africa has, uniquely, mined, transported, and used crocidolite,
      amosite, and chrysotile. A multicenter case-control study was done in South
      Africa to examine the details of asbestos exposure in cases and controls, and to
      calculate relative risks for level of certainty of asbestos exposure, nature of
      exposure (e.g., environmental, occupational) and fiber type. METHODS: Cases and
      controls (one cancer and one medical per case) were collected by six study
      centers from referral hospitals, and exposure information was collected by
      interviewing cases and controls in life. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-three
      cases were accepted into the study. None had purely chrysotile exposure. Twenty
      three cases had mined Cape crocidolite; three had mined amosite; and three
      Transvaal crocidolite plus amosite. A minimum of 22 of the cases had exclusively
      environmental exposure, 20 were from the NW Cape crocidolite mining area. The
      relative risks associated with environmental exposure in the NW Cape
      (crocidolite) were larger than for environmental exposure in the NE Transvaal
      (amosite and crocidolite): 21.9 vs. 7.1 and 50.9 vs. 12.0 for the cancer control
      and medical control datasets, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm the
      importance of environmental exposure in the Cape crocidolite mining area, the
      relative paucity of cases linked to amosite, the rarity of chrysotile cases and
      are consistent with a fiber gradient in mesotheliomagenic potential for South
      African asbestos with crocidolite > amosite > chrysotile.

PMID- 9987555
TI  - An evaluation of proposed frameworks for grouping polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
      congener data into meaningful analytic units.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been associated with a variety
      of health outcomes. Enhanced laboratory techniques can provide a relatively large
      number of individual PCB congeners for investigation. However, to date there are
      no established frameworks for grouping a large number of PCB congeners into
      meaningful analytic units. METHODS: In a case-control study of serum PCB levels
      on breast cancer risk, measured levels of 56 PCB congener peaks were available
      for analysis. We considered several approaches for grouping these compounds based
      on 1) chlorination, 2) factor analysis, 3) enzyme induction, 4) enzyme induction
      and occurrence, and 5) enzyme induction, occurrence, and other toxicological
      aspects. The utility of a framework was based on the mechanism of biologic
      actions within each framework, lack of collinearity among congener groups, and
      frequency of detection of PCB congener groups in measured serum levels of 192
      healthy postmenopausal women. RESULTS: Most participants had detectable levels
      for the proposed PCB congeners groups, using degree of chlorination as a grouping
      framework. In addition, the previously proposed grouping approach based on enzyme
      induction, occurrence, and other toxicological aspects was an applicable
      alternative to the crude approach of grouping by degree of chlorination. Grouping
      these congeners with respect to P450 enzyme induction activity, and the
      previously proposed framework based on enzyme induction and occurrence, did not
      fit these data as well, because only a small proportion of participants had
      detectable levels for the congener groups with the greatest toxicological
      potential. Statistical grouping did not result in an interpretable and meaningful
      clustering of these exposures. CONCLUSIONS: In these data, grouping with respect
      to degree of chlorination and the previously proposed framework based on enzyme
      induction, occurrence, and other toxicological aspects were the most useful
      approaches to reducing a large number of PCB congeners into meaningful analytic
      units. Factors affecting the utility of the proposed grouping frameworks are
      discussed.

PMID- 9987556
TI  - Clinical management of carpal tunnel syndrome: a 12-year review of outcomes.
AB  - Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a disorder frequently encountered by occupational
      health care specialists. The health care management of this disorder has involved
      a diverse set of clinical procedures. The present article is a review of the
      literature related to CTS with an emphasis on occupational-related CTS. MEDLINE,
      Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycLIT, and NIOSHTIC
      databases from 1985-1997 were searched for treatment outcome studies related to
      CTS. Treatments of interest included surgery, physical therapy, drug therapy,
      chiropractic treatment, biobehavioral interventions, and occupational
      rehabilitation. A systematic review of the effects of these interventions on
      symptoms, medical status, function, return to work, psychological well-being, and
      patient satisfaction was completed. Compared to other treatments, the majority of
      studies assessed the effects of surgical interventions. Endoscopic release was
      associated with higher levels of physical functioning and fewer days to return to
      work when compared to open release. Limited evidence indicated: 1) steroid
      injections and oral use of B6 were associated with pain reduction; 2) in
      comparison to splinting, range of motion exercises appeared to be associated with
      less pain and fewer days to return to work; 3) cognitive behavior therapy yielded
      reductions in pain, anxiety, and depression; and, 4) multidisciplinary
      occupational rehabilitation was associated with a higher percentage of chronic
      cases returning to work than usual care. Workers' compensation status was
      associated with increased time to return to work following surgery. Conclusions
      are preliminary due to the small number of well-controlled studies, variability
      in duration of symptoms and disability, and the broad range of reported outcome
      measures. While there are several opinions regarding effective treatment, there
      is very little scientific support for the range of options currently used in
      practice. Despite the emerging evidence of the multivariate nature of CTS, the
      majority of outcome studies have focused on single interventions directed at
      individual etiological factors or symptoms and functional limitations secondary
      to CTS.

PMID- 9987557
TI  - Latency analysis in epidemiologic studies of occupational exposures: application
      to the Colorado Plateau uranium miners cohort.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Latency effects are an important factor in assessing the public
      health implications of an occupational or environmental exposure. Usually,
      however, latency results as described in the literature are insufficient to
      answer public health related questions. Alternative approaches to the analysis of
      latency effects are warranted. METHODS: A general statistical framework for
      modeling latency effects is described. We then propose bilinear and exponential
      decay latency models for analyzing latency effects as they have parameters that
      address questions of public health interest. Methods are described for fitting
      these models to cohort or case-control data; statistical inference is based on
      standard likelihood methods. APPLICATION: A latency analysis of radon exposure
      and lung cancer in the Colorado Plateau uranium miners cohort was performed. We
      first analyzed the entire cohort and found that the relative risk associated with
      exposure increases for about 8.5 years and thereafter decreases until it reaches
      background levels after about 34 years. The hypothesis that the relative risk
      remains at its peak level is strongly rejected (P < 0.001). Next, we investigated
      the variation in the latency effects over subsets of the cohort based on attained
      age, level and rate of exposure, and smoking. Age was the only factor for which
      effect modification was demonstrated (P = 0.014). We found that the decline in
      effect is much steeper at older ages (60+ years) than younger. CONCLUSION: The
      proposed methods can provide much more information about the exposure-disease
      latency effects than those generally used.

PMID- 9987558
TI  - Improvement in semen quality associated with decreasing occupational lead
      exposure.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional studies have suggested that occupational lead
      exposure may adversely affect sperm quality. METHODS: Sperm quality changes were
      prospectively assessed in 19 men employed at a car battery plant where efforts
      were made to decrease the exposure level. The participants delivered monthly
      samples of semen and venous blood during their employment at the factory. The
      factory then closed, and additional samples were obtained from 16 of the men.
      RESULTS: Average blood-lead concentrations decreased from 2.03 mumol/l to 0.96
      mumol/l during the observation period. Concomitantly, significant improvements
      were seen in the proportion of motile cells both at sample delivery and after 24
      hr, and in penetration. However, the sperm cell concentration and the proportion
      of morphological abnormalities did not change. CONCLUSIONS: These results support
      the notion that occupational lead exposure at currently acceptable levels has a
      small adverse effect on sperm quality, especially sperm motility, and that this
      effect is at least partially reversible.

PMID- 9987559
TI  - Elevated mortality from nonalcohol-related chronic liver disease among female
      rubber workers: is it associated with exposure to nitrosamines?
AB  - BACKGROUND: Despite several case reports describing liver toxicity of
      nitrosamines and the fact that some N-nitroso compounds are used to induce
      cirrhosis of the liver in animal models, this association has not been
      investigated in epidemiological studies. METHODS: A cohort of 2,875 female rubber
      workers who were active on January 1, 1976, or hired thereafter, and who had been
      employed for at least 1 year in one of five plants producing tires or technical
      rubber goods was followed for mortality from January, 1976, through December,
      1991. Work histories were reconstructed using routinely documented "cost center
      codes" and classified into six work areas. Age and calendar year standardized
      mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated and
      stratified by plant, work area, year of hire, and years of employment in the
      respective work area. RESULTS: The excess mortality from cirrhosis of the liver
      was most pronounced for nonalcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver (ICD-9 571.4
      571.9: 10 deaths, SMR 202; 95% CI 97-372). Mortality from alcohol-related
      cirrhosis of the liver (ICD-9 571.0-571.3: 3 deaths, SMR 153; 95% CI 31-446) and
      from other alcohol-related diseases (organic psychoses, injury, and poisoning)
      was not statistically significantly elevated. All 10 cases of nonalcohol-related
      cirrhosis had worked in production of technical rubber goods (SMR 279; 95% CI 134
      514) and risks increased with earlier years of hire and with longer duration of
      employment in this work area. DISCUSSION: Although our results must be
      interpreted with caution, they suggest that the observed excess deaths from
      cirrhosis of the liver are associated with occupational risk factors. In light of
      additional evidence from case reports and animal data, exposure to nitrosamines
      may be a plausible risk factor for the observed excess mortality.

PMID- 9987560
TI  - Nested case-control study of esophageal cancer in relation to occupational
      exposure to silica and other dusts.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Standardized proportionate mortality ratio (SPMR) was found to be 2.2
      (95% CI = 1.3-3.5) for esophageal cancer (EC) among workers exposed to refractory
      brick dust in a large iron-steel complex in China. METHODS: A nested case-control
      design within a cohort of industrial workers. One hundred and twenty-five EC
      cases and 250 controls were identified from the death registry file. Interviews
      were conducted of the next of kin for past exposure information on job, domestic,
      and lifestyle factors. History of occupational exposure to various dusts was
      reconstructed from personnel files and by interviewing colleagues utilizing a job
      exposure matrix. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, occupational exposure
      to silica dust was the most important risk factor among all variables
      investigated, with a 2.8-fold risk and a clear dose-response by length of
      exposure. Alcohol drinking (OR = 1.8) and coal cooking (OR = 2.0) were risk
      factors and high consumption of fruit diet (OR = 0.5) and meat diet (OR = 0.6)
      were protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between occupational
      exposure to silica dust and the risk of EC found in an earlier SPMR study was
      confirmed. Ingestion of silica particles after lung clearance may increase the
      risk of EC among workers exposed to silica.

PMID- 9987561
TI  - Tissue burden of asbestos in nonoccupationally exposed individuals from east
      Texas.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The potential for asbestos exposure among members of the general
      population is appreciable, considering its widespread use in many products. This
      study examined tissue burden of asbestos in such a population. METHODS: A group
      of 33 individuals who had no work history of occupational exposure to asbestos
      were included in the study. Tissue sections from areas adjacent to those sites
      sampled for digestion were found to be without ferruginous bodies (FB) or
      histopathology consistent with asbestos-induced changes. All individuals had 20
      or less FBs per gram of digested wet lung, a number considered to reflect general
      population levels. Tissue analysis of uncoated fiber burden was carried out by
      analytical electron microscopy. There was a trend of a higher likelihood of FB
      and asbestos fiber content correlated with age. RESULTS: The data are not
      consistent with the findings that chrysotile is readily found in lung tissue from
      the general population, in that none was found in 19 of the cases. It was almost
      as likely that one would find anthophyllite (12 of 33 cases) in this study. The
      commercial amphiboles (amosite and crocidolite) were occasionally found in the
      tissue from the general population and, when observed, were few in numbers.
      Twenty-six of the patients had no FBs and ten had no uncoated asbestos fibers
      within the limits of detectability in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The total tissue
      burden of asbestos in this study is much less than earlier reported observations
      from other general populations.

PMID- 9987562
TI  - Mortality study in an Italian oil refinery: extension of the follow-up.
AB  - This article present the results of the extension of the follow-up of a cohort of
      workers employed in an Italian oil refinery. 1,583 workers employed in 1949-1982
      in a northern Italy oil refinery plant were followed-up for mortality as of May
      31, 1991. Environmental measurements documented potential exposure to benzene.
      Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI)
      were calculated using as references national (1949-1968) and regional mortality
      rates (1969-1991). Elevated mortality from lymphoma (seven deaths, SMR 190, 95%
      CI 76-391) and leukemia (eight deaths, SMR 225, 95% CI 97-443) was observed. No
      consistent trends by length of employment or time since first exposure were
      apparent. Nonetheless, the excess risk was particularly and significantly
      increased among workers with 15 or more years of employment, and 30 or more years
      since first employment. The findings of elevated mortality from leukemia and
      lymphoma are in agreement with those of other oil refinery studies. Chance,
      confounding, or other biases might have played a marginal, if any, role in
      determining the results. Exposure to benzene is a biologically plausible
      explanation.

PMID- 9987563
TI  - Injuries in home health care workers: an analysis of occupational morbidity from
      a state compensation database.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Home health services represent one of the fastest-growing segments of
      the US economy. Home health care workers (HHCWs) might be expected to have a high
      incidence and increased severity of injury because of inherent difficulty in
      control over their work environment, and the limited amount of research on
      injuries in home health care appears to support this hypothesis. METHODS: Using
      data on workers' compensation claims for 1995-1996 from a large state database,
      we calculated the incidence, frequency, and types of injuries occurring in this
      working population. Comparison data were drawn from nursing home (NH) and
      hospital-based nursing personnel. RESULTS: An incidence of 52 injuries per 1,000
      workers per year was calculated; this rate lies between nursing home workers
      (132/1,000) and hospital-based workers (46/1,000). The percentage of indemnified
      (> 3 days lost-time) injuries was increased over those occurring in nursing home
      personnel. Mean number of days lost from work by home health workers was 44,
      significantly increased from the average 18 and 14 days lost by NH and hospital
      nursing workers, respectively. Mean indemnity payment was $1,523 and mean medical
      costs were $1,276 per injury. Permanent partial disability awards were made to 19
      (4.9%) of the injured HHCWs during the 2-year study period; back injuries
      accounted for 63% (12) of these awards. Overexertion injuries and falls accounted
      for 63% of total injuries in this group of workers, while 13.5% occurred as a
      result of motor vehicle accidents. The incidence of injury attributed to motor
      vehicles in HHCWs was 7 per 1,000 workers per year, an order of magnitude greater
      than in NH and hospital workers. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that injuries
      to HHCWs, though less frequent than in their nursing home counterparts, result in
      greater lost time from work and accompanying costs, which may indicate greater
      severity of injury. Characteristics of home health work, including increased
      intensity and speed of work, adverse working conditions, and the necessity of
      motor vehicle transportation as a condition of work may be contributors to injury
      in this setting. Further investigation of determinants of accidents and injuries
      in home health care, both in the actual setting where the work takes place and in
      the way it is structured, is warranted.

PMID- 9987564
TI  - Fatal occupational injuries among electric power company workers.
AB  - Surveillance data suggest high rates of electrocutions and fatal falls among
      workers in electric utility companies, who may be exposed to electric current,
      heights, flammable agents, and frequent motor vehicle travel. To characterize the
      occurrence of fatal injuries among electric utility workers, we studied workers
      in five electric power companies in the United States. A cohort of 127,129 men
      hired between 1950 and 1986 was followed through 1988. Injuries at work were
      identified through manual review of death certificates. The occurrence of
      occupational injuries was analyzed with directly adjusted rates and Poisson
      regression. The overall rate of fatal occupational injuries was 13.20 per 100,000
      person-years (n = 192), with 76% due to electric current, homicide, and falls
      from heights. Deaths were concentrated in a few groups with elevated injury
      rates, notably linemen (rate ratio (RR) 3.33), electricians (RR 2.79), and
      painters (RR 3.27). Occupations requiring daily work on elevations or frequent,
      direct contact with energized electrical equipment experienced markedly higher
      rates of fatal injury from falls and electrocutions with rate ratios of 21.8 (95%
      confidence interval (CI) 11.4-41.5) and 16.7 (95% CI 6.6-42.6), respectively,
      independent of worker age and seniority. Although fatal injury rates in this
      industry have declined in recent decades, significant numbers of deaths still
      occur. Based on the premise that all injuries are preventable, a need for
      continued vigilance and efforts at prevention is indicated.

PMID- 9987565
TI  - Back pain and agricultural work among farmers: an analysis of the Colorado Farm
      Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Survey.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Back pain is the most prevalent occupational health problem
      experienced by much of the world's workforce. However, agricultural work-related
      back pain occurring among US farmers working on small operations or family farms
      is usually not included in surveillance. With data collected by Colorado Farm
      Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Survey, this study reports characteristics
      of and risk factors for back pain among adult farmers living in eight Colorado
      counties. METHODS: A stratified probability sample of 500 farms was selected in
      proportion to the number of farms in study areas. During the 4-year period from
      1993 through 1996, 458 farms were enrolled in the study and 759 farmers were
      interviewed using a questionnaire. Information on self-reported back pain and
      potential risk factors among 742 white farmers was evaluated and reported here.
      RESULTS: A total of 194 farmers (26.2%) reported to have had at least one episode
      of back pain lasting for 1 week or more. Males had a slightly higher prevalence
      of back pain than females (28.6% vs. 22.5%) and the lower back was the
      predominantly affected part of body among both males and females. In 45.4% of
      males and 43.9% of females back pain was brought on by repeated activities.
      Males' activities at work were more likely to cause back pain while females'
      activities at home were more likely to cause back pain. Three factors were found
      to be significantly associated with back pain: being depressed (odds ratio (OR) =
      3.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.23-6.09), farming/ranching as main
      activities (OR = 1.66, CI = 1.17-2.36), and worked in agriculture for 10 to 29
      years (OR = 1.62, CI = 1.14-2.30). CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses indicate that back
      pain is an occupational health problem among farmers on small operations or
      family farms and that back pain affected males and females differently. The
      finding of significant positive associations between depression, farming
      activities, and back pain warrants further attention.

PMID- 9987566
TI  - Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of chorioamnionitis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Chorioamnionitis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in
      preterm infants. Only rarely is Staphylococcus aureus implicated. A case of
      methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing chorioamnionitis and
      endometritis is presented. CASE REPORT: A 39-year-old gravida 2 para 1 female,
      who previously worked as the unit clerk in the pediatric pulmonary unit of a
      children's hospital, was initially admitted at 22 weeks with a shortened cervix.
      The patient refused emergency cerclage. She was released from the hospital and
      returned at 25 4/7 weeks' estimated gestational age with possible spontaneous
      rupture of membranes. An amniocentesis was performed and revealed a gram stain
      positive for many gram positive cocci as well as a glucose of < 2 mg%. The
      patient was started on intravenous ampicillin and gentamicin and induction of
      labor with oxytocin was begun. Approximately 1 day after the patient's delivery,
      the culture from the amniocentesis was noted to have grown methicillin resistant
      Staphylococcus aureus, and the patient's (as well as the neonate's) regimen was
      switched to vancomycin. CONCLUSION: A Medline search revealed no cases of
      methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing chorioamnionitis. When
      chorioamnionitis or refractory endometritis is encountered in a patient who works
      in the health care industry, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus must be
      considered.

PMID- 9987567
TI  - The influence of tamoxifen on the maturation index of vaginal epithelium.
AB  - PURPOSE: The estrogenic effect of tamoxifen on vaginal epithelium in
      postmenopausal women with breast cancer was evaluated over a period of more than
      48 months. METHODS: The tamoxifen group consisted of 118 postmenopausal patients,
      control group I of 30 postmenopausal women with breast cancer receiving no
      tamoxifen or hormonal replacement therapy and control group II of 40
      postmenopausal women without breast cancer taking no hormones. We determined the
      maturation index of the vaginal epithelium. Pearson's chi-square-test and t-test
      for independent samples were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The
      maturation index increased under tamoxifen therapy within the first 24 months
      from 0.4026 before taking tamoxifen (n = 64) to 0.6066 (n = 162, p < 0.0001) and
      in the following 24 months to 0.6325 (n = 122, p < 0.0001). Under tamoxifen
      intake of more than 48 months, an additional small increase of the maturation
      index to 0.6735 (n = 42, p < 0.0001) could be noticed. The maturation index in
      the tamoxifen group was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than in
      the control groups (control group I: 0.3975, p < 0.0001; control group II:
      0.4102, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: An apparent increase in the maturation of the
      vaginal epithelium caused by the estrogenic effect of tamoxifen could be
      demonstrated.

PMID- 9987568
TI  - Suppressed apoptotic susceptibility in human endometrial epithelial cells
      pretreated with hepatocyte growth factor.
AB  - Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor are strongly expressed
      perimenstrually in human endometrial epithelium, but their functions remain
      unknown. In this study the effects of HGF on Fas-mediated apoptosis in the human
      endometrial epithelial cell line HHUA were investigated. It was found that HGF
      inhibited Fas-mediated growth suppression and DNA fragmentation in the cells
      without any increase in Fas antigen expression on the cells. This results
      suggests that HGF inhibits Fas-mediated apoptotic signals in the endometrium, and
      possibly plays a role in reshaping the endometrium during menstruation.

PMID- 9987569
TI  - Essential mixed type II cryoglobulinemia in a HCV positive pregnant woman: case
      report.
AB  - Cryoglobulins are a group of proteins with the common property of precipitating
      from cooled serum. Cooled cryoglobulinemia is a classic disease caused by immune
      complexes which subside on vessel walls and produce a clinical picture
      represented by recurrent purpura, asthenia, arthralgias, Raynaud's phenomenon,
      glomerulonephritis and sensorimotor neuropathy. The authors describe a case of a
      patient C.M., 37 years old, with cryoglobulinemia, chronic hepatitis C and
      gravidic cholestasis at 28 weeks' gestation. The clinical picture worsened with
      the appearance of mild hypertension with proteinuria and hypochromic anaemia. At
      31 weeks' the arthralgic symptomatology and pruritus revealed degeneration with
      an alteration of glycemic profile values and treatment with rapid human insuline
      was started. The cardiotocography began to be pathologic and a cesarean section
      was performed; the newborn weighted 1570 g. Cooled cryoglobulinemia is a
      pathology which worsens in a gravidic state and can impair the outcome of
      pregnancy.

PMID- 9987570
TI  - Ultrasonographic evaluation of hysterectomized patients with and without
      concomitant adnexectomy?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To present our experience with the use of ultrasonography in the
      evaluation of hysterectomized patients. METHODS: The study group was comprised of
      100 consecutive women referred to our ambulatory unit for pelvic sonographic
      evaluation between April 1, 1996 and March 31, 1997. Inclusion criteria were
      previous hysterectomy for a benign condition with or without concomitant
      bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and available medical and gynecological
      histories. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in the rate of
      abnormal ultrasonographic findings among the patients who had had bilateral
      salpingo-oophorectomy 5/50 and those who had not (8/50). There was also no
      significant difference in pelvic mass rate between the patients who were
      receiving hormone replacement therapy and those who were not. The sensitivity of
      sonography in our study was 100% and the positive predictive value, 84.5%.
      CONCLUSIONS: Sonography is a useful diagnostic tool in the follow-up and
      management of post-hysterectomy patients.

PMID- 9987571
TI  - Biochemical markers of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intake during
      pregnancy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To assess the relationship between the mothers' intake of n-3 long
      chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA) during pregnancy and their levels in
      plasma and tissue. METHODS: 162 mothers were studied during labor. Three groups
      were differentiated according to the n3 LC PUFA intake assessed by means of a
      dietetic interview: superior intake (SIG) (> 0.721 g/day), medium intake (MIG)
      (from 0.382 to 0.721 g/day) and inferior intake (IIG) (< 0.381 g/day). Fatty
      acids (FA) were studied by capillary chromatography in plasma and in erythrocyte
      phospholipids. RESULTS: The fatty acids (FA), expressed in absolute values, did
      not show any significant differences among the aforementioned groups. However,
      three were some trends which were confirmed when the FA were expressed in
      percentages. Thus, higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were found in SIG
      both in plasma and in the erythrocyte membrane, when expressed in percentages.
      Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was also higher in the SIG in the erythrocyte
      membrane, whereas in plasma the differences were of marginal significance. On the
      other hand, arachidonic and linoleic acids had lower values in the SIG in
      erythrocytes. The theoretical optimal intake of n-3 LC PUFA corresponded to a
      plasma concentration of 117.9 +/- 45.9 mcg/ml n-3 LC PUFA or 2.54% of the total
      fatty content (2.29% of DHA). The corresponding cut-offs in erythrocyte membranes
      were 7.54% of total lipids (5.59% of DHA). CONCLUSION: The best markers of n-3 LC
      PUFA intake were DHA for plasma and DHA and EPA for erythrocyte phospholipids,
      all of them expressed in proportions of total FA. The arachidonic and linoleic
      acids (in percentages) in erythrocyte phospholipids were also good markers of n-3
      intake. This probably reflects the metabolic competition between both PUFA
      families.

PMID- 9987572
TI  - Intrapartum vibratory acoustic stimulation after maternal meperidine
      administration.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of the acoustic stimulation test in the
      interpretation of suspicious cardiotocograms obtained after meperidine
      administration to the mother during the first stage of labor. SUBJECTS AND
      METHODS: We studied 45 unselected parturients who received 50 mg meperidine i.m.
      when cervical dilatation was 5 cm. In all cases a decreased beat-to-beat
      variability of the fetal heart rate and fetal movements was noted after the
      injection of meperidine. A vibratory acoustic stimulation was performed in 25
      patients (group A) while the remaining 20 (group B) had no stimulation. RESULTS:
      After the meperidine injection, the acoustic-induced reactivity returned
      immediately in group A, while the spontaneous reactivity returned 30 minutes
      later. The mean number of fetal movements in all parturients was 8.71 +/- 2.18
      before meperidine administration. Sixty minutes after the meperidine injection
      the mean number was 8.52 +/- 2.48 in group A and 1.65 +/- 1.81 in group B (p <
      0.0001). CONCLUSION: The acoustic stimulation test is an effective method of
      interpreting suspicions CTG's obtained after meperidine administration to the
      mother during the first stage of labour.

PMID- 9987573
TI  - Aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva: expression of estroprogestinic receptors and
      follow-up.
AB  - PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: To analyze aggressive angiomyxoma hormone-dependency.
      METHOD: Estroprogestinic receptor expression was studied by immunohistochemistry
      in 5 patients with aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva. RESULTS: The
      immunohistochemical results confirm the positivity of angiomyxoma for estrogen
      and progesterone receptors. CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesized that the concomitant
      factor favoring neoplastic growth is a different genetic substrate specific in
      the female sex. Analysis of the data regarding the distribution of angiomyxomas
      in different age groups has strengthened this hypothesis suggesting that this
      tumor is correlated with complete maturity, in all probability hormonal. However
      it cannot be excluded that the tumor begins to develop at an early age, but since
      it has a slow growth rate, the phenomenon is delayed and is related to hormonal
      stimulation.

PMID- 9987574
TI  - Intrauterine insemination IUI: the effect of ovarian stimulation and infertility
      diagnosis on pregnancy outcome.
AB  - We determined the intrauterine insemination (IUI) pregnancy outcome in the same
      group of patients when applying different methods of ovulation induction. A group
      of patients with unexplained (no. 46) and male factor infertility (no. 101)
      consented to have the following treatment protocol at the American University of
      Beirut-Infertility Center: IUI to be performed in three natural ovulatory cycles
      in all patients, then in three clomiphene citrate (CC) stimulated cycles in the
      remaining non-pregnant patients, and then three cycles with controlled ovarian
      hyperstimulation (COH) in the remaining group. Of the total 147 patients 130, 138
      and 123 underwent 273 natural, 278 CC and 266 COH IUI cycles, respectively. Semen
      processing for IUI was done by washing the sperm twice and using the swim-up
      technique. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Pregnancy rate
      per cycle of IUI with COH (9.8%) was significantly higher than that of IUI in
      natural cycles (3.3%) but approached significance when compared to IUI with CC
      cycles (5.4%). Also unexplained infertility cases had a significantly higher
      pregnancy rate (58.7%) when compared to that of male factor cases (22.8%). IUI
      still has a place in the treatment of infertility due to selective causes.
      Combined with COH, IUI gives the best pregnancy rate although its benefit with
      natural or CC cycles remains obvious.

PMID- 9987575
TI  - Severe coital injury after Frank's creation of a neovagina.
AB  - A neovagina was created by the Frank's dilatation method in a girl with vaginal
      agenesis. At the first coital attempt complete laceration of the cul de sac with
      copious bleeding occurred. Daily application of estrogen cream was the only
      therapy until complete healing after four weeks. Possible causes and therapeutic
      approaches are discussed.

PMID- 9987576
TI  - Prenatal diagnosis of thanatophoric dwarfism in second trimester. A case report.
AB  - Thanatophoric dwarfism is a lethal, rare osteochondrodysplasia and results from
      mutations on the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FBGFR3) gene, on the short
      arm of chromosome 4. In this paper, we present a case of thanatophoric dwarfism
      diagnosed in the 18th pregnancy week.

PMID- 9987577
TI  - Unusual localisation of an ectopic pregnancy.
AB  - We present a case of ectopic pregnancy with a peculiar localisation: beneath the
      peritoneal serosa covering the anterior wall of the uterus, at the level of the
      uterovesical pouch. The case raised some diagnostic and management problems for
      the medical team. Considerations are made concerning the etiopathology of this
      unusual form of ectopic pregnancy.

PMID- 9987578
TI  - Clomiphene citrate challenge test: cycle to cycle variability of cycle day 10
      follicle stimulating hormone level.
AB  - The clomiphene citrate challenge test (CCCT), a means of assessing ovarian
      reserve, was shown by several studies to have an excellent predictive value for
      achieving conception in natural cycles, during ovulation induction and in-vitro
      fertilization cycles. Accordingly we elected to study the cycle to cycle
      variability of CCCT so as to determine the reliability of a single CCCT result.
      Two groups of patients were studied, the first (n = 40) were those patients who
      were performing the test because it was indicated, and the second (n = 24) were
      those who were receiving clomiphene citrate for ovulation induction. In both
      groups CCCT intercycle variability was significant in 75% of the cases, but this
      variability altered the prognostic values of the test in only 40% of the first
      group. In conclusion, our study showed a high percentage of intercycle
      variability of CCCT but further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of
      this variability on potential conception.

PMID- 9987579
TI  - Campomelic dysplasia in a twin pregnancy. A case report.

PMID- 9987580
TI  - Effect of combined iron therapy (Chemiron) and single iron therapy on the
      dexamethasone-estriol test effect, on plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate
      during normal pregnancy.
AB  - It is established that during human pregnancy maternal and fetal serum
      dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS), which has been shown to arise mainly by
      adrenal secretion, serves as a substrate in the biosynthesis of placental
      oestrogen. The conversion to oestrogen is reflected by decreased DHAS and
      increased oestrogen concentration in the peripheral maternal blood. Impaired
      uteroplacental perfusion has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of
      some complicated pregnancies with placenta insufficiency. Apart from this, lower
      oestrogen, magnesium and zinc levels are found in many of these conditions in the
      third trimester with placenta insufficiency. In this study, we examined the
      effect of 4 mg Dexamethasone intravenously on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate,
      since materal cortisol or synthetic corticosteroids cross the placental barrier
      and inhibit the release of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in fetal adrenals.
      Dexamethasone was found to suppress dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in all
      groups but a significant difference in suppression was found between the Chemiron
      -a hematinic combination--and the single iron therapy control groups. Our
      preliminary results showed that Chemiron has a protective effect on the
      development of placenta insufficiency during the third trimester of pregnancy.

PMID- 9987581
TI  - Eating behavior of bulimics, self-identified binge eaters, and non-eating
      disordered individuals: what differentiates these populations?
AB  - This article reviews and critiques the eating behavior literature comparing the
      binge and non-binge-eating episodes of three populations of normal-weight women:
      bulimics, self-identified binge eaters, and non-eating-disordered women. The
      specific behaviors evaluated are number of calories consumed during different
      types of eating episodes, frequency of binge eating, number of eating episodes,
      rate of food consumption, the macronutrient composition of the food ingested, and
      context and duration of eating. Differences in these populations' eating behavior
      are analyzed in terms of their theoretical contribution. It is concluded that
      differences in the observed behavior of these groups are consistent with
      restraint theory, purge opportunity, and the forbidden foods hypothesis.
      Conversely, results do not support carbohydrate craving theory or a deficit in
      the satiety mechanisms of bulimics. Suggestions for future research are
      presented.

PMID- 9987582
TI  - The role of dieting in binge eating disorder: etiology and treatment
      implications.
AB  - Dieting has been implicated as a potential contributor in the development of
      binge eating problems in binge eating disorder (BED). If dieting plays a causal
      role in the etiology of BED, this could have major implications for understanding
      and treating individuals with the disorder. This article reviews the existing
      literature on the role of dieting in BED. Retrospective studies of dieting
      history, research on levels of dietary restraint, and prospective studies
      investigating the effects of dieting on subsequent eating behavior are explored.
      Although the literature is inconclusive as to the exact role that dieting plays
      in the etiology of BED, recommendations for future research and suggestions for
      treatment are given.

PMID- 9987583
TI  - Culturally competent research: an ethical perspective.
AB  - This article addresses the perspective of the Ethical Principles and Guidelines
      for Providers regarding issues affecting research with ethnic minority
      populations. Issues such as failure to report or give informed consent to
      research participants, lack of diversity among researchers, inappropriate study
      of ethnic minority populations, and culturally insensitive assessment instruments
      are discussed. Examples of recommended responsibilities and criteria for
      culturally competent research are provided, including increased involvement of
      minorities in research, both as investigators and concerned citizens. In sum, the
      recommendations address the larger problem of failure to acknowledge people in
      their cultural context. Finally, implications for the Ethical Principles and
      Guidelines for Providers are considered.

PMID- 9987584
TI  - A review of cognitive factors in the etiology of rape: theories, empirical
      studies, and implications.
AB  - In the past decade, research into the etiology of rape has increasingly focused
      on cognitive variables. The studies reviewed in the present article provide
      evidence that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive
      attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and
      are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These
      men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail
      to generate inhibitory self-verbalizations to suppress association of sex and
      aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high
      proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex
      and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary
      precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive
      attitudes interact with noncognitive factors in the etiology of rape.
      Implications for rape prevention and treatment of rapists are considered.
      Finally, methodological issues are discussed, and recommendations for future
      research are given.

PMID- 9987586
TI  - Beyond pain: the role of fear and avoidance in chronicity.
AB  - The purpose of the present article is to provide unification to a number of
      somewhat disparate themes in the chronic pain and phobia literature. First, we
      present a summary review of the early writings and current theoretical
      perspectives regarding the role of avoidance in the maintenance of chronic pain.
      Second, we present an integrative review of recent empirical investigations of
      fear and avoidance in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, relating the
      findings to existing cognitive-behavioral theoretical positions. We also discuss
      several new and emerging lines of investigation, specifically related to
      information processing and anxiety sensitivity, which appear to be closely linked
      to pain-related avoidance behavior. Finally, we discuss the implications of the
      recent empirical findings for the assessment and treatment of individuals who
      experience disabling chronic musculoskeletal pain and suggest possible avenues
      for future investigation.

PMID- 9987585
TI  - Empirical foundations for writing in prevention and psychotherapy: mental and
      physical health outcomes.
AB  - The use of writing, alone or in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, has
      increased substantially in recent years. The most widespread use of writing has
      been for single-shot ad hoc purposes or to log behavior. The purpose of this
      review is to summarize a decade of research demonstrating the efficacy of writing
      about past traumatic experiences on mental and physical health outcomes. It is
      widely acknowledged in our culture that putting upsetting experiences into words
      can be healthy. Research from several domains indicates that talking with
      friends, confiding to a therapist, praying, and even writing about one's thoughts
      and feelings can be physically and mentally beneficial. This review highlights
      advances in written disclosure that determine some therapeutic outcomes. In
      addition, we attempt to explore the mechanisms that predict improved
      psychological and physical health. Finally, limitations of previous studies are
      highlighted, and suggestions for future research and application are made.

PMID- 9987587
TI  - Update on vertigo management.
AB  - Over the past decade, the treatment of vertigo has shifted from medical and
      surgical modalities in favor of physical therapy. When more aggressive treatment
      is necessary, patients may be treated with less invasive surgical modalities.
      This article provides an overview of recent advances.

PMID- 9987588
TI  - Venous thrombosis: diagnosis and treatment; new methods and strategies for
      management.
AB  - Venous thrombosis most often attacks patients who have had alterations of venous
      stasis, endothelial damage, and/or hypercoagulability. Diagnosis generally
      depends on venography or duplex doppler ultrasonography; treatment is usually
      started with heparin and may proceed to warfarin alone.

PMID- 9987589
TI  - Antimicrobial resistance in community-acquired respiratory tract pathogens.
AB  - Antimicrobial resistance among common respiratory pathogens has become a
      significant problem. However, there remain multiple treatment options, including
      the newer macrolides, third-generation cephalosporins, beta-lactam/beta-lactamase
      inhibitor antibiotics, and the newer fluoroquinolones.

PMID- 9987590
TI  - Gastroduodenal ulcers: causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
AB  - During the past decade, new acid antisecretory drugs have been developed, and our
      understanding of the mechanisms of mucosal ulceration has been broadened.
      However, the major change has been an appreciation of the role of Helicobacter
      pylori in peptic ulcer disease.

PMID- 9987591
TI  - Concussion in sport: diagnosis, management, return to competition.
AB  - Concussions can occur in any sports activity. Although no standards for grading
      and managing concussions exist, many sets of guidelines have been proposed.
      Therefore, physicians should be familiar with at least one set to assist in
      diagnosing and managing concussions.

PMID- 9987592
TI  - Clinical practice guidelines: questions family physicians should ask themselves.
AB  - Family physicians increasingly are being pressured to use clinical practice
      guidelines. This article reviews the methods of developing, disseminating and
      implementing guidelines, and suggests a list of questions that family physicians
      should ask themselves before accepting any clinical practice guidelines.

PMID- 9987593
TI  - ACR presentations support Salagen tablets as a safe and effective treatment for
      the dry mouth symptoms caused by Sjogren's syndrome.

PMID- 9987594
TI  - Parke-Davis announces market availability of Omnicef--a new, broad-spectrum
      cephalosporin antibiotic.

PMID- 9987595
TI  - Duke study searches for most effective ways to get smokers to kick their habit.

PMID- 9987596
TI  - BPH survey reveals confusion about condition that strikes 80% of men by age 80.

PMID- 9987597
TI  - Abbott introduces new test for cardiac diagnostic: first automated test to
      measure levels of homocysteine in blood.

PMID- 9987598
TI  - Low-fat diet alone reversed type 2 diabetes in mice.

PMID- 9987599
TI  - Recent advances in chemokines and chemokine receptors.
AB  - Chemokines are a superfamily of small cytokine-like molecules which have been
      described primarily on the basis of their ability to mediate the migration of
      verious cell types, particularly those of lymphoid origin. The receptors for
      these molecules are all seven-transmembrane domain G protein-coupled receptors
      that have historically been excellent targets for small-molecule drugs. This
      fact, coupled with the advent of large-scale DNA database mining and the
      recognition that chemokine receptors are also coreceptors for HIV, has driven
      discovery in this field at a tremendous rate. This process has included not just
      an expansion of the number of known chemokines and chemokine receptors, but also
      a greater appreciation for the variety of functions that chemokines are involved
      in. We review here the molecules that have come from the most recent years of
      chemokine research as well as many of the new functions that have been ascribed
      to them.

PMID- 9987600
TI  - Mechanisms of lipid antigen presentation by CD1.
AB  - CD1 is a family of cell surface glycoproteins that are related in structure and
      evolutionary origin to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-encoded antigen
      presenting molecules. In contrast to MHC-encoded antigen-presenting molecules,
      CD1 binds and presents lipid and glycolipid antigens for specific recognition by
      T cell antigen receptors. Recent work shows that several CD1 family members
      colocalize with MHC class II proteins within the endocytic system of antigen
      presenting cells. Detailed studies of the intracellular trafficking of CD1
      proteins reveal new mechanisms controlling delivery of antigen-presenting
      molecules to particular compartments within cells. The combination of overlapping
      yet distinct trafficking routes for the various CD1 family members, combined with
      emerging information on the heterogeneity of CD1-presented lipid antigens,
      suggest a model whereby different members of the CD1 family could present
      antigens that occur in various cellular compartments. Furthermore, the CD1 family
      as a group may present antigens from pathogens that are not normally accessible
      to or efficiently surveyed by the MHC Class I or II systems. The discovery of
      this third pathway for antigen presentation, together with the appreciation of a
      previously unrecognized universe of nonpeptide lipid antigens for T cell
      responses, are likely to have broad implications for our understanding of the
      cell-mediated immune response and its role in health and disease.

PMID- 9987602
TI  - The human side of medicine: how can we teach it?

PMID- 9987601
TI  - Therapeutic effects of substances occurring in higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms: a
      modern perspective.
AB  - This review highlights some of the recently isolated and identified substances of
      higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms origin that express promising antitumor, immune
      modulating, cardiovascular and hypercholesterolemia, antiviral, antibacterial,
      and antiparasitic effects. Medicinal mushrooms have a long history of use in folk
      medicine. In particular, mushrooms useful against cancers of the stomach,
      esophagus, lungs, etc. are known in China, Russia, Japan, Korea, as well as the
      U.S.A. and Canada. There are about 200 species of mushrooms that have been found
      to markedly inhibit the growth of different kinds of tumors. Searching for new
      antitumor and other medicinal substances from mushrooms and to study the
      medicinal value of these mushrooms have become a matter of great significance.
      However, most of the mushroom origin antitumor substances have not been clearly
      defined. Several antitumor polysaccharides such as hetero-beta-glucans and their
      protein complexes (e.g., xyloglucans and acidic beta-glucan-containing uronic
      acid), as well as dietary fibers, lectins, and terpenoids have been isolated from
      medicinal mushrooms. In Japan, Russia, China, and the U.S.A. several different
      polysaccharide antitumor agents have been developed from the fruiting body,
      mycelia, and culture medium of various medicinal mushrooms (Lentinus edodes,
      Ganoderma lucidum, Schizophyllum commune, Trametes versicolor, Inonotus obliquus,
      and Flammulina velutipes). Both cellular components and secondary metabolites of
      a large number of mushrooms have been shown to effect the immune system of the
      host and therefore could be used to treat a variety of disease states.

PMID- 9987603
TI  - Building a regional clinical campus: experience with preclinical students.

PMID- 9987604
TI  - Resident resistance.
AB  - Clearly, faculty must work hard with residents to explore the nature of their
      resistance to a program's learning and growth opportunities. Initial steps to a
      deeper, more effective, and longer-lasting change process must be pursued. If
      resident resistance is mishandled or misunderstood, then learning and
      professional growth may be sidetracked and the purposes of residency training
      defeated. Listening to the whole person of the resident and avoiding the trap of
      getting caught up in merely responding to select resident behaviors that irritate
      us is critical. Every faculty member in the family practice residency program
      must recognize resistance as a form of defense that cannot immediately be torn
      down or taken away. Resident defenses have important purposes to play in stress
      reduction even if they are not always healthy. Residents, especially interns, use
      resistance to avoid a deeper and more truthful look at themselves as physicians.
      A family practice residency program that sees whole persons in their residents
      and that respects resident defenses will effectively manage the stress and
      disharmony inherent to the resistant resident.

PMID- 9987605
TI  - Perspectives on longer community-based preceptorships.

PMID- 9987606
TI  - Through the looking glass.

PMID- 9987607
TI  - Clinical and cultural issues in caring for deaf people.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The clinical practice of family medicine is
      increasingly cross-cultural. Promoting culturally sensitive and competent health
      care is one of the goals of medical educators in guiding medical students and
      residents, as well as designing continuing education for family physicians.
      Working with minority communities is essential to meet that goal. The Deaf
      community is a linguistic and cultural minority group that is often overlooked.
      Working with the Deaf community to help develop cultural competency and
      sensitivity has potential benefits. This article introduces some of the
      sociocultural experiences of deafness and their relevance in health care
      settings.

PMID- 9987608
TI  - Retention of family medicine faculty development fellows in academic medicine.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study measured the retention of family medicine faculty
      development fellows in academic medicine. METHODS: Surveys were sent, in two
      stages, to 1) fellowship program directors and 2) fellows. These surveys were
      about full-time faculty development fellowships with new or continued Title VII
      funding during the interval of 1993-1996. Retention as faculty was the primary
      outcome. Likelihood of leaving academics and service in a federally designated
      medically underserved area were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: The fellowship
      program directors survey produced an 88% response rate and identified 105 alumni.
      The survey of fellows yielded a response rate of 73% (n = 77). The retention rate
      of these newly graduated family medicine fellows in academic positions was 75% (n
      = 58). A total of 37% (n = 21) of alumni in full- and part-time teaching
      positions reported being likely to leave their current position within the next 2
      years. CONCLUSIONS: Retention rates of newly graduated family medicine fellows in
      academic positions are similar to rates reported in the 1980s. This group
      anticipates a high job turnover within the next 2 years.

PMID- 9987609
TI  - Variability in the learning experiences of family practice residents during an
      obstetrics rotation.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residency rotations do not necessarily provide the
      same clinical experience to each resident. This study quantified and explained
      the variability in participation in deliveries by family practice residents
      during an obstetrics rotation at a community hospital. METHODS: We collected
      prospectively completed resident experience logs from 17 residents and
      information from the hospital Summary of Delivery forms for 1,166 deliveries. The
      data were analyzed using methods to account for within-supervisor correlation.
      RESULTS: Participation and delivery rates varied markedly. In stepwise
      conditional regression analysis, resident participation in deliveries was
      positively associated with prior resident involvement during the labor and
      negatively associated with occurrence of the delivery on the night shift and with
      male gender of the resident. Resident performance of delivery was positively
      associated with non-instrumented vaginal delivery, prior resident involvement
      during the labor, and patient multiparity and negatively associated with male
      resident gender. CONCLUSIONS: We found substantial variability in resident
      experience and identified several factors associated with increased resident
      experience. Variability of experience among residents in clinical rotations
      should be assessed to ensure that all residents receive adequate training.

PMID- 9987610
TI  - The role of the chair's spouse in academic departments of family medicine.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Family medicine has the highest percentage of unfilled
      budgeted faculty positions of all clinical and basic science departments. To
      successfully recruit and retain academic leaders, personal and professional
      issues need to be recognized and valued. This study reports the results of a
      national survey of chairs and an important, often overlooked factor in
      recruitment and retention--the spouse of the department chair. METHODS:
      Questionnaires were sent to 107 chairs of academic departments or divisions of
      family medicine and their spouses. RESULTS: There was a usable response rate of
      86%, and data from 85 questionnaires (79%) were analyzed. The spouses' highest
      role priority was family, perhaps reflecting their relatively young mean age of
      48.6 years. There was a statistically significant correlation between those who
      were "oriented" to the role of chair's spouse and a higher level of participation
      in departmental activities. Data are also reported on spouse role satisfaction,
      expectations, and factors in deciding to stay or leave their current location.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that with the increased competition for family
      physicians in a multitude of practice settings, search committees for family
      medicine department chairs need to be innovative and attentive to personal as
      well as professional factors in recruiting and retaining future and current
      department chairs. It would be prudent to acknowledge the role of the spouse in
      decisions concerning job selection and satisfaction.

PMID- 9987611
TI  - That family practice feeling.

PMID- 9987612
TI  - [Occupational medicine and quality].
AB  - The discipline of occupational medicine has always maintained a closed
      relationship with the quality system, starting from the well known quality
      assurance practices, up to the quality of health services, and the concept of
      prevention and health promotion as essential components of quality programs. The
      quality of health care has emerged as an area of high interest and concern,
      driven by the consideration of public policy and the desire of health care
      government to maximize the value of their investments. However, when we move to
      apply quality principles to health service some difficulties emerge. For example
      the introduction of DRFs system makes uneconomical the diagnosis in occupational
      medicine, since the costs are determined by the type and the number of hazards to
      be identified and assessed and not only by the risk factors of by the worker's
      pathology. Moreover, resources are necessary for the correct evaluation of non
      occupational pathologies often present, both for deontological and legal reasons.
      The attention to the role of occupational medicine in quality programs has been
      increased by the recognition of the adverse impact of preventable or controllable
      risk factors in health benefit and disability costs and employee productivity. By
      this way prevention and health promotion will become an essential part of quality
      procedures able to guarantee and maintain quality objectives.

PMID- 9987613
TI  - [SV40 as a possible cofactor in the etiopathogenesis of mesothelioma and other
      human tumors].
AB  - Simian virus 40 (SV40) has been introduced into the human population with
      contaminated polio vaccines between 1955 and 1963. Previous research conducted by
      southern blot hybridization and recent analysis by PCR have shown the presence of
      SW0 sequences in human brain tumors, mesotheliomas and osteosarcomas as well as
      in normal tissues such as blood and sperm fluids. SV40 RNA and T antigen were
      detected in the same tissues. All the samples were coinfected by BK Virus (BKV),
      suggesting that BKV may have a helper function for SV40 replication in human
      cells. The presence of SV40 in human tumors suggests that the virus may be a
      cofactor in the etiopathogenesis of human neoplasia. In addition, blood and semen
      may represent the vectors for transmission of SV40 by horizontal infection in the
      human population.

PMID- 9987614
TI  - [Aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons: chemism, vehicles and technics for protection
      from toxicological risk].
AB  - In this work we take under examination the aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons
      (APHs) as a class of organic micropolluting agents which have a considerable
      impact in the life and in the working environment of man. The authors decided to
      expressly start this study by proposing the changes pattern cause by APHs
      according to their chemical-physical reactivity characteristics, in order to
      realise a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of their toxicologic impact.
      Therefore, the specific aspects of chemism (reactions of substitution, aromatic
      electrophilia and addition) of these organic micropolluting agents are studied
      with particular reference to their chemical structure and to the properties which
      are the main important cause of every effect of diffusion both in productive
      environments and of toxicity in the human body. In this way, come toxicologic
      risk sources, responsible, within some technological cycles for the APHs emission
      in the working areas, are identified, shown and evaluated; carrying factors, not
      much investigated till now, which represent a synergic effect to the introduction
      and absorption of the APHs by the human body. For the necessity of a useful
      environmental monitoring which could be applied to different matrices, the
      techniques and the methods useful for carrying out sampling and analytical
      evaluation in a correct way, are introduced as well. Lastly, the Authors stress
      on the engagement and discuss the measures of prevention and protection,
      technically performable on the basis of the chemico-physical-granulometric
      properties of APHs, with the goal of safeguarding at best health of people
      occupationally exposed.

PMID- 9987615
TI  - [The energy cost and the use of individual protective devices in firefighters].
AB  - Firefighters are required to wear fire-protection devices when involved in
      hazardous work situations. To determine whether fire protective clothing and self
      contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) affect maximal physical work performance and
      to assess their additional energy requirement, we studied a cohort of Italian
      firemen while performing a rapid air-stair climbing (Mt. 29). Heart rate (HR) and
      maximal speed (time/distance) were measured in 23 firemen during the exercises,
      performed either wearing fire protection clothing and SCBA (p2) and service dress
      (p1). We also measured maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max, indirect
      determination), WBGT and the speed/HR ratio (iR) as an arbitrary index of
      physical work performance. The participant reached the sub-maximal HR in both
      exercises (p1 87.01%; p2 88.84%). Fire protection devices significantly reduced
      the exercise maximal speed (p < 0.001) and increased the maximal HR (p < 0.01).
      IR index was significantly (p < 0.001) lower for p2, indicating a reduction of
      physical work performance (-26.9%); VO2 max was inversely related with mean and
      maximal HR (p < 0.001). These results suggest that only well trained firefighters
      should be employed in emergency actions requiring fire protection devices and
      SCBA.

PMID- 9987616
TI  - [The determination of urinary cyclophosphamide at low concentration levels by
      liquid-liquid extraction and HPLC/MS/MS analysis].
AB  - A sensitive, specific and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography-ion
      spray-tandem mass spectrometry procedure (HPLC/MS/MS) has been developed to
      quantify cyclophosphamide in human urine. This methodology, which includes the
      liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, requires no derivatization
      procedures, preventing cyclophosphamide from possible thermal and chemical
      decomposition reactions. This methodology was validated by the use of ifosfamide
      as internal standard (I.S.). The assay was linear over the range 0 to 3.2 ng mL-1
      urine, having a low limit of quantification of 0.2 ng mL-1. The low limit of
      detection was assessed at 0.05 ng mL-1 urine. This method is characterized by a
      coefficient of variation < 10%. Standard calibration curves, performed on three
      different days, had correlation coefficient always greater than 0.998. The intra
      and inter-day precision were within 11%, and accuracy was included in the range
      99-103%. The mean extracted recovery assessed at three different concentrations
      (0.5, 0.8, 3.2 ng mL-1) was always more than 85%. The extraction efficiency of
      cyclophosphamide from urine samples was also studied at six different pH values
      (pH 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10). CP gave the maximum extraction efficiency when pH urine
      solutions was adjusted to 7.0 and somewhat lower at the other considered values.

PMID- 9987617
TI  - [Occupational exposure to vibration: Raynaud's phenomenon and the vascular
      response to methacholine iontophoresis].
AB  - A homogeneous group of 34 subjects exposed to occupational vibratory stress were
      studied to determine their vasodilatory response to methacoline. The methacoline
      was administered by iontophoresis. Methacoline is an acetylcholine derivate with
      the same pharmacological properties of acetylcholine. The 34 study subjects were
      divided into 3 groups according to their plethysmographic response to a
      preliminary cold test: group 1, had a typical Raynaud's response; group 2 had
      normal response to cold, and group 3 had an "intermediate" response. The subjects
      in group 1 did not respond to methacoline with vasodilation, suggesting
      endothelial damage at the arterial and arteriolar level, those in group 2
      responded with clear vasodilation, and those in group 3 had an intermediate
      plethysmographic response to methacoline--modest, slowed vasodilation. Based on
      the results obtained, the authors believe that the true pathogenetic mechanism is
      an alteration in the vasomotor stability. This change in circulatory homeostasis
      occur after a vasoconstrictive stimulus, due to vascular endothelium disfunction,
      in its turn damaged by vibratory microtrauma. This would be the basis for
      diminished autonomic vascular regulation, mediated by EDRF at the arterial and
      arteriolar level. It is also probable that the pathogenesis of Raynaud's syndrome
      in workers exposed to physical or chemical stress has a similar mechanism.

PMID- 9987618
TI  - [The clinical evaluation of conservative treatment in patients with the thoracic
      outlet syndrome].
AB  - Conservative treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome is frequently recommended but
      few studies reporting conservative management are present in literature. Thirteen
      out-patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (4 males, 9 females) were admitted to
      a conservative treatment (massage and kinesitherapy) involving the cervical spine
      and shoulder girdle. All the patients were satisfied with the outcome of the
      treatment. In particular rest symptoms completely disappeared after treatment in
      all patients. This study confirms the efficacy of physical therapy in the
      conservative treatment of patients with thoracic outlet syndrome. Further studies
      on long-term outcome are needed.

PMID- 9987619
TI  - [Standard parameters in gait analysis in an Italian multicenter case study].
AB  - The study reports the results of a group who, in a multicentric trial, using a
      gait analysis laboratory Italian made, and a standard procedure, examined 127
      normal subjects. The gait laboratory is composed of contacts to relieve the
      support on the ground, goniometric transducers with an articulated parallelogram,
      active sensors for cutaneous electromyography, patient unit for data collection
      and transmission, interface modules for signal reconstruction, software for data
      elaboration. All data was elaborated in order to give normative data for Italian
      population. There were no differences between right and left side, nor between
      male and female subjects. Values of the present study was compared with previous
      foreign literature and a critical comment is proposed.

PMID- 9987620
TI  - [A group therapy model in the rehabilitation fo alcoholism].
AB  - At present group psychotherapy is one of the most important resources in the
      treatment of alcoholism. Among the various theoretical orientations present in
      this setting, the systemic approach has always favoured interventions designed to
      improve interpersonal relationships. More recently, the concepts of
      constructivism and "narrative" therapy have laid greater emphasis upon the
      relational and linguistic aspect of any individual problem. Starting from these
      premises, a systemic-constructivistic therapy group was created for persons with
      problems associated with alcohol, as part of an inpatient rehabilitation
      programme. Given the novelty of this initiative and the particular context,
      several solutions were adopted that may represent a proposal for the extension of
      the method. The characteristics and ways in which this particular group might
      evolve are discussed under four headings: 1) the characteristics of the group, 2)
      techniques for guiding the group, 3) the role and problems facing the therapist,
      and 4) the recurrent problems in the life of the group.

PMID- 9987621
TI  - [The history of bronchial asthma].
AB  - The history of bronchial asthma from ancient times is traced. The first accounts
      of asthma in the ancient Greeks and Romans with clinical descriptions by Aretus
      of Cappadocia and Aulus Celsus Cornelius are recounted. These are followed by the
      medieval habits of the Middle East as described by Moises Maimonides. The
      Renaissance is witness to a new scientific fervor in postulating theories on the
      pathogenesis of bronchial asthma by van Helmont, Willis and Floyer. The
      seventeenth and eighteenth centuries will see the discovery of the anatomical
      foundation of bronchial asthma thanks largely to the technical advances in the
      diagnostic field by Auerbrugge and Laennec. The allergic nature of bronchial
      asthma is studied by Salter. S Meltzer's hypothesis of histamine release as the
      pathogenesis of bronchial asthma leads the way for the twentieth century's
      leading discoveries.

PMID- 9987622
TI  - Penetration of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin into the aqueous humor
      using different topical application modes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A prospective study was undertaken to determine the transcorneal
      penetration of three topically applied fluoroquinolones into aqueous humor.
      METHODS: Cataract patients (n = 224) preoperatively received topically applied
      gyrase inhibitors (0.3% ciprofloxacin, 0.3% norfloxacin, 0.3% ofloxacin) in two
      different application modes. In application mode I, patients received on the day
      before operation 3 x 1 eye drop at 2-h intervals, and on the day of operation 3
      drops at 1-h intervals. In application mode II, patients received 9 drops at 15
      min intervals on the day of operation only. Just before cataract surgery 50-100
      ml aqueous humor was aspirated and stored at -80 degrees C. The HPLC method was
      used for measuring the concentration. RESULTS: The highest concentrations of all
      tested antibiotics were measured after the mode of application in which one drop
      was given every 15 min between 06:00 and 08:00 hours before operation. In this
      mode, ciprofloxacin achieved a mean aqueous level of 379.8 +/- 327.8 mg/l (range
      33-1388 mg/l), norfloxacin 182.1 +/- 118.1 mg/l (range 38-480 mg/l) and ofloxacin
      563.9 +/- 372.1 mg/l (range 64-1455 mg/l). These mean concentration are all above
      the MIC90 of gram-negative bacteria like Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli.
      In some cases the concentrations of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, but never
      norfloxacin, reached therapeutic values above the MIC90 of Staphylococcus aureus
      and Staphylococcus epidermidis. CONCLUSIONS: The mean concentration value of 0.3%
      ciprofloxacin and of 0.3% ofloxacin in the aqueous humor reached the MIC90 values
      of the frequently occurring gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Of the
      currently available topical fluoroquinolones, ofloxacin achieved the highest
      aqueous humor concentration. Considering the higher antimicrobial activity of
      ciprofloxacin, both ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin may be useful ophthalmic agents
      in antibacterial management, but they are not efficient against Streptococcus
      pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

PMID- 9987623
TI  - The contrast characteristic of the pattern electroretinogram depends on temporal
      frequency.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The pattern electroretinogram (PERG) amplitude is believed to be
      linearly related to contrast. In the context of analyzing the effects of media
      opacities on the PERG, we measured its contrast-amplitude function at various
      temporal frequencies. METHODS: PERGs were recorded in nine subjects with a
      checksize of 0.8 degree and a mean luminance of 45 cd/m2. Experiment 1 covered
      six temporal frequencies [checkerboard pattern onset/offset in a transient (4 Hz)
      condition and checkerboard pattern reversal at 7, 10, 13, 16, 21 rev/s] at three
      contrast levels (25%, 50% and 100%). A second experiment covered two frequencies
      (7 and 21 rev/s) at five contrast levels from 25 to 100%, in a large field (27
      degrees x 32 degrees) and a perifoveal condition (central mask of 7.5 degrees
      radius). RESULTS: Experiment 1: At all temporal frequencies the PERG amplitude
      increases with contrast, but the shape of the contrast-amplitude function varies
      markedly: Under transient conditions and at 7 rev/s, the PERG increases linearly
      with contrast, but this function displays a progressively positive curvature at
      higher frequencies (P < 0.001). At 21 rev/s a reduction of the contrast from 100%
      to 50% reduces the amplitude to 1/5. Experiment 2: Experiment 1 was replicated.
      The amplitude-contrast characteristic was found to be linear at 7 rev/s and
      smoothly accelerating at 21 rev/s; the same characteristics were found when
      stimulating the perifoveal area alone. CONCLUSION: This dependency of the
      contrast characteristic on temporal frequency is contrary to what would be
      expected from a magno/parvo model. Further, this contrast dependency needs to be
      taken into account when designing stimuli for use in patients that may have media
      opacities.

PMID- 9987624
TI  - The favorable effect of topical betaxolol and timolol on glaucomatous visual
      fields: a 2-year follow-up study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that beta-adrenergic antagonists might have
      mechanisms of action other than ocular hypotensive effects affecting the visual
      function in glaucoma patients and that betaxolol might protect the visual field
      better than others. A randomized, double-blind study was conducted to compare the
      effects of betaxolol and timolol on visual fields of glaucoma patients. METHODS:
      Sixty-four glaucoma patients were treated with either 0.5% betaxolol or 0.25%
      timolol eyedrops twice daily. The Octopus visual field performance was followed
      up for 2 years and analyzed to find diffuse and localized changes. We analyzed
      the change in the mean sensitivity (MS) and performed a cluster analysis and
      clinical assessment of the visual fields in both treatment groups. RESULTS: The
      mean sensitivity (MS) improved significantly and equally in both treatment
      groups. There was a tendency towards more improved clusters in the betaxolol
      group than in the timolol group and more worsened cluster in the timolol group
      than in the betaxolol group, but the difference was not statistically
      significant. The clinical assessment also showed no statistically significant
      difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In the present study both
      betaxolol and timolol had a favorable effect on the visual fields of glaucoma
      patients. There was no statistically significant difference between betaxolol-
      and timolol-treated patients either in the change in mean retinal sensitivity or
      in the change in localized scotomatous areas.

PMID- 9987625
TI  - Risk factors for visual field damage progression in normal-tension glaucoma eyes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to evaluate intraocular or systemic
      factors associated with the visual field damage progression in eyes with normal
      tension glaucoma (NTG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven NTG eyes with a minimum
      follow-up of 5 years were enrolled into the retrospective study. A stepwise
      regression analysis was performed to correlate the visual field damage
      progression, expressed as the mean deviation (MD) change per year, with several
      independent clinical factors including age, history of disc hemorrhage, initial
      MD, mean intraocular pressure (IOP), peak IOP, diurnal fluctuation of IOP,
      presence of a beta zone of peripapillary atrophy, and use of Ca(2+)-channel
      blockers. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed that non-use of Ca(2+)-channel
      blockers (P = 0.01), peripapillary atrophy (P = 0.03) and disc hemorrhage (P =
      0.04) were associated with visual loss progression. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors
      unrelated to IOP were suggested to be associated with progression of visual field
      loss. Systemic use of Ca(2+)-channel blockers has a favorable effect on visual
      field prognosis in NTG eyes.

PMID- 9987626
TI  - Topical cyclosporin A in Thygeson's superficial punctate keratitis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Since September 1994 we have administered topical cyclosporin A 2%
      (CSA) in a prospective study to patients with Thygeson's superficial punctate
      keratitis (TSPK). After our promising short-term results we now present medium
      term data of a larger patient group. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Topical CSA was
      administered to 52 eyes of 28 patients with TSPK. Forty-two were adult eyes
      (group I), 10 children's eyes (group II). Starting with 3 drops daily during the
      1st month, CSA was reduced to 1 drop every 2nd day within 4 months and stopped
      after 6 months. RESULTS: Complete suppression of the typical epithelial and
      supepithelial opacities could be achieved in 71.5% of cases in group I and 40% in
      group II as long as therapy was administered; the other patients responded only
      partially or not at all. Recurrences were a problem during tapering off or
      shortly after cessation of therapy, but they could again be treated effectively
      with the initial CSA regime. Thirty-one percent of all adult eyes and 20% of all
      pediatric eyes seemed to have completely healed during the observation time.
      CONCLUSIONS: In more than two thirds of our adult patients topical CSA 2%
      suppresses the epithelial and subepithelial opacities for as long as this non
      steroid therapy is administered. Definite healing seems to be achieved in almost
      one third of all adult patients. In another one third, long-term low-dose CSA
      therapy is necessary before complete healing may be expected. Children probably
      do not respond to therapy as well as adults. Whereas the only therapeutic
      alternative, i.e. steroid eye drops, have a significant potential for side
      effects in the long run, no side effects have been known from low-dose CSA eye
      drops. We regard CSA eye drops as a significant progress in the symptomatic
      treatment of TSPK.

PMID- 9987627
TI  - Quantification of blood-aqueous barrier breakdown after photorefractive
      keratectomy for myopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) using the excimer laser is a well
      established surgical technique for correction of mild to moderate myopic
      refraction errors in case of spectacle or contact lens incompatibility. As it is
      still uncertain whether this procedure causes intraocular inflammatory changes,
      it was the purpose of this study to quantify breakdown of the blood-aqueous
      barrier following PRK and to look for possible correlations with clinical
      parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Aqueous flare was quantified using the laser
      flare-cell meter after medical pupil dilation preoperatively and on days 1, 3 and
      7 as well as 1 month and 3 months following PRK with a 193-nm excimer laser (MEL
      60, Aesculap-Meditec) in 37 eyes of 22 patients. The preoperative spherical
      equivalents were -4.4 +/- 3.1 D (range -1.5 to -8.0 D). Pre-, intra- and
      postoperative treatment was standardized. RESULTS: Preoperatively, aqueous flare
      values were 3.9 +/- 0.8 photon counts/ms and showed no significant correlation
      with the spherical equivalent (p > 0.1). Postoperatively, aqueous flare rise was
      very small with flare values not significantly higher than preoperative values.
      All postoperative flare values were below the normal limit (< 8.0 photon
      counts/ms). Flare was highest on day 3 after PRK surgery. There was no
      statistically significant correlation between aqueous flare and depth of stromal
      ablation. The number of aqueous "cells" did not increase following PRK at any
      postoperative follow-up examination. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that PRK in
      mild to moderate myopia does not cause a significant breakdown of the blood
      aqueous barrier.

PMID- 9987628
TI  - Effects of dipivefrin and pilocarpine on pupil diameter, automated perimetry and
      LogMAR acuity.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A study was carried out to ascertain, in ophthalmologically normal
      subjects, the short-term effects of dipivefrin hydrochloride 0.1% on visual
      performance and make comparisons with pilocarpine. METHODS: Twelve normal
      volunteers aged 20-26 years attended on three occasions. One eye, randomly
      selected, received one drop of either pilocarpine 2%, dipivefrin or saline 0.9%.
      High- and low-contrast LogMAR acuity at 6 m and pupil diameter (measured by infra
      red pupillometry) were recorded at baseline (T0) and at intervals up to 90 min
      following instillation of drops. Program 30-2 of the Humphrey Visual Field
      Analyzer (HFA) was run at T0 and at 60 min after treatment instillation (T60).
      Saline was always instilled at visit 1, to allow for learning effects. On visits
      2 and 3 either pilocarpine or dipivefrin was randomly instilled into the treated
      eye. RESULTS: Pilocarpine significantly worsened the field global indices mean
      deviation (P < 0.001) and pattern standard deviation (P < 0.01) compared with T0.
      There was no significant change with dipivefrin. A significant (P = 0.01) pupil
      dilation from 5.44 mm (SD 0.79) at T0 to 6.19 mm (SD 1.09) at T90 occurred with
      dipivefrin. Pilocarpine caused significant miosis. No significant changes in
      LogMAR values were found with dipivefrin. Pilocarpine significantly (P < 0.01)
      increased LogMAR values (i.e. reduced acuity) compared with dipivefrin. At T30
      the mean increase in LogMAR was 0.76 (SD 0.30) for high and 0.83 (SD 0.11) for
      low contrast. By T90 recovery of acuity was virtually complete. CONCLUSIONS: In
      normals dipivefrin causes mydriasis but does not affect the central visual field
      global indices (as assessed by STATPAC), or high- and low-contrast LogMAR acuity.
      Pilocarpine adversely affects the visual field and both measures of acuity.
      Knowledge of these effects is of value in glaucoma therapy and when monitoring
      the progression of visual loss.

PMID- 9987629
TI  - Evaluation of the Night Vision Spectacles on patients with impaired night vision.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The Night Vision Spectacles (NiViS) were developed by a consortium of
      European companies to assist individuals who suffer from impaired night vision.
      They consist of a head-mounted video camera (input) and binocular displays
      (output) connected to a portable computer processor, which uses an algorithm to
      enhance the luminance and contrast of the video image. METHODS: Eighteen patients
      with impaired night vision were tested, including those with retinitis pigmentosa
      (7), Usher syndrome (2), fundus albipunctatus (1) and complete (4) and incomplete
      (4) congenital stationary night blindness. Normal trichromats (3) and typical,
      complete achromats (2) acted as controls. A battery of tests assessed: visual
      acuity at 5 m (projection unit) and 1 m (chart) and at high and low contrasts;
      contrast sensitivity; absolute and increment threshold; the influence of glare;
      contrast motion detection; and hand-eye performance. The tests were performed,
      with and without the NiViS, at three adaptation levels: low scotopic (10(-3)
      cd/m2), high scotopic (10(-2) cd/m2) and mesopic (10(-1) cd/m2). RESULTS: At the
      low and high scotopic levels, the majority of patients showed improved
      performance on the visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and motion contrast tests
      with the NiViS. At the mesopic level, the advantage with the NiViS was greatly
      reduced, but still present for contrast sensitivity. CONCLUSION: Patients with
      impaired night vision can benefit from the NiViS when performing tasks involving
      contrast and motion perception. Those with normal visual fields and retaining
      good photopic vision will benefit more than those with constricted visual fields
      and impaired cone vision. Recommendations regarding desirable improvements of the
      NiViS and suitability for the individual patient are given.

PMID- 9987630
TI  - The Swedish Retinal Detachment Register. I. A database for epidemiological and
      clinical studies.
AB  - PURPOSE: To create a computer-based national register for epidemiological and
      clinical studies on retinal detachment (RD) for large populations over time.
      METHODS: A database system was developed for Microsoft Windows 95 and NT
      platforms to support a multi-user environment, comprising 117 fields (270
      parameters). The system is equipped with statistical search programs for
      statistical differences and dependencies between fields and with graphical
      display. RESULTS: Information is structured into six subgroups: identification of
      patient, history of RD, preoperative ocular status, operations, recurrence, and
      follow-up. Lists of diagnoses, methods and surgical procedures facilitate data
      input. The drop-out frequency ('null') and follow-up recording are automatically
      monitored. Mean visual acuity is calculated using logMAR units. Data from the
      first 1116 patients yield a high RD incidence of 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in an
      urban area. Mean age at surgery for women was 62.9 years (95% confidence interval
      61.54-64.35) and for men 58.3 years (95% confidence interval 57.12-59.42). Myopia
      was more common before the age of 50 (mean -4.16 D, 95% confidence interval -5.00
      to -3.32) than at higher age (mean -0.84 D, 95% confidence interval -1.19 to 
      0.49). Cataract surgery had previously been performed in 30.8% of the eyes and
      preoperative macular detachment was present in 52.3%. CONCLUSION: This database
      register is a useful and powerful tool for population-based studies on
      epidemiological and clinical parameters of RD. Detailed analyses of retinal
      reattachment surgery in relation to preoperative findings can be performed in
      large case materials.

PMID- 9987631
TI  - Patterns of increased in vivo fundus autofluorescence in the junctional zone of
      geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium associated with age-related
      macular degeneration.
AB  - PURPOSE: To determine in vivo lipofuscin (LF)-induced topographic variations of
      fundus autofluorescence in eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) of the retinal
      pigment epithelium (RPE) associated with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).
      METHODS: Fundus autofluorescence was examined with a confocal scanning laser
      ophthalmoscope (Heidelberg Retina Angiograph) after excitation with an argon
      laser (488 nm) and detection of the emitted light above 500 nm. Fifty-seven eyes
      of 38 patients with uni- or multifocal GA associated with ARMD were studied. The
      findings were compared with 43 eyes with GA secondary to other etiologies,
      including juvenile macular dystrophies. RESULTS: An increased autofluorescence
      outside the GA was observed in 47 (82.5%) of 57 eyes with GA associated with ARMD
      in contrast to 4 (9.3%) of 43 eyes with GA of other causes (P < 0.001). Three
      different patterns were noted: a continuous band at the margin with variable
      peripheral extension in 36 eyes (76.6%), a diffusely increased autofluorescence
      at the entire posterior pole in 6 eyes (12.8%), and small focal spots of
      increased autofluorescence in the junctional zone in 3 eyes (6.4%). Of 19
      patients with bilateral GA, 17 (89.5%) had an identical pattern in both eyes.
      CONCLUSIONS: The different patterns of autofluorescence in the presence of GA
      associated with ARMD may reflect variable forms of reactive changes in the
      surrounding RPE cells, and may indicate the extend of compromised RPE secondary
      to ageing changes in the outer retina, Bruch's membrane and choriocapillaris.
      Since GA spreads over time, increased LF accumulation in the junctional zone may
      precede cell death and may, therefore, be of prognostic value. Knowledge of the
      topographic variation in LF accumulation is important because heterogeneity may
      reflect underlying differences in cell kinetics, metabolism and biochemistry.

PMID- 9987633
TI  - pH-dependent secondary conformation of bovine lens alpha-crystallin: ATR infrared
      spectroscopic study with second-derivative analysis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In order to simulate the usage of different formulations of
      ophthalmic solution, the protein conformational changes of lens alpha-crystallin
      in buffer solutions of different pH were investigated. METHODS: The secondary
      structure of bovine lens alpha-crystallin in different Mcllvaine buffer solutions
      (pH 2.2, 4.0, 6.0, 7.2 and 8.0) was determined by attenuated total reflection
      (ATR)/Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry with second-derivative
      technique. The turbidity of alpha-crystallin in different buffer solutions was
      observed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results indicate that alpha-crystallin
      exists mainly in beta-sheet structure at 1627-1637 cm-1. The conformational
      components of alpha-crystallin may be closely similar in pH 7.2 buffer solution
      and in pH 8.0 buffer solution. Once alpha-crystallin dissolved in pH 6.0 and 4.0
      buffer solution, the appearance of a component at 1618 or 1620 cm-1, associated
      with the presence of intermolecular beta-sheet structure or beta-turn structure
      or amino acid side chains, implied the denaturation of alpha-crystallin, which
      was even more marked in pH 4.0 buffer solution. Due to the effect of dissociation
      and stability of alpha-crystallin in pH 2.2 buffer solution, the secondary
      structure of the intact alpha-crystallin was difficult to evaluate. This study
      demonstrates that different pH can vary secondary conformational structure of
      alpha-crystallin, particularly if the pH is below 6.0. This suggests that the
      secondary structure of alpha-crystallin in buffer solution exhibits pH-dependent
      characteristics.

PMID- 9987632
TI  - Quantification of intraocular retained perfluorodecalin after macroscopic
      complete removal.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A study was performed to determine the amount of intraocular retained
      perfluorodecalin after macroscopic complete removal. MATERIAL AND METHODS:
      Freshly enucleated pig eyes had the anterior segment removed, vitrectomy was
      carried out, and the eye cups were placed in 0.9% buffered saline solution. One
      millilitre of perfluorodecalin was instilled for 30 min, followed by a fluid-air
      exchange. Perfluorodecalin was macroscopically removed. The retina was rinsed
      twice with 0.9% buffered saline solution. In a second group no rinsing was done,
      while in a third group no fluid-air exchange was performed. Finally all eye cups
      were filled with 2.0 ml of the perfluoropolyether Hostinert 130 to dissolve
      retained perfluorodecalin. The quantity of perfluorodecalin in perfluoropolyether
      was determined by gas chromatography. RESULTS: Retained perfluorodecalin was
      detected in all experiments. The smallest portion of perfluorodecalin retained
      (range 0.04-0.08, mean 0.058%, SD +/- 0.015%) was observed without fluid-air
      exchange. After fluid-air exchange the portion with rinsing was 0.11-0.27% (mean
      0.21%, SD +/- 0.059%) and that without rinsing was 0.51-0.69% (mean 0.60%, SD +/-
      0.065%). CONCLUSIONS: Even after macroscopic complete removal of perfluorodecalin
      a thin layer remains on the retina. If intraoperative fluid-gas exchange is
      necessary, multiple rinsing with 0.9% buffered saline solution should be
      performed to reduce the amount of perfluorocarbon liquid retained.

PMID- 9987634
TI  - PRK-induced anisometropia in the rabbit as a model of myopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Current animal models of myopia, such as the chick and the tree
      shrew, have characteristics that limit their applicability to human myopia and/or
      their use among researchers. The purpose of this study was to establish a rabbit
      model of myopia based on photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)-induced anisometropia.
      METHODS: A group of five pigmented rabbits was treated with a monocular -5 D PRK
      at 5 weeks of age. At 10 weeks of age, two of the eyes were retreated with a
      second -5 D PRK procedure to compensate for partial regression of the refractive
      effect. A second group of six pigmented rabbits was treated with a monocular -6 D
      PRK at 10 weeks of age. Longitudinal measurements of corneal curvature,
      refraction, and axial length were performed until the rabbits were 13 and 21
      weeks of age in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The rabbits in each group were from
      the same litter. RESULTS: Keratometry and retinoscopy measurements confirmed the
      refractive effect of the PRK procedures. At the final measurement point in group
      1, the PRK-treated eyes were significantly longer than the untreated eyes (16.01
      +/- 0.45 mm vs 15.45 +/- 0.56 mm). In group 2, the PRK-treated eyes were
      significantly longer by 0.19 mm and 0.20 mm at ages 19 and 21 weeks,
      respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PRK-induced anisometropia is an effective technique to
      induce hyperopic error compensation in the rabbit as a model of myopic
      development. The technique is effective if the PRK procedure is performed at
      either 5 or 10 weeks of age. However, after PRK at 5 weeks of age, partial
      retreatment may be necessary due to regression of the PRK effect.

PMID- 9987635
TI  - Central serous chorioretinopathy complicating solar retinopathy treated with
      glucocorticoids.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Solar retinopathy and central serous chorio-retinopathy are two well
      defined clinical entities which affect the macular area. Their association has
      never been described. The relation of central serous chorioretinopathy with the
      exposure to glucocorticoids has been recently suggested. CASE REPORT: Central
      serous chorioretinopathy developed in a patient who received corticosteroid
      therapy for solar retinopathy. CONCLUSION: This case report provides additional
      evidence that central serous chorioretinopathy may develop under the effect of
      glucocorticoids. Retinal damage resulting from a previous insult, such as solar
      retinopathy, may act as the permissive factor.

PMID- 9987636
TI  - Glass-ionomer cement: evaluation as an orbital implant.
AB  - BACKGROUND: To assess the potential of a porous glass-ionomer cement (GIC) as an
      alternative material for spherical orbital implants, the handling, side effects
      and rates of fibrovascular ingrowth of this material were compared with those of
      a synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) implant. METHOD: Twenty-one GIC and 8 HA
      uncovered 14-mm spheres were implanted into the orbits of New Zealand albino
      rabbits. Postoperative reactions, animal's behaviour, weight increase and socket
      conditions were monitored. Light and electron microscopy of the exenterated
      orbits were performed 2, 3 and 6 months after primary insertion. RESULTS:
      Implanting of GIC was easier than HA. Postoperatively all animals did well. Three
      HA and 1 GIC implant caused conjunctival dehiscences, but no implant extrusion
      was observed. Histologically, both materials caused mild inflammation in the
      surrounding connective tissue capsule, decreasing with time. GIC implants proved
      to be not truly porous, with only peripheral pores partly occupied by relatively
      acellular collagenous connective tissue. Free glass particles were observed in
      both the connective tissue and giant cells, occupying the partly filled pore
      spaces. HA implants showed extensive ingrowth of vital host tissue from the
      beginning. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the clinical findings and the mild
      inflammation in the connective tissue capsule surrounding both materials, they
      would appear to be equally well tolerated at the implant site. The significantly
      different microstructure and the histological results make GIC, despite better
      handling, less suitable as an orbital implant.

PMID- 9987637
TI  - Simultaneous assessment of the hemodynamic, cardiomechanical, and
      electrophysiological effects of terfenadine on the in vivo canine model.
AB  - Prolongation of the QT interval, sometimes leading to torsades de pointes, has
      been clinically reported during terfenadine treatment. However, information
      regarding the cardiovascular profile of terfenadine is still limited,
      particularly in in vivo animal models. In the current study, we examined the
      cardiovascular effects of terfenadine using halothane-anesthetized, closed-chest
      in vivo canine models (n = 6) to better simulate the clinical situation.
      Intravenous infusion of 0.3 mg/kg of terfenadine over 10 min, which would attain
      the antihistaminic plasma concentration, reduced the heart rate and left
      ventricular contractility and prolonged the repolarization period as well as the
      ventricular effective refractory period. An additional infusion of a ten times
      higher dose of terfenadine over 10 min caused hypotension and increased left
      ventricular preload and atrioventricular conduction time, in addition to
      potentiating the changes observed by the lower dose. A reverse use-dependent
      prolongation of the repolarization period was observed after the higher dose
      infusion. Moreover, early afterdepolarization-like potential was detected in four
      out of six experiments. Since each suppressive effect can become deleterious
      during terfenadine overdose, caution must be taken for those patients with
      potential cardiac dysfunction and with the risk of elevated plasma drug
      concentrations.

PMID- 9987638
TI  - Acute hemodynamic and coronary circulatory effects of experimental autoimmune
      myocarditis.
AB  - Myocarditis and progression to cardiomyopathy is associated with focal spasm and
      reperfusion of the coronary microcirculation. Experimental autoimmune myocarditis
      (EAM), induced with cardiomyosin peptide-specific T cells in Lewis rats, was
      hypothesized to cause acute hemodynamic and coronary vasculature changes. Fifteen
      experimental animals (5 each at 1, 2, and 3 weeks after T-cell injection) and
      eight controls were studied using the constant pressure variant of the isolated
      heart. Coronary resistant decreased while coronary flow increased (P < 0.05) in
      EAM hearts after the first week. Rate-pressure product, +dP/dt and -dP/dt,
      decreased while the heart/body weight ratio increased (P < 0.05) compared with
      controls at 1 week but not at 2 or 3 weeks. Mean local myocardial PO2, which
      reflects local oxygen delivery and consumption, and MVO2 were not different for
      EAM hearts. However, compared with controls EAM myocardial PO2 varied more widely
      and was often beyond the usual range, suggesting the occurrence of localized
      hypoxic and hyperoxic areas. In summary, after the first week there was a
      significant decrease in coronary resistance in the EAM animals, which required
      higher flow to maintain a similar perfusion pressure. These changes in coronary
      resistance and flow along with the heterogeneity and extremes of local myocardial
      PO2 levels without a significant change in MVO2 may be explained by postulating
      development of low-resistance, high-flow hyperoxic areas which steal flow, thus
      causing hypoxia in other areas.

PMID- 9987639
TI  - Acetazolamide-induced increase in blood flow to rabbit organs is confirmed using
      colored microspheres.
AB  - Inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase activity have been found to increase blood and
      organ PCO2 and to increase blood flow (BF) in individual organs. To determine
      whether carbonic anhydrase inhibition coordinately induces an increase in BF in
      several organs, we assayed the effect of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor,
      acetazolamide (AZ), on BF in rabbit organs using the colored microsphere (CM)
      assay. Eight female white rabbits were anesthetized with ketamine and urethane,
      and administered three sequential doses of 4 mg/kg AZ. After each dose, the
      rabbits were injected with 9 x 10(5) CMs of different colors, and arterial blood
      was collected. We found that AZ had no effect on blood pressure, body
      temperature, hemoglobin concentration, or PaCO2. In contrast, 12 mg/kg AZ
      significantly increased PaO2 and significantly decreased base excess. When we
      measured organ BF, we observed, in response to 12 mg/kg AZ, an 82% increase in
      brain BF and a 55% increase in kidney BF, but no change in BF of the liver,
      stomach wall, or abdominal muscle. These findings suggest that the inhibition of
      carbonic anhydrase activity by AZ, which decreases the rate of CO2 conversion to
      HCO3-, causes the retention of CO2 in tissues and organs, and thus increases BF
      in specific organs. Administration of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, such as AZ,
      may increase BF to the brain and kidney without reducing PaO2, thereby increasing
      the supply of oxygen in conditions involving hypoxia such as ischemia and shock.

PMID- 9987641
TI  - Noninvasive measurement of aortic pressure waveform by ultrasound.
AB  - At present, the aortic pressure (Pa) waveform can only be measured invasively. In
      this paper, we describe a new noninvasive method of measuring Pa. The aortic
      diameter (Da) pulse waveform was measured noninvasively from the suprasternal
      fossa using an echo-tracking system that was applied to the anterior and
      posterior aortic wall echoes. To eliminate viscoelastic distortion, the measured
      Da was converted to an estimate of Pa, named P beta, using the stiffness
      parameter beta, which revealed the viscoelastic relationship between the vessel
      diameter and its internal pressure. P beta was then compared with the Pa pattern
      that was measured directly. Eight patients with ischemic heart disease who had
      undergone cardiac catheterization were examined by this method. Results showed
      that (1) the Da and Pa waveforms were similar; (2) the P beta waveform resembled
      the Pa waveform more closely than did the Da waveforms for a single cardiac cycle
      (r = 0.970); and (3) in particular, P beta resembled Pa most closely during the
      upslope phase of the ejection period (r = 0.996). Our results suggest that the Pa
      waveform can be accurately estimated from noninvasive measurements by this
      method.

PMID- 9987640
TI  - Estimation of left ventricular contractile performance in atrial fibrillation:
      experimental and clinical studies.
AB  - There are few studies regarding the assessment of left ventricular contractile
      function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to
      assess the left ventricular (LV) contractile function, i.e., the end-systolic
      pressure-volume relation (Ees) and a recently developed LV systolic myocardial
      stiffness constant (Ksm), without load manipulation in AF. In an experimental
      study of acute AF in dogs (n = 5), we were able to assess these indexes of the LV
      contractile function during acute AF, and found that the values were similar to
      those obtained during occlusion of the inferior vena cava (IVC) at the baseline
      state. During rapid ventricular pacing (140 or 160 bpm), the indices of LV
      contractile function increased due to the force-frequency relation (4.56 +/-
      1.85, Ees baseline; 6.42 +/- 2.54*+, Ees pacing; 5.15 +/- 2.01 mmHg/ml, Ees AF;
      *P < 0.05 vs baseline, +P < 0.05 vs. AF)(4.73 +/- 0.48, Ksm baseline; 6.24 +/-
      1.12*+, Ksm pacing; 3.99 +/- 1.14, Ksm AF; *P < 0.05 vs baseline, +P < 0.05 vs
      AF). In a study of chronic clinical AF in patients without heart disease (lone
      AF, n = 7), the indexes of LV contractile function were preserved compared with
      those of control patients (CTL, n = 10) obtained during IVC occlusion; the values
      were decreased in patients with both AF and dilated cardiomyopathy (AFDCM, n =
      5)(2.5 +/- 1.1, Ees CTL; 2.4 +/- 0.4, Ees lone AF; 1.1 +/- 0.3 mmHg/ml*+, Ees
      AFDCM; *P < 0.05 vs CTL, +P < 0.05 vs lone AF)(5.3 +/- 1.8, Ksm CTL; 4.9 +/- 1.6,
      Ksm lone AF; 2.7 +/- 0.2*+, Ksm AFDCM; *P < 0.05 vs CTL, +P < 0.05 vs lone AF).
      Thus, during acute AF in dogs and in chronic AF patients, LV contractile function
      was assessed without load manipulation. In both the acute AF dogs and the chronic
      lone AF patients, LV contractile function was preserved, and in the AFDCM
      patients it was depressed.

PMID- 9987642
TI  - Forearm vascular responses during semierect dynamic leg exercise in patients
      following myocardial infarction.
AB  - We assessed forearm vascular and blood pressure responses to dynamic leg exercise
      in patients 7 and 28 days postmyocardial infarction. To determine a possible
      association between abnormal exercise vascular responses and baroreflex
      dysfunction, integrated and carotid baroreflex sensitivity and forearm vascular
      responses (during application of subhypotensive lower body negative pressure)
      were assessed. On day 7, 42 patients were compared with 21 age- and sex-matched
      controls. All subjects were assessed for (1) forearm vascular resistance during
      semierect exercise, (2) blood pressure measurements during erect treadmill
      exercise, and (3) integrated, cardiopulmonary, and carotid baroreceptor
      sensitivity. These studies were repeated in 13 patients on day 28. Forearm
      vascular resistance increased during exercise by 36% +/- 63% in patients versus
      121% +/- 105% in controls (P = 0.0001), and fell in 15 patients, a response seen
      in none of the controls. Exercise hypotension was demonstrated in 5 patients, all
      of whom had abnormal vasodilator vascular responses. Those patients with
      vasodilator responses had a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (52% +/- 12%
      vs 62% +/- 9%; P = 0.007), and lower cardiopulmonary mechanoreceptor sensitivity
      (-6.6 +/- 3.9 units vs +6.4 +/- 10.4 units, P = 0.02) than those with constrictor
      responses, respectively. In the 13 patients studied on day 28, the change in
      forearm vascular resistance was similar to that observed on day 7 (36% +/- 63% vs
      46% +/- 73%). Paradoxical vasodilation of forearm vessels during leg exercise is
      common in patients studied 7 and 28 days postmyocardial infarction, and is
      associated with lower left ventricular ejection fraction and abnormal vascular
      responses during subhypotensive lower body negative pressure.

PMID- 9987643
TI  - Thickness, taper, and ellipticity in the aortoiliac bifurcation of patients aged
      1 day to 76 years.
AB  - Lumen area, ellipticity, and wall thickness were measured in the aortoiliac
      bifurcations obtained at autopsy from 14 patients aged between 1 day and 76
      years. The method involved freezing pressure-fixed, stained bifurcations on the
      stage of a refrigerated microtome and then looking at the block face while
      sections were removed. Area change was normalized over segment length to produce
      a value of either taper (narrowing, in mm2/mm), or flare (expansion). The
      aortoiliac bifurcations were divided into three regions based on the area
      changes: an apical region corresponding to the bifurcation apex (taper = 2.96 +/-
      0.80 mm2/mm), a preapical region (flare = 3.58 +/- 0.87 mm2/mm), and the
      postapical region (flare = 0.82 +/- 0.80 mm2/mm). Preapical lumen ellipticity
      showed that the anterio-posterior diameter was always less than the lateral
      diameter, while the degree of ellipticity increased with age. Average
      circumferential wall thickness, assessed in polar coordinates, decreased between
      0 degree (right lateral) and 120 degrees, while a significant increase in wall
      thickness was present between 120 degrees and 200 degrees. The most striking
      difference was found in the 1-day-old, which was very thin posteriorly. This
      detailed geometric analysis of the aortoiliac bifurcation suggests that taper,
      flare, and variations in both circumferential and longitudinal wall thickness
      need to be considered when trying to correlate physical factors in the aorta with
      the precise location of atherosclerotic lesions and wall remodeling.

PMID- 9987644
TI  - Epigenetic modulation of differentiation in CE44 teratocarcinoma.
AB  - Teratocarcinoma is a mixed germ cell tumor histologically composed of embryonal
      carcinoma cells and embryonic and extraembryonic tissues. In the present work we
      have used the CE44 teratocarcinoma, which is a tumor cell line derived from the
      OTT6050 experimental tumor, to appreciate the influence the microenvironment has
      on the modulation of tumoral differentiation. For this, we have studied the
      development of CE44 teratocarcinoma in primary tumors (subcutaneous and
      intrasplenic) and in experimental metastases (hepatic and pulmonary). CE44
      teratocarcinoma shows variations in its capacity for differentiation in so far as
      development is concerned and, in hepatic metastases, we noticed a reparative
      process of the intratumoral necrotic areas which in the same cases were
      substituted by loose connective tissue. Our results clearly suggest that the
      microenvironment is decisive in the biological behaviour of the teratocarcinoma
      cells and that epigenetic factors influence the capacity for differentiation of
      the undifferentiated tumoral cells.

PMID- 9987645
TI  - Development of immune complex trapping: experimental study of lymphoid follicles
      and germinal centers newly induced by exogenous stimulants in mouse popliteal
      lymph nodes.
AB  - The development of immune complex trapping in newly-induced lymphoid follicles of
      draining popliteal lymph nodes was investigated in young adult mice, which had
      been given bilateral injection of hemocyanin (KLH) or phytohemagglutinin (PHA),
      each absorbed onto alumina. HRP-anti-HRP immune complex was injected into the
      footpad 1 day before sacrifice. Using three series of semi-serial cryostat
      sections prepared from each popliteal node, the number of lymphoid follicles in
      each node was counted, and follicular localization of the in vivo injected and in
      vitro applied immune complexes in each follicle was determined. By day 5, a large
      germinal center had developed within each preexisting follicle. A large number of
      'new' secondary follicles, each containing a small PNA-positive germinal center,
      appeared outside pre-existing follicles, from day 5 through day 11 in KLH-treated
      nodes, and from day 7 through day 14 in PHA-treated nodes. Shortly after their
      appearance, new secondary follicles showed no in vitro or in vivo trapping, but
      subsequently, many of the new follicles began to display in vitro trapping, at
      first weakly but later intensely. Occurrence of in vivo trapping in new follicles
      took some time and was first recognized when new follicles showed intense in
      vitro trapping. At day 21 or 25, many of the new follicles showed both in vitro
      and in vivo trapping. It was concluded that in lymph nodes treated with a
      stimulant, secondary follicles containing germinal centers can be formed de novo
      in the extrafollicular zone where the follicular trapping microenvironment is
      absent, but subsequently the microenvironment capable of trapping immune
      complexes develops at the site of formation of new follicles.

PMID- 9987646
TI  - The degradation of glycogen in the lysosomes of newborn rat hepatocytes: glycogen
      , maltose- and isomaltose-hydrolyzing acid alpha glucosidase activities in liver.
AB  - The lysosomal glucosidase activities and glycogen degradation in newborn rat
      liver were studied by using biochemical assays, electron microscopy and
      quantitative morphometry. Glycogen-hydrolyzing, maltose-hydrolyzing and
      isomaltose-hydrolyzing activities were low at birth but increased afterwards. At
      the age of 6 hours they were markedly elevated. Actinomycin prevented the
      development of glucosidase activities indicating that these depend on protein
      synthesis. Parenteral glucose inhibited all three activities. This was apparently
      due to the abolition of normal postnatal hypoglycemia and the need for blood
      glucose. Cyclic AMP increased the glycogen-hydrolyzing but not the maltose
      hydrolyzing activity. Propranolol inhibited the glycogen-hydrolyzing but not the
      maltose-hydrolyzing activity. The observations of this study provide further
      support for the hypothesis made by previous investigators that these activities
      are due to different enzymes.

PMID- 9987647
TI  - Age-related changes in antral endocrine cells in mice.
AB  - Antral endocrine cells in four age groups of mice, namely prepubertal (1 month
      old), young (3 months old), ageing (12 months old) and senescent (24 months old),
      were detected by immunocytochemistry and quantified by computerized image
      analysis. A statistical difference was detected between the different age groups
      regarding the numbers of gastrin-, somatostatin-, and serotonin-immunoreactive
      cells. The number of gastrin-immunoreactive cells significantly increased between
      1 and 12 months, whereas they became significantly fewer between 12 and 24
      months. Somatostatin-immunoreactive cell number increased significantly in 1-, 12
      and 24-month-old mice, compared with young mice (3 months old). The number of
      serotonin-immunoreactive cells also increased significantly in 1- and 12-month
      old mice as compared with young mice. There was a statistical difference between
      different age-groups regarding the cell secretory index (CSI) of somatostatin-
      and gastrin-immunoreactive cells, the CSI of both somatostatin- and serotonin
      immunoreactive cells increased significantly in 1-, 12-, and 24-month-old mice,
      compared with young mice. There was no statistical difference between the
      different age-groups regarding the CSI of gastrin-immunoreactive cells, nor
      between males and females regarding the number and CSI of all the endocrine cell
      types investigated. It is suggested that the large number of somatostatin
      immunoreactive cells in ageing and senescent mice might have an impact on the
      gastric delay seen in the elderly. It was concluded also that the changes in the
      antral endocrine cells could be involved in the development of dysfunction of the
      gastrointestinal tract inherent in ageing, or could be secondary to structural
      and functional changes in the alimentary tract caused by ageing.

PMID- 9987648
TI  - Bcl-2 protein expression and gut neurohormonal polypeptide/amine production in
      colorectal carcinomas and tumor-neighboring mucosa, which closely correlate to
      the occurrence of tumor.
AB  - To clarify whether advanced colorectal carcinomas and tumor-neighboring mucosa
      simultaneously produce both Bcl-2 protein and gut neurohormonal polypeptides
      and/or amines, and the interrelationship of these phenomenon, we studied
      retrospective analysis of Bcl-2 protein production and neuroendocrine
      characteristics in 52 cases of advanced colorectal carcinoma and surrounding
      mucosa. All of the tumor-neighboring mucosa presented hyperplasia. The rates of
      enhanced immunoreactivity of the tumor-neighboring mucosa and of positive
      immunoreactivity of the carcinomas against human Bcl-2 protein and against human
      vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin were
      78.8% and 94.2%, 82.7% and 59.6%, 78.8% and 67.3%, and 88.5% and 84.6%
      respectively. Double immunostaining for Bcl-2 protein and each peptide hormone
      revealed simultaneous expression. In contrast, that of tumor-neighboring mucosa
      and carcinomas to serotonin and chromogranin-A and to argyrophilia were 11.5% and
      1.9%, 32.7% and 17.3%, and 26.9% and 21.2%, respectively. We concluded that tumor
      neighboring crypt cells displayed not only hyperplasia but also neuroendocrine
      characteristics and that enhanced Bcl-2 protein immunoreactivity correlated with
      tumor occurrence in the wall of the colorectum. The production of Bcl-2 protein
      by tumor cells and tumor-neighboring crypt cells indicates that the bcl-2
      protooncogene may act not only as an inhibitor of apoptosis but also as an
      inducer of neuroendocrine differentiation from the latent characteristics of the
      endodermal stem cell.

PMID- 9987649
TI  - Effect of hypertension and captopril treatment on the vasopressin in the rat
      median eminence and posterior lobe of the hypophysis. An immunohistochemical
      study.
AB  - The present study analyses the effects of hypertension and/or its oral treatment
      with captopril (angiotensine-converting enzyme inhibitor) on the rat median
      eminence (ME) and the posterior lobe of the hypophysis (PL). After an
      immunohistochemical reaction using an antibody against arginine-vasopressin, we
      compared by densitometry the amount of vasopressin immunoreactive material
      (vasopressin-ir) of these centers in 4 groups of animals: control Wistar Kyoto
      rats (WKY), spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), WKY rats treated with
      captopril (WKY-T) and SHR rats also treated with the same drug (SHR-T). Captopril
      was administrated at a dosage of 0.1 mg/ml in the drinking water from the 8th to
      the 15th weeks. We have found that the rats showing the lowest level of
      vasopressin-ir, in both ME and PL, were those from the SHR group, the
      concentration increasing after oral captopril treatment (SHR-T), although without
      reaching the values of WKY rats. Then, ACE inhibition by captopril influences
      vasopressin content in brain areas where the hormone is concentrated before being
      released, which supports the hypothesis that suggests a central modulatory effect
      of ACE inhibitors, contributing to their therapeutic action on hypertension.

PMID- 9987650
TI  - Immunohistochemical demonstration of metallothionein in benign and malignant
      canine mammary tumours.
AB  - Immunocytochemical demonstration of metallothionein (MT) has been reported as a
      useful prognostic tool in human breast cancer. The aim of this study was to
      determine the immunohistochemical location of MT in canine mammary tumours and
      its possible correlation with the morphologic characteristics of these tumours.
      Surgical specimens from spontaneous malignant (n = 20) and benign mammary
      neoplasms (n = 20) were processed for routine histological examination and
      immunohistochemical study. An indirect immunoperoxidase technique, using
      monoclonal antibody E9 against horse MT was employed. Intensity of the stain, the
      percentage of immunoreactive tumour cells and immunohistochemical overexpression
      of MT was estimated for each case. Metallothionein over-expression, defined as
      those cases with more than 10% immunopositive cells, was detected in both benign
      and malignant mammary tumours. However, strong immunostaining intensity was seen
      in benign tumours, whereas in malignant tumours immunopositive cells stained
      weakly. Positive MT immunostaining occurred in neoplastic epithelial cells, and
      some chondrocytes present in mixed mammary tumours. However, staining intensity
      was variable in immunopositive cells. Differences in staining intensity between
      the primary malignant mammary tumour, tumour emboli and metastatic cells within a
      lymph node were also noted. Myoepithelial cells and connective tissue did not
      stain for MT. We concluded that metallothionein immunostaining cannot be used as
      a diagnostic or prognostic tool in canine mammary neoplasms. However, results of
      this study support the hypothesis that MT has a role in tumour proliferation and
      tumour progression.

PMID- 9987651
TI  - Effect of neonatal treatment with MSG (monosodium glutamate) on thyroid of the
      adult male rats.
AB  - Monosodium glutamate (MSG), administered to newborn rats produces extensive
      lesions in neurons of the arcuate nuclei of the hypothalamus. The cells represent
      the site of neurohormone production, including the production of both growth
      hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin. Studies were performed on male
      Wistar strain rats, subcutaneously injected with MSG, at 4 mg/g body weight, on
      days 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 of life. When the rats reached the age of 18 months, they
      were additionally stimulated with a single dose of TSH (Ambinon). When the rats
      reached the age of 6, 12, or 18 months, their thyroids were isolated and fixed in
      Bouin's solution. In HE-stained preparations, planimetric and volumetric
      proportions occupied by the epithelial fraction, colloid and stroma, the number
      of thyroid follicles per mm2 and the thickness of epithelium were determined.
      Serum T3 and T4 levels were quantified by RIA. Significance of differences was
      tested using Student's t test. The weight of experimental rat thyroids showed no
      significant variations as compared to the controls but were greatest in the group
      of 12-month-old rats. The same was noted for the volumetric fractions of
      epithelium, colloid and stroma. The planimetric fractions occupied by epithelium,
      colloid and stroma in the thyroid remained unchanged and amounted to 60%, 31% and
      9%, respectively. The number of follicles per mm2 thyroid cross-section in the
      MSG-treated 6-, 12- or 18-month-old rats was 131.3, 116.2 and 130.4,
      respectively, and did not differ from control values. Thickness of follicular
      epithelium showed no significant variations. Serum T3 levels in the rats examined
      after 6, 12 or 18 months were increased by 67%, 89% and 33%, respectively, as
      compared to serum T4 levels. When compared to the controls, the serum T4 level
      was lower only in the 12-month-old MSG-treated rats and the serum T3 level was
      higher in 18-month-old MSG-treated rats. The ability of the thyroid to respond to
      Ambinon stimulation was preserved. The results of our investigations suggest that
      the rat hypothalamic centers involved in regulation of the pituitary-thyroid axis
      are slightly affected by neonatal administration of MSG.

PMID- 9987652
TI  - Gold chloride technique to study articular innervation. A protocol validated
      through computer-assisted colorimetry.
AB  - We studied variations in gold chloride techniques to elicit neural elements
      within articular samples, after "in toto" staining. These techniques attempt the
      differentiation of neural and vascular structures. Major changes in differential
      staining were observed when the gold chloride concentration was empirically
      modified. After the rest of the technique was standardized, we selected three
      gold chloride solutions to perform quantitative color experiments: 1%, 0.75%, and
      0.5%. Significant sections of the same thickness were acquired with a digital
      camera to perform computer-assisted colorimetry. Color was measured through RGB
      (red-green-blue) channels in vessels, nerves, and background connective tissue as
      an internal control. By means of multivariate regression analysis, we compared
      differences in color measurements after 1%, 0.75% and 0.5% gold chloride
      preparation. Statistically significant coefficients confirmed that red color
      signals in vessels after the 0.75% and the 0.5% solution were both less intense
      than after the 1% preparation. Green and blue signals in vessels were also
      significantly less intense after the 0.5% protocol than after using the 1%
      solution. Red color signals in nerves between the 1% and the 0.75% preparation
      protocols were more intense and not significantly different, while the 0.5%
      preparation produced significantly less intense red signals in nerves. Non
      significant differences were observed in green or blue signals from nerves after
      any protocol. We concluded that the 0.75% gold chloride solution protocol
      produced more intense red signals in nerves and less intense red signals in
      vessels. This was the most discriminant protocol in our series, based on color
      signals.

PMID- 9987653
TI  - Angiogenesis and expression of tenascin after transmural laser revascularization.
AB  - Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) with CO2-laser equipment is an
      alternative approach in the treatment of patients with severe ischemic cardiac
      disease. Several studies concerning morphological features after TMR document a
      strong transmyocardial injury, but little is known about wound healing in laser
      induced alterations of the cardiac skeleton and their putative role for
      angiogenesis and endothelialization. The present study was conducted to establish
      a useful immunohistochemical marker for detection of these laser-induced injuries
      and to analyze starting points of angiogenesis in human myocardium after TMR. Our
      data show that tenascin labeling is a useful immunohistochemical approach to
      detect laser-alterated segments of the cardiac skeleton as well as laser-induced
      fibrosis. Starting points of the angiogenetic process are seen throughout the
      margins of laser-induced lesions where myocardial capillaries are found.
      Disrupted vessels located within laser-alterated connective tissue septa are not
      major starting points for endothelialization of laser-induced lesions and for
      capillary sprouts. In comparison to laser-induced fibrosis, induction and
      promotion of angiogenesis by laser radiation is weak.

PMID- 9987654
TI  - Radial glia and cell debris removal during lesion-regeneration of the lizard
      medial cortex.
AB  - Intraperitoneal injection of the neurotoxin 3-acetylpyridine (3AP) induces a
      rapid degeneration of the medial cerebral cortex (lizard fascia dentata) granular
      layer and of its zinc enriched axonal projection (lizard mossy fibres). After 6-8
      weeks post-lesion the cell debris have been removed and the granular layer is
      repopulated by neurons generated in the subjacent ependyma. Both processes,
      neuron incorporation and debris removal, seem to be crucial for successful
      regeneration. Scavenging processes in the lesioned mammalian CNS are usually
      carried out by microglia and/or astrocytes. In the lizard cerebral cortex there
      are no free astrocytes and the only glial fibrillary acid (GFAP) immunoreactive
      cells are radial glia-ependymocytes, similar to those present during mammalian
      CNS development. Ependymocytes, in addition to their help in vertical migrations
      of just generated immature neurons, built the cortical glial scaffold, insulate
      the blood capillaries, form the outer glial limiting membrane, thus playing an
      essential role in the lizard cortical blood-brain barrier. In this study, by
      means of GFAP-immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy, we have shown that
      radial glial cells participate actively in the removal/phagocytosis of cellular
      debris generated in the lesion process: mainly degenerated synapses, but
      interestingly, also some neuronal somata. Cell debris taken up by ependymocyte
      lateral processes seem to be progressively transported to either distal (pial) or
      proximal (ventricular) poles of the cell, where they result in lipofuscin
      accumulations. The hypothetical subsequent exchange of debris from ependymoglia
      by microglia/macrophages and Kolmer cells is discussed.

PMID- 9987655
TI  - Microglial cells during the lesion-regeneration of the lizard medial cortex.
AB  - The lizard medial cortex (lizard fascia dentata) is capable of neural
      regeneration after being lesioned by the anti-metabolite 3-acetylpyridine (3AP).
      This study was aimed at detecting microglial behaviour during the medial cortex
      lesion-regeneration process using tomato lectin histochemistry to label microglia
      (both with light and electron microscopy) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen
      (PCNA) immunocytochemistry to label proliferating cells. As expected, 1-2 days
      post-injection lectin-labelled microglia cells could not be observed in the
      medial cortex plexiform layers, but later (7 days post-injection) abundant lectin
      labelled microglia cells re-populated the regenerating medial cortex. Abundant
      PCNA-immunolabelled nuclei were detected both in the subjacent ependymal
      neuroepithelium (neuroblasts, maximum at 2 days post-injection) as well as in
      some parenchymal cells which were also lectin-labelled (microglia, maximum at 7
      15 days post-injection). Re-invasive microglia were also detected in the vicinity
      of ventricular ependymal lining, blood vessels and meninges. The electron
      microscope demonstrated that these microglial cells participate in cell debris
      removal, especially of neural granular cell somata. Other cell types related to
      microglia (mast cells, peri-vascular cells and meningeal cells) were also present
      during the scavenging process. Significant numbers of microglial cells remained
      in close relationship with the ependymal proliferative areas, even in control non
      lesioned animals. This is indirect evidence for the working hypothesis that
      microglia are not only implicated in cell debris removal, but also in the
      regulation of newly generated neuroblast incorporation onto the cortical areas.
      Whether they phagocytose immature neuroblasts or induce cell death in them or
      even prevent their migration onto the principal layer areas are likely
      possibilities that remain to be proven.

PMID- 9987656
TI  - Selective nuclear morphometry as a prognostic factor of survival in renal cell
      carcinoma.
AB  - In the present study, we sought to determine the predictive value of selective
      nuclear morphometry (SNM) for patient outcome in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
      Tumor samples of 140 renal adenocarcinomas diagnosed and treated with radical
      nephrectomy and hilar lymphadenectomy between 1970 and 1988 with a minimum follow
      up of 5 years in all the cases were studied by SNM. The morphometric analysis was
      performed in the most malignant tumor selected zone. Selection was based on
      cytological criteria including nuclear grade. Nuclear morphometric features
      analyzed were: area, perimeter, major diameter, major and minor diameter of the
      equivalent ellipse, volume of the equivalent ellipse and sphere, circumference
      diameter, and shape factors. The results showed that in the selected zone tumor
      nuclei were larger than in the zones selected at random. There was an inverse
      correlation between morphometric parameters and survival and a direct one between
      tumoral grade and stage. Tumors of the long-term survival group of patients
      presented nuclei with smaller morphometric measurements than tumors of short term
      survival group, with significant differences between them (p < 0.05). In the
      survival analysis carried out by the Kaplan-Meier method significant differences
      existed between different groups formed from break point for: area, perimeter,
      major diameter, major and minor diameter of the ellipse, volume of the ellipse
      and sphere, circumference diameter and perimeter shape factor. In the
      multivariate analysis carried out by the Cox method, the feature with the most
      predictable value related to survival, was the tumor stage. Morphometric value
      with the highest punctuation in the test was major nuclear diameter. The rest of
      the morphometric values (except elliptic shape factor and elongation factor) were
      also significant but they did not improve prognostic information of the major
      nuclear diameter. SNM offers a useful aid in a more objective grading of RCC.
      Multivariate Cox analysis revealed additional value of karyometry to tumor stage.
      SNM can be a useful tool for stratification of patients with RCC.

PMID- 9987657
TI  - Etoposide sensitivity of human prostatic cancer cell lines PC-3, DU 145 and
      LNCaP.
AB  - Metastatic prostatic cancer is typically refractory to androgen ablation therapy
      due to the presence of androgen-independent clones in the neoplasia. A
      therapeutical approach which could effectively control androgen-dependent and
      independent cells is, thus, needed. Maybe the failure of certain cancer cells to
      engage in apoptosis could explain the inherent drug resistance of many tumors.
      Anyway, these cells can retain the ability to undergo apoptosis in response to an
      adequate stimulus. We tested whether etoposide, a topoisomerase II inhibitor,
      could induce apoptosis in androgen-dependent (LNCaP) as well as independent (PC-3
      and DU 145) human prostate cancer cell lines. Morphological examination was
      performed, as it is regarded as one of the most reliable parameters for the
      detection of apoptotic changes. Complementarily, biochemical and flow cytometric
      studies were also used. Characteristical changes of apoptosis were demonstrated
      in PC-3, Du 145, and LNCaP cancer cells after treatment with etoposide. These
      cells, thus, retain the ability to undergo apoptosis under adequate conditions,
      in a promising approach to hormone refractory prostate cancer therapy.

PMID- 9987658
TI  - Development of follicular dendritic cells: a study using short-term bone marrow
      cell grafting in SCID mice.
AB  - To evaluate the cellular origin of follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in lymphoid
      follicles (LFs), severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (H-2d) were grafted
      with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU)-incorporated bone marrow cells from CB-17
      mice (H-2d) and with non-BrdU-incorporated bone marrow cells from C3H mice (H-2k)
      and Wistar rats (RT1u). This procedure was followed by antigenic stimulation with
      horseradish peroxidase and related immune complex (mouse peroxidase anti
      peroxidase) administration. Secondary LFs in the lymph nodes and spleen of the
      reconstructed SCID mice were examined morphologically and immunocytochemically.
      LFs reconstructed with CB-17 mouse bone marrow cells contained FDCs capable of
      trapping and/or retaining mouse peroxidase anti-peroxidase as immune complexes.
      Secondary LFs contained BrdU-incorporated germinal center lymphocytes but not non
      lymphoid stromal cells. A cell grafting study in SCID mice using bone marrow
      cells from C3H mice and Wistar rats demonstrated that FDCs in reconstructed LFs
      exhibited a marker specific for the recipient but not for the donor. These data
      indicate that functionally active FDCs occur de novo in reconstructed LFs in SCID
      mice, and do not support the view that FDCs originate from bone marrow cells in
      short-term reconstructed LFs.

PMID- 9987659
TI  - Possible involvement of DNA methylation in 5-azacytidine-induced neuronal cell
      apoptosis.
AB  - Eight chemicals that are cytidine analogues or nucleosides (5-azacytidine (5AzC),
      5-azadeoxycytidine, 6-azacytidine, 5-azacytosin, cytidine, 3-deazaadenine, 3
      deazauridine and 6-azauridine) were examined for the ability to induce neuronal
      apoptosis. 5AzC and 5-azadeoxycytidine induced apoptosis in the brain and spinal
      cord of the fetuses at 24 hr after the injection to dams, while the other
      chemicals tested failed to induce apoptosis. In the system of PC12 cells, only
      5AzC induced apoptosis, and other chemicals failed to provoke morphological and
      biochemical changes characteristic of apoptosis. 5AzC, 5-azadeoxycytidine and 6
      azacytidine failed to induce apoptosis in C6 cells. Gel electrophoresis after
      MspI or HapII digestions revealed no apparent evidence of DNA demethylation after
      5AzC-treatment in either fetal brains or PC12 cells. These results indicate that
      DNA demethylation is possibly involved in 5AzC-induced neuronal apoptosis
      although no direct evidence of DNA demethylation was obtained.

PMID- 9987660
TI  - Antigen retrieval on epoxy sections based on tissue infiltration with a
      moderately increased amount of accelerator to detect immune complex deposits in
      glomerular tissue.
AB  - We wanted to examine the effect of antigen retrieval on epoxy sections where the
      tissue had been infiltrated by resin containing moderately increased amounts of
      accelerator. The concentration of accelerator DMP-30 (Tri(Dimethyl Amino Methyl)
      Phenol) was varied in the range of 0% to 4% in the infiltration step of the
      tissue processing. Some of the epoxy sections were fixed in osmium tetroxide, and
      for others this fixative was avoided. Immunogold labeling was performed on epoxy
      sections and LR-White sections of renal tissue with IgG-deposits, and the
      antibody used was anti-IgG. Antigen retrieval was performed by heating the
      sections in citrate buffer. The amount of immunogold labeling on retrieved
      sections increased according to the amount of accelerator the non-osmicated epoxy
      sections were based on in the infiltration steps. For the osmicated epoxy
      sections these differences were less pronounced. The immunogold labeling of
      retrieved epoxy sections was up to 70% of LR-White labeling. In addition to
      breaking fixation bond introduced by the chemical fixation, we believe that the
      antigen retrieval also breaks bonds between the epoxy resin and the embedded
      tissue. The combination of increased amount of accelerator in the tissue
      infiltration and antigen retrieval by heating the sections in citrate buffer is a
      good method for improving the immunolabeling of epoxy sections.

PMID- 9987661
TI  - The enhancing effect of excess retinol palmitate on induction of odontogenic
      tumors and inhibitory effect on squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva in
      hamsters treated with N-methylnitrosourea.
AB  - The influence of excess retinol palmitate on induction of tumors in the oral
      region was examined histopathologically. Sixty-three weanling Syrian golden
      hamsters were divided into five groups and received either 0.2% N
      methylnitrosourea (MNU) (1 mg/100 g body weight) or retinol palmitate (RP)
      (25,000 IU/100 g body weight) twice a week for 16 weeks, singly or in
      combination. Animals received RP intraperitoneally or intragastrically and then,
      6 hours later, the animals received intragastric administration of MNU. To
      accelerate the cell activity of the incisal tooth buds, intentional disocclusion
      of the left upper and lower incisor of all hamsters was carried out by repeated
      cutting with cooled diamond disks to a level just above the inter-dental papilla
      twice a week for 12 weeks. The right incisors were left in occlusion. In all
      animals exposed to RP + MNU, while the induction of squamous cell carcinomas of
      the gingiva and forestomach were prevented, the notable findings were a
      significantly increased incidence of odontogenic tumors in cut incisal regions of
      the animals with intragastric administration of RP + MNU and an induction of
      maxillary neurogenic tumors. The incidence of MNU-induced disturbances in
      odontogenesis in the incisors was reduced but marked disturbances were increased.
      RP seemed to have opposite effects of prevention and enhancement for development
      of neoplastic changes in the oral region.

PMID- 9987662
TI  - Lectinhistochemistry and ultrastructure of microglial response to monosodium
      glutamate-mediated neurotoxicity in the arcuate nucleus.
AB  - In this study we describe the most relevant morphological features of the
      microglial reaction that takes place in the arcuate nucleus (AN) after neurotoxic
      injury induced by a single subcutaneous injection of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
      in neonatal rats. The time course of the reaction was evaluated by
      lectinhistochemistry. Microglial/macrophagic cells were labelled with the lectin
      obtained from Lycopersicon esculentum and with B4 isolectin from Griffonia
      simplicifolia. The microglial response was also studied by ultrastructural
      observations. The histochemical study revealed the presence of few reactive
      microglial cells at 6 h post-injection. These cells were intensely stained and
      had a globular morphology but contained no neuronal debris inside them when
      observed under the electron microscope. At 12 h post-injection, the number of
      microglial cells had increased and, at the same time, intense phagocytic activity
      was observed ultrastructurally. The microglial reaction peaked at 24 and 36 h
      post-injection, when the number of microglial/macrophagic cells was maximum,
      although the ultrastructural observations showed that at 36 h the amount of
      debris ingested by macrophages was decreased with respect to animals sacrificed
      at 24 h. Finally, at 4 days after neurotoxic injection the number and morphology
      of microglial cells were similar to those observed in the control rats. The
      ultrastructural study also revealed the existence of microglial cell mitosis in
      the territory of the AN together with a strong increase in the number of
      supraependymal cells resembling macrophages in the third ventricle during the
      lesion. Our data demonstrate that activated microglial cells initially extend
      throughout the damaged territory, but from 24-36 h onwards they are especially
      patent in the ventrolateral portions of the AN.

PMID- 9987663
TI  - Molecular and cellular basis of tissue remodeling during amphibian metamorphosis.
AB  - Amphibian metamorphosis involves systematic transformations of various tadpole
      organs/tissues. Three major types of changes take place during this process.
      These are remodeling, resorption, and de novo development, all of which appear to
      involve both cell proliferation and apoptosis (programmed cell death). All
      metamorphic changes are controlled by thyroid hormone (T3) and are organ
      autonomous. Recent studies using primary cell cultures and a stably transformed
      cell line from tadpole tissues have implicated that T3 induces apoptosis cell
      autonomously. This T3-induced, metamorphosis-associated apoptosis is similar to
      cell death in other animal species and involves similar cell death executioners.
      Both the activation of these executioners and the pathways leading to cell
      proliferation and differentiation are believed to be through transcriptional
      regulation by T3 receptors (TRs). TRs can activate or repress target gene
      transcription depending upon the presence or absence of T3, respectively. Many
      direct T3-response genes have been isolated and found to encode a variety of
      proteins that can affect both intra- and extra-cellular events. The
      determinations of the identities of these response genes through sequence
      analyses and studies on their expression profiles during development have
      provided strong clues toward their roles in metamorphosis. However, future
      studies using organ and cell culture systems and/or transient or stable
      transgenic technologies are required to understand how these genes transduce the
      T3 signal to activate the downstream cell death and proliferation/differentiation
      pathways.

PMID- 9987664
TI  - Cytokines and pulmonary inflammatory and immune diseases.
AB  - Cytokines are important soluble signalling molecules that dictate and coordinate
      inflammatory and immune responses. Further understanding the role of cytokines in
      the pathobiologic mechanisms of pulmonary inflammatory and immune diseases holds
      the key to the development of effective prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.
      In the last several years, the use of models of human pulmonary diseases
      established either in normal adult animals, mice deficient for a given immune
      cell type or cytokine, or mice engineered to overexpress a given cytokine, has
      remarkably facilitated our understanding of the mechanisms operating in human
      disease. Cytokines that are involved in pulmonary inflammatory and immune
      conditions may be generally divided into groups of pro-inflammatory, anti
      inflammatory and growth-stimulatory cytokines. While pro-inflammatory cytokines
      can be detrimental under such severe conditions as endotoxemia and fibrosis, they
      are required in host resistance against infectious agents. Anti-inflammatory
      cytokines play an important role in controlling the extent of tissue
      inflammatory/immune responses. Overexpression of growth-stimulatory cytokines are
      often directly associated with tissue fibrotic responses. In this review, the
      findings attained from experimental models by us and others were discussed with
      emphasis on cellular and histopathologic alterations, cytokine-mediated molecular
      mechanisms and the prospects of cytokine-based therapeutic strategies. Due to the
      restrict space, we chose to focus only on models for endotoxic lung, endotoxemia,
      acute pulmonary infections by extracellular Gram-negative bacteria, chronic
      pulmonary infections by intracellular myco-bacteria, allergic airways
      inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis.

PMID- 9987665
TI  - Systematic review and meta-analysis in anatomic pathology: the value of nuclear
      DNA content in predicting progression in low grade CIN, the significance of the
      histological subtype on prognosis in cervical carcinoma.
AB  - Meta-analysis, though increasingly popular in clinical medicine, has not found
      acceptance in anatomic pathology. This paper argues that, in combination with a
      systematic review of the literature, meta-analysis may be usefully applied to
      pathological research and two examples drawn from gynaecological pathology (the
      value of nuclear DNA quantitation in predicting progression in low grade cervical
      intraepithelial neoplasia and the difference in prognosis between squamous cell
      carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the cervix) are included to illustrate the
      methods used and to demonstrate some of the difficulties associated with these
      techniques.

PMID- 9987666
TI  - The use of the lectin Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA) as a prognostic indicator
      and as a tool in cancer research.
AB  - Progress in treatment for cancer has enabled extension of the disease-free
      interval, and of the quality of life for patients, but there has been very little
      improvement in overall survival rates. The main reason for this has been the
      ineffectiveness of current therapies to kill all the cancer cells once they have
      spread to distant sites to form metastatic deposits. One marker which has proved
      to be useful in identifying those cancers which have the potential to spread is
      the lectin Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA). In clinical studies, HPA binding to
      primary tumours in tissue sections has been of prognostic value in breast, colon
      and gastric cancer, while no prognostic significance for HPA could be detected in
      tumours of the head and neck. These studies hence indicate that HPA is best
      suited to recognise a glycotope on adenocarcinomas. In several studies, HPA
      reactivity is equal or superior to other classical markers of metastatic
      potential. Since HPA is a marker of prognosis at the level of individual tumour
      cells, human tumour cell lines were screened for their HPA positivity. When
      transplanted into severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice, HPA positive human
      breast and colon cancer cells metastasised while HPA negative cancer cell lines
      in general did not. In order to define HPA binding glycotopes at the molecular
      level, isolated cell membrane glycoproteins were exposed to labelled HPA on
      nitrocellulose membranes after Western blotting procedure. The majority of the
      isolated cell membrane glycoproteins bound HPA indicating that not a single HPA
      binding glycoprotein exists, which is associated with the metastatic phenotype.
      Functional investigations using the human/scid mouse chimeras will aid in the
      identification of those HPA positive glycoproteins which are functionally
      involved in the metastatic cascade.

PMID- 9987667
TI  - Proteinase-antiproteinase imbalance in the pathogenesis of emphysema: the role of
      metalloproteinases in lung damage.
AB  - Pulmonary emphysema refers to a lung disorder characterized by a diffuse
      destruction of the alveolar walls resulting in enlargement of the distal
      airspaces. The disease is usually a chronic, progressive, and disabling disorder.
      The concept of proteinase/antiproteinase imbalance evolved from the
      identification of patients with alpha 1-antytripsin deficiency, and from the
      development of experimental emphysematous lesions using different enzymes. For a
      long time, this concept was seen as an elastase/antielastase imbalance, with the
      consequent degradation of elastin. Recent evidence, however, suggests that an
      intricate process of pulmonary remodeling occurs during the development of
      emphysema, where a complex network of serine proteases and metalloproteinases
      capable of degrading different extracellular matrix molecules, primarily, but not
      exclusively fibrillar collagens and elastin, are implicated in the pathogenesis
      of this disease.

PMID- 9987668
TI  - New insights into the function of noncoding RNA and its potential role in disease
      pathogenesis.
AB  - All polyadenylated RNAs expressed in mammalian tissues are assumed to be
      transported to the cytoplasm where they direct the synthesis of a protein
      product. This mainstream view of the function of polyadenylated transcripts is
      currently being challenged by the identification of a novel class of genes which,
      although they encode polyadenylated RNA, do not make a translated protein. Many
      of these noncoding RNAs are developmentally regulated or show highly restricted
      patterns of gene expression, and their functions are providing important insight
      into RNA-based mechanisms of gene expression, genomic imprinting, cell cycle
      progression, and differentiation. The purpose of this review is to discuss the
      current understanding of mammalian noncoding RNAs, and to highlight their
      potential for identifying new pathways of human disease.

PMID- 9987669
TI  - Nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle fibers: a signaling component of the
      dystrophin-glycoprotein complex.
AB  - The present review deals with the anatomical distribution, physiological
      importance, and pathological implications of the neuronal-type nitric oxide
      synthase (nNOS) in skeletal muscle. Throughout the body, nNOS is located beneath
      the sarcolemma of skeletal muscle fibers. In rodents, nNOS is enriched in type
      IIb muscle fibers, but is more homogenously distributed among type II and type I
      fibers in humans and subhuman primates. It is accumulated on the postsynaptic
      membrane at the neuromuscular junction. An increased concentration of nNOS is
      noted at the sarcolemma of muscle spindle fibers, in particular nuclear bag
      fibers, which belong to type I fibers. The association of nNOS with the
      sarcolemma is mediated by the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex. Specifically, nNOS
      is linked to alpha 1-syntrophin through PDZ domain interactions. Possibly, it
      also directly binds to dystrophin. The activity and expression of nNOS are
      regulated by both myogenic and neurogenic factors. Besides acetylcholine,
      glutamate has also been shown to stimulate nNOS, probably acting through N-methyl
      D-aspartate receptors, which are colocalized with nNOS at the junctional
      sarcolemma. Functional studies have implicated nitric oxide as a modulator of
      skeletal muscle contractility, mitochondrial respiration, carbohydrate
      metabolism, and neuromuscular transmission. A clinically relevant aspect of nNOS
      is its absence from the skeletal muscle sarcolemma of patients with Duchenne
      muscular dystrophy (DMD). A concept is presented which suggests that, as a
      consequence of the disruption of the dystrophin-glyoprotein complex in DMD, nNOS
      fails to become attached to the sarcolemma and is subject to downregulation in
      the cytosol.

PMID- 9987670
TI  - Epithelial integrity, cell death and cell loss in mammalian small intestine.
AB  - In recent years, the different mechanisms of epithelial cell loss which occur in
      mammalian and avian small intestine have been re-investigated. Information is now
      available for a variety of mammalian types and mechanisms can be divided into two
      major classes: [i] those preserving epithelial integrity by maintaining
      intercellular tight junctions throughout early-to-late stages of cell extrusion;
      and [ii] those which compromise integrity by introducing breaches in epithelial
      continuity. Both classes are associated with the activity and/or proximity of non
      epithelial cells (mainly lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes) located in the
      epithelium or underlying lamina propria. Intraepithelial lymphocytes may be
      involved in enterocyte targetting and killing whilst lamina propria (LP)
      macrophages sequester cell debris. Where epithelial integrity is maintained, two
      types of loss can be identified. In the first (type 1), complete cells are
      extruded into the lumen. In the second (type 2), only anucleate apical cell
      fragments pass into the lumen. There are two variants of type 2 loss
      distinguishable by the fate of the nucleated basal portions of cells. One variant
      (type 2a) creates large intercellular spaces extending from the preserved apical
      cap to the basal lamina and containing enterocyte debris for phagocytosis. The
      second (type 2b) involves the gradual shrinkage of individual cells (which become
      more electron-dense) and in situ degeneration of their nucleated subapical
      portions in increasingly narrower intercellular spaces between adjacent healthy
      enterocytes. The mechanism of removal of these fragments is unclear but may be
      via macrophages or surrounding enterocytes. Apoptosis has been implicated in both
      type 1 and type 2 extrusion. In contrast, type 3 loss involves morphological
      changes in enterocytes which are reminiscent of those seen in necrosis and is
      accompanied by breaks in epithelial continuity following cell swelling, a
      decrease in cell electron density and total or subtotal degradation of organelles
      and membranes. It ends in loss of either an abnormal cell apex (with subsequent
      exposure of the degraded cell contents and their spillage into the lumen) or a
      complete cell remnant (extruded into the lumen before total disintegration of
      plasma membranes).

PMID- 9987671
TI  - Molecular genetics of ovarian carcinomas.
AB  - The phenotypic variability of epithelial ovarian neoplasms correlates with a
      diversity of changes at the molecular level. Invasive serous and undifferentiated
      ovarian carcinomas are characterized by p53 mutations with p53 protein
      accumulation, extensive loss of genetic material of chromosome 17 and complex
      changes on many other chromosomes, e.g. amplification of oncogenes. These
      alterations are seen only in a minority of mucinous and endometrioid carcinomas,
      mainly in advanced stages. Overexpression of bcl-2 is seen most frequently in
      endometrioid carcinomas (ca. 90% of cases), which in addition show microsatellite
      instability in around a third of the cases, as has been described in endometrioid
      endometrial carcinomas. KRAS mutations are characteristic for mucinous LMP tumors
      and mucinous carcinomas (40-50% of cases) and are also found in a third of serous
      LMP tumors. In addition, serous LMP tumors show mild microsatellite instability
      in 30%. However, complex chromosomal aberrations are never seen in these
      neoplasms.

PMID- 9987672
TI  - Clinical applications of detecting dysfunctional p53 tumor suppressor protein.
AB  - The p53 gene encodes for a protein, p53, which plays a critical role in
      controlling the cell cycle, in DNA repair and in programmed cell death
      (apoptosis). p53 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human neoplasms
      and a variety of techniques have been developed to detect these mutations. These
      range from advanced molecular-genetic analyses to immunohistochemical staining
      for the p53 protein. This review will summarize our current understanding of the
      function of p53 as well as current methods to detect dysfunctional p53 and the
      clinical value of such analyses.

PMID- 9987673
TI  - Thrombospondin-1, PECAM-1, and regulation of angiogenesis.
AB  - Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) is a multidomain glycoprotein expressed by many cell
      types. It is a multifunctional protein with important roles in regulation of
      vascular cell functions. Mutation or loss of tumor suppressor genes results in
      down regulation of TSP1 expression during malignant transformation. Thus,
      suggesting that down regulation of TSP1 may contribute to development of the
      tumor angiogenic phenotype and perhaps tumor metastasis. TSP1 was demonstrated to
      be a natural inhibitor of angiogenesis. Peptides from procollagen-like domain and
      type 1 repeats of TSP1, like whole TSP1, inhibit the angiogenic response to a
      variety of angiogenic stimuli in vivo and endothelial cell (EC) migration in
      vitro by directly acting on ECs. The molecular mechanisms which mediate these
      inhibitory effects of TSP1 and its peptides are not understood. TSP1 expression
      is down regulated in the Polyoma middle T transformed mouse brain ECs (bEND.3).
      This may remove the TSP1 inhibitory effects allowing ECs to rapidly proliferate
      in culture and form hemangiomas in vivo. Re-expression of TSP1 in bEND.3 cells
      restores a normal phenotype and suppresses their ability to form hemangiomas.
      This is mediated by modulating expression of several genes in concert favoring a
      differentiated state of endothelium. TSP1 transfected bEND.3 cells down regulate
      expression of PECAM-1, a multifunctional endothelial cell adhesion molecule with
      essential roles in angiogenesis. A similar phenotype to that of TSP1 transfected
      cells was observed when endogenous PECAM-1 levels were down regulated by anti
      sense transfection of bEND.3 cells. The anti-sense PECAM-1 transfected cells turn
      on expression of endogenous TSP1 and its angioinhibitory receptor, CD36.
      Expression of other genes with potential roles in regulation of EC phenotype were
      also affected in patterns very similar to those observed in TSP1 transfected
      bEND.3 cells. Therefore, it appears that a reciprocal relationship exists between
      TSP1 and PECAM-1 such that they are constituents of a "switch" that regulates in
      concert many components of the angiogenic and differentiated phenotype of ECs.

PMID- 9987674
TI  - Activin: a novel player in tissue repair processes.
AB  - Recent studies have demonstrated a strong expression of activin in repair
      processes of various tissues and organs, including the skin, the lung, the
      intestine, the cardiovascular system, and even the brain. Although little is as
      yet known about the function of activin in tissue repair, first results suggest a
      role of activin in epithelial differentiation, fibroblast proliferation and
      expression of matrix molecules by these cells, and also in neuroprotection.
      Whereas a transient overexpression of activin after tissue injury might be
      beneficial for the repair process, sustained expression of activin could lead to
      fibrotic processes. Therefore, the modulation of the availability or biological
      activity of activin could be of particular importance for the treatment of
      impaired tissue repair on the one hand and tissue fibrosis on the other hand.

PMID- 9987675
TI  - Intracellular cholesterol trafficking.
AB  - The overall picture of intracellular cholesterol trafficking is very complex. The
      transfer of cholesterol within the cell depends on the contribution of several
      trafficking mechanisms. The known elements of cholesterol trafficking machinery
      include clathrin-coated pits, scavenger receptor type B1, caveolae, phospholipid
      rafts, Niemann-Pick C disease protein, sterol carrier protein 2, multidrug
      resistance protein, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein and steroidogenic
      acute regulation protein. Several pathways of intracellular cholesterol
      trafficking, for example retroendocytosis and cholesterol absorption in the
      intestine, are yet to be connected to specific structural elements. The
      contribution of different pathways depends on cell type, the source and
      destination of cholesterol and cellular cholesterol content and requirements.
      Some pathways are found in most, if not all, cell types, while others are
      associated with the specialized function of a particular cell type, for example,
      lipoprotein assembly in the liver or intestine and steroid hormone synthesis in
      steroidogenic tissue. Certain routes of intracellular cholesterol trafficking are
      heavily backed up by several auxiliary pathways, others entirely depend on a
      single functional element. In this review we describe the intracellular machinery
      involved in the intracellular transfer of cholesterol and give an overview of
      both the general and specialized pathways of intracellular cholesterol
      trafficking known to date.

PMID- 9987676
TI  - Lipid signaling and cell responses at the nuclear level.
AB  - The nucleus is known to be a site for an active lipid metabolism. Although
      phospholipids are present in the nuclear envelope, evidence suggests that they
      are also located further inside the nucleus. The function of these intranuclear
      lipids has escaped clarification for many years. Early experiments showed that
      they can interact with DNA double helix affecting its thermal stability and can
      influence RNA synthesis in isolated nuclei. However, in the last 10 years several
      investigations have suggested that they may be involved in signal transduction
      pathways at the nuclear level and a growing body of evidence supports this
      hypothesis.

PMID- 9987678
TI  - Apoptosis and autoimmune disease.
AB  - The process of programmed cell death or apoptosis was already noted in 1842 by
      Vogt [1], but it was not until the more recent studies of Kerr et al. 1972 [2]
      that an explosion of interest in apoptosis research occurred. Genetic,
      biochemical and cellular analysis in certain mammals, in the nematode
      Caenorhabditis elegans and in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster have
      identified several apoptosis regulating genes. This indicates that programmed
      cell death is an active, genetically controlled process. Many of the known cell
      death regulators are homologous in mammals, nematodes and insects, indicating
      that apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved process. Apoptosis can be induced
      via multiple independent signalling pathways which converge upon a common final
      effector machinery. This stimulates activation of latent cysteine proteases
      (caspases), which cleave vital cellular substrates and thereby lead to the death
      of cells. The regulatory pathways of apoptosis are becoming clear with the
      discovery of specific signalling molecules. It has become evident that many
      disease processes including autoimmunity and cancer can be caused by deregulation
      of the apoptotic process. With the discovery of novel cell surface-bound death
      receptors, their ligands and further insight into the apoptotic machinery within
      the cell, research may ultimately lead to the design of therapies that allow
      intervention in the apoptotic process. The aims of such strategies would be to
      turn on apoptosis in neoplastic cells or in lymphocytes that are causing
      autoimmune disease or to prevent cell death in degenerative disorders. This
      review describes current understanding of the molecular regulation of apoptosis,
      and focuses on issues relating to possible roles of defective cell death control
      in autoimmunity.

PMID- 9987677
TI  - Opioids, NSAIDs and 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors act synergistically in brain via
      arachidonic acid metabolism.
AB  - We have established that mu-opioid receptor activation causes a presynaptic
      inhibition of neurotransmitter release that is mediated by 12-lipoxygenase
      metabolites of arachidonic acid in midbrain neurons [1]. We further demonstrated
      that the efficacy of opioids was enhanced synergistically by treatment of brain
      neurons with inhibitors of the other major enzymes responsible for arachidonic
      acid metabolism; cyclooxygenase (COX-1) and 5-lipoxygenase. These findings
      explain a mechanism of analgesic action of NSAIDs in the central nervous system
      that is both independent of prostanoid release and inhibited by opioid
      antagonists, as well as the synergistic interaction of opioids with NSAIDs. These
      findings also suggest new avenues for development of centrally active medications
      involving combinations of lowered doses of opioids and specific 5-lipoxygenase
      inhibitors.

PMID- 9987679
TI  - Cytokine-induced sequential migration of neutrophils through endothelium and
      epithelium.
AB  - OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To better understand the mechanisms by which cytokines
      induced neutrophils to migrate into the airways, we constructed a novel in vitro
      model system. MATERIALS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVE) monolayers
      were grown on top of permeable filters and human lung type II-like alveolar
      epithelial cell (A549) monolayers were grown on the undersurface of the filters.
      METHODS: The sequential migration of human neutrophils through the endothelium
      (apical to basal movement) and subsequently through the epithelium (basal to
      apical movement) in response to IL-1 beta or TNF alpha located basally to the
      epithelium was measured. RESULTS: We found that IL-1 beta and TNF alpha induced
      dose-responsive and time-dependent migration through the double monolayers-filter
      complex. The pattern of migration was similar, and the amount greater than or
      equal to that observed through either single monolayer/filter complex. Neutrophil
      migration through naked filters was generally less than that observed through the
      cellular barriers. The contribution of the monolayer orientation was also
      examined and found to favor the more physiologic directional migration of
      neutrophils through an endothelial and epithelial barrier, apical to basal and
      basal to apical, respectively. In contrast, FMLP-induced neutrophil migration was
      not dependent upon either the orientation or presence of the monolayer(s).
      CONCLUSIONS: Thus, we have established an in vitro model system to examine
      cytokine-induced sequential migration of neutrophils through endothelium and the
      respiratory epithelium in a manner analogous to that occurring with an in vivo
      airway stimulus causing neutrophil-rich airway inflammatory responses.

PMID- 9987680
TI  - The effect of in vitro activation and platelet interaction on the CD9
      distribution and adhesion properties of human eosinophils.
AB  - OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The redistribution of CD9 in peripheral blood eosinophils
      was investigated with respect to the interaction with platelets during in vitro
      activation, and whether this interaction exerts influence on eosinophil adhesion
      properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to investigate the CD9
      expression in purified eosinophils or eosinophils from different whole blood
      preparations, with or without platelets present. To confirm an
      eosinophil/platelet interaction fluorescence microscopy was used, and to
      demonstrate release/shedding of CD9 molecules a biosensor technique was
      performed. RESULTS: Our results show that both intracellular and surface
      expression of CD9 decrease upon in vitro activation in the absence of platelets,
      a phenomenon probably caused by release/shedding of soluble forms of CD9 and not
      due to intracellular degradation. Increased expression of CD9 on eosinophils,
      stimulated in the presence of platelets, is partly a result of interacting
      platelets, judged by the increase in platelet specific marker CD61. In our
      adhesion assay a significant increase in eosinophil adhesion properties to
      fibronectin was obtained when eosinophils were PMA stimulated and interacting
      with platelets, as compared to activated eosinophils without platelets.
      CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, that CD9 expression on eosinophils is dynamically
      regulated, support our previous suggestion that CD9 may be a useful activity
      marker and that platelet interaction acts on eosinophil adhesion.

PMID- 9987681
TI  - Cytosolic phospholipase A2, increased and activated in the eosinophils of
      patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome in vivo, is involved in the augmented
      release of leukotriene C4.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Eosinophils from patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) showed
      augmented release of leukotriene C4 (LTC4) by stimulation with A23187. In the
      present study, we investigated the involvement of cytosolic phospholipase A2
      (cPLA2) in this phenomenon. METHODS: Eosinophils from normal and HES donors (2.5
      x 10(6) cells/ml) were incubated with A23187 (0.03-3 microM) for 60 min in the
      presence or absence of a cPLA2 inhibitor, AACOCF3. The LTC4 released from
      eosinophils was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Distribution of cPLA2 and 5
      lipoxygenase (5-LO) proteins within the eosinophils were detected by Western
      immunoblotting. RESULTS: The level of LTC4 released from the HES eosinophils by
      stimulation with A23187 was higher than that from normal eosinophils. The A23187
      induced LTC4 release was inhibited by AACOCF3 in a dose-dependent manner. The
      amounts of cPLA2 seemed to be increased in the non-stimulated HES eosinophils by
      an analysis of immunoblotting. To be noticed was that cPLA2 was detected as a
      phosphorylated and membrane-bound form in the HES eosinophils, but not in the
      normal eosinophils. In contrast, localization of 5-LO within the eosinophils
      under A23187 stimulation was not different between normal and HES donors, while
      the amounts of 5-LO also seemed to be increased in the HES eosinophils.
      CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that cPLA2, increased and activated
      (phosphorylated and membrane-translocated) in vivo, is involved in the augmented
      release of LTC4 from the HES eosinophils.

PMID- 9987682
TI  - Temporal relationships between leukocytes, IL-5 and IL-8 in guinea pig lungs,
      plasma cortisol and airway function after antigen challenge.
AB  - OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The aim was to determine the time courses for the changes
      in airway function, airway reactivity, influx of inflammatory cells and levels of
      the pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-8 in bronchoalveolar
      lavage fluid (BALF), and the plasma levels of cortisol and ACTH after antigen
      challenge to determine whether a temporal link could be established between these
      events. METHODS: Airway function was measured as specific airway conductance
      (sGsw) in conscious ovalbumin (OvA)-sensitized guinea pigs using whole body
      plethysmography at intervals after an inhalation challenge with ovalbumin (0.5%
      for 10 min). Airway responses to the inhaled spasmogen, U46619 (30 ng/ml, 60 s),
      were measured at 3, 6 and 24 h after challenge. In separate animals,
      bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained after anaesthetic overdose
      either before challenge or at 1, 3, 6, 12, or 24 h after OvA challenge. Total and
      differential cell counts of eosinophils and neutrophils were performed on BALF
      and levels of IL-5 and IL-8 determined by scintillation proximity assays and
      ELISA, respectively. Plasma cortisol and ACTH levels were determined by RIA kits
      in blood removed by cardiac puncture at intervals after challenge. RESULTS: An
      early phase bronchoconstriction occurred which resolved by 3 h and was followed
      by a late phase between 17 and 24 h. Airway hyperresponsiveness to inhaled
      U46619, was evident at 3, 6 and 24 h after antigen challenge. Increased IL
      5[BALF] was observed by 60 min post challenge implicating a performed storage
      site. In contrast, IL-8[BALF] was not raised until 3 h post challenge. There was
      a significant infiltration of neutrophils and eosinophils by 3 and 6 h,
      respectively. IL-5[BALF] further increased up to 24 h, during the appearance of
      the late phase of bronchoconstriction and whilst eosinophilia was maximal. Plasma
      cortisol levels were increased 1 and 3 hours after antigen challenge, thereafter
      returning to baseline levels. CONCLUSIONS: The hyperresponsiveness appears to be
      dissociated from the appearance of eosinophils in lavage fluid. The early
      appearance of IL-5, however, could be a trigger for the migration of eosinophils
      and development of hyper-responsiveness. The increased plasma cortisol levels
      occurring after antigen challenge were presumably due to the stress involved and
      these would be expected to exert an endogenous anti-inflammatory effect.

PMID- 9987683
TI  - Synergistic protection against cartilage destruction by low dose prednisolone and
      interleukin-10 in established murine collagen arthritis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate potential synergy of low dosages glucocorticosteroids
      (GC's) and interleukin-10 (IL-10), using established murine collagen-induced
      arthritis (CIA) as a model. METHODS: DBA-1J/BOM mice were immunized with bovine
      type II collagen and boosted at day 21. Mice with established CIA were selected
      and treated for at least 7 days with either prednisolone (0.05-5 mg/kg), IL-10
      (0.1-5 micrograms/day) or the combination of prednisolone/IL-10 (0.05/1 and
      0.05/5). Arthritis score was monitored visually, and joint pathology was examined
      by histology, and serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) measured.
      RESULTS: Amelioration of CIA was found with dosages of 1 and 5 mg/kg
      prednisolone, while a dose of 0.05 mg/kg prednisolone was ineffective. Treatment
      of CIA with 5 micrograms/day IL-10 resulted in a mild, but significant
      suppression. Synergistic effects were seen with the combination of low dose
      prednisolone and IL-10 (0.05 mg/kg, 1 microgram/day). Both arthritis score and
      joint pathology were significantly reduced. Moreover, COMP levels were
      significantly decreased after IL-10/prednisolone treatment, confirming decreased
      cartilage involvement. Of great interest, treatment of CIA with prednisolone/IL
      10 markedly reduced IL-1 beta and enhanced IL-10 production by synovial tissue.
      In addition, synovial mRNA levels for IL-1 beta were decreased, while mRNA levels
      for IL-10 and IL-1Ra were upregulated by combined treatment. CONCLUSION: This
      study demonstrates synergistic effects of combined treatment with prednisolone
      and IL-10 on suppressing disease activity of CIA as well as reducing cartilage.

PMID- 9987684
TI  - Influence of interleukin-1 beta on bradykinin-induced responses in guinea pig
      peritoneal macrophages.
AB  - OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The endogenous nonapeptide bradykinin is implicated in the
      pathogenesis of a number of inflammatory diseases. Recently, it could be shown
      that bradykinin is a potent stimulus for the generation of arachidonic acid,
      prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and superoxide radical via the bradykinin B2 receptor
      from macrophages depending on their stage of maturation or activation. The
      present study was designed to characterize the effect of the proinflammatory
      cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) on responsiveness of macrophages to
      bradykinin. MATERIAL: Guinea pig peritoneal macrophages were collected 7 days
      after i.p. injection of paraffinum subliquidum. RESULTS: The bradykinin-induced
      increase in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and activation of the
      respiratory burst were significantly enhanced by interleukin-1 beta (100 U/ml)
      added to cultures of macrophages 24 h before stimulation with bradykinin.
      However, the EC50 values of bradykinin-induced calcium signal of 23 +/- 8 nM and
      29 +/- 17 nM and superoxide radical formation of 64 +/- 22 nM and 34 +/- 29 nM in
      control and interleukin-1 beta-treated cells, respectively, were not changed. In
      contrast to the influence of IL-1 beta on these functions, saturation and
      competition experiments measured by binding of [3H]bradykinin ([3H]BK) to intact
      macrophages demonstrate that cell exposure to interleukin-1 beta for 24 h caused
      no change in the density and affinity of the bradykinin B2 receptors.
      CONCLUSIONS: The most likely explanation for the cytokine effects is an influence
      on the level of the receptor-effector coupling downstream of the agonist binding.

PMID- 9987685
TI  - The transfer of two embryos instead of three to reduce the risk of multiple
      pregnancy: a retrospective analysis.
AB  - PURPOSE: Our purpose was to investigate whether a reduction in the number of
      embryos transferred from three to two would help reduce the incidence of multiple
      pregnancies and yet leave the pregnancy rate unaffected. METHODS: Women were
      treated in a routine clinical in vitro fertilization program and the results
      analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There was no reduction in the pregnancy rate
      when two embryos were transferred compared with three. Indeed, there was actually
      an increase in pregnancy rate after the transfer of two embryos in those cases
      with one or more embryos remaining after the transfer. CONCLUSIONS: The transfer
      of only two embryos compared to three in women younger than 40 years of age does
      not compromise the chance of pregnancy. Triplets were not seen in the limited
      series of patients when only two embryos were transferred, but the incidence of
      twins remained the same. Further consideration should be given to strategies that
      enable the transfer of single embryos without compromising the pregnancy rate.

PMID- 9987686
TI  - On the reduction of high-order multiple pregnancies.

PMID- 9987687
TI  - Midtrimester maternal serum screening after multifetal pregnancy reduction in
      pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilization.
AB  - PURPOSE: Data about the effect of multifetal pregnancy reduction on midtrimester
      maternal serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin
      (hCG), and unconjugated estriol (uE3) are scarce and contradictory. Differing
      gestational ages at fetal reduction, transvaginal versus transabdominal needle
      insertion, and injection of different feticidal agents compound the analysis of
      published data. METHODS: We examined clinical and laboratory data about 27 high
      order gestations that were reduced to twins in the first trimester. Fetal
      reductions were performed transabdominally at 11.41 +/- 1.15 weeks' gestation by
      fetal intrathoracic injection of KCl, and maternal blood sampling was performed
      at 16.48 +/- 1.05 weeks. "Pseudo-risks" for singleton pregnancies were calculated
      by correcting serum analyte levels for twins. RESULTS: Twenty-four (88.9%) of 27
      patients had maternal serum AFP levels above 2.0 MoM (mean, 4.60 +/- 3.48 MoM;
      range, 1.49-14.85 MoM), however, none of the newborns had structural anomalies.
      AFP serum levels did not correlate with the number of reduced fetuses or with
      adverse obstetric outcome. The mean hCG levels were 1.22 +/- 0.49 MoM (range,
      0.14-2.47), and the mean uE3 levels were 1.15 +/- 0.31 MoM (range, 0.56-1.84).
      Based on maternal age alone, seven patients (25.9%) would have been offered
      amniocentesis for a term Down syndrome risk greater than 1:384, whereas combined
      risk calculations with hCG and uE3 levels resulted in 1 (3.7%) screen-positive
      case (P < 0.01).

PMID- 9987688
TI  - Use of a medium devoid of any human or animal compound (SMART2) for embryo
      culture in intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
AB  - PURPOSE: Our purpose was to evaluate the efficiency of a medium, devoid of any
      human or animal compound and specially designed for early embryo development
      (from the zygote to the eight-cell stage), SMART2, in intracytoplasmic sperm
      injection (ICSI) and to compare it with a medium containing human serum albumin
      (EllioStep2). METHODS: Oocytes from 50 ICSI attempts were randomly placed, after
      sperm injection, into either SMART2 or EllioStep2. After a 48-hr incubation, the
      embryos were examined for quality scoring before transfer or freezing. RESULTS:
      The percentage of normally fertilized oocytes per intact oocytes was slightly
      higher using SMART2 (139/199 vs. 135/224, respectively, for SMART2 and
      EllioStep2; P < 0.05). The distribution of embryo scores and the percentage of
      embryos with a fair morphology (71/143 vs. 72/148, respectively, for SMART2 and
      EllioStep2; not significant) were identical in both media. CONCLUSIONS: These
      data show that SMART2 medium can be successfully used for early embryo growth
      and, because it is devoid of any human or animal compound, offers better safety
      for patients than conventional media.

PMID- 9987689
TI  - Fertilization, embryo quality, and cryosurvival in in vitro fertilization and
      intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles.
AB  - PURPOSE: Our purpose was to investigate the influence of semen quality on
      fertilization, embryo morphology, cleavage, and cryosurvival in conventional in
      vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) programs.
      METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 513 couples undergoing IVF and 255 couples
      undergoing ICSI was done. RESULTS: Semen quality influenced fertilization in IVF
      and abnormal fertilization in IVF and ICSI, but no effects on the development,
      morphology, implantation capacity, or cryosurvival of embryos were found.
      Fertilization, embryo quality, and cryosurvival rates were similar after IVF and
      ICSI. The fertilization rate of mature oocytes in IVF was lower when cytoplasmic
      immaturity in the oocyte population was frequent. The speed of development of
      embryos was 2 hr faster after ICSI than after IVF. Two-cell-stage embryos
      survived best after cryopreservation with propanediol and sucrose on day 2.
      CONCLUSIONS: After fertilization, semen parameters had no effect on the quality
      or cryosurvival of embryos in either IVF or ICSI.

PMID- 9987691
TI  - Differential effect of common laboratory treatments on hypoosmotic swelling
      responses of human spermatozoa.
AB  - PURPOSE: The impact of some of the common laboratory interventions on the
      hypoosmotic swelling (HOS) responses of human-spermatozoa was investigated.
      METHODS: The semen samples underwent different laboratory treatments prior to the
      standard HOS test, which involved incubation of sperm in the hypoosmotic
      solution. Fresh semen served as a control for all treatment groups and underwent
      the same HOS procedure. The HOS-reactive spermatozoa and the type of HOS
      reactions (swelling types) in each group were identified under a phase-contrast
      microscope for comparison. RESULTS: All the seven types of HOS responses
      documented in fresh semen sperm also occurred in the laboratory-processed sperm.
      The total HOS responses of sperm that underwent cryopreservation, heat shock, and
      Percoll wash were significantly different from those of the corresponding
      control. Percoll washing of semen influenced HOS subtypes a and g;
      cryopreservation affected subtypes a, b, c, and d; and heat shock altered
      subtypes a, f, and g. In contrast, prolonged postejaculation and cold shock did
      not affect any of the HOS responses. None of the treatments influenced the d and
      e responses. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the total HOS response
      value and specific response subtypes are significantly affected by some of the
      laboratory treatments but not others.

PMID- 9987690
TI  - Use of failed-fertilized oocytes for diagnostic zona binding purposes after sperm
      binding improvement with a modified medium.
AB  - PURPOSE: Because the availability of prophase oocytes for zona binding testing is
      limited, we compared sperm binding to the zona of failed-fertilized
      intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) oocytes
      after incubation in a standard IVF medium and a specially composed binding
      improvement medium. METHODS: Semen samples from nine patients and nine fertile
      donors were separated in parallel by the standard swim-up method in both media.
      Subsequently, hemizona assays were performed with prophase, failed-fertilized
      ICSI and IVF oocytes. RESULTS: Sperm separation resulted in a significantly
      higher sperm count (P < 0.01) and progressive motility (P = 0.018) in binding
      improvement medium. Moreover, spermatozoa coincubated with hemizonae (prophase,
      failed-fertilized ICSI and IVF oocytes) in binding improvement medium bound
      significantly more to hemizonae than in the controls (P < 0.01). However, the
      hemizona index did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the limited number of human
      zonae can be increased by the use of oocytes that failed to fertilize during ICSI
      or IVF. This will lead to a qualitative improvement of the diagnostic spectrum in
      male-factor infertility.

PMID- 9987692
TI  - Sperm creatine kinase activity in normospermic and oligozospermic Hungarian men.
AB  - PURPOSE: Our purpose was to measure sperm creatine phosphokinase (CK) activity,
      which reflects cytoplasmic retention in immature spermatozoa, in normospermic and
      oligozospermic Hungarian men. METHODS: A study of 109 randomly selected men in a
      university-based andrology laboratory was done. RESULTS: CK activity differed
      between normospermic and oligozospermic men (0.21 +/- 0.02 vs. 1.19 +/- 0.15 CK
      IU/10(8) sperm; n = 56 and n = 53; mean +/- standard error of the mean,
      respectively). There was an inverse correlation between sperm concentration and
      CK activity (r = -0.70; n = 109). However, 28% of men in the range with less than
      10 million sperm/ml had normal sperm CK activity (below the mean + 2 standard
      deviations of the group with greater than 30 x 10(6) sperm/ml), whereas 36% of
      men in the group with 20-30 million sperm/ml and 5% in the group with greater
      than 30 million sperm/ml had elevated CK activities, indicating that the
      incidence of mature and immature spermatozoa in specimens is independent from the
      sperm concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: The improved facility of sperm CK activity
      measurements, compared with sperm concentrations, in the assessment of sperm
      maturity was confirmed in a Hungarian population. The CK measurements aid the
      selection of the most efficient treatment for couples with male-factor or
      unexplained infertility, particularly when considering the options of
      intrauterine insemination, varicocelectomy followed by a waiting period, or
      ovulation workup/induction in wives of men who are oligozospermic but may have
      fertile sperm.

PMID- 9987693
TI  - The Graafian follicle is a site of L-ascorbate accumulation.
AB  - PURPOSE: Our purpose was to evaluate the L-ascorbate level in human preovulatory
      follicular fluid and to quantify the blood/follicle gradient for vitamin C. The
      effect of smoking on the follicular L-ascorbate concentration was studied. The
      correlations were tested between follicular L-ascorbate and follicle size and
      oocyte maturity. METHODS: In 65 women undergoing in vitro fertilization, samples
      of follicular fluid and blood serum were collected. Biochemical analyses included
      L-ascorbate determinations by a colorimetric method and cotinine measurements by
      a radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The average follicular fluid:serum ratio for L
      ascorbate was 1:68. Ascorbate levels in follicular fluid and serum were
      significantly correlated. The follicular L-ascorbate level did not correlate with
      the follicle size and the oocyte maturity grade. Insignificantly lowered
      follicular L-ascorbate levels were observed in smokers. CONCLUSIONS: The
      extracellular compartment of the Graafian follicle is a site of an ascorbate
      accumulation. Exposure to tobacco smoke does not significantly diminish the
      intrafollicular pool of L-ascorbate.

PMID- 9987694
TI  - Fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome paint probes: a novel approach
      to assess aneuploidy in human sperm nuclei.
AB  - PURPOSE: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using whole-chromosome paint
      probes was performed to evaluate disomy and diploidy frequency for chromosomes 1,
      18, 19, and 22 in human sperm nuclei. METHODS: Ten subjects of proven fertility
      and normal spermatic parameters were included in the study. A dual-color FISH
      method was carried out. RESULTS: A total of 157,896 spermatozoa was scored. The
      mean frequencies of disomic sperm for chromosomes 1, 18, 19, and 22 were 0.22%
      (range, 0.19 to 0.28%), 0.24% (range, 0.14 to 0.37%), 0.22% (range, 0.17 to
      0.30%), and 0.25% (range, 0.21 to 0.29%), respectively. The mean frequency of
      diploidy was 0.14% (range, 0.09 to 0.18%). No interindividual and
      interchromosomal variations in the aneuploidy frequency were observed between the
      different subjects. CONCLUSIONS: FISH with whole-chromosome paint probes provides
      a novel and efficient approach for disomy assessment in human sperm nuclei.

PMID- 9987695
TI  - Trophoblast persists despite lack of sex-steroid support following ovum donation.

PMID- 9987696
TI  - Alpha-adrenergic blocking drugs in clinical medicine.
AB  - The alpha-adrenergic blockers have played an important role in the treatment of
      vascular diseases. Nonselective alpha blockers have been used as treatments for
      patients with severe hypertension, including pheochromocytoma. Selective alpha 1
      blockers have been used in the treatment of hypertension and prostatic
      obstruction, and these drugs have also been considered in the treatment of other
      vascular and nonvascular conditions. They have unique metabolic actions,
      specifically on plasma lipids and lipoproteins, which could be of clinical
      benefit.

PMID- 9987697
TI  - The pharmacodynamics of sumatriptan in nitroglycerin-induced headache.
AB  - Migraine is a common disorder that causes significant morbidity in those
      afflicted. Many novel antimigraine compounds are in clinical development, yet
      full characterization of each one's pharmacodynamic behavior is a formidable task
      due to the difficulty in studying a migraineur during an attack. Nitroglycerin
      (NTG) administration commonly causes a headache with some features similar to
      those of a migraine. As such, NTG has been used as a model of vascular headaches,
      including migraine. The pharmacodynamic effects of nitroglycerin and sumatriptan
      on middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAv) and headache scores were
      studied in 10 healthy male volunteers. An intravenous infusion of NTG titrated to
      0.5 mcg/kg/min over 30 minutes resulted in a median reduction from baseline in
      MCAv of 27% (range: 16.4%-37.3%). Nine of the subjects developed a headache with
      a median verbal score of 3.5 of 10 (range: 0-5). Subjects received sumatriptan
      either 2 mg intravenously or 6 mg subcutaneously, which abated clinical headache
      in 9 of the 10 subjects (p = 0.030). A median sumatriptan-induced increase in
      MCAv of 21% (p = 0.054) suggested a constricting effect on the NTG-induced
      dilated MCA. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic/indirect-effects pharmacodynamic
      model was fit to the sumatriptan concentration and MCAv data using iterative two
      stage analysis. This model was unbiased and fit the concentration (r2 = 0.98) and
      the MCAv (r2 = 0.79) data well. These results suggest that NTG-induced headache
      and the development of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models could serve as a
      useful method for exploring the mechanisms of abortive migraine drugs.

PMID- 9987698
TI  - A double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose evaluation of the
      pharmacokinetics and tolerability of modafinil tablets in healthy male
      volunteers.
AB  - A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose study was
      conducted to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and safety profiles of increasing
      modafinil doses (200 mg, 400 mg, 600 mg, 800 mg) administered orally over a 7-day
      period in normal healthy male volunteers. Eight subjects (six modafinil; two
      placebo) were randomized to each of the four dose groups. Modafinil or a placebo
      was administered once daily for 7 days. Serial blood samples were obtained
      following administration of the day 1 and day 7 doses for characterization of
      pharmacokinetics, and trough samples were obtained prior to dosing on days 2
      through 6 to assess the time to reach the steady state. Pharmacokinetic
      parameters were calculated using noncompartmental methods. Modafinil steady state
      was reached after three daily doses. Modafinil pharmacokinetics were dose and
      time independent over the range of 200 mg to 800 mg. Steady-state
      pharmacokinetics of modafinil were characterized by a rapid oral absorption rate,
      a low plasma clearance of approximately 50 mL/min, a volume of distribution of
      approximately 0.8 L/kg, and a long half-life of approximately 15 hr. Modafinil
      was primarily eliminated by metabolism. Modafinil acid was the major urinary
      metabolite. Stereospecific pharmacokinetics of modafinil were demonstrated. The d
      modafinil enantiomer was eliminated at a threefold faster rate than 1-modafinil.
      Modafinil 200 mg, 400 mg, and 600 mg doses were generally well tolerated. The
      modafinil 800 mg dose panel was discontinued after 3 days of treatment due to the
      observation of increased blood pressure and pulse rate. The safety data from this
      study suggest that the maximum tolerable single daily oral modafinil dose,
      without titration, may be 600 mg.

PMID- 9987699
TI  - Long-term systemic exposure of orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, and its metabolites
      in obese patients.
AB  - Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, acts locally in the gastrointestinal tract; its
      systemic exposure is not required for its efficacy. However, knowledge of the
      extent of its systemic exposure is important for its safe use in obese patients,
      the intended target population. Pharmacokinetic screening in obese patients was
      carried out by monitoring plasma concentrations of unchanged orlistat and its
      metabolites in five key double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II/III studies.
      Results of these studies involving the monitoring of plasma samples indicate that
      detection of intact orlistat in plasma was sporadic, and measurable
      concentrations were low (< 10 ng/mL or 0.02 microM) without evidence of
      accumulation, which is consistent with minimal absorption. It is concluded that
      systemic exposure of orlistat is negligible; at a clinically efficacious dose
      level, orlistat is unlikely to produce systemic lipase inhibition.

PMID- 9987700
TI  - Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of intravenous trecovirsen (GEM 91), an
      antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide, in HIV-positive subjects.
AB  - Trecovirsen, a 25-mer antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide targeted at the
      gag site of the HIV gene, was administered to HIV-positive volunteers as an i.v.
      infusion. Single doses ranged from 0.1 to 2.5 mg/kg in an ascending escalation in
      cohorts of 6 to 12 subjects. Plasma trecovirsen concentrations and
      pharmacokinetic parameters could be assessed at doses > or = 0.3 mg/kg. Peak
      plasma concentrations and AUC values increased disproportionately with increasing
      dose while elimination half-life increased and plasma clearance decreased,
      indicating a saturable process over this dose range. The only significant adverse
      event observed was an isolated, transitory increase in activated partial
      thromboplastin time at doses > or = 2.0 mg/kg that was related to plasma
      trecovirsen concentrations and is attributed to the polyanionic character of the
      molecule. Thus, trecovirsen administration was well tolerated in single i.v.
      doses up to 2.5 mg/kg.

PMID- 9987701
TI  - Carbamazepine levels in head hair of patients under long-term treatment: a method
      to evaluate the history of drug use.
AB  - Carbamazepine (CBZ) concentrations were determined in the sections of head hair
      from 40 patients (22 males and 18 females), ages 5 to 81, who were receiving this
      drug systemically. Hair treatment included dissolution, liquid phase extraction
      procedures, and immunoassay (Abbott TDx) or high-pressure liquid chromatography
      (HPLC) analytical techniques. The mean values of CBZ levels in the hair from the
      1st section (close to hair root) to the 5th section for female patients were
      26.82, 19.18, 17.28, 15.09, and 14.62 micrograms/g according to HPLC
      measurements. Immunoassay gave generally slightly higher results. The mean values
      of CBZ in the hair sections according to the immunoassay technique were 30.53,
      21.90, 19.83, 17.45, and 16.99 micrograms/g, respectively, from the 1st to the
      5th sections. The corresponding mean values for male patients by HPLC and
      immunoassay techniques were 21.97, 17.30, 15.03, 13.02, and 11.21 micrograms/g
      and 25.98, 20.52, 17.15, 14.87, and 12.31 micrograms/g. Generally, a reduction of
      drug concentrations in hair from the first to the subsequent segments was
      observed. Higher amounts of CBZ were deposited in black, untreated hair (e.g.,
      not dyed or permed). CBZ concentrations in hair sections were found to be
      dependent on the dosage (r = 0.979, p < or = 0.001) but not on the gender. The
      data indicate the possible use of hair section testing as a marker of the dosage
      history and the compliance of patients under long-term treatment with CBZ.

PMID- 9987702
TI  - The effects of acetaminophen on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of
      warfarin.
AB  - The oral anticoagulant warfarin is clinically administered as a racemic mixture
      of two enantiomers, (R) and (S). Many relevant drug interactions with warfarin
      have been attributed to the specific metabolic inhibition of the elimination of
      the more pharmacologically active (S)-enantiomer. To investigate reports that
      acetaminophen can potentiate the anticoagulant effect of warfarin, 20 healthy
      male volunteers were each given single oral 20 mg doses of racemic warfarin on
      three separate occasions: (1) alone, (2) after 1 day of acetaminophen (4 g/d),
      and (3) after 2 weeks of acetaminophen (4 g/d). The urinary excretion pattern of
      acetaminophen and its metabolites was not significantly altered over its course
      of administration. The (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of warfarin exhibited
      significantly different pharmacokinetic properties. However, acetaminophen did
      not alter the disposition of either (R)- or (S)-warfarin. All subjects exhibited
      a pharmacodynamic response to racemic warfarin. The response was not
      significantly altered in the presence of acute or chronic acetaminophen dosing,
      as assessed by prothrombin time and factor VII concentrations.

PMID- 9987703
TI  - Lack of effect of erythromycin and ketoconazole on the pharmacokinetics and
      pharmacodynamics of steady-state intranasal levocabastine.
AB  - The single-dose effects of the cytochrome P-450 inhibitors erythromycin and
      ketoconazole on the steady-state pharmacokinetics and electrocardiographic
      repolarization pharmacodynamics of intranasal levocabastine, a potent and
      selective H1-receptor antagonist, were evaluated in healthy young male subjects.
      Two randomized, open-label, placebo-controlled, two-way crossover studies were
      performed. Levocabastine nasal spray was administered as two sprays per nostril
      (0.05 mg/spray) twice daily (for a total daily dose of 0.4 mg) for 6 days. On Day
      7, a single dose of 0.2 mg was administered followed immediately by a single dose
      of either oral placebo, erythromycin 333 mg, or ketoconazole 200 mg. In all
      treatment groups, levocabastine was rapidly absorbed, with peak plasma
      concentrations reached at approximately 3 hours in the erythromycin study and 2.8
      hours in the ketoconazole study. The mean terminal half-life was approximately 45
      and 44 hours, respectively. In both studies, mean steady-state plasma
      concentrations and pharmacokinetics of levocabastine following the single doses
      of erythromycin or ketoconazole were not significantly different from
      corresponding values seen with the concomitant administration of the placebo. No
      clinically significant mean changes from baseline in QT or QTc (QT corrected for
      heart rate) intervals occurred in any of the treatment groups, and none of the
      subjects in either study experienced abnormally prolonged QTc intervals.
      Intranasal levocabastine was well tolerated, with no difference in the incidence
      of adverse events between treatment groups in either study; adverse events were
      generally mild in severity. Since levocabastine undergoes only minimal hepatic
      metabolism and is not a substrate for or an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, the
      likelihood of systemic drug interactions with drugs affecting the cytochrome P
      450 system is minimal.

PMID- 9987704
TI  - The effect of converting from pravastatin to simvastatin on the pharmacodynamics
      of warfarin.
AB  - Forty-six adult patients maintained on warfarin therapy were converted from
      pravastatin to simvastatin. Mean international normalized ratio (INR)
      significantly increased from 2.42 to 2.74, p = 0.002. Although warfarin doses
      were reduced in 7 patients and increased in 4 patients following the post
      conversion INR measurements, the pre- and postconversion median weekly warfarin
      dose of all 46 patients did not differ significantly. The number of patients with
      an INR > 3.0 increased significantly from 6 to 16 following the conversion. There
      was no report of unusual episodes of bleeding. The results indicate that
      antihyperlipidemic therapy can be changed safely from pravastatin to simvastatin
      in patients who are taking warfarin concomitantly. Additional anticoagulation
      monitoring is not necessary in institutions where patients are followed in formal
      anticoagulation clinics.

PMID- 9987706
TI  - A clozapine overdose with markedly elevated serum levels.
AB  - Clozapine (Clozaril) is an atypical antipsychotic agent used to treat
      schizophrenia refractory to other pharmacological agents. This report describes
      an accidental clozapine overdose. The half-life of clozapine in this patient was
      determined from two blood levels, one obtained on admission and the second 10.5
      hours later. The calculated half-life of 8.11 hours is consistent with published
      levels for single doses and suggests an apparent stability in clozapine
      elimination half-life in the face of overdose. The maximum clozapine blood level
      attained was probably among the highest nonfatal levels reported. The patient
      recovered fully following hospital admission for monitoring and supportive care.
      This case report illustrates the usefulness of following the time course of the
      changes in blood level at selected time intervals, as well as the importance of
      entertaining a diagnosis of drug overdose in patients presenting with acute
      mental status changes.

PMID- 9987705
TI  - Effects of rifampin on tacrolimus pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers.
AB  - Tacrolimus is a marketed immunosuppressant used in liver and kidney
      transplantation. It is subject to extensive metabolism by CYP3A4 and is a
      substrate for P-glycoprotein-mediated transport. A pharmacokinetic interaction
      with rifampin, an antituberculosis agent and potent inducer of CYP3A4 and P
      glycoprotein, and tacrolimus was evaluated in six healthy male volunteers.
      Tacrolimus was administered at doses of 0.1 mg/kg orally and 0.025 mg/kg/4 hours
      intravenously. The pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus were obtained from serial blood
      samples collected over 96 hours, after single oral and intravenous administration
      prior to and during an 18-day concomitant rifampin dosing phase. Coadministration
      of rifampin significantly increased tacrolimus clearance (36.0 +/- 8.1 ml/hr/kg
      vs. 52.8 +/- 9.6 ml/hr/kg; p = 0.03) and decreased tacrolimus bioavailability
      (14.4% +/- 5.7% vs. 7.0% +/- 2.7%; p = 0.03). Rifampin appears to induce both
      intestinal and hepatic metabolism of tacrolimus, most likely through induction of
      CYP3A and P-glycoprotein in the liver and small bowel.

PMID- 9987707
TI  - Early diagnosis of dementia.

PMID- 9987708
TI  - Early diagnosis of dementia: neuropsychology.
AB  - Neuropsychology contributes greatly to the diagnosis of dementia. Cognitive
      deficits can be detected several years before the clinical diagnosis of dementia.
      The neuropsychological profile may indicate the underlying neuropathology.
      Neuropsychological assessment at an early stage of dementia has two goals: (a) to
      determine a memory disorder, not always associated with a memory complaint, and
      (b) to characterize the memory disorder in light of the cognitive neuropsychology
      and to assess other cognitive (and noncognitive) functions toward integrating the
      memory disorder in a syndrome. We review the global tools, the memory tests that
      describe the memory profile and indicate the underlying pathology, the assessment
      of other cognitive functions, and the neuropsychological patterns of typical
      Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia,
      semantic dementia, Lewy body dementia, subcortical dementia, and vascular
      dementia. These patterns must be interpreted in the light of the history, rate of
      progression, imaging results, and nature of existing behavioral disturbances.
      Moreover, there may be overlap between two or more pathologies, which complicates
      the diagnostic process. Follow-up of patients is necessary to improve diagnostic
      accuracy.

PMID- 9987709
TI  - Early diagnosis of dementia: neuroimaging.
AB  - The use of neuroimaging is reviewed in the diagnosis of dementia, especially
      Alzheimer's disease (AD). Computed tomography (CT) may be used to exclude other
      causes of dementia than AD. The finding of cortical or subcortical atrophy on CT
      or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) itself does not indicate AD. Hippocampal
      atrophy on CT/MRI provides a useful early marker, although further longitudinal
      and neuropathological study is required. CT- and MRI-based measurements of
      hippocampal atrophy show promise in providing useful diagnostic information for
      discriminating patients with probable AD from normal elderly individuals. Using a
      standardized imaging protocol, including some assessment of hippocampal atrophy,
      can save costs since patients with suspected AD must undergo a cross-sectional
      imaging study to exclude other (treatable) causes of dementia. Combining an
      assessment of hippocampal atrophy with cerebral blood flow measurements by single
      photon emission computed tomography is not warranted either from a clinical or
      from an economic point of view.

PMID- 9987710
TI  - Impairment of callosal and corticospinal system function in adolescents with
      early-treated phenylketonuria: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.
AB  - The transcranial activation and the conduction properties of corticospinal and
      callosal neurons were investigated in 12 early-treated adolescents (aged 17.3, SD
      3.5 years; range 14-27 years) with phenylketonuria (PKU) by focal transcranial
      magnetic stimulation (fTMS) of the motor cortex. The patients had no functionally
      relevant motor disturbances in daily life or on clinical testing. Corticospinally
      mediated excitatory (response thresholds, amplitudes, central motor latencies)
      and inhibitory [duration of postexcitatory inhibition (PI)] effects of fTMS were
      investigated in contralateral hand muscles. Transcallosal inhibition (TI) (onset
      latency, duration, transcallosal latency) of tonic electromyographic (EMG)
      activity was tested in ipsilateral muscles. Peripheral motor latencies were
      determined for responses elicited by magnetic stimulation over cervical nerve
      roots. Ten normal subjects served as controls. Since in all PKU patients, central
      and peripheral motor latencies were normal, no neurophysiological indication of a
      demyelination of corticospinal or peripheral motor fibres was found. However,
      cortical thresholds of corticospinally mediated responses were increased (52.1,
      SD 11.6% versus 35.0, SD 7.4% of maximum stimulator output; P < 0.05; n = 24
      hands) and their amplitudes reduced (2.9, SD 1.4 mV versus 6.1, SD 1.5 mV, P <
      0.05). The duration of PI was shortened (132, SD 53 ms versus 178, SD 57 ms; P <
      0.05). TI was absent in 37.5% of the investigated hands or tended to be weak.
      When TI was present, its onset latencies (38.0, SD 3.6 ms versus 34.7, SD 3.3 ms)
      and transcallosal latencies were prolonged (18.5, SD 3.8 ms versus 14.8, SD 3.2
      ms), while its duration was normal. These abnormal excitatory and inhibitory
      effects of fTMS suggest a reduced susceptibility of cortical excitatory and
      inhibitory neuronal structures compatible with a loss of neurons or a
      rarefication of their dendrites.

PMID- 9987711
TI  - Chemotherapy is effective as early treatment for primary central nervous system
      lymphoma.
AB  - Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a lymphoma arising within the
      brain or spinal cord in the absence of evident localisation outside the central
      nervous system (CNS). Poor results in the management of relapsed PCNSL justify
      the need for vigorous initial therapeutic regimens, and chemotherapy should not
      be reserved for recurrent disease. Chemotherapy (MBACOD scheme) was delivered
      prior to irradiation in a group of 20 PCNSL patients, another 8 PCNSL patients
      underwent radiotherapy only, and the overall survival was evaluated. Computed
      tomography (CT) images in the group of patients treated with chemotherapy, showed
      there to be 70% complete responders (CR), 15% non-responders (NR) and 15% partial
      responders (PR). Half of the CR were scheduled for radiotherapy only at tumour
      recurrence. The median disease-free period and survival time of the whole group
      treated with early chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy were 24 and 32 months,
      respectively, but in the subgroup of CR (70%), taking into account also the
      patients not yet receiving radiotherapy, these were 38 and 48 months,
      respectively. The disease-free and survival times in the group of CR (75%) of
      patients treated with radiotherapy only were 13 and 18 months, respectively. At
      tumour recurrence, CR to chemotherapy had a second disease-free period longer
      than 2 years after radiotherapy. Our data support the belief that in scheduling
      the treatment of PCNSL after histological diagnosis, the first step is to devise
      high-dose chemotherapy with drugs able to cross an intact blood-brain barrier.
      The results of our primary approach with early chemotherapy in PCNSL support a
      consensus to continue chemotherapy until tumour recurrence, and only at that
      event to initiate radiotherapy. It is a challenge and an option worthy of
      continuing investigation.

PMID- 9987712
TI  - Specificity of omega-conotoxin MVIIC-binding and -blocking calcium channel
      antibodies in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.
AB  - An immunoprecipitation assay was used to measure omega-conotoxin MVIIC (P/Q-type)
      binding and blocking calcium channel antibodies in 67 patients with Lambert-Eaton
      myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) and in a large control population. We first showed the
      presence of omega-conotoxin MVIIC-blocking antibody in LEMS patients. Binding
      antibodies were detected in 55 of 67 (82.1%) LEMS patients and in 2 of 296 (0.7%)
      controls. In contrast, blocking antibodies were positive in 14 of 67 (20.9%) LEMS
      patients and 8 of 171 (4.7%) controls. No LEMS patient had negative binding
      antibodies and positive blocking antibodies. The immunoprecipitation assay
      detected no antibodies against the whole P/Q-type calcium channel in either the
      paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration or the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis sera.
      Neither the omega-conotoxin MVIIC-binding nor the -blocking calcium channel
      antibodies were correlated with clinical severity across the individuals, but
      longitudinal studies of some LEMS patients showed an inverse relation between
      binding antibody titre and disease severity. We concluded that the 125I-omega
      conotoxin MVIIC assay for anti-P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channel antibodies
      is highly specific for LEMS and that this sensitive binding antibody assay could
      be more valuable than the blocking antibody assay in the diagnosis of LEMS.

PMID- 9987713
TI  - Variable number tandem repeat dopamine transporter gene polymorphism and
      Parkinson's disease: no association found.
AB  - We studied a variable number of tandem repeat polymorphisms in the dopamine
      transporter gene in search of an association with Parkinson's disease in a French
      population. Five alleles were detected, consisting of 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 copies
      of the 40-base pair repeat sequence, of which the 10-copy allele was the most
      common. There was no significant difference between the patients and the control
      subjects in the distribution frequencies of the alleles or genotypes, or in ages
      at onset in patients between the main allelic classes.

PMID- 9987714
TI  - High incidence of a survival motor neuron gene/cBCD541 gene ratio of 2 in
      Japanese parents of spinal muscular atrophy patients: a characteristic background
      of spinal muscular atrophy in Japan?
AB  - Most spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients lack the survival motor neuron gene
      (SMN). However, the patients retain at least one copy of the cBCD541 gene (BCD),
      which is highly homologous with SMN. Here, we determined the SMN/BCD copy number
      ratios (the S/B ratios) of 12 parents of Japanese SMA patients with a homozygous
      SMN deletion, using competitive oligonucleotide priming polymerase chain
      reaction. We identified an S/B ratio of 2 in 25% of the parents examined, whereas
      less than 2% of parents of SMA patients in Western populations have an S/B ratio
      of 2. The high incidence of an S/B ratio of 2 in Japanese parents of SMA patients
      may reflect the characteristic genetic background of SMA in Japan.

PMID- 9987715
TI  - Precipitating factors of transient global amnesia.

PMID- 9987716
TI  - Macular preservation with bilateral visual field defect caused by embolic
      occlusion of the posterior cerebral arteries.

PMID- 9987717
TI  - Increased coagulatory activity in subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy
      (Binswanger's disease)

PMID- 9987718
TI  - No transneuronal degeneration between human cortical motor neurons and spinal
      motor neurons.

PMID- 9987720
TI  - Repeatability and validity of astigmatism measurements.
AB  - BACKGROUND: As more patients inquire about refractive surgical procedures, the
      measurement of astigmatism prior to surgery becomes more important in assessing
      refractive outcome. Knowledge of the repeatability of the astigmatism measurement
      allows one to distinguish a true change in cylinder power from measurement error.
      METHODS: Forty adults with structurally normal eyes and refractive errors were
      evaluated for the repeatability of astigmatic refractive error measures.
      Noncycloplegic and cycloplegic measurements of refractive astigmatism were made
      by retinoscopy, subjective refraction, and autorefraction. All measures were made
      at 2 visits within 2 weeks by the same examiner. Difference versus mean plots and
      the 95% limits of agreement of each technique determined the repeatability of a
      measurement and the agreement between the methods of measurement. RESULTS: The
      most reliable measure of astigmatic refractive error was cycloplegic
      autorefraction, with 95% limits of agreement of +/- 0.28 D, followed by
      noncycloplegic autorefraction (+/- 0.35 D) and cycloplegic subjective refraction
      (+/- 0.44 D). Noncycloplegic retinoscopy was the least reliable astigmatic
      refractive error measure, with interoccasion 95% limits of agreement of +/- 1.02
      D. The most repeatable measurement of cylinder axis was cycloplegic
      autorefraction; none of the measurements differed by 10 degrees or more. The
      least repeatable measurement was noncycloplegic retinoscopy; 40% of the
      measurements differed by 10 degrees or more. CONCLUSION: For studies seeking to
      measure changes in astigmatism in normal eyes, cycloplegic autorefraction is the
      method of choice.

PMID- 9987721
TI  - Videokeratography, keratometry, and refraction after penetrating keratoplasty.
AB  - PURPOSE: To identify the correlation between videokeratography,
      autorefractometry, autokeratometry, and keratometry measurements and the
      subjective manifest refraction and spectacle-corrected visual acuity after
      penetrating keratoplasty. METHODS: We studied 100 eyes from 100 patients that had
      undergone penetrating keratoplasty. All eyes were examined by videokeratography
      (EyeSys 2000) (axial, tangential, and refractive power maps), autorefractometry,
      autokeratometry, and keratometry. Measurements were made at an an average of 19
      +/- 9 months after surgery. Postoperative refractive astigmatism, spherical
      equivalent refraction, and spectacle-corrected visual acuity were studied by
      regression analysis. RESULTS: Both the total topographic cylinder measured by the
      refractive power map and topographic cylinder measured by the axial power map
      showed the strongest correlation with the manifest refractive cylinder (rs =
      +0.89, P < .001). The axis of astigmatism determined by keratometry and
      autokeratometry showed the strongest correlation with the subjective manifest
      refraction axis (rs = +0.87, P < .001). The total topographic cylinder showed the
      strongest correlation with the spectacle-corrected visual acuity (rs = +0.38, P =
      .001); however the topographic indices of predicted corneal acuity, corneal
      acuity, corneal uniformity index, asphericity, and refractive power symmetry did
      not correlate with spectacle-corrected visual acuity. CONCLUSION: Measurement of
      astigmatism after penetrating keratoplasty can be made more accurate by using
      videokeratographic measurements to supplement retinoscopic and manifest
      refraction. Other useful methods for predicting the axis of refractive
      astigmatism include keratometry, autokeratometry, and autorefractometry. In this
      study, indices designed to measure corneal surface irregularity failed to predict
      visual acuity after penetrating keratoplasty.

PMID- 9987719
TI  - Treatment of hyperopia with contact Ho:YAG laser thermal keratoplasty.
AB  - PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and stability of contact Ho:YAG
      laser thermal keratoplasty for low to moderate hyperopia. METHODS: Fifty-five
      hyperopic eyes of 39 patients were treated with a Technomed contact Ho:YAG laser;
      23 eyes were treated a second time. Treatment parameters were 1 octagonal ring of
      8 spots with a treatment diameter of 6 mm, 7 mm, or 8 mm. Efficacy of the Ho:YAG
      laser treatment was evaluated after 6 months, comparing 3 treatment zone
      diameters. Stability and efficacy after 12 months was evaluated comparing 7-mm
      and 8-mm treatment zone diameters. RESULTS: Mean reduction of spherical
      equivalent refraction after 6 months was not statistically significantly
      different between the 6-mm or 7-mm diameter zones: 1.42 (+/- 1.30) D versus 2.22
      (+/- 0.44) D. An 8-mm diameter treatment zone was significantly less effective,
      1.12 (+/- 0.47) D. Longer follow-up did not show stability: mean reduction of
      spherical equivalent manifest refraction was 1.58 (+/- 0.45) D for the 7-mm
      diameter treatment zone and 0.82 (+/- 0.61) D for the 8-mm diameter treatment
      zone after approximately 12 months. Retreatment had a limited additive effect. No
      clinically significant loss of spectacle-corrected visual acuity was reported. No
      eyes lost more than 1 line of visual acuity. CONCLUSION: Contact Ho:YAG laser
      thermal keratoplasty corrected hyperopia up to 2.50 D, but predictability was
      poor and a regression of initial effect occurred. Instability of refraction
      persisted to 1 year after surgery.

PMID- 9987723
TI  - Changes in corneal topography after laser in situ keratomileusis for myopia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To define qualitative patterns of corneal topography after excimer
      laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and to assess whether epithelial hyperplasia
      occurred after LASIK. METHODS: A consecutive series of 18 myopic eyes of 10
      patients having refractive surgery in an academic practice at the Royal Victorian
      Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia was followed prospectively after
      LASIK. Four eyes were treated with the VISX 20/20 excimer laser and 14 eyes were
      treated with the Nidek EC5000 excimer laser. Videokeratography was performed on
      each eye at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. The common digital subtraction
      topographic patterns were classified and used to speculate whether epithelial
      hyperplasia occurred. RESULTS: After LASIK, 83% of subtraction maps at 1 month
      and 81% at both 3 and 6 months showed steepening in the ablation zone. There was
      no clear correlation between the topographic maps and spectacle-corrected visual
      acuity or regression of the initial effect after surgery. CONCLUSION: Corneal
      topographic changes similar to those seen after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
      occur after LASIK for myopia.

PMID- 9987722
TI  - Loss and recovery of corneal sensitivity following photorefractive keratectomy
      for myopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Photorefractive keratectomy affects corneal innervation in a new, and
      drastic, way. This inevitably results in a significant loss of corneal
      sensitivity. This paper investigates the pattern of sensitivity loss and recovery
      following PRK for low to moderate myopia. METHODS: Patients were recruited for
      two separate studies. Longitudinal Study: 10 patients, treated with a -6.00 D/6
      mm PRK ablation, were examined over a 1-year period. Transverse Study: A
      comparison was made between 35 non-contact lens wearers, 80 contact lens wearers,
      and 60 patients who underwent five different PRK treatments, 1 year previously.
      Corneal sensitivity was assessed using the Non-Contact Corneal Aesthesiometer at
      four corneal locations: centrally, temporally, medially, inferiorly, on all
      patients. RESULTS: Longitudinal Study: Corneal sensitivity was significantly
      reduced at week 1, with a further significant reduction at week 2. A gradual
      recovery in sensitivity then followed to reach preoperative levels by 1 year.
      Transverse Study: There was no significant difference in corneal sensitivity
      found as a result of different PRK ablation depths. The depth of ablation was not
      a factor in corneal sensitivity recovery in low to moderate myopic corrections.
      Corneal sensitivity in the PRK treated eyes was significantly lower than in the
      control groups. CONCLUSION: The immediate loss of corneal sensitivity after
      surgery was due to the total removal of the corneal epithelial nerve supply and a
      substantial portion of the underlying stromal nerves. The further decrease at
      week 2 was probably due to the new epithelium acting as barrier to stimulation.
      The gradual recovery of corneal sensitivity was most likely caused by epithelial
      reinnervation within the ablation zone, but this was still below normal levels at
      1 year after surgery. Corneal nerve function demonstrates a biphasic pattern of
      loss and recovery following the excimer laser correction of low to moderate
      myopia.

PMID- 9987724
TI  - Refractive keratotomy after photorefractive keratectomy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The current surgical procedures available for the treatment of
      residual myopia and/or astigmatism after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
      include refractive keratotomy, laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), repeat PRK,
      or photorefractive astigmatic keratectomy (PARK). In this study, we investigate
      the safety and efficacy of refractive keratotomy for the correction of residual
      myopia and/or astigmatism after PRK. METHODS: Ten eyes of 9 patients underwent
      refractive keratotomy after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy using the
      Lindstrom nomogram. PRK procedures were performed using the VISX 20/20 system by
      one surgeon. RESULTS: All eyes except one obtained an uncorrected visual acuity
      of 20/40 or better. One eye developed significant haze following PRK with myopic
      astigmatic regression and underwent refractive keratotomy to correct the residual
      refractive error. This patient was also the only patient who lost 2 lines of
      spectacle-corrected visual acuity secondary to corneal haze. CONCLUSION: This
      study demonstrates that refractive keratotomy can reduce residual astigmatism and
      myopia that may be present following excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy.
      Our results suggest there is no need to change the refractive keratotomy
      nomograms for eyes that have previously undergone PRK.

PMID- 9987725
TI  - Combined laser in situ keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy for extreme
      myopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Current refractive surgical techniques, specifically photorefractive
      keratectomy (PRK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for the correction of
      extreme myopia (more than -20.00 diopters) are unpredictable and undercorrections
      occur frequently. A combination of both techniques, used simultaneously or
      separately, expands their individual range, and allows correction of higher
      amounts of myopia. METHODS: Both eyes of a 24-year old female patient who had a
      spherical equivalent refraction of -37.00 -2.00 x 170 degrees in her right eye
      and -38.00 -2.00 x 180 degrees in her left eye underwent LASIK and PRK
      (transepithelial) at the same sitting, using the Chiron automated corneal shaper
      and the Chiron Technolas Keracor 116 excimer laser. RESULTS: One month
      postoperatively, she had an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/100 in her right eye
      with a spherical equivalent refraction of +3.00 sphere and 20/200 in her left
      eye. One year after surgery she had an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/70 and a
      spherical equivalent refraction of +1.00 -1.00 x 30 degrees in her right eye and
      in her left eye 20/80 with a refraction of +1.25 sphere. CONCLUSION: LASIK and
      PRK combined in a simultaneous procedure are an alternative for the surgical
      management of extreme myopia.

PMID- 9987726
TI  - Sterile peripheral keratitis following laser in situ keratomileusis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Sterile infiltrates have been reported as a possible complication
      following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). They have not been reported
      following laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). We review a case of fleeting,
      sterile peripheral corneal infiltrates following LASIK. METHODS: A 53 year old
      patient developed peripheral, sterile corneal infiltrates along the edge of the
      primary flap following LASIK. This was successfully managed with topical
      antibiotics and corticosteroids without permanent sequelae. RESULTS: Sterile
      peripheral corneal infiltrates are now a known complication following LASIK.
      Pathogenesis is undetermined but may involve activation of marginal keratitis
      reminiscent of that following blepharitis or a mechanism similar to acute
      subepithelial infiltrative keratitis following PRK. CONCLUSION: Fleeting, sterile
      peripheral corneal infiltrates can occur following LASIK. This undesired
      complication is poorly characterized but can be successfully managed with
      culturing of the infiltrates, topical corticosteroids, and antibiotics.

PMID- 9987727
TI  - Ruptured globe 10 years after radial keratotomy.
AB  - PURPOSE: To report 3 cases (3 eyes) of globe rupture following blunt trauma 10 to
      13 years after radial keratotomy. METHODS: Cases of traumatic ruptured globe
      after radial keratotomy were reviewed from a tertiary eye care center. One eye
      underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, the second was treated with a
      bandage contact lens, and the third developed retinal detachment leading to
      phthisis bulbi. RESULTS: Ruptured globes occurred through the keratotomy incision
      during activities of daily living (1 eye), assault (1 eye), and sports (1 eye).
      Two eyes regained a visual acuity of 20/30 or better; 1 eye was lost. CONCLUSION:
      Traumatic rupture of the cornea can occur more than 10 years after radial
      keratotomy.

PMID- 9987728
TI  - Centered vs. inferior off-center ablation to correct hyperopia and presbyopia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We describe a new technique of inferior off-center ablation with
      laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to correct both hyperopia and presbyopia.
      METHODS: This prospective clinical study was based on the empirical results
      obtained with LASIK in 16 hyperopic eyes of 8 patients. All patients had a
      centered ablation in one eye and an inferior decentered ablation in the other
      eye. A Schwind excimer laser was used and a planned inferior off-center ablation
      of 1 mm was performed. Maximum follow-up was 22 months (8 eyes). RESULTS:
      Patients with hyperopia that underwent inferior decentered ablation were able to
      read for a prolonged period of time, compared with eyes that had conventional
      centered excimer laser ablation. Patients with steepened corneas in the inferior
      and eccentric zone ended up not only with better distance but also better near
      vision. No loss of spectacle-corrected visual acuity in any eye has been observed
      to date. CONCLUSION: Planned inferior off-center ablation to correct hyperopia
      and presbyopia achieved better distance and near visual acuity than centered
      ablation. As with centered ablation, no significant regression of effect occurred
      with off-center ablation; reading near vision was better and more stable with
      inferior off-center ablation.

PMID- 9987729
TI  - Clear lens extraction in the 19th century--an early demonstration of premature
      dissemination.
AB  - Clear lens extraction for correction of high myopia is a concept known since at
      least 1800, but was performed only occasionally because of the hazards of
      cataract operation in general in the era before aseptic surgery. After the
      invention of sterilization, in 1889 a rush for myopia correction by clear lens
      extraction was started by Fukala in Austria/Germany and Vacher in France. It took
      10 years until a retrospective comparison of operated and non-operated eyes
      revealed the high complication rate after clear lens extraction. After 1900, the
      "myopia operation" was increasingly abandoned and eventually disappeared.

PMID- 9987730
TI  - Topography following keratoplasty in cats is not representative of that in
      humans.

PMID- 9987731
TI  - Enhancing advanced surgical laparoscopy. Combined, routine use of
      microlaparoscopes and macrolaparoscopes.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe a variety of techniques for using the microlaparoscope in
      conjunction with a standard-sized laparoscope for simplifying and enhancing
      advanced laparoscopic surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study of
      microlaparoscopic techniques for enhancing macrolaparoscopic procedures. RESULTS:
      The microlaparoscope facilitates macrolaparoscopy by permitting: (1) specimen
      removal and use of 10-mm instruments without secondary, large ports; (2)
      performance of laparoscopic vaginal hysterectomy with the endoscopic stapler
      using only one 12-mm port; (3) lysis of difficult pelvic and periumbilical
      adhesions; (4) enhancement of visual access to difficult operative sites; (5)
      closure of large umbilical and secondary port sites under direct monitoring; (6)
      visualization from the left upper quadrant when umbilical adhesions are
      suspected; and (7) use as the initial entry laparoscope when extensive surgery is
      not anticipated. CONCLUSION: The routine, combined use of the microlaparoscope
      and 10-mm laparoscope significantly expands the capabilities of the advanced
      laparoscopic surgeon. Procedures are simplified, facilitated and made less
      invasive.

PMID- 9987732
TI  - Impact of genetic counseling on primary and preventive care in obstetrics and
      gynecology.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the prenatal three-generation pedigree in
      assessment of the obstetric patient's primary medical risks. STUDY DESIGN: In a
      case series, 250 charts of patients referred for amniocentesis on the basis of
      advanced maternal age were reviewed for a significant genetic risk of a primary
      care disorder. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients (16%) were at significantly
      increased risk for a primary care disorder. Thirty-eight patients (15.2%) were at
      increased risk for medical conditions for which early screening, detection and/or
      intervention are established. CONCLUSION: For the advanced maternal age
      population, formal genetic risk assessment performed prior to amniocentesis can
      be beneficial in primary care risk assessment.

PMID- 9987733
TI  - Results of AutoPap system-assisted and manual cytologic screening. A comparison.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of AutoPap QC System rescreening of all
      qualified negative cervical cytologic smears with selection of approximately 10%
      for cytotechnologist rescreening as compared to a random selection of 10% of
      negative cases. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 1,141,913 consecutive smears. In
      February 1997 an AutoPap-based QC program was implemented to select a population
      for rescreening. Negative cases were studied prospectively by the AutoPap QC
      System. Detection rates by diagnostic classification of false negative cases were
      compared to rates obtained using a randomly selected 10% rescreening of negative
      cases from the immediately preceding time period. RESULTS: The AutoPap QC System
      was 5.2-fold more effective for the detection of high grade squamous
      intraepithelial lesion + false negatives, 2.0-fold for low grade squamous
      intraepithelial lesions, 2.8-fold for atypical squamous cells of undetermined
      significance and 5.1-fold for atypical glandular cells of undetermined
      significance. CONCLUSION: In a large reference laboratory a QC program utilizing
      the AutoPap QC System was significantly more effective in the detection of false
      negative smears as compared to a QC program utilizing 10% random rescreening of
      negative smears.

PMID- 9987734
TI  - GnRH agonist. Increasing the pregnancy rate after combined treatment with hMG/hCG
      and direct intraperitoneal insemination.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the GnRH agonist (GnRHa) administered in
      conjunction with human menopausal gonadotropin/human chorionic gonadotropin
      hMG/hCG and direct intraperitoneal insemination (DIPI) in women with long
      standing unexplained infertility. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, non
      blind analysis. During the period May 1995-December 1996, couples with
      unexplained infertility who failed to conceive following superovulation combined
      with IUI for at least seven cycles were prospectively enrolled and followed.
      Pregnancy rates per cycle and per patient of DIPI were compared between groups of
      hMG/hCG with (GnRHa[+] controlled ovarian hyperstimulation [COH] group) or
      without (GnRHa[-] COH group) GnRHa. RESULTS: Thirty-four women (59 cycles)
      underwent COH with hMG and GnRHa, and 31 women (49 cycles) received
      hyperstimulation with hMG alone. The pregnancy rates for the women administered
      GnRHa significantly exceeded those of the patients who did not receive GnRHa both
      per treatment cycle (35.6% versus 14.3%) and per couple (55.9% versus 22.5%).
      CONCLUSION: The use of GnRHa with hMG/hCG and DIPI treatment significantly
      increased the pregnancy rate in women with long-standing infertility.

PMID- 9987735
TI  - Polycystic ovary syndrome. Insulin resistance and ovulatory responses to
      clomiphene citrate.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate insulin secretion detected on oral glucose tolerance
      testing in relation to clomiphene citrate (CC) responses in women with polycystic
      ovary syndrome (PCOS). STUDY DESIGN: A total of 37 PCOS women were enrolled.
      Plasma baseline levels of gonadotropins, sex hormone binding globulin,
      androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and testosterone (T) were
      determined. Insulin and glucose serum concentrations were analyzed in all samples
      after a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. A dose of 100 mg/d of CC was given for
      ovulation induction. Ovulation was detected by ultrasonographic observation in
      conjunction with a serum progesterone level. RESULTS: During three consecutive
      cycles of CC administration, two or more anovulatory cycles were observed in 12
      of 37 PCOS women (defined as CC nonresponders). The serum T level and the area
      under the curve (AUC) of insulin were significantly higher in CC nonresponders.
      The receiver operating characteristic curve of the AUC of insulin provided the
      most appropriate cutoff point for the prediction of CC resistance. CONCLUSION: We
      found higher androgen secretion and insulin resistance in CC nonresponders. The
      AUC of insulin was the most reliable method for the prediction of CC resistance
      associated with insulin resistance.

PMID- 9987736
TI  - Amniotic fluid amino and nucleic acid in normal and neural tube defect
      pregnancies. A comparison.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between fetal amino acids (AAs), which are
      the components of structural proteins and nucleic acids, and the changes
      associated with neural tube defects (NTD). STUDY DESIGN: Ten weekly amniotic
      fluid (AF) samples from normal pregnancies (non-NTD) and 10 from NTD pregnancies
      between 16 and 20 weeks' gestational age were analyzed for AAs, and the weekly
      average for the non-NTD and NTD groups was determined. The group mean levels were
      compared by ANOVA. RESULTS: The weekly group mean levels of methionine, serine
      and aspartic acid were significantly lower than the weekly group mean levels of
      the other AAs. The group mean levels of methionine were significantly lower for
      NTD than for non-NTD pregnancies. CONCLUSION: The mean methionine level in NTD
      pregnancies was the only AA alteration in NTD. Although the AF levels of the non
      NTD pregnancies showed that the levels of serine, aspartic acid and methionine
      were 3- to 19-fold lower than those of the other AAs, only methionine is
      essential. Consequently, methionine is rate limiting with respect to the role of
      structural proteins and nucleic acids in the fetus.

PMID- 9987737
TI  - Diabetes and pregnancy. Preconception care, pregnancy outcomes, resource
      utilization and costs.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare pregnancy outcomes, resource utilization and
      costs among women with diabetes who receive and do not receive preconception
      care. STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, prospective, observational study of women with
      type 1 diabetes who received preconception care (PC), became pregnant and
      delivered (PC women) and women with type 1 diabetes who received prenatal care
      (PC) only and delivered (PN women). RESULTS: As compared to PN women (n = 74), PC
      women (n = 24) were seen earlier in gestation and had significantly lower
      glycosylated hemoglobin levels. The combined number of outpatient visits for PC
      women was not greater than for PN women. PC women were hospitalized significantly
      less during pregnancy and tended to have shorter inpatient stays. The mean length
      of stay after delivery was significantly shorter for PC women. Intensity of care
      tended to be lower and length of stay shorter for infants of mothers who received
      PC care. The net cost saving associated with PC care was approximately $34,000
      per patient. CONCLUSION: PC achieves its major intended health benefits and is
      associated with reduced resource utilization and substantially reduced costs. For
      both health and economic reasons, clinical practice and public policy should
      embrace PC.

PMID- 9987738
TI  - Risk factors and outcomes associated with nuchal cord. A population-based study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess risk factors and outcomes associated with nuchal cord at
      birth. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based, case-control study was conducted using
      linked birth and hospitalization records. Three thousand newborns were randomly
      selected from all singleton births with nuchal cord as noted on the birth record
      (n = 5,426) in King County, Washington, 1992-1993. For comparison, 3,000 controls
      were randomly selected from the 46,952 unaffected singleton births. RESULTS: An
      increased risk of nuchal cord was associated with induction of labor (odds ratio
      [OR] adjusted for maternal age and parity 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7
      2.3), African American infant race (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.6), primiparity (OR 1.2,
      95% CI 1.0-1.5) and male sex (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.3). After exclusion of
      selected obstetric complications, the risk of nuchal cord associated with
      induction of labor increased (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0-3.0). Nuchal cord was associated
      with increased risks of fetal distress (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.1-3.4), meconium
      staining (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-2.6), five-minute Apgar score < 7 (OR 1.6, 95% CI
      1.1-2.4) and assisted ventilation < 30 minutes (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4-2.6). Although
      hospital charges for newborns with nuchal cord were slightly greater than for
      those without (P = .02), hospital lengths of stay did not differ significantly.
      CONCLUSION: Induction of labor was identified as an independent risk factor for
      nuchal cord. Certain adverse perinatal outcomes are increased in neonates with
      nuchal cord. However, neonates with nuchal cord do not have significantly longer
      neonatal hospital stays, and thus the adverse effects of nuchal cord may be
      transient.

PMID- 9987739
TI  - Effect of methotrexate on tubal epithelium. A report of three cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Tubal effects of methotrexate injections have been poorly reported.
      CASES: Three fallopian tubes were examined with light microscopy 9-13 months
      after tubal methotrexate injection (one case) and intramuscular methotrexate
      injection (two cases) given for the treatment of unruptured ectopic pregnancies.
      No evidence of tubal damage was found. CONCLUSION: These three cases confirm
      previous experimental and clinical data showing the absence of a direct adverse
      effect of methotrexate on the fallopian tubes in the treatment of ectopic
      pregnancy.

PMID- 9987740
TI  - Malignant hemangioendothelioma presenting as multifocal intraskeletal lesions
      during pregnancy. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Malignant hemangioendothelioma is a neoplasm of vascular origin
      characterized by irregular vascular channels lined with atypical endothelial
      cells. CASE: A gravida at 32 weeks' gestation presented with diffuse back and
      lower leg pain and was diagnosed with multifocal malignant hemangioendothelioma
      of bone. Computed tomography of the chest also demonstrated a small right atrial
      density. Three weeks later the patient became septic, and cesarean section was
      performed. After several cycles of chemotherapy, clinical improvement was noted.
      However, disease progression was noted thereafter, and the patient died one and a
      half years after the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Our case was a primary multifocal
      malignant hemangioendothelioma of bone arising during pregnancy. Considering the
      absence of pulmonary involvement, it is unlikely that the skeletal lesions
      represented metastatic deposits from a cardiac primary. With such extensive
      skeletal disease, the right atrial density probably was a metastatic deposit.

PMID- 9987741
TI  - Hyperreactio luteinalis in a normal singleton pregnancy. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hyperreactio luteinalis rarely occurs in normal singleton pregnancy.
      About 50 such cases have been published. This case is noteworthy because it
      resulted in extremely enlarged ovaries and was accompanied by a hyperandrogenic
      state and high level of human chorionic gonadotropin. CASE: A gravida was
      referred to our department because of large, bilateral, cystic ovaries diagnosed
      by ultrasonography in the 28th week of gestation. Markedly elevated levels of
      androgens and human chorionic gonadotropin were noted. During the following six
      weeks the ovarian masses enlarged, and the hyperandrogenic state worsened.
      Cesarean section and, because of a bleeding right adnexectomy, left ovarian
      resection were performed. Histology confirmed the presumed diagnosis of
      hyperreactio luteinalis. The placenta was unremarkable. Seventeen weeks after
      surgery the hormone levels were normal. CONCLUSION: Our case suggests the
      possibility that in certain cases of hyperreactio luteinalis, an idiopathic
      elevation of human chorionic gonadotropin, can occur even in normal singleton
      pregnancies. Furthermore, it calls attention to the necessity of ultrasonographic
      demonstration of ovaries even during late pregnancy.

PMID- 9987742
TI  - Well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in an infertility patient with
      later conception. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The incidence of well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in
      reproductive-age women is approximately 5%. When the women desires to retain her
      future fertility in light of this diagnosis, choices of surgery vs. medical
      therapy may present a dilemma for both the physician and patient. CASE: A young
      infertility patient with well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma conceived
      by ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination after medical therapy. She
      subsequently delivered vaginally, and follow-up dilatation and curettage revealed
      no evidence of recurrent carcinoma. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that with
      close observation by endometrial sampling for histologic diagnosis and follow-up,
      medical therapy can be an option for treating this condition to allow future
      fertility. The patient must be extensively counseled, however, concerning the
      nearly 33% chance of progression or recurrence of disease. One must also stress
      the importance of frequent evaluation of symptoms and endometrial pathology
      postpartum, with endometrial sampling as indicated and discussion of definitive
      surgical therapy once fertility is no longer desired.

PMID- 9987743
TI  - Conservative management of an 11-week cervical pregnancy. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Cervical pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy. This
      condition is usually treated with hysterectomy. CASE: A woman with an 11.3-week
      cervical pregnancy was treated with methotrexate, angiographic embolization of
      the anterior division of the hypogastric artery, dilatation and curettage, and
      minimal rollerball ablation of bleeding cervical vessels only. The patient was
      discharged on postoperative day 1. Complications included a malodorous discharge,
      which was treated with oral antibiotics, and claudication of the thighs for two
      weeks. CONCLUSION: Advanced cervical pregnancies can be treated conservatively.

PMID- 9987744
TI  - Hepatocellular carcinoma in pregnancy. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma presenting in pregnancy is very rare, and
      experience treating this condition is limited. Past reports have emphasized the
      need for pregnancy termination as part of treatment. CASE: A young, otherwise
      healthy woman was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in the second
      trimester. Her only risk factor was a six-year history of oral contraceptive use.
      She opted to maintain the pregnancy and was treated with surgical resection in
      the form of a right hepatectomy. Both she and her child were alive and well 24
      months following surgery. CONCLUSION: Hepatocellular carcinoma in pregnancy can
      be successfully treated by surgical resection without adjuvant therapy; pregnancy
      termination is not mandatory.

PMID- 9987745
TI  - Treatment of hematotrachelos after dilatation and curettage. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hematotrachelos, accumulation of menstrual blood in a dilated cervix,
      is a rare disorder accompanying cervical stenosis. In this report,
      hematotrachelos was diagnosed by vaginal sonography and treated in a novel way.
      CASE: A 39-year-old woman with progressive hypomenorrhea following dilation and
      curettage for dysfunctional uterine bleeding was diagnosed with hematotrachelos
      using vaginal sonography. Cervical dilatation and evacuation of the
      hematotrachelos were performed. A latex nasopharyngeal airway was utilized as a
      temporary stent and allowed drainage and maintained cervical patency. Normal
      menstrual flow was resumed, and the hematotrachelos did not recur. CONCLUSION:
      Hematotrachelos may be a rare complication of routine dilatation and curettage.
      The diagnosis is confirmed by transvaginal sonography. Treatment is successful
      with cervical dilatation and placement of a temporary latex nasopharyngeal
      airway.

PMID- 9987746
TI  - [Genetic transformation of plants, recombination processes, and gene expression
      regulation in transgenic plants].
AB  - Recent studies in molecular biology and gene engineering were conducive to
      accumulation of numerous facts which help better understand the processes of
      plant genome functioning and follow up the effects of recombination processes in
      purposefully modified genome of a transformed plant on its expression. This
      review analyzes the major approaches to studies and results attained in plant
      gene engineering and plant genome imprinting.

PMID- 9987747
TI  - [Repression of catabolites in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria].
AB  - Analyzes the mechanism of catabolite repression of grampositive and gramnegative
      bacteria. The role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and CRP protein, forming a
      complex, is shown. Contribution of ATP kinase to manifestation of the catabolic
      repression phenomenon in grampositive bacteria is discussed.

PMID- 9987748
TI  - [Ultrastructural and immunocytochemical study of Listeria monocytogenes with
      varying levels of pathogenicity factor production].
AB  - Wild and mutant strains of Listeria monocytogenes are examined by electron and
      immunoelectron microscopy. The mutant strain was characterized as a strain with a
      high level of production of pathogenic factors. No essential morphological
      criteria permitting the differentiation between wild and mutant Listeria strains
      were detected. Addition of activated charcoal to nutrient medium resulted in
      similar morphological changes in both strains. Enlargement of cells, a thicker
      cell wall, and changes in the cytoplasm structure are objective morphological
      signs of functional activity of bacteria with a higher level of pathogenic factor
      production. Indirect immunocytochemical method demonstrated the localization of
      specific phosphatidyl inosityl phospholipase C.

PMID- 9987749
TI  - [Extrachromosomal genetic elements of Clostridium botulinum. II. Isolation and
      analysis of DNA from bacteriophages of Clostridium botulinum types C and A].
AB  - The DNAs of bacteriophage c-st, known to realize the lysogenic conversion of
      toxinogenicity among C. botulinum types C and D strains, and the nucleic acid of
      a virulent mutant of bacteriophage CB propagated in type A C. botulinum cells
      were purified and examined. Heterogeneity of phage c-st preparations was observed
      during purification, manifesting by formation of several bands in isopiknic CsCl
      gradient during centrifuging. An extra nucleic acid fraction was detected in some
      DNA preparations of phage c-st; the origin of this fraction is discussed. Plasmid
      extrachromosomal elements were for the first time found in the cells of
      nontoxigenic type C C. botulinum A02 strain, known as the indicator for c-st
      phage. The sensitivity of phage c-st DNA to 25 restriction endonucleases was
      examined. Analysis of the results of restriction analysis of c-st and CB phage
      DNAs and plasmid nucleic acids, revealed earlier in type A C. botulinum strains,
      disclosed several DNA modification enzymes with different recognition sites in
      type C C. botulinum. At least two of these activities are not found in type A
      strains. According to restriction analysis, total size of phage c-st DNA is about
      160 kbp and of phage CB DNA 35 kbp. Individual EcoRI and HindIII restricts of
      phage c-st DNA, containing the initial site of botulinum toxin CI gene, were
      recognized by radioisotope labeled oligonucleotide probe Enzyme immunoassay
      revealed slight expression of the N-terminal region of bntc I gene in E. coli
      recombinant variants. These data can be used in further investigation of C.
      botulinum genetics.

PMID- 9987750
TI  - [Isolation and primary characteristics of a Pseudomonas (Burkholderia)
      pseudomallei plasmid].
AB  - Plasmid screening of reference Pseudomonas pseudomallei strains isolated from
      patients and animals revealed cryptic plasmids with different molecular weights
      in 30 strains. Plasmids were investigated by restriction analysis and DNA-DNA
      hybridization. Cryptic plasmids were denoted as pPM1, pCM2, pCM3, and pCM4. The
      presence of plasmids in melioidosis agent permits their use for intraspecies
      typing of strains and for genetic studies.

PMID- 9987751
TI  - Novel classes of Azospirillum brasilense mutants with defects in the assembly and
      functioning of polar and lateral flagella.
AB  - Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 has a mixed type of flagellation: a single polar
      flagellum (Fla) is synthesized constitutively, and abundant lateral flagella
      (Laf) are produced only in solid and semisolid media. In the present study,
      Omegon-Km Fla-Laf-, Fla-Laf+, Fla-/Mot-Laf-. Fla-/Mot-Laf+, Mot-Laf-, and Che-
      mutants of Sp245 were constructed in vivo. In some of the mutants, a number of
      cells possessed from 1 to 5 subpolar long flagella (Sfl). These Sfl provided the
      host cells with unusual motility patterns. Mutants producing shortened Fla and
      Laf were also detected. In the mutants still producing Laf, their expression
      retained the wild-type inducibility. However, all the mutants described were
      unable to form swarm rings in semisolid media. The results suggest the existence
      of common control or structural elements in assembly and rotation apparatus of
      both Fla and Laf systems. Single Omegon-Km insertions were localized in 85 MD (in
      two mutants) and in 120 MD (in one mutant) indigenous plasmids, as well as to
      least in two different regions of chromosomal DNA (in other mutants).

PMID- 9987752
TI  - [Use of a method of single-stranded DNA fragment conformation polymorphism (SSCP)
      for detecting resistance of Mycoplasm hominis to fluoroquinolones].
AB  - Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method was used for nucleotide
      sequence variation analysis of the gyrase A subunit quinolone resistance
      determining region (gyrA QRDR) in a laboratory and clinical strains of M.
      hominis. The couple of primers selected for this region amplified specific
      product in clinical material. M. hominis cultures growing in the presence of
      different concentrations of ciprofloxacin were studied by the SSCP method.
      Ser(83) to Leu mutation described previously was detected in the presence of
      quinolone in concentrations of at least 10 mcg/ml. In addition, 11 clinical
      samples were tested. In all cases the results of SSCP were confirmed by direct
      sequencing of the region. In 2 cases the sequences of gyrA QRDR in clinical
      strains were the same as in the laboratory strain. A Ser(83)-Leu mutation was
      identified in 1 clinical sample, while in others nucleotide substitutes did not
      lead to changes in amino acid sequences. These data demonstrate high informative
      value of the SSCP method for evaluating nucleotide variation in gyrA QRDR and
      quinolone resistance of M. hominis.

PMID- 9987753
TI  - Newer magnetic resonance techniques and disease activity in multiple sclerosis:
      new concepts and new concerns.

PMID- 9987754
TI  - The effect of cross-talk on MRI lesion numbers and volumes in multiple sclerosis
      using conventional and turbo spin-echo.
AB  - We measured and compared lesion numbers and volumes present on brain magnetic
      resonance imaging (MRI) scans of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) acquired
      with contiguous (scheme A) and interleaved (scheme B) slice acquisition, to
      evaluate whether there was a gain in sensitivity using the second pattern of
      acquisition and whether this counterbalanced the doubled acquisition time.
      Conventional spin-echo (CSE) sequences were performed for eight patients and
      turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequences for ten. Acquisition scheme B detected 3.8% more
      lesions than acquisition scheme A (the increase was 3.1% for CSE and 4.5% for
      TSE). These differences were not statistically significant. No significant
      difference in lesion numbers was found when different lesion locations were also
      considered. Lesions volumes were significantly higher when scheme B was used (P =
      0.024). This was due to higher lesion volumes on TSE images (P = 0.006),
      especially on even-numbered slices (P = 0.008). Inter-slice cross-talk has a
      negligible effect on lesion numbers and volume estimates in MS for CSE sequence,
      whilst it cannot be neglected when TSE sequences are used to measure MS lesion
      volume.

PMID- 9987755
TI  - Cerebrospinal fluid measures of disease activity in patients with multiple
      sclerosis.
AB  - The potential of magnetic resonance imaging to serve as a surrogate marker of
      disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasingly
      recognised. In contrast, the use of cerebrospinal fluid analysis has received
      less attention. We analysed the correlation between clinical data and
      cerebrospinal fluid parameters in 75 patients with acute optic neuritis (ON) as a
      possible first symptom of MS, as a symptom of clinically definite MS, and in
      patients with an attack of MS other than ON. The samples were obtained within 30
      days from the onset of an exacerbation. The concentration of myelin basic protein
      (MBP) in cerebrospinal fluid was significantly correlated with the visual acuity
      in patients with ON and the Kurtzke EDSS score in patients with MS. The
      concentration of MBP in CSF also correlated positively with the CSF leukocyte
      count, intrathecal IgG synthesis, and the CSF-serum albumin concentration
      quotient. The concentration of MBP in CSF correlated negatively with intrathecal
      IgA synthesis. The results support the use of the concentration of MBP in CSF as
      a surrogate marker of disease activity during acute exacerbations of MS; the data
      also link the presence of MBP in CSF to neuroimmunological parameters.

PMID- 9987756
TI  - Comparing the ability of various compositive outcomes to discriminate treatment
      effects in MS clinical trials. The Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative Research
      Group (MSCRG).
AB  - We compared the ability of the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)
      and a composite outcome of non-physician-based measures of time to ambulate 25
      feet (TA) and manual dexterity (the Box and Block Test [BBT], and 9-Hole Peg Test
      [9HPT]) to discriminate treatment effects in the Phase III study of interferon
      beta-1a. A log-rank comparison of Kaplan-Meier curves by treatment group showed
      the non-physician-based composite of BBT, 9HPT, and TA was of comparable
      sensitivity (P = 0.013) in discriminating sustained treatment failure as the EDSS
      alone (P = 0.029). The composite of BBT, 9HPT, TA, and EDSS was more sensitive (P
      = 0.009) in discriminating sustained treatment failure than the EDSS alone.
      Compositive outcomes of the EDSS and non-physician-based measures of manual
      dexterity and timed ambulation provide an appealing strategy to reduce the number
      of patients required to discriminate treatment effects in MS clinical trials.

PMID- 9987757
TI  - Side effect profile and adherence to in the treatment of multiple sclerosis with
      interferon beta-1a.
AB  - This study examines the course of patient-reported side effects during the first
      4 months of treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) with interferon beta-1a (IFN
      beta-1a), and the relationship of those side effects to discontinuation of
      medication. Flu-like symptoms, muscle aches and chills decreased over the first 2
      months of treatment but did not change over the second 2 months. Loss of feeling
      or numbness, tingling and depression increased over 4 months, however these side
      effects were generally mild. Loss of feeling or numbness and tingling at 2 month
      follow-up were significantly related to discontinuation of IFN beta-1a by 4 month
      follow-up.

PMID- 9987758
TI  - Human Herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection in multiple sclerosis: a preliminary
      report.
AB  - We examined cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and
      patients with other neurological diseases (OND) for antibody specific for Human
      Herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) and for HHV-6 DNA detectable by PCR. CSF from MS patients
      had a higher frequency of IgG antibody to HHV-6 late antigens (39.4%) compared
      with CSF from OND (7.4%). In contrast, the frequency of detectable IgG antibody
      in CSF from MS patients specific for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) (12.1%) and Human
      Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) (6.1%) was much lower. Two of 12 MS CSFs (16.7%) also
      contained HHV-6 DNA detected by PCR. None of four OND CSF were positive for HHV-6
      DNA. Plasma from 16 patients with MS, eight with OND and 72 healthy donors were
      tested for antibodies by ELISA to HHV-6 early (p41/38) and late (gp110) proteins.
      Although no differences in anti-gp110 IgG antibody were detected between MS
      patients, patients with other neurological diseases, and normals, IgG antibody to
      early protein p41/38 was detected in > 68% of the plasma from MS patients, 12.5%
      from OND patients and 27.8% of the controls. IgM antibody to p41/38 was present
      in > 56% of MS patients, 12.5% of OND patients, and 19% of controls. These data
      suggest that more than half of the MS patients had active, ongoing HHV-6
      infections. HHV-6 was also isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells
      (PBMC) from 3/5 MS patients who were in relapse or had progressive disease and
      was identified as HHV-6 Variant B. These preliminary results support the
      hypothesis that HHV-6 may be a co-factor in the pathogenesis of some cases of MS.

PMID- 9987760
TI  - Olivary degeneration after intracranial haemorrhage or trauma: follow-up MRI.
AB  - We studied serial MRI appearances of transneuronal degeneration in the inferior
      olives, retrospectively analysing follow-up images of five patients, three with
      head injury and two with brain stem haemorrhage. We performed 13 MRI studies 4
      days to 2 years 7 months after the accident. All but one of the patients
      exhibited bilateral olivary high signal on T2-weighted images. The interval
      between causal event and appearance of olivary changes was 2-4 months, images 4
      days to 1.5 months after the accidents revealing no changes. Olivary enlargement
      was observed in four patients 2-4 months after ictus.

PMID- 9987759
TI  - The diagnostic value of colour duplex ultrasound for symptomatic carotid stenosis
      in clinical practice.
AB  - We assessed the accuracy of colour duplex ultrasound for the detection of severe
      (70-99%) symptomatic carotid stenosis in a clinical setting, in order to assess
      whether it could make carotid angiography unnecessary. In 152 patients with a
      transient ischaemic attack or nondisabling ischaemic stroke in the carotid
      distribution, we compared the degree of colour duplex ultrasound stenosis with
      angiographic stenosis by receiver-operating-characteristic analysis. The
      angiograms were evaluated by blinded observers, and compared with routine reports
      of the colour duplex examination. We computed the sensitivity and specificity of
      colour duplex, and the number of angiograms and sonographic studies needed to
      prevent one stroke within 3 years, taking into account the risks of angiography,
      and the risks and efficacy of endarterectomy. The estimates were adjusted for
      nonverification bias. We found 34 patients (22%) with a severe (70-99%)
      symptomatic carotid stenosis. In 16 patients (11%) the symptomatic artery was
      occluded. The sensitivity and specificity of duplex ultrasound were 76% and 85%,
      respectively. The number of patients needed to undergo angiography to prevent one
      stroke was reduced from almost 200 to 33, when colour duplex was used as a
      preoperative examination. After adjustment for the effects of nonverification,
      the sensitivity dropped to 58% and the number of duplex studies needed to prevent
      one stroke would double. The number of angiograms needed after positive duplex
      sonography would be virtually unaffected. Were colour duplex sonography to have
      been the sole preoperative investigation, the number needed to diagnose to
      prevent one stroke within 3 years would be approximately 350, more than twice as
      many as with the combined diagnostic strategy. The diagnostic accuracy of colour
      duplex sonography in clinical practice seems less impressive than previous
      studies have suggested, but it remains an effective way to select patients for
      angiography. Its use as a single preoperative assessment cannot be recommended.

PMID- 9987761
TI  - Cystic lesions accompanying extra-axial tumours.
AB  - We examined the mechanism of cyst formation in extra-axial tumours in the central
      nervous system (CNS). Cyst fluid, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood plasma were
      analysed in eight patients with nine peritumoral cysts: four with meningiomas,
      two with intracranial and two spinal intradural schwannomas. Measuring
      concentrations of various proteins [albumin, immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, alpha 2
      macroglobulin and IgM] in cyst fluid, CSF and blood plasma provides insight into
      the state of the semipermeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood
      cerebrospinal fluid barrier. Peritumoral cysts accompanying intra-axial brain
      tumours are the end result of disruption of the BBB and oedema formation. Unlike
      intra-axial tumours which lie embedded within nervous tissue, extra-axial tumours
      tend to be separated from nervous tissue by arachnoid and pia mater. High
      concentrations of proteins were measured in the cyst fluid, approaching blood
      plasma levels, suggesting a local barrier disruption, and passage across the
      arachnoid, pia mater and cortical/medullary layer into the CNS parenchyma,
      leaving the protein concentrations of CSF practically unchanged. We confirmed
      that very high concentrations of protein are to be found in tumour cysts, plasma
      proteins forming almost 90% of the total protein in the cyst. We review current
      hypotheses on the pathogenesis of cysts accompanying neoplasms, particularly
      meningiomas and schwannomas, and conclude that the majority of proteins in cyst
      fluid in extra-axial, intradural meningiomas and schwannomas are plasma proteins.
      This provides a strong argument for pathogenesis of extra-axial intradural tumour
      cysts in favour of leakage of plasma proteins out of the tumour vessels into the
      nervous tissue.

PMID- 9987762
TI  - Fibro-osseous lesions involving the brain: MRI.
AB  - We present the MRI findings in two patients with "fibro-osseous lesions"
      involving the central nervous system. A left temporal lobe mass was present in
      one patient and an extra-axial mass at the skull base in the other. In both
      cases, calcification was present, with low signal intensity on T1- and T2
      weighted images.

PMID- 9987763
TI  - Pituitary macroadenoma and diaphragma sellae meningioma: differential diagnosis
      on MRI.
AB  - Diaphragma sellae meningiomas are unusual tumours often not distinguished from
      pituitary macroadenomas. Preoperative differentiation is essential, because the
      trans-sphenoidal approach is used for surgical removal of adenomas, while
      meningiomas are approached via a craniotomy. We reviewed five patients in whom a
      diaphragma sellae meningioma was initially diagnosed as a nonsecreting pituitary
      macroadenoma. MRI criteria for differential diagnosis are discussed. The main
      findings considered are visibility of the pituitary gland, contrast enhancement,
      the centre of the lesion and sellar enlargement. These criteria, applied to a
      blind review, allow correct identification of the tumours.

PMID- 9987764
TI  - Spontaneous regression of a pituitary cyst.
AB  - We present a pituitary cyst discovered on MRI in an amenorrheic patient that
      regressed over months. Although the precise etiology of the cyst is unproven,
      documentation of pituitary cyst regression has not to our knowledge been
      described previously.

PMID- 9987765
TI  - Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with CT and MRI appearance of meningioma.
AB  - We describe a pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) in a young girls whose frontal
      lobe location, solid structure, dural tail and MRI signal characteristics led to
      a preoperative diagnosis of meningioma. PXA should be considered in differential
      diagnosis of tumours affecting young patients with neuroradiological
      characteristics suggestive of meningioma.

PMID- 9987766
TI  - Intracranial leiomyosarcoma in a patient with AIDS.
AB  - We report an intracranial leiomyosarcoma in the pontine cistern of a 34-year-old
      woman infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The clinical,
      radiological and pathological data are reviewed. The tumor was Epstein-Barr virus
      (EBV) positive by in situ hybridization. This case emphasizes that smooth muscle
      neoplasms arising in the setting of immunocompromise can occur intracranially,
      and corroborates a hypothesis that EBV coinfection may have a role in development
      of these tumors.

PMID- 9987767
TI  - Marchiafava-Bignami disease with widespread extracallosal lesions and favourable
      course.
AB  - We report a 61-year-old alcoholic man who presented with subacute physical
      deterioration and severe dysarthria. MRI, suggestive of corpus callosum
      demyelination with associated white matter involvement in both cerebral
      hemispheres, indicated the diagnosis of Marchiafava-Bignami disease. During his
      stay in hospital the patient showed remarkable improvement, and was discharged 22
      days after admission. On MRI 2 months later, the extracallosal lesions had
      disappeared. This case raises questions about some previous ideas on this
      disease, such as the prognosis of its acute forms and the significance of the
      extracallosal lesions seen on neuroimaging.

PMID- 9987768
TI  - Unusually exuberant hyperostosis frontalis interna: MRI.

PMID- 9987769
TI  - 3D T2-weighted fast spin-echo MRI sialography of the parotid gland.
AB  - The diagnostic value of 3D T2-weighted MRI sialography and 2D T2-weighted fast
      spin-echo (FSE) images for delineation of the normal duct system and
      characterisation of parotid gland duct pathology was compared in a prospective
      study. We studied eight healthy volunteers and 18 patients with pathology of the
      parotid gland (tumours in 3, sialolithiasis in 6, Sjogren's disease in 4,
      recurrent or chronic parotitis in 4, post-traumatic stricture of the main parotid
      duct in 1). A heavily T2-weighted 3D FSE sequence was compared with a
      conventional 2D T2-weighted FSE sequence. The normal main parotid duct was always
      visible on 3D sialography and seen in 68% of the 2D T2-weighted FSE studies. The
      diagnostic reliability of both sequences for diagnosis of luminal concretions in
      sialolithiasis and dilatation of the duct in duct stricture or chronic parotitis
      was equal, although slight intraglandular dilatation was appreciated only on 3D
      sialography. Extraductal pathology resulting in obstruction or displacement of
      ducts was better characterised on 2D T2-weighted images. However, 3D MRI
      sialography offered the advantage of postprocessing with overview images and
      multiple maximum-intensity projection images in any plane.

PMID- 9987770
TI  - Solitary fibrous tumor of the orbit: CT and pathologic correlation.
AB  - We report the CT findings of a solitary fibrous tumor of the orbit. The
      radiologic features included relatively homogeneous contrast enhancement and
      smooth remodelling of the bones of the orbit, findings consistent with the benign
      nature of this relatively rare tumor.

PMID- 9987771
TI  - The oculocerebrocutaneous (Delleman-Oorthuys) syndrome.
AB  - We describe two cases of the so-called oculocerebrocutaneous syndrome, also known
      as the Delleman-Oorthuys syndrome. Both patients had characteristic congenital
      anomalies of the orbit, central nervous system and skin. The ocular and cerebral
      lesions were studied with CT and MRI.

PMID- 9987772
TI  - Endovascular treatment of aneurysms on the feeding arteries of intracranial
      arteriovenous malformations.
AB  - The association between intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations
      (AVMs) is well documented. Recent advances in the understanding of the
      haemodynamics of this association encourage an aggressive approach to these
      aneurysms. However, the pathophysiology of these aneurysms is not fully
      understood and a strategy for their management has not been established. We
      describe seven patients, with eight aneurysms, on the feeding arteries of AVMs.
      The aneurysms could be divided into those located 1. proximally on the
      superficial feeding artery (type I; 4 aneurysms); 2. distally on the superficial
      feeding artery (type II; 3 aneurysms); and 3. on the deep feeding artery (type
      III; 1 aneurysm). All aneurysms were treated by the endovascular procedure prior
      to, or simultaneously with, treatment of the AVM, using detachable coils or
      liquid embolic material. All aneurysms were obliterated successfully, with no
      adverse events. Each patient further received treatment of the AVM. None of the
      patients suffered intracranial haemorrhage after treatment for the aneurysms.
      Based on our experiences, we discuss the indications for this approach for each
      type of aneurysm. We believe endovascular treatment could be an important
      alternative for treatment of aneurysms associated with AVMs, thus reducing the
      risk of haemorrhage.

PMID- 9987773
TI  - Failure to demonstrate a direct caroticocavernous fistula due to arterialisation
      of the ipsilateral cavernous sinus.
AB  - We report a woman in whom a small direct caroticocavernous fistula (DCCF) was
      revealed after successful transarterial occlusion of a contralateral fistula
      which drained into both cavernous sinuses. We underline that a second smaller
      fistula can be masked by a contralateral larger one due to the lack of pressure
      gradient between the internal carotid artery (ICA) and arterialised blood in the
      ipsilateral cavernous sinus. We suggest that bilateral ICA angiograms should be
      performed before and after occlusion of all DCCF.

PMID- 9987774
TI  - [Iodine deficiency disorders with functional autonomy. Diagnostic and therapeutic
      indications].

PMID- 9987775
TI  - [F-18-FDG PET in autonomous goiter].
AB  - AIM: Gain-of-function mutations of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) gene have been
      invoked as one of the major causes of toxic thyroid adenomas. This study
      evaluates F-18-FDG-PET in these patients. METHODS: Twenty patients with focal
      autonomous nodules and ten with disseminated autonomy were investigated the day
      before radioiodine therapy. Twenty patients with cancer of the head or neck and
      normal thyroid function served as controls. RESULTS: F-18-FDG-Uptake was higher
      in patients than in controls. Focal autonomous nodules were associated with
      focally enhanced glucose metabolism. Disseminated autonomous goiters showed
      various patterns of focal or global hypermetabolism. CONCLUSION: Autonomous
      thyroid tissue caused by constitutive mutations of the TSH receptor is
      characterised by simultaneous increases in glucose and iodine metabolism which
      are correlated.

PMID- 9987776
TI  - [Cost-effectiveness analysis: radioiodine or antithyroid medication in primary
      treatment of immune hyperthyroidism].
AB  - AIM: As first-line therapy of hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease
      antithyroid drugs are favoured in Europe, while radioiodine therapy is favoured
      in the USA. Radioiodine therapy has become more economic in Germany since the new
      recommendations by the Federal German Radiation Protection Committee (SSK) for
      patient discharge guidelines. METHOD: Sensitivity analyses took into account the
      long-term relapse rate of conservative or radioiodine therapy, use of diagnostic
      tests, level of health insurance, drops in productivity and a discount factor.
      Costing models included the costs of follow-up care over 30 years. The costs of
      the hospitalisation for radioiodine therapy were calculated for 300 patients,
      discharged with 250 MBq 1-131 residual activity. RESULT: Antithyroid drugs were
      considered cost-effective when they achieved relapse rate of 50% or less, a cut
      in the number of tests needed and reduced working hours. Failure to meet any one
      of these conditions makes primary radioiodine therapy more cost-effective in 1593
      of 1944 calculated costing models. Repeated conservative therapies will increase
      clearly the overall costs. CONCLUSION: Radioiodine is a cost-effective, first
      line therapy in patients with a special risk of relapse after primary
      conservative therapy (goitre, younger patient, persistent elevated TSH-receptor
      antibodies or Tc-uptake).

PMID- 9987777
TI  - [Somatostatin receptor status in non-medullary thyroid carcinoma].
AB  - AIM: Recent in-vitro and in-vivo studies demonstrated a somatostatin receptor
      expression in some non-medullary thyroid carcinomas. In this study we
      investigated the somatostatin receptor status for this particular tumor entity in
      a larger patient group. SUBJECT AND METHODS: We compared 131-iodine with 111-In
      pentetreotide scans in 24 patients with metastasizing, non-medullary thyroid
      cancer. The findings were correlated with other imaging modalities. Additionally,
      we performed receptor autoradiography in one patient, octreotide therapy in
      another patient and administration of 90-Y- and 111-In-DOTATOC in 2 consecutive
      patients. RESULTS: In the 15 patients with papillary or follicular carcinoma, 111
      In-pentetreotide was inferior to 131-I in 8/15, equal in 1/15, and superior in
      6/15 patients. In 8/9 of the patients with Hurthle cell carcinoma, metastases
      showed a 111-In-pentetreotide accumulation of various intensity, while 131-iodine
      scans were negative except for one patient. 111-In-pentetreotide was equal or
      superior compared to 201-Tl or 99m-Tc-sestamibi, but for the most part inferior
      in comparison with 18-F-FDG-PET. The findings of 111-In-pentetreotide
      scintigraphy correlated well with the receptor autoradiography and the
      accumulation of DOTATOC, but not with the therapeutic effect of "cold" octreotide
      on the thyroid cancer metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Several metastases of papillary
      and follicular carcinoma, and the majority of Hurthle cell cancer metastases can
      express somatostatin receptors. 111-In-pentetreotide scintigraphy is a promising
      tool for localization of metastases especially in Hurthle cell cancer or if PET
      is not available, and may be useful for selection of possible candidates, if
      therapeutic effective beta-emitting somatostatin analogues will be available for
      routine application.

PMID- 9987778
TI  - [Clinical value of FDG PET for therapy monitoring of malignant lymphoma--results
      of a retrospective study in 72 patients].
AB  - AIM: Of the present retrospective study was to validate the clinical value of FDG
      PET for therapy control of malignant lymphoma. METHOD: 72 patients (41 non
      Hodgkin lymphomas, 29 Hodgkin's disease, 2 unclassified) received static FDG-PET
      scans of initially involved regions (n = 53) or of the entire neck and trunk (n =
      19) after therapy. CT imaging (n = 70) and serum LDH measurement (n = 64) were
      also performed. Results were validated either by biopsy (n = 7) or by clinical
      follow-up (n = 65). The predictive value of PET was analysed in relation to
      different prognostic factors (stage, recurrence status, number of prior therapy
      regimen). RESULTS: PET obtained a sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 83% and an
      overall accuracy of 85% for detection of residual disease. The values for CT were
      84%, 31% resp. 54%, and for serum LDH 50%, 92% and 73%. The predictive value of
      PET was related to the prevalence of residual disease. PET predicted complete
      remission in more than 90% of patients with moderate risk (stage I-III, no
      relapse, no more than two different therapy regimens). In high risk patients,
      however, the negative predictive value of PET was 50-67%. CONCLUSION: FDG-PET is
      more accurate than CT imaging and LDH measurement for therapy monitoring of
      malignant lymphoma. Therapy success can be reliably predicted in patients with
      moderate risk.

PMID- 9987779
TI  - [Radioiodine therapy in veterinary medicine: treatment of hyperthyroidism in a
      cat].
AB  - A nine-year-old cat with symptoms of a distinct hyperthyroidism was presented at
      the University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen. The clinical symptoms as well as the
      diagnostic procedures performed at the hospital confirmed the diagnosis. After
      five weeks of thyreostatic medication a regular metabolism of the thyroid gland
      was established, followed by a radioiodine therapy with 70.3 MBq 131-iodine.
      Subsequently, the cat was hospitalized for two days before it could be released
      in good condition. Six weeks after treatment the former drastically reduced
      weight of the cat recovered to near normal. Even though the chemical analysis
      detected a discrete hyperthyroidism, clinical symptoms were no longer prominent.
      Three months after treatment, the final examination showed a regular metabolism
      of the thyroid gland without a specific thyroidal medication. The presented case
      illustrates that radioiodine therapy is a safe and efficient treatment of
      thyroidal dysfunctions in veterinary medicine.

PMID- 9987780
TI  - [Thyroid gland hemiagenesis with Graves' disease].
AB  - A case of Graves' disease occurring in a patient with hemiagenesis is presented.
      The detection of the rare occurrence of a congenital hemiagenesis is often made
      by either clinical symptoms of thyroid dysfunction or anatomical abnormalities
      such as nodular goiter. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism in the current case led
      to the diagnostic confirmation by scintiscanning and ultrasonography of an absent
      lobe. Anti-thyroid antibody studies documented the presence of Graves' disease
      within the remaining lobe.

PMID- 9987781
TI  - Kill the messenger!

PMID- 9987782
TI  - A history of placental dysfunction and risk of placental abruption.
AB  - In a population-based historic cohort study, we assessed the possible association
      of fetal growth retardation, preterm birth and pregnancy-induced hypertension in
      the immediately preceding pregnancy with placental abruption in the current
      pregnancy, which would suggest a shared aetiological factor. We also assessed
      whether chronic hypertension, diabetes mellitus and a history of Caesarean
      section are associated with placental abruption. Preterm birth and small-for
      gestational-age (SGA) in the immediately preceding delivery were associated with
      an increased risk of placental abruption with unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 2.1
      [95% CI = 1.9, 2.4] and 1.6 [95% CI = 1.5, 1.8] respectively. Women with a
      history of an SGA preterm birth in the immediately preceding delivery and an
      appropriate-for-gestational-age infant in the current had an adjusted OR of 3.2
      [95% CI = 2.3, 4.5]. The adjusted odds ratio of placental abruption in women who
      had pregnancy-induced hypertension in the previous pregnancy, but not in the
      current, was 1.4 [95% CI = 1.2, 1.7]. Women who delivered a preterm or SGA infant
      in the previous delivery and had chronic hypertension or diabetes mellitus in the
      current had adjusted ORs of 2.3-5.7 and 2.5-6.0 respectively. Caesarean section
      in the previous delivery increased the risk of placental abruption by 40%. These
      results suggest that pregnancy-induced hypertension, intrauterine growth
      retardation, preterm delivery and placental abruption share an aetiological
      factor or represent different clinical expressions of recurring placental
      dysfunction. Chronic hypertension and diabetes mellitus may cause or aggravate
      such dysfunction thus causing placental abruption. A history of Caesarean section
      is associated with an increased risk of placental abruption.

PMID- 9987783
TI  - Smoking and blood pressure patterns in normotensive pregnant women.
AB  - This paper examines the relationship between smoking levels and blood pressure
      patterns of normotensive pregnant women in a prospective cohort of 2193
      primiparous and 3176 multiparous, normotensive, Caucasian women selected from the
      Child Health and Development Studies in Oakland, California, 1959-67. Regression
      lines were fitted to each woman's blood pressure; mean intercept and slope
      estimates of the individual regressions were used to create summary profile lines
      for each smoking dose. Multivariable regression analysis controlled for maternal
      age, number of visits to the doctor after 20 weeks' gestation, body mass index
      and maternal education level. Overall, smokers had lower average diastolic blood
      pressure (smokers vs. nonsmokers adjusted mean: primiparas, 66.1 vs. 67.2 mmHg;
      and multiparas, 64.0 vs. 64.7 mmHg) but higher systolic blood pressure (smokers
      vs. nonsmokers adjusted mean: primiparas, 117.0 vs. 116.0; and multiparas, 112.5
      vs. 110.0) than nonsmokers among primiparous and multiparous pregnant women after
      adjusting for potential confounders. However, these differences are small and
      there was no clear dose-response relationship between smoking level and blood
      pressure.

PMID- 9987784
TI  - Evidence for an association between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and
      birthweight: a meta-analysis and new data.
AB  - Because of the strong association of active smoking with fetal growth
      retardation, increasing interest has focused on whether there is also an
      association with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). We examined this
      issue in a retrospective study and by conducting a review of the literature and
      data pooling. In our study, nonsmoking women with singleton livebirths born in
      1986-87 (n = 992) provided information on exposure to ETS for 1 h or more per day
      and paternal smoking. The risk of low birthweight (LBW, < 2500 g) was not
      increased in infants of ETS-exposed women, but there was a somewhat increased
      risk for LBW at term (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]
      0.6, 4.8) and small-for-gestational-age (< 10th percentile of weight; OR = 1.4,
      95% CI = 0.8, 2.5). These results were in the range of 16 other studies in the
      literature that had odds ratios from 1.0 to 2.2. A weighted average of the
      results of all studies on LBW at term or small-for-gestational-age yielded a
      pooled estimate of 1.2 [95% CI = 1.1, 1.3] in nonsmoking women. The pooled
      estimate of mean birthweight indicated a decrement of 28 g with ETS exposure of
      nonsmoking women [95% CI = -41, -16], with a greater decrement (about 40 g) seen
      among more homogeneous studies.

PMID- 9987785
TI  - A lower rate of preterm birth after clotrimazole therapy during pregnancy.
AB  - Topical or vaginal clotrimazole treatment during pregnancy was evaluated in the
      large population-based control data set of the Hungarian Case-Control
      Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, 1980-92. The database comprised 32,804
      control non-malformed newborn infants, 7.7% of whom were born to mothers who had
      received clotrimazole treatment during pregnancy. An increase in mean gestational
      age among exposed vs. unexposed was found. It is postulated that the use of
      clotrimazole during pregnancy reduced significantly the proportion of preterm
      births because of the effective treatment of genital infections caused by
      candidiasis in pregnant women.

PMID- 9987786
TI  - Sociodemographic determinants of low birthweight in Greece: a population study.
AB  - A total population sample of 10,654 singleton births from the Greek National
      Perinatal Survey of April 1983 was analysed to identify factors independently
      associated with low birthweight (LBW). The sample was divided into two groups
      according to the gravidity of the mothers (3368 primigravidae and 7286
      multigravidae). Data examined included regional characteristics, marital status,
      age at and duration of marriage, parental ages at delivery, crowding in the home,
      insurance status, parental occupational classification and parental education
      levels. Logistic regression was used to define the socio-economic and demographic
      characteristics independently associated with the delivery of an LBW singleton
      baby. Significantly different LBW rates were found among the two groups: 4.3% in
      the primigravidae and 5.2% for multigravidae. For primigravidae significant
      associations were found with marital status, maternal occupation and father's
      education, while for multigravidae significant features were mother's education
      and place (region) of residence. The study showed little to assist in devising
      strategies of primary prevention of LBW in Greece.

PMID- 9987787
TI  - Repeated neonatal deaths in families with special reference to causes of death.
AB  - It is recognized that one infant death in a family indicates an increased risk of
      death of a subsequent sibling. This study examines which cause of death of a
      sibling is related to the mortality of the younger sibling and when. Longitudinal
      vital events data from the maternal and child health and family planning (MCH-FP)
      project and the comparison areas in Matlab, Bangladesh, were used. Primary causes
      of 868 neonatal deaths and 624 post-neonatal deaths resulting from 18,865
      singleton live births in 1989-92 and those (967 as neonates and 708 as post
      neonates) of their immediate elder siblings were categorised into infectious and
      non-infectious diseases. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the
      risk of younger siblings dying in each age period from infectious and non
      infectious diseases given the age and cause of deaths of older siblings and
      controlling for other biosocial correlates of infant mortality. A neonatal death
      of non-infectious causes in a family was twice as likely to be followed by
      another one occurring at the same age from similar causes compared with a
      surviving infant followed by a neonatal death from non-infectious causes. The MCH
      FP project, though successful in reducing the risk of neonatal and post-neonatal
      mortality from infectious diseases, did not reduce the risk of dying from non
      infectious diseases.

PMID- 9987788
TI  - Ascaris-Trichuris association and malnutrition in Brazilian children.
AB  - This work was designed to evaluate the role of intestinal parasites on
      nutritional status in three rural areas of Brazil. A total of 520 children aged 1
      12 years were studied through a questionnaire concerning housing, socio-economic
      conditions and a 24-h food intake recall. Measurements of weight and height were
      also performed, and three stool samples were collected on consecutive days for
      parasitological analysis. Scores of the standard deviation (z-scores) for the
      weight-for-height and height-for-age were used to characterise the growth
      profile. A high prevalence of intestinal parasites was detected, with Giardia
      lamblia (44%), Endolimax nana (43%), Ascaris lumbricoides (41%) and Trichuris
      trichiura (40%) being the most prevalent. Eleven per cent of the children were
      classified as showing stunting. Inadequate daily caloric intake was observed in
      78% of the population and the proportion of those with inadequate protein intake
      was 34%. Logistic regression analysis was employed for the multivariate study.
      Stunting was significantly associated with estimators of low economic income,
      inadequate protein intake and polyparasitism, especially the association between
      Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura.

PMID- 9987789
TI  - Validation of caregiver interviews to diagnose common causes of severe neonatal
      illness.
AB  - The objective of this study was to validate retrospective caregiver interviews
      for diagnosing major causes of severe neonatal illness and death. A convenience
      sample of 149 infants aged < 28 days with one or more suspected diagnoses of
      interest (low birthweight/severe malnutrition, preterm birth, birth asphyxia,
      birth trauma, neonatal tetanus, pneumonia, meningitis, septicaemia, diarrhoea,
      congenital malformation or injury) was taken from patients admitted to two
      hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Study paediatricians performed a standardised
      history and physical examination and ordered laboratory and radiographic tests
      according to study criteria. With a median interval of 64.5 days after death or
      hospital discharge, caregivers of 118 (79%) infants were interviewed about their
      child's illness. Using reference diagnoses based on predefined clinical and
      laboratory criteria, the sensitivity and specificity of particular combinations
      of signs (algorithms) reported by the caregivers were ascertained. Sufficient
      numbers of children with five reference standard diagnoses were studied to
      validate caregiver reports. Algorithms with sensitivity and specificity > 80%
      were identified for neonatal tetanus, low birthweight/severe malnutrition and
      preterm delivery. Algorithms with specificities > 80% for birth asphyxia and
      pneumonia had sensitivities < 70%, or alternatively had high sensitivity with
      lower specificity. In settings with limited access to medical care, retrospective
      caregiver interviews provide a valid means of diagnosing several of the most
      common causes of severe neonatal illness and death.

PMID- 9987790
TI  - Determinants of participation in an epidemiological study of preterm delivery.
AB  - We describe the study design and patterns of participation for a cohort study of
      preterm delivery, focused on genital tract infections, nutrition, tobacco use,
      illicit drugs and psychosocial stress. Women are recruited at 24-29 weeks'
      gestation from prenatal clinics at a teaching hospital and a county health
      department. We recruited 57% of the first 1843 eligible women; 29% refused and 8%
      could not be contacted. White women were somewhat more likely to participate than
      African-American women (61% vs. 54% respectively). More notable differences were
      found comparing teaching hospital and health department clinics (71% vs. 47%
      participation respectively), with the health department clinic having a greater
      proportion refuse (24% vs. 33%) and more women who could not be contacted (4% vs.
      11%). Participation was affected only minimally by day or timing of recruitment,
      but inability to contact diminished substantially as the study continued (13-0%).
      Refusals were largely unrelated to patient attributes. Lower education predicted
      inability to contact. Risk of preterm delivery was 14% among recruited women, 10%
      among women who refused, and 15% among women whom we were not able to contact,
      demonstrating that, overall, risk status was not lower among recruited women.

PMID- 9987791
TI  - The five syndromes and more.

PMID- 9987792
TI  - Norbornane compounds in pharmaceutical research.

PMID- 9987793
TI  - Synthesis of novel 4,5-diphenylthiazole derivatives as potential acyl
      CoA:cholesterol O-acyltransferase inhibitors.
AB  - Several novel N-(4,5-diphenylthiazol-2-yl)-N'-aryl or alkyl (thio)ureas and N
      (4,5-diphenylthiazol-2-yl)alkanamides were prepared as potential acyl-CoA:
      cholesterol O-acyltransferase (ACAT) inhibitors. Synthesis was accomplished by
      reaction of 2-amino-4,5-diphenylthiazole with the suitable isocyanate,
      isothiocyanate or acyl chloride. Some analogues without the 5-phenyl substituent
      or both the phenyl groups in 4 and 5 position of the thiazole ring were also
      prepared. Moreover, some bioisosters of the title compounds in which the thiazole
      ring was replaced by an imidazole were synthesized starting from the 2-amino-4,5
      diphenyl-1H-imidazole. The ability of synthesized compounds to inhibit ACAT was
      evaluated in vitro by measuring the formation of cholesteryl[14C]oleate from
      cholesterol and [1-14C]oleoyl-CoA in rat liver microsomes. Among the tested
      compounds, only some thiazole ureas were able to inhibit ACAT in a reasonable
      degree. N-(4,5-diphenylthiazol-2-yl)- N'-[2,6-bis(2-methylethyl)phenyl] urea (11)
      and N-(4,5-diphenylthiazol-2-yl)-N'-n-butyl urea (16) were the most active
      compounds in the series showing IC50 values in the low micromolar range.

PMID- 9987795
TI  - Synthesis and biological activity of new diarylalkenes.
AB  - Condensation of 5-nitro, 3-chloro-, and 5-chlorosalicylic acid with formaldehyde
      afforded dimeric disalicylmethanes which were O-methylated with dimethyl sulfate
      and oxidized with chromium(VI) oxide to give the diarylketones 10, 11, 12. Wittig
      reaction with ylides obtained by deprotonation of alkyltriphenylphosphonium salts
      with sodium bis (trimethylsilyl)amide yielded a series of diarylalkenes. Some of
      the obtained compounds showed high antimicrobial activity in vitro against
      Bacillus subtilis and Mycobacterium smegmatis.

PMID- 9987794
TI  - Synthesis and antituberculosis activity of new 2-quinoxalinecarbonitrile 1,4-di-N
      oxides.
AB  - With the advent of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, new
      and effective therapies are rapidly needed to combat infections caused by these
      strains. Some new 2-quinoxalinecarbonitrile 1,4-di-N-oxides have been synthesized
      and tested as antituberculosis agents and interesting results have been obtained
      from the first screening.

PMID- 9987796
TI  - Study of local anaesthetics, Part 146: Correlation between local anaesthesia,
      coded structural information, and chromatographic properties for homologous
      series of alkoxysubstituted esters of phenylcarbamic acid using a neural network.
AB  - RP HPLC capacity factors were used for the characterisation of the lipophilicity
      of homologous series of o- and m- alkoxy-substituted pyrolidino-, piperidino-,
      and N-methylpiperazino esters of phenylcarbamic acid. The mathematical method of
      a neural network was employed for supplementing of the incomplete original data
      matrix and for smoothing the biological data. The dependencies of the number of
      carbon atoms in the alkoxy side chain (resp. LC capacity factors) on the surface
      anaesthesia for the homologous series have parabolic character. The surface
      anaesthetic activity of the o-alkoxy-substituted derivatives was higher than that
      of m-alkoxy-substituted derivatives. m-Alkoxy-substituted esters presented maxima
      of activity at 6 and o-derivatives at 7 carbon atoms in the alkoxy side chain.

PMID- 9987797
TI  - Ocular delivery systems of pefloxacin mesylate.
AB  - Ocular films of pefloxacin mesylate were prepared with the objectives of reducing
      the frequency of administration, to improve patient compliance, obtaining
      controlled release and greater therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of eye
      infections such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, kerato conjunctivitis, corneal
      ulcers etc. Polymers such as HPC, HPMC, PVP and PVA were used in different ratios
      to prepare the ocular films. They were evaluated for drug content which varied
      from 96-104%. Those which consisted of flexible and transparent films were
      subjected to in vitro release studies. The formulations which prolonged the
      release for eight hours were selected. The average weight and thickness of these
      were found to be 38.92-49.71 mg and 31.68-46.08 microns, respectively. The
      intactness of the formulations was confirmed by IR and TLC studies. In vivo
      studies carried out in the eyes of rabbits showed controlled release upto 8-9 h.
      There was a good correlation between the in vitro and in vivo data (r = 0.97
      0.995). A minimum of 1 Mrad was found to be necessary for the sterilization of
      ocular films by gamma radiation. They were found to be stable at temperatures
      below 45 degrees C.

PMID- 9987798
TI  - Loteprednol etabonate, a new soft steroid is effective in a rabbit acute
      experimental model for arthritis.
AB  - Loteprednol etabonate, a new soft steroid designed for use as a local
      therapeutic, was compared to dexamethasone in rabbit experimental model for
      arthritis. METHODS: Joint inflammation was induced by local injection of antigen
      into the patellofemoral articulation in sensitized rabbits. Co-administration of
      either dexamethasone or loteprednol etabonate directly into the joint effectively
      blocked the inflammatory response. Both the synovial fluid cellular content and
      synovium histology were examined. The steroid treatments prevented the adverse
      inflammatory effects of antigen action. These results, together with previous
      studies showing decreased systemic activity of the soft steroid, indicate that
      the loteprednol etabonate could provide a therapeutic advantage over currently
      used intra-articular steroids for alleviating rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID- 9987799
TI  - The new antiarrhythmic substance AWD 23-111 inhibits the delayed rectifier
      potassium current (IK) in guinea pig ventricular myocytes.
AB  - The effects of N-(dicyclohexyl-carbamoylmethyl)-N-(3-diethylamino-propyl)-4-nitro
      -benzamide hydrochloride (AWD 23-111), a novel antiarrhythmic compound, were
      studied in isolated cardiomyocytes of guinea pigs. Using whole-cell configuration
      of the patch-clamp technique AWD 23-111 was tested for its ability to block the
      delayed rectifier potassium channel (IK). In guinea pig ventricular myocytes the
      current is composed of two components: IKr, a rapidly activating current and IKs,
      a slowly activating component which were discriminated by their different
      activation and deactivation behaviour. In this preparation AWD 23-111 displayed
      concentration dependent inhibitory effects on IKr as well as on IKs in the tested
      concentration range between 1 and 100 mumol/l. This blocking effect was
      independent of the stimulation frequency (0.2, 1 and 2 Hz). There was no
      influence of AWD 23-111 on the amplitude of L-type calcium whole-cell currents.
      The compound significantly prolonged action potential duration (APD) at a
      stimulation frequency of 2 Hz (1 and 10 mumol/l). At 0.2 Hz there was no effect
      on APD. Our results suggest that AWD 23-111 blocks both components of IK without
      a reverse use-dependent effect on APD which limits the therapeutic potential of
      most other class III agents.

PMID- 9987800
TI  - Can diastereoisomerism of alkoxyphenylcarbamates influence their local anesthetic
      activity?
AB  - The surface local anesthetic activity (LAA) in the homologous series of racemic
      (+/-)-cis- and (+/-)-trans-N,N-dimethyl-2- (2
      alkoxyphenylcarbamoyloxy)cyclopentylmethylamonium chlorides was evaluated. The
      potency was expressed in rabbits as efficiency indices (EI) in comparison to the
      standard drug cocaine. All tested racemic mixtures of the phenylcarbamates were
      local anesthetically active and their potency increased with the size of
      alkoxysubstitution from the propyloxy- to the hexyloxyderivative and then
      decreased abruptly (cut-off effect). When different mixtures of both
      diastereoisomers were applied the synergistic effect--i.e. increase of the LAA of
      one diastereomer when adding the other--was observed. It seems that an optimal
      racemic ratio of the compounds could increase their local anesthetic efficiency.

PMID- 9987801
TI  - In vitro effect of imipenem on Acinetobacter baumannii.
AB  - Imipenem at suprainhibitory concentrations (2x, 4x or 8x MIC) induced
      postantibiotic effects (PAEs) (suppression of bacterial growth after a short time
      exposure of bacteria to antimicrobials) against two of three Acinetobacter
      baumannii strains. The highest concentration tested demonstrated the longest
      delay of bacterial regrowth (1.7 h (strain 5570) or 3.9 h (strain 6070)). All. A.
      baumannii strains showed changes in surface hydrophobicity and serum sensitivity
      after treatment with imipenem. The antibiotic at 8x MIC reduced hydrophobicity of
      the strains most significantly (from 42.3%-72.0%) as compared to controls
      (without antibiotic). Susceptibility of the treated bacteria to serum
      bactericidal activity has also been lowered. Though imipenem suppressed bacterial
      growth and decreased surface hydrophobicity of the bacteria, it increased
      survival of bacteria after incubation with serum. These different alterations
      observed in the studied strains should be taken into account when evaluating the
      effects of imipenem.

PMID- 9987802
TI  - Determination of pefloxacin in serum by time-resolved fluorimetry.

PMID- 9987803
TI  - Effects of Quercus ilex L. and Punica granatum L. polyphenols against ethanol
      induced gastric damage in rats.

PMID- 9987804
TI  - The induction of pain: an integrative review.
AB  - The highly disagreeable sensation of pain results from an extraordinarily complex
      and interactive series of mechanisms integrated at all levels of the neuroaxis,
      from the periphery, via the dorsal horn to higher cerebral structures. Pain is
      usually elicited by the activation of specific nociceptors ('nociceptive pain').
      However, it may also result from injury to sensory fibres, or from damage to the
      CNS itself ('neuropathic pain'). Although acute and subchronic, nociceptive pain
      fulfils a warning role, chronic and/or severe nociceptive and neuropathic pain is
      maladaptive. Recent years have seen a progressive unravelling of the
      neuroanatomical circuits and cellular mechanisms underlying the induction of
      pain. In addition to familiar inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandins and
      bradykinin, potentially-important, pronociceptive roles have been proposed for a
      variety of 'exotic' species, including protons, ATP, cytokines, neurotrophins
      (growth factors) and nitric oxide. Further, both in the periphery and in the CNS,
      non-neuronal glial and immunecompetent cells have been shown to play a modulatory
      role in the response to inflammation and injury, and in processes modifying
      nociception. In the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, wherein the primary
      processing of nociceptive information occurs, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are
      activated by glutamate released from nocisponsive afferent fibres. Their
      activation plays a key role in the induction of neuronal sensitization, a process
      underlying prolonged painful states. In addition, upon peripheral nerve injury, a
      reduction of inhibitory interneurone tone in the dorsal horn exacerbates
      sensitized states and further enhance nociception. As concerns the transfer of
      nociceptive information to the brain, several pathways other than the classical
      spinothalamic tract are of importance: for example, the postsynaptic dorsal
      column pathway. In discussing the roles of supraspinal structures in pain
      sensation, differences between its 'discriminative-sensory' and 'affective
      cognitive' dimensions should be emphasized. The purpose of the present article is
      to provide a global account of mechanisms involved in the induction of pain.
      Particular attention is focused on cellular aspects and on the consequences of
      peripheral nerve injury. In the first part of the review, neuronal pathways for
      the transmission of nociceptive information from peripheral nerve terminals to
      the dorsal horn, and therefrom to higher centres, are outlined. This neuronal
      framework is then exploited for a consideration of peripheral, spinal and
      supraspinal mechanisms involved in the induction of pain by stimulation of
      peripheral nociceptors, by peripheral nerve injury and by damage to the CNS
      itself. Finally, a hypothesis is forwarded that neurotrophins may play an
      important role in central, adaptive mechanisms modulating nociception. An
      improved understanding of the origins of pain should facilitate the development
      of novel strategies for its more effective treatment.

PMID- 9987805
TI  - Learning-induced physiological plasticity in the thalamo-cortical sensory
      systems: a critical evaluation of receptive field plasticity, map changes and
      their potential mechanisms.
AB  - The goal of this review is to give a detailed description of the main results
      obtained in the field of learning-induced plasticity. The review is focused on
      receptive field and map changes observed in the auditory, somatosensory and
      visual thalamo-cortical system as a result of an associative training performed
      in waking animals. Receptive field (RF) plasticity, 2DG and map changes obtained
      in the auditory and somatosensory system are reviewed. In the visual system, as
      there is no RF and map analysis during learning per se, the evidence presented
      are from increased neuronal responsiveness, and from the effects of perceptual
      learning in human and non human primates. Across sensory modalities, the re
      tuning of neurons to a significant stimulus or map reorganizations in favour of
      the significant stimuli were observed at the thalamic and/or cortical level. The
      analysis of the literature in each sensory modality indicates that relationships
      between learning-induced sensory plasticity and behavioural performance can, or
      cannot, be found depending on the tasks that were used. The involvement (i) of
      Hebbian synaptic plasticity in the described neuronal changes and (ii) of
      neuromodulators as "gating" factors of the neuronal changes, is evaluated. The
      weakness of the Hebbian schema to explain learning-induced changes and the need
      to better define what the word "learning" means are stressed. It is suggested
      that future research should focus on the dynamic of information processing in
      sensory systems, and the concept of "effective connectivity" should be useful in
      that matter.

PMID- 9987806
TI  - Synapse formation molecules in muscle and autonomic ganglia: the dual constraint
      hypothesis.
AB  - In 1970 it was thought that if the motor-nerve supply to a muscle was interrupted
      and then allowed to regenerate into the muscle, motor-synaptic terminals most
      often formed presynaptic specializations at random positions over the surface of
      the constituent muscle fibres, so that the original spatial pattern of synapses
      was not restored. However, in the early 1970s a systematic series of experiments
      were carried out showing that if injury to muscles was avoided then either
      reinnervation or cross-reinnervation reconstituted the pattern of synapses on the
      muscle fibres according to an analysis using the combined techniques of
      electrophysiology, electronmicroscopy and histology on the muscles. It was thus
      shown that motor-synaptic terminals are uniquely restored to their original
      synaptic positions. This led to the concept of the synaptic site, defined as that
      region on a muscle fibre that contains molecules for triggering synaptic terminal
      formation. However, nerves in developing muscles were found to form connections
      at random positions on the surface of the very short muscle cells, indicating
      that these molecules are not generated by the muscle but imprinted by the nerves
      themselves; growth in length of the cells on either side of the imprint creates
      the mature synaptic site in the approximate middle of the muscle fibres. This
      process is accompanied at first by the differentiation of an excess number of
      terminals at the synaptic site, and then the elimination of all but one of the
      terminals. In the succeeding 25 years, identification of the synaptic site
      molecules has been a major task of molecular neurobiology. This review presents
      an historical account of the developments this century of the idea that synaptic
      site formation molecules exist in muscle. The properties that these molecules
      must possess if they are to guide the differentiation and elimination of synaptic
      terminals is considered in the context of a quantitative model of this process
      termed the dual-constraint hypothesis. It is suggested that the molecules agrin,
      ARIA, MuSK and S-laminin have suitable properties according to the dual
      constraint hypothesis to subserve this purpose. The extent to which there is
      evidence for similar molecules at neuronal synapses such as those in autonomic
      ganglia is also considered.

PMID- 9987807
TI  - Using analog baselines to assess the effects of naltrexone on self-injurious
      behavior.
AB  - Naltrexone (NLTX), an opiate receptor antagonist, has been prescribed as a
      pharmacological intervention for the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB).
      Previous research has investigated NLTX's effects in the absence of information
      about the role of environmental events related to SIB. This study extended
      previous analyses by administering NLTX on analog baselines using a double-blind,
      placebo-controlled reversal design. Pretreatment functional analysis results
      showed that the SIB of the two participants occurred in more that one assessment
      condition. For one participant NLTX produced slight reductions in SIB across
      baseline conditions. The second participant's results showed that NLTX reduced
      head-slapping occurring during demand sessions, but had no apparent effect on
      head-banging occurring during alone and demand sessions. These outcomes suggest
      that NLTX may have function- and/or response-specific treatment effects. The
      potential utility of this model as a general method for assessing pharmacological
      interventions, as well as other implications and limitations, are discussed.

PMID- 9987808
TI  - Cessation of long-term naltrexone administration: longitudinal follow-ups.
AB  - Longitudinal follow-ups of the cessation of long-term Naltrexone administration
      (1 year of drug therapy) were conducted with a young woman (in her early 30s)
      with profound mental retardation who had previously displayed dramatic decreases
      in her self-injurious behaviors (SIB) both during, and for a period of at least 6
      months following termination of drug treatment. After 2 and 4 years, post
      Naltrexone therapy, the subject continued to exhibit near-zero rates of SIB
      episodes despite significant turnovers in her direct care staff by the 2-year
      follow-up, and changes in her physical/living environment and fellow residents by
      4-year follow-up. These findings provide further support to the idea that long
      term Naltrexone administration may result in highly durable reductions in SIB
      long after treatment ends and argue against certain aspects of the subject's
      environment affecting her rates of SIB significantly. These results are discussed
      in light of the endogenous opiate system theories of SIB. A functional analysis
      and discussion of the effectiveness of behavioral treatments for her few
      remaining SIB episodes are also provided.

PMID- 9987809
TI  - Acquisition of incidental information during instruction for a response-chain
      skill.
AB  - We examined the acquisition of incidental information and observational learning
      of incidental information by adolescents with moderate intellectual disabilities
      during school-directed systematic instruction. Effectiveness of constant time
      delay instruction for vocational-skill acquisition was evaluated within a
      multiple-probe design across six dyads. Dyadic instructional arrangements allowed
      the assessment of incidental information acquired through observation. The
      constant time-delay procedure was effective in teaching the target vocational
      skill. In addition, participants acquired and retained approximately 50% of the
      incidental information to which they were exposed during the consequent events of
      constant time-delay instruction either through direct verbal presentation or
      through observation of their peers' instruction.

PMID- 9987810
TI  - On the effects of "quality" of attention in the functional analysis of
      destructive behavior.
AB  - Two young children with mental retardation displayed inconclusive patterns of
      destructive behavior when a functional analysis was conducted using the
      procedures described by Iwata et al. (1982/1994). A second functional analysis
      incorporated modifications to the social attention condition that were based on
      interview data from care providers and descriptive observations. Results of the
      modified social attention condition indicated that a specific "quality" of
      attention was needed to identify the maintaining contingency for destructive
      behavior within an experimental analysis. Results are discussed in terms of
      considerations for further assessment when traditional analog functional analysis
      conditions are ineffective in isolating maintaining contingencies for destructive
      behavior.

PMID- 9987811
TI  - The effects of pictorial versus tangible stimuli in stimulus-preference
      assessments.
AB  - Recent research in the area of stimulus-preference assessment has progressively
      improved the accuracy and efficiency of this technology for predicting reinforcer
      potency. One way to potentially improve the efficiency of the procedure might be
      to use pictorial representations of stimuli in the assessment rather than the
      stimuli themselves. To determine the feasibility of using pictorial stimuli in
      preference assessments, multiple-stimulus preference assessments were conducted
      with two adults diagnosed with mental retardation using both tangible stimuli and
      pictorial cards representing these same stimuli. The tangibles stimulus
      assessment produced greater variations in selection percentages than the
      pictorial assessment. Subsequent reinforcer assessments confirmed that stimuli
      predicted by the tangibles assessment were more potent reinforcers than those
      predicted by the pictorial assessment. The results are discussed in the context
      of improving stimulus-preference assessment technology.

PMID- 9987812
TI  - Within-session patterns of responding during functional analyses: the role of
      establishing operations in clarifying behavioral function.
AB  - Functional analysis procedures have been demonstrated to be effective for
      identifying the operant mechanisms underlying problem behavior. However,
      functional analyses sometimes yield results that are undifferentiated (i.e., show
      similar levels of responding across test conditions). Within-session (i.e.,
      minute-by-minute) analyses of response patterns during undifferentiated
      functional analyses have proven useful in clarifying behavioral function. This
      study extends previous research by examining within-session changes in responding
      associated with variations in relevant establishing operations. Levels of problem
      behavior during the presentation and removal of reinforcement were compared when
      responding occurred in test conditions associated with sources of social
      reinforcement (i.e., access to attention, materials, escape). Results showed that
      changes in responding associated with changes in relevant establishing operations
      could be examined to clarify behavioral function.

PMID- 9987813
TI  - Animal waste: risk of zoonotic parasite transmission.

PMID- 9987814
TI  - Legionella infection and control in occupational and environmental health.
AB  - This review describes the microbiological characteristics of Legionella species,
      their habits in the environment, source and route of infection, pathogenesis,
      symptoms and treatment of legionellosis, and disease outbreaks worldwide. We also
      describe prevention measures to deal with this organism in the work environment.
      Particularly in Japan, the present measures and countermeasures against
      legionellosis are inadequate when compared with those Europe and the United
      States because occupational and environmental medicine in Japan has not been
      structured from a microbiological viewpoint. As a result, workplace inspections
      have not covered cooling towers. We surveyed the cooling towers provided in work
      environments and in hospitals in Kitakyushu City for contamination by Legionella
      species. The surveillance definitely revealed that we are surrounded by cooling
      towers contaminated with Legionella. We conclude that in Japan, occupational and
      environmental physicians should routinely monitor the water in cooling towers.

PMID- 9987815
TI  - A multi-purpose system for water purification and sea-water softening.
AB  - A novel technique that can be used for reacting toxic carbon dioxide (CO2)
      emissions from power plants and other combustion wastes with sea water is
      described. A chemical interaction between CO2 and the cations in sea water, with
      the pH electrolytically regulated, can precipitate almost all the calcium and
      magnesium ions, as well as some sodium and potassium ions, as carbonates and
      bicarbonates. The carbonates and bicarbonates thus prepared can then be mixed
      with ash to yield a building material. Sulfur ions will be neutralized with
      calcium and magnesium, and the remaining ions can be removed using reverse
      osmosis or some other method. The technology and equipment for purification are
      based on modules that can be used for industrial waste-water, sea water,
      solutions, and otherwise. The module for separation of sand and suspended coarse
      substances consists of a tank for flocculation, coagulation, and precipitation of
      solid particles; and a low-pressure hydrocyclone. The module for purification
      from oil and fine suspensions is based on column flotation, flotation with a
      special ejector, and adhesion flotation. The module for ions and colloids
      consists of an absorbing filter with zeolite, fly ash, and other absorbing
      materials. Using a laboratory model consisting of a special mini-plant, we
      processed 10 L of factory-waste water containing more than 20 g/L organic content
      (compare with the upper limit of 0.02 g/L allowed by the Ministry of
      Environmental Protection in Israel). After the experimental solution was treated
      and evaporated to a small bulk, the water obtained was almost clear. On the basis
      of the results in the model, we present a scaled-up process for the design,
      development, and production of equipment for and the assembly of a large
      installation for drainage and water purification.

PMID- 9987816
TI  - Environmental exposure to tremolite asbestos: pleural mesothelioma in two Turkish
      workers in Germany.
AB  - This report concerns two Turkish immigrant workers, aged 50 and 59, who developed
      histologically confirmed diffuse malignant mesothelioma in the absence of obvious
      occupational exposure to asbestos in Germany. Both patients had spent their
      childhood in central Anatolia, Turkey, where the presence of tremolite asbestos
      in the environment has been described. In both patients, the lung-dust burden
      showed a high concentration of amphibole fibers (186 x 10(6) resp. 59 x 10(6) per
      gram dry tissue), mainly classified as actionolite/tremolite fibers in scanning
      transmission electron microscopy. In both patients, the disease was thus
      attributed to early environmental exposure to tremolite asbestos.

PMID- 9987817
TI  - Variations in 6-sulphatoxymelatonin excretion and oral temperature under a 12
      hour shiftwork environment.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to follow the time-of-day variations in oral
      temperature and the excretion of a melatonin metabolite, 6-sulphatoxymelatonin
      (aMT6s), in individuals working fast-rotating, 12-h day and night shifts in a
      thermoelectric power station. Twenty-three male operators working on a 12-h-shift
      system (two successive days of the same shift: 0700-1900; 1900-0700, followed by
      two days off) were investigated. Oral temperature and aMT6s were measured at 4-h
      intervals on the second day shift and on the first and second night shifts.
      Clearly expressed "peaks" and "troughs" in aMT6s excretion and in oral
      temperature were found, indicating that a typical diurnal pattern of variation
      was preserved during fast-rotating, 12-h-shift work. The differences between the
      first and the second night shift in the examined parameters, particularly in
      aMT6s, can be attributed to the changes in sleep time between the two work
      shifts.

PMID- 9987818
TI  - Uncoupling of sequential heteromorphic developmental programs.
AB  - The regulatory basis for differences among species in the developmental rate at
      which successive life stages are reached ("heterochrony") is a subject of much
      controversy among vertebrate and invertebrate developmental biologists. The
      heterochrony in development of different insect species is characterized in part
      by the intercalcation between the embryo and adult of a (varied) number of
      heteromorphic larval instars. These heteromorphic larval instars exhibit changes
      of body form from one larval instar to the next, prior to the final metamorphic
      molt to the pupal form. The intractability of larval heteromorphosis to
      experimental dissection is due in part to the lack of suitable experimental
      probes that can test the nature of the coupling of each heterochronically
      expressed instar-specific program. The epistatic basis of expression of
      heteromorphic developmental programs was assessed by two-dimensional
      electrophoretic analysis of hemolymph proteins during the normal and
      experimentally manipulated feeding stages of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th (final) instar
      larvae, and during the prepupal stage, of Trichoplusia ni. Of the several hundred
      protein spots tracked, some were identified that were uniquely detected during a
      single stage, while others were observed during combinations of certain stages.
      The nature of coupling of sequential heterochronic expression of these proteins
      during successive instars or stages was tested by use of a parasite (Chelonus
      sp.) that injects regulatory material into the host embryo that later causes the
      subsequent precocious expression of the final instar larval program. Following
      the expression of a normal 3rd instar pattern, such larvae were observed to omit
      expression of the 4th instar program, including omission of the proteins
      heteromorphically specific to that instar, and instead then express an
      essentially normal final instar pattern. Thus, normal expression of the final
      instar feeding stage pattern was not invariantly coupled to prior expression of
      the penultimate instar-specific proteins or pattern. Also, expression of the full
      program of the final instar feeding stage was epistatic to teh penultimate instar
      program, i.e., the protein pattern unique to the penultimate larval instar was
      not co-expressed with the precociously expressed final instar pattern. Larvae
      developmentally redirected in this manner failed to fully express the final
      instar prepupal stage pattern of protein expression, due at least in part to
      failed expression of prepupal ecdysteroids, but this was shown not to arise from
      omission of any of the first 4 larval instars per se. The nature of the
      redirections in host development caused by this parasite finally provides means
      of probing the coupling of successive expression on heteromorphic programs during
      larval development.

PMID- 9987819
TI  - Cloning and expression of a gene encoding a Campoletis sonorensis polydnavirus
      structural protein.
AB  - Polydnaviruses are the only known group of mutualistic viruses. They are required
      for successful parasitization in many braconid and ichneumonid parasitoids. The
      intimacy of this mutualistic association is indicated by the integration and
      vertical transmission of polydnaviruses in wasp genomes and by their
      asymptomatic, developmentally regulated replication. The evolution of this
      mutualism raises several interesting issues that require a better understanding
      of the viral genome and viral replication. To develop probes for virus
      replication and morphogenesis, we have begun to characterize several viral
      structural proteins. A 699 bp cDNA encoding the p12 viral structural protein was
      cloned and sequenced. The p12 gene localizes to viral segment Y and encodes a
      predicted protein of 92 amino acids that does not encode a signal peptide and is
      unrelated to known peptide or nucleic acid sequences. The p12 mRNA is detected at
      the onset of virus replication. mRNA titers increase with increasing rates of
      virus replication. Polyclonal antisera raised against histidine-tagged p12
      protein expressed in bacteria reacted specifically with the p12 polypeptide in
      Western blots of CsPDV virions. The p12 polypeptide was not detected in non
      replicative wasp or lepidopteran tissues by Western blot analyses but was readily
      detected in protein extracts of wasp ovaries. The data indicate that the p12 gene
      is a viral gene encoding a virion protein and provides a specific probe for virus
      replication that will be useful for studying the evolution of this group of
      mutualistic viruses.

PMID- 9987820
TI  - Plasmatocyte spreading peptide does not induce Microplitis demolitor polydnavirus
      infected plasmatocytes to spread on foreign surfaces.
AB  - Capsule formation by the moth Pseudopulsia includens requires that plasmatocytes
      change from being nonadhesive cells in circulation to strongly adhesive cells
      capable of attaching to the foreign target and one another. This change in
      adhesive state is induced by Plasmatocyte Spreading Peptide (PSP1); a 23 amino
      acid peptide isolated from P. includens plasma. Plasmatocytes from hosts
      parasitized by Microplitis demolitor remain in a nonadhesive state after
      infection by Microplitis demolitor polydnavirus (MdPDV). This alteration in
      plasmatocyte function prevents P. includens from encapsulating the developing
      parasitoid. In the current study, we examined whether MdPDV infection eliminates
      PSP1-responsive plasmatocytes from circulation or disrupts the ability of PSP1 to
      induce adhesion and spreading of plasmatocytes to foreign surfaces. In vivo
      experiments revealed that infection of P. includens by MdPDV induced an increase
      in the total number of hemocytes in circulation but reduced the proportion of
      hemocytes in circulation that were plasmatocytes. However, plasmatocytes normally
      capable of responding to PSP1 were not eliminated from circulation. Both in vivo
      and in vitro experiments indicated that plasmatocytes inoculated with MdPDV lost
      the capacity to respond to PSP1 4-6 h post-infection. Infection of P. includens
      with MdPDV reduced expression levels of prepro-PSP1 mRNA in hemocytes but did not
      appear to alter expression levels in fat body.

PMID- 9987821
TI  - Total synthesis and biological activity of lactacystin, omuralide and analogs.
AB  - Lactacystin (1) and the related beta-lactone omuralide (2) are remarkably
      selective and potent irreversible inhibitors of the 20 S proteasome, a large
      polymolecular protein machine which is responsible for the degradation of
      ubiquitin-labeled proteins. Because of this fact 1 and 2 have emerged as
      important tools in biochemistry and cell biology. The challenge of synthesis has
      been accepted by several research groups with the result that 1 and 2 and their
      analogs can now be synthesized by a variety of synthetic approaches. This review
      summarizes the synthetic processes which have been developed to date for the
      production of such compounds. The study of biological activity of analogs of 1
      and 2 has clearly defined the structural features which are responsible for the
      potency of 1 and 2, as described in the closing section of this account. It is
      concluded that 1 and 2 are nearly optimal for the irreversible inactivation of
      the 20 S proteasome.

PMID- 9987822
TI  - Peptide based interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) inhibitors: synthesis,
      structure activity relationships and crystallographic study of the ICE-inhibitor
      complex.
AB  - Based on the X-ray structure of the complex of Ac-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-H (L-709049)
      and interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE), we synthesized compounds which
      were derived from 2-NapCO-Val-Pro-Asp-CH2OPh (1) to obtain a potent inhibitor in
      the cell assay. Among these compounds, (3S)-N-methanesulfonyl-3-[[1-[N-(2
      naphthoyl)-L-valyl]-L-prolyl]amino]- 4-oxobutanamide (27c) showed high potency
      not only in the enzyme assay but also cell assay with IC50 values of 38 nM and
      0.23 microM, respectively. Compound 27c, with a c log P value of 1.76, had a more
      hydrophilic character compared with 1. Compound 27c also dose dependently
      inhibited LPS-primed ATP-induced IL-1 beta release in mice. The crystal structure
      of the complex of compound 27c and ICE revealed that compound 27c had further
      interactions with ICE in the naphthoyl group at the P4 position and in the methyl
      group of the methanesulfonamidecarbonyl group at the P1 position, compared with L
      709049. To our knowledge, compound 27c is the first example that shows a strong
      inhibitory activity without the carboxyl group at the P1 position.

PMID- 9987823
TI  - Synthesis and muscarinic activity of novel aniline derivatives with a 1
      azabicyclo[3.3.0]octane moiety.
AB  - In order to develop drugs effective against Alzheimer's disease, we synthesized a
      series of aniline derivatives having a characteristic cyclic amine, 1
      azabicyclo[3.3.0]octane ring, and evaluated their binding affinity for the
      central muscarinic cholinergic receptor. Among these compounds which showed high
      affinity to the M1 receptor, N-[2-(1-Azabicyclo[3.3.0]octan-5-yl)ethyl]-2
      nitroaniline (9f fumarate, SK-946) showed the highest affinity. The ability of
      this compound to improve cognitive function was assessed using the passive
      avoidance test in scopolamine-induced dementia mice. Some anilines with a 1
      azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane ring were also synthesized by the ring expansion of the 1
      azabicyclo[3.3.0]octane ring, and showed a high affinity for the central
      muscarinic cholinergic receptor.

PMID- 9987824
TI  - Synthesis and nematocidal activity of diarylnonanoids related to malabaricones.
AB  - Twenty diarylnonanones were synthesized and their nematocidal activity was
      examined. Among those, the p-hydroxy compound 16 exhibited the strongest activity
      comparable to the natural diarylnonanoids, malabaricones A and C.
      Diarylundecanoid 57 also showed appreciable activity.

PMID- 9987825
TI  - Effects of removal of stratum corneum, delipidization and addition of enhancers,
      ethanol and l-menthol, on skin permeation of benzoic acid and its 4-n-alkyl
      substituents in excised guinea pig dorsal skin.
AB  - Skin penetration of benzoic acid and its 4-alkyl substituents (methyl, ethyl, n
      propyl and n-butyl) through excised guinea pig dorsal skin was examined, and
      effects of removal of stratum corneum, delipidization and addition of the
      penetration enhancers, ethanol and l-menthol plus ethanol, were observed.
      Permeability coefficients, which increased with the increase in their alkyl chain
      lengths, depended on the ratio of undissociated form of the derivatives. Removal
      of stratum corneum by tape stripping and delipidization by a chloroform-methanol
      mixture, whose effects on the permeation were similar, increased the permeability
      coefficients of the derivatives, especially those of relatively hydrophilic
      derivatives. Addition of 1% l-menthol plus 15% ethanol increased the permeability
      coefficient of benzoic acid, but decreased those of ethyl-, n-propyl- and n-butyl
      substituents, and differences in the permeability coefficients among these acids
      almost disappeared. A similar though weaker tendency was observed for the effects
      of 15% ethanol itself. Analysis of transfer free energy of the methylene group
      from vehicle to skin revealed that tape stripping and delipidization induced the
      reduction of lipophilic barrier property, although it still remained after these
      treatments. The analysis also showed that the addition of the enhancers made the
      skin relatively more hydrophilic compared to the vehicle, which induced an
      increase in permeability coefficient of benzoic acid and decreases in those of
      its lipophilic substituents.

PMID- 9987826
TI  - Synthetic inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase I and II.
AB  - A new type of synthetic inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase I and II was examined and
      several of these derivatives exhibited strong dual activity against these
      enzymes. This series of compounds showed high cytotoxic activities against cancer
      cells, but only a limited number of compounds showed any noticeable activity in
      an in vivo test against murine P388. Non-specific toxicity was observed in the in
      vivo tests.

PMID- 9987827
TI  - Preparation of lecithin microcapsules by a dilution method using the Wurster
      process for intraarterial administration in gadolinium neutron capture therapy.
AB  - Lecithin microcapsules containing gadolinium (Gd) were designed and prepared as a
      dosage form for intraarterial administration to accumulate Gd in tumors in
      neutron capture therapy. The microcapsules were composed of 1) a lactose core, 2)
      a layer of distearylamide of gadopentetic acid (Gd-DTPA-SAm) and
      polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with or without soybean lecithin (SL) and 3) a
      membrane containing SL, cholesterol, stearic acid and PVP at three different
      compositions. A dilution method using the Wurster process was developed for small
      scale preparation. In spite of using only 2 g of Gd-DTPA-SAm each, three types of
      microcapsules were obtained with a content of 24.9% as Gd-DTPA-SAm (3.66% as Gd)
      even at 150% coating level. The swelling type of microcapsules (MC-D1) did not
      release Gd at all for the entire 120 min of the experiment in a 0.9% saline
      solution. On the other hand, the rapid-erosion type (MC-D2) and the vesicle
      dispersing type (MC-D3) released Gd with a lag time. The percent released
      depended on the coating level and the SL content in the Gd-fixing layer. A large
      number of droplet-like particles spouted out, and/or tubular vesicles formed with
      MC-D2 and MC-D3 in the saline solution. These phenomena implied that the water
      insoluble Gd-DTPA-SAm would be entrapped in these particles/vesicles. When MC-D2
      and MC-D3 were administered to normal rats via the hepatic artery, a Gd
      accumulation as high as 70 and 71% of the injected dose was detected in the whole
      liver 2 h after administration. In addition, biochemical and histological
      evaluation of the liver after administration indicated that embolization of the
      microcapsules actually occurred in the blood vessels, and that necrosis induced
      by ischemia was not serious. These results suggested that administration of these
      microcapsules might be multiply repeated in order to accumulate the required
      amount of Gd in tumors.

PMID- 9987828
TI  - Immunomodulatory constituents from three ascomycetes, Gelasinospora heterospora,
      G. multiforis, and G. longispora.
AB  - Three new 2-pyrones (2H-pyran-2-ones) called multiforisins G (3), H (1), and I
      (4), and a known hexaketide sordarial (2) have been isolated from an Ascomycete
      Gelasinospora heterospora. Among them, 1, 2, and 3 have been proved to be the
      immunosuppressive components of the fungus. Compounds 1, 3, and 4 have also been
      isolated from G. multiforis together with multiforisin A (5), which was formerly
      isolated from this fungus as its main immunosuppressive feature, and 1-5 have
      also been isolated from G. longispora. The absolute stereostructure of 2, which
      was not previously certain, has finally been determined to be (3'R,4'S). It has
      been found that the multiforisins 1, 3, and 5 in which one of the two
      substituents at positions 3 and 5 is a hydroxymethyl group and the other is a
      formyl or an acetoxymethyl group, show high immunosuppressive activity; the
      immunosuppressive activity of 3 does not seem to be due to inhibition of
      interleukin 2 (IL-2) production.

PMID- 9987829
TI  - Synthesis and evaluation of novel coumarin-based esterase-sensitive cyclic
      prodrugs of peptidomimetic RGD analogs with improved membrane permeability.
AB  - Earlier, we reported the development of a coumarin-based prodrug system that
      could be used for the preparation of cyclic prodrugs of opioid peptides. These
      cyclic prodrugs exhibited excellent membrane permeability characteristics.
      Therefore, it was of interest to determine the effects of this prodrug strategy
      on the membrane permeabilities of peptidomimetics which also have low membrane
      permeabilities. For this study, we have chosen two RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)
      peptidomimetics, which have the potentials to be developed clinically as orally
      active antithrombotic agents. However, the clinical development of oral dosage
      forms of these RGD analogs has been hindered by their low intestinal mucosal
      permeability. Therefore, we have synthesized the corresponding coumarin-based
      cyclic prodrugs of these RGD peptidomimetics, which have the two most polar
      functional groups, a carboxyl and an amino group, masked as an ester and an
      amide, respectively. These cyclic prodrugs were shown to have higher membrane
      interaction potentials, as estimated by their partitioning between aqueous buffer
      and an immobilized artificial membrane, than the corresponding RGD analogs
      suggesting that they should exhibit good membrane permeation characteristics.
      Subsequently, in a separate study these cyclic prodrugs were shown to be 5 to 6
      fold more able to permeate monolayers of Caco-2 cells, an in vitro cell culture
      model of the intestinal mucosa barrier, than the corresponding RGD
      peptidomimetics.

PMID- 9987830
TI  - Antiproliferative constituents from umbelliferae plants. V. A new furanocoumarin
      and falcarindiol furanocoumarin ethers from the root of Angelica japonica.
AB  - The CHCl3 extract of the root of Angelica japonica showed high inhibitory
      activity against human gastric adenocarcinoma (MK-1) cell growth. From this
      extract, a new furanocoumarin named japoangelone and four furanocoumarin ethers
      of falcarindiol, named japoangelols A-D, were isolated together with caffeic acid
      methyl ester, four polyacetylenic compounds (panaxynol, falcarindiol, 8-O
      acetylfalcarindiol, and (9Z)-1,9-heptadecadiene-4,6-diyne-3,8,11-triol), eight
      coumarins (osthol, isoimperatorin, scopoletin, byakangelicin, xanthotoxin,
      bergapten, oxypeucedanin methanolate, and oxypeucedanin hydrate), and two
      chromones (3'-O-acetylhamaudol, and hamaudol). The structures of the new isolates
      were determined based on spectral evidence. The ED50 of isolates against MK-1,
      HeLa, and B16F10 cell lines are reported.

PMID- 9987831
TI  - Simultaneous analysis of genes by capillary electrophoresis with a laser-induced
      fluorescence detector using a stepwise field strength gradient.
AB  - A mixture of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products, 100, 105, 300, 310, 485,
      and 500 base pair (bp) DNA fragments, was analyzed by capillary electrophoresis
      equipped with a laser-induced fluorescence detector (CE-LIF) using a stepwise
      gradient of electric field strength. The optimum condition for the analysis of
      PCR products was 0.5% methylcellulose and 160 V/cm from 0 to 10 min and 270 V/cm
      from 10 to 17 min. The length (bp) of DNA could be estimated from the
      relationship between the relative migration time and bp length. The relative
      standard deviation (R.S.D.) of DNA size (bp) was less than 3.5% and the
      difference from the true value was only 2.4 bp.

PMID- 9987832
TI  - Application of Schiff base copper(II) and iron(III) chelates to site-specific
      cleavage of a trypsin.
AB  - Amidine-containing Schiff base iron(III) and copper(II) chelates were prepared
      from alpha-amino acid, metal ion, and salicylaldehyde. These chelates behaved as
      specific inhibitors of trypsin, with Ki values in the range 10(-5)-10(-6) M.
      Selective cleavage of the trypsin backbone resulting from specific binding of the
      chelate to the trypsin active site was investigated. Cleavage was observed when
      trypsin was incubated with amidine-containing copper(II) or iron(III) chelate,
      H2O2, and ascorbate. Examination of the three-dimensional structure of trypsin
      suggests that cleavage occurred at a peptide bond within the Gly195-Ala204
      sequence.

PMID- 9987833
TI  - Synthesis of the selective 5-hydroxytryptamine 4 (5-HT4) receptor agonist (+)-(S)
      2-chloro-5-methoxy-4-[5-(2-piperidylmethyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-y l]aniline.
AB  - In a search for novel 5-hydroxytryptamine 4 (5-HT4) agonists focusing on the
      linker group of benzamide derivatives, 2-chloro-5-methoxy-4-[5-(2
      piperidylmethyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl]a niline (2) was prepared and its optical
      isomers were separated. The S isomer 2(S) showed high affinity for the human 5
      HT4 receptor without affinity for the human 5-HT3 receptor, and potent 5-HT4
      agonistic activity in longitudinal muscle myenteric plexus (LMMP) preparations of
      guinea pig ileum. The R isomer 2(R) showed opposite selectivity. As a result of
      other receptor binding studies, 2(S) (YM-53389) was shown to be a highly
      selective 5-HT4 agonist.

PMID- 9987834
TI  - Studies of the chemical structure of gangliosides in deer antler, Cervus nippon.
AB  - The biological activity of deer antler has been considered to originate in the
      gangliosides, although the structures of gangliosides have not been well
      elucidated. The quality of deer antler as an Asian folk medicine has often been
      evaluated by the amount of gangliosides contained in the crude drug. We have
      completed the structural determination of five gangliosides isolated from deer
      antler in the present study. Five ganglioside fractions were isolated and
      purified from deer antler, Cervus nippon, by the Folch-Suzuki partition method,
      DEAE-Sephadex A-25, and further by silica gel column chromatography. High field
      proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography/mass
      spectrometry, and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry studies characterized
      the isolated ganglioside fractions. GM3 and GD3 were present in the isolated
      ganglioside fractions. Samples were hydrolyzed in trifluoroacetic acid for direct
      compositional analysis and analyzed for sialic acid and neutral sugar without
      prior derivatization. Separation of the monosaccharides was achieved by HPLC on a
      Dionex CarboPac column eluted at a high pH. The resolved monosaccharides were
      identified using standard monosaccharides by pulsed amperometric detection. N
      Acetyl GM3 (Neu5Ac), N-glycolyl GM3 (Neu5Gc), and N-acetyl GD3 (Neu5Ac) were
      present in the antler. The major ceramide moiety was composed of C16:0 or C22:0
      fatty acids along with either C18 sphingosine or C20 eicosasphingosine.

PMID- 9987835
TI  - Different inhibitory effects of 5-S-glutathionyl-beta-alanyl-L-dopa (5-S-GA-L-D)
      analogues on autophosphorylation and substrate phosphorylation of Src protein
      tyrosine kinase.
AB  - Starting with 5-S-glutathionyl-beta-alanyl-L-dopa (1) and 5-S-glutathionyl-beta
      alanyl-dopamine (2), a series of analogues with truncated glutathionyl and beta
      alanyl-dopa moieties were synthesized, and their inhibitory effects on
      autophosphorylation and substrate phosphorylation reaction by c-Src and by
      epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were evaluated. When the glutamyl residue
      was removed, the inhibitory effects on v-Src autophosphorylation decreased about
      4- to 5-fold, and concomitant removal of the glutamyl and beta-alanyl residues
      resulted in a 40- to 60-fold decrease in the inhibition of v-Src
      autophosphorylation. On the other hand, these modifications had little effect on
      the inhibitory activity of substrate (Raytide) phosphorylation by c-Src.
      Interestingly, 5-S-cysteinyl dopamine inhibited the Src substrate phosphorylation
      reaction with comparable potency to that of genistein. Nonpeptide lipophilic
      derivatives had a similar inhibition on v-Src autophosphorylation but decreased
      inhibitory effects on substrate phosphorylation when compared to the lead
      compounds. Most compounds showed little effect on substrate phosphorylation by
      EGFR.

PMID- 9987836
TI  - Biocontrol of plant disease: a (gram-) positive perspective.
AB  - Biological control offers an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of
      pesticides for controlling plant diseases. Unfortunately, growers continue to use
      chemical control over biological agents, and lack of knowledge often contributes
      to the downfall of a biocontrol agent. Knowledge of the biological environment in
      which the agent will be used and of how to produce a stable formulation are both
      critical to successful biocontrol. Certain Gram-positive bacteria have a natural
      formulation advantage over their Gram-negative counterparts: the spore. Although
      the Gram-positive bacteria have not been as well represented in the biocontrol
      literature, their spore-forming abilities and historical industrial uses bode
      well for biocontrol success. Here we describe several systems utilizing Gram
      positive biocontrol agents that have been researched in depth and provide models
      for the future of biocontrol.

PMID- 9987837
TI  - Characterisation of strain-specific sequences from an abortifacient strain of
      ovine Chlamydia psittaci using subtraction hybridisation.
AB  - Enzootic abortion in ewes (EAE) is caused by strains of Chlamydia psittaci which
      have the ability to invade and colonise the placenta of sheep. In an attempt to
      improve diagnostic methods for the detection of EAE, subtraction hybridisation
      was used to isolate unique fragments of the genome of an abortifacient strain
      (S26/3) of C. psittaci. One S26/3 strain-specific sequence identified was shown
      to encode a putative helicase which is repeated throughout the EAE genome. The
      labelled strain-specific helicase gene fragment was used in the dot-blot
      hybridisation test for the detection of EAE DNA in ovine placental samples. We
      report the identification of C. psittaci S26/3 strain-specific sequence with
      potential as diagnostic probes for the detection of EAE.

PMID- 9987838
TI  - Extensive proteolysis inhibits high-level production of eukaryal G protein
      coupled receptors in the archaeon Haloferax volcanii.
AB  - In this study the usage of the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii as a
      production system for eukaryal G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) was
      characterized. The genes of four GPCRs were fused to the dihydrofolate reductase
      gene of H. volcanii. In Northern blots both 5' fragments and full-length fusion
      transcripts were found. In contrast, only C-terminal fusion protein fragments
      could be detected in Western blot analyses. Ligand binding experiments revealed
      that a minor amount of correctly folded human beta 2 adrenergic receptor was
      inserted into the membrane. The introduction of different modifications at the 5'
      and the 3' end of the receptor genes did not significantly increase the
      production level. Determination of the subcellular localization showed that
      fusion protein fragments containing one or more receptor helices were located in
      the membrane. The results indicate that neither transcription, translation nor
      membrane translocation but the activity of one or more proteases limits the level
      of GPCR production in H. volcanii.

PMID- 9987839
TI  - A consensus sequence for the Rhodospirillaceae SOS operators.
AB  - The sequences controlling the expression of the Rhodobacter capsulatus recA and
      uvrA genes belonging to the SOS DNA repair system have been identified by PCR
      mutagenesis. Data obtained demonstrated that the GTTCN7GTAC and GAACN7GAAC motifs
      present upstream of the recA gene and the GTTCN7GTTC motif found upstream of the
      uvrA gene are required for their respective DNA damage-mediated induction.
      Alignment of recA promoters of R. capsulatus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and
      Rhodopseudomonas viridis with the uvrA promoters of R. capsulatus and R.
      sphaeroides has identified the consensus sequence GTTCVYVYTWTGTTC as the SOS
      operator site of the Rhodospirillaceae family.

PMID- 9987840
TI  - Digoxigenin-labeled probe for rapid identification of nisinogenic Lactococcus
      lactis strains.
AB  - From the nisZ gene sequence, a non-radioactive digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe, was
      tested for detection of nisin-producing strains using polymerase chain reaction
      amplification. The digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe clearly discriminated between
      nisin-producing and non-producing strains with a high degree of sensitivity and
      specificity. By agarose gel electrophoresis, 1.4 ng of nisin DNA was detected
      using the digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe compared with 11 ng using direct
      polymerase chain reaction amplification. A colony hybridization method using
      digoxigenin-labeled DNA to selectively detect nisinogenic bacteria showed that
      the nis-probe was specific and did not react with any other non-bacteriocinogenic
      and non-nisinogenic strains.

PMID- 9987841
TI  - Toxin-co-regulated pilus cluster in non-O1, non-toxigenic Vibrio cholerae:
      evidence of a third allele of pilin gene.
AB  - Polymerase chain reaction has been used to detect the presence of the virulence
      associated gene, tcpA and part of the promoter distal region of the toxin-co
      regulated pilus cluster in non-O1, non-toxigenic, Vibrio cholerae. The amplified
      regions were characterised by restriction fragment length polymorphism and
      heteroduplex motility assay. We describe the nucleotide sequence of the tcpA gene
      fragment from non-toxigenic vibrios from clinical and environmental sources. The
      present study shows that there are at least three types of the tcpA gene among V.
      cholerae and the primers specific for the classical tcpA gene, amplify all
      biotypes. A sequence similarity in other regions of the toxin-co-regulated pilus
      cluster is suggested. The evidences for the presence of this cluster among non
      toxigenic vibrios is, to our knowledge, reported for the first time. The use of
      restriction fragment length polymorphism for typing the tcpA and studying the
      alleles distribution is proposed.

PMID- 9987842
TI  - Differentiation of Lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis and subspecies cremoris
      strains by their adaptive response to stresses.
AB  - Lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis (L. lactis ssp. lactis) and Lactococcus
      lactis subspecies cremoris (L. lactis ssp. cremoris) were investigated in respect
      to their response to acid, bile-salt and freezing stresses. First, the sublethal
      and lethal levels of each stress were determined for both subspecies. For acid
      stress, the levels were pH 4.5 and 2.5, respectively, for L. lactis ssp. lactis,
      and pH 5.0 and 3.0, respectively, for L. lactis ssp. cremoris. For bile-salt
      stress, the levels were 0.03 and 0.1%, respectively, for L. lactis ssp. lactis,
      and 0.01 and 0.04%, respectively, for L. lactis ssp. cremoris. For freezing
      stress, 10 degrees C was used as the sublethal temperature and -20 degrees C was
      used as the lethal temperature for both subspecies. To evaluate the effect of
      each stress at log phase, a log-phase culture was challenged directly with the
      appropriate lethal level (control culture) and a second log-phase culture was pre
      exposed to the appropriate sublethal level prior to testing survival under
      normally lethal conditions (test culture). Some, if not most, of the cells were
      killed in the control cultures for all three stresses. However, in the test
      cultures, the viability was significantly improved for all of the L. lactis ssp.
      lactis strains tested, but not for the L. lactis ssp. cremoris strains. It
      appears, therefore, that L. lactis ssp. lactis is capable of displaying adaptive
      response to stresses, whereas L. lactis ssp. cremoris seems to lack this
      phenotype or the response is much weaker in this subspecies. The effect of each
      stress on stationary-phase cultures was also investigated. Unlike the log-phase
      cultures, the stationary-phase cultures of both subspecies, challenged directly
      with the lethal levels, were highly resistant to each of the three stresses
      tested.

PMID- 9987843
TI  - The mitochondrial genome of Mucor piriformis.
AB  - DNA was purified from the isolated mitochondria of a Mucor piriformis wild-type
      strain (NRRL 26211). A circular restriction map of the mitochondrial DNA was
      established on the basis of single and double digests with several restriction
      endonucleases. The average mitochondrial DNA size calculated from these data was
      33.53 kbp; this is in good agreement with the contour length size (33.62 kbp) of
      the open circular molecules detected by electron microscopy. Heterologous
      hybridizations with cloned Aspergillus nidulans mitochondrial genes were used to
      locate some coding regions on the map.

PMID- 9987844
TI  - Patenting in biotechnology: a review of the 20th symposium of ECB8.
AB  - The patenting of biotechnological inventions is practically in harmony with the
      general requirements of patent protection. It stands still in the foreground of
      interests since this is the only technical field where the living material itself
      may be the subject matter of patents. In consequence ethical problems have arisen
      first of all in the patenting of human cells and genes in which there is no
      agreement between R&D firms, patent offices and green movements. This has called
      for the elaboration of special Directives. On the other hand, patent systems are
      instrumental in safeguarding biodiversity. This review gives a picture of the
      patenting situation in biotechnology in the European Patent Office and in
      Hungary, the host country of the Congress. It also gives practical advice to
      biotechnological researchers on how to draft the applications and to observe the
      time limits, as well as on the necessity and possibilities of the deposit of
      microorganisms.

PMID- 9987845
TI  - Lipophilic compounds in biotechnology--interactions with cells and technological
      problems.
AB  - Lipophilic compounds are of significant importance in modern biotechnology.
      Centerly of interest are the biodegradation as well as the biotransformation of
      such lipophilic and often water-immiscible substances. Both whole cells and/or
      enzymes are used for these processes. It is obvious that a wide range of problems
      arise in an application of such complex systems consisting of biocatalysts
      substrate(s), product(s), water, (in some cases water-immiscible organic
      solvents): (i) interactions between lipophilic compounds and the membranes
      resulting in the change of some physiological characteristics of the living
      system; (ii) problems in the transport of these compounds (substrates and/or
      products) within the complex structured reaction systems; (iii) the problem of
      increasing the solubility of the lipophilic and mostly water-immiscible compounds
      with a minimum of inhibition effects on the processes; (iv) the presence of
      lipophilic components may also cause changes of the transport processes within
      the system (e.g. immobilized cells) resulting in changed yield or activity of the
      biological system. These problems are critically discussed in this review in
      relation to the known modes of interaction of lipophilic compounds with
      membranes, the bioavailability of the substrates, and the cases of steroid
      biotransformations. An outlook of future aspects in research, development and
      application of such processes is given.

PMID- 9987846
TI  - Coimmobilization of glucoamylase and glucose isomerase by molecular deposition
      technique for one-step conversion of dextrin to fructose.
AB  - Glucose isomerase was immobilized by itself with adsorption and coimmobilized
      with glucoamylase by molecular deposition technique using macroporous
      trimethylamine polystyrene beads. Approximately 77.5% of the enzyme added was
      immobilized. The pH-activity curve of the immobilized glucose isomerase was
      broadened, resulting in 75% retention of its maximum activity at pH 6.2. The Km
      of the immobilized glucose isomerase was 1.28-fold that of the soluble one. When
      the two enzymes were immobilized together, the system was found capable of
      functioning at pH 6.0 to produce fructose from starch and dextrin. At this pH,
      the total fructose output of the coimmobilized enzyme system after 24 h was 1.9
      times that of the free enzyme system.

PMID- 9987847
TI  - Activity of an Aspergillus terreus alpha-arabinofuranosidase on phenolic
      substituted oligosaccharides.
AB  - The effect of phenolic substitutions on the activity of an alpha
      arabinofuranosidase from Aspergillus terreus was investigated using feruloylated
      oligosaccharides isolated from plant cell walls, equivalent oligosaccharides
      obtained through treatment with specific ferulic acid esterases, and a synthetic
      lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC). Feruloyl substituents limited the hydrolysis
      of arabinoxylan and arabinan oligosaccharides but only if the feruloyl group was
      esterified to the terminal non-reducing arabinose. Somewhat surprisingly, the LCC
      model compound, in which the arabinose residue is substituted with a bulky
      dilignol group, was degraded by the enzyme. This indicated that the enzyme is
      able to approach this linkage from the xylose side.

PMID- 9987848
TI  - Mating type-correlated molecular markers and demonstration of heterokaryosis in
      the phytopathogenic fungus Thanatephorus cucumeris (Rhizoctonia solani) AG 1-IC
      by AFLP DNA fingerprinting analysis.
AB  - The destructive soil-borne plant pathogenic basidiomycetous fungus Thanatephorus
      cucumeris (Frank) Donk [anamorph: Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn] is not a homogeneous
      species, but is composed of at least twelve anastomosis groups (AG), which seem
      to be genetically isolated. The genetics of several T. cucumeris anastomosis
      groups has been studied by analysis of heterokaryotic tuft formation in the area
      of contact between homokaryotic single-spore isolates, revealing that AG 1 is
      heterokaryotic and bipolar. To prove that tuft formation is due to
      heterokaryosis, AFLP DNA fingerprinting has been applied to a heterokaryotic T.
      cucumeris AG 1-IC isolate, its homokaryotic single spore-derived progeny, and
      newly formed heterokaryons. By means of AFLP markers, it is demonstrated that
      fluffy tufts formed upon pairing of homokaryons from different mating types are
      newly formed heterokaryons. Mating type-correlated markers have also been found,
      which will be useful for future studies of the genetics of this fungal species
      complex.

PMID- 9987849
TI  - Analysis of changes during subclone development and ageing of human antibody
      producing heterohybridoma cells by northern blot and flow cytometry.
AB  - The economic importance of obtaining high-producing subclones for large scale
      production of pharmaceutical proteins is self-evident. However, few papers have
      studied the changes that occur during subclone development. This information
      would be important for further improvement of screening and subcloning protocols.
      We have therefore compared subclones of a human-mouse heterohybridoma cell line
      producing a human antibody againt HIV-1. Three subclones with low, medium and
      high specific production rates were selected for this study and their light and
      heavy chain mRNA content, the intracellular content of light and heavy chain and
      the specific secretion rates compared. In addition the long time stability of
      antibody expression in the highest producing subclone was analysed for one year.
      For the three subclones a correlation between the intracellular content in light
      chain and the secretion rate was found, while the intracellular content in heavy
      chain was the same for all three subclones. These results indicate that the
      assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is one of the major rate limiting
      factors in antibody production. During long time cultivation of the
      heterohybridoma cell line a continuous decrease in light and heavy chain
      production was seen without the appearance of a non producing sub-population.

PMID- 9987850
TI  - Concept design of computer-aided study on traditional Chinese drugs.
AB  - Traditional Chinese drugs (TCDs) have played a key role for Chinese people in the
      treatment of diseases since ancient times. The use of TCDs has generated a great
      amount of information in the past thousand years about the relationship between
      natural products and the human body. However, up to now, our understanding on the
      mode of action of the TCD is still limited. Considering that the basic mechanism
      of all drug function involves the interaction between the drug and biological
      receptors at the molecular level, we propose to connect TCDs with modern medicine
      theory through molecular structures. We propose to explain functions of TCDs by
      using the knowledge developed in modern molecular biology, pharmacology, computer
      chemistry, and biochemistry. We are working on a computer-aided Chinese drug
      study that is discussed in this paper. A short introduction on the progress of
      our research is also given.

PMID- 9987851
TI  - Application of nearest-neighbor and cluster analyses in pharmaceutical lead
      discovery.
AB  - High throughput screening (HTS) programs based on diverse collections of
      compounds can rapidly identify leads for potential drug candidates. In cases
      where the compound collection is truly diverse, one may only identify a few
      compounds of interest. However, where a large number of hits are identified, it
      becomes necessary to examine the structures to determine the true number of
      compound classes involved so that follow-up studies may be conducted as
      efficiently as possible. In this case, cluster analysis is applied to determine
      the structural relationship among HTS hits. To efficiently expand around the
      region of the hit (or a class of hits) in chemical space, we have applied nearest
      neighbors analysis to select additional compounds from collections of a large
      number of commercial vendors, achieving an average hit rate in excess of 15%.
      Applying these techniques in a number of different cases, we obtained results
      that are useful for subsequent investigations of hits from HTS and other relevant
      molecular structures from the literature.

PMID- 9987852
TI  - Quantitation of pyrethrum residues in brown tree snakes.
AB  - A reversed-phase solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography (SPE-GC)-electron
      capture detection method is developed to quantitate individual rethrin residues
      in pyrethrum-exposed brown tree snakes. Aliquots (6 g) of homogenized snake
      tissue are extracted with 10 mL acetonitrile. The rethrins are recovered from the
      acetonitrile extract and concentrated using C8 SPE. The rethrins are eluted from
      the SPE column with pentane, evaporated to near dryness, and reconstituted to 1
      mL with 1-propanol. Individual rethrins are quantitated using GC analysis of the
      1-propanol solution. Method limits of detection for rethrins range from 0.63 to
      6.51 ng/g. The mean recovery for all rethrins is 70.8% with a standard deviation
      of 5.7%. This method is used to successfully quantitate incurred rethrin residues
      in pyrethrum-exposed brown tree snakes.

PMID- 9987853
TI  - Comparison of solid-phase microextraction and dynamic headspace methods for the
      gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of light-induced lipid oxidation
      products in milk.
AB  - A sensitive, rapid procedure for testing lipid oxidation products in milk is
      developed using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass
      spectrometry. SPME is as sensitive as dynamic headspace (DH) analysis for
      measuring the pentanal and hexanal produced in milk after exposure to light.
      Furthermore, compared with DH, SPME is less expensive and demonstrates better
      precision and accuracy. In addition, SPME does not exhibit carryover or septa
      artifact peaks. The linearity of calibration curves (based on the method of
      additions technique with an internal standard) is consistently better for SPME
      than for DH. Furthermore, replicate analyses of pentanal and hexanal spiked in
      skim milk and 2% milk at 2 ng/mL demonstrate significantly lower coefficients of
      variation using SPME. To further test the practicality of SPME for measuring
      light-induced chemical changes in milk, 2% milk and skim milk samples are exposed
      to fluorescent light (200 foot-candles) for 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 17, 24, and 48 h and
      analyzed by SPME and DH. Pentanal and hexanal in all samples are measured by SPME
      and DH. Correlation coefficients of resulting plots indicate that SPME is more
      accurate than DH in measuring the quantity of lipid oxidation products in milk.

PMID- 9987854
TI  - Systematic nonlinearities in the perception of temporal intervals.
AB  - Rats judged time intervals in a choice procedure in which accuracy was maintained
      at approximately 75% correct. Sensitivity to time (d') was approximately constant
      for short durations 2.0-32.0 s with 1.0- or 2.0-s spacing between intervals (n =
      5 in each group, Experiment 1), 2.0-50.0 s with 2.0-s spacing (n = 2, Experiment
      1), and 0.1-2.0 s with 0.1- or 0.2-s spacing (n = 6 in each group, Experiment 2).
      However, systematic departures from average sensitivity were observed, with local
      maxima in sensitivity at approximately 0.3, 1.2, 10.0, 24.0, and 36.0 s. Such
      systematic departures from an approximately constant d' are predicted by a
      connectionist theory of time with multiple oscillators and may require a
      modification of the linear timing hypothesis of scalar timing theory.

PMID- 9987855
TI  - Posttraining shifts in the overshadowing stimulus-unconditioned stimulus interval
      alleviates the overshadowing deficit.
AB  - Two conditioned lick suppression experiments explored the effects on
      overshadowing of a posttraining change in the temporal relationship between the
      overshadowing conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US). Rats
      received either trace (Experiment 1) or delay (Experiment 2) overshadowing
      training. Then pairings of the overshadowing CS and US were given with either a
      trace or delay temporal relationship. Overshadowing was alleviated by shifting
      the overshadowing CS-US temporal relationship so that it no longer matched the
      overshadowed CS-US temporal relationship. These outcomes are explicable in terms
      of an integration of the comparator hypothesis, which states that cue competition
      effects (e.g., overshadowing) will be maximal when the information potentially
      conveyed by competing CSs is equivalent, and the temporal coding hypothesis,
      which states that CS-US intervals are part of the information encoded during
      conditioning.

PMID- 9987856
TI  - Palatability and foraging cost interact to control caloric intake.
AB  - The combined effects of meal cost and food flavor on meal size were studied with
      a method that avoided the covariation of nutrient composition and caloric density
      with palatability. As rats (Rattus norvegicus) drank flavored fluids (unpalatable
      0.05% sucrose octaacetate [SOA], neutral 0.05% saccharin, and palatable 2%
      Polycose + 0.2% saccharin [P + S]), liquid diet was infused intragastrically.
      Relative to saccharin, rats with free access ate 10% more calories in larger
      meals while consuming P + S and initially ate fewer calories in smaller but more
      frequent meals while drinking SOA. Other rats lever-pressed to begin meals, which
      halved meal number and doubled meal size relative to the free-access group.
      Although foraging rats also ate larger P + S meals and smaller SOA meals, the
      changes did not affect total intake. Without the usual differential postingestive
      effects of foods that differ in palatability, making food more costly blunts
      rats' response to its flavor.

PMID- 9987857
TI  - Latent inhibition and perceptual learning in a swimming-pool navigation task.
AB  - In each of 3 experiments, rats were preexposed to the 4 distinct landmarks
      surrounding a circular pool before being trained to find a submerged platform
      located in a fixed position in the pool. When preexposure was to pairs of
      adjacent landmarks, it consistently retarded subsequent learning (a latent
      inhibition effect). When preexposure was to 1 landmark at a time, then, provided
      the 4 landmarks all contained a salient feature in common, preexposure
      facilitated subsequent learning (a perceptual learning effect). The results
      provide little support for the notion of a cognitive map and are quite consistent
      with an associative analysis.

PMID- 9987858
TI  - Blocked and overshadowed stimuli are weakened in their ability to serve as
      blockers and second-order reinforcers in Pavlovian fear conditioning.
AB  - The ability of a blocked or overshadowed conditioned stimulus (CS) to serve as
      (a) blocker or (b) a 2nd-order reinforcer in Pavlovian fear conditioning was
      tested in 152 albino rats. CS-evoked suppression of barpressing for food was the
      index of conditioned fear. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that an overshadowed CS was
      weakened in its ability to serve as a blocker. In Experiment 2, a blocked CS was
      similarly weakened. Experiment 3 showed that an overshadowed and blocked CS was
      weakened in its ability to serve as a 2nd-order reinforcer. Experiments 4 and 5
      failed to restore the blocking ability of blocked (Experiment 4) or overshadowed
      (Experiment 5) CSs by extinguishing the CSs that had blocked or overshadowed
      them. Results favor a learning-deficit view of blocking and overshadowing.

PMID- 9987859
TI  - Memory for the content of caches by scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens).
AB  - To test whether scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) remember the contents of
      food caches, in Experiment 1 birds cached peanuts and kibbles in two distinct
      caching trays and recovered them 4 or 172 hr later. The relative incentive value
      of the foods was manipulated by prefeeding one of the foods immediately before
      cache recovery. Birds preferentially searched for non-prefed food caches even
      when the caches had been pilfered prior to the recovery test. In Experiment 2,
      birds cached both foods in different sites within each tray, recovering peanuts
      from one tray and kibbles from the other tray 3 hr later. After prefeeding with
      one food, birds preferentially searched tray sites in which they had cached but
      not retrieved the non-prefed food. Thus jays remember the specific foods they
      cache and recover by a mnemonic process that cannot be explained in terms of
      simple associations between the foods and their cache locations.

PMID- 9987860
TI  - Role of a stimulus filling an action-outcome delay in human judgments of causal
      effectiveness.
AB  - Experiments examined the effect of a stimulus filling a response-outcome delay on
      human judgments of causal effectiveness. In Experiment 1, subjects rated the
      effectiveness of 2 concurrently available responses. One response led to the
      outcome with a 75% probability, the other never led to the outcome. Ratings were
      higher for the former compared to the latter key, and for immediate compared to
      delayed outcomes. A signal presented during the delay ameliorated this deficit.
      Experiments 2 and 3 examined conditioned reinforcement and perceptual catalysis
      accounts of this effect. In both experiments, 50% of responses on each of 2 keys
      led to an outcome. Ratings were high, relative to an unsignaled condition, when a
      stimulus filled the outcome delay, and when the same stimulus followed the
      response but did not precede the outcome. This result is not consistent with the
      operation of perceptual catalysis and was shown to be the result of secondary
      reinforcement-like processes rather than outcome-confusion or generalization
      between responses (Experiments 3, 4).

PMID- 9987861
TI  - Exploratory studies of inhibitory conditioning in honeybees (Apis mellifera).
AB  - The best available evidence of inhibitory conditioning in vertebrates comes from
      experiments in which variants of A+/AB- and A+/B- training were compared in terms
      of response to B in summation and retardation tests, the results suggesting that
      inhibition is generated by nonreinforcement as an increasing function of the
      excitatory value of the setting. We report here 7 experiments with foraging
      honeybees (Apis mellifera) that failed to show a difference in the effects of the
      2 treatments. On the basis of previous experiments as well as supplementary
      experiments whose results give no reason to doubt the sensitivity of the training
      techniques and measures used, our consistently negative results may mean either
      that inhibition in honeybees is generated by nonreinforcement independently of
      the setting or that there is no inhibitory conditioning at all in honeybees--that
      the only associative function of nonreinforcement is to reduce excitatory
      strength.

PMID- 9987862
TI  - The randomization procedure in the study of categorization of multidimensional
      stimuli by pigeons.
AB  - Pigeons categorized rectangles varying in both height and width in an adaptation
      of a method used by Ashby and colleagues for the cognitive and neuropsychological
      analysis of human decision bounds for ill-defined categories. Optimal decision
      bounds were defined in a stimulus space in which the point (x,y) corresponded to
      a rectangle with width x and height y. Four tasks defined the following 4 optimal
      bounds: x = y, x = c, x = y + d, and (x-a)2 + (y-b)2 = r2, where a, b, c, d, and
      r were constants given by a task. Estimated decision bounds for individual
      pigeons conformed approximately to the optimal decision bound in each of the 4
      tasks. The new method suggests a way to (a) integrate the disparate literature on
      ill-defined visual concepts and on optimal performances in nonhuman animals; (b)
      compare how humans and nonhuman animals categorize ambiguous, multidimensional
      configural stimuli; (c) model how nonhuman animals categorize naturalistic
      stimuli; and (d) infer that pigeons' categorizations of naturalistic stimuli may
      be remarkably close to optimal.

PMID- 9987863
TI  - Postmortem drug redistribution--human cases related to results in experimental
      animals.
AB  - Femoral blood is widely accepted as the most reliable postmortem specimen for
      drug analysis in forensic toxicology. There is considerable evidence that the
      drug concentrations in peripheral blood samples are closer to the antemortem
      level than the concentration in cardiac blood. In the present study drug
      concentrations measured in postmortem femoral and/or heart blood samples from
      eight cases were compared with the concentration found in serum samples from the
      same subject collected antemortem or perimortem. The drugs involved were
      amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine, verapamil and chloroquine. Two
      additional cases with very early postmortem blood samples, as well as femoral
      blood samples from later autopsy, involved amphetamine and tetrahydrocannabinol.
      The results from the human cases were compared with results from rat experiments
      on similar drugs. The samples were analyzed by high performance liquid or gas
      chromatography. The cases with tricyclic antidepressants had a median postmortern
      femoral blood to antemortem serum drug concentration ratio of 3.3, the 95%
      reference range being from 1.1 to 6.0 (pooled data). Large variations of the
      ratios were seen. The extremes noted were a postmortem femoral blood to
      antemortem serum drug concentration ratio of 0.9 in a case with nortriptyline and
      49 in the case with chloroquine. The low ratio in the former case could be due to
      attempted resuscitation, while the high ratio in the latter case is probably due
      to the extremely high apparent volume of distribution and a high blood to plasma
      concentration ratio for chloroquine. Accordingly, it is dubious whether the drug
      concentration found in femoral blood at autopsy can be accepted as being
      representative for the antemortem level. The results obtained from the human
      cases in the present study were generally in reasonable agreement with previous
      rat experiments, confirming that the animal studies when interpreted carefully,
      are indicative of the changes observed in man as well as a previous study in
      pigs. Studies on drug concentrations in pigs are not necessarily more
      representative for the findings in humans than experiments with a smaller animal
      like the rat. The postmortem concentration changes observed for
      tetrahydrocannabinol in man were found to be unpredictable, while in the
      accompanying experimental rat study there was a significant postmortem decrease
      in the tetrahydrocannabinol blood concentration measured in blood from the
      inferior vena cava. In special cases where the diagnosis of overdose is to be
      used as judicial evidence, a single sample of blood may prove insufficient. In
      such cases, analyses of several samples of blood and tissue will increase the
      possibility of reaching a correct conclusion, but reference values on drug
      concentrations in tissues are often missing.

PMID- 9987864
TI  - Redistribution of basic drugs into cardiac blood from surrounding tissues during
      early-stages postmortem.
AB  - The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanism(s) responsible for
      increases in the concentrations of basic drugs in cardiac blood of bodies in a
      supine position during early-stages postmortem. The concentrations of basic drugs
      in cardiac blood and other fluids and tissues of three individuals who had used
      one or more basic drugs were examined. The results were compared with those
      obtained in experiments using rabbits. In the first case, autopsy of whom was
      performed approximately 12 h after death, methamphetamine was detected and its
      concentrations were in the order: lung >> pulmonary venous blood > blood in the
      left cardiac chambers (left cardiac blood) >> pulmonary arterial blood > blood in
      the right cardiac chambers (right cardiac blood). In the second case, autopsy of
      whom was performed approximately 9 h after death, methamphetamine and morphine
      were detected and their concentrations in the left cardiac blood were roughly
      twice those in the right cardiac blood. The methamphetamine and morphine
      concentrations in the lung were 2 to 4 times higher than those in cardiac blood
      samples. In the third case, autopsy of whom was performed approximately 2.5 days
      after death, the pulmonary veins and arteries were filled with chicken fat clots.
      Toxicological examination revealed the presence of four basic drugs:
      methamphetamine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline and promethazine. Their
      concentrations in the lung were 5 to 300 times higher than those in cardiac
      blood, but postmortem increases in the concentrations of these drugs in the
      cardiac blood were not observed. In the animal experiments, rabbits were given 5
      mg/kg methamphetamine intravenously or 20 mg/kg amitriptyline subcutaneously and
      sacrificed 20 min or 1 h later, respectively. The carcasses were left in a supine
      position at the ambient temperature for 6 h after or without ligation of the
      large vessels around the heart. For the groups with ligated vessels, the mean
      ratios of the drug concentrations in both left and right cardiac blood samples 6
      to 0 h postmortem were about 1, whereas in those without ligated vessels, these
      ratios were about 2 and 1, respectively. The order of the methamphetamine and
      amitriptyline concentrations in blood and tissue samples were roughly: lungs >
      myocardium and pulmonary venous blood > cardiac blood, inferior vena caval blood
      and liver. Our results demonstrate that when bodies are in a supine position, (1)
      basic drugs in the lungs diffuse rapidly postmortem into the left cardiac
      chambers via the pulmonary venous blood rather than simply diffusing across
      concentration gradients, and (2) basic drugs in the myocardium contribute little
      to the increases in their concentrations in cardiac blood during the early
      postmortem period.

PMID- 9987865
TI  - Metabolic production of amphetamine following administration of clobenzorex.
AB  - Many of the anorectic drugs that are metabolized to amphetamine and/or
      methamphetamine pose significant concerns in the interpretation of amphetamine
      positive drug testing results. One of these drugs--clobenzorex--has been shown to
      produce amphetamine. Thirty milligrams of clobenzorex hydrochloride, in the form
      of a single Asenlix capsule (Roussel, Mexico), were administered orally to five
      human volunteers with no history of amphetamine, methamphetamine or clobenzorex
      use. Following administration, urine samples (total void volume) were collected
      ad lib for seven days and pH, specific gravity and creatinine values were
      determined. To determine the excretion profile of amphetamine and parent drug,
      samples were extracted, derivatized, and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass
      spectrometry (GC/MS) using a standard amphetamine procedure with additional
      monitoring of ions at m/z 91, 118, 125 and 364 for the detection of clobenzorex.
      Peak concentrations of amphetamine were detected at 4 to 19 h postdose and ranged
      from approximately 715 to 2474 ng/mL amphetamine. Amphetamine could be detected
      (> 5 ng/mL) in the urine in one subject for up to 116 h postdose. GC/MS was also
      used to determine the enantiomeric composition of the metabolite, amphetamine.
      This analysis revealed the metabolically derived amphetamine was only the d
      enantiomer. This differs from previous literature which indicates clobenzorex is
      the racemic N-orthochlorobenzyl derivative of amphetamine.

PMID- 9987866
TI  - Methamphetamine as a risk factor for acute aortic dissection.
AB  - Acute aortic dissections are catastrophic vascular events that have a high rate
      of mortality. Aortic dissections have been associated with a variety of factors,
      particularly hypertension. We reviewed 84 medical examiner autopsies on
      individuals dying from acute aortic dissections with particular emphasis on the
      role of drugs. Previous case reports have associated aortic dissections with both
      cocaine and methamphetamine intoxication. We found that seven of the 35 cases
      tested for drugs of abuse were positive for methamphetamine. Our study had no
      cases of solely cocaine-related dissection, although one of the cases was
      positive for both methamphetamine and the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine. No
      significant association was found with any other drugs. As with other studies, we
      found the most common risk factor to be hypertension. Surprisingly,
      methamphetamine use was the second most common risk factor. The association
      between methamphetamine use and aortic dissection is most likely due to its
      hypertensive effect. Although methamphetamine appears to pose a greater risk than
      cocaine, both drugs should be considered as possible factors in all aortic
      dissections.

PMID- 9987867
TI  - Human methamphetamine-related fatalities in Taiwan during 1991-1996.
AB  - Methamphetamine (MAP) is currently considered to be the major illicit drug in
      Taiwan, and MAP constitutes the majority of illicit drugs seized by the judicial
      institutes. Thus, MAP has raised public attention. The purpose of this
      retrospective study is to observe the trends of MAP-related fatalities in Taiwan
      with respect to the manners of death so as to determine the epidemiological
      implications of MAP. Two hundred and forty-four MAP-related fatalities out of a
      total of 3958 forensic fatalities were collected by the Forensic Medicine Center
      (Taiwan) during the period of 1991 to 1996. The annual percentages of MAP-related
      fatalities compared to the total autopsy cases during 1991 through 1996 were 3.4,
      10.3, 12.1, 4.2, 4.0 and 5.6%, showing that the number of MAP-related fatalities
      increased from 1991 to 1993, declined during 1994 and 1995, and rose again in
      1996. The mean age of the MAP-related fatalities during this period was 30.7
      years and occurred predominantly in males (73%). The manner of deaths included
      natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal and uncertain causes of deaths,
      represented, respectively, by 31 (13%), 143 (59%), 28 (11%), 34 (14%) and 8 (3%)
      cases. As a consequence of the endemic problem and public hazard created by
      illicit drug abuse in Taiwan, stronger anti-drug programs and curbs to illicit
      drug addiction were required urgently from the government and from the public.
      The findings of this study represent the results of utilization of an anti-drug
      program in Taiwan (Support by NSC 85-2331-B-016-092).

PMID- 9987868
TI  - Insect succession on buried carrion in two biogeoclimatic zones of British
      Columbia.
AB  - We established a database of insect succession on buried carrion in two
      biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia over a 16-month period beginning June
      1995. Pig (Sus scrofa L.) carcasses were buried shortly after death in the
      Coastal Western Hemlock and Sub-boreal Spruce biogeoclimatic zones of British
      Columbia. Buried pigs exhibited a distinct pattern of succession from that which
      occurred on above-ground carrion. The species composition and time of
      colonization for particular species differed between the two zones. Therefore
      ideally, a database of insect succession on buried carrion should be established
      for each major biogeoclimatic zone. We did not observe maggot masses on any of
      the buried carcasses; therefore, the presence of maggot masses may indicate a
      delayed burial. Soil temperature was a better indicator of internal buried
      carcass temperature (r2 = 0.92, p < 0.0001) than was ambient air temperature (r2
      = 0.60, p < 0.0001); thus soil temperature should be used to determine
      developmental rates of insects for determination of the postmortem interval by a
      forensic entomologist.

PMID- 9987870
TI  - A visual method of determining the sex of skeletal remains using the distal
      humerus.
AB  - This study introduces a new method of determining sex based on four morphological
      features of the posterior, distal humerus. The technique was developed on a 20th
      century anatomy series, the University of Toronto Grant Skeletal Collection, and
      was tested on 35 known individuals from the University of New Mexico Documented
      Collection and 93 individuals from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal
      Collection. Four statistically significant characteristics relating to the
      carrying angle of the arm are identified (p < 0.05). Together, they are capable
      of determining sex with 92% accuracy.

PMID- 9987871
TI  - Midline facial tissue thicknesses of subadults from a longitudinal radiographic
      study.
AB  - Fourteen midline facial tissue measurements were taken from 615 tracings of
      lateral radiographs of subadults aged 8 to 20 years. The data were collected to
      examine two questions: First, are there differences in facial soft tissue
      measurements between female and male subadults? Second, do facial tissue
      thicknesses change as children grow? Results indicate that males exhibit greater
      tissue thickness measurements than females but only significantly so after age
      14. Results further indicate a trend of increased facial tissue thickness as
      individuals grow; however, correlations are weak and suggest that other unknown
      factors are involved. Data presented here can be of practical application for
      facial reproduction in forensic cases.

PMID- 9987869
TI  - Mechanisms of aortic injury in fatalities occurring in motor vehicle collisions.
AB  - Case reviews based on autopsy studies have shown that motor vehicle collisions
      cause between 50 and 90% of traumatic aortic ruptures. Very few studies have
      analyzed the nature and severity of the collision forces associated with this
      injury. Our passenger car study (1984-1991) examined 36 collisions in which 39
      fatally injured victims sustained aortic trauma. In this injury group, a
      disproportionate number of heavy truck and roadside fixed-object impacts
      occurred. Vehicle crash forces were generally severe and were either
      perpendicular or oblique to the vehicle surface. Intrusion into the occupant
      compartment was a significant factor in most of these fatal injuries. Occupant
      contact with vehicle interior surfaces was identified in most cases, and occupant
      restraints were often ineffective, especially in side collisions. The more
      elderly victims were seen in the least severe collisions. The most frequent site
      of aortic rupture was at the isthmus. A majority of victims had rib/sternal
      fractures indicating significant chest compression. Of the various traumatic
      aortic injury mechanisms proposed in motor vehicle impacts, the favored theories
      in the literature combine features of rapid deceleration and chest compression.
      This study supports that predominant impression, concluding that rapid chest
      deceleration/compression induces torsional and shearing forces that result in
      transverse laceration and rupture of the aorta, most commonly in the inherently
      vulnerable isthmus region.

PMID- 9987872
TI  - The analysis of methamphetamine hydrochloride by thermal desorption ion mobility
      spectrometry and SIMPLISMA.
AB  - Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been successfully developed to yield an
      advanced portable instrument. Such instruments may detect trace quantities of
      regulated substances at the crime scene. The atmospheric ion chemistry that
      occurs within the instrument may hinder the determination of analytes in real
      world samples. The use of temperature programming adds an extra dimension to the
      data that improves the selectivity of the IMS data when chemometric processing is
      applied. The SIMPLISMA (SIMPLe-to-use-Interactive Self-Modeling Mixture Analysis)
      method is demonstrated for modeling variances in IMS data that are introduced
      from the temperature program. Methamphetamine hydrochloride IMS peaks are
      obscured by chemical interferences that arise from cigarette smoke residue.
      Cigarette smoke residue is pervasive at crime scenes. The ability of SIMPLISMA to
      resolve the analyte peaks that correspond to methamphetamine hydrochloride from
      interfering cigarette smoke has been demonstrated. A reduced mobility of 1.62
      cm2V-1s-1 was observed for a methamphetamine hydrochloride monomer. With the IMS
      drift tube at room temperature, a second peak was observed at 1.24 cm2V-1s-1,
      which is consistent with a dimer ion. This peak has not been previously reported.

PMID- 9987873
TI  - Forensic evidence based on mtDNA from dog and wolf hairs.
AB  - In six forensic cases involving murder, bank robbery, theft and poaching,
      evidence material comprising shed hairs supposedly originating from dogs or
      wolves was analyzed by mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequencing. A 79 bp segment of the
      control region was amplified, sequenced, and compared with an established
      database of the domestic dog and wolf populations. In three murder cases
      exclusions of all eight suspects could be made. Furthermore, two of the murders
      could be linked to each other by a rare sequence variant, and the breed of the
      dog was indicated. In a theft case and a bank robbery a link could be established
      between the evidence material and the suspects. In a case of suspected wolf
      poaching, it could be established that the evidential material was of dog rather
      than wolf origin. We conclude that single hairs from common pets are suitable for
      DNA analysis and that the described method has proved to be a valuable tool for
      forensic investigations.

PMID- 9987874
TI  - Lewis (FUT3) genotypes in two different Chinese populations.
AB  - The allelic frequencies of the alpha (1,3/4)fucosyltransferase gene (FUT3) in two
      different Chinese populations (138 individuals in Shenyang and 154 in Guangzhou)
      were investigated using PCR-RFLP and nucleotide sequencing methods. The common
      alleles in the Oriental population, Le (wild type allele), le59,508 (with the
      mutations at nucleotide (nt) 59T-->G and nt 508G-->A) and le59,1067 (with the
      mutations at nt 59T-->G and nt 1067T-->A) were encountered, and also the rare
      alleles, le1067 (with the mutation at nt 1067T-->A) and Le59 (with the mutation
      at 59T-->G), were observed in these Chinese populations. In addition, the common
      allele in Caucasians, le202,314 (with the mutations at nt 202T-->C and nt 314C-
      >T), was found in the Oriental population for the first time. The allelic
      frequencies of the Le, Le59, le59,508, le59,1067, le202,314, and le1067, were
      0.750, 0.011, 0.145, 0.054, 0.036, and 0.004 in the Shenyang population and
      0.675, 0.026, 0.14, 0.123, 0.026, and 0.010 in the Guangzhou population,
      respectively. The presence of the alleles containing either the 59 mutation
      (Le59) or the 1067 mutation (le1067) suggested that the allele le59,1067 may have
      originated by recombination between them.

PMID- 9987875
TI  - Analysis and interpretation of short tandem repeat microvariants and three-banded
      allele patterns using multiple allele detection systems.
AB  - The Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office (PBSO) Crime Laboratory and the Alabama
      Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS) have validated and implemented analysis of
      short tandem repeat (STR) sequences on casework using silver staining kit and
      SYBR Green I detection systems and are presently validating fluorescently tagged
      STR alleles using the Hitachi FMBIO 100 instrument. Concurrently, the Broward
      County Sheriff's Office (BSO) Crime Laboratory is validating the ABI Prism310
      Genetic Analyzer capillary electrophoresis STR detection system (ABI CE310) from
      Perkin Elmer Applied BioSystems. During the course of analyzing over 10,000
      individuals for the STR loci CSF1PO, TPOX and THO1 (CTT) using silver staining
      for allele detection, 42 samples demonstrated alleles that were "off ladder,"
      contained three-banded patterns at a single locus, or exhibited an apparent THO1
      "9.3,10" allele pattern. PBSO, ADFS and BSO Crime Laboratories have collaborated
      on the verification of the allele patterns observed in these 42 samples using the
      following allele detection systems: (1) manual silver staining, (2) SYBR Green I
      staining, and/or (3) fluorescently tagged amplified products separated by
      polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or capillary electrophoresis followed by laser
      detection. Regardless of the CTT allele detection system utilized, concordant
      results were obtained for 41 of the 42 samples. The only exception was a sample
      in which a wide band within the THO1 locus was identified as a THO1 "9.3, 10"
      genotype by silver staining kit and SYBR Green I staining but was verified to be
      a THO1 "9.3" homozygote by all other allele detection systems. Manual allele
      detection could readily identify microvariants, as a visual assessment of stained
      gels clearly shows that alleles do not migrate coincident with well-characterized
      allele size standards. As would be predicted, however, the manual detection
      systems did not provide adequate resolution to approximate the basepair size for
      off-ladder variants. All fluorescent software program systems were consistent in
      designating alleles "not in range" or "off ladder," thereby indicating true
      microvariants. All single-locus three-banded patterns were detected using all of
      the STR multiplex systems. In addition, individual locus-specific primers
      verified multiplexed amplified products were specific for the locus in question.

PMID- 9987876
TI  - DNA-PCR analysis of bloodstains sampled by the polyvinyl-alcohol method.
AB  - Among the usual techniques of sampling gunshot residues (GSR), the polyvinyl
      alcohol method (PVAL) includes the advantage of embedding all particles, foreign
      bodies and stains on the surface of the shooter's hand in exact and reproducible
      topographic localization. The aim of the present study on ten persons killed by
      firearms was to check the possibility of DNA-PCR typing of blood traces embedded
      in the PVAL gloves in a second step following GSR analysis. The results of these
      examinations verify that the PVAL technique does not include factors that inhibit
      successful PCR typing. Thus the PVAL method can be recommended as a combination
      technique to secure and preserve inorganic and biological traces at the same
      time.

PMID- 9987877
TI  - Blood grouping of mixed bloodstains using immunocytochemical methods.
AB  - Immunocytochemical methods to determine the ABO blood group of each blood of
      mixed bloodstains have been developed. Mixed bloodstains were made on surgical
      blades and a cedar board. The blades were dipped into blood and then dipped into
      blood of a different group at intervals of 30, 20, 15, 10 and 5 s. Two drops of
      blood were dropped on a cedar board and then two drops of blood of a different
      group were dropped there at the same intervals. The bloodstains were dried for a
      week. The blood samples were removed from the blades or the cedar board and
      processed according with a routine histological method. Three serial thin
      sections were obtained. After deparaffinization, the sections were treated in
      papain solution for 2 h at 36 degrees C, to unmask antigenic sites on red cell
      membranes. The labeled streptavidin-biotin (LSAB) and peroxidase-anti-peroxidase
      (PAP) methods were used to detect A and B antigens, and an indirect
      immunocytochemical method for H antigen. These immunocytochemical methods showed
      specific immunologic reactions and allowed determination of the blood group of
      each blood of mixed bloodstains. Further, these methods indicated a possibility
      to determine who was stabbed first, in cases where two or more victims were
      stabbed with a single knife.

PMID- 9987878
TI  - Applications of focused ion beam systems in gunshot residue investigation.
AB  - Scanning ion microscopy technology has opened a new door to forensic scientists,
      allowing the GSR investigator to see inside a particle's core. Using a focused
      ion beam, particles can be cross-sectioned, revealing interior morphology and
      character that can be utilized for identification of the ammunition manufacturer.

PMID- 9987879
TI  - Metal contamination in illicit samples of heroin.
AB  - We analyzed 198 illicit heroin samples from Andalusia (southern Spain) to
      determine the contents of various metals (cadmium, calcium, copper, iron,
      manganese and zinc) with a view to investigating a new aspect of the drug purity
      and the conditions under which the drugs are used by addicts. Calcium was found
      in 93.4% of the samples and always at high concentrations, which can be ascribed
      to adulteration of the heroin by addicts with thinners and excipients containing
      salts of this metal such as calcium bicarbonate. Also, all samples were found to
      contain variable amounts of zinc and substantial amounts of iron, probably
      because it is the most common metal found in metal containers used in the
      extraction of morphine from the opium poppy. Only cadmium and, to a lesser
      extent, zinc, copper, and iron, are among the metals detected in heroin that can
      increase the inherent toxicity of the drug while always taking into account the
      maximum values.

PMID- 9987880
TI  - Problems in mass-disaster dental identification: a retrospective review.
AB  - A wide variety of problems may prevent or hinder a dental-identification (ID)
      team in its efforts to identify mass casualties. Since these problems have been
      infrequently reported in a comprehensive manner, the authors identified and
      summarized these problems to increase the awareness of dental-ID team members and
      to prepare them for future mass-disaster missions. The authors analyzed 50 mass
      disasters--ten in which the authors as members of military dental ID teams played
      a major role and 40 from the literature--and summarized problems that they
      confronted.

PMID- 9987881
TI  - Validation of highly polymorphic fluorescent multiplex short tandem repeat
      systems using two generations of DNA sequencers.
AB  - Validation studies are a crucial requirement before implementation of new genetic
      typing systems for clinical diagnostics or forensic identity. Two different
      fluorescence-based multiplex DNA profiling systems composed of amelogenin,
      HumD21S11 and HumFGA (referred to as multiplex 1A), and HumD3S1358, HumD21S11 and
      HumFGA (multiplex 1B) have been evaluated for use in forensic identification
      using the Applied Biosystems Model 373A and Prism 377 DNA Sequencers,
      respectively. Experiments were aimed at defining the limit of target DNA required
      for reliable profiling, the level of degradation that would still permit
      amplification of the short tandem repeat (STR) loci examined, and the robustness
      of each locus in the multiplexes after samples were exposed to environmental
      insults. In addition, the specificity of the multiplexes was demonstrated using
      nonhuman DNAs. Forensically relevant samples such as cigarette butts, chewing
      gum, fingernails and envelope flaps were processed using both an organic
      extraction procedure and a QIAamp protocol. DNAs and resultant multiplex STR
      profiles were compared. The validation of the triplex STR systems was extended to
      include over 140 nonprobative casework specimens and was followed with a close
      monitoring of initial casework (over 300 exhibits). Our results document the
      robustness of these multiplex STR profiling systems which, when combined with
      other multiplex systems, could provide a power of discrimination of approximately
      0.9999.

PMID- 9987882
TI  - Allele distribution at nine STR loci--D3S1358, vWA, FGA, TH01, TPOX, CSF1PO,
      D5S818, D13S317 and D7S820--in the Japanese population by multiplex PCR and
      capillary electrophoresis.
AB  - Nine tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) loci, D3S1358, vWA, FGA TH01,
      TPOX, CSF1PO, D5S818, D13S317 and D7S820, were analyzed in the Japanese
      population with a newly released kit for personal identification using multiplex
      PCR with fluorescent-labeled primers following capillary electrophoresis. The
      observed heterozygosities were 0.67, 0.77, 0.82, 0.61, 0.62, 0.73, 0.78, 0.81 and
      0.74, respectively, and the combined discrimination power of the nineplex was
      0.9999999991. None of the nine loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
      expectations using the chi-square test, homozygosity test, likelihood ratio test
      and exact test after the grouping of the alleles. The nine STR loci allele
      frequencies were significantly different from those of other ethnic populations.

PMID- 9987883
TI  - LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8 and GC allele and genotype frequencies in the northwest
      Italian population.
AB  - Allele and genotype frequencies for five PCR-based DNA markers (LDLR, GYPA, HBGG,
      D7S8 and GC) were determined in 100 unrelated individuals from Piedmont
      (Northwest Italy). All five Ioci met Hardy-Weinberg expectations in the sampled
      population. The combined PD and CE were, respectively, 0.995 and 0.697.
      Frequencies obtained were compared with other previously published data on
      Caucasian populations with no significant differences. The genetic data from this
      study, in addition to those already collected by other groups, contribute to the
      expansion of the Italian DNA database suitable for forensic casework and
      paternity testing.

PMID- 9987884
TI  - Deoxyribonuclease I phenotyping from saliva stains.
AB  - Good typing results were obtained using a newly developed method for extraction
      and purification of deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) from saliva stains. Previously,
      DNase I phenotyping from saliva stains has been unsuccessful because of low
      enzyme activity and heavy contamination. Salivary DNase I was extracted from
      stains using phosphate buffer containing Nonidet P-40. Extracts were purified
      using Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B gel. Electrophoresis was performed, and DNase I was
      successfully phenotyped. All of the DNase I phenotypes, which were obtained from
      saliva stains using this new method, were identical to the phenotypes determined
      from urine samples. Moreover, DNase I was correctly phenotyped from saliva stains
      that had been stored for over three months at room temperature or at 37 degrees
      C. These results suggest that DNase I polymorphisms provide valuable information
      for forensic characterization of saliva stains.

PMID- 9987885
TI  - DNA typing as a strategy for resolving issues relevant to forensic toxicology.
AB  - To investigate aircraft accidents, multiple postmortem biological samples of
      victims are submitted to the Civil Aeromedical Institute for toxicological
      evaluation. However, depending upon the nature of a particular accident, their
      body components are often scattered, disintegrated, commingled, contaminated,
      and/or putrefied. These factors impose difficulties with victim identification,
      tissue matching, and consequently authentic sample analysis and result
      interpretation. Nevertheless, these limitations can be overpowered by DNA typing.
      In this regard, three situations are hereby exemplified where DNA analysis was
      instrumental in resolving a tissue mismatching/commingling issue, pinpointing an
      accessioning/analytical error, and interpreting an unusual analytical result.
      Biological samples from these cases were examined for six independently inherited
      genetic loci using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) suitable for analyzing
      degraded DNA generally encountered in putrefied/contaminated samples. In the
      first situation, three of five specimen bags from one accident were labeled with
      two different names. DNA analysis revealed that one of these bags actually had
      commingled specimens, originating from two different individuals. Therefore, the
      sample was excluded from the final toxicological evaluation. In the second
      situation, an unacceptable blind control result was reported in a cyanide batch
      analysis. By comparing DNA profiles of the batch samples with those of the known
      positive and negative blind controls, it was concluded that the error had
      occurred during the analysis instead of accessioning. Accordingly, preventive
      measures were taken at the analytical level. The third situation was related to
      the presence of atropine at toxic concentrations in the blood (318 ng/mL) and
      lung (727 ng/g) with its absence in the liver, spleen, and brain. DNA analysis of
      the blood and liver samples exhibited their common identity, ensuring that the
      submitted samples had indeed originated from one individual. The selective
      presence of atropine was attributed to its possible administration into the
      thoracic cavity by the emergency medical personnel at the accident site for
      resuscitation, but circulatory failure prevented its further distribution. These
      examples clearly demonstrate the applicability of the PCR-based DNA typing to
      enhance the effectiveness of forensic toxicology operation.

PMID- 9987886
TI  - A study involving venlafaxine overdoses: comparison of fatal and therapeutic
      concentrations in postmortem specimens.
AB  - The distribution and redistribution of venlafaxine were investigated in two
      overdoses and several cases involving the therapeutic use of venlafaxine. Blood,
      liver, bile vitreous humor, urine and gastric contents were analyzed using high
      performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Blood
      concentrations of venlafaxine in the two overdose cases were 53 mg/L and 78 mg/L.
      Comparison of venlafaxine concentrations in blood samples taken at different
      times after death revealed increases in concentrations over time, suggesting the
      possible postmortem redistribution of venlafaxine.

PMID- 9987887
TI  - Cyclohexyl nitrite encounter.
AB  - A brown glass bottle containing yellow liquid was submitted for examination for
      the presence of common controlled substances. While no controlled substances were
      detected, the liquid was identified as impure cyclohexyl nitrite, a compound of
      the same chemical class as amyl and butyl nitrite, which are known for their
      abuse potential. A bottle labeled cyclohexyl nitrite, but not confirmed by
      analysis, is the only known previous case submitted to this lab. The case
      history, examination, and analytical results are presented.

PMID- 9987888
TI  - Comparing the alleged weapon with damage to clothing--the value of multiple
      layers and fabrics.
AB  - The examination of damage to multiple layers of clothing of an attempted murder
      victim is described. The large number of cuts to the garments, the multiple
      layers and the varying types of fabric composing these garments gave valuable
      information as to the possible implement causing the damage. The results also
      show that some types of material may better reflect the geometry of the suspect
      weapon than others.

PMID- 9987889
TI  - Determination of the size of a foreign body in the eye using image analysis of
      its roentgenogram.
AB  - The case of a computer-enhanced image analysis of X-ray pictures of a pellet in
      the orbit of a man who sustained a shotgun injury to his right eyeball is
      presented. The man was shot accidentally during a pheasant hunt. Two hunters were
      shooting simultaneously but they were using three different sizes of pellet--3.0,
      3.5 and 4.0 mm. One of the pellets hit a third man in the eye. He sustained
      serious injury with a resultant loss of sight in this eye despite immediate
      medical treatment. Unfortunately the pellet could not be removed from the orbit,
      but it was necessary to establish who was responsible for the injury. The problem
      lay in determining the specification and size of the pellet at that moment. The
      problem was solved using computer-enhanced video image analysis of the X-ray
      pictures of the pellets. The image processor LUCIA G (http(/)/www.lim.cz) was
      used.

PMID- 9987890
TI  - A fatality due to the intranasal abuse of methylphenidate (Ritalin).
AB  - A fatality in a teenager from the recreational intranasal abuse of
      methylphenidate (Ritalin) is reported. The prescribed use of methylphenidate
      (Ritalin) in the treatment of attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder is
      widespread. The intranasal abuse of methylphenidate (Ritalin) among teenagers is
      becoming increasingly more recognized. Previous deaths from the parenteral abuse
      of methylphenidate (Ritalin) have been reported. This fatality is the first
      reported from its intranasal abuse.

PMID- 9987891
TI  - Stereochemical determination of selegiline metabolites in postmortem biological
      specimens.
AB  - In this study, findings related to an aircraft accident are reported. Biological
      specimens collected at autopsy from the pilot of the fatal accident and two types
      of tablets found at the accident scene were submitted for toxicological
      evaluation. It was determined that the pilot was dead at the crash site and the
      cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries. The tablets were identified as
      selegiline and levodopa, commonly prescribed for the treatment of Parkinson's
      disease. Selegiline, a stereospecific compound, is biotransformed into (-)-N
      desmethylselegiline, (-)-methamphetamine, and (-)-amphetamine. The latter two
      levorotatory metabolites cannot be easily distinguished by routine analysis from
      their dextrorotatory isomers, which are controlled substances. It was, therefore,
      prudent to differentiate these isomers to determine if they resulted from the
      ingestion of a controlled substance, (+)-methamphetamine. Initial immunoassay
      drug screenings revealed the presence of amphetamine class drugs (867 ng/mL) in
      urine, amphetamine/methamphetamine (261 ng/mL) in urine, and methamphetamine (46
      ng/mL) in blood. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) results
      revealed the presence of methamphetamine in the concentrations of 76 ng/mL of
      blood and 685 ng/mL of urine. The concentration of amphetamine was 52 ng/mL in
      blood and 320 ng/mL in urine. To determine the stereospecificity of these amines,
      the isolated amines from the biosamples were derivatized by a stereospecific
      agent, (S)-(-)-N-(trifluoroacetyl)-prolyl chloride, and characterized by a GC/MS
      method to be levorotatory. The 2.14 ratio of (-)-methamphetamine to (-)
      amphetamine concentrations in the urine was consistent with a selegiline study in
      the recent literature. The stereospecific analysis, in conjunction with the
      history of the pilot being on Parkinson's medications, suggests that the source
      of these amines was selegiline. This conclusion substantiates the importance of
      the identification of enantiomers in evaluating and interpreting related
      analytical results for accident investigations.

PMID- 9987892
TI  - Recommendations for toxicological investigations of drug-facilitated sexual
      assaults.
AB  - The recent increase in reports of drug-facilitated sexual assaults has caused
      alarm in the general public and prompted forensic toxicologists from across North
      America to address the toxicological issues surrounding this matter. The authors
      have developed recommendations and guidelines to inform law enforcement, medical,
      and scientific personnel of the requirements for performing successful
      toxicological examinations in cases of drug-facilitated rape.

PMID- 9987893
TI  - In vitro stability of endogenous gamma-hydroxybutyrate in postmortem blood.

PMID- 9987894
TI  - Proceedings of the International Workshop on Canine Genetics. Ithaca, New York,
      USA. July 12-13, 1997.

PMID- 9987895
TI  - DogMap: an international collaboration toward a low-resolution canine genetic
      marker map. DogMap Consortium.

PMID- 9987897
TI  - Development of comparative anchor tagged sequences (CATS) for canine genome
      mapping.
AB  - The development of a useful genetic map of the domestic dog would benefit by the
      inclusion of type I markers; coding genes that can connect the canine map to the
      homologous gene maps of other mammalian species. A group of 280 comparative
      anchor tagged sequences (CATS), and universal mammalian sequence tagged sites (UM
      STS), were optimized for canine assessment. One hundred and five were screened
      for genetic polymorphism among nine canine breeds and three wild species of Canis
      in an attempt to promote gene mapping of comparative type I markers. Three
      categories of variation--size, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP),
      and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)--were assessed. The data
      showed that 50% of the type I markers discriminate between species and 40% showed
      genetic variation among dog breeds. Although polymorphism incidence between
      nominated breeds for gene mapping is more limited than found for established
      reference pedigrees in other species, the concept and application of these CATS
      and UM-STS markers is useful in capturing the comparative information required
      for the full application and efficacy of the dog gene map.

PMID- 9987896
TI  - Toward a framework linkage map of the canine genome.
AB  - Selective breeding to maintain specific physical and behavioral traits has made
      the modern dog one of the most physically diverse species on earth. One
      unfortunate consequence of the common breeding practices used to develop lines of
      dogs with the desired traits is amplification and propagation of genetic diseases
      within distinct breeds. To map disease loci we have constructed a first
      generation framework map of the canine genome. We developed large numbers of
      highly polymorphic markers, constructed a panel of canine-rodent hybrid cell
      lines, and assigned those markers to chromosome groups using the hybrid cell
      lines. Finally, we determined the order and spacing of markers on individual
      canine chromosomes by linkage analysis using a reference panel of 17 outbred
      pedigrees. This article describes approaches and strategies to accomplish these
      goals.

PMID- 9987898
TI  - FISH mapping and identification of canine chromosomes.
AB  - The karyotype of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is widely accepted as one of
      the most difficult mammalian karyotypes to work with. The dog has a total of 78
      chromosomes; all 76 autosomes are acrocentric in morphology and show only a
      gradual decrease in length. Standardization of the canine karyotype has been
      performed in two stages. The first stage dealt only with chromosomes 1-21 which
      can be readily identified by conventional G-banding techniques. The remaining 17
      autosomal pairs have proven to be very difficult to reliably identify by banding
      alone. To facilitate the identification of all canine chromosomes, chromosome
      specific paint probes have been produced by DOP-PCR from flow-sorted dog
      chromosomes. Each paint probe has been used for FISH to identify the
      corresponding chromosome(s), allowing precise identification of all 78 canine
      chromosomes. The identification of the undesignated 17 autosomal pairs has been
      agreed upon by the standardization committee during the second stage of their
      role. Cosmid clones containing microsatellite markers may now be conclusively
      assigned to their chromosomal origin by simultaneous dual-color FISH with the
      corresponding paint probe. In this way a collection of chromosome-specific cosmid
      clones is being constructed, comprising at least one marker per chromosome, which
      will allow anchoring of existing and future linkage groups to the physical map.

PMID- 9987899
TI  - Working with canine chromosomes: current recommendations for karyotype
      description.
AB  - There is an increasing interest in genomic research on the domestic dog (Canis
      familiaris). However, these investigations are complicated by the canine
      karyotype comprising 76 acrocentric autosomes of similar size and shape and the
      metacentric sex chromosomes. None of the numerous published ideograms and
      karyotypes has yet been generally accepted. The present article gives a review of
      these descriptions of the canine karyotype. The two most recent nomenclatures and
      the current efforts toward a standardized canine karyotype made by the Committee
      for the Standardized Karyotype of the Dog are discussed in detail and
      recommendations for future use of a nomenclature for the canine karyotype are
      given.

PMID- 9987900
TI  - Organization of the canine major histocompatibility complex: current
      perspectives.
AB  - The dog is a valuable model for studying several human diseases as well as one of
      the most important models for organ transplantation. Important to understanding
      the pathophysiology or development of some of these diseases is an understanding
      of the canine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or dog leukocyte antigen
      (DLA). Initial characterization of the DLA involved primarily cellular,
      serological, and biochemical analyses. Later a molecular analysis of the DLA
      region was begun. There are at least four complete class I genes: DLA-88, DLA-12,
      DLA-64, and DLA-79. DLA-88 is highly polymorphic, with more than 40 alleles
      obtained from an examination of 50 mixed breed dogs. The other class I loci are
      less polymorphic, with fewer than 12 alleles each. In the class II region there
      is one complete DRB gene called DLA-DRB1 with at least 24 alleles and one full
      length DQB gene, DLA-DQB1, with 20 alleles characterized to date. DLA-DQA is less
      polymorphic with nine alleles and DLA-DRA appears monomorphic. Two highly
      polymorphic canine microsatellite markers, one located in the class I region and
      one located in the class II region, can be used to identify DLA-matched and 
      mismatched dogs within families for organ transplantation experiments. Future
      projects include mapping the DLA region by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and
      using a recently constructed canine bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library
      to search for new genes within the DLA. The dog has been a useful model for
      understanding several human diseases such as gluten-sensitive enteropathy (Hall
      and Batt 1990), rheumatoid arthritis (Halliwell et al. 1972), narcolepsy (Tafti
      et al. 1996), and systemic lupus erythematosus (Lewis and Schwartz 1971, Teichner
      et al. 1990), as well as an important model for solid organ and hematopoietic
      stem cell transplantation (Storb and Deeg 1985). Much of the impetus behind
      efforts to characterize the canine MHC comes from its importance in
      transplantation. In spite of the dog's importance in studying human disease and
      in immunology, molecular analysis of the DLA has lagged behind that of the mouse
      and human as well as several agricultural animals.

PMID- 9987901
TI  - A comparative approach to physical and linkage mapping of genes on canine
      chromosomes using gene-associated simple sequence repeat polymorphisms
      illustrated by studies of dog chromosome 9.
AB  - We describe and illustrate a comparative approach to creating physical and
      linkage maps of genes on dog chromosomes. The approach is particularly useful in
      species, like the dog, which have a rudimentary gene map not integrated with
      microsatellite loci. Human or mouse cDNAs for genes to be mapped are used to
      isolate cosmid or phage clones from dog genomic libraries. Clones verified to
      contain the homologous canine gene coding sequences are screened for "gene
      associated" simple sequence repeat polymorphisms (SSRPs). The unique sequences
      flanking the repeats are used to design PCR primers to amplify the repeat and
      gene-associated SSR length differences that are informative for linkage analysis
      used in canine pedigrees to study linkage between loci or with diseases. The same
      canine clones are employed as probes in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
      studies to physically map the loci to specific sites on dog chromosomes. This
      approach creates a combined gene and gene-associated microsatellite anchor locus
      framework map. In this article we review our recent use of this approach to map a
      series of genes found on human chromosome 17 (HSA17) to two dog chromosomes.
      Canine chromosome 9 (CFA9) contains 11 loci found on HSA17q, while two genes from
      HSA17p map to CFA5, demonstrating disruption of HSA17 synteny at the centromere.
      The order of 11 HSA17q genes on CFA9 was conserved in the dog, but the entire
      group is inverted with respect to the centromere when compared to human and
      mouse. Maps created by this approach can be used to advantage for integrating
      anonymous microsatellites with gene maps, including microsatellites found in
      genome scans to be linked to canine diseases. This makes it possible to identify
      the homologous chromosomal region in the human or mouse genome and to make use of
      this information in formulating hypotheses regarding candidate genes, as has
      recently been illustrated by other investigators.

PMID- 9987902
TI  - Teaching a new dog old tricks: identifying quantitative trait loci using lessons
      from plants.
AB  - Locating quantitative trait loci (QTL) in mammalian systems has proven difficult
      due to the lack of genetic control and reproducibility, as well as the expense of
      maintaining sufficiently large populations for genotyping and phenotyping. In
      plants, populations of recombinant inbred lines (progeny bred to homozygosity
      from a single cross) do not have these problems. Methods developed to identify
      QTL in a recombinant inbred soybean population provide a basis for analysis of a
      suitable mammalian population, such as Portuguese water dogs in the United
      States. The more than 6,000 dogs have accurate pedigrees, available phenotypic
      data and samples for genotyping, as well as interesting quantitative trait
      variation. The computer program Georgie allows us to choose large subpopulations
      with desirable characteristics such as high degrees of consanguinity that capture
      some of the benefits of recombinant inbred lines in plants. Computer simulations
      extending methods developed for simpler plant populations indicate that QTL with
      realistic effects can be identified from such subpopulations. Currently we are
      developing markers and collecting phenotypic and genotypic data from this
      population to begin the process of unraveling the genetic basis of quantitative
      traits in dogs.

PMID- 9987904
TI  - Use of canine microsatellite polymorphisms in forensic examinations.
AB  - A forensic case report is presented. Using pooled SSCP analysis of three
      polymorphic microsatellites one possible candidate was excluded in a time and
      cost saving way.

PMID- 9987903
TI  - Use of cosmid-derived and chromosome-specific canine microsatellites.
AB  - The majority of microsatellite markers being used to generate the emerging
      genetic linkage maps of the dog are derived from small-insert, random clones.
      While such markers are easy to generate, they have the disadvantage that they
      cannot easily be physically mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH),
      making it difficult to assess the extent of genome coverage represented by such
      maps. In contrast, microsatellite markers from large-insert libraries enable the
      linkage groups within which they fall to be physically anchored to specific
      chromosomes. One aim of our work is to identify at least one microsatellite
      containing cosmid clone for each canine chromosome, to ensure that linkage groups
      exist for all chromosomes. This is particularly important for a species with as
      complex a karyotype as the dog. Locating two cosmids on each chromosome would
      allow the orientation of the linkage groups to be established. Chromosomal
      locations of cosmid clones containing microsatellites have been determined by
      FISH and confirmed using canine chromosome-specific paints. Microsatellite
      sequences have been genotyped on the DogMap reference family. Microsatellites
      derived from flow-sorted, chromosome-specific libraries represent another source
      of useful markers. Initial studies have been carried out on the canine X
      chromosome, on which markers were underrepresented in our initial studies.

PMID- 9987905
TI  - Photoreceptor dysplasia (pd) in miniature schnauzer dogs: evaluation of candidate
      genes by molecular genetic analysis.
AB  - Photoreceptor dysplasia (pd) is one of a group of at least six distinct autosomal
      and one X-linked retinal disorders identified in dogs which are collectively
      known as progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). It is an early onset retinal disease
      identified in miniature schnauzer dogs, and pedigree analysis and breeding
      studies have established autosomal recessive inheritance of the disease. Using a
      gene-based approach, a number of retina-expressed genes, including some members
      of the phototransduction pathway, have been causally implicated in retinal
      diseases of humans and other animals. Here we examined seven such potential
      candidate genes (opsin, RDS/peripherin, ROM1, rod cGMP-gated cation channel alpha
      subunit, and three subunits of transducin) for their causal association with the
      pd locus by testing segregation of intragenic markers with the disease locus, or,
      in the absence of informative polymorphisms, sequencing of the coding regions of
      the genes. Based on these results, we have conclusively excluded four
      photoreceptor-specific genes as candidates for pd by linkage analysis. For three
      other photoreceptor-specific genes, we did not find any mutation in the coding
      sequences of the genes and have excluded them provisionally. Formal exclusion
      would require investigation of the levels of expression of the candidate genes in
      pd-affected dogs relative to age-matched controls. At present we are building
      suitable informative pedigrees for the disease locus with a sufficient number of
      meiosis to be useful for genomewide screening. This should identify markers
      linked to the disease locus and eventually permit progress toward the
      identification of the photoreceptor dysplasia gene and the disease-causing
      mutation.

PMID- 9987906
TI  - Toward a dog radiation hybrid map.
AB  - Dog fibroblasts grown from a biopsy performed in a male mongrel were fused after
      gamma irradiation with thymidine kinase-deficient hamster cells and cultivated in
      selection medium. A total of 148 clones were obtained and screened by means of
      PCR amplification using primers corresponding to a dog-specific short repetitive
      element and to dog microsatellites and genes. One hundred seven cell lines were
      selected and grown in roller bottles and the distribution of 39 markers was
      analyzed in the extracted DNA. The results clearly indicate that this panel of
      hybrid cell lines should prove invaluable for constructing a map of the canine
      genome. In parallel, for more than 500 microsatellites present in the databases
      or screened from two libraries of short inserts, we have determined PCR
      conditions favoring dog-specific products even in the presence of hamster DNA.
      These highly polymorphic microsatellites should be useful in further linkage
      studies. We have also characterized 254 markers: dog genes, human expressed
      sequenced tags (huESTs), and traced orthologous amplified sequenced tags
      (TOASTs). Once mapped, these will constitute powerful tools to detect regions of
      conserved synteny in human and other mammalian genomes.

PMID- 9987907
TI  - Methods of analysis and resources available for genetic trait mapping.
AB  - Methods of genetic linkage analysis are reviewed and put in context with other
      mapping techniques. Sources of information are outlined (books, web sites,
      computer programs). Special consideration is given to statistical problems in
      canine genetic mapping (heterozygosity, inbreeding, marker maps).

PMID- 9987908
TI  - Phylogenetic relationships, evolution, and genetic diversity of the domestic dog.
AB  - The spectacular diversity in size, conformation, and pelage that characterizes
      the domestic dog reflects not only the intensity of artificial selection but
      ultimately the genetic variability of founding populations. Here we review past
      molecular genetic data that are relevant to understanding the origin and
      phylogenetic relationships of the dog. DNA-DNA hybridization data show that the
      dog family Canidae diverged about 50 million years ago from other carnivore
      families. In contrast, the extant canids are very closely related and diverged
      from a common ancestor about 10 million years ago. The evidence supporting a
      close relationship of dogs with gray wolves is overwhelming. However, dogs are
      remarkably diverse in mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Mitochondrial DNA analysis
      suggests a more ancient origin of dogs than has been indicated by the fossil
      record. In addition, dogs have originated from or interbred with wolves
      throughout their history at different times and different places. We test the
      possibility of an independent domestication event in North America by analysis of
      mtDNA variation in the Xoloitzcuintli. This unusual breed is believed to have
      been kept isolated for thousands of years and may be one of the most ancient
      breeds in North America. Our results do not support a New World domestication of
      dogs nor a close association of the Xoloitzcuintli with other hair-less breeds of
      dogs. Despite their phenotypic uniformity, the Xoloitzcuintli has a surprisingly
      high level of mtDNA sequence variation. Other breeds are also genetically
      diverse, suggesting that dog breeds were often founded with a large number of
      dogs from outbred populations.

PMID- 9987909
TI  - Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) sequences as markers for canine genetic
      studies.
AB  - Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers have been used in genetic studies
      of several plant and animal species. However, concerns exist about the
      reproducibility of RAPD-PCR reactions. Therefore, the use of specific 24mer
      primer pairs in standard PCR reactions has been suggested for reliable
      amplification of characterized polymorphic RAPD sequences. The purpose of this
      article is describe the application of the RAPD-PCR assay to genetic studies of
      dogs and to investigate the amplification of RAPD sequences with specific primer
      pairs. Of 240 decanucleotide primers tested by PCR, 34.6% resulted in
      amplification of at least one polymorphic fragment with samples of a Labrador
      retriever pedigree. We cloned and sequenced five of these RAPD fragments and
      synthesized specific 24mer primer pairs for each. Two primer pairs amplified a
      sequence exclusively from samples that were positive for the RAPD fragment, while
      three others amplified the respective sequence from all DNA samples. A new
      polymorphism was observed in the restriction digest products with Msel of one of
      the amplification products. None of the cloned sequences contains an open reading
      frame longer than 213 bases. Two sequences hybridized only to specific fragments
      of genomic DNA from samples that amplified the RAPD, the remaining three
      sequences hybridized to multiple sequences in all canine samples tested by
      Southern analysis. None of the five fragments hybridized to human or murine
      genomic DNA. Data suggested that RAPD sequences can be used as molecular markers
      in genetic studies of diseases in dogs. However, the use of specific primer pairs
      leads to loss of the RAPD polymorphism in three of five sequences tested.

PMID- 9987910
TI  - An outcrossed canine pedigree for linkage analysis of hip dysplasia.
AB  - Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a prevalent, debilitating, polygenic disease
      characterized by hip subluxation and laxity which results in osteoarthritis. We
      are developing an informative pedigree for linkage analysis of CHD. The seven
      greyhound founders had excellent hip conformation with high dorsolateral
      subluxation scores (percentage of femoral head covered by the dorsal acetabulum
      in a weight-bearing position) of 66 +/- 4% (mean +/- SD averaged over both hips)
      and low hip distraction (laxity) indices of 0.14 +/- 0.08. Nine greyhounds bred
      on site had radiographic evidence of ossification in the capital femoral
      chondroepiphysis at 7.7 +/- 0.9 days of age. At 8 months of age they had a mean
      distraction index of 0.24 +/- 0.08 and dorsolateral subluxation score of 76 +/-
      1%. Of the four dysplastic Labrador retriever founders, three had mean age at
      onset of capital femoral chondroeplphyseal ossification of 20 +/- 7 days of age n
      = 3) and a mean distraction index of 0.46 +/- 0.1 accompanied by hip
      osteoarthritis. Thirty-four F1s had mean onset of capital femoral ossification
      (10.7 +/- 4.0 days of age) and mean dorsolateral subluxation scores (61 +/- 12%)
      similar to the greyhound founders, but distraction indices (0.42 +/- 0.2) more
      similar to the Labrador retriever founders. One F1 had CHD radiographically but
      none of 20 F1s had osteoarthritis at necropsy at 10 months of age. These data
      suggested that maximum passive laxity (as measured by the distraction index) and
      normal osseous conformation (as indicated by a high dorsolateral subluxation
      score) were both dominant traits and were controlled by separate quantitative
      trait loci (QTL). Forty-three back-crosses between F1s with the highest hip
      laxity and greyhound founders had mean onset of capital femoral ossification at
      9.9 +/- 2.6 days of age. Of 10 dogs in the backcross generation that have reached
      8 months of age, 2 had palpable subluxation without marked CHD radiographically.
      The mean distraction index of these dogs was 0.36 +/- 0.16 and the dorsolateral
      subluxation score was 65 +/- 5%. Although dogs in the backcross generation that
      were three-quarter greyhound had a broad range of hip laxity, a protective effect
      of the greyhound QTLs for good osseous conformation has mitigated thus far
      against subluxation and CHD.

PMID- 9987911
TI  - Inherited disorders in sexual development.

PMID- 9987912
TI  - Individual DNA bands obtained by RAPD analysis of canine genomic DNA often
      contain multiple DNA sequences.
AB  - The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique has been widely applied for
      genetic studies of plants, insects, and fungi, and recently has been used for
      studies in animals including dogs. To convert the RAPD marker into a classical
      PCR marker, the RAPD-PCR products are size-separated in an agarose gel and a
      specific DNA band is selected for potential association with a trait of interest.
      The DNA fragments present in the desired band are then cloned and sequenced using
      primers specific to the cloning vector, and the sequence is used to design a pair
      of classical PCR primers. Often a "positive clone" is identified based solely on
      a match of the size of the insert in the clone with the uncharacterized DNA band
      originally selected. We observed that single DNA bands obtained from RAPD-PCR
      using canine genomic DNA often contain DNA fragments of similar size but of
      different sequences. Based on this observation, we report here a modification of
      the protocol for RAPD analysis which will ensure that a promising RAPD marker
      selected based on initial screening is not lost for lack of a comprehensive
      investigation in the later experimental analysis.

PMID- 9987913
TI  - Analysis of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) for identifying genetic
      markers associated with canine hip dysplasia.
AB  - Canine hip dysplasia is a heritable developmental disease resulting, in part,
      from increased laxity in hip joints and is a precursor to degenerative joint
      disease. Identification of genetic markers linked to joint laxity would foster
      development of more accurate diagnostic methods, facilitate identification of the
      disease gene(s), and supplement efforts to establish physical/genetic maps of the
      canine genome. Work presented here describes analysis of randomly amplified
      polymorphic DNA in the search for markers which cosegregate with increased joint
      laxity in Canis familiaris, the domestic dog. The Boykin spaniel, a highly inbred
      breed afflicted with an extremely high incidence of hip dysplasia, served as a
      model for study of canine hip dysplasia. Only 5% of 200 random primers revealed
      significant polymorphisms within this breed. However polymorphisms were detected
      in seemingly nonpolymorphic amplification products when digested with restriction
      enzymes. Restriction digestion revealed polymorphisms in 15% of the monomorphic
      amplification products. Among the primers that revealed polymorphisms, one primer
      correctly identified 9 of 12 dogs with regard to joint laxity. However, extensive
      evaluation is required before any assertion can be made regarding linkage of this
      marker to joint laxity. Of interest, another primer amplified a genomic segment
      unique to the canine Y chromosome.

PMID- 9987914
TI  - Utility of canine microsatellites in revealing the relationships of pure bred
      dogs.
AB  - The variability of 19 canine microsatellite loci was examined within and between
      three pure breeds of dog. Their phylogenetic relationships were estimated by
      microsatellite and conventional genetic distances which indicated that greyhounds
      and German shepherds had longer diverse evolutionary histories, whereas Labrador
      retrievers were established much later. Our three breeds differ mainly in the
      relative frequencies of alleles at a locus and in distribution of alleles across
      loci. As a consequence of sampling strategy, greyhounds express significantly
      lower polymorphism than the other two breeds. However, some highly polymorphic
      microsatellite loci were common to all three breeds. High exclusion power of such
      loci made them valuable for parentage testing. Although the exclusion probability
      at a single locus is relatively low, it increases by every added microsatellite.
      The six most polymorphic ones sufficed to reach the exclusion probability of 99%
      in all three breeds tested here. As the majority of pedigree dogs have similar
      population structures, the data presented can be used to estimate the probability
      of biological paternity for any dog breed, despite the absence of appropriate
      population data. Polymorphic canine microsatellites proved to be valuable
      descriptors of population structure, and evolutionary and filial relationships.

PMID- 9987915
TI  - Microsatellite variation in the Australian dingo.
AB  - The dingo is thought to have arrived in Australia from Asia about 5,000 years
      ago. It is currently in danger because of interbreeding with domestic dogs.
      Several morphological, behavioral, and reproductive characteristics distinguish
      dingoes from domestic dog. Skull morphometrics are currently used to try to
      classify wild canids as pure dingo, dog, or hybrid. Molecular techniques based on
      diagnostic DNA differences between dogs and dingoes would make a much more
      reliable and practical test. A small number of markers (about 10) would allow
      detection of animals with domestic dog in their ancestry several generations
      back. We have typed 16 dingoes and 16 dogs of mixed breed for 14 microsatellites.
      The amount of variation in the Australian dingo is much less than in domestic
      dogs. The size distributions of microsatellites in the two groups usually
      overlap. The number of alleles in the dingo is much smaller in all cases. One
      dinucleotide repeat locus shows a size difference of 1 bp in allele classes
      between dog and dingo. This locus may be diagnostic for dog or dingo ancestry.
      The differences in distributions of alleles at other loci can also be used to
      classify animals using a likelihood method.

PMID- 9987916
TI  - A review of canine inherited bleeding disorders: biochemical and molecular
      strategies for disease characterization and carrier detection.
AB  - Many different inherited bleeding disorders have been identified in dogs, defined
      on the basis of quantitative, functional, or structural defects in specific
      hemostatic proteins or pathways. Most of these disorders are caused by single
      gene defects and biochemical assays provide an accurate measure of disease
      phenotype. Phenotypic disease classifications, however, are often genetically
      heterogeneous. Protein-based carrier detection assays are fast, inexpensive, and
      do not require specific identification of causative mutations. The limitations of
      these tests arise from variable "overlap" regions between carrier and clear dogs,
      influencing positive and negative predictive values of carrier detection tests
      within breed populations. Molecular diagnostic techniques enhance the accuracy of
      carrier detection, providing their clinical application takes into account the
      molecular heterogeneity underlying naturally occurring hemostatic defects in
      dogs.

PMID- 9987917
TI  - Biochemical basis of the beta-glucuronidase gene defect causing canine
      mucopolysaccharidosis VII.
AB  - Mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII), or Sly syndrome, is an autosomal
      recessive lysosomal storage disorder resulting from the deficiency in the
      activity of the enzyme beta-glucuronidase (GUSB). To characterize the biochemical
      and molecular defect in GUSB-deficient MPS VII dogs, we have measured lysosomal
      enzyme activities, analyzed distribution of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and
      estimated the size and abundance of the GUSB gene product at the mRNA and protein
      level in normal, homozygous affected, and heterozygous carrier retinal pigment
      epithelium (RPE) samples. Compared to normal, only 2-5% and 40-60% of GUSB
      activity was detected in the affected and the carrier samples, respectively. The
      decrease in GUSB activity resulted in storage of GAGs predominantly heparan
      sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. A slight increase in storage of GAGs was also
      observed in the carrier sample. Northern blot analysis of affected and carrier
      RPE samples detected a 2.4 kb GUSB transcript similar in size and abundance to
      that of normal controls. In western blot analysis using anti-human GUSB antibody,
      three bands of size 78, 56, and 38 kDa were detected in normal samples, which
      were present at lower intensity in the carrier RPE samples and absent in the MPS
      VII-affected RPE samples. These results suggest that the mutant GUSB gene causes
      a posttranscriptional defect and produces an unstable protein.

PMID- 9987918
TI  - Cytogenetic, ras, and p53: studies in cases of canine neoplasms
      (hemangiopericytoma, mastocytoma, histiocytoma, chloroma).
AB  - Four case reports of mesenchymal neoplasms showing chromosomal abnormalities are
      presented. In a case of hemangiopericytoma trisomy 2 and centric fusion 19;21
      were present. In a mastocytoma a deleted chromosome 35 was seen. A homogeneously
      staining region (HSR) on chromosome 1 was detected in a histiocytoma. Trisomy 5
      and monosomy 31 were observed in a case of granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma). The
      lack of mutations in exons 1 and 2 of oncogenes N-ras, K-ras, and H-ras and exons
      5, 6, 7, and 8 of tumor suppressor gene p53 in these four patients and in a
      larger series of investigated dogs (25 hemangiopericytomas, 12 mastocytomas, and
      8 histiocytomas) is highlighted.

PMID- 9987919
TI  - Genetic studies in narcolepsy, a disorder affecting REM sleep.
AB  - Narcolepsy is a disabling sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime
      sleepiness and abnormal manifestations of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
      including cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. It is known
      to be a complex disorder, with both genetic predisposition and environmental
      factors playing a role. In humans, susceptibility to narcolepsy is tightly
      associated with a specific HLA allele, DQB1*0602. In humans and canines, most
      cases are sporadic. In Doberman pinschers and Labrador retrievers, however, the
      disease is transmitted as an autosomal recessive gene canarc-1 with full
      penetrance. This gene is not linked with the dog leukocyte antigen complex, but
      is tightly linked with a marker with high homology to the human mu-switch
      immunoglobulin gene. We have isolated several genomic clones encompassing the
      canarc-1 marker and the variable heavy chain immunoglobulin region in canines.
      These have been partially sequenced and have been mapped onto specific dog
      chromosomes by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Our results indicate
      that the mu-switch-like marker is not part of the canine immunoglobulin
      machinery. We are continuing to extend the genomic contig using a newly developed
      canine BAC library and attempting to identify the corresponding human region of
      conserved synteny.

PMID- 9987920
TI  - Strategies for identification of mutations causing hereditary retinal diseases in
      dogs: evaluation of opsin as a candidate gene.
AB  - Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), like retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in man,
      represents a clinical classification grouping together a variety of hereditary
      diseases of the visual cells which have broadly similar clinical characteristics.
      At least six distinct autosomal recessive and one X-linked retinal disease locus
      have been identified. As one of the strategies to look for the gene defect
      causing the different forms of PRA, we are examining first the most promising
      candidate genes. These include those coding for photoreceptor-specific structural
      proteins and enzymes of the phototransduction pathway, especially those reported
      to cause RP. Preeminent among these candidates is the gene for rod opsin, in
      which multiple causative mutations have been identified in both dominant and
      recessive forms of RP. In addition, mutations in this gene are also causally
      associated with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) in man. We have used
      two strategies to examine the rod opsin gene for association with inherited
      retinal disease in dogs: (1) linkage to determine cosegregation of the disease
      locus with an intragenic polymorphic marker in the opsin gene in those breeds
      where suitable informative pedigrees were available; and (2) scanning the coding
      sequence of the gene in cases where only a limited number of affected or obligate
      heterozygous samples were available for a breed. We conclude that mutations in
      the rod opsin gene are not associated with PRA or CSNB in the 11 different dog
      breeds tested.

PMID- 9987921
TI  - Globoid cell leukodystrophy in cairn and West Highland white terriers.
AB  - Krabbe disease or globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) is an autosomal recessive
      disorder resulting from the defective lysosomal hydrolysis of specific
      galactolipids found primarily in myelin. This leads to severe neurological
      symptoms including seizures, hypotonia, blindness, and death, usually before 2
      years of age in human patients. In addition to human patients, several animals,
      including dog, mouse, and monkey, have the same disease caused by a deficiency of
      galactocerebrosidase (GALC) activity. In this article we describe studies in
      cairn and West Highland white terriers (WHWT) affected with GLD. Through a
      screening test based on the molecular defect found in these breeds, over 50 cairn
      terrier carriers have been identified and a colony of five carrier dogs has been
      established. Affected dogs from this colony plus an affected WHWT were available
      for study. An affected WHWT was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging at 6 and
      11 months of age and pronounced changes in the T-2 weighted fast spin-echo images
      were found. Biochemical and pathological evaluation of the same dog after
      euthanasia at 12 months of age showed a large accumulation of psychosine in the
      brain and white matter filled with globoid cells. Some comparisons were made to
      younger affected and carrier dogs. Studies have shown successful transduction of
      cultured skin fibroblasts from an affected dog and normal canine bone marrow
      using a retroviral vector containing the human GALC cDNA. Successful treatment of
      this canine model will lead to studies in some humans with GLD.

PMID- 9987922
TI  - Frequency of the codon 807 mutation in the cGMP phosphodiesterase beta-subunit
      gene in Irish setters and other dog breeds with hereditary retinal degeneration.
AB  - Rod-cone dysplasia 1 (rcd1) in Irish setters is caused by a nonsense mutation in
      the cGMP phosphodiesterase beta-subunit gene (PDE6B). We examined the frequency
      of the mutant allele in the Irish setter population and determined if the defect
      is present in dogs of other breeds which are affected with other inherited
      photoreceptor diseases. Between 1994 and 1997, samples were obtained from 436
      clinically normal Irish setters, a red wolf, and dogs from 23 different breeds.
      The mutation in codon 807 of PDE6B was detected in genomic DNA by heteroduplex
      analysis, allele-specific PCR, or restriction enzyme digestion. Of the 436
      samples from clinically normal setters, 34 contained the mutation in one of the
      two PDE6B alleles (carrier rate = 7.8%). In contrast, the same mutation was not
      found in the red wolf or dogs of other breeds affected with PRA or inherited
      photoreceptor diseases. The high percentage of tested carriers, however, is not
      representative of the number of carriers in the population since some dogs tested
      were closely related and did not represent a random sample of the Irish setter
      breed.

PMID- 9987923
TI  - Markers within the regulatory region of the growth hormone receptor gene and
      their association with milk-related traits in Holsteins.
AB  - We studied sequence variations in the regulatory region of the bovine growth
      hormone receptor gene. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for
      detecting AluI, AccI, and StuI restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs)
      in the 5' flanking region of the bovine growth hormone receptor gene was
      developed and tested for association with milk-related traits in Holstein bulls.
      Allele frequencies of the polymorphisms in two groups of Holstein progeny-tested
      bulls born from 1950 to 1970 and in the 1980s, respectively, were estimated. The
      allele frequency of the AluI(-) allele was 0.63 and 0.42 in the bulls from 1950
      to 1970 and in the 1980s, respectively. The frequency of the StuI(-) allele was
      0.14 and 0.07 in the two respective bull groups. Allele frequency for AccI(-)
      allele was about 0.22 in both bull groups. The differences in allele frequencies
      for the AluI polymorphism in the two bull groups were significantly different (P
      < or = .005). The AluI(+/+) bulls had a higher estimated breeding value (EBV) for
      fat (P < or = .016) than AluI(-/-) bulls. The average effect of allele
      substitution for the AluI polymorphism was +/- 8 for fat EBV. The AluI
      polymorphism could be further evaluated for use in marker-assisted selection in
      dairy cattle.

PMID- 9987924
TI  - Identification, inheritance, and linkage of B-G-like and MHC class I genes in
      cranes.
AB  - We identified B-G-like genes in the whooping and Florida sandhill cranes and
      linked them to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). We evaluated the
      inheritance of B-G-like genes in families of whooping and Florida sandhill cranes
      using restriction fragment patterns (RFPs). Two B-G-like genes, designated wcbg1
      and wcbg2, were located within 8 kb of one another. The fully sequenced wcbg2
      gene encodes a B-G IgV-like domain, an additional Ig-like domain, a transmembrane
      domain, and a single heptad domain typical of alpha-helical coiled coils.
      Patterns of restriction fragments in DNA from the whooping crane and from a
      number of other species indicate that the B-G-like gene families of cranes are
      large with diverse sequences. Segregation of RFPs in families of Florida sandhill
      cranes provide evidence for genetic polymorphism in the B-G-like genes. The
      restriction fragments generally segregated in concert with MHC haplotypes
      assigned by serological typing and by single stranded conformational polymorphism
      (SSCP) assays based in the second exon of the crane MHC class I genes. This study
      supports the concept of a long-term association of polymorphic B-G-like genes
      with the MHC. It also establishes SSCP as a means for evaluating MHC genetic
      variability in cranes.

PMID- 9987925
TI  - Comparative linkage maps for the mosquitoes (Culex pipiens and Aedes aegypti)
      based on common RFLP loci.
AB  - We report construction of a comparative linkage map for the mosquito (Culex
      pipiens) based on restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) using cDNA
      clones from Aedes aegypti as probes to Southern blots of Cx. pipiens genomic DNA.
      Seventy-one cDNA clones were screened for hybridization and genetic diversity
      among three Cx. pipiens strains. Fifty-two of 71 cDNA clones, isolated from and
      previously mapped in Ae. aegypti (73.2%), were hybridized under high-stringency
      conditions with Cx. pipiens genomic DNA. Thirty-four clones (47.9%) reflected
      strain-specific polymorphisms. The map consists of 21 cDNA markers that identify
      22 loci covering 165.8 cM. The loci mapped in Cx. pipiens cover 7.1 cM on
      chromosome 1, 80.4 cM on chromosome 2, and 78.3 cM on chromosome 3. Linkage
      relationships of the RFLP markers for chromosome 1 in Cx. pipiens are the same as
      chromosome 1 in Ae. aegypti, indicating that chromosome 1 is highly conserved
      between the two species. The comparative RFLP linkage maps for chromosomes 2 and
      3 in Cx. pipiens and Ae. aegypti reflect apparent whole-arm translocations. RFLP
      markers for chromosome 2 in Ae. aegypti identified homologous loci on one arm of
      chromosomes 2 and 3 in Cx. pipiens, and RFLP markers for chromosome 3 in Ae.
      aegypti identified homologous loci on the opposite arms of chromosomes 2 and 3 in
      Cx. pipiens.

PMID- 9987926
TI  - Cytochrome b gene haplotypes characterize chromosomal lineages of anoa, the
      Sulawesi dwarf buffalo (Bovidae: Bubalus sp.).
AB  - Partial mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences reveal two deeply
      differentiated mtDNA lineages in anoa dwarf buffaloes (Bubalus depressicornis)
      from the studbook herd in European zoos. Three matrilinear lineages of lowland
      anoas (depressicornis type) contributed three rather similar sequence haplotypes,
      but one remarkably distinct haplotype was observed exclusively in mountain anoas
      (quarlesi type) descended from one founder female. The carriers of the
      distinctive mtDNA haplotype were also distinguished by several chromosomal and
      phenotypic peculiarities too. The differentiation between the mtDNA lineages of
      anoa approached or even surpassed the genetic divergence between some uncontested
      species of wild cattle. The depth of this haplotype divergence in anoas is
      discussed against the background of the phylogenetic age of these paleoendemic
      inhabitants of a predator-free island refugium, Sulawesi, who are among the most
      plesiomorphic living bovines. The studbook breeding of captive anoas as a
      safeguard against extinction might profit from such population genetic markers.
      These cytochrome b gene sequences were unable to resolve the phylogeny of nine
      bovine taxa robustly, except the divergence of Bubalus, Synceros, Bison, and Bos
      (sensu lato) genera.

PMID- 9987927
TI  - Feline adult beta-globin polymorphism reflected in restriction fragment length
      patterns.
AB  - Adult domestic cats (Felis catus) appear to have the most polymorphic beta-globin
      system of any species. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP
      HPLC) revealed one alpha-chain and six different beta-globin chains. Each cat may
      have one to four different beta-globins, and a total of 17 different beta-globin
      patterns were identified. Based on family studies, a beta-globin gene region with
      two linked beta-globin gene loci and two to five alleles was proposed. In order
      to further define the molecular basis of this polymorphism we performed Southern
      blot analysis of the beta-globin gene region from 25 cats with 13 different HPLC
      patterns. Genomic DNA was digested with five restriction endonucleases (BamHI,
      BglII, EcoRI, HindIII, and PstI) and blots were hybridized with a human beta
      globin probe. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) with one to five
      fragments of 2.2-23 kb in size were found with BglII, EcoRI, HindIII, and PstI.
      Cats with specific HPLC beta-globin patterns had a unique DNA restriction
      pattern. The similarly sized BamHI and HindIII fragments of 4.6 kb suggest the
      presence of two closely linked genes. Furthermore, family studies suggest an
      autosomal codominant mode of inheritance of the beta-globin chains with seven
      haplotypes. Thus the RFLP data analyzed in the context of the HPLC haplotypes
      provide evidence at the DNA level for a feline beta-globin gene region with two
      closely linked gene loci and two to five alleles.

PMID- 9987928
TI  - Parentage and kinship studies in an obligate brood parasitic bird, the brown
      headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), using microsatellite DNA markers.
AB  - Recent studies suggest that single-locus microsatellite DNA markers have the
      potential to unambiguously resolve parentage among individuals in natural
      populations where maternity is known. However, their power for determining
      parentage when neither parent is known is unclear. Here we investigate the
      usefulness of microsatellite DNA markers to determine parentage in a brood
      parasitic bird, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), where, for a given
      offspring, no a priori knowledge of either parent is available. Seven polymorphic
      microsatellite DNA markers isolated from brown-headed cowbirds and yellow
      warblers (Dendroica petechia) were used to genetically characterize an
      individually marked breeding population of male and female cowbirds at Delta
      Marsh, Manitoba. Forty-four males, 21 females, and 61 cowbird chicks were
      genotyped at seven loci using DNA amplified from blood and tissue samples. The
      mean exclusion probabilities pooled across all seven loci were 0.9964 for males
      and 0.9948 for females. Two null (non-amplifying) alleles at one locus were
      discovered and accounted for by constructing alternate nonoverlapping primer
      sets. Exclusion analyses performed using all individuals determined both
      paternity and maternity for 43 chicks and paternity only for 4 chicks. Another
      microsatellite locus was then used to determine paternity for three additional
      chicks. Relatedness analyses placed 12 of the 18 remaining chicks not assigned
      both maternity and paternity into four unique full sibling groups. Overall,
      90.16% (55 of 61) of all offspring examined were placed into distinct
      parent/sibling groups, demonstrating that this marker set is extremely useful for
      parentage studies in this species.

PMID- 9987929
TI  - Assisted suicide of a selfish gene.
AB  - Medea (M) factors and the hybrid incompatibility factor (H) are involved in two
      incompatibility systems in flour beetles that were previously thought to be
      independent. M factors are a novel class of selfish genes that act by maternal
      lethality to nonself. The H factor causes the death of hybrids with a paternally
      derived H gene and previously uncharacterized maternal cofactors. We now find
      that M factors exhibit their selfish behavior only in the absence of the H
      factor. Furthermore, we show that the previously uncharacterized maternal
      cofactors required for H-associated hybrid inviability are identical to M
      factors. We propose that incompatibility between H strains and M strains is due
      to suppression by the H factor of the self-rescuing activity of the lethal M
      genes. This interaction has the effect of converting M elements from selfish into
      self-destructive or "suicidal" genes. M factors are globally widespread, but are
      conspicuously absent from India, the only country where the H factor is known to
      occur. Such a mechanism could prevent the spread of selfish M elements by
      establishing an absolute barrier to hybridization in the boundary between M and
      non-M zones.

PMID- 9987930
TI  - The yellow variegated mutant of Arabidopsis is plastid autonomous and delayed in
      chloroplast biogenesis.
AB  - The yellow variegated mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana is characterized by bright
      yellow true leaves that turn green- and white-sectored as leaf development
      proceeds. Variegation is due to the action of a nuclear recessive gene. Whereas
      cells in the green sectors contain morphologically normal chloroplasts, cells in
      the yellow and white sectors are heteroplastidic and contain plastids with
      rudimentary lamellar structures, as well as some normal-appearing chloroplasts.
      This indicates that plastids in yellow variegated are affected differently by the
      nuclear mutation (the mutant is "plastid autonomous"). Genetic analyses have
      revealed that yellow variegated is an allele of the var2 locus, and that
      defective plastids are not maternally inherited. The traits of plastid autonomy
      and lack of maternal inheritance of the plastid defect set var2 apart from other
      nuclear gene-induced variegations and define a novel class of variegation mutant.
      The primary lesion in var2 probably does not involve a blockage in the pathways
      of pigment biosynthesis. Under high temperatures or low light conditions, plant
      growth is retarded and mutant plants are nearly all-green. Considered together,
      our data suggest that var2 is delayed in chloroplast biogenesis. We suggest that
      the stochastic pattern of variegation in the mutant may be due to an interplay of
      factors that regulate var2 gene expression and factors that mediate rates of cell
      and plastid division. Plastids with a critical threshold of the partially
      functional var2 protein are green, while plastids containing less than the
      threshold of var2 activity are white.

PMID- 9987931
TI  - Microsatellite diversity in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
AB  - The utility of microsatellites for managing captive Tursiops truncatus was
      investigated. Specifically the level of genetic diversity among the loci examined
      and their usefulness for resolving paternity was assessed. Overall a relatively
      low level of genetic variation was found among captive dolphins. In addition, a
      high percentage of common alleles was found among dolphins belonging to different
      morphotypes (inshore versus offshore). The implications of these findings are
      discussed and suggestions are given for the use of genetic markers in captive
      propagation programs for T. truncatus.

PMID- 9987932
TI  - The "spotted" locus maps to bovine chromosome 6 in a Hereford-Cross population.
AB  - The spotted locus is responsible for several phenotypically distinguishable
      piebald patterns in cattle, including Hereford, or white face (SH), lineback
      (SP), and recessive spotting (s), in addition to nonspotted (S+). In a backcross
      mapping population, the S locus has been mapped by genetic linkage to bovine
      chromosome 6, between microsatellite markers BM4528 and EL03. This region
      corresponds comparatively to a region on mouse chromosome 5 which houses several
      coat color mutations, among which homology is possible with Hardy-Zuckerman 4
      feline sarcoma viral oncogene homologue (Kit), patch (Ph), and rump white (Rw).
      Mutations at these loci resemble mutations at the bovine S locus in both
      phenotype and mode of inheritance. Data are presented which show genetic linkage
      between the bovine S locus and microsatellite markers on chromosome 6. Candidate
      genes for the bovine S locus are discussed.

PMID- 9987933
TI  - Hybridization between sika deer (Cervus nippon) and axis deer (Axis axis).
AB  - We report an incidence of hybridization from natural mating between sika deer
      (Cervus nippon) and axis deer (Axis axis). A female exhibiting physical
      characteristics intermediate between the two species was born on a Tennessee deer
      farm sometime in 1995. Gel electrophoresis of three blood proteins (TF, HBB, and
      SOD) from the putative hybrid, the putative sika deer sire and three axis deer
      hinds from the herd (not necessarily including the dam) initially verified that
      hybridization had occurred. Q-banded karyotypes further identified the offspring
      as a hybrid (2n = 67) between sika deer (2n = 68) and axis deer (2n = 66).
      Fertility of the hybrid remains to be assessed, although it is now of
      reproductive age.

PMID- 9987934
TI  - Development and characterization of genetic mapping resources for the turkey
      (Meleagris gallopavo).
AB  - The development and partial characterization of turkey genomic libraries enriched
      for TG, GAT, and CCT simple sequence repeats (SSR) are described. The primary
      library, established using conventional methods, was enriched for each of the
      three SSR by single-primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The three enriched
      libraries were screened by standard hybridization and washing protocols under
      moderate to high stringency conditions. The utility of a fraction of the markers
      was evaluated based on the polymorphism of PCR-amplified products in a backcross
      reference DNA panel. The panel consisted of genomic DNA samples from three
      backcrossed families developed from a cross of a wild male turkey to three inbred
      Orlopp line C females. A total of 181 sequences from positive clones have been
      characterized and deposited in GenBank. About 60% of the 60 primer pairs designed
      from SSR-containing sequences detected polymorphism in the reference DNA panel.
      The turkey genomic DNA reference panel, the enriched libraries, and the markers
      described here provide an opportunity to begin to characterize the turkey genome
      and to develop a useful public genetic map for this economically important
      species.

PMID- 9987935
TI  - The mitochondrial genome of allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium L.).
AB  - Knowledge of patterns of organellar inheritance are crucial for analyses of
      organellar genetics and population or phylogenetic analyses based on organellar
      genes. While it has previously been shown that chloroplast DNA is maternally
      inherited in cotton (Gossypium L.), no, studies have assessed the mitochondrial
      genome complement of the allotetraploid species of cotton or addressed
      inheritance of mitochondrial DNA. In this article we report Southern
      hybridization analyses that indicate that the AD-genome allotetraploid species
      have an A-genome-like mitochondrial genome and provide evidence that
      mitochondrial genomes are also maternally inherited in cotton.

PMID- 9987936
TI  - [Use of heparin-coated "Jo Stent M" in patients with ischemic heart disease:
      first results].
AB  - The aim of the present study was to make a clinical and angiographic assessment
      of early outcomes of the use of heparin-coated new "Jo Stents M". The Study
      comprised 41 patients who were implanted a heparin-coated new "Jo Stent M". There
      was an immediate success in 45 (97.6%) of 46 cases, the optimal angiographic and
      suboptimal (the maximum residual stenosis (13%)) results being achieved in 43
      (93.4%) and 2 (4.4%) cases, respectively. The first success of the procedure was
      97.8%. Due to acute stent thrombosis, acute occlusion with evolving myocardial
      infarction occurred in 1 (2.4%) patient. Following the procedure, the mean
      proportion of the stenotic diameter was (-5.8 +/- 6)%. After the procedure, the
      minimum stenotic diameter with the mean due diameter of 2.9 +/- 0.5 mm was 3.0 +/
      0.2 mm. The procedure-induced diameter increase was 2.1 +/- 0.5 mm. The total
      number of lateral branches involved in the stenting area was 11 (100%), 2 (18.2)
      of them closed after stent implantation. Two branches came into the stenting area
      in 1 (2.4%) case. At discharge, angina pectoris was absent in 30 (74%) patients.
      The heparin-coated "Jo Stent M" are effective and safe in treating patients with
      various clinical and angiographic manifestations of coronary atherosclerotic
      lesions.

PMID- 9987937
TI  - [Outcomes of balloon coronary angioplasty of bifurcation stenoses in patients
      with ischemic heart disease].
AB  - The study included 322 patients with bifurcation lesion of the coronary bed who
      had angioplasty by the conventional procedure by employing one balloon. The
      authors analyze whether there is a correlation of balloon coronary angiographic
      findings with the following X-ray morphological characteristics: the origin of a
      lateral branch from the stenotic segment of the coronary artery, that of the
      branch at a distance of no more than 10 mm proximal or distal to stenosis, the
      angle of branch origin. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the origin
      of the branch from the stenotic segment is a factor that limits an angiographic
      success of dilatation of the great coronary vessel. The origin of the branch 10
      mm proximal or distal to stenosis does not affect the angiographic success of the
      procedure. The risk factors of lateral branch lesion include the origin of the
      branch from a stenotic segment, an angle of branch origin of over 45 degrees.

PMID- 9987938
TI  - [Present day radiation diagnosis of upper stomach neoplasms].
AB  - The paper analyzes over 3000 diagnosed gastric carcinomas. In the author's
      opinion, a drastic rise in the incidence of carcinomas of the upper stomach (as
      high as 60-65%) and the change in its anatomy common to gastric cancer-
      predominance of diffuse (endophytic) forms require a substantial correction of
      the present approaches to its detection. The paper gives the main points of
      radiation diagnosis (classic X-ray study, double contrasting, CT) for endophytic
      carcinomas at this site. In the author's opinion, nearly, as a rule,
      endoscopically diagnosed carcinomas of the lower esophagus and frequently
      involvement of the midesophagus are intramural carcinomas of the upper stomach
      with infiltration swiftly affecting the esophagus. The author considers radiation
      therapy to become a main method for detection of upper gastric carcinoma. He
      thinks that the active use of radiation techniques will also substantially expand
      diagnostic possibilities in these gastric carcinomas and will choose the most
      optimum plan of their surgical treatment.

PMID- 9987939
TI  - [Interventional radiology for chronic hemorrhoids complicated by hemorrhage].
AB  - Based on the concept of the occurrence and development of hemorrhoids from the
      abnormally changed groups of cavernous bodies of the submucous membrane of the
      rectal transitional area, the authors used selective dearterialization of
      hyperplastic cavernous tissue that is simultaneously internal hemorrhoids. The
      essence of the new treatment is superselective X-ray endovascular catheterization
      of the superior hemorrhoidal artery and embolization of its distal branches which
      supply blood to rectal cavernous body. The outcomes of 337 Milligan-Morgan
      hemorrhoidectomies and 49 X-ray endovascular embolizations of the superior
      hemorrhoidal artery were analyzed in patients with chronic hemorrhoids
      complicated by hemorrhages. Emphasis is laid on the advantages of X-ray
      endovascular occlusion of the superior hemorrhoidal artery over conventional
      treatment.

PMID- 9987940
TI  - [Magnetic resonance Imaging in the diagnosis of hemophilic lesions of joints].
AB  - A complex clinical, X-ray, and magnetic resonance tomographic study of 327 joints
      was made in 114 patients with different forms of hemophilic arthropathy. The
      diagnostic potentialities of MRI were defined and the MRI symptoms of hemophilic
      arthropathy, including degeneration of the articular cartilage, meniscus,
      ligaments, proliferation of the synovial membrane, fibrosis, blood accumulation,
      and hemosiderosis were revealed. Comparative analysis of the X-ray and MRI
      imaging findings of the joints at different stages of hemophilic arthropathy has
      shown that MRI has advantages in diagnosing acute and chronic hemarthrosis,
      moderate hemophilic osteoarthrosis as it can reveal abnormal processes in the X
      ray negative structures of joints.

PMID- 9987941
TI  - [Current methods of radiation therapy in patients with prostatic cancer: subtotal
      body radiation, local hyperthermia].
AB  - The paper deals with the preliminary data of treatment of patients with prostatic
      cancer by using unconventional methods of radiation therapy (RT), such as
      subtotal radiation of the body (STRB) and thermoradiation treatment (TRT). Out of
      72 patients receiving RT, 16 and 8 had STRB and TRT, respectively. Systemic and
      local drug therapies were made to prevent radiation reactions and injuries. In
      all cases, STRB and TRT showed a significant objective and subjective effect. To
      evaluate the long-term results of treatment needs further studies.

PMID- 9987942
TI  - [Clinical observation of mediastinal giant teratoma].

PMID- 9987943
TI  - [Image deformation resulting from panoramic zonography of different facial
      cranial regions].

PMID- 9987944
TI  - [Duodenal imaging during transabdominal ultrasound study].

PMID- 9987945
TI  - [Current aspect of chronic gastritis complex diagnosis].

PMID- 9987946
TI  - [Ultrasound techniques of diagnosis in treatment in modern medicine].

PMID- 9987947
TI  - [New non-ionic monomeric and dimeric contrasting agents in radiology].

PMID- 9987948
TI  - [Engineering base for radiation diagnosis].

PMID- 9987949
TI  - [The Institute of Rheumatology is 40 years old: results and prospects].

PMID- 9987950
TI  - [Institute of Rheumatology and progress of antirheumatic therapy].
AB  - The paper deals with the achievements of the Institute of Rheumatology in
      antirheumatic therapy, among them there are methods of objective assessment of
      antirheumatic drugs, the first use of antimalarials in the treatment of chronic
      rheumatic fever, discovery of immunodepressive properties of these drugs,
      specification of the mechanism of action of several NSAIDs. Antilymphocytic
      globulin, salazopyridazine and the alkylating drug dopan were used for the first
      time in therapy of rheumatic diseases. Administration of the most potent NSAIDs
      diclofenac or indomethacin to patients with acute rheumatic fever proved to be as
      effective as prednizolone. Special attention is paid to the combination treatment
      of rheumatoid arthritis with NSAIDs. The concurrent administration of aurannofin
      and methotrexate was shown to cause a more rapid development of clinical
      improvement than monotherapy with either drug. A combination of gold
      aurothiomalate and hydroxychloroquine and that of low doses of D-penicillamine
      and cyclophosphamide had no advantages over monotherapy. Revealing the
      therapeutical potential of antibodies to interferon-gamma in the treatment of
      rheumatic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis was the most important achievement of
      recent years. These studies open new vistas for anticytokine treatment of
      rheumatic diseases.

PMID- 9987951
TI  - [Role of the Institute of Rheumatology in formation and development of State
      controlling system of rheumatic diseases].
AB  - The paper gives a brief account of the stages of formation and development of
      rheumatological care in the country, which are closely related to the researches
      and practical activities of the Institute of Rheumatology.

PMID- 9987952
TI  - [Clinical immunology in rheumatology].
AB  - When the Institute of Rheumatology, USSR Ministry of Health, was founded, its
      first director Academician A. I. Nesterov set up an immunological laboratory to
      attack the problems of immunodiagnosis and pathogenesis of rheumatism. Since 1958
      studies of systemic diseases of connective tissue and autoimmunity under the
      supervision of Prof. V. A. Nasonova have been under way. Radioisotopic, enzyme
      immunofluorescence diagnostic assays for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) have been
      developed. Jointly with Czechoslovakia and the USA, the Institute of Rheumatology
      standardized the definitions of ANA. The laboratory have proposed the guidelines
      of the USSR Ministry of Health for immunodiagnosis of rheumatic diseases (RD).
      For immunodiagnosis, immunofluorescence, enzyme immunoassays, gel precipitation,
      back electrophoresis, radial immunodiffusion are widely used to measure the
      concentrations of anticardiolipin antibodies, mitochondrial antibodies,
      neutrophilic antibodies. The clinical and immunological subtypes of diffuse
      connective tissue diseases have been identified and characterized. Mixed
      connective tissue disease, poststreptococcal arthritis are described. The
      laboratory equipment for polymerase chain reaction permits DNA diagnosis.

PMID- 9987953
TI  - [Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in historical aspect].
AB  - The paper summarizes the results of the long-term study of the epidemiology of
      rheumatic diseases, which has been carried out by the Institute of Rheumatology.
      The main directions of the study are the development and improvement of
      diagnostic criteria, the prevalence and incidence of rheumatic diseases among
      urban and rural populations, at industrial enterprises, in different ethnic
      groups, genetic and environmental risk factors, disability, the development and
      introduction of preventive and rehabilitative programmes of drug therapy, etc. A
      number of combined national programmes was carried out. The paper presents
      specific results of their implementation.

PMID- 9987954
TI  - [Scientific bases of medical examinations of patients with rheumatic diseases].
AB  - The 40-year experience of the Institute of Rheumatology has shown that follow-up
      in rheumatic diseases is the necessary method of management of patients with
      rheumatic diseases since it is the method that makes it possible to control the
      progression of disease and provide long-term safe treatment with glucocorticoids,
      cytotoxics, and other antirheumatic drugs which are now widely used in
      rheumatological care. Medical examination mainly made in rheumatism caused a
      substantial reduction in the number of relapses. Since the 1960s, intensive and
      scientifically grounded studies in medical examinations for other rheumatic
      diseases have promoted more prolonged longevity and better working fitness in the
      vast majority of patients. Thus, a long-term follow-up of over 600 patients with
      exanthematous lupus erythematosus made it possible to detail its clinical picture
      and to develop the therapeutical programmes that control the progression of the
      disease in 93% of the patients who had been incurable before. In rheumatoid
      arthritis, the follow-up of large groups of patients by using the computer
      database has enabled the researchers to develop a mathematically accurate method
      for prediction of the progression of disease by employing the integral parameter-
      the index of severity, as well as to reveal a number of important regularities of
      treatment. A follow-up of patients with reactive arthritis, Bekhterev's disease,
      systemic scleroderma, and other rheumatic diseases is shown to be of great
      importance.

PMID- 9987955
TI  - [Development of studies on problem of infectious arthritis at the Institute of
      RHeumatology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in 1970 to 1990].
AB  - The paper presents information on the studies on the elucidation of the
      etiopathogenetic role of Chlamydia and Yersinia infections in reactive arthritis,
      which have been made at the Institute in the past decades. Among them it mentions
      the first experiments and subsequent findings of detection of both Chlamydia and
      DNA in joint tissues in urogenic arthritis, those of identification of altered
      minor forms of this microbe in chronic types, which mimic in vitro persistent
      Chlamydia infection. The clinical experience gained by the Institute in treating
      Chlamydia-induced urogenic arthritis with high-dose antibiotics is reported. In
      addition to detailed studies of the clinical manifestations and outcomes of
      Yersinia-induced arthritis, long-term follow-ups have examined an association of
      clinical and serological manifestations with HLA B27 carriage; it is suggested
      that there is a partial similarity between this antigen and Yersinia antigens.
      Pronounced changes have been found in the mucosa of the intestine and its
      microflora in enterogenous reactive arthritis and a treatment with bifidum
      containing drugs proposed. A variety of clinical and serological manifestations
      of Lyme borreliasis detected in the endemic areas of Russia is described. The
      specific features of rheumatological manifestations of this disease are
      comparable with those observed in the USA and Europe.

PMID- 9987956
TI  - [Forty years study of systemic scleroderma (data of Institute of Rheumatology,
      Russian Academy of Medical Sciences)].
AB  - The basic stages and the results of 40-year studies of systemic scleroderma (SSD)
      at the Institute of Rheumatology, Russia Academy of Medical Sciences, are given.
      The goal-oriented studies of the systemic, peripheral, and visceral
      manifestations of the disease, which were undertaken in the 1960s basically
      altered our insight into the disease. Subsequently the diagnostic signs of the
      disease were developed, which substantially improved the diagnosis of SSD. Long
      term studies examined the evolution of SSD and identified three major types of
      its course: acute, subacute, and chronic, which differ in the rapidity of
      progression of a pathological process, the pattern of clinical and morphological
      manifestations and prognosis, as evidenced by survival rates. The identified
      types of the course (n = 3) and clinical forms (n = 5) formed the basis for the
      Russia classification of SSD. Studying the pathogenesis of the disease mainly in
      the context of the mechanisms of formation of fibrosis and impaired
      microcirculation, as well as its clinical heterogeneity served as the basis for
      developing pathogenetic therapy regimens by differentially using disease
      modifying agents and other therapeutical complexes. At present, the Institute of
      Rheumatology has accumulated unique experience in studying and following over
      1500 patients with SSD and related diseases. There is a rise in the sclerodermal
      group of diseases, cross-over and combined forms of SSD along with great progress
      in the diagnosis and treatment, which enhances the quality of life of patients
      with SSD and prognosis in them.

PMID- 9987957
TI  - [Synchronous intensive treatment for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
      having poor life prognosis].
AB  - Synchronous intensive treatment (SIT) involving two-stage programmed use of pulse
      therapy (PT), plasmapharesis (P) or hemosorption with methylprednisolone and
      cyclophosphamide was performed in 56 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
      (SLE). All the patients were found to have a combination of factors showing a
      poor life prognosis: the onset of SLE in adolescence or youth (52%), nephritis
      (70%), arterial hypertension (54%), cerebropathy (50%), generalized vasculitis
      (34%), cryoglobulinemia (66%). After a year therapy, remission and the minimum
      progression were observed in 19.6 and 53.6%, respectively. The highest effect of
      SIT was found in the patients with SLE of duration of under a year and with the
      highest progression. A long-term follow-up that lasted 78 +/- 24 months revealed
      persistent improvement, the minimum activity and remission in 71% of patients.
      The synchronous programmed use of P and PT produces a rapid and effective impact
      on clinical and laboratory manifestations and improves life prognosis in patients
      with SLE.

PMID- 9987958
TI  - [Intravenous immunoglobulin in combined therapy for children with juvenile
      rheumatoid arthritis (evaluation of therapeutical efficiency and factors that
      influence them)].
AB  - The study was based on the follow-up of 20 patients with systemic juvenile
      rheumatoid arthritis who received intravenous immunoglobulin. The study
      comparatively analyzed the efficiency of the therapy alone and in combination
      with steroids. The immunoglobulin was shown to have positive effects on both
      articular and extraarticular manifestations of the disease particularly in a
      group of children untreated with corticosteroids. The duration of the disease did
      not affect the therapeutical properties of immunoglobulin.

PMID- 9987959
TI  - [Genetic aspects of rheumatic diseases].
AB  - The paper presents the results of the long-term studies of the pattern of
      hereditary predisposition to rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing
      spondyloarthritis (AS), osteoarthrosis which have been conducted at the Institute
      of Rheumatology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. It gives data on the type
      of inheritance of these diseases, the affliction heritability ratio, the
      penetrance of three genotypes within the model of an autosomal one-allele locus
      (SAL-2) for rheumatism and RA. The contribution of additive and dominant
      components in the determination of rheumatism and RA, the results of tests of
      their genetic heterogeneity, associations with HLA antigens are assessed. The
      paper outlines the results of tests of the candidate genes COLIA2, TCRB, TCRD as
      major RA predisposition genes via analysis of adherence and DNA polymorphism.

PMID- 9987960
TI  - [Dyslipidemias and autoimmune diseases].
AB  - The paper summarizes the results of over 30-year studies dealt with dyslipidemias
      and autoimmune diseases. The teaching of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has
      aroused interest in the problem. The experience gained shows changes in the blood
      cholesterol transport system. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
      have higher levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol and lower
      concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, apolipoprotein A
      than the controls. The quantitative and qualitative changes in particles result
      in decreased acceptance of cholesterol from the membrane of a cell and tissues,
      which promotes the development of vascular diseases. Lipoprotein (a) may be an
      additional risk factor for thrombosis chiefly of coronary arteries, in patients
      with SLE and APS. Increased levels of oxidized low density proteins having
      atherogenic activity were found mainly in patients with SLE. The use of
      corticosteroids causes the changes in the spectrum of blood lipids, which
      together with other factors (thrombosis, vasculopathy, thrombocytopenia, etc.)
      create good conditions for the development of atherosclerosis, which determines
      the necessity of correcting the parameters of blood lipid transport not only to
      prevent vascular disorders but to improve the general life prognosis in SLE
      patients.

PMID- 9987961
TI  - [Early rheumatoid synovitis and its evolution].
AB  - The clinical and morphological evidence of rheumatoid synovitis of 3 months to 5
      years duration was analyzed. Its early lesions were characterized by
      angiomatosis, vasculopathy, and proliferation of synoviocytes and fibroblasts.
      Protein infiltrates contained IgG and C3 complement. Herpes simplex was detected
      in the vessels and synoviocytes. Structural changes may be explained by immune
      mechanisms and by infectious agents as well. Chronic inflammation, vasculitis,
      and sclerosis were prevalent in late rheumatoid synovitis. Lymphoid follicles,
      macrophages, and endothelial proliferation can be markers for infectious
      persistence.

PMID- 9987962
TI  - [Rheumoorthopedics as an integral part of complex therapy of rheumatic diseases
      with joint involvement].
AB  - The paper gives the results of conservative and surgical rehabilitation of
      patients over 38 years after the foundation of an orthopedic service at the
      Institute of Rheumatology. Conservative treatments for rheumatic diseases (RD)
      such as position treatment, formation of a correct stereotype, treatment of the
      cervical portion of the spine in rheumatic arthritis (RA) and osteoarthrosis
      derformans (OAD) are evaluated. The author's own experience involving over 5000
      operations on the locomotor apparatus in RD, which permits assessment of the most
      common and successful operations, such as sinovectomy, arthroplasty, arthrodesis,
      endoprosthesis. Rheumoorthopedics is a part of complex rehabilitative treatment
      for RD as it enables one to infer actively at different stages of RD and to
      achieve high results in patients, including those who unresponsive to medical
      treatment.

PMID- 9987963
TI  - [Genetic analysis of pathogenic streptococci groups A and B].
AB  - The study deals with the genetic mapping of chromosomal DNA of groups A (AS) and
      B (BS) pathogenetic Streptococci. Its stages are presented and considered. The
      maps of these microorganisms are compared. A collection of epidemic AS and BS was
      analyzed by employing pulsed field gel electrophoresis. AS and BS were found to
      show heterogeneity of DNA sequences and the common pattern of gene location on
      the chromosomes.

PMID- 9987964
TI  - [Hormones and auto-paracrine tumor growth regulators in osteogenic sarcoma].
AB  - The paper analyzes the data of long-term studies made in the N. N. Blokhin Cancer
      Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. The study dealt with
      androgen exchange, the baseline levels of serum sexual steroid hormones and their
      receptors in the tumor, the blood concentrations of the sexual steroids
      conjugated globulin and pituitary hormone, the metabolism of arachidonic acid,
      the expression of epidermal growth factor and its ligands, the amount of
      calmodulin, cAMP in the osteogenic sarcoma in 300 patients aged 14-56 years.
      Analyzing the findings suggests that there are some directions in studies,
      development, and practical introduction of new pathogenetic therapies of
      osteosarcoma, which are associated with the regulation of androgen exchange, the
      correction of the cyclooxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid, expression of
      receptors of epidermal growth factor and its ligands in the tumor.

PMID- 9987965
TI  - [Expression af early genes in memory mechanisms].

PMID- 9987966
TI  - [Conceptual problems in the development of health resort science in Russia].

PMID- 9987967
TI  - [The contribution of the scientists of the Military Medical Academy to the
      development of Russian physiotherapy and health resort science (on the 200th
      anniversary of the Military Medical Academy and the 70th anniversary of the
      Department (Course) of Physiotherapy and Health Resort Science of the Military
      Medical Academy)].

PMID- 9987968
TI  - [A comparative analysis of the action of red and infrared laser radiation and
      ultrasound on the regeneration of locally irradiated skeletal muscle and on
      immune system function in the rat].
AB  - The study was made of a regeneration ability of the rat skeletal muscle which had
      been mechanically injured and exposed to a 20 Gy irradiation, of the thymus and
      bone marrow condition after local exposure of the muscle to red and infrared
      laser radiation and ultrasound. These factors were found to stimulate
      regeneration of the injured soft tissues and to reduce cytogenetic damage to bone
      marrow cells in the irradiated zone under growing immunosuppression. The
      stimulation was most potent in prolonged exposure to the ultrasound.

PMID- 9987969
TI  - [The efficacy of psychotherapy with biofeedback in the rehabilitation of
      hypertension patients].
AB  - 85 females with borderline mental disorders in essential hypertension were
      followed up for a month and 6 months after the treatment (hypotensive drugs +
      psychotherapy with biofeedback or hypotensive drugs only--45 patients and 40
      controls, respectively). The addition of psychotherapy to hypotensive drugs
      contributed to a higher hypotensive effect, long-term improvement of psychic
      condition, more active attitude to the treatment process and psychic adaptation.
      Better quality of life was achieved.

PMID- 9987970
TI  - [The optimization of the arrangement of physiotherapeutic procedures based on the
      circadian dynamics of the cardiointervalographic indices].
AB  - It was found that patients with neurological manifestations of spinal
      osteochondrosis had marked disturbances of diurnal biorhythms of
      cardiointervalography (CIG): wider amplitude and structural alterations.
      Administration of physiobalneoprocedures in the period between acrophase and
      batiphase brings normalization of biorhythms. If the procedures were given in the
      peak phase, the normalization was not achieved. Moreover, the biorhythms got
      worse in 75% of the patients. To optimize the regimen of physiobalneoprocedures
      in patients with neurological manifestations of spinal osteochondrosis it is
      valid to study diurnal pattern of CIG and administration of physiotherapeutic
      procedures in the time of change of the diurnal rhythm phases.

PMID- 9987971
TI  - [The action of potable mineral waters on reparative regeneration processes in the
      stomach].
AB  - The analysis of the data obtained on effects of different drinking mineral waters
      on healing of experimental gastric ulcer has established different effects of the
      waters on the repair depending on chemical composition of the waters.

PMID- 9987972
TI  - [The effect of reflex muscle massage on the body regulatory processes of peptic
      ulcer patients with concomitant diseases].
AB  - Compared to conventional treatment, the proposed method of deep reflex muscular
      massage for treatment of ulcer patients with associated diseases in combination
      with exercises for muscle strain, produce stronger positive changes in adaptive
      compensatory systems. This may result in prolongation of the remission and in a
      decreased number of recurrences of ulcer and associated gastrointestinal
      diseases.

PMID- 9987973
TI  - [The comparative effect of magnetic-laser irradiation of the liver and blood on
      bile release and composition in an experiment].
AB  - The effects of transcutaneous magnetolaser radiation of the liver, blood alone
      and in combination on bile secretion and composition were studied in intact rats.
      Hepatocytes activation was noted in all the above variants. Magnetolaser impact
      on both the liver and blood intensified bile production under less total density
      of the radiation energy. Bile and direct bilirubin secretion increased. Excretion
      of bile acids enhances selectively, while that of cholesterol diminished. There
      may be mutual potentiation, summing and selectivity of the effects arising in
      combined magnetolaser radiation of the liver and blood.

PMID- 9987974
TI  - [The efficacy of treating patients with allergic diseases at a health resort with
      a gastroenterologic profile].
AB  - 45 allergic patients were treated in gastrointestinal sanatorium. Balneological
      and speleo modalities were employed. The clinical symptoms and humoral immunity
      indicated high efficacy of such treatment. The complex is recommended for
      introduction in gastrointestinal sanatoria.

PMID- 9987975
TI  - [Physiotherapy methods in the rehabilitation of children with gastroduodenal
      pathology].
AB  - 100 children with chronic gastroduodenitis and ulcer received laser treatment and
      dalargin electrophoresis. The controls received conventional chemotherapy. The
      treatments demonstrated similar effectivity as shown by clinical, endoscopic and
      special examinations, against Helicobacter pylori, in particular.

PMID- 9987976
TI  - [Carbon dioxide baths in the combined health resort treatment of children with
      autonomic vascular dystonia].

PMID- 9987977
TI  - [The dynamics of the tissue oxygen regimen in patients with circulatory
      encephalopathy under the influence of oxygen baths].

PMID- 9987978
TI  - [Interference therapy and radon baths in the combined treatment of patients with
      reflex cervicobrachial syndromes].
AB  - Patients with cervicobrachialgic syndromes on interference therapy, exercise
      treatment, massage of the cervical collar region received balneotherapy. 42 of
      them took water baths, 39 took dry air radon baths. These complexes proved
      effective in cervicobrachialgic syndromes, the effect being slightly dependent on
      the clinical symptoms of the disease.

PMID- 9987979
TI  - [A differentiated approach to the choice of physiotherapy methods in trigeminal
      prosopalgia].
AB  - 148 patients with trigeminal neuralgia, odontogenic neuropathies of the alveolar
      nerves, neuropathy of the main trigeminal nerves and their sensitive branches,
      neuropathic complications after alcoholization received individually selected
      physiotherapy in each prosopalgia in acute and subacute period. Adequate choice
      of physical factors and physiotherapy is dependent on careful examination of the
      patient with consideration of topical and pathogenetic features of the disease.

PMID- 9987980
TI  - [The morphofunctional validation of the use of vibration-traction for the
      correction of contractures of the joints].
AB  - Experiments in modelling joint contracture have shown that vibrotracture with
      step-by-step frequency rise in one procedure and discrete rise in traction power
      in the course of procedures may correct joint contracture. Basing on these
      experimental findings, the authors have developed highly effective method of
      vibrotraction treatment of joint contractures (patent N 1804819).

PMID- 9987981
TI  - [The effect of massage on the neuromuscular apparatus and blood coagulating
      system of patients with chronic salpingo-oophoritis].
AB  - 74 patients with chronic salpingo-oophoritis (CS) in remission were assessed as
      to effects of classic massage of the uterine and epoophoronic reflexogenic zones
      on clinical pattern of the disease, bioelectric activity of the abdominal
      muscles, spine and pelvis, blood coagulation. The combined massage produced a
      more potent effect on electric activity of the above muscles and blood
      coagulation than massage on a single area. It is better to start massage from the
      abdomen and continue in the lumbosacral area.

PMID- 9987982
TI  - [Kinesitherapy in the early rehabilitation of neurosurgical patients with bladder
      dysfunction].
AB  - The authors review anatomical-functional features of different forms of urinary
      bladder dysfunction, offer kinesitherapy for patients with neurogenic dysfunction
      of the urinary bladder. Their experience with 52 neurosurgical patients who early
      after operation exercised according to the proposed method demonstrates a
      response in 83% of the patients due to activation of the existing and creation of
      the additional reflex component of micturation.

PMID- 9987985
TI  - [Trace elements and vitamins as activators of the adaptation reactions in
      combined health resort treatment].

PMID- 9987986
TI  - Domestic violence in Japan.
AB  - Traditionally, domestic violence in Japan referred to children's physical and
      emotional violence against their parents. However, in recent years, the general
      public's awareness of and actions toward other types of domestic violence,
      especially violence against women and children, has increased. Following a brief
      description of filial violence and elderly abuse, both spousal abuse and child
      abuse are discussed in terms of their prevalence and cultural and historical
      backgrounds. The article concludes with current and future challenges in the
      intervention of violence, particularly against women and children, in the
      Japanese family.

PMID- 9987983
TI  - [New data on the size of the operational reserves of radon thermal springs at the
      Belokurikha deposit in the Altai].

PMID- 9987984
TI  - [The use of magnesium-calcium carbonate mineral water in kidney diseases].

PMID- 9987987
TI  - Domestic violence in Russia.
AB  - Reported incidence and frequency rates of domestic violence in Russia exceed
      Western figures by 4 or 5 times. Although a grassroots social services movement
      has emerged to provide services for victims and families, a number of historical
      and cultural influences unique to Russia present challenges with regard to the
      problem of domestic violence. These include a history of institutional oppression
      of women, arcane legal procedures, a shortage of housing and shelters, untrained
      medical professionals, and widespread misinformation and myths about domestic
      violence. This article documents incidence and prevalence of domestic violence,
      cultural and historical influences, legal issues, and specific challenges to
      ending domestic violence in Russia.

PMID- 9987988
TI  - Gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal system of the freshwater snails Helisoma
      trivolvis and Lymnaea stagnalis: possible involvement in reproduction.
AB  - Peptides of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) family are present in
      neural and nonneural tissues throughout the chordate phylum. Although GnRH
      peptides have been implicated in nonreproductive functions, their primary
      function is to control reproduction by regulating sexual behaviors and inducing
      gonadotropin hormone release from the pituitary. Evidence suggesting the presence
      of a similar peptide in the central nervous system (CNS) of the gastropod mollusc
      Helisoma trivolvis has recently been provided. In the present study, we examined
      the tissue distribution of the peptide and found that it is likely restricted to
      the nervous system. The neuronal system containing the endogenous GnRH-like
      peptide is described further and is shown, in part, to innervate the male
      reproductive tract. Immunostaining in the closely related snail, Lymnaea
      stagnalis, showed a conservation in the locations of some immunoreactive neurons.
      Notably, staining occurred in and adjacent to the lateral lobes of both snails.
      Because these lobes contain neurons involved in the stimulation of egg laying and
      GnRH staining occurred in additional areas in the Helisoma CNS that are involved
      in reproduction, we suggest that the endogenous GnRH-like peptide plays a role in
      regulating reproduction in freshwater snails.

PMID- 9987989
TI  - Spiny calretinin-immunoreactive neurons in the hilus and CA3 region of the rat
      hippocampus: local axon circuits, synaptic connections, and glutamic acid
      decarboxylase 65/67 mRNA expression.
AB  - We have used the Golgi method and Golgi electron microscopic techniques to
      analyze the axonal arborization and efferent connections of spiny calretinin
      immunoreactive neurons in the CA3 region and hilus of the rat hippocampal
      formation. In the hilus, the axons of spiny calretinin-immunoreactive neurons
      sent out numerous collaterals that arborized in the hilar region and the
      molecular layer. In the CA3 region, these axons extended mainly to the stratum
      radiatum and pyramidal layer but also to the stratum oriens and stratum lacunosum
      moleculare. Axonal varicosities were distributed widely throughout the axonal
      collaterals. Electron microscopic studies revealed that the axon terminals of
      spiny calretinin-immunoreactive neurons established synaptic contacts mainly with
      dendritic shafts. We next analyzed the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase
      (GAD65/67) mRNAs in spiny nonpyramidal neurons that were identified by calretinin
      immunoreactivity. We found that spiny calretinin-positive neurons in the CA3
      region and hilus of the rat hippocampal formation expressed the two isoforms of
      GAD: GAD65 and GAD67 mRNAs. These findings show that the spiny calretinin
      immunoreactive neurons of hippocampus give rise to local axonal arborizations,
      suggesting that they are inhibitory.

PMID- 9987990
TI  - Null mutation in shaking-B eliminates electrical, but not chemical, synapses in
      the Drosophila giant fiber system: a structural study.
AB  - Mutations in the Drosophila shaking-B gene perturb synaptic transmission and dye
      coupling in the giant fiber escape system. The GAL4 upstream activation sequence
      system was used to express a neuronal-synaptobrevin-green fluorescent protein
      (nsyb-GFP) construct in the giant fibers (GFs); nsyb-GFP was localized where the
      GFs contact the peripherally synapsing interneurons (PSIs) and the
      tergotrochanteral motorneurons (TTMns). Antibody to Shaking-B protein stained
      plaquelike structures in the same regions of the GFs, although not all plaques
      colocalized with nsyb-GFP. Electron microscopy showed that the GF-TTMn and GF-PSI
      contacts contained many chemical synaptic release sites. These sites were
      interposed with extensive regions of close membrane apposition (3.25 nm +/- 0.12
      separation), with faint cross striations and a single-layered array of 41-nm
      vesicles on the GF side of the apposition. These contacts appeared similar to
      rectifying electrical synapses in the crayfish and were eliminated in shaking-B2
      mutants. At mutant GF-TTMn and GF-PSI contacts, chemical synapses and small
      regions of close membrane apposition, more similar to vertebrate gap junctions,
      were not affected. Gap junctions with more vertebratelike separation of membranes
      (1.41 nm +/- 0.08) were abundant between peripheral perineurial glial processes;
      these were unaffected in the mutants.

PMID- 9987991
TI  - Regional and subcellular distribution of a neutral and basic amino acid
      transporter in forebrain neurons containing nitric oxide synthase.
AB  - The neutral and basic amino acid transporter (NBAT) facilitates sodium
      independent transport of L-amino acids in renal and intestinal epithelial cells
      and has been postulated to play a similar role in neurons. In previous studies,
      NBAT has been detected within enteric and brainstem autonomic neurons in a
      distribution similar to that of constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS).
      Furthermore, L-arginine, the required precursor for nitric oxide synthesis, is an
      excellent NBAT substrate. Together, these findings suggest that NBAT may play a
      role in the regulation of nitric oxide synthesis, through the control of
      precursor availability. To gain insight into the potential physiological role of
      NBAT in central neurons, we used an antipeptide antiserum to examine the light
      and electron microscopic immunocytochemical localization of NBAT in the rat
      forebrain and to compare this distribution with that of cNOS. Immunolabeling for
      NBAT was detected within perikarya and dendrite-like processes that were most
      numerous in the frontal and cingulate cortex, the ventral striatum, the central
      amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Labeled varicose axonal
      processes were distributed most densely in the agranular insular cortex and the
      paraventricular nuclei of the thalamus and hypothalamus (PVH). Electron
      microscopy showed that immunogold labeling for NBAT was distributed along
      plasmalemmal and vacuolar membranes within somata, dendrites, and axonal
      profiles. Many of the NBAT-containing somata and dendrites contained detectable
      cNOS. Our results suggest that expression of NBAT may provide specific
      populations of cNOS-containing forebrain neurons with a unique mechanism for
      regulating somatodendritic synthesis of nitric oxide.

PMID- 9987992
TI  - Morphology, axonal projection pattern, and response types of tectal neurons in
      plethodontid salamanders. I: tracer study of projection neurons and their
      pathways.
AB  - In three salamander species (Hydromantes italicus, H. genei, Plethodon jordani),
      the tectobulbospinal and tectothalamic pathways and their cells of origin were
      studied by means of anterograde and retrograde biocytin and tetramethylrhodamine
      tracing. In plethodontid salamanders, five types of tectal projection neurons
      were identified. TO1 neurons have widefield dendritic trees that arborize in the
      layers of retinal afferents and form a neuropil in the superficial layer; axons
      constitute the crossed tectospinal tract. Dendrites of TO2 cells have the largest
      dendritic trees that arborize in the intermediate and deep layers of retinal
      afferents; axons constitute a lateral uncrossed tectospinal tract. TO3 cells have
      widefield dendritic trees that arborize in the deep layer of retinal afferents
      and in the layer of tectal efferents; axons constitute a superficial uncrossed
      tectospinal tract. TO4 cells have slender primary dendrites and small-field
      dendritic trees that arborize in the intermediate layers of retinal afferents;
      axons constitute another lateral uncrossed tectospinal tract. TO2, TO3, and TO4
      cells also have ascending axons that run to the ventral and dorsal thalamus. TO5
      cells have slender primary dendrites and small-field dendritic trees that extend
      into the superficial layers of retinal afferents; their fine axons constitute the
      bulk of the pathways ascending to the ipsilateral and contralateral thalamus.
      These morphological types of projection neurons and their ascending and
      descending axonal pathways closely resemble those found in frogs, reptiles, and
      birds. Their role in visual and visuomotor functions is discussed.

PMID- 9987993
TI  - Morphology, axonal projection pattern, and response types of tectal neurons in
      plethodontid salamanders. II: intracellular recording and labeling experiments.
AB  - In the plethodontid salamanders Plethodon jordani and P. glutinosus, the
      morphology and axonal projections of 140 tectal neurons and their responses to
      electrical optic nerve stimulation were determined by intracellular recording and
      biocytin labeling. Six types of neurons are distinguished morphologically. TO1
      neurons have wide dendritic trees that arborize mainly in tectal layers 1 and 3;
      they project bilaterally to the tegmentum and contralaterally to the medulla
      oblongata. TO2 neurons have very wide dendritic trees that arborize mainly in
      layers 2 and 3; axons project bilaterally or unilaterally to the pretectum and
      thalamus and ipsilaterally to the medulla oblongata. TO3 neurons have very wide
      and flat dendritic trees confined to layers 3-5; some have the same axonal
      projection as TO2 neurons, whereas others have descending axons that reach only
      the level of the cerebellum. TO4 neurons have narrower dendritic trees that
      arborize in layers 2 and 3; they project to the ipsilateral pretectum, thalamus,
      and medulla oblongata. TO5 neurons have dendritic trees that arborize in layers 1
      and 2 or 1-3 and project bilaterally or unilaterally to the pretectum and
      thalamus. TO-IN are interneurons, with a number of subtypes with respect to
      variations in dendritic arborization pattern. TO1-TO5 neurons generally have
      short latencies of 2-16 ms (average = 8.4 ms) at electrical optic nerve
      stimulation; first responses are always excitatory, often followed by inhibition.
      They are likely to be mono- or oligosynaptically driven by retinal afferents. TO
      IN interneurons have long latencies of 20-80 ms (average = 38.6 ms) and appear to
      receive no direct retinal input. With their specific dendritic arborization,
      consequent dominant retinal input, specific axonal projections, the different
      types of tectal projection neurons constitute separate ascending and descending
      visual pathways. Hypotheses are presented regarding the nature of the information
      processed by these pathways.

PMID- 9987994
TI  - Age- and sex-related differences in opioid receptor densities in the songbird
      vocal control system.
AB  - Avian vocal control regions of adult male songbirds contain opioid peptides and
      receptors, suggesting that opioids play a role in avian vocal behavior control.
      In a previous study, we found no difference in opioid receptor densities in
      singing versus nonsinging adult male dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), leading
      us to hypothesize that opioids are not involved in controlling song production.
      To assess whether opioids may be involved in other aspects of vocal behavior, we
      used quantitative in vitro autoradiography to compare mu and delta opioid
      receptor densities in vocal control regions of singing adult males with those of
      adult females and adolescent (about 3 months old) males and females. We found mu
      and delta receptors in all vocal control regions measured. Adolescents had
      significantly higher opioid receptor densities than did adults in area X (delta),
      robust n. of the archistriatum (delta and mu), and n. intercollicularis (mu),
      suggesting a developmental role for opioids in the vocal control system. Based on
      opioid roles in other animal models, we propose that opioids may be involved in
      song learning, auditory processing, and/or vocal control system development.

PMID- 9987995
TI  - Early retinal development in the zebrafish, Danio rerio: light and electron
      microscopic analyses.
AB  - The morphological differentiation of the zebrafish retina was analyzed by using
      light (LM) and transmission electron (TEM) microscopy between the time of initial
      ganglion cell differentiation (approximately 32 hours postfertilization; hpf) and
      shortly after the point when the retina appears functional (approximately 74
      hpf), i.e., when all major cell types and basic synaptic connections are in
      place. The results show that the inner retinal neurons, like the photoreceptor
      and ganglion cells, differentiate first within the ventronasal region, and
      differentiation subsequently spreads asymmetrically into the nasal and dorsal
      regions before reaching the ventrotemporal retina. In addition, we show that the
      attenuation of the optic stalk occurs in parallel with ganglion cell
      differentiation between 32 and 40 hpf. The first conventional synapses appear
      within the inner plexiform layer simultaneously with the first photoreceptor
      outer segment discs at 60 hpf; functional ribbon triads arise within
      photoreceptor synaptic terminals at 65 hpf; and synaptic ribbons occur within
      bipolar cell axon terminals at the time larvae exhibit their first visual
      responses (approximately 70 hpf). Although development is initially more advanced
      within the ventronasal region between 50 and 60 hpf, development across the
      retina rapidly equilibrates such that it is relatively comparable within all
      quadrants of the central retina by 70 hpf. An area within the temporal retina
      characterized by tightly packed and highly tiered cones emerges with subsequent
      development. Retinal differentiation in the zebrafish corresponds with that
      generally described in other vertebrates and can be correlated with the
      development of visual and electroretinographic responses in the animal.

PMID- 9987996
TI  - Mossy fiber sprouting after recurrent seizures during early development in rats.
AB  - In some children, epilepsy is a catastrophic condition, leading to significant
      intellectual and behavioral impairment, but little is known about the
      consequences of recurrent seizures during development. In the present study, we
      evaluated the effects of 15 daily pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions in
      immature rats beginning at postnatal day (P) 1, 10, or 60. In addition, we
      subjected another group of P10 rats to twice daily seizures for 15 days. Both
      supragranular and terminal sprouting in the CA3 hippocampal subfield was assessed
      in Timm-stained sections by using a rating scale and density measurements.
      Prominent sprouting was seen in the CA3 stratum pyramidale layer in all rats
      having 15 daily seizures, regardless of the age when seizures began. Based on
      Timm staining in control P10, P20, and P30 rats, the terminal sprouting in CA3
      appears to be new growth of axons and synapses as opposed to a failure of normal
      regression of synapses. In addition to CA3 terminal sprouting, rats having twice
      daily seizures had sprouting noted in the dentate supragranular layer,
      predominately in the inferior blade of the dentate, and had a decreased seizure
      threshold when compared with controls. Cell counting of dentate granule cells,
      CA3, CA1, and hilar neurons, with unbiased stereological methods demonstrated no
      differences from controls in rats with daily seizures beginning at P1 or P10,
      whereas adult rats with daily seizures had a significant decrease in CA1 neurons.
      Rats that received twice daily seizures on P10-P25 had an increase in dentate
      granule cells. This study demonstrates that, like the mature brain, immature
      animals have neuronal reorganization after recurrent seizures, with mossy fiber
      sprouting in both the CA3 subfield and supragranular region. In the immature
      brain, repetitive seizures also result in granule cell neurogenesis without loss
      of principal neurons. Although the relationship between these morphological
      changes after seizures during development and subsequent cognitive impairment is
      not yet clear, our findings indicate that during development recurrent seizures
      can result in significant alterations in cell number and axonal growth.

PMID- 9987997
TI  - Evidence for a large projection from the zona incerta to the dorsal thalamus.
AB  - In an effort to understand better how the zona incerta may influence neocortical
      activity, this study has examined the patterns of projection that this nucleus
      has to the dorsal thalamus, the "gateway" to the neocortex. To this end, Sprague
      Dawley rats were anaesthetised with Ketamil (100 mg/kg) and Rompun (10 mg/kg),
      and injections of biotinylated dextran or cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) were made
      into various dorsal thalamic nuclei, including the primary relay (dorsal lateral
      geniculate, medial geniculate, ventral posterior), association (lateral dorsal,
      lateral posterior, posterior thalamic), and intralaminar (central lateral,
      parafascicular) nuclear groups, by using stereotaxic coordinates. Brains were
      aldehyde fixed and processed with standard methods. Our results show that there
      is a large projection from the zona incerta to the dorsal thalamus. This
      projection does not blanket all nuclei of the dorsal thalamus but, rather, shows
      a clear preference for some nuclei over others. After CTB or dextran injections
      into the primary relay nuclei, very few cells are labelled in the zona incerta.
      After similar injections are made into the association or intralaminar nuclei,
      however, many more labelled incertal cells are seen. There are some differences
      in the distribution of labelled cells within the zona incerta after injections
      into the association nuclei compared with injections into the intralaminar
      nuclei. The association nuclei relate strongly to the ventral sector, whereas the
      intralaminar nuclei relate strongly to the dorsal sector of the zona incerta.
      After each of these injections into the dorsal thalamus, labelled terminals are
      seen in the zona incerta also, and their distribution mirrors the distribution of
      the labelled incertal cells described above. Thus, in summary, our results
      indicate that the zona incerta has a large and preferential projection to the
      dorsal thalamus, in particular from the association and intralaminar nuclei.
      Through this dorsal thalamic projection, the zona incerta is in a position to
      influence large areas of the neocortex.

PMID- 9987998
TI  - Cardiac conduction: an interplay between membrane and gap junction.

PMID- 9987999
TI  - Unipolar stimulation of cardiac tissue.

PMID- 9988000
TI  - Cellular mechanisms for the slow phase of the Frank-Starling response.
AB  - Following a step increase in sarcomere length, isometric cardiac muscle tension
      increases instantaneously by the Frank-Starling mechanism. In isolated papillary
      muscle and myocytes, there is an additional significant rise in developed tension
      over the following 15 min due to an unknown mechanism. This slow change in
      tension could not be explained by mechanical heterogeneity of the muscle
      preparations or by an increase in myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+. The slow
      change in tension was not dependent on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ loading
      assessed with rapid cooling contractures, and was not significantly altered by
      sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ depletion (ryanodine) or inhibition of sarcoplasmic
      reticulum Ca2+ reuptake (cyclopiazonic acid). We used the Luo-Rudy ionic model of
      the ventricular myocyte together with a model of the length-dependent myofilament
      activation by Ca2+ to examine the effects of step changes in the parameters of
      sarcolemmal ion fluxes as possible mechanisms for the slow change in stress. The
      slow increase in tension was simulated by step changes in the Na+-K+ pump or Na+
      leak currents, suggesting that the slow change in stress may be caused by length
      induced changes in Na+ fluxes. The model also predicted a slow increase in the
      magnitude of the initial repolarization during phase 1 of the action potential.
      The combination of experimental and computational models used in this
      investigation represents a valuable technique in elucidating the cellular
      mechanisms of fundamental processes in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling.

PMID- 9988001
TI  - Modeling defibrillation: effects of fiber curvature.
AB  - The goal of this modeling study is to demonstrate extinguishing of a spiral wave
      reentry in a sheet of myocardium that incorporates curved fibers. The tissue is
      represented as a homogeneous bidomain with unequal anisotropy ratios. The spiral
      wave is initiated via cross-field stimulation of the bidomain sheet. The
      defibrillation shock is delivered via two line electrodes that occupy opposite
      tissue boundaries. Simulation results demonstrate that large-scale regions of
      depolarization are induced under the cathode as well as at locations in the
      vicinity of the anode. For high shock strengths, the new wavefronts generated
      from the regions of induced depolarization restrict the spiral wave pathway and
      render the tissue too refractory to further maintain the reentry. Weak shocks
      leave large portions of the sheet unaffected allowing the spiral wave to find
      recovered tissue and thus survive.

PMID- 9988002
TI  - Focal source hypothesis of atrial fibrillation.

PMID- 9988003
TI  - Shock timing lowers transvenous defibrillation energy requirement.
AB  - Previous studies suggested that time periods exist during ventricular
      fibrillation when defibrillation shocks are more effective. However, there is no
      agreement on the amount of energy that can be saved or whether an implantable
      defibrillator can time shocks to these time periods. We conducted a study having
      two parts to investigate if there was any advantage to synchronizing internal
      defibrillation shocks to morphological patterns in ventricular fibrillation (VF).
      VF electrograms were recorded from the same three-electrode lead system used for
      internal defibrillation. In Part 1, we found no difference in the probability of
      successful defibrillation between shocks that were delivered into coarse and fine
      VF (48% vs 46%). However, shocks that were delivered to the upslope of coarse VF
      electrograms were more efficacious than those to the downslope of the waveform
      (67% vs 39%, P < .001). In the second study, we developed a real time computer
      system to prospectively deliver shocks on the upslope feature we identified in
      the first study. We found that the energy requirements at E50 and E80 were
      significantly lower for shocks delivered on the upslope of coarse VF than those
      delivered randomly at the end of 10 sec. We estimated a probability of success
      (POS) defibrillation curve using a maximum likelihood method for the timed and
      random shocks. The POS curve width was significantly narrower for shocks that
      were delivered to the upslope feature than the control treatment (7.1 +/- 0.9 vs.
      10.8 +/- 1.7 J, P < 0.01). If these findings extend to clinical defibrillation,
      they may allow programming of internal defibrillators at lower energies. This
      could reduce potential postshock cardiac dysfunction, allow production of smaller
      devices, and improve battery life.

PMID- 9988004
TI  - Can shocks timed to action potentials in low-gradient regions improve both
      internal and out-of-hospital defibrillation?
AB  - During the first minute of fibrillation, circulating wavefronts excite new
      fibrillation action potentials almost immediately following termination of the
      preceding action potential. The extension of refractoriness hypothesis states
      that a successful defibrillating shock must produce a uniform postshock
      refractoriness of a specific optimal duration throughout the ventricle, which
      blocks these wavefronts and terminates fibrillation. We hypothesized that, if
      shocks are appropriately timed early in the fibrillation action potential in low
      voltage-gradient regions, postshock refractoriness will already be long and the
      shock need not be strong enough to further extend it. This will result in a lower
      defibrillation threshold (DFT). This hypothesis was tested in the isolated rabbit
      heart model. Shocks were synchronized to monophasic action potentials recorded
      from a low-intensity region. An up/down protocol was used. I50 for early shocks
      was 17% lower than that for late shocks (31% decrease in E50). Standard deviation
      of I50 was reduced from 32% for late shocks to 18% for early shocks. Therefore,
      shock synchronization improves both DFT and intersubject variability during early
      fibrillation. As fibrillation duration increases, action potential frequency
      decreases and periods of diastole occur. Because of these ischemic changes, it is
      uncertain whether shock timing can produce similar improvements in defibrillation
      under out-of-hospital conditions.

PMID- 9988005
TI  - Prevention of sudden cardiac death: a current perspective.

PMID- 9988006
TI  - T-loop morphology as a marker of cardiac events in the elderly.
AB  - ST-T wave changes of electrocardiographic (ECG) leads have long been recognized
      as predictors of future cardiac events, but they only imperfectly characterize T
      loop morphology. Using vectorcardiographic (VCG) parameters, we investigated the
      predictive value of T-loop abnormality for fatal and nonfatal cardiac events in a
      prospective cohort study among 5,815 elderly. Separately, the predictive value of
      an easily obtainable T-loop parameter, the T axis, was also assessed.
      Measurements were determined by a computer program, using VCGs reconstructed from
      the standard 12-lead ECGs. During the 3 to 6 (mean 4) years of follow-up, 166
      fatal and 193 nonfatal cardiac events occurred. Subjects with an abnormal T-loop
      morphology had increased risks for fatal cardiac events (hazard ratio 4.3; 95% CI
      3.0-6.4) and nonfatal cardiac events (3.0; 1.9-4.8). Risks associated with an
      abnormal T axis alone were only slightly lower. Additional adjustment for
      established cardiovascular risk indicators resulted in lower, but still highly
      significant risks. Both T-loop and T-axis abnormalities appear to be strong,
      independent risk indicators of cardiac events in the elderly.

PMID- 9988007
TI  - Integration and communication for the continuity of cardiac care (I4C).
AB  - The project I4C (Integration and Communication for the Continuity of Cardiac
      Care) is carried out for the advancement of cardiac care, from prevention to
      follow-up. The goals of I4C are: (1) integrated access to patient data, wherever
      they are stored; (2) support of evidence-based care; (3) consistent recording of
      patient data (eg, patient history, electrocardiograms IECGs] or cine-angios) in a
      multimedia patient record; and (4) a documented reference data set for research.
      In several clinics, workstations are being installed to serve the four goals.
      Integration with other information systems in clinical care is realized by
      encapsulation. A computer-based patient record (ORCA) has been developed to
      support the collection, consultation, and sharing of patient data. In I4C, ORCA
      is intended for use in a research setting as well as routine patient care. The
      functionality of ORCA covers the collection of patient history data in a highly
      structured manner, the recording of drug prescriptions, an overview of laboratory
      test results, and viewers for ECGs and angiographic images. At present,
      structured data entry and consultation is supported in six European languages.

PMID- 9988008
TI  - Progress toward a catheter ablative cure of atrial fibrillation.

PMID- 9988009
TI  - Spectral analysis of the electrocardiogram predicts recurrence of atrial
      fibrillation after cardioversion.

PMID- 9988010
TI  - Body surface mapping of atrial arrhythmias: atlas of paced P wave integral maps
      to localize the focal origin of right atrial tachycardia.
AB  - Successful curative treatment of right atrial tachycardia (AT) can be obtained
      provided detailed catheter activation mapping of the target site for
      radiofrequency energy application has been accomplished. However, right AT
      mapping may be difficult with a single roving catheter due to infrequent presence
      or noninducibility of the arrhythmia. The present report describes the
      preliminary clinical use of body surface mapping as an adjunctive noninvasive
      method to identify the region of AT origin prior to catheter ablation. This
      technique has been previously applied to develop a reference data base of 17
      different paced P wave integral map patterns. The data base was designed by
      performing right atrial pace mapping in patients without structural heart
      disease. Each P wave integral map pattern in the data base is unique to ectopic
      activation onset in a circumscribed right atrial endocardial segment.
      Localization of the segment of AT origin is accomplished by matching the P wave
      integral map of a single AT beat with the data base of paced P wave integral
      maps. The use of body surface mapping as an integral part of the mapping protocol
      during radiofrequency catheter ablation of right AT offers the possibility to:
      (1) noninvasively determine the arrhythmogenic target area for ablation using a
      single beat analysis approach; (2) confine detailed catheter activation mapping
      to a limited area; and (3) accelerate the overall procedure and limit
      fluoroscopic exposure by reducing the time required for mapping.

PMID- 9988011
TI  - Electroanatomic imaging using magnetic catheter tracking in the diagnosis and
      treatment of atrial arrhythmias.
AB  - Recent data emphasize the importance of structural factors in the pathophysiology
      of atrial arrhythmias. As a consequence, catheter ablation increasingly has
      become an anatomically oriented procedure. A recently developed magnetic catheter
      tracking system provides spatially precise and realistic three-dimensional
      reconstructions of endocardial geometry. A variety of electrophysiologic data can
      be superimposed on these reconstructions, including activation sequence,
      electrogram amplitude and morphologic features, response to pacing maneuvers, and
      sites of planned or delivered radiofrequency energy ablation. These features
      enhance the ability to analyze and visualize arrhythmia mechanisms, plan and
      execute appropriate ablation strategies, and provide new opportunities for
      physiologic research.

PMID- 9988012
TI  - Use of approximate entropy measurements to classify ventricular tachycardia and
      fibrillation.
AB  - Implantable cardiac devices which treat arrhythmias require automated detection
      to decide when to deliver therapy and, in some devices like the implantable
      cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), to determine which therapy to deliver. This
      type of detection often requires the separation of fibrillatory chaotic rhythms
      from coherent tachycardias. In the ICD, multiple rate zones can be programmed for
      detection of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) and
      for delivery of therapy: antitachycardia pacing and cardioversion for VT, and
      defibrillation for VF. Previous research determined that current technology is
      unable to uniquely classify VF. Analysis of typical settings of the ICD revealed
      that 40% to 80% of VTs were misclassified as VF (depending on device/setting).
      Improved detection of VF must be sought in order to capitalize on the cost
      effectiveness of low-energy VT therapies, potentially saving up to 20% of the
      life of the battery. In this study, a statistical measure of variability, called
      approximate entropy (ApEn), has been applied to separate fibrillatory and
      nonfibrillatory rhythms. Although standard deviation is often used as a measure
      of variability, it fails to capture the level of regularity or complexity. ApEn
      improves upon standard deviation by quantifying differences between random and
      regular signals. ApEn was tested on a small patient set containing VF, VT, and
      sinus rhythm (SR). Intracardiac recordings (bipolar, ventricular) were selected
      from the Ann Arbor Electrogram Library (Ann Arbor, MI) where filtering (1-500
      Hz), amplification (approximately 1000), and digitization (1000 Hz) are tightly
      controlled. Results demonstrated that ApEn has the ability to quantify subtle
      differences between VF and other rhythms.

PMID- 9988013
TI  - Improved estimation of pericardial potentials from body-surface maps using
      individualized torso models.
AB  - Clinical applicability of inferred pericardial potentials is limited because
      accuracy is significantly affected by noise in surface electrocardiograms (ECGs),
      errors in electrode location on the torso model, and errors in the geometry and
      inhomogeneities of the torso model itself. To quantify effects of electrode
      location and geometric errors in torso-surface models, we measured locations of
      190 electrodes used in body-surface mapping of 11 adults, along with over 2,000
      sites on each torso surface. Measurements were made to within 2 mm with an
      Immersion Personal Digitizer. To quantify effects of errors in pericardial
      surface models we also estimated heart position, size, and orientation in each
      subject from ultrasonic images registered to the body-surface coordinates. Known
      pericardial potentials were taken from epicardial measurements made during QRS
      with a 90-electrode sock in an adult male undergoing cardiac surgery. Body
      surface ECGs were calculated for each individual from the pericardial maps, using
      standard boundary-element methods. Accuracy of zero-order-Tikhonov inverse
      solutions was tested in 91-node pericardial and 1,026-node torso models,
      individualized for each subject. With 10 microv rms noise added to surface
      potentials, the optimal regularization constant at each instant in QRS gave a
      relative error of 0.44 +/- 0.03; it was 0.47 +/- 0.03 using the composite
      residual and smoothing operator (CRESO) technique. When calculated body-surface
      potentials from the first 10 subjects were placed at corresponding electrode
      positions on the torso of the eleventh subject, whose heart size and orientation
      was the mean of the other 10 subjects, relative error increased to 0.87 +/- 0.06
      for optimal regularization. CRESO failed in the fixed torso model. Results
      demonstrate that a fixed model does not provide useful estimates of pericardial
      potentials, and that individualized models enhance the performance of techniques
      for the estimation of regularization parameters.

PMID- 9988014
TI  - ECG features of microvolt T-wave alternans in coronary artery disease and long QT
      syndrome patients.
AB  - T-wave alternans (TWA) is a marker of myocardial electrical instability. We
      compared ECG features of microvolt TWA in coronary artery disease (CAD) and long
      QT syndrome (LQTS) patients. METHOD: The study populations consisted of 43 CAD
      and 39 LQTS patients. TWA was detected in resting Holter recordings using the new
      correlation method (CM). After preprocessing to adjust for RR variability and
      respiratory modulation, CM was used to quantify TWA amplitude (A(CM)), duration
      (N(CM)), and magnitude (MAG(CM); defined as the product of A(CM) and N(CM)).
      RESULTS: TWA was detected in 19 (44%) CAD and 17 (44%) LQTS patients. TWA was
      associated with longer RR intervals (P = 0.006) and had larger magnitudes (P =
      0.067) in LQTS than CAD patients. The TWA was identified as transient
      (nonstationary) in 15 of 19 (79%) TWA-positive CAD patients, and in 8 of 17 (47%)
      TWA-positive LQTS patients (P = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of TWA
      detected with CM is similar in LQTS and CAD patients. TWA is larger in LQTS than
      in CAD patients, whereas TWA is more frequently transient (nonstationary) in LAD
      than LQTS patients. In LQTS patients, but not in CAD patients, a longer RR is
      associated with TWA, indicating different electrophysiologic mechanisms in the
      two pathologies.

PMID- 9988015
TI  - Prediction of normal QT intervals in children.
AB  - Measuring QT intervals in individual children is of great importance,
      particularly in view of increasing evidence linking long QT syndrome to
      subsequent risk for sudden death. Three hundred seventy-three healthy subjects,
      185 women and 188 men, aged 5.2 to 16.5 years, were investigated with a 12-lead
      standard electrocardiogram (ECG). Values for predicted QTp50 and QTp95
      (percentiles) were calculated by using the cycle length (RR interval [RRI]) and
      the measured QT interval. We used multiple regression analysis to test the
      influence of possible important variables and the resulting data were used to
      generate tables. Additionally, predicted QTp values were compared to QTc values
      after Bazett's correction. RRI, body height, age, and sex turned out to influence
      the QTp values most. For clinical use, data are presented in tabular form by RRI
      and age for both genders. The tables are of great clinical value in predicting
      the upper limits of normal QTp95 for individual children. Bazett's correction
      tends to underestimate the values found in our data when heart rate increases.

PMID- 9988016
TI  - Differences between local investigator and core-laboratory interpretation of the
      admission electrocardiogram in patients with unstable angina pectoris or non-Q
      myocardial infarction (a thrombin inhibition in myocardial ischemia [TRIM]
      substudy).

PMID- 9988017
TI  - Determinants of precordial QT dispersion in normal subjects.
AB  - Dispersion of precordial QT intervals has been attributed to delay in the
      recovery process in the myocardium under the exploring electrode, a local effect.
      However, the phenomenon also could be explained by different projections of the
      heart vector, in which case the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) derived from the
      heart vector would show similar dispersion that could not be local in nature
      because the electrical activity of the heart is represented by a single dipole.
      Using an analog device that switched between the two, conventional and derived
      ECGs were obtained from 129 normal subjects. Measured as the difference between
      the longest and shortest precordial QT intervals, QT dispersion from the derived
      ECGs (mean +/- SD, 40 +/- 20 ms) was nearly identical in magnitude to that from
      the standard ECGs (41 +/- 18 ms, P = NS). Further analysis of the derived ECGs
      revealed nonuniform distributions of both the maximal and minimal QT intervals
      across the precordial leads. In addition, a weak correlation was found between
      the QT interval and the T wave amplitude in the two precordial leads with the
      lowest T-wave amplitudes (r = -0.303 in V1, P = .001, and r = 0.253 in V6, P =
      .005). While findings in patients with disease or with abnormal ECGs may differ
      and require separate examination, these data suggest that the observed magnitude
      of precordial QT dispersion in normal subjects can be explained by differences in
      precordial projection of the end of the T wave rather than by local effect.

PMID- 9988018
TI  - Beat-to-beat repolarization variability in amplitude and duration in LQTS
      patients with the SCN5A sodium channel gene mutation.

PMID- 9988019
TI  - A comparison of simulated QRS isointegral maps resulting from pacing at adjacent
      sites: implications for the spatial resolution of pace mapping using body surface
      potentials.
AB  - The precise localization of ventricular tachycardia (VT) foci is a prerequisite
      for the successful radiofrequency catheter ablation in patients. The purpose of
      this study was to systematically quantify over what distance adjacent sites in
      the right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) epicardium and LV
      endocardium could be distinguished by inspecting morphological features of QRS
      isointegral maps using statistical methods. We investigated the spatial
      resolution of QRS isointegral maps by means of an anatomically accurate computer
      model of the human ventricular myocardium that incorporates a bidomain model for
      simulating the realistic activation sequences and the oblique dipole model in
      combination with the boundary element method for calculating extracardiac
      potentials. In this model, we initiated activation sequences at a total of 183
      epicardial and 75 LV endocardial pacing sites, positioned in three levels (basal,
      middle, and apical). For each of the 258 pacing sites, we calculated a set of 10
      QRS isointegral maps with added Gaussian noise at 117 leads (covering the
      anterior and posterior torso) and at 32 leads (covering only the anterior torso),
      respectively. Sets of maps were then cross correlated and root-mean-square (RMS)
      values of difference maps were calculated for all possible pairs of pacing sites
      on the same level. We applied the nonparametric unpaired Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
      and defined the spatial resolution as the pacing site separation at which the
      differences in correlation coefficients and RMS differences were significant
      (level P < .05). We observed significant differences in maps when the distances
      between pacing sites were on average (+/- SD) greater than 4.3 +/- 1.0 mm. In
      more than 90% of pacing sites, the significant differences in maps were observed
      within 4 mm even when using a 32-lead mapping system. The findings of our study
      provide theoretical evidence that QRS isointegral maps may offer noninvasive
      means for preinterventional planning of the ablative treatment in localizing both
      endocardial and epicardial sites of origin of VT.

PMID- 9988020
TI  - A simulation study of Torsade de Pointes with M cells.
AB  - Recent studies have reported the relation between Torsade de Pointes (TdP) and
      midmyocardial (M) cell function associated with long QT syndrome. To investigate
      this relation, we conducted a simulation study with a three-dimensional (3D)
      heart model incorporating M cells in the anterolateral areas of the model.
      Parameters of premature cycle-length dependent shortening of action potential
      duration (APD) and conduction velocity for the M cells were adjusted to induce
      tachyarrhythmias of TdP type. Under a basic pacing cycle length of 1,000 msec at
      the sinus node, four successive premature beats of 160-ms interval were generated
      300 ms after the first sinus pacing. Setting lower conduction velocity and longer
      APD to M cells induced sustained TdP-like tachyarrhythmia resembling ECG
      findings. TdP could not be induced without the presence of M cells. This study
      suggests that TdP might be caused by reentry around M cells and dispersive
      refractory areas due to prolonged APD and slow conduction velocity.

PMID- 9988021
TI  - Ventriculoatrial conduction metrics for classification of ventricular tachycardia
      with 1:1 retrograde conduction in dual-chamber sensing implantable cardioverter
      defibrillators.
AB  - The introduction of dual-chamber sensing in implantable cardioverter
      defibrillators (ICDs) has greatly reduced the incidence of false detection due to
      supraventricular tachycardias. The remaining arrhythmias which serve to confound
      classification are supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs) with 1:1 anterograde
      conduction and ventricular tachycardias (VT) with 1:1 retrograde conduction. An
      algorithm has been designed and tested (28 patients) which employs
      ventriculoatrial (VA) conduction measurements to separate 1:1 VTs from 1:1 SVTs.
      A study was conducted to assess realistic VA interval boundaries for
      classification of arrhythmias with 1:1 retrograde atrial conduction. Intracardiac
      atrial and ventricular recordings of 7 passages of VT with retrograde conduction,
      12 passages of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), 3 passages
      of atrial tachycardia (AT), 8 passages of sinus tachycardia (ST), and 2 passages
      of orthodromic reentrant tachycardia (ORT) were analyzed. Automated real-time
      atrial and ventricular waveform recognition was performed on each passage and VA
      intervals were measured. Separation of VT with retrograde conduction from other
      1:1 supraventricular tachycardias was effected by imposing discrete VA interval
      boundaries. VA boundaries of 80 ms to 234 ms classified 1:1 VT with 100%
      sensitivity (SENS) and 80% specificity (SPEC). In addition, the lower boundary
      completely classified AVNRT with 100% SENS and 100% SPEC, and all passages of ST
      were contained above the upper boundary. These findings could be of importance in
      algorithms for next-generation implantable cardioverter defibrillators which
      include two-chamber (atrial and ventricular) sensing and two-chamber interval
      measurements.

PMID- 9988022
TI  - Identification of best electrocardiographic leads for diagnosing acute myocardial
      ischemia.

PMID- 9988023
TI  - ST segment elevation and the prediction of hospital life-threatening
      complications: the role of right ventricular and posterior leads.
AB  - Accurate prognosis in suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is essential
      for appropriate use of thrombolytic therapy and primary angioplasty. However,
      previous models may be limited because the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) does
      not examine the right ventricular (RV) and posterior myocardium. We evaluated ST
      segment elevation (STSE) in posterior (V7-V9) and RV (V4R-V6R) leads to determine
      their predictive value for hospital life-threatening complications (HLTCs).
      METHOD AND RESULTS: This prospective trial of seven Midwestern hospital emergency
      departments (EDs) had inclusion criteria of age 35 years, chest pain suggestive
      of ischemia, and coronary care unit (CCU) admission. ECG leads were test positive
      if STSE was > 0.1 mV. Patients were positive for HLTCs if ED or inpatient
      hospital course included: ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, second- or
      third-degree block, shock, arrest, or death. Univariate and multivariate analyses
      were performed to test each lead's association with HLTCs. Of 533 patients, 64.7%
      (345/533) had AMI and 15.8% (85/533) had HLTCs. The sensitivity of 18 leads for
      HLTCS was increased by 5.8%, but specificity decreased by 8.2%. ECG subgroups by
      STSE were associated with the following HLTC rates: inferior/+RV (32.4%);
      anterior (29.5%), lateral (23.1%), inferior RV (17.9%), and posterior (16.2%). V1
      (odds = 3.2) and V6R (odds = 3.1) were statistically significant independent
      predictors. CONCLUSION: Posterior and RV leads did not increase the ECG's overall
      prognostic value, but in the presence of inferior STSE, were associated with low
      and high complication rates, respectively. Right and left precordial leads were
      the best predictors of HTLCs.

PMID- 9988024
TI  - Routine use of a 15-lead electrocardiogram for patients presenting to the
      emergency department with chest pain.

PMID- 9988025
TI  - Normal limits of ST segment measurements in posterior ECG leads.

PMID- 9988026
TI  - Body-surface map models for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
AB  - The standard 12-lead ECG is only 50% sensitive for the detection of acute
      myocardial infarction (AMI). The majority of leads for optimal classification of
      AMI probably lie outside the area covered by the 6 precordial leads. Thus, body
      surface mapping (BSM) may be more helpful, as a larger thoracic area is sampled.
      We recorded 64-lead anterior BSMs in 635 patients with chest pain suggestive of
      AMI and abnormal electrocardiograms (ECGs), and 125 controls without chest pain.
      Of the 635 patients, 325 had AMI according to World Health Organization (WHO)
      criteria (203 presenting with ST segment elevation, and 122 with nondiagnostic
      ECG), and 310 had an "abnormal ECG but not AMI." QRS and ST-T isointegrals and
      variables describing map shape were derived. Subjects were randomly allocated to
      a training set (63 controls, 321 patients) and a validation set (62 controls, 314
      patients). Multiple logistic regression was used in the training set to identify
      which variables gave best discrimination between groups. A model with these
      variables was then tested prospectively in the validation set. In stage 1 (all
      subjects), controls were compared with patients. In the training set, a model
      containing 21 variables classified 58/63 controls (specificity 92%) and 316/321
      patients (sensitivity 98%). In the validation set, the model classified 48/62
      controls (specificity 77.4%) and 302/314 patients (sensitivity 96%). In stage 2
      (studying patients only), patients with AMI were compared with patients who had
      an abnormal ECG-not AMI. In the training set, a model containing 28 variables
      classified 132/165 patients (sensitivity 80%) with AMI and 134/156 patients
      (specificity 86%) with an abnormal ECG-not AMI. In the validation set, the model
      classified 123/160 patients (sensitivity 77%) with AMI and 131/154 patients
      (specificity 85%) with an abnormal ECG-not AMI. Combining results of both stages
      in a two-step algorithm gave an overall classification in the training set of
      controls 92%, abnormal ECG-not AMI 84%, AMI 80%, and in the validation set of
      controls 77%, abnormal ECG-not AMI 82%, AMI 74%. Thus, in conclusion, when
      compared with the 12-lead ECG, BSM models results in higher sensitivity and
      specificity for detection of AMI, particularly in patients presenting with chest
      pain and nondiagnostic ECG changes. The use of BSM models in such patients, may
      lead to the earlier detection of AMI and appropriate administration of
      fibrinolytic therapy and/or anti-platelet agents.

PMID- 9988027
TI  - Task complexity effect on vocal reaction time in aged speakers.
AB  - The aged population is at risk for impaired speech communication due to the
      increased likelihood of deterioration of central nervous system (CNS) processes
      that underlie cognition, language, and/or speech motor control. Vocal reaction
      time (RT) may provide a means of quantifying the efficiency of CNS processes that
      underlie speech production. The present study used a simple RT paradigm to
      investigate effects of the complexity of the required task on vocal RT in normal
      young and aged speakers. Task complexity was represented by two levels: a single
      word and a short sentence. Only the aged subjects showed a significant task
      complexity effect on vocal RT. Furthermore, the between-group RT difference
      increased as a function of task complexity. Specific causes for the increase in
      vocal RT for the aged subjects are presently unknown, but likely reside in
      altered respiratory biomechanics and reduced efficiency of CNS motor processing.

PMID- 9988028
TI  - Correspondence of electroglottographic closed quotient to vocal fold impact
      stress in excised canine larynges.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to explore the possible use of the
      electroglottographic closed quotient (EGG CQ) as a noninvasive estimate of vocal
      fold impact stress (SI). Two excised canine larynges were used. Each larynx was
      mounted and vocal fold oscillation was induced using a humidified air source.
      Twenty-seven experimental trials were conducted for each larynx. Trials involved
      variations in vocal process gap, vocal fold elongation, and subglottic pressure.
      Simultaneous measures were made of vocal fold SI at the midpoint of the
      membranous vocal folds, and EGG CQ (dimensionless ratio). The results indicated
      that when threshold and saturation effects were excluded, the SI and the CQ were
      strongly related (linear correlation r = .83 and .96 for the two individual
      larynges, and .81 for the combined data). Within the region of linear relation,
      an increase of.15 in the CQ corresponded to about 1 kPa increase in SI for the
      combined data. Discussion focuses on possible clinical implications and the
      likely reasons for threshold and saturation phenomena.

PMID- 9988029
TI  - Effects of lung volume on the glottal voice source.
AB  - According to experience in voice therapy and singing pedagogy, breathing habits
      can be used to modify phonation, although this relationship has never been
      experimentally demonstrated. In the present investigation we examine if lung
      volume affects phonation. Twenty-four untrained subjects phonated at different
      pitches and degrees of vocal loudness at different lung volumes. Mean subglottal
      pressure was measured and voice source characteristics were analyzed by inverse
      filtering. The main results were that with decreasing lung volume, the closed
      quotient increased, while subglottal pressure, peak-to-peak flow amplitude, and
      glottal leakage tended to decrease. In addition, some estimates of the amount of
      the glottal adduction force component were examined. Possible explanations of the
      findings are discussed.

PMID- 9988030
TI  - An acoustical and perceptual analysis of the vocal behavior of classroom
      teachers.
AB  - This study examined perceptual evaluations of classroom teachers, acoustic
      measures of their voices ( fundamental frequency [F0], frequency range [F0SD], %
      jitter, and % shimmer), and behavioral measures (rate, dysfluencies, and episodes
      of vocal fry). This preliminary study attempted to identify perceptual and
      acoustic measures that discriminate between effective and less effective
      classroom teachers. Seven teachers were recorded on audiotape while presenting a
      10-12 minute lecture. Voice samples (N > 200) for each teacher were subjected to
      acoustic analysis. Audiotapes were evaluated by listeners (N = 180), who scale
      rated and used an adjective checklist to determine teachers' overall
      effectiveness. A three-member team evaluated global aspects of voice (e.g., use
      of pauses, inflections, contours, and phrasing). Results indicated that frequency
      range, frequency variability, rate, and number of dysfluencies appeared to
      correlate with perceptual judgments of teaching effectiveness and specific
      adjective descriptors. F0, % jitter, and % shimmer did not appear to be linked to
      perceptual judgments. Individual case profiles were established and
      recommendations were made for future empirical research involving larger samples
      of teachers.

PMID- 9988031
TI  - Acoustic voice analysis in patients with essential tremor.
AB  - To quantify several acoustic features of the voice in patients with essential
      tremor (ET), 28 patients and 28 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. ET
      severity was assessed with the rating scale for tremor of Fahn, Tolosa, and
      Marin. The Computerized Speech Lab 4300 program (Kay Elemetrics) was used. Two
      second samples of a sustained /a/ and a sentence were captured with a microphone
      and laryngograph equipment. Measures included fundamental frequency (F0),
      frequency perturbation (jitter, Koike algorithm), intensity perturbation
      (shimmer, Horii algorithm), and harmonic-to-noise ratio (H/N, Yumoto algorithm)
      of the vowel /a/, and the frequency and intensity variability of the sentence,
      phonational range, and dynamic range at the natural frequency, maximum
      phonational time, and s/z ratio. All subjects underwent indirect laryngoscopy
      and/or laryngeal fibroscopy. When compared with controls, ET patients showed
      higher jitter, lower H/N ratio (the last one only with laryngographic signal), of
      the vowel /a/, lower frequency variability in the microphonic signal, lower
      intensity variability in the laryngographic signal of the sentence, and
      significantly lower dynamic range at natural frequency of phonation. ET patients
      reported higher frequency of the presence of high voice intensity, tremor, and
      struggle. Several acoustic parameters were influenced by the severity of the
      disease, including shimmer, jitter, H/N ratio, frequency variability of the
      sentence, and s/z ratio, although neither of the acoustic analysis values or the
      phonetometric measurements were affected by the presence of voice tremor or by a
      successful pharmacological treatment of ET.

PMID- 9988032
TI  - Reliability of single sample experimental designs: comfortable effort level.
AB  - This study was designed to ascertain the intrasubject variability across multiple
      recording sessions-most often disregarded in reporting group mean data or
      unavailable because of single sample experimental designs. Intrasubject
      variability was assessed within and across several experimental sessions from
      measures of speaking fundamental frequency, vocal intensity, and reading rate.
      Three age groups of men and women--young, middle-aged, and elderly--repeated the
      vowel /a/, read a standard passage, and spoke extemporaneously during each
      experimental session. Statistical analyses were performed to assess each
      speaker's variability from his or her own mean, and that which consistently
      varied for any one speaking sample type, both within or across days. Results
      indicated that intrasubject variability was minimal, with approximately 4% of the
      data exhibiting significant variation across experimental sessions.

PMID- 9988033
TI  - The effect of patient factors on response outcomes to Botox treatment of
      spasmodic dysphonia.
AB  - Injection of botulinum toxin (Botox) into the laryngeal muscles has become the
      treatment of choice for controlling the symptoms of spasmodic dysphonia (SD).
      Currently, no specific battery of objective tests to assess the outcome is
      universally accepted. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic,
      clinical, and treatment factors with voice outcome following Botox injection.
      Sixty-eight patients with adductor SD who underwent at least one Botox injection
      during a 5-year period were studied. Voice outcome measures were made from
      patient self-reporting scales and included overall vocal quality, length of
      response, and duration of breathiness. Vocal quality was significantly correlated
      with the underlying severity of vocal symptoms prior to treatment, incidence of
      breathiness and unilateral versus bilateral injection. The length of response was
      greater in males and following bilateral injections. An increased period of
      breathiness significantly correlated with bilateral injections.

PMID- 9988034
TI  - Prevalence of voice problems in teachers.
AB  - Teachers are frequently cited as experiencing a high rate of vocal dysfunction (1
      7). Despite considerable research in the area of voice problems in teachers, the
      prevalence of voice disorders in this group is unknown. This study investigated
      the prevalence of self-reported voice problems in teachers using a mail survey of
      a simple random sample of 1168 state school teachers (preschool-Grade 12) in
      South Australia. As part of the survey, teachers were asked to report voice
      problems for the day of the survey, during the current teaching year, and during
      their careers. The response rate was 75%, with 16% of teachers reporting voice
      problems on the day of the survey, 20% reporting problems during the current
      teaching year, and 19% reporting problems at some time during their career.
      Females were twice as likely as males to report voice problems. These findings
      clearly indicate a need for further investigation of the causes of vocal
      dysfunction in teachers and for the development of educational programs aimed at
      preventing voice problems in this group of professional voice users.

PMID- 9988035
TI  - Frequency of voice problems among teachers and other occupations.
AB  - This study describes the frequency of reporting vocal problems among a random
      sample of elementary and high school teachers (n = 554) compared to individuals
      working in other occupations (n = 220). Teachers were more likely to define
      themselves as ever having a voice problem (32% versus. 1%, p < .05); having a
      tired, weak, or effortful voice (p < .05 each); and having a higher frequency of
      symptoms of physical discomfort with speaking (p < .05). They also were more
      likely to perceive that their voice problem negatively affected current job
      performance (p < .05) and limited options regarding change in work (p < .05).
      About 20% of teachers but only 4% of nonteachers had missed work due to their
      voice. These findings suggest that teachers are at high-risk for disability from
      voice disorders and that this health problem may have significant work-related
      and economic effects.

PMID- 9988036
TI  - Vocal problems among teachers: a review of prevalence, causes, prevention, and
      treatment.
AB  - Voice disorders are thought to be one of the major occupational hazards of school
      teaching. The resulting symptoms can affect teachers' ability to function in the
      classroom and prevent them from developing effective working relationships with
      other staff and students. Sick leave, speech pathology management, and surgical
      intervention can be costly. Severe voice problems can also result in a teacher
      permanently leaving the classroom. Despite the significant implications of voice
      disorders for teachers, this review of published research demonstrates that
      findings concerning the prevalence of voice problems in teachers and the causes
      and contributing factors of those voice problems are inconclusive. Similarly,
      previous research on the efficacy of prevention programs and treatment of voice
      problems in teachers provide few firm conclusions. Further research based on
      sound empirical data is needed, as many past studies have relied on anecdotal or
      self-report data. More operational definitions of what constitutes a voice
      disorder and the associated contributing factors should be adopted, along with
      the use of more instrumental measures and careful attention to methodology and
      appropriate statistical analyses. Only then will we have a sound basis for the
      development of effective prevention and education programs for teachers.

PMID- 9988037
TI  - Learning voice analysis using an interactive multi-media package: development and
      preliminary evaluation.
AB  - An important outcome of education for speech-language pathology practice is the
      ability to analyze voices perceptually, a complex task that is often difficult
      for novices. This article describes an interactive multi-media package, "A Sound
      Judgement," that is designed to help students develop skills in perceptual voice
      analysis and to link their perceptions to laryngeal physiology. The package
      presents a range of clients with vocal impairments at increasing levels of
      complexity. Each case has a videoed interview, endoscopic views and animations of
      the larynx, and case history information. Students make perceptual ratings of
      clients' voices on a format designed specifically for this package and feedback
      is provided using ratings made by expert speech-language pathologists. High
      levels of consensus for the perceptual judgments were achieved among the expert
      raters. Preliminary evaluations by students have demonstrated that "A Sound
      Judgement" is likely to be a valuable educational tool.

PMID- 9988038
TI  - A multi-media, computer-based method for stroboscopy rating training.
AB  - Methods of training individuals to rate stroboscopic examinations vary widely in
      rating criteria, viewing times, samples, and length of training. Consequently,
      problems occur in both inter- and intrajudge agreement. Computer-aided
      instruction (CAI) provides a means to integrate and control key learning factors
      that facilitate learning. This study attempted to determine if CAI could train
      individuals to make accurate and reliable visuo-perceptual judgments of
      stroboscopy. Experienced and inexperienced subjects rated 45 samples before and
      after training. Following 4 to 5 hours of CAI training, the subjects with no
      previous experience demonstrated improved interjudge agreement with a panel of
      expert raters. The training was not effective for the experienced group.
      Regardless of the rater's experience, the parameters that required evaluation of
      movement were more difficult to rate than those requiring only an assessment of
      structure.

PMID- 9988039
TI  - Psychogenic dysphonia: peeling back the layers.
AB  - Resolution of psychogenic dysphonia is often quick and effortless for client and
      therapist alike. In such instances, the therapeutic interventions are simple and
      straightforward, insights are reached without difficulty, and once normal voice
      has been established, resumption of dysphonia or other psychosomatic symptoms
      rarely occurs. Sometimes, however, psychogenic dysphonia is extremely difficult
      to overcome, requiring considerable time, effort, and determination on the part
      of the client, coupled with confident, skilled persistence and psychotherapeutic
      insight from the therapist. In such cases one feels a sense of working through
      many complex layers before obtaining satisfactory voice or reaching an
      understanding of the psychogenic factors that precipitated onset and/or
      maintenance of the dysphonia. Two cases that illustrate this involved process of
      peeling back the layers are presented. For resolution of severe psychogenic
      dysphonia, the therapist must be able to recognize and establish the complex
      relationship between the neurophysiological, intrapsychic, and interpersonal
      levels of function as they affect the client's voice and person, as a whole. This
      work requires considerable courage and skill on the part of the therapist to
      question, explore, change direction, and select alternative approaches. It is
      important that the problem can be resolved with a depth of understanding which is
      relevant for the client, and with due attention to the social context and wider
      systems of which he or she is a part.

PMID- 9988040
TI  - Outpatient transoral laser vaporization of anterior glottic webs and keel
      placement: risks of airway compromise.
AB  - Management of acquired anterior glottic webs involves resection of the web with
      reconstitution of a linear vocal fold edge and anterior commissure. Traditional
      procedures such as transcervical midline thyrotomy (with tracheostomy) and keel
      placement have been used for patients with extensive scar formation and airway
      compromise. However, in selected patients with more limited scarring and minimal
      to-no airway compromise, a transoral endoscopic approach may be a viable option.
      In three patients, transoral laser vaporization followed by transoral keel
      placement and outpatient removal resulted in a vocal quality that perceptually
      improved without any evidence of respiratory compromise postoperatively.

PMID- 9988041
TI  - Assessing outcomes for dysphonic patients.
AB  - This study was designed to evaluate a disease-specific outcome measure for
      patients with selected voice disorders and to relate this instrument to a
      standardized quality of life measurement. In addition, the study attempts to
      document the degree of handicap for dysphonia patients globally, between
      different vocal pathologies, and in comparison to other chronic diseases. In this
      prospective, observational study, 260 adult patients evaluated for alterations of
      voice completed a general quality of life measure (the Medical Outcomes Trust
      Short Form 36-Item[SF-36]) and a voice-specific instrument (Voice Handicap Index
      [VHI]) pretreatment. The highest correlation was between the social functioning
      score of the SF-36 and the total score of the VHI and the physical, emotional,
      and functional subscales (p < 0.001) of the VHI. Significant correlation was also
      obtained for the SF-36 domains mental health (p < 0.01), general health (p <
      0.01), and role functioning emotional (p < 0.017) with the three VHI domains and
      the total VHI score. Patients had significantly lower scores than the general
      U.S. population in five of the eight domains of SF-36. Patients with vocal fold
      paralysis had the highest level of pretreatment disability as measured on both
      the VHI and SF-36 among voice patients. The patients with dysphonia had a lower
      level of physical functioning than the patients with chronic sinusitis (p <
      0.01), reflecting a greater handicap. In addition, the dysphonia group had lower
      levels of social functioning than the angina (p < 0.01) and sciatica (p < 0.01)
      groups and a lower score for mental health than the angina group (p < 0.01). The
      SF-36 correlates with the VHI in the domains of social functioning, mental
      health, and role functioning emotional. The baseline handicap for voice disorders
      represents a significant disability even in comparison to conditions such as
      angina pectoris, sciatica, and chronic sinusitis.

PMID- 9988042
TI  - Functional impact of nodules: a case-comparison study.
AB  - Patients diagnosed with nodules (NO = 40) in a large university hospital clinic
      and an age-stratum matched nondiseased group (ND = 200) described adverse
      outcomes of vocal impairment on work and work-related communications. NOs were
      significantly more likely than NDs to report symptoms of hoarseness (73% vs.
      26%), high-note difficulty (70% vs. 20%), difficulty speaking with a lower voice
      (53% vs. 13%) and a tired voice (50% vs. 10%), and their greatest source of
      physical discomfort was associated with scratchiness (61% vs. 3%). The average
      number of symptoms was four in NOs and less than one in NDs. Nodule patients were
      most concerned about the effects their voice problem would have on their future
      career (78% vs. 24%) and 49% of NOS reported their voice problem had an adverse
      work effect in the past compared with 4% of NDs. Having a voice condition limited
      current job performance in 39% of the NO group but only in 2% of the ND group.
      The results suggest that a diagnosis of nodules plays a major role in disrupting
      careers and work activities and that available educational programs and
      additional research are needed for improving their functional ability and
      preventing adverse outcomes in the lives of individuals with voice disorders.

PMID- 9988043
TI  - Mechanisms of quinolone resistance in clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
AB  - Principal mechanisms of bacterial resistance to quinolones are modification of
      target enzymes, DNA gyrase (gyrA) and topoisomerase IV (parC), or reduction of
      intracellular concentration due to mutations in the regulatory genes for efflux
      systems, such as mexR and nfxB. We have examined gyrA, parC, mexR, and nfxB genes
      from 16 quinolone-resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to
      determine the relation between mutations in DNA replicating enzymes or regulatory
      genes for efflux systems and to correlate the mutations with minimal inhibitory
      concentrations (MICs). The quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of
      these genes were amplified by PCR and sequenced by capillary electrophoresis.
      Fourteen of 16 isolates had mutations in gyrA, and 13/14 strains with MIC to
      norfloxacin > or = 8 mg/L had threonine at position 83 changed to isoleucine.
      Seven of 8 strains with MIC > or = 32 mg/L had mutations in parC. One of these
      strains showed a parC mutation at position 74 without any mutation in gyrA. Four
      strains had mexR and two strains nfxB mutations. The data indicate that gyrA
      mutation is the most important component of quinolone resistance, and
      simultaneous presence of parC mutations is associated with high-level resistance.
      parC mutation alone may contribute to resistance, and gyrA mutation may not be a
      prerequisite for parC mutation to express resistance. mexR and nfxB mutations
      were found mostly in strains with high-level resistance.

PMID- 9988044
TI  - Comparison of PCR-heteroduplex characterization by automated DNA sequencing and
      line probe assay for the detection of rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium
      tuberculosis isolates from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
AB  - Progress in understanding the basis of resistance to rifampicin (RifR) has
      allowed molecular tests for the detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis to be
      developed. One hundred thirteen strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated
      from patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) were investigated
      for genotypic analysis of RifR by polymerase chain reaction-heteroduplex
      formation (PCR-HDF) and characterization of mutations by automated DNA sequencing
      of the rpoB gene. A subset of isolates (22) representative of different mutations
      as confirmed by sequence analysis were also evaluated by the Line Probe Assay
      (LiPA). In 106 of the RifR strains, 24 mutations within an 81-bp region of the
      rpoB gene affecting 13 amino acids were observed. Most isolates (7/8) harboring
      Leu533 --> Pro codon mutation required minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs)
      of < or = 8 microg/ml. There was geographic variation in the frequency of
      occurrence of particular rpoB mutations, with the Ser531 --> Leu/Trp codon
      mutation found in 59/113 of isolates. Although there are certain limitations in
      the use of both the rapid PCR-HDF diagnostic assay and the LiPA for the detection
      of rifampicin susceptibility of M. tuberculosis, these provide important and
      convenient tools for identifying and managing patients with MDR-TB.

PMID- 9988045
TI  - Analysis of the mutations involved in fluoroquinolone resistance of in vivo and
      in vitro mutants of Escherichia coli.
AB  - We searched for the mutations involved in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance
      (ciprofloxacin MIC > or = 8 microg/ml) of 11 clinical isolates of Escherichia
      coli. trans-Complementation tests with the wild-type gyrA and parC genes were
      positive for all strains whereas negative results were observed with the wild
      type gyrB and parE genes. By PCR and sequencing, two mutations in gyrA, leading
      to Ser-83 --> Leu and Asp-87 --> Asn (7) or Gly (2) or Tyr (1) changes, were
      found in 10 strains, the eleventh presenting only the Ser-83 --> Leu change. In
      addition, all strains carried one change in ParC: Ser-80 --> Ile (8) or Arg (2);
      Glu-84 --> Lys (1). We described a novel and simple method permitting detection
      of the mutations in parC at codon 80, PCR-RFLP with HaeII. In vitro mutants,
      selected with ciprofloxacin in three successive steps were also studied. The
      first-step mutants were complemented by pJSW101 (gyrA+) but not by pEN260
      (parC+), whereas the second-step and third-step mutants were complemented by both
      plasmids. Mutations occurred in the following order: (i) gyrA at codon 83 (Ser to
      Leu change), (ii) parC at codon 80 (Ser to Ile change), and (iii) gyrA at codon
      87 (Asp to Asn change). Thus, these sequential mutations appear to be frequently
      involved in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance of E. coli.

PMID- 9988046
TI  - Spread of a methicillin-resistant and multiresistant epidemic clone of
      Staphylococcus aureus in Argentina.
AB  - One hundred forty-eight recent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
      isolates collected from 13 hospitals in Argentina were examined for antibiotic
      susceptibility and clonal type, using hybridization with DNA probes specific for
      mecA and Tn554, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of chromosomal SmaI
      digests. The majority of the isolates (62.2%) shared the common PFGE B pattern
      and carried variants of mecA and Tn554 polymorphs characteristic of an MRSA clone
      widely spread in Brazilian hospitals. Similarly to the Brazilian isolates, the
      MRSA clone recovered in the Argentinian hospitals (XI::B::B) and its close
      relatives (XI::B'::B, XI::AA::B, XI::M::B, XI::omega omega::B, and III::W::B)
      showed susceptibility to spectinomycin and resistance to numerous antibacterial
      agents, including beta-lactams, tetracycline, aminoglycosides, macrolides,
      trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin, and more than 60%
      of the isolates were also resistant to chloramphenicol and rifampin. The XI::B::B
      MRSA clone represented the majority of isolates recovered in most of the
      hospitals, nine of which were located in the city of Buenos Aires, three in the
      province of Buenos Aires, and one in the province of Tucuman, 1,312 km northwest
      of the city of Buenos Aires. The observations document further geographic
      expansion of this South American MRSA clone across national boundaries.

PMID- 9988047
TI  - Antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli of the normal intestinal flora of
      swine.
AB  - Twelve hundred enterobacterial Escherichia coli isolates of porcine origin were
      screened phenotypically for antibiotic resistance. The bacteria were isolated
      from 10 herds of swine with different histories of exposure to antimicrobial
      agents for therapeutic purposes. The bacterial isolates were part of the normal
      bacterial flora of the intestines of the animals because they were isolated from
      healthy individuals. The strains were tested for phenotypic antibiotic resistance
      against sulfonamides, trimethoprim, streptomycin, ampicillin, neomycin,
      chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. Resistance against streptomycin was found to
      be most common, followed by resistance against sulfonamides and tetracycline. The
      highest number of resistant bacteria was found in herds where the use of
      antimicrobial agents was considered to be high. A selection of multiresistant
      bacterial isolates were further genetically characterized by hybridization with
      probes specific for the antibiotic resistance genes; sulI, sulII, dfrI, dfrIIb,
      dfrIX, and the class A, B, C, and D tetracycline resistance determinants. A PCR
      was developed and used for detection of the strA-strB gene pair encoding
      streptomycin resistance in gram-negative bacteria. The strA-strB gene pair was
      the most frequent resistance determinant in the isolates examined. This study
      indicates that nonpathogenic E. coli from swine may represent a considerable
      reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes that might be transferable to pathogens.

PMID- 9988048
TI  - Susceptibility and genetic relatedness of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b
      in Italy.
AB  - Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) still causes a large portion of meningitis in
      children less than 5 year old in Italy because vaccination against this agent has
      not been fully implemented in the country. We have studied 78 Hib strains and 4
      nontypable H. influenzae (NTHi) isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of subjects
      with meningitis for susceptibility to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and
      ceftriaxone. The macrorestriction profiles of chromosomal DNA obtained by pulsed
      field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) following digestion with SmaI and ApaI were also
      determined. All strains except one were equally susceptible to the antibiotics
      tested. One Hib strain, the only beta-lactamase producer, showed an intermediate
      susceptibility to ampicillin (MIC = 2 microg/ml), while maintaining full
      susceptibility to chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone. The analysis of the PFGE
      patterns showed that most of the Hib isolates, including the beta-lactamase
      positive Hib strain, belonged to the same clone or to closely related subclones.
      For three PCR-confirmed NTHi isolates, we obtained completely different PFGE
      profiles. In conclusion, resistance to ampicillin still appears to be a rare
      finding in Hib strains causing meningitis in Italy; moreover, PFGE showed that
      the population structure of invasive Hib is essentially clonal.

PMID- 9988049
TI  - Effect of tylosin used as a growth promoter on the occurrence of macrolide
      resistant enterococci and staphylococci in pigs.
AB  - This study was conducted to investigate the effect of tylosin used as a growth
      promoter on the occurrence of macrolide-resistant enterococci and staphylococci
      in pigs. Two identical feeding experiments with 10 pigs each were conducted to
      evaluate the effect of tylosin on the occurrence of erythromycin resistance among
      enterococci sampled from feces and Staphylococcus hyicus sampled by skin swabs.
      Half of the pigs were fed antibiotic-free feed and the other half feed with
      tylosin (30 microg/g) added. For each pig, weekly fecal samples and skin swabs
      were collected and examined for erythromycin-susceptible and erythromycin
      resistant enterococci and S. hyicus, respectively. There was an immediate effect
      of tylosin on the fraction of resistant enterococci recovered, increasing by a
      factor 2.4; the effect on S. hyicus was more gradual, increasing at a rate of
      about 8% per day and totaling a five-fold increase over 20 days. Thus, a clear
      effect on resistance occurrence was demonstrated, not only in intestinal
      bacteria, but also on bacteria sampled from the skin.

PMID- 9988050
TI  - Transmission of VanA-type vancomycin-resistant enterococci and vanA resistance
      elements between chicken and humans at avoparcin-exposed farms.
AB  - The genetical relatedness between epidemiologically linked fecal VRE strains from
      poultry farmers (n = 5) and their broilers (n = 7) at five avoparcin-exposed
      Norwegian farms was examined. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of
      bacterial chromosomal digests and structural analysis of vanA resistance elements
      was performed. Animal and human Enterococcus faecium strains at one farm were
      genetically closely related with indistinguishable vanA elements and a single
      band position difference in PFGE analysis. Examination of the vanA elements in
      genetically unrelated strains by restriction enzyme digestion of Tn1546 long-PCR
      amplicons and ORF2-vanR intergenic sequencing revealed a pool of at least two
      distinct vanA gene cluster groups in the two reservoirs. The results indicate
      that transmission of VanA glycopeptide resistance in enterococci between human
      and animal at avoparcin-exposed farms can occur by direct transfer of VRE strains
      as well as horizontal spread of resistance genes between strains.

PMID- 9988051
TI  - Antimicrobial resistance in staphylococci and enterococci in 10 Portuguese
      hospitals in 1996 and 1997. POSGAR. Portuguese Study Group of Antimicrobial
      Resistance.
AB  - During a 2-year period, 10 Portuguese hospitals located throughout the country
      studied antimicrobial susceptibilities of clinically relevant staphylococci and
      enterococci. Of more than 12,000 Staphylococcus aureus isolates tested, two main
      patterns were found, methicillin-sensitive organisms most of them resistant only
      to penicillin but a few to other antimicrobials and methicillin-resistant S.
      aureus (MRSA) strains (prevalence 48.2%) resistant to most of the antimicrobials
      tested and uniformly susceptible to vancomycin. Among coagulase-negative
      staphylococci (CNS), 71% of S. epidermidis (approximately 5,000 isolates tested)
      and 84% S. haemolyticus (approximately 1,000 isolates tested) were also resistant
      to methicillin as well as most other antimicrobials except vancomycin. Most of
      the 5,000 Enterococcus faecalis isolates tested were susceptible to ampicillin
      and vancomycin, in contrast to 650 E. faecium isolates, 70% of which were
      resistant to ampicillin and 20% to vancomycin and all other antibiotics. A high
      prevalence of aminoglycoside resistance occurred in both Enterococcus species.
      This survey showed that resistance profiles of staphylococci and enterococci
      hospital isolates have not changed in the last 5 years in Portugal, with the
      exception of the rise in vancomycin resistance in E. faecium. The high prevalence
      of methicillin resistance in S. aureus and in the CNS remains an issue of medical
      concern.

PMID- 9988052
TI  - Molecular characterization of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae
      isolates causing respiratory disease in the United States.
AB  - Three hundred twenty-eight (328) penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae
      isolates collected in 39 states of the United States between October, 1996, and
      March, 1997, from (mostly adult) patients with respiratory disease were
      characterized by microbiological, serological, and molecular fingerprinting
      techniques, including determination of chromosomal macrorestriction pattern with
      pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and hybridization with DNA probes
      specific for various antibiotic resistance genes. The overwhelming majority of
      the isolates were in five serogroups (23, 6, 19, 9, 14). All isolates had
      penicillin MIC values of at least 2 microg/ml, but the collection also included
      isolates with MIC values as high as 16 microg/ml. Virtually all isolates (96.6%)
      were resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) and many isolates were also
      resistant to chloramphenicol (43%), tetracycline (55%), and erythromycin (65%).
      Resistance to levofloxacin was extremely rare. The molecular fingerprinting
      methods showed that a surprisingly large proportion (167 out of 328, or 50.9%) of
      the isolates belonged to two international epidemic clones of S. pneumoniae:
      clone A (127, or 38.7%) with properties indistinguishable from that of the 23F
      multiresistant "Spanish/USA" clone widely spread in Europe, Asia, Latin America,
      and South Africa, and clone B (40, or 12.2%) belonging to the "French" serogroup
      9/14 clone widely spread in Europe and South America. Virtually all members of
      clone A were also resistant to chloramphenicol (cat+), tetracycline (tetM+), and
      SXT, and about 75% were also resistant to erythromycin (mefE+ or ermB+). Close to
      30% (39 out of 127) of the clone A isolates expressed anomalous serotypes
      (primarily serotypes 19 and 14, and nontypable) and most likely represented
      spontaneous capsular transformants. Most of the 40 isolates (35/40) belonging to
      clone B expressed serotype 9, with five of the isolates expressing serotypes 14
      or 19, or were nontypable. All members of this clone were resistant to penicillin
      and SXT with only occasional isolates showing resistance to macrolides,
      tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. The combination of microbiological tests and
      DNA hybridizations also allowed the identification of unusual strains, for
      instance, isolates that reacted with the tetM or mefE DNA probes without showing
      phenotypic antibiotic resistance, an isolate showing phenotypic macrolide
      resistance without hybridizing with either the ermB or mefE DNA probes, or
      isolates that hybridized with both of these DNA probes. In addition to clones A
      and B, another large portion of the S. pneumoniae isolates (112 of 328, or 34.1%)
      was represented by eight clusters, each with a unique PFGE type. These clusters,
      together with the clone A and clone B isolates, made up 85% of all the penicillin
      resistant isolates identified in this survey in the United States. Both
      international clones and the unique clusters showed wide geographic dispersal:
      Clone A was present in 30 of the 39 states and clone B in 18. The data suggest
      that the major mode of spread of penicillin-resistant pneumococci in the United
      States is by clonal expansion and that the most significant components (clones A
      and B) have been imported into the United States from abroad.

PMID- 9988053
TI  - Impact of antibiotic resistance on chemotherapy for pneumococcal infections.
AB  - Over the past three decades, penicillin-resistant pneumococci have emerged
      worldwide. In addition, penicillin-resistant strains have also decreased
      susceptibility to other beta-lactams (including cephalosporins) and these strains
      are often resistant to other antibiotic groups, making the treatment options much
      more difficult. Nevertheless, the present in vitro definitions of resistance to
      penicillin and cephalosporins in pneumococci could not be appropriated for all
      types of pneumococcal infections. Thus, current levels of resistance to
      penicillin and cephalosporin seem to have little, if any, clinical relevance in
      nonmeningeal infections (e.g., pneumonia or bacteremia). On the contrary,
      numerous clinical failures have been reported in patients with pneumococcal
      meningitis caused by strains with MICs > or = 0.12 microg/ml, and penicillin
      should never be used in pneumococcal meningitis except when the strain is known
      to be fully susceptible to this drug. Today, therapy for pneumococcal meningitis
      should mainly be selected on the basis of susceptibility to cephalosporins, and
      most patients may currently be treated with high-dose cefotaxime (+/-)
      vancomycin, depending on the levels of resistance in the patient's geographic
      area. In this review, we present a practical approach, based on current levels of
      antibiotic resistance, for treating the most prevalent pneumococcal infections.
      However, it should be emphasized that the most appropriate antibiotic therapy for
      infections caused by resistant pneumococci remains controversial, and
      comparative, randomized studies are urgently needed to clarify the best
      antibiotic therapy for these infections.

PMID- 9988054
TI  - A double-blind study of paroxetine, fluoxetine, and placebo in outpatients with
      major depression.
AB  - We report results from a multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double
      blind comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of paroxetine and fluoxetine in
      outpatients with major depression. Across five U.S. sites, 128 outpatients (mean
      age: 41.3 +/- 12.6; 63 men and 65 women) with moderate to moderately severe major
      depression without a history of mania or hypomania were recruited between 1993
      and 1994. All 128 patients completed a 1-week placebo washout period, and were
      then randomized to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with paroxetine up to 50
      mg/day (n = 55), fluoxetine up to 80 mg/day (n = 54), or placebo (n = 19).
      Subjects were evaluated weekly for the first 4 weeks, then at weeks 6, 9, and 12
      with the 21-item HAMD and the Covi Anxiety Scale. There were no significant
      differences among the three treatment groups in baseline and endpoint depression
      and anxiety severity, as well as in the degree of depression and anxiety
      improvement. There were no statistically significant differences in rates or mean
      numbers of adverse events between paroxetine-treated patients and fluoxetine
      treated patients. In summary, our results, although limited by the lack of a
      significant difference from placebo in treatment outcome, suggest that the SSRIs
      paroxetine and fluoxetine have comparable antidepressant and antianxiety
      efficacies among depressed outpatients, as well as similar safety and
      tolerability profiles.

PMID- 9988055
TI  - Diagnostic stability of schizophrenia in psychiatric emergency room patients.
AB  - Diagnoses obtained from the hospital computer system were compared at two
      consecutive visits in 286 psychiatric emergency room patients within a 7-month
      period. Diagnostic agreement of schizophrenia and changes from and to
      schizophrenia were examined. There was moderate stability for a schizophrenic
      diagnosis in patients at two consecutive visits (kappa 0.5). schizophrenia was a
      more stable diagnosis in males (kappa 0.6) than females (0.4). Underdiagnosis of
      schizophrenia in females may be due to initial diagnostic confusion with
      affective illnesses. Further studies are needed in other settings to assess if
      underdiagnosis is associated with undertreatment of schizophrenia in females.

PMID- 9988056
TI  - PTSD following bereavement.
AB  - Until quite recently, the only stressor considered consistent with the diagnosis
      of PTSD was a catastrophic, out of the ordinary, trauma that almost anyone could
      be expected to have a severe reaction to. Thus, PTSD was considered relatively
      rare among non-military populations. More recently, epidemiologic surveys have
      suggested that PTSD may be much more prevalent than heretofore recognized, and
      the DSM-IV has opened the door to a much larger variety of stressors (the "A"
      criterion). Yet, bereavement is not considered the type of stressor capable of
      producing PTSD. In this study, 350 newly bereaved widows and widowers were
      assessed for the prevalence of PTSD, its chronicity, comorbidity, and
      consequences. The diagnosis of PTSD was made on the basis of questionnaire items
      approximating the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. At 2 months after the spouse's death,
      10% of those whose spouses died after a chronic illness met criteria for PTSD, 9%
      of those whose spouses died unexpectedly met criteria, and 36% of those whose
      spouses died from "unnatural" causes (suicide or accident) had PTSD. Symptoms
      tended to be chronic in at least 40% of the subjects, almost always were
      associated with comorbid depression, and created substantial morbidity. The
      results suggested that PTSD may occur after bereavement, and, by extension, other
      stressors not recognized by official diagnostic systems. The "A" criterion needs
      further examination.

PMID- 9988057
TI  - Clinical correlates of response to valproate in geriatric inpatients.
AB  - The efficacy of valproate for the management of adults with bipolar disorder has
      been repeatedly demonstrated in several studies. Patients with mixed states,
      rapid cycling, and EEG abnormalities have been shown to respond favorably to
      valproate. Valproate is also being increasingly used in disorders with aggressive
      or agitated features, such as the behavioral disorders of dementia; yet, few
      studies have documented the utility of valproate in geriatric patients. The need
      to document safe and effective pharmacologic agents to treat geriatric mood and
      behavioral disorders continues to increase with the growing elderly population.
      We conducted a retrospective study of the use of valproate in patients
      consecutively hospitalized over a 5-year period on a psychiatric unit. Thirty
      nine patients over age 60 were identified and then categorized into non-,
      partial, and full responders based on Clinical Global Impression ratings.
      Information on diagnosis, age, valproate dose and serum concentration,
      psychiatric symptoms, medical comorbidity, concurrent psychotropic medications,
      and side effects was collected. Results suggest that responders to valproate
      (full or partial) over the age of 60 years were more likely to be female,
      younger, carry a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and achieve higher serum
      valproate concentrations. Full responders had fewer psychotic symptoms but
      usually displayed manic symptoms. The date of this study suggests the need for
      controlled clinical trials to clarify the utility and clinical predictors of
      response to valproate in the geriatric population.

PMID- 9988058
TI  - Suicide methods and presence of intoxicating abusable substances: some clinical
      and public health implications.
AB  - Toxicological studies have reported the presence of alcohol in about a third of
      suicides. Some have suggested that the presence of alcohol might predispose
      suicidal people to use particular methods, e.g., guns, although, in general, this
      does not appear to be the case. More recently, comprehensive toxicological
      studies have provided data on the detection of all intoxicating abusable
      substances (IAS) among suicides. The purpose of this report is to examine the
      presence of two samples of suicides to see if any relationships between presence
      of IAS at post mortem toxicology and any specific suicide method. The samples
      included 179 suicides from San Diego, California (1981-1982), and 225 suicides
      from Mobile, Alabama (1990-1995) for which comprehensive toxicological
      examination had been conducted. Methods were grouped into more immediately fatal
      (MIF) and less immediately fatal (LIF) categories. The most common method in each
      category (guns and overdoses respectively) were examined separately as well. The
      same proportions of men (51%) and women (65%) were positive for any IAS in both
      locations. There were no significant differences in the proportions of suicides
      that were positive for IAS between the sample totals or by gender or age groups
      (under age 30 and age 30 and over) for any of the methods or categories examined.
      Significantly more of the Mobile suicides were by MIF methods than in San Diego
      for both genders, almost totally attributable to the use of guns. The use of guns
      for suicide in Mobile (and the state of Alabama) was also significantly higher
      than the rest of the U.S. in the early 1990's. Nonetheless, the suicide rates for
      men and women in Mobile (and Alabama) were no higher than for the overall U.S.
      rates. We conclude that potentially suicidal people should be advised to avoid
      intoxicating abusable substances of any kind. We also suggest that physicians
      should avoid prescribing such substances to depressed or suicidal patients.

PMID- 9988059
TI  - Melancholia with onset during treatment with SSRIs.
AB  - A defined group of medical records was surveyed for patients who showed onset of
      major depression with melancholic features while taking an antidepressant
      medication. Nine cases resulted. In all the antidepressants being taken while
      melancholia began were SSRIs and the melancholic depression remitted rapidly with
      the first treatment given, bupropion in five males, nortriptyline with
      triiodothyronine in two females, and ECT in one male and one female. This
      suggests that patients who take SSRIs and are melancholic respond well to
      bupropion, nortriptyline, or ECT. These observations complement reports of low
      responsivity of melancholic depression to SSRIs and distinctions between
      melancholic and nonmelancholic depressions.

PMID- 9988060
TI  - Adjunctive tiagabine treatment of psychiatric disorders: three cases.
AB  - Anticonvulsants which effectively treat complex partial seizures are noted to
      have mood stabilizing effects (carbamazepine, valproate, lamotrigine,
      gabapentin). Tiagabine, a novel GABA uptake inhibitor anticonvulsant with similar
      indications, was used as adjunctive therapy to control psychiatric symptoms in
      three patients--two with bipolar disorder and one with schizoaffective disorder,
      bipolar type. All three patients improved during adjunctive low dosage tiagabine
      treatment and no untoward side effects were noted. Clinicians are advised to
      consider this new anticonvulsant as a potential adjunctive agent in the treatment
      of bipolar and schizoaffective disorders. Controlled trials are indicated.

PMID- 9988061
TI  - Rational treatment of panic disorder with antidepressants.
AB  - Rational treatment of panic disorders with antidepressants rests on decisions of
      drug choice, dosage, and duration of treatment. In this paper, we selectively
      review the author's research with the standard antidepressant, imipramine, in the
      treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia as it relates to practical issues.
      We develop general guidelines for treatment, suggest researchable ways of
      increasing the net effectiveness of treatment with this class of drugs, and
      discuss limited generalizations to the extant literature on selective serotonin
      reuptake inhibitors in panic disorders.

PMID- 9988062
TI  - An ultrashort 1-day protocol of Tc-99m tetrofosmin.
AB  - PURPOSE: This study describes a new 1-day protocol with Tc-99m tetrofosmin that
      requires only 100 minutes to obtain both stress and resting cardiac images by
      using a double-injection and subtraction method. METHODS: This procedure was
      performed in 48 consecutive patients. Rest-rest double injections were performed
      in eight patients (five men, three women; mean age, 69 +/- 9.8 years ) to
      evaluate count and image reproducibility (subprotocol A), and stress-rest and
      additional resting perfusion images (true rest) were done on a different day in
      11 patients (five men, six women; mean age, 63 +/- 5.9 years) to confirm the
      validity of the new protocol (subprotocol B). RESULTS: Image quality scores of
      the resting image were excellent (35 of 48, or 72.9%), good (7 of 48, or 14.6%),
      fair (3 of 48, or 6.3%), and poor (3 of 48, or 6.3%). The scintigraphic findings
      with the new protocol corresponded closely with those of angiography in 26 of 34
      cases (76.5%), with a tendency for underestimation (in 5 of 34 cases, or 14.7%)
      rather than overestimation (in 3 of 34 cases, or 8.8%). In subprotocol A, count
      reproducibility between the two resting images was excellent (r = 0.95; P <
      0.0001); and in subprotocol B, the early-rest images were concordant visually and
      quantitatively with the true rest images (r = 0.89, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION:
      Although there are some limitations, this protocol can be used as a routine
      stress-rest protocol.

PMID- 9988063
TI  - Adenosine challenge and boost protocols: new tools for myocardial perfusion
      imaging.
AB  - The validity of pharmacologic stress testing and subsequent myocardial perfusion
      imaging is uncertain in those patients who may have taken caffeine within the 24
      hours before testing. For such patients, two new challenge tests have been
      developed. An intravenous bolus dose of adenosine is given at a dose of 6 mg in a
      period of 1 or 2 seconds. A physiologic response qualifies the patient to proceed
      with the scheduled stress test. In the occasional patient who exhibits no
      pharmacologic symptoms during an infusion test, a similar bolus dose of 6 mg
      adenosine can validate perfusion tests. These two applications are successful
      regardless of whether adenosine or dipyridamole infusions are performed. Based on
      this multicenter experience over 4 years, the authors estimate that 5% to 10% of
      patients undergoing pharmacologic testing are appropriate candidates for a
      challenge test.

PMID- 9988064
TI  - Coronary artery occlusion and myocardial infarction: a seldom encountered
      complication of blunt chest trauma.
AB  - Myocardial infarction is a rare complication that can occur after blunt chest
      trauma. The authors describe a 30-year-old man who experienced a fatal
      anterolateral myocardial infarction after chest trauma in a motorcycle accident.
      The electrocardiogram and creatine phosphokinase-MB isoenzymes levels suggested
      myocardial necrosis. Tc-99m phosphate myocardial scintigraphy identified an
      extensive doughnut-shaped uptake over the cardiac area. An echocardiogram
      revealed severe left ventricular impairment. Coronary angiography confirmed
      complete occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery.

PMID- 9988065
TI  - Dipyridamole modulated Tc-99m sestamibi lung SPECT in small cell lung cancer.
AB  - PURPOSE: In this study, the authors wanted to determine whether dipyridamole
      modulated MIBI (dipyridamole-MIBI) could enhance the prediction of the response
      to chemotherapy in patients with small cell lung cancer. METHODS: Twenty-seven
      patients with biopsy-proved small cell lung cancer (25 men, 2 women; mean age, 61
      +/- 7 years) underwent dipyridamole-MIBI SPECT 3 to 7 days before starting
      chemotherapy (80 mg/m2 etoposide and 80 mg/m2 cisplatin every 3 or 4 weeks for at
      least two cycles). Tomographic images before and after dipyridamole (0.84 mg/kg)
      were acquired 1 hour after injection of 370 (10 mCi) and 1,110 (30 mCi) MBq MIBI,
      respectively. The response to chemotherapy was grouped as specified as complete
      response (CR), partial (PR), no change (NC), or progressive disease (PD),
      according to the change in tumor size on chest roentgenography and CT. Patients
      showing CR and PR were classified as responders, and those who showed NC and PD
      were considered nonresponders. RESULTS: Among the 27 patients, 22 were responders
      (3 CR, 19 PR) and 5 were nonresponders (3 NC, 2 PD). The tumor-to-normal lung
      ratio (T:NL) of responders was significantly higher than that of nonresponders.
      The diagnostic accuracy of the T:NL ratio to differentiate responders and
      nonresponders was 33.3%, with a cutoff value of 2.5, which was significantly
      improved to 77.8% when an increased T:NL ratio after dipyridamole was assigned to
      a nonresponder. Furthermore, all patients with CR showed diminished T:NL ratios
      after dipyridamole, and all patients with NR showed an increased T:NL ratio after
      dipyridamole. CONCLUSION: Dipyridamole-MIBI SPECT could enhance the prediction of
      response to chemotherapy in patients with small cell lung cancer.

PMID- 9988066
TI  - Laparoscopy as a cause of a false-positive Meckel's scan.
AB  - A new cause of a false-positive result of a Meckel's scan is reported. An 11-year
      old girl had a 3-week history of constant right lower quadrant pain that was
      initially managed by laparoscopic appendectomy. A repeated laparoscopy for
      persistent pain was nondiagnostic. A missed Meckel's diverticulum was considered
      as the cause of this pain, which prompted a Meckel scan. This scan revealed a
      periumbilical focus of activity that was interpreted as a Meckel's diverticulum
      attached to the anterior abdominal wall by a band. The laparotomy showed no
      Meckel's diverticulum. The false-positive result of the Meckel scan may be the
      result of inflammation from the periumbilical laparoscopic port site.

PMID- 9988067
TI  - Increased pertechnegas lung clearance in interstitial lung disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is characterized by inflammation
      within the alveolar walls and interstitium of the lungs. This causes increased
      alveolar-capillary membrane permeability. The diagnosis is made by clinical
      features, chest roentgenography, lung function tests, and high-resolution CT, and
      it is confirmed by lung biopsy. Radionuclide aerosol tracers such as Tc-99m DTPA
      show increased lung clearance in ILD. The clearance rate of microaerosol
      pertechnegas (modified Technegas) from the lungs in the assessment of ILD was
      evaluated. METHODS: Thirty-two patients (22 with ILD and 10 with non-ILD) were
      evaluated with pertechnegas. Pertechnegas is formed by adding 3% oxygen to
      technegas, a microaerosol ventilation agent. Regions of interest were then drawn
      around the lungs, and clearance rates were determined from the best exponential
      fit. RESULTS: The mean clearance rate of pertechnegas was significantly increased
      in ILD and measured 5.78 +/- 2.2 minutes compared with non-ILD, which measured
      8.53 +/- 2.42 minutes (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity rates of
      pertechnegas clearance (less than 8 minutes) in ILD were 90% and 60%,
      respectively. When combined with chest roentgenography, the sensitivity and
      specificity rates increased to 100% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:
      Pertechnegas is highly effective in determining the presence of active ILD. It
      differentiates between active ILD and non-ILD, and it is highly sensitive and
      specific when combined with chest roentgenography. Its potential role in the
      management of ILD merits further investigation.

PMID- 9988068
TI  - Recurrent ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone producing thymic carcinoid detected
      with octreotide imaging.
AB  - Primary thymic carcinoids are rare tumors in which the tumor cells retain
      functional somatostatin receptors. In-111-labeled octreotide imaging has been
      used to diagnose abdominal carcinoids with a sensitivity rate of approximately
      87%. The authors describe a case of a recurrent, ectopic cortisol-releasing
      hormone that produced thymic carcinoid localized as a focal area of increased
      activity in the upper mediastinum when planar and tomographic octreotide
      scintigraphy was used. Chest CT and MRI failed to localize the tumor. This may be
      the first reported case of In-111-labeled octreotide used to identify Cushing's
      syndrome caused by a cortisol-releasing hormone that produced thymic carcinoid.

PMID- 9988069
TI  - Detection of abscesses with Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte scintigraphy depends on their
      stage and location.
AB  - Two abscesses were shown on CT in a 72-year-old man: one in the left hip and one
      in the left pelvic region that resulted from a motor vehicle collision that
      occurred 8 months earlier. Bone scintigraphy showed increased uptake in the left
      hip area. On Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte imaging, the hip area appeared to be
      photopenic, and the abscess of the left pelvis was not identified. Incidental
      uptake in the left lung base appeared to be an active acute inflammatory process
      as evidenced by an infiltrating lesion in the left lower lung on a chest
      radiograph. Because leukocyte scintigraphy cannot detect the presence of a
      chronic inflammatory process in the absence of acute inflammatory cells, the
      patient's abscesses in the left hip and the left pelvis did not localize Tc-99m
      HMPAO-labeled neutrophils. The cold lesion in the left hip area was most likely
      caused by the lesion in the reticuloendothelial system (bone marrow); the
      unidentifiable pelvic lesion was related to the area(s) outside the
      reticuloendothelial system. In interpreting a labeled leukocyte image, clinicians
      should be alert to the stage (chronic or acute) and location (regardless of
      whether in the reticuloendothelial system) of infectious lesion(s). In this
      patient, a wide spectrum of manifestations was evident on leukocyte scintigraphy.

PMID- 9988070
TI  - Tc-99m sestamibi scintigraphy in multiple myeloma.
AB  - Tc-99m sestamibi imaging was performed in two patients with multiple myeloma.
      Focal areas of increased uptake in one patient and diffuse skeletal uptake in the
      second patient were found. Tc-99m sestamibi appears to identify bone marrow and
      osteolytic involvement in multiple myeloma.

PMID- 9988071
TI  - I-131 orthoiodohippurate assessment of renal function after heart
      transplantation.
AB  - PURPOSE: The authors studied the relation between cardiac output (CO) and
      effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) and compared values from control patients with
      various cardiac problems with those in a group of study patients who had
      undergone heart transplantation. METHODS: The experimental group was divided into
      three subgroups according to the interval between the time of surgery and the
      time of the CO-ERPF studies. Group 1 consisted of patients studied fewer than 10
      days after surgery; group 2 consisted of patients studied 10 to 20 days after
      operation; and group 3 consisted of patients studied more than 20 days after
      operation. Effective renal plasma flow was determined by the single-injection,
      single plasma sample method, where 50 microCi I-131 orthoiodohippurate was
      injected intravenously in a single dose and plasma concentrations of
      radioactivity were determined. The quotient of injected dose radioactivity
      divided by plasma radioactivity is highly predictive of global ERPF. Cardiac
      output was measured by thermodilution. RESULTS: In the control group, a positive
      linear correlation was found between CO and ERPF; however, the CO:ERPF ratio was
      elevated, and after heart transplantation, a lag time was observed for as long as
      3 weeks in some patients before CO:ERPF ratios returned to control group levels.
      The regression equation and standard error for the control group was CO = 1.85 +
      0.0065 ERPF (+/-0.62) l/min versus 1.433 + 0.0068 ERPF (+/-0.64) l/min for group
      3. The correlation coefficients comparing CO with ERPF were r = 0.88, 0.23, 0.51,
      and 0.85, for the control group and groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. CONCLUSION:
      A localized release of catecholamines from the adrenal gland is proposed to cause
      ERPF damping after abrupt increases in CO.

PMID- 9988072
TI  - Tc-99m DTPA renal scintigraphy using deconvolution analysis with six functional
      images of the mean time to evaluate acute pyelonephritis.
AB  - In 38 children with proved P-fimbriated Escherichia coli acute pyelonephritis, Tc
      99m DTPA dynamic renal scintigraphy in the zoom mode using deconvolution analysis
      was performed, and the results were compared with those of Tc-99m DMSA scans.
      From the dynamic study, six functional images of the mean time were generated.
      Each functional image was analyzed separately to search for focal areas of
      increased mean time within the kidney contour, especially over the kidney
      parenchyma. Time-activity curves from these areas were generated and analyzed. Tc
      99m DMSA scintigraphy showed generalized or focal decreased uptake in 32 (41.8%)
      kidneys, and deconvolution analysis of Tc-99m DTPA scintigraphy revealed
      pathologic renographic curves in 58 (77.6%) kidneys. Prolonged whole-kidney and
      normal renal parenchymal transit times (dilatation without obstruction) were
      found in 38 (50%) kidneys, whereas prolonged whole-kidney and renal parenchymal
      transit times (dilatation with obstruction) were observed in 20 (27.6%) kidneys.
      Separate analysis of each of the six functional images of the mean time showed
      focal areas of increased mean time in the kidney parenchyma of 11 kidneys. In
      five cases, time-activity curves from these areas showed a sharp increase of
      activity on the descending part of the curve, which might reflect the return of
      urine from the collecting system into kidney cortex (i.e., intrarenal reflux).
      These results showed that in a urinary tract with acute pyelonephritis,
      urodynamic changes may lead to obstructive nephropathy and intrarenal reflux. Tc
      99m DTPA renal scintigraphy in the zoom mode using deconvolution analysis with
      six functional images of the mean time has proved to be a valuable method to
      evaluate acute pyelonephritis, thus allowing dynamic and morphologic analysis of
      the urinary tract at the same time.

PMID- 9988074
TI  - In-111-labeled leukocyte infection imaging: false-positive results caused by
      wound dressing and hematoma.

PMID- 9988073
TI  - The painful accessory navicular bone: scintigraphic and radiographic correlation.

PMID- 9988075
TI  - Scintigraphic intervention in a lung scan confirming a large hiatal hernia.

PMID- 9988076
TI  - False-negative FDG PET imaging in a patient with metastatic melanoma and ileal
      intussusception.

PMID- 9988077
TI  - Indium-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy of mesenchymal tumor with oncogenic
      osteomalacia.

PMID- 9988078
TI  - Pedunculated giant liver hemangioma mimicking a hypervascular gastric tumor on Tc
      99m RBC SPECT.

PMID- 9988079
TI  - Pedunculated hepatic hemangioma identified on Tc-99m DTPA-HSA scintigraphy.

PMID- 9988080
TI  - Old traumatic ventricular septal defect seen on myocardial perfusion imaging.

PMID- 9988081
TI  - Increased fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the right atrial wall in a
      patient with atrial fibrillation.

PMID- 9988082
TI  - Displaced urinary bladder creating an unusual pattern on bone scan mimicking
      disease.

PMID- 9988083
TI  - Muscle metastasis from lung cancer detected by Ga-67 scintigraphy.

PMID- 9988084
TI  - An "upside-down" liver and gallbladder discovered on hepatobiliary scan.

PMID- 9988085
TI  - Current readings in nuclear medicine.

PMID- 9988086
TI  - Pesticides and congenital malformations--how many studies will it take to reach a
      conclusion?

PMID- 9988087
TI  - Work-related low-back problems in nursing.
AB  - This scientific literature review focuses on the relation between nursing work
      and low-back problems. Its aim was to estimate the risk of physical,
      psychosocial, and work organizational exposure factors that may lead to low-back
      problems. In addition this paper reviews and evaluates reported ergonomic
      intervention, with the object of decreasing the prevalence and incidence of low
      back problems among nurses. A considerable number of studies of nursing staff has
      shown the connection between lifts and transfers of patients on one hand and low
      back problems on the other. Factors in nursing work that may be significant in
      this connection are staff density and work satisfaction. In this review the
      single individual factor that was indisputably related to low-back problems was
      "history of back problems". Prevention programs do not show unequivocally
      positive results. There is a great need to carry out prospective studies with
      preventive programs.

PMID- 9988088
TI  - Workplace factors and care seeking for low-back pain among female nursing
      personnel. MUSIC-Norrtalje Study Group.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Low-back pain is common among nursing personnel, and its origin is
      multifactorial. The present study focused on physical and psychosocial work load.
      The objectives of the study were to estimate the relative risk for nursing
      personnel, compared with other occupational groups, to seek health care for low
      back pain, and to identify risk factors. METHODS: This study is a part of a
      population-based case-referent study in the municipality of Norrtalje, situated
      north of Stockholm. Altogether 333 women served as cases and 733 served as
      referents. Eighty-one cases and 188 referents were employed in nursing work. The
      cases had sought health care for low-back pain during the study period, November
      1993 to November 1996. The referents were randomly selected from the same
      population. The subjects filled out 2 questionnaires and participated in
      interviews about physical exposures and psychosocial factors. RESULTS: When the
      female nursing personnel were compared with other employed women, no increased
      risk of consultation for low-back pain was found. According to a multivariate
      logistic regression, nursing personnel exposed to forward-bending working
      positions, high energetic work load, perceived physical exertion, or insufficient
      social support had the highest risk estimates. In univariate analyses, the
      combination of physical and psychosocial risk factors was associated with a
      particularly high risk. CONCLUSIONS: In nursing work, physical load seems to be
      more significant than psychosocial factors when a worker seeks health care for
      low-back pain. The results of did not support the hypothesis that nursing work is
      a risk occupation for seeking care for low-back pain when compared with other
      occupations.

PMID- 9988089
TI  - Paternal exposure to pesticides and congenital malformations.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: A case-referent study with 261 matched pairs was carried out in 8
      hospitals of Comunidad Valenciana, Spain, to assess the relation between
      occupational exposure to pesticides and selected congenital malformations. In
      this paper, the results concerning paternal exposure are presented. METHODS: The
      parents of the case patients and the referents were interviewed to collect
      information about exposure to pesticides and potential confounding variables.
      Detailed information on direct involvement in the handling of pesticides was
      collected for the interviewees involved in agricultural activities during a
      previously defined period in relation to conception and pregnancy. Exposure data
      were reviewed by 2 experts who assigned ordinal scores for the probability and
      intensity of exposure to pesticide classes and active ingredients. RESULTS: The
      dichotomous analysis of exposure (absent, present) yielded some increased risks,
      although not statistically significant, for aliphatic hydrocarbons [adjusted odds
      ratio (adjusted OR) 2.05, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.62-6.80], inorganic
      compounds (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 0.53-7.72), and glufosinate (adjusted OR
      2.45, 95% CI 0.78-7.70), and a significant association for pyridil derivatives
      (adjusted OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.19-6.44). The analysis based on the experts' scores
      (2 levels of exposure) showed some consistent associations for these compounds.
      CONCLUSIONS: This research indicates a possible risk of congenital malformations
      for paternal exposure to some pesticides, notably, pyridils, aliphatic
      hydrocarbons, inorganic compounds, and glufosinate. It did not find an increased
      risk for paternal exposure to pesticides in the classes of organophosphates,
      carbamates, organochlorines, chloroalkylthio fungicides and organosulfurs. These
      findings warrant further investigation.

PMID- 9988090
TI  - Particle-bound benzene from diesel engine exhaust.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The large surface area of the carbon core of diesel exhaust particles
      may contribute to the adsorption or condensation of such volatile carcinogenic
      organic compounds as benzene. The attention of this study focused on determining
      the distribution of benzene between the gas and particulate phases in the
      breathing zone of bus garage workers. METHODS: Benzene and suspended particulate
      matter were evaluated jointly in the air of a municipal bus garage. Personal
      passive monitors were used for benzene sampling in the breathing zone of the
      workers. Active samplers were used for sampling diesel exhaust particles and the
      benzene associated with them. The benzene levels were measured by gas
      chromatography. RESULTS: Diesel engine exhaust from buses was the main source of
      air pollution caused by benzene and particles in this study. The concentration of
      benzene in the gas and particulate phases showed a wide range of variation,
      depending on the distance of the workplace from the operating diesel engine.
      Benzene present in the breathing zone of the workers was distributed between the
      gas and particulate phases. The amounts of benzene associated with particles were
      significantly lower in summer than in winter. CONCLUSIONS: The particulate matter
      of diesel exhaust contains benzene in amounts comparable to the concentrations of
      carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the usually found nitro
      PAH. The concentration of benzene in the gas phase and in the suspended
      particulate matter of air can serve as an additional indicator of exposure to
      diesel exhaust and its carcinogenicity.

PMID- 9988091
TI  - Association between diesel exposure at work and prostate cancer.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The possible etiologic relevance of occupational factors such as
      cadmium, cutting oils, diesel fuel and fumes, herbicides, polycyclic aromatic
      hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls, soot, tar, mineral oil, and
      solvents to prostate cancer was studied. METHODS: A case-referent study design
      was used to recruit 192 subjects with histologically confirmed prostate cancer
      and 210 referents who had prostate cancer histologically excluded either in one
      of two urologic practices (Hamburg and Frankfurt) or in the urological policlinic
      of the Frankfurt University. Data were gathered with a self-administered
      questionnaire and analyzed using logistic regression to control for age, region,
      and cigarette smoking. A job-exposure matrix was used for assigning exposure. For
      the calculation of dose-years, the duration of contact with specific substances
      was weighted by the intensity and probability of exposure according to a job
      exposure matrix. RESULTS: The analysis of dose-years yielded a statistically
      significant association between occupational exposure to diesel fuel or fumes and
      prostate cancer (odds ratio 3.7, 95% confidence interval 1.4-9.8, for subjects
      exposed to more than 25 dose-years in a comparison with subjects never exposed).
      For the other substances, no statistically significant differences in exposure
      were found between the cases and referents. When only jobs with a high exposure
      probability were used to classify the participants as exposed, only exposure to
      PAH was significantly associated with prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In keeping
      with results from other studies, this study provides further evidence that
      exposure to diesel fuel or fumes - possibly mediated through PAH - may be
      associated with the development of prostate cancer.

PMID- 9988092
TI  - Vibrotactile sense in the hand-arm vibration syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate disturbances of the
      vibrotactile sense and their relation to clinical symptoms and findings among
      male symptomatic workers suffering from the hand-arm vibration syndrome. METHODS:
      Ninety-six such patients were interviewed and given a clinical and tactilometric
      examination. The symptoms were classified according to the Stockholm Workshop
      Scale. A sensibility index was used to quantify vibrotactile sense in the
      tactilogram. RESULTS: An abnormal sensibility index (<0.8) was recorded for 57.3%
      of the patients (mean of 4 fingers), at least 1 finger being abnormal in 72.9% of
      the patients. The sensibility index did not statistically differ between the
      patients suffering from sensorineural symptoms and those with vibration white
      finger. The stages of sensorineural symptoms, according to the Stockholm Workshop
      Scale, corresponded with the sensibility index, whereas the stages of vibration
      white finger did not. There were significant differences in the sensibility index
      between the fingers, between the right and left hands, and between the fingers
      innervated by the ulnar and median nerves. Bilateral symptoms and cold
      intolerance were associated with considerable impairment of the vibrotactile
      sense. Clinical median nerve involvement in the carpal tunnel was not reflected
      by the sensibility index. CONCLUSIONS: There is a considerable degree of neural
      involvement in all symptomatic vibration-exposed patients irrespective of
      symptoms. As symptoms progress, the severity of sensorineural symptoms, but not
      of vibration white finger, is reflected by the sensibility index. Cold
      intolerance is strongly related to nervous involvement and should be noted in the
      patient history. Tactilometry should be performed on 1 median and 1 ulnar nerve
      innervated finger of both hands, as an examination of 1 finger alone may be
      misleading.

PMID- 9988093
TI  - Powered dust respirator helmets in the prevention of occupational asthma among
      farmers.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the value of powered dust respirator helmets
      in the treatment of farmers with occupational asthma. METHODS: The study
      population consisted of 33 asthmatic agricultural workers, 24 with occupational
      asthma induced by cow dander or grains, 2 with other forms of atopic asthma, and
      7 with nonatopic asthma. The efficiency of a powered dust respirator helmet with
      a P2-class filter in preventing asthmatic symptoms was assessed for 1 year.
      Morning and evening peak expiratory flow rates and daily symptoms of the subjects
      were monitored for 3 months without the use of the helmet and for 10 months with
      the helmet. RESULTS: Objective evidence of protection was obtained for farmers
      with occupational asthma. The morning peak flow rate increased and the variation
      in daily peak flow rate and the symptoms of cow-barn rhinitis diminished
      significantly during the helmet period. In the group of farmers with nonatopic
      asthma there was no improvement in peak flow rate or symptoms of asthma, although
      some of these farmers also seemed to benefit from helmet use. CONCLUSIONS: The
      results of this study suggest that especially dairy farmers with occupational
      asthma benefit from the use of a powered dust respirator helmet.

PMID- 9988094
TI  - The expression of neuropeptide-induced excessive grooming behavior in dopamine D1
      and D2 receptor-deficient mice.
AB  - Grooming behavior in rodents has long been related to dopamine receptors in the
      brain. However, the relative contribution of dopamine D1-like receptors (D1 and
      D5) and D2-like receptors (D2, D3 and D4) in this behavior has not been
      established yet. Spontaneous novelty-induced grooming (as assessed with a 30-min
      sampling test) was reduced in knockout mice lacking the dopamine D1, receptor.
      Furthermore, the intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of small quantities
      of oxytocin, prolactin or the adrenocorticotrophic hormone 1-24 fragment, ACTH-(1
      24) was followed by a diminished level of novelty-induced excessive grooming.
      These neuropeptides caused a sustained increase in grooming level of control
      animals (wild type). Interestingly, the i.c.v. injection of beta-endorphin
      enhanced novelty-induced grooming to a level similar in control and knockout
      mice. The systemic administration of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist,
      sulpiride did not suppress the residual grooming activity shown by animals
      injected with oxytocin, prolactin or ACTH-(1-24), and did not change the
      behavioral expression of those injected with beta-endorphin. In contrast, the
      systemic administration of the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, totally
      suppressed the residual grooming activity of oxytocin-, prolactin- or ACTH-(1-24)
      injected mice and of those treated with beta-endorphin. In contrast with the
      behavioral deficit observed in dopamine D1 receptor-deficient mice, dopamine D2
      receptor-null animals showed a normal expression of spontaneous novelty-induced
      grooming and a high level of grooming activity induced by i.c.v. injection of
      oxytocin, prolactin, ACTH-(1-24) or beta-endorphin. Again, the peripheral
      injection of naloxone was followed by a suppression of neuropeptide-induced
      excessive grooming in these animals. These data suggest that dopamine D1
      receptors are involved in the expression of novelty-induced grooming in mice. In
      contrast, dopamine D2 receptors seem not to be important for the expression of
      this behavior. Furthermore, neuropeptide-enhanced grooming involves dopamine D1,
      but not dopamine D2 receptors. However, neurotransmitters other than dopamine
      (e.g., endorphins) may play a supplementary role in neuropeptide-enhanced
      grooming in mice.

PMID- 9988095
TI  - Chronic (-)-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol treatment induces sensitization to the
      psychomotor effects of amphetamine in rats.
AB  - Clinical and basic research studies have linked cannabinoid consumption to the
      onset of psychosis, specially schizophrenia. In the present study we have
      evaluated the effects of the natural psychoactive constituent of Cannabis (-)
      delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the acute actions of the psychostimulant, D
      amphetamine, on behaviour displayed by male rats on a hole-board, a proposed
      animal model of amphetamine-induced psychosis. Cannabinoid-amphetamine
      interactions were studied (1) 30 min after acute injection of (-)-delta9
      tetrahydrocannabinol (0.1 or 6.4 mg/kg, i.p.); (2) 30 min after the last
      injection of 14-daily treatment with (-)-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (0.1 or 6.4
      mg/kg) and 3) 24 h after the last injection of 14-daily treatment with (-)-delta9
      tetrahydrocannabinol (6.4 mg/kg). Acute cannabinoid exposure antagonized the
      amphetamine-induced dose-dependent increase in locomotion, exploration and the
      decrease in inactivity. Chronic treatment with (-)-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol
      resulted in tolerance to this antagonistic effect on locomotion and inactivity
      but not on exploration, and potentiated amphetamine-induced stereotypies. Lastly,
      24 h of withdrawal after 14 days of cannabinoid treatment resulted in
      sensitization to the effects of D-amphetamine on locomotion, exploration and
      stereotypies. Since (-)-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol is a cannabinoid CB1 receptor
      agonist, densely present in limbic and basal ganglia circuits, and since
      amphetamine enhances monoaminergic inputs (i.e., dopamine, serotonin) in these
      brain areas, the present data support the hypothesis of a role for the
      cannabinoid CB1 receptor as a regulatory mechanism of monoaminergic neuron
      mediated psychomotor activation. These findings may be relevant for the
      understanding of both cannabinoid-monoamines interactions and Cannabis-associated
      psychosis.

PMID- 9988096
TI  - Stereoselective mu- and delta-opioid receptor-related antinociception and binding
      with (+)-thebaine.
AB  - In vivo and in vitro binding studies with natural thebaine and its enantiomer,
      (+)-thebaine were conducted to elucidate further their interactions with the
      opioid system. (-)-Thebaine a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of morphine in
      the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum) and in mammalian tissue, was poorly
      effective antinociceptively in mice at doses to 30 mg/kg. Its principal
      behavioral manifestation was lethal convulsions. Naltrindole, at doses of 1 and
      10 mg/kg did not block either the convulsions or lethal effects, suggesting that
      the delta-opioid receptor system was not involved in this action. Surprisingly,
      the dextrorotatory isomer exhibited significant antinociceptive activity in the
      tail-flick [ED50 = 8.9 (3.4-22.1) mg/kg], hot-plate [ED50 = 22.9 (10.9-48.1)
      mg/kg] and phenylquinone [ED50) = 1.9 (1.6-9.5) mg/kg] assays. Studies with
      opioid receptor-subtype antagonists, beta-funaltrexamine, nor-binaltorphimine and
      naltrindole, indicated that antinociception was associated with mu- and delta
      opioid receptors. Results of displacement experiments supported the in vivo data.
      Significant competition for [3H]diprenorphine binding with both isomers for
      cloned mu- and delta-opioid receptors was observed. However, (-)-thebaine was
      more effective at the delta-opioid receptor (Ki = 1.02+/-0.01 microM) whereas (+)
      thebaine was more effective at the mu-opioid receptor ( Ki = 2.75+/-0.01 microM).
      Opioid-induced antinociception associated with unnatural thebaine raises the
      possibility of additional mu- and delta-opioid receptor sites.

PMID- 9988097
TI  - The involvement of opioidergic and noradrenergic mechanisms in nefopam
      antinociception.
AB  - Nefopam is a clinically effective analgesic agent used to control mild to
      moderate pain, whose mechanism of action is unknown. We have investigated the
      antinociceptive activity of nefopam in the mouse abdominal constriction assay and
      tail immersion test (48 degrees C). Nefopam was found to possess a high degree of
      potency against acetic acid-induced visceral nociception (ED50 2.5 mg kg(-1)). In
      the presence of the opioid receptor antagonists, naloxone or naltrindole, the
      resulting nefopam dose-response relationships were shifted to the right. Naloxone
      or naltrindole had no effect upon aspirin (ED50 32.1 mg kg(-1)) or clonidine
      (ED50 0.061 mg kg(-1)) induced antinociception. Acetorphan (10 mg kg(-1); s.c.),
      an inhibitor of neutral endopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.11) was able to potentiate
      nefopam's antinociceptive activity (ED50 1.5 mg kg(-1)). The alpha2-adrenoceptor
      antagonist, 2-[2-(2-methoxy-1,4-benzodioxanyl)]imidazoline hydrochloride
      (RX821002; 1 mg kg(-1); s.c.), shifted the dose-response curves for clonidine
      (ED50 7.1 mg kg(-1)) and nefopam (ED50 5.3 mg kg(-1)) to the right in this assay.
      Additionally, centrally administered RX821002 (1 microg/5 microl/animal; i.c.v.)
      reduced both clonidine (ED50 7.2 mg kg(-1)) and nefopam's ED50 15.5 mg kg(-1))
      efficacy in the abdominal constriction assay. Nefopam (3 and 7.5 mg kg(-1); s.c.)
      produced significant antinociceptive effect in the thermal assay. Aspirin and
      RX821002 were devoid of any significant activity in the tail immersion test.
      Nefopam was shown to possess RX821002-reversible antinociceptive activity in both
      the tail immersion test and the abdominal constriction assay. These data suggest
      the involvement of an opioidergic and noradrenergic component to nefopam's
      antinociceptive activity in the mouse abdominal constriction assay and tail
      immersion test. However, the present results are unable to determine if the
      opioidergic component of nefopam antinociception is through a direct and/or
      indirect activation of opioid receptors.

PMID- 9988098
TI  - Effects of morphine in rats withdrawn from repeated nifedipine administration.
AB  - The effects of withdrawal from repeated nifedipine treatment on morphine-induced
      analgesia, hyperthermia and catalepsy as well as on cerebral [3H]nitrendipine
      binding and on morphine-induced changes in striatal and limbic dopamine and 5
      hydroxytryptamine metabolism were studied in rats. Repeated administration of
      nifedipine (5 mg/kg i.p., twice daily for 14 days) decreased [3H]nitrendipine
      binding in several brain areas of the rats at 24 h after the last dose but did
      not change the nociceptive response or rectal temperature of the animals.
      Further, the antinociceptive potency of acute morphine (2.5 mg/kg s.c.) was
      significantly reduced in rats withdrawn for 24 h from repeated nifedipine
      treatment. However, withdrawal from repeated nifedipine treatment failed to
      affect either the hyperthermia induced by this dose of morphine or the catalepsy
      and the elevation of dopamine or 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolites induced by 15
      mg/kg of morphine. Taken together, these data show that withdrawal from repeated
      treatment with dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonists selectively reduces
      the effects of opioids on the nociceptive response.

PMID- 9988099
TI  - Chronic alnespirone-induced desensitization of somatodendritic 5-HT1A
      autoreceptors in the rat dorsal raphe nucleus.
AB  - The effects of long-term (7, 14 or 21 days) administration of the 5-HT1A receptor
      agonist alnespirone [5 mg/(kg day), i.p.] on the binding characteristics of 5
      HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptors, and the functional status of 5-HT1A
      autoreceptors were assessed using biochemical and electrophysiological approaches
      in rats. Whatever the treatment duration, the specific binding of [3H]8 hydroxy-2
      (di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([3H]8-OH-DPAT), [3H]trans,4-[(3Z)3-(2
      dimethylaminoethyl) oxyimino-3(2-fluorophenyl) propen-1-yl] phenol hemifumarate
      ([3H]SR 46349B), and [3H]S-zacopride to 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptors,
      respectively, were unaltered in all the brain areas examined. In contrast, in
      vitro electrophysiological recordings performed 24 h after the last injection of
      alnespirone showed that the potency of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, to
      depress the firing of serotoninergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus, was
      significantly reduced after a 21-day treatment with alnespirone. However, no
      changes were noted after a 7-day or 14-day treatment. These data indicate that
      desensitization of somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptors is a selective but slowly
      developing adaptive phenomenon in response to their chronic stimulation in rats.

PMID- 9988100
TI  - A heroin-, but not a cocaine-expecting, self-administration state preferentially
      alters endogenous brain peptides.
AB  - The purpose of the current study was to assess neuropeptidergic alterations
      during a phase of the drug addiction cycle associated with drug craving as
      compared to a time period when the drug had been recently self-administered. Male
      Wistar rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine, heroin or saline for 6 h for
      5 consecutive days. Immediately following the last self-administration session
      ('acute drug on board' state), and just before the next scheduled session ('drug
      expecting' state), the animals were decapitated and the levels of dynorphin A and
      B, [Met5]- and [Leu5]-enkephalin and substance P were measured in different brain
      areas. During the 'acute drug on board' state, peptide levels in animals that
      self-administered heroin or cocaine were not significantly changed. In contrast,
      during the 'drug expecting' state, heroin-treated animals had increased levels of
      dynorphin A, dynorphin B and [Met5]-enkephalin in the caudal striatum as compared
      to the cocaine- and saline-treated animals, and the level of [Leu5]-enkephalin
      was increased as compared to the cocaine-treated group. In the septum, an
      increase of [Met5]-enkephalin and substance P was observed in the animals
      expecting heroin as compared to the saline- and/or cocaine-treated animals. In
      the caudal striatum, substance P levels were elevated in the heroin- and cocaine
      expecting animals. In conclusion, heroin, as compared to cocaine, appears to have
      a more pronounced effect on dynorphin, enkephalin and substance P levels in the
      caudal striatum and septum, especially during periods when self-administration of
      the drug is expected.

PMID- 9988101
TI  - Methamphetamine alters prodynorphin gene expression and dynorphin A levels in rat
      hypothalamus.
AB  - Chronic administration of morphine or cocaine affects opioid gene expression. To
      better understand the possible existence of common neuronal pathways shared by
      different classes of drugs of abuse, we studied the effects of methamphetamine on
      the gene expression of the opioid precursor prodynorphin and on the levels of
      peptide dynorphin A in the rat brain. Acute (6 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, i.p.)
      and chronic (6 mg/kg, i.p. for 15 days) methamphetamine markedly raised
      prodynorphin mRNA levels in the hypothalamus, whereas no effect was observed in
      the hippocampus. Dynorphin A levels increased after chronic treatment in the
      hypothalamus and in the striatum, whereas no significant changes were detected
      after acute treatment. These results indicate that methamphetamine affects
      prodynorphin gene expression in the hypothalamus, which may be an important site
      (also for its relevant neuroendocrine correlates) for opioidergic mechanisms
      activated by addictive drugs.

PMID- 9988102
TI  - Comparison of the efficacy of glibenclamide and glimepiride in reperfusion
      induced arrhythmias in rats.
AB  - The effect of glibenclamide and glimepiride, two orally active antidiabetic
      sulphonylurea derivatives, was investigated on the development of reperfusion
      induced arrhythmias and it was compared to their blood glucose lowering action.
      Arrhythmias were produced by reperfusion following 6 min coronary artery ligation
      in anaesthetised rats. Glimepiride pretreatment (0.001-0.01-0.1-5.0 mg/kg i.p.,
      30 min before coronary occlusion) significantly decreased the incidence of
      irreversible ventricular fibrillation and increased the survival rate during
      reperfusion (64%, 61%, 60%, and 67% vs. 27% in controls). Glibenclamide produced
      similar effect (81% survival) only in a dose of 5 mg/kg, while smaller doses were
      ineffective. The minimal hypoglycaemic dose and the dose required to inhibit
      significantly the oral glucose loading-induced hyperglycaemia were similar (1 and
      0.1 mg/kg, respectively) after glibenclamide and glimepiride. It is concluded
      that although the blood glucose lowering potency of glibenclamide and glimepiride
      is rather similar, glimepiride appears to be more potent than glibenclamide in
      preventing reperfusion-induced cardiac arrhythmias.

PMID- 9988103
TI  - Mechanisms involved in the vasorelaxant effect of (-)-stepholidine in rat
      mesenteric small arteries.
AB  - The purpose of the present investigation was to clarify whether the hypotensive
      action of the protoberberine alkaloid, and dopamine receptor antagonist, (-)
      stepholidine, can be ascribed to an effect on peripheral small arteries. For this
      purpose isolated mesenteric small arteries were suspended in microvascular
      myographs for isometric tension recording. Relaxations mediated by dopamine D1
      receptors were antagonized by (-)-stepholidine. (-)-Stepholidine inhibited in a
      concentration-dependent manner the contractile responses evoked by noradrenaline
      (10(-6) M), but not the contractile responses evoked by depolarizing solution
      (KCl, 60 mM) or 9,11-dideoxy-11alpha,9alpha-epoxymethano prostaglandin F2alpha
      (U46619, 10(-7) M). Mechanical endothelial cell removal, blockade of K+ channels,
      muscarinic receptors or adrenoceptors did not influence the inhibitory effect of
      (-)-stepholidine on the contractile response evoked with noradrenaline in the
      segments. (-)-Stepholidine caused rightward shifts of the concentration-response
      curves for noradrenaline and phenylephrine. The pA2 values for (-)-stepholidine
      were 6.05 and 5.94 against noradrenaline and phenylephrine, respectively.
      Electrical field stimulation induced prazosin-sensitive frequency-dependent
      contractions in mesenteric small arteries. These contractions were significantly
      inhibited by 10(-6) and 10(-5) M (-)-stepholidine. In membranes from the rat
      cerebral cortex labelled with [3H]prazosin, (-)-stepholidine (10(-7)-10(-4) M)
      completely inhibited the specific binding of the ligand with a pKi of 5.6. The
      present investigation suggests the inhibitory effect of (-)-stepholidine on the
      alpha1-adrenoceptor-mediated contractions induced by exogenously added and nerve
      released noradrenaline in peripheral small arteries might contribute to a
      hypotensive effect of the drug.

PMID- 9988104
TI  - Hemodynamic actions of systemically injected pituitary adenylate cyclase
      activating polypeptide-27 in the rat.
AB  - The aims of this study were (1) to characterize the hemodynamic mechanisms
      underlying the hypotensive effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating
      polypeptide-27 (PACAP-27 0.1-2.0 nmol/kg, i.v.) in pentobarbital-anesthetized
      rats, and (2) to determine the roles of the autonomic nervous system, adrenal
      catecholamines and endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) in the expression of
      PACAP-27-mediated effects on hemodynamic function. PACAP-27 produced dose
      dependent decreases in mean arterial blood pressure and hindquarter and
      mesenteric vascular resistances in saline-treated rats. PACAP-27 also produced
      pronounced falls in mean arterial blood pressure in rats treated with the
      ganglion blocker, chlorisondamine (5 mg/kg, i.v.). The hypotensive and
      vasodilator actions of PACAP-27 were not attenuated by the beta-adrenoceptor
      antagonist, propranolol (1 mg/kg, i.v.), or the NO synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro
      L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME 50 micromol/kg, i.v.). PACAP-27 produced dose
      dependent increases in heart rate whereas the hypotensive response produced by
      the nitrovasodilator, sodium nitroprusside (10 microg/kg, i.v.), was associated
      with a minimal tachycardia. The PACAP-27-induced tachycardia was unaffected by
      chlorisondamine, but was virtually abolished by propranolol. These results
      suggest that the vasodilator effects of PACAP-27 are due to actions in the
      microcirculation rather than to the release of adrenal catecholamines and that
      this vasodilation may not involve the release of endothelium-derived NO. These
      results also suggest that PACAP-27 produces tachycardia by directly releasing
      norepinephrine from cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals rather than by direct or
      baroreceptor reflex-mediated increases in sympathetic nerve activity.

PMID- 9988105
TI  - Effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on sympathetically-mediated
      tachycardia.
AB  - The aim of the present study was to determine whether inhibition of nitric oxide
      (NO) synthesis directly alters the tachycardia produced by sympathetically
      derived norepinephrine. The NO synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl
      ester (L-NAME; 50 micromol/kg, i.v.), produced a marked rise in mean arterial
      blood pressure. This pressor response was associated with a fall in heart rate
      which involved the withdrawal of cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. The NO
      donor, sodium nitroprusside (5 microg/kg, i.v.), produced a pronounced fall in
      mean arterial blood pressure but only a minor increase in heart rate. The beta
      adrenoceptor agonist, isoproterenol (0.5 micromol/kg, i.v.), and the membrane
      permeable cAMP analogue, 8-(4-chlorophenylthiol)-cAMP (10 micromol/kg, i.v.),
      produced falls in mean arterial blood pressure and pronounced increases in heart
      rate. The indirectly acting sympathomimetic agent, tyramine (0.5 mg/kg, i.v.),
      produced a pressor response and a tachycardia. The effects of sodium
      nitroprusside, tyramine, isoproterenol and 8-(4-chlorophenylthiol)-cAMP on mean
      arterial blood pressure were not markedly affected by L-NAME. However, the
      tachycardia produced by these agents was considerably exaggerated in the presence
      of this NO synthesis inhibitor. These findings suggest that L-NAME potentiates
      the tachycardia produced by sympathetically-derived norepinephrine. The increased
      responsiveness to norepinephrine may involve (i) a rapid up-regulation of cardiac
      beta1-adrenoceptors and cAMP signaling in cardiac pacemaker cells due to the loss
      of the inhibitory influence of cardiac NO, and (ii) the up-regulation of beta1
      adrenoceptor-mediated signal transduction processes in response to the L-NAME
      induced withdrawal of cardiac sympathetic nerve activity.

PMID- 9988106
TI  - Cardiovascular effects of captopril and enalapril in obese Zucker rats.
AB  - The effects of two weeks of oral administration of the angiotensin-converting
      enzyme inhibitors captopril (a sulphydryl-containing drug) and enalapril (which
      lacks the sulphydryl group) on skeletal muscle glucose uptake, arterial blood
      pressure, cardiac hypertrophy, proteinuria and aortic vascular reactivity in
      obese Zucker rats were evaluated. Captopril (50 mg kg(-1) once daily) and
      enalapril (10 mg kg(-1) did not modify body weight gain or food or water intake.
      Both drugs decreased systolic blood pressure (157+/-6, 133+/-4 and 136+/-3 mm Hg,
      in vehicle-, captopril- and enalapril-treated rats, respectively), blood glucose
      (172+/-8 vs. 151+/-7 and 158+/-5 mg dl(-1), respectively), proteinuria (46+/-10
      vs. 17+/-2 and 18+/-2.5 mg dl(-1), respectively) and heart weight (2.17+/-0.03,
      1.98+/-0.02 and 1.99+/-0.04 mg g(-1)of body weight, respectively). Plasma insulin
      concentration was significantly increased by enalapril (17+/-2 ng ml(-1) vs. 9+/
      2) but not by captopril (12+/-1). In the absence of insulin, the diaphragms from
      captopril- or enalapril-treated rats showed a significantly higher glucose uptake
      than that of controls (31% and 30% vs. control group, respectively). The presence
      of insulin in the incubation medium did not stimulate peripheral glucose uptake
      in the control group but significantly increased glucose uptake in diaphragms
      from captopril- or enalapril-treated rats (enhancement of glucose uptake vs.
      control: 52% and 43%, respectively). Endothelium-intact aortic rings from control
      Zucker rats showed a poor relaxant response to acetylcholine (maximal relaxation
      of 38.4+/-4.7%). Captopril significantly improved the endothelium-dependent
      vascular relaxation responses to acetylcholine and the endothelium-independent
      relaxation to the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside whereas enalapril did
      not modify these relaxant responses. Neither captopril nor enalapril
      significantly affected the vascular contractile responses to the vasoconstrictors
      noradrenaline or KCl. In conclusion, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
      captopril and enalapril reversed insulin resistance and the associated
      cardiovascular complications (cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension and proteinuria)
      in the obese Zucker rat, an animal model of non-insulin-dependent (type II)
      diabetes mellitus. However, only captopril, but not enalapril, improved the
      impaired endothelium-dependent and independent relaxant responses in the isolated
      rat aorta.

PMID- 9988107
TI  - Ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in anaesthetized rats: a role of Na+ and
      Ca2+ influx.
AB  - We hypothesized that by limiting the Na+ and Ca2+ loading by a blocker/inhibitor
      of the Na+ channel (lidocaine), Na+ overload (R56865: N-[1-[4-(4
      fluorophenoxy)butyl]-4-piperidinyl]-N-methyl-2-benzothiazo lamine), Ca2+ channel
      (verapamil), Na+ -H+ exchange (ethylisobutyl amiloride) or of Na+ -Ca2+ exchange
      (No. 7943: 2-[2-[4-(4-nitrobenzyloxy)phenyl]ethyl]isothiourea methanesulfonate),
      it should be possible to reduce ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias. To test
      this hypothesis, we used anaesthetized rats subjected to 5 min of coronary artery
      occlusion followed by 10 min of reperfusion to study antiarrhythmic effects of
      above compounds on reperfusion-induced ventricular premature beats, ventricular
      tachycardia, and reversible and irreversible ventricular fibrillation. Compound
      or saline was administered as an intravenous bolus injection at 5 min before
      ischemia. Pretreatment with lidocaine (5 mg/kg), verapamil (0.63 mg/kg), R56865
      (0.63 mg/kg) or ethylisobutyl amiloride (1.25 mg/kg) significantly reduced or
      abolished all types of ventricular arrhythmias. However, pretreatment with
      verapamil was associated with second or third degree heart block in 3 out of 12
      animals. Pretreatment with No. 7943 did not significantly influence the
      ischemia/reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias. The present results suggest
      that both intracellular Na+ -and Ca2+ -loading play important roles in
      reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias and the inhibition of Na+ -Ca2+
      exchange to limit Ca2+ loading probably does not play any important role in
      ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in anaesthetized rats.

PMID- 9988108
TI  - Comparison of the vascular relaxant effects of ATP-dependent K+ channel openers
      on aorta and pulmonary artery isolated from spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar
      Kyoto rats.
AB  - The vasorelaxant actions of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent K+ channel
      openers and sodium nitroprusside in isolated thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery
      of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats
      (14-18 weeks old) were investigated. Cumulative addition of sodium nitroprusside
      and different ATP-dependent K+ channel openers (pinacidil, cromakalim,
      nicorandil, 2-(2"(1",3"-dioxolone)-2-methyl-4-(2'-oxo-1'-pyrrolidinyl)-6-nitro 
      2H-1-benzopyren (KR-30450) and aprikalim) to these preparations caused a
      concentration-dependent relaxation of noradrenaline-pre-contracted aorta and
      pulmonary artery from both strains. The relative order of relaxation potency,
      estimated by comparing the IC50, was sodium nitroprusside > KR-30450 > aprikalim
      > or = cromakalim > pinacidil > nicorandil in pulmonary artery and aorta from
      both strains. At high concentrations (> or =1 microM), cromakalim, aprikalim and
      KR-30450 produced a greater percentage relaxation in SHR aorta than in WKY aorta.
      However, there was no apparent difference between SHR and WKY in the relaxation
      response to all drugs tested on the pulmonary artery. The effects of cromakalim,
      aprikalim, pinacidil and KR-30450 observed in aorta and pulmonary artery were
      significantly attenuated by 3 microM glibenclamide. 6-Anilino-5,8
      quinolinequinone (LY 83583, 1 microM), a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor,
      abolished the vasorelaxant effects of nicorandil and sodium nitroprusside. In
      conclusion, sodium nitroprusside and ATP-dependent K+ channel openers cause
      relaxation of noradrenaline-pre-contracted aorta and pulmonary artery from both
      strains. However, all the drugs tested failed to cause selective relaxation of
      the pulmonary artery relative to the thoracic aorta.

PMID- 9988109
TI  - Inhibition of nuclear factor-kappaB prevents the loss of vascular tone in
      lipopolysaccharide-treated rats.
AB  - We studied the role of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) on the tone and on the
      expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase, both evaluated in aortas from
      lipopolysaccharide-treated rats. Thoracic aorta rings from lipopolysaccharide
      treated rats (4 mg/kg, i.p.), compared to those from naive animals, showed: (i)
      reduced contractility to phenylephrine, (ii) progressive loss in tone when
      contracted with phenylephrine, (iii) increased inducible NO synthase protein
      expression and NF-kappaB activation. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (10, 30, 100
      mg/kg, i.p.), an antioxidant inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation, dose dependently
      suppressed all these lipopolysaccharide-induced effects. These results
      demonstrate that in vivo inhibition of NF-kappaB activation prevented the
      lipopolysaccharide-induced loss of vascular tone, an effect which was correlated
      to reduced expression of inducible NO synthase protein.

PMID- 9988110
TI  - Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of a novel pyrazole derivative, FR140423.
AB  - The pharmacological profile of a novel and newly discovered non-steroidal anti
      inflammatory and analgesic compound, 3-(difluoromethyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-[4
      (methylsulfinyl)phenyl]pyraz ole (FR140423), was investigated. In recombinant
      human cyclooxygenase enzyme assays, the inhibition of prostaglandin E2 formation
      by FR140423 was 150 times more selective for cyclooxygenase-2 than cyclooxygenase
      1. Oral administration of FR140423 dose dependently reduced carrageenin-induced
      paw edema and adjuvant arthritis. These effects were two- to three-fold more
      potent than those of indomethacin. Unlike indomethacin, FR140423 did not induce
      mucosal lesions in the stomach. FR140423 showed dose-dependent anti-hyperalgesic
      effects in the yeast-induced hyperalgesic model. This effect was five-fold more
      potent than that of indomethacin. Furthermore, FR140423 increased the pain
      threshold in non-inflamed paws and, unlike indomethacin, it produced an analgesic
      effect in the tail-flick test. These analgesic effects were blocked by the mu
      opioid antagonist naloxone. These results suggest that FR140423, a selective
      cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
      (NSAID) without gastrointestinal side effects and is a unique compound having
      morphine-like analgesic effects.

PMID- 9988111
TI  - Activation of particulate guanylyl cyclase by Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin.
AB  - Recently we reported that Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin, an exotoxin produced by V.
      vulnificus, dilates rat thoracic aorta via elevated cGMP levels without affecting
      nitric oxide synthase. We investigated the mechanism further by observing the
      guanylyl cyclase activities in cytosolic, membrane, unfractionated, or
      reconstituted preparations. Hemolysin did not activate guanylyl cyclase in the
      membrane or cytosolic fraction, while it activated guanylyl cyclase in
      unfractionated or reconstituted preparation. The increased activity was not
      inhibited by the HS-142-1, a microbial polysaccharide which antagonizes atrial
      natriuretic peptide receptor, or 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one
      (ODQ), a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor. However, it was attenuated by 6
      (phenylamino)-5,8-quinolinedione (LY 83.583), which inhibits the catalytic domain
      of both guanylyl cyclases, and by cholesterol, which blocks hemolysin
      incorporation into the membrane. Removing ATP, a cofactor of particulate guanylyl
      cyclase, attenuated the activation and ATPgammaS, a non-phosphorylating analog,
      restored it. These results suggest that V. vulnificus hemolysin activates
      particulate guanylyl cyclase via hemolysin incorporation into the vascular smooth
      muscle cell membrane in cooperation with certain unidentified cytosolic
      component(s).

PMID- 9988113
TI  - Cloning, expression and functional role of a nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor in
      the porcine gastrointestinal tract.
AB  - The heptadecapeptide nociceptin/orphanin FQ is the cognate ligand for the opioid
      receptor-like orphanin FQ (OFQ) receptor, a member of the G protein-coupled
      receptor superfamily. The gastrointestinal tract is a major site of opioid
      action, and preliminary evidence suggests that an OFQ receptor may be expressed
      in rat small intestine. We addressed the hypothesis that this receptor is
      expressed in the gastrointestinal tract of the pig, a model for the human
      digestive system. A 1205-bp cDNA was isolated from porcine forebrain which
      contained the 370 amino acid open reading frame encoding the OFQ receptor. The
      receptor mRNA is likely to arise from a single gene, as determined by Southern
      blotting of porcine genomic DNA restriction digests using a porcine OFQ receptor
      cDNA probe. A semi-nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction survey
      of receptor mRNA indicates that it is expressed in the porcine cerebral cortex
      and kidney, and along the length of the gastrointestinal tract. OFQ decreased
      initial contractile responses of porcine ileal smooth muscle strips to trains of
      electrical field stimulation with an IC50 value of 1.3 nM; its effects were
      resistant to the opioid antagonist, naloxone. The peptide, at concentrations > or
      =3 nM, also attenuated Isc elevations evoked by electrical transmural stimulation
      of mucosa-submucosa sheets from porcine ileum. The actions of OFQ appeared to
      differ from those previously reported for opioid receptor agonists in these
      tissue preparations. These results indicate that an OFQ receptor is expressed in
      the porcine intestine which modulates the neural control of intestinal smooth
      muscle contractility and mucosal transport.

PMID- 9988112
TI  - Expression of leptin receptor in lung: leptin as a growth factor.
AB  - Leptin receptors are expressed in various tissues in rodents but their function
      is not clear. The present studies were undertaken to investigate the function of
      the leptin receptor in mouse and human lungs. Cell proliferation, assessed with
      [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] (MTT), was
      significantly less in primary cultures of tracheal epithelial cells of db/db mice
      than in those of their lean littermates. Mouse recombinant leptin significantly
      increased cell proliferation only in lean mice, but not in db/db mice. Reverse
      transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) study demonstrated the existence
      of a long form, OB-Rb type leptin receptor in both human lung tissue and lung
      squamous cell line (SQ-5). Cell proliferation, assessed with MTT, was dose
      dependently increased in SQ-5 cells incubated with 10-1000 ng/ml human
      recombinant leptin for 6 h. The 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) uptake into SQ-5
      cells was also increased by the addition of 10-100 ng/ml human recombinant
      leptin. Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity was significantly
      increased by 10 and 100 ng/ml human recombinant leptin in SQ-5 cells. MAP kinase
      kinase (MEK)-1-specific inhibitor, (2-[2-amino-3-methoxyphenyl]-4H-1-benzopyran-4
      one) (PD98059), blocked the increase in BrdU uptake into SQ-5 cells caused by
      human recombinant leptin. In conclusion, leptin (OB-Rb) receptors exist in human
      lung tissue and leptin may have stimulatory effects on the proliferation of cells
      of a human cell line and mouse tracheal epithelial cells through its specific
      leptin receptor.

PMID- 9988114
TI  - Glibenclamide-sensitive K+ channels underlying levcromakalim-induced relaxation
      in pig urethra.
AB  - To investigate the possible mechanisms involved in the stable and long-lasting
      levcromakalim-induced relaxation of the resting urethral tone, we have performed
      mechanical and voltage-clamp experiments using intact tissue and isolated cells
      from pig urethra, respectively. At negative membrane potentials, levcromakalim
      induced time- and voltage-independent membrane currents in whole-cell
      configurations. In cell-attached patches, levcromakalim not only increased the
      open-state probability (the NP(0) value) of the glibenclamide-sensitive 43 pS K+
      channel (K(GS)) in a concentration-dependent manner, but also activated K(GS)
      with a time- and voltage-independence. During long burst-like channel activity,
      neither the mean open lifetime nor the mean closed time of K(GS) exhibited
      voltage-dependency between -100 and - 40 mV. It is concluded that levcromakalim
      causes a stable and potent relaxation of pig urethra through opening of K(GS)
      which possesses time- and voltage-independent activating mechanisms.

PMID- 9988115
TI  - Gemcitabine cytotoxicity of human malignant glioma cells: modulation by
      antioxidants, BCL-2 and dexamethasone.
AB  - Gemcitabine is a novel antimetabolite drug that acts by multiple mechanisms,
      including inhibition of ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase, of dCMP deaminase
      and of dCTP incorporation into DNA and RNA. Here, we report that gemcitabine
      induces cytotoxic and clonogenic death of 12 human malignant glioma cell lines at
      clinically relevant concentrations around 1 microM. Gemcitabine is thus
      approximately 100-fold more active than the congener drug, cytarabine.
      Gemcitabine cytotoxicity of glioma cells does not require wild-type p53 activity:
      (i) there was no difference in the susceptibility to gemcitabine between cell
      lines with wild-type p53 and cell lines with mutant or deleted p53; (ii) ectopic
      expression of a temperature-sensitive p53 protein either at wild-type (32.5
      degrees C) or at mutant (38.5 degrees C) conformation had no significant
      influence on gemcitabine-induced cell death. Gemcitabine cytotoxicity was
      unaffected by the antioxidants, N-acetylcysteine and phenyl-N-tert-butyl-alpha
      phenylnitrone. There was no correlation between the susceptibility to gemcitabine
      and the endogenous expression of the B cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2)-family proteins
      BCL-2, BCL-XL, myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1), BCL-2-associated X protein (BAX),
      BCL-2 homologous antagonist/killer (BAK) and BCL-XS. Ectopic expression of BCL-2
      moderately attenuated gemcitabine-induced cell death. Similarly, preexposure to
      the synthetic steroid, dexamethasone, which is commonly used to control cerebral
      edema in brain tumor patients, reduced gemcitabine cytotoxicity. We conclude that
      the clinical evaluation of gemcitabine for the adjuvant chemotherapy of malignant
      glioma is warranted.

PMID- 9988116
TI  - Pyrazolopyridine derivatives act as competitive antagonists of brain adenosine A1
      receptors: [35S]GTPgammaS binding studies.
AB  - The effects of adenosine receptor ligands and three novel pyrazolopyridine
      derivatives on guanosine-5'-O-(3-[35S]thio)triphosphate ([35S]GTPgammaS) binding
      to rat cerebral cortical membranes were examined. [35S]GTPgammaS binding was
      stimulated in a concentration dependent manner by several adenosine receptor
      agonists. The adenosine A2a receptor selective agonist, 2-p-(2
      carboxyethyl)phenethylamino-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (CGS 21680), was
      ineffective confirming specificity for adenosine A1 receptor activation. 2-Chloro
      N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA; 10(-7) M)-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS binding was
      inhibited by xanthine and pyrazolopyridine based adenosine receptor antagonists.
      The concentration-response curve for CCPA-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS binding was
      shifted to the right with increasing concentrations of antagonist without
      significant changes in maximal response. Schild analyses determined pK(B) values
      of 8.97, 8.88, 8.21, 8.16, 7.79 and 7.65 for 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine
      (DPCPX), (R)-1-[(E)-3-(2-phenylpyrazolo[1,5a]pyridin-3-yl) acryloyl]-2-piperidine
      ethanol (FK453), 6-oxo-3-(2-phenylpyrazolo[1,5a]pyridin-3-yl)-1(6H)
      pyridazinebutyric+ ++ acid (FK838), 9-chloro-2-(2-furyl)[1,2,4]triazolo
      [1,5c]quinazolin-5-amine (CGS 15943), 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-methylxanthine (CPT) and
      (R)-1-[(E)-3-(2-phenylpyrazolo[1,5a]pyridin-3-yl) acryloyl]-piperidin-2-yl acetic
      acid (FK352), respectively. Schild slopes were close to unity, confirming that
      these novel pyrazolopyridine derivatives act as competitive antagonists at rat
      brain adenosine A1 receptors.

PMID- 9988117
TI  - Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase: a negative regulator of the mitogen
      activated protein kinase cascade.
AB  - Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are activated by various stimuli, such
      as growth factors, cytokines, or stress, and are considered to be important
      mediators in intracellular signal transduction networks. The dual-specificity
      kinases, MAPK kinases (MKKs), which phosphorylate the TXY motif in the catalytic
      domain of MAPKs, can cause the activation of MAPKs. Recently, a family of dual
      specificity phosphatases has been identified, members of which are able to
      dephosphorylate and inactivate MAPKs. The studies cited in this review have
      revealed that these MAPK phosphatases might play an important role in various
      cellular functions by downregulating the MAPK cascade.

PMID- 9988118
TI  - Adenosine and cerebral ischemia: therapeutic future or death of a brave concept?
AB  - Numerous studies have consistently shown that agonist stimulation of adenosine A1
      receptors results in a significant reduction of morbidity and mortality
      associated with global and focal brain ischemia in animals. Based on these
      observations, several authors have suggested utilization of adenosine A1
      receptors as targets for the development of clinically viable drugs against
      ischemic brain disorders. Recent advent of adenosine A1 receptor agonists
      characterized by lowered cardiovascular effects added additional strength to this
      argument. On the other hand, although cardioprotective, adenosine A3 receptor
      agonists proved severely cerebrodestructive when administered prior to global
      ischemia in gerbils. Moreover, stimulation of adenosine A3 receptors appears to
      reduce the efficacy of some of the neuroprotective actions mediated by adenosine
      A receptors. The review discusses the possible role of adenosine receptor
      subtypes (A1, A2, and A3) in the context of their involvement in the pathology of
      cerebral ischemia, and analyzes putative strategies for the development of
      clinically useful strategies based on adenosine and its receptors. It also
      stresses the need for further experimental studies before definitive conclusions
      on the usefulness of the adenosine concept in the treatment of brain ischemia can
      be made.

PMID- 9988119
TI  - Treatment with a polyunsaturated fatty acid prevents deleterious effects of Ro4
      1284.
AB  - Ro4-1284 (2-Ethyl-1,3,4,6,7,11b-hexahydro-3-isobutyl-9,10-dimethoxy-2H-benzo[a]
      quinolizin-2-ol hydrochloride), a benzoquinolizine, is a potent dopamine
      depletion agent whose acute and chronic administration results in a (1)
      deterioration of learning in the Morris Water Maze and passive avoidance tasks,
      (2) decrease in locomotion and rearing, (3) intense hypothermia, and (4) decrease
      in the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids and an increase in the level of
      cholesterol in neuronal membranes. Pretreatment with a specific mixture of free
      polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents most of the behavioral, physiological, and
      biochemical effects of Ro4-1284 except for rearing. We propose that the dopamine
      mediated functions tested in this study are dependent on the interaction of
      intact dopamine D1 and D2 receptors. Rearing, which is controlled only by
      dopamine D1 receptors, remained, therefore, unaffected. Our hypothesis is that SR
      3 exerts its beneficial effects by normalizing the structure and function of the
      neuronal membrane and by restoring dopamine D2 receptor functions.

PMID- 9988120
TI  - Novel sigma receptor ligands attenuate the locomotor stimulatory effects of
      cocaine.
AB  - Cocaine interacts with sigma receptors, suggesting that these sites are important
      for many of its behavioral effects. Therefore, two novel sigma receptor ligands,
      BD1008 (N-[2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]-N-methyl-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)ethylamine)
      and BD1063 (1-[2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]-4-methylpiperazine), were evaluated
      for their ability to attenuate cocaine-induced locomotor activity. Receptor
      binding studies showed that BD1008 and BD1063 have nanomolar affinities for
      sigma1 and sigma2 sites, but a 250-fold or lower affinity for nine other
      receptors, making them among the most selective sigma receptor ligands
      identified. In behavioral studies, pretreatment of mice with BD1008 or BD1063
      produced a two-fold increase in the ED50 for the locomotor stimulatory effects of
      cocaine. These results suggest that sigma receptors are involved in the
      behavioral effects of cocaine.

PMID- 9988121
TI  - Effect of alterations in extracellular norepinephrine on adrenoceptors: a
      microdialysis study in freely moving rats.
AB  - Chronic electroshock treatment (once daily for 12 days) increases extracellular
      norepinephrine in the frontal cortex and hippocampus as measured by
      microdialysis. This chronic treatment produced an elevation of basal
      norepinephrine overflow into extracellular space while both the first and the
      twelfth treatments produced a transient increase in norepinephrine overflow of
      about 40 min. Acutely, desmethylimipramine (10 mg/kg) treatment significantly
      increased extracellular norepinephrine. While chronic desmethylimipramine (once
      daily for 10 days) increased basal overflow of norepinephrine in the frontal
      cortex and hippocampus, the tenth daily administration of desmethylimipramine did
      not produce a statistically significant increase in extracellular norepinephrine.
      Both daily electroshock and daily desmethylimipramine produced down regulation of
      beta-adrenoceptors in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex. Chronic
      electroshock caused up regulation of alpha-adrenoceptors in the frontal cortex
      but not in the hippocampus while chronic desmethylimipramine administration did
      not alter alpha-adrenoceptors in either structure. Depletion of norepinephrine
      with reserpine or with 6-hydroxydopamine prevented the down regulation of beta
      adrenoceptors while depletion of this neurotransmitter did not prevent the
      electroshock-induced up regulation of alpha-adrenoceptors in the frontal cortex.
      These data suggest that down regulation of beta-adrenoceptors is mediated through
      increases in extracellular norepinephrine. In contrast, up regulation of alpha
      adrenoceptors appears to be independent of norepinephrine release and does not
      require the presence of noradrenergic neurons in order to be induced by
      electroshock.

PMID- 9988122
TI  - Region specific expression of NMDA receptor NR1 subunit mRNA in hypothalamus and
      pons following chronic morphine treatment.
AB  - The NMDA receptor has been implicated in opioid tolerance and physical
      dependence. Using in situ hybridization techniques, the effects of chronic
      morphine treatment on the expression of mRNAs encoding the NMDA receptor subunits
      NRI, NR2A, and NR2B were investigated. A significant increase in the level of the
      NR1 subunit mRNA was found in the locus coeruleus and the hypothalamic
      paraventricular nucleus following 3 days of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.)
      morphine infusion (26 nmol microl(-1) h(-1)) through osmotic minipumps. No
      changes were detected in expression of the NRI mRNA in the frontal cortex,
      caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, CA1, CA2, and the dentate gyrus of
      the hippocampus, and in the central grey after morphine treatment. The expression
      of NR2A and NR2B subunit mRNAs did not change after morphine treatment in any
      brain region. These results suggest that changes in gene expression of the NRI
      subunit of the NMDA receptor are involved in the development of morphine
      tolerance and dependence.

PMID- 9988123
TI  - (1S,3R)-ACPD, a metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist, enhances damage after
      global ischaemia.
AB  - There are opposing results in the literature concerning the influence of (1S,3R)
      ACPD [(1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate: group I/II metabotropic
      glutamate receptor agonist) on neurodegeneration, showing both enhancement and
      reduction of damage. We examined the effects of (1S,3R)-ACPD, given in various
      application schedules, on global ischaemia in gerbils. The most pronounced effect
      was a significant increase of hippocampal damage when the drug was applied at 20
      mg/kg i.p. pre ischaemia. All other experiments with lower concentrations (0.02-2
      mg/kg), other time schedules (post-ischaemic application) or co-application of a
      selective group I metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonist (4-CPG: (S)-4
      carboxyphenylglycine), had no influence on neuronal density.

PMID- 9988124
TI  - Anaphylaxis increases 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha release from guinea-pig lung in
      vitro.
AB  - 8-Iso-prostaglandin F2alpha, release from isolated and perfused guinea-pig lung
      was measured by radioimmunoassay. 8-Iso-prostaglandin F2alpha release was
      detectable under basal conditions and increased 10-fold during antigen-induced
      bronchoconstriction, concomitant with the increase of thromboxane B2 and
      prostaglandin E2. The anti-8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha serum used in the
      radioimmunoassay seems to be quite specific for this compound. Pretreatment of
      lungs with indomethacin (a non-selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase) reduced 8
      iso-prostaglandin F2alpha release under basal conditions and completely abolished
      the increase observed during lung anaphylaxis. Pretreatment of lungs with NS 398
      (N-[2-cyclohexyl]-4-nitrophenyl methanesulphonamide), a selective inhibitor of
      cyclooxygenase-2, did not change basal or antigen-induced 8-iso-prostaglandin
      F2alpha release at all. We conclude that under basal conditions guinea-pig lung
      perfusates contain low levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha-like
      immunoreactivity, which increase 10-fold during antigen-induced
      bronchoconstriction. This isoprostane seems to be derived from the
      cyclooxygenation of arachidonic acid via the constitutive form of cyclooxygenase.

PMID- 9988125
TI  - A soluble gradient of the neuropeptide secretoneurin promotes the
      transendothelial migration of monocytes in vitro.
AB  - Secretoneurin, derived from the chromogranin secretogranin II, triggers the
      selective migration of human monocytes, eosinophils, fibroblasts, endothelial and
      smooth muscle cells. More recently, we located specific binding sites on the
      human monocytic cell line MonoMac-6. Differentiated U937 transendothelial
      diapedesis was evaluated using an in vitro model of the vascular wall and
      specific monoclonal antibodies against CD11/CD18 and the alpha-chains of the very
      late activation antigen (VLA)-4 were used to evaluate involved adhesion
      molecules. Results showed a significant migratory response to secretoneurin
      between 10(-8) to 10(-10) M. Migration was comparable to a maximal effect induced
      by the monocyte chemotactic agent N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP, 10(-8) M). Rabbit
      anti-secretoneurin antibodies were able to block the neuropeptide effect but not
      of fMLP and a trypsinized secretoneurin preparation as well as the secretogranin
      II-fragment EL-17 were ineffective in eliciting migration. Transmigration of U937
      across endothelial-layers toward secretoneurin is inhibited by antibodies to
      CD11/CD18 adhesion molecules. The novel neuropeptide secretoneurin may play a
      role in regulating migration of monocytes into the subendothelial space,
      supposing a role in inflammatory responses.

PMID- 9988126
TI  - Nonspecific effects of the pharmacological probes commonly used to analyze signal
      transduction in rabbit parietal cells.
AB  - In order to examine some possibly misleading conclusions of the pharmacological
      analysis of the signal transduction pathways of gastric acid secretion, we
      evaluated various agents including inhibitors of protein kinase C, cyclic AMP
      dependent protein kinase, phospholipase C, phospholipase A2, lipoxygenase, casein
      kinase, calmodulin, myosin light chain kinase, tyrosine kinase, anion exchanger,
      and protein phosphatase; and activators of protein kinase C. Among them, the
      cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor N-[2-(p-bromocinnamylamino)ethyl]-5
      isoquinolinylsulfonamide (H-89), the phospholipase A2 inhibitor 2-(p
      amylcinnamoyl)amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid (ONO-RS-082), three myosin light chain
      kinase inhibitors (1-(5-iodonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine
      (ML-7), 1-(5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine (ML-9), and
      wortmannin), the anion exchanger inhibitor 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'
      disulfonic acid (DIDS), the phospholipase C inhibitor neomycin, and most known
      calmodulin antagonists strongly inhibited [14C]aminopyrine accumulation, an
      indicator of acid secretion, in isolated rabbit gastric glands stimulated by
      N6,2'-O-dibutyryl-cyclic AMP. ONO-RS-082, calmidazolium, and DIDS inhibited H+,K+
      ATPase. Most of the chemicals with antisecretory activity showed protonophore
      like activity in gastric microsomes as well as in the mitochondria. It is
      concluded that H-89, ONO-RS-082, ML-7, ML-9, neomycin, and all calmodulin
      antagonists tested so far should not be used as tools to analyze gastric acid
      secretion.

PMID- 9988127
TI  - Complex formation of skeletal muscle Ca2+-regulatory membrane proteins by
      halothane.
AB  - In skeletal muscle, halothane affects the functions of several Ca2+-regulatory
      membrane proteins involved in the excitation-contraction-relaxation cycle. To
      investigate the mechanism by which this volatile anesthetic interferes with Ca2+
      homeostasis, we studied potential changes in protein-protein interactions by
      halothane. Using comparative immunoblotting of microsomal muscle proteins
      separated on native and denaturing gels, we show here that halothane induces
      oligomerization of the terminal cisternae Ca2+-binding protein calsequestrin, the
      junctional ryanodine receptor Ca2+-release channel and the transverse-tubular
      alpha1-dihydropyridine receptor. This agrees with previous reports on the
      modulation of Ca2+-release activity by halothane since interactions between the
      voltage-sensing alpha1-dihydropyridine receptor, the ryanodine receptor and the
      luminal Ca2+-reservoir might result in a rapid release of Ca2+-ions. Furthermore,
      this study supports the idea that specific protein sites are involved in the
      action of inhalational anesthetics and that halothane might trigger abnormal Ca2+
      homeostasis in malignant hyperthermia via oligomerization of the mutated
      ryanodine receptor.

PMID- 9988128
TI  - Local renin-angiotensin system and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in
      rat aorta.
AB  - We previously reported that endogenous angiotensin II is released to cause
      mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase stimulation in the media portion of the
      vasculature. In this study, we examined whether a functional renin-angiotensin
      system is indeed present within the media of the vasculature. In rat aortic
      strips, endothelium removal produced an increase of MAP kinase activity. The MAP
      kinase activation was inhibited either by the renin inhibitor pepstatin A or by
      the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril. The degree of the
      inhibition of the MAP kinase activation by pepstatin A, captopril and the
      angiotensin receptor antagonist losartan was almost the same. Pepstatin A
      inhibited MAP kinase activation induced by renin but not by angiotensin I and
      angiotensin II. Captopril inhibited the MAP kinase activation induced by
      angiotensin I but not by angiotensin II. In nephrectomized rat aortic strips,
      endothelium removal also produced an increase in MAP kinase activity, but the MAP
      kinase activation was considerably small and minimally inhibited by losartan.
      Nephrectomy produced a marked decrease in plasma renin activity. These findings
      suggest that an apparently fully intact and functional renin-angiotensin system
      is present in the media of the rat vasculature and this system serves to increase
      MAP kinase activity. It appears that renin plays the determining role in the
      regulation of angiotensin generation also in the media and the major source of
      the renin is renin of kidney origin.

PMID- 9988129
TI  - Mechanism of rise and decay of 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone-induced Ca2+ signals
      in Madin Darby canine kidney cells.
AB  - We examined the effect of 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone (BHQ) on intracellular
      Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) measured by fura-2 fluorimetry in Madin Darby
      canine kidney (MDCK) cells. BHQ increased [Ca2+]i in a dose-dependent manner with
      an EC50 of 40 microM. The Ca2+ signal showed a slow onset, a gradual decay and a
      sustained plateau in normal Ca2+ medium. Depletion of the endoplasmic reticulum
      Ca2+ store by incubation with 0.1 mM BHQ for 6 min abolished the [Ca2+]i increase
      evoked by bradykinin or ATP, suggesting that BHQ depleted the inositol 1,4,5
      trisphosphate (IP3)-sensitive Ca2+ store. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ reduced
      the BHQ response by 50%. The Ca2+ signal was initiated by Ca2+ release from the
      internal store, followed by capacitative Ca2+ entry which was abolished by 100
      microM La3+ or 50 microM Gd3+ and was partly inhibited by 1-[beta-[3-(4
      methoxyphenyl)propoxy]-4-methoxyphenethyl]-1H-imidazole hydrochloride (SKF
      96365). After depletion of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ store, by incubation
      with another inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, thapsigargin for
      30 min, BHQ did not elevate [Ca2+]i, suggesting that the BHQ-induced Ca2+ influx
      was largely due to capacitative Ca2+ entry, and that BHQ released Ca2+ from the
      thapsigargin-sensitive endoplasmic reticulum store. We investigated the mechanism
      of decay of the BHQ response. Pretreatemt with La3+ (or Gd3+) or alkalization of
      the extracellular medium to pH 8 significantly potentiated the Ca2+ signal,
      whereas pretreatment with carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) or
      oligomycin, or removal of extracellular Na+, had no effect. Collectively, our
      results suggest that BHQ increased [Ca2+]i in MDCK cells by depleting the
      endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ store followed by capacitative Ca2+ entry, with both
      pathways contributing equally. The decay of the BHQ response is effected by Ca2+
      efflux via the plasma membrane Ca2+ pump, but not by efflux via Na+/Ca2+ exchange
      or sequestration by the mitochondria.

PMID- 9988130
TI  - Endothelin ET(A) receptor antagonist reverses the inhibitory effect of platelet
      derived growth factor on cytokine-induced nitric oxide production.
AB  - Cytokines and cytokine-induced nitric oxide (NO) play important roles in
      inflammatory glomerular diseases, and both platelet-derived growth factor and
      transforming growth factor-beta inhibit cytokine-induced NO production. In this
      study, we demonstrated that a selective endothelin ET(A) receptor antagonist, BQ
      485 (Hexahydro-1H-azepinylcarbonyl-Leu-D-Trp-D-Trp-OH), reversed the inhibitory
      effect of platelet-derived growth factor on cytokine-induced NO production, but
      not that of transforming growth factor-beta. Our findings suggest a difference
      between the inhibitory mechanisms of platelet-derived growth factor and
      transforming growth factor-beta on cytokine-induced NO production.

PMID- 9988131
TI  - Altered ratio of endothelin ET(A)- and ET(B) receptor mRNA in bronchial biopsies
      from patients with asthma and chronic airway obstruction.
AB  - Using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based assay the
      ratio of mRNA for the human endothelin ET(A) and ET(B) receptors in bronchial
      biopsies was assessed. In patients with diagnoses like bronchial cancer,
      endothelin ET(A) mRNA was the dominating subtype (ratio 3.74 +/- 0.99). Subjects
      with the diagnosis of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease showed
      significantly higher levels (ratio 0.81 +/- 0.04) of endothelin ET(B) receptor
      mRNA compared to endothelin ET(A) receptor mRNA. Our results indicate alterations
      in the endothelin receptor balance in these states.

PMID- 9988132
TI  - MGMT- and P450 3A-inhibitors do not sensitize glioblastoma cell cultures against
      nitrosoureas.
AB  - AIM, MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry the expression
      of cytochrome P450 was evaluated in a series of 22 glioblastomas and 4 anaplastic
      astrocytomas (WHO grade III). Since rat liver P450 can catalyze the denitrosation
      of the nitrosourea compound BCNU in vitro, cell culture experiments were
      performed to test a possible sensitizing effect of P450 3A inhibitors (tiamulin
      and ketoconazole) in BCNU treatment of glial tumor cells. O6-benzylguanine (BG),
      an inhibitor of the DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase
      (MGMT), was used in parallel experiments, since MGMT is discussed as a main
      mechanism in nitrosourea resistance. RESULTS: RT-PCR reactions with primers
      designed according to the sequences for CYP1A1 and CYP2E1 were always positive,
      while those for CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 were negative. The strongest PCR products were
      detected with CYP3A primers, but CYP3A expression was heterogeneous within the
      tumor samples. Antibodies to human liver CYP3A4 stained a subfraction of tumor
      cells (18% of the cells in glioblastomas and 14% in grade III astrocytomas) and
      to some extend neurons in normal brain areas, while astrocytes were negative. For
      cell culture experiments with P450 3A and MGMT inhibitors, early passages of 3
      glioblastomas, a late passage of an immortalized cell line derived from a
      reoccurring glioblastoma, and the human glioblastoma line LN405 were used. The
      sensitivity of the tumor cells for both nitrosourea compounds was very low, when
      low concentrations were applied (comparable to the achievable blood
      concentrations in glioma patients). Strong effects did only occur when the
      concentrations were raised 9-fold or 27-fold. CONCLUSION: In no case could a
      significant sensitizing effect of P450 3A- and MGMT inhibitors be demonstrated.

PMID- 9988133
TI  - Parahippocampal pathology in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The hippocampal lesions in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) have been
      reported to be characteristically mild, but it has not been well known how the
      lesions change pathologically from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus.
      MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was designed to clarify the ambiguity attending
      the parahippocampal lesions in CJD. Fourteen cases with pathologically diagnosed
      CJD were studied. They were classified into 2 groups: group I, which did not have
      cortical status spongiosus (SS) and included 5 cases; and group II, which had
      cortical SS and included 9 cases. Neuronal loss, astrocytosis, and spongiform
      change were studied in lesions in the entorhinal cortex, parasubiculum,
      presubiculum (external and internal principal laminae), subiculum, and
      prosubiculum, respectively. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that in
      group I neuronal loss and astrocytosis were more severe in the parasubiculum and
      the external principal lamina of the presubiculum than in the other regions
      including the entorhinal cortex, and in group II the lesions in the entorhinal
      cortex, parasubiculum, and the external principal lamina of the presubiculum were
      more severe than in the other regions. In both groups in this study the lesions
      from the internal principal lamina of the presubiculum through the prosubiculum
      in the direction of the hippocampus were mild, which could be the least
      vulnerable in the parahippocampal gyrus in CJD. CONCLUSION: On the contrary, our
      findings also raise the possibility that the parasubiculum and the external
      principal lamina of the presubiculum may be the structures most vulnerable to
      early lesions in the parahippocampal gyrus in CJD. To know the pathogenesis of
      these lesions may be the clue to delineate the mechanisms by which the neurons
      could be spared.

PMID- 9988134
TI  - Neural expression profile of Elav-like genes in human brain.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hel-N1 and HuD belong to the elav gene family and have a considerable
      role in neuronal development. However, there is only limited information
      available on the expression profile in human brain and neural tumor cell lines.
      METHOD: Therefore, RT-PCR analysis has been performed on human fetal, normal
      adult, and psychiatric brains (from patients with schizophrenia, Alzheimer's
      disease, and alcoholism) as well as 20 glioblastoma and 9 medulloblastoma cell
      lines. RESULTS: Both, Hel-N1 and HuD were abundantly expressed in all brain
      samples with no obvious difference. However, the neural tumor cell lines showed a
      differential expression pattern. The medulloblastoma cell lines expressed at
      least one of the genes in a frequency of 67% for HuD and 78% for Hel-N1
      transcripts, respectively. In contrast to the glioblastoma cell lines, which
      revealed no evidence for HuD RT-PCR products. Surprisingly, 55% of the
      glioblastoma cell lines showed Hel-N1 expression. CONCLUSION: These observations
      indicate that Hel-N1 and HuD participate in molecular processes in human brain,
      both during development and in the mature adult brain. Hel-N1 and HuD
      transcriptional activity are stable markers for medulloblastoma cell lines, a
      tumor, which is thought to be derived from a neuronal precursor cell. The role of
      Hel-N1 in glioblastomas, the most prominent representative of the glial tumors is
      presently unclear. This finding is the first indication for a possible
      involvement of an Elav-like gene product in the glial cell lineage.

PMID- 9988135
TI  - Critically ill patients: immunological evidence of inflammation in muscle biopsy.
AB  - AIM AND METHOD: To verify whether muscle necrosis in critically ill patients
      could be due to an inflammatory process, we tested muscle biopsies from five
      intensive care patients with different inflammation-specific immunocytochemical
      markers (antibodies anti-class I major histocompatibility complex products (class
      I MHCP or HLA I), membrane attack complex (MAC), T lymphocytes helper-inducer
      (CD4), cytotoxic (CD8) and pan-B-lymphocytes). RESULTS: In three patients muscle
      biopsy showed class I MHCP positivity on the surface membrane of several groups
      of fibres, mainly perifascicular, and scattered microvascular deposits of MAC. In
      the other two patients muscle biopsy did not show class I MHCP and MAC
      positivity. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that inflammation may be a component
      of muscle damage in some critically ill patients.

PMID- 9988136
TI  - Cerebrospinal fluid filtration and immunoglobulins in multifocal motor
      neuropathy.
AB  - Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) filtration has been shown to be of benefit in chronic
      inflammatory, demyelinating polyneuropathy, but has not been applied to
      multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) so far. Twenty-seven months after a 48-year-old
      male patient had developed slowly progressive, distally prominent monoparesis of
      the left arm, MMN was diagnosed. Conduction blocks were found in the left
      brachial plexus after median, ulnar, and radial nerve stimulation. Serum anti-GM1
      antibody titers were markedly increased. Biopsy of the motor long thoracic nerve
      showed reduction of small caliber myelinated axons and irregularly shaped myelin
      lamellae. Treatment with immunoglobulins 29, 31, 36, and 39 months after onset
      was followed by a distinct improvement each time. Thirty-four months after onset,
      one liter CSF was filtered off by means of a bidirectional syringe pump with only
      minor therapeutic effect. In conclusion, immunoglobulins had a stronger
      therapeutic effect than CSF filtration on the MMN patient described.

PMID- 9988137
TI  - A chondromyxoid fibroma-like tumor of the cranial convexity: immunohistochemical
      and ultrastructural study.
AB  - A rare chondromyxoid fibroma-like tumor arising from the temporal bone in a 49
      year-old man is described. This case appears to be only the second reported of a
      cranial lesion of the tumor for which diagnosis could be confirmed by
      immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy.

PMID- 9988139
TI  - Amygdalo-subicular degeneration in a young adult with status epilepticus and
      choreoathetoid movements of acute onset.
AB  - Selective amygdalo-subicular degeneration was observed in a 25-year-old woman
      with encephalopathy of unknown etiology. Following flu-like symptoms, the patient
      presented with confusion and generalized seizures. Subsequently, she developed
      persistent stupor with absence of the brainstem reflexes, refractory status
      epilepticus accompanied by hyperthermia, and exhibited choreoathetoid movements.
      Despite therapies her condition showed no improvement, and she died four months
      after the onset of disease. Postmortem examinations revealed no evidence
      suggestive of viral encephalitis, and instead distinctive bilateral lesions were
      seen in the subiculum (the subiculum proper and the prosubiculum) and the
      basolateral nuclear group of the amygdala. The hippocampus proper from CA1 to
      dentate fascia was unremarkable. The selective amygdalo-subicular degeneration,
      for which pathogenesis remained unknown, was inconsistent with her serious
      clinical condition. To our knowledge, similar pathology has not been described so
      far.

PMID- 9988138
TI  - Multiple intracerebral metastases of a 17-year-old girl with previously diagnosed
      neurofibromatosis type I.
AB  - We report a case of a 17-year-old girl with multiple intracerebral tumors.
      Previously, a neurofibroma in the posterior mediastinum and neurofibromatosis had
      been diagnosed. She developed a spastic tetraparesis with a prominent hemiparesis
      of the right side within several weeks. On admission we found clinical signs of
      elevated intracranial pressure. Cranial CT and MRI scans showed multiple space
      occupying intracerebral tumors, thought to be multiple meningeoma. The patient
      was referred to the neurosurgical department, where two of the intracerebral
      tumors were excised. The histological examination revealed metastases of a
      neurosarcoma.

PMID- 9988140
TI  - Does early anemia correction prevent complications of chronic renal failure?
AB  - Anemia is a common complication of chronic renal failure (CRF). With the
      availability of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) over the last decade,
      much progress has been made in the management of anemia in patients with end
      stage renal disease (ESRD) [Eschbach 1995, Gimenez and Scheel 1994, Muirhead et
      al. 1995, Winearls 1995]. The clearest benefit of rhEPO in ESRD is a substantial
      reduction in transfusion dependency, which reduces the need for hospital
      admission and the risk of viral transmission. Improvements in hemostasis and a
      decrease in human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies have also been reported.
      Beneficial effects of rhEPO on the cardiovascular system in ESRD include
      regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), improvement of angina, and a
      modest increase in aerobic work capacity. Treatment of anemia with rhEPO has also
      been shown to improve cognitive function, socialization and quality of life in
      dialysis patients, although this has not led to better vocational rehabilitation
      or employment status. It has also been reported that a lower hemoglobin (Hb)
      content is an independent risk factor for increased mortality in hemodialysis
      patients [Harnett et al. 1995]. Clearly, therefore, treatment of anemia
      associated with ESRD is required and beneficial. The optimum treatment of anemia
      prior to dialysis, however, is still a matter for debate.

PMID- 9988141
TI  - Increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA level in Bartter's and
      Gitelman's syndrome. Relationship to vascular reactivity.
AB  - AIM: Patients with Bartter's syndrome and Gitelman's syndrome have reduced
      vascular reactivity, normo-hypotension and decreased peripheral resistances in
      spite of biochemical and hormonal abnormalities typical of hypertension. Since we
      found that both types of patients have increased urinary NO2-/NO3-, metabolites
      of NO, that correlated with their increased urinary cGMP, second messenger of NO,
      we examined the possible role of NO system in the pathophysiology of these
      syndromes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used a molecular biologic approach and
      studied ecNOS gene expression by PCR-amplification of cDNA obtained by RT-PCR of
      RNA extracted by patients and healthy controls monocytes. RESULTS: ecNOS is
      overexpressed in monocytes from patients with Bartter's and Gitelman's syndrome
      relative to controls: - 0.306 +/- 0.012 Densitometric Units (0.313 +/- 0.006, N =
      3 for Bartter's patients; 0.302 +/- 0.009, N = 5 for Gitelman's patients) vs.
      0.192 +/- 0.018, p < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: This overexperession presumably accounts
      for their increased NO production; thus it could be likely that elevated ecNOS
      and NO levels are a part of pathophysiological process(es) that leads to their
      characteristic reduced vascular responses. However, the relationship between the
      alterations in the NO signalling system observed in this study and the mutations
      in either Na+-K+-2Cl cotransporter or in a K+ channel ROMK or in Cl- channel
      ClCNKB in Bartter's syndrome and in Na+-Cl- cotranstransporter in Gitelman's
      syndrome, recently reported as their primary defects remains to be defined.

PMID- 9988142
TI  - A randomized trial of sevelamer hydrochloride (RenaGel) with and without
      supplemental calcium. Strategies for the control of hyperphosphatemia and
      hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: We have previously shown sevelamer hydrochloride (RenaGel) to be an
      effective and well-tolerated treatment for hyperphosphatemia in hemodialysis
      patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a randomized clinical trial to
      compare the efficacy of RenaGel alone and RenaGel with calcium, using the serum
      phosphorus concentration and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) as the principal
      outcomes of interest. Calcium (900 mg elemental) was provided as a once-nightly
      dose on an empty stomach. 71 patients were randomized and included in the intent
      to-treat population; 55 completed the 16-week study period (2 weeks washout, 12
      weeks treatment, 2 weeks washout). 49% of subjects were taking vitamin D
      metabolites. RESULTS: Serum phosphorus and PTH rose significantly when patients
      stopped their phosphate binders during both washout periods. RenaGel and RenaGel
      with calcium were equally effective at reducing serum phosphorus (mean change 
      2.4 mg/dL vs. -2.3 mg/dL). RenaGel with calcium was associated with a small
      increase in serum calcium (mean change 0.3 mg/dL vs. 0.0 mg/dL in RenaGel group,
      P = 0.09) that was not statistically significant. During the treatment phase, the
      reduction in PTH tended to be greater in the RenaGel with calcium group (median
      change -67.0 vs. -22.5 pg/mL in RenaGel group, P = 0.07). Non-users of vitamin D
      metabolites treated with RenaGel with calcium experienced a significant decrease
      in PTH (median change -114.5 vs. -22 pg/mL in RenaGel group, P = 0.006). Adverse
      events were seen with equal frequency in both groups, being generally mild in
      intensity, and rarely attributable to the drugs. CONCLUSION: We conclude that
      RenaGel and RenaGel with calcium are similarly effective in the treatment of ESRD
      related hyperphosphatemia. Provision of supplemental calcium or metabolites of
      vitamin D with RenaGel may enhance control of hyperparathyroidism.

PMID- 9988143
TI  - Insulin-like growth factor 1 and 2 serum concentrations in dialysis patients with
      secondary hyperparathyroidism and adynamic bone disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor-1 and -2 exert well characterized effects
      on bone metabolism via paracrine and endocrine pathways. However, the role of
      circulating levels of IGFs and their binding proteins (IGFBP) in renal bone
      disease is still controversial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To investigate whether
      circulating IGFs play a role in the pathogenesis of different forms of renal bone
      disease, we performed a cross sectional study in 38 stable dialysis patients (32
      hemodialysis, 6 peritoneal dialysis). Patients were selected for the type of bone
      disease according to biochemical bone markers and bone histology. 25 Patients had
      adynamic bone disease (ABD; defined by plasma iPTH < 1,5 fold the upper limit of
      normal). Thirteen patients had secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT; defined by
      plasma iPTH > 10 fold the upper limit of normal). Serological diagnosis was
      confirmed in a subgroup of patients by bone histology (12 patients with type IIa
      according to Delling, ABD; 9 patients with type IIIb according to Delling, sHPT).
      Patients with signs or symptoms of aluminum toxicity were excluded from the
      study. RESULTS: Serum IGF-1 and -2 concentrations were comparable in both groups
      and were within the reported normal range for an age matched healthy control
      population. They did not correlate with biochemical markers (iPTH, bAP,
      osteocalcin) or histological manifestations of renal bone disease. Furthermore,
      semiquantitative analysis of IGFBP-2 and -3 carried out in patients with bone
      biopsies did not correlate with biochemical markers or histological indices of
      renal bone disease. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, in contrast to previous reports,
      the present data do not confirm a correlation between serological or histological
      markers of renal osteodystrophy and circulating IGF-1 or -2 or IGFBP-2 and -3.
      This does not exclude that potential alterations of the local IGF system may play
      a role in the pathogenesis of uremic bone disease.

PMID- 9988144
TI  - A prospective study of central venous hemodialysis catheter colonization and
      peripheral bacteremia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Sepsis as a consequence of central venous hemodialysis catheter
      colonization is a major cause of morbidity in the hemodialysis population. We
      have previously shown that the majority of catheters become colonized and that
      this is associated with peripheral bacteremia. The time period over which this
      colonization occurs is unknown. METHOD: A prospective study of 31 central venous
      hemodialysis catheters was performed. Central venous blood cultures were taken
      from the catheter weekly after insertion. When the central cultures became
      positive, indicating catheter colonization, peripheral venous blood cultures were
      taken during dialysis to detect peripheral bacteremia. RESULTS: Twenty-one
      catheters (68%) became colonized before their removal for reasons other than
      infection (mean time to colonization 27 days, range 5-115 days). Eleven patients
      (35%) developed peripheral bacteremia with the same organisms (mean time from
      colonization to bacteremia 32 days, range 5-26 days). Bacteremia only occurred
      when blood drawn from the catheter cultured more than 3000 colony forming units
      per ml. CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial colonization of central venous catheters often
      leads to bacteremia. The time between insertion and colonization is very
      variable, but is universally present after 16 weeks. The risk of subsequent
      bacteremia is related not only to time left in situ, but also the degree of
      colonization. Surveillance cultures would allow clinicians to detect colonization
      before bacteremia occurs and take preventative measures.

PMID- 9988145
TI  - Effect of hemodialysis and antiretroviral therapy on plasma viral load in HIV-1
      infected hemodialysis patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Plasma viral load has become an important test in predicting the
      progress of HIV-1 infected patients. The higher the viral load the faster is the
      progression to AIDS. As HIV-1 infected hemodialysis (HD) patients have higher
      mortality and morbidity than HIV-1 infected non-dialysis patients, and as all the
      blood tests in the HD patients are drawn during HD, we measured the effect of HD
      and antiretroviral therapy on viral load in HIV-1 infected HD patients. PATIENTS
      AND METHODS: We measured plasma viral load pre-dialysis and post-dialysis in 10
      HIV-1 infected HD patients. The viral load was measured using an in vitro
      quantitative nucleic acid amplification test. We also compared viral load in 8
      HIV-1 infected HD patients on one antiretroviral drug with 8 HIV-1 patients on
      two (6) or three (2) antiretroviral drugs. RESULTS: There was a small reduction
      in plasma viral load postdialysis in all HIV-1 infected HD patients (45% +/- 5.4,
      0.3 log +/- 0.05, p < 0.0004). However, HIV-1 RNA could not be detected in the
      ultrafiltrate. The patients who were on two or three antiretroviral drugs had
      lower viral load (8915 +/- 3702 vs. 351440 +/- 101237, p < 0.004) and higher CD4
      count (355 +/- 81 vs 82 +/- 39, p < 0.009) than patients on only one
      antiretroviral drug. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is a small reduction in
      plasma viral load in HIV-1 infected hemodialysis patients post-dialysis. As no
      viral RNA could be detected in the ultrafiltrate, the reduction could be due to
      nonspecific adsorption of the viral RNA to the dialysis membrane. HIV-1 infected
      hemodialysis patients who are on two or three antiretroviral drugs had
      significantly lower viral load and higher CD4 count than patients on only single
      antiretroviral drug. Therefore a single antiretroviral drug should not be used in
      treating HIV-1 infected HD patients.

PMID- 9988146
TI  - Ineffectiveness of dialysis in transthyretin (TTR) clearance in familial amyloid
      polyneuropathy type I, in spite of lower stability of the TTR Met30 variant.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP) is an hereditary form of
      systemic amyloidosis related to a mutant transthyretin (TTR). The renal disease
      ranges from proteinuria to end-stage renal failure (ESRF), with replacement of
      renal function by dialysis. In comparison with FAP patients with normal renal
      function, the progression of the neurologic disease seems to be retarded in FAP
      patients on dialysis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated the influence of
      hemodialysis and hemodiafiltration on plasma TTR levels in 6 FAP patients with
      ESRF, which were on regular hemodialysis for 4 months to 6 years, prior to this
      study. Hemodialysis was performed over a two-week period, one week with a
      cellulose triacetate membrane and the other with a polysulfone membrane. In the
      third week, patients were submitted to hemodiafiltration. Plasma TTR levels were
      measured at the beginning, 60 min, 120 min, and at the end of each session. We
      also evaluated the TTR adsorbed by the membrane and in the dialysate. RESULTS:
      TTR levels did not change significantly with the dialysis. The total amount of
      TTR adsorbed to the membrane was always < 2 mg and found in the dialysate < 1 mg.
      Hemodialysis and hemodiafiltration were ineffective in removing TTR, in spite of
      lower stability of the TTR Met30 variant. CONCLUSION: The protective feature of
      hemodialysis on the progression of the amyloidosis is not due to the clearance of
      this abnormal protein from plasma.

PMID- 9988147
TI  - Diabetic nephropathy with concurrent hepatitis C virus infection related
      membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.
AB  - Diabetes mellitus is often complicated by nephropathy with progression to renal
      failure. Various forms of glomerulonephritis have been associated with diabetes,
      sometimes resulting in more rapid deterioration in renal function and
      occasionally dictating alternative management of these patients in attempts to
      reverse or contain nephrosis or renal failure. We report the occurrence of Type I
      membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) with hepatitis C virus (HCV)
      infection in two patients, in association with diabetic nephropathy. One patient
      had cryoglobulinemia and cryoglobulin deposits in the kidney. A brief review of
      the literature on glomerulonephritides occurring in patients with diabetes
      mellitus is also presented. Clinicians should be aware of the possible occurrence
      of Type I MPGN and cryoglobulinemia in patients with diabetes mellitus and HCV
      infection with the appropriate history and physical findings. The therapeutic
      approach to managing patients with two distinct concurrent lesions remains
      unresolved.

PMID- 9988148
TI  - Rapid resolution of tumoral calcinosis after renal transplantation.
AB  - Three patients with extensive, symptomatic tumoral calcinosis (TC) were studied
      after renal transplantation. Changes in TC-related symptoms, radiological
      appearances, calcium, phosphate and intact parathyroid hormone concentrations
      were recorded. All patients noted an immediate reduction in pain and in 2
      patients the TC rapidly resolved. Their TC was not palpable by 6 months and
      radiographs showed near complete resolution at 12 months. Both developed
      hypercalcemia and in one patient this was associated with polyuria and renal
      impairment. Bisphosphonates reduced the hypercalcemia but increasing the
      corticosteroids had no effect. The third patient remained dialysis dependent due
      to technical problems and rejection but continued on immunosuppression to
      preserve residual graft function. His TC improved symptomatically but grew
      radiologically. These cases demonstrate that rapid resolution of TC may occur
      after successful renal transplantation and that bisphosphonates can ameliorate
      the associated hypercalcemia. Early symptomatic benefit may occur without graft
      function and is probably due to the anti-inflammatory action of corticosteroids.

PMID- 9988149
TI  - Hand-borne mechanisms of dissemination of hepatitis C virus in dialysis units:
      basis for new addenda to the present preventive strategies.

PMID- 9988150
TI  - Clinical impact of stained urine cytology for UTI diagnosis.

PMID- 9988151
TI  - WT1 nephropathy in a girl with normal karyotype (46,XX)

PMID- 9988152
TI  - Chronic bacterial inflammation of the gum: the main risk factor for
      posttransplant gingival hyperplasia?

PMID- 9988153
TI  - Dialysate CA125 levels in stable peritoneal dialysis patients.

PMID- 9988154
TI  - An introduction to Ebola: the virus and the disease.

PMID- 9988155
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo: clinical
      observations in 103 patients.
AB  - During the 1995 outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of
      the Congo, a series of 103 cases (one-third of the total number of cases) had
      clinical symptoms and signs accurately recorded by medical workers, mainly in the
      setting of the urban hospital in Kikwit. Clinical diagnosis was confirmed
      retrospectively in cases for which serum samples were available (n = 63, 61% of
      the cases). The disease began unspecifically with fever, asthenia, diarrhea,
      headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Early inconsistent
      signs and symptoms included conjunctival injection, sore throat, and rash.
      Overall, bleeding signs were observed in <45% of the cases. Typically, terminally
      ill patients presented with obtundation, anuria, shock, tachypnea, and
      normothermia. Late manifestations, most frequently arthralgia and ocular
      diseases, occurred in convalescent patients. This series is the most extensive
      number of cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever observed during an outbreak.

PMID- 9988156
TI  - Epidemiologic and clinical aspects of the Ebola virus epidemic in Mosango,
      Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.
AB  - Twenty-three Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) cases (15 males, 8 females) were
      identified in Mosango, Democratic Republic of the Congo; 18 (78%) of them died.
      Eight of the patients came from Kikwit General Hospital and were hospitalized at
      Mosango General Hospital, 10 acquired their infection at the Mosango hospital and
      were treated there, and 5 acquired their infection through contact with a
      hospitalized patient but were never hospitalized themselves. For most of the EHF
      cases, it was clear that they had been in contact with blood or body fluids of
      another EHF patient. The Ebola outbreak in Mosango remained relatively small,
      probably because hygienic conditions in this hospital were relatively good at the
      time of the outbreak and because as soon as the epidemic was recognized, barrier
      nursing techniques were used.

PMID- 9988157
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever and pregnancy.
AB  - Fifteen (14%) of 105 women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever hospitalized in the
      isolation unit of the Kikwit General Hospital (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
      were pregnant. In 10 women (66%) the pregnancy ended with an abortion. In 3 of
      them, a curettage was performed, and all 3 received a blood transfusion from an
      apparently healthy person. One woman was prematurely delivered of a stillbirth.
      Four pregnant women died during the third trimester of their pregnancy. All women
      presented with severe bleeding. Only 1 survived; she had a curettage because of
      an incomplete abortion after 8 months of amenorrhea. The mortality among pregnant
      women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (95.5%) was slightly but not significantly
      higher than the overall mortality observed during the Ebola epidemic in Kikwit
      (77%; 245/316 infected persons).

PMID- 9988158
TI  - Late ophthalmologic manifestations in survivors of the 1995 Ebola virus epidemic
      in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AB  - Three (15%) of 20 survivors of the 1995 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic
      of the Congo enrolled in a follow-up study and 1 other survivor developed ocular
      manifestations after being asymptomatic for 1 month. Patients complained of
      ocular pain, photophobia, hyperlacrimation, and loss of visual acuity. Ocular
      examination revealed uveitis in all 4 patients. All patients improved with a
      topical treatment of 1% atropine and steroids.

PMID- 9988159
TI  - Isolated case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever with mucormycosis complications,
      Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AB  - A patient with undiagnosed Ebola (EBO) hemorrhagic fever (EHF) was transferred
      from Kikwit to a private clinic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A
      diagnosis of EHF was suspected on clinical grounds and was confirmed by detection
      of EBO virus-specific IgM and IgG in serum of the patient. During the course of
      the disease, although she had no known predisposing factors, the patient
      developed a periorbital mucormycosis abscess on eyelid tissue that was biopsied
      during surgical drainage; the abscess was histologically confirmed. Presence of
      EBO antigen was also detected by specific immunohistochemistry on the biopsied
      tissue. The patient survived the EBO infection but had severe sequelae associated
      with the mucormycosis. Standard barrier-nursing precautions were taken upon
      admission and upgraded when EHF was suspected; there was no secondary
      transmission of the disease.

PMID- 9988160
TI  - Treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever with blood transfusions from convalescent
      patients. International Scientific and Technical Committee.
AB  - Between 6 and 22 June 1995, 8 patients in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the
      Congo, who met the case definition used in Kikwit for Ebola (EBO) hemorrhagic
      fever, were transfused with blood donated by 5 convalescent patients. The donated
      blood contained IgG EBO antibodies but no EBO antigen. EBO antigens were detected
      in all the transfusion recipients just before transfusion. The 8 transfused
      patients had clinical symptoms similar to those of other EBO patients seen during
      the epidemic. All were seriously ill with severe asthenia, 4 presented with
      hemorrhagic manifestations, and 2 became comatose as their disease progressed.
      Only 1 transfused patient (12.5%) died; this number is significantly lower than
      the overall case fatality rate (80%) for the EBO epidemic in Kikwit and than the
      rates for other EBO epidemics. The reason for this low fatality rate remains to
      be explained. The transfused patients did receive better care than those in the
      initial phase of the epidemic. Plans should be made to prepare for a more
      thorough evaluation of passive immune therapy during a new EBO outbreak.

PMID- 9988161
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995: determinants of
      survival.
AB  - In May 1995, an international team characterized and contained an outbreak of
      Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study
      reports the descriptive features of this outbreak along with a statistical
      analysis of the outbreak data. Proportional hazards analysis was used to examine
      the effect of age, phase of the outbreak, and sex on the risk of death, and a
      conditional probability analysis was used to examine the effectiveness of whole
      blood transfusion from convalescent patients on survival. Two hundred fifty case
      patients (80.7%) died. The main predictor of survival in the proportional hazards
      model was age. No statistical evidence of a survival benefit of transfusion of
      blood from convalescent patients was evident after adjusting for age, sex, and
      the days since onset of symptoms (P = .1713).

PMID- 9988162
TI  - Clinical, virologic, and immunologic follow-up of convalescent Ebola hemorrhagic
      fever patients and their household contacts, Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the
      Congo. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidemies a Kikwit.
AB  - A cohort of convalescent Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) patients and their
      household contacts (HHCs) were studied prospectively to determine if convalescent
      body fluids contain Ebola virus and if secondary transmission occurs during
      convalescence. Twenty-nine EHF convalescents and 152 HHCs were monitored for up
      to 21 months. Blood specimens were obtained and symptom information was collected
      from convalescents and their HHCs; other body fluid specimens were also obtained
      from convalescents. Arthralgias and myalgia were reported significantly more
      often by convalescents than HHCs. Evidence of Ebola virus was detected by reverse
      transcription-polymerase chain reaction in semen specimens up to 91 days after
      disease onset; however, these and all other non-blood body fluids tested negative
      by virus isolation. Among 81 initially antibody negative HHCs, none became
      antibody positive. Blood specimens of 5 HHCs not identified as EHF patients were
      initially antibody positive. No direct evidence of convalescent-to-HHC
      transmission of EHF was found, although the semen of convalescents may be
      infectious. The existence of initially antibody-positive HHCs suggests that mild
      cases of Ebola virus infection occurred and that the full extent of the EHF
      epidemic was probably underestimated.

PMID- 9988164
TI  - Human infection due to Ebola virus, subtype Cote d'Ivoire: clinical and biologic
      presentation.
AB  - In November 1994 after 15 years of epidemiologic silence, Ebola virus reemerged
      in Africa and, for the first time, in West Africa. In Cote d'Ivoire, a 34-year
      old female ethologist was infected while conducting a necropsy on a wild
      chimpanzee. Eight days later, the patient developed a syndrome that did not
      respond to antimalarial drugs and was characterized by high fever, headache,
      chills, myalgia, and cough. The patient had abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting,
      and a macular rash, and was repatriated to Switzerland. The patient suffered from
      prostration and weight loss but recovered without sequelae. Laboratory findings
      included aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activity highly
      elevated, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, and, subsequently, neutrophilia. A new
      subtype of Ebola was isolated from the patient's blood on days 4 and 8. No
      serologic conversion was detected among contact persons in Cote d'Ivoire (n = 22)
      or Switzerland (n = 52), suggesting that infection-control precautions were
      satisfactory.

PMID- 9988163
TI  - A novel immunohistochemical assay for the detection of Ebola virus in skin:
      implications for diagnosis, spread, and surveillance of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
      Commission de Lutte contre les Epidemies a Kikwit.
AB  - Laboratory diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is currently performed by
      virus isolation and serology and can be done only in a few high-containment
      laboratories worldwide. In 1995, during the EHF outbreak in the Democratic
      Republic of Congo, the possibility of using immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing of
      formalin-fixed postmortem skin specimens was investigated as an alternative
      diagnostic method for EHF. Fourteen of 19 cases of suspected EHF met the
      surveillance definition for EHF and were positive by IHC. IHC, serologic, and
      virus isolation results were concordant for all EHF and non-EHF cases. IHC and
      electron microscopic examination showed that endothelial cells, mononuclear
      phagocytes, and hepatocytes are main targets of infection, and IHC showed an
      association of cellular damage with viral infection. The finding of abundant
      viral antigens and particles in the skin of EHF patients suggests an
      epidemiologic role for contact transmission. IHC testing of formalin-fixed skin
      specimens is a safe, sensitive, and specific method for laboratory diagnosis of
      EHF and should be useful for EHF surveillance and prevention.

PMID- 9988165
TI  - Histopathological and immunohistochemical studies of lesions associated with
      Ebola virus in a naturally infected chimpanzee.
AB  - Lesions caused by the Cote d'Ivoire subtype of Ebola virus in a naturally
      infected young chimpanzee were characterized by histopathological and
      immunohistochemical methods. The predominant lesions consisted of multifocal
      necrosis in the liver and diffuse fibrinoid necrosis in the red pulp of the
      spleen. In these sites, macrophages contained large eosinophilic intracytoplasmic
      inclusion bodies. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that macrophages were a
      major site of viral replication. The absence of bronchiolar and pulmonary lesions
      and the paucity of antigen-containing macrophages in the lung suggested that
      aerosol transmission by this animal was unlikely. There were necrotic foci and
      antigen-containing macrophages in intestinal lymph nodes, in association with
      lesions caused by intestinal parasites, suggesting the possibility of virus entry
      through the digestive tract.

PMID- 9988166
TI  - Ebola between outbreaks: intensified Ebola hemorrhagic fever surveillance in the
      Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1981-1985.
AB  - Surveillance for Ebola hemorrhagic fever was conducted in the Democratic Republic
      of the Congo from 1981 to 1985 to estimate the incidence of human infection.
      Persons who met the criteria of one of three different case definitions were
      clinically evaluated, and blood was obtained for antibody confirmation by IFA.
      Contacts of each case and 4 age- and sex-matched controls were also clinically
      examined and tested for immunofluorescent antibody. Twenty-one cases of Ebola
      infection (persons with an antibody titer of > or = 1:64, or lower if they fit
      the clinical case definition) were identified, with a maximum 1-year incidence of
      9 and a case fatality rate of 43%. Cases occurred throughout the year, but most
      (48%) occurred early in the rainy season. Fifteen percent of contacts had
      antibody titers > or =1:64 to Ebola virus, compared with 1% of controls (P <
      .0001). Results suggest that Ebola virus periodically emerges from nature to
      infect humans, that person-to-person transmission is relatively limited, and that
      amplification to large epidemics is unusual.

PMID- 9988167
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Gabon, 1994-1997: epidemiologic and health
      control issues.
AB  - From the end of 1994 to the beginning of 1995, 49 patients with hemorrhagic
      symptoms were hospitalized in the Makokou General Hospital in northeastern Gabon.
      Yellow fever (YF) virus was first diagnosed in serum by use of polymerase chain
      reaction followed by blotting, and a vaccination campaign was immediately
      instituted. The epidemic, known as the fall 1994 epidemic, ended 6 weeks later.
      However, some aspects of this epidemic were atypical of YF infection, so a
      retrospective check for other etiologic agents was undertaken. Ebola (EBO) virus
      was found to be present concomitantly with YF virus in the epidemic. Two other
      epidemics (spring and fall 1996) occurred in the same province. GP and L genes of
      EBO virus isolates from all three epidemics were partially sequenced, which
      showed a difference of <0.1% in the base pairs. Sequencing also showed that all
      isolates were very similar to subtype Zaire EBO virus isolates from the
      Democratic Republic of the Congo.

PMID- 9988168
TI  - The reemergence of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
      1995. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidemies a Kikwit.
AB  - In May 1995, an international team characterized and contained an outbreak of
      Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Active
      surveillance was instituted using several methods, including house-to-house
      search, review of hospital and dispensary logs, interview of health care
      personnel, retrospective contact tracing, and direct follow-up of suspect cases.
      In the field, a clinical case was defined as fever and hemorrhagic signs, fever
      plus contact with a case-patient, or fever plus at least 3 of 10 symptoms. A
      total of 315 cases of EHF, with an 81% case fatality, were identified, excluding
      10 clinical cases with negative laboratory results. The earliest documented case
      patient had onset on 6 January, and the last case-patient died on 16 July. Eighty
      cases (25%) occurred among health care workers. Two individuals may have been the
      source of infection for >50 cases. The outbreak was terminated by the initiation
      of barrier-nursing techniques, health education efforts, and rapid identification
      of cases.

PMID- 9988169
TI  - Transmission of Ebola hemorrhagic fever: a study of risk factors in family
      members, Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. Commission de Lutte
      contre les Epidemies a Kikwit.
AB  - The surviving members of 27 households in which someone had been infected with
      Ebola virus were interviewed in order to define the modes of transmission of
      Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF). Of 173 household contacts of the primary cases, 28
      (16%) developed EHF. All secondary cases had direct physical contact with the ill
      person (rate ratio [RR], undefined; P < .001), and among those with direct
      contact, exposure to body fluids conferred additional risk (RR, 3.6; 95%
      confidence interval [CI], 1.9-6.8). After adjusting for direct contact and
      exposure to body fluids, adult family members, those who touched the cadaver, and
      those who were exposed during the late hospital phase were at additional risk.
      None of the 78 household members who had no physical contact with the case during
      the clinical illness were infected (upper 95% CI, 4%). EHF is transmitted
      principally by direct physical contact with an ill person or their body fluids
      during the later stages of illness.

PMID- 9988170
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995: risk
      factors for patients without a reported exposure.
AB  - In 1995, 316 people became ill with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Kikwit,
      Democratic Republic of the Congo. The exposure source was not reported for 55
      patients (17%) at the start of this investigation, and it remained unknown for 12
      patients after extensive epidemiologic evaluation. Both admission to a hospital
      and visiting a person with fever and bleeding were risk factors associated with
      infection. Nineteen patients appeared to have been exposed while visiting someone
      with suspected EHF, although they did not provide care. Fourteen of the 19
      reported touching the patient with suspected EHF; 5 reported that they had no
      physical contact. Although close contact while caring for an infected person was
      probably the major route of transmission in this and previous EHF outbreaks, the
      virus may have been transmitted by touch, droplet, airborne particle, or fomite;
      thus, expansion of the use of barrier techniques to include casual contacts might
      prevent or mitigate future epidemics.

PMID- 9988171
TI  - Serologic survey among hospital and health center workers during the Ebola
      hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.
AB  - From May to July 1995, a serologic and interview survey was conducted to describe
      Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) among personnel working in 5 hospitals and 26
      health care centers in and around Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Job
      specific attack rates estimated for Kikwit General Hospital, the epicenter of the
      EHF epidemic, were 31% for physicians, 11% for technicians/room attendants, 10%
      for nurses, and 4% for other workers. Among 402 workers who did not meet the EHF
      case definition, 12 had borderline positive antibody test results; subsequent
      specimens from 4 of these tested negative. Although an old infection with
      persistent Ebola antibody production or a recent atypical or asymptomatic
      infection cannot be ruled out, if they occur at all, they appear to be rare. This
      survey demonstrated that opportunities for transmission of Ebola virus to
      personnel in health facilities existed in Kikwit because blood and body fluid
      precautions were not being universally followed.

PMID- 9988172
TI  - Prevalence of IgG antibodies to Ebola virus in individuals during an Ebola
      outbreak, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.
AB  - During the 1995 outbreak of Ebola (EBO) hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic
      Republic of Congo, two surveys using a new ELISA for EBO (subtype Zaire) virus
      antigen were conducted to assess the prevalence of EBO IgG antibodies among
      residents of Kikwit and the surrounding area. The first study determined the
      proportion of antibody-positive individuals who were self-identified forest and
      city workers from the Kikwit area. Serum samples from 9 (2.2%) of 414 workers had
      IgG EBO antibodies. The second study determined the proportion of EBO antibody
      positive individuals who lived in villages surrounding Kikwit. The prevalence of
      IgG EBO antibodies in this population was 9.3% (151161). The difference in the
      overall prevalence of EBO antibodies may indicate that villagers have a greater
      chance of exposure to EBO virus compared with those living in and in close
      proximity to cities.

PMID- 9988174
TI  - Epidemiology of Ebola (subtype Reston) virus in the Philippines, 1996.
AB  - Ebola (subtype Reston [EBO-R]) virus infection was detected in macaques imported
      into the United States from the Philippines in March 1996. Studies were initiated
      in the Philippines to identify the source of the virus among monkey-breeding and
      export facilities, to establish surveillance and testing, and to assess the risk
      and significance of EBO-R infections in humans who work in these facilities. Over
      a 5-month period, acutely infected animals were found at only one facility, as
      determined using Ebola antigen detection. Three of 1732 monkeys and 1 of 246
      animal handlers tested had detectable antibodies; all were from the same
      facility, which was the source of infected monkeys imported to the United States.
      Virus transmission, which was facilitated by poor infection-control practices,
      continued for several months in one facility and was stopped only when the
      facility was depopulated. None of the 246 employees of the facilities or 4
      contacts of previously antibody-positive individuals reported an Ebola-like
      illness. This investigation suggests that human EBO-R infection is rare.

PMID- 9988173
TI  - Ebola (subtype Reston) virus among quarantined nonhuman primates recently
      imported from the Philippines to the United States.
AB  - In April 1996, laboratory testing of imported nonhuman primates (as mandated by
      quarantine regulations) identified 2 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis)
      infected with Ebola (subtype Reston) virus in a US-registered quarantine
      facility. The animals were part of a shipment of 100 nonhuman primates recently
      imported from the Philippines. Two additional infected animals, who were thought
      to be in the incubation phase, were identified among the remaining 48 animals in
      the affected quarantine room. The other 50 macaques, who had been held in a
      separate isolation room, remained asymptomatic, and none of these animals
      seroconverted during an extended quarantine period. Due to the rigorous routine
      safety precautions, the facility personnel had no unprotected exposures and
      remained asymptomatic, and no one seroconverted. The mandatory quarantine and
      laboratory testing requirements, put in place after the original Reston outbreak
      in 1989-1990, were effective for detecting and containing Ebola virus infection
      in newly imported nonhuman primates and minimizing potential human transmission.

PMID- 9988175
TI  - Ebola virus outbreak among wild chimpanzees living in a rain forest of Cote
      d'Ivoire.
AB  - An outbreak of Ebola in nature is described for the first time. During a few
      weeks in November 1994, approximately 25% of 43 members of a wild chimpanzee
      community disappeared or were found dead in the Tai National Park, Cote d'Ivoire.
      A retrospective cohort study was done on the chimpanzee community. Laboratory
      procedures included histology, immunohistochemistry, bacteriology, and serology.
      Ebola-specific immunohistochemical staining was positive for autopsy tissue
      sections from 1 chimpanzee. Demographic, epidemiologic, and ecologic
      investigations were compatible with a point-source epidemic. Contact activities
      associated with a case (e.g., touching dead bodies or grooming) did not
      constitute significant risk factors, whereas consumption of meat did. The
      relative risk of meat consumption was 5.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.3-21.1). A
      similar outbreak occurred in November 1992 among the same community. A high
      mortality rate among apes tends to indicate that they are not the reservoir for
      the disease causing the illness. These points will have to be investigated by
      additional studies.

PMID- 9988176
TI  - Ecology of Marburg and Ebola viruses: speculations and directions for future
      research.
AB  - Marburg and virulent Ebola viruses are maintained in hosts that are rare and have
      little contact with humans or do not readily transmit virus. Bats (particularly
      solitary microchiropteran species) are leading contenders as reservoir hosts.
      Virus transfer to humans occurs by contact with the primary reservoir or via an
      intermediate animal that acquired infection from the reservoir and is, in turn,
      hunted by humans. An interesting possibility is that filoviruses may be arthropod
      or plant viruses, with non-blood-feeding arthropods transmitting the virus to
      intermediate hosts or humans during oral ingestion or envenomation.
      Paradoxically, in Africa, Ebola virus disease has high lethality and high
      seroprevalence as determined by the IFA test. If the seroreactivity is confirmed
      by more specific tests, then the Ebola virus serogroup in Africa probably
      contains an antigenically cross-reactive, enzootic, nonpathogenic agent(s). Such
      viruses may have separate life cycles or may give rise to virulent strains by
      mutation.

PMID- 9988177
TI  - A search for Ebola virus in animals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
      Cameroon: ecologic, virologic, and serologic surveys, 1979-1980. Ebola Virus
      Study Teams.
AB  - More than 30 years after the first outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Germany
      and Yugoslavia and 20 years after Ebola hemorrhagic fever first occurred in
      central Africa, the natural history of filoviruses remains unknown. In 1979 and
      1980, animals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon were collected
      during the dry season near the site of the 1976 Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic.
      The study objectives were to identify local animals and search for evidence of
      Ebola virus in their tissues. A total of 1664 animals representing 117 species
      was collected, including >400 bats and 500 rodents. Vero and CV-1 cells and IFA
      and RIA were used for virus and antibody detection, respectively. No evidence of
      Ebola virus infection was found. This study was limited in time and animal
      collections and excluded insects and plants. Long-term, prospective,
      multidisciplinary comparative studies will yield more information than will
      repeat short forays on the ecology of filoviruses.

PMID- 9988178
TI  - Field investigations of an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Kikwit,
      Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995: arthropod studies.
AB  - During the final weeks of a 6-month epidemic of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in
      Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, an extensive collection of arthropods
      was made in an attempt to learn more of the natural history of the disease. A
      reconstruction of the activities of the likely primary case, a 42-year-old man
      who lived in the city, indicated that he probably acquired his infection in a
      partly forested area 15 km from his home. Collections were made throughout this
      area, along the route he followed from the city, and at various sites in the city
      itself. No Ebola virus was isolated, but a description of the collections and the
      ecotopes involved is given for comparison with future studies of other outbreaks.

PMID- 9988179
TI  - Search for the Ebola virus reservoir in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
      reflections on a vertebrate collection.
AB  - A 3-month ecologic investigation was done to identify the reservoir of Ebola
      virus following the 1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
      Efforts focused on the fields where the putative primary case had worked but
      included other habitats near Kikwit. Samples were collected from 3066 vertebrates
      and tested for the presence of antibodies to Ebola (subtype Zaire) virus: All
      tests were negative, and attempts to isolate Ebola virus were unsuccessful. The
      investigation was hampered by a lack of information beyond the daily activities
      of the primary case, a lack of information on Ebola virus ecology, which
      precluded the detailed study of select groups of animals, and sample-size
      limitations for rare species. The epidemiology of Ebola hemorrhagic fever
      suggests that humans have only intermittent contact with the virus, which
      complicates selection of target species. Further study of the epidemiology of
      human outbreaks to further define the environmental contact of primary cases
      would be of great value.

PMID- 9988180
TI  - Detection and molecular characterization of Ebola viruses causing disease in
      human and nonhuman primates.
AB  - Ebola (EBO) viruses were detected in specimens obtained during the hemorrhagic
      fever outbreak among humans in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in
      1995 (subtype Zaire) and during an outbreak of disease in cynomolgus macaques in
      Alice, Texas, and the Philippines in 1996 (subtype Reston). Reverse transcriptase
      polymerase chain reaction assays were developed and proven effective for
      detecting viral RNA in body fluids and tissues of infected individuals. Little
      change was seen in the nucleotide or deduced amino acid sequences of the
      glycoprotein (GP) of these EBO virus subtypes compared with those of their
      original representatives (i.e., the 1976 Yambuku, DRC, EBO isolate [subtype
      Zaire] and the 1989 Philippines and Reston, Virginia, isolates [subtype Reston]).
      The nonstructural secreted GP (SGP), the primary product of the GP gene, was more
      highly conserved than the structural GP, indicating different functional roles or
      evolutionary constraints for these proteins. Significant amounts of SGP were
      detected in acutely infected humans.

PMID- 9988181
TI  - Persistence and genetic stability of Ebola virus during the outbreak in Kikwit,
      Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.
AB  - Ebola virus persistence was examined in body fluids from 12 convalescent patients
      by virus isolation and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
      during the 1995 Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic
      of the Congo. Virus RNA could be detected for up to 33 days in vaginal, rectal,
      and conjunctival swabs of 1 patient and up to 101 days in the seminal fluid of 4
      patients. Infectious virus was detected in 1 seminal fluid sample obtained 82
      days after disease onset. Sequence analysis of an RT-PCR fragment of the most
      variable region of the glycoprotein gene amplified from 9 patients revealed no
      nucleotide changes. The patient samples were selected so that they would include
      some from a suspected line of transmission with at least three human-to-human
      passages, some from 5 survivors and 4 deceased patients, and 2 from patients who
      provided multiple samples through convalescence. There was no evidence of
      different virus variants cocirculating during the outbreak or of genetic
      variation accumulating during human-to-human passage or during prolonged
      persistence in individual patients.

PMID- 9988182
TI  - Clinical virology of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF): virus, virus antigen, and IgG
      and IgM antibody findings among EHF patients in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of
      the Congo, 1995.
AB  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) patients treated at Kikwit General Hospital during
      the 1995 outbreak were tested for viral antigen, IgG and IgM antibody, and
      infectious virus. Viral antigen could be detected in virtually all patients
      during the acute phase of illness, while antibody was not always detectable
      before death. Virus was also isolated from patients during the course of their
      febrile illness, but attempts to quantify virus in Vero E6 cells by standard
      plaque assay were often unsuccessful. IgG and IgM antibody appeared at
      approximately the same time after disease onset (8-10 days), but IgM persisted
      for a much shorter period among the surviving convalescent patients. IgG antibody
      was detectable in surviving patients through about 2 years after onset, the
      latest time that samples were obtained. Detection of Ebola virus antigens or
      virus isolation appears to be the most reliable means of diagnosis for patients
      with suspected acute EHF, since patients with this often-fatal disease (80%
      mortality) may not develop detectable antibodies before death.

PMID- 9988183
TI  - Markedly elevated levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma, IFN-alpha, interleukin (IL)
      2, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha associated with fatal Ebola virus
      infection.
AB  - The role of immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever
      (EHF) remains to be elucidated. In this report, the serum cytokine levels of
      patients who died of EHF were compared with those of patients who recovered and
      those of control patients. A marked elevation of interferon (IFN)-gamma levels
      (>100 pg/mL) was observed in sequential serum samples from all fatal EHF cases
      compared with patients who recovered or controls. Markedly elevated serum levels
      of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and IFN-alpha
      were also noted in fatal EHF cases; however, they had a greater degree of
      variability. No differences were noted in serum levels of IL-4 and IL-6. mRNA
      quantitation from blood clots of the same patients showed relatively elevated
      levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-alpha in samples from EHF patients. Taken together,
      these results suggest that a high degree of immune activation accompanies and
      potentially contributes to a fatal outcome in EHF patients.

PMID- 9988184
TI  - ELISA for the detection of antibodies to Ebola viruses.
AB  - EIAs for IgG and IgM antibodies directed against Ebola (EBO) viral antigens have
      been developed and evaluated using sera of animals and humans surviving infection
      with EBO viruses. The IgM capture assay detected anti-EBO (subtype Reston)
      antibodies in the sera of 5 of 5 experimentally infected animals at the time they
      succumbed to lethal infections. IgM antibodies were also detected in the serum of
      a human who was infected with EBO (subtype Reston) during a postmortem
      examination of an infected monkey. The antibody was detectable as early as day 6
      after infection in experimentally infected animals and persisted for <90 days.
      The IgG response was less rapid; however, it persisted for >400 days in 3 animals
      who survived infection, and it persisted for approximately 10 years after
      infection in the sera of 2 humans. Although these data are limited by the number
      of sera available for verification, the IgM assay seems to have great promise as
      a diagnostic tool. Furthermore the long-term persistence of the IgG antibodies
      measured by this test strongly suggests that the ELISA will be useful in field
      investigations of EBO virus.

PMID- 9988185
TI  - An analysis of features of pathogenesis in two animal models of Ebola virus
      infection.
AB  - Virus reproduction and the time course of changes in liver and kidney functions
      and in the blood clotting system were studied in the visceral organs of green
      monkeys and baboons infected with Ebola virus (subtype Zaire). It was shown that
      monocytes and macrophages were the first cells to be infected with the virus,
      followed by hepatocytes, adrenocorticocytes, fibroblasts, and endotheliocytes.
      The early and late pathologic changes in the monkey organs are described.
      Biochemical data on changes in blood clotting and liver and kidney functions in
      the course of the infection are presented. The responses of blood clotting and
      vascular permeability were species specific: Fibrin deposited in blood vessels in
      green monkeys, while hemorrhages developed in baboons. The results show that
      species-specific features of monkeys must be taken into account when choosing an
      experimental model for studying Ebola virus infection.

PMID- 9988186
TI  - Pathogenesis of experimental Ebola virus infection in guinea pigs.
AB  - The subtype Zaire of Ebola (EBO) virus (Mayinga strain) was adapted to produce
      lethal infections in guinea pigs. In many ways, the disease was similar to EBO
      infections in nonhuman primates and humans. The guinea pig model was used to
      investigate the pathologic events in EBO infection that lead to death. Analytical
      methods included immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and electron
      microscopy. Cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system, primarily macrophages,
      were identified as the early and sustained targets of EBO virus. During later
      stages of infection, interstitial fibroblasts in various tissues were infected,
      and there was evidence of endothelial cell infection and fibrin deposition. The
      distribution of lesions, hematologic profiles, and increases in serum biochemical
      enzymes associated with EBO virus infection in guinea pigs was similar to
      reported findings in experimentally infected nonhuman primates and naturally
      infected humans.

PMID- 9988187
TI  - Preparation and use of hyperimmune serum for prophylaxis and therapy of Ebola
      virus infections.
AB  - To obtain hyperimmune serum appropriate for the treatment of filovirus infection,
      methods were developed to immunize nonsusceptible animals with live Ebola (EBO)
      virus preparations. Immune plasma with high ELISA and neutralization-specific
      antibody titers was obtained by multiple immunization of sheep and goats with
      preparations of live EBO virus. Goat immunoglobulin was prepared by Cohn's method
      and tested on guinea pigs, using an EBO virus strain that is highly pathogenic
      for guinea pigs. Prophylaxis with these immunoglobulins within 48 h after
      infection was effective in challenge experiments, with a log10 prophylaxis index
      as high as 1.92+/-0.52. Other studies have shown that equine anti-EBO virus
      immunoglobulins worked well in baboons. The goat immunoglobulins were also tested
      in preclinical trials on laboratory animals; after being positively evaluated,
      they were administered to volunteers in clinical trials for biologic safety and
      reactivity, and they were administered to researchers suspected of becoming
      infected with EBO during their experimental work. These immunoglobulins may be
      useful for the emergency treatment of persons accidentally infected with EBO.

PMID- 9988188
TI  - Evaluation of immune globulin and recombinant interferon-alpha2b for treatment of
      experimental Ebola virus infections.
AB  - A passive immunization strategy for treating Ebola virus infections was evaluated
      using BALB/ c mice, strain 13 guinea pigs, and cynomolgus monkeys. Guinea pigs
      were completely protected by injection of hyperimmune equine IgG when treatment
      was initiated early but not after viremia had developed. In contrast, mice were
      incompletely protected even when treatment was initiated on day 0, the day of
      virus inoculation. In monkeys treated with one dose of IgG on day 0, onset of
      illness and viremia was delayed, but all treated animals died. A second dose of
      IgG on day 5 had no additional beneficial effect. Pretreatment of monkeys delayed
      onset of viremia and delayed death several additional days. Interferon-alpha2b (2
      x 10(7) IU/kg/day) had a similar effect in monkeys, delaying viremia and death by
      only several days. Effective treatment of Ebola infections may require a
      combination of drugs that inhibit viral replication in monocyte/macrophage-like
      cells while reversing the pathologic effects (e.g., coagulopathy) consequent to
      this replication.

PMID- 9988189
TI  - Recombinant human monoclonal antibodies to Ebola virus.
AB  - Human Fab (IgG1kappa) phage display libraries were constructed from bone marrow
      RNA from 2 donors who recovered from infection with Ebola (EBO) virus during the
      1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The libraries were
      initially panned against a radiation-inactivated EBO virus-infected Vero cell
      lysate, but only weak binders were identified. In contrast, panning against
      secreted EBO glycoprotein (SGP) resulted in Fabs showing very strong reactivity
      with SGP in ELISA. These Fabs also reacted with a virion membrane preparation.
      The Fabs were strongly positive in IFAs with cells infected with EBO (subtype
      Zaire) virus but negative with uninfected cells, with a characteristic punctate
      staining pattern in the cytoplasm. The Fabs showed weak or no reactivity with the
      virus cell lysate although donor serum did react. The Fabs are now being
      characterized in structural and functional terms. Major interest will focus on
      the ability of antibodies to neutralize EBO virus and, later, to protect animals
      against infection.

PMID- 9988190
TI  - Antiviral drug therapy of filovirus infections: S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase
      inhibitors inhibit Ebola virus in vitro and in a lethal mouse model.
AB  - Ebola (subtype Zaire) viral replication was inhibited in vitro by a series of
      nine nucleoside analogue inhibitors of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, an
      important target for antiviral drug development. Adult BALB/c mice lethally
      infected with mouse-adapted Ebola virus die 5-7 days after infection. Treatment
      initiated on day 0 or 1 resulted in dose-dependent protection, with mortality
      completely prevented at doses > or =0.7 mg/kg every 8 h. There was significant
      protection (90%) when treatment was begun on day 2, at which time, the liver had
      an average titer of 3 x 10(5) pfu/g virus and the spleen had 2 x 10(6) pfu/g.
      Treatment with 2.2 mg/kg initiated on day 3, when the liver had an average titer
      of 2 x 10(7) pfu/g virus and the spleen had 2 x 10(8) pfu/g, resulted in 40%
      survival. As reported here, Carbocyclic 3-deazaadenosine is the first compound
      demonstrated to cure animals from this otherwise lethal Ebola virus infection.

PMID- 9988191
TI  - A mouse model for evaluation of prophylaxis and therapy of Ebola hemorrhagic
      fever.
AB  - The Zaire subtype of Ebola virus (EBO-Z) is lethal for newborn mice, but adult
      mice are resistant to the virus, which prevents their use as an animal model of
      lethal Ebola infection. We serially passed EBO-Z virus in progressively older
      suckling mice, eventually obtaining a plaque-purified virus that was lethal for
      mature, immunocompetent BALB/c and C57BL/6 inbred and ICR (CD-1) outbred mice.
      Pathologic changes in the liver and spleen of infected mice resembled those in
      EBO-Z-infected primates. Virus titers in these tissues reached 10(9) pfu/g. The
      LD50 of mouse-adapted EBO-Z virus inoculated into the peritoneal cavity was
      approximately 1 virion. Mice were resistant to large doses of the same virus
      inoculated subcutaneously, intradermally, or intramuscularly. Mice injected
      peripherally with mouse-adapted or intraperitoneally with non-adapted EBO-Z virus
      resisted subsequent challenge with mouse-adapted virus.

PMID- 9988192
TI  - Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo: discovery and control
      measures.
AB  - The Ebola epidemic in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was recognized
      because of a nosocomial outbreak in Kikwit General Hospital. Initially, a
      diagnosis of shigella infection was suspected because many patients presented
      with bloody diarrhea. On 4 May 1995, blood samples from 14 acutely ill patients
      were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta), and on 9
      May, a diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever was confirmed. The major disease
      control measures that were undertaken were the isolation of patients in a
      quarantine ward at Kikwit General Hospital, the distribution of protective
      equipment to health care workers and family members caring for Ebola patients,
      the use of barrier nursing techniques, the distribution of health education
      material, active and passive case finding, and the burying of the deceased in
      plastic bags by a trained team of Red Cross volunteers who wore gloves and
      protective clothing.

PMID- 9988193
TI  - Interventions to control virus transmission during an outbreak of Ebola
      hemorrhagic fever: experience from Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
      1995.
AB  - On 6 May 1995, the Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) coordinator in Kinshasa,
      Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), received a request for assistance for
      what was believed to be a concurrent outbreak of bacillary dysentery and viral
      hemorrhagic fever (suspected Ebola hemorrhagic fever [EHF]) in the town of
      Kikwit, DRC. On 11 May, the MSF intervention team assessed Kikwit General
      Hospital. This initial assessment revealed a nonfunctional isolation ward for
      suspected EHF cases; a lack of water and electricity; no waste disposal system;
      and no protective gear for medical staff. The priorities set by MSF were to
      establish a functional isolation ward to deal with EHF and to distribute
      protective supplies to individuals who were involved with patient care. Before
      the intervention, 67 health workers contracted EHF; after the initiation of
      control measures, just 3 cases were reported among health staff and none among
      Red Cross volunteers involved in body burial.

PMID- 9988194
TI  - Organization of patient care during the Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic in
      Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.
AB  - In contrast with procedures in previous Ebola outbreaks, patient care during the
      1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was centralized for a
      large number of patients. On 4 May, before the diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic
      fever (EHF) was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an
      isolation ward was created at Kikwit General Hospital. On 11 May, an
      international scientific and technical committee established as a priority the
      improvement of hygienic conditions in the hospital and the protection of health
      care workers and family members; to this end, protective equipment was
      distributed and barrier-nursing techniques were implemented. For patients living
      far from Kikwit, home care was organized. Initially, hospitalized patients were
      given only oral treatments; however, toward the end of the epidemic, infusions
      and better nutritional support were given, and 8 patients received blood from
      convalescent EHF patients. Only 1 of the transfusion patients died (12.5%). It is
      expected that with improved medical care, the case fatality rate of EHF could be
      reduced.

PMID- 9988195
TI  - Long-term disease surveillance in Bandundu region, Democratic Republic of the
      Congo: a model for early detection and prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
AB  - After the large-scale outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Bandundu
      region, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a program was developed to help detect
      and prevent future outbreaks of EHF in the region. The long-term surveillance and
      prevention strategy is based on early recognition by physicians, immediate
      initiation of enhanced barrier-nursing practices, and the use of an
      immunohistochemical diagnostic test performed on formalin-fixed skin specimens of
      patients who die of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever. The program was
      implemented in September 1995 during a 4-day workshop with 28 local physicians
      representing 17 of 22 health zones in the region. Specimen collection kits were
      distributed to clinics in participating health zones, and a follow-up evaluation
      was conducted after 6 months. The use of a formalin-fixed skin specimen for
      laboratory confirmation of EHF can provide an appropriate method for EHF
      surveillance when linked with physician training, use of viral hemorrhagic fever
      isolation precautions, and follow-up investigation.

PMID- 9988196
TI  - US policy for disease control among imported nonhuman primates.
AB  - In 1990, in response to the occurrence of Ebola virus (subsequently identified as
      subtype Reston) infection among cynomolgus monkeys imported from the Philippines,
      the United States implemented strict disease control measures for handling
      nonhuman primates during transit and quarantine and initiated importer facility
      compliance inspections. Disease control measures emphasized protection of workers
      from exposure, use of containment facilities and procedures, measures to prevent
      spread of infection among animals, and laboratory testing of animals that die or
      become ill during quarantine. From 1991-1995, no outbreaks of filovirus infection
      occurred, and only one other disease outbreak (caused by Mycobacterium species)
      was recognized. In April 1996, Ebola virus (subtype Reston) infection was
      identified in another group of cynomolgus monkeys imported from the Philippines.
      The disease control measures implemented since the first Ebola virus (subtype
      Reston) outbreak appeared to work well. Currently, the 27 registered importer
      facilities import approximately 8500 nonhuman primates annually, and mortality
      rates are <1.0%. Importer facilities receive regular inspections, and compliance
      with disease control measures and disease reporting is excellent.

PMID- 9988197
TI  - Ebola hemorrhagic fever: lessons from Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AB  - The outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the
      Congo, clearly signaled an end to the days when physicians and researchers could
      work in relative obscurity on problems of international importance, and it
      provided many lessons to the international public health and scientific
      communities. In particular, the outbreak signaled a need for stronger infectious
      disease surveillance and control worldwide, for improved international
      preparedness to provide support when similar outbreaks occur, and for
      accommodating the needs of the press in providing valid information. A need for
      more broad-based international health regulations and electronic information
      systems within the World Health Organization also became evident, as did the
      realization that there are new and more diverse partners able to rapidly respond
      to international outbreaks. Finally, a need for continued and coordinated Ebola
      research was identified, especially as concerns development of simple and valid
      diagnostic tests, better patient management procedures, and identification of the
      natural reservoir.

PMID- 9988198
TI  - Gleanings from the harvest: suggestions for priority actions against Ebola virus
      epidemics.

PMID- 9988199
TI  - Inner-city disadvantaged populations and asthma prevalence, morbidity, and
      mortality.

PMID- 9988200
TI  - Osteoporosis for the allergist.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This review is intended to be an authoritative summary of the
      pathogenesis of osteoporosis, a problem that may be encountered in allergy
      practice. It also provides an outline for identification of subjects at high risk
      and directions for their appropriate evaluation, management, and prevention of
      the disease. DATA SOURCES: References were obtained through a MEDLINE literature
      search as well as from previous reviews. Relevant articles were critically
      reviewed and their conclusions were included. RESULTS: Osteoporosis is a
      relatively common disease that is associated with significant morbidity and
      mortality. The management and prevention of osteoporosis have been improved by an
      increased awareness of the magnitude of the problem, a better understanding of
      the pathogenesis, development of a better technique for assessment of bone
      mineral density, and the availability of specific medications. With the increase
      in human life-span and the increasing use of glucocorticosteroids for a wide
      variety of diseases, the incidence of osteoporosis has been on the rise.
      CONCLUSION: Glucocorticosteroids are the most common medications that cause or
      contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and have been widely used in
      allergy practice. It is important for physicians to appreciate the current basic
      understanding of osteoporosis and to be able to identify patients at high risk
      for this serious disorder, and to initiate appropriate intervention at a
      sufficiently early time to be effective. Medications for treatment and prevention
      of osteoporosis include: calcium, vitamin D, estrogen, bisphosphonates,
      calcitonin, and others are reviewed in this article.

PMID- 9988201
TI  - A man with multiple infections with unusual organisms.

PMID- 9988202
TI  - Advice from your allergist: about food allergies.

PMID- 9988203
TI  - Nebulized lidocaine in the treatment of severe asthma in children: a pilot study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Glucocorticoids have been used to treat asthma since the 1950s;
      however, their adverse systemic effects have limited their duration of use and
      dosage. Unfortunately, many patients with severe asthma often require oral
      glucocorticoids in addition to inhaled glucocorticoids. Alternatives to
      glucocorticoids have been sought with mixed success. Recently, lidocaine has been
      added to the list of potent glucocorticoid sparing agents for the treatment of
      severe asthma. OBJECTIVE: We report the first group of pediatric patients with
      severe asthma treated with nebulized lidocaine. METHODS: The study was performed
      in an open manner with 6 severely asthmatic patients followed in the Pediatric
      Allergy and Immunology Section, Mayo Clinic. The only intervention was the
      institution of nebulized lidocaine (0.8 mg/kg/dose to 2.5 mg/kg/dose t.i.d to
      q.i.d). The average daily steroid requirement was followed during the
      administration of the nebulized lidocaine. RESULTS: During a mean of 11.2 months
      of therapy (range 7 to 16 months) 5 of the 6 patients completely discontinued
      their oral glucocorticoids within an average time of 3.4 months (range 1 to 7
      months). CONCLUSIONS: After further study, lidocaine may prove to be the first
      non-toxic, steroid alternative to patients with severe steroid-dependent asthma.

PMID- 9988204
TI  - Human basophil activation measured by CD63 expression and LTC4 release in IgE
      mediated food allergy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: IgE-dependent basophil activation induced by an allergen elicit the
      release of LTC4 and the expression of the CD63 membrane marker. OBJECTIVE: The
      aim of this study was to check if flow cytometric analysis of basophil activation
      could be applied to food allergy diagnosis and if this method paralleled LTC4
      release. METHODS: Patients were selected by the clinical history, skin tests, and
      provocation tests. Basophil activation induced by food extracts was studied in 24
      control subjects and in 27 patients having a food allergy by LTC4 release test
      (LRT) and by flow cytometric anti-IgE+, CD63 + cell counting (BAT = basophil
      activation test). In case of negative anti-IgE response a passive blood donor
      basophil passive sensitization step was added to LRT and BAT. Leucocyte histamine
      release test was performed in 11 patients. RESULTS: Basophil activation test was
      positive in 18/31 cases and LRT in 22/34 cases for food-allergic patients and,
      respectively, in 1/33 and 1/35 cases for the controls. A correlation was observed
      between specific IgE, BAT, and LRT. Basophil activation test and LRT performed
      after passive sensitization had an excellent sensitivity only for specific IgE
      levels ranging between 3.5 and 35 KU/L. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that
      allergen-induced LTC4 release and anti-IgE, antiCD63 bicolor flow cytometric
      analysis of basophil activation may be used for food allergy diagnosis. Both
      tests have a good sensitivity and specificity. Basophil activation test and LRT
      are more efficient than histamine release test in case of high spontaneous
      histamine release, frequently observed in case of food allergy.

PMID- 9988205
TI  - Volumetric ragweed pollen data for eight cities in the continental United States.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A previous report presented volumetric ragweed pollen data for 23
      cities in the continental United States. Although helpful, it did not represent
      all areas of the country. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this present communication is
      to furnish ragweed pollen data for eight additional cities. METHODS: Ragweed
      pollen data were obtained from eight pollen sampling facilities in the
      continental United States. These data were analyzed to determine the length of
      the season in each city and its peak date. RESULTS: The ragweed pollen season was
      typically 2 or 3 months in duration. Ragweed pollen counts reached their annual
      maximum in late August or early September in cities in Minnesota, Nebraska, and
      South Dakota. The peak was achieved in late September or early October for two
      cities in Texas. The annual maximums for three remaining cities in Colorado, Utah
      and Alabama occurred in late August, early September and mid-September,
      respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this investigation were consistent
      with previous reports about the north-south nature of the ragweed pollen season.
      These data, when combined with the results of the 23-city investigation, indicate
      when source avoidance is most critical in many areas.

PMID- 9988206
TI  - Clinical efficacy and tolerability of a steady dosage schedule of local nasal
      immunotherapy. Results of preseasonal treatment in grass pollen rhinitis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Local nasal immunotherapy (LNIT) is an effective and safe alternative
      to conventional subcutaneous immunotherapy. A specific nasal provocation test
      (SNPT) could be used to indicate the optimal subclinical dose to carry out LNIT.
      OBJECTIVE: We hypothesize that LNIT could be carried out with only one predefined
      dose for all patients, so we have evaluated the efficacy and the tolerability of
      LNIT administered at steady dosages in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.
      METHODS: Twenty grass pollen-sensitized patients suffering from seasonal allergic
      rhinitis were studied in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
      The treatment was carried out according to a schedule based on the administration
      of a steady subclinical dosage of the allergenic extract, selected on the basis
      of the sensitivity threshold of the SNPT. The patients were divided into two
      groups of 10 people each, which were treated either with grass pollen extract in
      a hydroglyceric solution or with placebo. RESULTS: During the peak pollen period,
      with regard to the placebo (P) group, in the grass treated (GT) group a
      significant decrease of both nasal symptoms (P = .021) and consumption of
      antihistamines (P = 0.047) was found. Furthermore, only in the GT group was the
      provocative dose assessed by the SNPT significantly lower (P = .049) at the end
      of the treatment. In this group of patients an inverse correlation between such
      provocative dose and the nasal symptom score reported during the peak pollen
      period was also evidenced (r = 0.708; P = .038). Adverse reactions to LNIT were
      mild, rare, and did not interfere with the completion of the therapeutic
      schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that LNIT, when administered at steady
      dosages, may be proposed as a treatment for grass pollen seasonal allergic
      rhinitis as it appears to be effective and well tolerated.

PMID- 9988208
TI  - Nasal and bronchial histamine reactivity in patients with allergic rhinitis out
      of season.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The correlation between non-specific hyperreactivity of upper and
      lower airways in pathologic conditions has not been studied extensively.
      OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of nasal and bronchial hyperreactivity
      in patients with allergic rhinitis studied out-of-season. METHODS: From patients
      admitted to the Allergy Unit at Stockholm Soder Hospital, 12 individuals with
      allergic rhinitis due to grass or birch pollen were selected. The nasal mucosa
      was exposed to increasing concentrations of histamine chloride and the response
      was recorded by rhinostereometry, an optical method that exclusively measures
      changes in nasal congestion. Bronchial histamine challenge was performed in
      connection with the nasal tests, but on different days. RESULTS: The nasal
      histamine response was significantly greater than in a reference group of healthy
      volunteers (P < .01). Nasal hyperreactivity was demonstrated in 9 of 12 patients.
      No clear relation between the magnitude of nasal and bronchial histamine
      responses was seen in the study group. CONCLUSIONS: In allergic rhinitis studied
      out-of-season, airway hyperreactivity is common in both upper and lower airways,
      but does not necessarily occur together in the same individual.

PMID- 9988207
TI  - Anaphylaxis to omeprazole.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Omeprazole is a non-competitive inhibitor of the parietal cell enzyme
      H+-K--adenosine triphosphatase. To date, two cases of angioedema and urticaria
      and two cases of anaphylaxis from omeprazole have been published. OBJECTIVE: To
      report a new patient with omeprazole-induced anaphylaxis demonstrated by skin
      tests and increased serum tryptase levels. METHODS AND RESULTS: Elevated serum
      tryptase levels (5.1 U/L) were detected 6 hours after the onset of the
      anaphylaxis. Skin intradermal tests were positive with omeprazole i.v. (4 mg/mL),
      omeprazole capsules diluted in saline serum (20 mg/ mL), and lansoprazole (30
      mg/mL). Serum specific IgE anti-omeprazole was negative. CONCLUSIONS: According
      to the elevated serum tryptase levels and the positive skin test results,
      anaphylaxis was due to use of omeprazole. We think the adverse reaction to
      omeprazole was induced by an IgE-mediated hypersensitivity mechanism to
      omeprazole itself and not to a metabolite. We have also demonstrated
      crossreactivity, at least by skin tests, between omeprazole and lansoprazole.

PMID- 9988209
TI  - An unproven technique with potentially fatal outcome: provocation/neutralization
      in a patient with systemic mastocytosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe the risks associated with use of an unproven technique,
      provocation/neutralization, in diagnosis and treatment of a putative "food
      allergy" in a patient with systemic mastocytosis. METHODS: A case report of a 68
      year-old woman with mastocytosis is reported. The patient was interviewed,
      examined, and all medical records were reviewed. Photos were taken, and skin and
      colonic biopsies were performed. RESULTS: The patient was previously diagnosed
      with urticaria pigmentosa but also had significant diarrhea that was well
      controlled by oral cromolyn sodium. She saw a physician who practiced
      provocation/neutralization and was told that food allergies were the cause of her
      gastrointestinal symptoms. She was placed on "neutralizing" injections of milk
      and wheat, but experienced flushing, palpitations, and lightheadedness with
      syncope upon injections into her thigh, which is a skin area highly involved by
      visible lesions of cutaneous mastocytosis. Later evaluation revealed increased
      numbers of mast cells in her colonic mucosa as well as confirmation of cutaneous
      mastocytosis. CONCLUSIONS: The patient's previous history of urticaria
      pigmentosa, orally communicated by the patient, documented in medical records,
      and easily visible on physical examination, was discounted by a practitioner of
      an alternative and unproven medical treatment, provocation/neutralization. She
      subsequently had potentially life-threatening reactions to "provocative" skin
      testing and "neutralizing" injections. Patients with systemic mastocytosis are at
      risk for significant mast cell mediator release during immunotherapy,
      conventional or alternative.

PMID- 9988210
TI  - The word "pollens" and related species.

PMID- 9988212
TI  - Germ cells.

PMID- 9988213
TI  - Mammalian fertilization: molecular aspects of gamete adhesion, exocytosis, and
      fusion.

PMID- 9988214
TI  - The sins of the fathers and mothers: genomic imprinting in mammalian development.

PMID- 9988215
TI  - Axis development and early asymmetry in mammals.

PMID- 9988216
TI  - Progression from extrinsic to intrinsic signaling in cell fate specification: a
      view from the nervous system.

PMID- 9988217
TI  - Morphogenesis.

PMID- 9988218
TI  - Size control in animal development.

PMID- 9988219
TI  - Cell death in development.

PMID- 9988220
TI  - Molecular development of sensory maps: representing sights and smells in the
      brain.

PMID- 9988221
TI  - Molecular bases for circadian clocks.

PMID- 9988222
TI  - Molecular biology of aging.

PMID- 9988223
TI  - Tumor-antigen heterogeneity of disseminated breast cancer cells: implications for
      immunotherapy of minimal residual disease.
AB  - Single micrometastatic tumor cells encased in mesenchymal tissues, such as bone
      marrow (BM), are regarded as suitable targets for adjuvant immunotherapy since
      they are easily accessible for both immunoglobulins and immune effector cells.
      However, the antigen profile of such cells, to which antibody therapy might be
      targeted, cannot be deduced from the antigen pattern of the primary tumor. To
      evaluate the antigen profile of disseminated cells found in BM aspirates from 20
      breast cancer patients, we applied a quantitative immuno-cytochemical double
      marker assay and typed for 4 common tumor-associated cell-surface antigens (c
      erbB-2, CO17-1A, MUC-1, LewisY). Individual breast cancer cells were identified
      by F(ab) fragments of the pan-cytokeratin (CK) monoclonal antibody (MAb) A45
      B/B3, directly conjugated with alkaline phosphatase, which identified cancer
      cells as sensitively as the standard APAAP procedure (r = 0.998; p < 0.0001). CK+
      cells co-expressed c-erbB-2, CO17-1A, MUC-1 and LewisY in 87%, 78%, 79% and 79%
      of patients, respectively; however, the frequency of double-positive cells per
      sample varied considerably. The mean percentage of double-positive cells per
      total number of CK+ cells was 41% for c-erbB-2 (range 0-92%), 47% for CO17-1A
      (range 0-75%), 49% for MUC-1 (range 0-67%) and 32% for LewisY (range 0-59%). In
      14 of these patients, we used an antibody cocktail to type CK+ cells for the
      combined expression of all 4 antigens. The antibody cocktail labeled
      significantly more CK+ cells than each of the single MAbs alone, resulting in a
      mean of 71% double-positive tumor cells (34-100%). We conclude that expression of
      tumor-associated cell-surface antigens on micrometastatic cancer cells in BM is
      heterogeneous, which may limit the efficacy of monovalent immunotherapeutic
      strategies directed against only one particular antigen. Thus, defining target
      antigens expressed by the actual target cells emerges as a crucial first step in
      selecting appropriate therapeutic targets.

PMID- 9988224
TI  - Expression of calpain I messenger RNA in human renal cell carcinoma: correlation
      with lymph node metastasis and histological type.
AB  - Calpain, also named CANP (for calcium-activated neutral protease), is an
      intracellular cytoplasmatic non-lysosomal cysteine endopeptidase that requires
      calcium ions for activity. Many substrates of the calpain isoenzymes, such as the
      transcription factors c-Fos and c-Jun, the tumor supressor protein p53, protein
      kinase C, pp60c-src and the adhesion molecule integrin, have been implicated in
      the pathogenesis of different human tumors, suggesting an important role of the
      calpains in malignant diseases. We now report differential expression of the
      calpain I gene (CL I) in a variety of tumors, extending our study to a larger
      series of renal cell carcinomas. Using Northern-blot analysis, we studied calpain
      I expression in 30 renal cell carcinomas as compared with matched healthy
      tissues. Tumor samples were classified according to their histological type: 21
      clear cell carcinomas, 4 chromophobe carcinomas, 3 papillary carcinomas and 2
      oncocytomas. In renal tumor samples, calpain I gene mRNA was expressed at highly
      variable levels, significantly depending on the different histological types.
      Moreover, there was a correlation of higher calpain I expression with increased
      malignancy: within the clear cell carcinoma subset, tumor samples with advanced
      nodal status (N1 and N2) showed a significantly higher calpain I expression than
      tumors without metastasis to regional lymph nodes. Our data suggest an important
      role of calpain isoenzymes in carcinogenesis and tumor progression.

PMID- 9988225
TI  - Levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter
      factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in human gliomas and their relation to
      angiogenesis.
AB  - Angiogenesis is a possible target in the treatment of human gliomas. To evaluate
      the role of 3 growth factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF),
      hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and basic fibroblast growth
      factor (bFGF), in the angiogenic cascade, we determined their levels in extracts
      of 71 gliomas by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The levels of bFGF
      were only marginally different between gliomas of World Health Organization (WHO)
      grade II (low grade) and grades III and IV (high grade). In contrast, the mean
      concentrations of VEGF were 11-fold higher in high-grade tumors and those of
      HGF/SF 7-fold, respectively. Both were highly significantly correlated with
      microvessel density (p < 0.001) as determined by immunostaining for factor VIII
      related antigen. In addition, VEGF and HGF/SF appeared to be independent
      predictive parameters for glioma microvessel density as determined by multiple
      regression analysis. We measured the capacity of all 3 factors to induce
      endothelial tube formation in a collagen gel. In this assay, bFGF was found to be
      an essential cofactor with which VEGF as well as HGF/SF were able to synergize
      independently. According to the concentrations of angiogenic factors, extracts
      from high-grade tumors were significantly more potent in the tube formation assay
      than the low-grade extracts (p = 0.02). Adding neutralizing antibodies to bFGF,
      VEGF and HGF/SF together with the extracts, tube formation was inhibited by up to
      98%, 62% and 54%, respectively. Our findings suggest that bFGF is an essential
      cofactor for angiogenesis in gliomas, but in itself is insufficient as it is
      present already in the sparsely vascularized low-grade tumors. Upon induction of
      angiogenesis in high-grade tumors, bFGF may synergize with rising levels of not
      only VEGF but possibly also with HGF/SF, which appears here to be an independent
      angiogenic factor.

PMID- 9988226
TI  - BRCA1 gene mutation and loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 17q21 in primary
      prostate cancer.
AB  - The tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 on chromosome 17q21 has been characterized and
      shown to be mutated in patients with familial breast and ovarian cancer. Several
      studies examined the relatives of women with breast cancer and noted an
      association with ovarian and prostate cancer. This study investigated 24 human
      prostate cancer specimens for BRCA1 gene mutations and loss of heterozygosity
      (LOH) on chromosome 17q21 assessed by the polymerase chain reaction. LOH was
      identified using 7 highly polymorphic tandem repeat markers on chromosome 17q21,
      in addition to an analysis of the whole coding region of the BRCA1 gene. Four of
      the 24 prostate cancer specimens showed LOH at one or more loci, all of which
      were histologically poorly differentiated (4 of 11) and stage D (4 of 15). One of
      the 24 cases showed a germ-line mutation of the BRCA1 gene, and a sister of this
      patient died of ovarian cancer. It appears that the BRCA1 gene is not frequently
      involved in the development of primary prostate cancer.

PMID- 9988227
TI  - ErbB-4 mRNA expression is decreased in non-metastatic pancreatic cancer.
AB  - The erbB-4 gene encodes a detected receptor protein that possesses intrinsic
      tyrosine kinase activity and belongs to the family of the epidermal growth factor
      receptor (EGFR); erbB-4 is stimulated by the heregulins and betacellulin, which
      enables this receptor to form heterodimers with erbB-2, a prerequisite for erbB-2
      activation. Because the expression of erbB-4 mRNA is generally low in the
      pancreas, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
      was used to determine the erbB-4 levels in human normal and cancerous pancreatic
      tissue. Our results show that the mRNA expression of this receptor is 6-fold
      decreased in the non-metastatic stages of pancreatic cancer when compared to
      tumors with lymph node or distant metastases or to the normal pancreas. In
      addition, immunohistochemistry demonstrated that in the normal pancreas, the erbB
      4 antigen was predominantly present in the cell membrane and cytoplasm of the
      ductal and acinar cells and at a much lower level, in islet cells. In pancreatic
      cancer, 61 of 75 samples exhibited weak to moderate immunoreactivity for erbB-4
      in the tumor cells. Moreover, in the peri-tumorous region with chronic
      pancreatitis-like morphological changes, there was weak-to-moderate erbB-4
      immunostaining in small ductules and degenerating acinar cells. Uni- and
      multivariate survival analyses using as variables age, sex, stage of cancer,
      histo-pathological grading, and erbB-4 immunoreactivity, revealed a significant
      effect for stage of cancer (p < 0.01) whereby the risk of dying was 2.3 times
      higher in patients with metastases than in patients without. However, the level
      of erbB-4 immunoreactivity in pancreatic cancer cells had no influence on patient
      survival.

PMID- 9988228
TI  - Unchanged survival of gastric cancer in the southeastern Netherlands since 1982:
      result of differential trends in incidence according to Lauren type and subsite.
AB  - Despite widespread use of endoscopy and improved surgical treatment, the
      prognosis for gastric cancer remains poor. Although the incidence has been
      declining for more than 2 decades, unfavourable changes in relative frequency of
      histological subtypes and subsites may have occurred. We therefore assessed the
      nature and impact of these changes in association with socio-economic status in a
      population-based study during the period 1983-1995. Furthermore, tumour
      characteristics were analysed as predictors of survival for 1,543 cases recorded
      in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry during the period 1983-1992. Overall 5-year
      relative survival remained at 22%, being 70%, 37% and 11% for stage I, II and
      III, respectively. The Lauren histological type and location were also found to
      have prognostic value. Tumours with the worst prognosis (diffuse type and located
      at the cardia) developed predominantly in younger patients and were increasing.
      Moreover, unlike for other tumours, high educational status was associated with
      unfavourable prognosis. Stage at diagnosis and survival have remained unchanged,
      despite likely improvements in early detection through better access to endoscopy
      and better supportive care after surgical treatment. The unfavourable, in part
      relative, changes in incidence are likely to be responsible for the lack of
      improvement of survival rates.

PMID- 9988229
TI  - Molecular characteristics of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and signet-ring
      cell carcinoma of colorectum.
AB  - In a series of 45 poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (por) and 7 signet-ring
      cell carcinomas (sig) of the colorectum, K-ras gene mutation, p53 immunostaining
      and microsatellite instability (MSI) were analyzed for a comparison with 46 cases
      of colorectal carcinomas of the well or moderately differentiated type
      (well/mod). In addition, the mutations of simple repeated sequences in the
      transforming-growth-factor-beta type-II receptor (T beta R-II) gene and the BAX
      gene were analyzed as possible targets for DNA replication errors. Mutation of
      the K-ras gene in the por, sig and well/mod specimens was detected in,
      respectively, 22%, 11% and 48%, positive immunostaining for p53 in 41.8%, 28.6%
      and 60.3%, and MSI in 36%, 30% and 4%. Frameshift mutation of the T beta R-II
      gene was detected in 27.5% of the por and none of the sig specimens, while
      corresponding figures for mutation of the BAX gene were 15.7% and 0%. Significant
      differences between the por and well/mod tumors were found in the occurrence of K
      ras mutation at codons 12 and 13, and MSI. Clinicopathologically, the tumor
      status of por with MSI was found to significantly correlate with the tumor's
      location in the proximal colon. In cases without MSI and sig, no frameshift
      mutation of either the T beta R-II or the BAX gene was found. These results
      suggest that poorly differentiated and signet-ring-cell carcinomas have a genetic
      background different from that of well or moderately differentiated carcinomas of
      the colorectum, and that DNA-replication error is at least partly involved in the
      carcinogenesis of these specific types of colorectal carcinomas.

PMID- 9988230
TI  - galectin-1 and galectin-3 expression in human bladder transitional-cell
      carcinomas.
AB  - Galectin-1 and galectin-3 are galactoside-binding proteins involved in different
      steps of tumor progression and potential targets for therapy. We have
      investigated the expression of these galectins in 38 human bladder transitional
      cell carcinomas of different histological grade and clinical stage and in 5
      normal urothelium samples. Galectin-1 mRNA levels were highly increased in most
      high-grade tumors compared with normal bladder or low-grade tumors. Western blot
      and immuno-histochemical analysis of normal and neoplastic tissues revealed a
      higher content of galectin-1 in tumors. Galectin-3 mRNA levels were also
      increased in most tumors compared with normal urothelium, but levels were
      comparable among tumors of different histological grade.

PMID- 9988231
TI  - High levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 predict poor outcome in
      patients with breast cancer.
AB  - Studies from model systems suggest that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are
      causally involved in tumor progression while tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs)
      prevent this progression. Here, we show that concentrations of TIMP-1 are
      significantly higher in breast carcinomas than in fibroadenomas. In primary
      breast cancers, TIMP-1 concentrations increased with increasing tumor size but
      showed an inverse relationship with estrogen receptor concentrations. In primary
      breast cancers also, TIMP-1 levels were weakly but significantly correlated with
      those for MMP-1, proMMP-2, active MMP-2, MMP-3 and proMMP-9. Contrary to what
      might be expected from published data on model systems, high concentrations of
      TIMP-1 predicted a poor outcome in patients with breast cancer. We conclude that
      in human breast cancer, endogenous TIMP-1 does not inhibit tumor progression but
      may enhance the process.

PMID- 9988232
TI  - p16 inactivation in small-sized lung adenocarcinoma: its association with poor
      prognosis.
AB  - p16, an inhibitor of cell cycle machinery, is frequently inactivated in non-small
      cell carcinoma of the lung (NSCCL). To clarify the significance of p16
      inactivation in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, we immunohistochemically
      evaluated p16 protein status and Rb, p53 and cyclin D1 expression in 51
      surgically resected adenocarcinomas that were less than 3 cm in diameter (median
      follow-up period: 52.5 months). Twenty-one of 51 adenocarcinomas showed negative
      immunostaining for p16. Twenty adenocarcinomas were also negative for Rb, while
      31 and 13 were positive for p53 and cyclin D1, respectively. Loss of p16
      expression was significantly correlated with scar grade, lymphatic permeation,
      lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. Rb protein expression was also
      inversely correlated with scar grade, pleural involvement and vascular invasion.
      When the cases were stratified according to the expression of both proteins, the
      Rb-/p16- subset (7/51) consisted of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with a
      higher grade of invasion. While Rb, p53 and cyclin D1 protein status showed no
      significant correlations with prognosis, p16 inactivation was significantly
      correlated with poor prognosis, and the prognosis of Rb-/p16- was the worst among
      the 4 subsets. Inactivation of p16 may play a role in accelerating scar formation
      and lymph node metastasis, and may contribute through these mechanisms to poor
      prognosis in patients with small-sized lung adenocarcinoma.

PMID- 9988233
TI  - Endocrine response and resistance in breast cancer: a role for the transcription
      factor Fos.
AB  - We have previously demonstrated that elevated Fos expression may be important in
      de novo endocrine resistance in breast cancer. However, changes in Fos expression
      during endocrine response and subsequently on acquisition of resistance are
      unknown. This study immunocytochemically monitors Fos protein within sequential
      biopsies from primary human breast cancer patients obtained pre-treatment (T1),
      during tamoxifen therapy (T2, T3) and on disease progression (T5), examining in
      parallel proliferation [i.e., MIBI (Ki67) immunostaining, mitotic activity],
      cellularity and endocrine response. Significantly diminished Fos, proliferation
      and cellularity were observed after 6 weeks of therapy in patients exhibiting a
      better quality and/or duration of response, while modest Fos increases and a
      maintained proliferation and cellularity were seen in poorer responders.
      Decreases in Fos, proliferation and cellularity at 6 months similarly hallmarked
      better responders. We confirmed a significant association between de novo
      resistance and elevated Fos and proliferation. Additionally, however, these
      parameters increased at the time of disease relapse over pre-treatment and "on
      therapy" values. Our data indicate that tamoxifen response involves a reduction
      in both tumor cell proliferation and cell survival, potentially entailing
      diminished Fos protein expression in better-responding patients. Our data are
      also supportive of elevated Fos expression being involved in the departure from
      endocrine control inherent in both primary and acquired resistance.

PMID- 9988234
TI  - Level of anti-mouse-antibody response induced by bi-specific monoclonal antibody
      OC/TR in ovarian-carcinoma patients is associated with longer survival.
AB  - More than 60% of cancer patients injected with intact murine monoclonal antibody
      (MAb) develop a humoral response against the antigen even after a single dose.
      Analysis of a series of 35 ovarian-cancer patients entered in phase-I and -II
      clinical studies of T-cells retargeted with the bi-specific F(ab')2 OC/TR
      revealed: (i) a detectable human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA) response in 31/35
      (88%) patients, with high HAMA levels (> or = 150 ng/ml) in 18/31 (58%) cases by
      the end of the treatment; (ii) no correlation between HAMA levels and the form of
      delivery of the mAb (OC/TR bound to T cells or bound plus soluble), time schedule
      or cumulative dose; (iii) an association between high HAMA levels and favorable
      clinical parameters and response to immunotherapy; and (iv) a significantly
      longer median survival probability in patients with high HAMA levels than in
      patients with lower HAMA levels, even when the sub-group of non-responder
      patients was considered. Evaluation of the anti-idiotypic response in HAMA
      positive sera indicated that 11/17 sera showed high-titer (>6000) binding of
      OC/TR, as evaluated by a specific radioimmunoassay, and 15/18 and 16/16 sera
      specifically inhibited the binding of the MOv18 and anti-CD3 parental MAbs to
      ovarian-carcinoma cells and T lymphocytes respectively. Of 7 patients evaluated
      for duration of the HAMA response, 5 showed stable or even increased HAMA levels.
      The long-lasting HAMA response maintained an anti-idiotypic component, directed
      mainly against the alphaCD3 idiotype of bi-MAb OC/TR in 2 out of 3 cases tested.

PMID- 9988235
TI  - Integrated approach to prediction of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia status
      through a case-control study.
AB  - A case-control study on cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) was carried out
      on 398 subjects in the state of West Bengal, India. These samples were taken from
      mass screening programs organized by the authors, maintaining the uniformity of
      sampling to the extent possible. The cervical smears were tested by the
      Papanicolaou (PAP) method, following the Bethesda system for reporting of CIN
      status. Odds ratios and correlation coefficients among different variables,
      assumed to produce carcinoma of the cervix, show that 6 out of 11 variables,
      i.e., age, education, socio-economic status, duration of marriage, age at
      marriage and body surface, are associated with CIN. Multivariate analysis of
      logistic regression was carried out using BMDP-LR with dichotomized response
      variables considering CIN (0 and 1) in one group and CIN (2 and 3) in the other
      group. The outcome of the analysis indicated that age and educational level are 2
      contributing factors for CIN. The percentage of correct classification in this
      analysis has improved to 74.5%, with a probability of 0.90. Polychotomous
      regression analysis was carried out using BMDP-PR in the next step. This analysis
      showed that parity was a contributing factor, in addition to age and educational
      level. These 3 factors provide a predictive model for identifying the high-risk
      group in a rational way. This approach would restrict screening to approximately
      10% of the population. Subsequently, the model has been validated in a
      confirmatory trial among 85 new cases and was found to work satisfactorily.

PMID- 9988236
TI  - Differing expression of MMPs-1 and -9 and urokinase receptor between diffuse- and
      intestinal-type gastric carcinoma.
AB  - Gastric cancer is classified into intestinal and diffuse types, which exhibit
      different biological behavior. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), its
      receptor (uPAR) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)-1 and -9 are considered to
      play important roles in cancer invasion and metastasis. We have already suggested
      a functional duality of these matrix-degrading enzymes/factors; they may also be
      involved in the matrix turnover (remodeling) or host immune/inflammatory
      reactions as far as they are expressed by host cells. We performed a
      retrospective study on the immuno-histochemical expression of these
      enzymes/factors in surgical specimens from patients with gastric cancer,
      including 26 with the diffuse and 78 with the intestinal type. We also evaluated
      macrophages since they are major sources of uPAR. The positivity rate for uPA in
      cancer cells was significantly lower in diffuse-type than in intestinal-type.
      Stromal expression was seen mainly along the invasive margin (tumor-host
      interface). The degree of stromal expression of uPAR and MMP-9 and the macrophage
      number were markedly decreased in diffuse-type compared with intestinal-type.
      Stromal expression of uPAR and macrophage number in intestinal-type were higher
      in patients without liver metastasis than in patients with liver metastasis,
      while uPA expression in cancer cells was more pronounced in patients with liver
      metastasis. Studies using frozen sections revealed that the expression of MMP-1,
      restricted to the stromal area, was more decreased in diffuse-type (18 patients)
      than in intestinal-type (21 patients). Our results show that the in situ
      expression of matrix-degrading enzymes/factors in gastric cancer is significantly
      more diminished in diffuse-type than in intestinal-type, suggesting a
      multifunctional aspect of the matrix-degradation process in cancer tissue.

PMID- 9988237
TI  - P-glycoprotein is positively correlated with p53 in human oral pre-malignant and
      malignant lesions and is associated with poor prognosis.
AB  - P-glycoprotein (Pgp) encoded by the MDR1 gene, a predictor of chemoresistance,
      may also serve as a prognosticator of clinical outcome in cancer patients. The
      mutant tumour-suppressor p53 protein has been shown to activate the MDR1
      promoter, whereas the wild-type p53 represses this activity in cultured cells. We
      have described the differential expression of Pgp and p53 proteins in betel- and
      tobacco-related oral tumorigenesis in the Indian population. Herein, Pgp
      expression was analysed in relation to p53 protein accumulation in pre-malignant
      and malignant oral lesions by immunohistochemical and flow-cytometric analyses.
      The relationship between Pgp and p53 protein accumulation and clinicopathological
      parameters as well as prognosis was determined. Expression of Pgp was observed in
      81% of oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and 71% of pre-malignant lesions.
      Sixty-five of 75 p53-positive oral SCCs and 21/24 p53-positive pre-malignant
      lesions showed expression of Pgp. Significant correlation between Pgp and p53
      expression was found not only in oral SCCs but also in pre-malignant lesions. Co
      expression of Pgp and p53 proteins was indicative of poor prognosis. Follow-up
      studies of 35 patients showed that 7 of 10 oral SCCs with accumulation of Pgp and
      p53 proteins also exhibited shorter disease-free survival
      (recurrence/metastases). Our findings provide clinical evidence for a significant
      association between Pgp and p53 protein expression in oral tumorigenesis and may
      account for the aggressive nature of the tumour and poor prognosis.

PMID- 9988238
TI  - Prognostic significance of cyclin D1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
      patients treated with surgery alone or combined therapy modalities.
AB  - In the present study, the expression of cyclin D1, as detected by
      immunohistochemistry, was compared with other prognostic variables and its
      prognostic impact was evaluated in a group of 172 patients with squamous cell
      carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus who underwent potentially curative resection
      therapy and in a second group of 38 patients with SCC of the esophagus who were
      treated by combined modality therapy (radiochemotherapy +/- surgery). Expression
      of cyclin D1 in surgically treated carcinomas correlated negatively with tumor
      differentiation (p = 0.026) but positively with mitotic activity (p = 0.0199) and
      nodal status (p = 0.040). There were no significant correlations with pT
      category. Patients with cyclin D1-positive carcinomas showed significantly worse
      overall survival than patients with cyclin D1-negative carcinomas, both in
      univariate (p = 0.0016) and in multivariate survival analyses (p = 0.0038).
      Expression of cyclin D1 in carcinomas with multimodal treatment was correlated
      with poor response to chemotherapy (p = 0.026) but not with overall survival. We
      thus consider expression of cyclin D1 to be an important parameter, predicting an
      unfavorable overall survival of surgically treated esophageal cancer patients.

PMID- 9988239
TI  - Amplified DNA testing for sexually transmitted diseases: new opportunities and
      new questions.

PMID- 9988240
TI  - The art of precepting: Socrates or Aunt Minnie?

PMID- 9988241
TI  - Is the routine pelvic examination needed with the advent of urine-based screening
      for sexually transmitted diseases?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the most cost-effective method of screening for chlamydia
      and gonorrhea to prevent pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in asymptomatic
      sexually active adolescent females. DESIGN: Cost-effectiveness decision analysis
      comparing pelvic examination with cervical screening (the current national
      standard) with a model of urine screening with ligase chain reaction testing for
      Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. METHODS: Four strategies using
      decision analysis were compared for a potential cohort of 100000 asymptomatic
      sexually active young women: (1) pelvic examination screening in 100%; (2) urine
      screening in 100%; (3) actual predicted pelvic examination screening in 70%; and
      (4) actual predicted urine screening in 90%. Assumptions and costs were generated
      from published sources. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cases of PID prevented per year
      and cost to prevent a case of PID. RESULTS: A total of 1750 cases of PID would be
      predicted to occur per year with no screening. Strategy 1 would prevent the most
      cases of PID (1283) at a mean cost of $10230. Strategy 2 would prevent 1215 cases
      of PID at a mean cost of $5093. The marginal cost to prevent an additional case
      of PID by strategy 1 is $101454. Strategy 3 would prevent 898 cases of PID and
      1093 cases of PID would be prevented with urine screening in strategy 4.
      CONCLUSION: Urine-based ligase chain reaction screening is the most cost
      effective strategy to detect chlamydial and gonococcal genital infection in
      asymptomatic sexually active adolescent females and, owing to ease of
      implementation, the most likely to prevent the greatest number of cases of PID.

PMID- 9988242
TI  - Clinical and economic impact of a combination Haemophilus influenzae and
      Hepatitis B vaccine: estimating cost-effectiveness using decision analysis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Compliance with hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine remains suboptimal,
      despite a recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of
      the US Public Health Service that all newborns be vaccinated. Although a combined
      HBV-Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine may improve acceptance of the HBV
      vaccine, the clinical and economic consequences of this intervention are
      uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To compare the health impact and cost-effectiveness of the
      following 2 immunization strategies: current practice of administering HBV
      vaccine separately (75% compliance) and Hib vaccine alone or as part of a
      multivalent vaccine (95% compliance); and strategy of delivering a combined HBV
      Hib vaccine (95% compliance). DESIGN: A Markov model simulated the natural
      history of acute and chronic HBV and Hib disease in a cohort of US newborns.
      Clinical and economic variables were obtained from published reports. RESULTS:
      The Hib-related outcomes were the same in both strategies, because the efficacy
      and compliance with Hib vaccine were assumed to be equivalent in both. A 53%
      reduction in the number of cases of HBV infection with the combination strategy
      (n = 8541) was estimated when compared with current practice (n = 18 044), along
      with 205 fewer HBV-related deaths per 1 million infants. Immunization costs of
      the combination strategy were $11.5 million higher than for current practice
      ($108.4 million compared with $96.9 million), whereas the cost of HBV-related
      disease was $4.0 million lower than in current practice. The incremental cost
      effectiveness ratio for the combination strategy was $17700 per year of life
      saved. CONCLUSION: An HBV-Hib vaccine in US infants yields substantial benefits,
      with a cost-effectiveness ratio that is lower than that of many commonly used
      medical interventions.

PMID- 9988243
TI  - Biopsychological and cognitive differences in children with premature vs. on-time
      adrenarche.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Puberty consists of 2 components: gonadarche and adrenarche. Both
      components have distinct endocrine changes. Adrenarche has virtually been ignored
      with respect to examining hormone-behavior relations. OBJECTIVES: To provide
      descriptive biological and behavioral information on children with premature
      adrenarche (PA) and to examine differences in biological, psychological, and
      cognitive variables of children with PA and a healthy comparison group of
      children with on-time adrenarche. DESIGN: Descriptive pilot study. SETTING: A
      consecutive sample of patients was recruited from pediatric endocrine clinics;
      comparison children were recruited from the community. PARTICIPANTS: Children
      aged 6 to 9 years. Mean (+/-SD) age of children with PA (n = 9) was 7.8 (+/-1.3)
      years; of children with on-time adrenarche (n = 20), 8.0 (+/-1.2) years. METHODS
      AND MEASURES: Serum and saliva samples were collected for measurement of hormone
      concentrations. Questionnaires, tests, and interviews were completed by children
      and parents. RESULTS: Compared with the on-time group, the PA group had
      significantly higher concentrations of adrenal androgens, estradiol, thyrotropin,
      and cortisol. By parent report on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children,
      4 children (44%) met diagnostic criteria for psychological disorders (primarily
      anxiety disorders). The PA group also had more self-reported depression and
      parent-reported behavior problems and lower scores on various intelligence tests.
      CONCLUSIONS: Although PA is considered a normal variation of pubertal development
      that warrants no medical intervention, PA presents with significant psychosocial
      problems. Children with PA may need psychological evaluation and follow-up.
      Future studies should confirm these findings with a larger sample and examine the
      long-term ramifications of this early presenting abnormality.

PMID- 9988244
TI  - Testing the epidemiologic paradox of low birth weight in Latinos.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Rates of low-birth-weight (LBW) infants are similar between Latina
      and white women, an epidemiologic paradox. However, few studies have analyzed the
      relationship between ethnicity, Latino subgroup, confounding variables, and LBW.
      METHODS: We analyzed 395070 singleton livebirths to Latina and non-Latina white
      women in California during 1992. Multivariate logistic regression was used to
      estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risks due
      to Latino ethnicity and Latino subgroup for very LBW (VLBW, 500-1499 g) and
      moderately LBW (MLBW, 1500-2499 g) outcomes. RESULTS: Latina and white women had
      similar unadjusted rates of VLBW (0.7% vs. 0.6%) and MLBW infants (3.7% vs.
      3.4%). After adjusting for maternal age, education, birthplace, marital status,
      parity, tobacco use, use of prenatal care, infant sex, and gestational age, there
      was no difference in the odds of VLBW infants between Latina and white women (OR,
      0.93 [95% CI, 0.81-1.071). Latina women had minimally elevated odds of MLBW
      infants (OR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.01-1.11]) compared with white women. By Latino
      subgroup, there was no difference in the adjusted odds of VLBW infants among
      Central and South American, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and white women. The
      adjusted odds of MLBW infants were elevated among Central and South American (OR,
      1.14 [95% CI, 1.05-1.25]) and Puerto Rican women (OR, 1.41 [95% CI, 1.12-1.78]),
      relative to white women. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiologic paradox of LBW in Latinos
      is valid. New conceptual models are needed to identify Latina women who are at
      risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

PMID- 9988245
TI  - Interview strategies commonly used by pediatricians.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To describe the pediatric interview as it is conducted in different
      practice settings and with children ranging in age from infancy to adolescence,
      and to identify pediatric history-taking strategies that varied across age
      groups. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A self-administered survey was designed and
      mailed to a group of pediatricians in the Chicago metropolitan area to assess
      commonly used strategies in the pediatric interview across varied patient ages
      and settings. The pediatricians sampled varied by geographic location as well as
      by practice setting. RESULTS: Results of the survey indicated that pediatricians
      use common strategies for establishing rapport, calming the disruptive child, and
      obtaining information from the child within particular age groups, but vary these
      strategies as the child matures. CONCLUSIONS: The findings substantiate the
      influence of the developmental stage of the child on interview strategies used by
      pediatricians. Implications pertaining to development of a standardized teaching
      curriculum for the pediatric interview are also discussed.

PMID- 9988246
TI  - Exposure to drug trafficking among urban, low-income African American children
      and adolescents.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between exposure to drug trafficking
      (selling or delivering drugs) and exposure to other forms of community violence
      and risk behaviors among urban, low-income African American children and
      adolescents. DESIGN: Community-based, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Ten public
      housing developments in a large eastern city in the United States. PARTICIPANTS:
      Three hundred forty-nine urban, low-income African American children and
      adolescents (198 boys and 151 girls), aged 9 to 15 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
      Exposure to drug trafficking and other forms of community violence (as either a
      victim or a witness), risk behaviors/perceptions including risk
      taking/delinquency, drug use, perpetration of violence or other crimes, threats
      to school achievement, and perceived peer involvement. ANALYSIS: Exploratory
      factor analysis was performed to examine whether exposure to drug trafficking is
      a risk factor that is distinct from other exposure to violence. Multivariate
      analysis of variance and chi2 tests were performed to assess the relationship
      between exposure to drug trafficking and other forms of community violence and
      risk behaviors/perceptions. RESULTS: Of 349 participants, 63 (18%) had been asked
      to traffic drugs and 134 (38%) had seen someone else being asked to traffic
      drugs. Factor analysis indicates that exposure to drug trafficking appears to be
      different from other forms of community violence. However, having been asked and
      having seen other people being asked to traffic drugs were both strongly
      associated with exposure to other forms of community violence. Compared with
      children and adolescents who had not been exposed to drug trafficking, those who
      were exposed to drug trafficking reported more risk-taking and delinquent
      behaviors, drug use, threats to achievement, and a perception of more peer
      involvement in these risk behaviors. CONCLUSION: Exposure to drug trafficking is
      a unique risk factor that is strongly associated with exposure to other forms of
      community violence and involvement in other risk behaviors.

PMID- 9988247
TI  - The influence of chronic disease on resource utilization in common acute
      pediatric conditions. Financial concerns for children's hospitals.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To estimate the resource utilization in hospitalizations for common
      pediatric conditions or procedures involving patients with chronic disease vs
      those with no chronic disease and to develop an economic model of hospital per
      patient profit (or loss) when insurance contracts fail to account for the
      presence of chronic disease. SETTING AND DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of
      selected acute pediatric conditions found in the 1991 and 1992 MedisGroups
      National Comparative Data Base. PATIENTS: We studied 30379 pediatric admissions
      for common acute conditions, including concussion, croup, pneumonia,
      appendicitis, gastroenteritis, fractures, cellulitis, urinary tract infection,
      and viral illness. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospital length of stay and total
      hospital charges. RESULTS: For patients without chronic disease, mean (geometric)
      length of stay was 2.53 vs. 3.05 days (P<.001) for patients with at least 1
      chronic disease. For patients without chronic disease, mean (arithmetic) total
      hospital charge was S2614 vs. $3663 (P<.001) for patients with at least 1 chronic
      disease. Assuming 75% of patients with chronic disease are admitted to a
      children's hospital vs 25% to a general hospital, overall loss per patient at the
      children's hospital ranged between 1.5% and 2.9%, depending on assumptions
      regarding cost-to-charge ratios and the treatment of charge outliers. Pneumonia
      cases were associated with a 4.0% to 5.85% loss. CONCLUSIONS: Length of stay and
      charges are higher for everyday pediatric conditions or procedures when patients
      also have a chronic disease. If insurance contracts fail to account for chronic
      disease, then children's hospitals will realize significant financial losses, and
      over time this will lead to a decline in their financial viability, a reduction
      in quality, or a change in their mission.

PMID- 9988248
TI  - Beach week: a high school graduation rite of passage for sun, sand, suds, and
      sex.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Every year, thousands of suburban high school graduates from mid
      Atlantic states flock to nearby coastal beaches for a long-anticipated rite of
      passage known as "beach week." Sand, sun, and sea, and also smoking, binge
      drinking, drugs, and sex, are reported to be dominant themes. OBJECTIVE: To
      document risk-taking behaviors by girls during beach week. METHOD: Fifty-nine
      female suburban high school graduates who attended beach week in 1996 volunteered
      to fill out a confidential printed survey. Twenty-five girls (42%) completed the
      survey during a typical beach week party. Their activities were verified on site
      by a peer, recommended by her grade advisor for her integrity and popularity.
      Breath alcohol values were obtained at entry and departure from the party. The
      remaining 34 girls completed the supervised survey 2 to 3 months later. RESULTS:
      Daily cigarette smoking (54%), daily drunkenness (75%), and sex (46%) were the
      norm among respondents of our survey. Few reported first-time sex (n = 4) or drug
      use (n = 2). Abstinence from drugs (67%) and sex (55%) was not unusual but only
      12% abstained from getting drunk. Sixteen girls (64%) reported that they drank 8
      or more beers/wine during a typical beach week party. By departure from the
      party, 15 girls had breath alcohol values of 0.017 mmol/L or greater (reference
      range, <21.7 mmol/L), and 8 additional girls had breath alcohol values of 0.01
      mmol/L to 0.015 mmol/L. Fifteen percent of the 59 reported injuries or illness
      were related to alcohol or drugs. CONCLUSION: Most respondents enjoyed beach week
      but a large percentage engaged in serious risk-taking behaviors.

PMID- 9988250
TI  - Development of feeding practices during the first 5 years of life.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To understand the transition from breast-and bottle-feeding to solid
      feeding and factors that might affect the duration of breast- and bottle-feeding.
      DESIGN: Cohort followed up from birth with relatively well-educated, middle-class
      parents. SETTING: Community sample recruited from 3 suburban newborn nurseries (a
      teaching hospital, community hospital, and large health maintenance
      organization). PARTICIPANTS: One hundred ninety-one healthy full-term infants.
      MEASURES: Assessment of feeding practices through the ages of complete weaning
      from breast- and bottle-feeding. RESULTS: More than 90% of participants breast
      fed for at least 2 weeks. Infants of older mothers were weaned from the breast
      later than infants of younger mothers. First-born infants were weaned from the
      breast earlier than later-born infants. Eighty-four percent of infants bottle-fed
      at some time during the first year of life. More than 40% of the cohort was still
      receiving bottles at 24 months of age, 16% at 36 months, and 8% at 48 months. The
      duration of breast- and bottle-feeding was related to maternal work status;
      mothers who returned to work during the first 3 months postpartum weaned sooner
      from the breast and later from the bottle than women who returned to work after 3
      months postpartum. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of late bottle-weaning in this well
      educated, middle-class cohort was unexpected and was related to the timing of the
      mother's return to work. The impact of prolonged bottle-feeding on later growth
      and adiposity deserves further investigation.

PMID- 9988249
TI  - Neonatal jaundice and diet.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an earlier observation, that infants fed a casein
      hydrolysate formula (Nutramigen) have lower neonatal jaundice levels than those
      fed standard formulas, would be repeated in a larger independent group of infants
      with more frequent measurements and more rigorous statistical analysis. DESIGN:
      Newborn infants were fed human milk, a standard whey-predominant formula
      (Enfamil), or Nutramigen (n = 20 for each group) during the first 3 weeks of
      life. Transcutaneous jaundice index was measured daily for the first week of life
      and every 2 to 3 days thereafter, using a noninvasive jaundice meter. Linear
      regression models of the data were constructed, validated, and compared
      statistically. SETTING: General community hospital with subsequent home
      visitation. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy, term newborn infants selected by convenience,
      based on time of birth. INTERVENTION: Infants were exclusively fed human milk,
      Enfamil, or Nutramigen. Formulas were randomly assigned. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
      Jaundice index, a transcutaneous measurement of jaundice. RESULTS: The jaundice
      index differed significantly among the 3 groups. Paired comparisons showed that
      the jaundice index of the Nutramigen group was significantly lower than that of
      the Enfamil group (on days 6-16) and the human milk group (on days 3-20). The
      jaundice index of the Enfamil-fed group was significantly lower than that of the
      human milk group on days 13 to 19. CONCLUSIONS: Jaundice levels are lower in
      neonates fed Nutramigen rather than Enfamil and both these groups have lower
      jaundice levels than breast-fed infants.

PMID- 9988251
TI  - Successful teaching of pediatric fluid management using computer methods.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To identify and measure differences in knowledge of pediatric fluid
      management procedures between students taught by computer tutorial and others
      taught by lecture or seminar. DESIGN: Cohort analytic study. SETTING: Two
      community-based medical school pediatric teaching services. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty
      nine third-year medical students with no prior pediatric fluid management
      experience. INTERVENTIONS: Forty-eight students at one community campus completed
      a microcomputer-based tutorial program that replaced all teaching sessions in
      pediatric fluid management. Forty-one students from a similar community campus
      were taught identical content by a pediatric critical care specialist using a
      seminar, reading material, and handouts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores on 2 free
      answer problems on treatment of a dehydrated child, which were graded by a single
      evaluator blinded to the teaching method used, and scores on a 20-item multiple
      choice examination. RESULTS: The computer instruction group achieved
      significantly higher test scores than the seminar group for both the multiple
      choice examination (81.1% vs 62.2%; P<.001) and the free-answer test (85.4% vs.
      61.0%; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The computer tutorial in fluid therapy has been an
      effective means of meeting the defined objectives of the pediatric clerkship.
      Compared with traditional methods, students taught using the computer achieved
      significantly higher scores on tests of both factual knowledge and practical
      problem solving.

PMID- 9988252
TI  - Radiological case of the month. Necrotizing enterocolitis in a term infant.

PMID- 9988253
TI  - Picture of the month. Trichophyton verrucosum tinea corporis.

PMID- 9988254
TI  - Pathological case of the month. Synovial lipomatosis.

PMID- 9988255
TI  - Mycotoxins and pulmonary hemorrhage.

PMID- 9988257
TI  - Patenting ESTs: is it worth it?

PMID- 9988256
TI  - Studying inner-city achievers.

PMID- 9988258
TI  - You don't need a backbone to carry a tumour suppressor gene.

PMID- 9988259
TI  - Less from more: cosuppression of transposable elements.

PMID- 9988260
TI  - Extracellular matrix calcification: where is the action?

PMID- 9988261
TI  - Forever hopeful relations: chromatin, telomeres and checkpoints.

PMID- 9988262
TI  - An imprinted QTL with major effect on muscle mass and fat deposition maps to the
      IGF2 locus in pigs.

PMID- 9988263
TI  - A paternally expressed QTL affecting skeletal and cardiac muscle mass in pigs
      maps to the IGF2 locus.

PMID- 9988264
TI  - QTL influencing autoimmune diabetes and encephalomyelitis map to a 0.15-cM region
      containing Il2.

PMID- 9988265
TI  - Late onset of renal and hepatic cysts in Pkd1-targeted heterozygotes.

PMID- 9988266
TI  - Cancer epigenetics comes of age.
AB  - The discovery of numerous hypermethylated promoters of tumour-suppressor genes,
      along with a better understanding of gene-silencing mechanisms, has moved DNA
      methylation from obscurity to recognition as an alternative mechanism of tumour
      suppressor inactivation in cancer. Epigenetic events can also facilitate genetic
      damage, as illustrated by the increased mutagenicity of 5-methylcytosine and the
      silencing of the MLH1 mismatch repair gene by DNA methylation in colorectal
      tumours. We review here current mechanistic understanding of the role of DNA
      methylation in malignant transformation, and suggest Knudson's two-hit hypothesis
      should now be expanded to include epigenetic mechanisms of gene inactivation.

PMID- 9988267
TI  - The gene encoding ribosomal protein S19 is mutated in Diamond-Blackfan anaemia.
AB  - Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a constitutional erythroblastopenia
      characterized by absent or decreased erythroid precursors. The disease,
      previously mapped to human chromosome 19q13, is frequently associated with a
      variety of malformations. To identify the gene involved in DBA, we cloned the
      chromosome 19q13 breakpoint in a patient with a reciprocal X;19 chromosome
      translocation. The breakpoint occurred in the gene encoding ribosomal protein
      S19. Furthermore, we identified mutations in RPS19 in 10 of 40 unrelated DBA
      patients, including nonsense, frameshift, splice site and missense mutations, as
      well as two intragenic deletions. These mutations are associated with clinical
      features that suggest a function for RPS19 in erythropoiesis and embryogenesis.

PMID- 9988268
TI  - Human homologue of the Drosophila melanogaster lats tumour suppressor modulates
      CDC2 activity.
AB  - We have previously used mosaic flies to screen for tumour suppressors or negative
      regulators of cell proliferation. The cellular composition of these flies
      resembles that of cancer patients who are chimaeric individuals carrying a small
      number of mutated somatic cells. One of the genes we identified is the large
      tumour suppressor gene, lats (also known as wts), which encodes a putative
      serine/threonine kinase. Somatic cells mutant for lats undergo extensive
      proliferation and form large tumours in many tissues in mosaic adults. Homozygous
      mutants for various lats alleles display a range of developmental defects
      including embryonic lethality. Although many tumour suppressors have been
      identified in Drosophila melanogaster, it is not clear whether these fly genes
      are directly relevant to tumorigenesis in mammals. Here, we have isolated
      mammalian homologues of Drosophila lats. Human LATS1 suppresses tumour growth and
      rescues all developmental defects, including embryonic lethality in flies. In
      mammalian cells, LATS1 is phosphorylated in a cell-cycle-dependent manner and
      complexes with CDC2 in early mitosis. LATS1-associated CDC2 has no mitotic cyclin
      partner and no kinase activity for histone H1. Furthermore, lats mutant cells in
      Drosophila abnormally accumulate cyclin A. These biochemical observations
      indicate that LATS is a novel negative regulator of CDC2/cyclin A, a finding
      supported by genetic data in Drosophila demonstrating that lats specifically
      interacts with cdc2 and cyclin A.

PMID- 9988269
TI  - Mice deficient of Lats1 develop soft-tissue sarcomas, ovarian tumours and
      pituitary dysfunction.
AB  - The lats gene has been identified as a tumour suppressor in Drosophila
      melanogaster using mosaic screens. Mosaic flies carrying somatic cells that are
      mutant for lats develop large tumours in many organs. The human LATS1 homologue
      rescues embryonic lethality and inhibits tumour growth in lats mutant flies,
      demonstrating the functional conservation of this gene. Biochemical and genetic
      analyses have revealed that LATS1 functions as a negative regulator of CDC2 (ref.
      3). These data suggest that mammalian LATS1 may have a role in tumorigenesis. To
      elucidate the function of mammalian LATS1, we have generated Lats1-/- mice. Lats1
      /- animals exhibit a lack of mammary gland development, infertility and growth
      retardation. Accompanying these defects are hyperplastic changes in the pituitary
      and decreased serum hormone levels. The reproductive hormone defects of Lats1-/-
      mice are reminiscent of isolated LH-hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and corpus
      luteum insufficiency in humans. Furthermore, Lats1-/- mice develop soft-tissue
      sarcomas and ovarian stromal cell tumours and are highly sensitive to
      carcinogenic treatments. Our data demonstrate a role for Lats1 in mammalian
      tumorigenesis and specific endocrine dysfunction.

PMID- 9988270
TI  - Activating SRC mutation in a subset of advanced human colon cancers.
AB  - The discovery of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) led to the identification of cellular
      Src (c-Src), a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, which has since been implicated in
      the development of numerous human cancers. c-Src has been found to be highly
      activated in colon cancers, particularly in those metastatic to the liver.
      Studies of the mechanism of c-Src regulation have suggested that c-Src kinase
      activity is downregulated by phosphorylation of a critical carboxy-terminal
      tyrosine (Tyr 530 in human c-Src, equivalent to Tyr 527 in chicken Src) and have
      implied the existence of activating mutations in this C-terminal regulatory
      region. We report here the identification of a truncating mutation in SRC at
      codon 531 in 12% of cases of advanced human colon cancer tested and demonstrate
      that the mutation is activating, transforming, tumorigenic and promotes
      metastasis. These results provide, for the first time, genetic evidence that
      activating SRC mutations may have a role in the malignant progression of human
      colon cancer.

PMID- 9988271
TI  - An encyclopedia of mouse genes.
AB  - The laboratory mouse is the premier model system for studies of mammalian
      development due to the powerful classical genetic analysis possible (see also the
      Jackson Laboratory web site, http://www.jax.org/) and the ever-expanding
      collection of molecular tools. To enhance the utility of the mouse system, we
      initiated a program to generate a large database of expressed sequence tags
      (ESTs) that can provide rapid access to genes. Of particular significance was the
      possibility that cDNA libraries could be prepared from very early stages of
      development, a situation unrealized in human EST projects. We report here the
      development of a comprehensive database of ESTs for the mouse. The project,
      initiated in March 1996, has focused on 5' end sequences from directionally
      cloned, oligo-dT primed cDNA libraries. As of 23 October 1998, 352,040 sequences
      had been generated, annotated and deposited in dbEST, where they comprised 93% of
      the total ESTs available for mouse. EST data are versatile and have been applied
      to gene identification, comparative sequence analysis, comparative gene mapping
      and candidate disease gene identification, genome sequence annotation, microarray
      development and the development of gene-based map resources.

PMID- 9988272
TI  - Hephaestin, a ceruloplasmin homologue implicated in intestinal iron transport, is
      defective in the sla mouse.
AB  - Iron is essential for many cellular functions; consequently, disturbances of iron
      homeostasis, leading to either iron deficiency or iron overload, can have
      significant clinical consequences. Despite the clinical prevalence of these
      disorders, the mechanism by which dietary iron is absorbed into the body is
      poorly understood. We have identified a key component in intestinal iron
      transport by study of the sex-linked anaemia (sla) mouse, which has a block in
      intestinal iron transport. Mice carrying the sla mutation develop moderate to
      severe microcytic hypochromic anaemia. Although these mice take up iron from the
      intestinal lumen into mature epithelial cells normally, the subsequent exit of
      iron into the circulation is diminished. As a result, iron accumulates in
      enterocytes and is lost during turnover of the intestinal epithelium. Biochemical
      studies have failed to identify the underlying difference between sla and normal
      mice, therefore, we used a genetic approach to identify the gene mutant in sla
      mice. We describe here a novel gene, Heph, encoding a transmembrane-bound
      ceruloplasmin homologue that is mutant in the sla mouse and highly expressed in
      intestine. We suggest that the hephaestin protein is a multicopper ferroxidase
      necessary for iron egress from intestinal enterocytes into the circulation and
      that it is an important link between copper and iron metabolism in mammals.

PMID- 9988273
TI  - Prolongation of ovarian lifespan into advanced chronological age by Bax
      deficiency.
AB  - Female mammals are endowed with a finite number of oocytes at birth, each
      enclosed by a single layer of somatic (granulosa) cells in a primordial follicle.
      The fate of most follicles is atretic degeneration, a process that culminates in
      near exhaustion of the oocyte reserve at approximately the fifth decade of life
      in women, leading to menopause. Apoptosis has a fundamental role in follicular
      atresia, and recent studies have shown that Bax, which is expressed in both
      granulosa cells and oocytes, may be central to ovarian cell death. Here we show
      that young adult female Bax-/- mice possess threefold more primordial follicles
      in their ovarian reserve than their wild-type sisters, and this surfeit of
      follicles is maintained in advanced chronological age, such that 20-22-month-old
      female Bax-/- mice possess hundreds of follicles at all developmental stages and
      exhibit ovarian steroid-driven uterine hypertrophy. These observations contrast
      with the ovarian and uterine atrophy seen in aged wild-type female mice. Aged
      female Bax-/- mice fail to become pregnant when housed with young adult males;
      however, metaphase II oocytes can be retrieved from, and corpora lutea form in,
      ovaries of aged Bax-/- females following superovulation with exogenous
      gonadotropins, and some oocytes are competent for in vitro fertilization and
      early embryogenesis. Therefore, ovarian lifespan can be extended by selectively
      disrupting Bax function, but other aspects of normal reproductive performance
      remain defective in aged Bax-/- female mice.

PMID- 9988274
TI  - Interaction between Set1p and checkpoint protein Mec3p in DNA repair and telomere
      functions.
AB  - The yeast protein Set1p, inactivation of which alleviates telomeric position
      effect (TPE), contains a conserved SET domain present in chromosomal proteins
      involved in epigenetic control of transcription. Mec3p is required for efficient
      DNA-damage-dependent checkpoints at G1/S, intra-S and G2/M (refs 3-7). We show
      here that the SET domain of Set1p interacts with Mec3p. Deletion of SET1
      increases the viability of mec3delta mutants after DNA damage (in a process that
      is mostly independent of Rad53p kinase, which has a central role in checkpoint
      control) but does not significantly affect cell-cycle progression. Deletion of
      MEC3 enhances TPE and attenuates the Set1delta-induced silencing defect.
      Furthermore, restoration of TPE in a Set1delta mutant by overexpression of the
      isolated SET domain requires Mec3p. Finally, deletion of MEC3 results in telomere
      elongation, whereas cells with deletions of both SET1 and MEC3 do not have
      elongated telomeres. Our findings indicate that interactions between SET1 and
      MEC3 have a role in DNA repair and telomere function.

PMID- 9988275
TI  - Taming of transposable elements by homology-dependent gene silencing.
AB  - Transposable elements can invade virgin genomes within a few generations, after
      which the elements are 'tamed' and retain only limited transpositional activity.
      Introduction of the I element, a transposon similar to mammalian LINE elements,
      into Drosophila melanogaster genomes devoid of such elements initially results in
      high-frequency transposition of the incoming transposon, high mutation rate,
      chromosomal nondisjunction and female sterility, a syndrome referred to as hybrid
      dysgenesis (for review, see refs 2-4); a related syndrome has also been described
      in mammals. High-frequency transposition is transient, as the number of I
      elements reaches a finite value and transposition ceases after approximately ten
      generations. It has been proposed that the I elements encode a factor that
      negatively regulates their own transcription, but evidence for such a mechanism
      is lacking. Using the hybrid dysgenesis syndrome in Drosophila as a model, we
      show here that transpositional activity of the I element can be repressed by
      prior introduction of transgenes expressing a small internal region of the I
      element. This autoregulation presents features characteristic of homology
      dependent gene silencing, a process known as cosuppression. Repression does not
      require any translatable sequence, its severity correlates with transgene copy
      number and it develops in a generation-dependent manner via germline transmission
      of a silencing effector in females only. These results demonstrate that
      transposable elements are prone to and can be tamed by homology-dependent gene
      silencing, a process that may have emerged during the course of evolution as a
      specific defense mechanism against these elements.

PMID- 9988276
TI  - Loci on chromosomes 2 (NIDDM1) and 15 interact to increase susceptibility to
      diabetes in Mexican Americans.
AB  - Complex disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, hypertension
      and psychiatric illnesses account for a large and disproportionate share of
      health care costs, but remain poorly characterized with respect to aetiology. The
      transmission of such disorders is complex, reflecting the actions and
      interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Genetic analyses that
      allow for the simultaneous consideration of susceptibility from multiple regions
      may improve the ability to map genes for complex disorders, but such analyses are
      currently computationally intensive and narrowly focused. We describe here an
      approach to assessing the evidence for statistical interactions between unlinked
      regions that allows multipoint allele-sharing analysis to take the evidence for
      linkage at one region into account in assessing the evidence for linkage over the
      rest of the genome. Using this method, we show that the interaction of genes on
      chromosomes 2 (NIDDM1) and 15 (near CYP19) makes a contribution to susceptibility
      to type 2 diabetes in Mexican Americans from Starr County, Texas.

PMID- 9988277
TI  - Receptors for polytropic and xenotropic mouse leukaemia viruses encoded by a
      single gene at Rmc1.
AB  - The onset of leukaemia caused by type C retroviruses (MLV) in mice is accelerated
      by the emergence of recombinant polytropic or mink cell focus-forming (MCF)
      viruses. Susceptibility to infection by polytropic/MCF and also by closely
      related xenotropic MLV has been mapped to Rmc1 on mouse chromosome 1 (refs 5-7).
      To identify this gene, we introduced an expression cDNA library prepared from
      mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts into nonpermissive hamster cells and screened these
      cells for acquired susceptibility to MCF viruses encoding beta-galactosidase and
      G418 resistance. From hamster cell clones identified in the screen, we recovered
      a mouse cDNA that maps to Rmc1 and confers MCF MLV infection when expressed in
      nonpermissive cell lines. It encodes a membrane protein related to Syg1p
      (suppressor of yeast G alpha deletion; ref. 8). The receptor-binding domain of
      the MCF MLV envelope protein binds specifically to Xenopus laevis oocytes that
      express mouse Syg1, suggesting it functions as a receptor that mediates virus
      entry. We also obtained the cDNA encoding human SYG1. When expressed in hamster
      cells, it establishes infectivity by MCF MLV as well as xenotropic MLV, which do
      not infect laboratory mice.

PMID- 9988278
TI  - Direct activation of TERT transcription by c-MYC.
AB  - The MYC proto-oncogene encodes a ubiquitous transcription factor (c-MYC) involved
      in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Deregulated expression
      of c-MYC caused by gene amplification, retroviral insertion, or chromosomal
      translocation is associated with tumorigenesis. The function of c-MYC and its
      role in tumorigenesis are poorly understood because few c-MYC targets have been
      identified. Here we show that c-MYC has a direct role in induction of the
      activity of telomerase, the ribonucleoprotein complex expressed in proliferating
      and transformed cells, in which it preserves chromosome integrity by maintaining
      telomere length. c-MYC activates telomerase by inducing expression of its
      catalytic subunit, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). Telomerase complex
      activity is dependent on TERT, a specialized type of reverse transcriptase. TERT
      and c-MYC are expressed in normal and transformed proliferating cells,
      downregulated in quiescent and terminally differentiated cells, and can both
      induce immortalization when constitutively expressed in transfected cells.
      Consistent with the recently reported association between MYC overexpression and
      induction of telomerase activity, we find here that the TERT promoter contains
      numerous c-MYC-binding sites that mediate TERT transcriptional activation. c-MYC
      induced TERT expression is rapid and independent of cell proliferation and
      additional protein synthesis, consistent with direct transcriptional activation
      of TERT. Our results indicate that TERT is a target of c-MYC activity and
      identify a pathway linking cell proliferation and chromosome integrity in normal
      and neoplastic cells.

PMID- 9988279
TI  - Mice lacking link protein develop dwarfism and craniofacial abnormalities.
AB  - Link protein (LP), an extracellular matrix protein in cartilage, stabilizes
      aggregates of aggrecan and hyaluronan, giving cartilage its tensile strength and
      elasticity. Cartilage provides the template for endochondral ossification and is
      crucial for determining the length and width of the skeleton. During endochondral
      bone formation, hypertrophic chondrocytes die and the cartilage is replaced with
      bone matrix. Here, we have generated targeted mutations in mice in the gene
      encoding LP (Crtl1). Homozygotes showed defects in cartilage development and
      delayed bone formation with short limbs and craniofacial anomalies. Most
      Crtl1(tm1Nid/tm1Nid) mice died shortly after birth due to respiratory failure,
      but some survived and developed progressive dwarfism and lordosis of the cervical
      spine. They showed small epiphysis, slightly flared metaphysis of long bones and
      flattened vertebrae, characteristic of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasias. The
      cartilage contained significantly reduced aggrecan depositions in the
      hypertrophic zone, and decreased numbers of prehypertrophic and hypertrophic
      chondrocytes. Reduced Indian hedgehog (Ihh) expression was observed in
      prehypertrophic chondrocytes, and apoptosis was inhibited in hypertrophic
      chondrocytes. These results indicate that LP is important for the formation of
      proteoglycan aggregates and normal organization of hypertrophic chondrocytes, and
      suggest that cartilage matrix has a role in chondrocyte differentiation and
      maturation.

PMID- 9988281
TI  - Localization of human BRCA1 and its loss in high-grade, non-inherited breast
      carcinomas.
AB  - Although the link between the BRCA1 tumour-suppressor gene and hereditary breast
      and ovarian cancer is established, the role, if any, of BRCA1 in non-familial
      cancers is unclear. BRCA1 mutations are rare in sporadic cancers, but loss of
      BRCA1 resulting from reduced expression or incorrect subcellular localization is
      postulated to be important in non-familial breast and ovarian cancers. Epigenetic
      loss, however, has not received general acceptance due to controversy regarding
      the subcellular localization of BRCA1 proteins, reports of which have ranged from
      exclusively nuclear, to conditionally nuclear, to the ER/golgi, to cytoplasmic
      invaginations into the nucleus. In an attempt to resolve this issue, we have
      comprehensively characterized 19 anti-BRCA1 antibodies. These reagents detect a
      220-kD protein localized in discrete nuclear foci in all epithelial cell lines,
      including those derived from breast malignancies. Immunohistochemical staining of
      human breast specimens also revealed BRCA1 nuclear foci in benign breast,
      invasive lobular cancers and low-grade ductal carcinomas. Conversely, BRCA1
      expression was reduced or undetectable in the majority of high-grade, ductal
      carcinomas, suggesting that absence of BRCA1 may contribute to the pathogenesis
      of a significant percentage of sporadic breast cancers.

PMID- 9988280
TI  - Increased insulin sensitivity and hypoglycaemia in mice lacking the p85 alpha
      subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase.
AB  - The hallmark of type 2 diabetes, the most common metabolic disorder, is a defect
      in insulin-stimulated glucose transport in peripheral tissues. Although a role
      for phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) activity in insulin-stimulated glucose
      transport and glucose transporter isoform 4 (Glut4) translocation has been
      suggested in vitro, its role in vivo and the molecular link between activation of
      PI3K and translocation has not yet been elucidated. To determine the role of PI3K
      in glucose homeostasis, we generated mice with a targeted disruption of the gene
      encoding the p85alpha regulatory subunit of PI3K (Pik3r1; refs 3-5). Pik3r1-/-
      mice showed increased insulin sensitivity and hypoglycaemia due to increased
      glucose transport in skeletal muscle and adipocytes. Insulin-stimulated PI3K
      activity associated with insulin receptor substrates (IRSs) was mediated via full
      length p85 alpha in wild-type mice, but via the p50 alpha alternative splicing
      isoform of the same gene in Pik3r1-/- mice. This isoform switch was associated
      with an increase in insulin-induced generation of
      phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)triphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) in Pik3r1-/- adipocytes
      and facilitation of Glut4 translocation from the low-density microsome (LDM)
      fraction to the plasma membrane (PM). This mechanism seems to be responsible for
      the phenotype of Pik3r1-/- mice, namely increased glucose transport and
      hypoglycaemia. Our work provides the first direct evidence that PI3K and its
      regulatory subunit have a role in glucose homeostasis in vivo.

PMID- 9988282
TI  - Primary care of long-stay nursing home residents: approaches of three health
      maintenance organizations.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe the innovative programs of three health maintenance
      organizations (HMOs) for providing primary care for long-stay nursing home (NH)
      residents and to compare this care with that of fee-for-service (FFS) residents
      at the same NHs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional interviews and case-studies, including
      retrospective chart reviews for 1 year. SETTING: The programs were based in 20
      community-based nursing homes in three regions (East, West, Far West).
      PARTICIPANTS: Administrative and professional staff of HMOs in three regions and
      20 NHs; 215 HMO and 187 FFS residents at these homes were studied. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURES: Emergency department (ED) and hospital utilization. RESULTS: All HMO
      programs utilized nurse practitioner/physician's assistants (NP/PA), but the
      structural configuration of physicians' (MD) practices differed substantially. At
      nursing homes within each region, all three HMO programs provided more total (MD
      plus NP/PA) visits per month than did FFS care (2.0 vs 1.1, 1.3 vs .6, and 1.4 vs
      .8 visits per month; all P < .05). The HMO that provided the most total visits
      had a significantly lower percentage of residents transferred to EDs (6% vs 16%,
      P = .048), fewer ED visits per resident (0.1 vs .4 per year, P = .027), and fewer
      hospitalizations per resident (0.1 vs .5 per year, P = .038) than FFS residents;
      these differences remained significant in multivariate analyses. However, the
      other two programs did not achieve the same benefits on healthcare utilization.
      CONCLUSIONS: HMO programs for NH residents provide more primary care and have the
      potential to reduce ED and hospital use compared with FFS care. However, not all
      programs have been associated with decreased ED and hospital utilization, perhaps
      because of differences in structure or implementation problems.

PMID- 9988283
TI  - Use of primary care teams by HMOS for care of long-stay nursing home residents.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To characterize the use of formal primary care programs by health
      maintenance organizations (HMOs) for their members who are long-stay residents of
      nursing homes. DESIGN: Using mail survey techniques, 34 Medicare risk-contracting
      HMOs with the largest Medicare beneficiary enrollments were asked to complete a
      written questionnaire. HMOs were asked how they evaluate care in nursing home
      settings and whether they operate a formal primary care program for members who
      are long-stay nursing home residents. Those reporting they had programs were
      asked about the program features, participation in the program, roles performed
      by clinical practitioners, and clinical caseloads. Surveys were completed by 21
      (61.8%) of the HMOs. PARTICIPANTS: HMO management personnel who know the primary
      care programs the HMOs operate in affiliated nursing homes. MEASUREMENTS:
      Descriptive summaries of the HMOs' responses to the survey questions were
      generated. For HMOs with primary care programs, caseloads of physicians and nurse
      practitioners were estimated using survey data reported by the HMOs. RESULTS:
      Eight (38.1%) of the responding HMOs operate formal primary care programs in
      affiliated nursing homes. HMOs with programs consider more factors than non
      program HMOs in evaluating care for nursing home residents. Reasons cited most
      frequently for not having a program are costs and too few nursing home residents.
      The most common primary care program features are designated physicians and use
      of physician extenders. CONCLUSIONS: Survey findings point to the potential
      importance of formal HMO primary care programs for long-term nursing home
      residents, which may expand with growth in the older population and Medicare
      managed care. Program adoption, however, may depend on sufficient resident
      participation to be financially feasible.

PMID- 9988284
TI  - Age-related differences in management of heart disease: a study of cardiac
      medication use in an older cohort. Pacemaker Selection in the Elderly (PASE)
      Investigators.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested suboptimal use of cardiac medications
      for secondary prevention after myocardial infarction (MI) and atrial fibrillation
      (AF), especially among older people. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients
      older than 75 years are less likely than those aged 65 to 74 to be prescribed
      medications with evidence-based indications, including angiotensin-converting
      enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) and/or diabetes
      mellitus (DM), aspirin and/or beta-blockers for those with a history of MI, and
      warfarin for chronic AF. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty
      nine hospitals, predominantly tertiary-care institutions. PARTICIPANTS: A total
      of 407 patients randomized to ventricular or dual-chamber pacing from February
      26, 1993, to September 30, 1994, in the Pacemaker Selection in the Elderly (PASE)
      trial. MEASUREMENTS: A review of the patient's medical history and a physical
      exam at study enrollment, three follow-up timepoints, and a study closeout.
      RESULTS: Patients older than 75 years with LVD and/or DM were less likely to be
      prescribed ACE inhibitors (OR = .56 (0.31-1.00)); patients older than 75 with a
      history of MI were less likely to be taking aspirin (OR = .43 (0.19-.95)), and
      patients older than 75 with AF were less likely to be prescribed warfarin (OR =
      .18 (0.05-.61)). Patients older than 75 years of age with any or all of the
      conditions studied were less likely to be prescribed indicated medications than
      those ages 65 to 74 (OR = .35 (0.18-.70)), after controlling for between-group
      differences in comorbidity, gender, and number of noncardiac medications.
      CONCLUSION: Older age is a significant independent negative correlate of evidence
      based cardiac medication use in this cohort. Causes for this finding need to be
      explored.

PMID- 9988285
TI  - Gender differences in the sequelae of hospitalization for acute myocardial
      infarction among older adults.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of gender differences among older adults
      hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on subsequent health
      outcomes. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of the Longitudinal Study on Aging. Data
      from baseline interviews (1984) and three biennial (1986, 1988, and 1990) re
      interviews were linked to Medicare hospitalization and National Death Index
      records for 1984-1991. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6071 community-dwelling adults
      aged 70 years or older at baseline. METHODS: Pooled and stratified multivariable
      models were used to examine gender differences in the independent effects of
      being hospitalized for an AMI on all-cause mortality, the risk and volume of
      subsequent hospitalization, and increases in the number of functional
      limitations. Two comparison groups were used. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-seven
      AMI cases (6%; 172 women and 185 men) were compared with 3976 hospitalized
      controls and 1738 nonhospitalized controls. The risk of all-cause mortality for
      AMI cases was greater than that for either hospitalized controls or
      nonhospitalized controls (referent), and this increased risk was significantly (P
      < .001) stronger for women (adjusted hazards ratio (AHR) = 14.24, 95%CI = 10.99,
      18.46) than for men (AHR = 9.91, 95%CI = 7.75, 12.67). Overall, AMI cases were
      also more likely to be hospitalized subsequently than the hospitalized controls
      (referent; adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.17, 1.85), although in the
      stratified analysis this association held for men (AOR = 1.73, 95%CI = 1.25,
      2.41) but not for women (AOR = 1.25, 95%CI = .90, 1.73). Among those subsequently
      hospitalized, both women and men AMI cases consumed more hospital resources than
      the hospitalized controls, and there were gender differences suggesting that the
      effects on total charges and length of stay were greater for women than for men
      with AMI. Finally, although the AMI cases had greater adjusted mean increases in
      the number of instrumental activities of daily living limitations and lower body
      limitations than the nonhospitalized controls, they were no worse off than the
      hospitalized controls, and there were no gender differences in those effects.
      CONCLUSION: Relative to the appropriate comparison groups, hospitalization for an
      AMI increases the risk of death and the total costs and lengths of stay of
      subsequent hospitalizations for women more than for men. Therefore, increased
      primary prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts should be directed toward
      women.

PMID- 9988286
TI  - Gender differences in cognitive function with age: the Rancho Bernardo study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Estrogen deficiency has been proposed as a cause of memory loss in
      postmenopausal women. If true, men should have less memory loss with age than
      women. The present study is designed to examine the postulated effect of estrogen
      on memory by studying the effect of gender on the age-related decline in
      cognitive function. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 800 women and 551 men aged
      65 to 95 years, members of the community-based Rancho Bernardo Study (begun in
      1972 and 1974) who completed the Beck Depression Inventory in 1984-1987 and 12
      standardized tests of cognitive function in 1988-1991. All participants were
      white, middle to upper-middle class, relatively well educated, and ambulatory. At
      all visits, use of estrogen therapy was ascertained and validated. RESULTS: Test
      performance worsened with age in both sexes, with similar patterns in men
      compared with women who were current, past, or never users of estrogen. Between
      gender comparisons of the slope for age on each cognitive function test after
      adjustment for education, depressed mood, and estrogen use (in women) indicated
      that men had a significantly steeper decrement with age than women on the Buschke
      total recall and long-term memory tests (P <. 001), on the immediate and delayed
      recall tasks of the visual reproduction tests (P < .01 and .05, respectively),
      and on category fluency (P < .05). Similar results were obtained when gender
      comparisons included only women who had never used estrogen. CONCLUSION: These
      weak or absent gender differences in decline in cognitive function with age do
      not support the thesis that estrogen deficiency is associated with a decline in
      cognitive function in postmenopausal women.

PMID- 9988287
TI  - Effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine among nursing home residents
      during an influenza type A (H3N2) epidemic.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of influenza vaccine in nursing homes and its
      effectiveness in reducing the likelihood of influenza-like illness. DESIGN: A
      retrospective case-control study with active identification of influenza
      infection. SETTING: All nursing homes in a seven-county study area in southern
      lower Michigan were eligible for participation. Analyses were based on data
      collected from 23 homes with documented influenza transmission. PARTICIPANTS:
      Persons aged 65 years or older who were residents of the nursing homes under
      study during the influenza type A(H3N2) outbreak in 1989-1990. MEASUREMENTS:
      Residents were identified as cases or controls based on occurrence of febrile
      respiratory illness meeting a case definition. Demographic and underlying illness
      information were gathered as were data on the use of influenza vaccine,
      antibiotics, and antivirals. Characteristics of the nursing homes were also
      recorded. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine vaccine
      effectiveness. MAIN RESULTS: Determinants of vaccine use were different from
      those observed in a parallel community-based study. In a multivariate model that
      considered the effects of resident and nursing home characteristics, vaccinated
      residents were significantly less likely than those who were not vaccinated to
      have an influenza-like illness (OR = .58 (95% CI, .43-.78), P < .001, imputed
      vaccine effectiveness estimate of 42%). Vaccination was more effective in younger
      residents (those aged 65 to 84) then in older residents (those older than 84
      years). CONCLUSIONS: Influenza vaccination was effective in reducing the
      likelihood of influenza-like illness in nursing home residents. Effectiveness
      appeared to be related to age, which may function as a surrogate for related
      immunologic factors. Older nursing home residents should be targeted for newer
      vaccines and/or potential prophylactic use of antivirals.

PMID- 9988288
TI  - Medication adherence in rheumatoid arthritis patients: older is wiser.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To create a profile of individuals nonadherent to their medications
      in an age-stratified sample (ages 34-84) of community-dwelling rheumatoid
      arthritis patients. The relative contributions of age, cognitive function,
      disability, emotional state, lifestyle, and beliefs about illness to nonadherence
      were assessed. DESIGN: A direct observation approach was used in conjunction with
      structural equation modeling. All participants were administered a preliminary
      assessment battery. Medications were then transferred to vials with
      microelectronic caps that recorded medication events for all medications for the
      next 4 weeks. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A volunteer sample of 121 community
      dwelling rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were recruited from newspaper ads,
      posters, and via informal physician contact from private rheumatology practices
      in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia. Written verification of the RA diagnosis and a
      disease severity rating were obtained from personal physicians before patients
      were enrolled in the study. Patients were tested in a private physician's office,
      and their medication adherence was monitored electronically for a month in their
      every-day work and home settings. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Structural equation
      modeling techniques were used to develop a model of adherence behavior. Cognitive
      and psychosocial measures were used to construct latent variables to predict
      adherence errors. The model of medication adherence explained 39% of the variance
      in adherence errors. The model demonstrated that older adults made the fewest
      adherence errors, and middle-aged adults made the most. A busy lifestyle, age,
      and cognitive deficits predicted nonadherence, whereas coping with arthritis
      related moods predicted adherence. Illness severity, medication load, and
      physical function did not predict adherence errors. Omission of medication
      accounted for nearly all errors. CONCLUSION: Despite strong evidence for normal,
      age-related cognitive decline in this sample, older adults had sufficient
      cognitive function to manage medications. A busy lifestyle and middle age were
      more determinant of who was at risk of nonadherence than beliefs about medication
      or illness. Thus, practicing physicians should not assume that older adults have
      insufficient cognitive resources to manage medications and that they will be the
      most likely to make adherence errors. Very busy middle-aged adults seem to be at
      the greatest risk of managing medications improperly.

PMID- 9988289
TI  - Risk of a new benzodiazepine prescription in relation to recent hospitalization.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine if recent hospital admission was associated with new
      outpatient prescribing of benzodiazepines among community-dwelling older people.
      DESIGN: Nested case-control study using administrative data sets of the
      provincial health insurance board. SETTING: Province of Quebec. PARTICIPANTS:
      Cases were 4127 community-dwelling older people who were newly dispensed a
      benzodiazepine during an 8-month period in 1990. Controls were 16,486 community
      dwelling older people who were dispensed any drug (except a benzodiazepine) on
      the same day as the case-defining index prescription. EXPOSURE AND OUTCOME
      MEASURES: Admission to an acute care hospital within a 30-day period before a new
      dispensing of a benzodiazepine. Other variables measured were patient age,
      gender, number of ambulatory physician visits, healthcare region, Chronic Disease
      Score (CDS), and use of drugs for depression and psychosis. RESULTS: Cases were
      more than three times as likely as controls to have been hospitalized in the 30
      day period before the index date (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.09; 95% CI, 2.78
      3.45). The use of prescription drugs for physical health problems modified this
      association in that cases who used more medication were also more likely to
      receive a new benzodiazepine prescription following a recent hospital admission
      (adjusted OR 4.09; 95% CI, 3.59-4.65 when the CDS was equal to 5 vs adjusted OR
      1.96; 95% CI, 1.66-2.31 when the CDS was equal to 0). CONCLUSIONS: Recent
      hospitalization confers an increased risk of a new outpatient benzodiazepine
      prescription among community-dwelling older people in Quebec. Those who use more
      medication, and who may be more vulnerable to drug-related adverse events, are
      more likely to be newly dispensed a benzodiazepine following a recent, acute-care
      hospital admission.

PMID- 9988290
TI  - Prevalence and risks of dementia in the Japanese population: RERF's adult health
      study Hiroshima subjects. Radiation Effects Research Foundation.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence rate of dementia and its subtypes in Japan
      and to investigate the relationship of risk factors, such as demographic features
      and disease history, to the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease or vascular
      dementia. DESIGN: A prevalence study within a longitudinal cohort study. SETTING:
      The original Adult Health Study (AHS) cohort consisted of atomic-bomb survivors
      and their controls selected from residents in Hiroshima and Nagasaki using the
      1950 national census supplementary schedules and the Atomic Bomb Survivors
      Survey. Since 1958, the AHS subjects have been followed through biennial medical
      examinations. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects were 637 men and 1585 women aged 60 years or
      older in the AHS cohort. Forty-eight subjects resided in hospitals and
      institutions. MEASUREMENTS: In addition to the biennial medical examinations
      ongoing since 1958, a screening test for cognitive impairment (CASI) was
      conducted by trained nurses between September 1992 and September 1996. The
      prevalence of dementia and its subtypes was assessed in 343 subjects suspected to
      have dementia and in 272 subjects with high CASI scores who were selected
      randomly. RESULTS: The prevalence of dementia based on DSM III/R criteria, using
      neurological examination, the IQCODE, and CDR > or = 1, was 7.2%. The prevalence
      of Alzheimer's disease was 2.0% in men and 3.8% in women, and the prevalence of
      vascular dementia was 2.0% in men and 1.8% in women. The relationship of risk
      factors to Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia was investigated by the
      multivariate logistic linear regression analysis. Odds ratios of Alzheimer's
      disease for age (in 10-year increments), attained education (in 3-year
      increments), history of head trauma, and history of cancer are 6.3, 0.6, 7.4, and
      0.3, respectively. Odds ratios of vascular dementia for age, history of stroke,
      and history of hypertension are 2.0, 35.7, and 4.0, respectively. Neither type of
      dementia showed any significant effect of sex or radiation exposure. CONCLUSION:
      This study is the first study of Japanese dementia rates carried out with a
      protocol similar enough to that of a US study to allow meaningful comparisons.
      The prevalence rates demonstrated are more similar to US rates than were found in
      many previous reports in Japan.

PMID- 9988291
TI  - Contrasting results between caregiver's report and direct assessment of
      activities of daily living in patients affected by mild and very mild dementia:
      the contribution of the caregiver's personal characteristics.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of agreement between the primary caregiver's
      report on patient activities of daily living (ADLs) and ADLs assessed directly in
      a sample of patients affected by very mild and mild dementia and to assess
      whether this agreement is influenced by the caregiver's depressive symptoms and
      burden. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the baseline sample of the
      Mild Dementia Longitudinal Study, consisting of 111 consecutive patients affected
      by dementia with very mild to mild functional impairment (grades .5 and 1 on the
      Clinical Dementia Rating Scale). As is usual for patients referred to our
      Alzheimer's Unit, anamnestic, cognitive, functional and behavioral information
      are collected from the primary caregiver. Along with sociodemographic
      characteristics, caregivers' depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory
      Scale) and burden (Nowak and Guest's Caregiver Burden Inventory Scale) were also
      evaluated. Patients underwent a performance-based assessment of the activities of
      daily living (DAFS) and direct assessment of physical function with the Physical
      Performance Test (PPT). Caregiver's report and direct observation have been
      compared for the following ADLs: dressing, toileting, walking, telephone use,
      shopping, and money use. Discriminant analyses were conducted to examine the
      degree of agreement between caregiver-report functional status and performance
      based measures and whether additional agreement is attributable to caregiver's
      burden and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The strength of the association between
      the caregiver's report and performance-based measures of ADLs is high for motor
      performance (walking), moderate to good for dressing, but only moderate for
      telephone, money use, and shopping. No association was found for toileting. The
      discrepancies between caregiver report and performance-based assessment were
      influenced substantially by the burden caused by demands and restrictions on a
      caregiver's time. CONCLUSIONS: With the exception of motor performance (walking),
      the caregiver's report and the performance-based assessment of functional status
      measure different aspects of a patient's functional status. Contrasts between the
      caregiver's report and observed ADL performance in mildly and very mildly
      demented patients are influenced by the caregiver's burden.

PMID- 9988292
TI  - An evaluation of a family visit education program.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to examine the impact of the Family Visit
      Education Program (FVEP) on family members, nursing staff, and nursing home
      residents with dementia. DESIGN: The study employed a 2 x 3 single-blind,
      randomized control group design with two study conditions, FVEP or usual care
      (UC), and three times of measurement, baseline, 3-months, and 6-months. SETTING:
      The study was conducted in five skilled-care nursing homes that ranged in size
      from 120 to 300 beds. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-six residents with dementia and their
      primary visitor were randomly assigned to FVEP (n = 32) or UC (n = 34).
      MEASUREMENTS: Residents were assessed for (1) psychosocial functioning, (2)
      depression, (3) agitated behavior, and (4) degree of positive social interaction.
      Nursing staff were assessed for changes in the time and methods used to manage
      problem behaviors. Visitors were assessed for (1) dementia management skills, (2)
      extent of perceived caregiving hassles, and (3) visit satisfaction. RESULTS: FVEP
      was effective for reducing residents' problem behaviors and for decreasing their
      symptoms of depression and irritability. It was also effective for improving the
      way family members and other visitors communicated with residents, but, with the
      exception of reducing the use of mechanical restraints, it was not effective in
      changing nurses' management of residents' behavior problems. CONCLUSIONS: It is
      possible to educate family members to communicate and interact more effectively
      with nursing home residents with dementia. This has beneficial effects on
      residents but not on nursing staff's management of problem behaviors.

PMID- 9988293
TI  - Misclassification and selection bias when identifying Alzheimer's disease solely
      from Medicare claims records.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Medicare claims as the basis for health condition adjustments is
      becoming a method of choice in capitation reimbursement. A recent study has found
      that claims-based beneficiary classification for Alzheimer's disease produces
      lower prevalence estimates and higher average costs than previous healthcare cost
      studies in this population. These sets of studies differ in data sources, period
      length, and in their specification of dementia. OBJECTIVES: Participants in the
      Medicare Alzheimer's Disease Demonstration (MADDE) provide a sample of persons
      known to have some form of dementia. This group is used to test the adequacy of
      claims data for identifying eligible cases and any bias in expenditure
      differences between those flagged or not flagged by a claim in a given period.
      DESIGN: A prospective cohort design using up to 36 months of claims data.
      SETTING: The demonstration enrolled 4166 participants in treatment, and 3942 in a
      control group in eight communities across the US. Cases were combined in this
      analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Persons with available Medicare Part A & B claims data:
      those receiving care under fee for service reimbursement were used in the
      analysis. A total of 5379 MADDE cases received fee for service care during 1991
      and 1992, the period of primary interest in the analysis. MEASUREMENT: Client
      health and functional status interviews and Medicare Part A & B claims. RESULTS:
      Less than 20% of MADDE participants were classified with Dementia of the
      Alzheimer type (DAT) from a single year of claims although 68% had a DAT
      diagnosis from a referring physician. Annualized expenditures were 1.7 times
      higher among those with DAT from claims compared with those known otherwise to
      have dementia but who had not been identified with this condition from Medicare
      claims. CONCLUSION: Underclassification of dementia from claims records can be
      partially remedied by increasing the period during which claims are compiled, but
      additional diagnostic sources will likely be needed to increase prevalence counts
      closer to 100% of true cases. Risk adjustment based on a single year of reported
      claims expenditures may overpay providers, at least in the short term, because
      payment incentives will likely increase prevalence reporting.

PMID- 9988294
TI  - Low serum calcidiol concentration in older adults with reduced muscular function.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between muscular function and the serum
      concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (calcidiol) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
      (calcitriol). DESIGN: A randomized population survey. Baseline measurements of
      serum calcidiol and calcitriol concentrations and assessment of muscular function
      (hand grip strength, ability to climb stairs, outdoor activity, and fall
      occurrence). SETTING: The Medical department, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, and
      subjects' homes. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred forty-six recently hospitalized older
      patients and 103 randomly selected older people living at home. MEASUREMENTS:
      Serum concentration of calcidiol and calcitriol in relation to muscle function.
      MAIN RESULTS: Reduced muscle function was associated with low calcidiol levels.
      In both the hospital group and the home group, calcidiol concentrations
      correlated positively to arm muscle strength (r = .22, P < .001; r = .37, P <
      .001), ability to climb stairs (r = -.16, P < .05; r = -.42, P = < .001),
      physical activity (r = -.27, P < .001; r = -.31, P < .001), and the absence of
      fall occurrences (r = -.27, P < .001; r = -.31, P = .004). Calcitriol showed an
      association with physical activity in the hospital group (r = -.19, P < .05), and
      with fall last month in the home group (r = -.22, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Older
      people with reduced muscle function often had reduced levels of calcidiol serum
      concentration. Low levels of calcidiol were not associated with signs of general
      undernutrition, such as low body mass, or with reduced arm-muscle circumference
      or triceps skinfold thickness. This finding may suggest a physiological role for
      calcidiol in muscle function. Reduced muscle strength increased disability in our
      older subjects, which may be improved by vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D
      deficient subjects.

PMID- 9988295
TI  - A patient-centered approach to advance medical planning in the nursing home.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine whether nursing home
      residents or their surrogates are willing and able to prioritize their goals for
      care and to demonstrate how these rankings can form the basis of a specific
      pattern of medical care. DESIGN: A prospective, descriptive study. SETTING: A 40
      bed nursing unit for residents with mild to moderate impairments in a 725-bed
      teaching nursing home. RESULTS: Overall, 78% of patients or their families were
      willing to prioritize their goals, allowing the investigators to infer a pattern
      of care. The goals were interpreted as implying an intensive pattern in 21%, a
      comprehensive pattern in 16%, a basic pattern in 18%, palliation in 18%, and
      comfort only in 6% of residents. Goals chosen by residents who were able to
      select for themselves translated into more aggressive care than did the goals
      selected by surrogates. CONCLUSION: Goal-centered advance medical planning can be
      initiated in nursing homes by asking residents or their surrogates to prioritize
      their goals of care. These prioritizations can form the foundation for specific
      patterns of care.

PMID- 9988296
TI  - Pharmacologic treatment of hypersexuality and paraphilias in nursing home
      residents.
AB  - PURPOSE: To discuss the pharmacologic options for treatment of hypersexuality or
      paraphilias in nursing home residents. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was
      conducted for English-language articles published over the past 20 years and was
      supplemented by a search of bibliographies of relevant articles. STUDY SELECTION:
      Case reports of pharmacologic treatment of hypersexual or paraphilic behavior
      were selected only if the patient receiving treatment was an older person and/or
      cognitively impaired. DATA EXTRACTION: Case reports were grouped according to the
      class of the pharmacologic agent used (antiandrogens, estrogens, GnRH analogues,
      or serotonergic drugs). Each case report was evaluated for pharmacologic agent
      administered, route of administration, duration of therapy, therapeutic response,
      and incidence of side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing home residents who display
      hypersexual or paraphilic behavior are extremely difficult to manage. Before
      initiating pharmacotherapy to control unwanted sexual behaviors, the current drug
      regimen should be evaluated carefully for drugs that may be causing or
      exacerbating the behavior. Case reports suggest that antiandrogens, estrogens,
      GnRH analogues, and serotonergic medications may be useful when other methods
      have failed. Controlled comparative trials of these agents are needed to
      establish their efficacy clearly.

PMID- 9988297
TI  - Aging and postural control: postural perturbations caused by changing the visual
      anchor.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of modifying the stable visual anchor on the
      postural stability of older individuals. The visual anchor was changed by opening
      doors similar to those found in an elevator cage. Lighting intensities inside and
      outside the cage were varied to create increasing or decreasing luminosity
      conditions. The effect of adding a cognitive load (counting backwards) was also
      tested. DESIGN: A controlled laboratory study. SETTING: Tests performed in a
      balance laboratory. MEASUREMENTS: Sensory and clinical measurements to insure the
      integrity of the central and peripheral nervous system. Measures of balance were
      derived from the recordings of the center of foot pressure. These measures
      included range and speed of the center of foot pressure. PARTICIPANTS: Eight
      older, community-dwelling subjects and nine young subjects participated. A
      sensorimotor evaluation was used to insure that all older individuals were free
      from any pathologies affecting postural stability. All participants had a low
      score (indicating high balance confidence) on the Falls Efficacy Scale and no
      history of falls. RESULTS: Older individuals were affected by modification of the
      stable visual anchor induced by the opening of doors similar to that of an
      elevator cage. They showed greater ranges of the center of foot pressure (COP)
      and speed of the COP after than before the opening of the doors. Furthermore, the
      increased ranges and speed were two to three times greater than that observed for
      the young subjects. A lighting intensity considered as comfortable for reading
      inside the elevator affected the overall postural stability of the older
      participants negatively. Counting backwards also decreased their overall
      stability. CONCLUSION: Changing the stable visual anchor, as when exiting an
      elevator cage, could be a significant risk factor for older persons. Moreover,
      when combined with a cognitive load or lower lighting intensity inside the
      elevator cage, the negative effects on the postural stability of older persons
      are exacerbated.

PMID- 9988298
TI  - Managed care for older people: a primer for the geriatrician.
AB  - Managed care for older people is growing at a very rapid rate. Many geriatricians
      and primary care providers are interested in this area but have limited sources
      of information to guide their decision-making about whether to participate in
      these programs. This review provides a basic overview of managed care for older
      people, including plan types and roles that geriatricians may choose in
      participating in these programs. Risk and value are central concepts that impact
      managed care of this population. Several changes in Medicare Managed Care have
      occurred with the passage by Congress of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
      Geriatricians are strongly encouraged to participate in managed care as it offers
      the potential for improved models of care delivery for older adults.

PMID- 9988299
TI  - Long-term care in its infancy.

PMID- 9988300
TI  - Underutilization of cardiac medications in the Pacemaker Selection in the Elderly
      study.

PMID- 9988301
TI  - Assessment of caregiver's competence in dealing with the burden of caregiving for
      a dementia patient: a Short Sense of Competence Questionnaire (SSCQ) suitable for
      clinical practice.

PMID- 9988303
TI  - Ileus, a clinical sign of congestive heart failure in older people.

PMID- 9988302
TI  - Age effects on pupil dilation among Alzheimer's patients.

PMID- 9988304
TI  - Depression of T helper-1 and tuberculin responses in older bed-bound patients.

PMID- 9988305
TI  - Dynamics of functional recovery from stroke in specialist settings.

PMID- 9988306
TI  - Chronic diarrhea and increasing disability in an older woman due to an unusual
      cause.

PMID- 9988307
TI  - Interleukin-12 and the host response to parasitic helminths; the paradoxical
      effect on protective immunity and immunopathology.
AB  - In general, helminth infections are associated with the development of dominant
      Th2-mediated immune responses which may be host protective but can also be the
      cause of immunopathology. Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is known to be a potent
      inhibitor of Th2 immune responses and as such it might be expected to have an
      important modulatory role in helminth-induced immune responses. In this review,
      we discuss the effect of IL-12 on susceptibility to infection, protective
      immunity and immunopathology, in the context of exposure to a range of helminths
      including intestinal nematodes, filariae and schistosomes. It is apparent that
      the effects of IL-12 are complex and can be beneficial as well as detrimental for
      the host. The precise role of IL-12 depends upon a number of factors including
      the type of helminth and the specific tissue involved in the inflammatory
      response.

PMID- 9988309
TI  - T-cell activity associated with secondary infections and implanted cysts of
      Echinococcus granulosus in BALB/c mice.
AB  - Selected cytokine profiles of lymphocytes were assessed in BALB/c mice infected
      with protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus. Late stages of the infection
      (three months+) were characterized by more dominant Th2 activity with elevated IL
      4 and IL-10 and reduced IFN-gamma output by Con-A and antigen stimulated
      splenocytes. Circumparasitic leucocytes produced mainly IL-10 by five months post
      infection. A peak in IFN-gamma production in the first month of infection may
      suggest Th1 or Th0 activity at this time and this may be correlated with initial
      protoscolex death. In addition, cytokine profiles from mice implanted with intact
      hydatid cysts were also assessed. At two weeks post implantation all cysts were
      still viable and cytokine production was characterized mainly by elevated IL-10
      production. However, at four months post implantation, some of the cysts from two
      mice had been killed whilst all cysts in the remaining mouse remained viable. In
      the mice where dead cysts were present, elevated levels of IFN-gamma were
      detected from splenocytes and circumparasitic cells. Elevated IL-4 was also
      evident with the splenocytes. In the mouse with viable cysts IFN-gamma production
      was reduced Results indicate that IFN-gamma(Th1) activity may be correlated with
      killing of both protoscoleces and established cysts of E. granulosus.

PMID- 9988308
TI  - Cellular immune responses in cattle experimentally infected with Neospora
      caninum.
AB  - Neospora caninum has recently been identified as an important cause of infectious
      abortion in cattle. The parasite is closely related to Toxoplasma gondii, but the
      two species are antigenically distinct. To examine cell proliferative responses
      and the induction of IFN-gamma in experimentally infected cattle, four 2-4 months
      old calves were subcutaneously inoculated with N. caninum tachyzoites. Peripheral
      blood mononuclear cells were collected regularly and stimulated in vitro with a
      crude lysate of N. caninum or T. gondii tachyzoites. Significant proliferative
      responses to N. caninum antigen were recorded in all calves from days 4-6
      postinoculation. This response was accompanied by production of high levels of
      IFN-gamma. Although the calves remained seronegative to T. gondii, while
      seroconverting to N. caninum, stimulation with T. gondii lysate resulted in cell
      proliferation of a similar magnitude as that obtained using the N. caninum
      lysate. However, the T. gondii lysate appeared less effective than the N. caninum
      lysate to stimulate IFN-gamma production. Cells taken from uninfected control
      animals did not show any significant proliferation to either N. caninum or T.
      gondii antigen and no IFN-gamma was produced. These results suggest that the two
      parasites may possess cross-reacting T-cell epitopes, but that the T cells
      specific for N. caninum may have a different functional capacity. This highlights
      the need to investigate the antigen specificity and cytokine profile of T cells
      from infected animals to help understand their role in immunity to N. caninum.

PMID- 9988311
TI  - Relevance of circulating antigen detection to follow-up experimental and human
      cystic hydatid infections.
AB  - We analysed specific antibody (Ab) and circulating antigen (CAg) profiles along
      experimental mouse infection using as control a group of mice immunized with
      intact but dead parasites. Results from this experiment showed an early major CAg
      peak followed by a larger Ab peak which partially overlaps with other minor CAg
      peaks. These results suggest that CAg may be a marker of early mouse infection.
      In order to study the relevance of these findings in humans we similarly analysed
      by ELISA 148 sera provided by retrospective post-surgical follow-up of 19
      patients. Available records showed that 14 patients developed new cysts one to
      ten years after surgery while no new disease was observed in the-other five. Some
      of the former patients showed CAg, as early as two months after surgery while no
      CAg was observed in the other five patients at any time. In addition, a
      collection of 38 sera obtained before surgery were similarly tested and five of
      them showed only CAg, while 18 showed only Ab and 12 sera showed Ab&CAg. These
      results in humans are consistent with the findings in the mouse experimental
      model and suggest that CAg may be an early marker of hydatid infection, thus
      being relevant for post-surgical follow-up.

PMID- 9988310
TI  - Epitope specificities and antibody responses to the EG95 hydatid vaccine.
AB  - Antibody isotype and epitope specificities were examined in sheep immunized with
      EG95, a protective recombinant vaccine against hydatid disease. All sheep
      immunized with EG95 as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase (GST)
      produced prominent IgG antibodies against the EG95 portion of the protein.
      Linear, antibody-binding epitope specificities of EG95 were mapped using a series
      of 25 overlapping synthetic peptides. Three immunodominant regions were
      identified which generated specific IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies in the majority of
      vaccinated sheep. These regions corresponded to the EG95-derived sequences
      SLKAVNPSDPLVYKRQTAKF, DIETPRAGKKESTVMTSGSA and SALTSAIAGFVFSC. An additional
      immunogenic region was identified which induced almost exclusively IgG2 antibody.
      This epitope was located within the sequence TETPLRKHFNLTPV. The anti-parasitic,
      protective effects of the EG95 vaccine correlated with the detection of specific
      antibody to two or more of the four linear immunogenic regions. The
      identification of these immunogenic peptides of EG95 maybe useful in the
      development of a synthetic peptide vaccine as a derivative of the EG95
      recombinant.

PMID- 9988312
TI  - Induction of signalling anergy via the T-cell receptor in cultured Jurkat T cells
      by pre-exposure to a filarial nematode secreted product.
AB  - Filarial nematodes constitute major causes of morbidity in the Tropics. The worms
      have a life-span exceeding five years, a longevity which is considered to reflect
      at least in part, their ability to interfere with host lymphocyte responsiveness.
      To date the molecular mechanisms underlying this ability have not been defined
      but we now demonstrate that ES-62, a phosphorylcholine (PC)-containing
      glycoprotein released by the rodent filarial parasite Acanthocheilonema viteae,
      is able to render Jurkat T cells anergic to intracellular signalling via the
      antigen receptor (TCR). In particular, ES-62 acts by modulating activation of the
      tyrosine kinases Fyn, Lck and ZAP-70 leading to selective disruption of TCR
      coupling to the phospholipase D, protein kinase C, phosphoinositide-3-kinase and
      RasMAPkinase signalling cascades. These cascades are key elements in the
      transduction of transcriptional and proliferative signals following ligation of
      TCR. As PC-containing secreted products (PC-ES) are also released by human
      filarial parasites, our data suggest that PC-ES may play a role in the induction
      of T lymphocyte hyporesponsiveness observed during filarial infections.

PMID- 9988314
TI  - Predicting mosquito repellent potency of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) analogs
      from molecular electronic properties.
AB  - Specific molecular electronic properties of 30 N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET)
      analogs demonstrate functional dependence with their reported duration of
      protection against mosquito bites, thus providing predictors of insect repellent
      efficacy. No single electronic property is sufficient to predict repellent
      efficacy as measured by protection time, rather a set of specific electronic
      properties is required. Thus, the values of the van der Waals surface
      electrostatic potential by the amide nitrogen and oxygen atoms, the atomic charge
      at the amide nitrogen atom, and the dipole moment must all be in optimal ranges
      for potent repellency. The electronic properties were calculated using the AM
      semi-empirical quantum chemical method using commercial software. These easily
      calculable predictors of repellent efficacy should be useful in predicting the
      relative efficacy of newly designed compounds, thus guiding the selection of new
      repellents for testing.

PMID- 9988313
TI  - IgE antibody during infection with the ovine abomasal nematode, Teladorsagia
      circumcincta: primary and secondary responses in serum and gastric lymph of
      sheep.
AB  - A monoclonal antibody to ovine IgE was employed in an ELISA to investigate the
      IgE antibody responses in serum and gastric lymph to a primary infection of
      Teladorsagia circumcincta, and following challenge in previously infected sheep.
      During a primary response, IgE antibody to antigens derived from the infective
      third stage (L3) and adult (L5) worms were negligible, with low levels of IgE
      antibody detected in serum and lymph. In contrast, there was a pronounced IgE
      antibody response in 2/4 sheep to L3 antigens during 2-8 days after challenge of
      previously infected animals but low levels of IgE antibody to L5 antigens. This
      response was confirmed in a second but similar experiment, where relatively high
      levels of IgE antibody was detected to antigens from L3. Antibody levels were
      higher in lymph than in serum from the same animals, and Western blots of L3
      antigen following SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions revealed several bands of
      MW26-96KD which reacted with the IgE antibody from gastric lymph.
      Immunohistochemical staining indicated that these IgE antibodies may be reacting
      with allergens associated with the surface cuticle of the worms.

PMID- 9988315
TI  - Stimulation of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytogenesis by conditioned medium from
      parasite cultures.
AB  - Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development was examined in erythrocyte
      monolayer cultures prepared with Cell-Tak, a cell and tissue adhesive. The
      monolayers, which were stable for up to 10 days in culture, supported multiple
      cycles of asexual growth and the development of clusters of stage IV gametocytes.
      Small numbers of chicken erythrocytes incorporated into the monolayers served as
      internal reference standards for parasite counts. This permitted quantitative
      assessment of gametocyte formation under different culture conditions. Gametocyte
      formation was limited in monolayers grown in standard culture medium but it
      increased slightly in monolayers cocultured with suspensions of parasitized
      erythrocytes. The number of gametocytes increased significantly in monolayers
      grown in parasite-conditioned medium. In both cases the changes resulted from
      increased numbers of stage II and III gametocytes in the monolayers. These
      results suggest that parasite conditioned medium contains a factor(s) that
      stimulates sexual development.

PMID- 9988316
TI  - Application of genetic markers to the identification of recrudescent Plasmodium
      falciparum infections on the northwestern border of Thailand.
AB  - Parasite genotyping by the polymerase chain reaction was used to distinguish
      recrudescent from newly acquired Plasmodium falciparum infections in a Karen
      population resident on the northwestern border of Thailand where malaria
      transmission is low (one infection/person/year). Plasmodium falciparum infections
      were genotyped for allelic variation in three polymorphic antigen loci, merozoite
      surface proteins-1 and -2 (MSP-1 and -2) and glutamaterich protein (GLURP),
      before and after antimalarial drug treatment. Population genotype frequencies
      were measured to provide the baseline information to calculate the probability of
      a new infection with a different or the same genotype to the initial pretreatment
      isolate. Overall, 38% of the infections detected following treatment had an
      identical genotype before and up to 121 days after treatment. These post
      treatment genotypes were considered recrudescent because of the low (< 5%)
      probability of repeated occurrence by chance in the same patient. This approach
      allows studies of antimalarial drug treatment to be conducted in areas of low
      transmission since recrudescences can be distinguished confidently from newly
      acquired infections.

PMID- 9988317
TI  - Linkage of a gene causing malaria refractoriness to Diphenol oxidase-A2 on
      chromosome 3 of Anopheles gambiae.
AB  - An inbred line of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is refractory to
      development of malaria parasites. It is homozygous for a 4.3-kb Sal I restriction
      fragment at the Dox-A2 locus, whereas the parent population is polymorphic at
      this locus, and a susceptible line is homozygous for an alternate 3.85-kb
      fragment. The Dox-A2 locus is located in the middle of chromosome 3R, in division
      33B, and is tightly linked to a cluster of genes including Dopa decarboxylase
      that are involved in the production of melanin. Because the refractoriness
      phenotype, melanotic encapsulation of ookinete/oocysts, might involve activation
      of or alteration in one or more of these genes, we performed genetic crosses to
      determine whether a previously identified Plasmodium cynomolgi Ceylon
      refractoriness gene, Pif-C, is linked to Dox-A2. Backcross mosquitoes fed on one
      infected monkey developed infections of < or = 100 oocysts. About 50% of these
      mosquitoes appeared phenotypically refractory, as expected for the backcross
      performed, but gave slight evidence of linkage between a refractoriness gene and
      Dox-A2. In contrast, females fed on a monkey that yielded higher infection
      levels, up to > 300 oocysts, showed clear evidence of linkage between a
      refractoriness gene and Dox-A2. We conclude that this Dox-A2-linked
      refractoriness gene is expressed under conditions particular to the higher
      infection levels, or that environmental factors obscured the genetic effect of
      this gene at lower infection levels.

PMID- 9988318
TI  - Limited genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in field isolates from
      Honduras.
AB  - The genetic diversity displayed by Plasmodiumfalciparum field isolates, the
      occurrence of variant forms of the parasite at different frequencies in different
      geographic areas, and the complexity of the infections represent major obstacles
      for the development of effective malaria control measures. However, since most of
      the existing studies have been performed in regions where P. falciparum
      transmission is high, little is known about the diversity and complexity of
      parasite populations circulating in areas of low malaria endemicity. We
      investigated the extent of genetic polymorphism in P. falciparum field isolates
      from Honduras, a region where its transmission is low and seasonal. Allelic
      diversity was analyzed in the highly polymorphic parasite genes encoding the
      merozoite surface proteins- (MSP-1) and -2 (MSP-2) and the glutamate-rich protein
      (GLURP) by the polymerase chain reaction. Gene polymorphism was also assessed in
      the EB200 region derived from the highly size polymorphic Pf332 gene. Limited
      size polymorphism was detected in all genes analyzed, with four and three
      variants for the MSP-1 and MSP-2 alleles, respectively, and two size variants for
      the GLURP and Pf332 genes. Moreover, based on the studied genetic markers, most
      infections consisted of only a few genetically distinct parasite clones. These
      results suggest that the P. falciparum parasite populations circulating in this
      region are genetically homogeneous and point to an association between the extent
      of parasite genetic diversity and the intensity of malaria transmission.

PMID- 9988320
TI  - Leishmania spp: completely defined medium without serum and macromolecules
      (CDM/LP) for the continuous in vitro cultivation of infective promastigote forms.
AB  - The elimination of serum or of serum-derived macromolecules that supplant the
      fetal calf serum requirement from Leishmania culture media could decrease costs
      and improve the feasibility of large-scale production of well-defined parasite
      material. We report a completely defined medium, without serum-derived protein
      and/or macromolecules as a serum substitute, of common, available, and
      inexpensive constituents that can be used in place of serum-supplemented media
      for the continuous in vitro cultivation of promastigote forms of various
      Leishmania species. Typical promastigote morphology was observed in Giemsa
      stained smears, regardless of the strain analyzed. Electrophoretic analysis
      showed that the proteinase patterns of aserically grown promastigote forms were
      similar to those obtained in serum-supplemented RPMI 1640 medium for all
      Leishmania studied. Similar antigenic profiles were recognized in immunoblots by
      sera from hosts with visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis after growing
      promastigotes in the two different culture media. For parasites causing both
      cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, the absence of serum and macromolecules in
      the culture medium did not markedly change their in vitro infectivity for
      resident mouse macrophages and their virulence in animals compared with parasites
      cultivated in nondefined medium. Serum-free technology will be increasingly
      important in providing stability and reproducibility as research using
      promastigote moves closer to therapeutic applications.

PMID- 9988319
TI  - Bacterial expression of a neutralizing mouse monoclonal antibody Fab fragment to
      a 150-kilodalton surface antigen of Entamoeba histolytica.
AB  - A mouse monoclonal antibody (MAb) (EH3015, IgG1 with a K light chain) prepared by
      hybridoma technology recognizes a 150-kD surface antigen of Entamoeba histolytica
      and inhibits adherence and cytotoxicity of the ameba to mammalian cells. The
      genes encoding the light chain and the Fd region of the heavy chain of the MAb
      were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The plasmid used was designed for
      the expression of Fab with a hexa-histidine tag in the periplasmic space.
      Recombinant Fab fragments were purified and analyzed by an indirect
      immunofluorescence antibody test and Western immunoblot. The specificity of the
      recombinant Fab fragment was comparable with the parent whole IgG. In addition,
      the Fab fragments significantly inhibited the adherence of E. histolytica to
      erythrocytes. These results suggest that the production of a neutralizing MAb in
      Escherichia coli is practical and efficient with this expression system.

PMID- 9988321
TI  - Infection of sand flies by humans coinfected with Leishmania infantum and human
      immunodeficiency virus.
AB  - To determine the role that Leishmania infantum/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
      coinfected patients could play in the epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis
      (VL), we applied direct xenodiagnosis of VL in this study to test the infectivity
      of six coinfected patients to colonized Phlebotomus perniciosus. All patients
      proved to be infective for the sand flies. The infectivity of patients who had
      still not received specific treatment for VL was inversely proportional to their
      absolute CD4+ T lymphocyte cell count. It has been proven that P. perniciosus can
      acquire and allow the development of L. infantum by feeding on L. infantum/HIV
      coinfected patients. Since this sand fly is an important vector of VL in southern
      Europe, a new natural anthroponotic cycle could be considered in the epidemiology
      of L. infantum/HIV coinfection. The design of leishmaniasis control programs and
      the management of coinfected individuals should take these findings into account.

PMID- 9988322
TI  - Short report epidemiologic studies on cutaneous leishmaniasis in eastern Panama.
AB  - The Panamanian Ministry of Health, through the Interamerican Development Bank,
      contracted the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory to conduct epidemiologic studies on
      leishmaniasis and malaria in eastern Panama from July 1984 through June 1985.
      Preliminary results of the biomedical and entomologic teams investigating the
      epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the eastern part of the country are
      presented in this short report. The principal findings of the study revealed 1) a
      large disparity in the incidence and prevalence of the disease among the five
      communities investigated; 2) the appearance of self-cures without the benefit of
      effective treatment; 3) a relatively high percentage of subclinical cases; and 4)
      determination of the sandfly vector species for each community. Also reported
      here is a case of a double infection with two distinct species of Leishmania, L.
      mexicana and L. amazonensis, in a single individual.

PMID- 9988323
TI  - Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Bulgaria.
AB  - Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is a recently described rickettsiosis in
      the United States transmitted by Ixodes species ticks. In Europe, only a few
      studies on HGE exist. Two hundred Bulgarian patients with tick bites and 70
      healthy blood donors were tested for HGE using an immunofluorescence assay with
      the HGE agent as an antigen. Elevated antibody titers (> or = 1:80) were found in
      14 (9.7 %) of 145 patients with erythema migrans, two (8%) of 25 tick-exposed
      patients with lymphadenopathy only, one (20%) of five patients with tick bite
      with fever, chills, and headache, one (4%) of 25 healthy tick-exposed patients,
      and two (2.9%) of 70 blood donors. These results show for the first time that HGE
      is probably common in southeastern Europe. The study provides evidence of
      coinfection or concurrent infection of patients with Lyme disease and HGE, thus
      supporting the possible role of I. ricinus for transmitting the HGE agent.

PMID- 9988324
TI  - Detection of the agents of human ehrlichioses in ixodid ticks from California.
AB  - A study was conducted in northern California to estimate the prevalence and
      distribution in ixodid ticks of the rickettsial agents of human monocytic (HME)
      and human granulocytic (HGE) ehrlichioses. More than 650 ixodid ticks were
      collected from 17 sites in six California counties over a 15-month period.
      Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of HME, was detected by a nested
      polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Ixodes pacificus (minimum infection rate [MIR]
      = 13.3%) and Dermacentor variabilis (infection rate=20.0%) from a municipal park
      in Santa Cruz County. The HGE agent was detected by nested PCR in I. pacificus
      adults from a heavily used recreational area in Alameda County (MIR = 4.7%) and a
      semirural community in Sonoma County (MIR = 6.7%). Evidence of infection with
      Ehrlichia spp. was not detected in D. occidentalis adults or I. pacificus nymphs.
      This study represents the first detection of E. chaffeensis in California ticks
      and the first report of infection in Ixodes spp. The competency of I. pacificus
      to be coinfected with and to transmit multiple disease agents, including those of
      human ehrlichioses and Lyme disease, has yet to be determined.

PMID- 9988325
TI  - Trichinellosis in the United States, 1991-1996: declining but not gone.
AB  - Since the U.S. Public Health Service began recording statistics on trichinellosis
      in 1947, the number of cases reported by state health departments has decreased
      steadily. In the late 1940s, health departments reported an average of 400 cases
      and 10-15 deaths each year. From 1991 to 1996, the period covered in this report,
      three deaths in 230 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and
      Prevention (an average of 38 cases per year), including 14 multiple case
      outbreaks from 31 states and Washington, DC. Information on the suspected food
      item was available for 134 (58%) of the 230 reported cases. Pork was implicated
      in 80 (60%) cases, bear meat in 31 (23%), walrus meat in 13 (10%), and cougar
      meat in 10 (7%). Sausage was the most frequently implicated pork product (i.e.,
      57 of the 64 cases for which the form of the pork product was identified). The
      proportion of trichinellosis cases attributable to consumption of commercial pork
      continued to decrease; this decrease was probably due to a combination of
      factors, including the continued reduction in the prevalence of Trichinella
      spiralis in domestic swine, the increased use of home freezers, and the practice
      of thoroughly cooking pork. As a proportion of all cases reported, those
      associated with wild game meat products has increased; however, the absolute
      numbers of such cases have remained similar at approximately 9-12 per year. The
      continued multiple case outbreaks and the identification of nonpork sources of
      infection indicate the need for further education and control measures.

PMID- 9988326
TI  - Case-control study of seropositivity for cysticercosis in Cuenca, Ecuador.
AB  - The prevalence of neurocysticercosis has been well documented in rural
      communities in Latin America using the enzyme-linked inmmunoelectrotransfer blot
      (EITB) assay. We studied the prevalence of neurocysticercosis in an urban, upper
      middle class population in Cuenca, Ecuador. Family members of 34 index cases with
      parenchymal neurocysticercosis on a computed tomography (CT) scan and family
      members of 14 patients who had normal CT scans after a trauma or migraine were
      enrolled in the study. Serum was obtained from 226 individuals, 173 (72%) from
      the case families and 67 (28%) from the control families. Twelve percent of the
      case family members and 4% of the control family members were seropositive by the
      EITB assay. This was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) when age
      and education were held constant by logistic regression. Seropositivity was not
      related to age. No neurologic symptom proved predictive of serostatus and the
      only demographic variable that correlated with seropositivity was increased
      crowding. Positive serology in index cases did correlate with CT findings as
      follows: 86% of patients with active lesions, 67% with transitional lesions, and
      only 41% of patients with inactive lesions were positive by the EITB assay.
      Eighteen percent of family members with a positive EITB test result had
      parenchymal lesions on a subsequent CT scan. This study demonstrates a high rate
      of seropositivity of cysticercosis among urban, middle to upper-middle class
      individuals in a region endemic for Taenia solium. Household contacts of patients
      with neurocysticercosis had a three-fold higher risk of positive serology for
      cysticercosis, in comparison with controls.

PMID- 9988327
TI  - Hantavirus (Bunyaviridae) infections in rodents from Orange and San Diego
      counties, California.
AB  - During a screening program to determine the extent of hantavirus activity in
      Orange and San Diego Counties, California, serum samples from 2,365 rodents
      representing nine genera and 15 species were tested for hantavirus antibodies. A
      reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction on selected seropositive rodents
      was used to identify the specific hantavirus. Rodents positive for Sin Nombre
      virus (SNV) antibodies by Western blot included 86 (9.1%) of 948 deer mice
      (Peromyscus maniculatus), four (1.5%) of 275 California mice (Peromyscus
      californicus), one (0.5%) of 196 cactus mice (Peromyscus eremicus), 51 (12.2%) of
      417 harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), and five (12.5%) of 40 California
      voles (Microtus californicus). All other specimens tested were negative for
      hantavirus antibodies. There was a correlation between age and sex of the
      reservoir host and prevalence of SNV antibody, especially among male deer mice
      and harvest mice. Few seasonal trends in antibody prevalence were observed and
      continued maintenance of SNV and El Moro Canyon virus was found at several foci
      over a 4-5-year period. Isla Vista virus was also found in voles and represents
      the first recorded in Orange County. Microhabitat selection on the part of these
      rodents based on plant density, plant height, and availability of food plants may
      explain, to some extent, all of the hantavirus-positive foci throughout the study
      area over a broad geographic range and the lack of antibody-positive rodents in
      dense chaparral, woodland, and riparian areas. The majority of rodents positive
      for SNV was identified from localities along coastal bluffs and the foothills of
      the Santa Ana Mountains, where trap success was high and P. maniculatus
      represented 43% of all rodents collected. Several residential, commercial, and
      industrial sites exist in these areas and the potential health risk should not be
      overlooked. This study represents an in-depth analysis of the prevalence, host
      distribution, and characteristics of rodent populations infected by three
      hantaviruses within a small, well-defined, geographic area.

PMID- 9988328
TI  - Proinflammatory cytokines and elastase-alpha-1-antitrypsin in Argentine
      hemorrhagic fever.
AB  - Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a disease caused by Junin virus. In the
      acute phase, patients present hematologic and neurologic involvement with high
      levels of interferon-alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha. Nineteen
      patients with a confirmed diagnosis of AHF were studied: six severe, four
      moderate and nine mild cases. Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-6 soluble
      receptor (IL-6sR), IL-8, IL-10, and elastase-alpha1-antitrypsin complex (E-alpha
      1AT) were assayed by ELISAs. Levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were high in nine,
      12, and 13 patients, respectively, while levels of IL-6sR were high in two
      patients and low in one patient. Seven patients had increased levels of E
      alpha1AT. Significant correlations were found between levels of both IL-8 and IL
      10 with those of TNF-alpha as well as between IL-8 and E-alpha 1AT. These data
      demonstrate activation of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine
      pathways, and statistical analysis showed differences among the clinical forms of
      illness. This study shows that IL-8 plays an essential role in neutrophil
      activation in AHF patients as demonstrated in other infectious diseases.

PMID- 9988329
TI  - Attachment of Burkholderia pseudomallei to pharyngeal epithelial cells: a highly
      pathogenic bacteria with low attachment ability.
AB  - Respiratory infections are initiated by the attachment of bacteria to pharyngeal
      epithelial cells. We studied the attachment of Burkholderia pseudomallei to
      pharyngeal epithelial cells. After one, two, three, and four washes, there were
      22.6+/-8.9, 15.7+/-7.0, 6.8+/-3.1, and 4.6+/-1.1 (mean+/-SD) attached
      bacteria/cell, respectively. If the bacterial concentration was maintained at 1 X
      10(8) colony-forming units (cfu)/ml and three washes were done, at concentrations
      of 2.5 x 10(4), 5 X 10(4), and 1 x 10(5) cells/ml there were 9.9+/-3.6, 3.3+/
      0.8, and 2.5+/-1.1 attached bacteria/cell, respectively. If the cell
      concentration was kept at 2.5 x 10(4) cells/ml and three washes were done, at
      bacterial concentrations of 1 x 10(5), 1 X 10(6), 1 X 10(7), 1 x 10(8), and 1 x
      10(9) cfu/ml, there were 0.3+/-0.3, 0.6+/-0.6, 1.0+/-0.2, 5.1+/-2.3, and 9.6+/
      1.9 attached bacteria/cell, respectively. There were 4.8+/-1.9, 5.5+/-2.5, 5.6+/
      1.9, and 6.4+/-2.6 attached bacteria/cell at 0, 30, 120, and 240 min of
      incubation, respectively. Pharyngeal cells from 10 persons (seven men and three
      women, mean+/-SD age = 30.7+/-8.1 years, 12 experiments with a single isolate)
      showed that there were 7.8+/-4.3 attached bacteria/cell. It was found that the
      efficiency of attachment of this bacteria was very low (7.0+/-3.3 bacteria/cell).
      Electron microscopy revealed that there were no fimbriae but a thin capsular
      polysaccharide layer on the surface of B. pseudomallei. Attachment to pharyngeal
      epithelial cells appeared to be mediated by this structure.

PMID- 9988330
TI  - Detection of light subunit neurofilament and glial fibrillary acidic protein in
      cerebrospinal fluid of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense-infected patients.
AB  - Light subunit neurofilament (NFL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)
      concentrations were determined in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 34 patients with
      human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), five serologically positive but
      parasitologically unconfirmed individuals, and four healthy controls without
      evidence of HAT. In patients with second stage HAT (n = 30), NFL levels were
      abnormally elevated in 10 cases and GFAP levels in five. The astrogliosis
      observed in HAT and experimental models of HAT is confirmed in our study by the
      presence of increased GFAP levels in the CSE The abnormal NFL CSF levels reflect
      structural damage of nerve cells in 33 % of the second-stage patients studied. To
      our knowledge, this is the first time neuronal damage in HAT patients is
      demonstrated by using biochemical markers of brain damage in the CSF.

PMID- 9988331
TI  - Low levels of fibrin-stabilizing factor (factor XIII) in human Plasmodium
      falciparum malaria: correlation with clinical severity.
AB  - Plasmodium falciparum malaria is associated with procoagulant activity but not
      with thromboembolism. We measured coagulation factor XIII, i.e., fibrin
      stabilizing factor, in 45 patients with falciparum malaria over time. Of these,
      22 had organ complications. The factor XIII antigen (subunits A and B) and plasma
      activity levels were abnormally low in those with falciparum malaria. They
      increased during antiparasitic therapy. In 14 of 22 patients with complications,
      but in no patient with mild disease (P < 0.001), subunit A and activity was <
      50%. The factor X.III levels were inversely correlated with clinical severity,
      parasitemia, and human neutrophil elastase (HNE), but not with thrombin
      antithrombin III levels. Thus, low factor XIII levels may reflect proteolysis by
      HNE, rather than procoagulant activity. One could speculate that factor XIII
      degradation in severe malaria prevents thromboembolism. On the other hand, factor
      XIII deficiency might reduce protection of the vascular endothelium against HNE
      and reactive oxygen species, which would promote organ damage.

PMID- 9988332
TI  - In vitro susceptibility of African isolates of Plasmodium falciparum from Gabon
      to pyronaridine.
AB  - The in vitro activity of pyronaridine was evaluated against 62 isolates of
      Plasmodium falciparum from Libreville, Gabon using an isotopic, drug
      susceptibility microtest and was compared with amodiaquine, chloroquine, quinine,
      and halofantrine activities. The mean 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values
      of the 62 isolates from Gabon to pyronaridine was 3.0 nM (95% confidence interval
      [CI] = 2.1-3.9). Pyronaridine was less potent against chloroquine-resistant
      isolates than chloroquine-susceptible isolates but more potent than chloroquine
      against chloroquine-resistant parasites. The cut-off value for in vitro reduced
      susceptibility to pyronaridine was an IC50 > 15 nM. Two isolates (3%) showed an
      IC50 > 15 nM. A significant positive correlation was found between the activities
      of pyronaridine and chloroquine (r2 = 0.26, P < 0.001), pyronaridine and quinine
      (r2 = 0.36, P < 0.001), pyronaridine and amodiaquine (r2 = 0.55, P < 0.001), and
      pyronaridine and halofantrine (r2 = 0.50, P < 0.001). This correlation suggests
      in vitro cross-resistance or at least in vitro cross-susceptibility, which is not
      necessarily predictive of cross-resistance in vivo. The present in vitro findings
      require comparison with those of clinical studies.

PMID- 9988333
TI  - Immunocapture diagnostic assays for malaria using Plasmodium lactate
      dehydrogenase (pLDH).
AB  - We have developed two diagnostic assays based on the specific detection of
      Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) activity. These assays exploit a panel of
      monoclonal antibodies that capture the parasite enzyme and allow for the
      quantitation and speciation of human malaria infections. An immunocapture pLDH
      activity assay (ICpLDH) allows for the rapid purification and measurement of pLDH
      from infected blood using the NAD analog APAD, which reacts specifically with
      Plasmodium LDH isoforms. An immunochromatographic test (the OptiMAL assay) was
      also formatted and allowed the detection of parasite infections of approximately
      200 parasites/microl of blood. By using a combination of antibodies, both tests
      can not only detect but differentiate between P. falciparum and non-P. falciparum
      malaria. Both assays show a sensitivity comparable with other commercial
      nonmicroscopic tests; importantly, we found very few instances of false-positive
      samples, especially with samples from patients recently cleared of malaria
      infection. Furthermore, we find that when one uses the quantitative ICpLDH assay,
      the levels of pLDH activity closely mirror the levels of parasitemia in both
      initial diagnosis and while following patient therapy. We conclude that
      diagnostic tests based on the detection of pLDH are both sensitive and practical
      for the detection, speciation, and quantitation of all human Plasmodium
      infections and can also be used to indicate drug-resistant infections.

PMID- 9988334
TI  - Ultrasonography as an aid to diagnosis and treatment in a rural African hospital:
      a prospective study of 1,119 cases.
AB  - The aim of this study was to assess the utility of ultrasonography in a rural
      African hospital in Cameroon with scarce resources. A prospective questionnaire
      was administered and completed for each of the 1,119 consecutive cases included
      in the study. Among these 1,119 cases, the diagnosis made by clinicians and by
      echography could be verified by another means for 323 patients. Ultrasonography
      showed abnormal findings in 78% of the cases. In the group of 323 patients in
      which the diagnosis made by echography could be verified, it was correct in 95.4%
      of the cases, erroneous in 4.6% of the cases, judged useful for diagnosis in
      67.8% of the cases, and not contributive in 27.6% of the cases. Ultrasonography
      was judged useful when treatment was decided upon in 62% of the cases. This study
      demonstrated the value of ultrasonography in the context of a developing country
      and the conditions by which its use could be delineated.

PMID- 9988335
TI  - Pool screen polymerase chain reaction for estimating the prevalence of Onchocerca
      volvulus infection in Simulium damnosum sensu lato: results of a field trial in
      an area subject to successful vector control.
AB  - Detection of infective parasites in the vector population can be an early
      indicator of recrudescence in areas freed of new cases of onchocerciasis.
      However, dissection of vector black flies is inefficient in areas subject to
      effective control. Recently, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay has
      been used to detect a single Onchocerca volvulus-infected black fly in pools
      containing large numbers of uninfected flies. This method had not been validated
      on wild-caught black flies in an area subject to effective vector control. Here,
      we report a method of restricting the pool screen PCR assay to infectious
      parasites and the results of a field test in an area subject to long-term vector
      control. The prevalence of infection determined by dissection did not differ from
      that determined by pool screen PCR. The results suggest that the PCR assay may be
      a useful tool for epidemiologic surveillance for 0. volvulus infection.

PMID- 9988336
TI  - Operational validation of the direct agglutination test for diagnosis of visceral
      leishmaniasis.
AB  - The validity of the direct agglutination test (DAT) for visceral leishmaniasis
      (VL) was studied with a standardized field kit on 148 clinically suspected
      persons and 176 healthy controls recruited between 1993 and 1994 from an endemic
      area in Gedaref State, Sudan. A sensitivity of 95.9% and a specificity of 99.4%
      were found at a 1: 8,000 cut-off titer when parasitologically confirmed cases
      were compared with healthy controls. While corroborating previously reported
      sensitivity and specificity estimates of this serodiagnostic test, this study
      examined the bias generated by commonly used test validation procedures. The
      fundamental methodologic problem in VL test validation is the absence of a
      reliable gold standard. Moreover, any operational guideline on DAT use has to
      consider the critical dependency of the predictive values of the test on VL
      prevalence rates. The DAT diagnostic cut-off titer depends upon many external
      factors, among which the prevalence of disease in the area and the case mix seem
      the most important.

PMID- 9988337
TI  - Differential effect and interaction of monocytes, hyperimmune sera, and
      immunoglobulin G on the growth of asexual stage Plasmodium falciparum parasites.
AB  - Using a flow cytometry-based parasite growth inhibition assay (GIA) and an
      antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) assay, we have assessed the
      differential effect and interaction of monocytes, immune sera, and purified
      immunoglobulins from Kenyan adults on the growth of Plasmodium falciparum
      parasites in vitro. We found that monocytes from 14 different normal, healthy,
      non-malaria-exposed donors had varying effects on parasite growth, i.e.,
      inhibition or enhancement of parasitemia, suggesting heterogeneity in anti
      parasitic activities of monocytes from individual donors. Twenty-two serum
      samples collected from clinically immune adults from western Kenya inhibited
      growth of P. falciparum after 48 hr in culture. In contrast, all IgG
      preparations, except one, purified from the same serum samples enhanced parasite
      growth. In ADCI experiments, of the 22 purified IgG samples used, 11 showed ADCI
      activities with specific growth inhibition (SGI) of more than 10%, with the
      highest at 27.6%, and the remaining 11 IgG samples had an SGI of less than 10%.
      Our results also showed that the ratio of IgG1 to IgG3 antibodies, as determined
      by an indirect immunofluorescence assay, was higher in the high ADCI response
      group than in the low response group, suggesting that a higher concentration of
      IgG1 antibodies with a higher IgG1/IgG3 ratio might be associated with ADCI
      activities. The present study has resulted in the development of simple,
      reproducible flow cytometry-based GIA and ADCI assays, and also provides baseline
      information for further investigation of the role of ADCI activity in naturally
      acquired immune protection against malaria.

PMID- 9988338
TI  - In vitro production of type 1 and type 2 cytokines by peripheral blood
      mononuclear cells from subjects coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and
      Leishmania infantum.
AB  - To explore the type 1 and type 2 cytokine profile in cases coinfected with human
      immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Leishmania infantum, production of interleukin-4
      (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and interleukin-2
      receptor (IL-2R) was investigated in mitogen-stimulated and unstimulated
      peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from eight HIV/Leishmania coinfected
      subjects matched with eight anti-HIV-positive subjects with no evidence of
      Leishmania coinfection. Levels of IL-4 and IL-2R increased significantly from the
      baseline levels in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell supernatants of
      HIV/Leishmania coinfected subjects following stimulation with phytohemoagglutin,
      whereas the postchallenge concentration of IFN-gamma was significantly increased
      in the HIV-infected group. The levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were significantly higher
      in the HIV/Leishmania group throughout evaluation. Post-stimulation IFN-gamma
      production was significantly higher in the HIV-positive group in comparison with
      that of the HIV-Leishmania coinfected subjects. These observations support the
      notion that a Th2 cytokine response is present during a Leishmania infection,
      even among HIV-coinfected individuals.

PMID- 9988339
TI  - Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection associated with human T cell
      lymphotropic virus type-1 infection in Peru.
AB  - A study was conducted in Lima, Peru to determine if patients with Strongyloides
      hyperinfection had human T cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-I) infection. The
      study included patients with Strongyloides hyperinfection and a control group
      consisted of sex- and age-matched asymptomatic healthy individuals whose stools
      were negative for Strongyloides. A third group included patients with intestinal
      strongyloidiasis. Sera from each study subject were tested for HTLV-1/2I by an
      ELISA and Western blot. The HLTV-1 infection rates (85.7%, 18 of 21) were
      significantly (P < 0.001) associated with Strongyloides hyperinfection compared
      with the control group (4.7%, 1 of 21). The HTLV-1 rate (10%, 6 of 62) for
      patients with intestinal strongyloidiasis was significantly (P < 0.001) lower
      than patients with Strongyloides hyperinfection, but did not differ significantly
      (P > 0.05) from the control group. The association of HTLV-1 infection was
      observed among 17 of 19 patients more than 20 years of age and one of two younger
      patients. None had HTLV-2 infection. In conclusion, Strongyloides hyperinfection
      among Peruvian patients was highly associated with HTLV-1 infection.

PMID- 9988340
TI  - Isolation of Fusobacterium necrophorum from cancrum oris (noma).
AB  - A study of the predominant microflora in active sites of noma (cancrum oris)
      lesions was carried out in eight noma patients 3-15 years of age in Sokoto State
      in northwestern Nigeria. Paper point sampling and conventional anaerobic
      microbiologic techniques were used. Fusobacterium necrophorum was recovered from
      87.5% of the noma lesions. Oral microorganisms included Prevotella intermedia,
      alpha-hemolytic streptococci, and Actinomyces spp. which were isolated from
      75.0%, 50.0%, and 37.5% of the patients, respectively. Peptostreptococcus micros,
      Veillonella parvula, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas spp. were each
      recovered from one lesion. The F. necrophorum and P. intermedia isolates were
      tested for antibiotic sensitivity to clindamycin, tetracycline, metronidazole,
      and penicillin using the E-test, and all strains were observed to be sensitive to
      all of the antibiotics tested with the exception of one strain of P. intermedia,
      which showed resistance to penicillin. The first reported isolation from human
      noma lesions of F. necrophorum, a pathogen primarily associated with animal
      diseases, may have important etiologic and animal transmission implications.

PMID- 9988341
TI  - Infectivity of Cryptosporidium parvum in healthy adults with pre-existing anti-C.
      parvum serum immunoglobulin G.
AB  - A 50% infectious dose (ID50) of 132 Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was previously
      determined in serologically negative individuals (ELISA). In this study, 17
      healthy adults with pre-existing anti-C. parvum serum IgG were challenged with
      500-50,000 oocysts. Infection and diarrhea were associated with the higher
      challenge doses. The ID50 was 1,880 oocysts, > 20-fold higher than in
      seronegative volunteers. Fecal oocysts were detected in only seven (53.8%) of 13
      individuals with clinical cryptosporidiosis, indicating that the host response
      may effectively decrease the number of oocysts produced. Subjects with the
      highest absorbances prior to challenge had little to no increase in IgG following
      challenge, whereas volunteers with lower reactivities showed significant
      postchallenge increases. This suggests that an upper limit of serum IgG was
      present in some subjects, while others were further stimulated by an additional
      exposure. These data indicate that prior exposure to C. parvum provides
      protection from infection and illness at low oocyst doses.

PMID- 9988342
TI  - Fecal occult blood testing on Trichuris-infected primary school children in
      northeastern peninsular Malaysia.
AB  - Stool specimens of 104 primary schoolchildren (mean+/-SD age = 8.2+/-0.3 years)
      were examined for helminth eggs and for occult blood to investigate the
      possibility that trichuriasis causes occult intestinal bleeding in the absence of
      the overt Trichuris dysentery syndrome. A commercially available guaiac test was
      used to detect fecal occult blood. Sixty-one children had Trichuris infection, 11
      of whom had heavy infections (> 10,000 eggs per gram of feces [epg]), and 53 had
      Ascaris infections. No hookworm infection was detected. Baseline screening
      yielded only one weakly positive occult blood test result in a child with a light
      (800 epg) Trichuris infection. Serial stool occult blood testing on the 11
      subjects with heavy trichuriasis and 8 uninfected controls yielded a single
      weakly positive result in the control group. The results provide no evidence that
      trichuriasis predisposes to significant occult gastrointestinal bleeding in
      children in the absence of the dysenteric syndrome.

PMID- 9988343
TI  - Management of childhood diarrhea and use of oral rehydration salts in a suburban
      West African community.
AB  - In a household survey in Guinea-Bissau, 319 episodes of diarrhea in children were
      followed by interviews every second day with the aim of investigating perceived
      morbidity and subsequent actions taken. The majority of the mothers had good
      knowledge of oral rehydration salts (ORS). However, only 58% of the episodes were
      treated with ORS and the amount given was insufficient. Mothers with no knowledge
      of ORS did not use it during the observed attack of diarrhea regardless of
      contact with a health center, which suggests that maternal knowledge is an
      important determinant of whether health personnel provide ORS. Children with
      diarrhea considered to be caused by teething were less likely to receive ORS in
      the acute phase (risk ratio = 0.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5-0.9).
      Univariate analyses showed that the use of ORS was related to number of reported
      symptoms, the mother being the care taker, consultations, previous use of ORS,
      good knowledge of ORS, and having ORS sachets at home. Multivariate Cox
      regression analyses showed that the presence of ORS sachets at home at the onset
      of diarrhea was the strongest predictor of use (hazard ratio = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.9
      3.6). Improved health education should focus more on the quantity of ORS needed,
      early signs of dehydration, treatment of teething diarrhea, and breast feeding,
      and address mothers who have no prior knowledge of ORS. Management of diarrhea
      may be improved by a more liberal distribution of ORS sachets.

PMID- 9988344
TI  - Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content of living and fixed cells: a comparative
      study using various fixatives.
AB  - The majority of studies dealing with DNA analyses are made on fixed cells. In
      this context, the efficiency as fixatives of ethanol, methanol, acetone, Carnoy,
      Boehm-Sprenger and aldehydes was determined using two different DNA fluorescent
      probes, Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide. The purpose of our study was to find
      the fixative that would provide the best results with respect to the following
      parameters: aggregates, cell size and granularity, and DNA staining analysis.
      Using murine fibroblasts, we found that 68% ethanol, 85% methanol and aldehydes
      did not increase aggregate formation, whereas Carnoy, acetone or Boehm-Sprenger
      fixatives did. The results show that aldehydes seem to alter cell size least. All
      fixatives induce an increase in cell granularity, which is very pronounced with
      alcohols, but aldehydes alter morphology less than alcohols. We observed that the
      fixatives giving the best resolution with Hoechst 33342 staining lead to a lower
      measurement variability than with propidium iodide staining. This study leads us
      to conclude that 68% ethanol and 85% methanol can be considered as appropriate
      fixatives for flow cytometry studies of DNA content.

PMID- 9988345
TI  - Immunohistochemical video-microdensitometry of myocardial collagen type I and
      type III.
AB  - Collagen is an essential part of the cardiac interstitium. Collagen subtypes,
      their location, total amount and the architecture of the fibrillar network are of
      functional importance. Architecture in terms of density of the fibrillar network
      is assumed to be reflected by the intensity of immunohistochemical staining of
      collagen. The aim of this study was to evaluate a video-based microdensitometric
      method for quantifying density expressed as absorbance of collagen subtypes I and
      III stained with an indirect immunoperoxidase method in myectomy specimens of
      patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Various factors
      influencing the immunohistochemical staining product and the technical properties
      of the image analysis system were investigated. Linearity between collagen
      concentration and the absorbance of the immunohistochemical staining product was
      demonstrated for collagen I using a dot-blot technique. Immunohistochemical
      collagen staining and density measurement were easily reproducible. The cardiac
      disability of the patients was assessed according to the New York Heart
      Association (NYHA) criteria. There was a significant increase in collagen type I
      density with higher NYHA class, whereas no significant association was found for
      total collagen area fraction. Thus, video-based microdensitometry gives further
      insight into the structural remodelling of myocardial collagens and reveals their
      significance in the process of heart failure in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

PMID- 9988346
TI  - Investigation of tissue preparation conditions for non-radioactive in situ
      hybridization: localization of transforming growth factor-alpha message in rat
      kidney.
AB  - A non-radioactive method of in situ hybridization was used to localize
      transforming growth factor-alpha mRNA in epithelial cells of collecting ducts and
      tubules in rat kidney tissue sections. The intensity and specificity of staining
      were assessed under a variety of tissue preparation conditions, including a
      direct comparison of paraffin against frozen sections. Under optimal conditions,
      both the signal strength and the cellular localization of the growth factor
      message were superior in paraffin sections. The staining method could also be
      used to localize the message in lung tissue, indicating that the procedure is
      generally applicable to other tissues. Our results indicate that the use of
      paraffin sections for nonradioactive in situ hybridization affords a number of
      advantages for the localization of specific messages in tissue sections.

PMID- 9988347
TI  - Location and distribution of non-collagenous matrix proteins in musculoskeletal
      tissues of rat.
AB  - The study assessed immunohistochemically the location and distribution of various
      non-collagenous matrix proteins (fibronectin, laminin, tenascin-C, osteocalcin,
      thrombospondin-1, vitronectin and undulin) in musculoskeletal tissues of rat.
      Fibronectin and thrombospondin-1 were found to be ubiquitous in the studied
      tissues. High immunoreactivity of these proteins was found in the extracellular
      matrix of the anatomical sites where firm bindings are needed, i.e. between
      muscle fibres and fibre bundles, between the collagen fibres of a tendon and at
      myotendinous junctions, osteotendinous junctions and articular cartilage.
      Tenascin-C was found in the extracellular matrix of regions where especially high
      forces are transmitted from one tissue component to the other, such as
      myotendinous junctions and osteotendinous junctions. Laminin was demonstrated in
      the basement membranes of the muscle cells and capillaries of the muscle-tendon
      units. Osteocalcin immunoreactivity concentrated in the extracellular matrix of
      areas of newly formed bone tissue, i.e. in the subperiosteal and subchondral
      regions, osteoid tissue and mineralized fibrocartilage zone of the osteotendinous
      junction. Mild vitronectin activity could be seen in the extracellular matrix of
      the osteotendinous and myotendinous junctions, and high activity around the bone
      marrow cells. Undulin could be demonstrated in the extracellular matrix (i.e. on
      the collagen fibres) of the tendon and epimysium only. However, it was co
      distributed with fibronectin and tenascin-C. Together, these findings on the
      normal location and distribution of these non-collagenous proteins in the
      musculoskeletal tissues help to form the basis of knowledge against which the
      location and distribution of the these proteins in various pathological processes
      could be compared.

PMID- 9988348
TI  - Transient increase in the alpha3-isoform of Na,K-ATPase in rat erythroblastic
      cells.
AB  - Using immunoelectron microscopy and isoform-specific antibodies against Na,K
      ATPase to study changes in Na,K-ATPase in rat erythroblastic cells during
      maturation, we unexpectedly observed numerous antigenic sites against the alpha3
      isoform in the cytoplasmic phase. There was an increase in the number of alpha3
      isoforms after denucleation of the erythroblast. The increase was transient. As
      the reticulocyte matured into a red blood cell, the number of alpha3-isoforms was
      reduced drastically. This alpha3-isoform was distributed in a reticular pattern
      resembling the double layers of endoplasmic reticulum. Western blot analysis
      confirms the presence of the alpha3-isoform in these cells. X-ray microanalysis
      of the erythroid series of cells in the bone marrow shows that sodium
      concentration in the young reticulocyte is higher than that in the nucleated
      erythroblast. The reason for the transient increase in this pump protein is not
      clear. It is possible that the increase in sodium concentration in the
      reticulocyte plays a role in the increase in pump protein synthesis.

PMID- 9988349
TI  - Glycoconjugate expression during early mouse oculogenesis.
AB  - The carbohydrate side-chain of glycoconjugates can show a developmentally
      regulated expression pattern. In order to analyse these changes during the
      development of the eye, 13 lectins were used to reveal glycoconjugates
      histochemically in 8.5- to 14-day-old mouse embryos. During this period, eyes
      develop from the most immature vesiculation of the neural plate neuroepithelium
      into a primitive stage with all structures present, such as pigment epithelium,
      not yet differentiated neuroretina and lens. A striking diversity of carbohydrate
      side-chain expression was observed in the preocular somatoectoderm and neural
      plate of 8.5-day-old embryos, as indicated by the binding of nine different
      lectins. Binding sites at the apical poles of neuroepithelium of five of these
      lectins (PNA, LCA, SBA, LPA and GSA-II) disappeared completely during further
      development. The binding sites of four other lectins, WGA, MPA, Con A and BPA,
      remained expressed during the course of development, being indicative for the
      carbohydrate side-chains beta-GlcNAc(1-4)Gluc, alpha-Gal(1-3)GalNAc, alpha-D
      Man/alpha-D-Gluc and alpha-GalNAc. In contrast, binding sites for GSA-I, RCA-I
      (alpha-D-Gal), UEA-I (alpha-L-Fuc) and DBA (alpha-GalNAc(1-3)GalNAc) were not
      present at any developmental stage. The time point of gross changes of lectin
      binding sites correlates well with the period of neural tube formation. During
      later development from neuroectoderm to the ocular pigment epithelium, a sharp
      reduction in all lectin binding sites at the apical cell poles, except for WGA
      and MPA, was observed. WGA binding sites were present until embryonic day 10,
      while those for MPA were present until day 9. At the basal cell poles of the
      pigment epithelium, all lectin binding sites except for WGA were lost after
      embryonic day 11.5. These results indicate that there are sophisticated kinetics
      of glycoconjugate expression during the course of early embryonic development of
      ectoderm into its descendent tissues.

PMID- 9988350
TI  - Abstracts of papers presented at a Symposium on the theme 'Progress in Basic,
      Applied and Diagnostic Histochemistry'. Prague, 10-12 December 1997.

PMID- 9988351
TI  - Dialysis hypotension.

PMID- 9988352
TI  - Dialysis hypotension and splanchnic circulation.

PMID- 9988353
TI  - Daily hemofiltration in severe heart failure.

PMID- 9988354
TI  - Liver assist systems: state of the art.
AB  - Attempts to develop liver support systems for the treatment of patients with
      liver failure have ranged from use of plasma exchange to utilization of charcoal
      columns and extracorporeal devices loaded with liver tissue. However, no system
      has achieved wide clinical use and - in the absence of liver transplantation -
      severe hepatic failure continues to be associated with significant morbidity and
      mortality. In this paper, the authors review the current status of liver assist
      systems and summarize their clinical experience with a xenogeneic cell based
      bioartificial liver.

PMID- 9988355
TI  - Symptoms in hemodialysis patients and their relationship with biochemical and
      demographic parameters.
AB  - Symptoms can markedly influence the hemodialysis patients well-being and quality
      of life. The aim of this paper is to study the frequency of symptoms at home and
      how these relate to biochemical and treatment variables. Seventy-three
      hemodialysis patients were questioned on the absence, occasional presence or
      daily recurrence (score = 0, 1, 2) of 14 symptoms and a record was made of their
      biochemical parameters, age, time on treatment and KtIV as a function of each
      symptom. The following relationships were detected: thirst with high Osm and BUN;
      asthenia with old age and hypoalbuminemia; insomnia with hypercalcemia;
      hypersomnia with hypoxemia and hypernatremia; anorexia with hypokalemia; dyspnea
      with old age, hypernatremia and hypokalemia; dysgeusia with hypoxemia; nausea
      with alkalemia, hypoxemia and low BUN; vomiting with alkalemia. Pruritus,
      arthralgia, restless legs syndrome, cramp and tremor showed no relationships.
      Monitoring acid-base balance and plasma electrolytes could help to alleviate
      symptoms and ameliorate quality of life of hemodialysis patients.

PMID- 9988356
TI  - Intradialytic hypotension in relation to pre-existent autonomic dysfunction in
      hemodialysis patients.
AB  - After having monitored haemodynamics during haemodialysis, we examined autonomic
      nervous function in rest prior to a next dialysis session in 28 patients on
      chronic intermittent haemodialysis. The aim was to compare intradialytically
      hypotensive with stable patients to assess whether blood pressure regulating
      mechanisms were related to basal autonomic function, assessed as heart rate
      variability (HRV) tested by means of the deep breathing test, the lying-to
      standing test, and the Valsalva maneuver. Impedance cardiography was used to
      determine stroke volume and cardiac output during dialysis. In addition, blood
      pressure was registered automatically and systemic vascular resistance
      calculated. Blood volume variation was monitored by an on-line optical device.
      Intradialytic hypotension was observed in 10 patients (36%). Systemic vascular
      resistance in hypotensive patients decreased considerably (-14.0+/-5.9%), while
      it increased in stable patients (+9.9+/-4.6%, p = 0.004). Heart rate rose
      significantly in hypotensive patients (11.5+/-3.8%) in comparison to stable
      patients (-0.2+/-2.8%, p = 0.02). However, no significant differences in
      autonomic function were observed between hypotensive and stable patients.
      Although both groups showed impaired autonomic function, no significant
      correlation between changes in haemodynamics during dialysis and autonomic
      function at rest could be ascertained. In conclusions, hypotension during
      haemodialysis is not related to a patient's autonomic function at rest. This
      suggests that structural neuronal differences are not responsible for the severe
      decrease in systemic vascular resistance in intradialytic hypotension.

PMID- 9988357
TI  - Factors affecting the respiratory ratio during cardiopulmonary by-pass.
AB  - Despite the wide use of hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during open
      heart surgery there is little information about the patient metabolism. In
      particular no complete studies addressed the assessment of the respiratory ratio
      (RR) during CPB at different core temperatures. Therefore a clinical study was
      performed in order to evaluate the oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbon dioxide
      production (VCO2) in adult patients with valvular or coronary heart disease
      undergoing CPB. Twenty-five patients (16 male, 9 female) aged between 26 and 76
      (54.2+/-12.4 mean +/- SD) were the subjects of this study. Measurements (102)
      were taken at various perfusion flow rates (from 1.6 to 2.9 L/min(-1) x m(-2))
      and temperatures (from 24 to 37 degrees C). Arterial and mixed venous gas
      analyses were performed and O2 and CO2 concentrations were calculated, including
      the carbamate contribute. We calculated VO2, VCO2 and then RR from artero-venous
      differences in O2 and CO2 contents. Both VO2 and VCO2 showed a positive linear
      correlation with temperature (r = 0.82 and r = 0.59 respectively) and with blood
      flow rate (r = 0.61 and r = 0.29 respectively). The mean RR was 0.78+/-0.28 and
      more than 84% of RR values fell in the range 0.5-1.2. No significant correlation
      between RR and temperature and blood flow rate was observed. VCO2 and RR showed a
      positive linear correlation with the gas to blood flow rate ratio (r = 0.37 and r
      = 0.49 respectively).

PMID- 9988358
TI  - Haemodynamic changes in patients undergoing high-risk PTCA under protection of
      transfemoral heart- lung machine support with centrifugal pumps.
AB  - Patients with a high risk for myocardial revascularization by cardiological or
      surgical means can be supported during high-risk PTCA with mechanical circulatory
      support (supp HR-PTCA). Between November 1994 and June 1997 we performed 28 supp
      HR-PTCA's under protection of a heart-lung machine (HLM) with femoro - femoral
      cannulation under regional anesthesia. We approached 2.8+/-1.5 stenoses and 1.7+/
      0.6 vessels per patient. Primary success rate was 95 percent of the treated
      vessels. During unloading, pulmonary artery mean pressure fell to 42+/-29% of the
      starting value, and LVEDP was decreased to 36+/-42%. Mechanical unloading also
      resulted in a significant reduction of left ventricular volumes (unloaded LVEDVI
      and LVESVI represent 76.8% and 76.6% of pre-unloaded values, respectively,
      p<0.05). All patients except one survived the procedure and could be discharged
      from the hospital. Femoro-femoral cardio-pulmonary bypass under regional
      anesthesia provides sufficient protection for high risk PTCA procedures and
      enables high risk patients to benefit from coronary revascularization.

PMID- 9988359
TI  - Surface modification of polyurethane heart valves: effects on fatigue life and
      calcification.
AB  - Polyurethane heart valves can be functionally durable with minimal calcification,
      in vitro. In vivo, these characteristics will depend on the resistance of the
      polyurethane to thrombogenesis and biodegradation. Surface modification may
      improve the polyurethane in these respects, but may adversely affect
      calcification and durability. This study investigates the effects of surface
      modifications of two polyurethane heart valves (PEU and PEUE) on their in vitro
      fatigue and calcification behaviour. Modifications included heparin, taurine, 3
      aminopropyltriethoxysilane and polyethylene oxide (PEO). Neither hydrodynamic
      function nor leaflet thickness distribution was significantly altered by surface
      modification. PEO-modification was detrimental to valve fatigue durability and
      calcification. Heparin, taurine or aminosilane modifications of PEU valves
      increased durability. Aminosilane modification of PEUE valves increased
      durability compared with PEO modification. Appropriate surface modification may
      be useful to improve blood compatibility of implantable polyurethanes, and may
      also be advantageous as regards fatigue durability of flexing materials in
      longterm applications.

PMID- 9988360
TI  - Blood separation with two different autotransfusion devices: effects on blood
      cell quality and coagulation variables.
AB  - The quality of blood products obtained from two different autotransfusion devices
      (CATS- Fresenius and Sequestra 1000 - Medtronic) was tested in 27 patients
      undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery. Blood products provided from our
      institutional blood bank (n = 16) served as controls. Hemodiluted blood was
      separated into platelet poor plasma (PPP), platelet rich plasma (PRP), and packed
      red cells (PRC) and analysed for blood cell count, fibrinogen concentration,
      thromboplastin time, partial thromboplastin time, platelet aggregation and
      platelet recovery rate. Coagulation variables showed no differences between the
      CATS-group (n = 14) and the Sequestra 1000-group (n = 13). The volume of PRP was
      lower in the Sequestra 1000-group (45+/-3 ml vs. 89+/-1 ml, p<0.05), but
      hematocrit was higher (14.4+/-7.8% vs. 8.5+/-2.8%, p<0.05). PPP produced with
      CATS contained a higher concentration of white blood cells (0.6+/-0.2 Gpt/l vs.
      0.1+/-0.01 Gpt/l, p<0.05) and thrombocytes (163+/-74 Gpt/l vs. 11+/-12 Gpt/l,
      p<0.05). Hematocrit of PRC was significantly higher in the CATS-group (73.8+/
      2.0% vs. 69.0+/-6.5%, p<0.05). Blood products were of high quality in both groups
      and comparable to or superior than blood products provided from our institutional
      blood bank.

PMID- 9988361
TI  - Serotonergic function after (+/-)3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine ('Ecstasy')
      in humans.
AB  - (+/-)3,4-Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or 'Ecstasy') effects on serotonin
      system function and behaviour in humans are unclear. Fifteen MDMA users, who did
      not have other drug dependencies or alcohol abuse, and had not used other drugs
      for prolonged periods, and 15 control individuals were included in a study to
      assess the biological and psychological changes after chronic use of MDMA.
      Prolactin and cortisol responses to D-fenfluramine challenge, clinical
      psychobehavioural changes, personality characteristics, including mood,
      aggressiveness and temperamental aspects, were evaluated 3 weeks after MDMA
      discontinuation. MDMA users had significantly reduced prolactin and cortisol
      responses in comparison with control individuals (p < 0.001 and p < 0.005,
      respectively). Dysphoria and mood changes were exhibited in seven individuals,
      tiredness in five and sensation-seeking behaviour in twelve at the clinical
      evaluation. Significantly higher scores were found in MDMA individuals than in
      control individuals for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory subscale for
      Depression, for Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory direct and guilt subscales, for
      Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and for novelty-seeking Tridimensional
      Personality Questionnaire subscale. Prolactin responses to D-fenfluramine
      stimulation area under the curve among MDMA users were negatively correlated with
      direct aggressiveness scores for Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory; a negative
      correlation between prolactin responses and novelty-seeking scores was also
      evidenced among MDMA users. These data suggest an association between serotonin
      system impairment and MDMA use in humans; in interpretation of these results, the
      possibility that serotonin deficit in MDMA individuals was partially related to a
      premorbid condition, in relationship with novelty-seeking behaviour and mood
      disorders, can not be excluded.

PMID- 9988362
TI  - Compliance in depressed patients treated with fluoxetine or amitriptyline.
      Belgian Compliance Study Group.
AB  - Two dimensions of compliance (drop-outs and adherence) were investigated in
      patients treated with antidepressant drugs. Efficacy, compliance and its
      determinants were investigated in 66 patients suffering from major depressive
      disorder and treated in a double-blind manner with fluoxetine 20 mg/day or
      amitriptyline 150 mg/day for 9 weeks. Overall effectiveness [50% decrease in the
      initial Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)] was similar in both groups
      (62.8% for fluoxetine, 58.1% for amitriptyline). The dropout rate due to side
      effects was 35.5% for amitriptyline and 5.7% for fluoxetine. A logistic
      regression analysis revealed that the initial HAM-D score was not predictive for
      dropping out, but this outcome was instead determined by sex (increased risk for
      males), age (increased risk for being younger) and occurrence of severe side
      effects. Adherence was estimated using electronic Medication Event Monitoring
      System and defined as the percentage of days when the correct dose was taken out
      of the medication container. Of the patients studied 37% had an adherence of less
      than 70%. There was no relationship between adherence and efficacy and adherence
      was similar in patients on fluoxetine or amitriptyline. Side effects were not
      predictive of being adherent or not, but a higher initial HAM-D score predicted a
      higher adherence to the medication regimen. The demographic variables had no
      significant effect. The present study suggests that the link between efficacy,
      side effects and compliance or adherence is more complex than is generally
      believed and that early termination and non-adherence seem to be determined by
      different factors.

PMID- 9988363
TI  - Co-administration of citalopram and clozapine: effect on plasma clozapine levels.
AB  - Antidepressants are frequently used in the treatment of depressive symptoms
      associated with schizophrenia. In patients taking clozapine, choice of
      antidepressant is complicated by additive pharmacodynamic effects and by
      pharmacokinetic interactions. We predicted that citalopram would not elevate
      plasma clozapine levels when the two drugs were co-administered because it does
      not inhibit the relevant enzyme systems. In this preliminary study of five
      patients given citalopram and clozapine there was no overall change in mean
      clozapine levels. Based on this limited evidence, citalopram might be the
      antidepressant of choice in patients taking clozapine.

PMID- 9988364
TI  - Neuroendocrine and hypothermic effects of 5-HT1A receptor stimulation with
      ipsapirone in healthy men: a placebo-controlled study.
AB  - The neuroendocrine effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine-1A (5-HT1A) receptor
      stimulation remain uncertain in humans, in respect to both anterior and posterior
      pituitary hormone release. This is important because these endocrine responses
      are often used as indications of 5-HT1A receptor sensitivity. The link between
      receptor stimulation and subsequent hormone release is more direct with posterior
      pituitary hormones because there is no intermediate hypothalamic peptide in the
      pathway. Theoretically, therefore, posterior pituitary hormones should be more
      valid indicators of central 5-HT1A receptor sensitivity. We used the 5-HT1A
      receptor partial agonist ipsapirone (20 mg) as an oral serotonergic challenge
      drug in a random-order, double-blind placebo-controlled study of 12 healthy men.
      Blood sampling occurred at 30 min intervals up to 180 min after the
      administration of drug or placebo. Ipsapirone caused clear and significant
      elevations in adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH), cortisol (CORT), prolactin (PRL), and
      growth hormone (GH) release. Peak hormone and ipsapirone blood levels both
      occurred at 60 min after ipsapirone administration. Release of the posterior
      pituitary hormone oxytocin was also stimulated, but less robustly and with more
      baseline variation. Temperature fell significantly more after ipsapirone than
      placebo. These results contrast with previous studies, which found no effect of
      ipsapirone on PRL and GH release in humans, but are in accordance with data using
      other 5-HT1A agonist drugs. The presence of an oxytocin response to ipsapirone
      suggests that oxytocin is a potential marker for serotonergic function in
      neuroendocrine challenge studies, but this awaits further study.

PMID- 9988365
TI  - Successful challenge with clozapine in a history of eosinophilia.
AB  - Eosinophilia has been encountered from 0.2 to 61.7% in clozapine-treated
      patients, mostly with a transient course and spontaneous remission. There have
      been few reports, however, which have investigated a challenge with clozapine in
      patients previously showing eosinophilia. Two case reports are presented: the
      first with clozapine challenge after eosinophilia, the second under clozapine
      treatment and no previous haematological side effects. The challenge case showed
      eosinophilia with 1.2 10(9)/l (z = 1.79, p = 0.04) being followed by
      normalization despite clozapine continuation, whereas the maximum value reached
      2.1 10(9)/l in the single episode case, with consecutive normalization and
      uninterrupted treatment. Eosinophilia caused by clozapine was observed in
      challenge, preceded by a faster neutrophil production and consecutive decrease (z
      = 2.27, p = 0.01). A challenge with clozapine was feasible and showed no clinical
      symptoms of eosinophilia.

PMID- 9988366
TI  - Mirtazapine in recurrent brief depression.
AB  - Recurrent brief depression (RBD) has a high prevalence in the general population
      (approximately 10%). At present, data on the treatment of RBD are sparse. Results
      of treatment studies with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (fluoxetine,
      paroxetine) did not demonstrate superiority of the active drug over placebo in
      RBD. We report about two patients with RBD treated with mirtazapine over a period
      of 4 months. Mirtazapine is a noradrenergic with specific selective
      serotoninergic antidepressant. Patients had to keep a diary in order to document
      psychopathological symptoms of major depression according to DSM-IV. We showed a
      marked reduction of severity, duration and frequency of brief depressive episodes
      in two patients with RBD treated with 30 mg mirtazapine over a period of 4
      months. Mirtazapine enhances serotonergic as well as noradrenergic
      neurotransmission. This dual mechanism of action may be necessary to improve RBD.
      Consequently, mirtazapine might be a treatment option for patients with RBD.
      However, our preliminary observations need to be substantiated in controlled
      studies.

PMID- 9988368
TI  - Enzyme-based assay for quantification of paraoxon in blood of parathion poisoned
      patients.
AB  - 1. Paraoxon concentration was estimated by means of inhibition kinetics observed
      with electric eel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) which was determined by a modified
      Ellman procedure. In human plasma, paraoxon was stabilized by inactivation of
      paraoxonase with EDTA and aluminon and by inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase
      with ethopropazine. Paraoxon (1-50 ng) was recovered at 86+/-1.7% (mean+/-s.e.m.)
      in ether extracts from 0.5 ml samples of spiked stabilized plasma. It could be
      stored without loss at - 20 degrees C for at least 1 month. 2. The enzyme-based
      assay was applied to follow the paraoxon plasma concentrations in three suicidal
      patients with severe parathion poisoning. In poisoning with excessive doses and
      initial paraoxon concentrations above 500 nM, therapeutic obidoxime
      concentrations of approximately 10 microM failed to essentially reactivate
      erythrocyte AChE in vivo, while reactivatability ex vivo was nearly complete.
      With the plasma concentrations of paraoxon dropping below 100 nM, however,
      reactivation by obidoxime became significant. Unexpectedly, paraoxon levels
      occasionally reincreased during treatment and resulted in re-inhibition of AChE,
      bearing some resemblance to the Intermediate Syndrome. 3. The paraoxon
      concentrations measured fitted satisfactorily the values calculated from the
      kinetic constants previously obtained for AChE inhibition and obidoxime-induced
      reactivation in vitro. This indicates that diethylphosphoryloxime formation
      during obidoxime-induced reactivation does not markedly contribute to the re
      inhibition of AChE as observed in vitro.

PMID- 9988369
TI  - Protection by extracellular glutathione against sulfur mustard induced toxicity
      in vitro.
AB  - 1. The present study characterizes the role of extracellularly added glutathione
      in protection against sulfur mustard (HD) toxicity in a macrophage monocyte cell
      line J774. 2. Toxic effects of HD depend on dose and duration of exposure with an
      ED50 of 50 and 75 microM for dividing and confluent cells respectively. 3.
      Exposure to HD, 100-200 microM caused approximately 15% decrease in the cellular
      glutathione (GSH) content 2 h after exposure, pretreatment with GSH, 0.2-10 mM,
      elevated cellular GSH approximately x 1.5. 4. GSH pretreatment increased cell
      viability after HD 2-3-fold. Similar protective effects of GSH treatment were
      found in a human epidermoid carcinoma cell line (KB). 5. Protection by post
      treatment with GSH was apparent even 60 min post HD exposure. 6. No protection
      was afforded when the intracellular GSH concentration was elevated prior to
      exposure and the extracellular GSH had been washed out. However, GSH depleted
      cells were more sensitive to HD than normal cells, and were also protected by
      addition of GSH to the growth medium, although the intracellular GSH content
      remained low. 7. We conclude that it is essential for the GSH to be present
      extracellularly in order to protect cells from HD toxicity. 8. Our findings have
      therapeutic implications in particular for the protection of lungs after
      inhalation exposure to HD vapor.

PMID- 9988370
TI  - Inhibition of protein synthesis by zinc: comparison between protein synthesis and
      RNA synthesis.
AB  - Inhalation of zinc fumes may lead to the acute respiratory distress syndrome. The
      mechanisms of pulmonary zinc toxicity are not yet understood. Therefore we
      investigated zinc-dependent depression of protein and RNA synthesis in rat and
      human lung cell lines. 1. After exposure to 120 or 150 micromol/l zinc, RNA
      synthesis as assessed by uridine incorporation decreased by 60-70% between 0 and
      2 h exposition in rat alveolar type II cells (L2 cells) and human fibroblast-like
      cells (11Lu and 16Lu cells), and by 90% between 0 and 4 h in carcinoma-derived
      cells (A549 cells). 2. After 2 h exposure, L2, 11Lu, and 16Lu cells were half
      maximally inhibited by 50 micromol/l zinc, whereas A549 cells were more resistant
      with half-maximal inhibition at 100 micromol/zinc. 3. Protein and RNA synthesis
      was inhibited in parallel in L2, 11Lu, and A549 cells as indicated by
      simultaneous determination of uridine and amino acid incorporation. In 16Lu
      cells, the decline in protein synthesis preceded RNA synthesis inhibition.
      Pretreatment with RNA synthesis inhibitors (amanitin or actinomycin D) had no
      effect on time curve and intensity of RNA synthesis inhibition. Taken together,
      our results indicate that the suppression of RNA and protein synthesis likely are
      independent phenomena, due to direct zinc effects on these biosynthetic pathways.

PMID- 9988371
TI  - Microsomal metabolism of carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine in liver and placenta.
AB  - Metabolism of both carbamazepine (CBZ) and oxcarbazepine (OCBZ) were catalyzed by
      human liver microsomes and microsomes from livers of CBZ-induced or non-induced
      C57BL/6 mice. Human placental microsomes metabolized only OCBZ. Mouse liver
      microsomes metabolized CBZ to carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZ-E), 10-hydroxy
      10,11-dihydro-carbamazepine (10-OH-CBZ), 3hydroxy-carbamazepine (3-OH-CBZ), 10,11
      trans-dihydroxy-10,11-dihydro-carbamazepine (10,11-D) and to an unidentified
      metabolite. CBZ-pretreatment of mice increased both ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase
      activity in the liver and the amount of CBZ-E in microsomal incubations
      regardless of the age of mice. Human liver microsomes catalyzed the formation of
      CBZ to 9-hydroxymethyl-10-carbamoyl acridan (9-AC) in addition to CBZ-E, 3-OH-CBZ
      and 10-OH-CBZ. OCBZ was metabolized to its active metabolite in all incubations.
      An unknown metabolite was also present in some of the incubations. Human liver
      microsomes catalyzed only minute covalent binding of CBZ and OCBZ to DNA. Binding
      of OCBZ was, however, one order of magnitude greater than binding of CBZ. Human
      placental microsomes from the mothers on CBZ therapy did not catalyze CBZ
      metabolism. The same microsomes catalyzed OCBZ metabolism to 10-OH-CBZ and to an
      unknown metabolite. These results indicate autoinduction in CBZ metabolism in
      mouse liver. Due to the higher binding of OCBZ than CBZ to DNA in vitro, further
      studies on the potential mutagenicity of OCBZ may be warranted.

PMID- 9988372
TI  - The pre-clinical assessment of QT interval prolongation: a comparison of in vitro
      and in vivo methods.
AB  - The literature was searched for in vivo dog studies reporting QT prolongation and
      in vitro studies reporting increased myocardial action potential duration, which
      indicates the potential to prolong QT interval, for nine non-cardiac drugs that
      have been reported to produce QT prolongation in man. The drugs were: astemizole;
      terfenadine; erythromycin; sparfloxacin; cisapride; probucol; terodiline;
      risperidone and sertindole. 1. There were reports of the appropriate finding with
      in vitro methods for six of the drugs and with in vivo methods for seven of the
      drugs. No reports were found concerning the remaining drugs with each method.
      This indicates that both methods are effective and each method would have
      correctly identified the drugs in question as having the potential to prolong the
      QT interval in man in all cases for which studies were reported. 2. This suggests
      that, if properly conducted, either method alone is sufficient for the pre
      clinical assessment of QT interval prolongation. This does not support the
      routine use of both methods before the administration of new drugs to man.

PMID- 9988373
TI  - Mechanistic modeling of rodent liver tumor promotion at low levels of exposure:
      an example related to dose-response relationships for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo
      p-dioxin.

PMID- 9988374
TI  - Mechanistic model predicts a U-shaped relation of radon exposure to lung cancer
      risk reflected in combined occupational and US residential data.
AB  - A mechanistically based cytodynamic two-stage (CD2) cancer model was shown
      recently to predict both ecologic US county data and underground-miner data on
      lung-cancer mortality (LCM) vs radon concentration, indicating biological
      plausibility of the apparent negative dose-response relation exhibited by the
      ecologic data. To further investigate this hypothesis, the CD2 model was fitted
      to combine age-specific LCM data vs estimated radon-exposure in white females of
      age 40+ years in 2821 US counties during 1950-1954 using new estimates of county
      specific mean residential radon exposure, and in five cohorts of underground
      nonsmoking miners. The negative association of radon levels and corresponding
      county-level LCM rates apparent in women dying in 1950-1954 (11% of whom never
      smoked) was also apparent in women of age 60+ years (5% of whom never smoked).
      The CD2 fit obtained to the combined residential and occupational data was found
      to predict the combined data using biologically plausible parameter values, and
      also to predict inverse dose-rate effects exhibited in nonsmoking miner data to
      which the CD2 model was not fit. These results are consistent with the hypothesis
      that residential radon exposure has a nonlinear U-shaped relation to LCM risk,
      and that current linear extrapolation models substantially overestimate such
      risk.

PMID- 9988375
TI  - A cancer risk model with adaptive repair.
AB  - The cancer risk model described herein first appeared in 1982. The model provides
      a plausible mechanism with biological underpinnings that might reasonably explain
      observed phenomena in cancer dose-response studies that are not being addressed
      by the risk models currently in use. This article is a summary and explanation of
      the features of the model that relate to hormesis. Data from several saccharin
      studies served in large part to motivate the original research, and were used to
      illustrate beneficial low-dose effects that could be explained by the model. The
      model itself is a function of linear ratios of the administered dose x. Linear
      ratios arise naturally from non-linear Michaelis-Menten kinetics, as described in
      the next section. The one-hit cancer risk model is used to illustrate the
      hormetic concepts brought out by linear ratios. The one-hit model is modified to
      account for repair and for non-linear kinetics, by using a linear ratio of the
      administered dose instead of the actual administered dose, and by expressing the
      probability that a 'hit' is repaired as a linear ratio of the administered dose.
      The phenomenon of hormesis - or low-dose beneficial effects-has been widely
      observed and accepted. Yet none of the cancer risk models currently in wide use
      have attempted to accommodate hormetic effects. The modified one-hit model
      developed herein does not attempt to account for elimination or detoxification,
      but nevertheless it provides plausible explanations for certain classes of
      observed hormetic phenomena associated with experimental testing of carcinogenic
      substances in animals.

PMID- 9988376
TI  - U-shaped dose-response curves for carcinogens.

PMID- 9988377
TI  - Genealogy reconstruction from short tandem repeat genotypes in an Amazonian
      population.
AB  - We have reconstructed partial genealogies in a sample of 44 SW Amazonian
      Rondonian Surui, in which 45 dinucleotide short tandem repeat polymorphisms had
      previously been typed. The genotypes of 488 pairs of individuals having an age
      difference of 13 or greater were compared, and parentage was excluded if a pair
      failed to share an allele at more than one locus. In order to test the power of
      this method, we computed the expected distribution of the number of exclusionary
      loci for such pairs of unrelated individuals, as well as that for individuals
      with different degrees of relatedness, and compared it to the observed
      distribution. We estimated that the pairs compared contained approximately 20% of
      individual pairs with a first-cousin relation or closer. A total of 25 pairs were
      identified as possible parent-child. In three instances, we could identify two or
      more children having a common parent; we computed a relatedness coefficient in
      order to establish whether the children were full or half sibs. The genealogies
      inferred show that instances of polygyny and polyandry (or, alternatively, serial
      mating), in addition to apparent monogamy, can be found among the Surui. The
      Surui sample can be used as a model for paleoanthropological populations, in
      which the determination of relatedness can provide further insights into the
      social structure of past populations. We estimate that, depending on the history
      of the populations and the degree of inbreeding, 10-20 highly informative nuclear
      loci should be typed in order to infer genealogies with acceptable confidence.

PMID- 9988378
TI  - Population substructure and isolation by distance in three continental regions.
AB  - Isolation by distance and divergence from a shared population history are two
      sources of population substructure. Isolation by distance erases population
      history as populations approach migration-drift equilibrium, while diverging
      populations descended from a single ancestral population will accumulate genetic
      differences with time. Here I investigate how much of the worldwide genetic
      diversity from Jorde et al.'s ([1997] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:3100-3103) 60
      tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) data can be explained by isolation by
      distance. I use Slatkin's measure of population substructure, R(ST), principal
      components analyses, and Mantel tests to investigate the pattern of genetic
      diversity at both the intercontinental and intracontinental levels. Geographic
      distance accounts for almost 60% of world-wide interpopulation genetic
      relationships. Within continents, the correlations are less, although not
      significantly so because of wide confidence intervals. These results suggest that
      populations have not reached migration-drift equilibrium and that there is
      information in STR data to reconstruct population history. The level of
      population substructure worldwide is consistent with previous observations, but
      at the intracontinental level substructure is less. When one examines diversity
      against distance from the centroid, one sees excess heterozygosity in Africa, a
      pattern also noted by Stoneking et al. ([1998] Genome Research 7:1061-1071). A
      larger effective population size in Africa could explain the excess diversity.
      Greater gene flow in Africa is an unlikely explanation because the African R(ST)
      value is slightly larger than the Asian and European R(ST)s, pointing to less
      gene flow and greater substructure among African populations. Furthermore, there
      are differences in patterns between heterozygosity and allele size variance.
      Heterozygosity has a higher correlation with distance from the centroid than does
      allele size variance, and this may reflect demographic history. Kimmel et al.
      ([1998] Genetics 148:1921-1930) have shown that after a population expansion
      heterozygosity returns to equilibrium more quickly than does allele size
      variance. The contrasting patterns between heterozygosity and allele size
      variance may reflect different times after an expansion. However, simulations and
      further work need to be done to more thoroughly investigate the possibility that
      these data reflect population expansions.

PMID- 9988379
TI  - Body size and physique among Canadians of First Nation and European ancestry.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to compare body size and physique among Canadians
      of Aboriginal (First Nation [FN]) and European ancestry (EA) from the northern
      Ontario communities of Temagami and Bear Island. The sample consisted of 130 FN
      and 494 EA participants including adults (20-75 years: 214 men, 234 women) and
      youth (5-19 years: 97 boys, 79 girls). Indicators of body size and physique
      included stature, the sitting height-to-stature ratio (SSR), body mass, BMI,
      estimated upper-arm muscle area, biacromial, bicristal, biepicondylar, and
      bicondylar breadths, and the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype (endomorphy,
      mesomorphy, and ectomorphy). There were few differences in body size between FN
      and EA, with the exception of adult females. Adult FN females were significantly
      heavier and had greater bone breadths than EA women (P < 0.001). On the other
      hand, somatotype differed significantly between EA and FN by age and sex, except
      for 5-19-year-old females. Among boys and men, FN had greater endomorphy (P <
      0.03), whereas FN men also had lower ectomorphy (P < 0.01). Among women, FN were
      significantly more endomorphic and mesomorphic and less ectomorphic (P < 0.001).
      Although results for 5-19-year-old females were not significant, they were in the
      same direction as the other groups (greater endomorphy). Forward stepwise
      discriminant function analyses indicated that endomorphy was the most important
      discriminator between FN and EA by age and sex.

PMID- 9988380
TI  - Biological affinities and adaptations of Bronze Age Bactrians: IV. A craniometric
      investigation of Bactrian origins.
AB  - Discovery of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization (Oxus civilization)
      centered on the oases of Central Asia revealed the presence of large, preplanned
      urban centers immediately above sterile soil. Given the absence of local
      antecedents, the sudden appearance and proliferation of these Oxus civilization
      urban centers in the oases of Bactria and Margiana immediately raised the issue
      of where the inhabitants of these urban centers came from. Three hypotheses have
      been offered by archaeologists to account for the origins of Oxus civilization
      populations. These include the early influence model, the late colonization
      model, and the trichotomy model. Eleven craniometric variables from 12
      Aeneolithic and Bronze Age samples, encompassing 657 adults from Central Asia,
      Iran, and the Indus Valley, are compared to test which if any of these hypotheses
      are supported by the pattern of phenetic affinities possessed by the Oxus
      civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Craniometric differences
      between samples are compared with Mahalanobis generalized distance (d2), and
      patterns of phenetic affinity are assessed with two types of cluster analysis
      (WPGMA, neighbor-joining method), multidimensional scaling, and principal
      coordinates analysis. Results of this analysis provide no support for either the
      late colonization model or the trichotomy model but do offer some support for the
      early influence model. Nevertheless, it is clear that the early influence model
      fails to account for a shift in interregional contacts, perhaps from western
      China to the north around 2000 BC, that appears to have played a major role in
      the origins of the Oxus civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis.

PMID- 9988381
TI  - Collateral relatives of American Indians among the Bronze Age populations of
      Siberia?
AB  - Nonmetric and metric traits were studied in cranial series representing
      prehistoric and modern populations of America and Siberia. Frequencies of the
      infraorbital pattern type II (longitudinal infraorbital suture overlaid by the
      zygomatic bone) are universally lower in Amerindians than in Siberians. The os
      japonicum posterior trace, too, is much less frequent in America than in Siberia.
      The only two Siberian groups with an almost Amerindian combination are late third
      to early second millennium BC populations from Okunev and Sopka, southern
      Siberia. The multivariate analysis of five nonmetric facial traits and ten facial
      measurements in 15 cranial series reveals two independent tendencies. One of them
      shows a contrast between prehistoric Siberian Caucasoids and modern Siberian
      Mongoloids; the second one sets Amerindians apart from others. Prehistoric people
      who lived west of Lake Baikal and modern Uralic speakers are intermediate between
      Siberian Caucasoids and Siberian Mongoloids; Eskimos, Aleuts, and Chukchi are
      intermediate between Siberian Mongoloids and Amerindians; and Okunev and Sopka
      are intermediate between Siberian Caucasoids and Amerindians. Our results suggest
      that people of Okunev and Sopka are collateral relatives of Amerindians with some
      Caucasoid admixture.

PMID- 9988382
TI  - Kinematic data on primate head and neck posture: implications for the evolution
      of basicranial flexion and an evaluation of registration planes used in
      paleoanthropology.
AB  - Kinematic data on primate head and neck posture were collected by filming 29
      primate species during locomotion. These were used to test whether head and neck
      posture are significant influences on basicranial flexion and whether the
      Frankfurt plane can legitimately be employed in paleoanthropological studies.
      Three kinematic measurements were recorded as angles relative to the gravity
      vector, the inclination of the orbital plane, the inclination of the neck, and
      the inclination of the Frankfurt plane. A fourth kinematic measurement was
      calculated as the angle between the neck and the orbital plane (the head-neck
      angle [HNA]). The functional relationships of basicranial flexion were examined
      by calculating the correlations and partial correlations between HNA and
      craniometric measurements representing basicranial flexion, orbital kyphosis, and
      relative brain size (Ross and Ravosa [1993] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 91:305-324).
      Significant partial correlations were observed between relative brain size and
      basicranial flexion and between HNA and orbital kyphosis. This indicates that
      brain size, rather than head and neck posture, is the primary influence on
      flexion, while the degree of orbital kyphosis may act to reorient the visual
      field in response to variation in head and neck posture. Regarding registration
      planes, the Frankfurt plane was found to be horizontal in humans but inclined in
      all nonhuman primates. In contrast, nearly all primates (including humans)
      oriented their orbits such that they faced anteriorly and slightly inferiorly.
      These results suggest that for certain functional craniometric studies, the
      orbital plane may be a more suitable registration plane than Frankfurt
      "Horizontal."

PMID- 9988383
TI  - Cranial growth in Homo erectus: how credible are the Ngandong juveniles?
AB  - Confusion exists regarding the developmental ages of numerous Asian and southeast
      Asian Homo erectus fossils because of Weidenreich's contention that
      Pithecanthropus fused its sutures prematurely relative to H. sapiens. I
      reevaluate the cranial developmental ages of the Ngandong "juveniles" (2, 5, 8,
      9) based on a series of indicators of youth (superstructure development, suture
      development/fusion, and cranial thickness) and cranial contours. The Ngandong
      juveniles are compared with H. sapiens adults (n = 281) and subadults (n = 81)
      and with Ngandong and other H. erectus adults (n = 20) and subadults (n = 4).
      Cranial contours are assessed using bivariate plots of arc vs. chord
      measurements. All indicators suggest that Ngandong 5 and 9 are adults, whereas
      Ngandong 8 is an older juvenile or young adult and Ngandong 2 is a juvenile with
      a developmental age range of greater than 6 and less than 11 years. In addition,
      adult cranial contours and the pattern of contour development are similar between
      Ngandong adults and other H. erectus adults. There is nothing in the cranial
      contour data to suggest that Ngandong is, despite a relatively large brain,
      transitional in vault shape between H. erectus and H. sapiens.

PMID- 9988384
TI  - A new correction procedure for calibrating dental caries frequency.
AB  - The incisors and canines and the premolars and molars show differential
      resistance to cariogenic factors. The anterior teeth have a lower caries
      frequency than the posterior teeth. However, these tooth classes are lost
      differentially in postmortem stages due to their anatomical structures. This
      differential postmortem tooth loss distorts proportions between the anterior and
      posterior tooth classes. The disproportionality can affect the calculation of
      total caries prevalence. In this paper, we propose a new calibration procedure
      which removes this disproportionality and call it the proportional correction
      factor. For this procedure, the caries rates of anterior and posterior teeth are
      corrected by multiplying the anterior teeth by three-eighths and the posterior
      teeth by five-eighths. These fractions are derived from the human dental formula
      which contains three anterior and five posterior teeth by side. The correction
      factor is more effective if the proportion of anterior to the posterior teeth is
      extremely distorted. When this procedure is used with the caries correction
      factor, it provides a useful way to approach to an almost true caries prevalence.

PMID- 9988385
TI  - Association between cytosolic low molecular weight phosphotyrosine-phosphatase
      and malaria--a possible mechanism.
AB  - Cytosolic low molecular weight phosphotyrosine-phosphatase shows
      dephosphorylating activity of the band 3 protein. Increased phosphorylation of
      this protein increases membrane rigidity and resistance to invasion of red blood
      cells by malarial parasites. This observation may explain the negative
      association previously reported by our group between the high activity *C allele
      of cytosolic low molecular weight phosphotyrosine-phosphatase and past malarial
      morbidity.

PMID- 9988386
TI  - Mutations in human gonadotropin genes and their physiologic significance in
      puberty and reproduction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Human gene mutations provide an opportunity to study the
      pathophysiology of the disease process as well as normal physiology. The purpose
      of the present report was to review known human gene mutations that affect
      gonadotropin secretion. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of studies of human gene
      mutations that affect hypothalamic, pituitary, and gonadal function was
      conducted. RESULT(S): Mutations have been identified for at least three genes
      that cause inherited hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. In addition, gene mutations
      for the beta-subunits of FSH and LH have been characterized. Both activating and
      inactivating mutations have been identified for the gonadotropin receptor genes.
      CONCLUSION(S): The identification of human gene mutations has furthered our
      understanding of the normal processes of pubertal development and fertility.

PMID- 9988387
TI  - Reconstituting eggs: the ethics of cytoplasm donation.

PMID- 9988388
TI  - Clinical value of using an automated sperm morphology analyzer (IVOS).
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical value of automated normal sperm morphology
      outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Clinical and research
      assisted reproduction laboratory. PATIENT(S): Two hundred seven GIFT cycles.
      INTERVENTION(S): The wife was induced to superovulate, laparoscopically
      aspirated, and the gametes were transferred laparoscopically. The husband's sperm
      morphology was evaluated with use of a sperm morphology analyzer using the strict
      criteria classification system. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Normal sperm morphology,
      IVF, and pregnancy outcomes. RESULT(S): The logistic regression model showed that
      normal sperm morphology was significantly associated with fertilization in vitro,
      as dependent (age) and independent variables. Analyzing the fertilization rates
      across the 5% normal sperm morphology cutoff point, a fertilization rate of
      39.39% (< or = 5%) compared with 62.92% (>5%) was obtained. The logistic
      regression model showed that normal sperm morphology was also a significant
      predictor of pregnancy when allowing for the number of oocytes transferred and
      female age. Analyzing the pregnancy rates across the 5% normal sperm morphology
      cutoff point, pregnancy rates of 15.15% (< or = 5%) and 37.36% (>5%) were
      obtained. CONCLUSION(S): Normal sperm morphology as evaluated by the automated
      semen analyzer (IVOS) was shown to adhere to the same fertility cutoff point
      (5%), as determined by the manual evaluation of sperm morphology. Automated
      normal sperm morphology outcomes also were found to be significant predictors of
      IVF and pregnancy in a GIFT program.

PMID- 9988389
TI  - Differences in the attitudes of couples whose children were conceived through
      artificial insemination by donor in 1980 and in 1996.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the attitudes of couples whose children were conceived
      through artificial insemination by donor (AID) in 1980 and in 1996. DESIGN:
      Replication study. SETTING: Infertility clinic of the Utrecht university
      hospital. PATIENT(S): Couples who conceived a child through AID in 1980 (n = 134)
      or in 1996 (n = 110). INTERVENTION(S): Anonymous questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE(S): Answers to questionnaires. RESULT(S): Couples who conceive a child
      through AID still strongly prefer (84%) absolute anonymity of the donor. In both
      1980 and 1996, most couples (approximately 80%) decided not to inform their child
      about the nature of his or her conception. In 1996, couples who considered
      informing their child hesitated significantly less and showed significantly more
      openness toward others. In addition, more couples wanted unidentifiable data
      about the donor and considered it more important to use the same donor for a
      subsequent child. CONCLUSION(S): Between 1980 and 1996, the number of couples who
      conceived a child through AID and adhered to absolute anonymity of the donor and
      secrecy toward the child remained the same, whereas their openness toward others
      and desire for unidentifiable data about the donor increased.

PMID- 9988390
TI  - Effects of human oviductal cell coculture on various functional parameters of
      human spermatozoa.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of human oviductal cells on various sperm
      functions in vitro. DESIGN: Controlled experimental laboratory study. SETTING:
      University gynecology unit. PATIENT(S): Women undergoing tubal ligation or
      hysterectomy and men who were visiting our subfertility clinics. INTERVENTION(S):
      Coculture of oviductal cells with human spermatozoa in vitro; sperm functions
      were determined after coculture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Capacitation, acrosome
      reaction, zona binding, and oocyte fusion. RESULT(S): Oviductal cells and
      conditioned medium induced more spermatozoa to capacitate than did control
      medium. Although there was no difference in the spontaneous acrosome reaction
      between any of the groups, the coculture group had a lower percentage of acrosome
      reacted spermatozoa after calcium ionophore challenge than did the control and
      conditioned medium groups. Coculture and conditioned medium treatment reduced the
      number of spermatozoa bound to the zona pellucida. The penetration rate and
      penetration index of the control spermatozoa in the zona-free hamster oocyte
      penetration test were significantly higher than that of the cocultured or
      conditioned medium-treated spermatozoa. CONCLUSION(S): Human oviductal cells
      promoted capacitation, stabilized the acrosome, and suppressed binding to the
      zona pellucida and fusion with the oocyte in vitro.

PMID- 9988391
TI  - Enhancement or initiation of testicular sperm motility by in vitro culture of
      testicular tissue.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe different techniques of testicular tissue culture and
      their effect on sperm motility, mainly in cases of totally immotile spermatozoa,
      and to compare the effect of in vitro culture with that of motility stimulants.
      DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. PATIENT(S): Ten
      patients undergoing testicular biopsy for diagnostic purposes or for
      intracytoplasmic sperm injection. INTERVENTION(S): Dissected testicular biopsy
      samples and tissue blocks were cultured at 37 degrees C for up to 96 hours.
      Immediately after dissection, immotile testicular spermatozoa were incubated for
      30 minutes in pentoxifylline and 2-deoxyadenosine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm
      motility and vitality. RESULT(S): Overall, dissected samples showed improved
      sperm motility, which peaked within 48 hours of culture. Unlike motility,
      vitality declined linearly, from 56.3%+/-19% at initial assessment to 18.8%+/-11%
      at 96 hours. Five samples had initially immotile spermatozoa, of which four
      acquired motility at 48 hours. In vitro culture showed results comparable with
      those of incubation with pentoxifylline and 2-deoxyadenosine. Culture of tissue
      blocks did not improve motility or vitality compared with dissected tissue.
      CONCLUSION(S): The motility of testicular spermatozoa was enhanced or initiated
      after in vitro culture. Testicular biopsy culture may be an alternative to the
      use of motility stimulants to obtain motile spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic
      sperm injection, particularly when oocytes are not immediately available.

PMID- 9988392
TI  - Induction of puberty with human chorionic gonadotropin and follicle-stimulating
      hormone in adolescent males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and hormonal responses of adolescent males
      with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) in response to gonadotropin replacement
      with the use of long-term combined hCG and FSH therapy. DESIGN: Prospective
      clinical study. SETTING: Clinical pediatric department providing tertiary care.
      PATIENT(S): Seven prepubertal males with isolated HH with a mean (+/-SD) age of
      15.44+/-1.97 years and seven prepubertal males with panhypopituitarism-associated
      HH with a mean (+/-SD) age of 18.1+/-3.24 years were studied. INTERVENTION(S):
      Human chorionic gonadotropin (1,000-1,500 IU IM) and FSH (75-100 IU SC) were
      administered every alternate day of the week until the total induction of puberty
      and spermatogenesis was achieved. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum testosterone
      levels, testicular volume, penis length, and sperm count were evaluated after the
      administration of hCG and FSH. RESULT(S): All patients achieved normal sexual
      maturation and normal or nearly normal adult male levels of testosterone. The
      increase in testicular size was significant in both groups. Positive sperm
      production was assessed in four of five patients with isolated HH and in three of
      three patients with panhypopituitarism-associated HH. CONCLUSION(S): Long-term
      combined hCG and FSH therapy is effective in inducing puberty, increasing
      testicular volume, and stimulating spermatogenesis in adolescent males with
      isolated HH and panhypopituitarism-associated HH.

PMID- 9988393
TI  - Effect of seminal oxidative stress on fertility after vasectomy reversal.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate seminal oxidative stress in men after vasectomy reversal
      and to determine whether seminal oxidative stress could predict fertility after
      vasectomy reversal. DESIGN: Measurement of seminal reactive oxygen species (ROS)
      and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in normal donors, men who were fertile after
      vasectomy reversal, and men who were infertile after vasectomy reversal. SETTING:
      A male infertility clinic of a tertiary care center. PATIENT(S): Thirty men who
      underwent vasectomy reversal and 17 normal donors. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN
      OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Semen characteristics, seminal ROS, and TAC were measured
      with chemiluminescence assays in samples from donors and reversal patients.
      RESULT(S): Mean adjusted seminal ROS (log [ROS+1]) was higher in infertile
      reversal patients (2.38+/-0.25) than in normal donors (1.30+/-0.14). Seminal ROS
      was also higher in all (fertile and infertile reversal combined) reversal
      patients than in donors. Total antioxidant capacity did not differ between
      groups. The ROS-TAC score, a composite index of seminal oxidative stress, was a
      significant predictor of fertility. A ROS-TAC score of 45 or greater had a
      positive predictive value of 73% in predicting fertility. CONCLUSION(S): Seminal
      oxidative stress is associated with vasectomy reversal. The ROS-TAC score is a
      possible predictor of infertility after vasectomy reversal.

PMID- 9988394
TI  - Fertilization antigen-1 removes antisperm autoantibodies from spermatozoa of
      infertile men and results in increased rates of acrosome reaction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine if fertilization antigen (FA)-1 will remove
      autoantibodies from the surface of sperm cells of immunoinfertile men by immune
      adsorption and permit an increased acrosome reaction (AR). DESIGN: Prospective
      analytic study. SETTING: University medical center. PATIENT(S): Men from 18
      infertile couples with autoantibodies present on their spermatozoa.
      INTERVENTION(S): Sperm samples after processing were examined for antibody
      binding and AR before and after adsorption with control medium or FA-1. MAIN
      OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm-bound antibody was assessed by the immunobead assay
      (immunoglobulin [Ig] A and IgG) and the AR by induction with ionophore A23187.
      RESULT(S): Adsorption with FA-1 compared with control medium increased immunobead
      free swimming sperm an average of 50% and 76% for IgA and IgG antisperm
      antibodies, respectively, with 78% and 100% of the 18 semen specimens increasing
      significantly. The AR rate increased an average of 10.3% compared with control
      medium and showed improvement in 78% of the sperm samples after FA-1 adsorption.
      CONCLUSION(S): The FA-1 sperm antigen appears to significantly free sperm cells
      coated with autoantibodies in the semen of most infertile men examined. Reducing
      sperm-bound antibodies that inhibited the AR allowed the sperm cells to undergo
      successful AR induction by calcium ionophore.

PMID- 9988395
TI  - Effect of menopause and different combined estradiol-progestin regimens on basal
      and growth hormone-releasing hormone-stimulated serum growth hormone, insulin
      like growth factor-1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-1, and
      IGFBP-3 levels.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of menopause and three different formulations
      of E2 plus medroxyprogesterone acetate on serum concentrations of basal and
      growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)-stimulated growth hormone (GH), insulin
      like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)
      1, IGFBP-3, insulin, and C peptide. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled trial.
      SETTING: Menopausal outpatient clinic at an academic tertiary care hospital.
      PATIENT(S): Nineteen postmenopausal women with different menopausal ages.
      Seventeen premenopausal women were included as controls. INTERVENTION(S): Oral
      estrogen (E2 valerate, 2 mg/d) or transdermal estrogen (50-microg or 100-microg
      E2 patch) was administered for 8 weeks. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (5 mg/d) was
      administered during weeks 3, 4, 7, and 8 of each protocol. Blood samples were
      collected before treatment and after the completion of each protocol from
      postmenopausal women, and on cycle days 6-8 from premenopausal women. MAIN
      OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Levels of GH, IGF-1, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, insulin, and C
      peptide. RESULT(S): Basal GH levels were negatively correlated with age in
      premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women. The area under the GHRH
      induced GH curve decreased in older postmenopausal women after the oral estrogen
      protocol. Levels of IGF-1 diminished after the oral E2 protocol in postmenopausal
      women. CONCLUSION(S): The administration of oral, but not transdermal, E2 plus
      medroxyprogesterone acetate at the usual clinical doses used in postmenopausal
      women decreased IGF-1 levels and the response of GH to GHRH in older women. No
      substantial changes were detected in IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, insulin, or C peptide
      levels.

PMID- 9988396
TI  - Changes in sex hormones during an oral glucose tolerance test in healthy
      premenopausal women.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of an acute elevation in circulating insulin on
      serum androgen levels in healthy obese women with different body-fat
      distributions. DESIGN: Controlled clinical study. SETTING: The Endocrinology Unit
      of an academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Seventy healthy premenopausal women
      participated: 27 women with upper-body obesity, 22 women with lower-body obesity,
      and 21 normal-weight women as controls. INTERVENTION(S): A 75-g oral glucose
      tolerance test (OGTT) was performed for all participants. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE(S): Anthropometry and serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, free T,
      DHEAS, androstenedione, E2, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) at fasting,
      60 minutes, and 120 minutes after oral glucose loading. RESULT(S): Although
      androgens and E2 levels in all three groups declined modestly, there were no
      statistically significant differences in response of the sex hormones to an OGTT
      in the two obese groups and normal-weight women. No correlation was found between
      changes in sex-hormone levels during an OGTT and insulin rise. Increased body
      mass index and more pronounced abdominal fat localization resulted in basal
      hyperinsulinemia, markedly exaggerated glucose-induced insulin levels, and
      hyperandrogenism, as was evident by significantly elevated free T and low SHBG
      serum levels. CONCLUSION(S): There were no statistically significant differences
      in androgen response to acute hyperinsulinemia during an OGTT between obese women
      with different regional fat distributions and lean controls.

PMID- 9988397
TI  - Effect of a baseline ovarian cyst on the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo
      transfer.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the significance of prestimulation ovarian cysts on the
      response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and the outcome of IVF. DESIGN:
      Retrospective study. SETTING: In vitro fertilization unit in an academic center.
      PATIENT(S): One hundred thirty-seven patients undergoing IVF. INTERVENTION(S):
      The outcome of 71 patients who had an ovarian cyst of >10 mm detected at
      ultrasound examination performed on day 3 was compared with that of 66 patients
      who underwent a similar protocol and did not have an ovarian cyst. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE(S): Parameters evaluated were the E2 level on the day of hCG
      administration, the number of follicles, the number of oocytes retrieved, the
      number of embryos transferred, and the pregnancy rate. RESULT(S): The E2 level on
      the day of hCG administration and the number of mature oocytes retrieved were
      lower in the group with a baseline cyst. The pregnancy rate also was
      significantly lower in the group with a cyst (24% versus 41%). The presence of a
      baseline ovarian cyst decreases the odds of pregnancy 0.37-fold (95% confidence
      interval, 0.16-0.87). CONCLUSION(S): A baseline ovarian cyst on cycle day 3 was
      associated with a poorer outcome after IVF-ET.

PMID- 9988398
TI  - Survey of genetic screening for oocyte donors.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe current screening practices of oocyte donation programs in
      the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART). DESIGN: Descriptive
      data from a mailed questionnaire. SETTING: Academic medical center.
      PARTICIPANT(S): In vitro fertilization programs in SART. INTERVENTION(S): Survey
      mailed to IVF programs in the SART registry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Current
      practices, opinions, and genetic criteria for oocyte donor selection. RESULT(S):
      Results from 159 of 229 (69%) eligible oocyte donation programs are described.
      Most centers (70%) completed fewer than 25 cycles and used both anonymous and
      directed donors. There was considerable variability in limits on numbers of
      cycles or births allowed per donor, with many centers having no limits. As well,
      the use of well-established screening tests for genetic disorders, such as sickle
      cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, varied considerably. Consultation with a
      geneticist was possible at most (89%) centers and specifically mentioned by some
      centers as a means to help make decisions. CONCLUSION(S): Most programs follow
      recommendations made by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) for
      screening of gamete donors, but a significant percentage does not use well
      established testing. The widespread availability of genetic consultation should
      promote responsible screening practices.

PMID- 9988399
TI  - Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy in assisted reproduction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for ectopic pregnancy (EP) after IVF-ET.
      DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: In vitro fertilization clinic at a
      university hospital. PATIENT(S): A total of 725 women who conceived after IVF
      were studied with regard to background factors, indications for IVF, and factors
      related to the IVF procedure through review of their medical charts. The rate of
      EP was 4%, corresponding with 29 EPs, of which 2 were heterotopic.
      INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Pregnancy outcome, defined as
      intrauterine pregnancy or EP. Background factors, indications for IVF, and
      factors related to the IVF procedure were analyzed for possible correlation with
      the outcome of EP. Risk factors for EP were identified by logistic regression
      analysis. RESULT(S): Tubal factor infertility, various previous abdominal
      surgeries, previous EP or pelvic infection, presence of a hydrosalpinx or
      fibroid, and type of transfer catheter used showed a positive correlation with EP
      as outcome. Logistic regression analysis identified two factors with predictive
      power: tubal factor infertility and previous myomectomy. CONCLUSION(S): Tubal
      factor infertility was the most prominent risk factor for EP after IVF. Previous
      myomectomy appeared to be another important risk factor, but this is a new
      finding that needs to be confirmed by further study.

PMID- 9988400
TI  - Serum vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations in in vitro fertilization
      cycles predict the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of serum vascular endothelial growth factor
      (VEGF) concentrations during IVF cycles in predicting the risk of ovarian
      hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: London
      Women's Clinic. PATIENT(S): One hundred seven women undergoing IVF. Mild OHSS
      developed in 10 women, moderate OHSS in 7, and severe OHSS in 3. INTERVENTION(S):
      Serum VEGF concentrations were measured before treatment, after pituitary
      desensitization, and on the days of hCG administration, oocyte collection, and
      ET. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum VEGF concentrations. RESULT(S): Serum VEGF
      concentrations were higher in women in whom OHSS developed. The increase in the
      VEGF concentration that occurred between the day of hCG administration and the
      day of oocyte collection (the "VEGF rise") was an important marker of OHSS. The
      VEGF rise was higher in women in whom OHSS developed. A higher VEGF rise
      predicted all cases of OHSS and moderate/severe cases of OHSS with a sensitivity
      of 100% and a specificity of 60%. A likelihood ratio test showed that adding the
      VEGF rise or the VEGF concentration on the day of oocyte collection to a
      regression model as a continuous variable to the number of follicles, the E2
      concentration, and the presence of polycystic ovaries significantly contributed
      to predicting the risk of OHSS. CONCLUSION(S): The results support the role of
      VEGF as an important nonsteroidal index of ovarian response. The VEGF rise may
      have an advantage over the E2 concentration, the number of follicles, and the
      number of oocytes, which individually predict only 15%-25% of cases of OHSS.

PMID- 9988401
TI  - Withholding gonadotropins ("coasting") to minimize the risk of ovarian
      hyperstimulation during superovulation and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer
      cycles.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate superovulation (SOV) and IVF-ET cycles in which E2 levels
      were allowed to decrease to restrain rapid follicular growth and minimize the
      risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. DESIGN: Retrospective series. SETTING:
      Tertiary care infertility practice. PATIENT(S): Women who underwent SOV (n = 51)
      and IVF-ET (n = 93) treatment and who were at risk for OHSS. INTERVENTION(S): In
      SOV cycles, hMG was withheld (coasting) for >3 days before hCG administration,
      until follicular maturity was attained (> or = 3 follicles of > or = 18 mm) and
      E2 levels decreased. In IVF-ET cycles, either follicular maturity was attained
      before coasting (n = 63), allowing hCG administration after E2 levels decreased
      by >25%, or coasting occurred before follicular maturation (n = 30),
      necessitating the administration of additional hMG after coasting. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE(S): Estradiol concentrations, follicle size, and pregnancy rates.
      RESULT(S): Estradiol concentrations usually rose for > or = 1 day after coasting
      began, then fell by > or = 25% while follicle numbers and mean diameters
      increased. No spontaneous LH surges occurred, although four SOV cycles were
      canceled because of excessive follicular development. Of the women who received
      hCG,11 of 47 (23% per cycle) conceived during SOV and 35 of 93 (37.6% per cycle)
      conceived during IVF-ET. Severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome developed in 1
      woman who underwent IVF-ET. CONCLUSION(S): Coasting can safely rescue
      overstimulated SOV and IVF-ET cycles characterized by an excessive rise in E2
      levels and/or numerous incompletely mature follicles.

PMID- 9988402
TI  - Is there a risk of cytomegalovirus transmission during in vitro fertilization
      with donated oocytes?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To define the risk of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) transmission from
      donated oocytes. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University IVF program.
      PATIENT(S): Sixty-seven couples undergoing 72 cycles of IVF-ET. INTERVENTION(S):
      None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum from both partners (women: n = 71; men: n =
      60) was obtained for detection of antibodies to HCMV. Semen before preparation (n
      = 53), sperm after preparation (Percoll gradient; n = 47), cervical mucus
      aspirated at the time of oocyte aspiration (n = 70), and uninseminated oocytes
      and embryos not suitable for cryopreservation (n = 568) were frozen in liquid
      nitrogen. Polymerase chain reaction was used for detection of HCMV (immediate
      early 1 gene) in all samples collected. RESULT(S): Serum antibodies to HCMV were
      found in 62% of the women and 37% of the men tested. Human cytomegalovirus DNA
      was detected in 25% of the ejaculates and in 19% of the cervical mucus samples.
      There was no amplification of HCMV DNA from oocytes or embryos. CONCLUSION(S):
      Because we were unable to amplify HCMV DNA from any of the oocytes or embryos, it
      seems unlikely that HCMV is transmissible through oocyte or embryo donation.

PMID- 9988403
TI  - Three-dimensional partial zona dissection for preimplantation genetic diagnosis
      and assisted hatching.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To develop a new approach to partial zona dissection of oocytes and
      embryos for facilitating preimplantation genetic sampling and assisted hatching.
      DESIGN: Controlled clinical study. SETTING: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis and
      IVF program, Reproductive Genetics Institute/IVF Illinois, Chicago, Illinois.
      PATIENT(S): Three hundred forty patients undergoing IVF in whom preimplantation
      genetic diagnosis or assisted hatching was required. INTERVENTION(S): Three
      dimensional partial zona dissection and conventional partial zona dissection were
      performed, with the use of a simple microneedle, on embryos before
      preimplantation genetic sampling or on day 3 of embryo development before ET.
      MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Pregnancy rate, implantation rate, and ease of
      preimplantation genetic sampling. RESULT(S): A pregnancy rate of 42% and an
      embryo implantation rate of 17.6% were obtained in the group in which three
      dimensional partial zona dissection was performed, compared with a pregnancy rate
      of 33% and an implantation rate of 14.7% in the control group, which underwent
      conventional partial zona dissection. Preimplantation genetic sampling can be
      performed without distortion of the blastomere configuration in the embryo.
      CONCLUSION(S): Three-dimensional partial zona dissection is a safe and simple
      mechanical means of creating an opening sufficient for the atraumatic removal of
      material from oocytes and embryos for preimplantation genetic diagnosis and
      assisted hatching.

PMID- 9988404
TI  - Effect of chronic administration of cabergoline on uterine perfusion in women
      with polycystic ovary syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To confirm whether patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have
      a reduction in uterine perfusion and to verify whether chronic administration of
      cabergoline can decrease this high vascular resistance. DESIGN: Prospective
      randomized trial. SETTING: Endocrinological Centre of the Department of
      Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. PATIENT(S):
      Thirty patients were enrolled in the study: 20 affected by PCOS and 10 healthy
      controls. Patients with PCOS were randomly assigned to one of two treatments for
      3 months: oral administration of cabergoline (0.5 mg) every week or oral
      administration of placebo every week. INTERVENTION(S): All patients underwent
      transvaginal ultrasonography associated with Doppler flow measurement of the
      uterine artery, and serum hormone concentrations were determined during the early
      follicular phase. In women with PCOS, Doppler flow measurement and hormonal
      assessment were repeated in the early follicular phase of the third month of
      treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Pulsatility index of the uterine artery
      before and during treatment. RESULT(S): The mean pulsatility index of the uterine
      artery in patients with PCOS was significantly higher than that of the control
      group (3.29+/-0.5 and 2.01+/-0.2, respectively). Patients with PCOS treated with
      cabergoline showed a significant increase in uterine perfusion, with a
      pulsatility index of 3.14+/-0.6 before and 2.39+/-0.5 during the treatment. No
      difference was found in patients with PCOS treated with placebo. CONCLUSION(S):
      Patients with PCOS have high resistance in the uterine arteries, but chronic
      administration of cabergoline can increase uterine perfusion.

PMID- 9988405
TI  - Do hyperandrogenic women with normal menses have polycystic ovary syndrome?
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) among
      hyperandrogenic women who report normal menses. DESIGN: Prospective observational
      study. SETTING: Academic practice in reproductive endocrinology. PATIENT(S):
      Fifty-eight consecutively seen new patients with hyperandrogenism who reported
      normal menses. INTERVENTION(S): Ovulatory status was assessed with timed serum
      progesterone measurements. The following tests also were carried out: vaginal
      ultrasound examination; measurement of the ovarian response of 17
      hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) after the administration of leuprolide acetate, 1 mg
      SC; and determination of fasting serum LH, FSH, E2, 17-OHP, insulin, and androgen
      levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Determination of ovulatory status, polycystic
      appearance of ovaries, and increased response of 17-OHP to leuprolide acetate.
      RESULT(S): Twelve (20.7%) of the hyperandrogenic women were anovulatory and met
      the usual criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS. The ovulatory patients had lower
      serum total and unbound testosterone levels. Thirty-one (53.4%) of the ovulatory
      women had polycystic ovaries on ultrasound examination and/or an increased 17-OHP
      response to leuprolide acetate, suggesting the diagnosis of PCOS despite the
      presence of ovulation. Considering both the anovulatory and ovulatory patients,
      74% of the hyperandrogenic women studied could have PCOS. CONCLUSION(S): The data
      suggest that most (74%) hyperandrogenic women who report normal menses have
      evidence for the diagnosis of PCOS.

PMID- 9988406
TI  - Effect of troglitazone on endocrine and ovulatory performance in women with
      insulin resistance-related polycystic ovary syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of troglitazone, a new antidiabetic agent
      that improves insulin resistance, on endocrine, metabolic, and ovulatory
      performance in women with insulin resistance-related polycystic ovary syndrome
      (PCOS). DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Infertility outpatient
      clinic, Niigata University Hospital, Niigata, Japan. PATIENT(S): Thirteen women
      with PCOS and insulin resistance. INTERVENTION(S): Troglitazone (400 mg/d) was
      administered for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Insulin and other hormone
      (gonadotropins, androgens) levels; various parameters relating to glucose and
      lipid metabolism before, during, and after troglitazone administration; and
      ovulation rate. RESULT(S): The mean (+/-SD) fasting insulin concentration was
      significantly reduced, from 18.3+/-8.9 to 10.5+/-7.1 microU/mL. The LH level was
      reduced from 9.7+/-3.4 to 4.8+/-3.9 mIU/mL and the testosterone level was reduced
      from 0.9+/-0.5 to 0.5+/-0.3 ng/mL in accordance. Atherosclerotic lipid levels
      also were normalized. Before troglitazone administration, the ovulation rate
      during clomiphene citrate therapy was 34.9% per cycle (15/43). This increased
      significantly to 72.7% (8/11) during troglitazone coadministration. Further, an
      ovulation rate of 42.3% (11/26) was achieved with troglitazone alone.
      CONCLUSION(S): In women with PCOS and insulin resistance, the reduction of
      hyperinsulinemia that is produced by troglitazone improves the hyperandrogenism
      that characterizes PCOS, restoring ovulation.

PMID- 9988407
TI  - Increased expression of messenger ribonucleic acid encoding cytochrome P450
      cholesterol side-chain cleavage and P450 17alpha-hydroxylase enzymes in ovarian
      hyperthecosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the increased ovarian androgen synthesis in
      hyperthecosis is due to increased expression of the steroidogenic enzymes
      essential for androgen synthesis. DESIGN: Controlled study to investigate
      concentration of steroidogenic enzymes in the ovarian stroma of women with
      hyperthecosis of the ovaries. SETTING: Academic research environment. PATIENT(S):
      Three women with ovarian hyperthecosis and eight with normal ovulatory cycles.
      INTERVENTION(S): Ovarian stromal tissues were obtained from women with
      hyperthecosis and women with normal ovaries. Diagnosis of hyperthecosis was
      confirmed by histologic examination of the ovaries. Steroid levels were measured
      in the ovarian vein serum of one patient with hyperthecosis. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURE(S): Tissues were frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen and kept frozen
      until RNA was extracted. Total RNA was examined by Northern blot analysis using
      32P-labeled complementary DNA (cDNA) probes encoding human P450scc and
      P450(17alpha) enzymes. RESULT(S): P450scc and P450(17alpha) messenger RNAs
      (mRNAs) were detected in the normal ovarian stroma and stromal hyperthecosis.
      Compared with normal ovarian stroma, P450scc mRNA was increased twofold and
      P450(17alpha) mRNA was increased threefold in stromal hyperthecosis.
      CONCLUSION(S): [1] Ovarian stroma is probably the site of androgen production in
      ovarian hyperthecosis. [2] Increased stromal androgen synthesis in hyperthecosis
      could be due to increased expression of the enzymes P450scc and P450(17alpha) in
      the ovarian stroma. [3] Markedly increased concentrations of 17alpha
      hydroxyprogesterone in the ovarian vein serum indicate possible dysregulation of
      P450(17alpha) in ovarian hyperthecosis.

PMID- 9988408
TI  - Cytogenetic diagnosis of "normal 46,XX" karyotypes in spontaneous abortions
      frequently may be misleading.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To use the molecular identification of Y chromosome material in
      products of conception cytogenetically diagnosed as "46,XX" to confirm the
      occurrence of inaccurate cytogenetic test results most likely attributable to
      maternal cell contamination. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Academic
      medical center. PATIENT(S): Thirty-four archival tissues from cases of
      spontaneous abortion with a "46,XX" karyotype based on cytogenetic analysis.
      INTERVENTION(S): Maternal and villus DNA were extracted from microdissected,
      formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival tissues. The presence of the X and Y
      chromosomes was detected with the use of polymerase chain reaction assays and
      confirmed with fluorescence in situ hybridization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):
      Accuracy of cytogenetic evaluation of products of conception. RESULT(S): Four
      (29%) of 14 first trimester and 1 (5%) of 20 second trimester "46,XX" pregnancy
      losses contained Y chromosome-specific DNA and demonstrated a single X chromosome
      specific allele by polymerase chain reaction analysis consistent with an "XY"
      karyotype. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was confirmatory in 4 of 5 samples
      that demonstrated single X and Y signals in villus cells. CONCLUSION(S):
      Inaccuracy exists in the cytogenetic analysis of early products of conception
      that most likely is due to maternal cell contamination. In the absence of
      confirmatory testing, such as with a "DNA fingerprinting" assay, reports of a
      "46,XX" karyotype should be used cautiously in patient counseling and management.

PMID- 9988409
TI  - Antiphospholipid antibodies inhibit prostaglandin release by decidual cells of
      early pregnancy: possible involvement of extracellular secretory phospholipase
      A2.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of antiphospholipid antibodies on eicosanoid
      production by human decidual cells and the in vitro interaction between
      antiphospholipid antibodies and secretory phospholipase A2. DESIGN: Cultures of
      human decidual cells from early pregnancy. SETTING: All decidual specimens were
      obtained from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Catholic
      University, Rome, Italy. PATIENT(S): Patients were undergoing operative
      laparoscopy for extrauterine pregnancy, with a period of amenorrhea ranging from
      6 to 9 weeks. INTERVENTION(S): Decidual samples were collected at laparoscopy by
      routine uterine curettage. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Decidual cells were incubated
      with antiphospholipid antibodies, and eicosanoids (prostaglandin [PG] E2,
      PGF2alpha, and thromboxane B2) were assayed by RIA after 24 hours of culture. In
      vitro interactions between antiphospholipid antibodies and secretory
      phospholipase A2 were investigated with use of a modified ELISA for phospholipase
      A2. RESULT(S): Antiphospholipid antibodies reduced eicosanoid release from
      decidual cells in a dose-dependent fashion. In vitro assays showed that
      antiphospholipid antibodies bound secretory phospholipase A2 and that a
      competition occurred between antiphospholipid antibodies and secretory
      phospholipase A2 for the common substrate cardiolipin. CONCLUSION(S): In light of
      the critical role played by eicosanoids in decidual function, we suggest that an
      interaction between antiphospholipid antibodies and secretory phospholipase A2
      occurring in vivo might impair important cellular communications at the decidual
      level in the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

PMID- 9988410
TI  - Expression of integrin messenger ribonucleic acid in human endometrium: a
      quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the expression of selected integrin subunit's messenger RNA
      (mRNA) in human endometrium during the menstrual cycle. DESIGN: A prospective
      comparative study. SETTING: Academic research environment. PATIENT(S):
      Premenopausal women with histologically normal endometrium who were undergoing
      hysterectomy. INTERVENTION(S): Endometrial tissues were collected. RESULT(S):
      Human endometrium expresses integrins alpha2, alpha3, alpha4, alpha5, alpha6.1,
      alpha6.2, alpha v, beta1, beta2, beta3, and beta5, as well as fibronectin mRNA.
      The levels of endometrial integrins mRNA expression varied significantly, with
      the lowest levels observed for alpha2, beta3, and fibronectin and the highest for
      alpha5, beta2, and beta5. The levels of integrins alpha2, alpha3, and alpha5 mRNA
      expression were significantly higher during the proliferative phase, whereas
      alpha4, alpha6.2, alpha v, beta1, beta2, beta3, beta5, and fibronectin were
      higher during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. The alpha6.1 mRNA was
      found to be equally expressed in the endometrium during the menstrual cycle,
      whereas the most dramatic changes occurred in alpha v and beta3 expression,
      compared with other integrin subunits. CONCLUSION(S): Human endometrium expresses
      mRNA for several integrins and fibronectin, with up-regulation of alpha4, alpha
      v, beta1, and beta3 during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle, suggesting
      that their differential expression may be regulated in part by ovarian steroids.

PMID- 9988411
TI  - Arylhydrocarbon receptor expression in the human endometrium.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the expression and localization of the arylhydrocarbon
      (dioxin) receptor in human endometrium throughout the normal menstrual cycle.
      DESIGN: Retrospective immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization study.
      SETTING: Academic research unit. PATIENT(S): Premenopausal women (n = 86), aged
      25 to 45 years, with histologically normal endometrium undergoing curettage or
      hysterectomy. INTERVENTION(S): Endometrial samples were collected from days 3 to
      26 of the cycle by superficial scrapings of the uterine cavity or by
      hysterectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression of arylhydrocarbon receptor
      mRNA and protein. RESULT(S): Arylhydrocarbon receptor was expressed in 43% of the
      endometria studied and was correlated with the day of the cycle. The maximum of
      immunopositive endometria was found around the time of ovulation. Immunostaining
      decreased with increasing age of the patients. The receptor protein was localized
      exclusively in the apical part of the cytoplasm in the epithelial cells of the
      endometrial glands. In women positive for arylhydrocarbon receptor,
      arylhydrocarbon receptor mRNA was expressed in the cytoplasm of endometrial
      epithelial cells. CONCLUSION(S): Our results describe the expression of the
      arylhydrocarbon receptor in human endometrium and indicate a possible involvement
      of this transcription factor in endometrial function in women during the
      reproductive phase.

PMID- 9988412
TI  - Human endometrial stromal cells improve embryo quality by enhancing the
      expression of insulin-like growth factors and their receptors in cocultured human
      preimplantation embryos.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the mechanism by which human endometrial stromal cells
      improve embryo quality in coculture. DESIGN: Randomized study. SETTING: Academic
      research center. PATIENT(S): Patients undergoing IVF-ET. INTERVENTION(S): Donated
      human embryos were cultured randomly either alone (group A) or with human
      endometrial stromal cells (group B), and the embryonic expression of insulin-like
      growth factors (IGFs) and their receptors was detected by reverse transcriptase
      polymerase chain reaction after culture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The embryo
      frequency distribution of groups A and B before and after culture and the
      embryonic transcripts of the IGF family genes of the two study groups after
      culture were compared. RESULT(S): The embryo frequency distribution of the day 3
      embryonic stages in groups A and B was not different. However, after culture, a
      statistically significant difference in blastocyst formation was observed between
      groups A and B. A significant increase in the expression of IGF-1, IGF-2, the IGF
      1 receptor, and the insulin-receptor also was noted. Among the embryos that
      reached the blastocyst stage, the expression of IGF-1 and the IGF-1 receptor also
      was significantly different in the two study groups. CONCLUSION(S): Human
      endometrial stromal cells enhanced the expression of IGFs and their receptors in
      cocultured human embryos, which may be essential for improving embryo quality.

PMID- 9988413
TI  - Messenger ribonucleic acid for the gonadal luteinizing hormone/human chorionic
      gonadotropin receptor is not present in human endometrium.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether messenger RNA for the gonadal LH/hCG receptor is
      present in human endometrium with the use of reverse-transcriptase polymerase
      chain reaction. DESIGN: In vitro experiment. SETTING: Academic medical center.
      PATIENT(S): Premenopausal women who were not receiving hormonally active
      medications and who were undergoing hysterectomy for uterine leiomyomas,
      menorrhagia, pelvic pain, or uterine prolapse. INTERVENTION(S): Tissue from
      hysterectomy specimens was processed for RNA and treated with deoxyribonuclease
      where appropriate, and RNA was reverse-transcribed to complementary DNA. MAIN
      OUTCOME MEASURE(S): An appropriately sized band after reverse-transcriptase
      polymerase chain reaction, followed by sequencing to confirm the results.
      RESULT(S): A primer pair that spanned the extracellular domain was unable to
      amplify receptor complementary DNA from human endometrial tissue. For a primer
      pair that spanned transmembrane regions 2-6 of the receptor and was contained
      wholly in exon 11, a 552-base pair fragment was amplified successfully in 19 of
      25 human endometrial samples. CONCLUSION(S): The traditional gonadal LH/hCG
      receptor does not appear to be present in human endometrial tissue. The presence
      of a portion of the transmembrane part of the molecule suggests that human
      endometrium may express a truncated or variant form of the receptor.

PMID- 9988414
TI  - A case of fatal pulmonary thromboembolism associated with the use of intravenous
      estrogen therapy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To report a case of fatal pulmonary embolism associated with the use
      of i.v. estrogen therapy for menometrorrhagia. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING:
      University hospital. PATIENT(S): A 52-year-old woman with fibroid uterus treated
      with GnRH analogues with add-back therapy who presented with excessive vaginal
      bleeding. INTERVENTION(S): Intravenous conjugated estrogens were administered for
      a total of six doses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Fatal thromboembolic event.
      RESULT(S): The day after i.v. conjugated estrogens were administered, the patient
      had only scant vaginal bleeding, but she experienced the sudden onset of
      respiratory distress, became comatose, and subsequently had ventricular
      fibrillation leading to asystole. All resuscitative efforts failed. Postmortem
      examination revealed bilateral pulmonary artery thromboembolism (saddle embolus).
      CONCLUSION(S): Intravenous conjugated estrogen therapy may be complicated by
      fatal thromboembolic events. This potential adverse effect must be considered in
      the use of such therapy for severe menometrorrhagia, especially when treating a
      patient at increased risk.

PMID- 9988415
TI  - Laparoscopic vesicopsoas hitch for infiltrative ureteral endometriosis.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To report the technique and outcome of a laparoscopic vesicopsoas
      hitch used for the treatment of infiltrative ureteral endometriosis. DESIGN: Case
      report. SETTING: A tertiary care center. PATIENT(S): A 36-year-old woman with
      infiltrative endometriosis of the ureter. INTERVENTION(S): A laparoscopic
      vesicopsoas hitch. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The return of normal ureteral
      function as measured by IV pyelography and ultrasonography. RESULT(S): After
      partial ureteral resection, it was noted that a tension-free anastomosis to the
      bladder was not possible. Thus, a laparoscopic vesicopsoas hitch was performed.
      CONCLUSION(S): A vesicopsoas hitch can be performed successfully by laparoscopy.

PMID- 9988416
TI  - Multifetal pregnancy reduction: modification of the technique and analysis of the
      outcome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To modify the technique of multifetal pregnancy reduction and to study
      the outcome of reduced twins in comparison with nonreduced twins and high-order
      multiple gestations. DESIGN: Prospective controlled study. SETTING: The Egyptian
      IVF-ET Center, Cairo. PATIENT(S): Seventy-five patients with high-order multiple
      pregnancies resulting from assisted reproduction. Controls were 40 nonreduced
      twin pregnancies and 22 high-order multiple gestations. INTERVENTION(S):
      Transvaginal ultrasonically guided multifetal pregnancy reduction was performed.
      The first 30 cases were done using KCl as a cardiotoxic agent. The modified
      technique was used for the last 45 cases at an earlier gestational age
      (approximately 7 weeks) by eliminating the use of KCI and by aspirating the
      embryonic parts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Miscarriage rate, gestational age at
      delivery, birth weight, and pregnancy complications. RESULT(S): Using the
      modified technique, the miscarriage rate was 8.8% and 41 patients delivered
      between 32 and 39 weeks of gestation (mean+/-SD, 36.9+/-2.45 weeks). The mean (+/
      SD) birth weight was 2,450.51+/-235.44 g. The miscarriage rate, fetal wastage
      rate, mean gestational age, and mean birth weight were similar in reduced and
      nonreduced twins and were significantly better than in nonreduced triplets and
      quadruplets. CONCLUSION(S): The modified technique of multifetal pregnancy
      reduction significantly improved outcomes, which were similar to those of
      nonreduced twins resulting from assisted reproduction and significantly better
      than those of nonreduced triplets and quadruplets.

PMID- 9988417
TI  - Endocrine function in transplanted ovaries?

PMID- 9988418
TI  - Endocrine function in transplanted ovaries?

PMID- 9988419
TI  - Does intravenous albumin prevent severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome?

PMID- 9988420
TI  - HRT and cardiovascular risk factors?

PMID- 9988421
TI  - "Poor responders" to gonadotropins and levels of antibodies to Chlamydia
      trachomatis?

PMID- 9988422
TI  - Meta-analysis for the diagnostic accuracy of a test?

PMID- 9988423
TI  - Meta-analysis for the diagnostic accuracy of a test?

PMID- 9988424
TI  - Sleepless nights for SART investigators?

PMID- 9988425
TI  - Sleepless nights for SART investigators?

PMID- 9988426
TI  - Sleepless nights for SART investigators?

PMID- 9988427
TI  - Is allergy increasing?--early life influences.
AB  - Data from epidemiological studies conducted in several countries worldwide have
      revealed that the prevalences of allergic conditions, including allergic
      rhinitis, asthma and eczema, have increased from the 1940s/50s to the 1990s.
      These allergic conditions involve specific IgE-mediated responses, and a few
      studies have demonstrated that IgE levels have increased in some communities over
      time in a manner similar to the incidences of allergic conditions. The
      predisposition for atopy appears to be determined in early life, and evidence
      indicates that events occurring in utero and in infancy can influence the future
      development of atopy. The intrauterine environment favours TH2 cell development
      and IgE production and could predispose to atopy. It can be hypothesized that
      dietary or other factors favouring TH2 proliferation might contribute to the
      development of atopic disease. Conversely, early infection has been found to have
      a negative association with the development of atopy, perhaps through promotion
      of a TH response; the reduction in infection in the very young as a consequence
      of modern healthcare may have contributed to the increase in atopic disease.
      Thus, it is a plausible hypothesis that changes in the conditions of the
      intrauterine environment and/or in infancy (for example, in nutrition and in
      rates of infection) may explain the observed increases in atopy and allergic
      conditions.

PMID- 9988428
TI  - Why is allergy increasing?--environmental factors.
AB  - Data from epidemiological studies have shown that allergic conditions have
      increased over the last 30-40 years, particularly in developed countries, despite
      a decrease in the severity of grass pollen seasons. Other epidemiological studies
      suggest an interaction between allergic diseases and traffic pollution, and
      laboratory findings indicate that diesel exhaust particles enhance sensitivity to
      allergens. In an in vitro study, we found evidence to suggest that cigarette
      smoke may render the airway epithelium more susceptible to adverse effects of
      allergens. Evidence from other studies indicates that O3 and NO2, with or without
      SO2, can enhance the airway allergic response in susceptible individuals such as
      those with asthma and rhinitis. Studies investigating cellular and subcellular
      mechanisms suggest that pollutants are likely to influence the actions and
      interactions of a variety of cells, and lead to the synthesis of proinflammatory
      mediators that modulate the activity and functions of inflammatory cells.

PMID- 9988429
TI  - Histamine--a major role in allergy?
AB  - Since its discovery in 1911, histamine has been recognized as a major mediator in
      allergic reactions and diseases, and today antihistamines remain important agents
      in the treatment of these conditions. In addition to its known effects on glands,
      vessels and sensory nerves, recent data have provided further evidence of
      histamine's proinflammatory actions, which appear to be mediated mainly by H1
      receptors. Thus, findings indicate that histamine is a crucial mediator in both
      the early and late-phase reactions of an allergic response, playing important
      roles in cytokine release and in the adhesion process. Histamine has been shown
      to increase the adhesion of leucocytes to the endothelium and to stimulate
      production of IL-6 and IL-8 by endothelial cells. It also increases TNF alpha
      induced IL-6 production and expression of adhesion molecules. These effects can
      be inhibited by H1 receptor antagonists. First-generation antihistamines, though
      moderately effective, showed poor selectivity and caused sedation, due to their
      penetration of the blood-brain barrier, and other troublesome side-effects.
      Second-generation antihistamines such as ebastine have increased potency due to
      greater selectivity for histamine receptors, and improved tolerability due to
      lack of penetration of the blood brain barrier. Recent studies have shown
      ebastine 10 mg daily to be effective, safe and well tolerated in the treatment of
      seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), with a rapid onset of action, symptom relief
      comparable to that seen with topical azelastine or oral loratadine 10 mg o.d.,
      cetirizine 10 mg o.d. or terfenadine 60 mg b.i.d., and no significant side
      effects. Ebastine therefore offers a new option in the treatment of seasonal
      allergic rhinitis.

PMID- 9988430
TI  - The inflammatory nature of allergic disease.
AB  - The allergic inflammatory response in allergic rhinitis has been studied
      extensively owing to the high frequency of the condition, the significant
      morbidity it causes and the accessibility of the nasal tissue. The allergic
      inflammatory response is characterized by IgE synthesis, IgE-dependent mast cell
      activation and infiltration of the nasal mucosa by T lymphocytes and eosinophils.
      The immediate-phase response is mediated by a range of inflammatory mediators
      (such as histamine, leukotrienes and prostaglandins), resulting in
      vasodilatation, oedema, mucus secretion, itching and sneezing. Individuals who
      experience a late-phase response have further nasal symptoms 4-24 h after the
      initial challenge with allergen. Results of nasal biopsy studies indicate that
      the late-phase allergic response involves T-lymphocyte activation, production of
      TH2-type cytokines and tissue eosinophilia. Corticosteroids potently inhibit T
      lymphocyte responses, and clinical studies in subjects with allergic rhinitis
      have demonstrated that they are extremely effective in blocking both early- and
      late-phase allergic reactions. Topical aqueous triamcinolone acetonide nasal
      spray represents a novel formulation of a topical corticosteroid for the
      treatment of allergic rhinitis. Data from controlled clinical studies indicate
      that it is effective in treating seasonal and perennial disease, is well
      tolerated, does not suppress adrenocortical function, is odourless, and can be
      administered as a once-daily dose.

PMID- 9988431
TI  - Allergic rhinitis--making the correct diagnosis.
AB  - The symptoms of rhinosinusitis occur in a variety of sinonasal conditions, which
      may be broadly classified as allergic (seasonal, perennial or occupational
      rhinitis/rhinosinusitis) or non-allergic (caused by infection, or non-infectious,
      e.g. drug-induced or idiopathic). Correct diagnosis is important for optimal
      management. A thorough history should be taken, followed by general and
      endoscopic examinations and confirmatory investigations. Careful examination
      should reveal obvious alternative causes of symptoms, such as polyps or tumours.
      If allergy is suspected, this can be confirmed by further tests, particularly the
      skin-prick test or measurements of serum specific IgE. Imaging techniques,
      usually X-rays or CT scanning, are of use if a systemic condition or major
      sinonasal disorder needs to be excluded. Other useful diagnostic aids are
      measurements of nasal peak flow, rhinomanometry, acoustic rhinometry, olfactory
      threshold, and measures of mucociliary function (which may include biopsy for
      electron microscopy).

PMID- 9988432
TI  - Management of rhinitis--the specialist's opinion.
AB  - The aim of the guidelines in the International Consensus Report on the Diagnosis
      and Management of Rhinitis was to aid general practitioners (GPs) in the
      treatment of mild or moderate cases of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR),
      perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) and non-allergic rhinitis. After the initial
      strategy of allergen avoidance, GPs have several medications at their disposal.
      For mild or occasional symptoms of SAR, an oral H1-antihistamine or topical
      antihistamines or chromones are advised. For moderate symptoms, a topical nasal
      steroid can be used with or without an oral H1-antihistamine supplemented if
      necessary with a topical antihistamine or chromone eyedrops. For PAR, patients
      should be advised on how to minimize their exposure to house-dust mite (HDM)
      allergens. For intermittent symptoms, an oral H1-antihistamine and an occasional
      oral decongestant can be used. For persistent symptoms, a topical nasal steroid
      is advised, possibly supplemented with an antihistamine. For non-allergic
      rhinitis, irritant factors should be identified and avoided if possible. Topical
      or oral decongestants can be used for intermittent symptoms. Topical ipratropium
      bromide is useful for drying up watery rhinorrhea. For moderate symptoms, either
      a topical nasal steroid or topical ipratropium bromide should be used. For all
      the conditions, if treatment proves ineffective and symptoms are severe, then a
      specialist referral is appropriate. Investigations are conducted to identify
      causative allergens. Further treatment options include immunotherapy and minimal
      invasive surgery. A large clinical study is ongoing to validate the guidelines
      and enable the development of simpler therapeutic options according to symptom
      severity. In the meantime, the current guidelines provide a valuable guide to
      both the GP and the specialist.

PMID- 9988433
TI  - Rhinitis management: the patient's perspective.
AB  - Seasonal allergic rhinitis causes considerable impairment of health-related
      quality of life (HQRL). Generic quality-of-life questionnaires enable a
      comparison to be made between patients with different illnesses, but they often
      have insufficient depth to measure specific problems that are important to an
      individual with a particular condition. In order to overcome these shortcomings,
      the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) was developed.
      Eighty-nine patients, with a wide range of rhinoconjunctivitis severity, scored a
      list of 91 problems for importance. The highest-scoring problems were the
      practical problems: continually having to blow the nose, rub the nose and eyes,
      and carry tissues. Patients were also bothered by sleep impairments and systemic
      problems such as tiredness, poor concentration and thirst. Questionnaires have
      also been developed for adolescents (12-17 years of age)--finding similar results
      to those for adults--and children (6-12 years of age), who were troubled by their
      symptoms but did not have the emotional dysfunction experienced by adults and
      adolescents. All three questionnaires have strong measurement properties and have
      high reliability and good responsiveness, validity and interpretability. Quality
      of-life questionnaires can be used in clinical studies to help elucidate which
      treatments are preferred by patients and the efficacy of treatment regimens.
      Disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaires can also be used during routine
      assessments and may reveal problems not spontaneously volunteered by patients,
      particularly children. Results can also be compared at each clinic visit to
      determine whether each intervention has been beneficial.

PMID- 9988434
TI  - Allergic eye disease--a clinical challenge.
AB  - Currently, six basic allergic eye diseases are recognized. In seasonal (SAC) and
      perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC), the allergic response is mediated
      predominantly by mast cells, whereas the more severe conditions, vernal (VKC) and
      atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) and giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC), are
      associated with a preponderance of T cells. Acute allergic conjunctivitis (AAC)
      occurs when a large quantity of allergen inoculates the eye and is usually self
      limiting. SAC, the most common ocular allergy, is the ocular component of
      hayfever. PAC in the UK is most commonly caused by the house-dust mite (HDM);
      diagnosis is confirmed by skin-prick tests, eosinophils in the conjunctival
      smear, and raised tear or serum total IgE. SAC and PAC can usually be managed
      with chromone eyedrops and antihistamines. VKC usually presents in children under
      10 years of age and mainly affects boys. Sufferers frequently have a personal or
      family history of atopy. Corneal involvement can occur in VKC, making it
      potentially sight-threatening. AKC occurs in atopic adults, and like VKC it
      affects the cornea. VKC and AKC require steroid treatment under specialist
      supervision; minimization of the steroid dose can often be achieved with use of a
      chromone. GPC occurs due to repeated contact of the conjunctival surface with a
      foreign surface, such as contact lenses. Attention to lens hygiene or switching
      to different lenses and treatment with a chromone are frequently effective. In
      all allergic eye diseases contact with the precipitating allergen should be
      avoided as far as possible.

PMID- 9988435
TI  - Treating severe eye allergy.
AB  - Allergic eye conditions, particularly seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC), are
      common. Itching, oedema and hyperaemia are relieved with topical H1-antagonists
      or sodium cromoglycate. The newer mast-cell stabilizing agent nedocromil sodium
      has a similar safety profile to sodium cromoglycate, but is more potent and has a
      more convenient twice-daily dosing regimen. When several placebo-controlled
      studies of its use in the treatment of SAC were analysed, it was found that 80%
      of patients reported symptom relief. In a further study, nedocromil sodium
      eyedrops (twice-daily dosing) had similar overall efficacy to sodium cromoglycate
      eyedrops (four-times-daily dosing) in subjects with SAC during the birch season,
      but during the period of highest pollen challenge, only the former agent was
      significantly more effective than placebo. Another study found that nedocromil
      sodium had efficacy equivalent to levocabastine over 7 days, but tended to have a
      more rapid onset of action. In patients with perennial allergic conjunctivitis
      (PAC) unresponsive to sodium cromoglycate, both clinicians and patients reported
      significantly better control of symptoms with nedocromil sodium eyedrops than
      with placebo. Recently, in a long-term study of treatment for vernal
      keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), it was found that nedocromil sodium 2% eyedrops
      produced a more rapid and marked improvement in symptoms than sodium cromoglycate
      2% eyedrops and enabled lower use of steroid rescue medication. Both drugs were
      well tolerated and without serious side-effects.

PMID- 9988436
TI  - Antihistamines in severe/chronic rhinitis.
AB  - Oral antihistamines generally represent the first line of treatment (after
      allergen avoidance) in mild seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), and in perennial
      allergic rhinitis (PAR) where symptoms are intermittent. They are safe, effective
      and easily administered. First-generation antihistamines experienced problems
      mainly with sedation and anticholinergic activity. Second-generation
      antihistamines are safer and have largely eliminated these effects, although a
      very small number of patients taking terfenadine or astemizole have developed a
      characteristic ventricular dysrhythmia, 'torsade de pointes'. Ebastine is a
      potent second-generation H1-blocker that compares well with others in the class.
      It demonstrates no interaction with alcohol, does not induce sedation and has no
      clinically relevant effect on QTc interval at up to five times the maximum
      recommended dose. Ebastine acts rapidly to relieve symptoms of allergic rhinitis
      (including stuffiness) and has a long duration of action, allowing once-daily
      dosing. Whilst comparable in efficacy to other second-generation antihistamines
      at 10 mg, ebastine also has the advantage of flexible dosing. Thus, the lower
      dose of 10 mg is effective for treatment of mild SAR or PAR, and the dose can be
      increased to 20 mg once daily for control of patients with severe or chronic
      symptoms.

PMID- 9988437
TI  - Optimizing treatment options.
AB  - Full and accurate diagnosis of allergic rhinitis is important as a basis for
      treatment decisions, as many nasal disorders have similar signs and symptoms.
      Optimal allergen avoidance is the starting point of treatment, so causative
      allergens need to be identified. Oral antihistamines are effective in relieving
      the majority of symptoms of allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis, but
      provide only partial relief from nasal congestion. Topical alpha-adrenergic
      decongestants help to relieve congestion, but prolonged use leads to rhinitis
      medicamentosa. Systemic decongestants are less effective than topical agents and
      their use is limited by systemic and central side-effects. The value of
      leukotriene antagonists has yet to be fully evaluated. Intranasal ipratropium
      bromide helps to control watery secretions, and an aerosol may be more effective
      than an aqueous solution. Topical glucocorticosteroids, such as triamcinolone,
      are the most potent and effective agents available for treating allergic
      rhinitis. The available evidence indicates that there is very little systemic
      absorption. Sodium cromoglycate is effective in allergic rhinitis, though less so
      than topical steroids, and has the least adverse effects among the antiallergic
      agents. Immunotherapy can be effective and may be indicated in individuals who
      cannot avoid the causative allergen. Special considerations apply to the
      treatment of allergic rhinitis in elderly or pregnant patients. Finally, patients
      with long-standing allergic conditions should be re-assessed regularly.

PMID- 9988439
TI  - Genetics of complex human diseases: genome screening, association studies and
      fine mapping.
AB  - Positional cloning has been applied successfully to many Mendelian disorders.
      Because of the public health significance, there is strong interest in mapping
      susceptibility genes for common disorders, such as asthma and allergy, that have
      a genetic component. Genome-wide screening has been very useful in detecting
      regions of the genome likely to contain susceptibility genes. There are multiple
      chromosomal regions implicated in asthma and now the difficult process of finding
      the genes and relevant mutations is underway. Two approaches that are being
      utilized are those of association studies in candidate genes, and haplotype
      sharing or identical by descent (IBD) mapping. Although these are useful
      approaches, it is important to realize the strengths and limitations of each. The
      level of significance needed for an initial study or a replication study should
      be considered in light of the prior evidence for studying a specific gene
      polymorphism. Haplotype-sharing approaches, although difficult to use in outbred
      heterogeneous populations, may provide important insight into fine mapping and
      gene localization.

PMID- 9988440
TI  - Mapping susceptibility genes for asthma and allergy.
AB  - Using family data, linkage analysis has been performed to determine the location
      in the genome of susceptibility genes for allergy and asthma. It has now become
      clear that there are multiple regions of the genome that contain susceptibility
      genes for allergy and asthma. The results from two genome screen studies will be
      reviewed and compared with results from candidate gene approaches. Results from
      several studies show evidence for linkage to chromosomes 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 and 14
      for atopy, asthma or a related phenotype such as total serum IgE levels. Many of
      these regions contain candidate genes involved in regulating processes that may
      be involved in the development or progression of allergy and asthma. Some
      susceptibility genes may affect the expression of these disorders while others
      may affect response to therapy. Susceptibility to developing allergy or asthma
      appears to be due to the interaction of multiple genes with the environment.

PMID- 9988441
TI  - Promoter polymorphisms predisposing to the development of asthma and atopy.

PMID- 9988442
TI  - Genetic factors in asthma severity.
AB  - The development of asthma in an individual depends upon the interaction of
      genetic factors with the environment. Asthma is a polygenic disease and both
      genome screening and candidate gene strategies have identified a number of
      putative genes that may predispose to the development of asthma. However, there
      are few data regarding genes that may either dictate disease severity or
      chronicity and genes that dictate response to treatment. Analysing asthma as a
      categorical variable will fail to identify genes solely involved in determining
      disease severity, whereas studies designed to analyse asthma as a
      semiquantitative trait may identify these genes in addition to disease-initiating
      genes. However, identifying genes specifically involved in the determination of
      disease severity (e.g. in airway remodelling) will be ideally performed in
      cohorts of asthmatics specifically recruited and using appropriate end points.
      This review discusses methodological issues concerned with identifying disease
      modifying genes in individuals with asthma, and summarizes the potential
      contribution of known candidate genes to the determination of disease severity.

PMID- 9988443
TI  - Gene by environment interactions in the development of asthma.
AB  - Present knowledge suggests that asthma is a heterogeneous condition. Different
      genetic backgrounds may or may not express themselves as asthma-like symptoms,
      depending on both the nature and the timing of exposures in the individual.
      Although particular attention has been paid to environmental factors that may
      increase the risk of asthma, it is equally important to understand 'protective'
      exposures that may have decreased during the last decades and may thus explain
      the reported increases in asthma prevalence. Among these 'protective' factors are
      certain infections and the role they may have in the inception of allergics and
      asthma, particularly when they occur at critical times in the development of the
      immune system.

PMID- 9988444
TI  - Environmental risk factors in childhood asthma.
AB  - Eighty per cent of all childhood asthma has its onset by 3 years of age. A
      similar percentage of childhood asthma is associated with atopy (presence of
      allergic rhinitis or eczema and/or positive skin prick tests). Defined risk
      factors for childhood asthma include allergen exposure, environmental tobacco
      smoke, viral respiratory illness, the presence of other atopic disease, and
      gender. Although a large percentage of children will have remission of asthma as
      they grow, they will retain the intermediate phenotypes of increased airway
      responsiveness and allergen and, therefore, be at risk of recrudescence of
      disease in adult life.

PMID- 9988445
TI  - Maternal programming in asthma and allergy.
AB  - There has been increasing interest in the possibility that the mother has an
      important role to play in influencing the development of fetal and infant immune
      responses to allergens during gestation. This finding, by several groups, of
      specific immune responses of infants at birth to individual trigger factors
      associated with an underlying immaturity of cytokine production, is intriguing in
      the light of the development of subsequent allergic disease. The interactions
      between mother, placenta and fetus are now forming a focus for ongoing research
      and may be a potential target for intervention aimed at preventing allergic
      asthma.

PMID- 9988446
TI  - Reciprocal age-related patterns of allergen-specific T-cell immunity in normal
      vs. atopic infants.
AB  - By adulthood there is almost universal immunological memory to aeroallergens, and
      the presence of allergic disease appears to be related to the nature of the
      underlying T-helper (Th) cell cytokine responses. The hypothesis of this study is
      that adult patterns of allergen specific Th-cell memory (Th-2 polarized in
      atopics vs. Th1 in non-atopics) can be determined in early infancy. Mononuclear
      cell cytokine responses to house-dust mite were measured at 6-monthly intervals
      from birth to 2 years of age, using ELISA (IL-10, IL-13, IFN-gamma) and sqRT/PCR
      (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IFN-gamma) in normal infants (n = 14) with no family history
      or allergic symptoms, and infants with a family history and definite atopy by 2
      years (n = 16). Both normals and atopics showed low-level Th2 skewed allergen
      specific responses at birth with little accompanying IFN-gamma. The Th2 responses
      to house-dust mite were higher in normal newborns, who then show a rapid
      downregulation of these responses in the first year of life. Atopic infants
      instead show a consolidation of their neonatal patterns of Th2 polarized allergen
      specific immunity. Earlier studies indicate that neonates at high risk of atopy
      display diminished capacity for production of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma. The
      present study suggests for the first time that neonates who subsequently develop
      atopy also initially have reduced capacity to mount Th2 responses. However, in
      contrast to non-atopics who selectively downregulate their fetal Th2 polarized
      allergen-specific responses, atopic children display age-associated upregulation
      of Th2 immunity.

PMID- 9988447
TI  - The rising trends in asthma and allergic disease.
AB  - Considerable variation in the prevalence of childhood asthma and allergic
      conditions has been shown in previous studies. These differences may in part be
      attributable to methodological problems in defining childhood asthma and wheezing
      illnesses. However, the results of recent surveys using identical study
      instruments suggest that the variation in the distribution of the disease is
      real. In western societies serial prevalence studies have furthermore shown an
      increasing trend in the prevalence of childhood asthma and airway
      hyperresponsiveness. A concomitant increase in the prevalence of hay fever and
      atopic eczema has been reported by others. Moreover, hospitalization rates for
      childhood wheezing illnesses have increased in affluent countries suggesting that
      indeed the morbidity from these causes has increased in the last decades.
      Interestingly, areas of low prevalence of asthma and atopic conditions have
      recently been identified in developing countries and in Eastern Europe. In
      Eastern Germany where drastic changes towards westernization of living conditions
      have occurred after reunification an increase in the prevalence of hay fever and
      atopic sensitization has been documented over the last 4-5 years in children aged
      between 9 and 10 years of age. The prevalence of asthma and airway
      hyperresponsiveness, however, remained virtually unchanged in this age group.
      These children spent their first 3 years of life under socialist living
      conditions and were exposed to a western lifestyle only after their third
      birthday. Therefore, environmental factors may affect an individual's inherited
      susceptibility for the development of asthma and hay fever at different ages
      inducing changes in the prevalence of atopic diseases in populations in a time-
      and age-dependent way.

PMID- 9988448
TI  - The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). ISAAC
      Steering Committee.
AB  - Despite considerable research, the aetiology of asthma and allergic disease
      remains poorly understood. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies In
      Childhood (ISAAC), was founded to maximize the value of epidemiological research
      into asthma and allergic disease by establishing a standardized methodology and
      facilitating international collaboration. It has achieved its specific aims which
      are to describe the prevalence and severity of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in
      children living in different centres and to make comparisons within and between
      countries; to obtain baseline measures for assessment of future trends in the
      prevalence and severity of these diseases; and to provide a framework for further
      aetiological research into genetic, lifestyle, environmental and medical care
      factors affecting these diseases. The ISAAC design comprises three phases. Phase
      One used simple core written questionnaires for two age groups, and was completed
      in 156 collaborating centres in 56 countries and a total of 721 601 children
      participated. In the 13-14 years age group 155 centres from 56 countries
      participated, of which 99 centres completed a video questionnaire. For the 6-7
      years age group there were 91 collaborating centres in 38 countries. ISAAC Phase
      One has demonstrated a large variation in the prevalence of asthma symptoms in
      children throughout the world including hitherto unstudied populations. It is
      likely that environmental factors were responsible for major differences between
      countries. The results provide a framework for studies between populations in
      contrasting environments which are likely to yield new clues about the aetiology
      of asthma. ISAAC Phase Two will investigate possible aetiological factors,
      particularly those suggested by the findings of Phase One. ISAAC Phase Three will
      be a repetition of Phase One in the year 2000 to assess trends in prevalence.

PMID- 9988449
TI  - Clinical characteristics of childhood asthma.

PMID- 9988450
TI  - Inflammatory mechanisms in childhood asthma.
AB  - There is now a reasonable body of data that would suggest that the
      immunopathology of asthma is similar, if not identical, in childhood asthmatics
      compared with adult asthmatics. Indeed, we now have evidence that much of the
      immunopathology is established within the airways of asthmatics very early after
      the onset of symptoms and, given the lack of correlation with duration of
      symptoms, may even antedate the first manifestations. There are, however, some
      differences with neutrophil recruitment being somewhat more prominent than has
      been recorded from adult observations. The utility of any inflammation parameter
      in identifying the real future asthmatics has yet to be studied in sufficient
      detail to define sensitivity, specificity and predictive value. Such studies will
      be an essential prerequisite to establishing very early intervention strategies,
      particularly if these involve the use of inhaled and/or oral corticosteroid.

PMID- 9988451
TI  - Environmental allergens and childhood asthma.
AB  - Exposure to allergens has been shown to lead to sensitization and to the
      subsequent development of airway hyperresponsiveness in genetically predisposed
      individuals. Increasing interest is being devoted to mechanisms for the
      prevention of allergen sensitization and asthma development. Primary prevention
      (avoiding the sensitization to allergens) requires a large effort as the majority
      of atopic sensitizations occur in children with no demonstrable risk at the
      birth. Secondary prevention (deterrence of disease expression despite prior IgE
      sensitization) requires methods for detecting the population at risk by means of
      large population screening. Tertiary prevention (minimizing the morbidity for
      those who already have the disease) may be achieved by allergen avoidance, which
      has been demonstrated to effectively decrease inflammation in symptomatic
      patients.

PMID- 9988452
TI  - Evolution of asthma through childhood.
AB  - The greatest incidence of childhood asthma is among males under 5 years, with
      decreasing numbers of new cases with age. Many young children wheeze, but
      remission is common especially in non-atopic children without a family history of
      allergy or asthma, whose wheezing relates more to infections and environmental
      tobacco smoke exposure. The prognosis of childhood asthma is best established
      from population studies, in which some two-thirds of wheezy children become
      symptom-free as adults, whereas follow-up studies of wheezing children seen in
      office or specialty clinic practice, who generally have more severe asthma, show
      a much greater likelihood (60-80%) of persistence of asthma into adulthood.
      Factors predisposing to persistence of childhood asthma include a positive family
      history, development of atopy, environmental exposures to allergens and cigarette
      smoke, markers of severity of childhood asthma, and female gender.

PMID- 9988453
TI  - Immunoregulatory networks in asthma.
AB  - It is now well established that a subset of T-cell-derived cytokines (termed Th2
      cytokines) programme the timing and characteristics of atopic airway disease
      including mast-cell sensitization, eosinophil and lymphocyte infiltration and
      recently mucus secretion. To date, attempts to devise ways to selectively limit
      the activities of Th2 cytokine-producing cells have been frustrated. However, the
      recent identification of the molecules which direct the activation and maturation
      of T cells has led to some successful attempts to block the activities of Th2
      cells in models of atopic airway inflammation. Some of the agents with the most
      potential include antagonists of the T-cell costimulatory molecule CD28, local
      stimulators of the Thl subset of cytokines such as the BCG vaccine and
      potentially, antagonists of the eotaxin chemokine receptor and agonists of the T
      cell costimulatory molecule CTLA-4. Not only do such agonists and antagonists
      represent potential new therapies, they could represent a rich hunting ground for
      those who aim to determine the ways in which atopic airway disease can be
      diagnosed and understood.

PMID- 9988454
TI  - The inflammation-repair cycle in asthma: the pivotal role of the airway
      epithelium.

PMID- 9988455
TI  - The role of IgE in asthma.
AB  - Asthma is a multifactorial and complex disease in which allergic factors and non
      allergic triggers interact and result in bronchial obstruction and inflammation.
      Allergenic sensitization is important in the development of asthma and, although
      links between inhalant allergy and asthma have been known for many years, they
      have recently been re-emphasized. Indoor allergens are associated with asthma
      prevalence, severity and exacerbations whereas outdoor allergens such as pollens
      are associated with exacerbations. Moreover, there is a link between total IgE
      and asthma which appears to be independent of allergen sensitization. One of the
      typical aspects of airway inflammation of asthma is the infiltration of the
      airway wall by T helper type 2 (Th2) cells. These cells are attracted to
      inflammatory sites by adhesion molecules and chemokines among which CCR3 and
      CXCR4 receptors appear to be of importance. Differentiation of B cells into IgE
      secreting plasma cells is a complex cascade of events in which cytokines play a
      crucial role. Both IL-4 and IL-13 are inducing IgE synthesis whereas IFN-gamma
      and IL-12 are blocking IgE synthesis. IgE production by B cells not only requires
      the presence of IL-4 or IL-13, but also a physical interaction between T and B
      cells, involving a number of surface and adhesion molecules such as CD40-CD40L
      and CD28/CD80. Production of TH2-cytokines is not restricted to T cells as
      basophils and mast cells can produce them indicating that these cells may be of
      importance in the synthesis of IgE.

PMID- 9988456
TI  - Unique role of allergens and the epithelium in asthma.
AB  - The respiratory epithelium has been regarded as an inert barrier separating the
      human airway from the external world. Equally allergens have been perceived to be
      environmental proteins which interact with immunocompetent cells, activate
      inflammatory cells via IgE and promote the allergic response. However many
      allergens are biochemically active and are able to increase epithelial
      permeability and to stimulate epithelial cells to produce cytokines, adhesion
      receptors and MHC Class II expression. Thus the biochemical properties of
      allergens are likely to be important in enhancing the allergic responses and
      disease.

PMID- 9988457
TI  - Factors determining the severity of asthma.
AB  - Asthma typically can range from a disease of very mild and intermittent symptoms
      to one of debilitating and life-threatening disease. However, the factors that
      control these differences remain poorly understood. It is likely that the factors
      controlling the severity of asthma are many and dependent on each other.
      Potential factors include: (i) inflammatory; (ii) structural; (iii)
      hereditary/congenital; (iv) environmental; and (v) psychological/emotional; each
      potentially interacting and influencing the other. Finally, the question remains
      as to whether all asthmatics, no matter what their initial severity, potentially
      can develop severe disease, or whether only a certain subgroup will become
      severe.

PMID- 9988458
TI  - Corticosteroid responsiveness and the evolution of asthma.

PMID- 9988459
TI  - The long-term influence of therapeutic interventions in asthma with emphasis on
      inhaled steroids and early disease.
AB  - The data available to show the long-term benefits of any pharmacological
      interventions in asthma is scanty. Usually the beneficial effects disappear
      gradually when the treatment is withdrawn. The evidence showing that treatment
      with drugs could change the natural course of asthma is largely lacking. Only a
      few controlled studies have lasted more than 1 year, while asthma can be a
      disease for life. Nevertheless, the short-term benefits of treatment with inhaled
      steroids justify their introduction as soon as the diagnosis of asthma is
      established. Regular use of inhaled steroids especially during the early stages
      of asthma often makes it a less troublesome disease. Regular use of long-acting
      beta2-agonists is useful in preventing exacerbations in persistent asthma, but
      their influence on the long-term outcome is quite unknown. Exploration of the
      possible disease outcome modifying effect of new innovations such as leukotriene
      antagonists should be put in the clinical study programmes. In future, the
      combination of immunological and pharmacological treatments may offer the key for
      more permanent results in asthma therapy.

PMID- 9988460
TI  - Lipid mediator pathways in the lung: leukotrienes as a new target for the
      treatment of asthma.
AB  - This article summarizes recent evidence supporting that antileukotriene drugs
      represent a new treatment of asthma which may be particularly effective when
      combined with drugs that have complementary effects on airway obstruction and
      inflammation. Firstly, it has been documented that glucocorticosteroids do not
      inhibit in vivo production of leukotrienes in asthmatics. In line with such
      findings, addition of antileukotriene drugs to a group of aspirin-intolerant
      asthmatics maintained on conventional therapy was found to result in an
      improvement of the asthma over and above the effect of the baseline treatment
      with inhaled and/or oral glucocorticosteroids. Likewise, in a 6-week trial in a
      group of severe asthmatics, the asthma deterioration caused by a reduction of the
      dose of inhaled steroids by half, was prevented by addition of a leukotriene
      antagonist to the lowered dose of glucocorticosteroids. Current evidence
      therefore supports that antileukotriene drugs treat components of the
      pathophysiology which are left unaffected by treatment with glucocorticosteroid.
      Secondly, in experimental studies as well as in a recent allergen
      bronchoprovocation study in asthmatics, it has been found that the combination of
      antihistaminics with antileukotriene drugs will result in a profound inhibition
      of both the early and the late phase of allergen-induced airway obstruction. It
      is hypothesized that such a combination may be useful against bronchoconstriction
      induced by other asthma trigger factors as well as in the treatment of asthma and
      rhinitits.

PMID- 9988461
TI  - Leukotriene modifiers as novel therapeutics in asthma.
AB  - After years of research, the components of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis
      have been identified as the cysteinyl leukotrienes C4, D4, and E4. Leukotrienes
      are now known to be important mediators of chronic asthma. Leukotrienes cause
      bronchoconstriction, oedema, and mucus secretion in models of asthma and are
      produced in excess quantities in asthmatic patients. Leukotriene receptor
      antagonists and biosynthesis inhibitors have been produced to improve the signs
      and symptoms of asthma. These agents block laboratory challenges simulating
      chronic asthma such as exercise, allergen, and aspirin challenge. They also are
      effective in studies of chronic asthma in a wide variety of patient types
      demonstrating that leukotrienes are indeed important mediators of asthma. Over
      the next several years the appropriate place in asthma therapy for these new
      agents will be defined.

PMID- 9988462
TI  - The prospects for long-term intervention in asthma with antileukotrienes.
AB  - The antileukotriene drugs are the first new therapeutic agents approved for the
      treatment of asthma in more than 20 years. The currently available compounds are
      orally active and either prevent the cysteinyl leukotrienes from binding to and
      activating the cysLT-1 receptor in the lung (leukotriene receptor antagonists,
      LTRAs) or inhibit leukotriene synthesis (leukotriene synthesis inhibitors,
      LTSIs). The antileukotrienes acutely bronchodilate the airways of patients with
      baseline bronchoconstriction, although usually not as well as beta-agonists. When
      used regularly they produce rapid improvements of pulmonary function and symptoms
      in patients with mild-to-moderate asthma, and probably of those with more severe
      asthma as well, which persists for the duration of treatment. Yet, individual
      responses to the antileukotrienes are variable and not predictable based on
      clinical criteria. Recent studies suggest they reduce asthmatic airway
      inflammation. The few comparator studies with other asthma medications indicate
      they are equal or more effective than cromolyn but equal or less effective than
      low-to-moderate doses of inhaled corticosteroids. Initial experience with the
      antileukotrienes reveals limited toxicity and a favourable therapeutic-to-toxic
      ratio. The exact role of the antileukotrienes in the treatment of asthma remains
      to be determined, as does the relative potency of the various agents.

PMID- 9988463
TI  - Pharmacogenetics of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in asthma.
AB  - It is now well appreciated that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the
      airways; among the inflammatory cells that have been implicated in the asthmatic
      lesion are eosinophils and mast cells. Although these cells have the capacity to
      produce a number of distinct chemical mediators, the cysteinyl leukotrienes have
      recently been identified as important mediators of the asthmatic response. The
      leukotrienes are derived from arachidonic acid released from membrane
      phospholipids by the action of phospholipases. The archidonic acid so released in
      the presence of the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) activating protein becomes a substrate
      for the enzyme 5-LO. This enzyme catalyses the stereo-specific addition of
      molecular oxygen to arachidonic acid to form the product known as leukotriene A4.
      Leukotriene A4 subsequently becomes a substrate for one of two enzymes,
      leukotriene A4 epoxide hydrolase or LTC4 synthase. The former catalyses the
      formation of LTB4 while the later catalyses the formation of the cysteinyl
      leukotrienes. Thus the enzyme 5-LO is critically posed to serve as a regulator of
      leukotriene synthesis. 5-LO action is known to be regulated at a number of
      levels; the mechanisms include regulation of action of the mature protein and
      regulation of 5-LO gene transcription and translation; there is good reason to
      believe that all forms of 5-LO regulation are highly interdependent. In this
      regard we describe the presence and functional consequences of a series of
      naturally occurring mutations in 5-LO core promoter. These mutations modify gene
      transcription in vitro, and may have functional consequences in vivo.

PMID- 9988464
TI  - What can we learn from late-onset and occupational asthma?
AB  - Late-onset asthma and occupational asthma may provide interesting models of human
      asthma to compare with the most frequent type of atopic early-onset asthma. The
      discovery of similarities and discrepancies in the aetiology and pathogenesis of
      these different diseases might provide new insights on different mechanisms
      producing the same phenotype and, thus, by recognizing the different underlying
      mechanisms of the different forms of asthma, may allow better targeting of
      prevention and treatment. Occupational asthma, in addition to being a late-onset
      asthma, provides the unique opportunity to study the development of asthma under
      measurable exposure conditions, and consequently to examine the effect of
      cessation of exposure which, at variance with allergen avoidance, is possible in
      most of the cases.

PMID- 9988465
TI  - Mechanisms of asthma exacerbation.

PMID- 9988466
TI  - Are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma different diseases?
AB  - In the past it has been hypothesized that asthma and chronic obstructive
      pulmonary disease (COPD) are related diseases. As both show high prevalences and
      as smoking may occur in both groups of patients the simultaneous presence of both
      diseases in the same subject may well occur. The most characteristic features of
      asthma are short-term changes in airway caliber, reversible airflow limitation,
      bronchial hyperresponsiveness as well as eosinophilic and lymphocytic airway
      inflammation. The common definition of COPD implies long-term changes in airway
      calibre, less or irreversible airflow obstruction, no or less common bronchial
      hyperresponsiveness and neutrophilic airway inflammation. By analysing the
      results of epidemiology, risk factors, airway morphology, lung function and
      markers of airway inflammation in both diseases, it becomes clear that asthma and
      COPD share some similarities. However, their pathological presentations differ
      considerably and this provides evidence that the two syndromes are, in fact,
      different diseases. Furthermore, the analysis of data on lung volumes, diffusion
      capacity and aerosol-derived airway morphology shows important differences
      between asthma and COPD. It is suggested that the specific type of airway
      inflammation in both diseases is responsible for the peculiar pattern of lung
      function abnormalities.

PMID- 9988467
TI  - Asthma in older people.
AB  - From the clinical perspective, asthma in the older patient may be difficult to
      diagnose because of the non-specificity of presentation and the wide range of
      differential diagnoses. Prior to confirmation of asthma in the older patient,
      both respiratory and cardiac investigation may be necessary. Polypharmacy is
      inherent in treating older people and accurate drug histories are essential in
      order to identify patients with drug-induced bronchospasm and avoid interactions
      with asthma medication. Patient and carer education is vital, and a structured
      approach to follow-up which includes measurement of lung function and assessment
      of inhaler technique should be carried out in every asthmatic regardless of age.
      Finally, there is a great need for health services and those in the commercial
      sector that are involved in asthma care to ensure that future research and
      development rises to the challenge of an ageing population.

PMID- 9988468
TI  - SOS and Mayday: multiple inducible mutagenic pathways in Escherichia coli.
AB  - Environmental and physiological stress conditions can transiently alter the
      fidelity of DNA replication. The DNA damage-mediated SOS response in Escherichia
      coli is the best-known example of such an 'inducible mutagenesis' or 'transient
      mutator' pathway. Emerging evidence suggests the existence of a number of other
      stress-inducible pathways that also affect the fidelity of replication. Among the
      more provocative recent findings are UVM, an SOS-independent damage-inducible
      mutagenic pathway, and a new recA-dependent but umuD/C-independent pathway that
      appears to be provoked by translational stress. These findings alter our view of
      inducible mutagenesis, and anticipate the existence of previously unrecognized
      links between protein synthesis and DNA replication.

PMID- 9988469
TI  - Enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli: more subversive
      elements.
AB  - Enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) constitute
      a significant risk to human health worldwide. Both pathogens colonize the
      intestinal mucosa and, by subverting intestinal epithelial cell function, produce
      a characteristic histopathological feature known as the 'attaching and effacing'
      (A/E) lesion. Although EPEC was the first E. coli to be associated with human
      disease in the 1940s and 1950s, it was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s
      that the mechanisms and bacterial gene products used to induce this complex brush
      border membrane lesion and diarrhoeal disease started to be unravelled. During
      the past few months, there has been a burst of new data that have revolutionized
      some basic concepts of the molecular basis of bacterial pathogenesis in general
      and EPEC pathogenesis in particular. Major breakthroughs and developments in the
      genetic basis of A/E lesion formation, signal transduction, protein
      translocation, host cell receptors and intestinal colonization are highlighted in
      this review.

PMID- 9988470
TI  - Bacillus subtilis tetA(L) gene expression: evidence for regulation by
      translational reinitiation.
AB  - The tetA(L) gene of Bacillus subtilis encodes a transmembrane protein that can
      function as a Tc-metal/H+ antiporter, conferring low-level resistance to
      tetracycline. The TetA(L) coding sequence is preceded by a leader region that
      contains a 20-amino-acid open reading frame and an appropriately spaced ribosome
      binding site. Expression of the gene is induced by addition of tetracycline,
      which is thought to act by binding to ribosomes that translate the tetA(L) leader
      peptide coding sequence. Here we demonstrate that induction of tetA(L) expression
      includes minor transcriptional and major translational components. Deletion and
      point mutations of the tetA(L) leader region were constructed to probe the
      mechanism of translational induction. To account for the observed mutant
      phenotypes, we propose that tetA(L) expression is regulated by a translational
      reinitiation mechanism.

PMID- 9988471
TI  - Cellular function of elastase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: role in the cleavage of
      nucleoside diphosphate kinase and in alginate synthesis.
AB  - Elastase is a major virulence factor in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that is believed
      to cause extensive tissue damage during infection in the human host. Elastase is
      secreted in non-mucoid P. aeruginosa. It is known that secretion of most
      virulence factors such as elastase, lipase, exotoxin A, etc., in P. aeruginosa is
      greatly reduced in alginate-secreting mucoid cells isolated from the lungs of
      cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We have previously reported that in mucoid P.
      aeruginosa, an intracellular protease cleaves the 16 kDa form of nucleoside
      diphosphate kinase (Ndk) to a truncated 12 kDa form. This smaller form is
      membrane associated and has been observed to form complexes with specific
      proteins to predominantly generate GTP, an important molecule in alginate
      synthesis. The main aim of this study was to purify and characterize this
      protease. The protease was purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography of
      the crude extract of mucoid P. aeruginosa 8821, a CF isolate. Further analysis
      using a gelatin containing SDS-polyacrylamide gel detected the presence of a 103
      kDa protease, which when boiled, migrated as a 33 kDa protein on a SDS
      polyacrylamide gel. The first 10 amino acids from the N-terminus of the 33 kDa
      protease showed 100% identity to the mature form of elastase. An elastase
      negative lasB::Cm knock-out mutant in the mucoid 8821 background was constructed,
      and it showed a non-mucoid phenotype. This mutant showed the presence of only the
      16 kDa form of Ndk both in the cytoplasm and membrane fractions. We present
      evidence for the retention of active elastase in the periplasm of mucoid P.
      aeruginosa and its role in the generation of the 12 kDa form of Ndk. Finally, we
      demonstrate that elastase, when overproduced in both mucoid and non-mucoid cells,
      stimulates alginate synthesis. This suggests that the genetic rearrangements that
      trigger mucoidy in P. aeruginosa also allow retention of elastase in the
      periplasm in an active oligomeric form that facilitates cleavage of 16 kDa Ndk to
      its 12 kDa form for the generation of GTP, required for alginate synthesis.

PMID- 9988472
TI  - Pho signal transduction network reveals direct transcriptional regulation of one
      two-component system by another two-component regulator: Bacillus subtilis PhoP
      directly regulates production of ResD.
AB  - The Bacillus subtilis ResD-ResE two-component system is responsible for the
      regulation of a number of genes involved in cytochrome c biogenesis and haem A
      biosynthesis, and it is required for anaerobic respiration in this organism. We
      reported previously that the operon encoding these regulatory proteins, the
      resABCDE operon, is induced under several conditions, one of which is phosphate
      starvation. We report here that this transcription requires the PhoP-PhoR two
      component system, whereas other induction conditions do not. The PhoPP response
      regulator directly binds to and is essential for transcriptional activation of
      the resABCDE operon as well as being involved in repression of the internal resDE
      promoter during phosphate-limited growth. The concentration of ResD in various
      phoP mutant strains corroborates the role of PhoP in the production of ResD.
      These interactions result in a regulatory network that ties together the cellular
      functions of respiration/energy production and phosphate starvation.
      Significantly, this represents the first evidence for direct involvement of one
      two-component system in transcription of a second two-component system.

PMID- 9988473
TI  - Identification of a co-repressor binding site in catabolite control protein CcpA.
AB  - The catabolite control protein CcpA is the central regulator of carbon catabolite
      repression in Bacilli and other Gram-positive bacteria. A comparison of 12 CcpA
      like sequences with regulators from the LacI/GalR family defines a CcpA subfamily
      based on extensive similarities found among CcpAs and not in 32 other members of
      the family. These amino acids are clustered in three blocks in the CcpA sequence.
      Their interpretation, assuming a PurR-like fold, reveals that almost all of them
      are surface exposed and form a continuous patch on the N-terminal subdomain of
      the protein core extending into the DNA reading head. We introduced nine single
      amino acid exchanges in the subfamily specific residues of CcpA from Bacillus
      megaterium. Six mutants, namely CcpA47RS, 79AE, 89YE, 295YR, 299YE and 303RD, are
      inactive or severely impaired in catabolite repression, underlining their
      relevance for CcpA function. They are negatively transdominant over wild-type
      CcpA demonstrating their ability to correctly fold for dimerization. Five of them
      are unable or impaired in binding HPr-Ser-46-P in vitro, establishing a
      correlation between catabolite repression efficiency and HPr-Ser-46-P binding.
      These results support the hypothesis that the conserved region in CcpA is the HPr
      Ser-46-P binding site.

PMID- 9988474
TI  - The high-pathogenicity island of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis can be inserted into
      any of the three chromosomal asn tRNA genes.
AB  - Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) have been identified in several bacterial species. A
      PAI called high-pathogenicity island (HPI) and carrying genes involved in iron
      acquisition (yersiniabactin system) has been previously identified in Yersinia
      enterocolitica and Yersinia pestis. In this study, the HPI of the third species
      of Yersinia pathogenic for humans, Y. pseudotuberculosis, has been characterized.
      We demonstrate that the HPI of strain IP32637 has a physical and genetic map
      identical to that of Y. pestis. A gene homologous to the bacteriophage P4
      integrase gene is located downstream of the asn tRNA locus that borders the HPI
      of strain IP32637. This int gene is at the same position on the HPI of all three
      pathogenic Yersinia species. However, in contrast to Y. pestis 6/69, the HPI of
      Y. pseudotuberculosis IP32637 is not invariably adjacent to the pigmentation
      segment and can be inserted at a distance > or = 190 kb from this segment. Also,
      in contrast to Y. pestis and Y. enterocolitica, the HPI of Y. pseudotuberculosis
      IP32637 can precisely excise from the chromosome, and, strikingly, it can be
      found inserted in any of the three asn tRNA loci present on the chromosome of
      this species, one of which is adjacent to the pigmentation segment. The
      pigmentation segment, which is present in Y. pestis but not in Y. enterocolitica,
      is also present and well conserved in all strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis
      studied. In contrast, the presence and size of the HPIs vary depending on the
      serotype of the strain: an entire HPI is found in strains of serotypes I only, a
      HPI with a 9 kb truncation in its left-hand part that carries the IS100 sequence
      and the psn and ybtE genes characterizes the strains of serotype III, and no HPI
      is found in strains of serotypes II, IV and V.

PMID- 9988475
TI  - Differentiation-associated surface antigen variation in the ancient eukaryote
      Giardia lamblia.
AB  - Encystation of Giardia lamblia is required for survival outside the host, whereas
      excystation initiates infection. The dormant cyst was considered an adaptation to
      external survival and passage through the stomach. However, we found previously
      that trophozoites which had recovered after completion of the life cycle had
      switched their major variant surface protein (VSP), called TSA 417, but neither
      the timing nor the molecular mechanism of switching had been elucidated. Here we
      demonstrate that TSA 417 predominates in cysts, but is downregulated during the
      stage of excystation that models cyst arrival in the small intestine. Transcripts
      of new VSPs appear late in encystation, and during and after excystation.
      Trophozoites appear to prepare for switching during encystation, when the major
      VSP on the cell surface diminishes and is internalized in lysosome-like vacuoles.
      As short-range DNA rearrangements were not detected, giardial VSP switching
      during differentiation appears to resemble the in situ switching of surface
      glycoproteins in African trypanosomes. We also report a unique extended 15
      nucleotide polyadenylation signal in all VSP transcripts, but not in other known
      giardial genes. Antigenic variation during encystation-excystation may be a novel
      form of immune evasion that could help explain the common occurrence of
      reinfection by Giardia and other parasites with similar life cycles.

PMID- 9988476
TI  - SarA level is a determinant of agr activation in Staphylococcus aureus.
AB  - The control of virulence determinant expression in Staphylococcus aureus is a
      complex process involving global regulatory loci such as sar and agr. The sar
      locus consists of a 372 bp sarA open reading frame (ORF) preceded by a triple
      promoter region interspersed with two putative smaller ORFs (ORF3 and ORF4). The
      triple promoter system yields three overlapping sar transcripts (sarA, sarC and
      sarB of 0.56, 0.8 and 1.2 kb respectively). We have recently shown that the SarA
      protein binds to the agr promoter region to stimulate the transcription of RNAII
      and RNAIII, two major transcripts encoded within the agr locus. To assess the
      role of the region upstream of sarA in agr expression, we evaluated the
      contribution of ORF3 and ORF4 to SarA protein expression and to agr activation by
      introducing nonsense mutations into the respective ORFs. Northern analysis of sar
      mutant clones containing these mutations carried on a shuttle plasmid revealed
      that all three sar-related transcripts are present. Using anti-SarA monoclonal
      antibodies with defined epitopes in a competitive ELISA to determine the SarA
      protein level, we found that the introduction of a stop codon in ORF3 on a
      shuttle plasmid carrying the intact sar locus in a sar mutant led to a
      significant decrease in SarA protein level compared with the non-mutated control.
      The effect of a nonsense mutation in ORF4 on SarA levels is much less. Likewise,
      an analogous sar mutant clone with a deletion in ORF3 also displayed a lower SarA
      level than its intact counterpart. The reduction in SarA expression correlated
      with a lower level of agr activation in the corresponding sar mutant clone. These
      data suggest that ORF3, and to a lesser degree ORF4, may affect agr expression by
      modulating SarA protein expression.

PMID- 9988477
TI  - Identification of a 47 kDa fibronectin-binding protein expressed by Borrelia
      burgdorferi isolate B31.
AB  - The attachment of pathogenic microorganisms to host cells and tissues is often
      mediated through the expression of surface receptors recognizing components of
      the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we investigate the ability of Borrelia
      spirochaetes to bind the ECM constituent, fibronectin. Borrelia lysates were
      separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose and probed with alkaline
      phosphatase-labelled fibronectin (fibronectin-AP). Five of six Borrelia species
      and four of eight B. burgdorferi sensu lato isolates expressed one or more
      fibronectin-binding proteins. Borrelia burgdorferi isolate B31 expressed a 47 kDa
      (P47) fibronectin-binding protein that was localized to the outer envelope based
      on susceptibility to proteinase K. The interaction of P47 with fibronectin was
      specific, and the region of fibronectin bound by P47 mapped to the
      gelatin/collagen binding domain. P47 was purified by affinity chromatography,
      digested with endoproteinase Lys-C, and the peptide fragments analysed by liquid
      chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy. A search of protein databases disclosed
      that the P47 peptide mass profile matched that predicted for the bbk32 gene
      product of B. burgdorferi isolate B31. The bbk32 gene was cloned into Escherichia
      coli, and the ability of recombinant BBK32 to bind fibronectin and inhibit the
      attachment of B. burgdorferi was demonstrated. The identification of BBK32 as a
      receptor for fibronectin binding may enhance our understanding of the
      pathogenesis and chronic nature of Lyme disease.

PMID- 9988478
TI  - Cytosolic enzymes with a mitochondrial ancestry from the anaerobic chytrid
      Piromyces sp. E2.
AB  - The anaerobic chytrid Piromyces sp. E2 lacks mitochondria, but contains hydrogen
      producing organelles, the hydrogenosomes. We are interested in how the adaptation
      to anaerobiosis influenced enzyme compartmentalization in this organism. Random
      sequencing of a cDNA library from Piromyces sp. E2 resulted in the isolation of
      cDNAs encoding malate dehydrogenase, aconitase and acetohydroxyacid
      reductoisomerase. Phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences
      revealed that they are closely related to their mitochondrial homologues from
      aerobic eukaryotes. However, the deduced sequences lack N-terminal extensions,
      which function as mitochondrial leader sequences in the corresponding
      mitochondrial enzymes from aerobic eukaryotes. Subcellular fractionation and
      enzyme assays confirmed that the corresponding enzymes are located in the
      cytosol. As anaerobic chytrids evolved from aerobic, mitochondria-bearing
      ancestors, we suggest that, in the course of the adaptation from an aerobic to an
      anaerobic lifestyle, mitochondrial enzymes were retargeted to the cytosol with
      the concomitant loss of their N-terminal leader sequences.

PMID- 9988479
TI  - The type III secretion determinants of the flagellar anti-transcription factor,
      FlgM, extend from the amino-terminus into the anti-sigma28 domain.
AB  - The flagellar-specific anti-sigma factor, FIgM, inhibits the expression of late
      flagellar genes until the hook-basal body structure is assembled and competent
      for export of the flagellins and hook-associated proteins (flagellar late
      proteins). FIgM monitors this assembly checkpoint by being a substrate for export
      via the hook-basal body structure, which includes a type III protein secretion
      complex. Amino acid sequence alignment of late-secreted flagellar proteins
      identified a region of homology present in the amino-terminus of FIgM and the
      other late flagellar proteins, but not in flagellar proteins secreted earlier
      during flagellar biosynthesis. Single amino acid substitutions at specific
      positions within this motif decreased the export of FIgM. Deletion of this region
      (S3-P11) resulted in lower intracellular FIgM levels, but did not prevent
      recognition and export by the flagellar-specific secretion system. Mutations were
      isolated in a second region of FIgM spanning residues K27 to A65 that exhibited
      increased anti-sigma28 activity. These FIgM 'hyperinhibitor' mutants were
      secreted less than wild-type FIgM. Mutations that interfere with the secretion of
      FIgM without abolishing anti-sigma28 activity have a negative effect upon the
      secretion of a His-tagged FIgM mutant that lacks anti-sigma28 activity. Models
      are proposed to explain the dominant negative phenotype of the FIgM secretion
      mutants reported in this study.

PMID- 9988480
TI  - The E protein of satellite phage P4 acts as an anti-repressor by binding to the C
      protein of helper phage P2.
AB  - Temperate phage P2 has the capacity to function as a helper for the defective,
      unrelated, satellite phage P4. In the absence of a helper, P4 can either
      lysogenize its host or establish itself as a plasmid. For lytic growth, P4
      requires the structural genes, packaging and lysis functions of the helper. P4
      can get access to the late genes of prophage P2 by derepression, which is
      mediated by the P4 E protein. E has been hypothesized to function as an anti
      repressor. To locate possible epitopes interacting with E, an epitope display
      library was screened against E, and the most frequent sequence found had some
      identities to a region within P2 C. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, a clear
      activation of a reporter gene was found, strongly supporting an interaction
      between E and C. The P2 C repressor is believed to act as a dimer, which is
      confirmed in this work using in vivo dimerization studies. The E protein was also
      found to form dimers in vivo. The E protein only affects dimerization of C
      marginally, but the presence of E enhances multimeric forms of C. Furthermore,
      binding of the C protein to its operator is inhibited by E in vitro, indicating
      that the anti-repressor function of E is mediated by the formation of multimeric
      complexes of E and C that interfere with the binding of C to its operator.

PMID- 9988481
TI  - Targeting of the Yersinia pestis YopM protein into HeLa cells and intracellular
      trafficking to the nucleus.
AB  - The YopM virulence protein of Yersinia pestis has been described as binding human
      alpha-thrombin and inhibiting thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in vitro.
      However, recent studies have shown that a YopM-CyaA fusion protein could be
      targeted vectorially into eukaryotic cells through the Yersinia type III
      secretion system. In this study, our objective was to characterize YopM's fate in
      more detail. We followed YopM in the culture medium and inside infected HeLa
      cells. We confirmed that the native YopM is targeted into HeLa cells, where it is
      insensitive to exogenous trypsin. The bacteria must be surface located to target
      YopM, and YopB and YopD are necessary, whereas the LcrE protein (called also
      YopN) makes this process more efficient. Immunofluorescence localization revealed
      that YopM, in contrast to YopE, is not only targeted to the cytoplasm but also
      trafficks to the cell's nucleus by means of a vesicle-associated pathway that is
      strongly inhibited by brefeldin A, perturbed by monensin or bafilomycin A1 and
      dependent upon microtubules (decreased by colchicine and nocodazole). These
      findings revealed a novel interaction of Yersinia pestis with its eukaryotic
      host.

PMID- 9988482
TI  - Conversion to bidirectional replication after unidirectional initiation from R1
      plasmid origin integrated at oriC in Escherichia coli.
AB  - The cell division phenotypes of Escherichia coli with its chromosome replication
      driven by oriR (from plasmid R1) were examined by fluorescence microscopy and
      flow cytometry. Chromosome replication patterns in these strains were followed by
      marker frequency analyses. In one of the strains, the unidirectional oriR was
      integrated so that the replication fork moved clockwise from the oriC region, and
      bacterial growth and division were similar to those of the wild-type parent. The
      bacteria were able to convert the unidirectional initiation from oriR into
      bidirectional replication. The site for conversion of uni- to bidirectional
      replication seemed to be localized and could be mapped genetically within 6 min
      to the immediate right of the minimal oriC. Replication starting in the
      counterclockwise direction from the R1 replicon integrated at the same site in
      the opposite orientation could not be described as either bi- or unidirectional,
      as no single predominant origin could be discerned from the more or less flat
      marker frequency pattern. These strains also showed extensive filamentation,
      irregular nucleoid distribution and the presence of anucleate cells, indicative
      of segregation and division defects. Comparison among intR1 derivatives differing
      in the position of the integrated oriR relative to the chromosome origin
      suggested that the oriC sequence itself was dispensable for the conversion to
      bidirectionality. However, passage of the replication fork over the 6 min region
      to the right of oriC seemed important for the bidirectional replication pattern
      and normal cell division phenotype.

PMID- 9988483
TI  - The type II O-antigenic polysaccharide moiety of Burkholderia pseudomallei
      lipopolysaccharide is required for serum resistance and virulence.
AB  - Melioidosis, an infection caused by the gram-negative bacterial pathogen
      Burkholderia pseudomallei, is endemic in south-east Asia and northern Australia.
      Acute septicaemic melioidosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality,
      especially in north-east Thailand. B. pseudomallei is highly resistant to the
      bactericidal activity of normal human serum (NHS), and we have found that B.
      pseudomallei 1026b multiplies in 10-30% NHS. We developed a simple screen for the
      identification of serum-sensitive mutants based on this novel phenotype.
      Approximately 1200 Tn5-OT182 mutants were screened, and three serum-sensitive
      mutants were identified. The type II O-antigenic polysaccharide (O-PS) moiety of
      lipopolysaccharide was not present in the serum-sensitive mutants. A
      representative serum-sensitive mutant, SRM117, was killed by the alternative
      pathway of complement and was less virulent than 1026b in three animal models of
      melioidosis. The Tn5-OT182 integrations in the serum-sensitive mutants were
      physically linked on the B. pseudomallei chromosome, and further genetic analysis
      of this locus revealed a cluster of 15 genes required for type II O-PS
      production. The proteins encoded by these genes were similar to proteins involved
      in bacterial polysaccharide biosynthesis. The results presented here demonstrate
      that type II O-PS is essential for B. pseudomallei serum resistance and
      virulence.

PMID- 9988484
TI  - Nitrogen control of the glnN gene that codes for GS type III, the only glutamine
      synthetase in the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena sp. PCC 6903.
AB  - Pseudanabaena sp. strain PCC 6903 is the first cyanobacteria lacking the typical
      prokaryotic glutamine synthetase type I encoded by the glnA gene. The glnN gene
      product, glutamine synthetase type III, is the only glutamine synthetase activity
      present in this cyanobacterium. Analysis of glnN expression clearly indicated a
      nitrogen-dependent regulation. Pseudanabaena glnN gene expression and GSIII
      activity were upregulated under nitrogen starvation or using nitrate as a
      nitrogen source, while low levels of transcript and activity were found in
      ammonium-containing medium. Primer extension analysis showed that the glnN gene
      promoter structure resembled that of the NtcA-related promoters. Mobility shift
      assays demonstrated that Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 NtcA protein, expressed and
      purified from Escherichia coli, bound to the promoter of the Pseudanabaena 6903
      glnN gene. The NtcA control of the glnN gene in this cyanobacterium suggested
      that, in the absence of a glnA gene, NtcA took control of the only glutamine
      synthetase gene in a fashion similar to the way the glnA gene is governed in
      those cyanobacteria harbouring a glnA gene.

PMID- 9988485
TI  - Promoter element spacing controls basal expression and light inducibility of the
      cyanobacterial secA gene.
AB  - The Synechocystis PCC6803 secA gene was found to be essential for cell viability
      and to be transcriptionally controlled by the redox state of the cells. The basic
      promoter (BP, -71 to +47 relative to the transcription start site) is controlled
      by three cis-acting elements, which together mediate the fourfold light induction
      of BP activity. The positively acting element (PE1, -361 to -71) upstream of BP
      exerts a twofold stimulation of BP; the negative element (NE, +47 to +104)
      downstream of BP decreases BP strength about sixfold. The PE2 element (+104 to
      +175) lying in the coding sequence overcomes NE-dependent downregulation of BP.
      BP harbours Escherichia coli sigma70-like promoter elements -35 (5'-TTGAat-3')
      and -10 (5'-TAagAT-3'). The -10 motif, which has the features of an 'extended 
      10' box, is absolutely essential to promoter activity. The -35 hexamer is
      critical to the enhancement of promoter strength above BP level and to light
      inducibility, both features involving regulatory elements flanking BP. Most
      interestingly, reducing the length of the 30 bp spacing between the -35 and -10
      boxes down to 17 bp was found to increase promoter activity and to confer light
      inducibility to BP. This demonstrates that promoter element spacing controls
      basal expression and light inducibility of the secA gene.

PMID- 9988486
TI  - A new set of chemotaxis homologues is essential for Myxococcus xanthus social
      motility.
AB  - Myxococcus xanthus cells aggregate and develop into multicellular fruiting bodies
      in response to starvation. A new M. xanthus locus, designated diffor defective in
      fruiting, was identified by the characterization of a mutant defective in
      fruiting body formation. Molecular cloning, DNA sequencing and sequence analysis
      indicate that the dif locus encodes a new set of chemotaxis homologues of the
      bacterial chemotaxis proteins MCPs (methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins), CheW,
      CheY and CheA. The dif genes are distinct genetically and functionally from the
      previously identified M. xanthus frz chemotaxis genes, suggesting that multiple
      chemotaxis-like systems are required for the developmental process of M. xanthus
      fruiting body formation. Genetic analysis and phenotypical characterization
      indicate that the M. xanthus dif locus is required for social (S) motility. This
      is the first report of a M. xanthus chemotaxis-like signal transduction pathway
      that could regulate or co-ordinate the movement of M. xanthus cells to bring
      about S motility.

PMID- 9988487
TI  - Italian contributions to the history of general and medical mycology.
AB  - Important contributions by Italian mycologists that guided the field of medical
      mycology are discussed. Much of our current taxonomy resulted from their
      contributions.

PMID- 9988488
TI  - The role of immunoreconstitution in the management of refractory opportunistic
      fungal infections.
AB  - Systemic fungal infections are an increasingly important threat to
      immunocompromised patients. In particular, invasive disease due to Candida spp.,
      Aspergillus spp. and other moulds is associated with high mortality rates in
      these patients, despite the many recent advances in antifungal chemotherapy.
      Recent studies examining the immunopathogenesis of these infections have provided
      increased insights into the relative importance of the different compartments of
      host immune defences for these fungi. In parallel, a number of cytokines have
      been discovered and studies of their involvement in antifungal host defences both
      in vitro and in experimental animal models of fungal infections have become
      possible. Due to their ability to upregulate phagocyte number and/or function,
      the cytokines of greatest interest are granulocyte colony-stimulating factor,
      granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, macrophage colony-stimulating
      factor, interferon-gamma, interleukin-1 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha.
      Adjuvant use of these cytokines may be of value for some refractory fungal
      infections, as may reconstitution of immune response by transfusion of allogeneic
      phagocytes. Further evaluation of the safety and efficacy of these modalities of
      immunotherapy is a new and promising area for research.

PMID- 9988489
TI  - Nocardia, nocardiosis and mycetoma.
AB  - The recent emergence of invasive infections due to Nocardia spp., including
      nosocomial outbreak, is now evident. Newer molecular diagnostic and typing
      methods are developed. Although sulfonamide-based therapy is generally effective,
      optimal treatment may be guided by antimicrobial susceptibility testing of
      isolates. The improved classification of nocardiae and other related genera such
      as actinomadurae, using the 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, provide a sound basis
      for improved diagnostic methods for the identification of members of clinically
      significant species. The commonest cause of eumycetoma in Sudan is Madurella
      mycetomatis, and Streptomyces somaliensis and Actinomadura madurae for
      actinomycetoma. The humoral immunity response in actinomycetoma patients and in
      experimental mice was measured and significant titre of anti-P24 antibody was
      demonstrated.

PMID- 9988490
TI  - Fate of transforming DNA in pathogenic fungi.
AB  - Genetic engineering is an important tool in helping us to define the molecular
      basis of pathogenicity and is also useful in helping us to identify new
      therapeutic targets in pathogenic fungi. Molecular genetic manipulation of micro
      organisms requires the development of plasmid-mediated transformation systems
      that include: (i) infusion of exogenous DNA into recipient cells, (ii) expression
      of genes present on the incoming DNA, and (iii) stable maintenance and
      replication of the inserted DNA leading to expression of the desired phenotypic
      trait. Transformation systems have been developed for only a handful of fungi
      that are pathogenic to humans including several species of Candida, Cryptococcus
      neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces derrmatitidis, Aspergillus
      fumigatus, Wangiella dermatitidis (Exophiala dermatitidis) and Coccidioides
      immitis. Except for Candida species and A. fumigatus, where passage of exogenous
      DNA into recipient cells has been achieved readily using methods developed for
      transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus nidulans,
      respectively, development of transformation systems in other pathogenic fungi has
      been delayed considerably and has only been possible recently with the
      introduction of electroporation and biolistic methods. Conventional
      spheroplasting methods or cell wall permeabilization methods using lithium
      acetate have not been successful for transformation of C. neoformans and work
      with only low efficiency in H. capsulatum. The fate of incoming DNA varies
      greatly in these pathogenic species regardless of their phylogenetic
      relationships. Understanding the fate of incoming DNA is critical for the
      construction of transforming vectors and the molecular manipulation of the
      organisms. In this symposium, recent advances in molecular genetic systems
      including transformation systems, the fate of incoming DNA and strategies for
      targeted integration are discussed in relation to four pathogenic fungi.

PMID- 9988491
TI  - Stress proteins in fungal diseases.
AB  - Heat shock proteins (hsps) are ubiquitous families of proteins, found in all
      organisms studied so far. They are highly conserved across the species barrier
      and serve fundamental functions in cell physiology. The term 'heat shock' was
      adopted because of the early observation of the heat-inducible nature of these
      proteins, although, as it is now realized that they can be induced by a variety
      of stressful stimuli, it is probably more appropriate to call them 'stress
      proteins'. The nomenclature of many hsps, for example hsp90, hsp70 and hsp60,
      reflects the approximate molecular mass of hsps within each of these families.
      For many bacterial and parasitic infections, hsps were first recognized as
      immunodominant antigens on immunoblots of extracts from the organism probed with
      immune sera, or in T-cell proliferation assays. They have now been identified in
      a range of fungal pathogens, again often linked to an immune response. In this
      symposium, we review the association of hsps with humoral immunity to candidosis
      and aspergillosis, cellular immunity to histoplasmosis, and the identification of
      hsp70 in another dimorphic fungus, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Finally, the
      crucial role of the membrane in setting the temperature of the heat shock
      response in yeasts is discussed.

PMID- 9988492
TI  - Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of medically important fungi.
AB  - Some recent advances in study of molecular evolution and taxonomy of human
      pathogens are discussed. In systemic Onygenales as well as in Chaetothyriales,
      pathogenic species are phylogenetically intermingled with non-pathogenic taxa.
      When a teleomorph of Coccidioides immitis is eventually found, it is predicted to
      resemble Uncinocarpus, a genus otherwise comprising environmental species. In the
      dermatophytes, Trichophyton and Microsporum are paraphyletic, whereas
      Epidermophyton is polyphyletic. On the basis of 18S and ITS rDNA sequencing data,
      Exophiala anamorphs (black yeasts) are confirmed to be closely related to the
      ascomycete genus Capronia. The related neurotropic species Cladophialophora
      bantiana is remarkable in consistently having introns in its 18S rDNA gene.

PMID- 9988493
TI  - Development of vaccines and their use in the prevention of fungal infections.
AB  - Vaccine approaches to infectious diseases are widely applied and appreciated.
      Disciplines such as bacteriology and virology have a rich history of successful
      vaccine development. The complexity of eukaryotic systems presents additional
      challenges to the development of vaccines against them. These challenges are
      being met in the fields of parasitology, and are being revisited for application
      in oncology. Vaccine opportunities exist in medical mycology. The National
      Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has held a series of workshops in
      medical mycology where the need to develop vaccines for fungal diseases was noted
      and where important opportunities were discussed. Major advances in vaccinology
      and the technology of antigen preparation and delivery have increased feasibility
      and heightened interest. The recent epidemic of coccidioidomycosis in the
      American Southwest has demonstrated the need for developing a vaccine as an
      effective preventive measure for those living in and for those who subsequently
      move into regions with the endemic mycoses. The XIIth Congress of the
      International Society for Human and Animal Mycology included a symposium that
      summarized new vaccination strategies for selected fungi: Candida albicans,
      Coccidioides immitis, and Trichophyton verrucosum. The goal of the present
      summary is to provide representative examples of continuing efforts relating to
      vaccine development within the medical mycological community highlighting
      Blastomyces dermatidis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum,
      Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, and Pythiumn insidiosum.

PMID- 9988494
TI  - Standardization of antifungal susceptibility testing and clinical relevance.
AB  - Standardization of antifungal susceptibility testing became essential to overcome
      the problem of interlaboratory variability and to determine the clinical
      relevance of in vitro data. This evolving process began for the yeasts and
      consequently broth macrodilution and microdilution methods (NCCLS M27 document)
      have been developed. These tests may not be useful for testing all organism-drug
      combinations or be the most convenient techniques for routine use in the clinical
      laboratory. Different alternatives to the NCCLS methods are currently under
      investigation. The identification of standard guidelines for antifungal
      susceptibility testing has reduced interlaboratory variability and further
      progress has been achieved with the determination of tentative interpretive
      breakpoints for certain drug-yeast combinations. However, these breakpoints are
      not adequate for interpretations of MICs for fungi-drug combinations beyond the
      setting for which they were determined. The NCCLS Subcommittee has also generated
      data for proposed testing guidelines for the moulds.

PMID- 9988495
TI  - Cryptococcus neoformans: virulence and host defences.
AB  - Cryptococcus neoformans represents a model organism for the study of virulence
      and the host response. In this discussion, there is a focus on the genetic,
      molecular, and biochemical aspects of C. neoformans as it interacts with the
      host. Investigations into direct and indirect virulence phenotypes are now
      possible. The molecular aspects of two major virulence factors, capsule and
      melanin, are characterized. Yeast polyol metabolism through mannitol is examined
      as a potential biochemical pathway for virulence. The concept of C. neoformans
      differentially expressed genes within the host or in response to certain
      environmental cues can be used indirectly to identify potential virulence genes.
      However, despite significant progress in molecular pathogenesis with C.
      neoformans, the future of research in this area will require a certain critical
      mass of investigators to help share in the developmental costs which continue to
      occur.

PMID- 9988496
TI  - Imported mycoses in Europe.
AB  - This article reviews the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management of
      some of the more important systemic infections that are now being imported into
      Europe. It also considers the risks some of the causal organisms pose to European
      laboratory workers, many of whom are unfamiliar with the precautions that should
      be taken when handling these pathogens.

PMID- 9988497
TI  - Antibody and/or cell-mediated immunity, protective mechanisms in fungal disease:
      an ongoing dilemma or an unnecessary dispute?
AB  - Historically there has been controversy on the relative importance of antibody-
      and cell-mediated immune responses in the protection against fungal pathogens.
      The controversy was fuelled by the difficulties encountered in obtaining
      consistent results with polyclonal antibody experiments and I inducing long
      lasting immune protection by vaccinations with induce stron cell-mediated
      responses. Recent studies indicate that both antibody- and cell-mediated immune
      responses can contribute to host protection against Candida albicans and C.
      neoformans. At the present time the major issue is not the relative importance of
      antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses but rather, the mechanisms by which
      the two arms of the immune system function and cooperate.

PMID- 9988498
TI  - Teaching medical mycology in the year 2000.
AB  - Medical mycology is of increasing interest to the basic scientist, pathologist,
      microbiologist and clinician. This interest has been prompted by the rising
      number of immunosuppressed patients with opportunistic fungal infections, the
      expanding boundaries of the so-called endemic mycoses, the recognition of several
      major new endemic mycoses and a variety of other emerging fungal infections, and
      the development of potent, non-toxic antifungal drugs to treat these infections.
      The world of mycology is changing dramatically, especially in developing
      countries which have only limited resources to cope with the impact of the
      compromised host and the introduction of costly new antifungal drugs.
      Consequently, there is an urgent need to increase our effectiveness as teachers
      of medical mycology at all levels and in all regions of the world.

PMID- 9988499
TI  - Type 1 and type 2 cytokines: from basic science to fungal infections.
AB  - At the present time, it is clear that Th1 responses afford protection against the
      fungi; however, the development, maintenance and function of the protective
      immune responses are complex mechanisms and are influenced by multiple factors.
      The route of infection has been shown to affect initial cytokine production and,
      consequently, the induction of protective Th1 responses. The ability of different
      isolates of the same fungal agent to induce and sustain a protective response has
      also been emphasized. Protective immune responses have been shown to vary in
      genetically different mouse strains after infection. In addition, these
      protective responses, such as cellular influx and cytokine production, also vary
      within the same animal depending on the tissue infected. The functional dominance
      of certain cytokines over others in influencing development and maintenance of
      protective responses has been discussed. Certain cytokines may act differently in
      hosts lacking important components of their innate or immune repertoire. It is
      evident from these presentations that a more comprehensive understanding of the
      protective mechanisms against different fungal agents is emerging. However, there
      is still much to learn before cytokine modulatory therapy can be used effectively
      without risk in the human host.

PMID- 9988500
TI  - Antifungal drug resistance in pathogenic fungi.
AB  - Failures of drug treatment in fungal infections combined with improvements in
      performances and standardization of antifungal susceptibility testing have drawn
      attention to the problem of antifungal resistance and its underlying mechanisms.
      Resistance of Candida species and Cryptococcus neoformans to flucytosine (5FC)
      develops during monotherapy. Acquired resistance results from a failure to
      metabolize 5FC to 5FUTP and 5FdUMP, or from the loss of feedback control of
      pyrimidine biosynthesis. A combination of 5FC and amphotericin B (AmB) reduces
      the appearance of resistant C. albicans isolates. Resistance to AmB is unusual.
      C. lusitaniae is the most susceptible to AmB resistance. C. neoformans with
      decreased AmB susceptibility has been isolated from an HIV-infected patient.
      Acquired resistance to AmB is often associated with alteration of membrane
      lipids, especially ergosterol. Concomitant with the widespread use of fluconazole
      there have been increasing reports of fluconazole resistance in Candida species
      and C. neoformans. Fluconazole resistance was mostly associated with prior use of
      fluconazole as intermittent therapy or prophylactic continuous treatment for
      recurrent thrush. In contrast to fluconazole, itraconazole is active against C.
      krusei. Decreased susceptibility to itraconazole is observed over time in C.
      albicans isolates becoming resistant to fluconazole. Decreased susceptibility to
      itraconazole and SCH-56592 was also observed in a few Aspergillus fumigatus
      isolates. Failure to accumulate azole antifungals has been identified as a cause
      of resistance in several post-treatment C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. krusei
      isolates. In azole-resistant C. albicans isolates from AIDS patients with
      oropharyngeal candidiasis, multidrug efflux transporters of the ATP-binding
      cassette (ABC) superfamily and of the class of major facilitators (MF) have been
      shown to be responsible for the low level of accumulation of azole antifungal
      agents. Two genes for these transporters, the ABC-transporter gene CDR1 and the
      MF gene, CaMDR1 (BEN) were shown to be overexpressed in resistant C. albicans
      isolates. Overexpression of BEN in Saccharomyces cerevisiae conferred resistance
      to fluconazole and terbinafine. CDR1 overexpression in S. cerevisiae conferred
      cross-resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole and terbinafine. C.
      albicans clinical isolates resistant to azole antifungal agents over-expressing
      the ABC-transporter genes CDR1 and CDR2 were less susceptible to the morpholine
      derivative amorolfine. In C. glabrata isolates azole resistance is based on over
      expression of the CgCDR gene. A reduced susceptibility of ergosterol biosynthesis
      is another mechanism of resistance described in a number of post-treatment C.
      albicans, C. neoformans and Histoplasma capsulatum isolates. Mutations have been
      reported in the CYP51A1 genes of resistant C. albicans isolates. Over-expression
      of CYP51A1 in C. albicans and C. glabrata may also account for a decreased
      susceptibility to azole antifungal agents.

PMID- 9988501
TI  - Selected animal models: vaginal candidosis, Pneumocystis pneumonia,
      dermatophytosis and trichosporosis.
AB  - A clear understanding of the pathogenesis of fungal disease remains elusive.
      While technological advances in molecular biology and microbial genetics have
      provided scientists with major new insights into both microbial virulence factors
      as well as host susceptibility to infection, there is currently no substitute for
      animal models in elucidating microbe-host interactions. Animal models are also
      essential for the evaluation of new antimicrobial agents, including studies of
      efficacy, adverse reactions and pharmacokinetics. The single most important
      advance in animal models in the last decade, has been the availability of
      genetically unique strains of animals as alternative to animals treated with
      immunosuppressive drugs for use in studies on microbial virulence and host
      defence mechanisms. These unique strains of test animals also enhance our
      understanding of the modes of action of antifungal drugs and their metabolism.
      Some of these advances will be discussed in this symposium.

PMID- 9988502
TI  - Mycological control and surveillance of biological waste and compost.
AB  - This paper presents some recent developments regarding current work on hygienic
      aspects, in particular the presence and dispersion of fungi (e.g. Aspergillus
      fumigatus), of biological waste and compost.

PMID- 9988503
TI  - Current trends in the detection of antigenaemia, metabolites and cell wall
      markers for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of fungal infections.
AB  - There have been several recent developments in the diagnosis of fungal
      infections, including the production of novel antigen detection tests, the G
      test, and assays for the detection of fungal metabolites. In this article we
      present an overview of these developments and examine the value of including
      these tests in clinical trials.

PMID- 9988504
TI  - Importance of Candida species other than Candida albicans as opportunistic
      pathogens.
AB  - Candida species other than C. albicans have become a significant cause of
      infection in humans. Several of the more commonly isolated of these species are
      less susceptible to commonly used azole antifungal drugs, a factor that poses
      significant difficulties for effective treatment. The modern mycology laboratory
      has an important role to play in several aspects relating to these organisms,
      including therapy, detection, identification and epidemiological analysis. The
      application of molecular techniques and phylogenetic analysis has led to the
      identification of a new species of Candida associated with mucosal candidiasis in
      HIV-infected individuals named Candida dubliniensis, the clinical significance of
      which is currently under investigation. Molecular techniques are also being
      applied to the analysis of determinants involved in pathogenicity of species such
      as Candida glabratta. These approaches should lead to a better understanding of
      these organisms and there ability to cause disease and should also provide more
      effective treatment.

PMID- 9988505
TI  - Dermatophytes and host defence in cutaneous mycoses.
AB  - Dermatophytosis is the infection of keratinized tissues such as hair, nails and
      the stratum corneum of the skin by dermatophyte fungi. These fungi are
      onygenalean anamorphs and anamorphic species belonging to the genera
      Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton. An important characteristic of the
      dermatophytes as parasites is their restriction to the dead keratinized tissues,
      except in rare cases where the patient is immunosuppressed. In contrast to many
      fungi, including normally non-pathogenic species, which can invade systemically
      in severely immunocompromised (e.g. neutropenic) patients, dermatophytes appear
      to be unable to cause systemic infection in this population. Thus, these fungi
      appear to have an unique interaction with the immune system. A better
      understanding of this interaction will contribute significantly to our knowledge
      of mammalian host defences.

PMID- 9988506
TI  - Cytokines and mycoses.
AB  - Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) has been shown, over many decades of clinical
      observation and bench research, to be central to the outcome of invasive fungal
      infections. In recent years, understanding the role of messenger molecules
      (cytokines), in coordinating and augmenting cellular immunity has been ascendant.
      These studies have made it possible to consider using cytokines, now available in
      abundant quantities via recombinant DNA technologies, to treat fungal infections.
      In this symposium, the most important fungal pathogens that cause infections in
      humans, particularly in immunocompromised patients, are considered, with emphasis
      on how recent experimental work may lead to a better understanding of the role of
      cytokines and their use in therapy.

PMID- 9988507
TI  - Genetics, metabolism and host specificity of Pneumocystis carinii.
AB  - Pneumocystis carinii is a major cause of severe pneumonia in immunosuppressed
      individuals, especially in those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
      infection during their period of progression to acquired immunodeficiency
      syndrome (AIDS), and constitutes a worldwide problem to public health. Recently,
      significant advances in the development of experimental animal models of P.
      carinii infection, as well as in our knowledge of the genetic diversity and
      taxonomy of P. carinii, have been made. These advances may contribute to our
      understanding of the transmission of P. carinii pneumonia (PCP) and to the
      development of new prevention and control strategies. This paper addresses
      questions relating to the epidemiology of PCP including the detection of the
      parasite in the environment and in patients, the mechanism of genetic variation
      of the major surface glycoprotein (MSG) of P. carinii, and host-related genetic
      variation among isolates of this organism, emphasizing phenotypic expression and
      its impact on epidemiology and taxonomy.

PMID- 9988508
TI  - New approaches to antifungal chemotherapy.
AB  - The antifungal agents currently available to treat invasive fungal infections are
      limited in both number and usefulness. Treatment with the polyene amphotericin B
      (AmB), and with several azoles, in particular fluconazole and itraconazole, is
      the mainstay of antifungal chemotherapy. However, the clinical usefulness of
      these drugs is hampered by drawbacks associated with their safety and/or
      efficacy. There are two approaches to overcome this situation. One is to discover
      and develop new antifungal agents or formulations with advantages over and/or
      complementary to existing drugs. For this purpose, the following three categories
      of new drugs have been the major targets of study and development: (i) lipid
      formulations of polyenes, (ii) azoles (including cyclodextrin-complexes), and
      (iii) nonazole compounds, particularly those of microbial origin (antibiotics).

PMID- 9988509
TI  - Recent advances in cryptococcosis, candidiasis and coccidioidomycosis
      complicating HIV infection.
AB  - Concomitant with the decline in CD4+ T-cells seen as human immunodeficiency virus
      (HIV) infection progresses, the prevalence of opportunistic mycoses increases
      dramatically. This article reviews selected recent advances in our understanding
      of the immunology, molecular epidemiology and treatment of fungal infections in
      patients infected with HIV. For cryptococcosis, studies are reported on how HIV
      infection affects the immune response to Cryptococcus neoformans and, conversely,
      how stimulation with C. neoformans induces HIV production from latently HIV
      infected cells. In addition, studies are presented examining the efficacy of
      triple combination antimycotic chemotherapy in cryptococcosis. For candidosis,
      investigations into genetic profiles of Candida albicans isolates obtained from
      patients, with resistance to antifungal agents, are demonstrated. Finally, for
      coccidioidomycosis, prospective studies are presented examining the clinical,
      epidemiological and immunological characteristics of a cohort of HIV-infected
      subjects residing in an endemic area.

PMID- 9988510
TI  - Mycoses of fish.

PMID- 9988511
TI  - The role of Malassezia species in the ecology of human skin and as pathogens.
AB  - The new taxonomic structure of the lipophilic genus Malassezia was presented with
      key characteristics for the seven described species. Among techniques used for
      epidemiological surveys, the pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was found to
      be of little value in contrast to randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD).
      Immunological studies still yielded conflicting results but at least the
      immunomodulatory capacity of Malassezia yeasts appeared to be related to the cell
      wall lipids. A review of Malassezia infections together with the present
      consensus for their prevention and treatment was also made.

PMID- 9988512
TI  - Advances in molecular genetics of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata.
AB  - Ten years ago, when molecular genetic methods were being applied vigorously to
      viruses, bacterial pathogens and eukaryotic parasites, there seemed to be a
      partial paralysis in applying them to infectious fungi; this state of affairs was
      more than apparent in the composition of the symposia at the ISHAM conference in
      1987. Since then, however, things have changed. The ISHAM conference held in
      Italy in 1997 was replete with studies utilizing molecular genetic techniques to
      answer questions related to epidemiology, pathogenesis, drug development and
      typing. In the symposium Advances in Molecular Genetics of Fungal Pathogens,
      several new applications of molecular biology to fungal pathogenesis were
      reviewed. Although the presentations in this symposium covered only a fraction of
      the molecular methods now being applied to Candida pathogenesis, they
      nevertheless provided an intriguing view of what is in store for us in the coming
      years.

PMID- 9988513
TI  - Molecular mechanisms of virulence in fungus-host interactions for Aspergillus
      fumigatus and Candida albicans.
AB  - Research on fungi that cause opportunistic infections has increased dramatically
      during the past few years, largely because these organisms cause significant
      morbidity and mortality. Most of this research has focused on defining the
      virulence factors produced by these pathogens, as well as developing methods for
      the diagnosis of fungal diseases. With regard to studies on the biology of
      Candida albicans, it is now possible to isolate genes, disrupt their expression,
      and observe the specific effects of gene disruption on virulence and growth of
      the organism. Moreover, growth and virulence of this pathogen is also being
      studied and the effect of environmental factors on gene expression investigated.
      This subject is especially important in view of the fact that C. albicans can
      colonize and invade a number of sites in the human body. Thus, its ability to
      grown in the oral and vaginal tracts, as well as in blood, requires the organism
      to adapt to a variety of environmental stresses. Here we present observations on
      the growth, morphogenesis and virulence of the opportunistic fungi C. albicans
      and Aspergillus fumigatus.

PMID- 9988514
TI  - Molecular diagnosis and epidemiology of fungal infections.
AB  - A variety of methods are utilized for DNA strain subtyping of Candida spp.
      because no 'gold standard' exists. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) or
      restriction enzyme analysis (REA) are useful to determine the source of an
      outbreak, but more reproducible and discriminatory methods such as Southern
      hybridization and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) may be required. When
      applied to some nosocomial Candida infections, multiple strains and species have
      been identified. Microevolution of yeast species occurs and epidemiologically
      related isolates may show minor pattern differences, creating uncertainty as to
      whether they are distinct strains. Approximately 1000 isolates of Aspergillus
      fumigatus from environmental and clinical sources were typed by REA probed with
      an A. fumigatus-specific retrotransposon-like sequence. Patients with no symptom
      of aspergillosis may carry several strains, whereas patients with pulmonary
      aspergillosis may carry one or two strains; nocosomial transmission of
      aspergillosis was proven in 39% of the patients studied; any given environmental
      strain can be infectious; the environmental population of A. fumigatus is
      extremely diverse and no specific niche was found in the hospital. A PCR assay
      was designed to target conserved 18S-ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences shared by
      most fungi and a 687 bp product was amplified from 25 medically important fungal
      species. Studies with blood, cerebrospinal fluid and sputum specimens from
      patients with mycoses indicated that the PCR assay is more sensitive in
      diagnosing invasive fungal infections than blood culture methods. More specific
      identification is obtainable with genus/species-specif c probes designed from
      within the PCR-amplified sequences for C. albicans, C. krusei, C. lusitaniae,
      Pneumocystis carinii, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus/Penicillium spp. and
      C. glabrata/Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A. fumigatus and A. niger were
      differentiated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. In situ hybridization
      (ISH) detected a 648 bp fragment of the 18S rDNA of C. neoformans and a 568 bp
      fragment of the alkaline proteinase gene of A. fumigatus in tissues from
      experimentally infected animals. In ISH, the entire process can be automated,
      making this procedure rapid and easy. The difficulty in establishing a diagnosis
      of invasive candidiasis has prompted the quest for a clinically useful PCR test
      for candidaemia. The universal fungal oligonucleotide primer pair, ITS3 and ITS4,
      amplifies portions of the 5.8S ad 28S rDNA subunits, and the ITS2 region.
      Although rRNA genes are highly conserved, the ITS regions are distinctive. DNA
      probes were designed from ITS2 that were specific for 16 different Candida
      species. Simple, rapid sample preparation was suitable for PCR analysis of
      BacT/Alert blood culture bottles. Sample preparation, PCR, and EIA detection of
      the amplicon from five different Candida species was accomplished in 7 h, 2.5
      days sooner than by conventional culture methods. As well as saving time, minor
      yeast species among a major species, or among bacteria, were simultaneously
      detected. PCR-EIA using a microtitration plate format had sensitivity 10-times
      greater than that obtained with ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels. Taqman
      combines in one step PCR, probe hybridization, and fluorescent signal generation.
      Taqman PCR had sensitivity equivalent to PCR-EIA and required only 5 h, including
      sample preparation.

PMID- 9988515
TI  - Biosafety considerations in handling medically important fungi.
AB  - Over 500,000 workers in the USA alone are employed in laboratories that range
      from small physician offices to large clinical laboratories handling microbes for
      comprehensive research and/or diagnostic work. These workers are exposed to a
      variety of potential occupational health risks such as exposure to infectious
      clinical materials, environmental specimens, cultures, complex and inflammable
      chemicals, radiation, and electrical and mechanical hazards. As members of the
      International Society for Human and Animal Mycology, we have no policy statement
      on biosafety standards for handling medically important fungi. The intent of the
      symposium is to cover some of the important aspects of biosafety; (1) standards
      in handling dimorphic fungal pathogens; (2) the principles and criteria of
      biosafety levels and classification of known medically important fungi, aerobic
      actinomycetes, environmental fungi according to their biosafety levels; (3)
      medically important fungal waste and its safe disposal; and (4) biosafety and
      regulatory considerations in handling and mailing medically important fungi in a
      culture collection.

PMID- 9988516
TI  - The role of ISHAM: how developing and developed countries can benefit from it.
      International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.
AB  - The international community of mycologists, ISHAM, is faced increasingly with the
      needs and demands of supporting the development of organizational structures
      worldwide in the field of medical mycology. This goes beyond the classical
      objectives of a scientific association, namely organizing international
      congresses and publishing a journal. In the early part of the next century, this
      will become a major challenge to ISHAM. Symposia discussing this subject were
      presented at the 12th Congress of ISHAM held in Adelaide, Australia, in 1994.
      This paper outlines the reflections and discussions held by members of our
      Society in 1997.

PMID- 9988517
TI  - Parasitic relationship between Microsporum canis and the cat.
AB  - Cats are often cited as reservoirs of M. canis but it is questionable whether M.
      canis is part of the resident flora of the cat's skin and hair or only a
      transient organism. Studies indicate that M. canis is most often isolated from
      cats at risk of infection or exposure from other infected cats or from a
      contaminated environment. Many more cats are culture-positive for M. canis than
      have dermatophytosis. Culture isolation alone is not an indication of
      dermatophytosis; the diagnosis of dermatophytosis requires microscopic evidence
      of infection as well as culture evidence of the presence of the dermatophyte. The
      cat's hair coat adopts the culture image of its surroundings. Diverse factors may
      influence the frequency of isolation of M. canis. Nevertheless, isolation of M.
      canis implies either active disease or fomite carriage and warrants aggressive
      investigation of the clinical situation.

PMID- 9988518
TI  - Technology transfer and application in the clinical mycology laboratory for the
      21st century: potential for transfer and application of new technologies in
      routine laboratory operations--industrialized countries.

PMID- 9988519
TI  - An intriguing controversy over protein structural class prediction.
AB  - A recent report by Bahar et al. [(1997), Proteins 29, 172-185] indicates that the
      coupling effects among different amino acid components as originally formulated
      by K. C. Chou [(1995), Proteins 21, 319-344] are important for improving the
      prediction of protein structural classes. These authors have further proposed a
      compact lattice model to illuminate the physical insight contained in the
      component-coupled algorithm. However, a completely opposite result was concluded
      by Eisenhaber et al. [(1996), Proteins 25, 169 179], using a different dataset
      constructed according to their definition. To address such an intriguing
      controversy, tests were conducted by various approaches for the datasets from an
      objective database, the SCOP database [Murzin et al. (1995), J. Mol. Biol. 247,
      536-540]. The results obtained by both self-consistency and jackknife tests
      indicate that the overall rates of correct prediction by the algorithm
      incorporating the coupling effect among different amino acid components are
      significantly higher than those by the algorithms without counting such an
      effect. This is fully consistent with the physical reality that the folding of a
      protein is the result of a collective interaction among its constituent amino
      acid residues, and hence the coupling effects of different amino acid components
      must be incorporated in order to improve the prediction quality. It was found by
      a revisiting the calculation procedures by Eisenhaber et al. that there was a
      conceptual mistake in constructing the structural class datasets and a systematic
      mistake in applying the component-coupled algorithm. These findings are
      informative for understanding and utilizing the component-coupled algorithm to
      study the structural classes of proteins.

PMID- 9988520
TI  - Partial in vitro digestion of active gliadin-related peptides in celiac disease.
AB  - Peptides corresponding to residues 75-86 (RPQQPYPQPQPQ) and 75-85 of the A
      gliadin structure, which were shown to be active in an animal model of celiac
      disease, were digested in vitro with small intestinal mucosa from children with
      celiac disease in remission and with mucosa from normal children. The products of
      digestion were separated into two fractions by gel permeation chromatography.
      Undigested residues (Mr > 400 fraction) from both peptides contained mainly
      glutamine, proline, and tyrosine, while the digested materials (Mr < 400
      fraction) contained mainly proline, glutamine and arginine. Much larger amounts
      of undigested peptides were obtained from digestion with celiac mucosa than from
      normal mucosa. The results with peptide 75-86 indicated that the octapeptide 77
      84 (QQPYPQPQ) was the main residual component and this peptide was shown to be
      active in the assay. Peptide 77-84 was also obtained as a residue from digestion
      of peptide 75-85, together with heptapeptide 77-83. The results lend further
      support for a primary mucosal defect in celiac disease and indicate that residual
      peptides in the small intestine of patients with the disease still retain
      appreciable toxicity.

PMID- 9988521
TI  - The sequential mechanism of guanidine hydrochloride-induced denaturation of cAMP
      receptor protein from Escherichia coli. A fluorescent study using 8-anilino-1
      naphthalenesulfonic acid.
AB  - cAMP receptor protein (CRP) regulates expression of a number of genes in
      Escherichia coli. The protein is a homodimer and each monomer is folded into two
      structural domains. The biological activation of CRP upon cAMP binding may
      involve the subunit realignment as well as reorientation between the domains
      within each subunit. In order to study the interactions between the subunits or
      domains, we performed stopped-flow measurements of the guanidine hydrochloride
      (GuHCI)-induced denaturation of CRP. The changes in CRP structure induced by
      GuHCl were monitored using both intrinsic Trp fluorescence as well as the
      fluorescence of an extrinsic probe, 8-anilino-1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS).
      Results of CRP denaturation using Trp fluorescence detection are consistent with
      a two-step model [Malecki, and Wasylewski, (1997), Eur. J. Biochem. 243, 660],
      where the dissociation of dimer into subunits is followed by the monomer
      unfolding. The denaturation of CRP monitored by ANS fluorescence reveals the
      existence of two additional processes. One occurs before the dissociation of CRP
      into subunits, whereas the second takes place after the dissociation, but prior
      to proper subunit unfolding. These additional processes suggest that CRP
      denaturation is described by a more complicated mechanism than a simple three
      state equilibrium and may involve additional changes in both inter- and
      intrasubunit interactions. We also report the effect of cAMP on the kinetics of
      CRP subunit unfolding and refolding.

PMID- 9988522
TI  - Interactions between NFkappaB and its inhibitor ikappaB: biophysical
      characterization of a NFkappaB/ikappaB-alpha complex.
AB  - The N-terminal domain (1-318 amino acids) of mouse NFkappaB (p65) has been
      purified to homogeneity from the soluble fraction of Escherichia coli cells
      expressing this protein. Its complex with a full-length ikappaB-alpha (MAD3, 1
      317 amino acids) molecule was generated by binding the E. coli-derived ikappaB
      alpha to the purified NFkappaB and purifying the complex by sequential
      chromatography. The stoichiometry of NFkappaB to ikappaB in the complex was
      determined to be 2 to 1 by light scattering and SDS-polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis. The secondary structure of the NFkappaB (p65) determined by
      Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is in good agreement with that of
      the p50 in the crystal structure of the p50/DNA complex, indicating that no
      significant structural change in NFkappaB occurs upon binding of DNA. The FTIR
      spectrum of the NFkappaB/ikappaB complex indicates that its secondary structure
      is composed of 17% alpha-helix, 39% beta-strand, 18% irregular structures, and
      26% beta-turns and loops. By comparing these data to the FTIR data for NFkappaB
      alone, it is concluded that the ikappaB (MAD3) in the complex contains 35% alpha
      helix, 27% beta-strand, 22% irregular structures, and 16% beta-turns and loops.
      Circular dichroism (CD) analysis of a shorter form of ikappaB (pp40) indicates
      that it contains at least 20% alpha-helix and that the ikappaB subunit accounts
      for nearly all of the alpha-helix present in the NFkappaB/ikappaB complex,
      consistent with the FTIR results. The stabilities of NFkappaB, ikappaB, and their
      complex against heat-induced denaturation were investigated by following changes
      in CD signal. The results indicate that the thermal stability of ikappaB is
      enhanced upon the formation of the NFkappaB/ikappaB complex.

PMID- 9988523
TI  - Molecular dynamics simulation of protein folding with supersecondary structure
      constraints.
AB  - We integrate molecular dynamics simulation methods with a newly developed
      supersecondary structure prediction method and compute the structure of a protein
      molecule, crambin. The computed structure is similar to the crystal structure
      with an rms error of 3.94 A.

PMID- 9988524
TI  - The polymer basis of kinetics and equilibria of enzymes: the accessible-volume
      origin of entropy changes in a class Abeta-lactamase.
AB  - The occurrence of enzymatic catalysis, as for any chemical reaction, depends
      critically upon close contact of the reactants, since making/breaking of bonds
      occurs over distances of about 0.2 A. Unlike small molecules, each enzyme
      molecule acts as an ordered solvent and reactant. Each group important to the
      enzyme reaction interacts with the substrate, then moves away, and subsequently
      binds another substrate. In other words, the group undergoes round trips in
      structure. For a round trip, the thermochemical state functions deltaG, deltaH,
      deltaS, etc., are zero. As a consequence, control of the binding of substrate
      must reside in the nonbinding conformations of the polymer since they govern the
      different fractions of time the macromolecule is in the correct conformation for
      bonding. Applying standard macromolecular models to the enzymes suggests that the
      majority of free energy for an enzyme reaction resides in the enzyme structure as
      an entropic contribution. Enthalpic contributions come from bond formation with
      the substrates and substrate structural changes. Further, it is shown that the
      molecular mechanisms that can effect binding and allosteric control fall into
      only three classes. Three x-ray structures of class A beta-lactamases (native,
      mutant, and with substrate) show the individual binding groups at the active site
      change their accessible volumes depending on substrate binding and mutant form.
      From these volume differences, the deltaS of reaction is calculated. The x-ray
      derived deltaG = - TdeltaS matches the deltaG = -RT ln k1 from changes in rate
      constants for the same set of beta-penicillinases.

PMID- 9988525
TI  - Partially folded conformations of inositol monophosphatase endowed with catalytic
      activity.
AB  - The stability of porcine brain inositol monophosphatase in the presence of
      increasing concentrations of urea was investigated at pH 7.5. Exposure of the
      enzyme to 8 M urea brings about the dissociation of the dimeric species of 58 kDa
      into monomeric forms as revealed by gel filtration chromatography. Unfolding of
      the protein by 8 M urea results in a decrease of the ellipticity at 220 nm (20%)
      together with a perturbation of the near-UV circular dichroism spectrum. Urea
      treated inositol monophosphatase binds Co2+ ions with a dissociation constant of
      3.3 microM. The enzyme is catalytically competent when assayed with 4-nitrophenyl
      phosphate in the presence of the activating ion Co2+ at pH 7.5 in 8 M urea. The
      apparent activation constant for Co2+ is 2.5 mM. It is postulated that partially
      folded conformations of monomeric species preserve their catalytic function
      because the affinity of Co2+ ions for the metal coordination center of the
      protein is not perturbed by exposure to 8 M urea.

PMID- 9988526
TI  - Isolation and properties of a new kallikrein inhibitor from Tityus serrulatus
      venom.
AB  - The kallikrein inhibitor-peptide content of Tityus serrulatus scorpion crude
      venom was purified by Sephadex G-50 and Sephadex G-25 fine gel filtration
      chromatographies, followed by two steps of reverse-phase column on HPLC. The
      isolated inhibitor peptide was homogeneous in its N-terminal and partial amino
      acid sequence, showing a molecular weight of 4.489 Da by mass spectrometry and
      amino acid analysis. The peptide was tested with rat plasma and urine kallikrein,
      which resulting in an inhibition with similar affinity to both enzymes, showing
      an IC50 of 14.3 microM after 13 and 8 min, respectively, using kininogen as
      substrate on the isolated guinea-pig ileum bioassay. The porcine pancreatic
      kallikrein showed after 10 min an IC50 value of 12.6 microM with H-D-Val-Leu-Arg
      pNA HCl as substrate. In addition, the isolated peptide significantly inhibited
      porcine pancreatic kallikrein with values in the range of apparent or absolute
      calculated peptide Ki = 2.5 microM. The inhibitor was heat resistant and stable
      at pH values less than 5.

PMID- 9988527
TI  - Analysis of heparin-binding sites in human lipoprotein lipase using synthetic
      peptides.
AB  - Synthetic nonbasic peptides based on the type I repeats of thrombospondin (TSP)
      and four peptides corresponding to the predicted basic clusters in lipoprotein
      lipase (LPL) have been analyzed for heparin binding. In the present report we
      examine the structural requirement for the binding of these peptides to heparin
      Sepharose column. The peptide containing the sequence Phe-Ser-Trp-Ser-Asp-Trp-Trp
      Ser (residues 388-395 in lipoprotein lipase, which include the consensus TSP type
      I sequence) showed strong binding to heparin. Both the first and second Trp
      residues in this sequence were essential for tight heparin binding. Substitution
      of either of the Trp residues by an Ala resulted in the complete loss of heparin
      binding. The peptides representing the four basic cluster regions of lipoprotein
      lipase showed variable heparin binding. Strong retention was observed for
      peptides representing cluster 1 (residues 261-287) and cluster 3 (residues 147
      151) peptides followed by cluster 2 (residues 290-302) peptide. A peptide
      corresponding to LPL cluster 4 (residues 405-414) did not show binding to heparin
      column. The present study confirms the presence of specific heparin-binding sites
      in LPL. Furthermore, this study also demonstrates the potential use of synthetic
      peptides to investigate the interaction between peptides and heparin as an
      alternative approach to site-directed mutagenesis in selected regions of large
      protein molecules. The affinity of these peptides toward heparin can be explored
      to block molecular interactions at these specific sites or to carry and deliver
      other coupled molecules at the site(s) of attachment of these peptides for
      therapeutic applications.

PMID- 9988528
TI  - Amino acid sequence, spectral, oxygen-binding, and autoxidation properties of
      indoleamine dioxygenase-like myoglobin from the gastropod mollusc Turbo cornutus.
AB  - Myoglobin was isolated from the radular muscle of the archaeogastropod mollusc
      Turbo cornutus (Turbinidae). This myoglobin is a monomer carrying one protoheme
      group; the molecular mass was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be about 40 kDa, 2.5 times
      larger than that of usual myoglobin. The cDNA-derived amino acid sequence of 375
      residues was determined, of which 327 residues were identified directly by
      chemical sequencing of internal peptides. The amino acid sequence of Turbo
      myoglobin showed no significant homology with any other usual 16-kDa globins, but
      showed 36% identity with the myoglobin from Sulculus diversicolor (Haliotiidae)
      and 27% identity with human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, a tryptophan-degrading
      enzyme containing heme. Thus, the Turbo myoglobin can be counted among the
      myoglobins which evolved from the same ancestor as that of indoleamine 2,3
      dioxygenase. The absorbance ratio of gamma to CT maximum (gamma/CT) of Turbo
      metmyoglobin was 17.8, indicating that this myoglobin probably possesses a
      histidine residue near the sixth coordination position of heme iron. The Turbo
      myoglobin binds oxygen reversibly. Its oxygen equilibrium properties are similar
      to those of Sulculus myoglobin, giving P50 = 3.5 mm Hg at pH 7.4 and 20 degrees
      C. The pH dependence of autoxidation of Turbo oxymyoglobin was quite different
      from that of mammalian myoglobin, suggesting a unique protein folding around the
      heme cavity of Turbo myoglobin. A kinetic analysis of autoxidation indicates that
      the amino acid residue with pKa = 5.4 is involved in the reaction. The
      autoxidation reaction was enhanced markedly at pH 7.6, but not at pH 5.5 and 6.3
      in the presence of tryptophan. We suggest that a noncatalytic binding site for
      tryptophan, in which several dissociation groups with pKa > or = 7.6 are
      involved, remains in Turbo myoglobin as a relic of molecular evolution.

PMID- 9988529
TI  - The complete amino acid sequence of a trypsin inhibitor from Bauhinia variegata
      var. candida seeds.
AB  - Trypsin inhibitors of two varieties of Bauhinia variegata seeds have been
      isolated and characterized. Bauhinia variegata candida trypsin inhibitor (BvcTI)
      and B. variegata lilac trypsin inhibitor (BvlTI) are proteins with Mr of about
      20,000 without free sulfhydryl groups. Amino acid analysis shows a high content
      of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, and glycine, and a low content of
      histidine, tyrosine, methionine, and lysine in both inhibitors. Isoelectric
      focusing for both varieties detected three isoforms (pI 4.85, 5.00, and 5.15),
      which were resolved by HPLC procedure. The trypsin inhibitors show Ki values of
      6.9 and 1.2 nM for BvcTI and BvlTI, respectively. The N-terminal sequences of the
      three trypsin inhibitor isoforms from both varieties of Bauhinia variegata and
      the complete amino acid sequence of B. variegata var. candida L. trypsin
      inhibitor isoform 3 (BvcTI-3) are presented. The sequences have been determined
      by automated Edman degradation of the reduced and carboxymethylated proteins of
      the peptides resulting from Staphylococcus aureus protease and trypsin digestion.
      BvcTI-3 is composed of 167 residues and has a calculated molecular mass of
      18,529. Homology studies with other trypsin inhibitors show that BvcTI-3 belongs
      to the Kunitz family. The putative active site encompasses Arg (63)-Ile (64).

PMID- 9988530
TI  - The primary structure of water buffalo alpha(s1)- and beta-casein identification
      of phosphorylation sites and characterization of a novel beta-casein variant.
AB  - The primary structure of water buffalo alpha(s1)-casein and of beta-casein A and
      B variants has been determined using a combination of mass spectrometry and Edman
      degradation procedures. The phosphorylated residues were localized on the tryptic
      phosphopeptides after performing a beta-elimination/thiol derivatization. Water
      buffalo alpha(s1)-casein, resolved in three discrete bands by isoelectric
      focusing, was found to consist of a single protein containing eight, seven, or
      six phosphate groups. Compared to bovine alpha(s1)-casein C variant, the water
      buffalo alpha(s1)-casein presented ten amino acid substitutions, seven of which
      involved charged amino acid residues. With respect to bovine betaA2-casein
      variant, the two water buffalo beta-casein variants A and B presented four and
      five amino acid substitutions, respectively. In addition to the phosphoserines, a
      phosphothreonine residue was identified in variant A. From the phylogenetic point
      of view, both water buffalo beta-casein variants seem to be homologous to bovine
      betaA2-casein.

PMID- 9988531
TI  - Characterization of the binding sites for plasminogen and tissue-type plasminogen
      activator in cytokeratin 8 and cytokeratin 18.
AB  - Cytokeratin 8 (CK8) is an intermediate filament protein that penetrates to the
      external surfaces of breast cancer cells and is released from cells in the form
      of soluble heteropolymers. CK8 binds plasminogen and tissue-type plasminogen
      activator (t-PA) and accelerates plasminogen activation on cancer cell surfaces.
      The plasminogen-binding site is located at the C-terminus of CK8. In this study,
      we prepared GST-fusion proteins which contained either 174 amino acids from the C
      terminus of CK8 (CK8f) or 134 amino acids from the C-terminus of CK18 (CK18f). A
      third GST-CK fusion protein was identical to CK8fexcept that the C-terminal
      lysine was mutated to glutamine (CK8fK483Q). CK8f bound plasminogen; the K(D) was
      0.5 microM. Binding was completely inhibited by epsilonACA. CK8fK483Q also bound
      plasminogen, albeit with decreased affinity (K(D) approximately 1.5 microM).
      CK18f did not bind plasminogen at all. All three fusion proteins bound t-PA
      equivalently, providing the first evidence that CK18 may function as a t-PA
      receptor, t-PA and plasminogen cross-competed for binding to CK8f. Thus, t-PA and
      plasminogen cannot bind to the same CK8f monomer simultaneously. Nevertheless,
      CK8f still promoted plasminogen activation, probably reflecting the fact that
      CK8f was purified in dimeric or tetrameric form. These studies demonstrate that
      CK8 may promote plasminogen activation by t-PA only when present in an
      oligomerized state. CK18 may participate in the oligomer, together with CK8,
      based on its ability to bind t-PA.

PMID- 9988532
TI  - A model of the quaternary structure of enolases, based on structural and
      evolutionary analysis of the octameric enolase from Bacillus subtilis.
AB  - Purified enolase from Bacillus subtilis has a native mass of approximately 370
      kDa. Since B. subtilis enolase was found to have a subunit mass of 46.58 kDa, the
      quaternary structure of B. subtilis is octameric. The pl for B. subtilis enolase
      is 6.1, the pH optimum (pHo) for activity is 8.1-8.2, and the Km for 2-PGA is
      approximately 0.67 mM. Using the dimeric Calpha structure of yeast dimeric
      enolase as a guide, these dimers were arranged as a tetramer of dimers to
      simulate the electron microscopy image processing obtained for the octameric
      enolase purified from Thermotoga maritima. This arrangement allowed
      identification of helix J of one dimer (residues 86-96) and the loop between
      helix L and strand 1 (HL-S1 loop) of another dimer as possible subunit
      interaction regions. Alignment of available enolase amino acid sequences revealed
      that in 16 there are two tandem glycines at the C-terminal end of helix L and the
      HL-S1 loop is truncated by 4-6 residues relative to the yeast polypeptide, two
      structural features absent in enolases known to be dimers. From these
      arrangements and alignments it is proposed that the GG tandem at the C-terminal
      end of helix L and truncation of the HL-S1 loop may play a critical role in
      octamer formation of enolases. Interestingly, the sequence features associated
      with dimeric quaternary structure are found in three phylogenetically disparate
      groups, suggesting that the ancestral enolase was an octamer and that the dimeric
      structure has arisen independently multiple times through evolutionary history.

PMID- 9988533
TI  - A computer program to compare sequence fingerprints of homologous proteins for
      the rapid assessment of their primary structure differences.
AB  - We have developed a computer program for the rapid assessment of the primary
      structure differences between a protein of unknown sequence and a homologous
      known protein. Both proteins are reduced, alkylated, and digested with the same
      hydrolytic agent. The unfractionated peptide mixtures are submitted to automatic
      sequence analysis. Based on the knowledge of the reference sequence, the program
      utilizes the analysis data to identify all the potential peptides present in the
      two mixtures, determining their primary structure, homology degree, and molecular
      weight calculated both as integer MH+ and average mass variables. These
      fingerprints allow the user to easily identify the structural differences between
      the two proteins and clarify possible doubts by a mass spectrometric analysis of
      the two mixtures. In order to verify the utility of the program, we provide an
      application example using the already reported data of two homologous proteins.

PMID- 9988535
TI  - Anaesthetic Research Society. Dundee, July 9-10, 1998. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988534
TI  - Cell differentiation. Cell multiplication. Web alert.

PMID- 9988536
TI  - Intensive Care Society and Riverside Group State of the Art Meeting. London,
      December 11-12, 1997. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988537
TI  - The effects of oral liarozole on epidermal proliferation and differentiation in
      severe plaque psoriasis are comparable with those of acitretin.
AB  - The imidazole derivative liarozole is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450
      dependent 4-hydroxylation of endogenous all-trans retinoic acid, thereby
      increasing the levels of all-trans retinoic acid in both plasma and skin. As part
      of a large, double-blind, randomized clinical study, we investigated the cell
      biological alterations in uninvolved and lesional skin of 20 patients with severe
      plaque psoriasis, who were treated with either liarozole or acitretin. The extent
      and severity of the skin lesions, as recorded by the Psoriasis Area and Severity
      Index score, was significantly reduced (P </=0.05) after 12 weeks of treatment in
      both the acitretin- and the liarozole-treated group. A significant decrease in
      the markers for inflammation (neutrophils), epidermal proliferation (Ki-67
      positive cells), normal differentiation (transglutaminase) and abnormal
      differentiation [cytokeratin 16 and skin-derived antileucoproteinase (SKALP),
      also known as elafin] was seen in both groups. No significant differences were
      noted in clinical scores or cell biological scores between the liarozole- and
      acitretin-treated group. None of the markers returned to the levels seen in
      uninvolved skin or in normal human skin. The expression of epidermal fatty acid
      binding protein (E-FABP) was only minimally decreased after 12 weeks of
      treatment, a substantial part of the stratum spinosum remaining positive. SKALP
      levels in serum fell in both groups with similar kinetics and showed a
      statistically significant correlation with clinical scores. A remarkable finding
      in the uninvolved skin of patients treated with liarozole or acitretin was the
      distinct focal expression of SKALP in the granular layer and the expression of E
      FABP in the spinous layers, which is not found in normal human skin. Although the
      mechanism of action differs fundamentally, liarozole and acitretin show similar
      effects with respect to clinical effects and cell biological changes in the
      lesional and non-lesional skin.

PMID- 9988538
TI  - Severe pediatric head injury: myth, magic, and actual fact.

PMID- 9988539
TI  - Use of sulphur hexafluoride for anterior chamber reformation following
      trabeculectomy.

PMID- 9988540
TI  - PSC833: initial clinical results in refractory ovarian cancer patients.

PMID- 9988541
TI  - Proceedings of the 1st TTUHSC Radiology Informatics Conference on Advanced
      Technologies for Radiology Operations.

PMID- 9988542
TI  - Convex hull test for ordered categorical data.
AB  - When testing for stochastic order in ordered 2 x J contingency tables, it is
      common to select the cutoff required to declare significance so as to ensure that
      the size of the test is exactly alpha conditionally on the margins. It is valid,
      however, to use the margins to select not only the cutoff but also the form of
      the test. Linear rank tests, which are locally most powerful and frequently used
      in practice, suffer from the drawback that they may have power as low as zero to
      detect some alternatives of interest when the margins satisfy certain conditions.
      The Smirnov and convex hull tests are shown, through exact conditional power
      calculations and simulations, to avoid this drawback. The convex hull test is
      also admissible and palindromic invariant and minimizes the required significance
      level to have limiting power of one as the alternative moves away from the null
      in any direction.

PMID- 9988543
TI  - Applying k-sample tests to conditional probabilities for competing risks in a
      clinical trial.
AB  - In the presence of competing risks, a full picture of the data can be developed
      considering the cumulative incidence function for each risk. If one risk type is
      of particular interest, the conditional probability of failure due to that risk,
      conditional on no failure due to the remaining competing risks, can be used to
      compare any number of samples. Kappa-sample tests of significance are derived and
      extended to stratified test statistics, allowing adjustment to be made for
      important prognostic factors. The methods are applied to a clinical trial
      involving patients with advanced breast cancer, where interest focused on
      progression of disease at old and new sites. They show that estrogen receptor
      status positive is an important prognostic factor in terms of time to progressive
      disease at a current tumour site, even when stratified for a potentially
      confounding measure of spread of disease, whereas progesterone receptor status
      positive is important with regard to disease progression at new sites only.

PMID- 9988544
TI  - Methemoglobinemia secondary to clofazimine treatment for chronic graft-versus
      host disease.

PMID- 9988545
TI  - Bone marrow transplantation, fetal B-cell repertoire development, and the
      mechanism of immune reconstitution.

PMID- 9988546
TI  - Distribution of GPlb on the in resting platelets.

PMID- 9988547
TI  - TT virus viremia and liver transplantation: no significant increase of the
      prevalence.

PMID- 9988548
TI  - Quality issue: marrow interpretations.

PMID- 9988549
TI  - Oral cobalamin therapy in patients who absorb it normally.

PMID- 9988550
TI  - Expression of p53, Bcl-2, and Bax in Cd34+ cells recovering after chemotherapy.

PMID- 9988551
TI  - [WT1 (Wilms Tumor 1). Tumor suppressor gene].

PMID- 9988552
TI  - [Ret (REarranged during Transfection). Oncogene].

PMID- 9988553
TI  - [XPD (ERCC2) (Xeroderma pigmentosum, group D). Reparation gene].

PMID- 9988554
TI  - [Smad3-/- mice: a murine model for the study of human colorectal cancers?].

PMID- 9988555
TI  - [P27Kip1 is certainly a suppressor gene but with a dose effect].

PMID- 9988556
TI  - [Protective immunity against lymphoma and myeloma in mice with an anti-idiotypic
      DNA base vaccine].

PMID- 9988557
TI  - [Infection with cytomegalovirus in a premature infant secondary to contamination
      by breast milk].

PMID- 9988558
TI  - Attributable risk estimation: an open issue.

PMID- 9988559
TI  - Prognostic factors in Legionella pneumonia.

PMID- 9988560
TI  - Selective deletions involving the organophosphorus hydrolase gene adpB from
      Nocardia strain B-1.
AB  - The organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) of Nocardia sp. strain B-1 is capable of
      hydrolyzing organophosphate insecticides such as coumaphos and parathion. The
      40,000 dalton OPH and the responsible gene (termed adpB) have been previously
      isolated and described. OPH activity in Nocardia strain B-1 is spontaneously lost
      at high frequency during the growth of laboratory cultures. In order to
      understand the genetic basis of this phenomenon, hybridization experiments were
      performed in which digested genomic DNAs from OPH negative derivatives were
      probed with BstE1 and BamH1 restriction fragments containing adpB and regions
      flanking this gene. These experiments revealed that a region containing adpB was
      missing in all OPH negative derivatives. However, these OPH negative derivatives
      were shown to contain sequences that hybridized to probes for DNA regions
      flanking adpB. On the basis of the hybridization patterns from thirteen OPH
      negative derivatives, there are two primary types of deletions with their sizes
      ranging from 33 kb to greater than 35.5 kb.

PMID- 9988561
TI  - Tolbutamide attenuates diazoxide-induced aggravation of hypoxic cell injury.
AB  - ATP-dependent potassium (KATP) channels of neurons are closed in the presence of
      physiological levels of intracellular ATP and open when ATP is depleted during
      hypoxia or metabolic damage. The present study investigates hypoxic alterations
      of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide levels supposed to intracellularly modulate
      KATP channels. In addition, the effects of the KATP channel activator diazoxide
      and its antagonist tolbutamide were investigated on ATP, GTP, CTP and UTP levels
      in slices of the parietal cortex. Hypoxia was evoked by saturation of the medium
      with 95% N2-5% CO2 instead of 95% O2-5% CO2 for 5 min. Nucleotide contents were
      measured by anion-exchange HPLC in neutralized perchloric acid extracts obtained
      from slices frozen immediately at the end of incubation. Hypoxia per se decreased
      purine and pyrimidine nucleoside triphosphate contents. Thus, ATP and GTP
      contents were reduced to 69.9 and 77.6% of the respective normoxic levels. UTP
      and CTP contents were even more decreased (to 60.9 and 41.6%),, probably because
      the salvage pathway of these pyrimidine nucleotides is less effective than that
      of the purine nucleotides ATP and GTP. While tolbutamide (30 microM) had no
      effect on the hypoxia-induced decrease of nucleotides, diazoxide at 300, but not
      30 microM aggravated the decline of ATP, UTP and CTP to 51.8, 37.5 and 28.5% of
      the contents observed at normoxia; GTP levels also showed a tendency to decrease
      after diazoxide application. Tolbutamide (300 microM) antagonized the effects of
      diazoxide (300 but not 30 microM aggravated the decline of ATP, UTP and CTP to
      51.8, 37.5 and 28.5% of the contents observed at normoxia; GTP levels also showed
      a tendency to decrease after diazoxide application. Tolbutamide (300 microM)
      antagonized the effects of diazoxide (300 MicroM). Nucleoside diphosphate (ADP,
      GDP and UDP) levels were uniformly increased by hypoxia. There was no hypoxia
      induced increase of ADP contents in the presence of tolbutamide (300 microM). The
      ATP/ADP, GTP/GDP and UTP/UDP ratios uniformly declined at a low pO2. However,
      only the ATP/ADP ratio was decreased further by diazoxide (300 microM). The
      observed alterations in nucleotide contents may be of importance for long- and
      short-term processes related to acute cerebral hypoxia. Thus, hypoxia-induced
      alterations of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide levels may influence the open
      state of KATP-channels during the period of reversible hypoxic cerebral injury.
      Furthermore, alterations during the irreversible period of cerebral injury may
      also arise, as a consequence of decreased pyrimidine nucleotide contents
      affecting cell survival viaprotein and DNA synthesis.

PMID- 9988562
TI  - [Information on results of pilot project studies of the Slovak Ministry of
      Health. Audit of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in patients with acute
      coronary syndromes].

PMID- 9988563
TI  - Anti-TNF antibody approved for Crohn's disease.

PMID- 9988564
TI  - Change in New York law is step forward better pain management.

PMID- 9988565
TI  - Health care personnel alerted to problems with lipid-based products, albumin.

PMID- 9988566
TI  - Health plans should include patient perspective in cost-effectiveness decisions.
      Patients should know the tradeoffs.

PMID- 9988567
TI  - Managing the shortage of intravenous immune globulin.

PMID- 9988568
TI  - Cytochrome b5 and tocopherol provide functions of lipid-radical cycles and energy
      conversion in membranes.

PMID- 9988569
TI  - To boldly go: we have to look beyond The Simpsons for a true medical hero.

PMID- 9988570
TI  - D'oh! An analysis of the medical care provided to the family of Homer J. Simpson.

PMID- 9988571
TI  - The Saskatoon Clamp-TM: a new anti-incontinence device.

PMID- 9988572
TI  - Sage advice from my garden.

PMID- 9988573
TI  - The cure is in the bag: Is there a correlation between the number of
      unconventional remedies ingested and overall health status?

PMID- 9988574
TI  - Ode on health and the holidays.

PMID- 9988575
TI  - My wallet's getting THIN even if I'm NOT.

PMID- 9988576
TI  - A mother's advice - about studying medicine.

PMID- 9988578
TI  - oreilly @ internet medicine show.

PMID- 9988577
TI  - So you want to be a doctor, eh?

PMID- 9988579
TI  - Does systematic mediastinal lymphadenectomy contribute to better prognosis? An
      argument about Izbicki's article.

PMID- 9988580
TI  - Haemophilia care in developing countries. A report of a joint WHO/World
      Federation of Hemophilia meeting. Geneva, Switzerland, 16-17 June 1997.

PMID- 9988581
TI  - [Medical fees for A- and B-cases for hospital services].

PMID- 9988582
TI  - [Professional freedom of qualified surgeons in general practice and the
      hospital].

PMID- 9988583
TI  - [Applying for medical chief position--negotiating with success].

PMID- 9988584
TI  - [Teleconsultation in surgery--basic conditions and future significance].

PMID- 9988585
TI  - [Decrease in surgical treatment cases in hospitals: patients needing surgery are
      increasingly treated in medical practices].

PMID- 9988586
TI  - [Routine practice of a surgeon in Yemen from the viewpoint of an indigenous and a
      humanitarian foreign colleague with repeated visits].

PMID- 9988587
TI  - [Clinic management: "continue on, Mr. Schmid!"].

PMID- 9988588
TI  - [Early elective surgery of acute uncomplicated sigmoid diverticulitis--a
      dangerous mistake?].

PMID- 9988589
TI  - [Alzheimer's disease and diabetes: are they bedfellows?].

PMID- 9988590
TI  - Galton's law of ancestral heredity.
AB  - Galton's ancestral law states that the two parent contribute between them on
      average one-half of the total heritage of the offspring, the four grandparents
      one-quarter, and so on. He interpreted this law both as a representation of the
      separate contributions of each ancestor to the heritage of the offspring and as a
      multiple regression formula for predicting the value of a trait from ancestral
      values. Logical reconstruction of the law is presented based on formalizing
      Galton's model of heredity outlined in Natural Inheritance (Galton, 1889). The
      resulting law has a free parameter to be empirically estimated which represents
      the frequency of latent hereditary elements that are not expressed in a
      particular individual but are capable of transmission to the next generation. The
      equation representing ancestral contributions to the heritage of the offspring
      differs from the multiple regression equation for predicting the value of a trait
      from ancestral values. The former equation reduces to Galton's ancestral law when
      the proportion of latent elements is 0.5, the latter when this proportion 0.6.
      Galton's rather different derivations of the law in 1885 and 1897 are described,
      and their shortcomings are discussed in the light of these results (Galton, 1885,
      1897).

PMID- 9988591
TI  - DNA typing of a nonviable culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a homeless
      shelter outbreak.

PMID- 9988592
TI  - Outbreak of poliomyelitis in Albania and neighboring countries in 1996.

PMID- 9988593
TI  - Coisolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Hameophilus influenzae from middle
      ear fluid and sputum: effect on MIC results.

PMID- 9988594
TI  - Red-pigmented Candida albicans in patients with cystic fibrosis.

PMID- 9988595
TI  - Studies to establish quality control ranges for SB-265805 (LB2030) when using
      National Committee for Laboratory Standards antimicrobial susceptibility test
      methods. Quality Control Study Group.

PMID- 9988596
TI  - Sequence-based classification scheme for the genus Legionella targeting the 5S
      rRNA gene.

PMID- 9988597
TI  - Automatic stimulus-response translation in dual-task performance.
AB  - In bottleneck models of overlapping-task performance, stimulus-response
      translation for secondary tasks is postponed until the primary response is
      selected. If this is so, then compatibility between the secondary and primary
      responses, or between the secondary response and the primary stimulus, should not
      affect primary-task performance. Yet such effects were demonstrated in 5 dual
      task experiments combining primary manual and secondary vocal tasks: Pronounced
      effects of compatibility between the secondary and primary response and between
      the secondary response and primary stimulus were found on primary-task
      performance. The latter effect was also found with the lowest level of an
      extensive stimulus onset asynchrony variation, when the secondary task was not
      speeded, and even when the 2 tasks were performed on different trials. Findings
      suggest that secondary responses were activated before primary response selection
      was completed and thus support an automatic-translation hypothesis holding that,
      although eventual response selection may be serial, stimulus-response translation
      is performed in parallel.

PMID- 9988598
TI  - Is level irrelevant in "irrelevant speech"? Effects of loudness, signal-to-noise
      ratio, and binaural unmasking.
AB  - A series of experiments explored the role of level, signal-to-noise ratio, and
      the masking-level difference in the irrelevant speech effect (ISE). In Experiment
      1 the detrimental effects of irrelevant sound on serial recall were found to be
      the same whether the material (speech or music) was presented at a high (75
      dB[A]) or low (60 dB[A]) overall level. In Experiment 2, adding pink noise to the
      speech signal produced a linear improvement in performance with decreasing speech
      to-noise ratios. In Experiment 3 the contribution of binaural unmasking to the
      ISE was found to be negligible. The results (a) confirm that the segmented,
      changing nature of the irrelevant sound is crucial in producing the ISE and (b)
      suggest that the adverse effects of disruptive auditory input may be alleviated
      by introducing additional uniform masking noise.

PMID- 9988599
TI  - Attentional control within 3-D space.
AB  - Four experiments investigated whether directing attention to a particular plane
      in depth enables observers to filter out information from another depth plane.
      Observers viewed stereoscopic displays and searched for a red line segment among
      green line segments. The results showed that directing attention to a particular
      depth plane cannot prevent attentional capture from another depth plane when the
      colors of the target and distractor are identical. However, it can prevent
      attentional capture by a singleton from another depth plane when the colors of
      the target and distractor are different. These results indicate that only when
      both color and depth information are selective in guiding attention to the target
      singleton can attentional capture by irrelevant singletons be prevented. The
      results also suggest that retinal disparity does not have the same special status
      as location information in two dimensions and should be considered as just
      another feature along which selection may occur.

PMID- 9988600
TI  - Symbolic distance between numerosity and identity modulates Stroop interference.
AB  - Thirty undergraduates participated in an experiment investigating the effect of
      the arithmetic difference between stimulus identity and stimulus numerosity in a
      numerical version of the Stroop task. It was found that digits symbolically close
      to the enumeration response reliably produced larger interference than digits
      that were farther from the enumeration response. This semantic distance effect
      was found with different numerosities (1-9) and different enumeration processes
      (counting and subitizing), and it increased as a function of numerosity in the
      subitizing range. These findings suggest that digit identity autonomously
      activates a magnitude representation organized as a compressed number line.

PMID- 9988601
TI  - [Molecular biology and molecular genetics in otorhinolaryngology-- taste
      receptors and a molecular theory of signal transduction].

PMID- 9988602
TI  - [Evaluation of factors for stenosis of coronary artery bypass graft--their
      relationship with the vascular wall angiotensin II producing system].

PMID- 9988603
TI  - Proceedings of the 2nd World Conference of the International Society for
      Molecular Nutrition and Therapy. Winnipeg, Canada, August 2-4, 1997.

PMID- 9988604
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988605
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988606
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988607
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988608
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988609
TI  - Physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, or an educational booklet for back
      pain.

PMID- 9988610
TI  - Chiropractic manipulation for childhood asthma.

PMID- 9988611
TI  - Chiropractic manipulation for childhood asthma.

PMID- 9988612
TI  - Renal atrophy associated with long-term treatment with indinavir.

PMID- 9988613
TI  - Case 23-1998: fat embolism.

PMID- 9988614
TI  - Acute reaction to dipyridamole during myocardial scintigraphy.

PMID- 9988615
TI  - Clonality of Reed-Sternberg cells in Hodgkin's disease.

PMID- 9988616
TI  - Separated at birth.

PMID- 9988617
TI  - Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Weekly clinicopathological
      exercises. Case 4-1999. A 38-year-old woman with increasing pulmonary
      hypertension after delivery.

PMID- 9988618
TI  - Appetite-suppressant drugs and valvular heart disease.

PMID- 9988619
TI  - Appetite-suppressant drugs and valvular heart disease.

PMID- 9988620
TI  - Appetite-suppressant drugs and valvular heart disease.

PMID- 9988621
TI  - Appetite-suppressant drugs and valvular heart disease.

PMID- 9988622
TI  - Appetite-suppressant drugs and valvular heart disease.

PMID- 9988623
TI  - Primary pulmonary hypertension and anorectic drugs.

PMID- 9988624
TI  - Myonecrosis in sickle cell anemia.

PMID- 9988625
TI  - Diagnosis of viral infections of the central nervous system.

PMID- 9988627
TI  - Helicobacter pylori and abdominal symptoms.

PMID- 9988626
TI  - A controlled-release microchip.
AB  - Much previous work in methods of achieving complex drug-release patterns has
      focused on pulsatile release from polymeric materials in response to specific
      stimuli, such as electric or magnetic fields, exposure to ultrasound, light or
      enzymes, and changes in pH or temperature. An alternative method for achieving
      pulsatile release involves using microfabrication technology to develop active
      devices that incorporate micrometre-scale pumps, valves and flow channels to
      deliver liquid solutions. Here we report a solid-state silicon microchip that can
      provide controlled release of single or multiple chemical substances on demand.
      The release mechanism is based on the electrochemical dissolution of thin anode
      membranes covering microreservoirs filled with chemicals in solid, liquid or gel
      form. We have conducted proof-of-principle release studies with a prototype
      microchip using gold and saline solution as a model electrode material and
      release medium, and we have demonstrated controlled, pulsatile release of
      chemical substances with this device.

PMID- 9988628
TI  - Breastfeeding and IQ.

PMID- 9988629
TI  - Juvenile dermatomyositis.

PMID- 9988630
TI  - Granuloma annulare.

PMID- 9988631
TI  - Pain relief for neonatal circumcision: serious design flaws?

PMID- 9988632
TI  - 1997 AAP guidelines for prevention of early group B streptococcal disease.

PMID- 9988633
TI  - The pediatric sedation unit: a mechanism for safe pediatric sedation.

PMID- 9988634
TI  - The pediatric sedation unit: a mechanism for safe sedation.

PMID- 9988635
TI  - The pediatric sedation unit: a mechanism for safe pediatric sedation.

PMID- 9988636
TI  - Amplification of closed circular DNA in vitro.
AB  - The polymerase chain reaction is a powerful technique used to amplify nucleic
      acids in vitro. The reaction produces linear products, and as of yet, closed
      circular products have not been possible. Since the replicatively competent form
      of many DNA molecules is the closed circular form, it would be adventitious to
      amplify closed circular DNA as closed circular molecules. Until now, these
      molecules could only be amplified in vivo in appropriate host cells. Here, we
      describe an in vito procedure, ligation-during-amplification (LDA), for selective
      amplification of closed circular DNA using sequence-specific primers. LDA is
      useful for site-directed mutagenesis, mutation detection, DNA modification, DNA
      library screening and circular DNA production.

PMID- 9988637
TI  - CARDIOSTIM '98. Proceedings.

PMID- 9988638
TI  - [Lung diseases in the institutionalized elderly].

PMID- 9988639
TI  - The electronic plant gene register.

PMID- 9988640
TI  - [Database for genetic resource information].

PMID- 9988641
TI  - [JCRB/HSRRB cell bank--research resources database for cultured cells].

PMID- 9988642
TI  - Respiratory tract epithelium and its secretions. British Association for Lung
      Research Symposium. 2-4 September 1998. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988643
TI  - [XXXIX Congress of the French National Society of Internal Medicine. Saint
      Etienne, 10-12 December 1998. Proceedings and abstracts].

PMID- 9988644
TI  - NIMH to screen studies for science and human risks.

PMID- 9988645
TI  - Ruling may free NIH to fund stem cells studies.

PMID- 9988646
TI  - Diagnostic test scores high marks in study.

PMID- 9988647
TI  - Brain stem cells show their potential.

PMID- 9988648
TI  - Iceland's central database of health records.

PMID- 9988649
TI  - Livestock cloning.

PMID- 9988650
TI  - Energy on demand.

PMID- 9988651
TI  - Genomic nanotech centers open $200 million push by Harvard.

PMID- 9988652
TI  - NCI asked to increase focus on minorities.

PMID- 9988653
TI  - Report casts doubt Korean experiment.

PMID- 9988654
TI  - Silicon chips find role as in vivo pharmacist.

PMID- 9988655
TI  - Animal rights brochure.

PMID- 9988656
TI  - The conditional mutator phenotype in human tumor cells: correction.

PMID- 9988657
TI  - Mars: water, climate, and life.

PMID- 9988658
TI  - Costimulation: building an immunological synapse.

PMID- 9988659
TI  - The path to specificity.

PMID- 9988660
TI  - All-in-one sequence analysis.

PMID- 9988661
TI  - 24th American Heart Association International Conference on Stroke and Cerebral
      Circulation. Nashville, Tennessee, USA. February 4-6, 1999. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988662
TI  - [The weather and the human body].

PMID- 9988663
TI  - Proceedings of a symposium on mechanisms of work production and work absorption
      in muscle. Hakone, Japan, October 27-31, 1997.

PMID- 9988664
TI  - Hemodynamic abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease and their
      relationship to intermittent ischemic episodes.

PMID- 9988665
TI  - OPALS study.

PMID- 9988666
TI  - Validating the "real" Ottawa Knee Rule.

PMID- 9988667
TI  - Analysis of mass transport during warming of cryopreserved cells.

PMID- 9988668
TI  - Effects of glycerol on intracellular ice formation and dehydration of onion
      epidermis.
AB  - Microscopic observations of freezing processes of onion epidermis have been
      carried out using a directional solidification stage. Effects of cryoprotectant
      on the intracellular ice formation and the dehydration were examined for several
      kinds of concentrations of glycerol in a wide range of cooling rate. With an
      increase of the glycerol concentration the ice formation due to the surface
      catalyzed nucleation (SCN) at the plasma membrane was suppressed and the freezing
      temperature decreased. Especially, under a rapid cooling condition, a large
      supercooling should be achieved and we observed a different type of freezing in
      the lower temperature conditions. At the slower cooling rate, on the other hand,
      the use of glycerol can not prevent the cell shrinkage caused by the dehydration.
      It is also found that the intracellular ice formation and the dehydration under
      the ordinary cooling condition can be estimated based on the SCN theory by Toner
      et al. and Mazuar's dehydration model.

PMID- 9988669
TI  - A continuous hybrid microwave heating process for producing rapid and uniform
      rewarming of cryopreserved tissues.
AB  - This study investigated use of a continuous hybrid microwave heating process for
      producing rapid and uniform heating of cryopreserved tissues. This process
      combines volumetric energy deposition by microwaves with convective surface
      heating to produce increased warming rates. Moreover, such as a combination of
      heating techniques introduces additional parameters which can be varied in order
      to obtain better control of the heating process. In order to evaluate the
      effectiveness of a continuous hybrid heating scheme, a numerical simulation was
      developed which solved for electric and temperature fields within a microwave
      resonant cavity containing beef tissue. The simulation accounted for the
      temperature dependence of cryopreserved tissue's dielectric properties through an
      iterative scheme which can simulate thermal runaway. The simulation indicated
      that a continuous hybrid heating heating process could produce uniform warming at
      rates which would be unobtainable by conventional microwave heating.

PMID- 9988670
TI  - Effects on rapid cooling of small samples in quenching.
AB  - Rapid cooling of small samples is necessary both to cryofixation for electron
      microscopy and to vitrification for cryopreservation. Several effects on the
      cooling rates of small samples quenched into liquid nitrogen were studied,
      including the diameter of samples, the subcooling of liquid nitrogen, the
      quenching speed, and the quenching distance. The heat flux is 1.4 x 10(6) W/m2;
      the cooling rate is also up to 8200 K/s at the CHF point of boiling curves for
      sphere of diameter 0.287 mm quenching into subcooled liquid nitrogen. It is also
      found that if the time of sample moving inside the liquid nitrogen is not longer
      than the time required for forming stable vapor in the liquid, the quenching
      boiling heat transfer is not influenced by the quenching speed. Several equation
      for calculating heat flux of samples are also presented.

PMID- 9988671
TI  - Measurement of cell volume loss in the liquid region preceding an advancing phase
      change interface.
AB  - It is well understood that the solidification of a solution results in a
      redistribution of solute in the liquid zone. For the freezing of suspensions of
      cells it is anticipated that accumulation of solute in the region leading a
      growing ice phase will cause an osmotic response in cells before the ice phase
      reaches the cells. To measure this phenomenon in a specific algal species, the
      volume changes in Chlorococcum texanum during freezing were studied using
      directional solidification cryomicroscopy. The relative cell volume was tracked
      continuously as a function of temperature and position as cells encountered the
      moving phase front. The loss of cell volume was measured in the liquid region
      containing concentrated solute ahead of the growing solid phase.

PMID- 9988672
TI  - International Conference on Life and Death of a Cell. Fribourg, Switzerland, 17
      18 September 1998. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988673
TI  - 27th Annual scientific meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of
      Nuclear Medicine. Auckland, New Zealand, 5--7 May 1997. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988674
TI  - Annual scientific meeting of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases.
      Hobart, Tasmania, 4-8 April 1998. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988675
TI  - Annual scientific meeting of the Australian Rheumatology Association. Sydney, New
      South Wales, Australia. 24-27 May 1998. Abstracts.

PMID- 9988676
TI  - Regulation of transition metal transport across the yeast plasma membrane.

PMID- 9988677
TI  - Viral ski inhibits retinoblastoma protein (Rb)-mediated transcriptional
      repression in a dominant negative fashion.
AB  - The mechanism by which the viral oncogene ski (v-ski) transforms chicken embryo
      fibroblasts is currently unknown. Recently, the c-ski gene product (c-Ski) was
      found to bind to N-CoR (nuclear hormone receptor co-repressor), an element
      implicated in transcriptional repression mediated by multiple transcriptional
      repressors including the nuclear hormone receptors and Mad. c-Ski is required for
      transcriptional repression mediated by Mad involved in negative regulation of
      cellular proliferation. v-Ski abrogates Mad-induced transcriptional repression in
      a dominant negative fashion. Here we report that v-Ski also inhibits
      transcriptional repression mediated by Rb, another tumor suppressor gene product.
      Rb forms a complex with c-Ski, Sin3A, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) via direct
      binding to c-Ski and HDAC. c-Ski is required for the transcriptional repression
      mediated by Rb. These results suggest that inhibition of Rb activity contributes,
      at least partly, to transformation by v-Ski.

PMID- 9988678
TI  - Decorin is a biological ligand for the epidermal growth factor receptor.
AB  - Ectopic expression of decorin induces profound cytostatic effects in transformed
      cells with diverse histogenetic backgrounds. The mechanism of action has only
      recently begun to be elucidated. Exogenous decorin activates the epidermal growth
      factor (EGF) receptor, thereby triggering a signaling cascade that leads to
      phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, induction of p21, and
      growth suppression. In this study we demonstrate a direct interaction of decorin
      with the EGF receptor. Binding of decorin induces dimerization of the EGF
      receptor and rapid and sustained phosphorylation of MAP kinase in squamous
      carcinoma cells. In a cell-free system, decorin induces autophosphorylation of
      purified EGF receptor by activating the receptor tyrosine kinase and can also act
      as a substrate for the EGF receptor kinase itself. Using radioligand binding
      assays we show that both immobilized and soluble decorin bind to the EGF receptor
      ectodomain or to purified EGF receptor. The binding is mediated by the protein
      core and has relatively low affinity (Kd approximately 87 nM). Thus, decorin
      should be considered as a novel biological ligand for the EGF receptor, an
      interaction that could regulate cell growth during remodeling and cancer growth.

PMID- 9988679
TI  - Structure of the insect cytokine peptide plasmatocyte-spreading peptide 1 from
      Pseudoplusia includens.
AB  - The structure of the recently identified plasmatocyte spreading peptide from the
      moth Pseudoplusia includens (PSP1) has been determined by NMR spectroscopy. This
      novel insect cytokine consists of 23 amino acid residues and a single disulfide
      bond. Torsion angle dynamics calculations utilizing a total of 337 distance
      constraints yielded an ensemble of 30 structures with an average backbone root
      mean square deviation for residues 7-22 of 0.18 A from the mean structure. The
      structure consists of a disordered N-terminal region and a well defined core that
      is stabilized by numerous hydrophobic interactions and a short beta-hairpin.
      Structural comparisons confirm that PSP1 adopts an epidermal growth factor (EGF)
      like fold with close similarity to the C-terminal subdomain of EGF-like module 5
      of human thrombomodulin. The combination of the three-dimensional structure of
      PSP1 and the extensive literature on EGF-receptor interactions should accelerate
      the process of identifying the specific residues responsible for receptor binding
      activity of this family of immunoregulatory peptides.

PMID- 9988680
TI  - The yeast frataxin homologue mediates mitochondrial iron efflux. Evidence for a
      mitochondrial iron cycle.
AB  - Mutations in the nuclear gene encoding the mitochondrial protein frataxin are
      responsible for the neurological disorder Friedreich ataxia (FA). Yeast strains
      with a deletion in the frataxin homologue YFH1 accumulate excess iron in
      mitochondria and demonstrate mitochondrial damage. We show that in the absence of
      YFH1, mitochondrial damage is proportional to the concentration and duration of
      exposure to extracellular iron, establishing mitochondrial iron accumulation as
      causal to mitochondrial damage. Reintroduction of YFH1 results in the rapid
      export of accumulated mitochondrial iron into the cytosol as free, non-heme bound
      iron, demonstrating that mitochondrial iron in the yeast FA model can be made
      bioavailable. These results demonstrate a mitochondrial iron cycle in which Yfh1p
      regulates mitochondrial iron efflux.

PMID- 9988681
TI  - Molten globule-like state of peanut lectin monomer retains its carbohydrate
      specificity. Implications in protein folding and legume lectin oligomerization.
AB  - A central question in biological chemistry is the minimal structural requirement
      of a protein that would determine its specificity and activity, the underlying
      basis being the importance of the entire structural element of a protein with
      regards to its activity vis a vis the overall integrity and stability of the
      protein. Although there are many reports on the characterization of protein
      folding/unfolding intermediates, with considerable secondary structural elements
      but substantial loss of tertiary structure, none of them have been reported to
      show any activity toward their respective ligands. This may be a result of the
      conditions under which such intermediates have been isolated or due to the
      importance of specific structural elements for the activity. In this paper we
      report such an intermediate in the unfolding of peanut agglutinin that seems to
      retain, to a considerable degree, its carbohydrate binding specificity and
      activity. This result has significant implications on the molten globule state
      during the folding pathway(s) of proteins in general and the quaternary
      association in legume lectins in particular, where precise subunit topology is
      required for their biologic activities.

PMID- 9988682
TI  - Control of O-glycan branch formation. Molecular cloning of human cDNA encoding a
      novel beta1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase forming core 2 and core 4.
AB  - A novel human UDP-GlcNAc:Gal/GlcNAcbeta1-3GalNAcalpha beta1, 6GlcNAc-transferase,
      designated C2/4GnT, was identified by BLAST analysis of expressed sequence tags.
      The sequence of C2/4GnT encoded a putative type II transmembrane protein with
      significant sequence similarity to human C2GnT and IGnT. Expression of the
      secreted form of C2/4GnT in insect cells showed that the gene product had UDP-N
      acetyl-alpha-D-glucosamine:acceptor beta1, 6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase
      (beta1,6GlcNAc-transferase) activity. Analysis of substrate specificity revealed
      that the enzyme catalyzed O-glycan branch formation of the core 2 and core 4
      type. NMR analyses of the product formed with core 3-para-nitrophenyl confirmed
      the product core 4-para-nitrophenyl. The coding region of C2/4GnT was contained
      in a single exon and located to chromosome 15q21.3. Northern analysis revealed a
      restricted expression pattern of C2/4GnT mainly in colon, kidney, pancreas, and
      small intestine. No expression of C2/4GnT was detected in brain, heart, liver,
      ovary, placenta, spleen, thymus, and peripheral blood leukocytes. The expression
      of core 2 O-glycans has been correlated with cell differentiation processes and
      cancer. The results confirm the predicted existence of a beta1,6GlcNAc
      transferase that functions in both core 2 and core 4 O-glycan branch formation.
      The redundancy in beta1,6GlcNAc-transferases capable of forming core 2 O-glycans
      is important for understanding the mechanisms leading to specific changes in core
      2 branching during cell development and malignant transformation.

PMID- 9988683
TI  - Mitogenic up-regulation of the PRL-1 protein-tyrosine phosphatase gene by Egr-1.
      Egr-1 activation is an early event in liver regeneration.
AB  - The cellular signals that initiate cell growth are incompletely understood.
      Insight could be provided by understanding the signals regulating the
      transcriptional induction of immediate-early genes which occurs within minutes of
      the growth stimulus. The expression of the PRL-1 gene, which encodes a unique
      nuclear protein-tyrosine phosphatase, is rapidly induced in regenerating liver
      and mitogen-treated cells. Transcription of the PRL-1 gene increased in the rat
      liver remnant within a few minutes after partial hepatectomy and largely
      explained the increase in steady-state PRL-1 mRNA in the first few hours
      posthepatectomy. Egr-1 (early growth response factor) specifically bound a region
      of the proximal PRL-1 promoter P1 (-99). Egr-1 binding activity was more rapidly
      induced in regenerating liver than mitogen-treated H35 and NIH 3T3 cells,
      remained elevated through 4 h posthepatectomy, and appeared to be dependent not
      only on new Egr-1 protein synthesis but on post-translational regulation of Egr
      1. Egr-1 efficiently transactivated a PRL-1 promoter reporter construct
      containing an intact not mutant Egr-1 site, and the Egr-1 site largely accounted
      for PRL-1 gene up-regulation in response to mitogen stimulation. These data
      predict that Egr-1 activation is an early event in liver regeneration and mitogen
      activated cells that provides a regulatory stimulus for a subset of immediate
      early genes.

PMID- 9988684
TI  - Characterization of the fibronectin binding motif for a unique mycobacterial
      fibronectin attachment protein, FAP.
AB  - Studies were performed to define the fibronectin binding motif of the previously
      identified Mycobacterium avium fibronectin attachment protein (FAP-A). Using
      synthetic peptides of a previously identified fibronectin binding region (amino
      acids 269-292), the minimal binding sequence was determined to be 12 amino acids,
      269-280 (FAP-A-(269-280)). Synthetic peptides were prepared in which each amino
      acid in the 269-280 sequence was substituted with Ala. Assessment of the effect
      of Ala substitution on fibronectin binding showed that the presence of Ala at
      amino acids 273-276 (RWFV) completely abrogated fibronectin binding activity.
      Furthermore, the ability to inhibit the attachment of viable Mycobacterium bovis
      BCG to fibronectin was abrogated by Ala substitution at the RWFV sites. To
      validate the function of RWFV, further studies were performed with recombinant
      FAP-A in which single Ala mutations were generated for the RWFV sites and as
      controls at amino acids 269 and 280. Mutant FAP-A containing single Ala
      substitutions at the RWFV sites (amino acids 273, 274, 275, or 276) showed
      significant abrogation of fibronectin binding function. Recombinant FAP-A with
      Ala substitutions at either 269 or 280 showed wild type activity. When the four
      essential amino acids (RWFV) were either substituted en bloc with Ala or were all
      deleted, complete loss of fibronectin binding function was observed. Control
      recombinant proteins with en bloc Ala substitutions or deletions at four
      positions outside the fibronectin binding region (amino acids 255-257) retained
      functional activity. These data show that the RWFV sequence is necessary for
      fibronectin binding function of FAP-A. Furthermore, the data suggest that
      mycobacterial FAP proteins, all of which share the RWFV binding motif, constitute
      a family of highly homologous proteins that bind fibronectin in a unique manner.

PMID- 9988685
TI  - Intrinsic signals for the assembly of hepatitis A virus particles. Role of
      structural proteins VP4 and 2A.
AB  - Capsid assembly is the final event of virus replication, and its understanding is
      pivotal for the design of empty capsid-based recombinant vaccines and drug
      delivery systems. Although the capsid structure of several members of the
      picornavirus family has been elucidated, little is known about the structural
      elements governing the assembly process that is tightly associated with
      proteolytic processing of the viral polyprotein. Among the picornaviruses,
      hepatitis A virus (HAV) is unique in that it contains VP1-2A as a structural
      component and the small structural protein VP4, which argues for an assembly
      pathway different from that proposed for other picornaviruses. Using a
      recombinant system we show here that proteolytic processing of the HAV capsid
      proteins' precursor P1-2A is independent of the terminal domains 2A and VP4 of
      the substrate. However, both terminal domains play distinct roles in the assembly
      of viral particles. 2A as part of P1-2A is a primary signal for the assembly of
      pentameric structures which only further aggregate to empty viral capsids when
      VP4 is present as the N terminus of the precursor. Particle formation in the
      hepatovirus genus is thus regulated by two intrinsic signals that are distinct
      from those described for other picornaviruses.

PMID- 9988686
TI  - Proline isomerization is unlikely to be the cause of slow annealing and
      reactivation during the folding of alkaline phosphatase.
AB  - The in vitro folding of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) from the
      guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) denatured state is characterized by a
      significant slow phase in the post activational recovery of native protein
      lability (probed by the susceptibility to GdnHCl denaturation and occurring on
      the time scale of days) as well as a slow phase in the recovery of activity (on
      the time scale of minutes). Slow folding events have often been attributed to cis
      trans isomerizations of X-Pro peptide bonds, a plausible explanation for AP,
      which contains 21 prolines per subunit. To investigate the role of proline
      isomerization in the two measures of refolding mentioned above, we have performed
      "double-jump" GdnHCl denaturation/renaturation experiments, with a third jump,
      where the rate of unfolding of refolded protein upon exposure to denaturant was
      added to assess the rate of change of lability. Our measurements of the time
      evolution of both the lability and the reactivation of refolded AP as a function
      of denaturation time show that proline isomerization is unlikely to be the cause
      of either of these slow events in the refolding of AP. The conclusions are
      further confirmed by the absence of proline isomerization effects when AP is
      refolded in the presence of human and periplasmic E. coli peptidyl-prolyl
      isomerase.

PMID- 9988687
TI  - A new antioxidant with alkyl hydroperoxide defense properties in yeast.
AB  - To isolate new antioxidant genes, we have searched for activities that would
      rescue the tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH)-hypersensitive phenotype of a
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain deleted for the gene encoding the oxidative
      stress response regulator Skn7. We report the characterization of AHP1, which
      encodes a 19-kDa protein similar to the AhpC/TSA protein family within a small
      region encompassing Cys-62 of Ahp1p and the highly conserved N-terminal catalytic
      AhpC/TSA cysteine. Ahp1p contains a peroxisomal sorting signal, suggesting a
      peroxisomal localization. AHP1 exerts strong antioxidant protective functions, as
      demonstrated both by gene overexpression and deletion analyses, and is inducible
      by peroxides in an Yap1- and Skn7-dependent manner. Similar to yeast Tsa1p, Ahp1p
      forms a disulfide-linked homodimer upon oxidation and in vivo requires the
      presence of the thioredoxin system but not of glutathione to perform its
      antioxidant protective function. Furthermore, in contrast to Tsa1p, which is
      specific for H2O2, Ahp1p is specific for organic peroxides. Therefore, with
      respect to substrate specificity, Ahp1p differs from Tsa1p and is similar to
      prokaryotic alkyl hydroperoxide reductase AhpC. These data suggest that Ahp1p is
      a yeast orthologue of prokaryotic AhpC and justifies its name of yeast alkyl
      hydroperoxide reductase.

PMID- 9988688
TI  - Functional interaction of mammalian valyl-tRNA synthetase with elongation factor
      EF-1alpha in the complex with EF-1H.
AB  - In mammalian cells valyl-tRNA synthetase (ValRS) forms a high Mr complex with the
      four subunits of elongation factor EF-1H. The beta, gamma, and delta subunits,
      that contribute the guanine nucleotide exchange activity of EF-1H, are tightly
      associated with the NH2-terminal polypeptide extension of valyl-tRNA synthetase.
      In this study, we have examined the possibility that the functioning of the
      companion enzyme EF-1alpha could regulate valyl-tRNA synthetase activity. We show
      here that the addition of EF-1alpha and GTP in excess in the aminoacylation
      mixture is accompanied by a 2-fold stimulation of valyl-tRNAVal synthesis
      catalyzed by the valyl-tRNA synthetase component of the ValRS.EF-1H complex. This
      effect is not observed in the presence of EF-1alpha and GDP or EF-Tu.GTP and
      requires association of valyl-tRNA synthetase within the ValRS.EF-1H complex.
      Since valyl-tRNA synthetase and elongation factor EF-1alpha catalyze two
      consecutive steps of the in vivo tRNA cycle, aminoacylation and formation of the
      ternary complex EF-1alpha.GTP. Val-tRNAVal that serves as a vector of tRNA from
      the synthetase to the ribosome, the data suggest a coordinate regulation of these
      two successive reactions. The EF-1alpha.GTP-dependent stimulation of valyl-tRNA
      synthetase activity provides further evidence for tRNA channeling during protein
      synthesis in mammalian cells.

PMID- 9988689
TI  - Loop 6 of RhoA confers specificity for effector binding, stress fiber formation,
      and cellular transformation.
AB  - Rho family GTPases regulate multiple cellular processes, including cytoskeletal
      organization, gene expression, and transformation. These effects are achieved
      through the interaction of GTP-bound proteins with various downstream targets. A
      series of RhoA/Rac1 and Rho/Ras chimeras was generated to map the domain(s) of
      RhoA involved in its association with two classes of effector kinase, represented
      by PRK2 and ROCK-I. Although the switch 1 domain was required for effector
      binding, the N terminus of Rho (residues 1-75) was interchangeable with that of
      Rac. This suggested that the region of Rho that confers effector binding
      specificity lay further C-terminal. Subsequent studies indicated that the "insert
      domain"(residues 123-137), a region unique to Rho family GTPases, is not the
      specificity determinant. However, a determinant for effector binding was
      identified between Rho residues 75-92. Rac to Rho point mutations (V85D or A88D)
      within loop 6 of Rac promoted its association with PRK2 and ROCK, whereas the
      reciprocal Rho(D87V/D90A) double mutant significantly reduced effector binding
      capacity. In vivo studies showed that microinjection of Rac(Q6IL/V85D/A88D) but
      not Rac(Q6IL) induced stress fiber formation in LLC-PK epithelial cells,
      suggesting that loop 6 residues conferred the ability of Rac to activate ROCK. On
      the other hand, the reciprocal Rho (Q6IL/D87V/D90A) mutant was defective in its
      ability to transform NIH 3T3 cells. These data suggest that although Rho
      effectors can utilize a Rho or Rac switch 1 domain to sense the GTP-bound state
      of Rho, unique residues within loop 6 are essential for determining both effector
      binding specificity and cellular function.

PMID- 9988690
TI  - Role of the flavin midpoint potential and NAD binding in determining NAD versus
      oxygen reactivity of xanthine oxidoreductase.
AB  - Xanthine oxidoreductase from bovine milk can be prepared in two interconvertible
      forms, xanthine oxidase (XO) and xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), depending on the
      number of protein cysteines versus cystines. Enzyme forms differ in respect to
      their oxidizing substrates; XDH prefers NAD to molecular oxygen, whereas XO only
      reacts significantly with oxygen. The preference for oxidizing substrate is
      partially explained by thermodynamics. Unlike XDH, the midpoint potential of the
      FAD, the center at which oxygen and NAD react, is too high in XO to efficiently
      reduce NAD (Hunt, J., Massey, V., Dunham, W.R., and Sands, R.H. (1993) J. Biol.
      Chem. 268, 18685-18691). To distinguish between changes in thermodynamics and in
      substrate binding, samples of both XO and XDH have been prepared in which the
      native FAD has been replaced with an FAD analog of different redox potential, 1
      deaza-FAD or 8-CN-FAD. Reductive titrations indicate that both 1-deaza-XO and 1
      deaza-XDH have a flavin midpoint potential similar to native XDH and that 8-CN-XO
      and 8-CN-XDH each have a flavin potential higher than XO. Both the low potential
      1-deaza-XO and the high potential 8-CN-XDH contain essentially no xanthine/NAD
      activity. However, 1-deaza-XDH does exhibit xanthine/NAD activity, and 8-CN-XO
      has normal xanthine/oxygen activity. The binding of NAD to oxidized XO and XDH
      was investigated by ultrafiltration and isothermal titration calorimetry. The Kd
      for the binding of NAD to XDH was determined to be 280 +/- 145 microM by
      ultrafiltration and 160 +/- 40 microM by isothermal titration calorimetry. No
      evidence for the binding of NAD to XO by either method could be obtained. A low
      flavin midpoint potential is necessary but not sufficient for dehydrogenase
      activity.

PMID- 9988691
TI  - Cloning and characterization of human MMP-23, a new matrix metalloproteinase
      predominantly expressed in reproductive tissues and lacking conserved domains in
      other family members.
AB  - A cDNA encoding a new human matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), tentatively called
      MMP-23, has been cloned from an ovary cDNA library. This protein exhibits
      sequence similarity with MMPs, but displays a different domain structure. Thus,
      MMP-23 lacks a recognizable signal sequence and has a short prodomain, although
      it contains a single cysteine residue that can be part of the cysteine-switch
      mechanism operating for maintaining enzyme latency. The C-terminal domain is
      considerably shortened and shows no sequence similarity to hemopexin, whereas all
      human MMPs, with the exception of matrilysin, contain four hemopexin-like
      repeats. Furthermore, MMP-23 is devoid of structural features distinctive of the
      diverse MMP subclasses, including the specific residues located close to the zinc
      binding site in collagenases, the transmembrane domain of membrane-type MMPs, or
      the fibronectin-like domain of gelatinases. Fluorescent in situ hybridization
      experiments showed that the human MMP-23 gene maps to 1p36, a location which
      differs from all MMP genes mapped to date. Recombinant MMP-23 produced in
      Escherichia coli exhibits low, but significant proteolytic activity against a
      synthetic substrate commonly used for assaying MMPs. Northern blot analysis
      demonstrated that MMP-23 is predominantly expressed in ovary, testis, and
      prostate, suggesting that this new MMP may play a specialized role in
      reproductive processes.

PMID- 9988692
TI  - Identification of a cDNA encoding a retinoid X receptor homologue from
      Schistosoma mansoni. Evidence for a role in female-specific gene expression.
AB  - Schistosoma mansoni, a multicelluar eukaryotic blood fluke, is a major cause of
      morbidity worldwide in humans. The study of female parasite growth, development,
      and gene regulation is important because the eggs produced are responsible for
      the pathogenesis observed in schistosomiasis. p14, an eggshell precursor gene
      expressed only in sexually mature females in response to a male stimulus, is a
      model for female-specific gene regulation. The upstream region of the p14 gene
      shares sequences present in insect genes known to be regulated in a sex-,
      temporal-, and tissue-specific manner by members of the steroid receptor
      superfamily. Herein, we report the identification and characterization of a cDNA
      that encodes the S. mansoni (Sm) RXR homologue. Sequence analysis predicts and
      Western blot analysis confirms the synthesis of a 74-kDa protein, the largest
      member of the RXR family reported to date. We show by electrophoretic mobility
      shift assay analysis that SmRXR binds to cis-elements of the p14 gene including a
      direct repeat that follows the "3-4-5" rule of binding elements recognized by
      members of the steroid receptor superfamily. Furthermore, we demonstrate that
      SmRXR can act as a transcription activator in the yeast one-hybrid system.
      Through quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we show
      that the SmRXR gene is constitutively expressed and thus must play multiple roles
      throughout the schistosome life cycle.

PMID- 9988693
TI  - Topology of the stable serpin-protease complexes revealed by an autoantibody that
      fails to react with the monomeric conformers of antithrombin.
AB  - Solving the structure of the stable complex between a serine protease inhibitor
      (serpin) and its target has been a long standing goal. We describe herein the
      characterization of a monoclonal antibody that selectively recognizes
      antithrombin in complex with either thrombin, factor Xa, or a synthetic peptide
      corresponding to residues P14 to P9 of the serpin's reactive center loop (RCL,
      ultimately cleaved between the P1 and P'1 residues). Accordingly, this antibody
      reacts with none of the monomeric conformers of antithrombin (native, latent, and
      RCL-cleaved) and does not recognize heparin-activated antithrombin or
      antithrombin bound to a non-catalytic mutant of thrombin (S195A, in which the
      serine of the charge stabilizing system has been swapped for alanine). The
      neoepitope encompasses the motif DAFHK, located in native antithrombin on strand
      4 of beta-sheet A, which becomes strand 5 of beta-sheet A in the RCL-cleaved and
      latent conformers. The inferences on the structure of the antithrombin-protease
      stable complex are that either a major remodeling of antithrombin accompanies the
      final elaboration of the complex or that, within the complex, at the most
      residues P14 to P6 of the RCL are inserted into beta-sheet A. These conclusions
      limit drastically the possible locations of the defeated protease within the
      complex.

PMID- 9988694
TI  - Modified oligonucleotides as bona fide antagonists of proteins interacting with
      DNA. Hairpin antagonists of the human DNA methyltransferase.
AB  - The study of the biological role of DNA methyltransferase (DNA MeTase) has been
      impeded by the lack of direct and specific inhibitors. This report describes the
      design of potent DNA based antagonists of DNA MeTase and their utilization to
      define the interactions of DNA MeTase with its substrate and to study its
      biological role. We demonstrate that the size, secondary structure,
      hemimethylation, and phosphorothioate modification strongly affect the
      antagonists interaction with DNA MeTase whereas base substitutions do not have a
      significant effect. To study whether DNA MeTase is critical for cellular
      transformation, human lung non-small carcinoma cells were treated with the DNA
      MeTase antagonists. Ex vivo, hairpin inhibitors of DNA MeTase are localized to
      the cell nucleus in lung cancer cells. They inhibit DNA MeTase, cell growth, and
      anchorage independent growth (an indicator of tumorigenesis in cell culture) in a
      dose-dependent manner. The inhibitors developed in this study are the first
      documented example of direct inhibitors of DNA MeTase in living cells and of
      modified oligonucleotides as bona fide antagonists of critical cellular proteins.

PMID- 9988695
TI  - Up-regulation of neutral glycosphingolipid synthesis upon long term inhibition of
      ceramide synthesis by fumonisin B1.
AB  - In a previous study we observed that long term (5 days) incubation with fumonisin
      B1 (FB1), an inhibitor of acylation of sphingoid long chain bases to
      (dihydro)ceramide, resulted in morphological and biochemical changes in 3T3
      fibroblasts (Meivar-Levy, I., Sabanay, H., Bershadsky, A. D., and Futerman, A. H.
      (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 1558-1564). Among these were changes in the profile of
      synthesis of sphingolipids (SLs) and glycosphingolipids (GSLs). Whereas
      [3H]globotriaosylceramide ([3H]Gb3) comprised 1.9% of the total [3H]SLs and
      [3H]GSLs synthesized in control cells, it comprised 16. 5% in FB1-treated cells.
      We now demonstrate by in vitro analysis that inhibition of ceramide synthesis by
      FB1 for 5 days results in up-regulation of the activities of three enzymes in the
      pathway of Gb3 synthesis, namely glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, and Gb3
      synthases; up-regulation is due to an increase in Vmax, with no change in Km
      values toward lipid substrates. Moreover, molecular analysis (reverse
      transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) of glucosylceramide synthase indicated
      that this enzyme is up-regulated at the transcriptional level. No changes in
      either the Vmax or Km values of sphingomyelin or of GM3 synthase were detected
      after FB1 treatment. Analysis of SL and GSL synthesis in cultured cells using
      [4,5-3H]sphinganine as a metabolic precursor demonstrated that at low substrate
      concentrations, Gb3 synthesis is favored over GM3 synthesis and glucosylceramide
      synthesis is favored over sphingomyelin synthesis, whereas the opposite is true
      at high substrate concentrations. These data demonstrate that GSL synthesis and
      in particular Gb3 synthesis are tightly regulated in fibroblasts, presumably so
      as to maintain constant levels of Gb3 on the cell surface.

PMID- 9988696
TI  - The Aspergillus nidulans GATA factor SREA is involved in regulation of
      siderophore biosynthesis and control of iron uptake.
AB  - A gene encoding a new GATA factor from Aspergillus nidulans, sreA, was isolated
      and characterized. SREA displays homology to two fungal regulators of siderophore
      biosynthesis: about 30% overall identity to SRE from Neurospora crassa and about
      50% identity to URBS1 from Ustilago maydis over a stretch of 200 amino acid
      residues containing two GATA-type zinc finger motifs and a cysteine-rich region.
      This putative DNA binding domain, expressed as a fusion protein in Escherichia
      coli, specifically binds to GATA sequence motifs. Deletion of sreA results in
      derepression of L-ornithine-N5-oxygenase activity and consequently in
      derepression of the biosynthesis of the hydroxamate siderophore N,N',N"-triacetyl
      fusarinine under sufficient iron supply in A. nidulans. Transcription of sreA is
      confined to high iron conditions, underscoring the function of SREA as a
      repressor of siderophore biosynthesis under sufficient iron supply. Nevertheless,
      overexpression of sreA does not result in repression of siderophore synthesis
      under low iron conditions, suggesting additional mechanisms involved in this
      regulatory circuit. Consistent with increased sensitivity to the iron-activated
      antibiotics phleomycin and streptonigrin, the sreA deletion mutant displays
      increased accumulation of 59Fe. These results demonstrate that SREA plays a
      central role in iron uptake in addition to siderophore biosynthesis.

PMID- 9988697
TI  - Characterization of a dCTP transport activity reconstituted from human
      mitochondria.
AB  - A protein fraction of mitochondria from human acute lymphocytic leukemia cells,
      which could be reconstituted into proteoliposomes to have dCTP transport
      activity, has been partially purified by hydroxyapatite and blue Sepharose
      chromatography. The dCTP transport activity in proteoliposomes was time-dependent
      and could be activated by Ca2+ and to a lesser extent by Mg2+. None of the other
      divalent cations tested could activate the transport activity. The Km value of
      dCTP in the presence of Ca2+ was shown to be 3 microM. dCDP but not dCMP or dCyd
      could inhibit the transport activity. Other deoxynucleoside triphosphates could
      also inhibit the uptake of dCTP with the potency dGTP = dATP > TTP. Although ATP
      could competitively inhibit dCTP uptake with a Ki value of 8 microM, the
      reconstituted dCTP uptake activity was not sensitive to the ATP/ADP carrier
      inhibitor atractyloside or the sulfhydryl reagent N-ethylmaleimide. This suggests
      that the dCTP transport system studied is not the same as the ATP/ADP carrier. In
      conclusion, these studies describe the first functionally reconstituted
      mitochondrial carrier that displays an efficient transport activity for dCTP.

PMID- 9988698
TI  - Sphingosine 1-phosphate-induced cell rounding and neurite retraction are mediated
      by the G protein-coupled receptor H218.
AB  - Sphingosine 1-phosphate (SPP) is a lipid second messenger that also acts as a
      first messenger through the G protein-coupled receptor Edg-1. Here we show that
      SPP also binds to the related receptors H218 and Edg-3 with high affinity and
      specificity. SPP and sphinganine 1-phosphate bind to these receptors, whereas
      neither sphingosylphosphorylcholine nor lysophosphatidic acid compete with SPP
      for binding to either receptor. Transfection of HEK293 cells with H218 or edg-3,
      but not edg-1, induces rounded cell morphology in the presence of serum, which
      contains high levels of SPP. SPP treatment of cells overexpressing H218 cultured
      in delipidated serum causes cell rounding. A similar but less dramatic effect was
      observed in cells overexpressing Edg-3 but not with Edg-1. Cell rounding was
      correlated with apoptotic cell death, probably as a result of loss of attachment.
      Nerve growth factor-induced neuritogenesis in PC12 cells was inhibited by
      overexpression of H218 and to a lesser extent Edg-3. SPP treatment rapidly
      enhanced neurite retraction in PC12 cells overexpressing Edg-1, Edg-3, or H218.
      Thus, H218, and possibly Edg-3, may be the cell surface receptors responsible for
      cell rounding and neurite retraction induced by SPP. Moreover, the identification
      of these two additional SPP receptors indicates that a family of highly specific
      receptors exists that mediate different responses to SPP.

PMID- 9988699
TI  - A new model of dual interacting ligand binding sites on integrin alphaIIbbeta3.
AB  - The platelet integrin alphaIIbbeta3 mediates platelet aggregation and platelet
      adhesion. This integrin is the key to hemostasis and also to pathologic vascular
      occlusion. A key domain on alphaIIbbeta3 is the ligand binding site, which can
      bind to plasma fibrinogen and to a number of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-type ligands.
      However, the nature and function of the ligand binding pocket on alphaIIbbeta3
      remains controversial. Some studies suggest the presence of two ligand binding
      pockets, whereas other reports indicate a single binding pocket. Here we use
      surface plasmon resonance to show that alphaIIbbeta3 contains two distinct ligand
      binding pockets. One site binds to fibrinogen, and a separate site binds to RGD
      type ligands. More importantly, however, the two ligand binding pockets are
      interactive. RGD-type ligands are capable of binding to alphaIIbbeta3 even when
      it is already occupied by fibrinogen. Once bound, RGD-type ligands induce the
      dissociation of fibrinogen from alphaIIbbeta3. This allosteric cross-talk has
      important implications for anti-platelet therapy because it suggests a novel
      approach for the dissolution of existing platelet thrombi.

PMID- 9988700
TI  - Calreticulin enhances the transcriptional activity of thyroid transcription
      factor-1 by binding to its homeodomain.
AB  - Transcription factors are often regulated by associated protein cofactors that
      are able to modify their activity by several different mechanisms. In this study
      we show that calreticulin, a Ca2+-binding protein with chaperone activity, binds
      to thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), a homeodomain-containing protein
      implicated in the differentiation of lung and thyroid. The interaction between
      calreticulin and TTF-1 appears to have functional significance because it results
      in increased transcriptional stimulation of TTF-1-dependent promoters.
      Calreticulin binds to the TTF-1 homeodomain and promotes its folding, suggesting
      that the mechanism involved in stimulation of transcriptional activity is an
      increase of the steady-state concentration of active TTF-1 protein in the cell.
      We also demonstrate that calreticulin mRNA levels in thyroid cells are under
      strict control by the thyroid-stimulating hormone, thus implicating calreticulin
      in the modulation of thyroid gene expression by thyroid-stimulating hormone.

PMID- 9988701
TI  - Cloning and functional characterization of the 5'-flanking region of the human
      monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 receptor (CCR2) gene. Essential role of 5'
      untranslated region in tissue-specific expression.
AB  - The human monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 receptor designated hCCR2 is an
      essential co-receptor in cell entry by the human immunodeficiency virus as well
      as a receptor for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, a member of the family of C
      C chemokines that mediate monocyte chemotaxis. To elucidate the molecular
      mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of hCCR2, we cloned and
      sequenced the hCCR2 gene; it was approximately 8 kilobase pairs in length and
      consisted of three exons divided by two introns. In the 5'-flanking region, there
      were the typical mammalian promoter consensus elements, a CAAT box and a TATA
      box, resulting in a single transcription initiation site. In addition, we found
      clustered tissue-specific cis-regulatory elements such as GATA consensus
      sequences, Oct-1 binding sequences, and CAAT/enhancer-binding protein binding
      sequences. Luciferase assays with various promoter deletions and gel mobility
      shift assays indicated that three cis-regulatory elements located within the
      region from -89 to +118 are required for basal activity in THP-1 cells. One
      element is an octamer sequence 36-base pair upstream from the TATA box; it binds
      mainly to Oct-1 and is capable of increasing transcriptional activity. The other
      two elements, which are tandem recognition sites of the CAAT/enhancer-binding
      protein family, are located in the 5'-untranslated region and account for the
      transcriptional activation as well as the tissue specificity of hCCR2.

PMID- 9988702
TI  - Selective activation of G protein subtypes in the vomeronasal organ upon
      stimulation with urine-derived compounds.
AB  - Chemosensory neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) detect pheromones related to
      social and reproductive behavior in most terrestrial vertebrates. Current
      evidence indicate that the chemoelectrical transduction process is mediated by G
      protein-coupled second messenger cascades. In the present study, attempts were
      made to identify the G protein subtypes which are activated upon stimulation with
      urinary pheromonal components. G protein-specific antibodies were employed to
      interfere specifically with inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate formation induced by
      urinary stimuli and to immunoprecipitate Galpha-subunits, activation dependently
      labeled with [alpha-32P]GTP azidoanilide. The results of both experimental
      approaches indicate that stimulation of female VNO membrane preparations with
      male urine samples induces activation of Gi as well as Go subtypes. Experiments
      using different fractions of urine revealed that upon stimulation with lipophilic
      volatile odorants, only Gi proteins were activated, whereas Go activation was
      elicited by alpha2u-globulin, a major urinary protein, which is a member of the
      lipocalin superfamily. Since each G protein subtype is stereotypically
      coexpressed with one of the two structurally different candidate pheromone
      receptors (V1R and V2R), the results provide the first experimental evidence that
      V1Rs coexpressed with Gi may be activated by lipophilic probably volatile
      odorants, whereas V2Rs coexpressed with Go seem to be specialized to interact
      with pheromonal components of proteinaceous nature.

PMID- 9988703
TI  - 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 induces phospholipase D-1 expression in primary mouse
      epidermal keratinocytes.
AB  - The hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) elicits the programmed pattern
      of differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes. Based on data indicating a
      potential role of phospholipase D (PLD) in mediating keratinocyte
      differentiation, we investigated the effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on PLD expression. A
      24-h exposure to 1, 25(OH)2D3 stimulated PLD-1, but not PLD-2, mRNA expression.
      This 1, 25(OH)2D3-enhanced expression was accompanied by increased total PLD and
      PLD-1 activity. Time course studies indicated that 1,25(OH)2D3 induced PLD-1
      expression by 8 h, with a maximal increase at 20-24 h. Exposure to 1,25(OH)2D3
      inhibited proliferation over the same time period with similar kinetics.
      Expression of the early (spinous) differentiation marker keratin 1 decreased in
      response to 1, 25(OH)2D3 over 12-24 h. Treatment with 1,25(OH)2D3 enhanced the
      activity of transglutaminase, a late (granular) differentiation marker, by 12 h
      with a maximal increase after 24 h. In situ hybridization studies demonstrated
      that the highest levels of PLD-1 expression are in the more differentiated
      (spinous and granular) layers of the epidermis, with little expression in basal
      keratinocytes. Our results suggest a role for PLD expression/activity during
      keratinocyte differentiation.

PMID- 9988704
TI  - The Saccharomyces cerevisiae FAT1 gene encodes an acyl-CoA synthetase that is
      required for maintenance of very long chain fatty acid levels.
AB  - The Saccharomyces cerevisiae FAT1 gene appears to encode an acyl-CoA synthetase
      that is involved in the regulation of very long chain (C20-C26) fatty acids.
      Fat1p, has homology to a rat peroxisomal very long chain fatty acyl-CoA
      synthetase. Very long chain acyl-CoA synthetase activity is reduced in strains
      containing a disrupted FAT1 gene and is increased when FAT1 is expressed in
      insect cells under control of a baculovirus promoter. Fat1p accounts for
      approximately 90% of the C24-specific acyl-CoA synthetase activity in glucose
      grown cells and approximately 66% of the total activity in cells grown under
      peroxisomal induction conditions. Localization of functional Fat1p:green
      fluorescent protein gene fusions and subcellular fractionation of C24 acyl-CoA
      synthetase activities indicate that the majority of Fat1p is located in internal
      cellular locations. Disruption of the FAT1 gene results in the accumulation of
      very long chain fatty acids in the sphingolipid and phospholipid fractions. This
      includes a 10-fold increase in C24 acids and a 6-fold increase in C22 acids.
      These abnormal accumulations are further increased by perturbation of very long
      chain fatty acid synthesis. Overexpression of Elo2p, a component of the fatty
      acid elongation system, in fat1Delta cells causes C20-C26 levels to rise to
      approximately 20% of the total fatty acids. These data suggest that Fat1p is
      involved in the maintenance of cellular very long chain fatty acid levels,
      apparently by facilitating beta-oxidation of excess intermediate length (C20-C24)
      species. Although fat1Delta cells were reported to grow poorly in oleic acid
      supplemented medium when fatty acid synthase activity is inactivated by
      cerulenin, fatty acid import is not significantly affected in cells containing
      disrupted alleles of FAT1 and FAS2 (a subunit of fatty acid synthase). These
      results suggest that the primary cause of the growth-defective phenotype is a
      failure to metabolize the incorporated fatty acid rather than a defect in fatty
      acid transport. Certain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase activities, however, do appear
      to be essential for bulk fatty acid transport in Saccharomyces. Simultaneous
      disruption of FAA1 and FAA4, which encode long chain (C14-C18) fatty acyl-CoA
      synthetases, effectively blocks the import of long chain saturated and
      unsaturated fatty acids.

PMID- 9988705
TI  - Detailed architecture of the barley chloroplast psbD-psbC blue light-responsive
      promoter.
AB  - The photosystem II reaction center chlorophyll protein D2, is encoded by the
      chloroplast gene psbD. PsbD is transcribed from at least three different
      promoters, one which is activated by high fluence blue light. Sequences within
      130 base pairs (bp) of the psbD blue light-responsive promoter (BLRP) are highly
      conserved in higher plants. In this study, the structure of the psbD BLRP was
      analyzed in detail using deletion and site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro
      transcription. Deletion analysis showed that a 53-bp DNA region of the psbD BLRP,
      from -57 to -5, was sufficient for transcription in vitro. Mutation of a putative
      prokaryotic -10 element (TATTCT) located from -7 to -12 inhibited transcription
      from the psbD BLRP. In contrast, mutation of a putative prokaryotic -35 element,
      had no influence on transcription. Mutation of a TATATA sequence located between
      the barley psbA -10 and -35 elements significantly reduced transcription from
      this promoter. However, site-directed mutation of sequences located between -35
      and -10 had no effect on transcription from the psbD BLRP. Transcription from the
      psbD BLRP was previously shown to require a 22-bp sequence, termed the AAG-box,
      located between -36 and -57. The AAG-box specifically binds the protein complex
      AGF. Site-directed mutagenesis identified two different sequence motifs in the
      AAG-box that are important for transcription in vitro. Based on these results, we
      propose that positive factors bind to the AAG-box and interact with the
      chloroplast-encoded RNA polymerase to promote transcription from the psbD BLRP.
      Transcription from the psbD BLRP is thus similar to type II bacterial promoters
      that use activating proteins to stimulate transcription. Transcription of the
      psbD BLRP was approximately 6. 5-fold greater in plastid extracts from
      illuminated versus dark-grown plants. This suggests that light-induced activation
      of this promoter in vivo involves factors interacting with the 53-bp psbD BLRP in
      vitro.

PMID- 9988706
TI  - Multiple functional Sp1 domains in the minimal promoter region of the neuronal
      nicotinic receptor alpha5 subunit gene.
AB  - The alpha5 subunit is a component of the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine
      receptors, which are probably involved in the activation step of the
      catecholamine secretion process in bovine adrenomedullary chromaffin cells. The
      promoter of the gene coding for this subunit was isolated, and its proximal
      region was characterized, revealing several GC boxes located close to the site of
      transcription initiation (from -111 to -40). Deletion analysis and transient
      transfections showed that a 266-base pair region (-111 to +155) gave rise to
      approximately 77 and 100% of the maximal transcriptional activity observed in
      chromaffin and SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma cells, respectively. Site-directed
      mutagenesis of five different GC motifs indicated that all of them contribute to
      the activity of the alpha5 gene, but in a different way, depending on the type of
      transfected cell. Thus, in SHSY-5Y cells, alteration of the most promoter
      proximal of the GC boxes decreased alpha5 promoter activity by approximately 50%,
      whereas single mutations of the other GC boxes had no effect. In chromaffin
      cells, by contrast, modification of any of the GC boxes produced a similar
      decrease in promoter activity (50-69%). In both cell types, however, activity was
      almost abolished when four GC boxes were suppressed simultaneously.
      Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using nuclear extracts from either
      chromaffin or SHSY-5Y cells showed the specific binding of Sp1 protein to
      fragment -111 to -27. Binding of Sp1 to the GC boxes was also demonstrated by
      DNase I footprint analysis. This study suggests that the general transcription
      factor Sp1 plays a dominant role in alpha5 subunit expression, as has also been
      demonstrated previously for alpha3 and beta4 subunits. Since these three subunits
      have their genes tightly clustered and are expressed in chromaffin cells,
      probably as components of the same receptor subtype, we propose that Sp1
      constitutes the key factor of a regulatory mechanism common to the three
      subunits.

PMID- 9988707
TI  - Transactivation of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor gene through
      a novel promoter motif bound with an activator protein-2alpha-related factor.
AB  - The urokinase receptor overexpressed in invasive cancers promotes laminin
      degradation. The current study was undertaken to identify cis elements and trans
      acting factors activating urokinase receptor expression through a footprinted (
      148/-124) region of the promoter containing putative activator protein-2- and Sp1
      binding motifs. Mobility shifting experiments using nuclear extract from a high
      urokinase receptor-expressing cell line (RKO) indicated that Sp1, Sp3, and a
      factor similar to, but distinct from, activator protein-2alpha bound to this
      region. Mutations preventing the binding of the activator protein 2alpha-related
      factor diminished urokinase receptor promoter activity. In RKO cells, the
      expression of a negative regulator of activator protein-2 function diminished
      urokinase receptor promoter activity, protein, and laminin degradation.
      Conversely, urokinase receptor promoter activity in low urokinase receptor
      expressing GEO cells was increased by activator protein-2alphaA expression.
      Although using GEO nuclear extract, little activator protein-2alpha-related
      factor bound to the footprinted region, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate
      treatment, which induces urokinase receptor expression, increased complex
      formation. Mutations preventing the activator protein-2alpha-related factor and
      Sp1/Sp3 binding reduced urokinase receptor promoter stimulation by this agent.
      Thus, the constitutive and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-inducible expression
      of the urokinase receptor is mediated partly through trans-activation of the
      promoter via a sequence (-152/-135) bound with an activator protein-2alpha
      related factor.

PMID- 9988708
TI  - Distinct "assisted" and "spontaneous" mechanisms for the insertion of polytopic
      chlorophyll-binding proteins into the thylakoid membrane.
AB  - The biogenesis of several bacterial polytopic membrane proteins has been shown to
      require signal recognition particle (SRP) and protein transport machinery, and
      one such protein, the major light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding protein (LHCP)
      exhibits these requirements in chloroplasts. In this report we have used in vitro
      insertion assays to analyze four additional members of the chlorophyll-a/b
      binding protein family. We show that two members, Lhca1 and Lhcb5, display an
      absolute requirement for stroma, nucleoside triphosphates, and protein transport
      apparatus, indicating an "assisted" pathway that probably resembles that of LHCP.
      Two other members, however, namely an early light-inducible protein 2 (Elip2) and
      photosystem II subunit S (PsbS), can insert efficiently in the complete absence
      of SRP, SecA activity, nucleoside triphosphates, or a functional Sec system. The
      data suggest a possibly spontaneous insertion mechanism that, to date, has been
      characterized only for simple single-span proteins. Of the membrane proteins
      whose insertion into thylakoids has been analyzed, five have now been shown to
      insert by a SRP/Sec-independent mechanism, suggesting that this is a mainstream
      form of targeting pathway. We also show that PsbS and Elip2 molecules are capable
      of following either "unassisted" or assisted pathways, and we discuss the
      implications for the mechanism and role of SRP in chloroplasts.

PMID- 9988709
TI  - Molecular cloning and characterization of a mitochondrial selenocysteine
      containing thioredoxin reductase from rat liver.
AB  - A thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), named here TrxR2, that did not react with
      antibodies to the previously identified TrxR (now named TrxR1) was purified from
      rat liver. Like TrxR1, TrxR2 was a dimeric enzyme containing selenocysteine
      (Secys) as the COOH-terminal penultimate residue. A cDNA encoding TrxR2 was
      cloned from rat liver; the open reading frame predicts a polypeptide of 526 amino
      acids with a COOH-terminal Gly-Cys-Secys-Gly motif provided that an in-frame TGA
      codon encodes Secys. The 3'-untranslated region of the cDNA contains a canonical
      Secys insertion sequence element. The deduced amino acid sequence of TrxR2 shows
      54% identity to that of TrxR1 and contained 36 additional residues upstream of
      the experimentally determined NH2-terminal sequence. The sequence of this 36
      residue region is typical of that of a mitochondrial leader peptide. Immunoblot
      analysis confirmed that TrxR2 is localized almost exclusively in mitochondria,
      whereas TrxR1 is a cytosolic protein. Unlike TrxR1, which was expressed at a
      level of 0.6 to 1.6 microgram/milligram of total soluble protein in all rat
      tissues examined, TrxR2 was relatively abundant (0.3 to 0.6 microgram/mg) only in
      liver, kidney, adrenal gland, and heart. The specific localization of TrxR2 in
      mitochondria, together with the previous identification of mitochondria-specific
      thioredoxin and thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase, suggest that these three
      proteins provide a primary line of defense against H2O2 produced by the
      mitochondrial respiratory chain.

PMID- 9988710
TI  - Thiolation of the gammaB-crystallins in intact bovine lens exposed to hydrogen
      peroxide.
AB  - Oxidative damage of the lens causes disulfide bonds between cysteinyl residues of
      lens proteins and thiols such as glutathione and cysteine, which may lead to
      cataract. The effect of H2O2 oxidation was determined by comparing bovine lenses
      incubated with and without 30 mM H2O2. The H2O2 treatment decreased the
      glutathione and increased the protein-glutathione and protein-cysteine disulfides
      in the lens. The molecular mass of the gammaB-crystallin isolated from lenses,
      not treated with H2O2, agreed with the published sequence (Mr 20,966). Some
      lenses also had a less abundant gammaB-crystallin component 305 Da higher (Mr
      21,270), suggesting the presence of a glutathione adduct. The gammaB-crystallins
      from H2O2 treated lenses had three components, the major one with one GSH adduct,
      another one with the mass of unmodified gammaB-crystallin, and a third with a
      mass consistent with addition of two GSH adducts. Mass spectrometric analysis of
      tryptic peptides of gammaB-crystallins from different lenses indicated that the
      +305 Da modifications were not at a specific cysteine. For the lenses incubated
      without H2O2, there was evidence of adducts at Cys-41 and in peptide 10-31, which
      includes 3 cysteines. Analysis of modified peptide 10-31 by tandem mass
      spectrometry showed GSH adducts at Cys-15, Cys-18, and Cys-22. In addition,
      gammaB-crystallins from H2O2-treated lenses had an adduct at Cys-109, partial
      oxidation at all 7 Met residues, and evidence for two disulfide bonds.

PMID- 9988711
TI  - Inhibition of DNA synthesis by a farnesyltransferase inhibitor involves
      inhibition of the p70(s6k) pathway.
AB  - Previously, the protein farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI), L-744, 832, has been
      shown to inhibit the proliferation of a number of tumor cell lines in vitro in a
      manner that correlated with the inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein
      kinase cascade. Here we show that FTI inhibits p70(s6k) phosphorylation in
      mammary tumors in vivo in transgenic mice. Furthermore, in a mouse keratinocyte
      cell line, FTI inhibits p70(s6k) phosphorylation and activity and inhibits PHAS-1
      phosphorylation in vitro in both rapidly growing cells and in growth factor
      stimulated quiescent cells. Dominant-negative Ras expression inhibits p70(s6k)
      stimulation by epidermal growth factor, demonstrating a requirement for Ras
      activity during p70(s6k) activation. FTI does not inhibit protein kinase B
      phosphorylation on Ser473, indicating that FTI does not act by inhibiting
      phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. FTI also inhibits DNA synthesis in keratinocytes,
      and inhibition of DNA synthesis correlates closely with p70(s6k) inhibition.
      Rapamycin, an inhibitor of p70(s6k) and PHAS-1 phosphorylation, causes a 30-45%
      reduction in DNA synthesis in keratinocytes, while FTI induces an 80-90%
      reduction in DNA synthesis. These observations suggest that alteration of
      p70(s6k) and PHAS-1 function by FTI are responsible for a substantial portion of
      the growth-inhibitory properties of FTI. Together, these data demonstrate that
      p70(s6k) and PHAS-1 are novel downstream targets of FTI and suggest that the anti
      tumor properties of FTI are probably due to the inhibition of multiple mitogenic
      pathways.

PMID- 9988712
TI  - Serotonin 5-HT1A receptor-mediated Erk activation requires calcium/calmodulin
      dependent receptor endocytosis.
AB  - Many receptors that couple to heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding (G)
      proteins mediate rapid activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases, Erk1
      and Erk2. The Gi-coupled serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)) 5-HT1A receptor,
      heterologously expressed in Chinese hamster ovary or human embryonic kidney 293
      cells, mediated rapid activation of Erk1/2 via a mechanism dependent upon both
      Ras activation and clathrin-mediated endocytosis. This activation was attenuated
      by chelation of intracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+/calmodulin (CAM) inhibitors or the
      CAM sequestrant protein calspermin. The CAM-dependent step in the Erk1/2
      activation cascade is downstream of Ras activation, because inhibitors of CAM
      antagonize Erk1/2 activation induced by constitutively activated mutants of Ras
      and c-Src but not by constitutively activated mutants of Raf and MEK (mitogen and
      extracellular signal-regulated kinase). Inhibitors of the classical CAM effectors
      myosin light chain kinase, CAM-dependent protein kinases II and IV, PP2B, and CAM
      sensitive phosphodiesterase had no effect upon 5-HT1A receptor-mediated Erk1/2
      activation. Because clathrin-mediated endocytosis was required for 5-HT1A
      receptor-mediated Erk1/2 activation, we postulated a role for CAM in receptor
      endocytosis. Inhibition of receptor endocytosis by use of sequestration-defective
      mutants of beta-arrestin1 and dynamin attenuated 5-HT1A receptor-stimulated
      Erk1/2 activation. Inhibition of CAM prevented agonist-dependent endocytosis of
      epitope-tagged 5-HT1A receptors. We conclude that CAM-dependent activation of
      Erk1/2 through the 5-HT1A receptor reflects its role in endocytosis of the
      receptor, which is a required step in the activation of MEK and subsequently
      Erk1/2.

PMID- 9988713
TI  - The Bacillus stearothermophilus mannitol regulator, MtlR, of the
      phosphotransferase system. A DNA-binding protein, regulated by HPr and iicbmtl
      dependent phosphorylation.
AB  - D-Mannitol is taken up by Bacillus stearothermophilus and phosphorylated via a
      phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS). The genes involved
      in the mannitol uptake were recently cloned and sequenced. One of the genes codes
      for a putative transcriptional regulator, MtlR. The presence of a DNA binding
      helix-turn-helix motif and two antiterminator-like PTS regulation domains,
      suggest that MtlR is a DNA-binding protein, the activity of which can be
      regulated by phosphorylation by components of the PTS. To demonstrate DNA binding
      of MtlR to a region upstream of the mannitol promoter, by DNA footprinting, MtlR
      was overproduced and purified. EI, HPr, IIAmtl, and IICBmtl of B.
      stearothermophilus were purified and used to demonstrate that MtlR can be
      phosphorylated and regulated by HPr and IICBmtl, in vitro. Phosphorylation of
      MtlR by HPr increases the affinity of MtlR for its binding site, whereas
      phosphorylation by IICBmtl results in a reduction of this affinity. The
      differential effect of phosphorylation, by two different proteins, on the DNA
      binding properties of a bacterial transcriptional regulator has not, to our
      knowledge, been described before. Regulation of MtlR by two components of the PTS
      is an example of an elegant control system sensing both the presence of mannitol
      and the need to utilize this substrate.

PMID- 9988714
TI  - Transfection of an active cytochrome P450 arachidonic acid epoxygenase indicates
      that 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid functions as an intracellular second
      messenger in response to epidermal growth factor.
AB  - A common feature of most isolated cell systems is low or undetectable levels of
      bioactive cytochrome P450. We therefore developed stable transfectants of the
      renal epithelial cell line, LLCPKcl4, that expressed an active regio- and
      enantioselective arachidonic acid (AA) epoxygenase. Site-specific mutagenesis was
      used to convert bacterial P450 BM-3 into an active regio- and stereoselective
      14S,15R-epoxygenase (F87V BM-3). In clones expressing F87V BM-3 (F87V BM-3
      cells), exogenous AA induced significant 14S,15R-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET)
      production (241. 82 ng/10(8) cells, >97% of total EETs), whereas no detectable
      EETs were seen in cells transfected with vector alone. In F87V BM-3 cells, AA
      stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation and increased cell proliferation, which
      was blocked by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, by the
      phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI-3) kinase inhibitors, wortmannin and LY294002, and by
      the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor, PD98059. AA also induced
      tyrosine phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and PI-3
      kinase that was inhibited by the cytochrome P450 BM-3 inhibitor, 17-ODYA.
      Epidermal growth factor (EGF) increased EET production in F87V BM-3 cells, which
      was completely abolished by pretreatment with either 17-ODYA or the phospholipase
      A2 (PLA2) inhibitor, quinacrine. Compared with vector-transfected cells, F87 BM-3
      transfected cells demonstrated marked increases in both the extent and
      sensitivity of DNA synthesis in response to EGF. These changes occurred in the
      absence of significant differences in EGF receptor expression. As seen with
      exogenous AA, EGF increased ERK tyrosine phosphorylation to a significantly
      greater extent in F87V BM-3 cells than in vector-transfected cells. Furthermore,
      in these control cells, neither 17-ODYA nor quinacrine inhibited EGF-induced ERK
      tyrosine phosphorylation. On the other hand, in F87V BM-3 cells, both inhibitors
      reduced ERK tyrosine phosphorylation to levels indistinguishable from that seen
      in cells transfected with vector alone. These studies provide the first
      unequivocal evidence for a role for the AA epoxygenase pathway and endogenous EET
      synthesis in EGF-mediated signaling and mitogenesis and provide compelling
      evidence for the PLA2-AA-EET pathway as an important intracellular-signaling
      pathway in cells expressing high levels of cytochrome P450 epoxygenase.

PMID- 9988715
TI  - Heat-induced conformational changes of Ara h 1, a major peanut allergen, do not
      affect its allergenic properties.
AB  - Ara h 1, a major peanut allergen was isolated, and its structure on secondary,
      tertiary, and quaternary level at ambient temperature was investigated using
      spectroscopic and biochemical techniques. Ara h 1 appeared to be a highly
      structured protein on a secondary level, possesses a clear tertiary fold, and is
      present as a trimeric complex. Heat treatment of purified Ara h 1 results in an
      endothermic, irreversible transition between 80 and 90 degreesC, leading to an
      increase in beta-structures and a concomitant aggregation of the protein. Ara h 1
      from peanuts that were heat-treated prior to the purification procedure exhibited
      a similar denatured state with an increased secondary folding and a decreased
      solubility. The effect of heat treatment on the in vitro allergenic properties of
      Ara h 1 was investigated by means of a fluid-phase IgE binding assay using serum
      from patients with a clinically proven peanut allergy. Ara h 1 purified from
      peanuts heated at different temperatures exhibited IgE binding properties similar
      to those found for native Ara h 1, indicating that the allergenicity of Ara h 1
      is heat-stable. We conclude that the allergenicity of Ara h 1 is unaffected by
      heating, although native Ara h 1 undergoes a significant heat-induced
      denaturation on a molecular level, indicating that the recognition of
      conformational epitopes of Ara h 1 by IgE either is not a dominant mechanism or
      is restricted to parts of the protein that are not sensitive to heat
      denaturation.

PMID- 9988716
TI  - Structurally related peptide agonist, partial agonist, and antagonist occupy a
      similar binding pocket within the cholecystokinin receptor. Rapid analysis using
      fluorescent photoaffinity labeling probes and capillary electrophoresis.
AB  - The molecular basis of ligand binding to receptors provides important insights
      for drug development. Here, we explore domains of the cholecystokinin (CCK)
      receptor that are critical for ligand binding, using a novel series of
      fluorescent photolabile probes, receptor proteolysis, and rapid high resolution
      separation of peptide fragments by capillary electrophoresis. Each probe
      incorporated the same fluorophore and a photolabile p-benzoylphenylalanine at the
      amino terminus of the pharmacophoric domain (residue 24 of CCK-33) of CCK
      analogues representing full agonist, partial agonist, and antagonist of this
      receptor. Each was used to label the CCK receptor expressed on Chinese hamster
      ovary-CCKR cells, with the labeled domain then released by cyanogen bromide
      cleavage. Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection
      achieved an on-capillary mass sensitivity of 1.6 attomoles (10(-18) mol), with an
      excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Each of the biologically divergent, but
      structurally similar probes saturably and specifically labeled the same receptor
      domain, consistent with conservation of "docking" determinants. This had an
      apparent mass of 2.9 kDa, most consistent with the first extracellular loop
      domain. An additional probe having its site of covalent attachment in a different
      region of the probe (residue 29 of CCK-33) labeled a distinct receptor fragment
      with differential migration on capillary electrophoresis (third extracellular
      loop). Identification of the specific receptor residue(s) covalently linked to
      the amino-terminal probes must await further fragmentation and sequence analysis.

PMID- 9988717
TI  - Characterization of a two-component system in Streptococcus pyogenes which is
      involved in regulation of hyaluronic acid production.
AB  - Hyaluronic acid production by group A streptococci is regulated by
      transcriptional control. In this study, transposon mutagenesis of an
      unencapsulated strain yielded an encapsulated mutant. Two genes homologous to
      sensors and response regulators of bacterial two-component systems were
      identified downstream of the transposon insertion. Inactivation of the putative
      sensor gene, csrS, in three different unencapsulated strains yielded encapsulated
      mutant strains. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays determined factor(s) in a
      cytoplasmic extract of an unencapsulated group A streptococcal strain was binding
      to a double-stranded DNA fragment derived from the has operon promoter. In
      contrast, similarly prepared cytoplasmic extracts from a csrS deletion mutant did
      not shift the fragment. The putative response regulator, CsrR, was partially
      purified and was shown to bind the has operon promoter fragment. The affinity and
      specificity of CsrR for the fragment were increased significantly after
      incubation with acetyl phosphate. DNase I footprinting determined that the acetyl
      phosphate-treated CsrR was binding to key sequences in the promoter and the
      coding region of hasA. Therefore, a two-component system is repressing the
      production of hyaluronic acid in group A streptococci using a phosphorylation
      dependent binding interaction between the response regulator CsrR and the
      promoter region of the has operon.

PMID- 9988718
TI  - Role of interferon regulatory factor-1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase
      pathways in the induction of nitric oxide synthase-2 in retinal pigmented
      epithelial cells.
AB  - Bovine retinal pigmented epithelial cells express an inducible nitric oxide
      synthase (NOS-2) after activation with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and
      lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Experiments were performed to investigate the
      involvement of interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) on NOS-2 induction and its
      regulation by NOS-2 inhibitors such as pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an
      antioxidant, or protein kinase inhibitors. Analysis by transitory transfections
      showed that LPS, alone or with IFN-gamma, stimulated activity of the murine NOS-2
      promoter fragment linked upstream of luciferase and its suppression by PDTC and
      by the different protein kinase inhibitors, genistein (tyrosine kinase
      inhibitor), PD98059 (mitogen-actived protein (MAP) kinase kinase inhibitor), and
      SB 203580 (p38 MAP inhibitor). Using specific antibodies, we have confirmed that
      extracellular signal-regulated kinases and p38 MAP kinase were activated by LPS
      and IFN-gamma in retinal pigmented epithelial cells. Analysis by reverse
      transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and electrophoretic
      mobility shift assay demonstrated that IFN-gamma alone or combined with LPS
      induced an accumulation of IRF-1 mRNA and protein and IRF-1 DNA binding.
      Transfections assays with the IRF-1 promoter showed an induction of this promoter
      with IFN-gamma, potentiated by LPS. The decrease of LPS/IFN-gamma-induced IRF-1
      promoter activity, IRF-1 synthesis, and IRF-1 activation, by PDTC, genistein,
      PD98059, and SB 203580, could explained in part the inhibition of the NOS-2
      induction by these compounds. Our results demonstrate that IRF-1 is necessary for
      NOS-2 induction by LPS and IFN-gamma and that its synthesis requires the
      involvement of a redox-sensitive step, the activation of tyrosine kinases, and
      extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 and p38 MAP kinases.

PMID- 9988719
TI  - Involvement of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase in the synergistic
      activation of nuclear factor-kappaB by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and gamma
      interferon in preneuronal cells.
AB  - Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma)
      cooperate during a variety of biological responses and ultimately synergistically
      enhance the expression of genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses.
      Recently, we demonstrated that IFN-gamma can significantly potentiate TNF-alpha
      induced nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB nuclear translocation in neuronal derived and
      endothelial cell lines. The mechanism by which these two cytokines exert their
      synergistic effect on NF-kappaB involves the de novo degradation of the NF-kappaB
      inhibitor, IkappaBbeta. The double-stranded RNA-dependent kinase PKR is IFN
      inducible and has been implicated in the activation of NF-kappaB; therefore, we
      examined the possibility that PKR may play a role in the synergistic activation
      of NF-kappaB during TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma cotreatment. The PKR inhibitor 2
      aminopurine (2-AP) inhibited TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma-induced NF-kappaB nuclear
      translocation in neuronal derived cells but not in endothelial cells. The induced
      degradation of IkappaBbeta, which is normally observed upon TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma
      cotreatment, was blocked completely by 2-AP in neuronal derived cells. Also, 2-AP
      treatment or overexpression of a catalytically inactive PKR inhibited the TNF
      alpha/IFN-gamma-induced synergistic activation of kappaB-dependent gene
      expression. Our results suggest that the signal generated by IFN-gamma during TNF
      alpha/IFN-gamma cotreatment may require PKR to elicit enhanced NF-kappaB
      activity, and this signal may affect the stability of the IkappaBbeta protein.

PMID- 9988720
TI  - Functional regulation of Galpha16 by protein kinase C.
AB  - Recent evidence demonstrates that the alpha subunits of some heterotrimeric GTP
      binding proteins (G proteins) are subject to modification by protein kinase C
      (PKC). For the family of G proteins that activate the phospholipase C/inositol
      trisphosphate/calcium/PKC pathway, such modification could result in G protein
      autoregulation. To examine the potential regulation of members of the Galphaq
      family by PKC phosphorylation, we expressed the thyrotropin-releasing hormone
      (TRH) receptor in combination with Galphaq, Galpha11, Galpha14, Galpha15, or
      Galpha16 in Xenopus oocytes and examined the regulation of signaling by PKC
      activators and inhibitors. For Galpha16 and Galpha15, the two family members of
      hematopoietic lineage, PKC activators reduce both the magnitude and the time
      course of TRH-mediated responses; PKC inhibitors have the opposite effect. The
      PKC-mediated effects are evident in measurements of GTPase activity, suggesting
      that the regulation is occurring early in the signaling pathway. In vivo
      phosphorylation experiments demonstrate that Galpha16 is a substrate for PKC
      modification. By comparison, Galphaq is not phosphorylated by PKC in vivo, and
      oocytes expressing Galphaq are not functionally modulated by PKC. Repeated TRH
      stimulation of oocytes expressing Galpha16 mimics the effects of PKC activators,
      and this functional regulation is correlated with an increase in Galpha16
      phosphorylation. A mutant Galpha16 with four consensus PKC phosphorylation sites
      removed is not phosphorylated in vivo, and TRH responses mediated through the
      mutant are not regulated by PKC. These results demonstrate that signaling
      involving hematopoietic G proteins is subject to PKC-mediated autoregulation, at
      least in part, by phosphorylation of the G protein alpha subunit.

PMID- 9988721
TI  - Apolipoprotein E containing high density lipoprotein stimulates endothelial
      production of heparan sulfate rich in biologically active heparin-like domains. A
      potential mechanism for the anti-atherogenic actions of vascular apolipoprotein
      e.
AB  - Reduced heparin and heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (PG) have been observed in
      both inflammation and atherosclerosis. Methods to increase endogenous heparin and
      heparan sulfate are not known. We found that incubation of endothelial cells with
      500-1,000 micrograms/ml high density lipoprotein (HDL) increased 35SO4
      incorporation into PG by 1.5-2.5-fold. A major portion of this increase was in HS
      and was the result of increased synthesis. Total PG core proteins were not
      altered by HDL; however, the ratio of 35SO4 to [3H]glucosamine was increased by
      HDL, suggesting increased sulfation of glycosaminoglycans. In addition, HDL
      increased the amount of highly sulfated heparin-like HS in the subendothelial
      matrix. HS from HDL-treated cells bound 40 +/- 5% more 125I-antithrombin III
      (requires 3-O sulfated HS) and 49 +/- 3% fewer monocytes. Moreover, the HS
      isolated from HDL-treated cells inhibited smooth muscle cell proliferation (by 83
      +/- 5%) better than control HS (56 +/- 6%) and heparin (42 +/- 6%). HDL isolated
      from apolipoprotein E (apoE)-null mice did not stimulate HS production unless
      apoE was added. ApoE also stimulated HS production in the absence of HDL. ApoE
      did not increase 35SO4 incorporation in macrophages and fibroblasts, suggesting
      that this is an endothelial cell-specific process. Receptor-associated protein
      inhibited apoE-mediated stimulation of HS only at higher (20 micrograms/ml)
      doses, suggesting the involvement of a receptor-associated protein-sensitive
      pathway in mediating apoE actions. In summary, our data identify a novel
      mechanism by which apoE and apoE-containing HDL can be anti-atherogenic.
      Identification of specific apoE peptides that stimulate endothelial heparin/HS
      production may have important therapeutic applications.

PMID- 9988722
TI  - Adenophostin A and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate differentially activate Cl-
      currents in Xenopus oocytes because of disparate Ca2+ release kinetics.
AB  - Depletion of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores induces Ca2+ entry from the
      extracellular space by a process termed "store-operated Ca2+ entry" (SOCE). It
      has been suggested that the novel fungal metabolite adenophostin-A may be able to
      stimulate Ca2+ entry without stimulating Ca2+ release from stores. To test this
      idea further, we compared Ca2+ release, SOCE, and the stimulation of Ca2+
      activated Cl- currents in Xenopus oocytes in response to inositol 1,4,5
      trisphosphate (IP3) and adenophostin-A injection. IP3 stimulated an outward Cl-
      current, ICl1-S, in response to Ca2+ release from stores followed by an inward
      current, ICl2, in response to SOCE. In contrast, low concentrations of
      adenophostins (AdAs) activated ICl2 without activating ICl1-S, consistent with
      the suggestion that AdA can activate Ca2+ entry without stimulating Ca2+ release.
      However, when Ca2+ entry has been stimulated by AdA, Ca2+ stores are largely
      depleted of Ca2+, as assessed by the inability of ionomycin to release additional
      Ca2+. The Ca2+ release stimulated by AdA, however, was 7 times slower than the
      release stimulated by IP3, which could explain the minimal activation of ICl1-S;
      when Ca2+ is released slowly, the threshold level required for ICl1-S activation
      is not attained.

PMID- 9988723
TI  - Parathyroid hormone-related protein interacts with RNA.
AB  - Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is a secreted protein that acts as an
      autocrine and paracrine mediator of cell proliferation and differentiation. In
      addition to its biological activity that is mediated through signal transduction
      cascades, there is evidence for an intracellular role for PTHrP in cell cycle
      progression and apoptosis. These effects are mediated through a mid-region
      nuclear targeting sequence (NTS) that localizes PTHrP to the region of the
      nucleolus where ribonucleoprotein complexes form in vivo. In this work, we show
      that endogenous, transfected, and in vitro translated PTHrP proteins bind
      homopolymeric and total cellular RNAs at salt concentrations up to 1 M. A peptide
      representing the PTHrP NTS was effective in competing with the wild-type protein
      for RNA binding, whereas a similar peptide representing the nucleolin NTS was
      not. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the binding of PTHrP to RNA was
      direct and was dependent on preservation of a core GXKKXXK motif, embedded in the
      PTHrP NTS, which is shared with other RNA-binding proteins. The current
      observations are the first to document RNA binding by a secreted cellular protein
      and predict a role for PTHrP in regulating RNA metabolism that may be related to
      its localization in the nucleolus of cells in vivo.

PMID- 9988724
TI  - Identification of inhibitor specificity determinants in a mammalian
      phosphodiesterase.
AB  - Mammalian phosphodiesterase types 3 and 4 (PDE3 and PDE4) hydrolyze cAMP and are
      essential for the regulation of this intracellular second messenger in many cell
      types. Whereas these enzymes share structural and biochemical similarities, each
      can be distinguished by its sensitivity to isozyme-specific inhibitors. By using
      a series of chimeric enzymes, we have localized the region of PDE4 that confers
      sensitivity to selective inhibitors. This inhibitor specificity domain lies
      within a short sequence at the carboxyl terminus of the catalytic domain of the
      protein, consistent with the competitive nature of inhibition by these compounds.
      Surprisingly, the identified region also includes some of the most highly
      conserved residues among PDE isoforms. A yeast-based expression system was used
      for the isolation and characterization of mutations within this area that confer
      resistance to the PDE4-specific inhibitor rolipram. Analysis of these mutants
      indicated that both conserved and unique residues are required for isoform
      specific inhibitor sensitivity. In some cases, combined point mutations
      contribute synergistically to the reduction of sensitivity (suppression of IC50).
      We also report that several mutations display differential sensitivity changes
      with respect to distinct structural classes of inhibitors.

PMID- 9988725
TI  - Nickel-catalyzed N-terminal oxidative deamination in peptides containing
      histidine at position 2 coupled with sulfite oxidation.
AB  - Peptides containing histidine at position 2 were observed to undergo spontaneous
      N-terminal oxidative deamination in aqueous solution in the presence of Ni(II),
      sulfite, and ambient oxygen. The reaction resulted in the formation of a free
      carbonyl on the N-terminal alpha-carbon (alpha-ketoamide) and was catalytic with
      respect to nickel. This oxidative deamination was confirmed by 13C NMR, 1H NMR,
      mass spectrometry, and chemical tests. No evidence of modification of histidine
      was found. It was demonstrated that the nickel-dependent N-terminal oxidative
      deamination also occurred in His-2 peptides using potassium peroxymonosulfate
      (oxone) as an oxidant. When oxone was used, oxygen was not required for the
      deamination to proceed. The results suggest that both nickel-catalyzed reactions
      (sulfite and oxygen, and oxone) produce an imine intermediate that spontaneously
      hydrolyzes to form the free carbonyl. These findings may provide a
      physiologically relevant model for oxidative carbonyl formation in vivo, as well
      as a useful method for producing a site-specific carbonyl on peptides and
      proteins.

PMID- 9988726
TI  - Role of the intronic elements in the endogenous immunoglobulin heavy chain locus.
      Either the matrix attachment regions or the core enhancer is sufficient to
      maintain expression.
AB  - High level expression in mice of transgenes derived from the immunoglobulin heavy
      chain (IgH) locus requires both the core enhancer (Emu) and the matrix attachment
      regions (MARs) that flank Emu. The need for both elements implies that they each
      perform a different function in transcription. While it is generally assumed that
      expression of the endogenous IgH locus has similar requirements, it has been
      difficult to assess the role of these elements in expression of the endogenous
      heavy chain gene, because B cell development and IgH expression are strongly
      interdependent and also because the locus contains other redundant activating
      elements. We have previously described a gene-targeting approach in hybridoma
      cells that overcomes the redundancy problem to yield a stable cell line in which
      expression of the IgH locus depends strongly on elements in the MAR-Emu-MAR
      segment. Using this system, we have found that expression of the endogenous mu
      gene persists at substantially (approximately 50%) normal levels in recombinants
      which retain either the MARs or Emu. That is, despite the dissimilar biochemical
      activities of these two elements, either one is sufficient to maintain high level
      expression of the endogenous locus. These findings suggest new models for how the
      enhancer and MARs might collaborate in the initiation or maintenance of
      transcription.

PMID- 9988727
TI  - Post-translation control of Nramp metal transport in yeast. Role of metal ions
      and the BSD2 gene.
AB  - The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SMF1 gene encodes a member of the well conserved
      family of Nramp metal transport proteins. Previously, we determined that heavy
      metal uptake by Smf1p was down-regulated by the product of the S. cerevisiae BSD2
      gene. We now demonstrate that this regulation occurs at the level of protein
      stability. In wild type strains, the bulk of Smf1p is normally directed to the
      vacuole and is rapidly degraded by vacuolar proteases in a PEP4-dependent manner.
      In bsd2Delta mutants, Smf1p fails to enter the vacuole, and the Nramp protein is
      stabilized. Metal ions themselves play an important role in the post
      translational regulation of Smf1p. The depletion of heavy metals from the growth
      medium effects stabilization of Smf1p and additionally results in accumulation of
      this transporter at the cell surface. Supplementation of manganese alone is
      sufficient to trigger rapid degradation of Smf1p in a Bsd2p-dependent manner.
      Together the action of Bsd2p and metal ions provide a rapid and effective means
      for controlling Nramp metal transport in response to environmental changes.

PMID- 9988728
TI  - Mutations in ribosomal protein L10e confer resistance to the fungal-specific
      eukaryotic elongation factor 2 inhibitor sordarin.
AB  - The natural product sordarin, a tetracyclic diterpene glycoside, selectively
      inhibits fungal protein synthesis by impairing the function of eukaryotic
      elongation factor 2 (eEF2). Sordarin and its derivatives bind to the eEF2
      ribosome-nucleotide complex in sensitive fungi, stabilizing the post
      translocational GDP form. We have previously described a class of Saccharomyces
      cerevisiae mutants that exhibit resistance to varying levels of sordarin and have
      identified amino acid substitutions in yeast eEF2 that confer sordarin
      resistance. We now report on a second class of sordarin-resistant mutants.
      Biochemical and molecular genetic analysis of these mutants demonstrates that
      sordarin resistance is dependent on the essential large ribosomal subunit protein
      L10e in S. cerevisiae. Five unique L10e alleles were characterized and sequenced,
      and several nucleotide changes that differ from the wild-type sequence were
      identified. Changes that result in the resistance phenotype map to 4 amino acid
      substitutions and 1 amino acid deletion clustered in a conserved 10-amino acid
      region of L10e. Like the previously identified eEF2 mutations, the mutant
      ribosomes show reduced sordarin-conferred stabilization of the eEF2-nucleotide
      ribosome complex. To our knowledge, this report provides the first description of
      ribosomal protein mutations affecting translocation. These results and our
      previous observations with eEF2 suggest a functional linkage between L10e and
      eEF2.

PMID- 9988729
TI  - Which form of dopamine is the substrate for the human dopamine transporter: the
      cationic or the uncharged species?
AB  - The question of which is the active form of dopamine for the neuronal dopamine
      transporter is addressed in HEK-293 cells expressing the human dopamine
      transporter. The Km value for [3H]dopamine uptake fell sharply when the pH was
      increased from 6.0 to 7.4 and then changed less between pH 7.4 and 8.2. The KI
      for dopamine in inhibiting the cocaine analog [3H]2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4
      fluorophenyl)tropane binding displayed an identical pH dependence, suggesting
      that changes in uptake result from changes in dopamine recognition. Dopamine can
      exist in the anionic, neutral, cationic, or zwitterionic form, and the
      contribution of each form was calculated. The contribution of the anion is
      extremely low (</=0.1%), and its pH dependence differs radically from that of
      dopamine binding. The increase in the neutral form upon raising the pH can model
      the results only when the pKa1 (equilibrium neutral-charged) is set to a much
      lower value (6.8) than reported for dopamine in solution (8.86). The sum of
      cationic and zwitterionic dopamine concentrations remained constant over the
      entire pH range studied. These forms are the likely transporter substrates with
      pH-dependent changes occurring in their interaction with the transporter. The
      binding of dopamine, a hydroxylated phenylethylamine derivative, displays the
      same pH dependence as guanethidine, a heptamethyleniminoethyl- guanidine
      derivative fully protonated under our conditions. An ionizable residue in the
      transporter could be involved that does not interact with or impact the binding
      of bretylium, a quaternary ammonium phenylmethylamine derivative that is always
      positively charged and shows only a minor reduction in KI upon increasing pH.

PMID- 9988730
TI  - Dual regulation of T cell receptor-mediated signaling by oncogenic Cbl mutant
      70Z.
AB  - We previously showed that an oncogenic Cbl mutant (70Z) is constitutively active
      in transcriptional activation of nuclear factor at activated T cells (NFAT).
      However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. Here we analyzed
      the effects of 70Z mutations at an amino-terminal loss of function site (Gly-306)
      and at carboxyl-terminal potential tyrosine or serine phosphorylation sites on
      association with signaling proteins and on NFAT activation. Mutation at Gly-306
      of 70Z disrupted its association with Zap-70 and almost completely abolished its
      ability to induce NFAT activation under basal and ionomycin-stimulated
      conditions. However, mutations at potential tyrosine or serine phosphorylation
      sites had little effect. In fact, expression of 70Z with Tyr-700, Tyr-731, or Tyr
      774 mutated to Phe increased NFAT activity in comparison with unmutated 70Z.
      These findings suggest that an amino terminus-mediated interaction of 70Z with
      Zap-70 plays a positive role and that a carboxyl terminus-mediated,
      phosphotyrosine-dependent interaction with their binding proteins plays a
      negative role in 70Z-mediated NFAT activation. In support of this notion are the
      observations that 70Z reduced T cell receptor-induced NFAT activation and that
      wild-type Cbl further inhibited this event, suggesting that both 70Z and wild
      type Cbl employ a similar mechanism by which Cbl proteins dually regulate T cell
      receptor-mediated signaling.

PMID- 9988731
TI  - Edible mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) lectin, which reversibly inhibits epithelial
      cell proliferation, blocks nuclear localization sequence-dependent nuclear
      protein import.
AB  - The Galbeta1-3GalNAcalpha (TF antigen)-binding lectin (ABL) from the common
      edible mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) has a potent anti-proliferative effect
      without any apparent cytotoxicity. This unusual combination of properties
      prompted investigation of its mechanism of action. In contrast to soluble lectin,
      agarose-immobilized, and hence noninternalizable ABL had no effect on
      proliferation of HT29 colon cancer cells. Electron microscopy of HT29 cells
      incubated with fluorescein- and gold-conjugated ABL showed internalization of the
      lectin into endocytotic vesicles and multivesicular bodies. Confocal microscopy
      showed perinuclear accumulation of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated lectin,
      which also inhibits HT29 cell proliferation, raising the possibility that the
      lectin might interfere with nuclear pore function. Transport of heat shock
      protein 70 into the nucleus in response to heat shock was blocked by
      preincubation of HT29 cells for 6 h with 40 micrograms/ml ABL. In digitonin
      permeabilized cells, nuclear uptake of bovine albumin conjugated to a nuclear
      localization sequence (NLS)-containing peptide was also inhibited by a 15-min
      preincubation with 40-100 micrograms/ml ABL. In contrast, serum-stimulated
      nuclear translocation of mitogen-activated protein kinase, which is NLS
      independent, was not affected by pretreatment of cells with the lectin. These
      results suggest that the anti-proliferative effect of ABL is likely to be a
      consequence of the lectin trafficking to the nuclear periphery, where it blocks
      NLS-dependent protein uptake into the nucleus.

PMID- 9988732
TI  - Stable association of PYK2 and p130(Cas) in osteoclasts and their co-localization
      in the sealing zone.
AB  - Bone resorption is initiated by osteoclast attachment to the mineralized matrix,
      cytoskeletal reorganization, cellular polarization, and the formation of the
      sealing zone. The present study examines the interaction between PYK2 and
      p130(Cas) (Crk-associated substrate), suggested to be part of the signaling
      pathway initiated by osteoclast adhesion. Using murine osteoclast-like cells
      (OCLs) and their mononuclear precursors (pOCs), generated in a co-culture of bone
      marrow and osteoblastic MB1.8 cells, we show that: 1) p130(Cas) is tyrosine
      phosphorylated upon adhesion of pOCs to vitronectin or ligation of beta3
      integrins; 2) p130(Cas) colocalizes with PYK2 and the cytoskeletal proteins F
      actin, vinculin, and paxillin in the podosomal-rich ring-like structures of OCLs
      plated on glass and in the sealing zone in actively resorbing OCLs on bone; 3)
      p130(Cas) and PYK2 form a stable complex in pOCs, independent of tyrosine
      phosphorylation of either molecule, and this complex is present in Src (-/-)
      OCLs, in which neither protein is phosphorylated or associated with the
      osteoclast adhesion structure; 4) the association of p130(Cas) and PYK2 is
      mediated by the SH3 domain of p130(Cas) and the C-terminal domain of PYK2. These
      findings suggest that p130(Cas) and its association with PYK2 may play an
      important role in the adhesion-dependent signaling that leads to cytoskeletal
      reorganization and formation of the sealing zone during osteoclast activation.

PMID- 9988733
TI  - Chain length of the polylysine in receptor-targeted gene transfer complexes
      affects duration of reporter gene expression both in vitro and in vivo.
AB  - Complexes composed of peptide ligand for the serpin enzyme complex receptor
      covalently coupled to poly-L-lysine condensed by charge interaction with plasmid
      DNA direct gene transfer into receptor bearing cells. We compared intensity and
      duration of reporter gene expression in vitro and in vivo from serpin-enzyme
      receptor-directed gene transfer complexes prepared with poly-L-lysine of
      different chain lengths. When substituted with linker and ligand to comparable
      extents, DNA complexes containing short chain poly-L-lysine were larger and gave
      higher peak expression but significantly shorter duration of expression than
      those containing long chain poly-L-lysine. Both peak expression and duration of
      expression exceeded that observed with Lipofectin. Neither naked DNA nor DNA
      complexed with unsubstituted polylysine was effective in gene transfer. For in
      vivo experiments, complexes containing optimal ligand and degree of substitution
      (based on in vitro data, peptide C105Y, 11 ligands/plasmid DNA molecule) were
      prepared with either short chain or long chain polylysine and a beta
      galactosidase expression plasmid. Following injection into the tail veins of
      mice, longer chain complexes gave significantly higher expression of reporter
      gene in lung and spleen that lasted for a significantly longer period of time
      than the shorter chain complexes. The short chain poly-L-lysine-DNA complexes
      were larger in diameter, as assessed by electron microscopy or atomic force
      microscopy, and gave less protection against DNase digestion in vitro than longer
      chain complexes. Thus, for gene transfer complexes directed at the serpin enzyme
      complex receptor, longer chain poly-L-lysine gave a much longer duration of
      expression both in vitro and in vivo. We speculate that this may be due to
      protection against degradation afforded the plasmid DNA by the tighter compaction
      produced by long chain poly-L-lysine.

PMID- 9988734
TI  - Identification of the calcium binding site and a novel ytterbium site in blood
      coagulation factor XIII by x-ray crystallography.
AB  - The presence or absence of calcium determines the activation, activity,
      oligomerization, and stability of blood coagulation factor XIII. To explore these
      observed effects, we have determined the x-ray crystal structure of recombinant
      factor XIII A2 in the presence of calcium, strontium, and ytterbium. The main
      calcium binding site within each monomer involves the main chain oxygen atom of
      Ala-457, and also the side chains from residues Asn-436, Asp-438, Glu-485, and
      Glu-490. Calcium and strontium bind in the same location, while ytterbium binds
      several angstroms removed. A novel ytterbium binding site is also found at the
      dimer two-fold axis, near residues Asp-270 and Glu-272, and this site may be
      related to the reported inhibition by lanthanide metals (Achyuthan, K. E., Mary,
      A., and Greenberg, C. S. (1989) Biochem. J. 257, 331-338). The overall structure
      of ion-bound factor XIII is very similar to the previously determined crystal
      structures of factor XIII zymogen, likely due to the constraints of this
      monoclinic crystal form. We have merged the three independent sets of water
      molecules in the structures to determine which water molecules are conserved and
      possibly structurally significant.

PMID- 9988735
TI  - Mitochondrial phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase plays a major
      role in preventing oxidative injury to cells.
AB  - Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) is synthesized as a
      long form (L-form; 23 kDa) and a short form (S-form; 20 kDa). The L-form contains
      a leader sequence that is required for transport to mitochondria, whereas the S
      form lacks the leader sequence. A construct encoding the leader sequence of PHGPx
      tagged with green fluorescent protein was used to transfect RBL-2H3 cells, and
      the fusion protein was transported to mitochondria. The L-form of PHGPx was
      identified as the mitochondrial form of PHGPx and the S-form as the non
      mitochondrial form of PHGPx since preferential enrichment of mitochondria for
      PHGPx was detected in M15 cells that overexpressed the L-form of PHGPx, whereas
      no similar enrichment was detected in L9 cells that overexpressed the S-form.
      Cell death caused by mitochondrial injury due to potassium cyanide (KCN) or
      rotenone (chemical hypoxia) was considerably suppressed in the M15 cells, whereas
      the L9 cells and control RBL-2H3 cells (S1 cells, transfected with the vector
      alone) succumbed to the cytotoxic effects of KCN. Flow cytometric analysis showed
      that mitochondrial PHGPx suppressed the generation of hydroperoxide, the loss of
      mitochondrial membrane potential, and the loss of plasma membrane integrity that
      are induced by KCN. Mitochondrial PHGPx might prevent changes in mitochondrial
      functions and cell death by reducing intracellular hydroperoxides. Mitochondrial
      PHGPx failed to protect M15 cells from mitochondrial injury by carbonyl cyanide m
      chlorophenylhydrazone, which directly reduces membrane potential without the
      generation of hydroperoxides. M15 cells were more resistant than L9 cells to cell
      death caused by direct damage to mitochondria and to extracellular oxidative
      stress. L9 cells were more resistant to tert-butylhydroperoxide than S1 cells,
      whereas resistance to t-butylhydroperoxide was even more pronounced in M15 cells
      than in L9 cells. These results suggest that mitochondria might be a target for
      intracellular and extracellular oxidative stress and that mitochondrial PHGPx, as
      distinct form non-mitochondrial PHGPx, might play a primary role in protecting
      cells from oxidative stress.

PMID- 9988736
TI  - Protein kinase A anchoring proteins are required for vasopressin-mediated
      translocation of aquaporin-2 into cell membranes of renal principal cells.
AB  - The antidiuretic hormone arginine-vasopressin (AVP) regulates water reabsorption
      in renal collecting duct principal cells by inducing a cAMP-dependent
      translocation of water channels (aquaporin-2, AQP-2) from intracellular vesicles
      into the apical cell membranes. In subcellular fractions from primary cultured
      rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells, enriched for intracellular AQP
      2-bearing vesicles, catalytic protein kinase A (PKA) subunits and several protein
      kinase A anchoring proteins (AKAPs) were detected. In nonstimulated IMCD cells
      the majority of AQP-2 staining was detected intracellularly but became mainly
      localized within the cell membrane after stimulation with AVP or forskolin.
      Quantitative analysis revealed that preincubation of the cells with the synthetic
      peptide S-Ht31, which prevents the binding between AKAPs and regulatory subunits
      of PKA, strongly inhibited AQP-2 translocation in response to forskolin.
      Preincubation of the cells with the PKA inhibitor H89 prior to forskolin
      stimulation abolished AQP-2 translocation. In contrast to H89, S-Ht31 did not
      affect the catalytic activity of PKA. These data demonstrate that not only the
      activity of PKA, but also its tethering to subcellular compartments, are
      prerequisites for cAMP-dependent AQP-2 translocation.

PMID- 9988737
TI  - c-Jun is a JNK-independent coactivator of the PU.1 transcription factor.
AB  - The ETS domain transcription factor PU.1 is necessary for the development of
      monocytes and regulates, in particular, the expression of the monocyte-specific
      macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) receptor, which is critical for
      monocytic cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. The bZIP
      transcription factor c-Jun, which is part of the AP-1 transcription factor
      complex, is also important for monocytic differentiation, but the monocyte
      specific M-CSF receptor promoter has no AP-1 consensus binding sites. We asked
      the question of whether c-Jun could promote the induction of the M-CSF receptor
      by collaborating with PU.1. We demonstrate that c-Jun enhances the ability of
      PU.1 to transactivate the M-CSF receptor promoter as well as a minimal thymidine
      kinase promoter containing only PU.1 DNA binding sites. c-Jun does not directly
      bind to the M-CSF receptor promoter but associates via its basic domain with the
      ETS domain of PU.1. Consistent with our observation that AP-1 binding does not
      contribute to c-Jun coactivation is the observation that the activation of PU.1
      by c-Jun is blocked by overexpression of c-Fos. Phosphorylation of c-Jun by c-Jun
      NH2-terminal kinase on Ser-63 and -73 does not alter the ability of c-Jun to
      enhance PU.1 transactivation. Activated Ras enhances the transcriptional activity
      of PU.1 by up-regulating c-Jun expression without changing the phosphorylation
      pattern of PU.1. The activation of PU.1 by Ras is blocked by a mutant c-Jun
      protein lacking the basic domain. The expression of this mutant form of c-Jun
      also completely blocks 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced M-CSF
      receptor promoter activity during monocytic differentiation. We propose therefore
      that c-Jun acts as a c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-independent coactivator of PU.1,
      resulting in M-CSF receptor expression and development of the monocytic lineage.

PMID- 9988738
TI  - The polycystic kidney disease 1 gene product modulates Wnt signaling.
AB  - Two distinct signaling pathways, involving Wnt signaling and polycystin, have
      been found to be critical for normal kidney development. Renal tubulogenesis
      requires the presence of certain Wnt proteins, whereas mutations in polycystin
      impede the terminal differentiation of renal tubular epithelial cells, causing
      the development of large cystic kidneys that characterize autosomal dominant
      polycystic kidney disease. Polycystin is an integral membrane protein, consisting
      of several extracellular motifs indicative of cell-cell and cell-matrix
      interactions, coupled through multiple transmembrane domains to a functionally
      active cytoplasmic domain. We report here that expression of the C-terminal
      cytoplasmic domain of polycystin stabilizes soluble endogenous beta-catenin and
      stimulates TCF-dependent gene transcription in human embryonic kidney cells.
      Microinjection of the polycystin C-terminal cytoplasmic domain induces
      dorsalization in zebrafish. Our findings suggest that polycystin has the capacity
      to modulate Wnt signaling during renal development.

PMID- 9988739
TI  - The -700/-310 fragment of the apolipoprotein A-IV gene combined with the -890/
      500 apolipoprotein C-III enhancer is sufficient to direct a pattern of gene
      expression similar to that for the endogenous apolipoprotein A-IV gene.
AB  - Spatial gene expression in the intestine is mediated by specific regulatory
      sequences. The three genes of the apoA-I/C-III/A-IV cluster are expressed in the
      intestine following cephalocaudal and crypt-to-villus axes. Previous studies have
      shown that the -780/-520 enhancer region of the apoC-III gene directs the
      expression of the apoA-I gene in both small intestinal villi and crypts, implying
      that other unidentified elements are necessary for a normal intestinal pattern of
      apoA-I gene expression. In this study, we have characterized transgenic mice
      expressing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene under the control of
      different regions of the apoC-III and apoA-IV promoters. We found that the 
      890/+24 apoC-III promoter directed the expression of the reporter gene in crypts
      and villi and did not follow a cephalocaudal gradient of expression. In contrast,
      the -700/+10 apoA-IV promoter linked to the -500/-890 apoC-III enhancer directed
      the expression of the reporter gene in enterocytes with a pattern of expression
      similar to that of the endogenous apoA-IV gene. Furthermore, linkage of the -700/
      310 apoA-IV distal promoter region to the -890/+24 apoC-III promoter was
      sufficient to restore the appropriate pattern of intestinal expression of the
      reporter gene. These findings demonstrate that the -700/-310 distal region of the
      apoA-IV promoter contains regulatory elements that, in combination with proximal
      promoter elements and the -500/-890 enhancer, are necessary and sufficient to
      restrict apoC-III and apoA-IV gene expression to villus enterocytes of the small
      intestine along the cephalocaudal axis.

PMID- 9988740
TI  - Down-regulation of monocyte tissue factor mediated by tissue factor pathway
      inhibitor and the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein.
AB  - Inflammatory mediators like bacterial lipopolysaccharide induce monocytes to
      express tissue factor (TF), the cell-surface protein that triggers the blood
      clotting cascade in hemostasis and thrombotic disease. The physiologic ligand for
      TF is the serine protease, factor VIIa (FVIIa), and the resulting bimolecular
      enzyme, TF/FVIIa, can be reversibly inhibited by tissue factor pathway inhibitor
      (TFPI). Culturing monocytic cells in the presence of both FVIIa and TFPI caused
      down-regulation of TF expression via reducing its half-life. To exert this
      effect, FVIIa had to be competent to bind both TF and TFPI, and TFPI had to
      contain the C-terminal domain required for binding to other cell-surface
      receptors, including the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP).
      TF down-regulation by FVIIa plus TFPI was abrogated by the 39-kDa receptor
      associated protein, which blocks binding of all known ligands to LRP.
      Furthermore, treatment with FVIIa plus TFPI caused monocyte TF to colocalize with
      alpha-adaptin, a component of clathrin-coated pits. Thus, in addition to
      reversibly inhibiting TF/FVIIa catalytic activity, TFPI also mediates the
      permanent down-regulation of cell-surface TF in monocytic cells via LRP-dependent
      internalization and degradation. This represents an unusual mechanism for
      receptor internalization, requiring ligand-dependent bridging of one cell-surface
      receptor (TF) to a second cell-surface receptor (LRP), the latter being capable
      of clathrin-mediated internalization.

PMID- 9988741
TI  - Identification and characterization of the sodium-binding site of activated
      protein C.
AB  - Activated protein C (APC) requires both Ca2+ and Na+ for its optimal catalytic
      function. In contrast to the Ca2+-binding sites, the Na+-binding site(s) of APC
      has not been identified. Based on a recent study with thrombin, the 221-225 loop
      is predicted to be a potential Na+-binding site in APC. The sequence of this loop
      is not conserved in trypsin. We engineered a Gla domainless form of protein C
      (GDPC) in which the 221-225 loop was replaced with the corresponding loop of
      trypsin. We found that activated GDPC (aGDPC) required Na+ (or other alkali
      cations) for its amidolytic activity with dissociation constant (Kd(app)) = 44.1
      +/- 8.6 mM. In the presence of Ca2+, however, the requirement for Na+ by aGDPC
      was eliminated, and Na+ stimulated the cleavage rate 5-6-fold with Kd(app) = 2.3
      +/- 0.3 mM. Both cations were required for efficient factor Va inactivation by
      aGDPC. In the presence of Ca2+, the catalytic function of the mutant was
      independent of Na+. Unlike aGDPC, the mutant did not discriminate among
      monovalent cations. We conclude that the 221-225 loop is a Na+-binding site in
      APC and that an allosteric link between the Na+ and Ca2+ binding loops modulates
      the structure and function of this anticoagulant enzyme.

PMID- 9988742
TI  - Mutagenesis of the conserved residue Glu259 of Gsalpha demonstrates the
      importance of interactions between switches 2 and 3 for activation.
AB  - We previously reported that substitution of Arg258 within the switch 3 region of
      Gsalpha impaired activation and increased basal GDP release due to loss of an
      interaction between the helical and GTPase domains (Warner, D. R., Weng, G., Yu,
      S., Matalon, R., and Weinstein, L. S. (1998) J Biol. Chem. 273, 23976-23983). The
      adjacent residue (Glu259) is strictly conserved in G protein alpha-subunits and
      is predicted to be important in activation. To determine the importance of
      Glu259, this residue was mutated to Ala (Gsalpha-E259A), Gln (Gsalpha-E259Q), Asp
      (Gsalpha-E259D), or Val (Gsalpha-E259V), and the properties of in vitro
      translation products were examined. The Gsalpha-E259V was studied because this
      mutation was identified in a patient with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy. S49
      cyc reconstitution assays demonstrated that Gsalpha-E259D stimulated adenylyl
      cyclase normally in the presence of GTPgammaS but was less efficient with
      isoproterenol or AlF4-. The other mutants had more severely impaired effector
      activation, particularly in response to AlF4-. In trypsin protection assays,
      GTPgammaS was a more effective activator than AlF4- for all mutants, with Gsalpha
      E259D being the least severely impaired. For Gsalpha-E259D, the AlF4--induced
      activation defect was more pronounced at low Mg2+ concentrations. Gsalpha-E259D
      and Gsalpha-E259A purified from Escherichia coli had normal rates of GDP release
      (as assessed by the rate GTPgammaS binding). However, for both mutants, the
      ability of AlF4- to decrease the rate of GTPgammaS binding was impaired,
      suggesting that they bound AlF4- more poorly. GTPgammaS bound to purified Gsalpha
      E259D irreversibly in the presence of 1 mM free Mg2+, but dissociated readily at
      micromolar concentrations. Sucrose density gradient analysis of in vitro
      translates demonstrated that all mutants except Gsalpha-E259V bind to beta gamma
      at 0 degreesC and were stable at higher temperatures. In the active conformation
      Glu259 interacts with conserved residues in the switch 2 region that are
      important in maintaining both the active state and AlF4- in the guanine
      nucleotide binding pocket. Although both Gsalpha Arg258 and Glu259 are critical
      for activation, the mechanisms by which these residues affect Gsalpha protein
      activation are distinct.

PMID- 9988743
TI  - Binding of xanthine oxidase to vascular endothelium. Kinetic characterization and
      oxidative impairment of nitric oxide-dependent signaling.
AB  - Concentrations of up to 1.5 milliunits/ml xanthine oxidase (XO) (1.1
      micrograms/ml) are found circulating in plasma during diverse inflammatory
      events. The saturable, high affinity binding of extracellular XO to vascular
      endothelium and the effects of cell binding on both XO catalytic activity and
      differentiated vascular cell function are reported herein. Xanthine oxidase
      purified from bovine cream bound specifically and with high affinity (Kd = 6 nM)
      at 4 degreesC to bovine aortic endothelial cells, increasing cell XO specific
      activity up to 10-fold. Xanthine oxidase-cell binding was not inhibited by serum
      or albumin and was partially inhibited by the addition of heparin. Pretreatment
      of endothelial cells with chondroitinase, but not heparinase or heparitinase,
      diminished endothelial binding by approximately 50%, suggesting association with
      chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. Analysis of rates of superoxide production by
      soluble and cell-bound XO revealed that endothelial binding did not alter the
      percentage of univalent reduction of oxygen to superoxide. Comparison of the
      extent of CuZn-SOD inhibition of native and succinoylated cytochrome c reduction
      by cell-bound XO indicated that XO-dependent superoxide production was occurring
      in a cell compartment inaccessible to CuZn-SOD. This was further supported by the
      observation of a shift of exogenously added XO from extracellular binding sites
      to intracellular compartments, as indicated by both protease-reversible cell
      binding and immunocytochemical localization studies. Endothelium-bound XO also
      inhibited nitric oxide-dependent cGMP production by smooth muscle cell co
      cultures in an SOD-resistant manner. This data supports the concept that
      circulating XO can bind to vascular cells, impairing cell function via oxidative
      mechanisms, and explains how vascular XO activity diminishes vasodilatory
      responses to acetylcholine in hypercholesterolemic rabbits and atherosclerotic
      humans. The ubiquity of cell-XO binding and endocytosis as a fundamental
      mechanism of oxidative tissue injury is also affirmed by the significant extent
      of XO binding to human vascular endothelial cells, rat lung type 2 alveolar
      epthelial cells, and fibroblasts.

PMID- 9988744
TI  - Engineering the substrate specificity of the Abl tyrosine kinase.
AB  - c-Abl is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that is involved in a variety of
      signaling pathways. Activated forms of c-Abl are associated with some forms of
      human leukemia. Presently, no high resolution structure of the tyrosine kinase
      domain of Abl is available. We have developed a structural homology model of the
      catalytic domain of Abl based on the crystal structure of the insulin receptor
      tyrosine kinase. Using this model as a guide, we selected residues near the
      active site predicted to play a role in peptide/protein substrate recognition. We
      expressed and purified 15 mutant forms of Abl with single amino acid
      substitutions at these positions and tested their peptide substrate specificity.
      We report here the identification of seven residues involved in recognition of
      the P-1, P+1, and P+3 positions of bound peptide substrate. Mutations in these
      residues cause distinct changes in substrate specificity. The results suggest
      features of Abl substrate recognition that may be relevant to related tyrosine
      kinases.

PMID- 9988745
TI  - Molecular cloning and characterization of a plasma membrane-associated sialidase
      specific for gangliosides.
AB  - Gangliosides are plasma membrane components thought to play important roles in
      cell surface interactions, cell differentiation, and transmembrane signaling. A
      mammalian sialidase located in plasma membranes is unique in specifically
      hydrolyzing gangliosides, suggesting crucial roles in regulation of cell surface
      functions. Here we describe the cloning and expression of a cDNA for the
      ganglioside sialidase, isolated from a bovine brain cDNA library based on the
      amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme from bovine brain. This cDNA encodes a
      428-amino acid protein containing a putative transmembrane domain and the three
      Asp boxes characteristic of sialidases and sharing 19-38% sequence identity with
      other sialidases. Northern blot and polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed a
      general distribution of the gene in mammalian species, including man, and the
      mouse. In COS-7 cells transiently expressing the sialidase, the activity was
      found to be 40-fold that of the control level with ganglioside substrates in the
      presence of Triton X-100, and the hydrolysis was almost specific to gangliosides
      other than GM1 and GM2, both alpha2-->3 and alpha2-->8 sialyl linkages being
      susceptible. The major subcellular localization of the expressed sialidase was
      assessed to be plasma membrane by Percoll density gradient centrifugation of cell
      homogenates and by immunofluorescence staining of the transfected COS-7 cells.
      Analysis of the membrane topology by protease protection assay suggested that
      this sialidase has a type I membrane orientation with its amino terminus facing
      to the extracytoplasmic side and lacking a signal sequence.

PMID- 9988746
TI  - Determination and characterization of the hemagglutinin-associated short motifs
      found in Porphyromonas gingivalis multiple gene products.
AB  - Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterial species
      implicated as an important pathogen in the development of adult periodontitis. In
      our studies of P. gingivalis and ways to protect against periodontal disease, we
      have prepared the monoclonal antibody mAb-Pg-vc and its recombinant antibody,
      which are capable of inhibiting the hemagglutinating activity of P. gingivalis
      (Shibata, Y., Kurihara, K., Takiguchi, H., and Abiko, Y. (1998) Infect. Immun.
      66, 2207-2212). To clarify the antigenically related hemagglutinating domains, we
      attempted to determine the minimum motifs responsible for P. gingivalis
      hemagglutinin. Initially, the 9-kilobase EcoRI fragment encoding the 130-kDa
      protein was cloned from the P. gingivalis chromosome using mAb-Pg-vc. Western
      blot analysis of nested deletion clones, the competition experiments using
      synthetic peptides, and the binding assay of the phage-displayed peptides using
      the mAb-Pg-vc allowed us to identify the minimum motifs, PVQNLT. Furthermore, the
      presence of multi-gene family coding for this epitope was confirmed via Southern
      blot analysis and PCR using the primers complementary to the domain corresponding
      to this epitope. It is suggested that the hemagglutinin-associated motif may be
      PVQNLT and that the gene families specifying this motif found in P. gingivalis
      chromosome encode many hemagglutinin and/or hemagglutinin-related proteases.

PMID- 9988747
TI  - The Ost1p subunit of yeast oligosaccharyl transferase recognizes the peptide
      glycosylation site sequence, -Asn-X-Ser/Thr-.
AB  - Other laboratories have established that oligosaccharyl transferase (OST) from
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be purified as a protein complex containing eight
      different subunits. To identify the OST subunit that recognizes the peptide sites
      that can be glycosylated, we developed photoaffinity probes containing a
      photoreactive benzophenone derivative, p-benzoylphenylalanine (Bpa), as part of
      an 125I-labeled peptide that could be expected to be glycosylated. We found that
      Asn-Bpa-Thr peptides served as substrates for OST and that photoactivation of
      these probes in the presence of microsomes abolished the OST activity.
      Photoactivation of 125I-labeled Asn-Bpa-Thr in the presence of microsomes
      resulted in specific covalent labeling of a protein doublet of molecular mass 62
      and 64 kDa. By carrying out the photoactivation of the probe using microsomes
      containing epitope-tagged Ost1p, we demonstrated that the 125I-labeled protein
      was Ost1p. Radiolabeling of this protein was dependent on irradiation at 350 nm.
      No labeling was detected using a probe containing Ala instead of Thr as the third
      amino acid residue. We conclude that Ost1p is the subunit of the OST complex that
      recognizes the peptide sites in the nascent chains that are destined to be
      glycosylated.

PMID- 9988748
TI  - The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) is involved in thyroid hormone
      mediated neuronal differentiation.
AB  - The thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine, T3) is essential for normal brain
      maturation. To determine the mechanisms by which T3 controls neuronal
      proliferation and differentiation, we have analyzed the effect of this hormone on
      the expression and activity of cell cycle-regulating molecules in neuroblastoma
      N2a-beta cells that overexpress the beta1 isoform of the T3 receptor. Our results
      show that incubation of N2a-beta cells with T3 leads to a rapid down-regulation
      of the c-myc gene and to a decrease of cyclin D1 levels. T3 also causes a strong
      and sustained increase of the levels of the cyclin kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1).
      This increase is secondary, to the augmented levels of p27(Kip1) transcripts as
      well as to stabilization of the p27(Kip1) protein. The increased levels of
      p27(Kip1) lead to a significant increase in the amount of p27(Kip1) associated
      with cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), and to a marked inhibition of the kinase
      activity of the cyclin.CDK2 complexes. As a consequence, the retinoblastoma
      protein (pRb) and the retinoblastoma protein-related protein p130 are
      hypophosphorylated in T3-treated N2a-beta cells. This study shows for the first
      time that T3-mediated growth arrest and neuronal differentiation are associated
      with an increase in the levels of a cyclin kinase inhibitor, which does not allow
      the inactivation of retinoblastoma proteins required for progression through the
      restriction point in the cell cycle.

PMID- 9988749
TI  - Characterization of a new hemoprotein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
AB  - The Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene YNL234w encodes a 426-amino acid-long protein
      that shares significant similarities with the globin family. Compared with known
      globins from unicellular organisms, the Ynl234wp polypeptide is characterized by
      an unusual structure. In this protein, a central putative heme-binding domain of
      about 140 amino acids is flanked by two sequences of about 160 and 120 amino
      acids, respectively, which share no similarity with known polypeptides. Northern
      analysis indicates that YNL234w transcription is very low in cells grown under
      normal aerobic conditions but is induced by oxygen-limited growth conditions and
      by other stress conditions such as glucose repression, heat shock, osmotic
      stress, and nitrogen starvation. However, the deletion of the gene had no
      detectable effect on yeast growth. The Ynl234wp polypeptide has been expressed in
      Escherichia coli, and the hemoprotein nature of the recombinant protein was
      demonstrated by heme staining after SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and
      spectroscopic analysis. Our data indicate that purified recombinant Ynl234wp
      possesses a noncovalently bound heme molecule that is predominantly found in a
      low spin form.

PMID- 9988750
TI  - Oxidative damage of cardiomyocytes is limited by extracellular regulated kinases
      1/2-mediated induction of cyclooxygenase-2.
AB  - Oxidative stress causes cardiac damage following ischemia/reperfusion and in
      response to anthracyclines. Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 are
      activated by oxidative stress in cardiac myocytes and protect cardiac myocytes
      from apoptosis. Prostaglandins (PG) also protect cells from injury in a number of
      tissues, including the cardiomyocyte. Cyclooxygenase (COX) the rate-limiting
      enzyme in PG biosynthesis has two isoforms, the constitutive COX-1 and an
      inducible COX-2. Here, we examined the effects of two oxidative stresses,
      hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the anthracycline doxorubicin on the activity of
      ERK1/2 and the expression of COX isoforms and PG formation in neonatal rat
      primary cardiomyocytes. These cells expressed COX-1 at rest and both COX isoforms
      on treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Exposure to 50 microM H2O2 for
      10 min or doxorubicin at 10 and 100 micrograms/ml caused expression of COX-2 that
      was prevented by free radical scavengers. COX-2 induction was associated with
      activation of ERK1/2 and the specific ERK-inhibitor PD098059 abolished COX-2
      expression. Treatment of cells with decoy oligonucleotides corresponding to COX-2
      promoter elements implicated the AP-1 and NF-kappaB-2 but not the NF-kappaB-1 in
      the transcription of COX-2. Induction of COX-2 mRNA and protein was accompanied
      by increased prostacyclin formation, which was abolished by the selective COX-2
      inhibitor, NS-398, and PD098059. H2O2 and doxorubicin enhanced the release of
      lactate dehydrogenase and free radical scavengers prevented this. NS-398 enhanced
      the release of lactate dehydrogenase in response to H2O2 and doxorubicin, whereas
      the injury was prevented by iloprost, a stable prostacyclin analogue. In
      cardiomyocytes cell injury by H2O2 and doxorubicin is limited by an increase in
      prostacyclin formation that reflects induction of COX-2 mediated by ERK1/2
      activation.

PMID- 9988751
TI  - Hypoxia post-translationally activates iron-regulatory protein 2.
AB  - Iron-regulatory proteins 1 and 2 (IRP1 and IRP2) are RNA-binding proteins that
      post-transcriptionally regulate the expression of mRNAs that code for proteins
      involved in the maintenance of iron and energy homeostasis. Here we show that
      hypoxia differentially regulates the RNA binding activities of IRP1 and IRP2 in
      human 293 and in mouse Hepa-1 cells. In contrast to IRP1, where hypoxic exposure
      decreases IRP1 RNA binding activity, hypoxia increases IRP2 RNA binding activity.
      The hypoxic increase in IRP2 RNA binding activity results from increased IRP2
      protein levels. Cobalt, which mimics hypoxia by activation of hypoxia-inducible
      factor 1 (HIF-1), also increases IRP2 protein levels; however, cobalt-induced
      IRP2 lacks RNA binding activity. Addition of a reductant to cobalt-treated
      extracts restored IRP2 RNA binding activity. Hypoxic activation of IRP2 is not
      because of an increase in transcriptional activation by HIF-1, because IRP2
      accumulates in Hepa-1 cells lacking a functional HIF-1beta subunit, nor is it
      because of an increase in IRP2 mRNA stability. Rather, our data indicate that
      hypoxia increases IRP2 levels by a post-translational mechanism involving protein
      stability. Differential regulation of IRP1 and IRP2 during hypoxia may regulate
      specific IRP target mRNAs whose expression is required for hypoxic adaptation.
      Furthermore, these data imply mechanistic parallels between the hypoxia-induced
      post-transcriptional regulation of IRP2 and HIF-1alpha.

PMID- 9988752
TI  - Distinct caspase cascades are initiated in receptor-mediated and chemical-induced
      apoptosis.
AB  - Release of cytochrome c is important in many forms of apoptosis. Recent studies
      of CD95 (Fas/APO-1)-induced apoptosis have implicated caspase-8 cleavage of Bid,
      a BH3 domain-containing proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, in this release.
      We now demonstrate that both receptor-induced (CD95 and tumor necrosis factor)
      and chemical-induced apoptosis result in a similar time-dependent activation of
      caspases-3, -7, -8, and -9 in Jurkat T cells and human leukemic U937 cells. In
      receptor-mediated apoptosis, the caspase inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp
      fluoromethyl ketone (Z-VAD. FMK), inhibits apoptosis prior to commitment to cell
      death by inhibiting the upstream activator caspase-8, cleavage of Bid, release of
      mitochondrial cytochrome c, processing of effector caspases, loss of
      mitochondrial membrane potential, and externalization of phosphatidylserine.
      However, Z-VAD.FMK inhibits chemical-induced apoptosis at a stage after
      commitment to cell death by inhibiting the initiator caspase-9 and the resultant
      postmitochondrial activation of effector caspases. Cleavage of Bid but not
      release of cytochrome c is blocked by Z-VAD.FMK demonstrating that in chemical
      induced apoptosis cytochrome c release is caspase-independent and is not mediated
      by activation of Bid. We propose that caspases form an integral part of the cell
      death-inducing mechanism in receptor-mediated apoptosis, whereas in chemical
      induced apoptosis they act solely as executioners of apoptosis.

PMID- 9988753
TI  - Protection of neuronal cells from apoptosis by Hsp27 delivered with a herpes
      simplex virus-based vector.
AB  - Overexpression of the gene encoding the 70-kDa heat shock protein (hsp70) has
      previously been shown to protect neuronal cells against subsequent thermal or
      ischemic stress. It has no protective effect, however, against stimuli that
      induce apoptosis, although a mild heat shock (sufficient to induce hsp synthesis)
      does have a protective effect against apoptosis. We have prepared disabled herpes
      simplex virus-based vectors that are able to produce high level expression of
      individual hsps in infected neuronal cells without damaging effects. We have used
      these vectors to show that hsp27 and hsp56 (which have never previously been
      overexpressed in neuronal cells) as well as hsp70 can protect dorsal root
      ganglion neurons from thermal or ischemic stress. In contrast, only hsp27 can
      protect dorsal root ganglion neurons from apoptosis induced by nerve growth
      factor withdrawal, and hsp27 also protects the ND7 neuronal cell line from
      retinoic acid-induced apoptosis. However, hsp70 showed no protective effect
      against apoptosis in contrast to its anti-apoptotic effect in non-neuronal cell
      types. These results thus identify hsp27 as a novel neuroprotective factor and
      show that it can mediate this effect when delivered via a high efficiency viral
      vector.

PMID- 9988754
TI  - Editing of glutamate receptor subunit B pre-mRNA by splice-site variants of
      interferon-inducible double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase ADAR1.
AB  - The interferon-inducible RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (ADAR1) is an RNA
      editing enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of adenosine in double-stranded RNA
      structures. Three alternative splice-site variants of ADAR1 (ADAR1-a, -b, and -c)
      occur that possess functionally distinct double-stranded RNA-binding motifs as
      measured with synthetic double-stranded RNA substrates. The pre-mRNA transcript
      encoding the B subunit of glutamate receptor (GluR-B) has two functionally
      important editing sites (Q/R and R/G sites) that undergo selective A-to-I
      conversions. We have examined the ability of the three ADAR1 splice-site variants
      to catalyze the editing of GluR-B pre-mRNA at the Q/R and R/G sites as well as an
      intron hotspot (+60) of unknown function. Measurement of GluR-B pre-mRNA editing
      in vitro revealed different site-specific deamination catalyzed by the three
      ADAR1 variants. The ADAR1-a, -b, and -c splice variants all efficiently edited
      the R/G site and the intron +60 hotspot but exhibited little editing activity at
      the Q/R site. ADAR1-b and -c showed higher editing activity than ADAR1-a for the
      R/G site, whereas the intron +60 site was edited with comparable efficiency by
      all three ADAR1 splice variants. Mutational analysis revealed that the functional
      importance of each of the three RNA-binding motifs of ADAR1 varied with the
      specific target editing site in GluR-B RNA. Quantitative reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction analyses of GluR-B RNA from dissected regions of rat
      brain showed significant expression and editing at the R/G site in all brain
      regions examined except the choroid plexus. The relative levels of the
      alternatively spliced flip and flop isoforms of GluR-B RNA varied among the
      choroid plexus, cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, and striatum, but in all
      regions of rat brain the editing of the flip isoform was greater than that of the
      flop isoform.

PMID- 9988755
TI  - Presence of a structurally novel type ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase
      in the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus kodakaraensis KOD1.
AB  - We have characterized the gene encoding ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
      carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) of the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus
      kodakaraensis KOD1. The gene encoded a protein consisting of 444 amino acid
      residues, corresponding in size to the large subunit of previously reported
      Rubiscos. Rubisco of P. kodakaraensis KOD1 (Pk-Rubisco) showed only 51.4%
      similarity with the large subunit of type I Rubisco from spinach and 47.3% with
      that of type II Rubisco from Rhodospirillum rubrum, suggesting that the enzyme
      was not a member of either type. Active site residues identified from type I and
      type II Rubiscos were conserved. We expressed the gene in Escherichia coli, and
      we obtained a soluble protein with the expected molecular mass and N-terminal
      amino acid sequence. Purification of the recombinant protein revealed that Pk
      Rubisco was an L8 type homo-octamer. Pk-Rubisco showed highest specific activity
      of 19.8 x 10(3) nmol of CO2 fixed per min/mg, and a tau value of 310 at 90
      degreesC, both higher than any previously characterized Rubisco. The optimum pH
      was 8.3, and the enzyme possessed extreme thermostability, with a half-life of 15
      h at 80 degreesC. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the gene was
      transcribed in P. kodakaraensis KOD1. Furthermore, Western blot analysis with
      cell-free extract of P. kodakaraensis KOD1 clearly indicated the presence of Pk
      Rubisco in the native host cells.

PMID- 9988756
TI  - Targeted reduction of nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase by antisense RNA inhibits
      Toxoplasma gondii proliferation.
AB  - Nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase (NTPase) is a very abundant protein secreted by
      the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii shortly after invasion of
      the host cell. When activated by dithiols, NTPase is one of the most potent
      apyrases known to date, but its physiological function remains unknown. The genes
      encoding NTPase have been cloned (Bermudes, D., Peck, K. R., Afifi-Afifi, M.,
      Beckers, C. J. M., and Joiner, K. A. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 29252-29260). We
      have recently shown that the enzyme is tightly controlled within the vacuolar
      space and may influence parasite exit from the host cell (Silverman, J. A., Qi,
      H., Riehl, A., Beckers, C., Nakaar, V., and Joiner, K. A (1998) J. Biol. Chem.
      273, 12352-12359). In the present study, we have generated an antisense NTP RNA
      construct in which the 3'-untranslated region is replaced by a hammerhead
      ribozyme. The constitutive synthesis of the chimeric antisense RNA-ribozyme
      construct in parasites that were stably transfected with this construct resulted
      in a dramatic reduction in the steady-state levels of NTPase. This inhibition was
      accompanied by a decrease in the capacity of the parasites to replicate. The
      reduction in parasite proliferation was due to a specific effect of antisense NTP
      RNA, since a drastic inhibition of hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl
      transferase (HXGPRT) expression by a chimeric antisense HXGPRT RNA-ribozyme
      construct did not alter NTPase expression nor compromise parasite replication.
      These data implicate NTPase in an essential parasite function and suggest that
      NTPase may have more than one function in vivo. These results also establish that
      it is possible to study gene function in apicomplexan parasites using antisense
      RNA coupled to ribozymes.

PMID- 9988757
TI  - Molecular mechanism of the regulation of glutathione synthesis by tumor necrosis
      factor-alpha and dexamethasone in human alveolar epithelial cells.
AB  - Glutathione (GSH) is an important physiological antioxidant in lung epithelial
      cells and lung lining fluid. We studied the regulation of GSH synthesis in
      response to the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)
      and the anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone in human alveolar epithelial cells
      (A549). TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml) exposure increased GSH levels, concomitant with a
      significant increase in gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS) activity
      and the expression of gamma-GCS heavy subunit (gamma-GCS-HS) mRNA at 24 h.
      Treatment with TNF-alpha also increased chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT)
      activity of a gamma-GCS-HS 5'-flanking region reporter construct, transfected
      into alveolar epithelial cells. Mutation of the putative proximal AP-1-binding
      site (-269 to -263 base pairs), abolished TNF-alpha-mediated activation of the
      promoter. Gel shift and supershift analysis showed that TNF-alpha increased AP-1
      DNA binding which was predominantly formed by dimers of c-Jun. Dexamethasone (3
      microM) produced a significant decrease in the levels of GSH, decreased gamma-GCS
      activity and gamma-GCS-HS mRNA expression at 24 h. The increase in GSH levels,
      gamma-GCS-HS mRNA, gamma-GCS-HS promoter activity, and AP-1 DNA binding produced
      by TNF-alpha were abrogated by co-treating the cells with dexamethasone. Thus
      these data demonstrate that TNF-alpha and dexamethasone modulate GSH levels and
      gamma-GCS-HS mRNA expression by their effects on AP-1 (c-Jun homodimer). These
      data have implications for the oxidant/antioxidant balance in inflammatory lung
      diseases.

PMID- 9988758
TI  - Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection stimulates p38/c-Jun N-terminal mitogen
      activated protein kinase pathways and activates transcription factor AP-1.
AB  - Cells respond to environmental stress and proinflammatory cytokines by
      stimulating the Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK)
      and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades. Infection of eukaryotic
      cells with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) resulted in stimulation of both
      JNK/SAPK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase after 3 h of infection, and
      activation reached a maximum of 4-fold by 9 h post-infection. By using a series
      of mutant viruses, we showed that the virion transactivator protein VP16
      stimulates p38/JNK, whereas no immediate-early, early, or late viral expressed
      gene is involved. We identified the stress-activated protein kinase kinase 1 as
      an upstream activator of p38/JNK, and we demonstrated that activation of AP-1
      binding proceeded p38/JNK stimulation. During infection, the activated AP-1
      consisted mainly of JunB and JunD with a simultaneous decrease in the cellular
      levels of Jun protein. We suggest that activation of the stress pathways by HSV-1
      infection either represents a cascade triggered by the virus to facilitate the
      lytic cycle or a defense mechanism of the host cell against virus invasion.

PMID- 9988759
TI  - Functional organization of two large subunits of the fission yeast
      Schizosaccharomyces pombe RNA polymerase II. Location of the catalytic sites.
AB  - The catalytically competent transcription complex of RNA polymerase II from the
      fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was affinity labeled with photoreactive
      nucleotide analogues incorporated at 3' termini of nascent RNA chains. To locate
      the catalytic site for RNA polymerization, the labeled subunits were separated by
      SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subjected to partial proteolysis.
      After microsequencing of proteolytic fragments, a complex multidomain
      organization was indicated for both of the two large subunits, Rpb1 and Rpb2,
      with the most available sites of proteolysis in junctions between the conserved
      sequences among RNA polymerase from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The cross
      linking studies indicate the following: (i) the 3' termini of growing RNA chains
      are most extensively cross-linked to the second largest subunit Rpb2 between
      amino acids 825 and 994; (ii) the regions 298-535 of Rpb2 and 614-917 of Rpb1 are
      cross-linked to less extents, suggesting that these regions are situated in the
      vicinity of the catalytic site. All these regions include the conserved sequences
      of RNA polymerases, and the catalytic site of Rpb2 belongs to an NH2-terminal
      part of its conserved sequence H.

PMID- 9988760
TI  - Non-lamellar structure and negative charges of lipopolysaccharides required for
      efficient folding of outer membrane protein PhoE of Escherichia coli.
AB  - Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are amphiphilic molecules in the outer leaflet of the
      bacterial outer membrane. Recently, an early role for LPS in the folding of outer
      membrane porin PhoE was demonstrated in vitro. In order to elucidate the
      molecular mechanism of LPS-protein interactions, folding of PhoE protein was
      studied with a large set of well characterized LPS chemotypes. We demonstrate
      that negative charges in the inner core region contribute to the high efficiency
      of folding of PhoE protein. In addition, the supramolecular structure of the LPS
      aggregate seems to be important. LPS with a lipid A part that prefers a lamellar
      or a direct micellar structure and a high state of order of its acyl chains is
      much less efficient to support folding as compared with LPS with lipid A that
      prefers a non-lamellar structure and a low acyl chain order. These in vitro data
      indicate that extensive interactions between the core and lipid A region of LPS
      with the protein are required to support protein folding. The LPS-PhoE binding
      might be promoted by the presence of hydroxy fatty acids in the lipid A moiety of
      LPS.

PMID- 9988761
TI  - Identification of residues within the 727-767 segment of human complement
      component C3 important for its interaction with factor H and with complement
      receptor 1 (CR1, CD35).
AB  - Mapping approaches employing blocking antibodies and synthetic peptides have
      implicated the 727-767 segment at the NH2 terminus of C3b alpha'-chain as
      contributing to the interactions with factor B, factor H, and CR1. Our previous
      mutagenesis study on the NH2-terminal acidic cluster of this segment identified
      residues Glu-736 and Glu-737 as contributing to the binding of C3b to factor B
      and CR1 but not factor H. We have now extended the charged residue mutagenic scan
      to cover the remainder of the segment (738-767) and have assessed the ability of
      the C3b-like C3(H2O) form of the mutant molecules to interact with factor H, CR1,
      and membrane cofactor protein (MCP) using a cofactor-dependent factor I cleavage
      assay as a surrogate binding assay. We have found that the negatively charged
      side chains of Glu-744 and Glu-747 are important for the interaction between
      C3(H2O) and factor H, a result in general agreement with an earlier synthetic
      peptide study (Fishelson, Z. (1991) Mol. Immunol. 28, 545-552) which implicated
      residues within the 744-754 segment in H binding. The interactions of the mutants
      with soluble CR1 (sCR1) revealed two classes of residues. The first are residues
      required for sCR1 to be an I cofactor for the first two cleavages of alpha-chain.
      These are all acidic residues and include the Glu-736/Glu-737 pair, Glu-747, and
      the Glu-754/Asp-755 pairing. The second class affects only the ability of sCR1 to
      be a cofactor for the third factor I cleavage and include Glu-744 and the Lys
      757/Glu-758 pairing. The dominance of acidic residues in the loss-of-function
      mutants is striking and suggests that H and CR1 contribute basic residues to the
      interface. Additionally, although there is partial overlap, the contacts required
      for CR1 binding appear to extend over a wider portion of the 727-767 segment than
      is the case for factor H. Finally, none of the mutations had any effect on the
      interaction between soluble MCP and C3(H2O), indicating that despite its
      functional homology to H and CR1, MCP differs in its mode of binding to
      C3b/C3(H2O).

PMID- 9988762
TI  - The cloning and characterization of a new stress response protein. A mammalian
      member of a family of theta class glutathione s-transferase-like proteins.
AB  - Using differential display, a cDNA fragment was identified as being overexpressed
      in a mouse lymphoma cell line that had gained resistance to cell death after
      exposure to a variety of agents used in cancer therapy. The full-length cDNA of
      1.1 kb that was cloned contained an open reading frame coding for a previously
      unidentified 28-kDa mammalian protein, p28. p28 showed significant homologies to
      a large family of stress response proteins that contain a glutathione S
      transferase (GST) domain. In correspondence with the sequence homology, p28 was
      found to bind glutathione; however, GST or glutathione peroxidase activity could
      not be demonstrated. Northern analysis of the mRNA of this protein showed
      abundant expression in mouse heart and liver tissues, whereas anti-p28 antibody
      binding identified p28 expression in mouse 3T3 cells and early passage mouse
      embryo fibroblasts. Subcellular protein fractionation revealed p28 localization
      in the cytoplasm, but with thermal stress p28 relocated to the nuclear fraction
      of cellular proteins. Based on sequence homology and protein activity we conclude
      that p28 acts as a small stress response protein, likely involved in cellular
      redox homeostasis, and belongs to a family of GST-like proteins related to class
      theta GSTs.

PMID- 9988763
TI  - A functional DNA binding domain is required for growth hormone-induced nuclear
      accumulation of Stat5B.
AB  - The mechanisms regulating the cellular distribution of STAT family transcription
      factors remain poorly understood. To identify regions of Stat5B required for
      ligand-induced nuclear accumulation, we constructed a cDNA encoding green
      fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the N terminus of Stat5B and performed site
      directed mutagenesis. When co-expressed with growth hormone (GH) receptor in COS
      7 cells, GFP-Stat5B is tyrosyl-phosphorylated, forms dimers, and binds DNA in
      response to GH in a manner indistinguishable from untagged Stat5B. In multiple
      cell types, laser scanning confocal imaging of GFP-Stat5B co-expressed with GH
      receptor shows that GFP-Stat5B undergoes a rapid, dramatic accumulation in the
      nucleus upon GH stimulation. We introduced alanine substitutions in several
      regions of Stat5B and assayed for GH-dependent nuclear localization. Only the
      mutation that prevented binding to DNA (466VVVI469) abrogated GH-stimulated
      nuclear localization. This mutant fusion protein is tyrosyl-phosphorylated and
      dimerizes in response to GH. These results suggest that either high affinity
      binding to DNA contributes to nuclear accumulation of Stat5B or that this region
      is crucial for two functions, namely accumulation of Stat5B in the nucleus and
      DNA binding. Thus, we have identified a mutant Stat5 defective in nuclear
      localization despite its ability to be tyrosyl-phosphorylated and to dimerize.

PMID- 9988764
TI  - The lck SH3 domain is required for activation of the mitogen-activated protein
      kinase pathway but not the initiation of T-cell antigen receptor signaling.
AB  - Initiation of T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling is dependent upon the
      activity of protein tyrosine kinases. The Src family kinase Lck is required for
      the initial events in TCR signaling, such as the phosphorylation of the TCR
      complex and the activation of ZAP-70, but little is known of its role in
      downstream signaling. Expression of a mutated form of Lck lacking SH3 domain
      function (LckW97A) in the Lck-deficient T-cell line JCaM1 revealed a requirement
      for Lck beyond the initiation of TCR signaling. In cells expressing LckW97A,
      stimulation of the TCR failed to activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase
      (MAPK) pathway, despite normal TCR zeta chain phosphorylation, ZAP-70
      recruitment, and ZAP-70 activation. Activation of extracellular signal-regulated
      kinase (ERK) and MAPK kinase (MEK), as well as the induction of CD69 expression,
      was greatly impaired in JCaM1/LckW97A cells. In contrast, the phosphorylation of
      phospholipase Cgamma1 (PLCgamma1) and corresponding elevations in intracellular
      calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) were intact. Thus, cells expressing LckW97A
      exhibit a selective defect in the activation of the MAPK pathway. These results
      demonstrate that Lck has a role in the activation of signaling pathways beyond
      the initiation of TCR signaling and suggest that the MAPK pathway may be
      selectively controlled by regulating the function of Lck.

PMID- 9988765
TI  - Activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells-(NFAT) and activating protein 1
      (AP-1) by oncogenic 70Z Cbl requires an intact phosphotyrosine binding domain but
      not Crk(L) or p85 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase association.
AB  - The Cbl proto-oncogene product is a complex adapter protein that functions as a
      negative regulator of protein tyrosine kinases. It is rapidly tyrosine
      phosphorylated and associates with Crk(L) and p85 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase
      (PI3K) upon engagement of numerous receptors linked to tyrosine kinases.
      Elucidation of the mechanism(s) underlying Cbl deregulation is therefore of
      considerable interest. The 70Z Cbl oncoprotein shows increased baseline tyrosine
      phosphorylation in fibroblasts and enhances nuclear factor of activated T cells
      (NFAT) activity in Jurkat T cells. Its transforming ability has been proposed to
      relate to its increased phosphotyrosine content. We demonstrate that 70Z Cbl
      shows increased basal and activation-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and
      association with Crk(L) and p85 PI3K in Jurkat T cells. 70Z Cbl, however, retains
      the ability to enhance NFAT and activating protein 1 (AP1) activity in the
      absence of Crk(L)/p85 PI3K association. In contrast, the G306E mutation, which
      inactivates the phosphotyrosine binding domain of Cbl, blocks NFAT/AP1 activation
      by 70Z Cbl. We conclude that 70Z Cbl-induced NFAT/AP1 activation requires the
      phosphotyrosine binding domain but not Crk(L)/p85 PI3K association. We
      hypothesize that 70Z Cbl acts as a dominant negative by blocking the negative
      regulatory function of the Cbl phosphotyrosine binding domain on protein-tyrosine
      kinases.

PMID- 9988766
TI  - Critical duration of intracellular Ca2+ response required for continuous
      translocation and activation of cytosolic phospholipase A2.
AB  - When cells are exposed to certain external stimuli, arachidonic acid (AA) is
      released from the membrane and serves as a precursor of various types of
      eicosanoids. A Ca2+-regulated cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) plays a dominant
      role in the release of AA. To closely examine the relation between Ca2+ response
      and AA release by stimulation of G protein-coupled receptors, we established
      several lines of Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing platelet-activating
      factor receptor or leukotriene B4 receptor. Measurement of intracellular Ca2+
      concentration ([Ca2+]i) demonstrated that cell lines capable of releasing AA
      elicited a sustained [Ca2+]i increase when stimulated by agonists. The prolonged
      [Ca2+]i elevation is the result of Ca2+ entry, because this elevation was blocked
      by EGTA treatment or in the presence of Ca2+ channel blockers (SKF 96365 and
      methoxyverapamil). cPLA2 fused with a green fluorescent protein (cPLA2-GFP)
      translocated from the cytosol to the perinuclear region in response to increases
      in [Ca2+]i. When EGTA was added shortly after [Ca2+]i increase, the cPLA2-GFP
      returned to the cytosol, without liberating AA. After a prolonged [Ca2+]i
      increase, even by EGTA treatment, the enzyme was not readily redistributed to the
      cytosol. Thus, we propose that a critical time length of [Ca2+]i elevation is
      required for continuous membrane localization and full activation of cPLA2.

PMID- 9988767
TI  - Multiple isoforms of heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase.
      Isolation, characterization, and expression of human cdnas and identification of
      distinct genomic loci.
AB  - 3-O-Sulfated glucosaminyl residues are rare constituents of heparan sulfate and
      are essential for the activity of anticoagulant heparan sulfate. Cellular
      production of the critical active structure is controlled by the rate-limiting
      enzyme, heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 (3-OST-1) (EC
      2.8.2.23). We have probed the expressed sequence tag data base with the carboxyl
      terminal sulfotransferase domain of 3-OST-1 to reveal three novel, incomplete
      human cDNAs. These were utilized in library screens to isolate full-length cDNAs.
      Clones corresponding to predominant transcripts were obtained for the 367-, 406-,
      and 390-amino acid enzymes 3-OST-2, 3-OST-3A, and 3-OST-3B, respectively. These
      type II integral membrane proteins are comprised of a divergent amino-terminal
      region and a very homologous carboxyl-terminal sulfotransferase domain of
      approximately 260 residues. Also recovered were partial length clones for 3-OST
      4. Expression of the full-length enzymes confirms the 3-O-sulfation of specific
      glucosaminyl residues within heparan sulfate (Liu, J., Shworak, N. W., Sinay, P.,
      Schwartz, J. J. Zhang, L., Fritze, L. M. S., and Rosenberg, R. D. (1999) J. Biol.
      Chem. 274, 5185-5192). Southern analyses suggest the human 3OST1, 3OST2, and
      3OST4 genes, and the corresponding mouse isologs, are single copy. However,
      3OST3A and 3OST3B genes are each duplicated in humans and show at least one copy
      each in mice. Intriguingly, the entire sulfotransferase domain sequence of the 3
      OST-3B cDNA (774 base pairs) was 99.2% identical to the same region of 3-OST-3A.
      Together, these data argue that the structure of this functionally important
      region is actively maintained by gene conversion between 3OST3A and 3OST3B loci.
      Interspecific mouse back-cross analysis identified the loci for mouse 3Ost genes
      and syntenic assignments of corresponding human isologs were confirmed by the
      identification of mapped sequence-tagged site markers. Northern blot analyses
      indicate brain exclusive and brain predominant expression of 3-OST-4 and 3-OST-2
      transcripts, respectively; whereas, 3-OST-3A and 3-OST-3B isoforms show
      widespread expression of multiple transcripts. The reiteration and conservation
      of the 3-OST sulfotransferase domain suggest that this structure is a self
      contained functional unit. Moreover, the extensive number of 3OST genes with
      diverse expression patterns of multiple transcripts suggests that the novel 3-OST
      enzymes, like 3-OST-1, regulate important biologic properties of heparan sulfate
      proteoglycans.

PMID- 9988768
TI  - Expression of heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase isoforms
      reveals novel substrate specificities.
AB  - The 3-O-sulfation of glucosamine residues is an important modification during the
      biosynthesis of heparan sulfate (HS). Our previous studies have led us to purify
      and molecularly clone the heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase (3
      OST-1), which is the key enzyme converting nonanticoagulant heparan sulfate
      (HSinact) to anticoagulant heparan sulfate (HSact). In this study, we expressed
      and characterized the full-length cDNAs of 3-OST-1 homologous genes, designated
      as 3-OST-2, 3-OST-3A, and 3-OST-3B as described in the accompanying paper
      (Shworak, N. W., Liu, J., Petros, L. M., Zhang, L., Kobayashi, M., Copeland, N.
      G., Jenkins, N. A., and Rosenberg, R. D. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 5170-5184).
      All these cDNAs were successfully expressed in COS-7 cells, and heparan sulfate
      sulfotransferase activities were found in the cell extracts. We demonstrated that
      3-OST-2, 3-OST-3A, and 3-OST-3B are heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O
      sulfotransferases because the enzymes transfer sulfate from adenosine 3'
      phosphophate 5'-phospho-[35S]sulfate ([35S]PAPS) to the 3-OH position of
      glucosamine. 3-OST-3A and 3-OST-3B sulfate an identical disaccharide. HSact
      conversion activity in the cell extract transfected by 3-OST-1 was shown to be
      300-fold greater than that in the cell extracts transfected by 3-OST-2 and 3-OST
      3A, suggesting that 3-OST-2 and 3-OST-3A do not make HSact. The results of the
      disaccharide analysis of the nitrous acid-degraded [35S]HS suggested that 3-OST-2
      transfers sulfate to GlcA2S-GlcNS and IdoA2S-GlcNS; 3-OST-3A transfers sulfate to
      IdoA2S-GlcNS. Our results demonstrate that the 3-O-sulfation of glucosamine is
      generated by different isoforms depending on the saccharide structures around the
      modified glucosamine residue. This discovery has provided evidence for a new
      cellular mechanism for generating a defined saccharide sequence in structurally
      complex HS polysaccharide.

PMID- 9988769
TI  - p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway promotes skeletal muscle
      differentiation. Participation of the Mef2c transcription factor.
AB  - Differentiation of muscle cells is regulated by extracellular growth factors that
      transmit largely unknown signals into the cells. Some of these growth factors
      induce mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades within muscle cells. In
      this work we show that the kinase activity of p38 MAPK is induced early during
      terminal differentiation of L8 cells. Addition of a specific p38 inhibitor SB
      203580 to myoblasts blocked their fusion to multinucleated myotubes and prevented
      the expression of MyoD and MEF2 family members and myosin light chain 2. The
      expression of MKK6, a direct activator of p38, or of p38 itself enhanced the
      activity of MyoD in converting 10T1/2 fibroblasts to muscle, whereas treatment
      with SB 203580 inhibited MyoD. Several lines of evidence suggesting that the
      involvement of p38 in MyoD activity is mediated via its co-activator MEF2C, a
      known substrate of p38, are presented. In these experiments we show that MEF2C
      protein and MEF2-binding sites are necessary for the p38 MAPK pathway to regulate
      the transcription of muscle creatine kinase reporter gene. Our results indicate
      that the p38 MAPK pathway promotes skeletal muscle differentiation at least in
      part via activation of MEF2C.

PMID- 9988770
TI  - The molecular weights, mass distribution, chain composition, and structure of
      soluble fibrin degradation products released from a fibrin clot perfused with
      plasmin.
AB  - We used a perfused clot system to study the degradation of cross-linked fibrin.
      Multiangle laser light scattering showed that plasmin-mediated cleavage caused
      the release of noncovalently associated fibrin degradation products (FDPs) with a
      weight-averaged molar mass (Mw) of approximately 6 x 10(6) g/mol. The Mw of FDPs
      is dependent on ionic strength, and the Mw observed at 0.15 M NaCl resulted from
      the self-association of FDPs having Mw of approximately 3.8 x 10(6) g/mol.
      Complete solubilization required the cleavage of approximately 25% of fragment
      D/fragment E connections, with 48% alpha-, 62% beta-, and 42% gamma-chains
      cleaved. These results showed that D-E cleavage cannot be explained by a random
      mechanism, implying cooperativity. Gel filtration and multiangle laser light
      scattering showed that FDPs range from 2.5 x 10(5) to 1 x 10(7) g/mol. In
      addition to fragment E, FDPs are composed of fragments ranging from 2 x 10(5) Da
      (D-dimer, or DD) to at least 2.3 x 10(6) Da (DX8D). FDP mass distribution is
      consistent with a model whereby FDPs bind to fibrin with affinities proportional
      to fragment mass. Root mean square radius analysis showed that small FDPs
      approximate rigid rods, but this relationship breaks down as FDPs size increases,
      suggesting that large FDPs possess significant flexibility.

PMID- 9988771
TI  - Regions of endonuclease EcoRII involved in DNA target recognition identified by
      membrane-bound peptide repertoires.
AB  - Target sequence-specific DNA binding regions of the restriction endonuclease
      EcoRII were identified by screening a membrane-bound EcoRII-derived peptide scan
      with an EcoRII recognition site (CCWGG) oligonucleotide duplex. Dodecapeptides
      overlapping by nine amino acids and representing the complete protein were
      prepared by spot synthesis. Two separate DNA binding regions, amino acids 88-102
      and amino acids 256-273, which share the consensus motif KXRXXK, emerged.
      Screening 570 single substitution analogues obtained by exchanging every residue
      of both binding sites for all other amino acids demonstrated that replacing basic
      residues in the consensus motifs significantly reduced DNA binding. EcoRII mutant
      enzymes generated by substituting alanine or glutamic acid for the consensus
      lysine residues in DNA binding site I expressed attenuated DNA binding, whereas
      corresponding substitutions in DNA binding site II caused impaired cleavage, but
      enzyme secondary structure was unaffected. Furthermore, Glu96, which is part of a
      potential catalytic motif and also locates to DNA binding site I, was
      demonstrated to be critical for DNA cleavage and binding. Homology studies of DNA
      binding site II revealed strong local homology to SsoII (recognition sequence,
      CCNGG) and patterns of sequence conservation, suggesting the existence of
      functionally related DNA binding sites in diverse restriction endonucleases with
      recognition sequences containing terminal C:G or G:C pairs.

PMID- 9988772
TI  - Fragmentation of the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase by
      reactive oxygen species occurs near Gly-329.
AB  - The large subunit (LSU) of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase
      (rubisco) in the illuminated lysates of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) chloroplasts
      is broken down by reactive oxygen radicals into 37- and 16-kDa polypeptides.
      Analysis of the terminal amino acid residues of both fragments revealed that the
      C terminus of the 37-kDa fragment was Ser-328 and the N terminus of the 16-kDa
      fragment was Thr-330. Gly-329, which links the two fragments, was missing,
      suggesting that the fragmentation of the LSU in the lysates driven by oxygen-free
      radicals occurs at Gly-329. Purified rubisco, exposed to a hydroxyl radical
      generating system, was also cleaved at the same site of the LSU. The cleavage
      site was positioned at the N-terminal end of the flexible loop (loop 6) within
      the beta/alpha-barrel domain, constituting the catalytic site of rubisco. The
      binding of a reaction intermediate analogue, 2-carboxyarabinitol 1,5
      bisphosphate, to the active form of rubisco completely protected the enzyme from
      the fragmentation. The fragmentation was differentially affected by CO2, Mg2+,
      ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate, or 2-carboxyarabinitol 1,5-bisphosphate. All these
      results indicate that the conformation of the catalytic site of the enzyme is
      involved as an important factor determining the breakdown of rubisco by reactive
      oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species generated at its catalytic site by a
      Fenton-type reaction may trigger the site-specific degradation of the LSU in the
      lysates of chloroplasts in the light.

PMID- 9988773
TI  - In vitro evolution of preferred topoisomerase II DNA cleavage sites.
AB  - Topoisomerase II is an essential enzyme that is the target for several clinically
      important anticancer drugs. Although this enzyme must create transient double
      stranded breaks in the genetic material in order to carry out its indispensable
      DNA strand passage reaction, the factors that underlie its nucleotide cleavage
      specificity remain an enigma. Therefore, to address the critical issue of enzyme
      specificity, a modified systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment
      (SELEX) protocol was employed to select/evolve DNA sequences that were
      preferentially cleaved by Drosophila melanogaster topoisomerase II. Levels of DNA
      scission rose substantially (from 3 to 20%) over 20 rounds of SELEX. In vitro
      selection/evolution converged on an alternating purine/pyrmidine sequence that
      was highly AT-rich (TATATATACATATATATA). The preference for this sequence was
      more pronounced for Drosophila topoisomerase II over other species and was
      increased in the presence of DNA cleavage-enhancing anticancer drugs. Enhanced
      cleavage appeared to be based on higher rates of DNA scission rather than
      increased binding affinity or decreased religation rates. The preferred sequence
      for topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage is dramatically overrepresented (
      approximately 10,000-fold) in the euchromatic genome of D. melanogaster, implying
      that it may be a site for the physiological action of this enzyme.

PMID- 9988774
TI  - Heparan sulfate mediates bFGF transport through basement membrane by diffusion
      with rapid reversible binding.
AB  - Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a pluripotent cytokine with a wide range
      of target cells. Heparan sulfate binds bFGF, and this interaction has been
      demonstrated to protect bFGF against physical denaturation and protease
      degradation. The high concentrations of heparan sulfate in basement membranes
      have implicated these matrices as storage sites for bFGF in vivo. However, the
      mechanisms by which basement membranes modulate bFGF storage and release is
      unknown. To gain insight into these mechanisms, we have developed experimental
      and mathematical models of extracellular growth factor transport through basement
      membrane. Intact Descemet's membranes isolated from bovine corneas were mounted
      within customized diffusion cells and growth factor transport was measured under
      a variety of conditions that decoupled the diffusion process from the heparan
      sulfate binding phenomenon. Transport experiments were conducted with bFGF and
      interleukin 1beta. In addition, bFGF-heparan sulfate binding was disrupted in
      diffusion studies with high ionic strength buffer and buffers containing
      protamine sulfate. Transport of bFGF was enhanced dramatically when heparan
      sulfate binding was inhibited. This process was modeled as a problem of diffusion
      with fast reversible binding. Experimental parameters were incorporated into a
      mathematical model and independent simulations were run that showed that the
      experimental data were accurately predicted by the mathematical model. Thus, this
      study indicated that basement membranes function as dynamic regulators of growth
      factor transport, allowing for rapid response to changing environmental
      conditions. The fundamental principles controlling bFGF transport through
      basement membrane that have been identified here might have applications in
      understanding how growth factor distribution is regulated throughout an organism
      during development and in the adult state.

PMID- 9988775
TI  - Activation of Rho-dependent transcription termination by NusG. Dependence on
      terminator location and acceleration of RNA release.
AB  - There is a kinetic limitation to Rho function at the first intragenic terminator
      in the lacZ gene (tiZ1) which can be overcome by NusG: Rho can terminate
      transcription with slowly moving, but not rapidly moving, RNA polymerase unless
      NusG is also present. Here we report further studies with two other Rho-dependent
      terminators that are not kinetically limited (tiZ2 and lambda tR1) which show
      that the requirement for NusG depends on the properties of the terminator and its
      location in the transcription unit. NusG is also shown to increase the rate of
      Rho-mediated dissociation of transcription complexes arrested at a specific
      termination stop point in the tiZ1 region and the rates of dissociation with
      three different Rho factors and two different terminators correlated with their
      sensitivity to RNA polymerase elongation kinetics. These results suggest a model
      of NusG function which involves an alteration in the susceptibility of the
      transcription complex to Rho action which allows termination to occur within the
      short kinetic window when RNA polymerase is traversing the termination region.

PMID- 9988776
TI  - Topology and functional domains of the yeast pore membrane protein Pom152p.
AB  - Integral membrane proteins associated with the nuclear pore complex (NPC) are
      likely to play an important role in the biogenesis of this structure. Here we
      have examined the functional roles of domains of the yeast pore membrane protein
      Pom152p in establishing its topology and its interactions with other NPC
      proteins. The topology of Pom152p was evaluated by alkaline extraction, protease
      protection, and endoglycosidase H sensitivity assays. The results of these
      experiments suggest that Pom152p contains a single transmembrane segment with its
      N terminus (amino acid residues 1-175) extending into the nuclear pore and its C
      terminus (amino acid residues 196-1337) positioned in the lumen of the nuclear
      envelope. The functional role of these different domains was investigated in
      mutants that are dependent on Pom152p for viability. The requirement for Pom152p
      in strains containing mutations allelic to the NPC protein genes NIC96 and NUP59
      could be alleviated by Pom152p's N terminus, independent of its integration into
      the membrane. However, complementation of a mutation in NUP170 required both the
      N terminus and the transmembrane segment. Furthermore, mutations in NUP188 were
      rescued only by full-length Pom152p, suggesting that the lumenal structures play
      an important role in the function of pore-side NPC structures.

PMID- 9988777
TI  - To suppress is human, to disclaim divine.

PMID- 9988778
TI  - Supplements facts versus all the facts. What the new label does and doesn't
      disclose.

PMID- 9988779
TI  - Ipriflavone: an important bone-building isoflavone.
AB  - Ipriflavone, an isoflavone synthesized from the soy isoflavone daidzein, holds
      great promise in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other metabolic
      bone diseases. It has been widely studied in humans and found effective for
      inhibiting bone resorption and enhancing bone formation, the net result being an
      increase in bone density and a decrease in fracture rates in osteoporotic women.
      While ipriflavone appears to enhance estrogen's effect, it does not possess
      intrinsic estrogenic activity, making it an attractive adjunct or alternative to
      conventional hormone replacement therapy. Preliminary studies have also found
      ipriflavone effective in preventing bone loss associated with chronic steroid
      use, immobility, ovariectomy, renal osteodystrophy, and gonadotrophin hormone
      releasing hormone agonists. In addition, it holds promise for the treatment of
      other metabolic diseases affecting the bones, including Paget's disease of the
      bone, hyperparathyroidism, and tinnitus caused by otosclerosis.

PMID- 9988780
TI  - A cross-over study of the effect of a single oral feeding of medium chain
      triglyceride oil vs. canola oil on post-ingestion plasma triglyceride levels in
      healthy men.
AB  - Due to its unique absorption and metabolism characteristics, medium chain
      triglyceride (MCT) oil, consisting of fatty acids with 8-12 carbons, has been
      used therapeutically since the 1950s in the treatment of fat malabsorption,
      cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, weight control, and to increase exercise performance.
      Medium chain triglycerides are easily hydrolyzed in the intestines and the fatty
      acids are transported directly to the liver via the portal venous system, in
      contrast to long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), which are incorporated into
      chylomicrons for transport through the lymphatic system or peripheral
      circulation. Medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) do not require carnitine to cross
      the double mitochondrial membrane of the hepatocyte, thus they quickly enter the
      mitochondria and undergo rapid beta-oxidation, whereas most LCFAs are packaged
      into triglycerides in the hepatocyte. In this single-blind, randomized, cross
      over study, 20 healthy men ingested a single dose of either 71 g of MCT oil or
      canola oil. Blood samples were taken at baseline and at hours one through five
      post-ingestion to compare the effect of a single oral dosing of MCT oil versus
      canola oil on post-ingestion plasma triglyceride levels. Mean triglyceride values
      after canola oil increased 47 percent above baseline (p <0.001), while mean
      triglyceride values after MCT oil decreased 15 percent from baseline (p <0.001),
      which is consistent with several other studies involving short- and longer-term
      feeding with MCT oil. The effect of long-term usage of MCT oil on triglycerides
      is yet to be established.

PMID- 9988781
TI  - Squalene and its potential clinical uses.
AB  - Squalene, an isoprenoid compound structurally similar to beta-carotene, is an
      intermediate metabolite in the synthesis of cholesterol. In humans, about 60
      percent of dietary squalene is absorbed. It is transported in serum generally in
      association with very low density lipoproteins and is distributed ubiquitously in
      human tissues, with the greatest concentration in the skin, where it is one of
      the major components of skin surface lipids. Squalene is not very susceptible to
      peroxidation and appears to function in the skin as a quencher of singlet oxygen,
      protecting human skin surface from lipid peroxidation due to exposure to UV and
      other sources of ionizing radiation. Supplementation of squalene to mice has
      resulted in marked increases in cellular and non-specific immune functions in a
      dose-dependent manner. Squalene may also act as a "sink" for highly lipophilic
      xenobiotics. Since it is a nonpolar substance, it has a higher affinity for un
      ionized drugs. In animals, supplementation of the diet with squalene can reduce
      cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In humans, squalene might be a useful
      addition to potentiate the effects of some cholesterol-lowering drugs. The
      primary therapeutic use of squalene currently is as an adjunctive therapy in a
      variety of cancers. Although epidemiological, experimental and animal evidence
      suggests anti-cancer properties, to date no human trials have been conducted to
      verify the role this nutrient might have in cancer therapy regimens.

PMID- 9988782
TI  - Evaluation of the biochemical effects of administration of intravenous nutrients
      using erythrocyte ATP/ADP ratios.
AB  - Regardless of clinical diagnosis, many acutely and chronically sick patients
      benefit from intravenous vitamins and minerals, which are usually administered in
      multiple infusions before observing obvious benefit. We hypothesized this effect
      was due to improved cellular energy, and attempted to find laboratory evidence
      via this study. Two groups of patients, chosen at random, received a single
      infusion of vitamins and minerals in two different dose schedules. Controls
      received no treatment. Study subjects were patients who presented specifically
      for a nutritional therapeutic approach, and although all were treated with
      multiple infusions, a single infusion was selected at random for this study.
      Thirty patients received a single infusion of a lower dose nutritional formula,
      sometimes known as a Myer's Cocktail (MC), and 34 had a single infusion of a
      higher dose nutritional I/V (NIV). Immediately prior to and after the infusion,
      blood was drawn and an erythrocyte ATP/ADP ratio (EADR) was determined. The
      results showed that in both infusion groups if the EADR was initially low, it
      would increase. If it were initially high, it would decrease. This effect was not
      observed in control subjects. Pre-test EADR boxplot analyses, derived from the
      results of each protocol, showed these results were statistically predictable. An
      analysis of variation (ANOVA) calculation indicated the differences were
      significant. The family error rate used was 0.05. We conclude that this
      regression of the EADR to the mean, as a result of either of the two infusions
      and not seen in control subjects, is biochemically significant.

PMID- 9988783
TI  - Gymnema sylvestre.

PMID- 9988784
TI  - Legal considerations in screening pregnant women for human immunodeficiency
      virus.
AB  - This article examines the legal implications of studies showing that the
      probability of maternal-to-infant human immunodeficiency virus transmission can
      be reduced by physician interventions. These interventions require knowledge of a
      pregnant woman's human immunodeficiency status. Hence the offering of human
      immunodeficiency virus testing has become a standard of care in pregnancy. This
      standard of care is examined with respect to the following: (1) the physician's
      legal duty to the infant, (2) negligence for failing to test, (3) liability when
      testing only reduces the probability of transmission, (4) damages, (5) informing
      women about the results of their testing, (6) protecting against liability, and
      (7) dealing with human immunodeficiency virus-infected pregnant women. It is
      concluded that the physicians are likely to have legal difficulties if a human
      immunodeficiency virus-infected baby is born to a woman who was not offered
      testing or if testing is done without documenting consent. Suggestions are made
      for reducing liability when testing is done, when patients refuse testing, and
      when one is caring for human immunodeficiency virus-infected women.

PMID- 9988785
TI  - Pelvic actinomycosis: a review and preliminary look at prevalence.
AB  - A review of the literature on pelvic actinomycosis reveals that actinomycetes
      normally reside in the female genital tract. Therefore the identification of
      actinomycetes in the vagina or cervix by any laboratory technique, including
      Papanicolaou smears with specific immunofluorescence or culture, is not
      diagnostic of any disease and is not predictive of any disease. The evidence
      strongly suggests that removal of the intrauterine contraceptive device of a
      patient with a positive culture is not necessary and that, in the absence of
      evidence for pelvic infection, antibiotics are not required. Pelvic actinomycosis
      is a rare disease whose pathogenesis is poorly understood.

PMID- 9988786
TI  - Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy versus total abdominal
      hysterectomy: a prospective, randomized, multicenter study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate short-term results of
      laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy with those of total abdominal
      hysterectomy in a prospective, randomized, multicenter study. STUDY DESIGN: One
      hundred sixteen patients referred for abdominal hysterectomy were randomized to
      either laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (58 patients) or abdominal
      hysterectomy (58 patients). Inclusion criteria were one or more of the following,
      where a vaginal hysterectomy would be traditionally contraindicated: uterine size
      larger than 280 g, previous pelvic surgery, history of pelvic inflammatory
      disease, moderate or severe endometriosis, concomitant adnexal masses or
      indication for adnexectomy, and nulliparity with lack of uterine descent and
      limited vaginal access. An upper limit of uterine size was set at 16 weeks'
      gestation (ie, 700 g). RESULTS: There were no differences in terms of patient's
      age, parity, preoperative hemoglobin levels, mean uterine weight, and total
      operating time between the 2 groups. Estimated blood losses and postoperative day
      1 hemoglobin drop were significantly lower for laparoscopically assisted vaginal
      hysterectomy than for abdominal hysterectomy (P<.05). There were 1 major and 2
      minor complications in the laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy group
      compared with 2 major and 5 minor complications in the abdominal hysterectomy
      group (P not significant). Postoperative pain was lower for laparoscopically
      assisted vaginal hysterectomy than for abdominal hysterectomy on postoperative
      days 1, 2, and 3 (P<.05). Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter
      for laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy than for abdominal
      hysterectomy (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that, given
      adequate training in laparoscopic surgery, laparoscopically assisted vaginal
      hysterectomy may replace abdominal hysterectomy in most patients who require a
      hysterectomy and have contraindications to vaginal hysterectomy, with all the
      benefits associated with the vaginal route.

PMID- 9988787
TI  - Cold-knife conization versus conization by the loop electrosurgical excision
      procedure: a randomized, prospective study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the diagnostic ability and treatment
      efficacy of conization by the loop electrosurgical excision procedure with cold
      knife conization. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred eighty women who required conization
      for diagnosis and treatment of cervical dysplasia or microinvasive cervical
      carcinoma were prospectively enrolled in a randomized clinical trial to receive
      either cold-knife conization or conization by the loop electrosurgical excision
      procedure. Conization complications, rate of lesion clearance, and therapeutic
      outcome were assessed for the 2 study groups. RESULTS: There were no
      statistically significant differences in the complication rate (P = 1.00), the
      rate of lesion clearance (P =.18), or the rate of disease recurrence (P =.13)
      between the 2 study groups. The mean follow-up was 11.2 months in the cold-knife
      conization group and 10.4 months in the loop-excision conization group.
      CONCLUSION: Cold-knife conization and loop-excision conization yield similar
      diagnostic and therapeutic results.

PMID- 9988788
TI  - Effects of hormone replacement therapy on hemostatic cardiovascular risk factors.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: From observational studies, there is evidence that hormone
      replacement therapy in postmenopausal women causes a decrease in cardiovascular
      events. It remains unknown, however, precisely by which mechanisms this reduction
      is achieved. The primary aim of this work was to study the effects of hormone
      replacement therapy on established hemostatic risk factors during 1-year
      treatment of healthy postmenopausal women. The secondary aim was to investigate
      whether there was any significant difference in these risk factors between
      hormone replacement therapy administered as a cyclic estrogen/sequential
      progestogen or continuous estrogen/sequential progestogen regimen. STUDY DESIGN:
      Sixty postmenopausal women were randomized to treatment with estradiol valerate 2
      mg/day either continuously or cyclic (days 1 to 21; placebo on days 21 to 28).
      Both groups received cyproterone acetate 1 mg/day on days 12 to 21. Blood samples
      were collected before treatment and on cycle days 17 to 22 in cycles 3, 6, and
      12. Thirty women with basic characteristics identical to the women included in
      the treatment group were included as a reference group. Blood samples were
      collected after 0, 6, and 12 months of observation. RESULTS: Hormone replacement
      therapy during 1 year caused a marginal but significant increase in plasma
      concentration of factor VIIc after 12 months of treatment (P <.05), a significant
      decrease in fibrinogen, and a significant decrease in the protein concentrations
      of tissue-type plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and
      lipoprotein(a) after 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment (P <.05). Possible
      differences in the integrated response between the reference group and the
      hormone replacement therapy group were evaluated by comparison of the area under
      the curve as estimated in each individual on the basis of each analyte in the
      sampling periods. The area under the curve of fibrinogen was significantly lower
      in the hormone replacement therapy group than in the reference group (P <.03),
      whereas other variables did not deviate significantly between the groups. The
      areas under the curve did not deviate significantly between the group that
      received cyclic estrogen/sequential progestogen and the group that received
      continuous estrogen/sequential progestogen. CONCLUSIONS: One-year treatment with
      hormone replacement therapy influenced favorably a number of prognostic
      cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women. The most important effect was the
      lowering of fibrinogen. Furthermore, in this study the effect of hormone
      replacement therapy on hemostasis did not deviate between a cyclic
      estrogen/sequential progestogen regimen and a continuous estrogen/sequential
      progestogen regimen.

PMID- 9988789
TI  - Cervicography screening for cervical cancer among 8460 women in a high-risk
      population.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Cervicography was evaluated as a primary screening method for cervical
      cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Cervigrams of 8460 women were taken on enrollment into a
      population-based study of cervical neoplasia. Cervicography results were compared
      with a referent diagnosis determined by histologic analysis and 3 cytologic
      tests, and with the performance of conventional cytologic evaluation. RESULTS:
      Cervicography identified all 11 cancers, whereas cytologic testing missed 1.
      Cervicography yielded sensitivities for detecting high-grade squamous
      intraepithelial lesions or cancer of 49.3% overall (specificity, 95.0%), 54.6% in
      women younger than 50 years of age, and 26.9% in women 50 years of age and older.
      Cytologic testing yielded sensitivities for detecting high-grade squamous
      intraepithelial lesions or cancer of 77.2% overall (specificity, 94. 2%), 75.5%
      in women younger than 50 years of age, and 84.6% in women 50 years of age and
      older. CONCLUSIONS: Cytologic testing performed better than cervicography for the
      detection of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Cervicography performed
      marginally better than cytologic testing for the detection of invasive cervical
      cancer. Cervicography is not recommended for postmenopausal women.

PMID- 9988790
TI  - Signs of genital prolapse in a Swedish population of women 20 to 59 years of age
      and possible related factors.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to study the prevalence of genital prolapse and
      possible related factors in a general population of women 20 to 59 years of age.
      STUDY DESIGN: Of 641 eligible women in a primary health care district, 487 (76%)
      answered a questionnaire and accepted an invitation to a gynecologic health
      examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of any degree of prolapse was 30.8%. Only 2%
      of all women had a prolapse that reached the introitus. In a set of multivariate
      analyses, age (P <.0001), parity (P <.0001), and pelvic floor muscle strength (P
      <.01)-and among parous women, the maximum birth weight (P <.01)-were
      significantly and independently associated with presence of prolapse, whereas the
      woman's weight and sustained hysterectomy were not. CONCLUSIONS: Signs of genital
      prolapse are frequently found in the female general population but are seldom
      symptomatic. Of factors associated with genital prolapse found in this study,
      pelvic floor muscle strength appears to be the only one that could be affected.

PMID- 9988791
TI  - Laterally extended endopelvic resection: surgical treatment of infrailiac pelvic
      wall recurrences of gynecologic malignancies.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: My purpose was to treat infrailiac pelvic wall recurrences of
      gynecologic malignancies with extended radical surgery. STUDY DESIGN: On the
      basis of cadaver dissection studies, I developed the laterally extended
      endopelvic resection techniques. The new operations were offered to patients with
      infrailiac sidewall disease during a 3-year feasibility study. RESULTS: Laterally
      extended endopelvic resections extending the lateral resection plane of pelvic
      exenteration to the medial aspects of the acetabulum, obturator membrane,
      sacrospinous ligament, and sacral plexus/piriformis muscle were performed in 18
      consecutive patients. After this procedure, all patients had tumor-free
      intraoperative biopsy specimens taken from the remaining pelvic wall structures
      within the tumor bed area. The final histopathologic report confirmed clean
      margins in 6 patients and margins with microscopic tumor extensions only in 12
      patients. Severe complications occurred in 4 patients (22%), without treatment
      related deaths. CONCLUSION: Laterally extended endopelvic resection allows the
      complete surgical removal of infrailiac pelvic-side-wall tumors, the most
      frequent local recurrence of lower genital tract cancer, either with free margins
      or with potential microscopic residual tumor as a prerequisite for combined
      operative and radiation treatment.

PMID- 9988792
TI  - Adhesion-related small-bowel obstruction after gynecologic operations.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate a possible relationship between adhesion
      related small-bowel obstruction and gynecologic operations. STUDY DESIGN: The
      records of all female patients with the diagnosis of small-bowel obstruction from
      1989 to 1996 were studied. The cause of bowel obstruction, the type and technique
      of previous operations, and whether the parietal peritoneum was closed at the
      completion of the procedure or was left open were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 262
      women the most common cause of small-bowel obstruction was intra-abdominal
      adhesions (37.0%). Among 92 women with adhesion-related small-bowel obstruction,
      35 women (38%) had undergone a previous abdominal hysterectomy. The incidence of
      small-bowel obstruction after an abdominal hysterectomy was 16.3 per 1000
      hysterectomies. The incidence of small-bowel obstruction after cesarean delivery
      (5/10,000 cesarean deliveries) was significantly less than after other abdominal
      operations. Adhesions were found between the small bowel and the pelvis in 14
      women (29.8%), and all were in women who had undergone a hysterectomy. In 33
      others (70.2%) the adhesions were found between the previous abdominal incision
      and the intestine. The median interval between the initial operation and the
      small-bowel obstruction was 5.3 years. CONCLUSION: The most common cause of small
      bowel obstruction is postsurgical adhesions. Adhesionrelated small-bowel
      obstruction is commonly found after an abdominal hysterectomy. Bowel obstruction
      can occur many years after the initial abdominal surgery.

PMID- 9988793
TI  - Immunohistochemical localization of inhibin and activin subunits in human
      epithelial ovarian tumors.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine the cellular localization of inhibin and
      activin subunits in human epithelial ovarian tumors. STUDY DESIGN: We examined
      the immunohistochemical localization of the alpha, betaA, and betaB subunits of
      inhibin in human mucinous and serous ovarian tumors including adenoma, cystic
      tumor with borderline malignancy, and adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: Immunostaining
      specific for the alpha, betaA, and betaB subunits of inhibin was observed in the
      tumor cells of the mucinous adenoma and the cystic tumor with borderline
      malignancy. We observed negative immunostaining specific for the alpha subunit
      and positive staining specific for the betaA and betaB subunits in the tumor
      cells of the mucinous adenocarcinoma. We did not observe any staining for the
      alpha subunit of inhibin in the serous tumors including benign adenoma, cystic
      tumor with borderline malignancy, and adenocarcinoma. However, positive staining
      results for the betaA and betaB subunits were observed in the serous tumor cells.
      CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that inhibins and activins might be secreted by
      the mucinous adenoma and the cystic tumor with borderline malignancy and that
      activins might be secreted by the mucinous adenocarcinoma and the serous tumors
      including benign adenoma, cystic tumor with borderline malignancy, and
      adenocarcinoma.

PMID- 9988794
TI  - Review of the granulosa-theca cell tumors from the emil Novak ovarian tumor
      registry.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to review patients with granulosa and theca cell
      tumors as filed in the Emil Novak Ovarian Tumor Registry. STUDY DESIGN: Our study
      was a descriptive, retrospective study of 454 case records. RESULTS: The reviewed
      diagnoses were for 97 patients with granulosa cell tumors, 116 with theca cell
      tumors, and 97 with granulosa-theca cell tumors. The remaining cases (n = 144)
      were reclassified as "nonspecific" gonadal stromal tumors (n = 61), luteomas of
      pregnancy (n = 7), and 76 "other" cases. These included poorly differentiated
      cancer, metastatic cancer, mixed mesodermal tumors, and sarcomas. The tumor
      related mortality rate for the 310 patients with granulosa, theca, and granulosa
      theca cell tumors was 7% (37.3% for granulosa cell tumors only). The surgical
      stage of disease was the most significant prognostic factor, with a mortality
      rate of at least 40%, given that the tumor had spread beyond the ovary.
      CONCLUSION: Because the differential diagnoses of particularly granulosa cell
      tumors included several conditions with an extremely poor prognosis, an accurate
      histologic diagnosis is crucial.

PMID- 9988795
TI  - Telomerase activity in complete hydatidiform mole.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of
      telomerase activity in complete hydatidiform moles with subsequent development of
      persistent gestational trophoblastic tumor. STUDY DESIGN: By means of the
      standard telomerase repeat assay, we examined telomerase activity in 4 normal
      placentas, 31 complete hydatidiform moles (16 cases of uneventful regression,
      according to serum levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, after evacuation
      and 15 cases in which persistent gestational trophoblastic disease developed
      after evacuation), 7 invasive moles, and 5 choriocarcinoma tissue samples.
      RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in 13 of 15 (86.7%) complete
      hydatidiform moles in patients who eventually underwent chemotherapy for the
      treatment of persistent gestational trophoblastic tumors. All 9 patients with
      metastatic disease (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage
      III) had telomerase activity in the initial molar tissue sample. In contrast,
      telomerase activity was evident in only 3 of 16 (12.5%) complete hydatidiform
      moles from patients with spontaneous remission after evacuation (P <.05).
      Telomerase activity was detected in all 7 invasive moles and all 5
      choriocarcinoma tissue samples but was not detected in normal placentas.
      CONCLUSION: The presence of telomerase activity in complete hydatidiform moles is
      associated with the development of persistent gestational trophoblastic tumors,
      such as invasive moles and choriocarcinoma.

PMID- 9988796
TI  - Effects of estrogen replacement therapy on plasma levels of nitric oxide in
      postmenopausal women.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to assess the effects of estrogen replacement therapy
      on plasma levels of nitric oxide in postmenopausal women. STUDY DESIGN: The
      study, designed as a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial,
      involved 28 healthy postmenopausal women who had previously undergone
      hysterectomy. Women received either transdermal estradiol (50 g/day) (estradiol
      group) or placebo (placebo group) for 6 months continuously. At the end of month
      6 the treatment allocations were opened, and then the treatments were exchanged
      for 1 month. The serum concentration of estradiol was measured at baseline before
      treatment and at the end of months 6 and 7. The plasma concentration of the
      stable oxidation products of nitric oxide was assessed before treatment and
      monthly until month 7. RESULTS: The mean baseline concentrations of nitric oxide
      metabolites in the estradiol and placebo groups were similar (mean and SD: 19+/
      4.3 vs 21+/-5.6 micromol/L, respectively). At subsequent measurements from months
      1 to 6, the mean concentration of nitric oxide metabolites increased
      significantly in the estradiol group alone, in which the concentration ranged
      between 33 6.4 and 36 8.5 micromol/L. At the end of month 7 the mean level of
      nitric oxide metabolites in women previously treated with estradiol fell to
      baseline value (19 2.6 micromol/L), whereas in the placebo group the level
      increased significantly (34 4.4 micromol/L). CONCLUSION: Estrogen replacement
      therapy induces a sustained increase in plasma levels of nitric oxide in
      postmenopausal women; the suspension of estrogen replacement therapy is followed
      by a significant reduction in nitric oxide levels. The results of this study
      suggest that a nitric oxide-related mechanism may help to explain the
      cardioprotective effect of estrogen replacement therapy in the postmenopausal
      period.

PMID- 9988797
TI  - Endometrial cancer in polyps associated with tamoxifen use.
AB  - We report 5 cases of carcinoma arising within tamoxifen-associated endometrial
      polyps. In 4 of 5 cases there were no other changes within the endometrium. Given
      these findings, the sonohysterographic differentiation between a polypoid
      structure and thickened endometrium does not eliminate the need for histologic
      sampling of the uterine cavity.

PMID- 9988798
TI  - Histologic analysis of needle biopsy of urethral sphincter from women with normal
      and stress incontinence with comparison of electromyographic findings.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to compare urethral sphincter biopsy and needle
      electromyography between women who had genuine stress incontinence and those who
      did not. STUDY DESIGN: Seventeen continent women and 10 women with stress
      incontinence had urethral sphincter needle electromyography and urethral biopsy
      specimens blindly processed for light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: The
      continent group had greater skeletal muscle content and percentage in each muscle
      fascicle and each urethral sphincter. The group with genuine stress incontinence
      had higher connective tissue content. All urethral skeletal muscle was type 1.
      The smooth muscle was "multiunit" type and was morphologically indistinguishable
      between the 2 groups. On electromyography, patients with genuine stress
      incontinence had significantly more fibrillation potentials, fewer motor unit
      action potentials, a higher percentage of polyphasia, and less maximum voluntary
      electrical activity than control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Women with stress
      incontinence differ from continent women in skeletal muscle volume, amount of
      fibrosis, and electromyographic parameters; these differences support a
      neurogenic contribution to genuine stress incontinence. Urethral sphincter has
      only type 1 skeletal muscle and "multiunit" type smooth muscle.

PMID- 9988799
TI  - Timing of labor induction after premature rupture of membranes between 32 and 36
      weeks' gestation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine a consensus gestational age for labor
      induction after premature rupture of membranes between 32 and 36 weeks' gestation
      on the basis of the relative frequencies of adverse neonatal outcomes. STUDY
      DESIGN: A retrospective review was undertaken of all patients with premature
      rupture of membranes between 32 and 36 weeks' gestation. These patients were
      managed expectantly whenever possible. Neonatal outcomes were stratified by
      gestational age at rupture of membranes. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-six patients
      with rupture of membranes between 32 and 36 weeks' gestation were managed
      expectantly. Prolongation of pregnancy by >/=1 week was infrequent in all cases,
      particularly if membrane rupture occurred after 34 weeks' gestation. Reductions
      in the neonatal length of stay and the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia were
      observed at 34 weeks' gestation with respect to younger gestational ages. No
      perinatal deaths occurred among the study cases. CONCLUSIONS: A "break point" in
      neonatal morbidity was observed at 34 weeks' gestation, which supports induction
      of labor at this gestational age. The short latencies observed limit the
      potential benefits of expectant management.

PMID- 9988800
TI  - Observations on labor epidural analgesia and operative delivery rates.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare operative vaginal and abdominal delivery
      rates in a large population before and after on-demand labor epidural analgesia
      became available. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively compared patients who gave
      birth during a 20-month period immediately before the introduction of an on
      demand labor epidural analgesia service with those who gave birth during a 20
      month period after the epidural usage rate had reached a plateau at approximately
      60%. Operative vaginal and cesarean delivery rates were stratified according to
      parity and history of prior cesarean delivery. RESULTS: A total of 4859 women
      gave birth during the study period when on-demand epidural analgesia was
      available, and 4778 women gave birth in the study period before the availability
      of on-demand epidural analgesia. Comparisons between the women with and those
      without on-demand availability of epidural analgesia demonstrated no
      statistically significant differences in the rate of spontaneous vaginal delivery
      (69.5% vs 68.3%), the overall cesarean delivery rate (19.0% vs 19.4%), the
      primary cesarean delivery rate (13.2% vs 13.4%), or the operative vaginal
      delivery rate (11.1% vs 11.9%) between the 2 periods. There were no statistically
      significant differences in mean gestational age at the time of delivery between
      the 2 groups, whereas there were statistically significant increases in the
      proportion of nulliparous women and in mean birth weight during the on-demand
      epidural period. Analysis after substratification of the study groups according
      to parity also revealed no statistically significant differences in the primary
      cesarean delivery rate or the proportion of women undergoing vaginal delivery.
      The sample size was adequate to exclude a 2% increase in the primary cesarean
      delivery rate between the 2 periods with 80% power. Subgroup analysis of the
      population of women who gave birth while epidural analgesia was available on
      request demonstrated that nulliparous parturient women who requested epidural
      analgesia were almost twice as likely to require operative vaginal or cesarean
      delivery as women who did not request epidural analgesia, a finding suggesting
      that women who request labor epidural analgesia have an inherent propensity
      toward operative delivery. CONCLUSION: The introduction of an on-demand labor
      epidural analgesia service does not increase the rate of cesarean delivery or
      operative vaginal delivery.

PMID- 9988801
TI  - Pregnancy in patients with well-treated beta-thalassemia: outcome for mothers and
      newborn infants.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate the course and outcome of pregnancy in
      women with well-treated beta-thalassemia. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-two pregnancies,
      including one twin pregnancy, in 19 women were studied. Pregnancy was advised
      when patients had received a prolonged intensive treatment with hypertransfusions
      and iron chelation and had echocardiographically normal resting left ventricular
      performance. All conceptions were spontaneous. Cardiac function, along with
      hematologic, endocrinologic, and hepatic parameters were initially assessed and
      monitored throughout pregnancy and for 2 to 9 years post partum. Babies were
      delivered by elective cesarean section. RESULTS: Twenty-one healthy newborn
      infants were delivered. A spontaneous abortion and a case of exomphalos also
      occurred. Gestation, delivery, and recovery were surprisingly uneventful, and no
      significant cardiac complications were encountered. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy can be
      safe for mothers and babies, provided that women with thalassemia have been
      started early on intensive treatment and have a normal resting cardiac
      performance.

PMID- 9988802
TI  - The effect of therapeutic McDonald cerclage on cervical length as assessed by
      transvaginal ultrasonography.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to study the effect of therapeutic McDonald cerclage on
      cervical length with the use of transvaginal ultrasonography. STUDY DESIGN:
      Cervical length was measured serially in singleton pregnancies in which there
      were doubts regarding cervical competence. When shortening of the cervix was
      substantial before 27 weeks' gestation a McDonald cerclage was applied. Wilcoxon
      signed rank test was used, and 1-tailed P <.05 was considered significant.
      RESULTS: In the 34 pregnancies studied, the mean cervical length measured at a
      mean gestational age of 14 weeks had decreased significantly (P <.0001) from 42
      mm (95% confidence interval 38-47) to 21 mm (95% confidence interval 19-23) at a
      mean gestational age of 20 weeks 5 days, when a cerclage was applied. After the
      cerclage the mean cervical length increased significantly (P <.0001) to 34 mm
      (95% confidence interval 30-38) at a mean gestational age of 22 weeks 1 day (95%
      confidence interval 21 weeks 1 day-23 weeks 2 days). CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic
      McDonald cerclage results in a longer cervical length as measured by transvaginal
      ultrasonography.

PMID- 9988803
TI  - Ketanserin versus dihydralazine in the management of severe early-onset
      preeclampsia: maternal outcome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: An open, randomized, prospective, multicenter trial was conducted to
      compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous ketanserin, a selective serotonin
      2 receptor blocker, with that of intravenous dihydralazine in the management of
      severe early-onset (<32 weeks' gestation) preeclampsia. End points of this study
      were blood pressure control and maternal outcome. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with a
      diastolic blood pressure >110 mm Hg were randomly assigned to receive either
      ketanserin (n = 22) or dihydralazine (n = 22) as initial therapy. Plasma volume
      expansion preceded antihypertensive treatment, which was administered according
      to a fixed schedule. RESULTS: The reductions in blood pressure with the 2 drugs
      were similar; however, adequate blood pressure control was reached significantly
      earlier with ketanserin (84 +/_ 63 vs 171 +/- 142 minutes, P = .017). Occurrence
      of maternal complications was significantly lower among patients who received
      ketanserin than among patients who received dihydralazine (n = 6 vs n = 18, P
      =.0007). A significant difference in favor of ketanserin was noted in daily fluid
      balance. CONCLUSION: Antihypertensive efficacies of ketanserin and dihydralazine
      were comparable, but significantly fewer maternal complications were noted among
      the patients receiving ketanserin. Ketanserin is an attractive alternative in the
      management of severe early-onset preeclampsia.

PMID- 9988804
TI  - Elastase activity of anaerobes isolated from amniotic fluid with preterm
      premature rupture of membranes.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: A total of 131 anaerobes isolated from amniotic fluid with preterm
      premature rupture of membranes and stored were examined for elastolytic activity
      by the method described by Williams et al (Lett Appl Microbiol 1988;7:173-6).
      STUDY DESIGN: Each strain was spot inoculated on a Columbia blood agar plate
      containing 1% solubilized elastin and incubated for 5 days under anaerobic
      conditions. Undigested elastin was precipitated by flooding trichloroacetic acid
      solution onto the plate, and a clear zone was visible as the elastolytic reaction
      around the spot of bacterial growth. RESULTS: Ninety-three (71.0%) of 131
      organisms showed a positive elastolytic reaction. Eleven of 20 strains (55.0%) of
      Peptostreptococcus magnus, 9 of 18 strains (50.0%) of Peptostreptococcus micros,
      12 of 12 strains (100.0%) of Fusobacterium nucleatum, 15 of 28 strains (53.6%) of
      Bacteroides fragilis, 8 of 15 strains (53.3%) of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron,
      and 38 of 38 strains (100.0%) of Prevotella bivia were elastolytic. CONCLUSION:
      Anaerobic bacterial species prevalent in the normal vaginal flora that were
      isolated from amniotic fluid of women with preterm rupture of membranes produced
      elastolytic activity, plausibly inducing the destruction of host constitutive
      components.

PMID- 9988805
TI  - Relationship between myometrial resistance artery behavior and circulating lipid
      composition.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The study investigated whether an inducible alteration in endothelium
      dependent relaxation in myometrial vessels could be correlated with plasma lipid
      composition. STUDY DESIGN: Myometrial resistance vessels were obtained from 10
      women with normal pregnancy undergoing elective cesarean delivery. Paired vessels
      were incubated with plasma samples from patients with preeclampsia or from women
      with normal pregnancy and mounted on a wire myograph. After contraction with
      vasopressin, the degree of relaxation in response to bradykinin was observed.
      Plasma samples were assayed for cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A1,
      and apolipoprotein B. RESULTS: A significant reduction in endothelium-dependent
      relaxation with respect to control values was observed in vessels incubated in
      plasma samples from patients with preeclampsia (P =.0001). Although no
      significant difference was noted between the lipid profiles of the 2 subgroups, a
      significant correlation was found between the vessel relaxation and the plasma
      content of apolipoprotein A1 (R2 = 0.36, P = .025). CONCLUSION: Plasma samples
      from women with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia are capable of altering
      endothelium-dependent myometrial vessel relaxation. A significant relationship
      between the apolipoprotein A1 concentration and endothelial behavior supports the
      suggestion that aberrant lipid metabolism may be involved in the endothelial
      dysfunction characteristic of preeclampsia.

PMID- 9988806
TI  - Myometrial nitric oxide synthase messenger ribonucleic acid expression does not
      change throughout gestation or with the onset of labor.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to examine expression of nitric oxide
      synthase isoforms in human myometrium and to determine any changes in expression
      with gestational age and with the onset of labor at term. STUDY DESIGN:
      Myometrial samples were collected from patients undergoing cesarean delivery at
      term before and after the onset of labor (n = 17) and throughout gestation (n =
      13). Expressions of inducible, calcium-independent nitric oxide synthase and
      constitutive, calcium-dependent endothelial nitric oxide synthase were determined
      by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS:
      Messenger ribonucleic acid for inducible, calcium-independent nitric oxide
      synthase and constitutive, calcium-dependent endothelial nitric oxide synthase is
      expressed in human myometrium at term and throughout the second and third
      trimesters. Levels of messenger ribonucleic acid for both inducible, calcium
      independent nitric oxide synthase and constitutive, calcium-dependent endothelial
      nitric oxide synthase do not change with either gestational age or the onset of
      labor. CONCLUSION: Changes in myometrial nitric oxide synthase expression and
      thus of levels of endogenous nitric oxide are unlikely to be directly involved in
      myometrial quiescence or the onset of human parturition.

PMID- 9988807
TI  - Lack of local reflection of national changes in cesarean delivery rates: the
      Canadian experience.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether national changes in
      cesarean delivery rates were reflected in the rates of individual maternity
      units. STUDY DESIGN: Cesarean delivery rate changes among the 240 largest
      maternity units in Canada were compared with national cesarean delivery rate
      changes for the years 1983 through 1992. The periods of interest for cesarean
      delivery rate changes were 1983 through 1988 (a period of increasing national
      rates), 1988 through 1992 (a period of decreasing national rates), and 1983
      through 1992 (a period with similar national rates at the end points). RESULTS:
      For 1983-1988, 75% of the maternity units reflected changes that were not even in
      the same direction as those of the national mean changes. For the subperiods 1983
      1992 and 1988-1992, these values were 48% and 53%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:
      National trends in cesarean delivery rates do not reflect a uniform shift among
      maternity units, demonstrating the limitations of national means as goals for
      local practice.

PMID- 9988808
TI  - A randomized double-blind study comparing the fetal effects of sulindac to
      terbutaline during the management of preterm labor.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The object of this study was to compare the fetal effects of sulindac
      and terbutaline used in the management of preterm labor on the ductus arteriosus,
      middle cerebral artery, renal artery, umbilical artery, fetal urine production,
      and amniotic fluid index. STUDY DESIGN: In a randomized, double-blind study 20
      patients with preterm labor and no evidence of fetal structural anomalies or
      intra-amniotic infection received either sulindac (200 mg orally every 12 hours
      for 6 doses) or terbutaline (5 mg orally every 4 hours) for 72 hours of therapy.
      All medications were administered from identical blister packs. Opaque glucose
      base tablets were given at 4-hour intervals in the sulindac treatment arm to
      mimic the dosing interval in the terbutaline arm of the study. The Doppler
      pulsatility indices for the ductus arteriosus, middle cerebral artery, renal
      artery and umbilical artery and also the fetal urinary output were obtained at
      baseline and 5, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after the medication was started.
      Doppler data were analyzed within each group with raw data and between groups
      with the change in pulsatility indices from baseline. Statistical analysis was
      performed with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, repeated measures
      analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney rank sum test, and Student t test as
      appropriate. P <.05 (2-tailed) was used to denote statistical significance.
      RESULTS: There were 10 patients in each group, with no difference in gestational
      age between the 2 groups (32.3 vs 31.7 weeks). Sulindac was stopped in 2 patients
      after severe ductal constriction was noted, in 1 at 12 hours and in the other at
      24 hours. One patient at 33 weeks' gestation was delivered because of fetal
      distress after 46 hours of sulindac therapy. When analyzed across time within
      groups, the pulsatility index in the ductus arteriosus decreased significantly at
      12 and 24 hours in the sulindac group but not the terbutaline group. No
      significant differences were noted in the middle cerebral artery, umbilical
      artery, renal artery, or fetal urinary output within either group over time.
      Significant differences in the change from baseline in pulsatility index of the
      ductus arteriosus between the sulindac and terbutaline groups were noted at 5,
      12, 24, and 48 hours. A similar effect was noted in the change from baseline in
      pulsatility index of the middle cerebral artery at 48 and 72 hours. There was a
      significant decrease in the amniotic fluid index in both groups at 24, 48, and 72
      hours. The amniotic fluid index in the sulindac group was significantly lower
      than that in the terbutaline group at 48 and 72 hours of therapy. CONCLUSIONS:
      Sulindac constricted the fetal ductus arteriosus, with an effect noted within 5
      hours of starting therapy. The constriction, which resolved in all cases within
      48 hours of discontinuing therapy, had minimal effects on the pulsatility index
      of the middle cerebral artery, renal artery, and umbilical artery. Sulindac and
      terbutaline both resulted in a significant reduction in the amniotic fluid index,
      with sulindac having a greater effect.

PMID- 9988809
TI  - Effects of red blood cells on the coagulation of blood in normal and preeclamptic
      pregnancies.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the cellular effects of
      whole blood, especially of red blood cells, on the hypercoagulability of blood
      from patients with preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: The time elapsed between mixing
      and the onset of coagulation was measured by means of a highly sensitive
      rheometer for whole blood, platelet-rich plasma (in which red blood cells had
      been removed from whole blood), and platelet-free plasma from 3 groups of
      subjects: 25 nonpregnant women, 25 women with normal pregnancies, and 10 patients
      with preeclampsia. RESULTS: Time to coagulation for whole blood from patients
      with preeclampsia was significantly shorter than that for whole blood from women
      with normal pregnancies. However, there was no significant difference in time to
      coagulation for platelet-rich plasma between women with preeclampsia and those
      with normal pregnancies. CONCLUSION: Hypercoagulability of blood in preeclampsia
      appears to be strongly related to red blood cell alterations.

PMID- 9988810
TI  - Maternal oxygen transport variables during the third trimester of normal
      pregnancy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to measure and calculate oxygen transport
      variables in uncomplicated term pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: Ten normotensive
      primiparous women between 36 and 38 weeks' gestation underwent pulmonary and
      radial arterial catheterization as part of a larger study. Seven women had
      studies repeated at approximately 12 weeks post partum. Measurements were made
      with patients in the left lateral recumbent position after a 30-minute
      stabilization period. Cardiac output was measured with the thermodilution
      technique. Blood samples were obtained simultaneously from the pulmonary and
      radial arteries and analyzed in duplicate for oxygen content with a blood gas
      analyzer. RESULTS: The oxygen contents of both arterial and mixed venous blood
      are significantly lower (P <.05) in the third trimester of pregnancy (15.96 and
      11.97 mL/dL, respectively) than in the postpartum period (18.00 and 13.54 mL/dL).
      The fall in oxygen content during pregnancy prevents any significant increase in
      oxygen delivery in the third trimester (867. 59 mL/min) relative to the
      postpartum period (806.50 mL/min, P not significant). CONCLUSION: This is the
      first report of directly measured oxygen transport variables in healthy pregnant
      women.

PMID- 9988811
TI  - Treatment of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy: a multicenter study of impact on
      fetal transmission and children's sequelae at age 1 year.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy can cause fetal infection, with
      unpredictable sequelae in later life. We measured the effects of prenatal
      antibiotic therapy on the fetomaternal transmission of Toxoplasma gondii and on
      the appearance of sequelae in the congenitally infected child at age 1 year.
      STUDY DESIGN: In a multicenter study we investigated consecutive women with
      Toxoplasma seroconversion during pregnancy. Data were obtained from 144 women
      recruited in 5 different Toxoplasma reference centers. Through multivariate
      analysis we assessed the association between transmission and appearance of
      sequelae as a function of the following parameters: estimated gestational age at
      infection, administration of antibiotic therapy, duration of antibiotic therapy,
      and time lapse between infection and the start of antibiotic therapy. RESULTS:
      Sixty-four of the 144 women (44%) gave birth to a congenitally infected infant.
      Multivariate analysis showed that transmission was predicted neither by whether
      antibiotics had been administered nor by the time lapse between infection and the
      start of antibiotic therapy, but only by the gestational age at which maternal
      infection occurred (P <.0001). Sequelae were found in 19 children (13%), 9 of
      whom (6%) had severe sequelae. Administration of antibiotics was predictive of
      the absence of sequelae (P =.026, odds ratio 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.104
      0.863), in particular the absence of severe sequelae (P =.007, odds ratio 0.14,
      95% confidence interval 0.036-0.584). The sooner antibiotics were given after the
      infection, the less frequently sequelae were seen (P =. 021). CONCLUSION:
      Prenatal antibiotic therapy after toxoplasmosis during pregnancy had no impact on
      the fetomaternal transmission rate but reduced the rate of sequelae among the
      infected infants. The early start of treatment resulted in a significant
      reduction in the number of severely affected infants.

PMID- 9988812
TI  - Maternal and neonatal infection rates with three different protocols for
      prevention of group B streptococcal disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: We compared maternal and neonatal infection rates under 3 different
      group B streptococcal prevention strategies and also evaluated reasons for each
      protocol's failures in preventing neonatal disease. STUDY DESIGN: Women who were
      delivered at our center from August 1, 1991, through April 30, 1998, were managed
      by 1 of 3 protocols for prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcal
      infection: a selective screening protocol, The American College of Obstetricians
      and Gynecologists protocol, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
      recommended universal screening strategy. We compared maternal infection rates
      and neonatal group B streptococcal infection rates under each protocol. We also
      compared reasons for each protocol's failures in preventing neonatal infection.
      RESULTS: Clinical chorioamnionitis rates were 7.4% with selective screening, 7.7%
      under The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' protocol, and 5.2%
      with universal screening (relative risk 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.6-0.8).
      Endometritis rates were 4.0% with selective screening, 4.6% with The American
      College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists protocol, and 2. 8% with universal
      screening (relative risk 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.6-0.8). Overall neonatal
      group B streptococcal infection rates were lower under the 2 more recent
      strategies, but not significantly so. Despite the ability of universal screening
      to find more women at risk for group B streptococcal transmission, half of the
      neonatal infections under this protocol occurred when the mothers were not
      considered candidates for prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: The Centers for Disease
      Control and Prevention-endorsed universal screening strategy for group B
      streptococcal infection prevention was associated with significantly lower rates
      of clinical chorioamnionitis and endometritis than were the other strategies. We
      were unable to document statistically significant improvement in neonatal outcome
      under the universal screening protocol.

PMID- 9988813
TI  - Ultrasonographic differential diagnosis of fetal intracranial interhemispheric
      cysts.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Ultrasonographic differentiation between intracranial supratentorial
      interhemispheric pathologic cystlike lesions and those related to physiologic
      median structures is essential because the latter have no clinical relevance,
      whereas the former may carry a poor prognosis. We reviewed our experience with 19
      consecutive cases of interhemispheric hypoechoic lesions without parenchymal
      involvement diagnosed between January 1990 and June 1997 to establish their
      clinical significance and provide prenatal ultrasonographic criteria to
      distinguish between pathologic cystlike lesions and those related to physiologic
      midline structures. STUDY DESIGN: All patients underwent targeted prenatal scans
      of intracranial anatomy to establish the relationship between the fluid
      collections and the surrounding parenchymal and ventricular structures. In
      addition, a detailed anatomic survey was performed to rule out associated
      malformations. Follow-up, including neurologic examination, imaging, autopsy
      evaluation, or a combination was performed in all cases. Statistical analysis
      used the Wilcoxon rank sum test, the Fisher exact test, and the chi2 test for
      trend. P <.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Cystlike lesions related to
      physiologic median structures (n = 12) included enlargement of the cavum septi
      pellucidi (n = 3), enlargement of the cavum vergae (n = 2), and cysts of the
      velum interpositum (n = 7). These lesions were unilocular and had a median size
      of 10 mm (range 10-30 mm); they resolved in 5 cases and remained stable in the
      remainder. They were not associated with overt abnormalities, other than
      borderline ventriculomegaly in 2 cases. Pediatric follow-up (median 26 months,
      range 3-84 months) showed normal neurodevelopment in all cases. Pathologic
      cystlike lesions (n = 7) were significantly larger (median 40 mm, range 10-80 mm,
      P =.004) and had a significantly worsening trend, growing more at serial prenatal
      ultrasonographic examinations (P =.039) than fluid collections related to
      physiologic median structures. Moreover, prenatal ultrasonographic evidence of
      associated intracranial abnormalities, in the form of partial or total agenesis
      of the corpus callosum and overt hydrocephalus, was present in 5 of 7 cases of
      pathologic cystlike lesions and in none of the 12 related to physiologic
      structures (P =.002). Median gestational age at diagnosis was not different
      between those with cystlike lesions related to physiologic median structures and
      those with pathologic lesions (30 and 31 weeks, respectively). Among the latter
      group, 1 pregnancy was voluntarily terminated, 1 infant died at 4 months of age,
      2 infants had neurodevelopmental delay, and 3 infants were neurologically healthy
      at a mean follow-up of 43 months. Cyst shunting was necessary in 5 of 6 cases.
      CONCLUSIONS: Interhemispheric cystlike lesions related to physiologic structures
      can be prenatally distinguished from pathologic fluid collections on the basis of
      location, cyst size, change in size with time, and absence of associated
      anomalies.

PMID- 9988814
TI  - Differential fetal and maternal contributions to the cytokine milieu in a murine
      model of infection-induced preterm birth.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the relative productions by
      maternal and fetal tissues of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in
      a murine model of infection-induced preterm delivery. STUDY DESIGN: The right
      uterine horns of CD-1 female mice at 14.5 days of a 19- to 20-day gestation were
      inoculated with either sterile media or live Escherichia coli. The concentrations
      of cytokines within uteri, placentas, membranes, and fetal lower body segments
      were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at various times after
      inoculation. RESULTS: All infected tissues showed large, time-dependent increases
      in interleukin 1alpha, interleukin 1beta, and interleukin 6. These increases were
      maximal 13 hours after infection and were highest in uteri (15-60 times levels in
      uninfected tissues). Increases in tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1
      receptor antagonist were much smaller (3 to 5 times) and were confined to the
      uterus. Although the uterus contained the greatest concentrations of interleukin
      1alpha, interleukin 1beta, interleukin 6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha, fetal
      bodies and placentas contained the highest levels of interleukin 1 receptor
      antagonist. CONCLUSIONS: Time-dependent increases in maternal and fetal cytokines
      occurred after acute bacterial infection in this murine model. The fetus and
      placenta may be the most significant sources of the anti-inflammatory cytokine
      interleukin 1 receptor antagonist during pregnancy, whereas the uterus appears to
      be a more important source of interleukin 1, interleukin 6, and tumor necrosis
      factor alpha. Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist levels within uteri were
      insufficiently high to effectively inhibit interleukin 1 activity during
      infection.

PMID- 9988815
TI  - Reliability and clinical application of fetal RhD genotyping with two different
      fluorescent duplex polymerase chain reaction assays: three years' experience.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate accuracy and clinical usefulness
      of fetal RhD genotyping with fluorescent duplex polymerase chain reaction. STUDY
      DESIGN: Two RhD-specific gene fragments (exon 10 in polymerase chain reaction 1
      and exon 7 in polymerase chain reaction 2) were amplified in samples from 213
      fetuses. RESULTS: Amplification failed in 0.9% of the specimens, and equivocal
      results were found in 1.4% of the specimens. Of the analyses, 6.6% had to be
      repeated. The concordance of genotyping and serotyping was 99.0% for each
      polymerase chain reaction. False-positive results were noted in 4 fetuses.
      Concordant findings from both assays indicated the correct serotype for all
      fetuses. In 44 alloimmunized pregnancies, further invasive procedures were
      avoided for 5 of the 6 genotypically RhD-negative fetuses. Only two of 38 RhD
      positive fetuses had a hemoglobin level <8 g/dL at first fetal blood sampling.
      CONCLUSIONS: Fetal genotyping at distinct regions of the RhD gene is reliable and
      improves the care management of sensitized women.

PMID- 9988816
TI  - Diagnosis of fetal pulmonary hypoplasia by measurement of blood flow velocity
      waveforms of pulmonary arteries with Doppler ultrasonography.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the utility of
      ultrasonographically recorded blood flow waveforms of the pulmonary artery in the
      diagnosis of pulmonary hypoplasia. STUDY DESIGN: The normal values of the
      pulsatility index and peak systolic flow of pulmonary arterial blood velocity
      waveforms were determined in 300 uncomplicated single fetus pregnancies with well
      established gestational ages between 24 and 40 weeks. We also measured the same
      parameters in 5 fetuses at high risk for development of severe pulmonary
      hypoplasia. We also determined the radial alveolar count and microvessel density,
      representing the extent of angiogenesis, in tissue specimens collected at autopsy
      from normal and hypoplastic lungs and stained both with hematoxylin and eosin and
      immunohistochemically for factor VIII. RESULTS: In healthy fetuses the
      pulsatility index values of both the right and left pulmonary arteries diminished
      significantly with advancing gestation, whereas the peak systolic velocity
      increased significantly with advancing gestation. In fetuses with pulmonary
      hypoplasia pulsatility index values were high and the peak systolic flow was
      significantly lower than in healthy fetuses. Histologic examination showed a
      lower radial alveolar count and poorer angiogenesis in fetuses with pulmonary
      hypoplasia than in healthy fetuses. CONCLUSION: Doppler ultrasonographic
      determination of pulmonary artery blood velocity waveforms is a useful tool for
      the diagnosis of pulmonary hypoplasia.

PMID- 9988817
TI  - Fetal supply of amino acids and amino nitrogen after maternal infusion of amino
      acids in pregnant sheep.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine whether a prolonged
      maternal infusion of amino acids would increase the umbilical uptake of amino
      acids and uteroplacental ammonia production. STUDY DESIGN: Six pregnant sheep
      (134.5 2.3 days after conception) were infused for 12 hours overnight with an
      amino acid solution. Uterine and umbilical blood flows were measured with the
      ethanol steady-state diffusion technique before (control) and during
      (experimental) infusion. Plasma amino acid and whole-blood ammonia concentrations
      were measured. RESULTS: After infusion, despite an increase in maternal arterial
      amino acid concentration, umbilical uptakes increased significantly only for
      branched-chain amino acids. Fetal ammonia concentrations and uteroplacental
      ammonia production increased moderately. Fetal nitrogen supply did not increase.
      Uterine nitrogen uptake represented 36% of the maternal nitrogen intake in the
      control period and 14% in the experimental period. CONCLUSION: Prolonged maternal
      infusion of an amino acid solution was a relatively ineffective method of
      increasing fetal amino acid supply.

PMID- 9988818
TI  - The effect of amniotic fluid on the human omental artery in vitro.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of amniotic fluid on
      the in vitro contractility of the human omental artery. STUDY DESIGN: Amniotic
      fluid and a segment of omentum were obtained from each of 5 patients at the time
      of planned cesarean delivery at normal term gestation for the indication of
      previous cesarean delivery. The omental artery was cleaned and cut into 3-mm
      rings, which were placed in 10-mL organ chambers for isometric tension recording.
      The chambers were filled with Krebs-Henseleit solution bubbled with 5% carbon
      dioxide in air and maintained at 37 C, pH 7.4. The rings were then equilibrated
      at 1 g passive tension for 90 minutes. The amniotic fluid was centrifuged for 10
      minutes at 3000 rpm to remove all debris. Increasing volumes of supernatant (10
      2000 microL) were added to the omental artery rings at baseline tone or after
      contraction with U46619 (10(-7) mol/L) or potassium chloride (60 mmol/L) to
      detect contractile and relaxant effects, respectively. Time-solvent control
      preparations were also run in parallel. RESULTS: Amniotic fluid had no effect on
      the basal tone of omental artery rings. Amniotic fluid had no effect on the
      tension in rings previously contracted with either U46619 or potassium chloride.
      CONCLUSIONS: Amniotic fluid has no direct effect on isolated human omental
      artery. The catastrophic hemodynamic changes associated with the syndrome of
      amniotic fluid embolism are not due to a direct effect of circulating amniotic
      fluid on vascular tone but rather may be due to secondary responses

PMID- 9988819
TI  - Heat shock protein 70 and heat shock cognate protein 70 messenger ribonucleic
      acid induction in the brains, hearts, and livers of neonatal rats after hypoxic
      stress.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the production of 2 types of heat
      shock protein 70 in the organs of neonatal rats during an episode of mild hypoxic
      stress that was insufficient to produce histologic changes. STUDY DESIGN: Seven
      day-old rats were subjected to hypoxia (inspired gas of 8% oxygen and 92%
      nitrogen) at 33 C for 2 hours (n = 5), 3 hours (n = 5), and 4 hours (n = 5).
      Control rats (n = 5) inspired room air for 4 hours. The brains, hearts, and
      livers were removed after 4 hours of recovery. The levels of heat shock protein
      70 and heat shock cognate protein 70 messenger ribonucleic acid were measured by
      Northern blot analysis. Arterial pH, Pao 2, PACO 2, and brain temperature were
      measured before, during, and at 4 hours of hypoxia in another 16 animals.
      Histologic examinations were carried out in these 16 animals 7 days after hypoxic
      stress. RESULTS: PaO 2, PACO 2, and brain temperature decreased during the
      hypoxic stress and returned to prehypoxic values at recovery time. Arterial pH
      did not change. No histologic changes were observed in any areas of the brain.
      Heat shock cognate protein 70 messenger ribonucleic acid was normally expressed
      in the brain, heart, and liver and was further induced after hypoxia in the brain
      and the heart. There was, however, no additional increase of heat shock cognate
      protein 70 messenger ribonucleic acid in the liver. there were no increments of
      the stress-induced form of heat shock protein 70 messenger ribonucleic acid in
      these organs. CONCLUSION: Mild hypoxia selectively induced messenger ribonucleic
      acid of heat shock cognate protein 70, which may play an important role in
      protecting the brain and the heart against stress.

PMID- 9988820
TI  - Two sinusoidal heart rate patterns in fetal lambs undergoing extracorporeal
      membrane oxygenation.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The study analyzed the phase relationship between fetal heart rate
      and arterial blood pressure fluctuation during sinusoidal heart rate patterns in
      fetal lambs. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-two fetal lambs were placed on extracorporeal
      membrane oxygenation after cesarean delivery at ages ranging between 113 and 133
      days' gestation. Sinusoidal heart rate patterns persisting for >10 minutes were
      analyzed. The relationships between the sinusoidal heart rate cycles and the
      arterial blood pressure cycles were quantitatively expressed in degrees by timing
      the zenith and the nadir of each and assigning a phase-angle index (with 0 [360]
      and 180 degrees being synchronized and reciprocal, respectively). Simultaneous
      blood samples were taken from the 4 different sites of the fetal circulation for
      blood gas and acid-base analysis when the sinusoidal heart rate pattern appeared.
      Regional cerebral blood flow was determined by means of the colored microsphere
      technique in 8 fetuses with sinusoidal patterns and 7 control fetuses. RESULTS:
      Sinusoidal heart rate patterns were observed in 13 (40.6%) of the 32 fetal lambs.
      Two types of fetal heart rate and arterial blood pressure relationship could be
      recognized during sinusoidal pattern, the reciprocal type (n = 7) and the
      synchronized type (n = 9). A reciprocal type of sinusoidal pattern preceded a
      synchronized type pattern in 3 lambs that showed sinusoidal patterns at different
      stages of the experiment. The reciprocal type was associated with a higher
      baseline heart rate and amplitude of the sinusoidal heart rate pattern than was
      the synchronized type. The synchronized type was associated with a lower pH and
      base excess than was the reciprocal type. The cerebral blood flow in the medulla
      oblongata was significantly lower during the synchronized type pattern than
      during the reciprocal type pattern. CONCLUSION: There are 2 types of sinusoidal
      heart rate pattern. A synchronized type sinusoidal heart rate pattern may
      indicate more advanced fetal compromise than is associated with a reciprocal type
      pattern.

PMID- 9988821
TI  - Regulation of human placental chloride channel by arachidonic acid and other cis
      unsaturated fatty acids.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Arachidonic acid has been implicated in the modulation of various
      transport processes, including conductive chloride transport in brush border
      membranes in the human placenta. The purpose of this work was to explore the
      effects of some cis unsaturated fatty acids on the electrophysiologic properties
      of the maxi chloride channels present in apical membranes from human placenta.
      STUDY DESIGN: Apical membrane chloride channels from human term placentas were
      reconstituted in giant liposomes. These cell-sized liposomes, generated by a
      cycle of dehydration and rehydration, are suitable for electrophysiologic studies
      by the patch-clamp method. RESULTS: Low micromolar concentrations of arachidonic
      acid reversibly inhibit maxi chloride channels in excised patches. Other cis
      unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic and linoleic acids, show similar blockade.
      The inhibition was dose dependent. The maxi chloride channel can also be
      inhibited by 4,4 -diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2 -disulfonic acid, a known chloride
      channel inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify the apical membrane maxi
      chloride channel as a possible electrophysi ologic counterpart of 4,4 
      diisothiocyanatostilbene-2, 2 -disulfonic acid and cis unsaturated fatty acid
      inhibited conductance previously described in brush border membranes of the human
      placenta. From a functional point of view the control of these channels by
      arachidonic acid may be of great importance in placental physiologic
      characteristics. Regulation of chloride channels could be important in the
      control of electrolyte and fluid transfer across the placenta. In addition, if
      these channels contribute to setting the membrane potential their regulation
      could have consequences for nutrient transport and delivery to the fetus. The
      electrophysiologic identification of these channels and their regulation might
      help to unravel their possible role in transplacental transport in normal and
      pathologic placental tissue.

PMID- 9988822
TI  - Stem villous arteries from the placentas of heavy smokers: functional and
      mechanical properties.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the mechanical and functional
      properties of isolated small stem villous arteries from the placentas of women
      who smoked heavily (>/=15 cigarettes/d) during pregnancy with those from the
      placentas of nonsmokers. STUDY DESIGN: Isolated stem villous arteries were
      mounted in small-vessel myographs. Circumference-tension relationships were
      established with 124 mmol/L potassium chloride. Concentration-response curves
      were obtained for endothelin 1, prostaglandin F2alpha, vasoactive intestinal
      peptide, corticotropin-releasing hormone, sodium nitroprusside, and cadmium
      chloride. The effect of nitric oxide was examined with N omega-nitro-l -arginine.
      RESULTS: Stem villous arteries from the heavy smoking group developed a
      significantly lower tension than did those from nonsmokers at 6 of 9 steps of the
      circumference-tension experiment (P <.05). Endothelin 1 evoked a significantly
      greater maximum vasoconstrictive response in stem villous arteries from heavy
      smokers than in those from nonsmokers (P <.05). CONCLUSION: Stem villous arteries
      of heavy smokers have altered mechanical properties and a greater
      vasoconstrictive response to endothelin 1 than do those from nonsmokers. These
      changes may compromise fetal placental blood flow and thereby contribute to the
      lower birth weights seen among infants born to heavy smokers.

PMID- 9988823
TI  - Adding zinc to prenatal iron and folate tablets improves fetal neurobehavioral
      development.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine whether improvement in maternal zinc
      status during pregnancy is positively associated with fetal neurobehavioral
      development in a Peruvian population. STUDY DESIGN: We electronically monitored,
      at 32 and 36 weeks' gestation, 55 fetuses whose mothers were randomly assigned to
      receive, during pregnancy, a daily supplement containing 60 mg iron and 250
      microg folate, with or without 15 mg zinc. Fetal heart rate and movement patterns
      were quantified in 55 and 34 fetuses, respectively, as indexes of neurobehavioral
      development. RESULTS: Fetuses of mothers who received zinc supplementation showed
      fewer episodes of minimal fetal heart rate variability, increased fetal heart
      rate range, an increased number of accelerations, an increased number of movement
      bouts, an increased amount of time spent moving, and an increased number of large
      movements. Differences by supplementation type increased with gestational age and
      were statistically significant at 36 weeks' gestation (P <.05). CONCLUSION:
      Improving maternal zinc status through prenatal supplementation may improve fetal
      neurobehavioral development.

PMID- 9988824
TI  - Nuchal thickness, urine beta-core fragment level, and maternal age for down
      syndrome screening.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to report the midtrimester Down syndrome screening
      efficiency of a 2-analyte algorithm, urine beta-core fragment (a metabolite of
      human chorionic gonadotropin) and nuchal thickness, along with maternal age in a
      high-risk population undergoing genetic amniocentesis. METHOD: Nuchal thickness,
      humerus length, and maternal urine beta-core fragment levels were measured
      prospectively before genetic amniocentesis in 1360 singleton pregnancies, 21
      (1.5%) of which had fetal Down syndrome. All analyte levels were expressed as
      multiples of the normal medians based on biparietal diameter. Backward-stepwise
      logistic regression was used to determine whether the markers were significant
      independent predictors of fetal Down syndrome. Matrix analysis was used to
      calculate an adjusted Down syndrome likelihood ratio for each patient based on
      the significant screening markers. Multiplication by age-related midtrimester
      risk gave the adjusted Down syndrome risk. The sensitivity and false-positive
      rates at different Down syndrome screening thresholds were used to generate a
      receiver-operator characteristics curve. The area under the curve was used to
      assess the value of this screening test. RESULTS: On the basis of logistic
      regression, beta-core fragment level (P 1/60 the sensitivity and false-positive
      rate for Down syndrome were 85.7% and 4.9%, respectively, when beta-core fragment
      level, nuchal thickness, and maternal age were used. Correspondence screening
      values at a risk threshold > 1/150 were 95.2% and 10.8%, respectively. The area
      under the receiver-operator characteristics curve was 0.9357 (SE = 0. 0137),
      indicating that the algorithm is excellent for Down syndrome screening.
      CONCLUSION: In this study, a combination algorithm consisting of nuchal
      thickness, urine beta-core fragment level, and maternal age had a high screening
      efficiency for Down syndrome. This algorithm should be investigated as a new
      option for women at high risk of having a fetus with Down syndrome.

PMID- 9988825
TI  - Response of obstetrics and gynecology program directors to a domestic violence
      lecture module.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to determine the use by obstetrics and gynecology
      residency program directors of The American College of Obstetricians and
      Gynecologists' domestic violence slide lecture module and the opinions of the
      directors regarding its efficacy. STUDY DESIGN: A 6-question survey was mailed to
      289 directors of accredited obstetrics and gynecology programs in the United
      States and Canada 9 and 13 months after a learning module on domestic violence
      was mailed to these same persons. The questions related to receipt and use of the
      module in the curriculum, target audiences, future plans for integration of the
      module into curricula, and recommendations for future supplemental topics in the
      same format. RESULTS: The return rate for the survey was 57% (164/289). The
      responses represented university-affiliated, community- and military-based
      programs with representation from all geographic areas of the country. Fourteen
      directors who had no recollection of receiving the package were sent a second
      set. The lecture had been presented by 72% of the respondents' departments to
      audiences of residents (89%), medical students (55%), practicing physicians
      (41%), and the lay public (11%). Two thirds of the nonusers and 87% of the users
      intended to use the module as a formal lecture in the curriculum of both
      residents and medical students in the coming school year. Recommendations for
      future supplemental lecture packages included abuse during pregnancy, screening
      women with different cultural backgrounds, and how to ask tough questions.
      CONCLUSION: The majority of obstetrics and gynecology resident program directors
      who responded to the survey integrated or will integrate an American College of
      Obstetricians and Gynecologists-created learning module on domestic violence into
      their residents' and medical students' formal curricula.

PMID- 9988826
TI  - Preeclampsia: an excessive maternal inflammatory response to pregnancy.
AB  - The maternal syndrome of preeclampsia has previously been ascribed to generalized
      maternal endothelial cell dysfunction. In this review we suggest that the
      endothelial dysfunction is a part of a more generalized intravascular
      inflammatory reaction involving intravascular leukocytes as well as the clotting
      and complement systems. We provide evidence from our recent work and that of
      others that not only supports this proposal but indicates that such an
      inflammatory response is already well developed in normal pregnancy and that the
      differences between normal pregnancy and preeclampsia are less striking than
      those between the normal pregnant and nonpregnant states. From this we argue that
      preeclampsia arises when a universal maternal intravascular inflammatory response
      to pregnancy decompensates in particular cases, which may occur because either
      the stimulus or the maternal response is too strong. We conclude that there is no
      specific cause for the disorder, which can be better considered as the extreme
      end of the range of maternal adaptation to pregnancy. We propose that poor
      placentation is not the cause of preeclampsia but is a powerful predisposing
      factor. We predict that a single preeclampsia gene will not be found, nor will
      either a single specific predictive test or single preventive effective measure
      be devised. Aspects of the hypothesis are testable, and future work should allow
      its confirmation or refutation.

PMID- 9988827
TI  - Death of the papanicolaou smear? Future litigation.

PMID- 9988830
TI  - Causes and consequences of oral contraceptive noncompliance.
AB  - Compliance difficulties are more common among oral contraceptive users than is
      generally appreciated. Inconsistent use and method discontinuation are estimated
      to account for approximately 20% of the annual 3.5 million annual unintended
      pregnancies in the United States. In the past research focused on adolescents,
      for whom predictors of poor oral contraceptive compliance include multiple sex
      partners, low evaluation of personal health, low degree of concern about
      pregnancy, and previous abortion. More recent research confirms that compliance
      problems are common among all age groups, with 47% of women missing >/=1 pill per
      cycle and almost a quarter (22%) missing >/=2 pills per cycle. Good compliance
      has been linked to patient satisfaction with the clinician, the absence of
      certain side effects, establishing a regular daily routine to take oral
      contraceptives, and reading information distributed with oral contraceptive
      packaging. Clinicians are the focal point for improving oral contraceptive
      compliance. They should focus counseling on the transience of most side effects,
      instructions on dealing with a missed pill, provision of a backup method, and
      establishment of a daily pill-taking routine. Easy-to-understand literature
      should be given to patients to take home.

PMID- 9988831
TI  - Cycle control with oral contraceptives: A review of the literature.
AB  - Comparing the degree of cycle control provided by various oral contraceptives is
      problematic. The inherent limitations, small demonstrated differences, and
      differing methods of data presentation characteristic of these trials support the
      conclusion that it is almost impossible to compare the bleeding patterns of one
      preparation with those of another. Chlamydial infection, smoking, and
      inconsistency of use are factors that have significant effects on rates of
      spotting and breakthrough bleeding. Clinicians must alert patients to the
      possibility of intermenstrual bleeding and educate them with regard to the
      importance of continued, consistent oral contraceptive use to minimize those
      problems among pill users in their practices.

PMID- 9988832
TI  - Update on androgenicity.
AB  - The development of a new generation of progestins deemed less androgenic than
      their earlier counterparts has led to a number of misconceptions regarding their
      possible benefits in combination oral contraceptives. All combination oral
      contraceptives are beneficial for treating such androgenic conditions as acne and
      hirsutism. The only expressed androgenic effect of some first- and second
      generation combined oral contraceptives are changes in plasma lipid and
      lipoprotein levels. However, the overall effect of today's low-dose oral
      contraceptives is largely lipid neutral, and human and monkey studies have shown
      that oral contraceptive use is associated with reduced, not increased,
      atherosclerosis rates. Myocardial infarction rates are not increased among oral
      contraceptive users, except among those who are heavy smokers.

PMID- 9988833
TI  - Risk of venous thromboembolism with third-generation oral contraceptives: A
      review.
AB  - Recent data indicate that users of third-generation oral contraceptives, those
      containing the new progestins desogestrel, gestodene, and norgestimate, have 2 to
      3 times the risk of venous thromboembolism faced by users of second-generation
      oral contraceptives. The risk of development of deep vein thrombosis was also
      found to be 2 to 5 times greater with a low-estrogen, desogestrel-containing oral
      contraceptive than with second-generation monophasic and triphasic preparations.
      Investigators point to an acquired resistance to the anticoagulation effects of
      activated protein C, the most common cause of hereditary thrombophilia, as a
      possible mechanism. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology's Committee
      on Gynecologic Practice reconfirms the increased risk of venous thromboembolism
      associated with third-generation progestins versus other progestins. Because the
      third-generation oral contraceptives may have benefit for some patients, however,
      it defers to the individual clinician's and patient's judgment regarding the use
      of a desogestrel-containing formulation (the only third-generation progestin
      available in the United States).

PMID- 9988834
TI  - "Estrophasic" dosing: A new concept in oral contraceptive therapy.
AB  - The first of a new "estrophasic" type of oral contraceptive with 20 microg
      ethinyl estradiol on cycle days 1 through 5, 30 microg ethinyl estradiol on days
      6 through 12, and 35 microg ethinyl estradiol on days 13 through 21 and 1 mg
      norethindrone acetate throughout the cycle (Estrostep; Parke-Davis, Morris
      Plains, NJ) combines a continuous low progestin dose with a low, gradually
      increasing estrogen dose. It was developed to ensure good cycle control while
      conferring the benefits of low hormone content, such as minimizing estrogen
      related side effects. In a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group trial,
      Estrostep provided acceptable cycle control and excellent tolerableness,
      comparable to that of the 30-microg ethinyl estradiol monophasic control drug. In
      a second study Estrostep demonstrated a neutral impact on serum lipids, like the
      triphasic control drug. This new oral contraceptive design offers a useful low
      dose alternative to existing combination preparations.

PMID- 9988835
TI  - What are the clinical implications?

PMID- 9988836
TI  - Mapping of grey matter changes in schizophrenia.
AB  - Studies of brain changes in schizophrenia have suggested that the disorder is
      associated with reductions in both global and regional grey matter. In this
      study, we used structural neuroimaging to differentiate between these two types
      of change and to examine regional grey matter throughout the whole brain. Grey
      matter from magnetic resonance images was segmented and transformed into
      stereotactic space, and patients with schizophrenia and controls were compared
      with respect to regional grey matter (after compensating for global grey matter
      differences). In two preliminary analyses to test our methodology, we
      demonstrated that: (1) in the transformed grey matter maps, voxel values at the
      location of the caudate nuclei were correlated with region-of-interest
      measurements of caudate area in native image space, and (2) the technique
      detected regional grey matter changes resulting from artificial lesions created
      in the native images. We then used a factorial design to examine data from two
      studies, comprising a total of 42 schizophrenics and 52 controls. Analysis of the
      main effect of schizophrenia on regional grey matter revealed significant
      reductions in (a) the right temporal pole, insula and amygdala, (b) the left
      temporal pole, insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

PMID- 9988837
TI  - Negative symptoms of familial schizophrenia breed true in unstable (vs. stable)
      cerebral-ventricle pedigrees.
AB  - A pattern of negative symptoms associated with a high rate of ongoing brain and
      ventricular instability has been described in a cohort of schizophrenia spectrum
      probands (patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder depressed and
      bipolar, and psychosis NOS) (Garver, D.L., Nair, T.R., Christensen, J.D.,
      Holcomb, J., Ramberg, J., Kingsbury, S., 1999. Differential patterns of premorbid
      functioning, symptoms and neuroleptic response in stable and unstable ventricular
      volume schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 20, in press). The present study
      contrasts the prevalence of negative symptoms in first- and second-degree
      relatives of probands with unstable ventricle volume (UnsVV) and stable ventricle
      volume (SVV). One hundred and sixteen first- and second-degree relatives of 10
      probands were interviewed using the SANS, the 'Characterization of Course:
      "Pattern of Symptoms"' [from Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History
      (CASH)], SCID and SCID-II by interviewers blind to the status of the proband.
      Thirty-five of the 116 family members met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, SA
      depressed, 'Cluster A' of the SCID-II (paranoid, schizotypal, schizoid
      personality disorder), psychosis NOS, or psychotic affective disorder. These 35
      family members were defined as falling within a 'schizophrenia spectrum' as
      described by Farmer, A.E., McGuffin, P., Gottesman, I.I., 1987. Arch. Gen.
      Psychiatry 44, 634-641, but with the addition of DSM-IV affective psychosis. On
      that basis, the 35 members were considered 'affected family members' (AFMs). The
      remaining 81 family members were considered unaffected. The 'predominant symptoms
      of illness' (during the past 2-3 years) for 25 of the 35 AFMs could be
      characterized according to the 'Patterns of Symptoms' derived from the CASH.
      Twenty-five of the 35 AFMs were found to maintain a predominant symptom pattern
      during the course of illness, which could be characterized according to the
      'Pattern of Symptoms' as 'predominantly positive' or 'predominantly negative'.
      Three of the probands had UnsVV; seven had SVV. Of the 35 AFMs, 11 were related
      to the UnsVV probands, and 24 were relatives of the SVV probands. The nine rated
      AFMs of the UnsVV probands showed a trend toward higher SANS scores (7.3 +/- 5.1)
      (mean +/- s.d.) than the 20 rated AFMs of SVV probands (4.3 +/- 5.1) (p = 0.08)
      at the time of the interview. Eighty-three per cent (eight of 10) of rated
      affected pedigree members of the pedigrees delineated by probands with UnsVV
      probands had a predominantly negative symptom course of illness, and 96% (23 of
      24) of rated affected pedigree members of the pedigrees with SVV probands had a
      predominantly positive symptom course of illness during the preceding 2-3 years
      (p = 0.002). None of the 12 rated affected pedigree members within pedigrees
      having UnsVV probands were married at the time of the interview; 45% (14 of 31)
      of affected pedigree members having SVV probands were married (p = 0.004). A
      psychiatric disorder, characterized by unstable cerebral ventricles and
      predominant negative symptoms (including avoidance/failure of marital
      relationships) appears symptomatically to breed true in pedigrees containing
      schizophrenia-like illnesses.

PMID- 9988838
TI  - Anticipation in schizophrenia.
AB  - In various genetic disorders it has been observed that the severity of illness
      increases and the age at onset decreases in successive generations. This
      phenomenon is termed anticipation. We sampled 15 families, totalling 123
      individuals with at least one person affected by a disease of the schizophrenia
      spectrum in the index generation in each family (IG; n = 33 affected out of a
      total of 67 individuals) and in the parental generation (PG; n = 16 affected out
      of a total of 56 individuals). The pedigrees had originally been identified for
      linkage studies in schizophrenia. We found a significant difference between IG
      and PG regarding severity of illness as defined by Kendler et al's hierarchical
      model of categories of the schizophrenia spectrum (p = 0.001). Age at onset was
      significantly earlier in the IG (21.6 +/- 6.6 years) than in the PG (40.2 +/- 9.2
      years) (p = 0.0001). We excluded a potential birth cohort effect by investigating
      a control sample consisting of two non-overlapping birth cohorts of patients with
      schizophrenia. Age at onset between the two groups of the control sample did not
      differ. Anticipation is an important aspect in the investigation of a possible
      genetic basis, at least for the familial form of schizophrenia. Active research
      on a molecular level with special emphasis on trinucleotide repeats might be able
      to shed further light on this phenomenon.

PMID- 9988839
TI  - Serotonin transporter gene is not associated with symptomatology of
      schizophrenia.
AB  - The serotonin transporter gene is a primary candidate for involvement in major
      psychoses. A functional polymorphism in the upstream regulatory region of the
      serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has recently been reported to be associated
      with a variety of psychopathological conditions. In the present study, we
      investigated the potential influence of the 5-HTTLPR on the psychopathology of
      schizophrenia. One hundred and sixty-one inpatients affected by schizophrenia
      (DSMIII-R) were assessed by the Operational Criteria checklist for psychotic
      illness (OPCRIT) and were typed for their 5-HTTLPR variants by PCR techniques.
      Mania, Depression, Delusion and Disorganization were the four symptomatologic
      factors used to define phenotype. 5-HTTLPR variants were not associated with
      these symptomatologic factors, and consideration of possible stratification
      effects such as sex, and age of onset did not reveal any association either. The
      serotonin transporter gene is not a liability factor for the symptomatology of
      schizophrenia.

PMID- 9988840
TI  - Depressive symptoms and presynaptic dopamine function in neuroleptic-naive
      schizophrenia.
AB  - We have previously reported aberrations in the striatal presynaptic dopamine
      function in neuroleptic-naive schizophrenic patients compared to healthy controls
      (Hietala, J., Syvalahti, E., Vuorio, K. et al., 1995. Lancet 346, 1130-1131). In
      this extended study we explore whether the altered presynaptic dopamine function
      correlates with the clinical symptomatology in schizophrenia. Striatal dopamine
      synthesis capacity (6-[18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) uptake, Ki values) was studied with
      positron emission tomography in 10 neuroleptic-naive schizophrenic patients and
      13 healthy controls. The clinical symptomatology was characterized with the
      Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). The patients had an increased FDOPA
      uptake in striatum and lacked the asymmetry in caudate FDOPA uptake (p = 0.0005),
      confirming our earlier results. Left striatal FDOPA uptake (Ki) values correlated
      negatively with depressive symptoms in a highly significant manner. On the other
      hand, paranoid symptomatology correlated positively with right putamen FDOPA
      uptake at a trend level (rho = 0.73, p < 0.02). The lack of asymmetry in caudate
      Ki values did not associate with any dimension of psychopathology. The major
      finding in this study is that depressive symptoms in neuroleptic-naive first
      admission schizophrenia are associated with low presynaptic dopamine function.
      This link appears to be hemisphere-related and may have drug-treatment
      implications, e.g., in prediction of response to D2 receptor blocking
      antipsychotic drugs. A possible connection between paranoid symptomatology and
      subcortical hyperdopaminergia is suggested, but this remains to be further
      verified.

PMID- 9988841
TI  - Efficacy and extrapyramidal side-effects of the new antipsychotics olanzapine,
      quetiapine, risperidone, and sertindole compared to conventional antipsychotics
      and placebo. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
AB  - The objective of this meta-analysis is to summarize the efficacy and tolerability
      of the new antipsychotics risperidone, olanzapine, sertindole and quetiapine in
      schizophrenia compared to placebo and conventional antipsychotics. The main
      results are: (1) All of the 4 new drugs are more effective than placebo, but the
      magnitude of the effect is only moderate [mean effect size, r, of all
      antipsychotics vs. placebo = 0.25, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.22
      0.28, n = 2477]. (2) According to the studies published to date, sertindole and
      quetiapine are as effective as haloperidol, and risperidone and olanzapine are
      slightly more effective than haloperidol in the treatment of global schizophrenic
      symptomatology. (3) With respect to negative symptoms, all new antipsychotics are
      more effective than placebo. However, contrary to widespread opinion, so is the
      'conventional' antipsychotic haloperidol. Risperidone and olanzapine are slightly
      superior, sertindole is as effective and--according to the only study fully
      published to date--quetiapine is even slightly less effective than haloperidol in
      this regard. (4) All new antipsychotics are associated with less frequent use of
      antiparkinson medication than haloperidol, with risperidone appearing to have a
      slightly less favourable EPS-profile than the other new antipsychotics. The
      methodological limitations of this review, the generalizability of the results
      and expectations from future research are discussed.

PMID- 9988842
TI  - Long-range correlations in choice sequences of schizophrenic patients.
AB  - Schizophrenic patients significantly greater than normals exhibit long-range
      correlations in sequences of choices in a simple binary choice task. Moreover,
      schizophrenic patients also are significantly less influenced by external stimuli
      than are normal comparison subjects. These effects are not significantly
      correlated with each other, suggesting that they do not result from a uniform
      attentional deficit nor are they due to simple perseverative responding or any
      other uniform process. The interdependence of responses over many trials suggests
      that the response history of many previous behavioral responses contributes
      significantly to the temporal architecture of schizophrenic patients. In
      agreement with others (Lyon et al., 1994), we find that similar organizational
      principles apply to physical, economical, or biological systems and seem to play
      an important role in human psychopathology.

PMID- 9988843
TI  - Convergence of cognitive and adaptive decline in late-life schizophrenia.
AB  - Cognitive impairment has proven to be a major predictor of overall functional
      deficit in schizophrenia. Despite the significant impairments seen on the part of
      many patients with schizophrenia that implicate decline at some point in time,
      there have been no longitudinal studies of adaptive decline in patients with
      schizophrenia. In this study, 57 geriatric patients with chronic schizophrenia
      were examined with measures of clinical symptoms, cognitive impairments, and
      adaptive functioning while living in a chronic psychiatric hospital and followed
      up an average of two and a half years after their referral to nursing home care.
      Cognitive functioning and adaptive functioning both declined over the follow-up
      period, whereas there was no change in schizophrenic symptoms. Changes in
      cognitive functioning accounted for 25% of the variance in adaptive decline,
      whereas the baseline severity of cognitive impairment and schizophrenia symptoms
      were uncorrelated with adaptive decline. These data indicate that cognitive
      decline may predict deterioration in overall functional status and imply that
      treatment of cognitive impairment might have a beneficial effect on global
      functional status.

PMID- 9988844
TI  - Episodic memory and learning in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
AB  - This study explored the pattern of memory functioning in 58 patients with chronic
      schizophrenia and compared their performance with 53 normal controls. Multiple
      domains of memory were assessed, including verbal and non-verbal memory span,
      verbal and non-verbal paired associate learning, verbal and visual long-term
      memory, spatial and non-spatial conditional associative learning, recognition
      memory and memory for temporal order. Consistent with previous studies,
      substantial deficits in long-term memory were observed, with relative
      preservation of memory span. Memory for temporal order and recognition memory was
      intact, although significant deficits were observed on the conditional
      associative learning tasks. There was no evidence of lateralized memory
      impairment. In these respects, the pattern of memory impairment in schizophrenia
      is more similar in nature to that found in patients with memory dysfunction
      following mesiotemporal lobe lesions, rather than that associated with focal
      frontal lobe damage.

PMID- 9988845
TI  - The long-term home-making functioning of women with schizophrenia.

PMID- 9988846
TI  - Neurologic signs of cerebellar and cortical sensory dysfunction in schizophrenics
      and their relatives.
AB  - Previous research has found that both schizophrenics and their relatives have
      significantly elevated rates of clinical neurologic signs--including 'hard' signs
      screened to exclude artifacts. The present study examined whether hard signs that
      indicate relatively localized dysfunction in particular brain regions
      significantly distinguish schizophrenics and/or their non-schizophrenic relatives
      from psychiatrically normal controls and patients with other disorders. All
      patients were diagnosed with DSM-III or DSM-IIIR criteria, using information from
      structured interviews, supplemented by chart review and family informants.
      Subjects were administered clinical neurologic examinations by a neurologist
      blind to diagnosis. The proband sample, composed of 54 schizophrenic or
      schizoaffective subjects, had a significantly greater proportion of subjects with
      signs of cerebellar dysfunction than any of the comparison samples, which
      included: 44 control subjects, 24 patients with substance abuse, 37 patients with
      bipolar disorder, and 73 of the probands' non-schizophrenic parents and adult
      siblings. Proportions of both probands and their relatives with signs of
      dysfunction of sensory cortex were significantly higher than for other groups.
      Cerebellar and sensory cortical dysfunctions may distinguish different subgroups
      of schizophrenics and may tend to reflect, respectively, non-familial and
      familial neuropathological factors.

PMID- 9988847
TI  - Clinical characteristics of schizophrenia associated with velo-cardio-facial
      syndrome.
AB  - Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) is caused by a microdeletion in the long arm
      of chromosome 22 and is associated with an increased frequency of schizophrenia
      and bipolar mood disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the
      genetic, physical, developmental and psychiatric features of schizophrenic
      patients with VCFS microdeletion. It describes the clinical findings in four
      schizophrenic inpatients with the characteristic chromosomal deletion. The four
      patients displayed delayed motor development, language deficits, learning
      disabilities, mental retardation, early age of onset, chronic and disabling
      course of illness and poor response to classical neuroleptic drugs and
      electroconvulsive therapy. Two patients benefited from treatment with clozapine.
      We suggest that schizophrenic patients with a history of delayed motor
      development, early onset of the disorder, history of learning disability, mental
      retardation, congenital cardiac anomalies and/or hypernasal speech should be
      screened for the velo-cardio-facial syndrome deletion. The implications of this
      study for psychiatric phenotype, nosology, disease mechanism, and possible new
      treatments in the future are discussed.

PMID- 9988848
TI  - Schizophrenia, substance use, and brain morphology.
AB  - The high rate of comorbid substance abuse in schizophrenia and the consistently
      poor outcome of this comorbidity are well established findings in the research
      literature. However, the reasons for the high rate of comorbidity are not
      adequately understood, and the question of why some patients with schizophrenia
      abuse substances and others do not remains unanswered. There is widespread
      agreement about the clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia, and there is some
      evidence suggesting that the heterogeneous clinical presentation may reflect a
      parallel underlying heterogeneity of brain morphology. We were interested in
      examining the possibility that the high rate of substance abuse and the
      characteristically poor outcome may be associated with the underlying brain
      morphology. Our hypothesis was that study subjects with schizophrenia and
      substance abuse would have higher rates of gross brain abnormalities than
      subjects with only schizophrenia. In an attempt to explore this possibility, we
      looked at qualitative differences in magnetic resonance imaging scans for a large
      sample (n = 176) of schizophrenia patients. In the group of patients who abused
      both alcohol and drugs, we found the rate of gross brain abnormalities to be
      slightly less than half the rate found among the patients with no history of
      alcohol or substance abuse (8 vs. 19). Although these results are not
      statistically significant, they reflect a trend that is compatible with previous
      findings, suggesting that substance abuse history may be accompanied by less
      impairment in certain areas, which in turn may be reflected in a better premorbid
      adjustment. However, our findings are not compatible with previous findings that
      show substance abuse to be associated with more severe symptoms and a poorer
      outcome in schizophrenia.

PMID- 9988849
TI  - Impaired sensory processing in male patients with schizophrenia: a
      magnetoencephalographic study of auditory mismatch detection.
AB  - The generation of mismatch negativity (MMN) as a component of auditory evoked
      event-related brain potentials has been reported previously to be severely
      disturbed in patients with schizophrenia. In the present study, we extended these
      findings to magnetoencephalography and investigated the neuromagnetic mismatch
      field (MMNm) in 15 male schizophrenic inpatients as compared to 16 healthy male
      volunteers. A standard tone of 1000 Hz and three different types of mismatch
      (1050-Hz tone, 5000-Hz tone, tone omission) were employed within the same
      paradigm, each mismatch occurring with a 10% pseudorandom probability. After
      correction for eye artifacts, the mean global field power of the mismatch
      reaction was calculated. Mismatch generation in patients with schizophrenia
      proved to be significantly impaired for all three conditions. This result
      confirms the theory of impaired auditory information processing in patients with
      schizophrenia at the level of the primary auditory cortex. Deficient generation
      of MMNm probably represents an impaired generation and/or faster decay of the
      sensory memory trace on the basis of disturbed sensory processing in male
      patients with schizophrenia.

PMID- 9988850
TI  - Application of cognitive scales to medical records of schizophrenia inpatients.
AB  - The Scales of Cognitive Impairment Rated From Institutional Records (SCIRFIR), a
      battery based on commonly used dementia rating instruments, was tested on the
      records of 26 chronically institutionalized, elderly schizophrenia patients, for
      the purpose of retrospectively evaluating the long-term course of cognitive
      change in schizophrenia and relating it to available autopsy materials. The inter
      rater reliability of the component scales was high (Intraclass Correlations =
      0.78-0.96), the final item scores were comparable to ratings on living subjects,
      and Alzheimer-type neuropathological changes were associated with a markedly
      deteriorating course. The substantial potential of this method is discussed.

PMID- 9988852
TI  - Antisaccade task performance in questionnaire-identified schizotypes.
AB  - Individuals who scored high on Perceptual Aberration-Magical Ideation Scales (Per
      Mag; n = 90), the Social Anhedonia Scale (SocAnh; n = 39), and control
      participants (n = 89) were administered saccadic refixation (prosaccade) and
      saccadic suppression (antisaccade) tasks. Eye movements were scored in terms of
      error rates and latency. None of the groups differed in terms of their
      performance on the prosaccade task. Both the Per-Mag (p < 0.01) and SocAnh (p <
      0.05) groups exceeded the controls in terms of mean antisaccade errors. The high
      risk groups did not differ from each other. Eighteen of the Per-Mag individuals
      and 10 of the SocAnh individuals displayed deviant antisaccade performance. These
      findings are particularly interesting in light of suggestive evidence that
      antisaccade task deficits may serve as a marker of susceptibility to
      schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that the individuals who scored aberrantly on
      the Chapman scales and displayed antisaccade performance deficits are most likely
      to be at risk for the development of psychosis.

PMID- 9988851
TI  - Mismatch negativity and N2b attenuation as an indicator for dysfunction of the
      preattentive and controlled processing for deviance detection in schizophrenia: a
      topographic event-related potential study.
AB  - The present study compares the amplitudes and topographic patterns of mismatch
      negativity (MMN) and N2b in schizophrenic patients and normal controls. Twenty
      one schizophrenic outpatients and 19 normal volunteers participated in the study.
      Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in a selective attention task.
      During the task, subjects were required to focus on one ear, counting deviant
      stimuli, those deviating in duration from a sequence of standard stimuli. MMN was
      significantly attenuated in the schizophrenics as compared with the normals in
      the frontocentral regions. In addition to MMN, the N2b amplitude was also
      reduced, which showed a significant correlation with the MMN amplitude in the
      schizophrenics. The late negativity elicited by the deviant stimuli in the
      unattended condition showed different topographical features between the groups.
      Whereas the normals showed a lateralized distribution with an ear-related
      asymmetry, similar to that of the N2b, the schizophrenics showed a frontal
      dominance, coinciding with the sustained negativity reported by Naatanen et al.
      (1982), which reflects the automatic preparation for detecting possible
      subsequent stimulus changes. The amplitude of the sustained negativity was
      significantly correlated with the performance level in the schizophrenics. The
      results indicated that although both preattentive and controlled processings are
      impaired, schizophrenic patients, presumably due to the deficient controlled
      processing, owe much to automatic processing in the deviant stimulus detection
      process.

PMID- 9988853
TI  - Twelve-month outcome of patients with DSM-III-R schizoaffective disorder:
      comparisons to matched patients with bipolar disorder.
AB  - Schizoaffective disorder is a relatively common illness with an uncertain
      relationship with bipolar disorder. The publication of DSM-III-R in 1987
      operationalized the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, separating it from
      psychotic bipolar disorder by the presence of persistent psychosis in the absence
      of affective symptoms. Since that time, there have been few prospective outcome
      studies comparing schizoaffective and bipolar disorders. The authors recruited 27
      hospitalized patients with schizoaffective disorder and compared their 12-month
      outcome to 27 sex-, age-, socioeconomic status- and race-matched hospitalized
      bipolar patients. The schizoaffective patients were significantly less likely to
      achieve syndromic recovery than the bipolar patients, although neither group
      achieved high rates of symptomatic or functional recovery. As expected, the
      schizoaffective patients were more likely to exhibit persistent psychosis, with
      or without affective symptoms, throughout the follow-up interval. These data
      provide clinical support of the predictive value of the DSM-III-R criteria for
      schizoaffective disorder in a naturalistic outcome setting.

PMID- 9988854
TI  - Schizophrenia in Kosrae, Micronesia: prevalence, gender ratios, and clinical
      symptomatology.
AB  - The utility of genetic isolates for research is in part based on the assumption
      that the illness of interest is similar across cultures. In this report, we
      review the data on schizophrenia in Micronesia, a collection of small islands in
      the western Pacific Ocean. Significant variations in prevalence between the
      islands have been reported, as have male to female ratios which are strikingly
      high. We focus on the patients in Kosrae, one of the islands in the Federated
      States of Micronesia. Twenty-two schizophrenics are identified. We found a
      prevalence rate of 6.8 per 1000 and a male to female ratio of 6.3:1. Although, in
      many ways, the patients resemble their Western counterparts, 19 of the patients
      were episodically mute, especially when untreated or undermedicated. Possible
      explanations for this unusual symptom are discussed.

PMID- 9988855
TI  - Schizophrenia and seasonality of admissions: the northern Finland 1966 birth
      cohort study.

PMID- 9988856
TI  - Rationing medical care.

PMID- 9988857
TI  - Case of the season. Megaloblastic anemia with subacute combined degeneration
      (SCD) of the spinal cord.

PMID- 9988858
TI  - Practical approach to evaluating the fetal neural axis.

PMID- 9988859
TI  - The fetal genitourinary tract.

PMID- 9988860
TI  - Sonographic considerations with multiple gestation.
AB  - Determination of chorionicity is of paramount importance in risk assessment and
      management. Best performed in the first trimester, dichorionic placentation can
      be reliably assumed when the membrane is easily seen, there is a "twin peak"
      sign, there are clearly separate placentas, and there is discordant fetal gender.
      In a monochorionic twin pregnancy, there is a single placental mass, the dividing
      membrane is difficult to visualize until the end of the first trimester, and the
      membrane inserts onto the placental surface without a peaked appearance. Amniotic
      fluid volume assessment is important in the management of twin pregnancy.
      Polyhydramnios-oligohydramnios may be a manifestation of twin-twin transfusion
      syndrome, although oligohydramnios with normal amniotic fluid volume in the other
      twin's sac may more likely be a sign of velamentous cord insertion, infection, or
      chromosomal or structural abnormality. Fetal growth discordance is common in twin
      pregnancy and is associated with increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. The
      most sensitive indicator of discordant twin growth is thought to be estimated
      fetal weight, and an intertwin difference of > or = 20% is considered
      significant. In the clinical care of a patient with twins, it is reasonably
      standard to confirm chorionicity with ultrasonography in the first or early
      second trimester. At about 20 weeks, a level II ultrasound for anatomic survey is
      indicated. In dichorionic pregnancies, ultrasound examinations are then performed
      at 26 to 28 weeks and every 3 to 4 weeks thereafter to follow growth and amniotic
      fluid volume. In monochorionic twins, we generally do an additional ultrasound at
      about 23 to 24 weeks, because of the risk of twin-twin transfusion syndrome. In
      the late third trimester, careful attention should also be given to fetal
      position, to help with delivery planning.

PMID- 9988861
TI  - Sonographic assessment of the incompetent cervix during pregnancy.

PMID- 9988862
TI  - Prenatal magnetic resonance imaging of fetal anomalies.

PMID- 9988863
TI  - Magnetic resonance imaging of the fetal brain.

PMID- 9988864
TI  - The role of ultrasonography in fetal surgery and invasive fetal procedures.

PMID- 9988865
TI  - Pediatric brain tumors.
AB  - Pediatric brain tumors differ from adult brain tumors in several major ways.
      First, the types of tumors encountered in children are uncommon in adults, and
      vice versa. Second, tumors of the posterior fossa comprise a far greater
      percentage of tumors in children as compared to adults. Third, the value of
      extensive tumor resection, which is controversial for malignant brain tumors in
      adults, has been confirmed for a variety of childhood brain tumors. Fourth,
      chemotherapy has been shown to be effective in improving overall outcome in
      several childhood brain tumors, but has yet to be demonstrated to have a major
      benefit for adult tumors. In addition, to avoid the morbidity of irradiation on
      the developing nervous system, chemotherapy is increasingly used to delay or
      avoid using radiotherapy in children younger than 3 years of age with high-grade
      and incompletely resected low-grade tumors. Fifth, the prognosis for
      histologically similar tumors is often more favorable in children than adults. A
      review of general principles in the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation,
      and treatment of childhood brain tumors is followed by discussion of surgical
      management, adjuvant therapy, and outcome of the more common types of tumors.

PMID- 9988866
TI  - Current aspects of biology, risk assessment, and treatment of neuroblastoma.
AB  - Neuroblastoma is one of the most intensely studied solid malignancies that affect
      the pediatric age groups; its clinical presentation, treatment strategies and
      ultimate prognosis vary greatly. The biologic and genetic character of each tumor
      has an important impact on disease behavior, and clinical staging now
      incorporates these factors to generate an overall therapy plan. The clinical
      presentation of neuroblastoma is related to primary tumor location, production of
      metabolically active substances, and the presence of metastatic disease. There
      are also prognostically important associated syndromes including opsoclonus
      myoclonus, Horner's syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and a variety of other
      neurocristopathies. The histologic features of the tumor are of prognostic
      significance and are utilized in treatment stratification. The International
      Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) has unified classic clinical staging.
      Features at diagnosis and those determined by initial operation are combined with
      biologic prognostic factors to achieve risk group assignment for virtually all
      patients. There are groups of children in which limited therapy is curative and
      intermediate-risk situations where standard multimodality treatment provides
      favorable outcomes. Unfortunately, there are many patients with high-risk disease
      that require intensive strategies, but success is still limited. It is in these
      most resistant patients that innovative approaches are being undertaken and novel
      strategies are being investigated.

PMID- 9988867
TI  - Pediatric renal tumors.
AB  - A broad spectrum of renal tumors occurs in infants and children ranging from the
      benign cystic nephroma to the extremely aggressive malignant rhabdoid tumor of
      the kidney. A thorough understanding of these tumors is crucial to the optimal
      diagnosis and management of children with renal masses. The common renal tumors
      in infants and children are discussed and an orderly method for their evaluation
      is presented. Recent developments in the molecular biology of Wilms' tumor are
      outlined to provide insight into the origin of this tumor.

PMID- 9988868
TI  - Soft tissue sarcomas in children.
AB  - In childhood, soft tissue sarcomas comprise a complex group of malignancies of
      varied histologic subtypes, the prognoses of which depend on the histology, age,
      site, extent of involvement and a variety of other factors. This paper discusses
      the varieties of tumors classified as soft tissue sarcomas in childhood and the
      multimodal approach taken to cure these tumors, with particular attention to the
      details of difficult surgical problems.

PMID- 9988869
TI  - Pediatric germ cell tumors.
AB  - Germ cell tumors are relatively rare tumors in childhood which often present with
      very large tumors in both gonadal and extragonadal locations. Extragonadal tumors
      are more common in neonates and infants, whereas gonadal sites predominate in
      childhood and adolescence. Management consists of surgical resection for
      localized disease, chemotherapy for residual or metastatic disease, and
      neoadjuvant chemotherapy and delayed surgical excision for unresectable lesions.
      The survival for children with germ cell tumors has improved significantly over
      the past 2 decades with the development of platinum-based chemotherapy. Mature
      and immature teratomas at any site, and completely resected (Stage I) malignant
      gonadal and extragonadal tumors, are treated with surgical excision and
      observation. Malignant lesions with microscopic residual, lymph node disease, or
      metastatic disease receive platinum-based chemotherapy. Current survival for low
      stage (Stages I and II) gonadal sites approaches 100% and survival for higher
      stage (Stages III and IV) gonadal sites is approximately 95%. Survival for
      extragonadal lesions is approximately 90% for Stages I and II and 75% for Stages
      III and IV.

PMID- 9988870
TI  - Pediatric liver tumors.
AB  - An infant or child who presents with a large intrahepatic mass will most likely
      have a malignant tumor. In children, benign tumors constitute only 30% of liver
      tumors and most are vascular in origin. Treatment of benign vascular tumors is
      conservative and seldom surgical. Hepatoblastoma is the most common malignant
      tumor followed by hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment of malignant tumors is
      based on a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Children with hepatic
      malignancies that can be resected have an excellent prognosis. Other rare benign
      and malignant tumors of the liver do occur and surgery plays a critical role in
      management.

PMID- 9988871
TI  - Pediatric bone tumors.
AB  - Although osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma are quite rare, they are the only
      primary skeletal malignancies that occur with any regularity in children. The
      evaluation, diagnosis, and management of skeletal neoplasia are reviewed using
      these two diseases as the focus of discussion. Radiographic imaging, biopsy
      approaches, diagnostic considerations, and therapeutic management are explained.
      Demographics and pathophysiology of osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma are explored
      in more depth.

PMID- 9988872
TI  - Minimally invasive surgery for solid tumors.
AB  - The use of minimally invasive surgery in patients with cancer is slowly evolving.
      There are a number of reports describing laparoscopy in adults for pancreatic,
      ovarian, gastric, and colon cancers. In addition, thoracoscopy has been described
      for lung and esophageal cancers. The role of laparoscopy and thoracoscopy in
      children with cancer is less clear because a number of pediatric neoplasms are
      sensitive to adjuvant therapy and surgery is often part of a planned multi
      dimensional approach. This article describes a previous reported experience with
      minimally invasive surgery in children with cancer, current indications for this
      approach, and general principles which are important regarding the operative
      technique. In addition, future applications for this technology are suggested.

PMID- 9988873
TI  - Challenge of supportive surgical care in pediatric oncology.
AB  - The advent of aggressive treatment protocols and the development of new
      techniques and procedures now require that the pediatric surgeon be an integral
      part of all aspects of pediatric oncology care. Supportive care issues, rather
      than primary tumor management decisions, now dominate the pediatric surgeon's
      experience and range from managing the different types of vascular access devices
      and their complications to assessing the surgical implications of the toxic
      complications of current chemotherapy protocols. New treatments such as bone
      marrow transplantation have presented new challenges to the pediatric surgeon,
      while new techniques such as minimally invasive surgery have dramatically
      improved our ability to render compassionate and more effective care to our
      patients as they undergo these potentially toxic treatment regimens.

PMID- 9988874
TI  - Need for inclusion and exclusion criteria for the structural abnormalities
      recorded in children born from exposed pregnancies.

PMID- 9988875
TI  - Congenital heart disease: a direct result of chromosomal duplication.

PMID- 9988876
TI  - What really causes FAS?

PMID- 9988877
TI  - High vitamin A intake in early pregnancy and major malformations: a multicenter
      prospective controlled study.
AB  - The European Network of the Teratology Information Services (ENTIS) collected and
      evaluated data on 423 pregnancies exposed during the first 9 weeks of gestation
      to a "high" dose of vitamin A (10,000 IU per day or more). Data were collected
      prospectively; 394 women (93.1%) were followed by telephone interview up to the
      first few weeks after the expected date of delivery, using standardized
      procedures. The presence of major structural malformations, excluding chromosomal
      and genetic diseases, was evaluated in 311 infants exposed to a median daily dose
      of vitamin A of 50,000 IU per day (range, 10,000-300,000 IU per day;
      interquartile range, 25,000-60,000 IU per day). Three infants with a major
      malformation were reported: pulmonary stenosis, stenotic anus with fistula, and
      bilateral inguinal hernia. No congenital malformations were reported among 120
      infants exposed to more than 50,000 IU per day of vitamin A. When the birth
      prevalence rate of major malformations in the study group was compared with two
      internal control groups of infants exposed to: 1) "high" vitamin A exposure later
      in pregnancy, and 2) nonteratogenic agent exposures, the rate ratio was,
      respectively, 0.28 (CI 95% interval, 0.06, 1.23) and 0.50 (CI 95% interval, 0.14,
      1.76). The studied sample did not provide evidence for an increased risk of major
      malformations, associated with "high" vitamin A intake during the organogenetic
      period, higher than 2.76 above the control reference risk of 1.91% (power 80%,
      alpha 0.10).

PMID- 9988878
TI  - Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on embryonic expression of sonic hedgehog.
AB  - Cocaine use by pregnant women may adversely affect development and behavior in
      the exposed infants. Sonic hedgehog (shh) is a secreted protein that induces
      development of many structures in the embryo, including dopaminergic cells in the
      ventral midbrain, the limb buds, and eyes. Because prenatal cocaine exposure has
      been shown to adversely affect the morphogenesis of these and other systems, the
      present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that maternal cocaine
      treatment would alter shh mRNA expression. Cocaine HCl (60 mg/kg i.p.) was
      administered to pregnant mice on gestational days 6-8, the time that immediately
      precedes the appearance of shh. Control dams received i.p. saline. Embryos from
      gestational days 9-11 were examined by in situ hybridization. The temporal and
      spatial patterns of shh expression were indistinguishable between embryos from
      cocaine- and saline-treated dams. Examination of forebrain, midbrain, and midbody
      spinal cord coronal sections failed to reveal any differences in the dorsoventral
      and mediolateral localization of shh. The distribution of mRNA for patched (ptc),
      the membrane receptor for shh, was also indistinguishable between both groups.
      Chick embryos were next used to examine the direct application of cocaine into
      the developing brain. Shh distribution was similarly unaffected in these chick
      embryos. These data show that maternal cocaine treatment during early neural tube
      development does not significantly alter the expression patterns of shh or ptc
      mRNA. Thus, congenital defects and behavioral abnormalities associated with
      maternal cocaine use do not appear to result from altered expression of the shh
      ptc pathway.

PMID- 9988879
TI  - Increased incidence of renal anomalies in patients with chromosome 22q11
      microdeletion.
AB  - A well-known association exists between the presence of a chromosome 22q11 micro
      deletion and conotruncal heart malformations. Recently, there has been an
      increased appreciation of the expanded clinical phenotype associated with this
      chromosome abnormality. We performed a medical record review to evaluate the
      incidence of renal anomalies in a group of 15 patients ascertained in a single
      medical center over a 33-month period. Of the 15 patients, 13 had a renal
      sonogram performed. Five of 13 patients studied (38.4%) had a renal anomaly. The
      specific abnormalities identified included: bilateral duplex kidneys (1 patient),
      unilateral renal agenesis (1 patient), unilateral multicystic dysplastic kidneys
      (2 patients, including 1 ascertained prenatally), and bilateral, extremely small
      (less than 2 SD below mean) kidneys (1 patient). The incidence of renal anomalies
      in our patient population (38.4%) was higher than expected, and agrees with a
      recent European collaborative study. The present report and the European study
      both demonstrate a higher percentage of renal abnormalities than the 10%
      previously reported in the literature. Because patients affected with chromosome
      22q11 micro-deletion often have multiple medical and surgical problems, we
      recommend obtaining a baseline renal ultrasound examination to identify renal
      anomalies before they become symptomatic.

PMID- 9988880
TI  - Phenytoin-induced alterations in craniofacial gene expression.
AB  - In utero exposure to the anticonvulsant drug phenytoin has been shown to alter
      normal embryonic development, leading to a pattern of dysmorphogenesis known as
      the Fetal Hydantoin Syndrome. This embryopathy is characterized by growth
      retardation, microcephaly, mental deficiency, and craniofacial malformations,
      although the precise mechanism(s) by which phenytoin alters normal developmental
      pathways remains unknown. To better understand the molecular events involved in
      the pathogenesis of phenytoin-induced congenital defects, alterations in gene
      expression were examined during critical periods of craniofacial development.
      Pregnant SWV mice were administered phenytoin (60 mg/kg/day) from gestational day
      6.5 until they were sacrificed at selected developmental time points. Tissue from
      the craniofacial region of control and exposed embryos was isolated, and samples
      were subjected to in situ transcription, antisense RNA amplification, and
      hybridization on reverse Northern blots to quantitatively assess expression of 36
      candidate genes. Chronic phenytoin exposure significantly altered expression of
      several genes at distinct times during morphogenesis. Results of these studies
      show that expression of the retinoic acid receptors (RAR) alpha, beta, and gamma
      were significantly increased by phenytoin exposure. Elevations in gene expression
      of laminin beta 1, and the growth factors IGF-2, TGF alpha, and TGF beta 1, were
      also demonstrated in the craniofacial region of phenytoin-exposed embryos. As
      several of these genes are transcriptionally regulated by retinoic-acid
      responsive elements in their promoter regions, phenytoin-induced alterations in
      expression of the RAR isoforms may have severe downstream consequences in the
      regulation of events necessary for normal craniofacial development. Such
      alterations occurring coordinately at critical times during craniofacial
      development may account for the dysmorphogenesis often associated with phenytoin
      exposure.

PMID- 9988881
TI  - Smoking during pregnancy and Poland sequence: results of a population-based
      registry and a case-control registry.
AB  - As Poland sequence (PS) could have a vascular disruptive origin, here we analyzed
      the possible relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and PS, using
      data from two registries with different methodologies: the Hungarian Congenital
      Abnormality Registry (HCAR), which is a population-based registry, and the
      Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC), which is a
      hospital-based and case-control study. The results presented here in a
      multivariate analysis, although based on a small sample size, suggest that
      maternal smoking during pregnancy may increase the risk for PS by about 2-fold.
      This result was similar in the two studied programs with different methodologies
      and different uncontrolled confounding factors. However, as this is the first
      time that PS has been associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, further
      analyses are needed to confirm our findings.

PMID- 9988882
TI  - Candidate genes for nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate and maternal cigarette
      smoking and alcohol consumption: evaluation of genotype-environment interactions
      from a population-based case-control study of orofacial clefts.
AB  - Previous studies suggest that the relationship between genes and nonsyndromic
      cleft lip +/- cleft palate (CLP) or cleft palate only (CP) may be modified by the
      environment. Using data from a population-based case-control study, we examined
      allelic variants for three genes, i.e., transforming growth factor alpha (TGFA),
      transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGFB3), and Msh (Drosophila) homeobox homolog
      1 (MSX1), and their interactions with two exposures during pregnancy (maternal
      cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption) as risk factors for CLP and CP. For
      each cleft phenotype, risk estimates associated with most allelic variants tended
      to be near unity. Risk estimates for maternal smoking (> or = 10 cigarettes/day)
      were significantly elevated for CP and were most elevated among infants with
      allelic variants at the TGFB3 or MSX1 sites. By comparison, risk estimates for
      maternal alcohol consumption (> or = 4 drinks/month) were significantly elevated
      for CLP and were most elevated among infants with allelic variants at the MSX1
      site. Our results suggest that development of CLP and CP may be influenced
      independently by maternal exposures but more significantly by interaction of such
      exposures and specific allelic variants.

PMID- 9988883
TI  - Developmental toxicity and toxicokinetics of two endothelin receptor antagonists
      in rats and rabbits.
AB  - Embryo-fetal development studies with toxicokinetic evaluations were conducted in
      rats and rabbits after oral or intravenous administration of two endothelin
      receptor antagonists. In the rat studies, females were administered SB-217242
      (0.01-300 mg/kg/day) orally or SB-209670 (0.01-50 mg/kg/day) intravenously from
      days 6-17 postcoitus (pc). External and visceral fetal examinations were
      performed at necropsy on day 21 pc. Maternal body weight and food consumption
      were decreased only at 300 mg/kg/day SB-217242. Embryolethality was seen at 300
      mg/kg/day SB-217242. Decreased fetal body weight occurred at 300 mg/kg/day SB
      217242 and 50 mg/kg/day SB-209670. Dose-dependent increases in the mean
      percentage of fetuses per litter with malformations were seen at > or = 50
      mg/kg/day SB-217242 and > or = 10 mg/kg/day SB-209670. Craniofacial, great
      vessel, heart, and thyroid were the predominant malformations. In the rabbit
      studies, females were administered SB-217242 (0.01-50 mg/kg/day) orally or SB
      209670 (0.01-25 mg/kg/day) intravenously from days 6-20 pc. There was no drug
      related effect on maternal body weight or food consumption. Embryolethality was
      observed at 50 mg/kg/day of SB-217242. Dose-related increases in the mean
      percentage of fetuses per litter with malformations were seen at > or = 10
      mg/kg/day SB-217242 and > or = 10 mg/kg/day SB-209670. The malformations were
      similar to those observed in the rat studies, except that craniofacial
      development was not altered by SB-209670. The malformations observed are
      consistent with the pattern of endothelin-1 gene expression described in mouse
      embryonic pharyngeal arches and heart, and with the craniofacial and
      cardiovascular malformations observed in endothelin-1-deficient mice. Given the
      known role for endothelins in development, and concordant malformations in rats
      and rabbits observed in this study, teratogenicity is likely to be a class effect
      of endothelin receptor antagonists.

PMID- 9988884
TI  - [Surgery of the base of the skull].
AB  - To treat pathological processes, primarily tumors, in the base of the skull is
      one of the most intricate neurosurgical problems. In the past decade, interest in
      this problem has greatly increased due to the advent of new methods of diagnosis,
      up-to-date neurosurgical equipment and to a greater cooperation of physicians of
      related disciplines: ophthalmologists, otosurgeons, plastic surgeons. The authors
      present and summarize the experience accumulated by the researchers of the N. N.
      Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery in the past 10 years in treating basal tumors.
      Based on a great deal of clinical findings, approaches are proposed in treating
      some groups of basal tumors, such and pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas,
      meningiomas at various sites, trigeminal and acoustic neurinomas, and malignant
      neoplasms of the base of the skull. The conditions required for successful
      surgical treatment of the processes in the base of the skull are described in
      detail. One of them is a correct determination of a surgical approach.

PMID- 9988885
TI  - [The use of the contralateral pterional approach in the surgery of cerebral
      aneurysms].
AB  - The contralateral pterional approach was used in the surgical treatment of 17
      patients with cerebral aneurysms. Six of them had solitary aneurysms in the
      ophthalmological segment and fork of the carotid artery, the aneurysms were
      clipped by the contralateral approach. Eleven patients were found to have
      multiple aneurysms in different carotid beds and the main artery, the aneurysms
      were clipped from blood flow by applying the pterional approach, including the
      contralateral one. The contralateral pterional approach may be the method of
      choice in surgery for cerebral aneurysms.

PMID- 9988886
TI  - [The clinico-neuropsychological aspects of arteriovenous malformations of the
      hippocampus].
AB  - A comprehensive examination was made in 39 patients with arteriovenous
      malformations (AVM) of hippocampus. Prior to and following surgery, all the
      patients underwent neuropsychological study after A. R. Luriia (1962). Mnestic
      disorder was found to be the most common abnormality in patients with AVM at this
      site. Before surgery, they were detected in 34 of 39 patients, 11 of them having
      severe memory disorders with the traits of the Korsakoff's syndrome. These
      patients were found to have mixed posthemorrhagic lesion of the hippocampus,
      other portions of the temporal lobe and periventricular structures. Twenty nine
      patients were operated on, 14 of them had progressive mnestic disorder of the
      modally nonspecific type irrespective the side operated on. There were no
      postoperative Korsakoff's syndromes. There was no progression in memory defects
      in patients after surgery on the brain drastically changed after hemorrhage or
      removal of minor malformations. Before hemorrhage, epileptic paroxysms were
      observed in 2 of the 39 patients only in the presence of massive AVM obligatorily
      involving the temporal cortex. Following surgery, there were no new epileptic
      paroxysms and changes in the emotional status and motivations in the patients.
      Thus, the hippocampal formation is involved in the primary mechanisms of
      fixation, retention, reproduction of a memory trace. The participation of many
      structures of the brain is required to form an emotional status, motivation, and
      clinical manifestations of epileptic activity.

PMID- 9988887
TI  - [The surgical results in patients with different forms of torsion dystonia].
AB  - The paper describes stereotactic operations made in 278 patients with different
      forms of torsion dystonia during 20 years. Late outcomes were studied and
      assessed in 130 patients. The duration of follow-ups was 3 to 23 years. The
      patients' mean age at surgery was 30.5 years. The indications for surgical
      treatment were ineffective medical treatment and progressive disease. Positive
      early and late postoperative outcomes were achieved in 93 and 70% of patients,
      respectively. Complications developed in 3.2 and 12.3% of patients after the
      first and second operations, respectively. The positive outcome depends on the
      form, etiology, the destructible structure or a complex of structures. Surgical
      treatment of patients with torsion dystonia by stereotactic operations on basal
      ganglia is an effective treatment that provides a steady-state positive result in
      70% of patients in the late period.

PMID- 9988889
TI  - [The effect of experimental craniocerebral trauma on cell-mediated and humoral
      immunity reactions].
AB  - Brain injury (BI) was induced in 9 rabbits either after cranial trepanation or
      through graded blow. Cell-mediated immunity to brain autoantigens in the automix
      culture test and the production of specific antibodies on soluble protein antigen
      immunization were studied. Experiment BI was not found to result in the emergence
      of the lymphocytes capable of mediate cellular autoimmune responses. However,
      there were increases in the nonspecific lymphocytic sensitivity to the T
      lymphocytic mitogen ConA and in a humoral immune response, suggesting the
      activation of T- and B-cell immunity following BI.

PMID- 9988888
TI  - [Free-radical and neuroimmune processes in primary and repeated craniocerebral
      trauma (in an experiment)].
AB  - The impact of primary and repeated brain injury (BI) (moderate contusion of the
      brain) on changes of pro- and antioxidative processes in the brain and blood, as
      well as on the body's neuroimmune responses during 30 days following injury were
      studied in an experiment on albino rats. The changes in the rate of lipid
      peroxidation (LPO) were shown to be significantly higher in repeated BI than in
      primary one. There was no correlation between the changes in the rate of LPO in
      the blood and in the brain tissue. Immune disorders, namely: the proliferative
      activity of T and B lymphocytes were slightly milder than in primary BI while in
      repeated BI, neurosensitization was detectable earlier, which was more
      pronounced. Thus, goal-oriented correction of free radical processes should be
      made in the brain and of neuroimmune disorders in BI.

PMID- 9988890
TI  - [The assessment of the dynamics of somatosensory evoked potentials in the
      surgical and conservative treatment of patients following spinal and spinal cord
      trauma].
AB  - Somatosensory evoked potentials at the cortical and spinal levels were
      dynamically studied in patients with vertebral column and spinal cord injuries
      before and after radical reparative surgery. The study showed that quantitative
      determination of the time course of changes occurring was highly effective in
      neurological disorders. Most significant were changes in the latent periods and
      amplitude of the peaks N11, N13, N20, P23 in the activation of n. medianus and
      N21, N28, P37, N45 in the bilateral stimulation of n. tibialis posterior. There
      was a correlation of neurophysiological and clinical manifestations in 50-60% of
      cases. Thus, the neurophysiological studies quantitatively verify the efficiency
      of surgical treatment for vertebral column and spinal cord injuries.

PMID- 9988891
TI  - [The morphological basis for using low-intensity laser radiation in patients with
      foci of spinal cord contusion].

PMID- 9988892
TI  - [The cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome after a carotid endarterectomy operation (a
      case report and review of the literature)].
AB  - The paper describes a clinical case of the cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome, a
      rare complication of carotid endarterectomy. The syndrome appeared as the
      generalized convulsive syndrome in the patient in the early postoperative period.
      In the context of clinical observation, the results of analysis of the literature
      are presented and the pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of the
      cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome considered.

PMID- 9988893
TI  - [The molecular genetics of gliomas and the outlook for molecular neurosurgery].

PMID- 9988894
TI  - [The use of the temporal muscle for closing postoperative wounds].
AB  - The correct use of the musculus temporalis may close rather extensive defects of
      the base of the skull, yielding good functional and cosmetic results. For plastic
      purposes, the following types of a graft of the musculus temporalis are applied:
      1) a simple interpolated graft; 2) a split-thickness interpolated graft; and 3) a
      free graft (by crossing the tendon of the musculus temporalis, which allows the
      muscle to be additionally displaced) for closure of defects after removal of
      tumors from the socket, maxillary, sphenoidal sinuses, infratemporal fossa, the
      bases of the middle cranial fossa, for plastic repair of the hard palate, for
      closure a defect after transpyramidal access (mastoidectomy) and for the
      treatment of ankylosis of the mandibular joint. Axial grafts may be used to
      repair the scalp and supercilia.

PMID- 9988895
TI  - Ways and side tracks in research of rheumatic diseases.

PMID- 9988896
TI  - Psoriasis--a dermatological enigma.
AB  - At the beginning, the interdisciplinary character of psoriasis encroaching into
      numerous fields of medicine as well as non-medical sciences is emphasized. The
      disease has been found an interesting field for genetic studies, also entering
      the fields of endocrinology and pathophysiology, and as a psychosomatic
      phenomenon arising many questions in the domain of psychiatry and psychology.
      With the associated joint and bone alterations, psoriasis is an intriguing
      problem for an array of medical disciplines, e.g., rheumatology, orthopedics,
      physical medicine and balneology. Pediatrics is involved through psoriasis in
      children, and ophthalmology through ocular symptoms of the disease. The
      therapeutic use of ultraviolet rays introduces psoriasis in the field of
      photobiology, and the impact of diet into the domain of dietetics. Also,
      alternative medicine is involved to a greater extent in psoriasis than in any
      other disease. This survey is followed by a historical account of psoriasis,
      revealing that the disease was known in all periods of the development of mankind
      that have left written documents behind. However, it was only toward the end of
      the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century that psoriasis was
      recognized and described as a unique and independent disease. The prevalence of
      psoriasis in Europe und USA ranges between 1.5%-2% and 0.5%-1.5%, respectively.
      The disease is rare in blacks, Indians and yellow race, whereas in Eskimos it is
      not found at all. Then, psoriasis is presented as a hereditary disease, the onset
      of which requires the action of so-called provocative factors triggering the
      hereditary elements. Psoriasis most commonly develops at the age of 20-50 years,
      i.e. during the most active period of man's life. Then, the morphological
      classification of psoriasis according to clinical picture is presented, with a
      historical account of pathophysiologic and etiologic concepts over the past
      hundred years. And finally, the basic trends and concepts of the treatment of
      psoriasis are described, with special reference to the fact that it should be
      considered a skill rather than a schematic procedure. The possibilities and value
      of preventive measures, emphasizing the role of patient health education in the
      complex treatment of the disease, are presented.

PMID- 9988897
TI  - Values of complement, T- and B-lymphocytes and immune complexes in patients with
      skin allergies.
AB  - The aim of this pilot study was to determine the values of total complement, C3
      and C4 fractions, C1-esterase inhibitor, T- and B-lymphocytes, and immune
      complexes in our patients with skin allergic disease. The purpose was to
      investigate the probability of type III hypersensitivity reaction in the
      development and onset of skin allergies. The values of these parameters were
      determined in ten patients with atopic dermatitis and ten patients with chronic
      allergic urticaria. Results showed most of the study subjects with atopic
      dermatitis (7/10) to have increased CH50 values, a finding not observed in the
      patients with chronic allergic urticaria (2/10) and healthy controls (0/10). No
      major changes in other parameteres were found in any of the patient groups. A
      statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found among the three groups
      in CH50 and C4 values.

PMID- 9988898
TI  - Omeprazole, azithromycin and amoxicillin or amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid in
      eradication of Helicobacter pylori in duodenal ulcer disease.
AB  - Treatment with omeprazole (OME), azithromycin (AZI) and amoxicillin (AMO)
      resulted in encouraging Helicobacter pylori cure rates in pilot and control
      studies. The aim of this study was to establish whether OME + AZI in combination
      with either AMO or ACA (amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid) are effective in curing
      H. pylori infection. A hundred patients with active duodenal ulcer and H. pylori
      infection were treated with OME (day 1-10: 2 x 40 mg/day, day 11-24: 40 mg/day,
      day 25-42: 20 mg/day) plus AZI 500 mg/day for the first 6 days. Patients were
      randomly assigned to either AMO 2 x 1000 mg/day (group A, n = 50) or ACA 2 x 1250
      mg/day (group B, n = 50) during the first 10 days of treatment. H. pylori status
      was determined by urease test and histology before and 6 weeks after completion
      of therapy. Ninety-five patients completed the study. H. pylori infection was
      eradicated in 85.4% (41/48) patients from group A (intention-to-treat (ITT)
      analysis: 82%) versus 91.5% (43/47) patients from group B (ITT) analysis: 86%)
      (NS). All ulcer had healed after 42 days of omeprazole treatment. Side effects,
      usually minor, were recorded in 12.5% (group A) and 14.9% (group B) of patients
      (NS). Therapy had to be discontinued in two patients (one in group A and one
      group B) only. Ten-days treatment with OME and AZI (for the first 6 days) with
      AMO or ACA are simple and highly effective regimens to cure H. pylori infection
      in patients with duodenal ulcer disease.

PMID- 9988899
TI  - Changes in skeletal metabolism in pubertal girls can be revealed by biochemical
      parameters of calcium metabolism and bone turnover.
AB  - Biochemical changes related to skeletal turnover in puberty were investigated in
      a sample of 67 girls aged 8-14 years. The following biochemical parameters were
      measured in serum: total calcium, phosphate, magnesium, total alkaline
      phosphatase, osteocalcin, and calcium and hydroxyproline in the second morning
      urine. Thirty-five premenarchal girls (8-11 years) had significantly lower serum
      calcium, and higher alkaline phosphatase and phosphate than those menstruating
      regularly (N = 32, 12-14 years). A statistically significant negative correlation
      of serum parameters and age was found for phosphate and alkaline phosphatase in
      all subjects, and for calcium and magnesium only in the premenarchal girls. These
      results indicated the more intensive processes of skeletal metabolism occurring
      in prepubertal age and early puberty to reflect in basic biochemical parameters
      of calcium and bone metabolism. Analysis of correlation between biochemical
      parameters showed alkaline phosphatase and phosphate to correlate positively with
      hydroxyproline excretion and negatively with urinary calcium in all subjects. In
      the subjects after menarche, osteocalcin correlated with alkaline phosphatase and
      phosphate. Thus, biochemical parameters indirectly reflected physiologic changes
      occurring with bone turnover in puberty. Variations in bone turnover during
      puberty, including a more pronounced bone formation during prepubertal or early
      stages, can be indirectly observed through biochemical parameters related to
      calcium and bone metabolism. Investigations of skeletal growth and puberty would
      benefit from specific markers of bone remodeling and "basic" biochemical
      parameters, as it might disclose subtle metabolic relationships.

PMID- 9988900
TI  - Intraocular pressure and visual field defects.
AB  - During a five-year study period, therapeutic levels of intraocular pressure (IOP)
      and visual field defects were assessed in 108 patients with open-angle glaucoma.
      In a group of 53 glaucoma patients with non-progressive visual field changes
      (mean age 65.2 +/- 6.3 years), the IOP level was 15.8 +/- 2.6 mm Hg, whereas in a
      group of 58 patients with progressive visual field changes (mean age 68.7 +/- 8.3
      years) the IOP level was 19.9 +/- 2.9 mm Hg. Study results suggested that
      preservation of the visual field in glaucoma patients requires therapeutic IOP
      levels of < 16 mm Hg.

PMID- 9988901
TI  - Croatian blood transfusion service in prevention of HIV spread during the war.
AB  - Beside the war, an unfavorable epidemiological situation and a large number of
      foreign peace troops that entered the country without having been previously
      tested for infectious diseases, the number of AIDS cases in our country remained
      relatively low. The transfusion service played a considerable part in the
      prevention of HIV infection spread. Although the blood transfusion service was
      faced with higher demands for blood and blood products, throughout the period of
      the war not a single blood unit was imported and no single unit of blood
      components was transfused without having been previously tested for the presence
      of viral disease markers. Despite enormous economic difficulties, three new
      diagnostic tests were then introduced in our transfusion practice as a regular
      procedure: anti-HCV in 1993, anti-HIV 2 in 1994 and anti-HIV 1/0 in 1995.

PMID- 9988902
TI  - Lingual thyroid.
AB  - Lingual thyroid is one of the rarest anomalies of thyroid origin. It is located
      in the midline of the base of the tongue. Lingual thyroid represents ectopic,
      i.e. accessory thyroid tissue. It develops from the epithelium of the
      thyroglossal duct that has not obliterated properly, and it is sometimes the only
      thyroid tissue. Beside two cases presented, the embryology, symptomatology,
      diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, the literature reports of lingual thyroid
      are reviewed.

PMID- 9988903
TI  - Immunity of the Croatian population to poliomyelitis--a serosurvey.
AB  - Eight years after the last case of poliomyelitis it was of a special interest to
      determine the immunity level of the Croatian population to polio and thus to
      evaluate the possible risk of the revival of this infection. For this purpose,
      200 sera samples were collected from individuals of different age and place of
      residence. Neutralizing antibodies (NT) for all three polioviruses were searched
      for. Antibody titers of > or = 1:8 were considered positive. Results of the study
      showed some 75% of the study subjects to have antibodies to polio type 1 and 2,
      and some 83% to type 3. Only 4% of the sera tested had no NT antibodies to any of
      the three types. The lowest mean geometric antibody titer (GMT) was for polio
      type 3 (GMT3 = 19.4; reciprocal value) and somewhat higher for type 1 (GMT1 =
      23.5) and type 2 (GMT2 = 22.6). When the antibody titers were related with the
      age of the subjects, they were found not to decline with age, which was ascribed
      to periodical boosters with vaccinal strains. It is stressed that, in spite of
      the eradication of poliomyelitis achieved in Croatia, compulsory vaccination of
      the children should be continued until its global eradication.

PMID- 9988904
TI  - Glaucoma simplex congenitum in the Veli Brgud village, the Opatija County,
      Republic of Croatia--a genealogical nine-generation study.
AB  - On the Ucka hill-side, in the Veli Brgud village, Opatija County, Istrian
      peninsula, Republic of Croatia, there is a great number of patients with glaucoma
      simplex congenitum (open angle glaucoma) among a total of 550 Croatian
      inhabitants. Of these, 536 (97.5%) were ophthalmologically examined and glaucoma
      simplex congenitum was diagnosed in 74 persons, some of them already blind. The
      proportion of the affected was 13.8%. The cases were largely from the Afric
      family (nicknamed "Sor"). The pedigree of the Afric-"Sor" family has 1215 members
      through nine generations, descendants of Matheus Afric (1762) and Marija Bratovic
      (1765). In the total of 536 examined, 291 (54%) belong to this pedigree, whereas
      67 (90%) out of 74 affected persons were of the same pedigree. The rest of 7
      (9.46%) affected patients did not descend from this pedigree, however, three of
      them (4.05%) were also from the Afric-"Sor" family, but we could not find a
      connection with that pedigree due to inadeguate marital data before 1760. In the
      Veli Brgud village, there also were 4 (5.41%) patients of non-Afric families with
      no other affected members. From the total of 330 marriages, 73 (22%) were
      consanguineous. According to our results, the mode of inheritance of glaucoma
      simplex in the Afric-"Sor" pedigree was of a dominant pattern.

PMID- 9988905
TI  - How prepared are you?

PMID- 9988906
TI  - A brief child mental health assessment for general practitioners.

PMID- 9988907
TI  - Abdominal pain and drug addiction.

PMID- 9988908
TI  - Should GPs be managing musculoskeletal problems?

PMID- 9988909
TI  - Six week postnatal check up.

PMID- 9988910
TI  - Cancer and chronic pain.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The effective management of cancer pain is one of the greatest
      challenges for GPs. OBJECTIVE: Pain management can be best achieved with a
      knowledge of the fundamentals of cancer pain and its assessment. A systematic and
      holistic approach to its treatment needs to be individualised for each patient,
      taking into account the relevant physical, psychological and spiritual factors.
      DISCUSSION: GPs are part of a team including oncologists, palliative care
      specialists, nursing services, paramedical staff, counsellors and clergy and so
      should know about and make use of the ever-improving support services which are
      available to ensure that insoluble pain problems are a rare occurrence.

PMID- 9988911
TI  - Chronic low back pain. What are the treatment options?
AB  - BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain is a relatively common occurrence in general
      practice and there is much that the family doctor can do to help. OBJECTIVE: An
      important aspect of the management is to be able to identify red and yellow flag
      conditions which, if undiagnosed, can become a serious health risk. DISCUSSION:
      Being aware of the possibility that red and yellow flag conditions exist alerts
      the practitioners to which questions to ask and what the management might be.
      Patients suffering benign low back pain can be helped to cope by the use of
      several easily implemented modalities.

PMID- 9988912
TI  - Common pain scenarios.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Vertebral fractures and fibromyalgia, while very different and
      unrelated clinical conditions, are common pain conditions that can, at times, be
      difficult to diagnose and manage. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the investigation and
      treatment of two common pain conditions. DISCUSSION: Following a structured
      program for assessment and treatment, most people with both of these conditions
      can experience substantial improvement in the quality of their life.

PMID- 9988913
TI  - Chronic pain and depression.
AB  - BACKGROUND: People presenting with chronic non-malignant pain provide the health
      practitioner with a therapeutic challenge. As medicine moves towards an emphasis
      on evidence based treatments, practitioners are reassessing approaches to chronic
      non-malignant pain. Depression is a common comorbidity that compounds the
      challenge, often going unrecognised. OBJECTIVE: To provide the reader with an
      insight into the current understanding of the comorbidity of chronic pain and
      depression, and an appreciation of the impact the two syndromes have upon each
      other. To assist the reader in understanding the biopsychosocial perspective, and
      to provide an introduction to various treatment approaches. DISCUSSION: It is a
      reality that general practitioners will carry the responsibility for the
      management of chronic pain sufferers as the multidisciplinary clinics continue to
      struggle with their unmanageable waiting lists. This article discusses the
      conceptual shift from the traditional medical model regarding the management of
      pain and pain related disorders.

PMID- 9988914
TI  - Control and cardiovascular risk factors of hypertension. An assessment of a
      sample of patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To monitor the documentation of blood pressure measurements and other
      cardiovascular risk factors in general practice patients with hypertension.
      METHOD: Twenty-five case notes of patients diagnosed as hypertensive were
      randomly selected from each of 58 participating general practitioners in suburban
      general practice in Adelaide, South Australia and were monitored by two
      registered nurses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: to assess whether blood pressure
      readings, weight, smoking history, alcohol intake and family history were
      documented, and whether electrocardiogram, plasma lipids, urinalysis and
      biochemical screen (which includes blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose,
      electrolytes and uric acid) had been undertaken. RESULTS: Data from 1446
      hypertensive patients showed that for the last three blood pressure values
      recorded, 483 (33%) had an average level of 140/90 mm Hg or less and 1100 (76%)
      had an average of 160/95 mm Hg or less. The other cardiovascular risk factors
      selected were variably recorded, with biochemical screen being most commonly
      recorded [1198 (83%)] and family history [423 (29%)] the least. CONCLUSIONS:
      Inadequacies in the control of hypertension and in the documentation of other
      cardiovascular risk factors suggest that further educational initiatives are
      required in this common chronic illness.

PMID- 9988915
TI  - Dementia in Down syndrome. Untangling the threads.
AB  - Despite frequent neuropathological findings, the prevalence of dementia in people
      with Down syndrome is thought to be no higher than in the general population. The
      age of onset, however, is approximately two decades earlier. The most important
      factor in the general practitioner's assessment of a person with this syndrome
      who appears to be dementing is the exclusion of medical problems that may be
      masquerading as Alzheimer disease. This article presents an efficient system for
      the clinical review of people with Down syndrome who are declining in function.
      The system is also adaptable for use with people who do not have this syndrome.

PMID- 9988916
TI  - Measuring immunisation coverage in Australia. A review of the Australian
      Childhood Immunisation Register.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Before the establishment of the Australian Childhood Immunisation
      Register (ACIR), measurement of childhood immunisation coverage in Australia
      involved a variety of methods at varying intervals by general practice (GP)
      divisions, state health departments and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Such
      surveys may underestimate (child health records) or overestimate (parental
      recall) true immunisation coverage. OBJECTIVE: The establishment of the ACIR in
      1996 (a world first), was a huge undertaking involving 15,000 immunisation
      providers (60% GPs) notifying over 3 million immunisations annually. This review
      summarises the operation of the ACIR, how it calculates coverage, the accuracy of
      estimates from the ACIR and how Australia's immunisation coverage compares with
      that of other similar countries. Currently, the accuracy of the records on the
      register is questioned, especially in urban areas, but available data suggest
      that failure to report to the ACIR is the main source of data discrepancies.
      DISCUSSION: The ACIR has the potential to measure immunisation coverage at any
      practice or local level with accuracy and timeliness. With full provider
      participation, the ACIR is capable of identifying areas of low immunisation
      coverage for targeted interventions and will play a key role in the current
      measles campaign, the General Practice Immunisation Incentives scheme and in
      payments to parents. Achieving the highest possible completeness and timeliness
      of the ACIR is in the interests of providers, consumers and health planners.

PMID- 9988917
TI  - Sigmoidoscopy. Is it a general practice procedure?
AB  - Sigmoidoscopy can readily be learnt and practised by a general practitioner
      interested in looking after patients with colorectal problems. Examination with a
      rigid sigmoidoscope has advantages over use of the flexible instrument for the
      frequent user. Details of the equipment needed for sigmoidoscopy as well as a
      method, precautions and some typical findings are described.

PMID- 9988918
TI  - Putting prevention into practice: just do it.

PMID- 9988919
TI  - Confidence and competence in dealing with emergencies.

PMID- 9988920
TI  - General practitioner preparedness to respond to a medical disaster. Part I:
      Skills and equipment.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Financial constraints are leading to the downgrading or closure of
      many country hospitals throughout Australia. There is concern that general
      practitioners (GPs) could become deskilled if they lose access to a local
      hospital. A recent survey of Victorian rural GPs showed that rural GPs in towns
      without hospitals had different characteristics and working conditions from those
      with hospital access and backup. Campbell uncovered an apparent paradox: GPs
      without hospitals were more likely to have emergencies brought directly to their
      surgeries, and had more equipment in their surgeries, yet they had significantly
      lower confidence in emergency skills. METHOD: A questionnaire was sent to 100
      general practitioners in two rural divisions of general practice in Victoria,
      Australia. They were asked to indicate their confidence in performing 18
      emergency procedures. They were also asked whether they had available the
      necessary equipment. RESULTS: We have assessed the availability of GP emergency
      skills and equipment in two rural divisions of general practice--one with, the
      other without, local hospitals. The division without hospitals scored
      significantly lower in skill levels. A close correlation was found between skill
      levels and equipment availability. There has been a significant reduction in
      skill levels in both divisions over time. CONCLUSION: The skills necessary for
      the stabilisation of a single patient with a life threatening condition are not
      dissimilar from those needed to treat such a patient in a multiple victim
      scenario, although the approach and external pressures may be different. These
      skills, then, are essential to all general practice. The information sought in
      this survey would be important in the assessment of GP preparedness for both
      single-victim and multiple-victim (disaster) emergencies. The results of this
      study raise doubts as to the ability of at least one division to respond to a
      disaster.

PMID- 9988921
TI  - General practitioner preparedness to respond to a medical disaster. Part II:
      Ability and training.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Part I of this paper looked at the availability of 18 individual
      skills in two rural Victorian divisions of general practice, one with hospitals,
      and the other without. It looked at the deskilling of rural general practitioners
      and highlights a direct relationship between skill and equipment availability,
      and in particular, the effect of a local hospital. METHOD: By analysing the data
      in Part I, this paper looks at the availability of rural GPs with the ability to
      perform a range of 15 pre-hospital skills and analyses the effect of retraining
      in selected skills. RESULTS: Part I identified needle and surgical cricothyrotomy
      as weaknesses requiring retraining in both divisions. Refreshing these led to a
      modest improvement only. In addition to the cricothyrotomies, retraining in one
      skill (as chosen by the GP), will increase to over 50% in both divisions, the
      percentage of GPs with the first nine skills only. CONCLUSIONS: We found that
      neither division currently has adequate numbers of GPs with the required range of
      skills to allow for a GP based response to a disaster. Retraining the GP in both
      the cricothyrotomies and two self-nominated weakest skills resulted in adequate
      numbers of skilled GPs. The former can be provided by mass training and the
      latter requires a more personalized training. A 'travelling circus' format is
      described as a suitable means for this retraining. It also improves networking
      among health professionals likely to be involved in a disaster, and offers
      infrastructure support for GP involvement in emergency management, a public
      education vehicle, and a research vehicle for the study of critical and emergency
      care to rural areas.

PMID- 9988922
TI  - Gastroesophageal reflux and quality of life. Patient's knowledge, attitudes and
      perceptions.
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is one of the most common conditions
      seen in general practice. The objective of this study was to determine patients'
      knowledge and attitudes about GER and its effects on their stated quality of
      life. METHODS: A cross sectional survey using a self administered questionnaire
      of a random sample of 400 patients, from the principal author's practice in outer
      western Sydney. RESULTS: GER affected 53% of this sample of patients with Asians
      and manual workers being overrepresented. In 62% of these, GER was shown to
      adversely affect quality of life. Most patients in this study (70%) were unaware
      of the potentially serious complications of GER. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of
      GER and the impact of the condition on sufferers' quality of life is generally
      unknown but requires further research. A history of cough and hoarse voice with
      no known cause, should be investigated for GER. Most patients are unaware of the
      serious complications of GER and should be educated about these.

PMID- 9988923
TI  - Information technology and general practice. A survey of general practitioner
      attitudes towards computerisation.
AB  - AIM: General practitioners in the central Sydney area were surveyed to quantify
      the extent of, and attitudes towards, computerisation in Australian general
      practice. METHOD: Two surveys were mailed to all GPs in the central Sydney area,
      first in 1994, and again in 1996. The majority of questions in both surveys were
      identical. The results were collated and descriptive and comparative statistics
      calculated. RESULTS: There was an increase in the use of computers for clinical
      tasks and, GPs' attitudes towards computerised prescribing systems became more
      positive. There was a persistent negative attitude towards the actual costs of
      computerisation. CONCLUSION: Methods are now required to transform the increased
      use of computers by GPs into improved outcomes for them and their patients.

PMID- 9988925
TI  - Skin cancer in general practice in South Australia. A five year study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Most data on the prevalence and behaviour of skin cancers is based on
      hospital studies. The scarcity of community based general practice skin surveys
      prompted this study. The aim of the survey was to: record the relative frequency
      of different skin tumours in an Adelaide general practice and compare these with
      rates published elsewhere. to record clinical accuracy of diagnosis, infection
      rates and completeness of excision. METHOD: Five year prospective study recording
      age, sex, site of excision and histological diagnosis of 369 skin excisions in a
      general practice. A substudy recorded clinical diagnostic accuracy, with
      subsequent histological diagnosis. RESULTS: Non-melanotic skin cancer (NMSC)
      accounted for 59.9% of the total lesions with basal cell carcinomas (BCCs)
      accounting for 30.6%, squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) 21.7%, and intra epithelial
      cancer 7.6%. The most frequent excision site was head, neck and face. A total of
      75% of SCCs occurred on sun exposed areas, whereas a significant proportion of
      BCCs occurred on the shoulder and trunk (37.1%); this agrees with recent trends
      in Australia. Clinical accuracy when compared with histology was 77% comparing
      favourably with other published data. CONCLUSION: Skin cancer continues to be a
      major community health issue in Australia in which general practitioners are
      heavily involved. Due to their expertise and early intervention at a community
      level, much is being done to reduce this cost in the community. Further research
      on NMSC trends are needed, especially in general practice.

PMID- 9988924
TI  - Parent and general practitioner preferences for infant immunisation.
      Reactogenicity or multiple injections?
AB  - AIM: To explore the relative importance parents and general practitioners place
      on less reactogenic vaccines and multiple injections at each childhood
      immunisation encounter. METHOD: A random sample of western Sydney parents (n =
      162) and GPs (n = 154) completed telephone questionnaires about their preference
      for either a single injection of pentavalent vaccine (whole-cell
      pertussis/diphtheria/tetanus/Hib/hepatitis B), or regimen containing the less
      reactogenic acellular pertussis vaccine requiring two separate injections
      (acellular pertussis/diphtheria/tetanus and Hib or three separate injections
      (acellular pertussis/diphtheria/tetanus and Hib and hepatitis B). Potential
      confounders were examined by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS:
      Regimens containing acellular pertussis vaccine (2 injections or 3 injections)
      were preferred by 72% and 58% of parents respectively. Those whose children were
      already vaccinated were less concerned about side effects and were twice (or =
      2.0, 95% CI 1.0-4.0) as likely to select the pentavalent (single injection)
      option. 69% and 77% of GPs preferred the pentavalent rather than the two or three
      injection acellular option, although previous experience with a systemic adverse
      reaction to immunisation increased their preference for the acellular pertussis
      vaccine (or = 2.9, 95% CI 1.1-7.6). Only 54% of parents and 28% of GPs favoured
      three injections at one visit. CONCLUSION: Parent and GP concerns regarding
      reactogenicity and multiple injections differ. Parents are more concerned about
      vaccine reactogenicity than multiple injections. However, if the GP recommends a
      particular regimen, it is likely to be accepted by parents.

PMID- 9988926
TI  - Estimating and generalizing with clustered sampling in general practice.
AB  - General practice research focusing on patients may involve risk factors,
      morbidity, medication use or patient satisfaction. When collecting information
      about patients it is often easier, cheaper and more appropriate to enlist the
      support of a number of general practitioners (GPs) who provide access to a number
      of patients. Such studies utilise a 'cluster sampling' (CS) design, as clusters
      or groups of patients around a GP are used for the investigation. In analysing
      data from these studies it is necessary to consider the impact that the study
      design will have on the variance structure of data collected.

PMID- 9988927
TI  - The concept mapping method. An alternative to focus group inquiry in general
      practice.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The concept mapping rationale and process are explained step by step.
      The concept mapping method produces a two dimensional conceptual map of ideas
      produced by the group which can be analysed at the level of individual
      statements, clusters of statements, and groups of similar clusters. An example of
      concept mapping conducted with four general practitioner (GP) groups from
      different practice types and demographic locations is provided. A total of 51
      participating GPs were asked to complete an 'evaluation questionnaire' at the end
      of each group session. The majority of GP participants (68%) rated the method as
      highly useful. OBJECTIVE: To describe the concept mapping method and its
      interpretation for use in general practice research. To report on its perceived
      usefulness and acceptability by general practitioners. DISCUSSION: Concept
      mapping is a very useful method combining benefits from qualitative and
      quantitative approaches for exploring the breadth of a topic in its entirety,
      especially for abstract concepts. GPs found the concept mapping method to be
      efficient for group inquiry, rating it high on utility. There is scope to refine
      the method, reducing time spent in some stages of the session, and substituting
      more time on final analysis.

PMID- 9988929
TI  - The hard choice facing Australian general practice. Is it time to join the health
      system?

PMID- 9988928
TI  - Improving preventive practice. An educational intervention using chart audit.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess if the impact of teaching preventive medicine can be
      increased by supplementing conventional teaching with a practice based preventive
      audit undertaken by general practice registrars and their supervisors. METHOD: A
      practice based medical record audit of preventive activities was undertaken by 30
      general practice registrars and 27 of their supervisors. Items recorded were
      based on the RACGP's Guidelines for Preventive Activities in General Practice.
      Participants were also asked to identify or target areas identified by the audit
      which they specifically wished to improve. Following an educational program on
      preventive medicine for both groups, the audit was repeated to assess changes
      made. RESULTS: Both registrars and supervisors increased their level of
      prevention in most parameters measured. Registrars' scores were lower than
      supervisors' for all items in the initial audit but they made greater
      improvements by the repeat audit (p < 0.02 for all items). There was great
      variability between the level of recording of preventive data--from rubella
      immunity (which was recorded in only 22% of cases) to blood pressure (which was
      recorded in 94% of cases). There was also variability between practices. Items
      specifically targeted for improvement by participants did not improve more than
      other items. CONCLUSION: Supplementing conventional teaching with a practice
      based audit improved the level of preventive medicine undertaken in teaching
      practices, by both registrars and supervisors.

PMID- 9988930
TI  - Is the dose in the therapeutic range?

PMID- 9988931
TI  - Is it truly random?

PMID- 9988932
TI  - A new treatment for high grade gliomas of the brain.
AB  - The data confirmed the fact that repeated administrations of iodine-125 labeled
      anti-epidermal growth factor receptor 425 is safe and may have benefited the
      management of primary high grade gliomas of the brain as well as recurrent
      astrocytomas. At present, a randomized control phase III trial is in the process
      of being initiated to evaluate the benefits that would accrue in a controlled
      environment.

PMID- 9988933
TI  - Molecular aspects of preterm labor.
AB  - Preterm birth is a major problem in clinical obstetrics, occurring in
      approximately 10% of all pregnancies, and leading to 75% of early neonatal
      mortality and morbidity. Studies in our laboratory have examined the
      neuroendocrine mechanisms by which the fetus, through activation of the
      hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, provides the stimulus to the onset of
      parturition. Maturation of this axis occurs prematurely in response to stimuli
      such as stress. Stress induced activation of HPA function in human pregnancy, may
      lead to increased output of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from placenta
      and fetal membranes. CRH is one of the agonists that acts in concert with
      increased prostaglandin biosynthesis to provide the stimulus to myometrial
      contractility in late gestation. Recent studies have also recognized that
      approximately 15% of patients in idiopathic preterm labor present, with
      deficiency of the major prostaglandin metabolizing enzyme in the fetal membranes,
      particularly chorionic trophoblast. Understanding these processes may lead to new
      methods of managing the patient presenting in preterm labor.

PMID- 9988934
TI  - ["Taxanes: an action mechanism at the cellular level, significant clinical
      progress in the treatment of cancers of the ovary and breast"].
AB  - The past decade has witnessed the development of a new class of cytotoxic agents
      with a new mechanism of action: the Taxanes. These compounds promote tubulin
      assembly in microtubules and inhibit their depolymerisation; as a result, they
      compromise a number of vital cellular functions in which microtubules play a
      critical role; of note, is the fact that they seem to be relatively "p53
      independent", contrary to many cytotoxic agents in current clinical use. Taxol
      represents a "breakthrough" in the treatment of ovarian cancer, and Taxotere is a
      major step forward in the treatment of breast cancer. The Jules Bordet Institute
      has actively contributed to the clinical development of these two compounds in
      these two indications.

PMID- 9988936
TI  - Diastolic function and dysfunction with exercise, hypertrophy, ischemia, and
      heart failure.

PMID- 9988935
TI  - [Augmentation of transdermal drug penetration].
AB  - Transdermal drug delivery is an alternative to conventional routes of
      administration. It is limited due to the low permeability of the skin.
      Iontophoresis (application of low intensity current) and electroporation
      (application of high voltage pulses) increase drug delivery by several orders of
      magnitude. The mechanisms and the parameters controlling drug transport as well
      as safety issues have been studied. New therapeutic applications for the delivery
      of drugs, peptides and nucleic acids, have been developed.

PMID- 9988937
TI  - [Coronary artery anomalies in the young].

PMID- 9988939
TI  - Regulation of lung water.

PMID- 9988938
TI  - [Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy].

PMID- 9988940
TI  - [Patients at risk or patients at no risk after uncomplicated myocardial
      infarction? The COSTAMI project].

PMID- 9988941
TI  - [Dual-chamber DDD pacing in NYHA III-IV functional class dilated cardiomyopathy:
      short and middle-term evaluation].
AB  - Effectiveness of dual-chamber pacing in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy is
      still controversial. Our study was performed: to select the most favorable
      individual atrioventricular (AV) delay; to compare hemodynamic short-term effects
      in each patient after 2 periods of DDD pacing and sinus rhythm (AV spontaneous);
      to assess hemodynamic long-term (1 year) effects after DDD pacing at optimum AV
      delay. In 1996, 9 patients (7 men, 2 women; mean age 69 +/- 5 years) with dilated
      cardiomyopathy (5 idiopathic, 4 ischemic), NYHA functional class III-IV, ejection
      fraction < 30%, end-diastolic volume > 60 ml/m2, mitral regurgitation +2/+3, PR
      interval > or = 200 ms, were enrolled. All patients were implanted with DDD
      pacemakers and monitored for: ejection fraction and end-diastolic volume
      (measured by echocardiography and radionuclide angiography); clinical conditions;
      exercise tolerance and maximum oxygen consumption (by Weber exercise protocol);
      neurohormonal activity (plasma renin, aldosterone, atrial natriuretic factor).
      Data were recorded: before DDD implantation; after 2 randomized, single-blind
      periods of 3 months in VVI mode (at ventricular "sentinel" rate of 50 b/min) and
      in DDD mode with the optimum AV delay, corresponding for each patient to the
      minimum end-diastolic volume measured by radionuclide angiography and to the
      highest cardiac output recorded by echocardiography; after 6 months of DDD pacing
      with most favorable AV delay. Three more patients died 6 months after (between
      sixth and twelfth month of follow-up), due to refractory heart failure; 1 patient
      dropped out because his pacemaker was programmed in VVI mode at low rate, due to
      intolerance of DDD pacing. Among the other 4 patients no clinical and laboratory
      parameters were significantly different after 1 year of follow-up. In conclusion,
      DDD pacing in selected patients with dilated cardiomyopathy showed disappointing
      results, despite a strict and laboratory monitoring; DDD pacing could be of major
      benefit in larger populations, according to Doppler mitral flow pattern: those
      patients with a larger A-wave amplitude could be more sensitive to DDD pacing
      than those with evidence of poor atrial systole. Moreover, biatral and/or
      biventricular pacing could also play a significant role.

PMID- 9988942
TI  - [Incremental doses of diltiazem in patients with coronary artery disease in end
      stage renal failure maintained on hemodialysis: which is the optimal dose?].
AB  - End-stage renal disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis suffering from
      coronary artery disease probably receive too low doses of calcium-antagonists,
      because the attempt to avoid adverse effects prevails the well-documented
      antianginal activity of the drug. The aim of our study was to assess the safety
      and efficacy of incremental doses of diltiazem in treating angina pectoris in
      hemodialyzed patients with coronary artery disease, to identify the optimal dose.
      Ninety-four chronic hemodialyzed patients (59 males and 35 females; mean age 55.2
      +/- 3.3 years; on periodic dialysis for 80.3 +/- 25.6 months) with coronary
      artery disease and more than 5 min of transient myocardial ischemia during 48
      hours of Holter monitoring were included in the study. A double-blind,
      randomized, placebo-controlled trial design was used. Incremental doses of
      diltiazem (from 120 to 240 mg/day) were administered in 4 months. At doses of 120
      and 180 mg/day it was observed a statistically significant reduction in the
      number and duration of total and symptomatic ischemic episodes in 48 hours,
      compared with baseline (p < 0.001). Instead, the number and the duration of
      silent ischemic episodes did not significantly change (NS). The efficacy on
      silent myocardial ischemia was obtained only with the dosage of 240 mg/day (p <
      0.001). If this dosage was obtained with a sustained-release formulation (120 mg
      twice a day), the efficacy was similar to the administration of 4 tablets/day of
      60 mg, but the tolerability was better, especially during dialysis. The circadian
      variations of transient ischemic episodes showed two peaks in the 24 hours, one
      from 6.00 to 9.00 a.m. and another from 4.00 to 8.00 p.m., just during the
      dialysis. Both peaks were reduced only with 240 mg/day. In conclusion, this study
      demonstrates that sustained-release diltiazem (120 mg twice a day) is greatly
      useful in patients with coronary artery disease on maintenance dialysis because
      it reduces the frequency of silent ischemic episodes, has a good tolerability,
      and modifies the circadian pattern of ischemic episodes, reducing both peaks
      during the day.

PMID- 9988943
TI  - Effect of creatine phosphate on the contractile activity in acutely failing rat
      heart.
AB  - The hypothesis was tested that infusion of a solution containing creatine
      phosphate (CP) into rats with acutely failing hearts would enhance recovery of
      cardiac function. The acutely failing heart was produced by constricting the
      ascending aorta. This overload produced failure in approximately 25 min. At the
      point of failure the constriction was removed and solutions containing sterile
      physiological saline (PSS), PSS and CP, PSS and creatine, or PSS and creatine
      plus phosphate were infused. Cardiac function was assessed from systolic and
      diastolic blood pressure, +/- dp/dt, heart rate, and cardiac work. Ca2+ uptake by
      isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum and the concentrations of selected blood and
      tissue metabolites were measured. Normal cardiac function was restored in the PSS
      CP infused rats whereas all other treatments did not restore cardiac function.
      Adenosine triphosphate and CP had declined in the myocardium of the failing
      hearts while lactate was elevated. The concentrations of these metabolites were
      normal in the PSS-CP infused animals. The glycogen concentration in the
      myocardium was reduced following the constriction. Ca2+ uptake by isolated
      sarcoplasmic reticulum was depressed in the failed hearts but normal in the
      hearts of CP-infused animals. These results demonstrate that the infusion of CP
      into animals with failing hearts can be effective in restoring cardiac function.

PMID- 9988944
TI  - Brief periods of occlusion and reperfusion increase skeletal muscle force output
      in humans.
AB  - Prolonged periods of ischemia/reperfusion are known to deleteriously affect
      skeletal muscle performance. However, in animal models, brief bouts of both
      skeletal and cardiac muscle ischemia/reperfusion have been shown to decrease
      skeletal muscle injury and increase skeletal muscle force output, a phenomenon
      termed "preconditioning". Because there are transient periods of
      ischemia/reperfusion during isometric and concentric muscle contractions, the
      purpose of this study was to examine how short duration forearm
      occlusion/reperfusion prior to exercise, influenced isometric skeletal muscle
      force output in humans. Eleven subjects (6 men and 5 women, mean age 25 +/- 1
      years) participated in this study. Using a Biodex multijoint ergometer, a
      protocol of isolated, isometric forearm wrist flexions was utilized to measure
      muscle force output in two separate trials. In the first trial, 15 isometric
      maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the wrist flexors were performed in 20
      intervals interspersed with 10 s of rest. In the second trial, forearm occlusion
      was induced (2 min at 200 mmHg by blood pressure cuff occlusion, with 10 s of
      hyperemia) prior to exercise. Following cuff occlusion, an identical exercise
      protocol was followed, i.e. 15 isometric wrist flexor MVCs performed in 20
      intervals interspersed with 10 s of rest. The total force output over 15 MVCs was
      greater following intermittent cuff occlusion (no occlusion 2619 +/- 320 ft.lbs
      vs cuff occlusion 2986 +/- 195 ft.lbs; p < 0.05). The mean force output per MVC
      also increased during exercise following intermittent cuff occlusion (no
      occlusion 174 +/- 21 ft.lbs vs cuff occlusion 199 +/- 13 ft.lbs; p < 0.05). In a
      second set of experiments, we found a 3 to 4 fold hyperemic blood flow following
      cuff occlusion. These data suggest that brief periods of cuff
      occlusion/reperfusion may increase repetitive MVC force output by skeletal
      muscle. Although further study is needed to fully understand the effects of
      occlusion/reperfusion on skeletal muscle force output, we hypothesize that, in
      part, this putative effects is secondary to the hyperemic blood flow which
      follows cuff occlusion.

PMID- 9988945
TI  - [Role of hypertension in determining valvular diseases in patients with chronic
      uremia and dialytic treatment].
AB  - Patients in chronic dialysis have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity
      and mortality, together with higher prevalence of hypertension and valvular
      diseases. It is not clear whether aortic and mitral defects are linked to the
      effect of chronic dialysis (for instance hypercalcaemia or hyperparathyroidism)
      or to hypertension. In order to see whether these factors could independently
      affect the single valve diseases we studied 48 patients in chronic dialysis.
      Patients were divided into hypertensive and normotensive. A population of
      hypertensive and another of normotensive, non-dialyzed patients served as
      control. The presence of valvular disease was searched by mean of
      echocardiography. We also investigated the length of dialytic treatment and the
      levels of parathyroid hormone in order to see if any correlation with the single
      valve defects existed. Aortic stenosis and insufficiency were not related to
      hypertension suggesting that circulating factors are likely to be involved in the
      pathogenesis of this valvulopathy (chi 2 = 6, p < 0.01 between hypertensive and
      normotensive in dialysis; chi 2 = 6.1, p < 0.01 between patients in dialysis and
      normotensive non uremic, for aortic stenosis; chi 2 = 12.1, p = 0.02 between non
      uremic normotensive and dialyzed, for aortic insufficiency). On the contrary for
      mitral regurgitation we did not find differences between dialyzed patients and
      controls (chi 2 = 18.2, p < 0.0001 between uremic hypertensive and controls).
      There was a significant difference in both groups between hypertensive and
      normotensive subjects suggesting that hypertension plays an important role in
      this valvulopathy. Mitral and aortic calcifications were more frequent in the
      uremic patients (55% in hypertensive uremics, 33% in normotensive uremics, 16 and
      25% in non uremics).

PMID- 9988946
TI  - [Cardiovascular abnormalities in Kawasaki disease. An Italian prospective study].
AB  - We report a prospective study performed over a 9 year period in 96 children with
      Kawasaki disease (mean age 35 +/- 29 months), 84 of whom < 5 years of age. The
      male/female ratio was 1.5 (57/39). A total of 38 patients had cardiac
      involvement, including flattened T waves in the ECG (10 patients), pericardial
      effusion (6 patients), myocarditis (1 patient), and coronary artery aneurysms (25
      patients; frequency of aneurysms: 26%). All patients were evaluated during the
      acute phase (first month) of the illness. The first echocardiographic examination
      was performed 15 days (range 4.30 days) from the appearance of fever, and
      coronary aneurysms were observed in 23 patients; in 2 patients, however,
      aneurysms appeared later (2 and 6 months). Aneurysms were small (< or = 4.5 mm)
      in 12, medium (4.5-7 mm) in 11, and large (> 7 mm) in 12 patients. Male sex (p =
      0.02), age < 12 months (p = 0.005), ESR (p = 0.001), platelet count (p = 0.009),
      and pericardial effusion (p = 0.02) were significantly related to the presence of
      aneurysm. Among females, incidence of aneurysms was significantly higher in
      infants < 12 months than in older patients (60 vs 6%, p < 0.001). Intravenous
      immunoglobulin treatment was started early (within 10 days) in 61 patients and
      late (> 10 days) in 22. Compared to late treatment, early i.v. immunoglobulin
      treatment was associated with smaller aneurysms and higher regression rate (67 vs
      28%, p < 0.05). No difference was observed concerning frequency and number of
      dilated vessels as related to therapeutical regimens. Total i.v. immunoglobulin
      dose (2 g/kg) was administered over 1-2 days in 26 patients (scheme I) or over 4
      5 days in 58 (scheme II). Frequency of aneurysms was significantly lower in
      patients treated early (p = 0.02). No myocardial infarctions or deaths occurred
      at short- or long-term follow-up.

PMID- 9988947
TI  - [Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy during adrenocorticotrophic hormone administration
      in infants: a case report].
AB  - We report a 2-month-old child with infantile myoclonic seizures, who developed
      congestive heart failure secondary to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy while receiving
      adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) therapy. Treatment with propranolol and
      withdrawal of ACTH led to the resolution of cardiac hypertrophy as determined by
      two-dimensional echocardiography. Possible links between ACTH therapy and the
      development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are examined. Our report confirms that
      a careful monitoring is required to detect cardiac abnormalities during ACTH
      administration.

PMID- 9988948
TI  - [Effects of enalaprilat on postischemic microvascular hyperpermeability in
      isolated working rat hearts].

PMID- 9988949
TI  - [Three hundred years of history: from the first blood transfusion (1667) to the
      first heart transplantation (1967)].

PMID- 9988951
TI  - Is stress linked to heart disease? The evidence grows stronger.
AB  - Acute stress caused by strong emotions such as fear can sometimes cause sudden
      death in people with underlying coronary artery disease (CAD). Chronic mental
      stress may also promote the long-term development of coronary disease, although
      the distinction between Type A and Type B personalities appears overly
      simplistic. Stress-management interventions measurably improve CAD patients'
      performance on cardiac function tests, and should be incorporated more often in
      standard cardiac rehabilitation programs.

PMID- 9988952
TI  - New technology and new challenges for assisted reproduction.
AB  - As assisted reproduction technology advances, more types of procedures are
      becoming available, bringing more success at solving many types of infertility.
      In vitro fertilization has become simpler and less invasive, with success rates
      as high as 30% per cycle. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection has solved many types
      of male infertility. This article explains in vitro fertilization technology and
      discusses such ethical issues as embryo ownership, multiple births, and embryo
      genetic testing.

PMID- 9988953
TI  - A 55-year-old man with idiopathic recurrent pancreatitis.

PMID- 9988954
TI  - Evaluating back pain in older patients.
AB  - Low back pain in the elderly has a much wider range of possible causes than in
      younger patients. In addition to nonspecific mechanical causes, malignancy
      presenting as back pain occurs more often in older patients. Other systemic and
      visceral causes of back pain such as polymyalgia rheumatica, aortic aneurysm,
      Paget disease, Parkinson disease, and osteoporosis with compression fracture
      occur almost exclusively in persons over age 50. Keys to diagnosis and management
      of low back pain in older patients are presented.

PMID- 9988955
TI  - Invasive vs conservative management of non-Q-wave myocardial infarction.
AB  - In the Veterans Affairs Non-Q-Wave Infarction Strategies in Hospital (VANQWISH)
      trial, most patients with non-Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) fared no better
      with early invasive management (i.e., diagnostic angiography within 2 to 3 days,
      followed by revascularization if indicated) than with a more conservative
      approach (i.e., radionuclide ventriculography and thallium stress testing as
      initial diagnostic tests). These results should not be construed to diminish the
      value of early diagnostic angiography, which in patients with non-Q-wave MI
      provides essential information for determining the need, timing, and method of
      revascularization. Until more information is available that incorporates
      contemporary practices and outcomes in patients with non-Q-wave MI, early
      coronary angiography should remain an acceptable method of risk stratification
      and should be followed by appropriate medical therapy or revascularization.

PMID- 9988956
TI  - Aggressive blood pressure lowering is safe, but benefit is still hard to prove.
AB  - In the Hypertension Optimal Treatment (HOT) study, hypertensive patients who were
      randomly assigned to undergo antihypertensive treatment to achieve a goal
      diastolic blood pressure of 80 mm Hg or lower did not experience fewer
      cardiovascular events than did patients who received treatment with goal
      pressures of 85 or 90 mm Hg. Such aggressive antihypertensive treatment was safe
      and well tolerated, and did result in fewer cardiovascular events in the subset
      of patients with diabetes. All patients were randomly assigned to take aspirin 75
      mg/day or placebo, and patients in the aspirin group had a 15% lower rate of
      major cardiovascular events and myocardial infarctions than did patients who
      received placebo. This finding establishes the efficacy of aspirin in preventing
      strokes and myocardial infarctions in hypertensive patients.

PMID- 9988957
TI  - Issues and controversies in venous thromboembolism.
AB  - This paper gives specific recommendations on a number of issues in venous
      thromboembolism: how to evaluate idiopathic deep vein thrombosis (DVT); how to
      treat calf vein thrombosis and upper-extremity DVT; how to use low-molecular
      weight heparin, vena cava filters, catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy, and
      compression stockings; how long to continue anticoagulation therapy; and how to
      manage recurrent DVT.

PMID- 9988958
TI  - Prostate cancer screening.

PMID- 9988959
TI  - Infectious diseases in England and Wales: April to June 1998.

PMID- 9988960
TI  - Seasonal rise in meningococcal disease: chief medical officer writes to all
      doctors.

PMID- 9988961
TI  - The rise and fall of salmonella?

PMID- 9988962
TI  - A possible digital domain for nursing.

PMID- 9988963
TI  - Development of a computerized database for evaluation of nurse practitioner
      student clinical experiences in primary health care. Report of three pilot
      studies.
AB  - A computerized database for the collection of patient encounter information by
      nurse practitioner students provides insight into the number and diversity of
      cases seen. Menu-driven data entry and controlled vocabulary in the form of
      diagnostic clusters provide a mechanism to categorize and analyze the data.
      Faculty are able to review student clinical experience by quantitative measures
      such as number of patient encounters, diagnostic cluster of the encounter, and
      patient demographic data. Qualitative measures such as student's level of
      responsibility and student prior experience with stated encounter also are
      included in the database. Data analysis of two interdisciplinary pilots provided
      comparisons across disciplines of nursing, medicine, and physical therapy. A
      subsequent nurse practitioner student pilot provided further refinement and a
      broadened database terminology more inclusive of a nursing perspective.
      Educational and clinical issues involved in development, maintenance, and future
      use of the database are discussed.

PMID- 9988964
TI  - Wired for thought. Electronic meetings in nursing education.
AB  - Expanded application of electronic meeting software (EMS) in the business world
      is attributable to its discovery as a time saving and cost effective strategy for
      team building and group process. Group process and team building are equally
      important functions within the higher education environment but frequently
      consume hours of attention with limited productivity. Enhancements in EMS
      programs promise exciting solutions for completing crucial activities including
      strategic planning, negotiating, problem solving, consensus building,
      faculty/staff evaluation, multidisciplinary research and classroom instruction.
      The College of Nursing and Health at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio has
      been "wired for thought." This article presents applications of GroupSystems
      electronic meeting software from Ventana Corporation, Tucson, Arizona, for
      solving problems encountered in administration, research collaboration, and
      classroom teaching within the College.

PMID- 9988965
TI  - Intensive care unit bedside documentation systems. Realizing cost savings and
      quality improvements.
AB  - Automating intensive care unit (ICU) documentation saves time and assists in
      interpreting data and planning care. The current economic climate makes the cost
      of ICU computer systems prohibitive for many institutions. Any expenditure
      without a measurable return on investment will be scrutinized carefully. The
      literature describing ICU computer system benefits often is difficult to
      interpret. No two implementations, hospitals, or benefit study designs have been
      the same. Each implementation has many unique variables. These variables make
      study comparison and replication potentially impossible. The authors have
      concluded that replicating previous studies may not be relevant if the goal is to
      justify system cost. The objective is met by designing a study that evaluates
      changes in data management activities as well as issues unique to the study unit
      or institution. The purpose of this article is to review the findings of previous
      benefits studies related to ICU documentation systems and to suggest other
      measures to support cost justification for expensive bedside documentation
      systems.

PMID- 9988966
TI  - Faculty experiences with providing online courses. Thorns among the roses.
AB  - This article presents a review of the literature summarizing faculty reports of
      their experiences with computer-mediated distance education compared with their
      traditional face-to-face teaching experiences. Both challenges and benefits of
      distance learning programs contrasted with classroom-based teaching are revealed.
      Specific difficulties and advantages identified by online faculty were
      categorized into four broad areas of impact on the teaching/learning experience:
      (a) faculty workload, (b) access to education, (c) adapting to technology, and
      (d) instructional quality. Challenges appear to be related predominantly to
      faculty workloads, new technologies, and online course management. Benefits
      identified by online educators indicate that computer-mediated distance education
      has high potential for expanding student access to educational resources, for
      providing individualized instruction, and for promoting active learning among
      geographically separated members of learning groups.

PMID- 9988967
TI  - Fever of unknown origin--past present and the future.

PMID- 9988968
TI  - Knowledge and self-care practices of diabetics in a resettlement colony of
      Chandigarh.
AB  - Self-care is an important component of diabetes control programme. A cross
      sectional survey was carried out in a resettlement colony of Chandigarh and 60
      diabetics aged 20 years and above were identified. Their knowledge and practices
      regarding diet, genital hygiene, care of foot, wound, complications of diabetes
      and medication was assessed using a semistructured interview schedule. Most of
      them (60%) opined that diabetic should consume whatever is cooked in the family.
      Forty eight diabetics knew that sweets and fatty foods should be avoided but only
      18.3% were avoiding them. Genital hygiene was maintained by 51.7% and foot care
      was done by 63.3% through regular washing. Monitoring of blood sugar was poor
      (46.7%), only 3 knew and were continuing self testing of urine. Oral anti
      diabetic drug compliance rate was 62.9%. None of the patients on insulin
      injections knew about self therapy. Knowledge regarding diabetic complications
      was partial. There is a need to reorient and motivate health personnels in
      educating diabetics about self-care.

PMID- 9988969
TI  - Coronary prone behaviour pattern and risk of coronary heart disease: a case
      control study.
AB  - A pair-matched case-control study was carried out at Govt. Medical College
      Hospital, Nagpur, to investigate association between coronary prone behaviour
      pattern (CPBP) and coronary heart disease (CHD). The study included 186 cases of
      CHD and equal number of controls matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status.
      CPBP identified to be significantly associated with CHD (OR = 3.23, 95% CI 1.73
      6.02). The estimates of attributable risk proportion (ARP) and population
      attributable risk proportion i(PARP) were calculated to the 69.04 (42.19-83.38)
      and 16.93 (6.25-31.45) respectively. This study thus identified CPBP as a
      significant risk factor of CHD in this population.

PMID- 9988970
TI  - Rapid cultivation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in liquid medium.
AB  - A total of 894 specimens have been examined by the rapid method for Mycobacterium
      tuberculosis. The medium used for the rapid isolation was Veeraraghavan's
      modified medium V (T2). It is a rich synthetic medium consisting of amino acids,
      salts and vitamins. It enables the growth of mycobacteria within 48 hrs. The
      study was carried out to compare the results of Veeraraghavan's liquid medium
      with LJ medium in routine clinical laboratory. The results of this study indicate
      that the rapid method gives consistently better results than those obtained by
      the standard method. The results compare well with the findings of Daginawala and
      Banker.

PMID- 9988971
TI  - Full time professor and Hon. professor.

PMID- 9988973
TI  - Current issue in hypertension--ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

PMID- 9988972
TI  - Has the Medical Council of India succeeded in its aim of improvement of standard
      of teaching by implementation of full time teachers in clinical subjects?

PMID- 9988974
TI  - New, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

PMID- 9988975
TI  - Malariometry in district Ratnagiri during 1988-1993.
AB  - Ratnagiri, a coastal district situated in the western part of Maharashtra, is
      stratified as 'Non-Problem District' as far as Malaria is concerned based on API,
      topography, rainfall, vector species, Vulnerability etc. Konkan rail project was
      launched in 1991 and 6 out of 9 blocks of districts Ratnagiri are penetrated by
      the rail-line. The local ecology of the district is disturbed on account of the
      project, which is expected to favor malarial transmission. A study based on
      secondary data was undertaken with following objectives: To assess various
      operational indicators under NMEP during 1988-93 in the district with respect to
      their quantitative and qualitative fulfillment. To assess API in the district
      during same period in the context of inception of Konkan rail. It disclosed that
      the operational indicators like SPR, SFR & Pf Percentage showed upward trend
      since 1991 i.e. the year of inception of the Konkan rail project. With ABER
      consistently above 10% & concordance of the cross-checking results above 96%, the
      estimate of API becomes more meaningful. Though API shows upward trend, it was
      never above 2 during 1988-93. Less number of positive cases were found in Active
      Surveillance during 1988 to 1993. The contribution of Drug Distribution Centres
      (DDCs) is almost negligible in the district. In-depth analysis of positive cases
      revealed that the immigrants suffered more & May to July was the season for
      malaria transmission in the district during the said period. More people above 15
      yrs. and more males were found malaria positive which may be because of more
      outdoor life of this group. Block wise analysis revealed that Mandanged & Khed
      Blocks showed API more than 2 since 1992. Paradoxically, Mandangad is a coastal
      block without rail-line, while Khed block is situated away from seashore but has
      rail-line. More irrigation, less adequate surveillance because of staff vacancy &
      nonfunctional Drug Distribution Centres (DDCs), more losses to radical treatment
      are the probable factors responsible for higher API in Mandangad and Khed blocks
      as compared with the rest of the blocks from the District Ratnagiri.

PMID- 9988976
TI  - Sociomedical problems of aged population in a rural area of Wardha district.
AB  - Most of the old persons staying in rural areas are illiterate with physical
      disabilities and are psychologically disturbed due to the loss of income and
      hence they are unable to lead a productive life. The present study was thus
      undertaken in a rural area of Wardha district, with the objective of studying the
      sociomedical aspects and psychological perceptions of the elderly population. Out
      of 10,000 population, 600 individuals of age 60 years and above were studied.
      Proportion of females was 330 (55%) and males 270 (45%) respectively. 300 (66.5%)
      of them were illiterate, and majority were agricultural labourer (238, 39.66%)
      and daily labourers (172, 28.66%). 244 individuals (40.67%) were still the head
      of the family and rest were related to the head of the family. 91 (15.17%) felt
      the change in attitude of the family members. 139 (31.5%) felt neglected and 146
      (24.33%) loneliness respectively.

PMID- 9988978
TI  - Teenage primigravidae: a comparative study.
AB  - A review of history sheets of obstetric cases recorded in a district hospital in
      1992 was done to compare the obstetric outcome in 200 teenage first pregnancies
      (Study group) with that in Control group i.e. 20 years to 29 years. It revealed
      that incidence of complications of pregnancy like anaemia, pregnancy induced
      hypertension (PIH) and preterm labour were significantly higher among teenage
      mothers. The normal mode of delivery was commoner in teenagers (82.5%) in
      comparison to control group (76.5%), probably because of higher number of low
      birth weight babies. The fetal outcome was significantly worse in teenage mothers
      with high incidence of perinatal mortality (8%) and low birth weight babies
      (35%). There was not a single newborn with birthweight above 3500 gms, in teenage
      group, whereas, control group had 5 babies (2.5%) in the category.

PMID- 9988977
TI  - Relationship of national highway with injecting drug abuse and HIV in rural
      Manipur, India.
AB  - Earlier study reported that about 1% of general population or urban Manipur was
      injecting drug users (IDUs). A study was conducted to observe the IDU prevalence
      in rural Manipur and the role of national highway (NH) in determining the IDU
      prevalence if any. It was also aimed to study the HIV prevalence among IDUs of
      different villages. Villages were startified in to 3 categories based on distance
      and communication facilities from the national highway, which cuts across the
      villages to the neighboring state, Nagaland. Villages close to NH had the highest
      IDU prevalence of 1.3% and remote villages had the least prevalence of 0.2%
      whereas villages in between the above mentioned two groups had a prevalence of
      0.9%. It was surprisingly observed that HIV was uniformly distributed among the
      IDUs of all villages and ranged from 50-51%. This indicates that IDU prevalence
      at distance is predominantly determined by the presence of drug trafficking
      route/s like national highway whereas HIV prevalence is mainly determined by the
      needle sharing behaviour of IDUs.

PMID- 9988979
TI  - Epidemiological correlates of dental caries in an urban slum of West Bengal.
AB  - The overall prevalence of dental caries was found to be 57.47 percent in an urban
      slum irrespective of sex, with a maximum of 75.88 percent in the age group of 5-9
      years. Habit of taking hard and sticky food, bad oral hygiene were some of the
      important epidemiological correlates. Fluoride content of drinking water did not
      show any significant role.

PMID- 9988981
TI  - Child and adolescent psychiatry in Israel--towards the millennium.

PMID- 9988980
TI  - Epidemiological study of an outbreak of cholera in Delhi cantonment.
AB  - An epidemiological study was undertaken to investigate an outbreak of cholera in
      Delhi Cantonment during May 1991. The study design was a hybrid design using a
      retrospective Case-Control method superimposed on a population based cross
      sectional approach. A total of 9 cases of cholera, confirmed in the laboratory as
      Vibrio cholerae, 0-1, Eltor, Ogawa were identified using population based survey
      and compared with 33 controls from the same source population. The overall
      Incidence rate was 0.71% and showed a significant rising trend with age. There
      was no morality. Assessment of water supply, sanitary conditions of cook houses
      and disposal system of night soil could not provide any clue to the source of
      infection. Subsequently, all the food handlers were subjected to rectal swab
      examination. Two of them, working in the same messes from where cases had
      occurred, were found positive for Vibrio cholerae (0-1, Eltor, Ogawa). Immediate
      control measures by way of isolation and treatment of carriers promptly abated
      the outbreak. Role of carriers in outbreak of cholera has been highlighted.

PMID- 9988982
TI  - The child suicide potential scale: inter-rater reliability and validity in
      Israeli in-patient adolescents.
AB  - The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the
      Hebrew version of the Child Suicide Potential Scale for use with psychiatrically
      hospitalized adolescents. The criterion validity, the parallel validity, the
      internal consistency, the inter-rater reliability and the test-retest reliability
      were assessed. One hundred eighty-five adolescent in-patients, consecutive
      admissions to a locked adolescent unit, were interviewed by a single interviewer.
      The subjects filled out a series of self report questionnaires and were also
      rated on an observational measure by the ward staff. In addition, 30 adolescents
      were interviewed by two raters simultaneously, in order to check the inter-rater
      reliability of this semi-structured interview. Twenty-three of the interviewees
      were re-interviewed after 6-12 months in order to assess the test-retest
      reliability. The majority of the Pearson correlation coefficients between the
      Child Suicide Potential Scale and parallel self report measures were also
      statistically significant. The internal consistencies of sections in the scale
      were high. The scale was found to have good parallel validity, by differentiating
      between suicidal and non-suicidal patients. The Pearson Correlation Coefficients
      between the two raters were markedly significant. The test-retest reliability was
      low. These results indicate that the Child Suicide Potential Scale is a reliable
      and fairly valid tool for the assessment of suicidal behavior in adolescent in
      patients in Israel.

PMID- 9988983
TI  - Dyadic psychotherapy for early relationship disorders: a case study.
AB  - Specific treatment modalities, such as dyadic psychotherapies, have emerged,
      based on the notion that in cases of very early relational disorders, the patient
      is the parent-infant relationship. The aim of this paper is to present a case
      study of such a relational disorder which took place as the result of a complex
      interplay between the infant's biological risk factors and the parents'
      psychological risk factors. The emphasis is on the technique and the course of
      the dyadic psychotherapy of the mother and her three-year-old child, where the
      main goal was to change some of the intrapsychic and interpersonal processes
      specifically related to pathological motherhood. The theoretical background is
      briefly presented, while emphasizing the criteria for choosing one approach among
      the different kinds of dyadic psychotherapy.

PMID- 9988984
TI  - Is early intervention effective in preventing ADHD?
AB  - The purpose of this study was to examine whether early intervention by non
      pharmacologic means (occupational therapy and speech therapy) can decrease the
      incidence of ADHD in a group of preschool children at high risk for developing
      this syndrome. Fifty-one children who suffered at the age of 2-4.5 years from
      inattention, speech delay and/or motor delay with or without hyperactivity were
      reexamined at the age of 8-10 years (average 8.9 +/- 1.0 years) by a
      developmental pediatrician and a developmental psychologist, using the following
      tests and questionnaires: WISC-R IQ test, Touwen and Prechtl neurological
      examination for soft neurological signs and the DSM-III-R questionnaire for
      parents and teachers for the assessment of inattention and hyperactivity. A
      detailed medical questionnaire was also completed. Of 51 children, 20 (39%) had
      ADHD. Of these 20 children, 8 had a history of ADHD in other siblings. We found
      that in children with a family history of this syndrome early intervention
      reduced the incidence of ADHD at school age although the small numbers limit
      conclusions and need further replication.

PMID- 9988985
TI  - Characteristics of patients with schizophrenia successive to childhood attention
      deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
AB  - The goal of this study was to investigate the characteristics of schizophrenic
      patients with a history of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
      (ADHD). The study was performed on 37 adolescent patients meeting the DSM-III-R
      criteria for schizophrenia and ADHD and 40 controls with schizophrenia only.
      Schizophrenic patients who were diagnosed in childhood as suffering from ADHD had
      more prominent developmental disturbances in infancy, more insidious course of
      schizophrenia, failed to respond to neuroleptics and had poorer outcome as
      compared to patients with schizophrenia only. The results of this study indicate
      that schizophrenia subsequent to childhood ADHD has a poor prognosis as compared
      to schizophrenia only.

PMID- 9988986
TI  - Validity study of the EDI-2 in Israeli population.
AB  - This study was designed to validate the EDI-2 (1) in an Israeli population. The
      sample consisted of 29 anorectic patients and 18 recovering anorectics, recruited
      from six hospitals, and 67 female control subjects matched by age. Results of the
      validity study indicate that the translated EDI-2 was reliable and valid.
      Anorectic patients scored higher than the recovering anorectics on most scales.
      Recovering anorectics resembled the control subjects on most scales except
      Perfectionism.

PMID- 9988987
TI  - Aggression and sexual offense in Asperger's syndrome.
AB  - Asperger's Syndrome is one of the diagnostic subcategories of pervasive
      developmental disorders. It is characterized by a defect in reciprocal social
      interaction, lack of empathy for others and poor non-verbal communication.
      Antisocial acts, including aggression and sexual offense, are not considered to
      be common in this disorder. We describe an adolescent with Asperger's Syndrome
      whose main problems are his violence and sexual offenses. We assume that these
      symptoms are secondary to his diagnosis of Asperger's as a manifestation of his
      difficulties with the "theory of mind" of others. This atypical case report is in
      contrast with the low prevalence of aggression and sexual offense in Asperger's,
      as reported in the literature. We discuss the reasons for this low prevalence.
      Our conclusions are based on one case history and a literature review. We call
      for further research in this field.

PMID- 9988988
TI  - Multiplex developmental disorder.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Multiplex developmental disorder is a term that was suggested 20
      years ago to describe the onset of developmental deficits in affective
      modulation, social behavior and social sensitivity combined with thinking
      disorder with bizarre ideas. With the recent validation of these diagnostic
      criteria, new interest in this disorder has emerged. METHODS AND RESULTS: We
      reviewed the background and the difficulties in classifying this subgroup of
      patients. We also describe a representative case of multiplex developmental
      disorder and discuss the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This article emphasizes the
      importance of investigating this subgroup of patients and encourages reports of
      such cases in Israel.

PMID- 9988989
TI  - HIV knowledge, beliefs and sexual behavior of male heterosexual drug users and
      non-drug users attending an HIV testing clinic in Israel.
AB  - The aim of the study was to compare HIV-related knowledge, beliefs in self
      control and sexual behavior of non-drug using and drug using heterosexual men.
      All individuals attending an HIV testing site during a two-month period were
      asked to complete a questionnaire anonymously. Data for 49 drug users (DU), most
      of them non-injectors, were compared to that of 94 non-drug using (non-DU) men
      with similar education levels (high school or less). Sexual behavior items refer
      to previous six months. FINDINGS: HIV-related knowledge was reported correctly by
      the majority of men in both groups, but the DU showed significantly more
      misconceptions (p < 0.01). Consistent but statistically insignificant lower
      levels of self-control were reported by the DU. Type of sexual relations and the
      number of regular sexual partners were not different between the groups: 55% of
      the DU and 67% of the non-DU were not monogamous. DU had either none or many
      casual partners (three or more), significantly different from the non-DU. The
      proportion of DU who never used condoms (65%) was higher as compared to non-DU
      men (43%, p < 0.05). However, when controlling for type of partnership, this
      difference was sustained only among monogamous men (82% of DU vs. 42% of non-DU
      never used condoms, p < 0.05). Condom use was significantly associated with age,
      HIV knowledge and sexual partnership in the DU. The greater deficiencies in HIV
      related knowledge, and the prevalence of risk behaviors among DU require
      intensive individual and group counselling, specifically adapted for the needs
      and the culture of drug users in Israel and incorporated with social-influence
      orientated change processes.

PMID- 9988990
TI  - Effectiveness of psychotherapy.

PMID- 9988991
TI  - The murder of Yitzhak Rabin.

PMID- 9988992
TI  - Honoring George Annas.

PMID- 9988993
TI  - Standards of care and standard form contracts: distinguishing patient rights and
      consumer rights in managed care.

PMID- 9988994
TI  - The Patients' Bill of Rights: managed care under siege.

PMID- 9988995
TI  - The tuberculosis crisis: the deadly consequence of immigration policies and
      welfare reform.

PMID- 9988997
TI  - Warning: the imported food you are about to consume may (or may not) be harmful
      to your health.

PMID- 9988996
TI  - Hospital conversion revenue: a critical analysis of present law and future
      proposals to reform the manner in which revenue generated from hospital
      conversions is employed.

PMID- 9988998
TI  - Product liability and prescription diet drug cocktail, Fen-Phen: a hard
      combination to swallow.

PMID- 9988999
TI  - Navigating between a rock and a hard place: an employer's obligation to
      reasonably accommodate the disabled in the unionized workplace.

PMID- 9989000
TI  - Broad statutory language is not ambiguous: the Americans with Disabilities Act
      applies in state prisons.

PMID- 9989001
TI  - Measures to control tobacco use: immunity, advertising restrictions, and FDA
      control as proposed in the failed tobacco settlement.

PMID- 9989002
TI  - Asymptomatic HIV under the ADA: the invisible, yet legitimate disability.

PMID- 9989003
TI  - Health care needs and services utilization among sheltered and unsheltered
      Michigan homeless.

PMID- 9989004
TI  - Culturally competent professionals in therapeutic alliances enhance patient
      compliance.
AB  - Medical training has traditionally focused on diagnosis and treatment of disease,
      with the notion that if these two factors are satisfactorily managed, the desired
      outcome will inevitably follow. When it does not, failure is often blamed on
      patient noncompliance. Failure of patients to return for follow-up visits or
      comply with medication regimens has been shown to be a major barrier to the
      delivery of effective medical care. However, effective clinical decision making
      requires that physicians skillfully address not only the biomedical aspects of
      diseases and their management, but also the sociobehavorial characteristics of
      patients. The authors maintain that patient participation is necessary for
      compliance and that a naturally occurring therapeutic alliance between physician
      and patient incorporates factors such as lifestyle, family, and living
      circumstances and an awareness of the culturally unique needs of minority
      patients. Integration of these factors into professional decision making and
      practical management plans will enhance patient compliance.

PMID- 9989005
TI  - Physician perceptions of barriers to care for inner-city Latino children with
      asthma.
AB  - This article describes physician perspectives on barriers to quality primary care
      experienced by inner-city children with asthma and presents policy
      recommendations to reduce these barriers. The authors interviewed 30 physicians
      who take care of children with asthma in an inner-city Latino neighborhood,
      conducted a qualitative analysis of interview themes, and used a consensus group
      method to recommend policy actions. Inner-city physicians described significant
      access, quality of care, and other barriers in providing state-of-the-art primary
      care for asthma. Physicians recommended that eliminating financial barriers to
      care, including lack of health insurance and/or comprehensive health coverage for
      necessary medications and equipment, is the most important required policy
      action. In addition, inner-city physicians recommended that medical care and
      public health programs provide bilingual education for children with asthma and
      their families and train primary care physicians about how to provide effective
      asthma care to children with asthma in the inner city.

PMID- 9989006
TI  - The three leading causes of death in African Americans: barriers to reducing
      excess disparity and to improving health behaviors.
AB  - African Americans suffer disproportionately from several major health problems
      associated with high morbidity and mortality. The 1985 DHHS Secretary's Task
      Force Report on Blacks and Other Minorities identified six major disease
      categories of excess deaths for African Americans compared with whites by
      applying the lower death rate for whites to the American population. The report
      provided a stimulus for public and private action to begin to address the health
      disparities between minority and nonminority populations. This article examines
      three of the leading causes of death for African Americans and assesses the
      extent to which the health disparity between African Americans and whites has
      been reduced. The three leading causes of death for African American males are
      diseases of the heart, cancer, and HIV infection/AIDS. The conditions are the
      same for African American females except stroke replaces HIV infection. Three
      health outcomes measures are discussed: life expectancy, excess death rates, and
      years of potential life lost. A widening of the gap between the races was found
      for diseases of the heart and HIV infection for males and for cancer for females.
      An extensive list of barriers to reducing the disparity are presented from the
      scientific literature and strategies for reducing the three health problems are
      recommended.

PMID- 9989007
TI  - Managed care in rural markets: availability and enrollment.
AB  - The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that urban-rural
      differences in managed care availability and enrollment are primarily due to
      differences in population socioeconomic and health system characteristics rather
      than geographic location, population size, or density. These two groups of
      variables were entered into a regression equation to determine which group could
      best account for the variance in managed care availability and enrollment. In
      general, the results of these analyses indicated that socioeconomic and health
      system characteristics did a much better job of explaining differences in managed
      care availability and enrollment. Therefore, focusing on factors such as
      adjacency to metropolitan areas or population size or density in making managed
      care policy decisions may be less productive than focusing on the socioeconomic
      and health system characteristics of an area.

PMID- 9989008
TI  - Norplant utilization in a Latina inner-city population.
AB  - This study was a consecutive-case series of 138 Latinas (age 16 to 36) who
      received levonorgestrel implants (Norplant) in a community health center between
      September 1, 1992, and December 31, 1994, and were observed through September 30,
      1997. Continuation rate at one year was 70 percent, and 43, 28, and 22 percent at
      two, three, and four years, respectively. Average observation time was 32 months.
      Most frequent reasons for removal were excessive bleeding (34 percent), weight
      gain (26 percent), hair loss (16 percent), amenorrhea (13 percent), desire for
      pregnancy (11 percent), and headaches (9 percent). Five women discontinued due to
      fear of ill effects, four to undergo sterilization. No pregnancies occurred while
      using the method. Norplant is an effective contraceptive for inner-city Latinas;
      removal rate was higher than in previous reports. Side effects or fear of side
      effects led to removal in more than half the patients by two years' use.

PMID- 9989009
TI  - Integrating Buddhism and HIV prevention in U.S. southeast Asian communities.
AB  - Asian Pacific Islander communities in the United States have experienced an
      alarming increase in HIV infection over the past few years, possibly due to a
      lack of knowledge and the relative absence of appropriate educational
      interventions. The authors propose a new approach to the development of HIV
      prevention programs in U.S. southeast Asian communities. This article reviews the
      cultural and economic factors that may facilitate HIV transmission within these
      communities. Relying on the basic precepts of Buddhism, the dominant religion of
      many southeast Asian populations in the United States, the health belief model is
      utilized to demonstrate how recognizable, acceptable religious constructs can be
      integrated into the content of HIV prevention messages. This integration of
      religious concepts with HIV prevention messages may increase the likelihood that
      the message audience will accept the prevention messages as relevant. This
      nuanced approach to HIV prevention must be validated and refined through field
      research.

PMID- 9989011
TI  - Investigational cancer treatment for children.

PMID- 9989010
TI  - Termination from Medicaid: how does it affect access, continuity of care, and
      willingness to purchase insurance?
AB  - Welfare reform has raised fears that Medicaid recipients will lose coverage, yet
      efforts to insure the poor via waiver programs may fall short. A telephone sample
      of 351 enrolled and terminated members of a Medicaid managed care plan based in
      community health centers were asked about insurance status, source of care,
      willingness to purchase new insurance, and access. Of terminated families, 78
      percent had one member without insurance, 93 percent retained a regular source of
      care (vs. 96 percent enrolled), and 86 percent retained the same source as before
      losing coverage. Only 11 percent of uninsured respondents were willing to pay
      $200 per month and 57 percent to pay $50 per month for replacement coverage, and
      they were more likely to report problems getting prescription medications and
      obtaining treatment for serious symptoms and to go without care because of the
      expense. Access to care is diminished for those who lose Medicaid coverage, even
      for persons attending community health centers.

PMID- 9989012
TI  - Parent coping and child distress behaviors during invasive procedures for
      childhood cancer.
AB  - This study examines what parents identified as their primary stressor before
      their child's invasive procedure, what coping strategies were used to manage the
      stress, what level of distress their children experienced during each phase of
      the procedure, and whether parents' coping modes were associated with their
      children's distress. Twenty children with cancer from 3 to 11 years of age and
      the parent present during the procedure participated in the study. Parents'
      primary stressors were identified as uncertainty about parent role and
      anticipating the child's distress during the procedure. Although parents used
      both emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies for coping with their primary
      stressors, they primarily relied on emotion-focused strategies. Children
      experienced the most behavioral distress during the procedural phase, and girls
      exhibited more distress than boys. The parents' coping modes were not associated
      with their children's distress, but children of parents whose primary stressor
      was uncertainty about parent role had higher distress than children of parents
      whose primary stressor was anticipating the child's distress. The findings
      related to parents' stressors, their coping strategies, and their children's
      distress were consistent with previous research. Directions for future research
      and suggestions for dealing with invasive procedures for childhood cancer are
      described.

PMID- 9989013
TI  - Preferences for participation in treatment decision making and information needs
      of parents of children with cancer: a pilot study.
AB  - This study was performed to obtain information on parents of children with
      cancer: (a) what role parents preferred to assume in treatment decision making
      (TDM); (b) parents' priority information needs; (c) if a relationship existed
      between TDM preferences and information needs; and (d) if sociodemographic,
      disease and treatment variables predicted TDM preferences or information needs. A
      cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 58 parents who
      had a child less than 13 years of age diagnosed with cancer in the previous year.
      Instruments included a Sociodemographic, Disease, and Treatment Questionnaire;
      the Control Preferences Scale for Pediatrics, and an Information Needs
      Questionnaire. The results showed that parents had systematic preferences about
      TDM, preferring collaborative followed by passive and active roles. Nine
      priorities in information needs (highest to lowest) were found: (a) treatments
      and tests, (b) cure, (c) caring for my child, (d) emotional impact, (e) side
      effects, (f) physical impact, (g) disease, (h) coping with painful procedures,
      and (i) impact on the family. Sociodemographic, disease and treatment variables
      were not predictive of preferences for TDM or information needs. Concrete
      informational needs take precedence over issues of emotional or family impact or
      pain. A low Kendall's coefficient (0.07) indicated that parents as a group do not
      have uniform information needs. Information giving must be individualized.

PMID- 9989014
TI  - Siblings of children with cancer: a review of the literature.
AB  - Research on siblings of children with cancer during the past 40 years has clearly
      shown that the childhood cancer experience is a stressor that may increase
      subjective feelings of stress by well siblings and in some cases lead to
      decreased psychosocial competencies and increased psychopathologies. Research has
      expanded from identifying psychosocial problems experienced by the sibling after
      the patient's death to identifying stressors during the illness experience. More
      recent studies have been targeted at identifying what action siblings take to
      cope with the stressors imposed since the cancer diagnosis and have addressed
      what interventions pediatric oncology nurses use in clinical practice to provide
      support to siblings of children with cancer. The current state of this body of
      literature, a review of 18 studies, is presented in this article along with a
      critique of the research studies and suggestions for future research.

PMID- 9989015
TI  - Conceptual understanding of resilience in the adolescent with cancer: Part I.
AB  - During the past two decades, increased research attention has been directed
      toward understanding the adolescent who is confronted with challenges such as
      poverty or substance abuse. Accordingly, pediatric oncology nurse researchers and
      clinicians are increasingly becoming interested in understanding the experience
      of resilience in the adolescent with cancer. Research and clinical reports have
      shown that many adolescents with cancer are resilient even though they experience
      multiple stressors. That is, even in the face of adversity, they develop into
      well-adapted individuals. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual
      understanding of resilience in adolescents with cancer. Areas that are addressed
      include the following: (a) an historical overview of the major theoretical
      paradigms used to understand the pediatric cancer experience; (b) a summary of
      definitional issues related to the construct of resilience; and (c) a conceptual
      model of resilience. New insights are provided that may lead pediatric oncology
      nurse researchers and clinicians to examine resilience in the adolescent with
      cancer from a variety of perspectives.

PMID- 9989016
TI  - Becoming a cancer patient: a study of families of children with acute lymphocytic
      leukemia.
AB  - This grounded theory study was designed to explore the process by which families
      of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) "become" cancer patients. Data
      were obtained through interviews with four families and three professional
      caregivers and were analyzed for processes by which families experience the
      illness of ALL. The central process of "becoming" was defined as trying to live
      as "normally" as possible; accepting that life is not the same; understanding
      what you have to do; and accepting what you can't change/living with
      dissatisfactions. This process was mediated by families' external contexts,
      including marital relationships and support networks, experiential contexts,
      including positive and negative experiences during treatment and previous illness
      experiences, and internal contexts, including personal survival strategies and
      personal outlooks and attitudes. The process illustrates the pattern of
      experience that occurs in families faced with the diagnosis of their child's ALL.
      Understanding this process may be useful to care providers when treating children
      with cancer.

PMID- 9989017
TI  - Swimming and central venous catheter-related infections in the child with cancer.
AB  - Although there have been many studies evaluating risk factors for catheter
      related infections in children with cancer, none have examined whether swimming
      presents such a risk. Families of children with cancer were asked about specific
      swimming practices and central line care to determine whether there is an
      association between swimming and infection. Parents completed a self-report
      questionnaire and medical records were reviewed to document catheter-related
      intraluminal, tunnel, and exit-site infections. Ninety-one children with a total
      of 101 tunneled catheters participated in the study. Forty-nine children with a
      total of 50 catheters were swimmers; 46 children with 51 catheters were
      nonswimmers (four children had two catheters and swam with one catheter but not
      the other, therefore, these children were counted twice). There were no
      statistically significant differences in rates of catheter-related infections
      between the two groups (0.04/catheter-month in swimmers versus 0.25/in non
      swimmers, relative risk; RR = 1.6, p = .16). When the analysis was confined to
      summertime infections per summertime catheter month, there were no significant
      differences in the rates of infections per summer month (0.06 for swimmers vs.
      0.05 for non-swimmers, RR = 1.4; p = .50). When the analyses were performed to
      compare frequent swimmers with infrequent/non-swimmers, once again there were no
      differences found in rates of catheter-related infections between the two groups.
      These results suggest that swimming does not increase the risk of catheter
      related infections in children with tunneled catheters.

PMID- 9989018
TI  - The cognitive determinants of performance on the Austin Maze.
AB  - This study aimed to investigate which abilities are measured by the Austin Maze.
      One hundred and eight university students were administered a battery of eight
      neuropsychological tests including, the Austin Maze, the Tower of London, the
      Wisconsin Card Sort Test, Block Design, the Visual Spatial Learning Test, Digit
      Span Backwards, the Brown-Peterson Task and the Wide Range Achievement Test of
      Reading. Results indicated that visuospatial ability and memory both
      significantly contributed to performance on the Austin Maze, but differed in the
      degree to which they explained the performance depending on which measure of maze
      performance was employed. It appears that visuospatial ability is measured in
      early trials of the Austin Maze when individuals are orienting themselves to the
      path. In later trials individuals must call upon visuospatial memory to
      consolidate the details of the path. Executive function and working memory were
      not found to be significantly implicated in performance on the Austin Maze.

PMID- 9989019
TI  - Neuropsychological functioning in cocaine abusers with and without alcohol
      dependence.
AB  - Thirty codependent cocaine and alcohol users were compared with age-, education-,
      race-, and sex-matched cocaine abusers (N = 30) and normals (N = 30) using an
      extended Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery to determine whether
      cocaine abusers with alcohol dependence were more cognitively impaired than
      singly addicted cocaine abusers. Tests were grouped and analyzed according to 8
      major ability areas. Participants who abused both cocaine and alcohol did not
      differ from normals on the majority of test measures. An unexpected but
      consistent finding was the poorer performance of the cocaine sample relative to
      cocaine and alcohol abusers on measures of complex psychomotor and simple motor
      functioning (ps < .001). Pure cocaine abusers, but not abusers of both cocaine
      and alcohol, also performed more poorly than normals on a measure of global
      neuropsychological functioning (p < .01). These results are consistent with
      previous reports of generally mild cognitive dysfunction in cocaine abusers. The
      findings also suggest that cocaine and alcohol abusers of relatively young ages
      may be less cognitively impaired than demographically comparable cocaine abusers.
      Evidence from studies of vascular functioning in abusers of cocaine and alcohol
      alone and in combination is discussed as possible explanation for these findings.

PMID- 9989020
TI  - Consistency of handwriting movements in dementia of the Alzheimer's type: a
      comparison with Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases.
AB  - Patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) and their matched controls
      wrote, on a computer graphics tablet, 4 consecutive, cursive letter 'l's, with
      varying levels of visual feedback: noninking pen and blank paper so that only the
      hand movements could be seen, noninking pen and lined paper to constrain their
      writing, goggles to occlude the lower visual field and eliminate all relevant
      visual feedback, and inking pen with full vision. The kinematic measures of
      stroke length, duration, and peak velocity were expressed in terms of consistency
      via a signal-to-noise ratio (M value of each parameter divided by its SD).
      Irrespective of medication or severity, DAT patients had writing strokes of
      significantly less consistent lengths than controls', and were disproportionately
      impaired by reduced visual feedback. Again irrespective of medication or
      severity, patients' strokes were of significantly less consistent duration, and
      significantly less consistent peak velocity than controls', independent of
      feedback conditions. Patients, unlike controls, frequently perseverated,
      producing more than 4 'l's, or multiple sets of responses, which was not
      differentially affected by level of visual feedback. The more variable
      performance of patients supports a degradation of the base motor program, and
      resembles that of Huntington's rather than Parkinson's disease patients. It may
      indeed reflect frontal rather than basal ganglia dysfunction.

PMID- 9989021
TI  - Performance discrepancies on the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's
      Version in the standardization sample.
AB  - The standardization data for the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's
      Version (CVLT-C) were used to evaluate statistically significant discrepancies
      between key quantitative variables of this instrument, as well as the base rate
      of specific discrepancies. The results indicated that apparently large
      discrepancies between the respective standard scores were actually fairly common.
      However, for 3 of the 4 contrasts, discrepancies that equaled or exceeded 1.5 z
      score points in the hypothesized direction were sufficiently unusual to be
      considered clinically significant. For a 4th contrast, discrepancies that equaled
      or exceeded 1 z-score point in the hypothesized direction appeared to meet this
      criterion. It is suggested that the interpretation of clinically obtained CVLT-C
      profiles should focus primarily on specific quantitative variables, with
      inclusion of consideration of the presented base rates of discrepancies between
      the respective z scores.

PMID- 9989022
TI  - Emotion processing in the visual and auditory domains by patients with
      Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - The ability to process emotional information was assessed in 42 individuals: 23
      patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 19 healthy elderly controls. Four
      tasks assessed the ability to recognize emotion in audiotaped voices, in drawings
      of emotional situations, and in videotaped vignettes displaying emotions in
      facial expression, gestures, and body movements. Hemispheric dominance for
      processing facial expressions of emotions was also examined. There were no
      consistent group differences in the ability to process emotion presented via the
      auditory domain (i.e., nonverbal sounds, such as crying or shrieking, and speech
      prosody). Controls were, however, significantly better than the AD patients in
      identifying emotions depicted in drawings of emotional situations and in
      videotaped scenes displaying faces, gestures, and body movements. These
      differences were maintained after statistically adjusting for the visuospatial
      abilities of the participants. After a statistical adjustment for abstraction
      ability, some of the tasks continued to differentiate the groups (e.g., the
      emotional drawings task, the videotaped displays of faces), but others did not.
      These results confirm and extend previous results indicating that AD patients do
      not have a primary deficit in the processing of emotion. They suggest that the
      difficulties of the AD patients in perceiving emotion are secondary to the
      cognitive impairments associated with AD.

PMID- 9989023
TI  - Neuropsychological test performance in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome:
      independent effects of diagnostic group on functioning.
AB  - Individuals infected with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are at
      risk for developing cognitive impairment. The extent to which the impairment
      represents the results of a single factor accounting for a wide degree of
      cognitive dysfunction, or is the result of the combined effects of multiple
      factors, has not been determined. In the present study, we analyzed data from 134
      patients with AIDS and 105 HIV- controls using a recently developed analytical
      procedure. The results revealed that, by and large, the test variables shared a
      significant amount of variance related to disease status. Hence the AIDS-related
      influences on cognition are shared and thus cannot be considered independent. Two
      tests, Digit Symbol Substitution, and the primary measure of verbal free recall,
      had a direct relationship with the group variable (AIDS vs. controls). These
      results suggest that a single factor is sufficient to account for a large
      proportion of the AIDS-related variance on a wide variety of neuropsychological
      tests.

PMID- 9989024
TI  - A prospective analysis of the recovery of attention following pediatric head
      injury.
AB  - Little is known about specific attentional sequelae following a closed head
      injury, their pattern of recovery or their interaction with ongoing development.
      The present study examined attentional abilities in a group of children who had
      sustained a mild, moderate, or severe head injury. Results showed that the severe
      head injury group exhibited greater deficits on a number of attentional measures
      at acute and 6 months postinjury phases, in comparison to children in the mild
      and moderate head injury groups. Specifically, deficits were most evident on
      timed tasks where speed of processing was an integral component. Difficulties
      persisted to at least 6 months postinjury and so may lead to cumulative deficits
      over time.

PMID- 9989025
TI  - Cognitive outcome in children and adolescents following severe traumatic brain
      injury: influence of psychosocial, psychiatric, and injury-related variables.
AB  - Previous studies of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) have emphasized injury
      related variables rather than psychiatric or psychosocial factors as correlates
      of cognitive outcomes. We addressed this concern by recruiting a consecutive
      series (N = 24) of children age 5 through 14 years who suffered a severe TBI, a
      matched group who sustained a mild TBI, and a second matched group who sustained
      an orthopedic injury. Standardized intellectual, memory, psychiatric, family
      functioning, family psychiatric history, neurological, and neuroimaging
      assessments were conducted at an average of 2 years following injury. Severe TBI,
      when compared to mild TBI and orthopedic injury, was associated with significant
      decrements in intellectual and memory function. A principal components analysis
      of independent variables that showed significant (p < .05) bivariate correlations
      with the outcome measures yielded a neuropsychiatric factor encompassing severity
      of TBI indices and postinjury psychiatric disorders and a psychosocial
      disadvantage factor. Both factors were independently and significantly related to
      intellectual and memory function outcome. Postinjury psychiatric disorders added
      significantly to severity indices and family functioning and family psychiatric
      history added significantly to socioeconomic status in explaining several
      specific cognitive outcomes. These results may help to define subgroups of
      children who will require more intensive services following their injuries.

PMID- 9989026
TI  - Reorganization of verbal memory and language: a case of dissociation.
AB  - Left-to-right reorganization of verbal memory following early left hemisphere
      damage has been reported in patients whose expressive language is governed by the
      right hemisphere. We present a case in which verbal memory performance was
      intact, despite severe left mesial temporal damage, and despite aphasia on left
      internal carotid sodium amytal ablation. The distribution and degree of left
      mesial temporal damage was assessed visually and quantitatively on MRI. These
      findings raise the possibility that verbal memory may shift to the language
      nondominant hemisphere as a result of early left mesial temporal damage.

PMID- 9989027
TI  - To see better to the left when looking more to the right: effects of gaze
      direction and frames of spatial coordinates in unilateral neglect.
AB  - Unilateral spatial neglect entails a failure to detect or respond to stimuli in
      the space opposite to a brain lesion. However, the contralesional hemispace can
      be determined by different frames of spatial coordinates, such as eyes-, head-,
      body-, or environment-centered coordinates. We observed 2 patients with a right
      hemisphere stroke whose left spatial neglect was modulated by distinct
      coordinates systems depending on the task. Four tasks were given in different
      conditions of central gaze and either the eyes or the head rotated 30 degrees to
      the right or 30 degrees to the left. While the 2 patients had a retinotopic
      defect in 1 visual field quadrant that remained the same irrespective of gaze
      direction (upper or lower quadrant in 1 case each), the other quadranopic field
      defect improved with eyes rotation to the right but not with head rotation,
      suggesting a head-centered spatiotopic deficit. Performance on line bisection was
      influenced both by eyes and head rotation, as well as by the position of the
      lines with respect to the trunk midline, suggesting the involvement of both head
      centered and body-centered coordinates. Visual imagery and auditory extinction
      were not modified by changing the eyes or head position. These findings suggest
      that distinct spatial coordinates are brought into play depending on the tasks
      demands.

PMID- 9989028
TI  - Factors affecting performance in cross-cultural neuropsychology: from a New
      Zealand bicultural perspective.

PMID- 9989029
TI  - Span of temporal continuity as a measure of personal and present existence.

PMID- 9989030
TI  - [The evaluation of pathogenic factors in duodenal ulcers].
AB  - There were examined 90 patients with severe course of duodenal ulcer disease. In
      83% of patients the atropinedependent reaction of acid production was noted,
      giving evidence the dominant influence of neural regulation on gastric secretion,
      in 17%--atropineresistant reaction, giving evidence the hormonal mechanism of
      regulation.

PMID- 9989031
TI  - [The role of the extracorporeal detoxication in prophylaxis and treatment of
      respiratory disorders in patients with acute ileus].
AB  - Hemosorption (HS) and plasmapheresis (PA) stimulate significantly the pulmonary
      metabolic functions due to their potent detoxicational effect. Arterial hypoxemia
      occurs simultaneously. The PA application contra HS causes more durable and
      stable detoxicational effect. It is mandatory in patients with an acute ileus to
      combine the HS conduction and repeated sessions of spontaneous respiration with
      end-expiratory additional pressure and to include fatty emulsions in complex of
      substitutional therapy while PA application.

PMID- 9989032
TI  - [Non-favorable prognosis of the postop period and early diagnosis of postop
      peritonitis].
AB  - After the operation peritonitis have occurred in 19 patients, in 40-
      postoperative period course was without complications. The informativity of the
      laboratory investigations indexes for the postoperative course prognosis and
      early peritoneal cavity inflammation was revealed.

PMID- 9989033
TI  - [Prophylaxis of postop bronchopulmonary complications during surgical treatment
      of inflammatory diseases of hepatobiliary tract].
AB  - The combination of own breathing with heightened end-expiratory pressure and
      antibiotic prophylaxis, ultrasonic inhalation using proteolytic enzymes,
      bronchofibroscopic sanation have permitted to reduce the occurrence frequency of
      pulmonary complications from 16 to 7%.

PMID- 9989034
TI  - [Results of hemoroidectomy with the use of staplers].
AB  - Hemorrhoidectomy was conducted in 222 patients: in 121 (1st group)--according to
      Milligan--Morgan method, in 101 (2nd group) using bronchial stump suture
      appliance and lung hilum suture appliance apparatuses. Of the first group
      patients in 32.2% a pain syndrome was noted, in 21.4%--a disuric disorders, in
      9.9%--perianal oedema, in 3%--hemorrhage. In the second group complications were
      absent.

PMID- 9989035
TI  - [Varieties of vascular anastomoses in the course of renal allotransplantation].
AB  - The results of conduction of 305 renal transplantation operations are adduced.
      Ultrasonic dopplerography ought to be applied in complex of preoperational
      examination of potential recipient. Maximal usage of the donors kidney with
      atypical vascular pedicle structure is mandatory and possible. In the cases of
      the main line type of the vessels structure, while other equal conditions
      present, the end to end anastomosis formation with a. iliaca internal is
      preferable. The ligature of vessel above and below to the defect is a single
      effective method of treatment of secondary arrosive hemorrhage from a, iliaca
      externa.

PMID- 9989036
TI  - [The ureter's modeling during ureterocystoneostomy].
AB  - While complex examination of patients with megaureter in late stages it was
      established the afection in the first place of the ureter's muscular layer and
      the disorder of its contractice capacity. The causes of megaureter's occurrence
      were: obstruction of the ureter's intramural portion and vesico-ureteric reflux.
      Longitudinal resection of megaureter was conducted in 25 patients, the
      longitudinal ureter's fold formation--in 6, intraureteric plasty was done in 28.
      In 93% of observations the intraureteric plasty efficacy was noted.

PMID- 9989037
TI  - [The puncture laser dissectomy application for the discogenic lumbosacral
      radiculitis].
AB  - The puncture laser discectomy was conducted in 273 patients with discogenic
      lumbosacral radiculitis while the conservative therapy inefficacy, pain syndrome
      in a lumbago stage present and lumboischialgia with absent prominent locomotive
      disorders and if the intervertebral disc hernia has the size up to 0.6 cm.

PMID- 9989038
TI  - [Comparative evaluation of suture material used in the treatment of patients with
      peritonitis].
AB  - The advantages of application of letilan-lavsan and octselon versus kapron were
      noted in 85 patients operated on for purulent peritonitis.

PMID- 9989040
TI  - [Application of the staged radical operation for obstruction colonic cancer].
AB  - The results of treatment of 202 patients with an acute ileus due to colonic
      malignancy are adduced. The total five year survival index was 20% and a ten year
      one--1.5%.

PMID- 9989041
TI  - [The application of colored liquid-crystallic thermography in diagnosis of
      gastric cancer].
AB  - The efficacy of application of colour liquid crystallic thermography in the
      gastric cancer diagnosis was studied. The method permits to establish
      localization and spreading of gastric malignancy, excels by informativity in the
      diagnosis complex and treatment monitoring of patients.

PMID- 9989039
TI  - [Abdomino-anal resection of rectum with hemi-resection of anal canal].
AB  - The method of performing of abdominoanal rectal resection with anal hemiresection
      for tumor, localized in inferoampullar rectal portion and spreading on anus.

PMID- 9989042
TI  - [Diagnosis and surgical treatment of patients with insulinoma].
AB  - The experience of treatment of 116 patients with the organic hyperinsulinism
      syndrome is presented.

PMID- 9989043
TI  - [Risk factors determining the outcome of a diffuse peritonitis of appendicular
      genesis in children].
AB  - The peculiarities of pre-, intra- and early postoperative period course in 108
      children, operated on for diffuse and general peritonitis of appendicitis origin,
      are studied. Most significant 34 prognostic factors for the disease outcome are
      choosed. The leading factors are the disease course duration, general condition
      of the patient while hospitalization, the vegetative disorders presence, the
      intestinal paresis degree, the biochemical inductors of stress contents, the
      peritoneal exudate character, the kind and composition of microorganisms in it,
      the character of an early postoperative period course.

PMID- 9989044
TI  - [Common biliary duct cyst in children].
AB  - Eight children with the cyst of choledochus, ageing from 1 month to 15 years,
      were treated for the period of 20 years in clinic. Cystoduodenostomy is the
      method of choice for the treatment. All the patients have recovered.

PMID- 9989045
TI  - [Isolated invagination of appendix in girls].
AB  - The experience of treatment of 15 children with isolated invagination of
      processus appendicularis was summarized. The clinic, diagnosis, principles of
      operative treatment were analyzed.

PMID- 9989046
TI  - [Clinical course, diagnosis and treatment of ovarian tumors and cysts in
      children].
AB  - The experience of diagnosis and treatment of the ovarial tumor and cyst in 68
      girls was summarized. Children were admitted to the hospital with an acute
      abdomen signs and in a planned order as well. All the patients were operated on.
      Children with benign ovarial tumor and cyst are alive. Four patients with
      malignancy have died.

PMID- 9989047
TI  - [Experimental substantiation of a two-staged method of microsurgical
      transplantation of the complex composite flaps].
AB  - The authors have proposed two-staged flap transplantation, consisting of flap
      mobilization on vascular pedicle with subsequent its transplantation in several
      days. In experiment on muscular flaps, obtained from regio epigastrica of 30
      rabbits, it was established that optimal time for the second stage of operation
      conduction may be end of the second--beginning of the third day after the
      transplant mobilization.

PMID- 9989048
TI  - [The ways of students' training optimization in hospital clinic].

PMID- 9989049
TI  - [Comparative estimation of results of palliative and radical operations conducted
      on gastroduodenal ulcer complicated by perforation].

PMID- 9989050
TI  - [New classification of malignant tumors TNM (5th edition)].

PMID- 9989051
TI  - [Contemporary concepts of the problem of hydrocephaly].

PMID- 9989052
TI  - [The application of color doppler sonography in contemporary mammary studies].

PMID- 9989053
TI  - [The incidence of thyroid gland diseases among the population of the Ukraine].

PMID- 9989054
TI  - [The method of intraoperative intestinal dialysis in peritonitis].

PMID- 9989055
TI  - [Mallory-Weiss syndrome as one of the causes of gastric hemorrhage].

PMID- 9989056
TI  - [Successful treatment of necrotic enteritis under the conditions of a central
      regional clinic].

PMID- 9989057
TI  - [The incidence of intramural duodenal abscess as a complication of
      cholelithiasis].

PMID- 9989058
TI  - [The peritoneal irritation symptom in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in
      obese patients].

PMID- 9989059
TI  - [Rare observation of an acute appendicitis in the aborted colonic turning].

PMID- 9989061
TI  - [Enterogenic cyst in the mediastinal and retroperitoneal space with penetration
      into the lungs in a newborn baby].

PMID- 9989060
TI  - [Acute phlegmonous appendicitis in the early period after the prostate gland
      excision].

PMID- 9989062
TI  - [Combined hemorrhoids in early childhood].

PMID- 9989063
TI  - [Femoral hernia in a child].

PMID- 9989064
TI  - [The observation of splenic rupture in a newborn child].

PMID- 9989065
TI  - [The observation of fistula from the sigmoid colon diverticulum into the
      bladder].

PMID- 9989066
TI  - [The efficacy of complex treatment of an acute calculous pyelonephritis].

PMID- 9989067
TI  - [The use of uroflowmetry in phimosis in children].

PMID- 9989068
TI  - [The injury of abdominal and thoracic cavities with a metallic hook through the
      perineum].

PMID- 9989069
TI  - [The choice of surgical approach in the resection of abdominal aorta].
AB  - The abdominal aorta aneurism (AAA) surgery experience in 110 patients was
      analysed. The topographic-anatomic investigations were conducted, a new surgical
      access to suprarenal and infrarenal AAA parts was proposed.

PMID- 9989070
TI  - [Changes in the central hemodynamics in the surgical treatment of abdominal aorta
      aneurysm].
AB  - The algorythm of examination and treatment of patients with an abdominal aorta
      aneurysm was proposed.

PMID- 9989071
TI  - [Simultaneous revascularization of the myocardium and lower extremities due to
      dissipated atherosclerosis].
AB  - In 18 patients with the cardiac coronary arteries and the lower extremities main
      arteries atherosclerotic affection the simultaneous aortocoronary shunting in
      concurrence with the lower extremities revascularization were conducted. The
      mortality was 5.5%.

PMID- 9989072
TI  - [The application of lumbar sympathectomy in complex of treatment of obliterating
      atherosclerosis].
AB  - The lumbar sympathectomy was conducted for the grade II (according to Fontaine)
      obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities arteries in 309 cases as
      the main method of surgery, and in 426--in concurrence with reconstructive
      intervention on the main vessels. The indications for and the efficacy of the
      desympathization in various levels of the main arterial bed affection are
      discussed.

PMID- 9989073
TI  - [Remote follow-up results of the surgery in patients with unspecified
      aortoarteritis].
AB  - In 133 patients with nonspecific aortoarteritis 172 operations were conducted,
      83.8% of them--reconstructive interventions. In 29 patients with isolated
      affection of truncus brachiocephalicus 32 operations were conducted. Good results
      of up to 13-year follow-up was 77%, mortality--13.8%. For the isolated affection
      of aortal arch in 26 patients 27 operations were conducted. Five-year survival
      have constituted 100%, of them in 79.9% good result was observed. For the
      isolated affection of aorto-femoral segment 38 patients were operated on. Up to 8
      year follow-up was achieved in 32 of them, good result was noted in 73.1%. For
      the combined affection in 40 patients 51 operations were done. Seven-year follow
      up was achieved in 36 patients, good result was noted in 74.2%.

PMID- 9989074
TI  - [Combined treatment of patients with affected extracranial segment of the
      internal carotid artery].
AB  - The results of examination of 84 patients with extracranial a. carotis externa
      affection were analysed. In 36 patients the combined treatment was conducted,
      including surgical intervention and postoperative therapy course.

PMID- 9989075
TI  - [Surgical treatment of symptomatic arterial hypertension].
AB  - During ten years 57 patients with symptomatic arterial hypertension were
      examined. The suprarenal gland disease was diagnosed in 31 patient, the renal
      arteries disease--in 16, the thoracic aorta coarctation--in 10; 35 patients were
      operated on. The radical intervention conduction have promoted the arterial
      pressure normalization in early postoperative period.

PMID- 9989077
TI  - [Combined treatment of purulent complications of diabetes mellitus].
AB  - The results of treatment of 132 patients with the type I diabetes mellitus of
      middle end critical severity, trophic disorders and purulent-necrotic
      complications were analysed. Clinical efficacy of intravascular laser irradiation
      of blood, the prolongated medicinal intraarterial infusion, antioxidant therapy
      were established.

PMID- 9989076
TI  - [On the legal aspects of the term "diabetic angiopathy of the lower extremities".
      Part I. Clinico-morphological parallels of the lower diabetic angiopathy].
AB  - The clinico-morphological data analysis was done in 100 examined patients with
      diabetic angiopathy of the lower extremities. The morphological changes revealed
      have corresponded to severity of the disease clinical symptoms in 70% only.
      Purulent affection of extremities have characterized not the end stage of
      angiopathy only but it was observed in another stages of the disease.

PMID- 9989078
TI  - [Surgical treatment of an acute thrombophlebitis of the varicose veins of the
      lower extremities].
AB  - The operation for an acute thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities varicose
      veins was conducted in 45 patients in an acute period of complication (1st
      group); in 22--after the durable ambulatory conservative therapy (2nd group); in
      18--hospitalized for the next aggravation of the superficial veins chronical
      recurrent thrombophlebitis (3d group). Complications after the operation have
      occurred in the 1st group in 4.4% patients, in the 2nd group--in 13.6%, in the 3d
      group--in 22.2%. The duration of treatment of patients in stationary have
      constituted on average accordingly 7.6, 9.3 and 23.5 days. In elderly patients,
      having severe concurrent diseases, the segmental phlebothrombectomy conduction is
      indicated.

PMID- 9989079
TI  - [The results of combined surgical treatment of the occlusive forms of the deep
      vein thrombosis with the trophic ulcers in the lower extremities].
AB  - The results of treatment of 156 patients with occlusion forms of the deep veins
      thrombosis of the lower extremities and trophic ulcers are adduced. The partial
      or complete thrombectomy the shunting, Linton and Cockett operations, plastic
      interventions, the pulmonary artery embolism prophylaxis were conducted, and the
      late terms--the vibro- and hydromassage.

PMID- 9989081
TI  - [Congenital heart diseases in adults].
AB  - The experience of treatment of 45 adult patients with the innate heart diseases
      was summarized, 33 of whom were operated on. The interatrial septum defect
      closure was conducted in 14 patients, aortal valvotomy--in 1, the valve change
      for the twocuspid aortal valve (AV)--in 5, the aortal coarctation correction--in
      3, the coronary arteries anastomosis formation with the coronary-pulmonary
      arterial fistula ligature--in 3, valvotomy or the balloon dilatation of pulmonary
      artery--in 2, septal myectomy for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy--in 2, the
      intervention on two- or three-cuspid valve or AV for the open left upper cava
      vein--in 2, AV in Marfan's syndrome--in 1. There were no postoperative mortality
      or complications. Of 8 nonoperated patients in 5 the cerebral blood circulation
      disorder have occurred, caused by paradoxical emboli. Thirty five year old woman
      with Eisenmenger syndrome have died. The patients with atresia of right pulmonary
      veins and fibrosis of right lung have survived up to the fourth decade of life.

PMID- 9989080
TI  - [The treatment of an acute thrombophlebitis of subcutaneous veins of the foot: an
      current surgical problem].
AB  - The results of treatment of 1225 patients with an acute subcutaneous foot veins
      thrombophlebitis were analysed. Morphological changes of the vein wall were
      studied up, bacteriological investigation of the thrombosed veins was conducted.

PMID- 9989082
TI  - [Microsurgical replantation of the main segments of the extremities].
AB  - Of 61 injured person, to whom the replantation of the extremity's large segment
      was conducted, the replantated segment revivement was noted in 43 (83%). The
      acceptable functional rehabilitation of the extremity was achieved in 38 (88.4%)
      patients due to conduction of various correcting interventions in late
      postoperative period.

PMID- 9989083
TI  - [Experimental-morphological and clinical basis of preventive methods for the
      intraoperative complications of the amputation of the lower extremity at the
      thigh level].
AB  - The nonexpediency of the tourniquet and retractor application while the extremity
      amputation conduction on the femur level, the necessity in renunciation of the
      neurotomy conduction using an amputational knife, scalpel or scissors were
      proved, basing on the topographic-anatomic (53 cadavers), experimental (130 white
      rats and 50 dogs) and clinical (40 patients) data.

PMID- 9989084
TI  - [The method of integral estimation of a functional status of the hemostatic
      system].
AB  - The instrumental method of the integral assessment of functional state of the
      hemostasis system using piezoelectric hemoviscosigraphy was elaborated.

PMID- 9989085
TI  - [The treatment of intra-abdominal abscess].
AB  - The experience of treatment of 18 patients with intraabdominal abscess using the
      regional laparostomy conduction and introducing nitazol, immobilized on
      polymethylsiloxane, in the abscess cavity, was summarized.

PMID- 9989086
TI  - [Endolymphatic analgesia after the surgery for an acute mechanical ileus].
AB  - It was established in experiment that, while endolymphatic infusion of analgin
      with droperidol, the maximal analgin concentration in central lymph, blood and
      cerebrospinal fluid holds out much longer than while intramuscular injection. In
      39 patients, operated on for an acute mechanical ileus, the endolymphatic analgin
      and droperidol infusion have permitted to achieve a stable anesthesia.

PMID- 9989087
TI  - [Morpho-functional aspects of pathogenesis and surgical treatment of the
      abdominal wall hernia in elderly and senile patients].
AB  - The abdominal wall tissues atrophy was revealed while histological and
      electromyographic investigation in 16 patients with primary hernia (the mild one)
      and in 17--with secondary, recurrent and postoperative (much more significant
      atrophy). The data obtained are applied for the choice of optimal method of
      operation conduction.

PMID- 9989088
TI  - [Etiology, pathogenesis and treatment of severe recurrent forms of erysipelas of
      the lower extremities].
AB  - The experience of treatment of 314 patients with erysipelas was summarized. The
      organizational principles of struggle against this disease are proposed.

PMID- 9989089
TI  - [Remote follow-up results of application of extracorporeal methods of treatment
      of the patients with bronchial asthma].
AB  - The questionnaire data of 860 patients with bronchial asthma (BA) and the 7-year
      catamnestic investigation depth were analysed. According to clinical effect
      achieved the extracorporal methods of the patients with BA treatment were ranked
      in such a manner: splenosorption, immunosorption to DNA, which contains the
      sorpents, the conventional method of hemosorption (HS), using the SKN sorpent,
      plasmapheresis and the ultra-violet irradiation of blood (UVIB). The
      applicational efficacy of HS using KAU and "Gemosfer" sorpents is significantly
      lesser than such of SKN sorpents. UVIB do not effects late follow-up results of
      the hormonally-dependent patients treatment.

PMID- 9989090
TI  - [Diagnosis of multiple abscesses of the brain].
AB  - It was established, basing on the data obtained while examination of 64 patients
      with multiple brain abscesses, that computer and magneto-nuclear resonance
      tomography are the most informative in detection of localization, number and the
      course phase.

PMID- 9989091
TI  - [Surgical treatment of fractures of long bones in a patient with multiple
      injuries].
AB  - The authors recommend application of the intramedullary and extracortical
      osteosynthesis methods while the trauma severity constituting less than 25 marks
      according to the ISS scale, the extracortical one--in 25-40 marks, and the
      external one--in more than 40 marks. Three patients died after the early
      conduction of osteosynthesis and 15--after the postponed one of the whole 315
      operated injured persons with polytrauma. The miniinvasive extracortical
      osteosynthesis using the minimal contact plates, the intramedullary
      osteosynthesis using the rods with the hightened rotational stability and the
      external osteosynthesis using pivotal apparatuses were applied for the long bones
      fractures treatment.

PMID- 9989093
TI  - [The teaching concepts in general surgery].

PMID- 9989092
TI  - [Conceptual aspects of emergency care rendered to injured people with injuries].

PMID- 9989094
TI  - [Direct revascularization in chronic ischemia of the lower extremities].

PMID- 9989095
TI  - [The principal mechanisms of thrombosis (report I). Mechanisms of vascular wall
      thromboresistance].

PMID- 9989096
TI  - [Preventive methods of operative wound abscesses in patients with peritonitis].

PMID- 9989097
TI  - [The first experience with anti-tachycardiac electric stimulator].

PMID- 9989098
TI  - [Observation of x-ray surgical occlusion of the patient's own liver artery in a
      patient with post-traumatic hemobilia].

PMID- 9989099
TI  - The management of variceal bleeding: past, present and future.
AB  - The basic principles of managing variceal bleeding have changed little in the
      last fifty years. Fluid resuscitation, efforts to induce intra-variceal
      thrombosis, and treatments to reduce portal pressures remain the keys to
      successful therapy. However, the last decade has seen the introduction of new
      modalities which have improved treatment efficacy and safety. Octreotide and, at
      many institutions, terlipressin have supplanted intravenous vasopressin as acute
      pharmacologic therapy for variceal bleeding. Endoscopic management of variceal
      bleeding now includes endoscopic variceal ligation in addition to the widely
      practiced endoscopic sclerotherapy. Placement of transjugular intrahepatic
      portosystemic shunts has been proven to be a reliable means of emergently
      inducing a reduction in portal pressure and stopping variceal hemorrhage. In the
      out-patient setting, therapy with non-selective beta-blockers, often coupled with
      oral nitrates, is increasingly accepted as a means of improving portal
      hypertension and reducing a patient's risk of first hemorrhage or recurrent
      variceal bleed. This review focuses on the history and evolution of management
      strategies for variceal bleeding, discusses the physiologic basis for each type
      of therapy, summarizes current treatment approaches, and addresses recent
      developments in the field.

PMID- 9989100
TI  - Past, present and future of end-stage renal disease therapy in the United States.
AB  - Dialysis was first described and used in 1854 to separate substances in aqueous
      solution based on different rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane.
      In vivo hemodialysis was performed in animals early in the twentieth century.
      Hemodialysis was first carried out in patients with acute renal failure in The
      Netherlands during the Second World War and in the United States in 1948.
      Repetitive hemodialysis for the treatment of chronic renal failure due to end
      stage renal disease had to await the development of an acceptable long-lasting
      vascular access in 1960. The subsequent successful development of a technique to
      create an adequate arteriovenous fistula in 1972 permitted the rapid growth of
      dialysis programs, when the cost of this therapy was largely paid for by
      Medicare. Equipment has been developed to foster home-care hemodialysis and
      chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Enhancements in renal replacement therapy
      included the availability of recombinant human erythropoietin, calcitriol, and
      effective antihypertensive drugs. Technical advances in hemodialysis followed the
      use of bicarbonate dialysate, more biocompatible membranes, membranes of higher
      porosity, and ultrafiltration. Questions remain regarding the evaluation of the
      adequacy of dialysis which is to be achieved or prescribed. Careful attention to
      the management of the patient with progressive chronic renal insufficiency is
      crucial in dealing with the inevitable onset of uremia and the initiation of
      dialysis and/or renal transplantation. The cost of renal replacement therefore
      represents a great societal burden. A better understanding of how to prevent
      onset and progression of specific nephropathies along with the availability of
      new and more effective equipment for renal replacement therapy has a high
      priority.

PMID- 9989101
TI  - Twelve-year experience with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene in the repair of
      abdominal wall defects.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A prosthetic device must be used to repair ventral hernias in
      patients with insufficient tissue for a tension-free primary closure. Several
      prosthetic materials have been employed for this purpose, with varying results.
      We here review a long experience with the use of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene
      (ePTFE) patches in the open repair of large abdominal wall defects. METHODS:
      Demographic, operative, follow-up, and histologic data were recorded and analyzed
      for all patients in a surgical practice who were treated for large abdominal wall
      defects with open repair using ePTFE patches between November 1983 and March
      1996. RESULTS: Ventral hernia repairs using an ePTFE patch were performed in 98
      patients. In 48 (49%), the patient had already undergone at least one previous
      ventral hernia repair. Of the 98 operations, 78 were full-thickness repairs, 11
      were Rives-Stoppa procedures, and 9 were onlay operations. Complications included
      5 seromas, 3 fistulas related to removal of a previously implanted prosthesis,
      and 9 infections. In addition, 10 patients developed recurrent hernias not
      related to explantation of the patch because of infection or fistula. In 3
      patients, infections were treated successfully without removal of the patch.
      There were no complications related to adhesions, erosion of the patch into the
      viscera, or bowel obstruction. Histologic studies of longterm ePTFE implants
      showed excellent fibrous tissue ingrowth and minimal foreign body response.
      CONCLUSIONS: Our long-term clinical experience indicates that prosthetic patches
      of ePTFE are safe and effective when used in the repair of large abdominal wall
      defects that cannot be closed primarily. Operative complications were within
      acceptable limits, as was the reherniation rate.

PMID- 9989102
TI  - Laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection in the staging of prostate cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Men with localized prostate cancer who present with high risk
      features may benefit from determination of pelvic lymph node status by a
      laparoscopic lymph node dissection prior to definitive therapy. METHODS: One
      hundred eighty-nine men with a median age of 69 years (range 49-80) with T1-T3
      prostate cancer had a laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND) prior to
      definitive therapy (radiation or surgery). All patients had a negative bone scan
      and a computerized tomography of the pelvis prior to the LPLND. In addition, all
      patients also underwent a seminal vesicle biopsy (SVB) in order to determine the
      presence of T3c disease. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ranged from 1.6-190
      ng/mL (median 11 ng/mL) and was > 10 ng/mL in 56.6%, Gleason score was > or = 7
      in 46.7%, and 67.8% had clinical stage T2b-T3a. RESULTS: Of the 189 patients who
      underwent an LPLND, 22 (11.6%) had a positive dissection. Between 1 and 51 nodes
      (median 9) were removed per dissection. PSA, clinical stage, Gleason score and
      SVB results all significantly influenced node findings. Positive nodes were
      encountered in 26.5% of those with a PSA > 20 ng/mL (p = 0.0002), in 16.4% with
      stage T2b-T3a (p = 0.003), in 20% with Gleason scores 7-10 (p = 0.0006) and in
      38% of men with a positive SVB (p < 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis with
      PSA, Gleason score, clinical stage and the results of the SVB demonstrated that a
      positive SVB was the most significant predictor of node positivity. The overall
      transfusion rate was 1% (2/189) and median hospital stay was one day. The
      complication rate for the LPLND was 9% (17/189). CONCLUSION: The LPLND is an
      effective and efficient means of detecting positive pelvic lymph nodes in
      patients with localized prostate cancer. It should be considered a necessary
      diagnostic modality in all appropriate patients who may be candidates for
      curative therapy.

PMID- 9989103
TI  - The impact of laparoscopic surgery in the management of adnexal masses.
AB  - The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical aspects of laparoscopic
      management of adnexal masses. The feasibility of this approach has been
      demonstrated, but the safe and effective use of laparoscopy for this indication
      requires training, technical skills and experience on the part of the
      laparoscopist. If used appropriately, many patients will benefit from minimally
      invasive surgery. We compared clinical factors of patients having laparoscopy to
      those having laparotomy in a case-control study of 30 patients with adnexal
      masses. Oophorectomy or ovarian cystectomy was performed by laparoscopy for 20
      women and by laparotomy for 10 women. Comparing the 2 groups, the most
      significant difference was the decrease in length of hospital stay in the
      laparoscopy group. There were no significant differences in operative time or
      intraoperative complications. Estimated blood loss was lower in the laparoscopy
      group, and no intraoperative complications occurred. No patient required
      conversion from laparoscopy to laparotomy. All patients had benign disease
      despite the inclusion of patients with risk factors for ovarian carcinoma. This
      study clearly demonstrates the clinical benefits of laparoscopic management of
      adnexal masses treated with oophorectomy or ovarian cystectomy.

PMID- 9989104
TI  - New medicine for the new millennium.

PMID- 9989105
TI  - [Bile acids and endotoxins: physico-chemical defense of the body].
AB  - The toxic effects of endotoxin--the cell wall component of Gram negative
      intestinal bacteria--under experimental conditions can be induced only when they
      are administered parenterally. However, in naturally occurring enteroendotoxemic
      diseases (e.g. septic and various shocks, etc.), the endotoxin absorbs from the
      intestinal tract. The cause and mode of translocation was unknown. The generally
      used experimental shock models differ from natural diseases only in the mode by
      which endotoxin enters the blood circulation. If the common bile ducts of rats
      were chronically cannulated (bile deprived animals) perorally administered
      endotoxin was absorbed from the intestinal canal into blood circulation and
      provoked endotoxin shock. The translocation of endotoxins and consequent shock
      can be prevented by sodium deoxycholate or natural biles. The bile acids can
      split the endotoxin macromolecule (atoxic fragments). A similar destructive
      detergent action might will be a significant factor against potential infectious
      agents with lipoprotein outer structure (e.g. so-called "big" viruses). This
      defense mechanism of macrooganisms based on the detergent activity of bile acids
      is called as physico-chemical defense system. On the basis of this knowledge the
      bile acids might be used in the prevention and therapy of some clinical processes
      (e.g. hepatorenal syndrome; psoriasis).

PMID- 9989106
TI  - [The role of CT examination in the diagnosis and therapy of chronic thoracic
      empyema].
AB  - Successful surgical treatment of chronic intrathoracic suppuration can, in the
      substantial majority of cases, be accomplished only by means of major surgery or
      a series of thoracic operations. If a solution to the chronic process cannot be
      provided by decortication of the lung, or should decortication not be possible
      due to the moribund condition of the patient, successful treatment can still be
      achieved through thoracic fenestration. 314 patients were treated for chronic
      suppuration in the thoracic cavity between 1st January 1987 and 31st December
      1997. Of these, ten died, this representing a mortality rate of 3.1%. Seven of
      these ten patients suffered chronic suppuration. The total number of patients
      suffering chronic suppuration was 73 (23.2%). Of these 73 patients, in 31 cases
      treatment involving two or more surgical intervention procedures was performed.
      Three of the ten patients on whom open surgery was performed died, these having
      been referred to the department already in a moribund condition. It was decided
      that prolonged open surgery should be performed on three patients. CT examination
      enables the position of the empyema, the depth of the callus surrounding it, the
      position of drains and the relation between the visceral pleura and the pulmonary
      parenchyma and their demarcation to be determined prior to open surgery with
      greater precision than by any other diagnostic technique developed previously. CT
      examination has acquired a fundamental role, subsequent to partial resection or
      pneumonectomy, in the examination of the bronchial trunk and in the detection of
      fistulae. Following open surgery CT is also appropriate for the evaluation of the
      dimensions of the cavity, its form, the depth of granulation tissue, retraction
      of the bony thoracic structure and the condition of the bronchial stump. Where
      there is a precedent of tumours it can provide assistance in the detection of
      recurrence, lymph node conditions or metastasis. Complications arising subsequent
      to surgery (bronchial fistula, recurrent empyema, etc.) can thus be detected in
      due time. Prior to thoracoplasty or myoplasty the condition of the myocutaneous
      lobe twisted on a neurovascular spindle and sealing the cavity can be examined
      clearly by means of CT, as can the viability of the transposed skin and the
      muscle fascicle subsequently.

PMID- 9989107
TI  - [Effect of hemodialysis on QT dispersion in chronic uremia].
AB  - Interlead variability of the QT interval in surface 12-lead ECG (i.e. QT
      dispersion) reflects regional differences in ventricular recovery time and it has
      been linked to the occurrence of malignant arrhythmias in different cardiac
      diseases. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of hemodialysis on QT
      dispersion in chronic hemodialyzed patients. The data of 34 patients (Male/Female
      = 21/13, mean age 54 +/- 15 years) on chronic hemodialysis were studied.
      Simultaneous 12 lead ECGs were recorded pre- and post-hemodialysis in a standard
      setting. The QT intervals for each lead were measured manually by one observer.
      Each QT interval was corrected for patient's heart rate: QTc = QT/square route of
      RR (sec). The maximal QT interval changed from 449 +/- 43 to 469 +/- 41 ms (p <
      0.01). The maximal QTc interval increased from 482 +/- 42 to 519 +/- 33 ms (p <
      0.01). The QT dispersion changed rom 56 +/- 15 to 85 +/- 12 ms (p < 0.001), and
      the QTc interval from 62 +/- 18 to 95 +/- 17 ms (p < 0.001). During hemodialysis
      the serum potassium and phosphate decreased from 5.5 +/- 0.8 to 3.9 +/- 0.5 (p <
      0.001), and from 2.3 +/- 0.5 to 1.6 +/- 0.4, respectively, whereas calcium level
      increased from 2.2 +/- 0.23 to 2.5 +/- 0.22 (p < 0.001). It can be concluded that
      the hemodialysis increased the inhomogeneity of regional ventricular
      repolarization. Measurement of QT and QTc dispersion by a cheap and simple
      bedside method could predict the increased myocardial inhomogeneity in dialyzed
      patients.

PMID- 9989108
TI  - [Epidemiologic study of regional inequalities].
AB  - The technological achievements of the recent years and the need for more advanced
      control of the processes within the health sector have supported the geographical
      epidemiology to become a distinct branch of epidemiology. The combined
      application of the simple standardized rates, statistical tests and different
      corrected risk parameters is able to describe the health status for
      geographically defined, small populations. Several statistical processes have
      been elaborated to estimate the number of the false positive results and to
      evaluate the role of chance in predicting the observed geographical pattern.
      These data completed with the usual risk measures quantify the risk difference
      within a broader region and determine the actual risk levels for the investigated
      small areas. The routine data processing system operating as a part of the public
      health surveillance identifies the high risk areas (the clusters) and without
      leaving the framework of routine data handling investigates the association
      between basic exposure data and health risks producing additional data about the
      nature of the aggregation of health related events. All the spetially varying
      etiological factors (environmental effects, social status, traditions, regional
      features of the health sector etc.) are ready to elicit regional alterations in
      the health status. The aim of the geographical information system is to cover the
      consequences of the uneven distribution of these factors. Since these kind of
      etiological factors play significant role in the generation of the most important
      public health problems in Hungary, and it is known that the small area
      inequalities are profound for these health impairments, the more extensive
      application of geographical information systems is expected to improve the
      efficiency of the control for public health problems and the performance of
      preventive medicine.

PMID- 9989109
TI  - Headache in childhood.

PMID- 9989110
TI  - Atopic dermatitis.

PMID- 9989112
TI  - Index of suspicion. Case 2. Typhoid fever.

PMID- 9989111
TI  - Index of suspicion. Case 1. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

PMID- 9989113
TI  - What's new in perinatology.

PMID- 9989114
TI  - Consultation with the specialist. Thrombocytopenia.

PMID- 9989115
TI  - Psychiatric aspects of excellent end-of-life care. Ad Hoc Committee on End-of
      Life Care. The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine.

PMID- 9989116
TI  - Depression in pediatric chronic illness. A diathesis-stress model.
AB  - Depression in pediatric chronic illness has been receiving increasing attention
      in recent years. Studies to date have typically focused on characteristics of
      illness as the major determinants of the development of depression, but
      characteristics of the child have received less attention. This review suggests
      that a diathesis-stress model can be a fruitful heuristic that would incorporate
      illness characteristics and attributes of the child and environmental effects in
      an overall framework to guide future research and treatment.

PMID- 9989117
TI  - Suicide risk assessment: a review of risk factors for suicide in 100 patients who
      made severe suicide attempts. Evaluation of suicide risk in a time of managed
      care.
AB  - A study of 100 patients who made a severe suicide attempt suggested that the
      managed care criteria often applied for approving admission to hospitals for
      potentially suicidal patients were not, in fact, predictive of features seen in
      patients who actually made such attempts. Severe anxiety, panic attacks, a
      depressed mood, a diagnosis of major affective disorder, recent loss of an
      interpersonal relationship, recent abuse of alcohol or illicit substances coupled
      with feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, global or partial
      insomnia, anhedonia, inability to maintain a job, and the recent onset of
      impulsive behavior were excellent predictors of suicidal behavior. The presence
      of a specific suicide plan or suicide note were not. Patients with managed care
      were overrepresented by 245% in the study.

PMID- 9989118
TI  - Competency evaluations on the consultation-liaison service. Some overt and covert
      aspects.
AB  - Competency assessments are a growing function of the consultation-liaison (C-L)
      psychiatrist. Such consultation requests often mask a variety of psychosocial
      issues that are a source of frustration to the referring physician responding to
      the pressures of the changing health care delivery system in the acute care
      setting. This study identifies the issues and the outcome of psychiatric
      consultation in these patients. The implications of this burgeoning role for the
      C-L psychiatrist are also explored.

PMID- 9989119
TI  - Attachment and interpersonal communication in somatization.
AB  - The authors review the research on childhood antecedents and personality
      contributions to the somatoform disorders, as well as research on social
      influences during adulthood. Based on these data, the authors hypothesize that
      somatizing patients display anxious attachment behavior that derives from
      childhood experiences with caregivers. Early exposure to illness increases the
      likelihood that distress will be manifested somatically. When under stress as
      adults, somatizers use physical complaints to elicit care. Somatizers'
      interpersonal interactions with others, including physicians, ultimately lead to
      rejection that reinforces the somatizer's belief that he or she will be
      abandoned. Modification of physicians' responses to these patients may improve
      treatment outcomes.

PMID- 9989120
TI  - The Millon Behavioral Health Inventory Life Threat Reactivity Scale as a
      predictor of mortality in patients awaiting heart transplantation.
AB  - This study examined the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory Life Threat Reactivity
      Scale (LTRS) as a predictor of mortality in patients awaiting heart
      transplantation. The one-year mortality while awaiting cardiac transplantation
      was more than double for the high-risk group based on the LTRS scores. The high
      risk group had a 42% mortality rate versus an 18% mortality rate in the low-risk
      group. Mortality for those patients that received transplants was similar for
      both groups. A review of the medical literature regarding the role of personality
      traits in cardiac mortality and the findings of this study are discussed.

PMID- 9989121
TI  - Panic disorder patients and their medical care.
AB  - The goal of the study was to examine the functional status and medical care of
      general medical outpatients with panic disorder. One hundred patients completed
      self-report questionnaires and a diagnostic interview for panic disorder. They
      were compared with a random sample of patients without panic disorder. Medical
      morbidity was assessed from the medical record, and the patients' clinic
      physicians completed a questionnaire about them. The prevalence of current (1
      month) panic disorder was 6.7%-8.3%. The panic disorder patients had fewer
      serious medical diagnoses, but more medical utilization and more role impairment
      than the comparison group. The clinic physicians rated the panic patients as more
      anxious, more depressed, more hypochondriacal, and more difficult to care for.
      Sixty-one percent of the panic disorder patients recalled receiving an anxiety
      disorder diagnosis. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that panic
      disorder imposes a significant burden on those with this illness and that it is a
      seriously underdiagnosed condition in primary care practice.

PMID- 9989122
TI  - Psychiatric disorders in patients with fibromyalgia. A multicenter investigation.
AB  - The authors conducted an investigation in four tertiary-care centers to determine
      if psychiatric comorbidity and psychological variables were predictive of
      functional impairment in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Seventy-three
      individuals were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R,
      the Rand 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), and multiple self-report measures. The
      patients with FMS were found to have a high lifetime and current prevalence of
      major depression and panic disorder. The most common disorders were major
      depression (lifetime [L] = 68%, current [C] = 22%); dysthymia (10% [C only]);
      panic disorder (L = 16%, C = 7%); and simple phobia (L = 16%, C = 12%). The self
      report scales revealed significant elevations in depression, anxiety,
      neuroticism, and hypochondriasis. Functional impairment on all measures of the SF
      36 was severe (e.g., physical functioning = 45.5 and role limitations due to
      physical problems = 20.0). Stepwise multiple-regression analysis revealed that
      current anxiety was the only variable that predicted a significant proportion of
      the variance (29%) in SF-36 physical functioning. Thus, in this multicenter
      study, the persons with FMS exhibited marked functional impairment, high levels
      of some lifetime and current psychiatric disorders, and significant current
      psychological distress. Current anxiety level appears to be an important
      correlate of functional impairment in individuals with FMS.

PMID- 9989123
TI  - Screening for anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer. Psychiatry and
      medical oncology gear up for managed care.
AB  - In this study, 275 women with breast cancer attending ambulatory breast cancer
      clinics in two sites were evaluated for psychological distress by using three
      self-report instruments: a visual analogue scale for psychological distress, the
      Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results
      suggest that significant psychological distress exists in ambulatory women with
      breast cancer; all three instruments effectively measured that level of distress.
      Implications for the use of these instruments in educating oncological staff
      members, documenting need for psychiatric services in a period of capitation, and
      providing quality assurance evaluations of psychiatric services are discussed.

PMID- 9989124
TI  - Major depression and its response to sertraline in primary care vs. psychiatric
      office practice patients. Results of an open-label trial in Argentina.
AB  - Great strides have been achieved in recent years in the detection and treatment
      of major depressive disorder (MDD) in primary care settings. Little is known
      about the types or patients with MDD seen in primary care as compared with those
      seen in psychiatric office practice. Few studies have compared clinical outcomes
      after treatment with antidepressants in these two settings. In Argentina, the
      authors conducted an open-label treatment study of MDD patients in primary care
      (n = 469) and psychiatric office practice (n = 299). The patients were compared
      on baseline sociodemographic and clinical variables. These same patients were
      treated with sertraline 50-100 mg per day for 8 weeks. At baseline, the patients
      in psychiatric office practice were younger, more likely to abuse alcohol, less
      likely to have comorbid medical disorders, and more likely to have failed a prior
      treatment for depression during the current episode. The two groups did not
      differ significantly on depression severity or in depressive symptom profile on
      the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Ham-D). After 8 weeks of treatment, mean
      Ham-D scores were reduced comparably in both groups, from about 25 to about 10.
      Rates of adverse events were 14%-29%, depending on the follow-up interval.
      Adherence with treatment was high in both groups (over 95%). The patients in
      primary care and psychiatry office practice are similar in several ways.
      Significant reductions in depressive symptoms are possible in both settings, in
      large numbers of patients, by using doses of sertraline in the 50-100 mg range.

PMID- 9989125
TI  - Induction of a schizophreniform disorder by a spinal cord stimulator.

PMID- 9989126
TI  - Near-fatal skin picking from delusional body dysmorphic disorder responsive to
      fluvoxamine.

PMID- 9989127
TI  - PTSD and automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

PMID- 9989128
TI  - Anorexia nervosa in a 38-year-old woman 2 years after gastric bypass surgery.

PMID- 9989129
TI  - PTSD in women with breast cancer.

PMID- 9989130
TI  - [Commentary on the 6th Report of the American National Committee on Prevention,
      Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure].
AB  - Systemic hypertension is present world-wide and it is a leading cause of
      cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A great number of different drugs have
      been used in the treatment. Many other drugs are being developed, but evidence
      upon their effect on morbidity and mortality is not always present. In this
      setting, the sixth report of the National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and
      Treatment of High Bloos Pressuere, review the safety and efficacy of therapies in
      hypertension. In the absence of counter-indications diuretics and beta-blockers
      should be used as first-line agents. Treatment must be based, not only on the
      level of blood pressure. Risk factors, target organ disease, and other comorbid
      diseases are considered. Not all the recommendations are solidly based.

PMID- 9989131
TI  - [The performance of coronary angioplasties at centers without cardiac surgery.
      The recommendations of the Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia].
AB  - During the early years of coronary interventions a rigorous on-site surgical
      stand-by was mandatory. The increased experience in coronary angioplasty both on
      total number of procedures and the experience gained by each operator, together
      with the technical improvements, namely since the introduction of stents has
      induced an evolution in the stand-by strategy, with new concepts such as "next
      available operating room" or coronary interventions "without on site" surgical
      facilities, are gaining widespread acceptance. With the aim of defining the
      requirements to perform coronary interventions at hospitals without coronary
      surgery, the following aspects are reviewed: a) complications following coronary
      angioplasty that require coronary surgery; b) the current status of coronary
      angioplasty without surgical stand-by in different countries. All this
      information allows us to advance some recommendations concerning the performance
      of coronary interventions at hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery. Different
      issues including hospital characteristics, operator and cardiac catheterization
      laboratory requirements, as well as lesion characteristics and the type of
      informed consent, should be taken into account.

PMID- 9989132
TI  - [The National Registry of Cardiac Tumors (the 1996-1997 report)].
AB  - We presented the first report of the national database of heart tumors. We
      described the origin, development and goals reached during the years 1996 and
      1997, the way the data was collected and the form used. The cases collected until
      31st of December of 1997 include 165 tumors in 155 patients distributed all
      around the country. Age and gender distribution, way of diagnosis, morphologic
      classification, treatment and follow-up of this pathology is reported.

PMID- 9989133
TI  - [The evolution of severe postvalvuloplasty mitral insufficiency].
AB  - Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty has become the technique of choice for mitral
      stenosis with favorable anatomic features. However, mitral regurgitation is an
      important complication of this technique that has not reduced with Inoue
      technique. This study reports the clinical and echocardiographic follow-up (28 +/
      20 months) of 20 patients who developed severe mitral regurgitation after
      percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty with Inoue technique. The patients were divided
      into two groups on the basis of the need for mitral valve replacement during
      follow-up. We analyzed variables before and after percutaneous mitral
      valvuloplasty using univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed to
      identify variables as independent predictors of the need for mitral valve
      replacement. Ten patients needed mitral valve replacement during follow-up.
      Multivariate analysis showed that suboptimal result of percutaneous mitral
      valvuloplasty (MVA < 1.5 cm2) was the only independent predictor of the need of
      mitral valve replacement. We concluded that the need for MVR in patients who
      develop severe mitral regurgitation after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty was
      related to suboptimal result of procedure.

PMID- 9989134
TI  - [Improvement in fibrinolytic function following anticoagulant treatment in
      chronic rheumatic atrial fibrillation].
AB  - INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with rheumatic atrial fibrillation are
      considered at high risk of systemic embolism and require oral anticoagulation.
      Fibrinolytic function has been little studied. We evaluated fibrinolytic
      activation markers before starting anticoagulation, at 1 and 6 months following
      the introduction of oral anticoagulation therapy. We analyzed the relationship
      with left atrial diameter and mitral area. METHODS: Tissue plasminogen activator
      (tPA), its inhibitor (PAI-1), plasmin-antiplasmin complexes (PAP) and D-dimer
      were measured in 13 patients with rheumatic atrial fibrillation. Basal levels
      were compared with those found in plasma of 20 healthy subjects matched by sex
      and age. Transthoracic echocardiography was made. RESULTS: A significant increase
      for PAI-1 and D-dimer levels were detected in patients with atrial fibrillation
      group (p < 0.05), with no differences in tPA and PAP concentrations. Significant
      correlation between left atrial diameter and basal t-PA levels was found. Levels
      of t-PA, PAI-1 and D-dimer decreased significantly under anticoagulation therapy,
      whereas PAP levels were significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with
      rheumatic atrial fibrillation show a relative hypofibrinolytic state due to
      elevated PAI-1 levels with no increase in PAP concentration. At six months of
      anticoagulation therapy, an improvement of fibrinolytic function markers was
      observed. This is consistent with the prophylactic effect of oral anticoagulants
      therapy against thromboembolic risk.

PMID- 9989135
TI  - [The measurement of jet width at its origin in assessing mitral prosthetic
      regurgitation. The effect of the spatial disposition of the jet].
AB  - INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The study was performed to test the influence of the
      jet spatial disposition on the correlation degree between the measurement of the
      jet width at its origin and the severity of mitral prosthetic regurgitation by
      transesophageal Doppler color flow imaging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 165 patients
      with mitral valve prosthesis which were submitted for transesophageal
      echocardiography examination due to suspected prosthetic dysfunction, we studied
      126 with pathological mitral regurgitation. On these patients, studies of jet
      spatial disposition, maximum width in its origin and severity quantification by
      means of maximum regurgitation area were performed. RESULTS: For the free jet
      group of patients (90), jet width at its origin correlated with maximal
      regurgitation area (r = 0.75); whereas for the wall jet group (36), the
      correlation degree was 0.59. We observed a relationship (p < 0.05) between severe
      mitral regurgitation assessed by maximal regurgitant jet size and jet width > or
      = 5 mm in both groups: the sensitivity and specificity of 72.7% and 95%
      respectively for free jets, and 70.7% and 64.4% for wall jets. CONCLUSIONS: The
      correlation between the area measurement and the width in its origin is better
      for free jets than for wall jets. A statistically significant relationship
      between the presence of severe mitral regurgitation and width in its origin > or
      = 5 mm could be observed, independently of the jet spatial disposition.

PMID- 9989136
TI  - [The characteristics proper of the cardiac cycle phases of the right ventricle].
AB  - AIMS: The purpose of our study was to define at physiological conditions, the
      existence or not of an isovolumic relaxation phase in the right ventricle and its
      ejective phase properties. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Right and left ventricular
      pressures, pulmonary and aortic pressures, pulmonary flow and ventricular
      diameters by sonomicrometry were measured in nine anesthetized sheep. The first
      ventricular pressure derivative, ventricular volumes, and the right and left
      pressure-volume loops, were calculated "off line". An abrupt preload reduction
      was generated by a posterior vena caval occlusion. RESULTS: Right ventricle
      showed an ejection phase which can be subdivided in two phases (early and late).
      The end of the ejection phase was established by the temporal coincidence of the
      zero pulmonary flow, the minimum systolic value of the right ventricular volume
      and a right ventricular pressure of 0-4 mmHg. The time between the beginning of
      the ejection phase and: a) the end of systole; b) the negative peak of the first
      derivative of ventricular pressure and c) the end of ejection, were different for
      the right ventricle (67 +/- 15 ms, 274 +/- 30 ms, 412 +/- 33 ms, respectively),
      meanwhile the left ventricle showed the following values: 204 +/- 33 ms, 262 +/-
      23 ms, 266 +/- 24 ms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Right ventricle exhibits a long
      lasting ejection phase which can be subdivided in two phases, spreading at the
      beginning of the next filling phase. This fact allows us to affirm that right
      ventricle does not show an isovolumic relaxation phase in comparison to left
      ventricle.

PMID- 9989137
TI  - [Hemodynamic differences between the right and left ventricles].

PMID- 9989138
TI  - [Ventricular geometry and heart failure].
AB  - In the last years there has been an appreciation of the importance of left
      ventricular geometry. After a period, in the sixties and seventies, that the
      interest was focused on cardiac physiology and the left ventricular geometry role
      about this subject, new studies are available on clinical significance of normal
      or distorted left ventricular shape. New assessment methods of ventricular
      geometry have been described. The use of simple measurements to assess
      ventricular geometry has allowed to know the clinical value of the shape
      distortion in patients with heart failure. The suspicion that left ventricular
      shape change to sphericity has prognosis value, has raised the interest about
      this subject. Whether distortion of left ventricular shape is an even better
      parameter than cardiac function indices normally used is under consideration.
      Moreover, new surgical therapies have been developed in an attempt to improve the
      ventricular geometry and to get better clinical prognosis in patients with heart
      failure.

PMID- 9989139
TI  - [Severe myocardial restriction secondary to massive calcification of the left
      ventricle].

PMID- 9989140
TI  - [Multiple coronary aneurysms in a young man. A diagnostic approach via different
      technics].
AB  - Coronary aneurysms are uncommon. The most frequent etiologies are atherosclerotic
      and congenital, although there are several other rare causes. Myocardial
      infarction and sudden death may be the initial manifestations which are usually a
      consequence of aneurysm complications such as rupture or distal embolization.
      Although coronariography is the gold standard diagnostic technique, coronary
      aneurysm may also be detected by non-invasive methods such as ultrasonography and
      nuclear magnetic resonance. We report the case of a young male with
      hypercholesterolemia who presented cardiac arrest as the first clinical
      manifestation. Ultrasonography and MRI revealed the presence of multiple coronary
      aneurysm. This case illustrates the usefulness of non-invasive techniques for the
      diagnosis of coronary aneurysm.

PMID- 9989141
TI  - [A right atrial thrombus in transit: its echocardiographic diagnosis 72 hours
      before a pulmonary embolism].
AB  - We report a case of a 72-year-old woman with coronary artery disease in whom a
      thrombus in transit in the right atrium was diagnosed accidentally. After 72
      hours of treatment with intravenous anticoagulants she developed a pulmonary
      thromboembolism resolved with systemic fibrinolysis. This is a rare case in which
      such a diagnosis preceded an embolic event. This fact raises the controversy
      about the best therapeutic management of this unusual form of thromboembolic
      illness.

PMID- 9989142
TI  - [Atherosclerotic coronary ectasia or a lymphomucocutaneous syndrome in an adult
      (Kawasaki's disease)?].
AB  - We report the case of a 42-year-old man, who was admitted to hospital with an
      inferior myocardial infarction. He was treated with tissue plasminogen activator
      without complications in the acute phase. The stress testing performed before
      discharge showed residual myocardial ischemia. A catheterization study was
      indicated. The coronary angiogram demonstrated diffuse three vessel coronary
      artery aneurysmal disease. Two years before the patient had an aneurysm of the
      right iliac artery being operated on. The differential diagnosis of adult
      aneurysmal coronary disease is discussed with emphasis on Kawasaki's disease and
      atherosclerotic coronary artery ectasia.

PMID- 9989143
TI  - [Valve repair in tricuspid endocarditis in the drug addict. Apropos a case].
AB  - Valve replacement, valvulectomy and valve repair are the alternatives for the
      surgical treatment of intractable tricuspid valve endocarditis. We present the
      case of a 24-year-old, HIV-positive Caucasian female, intravenous drug addict,
      with intractable tricuspid valve endocarditis, that was successfully treated with
      tricuspid valve repair. Advantages and major drawbacks of the different
      techniques are discussed and the appropriate literature is reviewed.

PMID- 9989144
TI  - [The surgical treatment of critical aortic stenosis in a child by the Ross-Konno
      technic].
AB  - A twenty-nine-day old male infant suffering from critical aortic stenosis
      underwent aortic valvotomy by cardiopulmonary bypass. At three years of age the
      aortic stenosis recurred and the child underwent a balloon aortic valvuloplasty,
      but developed severe aortic insufficiency after the procedure. The critical
      condition of the patient made aortic valve replacement mandatory. The surgical
      technique consisted of aortoventriculoplasty with infundibular and valve
      pulmonary autograft for substituting the aortic root (Ross-Konno technique). As
      for as we know this is the first report on the Ross-Konno procedure in Spanish
      journals.

PMID- 9989145
TI  - [Endothelium and sickle cell anemia, or how an amino acid mutation disturbs blood
      circulation].

PMID- 9989146
TI  - [Jean Pecquet (1622-1674) and his cistern].

PMID- 9989147
TI  - [Eutocic delivery ].
AB  - Delivery is uncomplicated in 60 to 75% of cases. Movement through the pelvic
      pathway requires precise foetal mobility in relation to the pelvis, since the
      head must pass using a double rotation: 120 degrees deflection around the
      symphysis pubis and 45 degrees to 135 degrees rotation around the pelvic cavity,
      according to the presentation. This mechanism, imposed by the adaptation of the
      form of the pelvis to the upright position, is possible cue to an apparent
      reduction in volume of the foetal head by its molding and its flexion. This
      accommodation is favoured by the maturity of the foetal nervous system, the
      maturity of the uterus, and by the type of presentation. Anterior presentation
      (anterior left occipito-iliac), more common in multiparas, is usually safer than
      posterior presentation (posterior right occipito-iliac). more often seen in
      primiparas.

PMID- 9989148
TI  - [Instrumental and manual maneuvers during delivery].
AB  - Delivery through the maternal genital tract can be assisted or performed using
      specific instruments. In France, these techniques are used in 15% of deliveries.
      The three instruments used are the forceps, the vacuum extractor and the spatula.
      Manual manoeuvres are essentially used in breech presentation. These are mainly
      partial and total breech extractions with their many variations. The version
      consisting of external manoeuvering precedes delivery. In cephalic presentations,
      the only possible manual manoeuvre is manual rotation of the foetal head.

PMID- 9989149
TI  - [Cervical ripening and labor induction].
AB  - To induce labour successfully, a good cervical status and favorable obstetrical
      conditions are necessary. If these conditions are not present, cervical ripening
      must take place before induction of labour. Cervical ripening is only justified
      when a pathology (maternal or foetal) indicates termination of pregnancy.
      Intracervical or intravaginal administration of prostaglandin E2 is actually the
      standard for cervical ripening.

PMID- 9989150
TI  - [Severe maternal and fetal situations during delivery].
AB  - If pregnancy is very frequently normal, severe complications can appear for
      fetus, mother or both. The etiologies are various but preeclampsia and its
      complications remain one of the leading causes. The management is discussed
      according to the etiology and the severity of the disease and also the level of
      maternity and neonatal unit which can accept the newborn. However, all situation
      is a case apart and any decision will not be taken without concertation between
      obstetricians and neonatologists. In France, a regionalization policy is taking
      place to improve the maternal and neonatanal management.

PMID- 9989151
TI  - [Postpartum hemorrhage].
AB  - Postpartum haemorrhage, the second cause of maternal mortality in France, is an
      obstetric and anaesthetic emergency. Yet, it often seems avoidable as most
      patients at risk can be identified before or during labour. In this respect,
      obstetrical conduct regarding delivery is essential; it makes it possible to
      foresee the necessary preventive and curative measures. Once haemorrhage has
      begun, any delay or hesitation in assuming multidisciplinary responsibility is
      potentially detrimental as it may lead to coagulopathy complications. Whenever
      possible, arterial embolisation presents an enormous progress in noninvasive
      conservative treatment, especially after vaginal delivery. Stepwise uterine
      devascularisation seems to be a promising surgical option as it can be used under
      all conditions, preserves maternal fertility, and is clearly effective.

PMID- 9989152
TI  - [Pelvic and perineal sequelae of delivery].
AB  - Vaginal delivery especially with dystocia, may result in relaxation or disruption
      of fascial and ligamentous supports of pelvic organs. The relationship between
      first childbirth and obstetric trauma is strong but additional pregnancies and
      deliveries are aggravating factors as well as ageing and hormonal effects of the
      menopause. These anatomic changes are contributing to the development of stress
      urinary incontinence, anal incontinence and genital prolapse. Preventing
      obstetric trauma needs changes in current obstetric practice: reduction in the
      episiotomy rate, use of vacuum extractor in preference to forceps. General
      practitioners can help at the time of postnatal control by making a full clinical
      evaluation of pelvic floor damage, referring women for further investigation and
      asking them about postnatal sexual difficulties. Postpartum perineal
      physiotherapy is indicated for women at risk: pelvic floor congenital weakness
      instrumental delivery, postpartum urinary and/or anal incontinence.

PMID- 9989153
TI  - [Anesthesia and delivery].
AB  - Close collaboration of an informed anaesthetist with the obstetrician, and
      respect of the security protocols in every anaesthesia must guarantee the well
      being of pregnant women. The development of loco-regional anaesthesia for use in
      labour analgesia and caesarean section has reduced the indications and the
      mortality related to general anaesthesia. In the last 30 years, analgesia and
      control of loco-regional anaesthesia effects have been greatly improved. Loco
      regional anaesthesia protocols are now safe for the mother and various. Epidural
      anaesthesia using low concentrations of local anaesthetics allows parturient
      ambulation. Intrathecal anaesthesia, with combined spinal-epidural technique, is
      mostly used for caesarean-section and for the early and late labour.

PMID- 9989154
TI  - [Maternal morbidity and mortality related to delivery].
AB  - Maternal mortality related to delivery is theoretically easy to quantify and
      constitutes a good indication of the security and quality of obstetrical care.
      Although its incidence continues to decrease in France, it is still higher than
      in several of our European neighbors. Hence management of pregnancy is still
      deficient in this country. Fifty per cent of deaths occur at the time of delivery
      or immediately thereafter, and case analysis shows that the majority of these
      deaths, particularly those due to haemorrhage, could have been avoided by earlier
      diagnosis or better adapted treatment.

PMID- 9989155
TI  - [Clinical practice].

PMID- 9989156
TI  - [Cystic fibrosis].

PMID- 9989157
TI  - [Bladder tumors].

PMID- 9989158
TI  - [Dementia syndrome].

PMID- 9989159
TI  - [Hemorrhagic shock].

PMID- 9989160
TI  - [Antidepressive agents].

PMID- 9989161
TI  - [Cancer of the testicle].

PMID- 9989162
TI  - [Vomiting in infants].

PMID- 9989163
TI  - [Iatrogenic pathology--a current forensic medical problem].
AB  - Profound studies of iatrogenesis from a medical and legal viewpoint are an
      important task. New medicolegal terms and notions and a classification of
      iatrogenic conditions are offered for discussion.

PMID- 9989164
TI  - [The use of impedance plethysmography in the forensic medical diagnosis of the
      time of death].
AB  - Diagnosis of the time of death (DTD) is a pressing problem of forensic medicine.
      For defining the criteria of DTD by impedance plethysmography, electric
      conductivity of tissues was studied in 45 corpses of male subjects aged 18-44
      years who died from craniocerebral injuries. Autolytic changes were characterized
      by a wave-like pattern, with periods of stability replaced by necrobiotic
      processes. This allows recording residual activity of surviving cells and tissues
      in a corpse during the early postmortem period. Based on these data, a model of
      postmortem changes in tissues can be created for DTD.

PMID- 9989165
TI  - [The evaluation of the mechanism of intracerebral parenchymatous hemorrhages
      under different types of dynamic loads on the brain].
AB  - Possible mechanisms of intracerebral hemorrhages in craniocerebral injuries are
      analyzed. Comprehensive pathomorphological, topographoanatomical, and expert
      studies helped the authors disclose the biophysical processes in the cranial
      cavity. These processes act as internal damaging factors and underlie the
      formation of intracerebral hemorrhages. The authors discuss the role of tension
      and cutting deformations of cerebral structures in development of cerebral
      hemorrhages and the significance of topographic and anatomic features of the base
      of the skull and discrete cavitation in cerebral tissue occurring in total
      deformations of the skull. Relationship between morphology and topography of
      intracerebral hemorrhages and the site of impact and direction of the damaging
      force is considered.

PMID- 9989166
TI  - [The histological study of puncture-stab wounds of the skin for establishing the
      characteristics of the design of the knife blade].
AB  - Histologic studies can help disclose the design of the knife blade by which a cut
      wound was inflicted. For analysis, thick (25-30 microns) sections are made,
      parallel to skin surface near the ends of a cut wound. The ends of the wound
      formed by the blade edge and back are different, and some specific features of
      the blade back, primarily its thickness, can be distinguished. When the suspected
      knife is available, a valid conclusion can be made by comparing experimental
      wounds inflicted by this knife with the studied wounds.

PMID- 9989167
TI  - [The characteristics of the morphological changes to the parenchymatous organs in
      persons who used street narcotics].
AB  - Morphologic signs of narcomania in subjects using primitively prepared narcotics
      from opium-containing raw material are described. Sites of injections and
      inflammatory reactions in the parenchymatous organs are described. Special
      attention is paid to productive hypersensitive inflammation, which can serve as a
      sign confirming narcomania in subjects using poorly purified narcotic mixture.
      The authors classify the granulomas in such patients as toxic allergic
      granulomatosis.

PMID- 9989168
TI  - [Establishing the presence of blood in stains for material evidence by using the
      luminescent blood test].
AB  - Two methods for objective persuasive identification of blood stains on pieces of
      material evidence are offered. These methods are 1000 times more sensitive than
      other methods used in forensic medical practice. Computer processing of the
      results permits calculating the content of hemoglobin derivatives in the examined
      material in amounts as low as 5-100 ng/100 microliters extraction. Using these
      methods, it is possible to prove the presence of blood by rapid analysis directly
      at the site of the crime in washed traces and in traces formed long ago.

PMID- 9989169
TI  - [The determination of mixed stains of blood and cells on the knife blade in the
      case of the wounding of several victims].
AB  - Discusses the probability of disclosing the fact of wounding several subjects
      with the same knife on the basis of analysis of two cases. A complex method for
      analysis of traces on the knife blade consisted in assessment of the group and
      sex appurtenance of blood and detection of cells including the diagnosis of their
      sex, group, and organ and tissue origin.

PMID- 9989170
TI  - [The forensic chemical study of psilocybine-containing fungi].
AB  - A method for isolating the main components (psilocybin and psilocine) from
      Psilocybe semilanceata mushrooms, their identification and measurement by thin
      layer and gas-liquid chromatography, chromatographic mass-spectrometry, and
      inverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is developed.

PMID- 9989171
TI  - [The isolation and determination of different narcotic and drug substances after
      the acid hydrolysis of biological material. (1)].
AB  - A modified method for isolation of toxicologically significant substances after
      acid hydrolysis of biological material is proposed. Drugs and narcotics of
      different groups were identified, which are not disintegrated after acid
      hydrolysis of biological material and are isolated in high amounts.

PMID- 9989172
TI  - [The determination of 4-nitrophenols in objects of biological origin].
AB  - The possibility of isolating 4-nitrophenols from objects of biological origin by
      acetic anhydride is investigated. Extracts from biological material were purified
      by extraction followed by silica gel thin layer chromatography. A method for
      identification and measurement of phenol 4-nitro derivatives in extracts of human
      cadaveric liver and blood is developed.

PMID- 9989173
TI  - [The comparative characteristics of methods for determining technological liquids
      in clinical toxicology].
AB  - Methods for preparing biological samples and of gas chromatographic analysis of
      toxic technological liquids are compared. The sensitivity and reproducibility of
      the results of measuring these substances in the vapor-gas phase and during
      direct introduction of biological samples in the column are assessed. The
      possibility of direct introduction of a sample for qualitative and quantitative
      assessment of several volatile solvents simultaneously present in the samples is
      demonstrated.

PMID- 9989174
TI  - [The determination of the posture of the victim at the moment of the infliction
      of a gunshot wound].

PMID- 9989175
TI  - [A fall from a great height onto tree branches].

PMID- 9989176
TI  - [A case of Dertil poisoning].

PMID- 9989177
TI  - [The age-related morphology of the male genitalia].

PMID- 9989178
TI  - [Francisk Keresturi--one of the first forensic physicians of Moscow].

PMID- 9989179
TI  - Medicare+Choice: reality sets in.

PMID- 9989180
TI  - Unethical duels between departing physicians and their medical groups.

PMID- 9989181
TI  - Perils of ignoring the family.

PMID- 9989182
TI  - Proctitis cystica profunda--an unusual rectal mass with varied etio-pathogenesis.

PMID- 9989183
TI  - Acute lung injury after massive household endotoxin exposure.
AB  - Household exposures may result in a variety of respiratory illnesses. Most of
      these inhalation injuries are benign and self-limited. However, an acute injury
      that results in exacerbation of asthma or chronic fibrosing processes may be life
      threatening. We report the case of a patient who suffered a massive household
      dust exposure when the bag of his upright vacuum cleaner exploded. Inhalation of
      the dust resulted in respiratory distress characterized by non-cardiogenic
      pulmonary edema. We believe this is the first report of acute respiratory
      distress syndrome (ARDS) as a result of endotoxin exposure from the inhalation of
      household dust.

PMID- 9989184
TI  - Assistive technology in Tennessee.

PMID- 9989185
TI  - A case of Streptococcus bovis bacteremia and endocarditis.

PMID- 9989186
TI  - Colonoscopy in rural family practice--response.

PMID- 9989187
TI  - [A good Scientific Practice].

PMID- 9989188
TI  - [Prevention of ischemic heart disease--the absolute risk].

PMID- 9989189
TI  - [Can preventive measures reduce the incidence of ankle sprains? Results of a
      Cochrane meta-analysis].

PMID- 9989190
TI  - [Familial occurrence of chronic tension headache].
AB  - Chronic tension-type headache occurs in 3% of the Danish population. the
      aetiology remains an enigma, even though it is one of the most frequent illnesses
      with chronic pain. A family study indicates the importance of genetic factors.
      Compared with the general population, first degree relatives (parents, siblings
      and children) of probands with chronic tension-type headache have a three-fold
      significantly increased risk of chronic tension-type headache, while spouses had
      no increased risk. Complex segregation analysis indicates multifactorial
      inheritance. Thus, a combination of genetic and environmental factors causes
      chronic tension-type headache.

PMID- 9989191
TI  - [Cerebral dysfunction occurring after years of latency].
AB  - A number of basically very different factors may affect the central nervous
      system and result in progressive loss of mental or physical functions immediately
      or after a latent period of decades, possibly due to the initial factor being
      combined with an additive effect of aging. Intoxication with 1-methyl-4-phenyl
      1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induces degeneration of the basal ganglia.
      Various vira e.g. poliovirus and retrovirus may give rise to acute or late
      effects after several years. The Concentration Camp Syndrome may lead to a
      dementing illness with a latency of 10-30 years. Signs of progressive
      degenerative CNS disease should give rise to considerations of possible provoking
      factors earlier in the patient's life history.

PMID- 9989192
TI  - [Intra-articular glucocorticoid injections in joint diseases].
AB  - Intra-articular glucocorticosteroid injections are widely used in mono- or
      oligoarticular flares of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other aseptic
      inflammatory joint diseases, as well as in osteoarthritis. Rapid and pronounced,
      but usually temporary, suppression of local joint inflammation may be achieved
      with only minor systemic effect. In osteoarthritis the effect is brief and
      transient. Triamcinolone hexacetonide provides the longest clinical effect, but
      since this drug may cause local tissue necrosis when injected outside a synovial
      cavity it should be used only by experienced clinicians. The risk of
      glucocorticoid-induced cartilage damage is discussed. The risk is probably less
      than that of untreated joint inflammation. Nevertheless, it is recommended that
      injections into the same joint are limited, for instance to one injection every
      six weeks and no more than three or four in one year. Furthermore, indications
      and contraindications should be carefully considered prior to each injection.
      Intra-articular glucocorticoid therapy may be of considerable clinical value in
      the management of aseptic arthritis, if administered on correct indications using
      a correct technique.

PMID- 9989193
TI  - [Single-chamber atrial pacing is better than single chamber ventricular pacing in
      patients with sick sinus syndrome. Results of long-term follow up in a
      prospective randomized study].
AB  - In a study of 225 patients with sick sinus syndrome randomized to single chamber
      atrial pacing (n = 110) or ventricular pacing (n = 115), atrial pacing was
      associated with less atrial fibrillation and thromboembolism after 3.3 years
      follow-up. To determine whether this beneficial effect of atrial pacing is
      maintained at long-term, follow-up was extended. Follow-up visits were at 3
      months, 12 months, and then once every year, and included physical examination,
      ECG, and pacemaker check-up. After 5.5 years follow-up, all-cause mortality,
      cardiovascular deaths, atrial fibrillation, thromboembolism, and heart failure
      were significantly less in the atrial group. AV block occurred in four patients
      in the atrial group. The beneficial effect of atrial pacing observed previously
      is enhanced substantially after extended follow-up. Patients with sick sinus
      syndrome should be treated with an atrial pacing system.

PMID- 9989194
TI  - [The effect of transdermal nicotine patches in smoking cessation. A randomized
      trial in pharmacy customers in Denmark].
AB  - The aim of the study was to examine the effect of 24-hour nicotine patches in
      smoking cessation among over-the-counter customers in Denmark based on a
      randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were consecutive
      customers to whom nicotine patches were offered free of charge and as the only
      treatment. Forty-two pharmacies in the areas of Aarhus and Copenhagen in Denmark
      participated in the trial, and 522 customers who smoked 10 or more cigarettes per
      day were randomized to either nicotine or placebo patches from January to March
      1994. Twenty-four-hour patches were offered for a three-month period. Those
      smoking 20 or more cigarettes per day started on 21 mg/day patches. Customers who
      smoked less started on 14 mg/day patches and all the participants were gradually
      reduced to 7 mg/day patches during the study period. Smoking behaviour and
      compliance were recorded by means of self-administered question-naires and
      telephone interviews. Smoking status was recorded following each four-week
      treatment period, and 26 weeks after inclusion. There was a significant increase
      in smoking cessations rates, but only among smokers who started on 21 mg/day
      patches after eight weeks of follow-up. No significant differences in smoking
      cessation rates were seen among smokers who started with the low dose nicotine or
      placebo patches.

PMID- 9989195
TI  - [Pancreaticoduodenectomy--Whipple's operation--for periampullary cancer in
      patients over 70 years of age].
AB  - Thirty-four consecutive patients with an age over 70 years with periampullary
      cancer were operated on with pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's procedure). The
      operative procedure included an extensive dissection of the regional connective
      tissue and lymph nodes including the retroperitoneum. Postoperative medical
      complications occurred in 24% and surgical complications in 53% of the patients.
      Four patients (12%) died in the postoperative period (within 30 days), and three
      patients (9%) died later in the postoperative course. The cumulative and age
      corrected five-year survival for the remaining patients was 26%. Fifteen patients
      died from recurrence, and seven patients from other causes. In patients with a
      non-radical operation the median survival was 1 1/2 years, which is longer than
      could be expected with other palliative procedures. Apart from a moderately
      increased postoperative mortality the results were similar to those reported for
      younger patients. In conclusion, pancreaticoduodenectomy may be considered in
      patients with an age over 70 years with operable periampullary cancer. A five
      year survival rate of 20-35% can be obtained. Palliative resection is indicated
      in patients in good general condition, as resection gives the best palliation and
      longer survival than other palliative methods.

PMID- 9989196
TI  - [Alcohol-related admissions to a psychiatric departments].
AB  - The purpose of this investigation was to find out the number of hospitalizations
      of alcoholics in a department of psychiatry throughout one year. Further, some
      characteristics of the patients were noted. The information was gathered from
      case sheets of patients who had been hospitalized in the period 01.10.96
      30.09.97, and who were given a F10.x diagnosis from the ICD-10 system. The
      investigation showed that about one fifth of the patients hospitalized in the
      department were alcoholics. Fore more than half of these patients, the reason for
      hospitalization was for treatment that according to guidelines should have been
      given in an outpatient setting. The study confirms that there is a need for
      facilities for inpatient treatment for alcoholics, and that offering outpatient
      detoxification is not sufficient.

PMID- 9989197
TI  - [Bowing fracture of the ulna with concomitant dislocation of the distal
      radioulnar joint].
AB  - This work presents the first case of bowing fracture of the ulna associated with
      dislocation of the distal radioulnar joint. Etiology, radiographs and treatment
      are described and discussed. Bowing fractures are frequently missed on primary
      examination, mainly due to their rarity and the fact that the primary examination
      in the accident and emergency department is undertaken by junior doctors. We find
      that careful clinical examination combined with good radiographs should reveal
      the diagnosis. As closed reduction of bowing fractures may be very difficult to
      carry out, open reduction may frequently be preferable.

PMID- 9989198
TI  - [Post-menopausal hormone substitution and ischemic heart disease].

PMID- 9989200
TI  - [Good scientific practice].

PMID- 9989199
TI  - [George Lundberg, editor of JAMA, sacked by the American Medical Society].

PMID- 9989201
TI  - [What is the relation between randomized trials and evidence-based medicine?].

PMID- 9989202
TI  - [Public disease a task for a specialist?].

PMID- 9989203
TI  - [Thrombolysis in stroke?].

PMID- 9989204
TI  - [Treatment of patients with gallstones. An evaluation of medical technology].

PMID- 9989205
TI  - AIDS-associated malignancies: research perspectives.
AB  - The appearance in 1981 of a usually rare malignancy, Kaposi's sarcoma, in
      homosexual men [1] was one of the first harbingers of an epidemic caused by a
      retrovirus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes the acquired
      immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Lymphoid and other malignancies were also
      increased, most strikingly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and primary central nervous
      system (CNS) lymphoma. Advances in molecular biology, immunology, virology, and
      anti-viral therapy have combined to create unique research opportunities. One
      developing theme is the role of viral co-infection and malignancy. Human herpes
      virus 8 (HHV8), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and papilloma virus each may have a
      causal role in the development of HIV-associated malignancy. New antiretroviral
      therapies are able to substantially reverse or delay the profound
      immunosuppression of HIV infection. The changes in the epidemiology of
      malignancies, and understanding the mechanism of action of these new therapeutics
      provide research opportunities to understand the pathogenesis of these
      malignancies. The opportunities to discover the consequences of T-cell based
      immunodeficiency and the interactions with specific viral pathogens will likely
      lead to progress in HIV treatment and new strategies for other malignancies.

PMID- 9989206
TI  - Genetic epidemiology of prostate cancer.
AB  - A family history of prostate cancer is a consistent risk factor for prostate
      cancer, and can also be used to predict the presence of prostate cancer among
      asymptomatic men who undergo PSA screening. Approximately 5% of cases of prostate
      cancer have a familial component. The genetic epidemiology of prostate cancer is
      complex, and genes on chromosome 1 and X chromosome contribute to familial
      aggregation. Neither of these prostate cancer susceptibility genes have been
      identified, but are the subject of an active search. Hereditary prostate cancer
      resembles non-hereditary cancer in terms of age of onset, pathologic appearance
      and grade.

PMID- 9989207
TI  - Leukemia: the sophisticated subversion of hematopoiesis by nuclear receptor
      oncoproteins.

PMID- 9989208
TI  - Papillomaviruses: prophylactic vaccine prospects.
AB  - Identification of a subset of HPV types as etiologic agents of cervical cancer
      and other malignancies implies that development of an effective vaccine against
      HPV infection could have a major impact on tumors attributable to these viruses.
      The ability of the L1 major capsid protein of papillomaviruses to self-assemble
      into VLPs that can, when inoculated systemically, induce high levels of
      neutralizing antibodies and protect animals against experimental viral challenge
      makes L1 VLPs an excellent candidate subunit vaccine. VLPs have the limitation of
      inducing type-specific immunity. Studies in humans are required to determine
      whether systemic vaccination with L1 VLPs will prevent sexually transmitted HPV
      infection. Since prospective efficacy trials will take several years to complete,
      considering alternative approaches is also worthwhile.

PMID- 9989209
TI  - Genetics of aging. Sponsored by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2-5 April 1998.

PMID- 9989210
TI  - Molecular chaperones and the heat shock response. Sponsored by Cold Spring Harbor
      Laboratory, 6-10 May 1998.

PMID- 9989211
TI  - Oncogenes and growth control. EMBL-SALK Conference, Heidelberg, Germany, 18-22
      April 1998.

PMID- 9989213
TI  - LXIII Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology: Mechanisms of
      Transcription, 3-8 June 1998.
AB  - A new perspective is emerging in the transcription field towards understanding
      gene regulation not only at its most fundamental level but also in the context of
      chromatin, nuclear compartmentalization, and physiological processes. This
      direction is being fueled by several key observations. Among them is the
      discovery of multi-protein complexes whose components reveal a link between gene
      activity, nuclear structure, and cellular signaling pathways. This information
      will no doubt be extended by identifying expanded regulatory circuitry using the
      microchip oligonucleotide array technology. In addition to elucidating the
      regulatory consequences of these intricate connections, another frontier will be
      to analyze gene expression within chromosomes. This requires deciphering the
      mechanism of action of a variety of DNA elements that create a genetic domain
      such as locus control regions, distal enhancers, insulators, silencers, and
      matrix attachment regions. Hopefully, with the development of new assays these
      elements can be as rigorously defined as promoters have been. We can also look
      forward to capturing critical transcriptional processes by increasingly refined
      structural analyses. Thus, the scope of problems being addressed in gene
      regulation has been greatly expanded and the opportunity exists to answer very
      sophisticated questions in the future.

PMID- 9989212
TI  - Proteases and cancer invasion: from belief to certainty. AACR meeting on
      proteases and protease inhibitors in cancer, Nyborg, Denmark, 14-18 June 1998.

PMID- 9989214
TI  - Protein folding in Escherichia coli: role of 23S ribosomal RNA.
AB  - Post-translational control of Escherichia coli ribosome on newly synthesised
      polypeptide leading to its active conformation (protein folding) has been shown
      in the case of the enzyme beta-galactosidase. As expected, antibiotics
      chloramphenicol and lincomycin, which bind to 23S rRNA/50S subunit and
      kasugamycin and streptomycin which interact with the 30S subunit instantaneously
      inhibited protein synthesis when they were added to the growing cells. The
      increase in beta-galactosidase activity, though stopped immediately after the
      addition of chloramphenicol and lincomycin, went on considerably in the presence
      of streptomycin and kasugamycin even after the stoppage of protein synthesis.

PMID- 9989215
TI  - The binding of 3,6-disubstituted bile salts to human serum albumin induces
      conformational change on the molecule of this protein.
AB  - The binding of 3,6-hydroxy and keto disubstituted bile salts to human serum
      albumin was studied using differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence
      spectroscopy and circular dichroism. The bile salts assayed did not produce any
      modification in the shape of the albumin thermogram, its thermal unfolding
      process in their presence being reversible; however, an increase in the enthalpy
      of unfolding and in the Tm was observed in the presence of 3,6-diketo and 3
      hydroxy-6-keto bile salts. These two derivatives induced a negative circular
      dichroism spectrum of the protein around 280-290 nm, quenched the native
      fluorescence of the buried tryptophan of albumin and induced energy transfer
      between 1 aniline-8-naphthalene sulfonate and the buried tryptophan 214 of
      albumin. The presence of a keto group at C6 in the steroid ring of the bile salts
      plays an important role in producing slight movement of the albumin domains,
      increasing the distance between domains I and II.

PMID- 9989216
TI  - Investigation of the role of surface residues in the ferredoxin from Clostridium
      pasteurianum.
AB  - Eleven mutant forms of the ferredoxin from Clostridium pasteurianum (CpFd; 2
      Fe4S4; 6200 Da) have been isolated in which six surface carboxylates are changed
      systematically to their uncharged but stereochemically equivalent carboxamide
      analogues. Such changes provide molecules which vary in overall charge and its
      surface distribution but vary minimally in structure and reduction potential. Glu
      17 and Asp-6, -27, -33, -35, and -39 were converted providing six single mutants,
      four double mutants and one triple mutant. The proteins were characterised by UV
      visible spectroscopy, square-wave voltammetry and 1H NMR. Their ability to
      mediate electron transfer between spinach NADH:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and
      horse heart cytochrome c was assessed. Each mutant is 30-100% as active as the
      recombinant protein with the triple mutant D33,35,39N being least active. Second
      order rate constants k2 for the oxidation of reduced mutant ferredoxins by
      [Co(NH3)6]3+ were measured at 25 degrees C and I = 0.1 M by stopped-flow
      techniques. Each mutant displayed saturation kinetics with k2 being 30-100% of
      that for the recombinant protein. The rates were moderately sensitive to ionic
      strength. Variation in association constant K could not be detected within the
      confidence limits of the data. Overall the effects of the mutations were minor.
      In contrast to human and Anabaena 7120 [Fe2S2]-ferredoxins, electron transfer
      does not appear to rely on the presence of one or two specific surface
      carboxylate residues. It may occur from multiple sites on the surface of CpFd
      with recognition processes for its many physiological redox partners being
      controlled by relative reduction potentials, in addition to unidentified
      criteria. The conclusions are consistent with previous results for another series
      of mutant CpFd proteins interacting with physiological redox partners pyruvate:
      Fd oxidoreductase and hydrogenase (J.M. Moulis, V. Davasse (1995) Biochemistry
      34, 16781-16788).

PMID- 9989218
TI  - Cloning of a cDNA encoding SjIrV1, a Schistosoma japonicum calcium-binding
      protein similar to calnexin, and expression of the recombinant protein in
      Escherichia coli.
AB  - Membrane-associated proteins were isolated from adult Philippine strain
      Schistosoma japonicum by partitioning into the detergent phase of Triton X-114. A
      rabbit polyclonal antiserum raised against these proteins was used to screen an
      S. japonicum expression cDNA library. Positive clones were identified which
      encoded the species orthologue of SmIrV1, a Schistosoma mansoni protein which was
      initially identified by screening with sera from mice protectively vaccinated
      with irradiated cercariae [Hawn et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268 (1993) 7692-7698]. The
      S. japonicum molecule, which we term SjIrV1, is 83% identical to SmIrV1 at the
      predicted amino acid level and is a member of the calreticulin family of non-EF
      hand, calcium-binding proteins. The Chinese strain S. japonicum orthologue of
      SjIrV1 was obtained by screening with the radiolabelled insert of the Philippine
      strain clone. Northern blot analysis revealed a single message of around 2.4 kb
      and gave no indication of alternative splicing. Southern blot analysis gave a
      simple pattern, indicating a single-copy gene, and showed a single restriction
      fragment length polymorphism between the genomes of Chinese and Philippine
      strains of S. japonicum. Recombinant, full-length SjIrV1 was expressed with a
      hexahistidine tag in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein isolated by
      nickel-chelate chromatography. Recombinant SjIrV1 was shown to exhibit calcium
      dependent, differential electrophoretic migration and to bind ruthenium red in
      the absence but not in the presence of calcium ions. The presence of conserved
      Ca(2+)-binding motifs predicted from the primary sequence, together with the
      Ca(2+)-dependent electrophoretic mobility of recombinant SjIrV1, confirmed that
      SjIrV1 was a functional calcium-binding protein.

PMID- 9989217
TI  - Time-resolved fluorescence of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase.
AB  - Static and time-resolved fluorescence of the internal aldimine of the pyridoxal
      5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) and those
      of free PLP, and the PLP-L-valine Schiff base have been measured to gain insight
      into the photophysics of PLP bound to OASS. Exciting at 330 nm, free coenzyme
      exhibits a band at 415 nm, whereas PLP-valine and OASS (also when excited at
      their absorbance maxima) exhibit a structured emission with a peak at 420 nm and
      shoulders at 490 and 530 nm. The emission bands at 420 and 490 nm are attributed
      to the enolimine and ketoenamine tautomers of the internal aldimine,
      respectively, while the 530 nm emission might arise from a dipolar species formed
      upon proton dissociation in the excited state. Time-resolved fluorescence of OASS
      (PLP-valine), excited at 412 nm (415 nm) and collected at lamda > 470 nm,
      indicates the presence of two components characterized by lifetimes (tau) of 0.6
      (0.08) and 3.8 (1.55) ns with equal fractional intensity (f). In the presence of
      acetate the slow component dominates OASS emission with f of 0.98. Excitation at
      350 nm as a function of emission wavelengths (400-560 nm) shows at least three
      components. The f of the slow component increases from 400 to 440 nm, then
      decreases, whereas the f of the intermediate and fast components behave in the
      opposite way. Results indicate that: (i) the fast component is associated with
      the emission at 530 nm; (ii) the slow component is associated with the emission
      at 420 nm; (iii) a fast additive component, characterized by a very short
      lifetime, is present on the blue side of the emission spectrum; (iv) the
      intermediate component results from overlapping contributions, including the
      emission of the band at 490 nm, that could not be resolved; (v) the increased
      emission at 490 nm, caused by acetate binding, is likely due to the stabilization
      of the ketoenamine tautomer induced by an increase in polarity of the active site
      microenvironment and/or a decrease in proton dissociation in the excited state;
      (vi) excitation at 330 nm, where the enolimine tautomer absorbs, leads to
      emission decays typical of the ketoenamine.

PMID- 9989219
TI  - The oligomeric state of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins in solution.
AB  - The molecular mass of different Cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis
      bacteria was estimated by size-exclusion chromatography and non-denaturing
      polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at neutral and alkaline pH in order to assess
      the existence of oligomers in solution. We found that Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, Cry1C,
      Cry1D and Cry3A toxins exist in solution as a mixture of monomer and high
      molecular mass aggregates with an apparent molecular mass greater than 600 kDa,
      that depend on the time elapsed between toxin activation and analysis.
      Aggregation of toxins by disulfide bonds is unlikely because aggregates are also
      observed in samples incubated with DTT. These data show that the Cry toxins
      studied do not form oligomers of less than ten subunits in solution and suggest
      that oligomer formation may occur after the toxin binds to the receptor and
      inserts into the membrane.

PMID- 9989220
TI  - X-ray absorption spectroscopy of cadmium phytochelatin and model systems.
AB  - Higher plants, algae and some yeasts respond to potentially toxic heavy metals
      such as cadmium by synthesizing phytochelatins and related cysteine-rich
      polypeptides. We have used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the nature of
      cadmium binding in such peptides isolated from maize (Zea mays) exposed to low
      levels of cadmium, and in two synthetic cadmium-peptide complexes, Cd-(gamma-Glu
      Cys)3Gly and Cd-(alpha-Glu-Cys)3Gly. We have used the synthetic ions [Cd(SPh)4]2
      , [Cd4(SPh)10]2- and [S4Cd10(SPh)16]4-as crystallographically defined models for
      the cadmium site. The Cd K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)
      data, together with the Cd K, LI, LII and LIII near-edge spectra, reveal a
      predominantly tetrahedral coordination of cadmium by sulfur in both the
      phytochelatin and synthetic peptide complexes. In particular, the Cd LIII-edge
      lacks a peak at 3534.9 e V which was found to be prominent for oxygen- or
      nitrogen-coordinated species. The Cd-S distance in the phytochelatin complex is
      2.54 A. The Cd K-edge EXAFS does not show any isolated, well-defined Cd-Cd
      interactions; however, contrary to the conclusion of previous work, their absence
      is not necessarily indicative of isolated cadmium-thiolate ligation. Evidence
      from other studies suggests that high static disorder, combined with a large
      vibrational component, serve to effectively wash out this contribution to the
      EXAFS. The sulfur K-edge, moreover, shows a low-energy feature both in the
      phytochelatin and in the synthetic cadmium-peptide complexes which is consistent
      with sulfide bound in a cluster with cadmium as found for [S4Cd10(SPh)16]4-. This
      feature strongly suggests the presence of a polynuclear cadmium cluster in maize
      phytochelatin.

PMID- 9989221
TI  - Thermal unfolding of chitosanase from Streptomyces sp. N174: role of tryptophan
      residues in the protein structure stabilization.
AB  - Tryptophan residues in chitosanase from Streptomyces sp. N174 (Trp28, Trp101, and
      Trp227) were mutated to phenylalanine, and thermal unfolding experiments of the
      proteins were done in order to investigate the role of tryptophan residues in
      thermal stability. Four types of mutants (W28F, W101F, W227F and W28F/W101F) were
      produced in sufficient quantity in our expression system using Streptomyces
      lividans TK24. Each unfolding curve obtained by CD at 222 nm did not exhibit a
      two-state transition profile, but exhibited a biphasic profile: a first
      cooperative phase and a second phase that is less cooperative. The single
      tryptophan mutation decreased the midpoint temperature (Tm) of the first
      transition phase by about 7 degrees C, and the double mutation by about 11
      degrees C. The second transition phase in each mutant chitosanase was more
      distinct and extended than that in the wild-type. On the other hand, each
      unfolding curve obtained by tryptophan fluorescence exhibited a typical two-state
      profile and agreed with the first phase of transition curves obtained by CD.
      Differential scanning calorimetry profiles of the proteins were consistent with
      the data obtained by CD. These data suggested that the mutation of individual
      tryptophan residues would partly collapse the side chain interactions,
      consequently decreasing Tm and enhancing the formation of a molten globule-like
      intermediate in the thermal unfolding process. The tryptophan side chains are
      most likely to play important roles in cooperative stabilization of the protein.

PMID- 9989222
TI  - Parameter estimation using a direct solution of the integrated Michaelis-Menten
      equation.
AB  - A novel method of estimating enzyme kinetic parameters is presented using the
      Lambert omega function coupled with nonlinear regression. Explicit expressions
      for the substrate and product concentrations in the integrated Michaelis-Menten
      equation were obtained using the omega function which simplified kinetic
      parameter estimation as root-solving and numerical integration of the Michaelis
      Menten equation were avoided. The omega function was highly accurate in
      describing the substrate and product concentrations in the integrated Michaelis
      Menten equation with an accuracy of the order of 10(-16) when double precision
      arithmetic was used. Progress curve data from five different experimental systems
      were used to demonstrate the suitability of the omega function for kinetic
      parameter estimation. In all cases, the kinetic parameters obtained using the
      omega function were almost identical to those obtained using the conventional
      root-solving technique. The availability of highly efficient algorithms makes the
      computation of omega simpler than root-solving or numerical integration. The
      accuracy and simplicity of the omega function approach make it an attractive
      alternative for parameter estimation in enzyme kinetics.

PMID- 9989223
TI  - Cold denaturation of ubiquitin.
AB  - Temperature induced unfolding of bovine ubiquitin in solutions with different
      concentrations of guanidinium hydrochloride (GdmCl) has been measured using
      differential scanning calorimetry. It has been shown that at high concentrations
      of GdmCl the ubiquitin molecule can undergo both heat and cold induced
      denaturation. Analysis of the enthalpy of unfolding of ubiquitin in the presence
      of GdmCl shows a good agreement with the thermodynamic denaturant binding model.
      The unfolding Gibbs energy is found to change linearly with guanidine
      concentration up to zero denaturant concentration.

PMID- 9989224
TI  - Investigation of the binding interactions of progesterone using muteins of the
      human progesterone receptor ligand binding domain designed on the basis of a
      three-dimensional protein model.
AB  - The aim of this study was to investigate the binding interactions of the human
      progesterone receptor (hPR) with its natural ligand. Therefore, a homology
      derived model of the hPR ligand binding domain has been constructed and used to
      predict residues potentially involved in interactions with progesterone. These
      residues and the free cysteines have been mutated (in total 13 residues with 15
      mutations). All exchanges have been designed to preserve the three-dimensional
      structure of the protein. With respect to the binding characteristics towards
      progesterone, the muteins fall into three groups displaying no, reduced, or
      wildtype-like binding activity.

PMID- 9989225
TI  - High expression and steady-state kinetic characterization of methionine site
      directed mutants of Escherichia coli methionyl- and selenomethionyl-dihydrofolate
      reductase.
AB  - A high expression system that produces Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase
      (DHFR) at 30% total cellular protein was constructed. This expression vector,
      named pCOCK, allowed for the purification of nearly 100 mg of homogeneous DHFR
      from a 11 bacterial culture. A simple, single Q-Sepharose anion exchange column
      purification was developed on an FPLC instrument. Methionine site-directed
      mutants were constructed in DHFR to assess the role of Met within the enzymes.
      These mutants consisted of a Met16leucine (Leu), Met20Leu, Met42Leu, Met92Leu,
      Met16,20Leu and Met16,20,42Leu. Steady-state kinetic studies showed that the
      Met16Leu, Met42Leu and Met92Leu mutants possessed essentially the same kcat,
      Km(DHF) and Km(NADPH) as that of wild-type (wt) DHFR (13.7 s-1, 0.97 microM and
      2.52 microM, respectively). Mutants which contained a Leu at position 20
      possessed substantially elevated specific activity and kcat values. The specific
      activity and kcat of wt, Met20Leu, Met16,20Leu and Met16,20,42Leu were 45.9,
      92.7, 90.2 and 172 mumol/min/mg and 13.7, 24.6, 25.2 and 52.7 s-1, respectively.
      Upon substitution of Met by selenomethionine (SeMet) in the aforementioned
      mutants, further information as to the effect of SeMet incorporation into
      proteins was ascertained. Steady-state kinetic parameters of the SeMet
      substituted Met16Leu, Met20Leu, Met42Leu and Met92Leu mutants were nearly
      identical to those of their Met containing counterparts. These data indicate that
      Met apparently has a limited role in the protein structure and function of DHFR
      and that SeMet incorporation has no effect on the steady-state kinetic constants
      of DHFR.

PMID- 9989226
TI  - Thermodynamics of nucleotide interactions with the Azotobacter vinelandii
      nitrogenase iron protein.
AB  - The nitrogenase iron (Fe) protein binds two molecules of MgATP or MgADP, which
      results in protein conformational changes that are important for subsequent steps
      of the nitrogenase reaction mechanism. In the present work, isothermal titration
      calorimetry has been used to deconvolute the apparent binding constants (K'a1 and
      K'a2) and the thermodynamic terms (delta H' degree and delta S' degree) for each
      of the two binding events of MgATP or MgADP to either the reduced or oxidized
      states of the Fe protein from Azotobacter vinelandii. The Fe protein was found to
      bind two nucleotides with positive cooperativity and the oxidation state of the
      [4Fe-4S] cluster of the Fe protein was found to influence the affinity for
      binding nucleotides, with the oxidized ([4Fe-4S]2+) state having up to a 15-fold
      higher affinity for nucleotides when compared to the reduced ([4Fe-4S]1+) state.
      The first nucleotide binding reaction was found to be driven by a large favorable
      entropy change (delta S' degree = 10-21 cal mol-1 K-1), with a less favorable or
      unfavorable enthalpy change (delta H' degree = +1.5 to -3.3 kcal mol-1). In
      contrast, the second nucleotide binding reaction was found to be driven by a
      favorable change in enthalpy (delta H' degree = -3.1 to -13.0 kcal mol-1), with
      generally less favorable entropy changes. A plot of the associated enthalpy (
      delta H' degree) and entropy terms (-T delta S' degree) for each nucleotide and
      protein binding reaction revealed a linear relationship with a slope of 1.12,
      consistent with strong enthalpy-entropy compensation. These results indicate that
      the binding of the first nucleotide to the nitrogenase Fe protein results in
      structural changes accompanied by the reorganization of bound water molecules,
      whereas the second nucleotide binding reaction appears to result in much smaller
      structural changes and is probably largely driven by bonding interactions.
      Evidence is presented that the total free energy change (delta G' degree) derived
      from the binding of two nucleotides to the Fe protein accounts for the total
      change in the midpoint potential of the [4Fe-4S] cluster.

PMID- 9989227
TI  - Polyol-induced activation by excess substrate of the D70G butyrylcholinesterase
      mutant.
AB  - Wild-type human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) has a non-Michaelian behaviour
      showing substrate activation with butyrylthiocholine (BTC) as the substrate. The
      D70G mutant has a catalytic constant identical to that of the wild-type enzyme,
      but a 10-fold lower affinity for BTC compared to wild-type enzyme, and it does
      not exhibit activation by excess BTC under conventional conditions. In the
      present work it was found that addition of polyols or sugars changed the kinetic
      behaviour of the D70G mutant with BTC. In the presence of 40% sucrose, the D70G
      mutant enzyme displayed marked activation by excess substrate. Because D70 is
      hydrogen bonded to Y332, mutants of Y332 were studied. Mutant Y332F had a
      behaviour similar to that of wild-type BuChE, whereas mutants Y332A, Y332A/D70G
      and D70G had negligible substrate activation. The behavior of wild-type, Y332F,
      Y332A and Y332A/D70G did not change in the presence of high concentrations of
      sugar. Substrate activation has been explained by binding of a second substrate
      molecule in the peripheral site at D70. The D70G mutant should be incapable of
      substrate activation, if D70 were the only residue involved in substrate
      activation. The ability of the D70G mutant to display substrate activation by
      medium engineering suggests that other residues are involved in initial substrate
      binding and activation by excess substrate. Osmolyte-induced change in
      conformation and/or hydration status of Y332 and other solvent-exposed residues
      may account for the non-Michaelian behaviour of the D70G mutant.

PMID- 9989228
TI  - Partial sequence of human platelet heparitinase and evidence of its ability to
      polymerize.
AB  - Heparitinase cleaves heparan sulfate, a glycosaminoglycan associated with all
      nucleated mammalian cells and extracellular matrices. Despite the important
      physiologic role heparitinase is postulated to play in such processes as tumor
      metastasis and inflammation, the identity of the enzyme remains a matter of
      controversy and there is a question of whether heparitinase is CTAP III. We
      report a 900,000-fold purification of heparitinase from human platelets. A multi
      step procedure utilizing chromatography on heparin, DEAE, hydroxyapatite and size
      exclusion matrices was employed and yielded a single protein as judged by
      Coomassie staining of protein separated by SDS-PAGE. The purified protein had an
      apparent molecular mass of 35 kDa by size exclusion chromatography and 55 kDa by
      SDS-PAGE. During purification, heparitinase activity co-eluted from the
      hydroxyapatite and size exclusion columns with the 35-55 kDa protein, confirming
      that the purified protein was indeed heparitinase. The 35-55 kDa protein reacted
      strongly with concanavalin A, a lectin known to bind to heparitinase, further
      confirming that the protein was heparitinase. Platelet heparitinase formed dimers
      and tetramers upon storage in a purified form, possibly accounting for the
      various molecular weights previously reported for the enzyme. A partial amino
      acid sequence of the protein revealed that heparitinase has not been previously
      sequenced.

PMID- 9989229
TI  - Purification and characterization of a new enzyme, N-alkylglycine oxidase from
      Cladosporium sp. G-10.
AB  - A new enzyme, N-alkylglycine oxidase, was isolated from a soil mold, Cladosporium
      sp. G-10. This protein, which was purified to near homogeneity by ammonium
      sulfate precipitation followed by successive column chromatography on phenyl
      Sepharose, DEAE-Sepharose and Sephadex G-200, was a single polypeptide with a
      molecular mass of 52,000. In the presence of O2 and H2O, this enzyme acted on
      some N-alkylglycine derivatives, such as N epsilon-carboxymethyllysine, N
      carboxymethyl-6-aminocaproic acid, sarcosine and N-ethylglycine, and produced
      corresponding N-alkylamine, glyoxylic acid and H2O2. This enzyme had optimum
      activity at 30 degrees C, pH 8-10, and was most inhibited by ZnSO4, pCMB,
      iodoacetic acid, and SDS.

PMID- 9989230
TI  - Glycerol's influence on the oxidized insulin B-chain conformation in relation to
      the selectivity variation of subtilisin: an nuclear magnetic resonance and
      simulated annealing study.
AB  - Glycerol, employed to mimic biological media with restricted water activity, has
      been shown to modify the activity of subtilisin BPN', an endopeptidase, towards
      the oxidized insulin B-chain, a well-studied substrate (FEBS Lett., 279 (1991)
      123-131). Without minimizing the role of the microenvironment on the enzyme, we
      have studied the effect of glycerol addition on the structure of the enzyme
      substrate by homonuclear NMR spectroscopy and simulated annealing. Our results
      show that, in water, the oxidized insulin B-chain tertiary structure loses its
      central helix (residues B9-B19) and presents a folded structure with a flexible
      turn (residues B18-B24) in the beta-turn region of the insulin B-chain; whereas,
      in glycerol, the peptide is more rigid and is not folded. Moreover, in our
      experimental conditions, glycerol favors beta-strand secondary structure
      formation. Following these results, hypotheses about the differences observed in
      enzymatic activity on this substrate in glycerol have been postulated.

PMID- 9989232
TI  - High density lipoprotein (HDL), and not albumin, is the major palmitate binding
      protein in New Zealand long-finned (Anguilla dieffenbachii) and short-finned eel
      (Anguilla australis schmidtii) plasma.
AB  - Plasma from two members of the teleost Anguillidae family, the New Zealand long
      finned (Anguilla dieffenbachii) and short-finned eels (Anguilla australis
      schmidtii), were examined. Agarose gel electrophoresis showed both species had a
      major anionic diffuse protein band migrating at approximately the same position
      as human albumin, and autoradiography showed this protein bound [14C]palmitic
      acid, but not 63Ni2+. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis followed by Oil Red O
      staining suggested that this band was a lipoprotein. Two-dimensional
      electrophoresis of plasma showed the absence of a significant albumin band at
      approx. 65 kDa, and that the palmitate binding band appeared to be composed of at
      least three proteins, with the major protein running at 30 kDa. N-Terminal
      sequencing of the palmitate binding band indicated major sequences of
      DAPAPP(S)QLED- for long-finned eel and DAPAPPSQLEHV- for short-finned eel,
      confirming their identities as apo-AI, the major apolipoprotein of high density
      lipoprotein (HDL). When ultracentrifugation was used to separate the lipoproteins
      of each species, the anionic palmitate binding protein was found solely in the
      lipoprotein fractions. There was no evidence of albumin in plasma from either
      eel, and it appears that in its absence HDL takes on the role of fatty acid
      transport.

PMID- 9989231
TI  - Altering the state of phosphorylation of rat liver keratin intermediate filaments
      by ethanol treatment in vivo changes their structure.
AB  - Dephosphorylation of keratin intermediate filaments (IF) in livers from ethanol
      fed rats relative to controls occurs concurrently with a reorganization of the
      distribution of IF in the cells. One possible molecular mechanism for this
      reorganization is a phosphorylation-induced conformational change in the keratin
      that propagates as a change in the polymerization of the keratin subunits. To
      test this hypothesis, the structure of liver keratin IF, from both control and
      alcohol-fed rats, was explored by circular dichroism (CD), tryptophan
      fluorescence quenching, and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Keratin IF were
      isolated from livers of control rats and from livers of rats that had ethanol
      included in their feed for 6-40 weeks. A significant decrease in the intensity of
      the CD spectrum of keratin IF from livers of ethanol-treated animals, relative to
      controls, was observed. These data suggested either that a change in conformation
      or an increase in conformational motility in the keratin IF from ethanol-treated
      animals occurred as a result of the ethanol-induced dephosphorylation. 13C NMR
      data were obtained to distinguish between these two possibilities. An increase in
      resonance intensity of some 13C NMR resonances was observed in the keratin IF
      from livers of ethanol-treated animals, relative to controls. The CD and NMR data
      were therefore consistent with an increase in conformational motility of the rod
      domain in these keratin IF. No significant change was observed in the quenching
      of tryptophan fluorescence by KI. The change in protein dynamics detected in
      these experiments could be the molecular basis for the alteration of keratin IF
      organization in alcoholic hepatitis.

PMID- 9989233
TI  - A comparative molecular field analysis study on several bioactive peptides using
      the alignment rules derived from identification of commonly exposed groups.
AB  - A 3D convex hull computation algorithm designed by us previously is used as a
      tool to align a series of structures randomly generated for eleven bioactive
      tachykinin peptides. There are 10 random structures generated for each peptide. A
      random structure is selected for each peptide to form a structural set of eleven
      structures. The total number of structural sets generated is 100. The convex hull
      computation algorithm is applied to each peptide structure generated. We count
      the frequency of atoms lying on the vertices of each hull computed. Vertices of
      the same atom type are gathered together as a set of commonly exposed atoms for a
      structural set generated. Structures are then aligned by treating the set of
      commonly exposed atoms as a set of correspondences using the FIT option of the
      SYBYL 6.4 program. All the structure sets are also aligned by using the
      coordinates of the backbone C alpha atoms as a set of correspondences through the
      same program. It is found that while a smaller degree of structural similarity
      for structures aligned by the convex hull alignment rule is detected, the overall
      SYBYL comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) statistics computed for the
      aligned structures using the alignment rule is better than that computed for the
      aligned structures using the C alpha atoms alignment rule. A similar conclusion
      is drawn for a subset of structures selected and probed by a different type of
      atoms using the SYBYL CoMFA program. These results indicate that computation of
      3D convex hulls is a feasible way that one can use to align structures generated
      for highly flexible molecules of this kind.

PMID- 9989234
TI  - Dynamic equilibrium unfolding pathway of human tumor necrosis factor-alpha
      induced by guanidine hydrochloride.
AB  - The dynamic equilibrium unfolding pathway of human tumor necrosis factor-alpha
      (TNF-alpha) during denaturation at different guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)
      concentrations (0-4.2 M) was investigated by steady-state fluorescence
      spectroscopy, potassium iodide (KI) fluorescence quenching, far-UV circular
      dichroism (CD), picosecond time-resolved fluorescence lifetime, and anisotropy
      decay measurements. We utilized the intrinsic fluorescence of Trp-28 and Trp-114
      to characterize the conformational changes involved in the equilibrium unfolding
      pathway. The detailed unfolding pathway under equilibrium conditions was
      discussed with respect to motional dynamics and partially folded structures. At 0
      0.9 M [GdnHCl], the rotational correlation times of 22-25 ns were obtained from
      fluorescence anisotropy decay measurements and assigned to those of trimeric
      states by hydrodynamic calculation. In this range, the solvent accessibility of
      Trp residues increased with increasing [GdnHCl], suggesting the slight expansion
      of the trimeric structure. At 1.2-2.1 M [GdnHCl], the enhanced solvent
      accessibility and the rotational degree of freedom of Trp residues were observed,
      implying the loosening of the internal structure. In this [GdnHCl] region, TNF
      alpha was thought to be in soluble aggregates having distinct conformational
      characteristics from a native (N) or fully unfolded state (U). At 4.2 M [GdnHCl],
      TNF-alpha unfolded to a U-state. From these results, the equilibrium unfolding
      pathway of TNF-alpha, trimeric and all beta-sheet protein, could not be viewed
      from the simple two state model (N-->U).

PMID- 9989235
TI  - Tripeptidyl-peptidase I is apparently the CLN2 protein absent in classical late
      infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.
AB  - We report that fragments of amino acid sequence recently described for
      tripeptidyl-peptidase I (TPP I) show that it is the rat homologue of the human
      CLN2 gene product that is deficient in classical late-infantile neuronal ceroid
      lipofuscinosis. This is unexpected, since the CLN2 protein has been thought to be
      a carboxyl-dependent endopeptidase, but TPP I is an exopeptidase possibly of
      serine-type.

PMID- 9989237
TI  - Purification, crystallisation and preliminary X-ray diffraction study of ribosome
      inactivating protein: saporin.
AB  - We report here the crysallisation and molecular replacement results on the
      structure determination of S-9 isoform of the ribosome inactivating protein
      saporin. The protein was purified to homogeneity by a simple and efficient
      protocol. The crystals belong to the space group I4l with a = b = 91.47 A, c =
      150.66 A and contain two molecules in the asymmetric unit.

PMID- 9989236
TI  - The prolyl aminopeptidase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
      belongs to the alpha/beta hydrolase fold family.
AB  - Prolyl aminopeptidase (PepIP) of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
      displays the Gly-x-Ser-x-Gly-Gly consensus motif surrounding the catalytic serine
      of the prolyl oligopeptidases family. Sequence comparison revealed that this
      motif and two other domains appear well conserved among bacterial PepIPs and
      members of the alpha/beta hydrolase fold family. Secondary structural predictions
      of PepIP were performed from amino acid sequence and corroborated by circular
      dichroism analysis. These predictions well matched the core structure of
      alpha/beta hydrolases organised in eight beta-sheets connected by alpha-helices.
      We obtained 26 mutants of PepIP by chemical or site-directed mutagenesis. Most
      substitutions associated with stable and inactive mutant proteins were mainly
      located in the three conserved boxes (including the catalytic serine motif).
      Taken together, our results strongly suggest that PepIP belongs to the alpha/beta
      hydrolase fold family and that Ser107, Asp246 and His273 constitute the catalytic
      triad of the enzyme.

PMID- 9989238
TI  - cDNA sequence and overexpression of chloroplast chaperonin 21 from Arabidopsis
      thaliana.
AB  - Higher plant chloroplasts contain a 21-kDa protein, chaperonin 21 (Cpn21), that
      is a functional homolog of the chaperonin 10 (Cpn10). The chloroplast Cpn21
      polypeptide consists of two Cpn10-like domains fused together in tandem. We
      describe here the cDNA sequence of the Cpn21 (AtCpn21) precursor protein from
      Arabidopsis thaliana. The deduced amino acid sequence of the AtCpn21 precursor
      protein, 253 amino acids long, shows 61% identity with the spinach Cpn21 protein.
      The AtCpn21 precursor protein contains the typical chloroplast transit peptide of
      51 amino acids at its aminoterminus and the two Cpn10-like domains which exhibits
      46% sequence identity to each other. The predicted mature-sized polypeptide of
      AtCpn21 was expressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble 21-kDa protein. Gel
      filtration and chemical cross-linking analyses showed that the recombinant mature
      AtCpn21 protein forms a stable homo-oligomer composed of three or four
      polypeptides.

PMID- 9989239
TI  - Cloning of a novel prolidase gene from Aureobacterium esteraromaticum.
AB  - The prolidase gene from Aureobacterium esteraromaticum was cloned and expressed
      in Escherichia coli. The cloned enzyme had the same enzymatic properties as the
      wild-type enzyme. Kinetic analysis of the enzyme indicated that the best
      substrate was Pro-Hyp, which was not hydrolyzed by other prolidases.
      Interestingly, there was no homology between the deduced amino acid sequence of
      A. esteraromaticum prolidase and those of the other sources such as human E. coli
      and Lactobacillus. However, homology was seen with the yeast hypothetical protein
      YJL213w, the function of which is unknown. These findings indicate that the A.
      esteraromaticum prolidase is a novel enzyme different from other prolidases
      reported to date.

PMID- 9989240
TI  - Mammalian cell expression of malaria merozoite surface proteins and experimental
      DNA and RNA immunisation.
AB  - The gene for a 45 kDa merozoite surface protein (MSA-2) of the human malaria
      parasite Plasmodium falciparum was PCR amplified and cloned into eukaryotic
      expression vectors VR1012 and pcDNA3 to yield plasmids P1 and P2, respectively.
      The coding sequences for two N-terminal fragments of the 185 kDa merozoite
      surface protein (MSA-1) gene were similarly PCR amplified and cloned into vectors
      VR1020 and VR1012 to yield plasmids P3 and P4, respectively. The MSA-1 signal
      peptide sequence, present in P4, was replaced with the human tissue plasminogen
      activator signal sequence in P3. The four plasmids expressed the cloned genes
      under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter and carried 3' bovine growth
      hormone termination/poly A signals. P1, P3 and P4 also contained the
      cytomegalovirus intron A enhancer sequence. MSA-1 expression was more readily
      detected than MSA-2 in Cos cells transfected with P3/P4 and P1/P2 respectively.
      The MSA-2 gene was also cloned into the phagemid pBluescript IISK+ with and
      without a 3' poly A tail composed of 35 A residues. MSA-2 was synthesised in HeLa
      cells infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus carrying T7 RNA polymerase when
      MSA-2 recombinant pBluescript was transfected into the cells. Inoculation with P1
      intramuscularly or intradermally and with P2 intradermally into rabbits led to
      the production of antibodies to MSA-2 detectable by immunofluorescence and
      Western blotting. Antibodies were also produced against MSA-1 after
      intramuscular/intradermal inoculation with P3 and P4. Inoculation of rabbits with
      MSA-2 mRNA yielded better antibody titres when a poly A tail was present.
      Antibody levels were maintained for > 9 weeks after the final immunisation.
      However the immune sera failed to inhibit in vitro parasite growth.

PMID- 9989242
TI  - Cation-mediated conformational variants of surfactant protein A.
AB  - Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is the major protein of pulmonary surfactant. This
      protein is implicated in regulating surfactant secretion, alveolar processing,
      recycling, and in non-serum-induced immune response. An increasing body of work
      indicates the importance of cations, particularly calcium, on SP-A function.
      However, little information exists on the effects of cations on SP-A quaternary
      structure. Here, the quaternary organisation of bovine surfactant protein A in
      the presence of cations has been quantitatively and systematically studied by
      transmission electron microscopy. The conformation of SP-A is altered by the
      presence of cations, especially calcium, then sodium, and to a small extent,
      magnesium. There is a transition concentration, unique for each cation, at which
      a conformational switch occurs. These transition concentrations are: 5 mM for
      CaCl2, 100 mM for NaCl and 1 mM for MgCl2. Below these concentrations, SP-A
      exists primarily in an opened form with a large head diameter of 20 nm; above it,
      SP-A is mostly in a closed form due to a compaction of the headgroups resulting
      in a head diameter of 11 nm. There is a corresponding increase in particle length
      from 17 nm for opened SP-A to 20 nm for closed SP-A. The fact that the transition
      concentrations are within physiological range suggests that cation-mediated
      conformational changes of SP-A could be operative in vivo.

PMID- 9989241
TI  - High lysosomal activities in cystic fibrosis tracheal gland cells corrected by
      adenovirus-mediated CFTR gene transfer.
AB  - Human tracheal gland serous (HTGS) cells are now believed to be a major target of
      cystic fibrosis (CF) gene therapy. To evaluate the efficiency of adenovirus
      mediated gene transfer in these cells we tested the adenovirus construction
      containing beta-galactosidase cDNA. We observed that the endogenous beta
      galactosidase activity in cultured CF-HTGS cells was too strong to allow us to
      detect any exogenous beta-galactosidase activity. Immunohistological study on
      sections of human tracheal tissue confirmed the presence of beta-galactosidase in
      the serous component of the submucosal glands. We then looked for other lysosomal
      activities in normal and CF-HTGS cells. We showed that normal cells already have
      elevated enzyme values and that CF-HTGS cells contained 2-4-fold more beta
      galactosidase, alpha-fucosidase, alpha-mannosidase and beta-glucuronidase
      activities than normal cells. An analysis of their kinetic constants has shown
      that this difference could be attributed to a lower K(m) of CF lysosomal enzymes.
      More importantly, these differences are eliminated after adenovirus-mediated CFTR
      gene transfer and not after beta-galactosidase gene transfer.

PMID- 9989243
TI  - Enhanced tumor necrosis factor-alpha production following endotoxin challenge in
      rats is an early event during magnesium deficiency.
AB  - Magnesium (Mg) plays an essential role in fundamental cellular reactions and the
      importance of the immuno-inflammatory processes in the pathology of Mg deficiency
      has been recently reconsidered. The purpose of the present study was to assess
      the effect of different stages of Mg deficiency on endotoxin response and tumor
      necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) production. Weaning male Wistar rats were pair
      fed either a Mg-deficient or a control diet. At day 7, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
      induced no lethal effects in control rats but resulted in 70% mortality in Mg
      deficient rats within 3 h. The vulnerability of Mg-deficient rats to LPS was
      associated with higher TNF alpha plasma values. Mg-deficient animals that
      received magnesium supplementation before endotoxin challenge had significantly
      increased survival. At day 2, control and Mg-deficient rats were also subjected
      to endotoxin challenge with or without magnesium pre-treatment. A significant
      increase in TNF alpha plasma level was observed in Mg-deficient rats compared to
      rats fed the control diet. Mg-deficient rats that received magnesium replacement
      therapy before endotoxin challenge had significantly lower TNF alpha plasma
      values than those receiving saline before endotoxin. Thus, the results of this
      experiment suggest that the activated or primed state of immune cells is an early
      event occurring in Mg deficiency.

PMID- 9989244
TI  - Release of cytochrome c from heart mitochondria is induced by high Ca2+ and
      peroxynitrite and is responsible for Ca(2+)-induced inhibition of substrate
      oxidation.
AB  - Prolonged heart ischaemia causes an inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and
      an increase of Ca2+ in mitochondria. We investigated whether elevated Ca2+
      induces changes in the oxidative phosphorylation system relevant to ischaemic
      damage, and whether Ca2+ and other inducers of mitochondrial permeability
      transition cause the release of cytochrome c from isolated heart mitochondria. We
      found that 5 microM free Ca2+ induced changes in oxidative phosphorylation system
      similar to ischaemic damage: increase in the proton leak and inhibition of the
      substrate oxidation system related to the release of cytochrome c from
      mitochondria. The phosphorylating system was not directly affected by high Ca2+
      and ischaemia. The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria was caused by Ca2+
      and 0.175-0.9 mM peroxynitrite but not by NO, and was prevented by cyclosporin A.
      Adenylate kinase and creatine kinase were also released after incubation of
      mitochondria with Ca2+, however, the activity of citrate synthase in the
      incubation medium with high and low Ca2+ did not change. The data suggest that
      release of cytochrome c and other proteins of intermembrane space may be due to
      the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, and may be
      partially responsible for inhibition of mitochondrial respiration induced by
      ischaemia, high calcium, and oxidants.

PMID- 9989245
TI  - The parkinsonian neurotoxin MPP+ opens the mitochondrial permeability transition
      pore and releases cytochrome c in isolated mitochondria via an oxidative
      mechanism.
AB  - The mitochondrial transition pore (MTP) is implicated as a mediator of cell
      injury and death in many situations. The MTP opens in response to stimuli
      including reactive oxygen species and inhibition of the electron transport chain.
      Sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by oxidative stress and
      specifically involves a defect in complex I of the electron transport chain. To
      explore the possible involvement of the MTP in PD models, we tested the effects
      of the complex I inhibitor and apoptosis-inducing toxin N-methyl-4
      phenylpyridinium (MPP+) on cyclosporin A (CsA)-sensitive mitochondrial swelling
      and release of cytochrome c. In the presence of Ca2+ and Pi, MPP+ induced a
      permeability transition in both liver and brain mitochondria. MPP+ also caused
      release of cytochrome c from liver mitochondria. Rotenone, a classic non
      competitive complex I inhibitor, completely inhibited MPP(+)-induced swelling and
      release of cytochrome c. The MPP(+)-induced permeability transition was
      synergistic with nitric oxide and the adenine nucleotide translocator inhibitor
      atractyloside, and additive with phenyl arsine oxide cross-linking of dithiol
      residues. MPP(+)-induced pore opening and cytochrome c release were blocked by
      CsA, the Ca2+ uniporter inhibitor ruthenium red, the hydrophobic disulfide
      reagent N-ethylmaleimide, butacaine, and the free radical scavenging enzymes
      catalase and superoxide dismutase. MPP+ neurotoxicity may derive from not only
      its inhibition of complex I and consequent ATP depletion, but also from its
      ability to open the MTP and to release mitochondrial factors including Ca2+ and
      cytochrome c known to be involved in apoptosis.

PMID- 9989246
TI  - Mechanism of interaction of thrombospondin with human endothelium and inhibition
      of sickle erythrocyte adhesion to human endothelial cells by heparin.
AB  - Thrombospondin (TSP) mediates sickle erythrocyte adhesion to endothelium, but the
      mechanism remains unknown. Since TSP is comprised of heterogeneously distinct
      domains, this adhesion may depend on the interaction of specific regions of TSP
      with different cell surface receptors. To examine the mechanisms of interaction
      of TSP with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), we performed binding
      studies using soluble [125I]TSP. Our data showed that (i) monoclonal antibodies
      (MoAbs) against cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) or the heparin-binding domain
      of TSP, or cleavage of HS on HUVEC by heparitinase reduced TSP binding by 28-40%,
      (ii) the RGD peptide or MoAbs against integrin alpha v beta 3 or the calcium
      binding region of TSP inhibited binding by 18-28%, and (iii) a MoAb against the
      cell-binding domain of TSP inhibited binding by 36%. Unmodified heparin inhibited
      the binding of TSP to endothelial cells by 70% and did so far more effectively
      than selectively desulfated heparins, HS or chondroitin sulfate. Heparin
      inhibited TSP binding to HUVEC at much lower concentrations than were required to
      inhibit TSP binding to sickle erythrocytes. Unmodified heparin effectively
      inhibited the TSP-mediated adhesion of sickle erythrocytes to HUVEC. These data
      imply that cell surface HS-mediated mechanisms play a key role in TSP-mediated
      sickle erythrocyte adhesion to endothelium, and heparin may be of use for
      inhibition of this adhesion.

PMID- 9989247
TI  - Identification of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in rat peripheral
      nerves: its possible involvement in nerve regeneration.
AB  - Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is known as a pluripotent
      immunoregulatory cytokine involved in T-cell activation and inflammatory
      responses; however, no study on this protein in the peripheral nervous systems
      has been carried out. We here demonstrated for the first time expression of MIF
      mRNA and MIF protein in rat sciatic nerves by reverse transcription-polymerase
      chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemical
      analysis revealed positive staining of MIF, which was largely observed in Schwann
      cells. Furthermore, we examined MIF mRNA expression in the sciatic nerves by
      Northern blot analysis in the case of nerve transection. In both proximal and
      distal segments, the level of MIF mRNA started to increase 12 h after the nerve
      transection. The level remained high from 24 h up to day 7 after the injury.
      During the period from days 14 to 21, MIF mRNA sharply decreased to the pre
      transection level. In immunohistochemistry, positive staining of MIF was largely
      observed in axons as well as non-neuronal cells in proximal segments at day 4
      after transection. In the distal segments, contrastingly, endoneurial fibroblasts
      or Schwann cells migrating into neuronal fibers showed positive staining with
      Wallerian degeneration. Although the precise functions of MIF in the peripheral
      nerves remain to be elucidated, the present results could represent a major
      departure from the current state of knowledge, revealing a novel function in the
      degenerative-regenerative process.

PMID- 9989248
TI  - Normalization of glucose entry under the high glucose condition by phlorizin
      attenuates the high glucose-induced morphological and functional changes of
      cultured bovine retinal pericytes.
AB  - We previously reported that sodium-dependent glucose uptake is present in bovine
      retinal pericytes and that phlorizin normalizes its glucose consumption under
      high glucose conditions. To clarify the effect of phlorizin on morphological and
      functional change of retinal pericytes under high glucose conditions, retinal
      pericytes were incubated in media with 5 mM glucose, 30 mM glucose, and 30 mM
      glucose plus 0.2 mM phlorizin for 7 days. The diameter of cells in the
      concentrations of glucose more than 10 mM were significantly larger than those in
      5 mM glucose and 30 mM glucose plus phlorizin. Glucose, sorbitol and fructose
      contents of the cells in 30 mM glucose were significantly increased compared with
      those in 5 mM glucose, and were normalized by phlorizin. Thymidine uptake in the
      concentrations of glucose more than 20 mM was significantly decreased compared
      with that in 5 mM glucose. Myoinositol uptake, and DNA in 30 mM glucose were
      significantly reduced, and were normalized with phlorizin. Myoinositol content in
      30 mM glucose was the same as that in 5 mM glucose, but was significantly
      decreased by phlorizin. The ratios of glucose to sorbitol or fructose in 30 mM
      glucose were significantly decreased, compared with those in 5 mM glucose and 30
      mM glucose plus phlorizin. Therefore, the cellular enlargement and decreased DNA
      synthesis in cultured bovine retinal pericytes with abnormal glucose metabolism
      under high glucose conditions are attenuated by phlorizin, independent of the
      cellular myoinositol content.

PMID- 9989249
TI  - Proteasome participates in the alteration of signal transduction in T and B
      lymphocytes following trauma-hemorrhage.
AB  - Proteasomes are essential components of the cellular protein degradation
      machinery. They are nonlysosomal and their participation is critical for (1) the
      removal of short lived proteins involved in metabolic regulation and cell
      proliferation, (2) the control of the activities of regulators involved in gene
      transcription, such as nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) and signal transducer
      and activator of transcription (STAT1), and (3) processing of antigenic peptides
      for MHC class I presentation. Trauma-hemorrhage induces profound
      immunosuppression which is characterized by reduced splenocyte proliferation,
      interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon (IFN)-gamma productive capacity, increased
      activation of transcription factors NF-kappa B and STAT1 in splenic T
      lymphocytes, reduced macrophage antigen presentation capacity and inordinate
      release of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor
      alpha. Furthermore, it appears that the activity of several regulatory proteins
      involved in immune function is altered by trauma-hemorrhage. Since proteasomes
      are involved in regulation and removal of regulatory proteins, we hypothesized
      that trauma-hemorrhage alters proteasomal activity in splenic lymphocytes. The
      data showed that activities of 26s proteasome from CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ splenic
      T lymphocytes were enhanced following trauma-hemorrhage which was associated with
      increased expression of NF-kappa B and STAT1. On the other hand, trauma
      hemorrhage attenuated the activity of 26s proteasome from splenic B lymphocytes
      which was restored upon IFN-gamma stimulation and correlated with increased
      expression of NF-kappa B. These studies indicate a potential role for proteasomes
      in the regulation of signal transduction in splenic T and B lymphocytes following
      trauma-hemorrhage, and also suggest them as potential therapeutic targets for
      attenuation of immune suppression associated with this form of injury.

PMID- 9989250
TI  - Age-dependent ultrastructural alterations and biochemical response of rat
      skeletal muscle after hypoxic or hyperoxic treatments.
AB  - This work deals with the antioxidant enzymatic response and the ultrastructural
      aspects of the skeletal muscle of young and aged rats kept under hypoxic or
      hyperoxic normobaric conditions. It is in fact well known that the supply of
      oxygen at concentrations higher or lower than those occurring under normal
      conditions can promote oxidative processes that can cause tissue damage. The
      enzymes investigated were both those directly involved in reactive oxygen species
      (ROS) scavenging (superoxide dismutase, catalase and selenium-dependent
      glutathione peroxidase), and those challenged with the detoxication of cytotoxic
      compounds produced by the action of ROS on biological molecules (glutathione
      transferase, glyoxalase I, glutathione reductase), in order to obtain a
      comparative view of the defence strategies used with respect to aging. Our
      results support the hypothesis that one of the major contributors to the aging
      process is the oxidative damage produced at least in part by an impairment of the
      antioxidant enzymatic system. This makes the aged organism particularly
      susceptible to oxidative stress injury and to the related degenerative diseases,
      especially in those tissues with high demand for oxidative metabolism.

PMID- 9989251
TI  - Model multiple antigenic and homopolymeric peptides from non-repetitive sequences
      of malaria merozoite proteins elicit biologically irrelevant antibodies.
AB  - Three model peptides containing B-epitopes from conserved, non-repetitive regions
      of the merozoite surface antigens, MSA2 and MSA1, and the erythrocyte binding
      protein EBP of Plasmodium falciparum were synthesised. The peptides incorporated
      GPG spacers and C residues at the N and C termini, and were polymerised by
      oxidation to form cystine bridges. Multiple copies of essentially the same
      peptide sequences were also synthesised on a branching lysyl matrix to form a
      tetrameric multiple antigen peptide. Rabbits were immunised with the polymerised
      and multiple antigen peptides, in alum followed by Freund's adjuvant, and the
      antibody responses examined by IFA and ELISA. Reproducible antibody responses
      were obtained against the MSA1 and EBP but not MSA2 peptides. IgG antibody levels
      detected by ELISA after three injections of antigen in alum, increased
      significantly after further immunisation in Freund's adjuvant. IgG levels were
      largely maintained for at least 23 weeks after the final immunisation. IgM
      antibodies, generally detectable only after immunisation in Freund's adjuvant,
      were absent 23 weeks later. Antibody titres against the native protein on fixed
      parasites, assayed by IFA, were three to five orders of magnitude lower than the
      corresponding ELISA titres against the peptides. Antibody-dependent inhibition of
      P. falciparum growth in vitro could not be demonstrated with the immune rabbit
      sera. The MSA1 and EBP peptides elicited cross-reactive antibodies. The results
      suggest that the selected non-repetitive sequences are conformationally
      constrained in the native proteins and only a small proportion of the anti
      peptide antibodies bind to the native proteins. The significance of the findings
      for the development of peptide vaccines and the use of peptides in immunoassays
      is discussed.

PMID- 9989252
TI  - Hydrophobic lung surfactant proteins B and C remain associated with surface film
      during dynamic cyclic area changes.
AB  - The biophysical activity of lung surfactant depends, to a large extent, on the
      presence of the hydrophobic surfactant proteins B (SP-B) and C (SP-C). The role
      of these proteins in lipid adsorption and lipid squeeze-out under dynamic
      conditions simulating breathing is not yet clear. Therefore, the aim of this
      study was to investigate the interaction of spread hydrophobic surfactant
      proteins with phospholipids in a captive-bubble surfactometer during rapid cyclic
      area changes (6 cycles/min). We found that SP-B and SP-C facilitated the rapid
      transport of lipids into the air-water interface in a concentration-dependent
      manner (threshold concentration > or = 0.05:0.5 mol% SP-B/SP-C). Successive rapid
      cyclic area changes did not affect the concentration-dependent lipid adsorption
      process, suggesting that SP-B and SP-C remained associated with the surface film.

PMID- 9989253
TI  - Effect of D-ribose on purine synthesis and neurological symptoms in a patient
      with adenylosuccinase deficiency.
AB  - Oral supplementation of 10 mmol/kg/day of D-ribose to a patient with an inherited
      deficit of adenylosuccinase, severe psychomotor retardation, and epilepsy caused
      a marked increase in plasma concentration and urinary excretion of urate, while
      minor changes in succinylpurine levels were observed. D-Ribose administration was
      accompanied by a slight improvement of behaviour and a progressive reduction of
      seizure frequency, which increased dramatically upon two attempts to withdraw the
      drug. Substitution of D-ribose with an equivalent amount of D-glucose did not
      result in an increase of seizure frequency.

PMID- 9989254
TI  - A systematic approach to evaluate the modification of lens proteins by glycation
      induced crosslinking.
AB  - To systematically evaluate the modification of lens proteins by aldose and
      dicarbonyl sugars during the glycation process, the sugar-dependent incorporation
      of Lys and Arg, SDS-PAGE profile, amino acid analysis, and fluorophore formation
      (excitation 370 nm/emission 440 nm) were determined. Reaction mixtures with
      glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, threose and 3-deoxythreosone showed the greatest
      extent of Lys crosslinking and fluorescence formation. An increase in
      fluorescence intensity, but a decrease in Lys and Arg crosslinking, was found
      with glyoxal, methylglyoxal, hydroxypyruvaldehyde and threosone. In addition
      glyoxal, methylglyoxal and hydroxypyruvaldehyde caused the specific loss of Arg
      residues in lens proteins. Reaction mixtures with xylose, xylosone, glucose,
      glucosone and 3-deoxyglucosone exhibited the least protein modifications;
      however, incubation with 3-deoxyxylosone resulted in extensive loss of Lys and
      Arg residues, a higher extent of Lys or Arg crosslinking and significant
      fluorophore formation. Each sugar exhibited unique characteristics in the
      modification of lens proteins by glycation. To validly compare the protein
      modifications occurring during glycation reactions, a systematic approach was
      employed to evaluate the potential role of aldose and dicarbonyl sugars in
      protein modification.

PMID- 9989255
TI  - In vitro cytotoxic effect of wheat gliadin-derived peptides on the Caco-2
      intestinal cell line is associated with intracellular oxidative imbalance:
      implications for coeliac disease.
AB  - Coeliac disease (CD) is an inflammatory disorder of the upper small intestine in
      which gluten acts as an essential factor in its pathogenesis. Although it is
      generally accepted that cereal protein activation of the immune system is
      involved in CD progression, a non-immunomediated cytotoxic activity of gliadin
      derived peptides on the jejunal/duodenal tract cannot be excluded. In this work,
      considering that (a) little has been reported about the intracellular metabolic
      events associated with gliadin toxicity, and (b) an important role for free
      radicals in a number of gastrointestinal disease has been demonstrated, we
      investigated the in vitro effects of gliadin-derived peptides on redox metabolism
      of Caco-2 intestinal cells during a kinetic study in which cells were exposed to
      peptic-tryptic digest of bread wheat up to 48 h. We found that the
      antiproliferative effects displayed by gliadin exposure was associated with
      intracellular oxidative imbalance, characterised by an increased presence of
      lipid peroxides, an augmented oxidised (GSSG)/reduced (GSH) glutathione ratio and
      a loss in protein-bound sulfhydryl groups. Significant structural perturbations
      of the cell plasma membrane were also detected. Additional experiments performed
      by using the specific GSH-depleting agent buthionine sulfoximine provide evidence
      that the extent of gliadin-induced cell growth arrest critically depends upon the
      'basal' redox profile of the enterocytes. On the whole, these findings seem to
      suggest that, besides the adoption of a strictly gluten-free diet, the
      possibility for an adjuvant therapy with antioxidants may be considered for CD
      patients.

PMID- 9989256
TI  - Targeted disruption of the mouse ferrochelatase gene producing an exon 10
      deletion.
AB  - Protoporphyria is a disease characterized by a deficiency in ferrochelatase, the
      terminal enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway, which catalyzes the chelation
      of iron and protoporphyrin to form heme. Clinical symptoms arise from an
      accumulation of protoporphyrin behind the partial enzyme block and include
      photosensitivity and sometimes hepatobiliary disease. Protoporphyria is described
      as an dominant disease, yet patients exhibit decreased ferrochelatase activities
      of 15-30% of normal, not 50% as might be expected. Missense, nonsense, and
      splicing mutations have been identified in ferrochelatase cDNA from
      protoporphyric patients. In this study we introduce an exon 10 deletion, an
      analogous mutation to that described in some protoporphyric patients, into the
      mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell genome via homologous recombination. Targeted ES
      cells were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Expression of wild-type and exon
      10-deleted mRNA was demonstrated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
      reaction (RT-PCR) and cDNA sequencing. Ferrochelatase levels were analyzed by
      immunoblotting. Ferrochelatase activity was measured by the chelation of zinc and
      mesoporphyrin, and by the decrease in protoporphyrin accumulation after adding
      delta-aminolevulinic acid. In the exon 10 +/- ES cells there is expression of
      both wild-type and exon 10-deleted mRNA, a 50% decrease in cross-reactive
      material with an anti-ferrochelatase antibody, and an approximate 50% decrease in
      ferrochelatase activity compared to wild-type ES cells. Therefore, an exon 10
      deletion alone is insufficient to decrease ferrochelatase activity to the levels
      in protoporphyric patients. This suggests that requirement of an additional
      mutation to decrease the expression of the wild-type allele.

PMID- 9989257
TI  - Osmolyte contents of cultured astrocytes grown in hypoosmotic medium.
AB  - Primary rat cerebral astrocyte cultures were grown for 2 weeks in isoosmotic
      medium (305 mosmol) and then placed in similar medium with a reduced NaCl
      concentration. During the first hour of growth in this moderately hypoosmotic
      medium (240 mosmol), the cells lose 88% of their taurine contents, 62% of their
      alanine contents, and 54% of their aspartate contents while regaining normal
      volume. Loss of these amino acids accounts for 43% of observed volume regulation.
      Contents of these amino acids remain decreased during 24 h of growth in
      hypoosmotic medium. In contrast, potassium, glutamate, glutamine, and asparagine
      contents are not changed, relative to cells in isoosmotic medium, at time points
      between 1 h and 24 h of hypoosmotic exposure. The data suggest astrocytes
      contribute to net loss of amino acids, but not potassium, from brains exposed to
      hypoosmotic conditions in situ.

PMID- 9989258
TI  - Higher cholesterol in human LDL is associated with the increase of oxidation
      susceptibility and the decrease of antioxidant defence: experimental and
      simulation data.
AB  - Increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a recognized risk factor
      for atherosclerosis. There is also strong evidence that oxidatively modified LDL
      initiates the development of this pathological process and the administration of
      antioxidants might have a protective effect. However, the appropriate trials did
      not provide completely consistent results. We found in this study that the
      oxidation kinetics and also the antioxidant effectiveness are different depending
      on the cholesterol content in LDL. Higher cholesterol in LDL causes an
      acceleration of its oxidation as well as an increase of resistance to the
      antioxidative effect of ascorbic acid. In searching for a theoretical background
      of this dual impact of cholesterol in LDL, computer simulation of LDL oxidation
      was used. It was found that the pre-existing level of lipid hydroperoxides
      together with the total amount of oxidizable lipid substrate associated with the
      cholesterol level in LDL were satisfactory prerequisites for a best fit to the
      experimental data. In conclusion, this study provides at least a partial
      explanation for some failures to arrest, by administration of antioxidants, the
      progression of atherosclerosis in animal and human hypercholesterolemia.

PMID- 9989260
TI  - Receptors for oxidized low density lipoprotein.
AB  - An increasing body of evidence indicates that oxidized low density lipoprotein
      (LDL) is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. One of the first
      biologic actions of oxidized LDL to be identified in vitro was its ability to
      interact with the 'acetyl LDL receptor' discovered by Goldstein and Brown. Over
      the past decade, considerable progress has been made in identifying and
      characterizing cell-surface receptors for oxidized LDL. Most of these receptors
      are thought to be multifunctional because they interact with several structurally
      different ligands, and accordingly have been termed 'scavenger receptors'. The
      objective of this article is to review the most important publications dealing
      with structure, ligand specificity, regulation, and function of scavenger
      receptors.

PMID- 9989259
TI  - The ether lipid trail: a historical perspective.

PMID- 9989261
TI  - Characterization of recombinant guinea pig alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate
      synthase expressed in Escherichia coli. Kinetics, chemical modification and
      mutagenesis.
AB  - A recombinant form of guinea pig alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase, a key
      enzyme in the biosynthesis of ether phospholipids, was characterized. Kinetic
      analysis yielded evidence that the enzyme operates by a ping-pong rather than a
      sequential mechanism. Enzyme activity was irreversibly inhibited by N
      ethylmaleimide, p-bromophenacylbromide and 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene. The enzyme
      could be protected against the inactivation by either of these three compounds by
      the presence of saturating amounts of the substrate palmitoyl
      dihydroxyacetonephosphate. The rate of inactivation of the enzyme by p
      bromophenacylbromide was strongly pH dependent and the highest at alkaline
      conditions. Collectively, these results are indicative of cysteine, histidine and
      lysine residues, respectively, at or close to the active site. The divalent
      cations Mg2+, Zn2+ and Mn2+ were found to be inhibitors of enzymatic activity,
      whereas Ca2+ had no effect. Mutational analysis showed that histidine 617 is an
      essential amino acid for enzymatic activity: replacement of this residue by
      alanine resulted in complete loss of enzymatic activity. A recombinant enzyme
      with the C-terminal five amino acids deleted was shown to be inactive, indicating
      an important role of the C-terminus for catalytic activity.

PMID- 9989262
TI  - The physiological role of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 in cultured
      human cells.
AB  - To clarify the role of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 (SREBP-2),
      we established cell lines in which human SREBP-2(1-481) could be induced by
      isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The range of IPTG-induced changes
      in SREBP-2(1-481) levels in '23-11' cells, one of these cell lines, was almost
      the same as that of sterol-induced changes in the levels of mature SREBP-2,
      indicating that IPTG was able to regulate the expression of SREBP-2(1-481) within
      the normal physiological range in this cell line. Sterols regulate the expression
      of the LDL receptor, HMG-CoA reductase, squalene synthase and fatty acid synthase
      in 23-11 cells as they also do in the parental cell line HeLa S3. IPTG increased
      mRNA levels of the LDL receptor and HMG-CoA reductase but not squalene synthase
      both in the presence or absence of excess sterols. Fatty acid synthase mRNA was
      increased 2 h after the IPTG addition in the absence of excess sterol (10% FBS),
      but was slightly increased 6 h after the IPTG addition in the presence of excess
      sterols. In the absence of excess sterols, both SREBP-2(1-481) and endogenous
      mature SREBP-2 exist in the nucleus. This suggests that an increased amount of
      SREBP-2 over the normal physiological range is required for the regulation of
      fatty acid synthase. IPTG increased both the surface binding of 125I-LDL and
      cholesterol biosynthesis from [14C]acetate significantly in a similar time
      course. In contrast, fatty acid biosynthesis from [14C]acetate was almost
      unchanged by IPTG during the same incubation period. These results suggest that
      physiological amounts of SREBP-2 play a key role in the regulation of cholesterol
      but not fatty acid metabolism.

PMID- 9989263
TI  - Phospholipase D1 is located and activated by protein kinase C alpha in the plasma
      membrane in 3Y1 fibroblast cell.
AB  - The subcellular location of phospholipase D1 (PLD1) and its activation by protein
      kinase C alpha (PKC alpha) were examined by subcellular fractionation and by
      microscopic observation of green fluorescent protein-fused PLD1 (GFP-PLD1) or PKC
      alpha (GFP-PKC alpha) in fibroblastic 3Y1 cells. Major PLD1 immunoreactivity and
      PKC alpha-stimulated PLD activity segregated with a plasma membrane marker, even
      though a significant amount was co-fractionated with markers for endoplasmic
      reticulum (ER) and Golgi. Upon treatment with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA),
      PKC alpha translocated from the cytosolic fraction to the membrane fraction to
      which PLD1 also localized. GFP-PLD1 was found in the plasma membrane as well as a
      in a perinuclear compartment consistent with ER and Golgi and in other dispersed
      vesicular structures in the cytoplasm. However, most of GFP-PKC alpha was
      translocated from the cytosol to the plasma membrane after treatment with PMA.
      From these results, we concluded that the plasma membrane is the major site of
      PLD1 activation by PKC alpha in 3Y1 cells.

PMID- 9989264
TI  - Conjugated linoleic acid activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
      alpha and beta subtypes but does not induce hepatic peroxisome proliferation in
      Sprague-Dawley rats.
AB  - Since conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has structural and physiological
      characteristics similar to peroxisome proliferators, we hypothesized that CLA
      would activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR). We compared the
      effects of dietary CLA (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% by weight) with a peroxisome
      proliferator (0.01% Wy-14,643) in female and male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.
      Dietary CLA had little effect on body weight, liver weight, and hepatic
      peroxisome proliferation, compared to male rats fed Wy-14,643 diet. Lipid content
      in livers from rats fed 1.5% CLA and Wy-14,643 diets was increased (P < 0.01)
      when compared to rats fed control diets regardless of gender. Hepatic acyl-CoA
      oxidase (ACO) mRNA levels were increased 3-fold in male rats fed 1.5% CLA diet
      compared to rats fed control diets while Wy-14,643 supported approximately 30
      fold ACO mRNA accumulation. A similar response was observed for liver fatty acid
      binding protein (L-FABP) mRNA. The effect of dietary treatments on hepatic PPAR
      responsive genes in female rats was weaker than in male rats. The (9Z,11E)-CLA
      isomer activated PPAR alpha in transfected cells to a similar extent as Wy
      14,643, whereas the furan-CLA metabolite was comparable to bezafibrate on
      activating PPAR beta. These data suggest that while CLA was able to activate
      PPARs it is not a peroxisome proliferator in SD rats.

PMID- 9989265
TI  - Hepatic and extrahepatic dehydrogenation/isomerization of 5-cholestene-3 beta,7
      alpha-diol: localization of 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid dehydrogenase in
      pig tissues and subcellular fractions.
AB  - Conversion of 5-cholestene-3 beta,7 alpha-diol (7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol) into
      7 alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one was studied with microsomes from different pig
      tissues and with liver subcellular fractions. Dehydrogenase/isomerase activity
      was efficient in microsomes from liver, ovary and lung, but less efficient in
      microsomes from adrenal gland and kidney. Microsomes from these tissues, with the
      exception of lung, were also active in dehydrogenation/isomerization of
      dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone. Inhibition studies were carried out with
      trilostane, a competitive inhibitor of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases
      active in steroid hormone biosynthesis (C19/C21-dehydrogenases), and a monoclonal
      antibody raised against a purified hepatic 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid
      dehydrogenase. The results showed that the C27-dehydrogenase activity in the
      tissues was not dependent on the C19/C21 dehydrogenases, but was dependent on the
      3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid dehydrogenase. Liver mitochondria, cytosol and
      peroxisomes lacked dehydrogenase/isomerase activity towards 7 alpha
      hydroxycholesterol when microsomal contamination was taken into account.
      Immunoblotting experiments with monoclonal antibodies raised against the 3 beta
      hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid dehydrogenase showed immunoreactivity only with
      protein in liver microsomes. Immunohistochemical studies showed localization of
      the 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid dehydrogenase in the bile duct epithelium.
      It is concluded that 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol is converted into 7 alpha-hydroxy
      4-cholesten-3-one by the microsomal 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid
      dehydrogenase in liver and extrahepatic tissues.

PMID- 9989266
TI  - In vivo stimulation of 12(S)-lipoxygenase in the rat skin by bradykinin and
      platelet activating factor: formation of 12(S)-HETE and hepoxilins, and actions
      on vascular permeability.
AB  - In this study we set out to investigate whether the inflammatory agents,
      bradykinin (BK) and platelet activating factor (PAF), affect the lipoxygenase
      pathway in rat skin in vivo and whether the main products so formed may be
      involved in the inflammatory actions of these agents. In vitro preparations of
      epidermis were also investigated to determine whether lipoxygenases are
      stimulated by these agents. We also investigated the actions of arachidonic acid
      and 12(S)-HPETE as substrates for the lipoxygenases. Our results indicated that
      12-lipoxygenase is actively and selectively stimulated in a dose-dependent way in
      both preparations by the administration of BK and PAF; the main product, 12-HETE,
      was shown by chiral analysis to be exclusively of the S-configuration, indicating
      that 12(S)-lipoxygenase was present in the rat skin and was stimulated by these
      inflammatory agents. Hepoxilins were also formed but to a lesser extent in both
      in vivo and in vitro preparations. In separate experiments, 12(S)-HETE
      administered intradermally on its own (40 ng/site), increased vascular
      permeability as also seen with bradykinin (100 ng/site) and PAF (10 ng/site).
      However, unlike previously observed with hepoxilin A3 administration, 12(S)-HETE
      did not stimulate the action of BK on vascular permeability, suggesting that the
      two compounds may have different mechanisms of action to enhance inflammation.
      These observations suggest that the vascular permeability and plasma
      extravasation observed with both inflammatory agents (BK and PAF) may be mediated
      at least in part through the activation of 12(S)-lipoxygenase, resulting in
      enhanced formation of 12(S)-HETE which causes acute inflammation.

PMID- 9989267
TI  - Lysosomal phospholipase activity is decreased in mucolipidosis II and III
      fibroblasts.
AB  - Mucolipidosis (ML) II and III are rare autosomal recessively inherited diseases
      characterized by deficiency of multiple lysosomal enzymes and, as a result, a
      generalized storage of macromolecules in lysosomes of cells of mesenchymal
      origin. In ML II and ML III fibroblasts, most, but not all, newly synthesized
      lysosomal enzymes are secreted into the medium instead of being targeted
      correctly to lysosomes. Defects in the enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:lysosomal
      enzyme N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase underlie this effect. It is
      unknown how lysosomal phospholipases are targeted to the lysosomes of
      fibroblasts. In the present study lysosomal phospholipase activity was determined
      in delipidated fibroblast homogenates and plasma from ML II and ML III patients
      and controls using a [3H]choline-labeled phosphatidylcholine. After incubation,
      residual phosphatidylcholine and its labeled degradation products
      (lysophosphatidylcholine, glycerophosphorylcholine and choline phosphate) were
      quantified. We found that ML II and ML III fibroblasts are deficient in lysosomal
      phospholipase A and C activity. These enzymes were present in elevated amounts in
      plasma of ML II and ML III patients. These data indicate that phospholipases,
      like most other lysosomal enzymes in these diseases, are secreted into the blood
      instead of being targeted specifically to lysosomes. Thus, the mannose-6
      phosphate receptor pathway is needed for proper delivery of lysosomal
      phospholipases to lysosomes. We also found that production of labeled choline
      phosphate was mainly due to the activity of acid sphingomyelinase instead of
      phospholipase C under the assay conditions used. Other active lipolytic enzymes
      were phospholipase A and lysophospholipase. No evidence for phospholipase D
      activity was found.

PMID- 9989268
TI  - Validation of the peroxidative indicators, cis-parinaric acid and parinaroyl
      phospholipids, in a model system and cultured cardiac myocytes.
AB  - cis-Parinaric acid is increasingly being used in eukaryotic cells as a very
      sensitive marker for the initial stages of lipid peroxidation. Despite the
      increased application of this probe, no extensive validation, especially in
      cellular systems, has been performed. cis-Parinaric acid can either be inserted
      freely into biomembranes or incorporated (bio)synthetically into lipids
      (parinaroyl-lipid). Therefore, a direct comparison was made between the
      peroxidative behaviour of the two parinaroyl probes and the endogenous
      polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic and linoleic acid, in both an artificial
      lipidic system and in cultured neonatal rat heart cells. Three different radical
      generating systems were used, i.e., hydrogen peroxide, cumene hydroperoxide and
      the thermo-labile 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride) (AAPH). The data
      demonstrate that the peroxidation rate of cis-parinaric acid is higher than that
      of the parinaroyl, arachidonoyl and linoleoyl lipids. The latter three displayed
      comparable peroxidation rates, showing that the peroxidative decay of parinaroyl
      lipid is a good marker for the degradation of endogenous polyunsaturated fatty
      acids. Experimental results using the freely inserted cis-parinaric acid could
      potentially lead to an overestimation of the inflicted damage and should be
      interpreted with care. In addition, a comparison was made with the measurement of
      conjugated dienes and malon dialdehyde as thiobarbituric acid reactive
      substances. The results demonstrate that measurement of conjugated dienes and
      malon dialdehyde only provide information on peroxidative processes in vitro, but
      are not suitable for in-depth studies in cultured cells. In contrast, the use of
      the parinaroyl probes is a suitable, straightforward, sensitive and reproducible
      method for detecting the initial stages of lipid peroxidation in living cells.

PMID- 9989269
TI  - The interfacial pressure is an important parameter for the rate of phospholipase
      D catalyzed reactions in emulsion systems.
AB  - Phospholipase D (PLD) is widely used for the transformation of phospholipids,
      which is preferably performed in aqueous-organic emulsion systems. The influence
      of the organic solvent on the reaction rates has been studied on the hydrolysis
      of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its transesterification with glycerol by two
      types of PLD (cabbage and Streptomyces sp.). The initial rates determined by
      quantitative HPTLC show great differences in dependence on the solvent used with
      a similar tendency for both reactions and both PLDs. Since the polymorphism of
      the PC aggregates was assumed to be responsible for these effects, the critical
      concentration of micelle formation, the size of the aggregates, the water content
      of the organic phase, and the interfacial tension were determined in the
      different reaction systems. As result the interfacial pressure in the reaction
      systems influencing the package density of the PC aggregates is suggested to
      regulate the enzymatic activity.

PMID- 9989270
TI  - Identification of a silencing element in the chicken lipoprotein lipase gene
      promoter: characterization of the silencer-binding protein and delineation of its
      target nucleotide sequence.
AB  - Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) hydrolyzes triglycerides in chylomicrons and very low
      density lipoproteins (VLDL) and plays a central role in lipid metabolism. It is
      regulated tissue-specifically. By deletion analysis, a negative regulatory
      element was identified in the chicken LPL gene promoter at base pairs (bp) -263
      to -241. This sequence contained two palindromic halves with a three nucleotide
      spacer. Either half was sufficient for full inhibitory function. A protein
      complex bound specifically to this element and a high correlation was found
      between binding of the complex and inhibition of transcription. Its molecular
      mass, evaluated by native gel electrophoresis and Ferguson plot analysis, was 120
      kDa. UV cross-linking followed by SDS-PAGE revealed two protein subunits of 48
      kDa and 44 kDa, respectively. This inhibitory protein complex may contribute to
      the tissue-specific regulation of LPL gene transcription. It was much more
      abundant in liver than in adipose tissue and heart. Our data showed that this
      negative element inhibited transcription even when placed at an upstream location
      (-666), but failed to function in the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase
      promoter, indicating that it acted in conjunction with other element(s) in the
      chicken LPL gene to inhibit transcription.

PMID- 9989271
TI  - Identification of three novel cDNAs for human phosphatidylethanolamine N
      methyltransferase and localization of the human gene on chromosome 17p11.2.
AB  - Phosphatidylethanolamine is converted to phosphatidylcholine in mammalian liver
      by the enzyme phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT). A form of the
      enzyme (PEMT2) has been isolated from rat liver, the cDNA cloned and expressed
      and the murine gene has been characterized and disrupted. Several lines of
      evidence suggested that PEMT2 might have a role in hepatocyte proliferation and
      liver cancer. Hence, we decided to investigate the human form of the enzyme.
      Unexpectedly, we cloned and expressed three novel human cDNAs encoding PEMT2.
      These forms differ from each other in the 5'-region with the point of divergence
      being 15 nucleotides upstream of the putative translation initiation codon. The
      remainder of the three cDNAs was identical. Expression of the coding region of
      the cDNAs in McArdle rat hepatoma cells resulted in three stable cell lines that
      showed a 27- to 115-fold elevation of PEMT activity compared to vector
      transfected control cell lines. Screening of somatic cell hybrid panels,
      radiation hybrid panel mapping and fluorescent in situ hybridization mapping
      localized the human gene for PEMT2 to chromosome 17p11.2. The identification of
      three different human cDNAs for PEMT2 suggests that understanding the function of
      PEMT2 will be more complicated than anticipated.

PMID- 9989272
TI  - Isolation and characterization of two distinct forms of liver fatty acid binding
      protein from the rat.
AB  - Liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) appears to contain several different
      forms that may result from post-translational modification or bound ligand. To
      further assess this possibility, L-FABP was purified from rat liver homogenate
      and two putative isoforms separated using a sulfonyl column, a strong cation
      exchange resin. Fraction I eluted at 0.2 M NaCl, had a pI of 7.59, and following
      a final size exclusion step contained > 98% L-FABP. Fraction II eluted at 1.0 M
      NaCl, had a pI of 7.59, and following a final size exclusion step contained > 99%
      L-FABP. Both fractions contained approx. 0.15 moles of endogenous bound fatty
      acid per mole of protein, while L-FABP not subjected to the cation exchange step
      contained 0.75 moles of fatty acid per mole of protein. Fractions I and II had a
      greater proportion of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids with a large
      reduction in polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to L-FABP not fractionated by
      cation exchange. Mass spectral analysis indicated the molecular mass of Fraction
      I was 14,315.02 +/- 0.35 Da and Fraction II was 14,315.86 +/- 0.34 Da. The
      peptide map for each fraction was determined by limited digestion of each
      fraction with either trypsin, Asp-N, or chymotrypsin to yield overlapping peptide
      fragments. Mass spectral analysis of these digests indicated the two proteins had
      identical amino acid fragments and that Cys69 was reduced and there were no Asn
      to Asp exchanges. Hence, these two forms of L-FABP were not isoforms and were not
      the result of differences in bound fatty acid. It is proposed that these two
      distinct forms of rat L-FABP were structural conformers based on two alternative
      folding pathways.

PMID- 9989273
TI  - A novel phosphoglycolipid archaetidyl(glucosyl)inositol with two sesterterpanyl
      chains from the aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1.
AB  - The structures of two novel polar lipids (AGI and AI) of an aerobic
      hyperthermophilic archaeon, Aeropyrum pernix, were elucidated. AGI and AI were
      the only two major lipids and accounted for 91 mol% and 9 mol%, respectively, of
      total polar lipids of this organism. The core lipid of A. pernix total lipids
      consisted solely of 2,3-di-O-sesterterpanyl-sn-glycerol (C25,25-archaeol). The
      molecular weights of the free acid forms of AGI and AI were shown by FAB-mass
      spectrometry to be 1196 and 1034, respectively. AI was completely hydrolyzed by
      phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, while AGI was not hydrolyzed at
      all under the same condition for the hydrolysis of AI. The molar ratio of
      phosphate, myo-inositol, and glucose in AGI was 1.0:0.97:0.95. The positions of
      linkages between myo-inositol and glucose, and between myo-inositol and phosphate
      in AGI were determined by NMR analyses of intact AGI and glucosylinositol
      prepared from AGI. Finally, it was concluded that the structures of AGI and AI
      were 2,3-di-O-sesterterpanyl-sn-glycerol-1-phospho-1'-(2'-O-alpha-D-glu cosyl)-
      myo-inositol (C25,25-archaetidyl(glucosyl)inositol) and 2,3-di-O-sesterterpanyl
      sn-glycerol-1-phospho-myo-inositol (C25,25-archaetidylinositol), respectively.
      This is the first example that a core lipid of whole polar lipids is composed of
      only one species C25,25-archaeol in one organism and that glucosylinositol is
      found in a polar lipid as a polar head group.

PMID- 9989274
TI  - Phosphatidylinositol synthesis in mycobacteria.
AB  - The metabolism and synthesis of an important mycobacterial lipid component,
      phosphatidylinositol (PI), and its metabolites, was studied in Mycobacterium
      smegmatis and M. smegmatis subcellular fractions. Little is known about the
      synthesis of PI in prokaryotic cells. Only a cell wall fraction (P60) in M.
      smegmatis was shown to possess PI synthase activity. Product was identified as PI
      by migration on TLC, treatment with phospholipase C and ion exchange
      chromatography. PI was the only major product (92.3%) when both cells and P60
      fraction were labeled with [3H]inositol. Also, a neutral lipid inositol
      containing product (4.1% of the total label) was identified in the P60
      preparations. Strangely, PI synthase substrates, CDP-dipalmitoyl-DAG and CDP-NBD
      DAG, added to the assay did not stimulate [3H]PI and NBD-PI yield by M.
      smegmatis. At the same time, addition of both substrates to rat liver and
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae PI synthase assays resulted in an increase in the
      product yield. Upon addition of CHAPS to the mycobacterial PI synthase assay,
      both substrates were utilized in a dose-dependent manner for the synthesis of NBD
      PI and [3H]PI. These results demonstrate a strict substrate specificity of
      mycobacterial PI synthase toward endogenous substrates. K(m) of the enzyme toward
      inositol was shown to be 25 microM; Mg2+ stimulated the enzyme to a greater
      degree than Mn2+. Structural analogs of myo-inositol, epi-inositol and scyllo
      inositol and Zn2+ were shown to be more potent inhibitors of mycobacterial PI
      synthase than of mammalian analogs. Lack of sequence homology with mammalian PI
      synthases, different kinetic characteristics, existence of selective inhibitors
      and an important physiological role in mycobacteria, suggest that PI synthase may
      be a good potential target for antituberculosis therapy.

PMID- 9989275
TI  - Intestinal synthesis and lymphatic secretion of apolipoprotein A-IV after
      cessation of duodenal fat infusion: mediation by bile.
AB  - We tested whether secretion of apolipoprotein (apo) A-IV depends upon intestinal
      triglyceride (TG) transport by comparing output kinetics of TG and apo A-IV
      during and after duodenal lipid infusion in lymph-fistula rats. Lipid infusion
      (triolein, 40 mumol/h, 8 h) produced increases in lymphatic TG and apo A-IV
      output. After 8 h, triolein infusate was replaced with glucose-saline; TG output
      returned to basal levels 4-5 h later. However, apo A-IV output continued at
      significantly elevated levels until 20 h after the start of the experiment. Bile
      diversion blocked this continued output of A-IV during the post-lipid period, and
      resulted in basal TG output that was 75% lower than in bile-intact rats. Return
      of bile or low-dose triolein infusion (5 mumol/h) into the intestine reversed
      these effects. There were no differences in hepatic synthesis or filtration of
      plasma A-IV into lymph between bile-intact and bile-diverted groups. Intestinal A
      IV synthesis was elevated in both groups even during the post-lipid period. The
      results support the hypothesis that intestinal triglyceride transport drives apo
      A-IV secretion, and suggest the existence of a bile-dependent, post-translational
      mechanism for the control of lymphatic apo A-IV output.

PMID- 9989276
TI  - Eicosanoid biosynthesis in an advanced deuterostomate invertebrate, the sea
      squirt (Ciona intestinalis).
AB  - The eicosanoid generating potential of tunic, branchial basket, intestine, ovary
      and tadpole larvae from the sea squirt, Ciona intestinalis, was examined using a
      combination of reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography, gas
      chromatography-mass spectrometry and enzyme immunoassay. All organs examined
      synthesized the lipoxygenase products 12-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (12-HEPE)
      and 8-HEPE implying that both 8- and 12-lipoxygenase activity are widely
      distributed in this species. In addition, tunic and branchial basket generated
      significant amounts of 8,15-diHEPE and smaller amounts of 8,15
      dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (8,15-diHETE), while tunic alone generated small
      amounts of conjugated tetraene-containing material with a UV chromophore and mass
      ion characteristic of a lipoxin-like compound. The broad range lipoxygenase
      inhibitors, esculetin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, both caused a significant
      dose dependent inhibition of 12-HEPE and 8,15-diHEPE biosynthesis in tunic, while
      the specific 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, REV-5901, and the specific 5-lipoxygenase
      activating protein inhibitor, MK-866, had no observable effect on the
      lipoxygenase profile of this tissue. Tunic, branchial basket, intestine and ovary
      all generated significant amounts of prostaglandin (PG) E and PGF immunoreactive
      material and smaller amounts of thromboxane B immunoreactive material as measured
      by enzyme immunoassay. The non-specific cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor,
      indomethacin, the selective COX-1 inhibitors, resveratrol and valerylsalicylate,
      and the specific COX-2 inhibitors, NS-398, etolodac and DFU (5,5-dimethyl-3-(3
      fluorophenyl)-4-(4-methylsulphonyl) phenyl-2(5H)-furanone) all caused a
      significant dose dependent inhibition of the biosynthesis of PGE immunoreactive
      material. However, the specific COX-2 inhibitors were most effective, perhaps
      implying that a COX-2-like enzyme may be present in this species.

PMID- 9989277
TI  - Reduced lecithin:retinol acyl transferase activity in cultured squamous cell
      carcinoma lines results in increased substrate-driven retinoic acid synthesis.
AB  - The uptake and metabolism of retinol was compared in squamous cell carcinoma
      lines, SCC12b and SCC13, and in normal human keratinocytes (NHK). Long chain
      fatty acid esters of retinol and 3,4-didehydroretinol were the predominant
      metabolites formed in both cell types. Lesser amounts of unesterified retinol,
      3,4-didehydroretinol, and their respective active acid forms were also observed.
      Despite a qualitatively similar retinoid composition, there were significant
      quantitative differences between cell types. Most notable was that SCC formed
      only about one-fourth the retinoid ester as did normal cells. In parallel with
      this, unesterified retinol and retinoic acid concentrations in SCC were
      significantly elevated over those in normal cells. This altered pattern of
      retinoid metabolites in SCC was found to be due to very low lecithin:retinol
      acyltransferase (LRAT) activity. SCC exhibited less than one-tenth the LRAT
      activity of normal cells. Acyl-coenzyme A:retinol acyltransferase (ARAT) and
      retinyl ester hydrolase activities were not different between cell types.
      Challenging cells with increasing medium retinol concentrations resulted in dose
      dependent increases in retinol and retinoic acid within SCC. In contrast, retinol
      and retinoic acid concentrations in similarly challenged normal cells remained
      relatively low across a wide retinol concentration range. This was accomplished
      by the storage of retinol, via LRAT activity, as retinyl ester. Consistent with
      increased substrate-driven retinoic acid synthesis in SCC, the expression of
      transglutaminase 1 was suppressed to a greater extent in the SCCs than in NHK,
      when cells were exposed to equivalent medium concentrations of retinol. The data
      demonstrate a central role of LRAT in regulating retinoic acid synthesis via its
      capacity to modulate cellular levels of substrate retinol.

PMID- 9989279
TI  - Fasting increases tissue uptake and interconversion of plasma unesterified
      linoleic acid in guinea pigs.
AB  - A large part of the arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6) pools in some extrahepatic
      tissues can be formed by local interconversion of linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) taken
      up as free fatty acid (FFA) from blood in both rats and guinea pigs. This study
      investigates the rate of uptake and interconversion of unesterified 14C-18:2 by
      different tissues in fasted guinea pigs. The initial half-life of 14C-18:2 in
      plasma was 5.8 s. The average concentration of plasma FFA was 551.3 nmol ml-1 and
      of plasma FFA-18:2 was 67.3 nmol ml-1. The total amount of 20:4 formed in the
      liver was 1.8 +/- 0.3 nmol min-1, which was lower than that in the
      gastrointestinal tract (3.1 nmol min-1), bone marrow (6.0 nmol min-1) and lung
      (2.1 nmol min-1). Due to the fast turnover and higher concentration of plasma FFA
      18:2 in the fasting state, the retained 18:2 in tissue lipids was 5.8-25.6-fold
      higher than that in fed guinea pigs [L. Zhou et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1349
      (1997) 197-210]. The total delta 6-desaturase products both in liver and in
      extrahepatic tissues were also increased, 3.8-fold in liver, 7.2-fold in upper
      small intestine, 6.0-fold in colon, and 6.5-fold in bone marrow. The increased
      rate of tissue uptake of FFA during fasting is thus linked to an increased local
      interconversion of plasma FFA-18:2, which is an important source of 20:4 in some
      extrahepatic tissue in guinea pigs.

PMID- 9989278
TI  - Binding of fatty acid ethyl esters to albumin for transport to cells in culture.
AB  - Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) are non-oxidative products of ethanol metabolism
      that have been proposed to mediate pathological changes in various organs and
      tissues resulting from excessive ethanol consumption. Evidence supporting this
      proposal is scant, however, mainly because of the lack of adequate methods with
      which to solubilize the highly hydrophobic FAEE in aqueous medium for testing
      under physiological conditions. In this report we describe a simple and practical
      method for solubilizing FAEE in aqueous medium by binding them to albumin. We
      also report that the albumin-bound FAEE are readily taken up by rat alveolar
      macrophages in culture. The availability of FAEE bound to albumin, their main
      physiological carrier in vivo, will facilitate the investigation of the role that
      these metabolites may have in mediating pathological changes associated with
      excess ethanol consumption.

PMID- 9989281
TI  - Effects of dietary docosahexaenoic acid on surface molecules involved in T cell
      proliferation.
AB  - It is known that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as docosahexaenoic
      acid (DHA) suppress immunity as compared with n-6 PUFA such as linoleic acid
      (LA), but the mechanism involved in this phenomenon is still unclear. The present
      study was designed to assess the effect of dietary DHA on the surface molecules
      involved in T cell proliferation. Weanling male C57BL/6 mice were divided into
      four dietary groups that were fed a 10% fat diet for 4 weeks varying in amounts
      of DHA and LA. As the dietary DHA concentration increased, the surface expression
      of CD4 and CD8 on splenic T cells decreased, while that of CD28 increased. The
      surface expression of CD3, however, was invariable in all dietary groups. DNA
      synthesis of splenic T cells, induced by CD3 crosslinkage with anti-CD3 epsilon
      monoclonal antibody in the presence of CD28-mediated costimulation, increased as
      the DHA concentration was elevated. These observations suggest that diets rich in
      DHA exert some of their immunomodulatory effects by a downregulation of surface
      expression of CD4 and CD8 and by an upregulation of CD28-mediated costimulatory
      signal.

PMID- 9989280
TI  - Affinities of various mammalian arachidonate lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases
      for molecular oxygen as substrate.
AB  - In an attempt to study affinities for molecular oxygen of mammalian arachidonate
      oxygenases, which remain unclarified at present, we determined activities of
      platelet-type 12-lipoxygenase, leukocyte-type 12-lipoxygenase, 5-lipoxygenase, 15
      lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 at various oxygen
      concentrations. Activities of all the tested enzymes were assessed by oxygenation
      of radioactive arachidonic acid under hypoxic conditions, and part of the enzymes
      were also assayed by monitoring oxygen consumption. Their Km values for oxygen
      ranged between 10 and 26 microM. These results should be considered in
      investigations of arachidonic acid metabolism in pathophysiological processes
      associated with hypoxia.

PMID- 9989282
TI  - The purification and characterization of fatty acid hydroperoxide lyase in
      sunflower.
AB  - Two fatty acid hydroperoxide lyases (HPO lyase I and II) were purified to
      apparent homogeneity from etiolated hypocotyls of sunflower (Helianthus annuus
      L.) by a combination of ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and gel filtration
      chromatography. The two HPO lyases were separated during the hydrophobic
      interaction chromatography step, with HPO lyase I more hydrophilic than HPO lyase
      II. The estimated M(r) of both native HPO lyases was determined by gel filtration
      to be 200,000 and SDS-PAGE in the presence of 100 mM dithiothreitol showed that
      the enzyme was composed of a single 53 kDa peptide, suggesting that the enzyme
      exists as a tetramer in vivo. HPO lyase was also abundant in the cotyledons and
      green leaves. HPO lyases I and II from hypocotyl metabolized 13
      hydroperoxylinoleic acid and 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acid to the same extent, but
      the green leaf enzyme was more than ten-fold more active with 13
      hydroperoxylinolenic acid than 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid. A difference spectrum
      between CO-bound and CO-unbound dithionite-reduced HPO lyase I showed an
      absorbance maximum at 452 nm, indicating that it was a cytochrome P450-type
      enzyme. The activities of HPO lyase I and II were significantly inhibited by
      nordihydroguaiaretic acid, sulfhydryl reagents, and piperonylbutoxide, which is a
      cytochrome P450 inhibitor.

PMID- 9989283
TI  - Short-term regulation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in cultured rat
      hepatocytes: spontaneous inactivation and reactivation by fatty acids.
AB  - Liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I), the rate-limiting enzyme of
      mitochondrial beta-oxidation, rapidly loses its activity when hepatocytes are put
      in culture. 3-Thia fatty acids reactivate the enzyme and can increase its
      activity 3-4-fold in 5-10 min. Normal fatty acids are also able to stimulate CPT
      I, but to a limited extent, compared to 3-thia fatty acid. This activation does
      not affect malonyl-CoA sensitivity. CPT I in hepatocytes from both fasted and
      fasted-carbohydrate refed rats is inactivated and reactivated to a similar
      extent. Free dodecylthioacetic acid (DTA) is at least as efficient as DTA-CoA as
      activator. CPT I activity in isolated mitochondria is not influenced by
      incubation with DTA, suggesting that the regulation of CPT I depends on an
      extramitochondrial component(s) in the cell. It is concluded that fatty acids
      activate pre-existing, inactive CPT I without involvement of gene transcription
      and independently of malonyl-CoA.

PMID- 9989284
TI  - Evidence for the formation of a novel cyclopentenone isoprostane, 15-A2t
      isoprostane (8-iso-prostaglandin A2) in vivo.
AB  - A2/J2-Isoprostanes (IsoPs) are prostaglandin (PG) A2/J2-like compounds that are
      produced in vivo as dehydration products of D2/E2-IsoPs. One A2-IsoP that should
      be formed is 15-A2t-IsoP (8-iso-PGA2). Analogous to cyclopentenone PGs, 15-A2t
      IsoP readily undergoes nucleophilic addition to various biomolecules suggesting
      the compound is capable of exerting potent bioactivity. However, proof that it is
      definitively formed in vivo is lacking. Evidence is now presented that 15-A2t
      IsoP, in fact, is generated in vivo by demonstrating that an endogenous A2-IsoP
      with a retention time on capillary GC identical with that 15-A2t-IsoP co
      chromatographs through four high resolving HPLC purification procedures with
      authentic radiolabeled 15-A2t-IsoP.

PMID- 9989285
TI  - Low-density lipoprotein activates Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in human
      endothelial cells.
AB  - We have reported previously that native low-density lipoprotein (LDL) activates c
      Jun and transcription factor AP-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
      (HUVEC). The aim of this study was to elucidate the upstream signaling mechanisms
      mediating LDL activation of c-Jun/AP-1. Using a c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK)
      activity assay, we have detected an increase in JNK activity in LDL-exposed
      HUVEC, which started at 15 min and reached maximum activity after 1-2 h. This JNK
      activity, increased by LDL, occurred in a dose-dependent fashion starting at a
      concentration of 80 mg/dl of LDL and reaching maximum activation at a
      concentration of 160-240 mg/dl. Following cotransfection, the increase of AP-1
      driven luciferase activity by LDL was attenuated 54% by a kinase-deficient JNK1.
      Furthermore, a specific trans-reporting system was utilized to confirm c-Jun
      activation by upstream signal mechanisms. The results show c-Jun activity
      increased by 3-fold after LDL exposure when compared with respective controls. In
      contrast, LDL exposure did not affect the activation of extracellular signal
      regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), even though phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate
      treatment remarkably increased the activity of these kinases. Thus, this study
      demonstrates, for the first time, that JNK mediates LDL-induced endothelial cell
      activation.

PMID- 9989286
TI  - The selective pathway and a high-density lipoprotein receptor (SR-BI) in ovarian
      granulosa cells of the mouse.
AB  - We recently reported that rat luteinized ovary tissue and primary cultures of rat
      ovarian granulosa cells reveal a remarkably tight functional correlation between
      expressed selective uptake of lipoprotein cholesteryl esters and the expression
      of an HDL receptor protein, scavenger receptor, class B, type I (SR-BI). In the
      current study, we examine these same processes in C57 mouse granulosa cells and
      report a different correlation. Unlike the rat cells, non-hormone stimulated
      mouse granulosa cells are able to effectively carry out their selective pathway
      functions and secrete HDL-derived progestins despite low levels of SR-BI and
      barely detectable levels of SR-BII (an isoform of SR-BI). Once stimulated with
      trophic hormones or Bt2cAMP, small (30-40%) increases are observed in selective
      pathway functions, but major (approximately 20-fold) increases are seen in SR-BI
      and SR-BII expression: thus, relatively little is gained in selective cholesteryl
      ester uptake by mouse granulosa cells even though SR-BI and SR-BII levels are
      greatly increased. The importance of the HDL receptor proteins to the selective
      pathway remains clear, however, since a significant portion of the selective
      process in both basal and stimulated granulosa cells is inhibitable by the use of
      blocking antibody. Another surface protein, caveolin, previously reported to co
      localize with SR-BI in mouse cells shows no change in expression during periods
      when SR-BI/BII levels are undergoing major shifts.

PMID- 9989287
TI  - Effect of increased afterload on cardiac lipoprotein lipase and VLDL receptor
      expression.
AB  - Fatty acids are a major source of fuel for energy production by myocytes.
      Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptor are
      abundantly expressed by the heart and skeletal muscles. LPL and possibly VLDL
      receptor represent the primary route of access to fatty acids contained in
      circulating triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Physical exercise and thyroid
      hormone, which promote energy consumption, upregulate LPL expression in skeletal
      muscles. This study tested the hypothesis that increased cardiac workload might
      modulate myocardial LPL and/or VLDL receptor expressions. Accordingly, cardiac
      tissue LPL activity, LPL and VLDL receptor proteins and mRNA abundance were
      studied in Sprague-Dawley rats 4 weeks after induction of severe thoracic aorta
      constriction or sham operation. Elevation of afterload with thoracic aortic
      constriction led to a significant cardiomegaly and a marked upregulation of
      cardiac LPL activity, LPL mRNA and LPL protein abundance, but did not modify VLDL
      receptor mRNA or protein abundance. Thus, increased cardiac workload in this
      model results in upregulation of myocardial LPL expression which can enhance
      fatty acid availability to accommodate the heart's increased energy requirement.

PMID- 9989288
TI  - Tumor necrosis factor-alpha regulates in vivo expression of the rat UCP family
      differentially.
AB  - A family of uncoupling proteins (UCPs), free fatty acid anion transporters, plays
      a crucial role in energy homeostatic thermoregulation. Tumor necrosis factor
      alpha (TNF-alpha), a member of the cytokine family, is well known as an
      endogenous pyrogen. To evaluate the interaction of TNF-alpha with UCPs in
      thermogenesis, effects of TNF-alpha on rat UCP gene expression were examined in
      intrascapular brown adipose tissue (BAT), epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT)
      and soleus muscle (Muscle). Administration of TNF-alpha elevated rectal
      temperature by 0.7 degree C as well as serum leptin which peaked at 6 h, compared
      with saline controls. BAT UCP1 mRNA expression was increased by 1.2-fold at 6 h
      after the TNF-alpha treatment and decreased by 0.8-fold at 16 h after the
      treatment. In contrast to UCP1 expression in BAT, UCP2 mRNA expressions in BAT,
      WAT, and Muscle was increased to reach maximum levels of 1.3-, 1.6- and 1.8-fold,
      respectively, at 16 h after the treatment. UCP3 mRNA in Muscle, but not in BAT or
      WAT, was exclusively up-regulated by 1.7-fold at 16 h after the treatment. These
      results indicate that TNF-alpha up-regulates UCP gene expression differentially
      and tissue dependently, and add novel insights into thermogenesis under
      conditions of malignancy and inflammation.

PMID- 9989289
TI  - Output of liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) in bile.
AB  - Liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) is a small cytoplasmic molecule highly
      expressed in the liver. Since L-FABP exhibits affinities for several biliary
      components, its presence in bile was explored by Western blotting and competitive
      ELISA in various mammalian species. A L-FABP-like immunoreactivity was
      consistently found in both hepatic and gallbladder bile. A close molecular
      identity between this 14 kDa biliary protein and the purified L-FABP was assessed
      by immunological analyses and high performance capillary electrophoresis.
      Pharmacological induction of hepatic L-FABP biosynthesis led to a similar
      increase in biliary L-FABP levels showing a close relationships between the
      cytosolic and biliary contents of this protein. Finally, a correlation between
      the presence of L-FABP in bile and both bile flow and bile acid release was
      found. These data suggest an output of L-FABP in bile in normal conditions which
      might be coupled with the physiological release of biliary components.

PMID- 9989290
TI  - A single in vitro point mutation in the first non-translated exon silences
      transcription of the human apolipoprotein B gene in HepG2 cells.
AB  - Hepatic cell-specific expression of the human apolipoprotein B (apoB) gene is
      controlled by at least four cis-acting elements located within the -128 to +122
      promoter region (S.S. Chuang, H.K. Das, Identification of trans-acting factors
      that interact with cis-acting elements present in the first non-translated exon
      of the human apolipoprotein B gene, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 220 (1996) 553
      562). Two cis-acting positive elements (-104 to -85; -84 to -60) are located
      upstream from the start of transcription. A negative element (+20 to +40) and a
      strong positive element (+43 to +53) are located in the first non-translated exon
      of the human apolipoprotein B gene. Trans-acting factors BRF-2, BRF-1, BRF-3, and
      BRF-4 interact with the above four cis-acting elements respectively. In this
      study, we examine the roles of the upstream positive elements -104 to -85 and -84
      to -60 in modulating transcriptional regulation of the apoB gene by downstream
      elements +20 to +40 and +43 to +53. Using in vitro mutagenesis and transient
      transfection experiments in HepG2 cells, the cis-acting element -84 to -60 has
      been found to be absolutely necessary for the function of the upstream element 
      104 to -85 and downstream elements +20 to +40 and +43 to +53. In vitro
      mutagenesis of the downstream positive element +43 to +53 and transfection of the
      mutant promoter constructs in HepG2 cells reveal that nucleotide G at position
      +51 is essential for the strong positive activity of the element +43 to +53. A
      single substitution point mutation of nucleotide G to either A or T at position
      +51 reduces apolipoprotein B gene transcription substantially in HepG2 cells.
      These results suggest that a single substitution mutation in vivo, of nucleotide
      G to either A or T at position +51 in the downstream positive promoter element
      +43 to +53 may potentially cause hypobetalipoproteinemia, a heterozygous from of
      an autosomal-dominant disorder.

PMID- 9989291
TI  - Prostaglandin D2 and sleep regulation.
AB  - Prostaglandin (PG) D2 is recognized as the most potent endogenous sleep-promoting
      substance whose action mechanism is the best characterized among the various
      sleep-substances thus far reported. The PGD2 concentration in rat cerebrospinal
      fluid (CSF) shows a circadian change coupled to the sleep-wake cycle and elevates
      with an increase in sleep propensity during sleep deprivation. Lipocalin-type PGD
      synthase is dominantly produced in the arachnoid membrane and choroid plexus of
      the brain, and is secreted into the CSF to become beta-trace, a major protein
      component of the CSF. The PGD synthase as well as the PGD2 thus produced
      circulates in the ventricular system, subarachnoidal space, and extracellular
      space in the brain system. PGD2 then interacts with DP receptors in the
      chemosensory region of the ventro-medial surface of the rostral basal forebrain
      to initiate the signal to promote sleep probably via the activation of adenosine
      A2A receptive neurons. The activation of DP receptors in the PGD2-sensitive
      chemosensory region results in activation of a cluster of neurons within the
      ventrolateral preoptic area, which may promote sleep by inhibiting
      tuberomammillary nucleus, the source of the ascending histaminergic arousal
      system.

PMID- 9989292
TI  - Study on the activation of phospholipases A2 by purinergic agonists in rat
      submandibular ductal cells.
AB  - Extracellular ATP and benzoyl-ATP (Bz-ATP) increased the release of
      [3H]arachidonic acid ([3H]AA) from prelabeled rat submandibular gland (RSMG)
      ductal cells respectively two- and threefold. Both agonists also increased the
      release of [3H]AA from acini but at a lower level (+50% and +100% respectively).
      Carbachol had no significant effect on either cellular population. In ductal
      cells phorbol myristate acetate, an activator of protein kinase C, slightly
      increased the basal release of [3H]AA but did not affect the release of [3H]AA in
      response to ATP. Staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinases, inhibited the
      response to the purines. The removal of calcium from the extracellular medium
      decreased the response to ATP and Bz-ATP. Only barium could partly substitute for
      calcium to restore the purinergic response. Zinc inhibited the release of [3H]AA.
      Permeabilization of the cells with streptolysin O (SLO) activated the calcium
      independent phospholipase A2 activity (iPLA2). The iPLA2, not the calcium
      dependent PLA2 (cPLA2), released [3H]oleic acid ([3H]OA) from RSMG ductal cells.
      It is concluded that RSMG ducts have a higher PLA2 activity when compared to
      acini. This activity is accounted for by iPLA2 and cPLA2. Both enzymes are
      activated by P2X agonists by a staurosporine-sensitive mechanism. Cells
      permeabilized with SLO or membranes from Escherichia coli as a substrate are not
      good models to study the regulation of these enzymes. In intact RSMG ductal cells
      the two activities can be distinguished by rather specific inhibitors, by
      different ionic conditions and also by the fatty acid used to label the cells.

PMID- 9989294
TI  - [Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumopathy. 10 cases].
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Describe the different features of a common disease: Mycoplasma
      pneumoniae pneumonia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The hospital files of 10 consecutive
      patients with microbiologically proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia were
      reviewed retrospectively. These 10 patients were hospitalized over a 15-month
      period among 150 patients admitted to the Versailles general hospital for
      community-acquired pneumonia. We compared our series with data in the literature.
      RESULTS: Most of the patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia were young
      apparently healthy adults. A bronchial risk factor (smoking, allergy) was however
      found in 60% of the patients. The principle symptom was persistent cough (100%),
      with fever and joint pain, or sometimes headache and signs of ENT involvement.
      Dyspnea was frequent, related more to associated bronchospasticity than to the
      severity of the pneumonia. Radiographic findings were quite variable. In one case
      hemolytic anemia and cold agglutinins suggested the diagnosis. Certain diagnosis
      was based on positive serology after hospitalization due to the long delay
      between symptom onset and hospitalization. The prehospital period was
      characterized by a succession of ineffective empirical antibiotic regimens. In
      routine practice, macrolides or fluoroquinolones administered for 2 to 3 weeks
      are the empirical antibiotics of choice. Outcome is generally favorable with
      rapid clinical and radiological improvement. Antibiotic therapy is not however
      sufficient alone to achieve improvement in the respiratory impairment:
      bronchodilators and corticosteroids are necessary to treat the bronchospasticity.
      CONCLUSION: Despite the benign nature of community-acquired pneumonia due to
      Mycoplasma pneumoniae, clinical manifestations, particularly bronchial
      inflammation may have important consequences.

PMID- 9989295
TI  - [Extracapillary glomerulonephritis with anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies in 2
      patients with systemic scleroderma treated with penicillamine D].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Side-effects, including autoimmune disorders, are frequent with D
      penicillamine therapy. Proteinuria is observed in 10% of the patients, often
      secondary to extramembranous glomerulopathy. Necrotizing extracapillary
      glomerulonephritis is however exceptional. CASE REPORTS: Two patients with
      systemic sclerodermia were treated with D-penicillamine for 7 and 14 years. Both
      developed necrotizing extracapillary glomerulonephritis with anti-myeloperoxidase
      antibodies (anti-MPO), associated with hemorrhagic alveolitis in one case.
      Partial regression of the renal failure was obtained after withdrawal of D
      penicillamine and combination treatment with prednisone and cyclophosphamide.
      DISCUSSION: Extracapillary glomerulonephritis or a lung-kidney syndrome are
      frequently associated with anti-MPO antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA).
      In systemic sclerodermia, the presence of anti-MPO appears to define a group of
      patients at risk of pauci-immune extracapillary glomerulonephritis or a lung
      kidney syndrome. In addition, the presence of ANCA in patients with renal failure
      would suggest extracapillary glomerulonephritis rather than sclerodermic
      microangiopathy. Development of extracapillary glomerulonephritis with anti-MPO
      in patients who are taking D-penicillamine suggests that inductor mechanisms
      other than D-penicillamine are involved in the pathogenesis of these
      glomerulopathies.

PMID- 9989296
TI  - [Cannabis-induced arteritis vs. Leo Buerger disease. Nosologic discussion apropos
      of two new cases].
AB  - BACKGROUND: We observed two cases of juvenile endarteritis which might suggest a
      possible link between Winiwarter-Buerger disease and cannabis-induced
      endarteritis. CASE REPORTS: Our two patients were young men aged 18 and 20 years.
      Both developed acute distal ischemia of the lower or upper limbs with
      arteriographic evidence suggestive of Winiwarter-Buerger disease. Both smoked
      regularly but not excessively and both used cannabis regularly. In one case, the
      therapeutic response to withdrawal of cannabis was good. In the second, use of
      cannabis continued and arterial disease persisted. DISCUSSION: The cause of
      Winiwarter-Buerger disease remains elusive although smoking is undoubtedly
      involved in the pathogenic mechanism. Our two cases recall the cannabis-induced
      endarteritis described in the sixties in Kif smokers in North Africa. The main
      clinical and radiographical features in this condition are the same as in
      Winiwarter-Buerger disease. CONCLUSION: Winiwarter-Buerger disease and cannabis
      induced endarteritis are 2 very similar conditions. The probably rare finding of
      juvenile endarteritis mimicking thromboangeitis obliterans should, in our
      opinion, be considered as a secondary and possibly toxic effect of cannabis.

PMID- 9989297
TI  - [Edema of the lower extremities in a HIV seropositive patient: secondary effect
      of ritonavir?].

PMID- 9989298
TI  - [Carcinomatous meningitis secondary to breast cancer. Spectacular response to
      hormone therapy].

PMID- 9989299
TI  - [Vestibular manifestations revealing acoustic neurinoma with normal hearing].

PMID- 9989300
TI  - [Opinion on interferon-ribavirin association in the primary treatment of chronic
      hepatitis C].

PMID- 9989301
TI  - [Bronchial cancer. Consensual attitudes, twilight zones and practical
      difficulties. International Association for Study on Lung Cancer].

PMID- 9989302
TI  - [Coronary insufficiency associated with heart failure. Congress of the American
      Heart Association, Texas, 8-11 November 1998].

PMID- 9989303
TI  - [Eating disorders. Virtual identity and social contagion].

PMID- 9989304
TI  - [Eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa in adolescents].
AB  - EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA: Anorexia nevrosa is mainly observed in young women in the
      15-24 year age range. The incidence is 1 to 2% in the general population of
      female adolescents. The sex ratio is 9 girls for 1 boy. SYMPTOM TRIAD: Three
      symptoms predominate in anorexia nevrosa: weight loss, anorexia, amenorrhea.
      Weight loss results from restrictive eating behavior and not from a loss of
      appetite. CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS: Diagnosis is clinical and confirmed by an analysis
      of the underlying psychological conflicts which involve difficulty in accepting
      the female identity and in assuming self-sufficiency outside the family. The
      clinician should evaluate the quality of the familial environment, particularly
      the mother-daughter and father-daughter relationship as well as the social
      environment (school, friends) which is also needed to apprehend the global
      situation. Physical examination and laboratory tests are aimed at rapidly
      eliminating any differential diagnosis and to quantify the weight loss and its
      rate, and identify any nutritional disorders. ETIOLOGY: Anorexia nevrosa is not a
      truly structured psychopathological disorder but rather a loss of a stable
      organization of Self, with a highly vulnerable narcissistic element and
      precarious neurotic defences. CLINICAL COURSE: The risk of poor outcome is very
      real, sometimes life threatening. The treatment of choice is to implement
      analytical management as soon as possible, but outside acute episodes.

PMID- 9989305
TI  - [Eating disorders. Prepubertal anorexia nervosa].
AB  - AN UNCOMMON CONDITION: Anorexia nevrosa in the prepubertal period occurs more
      frequently in boys than common anorexia nevrosa and is characterized by rapid
      major weight loss more so than by signs of bulimia. ASSOCIATED SIGNS: Depression
      and volitional disorders are frequently observed together with growth retardation
      which portends poor prognosis. The patient's personal history (eating disorders
      during infancy are often found) is an essential factor together with psychiatric
      conditions in the parents who often have major narcissistic fragility.

PMID- 9989306
TI  - [Eating disorders. Osteoporosis and infertility after anorexia nervosa].
AB  - EATING DISORDERS: The development of somatic complications observed in patients
      with eating disorders depends both on the duration of the clinical course and on
      the gravity of the symptoms and psychological factors. It would thus appear
      advisable to obtain a complete endocrine (gonadotropic, thyroid, hypothalamo
      hypophyseal-adrenal) work-up which could be repeated every year after the patient
      has controlled the behavior disorder. Two aspects of these complications
      predominate: osteoporosis and infertility. OSTEOPOROSIS: A common finding after
      anorexia nevrosa, osteoporosis can lead to multiple, sometimes spontaneous,
      fractures. Bone mass can be assessed with biphotonic absorptiometry. The
      indication for estroprogestogen prophylaxis is debatable, depending on the
      patient's psychological profile, but also because efficacy has not always been
      demonstrated. Third-generation biphosphonates appear to offer promising results.
      INFERTILITY: Among a population of women consulting for infertility, a non
      negligible percentage have infraclinical manifestations of anorexia nevrosa. The
      question of prescribing estroprogestogens, which would allow normal cycles and a
      certain vaginal trophicity, is often raised. We advocate a dose coordination
      between endocrinologists, infertility specialists and psychiatrists in order to
      better define the precise modalities of a given treatment aimed at regulating
      hypothalamo-pituitary function or favoring procreation.

PMID- 9989307
TI  - [Images in medicine. Melanosis coli].

PMID- 9989308
TI  - Anxiety and coronary heart disease: a synthesis of epidemiological,
      psychological, and experimental evidence.
AB  - The purpose of this review is to examine the epidemiological, psychological, and
      experimental evidence for an association between anxiety and coronary heart
      disease (CHD). Papers published during the years 1980-1996 on anxiety and CHD and
      relevant publications from earlier years were selected for this review.
      Epidemiologic evidence suggests that anxiety may be a risk factor for the
      development of CHD. Chronic anxiety may increase the risk of CHD by: (a)
      influencing health behaviors (e.g. smoking); (b) promoting atherogenesis (e.g.
      via increased risk of hypertension); and (c) triggering fatal coronary events,
      either through arrhythmia, plaque rupture, coronary vasospasm, or thrombosis.
      Electrophysiologic evidence is particularly compelling: anxiety appears to be
      associated with abnormal cardiac autonomic control, which may indicate increased
      risk of fatal ventricular arrhythmias. The strength, consistency, and dose
      response gradient of the association between anxiety and CHD, together with the
      biologic plausibility of the experimental evidence, suggest that anxiety may
      contribute to risk of CHD and that the relationship warrants further
      investigation.

PMID- 9989309
TI  - The relation of hostility to lipids and lipoproteins in women: evidence for the
      role of antagonistic hostility.
AB  - We examined the relation of antagonistic, neurotic, and cynical hostility to
      lipids and lipoproteins in 77 healthy women (aged 18-26) selected for having high
      (> 17) or low (< 12) scores on the Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) scale. Fasting
      lipids were determined during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle for oral
      contraceptive (OC) non-users (N = 41), and during pills 15-21 for OC users (N =
      36). Factor scores for antagonistic and neurotic hostility were derived from a
      principal component of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, Spielberger's Anger
      Expression, and the NEO-Personality Inventory. High Ho scores were significantly
      associated with higher cholesterol. Antagonistic hostility significantly
      predicted cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and
      the ratio of cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol, with higher
      antagonistic hostility scores associated with higher levels. Neurotic hostility
      did not predict lipids. Results suggest a potential pathophysiological mechanism
      that may contribute to the association between hostility and coronary heart
      disease. Moreover, a measure of antagonistic hostility, relative to cynical and
      neurotic hostility, was the best predictor of lipid levels.

PMID- 9989310
TI  - The effects of marital transitions on changes in physical activity: results from
      a 10-year community study.
AB  - The potential effects of making a marital transition on subsequent physical
      activity were evaluated across a ten-year period in a population-based sample of
      302 women and 256 men ages 25 to 75 years. Subjects completed a structured
      interview at five timepoints throughout the ten-year period during which they
      reported on their physical activity level as well as marital status. The
      transition from a married to a single state did not affect physical activity
      relative to remaining married when analyses of either slopes or mean values were
      used. In contrast, the transition from a single to a married state resulted in
      significant positive changes in physical activity relative to remaining single
      throughout the study period when physical activity slopes, though not means, were
      compared. The results suggest that marriage may potentially set the stage for
      natural changes in physical activity that could be capitalized on through
      appropriate intervention, but additional research is needed to verify this in
      light of the inconsistent pattern of findings.

PMID- 9989311
TI  - Contribution of behavior therapy and biofeedback to laxative therapy in the
      treatment of pediatric encopresis.
AB  - A model incorporating physiological, behavioral, and psychological parameters are
      presented to explain the maintenance and consequences of pediatric encopresis. It
      was hypothesized that the more comprehensive a treatment in addressing these
      parameters, the more efficacious it would be and the more children it would
      benefit. Eighty-seven children between the ages of 6 and 15 with the primary
      complaint of encopresis were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: (a)
      Intensive Medical Care (IMC), receiving enemas for disimpaction and laxatives to
      promote frequent bowel movements; (b) Enhanced Toilet Training (ETT), using
      reinforcement and scheduling to promote response to defecation urges and
      instruction and modeling to promote appropriate straining, along with laxatives
      and enemas; or (c) Biofeedback (BF), directed at relaxing the external anal
      sphincter during attempted defecation, along with toilet training, laxatives, and
      enemas. Three months following initiation of treatment, ETT and BF produced
      similar reductions in soiling/child (76% and 65%) that were superior (p's < .04)
      to IMC (21%). ETT significantly benefited more children than the other two
      treatments, employing fewer laxatives and fewer treatment sessions at a lower
      cost. Consistent with the presented model, reduction in soiling was associated
      with an increase in bowel movements in the toilet, reduction in parental
      prompting to use the toilet, and defecation pain. These results demonstrate that
      ETT should be used routinely with laxative therapy in the treatment of chronic
      encopresis.

PMID- 9989312
TI  - Postexercise vasodilatation reduces diastolic blood pressure responses to stress.
AB  - Regular physical exercise is known to reduce cardiovascular risk. We examined the
      effects of a single bout of moderate bicycle exercise on hemodynamic measures at
      rest and in response to the foot cold pressor (CP) and mental arithmetic (MA).
      Sedentary males and females (N = 32) were tested twice, following 20 minutes of
      moderate exercise (exercise day) versus 20 minutes of quiet rest (control day).
      Although resting blood pressure was no lower 20 minutes after exercise relative
      to the same time point on the control day, diastolic blood pressure responses to
      CP (p = .05) and MA (p = .06) were attenuated on the exercise day. Furthermore,
      recovery from moderate exercise versus control rest was also associated with
      reduced vascular resistance index (VRI) at rest and during exposure to both
      stressors (p's < or = .02). VRI reductions were largest in subjects with elevated
      vascular tone on the control day and were accompanied by increases in heart rate
      throughout the postexercise period (p's < or = .004) and higher cardiac index
      during exercise recovery and in response to CP (p's < or = .05). Thus, the
      cardiovascular benefit of exercise may in part be due to reduced VRI and
      attenuated cardiovascular responses to stress during the acute postexercise
      period.

PMID- 9989313
TI  - A longitudinal study of work load and variations in psychological well-being,
      cortisol, smoking, and alcohol consumption.
AB  - The effects of variations in work load (indexed by paid work hours) on
      psychological well-being, cortisol, smoking, and alcohol consumption were
      examined in a sample of 71 workers (44 women, 27 men) in the retail industry.
      Measures were obtained on four occasions over a six-month period, and assessments
      were ranked individually according to hours of work over the past seven days. Job
      strain (demand/control) and job social support were evaluated as potential
      moderators of responses. Paid work hours ranged from a mean of 32.6 to 48.0 hours
      per week, and ratings of work-home conflict and perceived stress varied across
      assessments. Salivary cortisol was inversely associated with job strain and did
      not vary across sessions. Female but not male smokers consumed more cigarettes
      during periods of long work hours, and self-reported smoking and cotinine
      concentrations were greater among smokers with higher nicotine dependency scores.
      Men but not women with poor social supports consumed more alcohol as work hours
      lengthened. These data indicate that health behaviors are affected only to a
      limited extent by variations in work load. Results are discussed in the context
      of adaptation to work and the pathways linking stressful experience with health
      risk.

PMID- 9989314
TI  - Cognitive-behavioral intervention effects on mood and cortisol during exercise
      training.
AB  - The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of a time limited
      cognitive-behavioral stress management program (CBSM) on mood state and serum
      cortisol among men and women rowers (N = 34) undergoing a period of heavy
      exercise training. After controlling for life-event stress (LES), CBSM was
      hypothesized to reduce negative mood state and cortisol among rowers during a
      period of heavy training; mood and cortisol changes over the intervention period
      were hypothesized to be positively correlated. LES was positively associated with
      negative affect at study entry. After covariance for LES, rowing athletes
      randomly assigned to the CBSM group experienced significant reductions in
      depressed mood, fatigue, and cortisol when compared to those randomized to a
      control group. Decreases in negative affect and fatigue were also significantly
      associated with cortisol decrease. These results suggest that CBSM may exert a
      positive effect on athletes' adaptation to heavy exercise training.

PMID- 9989315
TI  - Correlates of self-efficacy expectation and prediction of walking behavior in
      cardiac surgery elders.
AB  - As the number of elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery (coronary artery
      bypass and valve replacement) continues to increase, evidence is growing that
      they can do so with improved health status, functional status, longevity, and
      life quality. In this article, we used self-efficacy theory to explore one of the
      most common recovery behaviors--walking various distances. In preoperative data
      collected in-hospital through data collection at one, two, three, six, and twelve
      months postoperatively, we explored: (a) the trajectories of self-efficacy
      expectation (SEE) and self-reported (SR) behavior performance over the first
      postoperative year; (b) the relationships between SEE and SR behavior; (c)
      predictors of SEE; and (d) using hierarchical multiple regression, identified
      predictors of SR behavior at each point of time. The sample (N = 199) was
      primarily male (76%) with a mean age of 75.8 years. SEE and SR behavior increased
      over time though with different trajectories; at all points in time, females had
      lower scores. Correlations between SEE and SR behavior were statistically
      significant (r values ranging from 0.67 to 0.89; p < .01) for both males and
      females. Predictors of SEE and SR identified were a mix of physiologic and
      psychologic constructs. The amount of explained variance in SR behavior scores
      ranged from a low of 23% at one month to a high of 64.7% at six months. The
      gender differences sustained one year after cardiac surgery are striking; elder
      females may need targeted interventions to enhance recovery.

PMID- 9989316
TI  - Patients' pretreatment expectations of chemotherapy-related nausea are an
      independent predictor of anticipatory nausea.
AB  - Based on extensive research with animals, classical conditioning theorists have
      come to regard contingency as the primary factor in the development of
      conditioned responses. However, recent experimental work with humans has
      suggested the possibility that participant expectations may also directly
      contribute to the development of conditioned responses. To date, this phenomenon
      has not been investigated in clinical settings. Anticipatory nausea (AN) in
      chemotherapy patients, widely viewed as the best established example of classical
      conditioning in clinical medicine, provides an opportunity to examine the
      contributions of patient expectations to the development of a conditioned
      response outside the laboratory. The present study of 59 breast cancer patients
      supported the hypothesis that pretreatment patient expectations make a
      significant (p < .03) contribution to the development of AN after statistically
      controlling for the strongest conditioning predictor, contingency. These data
      imply that patient expectations should be considered when evaluating conditioned
      responses to aversive medical treatments.

PMID- 9989317
TI  - It's a function of time: a review of the process approach to behavioral medicine
      research.
AB  - In many fields of science, phenomena are studied closely over time to make
      inferences about patterns of behavior and to allow for predictions of future
      change and stability. In behavioral medicine, traditional cross-sectional and
      longitudinal designs are useful for capturing highly stable or slowly-changing
      phenomena, but important behavior change can be missed by one-occasion measures
      or infrequent measurements taken at widely-spaced points in time. We review
      recent research showing how a more complete understanding of many forms of
      psychological and somatic phenomena can be achieved through intensive measurement
      within the temporal context in which behavior occurs. This "process approach" to
      research, conducted in both naturalistic and laboratory settings, is presented
      here and placed in a methodological and theoretical framework. We also attempt to
      make recent research on the non-linear dynamics of behavior more accessible by
      describing and illustrating the uses of time in behavioral medicine research.

PMID- 9989318
TI  - The comparison of individuals with recurrent tension-type headache and headache
      free controls in physiological response, appraisal, and coping with stressors: a
      review of the literature.
AB  - It is widely accepted that stress plays an important role in the experience of
      tension-type headache. This article reviews the literature in which individuals
      with recurrent tension-type headache are compared to headache-free controls in
      the experience and appraisal of stress, psychophysiological response to stress,
      and coping with stress. A modified and extended version of the transactional
      model of stress as it might apply to tension-type headache is used to organize
      the relevant literature. In summary, there is evidence to suggest that
      individuals with recurrent tension-type headache experience more stressful events
      and are more sensitive and have a lower threshold to pain. There are some
      suggestions that headache sufferers may use different coping strategies for
      stress and pain. There is little evidence of differences in physiological
      responses to stressful events. The shortcomings of this body of literature are
      addressed and directions for future research are identified.

PMID- 9989319
TI  - Accuracy of smokers' risk perceptions.
AB  - In response to disagreements about the extent to which smokers recognize the full
      risk of smoking-induced illness, an attempt was made to review all articles that
      have investigated smokers' risk perceptions. These diverse studies are grouped
      here into four categories, depending on the type of risk judgment solicited by
      researchers. This grouping shows that the apparent underestimation or
      overestimation of risk depends on how risk perceptions are assessed. No single
      conclusion about the accuracy of smokers' numerical risk estimates is possible
      since the accuracy depends entirely on the health outcome rated (e.g. lung cancer
      versus all deaths due to smoking). With other types of risk questions, smokers
      consistently acknowledge that smoking increases health risks, but they judge the
      size of these increases to be smaller and less well-established than do non
      smokers. Finally, smokers minimize the personal relevance of the risks: they do
      not believe that they are as much at risk as other smokers of becoming addicted
      or suffering health effects. The accumulated data indicate that smokers continue
      to minimize their personal health risks.

PMID- 9989320
TI  - Perceived importance and satisfaction with physical function in patients with
      knee osteoarthritis.
AB  - This investigation examined the determinants of satisfaction with physical
      function for participants in an Observational Arthritis Study in Seniors (OASIS).
      The sample consisted of 480 men (51%) and women (49%) over the age of 65 years
      who had difficulty performing activities of daily living due to knee pain. As
      part of baseline testing for OASIS, participants completed a measure that
      assessed satisfaction with function for six physical activities. After
      controlling for relevant covariates, scores on the satisfaction index were
      regressed on seven conceptually relevant predictor variables. The results
      revealed that satisfaction with physical function is a distinct construct from
      level of function, irrespective of whether the latter variable is measured
      objectively or subjectively. When entered into a hierarchical regression model, 6
      minute walk test data accounted for 11% of the variance in satisfaction scores,
      whereas perceived difficulty accounted for an additional 22%. Moreover, a
      significant interaction term between importance and perceived difficulty revealed
      that patients who rated the activities as important and who had high levels of
      perceived difficulty had the lowest satisfaction scores. Discussion focuses on
      the determinants of satisfaction with physical function with emphasis on the
      interaction between perceived difficulty and importance.

PMID- 9989321
TI  - Clarification of the conceptualization and measurement of denial in psychosocial
      oncology research.
AB  - Denial represents an important area of study in individuals with cancer. It may
      be related to recognizing symptoms, seeking medical help, psychological
      adjustment to diagnosis and illness, and perhaps progression of the disease.
      However, denial has been defined theoretically and measured in a variety of ways.
      These differences are due to a lack of consensus as to whether denial is
      unconscious versus conscious, a trait versus a state, an indication of
      psychological disturbance versus a normal response to a life-threatening disease,
      or a broad versus a narrow concept. In addition, there is a lack of congruence
      between theoretical definitions and the operational definitions used in empirical
      studies investigating denial in the context of cancer. This inconsistency may be
      responsible for the mixed findings concerning the importance and function of
      denial in individuals with cancer. In this article, the ways in which denial has
      been conceptualized and operationalized are examined, and an overview of the
      research examining denial in cancer patients is provided. We recommend that
      future studies provide explicit definitions of denial, use multiple measures
      assessing different modalities and outcomes, measure denial at several times over
      the course of illness, and take into account aspects of the individual's
      situation to ensure that denial is not identified erroneously.

PMID- 9989322
TI  - Implementing preventive services: to what extent can we change provider
      performance in ambulatory care? A review of the screening, immunization, and
      counseling literature.
AB  - Strategies to improve the delivery of preventive care often consist of office
      based interventions, which are designed to modify provider behaviors or practice
      patterns. We report on a meta-analysis of 117 behavioral outcomes extracted from
      43 studies. Meta-analytic techniques were used to express the results in a common
      metric, which allowed quantitative comparisons across outcomes. Studies were
      examined by domains of preventive care (screening, immunization, and counseling)
      and divided into two groups based on unit of analysis (provider or patient
      categories). The mean effect size reflects the difference in proportion of
      physicians providing the targeted behavior between the experimental and
      comparison groups. In the provider category, the weighted mean effect size for
      screening was .14, for immunization was .18, and for counseling was .28. In the
      patient category, the weighted means for screening and immunization were .12 and
      .15, respectively, but were smaller for the counseling (.08). Because tests for
      homogeneity of effect sizes were rejected in the patient category, caution in
      interpreting mean effect sizes is warranted because of variability across
      individual values. In summary, office-based interventions were found to have
      positive effects on providers' adherence to preventive recommendations. We
      discuss the methodological issues and needs for future work to enhance the
      delivery of preventive services.

PMID- 9989323
TI  - Measures of hostility as predictors of facial affect during social interaction:
      evidence for construct validity.
AB  - We assessed the construct validity of several self-report measures and an
      interview-based measure of hostility (Interpersonal Hostility Assessment
      Technique [IHAT]) by evaluating their associations with a behavioral indicator of
      hostile emotions (facial expressions during social interaction). Participants in
      the study were 123 volunteers (44% males and 56% females) who were recruited from
      local community organizations. Self-report measures (Cook-Medley Hostility Scale,
      Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and
      Spielberger Anger Expression Scale) were represented by factor scores reflecting
      Overt Hostility, Covert Hostility, and Hostile Beliefs. A canonical correlation
      analysis identified significant associations between a set of facial affect
      scores reflecting animosity and various measures of hostility. Specifically,
      increases in anger and disgust expressions and decreases in happy facial
      expressions were associated with high IHAT scores and high scores on self-report
      measures of Hostile Beliefs and Covert Hostility. Women were more expressive than
      men, especially concerning positive affect, and women had lower scores on self
      report measures of Hostile Beliefs and Overt Hostility. IHAT scores were
      uncorrelated with any of the self-report factors which suggests the two
      assessment techniques are tapping different aspects of the hostility construct.

PMID- 9989324
TI  - Efficacy of an individualized, motivationally-tailored physical activity
      intervention.
AB  - This study compared the efficacy of two low-cost interventions for physical
      activity adoption. Sedentary (N = 194) adults recruited through newspaper
      advertisements were randomized to receive either a motivationally-matched,
      individually-tailored intervention (IT) or a standard self-help intervention
      (ST). Assessments and interventions were delivered by repeated mailings at
      baseline, one, three, and six months. Participants were assessed regarding
      current physical activity behavior, motivational readiness to adopt regular
      physical activity, and psychological constructs associated with physical activity
      participation (e.g. self-efficacy, decisional balance). Repeated measures
      analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed significant increases in physical activity
      participation between baseline and six months for both groups with a
      significantly greater increase among IT participants. The IT group outperformed
      the ST group on all primary outcome measures: (a) minutes of physical activity
      per week, (b) reaching Centers for Disease Control and American College of Sports
      Medicine (CDC/ACSM) recommended minimum physical activity criteria, and (c)
      achieving the Action stage of motivational readiness for physical activity
      adoption. Both groups showed significant improvement between baseline and six
      months on the psychological constructs associated with physical activity adoption
      (e.g. self-efficacy), with no significant differences observed between the
      treatment groups. Utilizing computer expert systems and self-help manuals to
      provide individually-tailored, motivationally-matched interventions appears to be
      an effective, low-cost approach for enhancing physical activity participation in
      the community.

PMID- 9989325
TI  - Social relationships and the progression of human immunodeficiency virus
      infection: a review of evidence and possible underlying mechanisms.
AB  - We review studies examining the quality and quantity of social relationships as
      potential risk factors for differential progression of human immunodeficiency
      virus (HIV) infection. Several well-conducted prospective studies suggest that
      the health effects associated with the presence of supportive social
      relationships vary according to disease stage and mode of transmission. For gay
      or bisexual males in the early stages of infection, the presence of supportive
      social relationships appears to be a risk factor for accelerated disease
      progression. For individuals in the later stages of infection and those who
      acquire HIV via intravenous drug use or transfusion, supportive social
      relationships appear to be associated with health protective effects similar to
      those observed in other disease settings. We consider a variety of potential
      explanations for accelerated disease progression in gay men with extensive
      networks of personal relationships.

PMID- 9989326
TI  - Recruitment for complementary/alternative medicine trials: who participates after
      breast cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity and widespread practice of
      complementary/alternative medicine (CAM), researchers may face problems accruing
      patients to randomized clinical trials, considered the gold standard of
      biomedical research. Strict exclusion criteria and barriers to participation may
      limit accrual. Inadequate numbers of subjects decrease the ability of studies to
      detect an effect that exists and generalize their findings. This article
      describes the recruitment experience of a CAM trial, details reasons for non
      participation, and contrasts participants and non-participants on demographic,
      clinical, and treatment-related variables. METHODS: Women who were Houston area
      residents and spoke English, had primary breast cancer (excluding Stage IV), and
      were 1 to 30 months posttreatment with no steroids, tamoxifen, substance abuse,
      psychiatric or heart disease, or immune deficiency were eligible. The enrollment
      process involved three contacts (i.e. introductory letter and brochure, telephone
      calls, and reminder post cards). Potential participants were told that the study
      would require blood samples (30 cc) to assess immune function; psychosocial
      measures to assess emotional well-being, quality-of-life, social support, and
      coping strategies; and possible assignment to six weekly support or imagery
      sessions. Factors influencing recruitment and reasons for non-participation were
      assessed by stratified analysis and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Of
      158 eligible participants, 30% (N = 47) consented to participate. Primary reasons
      for non-participation included work/childcare (33.3%), transportation/travel
      (30.6%), and lack of interest (24.3%). Participants were more likely to be 40-54
      years of age versus younger or older, divorced/separated, and able to pay
      some/all medical expenses. Divorced or separated women appeared to be more likely
      to participate, regardless of financial status. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers must
      assess the impact of exclusion criteria on accrual and recognize the special
      needs of their target population. Although age, marital status, and pay status
      were the strongest predictors of participation, these factors are not amenable to
      intervention. Based on this study, researchers might boost accrual by providing
      interventions available during the day and evening to accommodate working women,
      child care services, transportation, or reimbursement for travel costs.

PMID- 9989327
TI  - Psychosocial stress moderates the relationship of cancer history with natural
      killer cell activity.
AB  - Data suggest that both cancer history and psychosocial stress may be associated
      with reductions in natural killer cell activity (NKA). Therefore, we tested
      whether individual differences in cancer history, chronic/perceived stress, and
      their interactions would be associated with decreased levels of NKA. We tested
      these hypotheses in 80 spouse caregivers of victims of Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
      (persons known to report high levels of psychosocial stress) and in 85 age- and
      sex-matched spouses of non-demented controls. Participants were assessed at study
      entry (Time 1) and 15-18 months later (Time 2). Individuals with cancer histories
      (N = 43) had not been treated with immune altering medications within the last
      year. At both Times 1 and 2, cross-sectional main effects were weak or absent for
      cancer history, perceived stress (e.g. high hassles, low uplifts), and caregiver
      status; however, interactions occurred between cancer history and perceived
      stress, such that persons with cancer histories and high hassles/low uplifts had
      the lowest NKA values (p < .05). These results occurred even after controlling
      for age, gender, beta-blocker use, hormone replacement therapy, alcohol, and
      exercise. At Time 1, an interaction also occurred between caregiver status and
      cancer history--caregivers with cancer histories had lower NKA than did controls
      with cancer histories and caregivers/controls without cancer histories (p < .05).
      At Time 2, this interaction only showed a trend (p < .08), primarily because
      caregivers with cancer histories experienced increases in NKA (p < .05) from Time
      1 to Time 2, whereas in the other three groups NKA did not change. Importantly,
      in caregivers with cancer histories, high perceived stress at Time 1 predicted
      low NKA at Time 2 (p < .05). This research suggests that the combinations of
      biological vulnerabilities and chronic/perceived stress may have interactive
      effects resulting in reduced NKA.

PMID- 9989328
TI  - Personality and coronary heart disease: the type-D scale-16 (DS16).
AB  - Clinical diagnoses of depression, self-reported negative emotions, and
      personality traits have been associated with both the development and progression
      of coronary heart disease (CHD). This article focusses on negative affectivity
      (the tendency to experience negative emotions) and social inhibition (the
      tendency to inhibit self-expression in social interaction) in CHD patients. Two
      independent samples of patients with CHD were included in this study. Both
      empirical and internal-structural criteria were used to devise a brief self
      report measure comprising an eight-item negative affectivity and an eight-item
      social inhibition scale in Sample 1 (N = 400). These scales were internally
      consistent (alpha = .89 and .82), stable over time (three-month test-retest
      reliability = .78 and .87) and were validated against standard personality
      scales. CHD patients with a "distressed" personality (Type-D) report high levels
      of negative affectivity and social inhibition; accordingly, this self-report
      measure was termed Type-D Scale-16 (DS16). Previous research showed that Type-D
      was associated with cardiac events and incidence of cancer in patients with CHD.
      Type-D as measured by the DS16 was associated with depressive affect and
      symptoms, stress, poor self-esteem, dissatisfaction with life, and low positive
      affect in Sample 2 (N = 100) of the present article. It is concluded that
      research on CHD should focus on affective disorder, specific negative emotions,
      and global personality traits, and that the DS16 is a practical, sound research
      tool that can be used to assess Type-D.

PMID- 9989329
TI  - Reaching those most in need: participation in a Planned Parenthood smoking
      cessation program.
AB  - We evaluated the representativeness of women approached and enrolled in a brief
      smoking cessation intervention conducted in Planned Parenthood clinics. In this
      effectiveness study, regular clinic staff were trained to identify, offer
      participation, and counsel willing smoking clients as part of their clinic visit.
      Chart audits were conducted to determine the percent of clients who had smoking
      status identified, as well as the percent and characteristics of potentially
      eligible clients who were not approached. Baseline and non-participant
      questionnaires were analyzed to determine participation rate and characteristics
      of those participating versus those not participating. Smoking status was
      documented in 99% of charts. Seventy percent of eligible smokers were approached
      about study participation and 74% of those approached participated. There were no
      significant differences between those approached and those not approached or
      between those who participated versus those who did not on a host of
      sociodemographic variables. This project was able to approach and attract a
      representative sample of young, lower income women to participate in a brief,
      clinic-based smoking cessation program.

PMID- 9989330
TI  - Psychosocial variables, age, and angiographically-determined coronary artery
      disease in women.
AB  - The present study explored the relationship between psychosocial measures and the
      degree of coronary stenosis in a sample of 59 women between the ages of 39 and
      84. Coronary occlusion was correlated with elevated cholesterol and marginally
      correlated with age and was inversely associated with years of education. Based
      on hierarchical multiple regression, an interview-based measure of hostility was
      associated with coronary stenosis after controlling for traditional risk factors,
      and age moderated the hostility-stenosis relationship. Further, a second
      regression model suggested that trait anxiety was inversely correlated with
      degree of occlusion, perhaps because low-anxious women are referred for
      catheterization later in the course of the disease. Contrary to hypotheses, there
      was no evidence that repression of interview-based hostility or anxiety predicted
      coronary occlusion. Given the small sample size, results should be considered
      preliminary. Future studies should explore the degree to which anxiety and
      hostility are associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in larger samples of
      women and the degree to which age moderates the hostility-occlusion association.

PMID- 9989331
TI  - Prevalence of binge eating disorder, obesity, and depression in a biracial cohort
      of young adults.
AB  - This article examined the prevalence of binge eating disorder (BED), obesity, and
      depressive symptomatology in a biracial, population-based cohort of men and women
      participating in a longitudinal study of cardiovascular risk factor development.
      The Revised Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns was used to establish BED
      status among the 3,948 (55% women, 48% Black) participants (age 28-40 years).
      Body mass index (BMI: kg/m2) was used to define overweight (BMI > or = 27.3 in
      women and > or = 27.8 in men). Depressive symptomatology was assessed with the
      Center for Epidemiologic Study Depression Scale. Prevalence of BED was 1.5% in
      the cohort overall, with similar rates among Black women, White women, and White
      men. Black men had substantially lower BED rates. Depressive symptomatology was
      markedly higher among individuals with BED. Among overweight participants, BED
      prevalence (2.9%) was almost double that of the overall cohort. There were no
      differences in BED rates between over-weight Black and White women. Thus, BED was
      common in the general population, with comparable rates among Black women, White
      women, and White men, but low rates among Black men. Obesity was associated with
      substantially higher prevalence of BED. Treatment studies that target obese men
      and minority women with BED are indicated.

PMID- 9989332
TI  - Psychosocial factors in nutrition education for hypercholesterolemic children.
AB  - The goals were to assess psychosocial effects of labeling children as
      hypercholesterolemic and to measure changes in child well-being as a function of
      participation in nutrition education interventions. Older (6-10 years old) and
      younger (4-6 years old) children with (> 4.55 mmol/l; > 176 mg/dL) and without
      elevated total cholesterol levels were identified by cholesterol screening.
      Psychosocial functioning (self-esteem, perceived dietary competence, health
      beliefs, parental control of eating) was assessed and at-risk children were
      randomized into a home-based, self-contained nutrition education program (the
      Parent-Child Autotutorial, or PCAT program), dietary counseling with a registered
      dietician, or an at-risk control group. At three, six, and twelve months
      following baseline, children's psychosocial functioning again was assessed;
      parents also provided data at baseline, three months, and twelve months. Analyses
      of data from 189 at-risk and 74 not-at-risk children revealed that: (a) Older
      hypercholesterolemic children reported poorer health beliefs than non-labeled
      children; (b) Older girls in nutrition education programs reported lower self
      esteem than control group girls; (c) Older children's feelings of efficacy at
      choosing a healthful diet were positively related to their health beliefs and
      self-esteem; (d) Younger children's reports of parents' dietary control were
      negatively related to children's feelings of acceptance; and (e) Parents of older
      children in the PCAT program reported increases over time in children's ability
      to choose a healthful diet. The quasi-experimental design means that conclusions
      about negative labeling effects should be drawn cautiously, but the evidence
      suggests that education interventions can have an impact on child efficacy and
      potentially child adjustment. Factors associated with adverse reactions to
      labeling (parental control or feelings of efficacy) should be taken into account
      in the development of intervention programs for children.

PMID- 9989333
TI  - [Ronald Ross: a century of the transfer of malaria by mosquitoes].
AB  - Ronald Ross is a brilliant and polyvalent mind. When orientated towards medicine
      he took the training amateurishly and ended up with a limited qualification.
      After 2 years as a ship doctor, he attended the compulsory complementary training
      in order to be admissible in the IMS, the garrison life left him with plenty of
      time to engage in his hobby's: painting for a short while, writing, poetry and
      mathematics. By the end of his first term he questioned the sense of his medical
      activities and decided, with a view to his career, to acquire a Public Health
      diploma and some complementary bacteriology. During his second term the malaria
      problem drew his attention. As he was unable to detect the parasite of Laveran in
      the blood of patients with malarial fevers he concluded that the parasite had
      been some lucky microscopic finding without any value and turned this parasite
      into ridicule. During his leave in 1894 he met Manson, who showed him the
      technique to put the parasite in evidence and convinced him to search for its
      vector which, to his opinion, should be a mosquito. Ross decided to follow this
      lead. With his minimal parasitological knowledge and an entomological background
      limited to the external appearance of mosquitoes he endeavoured to establish the
      life cycle of the malarial parasites. Notwithstanding some service bounded
      transfers, he followed the fate of the filaments of the crescents and discovered
      the parasite on the stomachwall of dapled-winged mosquitoes. During his special
      mission in Calcutta and in the absence of suitable malaria infections in man he
      shifted to bird proteosoma (now P. relictum) with a grey mosquito (culex) as
      vector. He demonstrated the complete life-cycle ending in the salivary glands of
      the mosquitoes and succeeded in transmitting this infection by mosquito-bites in
      healthy birds. This climax in his research was crowned by the attribution in 1902
      of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. In the mean time he resigned from the IMS and
      was appointed as "Lecturer on Tropical Diseases" at the Liverpool School. He
      reoriented his activities to the prevention of malaria by control of the vector
      in its aquatic larval stage, which he tried out and promoted during his journeys
      to the West African Coast and other countries. His current were variegated but
      without salient details. Through the survey of the parasite index and the
      assessment of the spleen rate in children he founded the malariometry as a
      epidemiological tool, focussed attention on the relation of malaria and the
      community and on the complexity of the transmission dynamics. By handing in his
      resignation at the Liverpool School and moving to London he hampered further his
      scientific productivity. The tardy foundation of the Ross Institute did not
      stimulate a new impetus. He suffered a stroke which left him partially crippled
      an he died in his Institute.

PMID- 9989334
TI  - Regulation of alternative processing of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+
      ATPase (SERCA2) gene transcripts during muscle differentiation.
AB  - The Ca2+ transport ATPases of the sarcoplasmic or endoplasmic reticulum (SERCA)
      mediate the uptake of Ca2+ into intracellular stores. These Ca2+ pumps are
      encoded by three different genes. Alternative processing of the SERCA2 messenger
      generates two different protein isoforms. These two isoforms differ in their C
      terminal part and this divergence is responsible for the functional difference
      between SERCA2a and SERCA2b. The aim of this study was to characterise the cis
      active elements and the trans-acting factors required for the generation of the
      muscle-specific messenger during myogenic differentiation. A competition model
      between muscle-type splicing and non-muscle polyadenylation was excluded as
      inactivation of the non-muscle polyadenylation site did not induce muscle-type
      splicing in non-muscle or in undifferentiated muscle cells. We therefore propose
      that the expression of the SERCA2a isoform is due to the regulation of the muscle
      specific splice process during myogenic differentiation. We characterised the
      spatial and sequence requirements essential for tissue-specific transcript
      processing. It was demonstrated that the processing signals in the transcript,
      i.e. both donor splice sites and the polyadenylation site located in the muscle
      specific intron, have to be weak. An exception to this rule is the 3' acceptor
      splice site that has to be strong in order to get muscle-specific splicing. We
      also found an inverse relationship between intron length and splice efficiency as
      shortening the terminal intron resulted in muscle-specific splicing in non-muscle
      and in undifferentiated muscle cells. Finally, it was demonstrated that sequences
      around the muscle-specific acceptor region as well as in the muscle-specific exon
      are required to prevent muscle-specific splicing in undifferentiated muscle
      cells. Especially a region upstream of the 3' acceptor contains important
      sequence information required for the inhibition of muscle-specific splicing. It
      was demonstrated that the trans-acting factors regulating the alternative SERCA2
      splicing are muscle specific. First, myogenin, a transcription factor that plays
      a key role in muscle differentiation, induced muscle-specific SERCA2 splicing in
      a fibroblast cell line. Second, changes in general splice and polyadenylation
      efficiency, as observed during B-cell maturation, did not affect SERCA2 splicing.
      Finally, expression and overexpression studies did not support the hypothesis
      that changes in the level of the alternative splice factor ASF or other arginine
      and serine rich proteins are involved in the regulation of muscle-specific
      splicing. We conclude that muscle-specific SERCA2a expression is a tightly
      regulated process dependent on the inhibition of the muscle-specific splice
      process at the 3' end of the primary transcript. During differentiation this
      inhibition is overcome by the downregulation of an inhibitory factor and/or the
      expression of a positive trans-acting factor.

PMID- 9989335
TI  - Heritable collagen disorders: from phenotype to genotype.
AB  - Genetic disorders of collagen comprise a heterogeneous group of disease with
      pleiotropic manifestations and monogenic inheritance. They are caused by
      mutations in genes encoding collagen proteins or enzymes involved in collagen
      biosynthesis. New insights into the molecular basis of two of these conditions
      are presented here. In Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) characterized by bone
      fragility, mutations in the COL1A1 or the COL1A2 genes encoding type I collagen
      are associated with a wide spectrum of phenotypes, varying from mild to severe
      and lethal conditions. The mild forms are usually caused by haploinsufficiency
      mutations in the COL1A1 gene while the severe and lethal forms result from
      dominant negative mutations in COL1A1 or COL1A2. Several collagen types are
      involved in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), of which skin hyperelasticity,
      joint hypermobility and vascular fragility are the principal features. Six
      different genetic subtypes are recognised. Structural mutations in collagen type
      I, III or V underly the dominant forms, whereas recessive EDS subtypes are
      associated with enzymatic defects of collagen type I biosynthesis. Clinical
      application of biochemical and molecular collagen analysis has greatly improved
      quality of diagnosis, genetic counselling and management of these heritable
      disorders.

PMID- 9989336
TI  - Indinavir-fluconazole interaction.

PMID- 9989337
TI  - Molecular characterization of a ceftazidime-resistant Morganella morganii isolate
      producing a TEM-10 beta-lactamase.

PMID- 9989338
TI  - Cefepime versus ceftriaxone for empiric treatment of hospitalized patients with
      community-acquired pneumonia.

PMID- 9989339
TI  - The pharmacokinetic principles behind scaling from preclinical results to phase I
      protocols.
AB  - Extrapolation of animal data to assess pharmacokinetic parameters in humans is an
      important tool in drug development. Allometric scaling has many proponents, and
      many different approaches and techniques have been proposed to optimise the
      prediction of pharmacokinetic parameters from animals to humans. The allometric
      approach is based on the power function Y = aWb, where the bodyweight of the
      species is plotted against the pharmacokinetic parameter of interest on a log-log
      scale. Clearance, volume of distribution and elimination half-life are the 3 most
      frequently extrapolated pharmacokinetic parameters. Clearance is not predicted
      very well (error between predicted and observed clearance > 30%) using the basic
      allometric equation in most cases. Thus, several other approaches have been
      proposed. An early approach was the concept of neoteny, where the clearance is
      predicted on the basis of species bodyweight and maximum life-span potential. A
      second approach uses a 2-term power equation based on brain and body weight to
      predict the intrinsic clearance of drugs that are primarily eliminated by phase I
      oxidative metabolism. Most recently, the use of the product of brain weight and
      clearance has been proposed. A literature review reveals different degrees of
      success of improved prediction with the different methods for various drugs. In a
      comparative study, the determining factor in selecting a method for prediction of
      clearance was found to be the value of the exponent. Integration of in vitro data
      into in vivo clearance to improve the predictive performance of clearance has
      also been suggested. Although there are proponents of using body surface area
      instead of bodyweight, no advantage has been noted in this approach. It has also
      been noted that the unbound clearance of a drug cannot be predicted any better
      than the total body clearance (CL). In general, there is a good correlation
      between bodyweight and volume of the central compartment (Vc); hence, Vc does not
      face the same complications as CL. The relationship between elimination half-life
      (t 1/2 beta) and bodyweight across species results in poor correlation, most
      probably because of the hybrid nature of this parameter. When a reasonable
      prediction of CL and Vc is made, t 1/2 beta may be predicted from the equation t
      1/2 beta = 0.693 Vc/CL.

PMID- 9989341
TI  - Clinical pharmacokinetics of cisatracurium besilate.
AB  - Cisatracurium besilate, one of the 10 stereoisomers that comprise atracurium
      besilate, is a nondepolarising neuromuscular blocking agent with an intermediate
      duration of action. Following a 5- to 10-sec intravenous bolus dose of
      cisatracurium besilate to healthy young adult surgical patients, elderly patients
      and patients with renal or hepatic failure, the concentration versus time profile
      of cisatracurium besilate is best characterised by a 2-compartment model. The
      volume of distribution (Vd) of cisatracurium besilate is small because of its
      relatively large molecular weight and high polarity. Cisatracurium besilate
      undergoes Hofmann elimination, a process dependent on pH and temperature. Unlike
      atracurium besilate, cisatracurium besilate does not appear to be degraded
      directly by ester hydrolysis. Hofmann elimination, an organ independent
      elimination pathway, occurs in plasma and tissue, and is responsible for
      approximately 77% of the overall elimination of cisatracurium besilate. The total
      body clearance (CL), steady-state Vd and elimination half-life of cisatracurium
      besilate in patients with normal organ function are approximately 0.28 L/h/kg
      (4.7 ml/min/kg), 0.145 L/kg and 25 minutes, respectively. The magnitude of
      interpatient variability in the CL of cisatracurium besilate is low (16%), a
      finding consistent with the strict physiological control of the factors that
      effect the Hofmann elimination of cisatracurium besilate (i.e. temperature and
      pH). There is a unique relationship between plasma clearance and Vd because the
      primary elimination pathway for cisatracurium besilate is not dependent on organ
      function. There are minor differences in the pharmacokinetics of cisatracurium
      besilate in various patient populations. These differences are not associated
      with clinically significant differences in the recovery profile of cisatracurium
      besilate, but may be associated with differences in the time to onset of
      neuromuscular block.

PMID- 9989340
TI  - Clinical pharmacokinetics of sevoflurane.
AB  - Sevoflurane is a comparatively recent addition to the range of inhalational
      anaesthetics which has been recently released for clinical use. In comparison to
      older inhalational agents such as isoflurane or halothane, the most important
      property of sevoflurane is its low solubility in the blood. This results in a
      more rapid uptake and induction than the 'older' inhalational agents, improved
      control of depth of anaesthesia and faster elimination and recovery. The more
      rapid pharmacokinetics are a result of the low blood/gas partition coefficient of
      0.69. With an oil/gas partition coefficient of 47.2, the minimum alveolar
      concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane is 2.05%. Two to 5% of the drug taken up is
      metabolised by the liver. The pharmacokinetics of sevoflurane do not change in
      children, obese patients or patients with renal insufficiency. The
      pharmacokinetics and pleasant odour of sevoflurane make mask induction feasible,
      which is an obvious advantage in paediatric anaesthesia. The hepatic metabolism
      of sevoflurane results in the formation of inorganic fluoride. Upon contact with
      alkaline CO2 absorbent, a small amount of sevoflurane is degraded and a
      metabolite (compound A) is formed and inhaled in trace amounts. Whether inorganic
      fluoride or compound A are nephrotoxic is presently a matter of controversy.

PMID- 9989343
TI  - Recent advances in the pharmacokinetics of local anaesthetics. Long-acting amide
      enantiomers and continuous infusions.
AB  - The most widely used long-acting amide local anaesthetic is bupivacaine, a
      racemic mixture of 2 stereoisomers. However, there is evidence that the use of
      single enantiomer compounds offers advantages over racemic agents. Ropivacaine,
      the recently introduced propyl homologue of bupivacaine, is a pure S-(-)
      enantiomer. It is associated with a reduced incidence of both cardiovascular and
      central nervous system toxicity, a concern with racemic bupivacaine, in
      preclinical studies. The relevant pharmacokinetic differences include a lower
      lipid solubility, a slightly higher plasma clearance and shorter elimination half
      life (t 1/2 beta) compared with racemic bupivacaine, with a similar degree of
      plasma protein binding. More recently levobupivacaine, the pure S-(-)-enantiomer
      of bupivacaine, has been produced. Stereoselective differences have been observed
      between the 2 enantiomers and the racemic mixture, with levobupivacaine
      exhibiting a slightly higher degree of plasma protein binding, a lower volume of
      distribution, a higher plasma clearance, and a shorter t 1/2 beta than the R-(+)
      enantiomer. In common with ropivacaine, levobupivacaine has been shown to have a
      reduced incidence of toxicity in comparison the R-(+)-enantiomer in preclinical
      studies, explained in part by a reduced affinity to both brain and myocardial
      tissue. Racemic bupivacaine is increasingly administered by continuous infusion
      to provide prolonged postoperative analgesia. The pharmacokinetic profile of the
      drug administered in this manner has only recently been elucidated and indicates
      a slow rise in total plasma concentration with increasing duration of infusion,
      mitigated by changes in plasma protein concentrations during the postoperative
      period. This appears to be the predominant reason why complications related to
      systemic toxicity are rarely observed with this technique. However, continuous
      administration of individual enantiomers may potentially serve as a safer option
      in the future.

PMID- 9989344
TI  - Potential role of the anterior cingulate cortex in PTSD: review and hypothesis.
AB  - Many symptoms of PTSD represent conditioned responses to stimuli associated with
      a traumatic experiences. In this review, we propose that the anterior cingulate-
      a brain region that appears to be involved in fear-conditioning--is dysfunctional
      in PTSD, thus facilitating exaggerated emotional and behavioral responses
      (hyperarousal) to conditioned stimuli. Preclinical studies suggest that the
      anterior cingulate may serve a critical gating function in modulating conditioned
      fear responses. As such, this region would be a key component of a neural circuit
      involved in the pathophysiology of PTSD. An amygdala-locus coeruleus-anterior
      cingulate circuit may be consistent with evidence for chronic noradrenergic
      activation documented in PTSD patients. According to this model, efferent
      noradrenergic projections from the locus coeruleus may dampen anterior cingulate
      function. This in turn would allow myriad external or internally driven stimuli
      to produce the exaggerated emotional and behavioral responses characteristic of
      PTSD. If confirmed in future research, cingulate dysfunction would have important
      theoretical and treatment implications.

PMID- 9989342
TI  - Clinical pharmacokinetics of lamivudine.
AB  - Lamivudine (3TC), the negative enantiomer of 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine, is a
      dideoxynucleoside analogue used in combination with other agents in the treatment
      of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and as monotherapy in
      the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Lamivudine undergoes anabolic
      phosphorylation by intracellular kinases to form lamivudine 5'-triphosphate, the
      active anabolite which prevents HIV-1 and HBV replication by competitively
      inhibiting viral reverse transcriptase and terminating proviral DNA chain
      extension. The pharmacokinetics of lamivudine are similar in patients with HIV-1
      or HBV infection, and healthy volunteers. The drug is rapidly absorbed after oral
      administration, with maximum serum concentrations usually attained 0.5 to 1.5
      hours after the dose. The absolute bioavailability is approximately 82 and 68% in
      adults and children, respectively. Lamivudine systemic exposure, as measured by
      the area under the serum drug concentration-time curve (AUC), is not altered when
      it is administered with food. Lamivudine is widely distributed into total body
      fluid, the mean apparent volume of distribution (Vd) being approximately 1.3 L/kg
      following intravenous administration. In pregnant women, lamivudine
      concentrations in maternal serum, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord and neonatal
      serum are comparable, indicating that the drug diffuses freely across the
      placenta. In postpartum women lamivudine is secreted into breast milk. The
      concentration of lamivudine in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is low to modest, being
      4 to 8% of serum concentrations in adults and 9 to 17% of serum concentrations in
      children measured at 2 to 4 hours after the dose. In patients with normal renal
      function, about 5% of the parent compound is metabolised to the trans-sulphoxide
      metabolite, which is pharmacologically inactive. In patients with renal
      impairment, the amount of trans-sulphoxide metabolite recovered in the urine
      increases, presumably as a function of the decreased lamivudine elimination. As
      approximately 70% of an oral dose is eliminated renally as unchanged drug, the
      dose needs to be reduced in patients with renal insufficiency. Hepatic impairment
      does not affect the pharmacokinetics of lamivudine. Systemic clearance following
      single intravenous doses averages 20 to 25 L/h (approximately 0.3 L/h/kg). The
      dominant elimination half-life of lamivudine is approximately 5 to 7 hours, and
      the in vitro intracellular half-life of its active 5'-triphosphate anabolite is
      10.5 to 15.5 hours and 17 to 19 hours in HIV-1 and HBV cell lines, respectively.
      Drug interaction studies have shown that trimethoprim increases the AUC and
      decreases the renal clearance of lamivudine, although lamivudine does not affect
      the disposition of trimethoprim. Other studies have demonstrated no significant
      interaction between lamivudine and zidovudine or between lamivudine and
      interferon-alpha-2b. There is limited potential for drug-drug interactions with
      compounds that are metabolised and/or highly protein bound.

PMID- 9989345
TI  - Subtypes of social phobia in adolescents.
AB  - Thirty-three social phobic adolescents were asked to name their ten most feared
      social situations. Two independent judges classified each situation reported by
      the participants into one of four situational domains: formal
      speaking/interactions, informal speaking/interactions, observation by others, and
      assertion. Fifteen participants (45.5%) were assigned a generalized subtype of
      social phobia because they endorsed at least moderate anxiety in all four
      situational domains. This subgroup scored higher on self-report measures of
      anxiety and depression than the rest of the sample. These results provide
      empirical support for the existence of subtypes of social phobia in adolescents.

PMID- 9989346
TI  - Frequency of panic attacks and panic disorder in adolescents.
AB  - By using data from the Bremer Adolescent Study, this report presents findings on
      the frequency, comorbidity, and psychosocial impairment of panic disorder and
      panic attacks among 1,035 adolescents. The adolescents were randomly selected
      from 36 schools in the province of Bremen, Germany. Panic disorder and other
      psychiatric disorders were coded based on DSM-IV criteria using the computerized
      assisted personal interview of the Munich version of the Composite International
      Diagnostic Interview. Panic disorder occurred rather rare, with only 0.5% of all
      the adolescents met the DSM-IV criteria for this disorder sometimes in their
      live. Panic attack occurred more frequently, with 18% of the adolescents reported
      having had at least one panic attack. Slightly more girls than boys had panic
      attack and panic disorder. The occurrence of panic attack and panic disorder were
      the greatest among the 14-15 year olds. The experience of having a panic attack
      was associated with a number of problems, the most frequent being avoiding the
      situation for fear of having another attack. Four most common symptoms associated
      with a panic attack were that of palpitations, trembling/shaking, nausea or
      abdominal distress, and chills or hot flushes. Panic disorder comorbid highly
      with other psychiatric disorder covered in our study, especially with that of
      major depression. Among those with a panic disorder, about 40% of them were
      severely impaired during the worst episode of their illness. Only one out of five
      adolescents with panic disorder sought professional help for emotional and
      psychiatric problems. The implication of our findings for research and clinical
      practice are discussed.

PMID- 9989347
TI  - Psychological responses in family members after the Hebron massacre.
AB  - The authors attempted to determine the frequency of severe psychological
      responses in surviving family members in a religious Muslim culture. Twenty-three
      wives, twelve daughters and twenty-six sons of heads of households massacred
      while praying in the Hebron mosque on 25 February 1994 were interviewed with the
      clinician-administered PTSD scale; 50% of daughters, 39% of wives, and 23% of
      sons met criteria for PTSD. PTSD or traumatic bereavement occurs with high
      frequency after a major tragedy in a Moslem society, despite religious admiration
      of dead martyrs.

PMID- 9989348
TI  - Progress in psychosocial assessment and treatment.
AB  - In this second review on research examining psychosocial cognitive-behavioral,
      and basic behavioral research, we focus on recent findings pertaining to: (a)
      relevant psychological constructs in anxiety, and (b) the treatment of anxiety.
      We first present several studies in which researchers investigated psychological
      models or constructs with the aim of enhancing the current understanding of the
      development and persistence of anxiety. Most of these studies also have
      implications for the treatment of anxiety disorders. We go on to review studies
      exploring novel approaches to the treatment of persons with anxiety.

PMID- 9989349
TI  - Computer-assisted rating scales for social phobia: reliability and validity may
      not be what they appear.

PMID- 9989350
TI  - [Neurosonology in cerebrovascular diseases].

PMID- 9989351
TI  - [Molecular genetic studies of epilepsies].

PMID- 9989352
TI  - [Clinical features and treatment of sarcoidosis involving the central nervous
      system].
AB  - PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features,
      diagnosis, and treatment modalities of three cases with neurosarcoidosis, which
      involved the central nervous system (CNS). CASES: Three men with
      neurosarcoidosis, aged 27, 29 and 60 years, are presented. Two of them had
      previously been given a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The clinical symptoms of these
      cases included diabetes insipidus, pituitary dysfunction, seizure, mental
      disorder, visual field disturbance and pyramidal tract signs. In these cases, CT
      scan and MRI showed the presence of a tumor near the pituitary gland, diffuse
      nodules in the subarachnoid space or meningoencephalitis associated with angitis.
      The level of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the sera and in the
      cerebrospinal fluid, were elevated in the two cases who had no brain biopsy. All
      three cases were treated with steroids; two of them received pulse steroid
      therapy. RESULTS: The two cases who received pulse steroid therapy responded
      quickly, with improvement in clinical features, serum ACE levels and
      neuroradiological findings. Under oral administration of steroids, all three
      cases recovered with complete remission of neurosarcoidosis except for
      endocrinological symptoms. DISCUSSION: The main pathological changes of
      neurosarcoidosis are granulomatous angitis of the venular walls and occasionally,
      of the capillaries near the meninx and Virchow-Robin space. The patients also had
      symptoms of secondary meningoencephalitis. These changes were mainly located in
      the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The patients had complex symptoms resulting
      from endocrine system granuloma, as well as from cerebral ischemia. The severity
      of the disease and effectiveness of treatment, can be evaluated by measuring ACE
      levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (over 1. 0 IU/l), and by Gd-enhanced MRI. Early
      pulse steroid therapy with subsequent oral steroid administration is thought to
      be important for neurosarcoidosis treatment, in order to prevent irreversible
      damage in the CNS.

PMID- 9989353
TI  - [Comparison of clinical pictures of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with
      tRNA(Leu(UUR)) mutation in 3243 with that in 3254].
AB  - We compared clinical pictures of a case of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with
      tRNA(Leu(UUR)) point mutation at nucleotide position 3254 of mitochondrial DNA
      with those at position 3243. The mutation 3254 was a 19-year-old male patient
      with cardiomyopathy accompanied with muscle atrophy. The first mutant 3243 was a
      31-year-old female patient showing clinical features of MELAS and
      endocrinological abnormalities. The second 3243 mutant was a 27-year-old male
      patient who had an external ophthalmoplegia and slight mental decline. In all
      cases, muscle biopsy specimen showed ragged red fibers and strongly SDH-reactive
      blood vessels, but their limb weakness were unremarkable. These results suggest
      that tRNA(Leu(UUR)) point mutation 3254 exhibits similar clinical phenotypes as
      those observed in 3243 mutant.

PMID- 9989354
TI  - [Effects of selegiline hydrochloride on intracellular Ca2+ contents in cultured
      neuronal cells].
AB  - The effects of Selegiline hydrochloride (Selegiline HCl) on the intracellular
      Ca2+ contents of primarily cultured rat striatal, mesencephalic neuronal cells
      and PC-12 cells were examined by the use of a Ca2+ imaging analyzer. In the
      former two cell types, Selegiline HCl (10(-5)-10(-6) M) induced a transient
      inflow of extracellular Ca2+ through the voltage-dependent N-type Ca2+ channel.
      In addition, all cells indicating an increase in the intracellular Ca2+ content
      were found to be catecholaminergic neurons which showed a positive reaction with
      anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibodies. Furthermore, a transient intracellular
      influx of Ca2+ was observed in the NGF-pretreated PC-12 cells. From these
      results, it is suggested that Selegiline HCl elicits various functions, including
      antioxidation, activation of neurotrophic factor biosynthesis and neuronal
      protection probably via an unidentified specific proteins of tyrosine hydroxylase
      positive neurons.

PMID- 9989355
TI  - [Inhibition of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 expression in human
      glioblastoma cell contributes to the cell growth suppression].
AB  - Although normal human astrocytes rarely express fibroblast growth factor receptor
      1 (FGFR 1) mRNA, expression of FGFR 1 mRNA in astrocytomas increases as
      malignancy progresses. This result suggests that FGFR 1 can be one of important
      factors for glioblastoma cell growth. In our study, specific antisense
      oligonucleotides for FGFR 1 mRNA inhibited cell growth of SNB 19, human
      glioblastoma cell line, while sense oligonucleotides showed no cell reduction.
      And Southern blot analysis demonstrated decreased expression of FGFR 1 mRNA in
      only antisense group. Furthermore, cross-linking analysis revealed decreased
      number of FGFR 1 in antisense-treated SNB 19 in protein level. These results
      conclude that cell growth inhibition was caused by suppression of both
      transcription and translation of FGFR 1 mRNA. Interestingly, alpha-specific
      antisense also inhibited expression of beta-, and gamma-type of FGFR 1 mRNA which
      had no binding sites for the oligonucleotides. This fact indicates that antisense
      oligonucleotides binds to premature mRNA, which is previous form of mature mRNA
      before splicing, in nucleus. It is previously reported that basic fibroblast
      growth factor (bFGF), major ligand to FGFR 1, was overly expressed in human
      malignant astrocytomas. Thus, increased number of FGFR 1 may contribute to the
      acceleration of bFGF autocrine or paracrine mechanism in glioblastoma.

PMID- 9989356
TI  - [A case of polyneuropathy by microscopic polyarteritis nodosa].
AB  - We report a 59-year-old man with chronic sensorimotor polyneuropathy mimicking
      chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Sural nerve biopsy revealed
      marked loss of myelinated fibers and myelin ovoid formation with vasculitis in
      the epineurium. Renal biopsy was performed subsequently because of the laboratory
      findings suspecting systemic vasculitis of which consisted CRP positivity, ESR
      elevation, perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA), and
      creatinine clearance reduction. The biopsy specimen revealed segmental
      necrotizing glomerulonephritis with frequent formation of a crescent. These
      findings confirmed the diagnosis of microscopic polyangitis. Oral administration
      of prednisolone with additional azathioprine following ethylprednisolone pulse
      therapy was effective, and pANCA was not detected anymore. We conclude that
      vasculitic neuropathy has to be considered as a possible cause of polyneuropathy.

PMID- 9989357
TI  - [Intracranial hemorrhage observed in the cases of cervical internal carotid
      artery occlusion associated with moyamoya disease-like vessels].
AB  - We report on two peculiar cases of intracranial hemorrhage due to the rupture of
      moyamoya disease-like vessels associated with unilateral internal carotid
      occlusion at its origin. The first case is 44-year-old male showing
      intraventricular hemorrhage associated with right internal carotid occlusion. The
      second case is 58-year-old female presenting sub-arachnoid hemorrhage associated
      with left internal carotid occlusion. Although both cases showed the unique
      appearance of collateral flow resembling moyamoya disease, they were not
      classified as moyamoya disease nor unilateral Moyamoya-like state. Vascular
      abnormality such as cerebral aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation were not at
      all detected. The etiology of hemorrhage for both cases is presumed as the
      rupture of moyamoya disease-like vessels, however, it is unable for us to
      determine why the one case showed IVH, yet the other showed SAH. The two cases
      showed hypoperfusion of ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere on SPECT that followed by
      the external-internal carotid revascularization surgery in the chronic stage.
      Post operative study proved the improvement of the CBF reserve. Nevertheless,
      whether the reconstructive vascularization prevent an occurrence of rebleeding
      needs the longer observation and the accumulation of the resembling cases.

PMID- 9989358
TI  - [Cerebral infarction associated with nephrotic syndrome in a young adult: a case
      report].
AB  - We report a 19-year-old man who developed a cerebral infarction in the territory
      of the anterior choroidal artery and showed a hypercoagulable state and nephrotic
      syndrome after diarrhea and appetite loss. He had suffered from nephrotic
      syndrome from the age of three and had been treated for five years. MR
      angiography showed an occlusion originating in the right internal carotid artery.
      The right anterior and middle cerebral arteries were imaged from the left
      internal carotid artery via the anterior communication artery. He showed symptoms
      of left hemiparesis, agnosia, loss of activity, anasarca and left hypacusis
      following his clinical course, but had recovered from all but left hemiparesis
      following medical treatments including steroid therapy. The histologic finding by
      a renal biopsy revealed focal glomerulosclerosis. In this case, we considered
      that when he was in a hypercoagulable state and had a second attack of nephrotic
      syndrome because of inflammation and dehydration due to diarrhea and appetite
      loss, his hypercoagulable state grew worse, and he then developed a cerebral
      infarction. When one see a patient with nephrotic syndrome, one should be
      attentive to the possibility of a complication of cerebral infarction.

PMID- 9989359
TI  - [A case of non-paralytic pontine exotropia due to brainstem infarction].
AB  - A case with non-paralytic pontine exotropia due to brainstem infarction is
      reported. A 58-year-old male developed sudden onset diplopia. Ocular motor
      findings were as follows; in forward gaze, the left eye was in abduction
      position. Leftward gaze, the right eye did not adduct with left beating nystagmus
      of left eye. Rightward gaze, both eyes could make full excursion and upward,
      downward gaze were possible. These findings was noted at only acute phase, 7 days
      later NPPE was disappeared. MRI revealed spotty lesion in the paramedian portion
      of the mid pontine tegmentum. It is important to observe ocular movement at acute
      phase because NPPE is very important sign in diagnosis of brainstem disorders.

PMID- 9989360
TI  - [Multiple myeloma forming subcutaneous on the skull].

PMID- 9989361
TI  - [A 63-year-old man with progressive cauda equina/conus medullaris syndrome].
AB  - A 63-year-old man, whose father died of malignant lymphoma, developed subacutely
      cauda equina/conus medullaris syndrome progressed over 3 months. Initial
      radicular pain, ascending motor and sensory paralysis without sacral sparing,
      vesicorectal dysfunction were similar with signs of spinal dural arteriovenous
      fistula. However, mild inflammatory signs, raised serum LDH, predominantly of LDH
      3, lymphocytic pleocytosis and elevated beta 2 microglobulin in CSF suggested
      neurolymphomatosis. It was not supported, however, after CSF immunocytochemistry,
      myelogram, CT, Gd-MRI and Ga scan. Spinal cord/nerve root vascular syndromes of
      intravascular lymphomatosis (IVL) according to Glass J et al. was suspected
      because of the unique neurological progression similar to Foix-Alajouanine
      syndrome, hypoxia without abnormalities in chest X-ray film, response to steroids
      and raised serum soluble IL-2 receptor. Multiple biopsies were performed with
      negative results. However, after all muscle biopsy confirmed IVL. The lower
      spinal irradiation was not effective. But CHOP regimen supplemented by
      granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) brought about swift neurological
      improvement and protection from late complications. Self-limiting polyneuropathy
      emerged during the biweekly CHOP therapy, 6 courses for 12 weeks. Eventually he
      was neurologically improving 10 months after the chemotherapy and adrenal
      enlargement, which was possibly of metastasis, was only against complete
      remission. This case was good outcome by biweekly CHOP using G-CSF when compared
      with very high mortality in reported IVL cases besides vincristine neurotoxicity
      under compromised blood-brain/nerve barrier due to IVL might affect the
      functional recovery. This case with IVL implied raised soluble IL-2 receptor and
      progressive cauda equina syndrome/ascending myelopathy as diagnostic clues, and
      efficiency of muscle biopsy to confirm IVL.

PMID- 9989362
TI  - Adenosine, blood pressure and NREM delta.

PMID- 9989363
TI  - Effects of method, duration, and sleep stage on rebounds from sleep deprivation
      in the rat.
AB  - Total sleep deprivation (TSD) of rats for 24 hours or less by continually
      enforced locomotion has consistently produced subsequent rebounds of slow-wave or
      high-amplitude EEG activity in NREM sleep, which has contributed to the widely
      held view that this EEG activity reflects particularly "intense" or restorative
      sleep. These rebounds usually have been accompanied by substantial rebounds of
      REM sleep. In contrast, chronic TSD (2 weeks or longer) by the disk-over-water
      (DOW) method has produced only huge, long-lasting rebounds of REM sleep with no
      rebound of high-amplitude NREM sleep. To evaluate whether the different rebounds
      result from different methods or from different lengths of deprivation, rats were
      subjected to 24-hour TSD by the DOW method. Rebounds included increases in high
      amplitude and slow-wave activity; i.e., the methods produced similar rebound
      patterns following short-term TSD. (Chronic TSD by continually enforced
      locomotion would be strategically difficult and severely confounded with motor
      fatigue.) Rats subjected to DOW-TSD for 4 days, well before the development of
      severe TSD symptoms, showed primarily REM sleep rebounds. Rats subjected to 1 day
      of selective REM sleep deprivation, but not their closely yoked control rats,
      showed large, significant REM sleep rebounds, which evidently were not induced by
      the stress of the deprivation method per se. The combined findings prompted
      reexamination of published evidence relevant to "sleep intensity," including
      "negative rebounds," rebounds in other species, the effects of stress and
      fatigue, depth of sleep indicators, and extended sleep. The review points out
      pitfalls in the designation of any specific pattern as intense sleep.

PMID- 9989364
TI  - Role of GABAA receptors in the regulation of sleep: initial sleep responses to
      peripherally administered modulators and agonists.
AB  - This paper reviews the sleep effects of systemically administered agonistic
      modulators of GABAA receptors, including barbiturates, benzodiazepines, zolpidem,
      zopiclone and neuroactive steroids, and the selective GABAA agonists muscimol and
      THIP. To assess the involvement of GABAA receptors in the physiologic regulation
      of sleep, the article emphasizes the hypnotic properties shared by agonistic
      modulators and by the selective agonists of the GABAA receptor complex. In both
      rats and normal sleeping individuals, agonistic modulators are able to reduce
      sleep latency, increase sleep continuity, and promote non-rapid-eye-movement
      (NREM) sleep as well as the occurrence of spindles. Furthermore, nearly all of
      these compounds have been shown to attenuate slow-wave activity (SWA) and to
      suppress the occurrence of REM sleep. In the same species, GABAA agonist(s) do
      not seem to affect sleep latency or REM sleep time, but may increase sleep
      continuity and NREM sleep and augment SWA while depressing spindle activity in
      humans. The distinct sleep effects of GABAA agonists may be due to their
      unspecific stimulation of GABAA receptors throughout the brain, and to the fact
      that they are poor substrates for uptake and probably exert more tonic effects
      than liberated GABA. If so, the involvement of GABAA receptors in the various
      aspects of sleep can be inferred more accurately from the hypnotic effects of
      agonistic modulators. This implies that an activation of GABAA receptors plays a
      crucial role in the initiation and maintenance of NREM sleep and in the
      generation of sleep spindles, but disrupts the processes underlying slow EEG
      components and the triggering of REM sleep.

PMID- 9989365
TI  - Circadian and homeostatic influences on sleep in the squirrel monkey: sleep after
      sleep deprivation.
AB  - A series of sleep deprivation (SD) experiments were performed to examine the
      relative influence of circadian and homeostatic factors on the timing of sleep in
      squirrel monkeys free-running in constant illumination. All SDs started at the
      beginning of subjective night and lasted 0, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 1 1/4, or 1 1/2
      circadian cycles. These six lengths represented three pairs: (0.1), (1/4, 1 1/4),
      (1/2, 1 1/2). Within each pair, SD ended at the same circadian phase but differed
      by one circadian cycle in duration. Both before and after SD, consolidated sleep
      (CS) episodes occurred predominantly during subjective night, even after long SDs
      ending at the beginning of subjective day. CS duration was strongly influenced by
      circadian phase but had no overall correlation with prior wake duration. Sleep
      loss incurred during SDs longer than 1/4 cycle was only partially recovered over
      the next two circadian cycles, though total sleep duration was closer to baseline
      levels after the second circadian cycle after SD. There was a trend toward a
      positive correlation between prior wake duration and the amount of NREM and delta
      activity measures during subjective day. Delta activity was not increased in the
      first 2 hours of CS after the SD. Relatively high levels of delta activity
      occurred immediately after the SD ended and again at the time of baseline CS
      onset. These data indicate that the amount of sleep and delta activity after SD
      in squirrel monkeys is weakly dependent on prior wake duration. Circadian factors
      appear to dominate homeostatic processes in determining the timing, duration and
      content of sleep in these diurnal primates.

PMID- 9989366
TI  - Effect of serotonin uptake inhibition on breathing during sleep and daytime
      symptoms in obstructive sleep apnea.
AB  - Pharmacologic enhancement of serotonergic transmission by serotonin uptake
      inhibition has been suggested as one approach to improve upper-airway patency and
      thus nocturnal breathing in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). To test
      this hypothesis, we performed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled
      crossover study testing the effect of paroxetine (20 mg od) on polysomnographic
      and psychopathologic outcomes in 20 male OSA patients (mean age 52.1 years, mean
      BMI 28.7 kg/m2, mean oxygen desaturation index on a previous screening
      25.4/hour). The two treatment periods of 6 weeks and the separating washout
      period of 4 weeks were completed by 17 patients. Paroxetine reduced the apnea
      index during NREM sleep (-35%, p = 0.003), but not during REM sleep. No
      significant effect on hypopnea indices was found. With the exception of a
      previously described REM-postponing effect (p = 0.05), sleep architecture was not
      significantly influenced by paroxetine. Similarly, the effect of paroxetine on
      apnea was not associated with a significant overall alleviation of
      psychopathologic symptoms as rated on the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating
      Scale or OSA-related daytime complaints assessed by visual analog scales. We
      conclude that enhanced serotonergic transmission improves breathing during NREM
      sleep in OSA. This effect is poorly related to effects on sleep architecture or
      daytime symptoms.

PMID- 9989367
TI  - Arousal threshold to respiratory stimuli in OSA patients: evidence for a sleep
      dependent temporal rhythm.
AB  - It has recently been described that the maximal respiratory effort developed at
      the end of an apnea (Pesmax)--which is regarded as an index of arousal threshold
      in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA)--increases progressively
      during the night, probably as a consequence of associated sleep fragmentation. In
      order to find out whether the nocturnal trend of Pesmax may be more influenced by
      a sleep-dependent circadian rhythm than by sleep fragmentation, we revised the
      polygraphic recordings of 37 patients in whom obstructive apneas were recorded
      for at least 7 hours. In 15 of these patients, analysis was made for eight hours
      of the night. During each hour we analyzed at least 7 obstructive apneas, in
      which we measured the minimal esophageal pressure at the start of the apnea, the
      maximum value recorded at the end of the apnea (Pesmax), the difference from the
      minimum to the maximum (delta Pes), and the rate of increase in esophageal
      pressure (RPes). As indices of sleep fragmentation, we defined the number of
      arousals, awakenings and sleep state transitions. In the group of patients as a
      whole, we found a trend toward a gradual increase for apnea duration (F = 98.8, p
      < 0.001) and Pesmax F = 31.6, p < 0.001) which was significant from the first to
      the last hour. The time-dependent evolution of apnea duration and Pesmax showed
      that the rise in these two variables peaked during the first 3 hours of sleep,
      followed by a plateau and a decrease in the last hour of the night. This temporal
      profile was more evident when the analysis was available for 8 hours. No
      significant changes across the night were found for nocturnal hypoxemia and
      number of arousals. Considering the slope of Pesmax changes across the night, we
      saw that neither the apnea+hypopnea index nor the indices of sleep fragmentation
      affected the nocturnal trend. The present data demonstrate the presence of a
      nocturnal trend in arousal threshold in OSA patients independent of sleep
      fragmentation. The biphasic evolution of the arousal threshold may be caused by
      factors that influence the circadian and homeostatic processes.

PMID- 9989368
TI  - Validation of a cataplexy questionnaire in 983 sleep-disorders patients.
AB  - Our goal was to validate a self-administered narcolepsy questionnaire focusing on
      cataplexy. Nine hundred and eight three consecutive subjects entering the
      Stanford Sleep Disorder Clinic completed the questionnaire. Clinic physicians
      reported on the presence or absence of "clear-cut" cataplexy. Responses to 51
      cataplexy-related questionnaire items were compared between subjects with clear
      cut cataplexy (n = 63) and all other patients (n = 920). As previously reported,
      a large portion of the non-narcoleptic population was found to experience muscle
      weakness with various intense emotions (1.8% to 18.0%) or athletic activities
      (26.2% to 28.8%). Factor analysis and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve
      (ROC) analysis were used to determine the most predictive items for clear-cut
      cataplexy. Most strikingly, cataplexy was best differentiated from other types of
      muscle weakness when triggered by only three typical situations: "when hearing
      and telling a joke," "while laughing," or "when angry." Face or neck, rather than
      limbs, were also more specifically involved in clear-cut cataplexy. Other items,
      such as length of attacks, bilaterality, and alteration in consciousness, were
      poorly predictive. A simple decision tree was constructed to isolate high-(91.7%)
      and low-(0.6%) risk groups for cataplexy. This questionnaire will be used to
      increase diagnostic consistency across clinical centers, thus providing more
      homogenous subject pools for clinical and basic research studies.

PMID- 9989369
TI  - Limits of self-report in assessing sleep terrors in a population survey.
AB  - Sleep terrors are less frequent compared to other parasomnias, and there are no
      prevalence studies on adults. We performed a questionnaire study in a well
      defined population-based sample, the Finnish Twin Cohort. The study population
      consisted of 11,220 subjects aged 33-60 years, responding to questions on the
      frequency of sleep terrors in childhood and as adults. In the first questionnaire
      about 9% reported sleep terrors often or sometimes in childhood, and 3.5% at
      least once monthly as adults. However, in a second more-detailed questionnaire,
      only 1% of those with at-least-monthly attacks in adulthood presented with
      features compatible with the minimal diagnostic criteria for sleep terrors of the
      International Classification of Sleep Disorders. There was also a strong
      correlation between current occurrence of nightmares and the report of sleep
      terrors. Although a clinically definable entity, sleep terrors seem to be unknown
      to lay people, at least in Finland. Therefore, the use of single items or brief
      question series on sleep terrors may give inaccurate results in questionnaires.
      An interview of a person who has witnessed the nocturnal attack suspected to be
      sleep terror is essential because of the patient's impaired recall of the
      episode. Our results also support the general view that sleep terrors are rare in
      adults.

PMID- 9989370
TI  - Estimating sleep patterns with activity monitoring in children and adolescents:
      how many nights are necessary for reliable measures?
AB  - STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study provides estimates of reliability for aggregated
      values from 1 to 7 recording nights for five commonly used actigraphic measures
      of sleep patterns, reliability as a function of night type (weeknight or weekend
      night), and stability of measures over several months. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data
      are from three studies that obtained 7 nights of actigraph data (using Mini
      Motionlogger actigraphs and associated validated algorithms [ASA]) on children
      and adolescents living at home on self-selected sleep-wake schedules.
      PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 169 children aged 12-60 months, and 55
      adolescents aged 11-16 years. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Up to 28% of weekly
      recordings may be unacceptable for analysis in young participants because of
      illness, technical problems, and participant noncompliance; studies aiming to
      collect 5 nights of actigraph data should record for at least 1 full week.
      Reliability estimates for values aggregated over any 5 nights were adequate (> or
      = .70) for sleep start time, wake minutes, and sleep efficiency. Measures of
      sleep minutes and sleep period were less reliable and may require 7 or more
      nights for estimates of stable individual differences. Reliability for 1- or 2
      night aggregates were poor for all measures. We found significant and high
      correlations between summer and fall session measures for all five variables when
      weekend nights were included. CONCLUSIONS: Five or more nights of usable
      recordings are required to obtain reliable actigraph measures of sleep for
      children and adolescents.

PMID- 9989371
TI  - Validity of neural network in sleep apnea.
AB  - Clinical assessment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is poor. Overnight
      polysomnography (OPG) is the standard reference test, but it is expensive and
      time-consuming. We developed an artificial neural network (ANN) using
      anthropomorphic measurements and clinical information to predict the apnea
      hypopnea index (AHI). All patients completed a questionnaire about sleep
      symptoms, sleep behavior, and demographic information prior to undergoing OPG.
      Neck circumference, height, and weight were obtained on presentation to the sleep
      center. Twelve variables were used as inputs. The output was an estimate of the
      AHI. The network was trained with a back-propagation algorithm on 189 patients
      and validated prospectively on 80 additional patients. Data from the derivation
      group was used to calculate the 95% confidence interval of the estimated AHI.
      Predictive accuracy at different AHI thresholds was assessed by the c-index,
      which is equivalent to the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve.
      The c-index for predicting OSA in the validation set was 0.96 +/- 0.0191 SE,
      0.951 +/- 0.0203 SE, and 0.935 +/- 0.0274 SE, using thresholds of > 10, > 15, and
      > 20/hour respectively. The actual AHI of the 80 patients in the validation data
      set fell within the 95% confidence limits of the values predicted by the ANN.
      This study suggests that ANN may be useful as a predictive tool for OSA.

PMID- 9989372
TI  - Thalidomide increases both REM and stage 3-4 sleep in human adults: a preliminary
      study.
AB  - Polysomnography was used to assess the effect of thalidomide on human sleep. This
      compound significantly increased the time spent in REM and stage 3-4 sleep as
      compared with placebo. On the other hand, thalidomide significantly decreased the
      time spent in stage 1, while the time spent in stage 2 was unchanged. The effect
      of thalidomide on REM and stage 3-4 sleep is unique as compared with other
      hypnotics. Although the mode of action of this compound is unknown, further
      studies on thalidomide should help in our understanding of the mechanisms of
      sleep regulation.

PMID- 9989373
TI  - Comparison of the effects of pravastatin and lovastatin on sleep disturbance in
      hypercholesterolemic subjects.
AB  - We have studied the effects of two cholesterol-lowering medications, lovastatin
      and pravastatin, on different sleep parameters in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
      These medications are 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitors. Only
      subjects who had complained of sleep disturbance while on previous treatment with
      lovastatin were enrolled. Sixteen subjects (11 men and 5 women) underwent a
      randomized, double-blind, three-way crossover treatment with lovastatin,
      pravastatin, and placebo. Each phase of the study lasted 4 weeks. A placebo wash
      out period of 4 weeks separated each treatment phase. At the end of each
      treatment phase, subjects were admitted to the sleep laboratory for 2 consecutive
      nights. No statistical differences were detected during treatment with
      lovastatin, pravastatin, and placebo for sleep parameters such as total sleep
      time, total awake time, wake time after sleep onset, efficiency of sleep, and
      percent of different phases of sleep. Our study suggests that lovastatin and
      pravastatin do not have a significant effect on sleep parameters in
      hypercholesterolemic subjects that could explain their complaints of insomnia.
      Nevertheless, the subjects did have moderate sleep disturbances that could
      account for insomnia and most likely predate the use of HMG-CoA reductase
      inhibitors.

PMID- 9989374
TI  - Bibliography of recent literature in sleep research.

PMID- 9989375
TI  - Rapid amperometric verification of PCR amplification of DNA.
AB  - Amplification of an 800-base template was verified in a 10-min test on a 2-microL
      sample of the PCR product solution. For verification, digoxigeninylated primers
      and biotinylated d-UTP-16-biotin were added to the amplification solution. The
      resulting amplified product was digoxigeninlabeled at its 3'-end and was also
      labeled with multiple biotin functions along its chain. The detecting electrode
      was coated with an electron-conducting redox hydrogel to which anti-digoxin
      monoclonal antibody was covalently bound. The amplified DNA was captured by the
      electrode through conjugation of its 3'-digoxigenin with the antibody. Exposure
      to a solution of horseradish peroxidase-labeled avidin led to capture of the
      enzyme and switched the redox hydrogel from a noncatalyst to catalyst for H2O2
      electroreduction. The switching resulted in an H2O2 electroreduction current
      density of 2.1 +/- 0.9 microA cm-2 in 10-4 M H2O2 at Ag/AgCl potential and at 25
      degrees C.

PMID- 9989376
TI  - End-column amperometric detection in capillary electrophoresis: influence of
      separation-related parameters on the observed half-wave potential for dopamine
      and catechol.
AB  - Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was coupled to a micro-electrode-based end-column
      amperometric detector. The influences of separation voltage, CE buffer
      concentration, and capillary-to-electrode distance on the observed hydrodynamic
      voltammetry of dopamine and catechol were studied using a separation capillary
      with an i.d. of 25 microns. It was found that an increased CE voltage, increased
      buffer concentration, or decreased capillary-to-electrode distance resulted in a
      positive shift of the observed half-wave potentials for both dopamine and
      catechol. At a constant separation current of 1.6 microA, the observed half-wave
      potential was found to increase with applied separation voltage. Furthermore,
      when experiments were carried out with a platinum quasi-reference electrode
      instead of a Ag/AgCl reference electrode, similar shifts in half-wave potential
      were observed. These results indicate that the observed shifts are an effect of
      the separation voltage rather than the separation current or a change in the
      reference potential. The characteristics of end-column detection with and without
      a fracture decoupler were compared. It was found that the effects of separation
      voltage, CE buffer concentration, and capillary-to-electrode distance were
      minimized by the use of a decoupling device. The observed half-wave potentials
      for dopamine and catechol were more positive when a CE capillary without a
      decoupler was employed compared to when a decoupler was used. Additionally, using
      the fracture decoupler, the observed half-wave potentials for both dopamine and
      catechol were approximately the same as when no CE voltage was applied (i.e.,
      when the hydrodynamic voltammograms were recorded under flow injection
      conditions).

PMID- 9989377
TI  - Optimization of high-speed DNA sequencing on microfabricated capillary
      electrophoresis channels.
AB  - DNA sequencing separations have been performed in microfabricated electrophoresis
      channels with the goal of determining whether high-quality sequencing is feasible
      with these microdevices. The separation matrix, separation temperature, channel
      length and depth, injector size, and injection parameters were optimized. DNA
      fragment sizing separations demonstrated that 50-micron-deep channels provide the
      best sensitivity for our detection configuration. One-color sequencing
      separations of single-stranded M13mp18 DNA on 3% linear polyacrylamide (LPA) were
      used to optimize the twin-T injector size, injection conditions, and temperature.
      The best one-color separations were observed with a 250-micron twin-T injector,
      an injection time of 60 s, and a temperature of 35 degrees C. The first 500 bases
      appeared in 9.2 min with a resolution of > 0.5, and the separation extended to
      700 bases. The best four-color sequencing separations were performed using 4%
      LPA, a temperature of 40 degrees C, and a 100-micron twin-T injector. These four
      color runs were complete in only 20 min, could be automatically base-called using
      BaseFinder to over 600 bp after the primer, and were 99.4% accurate to 500 bp.
      These results significantly advance the quality of microchip-based
      electrophoretic sequencing and indicate the feasibility of performing high-speed
      genomic sequencing with microfabricated electrophoretic devices.

PMID- 9989378
TI  - Photoionization of gas-phase versus ion-beam-desorbed dopamine with femtosecond
      laser pulses.
AB  - We have investigated the photoionization of gas-phase and ion-beam desorbed
      dopamine using femtosecond laser pulses at wavelengths of 800, 400, 267, and 200
      nm. Photoionization of gas-phase dopamine is found to produce the molecular ion,
      and three fragment ions at all four wavelengths, with the branching ratios
      strongly wavelength dependent. Photoionization at 400 and 267 nm yields the
      highest molecular ion signal, while that at 800 and 200 nm produces very little
      molecular ion signal. An excited-state lifetime of approximately 10 ps following
      267-nm excitation has been measured for dopamine using time-resolved pump-probe
      techniques. The short-lived excited state suggests that internal conversion,
      intersystem crossing, and/or dissociation is a concern when ionizing at this
      wavelength using longer laser pulses. Photoionization of ion-beam-desorbed
      dopamine exhibits a large degree of fragmentation at all four wavelengths, though
      267-nm photoionization produces the highest yield of dopamine fragment ions.
      Power dependence studies show a high degree of internal excitation. A direct
      comparison of ion yields obtained for photoionization of ion-beam-desorbed
      dopamine at 267 nm to that for SIMS shows a 20-fold increase in signal.

PMID- 9989379
TI  - A dynamical investigation of acrylodan-labeled mutant phosphate binding protein.
AB  - The static and dynamical behavior of a fluorescently labeled mutant of the
      Escherichia coli periplasmic phosphate binding protein (PBP) was investigated
      through steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. As a means of
      developing a biorecognition element for inorganic phosphate (P(i)), alanine-197
      of PBP was replaced with a cysteine. This site was then labeled with an
      environmentally sensitive fluorophore. The fluorescence emission of the mutant
      PBP labeled with acrylodan (MPBP-AC) proved to be sensitive to micromolar
      concentrations of P(i), as indicated by a 50% increase in the steady-state
      emission intensity. Steady-state results indicated that the labeling protocol was
      specific for cys-197 only and did not label the wild-type PBP; thus, a site
      selective labeling protocol was developed. Time-resolved measurements were used
      to determine the influence of the dynamics of MPBP-AC on the process of signal
      transduction. Time-resolved anisotropy measurements revealed that rotational
      dynamics were best described by a model with two independent motions: the global
      motion of the protein and the local motion of the acrylodan probe. The rates of
      both global and local rotational reorientation of MPBP-AC were faster when the
      protein was P(i)-bound rather than P(i)-free. This was a result of structural
      changes involving or surrounding both the P(i)-binding site (global changes) and
      the residues in near proximity to the fluorescent reporter group (local changes).
      Recovery of the semiangle (theta) indicated that local structural changes in MPBP
      AC took place when P(i) was bound to the protein. Acrylodan gained mobility when
      MPBP-AC bound P(i), as indicated by the fact that theta increased by
      approximately 5 degrees. In addition, dynamic quenching measurements confirmed
      that structural changes occurred locally near the cys-197. Acrylodan became more
      accessible to iodide when MPBP-AC bound P(i), as demonstrated by the 35% increase
      in the value of the bimolecular quenching constant.

PMID- 9989380
TI  - Differentiation of microorganisms based on pyrolysis-ion trap mass spectrometry
      using chemical ionization.
AB  - The ability to differentiate microorganisms using pyrolysision trap mass
      spectrometry was demonstrated for five Gram-negative disease-causing organisms:
      Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, Vibrio cholera, Yersinia pestis, and
      Francisella tularensis. Bacterial profiles were generated for gamma-irradiated
      bacterial samples using pyrolytic methylation and compared for electron
      ionization and chemical ionization using several liquid reagents with increasing
      proton affinities. Electron ionization combined with pyrolysis caused extensive
      fragmentation, resulting in a high abundance of lower mass ions and diminishing
      the diagnostic value of the technique for compound identification and bacterial
      profiling. Chemical ionization reduced the amount of fragmentation due to
      ionization while enhancing the molecular ion region of the fatty acids. As the
      proton affinity of the reagent increased, the protonated molecular ions of the
      fatty acids became the predominant ions observed in the mass spectrum. As a
      result, chemical ionization was shown to be more effective than electron
      ionization in bacterial profiling. Whereas the bacteria could be distinguished at
      the Genera level using electron ionization, further differentiation to the
      subspecies level was possible using chemical ionization. The greatest separation
      among the five test organisms, in terms of Euclidean distances, was obtained
      using ethanol as the chemical ionization reagent and using pooled masses
      representing specific fatty acid biomarkers rather than total ion profiles.

PMID- 9989381
TI  - Characterization of proteins from human cerebrospinal fluid by a combination of
      preparative two-dimensional liquid-phase electrophoresis and matrix-assisted
      laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
AB  - To purify and characterize low-abundance proteins in complex biological mixtures,
      we used a novel strategy that combined preparative two-dimensional liquid-phase
      electrophoresis (2D-LPE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of
      flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Preparative 2D-LPE is based on the same
      isoelectric focusing and gel electrophoresis principles as the widely used
      analytical 2D gel electrophoresis, except that analytes remain in solution
      throughout separation. This novel approach shows many improvements compared to
      analytical 2D gel electrophoresis for the separation of proteins in biological
      fluids. For example, larger volumes/amounts of samples can be loaded, yielding
      sufficient amounts of low-abundance proteins for further characterization. Since
      proteins remain in liquid phase during the entire procedure, extra steps such as
      electroelution, extraction, or transfer to membranes from the gels prior to mass
      spectrometric analysis are obviated. We report the usefulness of 2D-LPE combined
      with MALDI-TOF MS for the purification and characterization of cystatin C and
      beta-2 microglobulin in human cerebrospinal fluid. This method should be
      applicable to a wide range of biological fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid,
      serum, tissue extracts, cell media, whole cells, and bacterial lysates.

PMID- 9989382
TI  - Liquid-liquid extraction of cadmium by sodium diethyldithiocarbamate from
      biological matrixes for isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass
      spectrometry.
AB  - A published procedure for the liquid-liquid extraction of Cd by sodium
      diethyldithiocarbamate (NaDDC) was modified and tested on 12 biological matrixes
      of plant and animal origin for use with isotope dilution (ID) inductively coupled
      plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). The tested matrixes were reference materials,
      certified for Cd, and a feces in-house standard. The digested and extracted
      standards were analyzed for Cd stable isotopes by ICPMS and the resulting isotope
      ratios examined for isobaric and polyatomic interferences. Cadmium recoveries,
      after extraction, ranged from 73% to 20% and apparently were inversely related to
      Cd concentration, even in the presence of excess chelator. For each reference
      material, the measured isotope ratios for Cd were corrected for instrumental bias
      and compared to natural abundance Cd isotope ratios. Nonextracted samples had
      large isotope ratio deviations for all but one or two ratios. Extraction improved
      all the isotope ratios measured (lowered % error relative to natural abundances),
      but interferences were noted for a few samples. The extracted human in-house
      feces standard was found to have Sn signals reduced by 300-fold, but residual Sn
      concentrations still interfered with 116Cd, though not 112Cd or 114Cd. Thus,
      evaluation of the NADDC-extracted in-house fecal standard and reference materials
      indicate the successful removal of interferences that otherwise prevented
      accurate determinations of Cd by IDICPMS and show that a number of Cd isotope
      ratios could be accurately measured (< 1.5% error) for multiple stable isotope
      tracer studies in a broad range of NaDDC-extracted biological matrixes.

PMID- 9989383
TI  - Direct sequencing of neuropeptides in biological tissue by MALDI-PSD mass
      spectrometry.
AB  - Dissected tissue pieces of the pituitary pars intermedia from the amphibian
      Xenopus laevis was directly subjected to matrix-assisted laser
      desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass analysis. The obtained MALDI peptide profile
      revealed both previously known and unexpected processing products of the
      proopiomelanocortin gene. Mass spectrometric peptide sequencing of a few of these
      neuropeptides was performed by employing MALDI combined with postsource decay
      (PSD) fragment ion mass analysis. The potential of MALDI-PSD for sequence
      analysis of peptides directly from unfractionated tissue samples was examined for
      the first time for the known desacetyl-alpha-MSH-NH2 and the presumed vasotocin
      neuropeptide. In addition, the sequence of an unknown peptide which was present
      in the pars intermedia tissue sample at mass 1392.7 u was determined. The MALDI
      PSD mass spectrum of precursor ion 1392.7 u contained sufficient structural
      information to uniquely identify the sequence by searching protein sequence
      databases. The determined amino acid sequence corresponds to the vasotocin
      peptide with a C-terminal extension of Gly-Lys-Arg ("vasotocinyl-GKR"),
      indicating incomplete processing of the vasotocin precursor protein in the
      pituitary pars intermediate of X. laevis. Both vasotocin and vasotocinyl-GKR are
      nonlinear peptides containing a disulfide (S-S) bridge between two cysteine
      residues. Interpretation of the spectra of these two peptides reveals three
      different forms of characteristic fragment ions of the cysteine side chain:
      peptide-CH2-SH (regular mass of Cys-containing fragment ions), peptide-CH2-S-SH
      (regular mass + 32 u) and peptide = CH2 (regular mass -34 u) due to cleavage on
      either side of the sulfur atoms.

PMID- 9989384
TI  - Ultrasensitive detection of closely related angiotensin I peptides using
      capillary electrophoresis with near-infrared laser-induced fluorescence
      detection.
AB  - A novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye (NN382, LICOR, Inc.) was evaluated as
      an ultrasensitive peptide-labeling reagent for use with capillary electrophoresis
      (CE). Six angiotensin I (Ang-I) variants were selected as model peptides for the
      derivatization and separation studies. The closely related decapeptides were
      labeled with the NIR dye, separated using CE, and detected by NIR laser-induced
      fluorescence. Derivatization of the peptides was achieved under aqueous
      conditions using 2.5-500 pmol of Ang-I in a 50-microL sample (5 x 10(-8)-1 x 10(
      5)M), and between 1.3 and 254 amol of the labeled peptides were injected on
      column. The fluorescence response was linear over a 200-fold range (correlation r
      > or = 0.9986). The limit of detection (SNR = 3, signal/RMS noise) ranged from
      100 to 300 zmol, for the six Ang-I variants. Four of six peptides were resolved
      from each other and excess dye using capillary zone electrophoresis with a simple
      50 mM phosphate run buffer, pH 7.2. Two pairs of coeluting peptides were
      successfully resolved using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with a
      nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100. The NIR amine-labeling reagent NN382 is a
      viable alternative to using visible fluorophores for CE methods requiring high
      sensitivity.

PMID- 9989385
TI  - Adaptation of capillary isoelectric focusing to microchannels on a glass chip.
AB  - As a first step toward adaptation of capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) to
      microchannels on a glass chip, we have compared the three most common
      mobilization methods: chemical, hydrodynamic, and electroosmotic flow (EOF)
      driven mobilization. Using a commercial cIEF apparatus with coated or uncoated
      fused-silica capillaries, both chemical and hydrodynamic mobilization gave
      superior separation efficiency and reproducibility. However, EOF-driven
      mobilization, which occurs simultaneously with focusing, proved most suitable for
      miniaturization because of high speed, EOF compatibility and low instrumentation
      requirements. When this method was tested in a 200-micron-wide, 10-micron-deep,
      and 7-cm-long channel etched into planar glass, a mixture of Cy5-labeled peptides
      could be focused in less than 30 s, with plate heights of 0.4 micron (410
      plates/s) upon optimization. For a total analysis time of less than 5 min, we
      estimate a maximum peak capacity of approximately 30-40. Interestingly, the order
      of migration was found to be reversed compared to capillary-based focusing.

PMID- 9989386
TI  - Ultrahigh-pressure reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography: isocratic and
      gradient elution using columns packed with 1.0-micron particles.
AB  - Fused-silica capillaries with inner diameters of 33 microns and lengths of 25-50
      cm are slurry-packed with 1.0-micron nonporous octadecylsilane-modified (C18)
      silica spheres. These columns are used to perform ultrahigh-pressure reversed
      phase liquid chromatographic analyses in both isocratic and gradient elution
      modes. Mobile-phase pressures as high as 5000 bar (72,000 psi) are applied to
      column inlets to generate more than 200,000 theoretical plates in 6 min (k'
      approximately 1) for small, organic analytes. Average capacity factors of
      analytes are found to increase linearly with applied pressure. An electrically
      driven constant-flow syringe pump capable of generating mobile-phase pressures as
      high as 9000 bar (130,000 psi) is described. This pump is used in conjunction
      with an exponential dilution method for the gradient separation of peptides from
      a tryptic digest on a 27-cm-long capillary packed with 1.0-micron particles. A
      peak capacity of 300 is demonstrated for a 30-min analysis.

PMID- 9989387
TI  - Automated measurement of peak widths for the determination of peak capacity in
      complex chromatograms.
AB  - The peak capacity was measured for an ultrahigh-pressure gradient elution
      chromatogram of a fluorescently tagged tryptic digest of ovalbumin. The peak
      widths in the chromatogram were determined by measuring the peak height and the
      second derivative at the peak maximum. This approach for measuring peak widths
      was programmed into a computer, and the software accurately determined the
      general progression of peak widths by measuring 47 peaks throughout the
      chromatogram in under 10 s. Peak capacity was determined by taking the definite
      integral of the plot of reciprocal base peak width versus retention time. This
      calculation of peak capacity is a linear transformation with respect to
      separation space, so the method is more rigorously accurate than previous
      methods. The peak capacity for the chromatogram was calculated to be 316.

PMID- 9989388
TI  - ESR and HPLC-EC analysis of the interaction of hydroxyl radical with DMSO: rapid
      reduction and quantification of POBN and PBN nitroxides.
AB  - The low stability of hydroxyl radical (OH.)-derived nitroxides is a limiting
      factor for direct spin-trapping of OH. in biological systems. The latter
      experimental difficulty is partly solved with the introduction of dimethyl
      sulfoxide (DMSO) into the studied systems. Hydroxyl radical oxidizes DMSO to
      methyl radical, which forms relatively stable nitroxides. The results of the
      present work provide evidence that in alpha-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert
      butylnitrone (POBN) and alpha-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN) spin-trapping
      experiments aimed to detect methyl radical in biological systems, the nitroxides
      formed can be reduced to their ESR-"silent" hydroxylamine derivatives. The
      nitroxides and their hydroxylamine derivatives were successfully analyzed by HPLC
      with electrochemical (EC) and UV detection. The lowest limits of UV and EC
      detection of POBN/CH3 hydroxylamine was evaluated to be in the micro- and
      nanomolar range, respectively. In parallel ESR and HPLC-EC analysis of the
      metabolism of menadione by either HepG2 cells or isolated rat hepatocytes in the
      presence of DMSO, the HPLC-EC method has proven to be more sensitive in detecting
      the production of methyl radical. The use of the HPLC-EC detection of POBN/CH3
      and PBN/CH3 is expected to be advantageous in detection of hydroxyl radical in
      biological systems in the presence of DMSO.

PMID- 9989389
TI  - Isotope dilution analysis of bromate in drinking water matrixes by ion
      chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection.
AB  - Bromate is a disinfection byproduct in drinking water which is formed during the
      ozonation of source water containing bromide. This paper describes the analysis
      of bromate via ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
      The separation of bromate from interferences such as bromide and brominated
      haloacetic acids is achieved using a PA-100 column in combination with a 5 mM
      HNO3 + 25 mM NH4NO3 mobile phase. Polyatomic ions are observed on masses 79 and
      81 in a synthetic phosphate matrix and in ozonated drinking waters. These
      polyatomic ions have been tentatively identified as PO3+ and H2PO3+. These
      polyatomic ions do not interfere with the detection of bromate because phosphate
      elutes prior to bromate. A polyatomic ion is observed on mass 81 in a synthetic
      sulfate matrix and in ozonated drinking waters. This polyatomic ion has been
      tentatively identified as HSO3+ and does not interfere with the detection of
      bromate because sulfate elutes after bromate. Isotope dilution analysis produces
      a relative standard deviation (RSD) of approximately 5% for both enriched
      isotopic additions at sample concentrations of 10 ng/g. The RSD associated with
      the direct analysis of bromate is 3.2% at sample concentrations of 10 ng/g. The
      bromate concentrations determined in ozonated drinking waters via isotope
      dilution analysis are within 10% of the concentrations determined via direct
      analysis for sample concentrations above 2 ng/g. The detection limit for the
      direct analysis of bromate via IC-ICPMS is 0.3 ng/g.

PMID- 9989390
TI  - Full second-order chromatographic/spectrometric data matrices for automated
      sample identification and component analysis by non-data-reducing image analysis.
AB  - A data analysis method is proposed for identification and for confirmation of
      classification schemes, based on single- or multiple-wavelength chromatographic
      profiles. The proposed method works directly on the chromatographic data without
      data reduction procedures such as peak area or retention index calculation.
      Chromatographic matrices from analysis of previously identified samples are used
      for generating a reference chromatogram for each class, and unidentified samples
      are compared with all reference chromatograms by calculating a resemblance
      measure for each reference. Once the method is configured, subsequent sample
      identification is automatic. As an example of a further development, it is shown
      how the method allows identification of characteristic sample components by local
      similarity calculations thus finding common components within a given class as
      well as component differences between classes from the reference chromatograms.
      This feature is a valuable aid in selecting components for further analysis. The
      identification method is demonstrated on two data sets: 212 isolates from 41 food
      borne Penicillium species and 61 isolates from 6 soil-borne Penicillium species.
      Both data sets yielded over 90% agreement with accepted classifications. The
      method is highly accurate and may be used on all sorts of chromatographic
      profiles. Characteristic component analysis yielded results in good agreement
      with existing knowledge of characteristic components, but also succeeded in
      identifying new components as being characteristic.

PMID- 9989391
TI  - Determination of trans-resveratrol in plasma by HPLC.
AB  - trans-Resveratrol (trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene), a phenolic compound present
      in grapes, wines, and peanuts, has been reported to have health benefits
      including anticarcinogenic effects and protection against cardiovascular
      diseases. Despite its importance, little is known about its bioavailability in
      both humans and animals. A fundamental step for this evaluation consisted in
      measuring this stilbene in blood. In the present work, a simple and rapid HPLC
      method with diode array-UV detection has been developed. Resveratrol contained in
      plasma was purified by solid-phase extraction using a C18 cartridge. The sample
      was rinsed with water and methanol-water (25:75 v/v), and trans-resveratrol was
      finally eluted with methanol. The collected fraction was evaporated under
      nitrogen and analyzed by HPLC. The method was validated by obtaining a linear
      correlation, a detection limit of 20 micrograms/L, and a good precision with a
      coefficient of variation of 2.85%. trans-Resveratrol administered orally to rats
      was detected in plasma. With this procedure, excellent separation of trans
      resveratrol is achieved, thus allowing a rapid analysis of the sample for
      absorption, distribution, and metabolism studies.

PMID- 9989392
TI  - Application of multilayer feed-forward neural networks to automated compound
      identification in low-resolution open-path FT-IR spectrometry.
AB  - A drawback of current open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP/FT-IR) systems is
      that they need a human expert to determine those compounds that may be quantified
      from a given spectrum. In this work, multilayer feed-forward neural networks with
      one hidden layer were used to automatically recognize compounds in an OP/FT-IR
      spectrum without compensation of absorption lines due to atmospheric H2O and CO2.
      The networks were trained by fast-back-propagation. The training set comprised
      spectra that were synthesized by digitally adding randomly scaled reference
      spectra to actual open-path background spectra measured over a variety of path
      lengths and temperatures. The reference spectra of 109 compounds were used to
      synthesize the training spectra. Each neural network was trained to recognize
      only one compound in the presence of up to 10 other interferences in an OP/FT-IR
      spectrum. Every compound in a database of vaporphase reference spectra can be
      encoded in an independent neural network so that a neural network library can be
      established. When these networks are used for the identification of compounds,
      the process is analogous to spectral library searching. The effect of learning
      rate and band intensities on the convergence of network training was examined.
      The networks were successfully used to recognize five alcohols and two
      chlorinated compounds in field-measured controlled-release OP/FT-IR spectra of
      mixtures of these compounds.

PMID- 9989393
TI  - Hot seat in the kitchen.

PMID- 9989394
TI  - Harvard reveals plans for research centres.

PMID- 9989395
TI  - Fear of BSE risks could hit US blood banks.

PMID- 9989396
TI  - Tougher EU copyright rules come under fire.

PMID- 9989397
TI  - Risks inherent in fetal gene therapy.

PMID- 9989398
TI  - Visible viruses and geodesic domes.

PMID- 9989399
TI  - Can teaching ethics make people ethical?

PMID- 9989400
TI  - From Pan to pandemic.

PMID- 9989401
TI  - Apoptosis. A cellular poison cupboard.

PMID- 9989402
TI  - Neurobiology. Striving for coherence.

PMID- 9989403
TI  - UV-B damage amplified by transposons in maize.

PMID- 9989404
TI  - Female development in mammals is regulated by Wnt-4 signalling.
AB  - In the mammalian embryo, both sexes are initially morphologically
      indistinguishable: specific hormones are required for sex-specific development.
      Mullerian inhibiting substance and testosterone secreted by the differentiating
      embryonic testes result in the loss of female (Mullerian) or promotion of male
      (Wolffian) reproductive duct development, respectively. The signalling molecule
      Wnt-4 is crucial for female sexual development. At birth, sexual development in
      males with a mutation in Wnt-4 appears to be normal; however, Wnt-4-mutant
      females are masculinized-the Mullerian duct is absent while the Wolffian duct
      continues to develop. Wnt-4 is initially required in both sexes for formation of
      the Mullerian duct, then Wnt-4 in the developing ovary appears to suppress the
      development of Leydig cells; consequently, Wnt-4-mutant females ectopically
      activate testosterone biosynthesis. Wnt-4 may also be required for maintenance of
      the female germ line. Thus, the establishment of sexual dimorphism is under the
      control of both local and systemic signals.

PMID- 9989405
TI  - Hybrid hydrogels assembled from synthetic polymers and coiled-coil protein
      domains.
AB  - Stimuli-sensitive polymer hydrogels, which swell or shrink in response to changes
      in the environmental conditions, have been extensively investigated and used as
      'smart' biomaterials and drug-delivery systems. Most of these responsive
      hydrogels are prepared from a limited number of synthetic polymers and their
      derivatives, such as copolymers of (meth)acrylic acid, acrylamide and N-isopropyl
      acrylamide. Water-soluble synthetic polymers have also been crosslinked with
      molecules of biological origin, such as oligopeptides and
      oligodeoxyribonucleotides, or with intact native proteins. Very often there are
      several factors influencing the relationship between structure and properties in
      these systems, making it difficult to engineer hydrogels with specified responses
      to particular stimuli. Here we report a hybrid hydrogel system assembled from
      water-soluble synthetic polymers and a well-defined protein-folding motif, the
      coiled coil. These hydrogels undergo temperature-induced collapse owing to the
      cooperative conformational transition of the coiled-coil protein domain. This
      system shows that well-characterized water-soluble synthetic polymers can be
      combined with well-defined folding motifs of proteins in hydrogels with
      engineered volume-change properties.

PMID- 9989406
TI  - A complex clathrate hydrate structure showing bimodal guest hydration.
AB  - Interactions between hydrophobic groups in water, as well as biomolecular
      hydration more generally, are intimately connected to the structure of liquid
      water around hydrophobic solutes. Such considerations have focused interest on
      clathrate hydrates: crystals in which a hydrogen-bonded network of water
      molecules encages hydrophobic guest molecules with which the water interacts only
      by non-directional van der Waals forces. Three structural families of clathrate
      hydrates have hitherto been recognized: cubic structure I (2M(S)-6M(L) x 46H2O),
      cubic structure II (16M(S) x 8M(L)-136H2O) and hexagonal structure H (M(L) x
      3M(S) x 2M(S) x 34H2O) hydrates (here M(L) and M(S) are the hydrophobic guest
      sites associated with large and small cavities, respectively). Here we report a
      new hydrate structure: 1.67 choline hydroxide-tetra-n-propylammonium fluoride x
      30.33H2O. This structure has a number of unusual features; in particular the
      choline guest exhibits both hydrophobic and hydrophilic modes of hydration.
      Formally the structure consists of alternating stacks of structure H and
      structure II hydrates, and might conceivably be found in those settings (such as
      seafloor deposits over natural-gas fields) in which clathrate hydrates form
      naturally.

PMID- 9989407
TI  - A neuronal representation of the location of nearby sounds.
AB  - Humans can accurately perceive the location of a sound source-not only the
      direction, but also the distance. Sounds near the head, within ducking or
      reaching distance, have a special saliency. However, little is known about this
      perception of auditory distance. The direction to a sound source can be
      determined by interaural differences, and the mechanisms of direction perception
      have been studied intensively; but except for studies on echolocation in the bat,
      little is known about how neurons encode information on auditory distance. Here
      we describe neurons in the brain of macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) that
      represent the auditory space surrounding the head, within roughly 30 cm. These
      neurons, which are located in the ventral premotor cortex, have spatial receptive
      fields that extend a limited distance outward from the head.

PMID- 9989408
TI  - Perception's shadow: long-distance synchronization of human brain activity.
AB  - Transient periods of synchronization of oscillating neuronal discharges in the
      frequency range 30-80 Hz (gamma oscillations) have been proposed to act as an
      integrative mechanism that may bring a widely distributed set of neurons together
      into a coherent ensemble that underlies a cognitive act. Results of several
      experiments in animals provide support for this idea. In humans, gamma
      oscillations have been described both on the scalp (measured by
      electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography) and in intracortical
      recordings, but no direct participation of synchrony in a cognitive task has been
      demonstrated so far. Here we record electrical brain activity from subjects who
      are viewing ambiguous visual stimuli (perceived either as faces or as meaningless
      shapes). We show for the first time, to our knowledge, that only face perception
      induces a long-distance pattern of synchronization, corresponding to the moment
      of perception itself and to the ensuing motor response. A period of strong
      desynchronization marks the transition between the moment of perception and the
      motor response. We suggest that this desynchronization reflects a process of
      active uncoupling of the underlying neural ensembles that is necessary to proceed
      from one cognitive state to another.

PMID- 9989409
TI  - Coherence of gamma-band EEG activity as a basis for associative learning.
AB  - Different regions of the brain must communicate with each other to provide the
      basis for the integration of sensory information, sensory-motor coordination and
      many other functions that are critical for learning, memory, information
      processing, perception and the behaviour of organisms. Hebb suggested that this
      is accomplished by the formation of assemblies of cells whose synaptic linkages
      are strengthened whenever the cells are activated or 'ignited' synchronously.
      Hebb's seminal concept has intrigued investigators since its formulation, but the
      technology to demonstrate its existence had been lacking until the past decade.
      Previous studies have shown that very fast electroencephalographic activity in
      the gamma band (20-70 Hz) increases during, and may be involved in, the formation
      of percepts and memory, linguistic processing, and other behavioural and
      perceptual functions. We show here that increased gamma-band activity is also
      involved in associative learning. In addition, we find that another measure,
      gamma-band coherence, increases between regions of the brain that receive the two
      classes of stimuli involved in an associative-learning procedure in humans. An
      increase in coherence could fulfil the criteria required for the formation of
      hebbian cell assemblies, binding together parts of the brain that must
      communicate with one another in order for associative learning to take place. In
      this way, coherence may be a signature for this and other types of learning.

PMID- 9989410
TI  - Origin of HIV-1 in the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes.
AB  - The human AIDS viruses human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2
      (HIV-2) represent cross-species (zoonotic) infections. Although the primate
      reservoir of HIV-2 has been clearly identified as the sooty mangabey (Cercocebus
      atys), the origin of HIV-1 remains uncertain. Viruses related to HIV-1 have been
      isolated from the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), but only three such SIVcpz
      infections have been documented, one of which involved a virus so divergent that
      it might represent a different primate lentiviral lineage. In a search for the
      HIV-1 reservoir, we have now sequenced the genome of a new SIVcpzstrain
      (SIVcpzUS) and have determined, by mitochondrial DNA analysis, the subspecies
      identity of all known SIVcpz-infected chimpanzees. We find that two chimpanzee
      subspecies in Africa, the central P. t. troglodytes and the eastern P. t.
      schweinfurthii, harbour SIVcpz and that their respective viruses form two highly
      divergent (but subspecies-specific) phylogenetic lineages. All HIV-1 strains
      known to infect man, including HIV-1 groups M, N and O, are closely related to
      just one of these SIVcpz lineages, that found in P. t. troglodytes. Moreover, we
      find that HIV-1 group N is a mosaic of SIVcpzUS- and HIV-1-related sequences,
      indicating an ancestral recombination event in a chimpanzee host. These results,
      together with the observation that the natural range of P. t. troglodytes
      coincides uniquely with areas of HIV-1 group M, N and O endemicity, indicate that
      P. t. troglodytes is the primary reservoir for HIV-1 and has been the source of
      at least three independent introductions of SIVcpz into the human population.

PMID- 9989411
TI  - Molecular characterization of mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor.
AB  - Mitochondria play a key part in the regulation of apoptosis (cell death). Their
      intermembrane space contains several proteins that are liberated through the
      outer membrane in order to participate in the degradation phase of apoptosis.
      Here we report the identification and cloning of an apoptosis-inducing factor,
      AIF, which is sufficient to induce apoptosis of isolated nuclei. AIF is a
      flavoprotein of relative molecular mass 57,000 which shares homology with the
      bacterial oxidoreductases; it is normally confined to mitochondria but
      translocates to the nucleus when apoptosis is induced. Recombinant AIF causes
      chromatin condensation in isolated nuclei and large-scale fragmentation of DNA.
      It induces purified mitochondria to release the apoptogenic proteins cytochrome c
      and caspase-9. Microinjection of AIF into the cytoplasm of intact cells induces
      condensation of chromatin, dissipation of the mitochondrial transmembrane
      potential, and exposure of phosphatidylserine in the plasma membrane. None of
      these effects is prevented by the wide-ranging caspase inhibitor known as Z
      VAD.fmk. Overexpression of Bcl-2, which controls the opening of mitochondrial
      permeability transition pores, prevents the release of AIF from the mitochondrion
      but does not affect its apoptogenic activity. These results indicate that AIF is
      a mitochondrial effector of apoptotic cell death.

PMID- 9989412
TI  - The transcriptional cofactor complex CRSP is required for activity of the
      enhancer-binding protein Sp1.
AB  - Activation of gene transcription in metazoans is a multistep process that is
      triggered by factors that recognize transcriptional enhancer sites in DNA. These
      factors work with co-activators to direct transcriptional initiation by the RNA
      polymerase II apparatus. One class of co-activator, the TAF(II) subunits of
      transcription factor TFIID, can serve as targets of activators and as proteins
      that recognize core promoter sequences necessary for transcription initiation.
      Transcriptional activation by enhancer-binding factors such as Sp1 requires
      TFIID, but the identity of other necessary cofactors has remained unknown. Here
      we describe a new human factor, CRSP, that is required together with the TAF(II)s
      for transcriptional activation by Sp1. Purification of CRSP identifies a complex
      of approximate relative molecular mass 700,000 (M(r) approximately 700K) that
      contains nine subunits with M(r) values ranging from 33K to 200K. Cloning of
      genes encoding CRSP subunits reveals that CRSP33 is a homologue of the yeast
      mediator subunit Med7, whereas CRSP150 contains a domain conserved in yeast
      mediator subunit Rgr1. CRSP p200 is identical to the nuclear hormone-receptor co
      activator subunit TRIP2/PBP. CRSPs 34, 77 and 130 are new proteins, but the amino
      terminus of CRSP70 is homologous to elongation factor TFIIS. Immunodepletion
      studies confirm that these subunits have an essential cofactor function. The
      presence of common subunits in distinct cofactor complexes suggests a
      combinatorial mechanism of co-activator assembly during transcriptional
      activation.

PMID- 9989413
TI  - Clinicopathological variables and p53 overexpression as a combined prognosticator
      for hematogenic recurrence in colorectal cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Precise evaluation of the prognostic factors for
      hematogenic recurrence after resection for colorectal cancer is important not
      only for the prediction of patient outcome but also for the determination of
      adjuvant therapy. The purpose of the current study was to elucidate the clinical
      significance of using clinicopathological variables in combination with p53
      expression as a prognosticator for hematogenic recurrence. METHODS: One hundred
      forty-two patients with colorectal cancer were examined. The expression of p53
      was determined by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Eighteen (60%) of the 30
      patients who were positive for both p53 overexpression and lymph node metastasis,
      13 (41%) of the 32 patients who were positive for p53 and venous invasion, and 13
      (39%) of the 33 patients who were positive for p53 and carcinoembryonic antigen
      (CEA) developed hematogenic recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of p53
      overexpression and lymph node metastasis was an excellent prognostic indicator
      for hematogenic recurrence in colorectal cancer.

PMID- 9989414
TI  - Clinical picture, response to therapy, and survival of women with diffuse
      malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The clinical picture, response to therapy, and
      prognosis of women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesotheliomas (DMPM) are ill
      defined. The purpose of this study is to report on the clinical picture, response
      to therapy, and survival of women with DMPM. METHODS: The study is a
      retrospective review of 15 women with the confirmed pathologic diagnosis of DMPM
      treated between 1964 and 1996. Survival curves were constructed according to the
      Kaplan-Meier method. The effect of different factors on survival was studied
      using the log-rank test. Two-tailed P values < 0.05 were considered significant.
      RESULTS: Clinical features included abdominal distension (11/15, 73%), abdominal
      pain (6/15, 40%), ascites (9/15, 60%), abdominal or pelvic masses (14/15, 93%),
      elevated CA-125 (4/4, 100%), thrombocytosis (4/ 15, 27%), and thrombo-embolic
      manifestations (3/15, 20%). The response rate to all first-line chemotherapy
      regimens was 30%. The response rate to paclitaxel/cisplatin was 66.7% and the
      toxicity was tolerable. The median survival of all patients was 12.5 months.
      Patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery survived longer than those who
      underwent biopsy only (median survival 13.5 vs. 6.0 months, P = 0.24). Patients
      who received chemotherapy survived significantly longer than those who did not
      receive chemotherapy (29.0 vs. 1.0 months, P = 0.03). Patients who responded to
      first-line chemotherapy survived significantly longer than those who did not
      respond (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy,
      especially with paclitaxel and cisplatin, might be of benefit in women with DMPM.

PMID- 9989415
TI  - Clinical observations of axillary involvement for tubular, lobular, and ductal
      carcinomas of the breast.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recently, there has been much interest in identifying
      primary breast cancer characteristics which have predictive value for axillary
      metastases. We studied breast cancer patients to determine variables associated
      with the incidence/extent of axillary involvement and to construct a modeled
      analysis. METHODS: Patients with invasive ductal, lobular, and tubular breast
      cancer (group 1, n = 15,719) were analyzed by tumor size and histology for the
      probability/extent of axillary metastases. A subgroup of patients was analyzed
      separately for any association of axillary involvement and other variables (group
      2). RESULTS: In group 1, the incidence and extent (number of positive lymph
      nodes) of axillary metastases correlated significantly with histology and
      increasing tumor size of ductal and lobular histologies. Significant associations
      for < or = 10% axillary involvement in group 2 were age and S phase for tubular
      histology and differentiation for ductal histology. In a multivariate analysis,
      increasing tumor size was the only statistically significant correlate for
      axillary involvement (group 2) and for increasing number of positive nodes (group
      1). CONCLUSIONS: A multivariate model of tumor size and age combined with staging
      techniques can successfully confirm or assess extent of axillary metastases in
      breast carcinoma.

PMID- 9989416
TI  - Reduced connexin43 expression in high-grade human brain glioma cells.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Connexin43 (cx43), a gap junction protein, is
      implicated in the suppression of tumor cell growth. Numerous cancer cells show a
      reduction or loss of cx43 expression compared to their normal counterparts. Our
      previous studies suggest that cx43 expression is decreased in a variety of human
      brain tumor cell lines. To further investigate the role of cx43 in the
      development of human gliomas, we performed the present study on human glioma
      grades I-IV. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin-embedded
      tissue sections of 18 human gliomas to analyze the expression levels of cx43 in
      different stages of human gliomas. RESULTS: High levels of cx43 were observed in
      all normal brain tissue and in glioma grades I and II. In contrast, the
      expression of cx43 was very weak in grade III gliomas and almost undetectable in
      grade IV gliomas. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the hypothesis that reduction of
      cx43 is involved in the progression of human gliomas.

PMID- 9989417
TI  - Concurrent chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil and cisplatin) and radiation therapy
      followed by surgery for T4 squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Since the prognosis of patients with T4 squamous cell
      carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus is extremely poor, an effective multimodal
      treatment needs to be established. METHODS: Forty-five patients with SCC of the
      esophagus at the T4 classification of the disease but no hematogenous metastasis
      were treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy followed by surgical
      resection. Twenty-eight patients were treated with a regimen (protocol A) of 5
      fluorouracil 750 mg/m2 on days 1-5 and 22-26, and cisplatin 70 mg/m2 on days 1
      and 22. The remaining 17 patients were treated with a modified regimen (protocol
      B) of 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 and cisplatin 10 mg/m2 on days 1-5, 8-12, 15-19,
      and 22-26. Radiation was delivered daily for 5 days/week for 4 weeks at the rate
      of 2 Gy/day to a total dose of 40 Gy in both protocols. RESULTS: A major clinical
      response was observed in 29 [3 complete response (CR) and 26 partial response
      (PR)] patients (64.4%). Twenty-eight patients (62.2%) underwent esophagectomy
      with no postoperative death. The median survival time of the resected patients
      (959 days) was significantly longer than that of the non-resected patients (178
      days). Protocol B showed significantly higher pathologic effectiveness than
      protocol A. The pathologic CR rate for the main tumors was 1 (6.3%) of 16
      patients for protocol A and 7 (58.3%) of 12 patients for protocol B. The
      pathologic CR rate for metastasized lymph nodes was 4/11 (36.4%) for protocol A
      and 5/5 (100%) for protocol B. Good histological response of the main tumors
      correlated well with long survival. The treatments were well tolerated except for
      one treatment-related death. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent chemoradiation therapy
      followed by surgery is an effective and safe multimodal therapy for patients with
      primary inoperable T4 SCC of the esophagus.

PMID- 9989418
TI  - Irradiation of the tumor bed alone after lumpectomy in selected patients with
      early-stage breast cancer treated with breast conserving therapy.
AB  - BACKGROUNDS AND OBJECTIVES: We present the interim findings of our in-house
      protocol treating the tumor bed alone after lumpectomy with low-dose-rate (LDR)
      interstitial brachytherapy in selected patients with early-stage breast cancer
      treated with breast conserving therapy (BCT). METHODS: From 1 March 1993 through
      1 January 1995, 50 women with early-stage breast cancer were entered into a
      protocol of tumor bed irradiation alone using an interstitial LDR implant.
      Patients were eligible if their tumor was an infiltrating ductal carcinoma < or
      =3 cm in diameter, surgical margins were clear by at least 2 mm, the tumor did
      not contain an extensive intraductal component, the axilla was surgically staged
      with < or =3 nodes involved with cancer, and a postoperative mammogram was
      performed. Implants were positioned using a template guide delivering 50 Gy over
      96 hr to the lumpectomy bed plus a 1-2-cm margin. Local control, cosmetic
      outcome, and complications were assessed. RESULTS: Patients ranged in age from 40
      to 84 years (median, 65). The median tumor size was 10 mm (range, 1-25).
      Seventeen of 50 patients (34%) had well-differentiated tumors, 22 (44%) had
      moderately differentiated tumors, and in 11 (22%) the tumor was poorly
      differentiated. Forty-five patients (90%) were node-negative while five (10%) had
      1-3 positive nodes. A total of 23 (46%) patients were placed on tamoxifen and 3
      (6%) received adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. No patient was lost to follow-up.
      The median follow-up for surviving patients is 47 months (range, 37-59). No
      patient has experienced a local, regional, or distant failure. Three patients
      have died at 19, 33, and 39 months after treatment. All were without clinical
      evidence of recurrent disease and all deaths were unrelated to treatment. Good-to
      excellent cosmetic results have been observed in 49 of 50 patients (98%) (median
      cosmetic follow-up was 44 months with a range of 19-59). No patient has
      experienced significant sequelae related to their implant. CONCLUSIONS: Interim
      results with treatment of the tumor bed alone with an LDR interstitial implant
      appear promising. Long-term follow-up of these patients and additional studies
      will be necessary to establish the equivalence of this treatment approach
      compared to standard BCT.

PMID- 9989419
TI  - Preoperative angiography and embolization of large pelvic tumors.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pelvic tumors are often large and difficult to excise
      with appropriate surgical margins due to their size, proximity to neurovascular
      structures, and major intraoperative bleeding. The purpose of this study is to
      evaluate the yield of preoperative angiography and embolization so as to
      facilitate achievement of good surgical results. METHODS: Eighteen patients who
      suffered from large pelvic tumors (average size, 10.7 cm x 8.3 cm x 3.7 cm), 15
      primary and 3 metastatic, underwent surgery at our institution between 1990 and
      1995, after preoperative angiography and embolization of the tumors. RESULTS: The
      efficacy of the procedure was high. In all but one patient, the grade of
      vascularity of the tumor was reduced by at least two levels (based on our new
      tumor vascularity scale. In most patients, appropriate surgical margins were
      achieved. The average perioperative blood loss was only 750 cc. Procedure
      associated complications were negligible. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study
      call for the use of angiography and embolization in the management of patients
      with large pelvic tumors.

PMID- 9989420
TI  - Anaplastic transformation of papillary thyroid carcinoma in recurrent disease in
      regional lymph nodes: a histologic and immunohistochemical study.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the prognosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma
      is favorable in most cases, recurrent disease in the regional lymph nodes is not
      uncommon, and some patients die of recurrent disease that ultimately becomes
      unresectable. We studied the proliferative activity of cancer cells in recurrent
      foci in lymph nodes to see whether repeated recurrences might result in
      anaplastic transformation of papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: Fourteen
      patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma who underwent reoperation for recurrent
      disease in the regional lymph nodes more than once were the subjects of the
      study. The histologic findings and proliferative activity of carcinoma foci at
      each recurrence were studied histologically and immunohistochemically. RESULTS:
      There were higher incidences of histologic features of poorly differentiated
      thyroid carcinoma in the metastatic foci in the lymph nodes as it recurred
      repeatedly, and the labeling indexes of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)
      and nuclear antigen Ki-67 (MIB-1) increased. CONCLUSIONS: These observations
      suggest that papillary thyroid carcinoma may become more malignant, even undergo
      transformation to an anaplastic variety, as metastatic disease in the regional
      lymph nodes recurs repeatedly.

PMID- 9989421
TI  - Expectant management of stage A-1 (T1a) prostate cancer utilizing serum PSA
      levels: a preliminary report.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The natural history of stage A-1 (Tla) prostate cancer
      remains unpredictable. Although stage A-1 (Tla) was traditionally considered an
      indolent lesion, recent reports have documented the potential progression of
      stage A-1 (Tla) cancer. METHODS: Eight men aged 65 to 76 years at the time of
      diagnosis with stage A-1 (Tla) prostate cancer received no therapy. These men
      have been followed from 3 to 9.5 years (mean, 6.25 years). During this period,
      the patients have been followed with periodic rectal examinations and prostate
      specific antigen (PSA) levels. RESULTS: The PSA levels of five of the eight
      patients remain in the normal range and no patient has had a change in his rectal
      examination. In the three patients who had elevated PSA levels, there was no
      evidence of metastatic disease. No patient has died from prostate cancer; one
      patient died from cerebrovascular causes. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with stage A-1
      (Tla) prostate cancer have an unpredictable natural history. PSA levels can be
      used to monitor disease progression and identify those patients where observation
      is no longer appropriate.

PMID- 9989422
TI  - Small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder is rare with
      only 36 cases reported in the literature. Early reports demonstrated an extremely
      poor prognosis for this histologic type. Five new cases are reported and the
      previous experience in the literature is reviewed to further clarify the clinical
      behavior of this malignancy. METHODS: A retrospective analysis is performed on 5
      new cases. An extensive review of the literature is also performed. RESULTS:
      Twenty-eight pure small cell carcinomas and 8 combined small cell carcinomas with
      adenocarcinoma are reported in the literature. Conclusions from the literature
      review reveal that small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder affects an elderly
      patient population (median age 65 years), has a female preponderance (76%), is
      associated with cholelithiasis (72%), metastasizes to nodes (88%), liver (88%),
      lung (23%), and peritoneum (19%), and has a median survival of 4 months. Pure
      tumors had median survivals of 9 months and combined tumors had median survivals
      of 4.5 months. The 5 patients in the literature treated with surgery and
      chemotherapy had improved median survival of 13 months. The 5 newly reported
      cases had similar epidemiological characteristics to the literature data,
      however, these cases were managed aggressively with surgery and chemotherapy,
      demonstrating a median survival of 31 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although small cell
      carcinoma of the gallbladder is a distinct histologic and clinical entity, it has
      many clinical characteristics similar to adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder
      including comparable natural history and tendency for locoregional spread.
      Aggressive multimodality therapy, especially the combination of surgery and
      chemotherapy, may improve survival.

PMID- 9989423
TI  - Quality of life following surgery for vertebral metastases from breast cancer.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The quality of life of patients with vertebral
      metastases from breast cancer treated with surgery was evaluated. METHODS: Seven
      such patients underwent surgery for vertebral metastases following chemoendocrine
      treatment. They presented with pain and some with neurological compromise.
      RESULTS: Following posterior stabilization with a segmental instrument, pain was
      alleviated in all seven women, two showed improvements in neurological
      compromise, and performance status was improved in five. In no patient was there
      neurological deterioration secondary to surgical intervention. They were out of
      bed on the 4th postoperative day and discharged on the 14th day on average.
      CONCLUSIONS: The quality of life was improved for these surgically treated
      patients. We recommend surgical stabilization for selected patients with a
      vertebral metastasis from breast cancer.

PMID- 9989424
TI  - Oliguria, an unusual presentation of primary signet ring-cell adenocarcinoma of
      the urinary bladder: a case report and review of the literature.
AB  - Adenocarcinomas represent approximately 2% of primary bladder epithelial
      malignancies. Of these, the signet ring-cell variant is the rarest form. We
      report such a case, with the unusual presentation of oliguria, including
      radiologic and histopathologic findings. The current literature is reviewed.

PMID- 9989425
TI  - Neuropharmacology of brain-stimulation-evoked aggression.
AB  - Evidence is reviewed concerning the brain areas and neurotransmitters involved in
      aggressive behavior in the cat and rodent. In the cat, two distinct neural
      circuits involving the hypothalamus and PAG subserve two different kinds of
      aggression: defensive rage and predatory (quiet-biting) attack. The roles played
      by the neurotransmitters serotonin, GABA, glutamate, opioids, cholecystokinin,
      substance P, norepinephrine, dopamine, and acetylcholine in the modulation and
      expression of aggression are discussed. For the rat, a single area, largely
      coincident with the intermediate hypothalamic area, is crucial for the expression
      of attack; variations in the rat attack response in natural settings are due
      largely to environmental variables. Experimental evidence emphasizing the roles
      of serotonin and GABA in modulating hypothalamically evoked attack in the rat is
      discussed. It is concluded that significant progress has been made concerning our
      knowledge of the circuitry underlying the neural basis of aggression. Although
      new and important insights have been made concerning neurotransmitter regulation
      of aggressive behavior, wide gaps in our knowledge remain.

PMID- 9989426
TI  - On the similarity of odor and language perception.
AB  - The association between olfaction and language is discussed. The effects of odor
      on human behavior and cognitive processing are reviewed as are
      electrophysiological studies of odor/language interactions. Also reviewed are
      specific effects of odor administration on language-dependent tasks. The
      hypothesis is advanced that odor information processing shares some of the
      cortical resources used in processing language and that interference between
      these two types of stimuli occurs when they are simultaneously processed. The
      reason for this overlap in resources is thought to be due to the similarities in
      the spatio-temporal patterns produced in the neural coding of odors and language.

PMID- 9989427
TI  - Metabotropic glutamate receptor activation and blockade: their role in long-term
      potentiation, learning and neurotoxicity.
AB  - Metabotropic glutamate receptors represent a fairly recent addition to the family
      of glutamate receptors. These receptors have the distinguishing feature of being
      coupled to G-proteins rather than ion channels and they appear to have a variety
      of functional characteristics. These receptors play a vital role, for example, in
      the induction and maintenance of long-term potentiation, the most popular current
      model of the biological correlates of learning and memory. Blockade of
      metabotropic glutamate receptors prevents long-term potentiation induction and
      learning in a variety of tasks in different species. Chronic metabotropic
      glutamate receptor activation is also associated with neurodegeneration and
      selective neuronal loss when agonists of these receptors are injected in high
      concentrations directly into the brain. Metabotropic glutamate receptors also
      play a role in the normal development of the nervous system and these sites
      within the central nervous system offer possible routes for drug therapies;
      selective receptor antagonists, for example, may prove to have the very desirable
      feature of endowing neuroprotection during ischaemic episodes whilst allowing
      normal excitatory neurotransmission to occur.

PMID- 9989428
TI  - The biology of human parenting: insights from nonhuman primates.
AB  - Primate and human parenting have often been viewed as completely emancipated from
      neuroendocrine influences and primarily dependent on experience, social and
      cognitive processes. A review of recent findings of primate research on the
      neurobiological regulation of parental responsiveness, the causes of variability
      in parenting styles, and the determinants of infant abuse suggests that primate
      parenting is more sensitive to neuroendocrine mechanisms than previously thought.
      The findings of primate research can have important implications for human
      research and encourage the investigation of biological influences on human
      parenting.

PMID- 9989429
TI  - Glutamate and the UMAMI taste: sensory, metabolic, nutritional and behavioural
      considerations. A review of the literature published in the last 10 years.
AB  - Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used increasingly often in processed foods and in
      home cooking in the Western world. This substance is responsible for a
      pleasurable taste sensation, the Umami taste. This review covers recent
      developments in sensory studies of glutamate effects, and traces the Umami taste
      from sensory receptors on the tongue to the brain. The metabolism of glutamic
      acid, as revealed from recent literature, is described. A specific section is
      devoted to safety issues. In addition, effects of glutamic salts on nutrition and
      ingestive behaviours are shown to be potent. Animal and human works are treated
      separately, with special attention to the specific methods used in both cases.
      Future areas of research include further investigation of sensory physiology,
      role of glutamate as an excitatory substance in the brain, acquisition of food
      likes and impact on long-term food selection, food intake, and body weight
      control.

PMID- 9989430
TI  - Unique salience of maternal breast odors for newborn infants.
AB  - Human infants are particularly responsive to olfactory cues emanating from their
      mother's nipple/areola region. Beginning within minutes after birth, maternal
      breast odors elicit preferential head orientation by neonates and help guide them
      to the nipple. Such odors also influence babies' general motor activity and
      arousal, which may contribute further to successful nipple localization and
      sucking. The role of maternal olfactory signals in the mediation of early breast
      feeding is functionally analogous to that of nipple-search pheromone as described
      in nonhuman mammals. To some extent, the chemical profile of breast secretions
      overlaps with that of amniotic fluid. Therefore, early postnatal attraction to
      odors associated with the nipple/areola may reflect prenatal exposure and
      familiarization. Although newborns are generally attracted to breast odors
      produced by lactating women, breast-fed infants rapidly learn their mother's
      characteristic olfactory signature while sucking at her breasts and can
      subsequently recognize her by that unique scent alone. Early odor-based
      recognition may be an important factor in the development of the infant-mother
      bond.

PMID- 9989431
TI  - Errors made by animals in memory paradigms are not always due to failure of
      memory.
AB  - It is commonly assumed that errors in animal memory paradigms such as delayed
      matching to sample, radial mazes, and food-cache recovery are due to failures in
      memory for information necessary to perform the task successfully. A body of
      research, reviewed here, suggests that this is not always the case: animals
      sometimes make errors despite apparently being able to remember the appropriate
      information. In this paper a case study of this phenomenon is described, along
      with a demonstration of a simple procedural modification that successfully
      reduced these non-memory errors, thereby producing a better measure of memory.

PMID- 9989432
TI  - The effects of stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation on human postural sway.
AB  - Galvanic vestibular stimulation serves to modulate the continuous firing level of
      the peripheral vestibular afferents. It has been shown that the application of
      sinusoidally varying, bipolar galvanic currents to the vestibular system can lead
      to sinusoidally varying postural sway. Our objective was to test the hypothesis
      that stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation can lead to coherent stochastic
      postural sway. Bipolar binaural stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation was
      applied to nine healthy young subjects. Three different stochastic vestibular
      stimulation signals, each with a different frequency content (0-1 Hz, 1-2 Hz, and
      0-2 Hz), were used. The stimulation level (range 0.4-1.5 mA, peak to peak) was
      determined on an individual basis. Twenty 60-s trials were conducted on each
      subject - 15 stimulation trials (5 trials with each stimulation signal) and 5
      control (no stimulation) trials. During the trials, subjects stood in a relaxed,
      upright position with their head facing forward. Postural sway was evaluated by
      using a force platform to measure the displacements of the center of pressure
      (COP) under each subject's feet. Cross-spectral measures were used to quantify
      the relationship between the applied stimulus and the resulting COP time series.
      We found significant coherency between the stochastic vestibular stimulation
      signal and the resulting mediolateral COP time series in the majority of trials
      in 8 of the 9 subjects tested. The coherency results for each stimulation signal
      were reproducible from trial to trial, and the highest degree of coherency was
      found for the 1- to 2-Hz stochastic vestibular stimulation signal. In general,
      for the nine subjects tested, we did not find consistent significant coherency
      between the stochastic vestibular stimulation signals and the anteroposterior COP
      time series. This work demonstrates that, in subjects who are facing forward,
      bipolar binaural stochastic galvanic stimulation of the vestibular system leads
      to coherent stochastic mediolateral postural sway, but it does not lead to
      coherent stochastic anteroposterior postural sway. Our finding that the coherency
      was highest for the 1- to 2-Hz stochastic vestibular stimulation signal may be
      due to the intrinsic dynamics of the quasi-static postural control system. In
      particular, it may result from the effects of the vestibular stimulus simply
      being superimposed upon the quiet-standing COP displacements. By utilizing
      stochastic stimulation signals, we ensured that the subjects could not predict a
      change in the vestibular stimulus. Thus, our findings indicate that subjects can
      act as "responders" to galvanic vestibular stimulation.

PMID- 9989433
TI  - A fronto-parietal system for computing the egocentric spatial frame of reference
      in humans.
AB  - Spatial orientation is based on coordinates referring to the subject's body. A
      fundamental principle is the mid-sagittal plane, which divides the body and space
      into the left and right sides. Its neural bases were investigated by functional
      magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Seven normal subjects pressed a button when a
      vertical bar, moving horizontally, crossed the subjective mid-sagittal plane. In
      the control condition, the subjects' task was to press a button when the
      direction of the bar movement changed, at the end of each leftward or rightward
      movement. The task involving the computation of the mid-sagittal plane yielded
      increased signal in posterior parietal and lateral frontal premotor regions, with
      a more extensive activation in the right cerebral hemisphere. This direct
      evidence in normal human subjects that a bilateral, mainly right hemisphere
      based, cortical network is active during the computation of the egocentric
      reference is consistent with neuropsychological studies in patients with
      unilateral cerebral lesions. Damage to the right hemisphere, more frequently to
      the posterior-inferior parietal region, may bring about a neglect syndrome of the
      contralesional, left side of space, including a major rightward displacement of
      the subjective mid-sagittal plane. The existence of a posterior parietal-lateral
      premotor frontal network concerned with egocentric spatial reference frames is
      also in line with neurophysiological studies in the monkey.

PMID- 9989434
TI  - Stronger occipital cortical activation to lower than upper visual field stimuli.
      Neuromagnetic recordings.
AB  - We recorded whole-scalp magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses to black-and
      white checkerboards to study whether the human cortical responses are
      quantitatively similar to stimulation of the lower and upper visual field at
      small, 0-6 degrees, eccentricities. All stimuli evoked strong occipital responses
      peaking at 50-100 ms (mean 75 ms). The activation was modeled with a single
      equivalent current dipole in the contralateral occipital cortex, close to the
      calcarine fissure, agreeing with an activation of the V1/V2 cortex. The dipole
      was, on average, twice as strong to lower than to upper field stimuli. Responses
      to hemifield stimuli that extended to both lower and upper fields resembled the
      responses to lower field stimuli in source current direction and strength. These
      results agree with psychophysical data, which indicate lower visual field
      advantage in complex visual processing. Parieto-occipital responses in the
      putative V6 complex were similar to lower and upper field stimuli.

PMID- 9989435
TI  - Contribution of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors to synaptic transmission from the
      brachium of the inferior colliculus to the medial subdivision of the medial
      geniculate nucleus in the rabbit.
AB  - Previous work from this laboratory has demonstrated that monosynaptic inputs from
      the brachium of the inferior colliculus (BIC) to the medial subdivision of the
      medial geniculate nucleus (mMG) strengthen as a result of associative
      conditioning with an acoustic conditioned stimulus (i.e., fear conditioning). One
      model that has been proposed to underlie certain types of neuronal plasticity
      involves the recruitment of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA)-type glutamate
      receptors. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative
      contributions of glutamatergic NMDA and non-NMDA receptors to synaptic
      transmission within this pathway. Individual contributions of the specific
      receptor types were assessed through the use of 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid
      (AP5), a selective NMDA receptor antagonist, and 6-cyano-5-nitroquinoxaline-2,3
      dione (CNQX), a non-NMDA receptor antagonist. Bipolar stimulating electrodes were
      stereotaxically implanted in BIC and recording electrodes (attached to dual 32
      gauge cannulae for delivery of drug) were positioned in mMG of New Zealand albino
      rabbits. Single pulses (150 micros, 100-350 microA) delivered to BIC resulted in
      short-latency (<4 ms) responses in mMG. BIC-evoked single-unit activity was
      recorded from mMG before, during, and at several intervals after injection of
      AP5, CNQX, and/or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF). Injection of either AP5
      or CNQX, but not ACSF, significantly attenuated the short-latency BIC-evoked
      responses in the vast majority of cells tested. These findings suggest that the
      monosynaptic pathway from BIC to mMG is glutamatergic and that this pathway
      frequently employs NMDA-type receptors during electrically stimulated synaptic
      transmission. Due to the NMDA receptors' proposed role in plasticity (e.g., long
      term potentiation), these results may have implications for understanding the
      mechanisms of synaptic plasticity observed at this synapse during associative
      learning.

PMID- 9989436
TI  - Spinal cord implantation of avulsed ventral roots in primates; correlation
      between restored motor function and morphology.
AB  - Functional restitution following spinal cord implantation of avulsed ventral
      roots was assessed electromyographically and correlated with the morphology of
      the regenerated neural structures in primates. The C5-C8 ventral roots were
      avulsed from the spinal cord in seven Macaca fascicularis monkeys. In three
      animals the roots were immediately reimplanted into the ventrolateral part of the
      spinal cord. In two monkeys the avulsed roots were reimplanted with a delay of 2
      months and in two control animals the roots were not reimplanted. There was
      substantial recovery of function after both immediate and delayed spinal cord
      implantation of the avulsed ventral roots. The population of neurons that had
      regenerated was larger than on the control side, indicating a rescue of cells
      after an immediate root implantation. Different functional types of neurons had
      been attracted to regrow axons to the implanted root as judged by their position
      in the ventral horn. Thus, neurons normally supplying antagonistic muscles, such
      as the triceps muscle, participated in the innervation of the biceps muscle.
      Functionally this deficient directional specificity was correlated to both
      spasticity and co-contractions among agonistic and antagonistic muscles.
      Occasional electromyographic signs of function occurred also in control animals
      where the avulsed roots had not been implanted. This recovery was found to depend
      on regrowth from the site of avulsion, within the pia mater among the
      leptomeningeal cells and to the avulsed roots. The acceptable functional
      dexterity regained due to corrective surgery is discussed in terms of
      neurotrophism and plasticity.

PMID- 9989437
TI  - Time course of simultaneous masking in the starling's auditory forebrain.
AB  - Simultaneous masking of pure tones was studied in the primary auditory forebrain
      of a songbird species, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). The responses of
      32 multi-unit clusters in the input layer of the auditory neostriatum (field L2a)
      were recorded via radiotelemetry from freely moving birds. The probe was a 10-ms
      tone burst at the units' characteristic-frequency (CF) presented 20 dB above the
      threshold. The masker was an 80-ms tone burst presented either at the units' CF
      (excitatory masker) or at a frequency located in inhibitory side-bands
      (inhibitory masker) of the units' tuning curves. The probe was presented either 3
      ms or 63 ms after masker onset. Probes presented at a 3-ms delay were influenced
      at significantly lower levels of an excitatory masker than probes presented at a
      63-ms delay. The mean difference in masker level at the detection thresholds for
      both probe delays was 8 dB. No difference in masker level was observed for
      inhibitory-frequency maskers. The observed neural masking effects may be
      explained by at least four mechanisms: (1) swamping of the probe response by the
      response to the masker, (2) a reduction of the probe response during neural
      adaptation of the response to the masker, (3) a reduction of the probe response
      during side-band inhibition in the central nervous system, and (4) suppression
      originating in the cochlea.

PMID- 9989438
TI  - Task-dependent modulation of inhibitory actions within the primary motor cortex.
AB  - In 11 healthy subjects motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and silent periods (SPs)
      were measured in the right first dorsal interosseus (FDI) and abductor pollicis
      brevis muscles (APB): (1) when transcranial magnetic cortex stimulation (TMS) was
      applied at tonic isometric contraction of 20% of maximum force, (2) when TMS was
      applied during tactile exploration of a small object in the hand, (3) when TMS
      was applied during visually guided goal-directed isometric ramp and hold finger
      flexion movements, and (4) when at tonic isometric contraction peripheral
      electrical stimulation (PES) of the median nerve was delivered at various
      intervals between PES and TMS. Of the natural motor tasks, duration of SPs of
      small hand muscles was longest during tactile exploration (APB 205+/-42 ms; FDI
      213+/-47 ms). SP duration at tonic isometric contraction amounted to 172+/-35 ms
      in APB and 178+/-31 ms in FDI, respectively. SP duration in FDI was shortest when
      elicited during visually guided isometric finger movements (159+/-15 ms). At
      tonic isometric contraction, SP was shortened when PES was applied at latencies 
      30 to +70 ms in conjunction with TMS. The latter effect was most pronounced when
      PES was applied 20 ms before TMS. PES-induced effects increased with increasing
      stimulation strength up to a saturation level which appeared at the transition to
      painful stimulation strengths. Both isolated stimulation of muscle afferents and
      of low-threshold cutaneous afferents shortened SP duration. However, PES of the
      contralateral median nerve had no effect on SPs. Amplitudes of MEPs did not
      change significantly in any condition. Inhibitory control of motor output
      circuitries seems to be distinctly modulated by peripheral somatosensory and
      visual afferent information. We conclude that somatosensory information has
      privileged access to inhibitory interneuronal circuits within the primary motor
      cortex.

PMID- 9989439
TI  - Standing on a continuously moving platform: is body inertia counteracted or
      exploited?
AB  - We describe the characteristics of displacement of the head and hip in normal
      young subjects standing on a moving platform undergoing continuous sinusoidal
      horizontal translation in the antero-posterior direction, at frequencies ranging
      from 0.1-1 Hz. The head, hip and malleolus were marked by light-emitting diodes
      (LEDs), and the displacement of each LED was quantified by (1) the measure of the
      shift during each cycle of translation, (2) the standard deviation (SD) of the
      path travelled during the whole trial, (3) the power spectrum (PS) of the signal
      and (4) the cross-correlation (CC) between pairs of LED signals. At each
      frequency of translation, with eyes open (EO), the displacement of head was
      smaller than that of hip, and the displacement of hip was smaller than that of
      malleolus. With eyes closed (EC), this order was reversed. The peak value of the
      CC functions of the pairs malleolus/head, malleolus/hip and hip/head decreased by
      passing from low to high frequency of translation, under both visual conditions,
      and decreased more for the pair malleolus/head than malleolus/hip. The lags
      between body segment displacements ranged between 30 ms and 150 ms, on average,
      the former segment of each pair preceding the latter. The fast Fourier
      transformation of hip and head displacement showed a power spectrum peak at the
      frequency imposed by the platform translation. The peak was larger with EC than
      EO. With EC, another peak appeared at 0.2 Hz, possibly corresponding to the
      respiratory frequency. We conclude that, when vision was allowed, subjects
      behaved as a non-rigid, noninverted pendulum, and stabilised head in space. When
      vision was denied, head oscillated more than the platform, especially at low
      translation frequencies. Therefore, the strategy of balance control shifted from
      a pendulum to an inverted-pendulum behaviour, passing from active head-and-trunk
      control to maximal body compliance to the perturbation.

PMID- 9989440
TI  - Antagonist motor responses correlate with kinesthetic illusions induced by tendon
      vibration.
AB  - In humans, vibration applied to muscle tendons evokes illusory sensations of
      movement that are usually associated with an excitatory tonic response in muscles
      antagonistic to those vibrated (antagonist vibratory response or AVR). The aim of
      the present study was to investigate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying
      such a motor response. For that purpose, we analyzed the relationships between
      the parameters of the tendon vibration (anatomical site and frequency) and those
      of the illusory movement perceived (direction and velocity), as well as the
      temporal, spatial, and quantitative characteristics of the corresponding AVRs
      (i.e., surface EMG, motor unit firing rates and activation latencies). Analogies
      were supposed between the characteristics of AVRs and voluntary contractions. The
      parameters of the AVR were thus compared with those of a voluntary contraction
      with similar temporal and mechanical characteristics, involving the same muscle
      groups as those activated by vibration. Wrist flexor muscles were vibrated either
      separately or simultaneously with wrist extensor muscles at frequencies between
      30 and 80 Hz. The illusory movement sensations were quantified through
      contralateral hand-tracking movements. Electromyographic activity from the
      extensor carpi radialis muscles was recorded with surface and intramuscular
      microelectrodes. The results showed that vibration of the wrist flexor muscle
      group induced both a kinesthetic illusion of wrist extension and a motor response
      in the extensor carpi radialis muscles. Combined vibration of the two
      antagonistic muscle groups at the same frequency evoked neither kinesthetic
      illusion nor motor activity. In addition, vibrating the same two antagonistic
      muscle groups at different frequencies induced both a kinesthetic illusion and a
      motor response in the muscle vibrated at the lowest frequency. The surface EMG
      amplitude of the extensor carpi radialis as well as the motor unit activation
      latency and discharge frequency were clearly correlated to the parameters of the
      illusory movement evoked by the vibration. Indeed, the faster the illusory
      sensation of movement, the greater the surface EMG in these muscles during the
      AVRs and the sooner and the more intense the activation of the motor units of the
      wrist extensor muscles. Moreover, comparison of the AVR with voluntary
      contraction showed that all parameters were highly similar. Mainly slow motor
      units were recruited during the AVR and during its voluntary reproduction. That
      the AVR is observed only when a kinesthetic illusion is evoked, together with the
      similarities between voluntary contractions and AVRs, suggests that this
      vibration-induced motor response may result from a perceptual-to-motor
      transformation of proprioceptive information, rather than from spinal reflex
      mechanisms.

PMID- 9989441
TI  - Effects of short-term adaptation of saccadic gaze amplitude on hand-pointing
      movements.
AB  - We investigated whether and how adaptive changes in saccadic amplitudes (short
      term saccadic adaptation) modify hand movements when subjects are involved in a
      pointing task to visual targets without vision of the hand. An experiment
      consisted of the pre-adaptation test of hand pointing (placing the finger tip on
      a LED position), a period of adaptation, and a post-adaptation test of hand
      pointing. In a basic task (transfer paradigm A), the pre- and post-adaptation
      trials were performed without accompanying eye and head movements: in the double
      step gaze adaptation task, subjects had to fixate a single, suddenly displaced
      visual target by moving eyes and head in a natural way. Two experimental sessions
      were run with the visual target jumping during the saccades, either backwards
      (from 30 to 20 degrees, gaze saccade shortening) or onwards (30 to 40 degrees,
      gaze saccade lengthening). Following gaze-shortening adaptation (level of
      adaptation 79+/-10%, mean and s.d.), we found a statistically significant shift
      (t-test, error level P<0.05) in the final hand-movement points, possibly due to
      adaptation transfer, representing 15.2% of the respective gaze adaptation. After
      gaze-lengthening adaptation (level of adaptation 92+/-17%). a non-significant
      shift occurred in the opposite direction to that expected from adaptation
      transfer. The applied computations were also performed on some data of an earlier
      transfer paradigm (B, three target displacements at a time) with gain shortening.
      They revealed a significant transfer relative to the amount of adaptation of
      18.5< or = 17.5% (P<0.05). In the coupling paradigm (C), we studied the influence
      of gaze saccade adaptation of hand-pointing movements with concomitant orienting
      gaze shifts. The adaptation levels achieved were 59+/-20% (shortening) and 61+/
      27% (lengthening). Shifts in the final fingertip positions were congruent with
      internal coupling between gaze and hand, representing 53% of the respective gaze
      amplitude changes in the shortening session and 6% in the lengthening session.
      With an adaptation transfer of less than 20% (paradigm A and B), we concluded
      that saccadic adaptation does not "automatically" produce a functionally
      meaningful change in the skeleto-motor system controlling hand-pointing
      movements. In tasks with concomitant gaze saccades (coupling paradigm C), the
      modification of hand pointing by the adapted gaze comes out more clearly, but
      only in the shortening session.

PMID- 9989442
TI  - Loading during the stance phase of walking in humans increases the extensor EMG
      amplitude but does not change the duration of the step cycle.
AB  - Prior work from mammals suggests that load experienced by extensor muscles of the
      hindlimbs (i.e. Duysens and Pearson 1980; Pearson and Collins 1993; Fouad and
      Pearson 1997) or cutaneous afferents from the plantar surface of the foot
      (Duysens and Pearson 1976; Guertin et al. 1995) enhances activity in extensor
      muscles during the stance phase, and delays the onset of flexor activity
      associated with the swing phase. The presumed functional significance of this
      phenomenon is that extensor activity of the supporting limb during walking can:
      (a) reinforce the supporting function in proportion to the load experienced, and
      (b) prolong the stance phase until unloading of the limb has occurred. Whether a
      similar functional role exists for load-sensitive afferents during walking in the
      human is unknown. In this study, the effect of adding or removing a substantial
      load (30% of body weight) at the centre of mass was studied in healthy adult
      human subjects. Loads were applied near the centre of mass to avoid the need for
      postural adjustments which might confound the interpretation of the results.
      Subjects walked on a treadmill with either: (a) a sustained increase or decrease
      in load, or (b) a sudden unexpected increase or decrease in load. In general,
      subjects responded to the changes in load by changing the amplitude of the
      extensor electromyographic (EMG) bursts. For example, with sudden unexpected
      additions in load, the average increase in amplitude was 40% for the soleus
      across the stance phase, and 134% for the quadriceps during the early part of the
      stance phase. Extensor EMGs increased with both sustained and sudden increases in
      load. Extensor EMG durations also increased (average increase in duration of 4%
      for soleus with sudden loading, and 7% for sustained loading). Cycle duration
      hardly changed (average increase of 0.5% with both sudden and sustained loading).
      These results differ from those of infants subjected to a similar perturbation
      during supported walking. A large change in timing (i.e. an increase in the
      duration of the stance phase by 30% and the step cycle by 28%) was seen in the
      infants, with no change in the amplitude of the EMG burst (Yang et al. 1998).
      These results suggest that the central nervous system can control the timing and
      amplitude of extensor EMG activity in response to loading independently.
      Maturation of the two components most likely occurs independently. In the adult,
      independent control of the two components may provide greater flexibility of the
      response.

PMID- 9989443
TI  - Neonatal control of nutritive sucking pressure: evidence for an intrinsic tau
      guide.
AB  - Human newborns appear to regulate sucking pressure when bottle feeding by
      employing, with similar precision, the same principle of control evidenced by
      adults in skilled behavior, such as reaching (Lee et al., 1998a). In particular,
      the present study of 12 full-term newborn infants indicated that the intraoral
      sucking pressures followed an internal dynamic prototype - an intrinsic tau
      guide. The intrinsic tau-guide, a recent hypothesis of general tau theory is a
      time-varying quantity, tau(g), assumed to be generated within the nervous system.
      It corresponds to some quantity (e.g., electrical charge), changing with a
      constant second-order temporal derivative from a rest level to a goal level, in
      the sense that tau(g) equals tau of the gap between the quantity and its goal
      level at each time t. (tau of a gap is the time-to-closure of the gap at the
      current closure-rate.) According to the hypothesis, the infant senses tau(p), the
      tau of the gap between the current intraoral pressure and its goal level, and
      regulates intraoral pressure so that tau(p) and tau(g), remain coupled in a
      constant ratio, k; i.e., tau(p)=k tau(g). With k in the range 0-1, the tau
      coupling would result in a bell-shaped rate of change pressure profile, as was,
      in fact, found. More specifically, the high mean r2 values obtained when
      regressing tau(p) on tau(g), for both the increasing and decreasing suction
      periods of the infants' suck, supported a strong tau-coupling between tau(p) and
      tau(g). The mean k values were significantly higher in the increasing suction
      period, indicating that the ending of the movement was more forceful, a finding
      which makes sense given the different functions of the two periods of the suck.

PMID- 9989444
TI  - Receptive-field properties of adult cat's retinal ganglion cells with regenerated
      axons.
AB  - Receptive-field properties of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that had regenerated
      their axons were studied by recording single-unit activity from strands teased
      from peripheral nerve (PN) grafts apposed to the cut optic nerve in adult cats.
      Of the 286 visually responsive units recorded from PN grafts in 20 cats, 49.7%
      were classified, according to their receptive-field properties, as Y-cells, 39.5%
      as X-cells, 6.6% as W-cells, and 4.2% were unclassified. The predominant
      representation of Y-cells is consistent with a corresponding morphological study
      (Watanabe et al. 1993a), which identified alpha-cells as the RGC type with the
      largest proportion of regenerating axons. Among the X-cells, we only found ON
      center types, whereas both ON-center and OFF-center Y-cells were found. As in
      intact retinas, the receptive-field center sizes of Y-cells and W-cells were
      larger than those of X-cells at corresponding displacements from the area
      centralis. Within the 10 degrees surrounding the area centralis, the receptive
      fields of X-cells with regenerated axons were larger than those in intact
      retinas, suggesting that some rearrangement of retinal circuitry occurred as a
      consequence of degeneration and regeneration. Receptive-field center responses of
      Y-, X-, and W-type units with regenerated axons were similar to those found in
      intact retinas, but the level of spontaneous activity of Y- and X-type units was,
      in general, less than that of intact RGCs. Receptive-field surrounds were weak or
      not detected in more than half of the visually responsive RGCs with regenerated
      axons.

PMID- 9989445
TI  - The simple reaction time to changes in direction of visual motion.
AB  - Recently Dzhafarov et al. presented a model explaining data on simple reaction
      time (RT) to unidimensional velocity changes. The authors suggested that having a
      motion with an initial velocity V0, the velocity change detection system is
      reinitialized by means of a "subtractive normalization" process. Therefore, any
      abrupt change from V0 to V1 is detected as if it were the onset of motion with a
      speed equal to /V1-V0/. They derived that the RT is a function of /V1-V0/(-2/3).
      We tested this model for the case of two-dimensional velocity changes. Our
      subjects observed a random dot pattern that moved horizontally, then changed the
      direction of motion by an angle alpha in the range between 6 degrees and 180
      degrees without changing the speed V. Speeds of 4 and 12 deg/s were used. The
      subjects reacted as quickly as possible to the direction change. The RTs
      asymptotically decreased with increasing alpha; with 12 deg/s speed the RTs were
      shorter than those obtained with 4 deg/s. It was shown that the data can be well
      described as a function of /V1-V0/(-2/3)=(2Vsin(alpha/2))(-2/3). An extension of
      the "subtractive normalization" hypothesis for the case of two-dimensional
      velocity changes is proposed. It is based on the assumption that the velocity
      vector V1 after the change is decomposed into two orthogonal components.
      Alternative explanations based on the use of position or orientation cues are
      shown to contradict the data.

PMID- 9989446
TI  - Supratentorial pilocytic astrocytomas, astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and
      glioblastomas are characterized by a differential expression of S100 proteins.
AB  - The levels of expression of the S100A1, S100A2, S100A3, S100A4, S100A5, S100A6
      and S100B proteins were immunohistochemically assayed and quantitatively
      determined in a series of 95 astrocytic tumors including 26 World Health
      Organization (WHO) grade I (pilocytic astrocytomas), 23 WHO grade II
      (astrocytomas), 25 WHO grade III (anaplastic astrocytomas) and 21 WHO grade IV
      (glioblastomas) cases. The level of the immunohistochemical expression of the
      S100 proteins was quantitatively determined in the solid tumor tissue (tumor
      mass). In addition twenty blood vessel walls and their corresponding perivascular
      tumor astrocytes were also immunohistochemically assayed for 10 cases chosen at
      random from each of the four histopathological groups. The data showed
      modifications in the level of S100A3 protein expression; these modifications
      clearly identified the pilocytic astrocytomas from WHO grade II-IV astrocytic
      tumors as a distinct biological group. Modifications in the level of S100A6
      protein expression enabled a clear distinction to be made between low (WHO grade
      I and II) and high (WHO grade III and IV) grade astrocytic tumors. Very
      significant modifications occurred in the level of S100A1 protein expression
      (and, to a lesser extent, in their of the S100A4 and S100B proteins) in relation
      to the increasing levels of malignancy. While the S100A5 protein was
      significantly expressed in all the astrocytic tumors (but without any significant
      modifications in the levels of malignancy), the S100A2 protein was never
      expressed in these tumors. These data thus indicate that several S100 proteins
      play major biological roles in human astrocytic tumors.

PMID- 9989447
TI  - CNS cell populations are protected from virus-induced pathology by distinct arms
      of the immune system.
AB  - The basis for the distinct patterns of brain pathology in individuals
      experiencing virus-induced encephalitis may be related to either the tropism of
      the virus or the host's response to virus infection of the central nervous system
      (CNS). In these studies we used Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV)
      and a series of mice deficient in various immune system components (alpha/beta T
      cells, antibody, Class I MHC, and Class II MHC) to examine the hypothesis that
      discrete populations of CNS cells are protected differentially from virus
      infection by distinct arms of the immune response. Here we demonstrate that the
      Class I-mediated immune response provided more protection from areas of the brain
      (brainstem, corpus callosum and cerebellum) with abundant white matter as there
      was significantly more disease in these areas in beta2m -/- (Class I-deficient)
      mice as compared to A beta(0) (Class II-deficient) mice. In contrast, the
      striatum, with an abundance of neurons, was protected from virus-induced
      pathology primarily by antibody. In addition, we determined that antibody and
      alpha/beta T cells provided protection from severe deficits and death during the
      acute phase of the disease. The data presented here support the hypothesis that
      distinct immune system components function to protect discrete areas of the CNS
      from virus-induced pathology.

PMID- 9989448
TI  - Identification in human brain tumors of DNA sequences specific for SV40 large T
      antigen.
AB  - Simian virus 40 (SV40) sequences have recently been identified in a variety of
      human neoplasms, including mesothelioma, osteosarcoma, and brain tumors, but
      significant discrepancies exist regarding the frequency at which this occurs. The
      SV40 genome is 70% homologous to JC and BK, two related polyomaviruses that are
      highly prevalent in humans and which may cause in immune-compromised patients
      progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and cystitis, respectively. We
      have established a specific and sensitive method to identify SV40 sequence in DNA
      extracted from histological sections, using PCR followed by Southern
      hybridization to probes specific to the large T region. We found SV40 large T
      antigen sequences in all brain tumor types investigated. High frequencies were
      found in low-grade astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and secondary
      glioblastomas derived thereof (13/22, 59%) while somewhat lower frequencies were
      found in gemistocytic astrocytomas (9/28, 32%) and oligodendrogliomas (3/12,
      25%). Primary glioblastomas, giant cell glioblastomas, and gliosarcomas, which
      clinically develop de novo, contained SV40 sequences in 11-25% of cases. Presence
      of viral DNA was also observed in pediatric brain tumors, including ependymomas
      (9/16, 56%), choroid plexus papillomas (6/16, 38%), and medulloblastomas (5/17,
      29%). In 8 tumor biopsies with SV40 sequences, the adjacent normal brain tissue
      was also analyzed but was devoid of viral DNA in all but one case. BK and JC
      virus sequences were rarely detected, the overall frequencies being 3% and 2%,
      respectively. It remains to be shown whether the presence of SV40 contributes
      significantly to malignant transformation or whether certain human neoplasms
      provide a microenvironment that favors viral replication in humans with latent
      SV40 infection.

PMID- 9989449
TI  - Is SV40 a tumorigenic human pathogen?

PMID- 9989450
TI  - Co-localization of TSC1 and TSC2 gene products in tubers of patients with
      tuberous sclerosis.
AB  - Two genes, mutations in which result in the phenotype of tuberous sclerosis
      (TSC), have recently been cloned. TSC2 on chromosome 16p13.3 encodes the protein
      tuberin, which appears to have growth regulating properties. TSC1 on chromosome
      9q34 encodes hamartin which, as yet, has no specified cellular functions.
      Polyclonal antibodies were raised to synthetic peptides representing portions of
      tuberin and hamartin and used in immunoblots and immunohistochemical studies to
      localize the proteins in surgically resected neocortical tubers from four TSC
      patients. On Western blots of autopsy brain specimens, K-562 cell, and NT2
      lysates, each antibody labelled a single band at the expected molecular weight.
      In immunohistochemical protocols on paraffin embedded tissue, antibodies to both
      tuberin and hamartin prominently labelled atypical and dysmorphic neuroglial
      cells that are a defining feature of TSC tubers. Some abnormal cells within
      cortical tuber sections were labelled with both tuberin and hamartin antisera.
      Our results suggest that tuberin and hamartin are both robustly expressed in
      similar populations of neuroglial cells of TSC tubers, even in the presence of
      TSC1 or TSC2 germline mutations. The roles of these gene products in normal and
      abnormal cortical development, tuber pathogenesis and the generation of seizures
      remain to be defined.

PMID- 9989452
TI  - Oxidative stress in bacterial meningitis.
AB  - Fifty years after the advent of antibiotics for clinical use, the rates of
      morbidity and mortality associated with bacterial meningitis remain high. The
      unfavourable clinical outcome is often due to intracranial complications
      including cerebrovascular insults, raised intracranial pressure, hydrocephalus,
      and brain edema. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known effector molecules in
      the antimicrobial armature of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes.
      However, over the last decade, there has been a substantial body of work
      implicating a central role of ROS in the development of intracranial
      complications and brain damage in bacterial meningitis. Recently, it also became
      evident that reactive nitrogen species (RNS), especially nitric oxide, are
      important mediators of meningitis-associated pathophysiological changes, at least
      during the early phase of the disease. There is now substantial evidence that
      much of the oxidative injury associated by simultaneous production of superoxide
      and nitric oxide is mediated by the strong oxidant peroxynitrite. ROS and
      peroxynitrite can be cytotoxic via a number of independent mechanisms. Their
      cytotoxic effects include initiation of lipid peroxidation and induction of DNA
      single strand breakage. Damaged DNA activates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).
      Recent experimental data propose a role of lipid peroxidation and PARP activation
      in the development of meningitis-associated intracranial complications and brain
      injury. Agents which interfere with the production of ROS and peroxynitrite, as
      well as with PARP activation and lipid peroxidation may represent novel,
      therapeutic strategies to limit meningitis-associated brain damage, and, thus, to
      improve the outcome of this serious disease.

PMID- 9989453
TI  - Demyelination: the role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
AB  - This review summarises the role that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species play in
      demyelination, such as that occurring in the inflammatory demyelinating disorders
      multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The concentrations of reactive
      oxygen and nitrogen species (e.g. superoxide, nitric oxide and peroxynitrite) can
      increase dramatically under conditions such as inflammation, and this can
      overwhelm the inherent antioxidant defences within lesions. Such oxidative and/or
      nitrative stress can damage the lipids, proteins and nucleic acids of cells and
      mitochondria, potentially causing cell death. Oligodendrocytes are more sensitive
      to oxidative and nitrative stress in vitro than are astrocytes and microglia,
      seemingly due to a diminished capacity for antioxidant defence, and the presence
      of raised risk factors, including a high iron content. Oxidative and nitrative
      stress might therefore result in vivo in selective oligodendrocyte death, and
      thereby demyelination. The reactive species may also damage the myelin sheath,
      promoting its attack by macrophages. Damage can occur directly by lipid
      peroxidation, and indirectly by the activation of proteases and phospholipase A2.
      Evidence for the existence of oxidative and nitrative stress within inflammatory
      demyelinating lesions includes the presence of both lipid and protein peroxides,
      and nitrotyrosine (a marker for peroxynitrite formation). The neurological
      deficit resulting from experimental autoimmune demyelinating disease has
      generally been reduced by trial therapies intended to diminish the concentration
      of reactive oxygen species. However, therapies aimed at diminishing reactive
      nitrogen species have had a more variable outcome, sometimes exacerbating
      disease.

PMID- 9989454
TI  - Oxidative metabolism, apoptosis and perinatal brain injury.
AB  - Perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic injury (HII) is a significant cause of
      neurodevelopmental impairment and disability. Studies employing 31P magnetic
      resonance spectroscopy to measure phosphorus metabolites in situ in the brains of
      newborn infants and animals have demonstrated that transient hypoxia-ischaemia
      leads to a delayed disruption in cerebral energy metabolism, the magnitude of
      which correlates with the subsequent neurodevelopmental impairment. Prominent
      among the biochemical features of HII is the loss of cellular ATP, resulting in
      increased intracellular Na+ and Ca2+, and decreased intracellular K+. These ionic
      imbalances, together with a breakdown in cellular defence systems following HII,
      can contribute to oxidative stress with a net increase in reactive oxygen
      species. Subsequent damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA and inactivation of key
      cellular enzymes leads ultimately to cell death. Although the precise mechanisms
      of neuronal loss are unclear, it is now clear both apoptosis and necrosis are the
      significant components of cell death following HII. A number of different factors
      influence whether a cell will undergo apoptosis or necrosis, including the stage
      of development, cell type, severity of mitochondrial injury and the availability
      of ATP for apoptotic execution. This review will focus on some pathological
      mechanisms of cell death in which there is a disruption to oxidative metabolism.
      The first sections will discuss the process of damage to oxidative metabolism,
      covering the data collected both from human infants and from animal models.
      Following sections will deal with the molecular mechanisms that may underlie
      cerebral energy failure and cell death in this form of brain injury, with a
      particular emphasis on the role of apoptosis and mitochondria.

PMID- 9989455
TI  - Oxidative stress in brain ischemia.
AB  - Brain ischemia initiates a complex cascade of metabolic events, several of which
      involve the generation of nitrogen and oxygen free radicals. These free radicals
      and related reactive chemical species mediate much of damage that occurs after
      transient brain ischemia, and in the penumbral region of infarcts caused by
      permanent ischemia. Nitric oxide, a water- and lipid-soluble free radical, is
      generated by the action of nitric oxide synthases. Ischemia causes a surge in
      nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS 1) activity in neurons and, possibly, glia,
      increased NOS 3 activity in vascular endothelium, and later an increase in NOS 2
      activity in a range of cells including infiltrating neutrophils and macrophages,
      activated microglia and astrocytes. The effects of ischemia on the activity of
      NOS 1, a Ca2+-dependent enzyme, are thought to be secondary to reversal of
      glutamate reuptake at synapses, activation of NMDA receptors, and resulting
      elevation of intracellular Ca2+. The up-regulation of NOS 2 activity is mediated
      by transcriptional inducers. In the context of brain ischemia, the activity of
      NOS 1 and NOS 2 is broadly deleterious, and their inhibition or inactivation is
      neuroprotective. However, the production of nitric oxide in blood vessels by NOS
      3, which, like NOS 1, is Ca2+-dependent, causes vasodilatation and improves blood
      flow in the penumbral region of brain infarcts. In addition to causing the
      synthesis of nitric oxide, brain ischemia leads to the generation of superoxide,
      through the action of nitric oxide synthases, xanthine oxidase, leakage from the
      mitochondrial electron transport chain, and other mechanisms. Nitric oxide and
      superoxide are themselves highly reactive but can also combine to form a highly
      toxic anion, peroxynitrite. The toxicity of the free radicals and peroxynitrite
      results from their modification of macromolecules, especially DNA, and from the
      resulting induction of apoptotic and necrotic pathways. The mode of cell death
      that prevails probably depends on the severity and precise nature of the ischemic
      injury. Recent studies have emphasized the role of peroxynitrite in causing
      single-strand breaks in DNA, which activate the DNA repair protein poly(ADP
      ribose) polymerase (PARP). This catalyzes the cleavage and thereby the
      consumption of NAD+, the source of energy for many vital cellular processes. Over
      activation of PARP, with resulting depletion of NAD+, has been shown to make a
      major contribution to brain damage after transient focal ischemia in experimental
      animals. Neuronal accumulation of poly(ADP-ribose), the end-product of PARP
      activity has been demonstrated after brain ischemia in man. Several therapeutic
      strategies have been used to try to prevent oxidative damage and its consequences
      after brain ischemia in man. Although some of the drugs used in early studies
      were ineffective or had unacceptable side effects, other trials with antioxidant
      drugs have proven highly encouraging. The findings in recent animal studies are
      likely to lead to a range of further pharmacological strategies to limit brain
      injury in stroke patients.

PMID- 9989456
TI  - Oxidative alterations in Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - There is increasing evidence that free radical damage to brain lipids,
      carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA is involved in neuron death in neurodegenerative
      disorders. The largest number of studies have been performed in Alzheimer's
      disease (AD) where there is considerable support for the oxidative stress
      hypothesis in the pathogenesis of neuron degeneration. In autopsied brain there
      is an increase in lipid peroxidation, a decline in polyunsaturated fatty acids
      (PUFA) and an increase in 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), a neurotoxic aldehyde product
      of PUFA oxidation. Increased protein oxidation and a marked decline in oxidative
      sensitive enzymes, glutamine synthetase and creatinine kinase, are found in the
      brain in AD. Increased DNA oxidation, especially 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8
      OHdG) is present in the brain in AD. Immunohistochemical studies show the
      presence of oxidative stress products in neurofibrillary tangles and senile
      plaques in AD. Markers of lipid peroxidation (HNE, isoprostanes) and DNA (8-OHdG)
      are increased in CSF in AD. In addition, inflammatory response markers (the
      complement cascade, cytokines, acute phase reactants and proteases) are present
      in the brain in AD. These findings, coupled with epidemiologic studies showing
      that anti-inflammatory agents slow the progression or delay the onset of AD,
      suggest that inflammation plays a role in AD. Overall these studies indicate that
      oxidative stress and the inflammatory cascade, working in concert, are important
      in the pathogenetic cascade of neurodegeneration in AD, suggesting that
      therapeutic efforts aimed at both of these mechanisms may be beneficial.

PMID- 9989457
TI  - Oxidative stress in Huntington's disease.
AB  - It has been five years since the elucidation of the genetic mutation underlying
      the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD) (97), however the precise mechanism
      of the selective neuronal death it propagates still remains an enigma. Several
      different etiological processes may play roles, and strong evidence from studies
      in both humans and animal models suggests the involvement of energy metabolism
      dysfunction, excitotoxic processes, and oxidative stress. Importantly, the recent
      development of transgenic mouse models of HD led to the identification of
      neuronal intranuclear inclusion bodies in affected brain regions in both mouse
      models and in HD brain, consisting of protein aggregates containing fragments of
      mutant huntingtin protein. These observations opened new avenues of investigation
      into possible huntingtin protein interactions and their putative pathogenetic
      sequelae. Amongst these studies, findings of elevated levels of oxidative damage
      products such as malondialdehyde, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, 3-nitrotyrosine and
      heme oxygenase in areas of degeneration in HD brain, and of increased free
      radical production in animal models, indicate the involvement of oxidative stress
      either as a causative event, or as a secondary constituent of the cell death
      cascade in the disease. Here we review the evidence for oxidative damage and
      potential mechanisms of neuronal death in HD.

PMID- 9989459
TI  - Case of the month: July 1998 - 21 year old man with new-onset seizures and a
      temporal lobe mass.

PMID- 9989458
TI  - Oxidative stress and motor neurone disease.
AB  - The effects of oxidative stress within post mitotic cells such as neurones may be
      cumulative, and injury by free radical species is a major potential cause of the
      age-related deterioration in neuronal function seen in several neurodegenerative
      diseases. There is strong evidence that oxidative stress plays an important role
      in the pathogenesis of motor neurone disease (MND). Point mutations in the
      antioxidant enzyme Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are found in some pedigrees
      with the familial form of MND. How mutations in this ubiquitous enzyme cause the
      relatively selective cell death of specific groups of motor neurones is not
      clear, although a number of hypotheses have been forwarded. These include (1) the
      formation of hydroxyl radicals, (2) the catalysis of reactions of the nitrogen
      centred oxidant species peroxynitrite, (3) toxicity of copper or zinc and (4)
      protein aggregation. Some experimental support for these different hypotheses has
      been produced by manipulating cells in culture to express the mutant SOD1
      proteins and by generating transgenic mice which over-express mutant SOD1.
      Observations in these model systems are, in some cases at least, supported by
      observations made on pathological material from patients with similar SOD1
      mutations. Furthermore, there are reports of evidence of free radical mediated
      damage to neurones in the sporadic form of MND. Several lines of evidence suggest
      that alterations in the glutamatergic neurotransmitter system may also play a key
      role in the injury to motor neurones in sporadic MND. There are several important
      subcellular targets, which may be preferentially impaired within motor neurones,
      including neurofilament proteins and mitochondria. Future research will need to
      identify the aspects of the molecular and physiological phenotype of human motor
      neurones that makes them susceptible to degeneration in MND, and to identify
      those genetic and environmental factors which combine to cause this disease in
      individuals and in familial pedigrees.

PMID- 9989460
TI  - Case of the month: August 1998 - 45 year old man with headache and ataxia.

PMID- 9989461
TI  - Case of the month: September 1998 - 18 year old male with large cystic orbital
      tumor.

PMID- 9989462
TI  - Altered calpastatin protein levels following traumatic brain injury in rat.
AB  - Pathological activation of the intracellular Ca2+-dependent proteases calpains
      may be responsible for the neuronal pathology associated with neurodegenerative
      diseases and acute traumas to the central nervous system. Though calpain
      activation has been shown definitively in traumatic brain injury (TBI), no
      studies have investigated calpastatin (CAST), the calpains' endogenous and
      specific inhibitor, after TBI. The present study examined temporal changes in
      CAST protein following controlled cortical impact injury in the rat. Western blot
      analyses of CAST in cortex and hippocampus detected two bands corresponding to
      molecular weights of 130 kDa [high-molecular-weight (HMW)] and 80 kDa [low
      molecular-weight (LMW)]. A modest decrease in the HMW band in conjunction with a
      significant increase in the LMW band was observed in cortex ipsilateral to the
      site of impact following TBI. Examination of ipsilateral hippocampus revealed an
      increasing trend in the LMW band after injury, while no changes were observed in
      the HMW band. Thus, observable changes in CAST levels appear to occur several
      hours after reported calpain activation and cleavage of other substrates. In
      addition, a new analysis was performed on previously published data examining
      calpain activity in the same tissue samples used in the present study. These data
      suggest an association between decreases in calpain activity and accumulation of
      LMW CAST in the ipsilateral cortex following TBI. The present study cannot
      exclude proteolytic processing of CAST to LMW forms. However, the absence of
      reciprocity between changes in LMW and HMW bands in consistent with other data
      suggesting that rat brain could contain different CAST isoforms.

PMID- 9989464
TI  - Endogenous glutathione protects cerebral endothelial cells from traumatic injury.
AB  - Blood-brain barrier breakdown and edema, indicative of cerebrovascular injury,
      are characteristic pathophysiologic outcomes following head trauma. These
      injuries result from both primary mechanical damage and from secondary events
      initiated by the traumatic insult. Free radicals are recognized as mediators of
      secondary injury in a number of trauma models. In this study, we used a novel in
      vitro model of traumatic microvascular injury to test the hypothesis that
      endogenous glutathione protects cerebral endothelial cells from secondary
      autooxidative injury following mechanical trauma. Porcine brain cerebral
      endothelial cells were grown in tissue culture wells with Silastic membrane
      bottoms, and cellular injury was induced by displacing the membrane different
      distances with user-defined pressure pulses from a customized device. The
      resultant endothelial cell injury 2 h following stretch was determined by
      measuring lactate dehydrogenase in the culture media. Significant stretch
      dependent increases in endothelial injury were elicited that depended in a
      nonlinear fashion on the degree of membrane displacement. Depletion of
      intracellular glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine (1 mM) increased the extent
      of traumatic endothelial cell injury by 17-56%, particularly at low to moderate
      levels of traumatic injury (30-40% of total endothelial cell LDH release).
      Conversely, traumatic injury was reduced by 22-45% when endothelial cell
      glutathione levels were augmented threefold (to 140+/-8 nmol/mg protein) by
      preincubating cells with 2 mM glutathione; the extent of protection was inversely
      proportional to the extent of the traumatic stretch. Traumatic endothelial cell
      injury was also significantly and dose-dependently attenuated (up to 40%) by
      treatment with the xanthine oxidase inhibitor oxypurinol (50 and 100 microM).
      These results demonstrate that cerebral endothelial cells are the targets of
      hydrogen peroxide-mediated injury secondary to trauma-induced superoxide radical
      formation via the xanthine oxidase pathway. The neutralization of peroxides by
      the endogenous glutathione redox cycle provides endothelial cells a finite
      capacity to reduce free radical-mediated traumatic injury; this cycle may be
      amenable to therapeutic manipulation to mitigate posttraumatic edema and other
      manifestations of vascular dysfunction.

PMID- 9989463
TI  - P-selectin blockade following fluid-percussion injury: behavioral and
      immunochemical sequelae.
AB  - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)
      migration into brain parenchyma, mediating various cytodestructive mechanisms. We
      examined the effect of blocking leukocyte/endothelial cell adhesion molecules
      (CAMs) on the anatomic and behavioral sequelae in lateral fluid-percussion injury
      in rats. Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) directed against a functional (PB1.3) or
      nonfunctional (PNB1.6) epitope on endothelial P-selectin were used as treatments.
      Subjects were tested in the Morris water maze (MWM) at 7 and 14 days postinjury
      then immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies that recognize ChAT,
      GFAP and OX-42. A second set of animals underwent myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay in
      the brain parenchyma and a third set was used to examine neutrophil migration
      using the MAb RP-3. Time in quadrant, but not escape latency or proximity
      improved with PB1.3 (p < 0.05). Similarly, PB1.3 reduced MPO levels after injury
      (p < 0.05), in the ipsilateral cortex. No significant difference occurred in
      neutrophil counts in cortex, corpus callosum, hippocampus, and thalamus between
      injured only rats and injured rats treated with PB1.3. Quantitative analysis of
      cholinergic cells in the medial septum showed a protective effect by PB1.3.
      Densitometry readings of GFAP and OX-42 immunolabeling revealed no discernible
      differences between the treated and untreated injured rats. Qualitatively, there
      was no difference in microglia or astrocyte response to treatment. Treatment with
      P-selectin blockade in brain-injured rats may reduce PMN migration into brain,
      help preserve cholinergic immunolabeling of medial septal nucleus neurons, and
      may alleviate mnemonic deficits.

PMID- 9989465
TI  - Effects of cell-permeant calcium chelators on contractility in monkey basilar
      artery.
AB  - Vasospasm after traumatic or aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is associated
      with smooth muscle contraction, a process that results in part from increased
      intracellular calcium in smooth muscle cells. These experiments tested the
      hypothesis that chelation of intracellular calcium with the cell-permeant calcium
      chelator, 1,2-bis-(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetracetic acid acetoxymethyl
      ester (BAPTA-AM), decreases smooth muscle contraction in response to agents that
      cause contraction by increasing intracellular calcium. Effects of BAPTA-AM on
      vasoconstriction induced by KCl, prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha), caffeine, and
      erythrocyte hemolysate were tested on monkey basilar artery under isometric
      tension. BAPTA-AM, 30 and 100 micromol/L, caused a significant decrease in
      resting tension in rings with and without endothelium (30 micromol/L; 8+/-6%
      [n.s.] and 14+/-5%, 100 micromol/L; 19+/-3% and 32+/-6%,p < 0.05, paired t test).
      Contractions to caffeine were significantly decreased by 30 micromol/L BAPTA-AM
      and were abolished at 100 micromol/L in rings with and without endothelium (p <
      0.05). BAPTA-AM, 100 micromol/L, competitively inhibited contractions to
      PGF2alpha. BAPTA-AM, 100 micromol/L, significantly decreased the maximum
      contractions to KCI in rings with and without endothelium (p < 0.05). There were
      no significant effects of BAPTA-AM on contractions induced by hemolysate in rings
      with endothelium but in rings without endothelium, BAPTA-AM, 100 micromol/L,
      significantly inhibited contractions. In rings with endothelium contractions to
      hemolysate could be significantly reduced by BAPTA-AM plus indomethacin or
      indomethacin alone, suggesting that hemolysate releases an eicosanoid from the
      endothelium by a pathway that is not inhibited by BAPTA. These results suggest
      that the ability of BAPTA-AM to inhibit smooth muscle contractions will depend on
      the agonists mediating the contraction. In response to erythrocyte hemolysate,
      loading of endothelial cells with BAPTA-AM increases the release of a
      vasoconstricting eicosanoid from these cells that counteracts the decreased
      contraction caused by loading of smooth muscle cells with BAPTA-AM.

PMID- 9989466
TI  - Distribution and latency of muscle responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation
      of motor cortex after spinal cord injury in humans.
AB  - Noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex was used
      to evoke electromyographic (EMG) responses in persons with spinal cord injury (n
      = 97) and able-bodied subjects (n = 20, for comparative data). Our goal was to
      evaluate, for different levels and severity of spinal cord injury, potential
      differences in the distribution and latency of motor responses in a large sample
      of muscles affected by the injury. The spinal cord injury (SCI) population was
      divided into subgroups based upon injury location (cervical, thoracic, and
      thoracolumbar) and clinical status (motor-complete versus motor-incomplete).
      Cortical stimuli were delivered while subjects attempted to contract individual
      muscles, in order to both maximize the probability of a response to TMS and
      minimize the response latency. Subjects with motor-incomplete injuries to the
      cervical or thoracic spinal cord were more likely to demonstrate volitional and
      TMS-evoked contractions in muscles controlling their foot and ankle (i.e., distal
      lower limb muscles) compared to muscles of the thigh (i.e., proximal lower limb
      muscles). When TMS did evoke responses in muscles innervated at levels caudal to
      the spinal cord lesion, response latencies of muscles in the lower limbs were
      delayed equally for persons with injury to the cervical or thoracic spinal cord,
      suggesting normal central motor conduction velocity in motor axons caudal to the
      lesion. In fact, motor response distribution and latencies were essentially
      indistinguishable for injuries to the cervical or thoracic (at or rostral to T10)
      levels of the spine. In contrast, motor-incomplete SCI subjects with injuries at
      the thoracolumbar level showed a higher probability of preserved volitional
      movements and TMS-evoked contractions in proximal muscles of the lower limb, and
      absent responses in distal muscles. When responses to TMS were seen in this
      group, the latencies were not significantly longer than those of able-bodied (AB)
      subjects, strongly suggestive of "root sparing" as a basis for motor function in
      subjects with injury at or caudal to the T11 vertebral body. Both the
      distribution and latency of TMS-evoked responses are consistent with highly focal
      lesions to the spinal cord in the subjects examined. The pattern of preserved
      responsiveness predominating in the distal leg muscles is consistent with a
      greater role of corticospinal tract innervation of these muscles compared to more
      proximal muscles of the thigh and hip.

PMID- 9989467
TI  - Spasticity in rats with sacral spinal cord injury.
AB  - We have investigated sacral spinal cord lesions in rats with the goal of
      developing a rat model of muscular spasticity that is minimally disruptive, not
      interfering with bladder, bowel, or hindlimb locomotor function. Spinal
      transections were made at the S2 sacral level and, thus, only affected the tail
      musculature. After spinal transection, the muscles of the tail were inactive for
      2 weeks. Following this initial period, hypertonia, hyperreflexia, and clonus
      developed in the tail, and grew more pronounced with time. These changes were
      assessed in the awake rat, since the tail is readily accessible and easy to
      manipulate. Muscle stretch or cutaneous stimulation of the tail produced muscle
      spasms and marked increases in muscle tone, as measured with force and
      electromyographic recordings. When the tail was unconstrained, spontaneous or
      reflex induced flexor and extensor spasms coiled the tail. Movement during the
      spasms often triggered clonus in the end of the tail. The tail hair and skin were
      extremely hyperreflexive to light touch, withdrawing quickly at contact, and at
      times clonus could be entrained by repeated contact of the tail on a surface.
      Segmental tail muscle reflexes, e.g., Hoffman reflexes (H-reflexes), were
      measured before and after spinalization, and increased significantly 2 weeks
      after transection. These results suggest that sacral spinal rats develop symptoms
      of spasticity in tail muscles with similar characteristics to those seen in limb
      muscles of humans with spinal cord injury, and thus provide a convenient
      preparation for studying this condition.

PMID- 9989468
TI  - Dual role for nitric oxide in dynorphin spinal neurotoxicity.
AB  - The pharmacological effects of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors, NO donor,
      and NOS substrate on dynorphin(Dyn) A(1-17) spinal neurotoxicity were studied.
      Intrathecal (i.t.) pretreatment with both 7-nitroindazole 1 micromol, a selective
      neuronal constitutive NOS (ncNOS) inhibitor, and aminoguanidine 1 micromol, a
      selective inducible NOS (iNOS) inhibitor, 10 min prior to i.t. Dyn A(1-17) 20
      nmol significantly ameliorated Dyn-induced neurological outcome. Both 7
      nitroindazole and aminoguanidine significantly antagonized the increases of cNOS
      and iNOS activities measured by conversion of 3H-L-arginine to 3H-L-citrulline in
      the ventral spinal cord, and blocked the Dyn-induced increases of ncNOS
      immunoreactivity in the ventral horn cells 4 h after i.t. Dyn A(1-17) 20 nmol.
      Pretreatment with Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) 1 micromol, a
      cNOS inhibitor nonselective to both ncNOS and endothelial NOS (ecNOS), did not
      antagonize Dyn A(1-17) 20 nmol-induced permanent paraplegia but aggravated Dyn
      A(1-17) 10 nmol-induced transient paralysis and caused permanent paraplegia.
      Pretreatment with L-NAME 1 micromol 10 min before i.t. Dyn A(1-17) 1.25 and 2.5
      nmol, which produced no significant motor dysfunction alone, induced transient
      paralysis in seven out of 12 and five out of seven rats, respectively. L-NAME 1
      micromol plus Dyn A(1-17) 10 nmol induced ncNOS-immunoreactivity expression in
      ventral horn cells. Both low and high doses of aminoguanidine (0.2-30 micromol)
      did not affect spinal motor function, but high doses of L-NAME (5-20 micromol)
      induced dose-dependent hindlimb and tail paralysis associated with spinal cord
      injury in normal rats. Pretreatment with low-dose Spermine NONOate, a controlled
      NO releaser, 0.1 and 0.5 micromol 10 min before i.t. Dyn A(1-17) 20 nmol,
      significantly prevented Dyn spinal neurotoxicity, and high-dose Spermine NONOate
      2 micromol i.t. per se induced transient and incomplete paraplegia. But
      pretreatment with L-Arg 10 micromol 10 min before Dyn A(1-17) 20 nmol produced
      only partial blockade of Dyn-induced paraplegia. These results demonstrated that
      relatively specific inhibition of ncNOS and iNOS block Dyn-induced increases in
      cNOS and iNOS activities and ncNOS-immunoreactivity in ventral spinal cord, but
      nonspecific inhibition of ncNOS and ecNOS aggravated Dyn spinal neurotoxicity. It
      suggested that both ncNOS and iNOS play an important role, but ecNOS might be
      beneficial in Dyn spinal neurotoxicity. Moderate production of NO (at vascular
      level) has an apparently neuroprotective effect, and overproduction of NO (at
      cellular level) induces neurotoxicity.

PMID- 9989469
TI  - Peripheral nerve injection injury with antiemetic agents.
AB  - Antiemetics are widely used drugs, frequently administered to alleviate
      postoperative and postchemotherapeutic nausea and vomiting. While antiemetics do
      not induce peripheral neurotoxicity when administered systemically, it is not
      known whether peripheral nerve injury can occur as a result of inadvertent
      intraneural injection during intramuscular administration. The purpose of this
      study was to characterize the neurotoxic effect of three commonly used antiemetic
      agents (promethazine, dimenhydrinate, and prochlorperazine) as compared to saline
      in the rat sciatic nerve model. Intrafascicular and extrafascicular injection as
      well as direct application of the antiemetic drugs were performed. Nerves were
      harvested at 2 weeks postoperatively for histology and morphometry, with an
      additional sacrifice point at 8 weeks for the intrafascicular injection group.
      Injection injuries caused by antiemetic drugs differed depending on the agent
      injected and the location of injection. Extrafascicular injection and direct
      application caused no damage. Intrafascicular injection caused diffuse axonal
      injury in the promethazine and dimenhydrinate groups, while prochlorperazine
      caused only focal injury. Regeneration was prominent at 8 weeks in all
      intrafascicular injection groups in this rat model. Prochlorperazine thus appears
      to be less neurotoxic when injected intraneurally and should preferentially be
      used for intramuscular injections.

PMID- 9989470
TI  - Effects of ibuprofen on arylamine N-acetyltransferase activity in human colon
      tumor cells.
AB  - The inhibition of arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity by ibuprofen was
      determined in a human colon tumour (adenocarcinoma) cell line. Two assay systems
      were employed, one with cellular cytosols (9000 g supernatant) and the other with
      intact colon tumour cell suspensions. The NAT activity in a human colon tumour
      cell line was inhibited by ibuprofen in a dose-dependent manner in both systems,
      i.e. the greater the concentration of ibuprofen in the reaction, the greater the
      inhibition of NAT activities in both systems. The data also indicated that
      ibuprofen decreases the apparent Km and Vmax of NAT enzyme from human colon
      tumour cells in both systems examined. This report is the first demonstration to
      show that ibuprofen affects human colon tumour cell NAT activity.

PMID- 9989471
TI  - Ochratoxicosis: prevention of developmental toxicity by L-methionine in rats.
AB  - L-Methionine was found to inhibit the developmental toxicity induced by
      ochratoxin A (OA) in pregnant female rats. The fetuses had significantly lower
      weights. Dams and fetuses treated with OA had visceral and skeletal anomalies,
      while combined treatment with L-methionine and OA showed no significant changes
      when compared to the control. Histopathological examinations revealed that OA
      caused alterations in liver, kidney and vagina of pregnant rats, whereas
      methionine supplementation provided partial protection for renal and liver
      tissue.

PMID- 9989472
TI  - Hexachlorocyclohexane-induced behavioural and neurochemical changes in rat.
AB  - Effect of chronic oral exposure (10 and 20 mg kg(-1) body wt. for 7, 15 and 30
      days) to hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) on open-field behaviour and activities of
      cerebral Na+,K+-ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of rat was
      evaluated. Motor and grooming activities were altered, whereas vertical
      exploratory activity was unaffected by HCH. Activities of Na+,K+-ATPase, Mg2+
      ATPase and AChE were inhibited significantly by the pesticide. The results
      suggest that HCH induces impairment of the enzymes involved in synaptic activity,
      resulting in behavioural alterations.

PMID- 9989473
TI  - Inhalation of substance P and thiorphan: acute toxicity and effects on
      respiration in conscious guinea pigs.
AB  - Substance P is a tachykinin and a biologically active neuropeptide. The peptide
      produces salivation, neuronal excitation, vasodilatation, increased vascular
      permeability and contraction of smooth muscles in the respiratory tract. The
      study was designed to evaluate the acute effects in guinea pigs of inhaled
      aerosolized Substance P (SP). Apart from the acute toxic effect of the peptide,
      the distribution in different organs was also investigated. The acute inhalation
      toxicity of SP (LC50, 15 min) when co-administrated with the neutral
      endopeptidase inhibitor thiorphan was 368 microg m(-3). The peptide caused an
      increase in respiratory rate proceeding a decrease in tidal volume. As the
      exposure proceeded, a decrease in both respiratory rate and further decreases in
      tidal volume were observed until either the animal died or the exposure was
      terminated. The decreases in respiratory rate and tidal volume were probably due
      to bronchoconstriction caused by SP. Eighteen per cent of the inhaled amount of
      radioactive SP was retained in the body, and the highest concentrations of
      radioactivity were found in the kidney, lung and liver. Substance P in
      combination with thiorphan administered as an aerosol is extremely toxic and
      highly potent. Exposure to the substance at extremely low air concentrations may
      result in incapacitation in humans.

PMID- 9989474
TI  - Exposure of Rana ridibunda to lead I. Study of lead accumulation in various
      tissues and hepatic delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity.
AB  - There are few data at present on the impact of lead (Pb) on amphibians, although
      declines in amphibian populations due to man-made changes in the environment have
      been recorded in recent years. The impact of Pb in adult frogs, Rana ridibunda,
      was therefore examined. Animals were exposed to 14 mg l(-1) (ppm) aqueous Pb [as
      Pb(NO3)2] for 4, 10 and 30 days. The chosen Pb concentration corresponded to one
      tenth of the 96-h LC50 value for Pb (138.18 ppm). We measured the Pb content of
      the liver, kidneys, ventral skin and gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and the
      activity of hepatic delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALA-D). Gross
      morphological characteristics of the frogs were not affected by Pb accumulation
      in their tissues. At the end of the 30 days of exposure all tissues accumulated
      Pb. The accumulation of Pb in the liver, kidneys and ventral skin was correlated
      positively with the time of exposure. The Pb concentration in the GI tract
      reached a plateau at day 10 and there was no significant increase of Pb in the
      liver after day 10, suggesting excretion of Pb. The activity of hepatic delta-ALA
      D decreased by 90% on day 30 compared to control values. The decrease of hepatic
      delta-ALA-D activity was correlated negatively with the concentration of Pb in
      liver and the time of exposure. This study suggests that the hepatic delta-ALA-D
      activity can be used as a biomarker of Pb intoxication for this species.

PMID- 9989475
TI  - Acridine-induced subcellular and functional changes in isolated human hepatocytes
      in vitro.
AB  - Acridines are nucleic acid intercalating compounds with properties relating to
      the complexity of their structure. Tetrahydroaminoacridine (tacrine, Cognex), a
      simple acridine, is a reversible inhibitor of cholinesterase activity available
      for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Tacrine therapy causes
      sporadic elevations of aminotransferases in humans, and tacrine alters protein
      synthesis and ribosomal structure under short-term in vitro exposures in isolated
      hepatocytes from humans and other species. There is no clear relationship between
      transaminase elevation and liver damage in humans, and prolonged drug exposure to
      animals does not result in hepatic insult. Subcellular alterations have been
      described in isolated human and rodent hepatocytes, including degranulation and
      vesiculation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), aggregation of electron-dense
      structures within the ER, altered nuclei and nucleoli and detrimental structural
      and functional effects to mitochondria. Whether these changes in hepatocyte
      morphology and function are unique to tacrine or not is unknown, as human
      hepatocytes exposed to more complex acridines have not been characterized. In
      this study, we extended the results of in vitro studies with tacrine to acridine
      orange, 9-aminoacridine, quinacrine and proflavin. In primary human hepatocytes,
      these compounds caused a similar reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential
      with parallel ultrastructural changes. The 1-hydroxy and 7-hydroxy tacrine
      metabolites, acridine hydrochloride and acridine 9-carboxylic acid, and the non
      acridine cholinesterase inhibitor eserine, did not induce characteristic
      subcellular ER changes but damaged mitochondria structure, reduced mitochondrial
      membrane potential and were cytotoxic. These data indicate that the tacrine-like
      subcellular changes in hepatocytes are reproducible with other acridines and
      cause mitochondrial dysfunction in human hepatocytes.

PMID- 9989476
TI  - Partial and weak oestrogenicity of the red wine constituent resveratrol:
      consideration of its superagonist activity in MCF-7 cells and its suggested
      cardiovascular protective effects.
AB  - It was recently reported that the red wine phytoestrogen resveratrol (RES) acts
      as a superagonist to oestrogen-responsive MCF-7 cells. This activity of RES was
      speculated to be relevant to the 'French paradox' in which moderate red wine
      consumption is reported to yield cardiovascular health benefits to humans. We
      report here that RES binds to oestrogen receptors (ER) isolated from rat uterus
      with an affinity approximately 5 orders of magnitude lower than does either the
      reference synthetic oestrogen diethylstilboestrol (DES) or oestradiol (E2). In
      comparison with E2 or DES, RES is only a weak and partial agonist in a yeast hER
      alpha transcription assay and in cos-1 cell assays employing transient
      transfections of ER-alpha or ER-beta associated with two different ER-response
      elements. Resveratrol was also concluded to be inactive in immature rat
      uterotrophic assays conducted using three daily administrations of 0.03-120 mgkg(
      1)/day(-1) RES (administered by either oral gavage or subcutaneous injection).
      These data weaken the suggestion that the oestrogenicity of RES may account for
      the reported cardiovascular protective effects of red wine consumption, and they
      raise questions regarding the extent to which oestrogenicity data derived for a
      chemical using MCF-7 cells (or any other single in vitro assay) can be used to
      predict the hormonal effects likely to occur in animals or humans.

PMID- 9989477
TI  - Role of SAM-dependent thiol methylation in the renal toxicity of several solvents
      in mice.
AB  - The role of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent thiol methylation in the
      nephrotoxicity of seven industrial solvents was studied in mice. The seven
      following solvents were utilized: bromobenzene (BB), styrene (STY),
      tetrachloroethylene (TTCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), 1,1-dichloroethylene (DCE),
      1,2-dichloroethane (DCA) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCB). The experimental model
      comprised mice pretreated with periodate oxidized adenosine (ADOX) (100 micromol
      kg(-1) i.p.) 30 min before injection of solvents. In the first 4 h after ADOX
      treatment, the SAM levels were about fourfold higher than controls for the liver
      and kidney. The S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) levels were increased by factors of
      11 and 14 and the SAM/SAH ratios were decreased by factors of 3 and 10 for the
      liver and kidney, respectively. These results show that ADOX treatment probably
      induces an inhibition of methyltransferase SAM-dependent in the liver and kidney
      and thus decreases the methylation capabilities. A single oral administration of
      BB (500 or 800 mg kg(-1)), TTCE (3500 or 4000 mg kg(-1)), TCE (3000 or 3500 mg
      kg(-1)) or STY (400 or 600 mg kg(-1)) did not induce renal toxicity, evaluated by
      the percentage of damaged tubules compared to controls. On the other hand, the
      three solvents DCE, HCB and DCA were nephrotoxic and the percentage of damaged
      tubules observed for each solvent was significantly different from the value of
      <1.8% for controls: 19% and 40% for DCE (130 and 200 mg kg(-1)), 50% and 46% for
      HCB (80 and 100 mg kg(-1)) and 5.1% and 7.6% for DCA (1000 and 1500 mg kg(-1)).
      The ADOX treatment in the mice did not modify the renal toxicity of the seven
      solvents. Thus, their renal toxicity, when it existed, was probably independent
      of the SAM-dependent thiolmethyltransferase activity in the mice. The results of
      this study are discussed from two viewpoints. The first concerns the general
      considerations on inhibition of thiol methyltransferase activities in mice and
      the second is related to the different solvents that are evoked individually.

PMID- 9989478
TI  - Profile of reactive oxygen species generation and antioxidative mechanisms in the
      maturing rat kidney.
AB  - The antioxidative potential and reactive oxygen species generation were assessed
      in rat kidney during early critical periods of development and maturation.
      Superoxide anion generation was found to be low in kidney during early postnatal
      days of development, whereas hydrogen peroxide levels remained unaltered during
      development. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and protein
      carbonyls in developing kidney were higher during early postnatal days, up to 26
      days after birth, compared to the adult levels. Kidney sulphydryl contents were
      significantly less during early periods (9 days postnatally) of development
      compared to adults but attain adult value by postnatal day 26. The levels of
      ascorbic acid and ceruloplasmin were also higher in developing kidney than in
      adults. Among enzymic antioxidants, the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx)
      enzyme in developing kidney were high during the early developmental period of
      the study as compared to adults; however, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase
      (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) were found to be significantly low at early
      postnatal days up to 16 days of age, which subsequently attained maturational
      level by the age of 26 days. The levels of antioxidant enzymes and sulphydryl
      contents in the developing kidney during early periods after birth are low but
      they increase subsequently with increasing age. Therefore, the present finding
      suggests that immature kidneys are in a highly dynamic stage of development
      during the early period and are equipped with antioxidative defence mechanisms
      that may have a predominant role in protecting against oxidative challenge.

PMID- 9989479
TI  - Is thallium-induced nephrotoxicity in rats connected with riboflavin and/or GSH?-
      reconsideration of hypotheses on the mechanism of thallium toxicity.
AB  - Adult female Wistar rats (Han:Wist) were injected with 2 mg of Tl2SO4 per 100 g
      body weight. Parameters of nephrotoxicity were urinary volume and protein
      excretion as well as blood urea nitrogen concentration. Thallium concentrations
      were determined in renal cortex and medulla. There was no effect of different
      schedules of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) treatment on thallium nephrotoxicity.
      Glutathione (GSH) concentration was not decreased by thallium in renal cortex or
      in medulla. The increase of GSH concentration in renal tissue by N-acetylcysteine
      pretreatment did not influence thallium nephrotoxicity. Buthionine sulphoximine
      diminished thallium nephrotoxicity by a significant decrease of thallium
      concentration in renal medulla, which was caused by enhanced urinary excretion of
      thallium. From our investigations we conclude that there is no relation between
      thallium-induced nephrotoxicity and riboflavin and/or GSH.

PMID- 9989480
TI  - Effect of pyrethroid-based liquid mosquito repellent inhalation on the blood
      brain barrier function and oxidative damage in selected organs of developing
      rats.
AB  - Pesticides have been implicated in various neurological disorders in humans and
      experimental animals. Our earlier studies have demonstrated a high vulnerability
      of developing blood-brain barrier (BBB) towards very low level exposure of
      quinalphos, cypermethrin and lindane. Earlier it has been observed that a
      cypermethrin-induced increase in the BBB permeability of neonatal rats was found
      to be persistent, requiring a longer period of withdrawal for complete recovery.
      These observations lead us to investigate the effect of a commonly available
      liquid mosquito repellent (MR) containing a pyrethroid compound, allethrin (3.6%
      w/v), on the functional integrity of the developing BBB and on certain parameters
      of oxidative damage in brain, liver and kidney. Two-day-old rat pups were allowed
      to inhale the MR (18 h per day) for 8 days (postnatal days (PND) 2-9). Rats
      exposed to MR were further withdrawn from the exposure for 8 days (PND 10-17) to
      study whether the changes induced following inhalation are reversible. Results of
      the study have shown a significant increase in the BBB permeability (45%) of the
      MR-exposed rat pups to a micromolecular tracer, sodium fluorescein (mol. wt.
      376), used for the quantitative assessment of the BBB permeability, suggesting a
      delayed maturity of the BBB system. Brain glutathione (GSH) levels were also
      decreased (17%) in the exposed individuals. The oxidatively damaged end-products
      of lipids, measured as lipid hydroperoxides and conjugated dienes, were found to
      be increased in brain (42%, 16%), liver (34%, 20%) and kidney (68%, 29%),
      respectively. The oxidative product of protein, measured as protein carbonyls,
      was also increased significantly in liver (43%) and kidney (16%) of the MR
      exposed rat pups as compared to age-matched controls. The biochemical changes
      that occurred in the BBB permeability and the oxidatively damaged end-products
      following MR inhalation in neonatal rats were, however, found to be completely
      recovered except for an increase in brain GSH (28%) level. The results suggest
      the possibility of health risk due to exposure to pesticide-based mosquito
      repellents, especially when exposure takes place in individuals at an early age.

PMID- 9989481
TI  - Introduction: immunotherapy for multiple myeloma--insights and advances.

PMID- 9989482
TI  - Management of multiple myeloma today.
AB  - Multiple myeloma is almost invariably fatal despite a wide variety of
      chemotherapeutic and supportive treatment options. There are several unresolved
      problems with existing approaches, including the specific indications for
      treatment; the optimal combination of agents and doses; and the type, frequency,
      and timing of high-dose therapy and stem-cell transplantation. High-dose
      chemotherapy followed by stem-cell transplantation produces higher remission
      rates, but patients rarely, if ever, are cured by a single regimen. Allogeneic
      hematopoietic stem-cell transplantations offer a potential graft-versus-myeloma
      (GVM) effect. Researchers are focusing efforts on improving the safety of
      transplant procedures, increasing response rates to ablative therapy, and testing
      novel posttransplant options to improve outcomes. The newly devised National
      Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for treating multiple myeloma are
      also discussed.

PMID- 9989483
TI  - Initiation and maintenance of multiple myeloma.
AB  - A recently identified herpesvirus, human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), also known as
      Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus, has been found in nonmalignant bone
      marrow dendritic cells of patients with multiple myeloma. The virus is also
      detectable in the peripheral blood of most patients; its absence suggests earlier
      stage disease. HHV-8 is not detected in the blood of family members and sexual
      partners of myeloma patients. Sequencing of HHV-8 open-reading frames (ORFs)
      shows differences between individual myeloma patients, as well as between myeloma
      patients and those with other HHV-8-related malignancies. Consistent expression
      of the viral homolog of both interferon regulatory factor (IRF) and interleukin-8
      receptor (IL-8R) suggests a possible role for these transforming viral genes in
      the pathogenesis of myeloma. Detailed analysis of myeloma cell lines has shown
      that myeloma is characterized by frequent chromosome translocations involving the
      switch regions of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain (IgH) locus on 14q32. The three
      partner chromosomes most commonly involved are 11q13 (cyclin D1), 4p16 (FGFR3),
      and 16q23 (c-maf). Mutations have also been identified in N- and K-ras and, less
      frequently, involving p53. Monosomy 13q is common. These findings have
      implications for immunotherapy. Angiogenesis increases with progressive disease
      and appears to be a prognostic factor. In at least one patient, this process
      appears to have been reversed with thalidomide therapy. The underlying mechanisms
      for the increased vascularization in myeloma have not been identified, and
      several possibilities have been proposed.

PMID- 9989484
TI  - Role of cytokines in multiple myeloma.
AB  - Recent research in the biology of multiple myeloma (MM) has produced new insight
      into the factors that control the growth and survival of myeloma cells. In
      particular, there is a greater appreciation of the pathogenic role of the
      cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1beta in the conversion of
      monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to MM and in the
      proliferation and survival of myeloma cells. Infection of dendritic cells with
      Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), which secretes a viral homolog of
      IL-6, may also be a factor. As a direct application of recent laboratory
      observations, several immune-based treatment strategies are being developed.

PMID- 9989485
TI  - Presentation of tumor antigens.
AB  - Dendritic cells, with their extraordinary capacity for initiating primary and
      secondary T-lymphocyte responses, may be pivotal in the development of
      immunotherapeutic strategies for multiple myeloma. Although host lymphocytes are
      able to recognize tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), many tumors are able to avoid
      dendritic cell-mediated immune surveillance. One reason may be that the tumor
      environment inhibits the maturation and activation of dendritic cells. A recently
      developed strategy to use dendritic cells in immunotherapy involves removing them
      from the tumor, pulsing them in vitro with antigen, and reinfusing them into the
      patient to generate responding T cells in vivo. Methods for reliably obtaining
      dendritic cells for therapeutic use are currently being investigated. Among other
      efforts to induce T-cell-mediated immunity against cancer, the presentation of
      tumor antigens by the tumor cells themselves is being investigated. Issues to be
      resolved include defects of antigen presentation by tumor cells and whether all
      cells present the same set of peptides. Moreover, as long as all the tumor
      antigens have not been identified, the tumor cell itself remains the primary
      source of unknown antigens and, therefore, is a worthwhile subject for study.
      Phase I trials of immunotherapy using adenovirus-infected autologous plasma cells
      have recently been undertaken. The adenoviral vectors carry genes with
      therapeutic potential, including interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-12, and B7-1.
      Initial results showed that the vector can be readily detected in tumor cells at
      13 days postinjection, and IL-2 expression was evident at 7 days. The chief side
      effect reported was inflammation.

PMID- 9989486
TI  - Adoptive T-cell therapy.
AB  - Adoptive immunotherapy, or the transfer of immunocompetent cells, has been shown
      to be a promising new strategy for treatment of a variety of malignancies,
      including leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The possibility that it may
      likewise benefit patients with multiple myeloma is now being explored by
      researchers in Europe and the United States. Two alternatives, one using donor
      leukocyte infusions (DLIs) and the other using autologous T cells, are described.
      In the Netherlands, researchers studied the use of DLIs in 17 patients with
      multiple myeloma who relapsed after bone marrow transplant (BMT). Of 16 evaluable
      patients, 10 (62%) responded, with six (37%) achieving a complete response (CR).
      After a median follow-up duration of 28 months, five patients relapsed and five
      remained in remission. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed in nine
      patients. In the United States, adoptive immunotherapy is currently being tested
      in eight patients with chemotherapy-resistant lymphoma. Autologous T cells were
      obtained prior to BMT and expanded using an anti-CD3/CD28 culture system. After
      BMT, the cells were reinfused into the patient. At approximately day 14,
      granulocyte levels began to recover in the six evaluable patients, and levels
      remained relatively stable over the posttreatment course. Two patients developed
      severe autoimmune toxicity, which responded to treatment in one and resolved
      spontaneously in the other.

PMID- 9989487
TI  - Antibody therapy for treatment of multiple myeloma.
AB  - Monoclonal antibody therapy has emerged as a viable treatment option for patients
      with lymphoma and some leukemias. It is now beginning to be investigated for
      treatment of multiple myeloma. There are relatively few surface antigens on the
      plasma cells that are suitable for antibody-directed treatment. Possible
      molecules include HM1.24, CD38, ICAM-1 (CD54), CD40, CD45, CD20, and syndecan 1.
      There is now some clinical experience with anti-CD38 antibody in lymphoma and
      myeloma. However, to date, there has been minimal clinical activity observed.
      Additional antibodies are entering clinical trials. A new approach involves the
      generation of an anti-CD38 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) construct that
      acts as the carrier of a toxin gene instead of being conjugated directly to the
      toxin itself. It is hoped that expression of the toxin by CD38+ plasma cells will
      promote suicide of the malignant cells without affecting normal cells or
      generating an immunologic response to the toxin. Ongoing clinical trials are also
      attempting to target B-cell antigens such as CD20. Although CD20 is present only
      on 20% of myeloma cells, it may be present on myeloma precursor cells. This
      treatment has met with success in follicular lymphoma and is now being evaluated
      in clinical trials in both Europe and the United States for myeloma. Although
      these clinical trials are in very early stages, researchers are beginning to
      understand that antibody therapy can be used not only as a carrier molecule of
      radioisotopes and toxins, but also as molecules that can trigger tumor cells and
      promote growth arrest or apoptosis.

PMID- 9989488
TI  - Idiotypic vaccination as therapy for multiple myeloma.
AB  - Although advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma have been made using high
      dose chemotherapy with subsequent autologous stem-cell transplantation,
      recurrence of the underlying disease almost invariably occurs. One proposed
      strategy to increase survival is tumor-specific activation of the immune system
      via idiotypic protein vaccination. Current issues to be resolved in the
      development of this approach include optimal vaccine formulation, appropriate
      assays to monitor treatment results, and timing of vaccine administration.
      Several clinical trials of idiotypic vaccines are currently being conducted in
      the United States and Europe. Initial results support the use of these vaccines
      as adjunct therapy in patients with multiple myeloma after high-dose chemotherapy
      and transplantation.

PMID- 9989489
TI  - DNA vaccination against multiple myeloma.
AB  - A variety of approaches to antitumor therapy are currently being explored that
      use both antigen-encoding DNA and noncoding nucleotides as a component of gene
      vaccination. Among the specific strategies reviewed are a construct that fuses a
      single-chain variable fragment (scFv) that incorporates both the variable-region
      genes necessary to encode the idiotypic determinants with fragment C (FrC) of
      tetanus toxin; a novel vector system using herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) for in
      vivo gene delivery; the possibility of eliciting hyperacute xenograft response to
      treat human cancer; and the use of gene gun-mediated granulocyte-macrophage
      colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) cDNA-based tumor cell vaccines. The protection
      provided by DNA vaccination against viral diseases such as influenza suggested a
      role for such vaccines against cancer. However, unlike vaccines against
      infectious diseases, cancer vaccines are therapeutic, rather than prophylactic.
      With multiple myeloma, for example, it is possible that the optimal timing of
      administration of such a vaccine is during a remission that has been induced by
      traditional therapies, to eliminate residual disease. DNA cancer vaccines are
      designed to activate immune responses to tumor antigens to which the immune
      system has already been exposed. To do so, the vaccines must first overcome
      immune tolerance that may have already developed to the tumor. There is
      increasing evidence that tumor antigens, unlike viral or bacterial antigens, do
      not consistently activate an immune response. One major factor in determining
      whether a reaction occurs appears to be whether antigen presentation is
      accompanied by danger signals. With viral or bacterial infection, the
      accompanying tissue destruction and inflammation produce costimulatory signals
      that promote T-cell activation. However, inflammatory and tissue-destructive
      processes are absent during initial tumor transformation. The typical outcome may
      be immunologic tolerance.

PMID- 9989490
TI  - From TCR engagement to T cell activation: a kinetic view of T cell behavior.

PMID- 9989491
TI  - Adaptors and molecular scaffolds in immune cell signaling.

PMID- 9989492
TI  - The actin cytoskeleton and lymphocyte activation.

PMID- 9989493
TI  - Transcription factors in lymphocyte development--T and B cells get together.

PMID- 9989494
TI  - Identification of a neural stem cell in the adult mammalian central nervous
      system.
AB  - New neurons are continuously added in specific regions of the adult mammalian
      central nervous system. These neurons are derived from multipotent stem cells
      whose identity has been enigmatic. In this work, we present evidence that
      ependymal cells are neural stem cells. Ependymal cells give rise to a rapidly
      proliferating cell type that generates neurons that migrate to the olfactory
      bulb. In response to spinal cord injury, ependymal cell proliferation increases
      dramatically to generate migratory cells that differentiate to astrocytes and
      participate in scar formation. These data demonstrate that ependymal cells are
      neural stem cells and identify a novel process in the response to central nervous
      system injury.

PMID- 9989495
TI  - Bcl10 is involved in t(1;14)(p22;q32) of MALT B cell lymphoma and mutated in
      multiple tumor types.
AB  - MALT B cell lymphomas with t(1;14)(p22;q32) showed a recurrent breakpoint
      upstream of the promoter of a novel gene, Bcl10. Bcl10 is a cellular homolog of
      the equine herpesvirus-2 E10 gene: both contain an amino-terminal caspase
      recruitment domain (CARD) homologous to that found in several apoptotic
      molecules. Bcl10 and E10 activated NF-kappaB but caused apoptosis of 293 cells.
      Bcl10 expressed in a MALT lymphoma exhibited a frameshift mutation resulting in
      truncation distal to the CARD. Truncated Bcl10 activated NF-kappaB but did not
      induce apoptosis. Wild-type Bcl10 suppressed transformation, whereas mutant forms
      had lost this activity and displayed gain-of-function transforming activity.
      Similar mutations were detected in other tumor types, indicating that Bcl10 may
      be commonly involved in the pathogenesis of human malignancy.

PMID- 9989496
TI  - Molecular mechanisms of bacterial virulence elucidated using a Pseudomonas
      aeruginosa-Caenorhabditis elegans pathogenesis model.
AB  - The human opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 kills
      Caenorhabditis elegans. Using systematic mutagenesis of PA14 to identify mutants
      that fail to kill C. elegans and a C. elegans mutant that lacks P-glycoproteins,
      we identified phenazines, secreted P. aeruginosa pigments, as one of the
      mediators of killing. Analysis of C. elegans mutants with altered responses to
      oxidative stress suggests that phenazines exert their toxic effects on C. elegans
      through the generation of reactive oxygen species. Finally, we show that
      phenazines and other P. aeruginosa factors required for C. elegans killing are
      also required for pathogenesis in plants and mice, illustrating that this model
      tackles the dual challenges of identifying bacterial virulence factors as well as
      host responses to them.

PMID- 9989497
TI  - A molecular mechanism regulating rhythmic output from the suprachiasmatic
      circadian clock.
AB  - We examined the transcriptional regulation of the clock-controlled arginine
      vasopressin gene in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). A core clock mechanism in
      mouse SCN appears to involve a transcriptional feedback loop in which CLOCK and
      BMAL1 are positive regulators and three mPeriod (mPer) genes are involved in
      negative feedback. We show that the RNA rhythm of each mPer gene is severely
      blunted in Clock/Clock mice. The vasopressin RNA rhythm is abolished in the SCN
      of Clock/Clock animals, leading to markedly decreased peptide levels. Luciferase
      reporter gene assays show that CLOCK-BMAL1 heterodimers act through an E box
      enhancer in the vasopressin gene to activate transcription; this activation can
      be inhibited by the mPER and mTIM proteins. These data indicate that the
      transcriptional machinery of the core clockwork directly regulates a clock
      controlled output rhythm.

PMID- 9989498
TI  - Kin I kinesins are microtubule-destabilizing enzymes.
AB  - Using in vitro assays with purified proteins, we show that XKCM1 and XKIF2, two
      distinct members of the internal catalytic domain (Kin I) kinesin subfamily,
      catalytically destabilize microtubules using a novel mechanism. Both XKCM1 and
      XKIF2 influence microtubule stability by targeting directly to microtubule ends
      where they induce a destabilizing conformational change. ATP hydrolysis recycles
      XKCM1/XKIF2 for multiple rounds of action by dissociating a XKCM1/ XKIF2-tubulin
      dimer complex released upon microtubule depolymerization. These results establish
      Kin I kinesins as microtubule-destabilizing enzymes, distinguish them
      mechanistically from kinesin superfamily members that use ATP hydrolysis to
      translocate along microtubules, and have important implications for the
      regulation of microtubule dynamics and for the intracellular functions and
      evolution of the kinesin superfamily.

PMID- 9989499
TI  - High-resolution model of the microtubule.
AB  - A high-resolution model of the microtubule has been obtained by docking the
      crystal structure of tubulin into a 20 A map of the microtubule. The excellent
      fit indicates the similarity of the tubulin conformation in both polymers and
      defines the orientation of the tubulin structure within the microtubule. Long C
      terminal helices form the crest on the outside of the protofilament, while long
      loops define the microtubule lumen. The exchangeable nucleotide in beta-tubulin
      is exposed at the plus end of the microtubule, while the proposed catalytic
      residue in alpha-tubulin is exposed at the minus end. Extensive longitudinal
      interfaces between monomers have polar and hydrophobic components. At the lateral
      contacts, a nucleotide-sensitive helix interacts with a loop that contributes to
      the binding site of taxol in beta-tubulin.

PMID- 9989500
TI  - Backbone mutations in transmembrane domains of a ligand-gated ion channel:
      implications for the mechanism of gating.
AB  - An approach to identify backbone conformational changes underlying nicotinic
      acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) gating was developed. Specific backbone peptide
      bonds were replaced with an ester, which disrupts backbone hydrogen bonds at the
      site of mutation. At a conserved proline residue (alphaPro221) in the first
      transmembrane (M1) domain, the amide-to-ester mutation provides receptors with
      near-normal sensitivity, although the natural amino acids tested other than Pro
      produce receptors that gate with a much larger EC50 than normal. Therefore, a
      backbone hydrogen bond at this site may interfere with normal gating. In the
      alphaM2 domain, the amide-to-ester mutation yielded functional receptors at 15
      positions, 3 of which provided receptors with >10-fold lower EC50 than wild type.
      These results support a model for gating that includes significant changes of
      backbone conformation within the M2 domain.

PMID- 9989501
TI  - The structure of the protein phosphatase 2A PR65/A subunit reveals the
      conformation of its 15 tandemly repeated HEAT motifs.
AB  - The PR65/A subunit of protein phosphatase 2A serves as a scaffolding molecule to
      coordinate the assembly of the catalytic subunit and a variable regulatory B
      subunit, generating functionally diverse heterotrimers. Mutations of the beta
      isoform of PR65 are associated with lung and colon tumors. The crystal structure
      of the PR65/Aalpha subunit, at 2.3 A resolution, reveals the conformation of its
      15 tandemly repeated HEAT sequences, degenerate motifs of approximately 39 amino
      acids present in a variety of proteins, including huntingtin and importin beta.
      Individual motifs are composed of a pair of antiparallel alpha helices that
      assemble in a mainly linear, repetitive fashion to form an elongated molecule
      characterized by a double layer of alpha helices. Left-handed rotations at three
      interrepeat interfaces generate a novel left-hand superhelical conformation. The
      protein interaction interface is formed from the intrarepeat turns that are
      aligned to form a continuous ridge.

PMID- 9989502
TI  - Mvwf, a dominant modifier of murine von Willebrand factor, results from altered
      lineage-specific expression of a glycosyltransferase.
AB  - We have identified altered lineage-specific expression of an N
      acetylgalactosaminyltransferase gene, Galgt2, as the gain-of-function mechanism
      responsible for the action of the Mvwf locus, a major modifier of plasma von
      Willebrand factor (VWF) level in RIIIS/J mice. A switch of Galgt2 gene expression
      from intestinal epithelial cell-specific to a pattern restricted to the vascular
      endothelial cell bed leads to aberrant posttranslational modification and rapid
      clearance of VWF from plasma. Transgenic expression of Galgt2 directed to
      vascular endothelial cells reproduces the low VWF phenotype, confirming this
      switch in lineage-specific gene expression as the likely molecular mechanism for
      Mvwf. These findings identify alterations in glycosyltransferase function as a
      potential general mechanism for the genetic modification of plasma protein
      levels.

PMID- 9989503
TI  - Functional association of Nmi with Stat5 and Stat1 in IL-2- and IFNgamma-mediated
      signaling.
AB  - Using the coiled-coil region of Stat5b as the bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen,
      we identified the association of Nmi, a protein of unknown function previously
      reported as an N-Myc interactor. We further show that Nmi interacts with all
      STATs except Stat2. We evaluated two cytokine systems, IL-2 and IFNgamma, and
      demonstrate that Nmi augments STAT-mediated transcription in response to these
      cytokines. Interestingly, Nmi lacks an intrinsic transcriptional activation
      domain; instead, Nmi enhances the association of CBP/p300 coactivator proteins
      with Stat1 and Stat5, and together with CBP/p300 can augment IL-2- and IFNgamma
      dependent transcription. Therefore, our data not only reveal that Nmi can
      potentiate STAT-dependent transcription, but also suggest that it can augment
      coactivator protein recruitment to at least some members of a group of sequence
      specific transcription factors.

PMID- 9989504
TI  - Structure of CheA, a signal-transducing histidine kinase.
AB  - Histidine kinases allow bacteria, plants, and fungi to sense and respond to their
      environment. The 2.6 A resolution crystal structure of Thermotoga maritima CheA
      (290-671) histidine kinase reveals a dimer where the functions of dimerization,
      ATP binding, and regulation are segregated into domains. The kinase domain is
      unlike Ser/Thr/Tyr kinases but resembles two ATPases, Gyrase B and Hsp90.
      Structural analogies within this superfamily suggest that the P1 domain of CheA
      provides the nucleophilic histidine and activating glutamate for phosphotransfer.
      The regulatory domain, which binds the homologous receptor-coupling protein CheW,
      topologically resembles two SH3 domains and provides different protein
      recognition surfaces at each end. The dimerization domain forms a central four
      helix bundle about which the kinase and regulatory domains pivot on conserved
      hinges to modulate transphosphorylation. Different subunit conformations suggest
      that relative domain motions link receptor response to kinase activity.

PMID- 9989505
TI  - Menin interacts with the AP1 transcription factor JunD and represses JunD
      activated transcription.
AB  - MEN1 is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes a 610 amino acid nuclear protein
      (menin) of previously unknown function. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen with
      menin as the bait, we have identified the transcription factor JunD as a direct
      menin-interacting partner. Menin did not interact directly with other Jun and Fos
      family members. The menin-JunD interaction was confirmed in vitro and in vivo.
      Menin repressed transcriptional activation mediated by JunD fused to the Gal4 DNA
      binding domain from a Gal4 responsive reporter, or by JunD from an AP1-responsive
      reporter. Several naturally occurring and clustered MEN1 missense mutations
      disrupted menin interaction with JunD. These observations suggest that menin's
      tumor suppressor function involves direct binding to JunD and inhibition of JunD
      activated transcription.

PMID- 9989506
TI  - Trading places on DNA--a three-point switch underlies primer handoff from primase
      to the replicative DNA polymerase.
AB  - This study reports a primase-to-polymerase switch in E. coli that closely links
      primase action with extension by DNA polymerase III holoenzyme. We find that
      primase tightly grips its RNA primer, protecting it from the action of other
      proteins. However, primase must be displaced before the beta sliding clamp can be
      assembled on the primed site. A single subunit of the holoenzyme, chi, is
      dedicated to this primase displacement task. The displacement mechanism depends
      on a third protein, SSB. Primase requires contact to SSB for its grip on the
      primed site. The chi subunit also binds SSB, upon which the primase-to-SSB
      contact is destabilized leading to dissociation of primase and assembly of beta
      onto the RNA primer. The conservation of this three-point switch, in which two
      proteins exchange places on DNA via mutually exclusive interaction with a third
      protein, is discussed.

PMID- 9989507
TI  - The science and art of radiation oncology after a century.

PMID- 9989508
TI  - Research recommendations for radiation therapy in older cancer patients. Report
      from the National Institute on Aging, National Cancer Institute, and American
      College of Radiology Workshop: radiation therapy and cancer in older persons.

PMID- 9989509
TI  - Editorial comment on "the link between local recurrence and distant metastasis in
      human breast cancer" by Serge Koscielny and Maurice Tubiana.

PMID- 9989510
TI  - The link between local recurrence and distant metastases in human breast cancer.
AB  - PURPOSE: To distinguish between two possible explanations for the increased
      incidence of distant metastases observed in patients with locoregional
      recurrences (LR). Either LR is the signature of tumor aggressiveness, and
      avoiding recurrences (i.e., by radiotherapy) is of little value. The alternative
      is that LR is a nidus for metastatic dissemination. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Four
      thousand patients consecutively treated in the same institution from 1954 to 1975
      were studied. None of them had received adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumor
      characteristics, local recurrence, and distant metastases had been prospectively
      registered. Duration of metastatic growth and probability of metastatic
      dissemination were estimated in the subsets of patients. RESULTS: The proportion
      of metastasis-free patients was reduced by about 80% in all subsets of patients
      with LR. In patients without LR, the monthly rate of distant metastases incidence
      decreases continuously with time after initial treatment. Conversely, in patients
      with local recurrence, this rate increases during the first year at initial
      treatment and the metastases in excess appear slightly later than in patients
      without local recurrence. Using a mathematical model, it can be shown that, in
      patients with local recurrence, nearly all of the metastases in excess had been
      initiated after initial treatment. The data also suggest that each year a small
      proportion of grade 1 residual tumors progresses toward a more malignant
      histologic type. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis
      that a greater tumor aggressiveness in patients with LR could explain the excess
      of metastases. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of the delays between
      metastases' emergence, and death, which shows that tumors with or without LR have
      similar biological characteristics.

PMID- 9989511
TI  - Local recurrences and distant metastases after breast-conserving surgery and
      radiation therapy for early breast cancer.
AB  - PURPOSE: To identify predicting factors for local failure and increased risk of
      distant metastases by statistical analysis of the data after breast-conserving
      treatment for early breast cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between January 1976
      and December 1993, 528 patients with nonmetastatic T1 (tumors < or = 1 cm [n =
      197], >1 cm [n = 220]) or T2 (tumors < or = 3 cm [n = 111]) carcinoma of the
      breast underwent wide excision (n = 435) or quadrantectomy (n = 93) with axillary
      dissection (negative nodal status [n-]: 396; 1-3 involved nodes: 100; >3 involved
      nodes: 32). Radiotherapy consisted of 45 Gy to the entire breast via tangential
      fields. Patients with positive axillary lymph nodes received 45 Gy to the
      axillary and supraclavicular area. Patients with positive axillary nodes and/or
      inner or central tumor locations received 50 Gy to the internal mammary lymph
      node area. A boost dose was delivered to the primary site by iridium 192 Implant
      in 298 patients (mean total dose: 15.2+/-0.07 Gy, range: 15-25 Gy) or by
      electrons in 225 patients (mean total dose: 14.8+/-0.09 Gy, range: 5-20 Gy). The
      mean age was 52.5+/-0.5 years (range: 26-86 years) and 267 patient were
      postmenopausal. Histologic types were as follows: 463 infiltrating ductal
      carcinomas, 39 infiltrating lobular carcinomas, and 26 other histotypes. Grade
      distribution according to the Scarff, Bloom, and Richardson (SBR) classification
      was as follows: 149 grade 1, 271 grade 2, 73 grade 3, and 35 nonclassified. The
      mean tumor size was 1.6+/-0.3 cm (range: 0.3-3 cm). The intraductal component of
      the primary tumor was extensive (EIC = IC > or = 25%) in 39 patients. Tumors were
      microscopically bifocal in 33 cases. Margins were assessed in the majority of
      cases by inking of the resection margins and were classified as positive in 13
      cases, close (< or = 2 mm) in 21, negative (>2 mm tumor-free margin) in 417, and
      indeterminate in 77. Peritumoral vascular invasion was observed in 40 patients.
      Tamoxifen was administered for at least 2 years in 176 patients. At least six
      cycles of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy were administered in 116 patients. The
      mean follow-up period from the beginning of the treatment was 84.5+/-1.7 months.
      RESULTS: First events included 44 isolated local recurrences, 8 isolated axillary
      node recurrences, 44 isolated distant metastases, 1 local recurrence with
      synchronous axillary node recurrence, 7 local recurrences with synchronous
      metastases, and 2 local recurrences with synchronous axillary node recurrences
      and distant metastases. Of 39 pathologically evaluable local recurrences, 33 were
      classified as true local recurrences and 6 as ipsilateral new primary carcinomas.
      Seventy patients died (47 of breast carcinoma, 4 of other neoplastic diseases, 10
      of other diseases and 9 of unknown causes). The 5- and 10-year rates were,
      respectively: specific survival 93% and 86%, disease-free survival 85% and 75%,
      distant metastasis 8.5% and 14%, and local recurrence 7% and 14%. Mean intervals
      from the beginning of treatment for local recurrence or distant metastases were,
      respectively, 60+/-6 months (median: 47 months, range: 6-217 months) and 49.5+/
      5.4 months (median: 33 months, range: 6-217 months). After local recurrence,
      salvage mastectomy was performed in 46 patients (85%) and systemic hormonal
      therapy and/or chemotherapy was administered to 43 patients. The 5-year specific
      survival rate after treatment for local recurrence was 78+/-8.2%. Multivariate
      analysis (multivariate generalization of the proportional hazards model) showed
      that the probability of local control was decreased by the following four
      independent factors: young age (< or = 40 yr vs. >40 yr; relative risk [RR]:
      3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-5.8, p = 0.0002), premenopausal status
      (pre vs. post; RR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4-6, p = 0.0048), bifocality (uni- vs. bifocal;
      RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 2.6-2.8,p = 0.018), and extensive intraductal component (IC <25%
      vs. IC > or = 25%; RR: 2.6, 95% CI: 13-5.2, p = 0

PMID- 9989512
TI  - The influence of age on the delivery, tolerance, and efficacy of thoracic
      irradiation in the combined modality treatment of limited stage small cell lung
      cancer.
AB  - PURPOSE: To assess the impact of age on the delivery, tolerance, and efficacy of
      thoracic irradiation (TI) for limited small cell lung cancer (L-SCLC). METHODS
      AND MATERIALS: This is a retrospective review of data from 608 patients 80 years
      or less with L-SCLC, who participated in two previously reported randomized
      trials (BR3 and BR.6) of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. All patients
      received the same chemotherapy, consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,
      vincristine (CAV), and etoposide cisplatin (EP) delivered either in sequential or
      alternating sequence. In BR.3, TI was given after chemotherapy with randomization
      to 25 Gy in 10 fractions or 37.5 Gy in 15 fractions. In BR.6, TI (40 Gy in 15
      fractions) was given concurrently with EP with randomization to either the early
      (with cycle 2, week 4) or late (with cycle 6, week 16) arm. RESULTS: A total of
      665 patients entered these two trials. Of these, 608 patients were eligible for
      analysis, 300 in BR.3 and 308 in BR.6. Five hundred and twenty patients were
      under age 70 and 88 patients were 70 years or older. Baseline characteristics
      between the two groups were comparable. In BR3, 179 patients (60%) participated
      in radiotherapy randomization (61% young, 52% elderly), and 176 patients actually
      received TI. In BR.6, randomization occurred at study entry for all patients, and
      282 (91.6%) patients received TI (92% young, 88% elderly). More patients of both
      age groups randomized to receive late TI did not receive TI (13% and 14%) than
      those randomized to the early TI arm (3%) of BR.6. We could identify no tendency
      to reduce field sizes to minimize toxicity in either age group at higher doses of
      TI. Once TI was started, there was no difference between the two age groups with
      regards to the proportion of patients who completed TI, although elderly patients
      were less likely to complete high dose TI. Of those who completed TI, there was
      no difference in the time to complete TI, mean dose delivered or in the incidence
      of acute and late TI-related toxicities. No statistical difference in response
      rate, local relapse rate, or overall survival was seen between young and older
      age groups. CONCLUSION: In summary, in the dose range examined, age does not
      appear to impact on the delivery, tolerance or efficacy of TI in the combined
      modality management of L-SCLC. Potentially curative combined modality treatment
      should not be withheld on the basis of age.

PMID- 9989513
TI  - Pion conformal radiation of prostate cancer: results of a randomized study.
AB  - PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of pion radiation therapy with conventional
      external beam photon therapy, for the treatment of locally advanced stage T3/4,
      N0, M0 adenocarcinoma of the prostate. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Two hundred
      seventeen eligible patients were randomly allocated to either photon or pion
      therapy. No adjuvant hormone therapy was used. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 42
      months (range 2-90). Acute bladder toxicity was worse in the pion arm, p = 0.2,
      but other acute toxicity did not differ. Late grade 2 toxicity was significantly
      less in the pion arm (29% at 5 years versus 48%, p = 0.002), but late grade 3 or
      4 toxicity did not differ. Clinical local control was not significantly different
      between treatment arms (64% after 5 years with photons, 56% with pions, p = 0.6).
      Cause-specific and overall survival also did not differ (p = 0.7). There was a
      significant delay in time to first failure in the photon arm, largely as a result
      of decreased biochemical relapse, p = 0.01. A multivariate analysis is presented.
      CONCLUSION: Pion therapy was well tolerated, with increased acute toxicity and
      significantly decreased late tissue injury. This contrasts with the late toxicity
      observed with higher LET particle therapy such as neutron therapy. No improvement
      in local control with pion therapy was observed.

PMID- 9989514
TI  - Definition of the prostate in CT and MRI: a multi-observer study.
AB  - PURPOSE: To determine, in three-dimensions, the difference between prostate
      delineation in magnetic resonance (MR) and computer tomography (CT) images for
      radiotherapy treatment planning. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three radiation
      oncologists, considered experts in the field, outlined the prostate without
      seminal vesicles both on CT, and axial, coronal, and sagittal MR images for 18
      patients. To compare the resulting delineated prostates, the CT and MR scans were
      matched in three-dimensions using chamfer matching on bony structures. The
      volumes were measured and the interscan and interobserver variation was
      determined. The spatial difference between delineation in CT and MR (interscan
      variation) as well as the interobserver variation were quantified and mapped
      three-dimensionally (3D) using polar coordinates. A urethrogram was performed and
      the location of the tip of the dye column was compared with the apex delineated
      in CT and MR images. RESULTS: Interscan variation: CT volumes were larger than
      the axial MR volumes in 52 of 54 delineations. The average ratio between the CT
      and MR volumes was 1.4 (standard error of mean, SE: 0.04) which was significantly
      different from 1 (p < 0.005). Only small differences were observed between the
      volumes outlined in the various MR scans, although the coronal MR volumes were
      smallest. The CT derived prostate was 8 mm (standard deviation, SD: 6 mm) larger
      at the base of the seminal vesicles and 6 mm (SD 4 mm) larger at the apex of the
      prostate than the axial MRI. Similar figures were obtained for the CT and the
      other MRI scans. Interobserver variation: The average ratio between the volume
      derived by one observer for a particular scan and patient and the average volume
      was 0.95, 0.97, and 1.08 (SE 0.01) for the three observers, respectively. The 3D
      pattern of the overall observer variation (1 SD) for CT and axial MRI was similar
      and equal to 3.5 to 2.8 mm at the base of the seminal vesicles and 3 mm at the
      apex. CONCLUSION: CT-derived prostate volumes are larger than MR derived volumes,
      especially toward the seminal vesicles and the apex of the prostate. This
      interscan variation was found to be larger than the interobserver variation.
      Using MRI for delineation of the prostate reduces the amount of irradiated rectal
      wall, and could reduce rectal and urological complications.

PMID- 9989515
TI  - Prostate seed implant quality assessment using MR and CT image fusion.
AB  - PURPOSE: After a seed implant of the prostate, computerized tomography (CT) is
      ideal for determining seed distribution but soft tissue anatomy is frequently not
      well visualized. Magnetic resonance (MR) images soft tissue anatomy well but seed
      visualization is problematic. We describe a method of fusing CT and MR images to
      exploit the advantages of both of these modalities when assessing the quality of
      a prostate seed implant. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eleven consecutive prostate seed
      implant patients were imaged with axial MR and CT scans. MR and CT images were
      fused in three dimensions using the Pinnacle 3.0 version of the ADAC treatment
      planning system. The urethra and bladder base were used to "line up" MR and CT
      image sets during image fusion. Alignment was accomplished using translation and
      rotation in the three ortho-normal planes. Accuracy of image fusion was evaluated
      by calculating the maximum deviation in millimeters between the center of the
      urethra on axial MR versus CT images. Implant quality was determined by comparing
      dosimetric results to previously set parameters. RESULTS: Image fusion was
      performed with a high degree of accuracy. When lining up the urethra and base of
      bladder, the maximum difference in axial position of the urethra between MR and
      CT averaged 2.5 mm (range 1.3-4.0 mm, SD 0.9 mm). By projecting CT-derived dose
      distributions over MR images of soft tissue structures, qualitative and
      quantitative evaluation of implant quality is straightforward. CONCLUSIONS: The
      image-fusion process we describe provides a sophisticated way of assessing the
      quality of a prostate seed implant. Commercial software makes the process time
      efficient and available to any clinical practice with a high-quality treatment
      planning system. While we use MR to image soft tissue structures, the process
      could be used with any imaging modality that is able to visualize the prostatic
      urethra (e.g., ultrasound).

PMID- 9989516
TI  - Prospective evaluation of the effect of ionizing radiation on the bladder tumor
      associated (BTA) urine test.
AB  - PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate the effect of ionizing radiation on the
      results of the bladder tumor-associated antigen (BTA) test. By examining this
      question, we sought to determine its potential use as a monitoring test for the
      detection of recurrent transitional carcinoma of the bladder in patients who have
      received prior radiotherapy for bladder preservation. MATERIALS AND METHODS:
      Between February 1996 and April 1997, 18 patients with nonbladder pelvic
      malignancies and no history of bladder cancer, received irradiation to the
      bladder. These patients were prospectively evaluated using the BTA test at the
      end of the external-beam radiation (EBRT) and at 3-month follow-up intervals.
      Urine cytology was analyzed in 16 of the 18 patients at the end of EBRT. A median
      of 3 separate measurements were made (range 1-6) on each patient. The median dose
      of EBRT was 50.4 Gy (range 30-68 Gy). Seven patients underwent brachytherapy as
      part of their treatment course. BTA results and time intervals were recorded and
      analyzed using univariate and Kaplan-Meyer methodologies. RESULTS: A total of 10
      (56%) of the 18 patients had a positive BTA test at some time following
      completion of EBRT. Of the 10 positive tests, 9 returned to negative in a median
      of 42 weeks from completion of EBRT. Treatment with chemotherapy, brachytherapy,
      calculated bladder dose, and total external beam dose did not significantly
      influence either the number of positive tests or the time to resolution of the
      positive test in this small group of patients. All screened urine samples were
      negative for malignant cells and 11 (69%) of 16 showed changes consistent with
      ionizing radiation. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the hypothesis that ionizing
      radiation can cause transient positive results in the BTA test, but that these
      normalize with time. Although it requires further testing, it seems that the BTA
      test may be useful in the detection of recurrence in patients with bladder cancer
      who have been treated with definitive irradiation for bladder preservation.

PMID- 9989517
TI  - Patterns of failure following high-dose 3-D conformal radiotherapy for high-grade
      astrocytomas: a quantitative dosimetric study.
AB  - PURPOSE: To analyze the failure patterns for patients with high-grade
      astrocytomas treated with high-dose conformal radiotherapy (CRT) using a
      quantitative technique to calculate the dose received by the CT- or MR-defined
      recurrence volume and to assess whether the final target volume margin used in
      the present dose escalation study requires redefinition before further
      escalation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 4/89 and 10/95, 71 patients with high
      grade supratentorial astrocytomas were entered in a phase I/II dose escalation
      study using 3-D treatment planning and conformal radiotherapy. All patients were
      treated to either 70 or 80 Gy in conventional daily fractions of 1.8-2.0 Gy. The
      clinical and planning target volumes (CTV, PTV) consisted of successively smaller
      volumes with the final PTV defined as the enhancing lesion plus 0.5 cm margin. As
      of 10/95, 47 patients have CT or MR evidence of disease recurrence/progression.
      Of the 47 patients, 36 scans obtained at the time of recurrence were entered into
      the 3-D radiation therapy treatment planning system. After definition of the
      recurrent tumor volumes, the recurrence scan dataset was registered with the
      pretreatment CT dataset so that the actual dose received by the recurrent tumor
      volumes during treatment could be accurately calculated and then analyzed
      dosimetrically using dose-volume histograms. Recurrences were divided into
      several categories: 1) "central," in which 95% or more of the recurrent tumor
      volume (Vrecur) was within D95, the region treated to high dose (95% of the
      prescription dose); 2) "in-field," in which 80% or more of Vrecur was within the
      D95 isodose surface; 3) "marginal," when between 20 and 80% of Vrecur was inside
      the D95 surface; 4) "outside," in which less than 20% of Vrecur was inside the
      D95 surface. RESULTS: In 29 of 36 patients, a solitary lesion was seen on
      recurrence scans. Of the 29 solitary recurrences, 26 were central, 3 were
      marginal, and none were outside. Multiple recurrent lesions were seen in seven
      patients: three patients had multiple central and/or in-field lesions only, three
      patients had central and/or in-field lesions with additional small marginal or
      outside lesions, and one patent had 6 outside and one central lesion. Since total
      recurrence volume was used in the final analysis, 6 of the 7 patients with
      multiple recurrent lesions were classified into centra/in-field category.
      CONCLUSION: Analysis of the 36 evaluable patients has shown that 32 of 36
      patients (89%) failed with central or in-field recurrences, 3/36 (8%) had a
      significant marginal component to the recurrence, whereas only 1/36 (3%) could be
      clearly labeled as failing mainly outside the high-dose region. Seven patients
      had multiple recurrences, but only 1 of 7 had large-volume recurrences outside
      the high-dose region. This study shows that the great majority of patient
      recurrences that occur after high-dose (70 or 80 Gy) conformal irradiation are
      centrally located: only 1/36 patients (with 7 recurrent lesions) had more than
      50% of the recurrence volume outside the region previously treated to high dose.
      Further dose escalation to 90 Gy (and beyond) thus seems reasonable, based on the
      same target volume definition criteria

PMID- 9989518
TI  - Accelerated regression of brain metastases in patients receiving whole brain
      radiation and the topoisomerase II inhibitor, lucanthone.
AB  - PURPOSE: To determine if lucanthone crossed the blood-brain barrier in
      experimental animals; and to determine accelerated tumor regression of human
      brain metastases treated jointly with lucanthone and whole brain radiation.
      METHODS AND MATERIALS: The organ distribution of 3H lucanthone in mice and 125I
      lucanthone in rats was determined to learn if lucanthone crossed the blood-brain
      barrier. Size determinations were made of patients' brain metastases from
      magnetic resonance images or by computed tomography before and after treatment
      with 30 Gy whole brain radiation alone or with lucanthone. RESULTS: The time
      course of lucanthone's distribution in brain was identical to that in muscle and
      heart after intraperitoneal or intravenous administration in experimental
      animals. Lucanthone, therefore, readily crossed the blood-brain barrier in
      experimental animals. CONCLUSION: Compared with radiation alone, the tumor
      regression in patients with brain metastases treated with lucanthone and
      radiation was accelerated, approaching significance using a permutation test at p
      = 0.0536.

PMID- 9989519
TI  - Pulsed low dose rate brachytherapy for uterine cervix carcinoma.
AB  - PURPOSE: To analyze the outcome and complication rates for patients treated with
      curative-intent pulsed low dose rate (PLDR) brachytherapy and external beam
      radiation therapy (EBRT) for uterine cervical carcinoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS:
      Fifty-two patients have been treated, of whom 6 were excluded from analysis due
      to limited follow-up. Six patients were stage Ib, 3 were IIa, 11 IIb, 3 IIIa, 14
      IIIb, 1 IVa, and 9 were treated for local recurrences following primary surgery
      for stage Ib disease. Thirty-six patients had squamous cell carcinoma, 8
      adenocarcinoma, 1 adenosquamous, and 1 carcinosarcoma. Thirty-one had a staging
      laparotomy prior to radiation therapy. Brachytherapy was interstitial in 18
      patients, and intracavity in 28. The median EBRT central pelvis dose was 45 Gy in
      25 fractions. Median total prescribed doses (EBRT plus PLDR) were 75.8 Gy to the
      implant volume with interstitial, and 84.1 Gy to the A points with intracavitary,
      at a median dose rate of 0.55 Gy per pulse per hour. Six patients had laparotomy
      documented periaortic node involvement, and received EBRT to this site, 45 Gy in
      25 fractions. Thirty patients received concomitant weekly cisplatin chemotherapy
      (40 mg/m2). RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 25 months (range 6 to 55 months)
      actuarial 4-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates are 66% for the entire group:
      stage Ib 100%, stage II 69%, stage III/IVa 68%, and 43% in patients treated for
      recurrences after surgery for initial stage Ib disease. Pelvic nodes contained
      tumor in 13 of the 31 patients (41.9%) who underwent laparotomy, as did
      periaortic nodes in 6 (19.4%). Patients with negative pelvic nodes had a 4-year
      actuarial DFS of 75% versus 59% with positive pelvic (and negative periaortic)
      nodes, and 50% with positive periaortic nodes. Using the RTOG late radiation
      morbidity scoring criteria, there were no grade V complications. Grade IV
      complications occurred in 2 patients (4.3%). One was a rectovaginal fistula and
      the other a vesicovaginal fistula, each occurring subsequent to a biopsy
      revealing benign tissue. One patient (2.2%) had a grade III complication
      (frequent hematuria), and 5 (10.9%) had grade II complications. CONCLUSIONS: PLDR
      brachytherapy is a safe and effective brachytherapy method in the treatment of
      cervix carcinoma. It combines the physics benefits of dose optimization and the
      radiobiologic advantages of low dose rate brachytherapy. It eliminates radiation
      exposure to staff and visitors as well as the need for a source inventory.
      Although further follow-up will be required, it appears to provide outcome which
      compares favorably to other methods of brachytherapy delivery, and results in a
      low rate of complications.

PMID- 9989520
TI  - Clinical radiobiology of glottic T1 squamous cell carcinoma.
AB  - PURPOSE: Radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for early glottic squamous
      cell cancer in many institutions over the world. Despite a relatively homogenous
      clinical model of T1 glottic tumors for the fractionation studies, the
      relationships between dose-time parameters remain unclear. To analyze the
      influence of fractionation parameters and hemoglobin level on tumor cure, this
      study has been performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review
      of 235 patients with T1N0M0 glottic cancer treated by radiation therapy alone
      given in a conventional schedule with 5 fractions each week. The individual total
      dose, dose per fraction, and overall treatment time (OTT) ranged from 51-70 Gy,
      1.5-3.0 Gy, and 24-79 days, respectively. The median follow-up was 48 months.
      Patient data--total dose, dose per fraction, OTT, and hemoglobin level (Hb)
      measured before the radiation treatment--were fitted by the mixed LQ/log-logistic
      model. RESULTS: The 5-year local relapse-free survival rate was 84%. All
      parameters included in the mixed LQ/log-logistic model improved the fit
      significantly. The dose-response curve for 235 patients with T1 glottic cancer
      was well defined and steep, and showed significant decrease in tumor control
      probability (TCP) when total doses were below 61 Gy. The 10-day prolongation of
      OTT, from 45 to 55 days, decreased the TCP by 13%. The dose of 0.35 Gy/day,
      compensated repopulation during the 1 day of prolongation, which indicates a
      potential doubling time (Tpot) for glottic T1 tumor clonogens of 5.5 days. The
      drop of Hb level of 1 g/dl (from 13.8 g/dl to 12.8 g/dl) gave a 6% decrease of
      TCP, provided that OTT was 45 days. CONCLUSION: The significant correlation
      between the total dose, overall treatment time, hemoglobin concentration, and
      tumor control probability has been found for T1 glottic cancer.

PMID- 9989521
TI  - Concurrent twice-a-week docetaxel and radiotherapy: a dose escalation trial with
      immunological toxicity evaluation.
AB  - PURPOSE: In vitro studies show that docetaxel (Taxotere) is potent
      radiosensitizer. In a previous study we observed a 27% complete response rate
      after radiotherapy and weekly docetaxel for non-small-cell lung cancer. In this
      dose escalation study we investigated the feasibility of a twice-a-week docetaxel
      regimen together with conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for brain, chest,
      and pelvic tumors. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Nine patients with stage IIIb lung
      cancer, 9 with stage IVa pelvic tumors, and 9 with brain glioblastoma were
      recruited. The starting dose was 15 mg/m2 (twice a week) and was escalated by 4
      mg/m2 increments every 3 patients with chest, pelvic, and brain tumors. RESULTS:
      The maximum tolerated dose of docetaxel was 15 mg/m2 (twice a week) for chest and
      pelvic cancer patients. The dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was asthenia and mucosal
      toxicity (esophagitis or diarrhea in chest and pelvic tumors, respectively).
      Patients with glioblastomas received 23 mg/m2 (twice a week) without toxicity.
      Complete response of the chest disease was observed in 3/9 (33%) patients and
      partial response in 4/9 (44%). Three patients with glioblastoma had a partial
      response. In pelvic malignancies a high complete response rate was observed (4/9;
      45%). Severe monocytopenia and lymphocytopenia were observed during the fourth
      week of treatment. IgG and IgA immunoglobulins were also reduced. This coincided
      with the onset of asthenia and severe mucosal toxicity. Asthenia was absent in
      patients treated for brain tumors, and lymphocyte toxicity was less pronounced.
      CONCLUSIONS: Docetaxel radiochemotherapy is a promising therapeutic approach for
      locally advanced cancer. The recommended dose of docetaxel for chest and pelvic
      cancer patients is 15 mg/m2 twice a week. Patients with brain tumors can be
      safely treated with higher doses of docetaxel (23 mg/m2 twice a week) without
      toxicity. The severe immunologic toxicity observed suggests that granulocyte
      macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and immunoglobulin administration
      may be important in the efficacy and tolerance of taxane-based radiochemotherapy.
      Randomized trials are required to assess whether the efficacy of docetaxel
      radiochemotherapy depends on the frequency of docetaxel administration during
      radiation treatment.

PMID- 9989522
TI  - A real-time audit of radiation therapy in a regional cancer center.
AB  - PURPOSE: To report the development, structure, and implementation of a real-time
      clinical radiotherapy audit of the practice of radiation oncology in a regional
      cancer center. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Radiotherapy treatment plans were audited
      by a real-time peer-review process over an 8-year period (1989-1996). The overall
      goal of the audit was to establish a process for quality assurance (QA) of
      radiotherapy planning and prescription for individual patients. A parallel
      process was developed to audit the implementation of intervention-specific
      radiotherapy treatment policies. RESULTS: A total of 3052 treatment plans were
      audited. Of these, 124 (4.1%) were not approved by the audit due to apparent
      errors in radiation planning. The majority of the nonapproved plans (79%) were
      modified prior to initiating treatment; the audit provided important clinical
      feedback about individual patient care in these instances. Most of the remaining
      nonapproved plans were deviations from normal practice due to patient-specific
      considerations. A further 110 (3.6% of all audited plans) were not approved by
      the audit due to deviations from radiotherapy treatment policy. A minority of
      these plans (22%) were modified prior to initiating treatment and the remainder
      provided important feedback for continuous quality improvement of treatment
      policies. CONCLUSION: A real-time audit of radiotherapy practice in a regional
      cancer center setting proved feasible and provided important direct and indirect
      patient benefits.

PMID- 9989523
TI  - ACR appropriateness criteria. Expert Panel on Radiation Oncology. American
      College of Radiology.

PMID- 9989524
TI  - Intratracheal injection of adenovirus containing the human MnSOD transgene
      protects athymic nude mice from irradiation-induced organizing alveolitis.
AB  - PURPOSE: A dose and volume limiting factor in radiation treatment of thoracic
      cancer is the development of fibrosis in normal lung. The goal of the present
      study was to determine whether expression prior to irradiation of a transgene for
      human manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) or human copper/zinc superoxide
      dismutase (Cu/ZnSOD) protects against irradiation-induced lung damage in mice.
      METHODS AND MATERIALS: Athymic Nude (Nu/J) mice were intratracheally injected
      with 10(9) plaque-forming units (PFU) of a replication-incompetent mutant
      adenovirus construct containing the gene for either human MnSOD, human
      copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/ZnSOD) or LacZ. Four days later the mice
      were irradiated to the pulmonary cavity to doses of 850, 900, or 950 cGy. To
      demonstrate adenoviral infection, nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
      reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out with primers specific for either human MnSOD or
      Cu/ZnSOD transgene on freshly explanted lung, trachea, or alveolar type II cells,
      and immunohistochemistry was used to measure LacZ expression. RNA was extracted
      on day 0, 1, 4, or 7 after 850 cGy of irradiation from lungs of mice that had
      previously received adenovirus or had no treatment. Slot blot analysis was
      performed to quantitate RNA expression for IL-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)
      alpha, TGF-beta, MnSOD, or Cu/ZnSOD. Lung tissue was explanted and tested for
      biochemical activity of MnSOD or Cu/ZnSOD after adenovirus injection. Other mice
      were sacrificed 132 days after irradiation, lungs excised, frozen in OCT,
      (polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol mixture) sectioned, H&E stained, and
      evaluated for percent of the lung demonstrating organizing alveolitis. RESULTS:
      Mice injected intratracheally with adenovirus containing the gene for human MnSOD
      had significantly reduced chronic lung irradiation damage following 950 cGy,
      compared to control mice or mice injected with adenovirus containing the gene for
      human Cu/ZnSOD or LacZ. Immunohistochemistry for LacZ protein in adenovirus LacZ
      (Ad-LacZ)-injected mice demonstrated expression of LacZ in both the upper and
      lower airway. Nested RT-PCR showed lung expression of MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD for at
      least 11 days following infection with each respective adenovirus construct.
      Nested RT-PCR using primers specific for human MnSOD demonstrated increased
      expression of the human MnSOD transgene in the trachea and alveolar type II cells
      4 days after virus injection on the day of irradiation. At this time point,
      increased biochemical activity of MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD respectively, was detected
      in lungs from these two adenovirus groups, compared to each other or to control
      or adenovirus LacZ mice. Slot blot analysis of RNA from lungs of mice in each
      group following 850 cGy irradiation demonstrated decreased expression of mRNA for
      interleukin-I (IL-1), TNF-alpha, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)
      in the MnSOD adenovirus-injected mice, compared to irradiated control, LacZ, or
      Cu/ZnSOD adenovirus-injected, irradiated mice. Mice receiving adenovirus MnSOD
      showed decreased organizing alveolitis at 132 days in all three dose groups,
      compared to irradiated control or Ad-LacZ, or Ad-Cu/ZnSOD mice. CONCLUSIONS:
      Overexpression of MnSOD in the lungs of mice prior to irradiation prevents
      irradiation-induced acute and chronic damage quantitated as decreased levels of
      mRNA for IL-1, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta in the days immediately following
      irradiation, and decrease in the percent of lung demonstrating fibrosis or
      organizing alveolitis at 132 days. These data provide a rational basis for
      development of gene therapy as a method of protection of the normal lung from
      acute and chronic sequelae of ionizing irradiation.

PMID- 9989525
TI  - A novel technique, using radioluminography, for the measurement of uniformity of
      radiolabelled antibody distribution in a colorectal cancer xenograft model.
AB  - PURPOSE: Radioimmunotherapy of cancer employs an antitumour antibody to carry a
      radionuclide selectively to deposits of cancer. Conventional dose estimates,
      based on the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) formulation, assume uniform
      distribution of radiolabelled antitumour antibody within tissue source regions.
      This assumption has been tested by using a statistical model to predict the pixel
      value distribution obtained from the digitised radioluminographs of a known
      radioactive source. The model uses the statistical nature of the detection of
      radiation where any uniform source distribution can be expected to have a
      detected histogram of pixel counts that is normal or Gaussian. Therefore, any
      test for the degree of normality in the detected distribution is also a measure
      of the degree of uniformity in the source. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Three
      statistical techniques have been used to test the normality of the histogram of
      pixel values produced from the antibody distribution in a tissue section.
      Kurtosis, skew, and Lilliefor's are tests for normality and have statistically
      defined critical values for a normal distribution. After administration of 125I
      labelled F(ab)2 antibody to nude mice bearing the LS174T colorectal cancer
      xenograft, the uniformity of antibody distribution in tumour and healthy tissues
      is measured using the radioluminographs of formalin-fixed paraffin sections. The
      test statistic for kurtosis, skew, and Lilliefor's is calculated for each tissue
      and is compared to critical values from statistical tables. RESULTS: The
      radiolabelled antibody is distributed uniformly in liver, spleen, muscle, lung,
      and colon and, therefore, conforms to conventional use of the MIRD formulation.
      The study showed that the kidney cortex and medulla should be considered
      separately in macroscopic absorbed-dose calculations, as should bone marrow and
      hard bone. Antibody heterogeneity in the tumour necessitates the incorporation of
      a microdosimetric tumour model into a macrodosimetry model for the accurate
      calculation of absorbed dose in all tissues.

PMID- 9989526
TI  - DNA double-strand break repair, DNA-PK, and DNA ligases in two human squamous
      carcinoma cell lines with different radiosensitivity.
AB  - PURPOSE: Variation in sensitivity to radiotherapy among tumors has been related
      to the capacity of cells to repair radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks
      (DSBs). DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and DNA ligases may affect DNA dsb
      rejoining. This study was performed to compare rate of rejoining of radiation
      induced DSBs, DNA-PK, and DNA ligase activities in two human squamous carcinoma
      cell lines with different sensitivity to ionizing radiation. METHODS AND
      MATERIALS: Cell survival of two human squamous carcinoma cell lines, UM-SCC-1 and
      UM-SCC-14A, was determined by an in vitro clonogenic assay. DSB rejoining was
      studied using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). DNA-PK activity was
      determined using BIOTRAK DNA-PK enzyme assay system (Amersham). DNA ligase
      activity in crude cell extracts was measured using [5'-33P] Poly (dA) x (oligo
      (dT) as a substrate. Proteolytic degradation of proteins was analyzed by means of
      Western blotting. RESULTS: Applying the commonly used linear-quadratic equation
      to describe cell survival, S = e-alphaD-betaD2, the two cell lines roughly have
      the same alpha value (approximately 0.40 Gy(-1)) whereas the beta value was
      considerably higher in UM-SCC-14A (0.067 Gy(-2)+/-0.007 Gy(-2) [SEM]) as compared
      to UM-SCC-1 (0.013 Gy(-2)+/-0.004 Gy(-2) [SEM]). Furthermore, UM-SCC-1 was more
      proficient in rejoining of X-ray-induced DSBs as compared to UM-SCC-14A as
      quantified by PFGE. The constitutive level of DNA-PK activity was 1.6 times
      higher in UM-SCC-1 as compared to UM-SCC-14A ( < 0.05). The constitutive level of
      DNA ligase activity was similar in the two cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: The results
      suggest that the proficiency in rejoining of DSBs is associated with DNA-PK
      activity but not with total DNA ligase activity.

PMID- 9989527
TI  - Modeling late effects in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy.
AB  - PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of increasing fraction size on cell survival
      in late responding normal tissues. The hypothesis is that total dose can be
      reduced for constant tumor cell kill and there will be consequent advantage for
      some surrounding normal tissue cells. Also, the volume of normal tissue that can
      potentially be damaged by increasing fraction size is minimized by a high degree
      of dose conformation achievable in stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). METHODS AND
      MATERIALS: The linear quadratic (LQ) model has been used to calculate the allowed
      reduction in total dose with increased fraction size, using tumor alpha/beta
      ratios of 5 Gy and 10 Gy. Effect on normal tissue is calculated using an
      alpha/beta ratio of 3 Gy. Maximum dose is normalized to 100% and the effect on
      normal tissue at different isodose levels assessed. A new quantity, the standard
      percentage dose, is proposed in order to describe a dose distribution in terms of
      an isodose distribution for a standard fraction size. Integral biologically
      effective dose (IBED) in the brainstem is calculated, where the variation with
      isocenter position and fraction size is considered. RESULTS: The decreasing total
      dose resulting from increasing the dose per fraction is found to reduce late
      normal tissue effect for low isodose levels. The threshold isodose level at which
      there is an advantage corresponds to the ratio of normal tissue to tumor
      alpha/beta ratios. Brainstem IBED for a higher dose per fraction increases
      relative to that for a low dose per fraction, when a larger volume of brainstem
      is covered by high isodose levels. CONCLUSION: Hypofractionation may be
      biologically sound when a small volume of normal tissue is covered by high
      isodose levels. There is a calculated advantage in using larger fractions in
      terms of cell survival at low isodose levels.

PMID- 9989528
TI  - Setup reproducibility in radiation therapy for lung cancer: a comparison between
      T-bar and expanded foam immobilization devices.
AB  - PURPOSE: Physiologic and non-physiologic tumor motion complicates the use of
      tight margins in three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy. Setup
      reproducibility is an important non-physiologic cause of tumor motion. The
      objective of this study is to evaluate and compare patient setup reproducibility
      using the reusable T-bar and the disposable expanded foam immobilization device
      (EFID) in radiation therapy for lung cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Two hundred
      forty-four portal films were taken from 16 prospectively accrued patients treated
      for lung cancer. Patients were treated with either a pair of anterior and
      posterior parallel opposing fields (POF), or a combination of POF and a three
      field isocentric technique. Each patient was treated in a supine position using
      either the T-bar setup or EFID. Six patients were treated in both devices over
      their treatment courses. Field placement analysis was used to evaluate 3D setup
      reproducibility, by comparing positions of bony landmarks relative to the
      radiation field edges in digitized simulator and portal images. Anterior
      posterior, lateral, and longitudinal displacements, as well as field rotations
      along coronal and sagittal planes were measured. Statistical analyses of variance
      were applied to the deviations among portal films of all patients and the
      subgroup treated with both immobilization methods. RESULTS: For the T-bar
      immobilization device, standard deviations of the setup reproducibility were 5.1,
      3.7, and 5.1 mm in the anterior-posterior, lateral, and longitudinal dimensions,
      respectively. Rotations in the coronal plane and the sagittal plane were 0.9
      degrees and 1.0 degrees, respectively. For the EFID, corresponding standard
      deviations of set up reproducibility were 3.6 mm, 5.3 mm, 5.4 mm, 0.7 degrees and
      1.4 degrees, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (p =
      0.22) in the 3D setup reproducibility between T-bar and EFID. Subgroup analysis
      for the patients who were treated with both immobilization devices did not reveal
      a difference either. There was no consistent systematic error from simulator to
      treatment unit identified for either immobilization device. CONCLUSION: Although
      the optimal immobilization technique and patient positioning for thoracic
      radiotherapy have yet to be determined, this study indicates that T-bar is
      comparable with EFID in its setup reproducibility. In view of the inherent
      advantages of T-bar, it has become a standard immobilization device at our
      institution. The observed range of displacements in field positioning with either
      immobilization device implies that one cm (two standard deviations [SD] of setup
      error) will be a more appropriate margin to allow for setup variability in
      radiation therapy for lung cancer.

PMID- 9989529
TI  - Transrectal ultrasound applicator for prostate heating monitored using MRI
      thermometry.
AB  - PURPOSE: For potential localized hyperthermia treatment of tumors within the
      prostate, an ultrasound applicator consisting entirely of nonmagnetic materials
      for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been developed and tested on
      muscle tissue ex vivo and in vivo. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A partial-cylindrical
      intracavitary transducer consisting of 16 elements in a 4 x 4 pattern was
      constructed. It produced a radially propagating acoustic pressure field. Each
      element of this array (1.5 x 0.75 cm), operating at 1.5 MHz, could be separately
      powered to produce a desired energy deposition pattern within a target volume.
      Spatial and temporal temperature elevations were determined using the temperature
      dependent proton resonant frequency (PRF) shift and phase subtraction of MR
      images acquired during ultrasonic heating. Four rabbits were exposed to the
      ultrasound to raise the local tissue temperature to 45 degrees C for 25 minutes.
      Six experiments compared thermocouple temperature results to PRF shift
      temperature results. RESULTS: The tests showed that the multi-element ultrasound
      applicator was MRI-compatible and allowed imaging during sonication. The induced
      temperature distribution could be controlled by monitoring the RF power to each
      transducer element. Therapeutic temperature elevations were easily achieved in
      vivo at power levels that were about 16% of the maximum system power. From the
      six thermocouple experiments, comparison between the thermocouple temperature and
      the PRF temperature yielded an average error of 0.34+/-0.36 degrees C.
      CONCLUSIONS: The MRI-compatible intracavitary applicator and driving system was
      able to control the ultrasound field and temperature pattern in vivo. MRI
      thermometry using the PRF shift can provide adequate temperature accuracy and
      stability for controlling the temperature distribution.

PMID- 9989530
TI  - Accuracy evaluation of fusion of CT, MR, and spect images using commercially
      available software packages (SRS PLATO and IFS).
AB  - PURPOSE: A problem for clinicians is to mentally integrate information from
      multiple diagnostic sources, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance
      (MR), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), whose images give
      anatomic and metabolic information. METHODS AND MATERIALS: To combine this
      different imaging procedure information, and to overlay correspondent slices, we
      used commercially available software packages (SRS PLATO and IFS). The algorithms
      utilize a fiducial-based coordinate system (or frame) with 3 N-shaped markers,
      which allows coordinate transformation of a clinical examination data set (9
      spots for each transaxial section) to a stereotactic coordinate system. The N
      shaped markers were filled with fluids visible in each modality (gadolinium for
      MR, calcium chloride for CT, and 99mTc for SPECT). The frame is relocatable, in
      the different acquisition modalities, by means of a head holder to which a face
      mask is fixed so as to immobilize the patient. Position errors due to the
      algorithms were obtained by evaluating the stereotactic coordinates of five
      sources detectable in each modality. RESULTS: SPECT and MR position errors due to
      the algorithms were evaluated with respect to CT: deltax was < or = 0.9 mm for MR
      and < or = 1.4 mm for SPECT, deltay was < or = 1 mm and < or = 3 mm for MR and
      SPECT, respectively. Maximal differences in distance between estimated and actual
      fiducial centers (geometric mismatch) were in the order of the pixel size (0.8 mm
      for CT, 1.4 mm for MR, and 1.8 mm for SPECT). In an attempt to distinguish
      necrosis from residual disease, the image fusion protocol was studied in 35
      primary or metastatic brain tumor patients. CONCLUSIONS: The image fusion
      technique has a good degree of accuracy as well as the potential to improve the
      specificity of tissue identification and the precision of the subsequent
      treatment planning.

PMID- 9989531
TI  - Regarding Zelefsky, Leibel, Gaudin, et al., IJROBP 1998;41:491-500.

PMID- 9989532
TI  - Re: Ogino I, Kitamura T, Okajima H, Matsubara S. High-dose-rate brachytherapy in
      the management of cervical and vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia Int J Radiat
      Oncol Biol Phys 1998; 40:881-887.

PMID- 9989533
TI  - Somatization reconsidered: incorporating the patient's experience of illness.
AB  - The large and heterogeneous group of patients with "unexplained somatic
      symptoms," with or without coexisting psychiatric, "functional," or "organic"
      illnesses, provides continuing difficulty for clinicians. The construct of
      somatization artificially separates bodily and psychological symptoms that
      patients experience as a unified whole. Concurrent chronic illnesses make it
      difficult to exclude "general medical conditions." The diagnosis requires that
      the patient seek medical care. Conflict between patients' experiences of illness
      and physicians' diagnostic categories, and fear of blaming the patient,
      complicate naming and characterizing the illness. We recommend an approach to
      clinical care that involves exploring the patient's life context, finding
      mutually meaningful language to arrive at a name for the illness, normalizing the
      patient's bodily experience of distress, using a chronic disease model that
      attends to functioning, and addressing the physician's need for certainty and
      efficacy. Health systems can help coordinate care and avoid iatrogenic harm by
      appropriately controlling access to medical services.

PMID- 9989534
TI  - Sympathetic activation in heart failure and its treatment with beta-blockade.
AB  - Multiple models explaining the pathogenesis of heart failure have been put forth
      during the past 5 decades. These models were modified as clinical evidence
      supported or refuted their assumptions. During the past 2 decades, heart failure
      models emphasized the importance of neurohormonal systems in heart failure
      progression. The positive impact that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
      have had on mortality from heart failure has bolstered the neurohormonal theory.
      Attention recently has turned to the sympathetic nervous system and its potential
      deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system in heart failure. The
      sympathetic nervous system can negatively impact the cardiovascular system in
      heart failure in several ways, including down-regulating beta1-receptors,
      exerting direct toxic effects on the myocardium, and contributing to myocardial
      remodeling and life-threatening arrhythmias. Beta-adrenergic blockers have shown
      promise for reducing morbidity and mortality in heart failure, but definitive
      reductions in mortality remain to be shown by future investigations.

PMID- 9989535
TI  - Emerging noninvasive biochemical measures to predict cardiovascular risk.
AB  - New predictors of cardiovascular events are needed to improve the accuracy of
      risk stratification. Such predictors should be easily measurable in the
      population and potentially modifiable. This review reports on new biomarkers that
      are closely linked to the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the progression of the
      atherosclerotic plaque leading to rupture and thrombosis that ultimately
      precipitate acute clinical events, such as stroke and myocardial infarction.
      These risk factors have been associated with subclinical or clinical
      cardiovascular disease in large populations and include markers of lipoprotein
      and lipid metabolism, vitamin B12 metabolism, fibrinolysis, coagulation,
      inflammation, infection, endothelial dysfunction, the angiotensin system, and
      oxidative stress. For other key processes of atherosclerosis and cardiac disease,
      such as apoptosis or programmed cell death, there are currently no markers that
      can be measured noninvasively. Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial condition and
      possibly only a subset of factors are the main determinants of disease in a given
      patient. A better definition of the cardiovascular risk profile will help to
      better target primary and secondary prevention. Further epidemiological studies
      are needed to characterize the actual predictive and clinical value of these new
      emerging cardiovascular biomarkers.

PMID- 9989536
TI  - Quality of survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be poor, in terms
      of life expectancy and quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of
      patient characteristics before, during, and after CPR on these outcomes, and to
      compare results of the quality-of-life assessment with published studies.
      METHODS: In a cohort study, we assessed by formal instruments the quality of
      life, cognitive functioning, depression, and level of dependence of survivors
      after inhospital CPR. Follow-up was at least 3 months after discharge from the
      hospital (tertiary care center). RESULTS: Of 827 resuscitated patients, 12% (n =
      101) survived to follow-up. Of the survivors, 89% participated in the study. Most
      survivors were independent in daily life (75%), 17% were cognitively impaired,
      and 16% had depressive symptoms. Multivariate regression analysis showed that
      quality of life and cognitive function were determined by 2 factors known before
      CPR-the reason for admission and age. Factors during and after resuscitation,
      such as prolonged cardiac arrest and coma, did not significantly determine the
      quality of life or cognitive functioning of survivors. The quality of life of our
      CPR survivors was worse compared with a reference group of elderly individuals,
      but better than that of a reference group of patients with stroke. The quality of
      life did not importantly differ between the compared studies of CPR survivors.
      CONCLUSIONS: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is frequently unsuccessful, but if
      survival is achieved, a relatively good quality of life can be expected. Quality
      of life after CPR is mostly determined by factors known before CPR. These
      findings may be helpful in informing patients about the outcomes of CPR.

PMID- 9989537
TI  - Prolonged beneficial effects of a home-based intervention on unplanned
      readmissions and mortality among patients with congestive heart failure.
AB  - BACKGROUND: A single home-based intervention (HBI) applied immediately after
      hospital discharge in a cohort of "high-risk" patients with congestive heart
      failure has been shown to decrease numbers of unplanned readmissions plus out-of
      hospital deaths during a period of 6 months. The duration of this beneficial
      effect remains uncertain. METHODS: Hospitalized patients with congestive heart
      failure who had been randomly assigned to receive either usual care (n=48) or HBI
      1 week after discharge (n=49) were subject to an extended follow-up of 18 months.
      The primary end point of the study was frequency of unplanned readmissions plus
      out-of-hospital deaths. Secondary end points included total hospital stay,
      frequency of multiple readmissions, cost of hospital-based care, and total
      mortality. RESULTS: During 18-month follow-up, HBI patients had fewer unplanned
      readmissions (64 vs 125; P=.02) and out-of-hospital deaths (2 vs 9; P=.02),
      representing 1.4+/-1.3 vs 2.7+/-2.8 events per HBI and usual-care patient,
      respectively (P=.03). The HBI patients also had fewer days of hospitalization
      (2.5+/-2.7 vs 4.5+/-4.8 per patient; P=.004) and, once readmitted, were less
      likely to experience 4 or more readmissions (3/31 vs 12/38; P=.03). Hospital
      based costs were significantly lower among HBI patients (Aust $5100 vs Aust
      $10600 per patient; P=.02). Unplanned readmission was positively correlated with
      14 days or more of unplanned readmission in the 6 months before study entry (odds
      ratio [OR], 5.4; P=.006). Positive correlates of death were (1) non-English
      speaking (OR, 4.9; P=.008), (2) 14 days or more of unplanned readmission in the 6
      months before study entry (OR, 4.9; P=.008), and (3) left ventricular ejection
      fraction of 40% or less (OR, 3.0; P=.03); conversely, assignment to HBI was a
      negative correlate (OR, 0.3; P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: In this controlled study, among
      a cohort of high-risk patients with congestive heart failure, beneficial effects
      of a postdischarge HBI were sustained for at least 18 months, with a significant
      reduction in unplanned readmissions, total hospital stay, hospital-based costs,
      and mortality.

PMID- 9989538
TI  - Doxycycline is a cost-effective therapy for hospitalized patients with community
      acquired pneumonia.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Doxycycline has a high degree of activity against many common
      respiratory pathogens and has been used in the outpatient management of lower
      respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the
      efficacy of intravenous doxycycline as empirical treatment in hospitalized
      patients with mild to moderately severe community-acquired pneumonia. PATIENTS
      AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized prospective trial to compare the efficacy
      of intravenous doxycycline with other routinely used antibiotic regimens in 87
      patients admitted with the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. Forty-three
      patients were randomized to receive 100 mg of doxycycline intravenously every 12
      hours while 44 patients received other antibiotic(s) (control group). The 2
      patient groups were comparable in their clinical and laboratory profiles.
      RESULTS: The mean+/-SD interval between starting an antibiotic and the clinical
      response was 2.21+/-2.61 days in the doxycycline group compared with 3.84+/-6.39
      days in the control group (P = .001). The mean+/-SD length of hospitalization was
      4.14+/-3.08 days in the doxycycline group compared with 6.14+/-6.65 days in the
      control group (P = .04). The median cost of hospitalization was $5126 in the
      doxycycline group compared with $6528 in the control group (P = .04). The median
      cost of antibiotic therapy in the doxycycline-treated patients ($33) was
      significantly lower than in the control group ($170.90) (P<.001). Doxycycline was
      as efficacious as the other regimens chosen for the treatment of community
      acquired pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Doxycycline is an effective and inexpensive
      therapy for the empirical treatment of hospitalized patients with mild to
      moderately severe community-acquired pneumonia.

PMID- 9989539
TI  - Prognosis of diastolic and systolic orthostatic hypotension in older persons.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) predicts mortality in hypertensive
      persons with diabetes mellitus, but no increase in mortality has been found among
      random samples of home-dwelling persons with OH. We examined the risks of
      nonvascular and vascular deaths according to different definitions of OH among
      home-dwelling elderly persons. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population
      consisted of all persons aged 70 years or older living in 5 rural municipalities
      (N=969), of whom 833 (86%) participated. Orthostatic tests were successfully
      carried out in 792 persons by nurse examiners. Orthostatic hypotension was
      defined as a systolic blood pressure (BP) drop of 20 mm Hg or more or a diastolic
      BP drop of 10 mm Hg or more 1 minute or 3 minutes after standing up. Nonvascular
      and vascular deaths during the follow-up period were recorded. Data on diseases,
      symptoms, medications, the results of clinical examinations and tests, functional
      ability, and health behavior were collected at the beginning of the follow-up
      period. RESULTS: Of the sample, 30% had OH: the prevalence of systolic OH 1
      minute and 3 minutes after standing up was 22% and 19%, respectively; that of
      diastolic OH 1 minute and 3 minutes after standing up was 6% for each. No
      differences in the occurrence of nonvascular deaths were found according to any
      of these definitions. By Cox multivariate regression analysis, the hazard ratio
      of vascular death associated with a diastolic BP reduction of 1 mm Hg 1 minute
      after standing up was 1.02 (P=.03), adjusted for systolic BP postural changes at
      1 and 3 minutes and a diastolic BP change at 3 minutes. Adjusted for other
      significant factors associated with vascular death, the hazard ratio for vascular
      death associated with diastolic OH 1 minute after standing up was 2.04 (95%
      confidence interval, 1.01-4.15). The corresponding hazard ratio for systolic OH 3
      minutes after standing up was 1.69 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.80). Using a
      cutoff point of 7 mm Hg or greater for a diastolic BP change 1 minute after
      standing up, the hazard ratio for vascular death was highest: 2.20 (95%
      confidence interval, 1.23-3.93). By logistic regression analysis, the baseline
      associates of diastolic OH 1 minute after standing up were dizziness when turning
      the neck (odds ratio [OR], 2.44), the use of a calcium antagonist (OR, 2.31), the
      use of a diuretic medication (OR, 2.29), a high systolic BP (OR, 2.23), and a low
      body mass index (OR, 2.26). The baseline associates of systolic OH 3 minutes
      after standing up were male sex (OR, 1.52), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.92), a high
      systolic BP (OR, 2.91), and a low body mass index (OR, 1.68). CONCLUSIONS: The
      presence of diastolic OH 1 minute and systolic OH 3 minutes after standing up
      predict vascular death in older persons. They differ from each other in their
      prevalence and in several associates, suggesting different pathophysiologic
      backgrounds. Clinicians should prescribe vasodilating and volume-depleting
      medications with caution for elderly persons with diastolic OH 1 minute after
      standing up. Appropriate treatment of hypertension might be the best means to
      manage the different types of OH with poor vascular prognoses.

PMID- 9989540
TI  - Drug-induced hypoglycemic coma in 102 diabetic patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemic coma is a continuous threat for diabetic patients
      treated with insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic agents; it may be associated with
      substantial morbidity and mortality. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our
      clinical experience with drug-induced hypoglycemic coma during a 7-year period.
      RESULTS: The study consisted of 102 patients and included 61 females and 41
      males. The median age was 72 years. Ninety-two patients suffered from type 2
      diabetes mellitus; 10 patients had type 1 diabetes mellitus. The median lowest
      blood glucose level was 1.77 mmol/L (32 mg/dL). Drug-induced hypoglycemic coma
      occurred in 99 patients out of the hospital, while 3 patients developed it during
      hospitalization. Drug-induced hypoglycemic coma occurred in patients undergoing
      treatment with insulin, glyburide, and combined therapy with insulin and
      glyburide, insulin and metformin, or glyburide and metformin. Ninety-three
      patients had at least 1 of the following risk factors: age older than 60 years,
      renal dysfunction, decreased intake of energy, and infection. Fourteen patients
      concomitantly received drugs that potentiated hypoglycemia. Forty patients
      responded to treatment within the first 12 hours, while 62 patients had
      protracted hypoglycemia of 12 to 72 hours' duration. Morbidity included physical
      injuries in 7 patients, myocardial ischemia in 2 patients, and stroke in 1
      patient. Death occurred in 5 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoglycemic coma is a
      serious and not an uncommon problem among elderly patients with diabetes mellitus
      and treated with insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic drugs. Risk factors contribute
      substantially to the morbidity and mortality of patients with drug-induced
      hypoglycemic coma. Enhanced therapeutic monitoring may be warranted when
      hypoglycemic drugs are administered to an elderly patient with the above
      predisposing factors and potentiating drugs for hypoglycemia.

PMID- 9989541
TI  - Effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure: subgroup analysis of the Dietary
      Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) randomized clinical trial.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure in
      subgroups. METHODS: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) was a
      randomized controlled feeding study conducted at 4 academic medical centers.
      Participants were 459 adults with untreated systolic blood pressure less than 160
      mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure 80 to 95 mm Hg. For 3 weeks, participants were
      fed a "control" diet. They were then randomized to 8 weeks of (1) control diet;
      (2) a diet rich in fruits and vegetables; or (3) a combination diet rich in
      fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods, and reduced in saturated fat, total
      fat, and cholesterol (the DASH combination diet). Weight and salt intake were
      held constant. Change in diastolic blood pressure was the primary outcome
      variable, and systolic blood pressure a secondary outcome. Subgroups analyzed
      included race, sex, age, body mass index, years of education, income, physical
      activity, alcohol intake, and hypertension status. RESULTS: The combination diet
      significantly lowered systolic blood pressure in all subgroups (P<.008), and
      significantly lowered diastolic blood pressure (P<.01) in all but 2 subgroups.
      The fruits-and-vegetables diet also reduced blood pressure in the same subgroups,
      but to a lesser extent. The combination diet lowered systolic blood pressure
      significantly more in African Americans (6.8 mm Hg) than in whites (3.0 mm Hg),
      and in hypertensive subjects (11.4 mm Hg) than in nonhypertensive subjects (3.4
      mm Hg) (P<.05 for both interactions). CONCLUSIONS: The DASH combination diet,
      without sodium reduction or weight loss, significantly lowered blood pressure in
      virtually all subgroups examined, and was particularly effective in African
      Americans and those with hypertension. The DASH combination diet may be an
      effective strategy for preventing and treating hypertension in a broad cross
      section of the population, including segments of the population at highest risk
      for blood pressure-related cardiovascular disease.

PMID- 9989542
TI  - Factors associated with implementation of preventive care measures in patients
      with diabetes mellitus.
AB  - BACKGROUND: There is only limited information on the extent to which physicians'
      characteristics affect the level of care and implementation of guidelines in
      patients with diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: To identify physician characteristics
      associated with implementation of measures for preventive care in patients with
      diabetes mellitus and the distribution of implementation of these measures among
      them. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart audit of 519 patients eligible
      for health maintenance organization insurance on December 31, 1994, representing
      patients with diabetes receiving care from 22 primary care physician-providers of
      a managed care medical group in suburban North Los Angeles, Calif, and seen by
      physicians between January 1993 and December 1994. A short retroactive
      questionnaire for participating physicians was also used. The outcome measures
      were (1) measurement of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; (2)
      urinalysis for the detection of proteinuria; and (3) ophthalmology referral for
      dilated fundus examination. RESULTS: Over a period of 2 years 78% of the patients
      had a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol determination, 80% had a test for
      proteinuria, and 62% were referred to an ophthalmologist. After adjustment for
      patient pool differences, physicians who were perceived by the administration of
      the medical group as "fast," based on a blinded evaluation of their number of
      patient encounters per unit time, had an odds ratio of 0.60 (95% confidence
      interval [CI], 0.37-0.95; P=.03) to obtain a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
      determination in their patients and an odds ratio of 0.53 (95% CI, 0.32-0.87;
      P=.01) to test their patients for proteinuria. In patients requiring insulin, of
      fast physicians, the odds ratio for a referral for ophthalmology screening was
      0.25 (95% CI, 0.07-0.85; P= .03). Duration of time in practice of over 15 years
      and disagreement with practice guidelines were associated with better outcomes.
      There was no association between physician sex, internal medicine training, or
      number of patients with diabetes in the practice and the implementation of
      outcomes. There was a highly significant association between the implementation
      of an outcome and the implementation of the other 2, resulting in a
      nonhomogeneous distribution of health care delivery. Physicians' estimate of
      their rate of implementation of outcomes, as assessed by the questionnaires,
      overestimated their actual performance while being in proportion with the
      documented rates. Most physicians took responsibility for the nonimplementation,
      accepting that it was an oversight on their part as opposed to an encounter with
      patient resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Most physicians believe that the lack of
      implementation of the measures for preventive care in patients with diabetes
      mellitus is an oversight. The oversight is more prevalent in the practices of
      busy physicians. The result is a nonhomogeneous distribution of health care.
      Computer reminders might be the solution.

PMID- 9989543
TI  - Why is HIV rarely transmitted by oral secretions? Saliva can disrupt orally shed,
      infected leukocytes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Oral transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by the
      millions of HIV-infected individuals is a rare event, even when infected blood
      and exudate is present. Saliva of viremic individuals usually contains only
      noninfectious components of HIV indicating virus breakdown. OBJECTIVE: To
      determine whether unknown HIV inhibitory mechanisms may explain the almost
      complete absence of infectious HIV in the saliva. METHODS: Since most of the
      infectious HIV that is shed mucosally by asymptomatic individuals is found in,
      produced by, and transmitted by infected mononuclear leukocytes, we determined
      whether saliva, which is hypotonic, may disrupt these infected cells, thereby
      preventing virus multiplication and cell-to-cell transmission of HIV.
      Specifically, we measured (1) whether mononuclear leukocytes were lysed by saliva
      and (2) whether the lysis by saliva inhibits the multiplication of HIV and other
      viruses in infected leukocytes and other cells. RESULTS: Saliva rapidly disrupted
      90% or more of blood mononuclear leukocytes and other cultured cells.
      Concomitantly, there was a 10000-fold or higher inhibition of the multiplication
      of HIV and surrogate viruses. Further experiments indicated that the cell
      disruption is due to the hypotonicity of saliva: CONCLUSIONS: Hypotonic
      disruption may be a major mechanism by which saliva kills infected mononuclear
      leukocytes and prevents their attachment to mucosal epithelial cells and
      production of infectious HIV, thereby preventing transmission. Implications for
      the known oral HIV transmission by milk and seminal fluid, as well as potential
      oral transmission to contacts and health care workers, are considered. This
      effective salivary defense may be applicable medically to interdict vaginal,
      rectal, and oral transmission of HIV by infected cells in seminal fluid or milk
      by the use of anticellular substances.

PMID- 9989544
TI  - Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura associated with ticlopidine use: a report of
      3 cases and review of the literature.
AB  - Ticlopidine hydrochloride is an antiplatelet agent used for an increasing number
      of indications, including cerebrovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary
      artery stenting, and peripheral vascular bypass grafting. It has uncommon but
      severe hematologic effects, including thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. We
      report 3 new cases of ticlopidine-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
      and review the English-language literature. Of the 13 patients described (10 from
      published articles), an equal number were women and men. The median age of the
      women was 50 years, and that of the men was 72 years. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic
      purpura occurred within 2 to 8 weeks of starting ticlopidine therapy. Survivors
      received plasma therapy, but of the 4 who died, 3 had received platelet
      transfusions. With discontinuation of the drug and prompt plasma exchange
      therapy, mortality was comparable to that seen with idiopathic thrombotic
      thrombocytopenic purpura, and relapse was uncommon. Physicians and patients
      should be aware of this potentially fatal but treatable complication of
      ticlopidine therapy.

PMID- 9989545
TI  - Atherosclerosis and the immune system.

PMID- 9989546
TI  - Haemophilus influenzae pyelonephritis in adults.

PMID- 9989547
TI  - Influenza vaccination in bedridden patients.

PMID- 9989548
TI  - Accuracy of an automated blood pressure device under conditions of the head-up
      tilt test.

PMID- 9989549
TI  - Research in affective disorders comes of age.

PMID- 9989550
TI  - Images in neuroscience. Brain development, X: pruning during development.

PMID- 9989551
TI  - Sympathoadrenal hyperactivity and the etiology of neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The author's goal was to develop a pathophysiological model for
      neuroleptic malignant syndrome with greater explanatory power than the
      alternative hypotheses of hypothalamic dopamine antagonism (elevated set point)
      and direct myotoxicity (malignant hyperthermia variant). METHOD: Published
      clinical findings on neuroleptic malignant syndrome were integrated with data
      from human and animal studies of muscle physiology, thermoregulation, and
      autonomic nervous system function. RESULTS: The data show that the sympathetic
      nervous system's latent capacity for autonomous activity is expressed when tonic
      inhibitory inputs from higher central nervous system centers are disrupted. These
      tonic inhibitory inputs are relayed to preganglionic sympathetic neurons by way
      of dopaminergic hypothalamospinal tracts. The sympathetic nervous system mediates
      hypothalamic coordination of thermoregulatory activity and is a primary regulator
      of muscle tone and thermogenesis, augmenting both of these when stimulated. In
      addition, the sympathetic nervous system modulates all of the other end-organs
      that function abnormally in neuroleptic malignant syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: There is
      substantial evidence to support the hypothesis that dysregulated sympathetic
      nervous system hyperactivity is responsible for most, if not all, features of
      neuroleptic malignant syndrome. A predisposition to more extreme sympathetic
      nervous system activation and/or dysfunction in response to emotional or
      psychological stress may constitute a trait vulnerability for neuroleptic
      malignant syndrome, which, when coupled with state variables such as acute
      psychic distress or dopamine receptor antagonism, produces the clinical syndrome
      of neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This hypothesis provides a more comprehensive
      explanation for existing clinical data than do the current alternatives.

PMID- 9989553
TI  - Inadequacy of antidepressant treatment for patients with major depression who are
      at risk for suicidal behavior.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether suicide attempters with
      major depression received more intensive antidepressant treatment than depressed
      patients who had not attempted suicide. METHOD: One hundred eighty inpatients who
      met DSM-III-R criteria for a major depressive episode according to the Structured
      Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R were enrolled in the study. All patients were
      assessed for lifetime history of suicide attempts. Depressive symptoms at the
      index hospitalization were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and
      the Beck Depression Inventory. Strength of antidepressant treatment over the 90
      days preceding the hospitalization was scored by using the Antidepressant
      Treatment History Form. RESULTS: A large majority of the depressed patients with
      a history of suicide attempts, who were at higher risk for future suicide and
      suicide attempts, received inadequate treatment. Similarly, most of the depressed
      patients at lower risk for suicide attempts also received inadequate treatment.
      CONCLUSIONS: Major depression is undertreated pharmacologically, regardless of
      history of suicide attempt. Some suicide attempts may be preventable if the
      problem of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of depression can be overcome by
      psychoeducation for health professionals and the public.

PMID- 9989552
TI  - Toward a clinical model of suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Risk factors for suicide attempts have rarely been studied
      comprehensively in more than one psychiatric disorder, preventing estimation of
      the relative importance and the generalizability of different putative risk
      factors across psychiatric diagnoses. The authors conducted a study of suicide
      attempts in patients with mood disorders, psychoses, and other diagnoses. Their
      goal was to determine the generalizability and relative importance of risk
      factors for suicidal acts across diagnostic boundaries and to develop a
      hypothetical, explanatory, and predictive model of suicidal behavior that can
      subsequently be tested in a prospective study. METHOD: Following admission to a
      university psychiatric hospital, 347 consecutive patients who were 14-72 years
      old (51% were male and 68% were Caucasian) were recruited for study. Structured
      clinical interviews generated axis I and axis II diagnoses. Lifetime suicidal
      acts, traits of aggression and impulsivity, objective and subjective severity of
      acute psychopathology, developmental and family history, and past substance abuse
      or alcoholism were assessed. RESULTS: Objective severity of current depression or
      psychosis did not distinguish the 184 patients who had attempted suicide from
      those who had never attempted suicide. However, higher scores on subjective
      depression, higher scores on suicidal ideation, and fewer reasons for living were
      reported by suicide attempters. Rates of lifetime aggression and impulsivity were
      also greater in attempters. Comorbid borderline personality disorder, smoking,
      past substance use disorder or alcoholism, family history of suicidal acts, head
      injury, and childhood abuse history were more frequent in suicide attempters.
      CONCLUSIONS: The authors propose a stress-diathesis model in which the risk for
      suicidal acts is determined not merely by a psychiatric illness (the stressor)
      but also by a diathesis. This diathesis may be reflected in tendencies to
      experience more suicidal ideation and to be more impulsive and, therefore, more
      likely to act on suicidal feelings. Prospective studies are proposed to test this
      model.

PMID- 9989554
TI  - Prospective study of fluoxetine treatment and suicidal behavior in affectively
      ill subjects.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: There has been speculation in the literature about a link between
      fluoxetine use and suicidal behavior. The authors of this study hypothesized that
      there is no elevation in risk of suicidal behavior associated with use of
      fluoxetine. METHOD: The data come from the National Institute of Mental Health
      Collaborative Depression Study, a prospective, naturalistic follow-up of persons
      who presented for treatment of affective disorders. The analyses included data on
      643 subjects who were followed up after fluoxetine was approved by the Food and
      Drug Administration in December 1987 for the treatment of depression. RESULTS:
      Nearly 30% (N = 185) of the study group was treated with fluoxetine at some point
      during the follow-up period. Relative to the other subjects, those who were
      subsequently treated with fluoxetine had onset of affective illness at a younger
      age and, after intake into the study and before 1988, had elevated rates of
      suicide attempts before fluoxetine treatment. A mixed-effects survival analysis
      that incorporated treatment exposure time, multiple treatment trials, and
      multiple suicide attempts per subject showed that relative to no treatment, use
      of fluoxetine and use of other somatic antidepressants were associated with
      nonsignificant reductions in the likelihood of suicide attempts or completions.
      Severity of psychopathology was strongly associated with elevated risk, and each
      suicide attempt after intake into the Collaborative Depression Study was
      associated with a marginally significant increase in risk of suicidal behavior.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support the speculation that fluoxetine increases
      the risk of suicide. Rather, there was a nonsignificant reduction in risk of
      suicidal behavior among patients treated with fluoxetine, even though those
      subjects were more severely ill before treatment with fluoxetine.

PMID- 9989555
TI  - Treatment of bereavement-related major depressive episodes in later life: a
      controlled study of acute and continuation treatment with nortriptyline and
      interpersonal psychotherapy.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The authors tested the hypothesis that nortriptyline and interpersonal
      psychotherapy, alone and in combination, are superior to placebo in achieving
      remission of bereavement-related major depressive episodes. METHOD: Eighty
      subjects, aged 50 years and older, with major depressive episodes that began
      within 6 months before or 12 months after the loss of a spouse or significant
      other were randomly assigned to a 16-week doubleblind trial of one of four
      treatment conditions: nortriptyline plus interpersonal psychotherapy (N = 16),
      nortriptyline alone in a medication clinic (N = 25), placebo plus interpersonal
      psychotherapy (N = 17), or placebo alone in a medication clinic (N = 22). The
      protocol required that the acute-phase double-blind treatment be ended after 8
      weeks if Hamilton depression scale ratings had not improved by 50%. Remission was
      defined as a 17-item Hamilton scale score of 7 or lower for 3 consecutive weeks.
      RESULTS: The rate of remission for nortriptyline plus interpersonal psychotherapy
      was 69% (N = 11); for medication clinic, nortriptyline, 56% (N = 14); for placebo
      plus interpersonal psychotherapy, 29% (N = 5); and for medication clinic,
      placebo, 45% (N = 10). In a generalized logit model, there was a significant
      effect of nortriptyline over placebo but no interpersonal psychotherapy effect
      and no nortriptyline-by-interpersonal psychotherapy interaction. Rates of all
      cause attrition were lowest in the nortriptyline plus interpersonal psychotherapy
      group. CONCLUSIONS: Nortriptyline was superior to placebo in achieving remission
      of bereavement-related major depressive episodes. The combination of medication
      and psychotherapy was associated with the highest rate of treatment completion.
      These results support the use of pharmacologic treatment of major depressive
      episodes in the wake of a serious life stressor such as bereavement.

PMID- 9989556
TI  - Functional MRI study of the cognitive generation of affect.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated, by whole brain functional magnetic resonance
      imaging (MRI), the neural substrate underlying processing of emotion-related
      meanings. METHOD: Six healthy subjects underwent functional MRI while viewing 1)
      alternating blocks of pairs of pictures and captions evoking negative feelings
      and the same materials irrelevantly paired to produce less emotion (reference
      pairs); 2) alternating blocks of picture-caption pairs evoking positive feelings
      and the same materials irrelevantly paired to produce less emotion; and 3)
      alternating blocks of picture-caption pairs evoking positive feelings and picture
      caption pairs evoking negative feelings. RESULTS: Compared with the reference
      picture-caption pairs, negative pairs activated the right medial and middle
      frontal gyri, right anterior cingulate gyrus, and right thalamus. Compared with
      the reference picture-caption pairs, positive pairs activated the right and left
      insula, right inferior frontal gyrus, left splenium, and left precuneus. Compared
      with the negative picture-caption pairs, positive pairs activated the right and
      left medial frontal gyri, right anterior cingulate gyrus, right precentral gyrus,
      and left caudate. CONCLUSIONS: Contrasts of both 1) negative and reference
      picture-caption pairs and 2) positive and negative picture-caption pairs
      activated networks involving similar areas in the medial frontal gyrus
      (Brodmann's area 9) and right anterior cingu-late gyrus (areas 24 and 32). The
      area 9 sites activated are strikingly similar to sites activated in related
      positron emission tomography experiments. Activation of these same sites by a
      range of evoked affects, elicited by different methods, is consistent with areas
      within the medial prefrontal cortex mediating the processing of affect-related
      meanings, a process common to many forms of emotion production.

PMID- 9989557
TI  - Amygdalar volume and emotional memory in Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Everyday experience suggests that highly emotional events are often
      the most memorable. Experimental work in animals and humans has demonstrated that
      the amygdaloid complex plays a crucial role in emotional memory, i.e., memory of
      events arousing strong emotions. The aim of this study was to elucidate the
      relationship between medial temporal damage and impaired memory of real-life
      emotional events in patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: In 36 patients
      with probable Alzheimer's disease who experienced the 1995 earthquake in Kobe,
      Japan, memories of events surrounding the earthquake were examined as an index of
      emotional memory with the use of a semistructured interview, and amygdalar and
      hippocampal volumes were quantified by magnetic resonance imaging. The effects of
      the atrophy of these structures on recall performance were determined by multiple
      regression analysis. RESULTS: Irrespective of generalized brain atrophy and
      cognitive impairments, emotional memory was correlated more with normalized
      amygdalar volume (right and left averaged) than with normalized hippocampal
      volume. General knowledge of the earthquake was correlated with neither amygdalar
      nor hippocampal volume. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that impairment of
      emotional event memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease is related to
      intensity of amygdalar damage and provide evidence of the amygdala's involvement
      in emotional memory in humans.

PMID- 9989558
TI  - Caffeine intake, tolerance, and withdrawal in women: a population-based twin
      study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Caffeine is by far the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance.
      The use and abuse of most other licit and illicit psychoactive drugs have been
      shown to be substantially heritable. However, the impact of genetic factors on
      caffeine consumption, heavy use, intoxication, tolerance, and withdrawal is
      largely unknown. METHOD: Caffeine consumption, in the form of brewed coffee,
      instant coffee, tea, and caffeinated soft drinks, as well as caffeine
      intoxication, tolerance, and withdrawal, were assessed by personal interviews of
      1,934 individual twins from female-female pairs ascertained from the population
      based Virginia Twin Registry. The sample included both members of 486 monozygotic
      and 335 dizygotic pairs. Twin resemblance was assessed by probandwise
      concordance, odds ratios, and tetrachoric correlations. Biometrical model fitting
      was also performed. RESULTS: The resemblance in twin pairs for total caffeine
      consumption, heavy caffeine use, caffeine intoxication, caffeine tolerance, and
      caffeine withdrawal was substantially greater in monozygotic than in dizygotic
      twin pairs. Model fitting suggested that twin resemblance for these measures
      could be ascribed solely to genetic factors, with estimated broad heritabilities
      of between 35% and 77%. CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine is an addictive psychoactive
      substance. Similar to previous findings with other licit and illicit psychoactive
      drugs, individual differences in caffeine use, intoxication, tolerance, and
      withdrawal are substantially influenced by genetic factors.

PMID- 9989559
TI  - Human brain metabolic response to caffeine and the effects of tolerance.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Since there is limited information concerning caffeine's metabolic
      effects on the human brain, the authors applied a rapid proton echo-planar
      spectroscopic imaging technique to dynamically measure regional brain metabolic
      responses to caffeine ingestion. They specifically measured changes in brain
      lactate due to the combined effects of caffeine's stimulation of glycolysis and
      reduction of cerebral blood flow. METHOD: Nine heavy caffeine users and nine
      caffeine-intolerant individuals, who had previously discontinued or substantially
      curtailed use of caffeinated products because of associated anxiety and
      discomforting physiological arousal, were studied at baseline and then during 1
      hour following ingestion of caffeine citrate (10 mg/kg). To assess state-trait
      contributions and the effects of caffeine tolerance, five of the caffeine users
      were restudied after a 1- to 2-month caffeine holiday. RESULTS: The caffeine
      intolerant individuals, but not the regular caffeine users, experienced
      substantial psychological and physiological distress in response to caffeine
      ingestion. Significant increases in global and regionally specific brain lactate
      were observed only among the caffeine-intolerant subjects. Reexposure of the
      regular caffeine users to caffeine after a caffeine holiday resulted in little or
      no adverse clinical reaction but significant rises in brain lactate which were of
      a magnitude similar to that observed for the caffeine-intolerant group.
      CONCLUSIONS: These results provide direct evidence for the loss of caffeine
      tolerance in the human brain subsequent to caffeine discontinuation and suggest
      mechanisms for the phenomenon of caffeine intolerance other than its metabolic
      effects on elevating brain lactate.

PMID- 9989560
TI  - Striatal dopaminergic abnormalities in human cocaine users.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Previous human postmortem experiments have shown an abnormally high
      number of dopamine uptake sites in the striatum of chronic cocaine users, which
      might contribute to cocaine withdrawal symptoms such as depression and
      suicidality. Previous inconsistencies in results were perhaps related to
      selective radioligand affinity changes or a coexisting loss of dopamine neurons.
      METHOD: In the present study, binding of the cocaine analog [3H]WIN 35428 to the
      dopamine transporter was assayed in postmortem striatal samples from 15 cocaine
      using subjects and 15 matched comparison subjects to determine whether there were
      differences in number of binding sites or in affinity. Binding to the vesicular
      monoamine transporter, a measure of total dopaminergic terminals, was also
      assessed by using the radioligand (+)-[3H]dihydrotetrabenazine (DTBZ). RESULTS:
      Striatal [3H]WIN 35428 binding sites were significantly more numerous in the
      cocaine users: the mean Bmax value was 9.0 fmol bound/microg protein (SD = 2.8)
      for the cocaine users but only 6.0 (SD = 1.7) for the comparison subjects.
      Severity of chronic cocaine use was significantly related to [3H]WIN 35428
      binding level. [3H]DTBZ binding was significantly lower in the cocaine users
      (mean = 330 nCi/mg, SD = 42) than in the comparison subjects (mean = 374, SD =
      68). CONCLUSIONS: The present results confirm that cocaine users have a high
      number of dopamine transporter binding sites on dopaminergic neurons, despite an
      apparent low number of total dopamine terminals. These abnormalities may
      contribute to the abnormalities in subjective experience and behavior
      characteristic of chronic cocaine abusers.

PMID- 9989561
TI  - Heritability of anxiety sensitivity: a twin study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: In attempting to explain the familial predisposition to panic
      disorder, most studies have focused on the heritability of physiologic
      characteristics (e.g., CO2 sensitivity). A heretofore unexplored possibility is
      that a psychological characteristic that predisposes to panic-anxiety sensitivity
      might be inherited. In this study, the authors examined the heritability of
      anxiety sensitivity through use of a twin group. METHOD: Scores on the Anxiety
      Sensitivity Index were examined in a group of 179 monozygotic and 158 dizygotic
      twin pairs. Biometrical model fitting was conducted through use of standard
      statistical methods. RESULTS: Broad heritability estimate of the Anxiety
      Sensitivity Index as a unifactorial construct was 45%. Additive genetic effects
      and unique environmental effects emerged as the primary influences on anxiety
      sensitivity. There was no evidence of genetic discontinuity between normal and
      extreme scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests
      that one psychological risk factor for the development of panic disorder-anxiety
      sensitivity-may have a heritable component. As such, anxiety sensitivity should
      be considered in future research on the heritability of panic disorder.

PMID- 9989562
TI  - Cerebral blood flow and personality: a positron emission tomography study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study sought to describe brain regions associated with the
      personality dimension of introversion/extraversion. METHOD: Measures of cerebral
      blood flow (CBF) were obtained from 18 healthy subjects by means of [150]H20
      positron emission tomography. Correlations of regional CBF with
      introversion/extraversion were calculated, and a three-dimensional map of those
      correlations was generated. RESULTS: Overall, introversion was associated with
      increased blood flow in the frontal lobes and in the anterior thalamus. Regions
      in the anterior cingulate gyrus, the temporal lobes, and the posterior thalamus
      were found to be correlated with extraversion. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the
      study lend support to the notion that introversion is associated with increased
      activity in frontal lobe regions. Moreover, the study suggests that individual
      differences in introversion and extraversion are related to differences in a
      fronto-striato-thalamic circuit.

PMID- 9989563
TI  - Revising and assessing axis II, Part I: developing a clinically and empirically
      valid assessment method.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Personality pathology is difficult to measure. Current instruments
      have problems with validity and rely on a direct-question format that may be
      inappropriate for the assessment of personality. In addition, they are designed
      specifically to address current DSM-IV categories and criteria, which limits
      their utility in making meaningful revisions of those criteria. These problems
      suggest the need for consideration of alternative approaches to assessing and
      revising axis II. METHOD: This article describes the development and validation
      of an assessment tool designed to allow clinicians to provide detailed,
      clinically rich personality descriptions in a systematic and quantifiable form
      (the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure, or SWAP-200). A total of 797 randomly
      selected psychiatrists and psychologists used the SWAP-200 to describe either an
      actual patient or a hypothetical, prototypical patient with one of 14 personality
      disorders (one of the 10 DSM-IV axis II disorders or one of four disorders
      included in the appendix or in DSM-III-R) or a healthy, high-functioning patient.
      RESULTS: The data yielded aggregated descriptions of actual patients in each
      diagnostic category (N = 530) as well as aggregated descriptions of hypothetical,
      prototypical patients (N = 267). SWAP-200 descriptions of patients with
      personality disorders showed high convergent and discriminant validity on a
      variety of criteria. The diagnostic procedure lends itself to both categorical
      and dimensional personality disorder diagnoses. Descriptions of individual
      patients resemble MMPI profiles, based on the degree of match between the
      patient's profile and a criterion group, except that they are based on clinician
      observation rather than self-report. CONCLUSIONS: The SWAP-200 represents an
      approach to the measurement and classification of personality disorders that has
      potential for refining axis II categories and criteria empirically in ways that
      are both psychometrically and clinically sound.

PMID- 9989564
TI  - Revising and assessing axis II, Part II: toward an empirically based and
      clinically useful classification of personality disorders.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The DSM-IV classification of personality disorders has not proven
      satisfying to either researchers or clinicians. Incremental changes to categories
      and criteria using structured interviews may no longer be useful in attempting to
      refine axis II. An alternative approach that quantifies clinical observation may
      prove useful in developing a clinically rich, useful, empirically grounded
      classification of personality pathology. METHOD: A total of 496 experienced
      psychiatrists and psychologists used the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200
      (SWAP-200) to describe current patients diagnosed with axis II personality
      disorders. The SWAP-200 is an assessment tool that allows clinicians to provide
      detailed, clinically rich descriptions of patients in a systematic and
      quantifiable form. A statistical technique, Q-analysis, was used to identify
      naturally occurring groupings of patients with personality disorders, based on
      shared psychological features. The resulting groupings represent an empirically
      derived personality disorder taxonomy. RESULTS: The analysis found 11 naturally
      occurring diagnostic categories, some of which resembled current axis II
      categories and some of which did not. The findings suggest that axis II falls
      short in its attempt to "carve nature at the joints": In some cases it puts
      patients who are psychologically dissimilar in the same diagnostic category, and
      in others it makes diagnostic distinctions where none likely exist. It also fails
      to recognize a large category of patients best characterized as having a
      dysphoric personality constellation. The empirically derived classification
      system appears to be more faithful to the clinical data and to avoid many
      problems inherent in the current axis II taxonomy. CONCLUSIONS: The approach
      presented here may be helpful in refining the existing taxonomy of personality
      disorders and moving toward a system of classification that lies on a firmer
      clinical and empirical foundation. In addition, it can help to bridge the gap
      that often exists between research and clinical approaches to personality
      pathology.

PMID- 9989565
TI  - Clinical and theoretical implications of 5-HT2 and D2 receptor occupancy of
      clozapine, risperidone, and olanzapine in schizophrenia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Dopamine D2 receptor occupancy measurements provide a valid predictor
      of antipsychotic response, extrapyramidal side effects, and elevation of
      prolactin levels. The new antipsychotics clozapine, risperidone, and olanzapine
      obtain antipsychotic response with few extrapyramidal side effects and little
      prolactin elevation. The purpose of this study was to compare the D2 and
      serotonin 5-HT2 receptor occupancies of these drugs in patients receiving
      multiple-dose, steady-state regimens. METHOD: Forty-four patients with
      schizophrenia (16 taking risperidone, 2-12 mg/day; 17 taking olanzapine, 5-60
      mg/day; and 11 taking clozapine, 75-900 mg/day) had their D2 and 5-HT2
      occupancies determined with the use of [11C]raclopride and [18F]setoperone,
      respectively, and positron emission tomography imaging. RESULTS: Clozapine showed
      a much lower D2 occupancy (16%-68%) than risperidone (63%-89%) and olanzapine
      (43%-89%). Risperidone and olanzapine gave equal D2 occupancies at doses of 5 and
      20 mg/day, respectively. All three drugs showed greater 5-HT2 than D2 occupancy
      at all doses, although the difference was greatest for clozapine. CONCLUSIONS:
      Clozapine, at doses known to be effective in routine clinical settings, showed a
      D2 occupancy clearly lower than that of typical antipsychotics, while risperidone
      and olanzapine at their usual clinical doses gave the same level of D2 occupancy
      as low-dose typical antipsychotics. The results also suggest that some previous
      clinical comparisons of antipsychotics may have been confounded by different
      levels of D2 occupancy. Clinical comparisons of these drugs, matching for D2
      occupancy, may provide a better measure of their true "atypicality" and will help
      in understanding the contribution of non-D2 receptors to antipsychotic effects.

PMID- 9989566
TI  - Clozapine and risperidone in chronic schizophrenia: effects on symptoms,
      parkinsonian side effects, and neuroendocrine response.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Clozapine and risperidone were the first two "second-generation"
      antipsychotic drugs approved for schizophrenia. There is currently little
      information about their comparative efficacy from head-to-head clinical trials.
      The purpose of this study was to examine the comparative efficacy of clozapine
      and risperidone for positive and negative symptoms, depression, parkinsonian side
      effects, and indexes of neuroendocrine function in schizophrenic patients who met
      a priori criteria for partial response to traditional neuroleptic agents. METHOD:
      After a baseline fluphenazine treatment period, 29 patients participated in a 6
      week, double-blind, parallel-group comparison of the effects of these agents.
      RESULTS: Clozapine was superior to risperidone for positive symptoms and
      parkinsonian side effects, but there were no significant differences between the
      drugs on two measures of negative symptoms, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale total
      scores, and depression scores. The clozapine patients, but not the risperidone
      patients, demonstrated significant reductions from the fluphenazine baseline in
      positive symptoms, total symptoms, and depression. In addition, clozapine
      produced fewer effects on plasma prolactin than risperidone or fluphenazine. The
      mean daily doses during week 6 of the trial were 403.6 mg of clozapine and 5.9 mg
      of risperidone. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study indicate that these
      drugs have both important differences and similarities in their comparative
      efficacy in chronically ill, partially responsive patients with schizophrenia.
      Further research on second-generation antipsychotic drugs in this patient
      population that addresses key methodological issues, such as optimal dose and
      treatment duration, are needed.

PMID- 9989567
TI  - Diazepam treatment of early signs of exacerbation in schizophrenia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic intervention at the earliest phase of symptom exacerbation
      in schizophrenia is an important clinical need, but specific pharmacotherapeutic
      interventions for this phase of illness have not been established. This study
      examined diazepam efficacy for this phase of treatment. METHOD: A double-blind,
      randomized clinical trial with 53 schizophrenic patients compared diazepam with
      placebo (with fluphenazine treatment for a comparison group). Treatment was
      initiated at the earliest signs of exacerbation, and symptom progression was the
      dependent measure used to evaluate efficacy. RESULTS: Diazepam was statistically
      superior to placebo in preventing symptom progression and was comparable to
      fluphenazine. CONCLUSIONS: Efficacy data support the use of diazepam in treating
      prodromal and early warning signs of symptom exacerbation in schizophrenia. This
      therapeutic strategy may be especially important for patients who refuse
      antipsychotic drugs or as a supplemental approach in a treatment plan that
      emphasizes low-dose antipsychotic therapy.

PMID- 9989568
TI  - When religion collides with medicine.

PMID- 9989570
TI  - Incidence of tardive dyskinesia in early stages of low-dose treatment with
      typical neuroleptics in older patients.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the risk of tardive dyskinesia for older patients
      in the early stages of treatment with typical neuroleptics. METHOD: They examined
      the cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after
      the institution of neuroleptic therapy among 307 psychiatric outpatients over age
      45. The patients' median dose was 68.4 mg/day of chlorpromazine equivalent.
      RESULTS: In the patients who had never received neuroleptics at baseline (N =
      87), the mean cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia was 3.4% and 5.9% at 1
      and 3 months, respectively. There was no significant difference in the 12-month
      cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia among patients who had been
      neuroleptic-naive at baseline (22.3%) and the 89 patients who had received
      neuroleptics before baseline for 1-30 days (24.6%); however, the 131 patients who
      had received neuroleptics before baseline for more than 30 days tended to have a
      greater cumulative 12-month incidence of tardive dyskinesia (36.9%). CONCLUSIONS:
      The risk of tardive dyskinesia in older outpatients is high, even with relatively
      short treatment with low doses of conventional neuroleptics.

PMID- 9989571
TI  - Body weight and leptin plasma levels during treatment with antipsychotic drugs.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Leptin is produced by fat cells and is presumed to signal the size of
      the adipose tissue to the brain. The authors investigated whether antipsychotic
      drugs that often induce weight gain affect circulating levels of leptin. METHOD:
      Weight, body mass index, and leptin plasma level were measured weekly over 4
      weeks in psychiatric inpatients who received clozapine (N = 11), olanzapine (N =
      8), haloperidol (N = 13), or no psychopharmacological treatment (N = 12).
      RESULTS: In patients receiving clozapine or olanzapine, significant increases in
      weight, body mass index, and leptin level were found, whereas these measures
      remained stable in patients who received haloperidol or no pharmacological
      treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Weight gain induced by clozapine or olanzapine appears to
      be associated with an increase in leptin level that cannot be attributed to
      dietary changes upon hospitalization.

PMID- 9989572
TI  - Prevalence of depressive symptoms early in the course of schizophrenia.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The rate of depressive symptoms early in the course of schizophrenia
      was determined. METHOD: Seventy subjects with recent-onset schizophrenia were
      followed for 5 years by using semistructured interview instruments. The initial
      assessment included ratings of each criterion A symptom of a DSM-III-R major
      depressive episode. The rates of symptoms experienced with at least moderate
      severity were calculated, and an algorithm based on DSM identified subjects
      meeting the criteria for a major depressive episode. RESULTS: Four symptoms were
      present to at least a moderate degree in a majority of subjects, while no symptom
      was present in fewer than 12% of subjects. More than one-third of the subjects
      met the algorithmic criteria for a major depressive episode at the time of
      intake. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms are common early in the course of
      schizophrenia. This finding is consistent with other recent data and has
      potential implications for current diagnostic and treatment practices.

PMID- 9989573
TI  - B lymphocyte antigen D8/17 and repetitive behaviors in autism.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Monoclonal antibody D8/17 identifies a B lymphocyte antigen with
      expanded expression in rheumatic fever, Sydenham's chorea, and subgroups of
      obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome with repetitive behaviors.
      The authors examined the rate of D8/17 expression in children with autism and its
      correlation with severity of repetitive behaviors. METHOD: Blood samples from 18
      patients with autism and 14 comparable medically ill children were evaluated for
      percentage of D8/17-positive B cells by immunofluorescence and for streptococcal
      antibodies. Severity of repetitive behaviors was also determined. RESULTS: The
      frequency of individuals with > or =11% D8/17-positive cells was significantly
      higher in the autistic patients (78%) than the comparison subjects (21%),
      severity of repetitive behaviors significantly correlated with D8/17 expression,
      and D8/17-positive patients had significantly higher compulsion scores than D8/17
      negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: D8/17 expression is high in patients with autism
      and may serve as a marker for compulsion severity within autism.

PMID- 9989574
TI  - Attitudes toward DSM-IV dissociative disorders diagnoses among board-certified
      American psychiatrists.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the opinions of American psychiatrists regarding
      the diagnostic status and scientific validity of the DSM-IV categories of
      dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder. METHOD: A one-page
      questionnaire was mailed to a random national sample of 367 board-certified
      American psychiatrists. RESULTS: Three hundred one responses were received-a rate
      of 82%. Only about one-third of respondents replied that dissociative amnesia and
      dissociative identity disorder should be included without reservations in DSM-IV;
      a larger proportion replied that these categories should be included only as
      proposed diagnoses. Only about one-quarter of respondents felt that diagnoses of
      dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder were supported by strong
      evidence of scientific validity. CONCLUSIONS: Among board-certified American
      psychiatrists, there currently appears to be little consensus regarding the
      diagnostic status or scientific validity of dissociative amnesia and dissociative
      identity disorder.

PMID- 9989575
TI  - Are psychiatrists cost-effective? An analysis of integrated versus split
      treatment.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Managed care organizations prefer putatively less expensive split
      treatment, i.e., a psychopharmacologist plus a non-M.D. psychotherapist. In this
      study the cost of integrated care by a psychiatrist was compared with split care.
      METHOD: Using 1998 fee schedules of seven large managed care organizations (with
      54.3% market share and 67.8 million lives) plus Medicare (37 million people), the
      author modeled clinical scenarios of psychotherapy alone, medication alone, and
      combined treatment provided by a psychiatrist or split with a psychologist or
      social worker. RESULTS: Brief psychotherapy by a social worker was the least
      expensive treatment. When treatment required both psychotherapy and medication,
      combined treatment by a psychiatrist cost about the same or less than split
      treatment with a social worker psychotherapist; it was usually less expensive
      than split treatment with a psychologist psychotherapist. CONCLUSIONS: The
      integrated biopsychosocial model practiced by psychiatry is both theoretically
      and economically the preferred model when combined treatment is needed.

PMID- 9989577
TI  - There is nothing new under the sun.

PMID- 9989576
TI  - Risperidone for exclusively negative symptoms.

PMID- 9989578
TI  - Smoking cessation and anxiety.

PMID- 9989579
TI  - Managed care and psychotherapy for schizophrenia.

PMID- 9989580
TI  - Reactivity of glutaredoxins 1, 2 and 3 from Escherichia coli and protein
      disulfide isomerase towards glutathionyl-mixed disulfides in ribonuclease A.
AB  - We have examined the activity of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and
      glutaredoxin (Grx) 1, 2 and 3 from Escherichia coli to catalyze the cleavage of
      glutathionylated ribonuclease A (RNase-SG) by 1 mM GSH to yield reduced RNase.
      Apparent Km values for RNase-SG were similar, 2-10 microM, for Grx 1, 3 and PDI
      but Grx I and Grx 3 showed 500-fold higher turnover numbers than PDI. The
      atypical Grx 2 also catalyzed deglutathionylation by GSH, but had higher Km and
      apparent turnover number values compared to the two classical Grx. Refolding of
      RNase in a glutathione redox buffer was catalyzed by PDI. However, it could be
      measured only after a characteristic lag phase that was shortened by all three E.
      coli Grxs in a concentration-dependent manner. A role of the glutaredoxin
      mechanism in the endoplasmic reticulum is suggested.

PMID- 9989581
TI  - Calpain-induced proteolysis of beta-spectrins.
AB  - The calcium-activated neutral protease calpain is activated in several
      pathological conditions. Calpain usually hydrolyses one or only a few peptide
      bonds in its substrate. One prominent substrate for calpain is spectrin and it
      has been shown that alpha-spectrin is the preferred substrate. We now show that
      the beta-chain of spectrin is also a substrate for calpain proteolysis, and that
      the cleavage site in each beta-subunit is located at the very C-terminal part of
      the molecule. Surprisingly, beta1sigma-spectrin is cleaved at a different site
      than betaIsigma2- and betaIIsigma1-spectrins despite their high degree of
      sequence identity.

PMID- 9989582
TI  - FTDP-17 mutations N279K and S305N in tau produce increased splicing of exon 10.
AB  - Missense mutations and intronic mutations in the tau gene cause frontotemporal
      dementia and Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Known missense
      mutations reduce the ability of tau to promote microtubule assembly. Intronic
      mutations lead to increased mRNA splicing of the alternatively spliced exon 10,
      resulting in an overproduction of tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding
      repeats. We show here that the recently identified FTDP-17 missense mutations
      N279K and S305N do not reduce the ability of tau to promote microtubule assembly.
      Instead they lead to increased splicing of exon 10, like the intronic mutations.
      The N279K and S305N mutations define a class of missense mutations in tau whose
      primary effects are at the RNA level.

PMID- 9989583
TI  - Identification and structural characterization of two genes encoding glutamate
      transporter homologues differently expressed in the nervous system of Drosophila
      melanogaster.
AB  - In vertebrates, excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) are believed to
      mediate the removal of glutamate released at excitatory synapses and to maintain
      extracellular concentrations of this neurotransmitter below excitotoxic levels.
      Glutamate is also used in insects as an excitatory neurotransmitter at the
      neuromuscular junction and probably in the central nervous system where its role
      remains to be established. We report the molecular characterization and
      developmental expression pattern of two Drosophila cDNAs: dEAATI, which has
      recently been identified as a high affinity glutamate transporter [1], and
      dEAAT2, a novel protein sharing strong homology to dEAATI and to the mammalian
      EAAT protein family. The developmental expression pattern of the two Drosophila
      EAAT genes has been compared by Northern blot analysis and whole-mount in situ
      hybridizations. The two transporters are transcribed in distinct cell types of
      the nervous system and are strongly expressed in the adult visual system.

PMID- 9989584
TI  - The intramitochondrial ATP/ADP-ratio controls cytochrome c oxidase activity
      allosterically.
AB  - Recently the signal transduction function for oxidative phosphorylation was found
      to be second order in ADP [Jeneson, J.A.L., Wiseman, R.W., Westerhoff, H.V. and
      Kushmerick, M.J. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 27995-279981, but the molecular
      mechanism of signal transduction remained unclear. Previously we described
      inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase by intramitochondrial ATP, accompanied by a
      change of hyperbolic into sigmoidal kinetics. The present study describes a
      sigmoidal relationship also between the ascorbate respiration of reconstituted
      cytochrome c oxidase and intraliposomal ADP concentration. Its possible role in
      the control of oxidative phosphorylation and cell respiration is discussed.

PMID- 9989585
TI  - Interaction between class B beta-lactamases and suicide substrates of active-site
      serine beta-lactamases.
AB  - The most widely used inactivators of active-site serine beta-lactamases behave as
      substrates of four class B metallo-beta-lactamases, but the efficiency of the
      catalytic process can vary by several orders of magnitude. A comparison of the
      kinetic parameters for the alpha and beta isomers of 6-iodopenicillanic acid
      shows that there is no general preference for the alpha isomer and that the
      efficient hydrolysis of imipenem by these enzymes must rest on other factors.

PMID- 9989586
TI  - Single-chain variable fragments selected on the 57-76 p21Ras neutralising epitope
      from phage antibody libraries recognise the parental protein.
AB  - Phage antibodies have been widely prospected as an alternative to the use of
      monoclonal antibodies prepared by traditional means. Many monoclonal antibodies
      prepared against peptides are able to recognise the native proteins from which
      they were derived. Here we show that the same is also true for phage antibodies.
      We have selected a number of single-chain variable fragments (scFv) from a large
      phage scFv library against a peptide from the switch region II of p21Ras. This
      peptide is known to reside in a mobile area of the native protein and is the
      epitope of a well characterised monoclonal antibody. Selected scFvs were able to
      recognise native p21Ras in both ELISA and Western blots, indicating that peptides
      are also likely to be very useful in selecting from phage antibody libraries.

PMID- 9989587
TI  - Irreversible conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase into xanthine oxidase by a
      mitochondrial protease.
AB  - Irreversible conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) to its oxygen free
      radical producing oxidase (XO) form occurs through an uncharacterized proteolytic
      process, which was studied in human liver. Upon incubation of fresh unfrozen
      liver cytosol, XDH remained intact. When recombinant human XDH was coincubated
      with subcellular fractions of human liver, the mitochondrial intermembrane space
      was shown to contain a heat-labile activity that converted XDH irreversibly to
      XO. This activity is resistant to inhibitors of all major groups of proteases. We
      postulate that this novel type of proteolytic enzyme is released into the cytosol
      upon mitochondrial damage.

PMID- 9989588
TI  - Structure to 1.9 A resolution of a complex with herpes simplex virus type-1
      thymidine kinase of a novel, non-substrate inhibitor: X-ray crystallographic
      comparison with binding of aciclovir.
AB  - Treatment of herpes infections with nucleoside analogues requires as an initial
      step the activation of the compounds by thymidine kinase. As an aid to developing
      more effective chemotherapy, both for treatment of recurrent herpes infection and
      in gene therapy systems where thymidine kinase is expressed, two high-resolution
      X-ray structures of thymidine kinase have been compared: one with the relatively
      poor substrate aciclovir (Zovirax), the other with a synthetic inhibitor having
      an N2-substituted guanine. Both compounds have similar binding modes in spite of
      their size difference and apparently distinct ligand properties.

PMID- 9989589
TI  - p42-MAP kinase is activated in EGF-stimulated interphase but not in metaphase
      arrested HeLa cells.
AB  - It is known that cellular signals produced in response to an inappropriate
      spindle formation cause the cell to be arrested at metaphase (M) in the cell
      cycle. We report here that the 42-kDa isoform of MAPK (ERK2) was tyrosyl
      phosphorylated and activated in response to epidermal growth factor (EGF) in
      interphase but not in M-arrested HeLa cells. However, the basal level of activity
      of M-arrested cells was higher than that of interphase, although the overall
      tyrosyl phosphorylation content was small. Further, the EGF receptor and its
      associated proteins GTPase-activating protein and phospholipase C were
      phosphorylated in M-arrested cells to a lower extent than they were in
      interphase. This implies that in spite of its high level of basal activity, the
      scarcity of MAPK activation in mitosis in response to EGF stems from an early
      impairment of phosphorylation of the receptor and neighboring proteins. The
      biological significance of these results underlies the importance of keeping the
      cell sheltered from extracellular signals when it undergoes division.

PMID- 9989590
TI  - Classical late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis fibroblasts are deficient
      in lysosomal tripeptidyl peptidase I.
AB  - Tripeptidyl peptidase I (TPP-I) is a lysosomal enzyme that cleaves tripeptides
      from the N-terminus of polypeptides. A comparison of TPP-I amino acid sequences
      with sequences derived from an EST database suggested that TPP-I is identical to
      a pepstatin-insensitive carboxyl proteinase of unknown specificity which is
      mutated in classical late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (LINCL), a
      lysosomal storage disease. Both TPP-I and the carboxyl proteinase have an M(r) of
      about 46 kDa and are, or are predicted to be, resistant to inhibitors of the four
      major classes of proteinases. Fibroblasts from LINCL patients have less than 5%
      of the normal TPP-I activity. The activities of other lysosomal enzymes,
      including proteinases, are in the normal range. LINCL fibroblasts are also
      defective at degrading short polypeptides and this defect can be induced in
      normal fibroblasts by treatment with a specific inhibitor or TPP-I. These results
      suggest that the cell damage, especially neuronal, observed in LINCL results from
      the defective degradation and consequent lysosomal storage of small peptides.

PMID- 9989591
TI  - Proton gradient-induced changes of the interaction between CF0 and CF1 related to
      activation of the chloroplast ATP synthase.
AB  - Thylakoid energization by light causes destabilization of CF0CF1 so that the
      peripheral CF1 sector is more readily detached from the membrane by intermediate
      concentrations of the chaotropic salt NaSCN. Here we have investigated the
      correlation between the proton gradient-induced change of CF0CF1 interaction and
      CF0CF1 activation. The results indicate a close relationship between the two
      phenomena. The effect is most probably due to reduction of the electrostatic
      interaction between the two subcomplexes CF0 and CF1 as a consequence of
      protonations in the interface region.

PMID- 9989592
TI  - The lipopolysaccharide-binding protein participating in hemocyte nodule formation
      in the silkworm Bombyx mori is a novel member of the C-type lectin superfamily
      with two different tandem carbohydrate-recognition domains.
AB  - We recently isolated and characterized the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding
      protein, BmLBP, from the larval hemolymph of the silkworm Bombyx mori. BmLBP is a
      pattern recognition molecule that recognizes the lipid A portion of LPS and
      participates in a cellular defense reaction. This paper describes the cDNA
      cloning of BmLBP. The deduced amino acid sequence of BmLBP revealed that BmLBP is
      a novel member of the C-type lectin superfamily with a unique structural feature
      that consists of two different carbohydrate-recognition domains in tandem, a
      short and a long form.

PMID- 9989593
TI  - Purification and characterization of hydrogenase from the marine green alga,
      Chlorococcum littorale.
AB  - Hydrogenase from the marine green alga, Chlorococcum littorale, was purified 1485
      fold, resulting in a specific activity for hydrogen evolution of 75.7
      micromol/min/mg of protein at 25 degrees C, using reduced methyl viologen as an
      electron donor. The K(m) value for methyl viologen was 0.5 mM. The purity of the
      enzyme was judged by native PAGE. The molecular weight was estimated to be 55 kDa
      by SDS-PAGE, and 57 kDa by gel filtration. The optimum temperature and pH value
      for hydrogen evolution were 50 degrees C and 7.5, respectively. The partially
      purified hydrogenase catalyzed hydrogen evolution from ferredoxin that had been
      isolated from the same cells, but not from NADH or NADPH. The K(m) value for
      ferredoxin was 0.68 microM. The enzyme was extremely oxygen sensitive, losing
      over 95% of its activity upon exposure to air within minutes, even at 4 degrees
      C. Two peptide fragments were obtained from the hydrogenase protein digested
      enzymatically, and their amino acid sequences were determined. No significant
      homology was found to any other known sequences of hydrogenases.

PMID- 9989594
TI  - A comparative study of two retaining enzymes of Trichoderma reesei:
      transglycosylation of oligosaccharides catalysed by the cellobiohydrolase I,
      Cel7A, and the beta-mannanase, Man5A.
AB  - HPLC, MALDI-TOF MS and NMR spectroscopy were used to investigate the hydrolysis
      of cello- and mannooligosaccharides by Cel7A and Man5A from Trichoderma reesei.
      The experimental progress curves were analysed by fitting the numerically
      integrated kinetic equations, which provided cleavage patterns for
      oligosaccharides. This data evaluation procedure accounts for product inhibition
      and avoids the initial slope approximation. In addition, a transglycosylation
      step had to be included in the model to reproduce the experimental progress
      curves. For the hydrolysis of manno-oligosaccharides, Man4-6, by Man5A no mannose
      was detected at the beginning of the reaction showing that only the internal
      linkages are hydrolysed. For cellotriose and cellotetraose hydrolysis by Cel7A,
      the main product is cellobiose and glucose is released from the non-reducing end
      of the substrate. Intermediary products longer than the substrates were detected
      by MALDI-TOF MS when oligosaccharides (Glc4-6 or Man4-6) were hydrolysed by
      either Cel7A or Man5A. Interestingly, two distinct transglycosylation pathways
      could be observed. Cel7A produced intermediates that are one unit longer than the
      substrate, whereas Man5A produced intermediates that are two units longer than
      the substrate.

PMID- 9989595
TI  - Physiological production of singlet molecular oxygen in the myeloperoxidase-H2O2
      chloride system.
AB  - The putative role of singlet oxygen (1O2) in the respiratory burst of neutrophils
      has remained elusive due to the lack of reliable means to study its quantitative
      production. To measure 1O2 directly from biological or chemical reactions in the
      near infrared region, we have developed a highly sensitive detection system which
      employs two InGaAs/InP pin photodiodes incorporated with a dual charge
      integrating amplifier circuit. Using this detection system, we detected light
      emission derived from a myeloperoxidase (MPO)-mediated reaction in physiological
      conditions: pH 7.4, 1-30 nM MPO, 10-100 microM H2O2 and 100-130 mM CI in place of
      Br without the use of deuterium oxide. The MNPO-H2O2-CI(-) system exhibited a
      single emission peak at 1.27 microm with a spectral distribution identical to
      that of delta singlet oxygen. Our results suggest physiological production of 1O2
      in the MPO-H2O2-CI(-) system at an intravacuolar neutral pH. The MPO-mediated
      generation of 1O2, which may have an important role in host defense mechanisms,
      is discussed in connection with previous results.

PMID- 9989596
TI  - Differential sensitivities of primary and secondary T cell responses to antigen
      structure.
AB  - Here we examined T cell responses to two analogs of a chimeric peptide encoding a
      known B and a known T cell epitope. In one of the analogs, the B cell epitope
      existed in a random conformation whereas it was restricted within a disulfide
      bonded cyclic loop in the other. Immunization of these peptides in mice revealed
      that the latter peptide was significantly poorer at priming T cells and our
      preliminary results suggest this could be the result of differential processing
      of the two analogs. While primary T cell responses were sensitive to the
      influence of conformation, secondary responses were not discriminatory for the
      two antigens confirming the differences in activation requirements for primary
      and secondary T cell responses. Further, our studies also suggest that the
      priming efficacy of a T cell epitope is influenced by its structural environment.

PMID- 9989597
TI  - Determinants of plasma coenzyme Q10 in humans.
AB  - In the present study, we assessed the strongest determinants of plasma coenzyme
      Q10 (Qm10) in 518 men and women (aged 45-70 years) with a stepwise multivariate
      regression model. Male gender (P<0.001), serum cholesterol (P<0.001), serum gamma
      glutamyltransferase (P<0.001), serum triglycerides (P< 0.001), age (P=0.017) and
      4-day alcohol consumption (P=0.03) were the most important factors which were
      directly associated with plasma Q10). The intensity of conditioning exercise
      (P=0.03) and use of statins (P<0.05) showed an inverse association with plasma
      Q10. None of the assessed nutrients increased plasma Q10 levels significantly.
      Our results suggest that many confounding factors, in addition to serum
      cholesterol and triglycerides, should be taken into account when the role of
      plasma Q10 is examined in epidemiological research.

PMID- 9989598
TI  - Chaperone-assisted expression of authentic bovine adrenodoxin reductase in
      Escherichia coli.
AB  - Adrenodoxin reductase is an essential component of the mitochondrial
      monooxygenase systems that are involved in the synthesis of steroid hormones and
      related compounds. After removing by mutagenesis a secondary ribosome binding
      site and an mRNA loop formed between the gene and the vector, large amounts of
      the enzyme could be produced in Escherichia coli by coexpression with the HSP60
      chaperone system. The purified protein was homogeneous enough for reproducible
      crystallization. The crystals diffracted X-rays isotropically beyond 1.7 A
      resolution permitting a structure analysis.

PMID- 9989599
TI  - Human thymidine kinase 2: molecular cloning and characterisation of the enzyme
      activity with antiviral and cytostatic nucleoside substrates.
AB  - Based on amino acid sequence information from purified mitochondrial thymidine
      kinase (TK2), a cDNA of 1930 bp was cloned, containing an open reading frame
      encoding 232 amino acid residues starting with the N-terminal sequence determined
      from the native human protein preparation. Northern blot analysis with the cDNA
      coding region demonstrated several TK2 mRNAs, with 2 and 4 kb forms present in
      many tissues. We also characterised N-terminally truncated (starting at position
      18) human TK2 with pharmacologically important antiviral and cytostatic
      nucleoside analogues. Results were highly similar to those with the native TK2
      preparation. The anti-leukaemic drug arabinosyl cytosine is phosphorylated. The
      antitumour drug difluorodeoxycytidine and its metabolite difluorodeoxyuridine are
      good substrates, with K(m) values of 66 and 29 microM, respectively, and a
      relative Vmax of 0.6 compared to that of thymidine. Negative cooperativity was
      found with thymidine and the anti-HIV drug 3'-azidothymidine, but the reaction
      followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with deoxycytidine, arabinosyl cytosine, and
      arabinosyl thymine. The results demonstrate a broad substrate specificity and
      complex kinetics, and suggest a role for TK2 in the activation of
      chemotherapeutic nucleoside analogues.

PMID- 9989600
TI  - Aah VI, a novel, N-glycosylated anti-insect toxin from Androctonus australis
      hector scorpion venom: isolation, characterisation, and glycan structure
      determination.
AB  - Aah VI was isolated from the venom of the North African scorpion, Androctonus
      australis hector. It is the first glycosylated neurotoxin from scorpion venom to
      be described. It was not toxic to mice, when injected intracerebroventricularly
      at a dose of 1.2 microg per animal. However, it had typical activity in Blatella
      germanica cockroaches resulting in gradual paralysis and very low toxicity (LD50
      = 8.5 microg/g of animal). It consists of 66 amino acid residues and is
      heterogeneously N-glycosylated at a single site, on asparagine 9, of the Asn-Gly
      Thr sequence. The potential N-glycosylation site was deduced from automatic Edman
      degradation and amino acid analysis, and glycan heterogeneity was evidenced by
      ESMS. Determination of the N-glycan structures (dHex, Hex and HexNAc) was
      assessed by nanoESMS/MS with picomolar amounts of sample. Current knowledge of N
      glycan structure and composition suggests that the glycan structures are derived
      from a common core.

PMID- 9989601
TI  - Proteasome inhibitors induce mitochondria-independent apoptosis in human glioma
      cells.
AB  - The proteasome inhibitors lactacystin and AcLLNal induced p53-independent
      apoptosis in two human glioma cell lines, and the apoptosis was accompanied by up
      regulation of immunoreactive wild-type p53, p21Waf1, Mdm2, and p27Kip1.
      Pretreatment with cycloheximide decreased the induction of cell death
      independently of p53 protein status, suggesting that the up-regulation of short
      lived proteins is associated with proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Caspase
      3-like proteases were activated in the proteasome inhibitor-mediated apoptosis,
      and the induction of cell death was inhibited more effectively in the presence of
      z-VAD.fmk than in the presence of Ac-DEVD.fmk, suggesting that caspases other
      than caspase-3 are involved. Nonetheless, there were no significant alterations
      in levels of immunoreactive Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), Bax, Bad, and Bak, nor any evidence
      of cytochrome c release into cytosol and dissipation of delta(psi)m. Thus, the
      proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis is mediated by a mitochondria-independent
      mechanism, and the once activated caspase-3 does not cause the cytochrome c
      release and the delta(psi)m disruption.

PMID- 9989602
TI  - HIV-1 gp160 decreases the K+ voltage-gated current from Jurkat E6.1 T cells by up
      phosphorylation.
AB  - HIV-1 gp120/gp160 is known to disturb the activity of p56lck, protein kinase C
      (PKC) and Ca2+ homeostasis in T lymphocytes. We found that gp160 decreases the
      Kv1.3 current of Jurkat E6.1 cells probably by increasing the PKC-dependent
      phosphorylation of Kv channel protein after 5 days. This decrease is dose
      dependent. In contrast, gp160 did not decrease the Kv1.3 current of the JCaM1.6
      cell line, a p56(lck)-defective Jurkat cell line. This shows that p56lck was at
      the beginning of the events which induced the Kv1.3 current decrease. As a
      consequence of this decrease, Jurkat E6.1 cells were depolarized and exhibited a
      volume increase.

PMID- 9989603
TI  - pH-dependent thermal transitions of lentil lectin.
AB  - The thermal stability of lentil lectin in the 5.0-10.0 pH range was studied by
      high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy. The
      thermally induced transitions for protein were irreversible and strongly
      dependent upon the scan rate at all pH values, suggesting that the denaturation
      is under kinetic control. It is shown that process of lentil lectin denaturation
      can be interpreted with sufficient accuracy in terms of the simple kinetic
      scheme, N-->D, where k is a first-order kinetic constant that changes with
      temperature, as given by the Arrhenius equation, N is the native state, and D is
      the denatured state. On the basis of this model, the parameters of the Arrhenius
      equation were calculated.

PMID- 9989604
TI  - Arfaptin 1, an ARF-binding protein, inhibits phospholipase D and endoplasmic
      reticulum/Golgi protein transport.
AB  - Class I ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are essential for coatomer and clathrin
      coat assembly and vesicular transport in the Golgi apparatus. However, little is
      known about the in vivo regulation of ARF actions. Recently we cloned arfaptin 1,
      a 39 kDa protein that binds active, GTPgammaS-liganded ARF and translocates with
      it to Golgi membranes. Here we show that phorbol ester-stimulated phospholipase D
      (PLD) activity is inhibited in arfaptin 1-overexpressing NIH 3T3 cells and that
      arfaptin 1 inhibits ARF activation of Golgi-associated PLD. Since PLD activity is
      thought to play a role in regulating vesicular transport in the secretory
      pathway, we determined the rate of glycosylation of vesicular stomatitis virus
      glycoprotein as a measure of protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum
      through the Golgi apparatus. Arfaptin 1 overexpression was found to decrease the
      rate of this reaction approximately two-fold. These data suggest that arfaptin 1
      is a regulator of ARF action in the Golgi apparatus.

PMID- 9989605
TI  - Alfalfa contains substantial 9-hydroperoxide lyase activity and a 3Z:2E-enal
      isomerase.
AB  - Fatty acid hydroperoxides formed by lipoxygenase can be cleaved by hydroperoxide
      lyase resulting in the formation of short-chain aldehydes and omega-oxo acids.
      Plant hydroperoxide lyases use 13- or 9-hydroperoxy linoleic and linolenic acid
      as substrates. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has been reported to contain a
      hydroperoxide lyase specific for 13-hydroperoxy linoleic and linolenic acid only.
      However, in addition to 13-hydroperoxide lyase activity we found substantial 9
      hydroperoxide lyase activity in alfalfa seedlings as well. The specific activity
      for 9-hydroperoxy fatty acids was about 50% of the activity for the 13-isomers.
      Furthermore, alfalfa seedlings contain a 3Z:2E-enal isomerase that converts the
      3Z-enal products to their 2E-enal isoforms.

PMID- 9989606
TI  - The N54 mutant of Galphas has a conditional dominant negative phenotype which
      suppresses hormone-stimulated but not basal cAMP levels.
AB  - The phenotype of a Ser to Asn mutation at position 54 of the alpha subunit of
      G(s)(N54-alpha(s)) was characterized in transient transfection experiments in COS
      and HEK293 cells. Expression of either wild type or N54-alpha(s) increased basal
      cAMP levels. In contrast, expression of wild type alpha(s), potentiated agonist
      stimulated cAMP levels, while expression of N54-alpha(s)caused a decrease. Thus,
      the N54-alpha(s) mutant possesses a conditional dominant negative phenotype,
      suppressing preferentially hormone-stimulated effects.

PMID- 9989607
TI  - Cleavage experiments with deoxythymidine 3',5'-bis-(p-nitrophenyl phosphate)
      suggest that the homing endonuclease I-PpoI follows the same mechanism of
      phosphodiester bond hydrolysis as the non-specific Serratia nuclease.
AB  - We show here that two nucleases, Serratia nuclease and I-PpoI, with contrasting
      specificities, i.e. non-specific vs. highly sequence specific, share a
      structurally similar active site region with conservation of the catalytically
      relevant histidine and asparagine residues. On the basis of a comparison of the
      available structures and biochemical data for wild type and mutant variants of
      Serratia nuclease and I-PpoI we propose that both enzymes have a common catalytic
      mechanism, a proposition that is supported by our finding that both enzymes
      accept deoxythymidine 3',5'-bis-(p-nitrophenyl phosphate) as a substrate and
      cleave it in an identical manner. According to this mechanism a histidine residue
      functions as a general base and Mg2+ bound to an asparagine residue as a Lewis
      acid in phosphodiester bond cleavage.

PMID- 9989608
TI  - Artificial chaperoning of insulin, human carbonic anhydrase and hen egg lysozyme
      using linear dextrin chains--a sweet route to the native state of globular
      proteins.
AB  - Linear dextrins (alpha-1,4-D-glucopyranoside chains) are known to possess
      amphiphilic surfaces and solubilize lipophilic compounds. We have assessed the
      ability of this amphiphilic surface of dextrin to inhibit the self-aggregation
      and assist the refolding of proteins. Addition of decameric dextrin, or dextrin
      10, in the renaturation buffer improves the refolding yield of human carbonic
      anhydrase from its guanidinium chloride-induced denatured state. It is also seen
      to inhibit the self-aggregation of insulin. The ability of dextrin-10 to interact
      with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and postpone its critical micellar
      concentration allows the use of dextrin-10 as a 'detergent stripping agent' in a
      novel artificial chaperoning process described earlier. The aggregation of human
      carbonic anhydrase and lysozyme upon refolding is prevented by
      cetyltrimethylammonium bromide due to the formation of a protein-detergent
      complex; dextrin-10 strips off the detergent from the complex and allow the
      proteins to fold, thus increasing the renaturation yield. Dextran-4 (the alpha
      1,6-D-glucopyranoside chain), which does not exhibit amphiphilic properties, does
      not help in such artificial chaperoning.

PMID- 9989609
TI  - Programming of enzyme specificity by substrate mimetics: investigations on the
      Glu-specific V8 protease reveals a novel general principle of biocatalysis.
AB  - In this paper the universal validity of the substrate mimetic concept in
      enzymatic C-N ligations was expanded to anionic leaving groups based on the
      specificity determinants of Glu-specific endopeptidase from Staphylococcus aureus
      (V8 protease). In an empirical way a specific mimetic moiety was designed from
      simple structure-function relationship studies. The general function of the newly
      developed substrate mimetics to serve as an artificial recognition site for V8
      protease have been examined by hydrolysis kinetic studies. Enzymatic peptide
      syntheses qualify the strategy of substrate mimetics as a powerful concept for
      programming the enzyme specificity in the direction of a more universal
      application of enzymes in the general area of biocatalysis.

PMID- 9989610
TI  - Role of the C-terminal domain of Bax and Bcl-XL in their localization and
      function in yeast cells.
AB  - It has been suggested that the C-terminal domain of Bcl-2 family members may
      contain a signal anchor sequence that targets these proteins to the mitochondrial
      outer membrane. We have investigated the consequence of deleting this domain upon
      cytochrome c release in yeast strains that coexpress truncated forms of Bax (i.e.
      BaxA) and Bcl-X(L) (i.e. Bcl-X(L)delta). We find that (i) Bax(delta) is as
      efficient as full-length Bax in promoting cytochrome c release, but Bcl-x(L)delta
      has remarkably reduced rescuing ability compared to full-length Bcl-x(L); (ii)
      full-length Bcl-X(L) protein acts by relocalizing Bax from the mitochondrial
      fraction to the soluble cytosolic fraction; (iii) Bax undergoes N-terminal
      cleavage when expressed in yeast, which is prevented by coexpression of Bcl-X(L),
      suggesting that Bcl-x(L) may mask the cleavage site of Bax through a direct
      physical interaction of the two proteins.

PMID- 9989611
TI  - Studies of the reactivity of artificial peroxidase-like hemoproteins based on
      antibodies elicited against a specifically designed ortho-carboxy substituted
      tetraarylporphyrin.
AB  - The temperature and pH dependence as well as the selectivity of the peroxidase
      activity of a complex associating a monoclonal antibody 13G10 with its iron(III)
      alpha,alpha,alpha,beta-mesotetrakis(ortho-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (Fe(ToCPP))
      hapten have been studied and compared to those of Fe(ToCPP) alone. It first
      appears that the peroxidase activity of the 13G10-Fe(ToCPP) complex is remarkably
      thermostable and remains about 5 times higher than that of Fe(ToCPP) alone until
      at least 80 degrees C. Secondly, this complex is able to use not only H2O2 as
      oxidant but also a wide range of hydroperoxides such as alkyl, aralkyl and fatty
      acid hydroperoxides and catalyze their reduction 2-6-fold faster than Fe(ToCPP)
      alone. It is also able to catalyze the oxidation by H202 of a variety of reducing
      cosubstrates such as 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)
      (ABTS), o-phenylenediamine (OPD), 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and 3,3'
      dimethoxybenzidine 3-8-fold faster than Fe(ToCPP) alone, the bicyclic aromatic
      ABTS and TMB being the best reducing cosubstrates. Finally, a pH dependence
      study, between pH 4.6 and 7.5, of the oxidation of ABTS by H2O2 in the presence
      of either 13G10-Fe(ToCPP) or Fe(ToCPP) shows that Km(H2O2) values vary very
      similarly for both catalysts, whereas very different variations are found for the
      k(cat) values. With Fe(ToCPP) as catalyst the k(cat) value remains constant
      around 100 min(-1) whereas with the 13G10-Fe(ToCPP) complex, it increases sharply
      below pH 5 to reach 540 min -1 at pH 4.6. This could be due to the participation
      of a carboxylic acid side chain of the antibody protein, as a general acid-base
      catalyst, to the heterolytic cleavage of the O-O bond of H2O2 leading to the
      highly reactive iron(V)-oxo intermediate in the peroxidase mechanism.
      Accordingly, the modification of the carboxylic acid residues of antibody 13G10
      by glycinamide leads to a 50% decrease of the peroxidase activity of the 13G10
      Fe(ToCPP) complex.

PMID- 9989612
TI  - Apocynin increases glutathione synthesis and activates AP-1 in alveolar
      epithelial cells.
AB  - Apocynin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-acetophenone) is a potent intracellular inhibitor
      of superoxide anion production in neutrophils. In this study, we studied the
      effect of apocynin on the regulation of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and
      activation of the transcription factor AP-I in human alveolar epithelial cells
      (A549). Apocynin enhanced intracellular GSH by increasing gamma-glutamylcysteine
      synthetase activity in A549 cells. Apocynin also increased the expression of
      gamma-GCS heavy subunit mRNA. This was associated with increased AP-1 DNA binding
      as measured by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. These data indicate that
      apocynin displays antioxidant properties, in part, by increasing glutathione
      synthesis through activation of AP-1.

PMID- 9989614
TI  - Autoimmunity in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes: closer to the truth?

PMID- 9989613
TI  - Cortin disaster: lissencephaly genes spell double trouble for the developing
      brain.

PMID- 9989615
TI  - Characterization of mutations in the gene doublecortin in patients with double
      cortex syndrome.
AB  - Mutations in the X-linked gene doublecortin, which encodes a protein with no dear
      structural homologues, are found in pedigrees in which affected females show
      "double cortex" syndrome (DC; also known as subcortical band heterotopia or
      laminar heterotopia) and affected males show X-linked lissencephaly. Mutations in
      doublecortin also cause sporadic DC in females. To determine the incidence of
      doublecortin mutations in DC, we investigated a cohort of eight pedigrees and 47
      sporadic patients with DC for mutations in the doublecortin open reading frame as
      assessed by single-stranded conformational polymorphism analysis. Mutations were
      identified in each of the eight DC pedigrees (100%), and in 18 of the 47 sporadic
      DC patients (38%). Identified mutations were of two types, protein truncation
      mutations and single amino acid substitution mutations. However, pedigrees with
      DC displayed almost exclusively single amino acid substitution mutations,
      suggesting that patients with these mutations may have less of a reproductive
      disadvantage versus those patients with protein truncation mutations. Single
      amino acid substitution mutations were tightly clustered in two regions of the
      open reading frame, suggesting that these two regions are critical for the
      function of the Doublecortin protein.

PMID- 9989616
TI  - Intracellular levels of the LIS1 protein correlate with clinical and
      neuroradiological findings in patients with classical lissencephaly.
AB  - We report on the genotype-phenotype correlation in 7 patients with classical
      lissencephaly carrying a heterozygous subtle mutation in the LIS1 gene. Six
      patients, showed a mutation predicted to encode for a truncated protein, and one
      mutation altered a splicing site, resulting in skipping of exon 4. Western blot
      analysis performed on the lymphoblastoid cell line of 2 patients bearing
      truncating mutations indicated that the mutated allele did not produce a
      detectable amount of the LIS1 protein; whereas the analysis performed on the
      fibroblasts from the patient with a splice-site mutation was suggestive of
      partial protein synthesis from the mutated allele. Although clinical and magnetic
      resonance imaging findings of patients with truncating mutations did not differ
      from those observed in patients with a heterozygous deletion, the patient bearing
      the exon-skipping mutation had less severe clinical and brain involvement. Our
      data suggest that truncating mutations in the LIS1 gene are relatively common
      among patients with classical lissencephaly not bearing a heterozygous deletion
      at 17p13.3, and strengthen the relevance of correct intracellular dosage of the
      LIS1 protein in the neuronal migration process.

PMID- 9989617
TI  - Cell-mediated autoimmunity in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes with anti-Hu
      antibodies.
AB  - Paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis or subacute sensory neuronopathy associated with
      small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and high titers of anti-HuD antibodies, also called
      the "anti-Hu syndrome," is believed to result from an immune response triggered
      by tumor antigens and misdirected to the neurons. To further assess the issue of
      cell-mediated immunity in this disease, the peripheral blood lymphocyte surface
      phenotype was studied in 15 patients suffering from the anti-Hu syndrome
      (seropositive group) and in two control groups consisting of 12 seronegative SCLC
      patients without neurological syndrome and 15 healthy volunteers. In addition,
      the recombinant human HuD protein was used to stimulate in vitro peripheral blood
      mononuclear cells of 10 seropositive patients and of 10 patients from each
      control group. Phenotypic analysis of the peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed a
      significant increase of the memory helper (CD45RO+CD4+) T cells in the
      seropositive group in comparison with the two control groups. Antigen-specific
      proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, measured by [3H]thymidine
      uptake after HuD antigen stimulation, was much higher in the seropositive group
      than in the two control groups, and phenotypic analysis of proliferating cells
      revealed a significant expansion of the CD45RO subpopulation of T cells in the
      seropositive group. Furthermore, after HuD stimulation, a significant increase of
      the interferon-gamma/interleukin-4 ratio was found in culture supernatants of the
      seropositive group compared with seronegative SCLC patients and normal controls.
      Taken together, these results indicate that HuD protein is an antigenic target
      for autoreactive CD4+ T cells, presumably of the Th1 subtype, which could
      therefore be directly involved in cell-mediated injury of the nervous system as
      well as in antitumoral immunity.

PMID- 9989618
TI  - Anti-GD1a antibody is associated with axonal but not demyelinating forms of
      Guillain-Barre syndrome.
AB  - Immunopathological studies suggest that the target of immune attack is different
      in the subtypes of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). In acute motor axonal
      neuropathy (AMAN), the attack appears directed against the axolemma and nodes of
      Ranvier. In acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), the attack
      appears directed against a component of the Schwann cell. However, the nature of
      the antigenic targets is still not clear. We prospectively studied 138 Chinese
      GBS patients and found that IgG anti-GD1a antibodies were closely associated with
      AMAN but not AIDP. With a cutoff titer of greater than 1:100, 60% of AMAN versus
      4% of AIDP patients had IgG anti-GD1a antibodies; with a cutoff titer of greater
      than 1:1,000, 24% of AMAN patients and none of the AIDP patients had IgG anti
      GD1a antibodies. In contrast, low levels of IgG anti-GM1 antibodies (> 1:100)
      were detected in both the AMAN and the AIDP forms (57% vs 35%, NS). High titers
      of IgG anti-GM1 (>1:1,000) were more common in the AMAN form (24% vs 8%, NS).
      Serological evidence of recent Campylobacter infection was detected in 81% of
      AMAN and 50% of AIDP patients, and anti-ganglioside antibodies were common in
      both Campylobacter-infected and noninfected patients. Our results suggest that
      IgG anti-GD1a antibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of AMAN.

PMID- 9989619
TI  - Predominance of neuronal mRNAs in individual Alzheimer's disease senile plaques.
AB  - The sequestration of RNA in Alzheimer's disease (AD) senile plaques (SPs) and the
      production of intraneuronal amyloid-beta peptides (Abeta) prompted analysis of
      the mRNA profile in single immunocytochemically identified SPs in sections of AD
      hippocampus. By using amplified RNA expression profiling, polymerase chain
      reaction, and in situ hybridization, we assessed the presence and abundance of 51
      mRNAs that encode proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. The mRNAs in SPs
      were compared with those in individual CA1 neurons and the surrounding neuropil
      of control subjects. The remarkable demonstration here, that neuronal mRNAs
      predominate in SPs, implies that these mRNAs are nonproteinaceous components of
      SPs, and, moreover, that mRNAs may interact with Abeta protein and that SPs form
      at sites where neurons degenerate in the AD brain.

PMID- 9989620
TI  - Autosomal dominant lateral temporal epilepsy: clinical and genetic study of a
      large Basque pedigree linked to chromosome 10q.
AB  - We report a large family with a temporal partial epilepsy syndrome inherited in
      an autosomal dominant mode, with a penetrance of about 80%. This epilepsy
      syndrome is benign, with age of onset in the second or third decade of life. It
      is characterized by rare partial seizures, usually secondarily generalized,
      arising mostly during sleep, without postictal confusion. There is a good
      response to the antiepileptic therapy but often a recurrence of seizures after
      drug withdrawal. The partial component, visual (lights, colors, and simple
      figures) or auditory (buzzing or "humming like a machine"), the existence of
      temporo-occipital interictal electroencephalographic epileptiform abnormalities,
      and the hypoperfusion in the temporal lobe detected by interictal
      hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime-technetium 99m (HMPAO-Tc99m) single-photon
      emission computed tomography, strongly suggest a lateral temporal lobe origin.
      The genetic analysis found linkage to chromosome 10q, and localized a gene in a
      15-cM interval that overlaps a previously found localization for partial epilepsy
      in a large three-generation family. This syndrome could be called autosomal
      dominant lateral temporal epilepsy.

PMID- 9989621
TI  - Miller Fisher anti-GQ1b antibodies: alpha-latrotoxin-like effects on motor end
      plates.
AB  - In the Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) variant of the Guillain-Barre syndrome,
      weakness is restricted to extraocular muscles and occasionally other craniobulbar
      muscles. Most MFS patients have serum antibodies against ganglioside type GQ1b of
      which the pathophysiological relevance is unclear. We examined the in vitro
      effects of MFS sera, MFS IgG, and a human monoclonal anti-GQ1b IgM antibody on
      mouse neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). It was found that anti-GQ1b antibodies bind
      at NMJs where they induce massive quantal release of acetylcholine from nerve
      terminals and eventually block neuromuscular transmission. This effect closely
      resembled the effect of the paralytic neurotoxin alpha-latrotoxin at the mouse
      NMJs, implying possible involvement of alpha-latrotoxin receptors or associated
      downstream pathways. By using complement-deficient sera, the effect of anti-GQ1b
      antibodies on NMJs was shown to be entirely dependent on activation of complement
      components. However, neither classical pathway activation nor the formation of
      membrane attack complex was required, indicating the effects could be due to
      involvement of the alternative pathway and intermediate complement cascade
      products. Our findings strongly suggest that anti-GQ1b antibodies in conjunction
      with activated complement components are the principal pathophysiological
      mediators of motor symptoms in MFS and that the NMJ is an important site of their
      action.

PMID- 9989622
TI  - Friedreich's ataxia: point mutations and clinical presentation of compound
      heterozygotes.
AB  - Friedreich's ataxia is the most common inherited ataxia. Ninety-six percent of
      patients are homozygous for GAA trinucleotide repeat expansions in the first
      intron of the frataxin gene. The remaining cases are compound heterozygotes for a
      GAA expansion and a frataxin point mutation. We report here the identification of
      10 novel frataxin point mutations, and the detection of a previously described
      mutation (G130V) in two additional families. Most truncating mutations were in
      exon 1. All missense mutations were in the last three exons coding for the mature
      frataxin protein. The clinical features of 25 patients with identified frataxin
      point mutations were compared with those of 196 patients homozygous for the GAA
      expansion. A similar phenotype resulted from truncating mutations and from
      missense mutations in the carboxy-terminal half of mature frataxin, suggesting
      that they cause a comparable loss of function. In contrast, the only two missense
      mutations located in the amino-terminal half of mature frataxin (D122Y and G130V)
      cause an atypical and milder clinical presentation (early-onset spastic gait with
      slow disease progression, absence of dysarthria, retained or brisk tendon
      reflexes, and mild or no cerebellar ataxia), suggesting that they only partially
      affect frataxin function. The incidence of optic disk pallor was higher in
      compound heterozygotes than in expansion homozygotes, which might correlate with
      a very low residual level of normal frataxin produced from the expanded allele.

PMID- 9989623
TI  - Ensheathing glia transplants promote dorsal root regeneration and spinal reflex
      restitution after multiple lumbar rhizotomy.
AB  - Previously, we have shown that transplants of olfactory bulb ensheathing cells
      promoted regeneration of transected dorsal roots into the spinal cord. In this
      study, we assessed the ability of regenerating axons to make functional
      connections in the cord. Dorsal roots L3 to L6 were sectioned close to their
      entrance into the spinal cord and reapposed after injecting a suspension of
      ensheathing cells into each dorsal root entry zone (Group G). Afferent
      regeneration into the cord and recovery of spinal reflexes were compared with
      animals that received no injection (Group S) or culture medium without cells
      (Group C). Electrophysiological tests, to measure nerve conduction and spinal
      reflexes (H response and withdrawal reflex) evoked by stimulation of afferents of
      the sciatic nerve, were performed. At 14 days after surgery, H response was found
      in only 1 of 7 rats of Group G, and withdrawal reflexes were absent from all
      animals. At 60 days, the H response reappeared in 7 of 10 rats of Group G, and 1
      of 5 of each of Groups C and S. The withdrawal reflex recovered in 4 of 10 rats
      of Group G, but in none of Groups C and S. Immunohistochemical labeling for
      calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in rats of Group G showed immunoreactive
      fibers entering the dorsal horn from sectioned roots, although at lower density
      than in the contralateral side. In conclusion, transplanted ensheathing cells
      promoted central regeneration and functional reconnection of regenerating sensory
      afferents.

PMID- 9989624
TI  - New insights into positional alcohol nystagmus using three-dimensional eye
      movement analysis.
AB  - The semicircular canals selectively transduce angular velocity and are normally
      insensitive to gravity and linear acceleration. In acute alcohol intoxication,
      however, the cupula becomes lighter than the endolymph, rendering it sensitive to
      gravity (buoyancy hypothesis). This results in positional alcohol nystagmus (PAN)
      and rotatory vertigo. We evaluated PAN in 8 normal subjects by means of three
      dimensional eye-movement analysis in an attempt to clarify if the buoyancy
      mechanism is sufficient to explain PAN. Forty minutes after intake of 0.8 g of
      alcohol/kg of body weight, the subjects were positioned such that the lateral
      canals were earth vertical. They were then rotated in the plane of the lateral
      canals about an earth-horizontal axis to either 45 degrees or 90 degrees , right
      or left ear down, and eye movements were recorded for 40 seconds in each
      position. The spatial analysis of the responses showed that in addition to the
      nystagmus induced by the buoyancy of all six cupulae, alcohol intoxication also
      causes a vertical velocity offset (in all subjects, slow phase down) that is
      independent of the orientation of the subject in space. The offset may represent
      a toxic effect on central vestibular pathways, producing a tone imbalance of the
      vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex.

PMID- 9989625
TI  - Early-onset myasthenia gravis: a recurring T-cell epitope in the adult-specific
      acetylcholine receptor epsilon subunit presented by the susceptibility allele HLA
      DR52a.
AB  - No immunodominant T-cell epitopes have yet been reported in the human
      acetylcholine receptor (AChR), the target of the pathogenic autoantibodies in
      myasthenia gravis (MG). We have selected and characterized T cells from MG
      patients by restimulation in culture with recombinant human AChR to alpha, gamma
      and epsilon subunits; the gamma and epsilon distinguish the fetal and adult AChR
      isoforms, respectively. We obtained clones specific for the epsilon, rather than
      the alpha or gamma, subunit in 3 of the first 4 early-onset MG cases tested. They
      all responded to peptide epsilon201-219 and to low concentrations of adult but
      not fetal AChR. Moreover, although using different T-cell receptor genes, they
      were all restricted to HLA-DR52a (DRB3*0101), a member of the strongly
      predisposing HLA-A1-B8-DR3 haplotype. This apparently immunodominant epsilon201
      219 epitope (plus DR52a) was also recognized by clones from an elderly patient
      whose MG had recently been provoked by the drug D-penicillamine. In all 4 cases,
      however, the serum antibodies reacted better with fetal than adult AChR and may
      thus be end products of determinant spreading initiated by adult AChR-specific T
      cell responses. Furthermore, as these T cells had a pathogenic Th1 phenotype,
      with the potential to induce complement-activating antibodies, they should be
      important targets for selective immunotherapy.

PMID- 9989626
TI  - Expression of ataxin-2 in brains from normal individuals and patients with
      Alzheimer's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia 2.
AB  - Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is caused by expansion of a CAG
      trinucleotide repeat located in the coding region of the human SCA2 gene. The
      SCA2 gene product, ataxin-2, is a basic protein with two domains (Sm1 and Sm2)
      implicated in RNA splicing and protein interaction. However, the wild-type
      function of ataxin-2 is yet to be determined. To help clarify the function of
      ataxin-2, we produced antibodies to three antigenic peptides of ataxin-2 and
      analyzed the expression pattern of ataxin-2 in normal and SCA2 adult brains and
      cerebellum at different developmental stages. These studies revealed that (1)
      both wild-type and mutant forms of ataxin-2 were synthesized; (2) the wild-type
      ataxin-2 was localized in the cytoplasm in specific neuronal groups with strong
      labeling of Purkinje cells; (3) the level of ataxin-2 increased with age in
      Purkinje cells of normal individuals; and (4) ataxin-2-like immunoreactivity in
      SCA2 brain tissues was more intense than in normal brain tissues, and
      intranuclear ubiquitinated inclusions were not seen in SCA2 brain tissues.

PMID- 9989627
TI  - Evidence of a genetic factor in migraine with aura: a population-based Danish
      twin study.
AB  - We studied the genetic influence on cause of migraine with aura (MA) by analyzing
      a twin population. The twin sample consisted of 2,026 monozygotic (MZ) twins and
      3,334 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins, born from 1953 to 1960, from the population
      based New Danish Twin Register. A validated questionnaire was used to screen for
      migraine, the response rate being 87%, and similar among MZ and DZ twins. All
      twin pairs with at least 1 twin with possible MA were interviewed by a physician
      experienced in headache diagnoses. The answers from the questionnaire as well as
      the zygosity of the twins were blinded for the interviewer. A total of 211 twin
      pairs were identified, of whom 77 pairs were MZ and 134 pairs were DZ. The
      lifetime prevalence of MA was 7% and with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.1. The
      pairwise concordance rates were significantly higher in MZ (34%) than in DZ twin
      pairs (12%), emphasizing the importance of genetic factors in MA. However,
      environmental factors are also important, as the pairwise concordance rate was
      less than 100% in MZ twin pairs. The recurrence risk of MA was 50% in MZ and 21%
      in DZ twin pairs. In nontwin siblings, the recurrence risk of MA is 27%, which is
      similar to the recurrence risk in DZ twins. This indicates that MA is not
      developed due to specific environmental factors shared by the twins.

PMID- 9989628
TI  - Interferon-gamma secretion by peripheral blood T-cell subsets in multiple
      sclerosis: correlation with disease phase and interferon-beta therapy.
AB  - Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is implicated as a participant in the immune
      effector and regulatory mechanisms considered to mediate the pathogenesis of
      multiple sclerosis (MS). We have used an intracellular cytokine staining
      technique to demonstrate that the proportion of ex vivo peripheral blood CD4 and
      CD8 T-cell subsets expressing IFN-gamma is increased in secondary progressing
      (SP) MS patients, whereas the values in untreated relapsing-remitting (RR) MS
      patients are reduced compared with those of controls. Patients treated with
      interferon-beta (IFN-beta) have an even more significant reduction in the
      percentage of IFN-gamma-secreting cells. The finding that the number of IFN-gamma
      expressing CD8 cells is increased in SPMS patients, a group with reduced
      functional suppressor activity, and is most significantly reduced by IFN-beta
      therapy, which increases suppressor activity, indicates that IFN-gamma secretion
      by CD8 T cells and functional suppressor defects attributed to this cell subset
      in MS can be dissociated.

PMID- 9989629
TI  - An association between autosomal dominant cerebral cavernomas and a distinctive
      hyperkeratotic cutaneous vascular malformation in 4 families.
AB  - Cerebral cavernomas (CCMs) are vascular malformations that may be inherited as an
      autosomal dominant condition for which a gene, CCM1, was mapped to chromosome 7.
      Poorly defined cutaneous malformations were sometimes described in association
      with CCMs. During a national survey, 57 French CCM families were studied. Co
      occurrence of CCMs and a distinctive cutaneous vascular malformation was observed
      in 4 families. Ten individuals belonging to these families showed similar
      hyperkeratotic cutaneous capillary venous malformations (HCCVMs). In 3 families,
      the histology showed orthokeratosis and hyperkeratosis as well as dilated
      capillaries in the dermis extending to the hypodermis and confirmed the diagnosis
      of HCCVM. Genetic analysis strongly supports linkage of these families to the
      CCM1 locus on chromosome 7. The HCCVM seems to be a peculiar cutaneous vascular
      malformation associated with CCMs. These data strongly suggest that HCCVMs and
      CCMs in these families are due to the same genetic abnormality.

PMID- 9989630
TI  - Epilepsia partialis continua: a new manifestation of anti-Hu-associated
      paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis.
AB  - We report on 3 anti-Hu-positive patients who presented with clinical and
      electroencephalographic (EEG) features of epilepsia partialis continua (EPC). Two
      of the patients had an associated small cell carcinoma. Magnetic resonance
      imaging (MRI) disclosed a hyperintense nonenhancing focal lesion in T2-weighted
      images in the sensorimotor area in 2 patients. Histopathological analysis of the
      lesion revealed inflammatory infiltrates and neuronal cell loss. In the patient
      who had a postmortem study, these neuropathological changes were not observed in
      other areas of the nervous system. This study emphasizes that the possibility of
      an anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic disorder must be considered in patients with
      cortical encephalitis presenting with EPC when a brain tumor can be excluded.

PMID- 9989631
TI  - Epstein-Barr virus in monitoring the response to therapy of acquired
      immunodeficiency syndrome-related primary central nervous system lymphoma.
AB  - To evaluate the value of Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV-DNA) assay in cerebrospinal
      fluid (CSF) for monitoring the response to treatment in acquired immunodeficiency
      syndrome-related primary central nervous system lymphoma (AIDS-PCNSL), 9 human
      immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with biopsy-proven AIDS-PCNSL who
      underwent multimodal therapy were investigated for EBV-DNA detection in CSF by
      semiquantitative nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tumoral tissue
      expression of bcl-6 oncogene protein and of EBV-encoded latent membrane protein
      (LMP-1) was also investigated. The 2 patients who had a response to chemotherapy
      showed a reduction of mean EBV-DNA concentration values after chemotherapy and
      displayed a large noncleaved morphology and a BCL-6+/LMP-1- phenotype.
      Conversely, the 4 patients with progressive disease after chemotherapy showed
      increasing mean values of EBV-DNA and displayed an immunoblastic morphology and a
      BCL-6-/LMP-1+ phenotype. No significant changes were observed for patients with
      stable disease. EBV-DNA burden reduction was significantly associated with
      prolonged survival. These results suggest that EBV-DNA monitoring might be
      helpful in predicting response to chemotherapy and in segregating distinct
      biological and prognostic categories of AIDS-PCNSL.

PMID- 9989633
TI  - Three-dimensional tracking of axonal projections in the brain by magnetic
      resonance imaging.
AB  - The relationship between brain structure and complex behavior is governed by
      large-scale neurocognitive networks. The availability of a noninvasive technique
      that can visualize the neuronal projections connecting the functional centers
      should therefore provide new keys to the understanding of brain function. By
      using high-resolution three-dimensional diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and
      a newly designed tracking approach, we show that neuronal pathways in the rat
      brain can be probed in situ. The results are validated through comparison with
      known anatomical locations of such fibers.

PMID- 9989632
TI  - Genetic locus heterogeneity in Lafora's progressive myoclonus epilepsy.
AB  - In 1995, we mapped a gene for Lafora's progressive myoclonus epilepsy in
      chromosome 6q23-25. In 1997 and 1998, we reduced the size of the locus to 300 kb,
      and an international collaboration identified mutations in the protein tyrosine
      phosphatase gene. Here, we examine for heterogeneity through the admixture test
      in 22 families and estimate the proportion of linked families to be 75 to 85%.
      Extremely low posterior probabilities of linkage (Wi), exclusionary LOD scores,
      and haplotypes identify 4 families unlikely to be linked to chromosome 6q24.

PMID- 9989634
TI  - Mutation in the tau exon 10 splice site region in familial frontotemporal
      dementia.

PMID- 9989635
TI  - Immunohistochemical detection of infected neurons as a rapid diagnosis of
      enterovirus 71 encephalomyelitis.

PMID- 9989636
TI  - Stimulating the phagocytes: progress and problems.

PMID- 9989637
TI  - Proposed new bacterial taxa and proposed changes of bacterial names published
      during 1997 and considered to be of interest to medical or veterinary
      bacteriology.
AB  - A list of names of bacteria published or validated in 1997 is presented. Comments
      are made of the tendency to base names of new taxa on a single bacterial strain
      and the consequences for reliable descriptions that this tendency implies.

PMID- 9989638
TI  - Surface protein p104 is involved in adhesion of Listeria monocytogenes to human
      intestinal cell line, Caco-2.
AB  - Adhesion of Listeria monocytogenes to intestinal endothelial cells is an
      important initial event in the pathogenesis of infection which is not well
      understood. The suggestion has been made that some proteins, including internalin
      and actin polymerisation protein (ActA), and carbohydrate molecules mediate, at
      least in part, the adhesion of listeria to certain cultured mammalian cells. This
      study investigated the role of a L. monocytogenes cell-surface protein of 104 kDa
      (p104) in adhesion to human intestinal enterocyte-like Caco-2 cell lines by
      transposon (Tn916) mutagenesis and a p104-specific monoclonal antibody (MAb-H7).
      Genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of Tn916-transformed L. monocytogenes
      strains, AAMU530 and AAMU572, revealed that these strains did not express p104,
      and the transposon had been inserted at a single locus in the structural gene.
      Strains AAMU530 and AAMU572 yielded only 10 and 6.3% adhesion to Caco-2 cells.
      Coating of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua wild-type strains with MAb-H7 reduced
      adhesion to Caco-2 cells from 100% to 50 and 45%, respectively, whereas on
      isotype control MAb EM-7G1 had no effect. Western blot analysis with MAb-H7
      indicated that p104 is present in all Listeria spp. except in L. grayi.
      Furthermore, p104 is also present in internalin (BUG8) and ActA (LUT12) deficient
      strains, suggesting that p104 is indeed different from internalin or ActA
      proteins. Cytotoxicity analysis of strains AAMU530 and AAMU572 demonstrated that
      these strains, although haemolytic and phospholipase-positive, were avirulent
      when tested with a hybridoma B-lymphocyte cell line. Loss of virulence could be
      attributed to the interruption of adhesion of mutant strains to the hybridoma
      cell line. These results strongly suggest that p104 is an adhesion factor in L.
      monocytogenes and possibly in other Listeria species and is involved in adhesion
      to intestinal cells.

PMID- 9989639
TI  - Characterisation of dermonecrotic toxin-producing strains of Pasteurella
      multocida subsp. multocida isolated from man and swine.
AB  - Thirty-six isolates, from man or swine, of Pasteurella multocida subsp. multocida
      producing (n = 13) or not producing (n = 23) the dermonecrotic toxin (DNT) were
      studied by numerical analysis, capsular typing and ribotyping. Toxigenic strains
      were also characterised by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the
      toxA gene and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Numerical analysis
      differentiated the Pasteurella species and subspecies, but did not discriminate
      between toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains. RFLP demonstrated that toxA was
      located in a conserved part of the chromosome of all toxigenic strains.
      Ribotyping provided evidence of a close association between DNT production and
      one of the six EcoRI ribotypes designated as E2. In contrast, PFGE provided
      evidence for significant DNA polymorphism amongst the toxigenic strains. Results
      of phenotypic and genotypic studies suggested that toxigenic strains do not form
      a clone within the subspecies multocida. No difference was found between
      toxigenic strains of porcine or human origin by biochemical characterisation,
      capsular serotyping or genomic typing methods.

PMID- 9989640
TI  - Isolation and characterisation of neurotoxigenic Clostridium butyricum from soil
      in China.
AB  - Soil specimens collected from a site around the home of patients with food-borne
      type E. botulism probably caused by neurotoxigenic Clostridium butyricum in
      Guanyun, Jiangsu province, China, were examined for the presence of
      neurotoxigenic C. butyricum. Five lakeside sites of Weishan lake, in an area near
      to the sites where the type E. botulism outbreaks caused by neurotoxigenic C.
      butyricum occurred were also surveyed. Type E toxin-producing C. butyricum was
      isolated from soil from four sites including the site in Guanyun. Polymerase
      chain reaction assay demonstrated the presence of the type E toxin gene in all
      the toxigenic isolates. The biochemical properties of the isolates from the
      Guanyun soil and the lakeside soil were identical except for inulin fermentation
      and starch hydrolysis properties. These results indicate that neurotoxigenic C.
      butyricum has its principal habitat in soil.

PMID- 9989641
TI  - Identification and characterisation of a cytotoxic porin-lipopolysaccharide
      complex from Campylobacter jejuni.
AB  - A clinical isolate of Campylobacter jejuni, previously found to produce a toxin
      active in cell culture assays, was used for identification and characterisation
      of a cytotoxic porin-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) complex. This cytotoxic complex was
      isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography of crude concentrated culture
      supernate and DEAE-anion exchange chromatography. The complex had a toxic
      activity of 20.1 tissue culture dose50 (TCD50)/microg of protein for HEp-2 cells,
      7.49 TCD50/microg of protein for HeLa cells and 1.87 TCD50/microg of protein for
      Chinese hamster ovary cells. Analysis by SDS-PAGE revealed a single protein band
      of 45 kDa and a high mol. wt carbohydrate moiety. The complex gave a positive
      result in the Limulus amoebocyte lysate test, indicating that the co-purifying
      carbohydrate was LPS, and had specificity for the lectins Galanthus nivalis
      agglutinin, Maackia amurensis agglutinin and Datura stramonium agglutinin. The
      cytotoxic activity associated with the complex was heat-labile at 70 degrees C,
      resistant to inactivation with trypsin and retained activity after treatment with
      sodium metaperiodate and the glycosidases neuraminidase and N-glycosidase F.
      Sequencing of the N-terminus of the protein component of the complex revealed 97%
      homology with the major outer-membrane porin protein from C. jejuni. The
      cytotoxic activity of the complex was neutralised by a polyclonal, homologous
      antiserum, which reacted on Western blot with the 45-kDa protein, but not by
      polyclonal antisera raised against a number of other bacterial toxins.

PMID- 9989642
TI  - Response of gonococcal clinical isolates to acidic conditions.
AB  - This study examined the response to acidic conditions of four gonococcal isolates
      -NRL38874 (Proto/IB-2), NRL38884 (Pro/IA-2), NRL38953 (Proto/IB-3) and NRL39029
      (Pro/IA-3) - obtained from various sites in patients in whom a diagnosis of
      pelvic inflammatory disease had been made by laparoscopic examination. Acid
      tolerance of the clinical isolates was strain and growth phase dependent. Growth
      of the four strains on solid media was undetectable below pH 5.8. In liquid
      culture, strain NRL38884 did not survive below pH 5.2; strains NRL38874, NRL38953
      and NRL39029 survived to pH 4.5. Between pH 4.2 and pH 5.1, the latter three
      strains exhibited a peak in survival at pH 4.6-4.7 during log phase, suggesting
      that there may be a distinct acid tolerance system operating at this pH. SDS-PAGE
      of whole-cell, total membrane and outer-membrane fractions of the four strains
      prepared from pH 7.2 and pH 6.1 plate cultures revealed numerous differences in
      protein composition. Acidic conditions reduced the expression of the reduction
      modifiable outer-membrane protein Rmp, and induced the expression of many
      membrane proteins, including gonococcal hsp63. Immunoblotting studies with
      matched serum samples and strains from patients with pelvic inflammatory disease
      indicated that IgG recognition of outer-membrane components from strains cultured
      in acidic and neutral conditions was quite different. The results suggest that
      the immune system interacts with unique outer-membrane constituents on gonococci
      colonising sites at different pH.

PMID- 9989643
TI  - Antibiotic susceptibilities of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. intermedia isolates
      from aquatic environments.
AB  - Of 37 Yersinia isolates from various aquatic environments, seven were Y.
      enterocolitica and 30 Y. intermedia. These isolates were biotyped, serotyped and
      tested for their susceptibility to 20 antibiotics. All Y. enterocolitica isolates
      were of biovar 1; those of Y. intermedia were distributed amongst four biovars
      (1, 2, 4 and 6). On the basis of combined biotyping and serotyping results, Y.
      enterocolitica isolates were distributed in five and Y. intermedia in 17 groups.
      With the exception of one Y. enterocolitica isolate which was resistant to
      tetracycline and streptomycin, the isolates were sensitive to the non-beta-lactam
      antibiotics. In contrast, various patterns of beta-lactam insensitivity were
      detected, including ampicillin and ticarcillin (35 isolates), cephalothin (33
      isolates), carbenicillin (32 isolates), amoxycillin/clavulanate (23 isolates) and
      cefoxitin (22 isolates). No correlation between biotype or serotype and the
      susceptibility pattern of the isolates was apparent. Both inducible
      cephalosporinase activity against third-generation cephalosporins and inhibition
      of resistance to penicillins were detected in all Y. enterocolitica and Y.
      intermedia isolates by double-disk tests.

PMID- 9989645
TI  - Scanning electron microscopy characterisation of colonies of Candida albicans
      morphological mutants.
AB  - The ultrastructures of colonies of two stable UV-induced morphological mutants
      and their parental strain of Candida albicans grown on glucose-containing solid
      medium were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The structures and
      ultrastructures of these three types of colonies were determined not only in
      terms of the proportions of blastospores, hyphae and pseudohyphae, but also with
      regard to the mode of budding of blastospores and the positions of these
      particular cell types within the colonies. Hyphae with an atypical appearance and
      branching characters were observed both in regular-wrinkled and in irregular
      wrinkled mutant colonies. Smooth colonies of the parental strain and the mutants
      exhibited the same hyphal network within the agar, suggesting that micro
      environmental factors in the agar overcame the effects of these mutations.

PMID- 9989644
TI  - Value of different methods for the characterisation of Aspergillus terreus
      strains.
AB  - To evaluate different methods for strain differentiation, 10 isolates of
      Aspergillus terreus from Germany and two epidemiologically unrelated strains were
      investigated. The sources of the isolates were patients with cystic fibrosis (4),
      immunosuppression (2), otitis externa (2), sinusitis (1) and endocarditis (1).
      Environmental isolates were obtained from a contaminated cell culture and from
      soil. The isolates did not differ in their macroscopic and microscopic
      morphology, in their protein patterns analysed by SDS-PAGE and in their
      susceptibility to amphotericin B and itraconazole. The RFLP analysis of total
      genomic DNA digested by EcoRI resulted in patterns that were too faint for
      interpretation. However, after hybridisation of the digested DNA with a short DNA
      probe of repetitive sequence, six different patterns were found. Based on the
      patterns of the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with three primers,
      nine different genotypes were discriminate. RAPD patterns discriminated the
      epidemiologically unrelated reference strains (endocarditis isolate from
      Thailand, soil isolate from the USA) and the isolates from Germany. It is
      concluded that, in contrast to the phenotypic methods, the analysis of RAPD
      patterns is useful for strain differentiation of A. terreus.

PMID- 9989646
TI  - Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula from Quebec dairy barns: application of simplified
      criteria for the identification of an agent responsible for farmer's lung
      disease.
AB  - Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula (Micropolyspora faeni) is one of the major agents
      responsible for farmer's lung disease, a form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It
      is frequently isolated from the air of contaminated barns. The identification of
      this actinomycete is difficult because most of its phenotypic characteristics are
      variable and classical tests are not easy to perform on actinomycetes. Fatty acid
      analysis is very useful for the identification of these strains, but is not
      available except in some research or reference laboratories. Morphological
      (microscopic and macroscopic observations), physiological and biochemical tests
      (growth properties; macromolecules degraded; citrate utilisation and acid
      production from carbohydrates; resistance to antibiotics, lysozyme and heat),
      cell wall and fatty acid analyses and IgG analyses with serum from patients with
      farmer's lung were performed on 12 environmental isolates presumed to be S.
      rectivirgula and two control strains of S. rectivirgula. From this, a simple and
      rapid scheme for the identification of this actinomycete is proposed: optimal
      growth temperature (55 degrees C); colony appearance based on morphology
      (filamentous) and colour (beige to orange-brown); microscopic morphology (chains
      of spores on both aerial and substrate mycelium); growth on NaCl 10%; cell-wall
      analysis (type IV); and the verification of antibody response with serum from a
      patient with farmer's lung. This last criterion is important to confirm the
      immunogenicity of the strains identified as S. rectivirgula. This scheme provides
      an accurate and efficient way of identifying S. rectivirgula strains and
      evaluating exposure to this bacterium. The study shows the limited value and the
      lack of reproducibility of some classical biochemical tests.

PMID- 9989647
TI  - Combination of three typing methods for the molecular epidemiology of Aspergillus
      fumigatus infections. European Research Group on Biotype and Genotype of
      Aspergillus.
AB  - This study investigated the source of infection and strain relatedness of
      Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from bronchial colonisation and invasive
      aspergillosis (IA) in four transplant patients. Environmental isolates from the
      patient's home and from the hospital and infecting isolates were obtained for
      patient A who developed IA. Clinic environmental and colonising isolates were
      obtained for patient B. Sequential isolates were obtained from various organs
      from patient C who developed IA and also from patient D who had a bronchitic
      aspergillosis that developed into IA. Ninety-one A. fumigatus isolates were
      analysed by three typing methods: multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE),
      random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and sequence-specific DNA primers (SSDP).
      The three combined typing methods demonstrated a greater differentiation of
      isolates than the typing methods used separately or in pairs. This demonstrated
      the genotypic variability of A. fumigatus and facilitated better epidemiological
      analysis. Large polymorphisms were demonstrated for each patient isolate between
      and colonies within various samples. The relatedness of the isolates suggested
      nosocomially acquired aspergillosis for patient B, but the source of infection
      for patient A remained unclear. The results suggested at least three multiple
      infections among the four patients. This study enabled the identification of the
      source of infection and strain relatedness, which in turn facilitates the
      development of preventive measures for patient management in the future.

PMID- 9989648
TI  - Differences in virulence of Sporothrix schenckii conidia related to culture
      conditions and cell-wall components.
AB  - A murine model was used to evaluate the virulence of Sporothrix schenckii conidia
      cultured for 4, 7, 10 or 12 days in Sabouraud's dextrose broth (SDB). A
      correlation was observed between length of culture and virulence. Mice infected
      intravenously with S. schenckii conidia cultured for 4 or 7 days showed 40-100%
      cumulative mortality. In contrast, mice infected with conidia from cultures grown
      for 10 or 12 days in SDB showed no mortality (100% survival). A much greater
      accumulation of fungal colony forming units (cfu) was observed in the lungs,
      livers and spleens of mice inoculated with conidia of S. schenckii cultured for 7
      days than in mice infected with conidia cultured for 12 days. The livers of mice
      from the former group showed a widespread granulomatous reaction whereas mice
      inoculated with S. schenckii cultured for 12 days showed a more limited response
      with fewer granulomas. No difference in viability or replicative capacity was
      discerned for these S. schenckii cultured cells. However, the more virulent forms
      of the fungus showed differences in cell-wall sugar composition with
      rhamnose:mannose molar ratios of 1.7:1.0 for cells cultured for 4 days and
      1.0:1.7 for conidia cultured for 12 days. These results suggest that the
      virulence of S. schenckii conidia may be determined by their cell-wall
      composition.

PMID- 9989649
TI  - Clonal structure of Providencia alcalifaciens strains isolated from diarrhoeal
      stools in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
AB  - Clonal analysis based on ribotyping demonstrated that Providencia alcalifaciens
      strains isolated mainly from diarrhoeal stools in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were
      clustered into two main groups. Eleven distinct ribotype patterns were identified
      with ClAI, EcoRV and MluI restriction endonucleases. P. alcalifaciens strains
      with invasive properties were of two ribotype patterns that differed from those
      identified among non-invasive strains. The ribotyping results confirmed that P.
      alcalifaciens strains associated with diarrhoeal disease in Sao Paulo represent
      distinct groups of strains. Although the invasive strains were isolated from
      different patients over an extended period they were clustered into two
      genetically related clones, which seemed to be distributed endemically in the
      population studied.

PMID- 9989650
TI  - Electron microscopy studies on Gardnerella vaginalis grown in conventional and
      biofilm systems.
AB  - The cell-wall characteristics of Gardnerella vaginalis grown in conventional and
      biofilm systems were studied by electron microscopy. The gram-positive nature of
      the cell wall was confirmed. Novel cell-wall particles which appeared to be
      associated with cell division were also identified, particularly in organisms of
      biofilm origin.

PMID- 9989651
TI  - Minimal inhibitory effect of male urine on detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by
      Roche Amplicor PCR.
AB  - A total of 1120 specimens of fresh urine from male patients was tested for
      Chlamydia trachomatis with the Roche Amplicor PCR Kit and an in-house PCR assay.
      The in-house PCR had an internal control to monitor inhibitory effects of
      clinical specimens on the PCR assay. All urine samples were processed within 24
      48 h of collection and DNA was extracted on the same day that the assays were
      performed. Specimens that gave discrepant PCR results were tested by a reference
      laboratory with both the Roche Amplicor kit and their in-house PCR assay. Of the
      1120 samples, 174 gave positive results in both assays and 942 gave negative
      results in both assays. Only one specimen showed an inhibitory effect on the in
      house PCR assays, as indicated by failure to produce the internal control PCR
      product. This specimen gave negative results by both assays. There were four
      discrepant results in the two PCR assays. One was a false negative result
      obtained with the Roche Amplicor kit and the remaining three discrepant results
      could not be resolved because there was an insufficient quantity of specimen.
      This study demonstrated that the Roche Amplicor kit could effectively detect C.
      trachomatis in urine specimens from this population of male patients with
      negligible inhibition of PCR.

PMID- 9989652
TI  - Assessment of benzydamine N-oxidation mediated by flavin-containing monooxygenase
      in different regions of rat brain and liver using microdialysis.
AB  - N-Oxidation of benzydamine (BZY) mediated by flavin-containing monooxygenase
      (FMO) was evaluated by microdialysis in vivo in different regions of rat brain
      and liver. The probe was implanted into local regions of the brain, such as the
      olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, corpus striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum, or
      the hepatic lobe. By perfusing BZY via the probe, BZY N-oxide was identified in
      the dialysate. The estimated concentrations of BZY N-oxide in extracellular fluid
      were almost the same as those in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus and cerebral
      cortex, half the concentration in the hepatic lobe; however, the concentration in
      the corpus striatum was lower and that in the cerebellum was higher than in the
      other regions. These results demonstrate that the extracellular concentration of
      BZY N-oxide formed in vivo was unexpectedly high in every brain region.

PMID- 9989653
TI  - Structural characterization of recombinant human erythropoietins by fluorophore
      assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis.
AB  - Routine analysis of the carbohydrate moieties of a glycoprotein is critical for
      ensuring the consistent quality of biopharmaceutical products. Fluorophore
      assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) is a recently introduced method for
      the separation, by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, of oligosaccharides
      labeled with 8-amino-naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulphonic acid (ANTS). In this study,
      we have evaluated the applicability of the FACE method to analysis of the
      carbohydrate moieties of three different recombinant human erythropoietins
      (rHuEPOs), two Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell-derived rHuEPOs, and one baby
      hamster kidney (BHK) cell-derived rHuEPO. The N-linked oligosaccharides released
      from the rHuEPOs were labeled with ANTS. Enzymic sequence analysis of the N
      linked oligosaccharides was performed by the FACE method. The results showed that
      the FACE method was useful for the analysis of sialo-, asialo-, and agalacto
      oligosaccharides in the same gel. Its usefulness for rapidly and reliably
      revealing the oligosaccharide profiles of given glycoproteins, and its
      reproducibility were also confirmed in this study. In conclusion, the method can
      be used for evaluating the quality consistency of recombinant glycoprotein
      products in terms of the carbohydrate moiety.

PMID- 9989654
TI  - Lectin-like protein fractions in lactic acid bacteria isolated from chickens.
AB  - Agglutination of fifty bacterial strains isolated from gastric-intestinal tract
      of chickens with yeasts treated with glutaraldehyde and glycine was assayed to
      study possible adhesion mechanisms to epithelia. It was found that Lactobacillus
      fermentum, Lactobacillus fermentum subsp. cellobiosus and Lactobacillus animalis
      agglutinated yeasts massively and this agglutination was inhibited in each strain
      by different representative sugars: agglutination was inhibited in three selected
      strains with 0.2 M mannose. The three strains agglutinated chicken red blood
      cells, but did not agglutinate human red blood cells, whereas the agglutinating
      capacity for other animal erythrocytes was variable. The lectins were partially
      purified on a Sephadex G-75 column and affinity chromatography. The molecular
      weight of each of the protein subunits was estimated as about 50-67 kDa using
      electrophoretic techniques. After treatment with lipase and metaperiodate
      modifications bacterial superficies and/or liberation of some structures produced
      an unspecific interaction with increase in the yeast agglutination and
      hemagglutination. The optimal conditions of work were: pH 6-7, Ca2+ 1 mM, Mg2+ 2
      mM and 37-42 degrees C.

PMID- 9989655
TI  - Purification of a growth-suppressing factor for bovine artery endothelial cells
      from mouse lymphoma P388D1 cells.
AB  - A growth-suppressing factor for bovine artery endothelial cells (BAEGSF) was
      purified from the conditioned medium of a mouse lymphoma P388D1 cell culture in
      the presence of 100 microg/ml carboxymethylated curdlan. The purification steps
      included, in order, ammonium sulfate fractionation and eight stages of column
      chromatography on Macro-Prep Ceramic Hydroxyapatite, Q-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300
      HR, Matrex PBA-30, CHT II, Resource-Q, anti-bovine serum albumin (BSA) agarose,
      and Superdex 200HR columns. The purified BAEGSF showed two bands with silver
      staining on a sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel under reducing conditions
      (SDS-PAGE) and their molecular weights were estimated as approximately 55 and 63
      kDa, while the molecular weight of the purified BAEGSF was estimated as about 65
      kDa by gel filtration using Superdex 200HR. This result shows that BAEGSF
      obtained from Superdex 200HR chromatography is a partially purified preparation
      and suggests that one of the two bands on SDS-PAGE corresponds to BAEGSF. BAEGSF
      was shown not to have a lethal effect on endothelial cells, but had an inhibitory
      action on the proliferation of these cells. Furthermore, the growth-suppressing
      activity of BAEGSF for bovine artery endothelial cells (BAE) was not inhibited by
      anti-transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha
      (TNF-alpha), and anti-interleukin-1 (IL-1) antibodies. These results suggest that
      BAEGSF is different from TGF-beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 which have been reported
      to inhibit BAE growth.

PMID- 9989656
TI  - S-(1,2-Dicarboxyethyl)glutathione in yeast: partial purification of its
      synthesizing enzyme.
AB  - S-(1,2-Dicarboxyethyl)glutathione (DCE-GS) was found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
      but not in bacterial species nor in a unicellular alga (Acetabularia acetabulum).
      The enzyme that catalyzes condensation of L-malate and glutathione (GSH) to form
      DCE-GS was partially purified from baker's yeast. It had a molecular mass of 49
      kDa and was monomeric and the Km values were 2.2 and 1.4 mM for L-malate and GSH,
      respectively. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 7.5. DCE-GS levels in yeast cells
      were significantly higher in aerobic cultures than in anaerobic ones. DCE-GS was
      synthesized in cells cultured between 20 and 35 degrees C.

PMID- 9989657
TI  - Inhibitory mechanisms of glycoprotein fraction derived from Miscanthus sinensis
      for the immediate phase response of an IgE-mediated cutaneous reaction.
AB  - We investigated the inhibitory effect of the glycoprotein fraction (fraction 2)
      extracted from Miscanthus sinensi ANDERSSON (M. sinensis) on biphasic cutaneous
      reactions in mice passively sensitized with IgE. Biphasic skin reactions with
      peak responses at 1 (IPR, immediate phase reaction) and 24 h (LPR, late phase
      reaction) were caused by passive sensitization with an anti-dinitrophenol IgE
      monoclonal antibody (anti-DNP IgE mAb) followed by an epicutaneous challenge of
      0.1% dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) in 100% ethanol. Intraperitoneal injection of
      fraction 2 before the DNFB challenge significantly inhibited the biphasic ear
      swelling response in passively sensitized mice in a dose-dependent manner (1-30
      mg/kg). We also found that fraction 2 was effective at inhibiting the vascular
      permeability in mouse ear induced by an injection of compound 48/80, histamine or
      serotonin. In addition, fraction 2 inhibited scratching behavior as well as ear
      edema observed within 2 h after DNFB challenge. Marked inhibition was observed in
      both passively sensitized and non-sensitized mice. The locomotor activity of mice
      was also reduced by the administration of fraction 2 as well as by
      diphenhydramine. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of glycoprotein
      fraction 2 of M. sinensis on an IgE-mediated allergic inflammatory reaction is
      due to the protection of mediator-induced vascular permeability and that in
      addition to the inhibition of an inflammatory reaction, a sedative action is
      responsible for the inhibition of allergy-induced scratching responses.

PMID- 9989658
TI  - Electrophysiological effects of newly synthesized 1,4-pyridothiazepines on
      various guinea pig heart muscle preparations.
AB  - Slow channel blockers play a major role in the treatment of cardiovascular
      disease. The intention of this study was to investigate the electrophysiological
      properties of MM 4 (1-[N-[2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)ethyl]-N-methylaminoacetyl]
      1,2,3,4 -tetrahydropyrido[2,3-b][1,4]thiazepine fumarate) and MM 6 (1-[N-[2-(3,4
      dimethoxy-phenyl)ethyl]-N-methylaminopropionyl]-1,2, 3,4-tetrahydropyrido[2,3
      b][1,4]thiazepine fumarate), two newly synthesized compounds structurally related
      to KT-362 (5-[3-[[2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)ethyl]-amino]-1-oxopropyl]-2,3,4,5
      tetra -hydro-1,5-benzothiazepine fumarate), by means of the conventional
      intracellular microelectrode technique. In various guinea pig heart muscle
      preparations, MM 4 and MM 6 exerted very similar effects though the action of MM
      6 was more pronounced. In a concentration range from 3 to 100 micromol/l the
      compounds did not produce any significant change in transmembrane action
      potential parameters of papillary muscle and left atria, whereas the action
      potential duration at 20% and 50% time to repolarization in spontaneously beating
      Purkinje fibers was significantly shortened. In sinoatrial nodes action potential
      amplitude, Vmax, rate of activity and slope of slow diastolic depolarization were
      decreased, whereas the time to 50% and 90% repolarization was significantly
      prolonged. A decrease in the slow calcium inward current may account for the
      observed effects. In contrast to KT-362, MM 4 and MM 6 do not seem to affect the
      fast sodium inward current. It was concluded that replacement of the 1,5
      benzothiazepine nucleus by a 1,4-pyridothiazepine structure and/or methylation of
      the side chain may weaken or even eliminate sodium channel blocking ability while
      calcium antagonistic characteristics are preserved. Shortening of the side chain
      might result in a general loss of activity.

PMID- 9989659
TI  - Acceleration of development of diabetic cataract by hyperlipidemia and low high
      density lipoprotein in rats.
AB  - Diabetic cataracts are thought to be caused by hyperglycemia associated with
      disturbed glucose metabolism. Diabetes mellitus often involves abnormal lipid
      metabolism in addition to abnormal glucose metabolism. To date, however, very few
      studies have counted hyperlipidemia as a risk factor for diabetic cataracts. The
      present study was undertaken to determine whether this abnormal lipid metabolism
      is a risk factor for diabetic cataracts in rats. Cataracts were caused by
      streptozotocin (STZ) administration in the ordinary diet or cholesterol rich diet
      fed rats. When rats with STZ (65 mg/kg)-induced diabetes mellitus were fed an
      ordinary diet, cataracts became evident at 9 weeks in 26.7% of animals, and
      increased to an incidence of 53.3% after 10 weeks of STZ treatment. However, in
      rats with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus that were fed a cholesterol rich diet to
      induce severe hyperlipidemia and low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol,
      cataracts were observed one week earlier, after 8 weeks of treatment, in 40.0% of
      animals, with an increase to a 53.3% incidence and an 86.7% incidence after 9 and
      10 weeks of STZ treatment, respectively. Plasma glucose levels did not differ
      between the groups. These results suggest that hyperlipidemia and low HDL
      cholesterol are associated with an earlier onset and an elevated incidence of
      diabetic cataracts. We then investigated the relationship between plasma lipids
      and cataracts by STZ (45-85 mg/kg) administration. The results showed that the
      onset of cataracts correlated positively with plasma total cholesterol,
      triglyceride, non-HDL cholesterol and glucose levels, and negatively with HDL
      cholesterol levels. The results of this study suggest that hyperlipidemia and low
      HDL cholesterol levels may be risk factors for the onset of diabetic cataracts
      and that diabetic cataracts may be accelerated by hyperlipidemia and low HDL
      cholesterol in rats.

PMID- 9989660
TI  - Preparation and characteristics of antibacterial sepiolite containing povidone
      iodine as a useful pharmaceutical product for patient care.
AB  - Povidone-iodine (PVP-I), an antibacterial medicine, was infiltrated in sepiolite
      (SPL). The available iodine content in this new pharmaceutical product, a
      sepiolite preparation containing povidone-iodine (PVP-I-SPL), was retained at
      98.9 and 98.3% during storage at 40 degrees C for 3 and 6 months, respectively.
      The effective removal of various gasses, including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide,
      ethylmercaptan and acetaldehyde, was achieved by use of PVP-I-SPL. Especially,
      the concentration of ammonia gas was reduced more than half after 30 min of
      exposure, suggesting that PVP-I-SPL has excellent ability to adsorb ammonia gas.
      The satisfactory antibacterial effect of PVP-I-SPL was also obtained by testing
      its minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). No irritation reactions to the
      rabbit auricle or ophthalmic mucosa or to human skin were observed by the skin
      irritation test. The PVP-I-SPL preparation has bactericidal activity and gas
      adsorbing ability; therefore, this pharmaceutical product should be useful for
      the prevention of infections and deodorization in hospital rooms and houses, as
      well as in nursing homes for elderly people.

PMID- 9989661
TI  - Comparison of immunopharmacological actions of 8 kinds of kampo-hozais clinically
      used in atopic dermatitis on delayed-type hypersensitivity in mice.
AB  - We studied here the effects of 8 kinds of kampo-hozais clinically used to treat
      atopic dermatitis (Shofu-san, Toki-inshi, Unsei-in, Oren-gedoku-to, Ji-zuso-ippo,
      Jumi-haidoku-to, Juzen-taiho-to, Hochu-ekki-to) on delayed-type hypersensitivity
      (DTH), using three types of murine models such as picryl chloride (PC)-induced
      (contact hypersensitivity), sheep red blood cell (SRBC)-induced (Jones-Mote's
      reaction) and tuberculin-induced DTH response, in order to clarify and to compare
      the immunopharmacological action of kampo-hozais. Most of the kampo-hozais
      investigated here suppressed PC-induced contact hypersensitivity, especially at
      the inductive phase. Comparing the efficacies of these kampo-hozais on the three
      types of DTH responses in mice, they were generally divided into 4 groups. Shofu
      san significantly reduced PC-induced and tuberculin-induced DTH responses but not
      a SRBC-induced DTH response. On the other hand, Toki-inshi reduced contact
      hypersensitivity, tuberculin type DTH response and Jones-Mote's reaction. Ji-zuso
      ippo and Juzen-taiho-to suppressed mainly Jones-Mote's reaction, and Unsei-in,
      Oren-gedoku-to and Jumi-haidoku-to intensively suppressed contact
      hypersensitivity. We thought that these findings could help us understand how to
      use these kampo-hozais properly.

PMID- 9989662
TI  - Sustained release liquid preparation using sodium alginate for eradication of
      Helicobacter pyroli.
AB  - We prepared a new liquid preparation for eradication of Helicobacter pylori (HP),
      and examined drug release in vitro and in vivo. The liquid preparation mainly
      consisted of a sodium alginate (AG) aqueous solution containing ampicillin
      (ABPC), an antibiotic drug, or methylene blue, a dye. Drug release was retarded
      by Ca pre-treatment (0.10 M, 20 s) of the AG preparation in in vitro drug release
      studies due to gel-formation at the liquid surface. In in vivo experiments, the
      AG preparations were administered orally to rats. The rats were divided into two
      groups, with or without pre-administration of ranitidine hydrochloride (RH, an H2
      blocker). The total remaining % of ABPC in the stomach was high in the rats
      administered the AG preparation compared to the ABPC solution. The AG preparation
      might float in the stomach without adhering to the gastric wall in the rats
      without pre-administration of RH. The total remaining % of ABPC at 30 min was
      almost 100% in the RH pre-administration rats administered the AG preparation,
      and about 80% of the drug existed in fraction 2 (implying adhesion of the
      preparation on the gastric mucus). At 60 min, the total remaining % in the AG
      preparation plus Ca (mean 87%) increased about 2-fold compared to that in the AG
      preparation alone (mean 44%). In this case, a large portion of the remaining ABPC
      also existed in fraction 2. This preparation may be useful for eradication of HP.

PMID- 9989663
TI  - Evaluation of induction of CYP3A mRNA using the HepG2 cell line and reverse
      transcription-PCR.
AB  - Cytochrome P-450 3A (CYP3A) is a drug-metabolizing enzyme dominant in the human
      liver. We have designed a useful method for evaluation of induction of CYP3A mRNA
      by various drugs using HepG2 cells known to retain liver-cellular functions.
      Using semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), we demonstrated that
      cultured HepG2 cells constitutively expressed CYP3A mRNA. This mRNA was expressed
      at high levels in culture for several days and was further induced by several
      drugs (e.g. rifampicin (RFP), dexamethasone). Treatment of HepG2 cells with RFP
      induced CYP3A mRNA in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cells in culture for 48
      h with 1 and 50 micromol/l RFP increased 2.7- and 5.0-fold in CYP3A mRNA
      expression in comparison with untreated controls, respectively. In contrast, no
      change in the amount of CYP3A mRNA was observed when the cells were treated with
      cimetidine which has been shown to inhibit CYP3A activity. Our method using a
      combination of HepG2 cells and RT-PCR allowed evaluation of the degree of
      induction of CYP3A mRNA both easily and rapidly.

PMID- 9989664
TI  - Enhanced absorption of cyclosporin A by complexation with dimethyl-beta
      cyclodextrin in bile duct-cannulated and -noncannulated rats.
AB  - The enhancing effects of dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (DM-beta-CyD) on the
      absorption of cyclosporin A (CsA) after oral administration to rats under bile
      duct-cannulated and -noncannulated conditions were investigated. The dissolution
      rate of CsA was markedly augmented by complexation with DM-beta-CyD. In a closed
      loop in situ study, DM-beta-CyD considerably increased the cumulative amounts of
      CsA in the mesenteric venous blood after injection of the aqueous CsA suspension
      into the small intestinal sac of rats. In addition, the cumulative amount ratio
      of M1, the dominant metabolite of CsA in rats, to CsA in the mesenteric venous
      blood for up to 40 min after the injection of the CsA-DM-beta-CyD suspension into
      the sac was lower than that of the CsA suspension alone. DM-beta-CyD inhibited
      the bioconversion of CsA in the small intestinal microsomes of rats. These
      results indicate that the bioconversion of CsA was abated by complexation with DM
      beta-CyD. An in vivo study revealed that DM-beta-CyD increased the transfer of
      CsA to blood, not lymph, with low variability in the absorption after oral
      administration of the CsA suspension to rats. The variability of bioavailability
      of DM-beta-CyD complex was lower than that of Sandimmune, although the extent of
      bioavailability of DM-beta-CyD was only a little higher than that of Sandimmune.
      The bioavailability of CsA or its DM-beta-CyD complex was appreciably decreased
      by the cannulation of the bile duct of rats, and the extent of the lowering in
      the bioavailability in the presence of DM-beta-CyD was much less serious than
      that of CsA alone. The present results suggest that DM-beta-CyD is particularly
      useful in designing oral preparations of CsA with an enhanced bioavailability and
      a reduced variability in absorption.

PMID- 9989666
TI  - A rapid and simple detection of genetic defects responsible for the phenotypic
      polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2C19.
AB  - A rapid and simple cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 genotyping system was established
      by making several modifications in previously reported procedures. PCR conditions
      were modified to be capable of simultaneous amplification of CYP2C19m1 and
      CYP2C19m2 regions. Intensive bands of 169 bp for the CYP2C19m1 region and 329 bp
      for the CYP2C19m2 region with low background were obtained by using PCR condition
      involving an initial denaturation of 5 min at 94 degrees C, 35 cycles of 1 min at
      94 degrees C; 1 min at 53 degrees C; 1 min at 72 degrees C, and final extension
      of 5 min at 72 degrees C. Next, the optimal restriction enzyme digestion
      conditions were determined by using PCR products from a subject of wt/wt
      genotype. Both products were completely digested with 5 U of the corresponding
      enzyme (Sma I for CYP2C19m1 and Bam HI for CYP2C19m2) for 1 h incubation at an
      optimal temperature. The incidence (16%; 5/32) of subjects homozygous for mutant
      alleles determined by an established assay system agreed well with the incidence
      of the poor metabolizer (PM) phenotype in the Japanese population. The
      established genotyping system would, therefore, be applicable to the clinical
      laboratory testing of patients with a PM phenotype of CYP2C19 to select
      appropriate and effective medication.

PMID- 9989665
TI  - Biological activities of 1,1,6-trisubstituted indanes: beyond magainin 2.
AB  - MSI-78 is a peptide analog of naturally occurring magainin 2 isolated from the
      skin of Xenopus laevis. The peptide is known to have one of the strongest
      antibacterial activities in magainin 2 analogs against methicillin-resistant
      Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). To find novel compounds superior to MSI-78, we have
      further designed, synthesizing 1,1-di(4-aminobutyl)-6-benzylindane (PM4) and 1,1
      dibenzyl-6-(4-aminobutyl) indane (PM5), and tested their inhibitory ability of
      the growth of S. aureus. In an in vitro assay, PM4 showed the same antibacterial
      activity against the bacterium as MSI-78, and non-hemolytic activity against
      human red blood cells (RBCs) at the MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) value,
      in contrast to the latter. On the other hand, PM5 showed stronger antibacterial
      activity than MSI-78, but being still accompanied with hemolysis at the MIC
      value. Otherwise, stronger decarboxylase activity for oxaloacetate was observed
      in PM5, rather than magainin 2 analogs or Oxaldie 1 as a control peptide, but not
      in PM4.

PMID- 9989667
TI  - Purification and characterization of glycyrrhetic acid mono-glucuronide beta-D
      glucuronidase in Eubacterium sp. GLH.
AB  - Glycyrrhetic acid mono-glucuronide (GAMG), 1-(18beta-glycyrrhet-3-yl)-beta-D
      glucopyranuroic acid, was hydrolyzed to glycyrrhetic acid (GA) by GAMG beta-D
      glucuronidase in Eubacterium sp. GLH from human intestinal bacteria. The enzyme
      had an optimum pH of 5.0 and was purified from a crude extract by Butyl Toyopearl
      650 S, Toyopearl HW-55 S, Hydroxyapatite and DEAE-Toyopearl 650 M column
      chromatography. The purified enzyme showed a specific activity of 495 nmol/min/mg
      protein and a single band on Coomassie brilliant blue staining and a molecular
      weight of about 43 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis. The apparent molecular weight was 49.5 kDa, as estimated by
      Toyopearl HW-55 S column chromatography. Also, the enzyme seemed to have a
      sulfhydryl group(s) in its active site with a Km value of 77 x 10(-3) M.

PMID- 9989668
TI  - Isolation of deoxycytidine kinase from Ehrlich carcinoma cells by affinity
      chromatography based on a substrate analog, 2'-C-cyano-2'-deoxy-1-beta-D
      arabinofuranosyl-N4-palmitoylcytosine++ +.
AB  - Deoxycytidine kinase from Ehrlich carcinoma cells was purified 10400-fold by
      ammonium sulfate fractionation and affinity chromatography using Sepharose 4B
      coupled to 2'-C-cyano-2'-deoxy-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-N4-palmitoylcytosine ,
      with a yield of 45%. The purified enzyme preparation showed a single major band
      with a molecular weight of 32000 on SDS-PAGE. The enzyme phosphorylated
      deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, cytidine, and several deoxycytidine analogues as
      well as deoxycytidine. Also, the kinetic parameters of the enzyme for the
      substrates were estimated.

PMID- 9989669
TI  - Effects of Keishi-ka-shakuyaku-to (Gui-Zhi-Jia-Shao-Yao-Tang) on diarrhea and
      small intestinal movement.
AB  - The present study was conducted to determine the characteristics of the effects
      of Keishi-ka-shakuyaku-to (Gui-Zhi-Jia-Shao-Yao-Tang; TJ-60) on diarrhea.
      Significant repression was noted by TJ-60 at 1000 mg/kg, p.o. for diarrhea
      induced by pilocarpine, barium chloride or castor oil. Under normal conditions,
      TJ-60 did not influence small intestinal transit by its oral treatment even at
      1000 mg/kg, however, it dose-dependently improved the acceleration of such
      transit caused by neostigmine. TJ-60 did not influence the resting tonus in
      isolated small intestine, but did selectively inhibit low frequency
      electrostimulated contractions. These results indicate that the antidiarrheal
      effects of TJ-60 may be due to the inhibition of excessively accelerated small
      intestinal movement, and that the inhibition of acetylcholine release by
      parasympathetic nerves is partly involved in the mechanism of this antidiarrheal
      action.

PMID- 9989670
TI  - Synergistic effect of naphthoquinones on the mutagenicity of nitroarene.
AB  - Nitro reduction is a critical step in the mutagenic activation of nitroarene.
      Nitroarene and quinone are known to be reduced by common enzymes, and thus,
      naphthoquinone (NQ) was studied for its effects on the mutagenicity of nitroarene
      in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 without S9. The mutagenicity
      of 1,3-dinitropyrene in TA98 was found to increase 9- and 6-fold as much in the
      presence of 70 nmol/plate of 2-methyl-1,4-NQ and 2-hydroxy-1,4-NQ, respectively.
      Mutagenicity also became greater in 1,3,5-trinitronaphthalene, 1-nitropyrene and
      3-nitrofluoranthene. Seventy nmol/plate of 2-methyl-1,4-NQ increased the
      mutagenicity of 1-nitropyrene by 10.5-fold as much.

PMID- 9989671
TI  - Effect of dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylenedioxybiphenyl-2,2'-
      dicarboxylate (DDB) on chemical-induced liver injury.
AB  - The effects of orally administered dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylene
      dioxybiphenyl-2,2'-d icarboxylate (DDB) on the hepatotoxicity induced by carbon
      tetrachloride, acetaminophen or ethanol were investigated in rats and mice.
      Either single or repeated DDB pretreatment (50 or 200 mg/kg) did not alter the
      hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (0.2 or 1.0 ml/kg, i.p.) in female
      rats as indicated by increases in the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT),
      aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) in serum. The
      hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen (350 mg/kg, i.p.) was also unaffected in male
      mice pretreated with DDB (50 mg/kg/d) for a week. However, DDB administration (50
      mg/kg/d for 7 d) decreased the hepatic fatty degeneration induced by repeated
      ethanol treatment (0.75 g/kg, i.p., x2 times a day for a week) in rats as shown
      by the accumulation of triglycerides and cholesterol in the liver.
      Malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in liver homogenates was inhibited by DDB
      treatment. The significance of the action of DDB on alcoholic fatty liver
      generation in clinical settings is discussed.

PMID- 9989672
TI  - Protein chemotaxonomy of the solanaceae. VI. Amino acid sequence of ferredoxin
      from Nicotian tabacum.
AB  - The complete amino acid sequence of [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin from Nicotiana tabacum
      has been determined by automated Edman degradation of the entire Cm-protein and
      of the peptides obtained by trypsin and Asp-N endoproteinase digestions. This
      ferredoxin exhibited 9, 10, 8, and 10 differences respectively in its amino acid
      sequence, when compared with the ferredoxins of Datura stramonium, D. metel, D.
      arborea, and Physalis alkekengi var.francheti but 17-28 differences for other
      angiosperms, and 34-37 differences for fern and horsetails. These results are in
      agreement with the taxonomic position for these plants.

PMID- 9989673
TI  - Cytotoxicity and pharmacokinetics of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-2-thiocytosine, a
      2-sulphur substituted derivative of cytarabine.
AB  - 1-(beta-D-Arabinofuranosyl)-2-thiocytosine (araSC), a 2-substituted derivative of
      cytarabine (araC), has been investigated for its cytotoxicity, enzymatic
      stability, plasma concentration-time profile in mice, and cytokinetics. This
      derivative showed strong cytotoxicity in several mammalian cell lines, although
      activity (IC50s) was weaker than araC. Greater stability to mouse cytidine
      deaminase was observed; the half-life in the presence of the enzyme was about 4
      times longer than that of araC. The plasma concentration-time profile in mice in
      vivo showed prolonged retention of araSC when compared with araC. Cytokinetic
      study using flow cytometry indicated a non-S-phase specific effect of this
      compound.

PMID- 9989674
TI  - Modification of ceftibuten transport by changes in lipid fluidity caused by fatty
      acid glycerol esters.
AB  - The effects of various fatty acid glycerol esters (FAGE) on the transport of
      ceftibuten in rat intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) were
      investigated. The HLB numbers of FAGE used were in the range of 6.5 to 15.7. The
      ceftibuten uptake by BBMV was examined by a rapid filtration method in the
      presence or absence of FAGE of a non-solubilizing concentration (0.03%, w/v).
      Tetraglycerol monostearate, hexaglycerol monostearate, hexaglycerol
      sesquistearate, hexaglycerol tristearate and decaglycerol tristearate were found
      significantly to enhance the ceftibuten uptake under an inward H+-gradient
      condition, while FAGE with oleate or laurate did not affect it. The extent of
      ceftibuten uptake with FAGE correlated with the HLB of the esters (r= -0.90,
      p<0.001). To elucidate the mechanism of its enhancing action, the effects of FAGE
      on the membrane lipid fluidity were examined using the fluorescence probes
      diphenylhexatriene (DPH) and trimethylammonium diphenylhexatriene (TMA-DPH) which
      distribute in the hydrophobic inner and outer regions of the lipid layer,
      respectively. The increase in ceftibuten uptake induced by FAGE proved to
      correlate with an increase in fluidity of the outer lipid layer (r= -0.83,
      p<0.003) but not the inner lipid layer of BBMV. Hence, the enhancing effect of
      FAGE with the lower HLB on the ceftibuten transport in the presence of the H+
      gradient should, at least in part, be explained by the interaction with the outer
      lipid regions of BBMV.

PMID- 9989675
TI  - An antimutagenic metabolite, streptovaricin C, isolated from Streptomyces sp.
AB  - Streptomyces sp. KM1-30 was isolated from soil as a producer of antimutagens by
      screening with a modified Ames test. The chemical structure of the antimutagenic
      metabolite was identified as streptovaricin C, which is known to inhibit DNA
      dependent RNA polymerase from E. coli and RNA dependent DNA polymerase from RNA
      tumor viruses, by MS and 1H-, 13C-NMR analyses. Addition of streptovaricin C to
      the cultures of UV treated Salmonella typhimurium TA100 or Trp-P-2-treated S.
      typhimurium TA98 decreased the frequency of mutation without a decrease in viable
      cell counts. The effect of streptovaricin C to the mutation induced by UV and Trp
      P-2 was not desmutagenic, but antimutagenic.

PMID- 9989676
TI  - Alcohol intake and body weight: a paradox.

PMID- 9989677
TI  - Dietary supplement or drug? The case of cholestin.

PMID- 9989678
TI  - Vitamin A assessment by the isotope-dilution technique: good news from Guatemala.

PMID- 9989679
TI  - Potential mechanisms of metabolic imprinting that lead to chronic disease.
AB  - This review synthesizes a subset of human epidemiologic and experimental animal
      studies that suggest that early nutrition affects susceptibility to chronic
      diseases in adulthood. These studies provide evidence that biological mechanisms
      may exist to "memorize" the metabolic effects of early nutritional environments.
      However, hypothesis-driven investigations of potential mechanisms have been
      scant. Thus, our understanding of the biology underlying metabolic imprinting is
      incomplete. A working definition of metabolic imprinting is proposed, emphasizing
      the adaptive nature and limited ontogenic window of the mechanisms putatively
      responsible for these relations. Five specific candidate mechanisms of metabolic
      imprinting are elaborated: 1) induced variations in organ structure, 2)
      alterations in cell number, 3) clonal selection, 4) metabolic differentiation,
      and 5) hepatocyte polyploidization. Last, experimental approaches for probing
      potential mechanisms with animal models are discussed.

PMID- 9989680
TI  - Metabolic and weight-loss effects of a long-term dietary intervention in obese
      patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic disease that has become one of the most serious
      health problems in Western society. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the long-term effects
      of an energy-restricted diet combined with 1 or 2 daily meal replacements on body
      weight and biomarkers of disease risk in 100 obese patients. DESIGN: Phase 1
      consisted of a 3-mo, prospective, randomized, parallel intervention study of 2
      dietary interventions to reduce weight. The energy-restricted diet (5.2-6.3 MJ/d)
      consisted of conventional foods (group A) or an isoenergetic diet with 2 meals
      and 2 snacks replaced daily by energy-controlled, vitamin-and-mineral
      supplemented prepared foods (group B). Phase 2 consisted of a 24-mo, case
      control, weight-maintenance study with an energy-restricted diet and 1 meal and 1
      snack replaced daily for all patients. RESULTS: Total weight loss (as a
      percentage of initial body weight) was 5.9+/-5.0% in group A and 11.3+/-6.8% in
      group B (P < 0.0001). During phase 1, mean weight loss in group B (n = 50) was
      7.1+/-3.5 kg, with significant reductions in plasma triacylglycerol, glucose, and
      insulin concentrations (P < 0.0001). Group A patients (n = 50) lost an average of
      1.3+/-2.2 kg with no significant improvements in these biomarkers. During phase
      2, both groups lost on average an additional 0.07% of their initial body weight
      every month (P < 0.01). During the 27-mo study, both groups experienced
      significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and plasma concentrations of
      triacylglycerol, glucose, and insulin (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: These findings
      support the hypothesis that defined meal replacements can be used for successful,
      long-term weight control and improvements in certain biomarkers of disease risk.

PMID- 9989681
TI  - The appetizing effect of an aperitif in overweight and normal-weight humans.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown alcohol consumption to be inversely
      as well as positively related to body weight and body fat. Metabolic studies have
      shown an increase in energy intake as well as compensation after alcohol
      consumption. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the effects on energy intake
      of an aperitif compared with those of a water appetizer and 3 fruit juice
      appetizers. DESIGN: Fifty-two men and women aged 20-45 y with a body mass index
      (in kg/m2) between 20 and 32 were randomly given 1 MJ (340 mL) alcohol (wine or
      beer), fat (cream fruit juice), protein (protein fruit juice), carbohydrate
      (grape juice), or water, or no preload 30 min before an ad libitum lunch consumed
      from the universal eating monitor. RESULTS: Energy intake (3.5+/-0.3 MJ compared
      with 2.7+/-0.2 MJ, P < 0.001) and eating rate were higher (44+/-3 g/min compared
      with 38+/-3 g/min, P < 0.01), meal duration was longer (14 min compared with 12.0
      min, P < 0.01), satiation started to increase later (3.5 min compared with 1.5
      min, P < 0.01), and eating was prolonged after maximum satiation (2.5 min
      compared with 0.6 min, P < 0.01) after an aperitif than after a fat, protein, or
      carbohydrate appetizer,. Twenty-four-hour energy intake was higher on a day that
      an aperitif was consumed than after water or no preload. CONCLUSION: Twenty-four
      hour energy intake was elevated with a 1-MJ aperitif but not with a 1-MJ liquid
      carbohydrate, fat, or protein appetizer.

PMID- 9989682
TI  - A vitamin E concentrate rich in tocotrienols had no effect on serum lipids,
      lipoproteins, or platelet function in men with mildly elevated serum lipid
      concentrations.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Tocotrienols, lipid-soluble antioxidants with vitamin E activity,
      have been reported to lower LDL-cholesterol concentrations and platelet
      aggregation in men, but results are contradictory. OBJECTIVE: To examine in
      detail the effects of a vitamin E concentrate rich in tocotrienols on serum
      lipoproteins and on platelet function in men at risk for cardiovascular disease.
      DESIGN: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial, 20
      men received daily for 6 wk 4 capsules, each containing 35 mg tocotrienols and 20
      mg alpha-tocopherol; 20 other men received 4 capsules daily, each providing 20 mg
      alpha-tocopherol. All men had concentrations of serum total cholesterol between
      6.5 and 8.0 mmol/L or lipoprotein(a) concentrations > 150 mg/L. RESULTS:
      Compliance was confirmed by changes in serum tocopherol and tocotrienol
      concentrations. Serum LDL cholesterol in the tocotrienol group was 4.80 mmol/L
      before and 4.79 mmol/L after intervention, and increased from 4.70 to 4.86 mmol/L
      in the placebo group (95% CI for the difference: -0.54, 0.19 mmol/L; P = 0.333).
      Also, changes in HDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, lipoprotein(a), and lipid
      peroxide concentrations did not differ between the groups. After adjustment for
      differences in initial values, no effects were found on collagen-induced platelet
      aggregation velocity, maximum aggregation, or thromboxane B2 formation in
      citrated whole blood. ATP release, however, was lower in the tocotrienol group.
      Urinary thromboxane B2 and 11-keto-thromboxane B2 concentrations and coagulation
      and fibrinolytic measures did not change. CONCLUSION: The tocotrienol supplements
      used had no marked favorable effects on the serum lipoprotein profile or on
      platelet function in men with slightly elevated lipid concentrations.

PMID- 9989683
TI  - Dietary oleic and palmitic acids and postprandial factor VII in middle-aged men
      heterozygous and homozygous for factor VII R353Q polymorphism.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The R353Q genotype is a major determinant of factor VII coagulant
      (FVIIc) activity, which is associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart
      disease (IHD) and elevated plasma triacylglycerol concentrations. OBJECTIVE: The
      objectives were to 1) compare the effects of meals rich in palmitate or oleate
      with those of a meal low in fat on FVIIc in subjects with moderately elevated
      plasma nonfasting triacylglycerol concentrations and 2) determine whether the
      postprandial increase in FVIIc induced by dietary oleate differs in carriers of
      the Q allele. DESIGN: Fifty-two men aged >52 y with nonfasting plasma
      triacylglycerol concentrations between 2 and 5.5 mmol/L were randomly assigned to
      receive isoenergetic (5.1 MJ) meals providing 50 g high-oleate or high-palmitate
      oils or a low-fat meal providing 15 g high-oleate oil. In a second study, 17 men
      aged >52 y who were heterozygous for factor VII R353Q polymorphism were age
      matched with subjects homozygous for the R allele and their responses to a 50-g,
      high-oleate meal were measured. RESULTS: FVIIc decreased by 11% after the low-fat
      meal. FVIIc increased by 9% and FVIIa (the activated form of FVII) increased by
      55% after the high-oleate meal, whereas FVIIc did not change but FVIIa increased
      by 25% after the high-palmitate meal. Fasting FVIIc and FVIIa concentrations were
      24% and 48% lower, respectively, in men with the RQ genotype than in men with the
      RR genotype but increased postprandially in both groups with no evidence of a
      genotype interaction. CONCLUSIONS: A high-fat meal rich in oleate increases
      FVIIa, whereas a low-fat meal does not, in men at high risk of IHD, independent
      of R353Q genotype.

PMID- 9989684
TI  - A novel source of wheat fiber and protein: effects on fecal bulk and serum
      lipids.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Wheat fiber is a laxative and wheat protein may affect blood lipids.
      OBJECTIVE: We therefore tested the effects on laxation and serum lipid metabolism
      of a novel source of wheat fiber and protein produced by the amylolytic digestion
      of starch from wheat. DESIGN: Twenty-four healthy men and women consumed 3
      different test cereals in random order, each for 2 wk. The test supplement and
      the positive control, American Association of Cereal Chemists wheat bran
      supplement, both provided the same amount of fiber (21 g/d) and the negative
      control supplement provided 1.7 g fiber/d. RESULTS: The test supplement and the
      positive control supplement increased fecal bulk similarly (239.5+/-19 and
      216.7+/-19 g/d, respectively) and significantly more than did the negative
      control supplement (165.6+/-16 g/d, P < 0.010). Compared with the negative and
      positive control supplements, the week 2 value of the test supplement for the
      ratio of total to HDL cholesterol was significantly reduced (P = 0.046).
      CONCLUSION: We conclude that the product of amylolytic digestion of starch from
      wheat flakes, which is high in wheat fiber and protein, has a fecal bulking
      effect similar to that of wheat bran and may have a beneficial effect on serum
      lipids.

PMID- 9989685
TI  - Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary
      supplement.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We examined the cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese
      red-yeast-rice supplement in an American population consuming a diet similar to
      the American Heart Association Step I diet using a double-blind, placebo
      controlled, prospectively randomized 12-wk controlled trial at a university
      research center. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the lipid-lowering effects of this red
      yeast-rice dietary supplement in US adults separate from effects of diet alone.
      DESIGN: Eighty-three healthy subjects (46 men and 37 women aged 34-78 y) with
      hyperlipidemia [total cholesterol, 5.28-8.74 mmol/L (204-338 mg/dL); LDL
      cholesterol, 3.31-7.16 mmol/L (128-277 mg/dL); triacylglycerol, 0.62-2.78 mmol/L
      (55-246 mg/dL); and HDL cholesterol 0.78-2.46 mmol/L (30-95 mg/dL)] who were not
      being treated with lipid-lowering drugs participated. Subjects were treated with
      red yeast rice (2.4 g/d) or placebo and instructed to consume a diet providing
      30% of energy from fat, <10% from saturated fat, and <300 mg cholesterol daily.
      Main outcome measures were total cholesterol, total triacylglycerol, and HDL and
      LDL cholesterol measured at weeks 8, 9, 11, and 12. RESULTS: Total cholesterol
      concentrations decreased significantly between baseline and 8 wk in the red-yeast
      rice-treated group compared with the placebo-treated group [(x+/-SD) 6.57+/-0.93
      mmol/L (254+/-36 mg/dL) to 5.38+/-0.80 mmol/L (208+/-31 mg/dL); P < 0.001]. LDL
      cholesterol and total triacylglycerol were also reduced with the supplement. HDL
      cholesterol did not change significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Red yeast rice
      significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and total
      triacylglycerol concentrations compared with placebo and provides a new, novel,
      food-based approach to lowering cholesterol in the general population.

PMID- 9989686
TI  - Anthropometric status and cataract: the Salisbury Eye Evaluation project.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Weight or body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) is frequently identified as
      a risk factor for cataract, but the nature of the association is unclear.
      OBJECTIVE: We aimed to characterize the relation between BMI and stature and risk
      of different types of cataract. DESIGN: We analyzed data from participants in the
      Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE), a cross-sectional survey of visual status and
      demographic, nutritional, and environmental factors conducted between 1993 and
      1995 in a representative sample of community-dwelling older persons in Salisbury,
      MD. Multiple logistic regression techniques were used to compare risk factors
      between individuals with nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular (PSC)
      opacities and individuals with no cataract. RESULTS: Risk of nuclear
      opacification was greater in participants with lower BMIs [adjusted odds ratio of
      1.13 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.27) with a BMI of 22.5 compared with 28.0] and of taller
      stature [1.12 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.25) with a stature of 170.5 cm compared with 164].
      In contrast, risk of cortical opacification was greater in participants with
      higher BMIs and of taller stature, but the relation for stature diminished in
      magnitude and was not significant after adjustment for other risk factors. BMI
      was not related to risk of PSC opacities, but there was some evidence that taller
      stature is a risk factor for PSC opacification (P = 0.06) after adjustment for
      other risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Both BMI and stature are independent risk
      factors for cataracts in the SEE population, with the nature of the risk
      dependent on cataract type.

PMID- 9989687
TI  - Reproducibility and validity of dietary patterns assessed with a food-frequency
      questionnaire.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Recently, the analysis of dietary patterns has emerged as a possible
      approach to examining diet-disease relations. OBJECTIVE: We examined the
      reproducibility and validity of dietary patterns defined by factor analysis using
      dietary data collected with a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). DESIGN: We
      enrolled a subsample of men (n = 127) from the Health Professionals Follow-up
      Study in a diet-validation study in 1986. A 131-item FFQ was administered twice,
      1 y apart, and two 1-wk diet records and blood samples were collected during this
      1-y interval. RESULTS: Using factor analysis, we identified 2 major eating
      patterns, which were qualitatively similar across the 2 FFQs and the diet
      records. The first factor, the prudent dietary pattern, was characterized by a
      high intake of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, and fish and other
      seafood, whereas the second factor, the Western pattern, was characterized by a
      high intake of processed meat, red meat, butter, high-fat dairy products, eggs,
      and refined grains. The reliability correlations for the factor scores between
      the 2 FFQs were 0.70 for the prudent pattern and 0.67 for the Western pattern.
      The correlations (corrected for week-to-week variation in diet records) between
      the 2 FFQs and diet records ranged from 0.45 to 0.74 for the 2 patterns. In
      addition, the correlations between the factor scores and nutrient intakes and
      plasma concentrations of biomarkers were in the expected direction. CONCLUSIONS:
      These data indicate reasonable reproducibility and validity of the major dietary
      patterns defined by factor analysis with data from an FFQ.

PMID- 9989688
TI  - Oral ferrous sulfate supplements increase the free radical-generating capacity of
      feces from healthy volunteers.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Most dietary iron remains unabsorbed and hence may be available to
      participate in Fenton-driven free radical generation in conjunction with the
      colonic microflora, leading to the production of carcinogens or direct damage to
      colonocytes. OBJECTIVE: Our aims were to measure the proportion of fecal iron
      available to participate in free radical generation and to determine the effect
      of an oral supplement of ferrous sulfate on free radical generation. DESIGN:
      Eighteen healthy volunteers recorded their food intake and collected fecal
      samples before, during, and after 2 wk of supplementation (19 mg elemental Fe/d).
      Total, free, and weakly chelated fecal iron were measured and free radical
      production was determined by using an in vitro assay with dimethyl sulfoxide as a
      free radical trap. RESULTS: Fecal iron increased significantly during the period
      of supplementation and returned to baseline within 2 wk. The concentration of
      weakly bound iron in feces (approximately 1.3% of total fecal iron) increased
      from 60 micromol/L before to 300 micromol/L during supplementation, and the
      production of free radicals increased significantly (approximately 40%). Higher
      carbohydrate diets were associated with reduced free radical generation.
      CONCLUSION: Unabsorbed dietary iron may increase free radical production in the
      colon to a level that could cause mucosal cell damage or increased production of
      carcinogens.

PMID- 9989689
TI  - Higher concentrations of serum transferrin receptor in children than in adults.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The serum transferrin receptor (TfR) concentration in adults is
      suggested to provide a sensitive measure of iron depletion and together with the
      serum ferritin concentration to indicate the entire range of iron status, from
      iron deficiency to iron overload. However, little is known about TfR
      concentrations in children. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare serum TfR and
      ferritin concentrations and their ratios in children and adults and look for
      correlations between TfR concentrations and other measures of iron status.
      DESIGN: Our study groups were healthy 1-y-old infants (n = 36), 11-12-y-old
      prepubertal boys (n = 35), and 20-39-y-old men (n = 40). RESULTS: TfR
      concentrations were higher in infants (x; 95% reference interval: 7.8 mg/L; 4.5,
      11.1) than in prepubertal boys (7.0 mg/L; 4.7, 9.2) and higher in prepubertal
      boys than in men (5.8 mg/L; 3.1, 8.5). Geometric mean TfR-ferritin ratios were
      higher in infants (316; 95% reference interval: 94, 1059) than in prepubertal
      boys (219; 78, 614) and higher in prepubertal boys than in men (72; 23, 223). By
      multiple linear regression analysis, the best predictors of TfR concentration
      were serum iron (P = 0.004) and log serum ferritin (P < 0.0001), both being
      inverse correlations (R2 = 0.32). Mean corpuscular volume, blood hemoglobin,
      transferrin iron saturation, transferrin, and even age seemed to not have an
      influence on the TfR concentration and erythropoiesis was not a determinant of
      TfR concentration. CONCLUSIONS: Low serum ferritin and iron concentrations, even
      within the normal physiologic range, result in high TfR concentrations. The lower
      the iron stores, the stronger the influence of ferritin on TfR. A high TfR
      concentration in children, especially in infants, is a response to
      physiologically low iron stores. Age-specific reference concentrations for TfR
      are needed.

PMID- 9989690
TI  - Dietary antioxidants and risk of myocardial infarction in the elderly: the
      Rotterdam Study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown dietary antioxidants to be inversely
      correlated with ischemic heart disease. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether
      dietary beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E were related to the risk of
      myocardial infarction (MI) in an elderly population. DESIGN: The study sample
      consisted of 4802 participants of the Rotterdam Study aged 55-95 y who were free
      of MI at baseline and for whom dietary data assessed by a semiquantitative food
      frequency questionnaire were available. During a 4-y follow-up period, 124
      subjects had an MI. The association between energy-adjusted beta-carotene,
      vitamin C, and vitamin E intakes and risk of MI was examined by multivariate
      logistic regression. RESULTS: Risk of MI for the highest compared with the lowest
      tertile of beta-carotene intake was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.83; P for trend =
      0.013), adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, pack-years, income, education,
      alcohol intake, energy-adjusted intakes of vitamin C and E, and use of
      antioxidative vitamin supplements. When beta-carotene intakes from supplements
      were considered, the inverse relation with risk of MI was slightly more
      pronounced. Stratification by smoking status indicated that the association was
      most evident in current and former smokers. No association with risk of MI was
      observed for dietary vitamin C and vitamin E. CONCLUSION: The results of this
      observational study in the elderly population of the Rotterdam Study support the
      hypothesis that high dietary beta-carotene intakes may protect against
      cardiovascular disease. We did not observe an association between vitamin C or
      vitamin E and MI.

PMID- 9989691
TI  - Acute effects of moderate dietary protein restriction in patients with idiopathic
      hypercalciuria and calcium nephrolithiasis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: High dietary protein intake is a potential risk factor for
      nephrolithiasis because of its capacity to increase urinary calcium and to
      facilitate lithogenesis through many other mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to
      verify the effects of moderate protein restriction in hypercalciuric patients.
      DESIGN: We studied 18 patients (10 men and 8 women aged 45.6+/-12.3 y) with
      idiopathic hypercalciuria and renal calculi. Before and after 15 d of a diet with
      0.8 g protein x kg(-1) x d(-1) and 955 mg Ca, all patients were evaluated for the
      main serum and urinary measures of calcium metabolism as well as for urinary uric
      acid, oxalate, citrate, and prostaglandin E2. RESULTS: Urinary excretion of urea
      fell after the diet (P < 0.001). Urinary calcium (P < 0.001), uric acid (P <
      0.005), oxalate (P < 0.01), and hydroxyproline (P < 0.01) decreased after protein
      restriction, whereas urinary citrate increased (P < 0.025). Blood pH increased
      after the hypoproteic diet (P < 0.05). 1,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol)
      concentration fell significantly (P < 0.025) and parathyroid hormone increased (P
      < 0.001). Creatinine clearance tended to decrease (106.4+/-4.8 compared with
      97.5+/-5.7 mL/min) after the diet. The decrease in urinary uric acid after the
      diet correlated with calcitriol concentration (r = 0.57, P < 0.05) and the
      decrease in urinary urea correlated positively with that in hydroxyproline
      excretion (r = 0.58, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In hypercalciuric patients, moderate
      protein restriction decreases calcium excretion, mainly through a reduction in
      bone resorption and renal calcium loss; both are likely due to a decreased
      exogenous acid load. Moreover, dietary protein restriction ameliorates the entire
      lithogenic profile in these patients.

PMID- 9989692
TI  - Serum carotenoids and tocopherols and incidence of age-related nuclear cataract.
AB  - BACKGROUND: It is not known whether the protective effects of antioxidants on
      cataract observed in experimental animals are relevant to age-related opacities
      in humans. OBJECTIVE: The relations of serum carotenoids and tocopherols to the
      incidence of age-related nuclear cataract were investigated in a random sample of
      400 adults, 50-86 y of age, in the Beaver Dam Eye Study. DESIGN: Nuclear opacity
      was assessed by using lens photographs taken at baseline (in 1988-1990) and
      follow-up (in 1993-1995). Nonfasting concentrations of individual carotenoids and
      alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, were determined from serum obtained at baseline. A
      total of 252 persons were eligible for incident cataract, of whom 57 developed
      nuclear cataract in at least one eye. Results were adjusted for age, smoking,
      serum cholesterol, heavy drinking, adiposity, and, in the tocopherol models,
      dietary linoleic acid intake. RESULTS: Only serum tocopherol (the sum of alpha-
      and gamma-tocopherol, in micromol/mmol cholesterol) was associated with cataract.
      For total serum tocopherol, persons in tertile 3 had a lower risk of cataract
      than persons in tertile 1 [odds ratio (OR): 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.9; P = 0.03 for
      linear trend]. Although serum carotenoids were not significantly associated with
      nuclear cataract, marginal inverse associations with lutein (OR: 0.3; 95% CI:
      0.1, 1.2; P = 0.13 for linear trend) and cryptoxanthin (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1,
      1.3; P = 0.11 for linear trend) were suggested in people < or = 65 y of age.
      CONCLUSIONS: Findings were compatible with the possibility that nuclear cataract
      may be linked inversely to vitamin E status, but neither strongly supported nor
      negated the hypothesized inverse association of nuclear cataract with serum
      carotenoids.

PMID- 9989693
TI  - Assessment of total body stores of vitamin A in Guatemalan elderly by the
      deuterated-retinol-dilution method.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Deuterated retinol dilution (DRD) gives quantitative estimates of
      total body stores of vitamin A. OBJECTIVES: In elderly people, we studied 1) the
      time when an oral dose of deuterated vitamin A equilibrates with body stores, 2)
      whether serum ratios of deuterated to nondeuterated retinol (D:H) at 3 or 6 d
      postdosing predicted body stores, and 3) the ability of DRD to detect changes in
      the size of the body vitamin A pool. DESIGN: A 10-mg oral dose of [2H4]retinyl
      acetate was administered to 60-81-y-old Guatemalans (n = 47); percentage
      enrichment of serum retinol with deuterated retinol was determined at 1-3 time
      points per subject at 3, 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, and 54 d. In subjects from whom blood
      was obtained at 3 and 21 d (n = 15) and at 6 and 20 d (n = 9), total body stores
      were calculated by using the formula of Furr et al (Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:713-6)
      with 21- or 20-d data and correlated with serum D:H at 3 or 6 d postdosing. Nine
      subjects received diets containing 982+/-20 microg RE (x+/-SEM) plus 800 microg
      RE as retinyl acetate supplements for 32 d. DRD, serum retinol, and relative dose
      response were used to assess vitamin A status before and after the intervention.
      RESULTS: Deuterated retinol equilibrated with the body pool by 20 d postdosing.
      Vitamin A supplementation for 32 d increased body stores, although unexplained
      exaggerated increases were seen in some subjects. An inverse linear relation was
      found between estimates of body stores and serum D:H at 3 d postdosing (r = 
      0.75, P = 0.002); at 6 d postdosing, the correlation was weaker. CONCLUSIONS: DRD
      can detect changes in total body stores of vitamin A, although factors affecting
      serum D:H need to be elucidated. Serum D:H 3 d postdosing might be used as an
      early indicator of total body stores of vitamin A, although a predictive equation
      will need to be developed.

PMID- 9989694
TI  - Maternal folate status during extended lactation and the effect of supplemental
      folic acid.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Folate requirements during lactation are not well established.
      OBJECTIVE: We assessed the effects of dietary and supplemental folate intakes
      during extended lactation. DESIGN: Lactating women (n = 42) were enrolled in a
      double-blind, randomized, longitudinal supplementation trial and received either
      0 or 1 mg folic acid/d. At 3 and 6 mo postpartum, maternal folate status was
      assessed by measuring erythrocyte, plasma, milk, and dietary folate
      concentrations; plasma homocysteine; and hematologic indexes. Infant
      anthropometric measures of growth, milk intake, and folate intake were also
      assessed. RESULTS: In supplemented women, values at 6 mo for erythrocyte and milk
      folate concentrations and for plasma homocysteine were not significantly
      different from those at 3 mo. In supplemented women compared with unsupplemented
      women at 6 mo, values for erythrocyte folate (840 compared with 667 nmol/L; P <
      0.05), hemoglobin (140 compared with 134 g/L; P < 0.02), and hematocrit (0.41
      compared with 0.39; P < 0.02) were higher and values for reticulocytes were
      lower. In unsupplemented women, milk folate declined from 224 to 187 nmol/L (99
      to 82 ng/mL), whereas plasma homocysteine increased from 6.7 to 7.4 micromol/L.
      Dietary folate intake was not significantly different between groups (380+/-19
      microg/d) and at 6 mo was correlated with plasma homocysteine in unsupplemented
      women (r = -0.53, P < 0.01) and with plasma folate in supplemented women (r =
      0.49, P < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: A dietary folate intake of approximately 380
      microg/d may not be sufficient to prevent mobilization of maternal folate stores
      during lactation.

PMID- 9989695
TI  - Umbilical vessels of preeclamptic women have low contents of both n-3 and n-6
      long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is characterized by enhanced platelet aggregation and
      vasoconstriction and is related to an elevated ratio of thromboxane A2 to
      prostacyclin I2. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether altered eicosanoid production
      in preeclamptic women could be explained by the fatty acid composition of
      umbilical vessel walls and platelets. DESIGN: The fatty acid composition of
      maternal and umbilical platelets and of umbilical arteries and veins in 27
      preeclamptic women and 24 normotensive women was determined. Between-group
      differences were analyzed with linear discriminant analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis
      test, or analysis of covariance with gestational age as the covariate. RESULTS:
      Platelets of preeclamptic women contained lower amounts of 20:5n-3 and a higher
      ratio of 20:4n-6 to 20:5n-3 than did platelets of normotensive women.
      Additionally, linear discriminant analysis revealed higher amounts of 20:4n-6 in
      platelets of preeclamptic women. Umbilical arteries and veins in preeclamptic
      women contained lower amounts of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
      of the n-3 series, n-6 long-chain PUFAs, and 20:3n-6 than did umbilical arteries
      and veins of normotensive women. Umbilical arteries also had lower amounts of
      20:4n-6, higher amounts of 20:3n-9, and a higher ratio of 20:3n-9 to 20:4n-6.
      CONCLUSIONS: Low amounts of long-chain n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in umbilical vessels of
      preeclamptic women with adequate n-6 status may indicate insufficient
      transplacental transfer of long-chain PUFAs. The low amounts of 20:4n-6, high
      amounts of 20:3n-9, and high ratio of 20:3n-9 to 20:4n-6 in umbilical arteries
      may unfavorably affect local prostacyclin production. Low amounts of 20:3n-6 in
      umbilical arteries and veins and low amounts of 20:5n-3 in maternal platelets may
      contribute to the dominance of eicosanoids derived from 20:4n-6.

PMID- 9989696
TI  - Adjustments in energy expenditure and substrate utilization during late pregnancy
      and lactation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Metabolic adjustments occur during pregnancy and lactation to support
      fetal growth and milk synthesis; however, the effect of body composition and
      hormonal milieu on these changes is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized
      that energy metabolism changes during pregnancy and lactation to support fetal
      growth and milk synthesis, and that body composition and hormonal milieu
      influence these alterations. DESIGN: We measured energy expenditure, body
      composition, and hormone, metabolite, and catecholamine concentrations in 76
      women (40 lactating, 36 nonlactating) at 37 wk gestation and 3 and 6 mo
      postpartum. Total energy expenditure (TEE), basal metabolic rate (BMR), sleeping
      metabolic rate (SMR), and minimal SMR (MSMR) were measured with room calorimetry.
      Fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass were estimated with a 4-component model.
      RESULTS: TEE, BMR, SMR, and MSMR were 15-26% higher during pregnancy than
      postpartum after being adjusted for FFM, fat mass, and energy balance. TEE, SMR,
      and MSMR were higher in lactating than in nonlactating women. Fasting serum
      insulin, insulin-like growth factor I, fatty acids, and leptin, and 24-h urinary
      free norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine correlated positively with TEE,
      BMR, SMR, and MSMR. In nonlactating women, the respiratory quotient decreased
      over time, carbohydrate oxidation decreased, and fat oxidation increased.
      Substrate utilization was not influenced by body composition, fasting serum
      hormones, or 24-h urinary catecholamines. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate
      increased energy expenditure and preferential use of carbohydrates during
      pregnancy and lactation. Elevated respiratory quotient and carbohydrate
      utilization during pregnancy continue during lactation, consistent with
      preferential use of glucose by the fetus and mammary gland.

PMID- 9989697
TI  - Relation of circumferences and skinfold thicknesses to lipid and insulin
      concentrations in children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although body fat patterning has been related to adverse health
      outcomes in adults, its importance in children and adolescents is less certain.
      OBJECTIVE: We examined the relation of circumference (waist and hip) and skinfold
      thickness (subscapular and triceps) measurements to lipid and insulin
      concentrations among 2996 children and adolescents aged 5-17 y. DESIGN: This was
      a community-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 1992-1994. RESULTS: A
      central or abdominal distribution of body fat was related to adverse
      concentrations of triacylglycerol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and insulin;
      these associations were independent of race, sex, age, weight, and height. These
      associations were observed whether fat patterning was characterized by using 1)
      waist circumference alone (after adjustment for weight and height), 2) waist-to
      hip ratio, or 3) principal components analysis. Compared with a child at the 10th
      percentile of waist circumference, a child at the 90th percentile was estimated
      to have, on average, higher concentrations of LDL cholesterol (0.17 mmol/L),
      triacylglycerol (0.11 mmol/L), and insulin (6 pmol/L) and lower concentrations of
      HDL cholesterol (-0.07 mmol/L). These differences, which were independent of
      weight and height, were significant at the 0.001 level and were consistent across
      race-sex groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the importance of
      obtaining information on body fat distribution, waist circumference in
      particular, in children. Waist circumference, which is relatively easy to
      measure, may help to identify children likely to have adverse concentrations of
      lipids and insulin.

PMID- 9989698
TI  - Influence of nutritional status on the pharmacokinetics of acetylsalicylic acid
      and its metabolites in children with autoimmune disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether nutritional status associated with autoimmune
      disease alters the pharmacokinetics of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and its
      metabolites. OBJECTIVE: We studied the effects of the nutritional status of
      children with autoimmune disease on the disposition of ASA and its metabolites.
      DESIGN: A prospective, open-label study was performed with 21 children aged 3-15
      y who required ASA therapy. Children received 25 mg ASA/kg orally. Blood samples
      were drawn before and 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 12.0, and 24.0 h after ASA
      administration; urine samples were collected at different intervals. ASA and its
      metabolites were measured in plasma and urine. Nutritional status was assessed
      previously. RESULTS: The ASA maximum plasma concentration, area under the curve,
      and total clearance were significantly lower in underweight children than in
      normal-weight children. The elimination rate constants of gentisic acid (GA),
      salicyluric acid (SUA), and salicylic acid (SA) in plasma were slower for
      underweight children than for normal-weight children. The distribution volume of
      SUA increased significantly (r = 0.92) when the deficit percentage in weight-for
      height increased. Underweight children excreted less GA and SA, but more SUA,
      than did normal-weight children. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest a
      decrease in the hydrolysis and oxidative reactions of the metabolic pathway of
      ASA and its metabolites in underweight children. The study illustrates the need
      for pharmacokinetic data to establish the individual doses of drugs, particularly
      in conditions that alter nutritional status.

PMID- 9989699
TI  - Elevated diet-induced thermogenesis and lipid oxidation rate in Crohn disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although malnutrition is frequently observed in Crohn disease (CD),
      its cause is not clear. Regulation of energy metabolism and diet-induced
      thermogenesis (DIT) have not been adequately studied in CD. OBJECTIVE: The aim
      was to study DIT and substrate oxidation in patients with inactive ileal CD.
      DESIGN: After a test meal providing 50.2 kJ/kg body wt, DIT was assessed by
      indirect calorimetry performed over 360 min in 18 CD patients and 12 healthy
      volunteers matched for age, sex, weight, and height. Body composition was
      evaluated with the labeled-water-bolus injection technique. RESULTS: Fat-free
      mass did not differ significantly between groups, but CD patients had markedly
      lower fat mass than control subjects (13.8+/-5.63 compared with 19.0+/-3.49 kg; P
      < 0.001). Nonprotein respiratory quotient was lower in CD patients than control
      subjects (0.80+/-0.04 compared with 0.86+/-0.03; P < 0.001). Average respiratory
      quotient between 75 and 150 min after the test meal was 0.85+/-0.03 in CD
      patients and 0.91+/-0.02 in control subjects (P < 0.001). Lipid oxidation rate
      was higher in CD patients than in control subjects (2.26+/-1.13 compared with
      1.50+/-0.75 kJ/min; P < 0.05). DIT was higher in CD patients than in control
      subjects (9.89+/-1.93% compared with 5.67+/-0.91% of energy intake; P < 0.001).
      CONCLUSIONS: Patients with inactive ileal CD had significantly higher DIT and
      lipid oxidation rate than do healthy volunteers. These results may explain why CD
      patients have difficulty maintaining adequate nutritional status, and the
      findings also suggest that a diet relatively rich in fat may attain better energy
      balance.

PMID- 9989700
TI  - Influence of the metabolic sequelae of liver cirrhosis on nutritional intake.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The liver plays a central role in ingestive behavior; alterations in
      metabolic signaling to the brain stem as a result of chronic liver disease could
      influence intake. OBJECTIVE: We examined the influence of metabolic sequelae of
      liver disease on nutrient intake and nutritional status. DESIGN: Nutritional
      status and spontaneous dietary intake were examined in 65 cirrhotic patients and
      14 control subjects. The response to feeding was investigated in 14 control
      subjects and a subgroup of 31 cirrhotic patients. Comparisons were made between
      patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and hepatocellular cirrhosis (HC).
      RESULTS: Patients were nutritionally depleted. The fasting rate of lipid
      oxidation in the HC group was greater than in the control group (P < 0.01). In
      the fasting state, only HC patients were hyperinsulinemic [121.2+/-78.5 compared
      with 41.3+/-18.6 pmol/L in control subjects (P < 0.001) and 64.7+/-15.8 pmol/L in
      PBC patients (P < 0.05)] and this persisted during the response to feeding. In
      the fed state, the magnitude of change in carbohydrate oxidation was greatest in
      the HC group (HC: 34.6%; control: 23.1%; PBC: 25.2%). Carbohydrate and energy
      intakes of the HC group were lower than in control subjects (carbohydrate: 193+/
      38.3 compared with 262+/-48.1 g/d, P < 0.05; energy: 6.29+/-1.40 compared with
      9.0+/-2.12 MJ/d, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Reductions in carbohydrate intake could
      be mediated by hyperinsulinemia and compounded by preferential uptake of
      carbohydrate. This may enhance gastrointestinal satiety signaling and contribute
      to hypophagia.

PMID- 9989701
TI  - Improving power with repeated measures.

PMID- 9989702
TI  - Nutritional status and energy metabolism in Crohn disease.

PMID- 9989703
TI  - My valedictory on the differences in biological potency between RRR-alpha
      tocopheryl and all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate.

PMID- 9989704
TI  - Dietary determinants of iron homeostasis.

PMID- 9989705
TI  - So, professor, how will we die?

PMID- 9989706
TI  - The uses of error.

PMID- 9989707
TI  - New antithrombotic treatment in unstable coronary syndrome--for whom?

PMID- 9989708
TI  - Chronic fatigue syndrome and functional hypoadrenia--fighting vainly the old
      ennui.

PMID- 9989709
TI  - Prospects of new therapeutic approaches for Crohn's disease.

PMID- 9989710
TI  - Interpretation of cluster studies of tuberculosis.

PMID- 9989711
TI  - Review of research protocols.

PMID- 9989712
TI  - Effects of recombinant hirudin (lepirudin) compared with heparin on death,
      myocardial infarction, refractory angina, and revascularisation procedures in
      patients with acute myocardial ischaemia without ST elevation: a randomised
      trial. Organisation to Assess Strategies for Ischemic Syndromes (OASIS-2)
      Investigators.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Despite the use of heparin and aspirin, 5-10% of patients with
      unstable angina develop myocardial infarction or refractory angina in hospital.
      We tested the hypothesis that recombinant hirudin (lepirudin), a direct thrombin
      inhibitor, would be superior to heparin, an indirect thrombin inhibitor, in
      patients with acute ischaemic syndromes who were receiving aspirin. METHODS:
      10,141 patients with unstable angina or suspected acute myocardial infarction
      without ST elevation were randomly assigned heparin (5000 units bolus then 15
      units kg(-1) h(-1); n=5058) or hirudin (0.4 mg/kg bolus then 0.15 mg kg(-1) h(-1)
      infusion; n=5083) for 72 h in a double-blind trial. The primary outcome measure
      was cardiovascular death or new myocardial infarction at 7 days. Analysis was by
      intention to treat. FINDINGS: At 7 days, 213 (4.2%) patients in the heparin group
      and 182 (3.6%) in the hirudin group had experienced cardiovascular death or new
      myocardial infarction (relative risk 0.84 [95% CI 0.69-1.02]; p=0.077). The
      numbers with cardiovascular death, new myocardial infarction, or refractory
      angina at 7 days were 340 (6.7%) with heparin and 284 (5.6%) with hirudin (0.82
      [0.70-0.96]; p=0.0125). These differences were primarily observed during the 72 h
      treatment period (cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction relative risk
      0.76 [0.59-0.99], p=0.039: cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or
      refractory angina 0.78 [0.63-0.96], p=0.019). Although there was an excess of
      major bleeding requiring transfusion with hirudin (59 [1.2%] vs 34 [0.7%] with
      heparin; p=0.01), there was no excess in life-threatening episodes (20 in each
      group) or strokes (14 in each group). INTERPRETATION: The data from OASIS-2
      suggest that recombinant hirudin is superior to heparin in preventing
      cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and refractory angina with an
      acceptable safety profile in patients with unstable angina or acute myocardial
      infarction without ST elevation. Thus, a direct thrombin inhibitor is more
      effective than an indirect thrombin inhibitor.

PMID- 9989713
TI  - Effectiveness of active physical training as treatment for long-standing adductor
      related groin pain in athletes: randomised trial.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Groin pain is common among athletes. A major cause of long-standing
      problems is adductor-related groin pain. The purpose of this randomised clinical
      trial was to compare an active training programme (AT) with a physiotherapy
      treatment without active training (PT) in the treatment of adductor-related groin
      pain in athletes. METHODS: 68 athletes with long-standing (median 40 weeks)
      adductor-related groin pain--after examination according to a standardised
      protocol--were randomly assigned to AT or PT. The treatment period was 8-12
      weeks. 4 months after the end of treatment a standardised examination was done.
      The examining physician was unaware of the treatment allocation. The ultimate
      outcome measure was full return to sports at the same level without groin pain.
      Analyses were by intention to treat. FINDINGS: 23 patients in the AT group and
      four in the PT group returned to sports without groin pain (odds ratio, multiple
      logistic-regression analysis, 12.7 [95% CI 3.4-47.2]). The subjective global
      assessments of the effect of the treatments showed a significant (p=0.006) linear
      trend towards a better effect in the AT group. A per-protocol analysis did not
      show appreciably different results. INTERPRETATION: AT with a programme aimed at
      improving strength and coordination of the muscles acting on the pelvis, in
      particular the adductor muscles, is very effective in the treatment of athletes
      with long-standing adductor-related groin pain. The potential preventive value of
      a short programme based upon the principles of AT should be assessed in future,
      randomised, clinical trials.

PMID- 9989714
TI  - Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from patients smear-negative for acid
      fast bacilli.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The microscopic examination of sputum for acid-fast bacilli, is a
      simple and rapid test that is used to provide a presumptive diagnosis of
      infectious tuberculosis. While patients with tuberculosis with sputum smears
      negative for acid-fast bacilli are less infectious than those with positive
      smears, both theoretical and empirical evidence suggest that they can still
      transmit Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We aimed to estimate the risk of
      transmission from smear-negative individuals. METHODS: As part of an ongoing
      study of the molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in San Francisco, patients
      with tuberculosis with mycobacterial isolates with the same DNA fingerprint were
      assigned to clusters that were assumed to have involved recent transmission.
      Secondary cases with tuberculosis, whose mycobacterial isolates had the same DNA,
      were linked to their presumed source case to estimate transmission from smear
      negative patients. Sensitivity analyses were done to assess potential bias due to
      misclassification of source cases, unidentified source cases, and HIV-1 co
      infection. FINDINGS: 1574 patients with culture-positive tuberculosis were
      reported and DNA fingerprints were available for 1359 (86%) of these patients. Of
      the 71 clusters of patients infected with strains that had matching fingerprints,
      28 (39% [95% CI 28-52]) had a smear-negative putative source. There were 183
      secondary cases in these 71 clusters, of whom a minimum of 32 were attributed to
      infection by smear-negative patients (17% [12-24]). The relative transmission
      rate of smear-negative compared with smear-positive patients was calculated as
      0.22 (95% CI 0.16-0.32). Sensitivity analyses and stratification for HIV-1 status
      had no impact on these estimates. INTERPRETATION: In San Francisco, the acid-fast
      bacilli smear identifies the most infectious patients, but patients with smear
      negative culture-positive tuberculosis appear responsible for about 17% of
      tuberculosis transmission.

PMID- 9989715
TI  - Age of entry to day nursery and allergy in later childhood.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Infections in early childhood may prevent allergies in later life. If
      this hypothesis is true, early exposure to childcare outside the home would
      protect against atopy by promotion of cross infections. We investigated whether
      children who attend a nursery at a young age have a lower rate of atopy and fewer
      allergies than children who attend from an older age. METHODS: In a cross
      sectional study carried out in 1992-93, we examined 2471 children in three age
      groups (5-7, 8-10, and 11-14 years) from the towns of Bitterfeld, Hettstedt, and
      Zerbst in eastern Germany. The children's parents answered a questionnaire about
      allergies and symptoms, attendance at day care, and related factors.
      Sensitisation was assessed by skin-prick tests and measurement of allergen
      specific IgE antibodies in serum. FINDINGS: In 669 children from small families
      (up to three people), the prevalence of atopy was higher among children who
      started to attend day nursery at an older age than in those who started to attend
      at a younger age (p<0.05). Compared with children who first attended at age 6-11
      months, the adjusted odds ratios for a positive skin-prick test were 1.99 (95% CI
      1.08-3.66) for children who attended at age 12-23 months and 2.72 (1.37-5.40) for
      those who attended at age 24 months and older. In 1761 children from large
      families (more than three people), age of entry to day nursery had no effect on
      atopy. INTERPRETATION: Our findings accord with the hypothesis that early
      infection may protect against allergies in later life.

PMID- 9989716
TI  - Low-dose hydrocortisone in chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomised crossover
      trial.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Reports of mild hypocortisolism in chronic fatigue syndrome led us to
      postulate that low-dose hydrocortisone therapy may be an effective treatment.
      METHODS: In a randomised crossover trial, we screened 218 patients with chronic
      fatigue. 32 patients met our strict criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome without
      co-morbid psychiatric disorder. The eligible patients received consecutive
      treatment with low-dose hydrocortisone (5 mg or 10 mg daily) for 1 month and
      placebo for 1 month; the order of treatment was randomly assigned. Analysis was
      by intention to treat. FINDINGS: None of the patients dropped out. Compared with
      the baseline self-reported fatigue scores (mean 25.1 points), the score fell by
      7.2 points for patients on hydrocortisone and by 3.3 points for those on placebo
      (paired difference in mean scores 4.5 points [95% CI 1.2-7.7], p=0.009). In nine
      (28%) of the 32 patients on hydrocortisone, fatigue scores reached a predefined
      cut-off value similar to the normal population score, compared with three (9%) of
      the 32 on placebo (Fisher's exact test p=0.05). The degree of disability was
      reduced with hydrocortisone treatment, but not with placebo. Insulin stress tests
      showed that endogenous adrenal function was not suppressed by hydrocortisone.
      Minor side-effects were reported by three patients after hydrocortisone treatment
      and by one patient after placebo. INTERPRETATION: In some patients with chronic
      fatigue syndrome, low-dose hydrocortisone reduces fatigue levels in the short
      term. Treatment for a longer time and follow-up studies are needed to find out
      whether this effect could be clinically useful.

PMID- 9989717
TI  - Tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1beta in relapse of Crohn's disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines are increased in the
      intestinal mucosa of patients with active Crohn's disease. Experimental
      immunotherapeutic interventions with anticytokine agents in refractory Crohn's
      disease show that tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) may be an important
      mediator of inflammation. We investigated the relation between production of TNF
      alpha and interleukin 1beta by mononuclear cells of the colonic lamina propria in
      patients with remitting Crohn's disease and the risk of relapse. METHODS: We
      followed up 137 patients with Crohn's disease in steroid-induced remission for 1
      year. Secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha [TNF
      alpha] and interleukin 1beta) was assessed after short-term culture of human
      lamina propria mononuclear cells. FINDINGS: Increased secretion of TNF alpha and
      interleukin 1beta were predictive for acute relapses within the next year. Site
      and extent of disease, baseline demographics, and serum acute-phase proteins had
      little predictive value. INTERPRETATION: TNF alpha is important as a target
      molecule for immune interventions in Crohn's disease. The capacity to produce TNF
      alpha or interleukin 1beta may identify patients who would benefit from anti
      inflammatory remission maintenance.

PMID- 9989718
TI  - Medline solution.

PMID- 9989719
TI  - Risk of new AIDS diseases in people on triple therapy.

PMID- 9989720
TI  - Lack of sex difference in CD4 to HIV-1 RNA viral load ratio.

PMID- 9989721
TI  - Contraceptive potential of peptide antibiotics.

PMID- 9989722
TI  - Methionine homozygosity at prion gene codon 129 may predispose to sporadic
      inclusion-body myositis.

PMID- 9989723
TI  - A harmful aid to stopping smoking.

PMID- 9989724
TI  - Acute renal failure after ibutilide.

PMID- 9989725
TI  - Recapitulation of menstrual migraine with tamoxifen.

PMID- 9989726
TI  - Polymorphisms of paraoxonase genes and low-density lipoprotein lipid
      peroxidation.

PMID- 9989727
TI  - Verbal self-monitoring and auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.

PMID- 9989728
TI  - Haemopoietic, thrombopoietic, and vascular endothelial growth factor in space.

PMID- 9989729
TI  - New results may help design effective HIV-1 vaccine.

PMID- 9989730
TI  - Alfred Cuschieri: pioneer of minimal access therapies.

PMID- 9989731
TI  - Time for the General Medical Council to protect UK patients.

PMID- 9989732
TI  - British surgeons give a warning for the future of transplant surgery.

PMID- 9989734
TI  - WHO reveals strategy for its "way ahead".

PMID- 9989733
TI  - United Nations opens gender coordinating unit for Afghanistan.

PMID- 9989735
TI  - Deep-vein thrombosis.
AB  - Deep-vein thrombosis is an important complication of several inherited and
      acquired disorders, but may also occur spontaneously. Prevention of recurrent
      venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism is the main reason for accurate
      diagnosis and adequate treatment. This seminar discusses only symptomatic deep
      vein thrombosis. The diagnosis can be confirmed by objective tests in only about
      30% of patients with symptoms. Venous thromboembolic complications happen in less
      than 1% of untreated patients in whom the presence of venous thrombosis is
      rejected on the basis of serial ultrasonography or ultrasonography plus either D
      dimer or clinical score. Initial anticoagulant treatment (intravenous or
      subcutaneous heparin) should continue until oral anticoagulant treatment, started
      concurrently, increases the international normalised ratio above 2.0 for more
      than 24 h. The optimum duration of oral anticoagulant treatment is unresolved,
      but may be guided by the presence of temporary or persistent risk factors or
      presentation with recurrent venous thromboembolism.

PMID- 9989736
TI  - Looking beyond the next patient: sociology and modern health care.

PMID- 9989737
TI  - How can medical journals help prevent poor medical research? Some opportunities
      presented by electronic publishing.

PMID- 9989738
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989739
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989740
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989741
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989742
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989743
TI  - Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9989744
TI  - Management of acute myocardial infarction.

PMID- 9989745
TI  - Management of acute myocardial infarction.

PMID- 9989746
TI  - Interferon alfa for chronic hepatitis C infection.

PMID- 9989747
TI  - Interferon alfa for chronic hepatitis C infection.

PMID- 9989748
TI  - Making sense of hepatitis C.

PMID- 9989749
TI  - Prospective, randomised trial of sleep deprived versus rested surgeons.

PMID- 9989750
TI  - Principles of epidemiological research on drug effects.

PMID- 9989751
TI  - Principles of epidemiological research on drug effects.

PMID- 9989752
TI  - Mercury in hair--but from where?

PMID- 9989753
TI  - Global health research and INCLEN. International Clinical Epidemiology Network.

PMID- 9989754
TI  - Global epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

PMID- 9989755
TI  - Privation and injustice in North Korea.

PMID- 9989756
TI  - The anomaly of Santa Rosa.

PMID- 9989759
TI  - The Nobel chronicles. 1937: Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi (1893-1986).

PMID- 9989760
TI  - Vitamin D3 derivatives (deltanoids) in the treatment of tumor cell invasion.

PMID- 9989761
TI  - Metabolic consequences of the West African diaspora: lessons from the thrifty
      gene.

PMID- 9989762
TI  - Pharmacology of hemoglobin therapeutics.

PMID- 9989763
TI  - 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits in vitro invasiveness through the
      extracellular matrix and in vivo pulmonary metastasis of B16 mouse melanoma.
AB  - We investigated the role of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1alpha,25(OH)2D3) in
      modulating tumor cell invasiveness through the extracellular matrix (ECM) and
      pulmonary metastasis in B16 mouse melanoma. The pretreatment of B16 cells for 48
      hours with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 significantly inhibited in vitro invasiveness through
      the ECM by a mechanism that is not directly correlated with the inhibition of
      cell proliferation. When cells were treated with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 for only 8
      hours during the assay, no inhibitory effect was observed, suggesting that
      pretreatment with the hormone for more than 8 hours is necessary to inhibit the
      invasive potential of B16 cells. The activity of B16 cells to adhere to
      reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) and type IV collagenolysis was
      inhibited by pretreatment of the cells with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 for 48 hours. Cell
      motility was not influenced by the hormone. Mice were inoculated subcutaneously
      with 3 x 106 B16 cells and were given 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 (0.5 microg/kg) or vehicle
      daily for 28 days, beginning 1 day after tumor inoculation. In the
      1alpha,25(OH)2D3-treated group, no significant inhibition in exponential tumor
      growth, body weight, and serum level of calcium was observed until the twenty
      eighth day. The mean serum concentration of the hormone was about 50 ng/mL, and
      there were no significant changes in its concentration during the treatment
      period. In both spontaneous and experimental metastasis models of tumor-bearing
      mice, treatment with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 inhibited pulmonary metastasis. These
      findings suggest that 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 acts on B16 cells, inhibiting invasiveness
      through the ECM that is caused by the inhibition of cell adhesion to the ECM and
      the degradation of the ECM by the cells. 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 may have the potential
      to inhibit metastasis by a mechanism that is not exclusively based on its anti
      cell proliferative effect.

PMID- 9989764
TI  - Serum-induced platelet procoagulant activity: an assay for the characterization
      of prothrombotic disorders.
AB  - Platelets contribute to hemostasis by forming a platelet plug and by providing a
      procoagulant surface for the assembly and activation of the coagulation factors.
      The contribution of platelets to prothrombotic disorders has been difficult to
      analyze. Recently an assay was reported that measured the procoagulant activity
      of test platelets by making the platelet lipid surface the limiting factor in the
      production of thrombin. In this report we describe a novel technique, based on
      this assay, that we used to study patient serum factors that activate control
      platelets and in turn initiate measurable procoagulant activity. Using this assay
      we investigated a group of patients with prothrombotic disorders. The patient
      test serum was incubated with normal platelets in the presence of activated
      factor Xa. The resultant thrombin was measured in a chromogenic assay. The rate
      limiting step was the presence of any potential platelet-activating factors, such
      as antibodies in the heat-treated test serum, that would allow the Xa to bind to
      the platelet phospholipid surface. Serum samples from patients with heparin
      induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and the anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome
      enhanced platelet procoagulant activity, while samples from patients with
      idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and disseminated intravascular coagulation
      (DIC) did not. HIT serum samples also induced platelet activation, as measured by
      platelet microparticle shedding, carbon 14-labeled serotonin release, and
      platelet aggregation. The measurement of serum-induced platelet procoagulant
      activity provides a method for the investigation of circulating platelet agonists
      in prothrombotic disorders.

PMID- 9989765
TI  - Angiotensin II receptor blockade limits kidney injury in two-kidney, one-clip
      Goldblatt hypertensive rats with special reference to phenotypic changes.
AB  - Recent evidence indicates that tubulointerstitial injury plays an important role
      in hypertensive kidney injury and that phenotypic changes contribute to this
      pathology. Moreover, angiotensin II is known to be actively involved in the
      pathogenesis of progressive kidney injury induced by hypertension. The present
      study was undertaken to see the effect of a newly developed angiotensin II type I
      receptor (AT1 receptor) antagonist on hypertension-induced kidney injury and to
      determine the contribution of phenotypic changes to morphologic alterations. Two
      kidney, one-clip (2K1C), Goldblatt hypertensive rats (n = 27) were made by
      clipping the left renal artery. These animals were orally administered 57G709 (a
      selective non-peptide AT1 receptor antagonist)(10 mg/kg/day), captopril (20
      mg/kg/day), or vehicle alone for 23 days beginning 4 weeks after clipping. In the
      non-clipped kidney of vehicle-treated 2K1 C rats, marked tubulointerstitial
      injury as well as glomerular sclerosis and/or hyalinosis was found in association
      with phenotypic changes, as shown by the neoexpression of vimentin in
      periglomeruli, perivascular walls, distal tubuli, and injured interstitium. Renin
      expression was markedly suppressed in the non-clipped kidneys of vehicle-treated
      2K1C rats as compared with renin expression in normotensive control kidneys of
      sham-operated rats. Both 57G709 and captopril markedly ameliorated hypertensive
      kidney injury as reflected by the glomerular sclerosing index and by the
      tubulointerstitial index as determined by the point-counting method, and this
      improvement was accompanied by a significant decrease in blood pressure, urinary
      protein excretion, kidney/body weight ratio, and heart/body weight ratio. In
      addition, the vimentin neoexpression mentioned above was also suppressed with an
      inhibition of angiotensin II. These results suggest that in 2K1C Goldblatt
      hypertensive kidney injury, the AT1 receptor antagonist 57G709 exerts a potent
      renal protective effect associated with the inhibition of phenotypic changes.

PMID- 9989766
TI  - Activation of an iron uptake mechanism from transferrin in hepatocytes by small
      molecular-weight iron complexes: implications for the pathogenesis of iron
      overload disease.
AB  - The liver is one of the principal sites of iron overload in diseases such as
      hemochromatosis and beta thalassemia. Hence, much effort has been invested in
      examining the mechanisms of Fe uptake by hepatocytes. In the present study we
      have examined the effect of small molecular weight (M(r)) Fe complexes on Fe
      uptake from iron 59-labeled transferrin (Tf) and 59Fe-labeled citrate by primary
      cultures of hepatocytes. This was important to assess because Fe-citrate and
      saturated diferric Tf coexist in the serum of patients with untreated Fe
      overload. Preincubation of hepatocytes with the low-M(r) Fe complex ferric
      ammonium citrate (FAC; 25 microg/mL; (Fe) = 4.4 microg/mL) followed by incubation
      with 59Fe-Tf or 59Fe-citrate ((Fe) = 0.25 to 25 micromol/L) resulted in the
      marked stimulation of 59Fe uptake. For example, at a physiologically relevant Tf
      Fe concentration of 25 micromol/L, there was an 8-fold increase in 59Fe uptake by
      cells incubated with FAC compared to control cells. In contrast, at Tf-Fe
      concentrations of 0.25 to 2.5 micromol/L, 59Fe uptake in FAC-treated cells was
      only 1-fold to 3-fold greater than that in the corresponding controls. These data
      suggest that the FAC-activated Fe uptake process predominates at physiologically
      relevant Tf concentrations above the saturation of the Tf receptor (TfR). This is
      the first study to demonstrate that preincubation of hepatocytes with Iow-M(r)Fe
      complexes can markedly increase Fe uptake from diferric Tf. In conclusion, these
      results may help to explain the loading of hepatocytes with Fe that occurs in Fe
      overload disease despite marked down-regulation of the TfR.

PMID- 9989767
TI  - Increased sialylation of polymeric immunoglobulin A1: mechanism of selective
      glomerular deposition in immunoglobulin A nephropathy?
AB  - Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by raised serum IgA and
      predominant mesangial IgA deposits of polymeric nature. The abnormal
      glycosylation of the carbohydrate moieties in the hinge region of the IgA
      molecule has recently attracted much attention. In this study we investigated the
      galactosylation and sialylation of monomeric and polymeric IgA1 isolated from
      patients with IgAN. Total IgA1 in serum samples from patients with IgAN or from
      healthy controls was isolated with a jacalin-agarose column as jacalin-bound
      protein (JBP). Monomeric and polymeric IgA1 were distinctly separated by fast
      protein liquid chromatography. Lectin binding assays were designed to examine the
      sialylation and the expression of terminal galactose and N-acetyl galactosamine
      of the O-linked carbohydrate in the hinge region of the IgA molecule. Reduced
      terminal galactosylation was demonstrated in serum IgA and monomeric IgA1
      isolated from patients with IgAN as compared with results in healthy control
      subjects. However, a reduction in terminal galactosylation was not found in
      polymeric IgA1 isolated from patients with IgAN. Instead, increased sialylation
      of IgA1 (alpha2-3 linked to galactose) was demonstrated in polymeric IgA1. This
      abnormality of IgA1 could bear considerable implication on the pathogenesis of
      IgAN, because the masking effect of sialic acid may hinder the clearance of
      polymeric IgA1 by the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) of the liver cells. An
      increase in the sialylated content would also render the polymeric IgA from
      patients with IgAN more anionic. These immunochemical properties may contribute
      to the selective glomerular deposition of polymeric IgA1 in IgAN.

PMID- 9989768
TI  - Orally administered dextran sulfate is absorbed in HIV-positive individuals.
AB  - Preliminary in vivo studies suggested that oral dextran sulfate was poorly
      absorbed, but investigations were limited by inadequate methods for measuring the
      drug in the body. To determine absorption in HIV-positive subjects, hydrogenated
      dextran sulfate, average molecular weight 8000 (Usherdex 8), was orally
      administered in a short-term (single dose, 4 g/day for 5 days, 7 subjects) and in
      a long-term study (1 g, 4 times per day for 29 to 335 days, 8 subjects), which
      was a continuation of the short-term study with the inclusion of an additional
      subject. When an agarose gel electrophoresis technique with toluidine blue
      staining was used, the drug was recovered from plasma (67%, peak 2.2 microg/mL)
      and circulating peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) samples (50%, peak 333 microg/L
      blood) obtained at 5 and 15 minutes and 1, 3, 6, and 24 hours after the first
      day's dose and from plasma (56%) and PBL samples (38%) obtained 5 minutes after
      administration on 4 subsequent days in the short-term study. In the long-term
      study, the drug was found in plasma (67%, peak 2.4 microg/mL) and PBL samples
      (25%, peak 126 microg/L blood) obtained at monthly visits within 4 hours of the
      last dose. The drug was found in all urine samples from all subjects in both
      studies (short-term study, 24-hour samples up to 4 days after the final dose;
      long-term study, monthly samples within 4 hours of the last dose). In the long
      term study, bone marrow preparations from 3 subjects showed metachromatic
      inclusions present in reticular cells when the cells were stained with toluidine
      blue, indicating the presence of sulfated polyanions. A significant rise in
      activated partial thromboplastin time and a drop in platelet count (P < .025)
      were demonstrated, with thrombocytopenia developing in 3 patients. Mild-to
      moderate gastrointestinal disturbances were experienced by 6 subjects in the
      short-term study and by all subjects in the long-term study. One subject
      experienced mild central nervous system symptoms in the short-term study. These
      results indicate that dextran sulfate is absorbed after oral administration;
      therefore, further studies on its efficacy, particularly in the early stages of
      the disease, along with additional observations on its toxicity, are warranted.

PMID- 9989769
TI  - Comparison of the rates of exchange of lead in the blood of newly born infants
      and their mothers with lead from their current environment.
AB  - Newly born infants (n = 15) were monitored for 6 months after birth or for longer
      periods to evaluate the changes in isotopic composition and lead concentration in
      infants as compared with that in women from the same population groups and to
      determine the clearance rates of lead from blood in the infants. These data
      represent the first published results for serial blood sampling in a relatively
      large cohort of newly born infants. Blood lead concentrations decrease from the
      cord to samples taken at 60 to 90 days and then increase by amounts varying from
      negligible to 166%. In spite of concern about individual susceptibility to lead
      pharmacokinetics, changes in isotopic ratio followed a smooth decrease over time
      for 9 of the 11 infants born to migrant parents, and the patterns of variation
      were quite reproducible. Data for 2 of 4 infants born to multigenerational
      Australian parents exhibited little change in isotopic ratio over time, and in
      the other two cases, the changes were attributed to diet. The rate of exchange
      (t1/2) for the migrant infants of lead in blood derived from the mother during
      pregnancy and the lead from the current environment was calculated by using a
      linear function and ranged from 65 to 131 (91+/-19, mean+/-SD) days. The half
      lives for the exchange of skeletal and environmental lead for 7 of the 8 women
      before significant mobilization of lead from the maternal skeleton ranged from 50
      to 66 (59+/-6) days. One explanation for the longer half-lives for infants as
      compared with the mothers may be the proportionally higher contribution of
      current environmental (Australian) lead in the infants at parturition. Exchanges
      of lead in infants are more complex than for the adults, reflecting inputs from
      sources such as maternal skeletal lead during breast feeding.

PMID- 9989770
TI  - Cardioprotective effect of alpha-tocopherol, ascorbate, deferoxamine, and
      deferiprone: mitochondrial function in cultured, iron-loaded heart cells.
AB  - Because mitochondrial inner membrane respiratory complexes are important targets
      of iron toxicity, we used iron-loaded rat heart cells in culture to study the
      beneficial effect on mitochondrial enzymes of the iron chelators deferoxamine
      (DFO) and deferiprone (L1) and of antioxidants and reducing agents (ascorbate and
      alpha-tocopherol). Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-cytochrome c
      oxidoreductase (complex I-III) and succinate dehydrogenase were the most
      sensitive indicators of iron toxicity and cardioprotective effect. Although at
      concentrations below 0.3 mmol/L the iron-mobilizing effect of L1 was less than
      that of DFO, both were equally effective in protecting or restoring mitochondrial
      respiratory enzyme activity. At 1.0 mmol/L, L1 toxicity was manifested in
      respiratory enzyme inhibition, whereas DFO had no such effect. Ascorbate (0.057
      to 5.7 mmol/L) had a mild cardioprotective effect at the highest concentration
      only, in association with decreased cellular iron uptake. By contrast, alpha
      tocopherol (0.023 mmol/L) completely inhibited mitochondrial iron toxicity
      without affecting iron uptake or release, and irrespective of whether it was used
      before, during, or after in vitro iron loading. These observations illustrate the
      usefulness and limitations of iron chelators and other agents used for preventing
      iron toxicity to the heart and other vital organs, and they underline the need
      for exploring in more detail the effects of these agents in the clinical setting.

PMID- 9989771
TI  - Potential effect of the administration of substance P and allergen therapy on
      immunoglobulin E-mediated allergic reactions in human subjects.
AB  - Previously we observed and reported that immunoglobulin E-mediated (IgE-mediated)
      allergy in rhesus monkeys was decreased by the administration of substance P (SP)
      and an allergen. We extended these studies to human subjects, giving SP and 1
      allergen to subjects with reactivity to more than 1 allergen, using reactivity to
      a second allergen as a control. SP and an allergen were initially given by
      aerosol delivery but subsequently were given by injection. The administration of
      SP and 1 allergen by aerosol delivery or injection resulted in decreased IgE
      mediated reactivity to the allergen administered and also to the control
      allergen. This result occurred in 7 of 8 human subjects. The 2 initial subjects
      receiving 8 SP and allergen injections had a sharp reduction in their symptoms of
      ragweed hay fever lasting for 3 years to date. No significant reactions to the
      injection of SP occurred. Further controlled human research is necessary on the
      administration of SP and allergen and the mechanisms of action. Unexpected and
      serendipitous results first observed in rhesus monkeys and reproduced in allergic
      human subjects provide a new and potential mechanism for control and perhaps
      obliteration of common IgE-mediated allergies and even more-serious allergic
      problems.

PMID- 9989772
TI  - Activation and adherence of lyophilized human platelets on canine vessel strips
      in the Baumgartner perfusion chamber.
AB  - The Baumgartner perfusion technique was used to test the ability of rehydrated
      lyophilized human platelets to adhere to the thrombogenic surface of a denuded
      arterial vessel segment and to undergo platelet activation under conditions of
      high shear. Twenty preparations of washed platelets were stabilized by 1-hour or
      2-hour exposure to paraformaldehyde before freeze-drying in a Virtis 600
      lyophilizer. The response of these fixed-dried preparations was compared with
      that of non-fixed platelets in fresh citrated whole blood. The outcome of each
      perfusion experiment was quantified in photomicrographs by morphometric
      estimation of the percent area of the vessel segment covered by adherent
      platelets after immunofluorescent staining with monoclonal antibodies to
      glycoprotein Ib (CD42) or glycoprotein IIbIIIa (CD41a). Evidence of activation in
      nonadherent platelets was examined by flow cytometry for CD62 and GP53
      expression. In addition, thromboxane B2 was measured by radioimmunoassay as an
      index of platelet responsiveness to activation conditions during perfusion. The
      percent vessel coverage observed with lyophilized platelets in recombined whole
      blood was somewhat less than that of platelets in fresh whole blood (39% vs 73%,
      respectively). In other perfusion experiments performed with non-denuded vessel
      segments, the percent coverage was reduced by half or more for both types of
      platelet preparation. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the lyophilized
      platelets did not adhere to areas of intact endothelium. Furthermore, the
      lyophilized platelets showed a small-but-significant rise in CD62 or CD63
      activation antigen expression and generated thromboxane B2 at about one third the
      rate of fresh platelets in these perfusion experiments. The thromboxane
      generation during perfusion was inhibited in fresh or lyophilized platelet
      preparations by pretreatment with indomethacin or PGE-1. We interpret these data
      as evidence of the ability of our lyophiilized platelet preparations to respond
      at least partially to physiologic stimuli and to adhere to appropriate
      thrombogenic sites to support hemostasis.

PMID- 9989773
TI  - Immunocytochemical localization of latent transforming growth factor-beta1
      activation by stimulated macrophages.
AB  - Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta) is secreted in a latent form
      consisting of mature TGF-beta noncovalently associated with its amino-terminal
      propeptide, which is called latency associated peptide (LAP). Biological activity
      depends upon the release of TGF-beta from the latent complex following
      extracellular activation, which appears to be the key regulatory mechanism
      controlling TGF-beta action. We have identified two events associated with latent
      TGF-beta (LTGF-beta) activation in vivo: increased immunoreactivity of certain
      antibodies that specifically detect TGF-beta concomitant with decreased
      immunoreactivity of antibodies to LAP. Macrophages stimulated in vitro with
      interferon-gamma and lipopolysaccharide reportedly activate LTGF-beta via cell
      membrane-bound protease activity. We show through dual immunostaining of
      paraformaldehyde-fixed macrophages that such physiological TGF-beta activation is
      accompanied by a loss of LAP immunoreactivity with concomitant revelation of TGF
      beta epitopes. The induction of TGF-beta immunoreactivity colocalized with
      immunoreactive betaglycan/RIII in activated macrophages, suggesting that LTGF
      beta activation occurs on the cell surface. Confocal microscopy of metabolically
      active macrophages incubated with antibodies to TGF-beta and betaglycan/RIII
      prior to fixation supported the localization of activation to the cell surface.
      The ability to specifically detect and localize LTGF-beta activation provides an
      important tool for studies of its regulation.

PMID- 9989774
TI  - Lamin A is part of the internal nucleoskeleton of human erythroleukemia cells.
AB  - Nuclear lamins are the most abundant components of the nuclear lamina, a 10-50-nm
      thick fibrous layer underlying the inner nuclear envelope membrane. Nevertheless,
      a number of recent investigations performed on epithelial and fibroblast cells
      have suggested that nuclear lamins are also present within the nucleoplasm and
      could be important constituents of the nucleoskeleton. We have studied the
      subnuclear distribution of lamins A and B1 in human erythroleukemia cells by
      using immunoblotting analysis and immunofluorescent staining of fractionated
      nuclei. In intact cells and isolated nuclei, antibodies to lamins A and B1 mainly
      stained the nuclear periphery, although some immunoreactivity was detected in the
      nuclear interior. However, when chromatin was removed by nuclease digestion and
      extraction with nonionic detergent or solutions of high ionic strength, a
      previously masked immunoreactivity for lamin A, but not for lamin B1, became
      evident in the internal part of the residual structures representing the nuclear
      matrix or scaffold. Preferential localization of lamin A to the inner part of the
      nucleus was also demonstrated by the presence of the majority of lamin A in the
      solubilized inner nuclear network subfraction. In contrast, lamin B1 was mainly
      recovered in the fraction corresponding to the nuclear periphery. Double labeling
      experiments showed that lamin A, but not lamin B1, colocalized with coiled and
      GATA-1 bodies. Thus, our results support the hypothesis that lamin A, but not
      lamin B1, may be a component of an internal nucleoskeleton in human
      erythroleukemia cells.

PMID- 9989775
TI  - Efficacy and specificity of antisense laminin chain-specific expression vectors
      in blocking laminin induction by TGFbeta1: effect of laminin blockade on TGFbeta1
      mediated cellular responses.
AB  - Transforming growth factorbeta1 (TGFbeta1) elicits a multitude of cellular
      responses from the epithelial-derived human colon cancer Moser cells. TGFbeta1
      induces the expression of laminin and fibronectin, and previous studies show that
      the induction of fibronectin is functionally associated with the regulation of
      carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) expression by TGFbeta1 (Huang and Chakrabarty,
      1994, J Biol Chem 269:28764-28768). In this study we constructed antisense
      laminin chain-specific expression vectors and determined their efficacy in
      blocking the expression and the induction of the large multichain laminin
      molecule by TGFbeta1. We also determined the functional role of laminin in
      several TGFbeta1-mediated responses: growth inhibition, downmodulation of
      anchorage-independent growth, and cellular invasion. Expression of either
      antisense laminin chain A, B1, or B2 RNA resulted in a downmodulation of
      endogenous laminin mRNA expression and blocked the induction of laminin protein
      by TGFbeta1 without affecting the induction of other adhesion molecules such as
      fibronectin or CEA. It is concluded that antisense RNA directed to only one of
      the laminin chains was sufficient to disrupt the induction of the complex laminin
      molecule in quite a specific manner. Expression of antisense laminin RNA
      downregulated cellular adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) laminin and blocked
      the ability of TGFbeta1 to upmodulate adhesion to ECM laminin. Expression of
      antisense laminin RNA, however, did not alter the downregulating effect of
      TGFbeta1 on cellular proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, or cellular
      invasion, suggesting that the induction of laminin did not play a significant
      functional role in these TGFbeta1-mediated cellular responses. It is likely that
      other adhesion pathways may be involved in mediating the action of TGFbeta1 in
      this cell line.

PMID- 9989776
TI  - Comparative effects of TGFbeta on proliferation of 7- and 14-day-old chick embryo
      fibroblasts and lack of involvement of the ODC/PA system in the TGFbeta signaling
      pathway.
AB  - The growth regulatory activity of transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) on
      chick embryo skin fibroblasts was compared in two developmental ages, days 7 and
      14. The time course of 3H-thymidine incorporation, an S-phase marker of
      replication, was determined during 36 hr of TGFbeta treatment. Seven-day-old
      cells showed a prereplicative phase of 6 hr, and 14-day-old cells showed a
      prereplicative phase of 12 hr. DNA synthesis peaked at 24 hr in 7-day-old
      fibroblasts and was 10 times higher than that in 14-day-old fibroblasts.
      Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and content of the natural polyamines
      spermine (Spm), spermidine (Spd), and putrescine (Put) differed during cell
      cycle. ODC activity peaked at 12 hr in 7-day-old cells and at 6 hr in 14-day-old
      cells. Its level was two times higher at day 7 and was associated with a greater
      content of ODC mRNA. The maximum of polyamine (PA) concentration was determined
      after 12 hr of treatment in 7-day-old cells and after 36 hr in 14-day-old cells.
      These findings indicate that the TGFbeta proliferative response of embryo
      fibroblasts changes during development and is associated with activation of the
      ODC/PA system. Cotreatment with alpha-difluoromethylornithine, an enzyme
      activated irreversible inhibitor of ODC, did not reduced growth rate. Inhibition
      of ODC resulted in levels of Put and Spd comparable to that of quiescent
      fibroblasts, whereas Spm concentration remained higher. Because an altered ODC
      metabolism does not convey the effects of TGFbeta on DNA synthesis, the ODC/PA
      system may not play a role in the pathway of TGFbeta signaling.

PMID- 9989777
TI  - Calpain and calpastatin regulate neutrophil apoptosis.
AB  - The average polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) lives only a day and then dies by
      apoptosis. We previously found that the calcium-dependent protease calpain is
      required for apoptosis in several mouse models of cell death. Here we identify
      calpain, and its endogenous inhibitor calpastatin, as regulators of human
      neutrophil apoptosis. Cell death triggered by the translation inhibitor
      cycloheximide is calpain-dependent, as evidenced using either a calpain active
      site inhibitor (N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal) or agents that target
      calpain's calcium binding sites (PD150606, PD151746). No significant effect on
      cycloheximide-triggered apoptosis was found by using inhibitors of the proteasome
      or of other papain-like cysteine proteases, providing further evidence that the
      active site calpain inhibitor prevents apoptosis via its action on calpain. In
      addition, we find that potentiation of calpain activity by depleting its
      endogenous inhibitor, calpastatin, is sufficient to cause apoptosis of
      neutrophils. Nevertheless, apoptosis signalled via the Fas antigen proceeds
      regardless of the presence of calpain inhibitor. These experiments support a
      growing body of work, indicating an upstream regulatory role for calpain in many,
      but not all, forms of apoptotic cell death. They also identify calpastatin as a
      participant in apoptotic cell death and suggest that for at least one cell type,
      a decrease in calpastatin is a sufficient stimulus to initiate calpain-dependent
      apoptosis.

PMID- 9989778
TI  - Decrease in protein tyrosine phosphorylation is associated with F-actin
      reorganization by retinoic acid in human endometrial adenocarcinoma (RL95-2)
      cells.
AB  - Transformed cells often express elevated levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated
      proteins. Inhibition of protein tyrosine kinases causes reversion of malignant
      cells to the normal phenotype. In the present study, we evaluated the possibility
      that the reversion of human endometrial adenocarcinoma RL95-2 cells to a
      stationary phenotype induced by retinoic acid was associated with inhibition of
      tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins. We found that retinoic acid
      decreased the levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, as assessed by
      immunostaining and immunoprecipitations using specific anti-phosphotyrosine
      antibodies. In addition, the inhibitors of tyrosine kinases herbimycin A and
      tyrphostin mimicked retinoic acid, inducing F-actin reorganization and increasing
      the size of RL95-2 cells, as determined by measurement of cell perimeters.
      Because focal adhesions that connect actin filaments with the plasma membrane are
      major sites of tyrosine phosphorylation, we further investigated whether selected
      focal adhesion proteins were affected by retinoic acid. We found that retinoic
      acid altered the localization of focal adhesion kinase. All-trans retinoic acid
      was effective in reducing the levels of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin
      protein. Thirteen-cis retinoic acid increased the levels of vinculin protein in
      the cytosolic fraction of cells. These changes are consistent with actin
      reorganization and reversion toward a stationary phenotype induced by retinoic
      acid in endometrial adenocarcinoma RL95-2 cells. Our results indicate that the
      differentiating effects of retinoids on endometrial cells are associated with
      decreases in tyrosine phosphorylation and changes in the levels and distribution
      of focal adhesion proteins. These findings suggest that signaling pathways that
      involve tyrosine kinases are potential targets for drug design against
      endometrial cancer.

PMID- 9989779
TI  - Constitutive muscarinic receptors are involved in the growth and differentiation
      of friend erythroleukemia cells.
AB  - Binding experiments with the specific muscarinic ligand [3H]N-methylscopolamine
      (3H-NMS) have shown the presence of constitutive muscarinic acetylcholine
      receptors (mAChR) on Friend murine erythroleukemia cells (MELC). Competition
      experiments with a panel of specific antagonists indicated that the mAChR were
      predominantly of the M3 subtype. This was confirmed by the rt-PCR analysis of
      mRNA levels for M1-M5 AChR. Uninduced MELC expressed approximately 2,100 and
      1,200 binding sites per cell of growing and resting populations, respectively.
      The dissociation constant (K(D)) for 3H-NMS was in the picomolar range. The
      modulation of mAChR upon induction suggested that MELC growth and maturation
      might be under control of a cholinergic system since mAChR were markedly
      decreased or virtually absent in MELC induced to terminal division by dimethyl
      sulfoxide (DMSO) or hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), respectively. In turn, the
      number of mAChR on MELC committed to polyploidization by colcemid was either
      increased over or maintained at the control levels when receptor densities were
      expressed per cell or surface unit (square micrometers), respectively. Moreover,
      the muscarinic agonist carbachol was found to inhibit MELC differentiation by
      decreasing by approximately 35% the amount of benzidine-positive (B+) cells in
      HMBA-induced cultures and, to a lesser degree, also AChE levels. The carbachol
      effect on erythroid differentiation was reverted by atropine that was found to
      restore the original amount of B+ cells, while it reduced acetylcholinesterase
      (AChE) to levels of approximately 66% of control. Such a selective atropine
      mediated inhibition of AChE expression was observed also in HMBA-induced MELC
      supplemented with the antagonist. These results have suggested that mAChR on MELC
      are functional and might play a role in modulating the expression of either the
      erythroid or megakaryocytic traits of these cells.

PMID- 9989780
TI  - Regulation of the high-affinity H+/peptide cotransporter in renal LLC-PK1 cells.
AB  - Di- and tripeptides and peptide mimetics such as beta-lactam antibiotics are
      efficiently reabsorbed from the tubular lumen by a high-affinity peptide
      transporter. We have recently identified and characterized this H+-coupled high
      affinity peptide transport system in the porcine proximal tubular cell line LLC
      PK1. Here we describe for the first time the regulation of the renal high
      affinity peptide cotransporter at the cellular level. Uptake of 5 microM 3H-D-Phe
      L-Ala into LLC-PK1 cells was significantly increased by lowering [Ca2+]in and
      decreased by increasing [Ca2+] in. Moreover, it was shown that the [Ca2+]in
      effects on peptide transport activity were dependent on Ca2+ entry from the
      extracellular site (e.g., via a store-regulated capacitative Ca2+ influx).
      Protein kinase C (PKC) was found to transmit the effects of [Ca2+]in on peptide
      transport. Although we demonstrate by pHin measurements that the PKC inhibitor
      staurosporine did decrease the transmembrane H+ gradient and consequently should
      have reduced the driving force for peptide uptake, the only effect on transport
      kinetics of 3H-D-Phe-L-Ala observed was a significant decrease in Km from 22.7+/
      2.5 microM to 10.2+/-1.9 microM with no change in maximal velocity.

PMID- 9989781
TI  - Non-transferrin-bound iron uptake in Belgrade and normal rat erythroid cells.
AB  - Belgrade (b) rats have an autosomal recessive, microcytic, hypochromic anemia.
      Transferrin (Tf)-dependent iron uptake is defective because of a mutation in DMT1
      (Nramp2), blocking endosomal iron efflux. This experiment of nature permits the
      present study to address whether the mutation also affects non-Tf-bound iron
      (NTBI) uptake and to use NTBI uptake compared to Tf-Fe utilization to increase
      understanding of the phenotype of the b mutation. The distribution of 59Fe2+ into
      intact erythroid cells and cytosolic, stromal, heme, and nonheme fractions was
      different after NTBI uptake vs. Tf-Fe uptake, with the former exhibiting less
      iron into heme but more into stromal and nonheme fractions. Both reticulocytes
      and erythrocytes exhibit NTBI uptake. Only reticulocytes had heme incorporation
      after NTBI uptake. Properly normalized, incorporation into b/b heme was
      approximately 20% of +/b, a decrease similar to that for Tf-Fe utilization. NTBI
      uptake into heme was inhibited by bafilomycin A1, concanamycin, NH4Cl, or
      chloroquine, consistent with the endosomal location of the transporter; cellular
      uptake was uninhibited. NTBI uptake was unaffected after removal of Tf receptors
      by Pronase or depletion of endogenous Tf. Concentration dependence revealed that
      NTBI uptake into cells, cytosol, stroma, and the nonheme fraction had an apparent
      low affinity for iron; heme incorporation behaved like a high-affinity process,
      as did an expression assay for DMT1. DMT1 serves in both apparent high-affinity
      NTBI membrane transport and the exit of iron from the endosome during Tf delivery
      of iron in rat reticulocytes; the low-affinity membrane transporter, however,
      exhibits little dependence on DMT1.

PMID- 9989782
TI  - Endothelial cell apoptosis in capillary network remodeling.
AB  - We hypothesized that the regulation of apoptosis is an important determinant of
      capillary network structure. Using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)
      in in vitro model systems of capillary tube formation, we initially documented
      that apoptosis is a prominent feature of network formation. Perturbations of
      integrin-matrix signaling by the administration of either colchicine or an anti
      alpha(v)beta3 antibody resulted in the dissolution of the tubular network in
      association with increased apoptosis. The activation of the alpha(v)beta3
      integrin induced increased expression of the anti-apoptotic gene bcl-2 and
      conferred resistance to the proapoptotic effect of TGF-beta1. In contrast to the
      stable networks formed by HUVEC, bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) exhibited
      a more dynamic process of network formation and spontaneous involution. The
      inhibition of BAEC apoptosis by stable transfection of bcl-2 prevented the
      involution of the network. We hypothesized that TGF-beta1 present within the
      model system mediated network involution by inducing BAEC death. Indeed, blockade
      of TGF-beta1 with neutralizing antibodies reduced BAEC apoptosis and preserved
      the network structure. As observed with HUVEC networks, stable BAEC networks
      formed during blockade of TGF-beta1 were also dependent on the survival-promoting
      effects of matrixintegrin interactions. This study suggests that capillary
      network structure is determined by the balance of proapoptotic vs. anti-apoptotic
      signals mediated by the engagement of cytokine and integrin receptors within the
      milieu.

PMID- 9989783
TI  - Expression of transcripts for cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) in the
      murine lacrimal gland.
AB  - Cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) represent a family of evolutionarily
      conserved proteins which may play a role in the innate immune system and are
      transcriptionally regulated by androgens in several tissues. Transcripts for all
      three members of the CRISP family have now been identified in the murine lacrimal
      gland. RT-PCR using primers able to discriminate between the related CRISP forms
      allowed the amplification of fragments with the expected length. DNA sequencing
      revealed a complete identity with the hitherto characterized epididymal CRISP-1,
      testicular CRISP-2, and salivary gland CRISP-3. An analysis of several mouse
      strains indicated that all expressed the three CRISP forms, but in differing
      amounts. RT-PCR analysis of RNA isolated from acinar cells of lacrimal glands
      revealed that they expressed CRISP-1 and CRISP-2. Semiquantitative and
      quantitative analyses furthermore showed higher CRISP-1 and CRISP-3 mRNA levels
      in the lacrimal glands of male BALB/c and NOD mice when compared to females.
      Testosterone treatment of C3H/HeJ female mice was followed by an upregulation of
      the steady-state CRISP-1 but not CRISP-2 transcript levels. A comparable
      stimulation was observed for the mRNAs coding for parotid secretory protein
      (PSP), a factor previously shown to exhibit sexual dimorphism in the murine
      lacrimal gland. The expression of CRISP transcripts in the lacrimal gland is
      consistent with a function in the innate immune system.

PMID- 9989784
TI  - SP-A as a cytokine: surfactant protein-A-regulated transcription of surfactant
      proteins and other genes.
AB  - Pulmonary surfactant is a mixture of phospholipids and surfactant-associated
      proteins made by alveolar type II cells that is necessary for normal lung
      function. Surfactant secretion and reuptake by type II cells are regulated in
      part by interaction of surfactant protein-A (SP-A) with a specific receptor
      (SPAR) on type 11 cells. Several chemicals and hormones affect both surfactant
      secretion and also surfactant gene expression, but consequences of SP-A-SPAR
      interaction beyond regulating surfactant secretion and reuptake are unknown.
      Accordingly, we studied the effects of SP-A on surfactant protein gene
      transcription, mRNA levels, and transcript stability. SP-A elicited new
      transcription of surfactant proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C and SPAR and c-Jun but
      had no effect on beta-actin or c-fos transcription. Antibody against SP-A
      receptor blocked SP-A-induced transcription, confirming that these actions of SP
      A were receptor-mediated. SP-A effects on overall transcript levels were more
      complex. However, SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C mRNA levels doubled in SP-A-treated cells
      compared to controls. SP-A is known to stabilize surfactant, control its
      secretion and reuptake by type II cells, and augment host antimicrobial defenses.
      These data indicate that SP-A also acts as an autocrine cytokine: it binds its
      receptor and specifically regulates transcription of surfactant proteins and
      other genes.

PMID- 9989785
TI  - Cloning and expression of a rat Smad1: regulation by TGFbeta and modulation by
      the Ras/MEK pathway.
AB  - A new family of signaling intermediates for TGFbeta superfamily members and other
      growth factors has recently been identified and termed Smads. It has been
      suggested that the Smad1 subfamily is regulated primarily by the TGFbeta
      superfamily member bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). Here we demonstrate that
      TGFbeta induced phosphorylation of endogenous Smad1 in untransformed IECs and
      that the RI and RII TGFbeta receptors were detectable in Smad1 immunocomplexes.
      Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of Ras inhibited the ability of TGFbeta
      to phosphorylate endogenous Smad1. In a separate series of experiments, we have
      cloned a rat homologue of the drosophila mad gene (termed RSmad1) by screening an
      intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) cDNA library. By using an in vitro kinase assay
      with RSmad1 as the substrate, we demonstrate that the TGFbeta receptor complex
      can directly phosphorylate RSmad1. We show, further, that a dominant-negative
      mutant of MEK1 inhibited the ability of RSmad1 to induce the TGFbeta-responsive
      reporter p3TP-Lux in a human breast cancer cell line. Collectively, our data
      demonstrate that TGFbeta can regulate Smadl and that the Ras and MEK signaling
      components are partially required for the ability of TGFbeta to regulate Smad1.

PMID- 9989786
TI  - PAK2 is cleaved and activated during hyperosmotic shock-induced apoptosis via a
      caspase-dependent mechanism: evidence for the involvement of oxidative stress.
AB  - Hyperosmotic shock elicits a stress response in mammalian cells and can lead to
      apoptotic cell death. In the present study, we report that hyperosmotic shock can
      induce activation of a 36 kDa kinase detected by an in-gel kinase assay in
      several cell types, including mouse Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts, and human Hep 3B and
      A431 cells. This 36 kDa kinase can be recognized by an antibody against the C
      terminal region of a family of p21Cdc42/Rac-activated kinases (PAKs) on
      immunoblot. Further studies with this antibody and a PAK2-specific antibody
      against the N-terminal region of PAK2 demonstrate that hyperosmotic shock can
      induce cleavage of PAK2 to generate a 36 kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment in
      cells. The cleavage and activation of PAK2 was found to be closely associated
      with both DNA fragmentation and activation of an ICE/CED-3 family cysteine
      protease termed caspase-3 in hyperosmotically shocked cells. Furthermore,
      pretreating the cells with two caspase inhibitors (Ac-DEVD-cho and Ac-YVAD-cmk)
      could inhibit both cleavage/activation of PAK2 and DNA fragmentation induced by
      hyperosmotic shock. Moreover, all these hyperosmotic shock-induced changes (i.e.,
      activation of caspase-3, cleavage/activation of PAK2, and DNA fragmentation) in
      cells could be blocked by antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (vitamine C), alpha
      tocopherol (vitamine E), dithiothreitol, beta-mercaptoethanol, and glutathione.
      Taken together, our results show that PAK2 is cleaved and activated via a caspase
      dependent mechanism during hyperosmotic shock-induced apoptosis and suggest the
      involvement of antioxidant-preventable oxidative stress in inducing this process.

PMID- 9989787
TI  - IgG autoantibodies from bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients bind antigenic sites on
      both the extracellular and the intracellular domains of the BP antigen 180.
AB  - Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and gestational pemphigoid (PG) are subepidermal
      blistering disorders associated with autoantibodies directed against two
      components of hemidesmosomes: the BP antigen 180 (BP180) and the BP antigen 230
      (BP230). Autoantibodies against the extracellular domain (ECD) of BP180 are
      thought to play an initiatory role in subepidermal blister formation. To
      characterize the targeted antigenic sites on BP180, we have assessed the
      reactivity of sera from BP and PG patients against eukaryotic recombinant
      proteins encompassing various portions of the ECD and the intracellular domain
      (ICD) of BP180. Twenty-two of 22 (100%) BP sera that immunoblotted BP180 in
      keratinocyte extracts, bound a mutant form consisting of the entire ECD of BP180,
      whereas only three of these 22 sera (14%) reacted against the ECD of BP180
      lacking the NC16A membrane proximal region. Thirteen out of the 22 (59%) BP sera
      recognized the ICD of BP180. Circulating IgG from a representative BP patient
      that was affinity purified against the ECD of BP180 did not bind the ICD when
      reblotted, indicating that there was no antigenic cross-reactivity between the
      ECD and the ICD of BP180. Reactivity against the ICD of BP180 was further
      ascertained by immunofluorescence microscopy studies showing that nine of the 22
      (41%) BP sera stained COS-7 cells expressing the ICD of BP180. Using deletion
      mutants of the ICD of BP180, the majority of the sera was found to recognize the
      central region of the ICD of BP180. Specifically, an immunodominant region was
      localized to an 87-amino acid segment located towards the NH2-terminus of BP180.
      In contrast to BP sera, five of six (83%) PG sera contained IgG that recognized
      exclusively the NC16A region, whereas none bound to the ICD of BP180. Together,
      the results indicate that in BP, autoantibody reactivity to BP180 is not
      exclusively restricted to the NC16A region, but that additional antigenic
      determinants exist on the ICD of BP180. The observed heterogeneous immune
      response against BP180 might reflect intramolecular epitope spreading. Because
      the ICD ofBP180 harbors functionally important regions, it is possible that
      autoantibodies against the ICD of BP180 have pathogenic significance for the
      progression of the disease.

PMID- 9989788
TI  - Bullous pemphigoid sera that contain antibodies to BPAg2 also contain antibodies
      to LABD97 that recognize epitopes distal to the NC16A domain.
AB  - IgG antibodies from the sera of some patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP) react
      with a 180 kDa protein termed BPAg2. Antibodies in BP are directed to an
      extracellular noncollagenous domain of this protein termed NC16A. Our group has
      recently shown that a portion of the extracellular domain of BPAg2 is identical
      to LABD97 on the basis of amino acid sequencing. We evaluated sera from 33
      patients with BP with circulating IgG antibodies on indirect immunofluorescence,
      which stained the epidermal side of split skin with titers ranging from 1:40 to
      1:640. Immunoblotting was performed against (i) two preparations of proteins from
      epidermal extract, one containing BPAg2 and one containing LABD97, and (ii) the
      recombinant NC16A domain of the BPAg2 protein. Twelve sera reacted with the BPAg2
      protein. Ten of these also reacted strongly with the NC16A domain. Nine of the 12
      sera also reacted with the LABD97 antigen. Bound antibodies were eluted from the
      97 kDa band and reapplied to split skin where they bound to the epidermal side.
      The eluted antibodies also reacted to the BPAg2 protein from the epidermal
      extract, but did not react with the NC16A domain on immunoblot. We conclude that
      these nine sera react with an epitope present within BPAg2 and LABD97 but not
      within the NC16A domain. This epitope is therefore distal to the previously
      described epitopes in BP. In BP, epitope spreading may occur and antibodies may
      be produced that recognize the distal portion of the BPAg2 molecule identical to
      LABD97 but that do not involve the NC16A domain.

PMID- 9989789
TI  - Human autoantibodies against HD1/plectin in paraneoplastic pemphigus.
AB  - Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an autoimmune blistering disease that occurs in
      association with underlying neoplasms. PNP patients develop characteristic
      autoantibodies directed against multiple antigens, mostly identified as members
      of the plakin family of cytoplasmic proteins (desmoplakin I and II, bullous
      pemphigoid antigen I, envoplakin, and periplakin). HD1/plectin, another member of
      the plakin family, has not previously been detected in the characteristic PNP
      antigen complex, which may relate to practical difficulties associated with its
      large size (molecular weight approximately 500 kDa). In this study, a combination
      of immunoprecipitation and immunoblot is used to demonstrate that HD1/plectin is
      also recognized by sera from PNP patients. Thirteen of 16 PNP sera tested were
      positive for HD1/plectin compared with none of 43 control sera (11 pemphigus
      vulgaris, 11 pemphigus foliaceus, 11 bullous pemphigoid, and 10 normal
      individuals). Combined with our recent finding that desmoglein 3 and desmoglein 1
      are cell surface target antigens in PNP, this demonstration of plectin/HD1 as
      another component of the antigen complex in PNP confirms that PNP is an
      autoimmune disease against desmoglein and plakin family molecules.

PMID- 9989790
TI  - Retinoid signaling by all-trans retinoic acid and all-trans retinoyl-beta-D
      glucuronide is attenuated by simultaneous exposure of human keratinocytes to
      retinol.
AB  - Retinol and retinyl esters are converted with time to slowly increasing amounts
      of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) in cultured human keratinocytes. Exogenous RA has
      been shown to limit retinol oxidation and to increase retinol esterification.
      Because significant amounts of retinol are present in biologic systems, we
      examined whether RA and all-trans-retinoyl-beta-D-glucuronide (RAG) interact with
      retinol in exhibiting their activities on HaCaT keratinocytes maintained in a
      retinoid-free culture system. RA was more potent than RAG and retinol in inducing
      ultrastructural changes attributed to retinoids, inhibiting cell proliferation as
      well as enhancing keratin 19 expression. In addition, retinoids were able to
      induce cellular retinoic acid-binding protein II mRNA levels in the cultures,
      whereas early RA and late RAG activity was detected. The described biologic
      effects of RA and RAG were diminished by simultaneous cell exposure to retinol.
      HaCaT cells quickly metabolized retinol to retinyl esters and consequently to low
      amounts of RA. RA treatment led to an early high peak of cellular RA followed by
      reduction to trace amounts. Treatment with RAG resulted in constantly high
      cellular RAG and low RA levels. Under the combined RA and retinol treatment
      retinyl esters were increased and RA was reduced in HaCaT cells, whereas
      extracellular RA levels were similar to those obtained by RA alone. On the other
      hand, the combination of RAG and retinol resulted in higher extracellular RAG,
      similar cellular RAG, and lower cellular RA levels than those obtained by RAG
      alone without any change in retinyl esters. This study demonstrates that retinoid
      signaling by RA and RAG is attenuated by simultaneous exposure of HaCaT
      keratinocytes in vitro to retinol. The presence of retinol in the medium alters
      the rate of RA or RAG metabolism and thus cellular RA concentrations. The
      intensity of retinoid signal is probably dependent on cellular RA levels. The
      resulting "antagonism" among retinoids is consistent with the presence of an auto
      regulatory mechanism in human keratinocytes offering protection against excessive
      accumulation of cellular RA.

PMID- 9989791
TI  - Clustering of activating mutations in c-KIT's juxtamembrane coding region in
      canine mast cell neoplasms.
AB  - The proto-oncogene c-KIT encodes a growth factor receptor, KIT, with ligand
      dependent tyrosine kinase activity that is expressed by several cell types
      including mast cells. c-KIT juxtamembrane coding region mutations causing
      constitutive activation of KIT are capable of transforming cell lines and have
      been identified in a human mast cell line and in situ in human gastrointestinal
      stromal tumors, but have not been demonstrated in situ in neoplastic mast cells
      from any species. To determine whether c-KIT juxtamembrane mutations occur in the
      development of mast cell neoplasms, we examined canine mastocytomas, which are
      among the most common tumors of dogs and which often behave in a malignant
      fashion, unlike human solitary mastocytomas. Sequencing of c-KIT cDNA generated
      from tumor tissues removed from seven dogs revealed that three of the tumors
      contained a total of four mutations in an intracellular juxtamembrane coding
      region that is completely conserved among vertebrates. In addition, two mutations
      were found in three mast cell lines derived from two additional dogs. One
      mutation from one line matched that found in situ in one of the tumors. The
      second was found in two lines derived from one dog at different times, indicating
      that the mutation was present in situ in the animal. All five mutations cause
      high spontaneous tyrosine phosphorylation of KIT. Our study provides in situ
      evidence that activating c-KIT juxtamembrane mutations are present in, and may
      therefore contribute to, the pathogenesis of mast cell neoplasia. Our data also
      suggest an inhibitory role for the KIT juxtamembrane region in controlling the
      receptor kinase activity.

PMID- 9989792
TI  - Staphylococcal toxins augment specific IgE responses by atopic patients exposed
      to allergen.
AB  - Microbial agents are known to play a significant role in aggravating allergic
      diseases. Recently described viral and bacterial superantigens represent one
      important strategy by which infectious agents can stimulate the immune response.
      In previous work, we reported that the staphylococcal toxin toxic shock toxin-1
      (TSST-1), a prototypic superantigen, induces in vitro total IgE synthesis after
      cross-linking T and B cells. This study was carried out to establish a potential
      link between superantigens and the enhanced IgE response to specific allergens in
      allergic patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from atopic patients were
      isolated during and outside the pollen allergen season and stimulated with TSST
      1, a prototypic superantigen. Total IgE and interferon-gamma production were
      measured in supernatants of these cultures. Outside the pollen season, TSST-1
      significantly increased total IgE production only in the presence of exogenous
      interleukin-4, whereas during the pollen season IgE production was significantly
      enhanced without the need of exogenous interleukin-4. This increase in the
      absence of exogenous interleukin-4 was associated with significantly lower
      interferon-gamma production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated by
      TSST-1 during the pollen season. Moreover, TSST-1 stimulation of peripheral blood
      mononuclear cells from inhalant allergic patients was followed by an increased
      production of allergen-specific IgE that was restricted to the allergen to which
      the patient was allergic and recently exposed. In addition, TSST-1 induced on B
      cells the expression of B7.2, a molecule that has recently been demonstrated to
      enhance T helper 2 responses and to be involved in IgE regulation. This study, by
      demonstrating that superantigens can augment allergen-specific IgE synthesis and
      B7.2 expression, provides a mechanism by which microbial superantigens may
      modulate allergic responses.

PMID- 9989793
TI  - NC1 domain of type VII collagen binds to the beta3 chain of laminin 5 via a
      unique subdomain within the fibronectin-like repeats.
AB  - Type VII collagen, the major component of anchoring fibrils, consists of a
      central collagenous triple-helical domain flanked by two noncollagenous, globular
      domains, NC1 and NC2. Approximately 50% of the molecular mass of the molecule is
      consumed by the NC1 domain. We previously demonstrated that NC1 binds to various
      extracellular matrix components including a complex of laminin 5 and laminin 6
      (Chen et al, 1997a). In this study, we examined the interaction of NC1 with
      laminin 5 (a component of anchoring filaments). Both authentic and purified
      recombinant NC1 bound to human and rat laminin 5 as measured by enzyme-linked
      immunosorbant assay and by binding of 125I-radiolabeled NC1 to laminin 5-coated
      wells, but not to laminin 1 or albumin. NC1 bound predominantly to the beta3
      chain of laminin 5, but also to the gamma2 chain when examined by a protein
      overlay assay. The binding of 125I-NC1 to laminin 5 was inhibited by a 50-fold
      excess of unlabeled NC1 or de-glycosylated NC1, as well as a polyclonal antibody
      to laminin 5 or a monoclonal antibody to the beta3 chain. In contrast, the NC1
      laminin 5 interaction was not affected by a monoclonal antibody to the alpha3
      chain. Using NC1 deletion mutant recombinant proteins, a 285 AA (residues 760
      1045) subdomain of NC1 was identified as the binding site for laminin 5. IgG from
      an epidermolysis bullosa acquisita serum containing autoantibodies to epitopes
      within NC1 that colocalized with the laminin 5 binding site inhibited the binding
      of NC1 to laminin 5. Thus, perturbation of the NC1-laminin 5 interaction may
      contribute to the pathogenesis of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.

PMID- 9989794
TI  - Identification of novel and known mutations in the genes for keratin 5 and 14 in
      Danish patients with epidermolysis bullosa simplex: correlation between genotype
      and phenotype.
AB  - Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is a group of autosomal dominant inherited
      skin diseases caused by mutations in either the keratin 5 (K5) or the keratin 14
      (K14) genes and characterized by development of intraepidermal skin blisters. The
      three major subtypes of EBS are Weber-Cockayne, Koebner, and Dowling-Meara, of
      which the Dowling-Meara form is the most severe. We have investigated five large
      Danish families with EBS and two sporadic patients with the Dowling-Meara form of
      EBS. In the sporadic Dowling-Meara EBS patients, a novel K14 mutation (N123S) and
      a previously published K5 mutation (N176S) were identified, respectively. A novel
      K14 mutation (K116N) was found in three seemingly unrelated families, whereas
      another family harbored a different novel K14 mutation (L143P). The last family
      harbored a novel K5 mutation (L325P). The identified mutations were not present
      in more than 100 normal chromosomes. Six polymorphisms were identified in the K14
      gene and their frequencies were determined in normal controls. These
      polymorphisms were used to show that the K14 K116N mutation was located in
      chromosomes with the same haplotype in all three families, suggesting a common
      ancestor. We observed a strict genotype-phenotype correlation in the investigated
      patients as the same mutation always resulted in a similar phenotype in all
      individuals with the mutation, but our results also show that it is not possible
      to predict the EBS phenotype merely by the location (i.e., head, rod, or linker
      domains) of a mutation. The nature of the amino acid substitution must also be
      taken into account.

PMID- 9989795
TI  - C-myb, but not B-myb, upregulates type I collagen gene expression in human
      fibroblasts.
AB  - C-myb and B-myb belong to the myb family of transcription factors. We have shown
      previously that c-myb is deregulated in fibroblasts from systemic sclerosis
      (scleroderma) patients relative to normal fibroblasts. Scleroderma fibroblasts
      are known to express elevated levels of collagen genes and transforming growth
      factor beta is known to be a pro-fibrotic cytokine and to induce transcription of
      type I collagen genes. We have therefore investigated the role of c-myb and B-myb
      in the regulation of type I collagen genes in response to transforming growth
      factor beta in normal human fibroblasts. We show that, in these cells,
      transforming growth factor beta treatment induces c-myb as well as collagen
      alpha1(I) and alpha2(I) gene expression, but not B-myb. Furthermore we
      demonstrate by cotransfection assays that c-myb can upregulate alpha1(I) and
      alpha2(I) collagen promoters by 6-10-fold whereas B-myb is inactive. The activity
      of c-myb on both type I collagen promoters requires a functional c-myb DNA
      binding domain suggesting a direct interaction between c-myb and these promoters.
      Indeed c-myb is active also on a 500 bp fragment of the alpha2(I) collagen
      promoter and can bind to this fragment in electrophoretic mobility shift assays.
      Finally, we show that anti-c-myb anti-sense treatment reduces alpha1(I) and to a
      lesser extent alpha2(I) collagen gene expression. These data strongly suggest
      that c-myb, but not B-myb, plays a direct role in the upregulation of type I
      collagen gene expression in response to transforming growth factor beta.

PMID- 9989796
TI  - Recognition of local anesthetics by alphabeta+ T cells.
AB  - Patients with drug allergy show a specific immune response to drugs. Chemically
      nonreactive drugs like, for example, local anesthetics are directly recognized by
      alphabeta+ T cells in an HLA-DR restricted way, as neither drug metabolism nor
      protein processing is required for T cell stimulation. In this study we
      identified some of the structural requirements that determine cross-reactivity of
      T cells to local anesthetics, with the aim to improve the molecular basis for the
      selection of alternatives in individuals sensitized to a certain local anesthetic
      and to better understand presentation and T cell recognition of these drugs.
      Fifty-five clones (52 lidocaine specific, three mepivacaine specific from two
      allergic donors) were analyzed. Stimulatory compounds induced a down-regulation
      of the T cell receptor, demonstrating that these non-peptide antigens are
      recognized by the T cell receptor itself. A consistent cross-reactivity between
      lidocaine and mepivacaine was found, as all except one lidocaine specific clone
      proliferated to both drugs tested. Sixteen chemically related local anesthetics
      (including ester local anesthetics, OH- and desalkylated metabolites) were used
      to identify structural requirements for T cell recognition. Each of the four
      clones examined in detail was uniquely sensitive to changes in the structures of
      the local anesthetic: clone SFT24, i.e., did not recognize any of the tested OH-
      or desalkylated metabolites, while the clone OFB2 proliferated to all OH
      metabolites and other differently modified molecules. The broadly reactive clone
      OFB2 allowed us to propose a model, suggesting that the structure of the amine
      side chain of local anesthetics is essential for recognition by the T cell
      receptor.

PMID- 9989797
TI  - IgM anti-ganglioside antibodies induced by melanoma cell vaccine correlate with
      survival of melanoma patients.
AB  - Melanoma cells express ganglioside antigens GM3, GD3, GM2, and GD2 on their
      surface. This study examined whether immunization with a melanoma cell vaccine
      induced anti-ganglioside antibody responses in melanoma patients and whether
      these responses were correlated with survival. Sixty-six patients who had
      received melanoma cell vaccine immunotherapy after surgical removal of regional
      metastatic melanoma were identified. Cryopreserved serum samples from these
      patients were used in an enzyme-linked immunsorbent assay to determine the IgM
      antibody levels to GM2, GD2, GM3, and GD3 prior to melanoma cell vaccine
      treatment and 4 wk after the first melanoma cell vaccine immunization. All
      antibody levels significantly increased by week 4 (p < 0.001 for all four
      antibodies) and all increases were significantly associated with survival (anti
      GD2, p < 0.001; anti-GM2, p = 0.001; anti-GD3, p < 0.001; anti-GM3, p < 0.001).
      Anti-tumor activity of these antibodies was proved using five representative
      antibody-positive sera in a complement-dependent cytotoxicity assay with cultured
      melanoma cell lines. These studies suggest that GM2, GD2, GM2, and GD3 expressed
      by melanoma cells can induce specific IgM antibodies and that high levels of
      these antibodies might have a beneficial impact on survival.

PMID- 9989798
TI  - Ultraviolet B radiation upregulates the production of macrophage migration
      inhibitory factor (MIF) in human epidermal keratinocytes.
AB  - Human epidermal cells are capable of secreting various cytokines with
      immunologic, inflammatory, and proliferative properties. In a previous study, by
      reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis,
      we have shown that human epidermal keratinocytes express macrophage migration
      inhibitory factor and identified its presence in the cytoplasm. In this study, we
      detected an increased serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor level by
      enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after a single total-body ultraviolet B
      exposure in vivo, indicating that human keratinocytes respond and release this
      cytokine in response to ultraviolet B irradiation. Moreover, we evaluated the
      effect of ultraviolet B on migration inhibitory factor production in cultured
      human epidermal keratinocytes and epidermal sheets. The results of enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay and northern blot analyses showed that migration inhibitory
      factor production of cultured keratinocytes was increased by ultraviolet B
      exposure. During the past few years, migration inhibitory factor was found to
      have a variety of biologic functions, such as being essential for T cell
      activation and induction of inflammatory cytokines. In this context, these
      results should encourage further investigation on the pathophysiologic role of
      migration inhibitory factor in cutaneous inflammatory reactions and immune
      responses.

PMID- 9989799
TI  - Upregulation and redistribution of E-MAP-115 (epithelial microtubule-associated
      protein of 115 kDa) in terminally differentiating keratinocytes is coincident
      with the formation of intercellular contacts.
AB  - Microtubules are involved in the positioning and movement of organelles and
      vesicles and therefore play fundamental roles in cell polarization and
      differentiation. Their organization and properties are cell-type specific and are
      controlled by microtubule-associated proteins (MAP). E-MAP-115 (epithelial
      microtubule-associated protein of 115 kDa) has been identified as a microtubule
      stabilizing protein predominantly expressed in epithelial cells. We have used
      human skin and primary keratinocytes as a model to assess a putative function of
      E-MAP-115 in stabilizing and reorganizing the microtubule network during
      epithelial cell differentiation. Immunolabeling of skin sections indicated that E
      MAP-115 is predominantly expressed in the suprabasal layers of the normal
      epidermis and, in agreement with this observation, is relatively abundant in
      squamous cell carcinomas but barely detectable in basal cell carcinomas. In
      primary keratinocytes whose terminal differentiation was induced by increasing
      the Ca2+ concentration of the medium, E-MAP-115 expression significantly
      increased during the first day, as observed by northern and western blot
      analysis. Parallel immunofluorescence studies showed an early redistribution of E
      MAP-115 from microtubules with a paranuclear localization to cortical
      microtubules organized in spike-like bundles facing intercellular contacts. This
      phenomenon is transient and can be reversed by Ca2+ depletion. Treatment of cells
      with cytoskeleton-active drugs after raising the Ca2+ concentration indicated
      that E-MAP-115 is associated with a subset of stable microtubules and that the
      cortical localization of these microtubules is dependent on other microtubules
      but not on strong interactions with the actin cytoskeleton or the plasma
      membrane. The mechanism whereby E-MAP-115 would redistribute to and stabilize
      cortical microtubules used for the polarized transport of vesicles towards the
      plasma membrane, where important reorganizations take place upon stratification,
      is discussed.

PMID- 9989800
TI  - Rat preputial sebocyte differentiation involves peroxisome proliferator-activated
      receptors.
AB  - The hallmark of sebaceous epithelial cell (sebocyte) differentiation is the
      accumulation of fused neutral fat droplets. Very little sebocyte differentiation
      occurs, however, in primary or organ culture, even upon incubating with
      androgens, which are required for maturation in vivo. We hypothesized that
      sebocyte cell culture systems lack activators of the peroxisome proliferator
      activated receptors that are involved in adipocyte differentiation. We here
      report that activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and
      alpha by their respective specific ligands, a thiazolidinedione and a fibrate,
      induced lipid droplet formation in sebocytes but not epidermal cells. Linoleic
      acid and carbaprostacyclin, both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta
      and alpha ligand-activators, were more effective but less specific, stimulating
      lipid formation in both types of cells. Either was more effective than the
      combination of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and alpha
      activation, suggesting that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta is
      involved in this lipid formation. Linoleic acid 0.1 mM stimulated significantly
      more advanced sebocyte maturation than any other treatment, including
      carbaprostacyclin, which suggests a distinct role of long chain fatty acids in
      sebocyte differentiation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gammal mRNA
      was demonstrated in sebocytes, but not in epidermal cells; it was more strongly
      expressed in freshly dispersed than in cultured sebocytes. In contrast,
      peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta mRNA was expressed to a
      similarly high extent before and after culture in both sebocytes and epidermal
      cells. These findings are compatible with the concepts that peroxisome
      proliferator-activated receptor gamma1 gene expression plays a unique role in the
      differentiation of sebocytes, while peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
      delta activation and long chain fatty acids finalize sebocyte maturation and are
      capable of stimulating epidermal lipid formation. These findings have
      implications for the development of new modalities of treatment for acne
      vulgaris.

PMID- 9989801
TI  - Persistent transgene expression and normal differentiation of immortalized human
      keratinocytes in vivo.
AB  - Cells transduced ex vivo with transgenes encoded on retroviruses have constant
      and prolonged expression in vitro; however, in vivo expression is quickly lost.
      Much attention has been directed at methods to circumvent this problem. We have
      shown that loss of transgene expression does not occur when transduced
      immortalized 3T3 cells are transplanted to the in vivo setting of athymic mice.
      Ease of acquisition and potential for clinical application led us to assess the
      potential of using immortalized human keratinocytes for expression of transgenes
      in vivo. Human keratinocytes were immortalized with a HPV16-E6/E7 retrovirus,
      transduced with a lacZ retrovirus, cloned by limiting dilution, seeded onto a
      physiologic dermal substrate, and transplanted to athymic mice. Six weeks after
      transplantation, the immortalized transgene expressing keratinocytes had formed
      an epidermis that was indistinguishable from one formed by nonimmortalized
      keratinocytes; furthermore, there was no loss of expression of the lacZ gene.
      These observations show that methods to extend cell survival are an alternative
      approach to achieving stable and prolonged expression of transgenes in vivo and
      that HPV16-E6/ E7 immortalized keratinocytes generate an epidermis with normal
      morphology.

PMID- 9989802
TI  - Urokinase is a positive regulator of epidermal proliferation in vivo.
AB  - The epidermis is a self-renewing tissue that must maintain a basal proliferative
      rate as well as respond to various perturbing stimuli. Regulation of keratinocyte
      proliferation involves diverse molecules, including growth factors, ions, and
      hormones. We recently proposed that a proteinase, urokinase-type plasminogen
      activator (uPA) may be added to this list, based on correlative evidence linking
      expression of uPA and murine epidermal hyperproliferation. Here we report that,
      during the first 3 d of life, the epidermis from mice that bear a targeted
      deletion of the uPA gene has a significantly lower proliferative rate than the
      epidermis from wild-type mice. In contrast, proliferation in the matrix
      keratinocytes of the hair follicles is not decreased in neonatal uPA-/- mice.
      Vertical migration of keratinocytes during terminal differentiation was not
      affected. We therefore conclude that lack of uPA is associated with a decrease in
      epidermal proliferation.

PMID- 9989803
TI  - Increased vibrissa growth in transgenic mice expressing insulin-like growth
      factor 1.
AB  - Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) mediates many of the actions of growth
      hormone. Overexpression of IGF-1 has been reported to have endocrine and
      paracrine/autocrine effects on somatic growth in transgenic mice. To study the
      paracrine/autocrine effects of IGF-1 in hair follicles, transgenic mice were
      produced by pronuclear microinjection of a construct containing a mouse ultra
      high sulfur keratin (UHS-KER) promoter linked to an ovine IGF-1 cDNA. This UHS
      KER promoter has previously been shown to direct expression of a reporter gene to
      the hair follicles of transgenic mice. Four transgenic mouse lines were
      established as a result of microinjection of 435 embryos. Transgene expression
      was found in skin at day 8 and day 15 of age in three of the lines. Progeny tests
      were carried out by mating two of the transgenic expressing males to
      nontransgenic females. Mice from one line were all nonexpressors while four of
      the 12 mice from the other showed integration of the transgene and three
      expressed transgene IGF-1 mRNA in the skin. Vibrissa growth at 11-21 d of age was
      significantly greater in transgenic expressors than in their nontransgenic
      littermates. Specifically, the increase in vibrissa length for transgenics at
      days 11-16 (20.5%) is approximately 2-fold compared with days 16-21 (11.9%).
      These results demonstrate that local overexpression of IGF-1 in transgenic mice
      is capable of stimulating vibrissa growth during the first neonatal hair cycle.

PMID- 9989804
TI  - Evidence for superantigen involvement in skin homing of T cells in atopic
      dermatitis.
AB  - The environmental factors that contribute to the homing of T cells in skin
      disease is unknown. The skin lesions of atopic dermatitis (AD) are frequently
      colonized with superantigen (SAg), producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus. In
      vitro, these superantigens have the capacity to activate and expand T cells
      expressing specific T cell receptor BV gene segments, and also to increase their
      skin homing capacity via upregulation of the skin homing receptor, cutaneous
      lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA). These activities have been proposed to
      enhance the chronic cutaneous inflammation of AD, but an in vivo role for SAg has
      not been conclusively demonstrated. In this study, we sought direct evidence for
      in vivo SAg activity by comparing the SAg profiles of S. aureus cultured from the
      skin of AD subjects to the T cell receptor Vbeta repertoire of their skin homing
      (CLA+) T cells in peripheral blood. SAg secreting S. aureus strains were
      identified in six of 12 AD patients, and all of these subjects manifested
      significant SAg-appropriate Vbeta skewing within the CLA+ subsets of both their
      CD4+ and their CD8+ T cells. T cell receptor Vbeta skewing was not detectable
      among the overall CD4+ or CD8+ T cell subsets of these subjects, and was not
      present within the CLA+ T cell subsets of five patients with plaque psoriasis and
      10 normal controls. T cell receptor BV genes from the presumptively SAg-expanded
      populations of skin homing T cells were cloned and sequenced from three subjects
      and, consistent with a SAg-driven effect, were found to be polyclonal. We
      conclude that SAg can contribute to AD pathogenesis by increasing the frequency
      of memory T cells able to migrate to and be activated within AD lesions.

PMID- 9989805
TI  - IgA antibodies of cicatricial pemphigoid sera specifically react with C-terminus
      of BP180.

PMID- 9989806
TI  - Cell cycle start from quiescence controlled by tyrosine phosphorylation of Cdk4.
AB  - In mammals Cdk4 (or Cdk6 in some cell types) is required for starting the cell
      cycle. Recently we showed that Cdk4 is regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation and
      dephosphorylation, and that this regulation is required for a DNA damage-induced
      G1 arrest. We report here that a generic anti-phosphotyrosine antibody can detect
      tyrosine-phosphorylated Cdk4 and that as revealed by immunoblot detection and
      kinase assay, this regulation is employed for DNA damage-responsive checkpoint
      control during cell cycle start from quiescence. In rat fibroblasts traversing G1
      or arrested in G1 by deprivation of anchorage, Cdk4 does not undergo tyrosine
      phosphorylation. Tyrosine phosphorylation occurs only during cell's arrest in
      quiescence and dephosphorylation during their cell cycle start. Ultraviolet
      irradiation blocks dephosphorylation and concomitant activation of Cdk4, thereby
      preventing the start of cell cycling. Thus, unlike tyrosine phosphorylation of
      Cdc2, which controls phase transition in the regular cell cycle, tyrosine
      phosphorylation of Cdk4 is employed for controlling cell cycle start from
      quiescence in a rat fibroblast.

PMID- 9989807
TI  - A rate limiting function of cdc25A for S phase entry inversely correlates with
      tyrosine dephosphorylation of Cdk2.
AB  - The cdc25A phosphatase removes inhibitory phosphates from threonine-14 and
      tyrosine-15 of cyclin dependent kinase-2 (cdk2) in vitro, and it is therefore
      widely assumed that cdc25A positively regulates cyclin E- and A-associated cdk2
      activity at the G1 to S phase transition of the mammalian cell division cycle.
      Human cdc25A was introduced into mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts co-expressing a form of
      the colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) receptor that is partially defective in
      transducing mitogenic signals. Cdc25A enabled these cells to form colonies in
      semisolid medium containing serum plus human recombinant CSF-1 in a manner
      reminiscent of cells rescued by c-myc. However, cdc25A-rescued cells could not
      proliferate in chemically defined medium containing CSF-1 and continued to
      require c-myc function for S phase entry. When contact-inhibited cells
      overexpressing cdc25A were dispersed and stimulated to synchronously enter the
      cell division cycle, they entered S phase 2-3 h earlier than their parental
      untransfected counterparts. Shortening of G1 phase temporally correlated with
      more rapid degradation of the cdk inhibitor p27Kip1 and with premature activation
      of cyclin A-dependent cdk2. Paradoxically, tyrosine phosphorylation of cdk2
      increased considerably as cells entered S phase, and cdc25A overexpression
      potentiated rather than diminished this effect. At face value, these results are
      inconsistent with the hypothesis that cdc25A acts directly on cdk2 to activate
      its S phase promoting function.

PMID- 9989808
TI  - Inhibition of RNA polymerase II as a trigger for the p53 response.
AB  - The mechanisms by which the p53 response is triggered following exposure to DNA
      damaging agents have not yet been clearly elucidated. We and others have
      previously suggested that blockage of RNA polymerase II may be the trigger for
      induction of the p53 response following exposure to ultraviolet light. Here we
      report on the correlation between inhibition of mRNA synthesis and the induction
      of p53, p21WAF1 and apoptosis in diploid human fibroblasts treated with either UV
      light, cisplatin or the RNA synthesis inhibitors actinomycin D, DRB, H7 and alpha
      amanitin. Exposure to ionizing radiation or the proteasome inhibitor LLnL,
      however, induced p53 and p21WAF1 without affecting mRNA synthesis. Importantly,
      induction of p53 by the RNA synthesis or proteasome inhibitors did not correlate
      with the induction of DNA strand breaks. Furthermore, cisplatin-induced
      accumulation of active p53 in repair-deficient XP-A cells occurred despite the
      lack of DNA strand break induction. Our results suggest that the induction of the
      p53 response by certain toxic agents is not triggered by DNA strand breaks but
      rather, may be linked to inhibition of mRNA synthesis either directly by the
      poisoning of RNA polymerase II or indirectly by the induction of elongation
      blocking DNA lesions.

PMID- 9989809
TI  - Association with E2F-1 governs intracellular trafficking and polyubiquitination
      of DP-1.
AB  - The cell cycle-regulated transcription factor E2F is a family of heterodimers
      composed of E2F and DP protein subunits. While DP proteins stabilize DNA binding
      of E2F proteins, and influence the entry of E2F-4 and E2F-5 into the nucleus, the
      role of DP proteins in E2F-dependent gene expression is not well understood.
      Using immunolocalization, immunoprecipitation, and cell fractionation
      experiments, here we show association with E2F subunits governs intracellular
      trafficking and ubiquitination of DP-1. In transient transfection experiments, DP
      1 polypeptides that stably bound E2F-1 entered the nucleus. DP-1 proteins that
      failed to associate with E2F subunits accumulated in the cell cytoplasm as
      polyubiquitinated DP-1. A Chinese hamster cell line that conditionally expresses
      HA-DP-1 was used to examine the effect of DP-1 on cell cycle progression. In
      serum response experiments, moderate increases in HA-DP-1 led to a threefold
      increase in E2F DNA binding activity in vitro, a corresponding increase in dhfr
      gene expression during transition of G1, and higher rates of S phase entry.
      However, flow cytometry showed cells expressing very high levels of HA-DP-1
      failed to enter the S phase. Inhibition of cell cycle progression by high levels
      of HA-DP-1 was associated with the accumulation of other ubiquitinated cellular
      proteins, including c-jun and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21,
      indicating that degradation of ubiquitinated proteins is required for progression
      from G0 to S phase even in the presence of activated E2F. Under similar
      conditions, expression of E2F-1 reduced the levels of ubiquitinated cellular
      proteins and accelerated cell cycle progression. Our studies indicate association
      with E2F subunits prevents ubiquitin-dependent degradation of DP-1 in the
      cytoplasm by promoting nuclear entry of E2F/DP heterodimers.

PMID- 9989810
TI  - The bovine papillomavirus type 1 E6 oncoprotein sensitizes cells to tumor
      necrosis factor alpha-induced apoptosis.
AB  - Expression of viral proteins may result in susceptibility of cells to the
      cytotoxic effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF). While murine C127 cells
      containing the bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) genome were reported to
      exhibit increased TNF sensitivity, the gene(s) responsible was not identified.
      The BPV-1 E6 oncoprotein induces tumorigenic transformation of murine C127 cells
      and stimulates transcription when targeted to a promoter. BPV-1 E6 was introduced
      into C127 cells (PBE6) by retroviral infection and stable clones were isolated.
      These cells showed increased apoptosis in response to TNF, as measured by several
      criteria. TNF-induced apoptosis in PBE6 cells was accompanied by increased
      release of arachidonic acid, indicating that phospholipase A2 was activated. We
      also provide evidence that BPV-1 E6 mediated-sensitization of cells to TNF
      induced apoptosis can occur in the absence of p53.

PMID- 9989811
TI  - Detection of mutations by automated fluorescence/RNA-based dideoxy fingerprinting
      (ARddF)
AB  - Dideoxy fingerprinting (ddF) is a hybrid technique which combines aspects of
      single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and dideoxy sequencing to detect
      the presence of single base changes in a defined fragment of nucleic acid. ddF is
      no more technically demanding than SSCP, yet it is more sensitive in detecting
      point mutations. We describe here the adaptation of conventional ddF to an
      automated sequencing system using fluorescent Cy5 labeled primers. We show that
      automated RNA-based ddF (ARddF) has several advantages over conventional
      radioisotope-based ddF, including: (1) analysis of larger nucleic acid fragments
      (up to 10(3) bp), due to the ability to continuously analyse and compile
      sequencing information; (2) greater reliability for distinguishing mutant
      sequences from wild type sequences (particularly when the mutation leads to gain
      or loss of a dideoxy termination segment); (3) the use of fluorescent labeled
      primers, making ARddF less hazardous than methods requiring radionucleotides. The
      use of ARddF in conjunction with new methods for isolating RNA from a [corrected]
      small number of cells facilitates mutational analysis of small tissue biopsies
      and other limited samples, and will allow more widespread application of
      mutational screening in the setting of clinical diagnostic laboratories.

PMID- 9989812
TI  - Mutually exclusive expression patterns of Bcl-2 and Par-4 in human prostate
      tumors consistent with down-regulation of Bcl-2 by Par-4.
AB  - Par-4 is a widely expressed protein that sensitizes both prostatic and non
      prostatic cells to apoptosis. Constitutive- or regulated- overexpression of Par-4
      caused a reduction in the levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.
      Replenishment of Bcl-2 levels abrogated susceptibility to Par-4-dependent
      apoptosis, suggesting that Par-4-mediated apoptosis requires downmodulation of
      Bcl-2 levels. The inverse correlation between Par-4 and Bcl-2 expression was
      recapitulated in human prostate tumors. Par-4 but not Bcl-2 was detected in the
      secretory epithelium of benign prostatic tumors and in primary and metastatic
      prostate cancers that are apt to undergo apoptosis. Moreover, xenografts of
      human, androgen-dependent CWR22 tumors showed Par-4 but not Bcl-2 expression. By
      contrast, androgen-independent CWR22R tumors derived from the CWR22 xenografts
      showed mutually exclusive expression patterns of Par-4 and Bcl-2. These findings
      suggest a mechanism by which Par-4 may sensitize prostate tumor cells to
      apoptosis.

PMID- 9989813
TI  - Deregulation of NPM and PLZF in a variant t(5;17) case of acute promyelocytic
      leukemia.
AB  - Greater than 95% of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cases are associated with
      the expression of PML-RARalpha. This chimeric protein has been strongly
      implicated in APL pathogenesis because of its interactions with growth
      suppressors (PML), retinoid signaling molecules (RXRalpha), and nuclear hormone
      transcriptional co-repressors (N-CoR and SMRT). A small number of variant APL
      translocations have also been shown to involve rearrangements that fuse RARalpha
      to partner genes other than PML, namely PLZF, NPM, and NuMA. We describe the
      molecular characterization of a t(5;17)(q35;q21) variant translocation involving
      the NPM gene, identified in a pediatric case of APL. RT-PCR, cloning, and
      sequence studies identified NPM as the RARalpha partner on chromosome 5, and both
      NPM-RARalpha and RARalpha-NPM fusion mRNAs were expressed in this patient. We
      further explored the effects of the NPM-RARalpha chimeric protein on the
      subcellular localization of PML, RXRalpha, NPM, and PLZF using immunofluorescent
      confocal microscopy. While PML remained localized to its normal 10-20 nuclear
      bodies, NPM nucleolar localization was disrupted and PLZF expression was
      upregulated in a microspeckled pattern in patient leukemic bone marrow cells. We
      also observed nuclear co-localization of NPM, RXRalpha, and NPM-RARalpha in these
      cells. Our data support the hypothesis that while deregulation of both the
      retinoid signaling pathway and RARalpha partner proteins are molecular
      consequences of APL translocations, APL pathogenesis is not dependent on
      disruption of PML nuclear bodies.

PMID- 9989814
TI  - Sequential molecular abnormalities are involved in the multistage development of
      squamous cell lung carcinoma.
AB  - To understand the molecular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of squamous
      cell lung carcinoma, we obtained DNA from 94 microdissected foci from 12 archival
      surgically resected tumors including histologically normal epithelium (n=13),
      preneoplastic lesions (n=54), carcinoma is situ (CIS) (n=15) and invasive tumors
      (n=12). We determined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 10 chromosomal regions
      (3p12, 3p14.2, 3p14.1-21.3, 3p21, 3p22-24, 3p25, 5q22, 9p21, 13q14 RB, and 17p13
      TP53) frequently deleted in lung cancer, using 31 polymorphic microsatellite
      markers, including 24 that spanned the entire 3p arm. Our major findings are as
      follows: (1) Thirty one percent of histologically normal epithelium and 42% of
      mildly abnormal (hyperplasia/metaplasia) specimens had clones of cells with
      allelic loss at one or more regions; (2) There was a progressive increase of the
      overall LOH frequency within clones with increasing severity of histopathological
      changes; (3) The earliest and most frequent regions of allelic loss occurred at
      3p21, 3p22-24, 3p25 and 9p21; (4) The size of the 3p deletions increased with
      progressive histologic changes; (5) TP53 allelic loss was present in many
      histologically advanced lesions (dysplasia and CIS); (6) Analyses of 58 normal
      and non-invasive foci having any molecular abnormality, indicated that 30
      probably arose as independent clonal events, while 28 were potentially of the
      same clonal origin as the corresponding tumor; (7) Nevertheless, when the allelic
      losses in the 30 clonally independent lesions and their clonally unrelated tumors
      were compared the same parental allele was lost in 113 of 125 (90%) of
      comparisons. The mechanism by which this phenomenon (known as allele specific
      mutations) occurs is unknown; (8) Four patterns of allelic loss in clones were
      found. Histologically normal or mildly abnormal foci had a negative pattern (no
      allelic loss) or early pattern of loss while all foci of CIS and invasive tumor
      had an advanced pattern. However dysplasias demonstrated the entire spectrum of
      allelic loss patterns, and were the only histologic category having the
      intermediate pattern. Our findings indicate that multiple, sequentially occurring
      allele specific molecular changes commence in widely dispersed, apparently
      clonally independent foci, early in the multistage pathogenesis of squamous cell
      carcinomas of the lung.

PMID- 9989815
TI  - Ectopic expression of pRb2/p130 suppresses the tumorigenicity of the c-erbB-2
      overexpressing SKOV3 tumor cell line.
AB  - We investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of the ectopic expression of the
      pRb2/p130 cell cycle regulator on c-erbB-2-associated tumorigenicity. SKOV3
      ovarian cancer cells, which display c-erbB-2 gene amplification and oncoprotein
      (p185HER2) overexpression, were stably transfected with a plasmid containing the
      coding sequence for human wild-type pRb2/p130 (wtRb2), or with pcDNA3 empty
      vector. Three wtRb2-transfected clones (cl. 24, ci. 49, cl. 100) and one empty
      vector-transfected clone (cl. mock) were randomly picked and further analysed.
      Western blot analysis revealed high levels of pRb2/p130 in the three clones
      compared to mock cells. Levels of p185HER2 and the extent of its tyrosine
      phosphorylation were similar in all transfectant clones, as were levels of pRb1
      and p107. In anchorage-independent growth assays, the number of colonies from
      wtRb2 clone-transfectants was about 90% less than that arising from mock cells
      (P<0.001). Tumor take rates of the three wtRb2-transfected clones xenografted in
      nu/nu mice were much lower than those of mock cells, and tumor volume was
      decreased by 80% (P<0.001). A mutant version of pRb2/p130 deleted of the pocket
      region (mut-Rb2) was also transfected into SKOV3 cells and studied in parallel
      with the wtRb2-transfected and pcDNA empty vector-transfected bulk populations.
      mut-Rb2 transfected cells showed no inhibition of in vitro colony formation and
      were fully tumorigenic. Together, these findings indicate that Rb2 acts as a
      tumor suppressor gene in vivo and in vitro in SKOV3 cells and that the intact
      pocket region is required for the suppressor activity.

PMID- 9989816
TI  - Two novel regions of interstitial deletion on chromosome 8p in colorectal cancer.
AB  - We have investigated interstitial deletions of chromosome 8 in 70 colorectal
      carcinomas and 11 colonic adenomas using 11 microsatellite markers, including
      eight spanning the centromeric region of chromosome 8p (p11.2-p12). Allelic loss
      or imbalance was observed in 38 (54%) cancers and four (36%) adenomas. Twenty
      eight (40%) of the cancers had deletions of 8p11.2-p12. Two distinct and
      independent regions of interstitial loss were found within this region.
      Fluorescent in situ hybridization, using an alpha satellite repeat probe to the
      centromere of 8p and two probes to the P1 region, was performed in four tumours
      that demonstrated allelic imbalance. Localized heterozygous deletions were
      confirmed in all four tumours. Eleven (16%) cancers had localized deletion in the
      region ANK-1 to D8S255 (P1) and a further eleven (16%) cancers had a less well
      localized deletion in the region defined by the markers D8S87 to D8S259 (P2).
      Loss of both centromeric loci was identified in a further six (9%) tumours. A
      functional significance for these two deletion regions was sought by correlation
      with primary and secondary tumour characteristics. Isolated P2 deletion was
      associated with 'early' T1 cancers (2p=0.0002), and were also identified in 3/11
      adenomas. Conversely, interstitial deletions of the P1 locus were more frequently
      seen in 'locally invasive' T3/4 cancers (2p=0.015), and isolated P1 deletions
      were also associated with the presence of liver metastases (2p=0.016). Our data
      provide evidence of at least two genes within the 8p11.2-p12 region, mutations in
      which may confer different and independent roles in the pathogenesis of
      colorectal cancer.

PMID- 9989817
TI  - Both AP-1 and Cbfa1-like factors are required for the induction of interstitial
      collagenase by parathyroid hormone.
AB  - PTH is a major regulator of calcium homeostasis by mobilizing calcium through
      bone resorption. We show that the expression of collagenase-3 (MMP-13), a member
      of the family of matrix metalloproteinases, required for the cleavage of
      collagens in the bone, is increased upon PTH injection in mice. A cis-acting
      element in the collagenase-3 promoter was identified which, together with AP-1,
      is required for induction by PTH. This element contains CCACA motifs which are
      required for binding of the 65 kDa osteoblast-specific splice variant of Cbfal.
      Introduction of mutations in this binding site that interfere with protein
      interaction also eliminates PTH inducibility and transactivation by Cbfa/ Runt
      proteins. While DNA binding activity of AP-1 is increased upon PTH treatment,
      high basal level of Cbfa/Runt binding activity is detectable in untreated cells
      which is not further increased by PTH, suggesting that AP-1 and Cbfal contribute
      to transcriptional activation through different mechanisms. In agreement with the
      critical role of both proteins defined in tissue culture cells, expression of
      collagenase-3 is reduced in mice lacking c-fos and is completely absent in cbfa1
      /-embryos. These data provide the first evidence for a critical role of Cbfal, a
      major regulator of bone development, in PTH-dependent processes such as bone
      resorption.

PMID- 9989818
TI  - Rapid dephosphorylation of p107 following UV irradiation.
AB  - In response to UV irradiation, mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts transiently arrest
      predominantly in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we investigate the role of
      the retinoblastoma-related pocket proteins in this biological process. We report
      here that UV induces an increase in p107/E2F complexes, shown previously to be
      repressors of E2F-dependent transcriptional activity. Several lines of evidence
      indicate that the increase of p107/E2F complexes following UV irradiation is a
      consequence of rapid dephosphorylation of p107. First, UV-mediated p107
      dephosphorylation could be abolished by pretreatment of NIH3T3 fibroblasts with
      the serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitors calyculin A and okadaic acid. Second,
      alteration of protein phosphatase 2A holoenzyme composition by over-expression of
      specific B subunits interfered with UV-mediated dephosphorylation of p107.
      Consistent with this, p107 could be dephosphorylated in vitro with PP2A.
      Moreover, dephosphorylation of p107 was shown to be independent of the activity
      of p53 and p21, as it occurred also in UV-treated p53-null as well as p21-null
      mouse fibroblasts. We observed a close correlation between the UV dosages
      required for G1 cell cycle arrest and p107 dephosphorylation. Our data suggest a
      model in which UV radiation-induced cell cycle arrest depends, at least in part,
      on the induction of a PP2A-like phosphatase that acts on p107.

PMID- 9989819
TI  - The product of the cph oncogene is a truncated, nucleotide-binding protein that
      enhances cellular survival to stress.
AB  - Cph was isolated from neoplastic Syrian hamster embryo fibroblasts initiated by 3
      methylcholanthrene (MCA), and was shown to be a single copy gene in the hamster
      genome, conserved from yeast to human cells, expressed in fetal cells and most
      adult tissues, and acting synergistically with H-ras in the transformation of
      murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts. We have now isolated Syrian hamster full-length cDNAs
      for the cph oncogene and proto-oncogene. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed
      that cph was activated in MCA-treated cells by a point-mutational deletion at
      codon 214, which caused a shift in the normal open reading frame (ORF) and
      brought a translation termination codon 33 amino acids downstream. While proto
      cph encodes a protein (pcph) of 469 amino acids, cph encodes a truncated protein
      (cph) of 246 amino acids with a new, hydrophobic C-terminus. Similar mechanisms
      activated cph in other MCA-treated Syrian hamster cells. The cph and proto-cph
      proteins have partial sequence homology with two protein families: GDP/GTP
      exchange factors and nucleotide phosphohydrolases. In vitro translated, gel
      purified cph proteins did not catalyze nucleotide exchange for H-ras, but were
      able to bind nucleotide phosphates, in particular ribonucleotide diphosphates
      such as UDP and GDP. Steady-state levels of cph mRNA increased 6.7-fold in
      hamster neoplastic cells, relative to a 2.2-fold increase in normal cells, when
      they were subjected to a nutritional stress such as serum deprivation. Moreover,
      cph-transformed NIH3T3 cells showed increased survival to various forms of stress
      (serum starvation, hyperthermia, ionizing radiation), strongly suggesting that
      cph participates in cellular mechanisms of response to stress.

PMID- 9989820
TI  - Growth stimulation of murine fibroblasts by TGF-beta1 depends on the expression
      of a functional p53 protein.
AB  - Transforming Growth Factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) inhibits the proliferation of most
      cells, but stimulates some mesenchymal cell types, including murine NIH3T3
      fibroblasts. We show here that TGF-beta1 growth stimulation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts
      is reversed when these cells are transformed by SV40 or are transfected with a
      plasmid encoding the SV40 Large T antigen. Inversion of the TGF-beta1 growth
      stimulation of NIH3T3 cells is not observed when these cells are transfected with
      plasmids expressing either a mutant Large T, unable to bind P53, or the E1A
      adenovirus oncoprotein which binds the retinoblastoma protein pRB but not P53.
      But when the TGF-beta1-growth stimulated cells are transfected with a plasmid
      expressing a mutant form of Large T capable of binding to P53, but not to pRB, or
      with one expressing the E1B-55 kD adenovirus oncoprotein, which also binds to P53
      but not to pRB, the cells are growth-inhibited by TGF-beta1. The cdk inhibitor
      p21Waf is decreased in TGF-beta1-stimulated NIH3T3 fibroblasts and increased in
      TGF-beta1-inhibited SV40-transformed cells. Finally, we show that T12
      fibroblasts, from a P53 knockout mouse, are growth inhibited by TGF-beta1 and
      that they remain so upon transfection with a P53 which is mutant at restrictive
      temperature, but become growth-stimulated by this factor at permissive
      temperature when P53 is functional. These data strongly suggest that growth
      stimulation of fibroblasts by TGF-beta1 depends on the presence of a functional
      P53 protein and that inversion of this response occurs if P53 is absent or
      inactivated.

PMID- 9989821
TI  - Bcl-2 interferes with the execution phase, but not upstream events, in
      glucocorticoid-induced leukemia apoptosis.
AB  - Due to their growth arrest- and apoptosis-inducing ability, glucocorticoids (GC)
      are widely used in the therapy of various lymphoid malignancies. Cell death is
      associated with activation of members of the interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme
      (ICE) protease/caspase family and, is presumably prevented by the anti-apoptotic
      protein Bcl-2. To further address the role of Bcl-2 in GC-mediated cytotoxicity,
      we generated subclones of the GC-sensitive human T-cell acute lymphoblastic
      leukemia line CCRF-CEM, in which transgenic Bcl-2 expression is regulated by
      tetracycline. Up to about 48 h, exogenous Bcl-2 almost completely protected these
      cells from apoptosis, digestion of poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) and
      generation of Asp-Glu-Val-Asp cleaving (DEVDase) activity. However, when the
      cells were cultured for another 24 h in the continuous presence of GC, they
      underwent massive apoptosis that was associated with DEVDase activity and PARP
      cleavage. Bcl-2 did not markedly affect GC-mediated growth arrest, thereby
      separating the anti-proliferative from the apoptosis-inducing effect of GC.
      Moreover, Bcl-2 did not prevent the dramatic reduction in the levels of several
      mRNAs observed during GC treatment, including the transgenic Bcl-2 mRNA. Thus,
      Bcl-2 can be placed upstream of effector caspase activation, but downstream of
      other GC-regulated events, such as growth arrest and the potentially critical
      repression of steady state levels of multiple mRNA.

PMID- 9989822
TI  - Characteristics of genomic breakpoints in TLS-CHOP translocations in liposarcomas
      suggest the involvement of Translin and topoisomerase II in the process of
      translocation.
AB  - Fusion of TLS/FUS and CHOP gene by reciprocal translocation t(12;16)(q32;q16) is
      a common genetic event found in myxoid and round-cell liposarcomas.
      Characterization of this genetic event was performed by three methods, Southern
      blot, RT-PCR, and genomic long-distance PCR in nine myxoid and three round-cell
      liposarcomas. All but one tumors showed genetic alternations indicating the
      fusion of TLS/FUS and CHOP gene. Two novel types of fusion transcripts were
      found, of which one lacked exon 2 sequence of CHOP gene, and the other lacked 3'
      half of exon 5 of TLS gene. The latter case was caused by a cryptic splicing site
      which was created by the genomic fusion. Detailed analyses genomic fusion points
      revealed several sequence characteristics surrounding the fusion points. Homology
      analyses of breakpoint sequences with known sequence motifs possibly involve in
      the process of translocation uncovered Translin binding sequences at both of TLS/
      FUS and CHOP breakpoints in two cases. Translocations were always associated with
      other genetic alterations, such as deletions, duplications, or insertions. Short
      direct repeats were almost always found at both ends of deleted or duplicated
      fragments some of which had apparently been created by joining of sequences that
      flank the rearrangement. Finally, consensus topoisomerase II cleavage sites were
      found at breakpoints in all cases analysed, suggesting a role of this enzyme in
      creating staggered ends at the breakpoint. These data suggested that sequence
      characteristics may play an important role to recruit several factors such as
      Translin and topoisomerase II in the process of chromosomal translation in
      liposarcomas.

PMID- 9989823
TI  - Augmentation of a humanized anti-HER2 mAb 4D5 induced growth inhibition by a
      human-mouse chimeric anti-EGF receptor mAb C225.
AB  - Overexpression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and HER2 (p185neu) may
      both contribute to the growth of human cancers. A humanized anti-HER2 monoclonal
      antibody (mAb) 4D5 and a human-mouse chimeric anti-EGF receptor mAb C225 are
      currently being investigated in clinical trials for their anti-tumor activities.
      In the present study, we have examined the effect of concurrent treatment of OVCA
      420 human ovarian cancer cells with mAb C225 and mAb 4D5. Exposure of OVCA420
      cells to saturating concentrations of C225 (20 nM) for 7 days resulted in 40-50%
      growth inhibition, and exposure to 20 nM mAb 4D5 also resulted in 30-40% growth
      inhibition. The growth inhibition of OVCA420 cells by mAb C225 or 4D5 was
      associated with an increased G1 cell population; an increased level of a cyclin
      dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p27Kip1 with increased association of p27kip1
      with CDK2, CDK4 and CDK6; and decreased activities of these CDKs. Combination
      treatment with concurrent exposure to mAbs C225 and 4D5 resulted in additive anti
      proliferative effects on these cells, which was accompanied by enhanced G1 cell
      distribution, a greater increase in the levels of p27Kip1 and a greater decrease
      in the activities of CDK kinases. The anti-proliferative effects and related
      changes in cell cycle regulators induced by mAb 4D5, mAb C225 or the combination
      of the two mAbs could be reversed by concurrent exposure to exogenous EGF. Our
      data suggest the potential fruitful cooperation of anti-EGF receptor mAb and anti
      HER2 mAb in the treatment of human cancers stimulated by EGF receptor and HER2
      signals.

PMID- 9989824
TI  - The expression of P-glycoprotein is causally related to a less aggressive
      phenotype in human osteosarcoma cells.
AB  - The relationship between P-glycoprotein expression and malignancy is
      controversial. We have recently found that, in osteosarcoma, multidrug resistance
      (MDR) is associated with a less aggressive behavior, both in vitro and in
      clinical settings. In this study, we evaluated whether P-glycoprotein
      overexpression has a cause-effect relationship with the reduced metastatic
      potential of MDR cells, or rather reflects a more complex phenotype. MDR1 gene
      transfected osteosarcoma cell clones, showing different levels of P-glycoprotein
      expression, were analysed for their in vitro characteristics and their
      tumorigenic and metastatic ability in athymic mice. Apart from the different
      levels of P-glycoprotein, no significant change in the expression of surface
      antigens or in the differentiative features were observed in the MDR1 gene
      transfectants compared to the parental cell lines or control clones, obtained by
      transfection with neo gene alone. In contrast to controls, however, MDR1
      transfectants showed a significantly lower ability to grow in semi-solid medium
      and were completely unable to grow and give lung metastases in athymic mice.
      These findings indicate that P-glycoprotein overexpression is causally associated
      with a low malignant potential of osteosarcoma cells, and open new insights on
      the role and functions of P-glycoprotein activity.

PMID- 9989825
TI  - Hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis is CD95-independent, requires the release of
      mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species and the activation of NF-kappaB.
AB  - Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in cell death induced by
      many different stimuli. This study shows that hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis
      in T-cells did not require tyrosine kinase p561ck, phosphatase CD45, the CD95
      receptor and its associated Caspase-8. H2O2-triggered cell death led to the
      induced cleavage and activation of Caspase-3. Hydrogen peroxide-treatment of T
      cells resulted in the formation of mitochondrial permeability transition pores, a
      rapid decrease of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential delta psi(m) and the
      release of Cytochrome C. Inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition
      by bongkrekic acid (BA), or interference with the mitochondrial electron
      transport system by rotenone or menadione prevented the cytotoxic effect of H2O2.
      Antimycin A, a mitochondrial inhibitor that increases the release of
      mitochondrial ROS (MiROS), enhanced apoptosis. Overexpression of Bcl-2 and the
      viral anti-apoptotic proteins BHRF-1 and E1B 19K counteracted H2O2-induced
      apoptosis. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of transcription factor NF
      kappaB protected cells from hydrogen peroxide-elicited cell death. This
      detrimental effect of NF-kappaB mediating hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death
      presumably relies on the induced expression of death effector genes such as p53,
      which was NF-kappaB-dependently upregulated in the presence of H2O2.

PMID- 9989826
TI  - APS, an adaptor protein containing PH and SH2 domains, is associated with the
      PDGF receptor and c-Cbl and inhibits PDGF-induced mitogenesis.
AB  - Previously we cloned a novel adaptor protein, APS (adaptor molecules containing
      PH and SH2 domains) which was tyrosine phosphorylated in response to c-kit or B
      cell receptor stimulation. Here we report that APS was expressed in some human
      osteosarcoma cell lines, markedly so in SaOS-2 cells, and was tyrosine
      phosphorylated in response to several growth factors, including platelet derived
      growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and granulocyte
      macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Ectopic expression of the wild
      type APS, but not C-terminal truncated APS, in NIH3T3 fibroblasts suppressed PDGF
      induced MAP kinase (Erk2) activation, c-fos and c-myc induction as well as cell
      proliferation. In vitro binding experiments suggest that APS bound to the beta
      type PDGF receptor, mainly via phosphotyrosine 1021 (pY1021). Indeed, tyrosine
      phosphorylation of PLC-gamma, which has been demonstrated to bind to pY1021, but
      not that of PI3 kinase and associated proteins, was reduced in APS transformants.
      PDGF induced phosphorylation of the tyrosine residue of APS close to the C
      terminal end. In vitro and in vivo binding experiments indicate that the tyrosine
      phosphorylated C-terminal region of APS bound to c-Cbl, which has been shown to
      be a negative regulator of tyrosine kinases. Since coexpression of c-Cbl with
      wild type APS, but not C-terminal truncated APS, synergistically inhibited PDGF
      induced c-fos promoter activation, c-Cbl could be a mechanism of inhibitory
      action of APS on PDGF receptor signaling.

PMID- 9989827
TI  - Surface plasmon resonance measurements reveal stable complex formation between
      p53 and DNA polymerase alpha.
AB  - Surface plasmon resonance measurements were used for detecting and quantifying
      protein-protein interactions between the tumor suppressor protein p53, the SV40
      large T antigen (T-ag), the cellular DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex (pol
      prim), and the cellular single-strand DNA binding protein RPA. Highly purified
      p53 protein bound to immobilized T-ag with an apparent binding constant of 2 x
      10(8) M(-1). Binding of p53 to RPA was in the same order of magnitude with a
      binding constant of 4 x 10(8) M(-1), when RPA was coupled to the sensor chip via
      its smallest subunit, and 1 x 10(8) M(-1), when RPA was coupled via its p70
      subunit. Furthermore, p53 bound human DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex (pol
      prim) with a K(A) value of 1 x 10(10) m(-1). Both the p68 subunit and the p180
      subunit of pol-prim could interact with p53 displaying binding constants of 2 x
      10(10) m1(-1) and 5 X 10(9) M(-1), respectively. Complex formation was also
      observed with a p180/p68 heterodimer, and again with a binding constant similar.
      Hence, there was no synergistic effect when p53 bound to higher order complexes
      of pol-prim. A truncated form of p53, consisting of amino acids 1-320, bound pol
      prim by four orders of magnitude less efficiently. Therefore, an intact C
      terminus of p53 seems to be important for efficient binding to pol-prim. It was
      also tried to measure complex formation between p53, pol-prim, and T-ag. However
      there was no evidence for the existence of a ternary complex consisting of T-ag,
      pol-prim, and p53.

PMID- 9989828
TI  - Distinct chromosomal alterations associated with TP53 status of LoVo cells under
      PALA selective pressure: a parallel with cytogenetic pathways of colorectal
      cancers.
AB  - This study investigates the chromosomal alterations involved in the acquisition
      of PALA resistance of LoVo colorectal cancer cells homozygous for wild-type TP53
      before and after transfection with a 143Ala-mutated TP53 gene. PALA resistance
      was always associated with an increased number of CAD gene copies, but gene
      amplification sensu stricto was rarely observed. Interestingly, distinct
      chromosome patterns were found in relation to the TP53 status of the cells. In
      parental LoVo cells, the CAD copy number was increased through gains of normal
      chromosome 2 whereas in transfectant clones, resistance mostly occurred through
      chromosome rearrangements. The relationship with the two different cytogenetic
      patterns described in colorectal tumors is discussed.

PMID- 9989829
TI  - Co-amplification and overexpression of CDK4, SAS and MDM2 occurs frequently in
      human parosteal osteosarcomas.
AB  - Amplification of genes in the 12q13-15 region occurs frequently in several
      malignancies including osteosarcoma. The products of these amplified genes are
      thought to provide cancer cells with a selective growth advantage; however, the
      specific gene(s) driving this amplicon is unknown. We have previously shown that
      the SAS gene is amplified in most parosteal osteosarcomas. In this study we
      analysed additional putative growth regulatory genes in this chromosomal region
      in 24 primary osteosarcoma specimens. CDK4 and SAS were coamplified in 6/6
      parosteal tumors, and MDM2 was also amplified in 4/5 parosteal cases. In
      comparison, amplification occurred in only 2/16 classical intramedullary
      osteosarcomas and involved the SAS gene. Each amplified gene had a
      correspondingly elevated mRNA level. Four high grade intramedullary tumors had
      elevated mRNA expression of SAS, but did not exhibit gene amplification. Gene
      amplification/overexpression was not associated with metastatic disease and did
      not change markedly with tumor progression, as evidenced by analysis of
      sequential tumor specimens from eight patients. Three other genes in the 12q13-15
      region (CDK2, WNT1 and WNT10b) were not amplified in any of the tumors. The
      different patterns of gene amplification and overexpression of CDK4, SAS and MDM2
      in parosteal and intramedullary osteosarcomas may help explain the disparity in
      the biological behaviour of these two types of osteosarcoma.

PMID- 9989830
TI  - High frequency of p16INK4A gene alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma.
AB  - The tumor suppressor gene p16 (CDKN2/MTS-1/INK4A) is an important component of
      the cell cycle and inactivation of the gene has been found in a variety of human
      cancers. In order to investigate the role of p16 gene in the tumorigenesis of
      hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 48 cases of HCC were analysed for p16 alterations
      by: methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to determine the methylation status of the p16
      promoter region; comparative multiplex PCR to detect homozygous deletion; PCR
      SSCP and DNA sequencing analysis to identify mutation of the p16 gene. We found
      high frequency of hypermethylation of the 5' CpG island of the p16 gene in 30 of
      48 cases (62.5%) of HCC tumors. Moreover, homozygous deletion at p16 region were
      present in five of 48 cases (10.4%); and missense mutation were detected in three
      of 48 cases (6.3%). The overall frequency of p16 alterations, including
      homozygous deletion, mutation and hypermethylation, in HCC tumors was 70.8% (34
      of 48 cases). These findings suggest that: (a) the inactivation of the p16 is a
      frequent event in HCC; (b) the p16 gene is inactivated by multiple mechanisms
      including homozygous deletion, promoter hypermethylation and point mutation; (c)
      the most common somatic alteration of the p16 gene in HCC is de novo
      hypermethylation of the 5' CpG island; and (d) in contrast to other studies, high
      frequency of genomic alterations are not uncommon in the 9p21 of the p16 gene.
      Our results strongly suggest that the p16 gene plays an important role in the
      pathogenesis of HCC.

PMID- 9989831
TI  - Mechanism of activation of Pak1 kinase by membrane localization.
AB  - Pak kinases are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases homologous to Ste20p
      of yeast. Paks can be activated in vivo and in vitro by binding to GTP-bound
      Cdc42 and Rac1, members of the Rho family of small GTPases implicated in
      regulating the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We have previously
      reported that the SH2/SH3-containing adaptor protein Nck binds Pak kinase through
      its second SH3 domain. Pak1 can be targeted to the membrane by Nck in response to
      tyrosine phosphorylation, and membrane association of Pak1 is sufficient to
      increase its specific activity. The mechanism whereby Pak is activated by
      membrane localization, however, is unknown. We show here that expression of three
      proteins that inhibit Rho-family GTPases by different mechanisms (RhoGDI, Bcr and
      D57Y Cdc42) all block the activation of Pak by a membrane-targeted Nck SH3
      domain, demonstrating that the in vivo activation of Pak1 induced by membrane
      localization is dependent on Rho-family GTPases. This implies that Pak activity
      can be regulated in cells both by the level of GTP loading of various Rho-family
      GTPases and the local concentration of Pak relative to these GTPases. Our data
      also suggest the existence of Rho-family GTPases in addition to Cdc42 and Rac1
      that can activate Pak on membranes.

PMID- 9989832
TI  - Reduced growth rate and transformation phenotype of the prostate cancer cells by
      an interferon-inducible protein, p202.
AB  - Interferons (IFNs) can exert cytostatic and immunomodulatory effects on carcinoma
      cells. In particular, growth inhibition of human prostate carcinoma by IFNs has
      been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. p202 is a 52 kd nuclear
      phosphoprotein known to be induced by IFNs. In this report, we showed that the
      expression of p202 was associated with an anti-proliferative effect on human
      prostate cancer cells. More importantly, cells that expressed p202 showed reduced
      ability to grow in soft-agar, indicating a loss of transformation phenotype. Our
      data suggest that p202 is a growth inhibitor gene in prostate cancer cells and
      its expression may also suppress transformation phenotype of prostate cancer
      cells.

PMID- 9989833
TI  - Constitutive activation of the 41-/43-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase
      signaling pathway in human tumors.
AB  - The 41-kDa and 43-kDa mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases play a pivotal role
      in the mitogenic signal transduction pathway and are essential components of the
      MAP kinase cascade, which includes MAP kinase kinase (MEK) and Raf-1. As aberrant
      activation of signal transducing molecules such as Ras and Raf-1 has been linked
      with cancer, we examined whether constitutive activation of the 41-/43-kDa MAP
      kinases is associated with the neoplastic phenotype of 138 tumor cell lines and
      102 primary tumors derived from various human organs. Constitutive activation of
      the MAP kinases was observed in 50 tumor cell lines (36.2%) in a rather tissue
      specific manner: cell lines derived from pancreas, colon, lung, ovary and kidney
      showed especially high frequencies with a high degree of MAP kinase activation,
      while those derived from brain, esophagus, stomach, liver and of hematopoietic
      origin showed low frequencies with a limited degree of MAP kinase activation. We
      also detected constitutive activation of the 41-/43-kDa MAP kinases in a
      relatively large number of primary human tumors derived from kidney, colon and
      lung tissues but not from liver tissue. Many tumor cells, in which point
      mutations of ras genes were detected, showed constitutive activation of MAP
      kinases, however, there were also many exceptions to this observation. In
      contrast, the activation of the 41-/43-kDa MAP kinases was accompanied by the
      activation of Raf-1 in the majority of tumor cells and was completely associated
      with the activation of MEK and p90rsk in all the tumor cells examined. These
      results suggest that the constitutive activation of 41-/43-kDa MAP kinases in
      tumor cells is not due to the disorder of MAP kinases themselves, but is due to
      the disorder of Raf-1, Ras, or some other signaling molecules upstream of Ras.

PMID- 9989834
TI  - Localization of a novel tumor suppressor gene associated with human oral cancer
      on chromosome 4q25.
AB  - Recent cytogenetic and molecular studies with highly polymorphic microsatellite
      markers have implicated allele loss involving chromosome 4 in several human
      cancers, which suggests the presence of multiple tumor suppressor gene (TSG)
      loci. However, there has been no detailed analysis of loss of heterozygosity
      (LOH) on chromosome 4 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). To determine the
      location of a putative TSG associated with OSCC on chromosome 4, polymerase chain
      reaction (PCR) analysis of microsatellite polymorphisms corresponding to 17 loci
      was performed to screen 32 patients with OSCC. LOH was observed in the majority
      of the tumors (75%) in at least one of the loci. The loci on the long arm
      exhibited a significantly higher frequency of deletions (66%) than those of the
      short arm (25%). Among the loci tested, frequent LOH was centered at D4S1573 on
      4q25, which represents a region of about 4 centimorgans (cM). However, no
      commonly deleted regions were found on the short arm of the chromosome. We
      detected microsatellite instability (MI) in 31% of the cases. MI was also
      observed more frequently on the long arm (28%) than the short arm (6%). Thus, our
      data indicate that alterations of chromosome 4 regions, especially the long arm,
      are associated with OSCC tumorigenesis and that the 4q25 region may harbor at
      least one putative TSG.

PMID- 9989835
TI  - Differential gene expression in neoplastic and human papillomavirus-immortalized
      oral keratinocytes.
AB  - We have previously demonstrated that normal human oral keratinocytes immortalized
      by transfection with human papillomavirus type-16 Dna became tumorigenic after
      exposure to a chemical carcinogen. In an effort to detect differentially
      regulated genes associated with this transition from the immortal to the
      malignant phenotype, we employed representational differences analysis (a PCR
      coupled subtractive hybridization technique). After analysing 50 colonies, 12
      putative messages were identified. Northern analysis comparison using the
      identified cDNAs as probes was made between normal human oral keratinocyte,
      papillomavirus-immortalized human oral keratinocytes (HOK-16B), a neoplastic cell
      line derived from HOK-16B (HOK-16B-BaP-T) and the human oral cancer cell lines
      Hep-2, SCC-9 and Tu-177. We found that mRNAs encoding for cyclophilin A, c-myc
      binding protein 1, the heat shock protein 90alpha and one unknown transcript were
      up-regulated in the oral cancer cell lines analysed as well as in HOK-16B cells.
      We also detected a downregulation of the mRNAs encoding the skin-derived
      antileukoproteinase SKALP/elafin, the translationally regulated p23 protein and
      one unknown transcript. Whether these messages are associated to the neoplastic
      conversion of human keratinocytes remains to be determined.

PMID- 9989836
TI  - A frequent activated smoothened mutation in sporadic basal cell carcinomas.
AB  - Basal-cell carcinomas (BCCs) are the most common cancer in Caucasians. It has
      been reported that the patched gene is inactivated in 30-40% sporadic BCCs and
      20% sporadic medulloblastomas via loss of heterozygosity and nonsense mutations.
      Recently, two activating smoothened mutations have been found in the sporadic
      basal cell carcinomas. One, at base pair 1604 (G-to-T transversion) of exon 9,
      changes codon 535 from tryptophan to leucine, and the other, at base pair 1685 (G
      to-A transition) of exon 10, changes codon 562 from arginine to glutamine (Xie et
      al., 1998). In our study, 1604G-->T was found in 20 out of 97 (20.6%) sporadic
      BCCs. The high prevalence indicates that 1604G is the mutation hot spot in our
      tumor samples. This mutation was detected in all three histological subtypes of
      BCCs, suggesting that smoothened mutation is an early event during the
      development of the tumor. Our finding of a high smoothened mutation rate,
      together with high frequent patched gene mutations reported recently, indicates
      that activation of the hedgehog signal transduction pathway is the most common
      and early event in the development of sporadic BCCs. Additionally, to determine
      whether smoothened, like patched, is also involved in the carcinogenesis of
      medulloblastomas, we screened medulloblastoma samples for these two mutations by
      restriction analysis. We have found the 1604G-->T mutation in 1 out of 21
      medulloblastomas. This result confirmed smoothened gene involvement in the
      carcinogenesis of medulloblastoma.

PMID- 9989837
TI  - Linkage between melanocytic tumor development and early burst of Ret protein
      expression for tolerance induction in metallothionein-I/ret transgenic mouse
      lines.
AB  - We examined the basis of the all or none difference in inducing melanocytic tumor
      development among three transgenic mouse lines (304, 192 and 242) to which the
      same promoter-enhancer (metallothionein-I) and oncogene (ret) were introduced. We
      initially demonstrated that both skin melanosis and Ret protein expression in
      skin, thymus and brain first became detectable before or immediately after birth
      in the mice of the tumor developing lines (304 and 192), whereas they became
      detectable a few days after birth in the mice of the non-tumor developing line
      (242) by Western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis. Interestingly, the
      Ret protein expression in skin developed rapidly after birth as a burst with peak
      levels on 0.5-1.5 day newborns of lines 304 and 192 and on 7.0-7.5 day-old mice
      of line 242. The levels of autophosphorylation of Ret kinase in skin were,
      however, invariable among these three transgenic mouse lines. The mice of line
      242, but not those of lines 192 and 304, responded to Ret protein immunization by
      increased antigen-dependent lymphocyte proliferation and T-cell-mediated tumor
      growth suppression in vitro. Furthermore, ret-transgenic mice of line 242, but
      not line 304, rejected the subcutaneously transplanted tumors that had originally
      developed in a mouse of line 304. These results suggest that whether oncogene
      product-specific-tolerance is established or not to antitumor immunity may be
      decided by the dynamics of ret oncogene expression before and after delivery and
      this is the primary factor determining development or non-development of
      melanoma.

PMID- 9989838
TI  - Different regulation of c-Myc- and E2F-1-induced apoptosis during the ongoing
      cell cycle.
AB  - The transcription factors c-Myc and E2F-1 have been shown to harbour both
      mitogenic and apoptotic properties. Both factors have been implicated in the
      regulation of the transition from the G1 phase to the S phase in the mammalian
      cell cycle. However, whether cell death triggered by these molecules is dependent
      on the cell's position in the ongoing cell cycle remained elusive. Using
      centrifugal elutriation we here show for the first time that c-Myc induces
      apoptosis in G1 and in G2 phase, whereas E2F-1-induced apoptosis specifically
      occurs in G1. S phase cells are resistant to cell death triggered by these
      factors. We demonstrate that this is not a general phenomenon, since S phase
      cells are susceptible to apoptosis induced by treatment with actinomycin D and to
      the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2. Our data indicate that S phase cells
      harbour specific protective activities against c-Myc- and E2F-1-induced
      apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that these transcription factors, although
      probably sharing specific apoptotic pathways, also take distinct routes to induce
      cell death and that apoptosis can occur at different phases of the cell cycle
      depending on the apoptotic stimulus. In this report we present the usefulness of
      a new approach to determine the regulation of apoptosis in the ongoing
      unperturbated cell cycle. This approach has clear implications for the
      identification of target genes involved in the regulation of cell death.

PMID- 9989839
TI  - CD4+ CD56+ cutaneous neoplasms: a distinct hematological entity? Groupe Francais
      d'Etude des Lymphomes Cutanes (GFELC).
AB  - We report seven cases of particular cutaneous tumors selected from the register
      of the French Study Group on Cutaneous Lymphomas. The patients (three men, four
      women) were aged 37-86 years. They initially presented with cutaneous nodules or
      papules. Three cases presented with regional lymph nodes. Stagings were negative,
      except for one patient with bone marrow involvement. Histological features were
      relevant with pleomorphic medium T-cell lymphoma, but these cells exhibited a
      distinguishing phenotype. They were positive for CD4, CD56, and also CD45, CD43,
      and HLA-DR. All other T-cell and B-cell markers were negative. The myelomonocytic
      markers (CD13, CD14, CD15, CD33, CD117, myeloperoxidase, and lysozyme) were
      negative excepted CD68, which was clearly positive in four cases and weakly in
      two cases. Others natural killer cell markers (CD16, CD57, TiA1, granzyme B),
      TdT, and CD34 were negative. Polymerase chain reaction studies did not detect any
      B or T clonal rearrangement. The cytogenetic studies, performed in five cases,
      showed a del(5q) in two cases. All patients were treated successfully by
      polychemotherapy, but relapsed quickly in the skin, between 4 and 28 months. Five
      patients developed bone marrow involvement, with leukemia in three cases, and
      they died in 5-27 months. One patient died at 17 months with skin progression.
      The seventh patient is alive at 33 months, with cutaneous progression. The origin
      of these cells is unclear. Despite expression of CD4 or CD56, we failed to
      demonstrate a T-cell, natural killer cell origin. However, CD4 and CD56 are not
      specific for T or natural killer lineages. Although these two markers are also
      known to be expressed by monocytic cells, classic myeloid antigens were negative.
      These seven cases, together with other rare similar cases already reported, seem
      to represent a distinct entity likely developed from hematological precursor
      cells.

PMID- 9989840
TI  - Rare expression of high-molecular-weight cytokeratin in adenocarcinoma of the
      prostate gland: a study of 100 cases of metastatic and locally advanced prostate
      cancer.
AB  - Immunohistochemistry with antibodies for high-molecular-weight cytokeratin labels
      basal cells and is used as an ancillary study in diagnosing prostate carcinoma,
      which reportedly lacks expression of high-molecular-weight cytokeratin. A recent
      report questioned the specificity of this marker, describing immunopositivity for
      high-molecular-weight cytokeratin in a small series of metastatic prostate
      cancer. We have also noted rare cases of prostate lesions on biopsy with typical
      histological features of adenocarcinoma showing immunopositivity for high
      molecular-weight cytokeratin, either in tumor cells or in patchy cells with the
      morphology of basal cells. In some of these cases, it was difficult to
      distinguish cancer from out-pouching of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial
      neoplasia. To investigate whether prostate cancer cells express high-molecular
      weight cytokeratin, we studied 100 cases of metastatic prostate carcinoma and 10
      cases of prostate cancer invading the seminal vesicles from surgical specimens.
      Metastatic sites included regional lymph nodes (n = 67), bone (n = 19), and
      miscellaneous (n = 14). Cases with any positivity for high-molecular-weight
      cytokeratin antibody (34betaE12) were verified as being of prostatic origin with
      immunohistochemistry for prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid
      phosphatase. Only four cases were detected positive for high-molecular-weight
      cytokeratin. In two cases (one metastasis, one seminal vesicle invasion) there
      was weakly diffuse positivity above background level. Two metastases in lymph
      nodes showed scattered strong staining of clusters of tumor cells, which
      represented <0.2% of tumor cells in the metastatic deposits. These positive cells
      did not have the morphology of basal cells. We conclude that prostate cancer,
      even high grade, only rarely expresses high-molecular-weight cytokeratin. This
      marker remains a very useful adjunct in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

PMID- 9989841
TI  - Lymphocytic gastritis: association with etiology and topology.
AB  - Lymphocytic gastritis (LG) is an uncommon chronic gastritis characterized by
      lymphocytosis of foveolar and surface epithelium. Lymphocytic gastritis is
      associated with celiac disease, Helicobacter pylori (HP) gastritis, and
      varioliform gastritis, but its topology and severity with respect to the
      associated entities have not been studied in detail. Therefore, we studied 103
      patients with LG classified according to the associated entities, including the
      distribution and severity of LG in the 70 patients from whom biopsy specimens of
      both antrum and body were available. In 84 patients (82%), a distinct associated
      entity was identified, including 39 with celiac disease, 30 with HP infection, 4
      with varioliform gastritis, 2 each with inflammatory polyp, Crohn's disease,
      human immunodeficiency virus infection, lymphoma, and esophageal carcinoma, and 1
      with lymphocytic gastroenterocolitis. Lymphocytic gastritis was found in 33% of
      patients with celiac disease and 4.1% of histopathologically defined HP
      gastritis. The severity of intraepithelial lymphocytosis was greater in antrum
      than in body in 83% (20 of 24) of LG associated with celiac disease, but in only
      19% (4 of 21) of LG associated with HP infection (p < 0.00002). All four patients
      with varioliform gastritis had more severe involvement of body. Lymphocytic
      colitis was common (38%, 5 of 13) in celiac disease with LG. Our results indicate
      that lymphocytic gastritis most commonly occurs in celiac disease and HP
      infection, but rarely with other entities. The topology of LG can direct the
      clinical evaluation for associated disease.

PMID- 9989843
TI  - Florid cystic endosalpingiosis with tumor-like manifestations: a report of four
      cases including the first reported cases of transmural endosalpingiosis of the
      uterus.
AB  - Four cases of endosalpingiosis presenting as masses that resembled neoplasms are
      described in women 20, 41, 43, and 74 years of age. Each case was referred in
      consultation because of difficulties in pathologic diagnosis. In two patients,
      multiple cysts that involved the serosal surfaces of the uterus and adnexa in one
      case, and the colon, rectosigmoid, pelvic sidewalls, and the cul-de-sac in the
      other, were excised. In the other two cases, hysterectomy was performed for an
      enlarged cystic cervix in one case and presumed uterine leiomyomas in the other.
      In both of these cases, the uterine cervix and lower part of the uterine corpus
      were extensively involved by multiple cysts on gross examination, and in one of
      them, a frozen section of the cervical lesion was initially interpreted as
      "suspicious for invasive minimal deviation adenocarcinoma." On microscopic
      examination, benign endosalpingiotic glands and cysts were found in all four
      cases, with striking transmural involvement of the uterine cervix and lower
      uterine segment and contiguous corpus in the two cases with uterine involvement.
      The latter two cases are the first examples, to our knowledge, of
      endosalpingiosis involving the wall of the uterus; the differential diagnosis in
      these cases includes minimal deviation adenocarcinoma and florid tubal metaplasia
      with cystification. The four cases in this report, and rare previously reported
      cases, indicate that although usually a microscopic finding, endosalpingiosis can
      rarely present as a clinically or grossly evident mass that can be confused with
      a neoplasm.

PMID- 9989842
TI  - Adamantinoma-like Ewing's sarcoma: genomic confirmation, phenotypic drift.
AB  - Ewing's sarcoma, a highly malignant neoplasm, is characterized by an 11;22
      translocation [t(11;22) (q24;q12)], resulting in the fusion of genes FLII and
      EWS. Adamantinoma of extragnathic bones, a low-grade malignant neoplasm with
      epithelial features, is not typically considered in the differential diagnosis of
      Ewing's sarcoma. In this study, three osseous Ewing's sarcomas with histological,
      immunohistochemical, or ultrastructural epithelial features were subjected to
      reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing studies for the
      Ewing's sarcoma molecular rearrangement. (Two of the three cases were originally
      described as adamantinomas or nontypical Ewing's sarcoma before the availability
      of genetic characterization.) In addition, traditional cytogenetic analysis and a
      unique combined interphase molecular cytogenetic/ immunocytochemical approach
      with bicolor 11;22 translocation breakpoint flanking probes (cosmids) and
      pancytokeratin antibodies were performed on one neoplasm. At(11;22) (q24;q12) was
      found in one neoplasm and a type II EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcript was detected in
      all three neoplasms. The combined genetic/immunocytochemical approach revealed
      the presence of the 11 ;22 translocation in the nuclei of cytokeratin
      immunoreactive cells. These genotypic and phenotypic findings delineate a novel
      Ewing's sarcoma histologic variant, "adamantinoma-like Ewing's sarcoma."

PMID- 9989844
TI  - Double immunolabeling with cytokeratin and smooth-muscle actin in confirming
      early invasive carcinoma of breast.
AB  - Histopathological identification of invasive breast carcinoma in its earliest
      phases is fraught with pitfalls. Preinvasive malignant lesions complicated by
      radial scar, sclerosing adenosis, and lobular cancerization, among other lesions,
      may simulate invasive carcinoma. Fibrosis, inflammatory reaction, and other
      stromal changes around in situ carcinoma may mask microinvasive foci on routine
      stains. Conventional immunohistochemistry to demonstrate basement membrane or
      myoepithelial cell layer may not, by itself, be unequivocally diagnostic of
      invasion. We performed a novel double immunoenzyme labeling technique using an
      avidin-biotin complex peroxidase-diaminobenzidine system for smooth-muscle actin
      followed by an alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase-new fuchsin system
      for cytokeratin antigen on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded histology sections
      to evaluate 32 such problematic cases. The initial histologic impression with
      hematoxylin and eosin staining alone was as follows-first group: microinvasive
      carcinoma-10; second group: carcinoma in situ--"stromal invasion cannot be ruled
      out"--15; third group: frankly infiltrating carcinoma of various grades and
      morphologic types-6. The last group served as positive control for invasion. One
      fibroadenoma with fine-needle-aspiration-induced artifact simulating stromal
      invasion was also included. The double immunoenzyme labeling technique imparted a
      dark brown color to the myoepithelial cells and a vivid red color to the
      epithelial cells, making individual or loosely cohesive groups of malignant
      epithelial cells infiltrating the stroma easily detectable, whereas their in situ
      counterparts were contained within dark brown myoepithelial boundaries. The TNM
      1997 definition of pT1mic, i.e., extension of malignant cells in the stroma with
      no focus measuring >0.1 cm, was followed to classify microinvasion. In the first
      group, microinvasion was confirmed in six cases but was not demonstrable in four.
      In the second group, definite invasion was identified in five cases, ruled out in
      nine, and in one case the suspicion of early invasion could not be entirely ruled
      out even after double immunoenzyme labeling. Thus, it was possible to render a
      definite opinion regarding presence or absence of invasion in 24 of 25 (96%)
      cases diagnosed as or suspected to be microinvasive. The precise and simultaneous
      elucidation of topography between malignant cells and myoepithelial cells on a
      single permanent section makes this technique a useful diagnostic tool in the
      evaluation of those cases of breast carcinoma that exhibit equivocal invasion.

PMID- 9989845
TI  - The spleen in the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: histopathologic abnormalities of the
      white pulp correlate with the clinical phenotype of the disease.
AB  - The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a X-linked hematologic disorder
      characterized by thrombocytopenia, eczema, and immunodeficiency of variable
      severity. Reported here are the results of a morphologic, morphometric, and
      immunophenotypic analysis of splenic lymphoid tissue in 12 WAS patients with
      documented molecular defect and with different disease severity. Spleens from 29
      age-matched patients with different diseases were used as controls. Paraffin
      embedded tissue (from all cases) and fresh-frozen samples (from 5 WAS patients
      and 4 control subjects) were used to study the different white pulp compartments
      by classic morphologic, immunophenotyping, and image analysis techniques. Data
      were statistically analyzed by both parametric and nonparametric tests. Spleens
      from WAS patients showed a significant depletion of the total white pulp (p =
      0.0008), T cell (p < 0.05), and B cell (p = 0.0002) areas and marginal zone (MZ)
      thickness (p < 0.0001). Among WAS patients, a negative correlation was found
      between the score of severity of the disease and all variables considered
      (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, r = -0.79, r = -0.73, r = -0.68, and r
      = -0.56, respectively). In conclusion, this study shows that in WAS a general
      depletion of the splenic white pulp occurs, supporting the evidence that WAS is
      characterized by a combined immune defect. The significant reduction of the MZ
      may explain the inability of WAS patients to mount a response to T-independent
      antigens.

PMID- 9989846
TI  - Subchondral acute inflammation in severe arthritis: a sterile osteomyelitis?
AB  - Although arthritis is often associated with synovial inflammation, the osseous
      changes in inflammatory and degenerative arthritis are principally reactive, and
      typically lack an acute inflammatory component. We have recently encountered
      several osteoarticular specimens removed at the time of large joint arthroplasty
      that have shown a distinctive pattern of subchondral acute inflammation (SCAI)
      resembling acute bacterial osteomyelitis. These microscopic findings heretofore
      have not been recognized as a component of the histopathology of arthritis. To
      determine the frequency of SCAI, we examined slides (mean four per case) from 164
      hip arthroplasties performed at one of our institutions in a single year. A total
      of 10 cases of SCAI, including the 4 original examples (2 humeral head specimens,
      2 femoral head specimens) and 6 identified from the slide review are described in
      this report. Eight patients were female and two were male (ages 54-86 years, mean
      70, median 70). All had severe degenerative joint disease, six had rheumatoid
      arthritis, and three had osteonecrosis. In none was there a clinical or
      intraoperative suspicion of infection. Cultures of joint fluid or bone were not
      performed. In all cases, the inflammation was subchondral (within 1.0 cm of the
      joint surface), and it was frequently associated with subchondral cysts. In
      osteonecrotic foci, the suppurative inflammation was diffuse within the marrow
      space, whereas in viable bone it was nodular and vaguely granulomatous. Special
      stains for organisms were negative. None of the patients was treated with long
      term IV antibiotics. There has been no septic loosening of the prostheses at
      follow-up intervals ranging from 5 to 36 months (mean: 17 months). Our
      observations, to the best of our knowledge, are novel. Although we cannot
      definitively exclude bacterial infection as a cause of SCAI, the histologic and
      clinical features suggest that SCAI likely represents a noninfectious sterile
      form of inflammation. Subchondral acute inflammation is possibly secondary to
      synovial fluid insudation into subchondral cancellous bone in the setting of
      severe osteoarthritis and/or rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID- 9989847
TI  - Multiple familial gastrointestinal autonomic nerve tumors and small intestinal
      neuronal dysplasia.
AB  - Multiple small intestinal stromal tumors were removed from mother and natural
      daughter within 15 months of each other. Both had long histories of recurrent
      iron deficiency anemia and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Light microscopy
      revealed that the tumors had arisen in conjunction with diffuse hyperplasia/
      dysplasia of Auerbach's myenteric plexus. Immunohistochemistry generally did not
      show myogenic or paraganglionic phenotypes; CD34 was positive in most tumors.
      Electron microscopy confirmed the association with the abnormal Auerbach's plexus
      and showed the structure of gastrointestinal autonomic nerve tumors (GANTs).
      These findings provide information as to the origin and evolution of GANTs, and
      also have implications for the clinical management of these tumors which appear
      to occur more frequently than previously thought.

PMID- 9989848
TI  - Clinicopathological significance of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma.
AB  - The clinicopathological importance of a heterogeneous group of poorly
      differentiated thyroid carcinomas is not fully understood. Using data obtained
      from 303 surgically treated patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas, the
      correlations between the aggressive histologic features and the
      clinicopathological findings, postoperative recurrences, and prognosis were
      retrospectively examined. In 201 cases, the carcinomas were well differentiated.
      The remaining 102 cases of poorly differentiated carcinomas were divided into two
      groups: focal-poorly differentiated (<10%) and diffuse-poorly differentiated (>
      or = 10%) carcinomas according to the extent of the poorly differentiated
      component. These poorly differentiated carcinomas were associated with high age
      (focal-poorly differentiated and diffuse-poorly differentiated versus well
      differentiated: 55 years and 59 versus 49; p < 0.0001), frequent presence of
      lymph node metastases (70% and 66% versus 48%; p = 0.0099) and distant metastases
      at diagnosis (11% and 11% versus 2%; p = 0.0098), and extrathyroidal invasion
      (53% and 53% versus 21%; p < 0.0001). There was independent correlation with age
      and the presence of extrathyroidal invasion. Cases of diffuse-poorly
      differentiated carcinomas showed frequent relapse (diffuse-poorly differentiated
      versus focal-poorly differentiated and well differentiated: 45% versus 30% and
      24%; p = 0.0062) and poor prognoses (mean survival period = 9.15 versus 19.03 and
      20.87 years; p < 0.0001) compared with the well and focal-poorly differentiated
      carcinomas. These data suggest that diffuse-poorly differentiated carcinoma is an
      important clinicopathological entity.

PMID- 9989849
TI  - Intraepidermal cytokeratin 7 expression is not restricted to Paget cells but is
      also seen in Toker cells and Merkel cells.
AB  - Histologically, extramammary Paget's disease and mammary Paget's disease (MPD)
      are characterized by large atypical cells distributed throughout the epidermis.
      Although classic examples of these disorders are easily diagnosed on morphologic
      grounds, some cases may cause differential diagnostic problems. Immunohistology
      with a wide variety of antibodies has been used as an aid for the identification
      of Paget cells, for their distinction from other entities, and for investigation
      of the origin or nature of the disorder. Recently, cytokeratin 7 has been
      proposed as a specific and 100% sensitive marker for Paget's disease. We studied
      22 cases of mammary Paget's disease and 22 cases of extramammary Paget's disease
      with and without an underlying malignancy for their reactivity with monoclonal
      antibodies to cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and cytokeratin 20 (CK20). Our studies show
      that anti-CK7 is an effective but not 100% sensitive marker for Paget cells,
      staining 21 of 22 cases of mammary Paget's disease and 19 of 22 cases of
      extramammary Paget's disease, whereas CK20 stained 0 of 17 cases of mammary
      Paget's disease and 6 of 19 cases of extramammary Paget's disease. We also
      demonstrate that CK7, but not CK20, highlights intraepidermal clear cells with
      bland nuclear features (Toker cells) that have been reported in 11% of normal
      nipples. By using CK7 as a marker, however, we were able to identify Toker cells
      in most of the nipples we studied: 8 of 15 nipples from mastectomy patients
      without Paget's disease, and 15 of 18 autopsy cases (both male and female) with
      normal breasts and nipples. It also permitted us to perform more extensive
      phenotyping on them, showing that Toker cells share similar antigens with Paget
      cells and with cells lining the underlying normal lactiferous ducts. In 7 of 15
      cases containing CK20-positive Merkel cells, CK7 was also seen to stain Merkel
      cells. In infrequent cases, Toker cells or Merkel cells may be so numerous
      focally that a CK7 stain may raise the possibility of involvement of the nipple
      by Paget's disease. An awareness of the CK7 reactivity of Toker cells and Merkel
      cells as well as attention to the cytologic features of the case should avoid
      this problem.

PMID- 9989850
TI  - Synovial sarcoma of the prostate with t(X;18)(p11.2;q11.2).
AB  - A case of monophasic synovial sarcoma of the prostate in a 37-year-old man is
      reported. Histologically, the tumor was chiefly composed of uniform spindle and
      oval cells, which often formed interlacing fascicles resembling those of
      fibrosarcoma. In some areas, the compact fascicles of tumor cells alternated with
      hypocellular myxoid tissue bearing a superficial resemblance to peripheral nerve
      sheath tumors, whereas small portions of the tumor showed a pericytomatous
      pattern consisting of polygonal cells arranged around dilated, thin-walled blood
      vessels. By immunohistochemistry, vimentin was detected in most cells, and a
      focal reactivity for epithelial membrane antigen was also observed. The tumor
      cells, however, were negative for keratin, S-100 protein, neuron-specific
      enolase, CD34, desmin, muscle-specific actin, and alpha-smooth muscle actin.
      Cytogenetic analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using the
      cultured tumor cells demonstrated a translocation t(X;18)(p11.2;q11.2), an
      aberration specific for synovial sarcoma. To the authors' knowledge, this is the
      first report of a primary prostatic synovial sarcoma confirmed by cytogenetic
      analysis.

PMID- 9989851
TI  - Pyloric gland adenoma of the main pancreatic duct.
AB  - A case of a pyloric gland type adenoma of the main pancreatic duct in a 69-year
      old woman is reported. The tumor led to occlusion and cystic dilatation of the
      main duct in the pancreatic tail. The surgical resection specimen disclosed a
      polypoid, bilobed mass attached to the wall of the main pancreatic duct by a thin
      fibrous stalk. Light-microscopic examination revealed a well-demarcated nodule
      composed of closely packed tubular glands lined by columnar, mucin-secreting
      cells with abundant clear cytoplasm and basally oriented nuclei. Focal, mild
      cytologic atypia was seen. Pyloric metaplasia and focal papillary hyperplasia was
      present in the adjacent ductal epithelium. Periodic acid-Schiff reactions, with
      and without diastase predigestion, showed reactivity in the tubular glands,
      whereas alcian blue (pH 2.5) was negative. Immunohistochemical stains for
      chromogranin, serotonin, somatostatin, and gastrin failed to detect the
      respective antigens. Genetic analysis using polymerase chain reaction with mutant
      enrichment and allele specific oligonucleotide hybridization detected a single
      mutation at codon 12 of K-ras, which changed the wild-type glycine to arginine.
      This mutation is commonly found in invasive pancreatic ductal carcinomas.
      Although tumors with microscopic and immunohistochemical features consistent with
      pyloric gland adenoma have been described in the gallbladder, to our knowledge,
      this is the first reported case within the pancreatic ductal system. The finding
      of a K-ras, codon 12 mutation and the presence of focal dysplasia may denote
      neoplastic potential in association with this lesion.

PMID- 9989852
TI  - Ovarian prostatic tissue originating from hilar mesonephric rests.
AB  - Nonteratoid prostatic differentiation in the ovary of a parous, phenotypically
      normal, postmenopausal woman is reported for the first time, to the authors' best
      knowledge. The patient was a 70-year-old woman who underwent bilateral
      oophorectomy following pelvic ultrasound examination that showed enlargement of
      the left ovary and an equivocally abnormal Doppler signal. Histologic examination
      showed a normal right ovary and a left ovary enlarged by hilar cystic dilatation
      related to a proliferation of mesonephric remnants exhibiting various types of
      epithelial metaplasia, including hyperplastic rete and epididymal-like and clear
      cell epithelia resembling the lining of the seminal excretory system. These were
      closely associated, occasionally even merging, with a discrete area of prostatic
      acinar and smooth muscle differentiation in the cyst wall. The identity of the
      prostatic tissue was confirmed immunohistochemically by positive staining with
      prostate specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase. The lesion was
      associated with an incidental, microscopic hemangioma. A developmental
      malformative origin of this abnormality cannot satisfactorily be explained by
      current embryologic concepts. A hypothesis of a metaplastic induction of
      prostatic tissue by mesonephric remnants is proposed, since complex metaplastic
      changes coexisted within the cysts and even showed epithelial transitions with
      the prostatic acini.

PMID- 9989853
TI  - Happy Valentine's Day.

PMID- 9989854
TI  - Needle biopsies of prostate cancer.

PMID- 9989855
TI  - Sclerosing lung hemangioma.

PMID- 9989856
TI  - Sarcomas and related proliferative lesions of specialized prostatic stroma.

PMID- 9989857
TI  - Cutaneous involvement by neutrophil-rich, CD30-positive anaplastic large cell
      lymphoma mimicking deep pustules.

PMID- 9989858
TI  - Advance in the study of inhibin, activin and follistatin production in pregnant
      women.
AB  - This review summarizes the new information on the studies of inhibin, activin,
      and follistatin production in the placenta during human pregnancy. Inhibin and
      activin exert suppressive and stimulatory effects, respectively, on the release
      of FSH in the pituitary. Follistatin is bound to inhibin and activin and
      indirectly modulates the FSH release. The placenta produces these three proteins.
      The serum levels of inhibin, activin, and follistatin are elevated in pregnant
      women and decrease after delivery. The trophoblast cells from term placenta
      secrete inhibin and activin in the primary cultures. The production and mRNA
      expression of inhibin and activin are regulated by several stimulatory and
      suppressive hormones and growth factors in placental tissues. cAMP, Ca2+, and
      protein kinase-C may be involved in intracellular signal transduction in
      trophoblasts. Activin receptors are present on placental cells. Follistatin
      inhibits the binding of activin to ActRII receptor. Abnormal levels of inhibin
      and activin in maternal serum are observed in problem pregnancies and gestational
      diseases. Inhibin, activin, and follistatin may play roles in the regulation of
      reproductive endocrinology in pregnant women and the embryo/fetal development.

PMID- 9989859
TI  - Fetal growth and long-term consequences in animal models of growth retardation.
AB  - Perturbations of the maternal environment involve an abnormal intrauterine milieu
      for the developing fetus. The altered fuel supply (depends on substrate
      availability, placental transport of nutrients and uteroplacental blood flow)
      from mother to fetus induces alterations in the development of the fetal
      endocrine pancreas and adaptations of the fetal metabolism to the altered
      intrauterine environment, resulting in intrauterine growth retardation. The
      alterations induced by maternal diabetes or maternal malnutrition (protein
      calorie or protein deprivation) have consequences for the offspring, persisting
      into adulthood and into the next generation.

PMID- 9989860
TI  - Experience with fetoscopic cord ligation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: In the case of a monochorionic multiple pregnancy with one non-viable
      fetus who compromises its co-twin, fetoscopic cord ligation may be performed. We
      describe our fetoscopic cord ligation technique and discuss the efficacy of cord
      ligation for salvaging the co-twin, based on available data. STUDY DESIGN:
      Descriptive case series of four cases and review of the cases published up to
      1996. RESULTS: We performed four successful ligations. Of the 23 reported cases,
      which include the present series, two ligations failed. Four fetuses died in
      utero, and 17 were born alive at a mean of 8 weeks following the procedure. Two
      babies died in the perinatal period, a third after 60 days. Preterm uterine
      contractions do not seem to be a clinical problem. Preterm prelabour rupture of
      the membranes (PPROM) complicates about 40% of cases, the majority occurring
      prior to 32 weeks. CONCLUSION: Fetoscopic cord ligation is a feasible procedure
      with a 71% survival rate and a high risk for PPROM.

PMID- 9989861
TI  - Tracheoscopic endoluminal plugging using an inflatable device in the fetal lamb
      model.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Intra-uterine tracheal occlusion has been proposed to reverse
      pulmonary hypoplasia, an important prognostic factor in congenital diaphragmatic
      hernia. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and pulmonary effects of
      tracheoscopic tracheal obstruction with a detachable balloon. STUDY DESIGN:
      Fourteen mid-trimester fetuses out of 24 in 13 ewes underwent tracheoscopic
      balloon obstruction. Ten non-operated fetuses served as controls. Plugging was
      performed under fiber-tracheoscopy using a detachable balloon. Outcome measures
      consisted of: total operating time, tracheoscopy time, fetal survival, efficiency
      of plugging, and pulmonary effects. The Mann-Whitney test and linear regression
      were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Mean operating time and tracheoscopy
      time were 65+/-12 and 6.6+/-3.9 min, respectively. One intra-operative death
      occurred in each group. The post-operative mortality was 2/13 for cases and 2/9
      for controls. In all 14 fetuses, the trachea was successfully obstructed. In the
      11 treated animals born alive, the lung-to-body-weight ratio was 0.060+/-0.01,
      while in controls it was 0.031+/-0.01 (P = 0.0001). In a subset of six fetuses
      obstructed for 14-18 days, mean-terminal-bronchial density was 0.95+/-0.59,
      compared to 2.06+/-0.80 for controls (P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Using fetal
      tracheoscopy, the trachea can successfully be obstructed with an inflatable
      balloon. Pulmonary hyperplasia is achieved when the obstruction lasts 2 weeks.

PMID- 9989862
TI  - Structural chromosome rearrangements in couples with recurrent fetal wastage.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: A review of the cytogenetic data in 1743 couples (3486 patients) with
      recurrent fetal wastage (RFW) who were examined for RFW at the Leuven Centre for
      Human Genetics in the period 1986-1995. These results were compared with a
      previous study in the period 1970-1985. SUBJECTS: Patients who had at least two
      first trimester miscarriages or patients who had a spontaneous first trimester
      abortion, preceded or followed by a second or third trimester fetal death.
      RESULTS: Chromosomal rearrangements were found in 5.34%. Two-thirds of these
      chromosomal rearrangements were autosomal balanced translocations. This finding
      is a 30-fold increase compared to the general population. Other chromosomal
      abnormalities included Robertsonian translocations, inversions and sex
      chromosomal abnormalities. DISCUSSION: The Leuven experience was compared with
      several other studies. Mechanisms causing these chromosomal abnormalities are
      presented. CONCLUSIONS: Chromosomal analyses are an important and necessary part
      of the etiological investigations in couples with RFW.

PMID- 9989863
TI  - Renin-like immunoreactivity in uterus and placenta from normotensive and
      hypertensive pregnancies.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: (1) To identify the distribution of renin-like immunoreactivity in
      placental bed, placenta-free uterine wall, placenta, fetal membranes, and
      intertwin membranes obtained from normal pregnancies and (2) to compare the
      findings in normal pregnancies with those in pregnancies complicated by various
      hypertensive disorders. STUDY DESIGN: Biopsies were taken from 31 normotensive
      pregnant women, eight of whom had twin pregnancies, and from 28 women with
      various hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The anti-human renal renin
      monoclonal antibody, F37.1A1, was used for immunostaining. Histological
      structures were identified with standard H&E and PAS techniques, supplemented
      with immunostaining using the specific cell markers CD68 and cytokeratin.
      RESULTS: Renin-like immunoreactivity was found in cytokeratin immunolabelled
      placental syncytiotrophoblast, amnionic and glandular epithelium, but most
      consistently in CD68 immunolabelled maternal and fetal macrophages. The
      distribution of renin-like immunoreactivity throughout the pregnant uterus
      roughly parallelled reported renin concentrations in the various tissues, while
      its localization conforms also with that of cathepsin D. There were no obvious
      differences in renin-like immunolabelling between normotensive or hypertensive
      women. Renin-like immunoreactivity was particularly common in the atherotic
      lesions that are observed more often in pregnancies complicated with hypertensive
      disorders of pregnancy and/or intra-uterine growth restriction. CONCLUSIONS: The
      data complement earlier findings showing that only two of four anti-renal renin
      monoclonal antibodies, both of which cross-react with cathepsin D, give a
      positive immunostaining in placental tissue. They question whether classical
      concepts on renin localisation in uteroplacental tissues all relate to one and
      the same enzyme. The demonstration of renin-like enzymes in different cell types,
      including macrophages, may explain the diversity of functions that has been
      attributed to uterine renin. There were no differences between tissues obtained
      from normotensive and hypertensive pregnancies, except for the consistent
      presence of renin-like immunoreactivity in atherotic lesions.

PMID- 9989864
TI  - The origin and future of placental bed research.
AB  - Insights into the structural and functional relationships between maternal and
      fetal circulations in the human placenta require an understanding of trophoblast
      invasive behaviour in the uterine wall. The concept of physiologically changed
      spiral arteries, and the discovery of the restriction of this vascular adaptation
      in pre-eclamptic pregnancies, are two outstanding contributions of Professor
      Brosens to this field. His findings inspired different lines of research
      concerning regulatory mechanisms of trophoblast invasion, which eventually may
      have wider implications in the fields of cancerology, immunology and reproductive
      medicine.

PMID- 9989865
TI  - Microsurgery for intra-abdominal testicular retention.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: In cases of high intra-abdominal retention of the testis a standard
      technique of cryptorchidy treatment will not be able to bring down the testis
      into the scrotum. In this study we wanted to evaluate the feasibility and
      reliability of the technical aspects of testicular autotransplantations in
      children under the age of 5 years. STUDY DESIGN: A series of 25 microsurgical
      autotranslantations of testes performed on 17 boys since July 1984 are reviewed.
      Emphasis was placed on the microvascular transplantation technique, the age of
      the patient and the long term viability of the autotransplants. An end-to-end
      microvascular anastomosis between the deep inferior epigastric artery and the
      testicular artery was performed in an end-to-end way using mattress stitches to
      accommodate the difference in diameter between the donor and recipient vessels.
      Also the testicular veins were anastomosed to the deep inferior epigastric veins.
      RESULTS: Of the 25 transplantations (96%) were successful after a mean follow up
      of 24 months, the one failure was ascribed arterial thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Our
      results show a 96% survival of the transplanted testes using the end-to-end
      vascular anastomosis as described here.

PMID- 9989866
TI  - A decade of salpingoscopy.
AB  - With the introduction of the salpingoscopy of the tubal ampullary mucosa in the
      1980s, this diagnostic endoscopic examination not only disclosed an exciting
      world of sharp and detailed in vivo images of the actual site of human
      fertilization. Its systematic use in the assessment of the tubal factor in
      subfertile couples also provides specific, clinically relevant and prognostically
      valuable information, since it clearly demonstrates the presence or absence of
      anatomical distortions, especially adhesions between and destruction of mucosal
      folds, on a micro-endoscopic, i.e., mucosal level. The routine salpingoscopy of a
      free, patent tube is easy to perform and the procedure then takes about 10 min
      for both sides. In contrast with hysterosalpingography, a proximal (e.g.,
      tubocornual or isthmic) block does not prevent us from examining the ampullary
      mucosa with the salpingoscope, whereas a small incision at the site of the
      occlusion with one of the techniques of operative laparoscopy, enables the
      inspection of the mucosa of a hydrosalpinx. With salpingoscopy, and using a
      simple classification system, a trained endoscopist can evaluate the sequelae of
      tubal inflammatory disease and their impact on fertility nearly as efficiently as
      with mucosal microbiopsies and they can direct their patients accordingly, either
      towards reconstructive (micro)surgery or towards medically assisted reproduction.
      In case of a tubal pregnancy, the effort to salpingoscopically evaluate both the
      affected and unaffected side may help to understand the underlying ethiology of
      the ectopic. Since patency and a normal appearance of the fimbriated end surely
      do not imply the absence of endoluminal pathology, it is advisable to select only
      salpingoscopically normal tubes to perform tubal transfers of gametes, zygotes or
      embryos. In the still ongoing discussion regarding preventive salpingectomy prior
      to IVF-ET in case of a uni- or bilateral hydrosalpinx, blind victimization of the
      Fallopian tube can in our opinion be avoided by a proper endoscopic selection of
      cases.

PMID- 9989867
TI  - Intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the treatment of male subfertility.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results obtained after intracytoplasmic sperm
      injection (ICSI) in couples with male factor subfertility. DESIGN: Retrospective
      analysis of results obtained after ICSI in the unit of in vitro fertilisation in
      a private centre for infertility. RESULTS: Application of ICSI in treatment
      cycles for male subfertility resulted in a fertilisation rate of 62%. An embryo
      transfer was done in 98% of the cycles, resulting in a 24% pregnancy rate/ET or
      22% per cycle. CONCLUSION: ICSI is the first microfertilisation technique with
      reproducible high fertilisation rates in different centres and the method of
      choice in the treatment of severely impaired sperm quality. Although, up to now,
      no higher incidence of congenital malformations has been reported, except for sex
      chromosomal anomalies, careful genetic counselling is mandatory because of the
      risk of transmitting genetically defined male subfertility to the next
      generation.

PMID- 9989868
TI  - Gregorius-Josephus Jacquelart, born in 1759, the first andrologist at the
      University of Leuven.
AB  - At the time of his death in 1776, most medical doctors in Paris challenged the
      views of Theophile de Bordeu on the "hormonal" action of internal secretions. At
      the University of Leuven, however, his concepts on the hormonal activity of semen
      had been positively approached in 1780 on the occasion of a public debate
      (disputatio), conducted by the medical student, Gregorius-Josephus Jacquelart.
      Therefore, we consider G.J. Jacquelart as being the first andrologist at the
      University of Leuven.

PMID- 9989869
TI  - Genetic abnormalities and male infertility. A comprehensive review.
AB  - The development of assisted reproductive technologies, such as intracytoplasmic
      sperm injection (ICSI) substantially improved the outlook for patients with
      severe male fertility problems. However this implies that for the first time
      genetic defects associated with male in- or subfertility might be transmitted to
      offspring and result in genetic disease [de Kretser DM, The potential of
      intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to transmit genetic defects causing male
      infertility. Reprod. Fertil. Dev. 1995;7:137-142]. The knowledge of male specific
      fertility genes on the Y chromosome increased enormously in the last decade. The
      SRY gene plays a critical role in gonadal differentiation. DAZ, SPGY and related
      genes on the Y chromosome are very important for spermatogenesis. Interstitial Y
      chromosomal microdeletions encompassing the AZFa, b or c region have become an
      additional class of genetic abnormalities causing male infertility. A review is
      given of the different genetic aspects of male infertility.

PMID- 9989870
TI  - How useful is Leuven personalism in the world of bioethics? The test case of
      artificial insemination.
AB  - Personalism in ethics denotes any system based upon the value of the person.
      Several versions of personalist morals have been developed over the past 50
      years. Some have had particular interest in the field of medical ethics. Here the
      question is being studied about one such system, the so-called Leuven personalist
      morals and its usefulness in today's world of bioethics. In order to test the
      usefulness of this system the case of artificial insemination is examined both in
      the early 1970s in the context of the Leuven clinics and, subsequently, in the
      1990s in a US policy document. The investigation reveals strengths and weaknesses
      of this personalism. Regarding AID it reveals unresolved oppositions. The
      conclusion seems to be that this personalism had, no doubt, a profound impact
      upon medical ethics within its own circle but, as regards the universal
      usefulness of the system, serious doubts remain.

PMID- 9989871
TI  - In vitro fertilisation: the ethics of illicitness? A personalist Catholic
      approach.
AB  - In line with Professor Brosens' work at the K.U. Leuven, the ethical integration
      of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) was made possible in the context of personalism,
      what we will present here in its anthropological and theological foundations.
      This presentation is necessary to make clear that personalism is always in the
      making of the clarification of its foundations. The three basic anthropological
      options are then applied to the ethical integration of IVF. They will lead to
      three concrete criteria for clinical practice: stable heterosexual infertile
      couple as indication; the respect for the human embryo and the qualitative social
      organization of infertility treatment. This position of Catholic personalists is
      in contradiction with the teaching of the Church, declaring that the IVF practice
      is in itself illicit. The third and fourth parts of this article are devoted to
      this statement. First, by debating the official magisterial position, and second,
      by referring to probably one of the most crucial issues for the ethical debate on
      IVF in the Church: the moral status of the embryo.

PMID- 9989872
TI  - Battey's operation: an exercise in surgical frustration.
AB  - Robert Battey (1828-1895) introduced bilateral oophorectomy for the treatment of
      non-ovarian conditions in 1872, coining the term "normal ovariotomy" for the
      operation. Normal ovariotomy - a contradictio in terminis - was practised widely
      for several decades. Alfred Hegar (1830-1914), among many other gynaecologists,
      extended the indications of Battey's operation to include the treatment of
      various ovarian conditions as well, e.g., small tumors. Better insight into
      female physiology and ovarian function finally pushed the sinister operation of
      Robert Battey from the scene.

PMID- 9989873
TI  - Steroid hormone-dependent myometrial zonal differentiation in the non-pregnant
      human uterus.

PMID- 9989874
TI  - "The Flemish Giant", reflections on the defense against endometriosis, inspired
      by Professor Emeritus Ivo A. Brosens.
AB  - Reproductive research benefits from combining animal and clinical studies. In
      Leuven, rabbits have constituted an animal model for many reproductive disorders,
      especially for those that involved surgical treatment. Much of what has been
      learned from animal experiments has been applied to human clinical reproductive
      research soon after. In this manuscript we wish to address the problem of the
      constant intra-abdominal battle between the menstrual aggressor and the
      peritoneal defense. From all published evidence we may conclude that
      endometriosis appears to be a dynamic disease, especially in the early phase,
      with subtle, atypical lesions emerging and vanishing again. In the end however
      the peritoneal defense system will prevail and the disease will be contained in
      the majority of patients. When doing repeat laparoscopies in young patients one
      should be prepared to encounter more advanced histological types of lesions,
      which not necessarily do have to indicate more advanced stages of the disease:
      the classical, blue and black powderburn spots and blueberry lesions reflect the
      extinguishing phase of the dynamic endometriotic process, and herald its
      inactivated histological end-stage. The dynamic phase of the disease may involve
      a varying interval of each patient's life, and medical suppression of the
      activity of the implants during this interval may lead one to conclude
      erroneously that treatment has been effective. If subsequently (after the end of
      medical suppression of the activity of the lesions) ovarian activity resumes and
      the lesions are stimulated again by ovarian steroids, their productive activity
      returns. Recurrence of disease may be diagnosed if at that stage a laparoscopy
      would be performed, whereas in reality only reactivation of temporarily obscured
      lesions did occur. The suppressed, dormant (but never absent) lesions produce
      mucus again, desquamation occurs, and reaction by the surrounding tissue. The
      inflammatory response, the local hyperemia and the neogenesis of vessels
      accentuate the presence of previously invisible endometriosis lesions and make
      them visible again. Endometriosis resumes its temporarily halted natural course
      of development, tissue remodeling occurs again, the battle between the aggressor
      and the defense resumes and waxing and waning of the several types of lesions,
      red, white and black, can be found again.

PMID- 9989875
TI  - Biases in the endometriosis literature. Illustrated by 20 years of endometriosis
      research in Leuven.
AB  - AIM: To review the Leuven data on endometriosis to demonstrate the shifts that
      occurred over the years in diagnosis of endometriosis, classification of women
      with endometriosis and thus in interpretation of results. RESULTS: The
      contributions to the LUF syndrome, to non-pigmented endometriosis, to cystic
      ovarian endometriosis, to deep endometriosis, to endometriosis as an immunologic
      disease and to the development of an animal model of endometriosis, illustrate
      the persistent interest in endometriosis over 20 years. Using these data it can
      be shown how progressively the recognition of endometriosis caused important
      shifts from women who in the beginning of this period were classified as normal,
      to women who later became classified as having minimal or mild endometriosis.
      This was caused initially by the active search for small typical lesions and
      later by the recognition of non-pigmented lesions as endometriosis. The second
      important shift was caused by the recognition that deep endometriosis is not only
      a frequent disease, but that these women are predominantly classified as having
      mild to moderate endometriosis and even as women without endometriosis. The third
      shift is still ongoing, since the deep lesions reported become progressively
      smaller, by the "enthusiasm" of the surgeons, and by the introduction of a
      menstrual clinical exam. A fourth bias in the literature concerns the diagnosis
      and treatment of cystic ovarian endometriosis. Together with these shifts in
      recognition and treatment of endometriosis, our understanding of the
      physiopathology of endometriosis has changed. This is illustrated by the new
      concepts which have emerged over this period. These are, the focal treatment of
      cystic ovarian endometriosis, the concept that mild endometriosis could be a
      normal physiological condition and the endometriotic disease theory. CONCLUSION:
      To interpret the data of the literature we should be aware of the shifts that
      have occurred in the classification of endometriosis over the past 20 years, and
      which still can hamper the comparison of results between research groups.

PMID- 9989876
TI  - Counselling of the climacteric woman. Diagnostic difficulties and therapeutic
      possibilities.
AB  - The psycho(patho)logical disorders during climacteric can only be adequately
      diagnosed and treated if the gynaecologist also pays clinical attention to the
      biographically related adaptation troubles of the woman in (peri)menopause.
      Psychoneurotic and psychosomatic reactions are frequent; psychotic reactions are
      rarely seen. The anxiety neuroses of this age of life are triggered less by
      sexual factors, but more by angry impulses. This anxiety can be expressed in a
      paranoid behaviour. Most adaptation difficulties and psychiatric disorders during
      menopause can and should be effectively treated by the gynaecologist. Theoretical
      understanding and practical experience concerning the counselling of
      psychosomatic patients are indispensable.

PMID- 9989877
TI  - Lymphocytes and dendritic cells in the normal uterine cervix. An
      immunohistochemical study.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Assessment of the appearance, distribution and numerical density of
      immune cell populations in the normal human uterine cervix. STUDY DESIGN: 
      SETTING: University Hospital Gasthuisberg. SUBJECTS: 29 healthy women undergoing
      total hysterectomy for non-cervical benign uterine disease. ANALYSIS:
      Immunohistochemistry and morphometrical analysis on histological sections
      containing ectocervix, transformation zone and endocervix, using antibodies
      against the following antigens: HLA-DR, CD4, CD22, CD1a and CD8. STATISTICAL
      ANALYSIS: Wilcoxon rank sum test. RESULTS: Lymphocytes in the epithelial and
      stromal compartments are predominantly T-lymphocytes. Intraepithelial T
      lymphocyte and Langerhans' cell densities and their distribution are not
      influenced by the menstrual cycle and are the same in both ectocervix and
      transformation zone. CONCLUSION: The wide variation of T lymphocyte
      subpopulations and Langerhans' cell densities in the normal epithelium of the
      uterine cervix is stressed. We are the first to present a large and well-defined
      control series, which is indispensable to study the effect of smoking and other
      factors on the cervical immune system.

PMID- 9989878
TI  - Some genetic aspects of ovarian tumors.

PMID- 9989879
TI  - Genetic basis of uterine leiomyoma: involvement of high mobility group protein
      genes.
AB  - Uterine leiomyoma is a common benign smooth muscle tumor occurring in 20 to 30%
      of women over 30 years of age. Cytogenetic analysis of such tumors has revealed
      that over 60% of them have a normal karyotype but also that they sometimes carry
      recurrent chromosome aberrations, e.g., aberrations involving the short arm of
      chromosome 6 or the long arm of chromosome 12. Precise mapping of chromosome
      breakpoints of such recurrent chromosome translocations and molecular
      characterization of DNA regions immediately flanking such breakpoints have proven
      to be a successful approach to identify and isolate genes involved in tumor
      development. Recently, application of such a research strategy on translocations
      in uterine leiomyoma involving either chromosome 12q13-15 or 6p21 has led to the
      discovery that two members of the high-mobility group (HMG) protein gene family,
      HMGIC and HMGIY, are frequently rearranged in such tumors. The developmentally
      regulated HMGIC and HMGIY genes encode closely related, low-molecular-mass
      proteins, which are assumed to function as architectural factors in the nuclear
      scaffold and to be critical in the assembly of stereospecific transcriptional
      complexes. The frequent rearrangement of the HMGIC and HMGIY genes in uterine
      leiomyomas suggests that these genes are directly involved in the aberrant growth
      control observed in these tumors. Studies of a number of other benign solid
      tumors - most of them in tissues of mesenchymal origin - indicated that
      involvement of HMGIC is not restricted to uterine leiomyomas, suggesting that
      benign solid tumor formation might have a common genetic denominator. The
      possible role of HMG genes in growth control is further supported by results from
      gene targeting experiments in mice, which indicate that HMGI-C plays an important
      role in mammalian growth and development, as inactivation of the murine HMGIC
      gene resulted in the pygmy phenotype. The discovery that high mobility group
      protein genes might be crucial factors in the formation of uterine leiomyoma
      provides a new opportunity for developing alternative therapeutic strategies.

PMID- 9989880
TI  - Transplantation with peripheral blood stem cells, manipulated or unmanipulated,
      for the treatment of high-risk childhood leukemia.
AB  - Collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) does not require anesthesia or
      multiple marrow aspirations, and hence, is far less invasive than bone marrow
      collection. Most importantly, PBSC can be collected from the body's entire pool
      of HSC to provide more stem cells than marrow aspiration performed at localized
      iliac bones. This leads to the faster recovery of hematopoiesis after PBSC
      transplantation (PBSCT) than after bone marrow transplantation and makes 'cell
      component therapy' far more effective with PBSC. This review will present our
      pediatric experience of transplants with PBSC, purified or unmanipulated.

PMID- 9989881
TI  - Collection of peripheral blood stem cells in pediatric patients: a concise review
      on technical aspects.
AB  - Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) are now routinely collected for use as
      hematopoietic support after high-dose chemotherapy for various malignancies.
      Nevertheless, few data are still available on PBSC collection in pediatric
      patients, owing to technical problems associated with the leukapheresis procedure
      in children. This paper briefly summarizes current knowledge about some technical
      aspects of pediatric leukapheresis for PBSC collection, according to the review
      of the literature and our personal experience on 60 procedures performed in 36
      children affected with various malignancies. Technical issues include venous
      access, risk of volume shift due to exceeding extracorporeal circulation, and
      anticoagulation, that can induce severe side-effects. Moreover, criteria for
      optimizing the PBSC harvesting procedure in children, in particular the correct
      timing of leukapheresis, are discussed.

PMID- 9989882
TI  - Peripheral blood stem cell collection and transplantation in paediatric
      malignancies: a monocentric experience.
AB  - Thirty-seven patients underwent peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection from
      May 1994 to May 1997. Twenty-five were males and 12 were females, the median age
      at collection was 11.5 years (range 1-27.4) and the median weight was 38 kg
      (range 9-80). As mobilising chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide, etoposide,
      doxorubicin and cytosine arabinoside were the drugs most frequently used in
      association with G-CSF for a total of 47 courses. Sixty-one aphereses were
      performed with a median collection of CD34+ and CFU-GM cells/kg of 3.6 x 10(6)
      (range 0.6-31.8) and 24.4 x 10(4) (range 0.1-1260), respectively. Minimal
      residual disease (MRD) was found in five of the 30 investigated aphereses. Twenty
      one of the 37 patients underwent high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell
      rescue: in seven the stem cell source was peripheral blood and bone marrow. The
      median duration of hospitalization was 18 days for the PBSC group and 23 days for
      the PBSC/ABMT group. Overall survival was 78.7% at a median follow-up of 18
      months (range 2-31) and the DFS was 52% without difference depending on stem cell
      source. Compared to a historical group of ABMT patients, the PBSC group showed a
      statistical advantage in terms of neutrophils and platelet engraftment, blood and
      platelet requirements, and length of hospitalization. PBSC collection is a
      feasible procedure also in the paediatric setting providing that vascular access
      is adequate. As already reported, PBSC transplant results in faster engraftment
      and shorter hospitalization that could allow a better utilization of health
      financial resources. The question whether the source of stem cells could
      influence transplant outcome would require a prospective randomised study.

PMID- 9989883
TI  - Cytofluorimetric analysis of CD34 cells.
AB  - The cytofluorimetric enumeration of CD34-positive cells is a useful method for
      measuring haematopoietic stem cells. The large variation of results between
      different laboratories, in multicenter quality control studies, could be due to
      multiple technical problems. CD34 analysis must be performed in whole blood and
      the NH4Cl or the NH4Cl-derived reagents give the best results in the lysis
      procedure. The monoclonal antibody for CD34 detection must be a class III, if
      possible PE-conjugated. Any differences were found in the absolute CD34 count
      using different analysis protocols: Milan, ISHAGE, Dutch, or a commercial kit,
      when the sample is fresh and in good viable condition. The multiparametric
      approach, using three or four colours simultaneously, could be required in
      scoring apheresis products from patients with CD34-positive blast cells (ie ALL
      of B cell origin) and in deciding the optimum time to start the leukapheresis,
      choosing, with an equal CD34 number, the moment at which the highest number of
      more immature progenitor cells (CD38-negative or dim, CD90-positive) is present.

PMID- 9989884
TI  - G-CSF-primed peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) support in high-risk Ewing
      sarcoma of childhood.
AB  - Since 1993 pediatric patients affected by high-risk Ewing sarcoma for the
      presence at onset of a large pelvic mass and/or metastatic disease, were enrolled
      in a national pilot study comprehensive, finally, of a high-dose chemotherapy
      (HDCT) procedure with hemopoietic stem cell support. The HDCT procedure
      considered as consolidation of the disease status obtained after the first-line
      therapy was followed by the reinfusion of granulokine colony-stimulating factor
      primed (G-CSF) peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPCT). Here we present the
      results in terms of treatment-related toxicity, hospitalization and rescue of the
      bone marrow function, in 17 pediatric patients enrolled in such a pilot protocol
      and submitted to HDCT and PBPCT at the end of first-line therapy.

PMID- 9989885
TI  - Current use and outcome of blood and marrow transplantation in childhood
      according to the Italian Registry.
AB  - Since 1985 data concerning patients affected by malignant and non-malignant
      diseases, aged <17 years, grafted in 16 centers nationwide, have been collected
      and stored in a central data base organized at the Associazione Italiana di
      Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) Operation Office within the AIEOP BMT
      Registry. The information, collected and structurally integrated with other
      specific disease-oriented national data bases, permitted the elaboration and the
      following publication of several analyses on survival, relapse probability and
      transplant-related mortality for the different diseases.

PMID- 9989886
TI  - Mismatched T cell-depleted hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for children
      with high-risk acute leukemia.
AB  - The aim of this study was to extend allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell
      transplantation to leukemia patients without a matched donor. To prevent graft
      failure, large doses of T cell-depleted hematopoietic stem cells were
      transplanted following a highly myeloablative and immunosuppressive conditioning
      regimen. Fifteen children with high-risk acute leukemia received T cell-depleted
      hematopoietic stem cells from full-haplotype mismatched family members after a
      conditioning regimen that included single-dose TBI, thiotepa, ATG and
      fludarabine. To prevent GVHD, marrow cells were T-depleted by soybean agglutinin
      and E-rosetting, peripheral blood cells by E-rosetting followed by positive
      selection of the CD34+ cells. No post-transplant prophylaxis for GVHD was
      administered. In all patients full donor-type engraftment was achieved. None of
      the evaluable patients developed either acute or chronic GVHD. Regimen-related
      toxicity was minimal. Five patients are alive and event-free at a median follow
      up of 18 months (range 13-28). All surviving patients have a good quality of
      life. Seven patients have relapsed. This study shows that GVHD and graft failure,
      which limited the use of full-haplotype mismatched bone marrow transplants, have
      been overcome. Since almost all children have a mismatched relative, advances in
      this area should make mismatched transplants a routine consideration for patients
      with high-risk leukemia without a matched related or unrelated donor.

PMID- 9989887
TI  - Allogeneic transplantation of peripheral blood progenitor cells in children:
      experience of two pediatric centers.
AB  - Between February 1995 and August 1997, 11 children (eight males, three females)
      aged 4-16 years (median 7 years) underwent allogeneic PBPC transplantation for
      treatment of hematological disorders. Seven patients with acute leukemia (n = 5
      ALL, n = 1 AML) or lymphoma (n = 1) received primary allogeneic PBPC
      transplantation, four patients received a second allotransplantation for graft
      failure (n = 1 AML, n = 1 sickle cell anemia) or disease recurrence (n = 1 ALL, n
      = 1 MDS). Five donors were HLA-identical siblings, five were 0-1 antigen
      mismatched family members and one was a matched unrelated donor. Donors received
      G-CSF 10-12 microg/kg/day for 3-7 days, and underwent one or two leukaphereses.
      The median cell yield per donor expressed per kg of recipient body weight was as
      follows: mononucleated cells 10.8 x 10(8)/kg (range 4.7-21.2); CD34+ cells 8.6 x
      10(6)/kg (range 3.2-22); CD3+ cells 3.7 x 10(8)/kg (range 2.7-7.5). All patients
      achieved an ANC >0.5 x 10(9)/l after a median of 12 days (11-18). An unsupported
      platelet count >50 x 10(9)/l was reached 15 days (13-21) after PBPC
      transplantation; four patients failed to reach this threshold. Acute GVHD (aGVHD)
      grades II to IV occurred in eight (73%) patients: seven of them experienced grade
      III-IV aGVHD. Seven patients evaluable for chronic GVHD (cGVHD) were scored as
      absent in five, limited in one and extensive in one patient. As of September
      1997, six patients (55 %) were alive between 60 and 938 days post-transplant
      (median follow-up 274 days); four patients with malignancy were alive in CR after
      primary allotransplantation, two patients were alive after a second PBPC
      transplant. Five patients have died with the main causes of death being aGVHD (n
      = 3), ARDS (n = 1), relapse of the underlying disease (n = 1). In conclusion,
      despite the limited number of patients, these preliminary results indicate that
      PBPC may be considered as an alternative to bone marrow for allografting also in
      children.

PMID- 9989888
TI  - Feasibility of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell
      transplantation in children with high grade osteosarcoma.
AB  - An Italian-Scandinavian treatment and research protocol with high-dose
      chemotherapy and double peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation has
      been designed in an attempt to improve overall results of children with
      metastatic osteosarcoma (OST). Six patients, aged 12-17 years, underwent PBSC
      mobilization with CY 4 g/m2 and VP-16 600 mg/m2 followed by G-CSF (n = 4 with
      recurrent disease) or ifosfamide 15 g/m2 plus G-CSF (n = 2 with synchronous
      metastases). The target dose of CD34+ cells for two transplant procedures was 8 x
      10(6)/kg or more; conditioning regimen for both the grafts consisted of
      carboplatin 375 mg/m2/day for 4 days and VP16 450 mg/m2/day for 4 days. The first
      transplant was planned 2-4 weeks after the mobilization, the second transplant 4
      6 weeks after the first graft. In three patients a single course of CY-VP16
      mobilised a total number of CD34+ sufficient for two transplants; in the patient
      who did not obtain the target dose of CD34+ cells a bone marrow harvest was
      added. In the two other children high-dose ifosfamide failed to achieve the
      required CD34+ number: one patient underwent a single transplant procedure, one
      patient was successfully mobilized with doxorubicin 90 mg/m2 plus G-CSF. Patients
      underwent a median of two collections (range 2-4). Leukapheresis resulted in the
      collection of a median of 8.9 CD34+ cells/kg (range 1.3-14.8). The median time to
      granulocyte count recovery to more than 0.5 x 10(9)/l was 10 days (range 9-14
      days) after the first graft and 11 days (range 10-12 days) after the second
      graft, respectively. Platelets recovered to 50 x 10(9)/l at a median of 11 (range
      10-30 days) and 13 days (range 10-28) respectively after the first and the second
      graft. Conditioning regimen was well tolerated in all patients with mild extra
      haematological toxicity, also following the second transplant. Two patients
      grafted with metastases at diagnosis are alive and disease free 3 and 7 months
      from the transplant. One of the four patients transplanted for recurrent disease
      developed pulmonary metastases 2 months after the procedure; one patient is alive
      with significant reduction of tumor mass 1 month after the first transplant, one
      patient is alive without evidence of disease 9 months from the second transplant
      and one after a complete metastasectomy (tumor necrosis >90%) which followed the
      second transplant. With the limits of the small number of cases and the short
      follow-up, these preliminary results show that this approach may be promising for
      the treatment of patients with metastatic OST who currently are not cured by
      conventional-dose regimens.

PMID- 9989889
TI  - Peripheral blood stem cell collection from G-CSF-stimulated unrelated donors for
      second transplant.
AB  - Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) collected following stimulation with
      cytokines are commonly used for autologous haematopoietic transplants. Currently,
      PBSCs are being used for syngeneic or allogeneic transplants from matched or
      haploidentical donors. However, many issues are still unanswered regarding the
      early or late side-effects cytokines have on recipients and on healthy donors.
      The aims of this paper were to evaluate the experience acquired worldwide in this
      field, to define the acceptability of stem cell donation by G-CSF-stimulated
      apheresis from unrelated donors after the failure of a first donation, and to
      assess side-effects of G-CSF on unrelated donors. The use of PBSCs has increased
      tremendously over the last few years and in the near future PBSCs will probably
      become the most relevant source of stem cells. Studies conducted so far have
      definitely concluded that G-CSF is safe and well tolerated. Results observed in
      transplants utilizing marrow stem cells compared with results obtained in
      transplants utilizing PBSCs have shown that patients undergoing this latter
      procedure recover earlier, require a lower number of transfusions and spend fewer
      days in hospital with a consequent decrease in costs. We concluded that a second
      transplant by G-CSF-stimulated apheresis from an unrelated donor is definitely
      acceptable and we designed a prospective study to better define all controversial
      aspects. Donors will be given 10 microg/kg/day of G-CSF subcutaneously for 5
      days. One or two PBSC collection procedures will be performed: the first on day 5
      and the second, if necessary, on day 6. Donors will be surveyed and blood counts
      monitored in a standardized manner during the process.

PMID- 9989890
TI  - Biological characterization of CD34+ cells mobilized into peripheral blood.
AB  - We review here the functional and kinetic characteristics of highly purified
      hematopoietic CD34+ mobilized into peripheral blood (PB) by granulocyte colony
      stimulating factor (G-CSF) with or without chemotherapy for autologous or
      allogeneic transplantation. Circulating CD34+ cells were evaluated for their
      colony-forming capacity and trilineage proliferative response to selected
      recombinant human (rh) CSF in vitro, and the content of very primitive long-term
      culture initiating cells (LTC-IC). In addition, the cycling status of PB CD34+
      cells, including committed clonogenic progenitor cells and the more immature LTC
      IC, was determined by the cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) suicide test and the
      acridine orange (AO) flow cytometric technique. By comparison, bone marrow (BM)
      CD34+ cells from the same individuals were studied under steady-state conditions
      and during G-CSF administration. Clonogenic assays in methylcellulose showed the
      same frequency of colony-forming unit cells (CFU-C) when PB primed-CD34+ cells
      and BM cells were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin-lymphocyte-conditioned
      medium (PHA-LCM). However, mobilized CD34+ cells were significantly more
      responsive than their steady-state BM counterparts to interleukin-3 (IL-3) and
      stem cell factor (SCF) combined with G-CSF or IL-3 in the presence of
      erythropoietin (Epo). Conversely, circulating and BM megakaryocyte precursors
      (CFU-MK) showed the same clonogenic efficiency in response to IL-3, GM-CSF and IL
      3, IL-6 and Epo. Interestingly, very few CD34+ cells expressed the Mpl receptor
      and this finding resulted in the lower proliferative response of mobilized CFU-MK
      to the Mpl-ligand (megakaryocyte growth and development factor; MGDF), as
      compared to BM cells. After 5 weeks of liquid culture supported by the engineered
      murine stromal cell line M2-10B4 to produce G-CSF and IL-3, we reported a similar
      frequency of LTC-IC in PB and steady-state BM. Kinetic studies on PB and BM CD34+
      cells, including LTC-IC, showed the low number of circulating progenitor cells in
      S and G2M phase whereas simultaneous DNA/RNA analysis and the Ara-C suicide assay
      demonstrated that the majority of PB CD34+ cells and LTC-IC are not quiescent (ie
      in G0 phase) being in G1 phase. Moreover, G-CSF administration prevented
      apoptosis in a small but significant proportion of mobilized CD34+ cells. Thus,
      our results indicate that mobilized and BM CD34+ cells can be considered
      equivalent for the frequency of both committed and more immature hematopoietic
      progenitor cells, although they show different kinetic and functional profiles. A
      further set of experiments indicated that G-CSF treatment did not alter the
      alloantigen presenting function of CD34+ cells which was mainly mediated by the
      upregulation of costimulatory molecules upon coincubation with allogeneic T
      cells. Taken together, these findings should allow a better understanding of PBSC
      transplantation.

PMID- 9989891
TI  - Transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells mobilized by haematopoietic growth
      factors in childhood.
AB  - Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), mobilised by means of haematopoietic growth
      factors (HGF) with or without chemotherapy, are being used routinely for
      autologous rescue after high-dose chemo-radiotherapy in paediatric patients with
      lymphoma and selected solid tumours because of the ease of collection and the
      accelerated kinetics of neutrophil and platelet engraftment as compared with bone
      marrow cells. Recent reports indicated that HGF-mobilised PBSC can also be
      employed in childhood as an alternative to bone marrow allograft when the donor
      is an adult or with the aim of reversing graft failure in patients who were
      previously given a marrow allograft. Notwithstanding this wide use of PBSC,
      several biological and clinical questions of crucial relevance are still
      unsolved. In this article, we will analyse: (1) the optimal timing for PBSC
      collection after cytokine-based mobilising regimens; (2) the variables affecting
      the yield of peripheral blood progenitors; (3) the minimum threshold and the
      optimal number of PBSC that should be infused for autologous and allogeneic
      transplant, respectively; (4) the biological mechanisms underlying mobilisation
      of haematopoietic stem cells into circulation; (5) the incidence of graft-versus
      host disease and the biological characteristics of donor lymphocytes in patients
      given allogeneic transplant of PBSC; and (6) the most relevant peculiarities in
      the kinetics of immune recovery of patients given allogeneic transplant of PBSC,
      as compared to bone marrow transplant recipients.

PMID- 9989892
TI  - Nutritional interventions for the prevention of maternal morbidity.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To review the effectiveness of nutritional interventions to prevent
      maternal morbidity. METHODS: This is an overview of systematic reviews and
      individual randomized controlled trials (if no systematic review available) of
      nutritional interventions during pregnancy. For each nutrient intervention the
      main maternal morbidity data reported were extracted. These were pre
      eclampsia/eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, hemorrhage, anemia,
      infection and obstructed labor. In addition, the trial settings, the number of
      trials and participants' characteristics were systematically extracted. RESULTS:
      The systematic reviews considered in this paper had only few trials that reported
      the selected maternal outcomes. Outcome measures are based sometimes on one trial
      only. Most of the interventions compared single micronutrient supplementation
      with placebo/no treatment and did not show significant benefits for the
      supplementation groups. Calcium supplementation in women at high risk of
      pregnancy hypertension reduced the incidence of high blood pressure (RR, 0.35;
      95% CI, 0.21-0.57) and pre-eclampsia (RR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.11-0.43). Similarly, in
      women with low dietary calcium intake, calcium supplementation resulted in a
      significant reduction in the incidence of high blood pressure (RR, 0.49; 95% CI,
      0.38-0.62) and pre-eclampsia (RR, 0.32; CI, 0.21-0.49). In women at low risk of
      pregnancy hypertension or with adequate baseline calcium intake, the beneficial
      effects of calcium supplementation are small and unlikely to be of clinical
      significance. Both, iron and folate supplementation reduced the number of women
      with low pre-delivery hemoglobin. CONCLUSIONS: Routine calcium supplementation
      seems to be a promising intervention for pregnant women at risk of developing
      preeclampsia or have low calcium intake, but these findings need to be confirmed
      with a trial with adequate power in different settings. In populations with high
      incidence of nutritional anemia routine iron and folate supplementation should be
      recommended during ante-natal care. It is unclear at this stage if adding vitamin
      A to iron and folate supplementation in anemia prevalent areas provides further
      benefits. There is inadequate data on the benefits or harms of routine iron or
      folate supplementation in adequately nourished populations. With regard to other
      micronutrient supplementation, such as zinc, magnesium and fish oil, randomized
      controlled trials with sufficient power to detect clinically important
      differences in maternal and infant outcomes are needed.

PMID- 9989893
TI  - Maternal syphilis and vertical perinatal transmission of human immunodeficiency
      virus type-1 infection.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To identify risk factors for vertical HIV transmission that may
      provide opportunities for the prevention of future pediatric HIV infection. STUDY
      DESIGN: A prospective cohort of 44 pregnant HIV(+) women and their 53 offspring
      was followed between July 1989 and July 1996. RESULTS: Secondary and latent
      maternal syphilis infection was diagnosed in four pregnancies with VDRL titers >
      or = 1:128. Concurrent maternal syphilis infection was associated with 100%
      vertical HIV transmission (4/4), compared to 21% (3/14) deliveries that occurred
      in 13 women with only a history of treated sypillis (P = 0.01) and 14% (5/35)
      deliveries in women with no history of syphilis (P = 0.0015). Among non
      Zidovudine exposed pregnancies, 100% (3/3) patients with concurrent syphilis
      transmitted HIV to their infants vs. 0% (0/8) patients with only a history of
      syphilis (P = 0.006). A history of treated syphilis did not increase subsequent
      transmission risk compared to women with no history of syphilis (3/14 vs. 5/35, P
      = 0.41). One patient delivered twice during the study and received Zidovudine
      prophylaxis during both pregnancies. Her first pregnancy VDRL titer was > or =
      1:128, during which she delivered an HIV infected child. Following successful
      treatment for syphilis (VDRL titer, 1:1), she conceived again and delivered an
      uninfected infant 11 months later. Additional risk factors significantly
      associated with vertical HIV transmission were prematurity and low birth weight.
      Variables studied but not statistically-related to HIV transmission included:
      other sexually transmitted diseases, maternal age, race, intravenous drug or
      cocaine use, prenatal care, route of delivery, duration of HIV(+) status, and CD4
      count. CONCLUSION: Among HIV(+) women, concurrent syphilis infection, but not a
      history of syphilis, is significantly associated with vertical perinatal HIV
      transmission. Frequent screening and prompt treatment of syphilis in non-pregnant
      HIV(+) women may help prevent subsequent HIV infected pregnancies.

PMID- 9989894
TI  - Lumbar bone mineral density changes during pregnancy and lactation.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the change of bone metabolism in the lumbar trabecular
      and its relationship with serum hormonal changes in pregnancy and lactation.
      STUDY DESIGN: In a cross-sectional study, we measured the bone mineral density
      (BMD) of 2-4 lumbar vertebrae of 571 puerperae at days 3-5 postpartum and 341
      healthy, non-pregnant women (control subjects) of approximately the same age by
      dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. In a longitudinal study, we also measured the
      BMD of 111 puerperae at 3 and 6 months after delivery. RESULTS: The mean BMD at
      days 3-5 postpartum was significantly lower than that of the control (1.013+/
      0.005 vs. 1.032+/-0.006 g/cm2, P = 0.019). The lactating group showed BMD
      decrement to 95.1+/-0.5% (n = 69) and 94.1+/-0.7% (n = 61) at 3 and 6 months
      postpartum, respectively, compared with days 3-5 postpartum, and the amenorrhea
      group showed the same tendency. The non-lactating group and resumption of menses
      group did not show a BMD decrement postpartum. In the lactating group, serum
      estradiol was significantly lower than in the non-lactating group at 3 months
      postpartum, serum prolactin and bone alkaline phosphatase levels were higher than
      in the non-lactating group at 3 and 6 months postpartum. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy
      may cause a decrease of lumbar BMD, and the lactation and amenorrhea also cause a
      decrease of BMD. In addition to lactation status, the ovarian dysfunction is one
      of the factors in bone loss during lactation.

PMID- 9989895
TI  - Selective tracheal suctioning to prevent meconium aspiration syndrome.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyze the incidence and outcome of meconium aspiration syndrome
      (MAS) at Al-Yamamah Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where meconium-stained babies
      have intrapartum obstetrical cleansing of the upper airways, following which
      depressed/asphyxiated babies are intubated and vigorous babies are observed for
      24 h. METHOD: The total live births, records of meconium-stained neonates who had
      intubations and of those observed, during a 6-year period were reviewed. RESULTS:
      During this period, there were 85562 live births. One in 325 births (0.27%) was
      complicated by MAS and the mortality rate was 7%. These figures concur with the
      reported incidence and mortality of MAS following routine combined obstetric
      pediatric suction of airways at birth. Of the 265 cases of MAS that occurred
      during this period, 237 were in the intubated group and 28 in the observed group.
      The babies of the former group had severe disease compared with that of the
      latter. All mortality was from the intubated group. CONCLUSION: Adequate
      obstetrical cleansing of the upper airway in vigorous babies may obviate the need
      for endotracheal intubation; intubation of depressed babies following this
      treatment may be useful.

PMID- 9989896
TI  - Detection of human papillomavirus types in cervical adenocarcinoma by the
      polymerase chain reaction.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine the human papillomavirus (HPV) types in cervical
      adenocarcinoma of patients from Taiwan. METHODS: DNA was extracted from fixed
      tissues and polymerase chain reaction was performed in conjunction with a unique
      probe, pRSA I, allowing simultaneous detection of HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31 and
      33 from amplified HPV DNAs after endonuclease, RsaI, digestion. RESULTS: Of 69
      tissues examined, 31.9% (22/69) were found to contain HPV DNA. Among 22 HPV
      positive specimens, no HPV types 6, 11, 31 and 33 were detected. On the other
      hand, HPV 16 and HPV 18 were found in 11 (15.9%) and 10 (14.5%) of HPV-positive
      specimens, respectively. One specimen (1.5%) was found to contain both HPV 16 and
      18 DNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that HPV 18, along with HPV 16, may
      play a certain role in the adenocarcinoma pathogenesis of the uterine cervix.

PMID- 9989897
TI  - Ultrasound or ultrasound and hormonal determinations for in vitro fertilization
      monitoring.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare pregnancy rate, cost effectiveness, patients effort,
      related stress, and the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rate, between
      patients monitored for ovarian hyperstimulation using a combination of ultrasound
      and hormonal determination (combination protocol), in contrast to applying
      ultrasound only, in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF ET). METHOD:
      This study was carried out on a total of 206 patients who underwent ovarian
      hyperstimulation with human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic
      gonadotropin (hMG/hCG) protocol. The first 110 patients were monitored every
      other day by ultrasound only protocol (Group I) while the next 96 patients were
      monitored daily by a combination protocol (Group II). The pregnancy rate, taking
      home baby rate, OHSS rate and total cost of monitoring for each patient in both
      groups were calculated and compared. The patients and the IVF team effort and
      stress were also compared. RESULT: Analysis of this study showed no statistical
      significant differences in clinical pregnancy rate and taking home baby rate
      between patients in protocol I and II (23.4% vs. 22.9%) and (14.8% vs. 14.3%),
      respectively. OHSS developed in only two patients--one in each group. The average
      cost of monitoring was significantly cheaper in Group I--78 Jordanian dinars (JD)
      vs. 222 JD in Group II (P < 0.0001). (NB: 1 USD = 0.7 JD). CONCLUSION: Ultrasound
      monitoring only proved to be cheaper, more convenient and less time consuming for
      both the patients and the IVF team. However, no significant difference was found
      regarding the clinical pregnancy rate and taking home baby rate between the two
      protocols.

PMID- 9989898
TI  - Abdominal hysterectomy practice patterns in the United States.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe nationwide practice trends for two principal techniques of
      abdominal hysterectomy in the United States, numbers and rates of total (TAH) and
      supracervical (SCH) hysterectomy were reviewed with charges for each operation.
      METHODS: Practice patterns for all inpatient TAH and SCH discharges in the US
      from 1991 to 1994 were studied using HCUP-3 NIS, a nationwide hospital discharge
      database. Hysterectomies performed for malignant disease, vaginally or with
      laparoscopic assistance were not sampled. For each year studied, the number and
      rate of TAH and SCH, average length of stay (LOS), and mean institutional charge
      were evaluated. RESULTS: From 1991 to 1994, the US TAH rate (cases/10000 females)
      decreased significantly from 25.7 to 20.5 (P = 0.02). During the same interval
      the SCH rate increased significantly from 0.16 to 0.41 (P = 0.04). Nevertheless,
      TAH accounted for > 99% of all abdominal hysterectomies for each of the 4 years
      evaluated. The mean institutional charges for the two operations generally
      depicted SCH to be more costly than TAH. CONCLUSION: The national rates of TAH
      and SCH rates changed significantly in the United States from 1991 to 1994, with
      TAH declining and SCH increasing. This mix of cases continues to reflect a strong
      preference for TAH. Although hospital charges for both procedures increased
      during this study, these data show that SCH is more expensive than TAH. The much
      lower utilization of SCH renders nominal its impact on national healthcare
      expenditures, however. Further studies are needed to assess specific causative
      factors for these changes in US hysterectomy technique.

PMID- 9989899
TI  - A 4-year clinical analysis of ruptured uterus.

PMID- 9989900
TI  - The relationship between parity and labor pain.

PMID- 9989901
TI  - Maternal mortality in Fiji.

PMID- 9989902
TI  - Transvaginal ultrasound-guided electrocautery of the ovaries in infertile
      patients with polycystic ovarian disease.

PMID- 9989903
TI  - ACOG educational bulletin. Confidentiality in adolescent health care. Number 249,
      August 1998. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

PMID- 9989904
TI  - ACOG educational bulletin. Ovarian cancer. Number 250, August 1998 (replaces No.
      141, May 1990). American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

PMID- 9989905
TI  - ACOG committee opinion. Tubal ligation with cesarean delivery. Number 205, August
      1998. Committee on Coding and Nomenclature. American College of Obstetricians and
      Gynecologists.

PMID- 9989906
TI  - ACOG committee opinion. New Pap test screening techniques. Number 206, August
      1998. Committee on Gynecologic Practice. American College of Obstetricians and
      Gynecologists.

PMID- 9989907
TI  - Assessing eating patterns-an emerging research topic in nutritional sciences:
      introduction to the symposium.
AB  - In order to stimulate food habit research in nutritional sciences, in 1994 the
      International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) established Committee II/2 on
      Nutrition and Food Habits, which has the charge "to review the impact of changing
      food choice and habits on nutritional status". Within this broad task, priority
      has been given to methodological aspects of studies on the spatio-temporal
      structure of food and drink intake. Some principles of the study of eating
      patterns and the status of this research topic nutrition are described as an
      introduction to selected papers of a workshop on "Methodology to Identify and to
      Assess Eating Patterns" organized by the IUNS committee and held during the 16th
      International Congress of Nutrition in Montreal (Canada) on 28 July 1997.

PMID- 9989908
TI  - Dietary patterns and trends in the United States: the UNC-CH approach.
AB  - Over the past 2 decades our group of nutrition and economics researchers at the
      University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has used a wide array of methods to
      study eating patterns and dietary trends. Our focus has been on characterising
      the way diet has changed over time and identifying some of the major factors
      underlying these trends. The complexity of this undertaking has led us to develop
      a number of unique systems for classifying foods and assessing the overall
      quality of diet. We have also addressed the challenges that exist when measuring
      changes in both the food supply and food-related behaviors over time. This paper
      summarises some of the methodological work related to food grouping, overall diet
      quality indices, and trends research as well as the challenges we still face in
      this arena.

PMID- 9989909
TI  - Meal patterns in the SENECA study of nutrition and the elderly in Europe:
      assessment method and preliminary results on the role of the midday meal.
AB  - The paper discusses the assessment method for meal patterns in the course of the
      SENECA follow-up survey in 1993 in eight study towns across Europe and relates
      the percentage of energy intake at the midday meal to geographical latitude,
      total energy intake, energy intake as snacks, number of cooked meals, time spent
      at the main meal and intake of milk products, fat and leafy vegetables. A
      questionnaire for the assessment of meal patterns in western Europe has to
      include the possibility to assess more than three meals per day as well as a
      variety of meals at any time of the day. Meal structures vary between cooked
      meals, bread- or soup-based meals, but may also consist of spoon food, salads or
      fruit. Positive correlations were found between the percentage of energy intake
      at the midday meal and the number of cooked meals consumed per day, negative
      relations were found between the percentage of energy intake at the midday meal
      and the geographical latitude as well as total energy intake, energy intake in
      form of snacks and consumption of milk products.

PMID- 9989910
TI  - The significance of eating patterns: an elderly Greek case study.
AB  - Eating patterns are a relatively neglected area of nutrition assessment with
      considerable potential health importance. Cross-cultural and socio
      anthropological studies provide insight into the great range of food patterns
      which are related to health, biochemical measurements and anthropometry. The
      International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) study of aged folk in food
      culturally disparate communities has provided opportunities to explore these
      issues. This paper uses cross-sectional data from the Greek arms of the IUNS
      study to explore associations between eating pattern variables (number of meals,
      time of meals, main meal for lunch and/or dinner, meal plus alcohol) and with the
      prevalence of self-reported heart disease and diabetes, body fatness, blood
      lipids, blood glucose and the overall variety of foods consumed. The eating
      pattern variables were not associated with blood lipids, self-reported heart
      disease or diabetes. Body fatness was negatively associated with the consumption
      of a greater number of meals/snacks daily (p<0.01), with the consumption of two
      cooked meals daily (p<0. 05) or when the main meal was consumed at lunch time
      (p<0.05) and when breakfast was consumed earlier rather than later in the morning
      (p<0.01). Later dinner times were positively correlated with a higher fasting
      blood glucose in non-diabetic elderly Greeks (p<0. 0005). A more varied diet was
      positively associated with the consumption of alcohol with dinner (p<0.0001) and
      with a greater number of meals/snacks daily (p<0.0001). These findings suggest
      that adherence to the traditional Greek eating pattern may be protective against
      obesity and appears to promote greater food variety.

PMID- 9989911
TI  - Meal patterns in middle-aged men in Southern Germany: results from the MONICA
      Augsburg dietary survey 1984/85.
AB  - Seven-day food records of the MONICA project Augsburg dietary survey, which were
      collected in 1984/85 from 899 men aged 45-64 years (random sample), were used to
      analyse meal patterns. The combination of the three traditional meals (breakfast,
      lunch, dinner) with one eating event between was most frequent, followed by two
      meals with two eating events between and three main meals without any other
      eating event (31.4 vs. 31.0 vs. 15.6% of all reported days). Breakfast delivered
      17, lunch 29 and dinner 33% of the total daily energy intake; all other eating
      events delivered 21%. The mean contribution of the three meals, breakfast, lunch
      and dinner to daily protein intake was 14, 36 and 36%, to fat intake 17, 33 and
      35% and to carbohydrate intake 23, 25 and 29%, respectively. Data on meal
      patterns are important in a comprehensive description of dietary habits of a
      population for a variety of reasons.

PMID- 9989912
TI  - Methodology of a survey on meal patterns in private senior households.
AB  - The methodology of a study on meal patterns is discussed. For data collection,
      menu records on the current diet over two periods of 6 weeks each and an
      additional self-administered questionnaire on various food related aspects were
      selected as instruments. Information is required concerning e.g. time, kind and
      frequency of meals during the day, kind and frequency of dishes consumed and the
      combination of these. The aim of the study is to obtain information about the
      nutritional behaviour of the elderly especially on meal patterns. These data are
      intended as the basis for menu plans reflecting actual nutritional habits in a
      diet, according to individual requirements, and not for assessing the
      participants' nutritional status.

PMID- 9989913
TI  - Eating patterns in French subjects studied by the "weekly food diary" method.
AB  - The "weekly food diary" was translated and adapted for use by French subjects.
      This validated method requires subjects to record every food and drink intake
      over 1 week, with several descriptors of the physical, psychological and social
      circumstances. Ten male [age 23. 6+/-2.3 years, body mass index (BMI) 20.7+/-0.6]
      and 16 female (age 23.3+/-0.6 years, BMI 20+/-0.6) students completed four weekly
      diaries over 1 year, one per season. Data were processed using a specially
      designed software. Breakfast was important, (about 400 kcalories). Lunch and
      dinner were almost equal in energy content but alcohol was consumed mainly with
      dinner. Meal size correlated positively with premeal hunger, number of people
      present, duration of premeal interval and time of day. Postmeal satiety
      correlated positively with meal size, aftermeal stomach content, and negatively
      with time of day, postmeal hunger and duration of sleep the preceding night.
      These observations allow hypotheses to be developed about mechanisms of intake in
      a French population and cross-cultural comparisons to be made.

PMID- 9989914
TI  - Food-based classification of eating episodes (FBCE).
AB  - The concept for categorization of eating episodes in dietary surveys was
      originally developed in studies of shift workers to compare "meal patterns"
      between night and day work shifts. The concept has been further improved through
      experience from applications in dietary surveys in other populations. In this
      paper, results from categorization of eating episodes in shift workers, elderly
      women and men during life transition periods, elderly female leg ulcer patients
      and obese men and their lean controls are shown and discussed. The categorization
      concept is based on seven food categories with food items of similar nutrient
      characteristics within each category. Each eating event is categorized as any of
      four types of "meals" or four types of "snacks" due to its combination of food
      categories. Thus, categorization is based on visible properties (food types) but
      at the same time reflecting invisible properties (nutrients). Criteria is also
      established to sub-categorize the "meal" types as being either "prepared" or
      "quick-prepared" from a behavioural perspective. Use of a defined and reliable
      concept for categorization is necessary to study eating episodes in dietary
      surveys, their determinants and also consequences on health and performance.
      Nocturnal eating during the circadian nadir might affect nutritional status.
      Since increasingly western populations appear to be moving from regular and
      planned meals to more episodic eating "around the clock", such analyses are of
      increasing interest in a bio-social perspective.

PMID- 9989915
TI  - From regional ethnographies to interdisciplinary approaches-research on meals in
      Finland.
AB  - The paper reviews Finnish research on meals and meal patterns since the turn of
      the century. The main research traditions and cases representing various
      methodological approaches-qualitative interview, health behaviour questionnaire
      and dietary survey-are discussed. In line with studies undertaken in other
      industrialized countries, the Finnish studies show that meal patterns are related
      to socio-economic structure, work schedules, lifecourse, living conditions and
      food availability. Meal patterns vary by individual energy needs, and the
      nutrient contents of meals can be different from those of snacks. It is difficult
      to account for all determinants and characteristics of meals in a single study.
      The three cases shed light on the various aspects of the meal. When planning an
      empirical study on meals the researcher should ask herself/himself at least four
      questions: (1) who defines the meal?; (2) are meal patterns assumed to vary by
      time and between subgroups of the study population?; (3) is information on
      nutrient content of various eating occasions relevant to the study?; and (4)
      could information on meals be obtained from existing data sources?

PMID- 9989916
TI  - Nordic meals: methodological notes on a comparative survey.
AB  - This article discusses some methodological aspects of the project "Eating and
      Modern Everyday Life. A Comparative Survey of Nordic Countries". Data were
      collected in April 1997 with computer assisted telephone interviews in Denmark,
      Finland, Norway and Sweden. Questionnaires included a record of the informant's
      eating on the day before the interview, attitudes related to current food
      discourses, socio-demographic information and a few open-ended questions. The
      emphasis was on social and cultural aspects of eating. One aim of this study is
      to investigate whether regular meals are substituted by irregular eating
      patterns. In order to avoid any predefined meal concepts the questionnaire
      therefore focused on eating events. The reconstruction of data is based on a
      model called the eating system. The model has three dimensions: the eating
      pattern (the rhythm and the number of eating events, the alternations of hot and
      cold eating events), the meal format (the composition of the main course, the
      sequence of the whole meal) and the social organization of eating (where and with
      whom people are eating, who did the cooking). Some preliminary results are
      presented suggesting that the questionnaire and the analytical model suit the
      purpose of studying modernization through the field of food.

PMID- 9989917
TI  - Evidence-based reduction of obesity: identification of a subculture's least
      fattening eating patterns.
AB  - Public health nutritional interventions, like clinical treatments in medicine or
      psychology, should be based on direct evidence of their efficacy relative to
      prior existing modalities. Yet the contribution of applied human nutrition and
      the psychology of eating to research into ways of slowing the rise of obesity has
      been limited to the intake of energy nutrients and investigator-prejudged
      questions about appetite and food choices. In contrast, it is feasible to get
      members of the public to describe their patterns of eating in their own words.
      Self-assessed current frequency of each common potentially less or more fattening
      eating pattern can then be used to associate weight change with changes in habit
      frequency. This design has been used to identify the long-term least fattening
      eating patterns retrospectively and prospectively in several studies in England
      and Germany. Without using assessments of usual nutrient intake, these studies
      demonstrate that the least fattening patterns over 1-2 or more years are drinks
      between meals with no energy intake, cutting back on fat in all foods and
      replacing as much sitting and riding as feasible each day with walking or
      cycling. An hypothesis to be tested by this method is that the only known
      automatic mechanism for eating less dessert is the learnt effect of boosting the
      readily digested carbohydrate content of high-energy main courses. Such evidence
      based advice as well as self-therapy for emotional eating and body-shape distress
      should be the front line of defence against unhealthy weight gain and re-gain.

PMID- 9989918
TI  - Evaluation of eating patterns with different methods: the Polish experience.
AB  - The implementation of a market economy at the beginning of the 1990s has changed
      Polish consumers. This paper describes results of different methods which are
      used to evaluate food consumption, including eating patterns, in this time of
      transition. Except for the significant decrease of dairy products and increase of
      vegetable oils the pattern of the menu in Poland remains very traditional. The
      differences between the previous and present situation are based on changes in
      the organization of shopping and the possibilities of preparing meals.

PMID- 9989919
TI  - Food habits in Kenya: the effects of change and attendant methodological
      problems.
AB  - Kenya, as a developing country, is in a process of transition between traditional
      and modern lifestyles. The population is dispersed by different ethnic,
      ecological and economical backgrounds. There are different food habits within the
      country and the traditions are influenced in different ways by modern influences,
      e. g. the media. The difficulties of studying food habits in such situations are
      described, and also the chances for nutrition studies.

PMID- 9989920
TI  - Assessment of adolescent food habits in Switzerland.
AB  - Several physical, psychological and behavioural changes may affect food habits
      during adolescence and have long-term consequences on adult health status. Also,
      as food habits are related to lifestyle and physical activity, all should be
      assessed together. This paper describes a self-administered food frequency
      questionnaire (FFQ) designed to assess semi-quantitatively food habits of
      adolescents, and evaluates its use in a study of lifestyle and physical activity.
      A FFQ was developed, tested in 20 adolescents and compared with a modified
      version of the diet history method (a combination of a 3-day dietary record and
      an interview with a dietitian). This validated semi-quantitative questionnaire
      was later included in a larger questionnaire on lifestyle and physical activity
      in a study of 3540 adolescents aged 9-19 years. In the validation study with 20
      adolescents, the FFQ showed a good agreement with the modified version of the
      diet history. During the survey several consumption frequencies were found to be
      low. In the group of adolescents aged 14-19 years old, dairy products were
      consumed daily by less than 50% of the sample. About 53% girls but only 33% boys
      consumed one fruit daily. For one vegetable portion, these proportions were 17
      and 8%, respectively. The self-administered food frequency questionnaire
      correctly describes food consumption in adolescents. Moreover, it was well
      accepted by the target group, easily understood and completed with very few
      problems. The results show that a significant proportion of adolescents didn>>t
      consume milk, fruit and vegetable on a daily basis.

PMID- 9989921
TI  - Interpretation of dietary change in the United States: fat as an indicator.
AB  - Measurement of dietary trends poses methodologic issues of great complexity and
      intellectural challenge. Confidence in the ability to draw inferences about
      trends increases when the results of various measurement methods point in the
      same direction, are of comparable magnitude and are consistent with one another
      as well as with external sources of related data. This paper illustrates these
      issues by reviewing inconsistencies in available data sources since the early
      1970s on intake of fat in the United States.

PMID- 9989922
TI  - Predicting the intent to purchase unfamiliar and familiar cheeses: the effects of
      attitudes, expected liking and food neophobia.
AB  - The attitude model of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) has been applied mainly
      to predicting the choice of familiar foods; however, the choice of unfamiliar
      foods may be governed by distinct factors. In the present study, 92 females rated
      their attitudes and subjective norms about the purchase intentions of two
      familiar and two unfamiliar cheeses, and the expected and actual pleasantness of
      them. They also completed the food neophobia scale, which measures the tendency
      to avoid novel foods. Neophobic persons rated the attitudes and expected and
      actual taste pleasantness lower than neophilics for all cheeses, except for the
      most familiar, mild cheese. This suggests that food neophobia also indicates the
      tendency not only to avoid, but also to dislike novel foods. Before tasting,
      attitudes and subjective norms together predicted the intent to purchase familiar
      cheeses better (R2=0.54 and 0.58) than for novel cheeses (R2=0.24 and 0.35);
      thus, the basic TRA model was not as useful in predicting intent to purchase
      unfamiliar as familiar cheeses. The predictions especially for the novel cheeses
      were clearly improved by including expected pleasantness ratings in the model.
      The usefulness of the food neophobia score as an additional predictor was not
      clearly supported. Attitudes and subjective norms measured before tasting were
      poor predictors of purchase intents after tasting, which implies the importance
      of taste and direct product experience in food choice.

PMID- 9989923
TI  - Contemporary nutritional attitudes and practices: a factor analysis approach.
AB  - The results reported here are based upon a survey of the nutritional attitudes
      and practices of a sample of adults aged between 18 and 74 years. The scaled
      responses to two inventories of statements were subjected to a factor analysis in
      order to assess the extent to which it is possible to identify a set of coherent
      dimensions which underly the range of "surface" issues which figure consistently
      in the sociological literature. The results broadly confirm the utility of the
      inventories, and do suggest the presence of a series of underlying themes, some
      of which are very much along anticipated lines. However, one theme, that of
      deference to what might be thought of as "authoritative agencies" within the food
      system, was less expected, and deserves further attention. Additionally, selected
      factors were aggregated by summing the scores of their component variables, and
      correlated with the key independent variables of age, sex and social class, with
      a view to identifying the social profiles of their adherents. The results
      obtained were by no means clear cut, with a number of the anticipated features of
      such profiles being absent. Moreover, where the profiles were as anticipated, the
      correlations, although statistically significant, were relatively weak. This
      raised the issue of whether such an outcome was a methodological artefact, or a
      reflection of the possibility that differences in nutritional attitudes and
      practices are shaped by a range of lifestyle variables which do not coincide with
      conventional indicators of social differentiation.

PMID- 9989924
TI  - Restrained eating among vegetarians: does a vegetarian eating style mask concerns
      about weight?
AB  - The present study explored the relationships among dietary style (ranging from
      meat eating to veganism), cognitive restraint and feminist values. Two-hundred
      and twenty-seven participants with varying dietary styles completed the restraint
      subscale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and Attitudes Towards
      Feminism Scale (ATFS). Results indicated that among males, those who are high in
      cognitive restraint are more likely to exhibit a vegetarian dietary style than
      those low in cognitive restraint. Among women who are high in feminist values,
      those with high cognitive restraint are more likely to exhibit a vegetarian
      dietary style than those with low cognitive restraint, whereas for women low in
      feminist values those with high and low cognitive restraint are equally likely to
      exhibit vegetarian and non-vegetarian dietary styles. It is suggested that for
      some individuals, adoption of a vegetarian dietary style is an attempt to mask
      their dieting behaviour from others.

PMID- 9989925
TI  - Flavor preferences conditioned by intragastric nutrient infusions in rats fed
      chow or a cafeteria diet.
AB  - Numerous studies demonstrate that chow-fed rats learn to prefer flavors that are
      associated with the postingestive effects of nutrients. The rats>> limited
      dietary experience (i.e. only lab chow) may have facilitated preference learning
      because of the novelty of the training stimuli. This possibility was investigated
      by comparing nutrient conditioning in rats fed chow or a varied "cafeteria" diet.
      Rats in Experiment 1 were trained during alternate sessions (30 min/day) to drink
      two different flavors paired with concurrent intragastric infusions of 16%
      Polycose or water. Both diet groups displayed similarly strong preferences (89%)
      for and increased acceptance of the Polycose-paired flavor. A more demanding
      learning task was used in Experiment 2: new flavors were paired with delayed (15
      min) infusions of Polycose or water. The chow and cafeteria groups both showed
      reduced, but comparable (78%, 77%) preferences for the Polycose-paired flavor. In
      Experiment 3, new flavors were paired with concurrent infusions of 7.1% corn oil
      or water. Again, the cafeteria and chow groups developed similar preferences for
      the nutrient-paired flavor (85%, 78%). Also, both groups preferred the Polycose
      paired flavor of Experiment 1 to the oil-paired flavor of Experiment 3 (76%,
      78%). These results indicate that dietary variety does not interfere with
      nutrient-conditioned flavor preference learning in rats.

PMID- 9989926
TI  - Inhibition of anandamide hydrolysis by the enantiomers of ibuprofen, ketorolac,
      and flurbiprofen.
AB  - The endogenous cannabimimetic anandamide is hydrolyzed by a fatty acid amide
      hydrolase to yield arachidonic acid and ethanolamine. In the present study, the
      regional distribution of the activity and its sensitivity to inhibition by the
      enantiomers of ibuprofen, ketorolac, and flurbiprofen has been investigated. The
      rate of [3H]anandamide hydrolysis was found in both 7-week-old and 90-week-old
      rats to be in the order hippocampus > cerebral cortex > cerebellum > striatum
      approximately midbrain, with higher rates of hydrolysis for the 7-week-old rats
      than for the 90-week-old rats. In whole brain (minus cerebellum), the R(-)
      enantiomer of ibuprofen was a mixed-type inhibitor of anandamide hydrolysis and
      was approximately 2-3 times more potent than the S(+)-enantiomer, IC50 values of
      230 and 750 microM, respectively, being found. A similar pattern of inhibition of
      anandamide hydrolysis was seen when intact C6 rat glioma cells were used.
      Ketorolac inhibited rat brain anandamide hydrolysis, with IC50 values of 50, 440,
      and 80 microM being found for the R-, S-, and R,S-forms, respectively. The IC50
      value for R-flurbiprofen (60 microM) was similar to the IC50 value for the S
      enantiomer (50 microM). These data demonstrate that there is no dramatic
      enantiomeric selectivity of NSAID compounds as inhibitors of fatty acid amide
      hydrolase enzyme(s) responsible for the hydrolysis of anandamide. The enantiomers
      of flurbiprofen and R-ketorolac are the most potent NSAID inhibitors of fatty
      acid amide hydrolase yet reported.

PMID- 9989927
TI  - Activation of the P2Z/P2X7 receptor in human lymphocytes produces a delayed
      permeability lesion: involvement of phospholipase D.
AB  - Leukemic lymphocytes possess a cytolytic P2Z/P2X7 receptor which, when activated
      by extracellular ATP, opens a Ca2+- and Ba2+-permeable ion channel. This ATP
      stimulated influx of divalent cations has been shown to activate an intracellular
      phospholipase D (PLD) which hydrolyzes membrane phosphatidylcholine. Lymphocytes
      that were exposed to ATP for 20 min at 37 degrees C, washed, and then incubated
      without ATP for 2 h showed an increased uptake of propidium2+, a dye widely used
      to measure cytotoxicity. The potent P2Z/P2X7 receptor inhibitor, KN-62, which is
      known to prevent the channel opening when added with ATP, did not block
      development of the permeability lesion when added 15 min before dye addition. The
      activity of lymphocyte PLD was stimulated fourfold by ATP and a proportion of
      this increased activity persisted for several hours after removal of ATP. Loading
      lymphocytes with intracellular choline+ by prior incubation of cells with ATP in
      isotonic choline chloride abolished both ATP-stimulated PLD activity and the ATP
      induced permeability lesion. Addition of PLD but not phospholipase C to the
      extracellular medium increased lymphocyte permeability to propidium2+ and this
      effect was not observed in a choline medium. The cytolytic effect of exogenous
      PLD together with the inhibitory effect of choline, a product of the PLD
      reaction, suggests that sustained activation of intracellular PLD may be involved
      in the ATP-initiated cytolytic pathway.

PMID- 9989928
TI  - Allosteric regulation of type I hexokinase: A site-directed mutational study
      indicating location of the functional glucose 6-phosphate binding site in the N
      terminal half of the enzyme.
AB  - The Type I isozyme of mammalian hexokinase has evolved by a gene duplication
      fusion mechanism, with resulting internal duplication of sequence and ligand
      binding sites. However, 1:1 binding stoichiometry indicates that only one of
      these is available for binding the product inhibitor, Glc-6-P; the location of
      that site, in the N- or C-terminal half, remains under debate. Recent structural
      studies (Aleshin et al., Structure 6, 39-50, 1998; Mulichak et al., Nature
      Struct. Biol. 5, 555-560, 1998) implicated Asp 84 or its analog in the C-terminal
      half, Asp 532, in binding of Glc-6-P. Zeng et al. (Biochemistry 35, 13157-13164,
      1996) demonstrated that mutation of Asp 532 to Lys or Glu did not affect
      inhibition by the Glc-6-P analog, 1,5-anhydroglucitol-6-P. These same mutations,
      as well as mutation to Ala, at the Asp 84 position are now shown to result in
      increased Ki for 1,5-anhydroglucitol-6-P. The ability of Pi to antagonize
      inhibition by the Glc-6-P analog is severely diminished or abolished by these
      mutations, suggesting that antagonism is dependent on precise positioning of the
      inhibitory hexose 6-phosphate. The structure of the enzyme complexed with Glc and
      Pi has been determined, and shows that Pi occupies the same site as the 6
      phosphate group in the complex with Glc-6-P. Thus, antagonism between these
      ligands results from competition for a common anion binding site in the N
      terminal half.

PMID- 9989929
TI  - Influence of DNA binding on the degradation of oxidized histones by the 20S
      proteasome.
AB  - The 20S proteasome is localized in the cytosol and nuclei of mammalian cells.
      Previous work has shown that the cytosolic 20S proteasome is largely responsible
      for the selective recognition and degradation of oxidatively damaged cytosolic
      proteins. Since nuclear proteins are also susceptible to oxidative damage (e.g.,
      from metabolic free radical production, ionizing radiation, xenobiotics,
      chemotherapy) we investigated the degradation of oxidatively damaged histones, in
      the presence and in the absence of DNA, by the 20S proteasome. We find that both
      soluble histones and DNA-bound histones are susceptible to selective proteolytic
      degradation by the 20S proteasome following mild oxidative damage. In contrast,
      more severe oxidative damage actually decreases the proteolytic susceptibility of
      histones. Soluble H1 showed the highest basal and maximal absolute proteolytic
      rates. Histone fraction H4 exhibited the greatest relative increase in
      proteolytic susceptibility following oxidation, almost 14-fold, and this occurred
      at a peroxide exposure of 5 mM. At the other end of the spectrum, histone H2A
      exhibited a maximal proteolytic response to H2O2 of only 6-fold, and this
      required an H2O2 exposure of 15 mM. An oxidation of reconstituted linear DNA
      plasmid-histone complex makes up to 95% of the histones bound to DNA susceptible
      to degradation, whereas undamaged protein-DNA complexes are not substrates for
      the proteasome. Severe oxidation by high concentrations of H2O2 appears to
      decreases the proteolytic susceptibility of histones due to the formation of
      cross-linked histone-DNA aggregates which appear to inhibit the proteasome. We
      conclude that the degradation of nuclear proteins is highly selective and
      requires prior damage of the substrate protein, such as that caused by oxidation.

PMID- 9989930
TI  - Inhibitory effects of streptozotocin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and
      interleukin-1beta on glucokinase activity in pancreatic islets and gene
      expression of GLUT2 and glucokinase.
AB  - Treatment of streptozotocin (ST), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and
      interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) resulted in destroying insulin-secreting beta-cells
      of pancreatic islets and impairment of islet glucose oxidation and glucose
      induced insulin secretion. IL-1beta and TNF-alpha inhibited insulin release and
      glucose utilization and oxidation. It was shown that the inhibitory effects of
      ST, IL-1beta, and TNF-alpha were due to impaired glucokinase activity.
      Glucokinase activity was severely impaired by ST, IL-1beta, and TNF-alpha
      treatments, as confirmed by assaying enzymes and nucleotides associated with
      glycolysis and glucose oxidation. On the other hand, nitric oxide was a factor of
      the deleterious effects of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and ST on pancreatic islets.
      Incubation of mouse pancreatic islets with ST at various concentrations of
      impairing insulin secretion resulted in generation of nitrite, stimulation of
      islet guanylyl cyclase and accumulation of cGMP, and inhibition of pancreatic
      islet mitochondrial aconitase activity to degree similar to those raised by IL
      1beta and TNF-alpha. When the effects of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha on the gene
      expression of pancreatic GLUT2 and glucokinase were examined, the level of GLUT2
      and glucokinase mRNA in pancreatic islets was significantly decreased. This
      suggested that IL-1beta and TNF-alpha downregulate gene expression of GLUT2 and
      glucokinase in pancreatic beta-cells.

PMID- 9989931
TI  - Effects of various amino acid 256 mutations on sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum
      Ca2+ ATPase function and their role in the cellular adaptive response to
      thapsigargin.
AB  - Upon direct selection of mammalian cells for resistance to thapsigargin (TG), a
      potent inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ transport ATPase
      (SERCA), the ATPase can acquire specific mutations at amino acid position 256
      (aa256). In particular, Phe256 --> Leu and Phe256 --> Ser substitutions can occur
      upon TG selection, with each substitution resulting in a SERCA that is 4- to 5
      fold resistant to TG inhibition (M. Yu et al., J. Biol. Chem. 273, 3542-3546,
      1998). We have now identified a third substitution, i.e., Phe256 --> Val, that
      occurs when the Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell line DC-3F is selected for
      TG resistance. Although the Phe256 --> Val substitution at codon 256 results in a
      SERCA whose enzymological properties in terms of Ca2+ transport and ATP
      hydrolysis are essentially similar to that of wild-type (wt) SERCA, the mutant
      enzyme is more than 40-fold resistant to TG inhibition. To analyze further the
      role of aa256 in TG-SERCA interactions, mutational analysis of this particular
      residue was also carried out. Of all the mutations introduced, only the Phe256 -
      > Glu substitution interferes with expression of the ATPase. The Phe256 --> Arg
      substitution does not interfere with SERCA expression, but the resulting enzyme
      is totally inactive. In terms of sensitivity of the various mutants to TG,
      maximal reduction in the ATPase's affinity for TG occurs with amino acid
      substitutions containing branched side chains, i.e. with the Phe256 --> Val,
      Phe256 --> Ile, and Phe256 --> Thr mutants. Since a corresponding Phe is
      conserved in the Na+, K+-ATPase which is not sensitive to TG, our findings
      suggest that this amino acid provides stabilization of the stalk segment with
      respect to the membrane interface, thereby optimizing specific interactions of TG
      with neighboring S3 residues (L. Zhong and G. Inesi, J. Biol. Chem. 273, 12994
      12998, 1998). It is likely that a relatively high frequency of codon 256
      mutations favor the aa256 mutants as a specific adaptive response to TG
      selection.

PMID- 9989932
TI  - Bioreduction of Tempone and spin-labeled gentamicin by gram-negative bacteria:
      kinetics and effect of ultrasound.
AB  - The primary objective of this study is the investigation of bioreduction kinetics
      of hydrophilic spin probes, 2,2,6,6, -tetramethyl-4-oxo-piperidinyl-1-oxyl
      (Tempone), and spin-labeled antibiotic gentamicin by gram-negative bacteria
      maintained at various oxygen tensions, with emphasis on the effect of probe
      penetration rate. This information was used to evaluate the effect of ultrasound
      on the penetration of hydrophilic compounds, including antibiotics, into
      Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli cells. Penetration of spin-labeled
      compounds into the cells was assessed by the reduction rate of the nitroxyl
      moiety measured by EPR. In cell suspensions, both Tempone and spin-labeled
      gentamicin were localized predominantly in the aqueous phase surrounding the
      cells. However, a gradual reduction of the probes in contact with the cells
      indicated that the probes penetrated through the outer membrane and periplasmic
      space into the cytoplasmic membrane, where the electron transport chains and
      other metabolic activities of gram-negative bacteria are localized. The kinetics
      of probe reduction depended on oxygen tension and presence of electron transport
      chain blockers. It was found that probe penetration rate through the outer cell
      membrane affected the rate of probe reduction; damaging the permeability barrier
      by cell incubation with EDTA or by powerful insonation above the cavitation
      threshold increased the rate of probe reduction. In contrast, insonation below
      the cavitation threshold did not affect the rate of probe reduction. These
      findings imply that the recently observed synergistic effect between hydrophilic
      antibiotics and low frequency ultrasound in killing gram-negative bacteria did
      not result from the enhanced antibiotic penetration through bacterial cell walls.

PMID- 9989933
TI  - Structure and expression of the rat CYP3A1 gene: isolation of the gene
      (P450/6betaB) and characterization of the recombinant protein.
AB  - A P450 gene (P450/6betaB) of the CYP3A subfamily was isolated from a rat genomic
      library. Nucleotide sequencing of the exons revealed a high similarity with
      P450PCN1 cDNA (Gonzalez et al. (1985), J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7345-7441), but
      differed in 41 nucleotides, resulting in 11 changes and 2 deletions of amino acid
      residues. The P450/6betaB spanned about 30 kbp and consisted of 13 exons, and was
      in exon number and size identical with CYP3A2 gene except in the 6th exon, which
      was shorter than that of CYP3A2. 6beta-B mRNA, which may be transcribed from
      P450/6betaB, was detected on Northern blotting and by reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Profiles of the developmental change and
      induction by a treatment with several chemicals were very similar to those of
      P450PCN1 mRNA reported previously. P450PCN1 mRNA and gene, however, were not
      detected by PCR in rats. To determine whether P450/6betaB encodes an active
      protein, a cDNA was isolated and expressed. Expression of 6beta-B cDNA in COS-1
      cells was carried out and revealed that the recombinant protein comigrated with
      purified P4506beta-4 previously identified as CYP3A1. The recombinant 6beta-B
      protein showed similar turnover rate and regioselectivity for testosterone with
      purified P4506beta-4 by the simultaneous addition of NADPH-cytochrome P450
      reductase and cytochrome b5. These data suggest that P450/6betaB encodes an
      active P450 form corresponding to CYP3A1 and P450PCN1 reported previously does
      not exist in rats.

PMID- 9989934
TI  - Properties of the His57-Asp102 dyad of rat trypsin D189S in the zymogen,
      activated enzyme, and alpha1-proteinase inhibitor complexed forms.
AB  - Structural and biochemical studies suggest that serpins induce structural
      rearrangements in their target serine-proteinases. Previous NMR studies of the
      complex between a serpin, alpha1-proteinase inhibitor, and a mutant of
      recombinant rat trypsin (the Asp189 to Ser mutant, D189S, which is much more
      stable than wild-type rat trypsin against autoproteolysis) provided information
      about the state of catalytic residues in this complex: the hydrogen bond between
      Asp102 and His57 remains intact in the complex, and spectral properties of His57
      are more like those of the zymogen than of the activated enzyme (G. Kaslik, et
      al., 1997, Biochemistry 36, 5455-5464). Here we report the protonation and
      exchange behavior of His57 of recombinant rat trypsin D189S in three states: the
      zymogen, the active enzyme, and the complex with human alpha1-proteinase
      inhibitor and compare these with analogous behavior of His57 of bovine
      chymotrypsinogen and alpha-chymotrypsin. In these studies the pKa of His57 has
      been determined from the pH dependence of the 1H NMR signal from the Hdelta1
      proton of histidine in the Asp102-His57 dyad, and a measure of the accessibility
      of this part of the active site has been obtained from the rate of appearance of
      this signal following its selective saturation. The activation of rat trypsinogen
      D189S (zymogen, pKa = 7.8 +/- 0.1; Hill coefficient = 0. 86 +/- 0.05) decreased
      the pKa of His57 by 1.1 unit and made the protonation process cooperative (active
      enzyme, pKa = 6.7 +/- 0.1; Hill coefficient = 1.37 +/- 0.08). The binding of
      alpha1-proteinase inhibitor to trypsin D189S led to an increase in the pKa value
      of His57 to a value higher than that of the zymogen and led to negative
      cooperativity in the protonation process (complex, pKa = 8.1 +/- 0. 1; Hill
      coefficient = 0.70 +/- 0.08), as was observed for the zymogen. In spite of these
      differences in the pKa of His57 in the zymogen, active enzyme, and alpha1
      proteinase inhibitor complex, the solvent exchange lifetime of the His57 Hdelta1
      proton was the same, within experimental error, in all three states (lifetime = 2
      to 12.5 ms). The linewidth of the 1H NMR signal from the Hdelta1 proton of His57
      was relatively sharp, at temperatures between 5 and 20 degrees C at both low pH
      (5.2) and high pH (10.0), in spectra of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin, recombinant
      rat trypsin D189S, and the complex between rat trypsin D189S and human alpha1
      proteinase inhibitor; however, in spectra of the complex between alpha
      chymotrypsin and human alpha1-proteinase inhibitor, the peak was broader and
      could be well-resolved only at the lower temperature (5 degrees C).

PMID- 9989935
TI  - Purification and characterization of two amine N-sulfotransferases, AST-RB1
      (ST3A1) and AST-RB2 (ST2A8), from liver cytosols of male rabbits.
AB  - Two sulfotransferases (STs), designated as AST-RB1 (ST3A1) and AST-RB2 (ST2A8),
      with high a amine N-sulfonating activity, were purified from male rabbit liver
      cytosols. AST-RB1 and AST-RB2 were purified to homogeneity by the anion-exchange,
      affinity, and hydroxyapatite chromatography. The N-terminus of both enzymes were
      blocked. The subunit molecular mass of both enzymes was estimated to be 34 kDa on
      SDS-PAGE. AST-RB1 efficiently catalyzed N-sulfonation of alicyclic, alkyl, and
      arylamines such as 4-phenyl-1,2,3, 6-tetrahydropyridine, 1-[(5-chloro-2-oxo-3(2H)
      benzothiazolyl)acetyl]-piperazine, desipramine, and aniline, whereas its
      catalytic activities toward 2-naphthol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were
      very low. On the other hand, AST-RB2 efficiently catalyzed sulfonation of
      desipramine and DHEA, but had no activity toward 2-naphthol. Amino acid sequences
      of peptide fragments derived from the purified AST-RB1 showed no significant
      homology with previously reported STs, but those from the purified AST-RB2 shared
      a high similarity with those of the ST2 family. Both enzymes were expressed
      specifically in the liver. The present results strongly suggest that the purified
      AST-RB1 is a novel enzyme in terms of structure and catalytic properties showing
      high selectivity for amine substrates, and AST-RB2 is a quite unique from among
      ST2A enzymes of other species in its substrate specificity.

PMID- 9989936
TI  - The proteolytic maturation of prohormone convertase 2 (PC2) is a pH-driven
      process.
AB  - Recombinant proPC2 purified from the medium of CHO cells overexpressing both the
      prohormone convertase (PC) precursor proPC2 and the 21-kDa amino terminal portion
      of the neuroendocrine protein 7B2 can spontaneously convert to an active species.
      In the present report, we have characterized the proPC2 zymogen conversion
      process. Sequencing of the mature 66 kDa enzyme revealed a single site of
      cleavage at the paired basic site amino terminal to the GYRDI sequence. In
      contrast to mature PC2 activity, proPC2 conversion was inhibited neither by the
      eukaryotic subtilisin inhibitor pCMS nor by the specific PC2 inhibitor, 7B2 CT
      peptide, suggesting significant differences between the proPC2 conversion
      reaction and the hydrolysis of synthetic substrates by mature PC2. In support of
      this idea, proPC2 conversion was not calcium dependent and was unaffected by 5 mM
      EDTA. The rate of conversion of proPC2 remained similar with a 10-fold difference
      in zymogen concentration, implicating an intramolecular rather than
      intermolecular mechanism of activation. Interestingly, the rate of proPC2
      conversion was extremely pH dependent, occurring most extensively between pHs 4.0
      and 4.9. Taken together, our results suggest that cellular proPC2 maturation
      occurs via an autocatalytic, intramolecular process controlled not by 7B2
      inhibition nor by calcium levels, but by the decreasing pH gradient along the
      secretory pathway.

PMID- 9989937
TI  - Modulation of the PA28alpha-20S proteasome interaction by a peptidyl alcohol.
AB  - The peptidyl alcohol N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Ile-Glu(O-t-Bu)-Ala-leucinol is a mild
      activator of the chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome. When added to an
      incubation mixture of recombinant PA28alpha plus 20S proteasome the peptidyl
      alcohol antagonizes the stimulation of the chymotrypsin-like activity by
      PA28alpha in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 30 microM). This effect is selective
      for the chymotrypsin-like activity. Stimulation of the peptidyl-glutamyl peptide
      bond hydrolyzing activity of the proteasome by PA28alpha is not affected by the
      peptidyl alcohol. The ovalbumin immunodominant epitope SIINFEKL is hydrolyzed by
      the PA28alpha-activated 20S proteasome to SIINF and SIINFE in approximately
      equimolar amounts. Addition of the peptidyl alcohol to an incubation mixture of
      PA28alpha, 20S proteasome and SIINFEKL shifts the ratio of products in favor of
      SIINFE. A similar shift in favor of postglutamyl cleavages occurs with the
      extended peptide LEQLESIINFEKLTE. By altering the ratio of products produced by
      the PA28alpha-activated proteasome, the peptidyl alcohol acts as a proteasome
      modulator. Proteasome modulators represent a novel class of molecules with a
      potential for altering the processing of antigens by the PA28-proteasome complex
      for presentation by the MHC class I system.

PMID- 9989938
TI  - Kinetic analysis of spermine binding to NRD convertase.
AB  - N-arginine dibasic convertase cleaves polypeptides between paired basic residues
      containing the sequence Arg-Arg or Arg-Lys. The enzyme contains a large anionic
      domain, which in the rat enzyme consists of 57 acidic residues out of a stretch
      of 76 amino acids. Polyamines modulate the activity of the enzyme presumably by
      binding at the anionic domain (Csuhai et al. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 12411
      12419). In this study a kinetic analysis of the effect of salts and amines,
      particularly the polyamine spermine, on the rat enzyme was studied. Simple salts
      were inhibitory with no apparent specificity for the anion or cation. Inhibition
      resulted in an increased Km and a decreased Vmax. Evidence that amines bind to an
      anionic domain was obtained by the finding that N,N-bis [2-hydroxyethyl]-2
      aminoethanesulfonic acid, which is structurally related to the inhibitory amine
      triethanolamine, is noninhibitory. Inhibition exhibited a complex dependence on
      spermine concentration. The data fit a model in which enzyme-spermine and enzyme
      (spermine)2 complexes are formed. A pH-independent Kd ( approximately 0.1 microM)
      was obtained for enzyme-spermine formation, while enzyme-(spermine)2 formation
      was dependent on pH; Kd at pH 6.5 = 1 microM and a Kd at pH 8 = approximately 16
      microM. Direct binding of spermine was demonstrated by the ability of spermine to
      increase the thermal stability of the enzyme. The concentration dependence for
      the spermine-induced increase in thermal stability fits a model in which
      formation of the enzyme-spermine complex is sufficient to account for the
      observed changes.

PMID- 9989939
TI  - Two progesterone-dependent endometrial nuclear factors bind to an E-box in the
      rabbit uteroglobin gene promoter: involvement in tissue-specific transcription.
AB  - We studied the implications of progesterone-dependent transcription factors in
      the hormonal and tissue-specific induction of the uteroglobin gene (ug) in the
      rabbit endometrium. Previously, we have observed the interaction of two
      progesterone-dependent endometrial nuclear proteins (TRBPs) with sequences
      downstream from the ug TATA box. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays
      (EMSA) we show here that TRBPs specifically interacted with an E-box localized
      almost immediately downstream from the ug TATA box. UV crosslinking of affinity
      purified TRBPs to the radiolabeled oligonucleotide probe confirmed that these
      factors were proteins with molecular mass of about 40-50 kDa. Ferguson's analysis
      of the Mr of the DNA-TRBP complexes suggested that TRBPs interacted with the E
      box either as homo- or heterodimers. This interaction did not result in
      detectable bending of the DNA. EMSA analysis with nuclear extracts from different
      rabbit tissues suggested that TRBPs might be endometrium-specific nuclear
      factors. Involvement of the E-box in the tissue-specific transcription from the
      ug promoter was assessed by transient expression experiments using different cell
      lines transfected with a reporter gene driven by the ug promoter which contained
      either the intact E-box or a mutated version that completely abolished its
      interaction with TRBPs. These experiments indicated that, in all cell lines of
      nonendometrial lineage, destruction of the E-box increased transcription from the
      ug promoter, whereas in two cell lines of endometrial origin this mutation either
      had no appreciable effect or slightly reduced the transcription from the
      promoter. Thus, this E-box and endometrial helix-loop-helix proteins might be
      involved in the hormonal and tissue-specific regulation of ug transcription.

PMID- 9989940
TI  - Concurrent increase of oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation together with
      mitochondrial DNA mutation in human lung tissues during aging--smoking enhances
      oxidative stress on the aged tissues.
AB  - Although mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in human tissues has been
      established to associate with intrinsic aging, the impact of environmental
      factors on the formation and accumulation of mtDNA mutations and oxidative DNA
      damage in human tissues is poorly understood. We have investigated the levels of
      mtDNA with the 4977-bp deletion and A3243G point mutation, oxidative DNA damage
      (indicated by the formation of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-OH-dG), and lipid
      peroxides in lung tissues from smokers and nonsmokers of subjects of different
      ages. The results showed concurrent age-dependent increase of the 4977-bp deleted
      mtDNA (P < 0.001), 8-OH-dG (P < 0.05), and lipid peroxides (P < 0.05) in the
      human lung. In the group of subjects above 60 years old, smokers had more
      extensive DNA damage and lipid peroxidation than did the nonsmokers. However, the
      levels of mtDNA with the 4977-bp deletion and A3243G point mutation in the lung
      of smokers were not significantly different from those of the age-matched
      nonsmokers. Taken together, these results suggest that accumulation of mtDNA with
      the 4977-bp deletion together with oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxides is
      associated with aging and that smoking enhances oxidative damage in human lung
      tissues.

PMID- 9989941
TI  - Glucocorticoids stimulate CREB binding to a cyclic-AMP response element in the
      rat serine dehydratase gene.
AB  - Transcription of the rat serine dehydratase (SDH) gene, which is stimulated in
      hepatocytes by glucagon through the activity of the second messenger, cAMP, is
      augmented by pretreatment with glucocorticoids. A putative cAMP response element
      (CRE) located approximately 3.5 kbp upstream of the transcriptional start site
      was hypothesized to be responsible for this effect. Here we have demonstrated by
      DNaseI footprinting and site-directed mutagenesis that the phosphorylated cAMP
      response element binding protein (CREB) binds to a cAMP response element
      different from that described previously. While the amount of CREB in the
      extracts is unaltered by hormone treatment, more CREB is capable of binding the
      response element upon addition of dexamethasone (Dex). These studies suggest that
      synergistic induction of the SDH gene by cAMP and Dex is through a CRE and is
      due, in part, to regulation of CREB-DNA binding by treatment of the cells with
      glucocorticoids.

PMID- 9989942
TI  - Conformational changes in the 20S proteasome upon macromolecular ligand binding
      analyzed with monoclonal antibodies.
AB  - Proteasomes interact with a variety of macromolecular ligands that modulate their
      ability to degrade peptide and protein substrates. The effector PA28 increases
      the peptidase activities of proteasomes whereas HSP90 and alpha-crystallin
      inhibit a peptide-hydrolyzing activity. Four monoclonal antibodies were used as
      probes to detect conformational changes of proteasome subunits. Conformational
      changes in alpha- or beta-subunits were found upon binding PA28, HSP90, alpha
      crystallin, and the substrate casein but not with the peptide substrate analogs
      calpain inhibitor 1 (Ac-Leu-Leu-norleucinal), calpain inhibitor 2 (Ac-Leu-Leu
      methioninal), or MG 132 (N-Cbz-Leu-Leu-leucinal).

PMID- 9989943
TI  - Molecular crowding and viscosity as determinants of translational diffusion of
      metabolites in subcellular organelles.
AB  - The role of molecular crowding and viscosity on the apparent translational
      diffusion coefficient (ADC) of small metabolites was investigated in different
      subcellular organelles using the pulse-field gradient spin-echo 1H NMR technique.
      ADCs of metabolites with increasing radius of gyration (0.7 A < RG < 4.5 A) were
      measured in the cytoplasm of rat or chicken erythrocytes, in the nucleus of
      chicken erythrocytes, and in isolated rat liver mitochondria. Metabolite ADCs in
      these systems were compared with the corresponding ADCs determined in model
      solutions of increasing bulk viscosity but different molecular crowding. For
      solutions having the same viscosity, metabolite ADCs decreased with increasing
      concentration of cosolutes. This effect is adequately described by the modified
      Stokes-Einstein relationship, ADC = k/RG (1 + 2.5Phi), where k is a constant for
      a given temperature and Phi is an obstruction factor reporting the fractional
      volume of solution occupied by cosolutes, a measure of the molecular crowding in
      the solution. Cytoplasmic values of Phi for metabolites of different sizes did
      not depend exclusively on metabolite RG but on additional factors including the
      chemical nature of the metabolite, the presence of diffusional barriers, and
      metabolite-specific binding sites. In the case of water, nuclear Phi values
      approached those of the extracellular space while mitochondrial Phi values were
      significantly higher than those of the cytoplasm. Taken together, these results
      reveal important differences in molecular crowding within the different
      subcellular compartments, suggesting considerable diffusional heterogeneity for
      small metabolites within the different intracellular organelles.

PMID- 9989944
TI  - Purification and properties of mycobacterial GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase.
AB  - The enzyme that catalyzes the formation of GDP-d-mannose from GTP and alpha-d
      mannose-1-P was purified about 2300-fold to near homogeneity from the soluble
      fraction of Mycobacterium smegmatis. At the final stage of purification, a major
      protein band of 37 kDa was observed and this band was specifically labeled, and
      in a concentration-dependent manner, by the photoaffinity probe 8-N3-GDP[32P]-d
      mannose. The purified enzyme was stable for several months when kept in the
      frozen state. The 37-kDa band was subjected to protein sequencing and one peptide
      sequence of 25 amino acids showed over 80% identity to GDP-mannose
      pyrophosphorylases of pig liver and Saccharomyces cerevesiae. In contrast to some
      other bacterial GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylases, the mycobacterial enzyme was not
      multifunctional and did not have phosphomannose isomerase or phosphoglucose
      isomerase activity. Also, in contrast to the pig liver enzyme which uses mannose
      1-P or glucose-1-P plus GTP to synthesize either GDP-mannose or GDP-glucose, the
      mycobacterial enzyme was specific for mannose-1-P as the sugar phosphate
      substrate. The enzyme was also relatively specific for GTP as the nucleoside
      triphosphate substrate. ITP was about 18% as effective as GTP, but ATP, CTP, and
      UTP were inactive. The activity of the enzyme was inhibited by GDP-glucose and
      glucose-1-P, although neither was a substrate for this enzyme. The pH optimum for
      the enzyme was 8.0, and Mg2+ was the best cation with optimum activity at about 5
      mM. This enzyme is important for producing the activated form of mannose for
      formation of cell wall lipoarabinomannan and various mannose-containing
      glycolipids and polysaccharides.

PMID- 9989945
TI  - Purification and cloning of a thermostable manganese catalase from a thermophilic
      bacterium.
AB  - We have purified a heat-stable catalase from a thermophilic bacterium, Thermus
      species strain YS 8-13. The enzyme was purified 160-fold from crude cellular
      extracts and possessed a specific activity of 8000 units/mg at 65 degrees C. The
      purified enzyme displayed the highest activity at pH 7 to 10 and temperatures
      around 85 degrees C. The catalase was determined to be a manganese catalase,
      based on results from atomic absorption spectra and inhibition experiments using
      sodium azide. The enzyme was composed of six identical subunits of molecular
      weight 36,000. Amino acid sequences determined from the purified protein were
      used to design oligonucleotide primers, which were in turn used to clone the
      coding gene. The nucleotide sequence of a 1.4-kb fragment of Thermus sp. YS 8-13
      genomic DNA containing a 909-bp open reading frame was determined. The gene
      encoded a 302-residue polypeptide of deduced molecular weight 33,303. The deduced
      amino acid sequence displayed a region-specific homology with the sequences of
      the manganese catalase from a mesophilic organism, Lactobacillus plantarum.

PMID- 9989946
TI  - The dissociation rate of a winged helix protein-DNA complex is influenced by non
      DNA contact residues.
AB  - The dissociation constants and the half-lives of the DNA complexes of winged
      helix protein Genesis and its mutants were investigated. Our data show that
      substitutions of non-DNA contact residues in the two highly dynamic wing
      sequences dramatically change the off rates of the complexes. Thus, our data
      indicate that the off rate of a DNA complex is encoded in the amino acid sequence
      of the DNA-binding protein and/or should be a unique property for a protein-DNA
      complex. Our data also indicate that the local structural transition of a DNA
      binding protein in its DNA recognition process is likely to go through a
      transition state, which can control the on and off rates of a complex.

PMID- 9989947
TI  - Inhibition of 3C protease from human rhinovirus strain 1B by peptidyl
      bromomethylketonehydrazides.
AB  - The gene coding for the 3C protease from human rhinovirus strain 1B was
      efficiently expressed in an Escherichia coli strain which also overexpressed the
      rare argU tRNA. The protease was isolated from inclusion bodies, refolded, and
      exhibited a kcat/Km = 3280 M-1 s-1 using an internally quenched peptidyl
      fluorogenic substrate. This continuous fluorogenic assay was used to measure the
      kinetics of 3C protease inhibition by several conventional peptidyl
      chloromethylketones as well as a novel series of compounds, the
      bromomethylketonehydrazides. Compounds containing the bromomethylketonehydrazide
      backbone and a glutamine-like side chain at the P1 position were potent, time
      dependent inhibitors of rhinovirus 3C protease with kinact/Kinact values as high
      as 23,400 M-1 s-1. The inhibitory activity of compounds containing modified P1
      side chains suggests that the interactions between the P1 carboxamide group and
      the 3C protease contributes at least 30-fold to the kinact/Kinact rate constants
      for bromomethylketonehydrazide inhibition of 3C protease. Electrospray ionization
      mass spectrometry measurements of the molecular weights of native and inhibited
      3C protease have established an inhibitory mechanism involving formation of a
      covalent adduct between the enzyme and the inhibitor with the loss of a bromide
      ion from the bromomethylketonehydrazide. Tryptic digestion of
      bromomethylketonehydrazide-inhibited 3C protease established adduct formation to
      a peptide corresponding to residues 145-154, a region which contains the active
      site cysteine-148 residue. The bromomethylketonehydrazides were fairly weak
      inhibitors of chymotrypsin, human elastase, and cathepsin B and several of these
      compounds also showed evidence for inhibition of human rhinovirus 1B replication
      in cell culture.

PMID- 9989948
TI  - Latency of varicella zoster virus; a persistently perplexing state.
AB  - Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the herpesvirus which causes the childhood
      disease varicella, also known as chickenpox, and the adult disease herpes zoster,
      also known as shingles. These distinct diseases are separated by a lengthy period
      of latency, often lasting decades, in which the virus resides within the ganglia
      of the host. VZV latency and reactivation from it have, for the most part, been
      extraordinarily difficult to examine. This is due to the lack of a good animal
      model for the VZV latent state, the inability to experimentally reactivate VZV
      under any circumstances and the caveats and problems encountered in examining
      human ganglionic tissue. However, insights into features of the molecular events
      of VZV latency have been gleaned from its pathogenesis and from recent advances
      in molecular probing of human and animal ganglia. Evidence suggests that the
      latent VZV genome may express transcripts unlike those of closely related
      herpesviruses, and some evidence suggests an unusual site for the establishment
      of VZV latency. In this review, the current evidence for events occurring during
      the VZV latent state will be discussed, from a view of its pathogenesis as well
      as its molecular biology.

PMID- 9989949
TI  - Signal transduction by fibroblast growth factor receptors.
AB  - The fibroblast growth factor family, with its prototype members acidic FGF (FGF
      1) and basic FGF (FGF-2), binds to four related receptor tyrosine kinases,
      expressed on most types of cells in tissue culture. In many respects, the FGF
      receptors appear similar to other growth factor receptors. Thus, dimerization of
      receptor monomers upon ligand binding is likely to be a requisite for activation
      of the kinase domains, leading to receptor trans phosphorylation. FGF receptor-1
      (FGFR-1), which shows the broadest expression pattern of the four FGF receptors
      contains at least seven tyrosine phosphorylation sites. A number of signal
      transduction molecules are affected by binding with different affinities to these
      phosphorylation sites. The potential roles of these signal transduction molecules
      in FGF-induced biological responses and in pathological processes are discussed.

PMID- 9989950
TI  - Polyomaviruses and human tumors: a brief review of current concepts and
      interpretations.
AB  - Polyomaviruses are small DNA viruses that typically establish persistent but
      inapparent infections of their natural hosts, although cytolytic disease may
      develop if the host becomes immunocompromised. Most polyomaviruses have the
      ability to induce tumor formation when introduced into certain foreign hosts and
      are considered oncoviruses. Some polyomaviruses, including those that infect
      humans, have occasionally been detected in cancerous tissue of their natural
      hosts. This article briefly reviews the biology of polyomaviruses and explores
      issues pertaining to the significance of association of polyomaviruses with human
      tumors.

PMID- 9989951
TI  - Biological significance of the expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator
      receptors (uPARs) in brain tumors.
AB  - The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) plays a critical role in
      the regulation of cell-surface plasminogen activation in several physiological
      and pathological conditions. Recent evidence suggests that the uPAR is also
      involved in processes that are not related to plasminogen activation, including
      cell adhesion and transmission of extracellular signals across the plasma
      membrane. The uPAR influences cell migration and spreading both in vivo and in
      vitro through the cell-surface activation of plasminogen. The uPAR can bind to
      vitronectin, an adhesive extracellular matrix protein that contains the Arg-gly
      Asp (RGD) cell adhesion domain and that serves as a ligand for several integrin
      receptors. uPAR also forms complexes with (1, (2, and (3 integrins, thereby
      allowing mutual interactions and regulation between cell adhesion and
      proteolysis. Recently, uPAR has been shown to have strong prognostic value for
      predicting disease recurrence and overall survival in certain types of cancer. We
      discuss here the biological significance of uPAR in the glioblastoma invasion
      process. Strong correlations found between elevated uPAR levels in glioblastoma
      cells and tumor invasiveness have led to uPAR being selected as a target for
      therapy in experimental animal models. Using antisense vectors to down regulate
      uPAR expression at the level of the mRNA and protein in glioblastoma cells, has
      been shown to inhibit tumor formation in nude mice. These results provide a
      potential basis from which to develop novel therapeutic strategies to direct the
      expression of antisense uPAR and to evaluate the efficiency of this technique for
      cancer gene therapy in patients with brain tumor.

PMID- 9989952
TI  - Transcutaneous electrohepatogram in humans.
AB  - We could recently characterize a normal "electrohepatogram" (EHG) in a canine
      model. It consisted of monophasic positively deflected slow waves or pacesetter
      potentials (PPs). A "dysrhythmic EHG" was produced when the liver was insulted by
      hepatic vessel clamping or liver irradiation. The postulation that
      electrohepatography might act as an investigative tool in liver diseases prompted
      the author to develop the EHG percutaneously in humans. 23 healthy volunteers (16
      men, 7 women; mean age 38.6 years) and 13 patients (8 men, 5 women; mean age 34.2
      years) with huge supraumbilical ventral hernia were studied. The liver was
      exposed during the ventral hernia repair and 3 electrodes were sutured to the
      liver capsule. The optimal position for percutaneous recording was identified.
      The 3 electrodes were placed, 5 cm apart, on a transverse line, parallel to and
      1.5-2 cm below, the costal margin. PPs were recorded from the 3 electrodes
      applied directly to the liver and from those applied to the skin. The wave was
      monophasic and positively deflected with a mean frequency of 8.3 cycle/s and
      amplitude of 56.5 microV. The PPs had the same frequency and amplitude from the 3
      electrodes applied to the same subject. The percutaneously recorded waves were
      identical with those recorded directly from the liver. A percutaneous EHG could
      be characterized for the normal liver in humans. It might show changes in liver
      diseases and thus act as an investigative tool in the diagnosis of such
      conditions.

PMID- 9989953
TI  - The role of integrins in the malignant phenotype of gliomas.
AB  - Integrins are cell surface receptors that mediate the physical and functional
      interactions between a cell and its surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM).
      Expressed as heterodimers, the specific alpha or beta chains that constitute the
      integrin receptor determine the repertoire of ECM proteins to which a specific
      integrin may bind (table 1). While classically, the role ascribed to integrins
      has been that of anchoring cells to the ECM, the more contemporary spectrum of
      integrin function greatly exceeds that of mere cell adhesion. Recent reports have
      demonstrated that the interaction between the ECM and cell surface integrins
      leads to intracellular signaling events that affect cell migration,
      proliferation, and survival, which in the context of neoplastic cells, can
      translate directly into the malignant phenotype (1). Indeed, the role of specific
      integrins in tumorigenesis has been demonstrated in numerous cancer types (table
      2). In primary tumors of the nervous system, the contribution of integrins to the
      malignant phenotype of gliomas has been an area of significant attention and
      research in numerous laboratories, including that of ours. As illustrated in
      table 3, several integrins have been identified as being of key importance in
      glioma biology. In this article, we review the current knowledge of how these
      integrins influence the malignant characteristics of gliomas and, as such, how
      these cell surface receptors may thus represent potential targets in the design
      of future therapeutics for patients afflicted with gliomas.

PMID- 9989954
TI  - Prediction of myocardial viability by MRI.

PMID- 9989955
TI  - Dobutamine MRI: A serious contender in pharmacological stress imaging?

PMID- 9989956
TI  - Dietary prevention of coronary heart disease: the Lyon Diet Heart Study.

PMID- 9989957
TI  - Influence of low HDL on progression of coronary artery disease and response to
      fluvastatin therapy.
AB  - BACKGROUND--Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) commonly have low HDL
      cholesterol (HDL-C) and mildly elevated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), leading to
      uncertainty as to whether the appropriate goal of therapy should be lowering LDL
      C or raising HDL-C. METHODS AND RESULTS--Patients in the Lipoprotein and Coronary
      Atherosclerosis Study (LCAS) had mildly to moderately elevated LDL-C; many also
      had low HDL-C, providing an opportunity to compare angiographic progression and
      the benefits of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor fluvastatin in patients with low
      versus patients with higher HDL-C. Of the 339 patients with biochemical and
      angiographic data, 68 had baseline HDL-C <0.91 mmol/L (35 mg/dL), mean 0.82+/
      0.06 mmol/L (31. 7+/-2.2 mg/dL), versus 1.23+/-0.29 mmol/L (47.4+/-11.2 mg/dL) in
      patients with baseline HDL-C >/=0.91 mmol/L. Among patients on placebo, those
      with low HDL-C had significantly more angiographic progression than those with
      higher HDL-C. Fluvastatin significantly reduced progression among low-HDL-C
      patients: 0.065+/-0.036 mm versus 0.274+/-0.045 mm in placebo patients
      (P=0.0004); respective minimum lumen diameter decreases among higher-HDL-C
      patients were 0. 036+/-0.021 mm and 0.083+/-0.019 mm (P=0.09). The treatment
      effect of fluvastatin on minimum lumen diameter change was significantly greater
      among low-HDL-C patients than among higher-HDL-C patients (P=0.01); among low-HDL
      C patients, fluvastatin patients had improved event-free survival compared with
      placebo patients. CONCLUSIONS--Although the predominant lipid-modifying effect of
      fluvastatin is to decrease LDL-C, patients with low HDL-C received the greatest
      angiographic and clinical benefit.

PMID- 9989958
TI  - Early contrast-enhanced MRI predicts late functional recovery after reperfused
      myocardial infarction.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We have observed 3 abnormal patterns on contrast-enhanced MRI early
      after reperfused myocardial infarction (MI): (1) absence of normal first-pass
      signal enhancement (HYPO), (2) normal first pass signal followed by hyperenhanced
      signal on delayed images (HYPER), or (3) both absence of normal first-pass
      enhancement and delayed hyperenhancement (COMB). This study examines the
      association between these patterns in the first week after MI and late recovery
      of myocardial contractile function by use of magnetic resonance myocardial tissue
      tagging. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seventeen patients (14 men) with a mean age of 53+/
      12 years were studied after a reperfused first MI. Contrast-enhanced images were
      acquired immediately after bolus administration of gadolinium and 7+/-2 minutes
      later. Tagged images were acquired at weeks 1 and 7. Circumferential segment
      shortening (%S) was measured in regions displaying HYPER, COMB, or HYPO contrast
      patterns and in remote regions (REMOTE) at weeks 1 and 7. At week 1, %S was
      depressed in HYPER, COMB, and HYPO (9+/-8%, 7+/-6%, and 5+/-4%, respectively) and
      were less than REMOTE (18+/-6%, P<0.003). However, in HYPER, %S improved at week
      7 from 9+/-8% to 18+/-5% (P<0.001 versus week 1). In contrast, HYPO did not
      improve significantly (5+/-4% to 6+/-3%, P=NS) and COMB tended to improve 7+/-6%
      to 11+/-6% (P=0.06). CONCLUSIONS: HYPER has partially reversible dysfunction and
      represents predominantly viable myocardium. COMB shows borderline improvement and
      likely contains an admixture of viable and necrotic myocardium. HYPO shows little
      functional improvement at 7 weeks, presumably because of irreversible myocardial
      damage.

PMID- 9989959
TI  - Automated heparin-delivery system to control activated partial thromboplastin
      time: evaluation in normal volunteers.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Unfractionated heparin is used widely; however, control of the level
      of anticoagulation remains its greatest problem, with fewer than 35% of patients
      having activated partial thromboplastin times (aPTTs) within a range of 55 to 85
      seconds in recent trials. METHODS AND RESULTS: We developed and tested a
      prototype of an automated heparin control system (AutoHep) in which a computer
      based titration algorithm adjusted the heparin infusion to reach a target aPTT.
      In 1 study, 12 healthy male subjects received an intravenous infusion of heparin
      with the rate determined by AutoHep and were randomized to receive an initial
      bolus or no bolus of heparin preceding the infusion. A second study evaluated the
      automated blood sampling system in 12 subjects. Of the 344 end-point aPTT
      measurements, 78% were within +/-10 seconds of the target (prespecified primary
      end point), and 89% were within a +/-15-second range. The time to achieve a
      target aPTT was 93 minutes without and 150 minutes with an initial heparin bolus.
      The total percentage of time within the target range +/-15 seconds was 46 of 48
      hours (96%). The automatic blood sampling system successfully obtained 96% of all
      scheduled samples. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the AutoHep system has
      the potential to significantly improve aPTT control of intravenous heparin
      compared with current clinical practice.

PMID- 9989960
TI  - Long-term prognostic value of dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography in 1737
      patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease: A single-center
      experience.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term value of
      dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DSE) for prediction of late cardiac
      events in patients with proven or suspected coronary artery disease. METHODS AND
      RESULTS: Clinical data and DSE results were analyzed in 1734 consecutive patients
      undergoing DSE between 1989 and 1997. Seventy-four patients who underwent
      revascularization within 3 months of DSE and 1 patient lost to follow-up were
      excluded; the remaining 1659 (median age, 62 years; range, 14 to 99 years) were
      followed up for 36 months (range, 6 to 96 months). Wall motion abnormalities at
      rest and the presence and extent of stress-induced wall motion abnormalities
      (ischemia) were scored for each patient. Cardiac events were related to clinical
      and ECG data and DSE results. Four hundred twenty-eight cardiac events occurred
      in 366, documented cardiac death in 108 (total death, 247), nonfatal infarction
      in 128, and late revascularization in 192 patients. In a multivariable Cox
      proportional-hazards model, the ratio of documented cardiac death or
      (re)infarction was increased in the presence of stress-induced ischemia (hazard
      ratio, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.4 to 4.4) and extensive rest wall motion abnormalities
      (hazard ratio, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.6). The number of ischemic segments was
      predictive for late cardiac events. A normal DSE carried a relatively good
      prognosis, with an annual event rate of cardiac death or infarction of 1.3% over
      a 5-year period. CONCLUSIONS: In a large group of patients, DSE has an added
      value for predicting late cardiac events during long-term follow-up, improving
      the separation between high- risk and very-low-risk patients.

PMID- 9989961
TI  - Noninvasive diagnosis of ischemia-induced wall motion abnormalities with the use
      of high-dose dobutamine stress MRI: comparison with dobutamine stress
      echocardiography.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The analysis of wall motion abnormalities with dobutamine stress
      echocardiography (DSE) is an established method for the detection of myocardial
      ischemia. With ultrafast magnetic resonance tomography, identical stress
      protocols as used for echocardiography can be applied. METHODS AND RESULTS: In
      208 consecutive patients (147 men, 61 women) with suspected coronary artery
      disease, DSE with harmonic imaging and dobutamine stress magnetic resonance
      (DSMR) (1.5 T) were performed before cardiac catheterization. DSMR images were
      acquired during short breath-holds in 3 short-axis views and a 4- and a 2-chamber
      view (gradient echo technique). Patients were examined at rest and during a
      standard dobutamine-atropine scheme until submaximal heart rate was reached.
      Regional wall motion was assessed in a 16-segment model. Significant coronary
      heart disease was defined as >/=50% diameter stenosis. Eighteen patients could
      not be examined by DSMR (claustrophobia 11 and adipositas 6) and 18 patients by
      DSE (poor image quality). Four patients did not reach target heart rate. In 107
      patients, coronary artery disease was found. With DSMR, sensitivity was increased
      from 74.3% to 86.2% and specificity from 69.8% to 85.7% (both P<0.05) compared
      with DSE. Analysis for women yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose
      dobutamine magnetic resonance tomography can be performed with a standard
      dobutamine/atropine stress protocol. Detection of wall motion abnormalities by
      DSMR yields a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy in comparison to DSE.

PMID- 9989962
TI  - New noninvasive method for coronary flow reserve assessment: contrast-enhanced
      transthoracic second harmonic echo Doppler.
AB  - BACKGROUND: We tested the hypothesis that blood flow velocity could be recorded
      in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) during transthoracic
      echocardiography by use of second harmonic echo Doppler modality along with
      contrast enhancement (intravenous Levovist) at rest and after pharmacologically
      induced maximal vasodilation to assess coronary flow reserve (CFR) with a totally
      noninvasive approach. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-six consecutive patients
      undergoing coronary angiography underwent transthoracic contrast-enhanced pulsed
      wave Doppler recording of blood flow velocity in the LAD by use of harmonic color
      Doppler as a guide at rest and after maximal vasodilation by dipyridamole
      infusion. Contrast enhancement with the harmonic mode greatly improved the
      success rate of recording adequate pulsed-wave Doppler signal in the LAD. CFR was
      (mean+/-SD) 1.54+/-0.7 in patients with (group 1) and 2. 79+/-0.9 in patients
      without (group 2) significant LAD stenosis (lumen narrowing >70%) (P<0.001);
      sensitivity and specificity in detecting significant LAD stenosis were 86% and
      90%, respectively. There was close agreement between CFRs determined by this new
      method and intracoronary Doppler flow wire. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced
      transthoracic echo Doppler with the harmonic mode is a feasible and promising
      technique for assessing CFR in a totally noninvasive way.

PMID- 9989963
TI  - Mediterranean diet, traditional risk factors, and the rate of cardiovascular
      complications after myocardial infarction: final report of the Lyon Diet Heart
      Study.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The Lyon Diet Heart Study is a randomized secondary prevention trial
      aimed at testing whether a Mediterranean-type diet may reduce the rate of
      recurrence after a first myocardial infarction. An intermediate analysis showed a
      striking protective effect after 27 months of follow-up. This report presents
      results of an extended follow-up (with a mean of 46 months per patient) and deals
      with the relationships of dietary patterns and traditional risk factors with
      recurrence. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three composite outcomes (COs) combining either
      cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction (CO 1), or the preceding plus
      major secondary end points (unstable angina, stroke, heart failure, pulmonary or
      peripheral embolism) (CO 2), or the preceding plus minor events requiring
      hospital admission (CO 3) were studied. In the Mediterranean diet group, CO 1 was
      reduced (14 events versus 44 in the prudent Western-type diet group, P=0.0001),
      as were CO 2 (27 events versus 90, P=0.0001) and CO 3 (95 events versus 180, P=0.
      0002). Adjusted risk ratios ranged from 0.28 to 0.53. Among the traditional risk
      factors, total cholesterol (1 mmol/L being associated with an increased risk of
      18% to 28%), systolic blood pressure (1 mm Hg being associated with an increased
      risk of 1% to 2%), leukocyte count (adjusted risk ratios ranging from 1.64 to
      2.86 with count >9x10(9)/L), female sex (adjusted risk ratios, 0.27 to 0. 46),
      and aspirin use (adjusted risk ratios, 0.59 to 0.82) were each significantly and
      independently associated with recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The protective effect of
      the Mediterranean dietary pattern was maintained up to 4 years after the first
      infarction, confirming previous intermediate analyses. Major traditional risk
      factors, such as high blood cholesterol and blood pressure, were shown to be
      independent and joint predictors of recurrence, indicating that the Mediterranean
      dietary pattern did not alter, at least qualitatively, the usual relationships
      between major risk factors and recurrence. Thus, a comprehensive strategy to
      decrease cardiovascular morbidity and mortality should include primarily a
      cardioprotective diet. It should be associated with other (pharmacological?)
      means aimed at reducing modifiable risk factors. Further trials combining the 2
      approaches are warranted.

PMID- 9989964
TI  - Neurohumoral prediction of benefit from carvedilol in ischemic left ventricular
      dysfunction. Australia-New Zealand Heart Failure Group.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Plasma neurohormones were analyzed for prediction of adverse outcomes
      and response to treatment in 415 patients with ischemic left ventricular
      dysfunction randomly assigned to receive carvedilol or placebo. METHODS AND
      RESULTS: Atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), or
      norepinephrine (NE) levels above the group median were associated with increased
      mortality rates and heart failure. On multivariate analysis, both BNP and NE
      interacted with treatment to predict death or heart failure independent of age,
      New York Heart Association class, and left ventricular ejection fraction. For
      placebo, supramedian levels of BNP were associated with 3-fold the mortality rate
      of inframedian levels (20/104; 19% vs 6/99; 6%; P<0.01). For carvedilol,
      mortality rate was comparable in these 2 subgroups (12/109; 11% vs 8/94; 9%; NS).
      Corresponding rates for heart failure were 29/104 (28%) versus 3/99 (3%; P<0.001)
      for placebo and 16/109 (15%) versus 7/94 (7%; NS) for carvedilol. High NE levels
      did not predict additional benefit from carvedilol, which significantly reduced
      heart failure admissions only in those with NE levels below the median (13.1% to
      4. 0%; P<0.01). In the 23% of the study population with supramedian BNP but
      inframedian levels of NE, carvedilol reduced hospital admission with heart
      failure by >90% (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Carvedilol reduced mortality rates and
      heart failure in those with higher pretreatment BNP levels but lesser activation
      of plasma NE. Neurohumoral profiling may guide introduction of beta-blockade in
      heart failure.

PMID- 9989965
TI  - Percutaneous mechanical mitral commissurotomy with a newly designed metallic
      valvulotome: immediate results of the initial experience in 153 patients.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Percutaneous balloon valvotomy has become a common treatment of
      mitral stenosis, but the cost of the procedure remains a limitation in countries
      with restricted financial resources, leading to a frequent reuse of the
      disposable catheters. To overcome this limitation, a reusable metallic valvotomy
      device has been developed with the goals of both improving the mitral valvotomy
      results and decreasing the cost of the procedure. METHODS AND RESULTS: The device
      consists of a detachable metallic cylinder with 2 articulated bars screwed onto
      the distal end of a disposable catheter whose proximal end is connected to an
      activating pliers. By the transseptal route, the device is advanced across the
      valve over a traction guidewire. Squeezing the pliers opens the bars up to a
      maximum extent of 40 mm. The clinical experience consisted of 153 patients with a
      broad spectrum of mitral valve deformities. The procedure was successful in 92%
      of cases and resulted in a significant increase in mitral valve area, from 0.95+/
      0.2 to 2. 16+/-0.4 cm2. No increase in mitral regurgitation was noted in 80% of
      cases. Bilateral splitting of the commissures was observed in 87%. Complications
      were 2 cases of severe mitral regurgitation (1 requiring surgery), 1 pericardial
      tamponade, and 1 transient cerebrovascular embolic event. In this series, the
      maximum number of consecutive patients treated with the same device was 35.
      CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained with this new device are encouraging and at
      least comparable to those of current balloon techniques. Multiple uses after
      sterilization should markedly decrease the procedural cost, a major advantage in
      countries with limited resources and high incidence of mitral stenosis.

PMID- 9989966
TI  - Development of the cardiac conduction tissue in human embryos using HNK-1 antigen
      expression: possible relevance for understanding of abnormal atrial automaticity.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Abnormal atrial automaticity in young patients with structurally
      normal hearts is often located around the pulmonary veins and in sinus venosus
      related parts of the right atrium. We hypothesize that these ectopic pacemaker
      sites correspond to areas of embryonic myocardium with an early phenotypic
      differentiation, as indicated by differences in antigen expression during normal
      cardiac development. METHODS AND RESULTS: In human embryos ranging in age from 42
      to 54 days of gestation, the development of the cardiac conduction system was
      studied with the use of HNK-1 immunohistochemistry. HNK-1 stains the developing
      atrioventricular conduction system, ie, the bundle branches, His bundle, right
      atrioventricular ring, and retroaortic ring. In addition, the myocardium around
      the common pulmonary vein showed transient HNK-1 antigen expression. In the right
      atrium, 3 HNK-1-positive connections were demonstrated between the sinoatrial
      node and the right atrioventricular ring. An anterior tract through the septum
      spurium connects the sinoatrial node with the anterior right atrioventricular
      ring, and 2 posterior tracts connect the sinoatrial node with the posterior right
      atrioventricular ring through the right venous valve (future crista terminalis)
      and sinus septum, encircling the coronary sinus. The medioposterior part of the
      right atrioventricular ring connected to the His bundle and the medioanterior
      part form 2 node-like structures. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with abnormal atrial
      automaticity, the distribution of left and right atrial pacemaker foci correspond
      to areas of the embryonic myocardium that temporarily express the HNK-1 antigen.

PMID- 9989967
TI  - Skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA injury in patients with unilateral peripheral
      arterial disease.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have exercise
      limitation due to claudication-limited pain and metabolic alterations in skeletal
      muscle. PAD is also associated with oxidative stress, which is a known cause of
      mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) injury. The present study was designed to test the
      hypothesis that PAD is associated with mtDNA injury, as reflected by an increased
      frequency of a specific 4977-base pair (bp) mtDNA deletion mutation. METHODS AND
      RESULTS: The deletion frequency was quantified in gastrocnemius muscle of 8
      patients with unilateral PAD and 10 age-matched control subjects with the use of
      polymerase chain reaction methodologies. Muscle from the hemodynamically
      unaffected (less affected) PAD limb showed an 8-fold increased deletion frequency
      and the hemodynamically affected (worse affected) PAD limb had a 17-fold
      increased deletion frequency compared with muscle from control subjects. The
      frequency of the 4977-bp deletion in the worse-affected limb was positively
      correlated with the age of the patients but not the claudication-limited exercise
      performance of the patients. Total mtDNA content, citrate synthase activity, and
      cytochrome c oxidase activity were not different in the muscle from the 3 limb
      populations. However, the ratio of citrate synthase to cytochrome c oxidase was
      higher in the worse- versus less-affected limbs of PAD patients. CONCLUSIONS: The
      present study demonstrates a large increase in the frequency of the mtDNA 4977-bp
      deletion in patients with PAD but in a distribution not limited to the
      hemodynamically affected limb.

PMID- 9989968
TI  - Myocardial protection conferred by electromagnetic fields.
AB  - BACKGROUND: It has been reported that electromagnetic (EM) fields induce stress
      proteins in vitro. These proteins have been shown to be important in recovery
      from ischemia/reperfusion. It was, therefore, hypothesized that EM fields could
      activate stress responses in vivo and protect myocardial tissue during anoxia.
      METHODS AND RESULTS: Chick embryos were exposed to 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10- microT and
      60-Hz EM fields for 20 minutes followed by a 1-hour rest period before placement
      in an anoxic chamber. Embryos were reoxygenated when survival of controls dropped
      to <40%, and final observations were made 30 minutes later. Data from 80
      experiments (>500 EM field-exposed embryos) indicated that EM field protection
      was extremely significant (P<0.0001). Survival rates were 39.6% in controls and
      68.7% in field-exposed embryos. In a second set of experiments, embryos were
      exposed for 20 minutes to several pretreatments: (1) hyperthermia (43 degreesC),
      (2) 60-Hz, 8- microT EM fields, or (3) 60-Hz, 8- microT EM fields plus a random
      EM noise field (8 microT). Embryo survival was 37.7% (control), 57.6% (heated),
      69% (60-Hz EM field only), and 41.5% (60-Hz EM field plus EM noise). To confirm
      that heating resulting from field exposures did not occur, thermocouples were
      placed into several eggs at the site of the embryo during exposure; no increase
      in temperature was noted. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that athermal EM field
      exposures induce stress responses that protect chick embryo myocardium from
      anoxia damage. These results suggest that EM field exposures may be a useful,
      noninvasive means of minimizing myocardial damage during surgery,
      transplantation, or heart attack in humans.

PMID- 9989969
TI  - Cardioprotective effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition against
      hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in cultured rat cardiac myocytes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although ACE inhibitors can protect myocardium against
      ischemia/reperfusion injury, the mechanisms of this effect have not yet been
      characterized at the cellular level. The present study was designed to examine
      whether an ACE inhibitor, cilazaprilat, directly protects cardiac myocytes
      against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury. METHODS AND RESULTS: Neonatal rat
      cardiac myocytes in primary culture were exposed to hypoxia for 5.5 hours and
      subsequently reoxygenated for 1 hour. Myocyte injury was determined by the
      release of creatine kinase (CK). Both cilazaprilat and bradykinin significantly
      inhibited CK release after H/R in a dose-dependent fashion and preserved myocyte
      ATP content during H/R, whereas CV-11974, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist,
      and angiotensin II did not. The protective effect of cilazaprilat was
      significantly inhibited by Hoe 140 (a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist), NG
      monomethyl-L-arginine monoacetate (L-NMMA) (an NO synthase inhibitor), and
      methylene blue (a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor) but not by staurosporine
      (a protein kinase C inhibitor), aminoguanidine (an inhibitor of inducible NO
      synthase), or indomethacin (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor). Cilazaprilat
      significantly enhanced bradykinin production in the culture media of myocytes
      after 5.5 hours of hypoxia but not in that of nonmyocytes. In addition,
      cilazaprilat markedly enhanced the cGMP content in myocytes during hypoxia, and
      this augmentation in cGMP could be blunted by L-NMMA and methylene blue but not
      by aminoguanidine. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that cilazaprilat
      can directly protect myocytes against H/R injury, primarily as a result of an
      accumulation of bradykinin and the attendant production of NO induced by
      constitutive NO synthase in hypoxic myocytes in an autocrine/paracrine fashion.
      NO modulates guanylate cyclase and cGMP synthesis in myocytes, which may
      contribute to the preservation of energy metabolism and cardioprotection against
      H/R injury.

PMID- 9989970
TI  - Inhibition of inositol(1,4,5)Trisphosphate generation by endothelin-1 during
      postischemic reperfusion: A novel antiarrhythmic mechanism.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Reperfusion of ischemic rat hearts in the presence of thrombin or
      norepinephrine but not endothelin-1 causes the generation of inositol 1,4,5
      trisphosphate (Ins 1,4,5P3) and arrhythmias. The present study investigates the
      effect of endothelin-1 on these responses. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ins 1,4,5P3
      generation was quantified by use of [3H] labeling and high-performance liquid
      chromatography as well as by mass analysis. Twenty minutes of global ischemia
      followed by 2 minutes of reperfusion increased [3H]Ins 1,4,5P3 from 2828+/-265 to
      5033+/-650 cpm/g tissue in the presence of thrombin 2.5 IU/mL and to 4561+/-286
      cpm/g tissue in response to release of norepinephrine (n=4, P<0.01) in both
      cases. Reperfusion in the presence of endothelin-1 alone caused no change in Ins
      1,4,5P3 (2762+/-240 cpm/g tissue), but when added together with thrombin or
      norepinephrine, endothelin-1 reduced the Ins 1,4,5P3 responses to 2313+/-197 and
      1764+/-168 cpm/g tissue, respectively (n=4, P<0.01 in both cases). Similar
      inhibitory interactions between endothelin-1 10 nmol/L and thrombin 2.5 IU/mL
      were observed under normoxic conditions in nonperfused ventricle, eliminating the
      possibility that excessive vasoconstriction was responsible. In parallel studies,
      endothelin-1 suppressed the development of reperfusion arrhythmias initiated by
      either thrombin (ventricular fibrillation, 75% to 39%, n=16 to 18) or
      norepinephrine (83% to 8%, n=12 to 22) (P<0.01 in both cases). CONCLUSIONS:
      Inhibition of Ins 1,4,5P3 generation during myocardial reperfusion by endothelin
      1 represents a novel antiarrhythmic mechanism.

PMID- 9989971
TI  - Validation of a new noncontact catheter system for electroanatomic mapping of
      left ventricular endocardium.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Improvements in cardiac mapping are required to advance our
      understanding and treatment of arrhythmias. This study validated a new noncontact
      multielectrode array catheter and accompanying analysis system to provide
      electroanatomic mapping of the entire left ventricular (LV) endocardium during a
      single beat. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 9F 64-electrode balloon array catheter with
      an inflated size of 1.8x4.6 cm was used to simultaneously record electrical
      potentials generated by the heart and locate a standard electrophysiology (EP)
      catheter within the same chamber. By use of the recorded location of the EP
      catheter tip, LV geometry was determined. Array potentials served as inputs to a
      high-order boundary-element method to produce 3360 potential points on the
      endocardial surface translatable into electrograms or color-coded activation
      maps. Three methods of validation were used: (1) driven electrodes in an in vitro
      tank were located; (2) waveforms generated from the array catheter were compared
      with catheter contact waveforms in canine LV; and (3) sites of local LV
      endocardial activation were located and marked with radiofrequency lesions. Tank
      testing located a driven electrode to within 2.33+/-0.44 mm. Correlation of
      timing and morphology of computed versus contact electrograms was 0.966.
      Radiofrequency lesions marked 17 endocardial pacing sites to within 4.0+/-3.2 mm.
      CONCLUSIONS: This new system provides anatomically accurate endocardial
      isopotential mapping during a single cardiac cycle. The locator component enabled
      placement of a separate EP catheter to any site within the mapped chamber.

PMID- 9989972
TI  - Attenuated acute cardiac rejection in NOS2 -/- recipients correlates with reduced
      apoptosis.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The mechanisms through which NOS2-mediated pathways regulate graft
      failure in acute cardiac rejection are ill defined. To determine whether
      apoptosis promoted by NOS2 may contribute, we used a heterotopic transplant model
      to study mouse cardiac allografts placed in recipients with targeted gene
      deletion of NOS2. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using 5 different indexes of apoptosis, we
      showed that mouse cardiac allografts placed in NOS2 -/- recipients (n=7) had
      reduced apoptotic activity compared with those in NOS2 +/+ controls (n=8). There
      were significantly fewer TUNEL-positive nuclei per high-powered field (P<0.01),
      less DNA fragmentation (antinucleosome ELISA; P<0.05), lower corrected transcript
      levels for caspase-1 and -3 (32P reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction;
      P<0.01), and reduced caspase-3 activity (cleavage of DEVD-pNA [P<0.001] and poly
      [ADP-ribose] polymerase) in grafts from NOS2 -/- recipients. This concordant
      reduction in apoptotic indexes paralleled the improved histological outcome of
      grafts transplanted into NOS2 -/- recipients (assessed as rejection scores;
      P=0.012). To identify pathways controlled by NOS2, we compared intragraft
      transcript levels of potential triggers and regulators. Whereas Fas ligand/Fas
      and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha/TNF receptor-1 levels were not altered by
      NOS2 deficiency, transcript levels for p53 were significantly lower in grafts
      from NOS2 -/- recipients, coinciding with a significant increase in the
      antiapoptotic Bcl-2/Bax balance and decrease in Bcl-Xl levels. CONCLUSIONS: Using
      NOS2 knockout mice, we demonstrated that NOS2-mediated pathways can promote acute
      rejection, at least in part, by inducing apoptotic cell death. When NOS2 is
      present, p53 might control NOS2-mediated apoptosis by stimulating Bax and
      repressing Bcl-2 and Bcl-Xl expression, which may activate the cell death program
      in the rejecting heart.

PMID- 9989973
TI  - Images in cardiovascular medicine. Sewing needle transfixing the posterior wall
      of the left ventricle causes death.

PMID- 9989974
TI  - Toll, a new piece in the puzzle of innate immunity.

PMID- 9989975
TI  - Mobilizing dendritic cells for tolerance, priming, and chronic inflammation.

PMID- 9989976
TI  - Endotoxin-tolerant mice have mutations in Toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4)
AB  - Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) provokes a vigorous, generalized
      proinflammatory state in the infected host. Genetic regulation of this response
      has been localized to the Lps locus on mouse chromosome 4, through study of the
      C3H/HeJ and C57BL/10ScCr inbred strains. Both C3H/HeJ and C57BL/10ScCr mice are
      homozygous for a mutant Lps allele (Lpsd/d) that confers hyporesponsiveness to
      LPS challenge, and therefore exhibit natural tolerance to its lethal effects.
      Genetic and physical mapping of 1,345 backcross progeny segregating this mutant
      phenotype confined Lps to a 0.9-cM interval spanning 1.7 Mb. Three transcription
      units were identified within the candidate interval, including Toll-like receptor
      4 (Tlr4), part of a protein family with members that have been implicated in LPS
      induced cell signaling. C3H/HeJ mice have a point mutation within the coding
      region of the Tlr4 gene, resulting in a nonconservative substitution of a highly
      conserved proline by histidine at codon 712, whereas C57BL/ 10ScCr mice exhibit a
      deletion of Tlr4. Identification of distinct mutations involving the same gene at
      the Lps locus in two different hyporesponsive inbred mouse strains strongly
      supports the hypothesis that altered Tlr4 function is responsible for endotoxin
      tolerance.

PMID- 9989977
TI  - Interaction of dendritic cells with skin endothelium: A new perspective on
      immunosurveillance.
AB  - The goal of this study was to determine the mechanisms by which dendritic cells
      (DCs) in blood could interact with endothelium, a prerequisite to extravasation
      into tissues. Our results indicate that DCs express both HECA-452-reactive and
      nonreactive isoforms of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) and can tether
      and roll efficiently on E- and P-selectin under flow conditions in vitro. Freshly
      isolated blood DCs were further observed to roll continuously along noninflamed
      murine dermal endothelium in vivo. This interaction is strictly dependent on
      endothelial selectins, as shown by experiments with blocking antibodies and with
      E- and P-selectin-deficient mice. We hypothesize that DCs in blood are
      constitutively poised at the interface of blood and skin, ready to extravasate
      upon induction of inflammation, and we showed that cutaneous inflammation results
      in a rapid recruitment of DCs from the blood to tissues. We propose that this is
      an important and previously unappreciated element of immunosurveillance.

PMID- 9989979
TI  - Treponema pallidum major sheath protein homologue Tpr K is a target of opsonic
      antibody and the protective immune response.
AB  - We have identified a family of genes that code for targets for opsonic antibody
      and protective immunity in T. pallidum subspecies pallidum using two different
      approaches, subtraction hybridization and differential immunologic screening of a
      T. pallidum genomic library. Both approaches led to the identification of a
      polymorphic multicopy gene family with predicted amino acid homology to the major
      sheath protein of Treponema denticola. One of the members of this gene family,
      tpr K, codes for a protein that is predicted to have a cleavable signal peptide
      and be located in the outer membrane of the bacterium. Reverse transcription
      polymerase chain reaction analysis of T. pallidum reveals that Tpr K is
      preferentially transcribed in the Nichols strain of T. pallidum. Antibodies
      directed to purified recombinant variable domain of Tpr K can opsonize T.
      pallidum, Nichols strain, for phagocytosis, supporting the hypothesis that this
      portion of the protein is exposed at the surface of the treponeme. Immunization
      of rabbits with the purified recombinant variable domain of Tpr K provides
      significant protection against infection with the Nichols strain of T. pallidum.
      This gene family is hypothesized to be central to pathogenesis and immunity
      during syphilis infection.

PMID- 9989978
TI  - Neonatal idiotypic exposure alters subsequent cytokine, pathology, and survival
      patterns in experimental Schistosoma mansoni infections.
AB  - Exposure to maternal idiotypes (Ids) or antigens might predispose a child to
      develop an immunoregulated, asymptomatic clinical presentation of
      schistosomiasis. We have used an experimental murine system to address the role
      of Ids in this immunoregulation. Sera from mice with 8-wk Schistosoma mansoni
      infection, chronic (20-wk infection) moderate splenomegaly syndrome (MSS), or
      chronic hypersplenomegaly syndrome (HSS) were passed over an S. mansoni soluble
      egg antigen (SEA) immunoaffinity column to prepare Ids (8WkId, MSS Id, HSS Id).
      Newborn mice were injected with 8WkId, MSS Id, HSS Id, or normal mouse
      immunoglobulin (NoMoIgG) and infected with S. mansoni 8 wk later. Mice exposed to
      8WkId or MSS Id as newborns had prolonged survival and decreased morbidity
      compared with mice that received HSS Id or NoMoIgG. When stimulated with SEA,
      8WkId, or MSS Id, spleen cells from mice neonatally injected with 8WkId or MSS Id
      produced more interferon gamma than spleen cells from mice neonatally injected
      with HSS Id or NoMoIgG. Furthermore, neonatal exposure to 8WkId or MSS Id, but
      not NoMoIgG or HSS Id, led to significantly smaller granuloma size and lower
      hepatic fibrosis levels in infected mice. Together, these results indicate that
      perinatal exposure to appropriate anti-SEA Ids induces long-term effects on
      survival, pathology, and immune response patterns in mice subsequently infected
      with S. mansoni.

PMID- 9989980
TI  - Impaired antibacterial host defense in mice lacking the N-formylpeptide receptor.
AB  - N-formylpeptides derive from bacterial and mitochondrial proteins, and bind to
      specific receptors on mammalian phagocytes. Since binding induces chemotaxis and
      activation of phagocytes in vitro, it has been postulated that N-formylpeptide
      receptor signaling in vivo may be important in antimicrobial host defense,
      although direct proof has been lacking. Here we test this hypothesis in mice
      lacking the high affinity N-formylpeptide receptor (FPR), created by targeted
      gene disruption. FPR-/- mice developed normally, but had increased susceptibility
      to challenge with Listeria monocytogenes, as measured by increased mortality
      compared with wild-type littermates. FPR-/- mice also had increased bacterial
      load in spleen and liver 2 d after infection, which is before development of a
      specific cellular immune response, suggesting a defect in innate immunity.
      Consistent with this, neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro and neutrophil mobilization
      into peripheral blood in vivo in response to the prototype N-formylpeptide fMLF
      (formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine) were both absent in FPR-/- mice. These
      results indicate that FPR functions in antibacterial host defense in vivo.

PMID- 9989981
TI  - Interferons regulate the phenotype of wild-type and mutant herpes simplex viruses
      in vivo.
AB  - Mechanisms responsible for neuroattenuation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) have
      been defined previously by studies of mutant viruses in cultured cells. The
      hypothesis that null mutations in host genes can override the attenuated
      phenotype of null mutations in certain viral genes was tested. Mutants such as
      those in infected cell protein (ICP) 0, thymidine kinase, ribonucleotide
      reductase, virion host shutoff, and ICP34.5 are reduced in their capacity to
      replicate in nondividing cells in culture and in vivo. The replication of these
      viruses was examined in eyes and trigeminal ganglia for 1-7 d after corneal
      inoculation in mice with null mutations (-/-) in interferon receptors (IFNR) for
      type I IFNs (IFN-alpha/betaR), type II IFN (IFN-gammaR), and both type I and type
      II IFNs (IFN-alpha/beta/gammaR). Viral titers in eyes and ganglia of IFN-gammaR-/
      mice were not significantly different from congenic controls. However, in IFN
      alpha/betaR-/- or IFN-alpha/beta/gammaR-/- mice, growth of all mutants, including
      those with significantly impaired growth in cell culture, was enhanced by up to
      1,000-fold in eyes and trigeminal ganglia. Blepharitis and clinical signs of
      infection were evident in IFN-alpha/betaR-/- and IFN-alpha/beta/gammaR-/- but not
      control mice for all viruses. Also, IFNs were shown to significantly reduce
      productive infection of, and spread from intact, but not scarified, corneas.
      Particularly striking was restoration of near-normal trigeminal ganglion
      replication and neurovirulence of an ICP34.5 mutant in IFN-alpha/betaR-/- mice.
      These data show that IFNs play a major role in limiting mutant and wild-type HSV
      replication in the cornea and in the nervous system. In addition, the in vivo
      target of ICP34.5 may be host IFN responses. These experiments demonstrate an
      unsuspected role for host factors in defining the phenotypes of some HSV mutants
      in vivo. The phenotypes of mutant viruses therefore cannot be interpreted based
      solely upon studies in cell culture but must be considered carefully in the
      context of host factors that may define the in vivo phenotype.

PMID- 9989982
TI  - Augmentation of antigen receptor-mediated responses by histamine H1 receptor
      signaling.
AB  - Histamine is considered one of the important mediators of immediate
      hypersensitivity and inflammation, and acts via G protein-coupled receptors.
      Here, we report that histamine may affect antigen receptor-mediated immune
      responses of T and B cells via a signal(s) from histamine H1 receptors (H1Rs).
      Histamine exhibited enhancing effects on the in vitro proliferative responses of
      anti-CD3epsilon- or anti-IgM-stimulated spleen T and B cells, respectively, at
      the culture condition that the fetal calf serum was dialyzed before culture and c
      kit-positive cells were depleted from the spleen cells. In studies of histamine
      H1R knockout mice, H1R-deficient T cells had low proliferative responses to anti
      CD3epsilon cross-linking or antigen stimulation in vitro. B cells from H1R
      deficient mice were also affected, demonstrating low proliferative responses to B
      cell receptor cross-linking. Antibody production against trinitrophenyl-Ficoll
      was reduced in H1R-deficient mice. Other aspects of T and B cell function were
      normal in the H1R knockout mice. H1R-deficient T and B cells showed normal
      responses upon stimulation with interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, CD40 ligand, CD40
      ligand plus IL-4, and lipopolysaccharide. Collectively, these results imply that
      the signal generated by histamine through H1R augments antigen receptor-mediated
      immune responses, suggesting cross-talk between G protein-coupled receptors and
      antigen receptor-mediated signaling.

PMID- 9989984
TI  - CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells exert accessory function in lipopolysaccharide
      induced T cell stimulation and CD80 expression on monocytes.
AB  - CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells, which circulate in peripheral blood with very
      low frequency, exert essential accessory function during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
      induced human T lymphocyte activation, resulting in interferon gamma production
      and proliferation. In contrast, stimulation of T cells by "conventional" recall
      antigens is not controlled by blood stem cells. These conclusions are based on
      the observation that depletion of CD34(+) blood stem cells results in a loss of
      LPS-induced T cell stimulation as well as reduced expression of CD80 antigen on
      monocytes. The addition of CD34-enriched blood stem cells resulted in a recovery
      of reactivity of T cells and monocytes to LPS. Blood stem cells could be replaced
      by the hematopoietic stem cell line KG-1a. These findings may be of relevance for
      high risk patients treated with stem cells or stem cell recruiting compounds and
      for patients suffering from endotoxin-mediated diseases.

PMID- 9989983
TI  - Sustained receptor activation and hyperproliferation in response to granulocyte
      colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in mice with a severe congenital
      neutropenia/acute myeloid leukemia-derived mutation in the G-CSF receptor gene.
AB  - In approximately 20% of cases of severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), mutations
      are found in the gene encoding the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor
      (G-CSF-R). These mutations introduce premature stop codons, which result in
      truncation of 82-98 COOH-terminal amino acids of the receptor. SCN patients who
      develop secondary myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia almost
      invariably acquired a GCSFR mutation, suggesting that this genetic alteration
      represents a key step in leukemogenesis. Here we show that an equivalent mutation
      targeted in mice (gcsfr-Delta715) results in the selective expansion of the G-CSF
      responsive progenitor (G-CFC) compartment in the bone marrow. In addition, in
      vivo treatment of gcsfr-Delta715 mice with G-CSF results in increased production
      of neutrophils leading to a sustained neutrophilia. This hyperproliferative
      response to G-CSF is accompanied by prolonged activation of signal transducer and
      activator of transcription (STAT) complexes and extended cell surface expression
      of mutant receptors due to defective internalization. In view of the continuous G
      CSF treatment of SCN patients, these data provide insight into why progenitor
      cells expressing truncated receptors clonally expand in vivo, and why these cells
      may be targets for additional genetic events leading to leukemia.

PMID- 9989985
TI  - T cell affinity maturation by selective expansion during infection.
AB  - T lymphocyte recognition of infected cells is mediated by T cell receptors (TCRs)
      interacting with their ligands, self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
      molecules complexed with pathogen-derived peptides. Serial TCR interactions with
      potentially small numbers of MHC/ peptide complexes on infected cells transmit
      signals that result in T lymphocyte expansion and activation of effector
      functions. The impact of TCR affinity for MHC/peptide complexes on the rate or
      extent of in vivo T cell expansion is not known. Here we show that in vivo
      expansion of complex T cell populations after bacterial infection is accompanied
      by an increase in their overall affinity for antigen. T cell populations that
      have undergone additional rounds of in vivo expansion express a narrower range of
      TCRs, have increased sensitivity for antigen in cytotoxic T lymphocyte assays,
      and bind MHC/peptide complexes with greater affinity. The selective expansion of
      higher affinity T cells provides an in vivo mechanism for optimizing the early
      detection of infected cells.

PMID- 9989986
TI  - 312-nanometer ultraviolet B light (narrow-band UVB) induces apoptosis of T cells
      within psoriatic lesions.
AB  - Narrow-band (312 nm) ultraviolet B light (UVB) is a new form of therapy for
      psoriasis, but its mechanism of action is unknown. In a bilateral comparison
      clinical study, daily exposure of psoriatic plaques to broad-band UVB (290-320
      nm) or 312-nm UVB depleted T cells from the epidermis and dermis of psoriatic
      lesions. However, 312-nm UVB was significantly more depleting in both tissue
      compartments. To characterize the mechanism of T cell depletion, assays for T
      cell apoptosis were performed on T cells derived from UVB-irradiated skin in vivo
      and on T cells irradiated in vitro with 312-nm UVB. Apoptosis was induced in T
      cells exposed to 50-100 mJ/cm2 of 312-nm UVB in vitro, as measured by increased
      binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-Annexin V to CD3(+) cells and by
      characteristic cell size/granularity changes measured by cytometry. In vivo
      exposure of psoriatic skin lesions to 312-nm UVB for 1-2 wk also induced
      apoptosis in T cells as assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase
      mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) reaction in tissue sections, by
      binding of FITC-Annexin V to CD3(+) T cells contained in epidermal cell
      suspensions, and by detection of apoptosis-related size shifts of CD3(+) cells.
      Induction of T cell apoptosis could be the main mechanism by which 312-nm UVB
      resolves psoriasis skin lesions.

PMID- 9989988
TI  - Cells capable of bone production engraft from whole bone marrow transplants in
      nonablated mice.
AB  - Allogeneic and autologous marrow transplants are routinely used to correct a wide
      variety of diseases. In addition, autologous marrow transplants potentially
      provide opportune means of delivering genes in transfected, engrafting stem
      cells. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms of engraftment in
      transplant recipients, especially in the nonablated setting and with regard to
      cells not of hemopoietic origin. In particular, this includes stromal cells and
      progenitors of the osteoblastic lineage. We have demonstrated for the first time
      that a whole bone marrow transplant contains cells that engraft and become
      competent osteoblasts capable of producing bone matrix. This was done at the
      individual cell level in situ, with significant numbers of donor cells being
      detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization in whole femoral sections.
      Engrafted cells were functionally active as osteoblasts producing bone before
      being encapsulated within the bone lacunae and terminally differentiating into
      osteocytes. Transplanted cells were also detected as flattened bone lining cells
      on the periosteal bone surface.

PMID- 9989987
TI  - The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 is expressed after
      cerebral ischemia and contributes to ischemic brain injury.
AB  - The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is involved in
      the molecular mechanisms of inflammation and apoptosis, processes that contribute
      to ischemic brain injury. In this study, the induction of IRF-1 in response to
      cerebral ischemia and its role in ischemic brain injury were investigated. IRF-1
      gene expression was markedly upregulated within 12 h of occlusion of the middle
      cerebral artery in C57BL/6 mice. The expression reached a peak 4 d after ischemia
      (6.0 +/- 1.8-fold; P < 0.001) and was restricted to the ischemic regions of the
      brain. The volume of ischemic injury was reduced by 23 +/- 3% in IRF-1(+/-) and
      by 46 +/- 9% in IRF-1(-/-) mice (P < 0.05). The reduction in infarct volume was
      paralleled by a substantial attenuation in neurological deficits. Thus, IRF-1 is
      the first nuclear transacting factor demonstrated to contribute directly to
      cerebral ischemic damage and may be a novel therapeutic target in ischemic
      stroke.

PMID- 9989989
TI  - Commitment to the B lymphoid lineage occurs before DH-JH recombination.
AB  - Lineage commitment in B lymphopoiesis remains poorly understood due to the
      inability to clearly define newly committed B lineage progenitors and their
      multipotential descendants. We examined the potential of three recently described
      progenitor populations in adult mouse bone marrow to differentiate into each
      hematopoietic lineage. The earliest of these, termed fraction (Fr.) A0, exhibited
      myeloid, erythroid, and B and T lymphoid progenitor activity and included
      individual cells with myeloid/B lymphoid potential. In sharp contrast, two later
      populations, termed Frs. A1 and A2 and characterized by surface B220 expression
      and transcription of the germline immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus, lacked
      progenitor activity for all hematopoietic lineages except B lymphocytes. These
      observations, together with single cell polymerase chain reaction analysis
      showing a lack of DHJH rearrangements in each population and experiments showing
      identical precursor potentials when these populations were derived from
      recombination activating gene (Rag)-1(-/-) and JH-/- mice, demonstrate that
      commitment to the B lymphoid lineage occurs before and independently of VHDHJH
      recombination.

PMID- 9989990
TI  - Macrophage microbicidal mechanisms in vivo: reactive nitrogen versus oxygen
      intermediates in the killing of intracellular visceral Leishmania donovani.
AB  - To determine the relative contributions of respiratory burst-derived reactive
      oxygen intermediates (ROI) versus reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) to
      macrophage-mediated intracellular host defense, mice genetically deficient in
      these mechanisms were challenged with Leishmania donovani, a protozoan that
      selectively parasitizes visceral tissue macrophages. During the early stage of
      liver infection at wk 2, both respiratory burst-deficient gp91(phox)-/- (X-linked
      chronic granulomatous disease [X-CGD]) mice and inducible nitric oxide synthase
      (iNOS) knockout (KO) mice displayed comparably increased susceptibility.
      Thereafter, infection was unrestrained in mice lacking iNOS but was fully
      controlled in X-CGD mice. Mononuclear cell influx into infected liver foci in X
      CGD and iNOS KO mice was also overtly impaired at wk 2. However, granuloma
      assembly in parasitized tissue eventually developed in both hosts but with
      divergent effects: mature granulomas were functionally active (leishmanicidal) in
      X-CGD mice but inert in iNOS-deficient animals. These results suggest that (a)
      ROI and RNI probably act together in the early stage of intracellular infection
      to regulate both tissue recruitment of mononuclear inflammatory cells and the
      initial extent of microbial replication, (b) RNI alone are necessary and
      sufficient for eventual control of visceral infection, and (c) although mature
      granulomas have traditionally been associated with control of such infections,
      these structures fail to limit intracellular parasite replication in the absence
      of iNOS.

PMID- 9989992
TI  - An arrayable flow-through microcentrifuge for high-throughput instrumentation-a
      matter of scale.

PMID- 9989991
TI  - A human immunoglobulin (Ig)A calpha3 domain motif directs polymeric Ig receptor
      mediated secretion.
AB  - Polymeric immunoglobulins provide immunological protection at mucosal surfaces to
      which they are specifically transported by the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor
      (pIgR). Using a panel of human IgA1/IgG1 constant region "domain swap" mutants,
      the binding site for the pIgR on dimeric IgA (dIgA) was localized to the Calpha3
      domain. Selection of random peptides for pIgR binding and comparison with the IgA
      sequence suggested amino acids 402-410 (QEPSQGTTT), in a predicted exposed loop
      of the Calpha3 domain, as a potential binding site. Alanine substitution of two
      groups of amino acids in this area abrogated the binding of dIgA to pIgR, whereas
      adjacent substitutions in a beta-strand immediately NH2-terminal to this loop had
      no effect. All pIgR binding IgA sequences contain a conserved three amino acid
      insertion, not present in IgG, at this position. These data localize the pIgR
      binding site on dimeric human IgA to this loop structure in the Calpha3 domain,
      which directs mucosal secretion of polymeric antibodies. We propose that it may
      be possible to use a pIgR binding motif to deliver antigen-specific dIgA and
      small-molecule drugs to mucosal epithelia for therapy.

PMID- 9989993
TI  - 1918 Spanish influenza: the secrets remain elusive.

PMID- 9989994
TI  - Malaria vaccines.

PMID- 9989995
TI  - Genetic isolates: separate but equal?

PMID- 9989997
TI  - Nitrogen fertilizer: retrospect and prospect.

PMID- 9989998
TI  - Accelerated chemical synthesis of peptides and small proteins.
AB  - The chemical synthesis of peptides and small proteins is a powerful complementary
      strategy to recombinant protein overexpression and is widely used in structural
      biology, immunology, protein engineering, and biomedical research. Despite
      considerable improvements in the fidelity of peptide chain assembly, side-chain
      protection, and postsynthesis analysis, a limiting factor in accessing
      polypeptides containing greater than 50 residues remains the time taken for chain
      assembly. The ultimate goal of this work is to establish highly efficient
      chemical procedures that achieve chain-assembly rates of approximately 10-15
      residues per hour, thus underpinning the rapid chemical synthesis of long
      polypeptides and proteins, including cytokines, growth factors, protein domains,
      and small enzymes. Here we report Boc chemistry that employs O-(7-azabenzotriazol
      1-yl)-N,N, N',N'-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HATU)/dimethyl sulfoxide
      in situ neutralization as the coupling agent and incorporates a protected amino
      acid residue every 5 min to produce peptides of good quality. This rapid coupling
      chemistry was successfully demonstrated by synthesizing several small to medium
      peptides, including the "difficult" C-terminal sequence of HIV-1 proteinase
      (residues 81-99); fragment 65-74 of the acyl carrier protein; conotoxin
      PnIA(A10L), a potent neuronal nicotinic receptor antagonist; and the pro
      inflammatory chemotactic protein CP10, an 88-residue protein, by means of native
      chemical ligation. The benefits of this approach include enhanced ability to
      identify and characterize "difficult couplings," rapid access to peptides for
      biological and structure-activity studies, and accelerated synthesis of tailored
      large peptide segments (<50 residues) for use in chemoselective ligation methods.

PMID- 9989999
TI  - Femtosecond dynamics of the DNA intercalator ethidium and electron transfer with
      mononucleotides in water.
AB  - Ethidium (E) is a powerful probe of DNA dynamics and DNA-mediated electron
      transfer (ET). Molecular dynamical processes, such as solvation and orientation,
      are important on the time scale of ET. Here, we report studies of the femtosecond
      and picosecond time-resolved dynamics of E, E with 2'deoxyguanosine triphosphate
      (GTP) in water, and E with 7-deaza-2'-deoxyguanosine triphosphate (ZTP) in water;
      E undergoes ET with ZTP but not GTP. These studies elucidate the critical role of
      relative orientational motions of the donor-acceptor complex on ET processes in
      solution. For ET from ZTP to E, such motions are in fact the rate-determining
      step. Our results indicate that these complexes reorient before ET. The time
      scale for the solvation of E in water is 1 ps, and the orientational relaxation
      time of E is 70 ps. The impact of orientational and solvation effects on ET
      between E and mononucleotides must be considered in the application of E as a
      probe of DNA ET.

PMID- 9990001
TI  - Volatile buffers can override the "pH memory" of subtilisin catalysis in organic
      media.
AB  - The protonation state and activity of enzymes in low-water media are affected by
      the aqueous pH before drying ("pH memory"). However, both protonation and
      activity will change if buffer ions can be removed as volatile or organic
      extractable weak acids or bases. With NH4OOCH buffers, in which both ions can be
      removed, pH memory disappears completely for subtilisin-catalyzed
      transesterification in hexane. Only weak pH memory is found with buffers having
      one volatile component, NH4-phosphate and NaOOCH. The changes in ionization state
      result from proton exchanges like Protein-COO-NH4+ --> Protein-COOH + NH3 (g) and
      Protein-NH3+HCOO- --> Protein-NH2 + HOOCH (g). An equivalent, complementary
      picture is that net charges on the protein and buffer ions must remain equal and
      opposite. With NaOOCH buffers, loss of some HCOO- ions gives a more negative net
      charge on the protein, balanced by the excess Na+. With NH4-phosphate buffers,
      loss of NH3 gives protein with a more positive net charge. The resulting
      catalytic activities were high and low, respectively, similar to those after
      drying from Na-phosphate buffers of optimal (8.5) and acid pH. All of the above
      effects have been demonstrated for both covalently immobilized subtilisin and the
      lyophilized free enzyme. Subtilisin lyophilized from NH4OOCH buffers gave pH
      approximately 4 after redissolution in water, probably because removal of HCOO-
      counterions remains incomplete. The resulting catalytic activity was low. The
      effects are discussed in relation to the possible locations, in low-dielectric
      media, of the positive charge that balances the net negative catalytic triad in
      active subtilisin.

PMID- 9990000
TI  - Brominated 7-hydroxycoumarin-4-ylmethyls: photolabile protecting groups with
      biologically useful cross-sections for two photon photolysis.
AB  - Photochemical release (uncaging) of bioactive messengers with three-dimensional
      spatial resolution in light-scattering media would be greatly facilitated if the
      photolysis could be powered by pairs of IR photons rather than the customary
      single UV photons. The quadratic dependence on light intensity would confine the
      photolysis to the focus point of the laser, and the longer wavelengths would be
      much less affected by scattering. However, previous caged messengers have had
      very small cross sections for two-photon excitation in the IR region. We now show
      that brominated 7-hydroxycoumarin-4-ylmethyl esters and carbamates efficiently
      release carboxylates and amines on photolysis, with one- and two-photon cross
      sections up to one or two orders of magnitude better than previously available.
      These advantages are demonstrated on neurons in brain slices from rat cortex and
      hippocampus excited by glutamate uncaged from N-(6-bromo-7-hydroxycoumarin-4
      ylmethoxycarbonyl)-L-glutamate (Bhc-glu). Conventional UV photolysis of Bhc-glu
      requires less than one-fifth the intensities needed by one of the best previous
      caged glutamates, gamma-(alpha-carboxy-2-nitrobenzyl)-L-glutamate (CNB-glu). Two
      photon photolysis with raster-scanned femtosecond IR pulses gives the first three
      dimensionally resolved maps of the glutamate sensitivity of neurons in intact
      slices. Bhc-glu and analogs should allow more efficient and three-dimensionally
      localized uncaging and photocleavage, not only in cell biology and neurobiology
      but also in many technological applications.

PMID- 9990002
TI  - Separation of a midlevel density current from the bottom of a continental slope.
AB  - The high-salinity water flowing out of the Mediterranean Sea descends to mid
      depths in the density-stratified ocean, continues as a narrow jet along the
      Iberian continental slope, and intermittently detaches large-scale eddies (called
      "Meddies"). This process is important because it maintains the relatively high
      mean salinity of a major water mass (the "Mediterranean Intermediate Water") in
      the North Atlantic. Our simplified model of this jet consists of a moving layer
      with intermediate density rho2 sandwiched between motionless layers of density
      rho1 < rho2 and rho3 > rho2. The inshore (anticyclonic) portion of the midlevel
      jet (in the "rho2-water") rests on an inclined bottom (the continental slope),
      whereas the (cyclonic) offshore portion rests on the density interface of the
      stagnant deep (rho3) layer. An inviscid, steady, and finite-amplitude longwave
      theory is used to show that if the cross-stream topographic slope increases
      gradually in the downstream direction, then the "rho2-jet" is deflected off the
      bottom slope and onto the upper density interface of the rho3 layer. The computed
      magnitude of this separation effect is such as to produce an essentially free jet
      which is removed from the stabilizing influence of the continental topography. It
      is therefore conjectured that time-dependent effects (baroclinic instability)
      will produce further amplification, causing an eddy to detach seaward from the
      branch of the jet remaining on the slope.

PMID- 9990003
TI  - A plant virus-encoded protein facilitates long-distance movement of heterologous
      viral RNA.
AB  - Transport of plant viruses from cell to cell typically involves one or more viral
      proteins that supply specific cell-to-cell movement functions. Long-distance
      transport of viruses through the vascular system is a less well understood
      process with requirements different from those of cell-to-cell movement. Usually
      viral coat protein (CP) is required for long-distance movement, but groundnut
      rosette umbravirus (GRV) does not code for a CP. However, this virus moves
      efficiently from cell to cell and long distance. We demonstrate here that the
      protein encoded by ORF3 of GRV can functionally replace the CP of tobacco mosaic
      virus (TMV) for long-distance movement. In spite of low levels of virus RNA
      accumulation in infected cells, chimeric TMV with a replacement of the CP gene by
      GRV ORF3 was able to move rapidly through the phloem. Moreover, this chimeric
      virus complemented long-distance movement of another CP-deficient TMV derivative
      expressing the gene encoding the green fluorescent protein. Thus, the GRV ORF3
      encoded protein represents a class of trans-acting long-distance movement factors
      that can facilitate trafficking of an unrelated viral RNA.

PMID- 9990004
TI  - Structure-activity analysis of synthetic autoinducing thiolactone peptides from
      Staphylococcus aureus responsible for virulence.
AB  - The synthesis of virulence factors and other extracellular proteins responsible
      for pathogenicity in Staphylococcus aureus is under the control of the agr locus.
      A secreted agr-encoded peptide, AgrD, processed from the AgrD gene product, is
      known to be an effector of self-strain activation and cross-strain inhibition of
      the agr response. Biochemical analysis of AgrD peptides isolated from culture
      supernatants has suggested that they contain an unusual thiol ester-linked cyclic
      structure. In the present work, chemical synthesis is used to confirm that the
      mature AgrD peptides contain a thiolactone structure and that this feature is
      absolutely necessary for full biological activity. The AgrD synthetic thiolactone
      peptides exhibited biological activity in vivo in a mouse protection test.
      Structure-activity studies have allowed key aspects of the peptide structure
      involved in the differential activation and inhibition functions to be
      identified. Accordingly, we propose a model for activation and inhibition of the
      agr response in which the former, but not the latter, involves specific acylation
      of the agr transmembrane receptor, AgrC.

PMID- 9990005
TI  - Receptor-induced polymerization of coatomer.
AB  - Coatomer, the coat protein complex of COPI vesicles, is involved in the budding
      of these vesicles, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Toward a better
      understanding of this process, the interaction between coatomer and the
      cytoplasmic domain of a major transmembrane protein of COPI vesicles, p23, was
      studied. Interaction of coatomer with this peptide domain results in a
      conformational change and polymerization of the complex in vitro. This changed
      conformation also is observed in vivo, i.e., on the surface of authentic,
      isolated COPI vesicles. An average of four peptides was found associated with one
      coatomer complex after polymerization. Based on these results, we propose a
      mechanism by which the induced conformational change of coatomer results in its
      polymerization, and thus drives formation of the bud on the Golgi membrane during
      biogenesis of a COPI vesicle.

PMID- 9990006
TI  - Nuclear localization of the C1 factor (host cell factor) in sensory neurons
      correlates with reactivation of herpes simplex virus from latency.
AB  - After a primary infection, herpes simplex virus is maintained in a latent state
      in neurons of sensory ganglia until complex stimuli reactivate viral lytic
      replication. Although the mechanisms governing reactivation from the latent state
      remain unknown, the regulated expression of the viral immediate early genes
      represents a critical point in this process. These genes are controlled by
      transcription enhancer complexes whose assembly requires and is coordinated by
      the cellular C1 factor (host cell factor). In contrast to other tissues, the C1
      factor is not detected in the nuclei of sensory neurons. Experimental conditions
      that induce the reactivation of herpes simplex virus in mouse model systems
      result in rapid nuclear localization of the protein, indicating that the C1
      factor is sequestered in these cells until reactivation signals induce a
      redistribution of the protein. The regulated localization suggests that C1 is a
      critical switch determinant of the viral lytic-latent cycle.

PMID- 9990007
TI  - Two differently regulated nuclear factor kappaB activation pathways triggered by
      the cytoplasmic tail of CD40.
AB  - CD40 signaling modulates the immune response at least in part by activation of
      nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB). It has been shown that two distinct domains in
      the CD40 cytoplasmic tail (cyt), namely cyt-N and cyt-C, independently activate
      NFkappaB. Although four members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated
      factor (TRAF) family, including TRAF2, TRAF3, TRAF5, and TRAF6, bind to the CD40
      cyt, how each TRAF protein contributes to the NFkappaB activation by CD40 is not
      clear. Here we report that TRAF2, TRAF3, and TRAF5 bind cyt-C, whereas TRAF6
      binds cyt-N. cyt-N is conserved poorly between human and mouse CD40, while cyt-C
      is highly conserved. However, single aa substitution of Glu-235 in cyt-N of human
      CD40 with Ala abolishes the binding of TRAF6 to cyt-N and NFkappaB activation by
      cyt-N. Conservation of this Glu between mouse and human CD40 strongly suggests
      that TRAF6 could link cyt-N to signals essential for CD40-mediated immune
      response. Furthermore, NFkappaB activation by cyt-C is inhibited by a kinase
      negative form of NFkappaB-inducing kinase more efficiently than that by cyt-N,
      consistent with the result that NFkappaB activation by TRAF2 and TRAF5 is
      inhibited by a kinase-negative form of NFkappaB-inducing kinase more efficiently
      than that by TRAF6. These results indicate that NFkappaB activating signals
      emanating from cyt-N and cyt-C are mediated by the different members of the TRAF
      family and could be regulated in a distinct manner.

PMID- 9990008
TI  - Principles of quasi-equivalence and Euclidean geometry govern the assembly of
      cubic and dodecahedral cores of pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes.
AB  - The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (Mr of 5-10 million) is assembled
      around a structural core formed of multiple copies of dihydrolipoyl
      acetyltransferase (E2p), which exhibits the shape of either a cube or a
      dodecahedron, depending on the source. The crystal structures of the 60-meric
      dihydrolipoyl acyltransferase cores of Bacillus stearothermophilus and
      Enterococcus faecalis pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes were determined and
      revealed a remarkably hollow dodecahedron with an outer diameter of approximately
      237 A, 12 large openings of approximately 52 A diameter across the fivefold axes,
      and an inner cavity with a diameter of approximately 118 A. Comparison of cubic
      and dodecahedral E2p assemblies shows that combining the principles of quasi
      equivalence formulated by Caspar and Klug [Caspar, D. L. & Klug, A. (1962) Cold
      Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 27, 1-4] with strict Euclidean geometric
      considerations results in predictions of the major features of the E2p
      dodecahedron matching the observed features almost exactly.

PMID- 9990009
TI  - Opposing actions of intact and N-terminal fragments of the human prolactin/growth
      hormone family members on angiogenesis: an efficient mechanism for the regulation
      of angiogenesis.
AB  - Angiogenesis, the process of development of a new microvasculature, is regulated
      by a balance of positive and negative factors. We show both in vivo and in vitro
      that the members of the human prolactin/growth hormone family, i.e., human
      prolactin, human growth hormone, human placental lactogen, and human growth
      hormone variant are angiogenic whereas their respective 16-kDa N-terminal
      fragments are antiangiogenic. The opposite actions are regulated in part via
      activation or inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway.
      In addition, the N-terminal fragments stimulate expression of type 1 plasminogen
      activator inhibitor whereas the intact molecules have no effect, an observation
      consistent with the fragments acting via separate receptors. The concept that a
      single molecule encodes both angiogenic and antiangiogenic peptides represents an
      efficient model for regulating the balance of positive and negative factors
      controlling angiogenesis. This hypothesis has potential physiological importance
      for the control of the vascular connection between the fetal and maternal
      circulations in the placenta, where human prolactin, human placental lactogen,
      and human growth hormone variant are expressed.

PMID- 9990011
TI  - Crystal structure of a dimeric chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 mutant containing an
      inserted glutamine repeat.
AB  - We have constructed mutants of chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 with short glutamine
      repeats inserted into its inhibitory loop. These mutants oligomerize when
      expressed in Escherichia coli. The dimer of a mutant with four glutamines now has
      been crystallized, and its structure has been solved by molecular replacement by
      using the wild-type monomer as a search model. The structure of each half of the
      dimer is found to be the same as that of the wild-type monomer, except around the
      glutamine insertion. It was proposed that the components of the oligomers are
      held together by hydrogen bonds between the main-chain and side-chain amides of
      the glutamine repeats. Instead, they appear to form by swapping domains on
      folding in E. coli, and the glutamine repeats connecting the components of the
      dimers are disordered.

PMID- 9990010
TI  - Dissecting Fas signaling with an altered-specificity death-domain mutant:
      requirement of FADD binding for apoptosis but not Jun N-terminal kinase
      activation.
AB  - Fas is a cell surface death receptor that regulates peripheral tolerance and
      lymphoid homeostasis. In many pathologic conditions, ectopic Fas activation
      mediates tissue destruction. Several proteins that can bind to the cytoplasmic
      death domain of Fas have been implicated in Fas signal transduction. Here we show
      that FADD, which couples Fas to pro-caspase-8, and, Daxx, which couples Fas to
      the Jun N-terminal kinase pathway, bind independently to the Fas death domain. We
      have isolated a death domain mutant, termed FasDelta, that selectively binds Daxx
      but not FADD. In tranfected tissue culture cells, FasDelta activated Jun N
      terminal kinase normally but was impaired in cell death induction. These results
      suggest that FADD and Daxx activate two independent pathways downstream of Fas
      and confirm the essential role of FADD binding in apoptosis induction.

PMID- 9990012
TI  - Structure, thermostability, and conformational flexibility of hen egg-white
      lysozyme dissolved in glycerol.
AB  - Hen egg-white lysozyme dissolved in glycerol containing 1% water was studied by
      using CD and amide proton exchange monitored by two-dimensional 1H NMR. The far-
      and near-UV CD spectra of the protein showed that the secondary and tertiary
      structures of lysozyme in glycerol were similar to those in water. Thermal
      melting of lysozyme in glycerol followed by CD spectral changes indicated
      unfolding of the tertiary structure with a Tm of 76.0 +/- 0.2 degreesC and no
      appreciable loss of the secondary structure up to 85 degreesC. This is in
      contrast to the coincident denaturation of both tertiary and secondary structures
      with Tm values of 74.8 +/- 0.4 degreesC and 74.3 +/- 0.7 degreesC, respectively,
      under analogous conditions in water. Quenched amide proton exchange experiments
      revealed a greater structural protection of amide protons in glycerol than in
      water for a majority of the slowly exchanging protons. The results point to a
      highly ordered, native-like structure of lysozyme in glycerol, with the stability
      exceeding that in water.

PMID- 9990014
TI  - Folding pathway of a lattice model for proteins.
AB  - The folding of a protein-like heteropolymer is studied by using direct simulation
      of a lattice model that folds rapidly to a well-defined "native" structure. The
      details of each molecular folding event depend on the random initial conformation
      as well as the random thermal fluctuations of the polymer. By analyzing the
      statistical properties of hundreds of folding events, a classical folding
      "pathway" for such a polymer is found that includes partially folded, on-pathway
      intermediates that are shown to be metastable equilibrium states of the polymer.
      These results are discussed in the context of the "classical" and "new" views of
      folding.

PMID- 9990013
TI  - Cooperative binding of ATP and MgADP in the sulfonylurea receptor is modulated by
      glibenclamide.
AB  - The ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in pancreatic beta cells are critical
      in the regulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion. Although
      electrophysiological studies provide clues to the complex control of KATP
      channels by ATP, MgADP, and pharmacological agents, the molecular mechanism of
      KATP-channel regulation remains unclear. The KATP channel is a heterooligomeric
      complex of SUR1 subunits of the ATP-binding-cassette superfamily with two
      nucleotide-binding folds (NBF1 and NBF2) and the pore-forming Kir6.2 subunits.
      Here, we report that MgATP and MgADP, but not the Mg salt of gamma-thio-ATP,
      stabilize the binding of prebound 8-azido-[alpha-32P]ATP to SUR1. Mutation in the
      Walker A and B motifs of NBF2 of SUR1 abolished this stabilizing effect of MgADP.
      These results suggest that SUR1 binds 8-azido-ATP strongly at NBF1 and that
      MgADP, either by direct binding to NBF2 or by hydrolysis of bound MgATP at NBF2,
      stabilizes prebound 8-azido-ATP binding at NBF1. The sulfonylurea glibenclamide
      caused release of prebound 8-azido-[alpha-32P]ATP from SUR1 in the presence of
      MgADP or MgATP in a concentration-dependent manner. This direct biochemical
      evidence of cooperative interaction in nucleotide binding of the two NBFs of SUR1
      suggests that glibenclamide both blocks this cooperative binding of ATP and MgADP
      and, in cooperation with the MgADP bound at NBF2, causes ATP to be released from
      NBF1.

PMID- 9990015
TI  - Role of calpain in adipocyte differentiation.
AB  - Evidence is presented that the calcium-activated protease, calpain, is required
      for differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into adipocytes induced by
      methylisobutylxanthine (a cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor), dexamethasone, and
      insulin. Calpain is expressed by preadipocytes and its level falls during
      differentiation. Exposure of preadipocytes to the calpain inhibitor N-acetyl-Leu
      Leu-norleucinal or overexpression of calpastatin, a specific endogenous inhibitor
      of calpain, blocks expression of adipocyte-specific genes, notably the
      CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)alpha gene, and acquisition of the
      adipocyte phenotype. The inhibitor disrupts the differentiation-inducing effect
      of methylisobutylxanthine (by means of the cAMP-signaling pathway), but is
      without effect on differentiation induced by dexamethasone or insulin. N-acetyl
      Leu-Leu-norleucinal, or overexpression of calpastatin, inhibits reporter gene
      expression mediated by the C/EBPalpha gene promoter by preventing C/EBPbeta, a
      transcriptional activator of the C/EBPalpha gene, from binding to the promoter.
      These findings implicate calpain in the transcriptional activation of the
      C/EBPalpha gene, a process required for terminal adipocyte differentiation.

PMID- 9990016
TI  - Interactions between human cyclin T, Tat, and the transactivation response
      element (TAR) are disrupted by a cysteine to tyrosine substitution found in mouse
      cyclin T.
AB  - The transcriptional transactivator Tat from HIV binds to the transactivation
      response element (TAR) RNA to increase rates of elongation of viral
      transcription. Human cyclin T supports these interactions between Tat and TAR. In
      this study, we report the sequence of mouse cyclin T and identify the residues
      from positions 1 to 281 in human cyclin T that bind to Tat and TAR. Mouse cyclin
      T binds to Tat weakly and is unable to facilitate interactions between Tat and
      TAR. Reciprocal exchanges of the cysteine and tyrosine at position 261 in human
      and mouse cyclin T proteins also render human cyclin T inactive and mouse cyclin
      T active. These findings reveal the molecular basis for the restriction of Tat
      transactivation in rodent cells.

PMID- 9990017
TI  - Modulation of type M2 pyruvate kinase activity by the human papillomavirus type
      16 E7 oncoprotein.
AB  - We report here that the E7 oncoprotein encoded by the oncogenic human
      papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 binds to the glycolytic enzyme type M2 pyruvate
      kinase (M2-PK). M2-PK occurs in a tetrameric form with a high affinity to its
      substrate phosphoenolpyruvate and a dimeric form with a low affinity to
      phosphoenolpyruvate, and the transition between both conformations regulates the
      glycolytic flux in tumor cells. The glycolytic intermediate fructose 1, 6
      bisphosphate induces the reassociation of the dimeric to the tetrameric form of
      M2-PK. The expression of E7 in an experimental cell line shifts the equilibrium
      to the dimeric state despite a significant increase in the fructose 1,6
      bisphosphate levels. Investigations of HPV-16 E7 mutants and the nononcogenic HPV
      11 subtype suggest that the interaction of HPV-16 E7 with M2-PK may be linked to
      the transforming potential of the viral oncoprotein.

PMID- 9990018
TI  - The charged region of Hsp90 modulates the function of the N-terminal domain.
AB  - Hsp90, an abundant heat shock protein that is highly expressed even under
      physiological conditions, is involved in the folding of key molecules of the
      cellular signal transduction system such as kinases and steroid receptors. It
      seems to contain two chaperone sites differing in substrate specificity. Binding
      of ATP or the antitumor drug geldanamycin alters the substrate affinity of the N
      terminal chaperone site, whereas both substances show no influence on the C
      terminal one. In wild-type Hsp90 the fragments containing the chaperone sites are
      connected by a highly charged linker of various lengths in different organisms.
      As this linker region represents the most striking difference between bacterial
      and eukaryotic Hsp90s, it may be involved in a gain of function of eukaryotic
      Hsp90s. Here, we have analyzed a fragment of yeast Hsp90 consisting of the N
      terminal domain and the charged region (N272) in comparison with the isolated N
      terminal domain (N210). We show that the charged region causes an increase in the
      affinity of the N-terminal domain for nonnative protein and establishes a
      crosstalk between peptide and ATP binding. Thus, the binding of peptide to N272
      decreases its affinity for ATP and geldanamycin, whereas the ATP-binding
      properties of the monomeric N-terminal domain N210 are not influenced by peptide
      binding. We propose that the charged region connecting the two chaperone domains
      plays an important role in regulating chaperone function of Hsp90.

PMID- 9990020
TI  - Dimethylallyl pyrophosphate is not the committed precursor of isopentenyl
      pyrophosphate during terpenoid biosynthesis from 1-deoxyxylulose in higher
      plants.
AB  - Cell cultures of Catharanthus roseus were supplied with [2-13C, 3-2H]
      deoxyxylulose or [2-13C,4-2H]1-deoxyxylulose. Lutein and chlorophylls were
      isolated from the cell mass, and hydrolysis of the chlorophyll mixtures afforded
      phytol. Isotope labeling patterns of phytol and lutein were determined by 2H NMR
      and 1H,2H-decoupled 13C NMR. From the data it must be concluded that the
      deuterium atom in position 3 of deoxyxylulose was incorporated into both
      isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate with a rate of
      75% (with respect to the internal 13C label). The detected stereochemical
      signature implies that the label is located preferentially in the (E)-hydrogen
      atom of IPP. This preferential labeling, in turn, rules out dimethylallyl
      pyrophosphate as the compulsory precursor of IPP. In the experiment with [2-13C,
      4-2H]1-deoxyxylulose, the 13C label was efficiently transferred to the terpenoids
      whereas the 2H label was completely washed out, most probably after IPP formation
      as a consequence of the isomerization and elongation process. In addition, the
      data cast light on the stereochemical course of the dehydrogenation and
      cyclization steps involved in the biosynthesis of lutein.

PMID- 9990019
TI  - A role for FEN-1 in nonhomologous DNA end joining: the order of strand annealing
      and nucleolytic processing events.
AB  - Eukaryotic repair of double-strand DNA breaks can occur either by homologous
      recombination or by nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ). NHEJ relies on Ku70/86,
      XRCC4, DNA ligase IV, and DNA-dependent protein kinase. NHEJ involves a synapsis
      step in which the two ends are maintained in proximity, processing steps in which
      nucleases and polymerases act on the ends, an alignment step in which a few
      nucleotides of terminal homology guide the ends into preferred alignments, and a
      ligation step. Some of the steps, such as ligation, rely on a single enzymatic
      component. However, the processing steps begin and end with a wide array of
      alternative substrates and products, respectively, and likely involve multiple
      nucleases and polymerases. Given the alternative pathways that can be catalyzed
      by the remaining nucleases and polymerases, no one of these processing enzymes is
      likely to be essential. The only requirement for the processing enzymes, as a
      collective, is to generate a ligatable configuration, namely a ligatable nick on
      each strand. Here, we have tested the two major known 5'-specific nucleases of
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae for involvement in NHEJ. Whereas EXO1 does not appear to
      be involved to any detectable level, deleting RAD27 (FEN-1 of yeast) leads to a
      4.4-fold reduction specifically of those NHEJ events predicted to proceed by
      means of 5' flap intermediates. Because Rad27/FEN-1 acts specifically at 5' flap
      structures, these results suggest that the NHEJ alignment step precedes
      nucleolytic processing steps in a significant fraction of NHEJ events.

PMID- 9990021
TI  - The retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator, RPGR, interacts with the delta subunit
      of rod cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase.
AB  - Recently, the retinitis pigmentosa 3 (RP3) gene has been cloned and named
      retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR). The amino-terminal half of RPGR is
      homologous to regulator of chromosome condensation (RCC1), the nucleotide
      exchange factor for the small GTP-binding protein Ran. In a yeast two-hybrid
      screen we identified the delta subunit of rod cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase
      (PDEdelta) as interacting with the RCC1-like domain (RLD) of RPGR (RPGR392). The
      interaction of RPGR with PDEdelta was confirmed by pull-down assays and plasmon
      surface resonance. The binding affinity was determined to be 90 nM. Six missense
      mutations at evolutionary conserved residues within the RLD, which were found in
      RP3 patients, were analyzed by using the two-hybrid system. All missense
      mutations showed reduced interaction with PDEdelta. A non-RP3-associated missense
      substitution outside the RLD, V36F, did not abolish the interaction with
      PDEdelta. PDEdelta is widely expressed and highly conserved across evolution and
      is proposed to regulate the membrane insertion or solubilization of prenylated
      proteins, including the catalytic subunits of the PDE holoenzyme involved in
      phototransduction and small GTP-binding proteins of the Rab family. These results
      suggest that RPGR mutations give rise to retinal degeneration by dysregulation of
      intracellular processes that determine protein localization and protein
      transport.

PMID- 9990022
TI  - Mammalian subtilisin/kexin isozyme SKI-1: A widely expressed proprotein
      convertase with a unique cleavage specificity and cellular localization.
AB  - Using reverse transcriptase-PCR and degenerate oligonucleotides derived from the
      active-site residues of subtilisin/kexin-like serine proteinases, we have
      identified a highly conserved and phylogenetically ancestral human, rat, and
      mouse type I membrane-bound proteinase called subtilisin/kexin-isozyme-1 (SKI-1).
      Computer databank searches reveal that human SKI-1 was cloned previously but with
      no identified function. In situ hybridization demonstrates that SKI-1 mRNA is
      present in most tissues and cells. Cleavage specificity studies show that SKI-1
      generates a 28-kDa product from the 32-kDa brain-derived neurotrophic factor
      precursor, cleaving at an RGLT downward arrowSL bond. In the endoplasmic
      reticulum of either LoVo or HK293 cells, proSKI-1 is processed into two membrane
      bound forms of SKI-1 (120 and 106 kDa) differing by the nature of their N
      glycosylation. Late along the secretory pathway some of the membrane-bound enzyme
      is shed into the medium as a 98-kDa form. Immunocytochemical analysis of stably
      transfected HK293 cells shows that SKI-1 is present in the Golgi apparatus and
      within small punctate structures reminiscent of endosomes. In vitro studies
      suggest that SKI-1 is a Ca2+-dependent serine proteinase exhibiting a wide pH
      optimum for cleavage of pro-brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

PMID- 9990023
TI  - Posttranslational modification of Galphao1 generates Galphao3, an abundant G
      protein in brain.
AB  - Galphao, the most abundant G protein in mammalian brain, occurs at least in two
      subforms, i.e., Galphao1 and Galphao2, derived by alternative splicing of the
      mRNA. A third Galphao1-related isoform, Galphao3, has been purified, representing
      about 30% of total Go in brain. Initial studies revealed distinct biochemical
      properties of Galphao3 as compared with other Galphao isoforms. In matrix
      assisted laser desorption/ionization peptide mass mapping of gel-isolated
      Galphao1 and Galphao3, C-terminal peptides showed a difference of +1 Da for
      Galphao3. Nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry sequencing revealed an Asp
      instead of an Asn at position 346 of Galphao3. Gel electrophoretic analysis of
      recombinant Galphao3 showed the same mobility as native Galphao3 but distinct to
      Galphao1. The conversion of 346Asn-->Asp changed the signaling properties,
      including the velocity of the basal guanine nucleotide-exchange reaction, which
      points to the involvement of the C terminus in basal guanosine 5'-[gamma
      thio]triphosphate binding. No cDNA coding for Galphao3 was detected, suggesting
      an enzymatic deamidation of Galphao1 by a yet-unidentified activity. Therefore,
      Galpha heterogeneity is generated not only at the DNA or RNA levels, but also at
      the protein level. The relative amount of Galphao1 and Galphao3 differed from
      cell type to cell type, indicating an additional principle of G protein
      regulation.

PMID- 9990024
TI  - The neurotransmitter receptor-anchoring protein gephyrin reconstitutes molybdenum
      cofactor biosynthesis in bacteria, plants, and mammalian cells.
AB  - The molybdenum cofactor (Moco), a highly conserved pterin compound complexing
      molybdenum, is required for the enzymatic activities of all molybdenum enzymes
      except nitrogenase. Moco is synthesized by a unique and evolutionarily old
      pathway that requires the activities of at least six gene products. Some of the
      proteins involved in bacterial, plant, and invertebrate Moco biosynthesis show
      striking homologies to the primary structure of gephyrin, a polypeptide required
      for the clustering of inhibitory glycine receptors in postsynaptic membranes in
      the rat central nervous system. Here, we show that gephyrin binds with high
      affinity to molybdopterin, the metabolic precursor of Moco. Furthermore, gephyrin
      expression can reconstitute Moco biosynthesis in Moco-deficient bacteria, a
      molybdenum-dependent mouse cell line, and a Moco-deficient plant mutant.
      Conversely, inhibition of gephyrin expression by antisense RNA expression in
      cultured murine cells reduces their Moco content significantly. These data
      indicate that in addition to clustering glycine receptors, gephyrin also is
      involved in Moco biosynthesis and illustrate the remarkable conservation of its
      function in Moco biosynthesis throughout phylogeny.

PMID- 9990025
TI  - rRNA-complementarity in the 5' untranslated region of mRNA specifying the Gtx
      homeodomain protein: evidence that base- pairing to 18S rRNA affects
      translational efficiency.
AB  - Numerous eukaryotic mRNAs contain sequences complementary to segments of the 18S
      and 28S rRNAs. Previous studies raised the possibility that these
      complementarities might allow mRNA-rRNA interactions and affect rates of
      translation. In the present study, we investigated the mRNA encoding the mouse
      Gtx homeodomain protein. This mRNA contains within its 5' untranslated region
      (UTR) a segment that is complementary to two regions of the 18S rRNA, located at
      nucleotides 701-741 and 1104-1136. A Gtx RNA probe containing this
      complementarity could be photochemically cross-linked to ribosomal subunits
      through a linkage to 18S rRNA but not to 28S rRNA. Oligonucleotide-directed RNase
      H digestion of the rRNA and a reverse transcription analysis localized the cross
      linked probe to the complementary segment of 18S rRNA at nucleotides 1104-1136
      but not at nucleotides 701-741. To determine whether complementarity in the Gtx
      mRNA affected translation, a mutational analysis was performed with a Gtx
      luciferase fusion construct and four related constructs with altered
      complementarity to the 18S rRNA. These constructs were examined for their ability
      to be translated in cell-free lysates prepared from P19 embryonal carcinoma and
      C6 glioma cell lines and after cellular transfection into these same cell lines.
      In both cell-free translation and transfection studies, the rate of translation
      decreased more than 9-fold as the degree of complementarity to nucleotides 1104
      1136 of the 18S rRNA increased. We hypothesize that segments complementary to
      rRNA, such as those contained within the Gtx mRNA, form a category of cis-acting
      regulatory elements in mRNAs that affect translation by base pairing to rRNA
      within ribosomes.

PMID- 9990026
TI  - Histone modification governs the cell cycle regulation of a replication
      independent chromatin assembly pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
AB  - We describe a replication-independent, cell cycle-regulated chromatin assembly
      pathway in budding yeast. The activity of this pathway is low in S phase extracts
      but is very high in G2, M, and G1 cell extracts, with peak activity in late
      M/early G1. The cell cycle regulation of this pathway requires a specific pattern
      of posttranslational modification of histones H3 and/or H4, which is distinct for
      H3/H4 present in S phase versus M and G1 phase cell extracts. Histone H3/H4
      modification is therefore important for the reciprocal control of replication
      dependent and -independent chromatin assembly pathways during the cell cycle.

PMID- 9990027
TI  - Forced unfolding of the fibronectin type III module reveals a tensile molecular
      recognition switch.
AB  - The 10th type III module of fibronectin possesses a beta-sandwich structure
      consisting of seven beta-strands (A-G) that are arranged in two antiparallel
      sheets. It mediates cell adhesion to surfaces via its integrin binding motif,
      Arg78, Gly79, and Asp80 (RGD), which is placed at the apex of the loop connecting
      beta-strands F and G. Steered molecular dynamics simulations in which tension is
      applied to the protein's terminal ends reveal that the beta-strand G is the first
      to break away from the module on forced unfolding whereas the remaining fold
      maintains its structural integrity. The separation of strand G from the remaining
      fold results in a gradual shortening of the distance between the apex of the RGD
      containing loop and the module surface, which potentially reduces the loop's
      accessibility to surface-bound integrins. The shortening is followed by a
      straightening of the RGD-loop from a tight beta-turn into a linear conformation,
      which suggests a further decrease of affinity and selectivity to integrins. The
      RGD-loop therefore is located strategically to undergo strong conformational
      changes in the early stretching stages of the module and thus constitutes a
      mechanosensitive control of ligand recognition.

PMID- 9990028
TI  - Critical role of conserved proline residues in the transmembrane segment 4
      voltage sensor function and in the gating of L-type calcium channels.
AB  - The fourth transmembrane segment (S4) has been shown to function as a voltage
      sensor in voltage-gated channels. On membrane depolarization, a stretch of S4
      moves outward and initiates a number of conformational changes that ultimately
      lead to channel opening. Conserved proline residues are in the middle of the S4
      of motifs I and III in voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Because proline often
      introduces a "kink" into a helical structure of proteins, these residues might
      have an intrinsic function in the voltage sensor. Here, we report that the
      removal of S4 prolines results in a dramatic shortening of channel open time
      whereas the introduction of extra prolines to the corresponding positions in
      motif IIS4 and IVS4 lengthens channel open time. The number of S4s with a proline
      residue showed a clear positive correlation with the mean open time of the
      channel. The mean open time was >11-fold longer for a channel mutagenized to have
      prolines in all four S4s compared with a channel that had no prolines in the S4
      region. Additionally, prolines in the S4s slowed activation kinetics and shifted
      the voltage dependence of activation and inactivation in a hyperpolarized
      direction. Our results strongly suggest that proline residues in the S4s are
      critical for stabilizing the open state of the channel. Moreover, it is suggested
      that motif IS4 and IIIS4 contribute to the channel opening more efficiently than
      motif IIS4 and IVS4.

PMID- 9990029
TI  - Structural analysis at 2.2 A of orthorhombic crystals presents the asymmetry of
      the allophycocyanin-linker complex, AP.LC7.8, from phycobilisomes of
      Mastigocladus laminosus.
AB  - An electrophoretically purified allophycocyanin-linker complex, AP. LC7.8, from
      phycobilisomes of Mastigocladus laminosus has been crystallized in the
      orthorhombic space group P212121. Cryocrystallographic x-ray measurements enabled
      the structural analysis of the complex at a resolution of 2.2 A. The asymmetric
      unit contains two side-to-side associated "trimeric" (alphabeta)3 allophycocyanin
      complexes comprising the linker polypeptide in a defined orientation inside the
      trimer. The linker representing a protein fold related to the prosegment of
      procarboxypeptidase A is in contact with only two of the three beta-subunits and
      directly interacts with the corresponding chromophores of these proteins. In
      addition to a modulation of the chromophores' spectral properties, the linker
      polypeptide attracts the alphabeta-subcomplexes, thereby bringing the beta
      chromophores closer together. These results will enable interpretations of energy
      transfer mechanisms within phycobiliproteins.

PMID- 9990031
TI  - Confocal fluorescence coincidence analysis: an approach to ultra high-throughput
      screening.
AB  - Fluorescence-based assay technologies play an increasing role in high-throughput
      screening. They can be classified into different categories: fluorescence
      polarization, time-resolved fluorescence, fluorescence resonance energy transfer,
      and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. In this work we present an alternative
      analytical technique for high-throughput screening, which we call confocal
      fluorescence coincidence analysis. Confocal fluorescence coincidence analysis
      extracts fluorescence fluctuations that occur coincidently in two different
      spectral ranges from a tiny observation volume of below 1 fl. This procedure
      makes it possible to monitor whether an association between molecular fragments
      that are labeled with different fluorophores is established or broken. Therefore,
      it provides access to the characterization of a variety of cleavage and ligation
      reactions in biochemistry. Confocal fluorescence coincidence analysis is a very
      sensitive and ultrafast technique with readout times of 100 ms and below. This
      feature is demonstrated by means of a homogeneous assay for restriction
      endonuclease EcoRI. The presented achievements break ground for throughput rates
      as high as 10(6) samples per day with using only small amounts of sample
      substance and therefore constitute a solid base for screening applications in
      drug discovery and evolutionary biotechnology.

PMID- 9990030
TI  - Coevolutionary analysis of resistance-evading peptidomimetic inhibitors of HIV-1
      protease.
AB  - We have developed a coevolutionary method for the computational design of HIV-1
      protease inhibitors selected for their ability to retain efficacy in the face of
      protease mutation. For HIV-1 protease, typical drug design techniques are shown
      to be ineffective for the design of resistance-evading inhibitors: An inhibitor
      that is a direct analogue of one of the natural substrates will be susceptible to
      resistance mutation, as will inhibitors designed to fill the active site of the
      wild-type or a mutant enzyme. Two design principles are demonstrated: (i) For
      enzymes with broad substrate specificity, such as HIV-1 protease, resistance
      evading inhibitors are best designed against the immutable properties of the
      active site-the properties that must be conserved in any mutant protease to
      retain the ability to bind and cleave all of the native substrates. (ii) Robust
      resistance-evading inhibitors can be designed by optimizing activity
      simultaneously against a large set of mutant enzymes, incorporating as much of
      the mutational space as possible.

PMID- 9990032
TI  - An approach to long-range electron transfer mechanisms in metalloproteins: in
      situ scanning tunneling microscopy with submolecular resolution.
AB  - In situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of redox molecules, in aqueous
      solution, shows interesting analogies and differences compared with interfacial
      electrochemical electron transfer (ET) and ET in homogeneous solution. This is
      because the redox level represents a deep indentation in the tunnel barrier, with
      possible temporary electronic population. Particular perspectives are that both
      the bias voltage and the overvoltage relative to a reference electrode can be
      controlled, reflected in spectroscopic features when the potential variation
      brings the redox level to cross the Fermi levels of the substrate and tip. The
      blue copper protein azurin adsorbs on gold(111) via a surface disulfide group.
      Well resolved in situ STM images show arrays of molecules on the triangular
      gold(111) terraces. This points to the feasibility of in situ STM of redox
      metalloproteins directly in their natural aqueous medium. Each structure also
      shows a central brighter contrast in the constant current mode, indicative of 2-
      to 4-fold current enhancement compared with the peripheral parts. This supports
      the notion of tunneling via the redox level of the copper atom and of in situ STM
      as a new approach to long-range electron tunneling in metalloproteins.

PMID- 9990033
TI  - A human cell-surface receptor for xenotropic and polytropic murine leukemia
      viruses: possible role in G protein-coupled signal transduction.
AB  - Although present in many copies in the mouse genome, xenotropic murine leukemia
      viruses cannot infect cells from laboratory mice because of the lack of a
      functional cell surface receptor required for virus entry. In contrast, cells
      from many nonmurine species, including human cells, are fully permissive. Using
      an expression library approach, we isolated a cDNA from HeLa cell RNA that
      conferred susceptibility to xenotropic envelope protein binding and virus
      infection when expressed in nonpermissive cells. The deduced product is a 696-aa
      multiple-membrane spanning molecule, is widely expressed in human tissues, and
      shares homology with nematode, fly, and plant proteins of unknown function as
      well as with the yeast SYG1 protein, which has been shown to interact with a G
      protein. This molecule also acts as a receptor for polytropic murine leukemia
      viruses, consistent with observed interference between xenotropic and polytropic
      viruses in some cell types. This xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor
      (XPR1) is the fourth identified molecule having multiple membrane spanning
      domains among mammalian type C oncoretrovirus receptors and may play a role in G
      protein-coupled signal transduction, as do the chemokine receptors required for
      HIV entry.

PMID- 9990034
TI  - Phosphorylation of presenilin-2 regulates its cleavage by caspases and retards
      progression of apoptosis.
AB  - Mutations within the Presenilin-2 (PS-2) gene are associated with early onset
      familial Alzheimer's disease. The gene encodes a polytopic transmembrane protein
      that undergoes endoproteolytic processing resulting in the generation of N
      terminal and C-terminal fragments (CTFs). PS-2 is also cleaved by proteases of
      the caspase family during apoptotic cell death. CTFs of PS-2 were shown to
      inhibit apoptosis, suggesting an important role in the regulation of programmed
      cell death. Recently, we found that the CTF of PS-2 is phosphorylated in vivo. We
      mapped the in vivo phosphorylation sites of PS-2 to serine residues 327 and 330,
      which are localized immediately adjacent to the cleavage sites of caspases after
      aspartate residues 326 and 329. Phosphorylation of PS-2 inhibits its cleavage by
      caspase-3. This effect can be mimicked by substitutions of serines 327 and 330 by
      aspartate or glutamate. In addition, the uncleavable form of PS-2 CTF was found
      to enhance its antiapoptotic properties, leading to a slower progression of
      apoptosis. These results demonstrate that PS-2 cleavage as well as its function
      in apoptosis can be regulated by protein phosphorylation. Alterations in the
      phosphorylation of PS-2 may therefore promote the pathogenesis of AD by affecting
      the susceptibility of neurons to apoptotic stimuli.

PMID- 9990035
TI  - Differential regulation of maternal vs. paternal centrosomes.
AB  - Centrosomes are the main microtubule-organizing centers in animal cells. During
      meiosis and mitosis, two centrosomes form the poles that direct the assembly of a
      bipolar spindle, thus ensuring the accurate segregation of chromosomes. Cells
      cannot tolerate the presence of more than two active centrosomes during meiosis
      or mitosis because doing so results in the formation of multipolar spindles,
      infidelity in chromosome segregation, and aneuploidy. Here, we show that
      fertilization of Spisula solidissima oocytes results in cells that contain three
      active centrosomes, two maternal and one paternal. During meiosis I, the paternal
      centrosome's ability to nucleate microtubules is selectively shut off while
      maternal centrosomes remain competent to nucleate microtubules and assemble
      asters in the same cytoplasm. We propose that embryos can identify paternal vs.
      maternal centrosomes and can control them differentially.

PMID- 9990036
TI  - Catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase: impact on lymphocyte
      development and tumorigenesis.
AB  - The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) consists of a heterodimer DNA-binding
      complex, Ku70 and Ku80, and a large catalytic subunit, DNA-PKcs. To examine the
      role of DNA-PKcs in lymphocyte development, radiation sensitivity, and
      tumorigenesis, we disrupted the mouse DNA-PKcs by homologous recombination. DNA
      PKcs-null mice exhibit neither growth retardation nor a high frequency of T cell
      lymphoma development, but show severe immunodeficiency and radiation
      hypersensitivity. In contrast to the Ku70-/- and Ku80-/- phenotype, DNA-PKcs-null
      mice are blocked for V(D)J coding but not for signal-end joint formation.
      Furthermore, inactivation of DNA-PKcs leads to hyperplasia and dysplasia of the
      intestinal mucosa and production of aberrant crypt foci, suggesting a novel role
      of DNA-PKcs in tumor suppression.

PMID- 9990038
TI  - Mechanism of biological synergy between cellular Src and epidermal growth factor
      receptor.
AB  - Overexpression of both cellular Src (c-Src) and the epidermal growth factor
      receptor (EGFR) occurs in many of the same human tumors, suggesting that they may
      functionally interact and contribute to the progression of cancer. Indeed, in
      murine fibroblasts, overexpression of c-Src has been shown to potentiate the
      mitogenic and tumorigenic capacity of the overexpressed EGFR. Potentiation
      correlated with the ability of c-Src to physically associate with the activated
      EGFR and the appearance of two unique in vivo phosphorylations on the receptor
      (Tyr-845 and Tyr-1101). Using stable cell lines of C3H10T1/2 murine fibroblasts
      that contain kinase-deficient (K-) c-Src and overexpressed wild-type EGFR, we
      show that the kinase activity of c-Src is required for both the biological
      synergy with the receptor and the phosphorylations on the receptor, but not for
      the association of c-Src with the receptor. In transient transfection assays, not
      only epidermal growth factor but also serum- and lysophosphatidic acid-induced
      DNA synthesis was ablated in a dominant-negative fashion by a Y845F mutant of the
      EGFR, indicating that c-Src-induced phosphorylation of Y845 is critical for the
      mitogenic response to both the EGFR and a G protein-coupled receptor
      (lysophosphatidic acid receptor). Unexpectedly, the Y845F mutant EGFR was found
      to retain its full kinase activity and its ability to activate the adapter
      protein SHC and extracellular signal-regulated kinase ERK2 in response to EGF,
      demonstrating that the mitogenic pathway involving phosphorylation of Y845 is
      independent of ERK2-activation. The application of these findings to the
      development of novel therapeutics for human cancers that overexpress c-Src and
      EGFR is discussed.

PMID- 9990037
TI  - Identification of SSF1, CNS1, and HCH1 as multicopy suppressors of a
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp90 loss-of-function mutation.
AB  - Hsp90 functions in a multicomponent chaperone system to promote the maturation
      and maintenance of a diverse, but specific, set of target proteins that play key
      roles in the regulation of cell growth and development. To identify additional
      components of the Hsp90 chaperone system and its targets, we searched for
      multicopy suppressors of various temperature-sensitive mutations in the yeast
      Hsp90 gene, HSP82. Three suppressors were isolated for one Hsp90 mutant
      (glutamate --> lysine at amino acid 381). Each exhibited a unique, allele
      specific pattern of suppression with other Hsp90 mutants and had unique
      structural and biological properties. SSF1 is a member of an essential gene
      family and functions in the response to mating pheromones. CNS1 is an essential
      gene that encodes a component of the Hsp90 chaperone machinery. The role of HCH1
      is unknown; its sequence has no strong homology to any protein of known function.
      SSF1 and CNS1 were weak suppressors, whereas HCH1 restored wild-type growth rates
      at all temperatures tested to cells expressing the E381K mutant. Overexpression
      of CNS1 or HCH1, but not SSF1, enhanced the maturation of a heterologous Hsp90
      target protein, p60(v-src). These results suggest that like Cns1p, Hch1p is a
      general modulator of Hsp90 chaperone functions, whereas Ssf1p likely is either an
      Hsp90 target protein or functions in the same pathway as an Hsp90 target protein.

PMID- 9990039
TI  - Specificities of CD40 signaling: involvement of TRAF2 in CD40-induced NF-kappaB
      activation and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 up-regulation.
AB  - Several tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) family proteins
      including TRAF2, TRAF3, TRAF5, and TRAF6, as well as Jak3, have been implicated
      as potential mediators of CD40 signaling. An extensive in vitro binding study
      indicated that TRAF2 and TRAF3 bind to the CD40 cytoplasmic tail (CD40ct) with
      much higher affinity than TRAF5 and TRAF6 and that TRAF2 and TRAF3 bind to
      different residues of the CD40ct. Using CD40 mutants incapable of binding TRAF2,
      TRAF3, or Jak3, we found that the TRAF2-binding site of the CD40ct is critical
      for NF-kappaB and stress-activated protein kinase activation, as well as the up
      regulation of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene, whereas
      binding of TRAF3 and Jak3 is dispensable for all of these functions.
      Overexpression of a dominantly active IkappaBalpha strongly inhibited CD40
      induced NF-kappaB activation, ICAM-1 promoter activity, and cell-surface ICAM-1
      up-regulation. These studies suggest a potential signal transduction pathway from
      the CD40 receptor to the transcriptional activation of the ICAM-1 gene.

PMID- 9990040
TI  - G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction by nuclear Smad4/Dpc4: phenotypes
      reversed by a tumorigenic mutation.
AB  - The tumor suppressor Smad4/Dpc4 is a transcription activator that binds specific
      DNA sequences and whose nuclear localization is induced after exposure to type
      beta transforming growth factor-like cytokines. We explored an inducible system
      in which Smad4 protein is activated by translocation to the nucleus when cell
      lines that stably express wild-type or mutant Smad4 proteins fused to a murine
      estrogen receptor domain are treated with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. This induced Smad4
      mediated transcriptional activation and a decrease in growth rate, attributable
      to a cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and an induction of apoptosis. A tumor
      derived mutation (Arg-100 --> Thr) affecting a residue critical for DNA-binding
      demonstrated an "oncogenic" phenotype, having decreases in both the G1 fraction
      and apoptosis and, consequently, an augmentation of population growth. This model
      should be useful in the exploration and control of components that lie further
      downstream in the Smad4 tumor-suppressor pathway.

PMID- 9990041
TI  - Identification of the cyclin D1 gene as a target of activating transcription
      factor 2 in chondrocytes.
AB  - Endochondral bone growth is regulated by the rates of chondrocyte proliferation
      and differentiation. However, the intracellular mechanisms regulating these
      processes are poorly understood. Recently, interruption of the gene encoding the
      transcription factor activating transcription factor 2 (ATF-2) was shown to
      inhibit proliferation of chondrocytes in mice [Reimold, A. M., et al. (1996)
      Nature (London) 379, 262-265]. The target genes of ATF-2 that are responsible for
      this phenotype remain unknown. Here we report that the cyclin D1 gene is a direct
      target of ATF-2 in chondrocytes. ATF-2 is present in nuclear extracts from
      chondrogenic cell lines and binds, as a complex with a CRE-binding protein
      (CREB)/CRE modulator protein, to the cAMP response element (CRE) in the cyclin D1
      promoter. Mutation of the cyclin D1 CRE caused a 78% reduction in the activity of
      the promoter in chondrocytes. Overexpression of ATF-2 in chondrocytes enhanced
      activity of the cyclin D1 promoter 3. 5-fold. In contrast, inhibition of
      endogenous ATF-2 or CREB by expression of dominant-negative inhibitors of CREB
      and ATF-2 significantly reduced the activity of the promoter in chondrocytes
      through the CRE. In addition, levels of cyclin D1 protein are greatly reduced in
      the chondrocytes of ATF-2-deficient mice. These data identify the cyclin D1 gene
      as a direct target of ATF-2 in chondrocytes and suggest that reduced expression
      of cyclin D1 contributes to the defective cartilage development of these mice.

PMID- 9990042
TI  - The molecular chaperone Hsp90 can negatively regulate the activity of a
      glucocorticosteroid-dependent promoter.
AB  - Hsp90, a molecular chaperone required for the functioning of glucocorticosteroid
      receptor (GR), ensures, by direct interaction, the conformational competence of
      the steroid-binding pocket. In addition to having this positive function, Hsp90
      maintains steroid receptors in an inactive form in the absence of hormone.
      However, neither the participation of Hsp90 once the pathway has been activated
      by the ligand nor the importance of increased Hsp90 levels in determining the
      amplitude of the response has ever been assessed directly. Here, by increasing
      the Hsp90/GR ratio in the nuclear compartment, we found an attenuation of the
      response to glucocorticosteroids that was not due to a nonspecific or toxic
      effect of the Hsp90 modified by nuclear targeting. Since this negative effect was
      more pronounced at high levels of hormone, when receptor and Hsp90 are maximally
      dissociated, the possibility of an interaction between Hsp90 and GR, already
      activated to a DNA-binding form, was directly investigated. Indeed GR, after in
      vivo activation by ligand, was still able to reassociate with Hsp90, suggesting
      that this interaction plays a role in vivo, possibly in receptor recycling.
      Moreover, the GR binding to its DNA response element was inhibited by an excess
      of Hsp90, pointing to a function of Hsp90 in the nuclear compartment. It is thus
      proposed that an increased Hsp90/GR ratio influences the responsiveness to ligand
      at a step that is after receptor activation. This increased ratio may be of
      pathophysiological relevance in the different circumstances that lead to an
      elevated level of nuclear Hsp90.

PMID- 9990043
TI  - Head-specific gene expression in Hydra: complexity of DNA- protein interactions
      at the promoter of ks1 is inversely correlated to the head activation potential.
AB  - To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that direct position-dependent gene
      expression in the simple and evolutionarily old metazoan Hydra, we have examined
      DNA-protein interactions in the 1.5-kb cis regulatory region of the head-specific
      gene ks1. In vitro footprinting and gel-retardation techniques have been used to
      map the location of all protein-binding sites. To our surprise, we found
      substantially more proteins binding to ks1 promoter elements in nuclear extract
      from basal (gastric) than from apical (head- and tentacle-formation zone) cells.
      One of these proteins is the homeobox protein Cnox-2. In the head regeneration
      deficient mutant reg-16, an increased level of nuclear protein binds to ks1
      promoter elements. Treatment of polyps with the ks1-inducing phorbol ester 12-O
      tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) resulted in reduced binding of nuclear
      proteins to the ks1 cis regulatory region. As activation of ks1 transcription is
      correlated with the absence of nuclear proteins binding to the ks1 promoter, we
      propose that the majority of these proteins act as transcriptional repressors. In
      this view, the gradient of head activation along the Hydra body axis is caused by
      a decreasing amount of inhibitory factors, rather than an increasing amount of
      activators, toward the head. Thus, inhibitory mechanisms might have played a
      crucial role in regulating position-dependent gene activation during early
      metazoan evolution.

PMID- 9990044
TI  - Targeted disruption of gene function in Drosophila by RNA interference (RNA-i): a
      role for nautilus in embryonic somatic muscle formation.
AB  - The expression of the MyoD gene homolog, nautilus (nau), in the Drosophila embryo
      defines a subset of mesodermal cells known as the muscle "pioneer" or "founder"
      cells. These cells are thought to establish the future muscle pattern in each
      hemisegment. Founders appear to recruit fusion-competent mesodermal cells to
      establish a particular muscle fiber type. In support of this concept every
      somatic muscle in the embryo is associated with one or more nautilus-positive
      cells. However, because of the lack of known (isolated) nautilus mutations, no
      direct test of the founder cell hypothesis has been possible. We now have
      utilized toxin ablation and genetic interference by double-stranded RNA (RNA
      interference or RNA-i) to determine both the role of the nautilus-expressing
      cells and the nautilus gene, respectively, in embryonic muscle formation. In the
      absence of nautilus-expressing cells muscle formation is severely disrupted or
      absent. A similar phenotype is observed with the elimination of the nautilus gene
      product by genetic interference upon injection of nautilus double-stranded RNA.
      These results define a crucial role for nautilus in embryonic muscle formation.
      The application of RNA interference to a variety of known Drosophila mutations as
      controls gave phenotypes essentially indistinguishable from the original
      mutation. RNA-i provides a powerful approach for the targeted disruption of a
      given genetic function in Drosophila.

PMID- 9990045
TI  - Expression of a murine homologue of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein is related
      to cell proliferation.
AB  - The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins form a highly conserved gene family
      that prevents cell death in response to a variety of stimuli. Herein we describe
      a newly defined murine IAP, designated Tiap, that proved to be a murine homologue
      of human survivin based on sequence comparison. TIAP has one baculovirus IAP
      repeat and lacks a C-terminal RING finger motif. TIAP interacted with the
      processed form of caspase 3 and inhibited caspase-induced cell death.
      Histological examinations revealed that TIAP is expressed in growing tissues such
      as thymus, testis, and intestine of adult mice and many tissues of embryos. In in
      vitro studies, TIAP was induced in splenic T cells activated with anti-CD3
      antibody or Con A, and the expression of TIAP was up-regulated in synchronized
      NIH 3T3 cells at S to G2/M phase of the cell cycle. We propose that during cell
      proliferation, cellular protective activity may be augmented with inducible IAPs
      such as TIAP.

PMID- 9990046
TI  - Biodiversity and ecosystem productivity in a fluctuating environment: the
      insurance hypothesis.
AB  - Although the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning has become a major
      focus in ecology, its significance in a fluctuating environment is still poorly
      understood. According to the insurance hypothesis, biodiversity insures
      ecosystems against declines in their functioning because many species provide
      greater guarantees that some will maintain functioning even if others fail. Here
      we examine this hypothesis theoretically. We develop a general stochastic dynamic
      model to assess the effects of species richness on the expected temporal mean and
      variance of ecosystem processes such as productivity, based on individual
      species' productivity responses to environmental fluctuations. Our model shows
      two major insurance effects of species richness on ecosystem productivity: (i) a
      buffering effect, i.e., a reduction in the temporal variance of productivity, and
      (ii) a performance-enhancing effect, i.e., an increase in the temporal mean of
      productivity. The strength of these insurance effects is determined by three
      factors: (i) the way ecosystem productivity is determined by individual species
      responses to environmental fluctuations, (ii) the degree of asynchronicity of
      these responses, and (iii) the detailed form of these responses. In particular,
      the greater the variance of the species responses, the lower the species richness
      at which the temporal mean of the ecosystem process saturates and the ecosystem
      becomes redundant. These results provide a strong theoretical foundation for the
      insurance hypothesis, which proves to be a fundamental principle for
      understanding the long-term effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes.

PMID- 9990047
TI  - Organization of an echinoderm Hox gene cluster.
AB  - The Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genome contains a single ten-gene Hox complex
      >0.5 megabase in length. This complex was isolated on overlapping bacterial
      artificial chromosome and P1 artificial chromosome genomic recombinants by using
      probes for individual genes and by genomic walking. Echinoderm Hox genes of
      Paralog Groups (PG) 1 and 2 are reported. The cluster includes genes representing
      all paralog groups of vertebrate Hox clusters, except that there is a single gene
      of the PG4-5 types and only three genes of the PG9-12 types. The echinoderm Hox
      gene cluster is essentially similar to those of the bilaterally organized
      chordates, despite the radically altered pentameral body plans of these animals.

PMID- 9990048
TI  - Patterns of nucleotide substitution in Drosophila and mammalian genomes.
AB  - To estimate patterns of molecular evolution of unconstrained DNA sequences, we
      used maximum parsimony to separate phylogenetic trees of a non-long terminal
      repeat retrotransposable element into either internal branches, representing
      mainly the constrained evolution of active lineages, or into terminal branches,
      representing mainly nonfunctional "dead-on-arrival" copies that are unconstrained
      by selection and evolve as pseudogenes. The pattern of nucleotide substitutions
      in unconstrained sequences is expected to be congruent with the pattern of point
      mutation. We examined the retrotransposon Helena in the Drosophila virilis
      species group (subgenus Drosophila) and the Drosophila melanogaster species
      subgroup (subgenus Sophophora). The patterns of point mutation are
      indistinguishable, suggesting considerable stability over evolutionary time (40
      60 million years). The relative frequencies of different point mutations are
      unequal, but the "transition bias" results largely from an approximately 2-fold
      excess of G.C to A.T substitutions. Spontaneous mutation is biased toward A.T
      base pairs, with an expected mutational equilibrium of approximately 65% A + T
      (quite similar to that of long introns). These data also enable the first
      detailed comparison of patterns of point mutations in Drosophila and mammals.
      Although the patterns are different, all of the statistical significance comes
      from a much greater rate of G.C to A.T substitution in mammals, probably because
      of methylated cytosine "hotspots." When the G.C to A.T substitutions are
      discounted, the remaining differences are considerably reduced and not
      statistically significant.

PMID- 9990049
TI  - The Arabidopsis thaliana proton transporters, AtNhx1 and Avp1, can function in
      cation detoxification in yeast.
AB  - Overexpression of the Arabidopsis thaliana vacuolar H+-pyrophosphatase (AVP1)
      confers salt tolerance to the salt-sensitive ena1 mutant of Saccharomyces
      cerevisiae. Suppression of salt sensitivity requires two ion transporters, the
      Gef1 Cl- channel and the Nhx1 Na+/H+ exchanger. These two proteins colocalize to
      the prevacuolar compartment of yeast and are thought to be required for optimal
      acidification of this compartment. Overexpression of AtNHX1, the plant homologue
      of the yeast Na+/H+ exchanger, suppresses some of the mutant phenotypes of the
      yeast nhx1 mutant. Moreover, the level of AtNHX1 mRNA in Arabidopsis is increased
      in the presence of NaCl. The regulation of AtNHX1 by NaCl and the ability of the
      plant gene to suppress the yeast nhx1 mutant suggest that the mechanism by which
      cations are detoxified in yeast and plants may be similar.

PMID- 9990050
TI  - Global response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to an alkylating agent.
AB  - DNA chip technology enables simultaneous examination of how approximately 6,200
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene transcript levels, representing the entire genome,
      respond to environmental change. By using chips bearing oligonucleotide arrays,
      we show that, after exposure to the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate,
      approximately 325 gene transcript levels are increased and approximately 76 are
      decreased. Of the 21 genes that already were known to be induced by a DNA
      damaging agent, 18 can be scored as inducible in this data set, and surprisingly,
      most of the newly identified inducible genes are induced even more strongly than
      these 18. We examined 42 responsive and 8 nonresponsive ORFs by conventional
      Northern blotting, and 48 of these 50 ORFs responded as they did by DNA chip
      analysis, with magnitudes displaying a correlation coefficient of 0.79.
      Responsive genes fall into several expected and many unexpected categories.
      Evidence for the induction of a program to eliminate and replace alkylated
      proteins is presented.

PMID- 9990051
TI  - Lethal mutagenesis of HIV with mutagenic nucleoside analogs.
AB  - The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replicates its genome and mutates at
      exceptionally high rates. As a result, the virus is able to evade immunological
      and chemical antiviral agents. We tested the hypothesis that a further increase
      in the mutation rate by promutagenic nucleoside analogs would abolish viral
      replication. We evaluated deoxynucleoside analogs for lack of toxicity to human
      cells, incorporation by HIV reverse transcriptase, resistance to repair when
      incorporated into the DNA strand of an RNA.DNA hybrid, and mispairing at high
      frequency. Among the candidates tested, 5-hydroxydeoxycytidine (5-OH-dC)
      fulfilled these criteria. In seven of nine experiments, the presence of this
      analog resulted in the loss of viral replicative potential after 9-24 sequential
      passages of HIV in human CEM cells. In contrast, loss of viral replication was
      not observed in 28 control cultures passaged in the absence of the nucleoside
      analog, nor with other analogs tested. Sequence analysis of a portion of the HIV
      reverse transcriptase gene demonstrated a disproportionate increase in G --> A
      substitutions, mutations predicted to result from misincorporation of 5-OH-dC
      into the cDNA during reverse transcription. Thus, "lethal mutagenesis" driven by
      the class of deoxynucleoside analogs represented by 5-OH-dC could provide a new
      approach to treating HIV infections and, potentially, other viral infections.

PMID- 9990052
TI  - The [URE3] prion is an aggregated form of Ure2p that can be cured by
      overexpression of Ure2p fragments.
AB  - The [URE3] nonchromosomal genetic element is a prion of Ure2p, a regulator of
      nitrogen catabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ure2p1-65 is the prion domain of
      Ure2p, sufficient to propagate [URE3] in vivo. We show that full length Ure2p
      green fluorescent protein (GFP) or a Ure2p1-65-GFP fusion protein is aggregated
      in cells carrying [URE3] but is evenly distributed in cells lacking the [URE3]
      prion. This indicates that [URE3] involves a self-propagating aggregation of
      Ure2p. Overexpression of Ure2p1-65 induces the de novo appearance of [URE3] by
      1,000-fold in a strain initially [ure-o], but cures [URE3] from a strain
      initially carrying the [URE3] prion. Overexpression of several other fragments of
      Ure2p or Ure2-GFP fusion proteins also efficiently cures the prion. We suggest
      that incorporation of fragments or fusion proteins into a putative [URE3]
      "crystal" of Ure2p poisons its propagation.

PMID- 9990053
TI  - Triplet repeats form secondary structures that escape DNA repair in yeast.
AB  - Several human neurodegenerative diseases result from expansion of CTG/CAG or
      CGG/CCG triplet repeats. The finding that single-stranded CNG repeats form
      hairpin-like structures in vitro has led to the hypothesis that DNA secondary
      structure formation is an important component of the expansion mechanism. We show
      that single-stranded DNA loops containing 10 CTG/CAG or CGG/CCG repeats are
      inefficiently repaired during meiotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
      Comparisons of the repair of DNA loops with palindromic and nonpalindromic
      sequences suggest that this inefficient repair reflects the ability of these
      sequences to form hairpin structures in vivo.

PMID- 9990054
TI  - The identification of markers segregating with resistance to Schistosoma mansoni
      infection in the snail Biomphalaria glabrata.
AB  - Both snail and parasite genes determine the susceptibility of the snail
      Biomphalaria glabrata to infection with the trematode Schistosoma mansoni. To
      identify molecular markers associated with resistance to the parasite in the
      snail host, we performed genetic crosses between parasite-resistant and 
      susceptible isogenic snails. Because resistance to infection in adult snails is
      controlled by a single locus, DNA samples from individual F2 and F1 backcross
      progeny, segregating for either the resistant or susceptible phenotypes, were
      pooled (bulked segregant). Genotypes for both parents were determined with 205
      arbitrary decamer primers by random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR. Of the 205
      primers, 144 were informative, and the relative allele frequencies between the
      pools for these primers were determined. Two primers, OPM-04 and OPZ-11, produced
      fragments in the resistant parent of one cross that were inherited in a dominant
      fashion in the resistant F2 and backcross-bulked segregant progeny. Subsequent
      typing of DNA samples of individual progeny snails showed that the 1.2-kb marker
      amplified by primer OPM-04 and the 1.0-kb marker produced by primer OPZ-11
      segregated in the same dominant fashion with the resistant phenotype. Sequence
      analysis of the 1.2-kb marker showed that it corresponds to a repetitive sequence
      in the snail genome with no homology to existing DNA sequences in the public
      databases. Analysis of the 1. 0-kb marker showed that it also corresponds to a
      repetitive sequence in the B. glabrata genome that contains an imperfect ORF,
      with homology to retrovirus-related group-specific antigens (gag) polyprotein.

PMID- 9990055
TI  - Trapping cDNAs encoding secreted proteins from the salivary glands of the malaria
      vector Anopheles gambiae.
AB  - The signal sequence trap method was used to isolate cDNAs corresponding to
      proteins containing secretory leader peptides and whose genes are expressed
      specifically in the salivary glands of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.
      Fifteen unique cDNA fragments, ranging in size from 150 to 550 bp, were isolated
      and sequenced in a first round of immunoscreening in COS-7 cells. All but one of
      the cDNAs contained putative signal sequences at their 5' ends, suggesting that
      they were likely to encode secreted or transmembrane proteins. Expression
      analysis by reverse transcription-PCR showed that at least six cDNA fragments
      were expressed specifically in the salivary glands. Fragments showing a high
      degree of similarity to D7 and apyrase, two salivary gland-specific genes
      previously found in Aedes aegypti, were identified. Of interest, three different
      D7-related cDNAs that are likely to represent a new gene family were found in An.
      gambiae. Moreover, three salivary gland-specific cDNA fragments that do not show
      similarity to known proteins in the databases were identified, and the
      corresponding full length cDNAs were cloned and sequenced. RNA in situ
      hybridization to whole female salivary glands showed patterns of expression that
      overlap only in part those observed in the culicine mosquito A. aegypti.

PMID- 9990056
TI  - Odortypes: their origin and composition.
AB  - Odors that distinguish one individual from another member of the species and are
      determined by polymorphic genes are called odortypes. Odortypes and their
      considerable societal significance have been studied intimately only in mice and
      mainly with respect to the genes of the major histocompatibility complex. Further
      understanding and the matter of human relevance have been hampered by the
      apparent restriction of odortype expression to urine. The present finding that
      odorants comprising prerenal odortypes are already present in blood, albeit in
      masked form, affords the basis of a comprehensive view of odortypes. Accordingly,
      major histocompatibility complex and other polymorphic genes of antiquity are
      seen inter alia as agents of normal variation, which entails quantitative
      variation in output of odorant metabolites. Relatively few such normal variations
      should suffice for a vast range of compound odors whose specificity is determined
      by combinative assortment of the same set of individual volatile compounds.

PMID- 9990057
TI  - Recombination and transcription of the endogenous Ig heavy chain locus is
      effected by the Ig heavy chain intronic enhancer core region in the absence of
      the matrix attachment regions.
AB  - The intronic Ig heavy chain (IgH) enhancer, which consists of the core enhancer
      flanked by 5' and 3' matrix attachment regions, has been implicated in control of
      IgH locus recombination and transcription. To elucidate the regulatory functions
      of the core enhancer and its associated matrix attachment regions in the
      endogenous IgH locus, we have introduced targeted deletions of these elements,
      both individually and in combination, into an IgHa/b-heterozygous embryonic stem
      cell line. These embryonic stem cells were used to generate chimeric mice by
      recombination activating gene-2 (Rag-2)-deficient blastocyst complementation, and
      the effects of the introduced mutations were assayed in mutant B cells. We find
      that the core enhancer is necessary and sufficient to promote normal variable
      (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) segment recombination in developing B lineage
      cells and IgH locus transcription in mature B cells. Surprisingly, the 5' and 3'
      matrix attachment regions were dispensable for these processes.

PMID- 9990058
TI  - Immune regulatory loops determine productive interactions within human T
      lymphocyte-dendritic cell clusters.
AB  - Help for the induction of cytolytic T lymphocytes is mediated by dendritic cells
      (DC) that are conditioned by CD40 signaling. We identified tumor necrosis factor
      family member CD27L/CD70, which is expressed by cytolytic T lymphocytes on
      interaction with DC to control CD154 (CD40L) up-regulation on CD45RA+ helper T
      cells for subsequent DC stimulation. The results show that the initiation of a
      cytolytic immune response is determined by regulatory circuits, requiring
      simultaneous activation and differentiation of all cells involved in T lymphocyte
      DC cluster formation.

PMID- 9990059
TI  - T cell receptor gene deletion circles identify recent thymic emigrants in the
      peripheral T cell pool.
AB  - Progenitor cells undergo T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements during their
      intrathymic differentiation to become T cells. Rearrangements of the variable
      (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) segments of the TCR genes result in deletion
      of the intervening chromosomal DNA and the formation of circular episomes as a
      byproduct. Detection of these extrachromosomal excision circles in T cells
      located in the peripheral lymphoid tissues has been viewed as evidence for the
      existence of extrathymic T cell generation. Because all of the T cells in
      chickens apparently are generated in the thymus, we have employed this avian
      model to determine the fate of the V(D)J deletion circles. In normal animals we
      identified TCR Vgamma-Jgamma and Vbeta-Dbeta deletion circles in the blood,
      spleen, and intestines, as well as in the thymus. Thymectomy resulted in the
      gradual loss of these DNA deletion circles in all of the peripheral lymphoid
      tissues. A quantitative PCR analysis of Vgamma1-Jgamma1 and Vbeta1-Dbeta deletion
      circles in splenic gamma delta and Vbeta1(+) alphabeta T cells indicated that
      their numbers progressively decline after thymectomy with a half-life of
      approximately 2 weeks. Although TCR deletion circles therefore cannot be regarded
      as reliable indicators of in situ V(D)J rearrangement, measuring their levels in
      peripheral T cell samples can provide a valuable index of newly generated T cells
      entering the T cell pool.

PMID- 9990060
TI  - GA-binding protein factors, in concert with the coactivator CREB binding
      protein/p300, control the induction of the interleukin 16 promoter in T
      lymphocytes.
AB  - Interleukin 16 (IL-16) is a chemotactic cytokine that binds to the CD4 receptor
      and affects the activation of T cells and replication of HIV. It is expressed as
      a large 67-kDa precursor protein (pro-IL-16) in lymphocytes, macrophages, and
      mast cells, as well as in airway epithelial cells from asthmatics after challenge
      with allergen. This pro-IL-16 is subsequently processed to the mature cytokine of
      13 kDa. To study the expression of IL-16 at the transcriptional level, we cloned
      the human chromosomal IL-16 gene and analyzed its promoter. The human IL-16 gene
      consists of seven exons and six introns. The 5' sequences up to nucleotide -120
      of the human and murine IL-16 genes share >84% sequence homology and harbor
      promoter elements for constitutive and inducible transcription in T cells.
      Although both promoters lack any TATA box, they contain two CAAT box-like motifs
      and three binding sites of GA-binding protein (GABP) transcription factors. Two
      of these motifs are part of a highly conserved and inducible dyad symmetry
      element shown previously to control a remote IL-2 enhancer and the CD18 promoter.
      In concert with the coactivator CREB binding protein/p300, which interacts with
      GABPalpha, the binding of GABPalpha and -beta to the dyad symmetry element
      controls the induction of IL-16 promoter in T cells. Supplementing the data on
      the processing of pro-IL-16, our results indicate the complexity of IL-16
      expression, which is tightly controlled at the transcriptional and
      posttranslational levels in T lymphocytes.

PMID- 9990061
TI  - Multivalent structure of an alphabetaT cell receptor.
AB  - Whether there is one or multiple alphabetaT cell antigen receptor (TCR)
      recognition modules in a given TCR/CD3 complex is a long-standing controversy in
      immunology. We show that T cells from transgenic mice that coexpress comparable
      amounts of two distinct TCRbeta chains incorporate at least two alphabetaTCRs in
      a single TCR/CD3 complex. Evidence for bispecific alphabetaTCRs was obtained by
      immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting and confirmed on the surface of living
      cells both by fluorescence resonance energy transfer and comodulation assays by
      using antibodies specific for TCRbeta-variable regions. Such (alphabeta)2TCR/CD3
      or higher-order complexes were evident in T cells studied either ex vivo or after
      expansion in vitro. T cell activation is thought by many, but not all, to require
      TCR cross-linking by its antigen/major histocompatibility complex ligand. The
      implications of a multivalent (alphabeta)2TCR/CD3 complex stoichiometry for the
      ordered docking of specific antigen/major histocompatibility complex, CD4, or CD8
      coreceptors and additional TCRs are discussed.

PMID- 9990062
TI  - A gene therapy for cancer using intramuscular injection of plasmid DNA encoding
      interferon alpha.
AB  - A cancer treatment is described in which i.m. injection of plasmid DNA (pDNA)
      encoding murine interferon alpha (mIFN-alpha) leads to potent antitumor effects
      on primary and metastatic tumors in mice. Mice bearing s.c. B16F10 melanoma,
      Cloudman melanoma, or glioma 261 tumors were injected i.m. with mIFN-alpha pDNA.
      In all three tumor models, a significant reduction in tumor volume and
      enhancement of survival was found after IFN pDNA therapy. The mIFN-alpha pDNA
      could be injected as infrequently as once every other week and still produce a
      significant antitumor effect, and, in a metastatic tumor model, the therapy
      markedly reduced the number of lung tumor metastases. Depletion of immune cell
      subsets indicated that CD8(+) T cells were required for the antitumor response.
      These studies demonstrate that primary and metastatic tumors can be treated
      systemically by i.m. injection of a plasmid encoding a cytokine gene.

PMID- 9990063
TI  - On the mechanism by which vascular endothelial cells regulate their oxygen
      consumption.
AB  - Two enzymes, soluble guanylyl cyclase and cytochrome c oxidase, have been shown
      to be exquisitely sensitive to nitric oxide (NO) at low physiological
      concentrations. Activation of the soluble guanylyl cyclase by endogenous NO and
      the consequent increase in the second messenger cyclic GMP are now known to
      control a variety of biological functions. Cytochrome c oxidase, the terminal
      enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, is inhibited by NO. However, it is
      not clear whether NO produced by the constitutive NO synthase interacts with
      cytochrome c oxidase, nor is it known what the biological consequences of such an
      interaction might be. We now show that NO generated by vascular endothelial cells
      under basal and stimulated conditions modulates the respiration of these cells in
      response to acute changes in oxygen concentration. This action occurs at the
      cytochrome c oxidase and depends on influx of calcium. Thus, NO plays a
      physiological role in adjusting the capacity of this enzyme to use oxygen,
      allowing endothelial cells to adapt to acute changes in their environment.

PMID- 9990064
TI  - Mutation of Pten/Mmac1 in mice causes neoplasia in multiple organ systems.
AB  - Pten/Mmac1+/- heterozygous mice exhibited neoplasms in multiple organs including
      the endometrium, liver, prostate, gastrointestinal tract, thyroid, and thymus.
      Loss of the wild-type allele was detected in neoplasms of the thymus and liver.
      Surprisingly, tumors of the gastrointestinal epithelium developed in association
      with gut lymphoid tissue. Tumors of the endometrium, thyroid, prostate, and liver
      were not associated with lymphoid tissue and appeared to be highly mitotic. In
      addition, these mice have nonneoplastic hyperplasia of lymph nodes that was
      caused by an inherited defect in apoptosis detected in B cells and macrophages.
      Examination of peripheral lymphoid tissue including lymphoid aggregates
      associated with polyps revealed that the normal organization of B and T cells was
      disrupted in heterozygous animals. Taken together, these data suggest that PTEN
      is a regulator of apoptosis and proliferation that behaves as a "landscaper"
      tumor suppressor in the gut and a "gatekeeper" tumor suppressor in other organs.

PMID- 9990065
TI  - Prototypic G protein-coupled receptor for the intestinotrophic factor glucagon
      like peptide 2.
AB  - Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is a 33-aa proglucagon-derived peptide produced
      by intestinal enteroendocrine cells. GLP-2 stimulates intestinal growth and up
      regulates villus height in the small intestine, concomitant with increased crypt
      cell proliferation and decreased enterocyte apoptosis. Moreover, GLP-2 prevents
      intestinal hypoplasia resulting from total parenteral nutrition. However, the
      mechanism underlying these actions has remained unclear. Here we report the
      cloning and characterization of cDNAs encoding rat and human GLP-2 receptors (GLP
      2R), a G protein-coupled receptor superfamily member expressed in the gut and
      closely related to the glucagon and GLP-1 receptors. The human GLP-2R gene maps
      to chromosome 17p13.3. Cells expressing the GLP-2R responded to GLP-2, but not
      GLP-1 or related peptides, with increased cAMP production (EC50 = 0.58 nM) and
      displayed saturable high-affinity radioligand binding (Kd = 0.57 nM), which could
      be displaced by synthetic rat GLP-2 (Ki = 0.06 nM). GLP-2 analogs that activated
      GLP-2R signal transduction in vitro displayed intestinotrophic activity in vivo.
      These results strongly suggest that GLP-2, like glucagon and GLP-1, exerts its
      actions through a distinct and specific novel receptor expressed in its principal
      target tissue, the gastrointestinal tract.

PMID- 9990066
TI  - Multinuclear solid-state three-dimensional MRI of bone and synthetic calcium
      phosphates.
AB  - Multinuclear three-dimensional solid-state MRI of bone, tooth, and synthetic
      calcium phosphates is demonstrated in vitro and in vivo with a projection
      reconstruction technique based on acquisition of free induction decays in the
      presence of fixed amplitude magnetic field gradients. Phosphorus-31 solid-state
      MRI provides direct images of the calcium phosphate constituents of bone
      substance and is a quantitative measurement of the true volumetric bone mineral
      density of the bone. Proton solid-state MRI shows the density of bone matrix
      including its organic constituents, which consist principally of collagen. These
      solid-state MRI methods promise to yield a biological picture of bone richer in
      information concerning the bone composition and short range-crystalline order
      than the fluid-state images provided by conventional proton MRI or the density
      images produced by radiologic imaging techniques. Three-dimensional solid-state
      projection reconstruction MRI should be readily adaptable to both human clinical
      use and nonmedical applications for a variety of solids in materials science.

PMID- 9990067
TI  - Association of HFE protein with transferrin receptor in crypt enterocytes of
      human duodenum.
AB  - In hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), intestinal absorption of dietary iron is
      increased, leading to excessive iron accumulation in tissues and resultant organ
      damage. The HFE protein, which is defective in HH, normally is expressed in crypt
      enterocytes of the duodenum where it has a unique, predominantly intracellular
      localization. In placenta, the HFE protein colocalizes with and forms a stable
      association with the transferrin receptor (TfR), providing a link between the HFE
      protein and iron transport. In the present study, we examined the relationship of
      the HFE protein to the TfR in enterocytes of the human duodenum and measured the
      uptake of transferrin-bound iron and ionic iron by isolated crypt and villus
      enterocytes. Immunocytochemistry showed that the HFE protein and TfR both are
      expressed in the crypt enterocytes. Western blots showed that, as was the case in
      human placenta, the HFE protein in crypt enterocytes is physically associated
      with the TfR and with beta2-microglobulin. The crypt cell fraction exhibited
      dramatically higher transferrin-bound iron uptake than villus cells. On the other
      hand, the villus cells showed 2-3 times higher uptake of ionic iron than crypt
      cells. We propose that the HFE protein modulates the uptake of transferrin-bound
      iron from plasma by crypt enterocytes and participates in the mechanism by which
      the crypt enterocytes sense the level of body iron stores. Impairment of this
      function caused by HFE gene mutations in HH could provide a paradoxical signal in
      crypt enterocytes that programs the differentiating enterocytes to absorb more
      dietary iron when they mature into villus enterocytes.

PMID- 9990068
TI  - Mouse steroid receptor coactivator-1 is not essential for peroxisome proliferator
      activated receptor alpha-regulated gene expression.
AB  - Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-dependent
      transcription factors, and it is assumed that the biological effects of these
      receptors depend on interactions with recently identified coactivators, including
      steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1). We assessed the in vivo function of SRC-1
      on the PPARalpha-regulated gene expression in liver by generating mice in which
      the SRC-1 gene was inactivated by gene targeting. The homozygous (SRC-1(-/-))
      mice were viable and fertile and exhibited no detectable gross phenotypic
      defects. When challenged with a PPARalpha ligand, such as ciprofibrate or Wy
      14,643, the SRC-1(-/-) mice displayed typical pleiotropic responses, including
      hepatomegaly, peroxisome proliferation in hepatocytes, and increased mRNA and
      protein levels of genes that are regulated by PPARalpha. These alterations were
      indistinguishable from those exhibited by SRC-1(+/+) wild-type mice fed either
      ciprofibrate- or Wy-14, 643-containing diets. These results indicate that SRC-1
      is not essential for PPARalpha-mediated transcriptional activation in vivo and
      suggest redundancy in nuclear receptor coactivators.

PMID- 9990069
TI  - Synergy between an antiangiogenic integrin alphav antagonist and an antibody
      cytokine fusion protein eradicates spontaneous tumor metastases.
AB  - The suppression and eradication of primary tumors and distant metastases is a
      major goal of alternative treatment strategies for cancer, such as inhibition of
      angiogenesis and targeted immunotherapy. We report here a synergy between two
      novel monotherapies directed against vascular and tumor compartments,
      respectively, a tumor vasculature-specific antiangiogenic integrin alphav
      antagonist and tumor-specific antibody-interleukin 2 (IL-2) fusion proteins.
      Simultaneous and sequential combination of these monotherapies effectively
      eradicated spontaneous liver metastases in a poorly immunogenic syngeneic model
      of neuroblastoma. This was in contrast to controls subjected to monotherapies
      with either an antiangiogenic integrin alphav antagonist or antibody-IL-2 fusion
      proteins, which were only partially effective at the dose levels applied.
      Furthermore, simultaneous treatments with the integrin alphav antagonist and
      tumor-specific antibody-IL-2 fusion proteins induced dramatic primary tumor
      regressions in three syngeneic murine tumor models, i.e., melanoma, colon
      carcinoma, and neuroblastoma. However, each agent used as monotherapy induced
      only a delay in tumor growth. A mechanism for this synergism was suggested
      because the antitumor response was accompanied by a simultaneous 50% reduction in
      tumor vessel density and a 5-fold increase in inflammatory cells in the tumor
      microenvironment. Subsequently, tumor necrosis was demonstrated only in animals
      receiving the combination therapy, but not when each agent was applied as
      monotherapy. The results suggest that these synergistic treatment modalities may
      provide a novel and effective tool for future therapies of metastatic cancer.

PMID- 9990070
TI  - Regulation of selectin binding activity by cyclization of sialic acid moiety of
      carbohydrate ligands on human leukocytes.
AB  - We provide here evidence that supports the occurrence of a biologically dormant
      form of selectin ligand carbohydrate, the sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X containing
      modified sialic acid, in human leukocytes. The modification of sialic acid
      involves first de-N-acetylation of sialic acid moiety through ubiquitous de-N
      acetylation/re-N-acetylation cycle, followed by the dehydrative cyclization of de
      N-acetyl sialic acid to form "cyclic sialic acid." The enzyme involved in the
      dehydration of de-N-acetyl sialic acid is a calcium-dependent enzyme having
      neutral-alkaline pH optimum. De-N-acetyl sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X retained selectin
      binding activity as well as parental sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X, but cyclic sialyl 6
      sulfo Lewis X was devoid of selectin binding activity. Sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X
      carrying the cyclic sialic acid is specifically recognized by the newly generated
      mAb, G159. The determinant was distributed widely among normal human leukocytes,
      especially on monocytes and subsets of lymphocytes including NK cells, helper
      memory T cells, Tcr-gammadelta T cells, and a part of B cells. The determinant
      was detected also on several cultured lymphocytic leukemia cell lines and O
      tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate-activated lymphoid cells. Cyclic sialyl 6-sulfo
      Lewis X is efficiently formed by the action of the partly membrane-bound calcium
      dependent enzyme, tentatively called "sialic acid cyclase," and a possible
      physiological significance of this reaction could be a rapid inactivation of
      selectin binding activity at the cell surface. Conversely, the accumulated
      intracellular cyclic sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X determinant may function as a dormant
      pool of selectin ligands, which, on appropriate stimulation, is hydrolyzed and
      becomes active in selectin-dependent cell adhesion.

PMID- 9990071
TI  - Target genes of beta-catenin-T cell-factor/lymphoid-enhancer-factor signaling in
      human colorectal carcinomas.
AB  - Mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli or beta-catenin gene lead to
      cytosolic accumulation of beta-catenin and, subsequently, to increased
      transcriptional activity of the beta-catenin-T cell-factor/lymphoid-enhancer
      factor complex. This process seems to play an essential role in the development
      of most colorectal carcinomas. To identify genes activated by beta-catenin
      overexpression, we used colorectal cell lines for transfection with the beta
      catenin gene and searched for genes differentially expressed in the
      transfectants. There are four genes affected by beta-catenin overexpression;
      three overexpressed genes code for two components of the AP-1 transcription
      complex, c-jun and fra-1, and for the urokinase-type plasminogen activator
      receptor (uPAR), whose transcription is activated by AP-1. The direct interaction
      of the beta-catenin-T cell-factor/lymphoid-enhancer-factor complex with the
      promoter region of c-jun and fra-1 was shown in a gel shift assay. The
      concomitant increase in beta-catenin expression and the amount of uPAR was
      confirmed in primary colon carcinomas and their liver metastases at both the mRNA
      and the protein levels. High expression of beta-catenin in transfectants, as well
      as in additionally analyzed colorectal cell lines, was associated with decreased
      expression of ZO-1, which is involved in epithelial polarization. Thus,
      accumulation of beta-catenin indirectly affects the expression of uPAR in vitro
      and in vivo. Together with the other alterations, beta-catenin accumulation may
      contribute to the development and progression of colon carcinoma both by
      dedifferentiation and through proteolytic activity.

PMID- 9990072
TI  - Activating and dominant inactivating c-KIT catalytic domain mutations in distinct
      clinical forms of human mastocytosis.
AB  - Human mastocytosis is characterized by increased mast cells. It usually occurs as
      a sporadic disease that is often transient and limited in children and persistent
      or progressive in adults. The c-KIT protooncogene encodes KIT, a tyrosine kinase
      that is the receptor for mast cell growth factor. Because mutated KIT can
      transform cells, we examined c-KIT in skin lesions of 22 patients with sporadic
      mastocytosis and 3 patients with familial mastocytosis. All patients with adult
      sporadic mastocytosis had somatic c-KIT mutations in codon 816 causing
      substitution of valine for aspartate and spontaneous activation of mast cell
      growth factor receptor (P = 0.0001). A subset of four pediatric onset cases with
      clinically unusual disease also had codon 816 activating mutations substituting
      valine, tyrosine, or phenylalanine for aspartate. Typical pediatric patients
      lacked 816 mutations, but limited sequencing showed three of six had a novel
      dominant inactivating mutation substituting lysine for glutamic acid in position
      839, the site of a potential salt bridge that is highly conserved in receptor
      tyrosine kinases. No c-KIT mutations were found in the entire coding region of
      three patients with familial mastocytosis. We conclude that c-KIT somatic
      mutations substituting valine in position 816 of KIT are characteristic of
      sporadic adult mastocytosis and may cause this disease. Similar mutations causing
      activation of the mast cell growth factor receptor are found in children
      apparently at risk for extensive or persistent disease. In contrast, typical
      pediatric mastocytosis patients lack these mutations and may express inactivating
      c-KIT mutations. Familial mastocytosis, however, may occur in the absence of c
      KIT coding mutations.

PMID- 9990073
TI  - Immunogenicity and in vitro protective efficacy of a recombinant multistage
      Plasmodium falciparum candidate vaccine.
AB  - Compared with a single-stage antigen-based vaccine, a multistage and multivalent
      Plasmodium falciparum vaccine would be more efficacious by inducing "multiple
      layers" of immunity. We have constructed a synthetic gene that encodes for 12 B
      cell, 6 T cell proliferative, and 3 cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes derived from
      9 stage-specific P. falciparum antigens corresponding to the sporozoite, liver,
      erythrocytic asexual, and sexual stages. The gene was expressed in the
      baculovirus system, and a 41-kDa antigen, termed CDC/NIIMALVAC-1, was purified.
      Immunization in rabbits with the purified protein in the presence of different
      adjuvants generated antibody responses that recognized vaccine antigen, linear
      peptides contained in the vaccine, and all stages of P. falciparum. In vitro
      assays of protection revealed that the vaccine-elicited antibodies strongly
      inhibited sporozoite invasion of hepatoma cells and growth of blood-stage
      parasites in the presence of monocytes. These observations demonstrate that a
      multicomponent, multistage malaria vaccine can induce immune responses that
      inhibit parasite development at multiple stages. The rationale and approach used
      in the development of a multicomponent P. falciparum vaccine will be useful in
      the development of a multispecies human malaria vaccine and vaccines against
      other infectious diseases.

PMID- 9990074
TI  - Allelic association between marker loci.
AB  - Allelic association has proven useful to refine the location of major genes prior
      to positional cloning, but it is of uncertain value for genome scans in complex
      inheritance. We have extended kinship theory to give information content for
      linkage and allelic association. Application to pairs of closely linked markers
      as a surrogate for marker x oligogene pairs indicates that association is largely
      determined by regional founders, with little effect of subsequent demography. Sub
      Saharan Africa has the least allelic association, consistent with settlement of
      other regions by small numbers of founders. Recent speculation about substantial
      advantages of isolates over large populations, of constant size over expansion,
      and of F1 hybrids over incrosses is not supported by theory or data. On the
      contrary, fewer affected cases, less opportunity for replication, and more
      stochastic variation tend to make isolates less informative for allelic
      association, as they are for linkage.

PMID- 9990075
TI  - Human single-chain Fv immunoconjugates targeted to a melanoma-associated
      chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan mediate specific lysis of human melanoma cells
      by natural killer cells and complement.
AB  - Two antimelanoma immunoconjugates containing a human single-chain Fv (scFv)
      targeting domain conjugated to the Fc effector domain of human IgG1 were
      synthesized as secreted two-chain molecules in Chinese hamster ovary and
      Drosophila S2 cells, and purified by affinity chromatography on protein A. The
      scFv targeting domains originally were isolated as melanoma-specific clones from
      a scFv fusion-phage library, derived from the antibody repertoire of a vaccinated
      melanoma patient. The purified immunoconjugates showed similar binding
      specificity as did the fusion-phage clones. Binding occurred to human melanoma
      cells but not to human melanocytes or to several other types of normal cells and
      tumor cells. A 250-kDa melanoma protein was immunoprecipitated by the
      immunoconjugates and analyzed by mass spectrometry, using two independent
      procedures. A screen of protein sequence databases showed an exact match of
      several peptide masses between the immunoprecipitated protein and the core
      protein of a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, which is expressed on the surface
      of most human melanoma cells. The Fc effector domain of the immunoconjugates
      binds natural killer (NK) cells and also the C1q protein that initiates the
      complement cascade; both NK cells and complement can activate powerful cytolytic
      responses against the targeted tumor cells. An in vitro cytolysis assay was used
      to test for an immunoconjugate-dependent specific cytolytic response against
      cultured human melanoma cells by NK cells and complement. The melanoma cells, but
      not the human fibroblast cells used as the control, were efficiently lysed by
      both NK cells and complement in the presence of the immunoconjugates. The in
      vitro results suggest that the immunoconjugates also could activate a specific
      cytolytic immune response against melanoma tumors in vivo.

PMID- 9990076
TI  - Epiregulin is a potent vascular smooth muscle cell-derived mitogen induced by
      angiotensin II, endothelin-1, and thrombin.
AB  - Vasoactive GTP-binding protein-coupled receptor agonists such as angiotensin II
      (AII), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and alpha-thrombin (alpha-Thr) have been reported to
      indirectly stimulate vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation by
      regulating the expression of one or more autocrine growth factors. Using ion
      exchange, gel-filtration, and reverse-phase chromatographic purification methods,
      we isolated a major mitogenic protein present in AII-stimulated rat aortic smooth
      muscle (RASM) cell conditioned medium. Twenty N-terminal amino acids of the
      purified peptide were identified, and they had 75% amino acid sequence identity
      with mouse epiregulin, an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-related growth factor. We
      cloned the cDNA for rat epiregulin to determine its pattern of expression in G
      protein-coupled receptor agonist-stimulated cells and confirm its activity as a
      mitogen. After treatment of RASM cells with AII, ET-1, or alpha-Thr for 1 h,
      induction of two epiregulin transcripts was observed, including a 4.8-kb
      transcript and a novel transcript of approximately 1.2 kb. Recombinant rat
      epiregulin was strongly mitogenic for RASM cells, stimulating DNA synthesis to
      levels similar to those induced by serum or platelet-derived growth factor and
      approximately 3-fold above that observed with saturating concentrations of EGF.
      In addition, epiregulin caused rapid EGF receptor activation in RASM cells.
      However, relative levels of EGF receptor tyrosine phosphorylation stimulated by
      epiregulin were less than those induced by EGF or betacellulin. Taken together,
      these results indicate that epiregulin is a potent VSMC-secreted mitogen, induced
      in common by AII, ET-1, and alpha-Thr, that may contribute to VSMC proliferation
      and vascular remodeling stimulated by vasoactive agonists.

PMID- 9990077
TI  - Quorum sensing in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Vibrio harveyi: a
      new family of genes responsible for autoinducer production.
AB  - In bacteria, the regulation of gene expression in response to changes in cell
      density is called quorum sensing. Quorum-sensing bacteria produce, release, and
      respond to hormone-like molecules (autoinducers) that accumulate in the external
      environment as the cell population grows. In the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi
      two parallel quorum-sensing systems exist, and each is composed of a sensor
      autoinducer pair. V. harveyi reporter strains capable of detecting only
      autoinducer 1 (AI-1) or autoinducer 2 (AI-2) have been constructed and used to
      show that many species of bacteria, including Escherichia coli MG1655, E. coli
      O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium 14028, and S. typhimurium LT2 produce
      autoinducers similar or identical to the V. harveyi system 2 autoinducer AI-2.
      However, the domesticated laboratory strain E. coli DH5alpha does not produce
      this signal molecule. Here we report the identification and analysis of the gene
      responsible for AI-2 production in V. harveyi, S. typhimurium, and E. coli. The
      genes, which we have named luxSV.h., luxSS.t., and luxSE.c. respectively, are
      highly homologous to one another but not to any other identified gene. E. coli
      DH5alpha can be complemented to AI-2 production by the introduction of the luxS
      gene from V. harveyi or E. coli O157:H7. Analysis of the E. coli DH5alpha
      luxSE.c. gene shows that it contains a frameshift mutation resulting in premature
      truncation of the LuxSE.c. protein. Our results indicate that the luxS genes
      define a new family of autoinducer-production genes.

PMID- 9990078
TI  - In vivo transposition of mariner-based elements in enteric bacteria and
      mycobacteria.
AB  - mariner family transposons are widespread among eukaryotic organisms. These
      transposons are apparently horizontally transmitted among diverse eukaryotes and
      can also transpose in vitro in the absence of added cofactors. Here we show that
      transposons derived from the mariner element Himar1 can efficiently transpose in
      bacteria in vivo. We have developed simple transposition systems by using
      minitransposons, made up of short inverted repeats flanking antibiotic resistance
      markers. These elements can efficiently transpose after expression of transposase
      from an appropriate bacterial promoter. We found that transposition of mariner
      based elements in Escherichia coli produces diverse insertion mutations in either
      a targeted plasmid or a chromosomal gene. With Himar1-derived transposons we were
      able to isolate phage-resistant mutants of both E. coli and Mycobacterium
      smegmatis. mariner-based transposons will provide valuable tools for mutagenesis
      and genetic manipulation of bacteria that currently lack well developed genetic
      systems.

PMID- 9990079
TI  - Origin and evolution of the 1918 "Spanish" influenza virus hemagglutinin gene.
AB  - The "Spanish" influenza pandemic killed over 20 million people in 1918 and 1919,
      making it the worst infectious pandemic in history. Here, we report the complete
      sequence of the hemagglutinin (HA) gene of the 1918 virus. Influenza RNA for the
      analysis was isolated from a formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung tissue sample
      prepared during the autopsy of a victim of the influenza pandemic in 1918.
      Influenza RNA was also isolated from lung tissue samples from two additional
      victims of the lethal 1918 influenza: one formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded
      sample and one frozen sample obtained by in situ biopsy of the lung of a victim
      buried in permafrost since 1918. The complete coding sequence of the A/South
      Carolina/1/18 HA gene was obtained. The HA1 domain sequence was confirmed by
      using the two additional isolates (A/New York/1/18 and A/Brevig Mission/1/18).
      The sequences show little variation. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the 1918
      virus HA gene, although more closely related to avian strains than any other
      mammalian sequence, is mammalian and may have been adapting in humans before
      1918.

PMID- 9990080
TI  - Localization of Niemann-Pick C1 protein in astrocytes: implications for neuronal
      degeneration in Niemann- Pick type C disease.
AB  - Niemann-Pick type C disease (NP-C) is an inherited neurovisceral lipid storage
      disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Most cases of NP-C
      result from inactivating mutations of NPC1, a recently identified member of a
      family of genes encoding membrane-bound proteins containing putative sterol
      sensing domains. By using a specific antipeptide antibody to human NPC1, we have
      here investigated the cellular and subcellular localization and regulation of
      NPC1. By light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry of monkey brain, NPC1
      was expressed predominantly in perisynaptic astrocytic glial processes. At a
      subcellular level, NPC1 localized to vesicles with the morphological
      characteristics of lysosomes and to sites near the plasma membrane. Analysis of
      the temporal and spatial pattern of neurodegeneration in the NP-C mouse, a
      spontaneous mutant model of human NP-C, by amino-cupric-silver staining, showed
      that the terminal fields of axons and dendrites are the earliest sites of
      degeneration that occur well before the appearance of a neurological phenotype.
      Western blots of cultured human fibroblasts and monkey brain homogenates revealed
      NPC1 as a 165-kDa protein. NPC1 levels in cultured fibroblasts were unchanged by
      incubation with low density lipoproteins or oxysterols but were increased 2- to 3
      fold by the drugs progesterone and U-18666A, which block cholesterol transport
      out of lysosomes, and by the lysosomotropic agent NH4Cl. These studies show that
      NPC1 in brain is predominantly a glial protein present in astrocytic processes
      closely associated with nerve terminals, the earliest site of degeneration in NP
      C. Given the vesicular localization of NPC1 and its proposed role in mediating
      retroendocytic trafficking of cholesterol and other lysosomal cargo, these
      results suggest that disruption of NPC1-mediated vesicular trafficking in
      astrocytes may be linked to neuronal degeneration in NP-C.

PMID- 9990081
TI  - Functional MRI reveals spatially specific attentional modulation in human primary
      visual cortex.
AB  - Selective visual attention can strongly influence perceptual processing, even for
      apparently low-level visual stimuli. Although it is largely accepted that
      attention modulates neural activity in extrastriate visual cortex, the extent to
      which attention operates in the first cortical stage, striate visual cortex (area
      V1), remains controversial. Here, functional MRI was used at high field strength
      (3 T) to study humans during attentionally demanding visual discriminations.
      Similar, robust attentional modulations were observed in both striate and
      extrastriate cortical areas. Functional mapping of cortical retinotopy
      demonstrates that attentional modulations were spatially specific, enhancing
      responses to attended stimuli and suppressing responses when attention was
      directed elsewhere. The spatial pattern of modulation reveals a complex
      attentional window that is consistent with object-based attention but is
      inconsistent with a simple attentional spotlight. These data suggest that neural
      processing in V1 is not governed simply by sensory stimulation, but, like
      extrastriate regions, V1 can be strongly and specifically influenced by
      attention.

PMID- 9990082
TI  - Covariation of activity in visual and prefrontal cortex associated with
      subjective visual perception.
AB  - Visual areas of the occipitotemporal pathway are thought to be essential for the
      conscious perception of objects, but the contribution of other cortical regions
      and the neural mechanisms leading to the awareness of a visual stimulus remain
      unclear. By using functional MRI in humans exposed to bistable viewing
      conditions, subjective visual perception was related to covariation of activity
      in multiple extrastriate ventral, parietal, and prefrontal cortical areas. The
      coordination of activity among these regions was not linked to external sensory
      or motor events; rather, it reflected internal changes in perception and varied
      in strength with the frequency of perceptual events, suggesting that functional
      interactions between visual and prefrontal cortex may contribute to conscious
      vision. Because similar cortical systems have been implicated in short-term
      memory and motor planning, the results also imply that related neural processes
      may underlie visual awareness and the organization of voluntary behavior
      contingent on sensory cues.

PMID- 9990083
TI  - Dynamics of tremor-related oscillations in the human globus pallidus: a single
      case study.
AB  - Physiological evidence indicates that the resting tremor of Parkinson's disease
      originates in oscillatory neural activity in the forebrain, but it is unknown
      whether that activity is globally synchronized or consists of parallel,
      independently oscillating circuits. In the present study, we used dual
      microelectrodes to record tremor-related neuronal activity from eight sites in
      the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) from an awake Parkinson's
      disease patient undergoing stereotaxic pallidotomy. We utilized spectral analysis
      to evaluate the temporal correlations between multiunit activity at spatially
      separated sites and between neural and limb electromyographic activity. We
      observed that some GPi neural pairs oscillated synchronously at the tremor
      frequency, whereas other neural pairs oscillated independently. Additionally, we
      found that GPi tremor-related activity at a given site could fluctuate between
      states of synchronization and independence with respect to upper limb tremor.
      Consistent with this finding, some paired recording sites within GPi showed
      periods of transient synchronization. These observations support the hypothesis
      of independent tremor-generating circuits whose coupling can fluctuate over time.

PMID- 9990084
TI  - A subcortical pathway to the right amygdala mediating "unseen" fear.
AB  - Neuroimaging studies have shown differential amygdala responses to masked
      ("unseen") emotional stimuli. How visual signals related to such unseen stimuli
      access the amygdala is unknown. A possible pathway, involving the superior
      colliculus and pulvinar, is suggested by observations of patients with striate
      cortex lesions who show preserved abilities to localize and discriminate visual
      stimuli that are not consciously perceived ("blindsight"). We used measures of
      right amygdala neural activity acquired from volunteer subjects viewing masked
      fear-conditioned faces to determine whether a colliculo-pulvinar pathway was
      engaged during processing of these unseen target stimuli. Increased connectivity
      between right amygdala, pulvinar, and superior colliculus was evident when fear
      conditioned faces were unseen rather than seen. Right amygdala connectivity with
      fusiform and orbitofrontal cortices decreased in the same condition. By contrast,
      the left amygdala, whose activity did not discriminate seen and unseen fear
      conditioned targets, showed no masking-dependent changes in connectivity with
      superior colliculus or pulvinar. These results suggest that a subcortical pathway
      to the right amygdala, via midbrain and thalamus, provides a route for processing
      behaviorally relevant unseen visual events in parallel to a cortical route
      necessary for conscious identification.

PMID- 9990085
TI  - The 70-kDa heat shock cognate protein (Hsc73) gene is enhanced by ovarian
      hormones in the ventromedial hypothalamus.
AB  - Estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) orchestrate many cellular responses involved in
      female reproductive physiology, including reproductive behaviors. E- and P
      binding neurons important for lordosis behavior have been located within the
      ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), and several hormone-responsive genes have been
      observed there as well. In attempts to identify additional E- and P-responsive
      genes in the VMH that may contribute to sexual behaviors, we used the
      differential display mRNA screening technique. One of the genes identified
      encodes the 73-kDa heat shock cognate protein (Hsc73). Quantitative in situ
      hybridization analysis of brains from naturally cycling female rats revealed a
      significant increase in Hsc73 mRNA in the VMH and arcuate nucleus of animals
      during proestrus compared with those at diestrus-1. To confirm that these
      increases were steroid hormone dependent, we compared vehicle-treated
      ovariectomized females with ovariectomized females treated with estradiol
      benzoate and P. Northern analysis and in situ hybridizations showed that the
      Hsc73 gene is enhanced by E and P in the pituitary and subregions of the VMH.
      Incidentally, by examining the primary amino acid sequence of rat, human, and
      chicken progesterone receptors, we noticed that putative Hsc73 binding sites are
      conserved across species with similar sites existing in the androgen and
      glucocorticoid receptors. Together these findings suggest a possible mechanism
      through which E could influence the activities of progesterone, androgen, and
      glucocorticoid receptors, by enhancing the expression of Hsc73 in cells where
      these proteins colocalize.

PMID- 9990086
TI  - Pronounced pharmacologic deficits in M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor
      knockout mice.
AB  - Members of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor family (M1-M5) are known to be
      involved in a great number of important central and peripheral physiological and
      pathophysiological processes. Because of the overlapping expression patterns of
      the M1-M5 muscarinic receptor subtypes and the lack of ligands endowed with
      sufficient subtype selectivity, the precise physiological functions of the
      individual receptor subtypes remain to be elucidated. To explore the
      physiological roles of the M2 muscarinic receptor, we have generated mice lacking
      functional M2 receptors by using targeted mutagenesis in mouse embryonic stem
      cells. The resulting mutant mice were analyzed in several behavioral and
      pharmacologic tests. These studies showed that the M2 muscarinic receptor
      subtype, besides its well documented involvement in the regulation of heart rate,
      plays a key role in mediating muscarinic receptor-dependent movement and
      temperature control as well as antinociceptive responses, three of the most
      prominent central muscarinic effects. These results offer a rational basis for
      the development of novel muscarinic drugs.

PMID- 9990087
TI  - Increased anxiety and altered responses to anxiolytics in mice deficient in the
      65-kDa isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase.
AB  - The larger isoform of the enzyme glutamate decarboxylase, GAD67, synthesizes >90%
      of basal levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. In contrast, the
      smaller isoform, GAD65, has been implicated in the fine-tuning of inhibitory
      neurotransmission. Mice deficient in GAD65 exhibit increased anxiety-like
      responses in both the open field and elevated zero maze assays. Additionally,
      GAD65-deficient mice have a diminished response to the anxiolytics diazepam and
      pentobarbital, both of which interact with GABA-A receptors in a GABA-dependent
      fashion to facilitate GABAergic neurotransmission. Loss of GAD65-generated GABA
      does not appear to result in compensatory postsynaptic GABA-A receptor changes
      based on radioligand receptor binding studies, which revealed no change in the
      postsynaptic GABA-A receptor density. Furthermore, mutant and wild-type animals
      do not differ in their behavioral response to muscimol, which acts independently
      of the presence of GABA. We propose that stress-induced GABA release is impaired
      in GAD65-deficient mice, resulting in increased anxiety-like responses and a
      diminished response to the acute effects of drugs that facilitate the actions of
      released GABA.

PMID- 9990088
TI  - Control of spine formation by electrical activity in the adult rat cerebellum.
AB  - Dendritic spines are a key structure in neuronal plasticity. Enhanced activity is
      commonly associated with an increase in spine size and density. Purkinje cell
      dendrites are characterized by a proximal and a distal compartment on which
      climbing fibers and parallel fibers, respectively, impinge. The proximal region
      has a very low spine density, whereas the distal region has a high density.
      Previous experiments showed that after climbing fiber deletion, Purkinje cells
      become hyperactive, and a large number of spines develop on the proximal
      dendrites. Here we show that the same hyperspiny transformation occurs in the
      proximal dendrites of adult Purkinje cells by depressing electrical activity with
      tetrodotoxin. Thus, spines in different dendritic compartments are created or
      maintained independently from the level of Purkinje cell-firing rate and when the
      afferent activity is blocked. This conclusion supports the view that spinogenesis
      is the expression of an intrinsic program and the two regions of the dendritic
      tree respond differently to activity block because of differences in the inputs
      that they receive. On tetrodotoxin treatment, climbing fibers become atrophic and
      may sprout thin collateral ramifications directed mainly toward the granular
      layer. All changes are reversible on tetrodotoxin removal. Therefore, Purkinje
      cells provide a model where spines in different compartments of the same neuron
      are differently regulated by the activity of their local afferents. In addition,
      electrical activity is also essential to maintain the full climbing fiber
      innervation.

PMID- 9990089
TI  - Two serine residues of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 are crucial for coupling
      the fluxes of sodium and the neurotransmitter.
AB  - The neurotoxicity of glutamate in the central nervous system is restricted by
      several (Na+ + K+)-coupled transporters for this neurotransmitter. The astroglial
      transporter GLT-1 is the only subtype that exhibits high sensitivity to the
      nontransportable glutamate analogue dihydrokainate. A marked reduction in
      sensitivity to the blocker is observed when serine residues 440 and 443 are
      mutated to glycine and glutamine, which, respectively, occupy these positions in
      the other homologous glutamate transporters. They are located in the ascending
      limb of the recently identified pore-loop-like structure. Strikingly, mutation of
      serine-440 to glycine enables not only sodium but also lithium ions to drive net
      influx of acidic amino acids. Moreover, the efficiency of lithium as a driving
      ion for glutamate transport depends on the nature of the amino acid residue
      present at position 443. Mutant transporters containing single cysteines at the
      position of either serine residue become sensitive to positively as well as
      negatively charged methanethiosulfonate derivatives. In S440C transporters
      significant protection against this inhibition is provided both by transportable
      and nontransportable glutamate analogues, but not by sodium alone. Our
      observations indicate that the pore-loop-like structure plays a pivotal role in
      coupling ion and glutamate fluxes and suggest that it is close to the glutamate
      binding site.

PMID- 9990090
TI  - Elimination of zinc from synaptic vesicles in the intact mouse brain by
      disruption of the ZnT3 gene.
AB  - The mammalian protein ZnT3 resides on synaptic vesicle membranes of zinc
      containing neurons, suggesting its possible role in vesicular zinc transport. We
      show here that histochemically reactive zinc, corresponding to the zinc found
      within synaptic vesicles, was undetectable in the brains of mice with targeted
      disruption of the ZnT3 gene. Total zinc levels in the hippocampus and cortex of
      these mice were reduced by about 20%. The ultrastructure of mossy fiber boutons,
      which normally store the highest levels of vesicular zinc, was unaffected. Mice
      with one normal ZnT3 allele had reduced levels of ZnT3 protein on synaptic
      vesicle membranes and had intermediate amounts of vesicular zinc. These results
      demonstrate that ZnT3 is required for transport of zinc into synaptic vesicles
      and suggest that vesicular zinc concentration is determined by the abundance of
      ZnT3.

PMID- 9990092
TI  - Disruption of the beta subunit of the epithelial Na+ channel in mice:
      hyperkalemia and neonatal death associated with a pseudohypoaldosteronism
      phenotype.
AB  - The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) is composed of three homologous subunits:
      alpha, beta and gamma. We used gene targeting to disrupt the beta subunit gene of
      ENaC in mice. The betaENaC-deficient mice showed normal prenatal development but
      died within 2 days after birth, most likely of hyperkalemia. In the -/- mice, we
      found an increased urine Na+ concentration despite hyponatremia and a decreased
      urine K+ concentration despite hyperkalemia. Moreover, serum aldosterone levels
      were increased. In contrast to alphaENaC-deficient mice, which die because of
      defective lung liquid clearance, neonatal betaENaC deficient mice did not die of
      respiratory failure and showed only a small increase in wet lung weight that had
      little, if any, adverse physiologic consequence. The results indicate that, in
      vivo, the beta subunit is required for ENaC function in the renal collecting
      duct, but, in contrast to the alpha subunit, the beta subunit is not required for
      the transition from a liquid-filled to an air-filled lung. The phenotype of the
      betaENaC-deficient mice is similar to that of humans with pseudohypoaldosteronism
      type 1 and may provide a useful model to study the pathogenesis and treatment of
      this disorder.

PMID- 9990091
TI  - beta-Endorphin blocks luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone release by inhibiting
      the nitricoxidergic pathway controlling its release.
AB  - beta-Endorphin blocks release of luteinizing hormone (LH)-releasing hormone
      (LHRH) into the hypophyseal portal vessels by stimulating mu-opiate receptors,
      thereby inhibiting secretion of LH. LHRH release is controlled by release of
      nitric oxide from nitricoxidergic (NOergic) neurons in the basal tuberal
      hypothalamus. To determine whether beta-endorphin exerts its inhibitory action on
      this NOergic pathway, medial basal hypothalami (MBH) from male rats were
      incubated with beta-endorphin (10(-8) M). beta-Endorphin decreased basal
      secretion of LHRH, and significantly inhibited the release of prostaglandin E2
      (PGE2), a known stimulant of LHRH release. Incubation of MBH with beta-endorphin
      at various concentrations (10(-9)-10(-6) M) in vitro decreased the activity of NO
      synthase (NOS) (measured by the conversion of [14C]arginine to labeled
      citrulline). Conversely, the activity of NOS was increased by the mu-receptor
      antagonist, naltrexone (10(-8) M). Not only was the inhibitory action of beta
      endorphin on LHRH and PGE2 release blocked by naltrexone (10(-8) M), but it
      increased NOS activity and LHRH and PGE2 release. beta-Endorphin also stimulated
      gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release. Because GABA inhibits both nitroprusside
      (NP-induced PGE2 and LHRH release by blocking the activation of cyclooxygenase by
      NO, this is another mechanism by which beta-endorphin inhibits NP-induced PGE2
      and LHRH release. The results indicate that beta-endorphin stimulates mu-opioid
      receptors on NOergic neurons to inhibit the activation and consequent synthesis
      of NOS in the MBH. beta-Endorphin also blocks the action of NO on PGE2 release
      and, consequently, on LHRH release, by stimulating GABAergic inhibitory input to
      LHRH terminals that blocks NO-induced activation of cyclooxygenase and consequent
      PGE2 secretion.

PMID- 9990093
TI  - Salt restriction induces pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 in mice expressing low
      levels of the beta-subunit of the amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel.
AB  - The amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is a heteromultimer of
      three homologous subunits (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits). To study the role
      of the beta-subunit in vivo, we analyzed mice in which the betaENaC gene locus
      was disrupted. These mice showed low levels of betaENaC mRNA expression in kidney
      (approximately 1%), lung (approximately 1%), and colon (approximately 4%). In
      homozygous mutant betaENaC mice, no betaENaC protein could be detected with
      immunofluorescent staining. At birth, there was a small delay in lung-liquid
      clearance that paralleled diminished amiloride-sensitive Na+ absorption in
      tracheal explants. With normal salt intake, these mice showed a normal growth
      rate. However, in vivo, adult betaENaC m/m mice exhibited a significantly reduced
      ENaC activity in colon and elevated plasma aldosterone levels, suggesting
      hypovolemia and pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1. This phenotype was clinically
      silent, as betaENaC m/m mice showed no weight loss, normal plasma Na+ and K+
      concentrations, normal blood pressure, and a compensated metabolic acidosis. On
      low-salt diets, betaENaC-mutant mice developed clinical symptoms of an acute
      pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (weight loss, hyperkalemia, and decreased blood
      pressure), indicating that betaENaC is required for Na+ conservation during salt
      deprivation.

PMID- 9990094
TI  - A protein phosphatase 2C gene, LjNPP2C1, from Lotus japonicus induced during root
      nodule development.
AB  - Symbiotic interactions between legumes and compatible strains of rhizobia result
      in root nodule formation. This new plant organ provides the unique physiological
      environment required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation by the bacterial
      endosymbiont and assimilation of this nitrogen by the plant partner. We have
      isolated two related genes (LjNPP2C1 and LjPP2C2) from the model legume Lotus
      japonicus that encode protein phosphatase type 2C (PP2C). Expression of the
      LjNPP2C1 gene was found to be enhanced specifically in L. japonicus nodules,
      whereas the LjPP2C2 gene was expressed at a similar level in nodules and roots. A
      glutathione S-transferase-LjNPP2C1 fusion protein was shown to have Mg2+- or Mn2+
      dependent and okadaic acid-insensitive PP2C activity in vitro. A chimeric
      construct containing the full-length LjNPP2C1 cDNA, under the control of the
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase promoter, was found to be able to
      complement a yeast PP2C-deficient mutant (pct1Delta). The transcript level of the
      LjNPP2C1 gene was found to increase significantly in mature nodules, and its
      highest expression level occurred after leghemoglobin (lb) gene induction, a
      molecular marker for late developmental events in nodule organogenesis.
      Expression of the LjNPP2C1 gene was found to be drastically altered in specific
      L. japonicus lines carrying monogenic-recessive mutations in symbiosis-related
      loci, suggesting that the product of the LjNPP2C1 gene may function at both early
      and late stages of nodule development.

PMID- 9990095
TI  - Molecular basis for semidominance of missense mutations in the XANTHA-H (42-kDa)
      subunit of magnesium chelatase.
AB  - During biosynthesis of bacteriochlorophyll or chlorophyll, three protein subunits
      of 140, 70, and 42 kDa interact to insert Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX. The
      semidominant Chlorina-125, -157, and -161 mutants in barley are deficient in this
      step and accumulate protoporphyrin IX after feeding on 5-aminolevulinate.
      Chlorina-125, -157, and -161 are allelic to the recessive xantha-h mutants and
      contain G559A, G806A, and C271T mutations, respectively. These mutations cause
      single amino acid substitutions in residues that are conserved in all known
      primary structures of the 42-kDa subunit. In vitro complementation and
      reconstitution of Mg-chelatase activity show that the 42-kDa subunits are
      defective in the semidominant Chlorina mutants. A mutated protein is maintained
      in the Chlorina plastids, unlike in the xantha-h plastids. Heterozygous Chlorina
      seedlings have 25-50% of the Mg-chelatase activity of wild-type seedlings.
      Codominant expression of active and inactive 42-kDa subunits in heterozygous
      Chlorina seedlings is likely to produce two types of heterodimers between the
      strongly interacting 42-kDa and 70-kDa subunits. Reduced Mg-chelatase activity is
      explained by the capacity of heterodimers consisting of mutated 42-kDa and wild
      type 70-kDa protein to bind to the 140-kDa subunit. The 42-kDa subunit is similar
      to chaperones that refold denatured polypeptides with respect to its ATP-to-ADP
      exchange activity and its ability to generate ATPase activity with the 70-kDa
      subunit. We hypothesize that the association of the 42-kDa subunit with the 70
      kDa subunit allows them to form a specific complex with the 140-kDa subunit and
      that this complex inserts Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX.

PMID- 9990096
TI  - Expression of a soybean cytochrome P450 monooxygenase cDNA in yeast and tobacco
      enhances the metabolism of phenylurea herbicides.
AB  - A strategy based on the random isolation and screening of soybean cDNAs encoding
      cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) was used in an attempt to identify P450
      isozymes involved in herbicide metabolism. Nine full-length (or near-full-length)
      P450 cDNAs representing eight distinct P450 families were isolated by using PCR
      based technologies. Five of the soybean P450 cDNAs were expressed successfully in
      yeast, and microsomal fractions generated from these strains were tested for
      their potential to catalyze the metabolism of 10 herbicides and 1 insecticide. In
      vitro enzyme assays showed that the gene product of one heterologously expressed
      P450 cDNA (CYP71A10) specifically catalyzed the metabolism of phenylurea
      herbicides, converting four herbicides of this class (fluometuron, linuron,
      chlortoluron, and diuron) into more polar compounds. Analyses of the metabolites
      suggest that the CYP71A10 encoded enzyme functions primarily as an N-demethylase
      with regard to fluometuron, linuron, and diuron, and as a ring-methyl hydroxylase
      when chlortoluron is the substrate. In vivo assays using excised leaves
      demonstrated that all four herbicides were more readily metabolized in CYP71A10
      transformed tobacco compared with control plants. For linuron and chlortoluron,
      CYP71A10-mediated herbicide metabolism resulted in significantly enhanced
      tolerance to these compounds in the transgenic plants.

PMID- 9990097
TI  - A wound- and systemin-inducible polygalacturonase in tomato leaves.
AB  - Oligogalacturonide fragments that activate defensive genes in plant leaves
      heretofore have been thought to be generated only by pathogen-derived pectin
      degrading enzymes, because polygalacturonase (PG) activity has not been reported
      in leaves. Here, we report that mRNAs encoding a PG catalytic subunit protein and
      its regulatory (beta-subunit) protein are expressed in tomato leaves in response
      to wounding, systemin, and oligosaccharide elicitors. Synthesis of the two
      subunits in response to wounding is systemic and is accompanied by an increase in
      PG activity in extracts from both wounded and unwounded leaves. The finding that
      PG subunit mRNAs and PG enzyme activity are induced by wounding indicates that
      herbivore attacks can produce endogenous oligogalacturonide elicitors that may be
      involved in the local and systemic activation of defense responses against both
      herbivores and pathogens.

PMID- 9990098
TI  - The tomato DWARF enzyme catalyses C-6 oxidation in brassinosteroid biosynthesis.
AB  - Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal plant hormones essential for normal plant
      growth and development. Mutants in the biosynthesis or perception of BRs are
      usually dwarf. The tomato Dwarf gene (D), which was predicted to encode a
      cytochrome P450 enzyme (P450) with homology to other P450s involved in BR
      biosynthesis, was cloned previously. Here, we show that DWARF catalyses the C-6
      oxidation of 6-deoxocastasterone (6-deoxoCS) to castasterone (CS), the immediate
      precursor of brassinolide. To do this, we first confirmed that the D cDNA
      complemented the mutant light- and dark-grown phenotypes of the extreme dwarf
      (dx) allele of tomato. To identify a substrate for the DWARF enzyme, exogenous
      application of BR intermediates to dx plants was carried out. C-6 oxoBR
      intermediates enhanced hypocotyl elongation whereas the C-6 deoxoBR, 6-deoxoCS,
      had little effect. Quantitative analysis of endogenous BR levels in tomato showed
      mainly the presence of 6-deoxoBRs. Furthermore, dx plants were found to lack CS
      and had a high level of 6-deoxoCS in comparison to D plants that had CS and a
      lower level of 6-deoxoCS. Confirmation that DWARF catalyzed the C-6 oxidation of
      6-deoxoCS to CS was obtained by functional expression of DWARF in yeast. In these
      experiments, the intermediate 6alpha-hydroxycastasterone was identified,
      indicating that DWARF catalyzes two steps in BR biosynthesis. These data show
      that DWARF is involved in the C-6 oxidation in BR biosynthesis.

PMID- 9990100
TI  - Chromosome regions between centromeres and proximal crossovers are the physical
      sites of major effect loci for yield in potato: genetic analysis employing
      meiotic mutants.
AB  - Meiotic mutant (2n) gametes formed by first-division restitution without
      crossover (FDR-NCO) are expected to be superior to FDR with crossover (FDR-CO)
      because they transmit to the progeny, without disruption by recombination, almost
      100% of the parental genotype. FDR-CO transfers approximately 80% of the parental
      heterozygosity and a large fraction of the epistatic interactions. Another
      genetic expectation associated with both FDR gametes is their equivalence for the
      phenotypic expression of traits controlled by genes residing between centromeres
      and proximal crossover sites. This set of unique cytogenetic features of FDR
      mutants was employed here as a tool to infer physical location of quantitative
      trait loci controlling total tuber yield (TTY) in potato. Two assays were
      conducted to verify the superiority of FDR-NCO over FDR-CO gametes for TTY by
      using progenies from 4x-2x factorial crosses. Male clones were 2n-pollen
      producers by either FDR-CO or FDR-NCO mechanisms. Compared with the 4x parents,
      TTY of the progenies ranged from 41% to 175% (i.e., high-parent heterosis).
      However, no significant TTY differences were observed between FDR-CO and FDR-NCO
      families. In addition, the size of variance components of males was smaller than
      females and near zero. Our results reinforce the hypothesis that genes
      controlling yielding ability have a predominant physical location between
      centromeres and proximal chiasmata. Quantitative trait loci in chromosome regions
      with reduced levels of recombination may provide a partial explanation for the
      slow progress in increasing TTY through conventional 4x-4x crosses and for the
      often high degree of heterosis obtained by introgressing genetic diversity via 4x
      2x crosses in potato.

PMID- 9990099
TI  - An abscisic acid-induced protein kinase, PKABA1, mediates abscisic acid
      suppressed gene expression in barley aleurone layers.
AB  - The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) induces genes-encoding proteins involved in
      desiccation tolerance and dormancy in seeds, but ABA also suppresses gibberellin
      (GA)-responsive genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes essential for postgermination
      growth. A unique serine/threonine protein kinase, PKABA1 mRNA, up-regulated by
      ABA in seeds, has been identified. In this report, the effect of PKABA1 on the
      signal transduction pathway mediating ABA induction and suppression of genes has
      been determined in aleurone layers of barley seeds. Two groups of gene constructs
      were introduced to barley aleurone layers by using particle bombardment: the
      reporter constructs containing the coding sequence of beta-glucuronidase gene
      linked to hormone-responsive promoters and the effector constructs containing the
      coding region of protein kinases linked to a constitutive promoter. Constitutive
      expression of PKABA1 drastically suppressed expression of low- and high-pI alpha
      amylase and protease genes induced by GA. However, the presence of PKABA1 had
      only a small effect on the ABA induction of a gene encoding a late embryogenesis
      abundant protein, HVA1. Our results indicate that PKABA1 acts as a key
      intermediate in the signal transduction pathway leading to the suppression of GA
      inducible gene expression in cereal aleurone layers.

PMID- 9990101
TI  - Abscisic acid induces oscillations in guard-cell cytosolic free calcium that
      involve phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C.
AB  - Oscillations in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) are an important
      component of Ca2+-based signal transduction pathways. This fact has led us to
      investigate whether oscillations in [Ca2+]cyt are involved in the response of
      stomatal guard cells to the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). We show that ABA
      induces oscillations in guard-cell [Ca2+]cyt. The pattern of the oscillations
      depended on the ABA concentration and correlated with the final stomatal
      aperture. We examined the mechanism by which ABA generates oscillations in guard
      cell [Ca2+]cyt by using 1-(6-[17beta-3-methoxyestra-1,3, 5(10)-trien-17
      yl]aminohexyl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (U-73122), an inhibitor of phosphoinositide
      specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC)-dependent processes in animals. U-73122
      inhibited the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate by a
      recombinant PI-PLC, isolated from a guard-cell-enriched cDNA library, in a dose
      dependent manner. This result confirms that U-73122 is an inhibitor of plant PI
      PLC activity. U-73122 inhibited both ABA-induced oscillations in [Ca2+]cyt and
      stomatal closure. In contrast, U-73122 did not inhibit external Ca2+-induced
      oscillations in guard-cell [Ca2+]cyt and stomatal closure. Furthermore, there was
      no effect of the inactive analogue 1-(6-[17beta-3-methoxyestra-1,3, 5(10)-trien
      17-yl]aminohexyl)-2,5-pyrrolidinedione on recombinant PI-PLC activity or ABA
      induced and external Ca2+-induced oscillations in [Ca2+]cyt and stomatal closure.
      This lack of effect suggests that the effects of U-73122 in guard cells are the
      result of inhibition of PI-PLC and not a consequence of nonspecific effects.
      Taken together, our data suggest a role for PI-PLC in the generation of ABA
      induced oscillations in [Ca2+]cyt and point toward the involvement of
      oscillations in [Ca2+]cyt in the maintenance of stomatal aperture by ABA.

PMID- 9990102
TI  - Habitat, world geographic range, and embryonic development of hosts explain the
      prevalence of avian hematozoa at small spatial and phylogenetic scales.
AB  - The factors explaining interspecific differences in prevalences of blood
      parasites in birds are poorly known. We simultaneously assessed 20 social,
      ecological, life history, and sampling-related variables that could influence
      hemoparasite prevalences among diurnal birds of prey in Spain. Our results show
      that multiple factors are responsible for the studied host-parasite association.
      We confirmed for the first time that prevalence is inversely correlated to the
      embryonic development period, and thus probably to immune performance, even among
      closely related birds. Macrohabitat features related to vector availability are
      also important, prevalences being higher in species breeding in forested
      habitats. Finally, prevalence is positively correlated with the host's world
      geographic range. We hypothesize that larger geographic ranges offered more
      opportunities for host-vector-hemoparasite associations to become established.
      The results from our multivariate analyses differ from those obtained through
      univariate ones, showing that all potential factors should be assessed jointly
      when testing any ecological or evolutionary hypothesis dealing with parasites.

PMID- 9990103
TI  - Localizing the cortical region mediating visual awareness of object identity.
AB  - Presentations of pictures that are too brief to be recognized, or even guessed
      above chance on a forced-choice test, nonetheless can facilitate the recognition
      of the same pictures many trials later. This subliminal visual priming was
      compared for images translated 4. 8 degrees either Within or Between quadrants of
      the visual field. Priming was evident only for images that remained within the
      same quadrant in priming and test trials. Consequently, subliminal visual priming
      is likely mediated by cortical areas in which cells have receptive fields large
      enough to respond to both presentations of a stimulus translated almost 5
      degrees, yet where the receptive fields are confined to a single quadrant,
      namely, the human homologue of macaque V4 or TEO (the posterior part of the
      inferior temporal cortex). Awareness of object identity might therefore be
      associated exclusively with activity at or beyond the anterior part of the
      inferior temporal cortex, namely, area TE.

PMID- 9990104
TI  - Task-related and item-related brain processes of memory retrieval.
AB  - In all cognitive tasks, general task-related processes operate throughout a given
      task on all items, whereas specific item-related processes operate differentially
      on individual items. In typical functional neuroimaging experiments, these two
      sets of processes have usually been confounded. Herein we report a combined
      positron emission tomography and event-related potential (ERP) experiment that
      was designed to distinguish between neural correlates of task-related and item
      related processes of memory retrieval. Two retrieval tasks, episodic and
      semantic, were crossed with episodic (old/new) and semantic (living/nonliving)
      properties of individual items to yield evidence of regional brain activity
      associated with task-related processes, item-related processes, and their
      interaction. The results showed that episodic retrieval task was associated with
      increased blood flow in right prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex, as well
      as with a sustained right-frontopolar-positive ERP, but that the semantic
      retrieval task was associated with left frontal and temporal lobe activity.
      Retrieval of old items was associated with increased blood flow in the left
      medial temporal lobe and with a brief late positive ERP component. The results
      provide converging hemodynamic and electrophysiological evidence for the
      distinction of task- and item-related processes, show that they map onto
      spatially and temporally distinct patterns of brain activity, and clarify the
      hemispheric encoding/retrieval asymmetry (HERA) model of prefrontal encoding and
      retrieval asymmetry.

PMID- 9990105
TI  - Hypoglossal canal size and hominid speech.
AB  - The mammalian hypoglossal canal transmits the nerve that supplies the motor
      innervation to the tongue. Hypoglossal canal size has previously been used to
      date the origin of human-like speech capabilities to at least 400,000 years ago
      and to assign modern human vocal abilities to Neandertals. These conclusions are
      based on the hypothesis that the size of the hypoglossal canal is indicative of
      speech capabilities. This hypothesis is falsified here by the finding of numerous
      nonhuman primate taxa that have hypoglossal canals in the modern human size
      range, both absolutely and relative to oral cavity volume. Specimens of
      Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, and Australopithecus
      boisei also have hypoglossal canals that, both absolutely and relative to oral
      cavity volume, are equal in size to those of modern humans. The basis for the
      hypothesis that hypoglossal canal size is indicative of speech was the assumption
      that hypoglossal canal size is correlated with hypoglossal nerve size, which in
      turn is related to tongue function. This assumption is probably incorrect, as we
      found no apparent correlation between the size of the hypoglossal nerve, or the
      number of axons it contains, and the size of the hypoglossal canal in a sample of
      cadavers. Our data demonstrate that the size of the hypoglossal canal does not
      reflect vocal capabilities or language usage. Thus the date of origin for human
      language and the speech capabilities of Neandertals remain open questions.

PMID- 9990106
TI  - Neandertal nasal structures and upper respiratory tract "specialization".
AB  - Schwartz and Tattersall [Schwartz, J. H. & Tattersall, I. (1996) Proc. Natl.
      Acad. Sci. USA 93, 10852-10854] have argued for a previously unrecognized suite
      of autapomorphies in the internal nasal region of Neandertals that make them
      unique, not only among hominids, but possibly among all other terrestrial
      mammals. These purported autapomorphies include (i) the development of an
      internal nasal margin bearing a well developed and vertically oriented medial
      projection; (ii) a pronounced medial swelling of the lateral nasal wall into the
      posterior nasal cavity; and (iii) the lack of an ossified roof over the lacrimal
      groove. In addition, Laitman et al. [Laitman, J. T., Reidenberg, J. S., Marquez,
      S. & Gannon, P. J. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 10543-10545] pointed to
      these features as evidence for upper respiratory tract specializations among the
      Neandertals, indicating potential differences in behavior compared with modern
      humans. Critically reviewing the anatomical basis for Schwartz and Tattersall's
      contentions reveals several serious problems with their analysis, including (i)
      reliance on specimens with damaged, incomplete, or, in some cases, entirely
      absent relevant anatomy; (ii) failure to consider primary vs. secondary spatial
      consequences in nasal trait conceptualization; and (iii) failure to consider
      actual ranges of variation in these traits in both fossil and recent humans.
      Accordingly, the unique phylogenetic and adaptive "specializations" attributed to
      Neandertal internal nasal structures are unwarranted.

PMID- 9990107
TI  - Infiltrative subcutaneous malignant fibrous histiocytoma: a comparative study
      with deep malignant fibrous histiocytoma and an observation of biologic behavior.
AB  - Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is one of the most common soft tissue
      sarcomas of adulthood. Although it is usually intramuscular and pseudocapsulated,
      we have recently observed MFHs with extremely infiltrative growth margins, which
      are predominantly located in the subcutis. These lesions are often associated
      with incomplete primary surgical excision, the subsequent need for additional
      surgery or adjuvant therapy, and an increased risk for local recurrence. To
      further analyze the growth pattern and clinical implication of the subcutaneous
      infiltrative MFHs, we reviewed a series of 24 subcutis and 21 intramuscular MFHs
      of the extremities. Morphologically, we defined "infiltrative" as tumor extension
      along normal tissue planes for a minimum measurable distance of 2 mm from the
      edge of the main mass. Radiographic findings were correlated with pathologic
      findings. Of the 24 subcutis MFHs, 83% showed an infiltrative growth pattern,
      involving 5% to 90% (mean, 51%) of the evaluable margin. Fifty percent of
      patients with subcutaneous MFH had both an infiltrative growth pattern and
      positive surgical resection margin on initial resection. Only 25% noninfiltrative
      subcutaneous MFHs had a positive initial surgical resection margin. Of the 21
      intramuscular MFHs, only 5 (24%) had an infiltrative growth pattern that involved
      5% to 90% (mean, 40%) of the evaluable margin. One of the five tumors had 90%
      margin infiltration with multiple positive surgical resection margins. Of 16
      noninfiltrative intramuscular MFHs, 3 (19%) had positive resection margins.
      Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) scan correctly
      identified the growth pattern in 87% of subcutaneous and 88% of intramuscular
      MFHs. Patient follow-up evaluation showed that four (17%) patients with
      subcutaneous MFHs had resection-proven recurrences, 6 to 57 months after
      diagnosis. All four of these tumors had infiltrative growth patterns and positive
      margins on the original surgical resection. There were no local recurrences of
      the intramuscular MFHs. Two patients of 20 in the infiltrative subcutaneous MFH
      group and two patients of four in the well-circumscribed subcutaneous MFH group
      had biopsy-proven metastases, which developed within 5 years after diagnosis. Six
      patients had metastases in the intramuscular MFH group. A group of MFHs,
      predominantly subcutaneous, have an extremely infiltrative growth pattern. This
      growth pattern, documented by radiographic methods and/or light microscopic
      examination of biopsy specimens, should indicate that a wider margin on initial
      resection is necessary to entirely excise the lesion. The presence or absence of
      an infiltrative growth pattern is not predictive of the tumor's metastatic
      potential.

PMID- 9990108
TI  - Clinicopathologic study of 61 patients with ependymoma including MIB-1
      immunohistochemistry.
AB  - Predicting behavior based on histologic appearance has been problematic in
      ependymomas. Sixty-one patients with ependymoma (excluding subependymoma and
      myxopapillary ependymoma) were studied. The patients included 36 men and ranged
      in age from 1.5 to 74 years (median, 33 years). The most common clinical
      presentations included headache (n = 19), weakness (n = 18), nausea/vomiting (n =
      12), and gait disturbance (n = 10). Location included spinal cord (n = 24),
      fourth ventricle (n = 21), lateral ventricle (n = 8), and third ventricle (n =
      5). Initial surgery included a gross total resection of tumor in 22 patients and
      subtotal resection or biopsy in the remaining patients. Thirty-five patients were
      known to have been treated with adjuvant radiation therapy and 13 patients
      received adjuvant chemotherapy. At last known follow-up, 20 patients were alive
      with no evidence of tumor (median, 66.5 months), 17 patients were alive with
      residual tumor (median, 14 months), and 12 patients died of tumor (median, 27.5
      months). Two additional patients are alive with tumor status not known, two cases
      are current, and two patients were lost to follow-up. The additional six patients
      died either shortly after surgery or of surgical complications. Sixteen of 18
      patients had at least one tumor recurrence at median 28.5 months. Fifty-one
      tumors had a predominantly glial pattern and 10 had a mixed glial-epithelial
      pattern. Of histologic features examined, patients with tumor recurrence or who
      died of tumor more frequently had observable mitotic figures, vascular
      proliferation, necrosis, and foci of increased cellularity. Eight of 18 recurrent
      tumors were classified as high grade ependymomas (anaplastic/malignant). Of
      patients who died of tumor, 4 of 12 had histologically high grade tumors versus 5
      of 39 of the remaining tumors. MIB-1 immunostaining (marker of cell
      proliferation) was performed on 50 tumors. MIB-1 labeling indices (% positive
      tumor cell nuclei) ranged from 0.1 to 34.0 (median, 1.1). A higher percentage of
      patients with recurrent tumor (6 of 13, 46%) or who died of tumor (3 of 10, 30%)
      had MIB-1 indices >/= 4.0 versus the remaining patients (8 of 33, 24%). The
      conclusions are as follows: (1) histologic appearance and MIB-1 indices were not
      reliably predictive of tumor behavior, probably due in part to tumor
      heterogeneity; (2) tumors with two or more of the following features:
      identifiable mitotic figures, hypercellularity, vascular proliferation, and
      necrosis were more likely to behave in an aggressive manner; and (3) elevated MIB
      1 labeling indices (>/=4.0 in this study) were encountered in a higher percentage
      of fatal and recurrent tumors than in nonfatal or nonrecurrent tumors.

PMID- 9990109
TI  - Are there cytopathic features associated with cytomegalovirus infection
      predictive of resistance to antiviral therapy?
AB  - Recent awareness of the broader spectrum of morphologic changes induced by
      cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection prompted us to investigate whether the concurrent
      introduction of effective antiviral therapy is in some way related to the
      appearance of atypical cytopathic features. These changes may be easily
      misinterpreted on histologic examination as reactive or degenerative. In
      addition, since resistant strain to antiviral therapy has emerged and its
      demonstration is a laborious process performed in highly specialized
      laboratories, it is important to determine if resistance to antiviral drugs can
      be predicted from the microscopic examination of infected tissues. The population
      consisted of seven immunosuppressed patients with documented CMV infection from
      which 18 tissue samples were obtained at autopsy or endoscopically. Antiviral
      susceptibility to ganciclovir was determined by plaque reduction assay and/or a
      DNA-DNA hybridization method. Eleven tissue specimens from patients harboring
      resistant strains were compared with seven specimens from patients infected with
      sensitive strains. Cytopathic changes were classified as typical or atypical
      according to previously published criteria. Of the 18 biopsy specimens, the
      cytopathic changes were distributed as follows: typical 1, typical and atypical
      5, and atypical 12. Atypical inclusions were found in 10 of 11 and 7 of 7
      sensitive and resistant cases, respectively. In conclusion, there are no specific
      morphologic features in CMV-infected tissues of patients with infections caused
      by ganciclovir resistant strains.

PMID- 9990110
TI  - Composite B-cell and T-cell lymphoma arising 24 years after nodular lymphocyte
      predominant Hodgkin's disease.
AB  - Twenty-four years after apparently successful treatment for nodular lymphocyte
      predominant Hodgkin's disease (nLPHD), a 41-year old male developed "B" symptoms
      and extensive adenopathy. A right axillary lymph node biopsy showed two distinct
      regions including (1) histiocyte-rich B-cell lymphoma and (2) diffuse small T
      cell lymphoma. A clonal rearrangement of the gene for the T-cell receptor beta
      chain confirmed the presence of a T-cell neoplasm, and this was further confirmed
      by selective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on this morphologic zone. PCR on the
      morphologic B-cell lymphoma confirmed the presence of an immunoglobulin gene
      rearrangement. These two regions were separated by a less-defined zone containing
      a mixture of small CD57 positive T lymphocytes, small B lymphocytes, and rare
      lymphocytic and histiocytic (L&H) cells, highly suggestive of recurrent LPHD. The
      development of composite B-cell and T-cell lymphoma in this patient raises the
      speculation that nLPHD may be a neoplasm of lymphoid cells, which can
      differentiate in both B- and T-cell directions, with the "L&H" cells constituting
      their B-cell progeny.

PMID- 9990111
TI  - Granular cell tumor of the parotid.
AB  - A case of granular cell tumor of the major salivary glands is presented. This
      tumor appeared as an expansive multinodular mass that arose from facial nerve
      trunks. The presenting symptoms of facial pain and paresis and the intraoperative
      findings of tumor adhesion to nerves led to the clinical impression of
      malignancy. At intraoperative consultation, the tumor resembled an acinic cell
      carcinoma. Pathologists should be aware that granular cell tumors may involve the
      major salivary glands and that it should be considered in the diagnostic
      differential diagnosis.

PMID- 9990112
TI  - Intraductal carcinoma (carcinoma in situ) of the pancreas with microinvasion.
AB  - We report a case of predominantly intraductal carcinoma of the pancreas with
      microscopic foci of invasive carcinoma in a patient with chronic pancreatitis. In
      this article, we discuss the pathologic and prognostic features of pancreatic
      carcinoma in situ. This entity is probably overlooked due to a number of reasons,
      including the fact that, in most cases, pancreatic ductal carcinomas are
      extensively infiltrative at the time of surgical removal; the atypical epithelial
      changes in the intraductal carcinoma had been overlooked in the presence or
      absence of an invasive component; epithelial changes may be missed due to
      insufficient sampling; and last, the differentiation with atypical epithelial
      hyperplasia is a subjective matter. Intraductal carcinoma of the pancreas is a
      distinct pathological entity with characteristic morphologic changes restricted
      to the ductal epithelium, bearing important prognostic implications.

PMID- 9990113
TI  - Histologic prognostication in soft tissue sarcomas: grading versus subtyping or
      both? A comprehensive review of the literature with proposed practical
      guidelines.
AB  - Despite the validation of many histologic grading systems for soft tissue
      sarcomas, none have been universally accepted. Because of the overall rarity of
      specific histologic sarcoma subtypes, evaluation of grading systems and their
      prognostic significance have tended to base the results on sarcomas as a general
      group, diminishing the value and significance of histologic subtyping. A
      representative review of the literature regarding histologic grading of soft
      tissue sarcomas and its relationship to histologic subtype, stage, and prognosis
      is analyzed and discussed. Histologic grading of many soft tissue sarcomas
      appears to be a valuable predictor of patient survival, as confirmed by the
      literature. However, accurate histologic subtyping is essential for accurate
      histologic grading. Histologic grading in some sarcoma subtypes is probably not
      applicable and may underestimate biologic behavior. Clinicians and pathologists
      should be aware of the limitations, prognostic significances, and relationships
      of histologic subtyping and histologic grading in the therapeutic management and
      prognostication of soft tissue sarcomas.

PMID- 9990114
TI  - Three famous autopsies.
AB  - George II, the King of England, died from dissecting aneurism of the aorta.
      Napoleon died from a carcinoma of the stomach. Frederick III, Emperor of Germany,
      died of a laryngeal cancer; his untimely death, and the succession of his son,
      Wilhelm II, was largely responsible for the great catastrophe of 1914. An autopsy
      was performed on each of these three famous and historical figures.

PMID- 9990116
TI  - CpG islands in chromatin organization and gene expression.
AB  - CpG islands are stretches of DNA sequence that are enriched in the (CpG)n repeat
      and are present in close association with all housekeeping genes as well as some
      tissue-specific genes in the mammalian genome. Methylation of CpG islands
      strongly influences both structural organization and function of chromatin. The
      presence of a CpG island in a given chromosomal domain can, by itself, give rise
      to relatively open and active chromatin. Recently, several histone
      acetyltransferases, histone deacetylases, and chromatin remodeling factors have
      been found to be part of the transcription machinery. It is becoming increasingly
      clear that CpG islands and their methylation status may influence the function or
      recruitment of these newly discovered chromatin remodeling factors, especially
      the histone deacetylases. In addition, CpG islands may also play a significant
      role in the reorganization of chromatin during mammalian spermiogenesis.

PMID- 9990117
TI  - Ubiquitin system: selectivity and timing of protein destruction.
AB  - A growing number of cellular functions have been shown to be regulated through
      protein degradation. The selective degradation of many short-lived proteins in
      eukaryotic cells is mediated by the ubiquitin system, by which proteins
      covalently ligated to ubiquitin are targeted for degradation. The selectivity of
      the destruction is ensured by the substrate specificity in the ubiquitination
      steps composed of a series of enzymatic reactions. Ubiquitin-ligase (E3), in
      conjunction with ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), has been implicated as
      playing an essential role in the substrate recognition. The substantial
      character, however, of the ligase was not clear until several recent studies
      demonstrated ligases that exert key roles in irreversible steps of the cell-cycle
      control. In this review, attention is focused on the molecular basis of target
      recognition of ubiquitination, particularly as exemplified in the ubiquitin
      ligases in the cell-cycle control mechanisms.

PMID- 9990118
TI  - Identification and characterization of a Drosophila homologue of the yeast UBC9
      and hus5 genes.
AB  - The yeast UBC9 and hus5 gene products have been identified as putative E2 members
      of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC) family and have been shown to play an
      essential role in cell cycle progression. We have identified a Drosophila
      Ubc9/Hus5 homologue (termed dUBC9) in an attempt to identify proteins that
      interact with the amino-terminal transcriptional repression domain of the Groucho
      corepressor by use of the yeast two-hybrid system. The predicted dUBC9 protein
      consists of 159 amino acids and shows 85, 68, and 54% amino acid sequence
      identities with human UBC9 homologue, Schizosaccharomyces pombe Hus5, and
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ubc9 proteins, respectively. Expression of dUBC9 cDNA
      complements a temperature-sensitive ubc9-1 mutation of S. cerevisiae to fully
      restore normal growth, indicating that the dUBC9 protein can act as a substitute
      for the yeast Ubc9 protein. The dUBC9 transcripts were about 1.2 kb and were
      detected at all stages of Drosophila development and in ovaries and Schneider
      cells. However, an increased level was observed in early embryos and ovaries. The
      dUBC9 gene is present as a single copy in the genome and localized in segment 21C
      D on the left arm of the second chromosome.

PMID- 9990119
TI  - DNA helicase III of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, encoded by YER176w (HEL1), highly
      unwinds covalently closed, circular DNA in the presence of a DNA topoisomerase
      and yRF-A.
AB  - Previously, we have purified and characterized DNA helicase III from the yeast
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Shimizu, K. and Sugino, A. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268,
      9578-9584]. Here, we have further characterized DNA helicase III activity. It was
      found that the combined action of the helicase III, yeast DNA topoisomerase I
      (yTop I), and yeast RPA protein on a covalently closed, circular DNA generates a
      highly underwound DNA species that has been called form I* or form U.
      Furthermore, these underwound structures can be accessed by yeast DNA polymerase
      I (alpha)-primase to initiate DNA synthesis. These reactions mimic in vivo
      initiation of chromosomal DNA replication. In order to clone the gene encoding
      DNA helicase III, a partial amino acid sequence of the purified DNA helicase III
      polypeptide was determined. Using a mix oligonucleotides synthesized based on the
      amino acid sequence of the helicase, we cloned the gene encoding the helicase III
      and found it to be identical to YER176W (HEL1) on chromosome V. The amino acid
      sequence predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the gene has conserved DNA
      helicase domains that are highly homologous to those of DNA helicases required
      for DNA replication. However, complete deletion of the gene from the chromosome
      did not result in any growth defect, suggesting that the gene product is not
      required for DNA synthesis or that it is functionally substituted by other
      helicase(s). Furthermore, the deletion strain does not exhibit sensitivity to any
      DNA-damaging reagents, although it is hypersensitive to calcofluor white,
      hygromycin, and papulacandin.

PMID- 9990121
TI  - Cellular and functional characterization of three recombinant antithrombin
      mutants that caused pleiotropic effect-type deficiency.
AB  - Inherited antithrombin deficiency is associated with a predisposition for
      familial venous thromboembolic disease. Pleiotropic effect-type mutants of
      antithrombin that have an amino acid replacement in a distal hinge region
      including strands 1C, 4B, and 5B of the polypeptide chain are known to exhibit
      impaired interactions with both thrombin and heparin, coupled with a secretion
      defect. To examine the mechanism of pleiotropic effect-type antithrombin
      deficiency, we expressed three mutants, Oslo (Ala404-->Thr), Kyoto (Arg406-
      >Met), and Utah (Pro407-->Leu), in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, and compared
      their secretion rates, affinities for heparin and abilities to form thrombin
      antithrombin (TAT) complexes with those of wild-type (Wt) antithrombin. Pulse
      chase experiments showed that the Oslo- and Kyoto-mutants were secreted at rates
      similar to Wt antithrombin. In contrast, the Utah-mutant underwent partial
      intracellular degradation. The intracellular degradation of the Utah-mutant was
      not inhibited by lysosomotropic inhibitors, but by proteasome inhibitors such as
      carbobenzoxy-L-leucyl-L-leucyl-L-leucinal (LLL) and lactacystin, indicating that
      a part of the Utah-mutant was degraded by proteasome through quality control in
      the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Crossed immunoelectrophoresis in the presence of
      heparin showed that only the Oslo-mutant lacks heparin-binding ability.
      Incubation with thrombin showed that the Kyoto- and Utah-mutants, but not the
      Oslo-mutant, formed a weak but detectable TAT complex. Furthermore, heparin
      enhanced the TAT complex formation by the Kyoto- and Utah-mutants, suggesting
      heparin cofactor activities of these mutants. These results show that each of the
      Oslo-, Kyoto-, and Utah-mutants exhibits different properties as to secretion,
      intracellular degradation and functional activity, although they are grouped as
      pleiotropic effect-type mutants.

PMID- 9990120
TI  - Measurement of activities of human serum sulfotransferases which transfer sulfate
      to the galactose residues of keratan sulfate and to the nonreducing end N
      acetylglucosamine residues of N-acetyllactosamine trisaccharide: comparison
      between normal controls and patients with macular corneal dystrophy.
AB  - Human serum sulfotransferase activities were measured in normal controls and
      patients with macular corneal dystrophy (MCD), an inherited disorder
      characterized by the decreased sulfation of keratan sulfate in the corneal stroma
      and serum, using two kinds of acceptor: partially desulfated keratan sulfate and
      a trisaccharide with a GlcNAc residue at the nonreducing terminal, GlcNAcbeta1
      3Galbeta1-4GlcNAc. When partially desulfated keratan sulfate was used as the
      acceptor, only sulfotransferase activity which transfers sulfate to position 6 of
      the Gal residues was detected. In contrast, when GlcNAcbeta1-3Galbeta1-4GlcNAc
      was used as the acceptor, sulfotransferase activity which transfers sulfate to
      position 6 of the nonreducing terminal GlcNAc residue could be detected. Although
      keratan sulfate levels in the sera of MCD patients determined by ELISA were much
      lower than those in normal controls, there were no detectable differences in
      either the sulfotransferase activity responsible for the sulfation of position 6
      of Gal residues or that responsible for the sulfation of position 6 of
      nonreducing end GlcNAc residues between normal controls and MCD patients. These
      results suggest that the sulfotransferase involved in the sulfation of keratan
      sulfate, which is assumed to be deficient in MCD patients, may not be secreted
      into the serum, and that direct measurement of the sulfotransferase activity
      present in affected tissues such as the cornea instead of serum may be necessary
      to confirm the postulated deficiency in the biosynthesis of keratan sulfate in
      MCD.

PMID- 9990122
TI  - Purification, characterization, and sequence determination of phospholipase D
      secreted by Streptoverticillium cinnamoneum.
AB  - Phospholipase D (PLD), secreted into the culture medium of an actinomycete,
      Streptoverticillium cinnamoneum, has been purified to homogeneity and
      characterized. The Stv. cinnamoneum PLD efficiently catalyzes both the hydrolysis
      and transphosphatidylation of various phospholipids, including
      phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylserine
      (PS). However, the substrate specificity differs between the two reactions; PE
      serves as the most preferred substrate for the hydrolysis, but PC and PS are
      better substrates than PE for the transphosphatidylation. In addition, the
      transphosphatidylation but not the hydrolysis of PE and PC is markedly activated
      on the addition of metal ions, especially Al3+. Nucleotide and amino acid
      sequence determination of the Stv. cinnamoneum PLD revealed the presence of
      common structural motifs identified in all PLD sequences from various species.

PMID- 9990123
TI  - Time-resolved measurements of photovoltage generation by bacteriorhodopsin and
      halorhodopsin adsorbed on a thin polymer film.
AB  - We constructed a time-resolved photovoltage measurement system and examined the
      photovoltage kinetics of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin, its D96N mutant, and
      halorhodopsins from Halobacterium salinarum and Natronobacterium pharaonis. Upon
      illumination with a laser flash, wild-type bacteriorhodopsin showed photovoltage
      generation with fast (10-100 micros range) and slow (ms range) components while
      D96N lacked the latter, as reported previously [Holz, M., Drachev, L.A., Mogi,
      T., Otto, H., Kaulen, A.D., Heyn, M.P., Skulachev, V.P., and Khorana, H.G. (1989)
      Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 2167-2171]. In contrast, photovoltage generation
      in halorhodopsins from H. salinarum and N. pharaonis was significant only in the
      ms time range. On the basis of the photovoltage kinetics and photocycle, we
      conclude that major charge (chloride) movements within halorhodopsin occur during
      the formation and decay of the N intermediate in the ms range. These observations
      are discussed in terms of the "Energization-Relaxation Channel Model" [Muneyuki,
      E., Ikematsu, M., and Yoshida, M. (1996) J. Phys. Chem. 100, 19687-19691].

PMID- 9990124
TI  - Characterization of the interaction of hemolytic lectin CEL-III from the marine
      invertebrate, Cucumaria echinata, with artificial lipid membranes: involvement of
      neutral sphingoglycolipids in the pore-forming process.
AB  - The hemolytic lectin, CEL-III, is a Ca2+-dependent, galactose/N
      acetylgalactosamine-specific lectin purified from the marine invertebrate,
      Cucumaria echinata (Holothuroidea). After binding to specific carbohydrates on
      the erythrocyte surface, CEL-III forms ion-permeable pores by oligomerizing in
      the membrane, which leads to colloid osmotic rupture of the cells. When incubated
      with liposomes composed of total lipids from the human erythrocyte membrane, CEL
      III efficiently induced the leakage of carboxyfluorescein (CF) trapped in the
      vesicles, suggesting the presence of its receptor in the membrane lipids. The
      rate of CF-leakage increased with increasing temperature, although the hemolytic
      activity of CEL-III had been found to be much higher at lower temperatures
      (around 10 degrees C). Identification of the receptor for CEL-III was performed
      by examining the ability of individual lipids from human erythrocytes to induce
      CF-leakage from DOPC-liposomes. As a result, the most effective receptor was
      found to be lactosyl ceramide (LacCer), while globoside (Gb4Cer) also showed
      slight induction of CF-leakage. On the other hand, a binding assay involving CEL
      III-horseradish peroxidase conjugate indicated that CEL-III exhibits similar
      affinity for LacCer and Gb4Cer, suggesting that the structure or length of the
      carbohydrate portion of sphingoglycolipids is also relevant as to their ability
      to induce CF-leakage in addition to their affinity. Electron micrographs of CEL
      III-treated liposomes revealed that CEL-III induced considerable morphological
      changes in the vesicles, while a clearly distinguishable oligomeric structure of
      the protein was not observed.

PMID- 9990125
TI  - Mechanism for the recognition and activation of substrate in medium-chain acyl
      CoA dehydrogenase.
AB  - The mechanism underlying the recognition and activation of the substrate for
      medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) was spectroscopically investigated
      using 3-thiaacyl-CoAs as substrate analogs. The complex of MCAD with 3
      thiaoctanoyl-CoA (3-thia-C8-CoA) exhibited a charge-transfer (CT) band with a
      molar extinction coefficient of epsilon808 = 9.1 mM-1.cm-1. With increasing 3
      thiaacyl-chain length, the CT-band intensity of the complex decreased
      concomitantly with changes in the FAD absorption at 416 and 482 nm, and no CT
      band was detected in complexes with chain-lengths longer than C15. Detailed
      analysis of the absorption spectra suggested that the complexed states represent
      a two-state equilibrium between the CT-inducing form and the CT-non-inducing
      form. 13C-NMR measurements with 13C-labeled ligand clarified that 3-thia-C8-CoA
      is complexed to MCAD in an anionic form with signals detected at 163.7 and 101.2
      ppm for 13C(1) and 13C(2), respectively. In the MCAD complex with 13C(1)-labeled
      3-thia-C12-CoA, two signals for the bound ligand were observed at 163.7 and 198.3
      ppm, and assigned to the anionic and neutral forms, respectively. Only the
      neutral form signal was measured at 200.6 ppm in the complex with 13C(1)-labeled
      3-thia-C17-CoA. These results indicate that the CT band can be explained in terms
      of an internal equilibrium between anionic (CT-inducing) and neutral (CT-non
      inducing) forms of the bound ligand. Resonance Raman spectra of the MCAD.3-thia
      C8-CoA complex, with excitation at the CT band, showed enhanced bands, among
      which the 854- and 1,368-cm-1 bands were assigned to the S-C(2) stretching mode
      of the ligand and to flavin band VII, respectively. Since the enhanced bands were
      observed at the same wave numbers in complexes with C8, C12, and C14-ligands, it
      appears that the CT-inducing form shares a common alignment relative to oxidized
      flavin irrespective of differences in the acyl-chain length. However, with longer
      ligands, the degree of resonance enhancement of the Raman bands decreased in
      parallel with the CT-band intensity; this is compatible with the increase in the
      CT-non-inducing form in complexes with longer ligands. Furthermore, the pH
      dependence of the CT band gave an apparent pKa = 5.6-5.7 for ligands with chain
      lengths of C8-C12. The NMR measurements revealed that, like chain-length
      dependence, the pH dependence can be explained by a two-state equilibrium derived
      from the protonation/deprotonation of the CT-inducing form of the bound ligand.
      On the basis of these results we have established a novel model to explain the
      mechanism of recognition and activation of the substrates/ligands by MCAD.

PMID- 9990126
TI  - Influence of chondroitin sulfate charge density, sulfate group position, and
      molecular mass on Cu2+-mediated oxidation of human low-density lipoproteins:
      effect of normal human plasma-derived chondroitin sulfate.
AB  - The effects of chondroitin sulfate samples with decreasing charge densities,
      different 4-sulfate/6-sulfate ratios, and various molecular masses on Cu2+
      induced oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were evaluated by
      monitoring conjugated diene formation and the tryptophan fluorescence kinetics.
      Low-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (CS) from beef trachea had a very strong
      protective antioxidant effect. Quite similar behavior was observed for CS from
      pig trachea, and a fructose-containing polysaccharide with a chondroitin backbone
      from Escherichia coli was also strongly protective as to LDL oxidation. CS
      samples with decreasing charge densities proved effective in inhibiting LDL
      oxidation. A totally desulfated sample still exhibited a great capacity to
      protect LDL against oxidation. CS-4-sulfate samples (sulfate to carboxyl ratio of
      0.62, about 65% 4-sulfate groups and 5% 6-sulfate groups) retained great ability
      to inhibit the Cu2+-mediated human LDL oxidation. CS fractions with different
      molecular masses were examined as possible inhibitors of LDL oxidation. Samples
      with molecular masses lower than about 8,570 (13-15 disaccharide units) were
      unable to protect human LDL from Cu2+-induced oxidation. Similar results were
      obtained on studying the degradation of tryptophan residues of the LDL protein
      moiety resulting from Cu2+ complexation through amino acid residues. A low
      sulfated CS (sulfate to carboxyl ratio of 0.41, a molecular mass of about 15,600)
      having effective anti-oxidant properties as to metal-induced LDL oxidation was
      isolated from normal human plasma. The protective capacity as to Cu2+-mediated
      LDL oxidation of CS is discussed in relation to its structure, also considering
      the physiological role of plasma CS in relation to factors that can alter its
      properties.

PMID- 9990127
TI  - Comparison of the apoptotic pathways induced by L-amino acid oxidase and hydrogen
      peroxide.
AB  - We have found that L-amino acid oxidase (LAO) induces apoptosis in several
      cultured cell lines by generating H2O2 [Suhr, S.M. and Kim, D.S. (1996) Biochem.
      Biophys. Res. Commun. 224, 134-139]. It is demonstrated in the present work that
      the LAO-induced apoptotic mechanism is clearly distinguished from the one
      stimulated directly by exogenous H2O2. MOLT-4 cells undergo somewhat different
      morphological changes depending on the apoptotic inducer, LAO or H2O2. LAO
      induced apoptosis can be protected by the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine or the
      free radical scavenger melatonin, while H2O2-induced apoptotic cell death is not
      protected. A caspase inhibitor, acetyl-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-aldehyde (ac-YVAD
      aldehyde), prevents cell death when the apoptosis is induced by exogenous H2O2.
      On the other hand, the ac-YVAD-aldehyde tetrapeptide inhibitor that is dominantly
      effective on interleukin-1beta converting enzyme failed to block the apoptotic
      event initiated by LAO. Several lines of experimental evidence suggest that
      apoptotic cell death induced by LAO is not due solely to the hydrogen peroxide
      produced by the enzymatic reaction.

PMID- 9990128
TI  - Structure analysis of a collagen-model peptide with a (Pro-Hyp-Gly) sequence
      repeat.
AB  - The crystal structure of a triple helical peptide (Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 has been
      determined at 1.9 A resolution. Single crystals grown by the hanging drop method,
      diffracted to a resolution of 1.8 A. The polymer-like structure of the triple
      helical repeat Pro-Hyp-Gly was in accordance with the 7/2 model proposed for
      collagen and very similar to the previously determined structure with a Pro-Pro
      Gly sequence repeat. The solvent structure was also very similar to that
      previously observed, showing similar hydration patterns, but different crystal
      packing. The presence of hydroxyproline did not have any effect on the molecular
      structure or the hydration structure. This is in accordance with the recent
      finding that the inductive effect of the hydroxyl group attached to the Cgamma
      atom of hydroxyproline enhances collagen stability rather than the extensive
      water network.

PMID- 9990129
TI  - Complete inhibition of mouse macrophage-derived foam cell formation by triacsin
      C.
AB  - Primary mouse peritoneal macrophages effectively take up and metabolize
      phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol liposomes containing a small amount of
      phosphatidylserine, which results in the massive accumulation in the cytoplasm of
      oil red O positive lipid droplets consisting of cholesteryl ester (CE) and
      triacylglycerol (TG) [Nishikawa et al. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 5226-5231]. A
      number of inhibitors of CE synthesis have been reported, but their effects on the
      lipid droplet formation have not been fully examined. Furthermore, the
      contribution of TG synthesis to lipid droplet formation has been poorly
      investigated. We have investigated the relationship between CE and TG syntheses
      and cytosolic lipid droplet formation in macrophages cultured in the presence of
      inhibitors with different modes of action. When macrophages were cultured with
      liposomes and [14C]oleic acid in the presence of triacsin C, a potent inhibitor
      of long chain acyl-CoA synthetase, both [14C]CE and [14C]TG syntheses were
      inhibited to similar extents with IC50 values of 0.19 and 0.10 microM,
      respectively. On the other hand, pregnenolone, a well-known inhibitor of cellular
      cholesterol transport, and CL-283,546, a potent inhibitor of acyl-CoA:cholesterol
      acyltransferase, inhibited [14C]CE synthesis specifically with IC50 values of 5.0
      and 0.038 microM, respectively. Microscopic observation revealed that the
      inhibitors of cholesterol metabolism produce only a partial decrease in cytosolic
      lipid droplets even at the highest doses which cause almost complete inhibition
      of [14C]CE synthesis. However, the triacsin C-dose dependent inhibition of lipid
      droplet formation was almost complete at 0.59 microM, a concentration that
      inhibits [14C]CE and [14C]TG syntheses by about 90%. These results show that
      inhibiton of acyl-CoA synthetase by triacsin C causes a decrease in the cellular
      levels of acyl-CoA, the common substrate for CE and TG syntheses, leading to an
      inhibiton of neutral lipid synthesis and eventually to the complete disappearance
      of cytosolic lipid droplets from macrophages. These findings suggest that TG
      synthesis, as well as CE synthesis, is responsible for macrophage-derived foam
      cell formation, and is therefore a potential target for new antiatherosclerotic
      agents.

PMID- 9990130
TI  - Cell-free expression of two single-chain monoclonal antibodies against lysozyme:
      effect of domain arrangement on the expression.
AB  - Single-chain antibodies (scFv), which can be produced in Escherichia coli cells,
      have been shown in numerous cases to be active in antigen binding. In the case of
      the two anti-lysozyme single-chain antibodies, scFvLH and scFvHL, which have the
      reversed arrangement of the variable domains of the heavy and light chains of the
      corresponding monoclonal antibodies, the expression level differs greatly when
      they are produced in Escherichia coli [Tsumoto et al. (1995) Biochem. Biophys.
      Res. Commun. 201, 546-551]. Although the expression level of scFvLH is high in
      vivo, the single chain antibody with the reversed orientation (scFvHL) was
      synthesized in a very low yield and no active product could be obtained. We
      report here the synthesis of these two anti-lysozyme single-chain antibodies in
      high yields and with high biological activities in a cell-free E. coli expression
      system in the presence of reduced and oxidized glutathione, protein disulfide
      isomerase (PDI), and chaperones. In immunological blotting assays, the
      synthesized scFvs with both arrangements exhibit specific binding activity to the
      corresponding antigens, hen egg-white lysozyme, and in an activity assay both
      inhibited the action of lysozyme. scFvLH is synthesized mainly as a product with
      the expected molecular weight, whereas scFvHL is produced with additional shorter
      fragments, suggesting that the low yield isolation through the expression in vivo
      is due to mistranslation or ribonucleolytic cleavage of the transcript. In the
      cell-free expression of scFv a certain amount of the product is precipitated but
      in the presence of chaperones the amount of soluble protein increased from 25 to
      90% (PDI and chaperones). The overall expression level and the specific
      biological activity, however, were hardly influenced. The system reported here
      can provide significant amounts of various scFv fragments regardless of the order
      of variable regions, including those which are hardly expressed in vivo.

PMID- 9990131
TI  - Localization of 17-kDa myosin light chain isoforms in cultured aortic smooth
      muscle cells.
AB  - Smooth muscle myosin II contains two 17-kDa essential light chain isoforms
      (LC17gi and LC17nm) of which the relative contents differ among myosins. To
      understand the roles of LC17 isoforms in the functions of myosin, we performed an
      immunofluorescence microscopic examination of their localization in primary
      cultured cells isolated from rat aortic smooth muscle. To identify the isoforms,
      rabbit polyclonal antibodies were prepared against C-terminal nonapeptides
      corresponding to either LC17gi or LC17nm from porcine aortic smooth muscle
      myosin. These isoforms differ in only 5 amino acid residues within the C-terminal
      9 residues. These antibodies specifically recognize each LC17 isoform on urea
      PAGE of total rat aortic cell lysates. Immediately after plating, the smooth
      muscle cells stained heterogeneously with each antibody, indicating differing
      contents of LC17 isoforms among cells. On double staining 1-2 d cultures with
      both antibodies, LC17nm was detected diffusely throughout the cytoplasm, whereas
      LC17gi was concentrated in specific regions such as the cell periphery and the
      base of cytoplasmic processes. These results support the suggestion that myosin
      containing LC17gi is essential for force-generation by aortic smooth muscle and
      that myosin containing LC17nm may play an important role in maintaining smooth
      muscle tension.

PMID- 9990132
TI  - High performance in refolding of Streptomyces griseus trypsin by the aid of a
      mutant of Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor designed as trypsin inhibitor.
AB  - Refolding of reduced and denatured Streptomyces griseus trypsin (SGT) was
      investigated. In the standard buffer of 50 mM Tris-HCl, the refolding yield of 1
      microg/ml of SGT did not exceed 15%. This low yield was assumed to be due mainly
      to autoproteolysis and/or aggregation occurring concurrently with refolding. On
      the basis of this assumption, SGT was immobilized on agarose gel in order to
      suppress such intermolecular interactions, and various refolding media were
      examined for their ability to minimize misfolding. As a result, 1 M Tris, 1 M
      diethanolamine, and 1 M triethanolamine were chosen, and their application to the
      solution system increased the refolding yield considerably, to ca. 45%. A further
      dramatic increase in yield, to 85%, was observed when a mutant Streptomyces
      subtilisin inhibitor (SSI, C71SM73KC101S), engineered as a temporary inhibitor of
      SGT, was added to the solution system to suppress autoproteolysis during
      refolding. The application of a temporary inhibitor may be greatly effective in
      not only improvement of yield but also selection of media for the refolding of
      protease.

PMID- 9990133
TI  - Human renin-binding protein is the enzyme N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 2-epimerase.
AB  - The existence of human renin-binding protein (RnBP) in the kidney has been shown
      by the isolation and characterization of a complex of porcine renin-human RnBP
      [S. Takahashi et al. (1985) J. Biochem. 97, 671-677]. However, the properties of
      the free form of human RnBP had not been understood, because of the limitation of
      materials. In the present study, we have expressed human RnBP in Escherichia coli
      JM 109 cells under the transcriptional control of taq promoter and purified it by
      conventional column chromatographies. The purified recombinant human RnBP
      (rhRnBP) exists as a dimer and inhibits porcine renin activity through formation
      of a complex of porcine renin with rhRnBP, the so-called high-molecular-weight
      renin. Moreover, the rhRnBP catalyzes the interconversion between N-acetyl-D
      glucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetyl-D-Mannosamine (ManNAc) with the apparent Km
      values of 21.3 mM for GlcNAc and 12.8 mM for ManNAc, and 0.13 mM for effector
      ATP. ATP is essential for the GlcNAc 2-epimerase activity of human RnBP. These
      results indicate that the human RnBP is a GlcNAc 2-epimerase.

PMID- 9990134
TI  - Identification of trimeric myosin phosphatase (PP1M) as a target for a novel PKC
      potentiated protein phosphatase-1 inhibitory protein (CPI17) in porcine aorta
      smooth muscle.
AB  - CPI17, a phosphorylation-dependent inhibitory protein of protein phosphatase-1
      (PP1), is dominantly expressed in smooth muscle, and the inhibitory activity is
      potentiated by protein kinase C and its related enzymes [Eto, M. et al. (1997)
      FEBS Lett. 410, 356-360]. In order to identify its physiological target in smooth
      muscle, the myofibrillar extract from porcine aorta media was analyzed by
      affinity chromatography on CPI17-conjugated Sepharose. The binding of
      phosphatases to the resin depended on thiophosphorylation of CPI17, and about 90%
      of the phosphatase activities toward phosphorylated myosin (p-myosin) and
      phosphorylase-a were bound to the resin and could be eluted with 0.5 M NaCl. The
      IC50 values of thiophosphorylated CPI17 toward phosphatases bound to the resin
      were in the range of 0.5-3 nM, as expected for the PP1 holoenzymes sensitive to
      CPI17. The CPI17-sensitive fraction was further separated into several peaks of
      phosphatase activity by column chromatography on Mono Q, which suggested multiple
      functions of CPI17 as a mediator of the protein kinase C-related signal
      transduction pathway in aorta smooth muscle. The major activity toward p-myosin
      was identified as the myofibril-bound PP1 (PP1M), and its subunit composition
      (140, 37, and 20 kDa) was consistent with that of PP1M from chicken gizzard and
      porcine bladder. The purified PP1M was completely inhibited by phosphorylated and
      thiophosphorylated CPI17. Kinetic analysis showed mixed inhibition of PP1M by
      CPI17 (Ki = 1.9 nM and Ki' = 5.1 nM). The concentration of CPI17 in aorta smooth
      muscle cells was estimated to be at least 0. 3 microM from the result of Western
      analysis. This concentration appears to be sufficient to suppress the in situ
      PP1M in aorta smooth muscle, and PP1M is thus identified as a target of CPI17 in
      vascular smooth muscle.

PMID- 9990135
TI  - Partial purification and characterization of a novel endo-beta-mannosidase acting
      on N-linked sugar chains from Lilium longflorum thumb.
AB  - An enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of the Manbeta1-4GlcNAc linkage of N-linked
      sugar chains was partially purified and characterized. Endo-beta-mannosidase
      activity was detected using pyridylaminated (PA-) Manalpha1-6Manbeta1
      4GlcNAcbeta1-4GlcNAc as the substrate in a homogenate of lily flowers (Lilium
      longflorum Thumb). The enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulfate
      precipitation, and Q-Sepharose, Superdex 200, hydroxyapatite, Poros PE/M, Mono Q,
      and Superdex 200 column chromatographies. The optimum pH was 5.0 and the
      estimated molecular weight of the enzyme was 78,000, as determined by gel
      filtration. The Km value found for Manalpha1-6Manbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-4GlcNAc-PA
      was 1.4 mM. The enzymatic activity was not influenced by the addition of 10 mM
      EDTA or 2 mM Ca2+. Experiments on the hydrolysis of several PA-N-linked sugar
      chains revealed that the enzyme hydrolyzed MannManalpha1-6Manbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1
      4GlcNAc-PA (n = 0-2) into a mixture of MannManalpha1-6Man and GlcNAcbeta1-4GlcNAc
      PA, indicating that it is an endoglycosidase in nature. However, the enzyme did
      not hydrolyze beta1-4mannohexaose or p-nitrophenyl beta-mannopyranoside.

PMID- 9990136
TI  - Purification and characterization of a novel vascular endothelial cell growth
      inhibitor secreted by macrophage-like U-937 cells.
AB  - A human histiocytic lymphoma cell line, U-937 cells, secretes several vascular
      endothelial cell growth inhibitors including leukemia inhibitory factor,
      oncostatin M, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and transforming growth factor-beta1.
      Characterization of partially purified fractions from the conditioned media of
      phorbol ester-treated U-937 cells suggested the existence of unknown endothelial
      growth inhibitors. Using a combination of copper affinity, heparin affinity,
      cation exchange, and reversed phase liquid chromatographies, a growth inhibitor
      for endothelial cells was purified to homogeneity from conditioned media. The
      purified growth inhibitor migrated as a 65 kDa band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel
      electrophoresis under both reducing and nonreducing conditions. Microsequencing
      analyses of the tryptic fragments of the growth inhibitor and a BLAST search
      analysis revealed a unique sequence showing no homology to known proteins. The
      purified protein inhibited endothelial cell growth in a dose-dependent manner,
      but had no effect on smooth muscle cell growth. The factor also blocked
      endothelial cell growth induced by both fibroblast growth factor-2 and vascular
      endothelial growth factor, and was additively effective in inhibiting the growth
      of endothelial cells by U-937 cell-derived endothelial cell growth inhibitors.
      Thus, this factor appears to be a novel inhibitor with specificity for vascular
      endothelial cells, and is tentatively called endothelial cell inhibitor (ECI) in
      this study.

PMID- 9990137
TI  - Isolation and amino acid sequence of a phospholipase A2 inhibitor from the blood
      plasma of the sea krait, Laticauda semifasciata.
AB  - A phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor was purified from the blood plasma of a sea
      krait, Laticauda semifasciata, by sequential chromatography on Sephadex G-200,
      Mono Q, and Phenyl Sepharose columns. The purified inhibitor was found to be the
      same type as the PLA2 inhibitors, named PLIgamma, that had been purified from the
      blood plasma of the Thai cobra Naja naja kaouthia [Ohkura et al. (1994) Biochem.
      Biophys. Res. Commun. 200, 784-788] and Chinese mamushi Agkistrodon blomhoffii
      siniticus [Ohkura et al. (1997) Biochem. J. 325, 527-531]. Like other PLIgammas,
      the L. semifasciata inhibitor (LsPLIgamma) inhibited equally all of the PLA2s
      investigated including Elapid venom PLA2s (group I), Crotalid and Viperid venom
      PLA2s (group II), and honeybee PLA2 (group III). The LsPLIgamma was a 100-kDa
      glycoprotein composed of two distinct subunits, LsPLIgamma-A and LsPLIgamma-B,
      with an approximate molar ratio of 2:1. The amino acid sequences of the two
      subunits were determined by alignment of the peptides obtained by lysyl
      endopeptidase, endoproteinase Asp-N, and staphylococcal V8 protease digestions.
      LsPLIgamma-A and LsPLIgamma-B were composed of 182 and 181 amino acid residues,
      respectively; and the former subunit was a glycoprotein containing one asparagine
      linked sugar chain at the position 157. The sequences of LsPLIgamma-A and
      LsPLIgamma-B showed 65 and 74% homology, respectively, to those of the
      corresponding subunits of N. naja kaouthia PLIgamma, and had two tandem patterns
      of cysteine residues, characteristic of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator
      receptor (uPAR) and members of the Ly-6 superfamily.

PMID- 9990138
TI  - In vitro and in vivo effects of phenolic antioxidants against cisplatin-induced
      nephrotoxicity.
AB  - We have investigated the effect of phenolic antioxidants on cisplatin-induced
      cytotoxicity in vero (African Green Monkey Kidney) cells and in rat renal
      cortical slices in vitro, and on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats in
      vivo. Incubation of cisplatin with vero cells resulted in time- and concentration
      dependent cytotoxicity, as characterized by decreased tryphan blue exclusion
      (TBE) and increased release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) into the medium.
      Cisplatin also caused reduction of glutathione (GSH) in a concentration-dependent
      manner. In the rat renal cortical slices model, incubation of cisplatin for 120
      min caused an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA), a decrease in GSH and inhibited
      p-aminohippurate (PAH) uptake in a concentration-dependent manner. Among phenolic
      antioxidants, isoeugenol (IG) was found to be more active against cisplatin
      induced cytotoxicity in vero cells as well as in rat renal cortical slices than
      eugenol (EG) and dehydrozingerone (DZ). However none of the test compounds were
      able to arrest the reduction of the GSH content induced by cisplatin in either
      the vero cells or the renal cortical slice model. Administration of cisplatin (3
      mg/kg) i.p. to rats resulted in significant reduction of body weight, and
      elevation of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine. Treatment with IG 10
      mg/kg i.p. 1 h before cisplatin resulted in partial but significant protection
      against the cisplatin-induced reduction of body weight, and elevation of BUN and
      serum creatinine, the protection being 34, 46, and 62%, respectively. EG and DZ
      (10 mg/kg, i.p.) were found to be inactive in vivo. Because IG is a potent free
      radical scavenger and protects against cisplatin-induced toxicitiy, the present
      results have many clinical implications in chemotherapy and thus warrants further
      investigation.

PMID- 9990139
TI  - Double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR) fused to green fluorescent
      protein induces apoptosis of human embryonic kidney cells: possible role in the
      Fas signaling pathway.
AB  - PKR is an interferon-inducible, double-stranded (ds) RNA-activated
      serine/threonine protein kinase, and has been shown to play roles in viral
      pathogenesis, cell growth and apoptosis. We expressed PKR as a fusion protein
      with enhanced jellyfish green fluorescence protein (EGFP) in human embryonic
      kidney 293 cells to visualize the effect of PKR transfection. The EGFP-fusion
      construct with wild-type PKR showed both auto- and substrate-phosphorylation
      activities independent of dsRNA, indicating EGFP-PKR is constitutively active.
      The EGFP-construct with a mutant PKR with the first RNA binding domain deleted
      still possessed kinase activities. On the other hand, the EGFP-fusion with a
      catalytically inactive mutant of PKR with the substitution of K at 296 with R,
      which has been shown to have tumorigenic properties, did not possess kinase
      activities. Transfection of the constitutive active forms of EGFP-PKR constructs
      induced apoptosis in 293 cells without dsRNA, whereas the EGFP-fusion with the
      catalytically inactive mutant did not cause apoptosis but rather protected cells
      from Fas-induced cell death. In addition, Fas-stimulation increased endogenous
      PKR activities. These results constitute evidence that PKR is sufficient to
      induce apoptosis, and plays a role in Fas-mediated apoptosis.

PMID- 9990140
TI  - The stabilized structural array of two HMG1/2-boxes endowed by a linker sequence
      between them is requisite for the effective binding of HMG1 with DNA.
AB  - High mobility group (HMG) protein 1 contains two DNA binding motifs, called
      HMG1/2-boxes, linked with a linker region. The functional relationships between
      the two boxes and the mechanism of involvement of the linker region for effective
      binding of HMG1 were examined. The binding analyses of truncated HMG1 peptides
      with DNA indicated that the structural array of two boxes stabilizes the
      interaction of HMG1 with DNA. The mutation analyses of the linker region
      suggested that the region is equipped with tolerance for the deletion of a few
      amino acid residues to allow appropriate binding of the two boxes with DNA, and
      that the basic cluster in the linker sequence is in a position to interact with
      DNA. The existence of tolerance for the linker sequence was found to be conserved
      during the evolution of HMG1 protein homologues. A structural model for array of
      two boxes associating with DNA minor groove was constructed on the basis of the
      experimental results and energy minimization. The model proposes that the DNA
      binding region in HMG1 covers an 18 bp DNA region and induces its bending by
      about 140 degrees. The linker region may function to maintain the structural
      array of two HMG1/2-boxes by direct interaction with DNA.

PMID- 9990141
TI  - Basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan (perlecan) synthesized by ACC3,
      adenoid cystic carcinoma cells of human salivary gland origin.
AB  - The biosynthesis of basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), known
      as perlecan, in ACC3 cells established from a adenoid cystic carcinoma of the
      human salivary gland was studied using metabolic labeling and immunoprecipitation
      with discriminative antibodies specific for HSPG core protein. Treatment of
      immunoprecipitated HSPG with HNO2, heparitinase, and chondroitinase ABC revealed
      that ACC3 cells synthesized HSPG molecules composed of 470-kDa core protein and
      heparan sulfate but not of chondroitin sulfate. The core protein was shown to
      contain complex type N-linked oligosaccharides by digestion with N-glycanase and
      endoglycosidase H. Pulse-chase experiments showed that the mature form of HSPG
      was formed in the cells in 30 min and released into the medium thereafter.
      Degradation of HSPG was also found in the chase period of 3 h. In time course
      experiments, HSPG was found to be synthesized maximally at day 4 after plating,
      deposited in the cell layer maximally at day 6, and secreted maximally at day 8.
      This was also confirmed by immunofluorescence, Northern blotting, and in-situ
      hybridization. The results indicate that ACC3 cells synthesize, secrete and
      degrade basement membrane type HSPG, which is analogous to those produced by
      other cell types, and that the biosynthesis and secretion of HSPG in ACC3 cells
      are strictly regulated by the cell growth, that may be reflected in the
      characteristic histology of adenoid cystic carcinomas.

PMID- 9990142
TI  - Properties of the V0V1 Na+-ATPase from Enterococcus hirae and its V0 moiety.
AB  - We report here the large-scale purification of vacuolar (V0V1)-type Na+-ATPase
      from Enterococcus hirae achieved using column anion-exchange and gel filtration
      chromatographies; 32 mg of purified enzyme comprising nine subunits, A, B, C, D,
      E, F, G, I, and K, was obtained from 20 liter culture. This amount is 500-fold
      larger than that reported in the previous paper [Murata, T., Takase, K., Yamato,
      I., Igarashi, K., and Kakinuma, Y. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 24885-24890]. The
      purified enzyme shows a high specific activity of ATP hydrolysis (35.7 micromol
      Pi released/min/mg protein). ATP-driven 22Na+ uptake by reconstituted V0V1
      proteoliposomes exhibited an apparent Kt value for Na+ of 40 microM, which is
      near the Km value (20 microM) for Na+ of the ATP hydrolytic activity. Denatured
      gel electrophoresis revealed that six subunits, A, B, C, D, E, and F, are
      releasable as the V1 subunit from the V0V1 complex by incubation with
      ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; subunit G was not identified. The remaining V0
      liposomes containing I and K subunits catalyzed Na+ uptake in response to
      potassium diffusion potential (Deltapsi, inside negative); the Kt value for Na+
      of this reaction was estimated to be about 2 mM. Inhibition by N,N'
      dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) of the Na+-ATPase activity and Deltapsi-driven
      Na+ uptake by the V0-liposomes was prevented by the presence of Na+, suggesting
      that the Na+ binding site overlaps with the DCCD-reactive site.

PMID- 9990143
TI  - Molecular structure of the amyloid-forming protein kappa I Bre.
AB  - The molecular structure of the amyloid-forming Bence-Jones protein kappa I Bre
      has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.0 A resolution. The fragment
      from the kappa chain of immunoprotein contains 107 amino acid residues, and
      polymerizes in the crystal form into a giant helical spiral, surrounding a
      cylinder of water 50 A in diameter with a repeat of 77.56 A, containing 12 kappa
      molecules, plus another 12 molecules from neighboring parallel spirals. The
      resulting structure has many features which have been found or suggested from
      studies on the protein fibrils found in amyloid deposits. From the results of the
      X-ray crystal structure a hypothesis is presented for the structure and formation
      of the amyloid fibril.

PMID- 9990144
TI  - A reevaluation of nystatin in prophylaxis and treatment of oropharyngeal
      candidiasis.
AB  - The incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis is growing. The species of the genus
      Candida are extremely frequent among human colonizers. The changes in the yeast
      human interaction by aging, debilitating, and immunosuppressive diseases, and the
      more aggressive medical interventions can explain this phenomenon. Antifungals
      are used both in prophylaxis and therapy, but the number of available agents
      remains scarce. Acquired resistance to the more commonly used antifungal agents,
      the azole compounds, is also an increasing threat, Policies for antifungal use
      should be established in order to maintain the therapeutic possibilities of the
      current compounds, The widespread use of systemic azoles, agents useful in deep
      mycosis, may increasingly exert a selective power for resistant variants.
      Superficial infections, such as oropharyngeal candidiasis, can be successfully
      controlled by nystatin, a classic polyene, which is very well tolerated and has
      very low rates of resistance. This review on the importance of oropharyngeal
      candidiasis emphasizes this therapeutic possibility, and is complemented by in
      vitro studies documenting the excellent activity of nystatin on both azole
      susceptible and resistant strains.

PMID- 9990145
TI  - [Characteristics of Helicobacter pylori infection in children: therapeutic
      implications].

PMID- 9990146
TI  - [The effect of a rational and consensual protocol for the use of ceftriaxone in a
      general hospital].
AB  - In hospitals in Spain there has been a large increase in the use of wide spectrum
      antibiotics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of a
      rational, consensual protocol on the use of ceftriaxone. An observational and
      prospective study was carried out using information provided by the Servicio de
      Farmacia on the in-hospital prescriptions for ceftriaxone. The study included two
      groups as follows: a control group (October-December 1995) not taking into
      account the protocols for antibiotic treatment; and a study group in the same
      months in 1996 with the consensual protocols taken into account. The criteria for
      the type of patient, infection, evolution and antibiotic treatment were evaluated
      according to the criteria in the international literature on this type of study.
      The initial characteristics of both groups of patients were similar. Following
      the use of the protocol there was a significantly associated reduction in use (48
      cases in the study group vs. 57 cases in the control group), an increase in the
      appropriate use (31. 57% in the control group vs. 75% in the study group), an
      increase in the cure rate (70.17% in the control group vs. 91.7% in the study
      group) and a decrease in hospital stay of 7.53 days (22.59 days in the control
      group vs. 15.06 in the study group), producing a savings per cured patient of
      617.142 pesetas. It was concluded that the consensual protocol and its proper
      application make for a highly interesting approach given that it allowed for
      better quality use of ceftriaxone with greater cost-effectiveness.

PMID- 9990147
TI  - [Relationship between the sensitivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the post
      antibiotic effect of sparfloxacin and ciprofloxacin].
AB  - The post antibiotic effect (PAE) of 8 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with
      different susceptibility to sparfloxacin and ciprofloxacin was evaluated by the
      colony counting method using centrifugation to remove the antibiotic. The
      bacteria were exposed for 60 min to a quinolone concentration of 1 mg/ml. The MIC
      of sparfloxacin and ciprofloxacin ranged from 0.25-256 mg/ml and from 0. 25-128
      mg/ml, respectively. PAE values ranged from 46 8.71 to 59.6 2.51 min and from
      46.33 15.2 to 62.6 3.70 min, respectively. No significant statistical differences
      were found in the PAE duration for quinolones nor between strains. No correlation
      could be established between PAE and susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to
      quinolones.

PMID- 9990148
TI  - [Comparison of the microdilution method (PASCO), the Etest and disc-diffusion in
      streptococcus pneumoniae antibiotic susceptibility testing].
AB  - MIC values and inhibition zone diameters for penicillin, cefotaxime, and
      erythromycin where determined in 75 consecutive Streptococcus pneumoniae blood
      isolates by microdilution (PASCO), disc-diffusion and Etest. Using the Etest, 40%
      and 29.3% of the isolates showed low- or high-level resistance to penicillin and
      erythromycin respectively, whereas 9.3% were intermediate to cefotaxime. No high
      level resistance to cefotaxime was found. No errors were found with the
      comparison of penicillin and cefotaxime results by microdilution and Etest, with
      just 2 (2.7%) and 3 (4%) minor errors appearing respectively. On the other hand,
      when comparing penicillin susceptibility results by disc-diffusion (1 mg
      oxacillin disc) and Etest, 6 (8%) major errors and 18 (24%) minor errors were
      found.

PMID- 9990149
TI  - [Activity of trovafloxacin and ten other antimicrobials against gram negative
      anaerobic bacilli].
AB  - As an increase in anaerobes resistant to a great variety of antimicrobials have
      been seen in the last few years, a search for new agents with activity against
      these microorganisms is needed. One of these agents is trovafloxacin. In our
      study, all strains were susceptible to imipenem, metronidazole, chloramphenicol
      and piperacillin/tazobactam. A total of 97% of the strains were inhibited with 2
      mg/ml of trovafloxacin. The microorganisms Bacteroides fragilis and B. uniformis
      showed the least susceptibility against the antimicrobials studied, with a MIC90
      for trovafloxacin of 1 and 2 mg/ml, respectively. Fusobacterium spp. were the
      most susceptible, with an MIC90 for trovafloxacin of 0.5 mg/ml. Trovafloxacin
      showed good activity against Gram-negative anaerobe rods, and could therefore be
      considered as an alternative in the treatment of the infections produced by these
      microorganisms.

PMID- 9990150
TI  - Urinary Phenylglyoxylic Acid Excretion after Exposure to Ethylbenzene among
      Solvent-exposed Chinese Workers.
AB  - Factory surveys were conducted in the second half of work weeks on 360 solvent
      workers (202 men and 158 women) and 281 controls in China. Monitoring personal
      exposures showed that ethylbenzene exposure was low (geometric mean 1.8 ppm) and
      was accompanied by coexposure to toluene (1.5 ppm) and three xylene isomers (6.7
      ppm). Urine samples collected at the end of the eight-hour shift were analyzed
      for phenylglyoxylic and mandelic acids by high-pressure liquid chromatography at
      257 nm. Despite the low level of the exposures, a significant correlation was
      observed between ethylbenzene exposure and urinary phenylglyoxylic acid, with
      high (0.6-0.7) correlation coefficients, suggesting that urinary phenylglyoxylic
      acid is a good marker of occupational exposure to ethylbenzene. Mandelic acid
      also correlated with ethylbenzene exposure, but with much smaller coefficients
      (0.2), possibly because the method employed was more sensitive to phenylglyoxylic
      acid than to mandelic acid.

PMID- 9990151
TI  - Occupational Stress and Dysmenorrhea in Women Working in Cotton Textile Mills.
AB  - The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of 895 never-smoking female textile
      workers, aged 20-40 years, employed in three cotton textile mills in Anhui
      Province, China, to assess the association of self-reported occupational stress
      with dysmenorrhea. Stress was assessed by means of a questionnaire incorporated
      into a larger, general health survey of textile workers. Dysmenorrhea was defined
      as abdominal/pelvic pain during menses. Proportions of no/low, moderate, and high
      levels of occupationally-related emotional stress among all the subjects were
      56%, 23%, and 21%, respectively. The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhea in the
      population was 59.7%. The adjusted odds ratios of dysmenorrhea for women who had
      moderate and high levels of occupational stress relative to those with low levels
      were 1.6 (95% CI:1.1-2.2) and 2.3 (95% CI:1.6-3.4), suggesting an exposure
      response relationship. The estimated odds ratio based on assigned scores (0, 1,
      and 2 assigned for no/low, moderate, and high degrees of occupational stress) was
      1.5 (95% CI:1.3-1.8). In the analyses stratified by the mills and the women's job
      titles, a positive association was found in all groups. The association remained
      significant (OR = 1.6, 95% CI:1.3-2.0) when the analysis was restricted to those
      women with only one reported livebirth pregnancy. The findings suggest that high
      degrees of occupational stress predispose female textile workers to dysmenorrhea.

PMID- 9990152
TI  - Effects of Deomestic Gas Cooking and Passive Smoking on Chronic Respiratory
      Symptoms and Asthma in Elderly Women.
AB  - The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of indoor air pollution
      resulting from the use of gas stoves for cooking on women more than 65 years old,
      who may be more susceptible than younger women to the harmful effects of
      pollutants. A total of 1,544 women living in Cracow took part in a survey. The
      data were collected to standardized interviews dealing with respiratory symptoms
      (coughing, phlegm production, dyspnea on exertion), chronic chest diseases
      diagnosed by a doctor, active and passive smoking, educational level, type of
      cooking fuel used, and average time spent daily in cooking. Lung function was
      tested with a spirometer. Comparison of the prevalence of respiratory symptoms by
      daily duration of cooking of smokers with that of never-smokers showed more
      symptoms in smokers even in the low-exposure category. In multivariate analysis,
      the effects of duration of cooking with gas on asthma for the highest exposure
      category in terms of odds ratios (ORs) were 2.8 for the never-smokers and 2.4 for
      the smokers; however, passive smoking had no significant effect. As regards
      dyspnea on exertion, both gas cooking and passive smoking had significant effects
      in never-smokers (OR for gas cooking 7.2, for passive smoking 2.2). The OR for
      dyspnea due to cooking with gas in smokers was 3.1. Mean FVC and FEV&inf1; levels
      were not decreased among passive smokers or those who were subject to high levels
      of gas-cooking exposure.

PMID- 9990153
TI  - In-vitro Biological Study to Evaluate the Toxic Potentials of Fibrous Materials.
AB  - The potential toxicities of fibrous materials were investigated by measuring the
      levels of cytokines as well as cytoplasmic and lysosomal enzymes released from
      alveolar macrophages (AMs) in vitro. Five man-made mineral fibers (ceramic,
      glass, potassium octatitanate, and two magnesium sulfate whiskers), as well as
      five natural mineral fibers (UICC chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophylite,
      and Turkish erionite) were tested. Basic fiber characteristics, including fiber
      size, surface area, number, and solubility, were also measured. Tumor necrosis
      factor (TNF) production, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and beta-glucuronidase (BGU)
      release from AMs exposed to potassium octatitanate, magnesium sulfate whiskers,
      and ceramic fiber correlated with pathologic changes in the lung according to
      inhalation studies. The solubility of the man-made mineral fibers also correlated
      with the half-life of clearance in an in-vivo study. The results suggest that
      measured values of TNF production, LDH and BGU release in vitro, and fiber
      solubility combined are a good indicator of the pathogenic potential of fibers in
      vivo.

PMID- 9990154
TI  - Changes in Attitudes towards and Awareness of A Medical Waste Incinerator during
      the Facility Siting Process.
AB  - The authors investigated the impact of the process of siting a medical waste
      incinerator on knowledge and attitudes among subgroups within an adjacent
      community using a model of risk perception that conceptually divided the
      community into attitudinal and behavioral subgroups based on awareness and
      concern in relation to the planned facility. The study design was a one-year
      survey and a three-year postintervention survey conducted during the siting
      process. The authors also documented the siting process in order to relate siting
      inputs to attitudinal and knowledge changes within the community. After three
      years of promotion, 80% of the respondents remained unaware of the site. The
      authors conclude that it may be very difficult to engender awareness in affected
      communities and more difficult still to influence attitudes towards the proposed
      facility.

PMID- 9990155
TI  - Reversal of the Healthy-worker Effect.
AB  - The well-known healthy-worker effect (HWE) may become reversed at advanced ages.
      The HWE deficit of deaths at younger ages must be compensated for by extra deaths
      at advanced ages. A hypothesized distribution of these compensating deaths
      illustrates how they may increase age-specific mortality rates. This can probably
      produce spurious associations with occupational exposures when cohort follow-up
      is long. This point is illustrated for lung cancer by data from a reported study
      of beryllium workers.

PMID- 9990156
TI  - An International Effort to Improve Methods of Data Collection and Exposure
      Assessment for Community-based Case-Control Studies of Occupational Disease.
AB  - The authors recommend that an international effort be made to develop
      standardized questionnaires for collecting occupational exposure information and
      to develop standard assessment procedures for evaluating occupational exposures
      in community-based case-control studies. Such standardization should improve the
      quality and credibility of findings from this type of study, as well as the
      comparability of results across studies.

PMID- 9990157
TI  - Occupational Health Research in Developing Countries: The Experience in Ecuador.
AB  - There has been a growing volume of research regarding occupational hazards in
      developing countries during the past decade. Results of this work are
      increasingly appearing in established journals and forming part of the
      international database on the health effects of working conditions. However,
      despite many similarities to research conducted in economically advanced
      countries, research performed in developing countries are often quite different
      in their motivations, methodologies, and outcomes. To investigate these
      differences, the recent occupational health research experience in Ecuador was
      examined. Based on 15 reports that could be identified since 1980 as having
      sufficient information to analyze, the authors identified certain persistent
      themes: the preponderance of cross-sectional study designs; the limited
      availability of quantitative exposure measures, and the utilization of
      nonstandard clinical measures of outcome. Each of these limitations could be
      related to obvious conditions under which investigators were working, and each
      underscores the potential value of strategic alliances between local
      investigators and collaborators from developed countries. The review also
      documented the high importance in Ecuador to studies of "established"
      relationships between well-known toxicants and health. While such studies could
      be viewed as unoriginal or uninteresting by outsiders, they may form the basis of
      the domestic or regional research agenda, which cannot be overlooked or
      misunderstood if international collaborations are not to be exploitative.

PMID- 9990158
TI  - Epidemiologic Evidence of Radiofrequency Radiation (Microwave) Effects on Health
      in Military, Broadcasting, and Occupational Studies.
AB  - In this opinion piece, the author brings together and discusses the collective
      relevance of possible health effects of microwave or radar exposure in military,
      broadcasting, and occupational circumstances, with a view to assuring optimal
      protective practices. Sources of the information presented include 1) historical
      data, 2) experiences of Polish soldiers, 3) a study of U.S. naval personnel using
      radar in the Korean War, 4) preliminary findings of exposures to the Skrunda,
      Latvia, transmitter, 5) data obtained near Hawaiian broadcasting facilities, 6)
      occupational studies of electronic and electrical workers, including ham radio
      operators, 7) reproductive outcomes among physiotherapists using short-wave and
      microwave diathermy, and 8) U.S. foreign service personnel exposed at Embassies
      in Eastern Europe. Some of the data are available in the peer-reviewed
      literature, others in abstracts, reports, or other non-peer-reviewed forms. Some
      were obtained under Freedom of Information statutes and are incomplete. For some
      of these, there is reason to believe that further evidence desired by the
      investigator was not obtained. Some are case-referent studies, but most are not.
      Some are ecological, and all are retrospective. Few have reliable dose
      estimations, and none has accurate dosage information on each subject. None
      includes evidence of tissue heating or any short-term effect. Possible outcomes
      considered included 1) blood count changes, 2) evidence of somatic mutation, 3)
      impairment of reproductive outcomes, especially increased spontaneous abortion,
      and 4) increase in cancer incidence and mortality, especially of the
      hematopoietic system, brain, and breast. The author presents evidence that
      sufficient microwave exposures are associated with all four of these outcomes,
      concluding that the possible effects and their timings with respect to exposure
      are qualitatively similar to those on ionizing radiation. A prudent course of
      action would be to provide more protection for those exposed than required by
      present regulations. No systematic effort to include negative studies is made;
      thus this review has a positive reporting bias.

PMID- 9990159
TI  - Bhopal-A Case Study of International Disaster.
AB  - This paper outlines what is known about the probable events leading up to the
      disaster in Bhopal, India, in 1984, wherein release of a gas cloud from an
      industrial plant killed over 3,800 people. It briefly reviews the toxicology of
      methyl isocyanate, a major component of the cloud; presents an overview of the
      acute and chronic health effects of the gas exposure from published human and
      animal studies; identifies some of the clinical dilemmas and medical management
      and epidemiologic issues being debated; provides an insight into national and
      transnational implications; and summarizes the lessons learned or not learned
      from this disaster of global significance.

PMID- 9990160
TI  - Breast Cancer Screening among Employed American Women.
AB  - From the 1990 National Health Interview Survey Health Promotion and Disease
      Prevention supplement, the authors estimated the 1990 baseline prevalence of
      breast cancer screening among employed U.S. women aged 50-70 years. Proportions
      of women screened for breast cancer were calculated by occupational category and
      demographic characteristics, and were compared with the Healthy People 2000
      objective that 60% of women aged 50 and older have had mammography and a clinical
      breast examination within the preceding two years. The objective was exceeded for
      white-collar workers (61.8%) and workers with some college (64.1%), but was not
      met by any blue-collar/service workers (40.8%); or any workers with only a high
      school diploma (54.7%) or less than a high school diploma (38.5%). Identification
      of occupational categories and demographic subgroups among working women will be
      helpful to those planning breast cancer screening programs, in both the public
      and the private sectors.

PMID- 9990161
TI  - Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Cluster in Southwestern Sardinia
      (Italy).
AB  - In response to public concern about an increase in the incidence of leukemia
      among children in southwestern Sardinia (Italy), incident cases of childhood
      cancer (ages 0-14) were ascertained among residents in the province of Cagliari,
      which comprises all of southern Sardinia, in 1974-89. Completeness of the
      ascertainment of leukemia cases was validated by comparison with estimates
      derived from official statistics of mortality and survival curves. A significant
      excess risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) was found for
      children residing in the town of Carbonia. The risk was highest in 1983-85, when
      seven cases occurred versus 0.8 expected. No birth-cohort effect was observed.
      The cALL incidence rate was significantly higher among children born and residing
      in Carbonia than among children born in Carbonia but residing elsewhere. However,
      the cALL cases did not cluster within the town of Carbonia. The proximity of the
      largest industrial settlement in the region of Sardinia raised the suspicion that
      environmental pollution was responsible for the observed excess. Information
      about industrial emissions from this settlement prior to the appearance of the
      cALL cluster was not sufficient to reject or confirm the hypothesis.

PMID- 9990162
TI  - Upper-extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders in Keyboard Operators in Brazil: A
      Cross-sectional Study.
AB  - This study sought to determine the prevalence of upper-extremity musculoskeletal
      disorders (UEMSDs) among keyboard operators in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to compare
      this prevalence with that among other office workers. One hundred and thirty
      keyboard operators (mean age 33 years, 60 male/70 female) and 138 office workers
      (mean age 35 years, 82 male/56 female) from two computing centers were
      interviewed by a research assistant using a standardized questionnaire.
      Symptomatic subjects, defined as those who reported upper extremity pain or lost
      work time due to pain in the preceding 12 months, were examined by a
      rheumatologist. Mean (SD) lengths of employment were 9 (6) years for keyboard
      operators and 8 (6) years for office workers. Upper-extremity pain during the
      preceding seven days was reported by 66 keyboard operators (51%) and by 18 office
      workers (13%) (p < 0.0001); during the preceding 12 months, by 90 keyboard
      operators (69%) and by 26 office workers (19%) (p < 0.0001). UEMSDs were
      diagnosed following physical examination in 50 keyboard operators and in 12
      office workers (9%) (p < 0.0001). Tenosynovitis was the most common disorder
      diagnosed among the keyboard operators (n = 23). Among the keyboard operators the
      prevalence of UEMSDs was significantly lower for males (p = 0.017, OR = 0.38,
      95%CI = 0.17-0.86). The presence of a diagnosed UEMSD was significantly
      associated with duration of employment (p = 0.005) and lack of or insufficient
      rest breaks (p = 0.012). Keyboard operators had significantly more UEMSDs than
      did office workers. Strategies aimed at the reduction of repetitive strain
      injuries among keyboard operators, such as the provision of adequate work breaks,
      should be evaluated.

PMID- 9990163
TI  - A Mailed-questionnaire Survey of Ex-workers: A Tool to Evaluate the Healthy
      worker Effect in Cross-sectional Studies.
AB  - In order to evaluate a possible healthy-worker effect in a cross-sectional study
      in a viscose rayon plant, a survey of ex-workers was conducted. From the
      personnel records of this factory, 475 male, Caucasian, Dutch-speaking, carbon
      disulfide (CS&inf2;)-exposed workers who had been employed ten years prior to the
      cross-sectional study were selected for study. Of these, 142 were still employed
      in the same plant, and 64 were deceased. Retrieval of the causes of death proved
      impossible. A questionnaire was mailed to the remaining 269 men, of whom 149
      completed and returned it. Eighty-nine subjects reported having left the plant
      for health reasons. Among the health reasons specified, eye-irritation complaints
      were most often mentioned (53.7%), followed by gastrointestinal complaints
      (32.8%), complaints concerning the central nervous system (19.4%) and the
      peripheral nerves (11.9%), heart or lung problems (14.9%), and problems affecting
      the skin (9.0%). The average duration of employment decreased significantly with
      the intensity of the exposure to CS&inf2;. The results suggest that the findings
      of a cross-sectional study of current workers in the same viscose rayon plant may
      represent underestimates of some conditions, in particular the acute eye
      irritation complaints. Other complaints with high prevalences in the cross
      sectional study, such as complaints consistent with polyneuropathy, seemed less,
      while others, such as impotence, seemed not at all, subject to underestimation.

PMID- 9990164
TI  - Isolated Musculocutaneous Nerve Injury: A Case Report.
AB  - A case report of an isolated musculocutaneous nerve injury distal to the branch
      to the coracobrachialis muscle of the non-dominant arm is described. The injury
      occurred in the context of an industrial setting, specifically, an assembly
      plant. The non-dominant limb was injured; in contrast, most reports indicate the
      dominant limb was affected during strenuous activity. Nerve function was
      monitored with serial electromyography. Management of the injury was
      conservative, with eventual full functional recovery.

PMID- 9990165
TI  - Development and Application of a Work-process Classification.
AB  - Occupational exposures are related to work processes carried out by the
      individual worker. A classification of the work processes was developed on the
      basis of analyses of several databases. Work-process data were collected in a
      sample of Danish employees. An unambiguous, exhaustive work-process
      classification was developed where the work process was defined as the
      transformation of a work object into a product. A test showed that at least 85%
      of free-text data on occupational injuries contained work-process data. To
      illustrate applications of the classification, work-process data were used to
      define highly exposed and unexposed job groups. This classification may be useful
      for (for example) major general surveys to supplement the exposure information
      that job and industry classifications yield.

PMID- 9990166
TI  - When Science Isn't Enough: Wilhelm Hueper, Robert A. M. Case, and the Limits of
      Scientific Evidence in Preventing Occupational Bladder Cancer.
AB  - A recent outbreak of occupational bladder cancer in a Buffalo, New York, factory
      confirmed the carcinogenicity of ortho-toluidine, an aromatic amine that had
      first been implicated in human bladder cancer cases decades earlier. Events
      leading to this outbreak replicated the history of numerous earlier bladder
      cancer outbreaks among workers exposed to beta-naphthylamine and benzidine, two
      other aromatic amines that were widely used in the dye and rubber industries and
      that have been responsible for bladder cancer outbreaks in the United States,
      Germany, Switzerland, England, France, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, the former
      Soviet Union, Poland, and China. The historic development of scientific knowledge
      of occupational bladder cancer prefigured many debates that later occurred around
      other environmental carcinogens; two of the giants of occupational medicine,
      Wilhelm Hueper and Robert A. M. Case, played seminal roles in the study of these
      chemicals. Examination of the history of worker exposure to aromatic amines and
      the subsequent development of bladder cancer at Du Pont, Allied Chemical, and
      other U.S. manufacturers demonstrates that these carcinogens were regulated only
      after cancer epidemics were recognized. Production and use of aromatic amines
      continues in developing countries; these nations will inevitably experience
      similar outbreaks unless steps are taken to eliminate exposure to these deadly
      chemicals. This paper chronicles the history of occupational bladder cancer in
      the United States, highlighting the roles of Hueper and Case in occupational
      cancer investigation and prevention.

PMID- 9990167
TI  - An Epidemiologic Study of the Effects of Carbon Disulfide on the Peripheral
      Nerves.
AB  - Although the labor inspection had disclosed considerable exposure to carbon
      disulfide (CS&inf2;) in a Belgian viscose rayon factory, the company medical
      officer had not diagnosed any case of polyneuropathy in association with CS&inf2;
      exposure, although this finding had been extensively reported in the literature.
      Personal monitoring of CS&inf2; exposure was performed in 17 jobs. Because the
      working conditions in the factory had not changed since 1932, a CS&inf2;
      cumulative exposure index (CS&inf2; index) could be calculated for each
      individual. Examination of the exposed subjects (n = 111) included a self
      administered questionnaire, a clinical neurologic examination, and
      electroneuromyography. Seventy-four workers from other plants, not exposed to
      CS&inf2; or to any other neurotoxic agent, served as referents. The average
      CS&inf2; exposures of the study group ranged from 4 to 112 mg/m(3). The data were
      analyzed with multiple regression methods, adjusting the effect of exposure for a
      number of possible confounders. Significant associations were found between the
      cumulative CS&inf2; index and symptoms consistent with polyneuropathy in the legs
      and with abnormal recruitment pattern and decrease of motor conduction velocities
      of the peroneal nerves. Exposures to CS&inf2; at levels below the present
      threshold limit value (31 mg/m(3)) were associated with significant decreases of
      motor conduction velocity.

PMID- 9990168
TI  - Mortality Patterns among Commercial Painters in The Netherlands.
AB  - In an epidemiologic study, the mortality patterns of commercial painters in The
      Netherlands were investigated. The hypothesis that painters are at an increased
      risk of cancer, especially lung cancer, was tested in collaboration with the
      Dutch Social Fund for painters. This fund manages the pensions of Dutch painters.
      In the group of painters eligible for pensions, 9,812 deaths were observed
      between 1980 and 1992. Proportionate mortality ratios were calculated. The
      results support previous findings of an increased risk of lung cancer in
      painters. Although no statement can be made about the actual causal agent, the
      authors believe that the sanding down of old paint layers may expose painters to
      particulates that contain carcinogens such as lead chromates and asbestos. The
      decreased risks of mortality from some neoplasms and circulatory and digestive
      problems, pneumoconiosis, and "other causes" observed in the painters lack a
      plausible explanation. Chance or the known limitation of proportionate mortality
      ratio analysis might play a role.

PMID- 9990169
TI  - A Model to Estimate the Delivered Doses of Substances in Liquid and Gaseous
      Phases.
AB  - A conceptual model is presented for assessing the dose of a chemical substance
      delivered to individual lung cells when exposure can occur through inhalation of
      the substance as either a gas or an aerosol of droplets. Assuming a threshold
      value for the concentration of a toxic species in a single cell, the model shows
      that the physical state of the substance may affect its biologic activity.
      Exposure to aerosol droplets of an irritating or reactive substance will deliver
      much higher surface concentrations to single cells than will a similar exposure
      to a gas. Under certain conditions, the surface concentration can be between 100
      and 10&sup10; times higher when the exposure involves an aerosol. Indirect
      support for the model is found in the observations that threshold limit values
      for aerosols are generally lower than those for gases.

PMID- 9990170
TI  - Current Perspectives on Occupational Cancer Risks.
AB  - On the basis of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's evaluations of
      occupational exposures, 22 occupational agents are classified as human
      carcinogens and an additional 22 agents as probable human carcinogens. In
      addition, evidence of increased risk of cancer was associated with particular
      industries and occupations, although no specific agents could be identified as
      etiologic factors. The main problem in the construction and interpretation of
      such lists is the lack of detailed qualitative and quantitative knowledge about
      exposures to known or suspected carcinogens. The recent examples of recognized
      occupational carcinogens, such as cadmium, beryllium, and ethylene oxide, stress
      the importance of the refinement in the methods for exposure assessment and for
      statistical analysis on the one hand and the potential benefits from the
      application of biomarkers of exposure and early effect on the other hand. Other
      trends that may be identified include the increasing practice of multicentric
      studies and investigations of exposures relevant to white collar workers and
      women. Finally, there is a need for investigation of occupational cancer risks in
      developing countries.

PMID- 9990171
TI  - The Use of Back Belts to Increase Intraabdominal Pressure as a Means of
      Preventing Low Back Injuries: A Survey of the Literature.
AB  - Published reports of relevant empirical research do not suggest a consistent
      relationship between intraabdominal pressure and the activity of the erector
      spinae muscles or the magnitude of the intradiscal pressure during lifting.
      Intraabdominal pressure varies in response to load magnitude and lift method, but
      there is no pattern of activity that would suggest that an increase in
      intraabdominal pressure decreases intradiscal pressure. Early models of back
      biomechanics predicted that the increase in intraabdominal pressure relieved the
      compressive forces on the low back by providing an extensor moment. In the newer
      models, intraabdominal pressure functions to stabilize the loaded spine. Studies
      of human subjects fail to consistently show any clear biomechanical advantage
      from using a back belt. Some studies suggest a slight decrease in back injury
      incidence when using a back belt; however, there are conflicting results
      regarding the severity of the injuries involved and the cost-effectiveness of
      back belts.

PMID- 9990172
TI  - The International Dimensions of Lead Exposure.
AB  - Lead poisoning is among the most prevalent and serious preventable diseases of
      occupational and environmental origin. Many sources contribute to human
      exposures, and the residues from past uses continue to present risks due to
      contamination of dusts, soils, and drinking water. In many aspects, lead
      poisoning is a local-scale problem, and factors in specific environments and
      workplaces, as well as characteristics of specific populations, determine the
      nature and extent of disease. However, lead is also a global pollutant: emissions
      from stationary and mobile sources are transported across boundaries and even
      oceans; lead-containing products are traded extensively; and lead-containing
      wastes such as batteries also move internationally. For these reasons, national
      regulations are insufficient to prevent this disease. This paper discusses
      evidence for undertaking international efforts to control lead exposures.

PMID- 9990173
TI  - Occupational Health in Lebanon: Overview and Challenges.
AB  - This paper discusses the challenges facing the field of occupational health in
      Lebanon following 15 years of war. It examines the opportunities for advancing
      this field and for bringing Lebanese standards up to par with international ones.
      Challenges include the minor contribution of industry to the overall economy, its
      perception as nonhazardous, the lack of standards and enforcement, the scarcity
      of data, and the obscurity of occupational health on the national agenda.
      Opportunities, on the other hand, have arisen from the need to rebuild the
      infrastructure and revive tourism, public awareness of the potential hazards of
      industries in densely populated areas, international pressure, and the return of
      professionals in occupational health. The safety and salubriousness of workplaces
      are perceived as minor concerns in Lebanon, yet desire for economic recovery may
      prove to be an incentive for increased action on this issue. Three potential
      approaches for action are presented.

PMID- 9990174
TI  - [Economic aspects of osteoporosis].
AB  - BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate expenditures and efficacy
      of osteoporosis treatment in the Czech Republic (CZ) (1.38 million women and 0.99
      million men > 55 years of age). METHODS AND RESULTS: Demographic data, incidence
      of hip fractures and prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in Czech women and
      men, cost burden to healthcare agencies due to hip fractures and costs of
      diagnostic procedures, preventive measures and therapies of osteoporosis were
      obtained from published data and from database of the main health insurance
      agency (VZP) and the State Institute for Drug Control. The direct costs for
      treatment of hip fractures in the CZ in 1997 averaged Kc (Czech Crown) 2.5
      billion, diagnosis of osteoporosis, Kc 150 million, prevention of osteoporosis
      using hormone replacement therapy, Kc 66 million, and treatments of osteoporosis
      which has been applied to less than 5% of osteoporosis patients, 482 million.
      However, despite the continuously increasing expenditures for treatments of
      osteoporosis, the incidence of hip fractures doubled in the last 10 years. This
      is mainly due to increased life expectancy in Czech women and men. CONCLUSIONS:
      The results of this first economic evaluation of diagnosis, treatment and
      consequences of osteoporosis in the CZ indicate a need for conceptual decisions
      in both treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

PMID- 9990175
TI  - [Relation of the thickness of the intima and media of the common carotid artery,
      atherosclerotic plaque in the carotids and manifestations of atherosclerosis in
      the vessels of the lower extremity in comparison to coronary atherosclerosis].
AB  - BACKGROUND: Concomitant occurrence of carotid atherosclerosis, coronary artery
      disease (CAD) and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) has been described in a
      number of studies. The objective of the present trial was to assess the degree of
      correlation between atherosclerosis of the carotid beds as well as PVD and the
      extent of CAD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Carotid morphologies of 170 patients in total
      (121 men, 49 women), ranging between 23 and 81 years in age were assessed
      ultrasonographically. Their carotid beds searched for plaques, stenoses and
      occlusions. In all patients intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid
      artery (CCA) were measured ultrasonographically. In addition, case histories of
      PVD were taken. CAD was proved angiographically in 138 patients. Plaques in
      carotid beds were found in 98 patients, carotid artery stenoses > 75% were found
      in 4 patients whereas complete carotid occlusion was not detected in any patient.
      Clinically manifested PVD was found in 20 patients. A significant difference in
      IMT of the CCA was assessed by t-test between patients having and not having CAD
      (0.67 +/- 0.16 mm vs. 0.87 +/- 0.24 mm; P < 0.0001). The correlation between the
      IMT of the CCA and extent of CAD was weak (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). A positive
      correlation between carotid plaque occurrence and the number of CAD-affected
      arteries was statistically assessed (Trend test: P = 0.0001). The sensitivity of
      incidence of plaques on the carotid beds for prediction of CAD was 64%, the
      specificity 72%, the positive predictive value 91% and the negative predictive
      value 32%. The sensitivity of clinically manifested PVD for prediction of CAD was
      15%, the specificity 100%, the positive predictive value 100% and the negative
      predictive value 21%. CONCLUSIONS: The authors confirmed a statistically
      significant but weak correlation between IMT of the CCA and severity of CAD. They
      found a positive trend between the occurrence of carotid plaques and the number
      of CAD-affected arteries. The presence of carotid plaques and clinically
      manifested PVD were confirmed as a reliable positive predictive factors for CAD.

PMID- 9990176
TI  - [Light chain deposition disease as a cause of renal failure].
AB  - The objective of the paper is to draw attention to a rare cause of rapidly
      progressing renal failure which developed in the course of four months as a
      result of light chain deposition disease. The authors submit two case-histories
      of the disease assessed by renal biopsy after previous clinical and laboratory
      suspicion of monoclonal gammapathy. In one patient in the sternal punctate
      plasmacytoma was diagnosed and in the second case it was not possible to detect
      any type of monoclonal gammapathy or another possible cause of disease. Renal
      failure was in both cases irreversible and both patients were enlisted in regular
      haemodialyzation treatment.

PMID- 9990177
TI  - [Problems with maintenance therapy in opiate dependence and the clinical
      importance of methadone].
AB  - The author presents a review of experience with substitution treatment in opiate
      dependence. Methadone treatment is most frequently used. An individual daily dose
      and long-term substitution are desirable for stabilization and motivation of
      patients included in the methadone programme. Interaction of methadone with some
      drugs affects the methadone metabolism and calls for a change of the methadone
      dose and must not be omitted. In addition to methadone there are also other types
      of pharmacotherapy of opiate dependence (acetylmethadol, buprenorphine). In the
      Czech Republic in 1997 in the General Faculty Hospital Prague the methadone
      programme was started. The importance of methadone substitution treatment is
      beyond doubt and involves improvement of the psychosocial and health status of
      addicts, gives an opportunity of resocialization and reintegration into society.

PMID- 9990178
TI  - Should pharmacists sell sterile syringes to injection drug users?

PMID- 9990179
TI  - The new age of herbals: a pharmacognosy renaissance.

PMID- 9990180
TI  - A call for self-regulation.

PMID- 9990181
TI  - Cumulative disadvantage: assessing the attitudes of women and minorities in
      pharmacy.

PMID- 9990182
TI  - Pharmacy access to sterile syringes for injection drug users: attitudes of
      participants in a syringe exchange program.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To examine attitudes of participants of a van-based syringe exchange
      program (SEP) toward the hypothetical prospect of pharmacy-based syringe access.
      DESIGN: One-time, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Baltimore, Maryland.
      PARTICIPANTS: 206 injection drug users who participate in the Baltimore SEP.
      INTERVENTIONS: Face-to-face interviews. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Location preferred
      for obtaining syringes, drug and syringe use, past experience with pharmacies,
      and willingness to pay. RESULTS: The sample was 67% men, 95% African American,
      and 95% unemployed; mean age was 39.8 years. A total of 19% of respondents had
      bought syringes at a pharmacy during the prior six months. Some 37% reported
      having been turned down when asking for syringes at a pharmacy, most commonly due
      to lack of identification to prove diabetic status (50%). If legal restrictions
      were lifted, 92% of respondents would obtain syringes from pharmacies, and would
      be willing to pay a mean price of $0.80 (median = $1.00) per syringe. Women were
      more likely than men to report the intention to switch from van-based SEP to
      pharmacy (57% versus 38%, p = .045). CONCLUSION: If current legal restrictions
      were lifted, pharmacies would be a viable syringe source appealing particularly
      to women, suggesting gender-specific access issues that should be addressed. The
      per-syringe price that study participants would be willing to pay exceeds typical
      retail prices, suggesting that pharmacists could charge enough per syringe to
      recoup operational costs.

PMID- 9990183
TI  - Attitudes and practices of pharmacy managers regarding needle sales to injection
      drug users.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine Louisiana pharmacy managers' attitudes and practices
      regarding needle and syringe sales to suspected injection drug users (IDUs)
      without prescriptions, and to assess which factors affect their decisions to sell
      nonprescription needles and syringes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey.
      SETTING: The six most populous cities of Louisiana. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacy
      managers with active permits not affiliated with large hospitals or institutions.
      MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Selling nonprescription needles to suspected IDUs,
      willingness to sell nonprescription needles to suspected IDUs, and reasons for
      not selling nonprescription needles to suspected IDUs. RESULTS: Approximately one
      fourth of the respondents reported that they had sold needles and syringes to
      suspected IDUs without a prescription. The most frequently cited reason for not
      selling was fear of increasing drug use; however, many of these pharmacists
      reported that they would conduct a sale if the customer had a referral from an
      agency or clinic. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists can assist in the prevention of HIV
      transmission through nonprescription needle sales to IDUs. This role can be
      promoted through education of pharmacists and development of referral systems for
      IDUs.

PMID- 9990184
TI  - Comparison of melatonin products against USP's nutritional supplements standards
      and other criteria.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the quality of a sample of melatonin products,
      as measured by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) General Tests and
      Assays for Nutritional Supplements (other than Microbial Limits) and certain
      other tests. DESIGN: Five immediate-release, two sublingual, and two controlled
      release products were randomly gathered from a health food store, groceries, and
      pharmacies in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
      Weight variation, disintegration (not applicable for controlled-release
      products), and drug dissolution, based on USP standards. Twelve-hour dissolution
      profiles were obtained from the controlled-release products. All tablets were
      also evaluated for friability following the USP procedure and for hardness
      following unofficial procedures. RESULTS: All products passed the weight
      variation test. Two products showed excessive friability. Three immediate-release
      products failed both the disintegration and the dissolution tests. One of the
      three products demonstrated a threefold difference in hardness. One controlled
      release product released 90% of melatonin in four hours in the dissolution test;
      the other released 90% of its content in 12 hours. CONCLUSION: Some products
      showed evidence of poor formulation and/or poor quality control as indicated by
      excessive friability, failure to disintegrate and dissolve, and excessive
      variation in hardness. In vitro release profiles of the two controlled-release
      products were substantially different. The poor quality of some supplements
      should be a concern to consumers and health care providers.

PMID- 9990185
TI  - First-job preferences and expectations of pharmacy students: intergender and
      interethnic comparisons.
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To identify and measure intergender and interethnic differences in
      preferences and expectations of pharmacy students. DESIGN: Two-part survey. One
      part addressed systematic variations in work-related expectations and preferences
      between the sexes and among ethnic minorities that may result from cumulative
      disadvantage or attitudinal traits; the other part focused on similarities and
      differences in expected sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. SETTING:
      College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University. PARTICIPANTS: 171 students
      enrolled in their final semester of didactic training (that is, immediately
      before rotations or internship). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME
      MEASURES: Significance of intergender and interethnic disparities was determined
      using t tests. RESULTS: No significant intergender disparities were detected in
      income expectations, anticipated level of job satisfaction, estimated time from
      graduation to passing the Board exam or working, or in preferred or expected
      sector of first job. African American students expected to earn lower levels of
      income, experience less satisfaction in their first job as a pharmacist, and work
      longer hours. Hispanic and Asian American students exhibited less confidence in
      their ability to pass the Board exam and in the allocative function of the job
      market. Salary and ability to help patients were the two sources of job
      satisfaction anticipated most frequently, whereas work overload ranked first
      among the anticipated sources of job dissatisfaction. CONCLUSION: The rapidly
      changing gender composition of the profession has altered traditional integender
      differences in outlook and attitudinal traits, contributing to the disappearance
      of intergender disparities identified in previous research. However, significant
      interethnic differences in preferences and expectations suggest the presence of
      cumulative disadvantage among minorities.

PMID- 9990186
TI  - Opportunities for pharmacists as managers: perceptions of senior executives in
      the pharmaceutical industry.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine how senior-level executives in the pharmaceutical
      industry perceive pharmacists as managers in their industry. DESIGN: Mailed
      survey. Senior executive officers of 72 companies who were members of the
      Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers' Association indicated in which of 47
      different areas an entry-level pharmacy degree would be beneficial for management
      positions. RESULTS: 40 responses (56%) were received after a follow-up mailing.
      The areas chosen most frequently were product development and quality control in
      pharmaceutics (88%), formulation (88%), drug information (88%), quality assurance
      (85%), pharmaceutics in research (83%), and product management (83%). The 25% of
      respondents who had a pharmacy background chose more areas where a pharmacy
      degree would be beneficial (t = 6.87, df = 38, p < .05) than did nonpharmacists.
      CONCLUSION: To the extent that senior executives represent the current culture
      and the future direction of the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists have a
      variety of career opportunities within pharmaceutical companies.

PMID- 9990187
TI  - Inter- and intrarater reliability of retrospective drug utilization reviewers.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess inter- and intrarater reliability among 23 pharmacist and
      physician retrospective drug utilization reviewers and to assess interrater
      reliability after a reviewer training session. DESIGN: Exploratory study.
      SETTING: Maryland Medicaid's retrospective drug utilization review (DUR) program.
      PARTICIPANTS: 23 physician and pharmacist retrospective drug utilization
      reviewers. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Profiles rated as
      "intervention indicated" or "intervention not indicated." Cochran's Q test,
      overall percent agreement, and the unweighted kappa statistic were used in the
      analysis of review consistency. RESULTS: Intrarater reliability showed
      substantial consistency among the 23 reviewers; the percent agreement was 82.9%
      with kappa = 0.66. Interrater reliability, however, was poor, with an overall
      agreement of 69.6% and kappa = 0.16. Interrater reliability was also poor after a
      one-hour reviewer training session (agreement 81.8%, kappa = -0.19). CONCLUSION:
      The implicit review process used in the retrospective DUR program that we
      evaluated was unreliable. Since reliability is a necessary but not sufficient
      condition for validity of an indicator of inappropriate drug use, the validity of
      the DUR implicit review process is in question.

PMID- 9990188
TI  - Billing third party payers for pharmaceutical care services.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe the steps pharmacists must complete when seeking
      compensation from third party payers for pharmaceutical care services. DATA
      SOURCES: Government publications; professional publications, including manuals
      and newsletters; authors' personal experience. DATA SYNTHESIS: Pharmacists in
      increasing numbers are meeting with success in getting reimbursed by third party
      payers for patient care activities. However, many pharmacists remain reluctant to
      seek compensation because they do not understand the steps involved. Preparatory
      steps include obtaining a provider/supplier number, procuring appropriate claim
      forms, developing data collection and documentation systems, establishing
      professional fees, creating a marketing plan, and developing an accounting
      system. To bill for specific patient care services, pharmacists need to collect
      the patient's insurance information, obtain a statement of medical necessity from
      the patient's physician, complete the appropriate claim form accurately, and
      submit the claim with supporting documentation to the insurer. Although many
      claims from pharmacists are rejected initially, pharmacists who work with third
      party payers to understand the reasons for denial of payment often receive
      compensation when claims are resubmitted. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists who follow
      these guidelines for billing third party payers for pharmaceutical care services
      should notice an increase in the number of paid claims.

PMID- 9990189
TI  - Infertility update: use of assisted reproductive technology.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To describe assisted reproductive technology (ART) and use of
      medications during these procedures. DATA SOURCES: Recent clinical literature.
      STUDY SELECTION: Not applicable. DATA EXTRACTION: Not applicable. DATA SYNTHESIS:
      ARTs are procedures used in treatment of infertility that involve removal of
      oocytes and their manipulation outside the woman's uterus. The simplest form of
      ART, in vitro fertilization, involves aspirating eggs from the ovaries,
      fertilizing them outside the body, and transferring the embryos into the uterus
      at the four- to eight-cell stage. Experimental regimens for in vitro
      fertilization include use of various medications (gonadotropin-releasing hormone
      agonists, human menotropins, follicle-stimulating hormone, growth hormone) at
      varying points in the menstrual cycle and after introduction of the embryo into
      the uterus. Human chorionic gonadotropin has been used to increase implantation
      of embryos during the woman's luteal phase. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)
      involves transfer of oocytes and sperm into the fallopian tubes, where
      fertilization takes place. This technique has the advantage of causing the zygote
      to enter the uterus at the time it would during natural conception. Zygote
      intrafallopian transfer is similar to GIFT, except that fertilization occurs in
      vitro, with embryos placed in the fallopian tubes at the two-cell stage. Various
      micromanipulation techniques and innovative sperm aspiration procedures are
      currently under development. CONCLUSION: Many advancements have been made in ART,
      and pharmacists who understand these procedures can serve patients by providing
      medication information in an empathetic and supportive manner.

PMID- 9990190
TI  - Analysis of grocery chain pharmacists' work-related behaviors.
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To measure grocery chain pharmacists' work-related behaviors to assess
      the impact of a Pharmaceutical Care Certificate Program (PCCP) and other future
      interventions intended to alter pharmacists' practice behaviors. DESIGN: This
      study used multidimensional work sampling (MWS), a work measurement methodology
      that breaks "work" into three components: activity (what was done), contact (with
      whom the activity was performed), and function (the purpose or objective of the
      activity). Pharmacists were signaled at random intervals during the workday by a
      random signal generator. A selection was made from a list of items in each of the
      three dimensions of work to form an activity-contact-function combination code
      that described the work-related behavior at that point in time. SETTING AND
      PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacists in 15 grocery chain stores in the Indianapolis area; 20
      pharmacists were enrolled in Purdue University's PCCP and 10 served as controls.
      Data were collected for a period of six weeks during April through June 1997
      before the beginning of the PCCP program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pharmacists'
      work-related behaviors. RESULTS: Writing/keyboarding was the most frequently
      recorded activity (22%), followed by one-to-one meetings (21.6%), and drug
      preparation (18%). Pharmacists spent most of their time working alone (62.9%),
      while a smaller but still substantial proportion of time was spent interacting
      with patients (17.9%). The most frequently recorded purpose (i.e., function) of
      pharmacists' activities was drug distribution (23.9%), followed by personal time
      (12.4%), receiving or transferring a medication order (10.2%), and patient
      counseling (6.6%). Out of a possible, 1,760 activity-contact-function
      combinations, 10 accounted for 46.3% of all reported observations, with "Prepare
      drug-Self-Drug distribution" representing the most frequently recorded activity
      contact-function combination (15.7%). CONCLUSION: MWS is useful in helping
      grocery chain management better understand how pharmacy personnel are currently
      being utilized. This study provides a baseline for evaluating the impact of
      training programs or other alterations in the practice environment on
      pharmacists' work-related behaviors.

PMID- 9990191
TI  - Elements of a pharmaceutical care plan.

PMID- 9990192
TI  - Fomiversen sodium approved to treat CMV retinitis.

PMID- 9990193
TI  - Lyme disease: geography predicts risk.

PMID- 9990194
TI  - MEDLINE and the new health care consumer.

PMID- 9990195
TI  - Dynamic morphology of erythrocytes revealed by cryofixation technique.
AB  - This article summarizes our research on the morphology of dynamically changed
      erythrocyte shapes, as revealed by electron microscopy with cryofixation
      techniques. Cryofixation is a better way to immobilize functioning morphology in
      cells and tissues than conventional fixation methods because of faster freezing
      time. Our cryofixation techniques were used to detect erythrocyte shapes in flow
      and ultrastructural changes of membrane skeletal components. This required that
      we develop some new preparation techniques which we called, erythrocyte-splitting
      method, in vivo cryotechnique or in vitro cryotechnique for erythrocytes. By
      using various combinations of these cryofixation techniques with freeze
      fracturing, freeze-substitution or deep-etching method, the native morphology of
      erythrocytes under various physiological or pathological conditions could be
      assessed by scanning or transmission electron microscopy.

PMID- 9990196
TI  - [Transcytosis of immunoglobulin IgG].
AB  - Recent studies on cellular mechanism of transmission of maternal IgG are briefly
      reviewed. The mechanism has been studied in rodent intestine and yolk sac, where
      the role of neonate Fc receptors (FcRn) in the transcellular transport of IgG is
      now well understood. FcRn binds IgG on the cell surface (intestine) or in
      endosomes (yolk sac) at around pH 6.0. The IgG-FcRn complex is sorted into
      vesicles from the apical endosome, and transported basolaterally to release IgG
      extracellularly. In the human placenta, Fc gamma RIII and MHCI-related human Fc
      receptors (hFcRn) are expressed in the syncytiotrophoblast and are involved in
      the specific binding and transcytosis of IgG. Small GTP-binding proteins rab4
      and/or rab5A are immunohistochemically localized on recycling and/or sorting
      endosomes, suggesting their involvement in forming vesicles transporting the IgG
      FcR complex. Several other GTP-binding proteins and SNAREs are assumed to
      regulate this process, but remain to be identified. The cellular mechanism of IgG
      transcytosis, including endocytosis, sorting, fusion and exocytosis may be
      elucidated in terms of regulator proteins in near future.

PMID- 9990197
TI  - [Morphological transformation of sensory ganglion neurons and satellite cells].
AB  - Sensory ganglion neurons in higher vertebrates are unique in that they are
      pseudounipolar with a single stem process that divides at some distance from the
      cell body into central and peripheral processes. In the early stages of
      development, these neurons are bipolar but later they became pseudounipolar. This
      developmental process of sensory ganglion neurons with satellite cells was
      examined by scanning electron microscopy following removal of connective tissue.
      This pseudo-unipolarization began earlier but proceeded at a slower rate in chick
      than in rat embryos. This difference may due to the difference found in the
      extent and intimacy of satellite cell investments in these two animals, which was
      due to the fact that sensory neurons undergo pseudo-unipolarization only in the
      presence of satellite cells in vitro. The neuronal perikaryal projections were
      observed by scanning electron microscopy after removal of connective tissue and
      satellite cells. Morphometric analysis reveal that perikaryal projections were
      more numerous on the surface of mature pseudounipolar neurons than on the surface
      of premature bipolar neurons, and that the number of projections increased as the
      neuronal cell bodies grew larger. This may support the hypothesis that perikaryal
      projections are structural devices for increasing the neuron-satellite interface
      and for improving the efficiency of metabolic exchange between these two cell
      types. These results suggest that satellite cells play an important role in
      neuronal maturation.

PMID- 9990198
TI  - [Clinical anatomy of blood vessels supplying the central nervous system].

PMID- 9990199
TI  - The femoral sulcus angle in neonatal cadavers: a macroscopical and
      ultrasonographical study.
AB  - The shape of the femoral sulcus is an important factor in patellofemoral
      congruence. The aim of the present study was to investigate the femoral sulcus
      angle using neonatal cadavers through ultrasonographic and macroscopic
      observations, in order to evaluate the differences between those two methods and
      also in order to compare them with adult data published previously. Both knees of
      20 neonatal cadavers were examined to measure the femoral sulcus angle. The mean
      cartilaginous femoral sulcus angle was 145.77 degrees on the macroscopic
      measurements, and 146 degrees in the ultrasonographic examinations. There was no
      significant difference between neonatal and adult values and between
      ultrasonographic and macroscopic measurements (P > 0.05). In the most of the
      knees two condyles were symmetrical (92.5%). In conclusion the cartilaginous
      femoral sulcus angle is completely formed in the neonatal age group. Internal and
      external factors during childhood may be responsible for condylar dysplasia.

PMID- 9990200
TI  - Bifid ribs observed in the third and the fourth ribs.
AB  - Three cases of bifid ribs were found in two cadavers during routine dissections
      at the Iwate Medical University School of Dentistry. All of the cases were found
      in the third or the fourth rib. The distal parts of the osseous rib bifurcated
      with an angle of 60 degrees and both of the branches had their own costal
      cartilage. The costal cartilage fused again to form the trunk which was connected
      to the sternum. The space between the two branches was filled with presumably
      normal intercostal muscles. Blood supply was maintained by a small branch from
      the interthoracic artery to the upper branches. However, the intercostal nerves
      did not branch toward the upper branch but only ran along the lower margins of
      the lower branches of the bifid ribs.

PMID- 9990201
TI  - Accessory insertions of pectoralis major muscle to the brachial fascia: a case
      report.
AB  - Two accessory fibrous bands arising from the posterior aspect near the lateral
      border of the pectoralis major muscle were found to attach to the brachial fascia
      at the posterior arm region. Those bands were in intimate contact with the median
      nerve, brachial veins and its branches. They were thought to be remnants of the
      distal origin of the pectoralis major muscle. The impact of those fascial bands
      in the compression syndromes of the upper extremity and in the surgical
      operations directed to the fossa axillaris were discussed.

PMID- 9990202
TI  - [Dorsoventral limb patterning based on anatomical analysis of muscles and nerve
      plexuses].
AB  - The developing vertebrate limb is an excellent system to study the mechanisms
      that lead to skeletal, muscular and nervous patterns. Pattern formation in the
      limb occurs in relation to three axes: the antero-posterior axis, the proximo
      distal axis and the dorso-ventral axis. Extensive classical embryological
      experiments on chick limb buds have identified some of the cell interactions
      related to these three axes. Recent works in developmental biology have begun to
      identify the molecular basis of these cell interactions which control patterns
      and forms of the limb. In this review, a possible model of dorsoventral limb
      patterning is proposed, based on an experiment using ectoderm/mesoderm
      recombinations in which the dorsoventral axis of the tissues is inverted. Based
      on comparative anatomical studies of the shoulder and pelvic regions, the anatomy
      of the transitional zone between limb and trunk regions is discussed. In
      addition, the problem of the nerve-muscle relationship in gross anatomy is also
      discussed from the viewpoint of the pattern formation.

PMID- 9990203
TI  - [Signaling molecules involved in induction and early patterning of limb buds].
AB  - Soluble signaling factors are involved in morphogenetic events during vertebrate
      limb development. They belong to the Hedgehog family, the bone morphogenetic
      protein (BMP) family, the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family and the Wnt
      family. FGF-8 and FGF-10 play central roles to specify the limb field and promote
      initial outgrowth. In the established limb bud, FGF-4, FGF-8 and BMP-2 are
      secreted in the apical ectodermal ridge and control proximal-distal pattern
      formation. In the zone of polarizing activity Sonic hedgehog is produced and
      pattern along the anterior-posterior axis. Members of the BMP family may be the
      secondary signals in this patterning. Wnt-7a from the dorsal ectoderm dorsalizes
      limb mesenchyme and controls dorsal-ventral patterning. These factors expressed
      in the signaling centers in limb buds influence gene expression each other and
      coordinate limb morphogenesis.

PMID- 9990204
TI  - [Molecular mechanism of limb muscle patterning].
AB  - Pattern formation of the limb muscles involves a network between intrinsic
      programs of gene expression in myogenic precursor cells and extrinsic signals
      derived from the surrounding tissue. The cells at the lateral edge of the somite
      are specified to the precursors of the hypaxial muscles by intercelluler
      interaction with the dorsal ectoderm and the lateral mesoderm. At the level of
      the limb bud, these premyogenic cells expressing c-MET and Pax-3 are induced to
      invade into the limb bud by HGF/SF and unknown chemotactic signal(s) exerted by
      the limb mesenchyme. It is likely that N-cadherin and some extracellular matrixes
      are involved in this phenomena. In the limb bud, myogenic cells proliferate under
      influence of the limb ectoderm and congregate into the premuscle masses. BMPs
      expressed in limb ectoderm may maintain the proliferative phase of the myogenic
      cells by inhibition of the myogenic differentiation. Recently, detailed analysis
      of expression of Hox genes in the chick limb musculature suggests that Hoxa-11
      and Hoxa-13 autonomously regulate the pattern formation of the limb muscles. Hoxa
      11 is induced in the myogenic cells by an interaction with the limb mesenchyme as
      soon as they invade into the limb. It is possible that Hoxa-11 may confer a limb
      specific property on these myogenic cells. After the formations of muscle masses,
      Hoxa-11 and Hoxa-13 are expressed in the muscle masses in region-specific manner
      along the anteroposterior and proximodistal axes under the control of the limb
      mesenchyme and the polarizing signal(s). They are candidates for intrinsic
      regulator of myogenic cells that control 1) the splitting processes of the muscle
      masses and 2) the specification of each muscle.

PMID- 9990205
TI  - [Cell-to-cell recognition in limb pattern formation].
AB  - Vertebrate limb is used as a model system to understand the mechanism of pattern
      formation in development. Mesenchymal cells of the limb bud are differentiated
      into chondrogenic cells or fibroblastic cells. The chondrogenic cells form
      bifurcated and segmented cartilage structure. This cartilage pattern is regulated
      by many signaling molecules and transcriptional factors. In the early stage of
      cartilage differentiation, mesenchymal cells aggregate into suitable region in
      the limb bud, and the aggregates form prepattern of skeletal elements. Cell
      adhesion molecules have been shown of their involvement in this cell aggregate
      formation and the cartilage differentiation process. Expression of these cell
      adhesion molecules and other cell surface molecules may be regulated by signaling
      molecules or transcriptional factors, although no regional specificities of these
      molecules have been reported. In this review, we describe about regional
      differences of cell affinity of limb bud mesenchyme. We show the differential
      cell affinity represents the positional identity of the mesenchyme in limb bud,
      and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored cell surface proteins are
      involved in this different cell affinity. From these results, we discuss the
      importance of the cell affinity in pattern formation of limb bud.

PMID- 9990206
TI  - [Genetics of the limb pattern formation in mouse].
AB  - Genetics studies using mouse mutants have revealed key functions of several genes
      in limb development. In this review, I summarized approaches of forward genetics
      to elucidate genetic control of mouse limb development based on mouse limb
      mutants. In mouse, there are many mutants that exhibit malformation in distal
      elements (autopod) of limb, i.e. polydactyly and ectrodactyly. Some of them are
      reported as failure in the generation and maintenance of axes in limb
      development. Recent advance in genome analysis has allowed us to identify and
      clone the causative gene of mouse mutants by positional cloning technique. In
      addition, analysis of expression patterns of marker genes that play key roles in
      limb development gives some hints with respect to the functions of the affected
      genes. In many cases, the same mutants show different manifestations of the
      phenotype on different genetic backgrounds, indicating the presence of the second
      gene that may genetically interact with the original mutant gene. This also
      affords very useful opportunity to study epistatic interaction of genes involved
      in the relevant phenotypes. Thus, all these approaches of forward genetics
      facilitate to understand the genetic control of limb development of mouse.

PMID- 9990207
TI  - [Dorso-ventral patterning of the vertebrate limb and dermatoglyphs with special
      reference to the pad pattern of mice].
AB  - The proximo-distal (P-D), antero-posterior (A-P) and dorso-ventral (D-V) axes are
      important for normal limb development in vertebrates. It has been reported that D
      V axis is decided by Wnt-7a, Lmx-1 and Engrailed-1 (En-1) which are expressed in
      the limb bud along D-V axis. These factors are thought to be required for
      formation of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) which is necessary for outgrowth
      of the limb. The results from spontaneous mutant mice meromelia (mem), which
      exhibits double-dorsality of the distal limb, suggested that other factors, not
      only En-1 and Wnt-7a are required for decision of AER, and mem was probed to be
      novel gene regulating En-1 and Wnt-7a directly or indirectly. The dorsalized
      ventral structures in meromelia were found by observation of the pad pattern. Pad
      pattern is always constant in normal mice, and each pad indicates particular part
      of the limb. So pad pattern is useful to detect and describe anomalies even in
      the limbs without skeletal defects. The process of pad development is associated
      with the limb patterning, and abnormal pad pattern may indicate pathogenesis of
      abnormal limb development. The mouse pad pattern is usable as the model for human
      dermatoglyphs, and it is also important to investigate mechanisms of human
      diseases.

PMID- 9990208
TI  - [Effects of hypertonic lactated Ringer's solution on hepatic ATP and L/P ratio in
      rats subjected to acute hemorrhage].
AB  - This study aimed to clarify the difference in the effects of hypertonic lactated
      Ringer's solution (HLS) on hepatic ATP level and L/P ratio during acute
      hemorrhage in rats. The hepatic ATP level in HLS 230 group was lower, and L/P
      ratio in HLS 300 group was higher than those in the control group. There was no
      significant difference in glycogen among 4 groups. However, pH and the base
      excess in HLS 230 and HLS 300 group were significantly higher than those in the C
      group. Heart rate in HLS 300 group was significantly lower than that in the C
      group. These results suggest that HLS may not be useful with regard to the
      hepatic energy metabolism, although it improves the metabolic acidosis during
      acute hemorrhage.

PMID- 9990209
TI  - [Lung collapse during one lung ventilation does not change low frequency
      respiratory mechanics].
AB  - The present study was carried out to clarify the effects of lung collapse for one
      lung ventilation on respiratory system impedance during thoracic surgery. We
      measured the impedances of respiratory system (RS) in eight paralyzed subjects
      under anesthesia employing a pseudorandom noise forced volume oscillation
      technique. These measurements were performed before and after the one lung
      ventilation. The impedance values were fitted to a mathematical model consisting
      of a single conduit connected with a viscoelastic parenchyma. Lung collapse did
      not affect resistance and reactance in RS after the re-expansion. The
      mathematical modeling showed no significant effect of one lung ventilation on all
      the parameters of airway and parenchyma. There was no difference in model fit of
      the parameters, indicated by the presence of the goodness-of-fit parameter (chi
      2), before and after lung collapse. In conclusion, lung collapse during one lung
      ventilation does not change low frequency respiratory mechanics.

PMID- 9990210
TI  - [Neuromuscular inhibitory effects of propofol evaluated by cat's evoked EMG].
AB  - Neuromuscular inhibitory effects of propofol were investigated in 7 cats using
      muscular compound action potential (mCAP) elicited from the gastrocnemius muscle
      by sciatic nerve stimulation. A rectangular pulse of supramaximal strength and
      duration of 0.2 msec was applied serially to the sciatic nerve at 0.1 Hz during
      the experiments, and mCAPs obtained from the gastrocnemius muscle were recorded.
      After obtaining a constant mCAP amplitude, a series of 8 consecutive mCAPs (M 1
      8) evoked by repetitive stimulation at 100 Hz was recorded, and M 8/M 1 amplitude
      ratio (M 8 amplitude/M 1 amplitude.100%) was calculated as the control value.
      After control variables had been obtained, initial dose of 2.5 mg.kg-1 of
      propofol was administered intravenously followed by continuous infusion with
      incremental dosages of 10, 20, 50 and 100 mg.kg-1.hr-1 of each 30 minute
      duration. The effects on mCAPs evoked by single and 8 consecutive repetitive
      stimulation were observed in each period. The depression of single mCAP
      amplitudes and fading responses in the M 8/M 1 amplitude ratios were not observed
      at any infusion rate. Our results suggest that propofol has no influence on
      neuromuscular transmission in cats when administered intravenously at 10 times of
      human clinical infusion doses.

PMID- 9990211
TI  - [Is patient-controlled sedation good for elderly patients?].
AB  - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and advantage of intra
      operative patient-controlled sedation (PCS) in elderly patients. Propofol PCS was
      compared with anesthesiologist-controlled sedation (ACS) during knee arthroplasty
      under epidural anesthesia. Eleven elderly patients scheduled for unilateral knee
      total or partial arthroplasty were divided randomly into PCS group (n = 6) and
      ACS group (n = 5). Epidural anesthesia was performed to produce an appropriate
      level of sensory block (T 10 through S). Firstly a mixture of pentazocine 0.2
      mg.kg-1 and 2% mepivacaine 6-9 ml was injected to the epidural space, and
      anaesthesia was maintained using 2% mepivacaine afterward. Patients in both
      groups received propofol 0.3 mg.kg-1 i.v. as a loading dose and 0.6 mg.kg-1.h-1
      continuous infusion. Furthermore patients in PCS group received propofol PCS
      (bolus: 0.2 mg.kg-1, lockout time: 3 min). Patients in ACS group were
      administered propofol continuously and infusion rates were regulated to maintain
      a sedation score 3 (Wilson et al) by anesthesiologist. Respiratory rate, blood
      pressure, heart rate, SpO2, arterial blood gas analysis and plasma levels of
      propofol were measured 4 times during and after the surgery. Satisfaction of
      patients and surgeons was questioned. Patients in PCS group received a mean
      propofol dose of 1.9 +/- 0.1 mg.kg-1 during procedures with a mean duration of
      147 min. On the other hand patients in ACS group received propofol 2.9 +/- 0.3
      mg.kg-1 with 142 min of procedures. Satisfaction of patients and surgeons, the
      incidence of complication were similar between the groups. For elderly patients
      who undergo epidural anesthesia, PCS is a safe and effective technique providing
      similar good sedation as with ACS.

PMID- 9990212
TI  - [Spread of spinal anesthesia with 3 different hyperbaric solutions used in
      Japan].
AB  - We studied the spread of spinal anesthesia with 3 different hyperbaric solutions
      commercially available in Japan. Percamin-S [0.3% dibucaine in 5% hyperbaric
      saline] (P), Neo-Percamin.S [0.24% dibucaine with 0.12% T-caine in 9.5% glucose]
      (N) and 0.5% Tetcaine [tetracaine] in 10% glucose (T) were studied. Two ml of
      each solution was administered intrathecally using a 25 gauge Quincke needle.
      Patients (n = 90) were allocated to one of 9 groups receiving 2 ml of P, N or T
      at L 2-3, L 3-4 or L 4-5 interspace. Both N and T produced significantly higher
      spread of analgesia than P at any of L 3-4 and L 4-5 interspaces. P and N have
      the same specific gravity, even though significant differences were found in
      spread of segmental analgesia. Local anesthesic agents and solvent solutions
      themselves are considered to influence the spread of spinal anesthesia as the
      specific gravity of hyperbaric solution does.

PMID- 9990213
TI  - [Bispectral index based comparison of propofol dose requirement combined with
      various types of analgesic methods for total intravenous anesthesia].
AB  - We hypothesized that propofol dose requirement for total intravenous anesthesia
      is varied with the analgesic methods during anesthesia if the depth of anesthesia
      is maintained at the same level with bispectral index. Adult gynecological
      patients without any complications were randomly allocated to four groups;
      propofol with 1) continuous epidural block-oxygen-nitrous oxide (n = 18), 2)
      continuous epidural block-oxygen-air (n = 21), 3) fentanyl (total 5 micrograms.kg
      1)-oxygen-nitrous oxide (n = 18) and 4) fentanyl (total 5 micrograms.kg-1)-oxygen
      air (n = 21) group. Propofol 1.5 mg.kg-1 and vecuronium 0.15 mg.kg-1 were
      administered intravenously for endotracheal intubation. Propofol was titrated to
      maintain bispectral index between 40 and 60. Total dose of propofol except the
      dose for induction was compared among the groups with one-way ANOVA and Scheffe's
      F test and P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results were expressed as
      means +/- SDs. The age, body weight, height and hemodynamic changes during
      anesthesia among the groups were not significantly different. Total required dose
      of propofol for continuous epidural block-oxygen-nitrous oxide, continuous
      epidural block-oxygen-air, fantanyl-oxygen-nitrous oxide and fentanyl-oxygen-air
      group were 4.78 +/- 0.87 mg.kg-1.h-1, 6.10 +/- 0.93 mg.kg-1.h-1, 5.79 +/- 0.75
      mg.kg-1.h-1 and 6.58 +/- 1.19 mg.kg-1.h-1, respectively. Nitrous oxide was able
      to reduce the dose of propofol significantly either with epidural anesthesia or
      fentanyl used for analgesia.

PMID- 9990214
TI  - [Transdermal nitroglycerin before induction of anesthesia prevents redistribution
      hypothermia in patients under general anesthesia].
AB  - Initial anesthesic-induced hypothermia results largely from core-to-peripheral
      redistribution of heat. Administration of transdermal nitroglycerin induces
      vasodilation. Such vasodilation, induced well before induction of anesthesia,
      might redistribute heat to peripheral tissues. Minimal redistribution hypothermia
      might accompany subsequent induction of anesthesia. We studied 32 patients
      undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Thirty minutes before induction of
      anesthesia, they were randomly assigned to: 1. transdermal nitroglycerin 10 mg;
      2. transdermal nitroglycerin 5 mg; and, 3. control. Core temperature during the
      first hour of anesthesia decreased significantly more in the control patients
      than in those given either dose of nitroglycerin. Vasodilation induced by
      transdermal nitroglycerin before induction of anesthesia significantly decreased
      subsequent redistribution hypothermia. Drug-induced modulation of vascular tone
      thus produces clinically important alterations in intraoperative core
      temperature.

PMID- 9990215
TI  - [Prevention of contamination with a heat-and-moisture-exchanger (HME) and
      bacterial filter during clinical anesthesia].
AB  - Although the use of HME and bacterial filter is a common practice to protect the
      anesthesia machine as well as the patients from bacterial contaminants, there is
      no report demonstrating the effectiveness of this filter in clinical anesthesia
      setting. We evaluated the actual effectiveness of the filter during clinical use.
      While the anesthesia breathing circuit, two bacterial filters (BB 50 T, Nihon
      PALL) and anesthesia bag, which were sterilized with ethylen oxide gas (EOG),
      were connected to the anesthesia machine and used continuously for one week, EOG
      sterilized HME and bacterial filter (BB 25 A, Nihon PALL) were changed before
      each anesthesia. Culture samples were taken from the BB 25 A, the breathing
      circuit and the machine side of the BB 50 T. Of the 117 BB 25 A samples taken, 6
      were positive for Micrococcus, alpha-Streptococcus, Bacillus, and Staphylococcus
      epidermidis. From 21 breathing circuit "internal" samples, one was positive for
      Bacillus, Staphylococcus epidermidis. But the contamination from outside sources
      was suspected, since all the BB 25 as used with this circuit were negative. Use
      of BB 25 A prevents contamination of the breathing circuit for a period of one
      week. If we use BB 25 A in every anesthesia case, the changing of the breathing
      circuit is unnecessary, reducing the cost and simplifying procedures during
      clinical practice.

PMID- 9990216
TI  - [Current topics in the regulation of prostanoids--2. The interaction with
      cytokines and nitric oxide].
AB  - Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 is induced by proinflammatory cytokines such as
      interleukin (IL)-1 beta, cytokines produced from helper T cell subpopulation Th
      1, such as interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-beta. Cytokines produced by
      the T cell such as IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 down-regulate induction of COX-2. The
      novel MAP kinase pathway, JNK and/or p 38, are important intracellular signaling
      pathways for induction of COX-2. The increased production of prostaglandin E2 by
      upregulation of COX-2 increases IL-6 production. By utilizing a COX-2 blocker, it
      is possible to decrease IL-6 production via reduction of prostanoid production,
      thereby attenuating the systemic inflammatory response. Nitric oxide (NO) and
      prostanoids are also known to interact and regulate each other. It is important
      to note the interactions between prostanoids and cytokines or other inflammatory
      mediators such as NO in understanding the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory
      effects of prostanoid regulation.

PMID- 9990217
TI  - [The effects of low-doses of fentanyl, buprenorphine and pentazocine on
      circulatory responses to endotracheal intubation].
AB  - This study evaluates the effects of low-doses i.v. fentanyl, buprenorphine and
      pentazocine on circulatory responses of endotracheal intubation in 70 scheduled
      surgical patients. Patients were allocated to 5 groups randomly and 2 (n = 11) or
      4 (n = 13) micrograms.kg-1 of fentanyl, 0.5 mg.kg-1 of pentazocine (n = 13), 5
      micrograms.kg-1 of buprenorphine (n = 10) and saline as a control (n = 23) were
      administered 5 minutes before the administration of thiopental, respectively.
      Then, patients were intubated with 0.1 mg.kg-1 of vecuronium. Blood pressure and
      heart rate were recorded. Only 4 micrograms.kg-1 of fentanyl diminished
      circulatory responses of systolic blood pressure on the stimuli of endotracheal
      intubation.

PMID- 9990218
TI  - [Perinatal and perianesthetic management of the sacrococcygeal teratoma in a
      neonate].
AB  - We report perinatal and perianesthetic management of a female infant with
      sacrococcygeal teratoma who underwent fetal bladder puncture and postnatal tumor
      resection. At 33 weeks' gestation, fetal ultrasonography revealed an intrapelvic
      mass, oligohydramnios and the dilatation of the bladder. At 34 weeks' gestation,
      bladder puncture was performed in utero to relieve urinary obstruction by the
      mass. And it served to reserve the renal function but caused remarkable ascites
      at birth due to urine leakage to the peritoneum through the puncture site. After
      the delivery by cesarean section, the patient underwent the tumor extirpation at
      2 days of life. The operation and anesthesia proceeded uneventfully. In previous
      reports, several mortalities due to exsanguinating hemorrhage during surgery have
      been reported. In addition, sacrococcygeal teratoma is occasionally accompanied
      by coagulopathy and high output cardiac failure caused by arteriovenous fistulae.
      Therefore it is important for good patient outcomes to evaluate preoperatively
      the risks mentioned above.

PMID- 9990219
TI  - [Anesthesia for abdominal surgery after percutaneous transluminal coronary
      angioplasty (PTCA)].
AB  - From December 1989 to October 1996, 1,318 PTCAs (percutaneous transluminal
      coronaly angioplasty) were performed for AMI (acute myocardial infarction) or
      postinfarction angina in our institute. Within 7 days to 71 days after successful
      PTCA, five patients who had been diagnosed as cholelithiasis or gastric cancer
      were operated under general anesthesia. Performed operations were cholecystectomy
      in the first patient, subtotal gastrectomy in the second, third and fourth
      patients, and total gastrectomy and cholecystectomy in the fifth patient. There
      was no serious cardiac complication during the operations and perioperative
      period. PTCA is considered to have decreased cardiac complications in patients
      with ischemic heart disease having undergone abdominal surgery.

PMID- 9990220
TI  - [A case of endotracheal tube obstruction caused by pneumoperitoneum during
      laparoscopic cholecystectomy].
AB  - A 56-year-old man with cholecystolithiasis was scheduled for laparoscopic
      cholecystectomy. Anesthesia was induced with pentazocine and propofol i.v., and
      the trachea was intubated using vecuronium i.v. Anesthesia was maintained with
      70% nitrous oxide and 1-3% sevoflurane in oxygen, and vecuronium was used for
      muscle relaxation. The lungs were mechanically ventilated with a tidal volume of
      600 ml and a respiratory rate of 8 cycles.min-1. Following induction of carbon
      dioxide pneumoperitoneum, blood pressure, PETCO2 and peak inspiratory pressure
      gradually increased. PETCO2 increased from 33 mmHg to 48 mmHg despite increase in
      the respiratory rate to 20 cycles.min-1. By 45 minutes after the beginning of
      surgery, PETCO2 had increased to 60 mmHg, and ventilation of the lungs was
      impossible. Bronchofiberscopy revealed obstruction of the endotracheal tube by
      tracheal mucosa. The endotracheal tube was then drawn out by 2 cm with slight
      recovery of ventilation. After 1 h 16 min of surgery, it was observed that the
      patient had developed pneumoscrotum and subcutaneous emphysema extending from
      femoral area, abdomen, and thorax to the right neck. Chest rentogenography
      revealed a slight tracheal shift and subcutaneous emphysema. One hour after the
      end of surgery, PaCO2 was 48.9 mmHg under spontaneous respiration. We speculate
      that the pneumoperitoneum shifted the tracheal carina cephalad, causing
      obstruction of the endotracheal tube. Our findings show that displacement of the
      endotracheal tube must be carefully monitored during laparoscopic
      cholecystectomy.

PMID- 9990221
TI  - [Sevoflurane anesthesia for myotonic dystrophy].
AB  - We successfully anesthetized a 14-year-old boy with myotonic dystrophy for
      orthopedic surgery using sevoflurane. Sevoflurane enabled anesthetic induction
      and tracheal intubation without intravenous anesthetics and muscle relaxants.
      Sevoflurane also provided stable anesthetic maintenance without intravenous
      anesthetics. The patient showed rapid anesthetic recovery and adequate
      spontaneous breathing. We conclude that sevoflurane is a useful anesthetic for
      patients with myotonic dystrophy.

PMID- 9990222
TI  - [Clinical experience at Uppsala University].
AB  - The author had a chance to study at the Department of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia
      at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. About 12 hundred cases of open
      heart surgery and thoracic surgery are done by cardiothoracic anesthesiologists
      every year. Most of the cardiac anesthesia was performed with low flow anesthesia
      using mixture of oxygen-air-isoflurane, from economical and environmental view
      points. Early extubation is common at Uppsala University. The patients were
      extubated at the intensive care unit on the day of surgery. The author also
      visited the central surgery suite. More than 12 thousand surgeries per year,
      including hepatic and renal transplantation, are performed. General intensive
      care unit, emergency medicine were managed and organized mainly by
      anesthesiologists. The role of anesthesiologists are well appreciated and they
      are respected in Sweden.

PMID- 9990223
TI  - [Microsatellite instability and mismatch repair system].

PMID- 9990224
TI  - [The influence of dietary lipids on nephrolithiasis in rats].
AB  - PURPOSE: The influence of dietary lipids on nephrolithogenesis is unclear. In the
      present study, I investigated the role of dietary lipids concerning both the
      etiology and the prevention of nephrolithiasis using 9-week-old male Wistar rats.
      METHODS: Study 1: The rats were divided into five groups and reared on standard,
      low protein, high protein and high cholesterol diets for 23 weeks. Study 2: The
      effects of cholesterol on nephrolithiasis was examined. The animals were given a
      30 intraperitoneal injection of 2 ml of 8.5% calcium gluconate. Study 3: A
      nephrolithiasis model was prepared by intraperitoneal administration of 40 mg/kg
      of glyoxylic acid and 0.25 microgram of vitamin D3 daily for 2 weeks. The
      inhibitory effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on nephrolithiasis were
      studied. RESULTS: Study 1: In the groups given the high protein and high
      cholesterol diets, an increase in renal osteopontin-mRNA, one of the major matrix
      ingredients of stones containing calcium, was observed. Study 2: Microlith was
      more frequently observed in the high cholesterol group than in the standard diet
      group. Study 3: In the EPA group, lithiasis was less extensively than in the
      groups administered distilled water or olive oil, and this was assumed to be
      caused by factors other than inorganic substances such as calcium and oxalic acid
      in the urine. When the renal tissue specimens in Studies 2 and 3 were examined,
      initial calcium deposition was found to start from the basement membrane of renal
      tubular cells and gradually spread throughout the cells. CONCLUSION: These
      results suggested that cholesterol is a risk factor in nephrolithiasis, and EPA
      is effective in its prevention. The elimination of hyperlipidemia should be
      included in dietary instructions for nephrolithiasis patients.

PMID- 9990225
TI  - [An urodynamic study on neobladder function].
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyze the urodynamic characteristics of neobladders, we conducted
      a pressure-flow study in patients with orthotopic urinary reservoirs. PATIENTS
      AND METHODS: From 1986 to 1996, 90 patients underwent bladder replacement
      following cystectomy, using a right colonic, ileocolic, ileal, or sigmoid colonic
      segment. The subjects were 38 patients (31 men and 7 women) with stable urination
      and no evidence of cancer recurrence, urethral stricture, urinary tract infection
      or vesicoureteral reflux. Their mean age was 60.5 years, with a range of 38 to 77
      years. Information on neobladder function, such as desire to void, force of
      micturition, urinary incontinence and other complaints, was obtained by
      questionnaire. A pressure-flow study was performed in all patients 3 months to
      103 months postoperatively to evaluate total reservoir pressure, abdominal
      pressure and subtracted reservoir pressure during filling and voiding phases.
      RESULTS: Ten of 38 patients (26.3%) were dissatisfied with their neobladder
      function, due to weakness of urinary sensation, loss of urinary force and
      enuresis. In 6 of the 7 patients with enuresis, the urinary reservoir had been
      created by Heineke-Mikulicz's procedure of detubularization; 4 of these patients
      had a high degree (over 40 cmH2O) of phasic contraction during the filling phase.
      In only 2 of the 38 patients, a pressure-flow study showed an almost same pattern
      as that obtained with a normal urinary bladder. Twelve patients had increased
      electromyogram of the external urethral sphincter during the voiding phase, while
      half of the 38 patients showed a flat electromyogram during both the filling and
      voiding phases. Thus, 31 of 38 patients revealed a sphincter dyssynergia pattern.
      Mean total reservoir pressure at maximum cystometric capacity was 65.5 +/- 42.1,
      48.4 +/- 19.0, 66.0 +/- 61.0 and 107.0 +/- 43.3 cmH2O in ileal, ileocecal, right
      colonic and sigmoid neobladders, respectively. The value for sigmoid neobladder
      was statistically different from that for ileocecal neobladder (p < 0.05). Mean
      total reservoir pressure at maximal flow was 73.1 +/- 42.4, 56.4 +/- 22.6, 88.9
      +/- 69.4 and 94.0 +/- 31.8 cmH2O in ileal, ileocecal, right colonic and sigmoid
      neobladders, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences
      among these values. The ratio of subtracted reservoir pressure to total reservoir
      pressure was lower at maximal flow than at onset. Subtracted reservoir pressure
      may contribute to total reservoir pressure to a greater extent in sigmoid
      neobladders than in other types of neobladder. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Enuresis may have
      various causes such as external sphincter dysfunction and involuntary contraction
      of the reservoir. 2. Urine is evacuated not only by abdominal pressure but also
      by subtracted reservoir pressure in neobladders. 3. Sphincter dyssynergia due to
      absence of the detrusor muscle may be one cause of dysuria.

PMID- 9990226
TI  - [The effects of human urine on the adhesion of calcium oxalate crystal to renal
      tubular cells].
AB  - PURPOSE: We examined the effects of human urine on the adhesion of calcium
      oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals to Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells in
      vitro. METHODS: Quantitative assay of COM crystal adhesion to MDCK cells: MDCK
      cells were exposed to COM crystal suspension for 5 minutes. Various urine samples
      were added in the COM crystal suspension. The adherent COM crystals on the MDCK
      cells were dissolved by 5 N hydrochloric acid. Calcium concentration of the
      solution was measured by atomic absorption analysis to quantify the volume of
      adherent COM crystals. This assay was applied for the experiments as follows. (1)
      Effect of human urine on COM crystal adhesion. (2) To investigate whether human
      urine inhibited COM crystal adhesion by acting on the crystal surface or on the
      cell surface. (3) Isolation of the substance from human urine that inhibits COM
      crystal adhesion. (4) Comparison of the inhibitory activities of the urine
      between from stone formers and healthy controls. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1)
      Human urine had a strong inhibitory effect on COM crystal adhesion to MDCK cells.
      (2) The capacity of human urine to inhibit adhesion of COM crystals to MDCK cells
      was shown to be mediated by their ability to act on the crystal surface. (3) We
      isolated a macromolecular fraction (MW 60,000) that had strong capacity to
      inhibit cellular adhesion of COM crystals through ion exchange and gel filtration
      chromatography. (4) Nine urine samples from stone formers demonstrated extreme
      low inhibitory activities, which supposed us that the inhibitory capacity of the
      urine against crystal adhesion might be one of the risk factors in kidney stone
      formation.

PMID- 9990227
TI  - [Magnetic resonance images of hematospermia].
AB  - BACKGROUND: We performed MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in the pelvic region of
      70 cases with hematospermia and conducted a study on the abnormal MRI findings to
      which hematospermia could be attributed. METHODS: We conducted a study on the
      morphological anomaly and change in the signal intensity in the prostate gland
      and of the seminal vesicle as well as on the presence or absence of dilation in
      the plexus venous surrounding the deferent duct or the prostate gland out of the
      abnormal MRI findings. As for the seminal vesicle, the patients whose seminal
      vesicle was seen in higher intensity than the prostate gland in T1 weighted
      images were diagnosed as having hemorrhagic focus and the patients whose seminal
      vesicle was seen in low intensity both in T1 and T2 weighted images were
      diagnosed as having fibrosis caused by chronic inflammation. RESULTS: Abnormal
      MRI findings were seen in 40 out of the 70 cases (57%). Anomaly in the prostate
      gland was indicated in 6 (9%) cases. Abnormality in the seminal vesicle was
      indicated in 30 cases (43%) including hemorrhage of seminal vesicle in 25 cases,
      chronic inflammation in five cases and cyst of seminal vesicle in one case.
      CONCLUSION: In conducting an examination of the patients with hematospermia, MRI
      is the noninvasive and reproducible method and it is possible to identify the
      hemorrhagic region. Therefore, MRI is thought to be useful to identify the causal
      organs of hematospermia.

PMID- 9990228
TI  - [A clinical study of decreased bone density in the patients treated with long
      term luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRH-a)--the risk of
      iatrogenic osteoporosis due to treatment of carcinoma of prostate].
AB  - BACKGROUND: It is well known that androgens play an important role in bone
      metabolism and male hypogonadism induce osteoporosis. Luteinizing hormone
      releasing hormone analogue (LHRH-a) which is essential for conservative therapy
      of prostatic carcinoma (CaP) ultimately reduces circulating testosterone to
      castration levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of
      decrease of bone mineral density in men receiving LHRH-a for CaP. PATIENTS AND
      METHODS: Fifty-three man with CaP aged 63 to 95 years (mean 75.5 years) were
      included in this study. Seven patients received LHRH-a with estrogen drug, forty
      six patients received LHRH-a with or without anti androgen drug. To estimate
      patient's bone density we use the second metacarpal bone density using a
      microdensitometry method. RESULTS: Blood level of sex hormone of the forty-six
      patients who were received LHRH-a without estrogen, was the same as that of
      castration. Patients who were treated more than twelve months had less bone
      density than patients who were treated less than eleven months. As the duration
      of medical castration period was prolonged, patients bone density were reduced.
      Whereas seven patients who received estrogen drug did not find a decrease of bone
      density regardless of duration of treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Hypogonadism
      induced LHRH-a also reduce bone density, so there is a risk of iatrogenic
      osteoporosis caused by therapy for CaP with LHRH-a. Patients with osteoporosis
      easily suffer from a much complicated and pernicious bone fracture, so we should
      measure bone density of male patients same as female treated with LHRH-a for a
      long-term.

PMID- 9990229
TI  - [Successful management for chemorefractory testicular cancer with brain and lung
      metastases. A case report].
AB  - This is a report of successful management for a far advanced, chemorefractory
      testicular cancer patient. A 29-year-old male was referred to our hospital for
      the treatment of progressive lung metastases with elevated hCG level, which had
      recurred after complete remission following 3 courses of BEP chemotherapy and
      progressed after transient partial regression following 2 courses of intensified
      EP chemotherapy. In addition, a 3 cm in diameter, solitary brain metastasis was
      detected on CT. First, we performed wedge resection of bilateral pulmonary lower
      lobe for chemorefractory pulmonary metastases. Histological examination revealed
      viable embryonal carcinoma identical to the primary one. Thereafter, whole brain
      irradiation in combination with VIP chemotherapy (etoposide 100 mg/m2, cisplatin
      20 mg/m2 and ifosfamide 1200 mg/m2 daily for 5 consecutive days) was carried out
      to treat brain metastasis. By 2 cycles of VIP therapy and irradiation (36 Gy),
      partial tumor regression and normalization of hCG level were achieved, leading to
      salvage surgery of the brain metastasis which histologically proved to be
      necrosis. Following an additional cycle of VIP therapy, the patient has been free
      of recurrence 24 months after completion of the treatment.

PMID- 9990230
TI  - [Two cases of true hermaphrodite: the usefulness of laparoscopic gonadectomy in
      childhood. A case report].
AB  - Laparoscopic operation has been an alternative method in not only adults but
      children. We presented two children with true hermaphroditism who were performed
      by open gonadectomy and laparoscopic gonadectomy respectively. Both patients at
      the age of 4, and 2 years showed karyotypes of 46, XX, and were raised as girls.
      In the first case left ovary and right ovotestis were revealed by open gonadal
      biopsy and right ovotestis was removed by open surgery. In another case bilateral
      ovotestes were revealed by laparoscopic gonadal biopsy and resected by
      laparoscopic procedure. Laparoscopy was very useful for detecting the gonadal
      structures to confirm the diagnosis in intersex patients. True hermaphrodite is
      one of uncommon intersex anomalies, therefore the diagnosis should be made to
      demonstrate the coexistence of both ovarian and testicular tissues definitely. We
      estimated laparoscopic gonadectomy in pediatric true hermaphrodite and concluded
      that laparoscopic gonadectomy was as profitable as open gonadectomy.

PMID- 9990231
TI  - [A case report of complete inversion of the bladder in an old woman].
AB  - A 77-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of small
      urinary volume. Physical examination revealed a light red, edematous, pyriform
      mass, approximately 7 cm in diameter at the vulva. An orifice posterior to the
      base of the mass was catheterized and 20 ml of urine was obtained. Roentgenograms
      of contrast material injection to the orifice demonstrated a space of 20 ml. A
      diagnosis of complete inversion of the bladder was made. Under epidural
      anesthesia, attempts were made to reduce the mass through the urethra. The manual
      reduction proved to be difficult, but was successful by manual compression of the
      bladder wall and squeezing it back through the urethra, which took approximately
      60 minutes. Complete transurethral inversion of the bladder is so rare that not
      much of the pathogenesis is clarified. In our patient, senility, obesity,
      multiple labor and surgeries are assumed to have resulted in laxity of the pelvic
      wall which would be one of the major risk factors for this condition.

PMID- 9990232
TI  - [Management of invasive carcinoma of bladder and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA);
      technique of radical total cystectomy and simultaneous AAA repair].
AB  - BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the optimal surgical treatment for patients
      with concomitant invasive carcinoma of bladder and abdominal aortic aneurysm
      (AAA). We experienced two patients who were treated successfully with
      simultaneous radical cystectomy and AAA repair. The techniques required for the
      combined procedure and case reports are discussed. PROCEDURE: The goal of the one
      stage operation was to minimize the risk of graft infection without compromising
      postoperative morbidity and mortality secondary to carcinoma of bladder.
      Initially pelvic lymph node dissection and radical cystectomy were performed. We
      preferred retrograde cyctoprostatectomy because most of the cystectomy procedure
      can be performed without opening the peritoneal cavity and the extent of the
      retroperitoneal dissection can be minimal. A single-stoma ureterocutaneostomy was
      preferable urinary diversion. Urinary diversions which utilize intestine such as
      ileal conduit or ileal urinary reservoir may cause contamination of a graft with
      bowel content and should be avoided. Before or after urinary diversion,
      aneurysmal resection and a bifurcated graft replacement were performed. The
      replaced graft was wrapped with the aneurysmal wall. The major omentum was
      mobilized and fixed in front of the graft, thereby serving as a protective
      barrier of the graft. A Dacron graft which was sealed with rifampicin-bonding
      gelatin was used to further reduce the risk of graft infection. RESULT: Two male
      patients were treated with the one stage radical cystectomy and AAA repair.
      Single-stoma ureterocutaneostomy and bilateral ureterocutaneostomy were selected
      as a urinary diversion. No major postoperative complications, except for
      paralytic ileus in one case, were observed. CONCLUSION: Our experience and
      reports of others indicate that radical cystectomy and simultaneous AAA repair
      can be safely performed with less morbidity than staged operations for the
      management of concomitant invasive carcinoma of bladder and AAA.

PMID- 9990233
TI  - [Ureterocystoplasty--ureteral augmentation of the urinary bladder].
AB  - The method of choice in the surgical treatment of neurogenic dysfunctions of the
      lower urinary pathways is to use the ureteral wall for augmentation of the
      urinary bladder. The advantage of the method is that it rules out risks and
      complications encountered in techniques using an excluded intestinal or gastric
      segment (mucus formation, metabolic disorders, malignant transformation,
      uroinfection, urolithiasis). The author presents the case-history of a 28-year
      old man with a neurogenic bladder due to surgery of meningomyelocele during
      childhood.

PMID- 9990234
TI  - [Sex change surgery in transsexuals].
AB  - Surgical conversion of sex in transsexuals implies basically removal of the
      testes or uterus and creation of the opposite genital. At the Urological Clinic
      of the General Faculty Hospital and First Medical Faculty, Charles University in
      Prague during the period from 1992-1998 18 male and 29 female transsexuals were
      operated. In male transsexualism 17 times the technique of inversion of penile
      skin was used and in one instance sigmoideoplasty. In female transsexualism 17
      metaidoioplasties were made, three plastic operations of the neophallus from
      inguinal skin flaps and 25 reducing mammaplasties.

PMID- 9990235
TI  - [Onlay island flap urethroplasty in the treatment of urethral strictures].
AB  - A skin island flap was used to create a neourethra in 65 patients aged 2 to 66
      years with prolonged or multiple stricture of the anterior urethra. Before, all
      patients were treated repeatedly and unsuccessfully by open or endoscopic
      surgery. The principle of the used onlay technique was to supplement the missing
      lumen of the urethra by an island, usually preputial flap. In case of as missing
      segment of the urethra the original inlay-onlay technique was applied. After a
      mean follow-up period of 27 months 12 complications (18.4%) were recorded, six
      strictures of the proximal anastomosis, three fistulas and three dehiscences of
      the glans. CONCLUSION: The onlay island flap urethroplasty makes it possible to
      cure prolonged and multiple strictures of the urethra in one stage and with a
      relatively low complication rate.

PMID- 9990237
TI  - [Kidney sparing surgery].
AB  - From 1988 to 1998 107 nephron sparing surgery have been done for localised renal
      cell tumor. The age was between 21 to 75. Nephron sparing surgery means removal
      of tumor consumed part of renal tissue with oncology clean border in healthy
      renal tissue. Elective indication for nephron sparing surgery is renal cell
      carcinoma on single kidney or on bilateral function disabled kidneys. In the last
      years indication for nephron sparing surgery have spread also to patients with
      both kidneys, who have single extrarenal growing renal cell carcinoma to the
      diameter 4.5 cm. In our group of follow up patients, within the interval 3 to 96
      months from operation we have 96.26% survival without evidence of recurrent renal
      cell carcinoma.

PMID- 9990236
TI  - [Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of superficial lesions of the penis].
AB  - In surgical treatment of benign and malignant lesions of the penis in addition to
      radicality also the demand of a favourable cosmetic result is stressed. The
      presented paper evaluates experience with the use of a Nd:YAG laser in
      condylomata acuminata and carcinoma of the penis. The author operated 51 men with
      condylomata acuminata of the glans, in 32 the external orifice of the urethra was
      affected. Treatment was successful in all patients with very good cosmetic
      results, relapses occurred in 11 patients. The author treated successfully also
      five patients with carcinoma of the penis classified as TIS and T1. In none of
      the patients a relapse was observed after a mean follow-up period of 15.4 months.

PMID- 9990238
TI  - [A case of high-flow priapism successfully treated with percutaneous selective
      embolization of the internal pudendal artery].
AB  - Relatively rare high-flow priapism is most frequently caused by contusion or
      direct injury of the cavernous artery with a subsequent uncontrolled inflow of
      arterial blood into the cavernous bodies. Knowledge of this pathophysiology and
      the development of intervention radiology made a more selective therapeutic
      approach possible. The authors present a report on a case of arterial or high
      flow priapism which was successfully resolved by a minimally invasive approach-
      percutaneous superselective transcatheter embolization of the internal pudendal
      artery.

PMID- 9990239
TI  - [Quality of life in incontinent men after implantation of an artificial urinary
      sphincter].
AB  - The authors implanted to a group of 10 patients incontinent after prostate
      surgery (on account of BPH and adenocarcinoma) an artificial AMS 800 sphincter.
      After a mean follow-up period of 29 months they evaluate based on a questionnaire
      the therapeutic effect and its influence on the patients quality of life as well
      as the adequacy of the approval procedure of indication on the part of the
      insurance company as it influences the quality of life. The effect of treatment
      and influence on quality of life is evaluated without exception very highly while
      the approval process is evaluated negatively. The authors draw attention to the
      risk of suicide in mentally otherwise sound subjects due to unsatisfactory
      solution of urinary incontinence. Correctly indicated treatment by an artificial
      sphincter can achieve very satisfactory results. The approval procedure must
      combine medical and rational aspects, it must be however revised, incl. the
      economic aspects of the system of health services.

PMID- 9990241
TI  - [Surgical treatment of hydronephrosis].
AB  - The objective of the study was to find the most suitable method of surgery of
      primary hydronephrosis and congestive horseshoe kidney, based on the authors own
      experience. The result was the finding that plastic resection operations
      according to Anderson-Hynes and flap operations in long stenoses and horseshoe
      kidneys meet the demands which are the prerequisite of favourable therapeutic
      results.

PMID- 9990242
TI  - [Methods of surgical treatment of advanced hydronephrosis in children].
AB  - For the establishment of the therapeutic procedure in advanced hydronephroses the
      basic criterion is the functional state of their damaged kidney which can be
      assessed best by scintigraphy. The results of plastic repair of the damaged
      pelviureteral portion depends on the stage of hydronephrosis and the child's age.
      The best results were achieved in less damaged kidneys (hydronephroses I and II)
      in all age groups and in advanced hydronephroses (IV and V) in children under the
      age of one year. Early assessment of the diagnosis is important for achievement
      of good results. This is made possible by ultrasound screening. Early surgery can
      reduce the percentage of nephrectomies.

PMID- 9990243
TI  - [Urology in Olomouc].

PMID- 9990245
TI  - Delusions and delusional disorders--Part II.

PMID- 9990244
TI  - [A few observations on surgical technique in transvesical prostatectomy].

PMID- 9990246
TI  - Parasomnias.

PMID- 9990247
TI  - Relapse and expressed emotion.

PMID- 9990248
TI  - Lithium prevents suicide.

PMID- 9990249
TI  - Dissociation and sexual abuse.

PMID- 9990250
TI  - Culture and eating disorders.

PMID- 9990251
TI  - Placebos and relapse in depression.

PMID- 9990252
TI  - How does religious faith contribute to recovery from depression?

PMID- 9990253
TI  - Cytology of Ki-1-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma. A report of two cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Ki-1-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (Ki-1 ALCL), one of the
      more recently described pleomorphic types of lymphoma, affects mostly children
      and adolescents and is sometimes mistaken for carcinoma or sarcoma. CASES: Two
      cases of Ki-1 ALCL were diagnosed on cytology. One patient presented with
      generalized lymph-adenopathy and involvement of the skin and subcutis, while the
      other was admitted with pneumonia and multiple subcutaneous masses in the chest
      wall. Fine needle aspiration cytology smears in both cases showed dissociated
      cells with abundant, lightly basophilic, vacuolated cytoplasm; oval, round or
      lobulated nuclei; and binucleate, trinucleate and multinucleate cells with a
      wreathlike arrangement of nuclei. Most of the tumor cells expressed
      immunocytologic reactivity to CD 30, and a cytologic diagnosis of Ki-1 ALCL was
      made. Tru-cut biopsy of the chest wall tumor in case 2 and review of lymph node
      biopsy done one year previously in case 1 permitted a cytohistologic correlation.
      CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the distinctive cytomorphologic features of Ki-1 ALCL
      combined with the clinical setting should enable its distinction from other
      pleomorphic neoplasms in most cases, while in others it should go a long way
      toward narrowing the cytologic differential diagnosis.

PMID- 9990254
TI  - Ossifying fibromyxoid tumor misdiagnosed as follicular neoplasia. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration of an ossifying fibromyxoid tumor (OFMT) at a
      prethyroidal location is initially misinterpreted as follicular neoplasia. Though
      the histopathologic criteria have been analyzed in detail, no experience with the
      cytologic features of OFMT is reported in the literature. CASE: A 50-year-old
      male presented clinically with a recurrent goiter. Aspiration cytology (Giemsa
      stained) was characterized by a predominant fine fibrillary, pink matrix and
      moderate cellularity. The nuclei were eccentrically located, round to oval and
      slightly plemorphic, with fine chromatin. Focally, mild nuclear crowding and a
      few rosettelike structures were present. CONCLUSION: The cytologic features were
      consistent with a soft tissue tumor of probably neurogenic origin, like OFMT.
      Differential diagnosis in this particular location not only included follicular
      thyroid neoplasms but also neurofibroma, neuroma, chondroma and, less likely,
      neuroepithelial tumors. However, since some diagnostic criteria of OFMT, like the
      nodular growth pattern and mature bone, can be found only histologically, the
      diagnostic value of aspiration cytology seems to be limited.

PMID- 9990255
TI  - Aspiration biopsy cytology of malignant hemangiopericytoma metastatic to the
      lungs. Cytomorphologic and immunocytochemical study of a case.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hemangiopericytoma (HP) is an uncommon, slowly growing tumor that
      originates in "pericyte" cells. Biologically it can be benign or malignant;
      however, it is difficult to predict tumor behavior based on histomorphology
      alone. The cytomorphology of this tumor has been described only rarely. Other
      spindle cell mesenchymal tumors can mimic HP on fine needle aspiration biopsy
      (FNAB). CASE: A 60-year-old man presented with cough and a left lung mass on
      chest roentgenography and multiple smaller bilateral lung nodules on computed
      tomographic scan. FNAB of the dominant left lung mass showed a moderately
      cellular aspirate with clusters and single spindle-shaped cells morphologically
      similar to those of hemangiopericytoma excised from the posterior part of the
      neck 11 years previously. With immunocytochemical studies, the tumor cells were
      negative for cytokeratin, factor VIII-related antigen, S-100 protein and HHF35
      but positive for vimentin and CD34. CONCLUSION: FNAB is a valuable tool in
      evaluating nonepithelial metastatic lung tumors. In the appropriate clinical
      setting, it is possible to render a diagnosis of HP on FNAB in patients with
      previously documented HP based on morphologic comparison and ancillary studies,
      especially immunocytochemical stains.

PMID- 9990256
TI  - Fine needle aspiration diagnosis of combined hepatocellular carcinoma and
      cholangiocarcinoma. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The finding of a dual cellular population in a liver fine needle
      aspirate, in the appropriate clinical context, raises many differential
      diagnoses, including combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, a
      relatively rare form of primary liver carcinoma. CASE: A hepatitis C-positive
      patient with cirrhosis and rapidly worsening liver failure underwent fine needle
      aspiration of two radiologically detected liver masses. Abundant material
      composed of two cell populations, one typical of hepato-cellular carcinoma and
      one with features of mucin-producing adenocarcinoma, were found. Both components
      were positive for low molecular weight cytokeratins, the hepatocellular carcinoma
      component was positive for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (B18 isoform) in a
      typical canalicular pattern, and the cholangiocarcinomatous component was
      positive for high molecular weight cytokeratins and CEA (isoforms B18 and D14).
      Both components were negative for alpha-fetoprotein. CONCLUSION: Identification
      of a dual cell population, such as this, in a liver fine needle aspirate should
      raise the possibility of a combined hepatocellular carcinoma and
      cholangiocarcinoma and is unlikely to represent metastatic disease. This variant
      of hepatocellular carcinoma is rare and constitutes 1-5% of primary liver
      carcinomas. It is important to make this diagnosis and to separate this tumor
      from the usual hepato-cellular carcinoma and metastatic carcinoma, since it may
      give rise to pure cholangiocarcinomatous metastatic deposits, adding to the
      diagnostic difficulties.

PMID- 9990257
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytology of undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the
      liver. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is a rare
      malignant mesenchymal hepatic tumor with an incidence among liver tumors of
      27.7%. It occurs predominantly in children under the age of 15. CASE: The
      cytologic findings in a case of UESL in fine needle aspiration biopsy material in
      a 12-year-old girl are described. The patient presented clinically with upper
      abdominal pain and a palpable mass in the right hepatic lobe. Cytologic features
      included a combination of polygonal and spindle cells. The polygonal cells were
      large, with round or lobulated nuclei, and occasionally multinucleated, with one
      or several nucleoli and variable cytoplasm with poorly defined borders. A few
      intracytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic eosinophil globules were observed.
      Histologic and immunohistochemical studies were performed, and staining for
      vimentin and alpha-1 antichemotrypsin was positive. CONCLUSION: It is important
      to recognize the cytologic features of this type of liver tumor since rapid
      diagnosis and initiation of early treatment may improve the poor prognosis of
      these neoplasms.

PMID- 9990258
TI  - Cytologic diagnosis of a primary pure oat cell carcinoma of the bladder in voided
      urine. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The urinary bladder is an uncommon site for primary oat cell
      carcinoma, with as few as 30 histologically diagnosed cases described in the
      literature. The first reported cytologic diagnosis was made in 1991. CASE: A 76
      year-old female presented with gross hematuria. Voided urine cytology showed
      small, dark cells with little visible cytoplasm and coarse chromatin. Subsequent
      histopathologic, immunopathologic and electron microscopic studies confirmed the
      diagnosis of primary oat cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of oat cell
      carcinoma is well recognized in respiratory cytology. The same cells found in a
      urinary specimen may suggest a primary oat cell tumor in conjunction with
      negative clinical and radiologic investigations for a primary tumor elsewhere.

PMID- 9990259
TI  - Mammary carcinoma with osteoclastlike giant cells cytologically mimicking benign
      breast disease. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Mammary carcinoma with osteoclastlike giant cells (OCLGCs) is a rare
      tumor. Few reports on the fine needle aspiration (FNA) findings are available.
      This case had cytologic findings overlapping with benign breast disease. CASE: A
      50-year-old woman presented with multiple masses in her right breast and a 2-cm
      right axillary lymph node. Cytologic scrapings and FNA of the same breast mass
      showed large cohesive, two-dimensional epithelial cells with a uniform
      distribution of small, bland nuclei. Discohesion, single cells with features of
      malignancy, cytologic atypia and mitosis were lacking. Many OCLGCs were present.
      CONCLUSION: The cytologic features of this rare type of breast carcinoma need to
      become familiar to pathologists to avoid a false negative diagnosis.

PMID- 9990260
TI  - Aspiration cytology of lung metastasis of monophasic synovial sarcoma. Report of
      a case.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Synovial sarcoma usually arises in the extremities of young adults
      and metastasizes in about 50% of the cases. Fine needle aspiration can reveal
      those metastases. CASE: A 65-year-old female presented with a solid mass in the
      left lung from which a fine needle aspirate was taken. Five years earlier her
      left foot was amputated because of a diagnosis of synovial sarcoma. Aspiration
      cytology from the lung revealed numerous groups of spindle cells with scant
      cytoplasm and ovoid nuclei with fine, homogeneous chromatin. Only vimentin was
      positive. Based on the clinical, cytologic and immunocytochemical studies, a
      metastasis from synovial sarcoma was considered to be the most accurate cytologic
      diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates the utility of aspiration cytology
      in the diagnosis of a metastatic tumor, especially in those organs in which a
      core or open biopsy might be too aggressive.

PMID- 9990262
TI  - Cytology of ascitic fluid in a patient with metastasizing malignant Brenner tumor
      of the ovary. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Transitional cell ("Brenner") tumors represent about 2% of all
      ovarian neoplasms. Brenner tumors are almost always benign. Malignant Brenner
      tumors of the ovary resemble urothelial carcinomas and are extremely rare. CASE:
      A 77-year-old, white female presented with malignant Brenner tumor in both
      ovaries as well as lung and abdominal metastases. The cytology of the ascitic
      fluid revealed many activated mesothelial cells and three-dimensional cell
      clusters arranged in a papillary pattern. The round to oval nuclei displayed mild
      anisokaryosis and hyperchromasia but had a quite evenly dispersed opaque or
      finely granular nucleoplasm. Enfoldings of the nuclear membrane gave them the
      appearance of so-called coffee bean nuclei. The cytoplasm stained light bluish.
      CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the cytologic features of ascitic fluid might allow a
      preoperative diagnosis of malignant, or at least proliferating, ovarian Brenner
      tumor.

PMID- 9990261
TI  - Rhabdomyosarcoma of the urachus. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Rhabdomyosarcoma of the urachus is extremely rare, and only two cases
      have been reported. Cytologic, histologic, immunochemical and electron
      microscopic findings in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the urachus are presented.
      CASE: Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the urachus developed in a 2-year-old boy.
      Imprint smears prepared prior to a histologic examination for a rapid report
      contained many malignant cells isolated or in clusters in a myxoid background.
      They were uniformly small, with round to oval nuclei and scant cytoplasm, and
      immunohistochemically positive for desmin and alpha-sarcomeric muscle actin but
      negative for myoglobin. This tumor was diagnosed cytologically as embryonal
      rhabdomyosarcoma because of its skeletal muscle origin and because of its
      similarity to one of the so-called small round cell tumors of childhood.
      Histologic examination confirmed the cytologic diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Cytologic,
      histologic and electron microscopic findings were identical to those described
      previously for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma at other sites. In immunochemical
      examinations, cytologic samples fixed in ethanol are more useful than histologic
      ones fixed in formalin. Then, in order to differentiate poorly differentiated
      rhabdomyosarcoma from other small round cell tumors in children, desmin and alpha
      sarcomeric actin, rather than myoglobin, are recommended.

PMID- 9990263
TI  - Porocarcinoma detected by fine needle aspiration biopsy of a node metastasis. A
      case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Porocarcinomas were first reported by Pinkus and Meherengan in 1963
      as uncommon malignant adnexal tumors of the skin characterized by epidermotropism
      with pagetoid diffusion within the epidermis. CASE: The cytologic findings of an
      eccrine porocarcinoma lymph node metastasis in a 65-year-old female and
      histologic features of the skin recurrence are reported. Metastasis was firstly
      identified by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) performed on one inguinal
      lymph node. Cytologically the tumor was characterized by atypical malignant cells
      showing clear granular or keratinized cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei, with
      prominent nucleoli, which were irregularly dispersed or forming nests or cords,
      sometimes harboring central necrosis. The skin metastasis, detected after the
      cytologic FNAB diagnosis, showed superficial dissemination within the epidermis
      and dermal invasion. CONCLUSION: Cytologic diagnosis of porocarcinoma metastases
      by FNAB is important for adequate treatment, but adherence to strict diagnostic
      criteria is necessary. The tumor cells could be histogenetically related to the
      intraepidermal duct cells of the eccrine sweat glands, and pagetoid diffusion is
      considered a sort of homing phenomenon.

PMID- 9990265
TI  - Cutaneous blastomycosis. Report of a case with diagnosis by fine needle
      aspiration cytology.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Blastomycosis is rare in India. Clinically, cutaneous blastomycosis
      may be mistaken for keratoacanthoma, squamous cell carcinoma, tuberculosis,
      tertiary syphilis, leprosy or pyoderma. CASE: A 19-year-old male presented with a
      soft, fluctuant swelling at the medial canthus of the eye. Fine needle aspiration
      biopsy (FNAB) showed many single, spherical structures with thick walls. They had
      basophilic protoplasm and six nuclei in the center. A few of them showed budding
      with a broad base. CONCLUSION: The cytomorphology of Blastomyces dermatitidis is
      characteristic, and the organism can be differentiated from other yeast forms.
      The disease is sensitive to antifungal imidazole derivatives and can be cured.

PMID- 9990264
TI  - Cytologic clues for distinguishing the tall cell variant of thyroid papillary
      carcinoma. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In contrast to typical papillary carcinoma, the tall cell variant
      (TCV) of thyroid papillary carcinoma has more aggressive biologic behavior.
      Attempts to make a specific diagnosis of TCV of papillary carcinoma based on fine
      needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) have been unsatisfactory. CASE: The cytologic
      and histologic study of one such case was made with an emphasis given to
      identifying the main histologic criteria for the specific diagnosis of TCV of
      papillary carcinoma in FNAC smears. "Tall cells" were defined as cells with
      abundant eosinophilic, elongated cytoplasm; the height of these cells was twice
      their width or more, and they have to constitute > 30% of the tumor cell
      population. Tall cells were not found in smears of 20 cases of nonaggressive
      papillary carcinomas investigated as control cases. Only one mitotic figure was
      found in one slide of one of the control cases (5%) in comparison to two and
      three mitotic figures found in the two slides of TCV of papillary carcinoma.
      CONCLUSION: In addition to conventional cytologic features of typical papillary
      carcinoma, the identification of both tall cells and mitotic figures in the same
      smears is highly indicative of TCV of papillary carcinoma. More studies will be
      necessary to confirm the usefulness of this clue.

PMID- 9990266
TI  - Fine needle aspiration biopsy of a small round cell tumor exhibiting both neural
      and myogenic differentiation. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Divergent differentiation may not be detected in the limited material
      available in a fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). CASE: A small round cell
      malignancy showed neural features ultrastructurally on FNAB, in keeping with
      primitive neuroectodermal tumor, but desmin and actin positivity on surgical
      biopsy, suggesting rhabdomyosarcoma. CONCLUSION: Accurate classification of small
      round cell tumors by FNAB is more likely to occur when both electron microscopy
      and immunocytochemistry are employed since these tumors may express divergent
      differentiation.

PMID- 9990267
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytologic appearance of inflammatory pseudotumor of the
      liver. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare space-occupying lesion of
      the liver that can be clinically confused with a malignant process. CASE REPORT:
      A 28-year-old male presented with fever and a palpable, firm liver.
      Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a mass in the right lobe of the
      liver. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) under ultrasonographic guidance
      showed inflammatory cells, fibroblasts and a few hepatocytes. A diagnosis of
      inflammatory pseudotumour was suggested and confirmed on a true-cut biopsy.
      CONCLUSION: The cytologic appearance of IPT is characteristic. FNAB under
      ultrasonographic is a quick and easy technique for its diagnosis and
      differentiation from malignant space-occupying lesions.

PMID- 9990268
TI  - Apocrine cells in a fine needle aspirate of gynecomastia. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Apocrine cells are a common finding in female mammary cysts, while
      only rare cases of apocrine metaplasia in gynecomastia have been found in
      surgical specimens. CASE: A 65-year-old male presented with painful, monolateral
      gynecomastia. Fine needle aspiration biopsy showed sheets of large, eosinophilic
      epithelial cells. On immunocytochemistry these cells were positive for apocrine
      marker GCDFP-15. The patient had ischemic heart disease and was under treatment
      with spironolactone. CONCLUSION: Apocrine cysts in gynecomastia are rare
      histologic findings, and this is the first case diagnosed by fine needle
      aspiration. The finding of apocrine cells confirms the nonneoplastic nature of
      the lesion, avoiding surgical excision.

PMID- 9990269
TI  - Cytologic detection of metastatic malignant melanoma in urine. A report of three
      cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The presence of melanoma cells in urinary specimens is a rare event
      in either primary or metastatic melanoma of the genitourinary tract. CASES:
      Melanoma cells were observed in urinary specimens from three white males aged 50,
      67 and 51 years, with a previous history of cutaneous melanoma in the first two
      cases; in the last one autopsy showed a primary melanoma of the gallbladder. The
      first patient, treated with palliative therapy, survived 10 months, the second
      died a few days after the cytologic diagnosis, while the third survived 1 month.
      All patients had widespread metastases at the time of cytologic diagnosis.
      CONCLUSION: The presence of melanoma cells in urinary specimens may be an
      important marker for assessing the spread of metastatic disease. When the
      cytologic diagnosis is made, widespread dissemination is present, and only
      palliative treatment is suggested.

PMID- 9990270
TI  - Correlation of cytologic and histologic findings in fibrosing thyroiditis. A case
      report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Fibrous thyroiditis is the rarest form of thyroiditis. Consequently,
      needle aspiration biopsy experience is limited. Aspirates generally yield
      paucicellular smears with, at the most, only occasional, small fragments of
      connective tissue. CASE: A 35-year-old man presented with a firm right thyroid
      mass. Aspiration yielded cellular smears with round and irregularly shaped,
      cellular aggregates. Coarse cytoplasmic granules and intranuclear inclusions were
      also noted. The lesion was surgically excised, and pathologic examination was
      consistent with fibrous thyroiditis. CONCLUSION: As confirmed by histopathologic
      examination, the aspirated atypical cellular aggregates represented thyroid
      follicular units that were distorted by entrapment within fibrous tissue.
      Fibrosing thyroiditis may yield an atypical smear pattern.

PMID- 9990271
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytology of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the
      breast. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine tumors, usually small cell (oat cell) carcinomas, are
      almost always primary in the lungs and are highly malignant. Similar tumors have
      recently been described to occur in various extrapulmonary sites, such as the
      uterine cervix and prostate. We report a primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the
      breast in a female first diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB).
      Search of the literature revealed only three other reports of small cell
      carcinoma of the breast, one in a male and two in a female, thus making this the
      third documented case of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast in a female.
      CASE: A 45-year-old, black female presented with a firm, nontender mass at the
      tail of her left breast. FNAB showed atypical epithelial cells with pale nuclei
      and inconspicuous nucleoli. An excisional biopsy performed one week later showed
      microscopically a predominantly solid and syncytial pattern of small cells that
      appeared spindly in places. It had a high mitotic count, and the stroma was rich
      in lymphocytes and plasma cells. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies
      confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Small cell (neuroendocrine) mammary
      carcinoma is a rare entity but does occur and can be diagnosed by FNAB. It does
      not differ essentially from other mammary neoplasms with regard to prognosis.

PMID- 9990272
TI  - Osteoclastomalike anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid gland diagnosed by fine
      needle aspiration cytology. Report of two cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Thyroid diseases are common among the female population in Iran; the
      main one is endemic colloid goiter. Thyromegaly can be due to neoplastic and
      nonneoplastic disorders. The clinical distinction between benign and malignant
      tumors of the thyroid gland is sometimes difficult. Fine needle aspiration (FNA)
      study can be used as a preliminary step for identifying such lesions. CASES: Two
      female patients aged 54 and 62 years were admitted to Nemazi Hospital, Shiraz,
      Iran, with the chief complaint of weight loss, rapid enlargement of the thyroid
      gland for the last few months and pressure symptoms in the neck. Clinically these
      cases were diagnosed as malignant thyroid lesions. However, for further diagnosis
      the tumors were aspirated. The smears revealed numerous osteoclastlike giant
      cells with intranuclear inclusions and numerous, isolated oval to spindle-shaped
      malignant cells. The smears were diagnosed as osteoclastlike anaplastic carcinoma
      of the thyroid. CONCLUSION: FNA is useful in the diagnosis of osteoclastomalike
      anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid.

PMID- 9990273
TI  - Diabetic mastopathy. A report of two cases diagnosed by aspiration cytology.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Diabetic mastopathy (DM) is a lymphocytic mastitis that develops in
      women who have suffered from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus for some years.
      CASES: A 51-year-old female with type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes for 13 years
      presented with a 3-cm, hard, mobile nodule in the right breast. A 59-year-old
      female on insulin therapy for five years presented with a 4-cm mass in the
      subareolar region of the breast. The aspirate in both cases showed clusters of
      ductal cells, some lymphocytes and epithelioid fibroblasts in fragments of dense
      connective tissue. CONCLUSION: The expected frequency of this disease is far
      lower than the number of cases diagnosed. This is due to the lack of highly
      specific criteria for the diagnosis. Only the integration of clinical histories
      with cytologic findings can lead to an accurate diagnosis and avoid needless
      surgery.

PMID- 9990274
TI  - Florid melanocytic colonization in a metastasis of breast carcinoma. A case
      report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Melanocytic colonization in breast carcinoma with skin invasion is an
      unusual entity. Very rarely does florid colonization by melanocytes simulate
      melanoma. This phenomenon requires recognition. The cytomorphology of this lesion
      is reported below for the first time. CASE: A 45-year-female operated on for
      breast carcinoma developed a recurrent nodule on the mastectomy scar and another
      circumscribed, depigmented nodule on the back. Fine needle aspiration cytology
      smears from the recurrent nodule showed features of lobular carcinoma of the
      breast, whereas the nodule on the back showed cytomorphologic features simulating
      melanoma along with cells simulating lobular carcinoma of the breast. CONCLUSION:
      We report for the first time the cytologic finding of melanocytic colonization in
      subcutaneous secondary breast carcinoma.

PMID- 9990276
TI  - Aspiration cytology features of the warthin tumor-like variant of papillary
      thyroid carcinoma. A report of two cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Warthinklike tumor of thyroid is a recently described variant of
      papillary thyroid carcinoma characterized histologically by a papillary
      architecture, oxyphilic tumor cells and extensive, chronic inflammation. CASES:
      Fine needle aspiration was performed on solitary thyroid nodules in two females
      aged 19 and 35 years. Both patients complained of neck lumps, and the older one
      noted several months of fatigue and weight gain. The specimens were cytologically
      similar and were characterized by two distinct sets of features, one suggesting
      the tall cell or oxyphilic variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma and the other
      suggesting chronic lymphocytic (Hashimoto's) thyroiditis. Neoplastic follicular
      cell nuclei were divided into those with grooves, pseudoinclusions and
      hyperlobation consistent with papillary thyroid carcinoma, while other tumor
      nuclei exhibited a uniform, round contour; hypergranular chromatin; and
      relatively prominent nucleoli reminiscent of Hurthle cells. Chronic inflammation
      was abundant and intimately associated with neoplastic cell groups. CONCLUSION:
      Warthinlike tumor of the thyroid possesses cytoplasmic and nuclear features with
      overlap with several other thyroid lesions. Although a definitive diagnosis at
      aspiration biopsy may be very difficult, the lesions are recognizably neoplastic
      and identifiable as probable or definite papillary thyroid carcinoma.

PMID- 9990275
TI  - Cytologic features of fine needle aspirates of papillary and mucoepidermoid
      carcinoma of the thyroid with anaplastic transformation. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Cases
      of papillary carcinoma merging with squamous carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma,
      insular carcinoma, columnar cell carcinoma, poorly differentiated carcinoma,
      anaplastic carcinoma and medullary carcinoma have been reported to date. CASE: A
      62-year-old female presented with a 3-cm, hard and painful tumor in the right
      lobe of the thyroid gland. Fine needle aspiration biopsy yielded a diagnosis of
      undifferentiated (anaplastic) carcinoma. The tumor was deemed a papillary and
      mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thyroid with anaplastic transformation on
      histology. On retrospective review, the aspirates showed cytologic features of
      papillary, mucoepidermoid and anaplastic carcinoma. Cellular sheets showing a
      combination of squamous and mucin-producing features and microcystic like pattern
      containing hyaline bodies and/or amorphous material correlated well with the
      histologic and ultrastructural features of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. To our
      knowledge, no other case with these cytologic characteristics has been reported
      previously. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that fine needle aspiration biopsy
      can be used to recognize rare malignant thyroid neoplasms showing a combination
      of papillary, mucoepidermoid and undifferentiated carcinoma.

PMID- 9990277
TI  - Aspiration cytology of 131I-induced thyroiditis. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) has become an indispensable diagnostic
      tool for the investigation of thyroid nodules. Although 131I may induce
      morphologic changes similar to those associated with external radiation, a known
      diagnostic pitfall, the cytology literature on the subject is very sparse. This
      case exemplifies the thyroid cytologic changes associated with 131I exposure.
      CASE: A 50-year-old male with a remote history of 131I exposure had an indurated
      thyroid on routine physical examination. FNA was interpreted as positive for
      malignant cells, and subsequently a total thyroidectomy was performed. Review of
      the cytologic sample revealed follicular cells with focal, marked cytologic
      atypia, abundant colloid, stromal fragments, and lymphocytes. The thyroidectomy
      specimen consisted of an indurated and nodular gland showing architecture
      distortion by micronodule formation, lymphocytic infiltrates, interstitial
      fibrosis and follicular atrophy. Marked nuclear atypia was seen in the follicular
      cells. CONCLUSION: FNA of thyroid glands exposed to 131I may show significantly
      large, atypical follicular cells in addition to classical changes of nodular
      goiter and/or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. Although the clinical history and
      the diffuse nature of the process may favor a benign process in most cases, the
      presence of marked atypia could lead to a malignant diagnosis. Pathologists,
      therefore, should exercise extreme caution in interpreting cases with 131I
      exposure.

PMID- 9990278
TI  - Fine needle aspiration diagnosis of fibromatosis colli. A report of three cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Fibromatosis colli, a common cause of congenital muscular
      torticollis, should be differentiated from other neck masses in infants. Invasive
      diagnostic and therapeutic measures should be avoided. CASES: Three infants under
      the age of 2 months presented with neck masses--a clinical suspicion of
      malignancy, lymphadenopathy and teratoma. The cytologic findings included
      dyshesive multinucleated skeletal muscle fragments showing degenerative and
      atrophic changes within a background of scattered reactive fibroblasts.
      CONCLUSION: Fine needle aspiration biopsy is a safe and rapid method of providing
      a confirmatory diagnosis of neck masses in infants.

PMID- 9990279
TI  - Residual ovarian tissue mimicking malignancy in a patient with mucinous carcinoid
      tumor of the ovary. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Mucinous carcinoid tumor of the ovary is an uncommon lesion in
      reproductive-age women. If a patient status post total abdominal hysterectomy and
      bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAH-BSO) for this tumor presents with a pelvic
      mass, recurrence of the tumor must be considered, as must the presence of
      residual ovarian tissue producing physiologic cysts with mass effect, termed the
      "ovarian remnant syndrome." Benign ovarian follicle cysts may have cellular
      atypia and mimic malignancy. CASE: A female, one year status post TAH-BSO for
      mucinous carcinoid tumor of the ovary, presented with pelvic mass. Clinical and
      radiologic evidence supported the diagnosis of recurrent tumor. Aspiration biopsy
      material was compatible with malignancy, and immunocytochemical stains supported
      a neuroendocrine origin of the cells. Surgical excision and histologic
      examination of the mass revealed ovarian tissue with features of corpus luteum
      and follicular cyst. CONCLUSION: Numerous pitfalls exist when considering an
      unusual tumor. While the patient's history, clinical impressions and
      immunocytochemistry may strongly suggest malignancy, more common benign entities
      may mimic malignancy and should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

PMID- 9990280
TI  - Cytologic diagnosis of isolated pancreatic alveolar hydatid disease with
      immunologic and PCR analyses. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Alveolar hydatid disease (AHD) is a rare and severe parasitic
      infection caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm, Echinococcus
      multilocularis. AHD mainly involves the liver, and although it may extend
      progressively to the pancreas, isolated pancreatic localization has not been
      reported previously. CASE: A 68-year-old white female presented with a
      multicystic mass in the pancreas. Fine needle aspiration showed some
      protoscolices, free hooklets and fragments of laminated layer, which are
      pathognomonic features of echinococcosis. Serologic analyses by an enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay using Em2plus antigen showed high antibody reactivity of the
      patient's serum, which is indicative of an infection with E multilocularis.
      Diagnosis was finally confirmed by molecular and immunologic analyses of the
      cytologic material by polymerase chain reaction and direct immunofluorescence.
      CONCLUSION: This case illustrates the value of cytology in the identification of
      echinococcosis, particularly when it involves extrahepatic sites, where the risk
      of misdiagnosis may be related to its extremely rare occurrence. Precise
      parasitologic tying of E multilocularis in endemic areas is important.

PMID- 9990281
TI  - Primary cardiac hydatid cyst in a child. Cytologic diagnosis of a case.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Echinococcosis is a troublesome disease, particularly common in sheep
      raising communities and usually caused by the cestode Echinococcus granulosus.
      Although it has been found in almost every organ, isolated cardiac disease is an
      exceptional presentation since cardiac involvement occurs in only 0.5-3% of
      echinococcosis cases. CASE: A case of primary cardiac hydatid cyst occurred in a
      4-year-old male. The asymptomatic patient was admitted to the hospital for
      evaluation of an intracardiac cyst. The lesion was successfully excised by open
      heart surgery, and a definitive diagnosis was made postoperatively by Giemsa
      staining of hooklets and scolices in cyst fluid. CONCLUSION: This case is of
      special interest because of the rare site of the lesion and young age of the
      patient. Pathologists should be alert to the possibility of this parasite
      appearing in unusual clinical settings.

PMID- 9990282
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytology of fibrous hamartoma of infancy.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Fibrous hamartoma of infancy (FHI) is an uncommon, benign lesion with
      a distinctive histologic appearance, usually occurring as a small, rapidly
      growing soft tissue swelling developing in the first two years of life. Apart
      from one publication, there appear to be few descriptions of the fine needle
      aspiration biopsy (FNAB) features of this lesion. Detailed information on the
      clinical and FNAB findings in a patient with FHI is presented. CASE: An 8-month
      old female had a firm mass on the posterior aspect of the arm. FNAB produced
      smears that displayed moderate cellularity, loosely lying and clustered
      fibroblastic-appearing cells, fatty tissue and collagenous material without
      evidence of significant nuclear atypia or mitoses. CONCLUSION: In the appropriate
      clinical setting, if the pathologist performing the microscopic evaluation can be
      confident that all the tissues with features as described are exclusively from
      the nodule, it is likely that a confident diagnosis of FHI can be made.

PMID- 9990283
TI  - Fine needle aspiration cytology of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the
      breast. A report of two cases.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Invasive micropapillary carcinoma is a recently described variant of
      invasive breast cancer characterized by the formation of micropapillae within
      clear spaces separated by a fibrocollagenous stroma. Although the histologic
      features are well described, to the best of our knowledge, the cytologic findings
      have not been reported. CASES: The fine needle aspiration cytology of two cases
      of biopsy confirmed invasive micropapillary carcinoma are described and compared
      to the histologic features. In one case, an additional FNA of a subsequent
      metastasis is reviewed. CONCLUSION: The cytologic features of invasive
      micropapillary carcinoma are distinctive and correlate with the histology.
      Invasive micropapillary carcinoma can be suggested based on the FNA findings of
      numerous well-formed angular, papillary clusters along with other criteria of
      malignancy. The cytologic differential diagnosis of invasive micropapillary
      carcinoma is discussed.

PMID- 9990284
TI  - Blastomycosis. Report of a case with noninvasive, rapid diagnosis of dermal
      lesions by the Papanicolaou technique.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Blastomycosis is a rare fungal infection that occurs most often in
      young to middle-aged men. A common route of infection is through continued
      contact with soil, occurring in such occupations as gardening and construction
      work. The skin and lungs are primarily affected. When the respiratory system is
      involved, blastomycosis may be misdiagnosed as pulmonary miliary tuberculosis.
      CASE: A 54-year-old, African American male presented with dry cough and multiple
      verrucous skin lesions affecting the face, shoulder and legs. Chest
      roentgenography indicated bilateral lung involvement. The patient died following
      a short, difficult hospital course. Autopsy revealed verrucous skin lesions with
      dry, thick, raised margins and central necrosis and umbilication, and severe,
      diffuse pulmonary involvement clinically and radiologically, resembling miliary
      tuberculosis. A smear from a leg ulcer stained by the Papanicolaou technique
      revealed fungi within the giant cells. CONCLUSION: Clinical and radiologic
      findings alone do not establish the diagnosis of blastomycosis. Respiratory
      involvement may lead to a misdiagnosis of pulmonary miliary tuberculosis. Sputum
      and bronchial washing examinations by a laboratory technique are in order. This
      case indicates that cytologic examination of the exudate from an ulcer may result
      in a strongly suggestive diagnosis.

PMID- 9990285
TI  - Diagnosis of recurrent desmoplastic small round cell tumor by fine needle
      aspiration. A case report.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a recently described
      neoplasm characterized by aggressive biology, occurrence in body cavities,
      expression of antigens from multiple cell lineages and a specific translocation
      between chromosomes 11 and 22. Most of the published information on this neoplasm
      is histologic. The case presented here enabled presentation of the
      cytomorphologic and immunocytochemical features of aspirated cytologic material
      obtained from this unique tumor. CASE: The cytologic, histologic, radiologic and
      clinical features of a DSRCT from a 17-year-old patient are presented. Although
      the initial diagnosis in this case was made on histology, recurrence was proven
      by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). CONCLUSION: The presence of sheets or
      clusters of small round malignant cells, associated with shards of dense
      fibroconnective tissue, in FNAB should lead the cytologist to consider the
      diagnosis of DSRCT.

PMID- 9990286
TI  - Structural modules in actin-binding proteins: towards a new classification.
AB  - The number of actin binding proteins for which (part of) the three-dimensional
      structure is known, is steadily increasing. This has led to a picture in which
      defined structural modules with actin binding capacity are shared between
      different actin binding proteins. A classification of these based on their common
      three-dimensional modules appears a logical future step and in this review we
      provide an initial list starting from the currently known structures. The
      discussed cases illustrate that a comparison of the similarities and variations
      within the common structural actin binding unit of different members of a
      particular class may ultimately provide shortcuts for defining their actin target
      site and for understanding their effect on actin dynamics. Within this concept,
      the multitude of possible interactions by an extensive, and still increasing,
      list of actin binding proteins becomes manageable because they can be presented
      as variations upon a limited number of structural themes. We discuss the possible
      evolutionary routes that may have produced the present array of actin binding
      modules.

PMID- 9990287
TI  - Role for NF-kappa B in mediating the effects of hyperoxia on IGF-binding protein
      2 promoter activity in lung alveolar epithelial cells.
AB  - The surface of the pulmonary alveolus is a major target for oxidant injury, and
      its proper repair following injury is dependent on the proliferative response of
      the stem cells of the alveolar epithelium, the type 2 cells. In previous studies
      on the mechanisms controlling this response, we have documented involvement of
      several components of the IGF system, and mainly of the IGF binding protein-2
      (IGFBP-2). We have provided evidence that this binding protein was associated
      with inhibition of DNA synthesis of type 2 cells exposed to oxidants and that its
      expression was regulated mostly at the level of transcription. In the present
      study, we focused on the factors involved in this regulation. From examination of
      the IGFBP-2 gene promoter sequence which revealed the presence of four potential
      binding sites for transcription factors of the NF-kappa B/Rel family, we
      hypothesized that NF-kappa B might be involved in the transcriptional activation
      of IGFBP-2 in oxidant-exposed cells. Data reported herein demonstrated that NF
      kappa B activated IGFBP-2 promoter in transient transfection assays, and that
      exposure of cells to hyperoxia was associated with accumulation of the active
      form of NF-kappa B. Using gel shift analysis, we documented in O2-treated cells
      an increased binding to the four NF-kappa B binding sites. We also showed that
      accumulation of NF-kappa B was associated with a decrease in the inhibitory
      molecule I kappa B-alpha. Based on the current knowledge on NF-kappa B
      regulation, it is likely that in a number of situations associated with injury of
      lung alveolar epithelial cells signaling events involving accumulation of NF
      kappa B converge to activate IGFBP-2 and to block entry into S phase.

PMID- 9990288
TI  - Ribonucleotide reductase R2 protein is phosphorylated at serine-20 by P34cdc2
      kinase.
AB  - Ribonucleotide reductase is a rate-limiting enzyme in DNA synthesis and is
      composed of two different proteins, R1 and R2. The R2 protein appears to be rate
      limiting for enzyme activity in proliferating cells, and it is phosphorylated by
      p34cdc2 and CDK2, mediators of cell cycle transition events. A sequence in the R2
      protein at serine-20 matches a consensus sequence for p34cdc2 and CDK2 kinases.
      We tested the hypothesis that the serine-20 residue was the major p34cdc2 kinase
      site of phosphorylation. Three peptides were synthesized (from Asp-13 to Ala-28)
      that contained either the wild type amino acid sequence (Asp-Gln-Gln-Gln-Leu-Gln
      Leu-Ser-Pro-Leu-Lys-Arg-Leu-Thr-Leu-Ala, serine peptide) or a mutation, in which
      the serine residue was replaced with an alanine residue (alanine peptide) or a
      threonine residue (threonine peptide). Only the serine peptide and threonine
      peptide were phosphorylated by p34cdc2 kinase. In two-dimensional phosphopeptide
      mapping experiments of serine peptide and Asp-N endoproteinase digested R2
      protein, peptide co-migration patterns suggested that the synthetic
      phosphopeptide containing serine-20 was identical to the major Asp-N digested R2
      phosphopeptide. To further test the hypothesis that serine-20 is the primary
      phosphorylated residue on R2 protein, three recombinant R2 proteins (R2-Thr, R2
      Asp and R2-Ala) were generated by site-directed mutagenesis, in which the serine
      20 residue was replaced with threonine, aspartic acid or alanine residues. Wild
      type R2 and threonine-substituted R2 proteins (R2-Thr) were phosphorylated by
      p34cdc2 kinase, whereas under the same experimental conditions, R2-Asp and R2-Ala
      phosphorylation was not detected. Furthermore, the phosphorylated amino acid
      residue in the R2-Thr protein was determined to be phosphothreonine. Therefore,
      by replacing a serine-20 residue with a threonine, the phosphorylated amino acid
      in R2 protein was changed to a phosphothreonine. In total, these results firmly
      establish that a major p34cdc2 phosphorylation site on the ribonucleotide
      reductase R2 protein occurs near the N-terminal end at serine-20, which is found
      within the sequence Ser-Pro-Leu-Lys-Arg-Leu. Comparison of ribonucleotide
      reductase activities between wild type and mutated forms of the R2 proteins
      suggested that mutation at serine-20 did not significantly affect enzyme
      activity.

PMID- 9990289
TI  - Low-energy laser irradiation affects satellite cell proliferation and
      differentiation in vitro.
AB  - Low-energy laser (He-Ne) irradiation was found to promote skeletal muscle
      regeneration in vivo. In this study, its effect on the proliferation and
      differentiation of satellite cells in vitro was evaluated. Primary rat satellite
      cells were irradiated for various time periods immediately after preparation, and
      thymidine incorporation was determined after 2 days in culture. Laser irradiation
      affected thymidine incorporation in a bell-shaped manner, with a peak at 3 s of
      irradiation. Three seconds of irradiation caused an induction of cell-cycle
      regulatory proteins: cyclin D1, cyclin E and cyclin A in an established line of
      mouse satellite cells, pmi28, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in
      primary rat satellite cells. The induction of cyclins by laser irradiation was
      compatible with their induction by serum refeeding of the cells. Laser
      irradiation effect on cell proliferation was dependent on the rat's age. At 3
      weeks of age, thymidine incorporation in the irradiated cells was more than
      twofold higher than that in the controls, while at 6 weeks of age this difference
      had almost disappeared. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) protein levels were twofold
      lower in the irradiated than in the control cells, whereas the proliferation of
      the irradiated cells was twofold higher. Fusion percentage was lower in the
      irradiated compared to non-irradiated cells. In light of these data, the
      promoting effect of laser irradiation on skeletal muscle regeneration in vivo may
      be due to its effect on the activation of early cell-cycle regulatory genes in
      satellite cells, leading to increased proliferation and to a delay in cell
      differentiation.

PMID- 9990290
TI  - Adhesive and growth properties of lectin from the ascidian Didemnum ternatanum on
      cultivated marine invertebrate cells.
AB  - The effects of N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine-specific lectin (M(r) 27 kDa) isolated from
      the ascidian Didemnum ternatanum on cultivated cells of molluscs and echinoderms
      were studied. This lectin was found to stimulate the growth or the
      differentiation of cultivated marine invertebrate cells depending on the stage of
      embryonic development at which primary cell cultures were obtained. In addition,
      it has been shown to increase the attachment of cells in primary cultures of
      these animals. The degree of attachment is considerably increased when collagen
      or polylysine substrates are used. Using scanning electron microscopy we have
      demonstrated the stage-specific effect of this lectin on embryonic sea urchin and
      molluscan cells. Intensive cell spreading and an alteration of cell shape were
      observed only at the gastrula stage, when the switching from maternal information
      to embryonic genes occurred. The ascidian lectin seems to have some
      characteristics of both an adhesive factor and a growth factor.

PMID- 9990291
TI  - A redox-dependent, G-protein-coupled phospholipase A of the plasma membrane is
      involved in the elicitation of alkaloid biosynthesis in Eschscholtzia
      californica.
AB  - In cultured cells of California poppy formation of benzophenanthridine alkaloids
      can be triggered by a yeast elicitor preparation independently of the
      hypersensitive reaction. A plasma membrane (PM) bound phospholipase A (PLA) is
      likely to play a role in the signalling process: PLA activity was detectable in
      individual cells, cell suspensions and PM vesicles with the fluorogenic
      phospholipid bis-BODIPY FL C11-PC and was sensitive to known inhibitors of PLA2.
      In microscopic assays, enzyme activity increased after elicitor contact of cells
      that were pretreated with non-saturating concentrations of PLA2 inhibitors. In PM
      vesicles a PLA2-like protein as well as G alpha- and G beta-proteins were
      detected immunologically. Anti-G alpha or anti-G beta antisera or mastoparan
      stimulated PLA activity thus indicating a G-protein-controlled enzyme.
      Elicitation of alkaloid production was sensitive to aristolochic acid and
      enhanced by PLA2 products such as lysophosphatidylcholine and linolenic acid.
      Pretreatment of the cells with the artificial electron acceptors
      hexabromoiridate(V) or ferricyanide(III) reversibly abolished the effect of
      subsequent elicitation and reduced the activity of PLA both in intact cells and
      in PM vesicles. It appears, therefore, that PLA2 is a point of interference of
      redox control with the signal path.

PMID- 9990292
TI  - Hepatocyte differentiation of WIF-B cells includes a high capacity of interleukin
      6-mediated induction of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and alpha 2-macroglobulin.
AB  - Responsiveness to cytokine-mediated acute inflammatory stimuli of the highly
      differentiated and polarized WIF-B hybrid cell line was studied by measuring the
      induction of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and alpha 2-macroglobulin mRNAs after
      interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha treatments in the
      presence of dexamethasone. Compared with their Fao parent, WIF-B cells were 10
      times more responsive to 24-h interleukin-6 induction regarding alpha 2
      macroglobulin induction. At variance from the response measured in Fao cells, the
      late effects of interleukin-6 treatment confirmed the higher sensitivity of WIF-B
      cells to this cytokine as a 72-h treatment as 10 times more effective than a 24-h
      treatment at inducting alpha 1-acid glycoprotein mRNA. These findings highlight
      the hepatocyte differentiation of WIF-B cells compared with other hepatoma cell
      lines, with respect to the regulation of acute-phase protein gene expression.
      They also make WIF-B cells a convenient model to study the molecular effects of
      interleukin-6 in terms of transduction and/or transcription, and the many cross
      talks that occur during the regulation of acute-phase protein gene expression.

PMID- 9990293
TI  - Alteration of heart uncoupling protein-2 mRNA regulated by sympathetic nerve and
      triiodothyronine during postnatal period in rats.
AB  - To provide tissue-specific and developmental characteristics of gene expression
      of rat heart uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2), we investigated developmental
      alterations of UCPs mRNA expression in the heart and brown adipose tissue (BAT),
      and examined possible up-regulators of heart UCP2 expression using in vitro
      studies. Heart UCP2 mRNA expression was low during the early postnatal days
      followed by a rapid and significant increase in the 2nd postnatal week. Heart
      UCP3 mRNA remained undetectable until the 2nd postnatal week when the expression
      reached a small but significant peak. BAT UCP1 mRNA was abundantly expressed in
      the neonate, but the expression rapidly decreased to the adult level. The studies
      using cultured cardiomyocytes demonstrated that both 10(-8) M triiodothyronine
      and 10(-7) M isoproterenol, but not phenylephrine, increased UCP2 mRNA
      expression. These results indicate that the sympathetic nervous system and/or
      thyroid hormones may be involved in the up-regulation of heart UCP2 gene
      expression during postnatal development. The increase in postnatal heart UCP2 may
      provide a key link between the postnatal energy shift and adaptation of rat pups
      to their novel environment.

PMID- 9990294
TI  - Stimulation of hyaluronan synthesis by tumor necrosis factor-alpha is mediated by
      the p50/p65 NF-kappa B complex in MRC-5 myofibroblasts.
AB  - The lesions of fibrocontractive diseases result from an excessive
      myofibroproliferative response to numerous forms of inflammatory stimuli, which
      elicit the net deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the interstitium of
      the affected tissue. Hyaluronan (HA), reported to be a key player supporting
      cellular migration and adherence, is a major component of ECM that undergoes
      dynamic regulation during inflammation. The molecular regulation of HA
      biosynthesis by inflammatory cytokines on myofibroblasts is not yet completely
      understood. Here we report the biochemical characteristics of the lung
      myofibroblast cell line MRC-5, and we demonstrate that the production of HA by
      this cell line is inducible by the proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis
      factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), at the message level of HA synthase (HAS). In TNF-alpha
      stimulated MRC-5 cells, DNA-binding and competition experiments indicated that
      the predominant NF-kappa B binding activity detected with nuclear extract
      stimulated cells is mediated by the p50/p65 complex. Using antisense
      oligonucleotides, we confirmed that the TNF-alpha-stimulation of HA synthesis by
      MRC-5 cells is dependent on the activation of the p50/p65 NF-kappa B complex.
      These findings indicate that TNF-alpha production within inflamed tissues may
      enhance the HA synthesis via the transcriptional induction of HAS on
      myofibroblasts, thereby providing a provisional matrix for supporting cellular
      migration and adhesion, and that the p50/p65 NF-kappa B complex that plays an
      important role in the regulation of HA production by TNF-alpha might be an
      appropriate target for therapeutic compounds to treat tissue fibrosis accompanied
      by inflammation.

PMID- 9990295
TI  - NSAIDs and butyrate sensitize a human colorectal cancer cell line to TNF-alpha
      and Fas ligation: the role of reactive oxygen species.
AB  - The nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) indomethacin and salicylic acid
      and the short chain fatty acid butyrate are effective colon cancer
      chemopreventive agents that increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in
      colon cancer cells. Here we demonstrate that these agents sensitize the normally
      resistant human HT-29 colon cancer cell line to apoptosis induced by TNF-alpha or
      a Fas ligating antibody. The role of ROS in this sensitization is supported by
      the finding that direct exposure of the cells to H2O2 is sufficient for
      sensitization. Neither TNF-alpha nor Fas ligation alter basal or chemopreventive
      agent-activated ROS generation, suggesting that the death ligands and
      chemopreventive agents act in a complementary fashion. The dual chemopreventive
      agent/death ligand treatments do not increase Fas, TNF receptor 1, Bak or c-myc
      expression (although salicylic acid moderately induces of Fas expression). Cell
      death does correlate with alterations in NF-kappa B activity: the NSAIDs,
      butyrate and H2O2 enhance c-Rel complex formation by TNF-alpha and provide an
      overall enhancement of NF-kappa B activation by Fas. The antioxidant N
      acetylcysteine (NAC) blocks cell death and NF-kappa B activation induced by Fas
      ligation, suggesting a potential role for NF-kappa B in Fas-induced apoptosis in
      these cells. The effects of NAC on TNF-alpha-induced cell death are more complex,
      with NAC being marginally protective and itself enhancing the formation of c-Rel
      containing complexes at higher concentrations (25 mM). The influence of NSAIDs
      and butyrate on ROS generation and death ligand sensitivity may be relevant to
      their ability to suppress colon carcinogenesis.

PMID- 9990296
TI  - Myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate is phosphorylated and translocated
      by a phorbol ester-insensitive and calcium-independent protein kinase C isoform
      in C6 glioma cell membranes.
AB  - Myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS), a prominent substrate for
      conventional and novel protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms, is involved in the
      regulation of membrane-cytoskeletal interactions. Addition of [gamma-32P]ATP to
      the membrane fraction of digitonin-permeabilized C6 glioma cells resulted in
      phosphorylation and release of MARCKS, indicating involvement of an active
      membrane-bound kinase. Pretreatment of cells with 2 microM 4 beta-12-O
      tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (beta-TPA) for 18 h downregulated conventional
      (PKC alpha) and novel (PKC delta) isoforms of PKC by > 90% in both membrane and
      soluble fractions, but did not inhibit the rate of ATP-dependent phosphorylation
      or release of MARCKS, or decrease levels of membrane-bound PKC zeta or PKC mu.
      MARCKS phosphorylation was inhibited by staurosporine, bis-indolylmaleimide (a
      PKC-specific inhibitor), Go6983 (inhibits all isoforms except PKC mu), and a
      peptide from the calmodulin-binding domain of MARCKS, but was unaffected by EGTA
      or Go6976 (inhibits cPKCs and PKC mu). Peptide mapping indicated similar in vivo
      and in vitro phosphorylation at serine residue(s) known to be phosphorylated by
      PKC. These findings support a novel mechanism by which MARCKS may be regulated by
      an atypical PKC isoform in phorbol ester-downregulated cells.

PMID- 9990297
TI  - Uptake and intracellular fate of phage display vectors in mammalian cells.
AB  - Receptor-mediated endocytosis is exploited in experimental systems for selective
      delivery of genes and drugs into specific cells. To improve targeting efficiency
      of delivery vectors, we have used phage display technology to isolate novel
      ligands for endocytosed receptors. We show here that phage vectors internalized
      by mammalian cells via integrin-mediated endocytosis can be rescued by cell lysis
      and quantitated by infection of bacteria. Immediately following uptake, phage
      enter an intracellular compartment where they remain intact, with phage titer
      unaffected by the addition of chloroquine. Phage are then translocated to a
      second intracellular compartment in which they are inactivated and their titer
      affected by chloroquine. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed an association of
      the second compartment with supranuclear organelles. The ability to recover
      internalized phage in an infectious form from two distinctive intracellular
      compartments provides a means to select novel ligands from phage libraries for
      targeted delivery of macromolecules into mammalian cells.

PMID- 9990298
TI  - Targeted delivery of multivalent phage display vectors into mammalian cells.
AB  - Novel peptide motives targeting endocytosing receptors were isolated from phage
      display libraries of random peptides by recovering internalized phage from
      mammalian cells. The peptide-presenting phage selected by internalization in HEp
      2 and ECV304 human cells were taken up 1000- to 100,000-fold more efficiently
      than their parent libraries, and from 10 to 100 times faster than phage particles
      displaying integrin-binding peptides. A high degree of selectivity of phage
      uptake was observed in these cells: phage selected in ECV304 cells were
      internalized approximately 100-fold more efficiently in ECV304 cells than in HEp
      2 cells. Likewise, phage selected in HEp-2 cells were subsequently taken up
      approximately 40-fold more efficiently by HEp-2 cells than by ECV304 cells. In
      multiple independent trials using a cyclic peptide library, an identical peptide
      sequence displayed on phage was internalized by and recovered from ECV304 cells.
      These findings indicate that the internalization process is highly selective, and
      is capable of capturing a specific peptide from 2 x 10(7) peptide variants.
      Immunofluorescence microscopy showed juxtanuclear localization of internalized
      phage. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using multivalent phage
      display libraries to identify new targeting ligands for the intracellular
      delivery of macromolecules.

PMID- 9990299
TI  - Tributyltin triggers apoptosis in trout hepatocytes: the role of Ca2+, protein
      kinase C and proteases.
AB  - The purpose of the present study was to study the mechanisms involved in the
      induction of apoptosis and by tributyltin (TBT) in rainbow trout hepatocytes, and
      to examine the role of intracellular Ca2+, protein kinase C (PKC) and proteases
      in the apoptotic process. The intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM has a
      suppressive effect on TBT-mediated apoptosis. However, exposure to the ionophore
      A23187 is not sufficient to induce apoptosis in trout hepatocytes. The results
      obtained also show that TBT stimulates PKC gamma and delta translocation from
      cytosol to the plasma membrane in trout hepatocytes after 30 min of exposure.
      However, PKC gamma translocation is down-regulated after 90 min of treatment. The
      addition of protein kinase inhibitors (staurosporine and H-7) not only fails to
      inhibit apoptosis induced by TBT, but also leads to enhancement of DNA
      fragmentation. These inhibitors also afford a remarkable protection against the
      loss of plasma membrane integrity caused by TBT exposure. PMA, a direct activator
      of PKC, fails to stimulate DNA fragmentation. In addition, Z-VAD.FMK is an
      extremely potent inhibitor of TBT-induced apoptosis in trout hepatocytes,
      indicating that the activation of ICE-like proteases is a key event in this
      process. The cysteine protease inhibitor N-ethylmaleimide also prevented TBT
      induced DNA fragmentation. Taken together, these data allow for the first time to
      suggest a mechanistic model of TBT-induced apoptosis. We propose that TBT could
      trigger apoptosis through a step involving Ca2+ efflux from the endoplasmic
      reticulum or other intracellular pools and by mechanisms involving cysteine
      proteases, such as calpains, as well as the phosphorylation status of apoptotic
      proteins such as Bcl-2 homologues.

PMID- 9990300
TI  - EGF stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK) and
      paxillin in rat pancreatic acini by a phospholipase C-independent process that
      depends on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, the small GTP-binding protein, p21rho,
      and the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton.
AB  - Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a potent mitogen in many cell types including
      pancreatic cells. Recent studies show that the effects of some growth factors on
      growth and cell migration are mediated by tyrosine phosphorylation of the
      cytosolic tyrosine kinase p125 focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK) and the
      cytoskeletal protein, paxillin. The aim of the present study was to determine
      whether EGF activates this pathway in rat pancreatic acini and causes tyrosine
      phosphorylation of each of these proteins, and to examine the intracellular
      pathways involved. Treatment of pancreatic acini with EGF induced a rapid,
      concentration-dependent increase in p125FAK and paxillin tyrosine
      phosphorylation. Depletion of the intracellular calcium pool or inhibition of PKC
      activation had no effect on the response to EGF. However, inhibition of the
      phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) or inactivation of p21rho inhibited
      EGF-stimulated phosphorylation of p125FAK and paxillin by more than 70%. Finally,
      cytochalasin D, a selective disrupter of the actin filament network, completely
      inhibited EGF-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of both proteins. All these
      treatments did not modify EGF receptor autophosphorylation in response to EGF.
      These results identify p125FAK and paxillin as components of the intracellular
      pathways stimulated after EGF receptor occupation in rat pancreatic acini.
      Activation of this cascade requires activation of PI3-kinase and participation of
      p21rho, but not PKC activation and calcium mobilization.

PMID- 9990301
TI  - Identification and cloning of a novel phosphatase expressed at high levels in
      differentiating growth plate chondrocytes.
AB  - Growth plate chondrocytes progress through a proliferative phase before acquiring
      a terminally-differentiated phenotype. In this study we used Percoll density
      gradients to separate chick growth plate chondrocytes into populations of
      different maturational phenotype. By applying agarose gel differential display to
      these populations we cloned a cDNA encoding a novel 268 amino acid protein
      (3X11A). 3X11A contains two peptide motifs that are conserved in a recently
      identified superfamily of phosphotransferases. It is likely that 3X11A is a
      phosphatase, but its substrate specificity remains uncertain. 3X11A expression is
      upregulated 5-fold during chondrocyte terminal differentiation and its expression
      is approximately 100-fold higher in hypertrophic chondrocytes than in non
      chondrogenic tissues. This suggests that 3X11A participates in a biochemical
      pathway that is particularly active in differentiating chondrocytes.

PMID- 9990302
TI  - Evidence for protein splicing in the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate
      compartment.
AB  - We present evidence that the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment
      (ERGIC) is a site for protein splicing of cathepsin C: (i) maturation of the
      enzyme in COS 7 cells is a two-step process starting within the ERGIC, and (ii)
      the intermediately processed polypeptide retains both termini of the proenzyme
      and lacks an internal fragment.

PMID- 9990303
TI  - A possible involvement of melanocortin 3 receptor in the regulation of adrenal
      gland function in the chicken.
AB  - The melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3-R) in the melanocortin receptor family has been
      identified as a neural receptor subtype mainly expressed in the brain in mammals.
      We report here the isolation of the chicken gene for MC3-R, CMC3, displaying
      different tissue distribution from mammalian counterparts. The CMC3 gene was
      found to be a single copy gene encoding a 325 amino acid protein, sharing 75.3
      76.8% identity with mammalian counterparts. When assessed by RT-PCR, the CMC3
      mRNA was not detected in the brain but was exclusively expressed in adrenal
      glands, where Agouti-related protein/Agouti-related transcript (AGRP/ART), a
      newly identified endogenous antagonist of MC3-R, is expressed in mammals, raising
      the possibility that the CMC3 plays a role in complicated regulation of the gland
      function by melanocortins and AGRP/ART in the chicken. Noteworthy, MC1-R gene was
      found to be a quite unique member of the chicken MC-R family with regard to GC
      content and codon usage. It may reflect as yet unidentified evolutionary pressure
      operating specifically on the gene.

PMID- 9990304
TI  - Cloning and sequence analysis of two cDNAs encoding cyclin A and cyclin B in the
      zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha.
AB  - Cyclins are key components in the progression of both mitotic and meiotic cell
      cycle control. Full-length cDNA clones encoding cyclin A and cyclin B were
      isolated from a zebra mussel testis cDNA library. The clones contained open
      reading frames of 419 and 434 amino acids, had similarity to cyclins A and B from
      other species, but also some unique features in their sequences. Cyclin A and B
      mRNA was expressed in testis, ovary, gill, mantle, muscle, and eggs, as shown by
      specific polymerase chain reaction.

PMID- 9990305
TI  - Differential regulation of p27kip1 levels and CDK activities by hypertrophic and
      hyperplastic agents in vascular smooth muscle cells.
AB  - To understand the molecular mechanisms that determine the fate of a cell to
      undergo either hypertrophy or hyperplasia, we studied the effects of angiotensin
      II (Ang II) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, hypertrophic and
      hyperplastic agents, respectively, on the modulation of G1/S transition molecules
      in smooth muscle cells. Ang II increased protein synthesis while PDGF-BB induced
      both DNA and protein synthesis. Ang II had no significant effect on the steady
      state levels of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor (CDKI), p27kip1, and on
      the activities of CDK2 and CDK4, although it caused a modest increase in cyclin E
      levels. In contrast, PDGF-BB induced depletion of p27kip1 and increased cyclins
      D1 and E levels and CDK2 and CDK4 activities. Reflecting its lack of effect on
      CDK activities, Ang II failed to phosphorylate tumor suppressor retinoblastoma
      protein, Rb. PDGF-BB, on the other hand, induced phosphorylation of Rb,
      consistent with its ability to activate CDKs. Together, these findings suggest
      that Ang II-induced hypertrophy may be due to its failure to activate cellular
      signaling events required for G1/S transition.

PMID- 9990306
TI  - Multiple effects of econazole on calcium signaling: depletion of thapsigargin
      sensitive calcium store, activation of extracellular calcium influx, and
      inhibition of capacitative calcium entry.
AB  - The effect of econazole on intracellular calcium levels ([Ca2+]i) in Madin Darby
      canine kidney cells was investigated using fura-2 fluorimetry. Econazole
      increased [Ca2+]i dose-dependently at 5-50 microM. The Ca2+ signal consisted of
      an initial rise, a gradual decay and a sustained plateau. Extracellular Ca2+
      removal partially reduced the econazole response. Mn2+ quench of fura-2
      fluorescence confirmed econazole-induced Ca2+ influx. The econazole-sensitive
      intracellular Ca2+ store overlaps with that sensitive to thapsigargin, an
      inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, because 25 microM econazole
      depleted the thapsigargin-sensitive store, and conversely, thapsigargin abolished
      the econazole response. Econazole (25-50 microM) partially inhibited capacitative
      Ca2+ entry induced by cyclopiazonic acid, another endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump
      inhibitor, measured by depleting internal Ca2+ store in Ca(2+)-free medium
      followed by adding 10 mM CaCl2. Econazole induced capacitative Ca2+ entry itself.
      Pretreatment with La3+ (100 microM) partially inhibited 25 microM econazole
      induced Mn2+ quench of fura-2 fluorescence, and La3+ immediately reduced 20
      microM econazole-induced Ca2+ signal when added at the peak of the signal,
      suggesting that econazole induced Ca2+ influx via two separate pathways: one is
      sensitive to La3+, the other is not. La3+ enlarged 25 microM econazole-induced
      [Ca2+]i transient during the decay phase. The econazole response was not altered
      when the cytosolic level of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate was inhibited by the
      phospholipase C inhibitor U73122.

PMID- 9990307
TI  - Integrin alpha IIb beta 3-mediated pp125FAK phosphorylation and platelet
      spreading on fibrinogen are regulated by PI 3-kinase.
AB  - Activation of the focal adhesion kinase pp125FAK correlates with its
      phosphorylation on tyrosine residues and is mediated by multiple receptor-ligand
      pairs. In platelets, pp125FAK phosphorylation is triggered by alpha IIb beta 3
      integrin or Fc gamma RII receptor interaction with immobilized fibrinogen and
      IgG, respectively. In this study we used platelets as a model system to explore
      the role of PI 3-kinase relative to pp125FAK phosphorylation. Treatment of the
      platelets with two PI 3-kinase inhibitors, wortmannin and LY294002, inhibited in
      a dose-dependent manner alpha IIb beta 3-mediated platelet spreading on
      fibrinogen having no effect on platelet spreading on IgG. Both inhibitors also
      completely abolished alpha IIb beta 3-mediated pp125FAK phosphorylation but not
      pp72syk phosphorylation. Furthermore, Fc gamma RII- and thrombin-induced pp125FAK
      phosphorylation were not affected by wortmannin and LY294002. Finally, the PI 3
      kinase inhibitors' effect on alpha IIb beta 3-mediated spreading and pp125FAK
      phosphorylation was reversed by phorbol ester treatment. These results establish
      that the role of PI 3-kinase relative to pp125FAK phosphorylation in platelets is
      receptor type-specific yet essential for alpha IIb beta 3-mediated cell spreading
      and pp125FAK phosphorylation.

PMID- 9990308
TI  - Affinities of mAbs to Tet repressor complexed with operator or tetracycline
      suggest conformational changes associated with induction.
AB  - We isolated five monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) made against tetracycline repressor
      (TetR), one against the TetR tetracycline complex (Tc) and two against the TetR
      tet operator (tetO) complex. The epitopes of the anti-TetR mAbs are localized in
      the alpha-helix-turn-alpha-helix motif (HTH), at different sites near the Tc
      binding pocket and at the dimerization interface. The anti-TetR-Tc and one of the
      anti-TetR-tetO mAbs recognize epitopes near the Tc binding pocket. The other anti
      TetR-tetO mAb binds to an epitope within the HTH. Quantitative
      immunoprecipitation and competitive ELISA employing TetR, TetR-Tc, or TetR-tetO
      revealed different affinities of the mAbs for TetR in these functional states.
      Binding of the two mAbs to epitopes in the HTH was identical for TetR and TetR-Tc
      indicating the same conformation in both forms. The epitope located in the
      dimerization interface is bound more strongly in TetR compared to TetR-Tc,
      supporting the idea of different conformations of that epitope in these forms of
      TetR. The greatest affinity differences were found for epitopes around the Tc
      binding pocket. Two anti-TetR mAbs have the highest affinities for free TetR,
      somewhat reduced affinity for TetR-tetO and the lowest affinities for TetR-Tc.
      The anti-TetR-Tc mAb has a discontinuous epitope, formed in TetR-Tc, which is
      less well bound in TetR and not bound in the TetR-tetO complex. One anti-TetR
      tetO mAb does not recognize TetR-Tc. Since the epitopes do not overlap with the
      respective ligand binding sites on TetR, these results are interpreted as
      conformational differences of the epitopes in these forms of TetR.

PMID- 9990309
TI  - Importance of heptameric ring integrity for activity of Escherichia coli ClpP.
AB  - Radiation target analysis has been used to identify the minimal functional unit
      for expression of activity of ClpP, the proteolytic component of the ATP
      dependent ClpAP protease. Radiation target sizes determined for small peptide
      hydrolysis, for ClpA activated and nucleotide-activated oligopeptide cleavage,
      and for ClpA-activated ATP-dependent protein degradation were 154, 118, and 160
      kDa, respectively. Thus, the hydrolytic activity of ClpP, subunit M, 21,500, is
      dependent on the native oligomeric structure. The quaternary structure of ClpP
      determined by electron microscopy and hydrodynamic studies consists of two face
      to-face seven-membered rings. The radiation target sizes are consistent with a
      requirement for conformational integrity of an entire ring for expression of
      hydrolytic activity. Radiation damage led to disruption of inter-ring contacts,
      giving rise to isolated rings of ClpP. Thus, contacts between rings of ClpP are
      less stable and more easily disrupted than contacts between subunits within the
      rings. Our data suggest that cooperative interactions between subunits within the
      ClpP rings are important for maintaining the active conformation of the
      proteolytic active site.

PMID- 9990310
TI  - Two hexameric cyanoprotein subunits from an insect, Riptortus clavatus. Sequence,
      phylogeny and developmental and juvenile hormone regulation.
AB  - Hemolymph of a hemipteran insect, Riptortus clavatus, contains four distinct
      hexameric proteins (cyanoproteins) composed of two distinct subunits, CP alpha
      and CP beta, which show profiles of abundance depending on developmental stage,
      diapause status controlled by juvenile hormone, and sex. We have isolated cDNA
      clones encoding the two subunits and determined the complete sequences. The
      nucleotide sequences predict polypeptides of 693 and 691 residues for CP alpha
      and CP beta, respectively, including identical 16-residue signal peptides. The
      deduced amino acid sequences of both CP alpha and CP beta have significant
      similarity to other hemocyanin-related proteins, indicating that the
      cyanoproteins represent hexamerins. Phylogenetic analyses show that the
      cyanoprotein subunits can be grouped together with other hexamerins from
      exopterygote insects. Developmental Northern-blot analyses suggest that the
      expression of the cyanoproteins is regulated at the level of transcript
      abundance. In addition, the expression of the CP alpha subunit in female adults
      has been shown to be enhanced by juvenile hormone (JH) while the expression of
      the CP beta subunit is suppressed by the same hormone. To our knowledge, the CP
      alpha subunit of R. clavatus is the first case of a JH-enhanceable hexamerin
      whose sequence has been determined.

PMID- 9990311
TI  - Mutational analysis of chitin synthase 2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
      Identification of additional amino acid residues involved in its catalytic
      activity.
AB  - Saccharomyces cerevisiae harbors three chitin synthases termed Chs1p, Chs2p and
      Chs3p. Previously, we demonstrated that con1, a region that is highly conserved
      among all chitin synthases, contains amino acids essential for the catalytic
      activity of the enzyme and that Asp562, Gln601, Arg604, and Trp605 found in con1
      together with Asp441 were probable catalytic sites of the enzyme. Here we report
      that another region, con2, in the C-terminal half of Chs2p is also conserved
      exclusively in chitin synthases that resemble S. cerevisiae Chs1p and Chs2p.
      Alanine substitutions for the conserved amino acids in con2 identified five amino
      acids, Asn797, His799, Asp800, Trp803, and Thr805, the mutation of which severely
      diminished enzymatic activity and the enzyme's ability to rescue the yeast chs2
      delta chs3 delta null mutant strain. Although the activities of some of the
      mutant enzymes were too low to measure enzyme kinetics, most of the alanine
      mutations in con2 affected the kcat values rather than the K(m) values. Whereas a
      conservative mutation of Asn797 restored the activity, those of His799, Asp800,
      Trp803, and Thr805 did not. A fine alignment of the amino acid sequences of con2
      and Chs3p revealed that Asp800, Trp803 and Thr805 are completely conserved near
      the C-terminal ends of Chs3p and its homologs in other fungi. On the basis of
      these findings, we propose that Asp800, Trp803, and Thr805 in con2 are additional
      residues involved in catalysis, and hypothesise that Asp800 together with the
      previously identified Asp441 and Asp562 serve as polar residues necessary for the
      acid-based catalytic reaction of chitin synthase.

PMID- 9990312
TI  - UDP-glucuronosyltransferase UGT1A7 induced in rat small intestinal mucosa by oral
      administration of 2-naphthoflavone.
AB  - In the rat intestine, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isoforms were highly
      induced by oral administration of 2-naphthoflavone, as shown by intestinal UGT
      activity toward 1-naphthol (1-NA). The greatest increase in UGT activity occurred
      in the duodenum. Using UGT1A6 cDNA as a probe, we obtained three types of clones
      corresponding to UGT1A2, UGT1A6 and UGT1A7, in a ratio of 1:1:8, from a cDNA
      library constructed from the 2-naphthoflavone-treated rat intestine. The
      induction of each isoform was evaluated by means of Northern blotting with
      isoform-specific probes. The mRNAs of UGT1A6 (glucuronizing various phenolic
      xenobiotics) and the mRNAs of UGT1A7 (glucuronizing the ultimate carcinogenic
      metabolite of benzo(a)pyrene) were expressed constitutively and were highly
      induced in the duodenum and proximal jejunum. S1 mapping showed that induction of
      the isoforms of the UGT1 family was more pronounced in the liver than in the
      small intestine and that UGT1A7 was the major UGT1 isoform in the small intestine
      of vehicle-treated rats and in that of 2-naphthoflavone-treated rats. These
      results indicate that, in rats, UGT1A7 is expressed constitutively and is
      particularly inducible in the small intestine. In the light of these results, we
      believe that the UGT1A7 isoform would play an important role in glucuronidation
      in the small intestinal mucosa of rats.

PMID- 9990313
TI  - A control analysis exploration of the role of ATP utilisation in glycolytic-flux
      control and glycolytic-metabolite-concentration regulation.
AB  - A theoretical metabolic-control-analysis approach has been used to study aspects
      of glycolytic-flux control and carbon-metabolite regulation, particularly the
      role of ATP demand (ATPase), in order to determine what general features of the
      regulation of energy metabolism would be consistent with good carbon-metabolite
      homeostasis in the face of large changes in carbon flux. On the basis of a semi
      quantitative control-analysis model, incorporating estimates of substrate,
      product and effector actions on the enzymes, the experimentally observed
      characteristics of glycolytic-flux changes prove to impose constraints on the
      feasible ranges of these estimates. This leads to the identification of several
      features of energy metabolism, each of which is necessary but not sufficient to
      explain the observations; although most of these have been advocated previously
      (such as AMP activation of phosphofructokinase (PFK), ADP inhibition of ATPase
      and the role of energy charge or ATP/ADP ratio), our analysis allows their
      relative importance to be assessed. In the model, the distribution of flux
      control depends primarily on ADP inhibition of ATPase, and on the activation of
      PFK by AMP; increase in ADP inhibition of ATPase increases the control on PFK;
      increase in AMP activation of PFK increases control on ATPase. PFK exerts greater
      flux control than does ATPase over approximately 50% of the ranges (parameter
      space) studied, but its control is sufficiently high to achieve sizeable flux
      increases over less than 20% of the space. Furthermore, control by alteration in
      PFK activity is shown to result in poor glycolytic metabolite homeostasis over
      the entire parameter space studied. However, over a large proportion of the
      parameter space, control by activation of ATPase can lead to large flux changes,
      i.e. high flux control, coupled with excellent glycolytic-metabolite homeostasis,
      similar to that observed in working muscle. As well as altering the relative
      degrees of flux control invested in PFK and ATPase, ADP inhibition of ATPase and
      AMP activation of PFK have pronounced effects on the homeostatic properties of
      the system. Stronger ADP inhibition of ATPase results in improved homeostasis of
      glycolytic metabolites, ATP and ADP in response to PFK activation, whereas
      stronger activation of PFK by AMP improves the homeostasis of these three
      quantities in response to ATPase activation. The results are further evidence of
      the potential for physiological ATP demand to exert control over glycolytic flux,
      but additionally show that the known effector interactions, in addition to their
      previously known role in ATP regulation, could contribute to the remarkable
      homeostasis of glycolytic-metabolite levels observed in vivo. They further
      indicate that quantitative characterisation of likely domains of behaviour of
      metabolic systems can be achieved by an algebraic analysis that is not highly
      dependent on a full and precise knowledge of the molecular details of the
      kinetic/regulatory properties of the enzymes, but that still allows an assessment
      of whether hypotheses regarding the system are feasible and sufficient to account
      for the observations.

PMID- 9990314
TI  - Two gamma-interferon-activation sites (GAS) on the promoter of the human
      intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) gene are required for induction of
      transcription by IFN-gamma.
AB  - We describe the molecular features of the interferon (IFN)-gamma-mediated
      transcription of the human intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) gene. We
      identified putative IFN-gamma-activated sites (GAS) distributed throughout a
      large segment of the ICAM-1 promoter (4.0 kb region). Using computer-assisted
      search, these sequences were similar to potential IFN-gamma responsive elements
      that have a core sequence 5'-TTNCNNNAA-3'. In this report we show that in the
      ICAM-1 promoter a GAS site is located at -115 from the translation initiation
      site, and binds with strong affinity to IFN-gamma-activated Signal Transducers
      and Activators of Transcription (STAT1) homodimers. The same sequence is
      responsible for the IFN-gamma-mediated transcription of the ICAM-1 gene.
      Moreover, we present evidence that a more distal GAS element that maps at -2787
      from the translation initiation site, binds IFN-gamma-activated STAT1 dimers with
      lower affinity. Multimeric copies of such GAS sequence inserted into a tkCAT
      minimal promoter can drive transcription, demonstrating that the -2787 bp GAS
      element has an independent functional activity upon binding of IFN-gamma
      activated STAT1 proteins as documented by in vitro binding assays. Furthermore,
      using recombinant ICAM-CAT mutants, we show that, in vivo, the -2787 GAS, but not
      a mutagenized -2787 GAS site, when coupled to the more proximal -115 GAS element,
      has an additive effect in enhancing the IFN-gamma-mediated transcription of ICAM
      1 promoter. Nevertheless, using a recombinant construct bearing the wild type 
      2787 GAS element and a mutagenized -115 GAS element, we could not detect any
      transcription after transfection of U937 recipient cells, suggesting that the 
      2787 bp GAS element is not sufficient as such for gene activation, but can
      cooperate with its cognate proximal sequence to give full function to the ICAM-1
      promoter during the IFN-gamma response. Taken together these data provide
      evidence that two GAS sites are required for the full potential activity in the
      mechanism of ICAM-1 gene activation by IFN-gamma.

PMID- 9990315
TI  - Thrombopoietin potentiates the protein-kinase-C-mediated activation of mitogen
      activated protein kinase/ERK kinases and extracellular signal-regulated kinases
      in human platelets.
AB  - The thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor is expressed in the megakaryocytic lineage from
      late progenitors to platelets. We investigated the effect of TPO on the
      extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation pathway in human
      platelets. TPO by itself did not activate ERK1, ERK2 and protein kinase C (PKC),
      whereas TPO directly enhanced the PKC-dependent activation of ERKs induced by
      other agonists including thrombin and phorbol esters, without affecting the PKC
      activation by those agonists. TPO did not activate the mitogen-activated protein
      kinase/ERK kinases, MEK1 and MEK2, but activated Raf-1 and directly augmented the
      PKC-mediated MEK activation, suggesting that TPO primarily potentiates the ERK
      pathway through regulating MEKs or upstream steps of MEKs including Raf-1. The
      MEK inhibitor PD098059 failed to affect not only thrombin-induced or phorbol
      ester-induced aggregation, but also potentiation of aggregation by TPO, denying
      the primary involvement of ERKs and MEKs in those events. ERKs and MEKs were
      located mainly in the detergent-soluble/non-cytoskeletal fractions. ERKs but not
      MEKs were relocated to the cytoskeleton following platelet aggregation and actin
      polymerization. These data indicate that TPO synergizes with other agonists in
      the ERK activation pathway of platelets and that this synergy might affect
      functions of the cytoskeleton possibly regulated by ERKs.

PMID- 9990316
TI  - Competition and cooperation amongst yeast elongation factors.
AB  - Elongation factor 3 (EF-3) is an essential requirement for translation in fungi.
      We previously reported activation of EF-3-ATPase by yeast ribosomes. EF-3
      interacts with both ribosomal subunits and shows high affinity for 60S
      subparticles. Translational inhibitors alpha-sarcin, ricin and auto-immune
      antibodies to GTPase-activation center inhibit binding of EF-2 but not of EF-3 to
      yeast ribosomes. EF-2 competes with EF-3 for the ribosomal binding sites and
      inhibits EF-3-ATPase activity. Neomycin relieves the inhibitory effect of EF-2 on
      EF-3 function. The apparent competition between EF-2 and EF-3 may represent
      binding of these two proteins to specific conformational states of the ribosome.
      EF-3 stimulates ternary complex binding to yeast ribosomes. Neither the binding
      of EF-3 to ribosomes, nor the ribosome-dependent EF-3-ATPase activity are
      influenced by EF-1 alpha. Three lines of experimental evidence suggest a direct
      interaction between EF-1 alpha and EF-3. A polyclonal antibody to EF-3
      immunoprecipitates EF-1 alpha along with EF-3. EF-1 alpha co-migrates with GST-EF
      3 on glutathione-Sepharose columns. ELISA tests demonstrate an interference of EF
      3/anti-EF-3 interaction by EF-1 alpha but not by EF-2. These results strongly
      suggest that the stimulatory effect of EF-3 on the ternary complex binding to
      yeast ribosomes involves a direct interaction between EF-1 alpha and EF-3.

PMID- 9990317
TI  - A chicken homolog of mammalian interleukin-1 beta: cDNA cloning and purification
      of active recombinant protein.
AB  - Upon induction with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) the chicken macrophage cell line HD
      11 secretes an activity that stimulates the synthesis of a CXC chemokine in the
      chicken fibroblast cell line CEC-32. We used a cDNA expression cloning strategy
      in COS cells to characterize this activity. The isolated cDNA clone codes for a
      polypeptide of 267 amino acids which lacks a hydrophobic N-terminal domain that
      could serve as secretory signal. Sequence homology and structural features
      indicate that this protein is the chicken homolog of mammalian interleukin-1 beta
      (ChIL-1 beta). Northern blot analysis showed that ChIL-1 beta RNA is quickly
      induced in blood monocyte-derived macrophages reaching maximal levels within one
      hour after onset of LPS treatment. To test for biological activity of putative
      mature ChIL-1 beta, a cDNA fragment comprising amino acids 106 to 267 of the open
      reading frame was expressed in Escherichia coli so that the resulting polypeptide
      carried a histidine tag at its N-terminus for easy purification by nickel chelate
      affinity chromatography. Purified His-ChIL-1 beta potently induced CXC chemokine
      RNA synthesis in CEC-32 cells. When injected intravenously into adult chickens,
      it quickly induced a transient increase in serum corticosterone levels.

PMID- 9990318
TI  - FhuF, an iron-regulated protein of Escherichia coli with a new type of [2Fe-2S]
      center.
AB  - We previously used fhuF as a sensitive reporter gene of the iron status of
      Escherichia coli. In this report, the fhuF gene was identified as open reading
      frame f262b at 99.2 min on the genome sequence map of E. coli K-12. The FhuF
      protein was labeled with a His-tag and then purified to electrophoretic
      homogeneity. Based on sulfur determinations and Mossbauer and EPR spectroscopy,
      FhuF was identified as a [2Fe-2S] protein. The g values (gx = 1.886, gy = 1.961,
      gz = 1.994) and some of the Mossbauer parameters of FhuF obtained [oxidized
      protein as isolated: delta EQ,4.2K = 0.474 mm s-1; Fe3+ (reduced protein): delta
      EQ = 0.978 mm s-1] are not typical of common [2Fe-2S] proteins and indicate that
      FhuF has unusual structural properties. The primary sequence of FhuF does not
      show any sequence similarities to known [2Fe-2S] proteins. By site-directed
      mutagenesis, each of the six cysteines of FhuF was replaced by serine. EPR of the
      six reduced mutant proteins revealed that the terminal cysteine residues 244,
      245, 256, and 259 form the [2Fe-2S]Cys4 cluster. Mutants having the Cys-to-Ser
      replacement at positions 244, 245, 256, or 259 did not complement a fhuF mutant.
      The motif Cys-Cys-Xaa10-Cys-Xaa2-Cys in FhuF differs considerably from the motif
      Cys-Xaa2-Cys-Xaa9-15-Cys-Xaa2-Cys found in other [2Fe-2S] proteins. The unusual
      Cys-Cys terminal group of the cluster may explain the atypical EPR and Mossbauer
      spectroscopic properties of the FhuF protein; possibly the tetrahedral symmetry
      at the ferric ion site is distorted. The phenotype of fhuF mutants and the
      structural features of the FhuF protein suggest that FhuF is involved in the
      reduction of ferric iron in cytoplasmic ferrioxamine B.

PMID- 9990319
TI  - An apyrase from Mimosa pudica contains N5,N10-methenyl tetrahydrofolate and is
      stimulated by light.
AB  - An apyrase (NTP/NDPase) implicated in the response of Mimosa pudica to stimuli,
      such as touch, has been cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli.
      While purifying and characterizing this enzyme, it was observed that a
      chromophore is associated with it, having absorption in the ultraviolet-A/blue
      region of the spectrum. The absorbance maximum of the chromophore, purified from
      the enzyme complex by gel filtration and HPLC, is around 350 nm. The chromophore
      has been identified as N5,N10-methenyl tetrahydrofolate (MTHF) by comparing the
      excitation and emission spectra of synthetic MTHF and the isolated cofactor, and
      by reconstitution of the enzyme complex with synthetic MTHF. Upon excitation with
      light (350 nm), an increase of apyrase activity was observed in the purified or
      reconstituted holoenzyme but not in the apoenzyme. The wavelength dependence of
      the light stimulation matched well with the fluorescence excitation spectra of
      the cofactor, MTHF. Possible implications of the results for signal transduction
      in M. pudica have been discussed.

PMID- 9990320
TI  - The mammalian small heat-shock protein Hsp20 forms dimers and is a poor
      chaperone.
AB  - Hsp20 is one of the newly described members of the mammalian small heat-shock
      protein (sHsp) family. It occurs most abundantly in skeletal muscle and heart. We
      isolated clones for Hsp20 from a rat heart cDNA library, and expressed the
      protein in Escherichia coli to characterize this little known sHsp. Recombinant
      Hsp20 displayed similar far-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra as the most
      closely related sHsp, alpha B-crystallin, but was less heat stable, denaturing
      upon heating to 50 degrees C. While other mammalian recombinant sHsps form large
      multimeric complexes, Hsp20 occurs in two complex sizes, 43-kDa dimers and 470
      kDa multimers. The ratio between the two forms depends on protein concentration.
      Moreover, Hsp20 has a much lower chaperone-like activity than alpha B-crystallin,
      as indicated by its relatively poor capacity to diminish the reduction-induced
      aggregation of insulin B chains. Hsp20 is considerably shorter at the C-terminus
      and less polar than other sHsps, but 1H-NMR spectroscopy reveals that the last 10
      residues are flexible, as in the other sHsps. Our findings suggest that Hsp20 is
      a special member of the sHsp family in being less heat stable and tending to form
      dimers. These properties, together with the shorter and less polar C-terminal
      extension, may contribute to the less effective chaperone-like activity.

PMID- 9990321
TI  - Transferrins. Hen ovo-transferrin, interaction with bicarbonate and iron uptake.
AB  - Fe(III) uptake by the iron-delivery and iron-scavenging protein, hen
      ovotransferrin has been investigated in vitro between pH 6.5 and 9. In the
      absence of any ferric chelate, apo-ovotransferrin loses two protons with K1a = 50
      +/- 1 nM and K2a = 4.0 +/- 0.1 nM. These acid-base equilibria are independent of
      the interaction of the protein with bicarbonate. The interaction with bicarbonate
      occurs with two different affinity constants, KC = 9.95 +/- 0.15 mM and KN = 110
      +/- 10 mM. FeNAc3 exchanges its Fe(III) with the C-site of the protein in
      interaction with bicarbonate, direct rate constants k1 = 650 +/- 25 M-1 s-1,
      reverse rate constant k-1 = (6.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(3) M-1 s-1 and equilibrium
      constant K1 = 0.11 +/- 0.01. This iron-protein intermediate loses then a single
      proton, K3a = 3.50 +/- 0.35 nM, and undergoes a first change in conformation
      followed by a two or three proton loss, first order rate constant k2 = 0.30 +/-
      0.01 s-1. This induces a new modification in conformation followed by the loss of
      one or two protons, first order rate constant k3 = (1.50 +/- 0.05) x 10(-2) s-1.
      These modifications in the monoferric protein conformation are essential for iron
      uptake by the N-site of the protein. In the last step, the monoferric and
      diferric proteins attain their final state of equilibrium in about 15,000 s. The
      overall mechanism of iron uptake by ovotransferrin is similar but not identical
      to those of serum transferrin and lactoferrin. The rates involved are, however,
      closer to lactoferrin than serum transferrin, whereas the affinities for Fe(III)
      are lower than those of serum transferrin and lactoferrin. Does this imply that
      the metabolic function transferrins is more related to kinetics than to
      thermodynamics?

PMID- 9990322
TI  - DNA synthesis exhibited by the reverse transcriptase of mouse mammary tumor
      virus: processivity and fidelity of misinsertion and mispair extension.
AB  - We have recently expressed in bacteria an enzymatically active reverse
      transcriptase (RT) of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), a mammalian retrovirus
      with a typical B-type morphology [Taube, R., Loya, S., Avidan, O., Perach, M. &
      Hizi, A. (1998) Biochemical J. 329, 579-587]. The purified recombinant protein
      was shown to possess the catalytic activities characteristic of retroviral
      reverse transcriptases. In the present study, we have analyzed two basic
      parameters characteristic of the DNA polymerase activity of the novel MMTV RT,
      namely the processivity and the fidelity of DNA synthesis. Two features related
      to fidelity were studied, the capacity to misinsert wrong nucleotides at the 3'
      end of the nascent DNA strand and the ability to extend 3' mispairs. The studied
      properties of MMTV RT were compared with those of the RT purified from virions of
      avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV), since AMV RT shows a relatively high sequence
      similarity to MMTV RT. MMTV RT shows a relative processivity of DNA synthesis
      which is as high as the reference AMV RT. Regarding fidelity of DNA synthesis,
      MMTV RT shows a fidelity of misinsertion lower than that of AMV RT, whereas its
      capacity to elongate mispaired DNA is lower than that of AMV RT indicating a
      somewhat higher fidelity. These fidelity properties are discussed also in the
      context of the RTs of lentiviruses, especially those of HIV, which were reported
      to exhibit an exceptionally low fidelity of DNA synthesis. It is clear that MMTV
      RT has a fidelity higher than that of lentiviral RTs.

PMID- 9990323
TI  - Differential redox and electron-transfer properties of purified yeast, plant and
      human NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductases highly modulate cytochrome P-450
      activities.
AB  - Saccharomyces, human and two Arabidopsis (ATR1 and ATR2) NADPH-P-450 reductases
      were expressed in yeast, purified to homogeneity and used to raise antibodies.
      Among the P-450-reductases, ATR2 contrasted by its very low FMN affinity and
      required a thiol-reducing agent for efficient cofactor binding to the FMN
      depleted enzyme. Analysis of reductase kinetic properties using artificial
      acceptors and different salt conditions suggested marked differences between
      reductases in their FAD and FMN environments and confirmed the unusual properties
      of the ATR2 FMN-binding domain. Courses of flavin reductions by NADPH were
      analysed by rapid kinetic studies. The human enzyme was characterized by a FAD
      reduction rate sixfold to tenfold slower than values for the three other
      reductases. Following the fast phase of reduction, expected accumulation of
      flavin semiquinone was observed for the human and ATR1 but not for ATR2 and the
      yeast reductases. Consistently, redox potential for the FMN semiquinone/reduced
      couple in the yeast enzyme was found to be more positive than the value for the
      FMN oxidized/semiquinone couple. This situation was reminiscent of similar
      inversion observed in bacterial P-450 BM3 reductase. Affinities of reductases for
      rabbit P-450 2B4 and supported monooxygenase activities in reconstituted systems
      highly depended on the reductase source. The human enzyme exhibited the highest
      affinity but supported the lowest kcat whereas the yeast reductase gave the best
      kcat but with the lowest affinity. ATR1 exhibited both high affinity and
      efficiency. No simple relation was found between reductase activities with
      artificial and natural (P-450) acceptors. Thus marked differences in kinetic and
      redox parameters between reductases dramatically affect their respective
      abilities to to support P-450 functions.

PMID- 9990324
TI  - Thermotoga maritima maltosyltransferase, a novel type of maltodextrin
      glycosyltransferase acting on starch and malto-oligosaccharides.
AB  - A novel enzyme acting on starch and malto-oligosaccharides was identified and
      characterised. The non-hydrolytic enzyme, designated maltosyltransferase (MTase),
      of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima MSB8 disproportionates
      malto-oligosaccharides via glycosyl transfer reactions. The enzyme has a unique
      transfer specificity strictly confined to the transfer of maltosyl units.
      Incubation of MTase with starch or its constituents. i.e. amylose and
      amylopectin, led to the formation of a set of multiples of maltose (i.e. maltose,
      maltotetraose, maltohexaose etc.). Malto-oligosaccharides with a degree of
      polymerization (DP) X were disproportionated to products with a DP of X +/- 2n
      (with X > or = 3 and n = 0,1,2,...). Maximum activity in a 10-min assay was
      recorded at pH 6.5 and 85-90 degrees C. The enzyme displayed extraordinary
      resistance to thermal inactivation. For example, at 90, 85, and 70 degrees C (pH
      6.5, 0.34 mg ml-1 protein), MTase half-lives of about 2.5 h, 17 h, and 21 days,
      respectively, were recorded. The gene for MTase, designated mmtA, was isolated
      from a gene library of T. maritima strain MSB8. Analysis of the MTase primary
      structure as deduced from the nucleotide sequence of mmtA revealed that the
      enzyme is not closely related to known protein sequences. However, low-level
      local similarity between MTase and the alpha-amylase enzyme family (glycosyl
      hydrolase family 13) was detected, including conserved acidic residues essential
      for catalysis. Therefore, MTase should be assigned to this family. Based on
      detailed sequence analyses and comparison with amylolytic enzymes of known
      crystal structure we propose that MTase contains a (beta/alpha)8-fold as the core
      supersecondary structure which is typical for the alpha-amylase family. On the
      other hand, MTase is unique in that it lacks several residues highly conserved
      throughout this family. Also, MTase possesses an extraordinarily large domain B
      (a domain typical for the alpha-amylase family, inserted between beta-strand 3
      and alpha-helix 3 of the (beta/alpha)8-barrel fold).

PMID- 9990325
TI  - The StrQ protein encoded in the gene cluster for 5'-hydroxystreptomycin of
      Streptomyces glaucescens GLA.0 is a alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate
      cytidylyltransferase (CDP-D-glucose synthase).
AB  - The gene strQ was identified as the last gene of a putative transcription unit,
      strB1FGHPQ, located in the gene cluster for the production of 5'-hydroxy
      streptomycin (OH-Sm) in Streptomyces glaucescens GLA.0. [In contrast, the
      corresponding operon in the str/sts-gene cluster of the Sm-producer Streptomyces
      griseus, strB1FGHIK, differs in the two distal genes; Mansouri, K. & Piepersberg,
      W. (1991) Mol. Gen. Genet. 228, 459-469]. The deduced StrQ protein exhibited
      similarities to members of the enzyme family of hexose-1-phosphate
      nucleotidylyltransferases (NDP-hexose synthases or pyrophosphorylases), with the
      strongest similarity to the subfamily of alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate
      cytidylyltransferases (CDP-D-glucose synthases). The StrQ protein was
      heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified protein revealed an
      enzyme activity of that of a CDP-D-glucose synthase and a substrate specificity
      restricted to CTP and alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate. The K(m) and Vmax values
      determined for CTP are 44 microM and 920 microM and for alpha-D-glucose 1
      phosphate 195 microM and 1.06 mM, respectively. The CDP-D-glucose synthase
      activity was also detected in cells of S. glaucescens under the conditions of
      antibiotic production, but was absent from cells of the streptomycin producer S.
      griseus N2-3-11. Also, the genomes of several strains of S. griseus did not seem
      to possess strQ-related genes. In contrast, hybridisation experiments indicated
      that genes homologous to strQ were probably present in various other
      actinomycetes producing aminoglycosides. A possible function of the StrQ protein
      in the OH-Sm biosynthetic pathway of GLA.0 is discussed.

PMID- 9990326
TI  - Production of key molecules by ocular neutrophils early after herpetic infection
      of the cornea.
AB  - Herpes simplex virus infection of the eye can result in a blinding inflammatory
      lesion that is a T cell mediated immunopathological reaction. A prominent early
      event following HSV infection is neutrophil invasion of the corneal stroma. These
      cells may be involved in viral clearance and may influence the nature of the anti
      HSV T cell response which subsequently occurs. This article measures the
      expression of some key molecules which could participate in viral clearance and
      immune modulation. Using RT-PCR and in-situ hybridization, both corneal and
      peritoneal neutrophils were shown to be sources of iNOS and TNF alpha molecules
      which likely contribute to antiviral activity. Neutrophils also produce the
      cytokine IL-12, a key molecule which modulates the CD4+ T cell response to a type
      which mediates immunopathology. The present results indicate that neutrophils
      play an important role in the pathogenesis of herpetic ocular lesions.

PMID- 9990327
TI  - An improved method for examining the corneal endothelium during graft rejection
      in the rat.
AB  - An improved method of removing rat corneal endothelial sheets for study of
      endothelial pathology is described. The method was validated by examining
      morphological changes and changes in expression of major histocompatibility
      complex (MHC) and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 on endothelium
      undergoing immunological rejection. PVG strain rats received LEW strain corneal
      transplants or corneal isografts. Just prior to and during graft rejection,
      animals were killed, together with a group of untreated animals. The corneal
      stroma was injected with dispase or PBS, the cornea was carefully removed, fixed
      in acetone and the endothelium was gently peeled off and flattened on to a glass
      slide. Morphological changes, together with MHC class I, class II and ICAM-1
      expression were visualised by immuno-histochemical staining and quantified by
      image analysis. Near complete endothelial sheets were obtained by this method.
      Because of the thin cell layer, there was minimal background staining, permitting
      rejection-associated changes to be clearly seen. MHC class I expression on normal
      endothelium was low and not significantly increased on endothelial cells of
      allografts at the time of rejection compared with controls (P = 0.1). MHC class
      II and ICAM-1 were induced de novo, expression being significantly higher on
      allografts than on isografts (P = 0.004 for MHC class II and P = 0.01 for ICAM
      1). MHC class I and II and ICAM-1 were expressed on many infiltrating cells.
      Thus, this preparation method permits clear identification of the distribution
      and morphology of infiltrating cells and other mediators of the immune response
      in the entire donor endothelium. It confirms that MHC class I expression is low
      during rejection, while MHC class II and ICAM-I are induced de novo and strongly
      expressed.

PMID- 9990328
TI  - The effect of continuous light on refractive error and the ocular components of
      the rat.
AB  - Phototoxic induced degeneration of the rat retina is a well-documented phenomenon
      resulting in losses of photoreceptors and their cell bodies, and an overall
      retinal thinning. This process may serve as a test of the hypothesis that the
      retinoscopic reflex originates from the inner limiting membrane of the retina.
      Retinal thinning should produce myopia in the absence of any other ocular
      component changes in a stable, mature eye if the inner limiting membrane model is
      correct. Phototoxic retinal degeneration was induced in 10 albino rats by
      exposure to 19 days of continuous light (1,800 cd m-2). Another 10 albino rats
      exposed to 12-hr on/12-hr off cycled light served as controls. Before and after
      the exposure to constant light, measures were made of refractive state by
      cycloplegic retinoscopy, corneal curvature and lens curvature by Purkinje image
      photography, and axial length of the globe by A-scan ultrasonography. Comparing
      pre- to post-exposure values, phototoxic degeneration resulted in a mean (+/-
      S.D.) myopic shift of -5.10 +/- 2.12 D (P < 0.002). The corneal curvature also
      steepened significantly (0.17 +/- 0.11 mm, equivalent to -6.0 D; P < 0.004),
      while the posterior curvature of the crystalline lens flattened by 0.21 +/- 0.22
      equivalent mm (P < 0.027), and the axial length shortened by 0.11 +/- 0.11
      equivalent mm (all tests Wilcoxon signed-rank; P < 0.025). Phototoxic rats
      underwent a mean retinal thinning of 49.6 mu compared to controls (Kruskal-Wallis
      test; P < 0.0008). No refractive or ocular parameters changed significantly in
      the controls. Phototoxic degeneration in the rat has optical consequences beyond
      simple retinal thinning. The size of the eye and the curvature of refractive
      surfaces can be altered in a mature eye well after the completion of development.
      The multiple changes which occur prevent phototoxic retinal thinning from serving
      as a test of the inner limiting membrane model for retinoscopic reflections.

PMID- 9990329
TI  - Increase in interphotoreceptor matrix gelatinase A (MMP-2) associated with age
      related macular degeneration.
AB  - Matrix metalloproteinases have increasingly been shown to be associated with
      diseases involving neovascularization and/or abnormal cellular migration or
      proliferation. A number of diseases of this type affect the retina. In this
      study, the activity of gelatinase A (MMP-2), the most abundant matrix
      metalloproteinase in IPM (interphoto receptor matrix) and vitreous, was measured
      with respect to age in normal human donor eyes and compared to donors with age
      related macular degeneration. IPM and vitreous were obtained from a total of 88
      human donors. Samples for electrophoresis were normalized for protein content and
      subjected to quantitative gelatin zymography. The zymograms were scanned and then
      digitized and quantitated using the NIH 'Image' program. There was not a
      statistically significant change in the level of gelatinase A in IPM or vitreous
      as a function of age, although a slight downward trend was found in the total
      gelatinase A activity within the normal population. Likewise, when comparing
      normal and age-related macular degeneration donors, there was not a significant
      difference in the gelatinase A level in vitreous or in retina-associated IPM.
      However, the level of gelatinase A was nearly doubled specifically in retinal
      pigment epithelium-associated IPM from eyes with age-related macular degeneration
      [0.99 +/- 0.09 U mg-1 (56) vs 1.71 +/- 0.28 U mg-1 (14) (mean +/- S.E.M.
      (number), P < 0.0021; 1 unit = 1.0 ng gelatin cleaved h-1). Gelatinase A may be
      associated with the changes that occur in age-related macular degeneration,
      especially the neovascularization which accompanies the exudative ('wet') form of
      the disease.

PMID- 9990330
TI  - The effect of catalase amplification on immortal lens epithelial cell lines.
AB  - Utilizing a human beta-actin promoter, a catalase cDNA expression vector was
      constructed. This construct was used to transfect two immortal cell lines, mouse
      alpha TN4-1 and rabbit N/N 1003A. The catalase activity was increased about 3.4
      fold in the alpha TN4-1 cells and 38 fold in the N/N 1003A cells. Some changes in
      other enzyme activities were also observed as a result of the transfections.
      Surprisingly, the ability to degrade H2O2 in the extracellular environment of the
      cells did not markedly change as a result of the catalase amplification. However,
      the ability to resist H2O2 stress was dramatically altered. Non-protein thiol (NP
      SH) levels, choline uptake and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD)
      activity were all markedly decreased in the non-transfected cells when they were
      subjected to 300 microM H2O2. However, in both transfected cell lines, these
      parameters remained in the normal range during H2O2 stress. The results obtained
      upon observing aspects of DNA metabolism were more complicated. While on H2O2
      stress, non-transfected cell lines showed a marked decrease in thymidine
      incorporation, only the transfected alpha TN4-1 line remained in the normal
      range. Thymidine incorporation in transfected rabbit N/N 1003A cells was
      decreased compared to normal cells. In contrast, studies on single strand DNA
      breaks indicated that transfected rabbit cells had little damage compared to the
      significant DNA damage observed in the normal cells. The normal N/N 1003A cells
      were also much more susceptible to H2O2 induced damage than normal alpha TN4-1
      cells, suggesting that the high GSH peroxidase activity observed in the rabbit
      cells may be detrimental since the low glutathione reductase activity in such
      cells results in an accelerated depletion of glutathione. The overall results
      suggest that augmenting lens catalase may prevent cataract development caused by
      H2O2 stress.

PMID- 9990331
TI  - Studies of the denaturation patterns of bovine alpha-crystallin using an ionic
      denaturant, guanidine hydrochloride and a non-ionic denaturant, urea.
AB  - The effects of non-ionic and ionic denaturation and denaturation/renaturation on
      the native structure of alpha-crystallin at room temperature were examined.
      Native alpha-crystallin, at concentrations above and below the previously
      reported critical micelle concentration (CMC) range, was denatured by varying
      concentrations of urea and guanidine hydrochloride. The resulting denatured
      samples were examined by gel filtration fast performance liquid chromatography
      (FPLC), circular dichroism spectropolarimetry (CD), and transmission electron
      microscopy. Elution peak samples from gel filtration chromatography with
      sufficiently high concentrations were examined for subunit composition by sodium
      dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The studies
      presented herein demonstrate that the denaturation and renaturation of alpha
      crystallin via non-ionic urea denaturation results in different renaturation
      species, depending upon the initial concentration of alpha-crystallin which is
      denatured and the concentration of urea, including certain species which, by gel
      filtration FPLC, have an apparent molecular weight greater than the native 800 kD
      aggregate. Transmission electron microscopy has also demonstrated the existence
      of a high molecular weight aggregate form for denatured samples. Ionic
      dissociation, in contrast, proceeds much in the same manner above and below the
      CMC range, the major difference occurring at 2 M guanidine hydrochloride. alpha B
      crystallin is preferentially removed from the native alpha-crystallin aggregate
      upon treatment with 2 M guanidine hydrochloride indicating, once again,
      differences between the two subunits. Above and below the CMC range, dissociation
      with guanidine hydrochloride appears to plateau after 4 M guanidine hydrochloride
      as indicated by the presence of two apparent homotetrameric species and no
      further dissociation of these species with increasing guanidine hydrochloride
      concentrations. CD demonstrates that some secondary structure, which is lost with
      lower concentrations of alpha-crystallin, is still present when concentrations of
      alpha-crystallin, well above the critical micelle concentration range, are
      treated with high concentrations of urea at room temperature. In contrast,
      concentrations both above and below the CMC range demonstrate a significant loss
      of secondary structure upon treatment with 2 M guanidine hydrochloride. Finally,
      ionic denaturation and subsequent renaturation results in the formation of a
      species which is functionally incapable of protecting gamma-crystallin from heat
      induced aggregation.

PMID- 9990332
TI  - The exposed ocular surface and its relationship to spontaneous eyeblink rate in
      elderly caucasians.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to assess spontaneous eyeblink activity in the
      primary eye position, and its relationship to the exposed ocular surface area in
      elderly individuals without significant ocular surface disease. Spontaneous
      eyeblink frequency (SEBF) was assessed for a group of Caucasians aged 61 to 81
      years, by videography in silence over a 5 min period; inter-blink interval (IBI),
      the maximum inter-blink interval (mIBI) and the modal eyeblink frequency (mEBF)
      were derived from video recordings. The ocular surface area was calculated from
      video-planimetry using different formulae. The average palpebral aperture was 8.3
      +/- 2.3 mm (n = 45, +/- S.D.), resulting in an average exposed area of 1.13-2.13
      cm2 depending on the formula used; the preferred estimate was 1.25 cm2. A highly
      significant relationship (P < 0.001, r2 = 0.835) was found between time-averaged
      palpebral aperture (p) and exposed ocular surface (A = 0.244p-0.763). An average
      SEBF of 11.9 blinks min-1 was measured (range 0.8-43.6). No correlation (P >
      0.35, r2 < or = 0.01) was found between SEBF, IBI, mIBI, or mEBF and the
      palpebral aperture or the exposed surface area, regardless of the formulae used.
      The exposed ocular surface area per se does not appear to be an important
      determinant of spontaneous eyeblink activity in elderly Caucasians.

PMID- 9990333
TI  - Expression of Fas-Fas ligand antigens and apoptotic marker APO2.7 by the human
      conjunctival epithelium. Positive correlation with class II HLA DR expression in
      inflammatory ocular surface disorders.
AB  - Fas antigen (CD95) is a membrane receptor that plays a major role in induction of
      apoptosis. In surface conjunctival epithelial cells the expressions of Fas, Fas
      ligand, the apoptotic marker APO2.7 and of HLA DR class II antigen, a membrane
      marker known to be expressed in inflammatory conditions were investigated.
      Impression cytology specimens were collected in 65 patients: 20 normal ones, 15
      contact lens wearers, 20 receiving chronic topical antiglaucoma treatment and 10
      with nonspecific chronic conjunctivitis. Cells were processed for flow cytometry,
      using monoclonal antibodies to Fas, Fas ligand, APO2.7, HLA DR antigens and a
      negative isotypic control. Percentages of positive cells were recorded and levels
      of fluorescence quantified using fluorescent beads at standardized fluorescence
      intensities. In addition, a human conjunctival cell line was incubated with anti
      Fas stimulating antibodies in order to test Fas-induced apoptosis in vitro. Fas
      was found in all specimens in most of the conjunctival cells, but quantitation of
      levels of fluorescence showed a significantly higher expression in pathologic
      eyes than in normal ones. Fas ligand and APO2.7 were variably expressed by
      conjunctival cells, but in a significantly higher percentage of cells in
      pathological eyes than in normal ones. In these eyes a strong expression of HLA
      DR was also observed, whereas normal eyes showed lowest levels. Highly
      significant correlations were found between Fas, Fas ligand, APO2.7 and HLA DR
      levels. Anti-Fas antibodies in vitro induced strong apoptosis in epithelial cells
      as confirmed by APO2.7 expression and DAPI staining. This study confirms that
      conjunctival epithelial cells normally express Fas antigen, and more inconstantly
      its ligand, as do corneal ones or keratinocytes. Fluorescence quantitation by
      flow cytometry showed much higher expression in inflammatory eyes than in normal
      ones, and demonstrated a strong correlation between apoptotic and inflammatory
      pathways in the ocular surface.

PMID- 9990334
TI  - Localization of Six4/AREC3 in the developing mouse retina; implications in
      mammalian retinal development.
AB  - The Six4/AREC3 gene was originally isolated as a regulatory factor which bound to
      the positive regulatory region of the Na, K-ATPase alpha 1 subunit. It is a
      murine homologue of the Drosophila sine oculis (so) gene, which is essential for
      the development of the entire insect visual system. In this study, we attempted
      to determine the localization of the Six4/AREC3 gene product in the developing
      mouse retina in order to examine its role in retinal cell differentiation.
      Immunohistochemistry with anti-SIX4/AREC3 and anti-Na, K-ATPase alpha 1 subunit
      antisera was performed on developing mouse retinas, and immunoblotting analysis
      with anti-SIX4/AREC3 was also performed. The localization of Six4-like
      immunoreactivity (Six4-LI) showed a temporally regulated pattern: During
      embryonic development, Six4-LI was found in the nuclei of cells located at the
      inner neuroblastic layer of the retina as early as on ED12, nearly corresponding
      to the onset of retinal cell differentiation. In the PD1 retina, Six4-LI was
      observed in the nuclei of the ganglion cells, and increased its intensity until
      PD4, and thereafter kept its intensity until PD7 when Six4-LI was often found in
      the cytoplasm. On PD4, the presumptive amacrine cells found in the inner portion
      of the inner nuclear layer appeared to be immunostained in their nuclei. On PD7,
      the presumptive bipolar cells located in the outer portion were immunostained in
      the nuclei. After that, Six4-LI gradually decreased, and in the mature retina no
      detectable Six4-LI was observed in the nuclei. This pattern of Six4-LI
      localization during retinal development seemed to correlate with retinal cell
      differentiation, but did not correlate with the distribution pattern of Na, K
      ATPase alpha 1 subunit protein-like immunoreactivity. These results suggest that
      the Six4 gene may play a role in the differentiation of neural retinal cells
      during mouse retinal development, rather than regulating the expression of the
      Na, K-ATPase alpha 1 subunit gene.

PMID- 9990335
TI  - Biochemical analysis of ocular surface mucin abnormalities in dry eye: the canine
      model.
AB  - This study examines the canine model of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS, 'dry
      eye') in order to establish the biochemical basis of altered ocular mucin
      secretion in this condition. It follows a previous examination of ocular mucins
      in the normal dog. Mucus was collected by suction from the ocular surface of dogs
      with KCS, and dispersed in guanidine hydrochloride containing a cocktail of
      protease inhibitors. Caesium chloride density gradient centrifugation was used to
      separate floating 'rafts' of cell membranes from gradients containing secreted
      mucins. Gradient fractions were collected into pools on the basis of differential
      staining by Periodic Acid Schiff, Wheat Germ Agglutinin, and antibodies to MUC5AC
      peptide. High molecular weight glycoproteins were purified from the pooled
      material by gel filtration chromatography. Membrane-associated glycoproteins were
      also derived from the membrane rafts using octyl glucoside extraction and/or
      reduction and alkylation. Secreted mucins and membrane extracts from KCS samples
      were compared to equivalent material obtained from normal eyes. Density gradient
      staining profiles for normal and KCS mucus were similar over the buoyant density
      range typical for secreted mucins, enabling the collection of identical pools of
      gradient fractions for direct comparison. The following differences were observed
      in KCS secreted mucins compared to normal samples: an increase in the proportion
      of mucin with low buoyant density; a decrease in mannose content detected with
      Concanavalin A lectin; an increase in N-acetylglucosamine structures detected
      with Lycopersicon esculentum lectin; increased migration and lack of evidence for
      distinct subunit structure on agarose gels. In membrane extracts, the main
      difference was the presence of T antigen (Gal beta 1-3GalNAc) in KCS. These
      results demonstrate alterations in the subunit linkage of mucins in KCS, and
      suggest that glycosylation, core protein expression and/or post-synthetic
      modification of ocular surface mucins may also be changed.

PMID- 9990336
TI  - HSP-derived peptides inducing uveitis and IgG and IgA antibodies.
AB  - Heat shock protein (HSP) 65 kD-derived peptides, which specifically stimulate T
      cells from patients with Behcet's disease (BD), are capable of inducing uveitis
      in rats. Mycobacterial HSP 65 kD and BD-specific peptides were injected into
      Lewis rats and the development of uveitis was monitored clinically and
      histologically, and IgG and IgA antibodies were measured using an enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Rats immunized with HSP peptides that developed
      uveitis showed significantly higher serum IgG antibody levels to peptide 311-326
      (P < 0.05) and the corresponding homologous human peptide 336-351 (P < 0.01) than
      rats without uveitis. Significant increases in serum IgA antibodies in rats with
      uveitis were also observed in those immunized with peptides 111-125, 311-326 and
      336-351 (P < 0.05). Rats injected with HSP 65 kD showed a rise in IgG antibody
      levels to peptides 111-125, 154-172 and 311-326 and to a lesser extent, a rise in
      IgA antibody level to peptide 311-326. HSP showed almost complete inhibition of
      binding of IgG antibodies to HSP 65 kD, but peptides 111-125, 154-172, 311-326
      and 336-351 showed inhibition to a lesser extent in a competitive assay. These
      results suggest that increases in IgG and IgA antibody levels to specific
      peptides within HSP, develop in rats with uveitis. The T and B cell epitopes
      responsible for the development of ocular disease in rats immunized with HSP
      derived peptides, appear to be similar or identical to those found in patients
      with the ocular type of BD.

PMID- 9990337
TI  - Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium yoelii: effect of the iron chelation prodrug
      dexrazoxane on in vitro cultures.
AB  - To determine if an iron-chelating prodrug that must undergo intracellular
      hydrolysis to bind iron has antimalarial activity, we examined the action of
      dexrazoxane on Plasmodium falciparum cultured in human erythrocytes and P. yoelii
      cultured in mouse hepatocytes. Dexrazoxane was recently approved to protect
      humans from doxorubucin-induced cardiotoxicity. Using the fluorescent marker
      calcein, we confirmed that the iron-chelating properties of dexrazoxane are
      directly related to its ability to undergo hydrolysis. As a single agent,
      dexrazoxane inhibited synchronized cultures of P. falciparum in human
      erythrocytes only at suprapharmacologic concentrations (> 200 microM). In
      combination with desferrioxamine B, dexrazoxane in pharmacologic concentrations
      (100-200 microM) moderately potentiated inhibition by approximately 20%. In
      contrast, pharmacologic concentrations of dexrazoxane (50-200 microM) as a single
      agent inhibited the progression of P. yoelli from sporozoites to schizonts in
      cultured mouse hepatocytes by 45 to 69% (P < 0.001). These results are consistent
      with the presence of a dexrazoxane-hydrolyzing enzyme in hepatocytes but not in
      erythrocytes or malaria parasites. Furthermore, these findings suggest that
      dexrazoxane must be hydrolyzed to an iron-chelating intermediate before it can
      inhibit the malaria parasite, and they raise the possibility that the iron
      chelator prodrug concept might be exploited to synthesize new antimalarial
      agents.

PMID- 9990338
TI  - Plasmodium falciparum: enhanced gametocyte formation in vitro in reticulocyte
      rich blood.
AB  - Concentrates of late stage parasites of the gametocyte-forming clone HB-3 were
      mixed with blood rich in reticulocytes from anemic patients, or with normal
      control blood, and kept under culture conditions for 4 days. Significantly more
      gametocytes were always formed in the reticulocyte-rich blood than in the
      control. This was true whether the anemic blood supported a larger asexual
      parasitemia than the control, or a lower one, or the same and without regard to
      the cause of the anemia. Gametocytes as a percentage of asexual forms were up to
      10 times higher in reticulocyte-rich blood than in normal blood.

PMID- 9990339
TI  - Cryptosporidium parvum infection in suckling rats: impairment of mucosal
      permeability and Na(+)-glucose cotransport.
AB  - Na(+)-glucose transport and transepithelial permeability were investigated during
      symptomatic acute cryptosporidiosis in newborn rats. The infection resulted in a
      significant (P < 0.01) decrease in the ileal short-circuit current and a
      nonsignificant fall in the transepithelial potential difference and conductance.
      In glucose-stimulated conditions, the rise in ileal short-circuit current and
      transepithelial permeability were significantly lower in Cryptosporidium parvum
      infected rats than in controls (delta Isc = 3.24 +/- 1.21 microA.cm-2 vs delta
      Isc = 5.09 +/- 2.23 microA.cm-2 in infected and control animals, respectively; P
      < 0.001; delta PD = -0.35 +/- 0.13 mV vs delta PD = -0.44 +/- 0.14 mV for
      infected and control animals, respectively; P < 0.01). Electrical parameters were
      not affected by addition of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin in either
      Cryptosporidium-infected newborn rats or controls. Horseradish peroxidase and
      mannitol flux studies demonstrated a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in
      transepithelial molecular permeability in infected enterocyte rats, HRP flux =
      380, range 68-5570 ng.cm-2, and mannitol flux = 1.06, range, 0.34-1.44%.cm-2.min
      1, compared with controls rats, HRP flux = 4446 range, 1121-124,363 ng.cm-2, and
      mannitol flux = 1.99, range, 0.57-5.09%.cm-2.min-1; P < 0.05. These effects could
      originate from C. parvum-induced alteration of intracellular trafficking of
      pinocytosis vesicles and therefore account for the decrease in permeability to
      solute and macromolecules, together with impaired transcellular nutrient
      transport, in suckling rats.

PMID- 9990340
TI  - Plasmodium falciparum: stage-related expression of topoisomerase I.
AB  - The expression and activity of topoisomerase I (PfTopoI) has been examined during
      the intraerythrocytic stages of the Plasmodium falciparum life cycle. The
      promoter is inactive during the early ring stage and becomes active only during
      the later trophozoite and schizont stages. The PfTOP1 transcript starts to
      accumulate in the trophozoite stage parasite, decreasing again in the schizont
      stage. Using both stage-specific Western analysis and immunofluorescent assays we
      show that PfTopoI is present at low levels in rings and accumulates to
      approximately equal levels in the trophozoite and schizont stages. Experiments to
      determine the activity of PfTopoI, using a topoisomerase I relaxation assay, show
      that there is a low level of PfTopoI activity in both ring and trophozoite
      stages, but activity increases dramatically in the schizont stage. The PfTopoI
      activity can be inhibited by treatment with specific antiserum and by the type I
      topoisomerase-specific inhibitor camptothecin.

PMID- 9990341
TI  - Plasmodium falciparum: molecular background to strain-specific rosette disruption
      by glycosaminoglycans and sulfated glycoconjugates.
AB  - Rosetting, the adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to
      uninfected erythrocytes, is a virulent parasite phenotype associated with the
      occurrence of severe malaria, e.g., cerebral malaria. Compounds with specific
      anti-rosetting activity are potential therapeutic agents. Glycosaminoglycans and
      sulfated glycoconjugates were found to disrupt rosettes in a strain- and isolate
      specific manner. Rosette disruption was strongly connected to the presence of N
      sulfate groups in heparin/heparan sulfate as demonstrated by modified heparin
      preparations. This finding was corroborated by the disruption of rosettes with
      mono- and disaccharides derived from heparin/heparan sulfate that contained N
      sulfated glucosamine. Furthermore, heparinase III treatment of erythrocyte
      cultures infected by FCR3S1 (and to some extent TM 284) P. falciparum strains
      abolished rosetting. Heparinase III treatment of the uninfected erythrocytes
      prior to mixing with the infected culture impeded formation of rosettes,
      indicating that the rosetting receptors at least partially are of
      glycosaminoglycan nature.

PMID- 9990342
TI  - Nippostrongylus brasiliensis: characterisation of a somatic amphiphilic
      acetylcholinesterase with properties distinct from the secreted enzymes.
AB  - We have previously determined that Nippostrongylus brasiliensis secretes three
      monomeric nonamphiphilic (G1na) variants of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with
      broadly similar properties. In this study we have examined AChE expression in
      somatic extracts of N. brasiliensis and report the identification of an
      additional enzyme which is not secreted. The enzyme was resolved by sucrose
      density gradient centrifugation with a sedimentation coefficient of 10.2 S which
      was shifted to 9.4 S in the presence of Triton X-100, identifying the enzyme as a
      tetrameric amphiphilic (G4a) form. The amphiphilic properties of this enzyme were
      confirmed by charge-shift electrophoresis, in which migration was accelerated by
      interaction with sodium deoxycholate. The enzyme showed low activity with
      butyrylthiocholine, and a Michaelis constant of 91 +/- 13 microM for
      acetylthiocholine was determined. It was highly sensitive to the AChE-specific
      inhibitor bis (4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide, with an IC50
      of 6.5 +/- 0.4 microM, but was also inhibited by the butyrylcholinesterase
      specific inhibitor tetramonoisopropylpyrophosphortetramide, albeit with a higher
      IC50 of 46.5 +/- 6.1 microM. This enzyme can therefore be distinguished from the
      secreted AChEs by its amphiphilic properties, sedimentation in sucrose gradients,
      and sensitivity to cholinesterase inhibitors.

PMID- 9990343
TI  - Leishmania major: histone H1 gene expression from the sw3 locus.
AB  - Histone H1 in the parasitic protozoan Leishmania is a developmentally regulated
      protein encoded by the sw3 gene. Here we report that histone H1 variants exist in
      different Leishmania species and strains of L. major and that they are encoded by
      polymorphic genes. Amplification of the sw3 gene from the genome of three strains
      of L. major gave rise to different products in each strain, suggesting the
      presence of a multicopy gene family. In L. major, these genes were all restricted
      to a 50-kb Bg/II fragment found on a chromosomal band of 1.3 Mb (chromosome 27).
      The detection of RFLPs in this locus demonstrated its heterogeneity within
      several species and strains of Leishmania. Two different copies of sw3 (sw3.0 and
      sw3.1) were identified after screening a cosmid library containing L. major
      strain Friedlin genomic DNA. They were identical in their 5' UTRs and open
      reading frames, but differed in their 3' UTRs. With respect to the originally
      cloned copy of sw3 from L. major strain LV39, their open reading frames lacked a
      repeat unit of 9 amino acids. Immunoblots of L. guyanensis parasites transfected
      with these cosmids revealed that both copies could give rise to the histone H1
      protein. The characterization of this locus will now make possible a detailed
      analysis of the function of histone H1 in Leishmania, as well as permit the
      dissection of the molecular mechanisms governing the developmental regulation of
      the sw3 gene.

PMID- 9990344
TI  - Plasmodium falciparum: analysis of the antibody specificity to the surface of the
      trophozoite-infected erythrocyte.
AB  - Current opinion supports the view that immunity to the surface of the trophozoite
      infected erythrocyte (IE) is to Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane
      protein 1 (PfEMP-1). Here we provide further evidence using the mutant cell line
      1776/C10 which no longer expresses PfEMP-1 at the IE surface, due to a
      subtelomeric deletion in chromosome 9. We have measured antibody reactivity to
      this mutant in comparison to it's intact isogenic parent line 1776, which does
      express PfEMP-1, using the sensitive technique of flow cytometry. IgG-specific
      antibodies (subclass IgG1) in the plasma of hyperimmune adults, reacted to 1776
      but never to the 1776/C10 mutant. Antibody subclasses were also measured in
      individual plasma samples to the surface of trophozoite-IE. Predominantly IgG1
      antibodies were detected, with a few individual plasma having additional IgG3
      antibodies. Previous studies have used the agglutination assay to measure sero
      conversion to PfEMP-1. Here we show that both agglutination and flow cytometric
      methods are comparable, suggesting that agglutination of trophozoite-IE is
      mediated by IgG antibodies. Comparison of the isogenic cell lines 1776 and
      1776/C10 differing in expression of PfEMP-1 provides further evidence that IgG
      antibodies, in particular of the cytophilic subclasses, mediate recognition of
      PfEMP-1.

PMID- 9990345
TI  - Entamoeba histolytica: signaling through G proteins.
AB  - The intracellular signaling pathways of Entamoeba histolytica are largely
      unknown. Although the expression of guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G
      proteins) is expected from functional studies, their biochemical characterization
      remains elusive in this protozoan. Using a combination of biochemical and
      immunological studies, we provide strong evidence for the presence of a Gs
      protein in amoeba. Our results strengthen our understanding of the signal
      transduction mechanisms in E. histolytica as potential sites of a new therapeutic
      strategy.

PMID- 9990346
TI  - A Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream form mutant deficient in ornithine decarboxylase
      can protect against wild-type infection in mice.
AB  - A Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream mutant in which both copies of the ornithine
      decarboxylase (ODC) gene were knocked out (ODC mutant) was used to determine the
      biological functions of ODC in T. brucei. Growth of the mutant cells ceased
      within 12-24 h in regular culture medium deficient in polyamines, but could be
      rescued by supplementation with 1 mM putrescine. A mouse model of T. brucei
      infection was used to determine whether the mutant was still infective and was
      found to develop either extremely low or undetectable levels of parasitemia,
      suggesting that in T. brucei, ODC activity is essential for establishing an
      infection. Furthermore, when these mice were subsequently challenged with wild
      type T. brucei cells expressing the same variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), they
      did not develop any parasitemia, indicating that inoculating the mice with the
      attenuated ODC mutant had conferred protection against challenge by wild-type
      cells. These results were reproduced in C57BL/6J mice deficient in alpha-beta and
      gamma-delta T-cell receptors. However, no protection was observed in rag-2
      knockout mice deficient in both B and T lymphocytes or in C57BL/10J mice
      deficient only in B lymphocytes. The results thus suggest that the ODC mutant
      could induce a T-lymphocyte-independent but B-lymphocyte-dependent immunity
      against wild-type cells of the same VSG. Such a mechanism of immunity has been
      elicited only by live T. brucei cells, but not by isolated VSGs or radiation
      killed trypanosomes. This ODC mutant may thus represent a genuinely attenuated T.
      brucei bloodstream form capable of immunizing mammals against infections by
      African trypanosomes of the same VSG subtype without causing detectable infection
      by itself. The observation also raises the interesting likelihood that the in
      vivo treatment of T. brucei bloodstream forms with alpha-DL
      difluoromethylornithine is a de facto attenuation of the parasitic organisms,
      which may very well result in B-lymphocyte-dependent host immune responses to
      subsequent infections by parasites of the same VSG subtypes.

PMID- 9990347
TI  - Trypanosoma musculi: tracking parasites and circulating lymphoid cells in host
      mice.
AB  - Two aspects of host-parasite relationships that seem worthy of more attention
      are: (a) the distribution of parasites among host organs in the early course of
      infection, and (b) the dynamics of host lymphocyte tissue localization and
      recirculation during the course of infection. We have employed the derivatized
      aminostyrylpyridinium dye, [125I] I 2P-Di-6-ASP, to provide a relatively stable
      tag on both a parasite, Trypanosoma musculi, and on host mouse splenocytes,
      enriched B and T lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. The organ distribution of
      the parasites, splenocytes, and lymphocytes in recipient, host mice was tracked.
      Radiolabeled T. musculi localized primarily in the liver with lesser numbers in
      spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Per unit wet weight, the spleen accumulated parasites
      most efficiently. When T. musculi were inoculated intraperitoneally, most of them
      remained in the peritoneal space and the numbers that gained access to liver,
      lungs, and spleen were significantly smaller than in mice inoculated
      intravenously. The acquisition of parasites by the spleen (and lungs) of mice
      with an existing T. musculi infection was markedly inhibited. This was true also
      of syngeneic splenocytes and lymphocytes. In addition, lymphocytes from infected
      mice were significantly less likely to take residence in the spleens of normal
      recipient mice and were especially unlikely to localize in the spleens of
      infected recipients. These and other findings suggested that the inability of
      circulating lymphocytes to gain access to lymphoid tissues in infected mice,
      coupled with the poor ability of those tissues to sequester parasite antigens,
      could account for the known prolonged delay in the development of curative
      antibody response characteristic of T. musculi-infected mice. It is likely that
      the marked disruption of lymphoid tissue histoarchitecture that is typical of T.
      musculi infection contributes significantly to the failure of the tissues to
      sequester parasites and lymphocytes. Because lymphoid tissue disruption is seen
      in many parasitic infections, the findings reported here may have fairly broad
      relevance. In any case, the procedure described here for labeling parasites and
      lymphocytes should be of general utility for tracking their disposition in vivo.

PMID- 9990348
TI  - Trypanosoma musculi: compared levels of parasitosis in wild and laboratory
      strains of Mus musculus mice.

PMID- 9990349
TI  - Trypanosoma brucei: generation of specific antisera to recombinant variant
      surface glycoproteins.

PMID- 9990350
TI  - Clinical, demographic, and immunohistologic features of vancomycin-induced linear
      IgA bullous disease of the skin. Report of 2 cases and review of the literature.
AB  - Administration of intravenous vancomycin has been associated with the development
      of linear IgA bullous disease (LABD). In contrast to the idiopathic variant,
      vancomycin-induced LABD (VILABD) appears to be more transient and to be
      associated with lower morbidity. The characteristics of this entity remain
      undefined. Our analysis of clinical, demographic, and immunopathologic features
      of 2 new and 14 previously reported patients with VILABD reveals that VILABD is
      clinically and immunopathologically indistinguishable from its idiopathic
      variant. A variety of premorbid conditions and concomitant medications were
      observed, none of which was consistently associated with the development of
      VILABD. VILABD occurs independently of vancomycin trough levels, resolves
      promptly upon discontinuation of vancomycin, and recurs more severely and with
      shorter onset latency with vancomycin rechallenge. This entity should be
      recognized as 1 of the adverse cutaneous effects of intravenous vancomycin, and
      warrants prompt diagnosis through direct immunofluorescence skin examination.

PMID- 9990351
TI  - X-linked recessive spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda. Clinical and radiographic
      evolution in a 6-generation kindred and review of the literature.
AB  - We characterize the clinical and radiographic evolution of X-linked recessive
      spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDT) in a 6-generation kindred from Arkansas
      (SEDT(AK)). Our observations show the natural progression of SEDT(AK) and enable
      carrier detection by radiographic study. We find that, SEDT(AK) manifests as a
      postnatal defect. Affected hemizygous males can have radiographically normal
      vertebrae at birth. The pathogenesis seems to involve a developmental disturbance
      in endochondral bone formation that is reflected most dramatically in vertebrae
      by a radiographically inapparent ring apophysis. This defect leads to distinctive
      malformation of the anterior margins of the lumbar vertebrae during childhood.
      Subsequently, there is degeneration of intervertebral discs and destruction of
      spinal facet joints. In the femur, the head, neck, and distal condyles are
      abnormally shaped and become distorted so that osteoarthritis of the hip is not
      uncommon. Obligate carrier females heterozygous for the SEDT(AK) gene defect
      demonstrate several similar but more subtle skeletal abnormalities beginning in
      early adult life. These women seem to be troubled frequently by arthralgia by
      middle age. The cumulative findings in SEDT(AK) implicate a defect in a gene at
      Xp22.2-22.1 that engenders a relatively mild disturbance in endochondral bone
      formation, especially in the axial skeleton. Accounts of large, well
      characterized SEDT kindreds remain essential to appreciate fully any interfamily
      variability of disease expression and to understand better the pathogenesis of
      the SEDT defect on the X chromosome.

PMID- 9990352
TI  - Churg-Strauss syndrome. Clinical study and long-term follow-up of 96 patients.
AB  - Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a systemic vasculitis characterized by the
      presence of asthma, hypereosinophilia, and necrotizing vasculitis with
      extravascular eosinophil granulomas. In this retrospective study of 96 patients
      between 1963 and 1995, we analyzed clinical manifestations, identified prognostic
      factors, and assessed the long-term outcome. CSS was diagnosed when asthma,
      hypereosinophilia > 1,500/mm3 or > 10%, and clinical manifestations consistent
      with systemic vasculitis, with or without histologic evidence, were present.
      Asthma was the most frequently observed manifestation at presentation, with
      mononeuritis multiplex the second. Other common manifestations were weight loss,
      fever, myalgia, skin involvement, paranasal sinusitis, arthralgia, pulmonary
      infiltrate, and gastrointestinal involvement. Mean eosinophilia at presentation
      was 7.193 +/- 6.706/mm3; ANCA, present in 20 of 42 (47.6%) patients,
      predominantly gave the perinuclear labeling pattern. All the patients were
      treated with corticosteroids alone or in combination with cyclophosphamide or
      plasma exchanges. Clinical remission was obtained in 91.5%; 22 (25.6%) patients
      relapsed. Twenty-three patients died during follow-up: 11 of these deaths were
      directly due to vasculitis. The presence of severe gastrointestinal tract or
      myocardial involvement was significantly associated with a poor clinical outcome.
      The long-term prognosis of CSS is good and does not differ from that of
      polyarteritis nodosa, although most patients need low doses of oral
      corticosteroids for persistent asthma, even many years after clinical recovery
      from vasculitis.

PMID- 9990353
TI  - Lymphocutaneous syndrome. A review of non-sporothrix causes.
AB  - The lymphocutaneous syndrome can be caused by a number of diverse microorganisms
      requiring very different antimicrobial therapy for resolution. The epidemiology
      and geographic occurrence of the infection often can provide important first
      clues to the microbiologic etiology. Accurate diagnosis can be accomplished
      usually by punch or wedge biopsy of a primary lesion or proximal subcutaneous
      nodule submitted for histopathologic examination and culture. The microbiology
      laboratory staff should be alerted to the diagnostic possibilities so that
      appropriate cultural and incubation techniques, procedures, and precautions can
      be initiated. Provision of a correct microbiologic diagnosis and institution of
      appropriate antimicrobial therapy will result in a complete cure in almost all
      instances. Adjunctive surgical debridement may be required for certain organisms
      such as Nocardia or Mycobacterium chelonae.

PMID- 9990354
TI  - Primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma: how useful is the new European Organization
      for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) classification?
AB  - The classification of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has undergone extensive revision in
      recent years, particularly with the development of immunophenotypic and genotypic
      criteria. While most general pathologists now rely upon the Revised European and
      American Classification of Lymphoma neoplasms (REAL), the cutaneous lymphoma
      project group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer
      (EORTC) has put forward its own proposal for the classification of primary
      cutaneous lymphomas. While this is understandable in the context of cutaneous T
      cell lymphoma, the EORTC classification of primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma has
      proved more controversial: first, because chromosomal changes are largely
      excluded; secondly, because follicle centre cell lymphoma in the skin is
      imprecisely defined; and thirdly, because large B-cell lymphoma of the leg is
      included as a separate entity. This review identifies the main differences
      between the two systems of classifying B-cell lymphomas in the skin, and the
      areas of research required to clarify some of the outstanding issues.
      Pathologists are unlikely to adopt the EORTC proposals for B-cell neoplasms until
      these issues have been resolved.

PMID- 9990355
TI  - Upregulation of the calcium-dependent protease, calpain, during keratinocyte
      differentiation.
AB  - Calpain is a ubiquitous neutral calcium-activated thiol protease that is
      implicated in various cellular functions including exocytosis, cell fusion,
      apoptosis and proliferation. The calpain system is composed of the enzymes mu
      calpain and m-calpain and their endogenous inhibitor, calpastatin. We employed
      the spontaneously immortalized human HaCaT keratinocytes, which retain their
      ability to differentiate in vitro and in vivo, to study the modulation of the
      calpain system during keratinocyte differentiation. The cellular levels of
      keratinocyte differentiation markers and of the components of the calpain system
      were monitored by immunoblotting. Three established differentiation stimuli:
      increase in cell density as a function of time in culture, elevation of
      extracellular calcium concentration and exposure to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
      enhanced the expression of the three keratinocyte differentiation markers keratin
      10, involucrin and transglutaminase. The differentiation of HaCaT cells was
      accompanied by elevation of the components of the calpain system, although the
      pattern of increase varied according to the specific differentiation stimulus. A
      higher increase in calpains as compared with the increase in calpastatin suggests
      an increase in net calpain activity during differentiation. Such an increase may
      play a part in the differentiation process itself and/or in the regulation of key
      events in differentiating keratinocyte metabolism.

PMID- 9990356
TI  - Differential patterns of filaggrin expression in lamellar ichthyosis.
AB  - Lamellar ichthyosis (LI) is a rare genetic and congenital disturbance of
      keratinization that is phenotypically and genotypically heterogeneous. Filaggrin
      is one of the major components of the stratum corneum situated in the protein
      matrix and the cornified envelope. In view of the heterogeneity of LI, this study
      aimed at exploring filaggrin expression in the skin of patients suffering from
      the disease. Epidermal filaggrin expression was determined using
      immunohistochemical techniques and Western blot in 12 patients with LI and the
      findings were compared with those observed in four normal controls and eight
      patients with ichthyosis vulgaris. With Western blot, six different patterns of
      filaggrin expression were detected. The patients with similar clinical
      manifestations showed a similar pattern, as did members of the same family.
      Overall, higher filaggrin expression in scales correlated with a better
      prognosis. In patients receiving retinoids no variations in filaggrin expression
      during treatment were detected. Our results suggest that LI is heterogeneous as
      regards filaggrin expression. Filaggrin could therefore be used as a prognostic
      marker as well as being a marker of the basic defect involved in LI.

PMID- 9990357
TI  - Vitiligo melanocytes in long-term culture show normal constitutive and cytokine
      induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and major
      histocompatibility complex class I and class II molecules.
AB  - The aetiology of vitiligo remains unclear. An autoimmune involvement has been
      suggested and, in this study, we examine whether melanocytes cultured from
      unaffected regions of the skin of vitiligo patients are more susceptible to
      immune attack by investigating constitutive and cytokine-stimulated expression of
      intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (under three media variants) and major
      histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II (under one medium). Both
      normal and vitiligo melanocytes had similarly low constitutive expression of ICAM
      1 and MHC class II molecules, whereas > 95% of cells had high constitutive
      expression of MHC class I. Normal and vitiligo melanocytes showed similar and
      significant increases in the expression of all three immune-related molecules in
      response to the cytokine, interferon-gamma. The expression of ICAM-1 was also
      similarly increased by the cytokine, tumour necrosis factor-alpha in both cells.
      Additionally, it was noted that, once the melanocyte cultures were established
      under experimental conditions, the rate of proliferation of vitiligo melanocytes
      did not differ significantly from that of normal melanocytes. In conclusion, we
      suggest that vitiligo melanocytes, once in culture, do not have intrinsic
      differences from normal melanocytes with respect to the expression of immune
      related molecules.

PMID- 9990358
TI  - Evidence for loss of heterozygosity in human psoriatic lesions.
AB  - Psoriasis, a disease of human skin, is characterized by abnormal differentiation
      and hyperproliferation of keratinocytes; it has a genetic background. Using 11
      highly polymorphic microsatellite markers on eight chromosome arms, we performed
      an allelotype analysis in 14 psoriatic plaques, in order to reveal any chromosome
      deletions involved in the development of the disease. We detected loss of
      heterozygosity (LOH) on at least one microsatellite marker in nine of 14 (64%)
      cases. We also observed particular genetic loci altered with LOH, on chromosomes
      3p, 7p/q and 8p. Our results suggest that LOH is an important phenomenon in the
      development of psoriatic plaques, providing evidence for deletion of regulatory
      genes.

PMID- 9990359
TI  - HLA-DRB1*0701 and DRB1*1401 are associated with genetic susceptibility to
      psoriasis vulgaris in a Taiwanese population.
AB  - We analysed the allelic frequencies of class II human leucocyte antigen (HLA)
      DRB1, DQA1, DQB1 and DPB1 by polymerase chain reaction/sequence-specific
      oligonucleotide probe hybridization typing in 76 Taiwanese psoriasis vulgaris
      (PSV) patients and 238 Taiwanese non-psoriatic controls. The analysis revealed
      the following: (i) the DRB1*0701 allele was positively associated with PSV
      (relative risk, RR = 6.4, corrected P-value, Pc < or = 0.001); (ii) the DRB1*1401
      allele was positively associated with type I PSV (age at onset < 40 years) (RR =
      3.5, Pc < or = 0.001); (iii) the DQA1*0501 allele was negatively associated with
      PSV (RR = 0.4, Pc < or = 0.001); (iv) there was no significant association of HLA
      DP genes with PSV; and (v) there was a strong association of beta-chain
      phenylalanine at position 37 (Phe 37) and glutamate or glutamine at position 74
      (Glu 74/Gln 74) with PSV (RR = 3.5, Pc < or = 0.001 for the association of Phe 37
      with PSV: RR = 2.2, Pc < or = 0.001 for the association of Glu 74/Gln 74 with
      PSV). The positive association between PSV and the DRB1*0701 allele is consistent
      with previous reports. The negative association of the DQA1*0501 allele is
      reported only in Finland, whereas the positive association between PSV and the
      DRB1*1401 allele has never been described before. Trans-racial studies may shed
      further light on the association of class II HLA alleles or other closely linked
      genes with the development of PSV. Phe 37 (a large, non-polar amino acid) and Glu
      74/Gln 74 (both negatively charged amino acids) were the polymorphic residues in
      pockets 9 and 4, respectively, of the beta-chain, which may have increased their
      affinity for the small non-polar amino acids and basic amino acids of the
      psoriatic antigen peptide, thereby activating the T lymphocytes. This finding may
      facilitate the identification of a psoriatic antigen.

PMID- 9990360
TI  - Calcipotriol inhibits the proliferation of hyperproliferative CD29 positive
      keratinocytes in psoriatic epidermis in the absence of an effect on the function
      and number of antigen-presenting cells.
AB  - The aim of this study was to elucidate some of the possible mechanisms of action
      of the vitamin D analogue calcipotriol in vivo. Calcipotriol is finding
      increasing use in the treatment of psoriasis, but the primary target cell in vivo
      has not yet been identified. We treated psoriatic patients and healthy volunteers
      with calcipotriol and placebo ointment for 4 and 7 days, and obtained epidermal
      cell suspensions from treated areas. Epidermal cells were cocultured with
      autologous T cells, isolated from peripheral blood, in the absence or the
      presence of a classical antigen or a superantigen. In both psoriatic and normal
      skin, calcipotriol treatment did not alter the capacity of epidermal antigen
      presenting cells to stimulate the proliferation of autologous T cells, either in
      the absence or in the presence of exogenous antigen. Epidermal cell suspensions
      were analysed further by staining for infiltrating leucocytes (CD45+) and
      Langerhans cells (CD1a+). Flow cytometric analysis showed that calcipotriol did
      not alter the number of CD45+ cells or Langerhans cells in psoriatic skin. These
      results indicate that calcipotriol does not alter either the number of the
      function of epidermal antigen-presenting cells in psoriatic epidermis. In
      contrast, we found that calcipotriol significantly inhibited the proliferation of
      epidermal cells isolated from psoriatic skin after in vivo treatment, as
      determined by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry. More specifically, we
      stained for CD29+ keratinocytes and found an even more significant reduction in
      proliferative capacity. This cell type contains the population of
      hyperproliferative keratinocytes in psoriatic epidermis. In conclusion,
      calcipotriol seems to act via an inhibitory effect on hyperproliferative basal
      keratinocytes of psoriatic epidermis, rather than via an effect on infiltrating
      leucocytes, including antigen-presenting cells.

PMID- 9990361
TI  - The novel ascomycin derivative SDZ ASM 981 is effective for psoriasis when used
      topically under occlusion.
AB  - Topical SDZ ASM 981 has been found to be highly effective in preclinical models
      of T-cell-mediated skin disease. T cell activation is crucial in the pathogenesis
      of psoriasis. It has been hypothesized that SDZ ASM 981 may prove to be an
      effective treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis. Therefore, the study objective
      was to determine the efficacy, tolerability and safety of the new topical
      macrolactam, SDZ ASM 981, for chronic plaque psoriasis. Ten patients with chronic
      plaque-type psoriasis were treated with SDZ ASM 981 (0.3% and 1.0%), the
      corresponding ointment base (placebo) and open-labelled clobetasol-17-propionate
      ointment (0.05%) in a randomized, double-blind, within-subject comparison for 2
      weeks using the microplaque assay. Evaluation was performed by daily
      determination of clinical scores for erythema and induration. The results of the
      study showed that, after 2 weeks of treatment, total scores described by 92% for
      clobetasol, by 82% for 1 SDZ ASM 981, by 63% for 0.3% SDZ ASM 981 and by 18% for
      the ointment base (placebo). No adverse drug effects were seen in any patient
      throughout the study. We conclude from our results that the new macrolactam SDZ
      ASM 981 (1%) is similar to clobetasol-17-propionate (0.05%) in plaque-type
      psoriasis when applied topically under occlusion for 2 weeks using the
      microplaque assay.

PMID- 9990362
TI  - Double-blind placebo-controlled study of long-term low-dose cyclosporin in the
      treatment of palmoplantar pustulosis.
AB  - We previously showed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that cyclosporin
      at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg per day is an effective treatment for palmoplantar
      pustulosis (PPP). In the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
      multicentre study we treated 58 PPP patients with placebo or cyclosporin at an
      initial dose of 1 mg/kg per day. Disease activity was calculated from the number
      of fresh pustules. Treatment success was defined as the number of fresh pustules
      not exceeding 50% of the patients' own baseline pustule number. In cases of
      treatment success the dose of the test medication was not increased and the
      treatment was kept blinded for a maximum of 12 months. Blinding was broken only
      on treatment failure of the initial test medication dose. The mean blinded
      treatment time was 5.1 months for the patients receiving cyclosporin and 2.1
      months for placebo (P < 0.01). Treatment was kept blinded for 12 months for seven
      patients in the cyclosporin and two in the placebo group (P < 0.05). Patients
      whose treatment code was broken continued in an open dose-finding part of the
      study with dose adjustments of cyclosporin every second month. In cases of
      treatment failure the dose of cyclosporin was increased in steps of 1 mg/kg per
      day; in cases of treatment success the cyclosporin dose was decreased by 1 mg/kg
      per day. The minimum and maximum doses were 1 and 4 mg/kg per day, respectively.
      The mean effective dose during the dose-finding part was between 1.2 and 1.7
      mg/kg per day. Two patients did not respond to the highest dose of 4 mg/kg per
      day. In two patients serum creatinine levels increased by > 30% of their own
      baseline. The other main adverse events were hypertension (seven patients) and
      hypertrichosis (six patients). After stopping cyclosporin treatment the mean
      number of fresh pustules showed a maximum after 2 weeks with a continuous decline
      after that. Twelve months after completing the treatment the mean number of
      pustules was reduced to 20.0 compared with 63.6 at baseline (P < 0.001); 11
      patients were free from pustules and two of these were totally cleared. We
      conclude that cyclosporin at 1-2 mg/kg per day is an effective and well tolerated
      treatment for PPP in most patients.

PMID- 9990363
TI  - A comparison of treatment with dithranol and calcipotriol on the clinical
      severity and quality of life in patients with psoriasis.
AB  - In a multicentre, randomized, open study, 306 patients of either sex, over 18
      years of age with stable chronic plaque psoriasis > 100 cm2 in surface area, and
      who gave informed consent, applied Dovonex (calcipotriol) ointment (50
      micrograms/g) twice daily or Dithrocream (short-contact dithranol) 0.1-2% for up
      to 3 months. The number of patients 'cleared' or with 'marked improvement' at the
      end of treatment were: investigators' assessment--calcipotriol 92 of 153 (60.1%);
      dithranol 67 of 131 (51.1%); odds ratio 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90,
      2.31; P = 0.128]; patients' assessment--calcipotriol 93 of 153 (60.8%); dithranol
      65 of 131 (49.6%); odds ratio 1.57 (95% CI 0.98, 2.52; P = 0.059). Significant
      improvement in patients' quality of life as assessed by the Psoriasis Disability
      Index (PDI) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) were seen in both treatment
      groups. Reduction in the total mean score for PDI was 6.5 in the calcipotriol
      group (95% CI 4.4, 8.6; P = 0.001) and 3.7 in the dithranol group (95% CI 1.1,
      6.3; P = 0.005). The reduction in the total mean score for SIP was 2.8 in the
      calcipotriol group (95% CI 1.4, 4.3; P < 0.001) and 1.7 in the dithranol group
      (95% CI 0.2, 3.1; P = 0.024). Calcipotriol treatment tended to have advantages
      over treatment with dithranol in improving quality of life.

PMID- 9990364
TI  - Increased levels of enkephalin following natural sunlight (combined with salt
      water bathing at the Dead Sea) and ultraviolet A irradiation.
AB  - The opioid peptides enkephalins have been shown to modulate inflammatory
      responses and keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore,
      increased levels of enkephalin are present in psoriatic lesions. The purpose of
      the present study was to determine the effect of natural sunlight combined with
      salt water bathing in the Dead Sea on the methionine-enkephalin (e.n.k.) level in
      psoriatic skin. Ten patients were treated at the Dead Sea for 4 weeks, and
      keratotome biopsies were obtained before and after treatment. The amount of
      enkephalin extracted from the biopsies was measured by radioimmunoassay.
      Treatment at the Dead Sea resulted in a complete clinical clearance of psoriasis,
      and immunohistochemical stainings of lesional skin showed that the treatment
      decreased both epidermal thickness/parakeratosis and the dermal infiltration of
      CD3- and CD68-positive cells, although the number of CD3- and CD68-positive cells
      became normal in only two of the 10 cases. However, there was only a slight
      decrease in the mean enk levels (21%). Furthermore, the level of enk was high in
      non-lesional psoriatic skin after treatment at the Dead Sea, and immunostaining
      showed that, in some patients, the treatment induced a mild epidermal hyperplasia
      and a dermal infiltration of CD3- and CD68-positive cells. Enkephalin-like
      immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of both epidermal keratinocytes
      and dermal infiltrating cells. To determine whether the relatively high skin enk
      levels after treatment at the Dead Sea was caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation,
      normal volunteers were exposed to a single dose of UVA and UVB (2 minimal
      erythema doses). UVA, but not UVB, irradiation stimulated the mean enk level in
      the irradiated skin by about sixfold. Furthermore, multiple whole-body UVA
      irradiations not only resulted in increased skin levels of enk, but also in
      increased plasma levels. In conclusion, natural sunlight combined with salt water
      bathing cleared psoriasis without causing a significant decrease in lesional enk
      levels. Furthermore, non-lesional enk levels were increased. These findings may
      be the result of a direct stimulatory effect of UVA irradiation on enk formation
      in the skin. It is possible that the increased circulating levels of enk after UV
      exposure may contribute to the beneficial effects of UVA irradiation.

PMID- 9990365
TI  - Circulating type I collagen degradation products: a new serum marker for clinical
      severity in patients with scleroderma?
AB  - Systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) results in the excessive deposition of
      extracellular matrix components in affected organs. This is partly due to
      enhanced synthesis; however, the role of degradative processes in this disease is
      still poorly understood. Sera of 32 patients with SSc (22 with the diffuse, 10
      with the limited form) and of six patients with morphoea were assessed using
      radioimmunoassays for the cross-linked carboxy terminal telopeptide of type I
      collagen (ICTP) and for the amino terminal propeptide of type I procollagen
      (PINP) reflecting type I collagen degradation and synthesis, respectively. In 27
      of the 32 patients with SSc, the concentration of ICTP was above the upper limit
      of the normal value (4.6 micrograms/L) and the mean level was clearly elevated at
      7.92 micrograms/L. The ICTP concentration correlated with the skin score
      measuring the extent of the lesions, whereas no such correlation was found for
      PINP. The ICTP antigen in serum, studied by immunoblotting, had a molecular
      weight of about twice that of the trypsin-generated fragment isolated from human
      bone collagen. The mean concentration of serum PINP was 43.9 micrograms/L and no
      patient exceeded the upper limit of the normal range (80 micrograms/L). We report
      here for the first time that the concentration of the type I collagen degradation
      product ICTP in serum shows a close correlation with the extent of skin fibrosis
      in patients with SSc. We conclude that the increased deposition of type I
      collagen in this disease is accompanied by an increased turnover of this
      molecule, indicating a more complex derangement of synthetic and degradative
      processes than previously acknowledged.

PMID- 9990366
TI  - Increased levels of interleukin 5 are associated with the generation of
      eosinophilia in drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome.
AB  - Hypersensitivity syndrome (HSS) usually refers to severe drug eruption associated
      with systemic symptoms and eosinophilia. Interleukin (IL)-5 regulates eosinophil
      counts with the help of IL-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor
      (GM-CSF). Blood IL-5 levels have been reported to be increased in patients with
      eosinophilia secondary to parasitic infections or idiopathic eosinophilia, but
      have never been evaluated in drug-induced eosinophilia. The aim of our study was
      to determine whether IL-5, IL-3 and GM-CSF are involved in eosinophilia in
      patients with drug-induced HSS. Plasma levels of IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF were
      assayed by ELISA in seven patients with drug-induced HSS, in eight patients with
      cutaneous adverse drug reactions not associated with eosinophilia, and in five
      patients with eosinophilia unrelated to drug treatment. IL-5 levels were normal
      in all eight patients with drug eruptions without eosinophilia, and increased in
      five of the seven patients with HSS. In the latter patients, IL-5 levels peaked
      several days before highest eosinophil counts were noted, and returned to normal
      within a few days, even when eosinophilia persisted. In patients with
      eosinophilia unrelated to drug treatment, IL-5 levels, although significantly
      increased remained lower than in HSS patients. IL-3 and GM-CSF could not be
      detected in any group, at any time. Our results show that IL-5 is involved in
      drug-related eosinophilia. As IL-5 production was only involved in the early
      stages of the reaction, it is suggested that IL-5 mainly derives from activated
      lymphocytes rather than eosinophils. Our results support the clinical relevance
      of previous in vitro findings. Further studies are needed to test whether assays
      of IL-5 production by lymphocytes of patients stimulated by the suspected drug
      and/or its metabolites, are useful in establishing causality in drug-induced
      reactions associated with eosinophilia.

PMID- 9990367
TI  - The prevalence and determinants of solar keratoses at a subtropical latitude
      (Queensland, Australia).
AB  - We report the association between skin pigmentation and individual sun exposure,
      and the occurrence of solar keratoses (SKs) in an unselected population,
      quantified for the first time. SKs were examined in a representative sample of
      197 residents of the community of Nambour in Queensland, Australia. Estimates of
      sun exposure were combined with a measure of ultraviolet (UV) flux to estimate
      actual UV exposure, both occupational and recreational, during childhood and
      adult life. The number of episodes of painful sunburn was used as a measure of
      intermittent, intense UV exposure. Eight-three participants (43%) had at least
      one SK, while 35 (18%) had more than 10 SKs diagnosed. The age- and sex-adjusted
      odds ratios (ORs) for the development of SKs were higher in individuals with fair
      (OR = 14.1) or medium skin (OR = 6.5), compared with olive-skinned individuals.
      Individuals with poor ability to develop a suntan were similarly at increased
      risk compared with others. High levels of occupational UV exposure during adult
      life were confirmed as being strongly associated with prevalent SKs (OR = 2.4 for
      heavy/maximal adult exposure), with an even stronger association seen in those
      individuals with multiple SKs (OR = 4.3 for maximal adult exposure). Although no
      clear association was demonstrated between SK prevalence and accumulated
      childhood sun exposure, a history of even one episode of sunburn in childhood was
      strongly associated with SK prevalence (peak OR of 5.9 for one sunburn).

PMID- 9990368
TI  - The influence of cultural and educational factors on the validity of symptom and
      diagnosis questions for atopic eczema.
AB  - Valid questions for atopic eczema are necessary to identify risk factors in
      epidemiological studies. We have examined the influence of cultural and
      educational factors on the validity of some questions on atopic eczema used in
      the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood by using data from a
      cross-sectional study on 1511 children aged 6 years from East and West Germany.
      We tested three questions in relation to a point prevalence of atopic eczema as
      recorded by a dermatologist: (i) has a physician ever diagnosed eczema in your
      child? (ii) Has your child ever had an itchy rash which came and went for at
      least 6 months? (iii) Has your child ever had 'neurodermatitis' (atopic eczema,
      endogenous eczema)? The point prevalence of atopic eczema on the day of
      investigation was 11.1% (134 of 1217). According to the questionnaire, 15.7% of
      the children had had physician-diagnosed eczema, 14.1% had had neurodermatitis
      and 11.3% had had an itchy rash for > 6 months. Fifty-one per cent of parents who
      had a child with atopic eczema on the day of investigation said that their child
      had had an itchy rash which came and went for at least 6 months. This sensitivity
      value is less than that found in another community survey conducted in the U.K.,
      suggesting that the German wording of the question seems to mean something more
      severe to the parents than the English one. The education of the parents had an
      influence on the validity of the three questions: parents with < 10 years of
      schooling often answered symptom and diagnosis questions less positively. Parents
      with academic degrees, contrary to expectation, did not answer most precisely,
      this being especially true for the symptom questions. The association between
      symptom questions and clinical diagnosis was higher in West than in East Germany.
      We compared lifetime eczema symptoms and diagnosis with a point prevalence
      clinical diagnosis. In the absence of knowledge of how extraneous factors
      measured in this paper can affect diseases chronicity, it is difficult to say
      with certainty that such factors affect the validity of symptom and diagnosis
      questions on atopic eczema. Our study suggests that more studies are needed to
      examine the influence of social class, education and location on the validity of
      symptom questionnaires for atopic eczema. Until then, we recommend that
      information about such variables should be gathered routinely.

PMID- 9990369
TI  - Elevated expression of epidermal ornithine decarboxylase mRNA in scleroderma.
AB  - Using in situ hybridization techniques, we examined the expression of ornithine
      decarboxylase (ODC) mRNA in the skin of five patients with systemic sclerosis
      (SSc) and five normal controls. Sections treated with an anti-sense probe showed
      concentrated grains exclusively in the epidermis of SSc patients, but not in that
      of normal controls. Because our subcloned anti-sense probe specifically
      hybridizes with ODC mRNA, these findings indicate that the expression of ODC mRNA
      is elevated in SSc epidermis. Possibly polyamines have an important part to play
      in the skin changes of SSc.

PMID- 9990370
TI  - Serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor in collagen diseases.
AB  - Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic cytokine which has
      been reported to be important in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
      In this study, the serum level of VEGF was measured using enzyme-linked
      immunosorbent assay in 17 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 49 patients
      with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), 40 patients with systemic lupus
      erythematosus, 49 patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), 40 patients
      with systemic sclerosis (SSc), 11 patients with RA and 20 control subjects. The
      VEGF level was 184 +/- 62 pg/mL (mean +/- SD) in the serum of normal individuals.
      The mean VEGF levels in the patients with PM/DM or RA were significantly higher
      than in the normal controls. In 21 of the 49 patients with PM/DM and nine of the
      11 patients with RA, the serum VEGF level was considered to be elevated. In
      patients with SSc, those with diffuse cutaneous SSc showed elevated VEGF levels
      in comparison with normal controls. An elevated serum VEGF level was correlated
      with the frequency of lung fibrosis and reduced vital capacity in the patients
      with SSc.

PMID- 9990371
TI  - Non-human immunodeficiency virus Kaposi's sarcoma can be effectively treated with
      low-dose interferon-alpha despite the persistence of herpesvirus-8.
AB  - Three patients, negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with
      histologically and polymerase chain reaction-proven non-HIV Kaposi's sarcoma who
      received low-dose interferon (IFN) as first-line treatment because of
      disseminated symptomatic disease are reported. Applying 3-18 million IU of IFN
      alpha 2a per day, 3 days a week, subcutaneously for 8-20 months, major responses
      were achieved in all three cases. Tumour regression was observed within 4 months
      and has continued for 57 and 18 months to date (cases 1 and 2, respectively).
      Influenza-like symptoms, including fever, headaches and fatigue, were mild side
      effects. However, in the third patient interferon injections had to be stopped
      because of hepatic enzyme elevation. Including this case report, 27 non-HIV
      Kaposi's sarcoma patients subcutaneously treated with IFN-alpha have been
      reported in literature. Most therapy regimens included 3-18 million IU IFN-alpha
      per day for 3 days a week. Twenty of 27 patients, or 74%, responded to therapy,
      whereas seven patients or 26% had stable or progressive disease. Relapse after
      IFN withdrawal can occur but is frequently delayed and limited, as in case 1.
      Following the response to IFN treatment, human herpesvirus-8 DNA was detected in
      the blood mononuclear cells of all three patients, possibly contributing to
      future relapses.

PMID- 9990372
TI  - Ichthyosiform erythroderma and cardiomyopathy: report of two cases and review of
      the literature.
AB  - We report two children with ichthyosiform erythroderma who at the ages of 9 weeks
      and 8 years, respectively, developed dilated cardiomyopathy, which was fatal in
      one and required heart transplantation in the other. A link between these
      conditions is considered likely, either as a primary genetic syndrome or
      secondary to micronutrient deficiency and/or infection. Owing to its insidious
      onset, cardiomyopathy may be overlooked, or symptoms attributed to the other
      conditions such as severe infections and failure to thrive that are common in
      these patients. We therefore recommend that children with congenital erythroderma
      are monitored closely, clinically and with echocardiography, for cardiomyopathy.

PMID- 9990373
TI  - Proteus syndrome with widespread portwine stain naevus.
AB  - Proteus syndrome is a rare condition comprising asymmetrical overgrowth of
      different parts of the body in association with various cutaneous abnormalities.
      We describe a 3-year-old boy with Proteus syndrome, who presented with
      hemihypertrophy of the right leg, asymmetric macrodactyly, subcutaneous masses
      and a widespread portwine stain interspersed with angiokeratomas on the right
      leg, scrotum and on the middle and left side of the back. Doppler ultrasound of
      the right leg did not show hypercirculation, but did reveal the absence of the
      right superficial femoral vein.

PMID- 9990374
TI  - Pyoderma gangrenosum in a child with congenital partial deficiency of leucocyte
      adherence glycoproteins.
AB  - Congenital deficiency of beta 2 integrin leucocyte adhesion molecules is a rare
      immunodeficiency and is often fatal. Neutrophils are unable to bind to ligands on
      the endothelium, and so cannot leave the circulation during inflammation or
      infection. When leucocyte adhesion deficiency (LAD) is caused by abnormally low
      expression of beta 2 integrins, it is termed LAD type 1. We describe a 5-year-old
      girl with a history of recurrent bacterial infections since early childhood who
      developed necrotic skin ulcers resembling pyoderma gangrenosum and a persistent
      circulating neutrophilia. Histologically, the lesions showed deep ulceration with
      a diffuse lymphohistiocytic infiltrate, but with a relative sparsity of
      neutrophils. Subsequent investigation revealed a complete absence of CD11a/CD18
      beta 2 integrins on the surface of the patient's neutrophils, confirming the
      diagnosis of LAD type 1. The ulcers responded to treatment with oral prednisolone
      and colchicine.

PMID- 9990375
TI  - Cutaneous necrosis by cold agglutinins associated with glomeruloid reactive
      angioendotheliomatosis.
AB  - The cold agglutinin syndrome is a haemolytic disorder that can cause skin
      lesions, mainly on the acral areas, with acrocyanosis being the most frequent
      manifestation. Cutaneous necrosis due to cold agglutinins is very rare. Reactive
      angioendotheliomatosis (RAE) is an uncommon condition that exclusively affects
      the skin, characterized by a hyperplasia of endothelial cells and pericytes that
      can result in the formation of glomeruloid structures. The association of cold
      agglutinin syndrome with glomeruloid RAE has not been previously described. We
      report a 70-year-old man diagnosed as having a B-cell low-grade non-Hodgkin's
      lymphoma. He had two episodes of cutaneous necrosis in acral areas which were
      related to exposure to cold and due to IgM anti-I(T) cold agglutinins. Biopsy
      specimens showed vessel proliferations composed of dilated vascular spaces in the
      dermis and subcutis. Some vessel lumina were partially occluded by eosinophilic
      thrombi of fibrin and erythrocytes. Numerous closely packed capillaries were
      observed within pre-existing dilated vessels. This intravascular proliferation of
      capillaries displayed a glomeruloid pattern. We emphasize the possible presence
      of a cold agglutinin syndrome in patients with skin necrosis and findings of RAE
      with a glomeruloid pattern. Cold agglutinaemia may cause these distinctive
      histological changes.

PMID- 9990376
TI  - Lymphocytic autoimmune hidradenitis, cutaneous leucocytoclastic vasculitis and
      primary Sjogren's syndrome.
AB  - We describe a 60-year-old woman with primary Sjogren's syndrome, mixed
      cryoglobulinaemia and cutaneous leucocytoclastic vasculitis who developed
      generalized hypohidrosis with a markedly decreased sweating response to
      pilocarpine chloride. Skin biopsies demonstrated dense peri-eccrine lymphocytic
      infiltrates in the lower reticular dermis, with glandular atrophy. From previous
      studies it is evident that although patients with Sjogren's syndrome commonly
      have skin dryness, a lymphocytic hidradenitis has been documented only in a few
      cases. The histological findings in this case support the role of autoimmune
      hidradenitis in the development of hypohidrosis in Sjogren's syndrome.

PMID- 9990377
TI  - Cutaneous mucinoses and HIV infection.
AB  - In the last few years cutaneous mucinoses have been reported with increased
      frequency in HIV patients. We report the occurrence of scleredema, reticular
      erythematous mucinosis and lichen myxoedematosus in three different HIV-infected
      patients, review the literature and discuss the possible relationship between
      mucin deposits and HIV infection. This is the first report of scleredema and the
      second of reticular erythematous mucinosis in an HIV-infected patient. Only the
      association of HIV infection with lichen myxoedematosus seems to be more than
      coincidental.

PMID- 9990378
TI  - Lifelong severe verrucosis associated with human papillomavirus type 2: report of
      a case with a 38-year follow-up.
AB  - We describe a 67-year-old woman with disseminated warts which she had had for
      more than 38 years. The lesions consisted of common and plane warts, wart-like
      plaques and red-brownish macules similar to those in pityriasis versicolor.
      Furthermore, during follow-up, several solar keratoses, plaques of Bowen's
      disease and invasive squamous cell carcinomas were excised. The patient also had
      T-cell immunodeficiency of unknown aetiology. Histopathology demonstrated that
      all the warts showed the cytopathological features of common warts, but not those
      of the warts in epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV). We investigated the
      presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in the warts by blot hybridization and
      molecular cloning and found that the lesions harboured HPV 2, but not EV-HPVs or
      other HPVs. In addition, the histopathological distribution of the viral DNA was
      confirmed in paraffin sections of warts from the patient at different ages by in
      situ hybridization. However, these investigations yielded negative results in
      specimens of Bowen's disease and invasive squamous cell carcinoma. These results
      demonstrated that the patient had been infected with HPV 2 from childhood, but
      the negative results for detection of DNA of HPV 2 in carcinomas from the patient
      do not support an oncogenic potential for HPV 2. In conclusion, HPV 2, an
      aetiological agent of common warts in the general population, may induce a
      lifelong severe verrucosis in some immunosuppressed patients.

PMID- 9990380
TI  - Chronic endemic hydroarsenicism.
AB  - Chronic endemic hydroarsenicism in a 48-year-old man from Antofagasta, Chile, is
      reported. The literature on the global health problems of hydroarsenicism is
      reviewed, especially with regard to the carcinogenic action of arsenic.

PMID- 9990379
TI  - Heterogeneity of human papillomavirus DNA in a patient with Bowenoid papulosis
      that progressed to squamous cell carcinoma.
AB  - Bowenoid papulosis (BP) of the genitalia, characterized by the histological
      findings of a squamous cell carcinoma, follows a largely benign clinical course.
      The detection of oncogenic human papilloma viruses (HPV) from BP points to an
      aetiological role of these viral infections. A 47-year-old man with multiple
      genital skin lesions was seen over a 10-year period with the diagnosis of BP.
      Recently, he attended again with a recurrent genital tumour that was diagnosed as
      squamous cell carcinoma. His genital lesions progressed and became polymorphic in
      appearance, from a wart-like tumour to a reddish invasive plaque. To screen for
      the presence of different HPV sequences from different skin lesions and to
      correlate each HPV type with distinct clinical manifestations, polymerase chain
      reaction and single-strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) were performed.
      PCR-SSCP revealed the presence of several types of HPV from different genital
      lesions. Sequencing results disclosed that he had a mixed infection of HPV6b,
      HPV16, HPV18 and HPV33, respectively. Interestingly, the clinical findings were
      fairly well correlated with the oncogenic potential of HPV found from each
      lesion.

PMID- 9990381
TI  - Glomangiosarcoma of the hip: report of a highly aggressive tumour with widespread
      distant metastases.
AB  - Malignant glomus tumour is an extremely rare neoplasm, and only a few cases with
      local invasive or aggressive features have been described to date. We present a
      distinctive case of a malignant glomus tumor arising on the skin of the left hip
      of a 47-year-old woman. The primary tumour was small, with a maximum diameter of
      1 cm, but 2 years after the tumour was excised, multiple lung and skin metastases
      appeared. Post-mortem examination also revealed widespread metastases in almost
      all of the visceral organs. Histological examination showed that the primary
      tumour was composed of a sheet-like proliferation of epithelioid round or short
      spindle cells surrounding small venules. In addition, there was a proliferation
      of long spindle cells with eosinophilic fibrillary cytoplasm, which mimicked a
      leiomyosarcoma. The tumour cells were intensely immunopositive for actin and
      vimentin but were negative for desmin. This is an exceptional case of malignant
      glomangiomyoma with widespread metastases, which represents a distinct variant of
      de novo glomangiosarcoma.

PMID- 9990382
TI  - Eosinophilic foreign body granuloma after multiple self-administered bee stings.
AB  - A bee sting can cause a foreign body granuloma of the skin, due to activated
      macrophages at the stinging site. A 52-year-old woman presented with a large
      doughnut-shaped ulcerative tumour on the left side of her face. A bean-sized
      facial papule had grown to a 4.0 x 3.9 x 1.1 cm mass after multiple bee stings
      induced by herself over a period of 1 year. Histology showed epidermal ulceration
      with granulomatous inflammatory cell infiltration of many eosinophils. No micro
      organisms or foreign bodies were identified. Intralesional triamcinolone
      acetonide was not effective, but an excellent outcome was obtained using carbon
      dioxide laser vaporization of the lesion.

PMID- 9990383
TI  - The molecular basis of glucocorticoid-induced skin atrophy: topical
      glucocorticoid apparently decreases both collagen synthesis and the corresponding
      collagen mRNA level in human skin in vivo.
AB  - The effects of topical betamethasone-17-valerate on collagen propeptide levels,
      collagen mRNA level, lysyl oxidase mRNA and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and
      MMP-2 mRNA levels were studied in human skin. Three days' treatment of healthy
      skin with topical betamethasone caused a 70-80% decrease in type I and III
      collagen propeptides in suction blister fluid. A similar decrease was found in
      type I collagen mRNA when assayed by either slot-blot hybridization or a
      quantitative polymerase chain reaction method, indicating that the decrease in
      collagen synthesis after topical glucocorticoid treatment is apparently due to a
      decrease in corresponding mRNA. mRNA of lysyl oxidase, which is an important
      enzyme catalysing the cross-linking of collagen chains, and collagen-degrading
      enzyme MMP-1 and MMP-2 mRNAs were not decreased in the same skin samples. This
      suggests that in vivo, glucocorticoids modulate variably the genes involved in
      collagen synthesis and degradation. Our study provides a solid molecular basis
      for glucocorticoid-induced dermal atrophy, which results from the decrease in
      functional collagen mRNA in the skin.

PMID- 9990384
TI  - HLA genotype and increased risk of skin cancer.

PMID- 9990385
TI  - Mortality from malignant melanoma in Chile, 1986-95.

PMID- 9990386
TI  - Chronic actinic dermatitis occurring in young patients with atopic dermatitis.

PMID- 9990387
TI  - Photosensitivity and the Rothmund-Thomson syndrome.

PMID- 9990388
TI  - Papuloerythroderma associated with hepatocellular carcinoma.

PMID- 9990389
TI  - Amyopathic dermatomyositis: report of three cases.

PMID- 9990390
TI  - Multiple lipomatosis in a patient with familial atypical mole syndrome.

PMID- 9990391
TI  - Familial naevus sebaceous of Jadassohn.

PMID- 9990392
TI  - Congenital onychodysplasia of the index fingers in identical twins.

PMID- 9990393
TI  - Gianotti-Crosti syndrome after measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

PMID- 9990394
TI  - Botulinum toxin for focal hyperhidrosis: technical considerations and
      improvements in application.

PMID- 9990395
TI  - Leg ulcer associated with hydroxyurea treatment in a patient with chronic
      myelogenous leukaemia: successful treatment with prostagladin E1 and
      pentoxifylline.

PMID- 9990396
TI  - Severe, refractory epidermolysis bullosa acquisita complicated by an oesophageal
      stricture responding to intravenous immune globulin.

PMID- 9990397
TI  - Severe bullous drug reactions treated successfully with cyclophosphamide.

PMID- 9990398
TI  - Bullous fixed drug eruption due to paracetamol with an unusual immunofluorescence
      pattern.

PMID- 9990399
TI  - Pseudoporphyria induced by mefenamic acid.

PMID- 9990400
TI  - Terbinafine-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

PMID- 9990401
TI  - Exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus induced by terbinafine.

PMID- 9990402
TI  - Onychomycosis caused by infection with Paecilomyces lilacinus.

PMID- 9990403
TI  - A solitary collagenoma presenting in the labium majus.

PMID- 9990404
TI  - Focal facial dermal dysplasia with a hair collar.

PMID- 9990405
TI  - Bacteria and the skin: clinical practice and therapy update.
AB  - Any doctor using antibiotics should be aware of the increasing worldwide problem
      with multiresistant bacteria, with the majority of hospital-based infections in
      some countries being caused by these bacteria. Proper use of antibiotics is
      therefore mandatory for any physician, including for dermatologists, who treat
      bacterial infections of the skin. Detailed knowledge is needed of when to use
      topical versus systemic antibiotics, and for how long such treatments should be
      given. Besides the clinical symptoms of bacterial infections and treatment
      guidelines, an increased awareness has focused on the possible importance of
      bacterial toxins, including superantigens, and their contribution to skin
      inflammation. Rare syndromes such as Kawasaki's syndrome, toxic epidermal
      necrolysis or staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, are well-known diseases
      elicited by specific bacterial toxins. But many observations give indirect
      support to the notion that bacteriae can augment the immune inflammation seen in
      common and important diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. This
      supplement provides up-to-date information about skin bacteriology, information
      on the possible importance of superantigens for chronic skin diseases, and
      practical guidelines for the use of both topical and systemic antibiotic therapy,
      together with a review of the dangers following improper use. This information is
      important for all doctors, including dermatologists.

PMID- 9990406
TI  - Resistance to antibiotics used in dermatological practice.
AB  - The increased prevalence of bacterial resistance is one of the major problems of
      medicine today. Antibiotic resistance can be defined as the situation where the
      minimal inhibitory concentration is greater than the concentration obtainable in
      vivo. Resistance genes are easily transferred among bacteria, especially bacteria
      on skin and mucous membranes. In dermatological patients the most important
      resistance problems are found among staphylococci, Propionibacterium acnes and,
      to some extent, streptococci. Staphylococcus aureus strains have developed
      worldwide resistance to penicillin due to betalactamase production in > 90% of
      cases, and methicillin resistance is now a major problem with resistance levels
      of > 50% in certain areas of the world. These resistant strains are often
      multiresistant, and include resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline, with
      resistance to quinolone developing rapidly. Group A streptococci are still
      susceptible to penicillin, but increasing problems with erythromycin and
      tetracycline have been reported. After treatment with both systemic and oral
      antibiotics, P. acnes develops resistance in more than 50% of cases, and it is
      estimated that one in four acne patients harbours strains resistant to
      tetracycline, erythromycin, and clindamycin. To limit the development of
      antibiotic resistance, it is necessary to establish an antibiotic policy
      (prescription rules, reimbursement strategy, development of both national and
      local guidelines, and limitations on non-medical use). Clinicians also need
      access to rapid diagnostic methods, including resistance testing. This may
      provide further data for surveillance systems, reporting both antibiotic
      consumption and resistance levels. The involvement of clinical doctors in
      teaching and research in this area is probably the most important aspect, along
      with their involvement in the formulation of national and local guidelines. In
      the future we may consider it more important to ensure that future patients can
      be offered antibiotic treatment, rather than focusing on the patient presenting
      today.

PMID- 9990407
TI  - Skin bacteriology and the role of Staphylococcus aureus in infection.
AB  - Many of the staphylococci and coryneforms that inhabit normal human skin do not
      cause skin disease. Amongst the remainder the mechanisms of pathogenicity vary
      widely. For Proteus, Pseudomonas and Brevibacterium species proteolysis is a
      major determinant. The precise role of Corynebacterium minutissimum in erythrasma
      and the propionibacteria in acne is not known. Staphylococcus aureus, however,
      produces a wide range of non-specific agents, such as haemolysins and leucocidins
      as well as highly specific toxins such as the epidermolytic toxins involved in
      bullous impetigo and scalded skin syndrome. Most of the current attention,
      however, is devoted to the role of the enterotoxins and toxic shock toxin as
      superantigens, with emphasis on their role in atopic dermatitis. Molecularly
      similar toxins in the streptococci play a similar role and may also have a role
      in the aetiology of psoriasis.

PMID- 9990408
TI  - Staphylococcus aureus colonization in atopic dermatitis and its therapeutic
      implications.
AB  - Skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is a characteristic feature of
      atopic dermatitis with more than 90% of patients being colonized. Extracellular
      matrix proteins are important for the adherence of S. aureus to human
      keratinocytes. The bacterium interferes in the inflammatory process of atopic
      dermatitis in various ways, among which the ability to release superantigens in a
      high percentage of clinical isolates is of great importance. As the colonization
      correlates significantly with the severity of eczema, anti-staphylococcal
      treatment measurements are widely used. In cases of atopic dermatitis
      exacerbation with wide-spread weeping lesions, a systemic antibiotic treatment is
      warranted, with erythromycin no longer being recommended due to an increased
      resistance rate. In localized superinfected lesions the topical application of an
      antibiotic-glucocorticoid preparation may offer advantages to the mere steroid
      application. Based on efficacy and resistance data, fusidic acid is the
      antibiotic of choice. There is evidence that phototherapy in atopic dermatitis
      may be even more effective when combined with anti-staphylococcal measurements.
      In the future new therapeutical options may be available.

PMID- 9990409
TI  - The role of superantigens in human diseases: therapeutic implications for the
      treatment of skin diseases.
AB  - Although it is well established that immune mechanisms contribute to the
      pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD)
      and psoriasis, the actual events that trigger the immunological pathways
      resulting in these skin diseases are not well understood. Colonization and
      infection with Staphylococcus aureus and streptococci has been reported to
      exacerbate AD and psoriasis. Recent studies demonstrating that bacterial toxins
      can act as superantigens provide mechanism(s) by which S. aureus and streptococci
      could mediate an inflammatory skin lesion that consists predominantly of
      activated T-cells and monocytes. This review will explore the diverse mechanisms
      by which bacterial superantigens can induce skin inflammation following systemic
      or local infection. These observations provide a new direction for the
      development of novel approaches for the treatment of skin inflammation.

PMID- 9990410
TI  - The clinician's choice of antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial skin
      infection.
AB  - The development of modern antibiotics has vastly improved the therapy of
      cutaneous bacterial infections, particularly those caused by Staphylococcus
      aureus. This organism and beta-haemolytic streptococci are the most common
      cutaneous pathogens. A growing body of evidence suggests that proteins from S.
      aureus and some strains of streptococci can act as superantigens and cause
      polyclonal T-cell activation by binding directly to antigen-presenting cells.
      This process is a likely explanation of Kawasaki's syndrome as well as
      staphylococcal and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Sudden aggravation of
      atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis and some cases of psoriasis can be
      similarly explained. Bacterial toxins can precipitate the staphylococcal scalded
      skin syndrome. Specific and effective eradication of bacteria and programmes to
      prevent recurrences are important, particularly in immune suppressed persons.
      Topical antibiotics used primarily for superficial infections of limited extent
      and for the prevention of recurrences in carriers of S. aureus should be combined
      with the use of topical disinfectants. The treatment of selected bacterial skin
      infections based on clinical examples will be discussed. These include
      secondarily infected dermatoses, cellulitis and streptococcal carriage in the ano
      genital region and staphylococcal folliculitis and nasal carriage.

PMID- 9990411
TI  - Fusidic acid in dermatology.
AB  - Fusidic acid is an antibiotic that belongs to a group of its own, the fusidanes.
      The molecule has a steroid-like structure but does not possess any steroid
      activity. The structure is thought to be responsible for the steroid-like high
      penetration, and for the fact that no cross-resistance or cross-allergy has been
      seen with other antibiotics in routine clinical use. The anti-microbial activity
      of fusidic acid is specifically aimed at the most common skin pathogens,
      including Staphylococcus aureus, towards which it is one of the most potent
      antibiotics. The place of fusidic acid in dermatology is in the treatment of mild
      to moderately severe skin and soft-tissue infections, e.g. impetigo,
      folicullitis, erythrasma, furunculosis, abscesses and infected traumatic wounds,
      whereas it is of less use in conditions such as hidradenitis suppurativa, chronic
      leg ulcers, burns and pressure sores. The topical combinations of fusidic acid
      with either betamethasone or hydrocortisone are extremely useful in the treatment
      of atopic dermatitis/eczema whenever staphylococcal/secondary infection is
      suspected, and in more persistent cases of eczema where staphylococcal
      superantigen may be playing an important exacerbating role.

PMID- 9990412
TI  - A new topical retinoid--why a new topical acne therapy?

PMID- 9990413
TI  - Pharmacology of adapalene.
AB  - Adapalene, a synthetic retinoid, is a new drug proposed for the treatment of acne
      patients. Studies on the in vitro and in vivo pharmacology of adapalene have
      shown that it is very active on cell and tissue proliferation and
      differentiation. Furthermore, adapalene has anti-inflammatory potential as
      determined by its anti-AP1 activity. Adapalene interacts selectively with the
      nuclear receptors RAR beta and RAR gamma, and its activity on proliferation and
      differentiation can be blocked by a RAR beta-gamma antagonist. Because RAR beta
      is not expressed in human keratinocytes, the effect of adapalene on the major
      cell type of the epidermis is certainly mediated by its interaction with RAR
      gamma. The unique pharmacological properties of adapalene may explain why, when
      compared to tretinoin, it has an improved therapeutic ratio due to its better
      tolerance.

PMID- 9990414
TI  - Chemical stability of adapalene and tretinoin when combined with benzoyl peroxide
      in presence and in absence of visible light and ultraviolet radiation.
AB  - Adapalene and tretinoin are molecules used in the topical treatment of acne
      vulgaris. Commercial formulations (adapalene 0.1% gel and tretinoin 0.025% gel)
      were mixed with equal volumes of commercially available benzoyl peroxide
      formulation (10% lotion) and subsequently exposed to light over 24 h. With and
      without exposition to light, adapalene exhibits a remarkable stability whereas
      tretinoin is very sensitive to light and oxidation. The combination of benzoyl
      peroxide and light results in more than 50% degradation of tretinoin in about 2 h
      and 95% in 24 h.

PMID- 9990415
TI  - Adapalene 0.1% gel and adapalene 0.1% cream stimulate retinoic acid receptor
      mediated gene transcription without significant irritative effects in the skin of
      healthy human volunteers.
AB  - A randomized, investigator masked, intra individual comparative study was
      conducted in 30 healthy volunteers to compare the cutaneous effects of adapalene
      0.1% gel and adapalene 0.1% cream with their respective vehicles, using tretinoin
      0.05% cream (n = 21) or tretinoin 0.1% cream (n = 9) and a tretinoin cream
      vehicle (n = 30) as controls. The products were applied to hip/buttock skin for 4
      days under occlusive conditions. Cytosolic retinoic acid binding protein-II
      (CRABP-II) mRNA levels were measured using the RT-PCR technique in punch biopsies
      taken from 10 subjects. Epidermal thickness was assessed using image analysis of
      haematoxylin and eosin stained sections from another 11 subjects. Erythema was
      assessed in all subjects both by a visual scoring system and by chromameter.
      Adapalene 0.1% gel and adapalene 0.1% cream produced similar significant
      increases in CRABP-II mRNA levels compared to their vehicles (P < 0.01). The two
      tretinoin formulations also resulted in similar significant increases in CRABP-II
      compared to the cream vehicle (P < 0.001). However, only the two tretinoin
      formulations resulted in an increase in epidermal thickness and only the
      tretinoin 0.1% cream resulted in significant erythema. Adapalene 0.1% gel and
      adapalene 0.1% cream induce RAR-mediated gene expression to a similar degree in
      this model, without the irritant effects of tretinoin.

PMID- 9990416
TI  - Adapalene 0.1% gel for the treatment of acne vulgaris: its superiority compared
      to tretinoin 0.025% cream in skin tolerance and patient preference.
AB  - One hundred patients with acne vulgaris applied adapalene (Differin) 0.1% gel to
      one side of their face and tretinoin 0.025% cream to the other once a day for 4
      weeks; the side of application was determined by randomization code. Patient
      tolerance (assessed as the side of the face least irritated by drug application)
      was recorded weekly and patient preference (assessed as the preparation more
      easily spread, absorbed more quickly, smelled better, felt best on the skin and
      least greasy to the feel) at completion of the study. The investigator measured
      skin irritation weekly, scoring erythema, skin dryness, desquamation and
      burning/stinging on a 10-point scale. After each week of treatment, 64-68% of
      patients found adapalene 0.1% gel more tolerable than tretinoin 0.025% cream (P <
      0.05). At study completion, 65% of patients preferred adapalene 0.1% gel over
      tretinoin 0.025% cream (P = 0.003). An overall assessment showed adapalene 0.1%
      gel was significantly less irritating to the skin in terms of producing erythema,
      dryness, desquamation and burning/stinging, at Visits 2, 3 and 4 (P < 0.02).
      Thirty-two patients experienced mild to moderately severe adverse events; three
      had adverse events considered to be drug related (two with skin discomfort; one
      with skin dryness). One patient stopped using the study drugs because of dry
      skin. This study showed that a majority of patients preferred adapalene 0.1% gel
      over tretinoin 0.025% cream and that it caused significantly less skin
      irritation.

PMID- 9990417
TI  - Adapalene 0.1% gel has low skin irritation potential even when applied
      immediately after washing.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference, if any, in facial skin
      tolerance of adapalene 0.1% gel applied immediately after washing, compared to
      delayed application as recommended for the other topical retinoids: tretinoin and
      isotretinoin. Twenty-five acne patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris were
      included in this intra individual randomized comparison study where adapalene
      0.1% gel was applied immediately after washing on one half of the face and 20-30
      min after washing on the contralateral half-face, for 22 consecutive days. No
      difference between the two regimens was detected by the investigator or by 21 of
      the 22 patients who completed the study. It was concluded that application of
      adapalene gel 0.1% is well tolerated even when applied immediately after washing.

PMID- 9990418
TI  - Evaluation of clinical efficacy and safety of adapalene 0.1% gel versus tretinoin
      0.025% gel in the treatment of acne vulgaris, with particular reference to the
      onset of action and impact on quality of life.
AB  - A randomized, multicentre, investigator-masked study was conducted in 105
      patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris to compare the efficacy and safety
      of adapalene 0.1% gel with tretinoin 0.025% gel after three months of treatment,
      with particular emphasis on reduction in inflammatory lesion counts after one
      week of treatment and impact on quality of life. In terms of efficacy, adapalene
      gel was found to be superior to tretinoin gel after one week of treatment, with
      respect to reduction in inflammatory lesion counts (32% vs. 17%, respectively; P
      = 0.001), total lesion counts (28% vs. 22%, respectively; P = 0.042) and global
      severity grade (28% vs. 16%, respectively; P = 0.001). No significant difference
      between the two treatments was found after 12 weeks of treatment for any of these
      variables. Evaluation of facial skin tolerance parameters showed significant
      differences between the two treatments in favour of adapalene for dryness,
      erythema, immediate and persistent burning and pruritus for at least one time
      point. One patient in the adapalene group and three patients in the tretinoin
      group experienced medical events which lead to discontinuation of treatment (skin
      irritation; NS). Quality of life scores improved more rapidly in the adapalene
      group than in the tretinoin group, with significant differences (P < 0.05)
      appearing at week 1 for questions related to problems with partners, close
      friends or relatives and to skin symptoms. There was also a significantly greater
      improvement in social and leisure activity in the adapalene group at week 12.
      Adapalene 0.1% gel reduced inflammatory and total lesion counts more rapidly than
      tretinoin 0.025% gel, and was also better tolerated. These differences appear to
      result in an earlier and greater quality of life improvement for the patients
      receiving adapalene.

PMID- 9990419
TI  - Comparative tolerance of adapalene 0.1% gel and six different tretinoin
      formulations.
AB  - Adapalene 0.1% gel (Differin gel) is a recently introduced topical treatment for
      mild to moderate acne which has been demonstrated to be much better tolerated and
      at least as effective as tretinoin 0.025% gel. We compared the tolerance of
      adapalene 0.1% gel with six different formulations and concentrations of
      tretinoin. A total of 55 healthy human subjects were enrolled in two controlled,
      randomized, observer blinded, intraindividual comparison studies. In the first
      study, adapalene 0.1% gel was evaluated for its 21-day cumulative irritation
      potential compared with tretinoin 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1% cream, tretinoin 0.01%
      and 0.025% gel, and petrolatum (control). In the second study, adapalene 0.1% gel
      was evaluated for its 21-day cumulative irritation potential compared with
      tretinoin 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1% cream, tretinoin 0.1% gel microsphere, and
      petrolatum (control). In both studies, cumulative irritation scores helped to
      define three groups of common irritancy potential, with significant differences
      between each group. In study A, the three groups were in descending order of
      irritancy: tretinoin 0.1% cream and tretinoin 0.05% cream; tretinoin 0.025% gel,
      tretinoin 0.01% gel and tretinoin 0.025% cream; adapalene 0.1% gel and petrolatum
      (control). In study B, the three groups were in descending order of irritancy:
      tretinoin 0.1% cream; tretinoin 0.05% cream, tretinoin 0.025% cream and tretinoin
      0.1% gel microsphere; adapalene 0.1% gel and petrolatum (control). The
      experimental results show that adapalene 0.1% gel is significantly better
      tolerated than any of six formulations of tretinoin, including two gels, three
      creams and a microsphere formulation, ranging in potency from 0.01% to 0.1%.

PMID- 9990420
TI  - Comparison of adapalene 0.1% solution and tretinoin 0.025% gel in the topical
      treatment of acne vulgaris.
AB  - A multicentre study was conducted to compare clinical safety and efficacy of
      adapalene 0.1% solution and tretinoin 0.025% gel, both topical treatments for
      acne, in a once-daily dosage regimen for 12 weeks. A total of 297 patients were
      enrolled by eight investigators in this randomized, investigator-masked study in
      a parallel group design. An open label period using adapalene followed this study
      to assess the long-term safety of adapalene solution. Adapalene and tretinoin
      proved to be clinically and statistically effective in treating acne by reducing
      inflammatory (47% and 50%, respectively) and non-inflammatory lesions (57% and
      54%) as compared to baseline. When comparing patients who had 75% or greater
      improvement in open comedones, adapalene was shown to be significantly more
      effective than tretinoin. No serious adverse event was reported during this
      study, including during the long-term period. The reactions that occurred were
      similar between treatments, i.e. burning, pruritus, scaling, dryness and
      erythema.

PMID- 9990421
TI  - A comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of adapalene 0.1% gel versus
      tretinoin 0.025% gel in patients with acne vulgaris: a meta-analysis of five
      randomized trials.
AB  - The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine if adapalene 0.1% gel
      (Differin) provided superior efficacy and better tolerability than tretinoin
      0.025% gel in the treatment of acne vulgaris. All comparative studies, both
      published and unpublished, from the United States and Europe, that fulfilled
      rigorous protocol criteria (multicentre, randomized, investigator-blind) were
      used. Five comparative studies met these criteria. In total, the meta-analysis
      evaluated 900 patients (450 treated with adapalene 0.1% gel, 450 treated with
      tretinoin 0.025% gel) with mild-to-moderate acne from the combined clinical
      trials. To avoid study bias, the meta-analysis used an intention-to-treat
      analysis. Statistical methodology for the meta-analysis included analysis of
      covariance, analysis of variance and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test. All
      statistical tests were two-sided, with the 0.05 probability level used to
      establish statistical significance, and 95% confidence intervals used to assess
      equivalence. Adapalene demonstrated equivalent efficacy to tretinoin in terms of
      reducing total lesion count. Adapalene demonstrated more rapid efficacy, as
      evidenced by a significant difference in the reduction of inflammatory and total
      lesions at week 1. Adapalene also demonstrated considerably greater local
      tolerability at all evaluation periods. The findings from this meta-analysis
      suggest that adapalene 0.1% gel constitutes a pharmacologic advance over such
      classic retinoids as tretinoin for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

PMID- 9990422
TI  - Expression of macrophage colony-stimulating factor, scavenger receptors, and
      macrophage proliferation in the pregnant mouse uterus.
AB  - During pregnancy, mouse uterine epithelial cells produce and secrete a large
      amount of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF/CSF-1). Macrophages
      accumulate and proliferate in the undecidualized endometrium of the pregnant
      uterus. Observations showed that macrophages expressed scavenger receptor class A
      (type I and type II) and class C (macrosialin). Scavenger receptors appeared to
      be involved in the removal of apoptotic cells in the degenerated decidual tissue.
      The expression of class A and class C scavenger receptor mRNAs in the uterus of
      pregnant mice was elevated but the expression of class B scavenger receptor
      (CD36) mRNA was similar to that of non-pregnant mice. The expression of various
      cytokines and chemokines, including M-CSF, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1
      (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein 1-alpha (MIP1-alpha), was enhanced in
      the uterus of pregnant mice, suggesting that these molecules regulate macrophage
      chemotaxis and immunological function in the uterus. These findings imply that
      the pregnant uterus provides a microenvironment for the recruitment,
      differentiation, and proliferation of macrophages and the regulation of scavenger
      receptor and cytokine expression for a successful pregnancy.

PMID- 9990423
TI  - An ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of PC12 cells during apoptosis
      induced by serum deprivation with special reference to autophagy and lysosomal
      cathepsins.
AB  - In addition to the caspase family of proteinases, cathepsin D, a lysosomal
      aspartic proteinase, has been suggested to act as a proapoptotic mediator in
      mammalian cells. To further understand the roles of cathepsins B and D in
      apoptosis of the cells, we examined the precise alteration processes of
      ultrastructures and immunoreactivity for these enzymes in PC12 cells cultured
      under serum deprivation. Laser scanning microscopy showed immunoreactivity for
      cathepsins B and D to be finely distributed in the cytoplasm of PC12 cells at the
      onset of culture under serum deprivation. At 3 h after the onset of culture, the
      immunoreactivity for cathepsin B slightly decreased in the cells, while
      immunodeposits for cathepsin D in the cells became more intense and larger in
      size than those at 0 h. Positive staining for TUNEL in nuclei of the cells
      appeared at 6 h, though fewer in number. Corresponding to the increase in the
      number of TUNEL-positive cells at 12 h and 24 h, the immunoreactivity for
      cathepsin B was drastically diminished in the cells, whereas that for cathepsin D
      was significantly augmented, especially in TUNEL-positive cells. Electron
      microscopically, autophagic vacuoles/autolysosomes appeared in the cytoplasm of
      the cells 3 h after the onset of culture. A distinct nuclear change showing
      relatively condensed chromatin first appeared in the peripheral part of the
      nuclei at 6 h. The number of PC12 cells having nuclei with chromatin condensation
      increased especially at 24 h, while these cells showed shrinkage of both their
      cytoplasm and nuclei. Dense bodies and autophagic vacuoles with limiting
      membranes were seen in these cells. These results showing the occurrence of
      autophagy and imbalance of protein amounts between cathepsins B and D during
      apoptosis may argue for our hypothesis that these enzymes are, in part, involved
      in the cell death cascade for PC12 cells following serum deprivation.

PMID- 9990424
TI  - Stage-specific localization of basigin, a member of the immunoglobulin
      superfamily, during mouse spermatogenesis.
AB  - Ablation of the transmembrane glycoprotein basigin leads to azoospermic mice,
      indicating that this gene is essential for spermatogenesis. To examine the
      functions of basigin in the testis, the precise localization of basigin during
      spermatogenesis was examined immunohistochemically. In the adult mouse testis,
      basigin immunoreactivity appeared on the cell surface of leptotene spermatocytes
      and gradually increased in intensity during the meiotic prophase. Cytoplasmic
      staining, as well as cell surface staining, was detected in spermatids. The most
      conspicuous reactivity was found in the spermatids at steps 9-11 and in the
      flagella of spermatids. Immuno-electron microscopic analysis demonstrated that
      basigin was localized not only on the plasma membranes of spermatocytes and
      spermatids, but also on the plasma membrane of the Sertoli cell processes which
      contact the spermatocytes and spermatids. Basigin immunoreactivity was also
      detected during postnatal development in spermatocytes and spermatids but not in
      spermatogonia. Experimental cryptorchid testes which contain only spermatogonia
      and Sertoli cells in the seminiferous epithelium showed no basigin
      immunoreactivity. Seven days after surgical reversal of the cryptorchid testis,
      spermatocytes reappeared in the tubules, along with basigin immunoreactivity.
      Furthermore, in sterile mutant mice, in which neither spermatocytes nor
      spermatids were generated, no basigin immunoreactivity was detected in the
      seminiferous tubules. These findings indicate that expression of basigin is
      concomitant with appearance of spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubule, and
      suggest that basigin is involved in the interaction between Sertoli cells and
      germ cells at specific stages of spermatogenesis.

PMID- 9990425
TI  - Postnatal development of the rat sublingual glands. A morphometric and
      radioautographic study.
AB  - The postnatal development of rat sublingual glands was analyzed by morphometric
      and radioautographic studies. The absolute number of each cell type was evaluated
      by the Aherne II morphometric method for cell counting and labeling indices of
      these cell types were determined in radioautographs from animals injected with 3H
      thymidine. The quantitative cell population kinetic studies were accompanied by
      morphologic analysis of the modifications in each gland structure. The data
      concerning evolution of number of each cell type were submitted to analysis by
      least squares fit-exponential curve. The exponential equations duplication times
      for the acinar, serous demilune, intercalated duct, striated duct and stroma
      cells from 2 to 30 days of age were 7.5, 9.0, 10.8 and 9.5 days, respectively. On
      the other hand, the mean labeling indices for the same cell types during the same
      period were 9.5%, 5.8%, 7.2%, 3.3% and 4.3%, respectively. Thus, the intercalated
      duct cells exhibited the second highest labeling index and the slowest growth
      rate, while the striated duct cells showed the lowest labeling index and the
      third highest duplication time. The fact that the striated duct cell labeling
      index does not explain the relatively short duplication time of these cells,
      suggests that cells from other neighboring morphologic compartments, probably
      from intercalated duct, migrate and differentiate into striated ducts cells.

PMID- 9990426
TI  - Immunohistochemical localization of secretory immunoglobulins in the main
      excretory duct of the human submandibular gland.
AB  - The localization of IgA, IgG, and IgM was investigated immunohistochemically in
      the mucosal surface of the main excretory duct of the human submandibular gland
      in order to verify the possible antimicrobial properties of this duct. Only
      secretory IgA-immunoreactivity was recognized in the epithelial cells of the
      duct. An intense immunoreactivity was observed in the cytoplasm of some cells and
      at the luminal surface of most of the cells. Clusters of IgA-positive immuno
      competent cells were also recognizable in the subepithelial layers. No reactivity
      for IgG and IgM was noticed. The results suggest that the ductal epithelium may
      actively be involved in the release of secretory IgA, which could play a
      prominent role in the local defense mechanism of the duct.

PMID- 9990427
TI  - Spermatids of prepubertal male rats are susceptible to carbendazim during early
      spermiogenesis.
AB  - The fungicide carbendazim, a male reproductive system toxicant, affects the adult
      testis, while prepubertal animals are assumed to be unsusceptible to the
      chemical. The present study was conducted to re-evaluate the susceptibility of
      rat prepubertal testis (25-30 days old) to carbendazim based on the incidence of
      spermatid abnormalities, including nuclear enlargement (megaspermatids) and
      binucleate round spermatids. In control prepubertal rats treated orally with corn
      oil vehicle alone, seminiferous tubules containing magno- and/or binucleate round
      spermatids were often observed in the groups at stages II-III, IV-V and VI-VII.
      At 3.0 days after treatment with carbendazim (100 mg/kg), seminiferous tubules
      containing spermatids with identical abnormalities were significantly increased,
      including groups at all stages. Significant increases were also observed at
      stages IV-V and VI-VII at day 4.5, and VI-VII at day 7.5. In contrast, the
      frequency of spermatids with these abnormalities was reduced in the groups at
      stages II-III and IV-V at day 7.5. These findings confirm that the prepubertal
      rat testis is susceptible to carbendazim during early spermiogenesis.

PMID- 9990428
TI  - Structural organization of lymphatics in the monkey esophagus as revealed by
      enzyme-histochemistry.
AB  - The fine structure and distribution of lymphatic vessels in the monkey esophageal
      wall were studied by light and electron microscopy using an enzyme-histochemical
      method. Identification of lymphatics was made by 5'-nucleotidase staining,
      whereas blood vessels were visualized by alkaline phosphatase staining. This
      technique revealed intramural lymphatic networks in the mucosa, submucosa, and
      myenteric layer of the esophagus. The organization of lymphatics in the esophagus
      basically conformed to that of the small intestine, although they showed certain
      distribution patterns peculiar to the esophagus. The lamina propria mucosae
      exhibited a double-layered lymphatic network, and lymphatic capillaries extended
      into its papillae. Despite their forming blind ends and being closed by
      endothelial cells, the lymphatics in the mucosal papillae were found to contain
      lymphocytes in their lumen. This suggests that free cells might penetrate the
      endothelium to enter these initial portions of the lymphatics.

PMID- 9990429
TI  - Immunocytochemical demonstration of the synovial membrane in experimentally
      induced arthritis of the rat temporomandibular joint.
AB  - The present study is first to report an experimental model of adjuvant-induced
      arthritis in the rat temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Arthritis was induced by
      simultaneous intradermal administrations of Freund's complete adjuvant, one at
      the parietal scalp and the other at the base of the tail. In this model, we
      demonstrated responses of the synovial membrane by immunocytochemistry using
      antibodies to OX6 and ED1 which recognize Ia antigen in MHC class II antigen
      expressing cells and the macrophage/monocyte lineage, respectively. Three weeks
      after administration, no remarkable signs of inflammation were macroscopically
      recognizable in the TMJ, but microscopically the synovial membrane in the TMJ
      revealed marked changes such as enhanced vascularization and hemostasis in the
      sublining layer and a thickening in the synovial lining cell layer. Intense OX6
      immuno-reactivity was found in the synovial lining cells at lesions in the
      experimental group but not in the control group. Immunoelectron microscopy
      revealed that these OX6-immunopositive synovial lining cells developed dense
      cytoplasmic processes and numerous vacuoles and vesicles, resembling type A
      cells. Part of the type A cells also showed ED1-immunoreactivity. The expression
      of OX6 or ED1 immunoreactivity in the synovial lining cells might be involved in
      the initial immune responses in this arthritis model because the synovial
      membranes are exposed to the synovial fluids which have been believed to contain
      antigenic substances.

PMID- 9990430
TI  - Amelogenin protein in tooth germs of the snake Elaphe quadrivirgata,
      immunohistochemistry, cloning and cDNA sequence.
AB  - In the snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, the occurrence of amelogenin was
      immunohistochemically demonstrated in the enamel of developing tooth germs. Teeth
      of the snake are covered with a thin true enamel layer about 1-2 microns in
      thickness. Light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry indicated an
      intense amelogenin immunoreactivity occurring in the enamel layer during the
      secretory stage of tooth development. Cloning and cDNA sequence of snake
      amelogenin was performed by RT-PCR. The amino acid sequence of the snake
      amelogenin cDNA--in its portion corresponding to the area from exon 5 to exon 7
      of human X189 amelogenin gene--showed 45% homology with humans. Regions of both
      the N-terminus and C-terminus were well conserved. Furthermore, the positions of
      prolin in the amino acid alignment of the snake amelogenin corresponded well with
      those of human amelogenin. It is suggested that prolin is an essential
      constituent of amelogenin and therefore its positions in the molecule have been
      conserved after the evolutionary divergence of reptiles and mammals. This study
      using reptiles is the first detection of specific amelogenin immunoreactivity by
      high resolutional immunoelectron microscopy and the first cloning of amelogenin
      cDNA in a non-mammalian animal.

PMID- 9990431
TI  - Immunohistochemical localization of pleiotrophin and midkine in the lingual
      epithelium of the adult rat.
AB  - Distribution of two heparin-binding molecules, pleiotrophin (PTN) and midkine
      (MK), was investigated by immunohistochemistry in the lingual epithelium of the
      adult rat. In the lingual epithelium, both PTN- and MK-like immunoreactivities
      were observed in its basal cell layers, showing a mesh-like appearance. These
      molecules were also found along the surface of the taste bud cells; an intense
      immunoreaction was detected at the base of the taste buds in the circumvallate
      and foliate papillae. At the electron microscope level, the immunoreactive
      products were localized on the cell surface and basement membrane at the base of
      the taste buds. The immunoreactivity for PTN was distributed more diffusely than
      that for MK. It was suggested that these molecules may be involved in the
      differentiation and maintenance of taste bud cells, possible via their trophic
      effect upon approaching nerves.

PMID- 9990432
TI  - Neonatal temperament, maternal interaction, and the need for "alonetime".
AB  - In one of a set of studies exploring the need for time alone throughout
      development, infant temperamental characteristics, their relation to infant needs
      for time alone, and maternal perceptions of these needs are examined via
      videotapings of the infants' signals of disengagement and engagement. Descriptive
      data based on three mother-infant dyads suggest that infants clearly signal their
      needs for rest and disengagement in the first eight weeks, and develop unique
      patterns of "alonetime" behavior that may be related in part to temperamental
      differences.

PMID- 9990433
TI  - Long-term effects of internment during early childhood on third-generation
      Japanese Americans.
AB  - A national survey investigated the long-term effects of World War II internment
      on family communication, ethnic preference, confidence in personal rights, and
      attitudes to redress among third-generation Japanese Americans (sansei) who were
      infants or young children during incarceration. Findings were compared to those
      for noninterned sansei with and without parents who had been interned.
      Differences between interned and noninterned sansei were found primarily in
      family communication and family distance.

PMID- 9990434
TI  - Postpartum affect and depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers.
AB  - In a study of the postpartum affective experiences of couples, mothers and
      fathers completed questionnaires on coping, marital satisfaction, stress,
      positive and negative affect, and depression one month pre- and then one month
      postpartum. More than one-fourth of both mothers and fathers reported elevated
      depressive symptoms, which correlated significantly between parents. Prepartum
      coping, stress, and affect significantly predicted postpartum affect. Research
      and clinical applications of the findings are discussed.

PMID- 9990435
TI  - Anticipating parental death in families with young children.
AB  - Findings from a community study of parentally bereaved children demonstrate that
      forewarning of death is not associated with more favorable mental health outcomes
      than is sudden death of a parent. The applicability of the of the general
      anticipatory grief literature to the circumstances of children facing the loss of
      a parent is called into question, and the need to assess more carefully the
      effect on children of a parent's protracted terminal illness is emphasized.

PMID- 9990436
TI  - Early parental separation and the psychosocial development of daughters 6-9 years
      old.
AB  - The relationship of timing of early parental separation to psychosocial
      development of daughters was examined in 77 girls, 6-9 years of age over a four
      year period. Disruptive behavior across contexts was prevalent in girls separated
      between birth and two years of age. Girls separated between three and five years
      of age showed more externalizing behavior problems, but only in school. Results
      suggest that early parental separation has more pervasive and stable negative
      effects on psychosocial adjustment of girls in this age group in single-parent
      families. Implications of the findings and directions for research are discussed.

PMID- 9990437
TI  - Childhood stress and symptoms of drug dependence in adolescence and early
      adulthood: social phobia as a mediator.
AB  - Retrospective data from 7,871 individuals age 16 to 64 were used to investigate
      whether, among those diagnosed with lifetime social phobia, its symptoms serve to
      link life events and chronic strains in childhood with symptoms of drug
      dependence in adulthood. Findings suggest social phobia as a pathway through
      which early life events and chronic strains affect the development of drug
      related problems. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

PMID- 9990438
TI  - Impact of environment on adolescent mental health and behavior: structural
      equation modeling.
AB  - This study uses structural equation models to describe how objective
      neighborhood, perceived neighborhood, and environmental support predict mental
      health; 792 adolescents responded to highly structured interviews. The effect of
      objective environment on mental health was mediated through its influence on
      perceived neighborhood. Environmental support mitigated negative perceptions of
      environment and the effect of perceived environment on mental health, while
      exposure to violence augmented the negative effect of perceived environment.

PMID- 9990439
TI  - Adult transracial and inracial adoptees: effects of race, gender, adoptive family
      structure, and placement history on adjustment outcomes.
AB  - Adjustment outcomes of 224 transracial and inracial adoptees were investigated
      using data collected over 17 years. Findings reveal an association between
      adoptees' outcomes and their race, gender, and adoptive family structure.
      Placement history was not significant. Implications for policy and practice are
      discussed, as are future directions for research.

PMID- 9990440
TI  - Predicting caregiver stress: an ecological perspective.
AB  - The family caregiving process for children with severe emotional disorders is
      conceptualized from an ecological perspective and examined in light of outcomes
      for caregivers. This study of 259 families assessed the relative importance,
      individually and in combination, of various clusters of caregiver, child, family,
      and environmental characteristics and responses as predictors of caregiver
      stress. Findings raise questions about current practice and policy, and suggest
      directions for future research.

PMID- 9990441
TI  - Perceptions of control and long-term recovery from rape.
AB  - The relationship between perceptions of control and symptoms of both long-term
      depression and post-traumatic stress was examined. Enduring beliefs of personal
      competence and control were found to be associated with lower rates of depression
      and stress and to be stronger predictors of long-term recovery than were rape
      specific attributions. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

PMID- 9990442
TI  - "Patient was hit in the face by a fist..." a discourse analysis of male violence
      against women.
AB  - A discourse analysis of professional and popular literature describing male
      violence against women surveyed 165 abstracts and 11 full-length articles. The
      phrase "male violence" was used only eight times in these writings; male gender
      was infrequently mentioned, whereas female gender was often present in the
      identification of victims of male violence. Consequences of the absence of men as
      perpetrators and visibility of women in the literature on male violence against
      women are discussed, and change in these discursive practices is called for.

PMID- 9990443
TI  - Adoption of a sibling: reactions of biological children at different stages of
      development.
AB  - Responses of biological children to the adoption of a sibling during latency,
      adolescence, and young adulthood are described. Case vignettes are presented,
      underlying dynamics are discussed, and a framework for understanding children's
      behavior is suggested. Reactions of peer groups of latency-age children, and of
      biological adolescent children in a case of kinship adoption, are examined.

PMID- 9990444
TI  - Psychosocial stressors among sheltered homeless children: relationship to
      behavior problems and depressive symptoms.
AB  - Level of exposure to severe psychosocial stressors was assessed among homeless
      children in emergency family shelters in an urban locale. The relationship
      between such exposure and child mental health problems was then investigated,
      along with the effects of adult family social support. Implications of the
      findings are discussed.

PMID- 9990445
TI  - Fathers with severe mental illness: characteristics and comparisons.
AB  - Among patients with severe mental illness attending a large, urban, outpatient
      mental health clinic, fathers are described and compared with nonfathers and with
      mothers on demographic, clinical, and child-related characteristics, and on
      resources and service needs. While fathers and nonfathers with mental illness
      differed significantly on most variables, fathers and mothers with mental illness
      were remarkably similar except on child-related characteristics. Issues regarding
      fathers' experiences and service needs are discussed.

PMID- 9990446
TI  - Synthesis and evaluation of anthranilic acid-based transthyretin amyloid fibril
      inhibitors.
AB  - Eight small molecules were synthesized to evaluate the structure activity
      relationships (SAR) of N-substituted anthranilic acids. The molecules were
      synthesized by benzylation or arylation of methyl anthranilate. A light
      scattering-based amyloid fibril formation assay was used to evaluate potential
      inhibitors of transthyretin (TTR) amyloid fibril formation in vitro. The m
      carboxyphenylated and o-trifluoromethylphenylated anthranilic acids are potent
      inhibitors that will be subjected to further SAR and structural analysis.

PMID- 9990447
TI  - Synthesis and evaluation of potent and selective c-GMP phosphodiesterase
      inhibitors.
AB  - Syntheses and structure-activity relationships (SAR) of cGMP selective
      phosphodiesterase inhibitors are discussed. Potent and selective inhibitors are
      produced when the C-2 position of tetracyclic guanine 1 is substituted with alkyl
      chains containing six carbon atoms.

PMID- 9990448
TI  - Inhibition of transforming growth factor-beta 2 expression with phosphorothioate
      antisense oligonucleotides in U937 cells.
AB  - Four types of phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides for transforming growth
      factor-beta 2 were synthesized and tested for their antisense activity in U937
      cells. The full-length phosphorothioate modified antisense analogues exhibited
      the highest inhibitory effects on the transforming growth factor-beta 2
      expression in U937 cells.

PMID- 9990449
TI  - A study of novel antiallergic agents with eosinophilic infiltration inhibiting
      action.
AB  - The antiallergic action of a series of novel mono-O-substituted
      trimethylhydroquinones was investigated. Among this series of the compounds, 4-[4
      [4-(diphenylmethyl)-1-piperazinyl]butoxy]-2,3,6- trimethylphenol (compound 3)
      showed a potent antihistaminic action (pA2 = 7.11) and an antiasthmatic action
      (100 mg/kg. p.o) on sensitized guinea pigs. Moreover, this compound exhibited a
      strong eosinophilic infiltration inhibiting action on sensitized mice (100 mg/kg
      p.o.).

PMID- 9990450
TI  - Synthesis and methemoglobin toxicity of the amides of 6/7 mono or disubstituted
      quinolone.
AB  - A series of 6/7-mono and disubstituted quinolone-3-carboxamide derivatives (1-12)
      were synthesized and their in vitro methemoglobin producing capacity have been
      delineated. The compounds 5, 6, 9 and 10 showed minimum methemoglobin toxicity.

PMID- 9990451
TI  - New minimal substrate structural requirements in the enzymatic peroxidation of
      alkenes with soybean lipoxygenase.
AB  - A carboxylic or a charged head group in fatty acid analogs is not an essential
      structural requirement for binding and catalysis in soybean lipoxygenase-1
      catalyzed oxidations.

PMID- 9990452
TI  - Chemical and enzymatic synthesis of glycoconjugates. 5: One-pot regioselective
      synthesis of bioactive galactobiosides using a CLONEZYME thermophilic glycosidase
      library.
AB  - Enzymatic synthesis of galactobiosides using a versatile CLONEZYME thermostable
      glycosidase library was studied. One-pot transglycosylation reactions were
      demonstrated to synthesize beta(1-->4), beta(1-->6), and alpha(1-->6)
      disaccharide sequences with high regioselectivity and moderate to high yields.

PMID- 9990453
TI  - Design and synthesis of 6-(6-D-ribitylamino-2,4-dihydroxypyrimidin-5-yl)-1-hexyl
      phosphonic acid, a potent inhibitor of lumazine synthase.
AB  - A novel inhibitor of lumazine synthase, the penultimate enzyme in the
      biosynthesis of riboflavin, has been synthesized. The inhibitor was designed by
      computer graphics molecular modeling using a hypothetical structure of the enzyme
      inhibitor complex. The new compound is relatively potent when compared with the
      known inhibitors, and displays a KI of 109 microM.

PMID- 9990454
TI  - Highly constrained dipeptoid analogues containing a type II' beta-turn mimic as
      novel and selective CCK-A receptor ligands.
AB  - Conformationally constrained dipeptoid analogues containing the type II' beta
      turn mimic (2S,5s,11bR)-2-amino-3-oxohexahydroindolizino[8,7-b]indole-5 
      carboxylate framework in place of the alpha-MeTrp residue, show high binding
      affinity and selectivity for CCK-A receptors, suggesting that a turn-like
      conformation could contribute to the bioactive conformation at this CCK receptor
      subtype.

PMID- 9990455
TI  - Toxicity and osmoprotective activities of analogues of glycine betaine obtained
      by solid phase organic synthesis towards Sinorhizobium meliloti.
AB  - Seven analogues of the bacterial osmoprotectant glycine betaine (GB,
      trimethylammonioacetate), in which the methyl groups of the Me3N+ moiety are
      replaced by various substituents, were obtained by SPOS using Wang resin. Their
      biological activities (osmoprotection vs toxicity), appeared closely related to
      their uptake efficiency and their catabolism in the betaine-demethylating model
      bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti.

PMID- 9990456
TI  - Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists derived from isoxazolidines.
AB  - A series of isoxazolidines has been synthesized as mimetics of the RGD sequence
      and was evaluated as antagonists of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor.
      These compounds were shown to be highly potent GPIIb/IIIa antagonists, exhibiting
      submicromolar potencies.

PMID- 9990457
TI  - Monoacetyldiglycerides as new Ca2+ mobilizing agents in rat pancreatic acinar
      cells.
AB  - Several monoacetyldiglycerides were synthesized from glycerol in search for new
      Ca2+ mobilizing agent in vitro. All monoacetyldiglycerides except linolenoyl and
      phenlycyclopropylcarbonyl derivatives showed activity toward Ca2+ release in
      pancreatic acinar cells. Linoleoyl and docosahexaenoyl derivatives were chosen
      for further test and exhibited unique activity.

PMID- 9990458
TI  - Stereospecificity of hydrogen transfer by the NAD(+)-linked alcohol dehydrogenase
      from the Antarctic psychrophile Moraxella sp. TAE123.
AB  - Investigation of the stereochemistry of the hydride transfer in reactions
      catalyzed by the recently isolated NAD(+)-linked alcohol dehydrogenase from the
      Antarctic psychrophile Moraxella sp. TAE123 was accomplished by using 1H NMR
      spectroscopy of the deuterated coenzyme. It was found that this new psychrophilic
      enzyme is a type A dehydrogenase. Moraxella sp. ADH reduces stereospecifically 2
      butanone to produce (S)-2-butanol.

PMID- 9990459
TI  - Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel cryptophycin analogs with
      modification in the beta-alanine region.
AB  - Structure modification of the beta-alanine region (fragment C) of the potent
      antimitotic agent cryptophycin was investigated. This includes: (1) introduction
      of substituents at the previously unsubstituted C7 position of the macrolide ring
      and (2) replacement of the (2R)-3-amino-2-methyl-propanoic acid (beta-alanine)
      with various (1)-amino acids to give the corresponding 15-membered unnatural
      cryptophycin analogs.

PMID- 9990460
TI  - The synthesis and biological activity of a series of 2,4-diaminopyrido[2,3
      d]pyrimidine based antifolates as antineoplastic and antiarthritic agents.
AB  - A new series of 2,4-diaminopyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine based antifolates 1-3 were
      synthesized through an efficient conversion of 2-pivaloyl-4-oxo-6
      ethynylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine 5 to the corresponding 4-amino analog 7 via the
      activated 1,2,4-triazole intermediate 6. Compound 7 was used as the key
      intermediate for the preparation of the final products. The detailed biological
      evaluation of these compounds both as antineoplastic and antiarthritic agents
      will be discussed.

PMID- 9990461
TI  - Artificial metalloenzymes based on protein cavities: exploring the effect of
      altering the metal ligand attachment position by site directed mutagenesis.
AB  - In an effort to construct catalysts with enzyme-like properties, we are employing
      a small, cavity-containing protein as a scaffold for the attachment of catalytic
      groups. In earlier work we demonstrated that a phenanthroline ligand could be
      introduced into the cavity of the protein ALBP and used to catalyze ester
      hydrolysis. To examine the effect of positioning the phenanthroline catalyst at
      different locations within the protein cavity, three new constructs--Phen60,
      Phen72 and Phen104--were prepared. Each new conjugate was characterized by UV/vis
      spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, guanidine hydrochloride denaturation,
      gel filtration chromatography, and CD spectroscopy to confirm the preparation of
      the desired construct. Analysis of reactions containing Ala-OiPr showed that
      Phen60 catalyzed ester hydrolysis with less selectivity than ALBP-Phen while
      Phen72 promoted this same reaction with higher selectivity. Reactions with Tyr
      OMe were catalyzed with higher selectivity by Phen60 and more rapidly by Phen104.
      These results demonstrate that both the rates and selectivities of hydrolysis
      reactions catalyzed by these constructs are dependent on the precise site of
      attachment of the metal ligand within the protein cavity.

PMID- 9990462
TI  - Synthesis and biological activity of KCB-328 and its analogues: novel class III
      antiarrhythmic agents with little reverse frequency dependence.
AB  - A series of 3,4-dimethoxyphenethylamine derivatives was prepared, and their
      prolongation effects on effective refractory period of contractile response
      (ERPc) and action potential duration (APD) in isolated guinea-pig papillary
      muscles at 1 Hz and 3 Hz were examined. SAR studies led to the identification of
      KCB-328 (51) which is a novel class III antiarrhythmic agent with little reverse
      frequency dependence.

PMID- 9990463
TI  - 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines: optimization towards highly potent and selective
      CDK1 inhibitors.
AB  - Novel 2,6,9-substituted purine derivatives represent a class of potent and
      selective inhibitors of CDK1/cyclinB. The synthesis, SAR and biological profile
      of selected compounds are described.

PMID- 9990464
TI  - Azaindole derivatives with high affinity for the dopamine D4 receptor: synthesis,
      ligand binding studies and comparison of molecular electrostatic potential maps.
AB  - Piperazinylmethyl substituted pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridines and related heterocycles
      were synthesized and found to recognize selectively the dopamine D4 receptor. For
      the most potent derivative 10d a Ki value of 2.0 nM was observed. SAR studies
      including the comparison of molecular isopotential surfaces were performed.

PMID- 9990465
TI  - Design and synthesis of simplified sordaricin derivatives as inhibitors of fungal
      protein synthesis.
AB  - A reduction of the tetracyclic skeleton of sordarins and sordaricins to a
      cyclopentane ring bearing the pharmacophore functional groups led to new
      derivatives retaining part of their in vitro and whole-cell activity.

PMID- 9990466
TI  - Cleavage of L-leucine-containing dipeptides by Clostridium butyricum.
AB  - The ability of Clostridium butyricum cultures to hydrolyze three L-leucine
      containing dipeptides (Leu-Leu, Leu-Gly and Gly-Leu) in a synthetic minimal
      medium is demonstrated by using gas chromatography coupled with mass
      spectrometry. The 13C nuclear magnetic resonance and a labeled dipeptide L-[1
      13C]Leu-Gly were used to confirm this activity.

PMID- 9990467
TI  - Prodrugs for targeting hypoxic tissues: regiospecific elimination of aspirin from
      reduced indolequinones.
AB  - A series of regioisomeric derivatives of a 1-methylindole-4,7-dione were
      synthesised, substituted with a 2-acetoxybenzoate leaving group linked through
      the (indol-2-yl)methyl or (indol-3-yl)methyl (or propenyl) positions. Reductive
      elimination of the leaving group occurred from the (indol-3-yl)methyl derivatives
      but not the 2-substituted regioisomers, indicating that only the C-3 position may
      be utilised in bioreductively-activated drug delivery, which was demonstrated
      with an aspirin prodrug.

PMID- 9990468
TI  - The detection of positive blood cultures by the AccuMed ESP-384 system: the
      clinical significance of three-day testing.
AB  - A total of 805 positive blood cultures obtained over a 4-month period during 1997
      by the AccuMed ESP-384 system were evaluated and compared with 471 positive blood
      cultures obtained during 1989. Of the 805 microorganisms isolated in 5-day
      culture and testing by the ESP-384, 671 (83.4%) were detected within the first 2
      days and 758 (94.2%) within 3 days. There were 47 (5.7%) microorganisms detected
      in culture Days 4 and 5 from 42 patients and review of the medical records from
      these patients demonstrated that no significant changes in clinical management
      were instituted as a result of detection and identification of these isolates.
      These 47 organisms were considered to be zero to equivocal clinical relevance.
      These data suggest that a 3-day routine blood culture incubation protocol with
      the ESP-384 system may be sufficient when considering detection rate, clinical
      relevance, and cost-effectiveness. The microbial spectrum and relative
      frequencies in this study were found to be similar to those of positive blood
      cultures obtained during 1989.

PMID- 9990469
TI  - In vitro susceptibilities of Aspergillus species to voriconazole, itraconazole,
      and amphotericin B.
AB  - We studied the in vitro activity of voriconazole (VCZ) itraconazole (ITZ) and
      amphotericin B (AMB) against 216 clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. (142
      Aspergillus fumigatus and 74 nonfumigatus Aspergillus spp. isolates) using a
      broth macrodilution method. The MICs (microgram/mL) (mean, range) for A.
      fumigatus were: VCZ 0.88, 0.25-4; ITZ 0.54, 0.25-4; AMB 2.16, 0.5-8. MIC90s were:
      VCZ 2, ITZ 1, AMB 4. MICs for nonfumigatus Aspergillus spp. were: VCZ 1.57, 0.25
      4; ITZ 1.74, 0.25-4; AMB 2.88, 0.5-8. MIC90s for this group were: VCZ 4, ITZ 4,
      AMB 4. We also studied the susceptibility to VCZ of 18 AMB-resistant (mean, MIC
      6.0 micrograms/mL) and 28 ITZ-resistant (mean, MIC 13.28 micrograms/mL) A.
      fumigatus isolates selected in the laboratory. The mean MICs of VCZ were 0.59
      microgram/mL for AMB-resistant and 1.32 micrograms/mL for ITZ-resistant isolates.
      Our study showed that VCZ and ITZ had comparable in vitro activity against the
      isolates studied, except against A. fumigatus, where the MIC of ITZ was lower.
      The azoles had better in vitro activity than AMB against A. fumigatus and non
      fumigatus spp. The non-fumigatus Aspergillus spp. were less susceptible to all
      three antifungals evaluated. When tested against ITZ- or AMB-resistant A.
      fumigatus strains, VCZ retained good activity, showing only a modest rise in the
      MIC against ITZ-resistant strains.

PMID- 9990470
TI  - IS6110 dot blot hybridization for the identification of Mycobacterium
      tuberculosis complex.
AB  - To explore a simple, rapid, and inexpensive way to identify Mycobacterium
      tuberculosis complex culture, dot blot hybridization using IS6110 as the marker
      was performed against 2788 known clinical isolates of mycobacteria including M.
      tuberculosis (n = 721), M. kansasii (177), M. marinum (10), M. avium complex
      (700), M. terrae complex (203), M. fortuitum (476), M. chelonae (439), and other
      nonpigmented Runyon's Group IV mycobacteria (62). We found that the sensitivity
      and specificity of the test were 94.3% and 100%, respectively. When this method
      was evaluated in a laboratory blind study of 1253 initially unknown clinical
      isolates, its sensitivity and specificity were 91.2% and 100%, respectively.
      Because this identification test is technically simple, rapid, and can be done in
      batches, together with its high sensitivity and specificity, it is a cost
      effective method for routine identification of M. tuberculosis complex in
      laboratories of areas with a high incidence of tuberculosis.

PMID- 9990471
TI  - Antimicrobial activity of SCH27899 (Ziracin), a novel everninomicin derivative,
      tested against Streptococcus spp.: disk diffusion/etest method evaluations and
      quality control guidelines. The Quality Control Study Group.
AB  - To combat the increasing rates of penicillin resistance among pneumococci and
      viridans group streptococci, new Gram-positive active agents are needed to avoid
      the overuse of vancomycin. SCH27899 is an everninomicin derivative with strong
      activity against glycopeptide-resistant enterococci, oxacillin-resistant
      staphylococci, and penicillin-resistant streptococci. This study tests the in
      vitro activity of SCH27899 against 304 strains of streptococci and evaluates the
      quality of the agar dilution, broth microdilution, disk diffusion, and Etest
      methods for this antimicrobial agent. Quality-control (QC) ranges for SCH27899
      are also proposed. SCH27899 broth microdilution MICs among the penicillin
      susceptible and -resistant streptococci tested ranged from < or = 0.008-0.5
      microgram/mL. Organism groups with their respective MIC90s were as follows:
      Streptococcus pneumoniae (100 strains) and beta-haemolytic streptococci (70
      strains), 0.12 microgram/mL; Streptococcus bovis (10 strains), 0.25 microgram/mL;
      and viridans group streptococci (124 strains), 0.5 microgram/mL. Etest SCH27899
      MICs correlated well with broth microdilution MICs (92% +/- one log2 dilution,
      98% +/- two log2 dilutions). Agar dilution SCH27899 MICs correlated well with
      broth microdilution MICs, but a shift toward slightly higher agar dilution MICs
      was attributed to difficulties in reading trailing endpoints with this method.
      Three concentrations (2.5, 5, and 10 micrograms) of SCH27899 were used for the
      disk diffusion method with small inhibition zone diameters (range, 11 to 19 mm)
      and limited variation between diameters (+/- 2 mm) as a result, both products of
      this compound's high molecular weight and poor diffusion through agar mediums.
      Proposed control ranges for SCH27899 when testing S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619 from a
      nine-center (30 tests per center) quality-control trial are < or = 0.016 to 0.032
      microgram/mL for Etest, and 0.008 to 0.032 microgram/mL for broth microdilution
      tests from an earlier study. Because of the limited diffusion ability and
      bacteriostatic nature of SCH27899, MICs should be read at 80% of inhibition with
      agar in vitro systems (Etest, agar dilution), and the disk diffusion method is
      not recommended.

PMID- 9990472
TI  - In vitro activity of the new quinolone moxifloxacin (Bay 12-8039) against
      resistant gram-positive clinical isolates.
AB  - The novel 8-methoxyquinolone, moxifloxacin (Bay 12-8039), was compared with
      ciprofloxacin and eight other antimicrobials for activity against 425 strains
      Gram-positive clinical isolates, including 73 methicillin-resistant
      staphylococci, 35 vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and 80 penicillin- or
      eythromycin-resistant streptococci. Overall, 82% of the strains were inhibited at
      < or = 2 micrograms/mL. Moxifloxacin was more active than ciprofloxacin against
      staphylococci (8- to 32-fold), enterococci (0- to 16-fold), pneumococci (16-fold)
      and other streptococci (4- to 16-fold) when MIC90 results were compared.
      Moxifloxacin demonstrated good activity against all Gram-positive isolates tested
      except for ciprofloxacin-resistant enterococci (MIC90, 32 micrograms/mL) and
      methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MIC90, 8 micrograms/mL). Clinical trials
      should be initiated to define the role of this new quinolone.

PMID- 9990473
TI  - In vitro activity of trovafloxacin against ciprofloxacin-susceptible and 
      resistant clinical bacterial isolates and assessment of the trovafloxacin disk
      test.
AB  - A total of 4241 consecutive clinical bacterial isolates from 10 North American
      medical centers were tested for susceptibility to trovafloxacin. Trovafloxacin
      was significantly more active than ciprofloxacin against Gram-positive bacteria,
      Acinetobacter spp., and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and resistance to
      trovafloxacin occurred in these groups only among isolates with high-level
      resistance (MIC > or = 16 micrograms/mL) to ciprofloxacin. With other species,
      the two drugs had comparable activity. Concerns about staphylococci and
      Pseudomonas aeruginosa with trovafloxacin MICs of 2.0 micrograms/mL (the upper
      end of the susceptible category) are discussed. Results of trovafloxacin disk
      diffusion test on more than 3200 nonfastidious isolates supported the FDA
      approved zone size interpretive criteria when the MIC breakpoint of < or = 2.0
      micrograms/mL is used to define the trovafloxacin-susceptible category.

PMID- 9990474
TI  - Comparison of ex-vivo serum bactericidal activity of cefepime, ceftazidime and
      cloxacillin against Staphylococcus aureus.
AB  - Cefepime (1 g), ceftazidime (1 g), and cloxacillin (2 g) were administered
      intravenously to 10 volunteers each. After infusion of a single dose over 30 min,
      blood samples were obtained at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 h (for
      ceftazidime at 0.5 and 4 h) after dosing. Drug levels were determined by the
      bioassay method. Serum bactericidal activity against five clinical isolates of
      cloxacillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus were determined by the
      microdilution method according to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory
      Standards guidelines. The mean peak serum level was 76.88 +/- 24.71 mg/L for
      cefepime, 42.8 +/- 15.98 mL/L for ceftazidime, and 92.81 +/- 24.7 mg/L for
      cloxacillin. Concentrations of cefepime were detected during the whole testing
      period (mean trough level, 1.43 +/- 0.9 mg/L at 12 h), whereas concentrations of
      cloxacillin were measurable up to 5 h after administration (mean trough level,
      0.90 +/- 0.97 mg/L). The mean peak reciprocal bactericidal titers were 29.41 for
      cefepime, 5.6 for ceftazidime, and 377 for cloxacillin. Effective bactericidal
      titers were detected as long as 5 h for cefepime (approximately 40% of the dosing
      interval) and 3 h for cloxacillin (at least 50% of the dosing interval). For
      ceftazidime, serum bactericidal activity was markedly lower compared with that of
      cefepime. Although cefepime has demonstrated an improved antistaphylococcal
      bactericidal activity compared with ceftazidime, it was somewhat lower than that
      of cloxacillin.

PMID- 9990475
TI  - Activity of clinafloxacin, trovafloxacin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and other
      antimicrobial agents versus Staphylococcus aureus isolates with reduced
      susceptibility to vancomycin.
AB  - Isolations of Staphylococcus aureus strains with reduced susceptibility to
      vancomycin are now being reported worldwide. In testing here by broth
      microdilution according to NCCLS guidelines and applying vancomycin breakpoint
      criteria (susceptible at 4 micrograms/mL), two of three strains were susceptible
      (MICs at 4 micrograms/mL) rather than intermediate (MICs at 8 micrograms/mL) as
      previously reported by other laboratories. Clinafloxacin was more active
      (MICs/MBCs at 0.5 to 2 micrograms/mL) than ciprofloxacin, grepafloxacin,
      levofloxacin, ofloxacin, and sparfloxacin. Trovafloxacin,
      trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and quinupristin/dalfopristin were the next most
      active agents, although quinupristin/dalfopristin was bactericidal against only
      two of these three strains. Amikacin, imipenem, oxacillin, and rifampin were less
      active.

PMID- 9990476
TI  - Characterization of the inoculum effect with Haemophilus influenzae and beta
      lactams.
AB  - An inoculum effect is defined as a four-fold or greater increase in MIC with an
      increase in bacterial inocula. Haemophilus influenzae was tested for an inoculum
      effect with ampicillin, cefuroxime, and amoxicillin/clavulanate using the
      standard initial inocula (5 x 10(5) CFU/mL) and a higher initial inocula (1 x
      10(7) CFU/mL). An inoculum effect was observed with both beta-lactamase (TEM-1,
      ROB-1) positive and beta-lactamase negative strains of H. influenzae when MICs
      were determined based on turbidity. MICs based on viable cell counts however,
      demonstrated that only beta-lactamase positive strains of H. influenzae produced
      an inoculum effect. These observations suggest that MICs determined based on
      turbidity, using high initial inocula, are not reliable when examining the
      inoculum effect in H. influenzae. The magnitude of the inoculum effect with beta
      lactamase positive strains was beta-lactam dependent (ampicillin >
      amoxicillin/clavulanate > cefuroxime). beta-lactam kill-curves confirmed the
      aforementioned results. Addition of the beta-lactamase inhibitor clavulanate
      completely reversed the inoculum effect in beta-lactamase (TEM-1 and ROB-1)
      positive strains of H. influenzae with all beta-lactams tested. Introduction of
      the beta-lactamase gene TEM-1 on plasmid vector pLS88 into a beta-lactamase
      negative strain of H. influenzae (Rd) produced an inoculum effect based on viable
      cell counts. In conclusion, our results suggest that the beta-lactam inoculum
      effect demonstrated by H. influenzae is the result of beta-lactamase production
      and is poorly assessed by turbidity.

PMID- 9990477
TI  - In vitro activity of SCH 27899 (Ziracin) against Legionella species.
AB  - The activities of Sch 27899 (Ziracin), erythromycin, and ofloxacin against 102
      Legionella spp. isolates were measured by a microbroth dilution method. The MICs
      that inhibited 90% of strains tested were 0.25, 0.5, and 0.06 microgram/mL for
      Sch 27899, erythromycin, and ofloxacin, respectively. The activity of Sch 27899
      against intracellular Legionella pneumophila could not be determined because of
      complete inactivation of the drug by tissue culture medium components.

PMID- 9990478
TI  - Vibrio cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa in a neonate.
AB  - In India, cholera is endemic and affects usually the 3 to 5-year-old age group.
      There have been occasional reports in the neonatal period with Vibrio cholerae
      O139 Bengal. We report here a case of Vibrio cholerae O1 diarrhea in a 2-day-old,
      breastfed male, who had been delivered in the hospital and developed severe
      dehydration.

PMID- 9990479
TI  - Encapsulated Enterococcus faecalis: role of encapsulation in persistence in mouse
      peritoneum in absence of mouse lethality.
AB  - Two nonhemolytic, mucoid, encapsulated strains of Enterococcus faecalis lacked
      lethality for 23 white mice when inoculated (10(9) cells/mL) intraperitoneally.
      Bacteremia was short lived (2 to 3 days), but peritoneal cultures remained
      positive for 7 days postinoculation. Although encapsulation did not result in
      animal lethality, encapsulation may have delayed peritoneal clearance by
      interference with phagocytosis.

PMID- 9990480
TI  - Correlation of histologic morphology and tumor stage with molecular genetic
      analysis using microdissection in gastric carcinomas.
AB  - Precise correlation of histomorphology with the results of molecular genetic
      analysis is difficult in gastric cancer tissue composed of intestinal and diffuse
      types. A novel microdissection procedure was applied to correlate p53 and APC
      allelic loss with histologic type and tumor stage (mucosal vs. invasive cancer)
      in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of 25 gastric cancers. In
      addition, mucosal and invasive lesions were dissected from each of 11 invasive
      gastric cancers to study progression, and allelic loss of the p53 and APC genes
      was assessed. The p53 gene underwent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in 4 of 4
      informative cases of intestinal-type gastric cancer with mucosal lesions
      associated with invasion. By contrast, no p53 LOH was found among 6 informative
      cases with mucosal cancer. LOH of the APC gene in both intestinal and diffuse
      types of cancer was detected in 4 of 7 and 5 of 6 informative cases,
      respectively. These data suggest that allelic deletion of the p53 gene in
      intestinal-type gastric carcinoma predicts the invasive potential of mucosal
      cancer, and that inactivation of the APC gene plays a role in the genetic
      tumorigenesis of both intestinal and diffuse types of gastric cancer.
      Microdissection can correlate genetic alterations with histologic morphology in
      gastric cancer.

PMID- 9990481
TI  - Adapting in situ polymerase chain reaction for genotyping of cells in suspension.
AB  - An approach is described for in situ polymerase chain reaction (ISPCR) based on
      cycling primed in situ synthesis (PRINS) conditions defined for alpha-satellite
      DNA. Using blood cell preparations subjected to limited fixation with
      paraformaldehyde, ISPCR cycling resulted in a gradual buildup of amplicon at the
      site of synthesis, as judged by the characteristic presence of paired nuclear
      spots corresponding to specific centromeres. Using longer cycling regimens,
      primers for single copy genes also generated paired nuclear spots in a primer
      pair--specific manner. In this context, the amplification refractory mutation
      system (ARMS) was evaluated for in situ applications. In ARMS, allele-specific
      primers are used in such a manner that PCR proceeds only when an exact 3' match
      between annealed primer and template is recognized by DNA polymerase. Using
      normal and mutant primers for the delta F508 mutation in the cystic fibrosis
      transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene as a model system, it was not
      possible to reliably differentiate between ARMS reactions by accumulation of
      direct labeled reaction product in cells, because of ARMS-independent nonspecific
      labeling. However, by DNA extraction and reamplification with ARMS primers, it
      was shown that amplicon accumulates in cells in the expected primer/template
      dependent manner crucial to mutation detection by ARMS. It was also shown that
      nonspecific signal is due to primer dimer formation, especially in the absence of
      true template DNA. The impact of primer dimer formation in generating a false
      positive signal is discussed. The method described here enables a cell population
      to be analyzed for a given point mutation.

PMID- 9990482
TI  - Amplification refractory mutation system linear extension: a novel, gel-free,
      enzyme-linked immunoassay method for DNA genotyping.
AB  - A single synthesis cycle of the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)
      was applied to the analysis of K-ras alleles amplified by polymerase chain
      reaction and immobilized in streptavidin-coated microtiter plates. The ARMS cycle
      provided the specificity and molecular switch characteristics of a conventional
      ARMS assay. This allowed linear extension from an allele-specific primer and the
      incorporation of digoxigenin-labeled deoxyuridine monophosphate from digoxigenin
      11-deoxyuridine triphosphate in the presence of the appropriate K-ras allele. Any
      digoxigenin-labeled deoxyuridine monophosphate substitution was then demonstrated
      by enzyme-linked immunoassay with colorimetric endpoint. This method is capable
      of detecting underrepresented acquired mutations, and this has been shown by the
      unambiguous detection of specific K-ras mutations in cell line DNA/normal human
      genomic DNA admixtures. The characterization of K-ras mutations in frozen
      colorectal tumor samples and histologic material is also described.

PMID- 9990483
TI  - Cyclin D1 gene amplification and p16 gene deletion in patients with esophageal
      carcinosarcoma.
AB  - Cyclin D1 (CD1) gene amplification is frequently observed in esophageal
      carcinosarcoma by differential polymerase chain reaction (DPCR). In this study,
      fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to show more direct
      evidence of CD1 gene amplification in patients with esophageal carcinosarcoma.
      FISH results were also compared with DPCR results studied previously. FISH
      analysis revealed CD1 gene amplification in all four patients with esophageal
      carcinosarcoma. CD1 gene amplification occurred with a high incidence in both
      components of esophageal carcinosarcoma, suggesting that CD1 gene amplification
      could have an important role in malignant transformation processes of esophageal
      carcinosarcoma. The results of the current study also suggest that FISH is a more
      sensitive method than DPCR. Because inactivation of p16 gene (which is a putative
      tumor suppressor gene) is thought to have similar oncogenic effects with CD1 gene
      amplification, DPCR was used to examine whether p16 homozygous deletion occurs in
      esophageal carcinosarcoma. These results suggest that homozygous deletion of the
      p16 gene occurs less frequently than CD1 gene amplification in esophageal
      carcinosarcoma. It does not seem to be an alternative event to CD1 gene
      amplification, though the number of studied cases was small.

PMID- 9990484
TI  - Establishing germ cell origin of undifferentiated tumors by identifying gain of
      12p material using comparative genomic hybridization analysis of paraffin
      embedded samples.
AB  - An estimated 10% of adult cancer patients present with undifferentiated
      carcinoma. The diagnosis of germ cell tumor (GCT) in such patients can be
      difficult but has important implications for patient management. Male testicular
      GCT is characterized by an isochromosome 12p, i(12p), or additional 12p material,
      in some cases restricted to the 12p11.2-p12.1 region. A gain of 12p material can
      indicate that a tumor, which may not be present in the testis, is of germ cell
      origin. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples are the most widely available
      material for diagnostic analysis and retrospective studies. We have compared the
      identification of 12p gain in snap-frozen samples with corresponding paraffin
      embedded material from three clearly defined testicular GCTs using comparative
      genomic hybridization analysis. In this preliminary study, paraffin-embedded
      tumor samples of uncertain histogenesis from seven patients were then analyzed.
      Tumor samples from three of these patients showed a gain of 12p material, and in
      one patient, gain was restricted to the 12p11.2-p12 region. The clinical picture
      and response to therapy were generally consistent with the 12p status, though
      lack of 12p gain may not exclude a diagnosis of GCT.

PMID- 9990485
TI  - Histologic distribution of hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and G with concomitant
      cytokine response in liver tissue.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of infection by
      hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and G in liver biopsy specimens from symptomatic
      patients and to correlate viral localization with the expression of interferon
      tau, interleukin 4, and tumor necrosis factor messenger RNA. Tissue biopsy
      specimens were taken from 78 patients as follows: 14 patients with transplants,
      23 patients with cirrhotic livers, and 41 patients with chronic hepatitis. At
      least one of the hepatitis viruses was detected in 60 of 78 (77%) specimens;
      multiple infection was evident in 18 of 78 (23%) specimens. The overall incidence
      of the different viruses was as follows: 8% hepatitis A, 3% hepatitis B, 52%
      hepatitis C, 1% hepatitis D, 24% hepatitis E, 18% hepatitis G. Throughout each
      category, hepatitis C was the most common virus detected. No histologic variable
      correlated with either the percentage of infected hepatocytes per lobule or
      nodule or with the specific viral type. The cytokines localized to monocytes or
      lymphocytes adjacent to infected hepatocytes. These results demonstrate that
      viral infection is present in most biopsy specimens of patients with chronic
      hepatitis and liver transplants and that hepatitis C, E, and G account for most
      of the infections. The results also suggest that direct viral infection in
      conjunction with expression of different cytokines is important in the
      pathophysiology of viral-induced liver disease.

PMID- 9990486
TI  - Low incidence of microsatellite instability in patients with cervical carcinomas.
AB  - Alterations in microsatellite sequences have been reported in a variety of human
      cancers. Microsatellite instability is thought to reflect the inactivation of
      genes involved in DNA mismatch repair (MMR), which could predispose to the
      accumulation of further genetic errors in affected cells. Genomic instability in
      human cancers might also result from the inactivation of cell cycle controls such
      as the p53-dependent G1 checkpoint that prevents cell replication in response to
      DNA damage. High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is thought to contribute to the
      development of HPV-associated cancers, including cervical carcinoma, through the
      interaction of the E6 and E7 viral oncoproteins with two major cell cycle
      regulatory proteins, namely p53 and the retinoblastoma gene product (pRb).
      Although the high-risk HPV is prevalent in cervical carcinomas, viral DNA is not
      detected in a minor proportion of the cases. The HPV infection is insufficient
      for the development of cervical cancer, which indicates that additional genetic
      events are involved in the process. This study reports the potential role of MMR
      gene defects (in addition to or independent of HPV infection) in patients with
      cervical carcinogenesis. Microsatellite instability and HPV status were analyzed
      in a series of 54 patients with cervical carcinomas and in two associated cell
      lines. Microsatellite alterations were examined at 10 loci located in different
      chromosomes by using semiautomated fluorescent DNA technology and polymerase
      chain reaction. The HPV types were detected by a general primer polymerase chain
      reaction method. The results indicate that microsatellite instability is very
      infrequent in cervical carcinoma and occurs independently of HPV status.

PMID- 9990487
TI  - Characterization of a variant SYT-SSX1 synovial sarcoma fusion transcript.
AB  - Synovial sarcoma is characterized cytogenetically by an X;18 translocation [t
      (X;18) (p11;q11)] that results in the fusion of the SYT gene from chromosome 18
      to either of two highly homologous genes at Xp11, SSX1 or SSX2. Heterogeneity
      within the synovial sarcoma fusion junctions is rare. Examination of a primary
      monophasic synovial sarcoma for an SYT-SSX fusion transcript by reverse
      transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed a smaller-than-expected product.
      Direct sequencing of the product disclosed a novel SYT-SSX1 fusion transcript
      that contained an additional 51 bp of normal SSX1 sequence but lost 135 bp of the
      SYT sequence. Detection of synovial sarcoma hybrid transcripts is useful for
      diagnosis and should include the recognition of distinct variants.

PMID- 9990488
TI  - What does a home mean and when does it cease to be a home? Home as a setting for
      rehabilitation and care.
AB  - PURPOSE: This article addresses three issues: (1) what does a home mean to a
      person? (2) what happens when the patients are rehabilitated in the home? and (3)
      can the home become a workplace for a professional? METHOD: A literature review
      based on research literature and on the author's research project in the north of
      Sweden 'Rehabilitation in a home setting--ethical, psychological and occupational
      therapeutic aspects,. RESULTS: For most people, the home is an important and
      meaningful place, where ultimate goals can be cultivated, sheltered from the
      intrusions of public life. In connection with chronic illness, functional
      impairment and rehabilitation in the home, the individual will often lose the
      home as a private territory and much of his/her own autonomy. No longer is the
      home an existential centre for the family, but a place where many unfamiliar
      people come and go. Rehabilitation in a home setting means, furthermore, that the
      public sector is moved into the home, and the home has to function as a public
      workplace, ensuring a good working environment. CONCLUSIONS: The question for the
      future is: can the combination of home and public workplace work at all? More
      research is needed to answer this question. Prior documented experiences show
      that it is difficult.

PMID- 9990489
TI  - Use of technology by people with physical disabilities in Australia.
AB  - PURPOSE: This study aimed to quantify the extent to which computers and assistive
      devices were being used by people with physical disabilities and the levels of
      computer training being undertaken by this group. METHOD: With the help of
      Queensland disability associations a written survey was distributed to people
      over 15 years in age with physical disabilities living in the greater Brisbane
      metropolitan area. Responses were received from 82 people (comprising spinal cord
      injuries (n = 71), cerebral palsy (n = 8), muscular dystrophy (n = 3)). RESULTS:
      Indicate that 60% of respondents were computer users, while only 15 respondents
      used assistive devices. Computer ability was correlated to age and time of
      disability onset. Respondents with quadriplegia had higher levels of computer
      ability than those with paraplegia. The study indicates that while many people
      with disabilities have used computers and assistive devices, many have not.
      CONCLUSIONS: The low rate of assistive device use by people with high-level
      quadriplegia is of concern. This study suggests that increased levels of training
      in the use of computers and assistive devices needs to be provided to people with
      physical disabilities.

PMID- 9990490
TI  - Measuring disability, the agreement between self evaluation and observation of
      performance.
AB  - PURPOSE: In 1981, eight countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) reached
      consensus about applying a similar disability questionnaire in their health
      surveys that was related to the ICIDH. In 1992 a revised version, the WHO
      disability questionnaire, was recommended. In this paper the concurrent validity
      of 10 items of the questionnaire is evaluated by measuring the agreement with
      observed performance of corresponding tasks. METHOD: The disability questionnaire
      was sent to 750 subjects. From the respondents (468) 93 were selected, based on
      their reported disability, and 10 performance tasks were observed. The agreement
      was measured for individual items and for all items together in distinguishing
      between persons with no, or at least one disability. RESULTS: A low to moderate
      agreement was found between self reported and observed disability. In general,
      observation resulted in lower disability ratings. Among 24% of those who reported
      at least one disability, no disability was observed. Persons among whom at least
      one disability was observed, only 2% (n = 1) reported no disability in the
      questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: Although the concurrent validity is low to moderate
      between the results of the WHO-disability questionnaire and observation, the
      questionnaire is highly sensitive for detecting persons with at least one
      disability. The specificity of the questionnaire must be increased by additional
      questions.

PMID- 9990491
TI  - Effects of physical training on straightening-up processes in patients with
      Parkinson's disease.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether motor training could
      improve the straightening-up sequences in patients with Parkinson's disease and,
      consequently, could ease the capacity of the patients to change body's position.
      METHODS: Twenty out-patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (12 males, 8
      females; mean age 72.9; H-Y, 1. 5-3) were enrolled in a rehabilitation programme
      which included exercises for the mobility of the trunk, of upper and lower limbs
      and of each segment of the spine, in order to improve the coordination of
      movement and to avoid postural disturbances. They received 1 hour of group
      treatment twice a week for a 5 week consecutive period. No changes were made in
      the pharmacological treatment received by each patient. The patients were
      evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the rehabilitation training. The
      statistical evaluation was made using the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: Statistically
      significant differences were observed in all the motor parameters that were
      evaluated (supine to sitting and sitting to supine, supine rolling, standing from
      a chair). CONCLUSIONS: The observations demonstrate that physical training can be
      effective in improving motor performance related to changes in position which
      affects the simple daily activities of the patients.

PMID- 9990492
TI  - Disability in ankylosing spondylitis.
AB  - PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the functional loss in ankylosing
      spondylitis and explore the relationship between disability and various factors
      such as age, disease duration, disease activity, spinal mobility, chest
      expansion, peripheral joint involvement, radiological changes, and psychosocial
      well-being. METHOD: Forty-two patients were included in this cross-sectional
      study. RESULTS: The results showed that 37 patients had mild to moderate
      disability, two patients had severe disability, and three patients did not report
      any functional loss. Spearman correlation analyses showed that disability was
      strongly correlated with spinal mobility measures, disease activity measures, and
      disease duration. Also, patients with peripheral joint involvement had greater
      disability. When the predictive effect of five independent variables was studied
      by multiple regression analysis, it was found that the most powerful predictors
      of functional loss in AS patients were cervical rotation, modified Schober's
      test, and pain. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that functional consequences of
      AS are constituted by multiple impairments and each needs to be managed by an
      integrated physiatric approach.

PMID- 9990493
TI  - The rehabilitation process for the geriatric stroke patient--an exploratory study
      of goal setting and interventions.
AB  - PURPOSE: The aim was to describe and analyse the rehabilitation process of the
      geriatric stroke patient from two perspectives; the treatment goals expressed by
      the staff and the patient and the treatment interventions chosen by the
      physiotherapist and occupational therapist. A secondary aim was to test whether
      the process, treatment goals and interventions could be classified according to
      the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps
      (ICIDH). METHOD: Qualitative interviews were performed with patients and
      personnel; diaries were used to register treatment interventions. The 30
      interviews were categorized according to the goals expressed by physiotherapists,
      occupational therapists, physicians and patients. The diaries (n = 22) were
      analysed to describe how treatment interventions were connected in time, at what
      levels (impairment, disability and handicap) the interventions were directed, and
      finally, whether certain decisions were made in order to change the
      rehabilitation process. RESULTS: The patients talked more about attaining their
      pre-stroke status than about their goals. The therapists set goals according to
      functional level, whereas the doctors expressed themselves in general terms.
      Three patterns of rehabilitation processes were found: one with clearly
      identified decision points, one with a set programme which was not changed
      through the process, and one where the goal was changed according to changes in
      medical status. CONCLUSIONS: The patient does not participate in the goal-setting
      process, and the vaguely expressed goals are not measurable. The rehabilitation
      process and reason for discharge demonstrate different patterns. Treatment
      interventions, if related to the ICIDH, give a clear picture of the process,
      though certain interventions do not fit in the classification.

PMID- 9990494
TI  - Determinants of medico-social functioning after total gastrectomy.
AB  - AIM: To describe medico-social functioning after total gastrectomy and the
      factors determining it. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In three medical rehabilitation
      centres, 173 consecutive patients (female/male = 62/111) after potentially
      curative total gastrectomy for gastric malignancy 206 days earlier (median,
      interquartile range = IQR 56-644) were evaluated for different pre- and post
      operative parameters with potential influence on post-operative medico-social
      functioning as measured with the Edinburgh Rehabilitation Status Scale (ERSS).
      Parameters evaluated were: gender, age, time since operation, tumour stage, type
      of operation, clinical centre of admittance, haemoglobin, ferritin, albumin,
      presence of small bowel bacterial overgrowth, rapid oro-coecal transit,
      dyspepsia, early satiety, reflux, dysphagia, vomiting, a symptom based score,
      body mass index in health, at operation and on admission, weight loss since
      operation, calorie intake, bowel habits, and fat malassimilation. Independent
      influential factors for the ERSS were identified in a linear regression analysis.
      RESULTS: The median ERSS-score was 4 (IQR 2-6) on a scale from 0 (best) to 28
      (worst). There was a significant difference in the ERSS-scores between the three
      different clinics. The ERSS-scores improved significantly with time since
      operation (ca. 22% per year). ERSS-scores were higher in patients with intestino
      oesophageal reflux (+71%), with dyspepsia (+65%), or with dysphagia (+62%).
      CONCLUSION: Medico-social functioning was acceptable in this patient population.
      After total gastrectomy, dyspepsia, dysphagia, and intestinal reflux into the
      oesophagus need special attention.

PMID- 9990495
TI  - An understanding with people.

PMID- 9990496
TI  - Teaching about family violence when the trainee is also a survivor.

PMID- 9990497
TI  - Correlations of family medicine clerkship evaluations and Objective Structured
      Clinical Examination scores and residency directors' ratings.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study validated the evaluation methods used in a
      family medicine clerkship by comparing students' scores to how students are rated
      in their first year of residency by residency directors. The clerkship
      evaluations consisted of three components: problem solving in small groups,
      clinical evaluations, and a final examination. These components were combined to
      form a composite clerkship score. Residency director ratings consisted of 20
      individual scores and an overall average. METHODS: Scores received by students in
      the clerkship were correlated with ratings by residency directors given toward
      the end of the first year of residency. The correlations between Objective
      Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores and residency directors' ratings
      were used as comparison. RESULTS: The composite clerkship score correlated with
      the director's rating, overall average, at r = .278. The highest individual
      component correlation was achieved by the clerkship final exam (r = .269). The
      total OSCE score correlated with the director's rating overall average at r =
      .304. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that, while not perfect, the
      family medicine clerkship evaluations perform nearly as well as the OSCE as a
      predictor of how students will be rated by their residency directors in their
      first year of residency.

PMID- 9990498
TI  - Didactic content and teaching methodologies on required allopathic US family
      medicine clerkships.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the increased prominence of family medicine
      clerkships in required third- and fourth-year clinical rotations in US allopathic
      medical schools, the content of these clerkships varies markedly among
      institutions, and there is little in the literature concerning the current or
      desired content of family medicine clerkships. This study explores the didactic
      content of a national sample of required family medicine clerkships to assess
      what and how this important aspect of clerkship curriculum is taught. METHODS:
      Using an original survey instrument, we surveyed US medical schools through
      mailings and follow-up phone contacts. We categorized free-form responses using a
      coding dictionary specific to this study and computed descriptive statistics.
      RESULTS: Of 127 medical schools contacted, 105 (83%) responded. Among
      respondents, 86 (82%) had a required family medicine clerkship, 80% of them in
      the third year. Mean clerkship length was 5.3 weeks (median = 4 weeks), and the
      mean number of didactic sessions was about 2 per week. Almost 80% of clerkships
      had sessions in the broad area of family medicine, and prevention was the most
      frequent individual topic, taught in 32 (37%) of clerkships. Seventy-one percent
      of sessions used methodologies other than lectures. The mean time devoted to
      teaching 24 of the top 26 topics identified in the survey was between 1.2 and 3.1
      hours/rotation, although case presentations and common problems each averaged
      more than 7 hours on clerkships teaching these topics. CONCLUSIONS: This survey
      provided more detailed information than previously available about the didactic
      content of required US allopathic family medicine clerkships. The survey also
      documented the lack of agreement among these clerkships on didactic content. Most
      didactic sessions used interactive rather than lecture format. The information
      from this first detailed survey provides family medicine clerkship directors with
      national comparisons of didactic content and methodology as a foundation for
      further discussion.

PMID- 9990499
TI  - Effects of viral respiratory disease education and surveillance on antibiotic
      prescribing.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We describe a partnership between family practice
      residency clinics and a state public health virology laboratory that has produced
      comprehensive viral respiratory disease education and surveillance. Family
      practice residents have been provided with education on respiratory viruses and
      the results of ongoing viral surveillance. The preliminary effects of this
      program on antibiotic prescribing by senior residents are evaluated in this
      paper. METHODS: We used a questionnaire to assess the acceptance by family
      practice residents of the educational component and the utility of ongoing viral
      surveillance. We used chart review to evaluate rates of antibiotic prescribing
      and the number of patients diagnosed per year with acute upper respiratory
      infection and acute bronchitis by senior residents in 1992 (preexposure) and 1996
      (postexposure). RESULTS: By the third year of training, most residents (79%)
      reported receiving adequate training regarding common viral respiratory diseases.
      Moreover, residents reported that they were less likely to prescribe antibiotics
      to patients presenting with respiratory infections when provided with specific
      information on circulating viral pathogens. Antibiotic prescribing in the
      postexposure group was 68% lower for upper respiratory infection (URI) and 45%
      lower for a composite of URI and bronchitis. CONCLUSIONS: Education and
      monitoring of circulating respiratory viruses can result in familiarity with
      common disorders in primary care and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

PMID- 9990500
TI  - Teaching practice management during residency.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Practice management is a required component in family
      practice residency education. A few studies have reported that recently graduated
      primary care physicians indicated that their practice management training was
      inadequate. Our study describes the current nature of practice management
      education in family practice residencies and the perceptions of residency
      directors about the effectiveness of their program's practice management
      curriculum. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to 421 family practice residency
      directors, who were asked about their program's curriculum approach to teaching
      practice management, as well as their evaluation of the effectiveness of the
      curriculum. After two mailings, 213 surveys (51%) were returned. RESULTS:
      Eighteen percent of the respondents provided less than the required 60 hours of
      practice management curricular time. Residency directors indicated that managed
      care has had a significant effect on their curriculum. Directors' ratings of the
      effectiveness of their curriculum were associated with more curricular time and
      specifically with active learning activities. Although directors reported that
      managed care had affected how they teach practice management, managed care
      penetration was not associated with perceived curriculum effectiveness.
      CONCLUSIONS: Family practice residency program directors described a variety of
      approaches to teaching practice management. Active learning strategies seem to be
      important curricular components, although further study is needed about the most
      effective methods to prepare physicians for post-residency practice.

PMID- 9990501
TI  - Evaluating programs for recruiting and retaining community faculty.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a need to develop ambulatory care components
      within medical schools and, accordingly, a need to recruit community faculty. To
      assist in recruiting and retaining community faculty, this study addresses
      factors influencing physicians' decisions to serve as preceptors. The study also
      examines the relative value of incentives as rated by physicians in different
      primary care specialties. METHODS: We surveyed community physicians affiliated
      with a large, public teaching hospital. Physicians rated prior experiences
      training students in ambulatory settings, plans for serving as preceptors within
      the next year, and 7 incentives for serving as preceptors. RESULTS: A path
      analysis indicated that prior experiences and student influence on patient care
      affected future decisions to serve as preceptors. Analysis of the incentives for
      serving as preceptors indicated that physicians rated receiving continuing
      medical education (CME) credit the most favorably and financial compensation the
      least favorably. Overall, family physicians assigned the highest ratings to the
      incentives, and gynecologists gave the lowest ratings. CONCLUSIONS: This study
      produced a better understanding of the factors influencing physicians' decisions
      to serve as preceptors. Physicians are more concerned about students' influence
      on patient care than they are about students' influence on patient billings. In
      addition, preceptors preferred receiving nonmonetary compensation, such as CME
      credit, rather than receiving financial compensation. In addition, this study
      suggests better ways to reward community physicians for their service as
      preceptors. Community faculty should not be viewed as a homogenous group. The
      results of this study suggest that community physicians be provided with choices
      regarding the incentives for and rewards associated with serving as preceptors.

PMID- 9990502
TI  - Relationship of nutrition knowledge and obesity in adolescence.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity in adolescence is increasing. This study
      determined whether a lack of nutrition knowledge is correlated with obesity in
      adolescents. METHODS: We distributed a survey at three high schools to 292 9th
      through 12th-grade students. The questionnaire examined the students' nutrition
      knowledge, food-related behaviors, and food preferences. The students' body mass
      indices (BMI) were calculated from self-reported weights and heights. Obesity was
      defined as a BMI greater than the 85th percentile, using criteria from the
      National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II. RESULTS: Of 292 students
      contacted, 289 returned the survey. The population had a prevalence of obesity of
      26%. There were no significant differences in nutrition knowledge between the
      obese and non-obese students with the exception that obese students were better
      able to identify high-fiber foods. In addition, obese students were more likely
      to report infrequent meals with their family. Otherwise, there were no
      significant differences in nutrition behaviors or food preferences. CONCLUSIONS:
      Overall nutrition knowledge did not differ between obese and non-obese
      adolescents.

PMID- 9990503
TI  - Patterns and correlates of tobacco use among suburban Philadelphia 6th- through
      12th-grade students.
AB  - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tobacco use among teenagers is increasing, even in the
      face of an understanding of its harmful effects. Data suggest that tobacco use
      often begins before entrance to eighth grade. This study examined the prevalence
      of tobacco use among students in 6th grade and compared it to the prevalence of
      tobacco use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in a northeastern suburban
      community and to national data. METHODS: We used a survey that measured selected
      tobacco and smokeless tobacco use, demographic variables, school-related factors,
      and social influences on the use of tobacco products. RESULTS: Sixth-grade
      tobacco use existed but was minimal compared to the rates seen in 8th, 10th, and
      12th graders. Only 1% of 6th graders reported they were current smokers, compared
      with 41% of 12th graders. Risk factors for becoming a smoker were smoking habits
      of parents, siblings, and friends. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette experimentation and use
      begins as early as sixth grade and increases substantially by eighth grade. Our
      data suggest that efforts toward primary prevention of smoking should be pursued
      between sixth and eighth grade.

PMID- 9990504
TI  - The patient, the teacher.

PMID- 9990505
TI  - Role of Bcl-2 family proteins in apoptosis: apoptosomes or mitochondria?
AB  - Apoptosis is an essential physiological process for the selective elimination of
      cells, which is involved in a variety of biological events. The Bcl-2 family is
      the best characterized protein family involved in the regulation of apoptotic
      cell death, consisting of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic members. The anti
      apoptotic members of this family, such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, prevent apoptosis
      either by sequestering proforms of death-driving cysteine proteases called
      caspases (a complex called the apoptosome) or by preventing the release of
      mitochondrial apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c and AIF (apoptosis
      inducing factor) into the cytoplasm. After entering the cytoplasm, cytochrome c
      and AIF directly activate caspases that cleave a set of cellular proteins to
      cause apoptotic changes. In contrast, pro-apoptotic members of this family, such
      as Bax and Bak, trigger the release of caspases from death antagonists via
      heterodimerization and also by inducing the release of mitochondrial apoptogenic
      factors into the cytoplasm via acting on mitochondrial permeability transition
      pore, thereby leading to caspase activation. Thus, the Bcl-2 family of proteins
      acts as a critical life-death decision point within the common pathway of
      apoptosis.

PMID- 9990506
TI  - Analysis of mammalian origin specification in ORC-depleted Xenopus egg extracts.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Xenopus egg extracts initiate replication specifically at the Chinese
      Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) origin with CHO G1-phase
      nuclei as a substrate, providing that these nuclei have intact nuclear envelopes
      and are isolated from cells that have passed through a distinct transition
      (origin decision point; ODP) early in G1-phase. With intact pre-ODP nuclei, or
      with post-ODP nuclei that have permeabilized nuclear envelopes, replication
      initiates efficiently but, at apparently random sites. We have investigated
      whether the Xenopus embryonic origin recognition complex (XORC) influences origin
      specification in this system. RESULTS: Xenopus egg extracts were immunodepleted
      of XORC, eliminating their ability to assemble pre-initiation complexes. These
      extracts were deficient in the replication of CHO metaphase chromosomes but
      supported efficient DNA replication within both pre- and post-ODP hamster G1
      phase nuclei, even after permeabilization and extraction of soluble nuclear
      proteins. XORC-depleted extracts initiated replication specifically at the DHFR
      origin with intact post-ODP nuclei but still initiated at apparently random sites
      with intact pre-ODP nuclei or permeabilized post-ODP nuclei. CONCLUSIONS: Xenopus
      embryonic ORC is clearly not required for random origin site selection in Xenopus
      egg extracts. We conclude that a modification of Chinese Hamster chromatin takes
      place shortly after metaphase that complements a lack of XORC activity. This
      modification most likely represents an interaction of mammalian ORC with
      chromatin that is required for replication but, that is not sufficient for origin
      specification.

PMID- 9990507
TI  - Two F-box/WD-repeat proteins Pop1 and Pop2 form hetero- and homo-complexes
      together with cullin-1 in the fission yeast SCF (Skp1-Cullin-1-F-box) ubiquitin
      ligase.
AB  - BACKGROUND: In the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis pathway, a ubiquitin ligase
      (E3) is responsible for substrate selectivity and timing of degradation. A novel
      E3, SCF (Skp1-Cullin-1/Cdc53-F-box) plays a pivotal role in cell cycle
      progression. In fission yeast, F-box/WD-repeat protein Pop1 regulates the level
      of the CDK (cyclin-dependent kinase) inhibitor Rum1 and the S phase regulator
      Cdc18. RESULTS: We have cloned and characterized the pop2+ gene which encodes the
      Pop1-related F-box/WD-repeat protein. Pop2 plays a role which overlaps with Pop1
      in the degradation of Rum1 and Cdc18. However, these two proteins are not
      functional homologues. Pop1 and Pop2 form hetero-as well as homo-dimers in the
      cell. We have analysed two fission yeast cullin members and found that cullin-1
      functions as a component of SCFPop1,2, whilst cullin-3 is involved in the
      distinct stress-response pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Fission yeast SCF is composed of
      Pop1 and Pop2, two structurally related but functionally independent F-box/WD
      repeat proteins. By forming three distinct complexes, SCFPop1/Pop1, SCFPop1/Pop2
      and SCFPop2/Pop2, SCF has evolved a sophisticated mechanism to control the level
      of Rum1 and Cdc18. Fission yeast SCF also contains cullin-1 as a universal
      scaffold and each cullin member plays a distinct biological role.

PMID- 9990508
TI  - Cell cycle dependent topological changes of chromosomal replication origins in
      Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The ORC (Origin Recognition Complex) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a
      protein complex for the initiation of replication which interacts with a cis
      element, ACS (ARS Consensus Sequence), essential for DNA replication. The protein
      DNA complex detected by the DNase I genomic footprinting method has been shown to
      vary depending on cell cycle progression. Further studies on topological changes
      of replication origin in vivo caused by ORC association are crucial for an
      understanding of chromosomal DNA replication in S. cerevisiae. RESULTS:
      Topological changes in the replication origins of the S. cerevisiae chromosome
      were studied by an in vivo UV photofootprinting method which is capable of
      detecting the change in the flexibility of DNA caused by protein binding. The
      footprinting method detected the inhibition and enhancement of UV-induced
      pyrimidine dimer formation in A and B1 elements of a chromosomal origin, ARS1,
      depending on the activity of native ORC subunits. Furthermore, footprint patterns
      were reproduced in vitro with purified ORC. The inhibition regarding the A
      element was stronger during the S to late M phase than that during the
      progression through the G1 phase. Functional CDC6 and MCM5 were required for
      maintaining the weaker inhibition state in G1-arrested cells. CONCLUSION: The
      application of in vivo UV photofootprinting in studies of topological changes of
      S. cerevisiae replication origins revealed the presence of two modes of
      topological ORC-ACS interaction. The weaker footprint in the G1 phase represents
      a specific topology of ACS, resulting from an alteration of the ORC-ACS
      interaction aided by CDC6 and MCM5, and this topological change may make the
      replication origin competent for initiating DNA replication.

PMID- 9990509
TI  - Human ubiquitin-protein ligase Nedd4: expression, subcellular localization and
      selective interaction with ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Nedd4 is a ubiquitin-protein ligase containing a calcium/lipid
      binding domain, multiple WW domains and a C-terminal Hect domain, which is
      required for both the ubiquitin transfer and the association with E2 ubiquitin
      conjugating enzymes. Nedd4 has been reported to be involved in the selective
      ubiquitination of some regulatory proteins in transcription and membrane
      transport. RESULTS: Three mRNA species for human Nedd4 were found to be 6.4-, 7.8
      and 9.5-kb in size, and their expression patterns varied among normal tissues
      and cancer cell lines, indicating the tissue- and cell-specificities of Nedd4
      expression. The Nedd4 protein, approximately 120 kDa in weight, was found in the
      cytoplasm, mainly in the perinuclear region and cytoplasmic periphery, of human
      cultured cells. Neural differentiation induced not only the down-regulation of
      Nedd4 but also the localization of the protein to both the cytoplasm and
      neurites. To identify the ubiquitination pathway that is linked to Nedd4, we
      demonstrated that specific E2 enzymes, including human Ubc4, UbcH5B, UbcH5C,
      UbcH6 and UbcH7, could transfer ubiquitin molecules to Nedd4 at the active
      cysteine residue, whereas E6AP accepted ubiquitins from Ubc4, UbcH5B, UbcH5C and
      UbcH7. Furthermore, nuclear localization of N-terminal deletion mutant Nedd4
      enabled us to investigate the interaction between Nedd4 and E2 enzyme (Ubc4 or
      UbcH7) in the cell. The simultaneous expression of the full-length Nedd4 and E2
      enzyme revealed the both proteins mostly colocalized in the cytoplasmic
      periphery, while the N-terminal deleted Nedd4 induced the nuclear and perinuclear
      colocalization with E2 enzyme. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that Nedd4
      plays an important role in the cell regulation, including neural differentiation
      through cooperation with specific E2 ubiquitination pathways.

PMID- 9990510
TI  - ECRI position statement on the testing of medical devices for year 2000
      compliance.

PMID- 9990511
TI  - Year 2000 testing of interfaced medical devices.

PMID- 9990512
TI  - Thoracic aspirators.

PMID- 9990513
TI  - Release of Ethicon Endopath Tri-Star trocar/cannula gaskets into pneumoperitoneum
      leads to design change.

PMID- 9990514
TI  - Image can be reversed between scout and axial views on Elscint CT Twin and
      Helicat computed tomography scanners.

PMID- 9990515
TI  - Reimagining family therapy: reflections on Minuchin's invisible family.

PMID- 9990516
TI  - Retelling, reimagining, and re-searching: a continuing conversation.

PMID- 9990517
TI  - The basic skills evaluation device.
AB  - The Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education
      (COAMFTE) requires that accredited programs evaluate trainees' clinical skills at
      various times during trainees' programs. The Commission does not attempt,
      however, to describe for programs either the nature of the skills nor how they
      are to be evaluated, leaving this to the programs to create. This paper describes
      the development and uses of the Basic Skills Evaluation Device (BSED). Using a
      published list of skills (Figley & Nelson, 1989), data from the literature, and
      data collected from COAMFTE accredited and candidacy programs, the authors and
      their colleagues developed a device for supervisors to use in evaluating
      beginning family therapists. Data regarding the reliability of the device are
      presented, along with limitations and suggestions for various ways of using the
      device.

PMID- 9990519
TI  - Ethnic identity development of internationally adopted children and adolescents:
      implications for family therapists.
AB  - The life story of the internationally adopted child tends to be an emotional one.
      How the story is told and retold in the family can have lasting consequences for
      the child's adjustment and well-being. In telling the story, parents are faced
      with a unique challenge: To what extent is it desirable to encourage their
      children, who already struggle with identity issues related to adoption, to
      identify with their cultures of origin? Therapists working on these issues with
      multiethnic adoptive families can find little guidance in the family systems
      literature. To fill this gap, the present article reviews the literature on
      racial/ethnic identity development and the available research on ethnic
      identification, self-esteem, and the psychological adjustment of cross-ethnically
      adopted children and adolescents. Implications for practice include developmental
      considerations, identifying children and families at risk, and recommendations
      for those in need of intervention.

PMID- 9990518
TI  - The relationship between psychiatrists' couple and family therapy training
      experience and their subsequent practice profile.
AB  - A 28-item questionnaire was returned by 291 psychiatrists who had completed
      training between 1962 and 1992. There were positive correlations between the
      amount of couple and family therapy training (CFTT) they received and the
      following: the extent to which graduate psychiatrists practice CFT; their
      involvement as supervisors, teachers, teaching program directors, or researchers;
      the extent to which they seek continuing education in CFT; their positive
      attitude toward CFT; and the extent to which they feel that their attitude to and
      interest in CFT has had a positive effect on the milieu in which they practice
      and on their personal lives.

PMID- 9990520
TI  - Change, disengagement, and renewal: relationship dynamics between young adults
      and their fathers after divorce.
AB  - Little is known about children's perceptions of their parents' divorce or how
      children construct meaning around the divorce and their subsequent relationships
      with their parents. The focus of this study was to learn about the experiences
      and the meanings young adults had constructed about the divorce process and their
      relationships with their fathers in the years after the divorce. The findings
      revealed a broad spectrum of experiences and several key issues that gave meaning
      to both the disengagement and the reengagement with their fathers. Loss, trust,
      acceptance, availability, and support are a few of the vital issues addressed.
      Implications for family therapists are discussed.

PMID- 9990521
TI  - Designing constructive therapies in community mental health: poetics and
      micropolitics in and beyond the consulting room.

PMID- 9990522
TI  - An alternative to managed care: a "guild" model for the independent practice of
      psychotherapy.
AB  - As health care is reconfigured by HMOs and managed care organizations, family
      therapists often have to decide whether or not to cooperate with the new power
      structures and their ways of doing things. The chief concern of many therapists
      is the ethical bind created when the managed care organization demands breaches
      of confidentiality or makes decisions about the course of treatment that may not,
      in the therapist's opinion, be in the best interest of the family. Associations
      of independent, nonmanaged care psychotherapists are springing up in response to
      these dilemmas. This paper describes the philosophical evolution and
      organizational development of one such association.

PMID- 9990523
TI  - Influences on the inclusion of children in family therapy.
AB  - This study examined factors that influence family therapists to include children
      in or exclude them from therapy sessions. We hypothesized that therapist comfort,
      child problem type (internalizing vs. externalizing), family composition (one-
      vs. two-parent families), and presenting problem (child-oriented problem vs.
      adult-oriented problem) affect therapists' inclusion of children. A survey of
      clinical members of AAMFT found that half of the therapists excluded children on
      the basis of their comfort and that those who felt more comfortable were more
      likely to include children in sessions. Therapists included children more
      frequently in cases of an internalizing vs. an externalizing child, more with
      single-parent than two-parent families, and more often when the presenting
      problem focused on a child than on an adult. Implications of the findings are
      discussed.

PMID- 9990524
TI  - Microvascular involvement in cardiac pathology.
AB  - Abnormalities of the microvasculature are centrally involved in the pathogenesis
      of some forms of heart disease, but in others are consequences of it.
      Microvascular abnormalities may contribute to the progression of viral
      myocarditis and Chagas' disease. Focal abnormalities may occur early in some
      cardiomyopathies and do occur later in most types of myocarditis. The thickening
      of arteriolar walls in chronic hypertension is likely to contribute significantly
      to the impairment of coronary haemodynamics associated with adaptive ventricular
      hypertrophy and the consequent diminution of coronary reserve, increasing
      diffusion distances and failure of angiogenesis to compensate. However, the
      resulting myocyte necrosis stimulates inflammatory angiogenesis. When ischemic
      myocyte injury becomes irreversible there is a concomitant loss of capacity for
      reperfusion, the no-reflow phenomenon. Less severe temporary ischemia reduces the
      proportion of functional capillaries. Multiple mechanisms are involved in this
      microvascular stunning, including: reperfusion injury; leukocyte activation;
      adhesion and accumulation; and impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Many
      of the microvascular changes are those of the inflammatory response to cell death
      and form part of a final common pathway in myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, cardiac
      hypertrophy and failure, and ischemic heart disease. Stimulation of angiogenesis
      prior to myocyte necrosis in hypertrophy and control of leukocyte activity in
      ischemic heart disease could minimize myocyte loss.

PMID- 9990525
TI  - Capillaries, caveolae, calcium and cyclic nucleotides: a new look at
      microvascular permeability.
AB  - Over the past 35 years much effort has been directed at identifying the pathways
      through microvascular endothelium and unravelling the interactions between the
      convective and diffusive forces which drive fluid and solutes through them. While
      increases in permeability induced by inflammatory mediators are known to result
      from the formation of gaps in venular endothelium, it is only recent advances in
      cell biology that have allowed the mechanisms regulating permeability to be
      investigated from a sound base. Results from the general biology of vesicular
      transport have been applied in studies on the caveolae of microvascular
      endothelium. Work on single perfused microvessels and on endothelial cell
      cultures have revealed the importance of intracellular Ca2+ and both cAMP and
      cGMP in regulating permeability. Even the belief that permeability is increased
      by gaps developing between the cells has been challenged. Although the mechanisms
      regulating permeability remain far from clear, sensible hypotheses can now be
      proposed and tested.

PMID- 9990527
TI  - Inflammatory alterations in the myocardial microcirculation.
AB  - Inflammatory mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular
      disease and the present review focus us on the association between inflammation
      and microvascular endothelial dysfunction in the heart, i.e. reduced endothelium
      dependent vasodilation of coronary resistance vessels. This abnormality is caused
      by reduced bioactivity of nitric oxide (NO), and it is found in a variety of
      conditions, including ischemic heart disease, cardiac allograft vasculopathy,
      diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking. At the level of the myocardial
      microcirculation, reperfusion injury manifests itself as endothelial dysfunction,
      no-reflow, and increased permeability, which are all probably the result of
      reperfusion-induced augmentation of the inflammatory response. In other animal
      models of cardiovascular disease, inflammatory alterations have been described
      that can contribute to microvascular endothelial dysfunction and reactive oxygen
      species, neutrophils, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, and inducible NO synthase are
      among the mediators that have been incriminated. Circulating levels of
      inflammatory mediators may serve as molecular markers of cardiovascular disease,
      and antiinflammatory interventions hold some promise for future cardiovascular
      therapy.

PMID- 9990526
TI  - Control of microvascular resistance in physiological conditions and reperfusion.
AB  - Regulation of coronary microvascular resistance is not distributed uniformly, but
      varies across different segments of the vasculature. Differences in regulatory
      mechanisms, including metabolic, myogenic, alpha-adrenergic and endothelial cell
      mediated, help define a series of coronary vascular microdomains. Generally,
      small arterioles, those less than 100 microns in diameter, respond differently
      than large arterioles or small arteries. This segmental distribution suggests an
      integrative hypothesis of regulation whereby a variety of mechanisms play a role
      in the overall response. One pathology that disturbs these control mechanisms in
      the microcirculation of the heart is reperfusion injury. Reperfusion injury of
      the microcirculation has as its primary target the vascular endothelium. The
      mechanisms responsible for reduced endothelium-dependent relaxation, likely
      include a reduction in the levels of tetrahydrobiopterin, a co-factor of nitric
      oxide synthase. Manipulation of levels of tetrahydrobiopterin in endothelial
      cells may be beneficial in the prevention of the pathophysiological sequelae of
      reperfusion injury in the coronary microcirculation.

PMID- 9990528
TI  - Effects of a metalloproteinase that truncates P-selectin glycoprotein ligand on
      neutrophil-induced cardiac dysfunction in ischemia/reperfusion.
AB  - This study was designed to test the effects of polymorphonuclear leukocytes
      (PMNs) in the presence and absence of a P-selectin blocker, mocarhagin, in
      provoking cardiac dysfunction in isolated perfused rat hearts following ischemia
      and reperfusion. Control rat hearts not subjected to ischemia were perfused
      without blood cells for 80 min. Additional control rat hearts were perfused with
      100 x 10(6) PMNs in the presence and absence of 0.2 microgram/ml mocarhagin over
      a 5-min perfusion followed by a 45-min observation period. No significant
      reduction in coronary flow (CF), left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), or
      the first derivative of LVDP (dP/dt max) was observed at the end of the
      observation period in any non-ischemic group. Similarly, global ischemia (I) for
      20 min followed by 45 min of reperfusion (R) produced no sustained effects on the
      final recovery of any of these parameters in any group of hearts perfused in the
      absence of PMNs. I/R hearts perfused with PMNs exhibited decreases of 50-60% in
      all measurements of cardiac function (P < 0.001). These PMN perfused I/R hearts
      also exhibited marked increases in cardiac myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity
      indicating a significant PMN infiltration, and enhanced P-selection expression on
      the coronary microvascular endothelium. All cardiodynamic effects as well as MPO
      accumulation and PMN infiltration were attenuated markedly by the
      metalloproteinase, mocarhagin, which inhibits P-selectin-mediated cell adhesion
      by cleaving its high-affinity receptor, PSGL-1, present on neutrophils. These
      results provide evidence that neutrophils provoke post-reperfusion cardiac
      dysfunction, and that this may be largely due to P-selectin-induced adherence of
      neutrophils to the endothelium.

PMID- 9990529
TI  - Cytokines and the microcirculation in ischemia and reperfusion.
AB  - The intense inflammatory reaction following reperfusion of the infarcted
      myocardium has been implicated as a factor in extension of injury. However, this
      inflammatory reaction is also critical to tissue repair. The cellular responses
      that mediate these functions are orchestrated by sequential induction and/or
      release of cytokines resulting in a closely regulated cytokine cascade. This
      paper reviews research on these cytokine cascades, their cellular origin, and
      factors which control the cellular response to their presence. Factors examined
      include leukotaxis, phenotypic transition of leukocytes, adhesion molecule
      induction and the role of cytokines in tissue repair and scar formation.

PMID- 9990530
TI  - Genistein inhibits slow component delayed-rectifier K currents via a tyrosine
      kinase-independent pathway.
AB  - In single guinea pig ventricular cells, genistein, a potent inhibitor of protein
      tyrosine kinase (PTK), was found to suppress the delayed-rectifier K (IK)
      current. The present study was carried out to examine the underlying mechanism.
      Ventricular myocytes were voltage-clamped in the conventional whole-cell mode (36
      degrees C). The amplitudes of tail and steady-state (2-s pulse) currents were
      measured as IK. Genistein (10-100 microM) reversibly inhibited both basal and
      intrapipette cAMP (1 mM)-enhanced IK currents in a concentration-dependent manner
      with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) at approximately 30 microM.
      In contrast, lavendustin A (10 microM; n = 5) and tyrphostin 51 (100 microM; n =
      5) had no effect on the currents. The inhibitory action of genistein was also
      seen after IK currents were activated by forskolin (500 nM) plus intrapipette
      orthovanadate (500 microM). The intrapipette cAMP-enhanced IK was also reduced to
      a lesser degree by daidzein, an inactive analogue of genistein. Envelope tail and
      short pulse protocols revealed that genistein inhibits the slow component of IK
      (IKs). Thus, the inhibitory action of genistein is not mediated via an inhibition
      of PTK but may be due to the block of IKs channels.

PMID- 9990531
TI  - Tonic regulation of excitation-contraction coupling by basal protein kinase C
      activity in isolated cardiac myocytes.
AB  - A high-speed imaging technique was used to investigate the effects of inhibitors
      and activators of protein kinase C (PKC) on the [Ca2+]i transients and
      contraction of fura-2 loaded rat ventricular cardiac myocytes. The amplitude of
      the [Ca2+]i transient was reduced following treatment with 100 nM phorbol 12,13
      dibutyrate (PDBu), whereas the PKC inhibitors staurosporine (0.5 microM) and
      calphostin C (10 microM) increased [Ca2+]i transient amplitude, elevated basal
      [Ca2+]i and slowed the decay of the [Ca2+]i transient. These changes were
      paralleled by similar alterations in the rate and extent of cell shortening. The
      activity of nitrendipine-sensitive Ca2+ channels was monitored indirectly as the
      rate of Mn2+ quench of cytosolic fura-2 in electrically-paced cells. PDBu reduced
      Mn2+ influx by six-fold, whereas staurosporine and calphostin C increased the
      influx rate by eight-fold and seven-fold over basal quench, respectively. The
      caffeine releasable Ca2+ pool was reduced in the presence of PDBu and increased
      transiently in presence of staurosporine. The effects of PKC activation and
      inhibition on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ content may be secondary to alterations
      of sarcolemmal Ca2+ influx. However, the PKC inhibitors also decreased the rate
      of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake in permeabilized myocytes, suggesting that
      a direct effect of PKC on the sarcoplasmic reticulum may contribute to the
      prolongation of the [Ca2+]i transient under these conditions. The present work
      demonstrates that basal PKC activity has a potent depressant effect, mediated
      primarily through inhibition of sarcolemmal Ca2+ influx, which may play a key
      role in setting the basal tone of cardiac muscle.

PMID- 9990532
TI  - Comparison of the effects of ORG 30029, dobutamine and high perfusate calcium on
      function and metabolism in rat heart.
AB  - Cardiac contractility may be enhanced via multiple cellular mechanisms resulting
      in varied effects on cardiac energetics. The mechanisms that account for the
      varied energetic responses are not well understood. The purpose of this
      investigation was to compare the effects of the calcium sensitizing agent ORG
      30029 (N-hydroxy-5,6-dimethoxy-benzo[b]thiophene-2-carboximidamide hydrochloride,
      a calcium sensitizing agent which increases contractility without increasing
      calcium transients significantly), dobutamine and high perfusate calcium on
      contractility and energetics. Langendorff-perfused rat hearts were stimulated
      with ORG 30029, dobutamine and high perfusate calcium in graduated concentrations
      while myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) and force-time integral were measured.
      ORG 30029, dobutamine and high perfusate calcium increased contractility in a
      dose-dependent manner. Despite an increase of 50% in systolic pressure and a 17%
      increase in force-time integral from control, ORG 30029 had no significant effect
      on MVO2 at the lower concentrations (n = 6). However, dobutamine (n = 4) and high
      perfusate calcium (n = 4) caused a 65% increase in systolic pressure and a 17%
      increase in force-time integral and a 50% and 41% increase in MVO2 respectively
      (P < 0.05). High energy phosphates (by 31P NMR), and lactate production were
      unaltered by these agents, suggesting that metabolism was steady state. Basal
      metabolism tended to increase slightly with dobutamine but not with ORG 30029 or
      high perfusate calcium. ORG 30029, dobutamine, and high perfusate calcium
      increase contractility in perfused rat hearts with disparate effects on
      energetics. These differences may be accounted for, in part, by differences in
      energy expenditure for calcium handling.

PMID- 9990533
TI  - KATP channel modulators and myocardial damages induced by ischemia-reperfusion:
      membrane lipids injury and arrhythmias.
AB  - Although KATP channels have been proposed as playing a role in most types of
      myocardial damage associated with ischemia/reperfusion, the potential benefits of
      KATP channel modulators against the biochemical and electrical disturbances
      observed during ischemia remain unclear. We have thus studied the effects of
      glibenclamide and cromakalim, KATP channel blocker and opener respectively, on
      membrane lipid injury and arrhythmias, in a model of ischemic-reperfused guinea
      pig myocardium. Ventricular strips were prelabeled with [3H] arachidonic acid,
      then subjected to normal conditions (Time-related Control) or to simulated
      ischemic-reperfused conditions in absence of drug (Control) or in presence of
      glibenclamide 10 microM or cromakalim 10 microM. The release of radioactive
      compounds was counted by liquid scintillation spectrometry, while action
      potentials (AP) were recorded with intracellular microelectrodes. Reperfusion
      induced a significant increase of arachidonic acid release (P < 0.05 versus Time
      related Control). Glibenclamide inhibited the reperfusion-induced arachidonic
      acid release while cromakalim only delayed it (respectively 483 +/- 87 dpm/g, P <
      0.05 and 790 +/- 143 dpm/g. NS versus 838 +/- 80 dpm/g for Control, after 30 min
      of reperfusion). Unlike glibenclamide, cromakalim was proarrhythmic during
      reperfusion (in 100% of preparations versus 33% in Control or in presence of
      glibenclamide, P < 0.05). This in vitro study shows that glibenclamide prevented
      the reperfusion-induced membrane arachidonic acid release, without proarrhythmic
      effect, whereas cromakalim, associated with proarrhythmicity, was unable to
      protect myocardium from cell lipid damage.

PMID- 9990534
TI  - B-type Ca2+ channels activated by chlorpromazine and free radicals in membrane of
      human atrial myocytes.
AB  - The present study demonstrates that background or B-type calcium channel activity
      can be recorded in excised inside-out and cell-attached membrane patches from
      human atrial myocytes. In control conditions, with Ba2+ or Ca2+ as charge
      carrier, single-channel activity spontaneously appeared in irregular bursts
      separated by quiescent periods of 2-17 min, in nearly 25% of tested patches.
      Channel activity was recorded at steady-state applied membrane potentials
      including the entire range of physiological values, and displayed no "rundown" in
      excised patches. During activity, a variety of kinetic behaviors could be
      observed with more or less complex gating patterns. This type of channel activity
      was triggered or markedly increased when chlorpromazine (CPZ 20 or 50 microM) was
      applied to internal face of inside-out patches, with a proportion of active
      patches of approximately 25%. CPZ-activated channels were potential-independent
      in the physiological range of membrane potential. In 96 mM Ba2+ solution, three
      conductance levels: 23, 42 and 85 pS were routinely observed in the same excised
      membrane patch, sometimes combining to give a larger level. As previously
      observed by Wang et al. (1995) in membrane of rat ventricular myocytes,
      increasing free-radicals level and metabolic poisoning readily enhanced B-type
      channel activity in human atrial myocytes. Application of H2O2 (from 0.1-10 mM)
      in cell-attached mode induced an activation of Ba2+ permeable channel activity in
      a dose-dependent manner, with an estimated EC50 of 9.7 mM. In the same type of
      experiments, 10 mM deoxyglucose also induced similar Ba2+ permeable channel
      activity. When 500 microM CPZ were applied to myocytes studied in the whole-cell
      configuration and maintained at a holding potential of -80 mV in the presence of
      5 mM external Ca2+, a noticeable inward current could be observed. The mean CPZ
      activated current density determined from seven myocytes was 0.63 pA/pF.

PMID- 9990535
TI  - Inhibition of adhesion molecules markedly ameliorates cytokine-induced sustained
      myocardial dysfunction in dogs in vivo.
AB  - Adhesion molecules are key molecules for inflammatory cardiovascular diseases and
      are known to be up-regulated by inflammatory cytokines. However, the role of
      adhesion molecules in the cytokine-induced myocardial dysfunction in vivo remains
      unclear. This role was examined in our novel canine model, in which chronic
      treatment of the heart with IL-1 beta-bound microspheres (MS), but not control
      MS, causes sustained myocardial dysfunction in vivo. The expression of P-selectin
      (mRNA and immunoreactivity) was more prominent in the IL-1 beta group than in the
      control group (treated with control MS alone) after MS injection. The extent of
      neutrophil infiltration and myocardial myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were
      significantly increased in the IL-1 beta group (P < 0.01). Pre-treatment with
      SLeX-OS (a novel oligosaccharide analog of sialyl LewisX) or PB1.3 (a monoclonal
      antibody to P-selectin) prevented the myocardial dysfunction and significantly
      suppressed the neutrophil infiltration and the increase in myocardial MPO
      activity induced by IL-1 beta (P < 0.01 each). These results indicate that
      adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of the cytokine
      induced sustained myocardial dysfunction in dogs in vivo.

PMID- 9990536
TI  - Role of oxygen in limiting respiration in the in situ myocardium.
AB  - 1H NMR has now detected the proximal histidyl N delta H myoglobin (Mb) signal
      from the myocardium in situ. Upon ligation of the left anterior descending
      coronary artery in the rat myocardium, the deoxy Mb signal appears at 78 ppm
      During dopamine infusion at up to 80 micrograms/kg/min, the heart rate pressure
      product (RPP) increases by a factor of 2, the phosphocreatine (PCr) decreases by
      17%, and the ratio of the change in inorganic phosphate over PCr (delta Pi/PCr)
      increases by 0.2. However, no deoxy myoglobin signal is detected. Oxygen
      availability does not appear to limit oxygen consumption nor oxidative
      phosphorylation under dopamine enhanced work state in myocardium.

PMID- 9990537
TI  - Endothelin-1 increases susceptibility of isolated rat hearts to
      ischemia/reperfusion injury by reducing coronary flow.
AB  - Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is the most potent vasoconstrictor known to date, and it was
      proposed that this peptide plays a major role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion
      injury. ET-1 could increase myocardial susceptibility to ischemia by two
      mechanisms: via coronary flow reduction and/or via direct, metabolic effects on
      the heart. In isolated, buffer-perfused rat hearts, function was measured with a
      left ventricular balloon, and energy metabolism (ATP, phosphocreatine, inorganic
      phosphate, intracellular pH) was estimated by 31NMR-spectroscopy. Under constant
      pressure perfusion, hearts were subjected to 15 min of control perfusion, 15
      ("moderate injury") or 30 ("severe injury") min of global ischemia, followed by
      30 min of reperfusion. Hearts were pre-treated with ET-1 (boluses of 0.04, 4, 40
      of 400 pmol) 5 min prior to ischemia. In the control period, ET-1 reduced
      coronary flow, ventricular function, phosphocreatine and intracellular pH dose
      dependently: during ischemia/reperfusion, coronary flow, functional recovery and
      high-energy phosphate metabolism were adversely affected by ET-1 in a dose
      related manner. To study effects of ET-1 not related to coronary flow reduction,
      additional hearts were perfused under constant flow conditions (ET-1 0 or 400
      pmol) during 15 min of control, 15 min of ischemia and 30 min of reperfusion.
      When coronary flow was held constant, functional and energetic parameters were
      similar for untreated and ET-1 treated hearts during the entire protocol, i.e.
      the adverse effects of ET-1 on function and energy metabolism during
      ischemia/reperfusion were completely abolished. In both constant pressure and
      constant flow protocols, 400 pmol ET-1 reduced the extent of ischemic
      intracellular acidosis. The authors conclude that ET-1 increases the
      susceptibility of isolated hearts to ischemia/reperfusion injury via reduction of
      coronary flow.

PMID- 9990538
TI  - Non-anticoagulant heparin increases endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity:
      role of inhibitory guanine nucleotide proteins.
AB  - Heparin, which is widely used clinically, has recently been shown to have
      specific properties affecting the vascular endothelium. We hypothesized that
      heparin stimulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity by a
      mechanism independent of its anticoagulant properties and dependent on an
      inhibitory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein (Gi). We determined the effect
      of both heparin and N-acetyl heparin (Non-Hep), a heparin derivative without
      anticoagulant properties, on eNOS activity in cultured bovine aortic endothelial
      cells and on endothelium-dependent relaxation in isolated vascular rings. The
      eNOS activity was determined by measuring both citrulline and nitric oxide (NO)
      metabolite formation. Heparin and Non-Hep dose-dependently increased basal eNOS
      activity (ED50 1.0 microgram/ml or 0.15 U/ml), an effect that was significantly
      inhibited by pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml), a Gi-protein inhibitor. Agonist
      stimulated (acetylcholine, 10 microM) eNOS activity was potentiated following pre
      treatment with both heparin and Non-Hep and reversed by pertussis toxin. Heparin
      and Non-Hep induced a dose-dependent relaxation in preconstricted thoracic aortic
      rings, an effect that was significantly inhibited by pertussis toxin, endothelial
      inactivation (following treatment with sodium deoxycholate) and NG-nitro-L
      arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME). We conclude that heparin and non-anticoagulant
      heparin induce endothelium-dependent relaxation following activation of eNOS by a
      mechanism involving a Gi-protein. Administration of heparin derivatives without
      anticoagulant properties may have therapeutic implications for the preservation
      of eNOS in conditions characterized by endothelial dysfunction.

PMID- 9990539
TI  - Sub-antihypertensive doses of ramipril normalize sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium
      ATPase expression and function following cardiac hypertrophy in rats.
AB  - We examined the hypothesis that the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor
      ramipril at sub-antihypertensive concentrations could improve sarcoplasmic
      reticulum (SR) CaATPase expression and function in compensated hypertrophied rat
      hearts. Five weeks after abdominal aortic constriction, rats received a daily
      dose (50 micrograms/kg/day) of ramipril or vehicle for 4 weeks. Cardiac
      angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity increased with cardiac hypertrophy
      (CH) but returned to normal following ramipril treatment. SR CaATPase protein
      levels and activity decreased with CH (P < 0.05) and were normalized following
      ramipril treatment (P < 0.05 for protein and activity). No change in
      phospholamban (PLB) protein levels could be demonstrated between any of the
      groups. In contrast, ramipril treatment specifically increased control SR
      CaATPase and PLB mRNA levels by > 60% (P < 0.01) and > 30%, respectively. In the
      hypertrophied group, SR CaATPase increased by 35% (P < 0.05 n = 6) after ramipril
      treatment. Calsequestrin mRNA levels were unaffected by ramipril administration.
      In conclusion, ramipril normalizes SR CaATPase protein expression and function in
      pressure-overloaded and compensated CH. The effects of ramipril are however
      multifaceted, affecting RNA and protein expression differentially.

PMID- 9990540
TI  - FGF-2-induced negative inotropism and cardioprotection are inhibited by
      chelerythrine: involvement of sarcolemmal calcium-independent protein kinase C.
AB  - Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), administered to the isolated rat heart by
      perfusion and under constant pressure, is protective against ischemia-reperfusion
      (I-R). Here we have investigated whether FGF-2 cardioprotection: (a) is dependent
      on flow modulation; (b) is linked to effects on contractility; (c) is mediated by
      protein kinase C (PKC); and (d) is linked to PKC and/or mitogen activated protein
      kinase (MAPK) associated with the sarcolemma. The isolated rat heart was used as
      a model. Under conditions of constant flow FGF-2 induced significant improvement
      in recovery of contractile function during I-R. Under constant perfusion
      pressure, FGF-2 induced a negative inotropic effect (15% decrease in developed
      pressure). Chelerythrine, a specific PKC inhibitor, prevented both the FGF-2
      induced negative inotropic effect before ischemia, and cardioprotection during I
      R. FGF-2 induced a chelerythrine-preventable, five-fold increase in sarcolemmal
      calcium-independent PKC activity. It also increased the association of PKC
      subtypes -epsilon and -delta with sarcolemmal membranes, detected by Western
      blotting, as well as, for PKC delta, by immunolocalization. FGF-2 increased the
      association of PKC epsilon with the membrane fraction of adult cardiomyocyte in
      culture, confirming that it can affect PKC signaling in cardiomyocytes directly
      and in a manner similar to its effects in situ. Finally, FGF-2 induced increased
      active MAPK at sarcolemmal as well as cytosolic sites. Active sarcolemmal MAPK
      remained elevated when the FGF-2-induced protection was prevented by
      chelerythrine. In conclusion, we have provided evidence that cardioprotection by
      FGF-2 is independent of flow modulation. PKC activation mediates both the FGF-2
      induced negative inotropic effect before ischemia and the cardioprotective effect
      assessed during reperfusion, suggesting a cause and effect relationship.
      Furthermore, FGF-2 cardioprotection is linked to targeting of sarcolemmal sites
      by calcium-independent PKC.

PMID- 9990541
TI  - Sarcoplasmic reticulum function in murine ventricular myocytes overexpressing SR
      CaATPase.
AB  - To examine the effects of the overexpression of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)
      CaATPase on function of the SR and Ca2+ homeostasis, we measured [Ca2+]i
      transients (fluo-3), and L-type Ca2+ currents (ICa.L), Na/Ca exchanger currents
      (INa/Ca), and SR Ca2+ content with voltage clamp in ventricular myocytes isolated
      from wild type (WT) mice and transgenic (SRTG) mice. The amplitude of [Ca2+]i
      transients was insignificantly increased in SRTG myocytes, while the diastolic
      [Ca2+]i tended to be lower. The initial and terminal declines of [Ca2+]i
      transients were significantly accelerated in SRTG myocytes, implying a functional
      upregulation of the SR CaATPase. We examined the functional contribution of only
      the SR CaATPase to the initial and the terminal phase of the decline of [Ca2+]i,
      by abruptly inhibiting Na/Ca exchange with a rapid switcher device. The rate of
      [Ca2+] decline mediated by the SR CaATPase was increased by 40% in SRTG compared
      with WT myocytes. The function of the L-type Ca2+ channel was unchanged in SRTG
      myocytes, while INa/Ca density was slightly (10%) decreased. Measured SR Ca2+
      content was significantly increased by 29% in SRTG myocytes. Thus, overexpression
      of SR CaATPase markedly accelerates the decline of [Ca2+]i transients, and
      induces in increase in SR Ca2+ content, with some downregulation of the Na/Ca
      exchanger.

PMID- 9990542
TI  - Impact of resting and ischemic blood flow on infarct probability in ischemic
      preconditioning--a new approach to infarct size-blood flow data by logistic
      regression.
AB  - The linear regression analysis of infarct size (IS) v ischemic myocardial blood
      flow (MBF) does not account for the heterogeneity of MBF and infarcted tissue;
      moreover, it cannot assess a blood flow threshold for infarction (MBFT)
      accurately, as with ischemic preconditioning (IP) the close relationship between
      ischemic MBF and IS otherwise observed is lost. Finally, the impact of resting
      blood flow on myocardial infarction cannot be considered in such analysis.
      Therefore, in a retrospective data analysis of 32 enflurane-anaesthetized swine
      undergoing 90 min severe ischemia and 120 min reperfusion without (CON, n = 12)
      or with IP induced by either 3 (IP3, n = 8) or 10 min ischemia (IP10, n = 12) and
      15 min reperfusion, a MBFT was assessed by logistic regression (LR) in individual
      tissue pieces. MBFT was arbitrarily defined as that ischemic MBF (microspheres)
      at which infarct probability was 0.2, derived from the ratio of infarcted (n =
      141, TTC) to all tissue samples (n = 684). The duration of the preconditioning
      ischemia and MBF both at rest and during the sustained ischemia were significant
      predictors of infarct probability. Ischemic MBFT at an infarct probability of
      0.2, was 0.089 +/- 0.023 ml/min/g in CON. MBFT was decreased to 0.051 +/- 0.03
      ml/min/g with IP3 (P < 0.05 v CON) and further to 0.004 +/- 0.037 ml/min/g with
      IP10 (P < 0.05 v CON, IP3). Corresponding to the leftward shift of MBFT, the
      relationships between infarct probability and MBF were shifted in parallel by IP
      with no change in their slopes.

PMID- 9990543
TI  - Dual effect of nitric oxide on the hyperpolarization-activated inward current
      (I(f)) in sino-atrial node cells of the rabbit.
AB  - Using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique, we have investigated the effect of
      nitric oxide (NO) donor (sodium nitroprusside, SNP) on hyperpolarization
      activated inward current, I(f), in isolated rabbit sinoatrial node (SAN) cells.
      I(f) in the basal state increased when NO was applied but decreased when I(f) was
      pre-stimulated by isoproterenol (ISO) or by adding cAMP to the pipette solution.
      Both the stimulatory and the inhibitory effects of NO were abolished by guanylyl
      cyclase inhibitor, methylene blue (MB), suggesting that the effect of NO is
      mediated by cGMP. The inhibitory effect of NO was abolished when I(f) was pre
      stimulated by 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), which is a phosphodiesterase
      (PDE) inhibitor, or by adding 8Br-cAMP (which is resistant to PDE) to the pipette
      solution. An analogue of cGMP, 8Br-cGMP, which is a potent stimulator of cGMP
      dependent protein kinase (PKG) but has little effect on PDE, did not inhibit I(f)
      when I(f) was pre-stimulated by ISO. In its basal state, I(f) was still increased
      by 8Br-cGMP, and this effect was not prevented by the pretreatment with H-7, PKG
      inhibitor. The effect of acetylcholine (ACh) was not identical to that of NO:
      I(f) decreased when pre-stimulated not only by ISO, but also by IBMX. The above
      results suggest that via cGMP, NO exerts a dual effect on I(f): the inhibitory
      effect is mediated by cGMP-stimulated PDE, and the stimulatory effect may be
      attributable to direct binding of cGMP to I(f) channels.

PMID- 9990544
TI  - Heat shock provides delayed protection against oxidative injury in cultured human
      umbilical vein endothelial cells.
AB  - During both mild and severe ischemia, vascular endothelial cells lining large and
      small vessels of the ischemic organ are exposed to oxygen-derived free radicals
      resulting in oxidative damage to the organ. Heat shock has been shown to induce
      thermotolerance and also protect against ischemic injury, possibly via increased
      synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSPs). We hypothesized that heat shock
      preconditioning may protect human endothelial cells against oxidative damage.
      Cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were subjected to heat
      shock (42 degrees C, 1 h) and allowed to recover for 2 or 20 h, at which times
      the cells were oxidatively stressed for 1 h by exposing them to 100-200 mumol/l
      of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Cellular damage was assessed immediately and 18 h
      later by morphology and release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). No protection of
      HUVEC was seen using the 2-hour recovery interval, but a significant protection
      (P < 0.05) was observed after the 20-hour delay. Northern blot analysis at 1 and
      2 h after heating showed induction of HSP-70 mRNA. Western blot analysis
      demonstrated a significant increase in HSP-72 protein after 2 as well as 20 h of
      recovery from heat shock, although the amounts of protein at the two times were
      not significantly different. Furthermore, no differences in the activity of the
      antioxidant enzyme catalase were observed between heated and unheated HUVEC at 2
      and 20 h after heat preconditioning. Thus, heat shock preconditioning induces
      delayed protection against oxidative injury in HUVEC, and the mechanism of
      protection appears to involve more than the expression of HSP-72 or activity of
      catalase.

PMID- 9990545
TI  - Characterization of the high affinity [3H]nociceptin binding site in membrane
      preparations of rat heart: correlations with the non-opioid dynorphin binding
      site.
AB  - The binding parameters of [3H]nociceptin were examined in membrane preparations
      of rat heart and compared with those of [3H]dynorphin A-(1-13) ([3H]Dyn A-(1
      13)). Scatchard analysis of [3H]nociceptin binding revealed the presence of two
      distinct sites: a high affinity (Kd: 583 nM) low capacity (Bmax: 132 pmol/mg
      protein) site and a low affinity (Kd: 10,316 nM) high capacity (1552 pmol/mg
      protein) site. Dyn A and related peptides were potent competitors of the binding
      to the high affinity site with the following rank order of potency: alpha-neo
      endorphin > Dyn A-(2-13) = Dyn A-(3-13) > Dyn A-(5-13) > Dyn A-(1-13) > Dyn A >
      Dyn B > Dyn A-(6-10) >> Dyn A-(1-8). Nociceptin was 6.7 times less potent than
      Dyn A with a Ki of 4.8 microM as compared with 0.72 microM for Dyn A. The order
      of potency of the various peptides in inhibiting [3H]nociceptin binding
      correlated well (r = 0.93) with their ability to complete with the binding of
      [3H]Dyn A-(1-13) (Dumont and Lemaire, 1993). In addition, the high affinity
      [3H]nociceptin and non-opioid [3H]Dyn A-(1-13) sites were both sensitive to NaCl
      (120 mM) and the phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitors, U-73122 and neomycin (100
      microM). The binding activities were less affected by the weak PLC inhibitor, U
      73343, and no effect was observed with the non-hydrolysable GTP analogs. Gpp(NH)p
      and GTP-gamma-S. Nociceptin (1-50 microM) was also shown to inhibit the uptake of
      [3H]noradrenaline ([3H]NA) by cardiac synaptosomal preparations. In spontaneously
      hypertensive rats (SHR), the potency of nociceptin in inhibiting [3H]NA uptake
      was increased by 1.6-fold as compared with Wistar Kyoto (WKY) control rats and
      such effect was accompanied by comparable increased levels of cardiac ORL1 mRNA
      and [3H]nociceptin high affinity sites. These changes correlated well with the
      previously observed increased levels of non-opioid cardiac [3H]Dyn A-(1-13) sites
      in SHR (1.3 times as compared with WKY) and increased potency of Dyn A-(1-13) in
      inhibiting [3H]NA uptake by cardiac synaptosomes in SHR (2.2-fold as compared
      with WKY) (Dumont and Lemaire, 1995). The results demonstrate that in rat heart
      the characteristics of the high affinity, low capacity [3H]nociceptin binding
      site are similar to those of the non-opioid Dyn binding site. The stimulation of
      this site by nociceptin, Dyn A or related peptides is more likely to produce a
      modulation of PLC activity and [3H]NA uptake and may participate to the
      pathophysiology of hypertension.

PMID- 9990546
TI  - LPS-induced TNF-alpha release from and apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes:
      obligatory role for CD14 in mediating the LPS response.
AB  - The bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contributes to the
      cardiovascular collapse and death observed in patients with sepsis. Because LPS
      has such profound effects on cardiac performance, we speculate that direct
      effects of LPS could be demonstrated on cardiomyocytes in culture, and that these
      direct effects are mediated by the LPS receptor, CD14. Accordingly, in this
      study, we provide evidence for CD14-dependent cardiotoxic effects of LPS
      including the LPS-stimulated secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)
      from cardiomyocytes. TNF-alpha is an inflammatory cytokine which is known for its
      negative inotropic effects on cardiac performance, but has not until recently
      been shown to be produced by cardiac cells. In this study, LPS was found to
      stimulate strongly in a dose-dependent manner the secretion of TNF-alpha from
      cultured adult rat cardiomyocytes. Further, LPS-induced TNF-alpha secretion was
      blocked by an inhibitor of TNF-alpha processing, metallomatrix protease inhibitor
      (TAPI). Molecular and immunological evidence demonstrated the presence of LPS
      receptors (CD14) on cardiomyocytes. Attenuated TNF-alpha secretion following PI
      PLC treatment confirmed the functional importance of CD14 for LPS-mediated
      myocardial effects. Importantly, LPS also triggered apoptosis in cultured
      cardiomyocytes as quantified by single-cell gel electrophoresis of nuclei
      exhibiting DNA fragmentation patterns characteristic of apoptosis (i.e. cardiac
      comets). Apoptotic cell death was blocked by pre-incubation with the soluble TNF
      alpha receptor fragment (TNFRII:Fc), suggesting that LPS-induced apoptosis was
      TNF-alpha-dependent and probably involved an autocrine function for the TNF-alpha
      whose secretion was under LPS control. The results of this study suggest that the
      cardiodepressant effects of LPS are dependent on CD14 signaling and may not only
      be due to acute negative inotropic effects of TNF-alpha but also may be
      complicated by TNF-alpha-induced apoptotic cell death which effectively reduces
      the number of working myocardial cells.

PMID- 9990548
TI  - An alternative preconditioning mechanism?

PMID- 9990547
TI  - Fluorescent phalloidin enables visualization of actin without effects on myosin's
      actin filament sliding velocity and hydrolytic properties in vitro.
AB  - Recent reports have demonstrated an activating effect of phalloidin in striated
      muscle. Furthermore, modeling of X-ray diffraction and crystallographic data
      suggests that phalloidin binding may induce conformational changes in actin. To
      determine whether phalloidin affects the mechanics of the actomyosin interaction,
      the velocity of actin filaments variably labeled with rhodamine-phalloidin was
      measured. In addition, solution actin-activated myosin subfragment-1 ATPase
      activity with phalloidin-labeled actin was compared to unlabeled actin. Here we
      found that phalloidin does not significantly effect actin filament velocity or
      parameters of ATPase, namely Vmax and K(m). Possible differences between muscle
      strip data and these in vitro results are discussed.

PMID- 9990549
TI  - What's new in neuropsychiatry.

PMID- 9990550
TI  - Neuropsychiatric presentation of multiple sclerosis.

PMID- 9990551
TI  - The American Neuropsychiatric Association: ten years of progress and a future of
      great promise.
AB  - The author reviews the history, accomplishments, and goals of the American
      Neuropsychiatric Association on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its
      founding.

PMID- 9990552
TI  - The neurobiology and pharmacotherapy of Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, has become a major
      public health concern as our population ages. In recent years, AD has attracted
      the attention of a wide range of biological disciplines, and substantial progress
      has been made in understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in AD. Four
      different genes have now been associated with AD and are providing insights into
      the pathogenesis of the disease. The roles of beta-amyloid, tau, hormonal
      changes, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the neurodegeneration of AD are
      also being delineated. Based on these discoveries, rational therapeutic
      strategies are developing rapidly. The authors review these and other recent
      advances in the neurobiology and pharmacotherapy of AD.

PMID- 9990553
TI  - Safety and efficacy of ECT in patients with head injury: a case series.
AB  - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective treatment for certain
      psychiatric disorders. Eleven patients who had sustained a closed head injury
      were treated with ECT for their psychiatric symptoms. Eight patients responded to
      an index course of ECT: 2 were partial responders and became responders during
      continuation ECT (cECT); 1 patient was a nonresponder. Post-ECT Neurobehavioral
      Cognitive Status Examination and Mini-Mental State Examination scores showed no
      significant decline (P > 0.70 and P > 0.89, respectively) from baseline. Eight
      patients received cECT, without any lasting cognitive side effects. These
      findings indicate that ECT can be used effectively in patients with a history of
      closed head injury, without adverse effects on cognitive functioning.

PMID- 9990554
TI  - Cognitive and behavioral sequelae of closed head injury in older adults according
      to their significant others.
AB  - This study examined the neurobehavioral effects of closed head injury (CHI) in
      older adults according to their significant others. Informants of 17 mild and
      moderate CHI patients > or = 50 years old when injured completed the Geriatric
      Evaluation of Relative's Rating Instrument, a questionnaire inquiring about the
      patient's cognition, affect, interpersonal relations, and daily activities. The
      significant others provided retrospective ratings of preinjury functioning and
      completed the same instrument an average of 4 and 13 months post-injury. The
      significant others of 10 community-residing, normal control subjects completed
      the questionnaire at comparable intervals between each rating. Compared with
      their preinjury functioning, and unlike the control subjects, patients showed
      declines in cognition and mood. The possible impact of these changes, including
      their effect on subjective burden in caregivers, is discussed.

PMID- 9990555
TI  - Correlates of executive function in multiple sclerosis: the use of magnetic
      resonance spectroscopy as an index of focal pathology.
AB  - Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was performed in a group of patients
      with multiple sclerosis (MS) and matched control subjects to examine the
      relationship between frontal lobe pathology and performance on tests of executive
      function. The N-acetyl aspartate/creatine ratio (NAA/Cr) was significantly
      reduced in frontal lesions and/or normal-appearing white matter in the patient
      group compared with the control group, but choline/creatine ratios did not
      differ. Although MRS abnormalities and executive deficits were not correlated for
      MS patients as a group, a few patients with more severe abnormalities of NAA/Cr
      ratio performed worse than other patients on the spatial working memory test,
      suggesting that subtle frontal neuropathological abnormalities detected by MRS
      may contribute to executive deficits. Further investigation is warranted to
      determine the value of MRS as an index of the pathophysiological processes
      leading to cognitive deficit.

PMID- 9990556
TI  - Neuropsychiatric manifestations of multiple sclerosis.
AB  - The range of neuropsychiatric symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been
      prospectively assessed. The authors, working at a tertiary medical center in
      Mexico City, used the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) to evaluate
      neuropsychiatric symptoms prospectively in 44 MS patients who were stable between
      relapses and 25 control subjects of similar age, education, and cognitive
      function. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were present in 95% of patients and 16% of
      control subjects. Changes present were depressive symptoms (79%), agitation
      (40%), anxiety (37%), irritability (35%), apathy (20%), euphoria (13%),
      disinhibition (13%), hallucinations (10%), aberrant motor behavior (9%), and
      delusions (7%). The only relationships with MRI were between euphoria and
      hallucinations and moderately severe MRI abnormalities. The authors conclude that
      diverse types of neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in MS; symptoms are present
      between exacerbations; and there are variable correlations with MRI
      abnormalities.

PMID- 9990557
TI  - Neurophysiological aspects of synesthetic experience.
AB  - Synesthesia is a perceptual condition in which stimulation in one sensory
      modality elicits a concurrent sensation in another. The authors studied possible
      electrophysiological correlates of synesthetic experience in 17 subjects claiming
      to continuously experience chromatic-graphemical synesthesia and a matched
      control group. Subjects had to respond to one of four numbers and one of six
      letters by pressing a button. Even-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from
      multiple scalp sites. Most synesthetic subjects reported strong synesthetic
      perceptions during the experiment. The ERPs of both groups showed a distinct P300
      component when subjects encountered the assigned target number or letter.
      Synesthetic subjects had significantly and clearly more positive waveform over
      frontal and prefrontal scalp regions than control subjects for target and
      nontarget stimuli. This electrophysiological marker is discussed in terms of
      cortical inhibition in synesthetic subjects and the role of prefrontal regions in
      multisensory integration.

PMID- 9990558
TI  - Lack of effect of apolipoprotein E E4 allele on neuropsychiatric manifestations
      in Alzheimer's disease.
AB  - The association between the apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 (APOE E4) allele and a
      wide spectrum of behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was
      investigated. Neither the severity nor the presence of any behavioral changes was
      associated with the number of APOE E4 alleles, even after controlling for the
      effects of age at onset, sex, education level, duration of illness, and severity
      of dementia. The findings do not support the hypothesis that neuropsychiatric
      manifestations of AD are different in patients with the APOE E4 allele.

PMID- 9990559
TI  - Reduced volume of limbic system-affiliated basal ganglia in mood disorders:
      preliminary data from a postmortem study.
AB  - Volumes of basal ganglia in postmortem brains of 8 patients with mood disorders
      and 8 control subjects without neuropsychiatric disorder were determined.
      Morphometry of serial whole-brain sections under the control of postmortem
      artifacts revealed reduced volumes of the left nucleus accumbens (-32%, P =
      0.01), the right and left external pallidum (-20%, P = 0.04), and the right
      putamen (-15%, P = 0.04) in the patient group compared with the control group.
      These results suggest that, in particular, the limbic loop of the basal ganglia
      involving the nucleus accumbens and the pallidum is affected in mood disorders.

PMID- 9990560
TI  - Reduction of motoric agitation and restlessness by AF102B and tacrine in the
      macaque.
AB  - The cholinesterase inhibitor tacrine (THA) and the M1 muscarinic agonist AF102B
      (cevimeline), both reported to enhance cognition in animals and humans, were
      tested in 5 macaques for reduction of spontaneous, random movements. Monkeys were
      videotaped 1 hour after administration of normal saline vehicle, after low- and
      high-dose intramuscular AF102B, and after low- and high-dose oral THA. Two
      independent blind judges counted numbers of spontaneous movements made by each
      monkey over 12 consecutive 15-second segments for each drug condition. Both THA
      and AF102B reduced movement significantly at high doses without overt side
      effects, warranting further research on the agitation-reducing potential of
      cognition-enhancing cholinomimetic drugs.

PMID- 9990561
TI  - Clozapine restores water balance in schizophrenic patients with polydipsia
      hyponatremia syndrome.
AB  - Hyponatremia/hypoosmolemia causes marked morbidity and prolongs hospital stays in
      a significant subset of schizophrenic patients. Case reports with methodological
      limitations suggest clozapine ameliorates this water imbalance. To more
      conclusively assess this possibility, we completed a 24-week open-label study in
      8 male polydipsic hypoosmolemic schizophrenic inpatients. Subjects were treated
      initially for 6 weeks with a conventional neuroleptic, which was replaced by 300,
      600, and 900 (if tolerated) mg/day of clozapine for sequential 6-week periods. On
      clozapine, mean plasma osmolality rose an average of 15.2 mosm/kg (95% CI: 5.5
      25.0). Dosage of 300 mg/day of clozapine was sufficient to normalize plasma
      osmolality and was generally well tolerated. Clozapine appears to be the first
      effective pharmacotherapy for severe water imbalance in schizophrenia.

PMID- 9990562
TI  - Stability of neurological soft signs in chronically hospitalized schizophrenic
      patients.
AB  - Neurological soft signs (NSS) have been shown to be more prevalent in chronically
      ill and in acute or never-mediated patients with schizophrenia. If neurological
      soft signs are trait-like, then NSS scores should be relatively stable over time
      and should not be related to changes in patients' psychopathology or medication.
      Chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia were rated two or more times
      over a 5-year period with standard NSS and psychopathology scales. Total NSS
      scores were highly correlated over time, and changes in NSS scores at two time
      points were not significantly related to changes in psychopathology scores. Total
      NSS scores did not change significantly in a subsample rated when they were first
      treated with a traditional neuroleptic and later with an atypical neuroleptic.
      The findings suggest total NSS scores may have some characteristics of a trait
      like feature in chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

PMID- 9990563
TI  - Carbamazepine in the treatment of Lyme disease-induced hyperacusis.
AB  - Lyme disease-induced hyperacusis can be an intensely disabling, chronic condition
      that is accompanied by posttraumatic stress disorder-like psychobehavioral
      sequelae. The authors describe effective treatment of 2 patients with
      carbamazepine. Speculations regarding a mode of action are offered.

PMID- 9990564
TI  - Episodically remitting akinetic mutism following subarachnoid hemorrhage.
AB  - Akinetic mutism is characterized by alertness with near complete absence of
      volitional activity. The authors report a case of episodically remitting akinetic
      mutism following subarachnoid hemorrhage.

PMID- 9990565
TI  - Visual scanning of facial expressions in schizophrenia.
AB  - The authors previously observed that schizophrenic patients generated fewer
      fixations of < or = 50.1 ms in response to faces than did a clinical control
      group. This study examined whether deficits in short-duration eye movements were
      related to patients' problems in gestalt perception of faces. Faces were
      presented in upright and inverted orientations to examine the effects of
      distorting facial gestalts on eye movements. Normal subjects generated more
      saccades of < or = 50.1 ms to upright than to inverted faces. Patients' saccades
      of < or = 50.1 ms did not differ between orientations. Patterns of fixations and
      of saccades > 50.1 ms did not differ between groups. The results may indicate
      deficits in these patients in search strategies that underlie perception of
      facial gestalts.

PMID- 9990566
TI  - Clinicopathologic case report. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

PMID- 9990567
TI  - Drug-responsive mania in a man with a brain tumor.

PMID- 9990568
TI  - Mirtazapine-induced mania in a case of poststroke depression.

PMID- 9990569
TI  - Anatomic basis of Kluver-Bucy syndrome.

PMID- 9990570
TI  - Chronic manganism: fourteen years of follow-up.

PMID- 9990571
TI  - Grand mal seizures with liver toxicity in a case of clozapine treatment.

PMID- 9990572
TI  - Severe normochrome and normocytic anemia after 19 months on ticlopidine.

PMID- 9990573
TI  - Determinants of plasma retinol concentrations of middle-aged women in rural
      China.
AB  - The purpose of this study was to assess the correlates and possible determinants
      of plasma vitamin A among middle-aged women in rural China. The vitamin A
      adequacy of the different diets at the five widely varying survey sites was also
      assessed. Patterns of correlations among dietary and biochemical measurements
      were strikingly different from previous studies in Western subjects. Plasma beta
      carotene was uncorrelated with beta-carotene intake even after adjusting for
      potential confounders. In counties with low preformed vitamin A intake, plasma
      retinol correlated with plasma copper (P = 0.007), which in turn was correlated
      with dietary intake of copper (P = 0.007). In these counties plasma retinol was
      correlated with plasma beta-carotene (P = 0.001) and was increased 10% in women
      in the first 2 y of menopause (P = 0.028). Plasma retinol and C-reactive protein
      levels are inversely correlated (r = -0.15, P < 0.001), indicating that vitamin A
      status and inflammatory response may be related but the causal direction is
      unknown. Despite low intake of vitamin A (county averages of 13-78% of
      recommended daily allowance [RDA]), and particularly of preformed vitamin A, only
      3% of these women had plasma retinol levels below 0.7 mumol/L, considered to
      indicate possible marginal deficiency. Plasma levels of retinol and beta-carotene
      were more influenced by intrinsic factors such as menopause, lipid status,
      retinol requirements, and possibly copper status and inflammation than by
      extrinsic factors such as diet and lifestyle.

PMID- 9990574
TI  - Randomized clinical outcome study of critically ill patients given glutamine
      supplemented enteral nutrition.
AB  - Glutamine is normally an abundant amino acid in the body. It has many important
      metabolic roles, which may protect or promote tissue integrity and enhance the
      immune system. Low plasma and tissue levels of glutamine in the critically ill
      suggest that demand may exceed endogenous supply. A relative deficiency of
      glutamine could compromise recovery, resulting in prolonged illness and an
      increase in late mortality, morbidity, and consequently hospital costs. Using a
      prospective block-randomized, double-blind treatment study design, we tested
      whether a glutamine-containing enteral feed compared with an isonitrogenous,
      isoenergetic control feed would influence outcome. The study endpoints were
      morbidity, mortality, and hospital cost at 6 mo postintervention. In one general
      intensive care unit (ICU), to ensure consistency of management policies, 78
      critically ill adult patients with Acute Physiological and Chronic Health
      Evaluation (APACHE) II score of 11 and greater and who were considered able to
      tolerate introduction of enteral nutrition were studied. Fifty patients
      successfully received enteral nutrition (26 glutamine, 24 control). There was no
      mortality difference between those patients receiving glutamine-containing
      enteral feed and the controls. However, there was a significant reduction in the
      median postintervention ICU and hospital patient costs in the glutamine
      recipients $23,000 versus $30,900 in the control patients (P = 0.036). For
      patients given glutamine there was a reduced cost per survivor of 30%. We
      conclude that in critically ill ICU patients enteral feeds containing glutamine
      have significant hospital cost benefits.

PMID- 9990575
TI  - The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and its use in grading the nutritional
      state of elderly patients.
AB  - The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) has recently been designed and validated to
      provide a single, rapid assessment of nutritional status in elderly patients in
      outpatient clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. It has been translated into
      several languages and validated in many clinics around the world. The MNA test is
      composed of simple measurements and brief questions that can be completed in
      about 10 min. Discriminant analysis was used to compare the findings of the MNA
      with the nutritional status determined by physicians, using the standard
      extensive nutritional assessment including complete anthropometric, clinical
      biochemistry, and dietary parameters. The sum of the MNA score distinguishes
      between elderly patients with: 1) adequate nutritional status, MNA > or = 24; 2)
      protein-calorie malnutrition, MNA < 17; 3) at risk of malnutrition, MNA between
      17 and 23.5. With this scoring, sensitivity was found to be 96%, specificity 98%,
      and predictive value 97%. The MNA scale was also found to be predictive of
      mortality and hospital cost. Most important it is possible to identify people at
      risk for malnutrition, scores between 17 and 23.5, before severe changes in
      weight or albumin levels occur. These individuals are more likely to have a
      decrease in caloric intake that can be easily corrected by nutritional
      intervention.

PMID- 9990576
TI  - Effect of prolonged intraluminal alpha-amylase inhibition on eating, weight, and
      the small intestine of rats.
AB  - Effects of chronic intraluminal amylase inhibition on eating and the digestive
      system are unclear. In growing rats, we determined the effect of ingesting a
      wheat amylase inhibitor (AI) on eating, weight, small intestinal mucosal growth,
      and disaccharidases. Three groups of 12 rats received AI, were pair-fed controls
      (PFC), or had free access to food (FAC). After measuring food intake and body and
      stool weight for 21 d, rats were decapitated and the small intestine was divided
      into four segments. AI and PFC rats had similar food intake, weight gain, and
      stool output, but these were less than FAC rats (P < 0.005). AI rats ate less (P
      < 0.001) than PFC during the light cycle and less than FAC rats during darkness.
      Mucosal DNA and RNA were reduced (P < 0.05) in the upper small intestine of AI
      and PFC rats compared with FAC rats. Mucosal weight, RNA, and disaccharidase
      activities were greater (P < 0.01) in the ileum of AI rats compared with PFC and
      FAC rats. AI alters the amount and pattern of food intake, reduces weight gain,
      upper small intestinal mucosal weight, protein and DNA, and increases distal
      small intestinal mucosal weight, RNA, and disaccharidases. AI likely causes these
      effects by inducing satiety and increasing carbohydrate delivery to the distal
      intestine.

PMID- 9990577
TI  - Dietary amino acids as new and novel agents to enhance allograft survival.
AB  - Dietary supplementation with arginine was previously found to enhance cardiac
      allograft survival in rats when given with a donor-specific transfusion and a
      short low-dose course of cyclosporine. This study was performed to determine
      further the role of amino acid supplementation in prolonging allograft survival.
      Standard isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets were modified to contain 2 or 4% of
      energy from arginine, 2 or 4% from glutamine, 4% from glycine or the following
      combinations: 2% arginine with 2% glutamine, 2% arginine with 4% glutamine, or 1%
      arginine with 2% glutamine. These diets were started along with a donor-specific
      transfusion and a 7-d course of cyclosporine the day before cardiac
      transplantation from an ACI to Lewis strain rat. Median survival times in days
      for the groups were as follows: control without amino acids, 19.0; 2% arginine,
      68.0; 4% arginine, 35.5; 2% glutamine, 28.5; 4% glutamine, 53.5; 4% glycine,
      31.5; 2% arginine with 2% glutamine, 39.5; 2% arginine with 4% glutamine, 42.5
      and 1% arginine with 2% glutamine, 35.5. Each experimental diet except 2%
      glutamine and 4% glycine significantly enhanced allograft survival (P < 0.05)
      with the 2% arginine diet being the best (91.6 +/- 32.3 d [mean +/- SEM] versus
      20.1 +/- 3.2 d for control). It is concluded that both arginine and glutamine
      enhance the immunosuppressive effects of donor-specific transfusion and
      cyclosporine.

PMID- 9990578
TI  - Effect of intravenous omega-6 and omega-3 fat emulsions on nitrogen retention and
      protein kinetics in burned rats.
AB  - The effect of omega-3 fat emulsion on nitrogen retention and kinetics in relation
      to fatty acid profile were investigated in burned rats receiving total parenteral
      nutrition (TPN). A fat emulsion of a structured symmetrical triacylglycerol
      containing only eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (2:1)
      was prepared. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed by fat-free chow for 2 wk. Then rats
      were fed exclusively with one of three types of TPN for 7 d. Animals in group C
      received fat-free TPN (n = 11). Group omega 6 received safflower oil fat
      emulsion, which accounted for 20% of total caloric intake (n = 11). Group omega 3
      received fat emulsion containing only EPA and DHA (1% of total calories, n = 11),
      in addition to safflower oil emulsion (19% of total calories). On day 5, each rat
      was subjected to 20% full-thickness scald burns. Rats were sacrificed under ether
      anesthesia 48 h after burning. The rats in group C became deficient in omega-6
      essential fatty acids. Cumulative nitrogen balance was decreased significantly in
      group omega 6. The rates of whole-body protein synthesis were increased
      significantly in both groups omega 6 and omega 3. In omega 6, however, the rates
      of whole-body protein breakdown were increased significantly. In conclusion, the
      rates of whole-body protein breakdown increased and nitrogen retention was
      aggravated significantly in animals administered the safflower oil emulsion.
      Significant increases of urinary excretion of total catecholamine were also
      observed. Prostaglandin E2 and thromboxane B2 concentrations were not
      significantly different among three groups. Supplementation with the new omega-3
      fat emulsion, however, improved protein metabolism in burned rats receiving TPN.

PMID- 9990580
TI  - Muscle amino acid metabolism and the control of muscle protein turnover in
      patients with chronic renal failure.
AB  - Malnutrition is frequently observed in patients with end-stage renal disease.
      Studies indicate that poor nutritional status plays a major role among factors
      adversely affecting patients outcome. Therefore prevention and treatment of
      malnutrition in renal patients is a major issue. In this article the potential
      mechanisms for alterations in muscle protein metabolism in uremia are explored.
      Malnutrition has been mainly attributed to inadequate intake of nutrients,
      superimposed illnesses, or both. However, both clinical and experimental evidence
      show that uremia per se may adversely affect the control of muscle protein and
      amino acid metabolism. Available evidence suggests that catabolic factors appear
      to be distinct for patients at different stages of chronic renal failure and
      require different modalities of treatments. Both nutritional requirements and the
      prevalence of malnutrition increase as end-stage renal disease progresses. Muscle
      protein degradation is increased by metabolic acidosis, which is often found in
      uremic patients. Another relevant, but less proven cause for increased protein
      degradation is insulin resistance. Furthermore, specific defects in muscle amino
      acid metabolism, resistance to growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, or a
      very low protein intake can reduce muscle protein synthesis. Finally, the
      hemodialytic procedure per se can stimulate protein breakdown or reduce protein
      synthesis. All these factors may potentiate the effects of concurrent catabolic
      illnesses, anorexia, and physical inactivity often found in uremic patients.

PMID- 9990579
TI  - A vitamin E-deficient diet affects nerve regeneration in rats.
AB  - Degenerative changes in the neuromuscular system have been found in animals and
      humans with vitamin E (E) deficiency. This morphologic study examined the effect
      of dietary E on the regeneration of peripheral nerves in male Sprague-Dawley
      rats. After feeding an E-sufficient diet (dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate 50 mg/kg
      diet) for 6 d, 24 rats were randomly and equally assigned to one of three groups:
      control (CTRL) fed an E-sufficient diet for 43 d without surgery, normal (NE) fed
      an E-sufficient diet, or low (LE) fed an E-deficient diet (dl-alpha-tocopheryl
      acetate 0 mg/kg diet). After 22 d of feeding, NE and LE had surgical compression
      of the right sciatic nerve and continued eating for 15 d. On day 43, the right
      triceps surae muscles and a segment of the right sciatic nerve were removed, then
      all rats were euthanized. The nerve and muscles were processed for morphologic
      analyses. Presurgery and postsurgery LE ate less food (P < 0.048 and P < 0.001,
      respectively), which resulted in a lower body weight gain (P < 0.0002). LE had
      irregularly shaped and less myelinated axons than NE (P < 0.0001) and CTRL (P <
      0.0001). The LE plantaris muscle had less type II fibers when compared with NE (P
      < 0.007) and CTRL (P < 0.03). The results suggest that an E-deficient diet
      affects food intake, impairs nerve regeneration, and decreases type II fibers,
      whereas an E-sufficient diet contributes to normal axon regeneration.

PMID- 9990581
TI  - Possible side effects on vitamin A status due to fiber supplementation in
      diabetic children.

PMID- 9990582
TI  - Effect of a chicken egg shell powder enriched dairy product on bone mineral
      density in persons with osteoporosis or osteopenia.

PMID- 9990583
TI  - Immunologically enhanced enteral feeds in critical illness.

PMID- 9990584
TI  - The state of the Mini Nutritional Assessment?

PMID- 9990585
TI  - Influence of EPA and DHA intravenous fat emulsions on nitrogen retention and
      protein kinetics in burned rats.

PMID- 9990586
TI  - Intestinal mucosa versus dietary carcinogens: the carcinogenic consequence of
      metabolic defense enzyme disruption.

PMID- 9990587
TI  - Glutathione redox disturbances in human immunodeficiency virus infection:
      immunologic and therapeutic consequences.

PMID- 9990588
TI  - The mechanisms of fat malabsorption in cystic fibrosis patients.

PMID- 9990589
TI  - Growth failure in inflammatory bowel disease.

PMID- 9990590
TI  - Home parenteral nutrition: the pediatric point of view.

PMID- 9990591
TI  - Meta-analysis.

PMID- 9990592
TI  - Relevance of N-acetylcysteine in clinical practice: fact, myth or consequence?

PMID- 9990593
TI  - Research data: source of information for patient education materials.

PMID- 9990594
TI  - Appropriate use of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator: a Canadian
      perspective. Canadian Working Group on Cardiac Pacing.

PMID- 9990595
TI  - Radiofrequency catheter ablation of symptomatic ventricular ectopic beats
      originating in the right outflow tract.
AB  - Ectopic activity originating in the right ventricular outflow tract is a frequent
      finding and may result in severe symptoms such as dyspnea, palpitations, and lack
      of physical capacity correlated with a low cardiac output. In 12 consecutive
      symptomatic and drug refractory patients, we performed a study with intracardiac
      mapping and ablation procedure. The origin of the ectopic beats was identified,
      and the ablation procedure was performed. Patients were examined by serial ECG,
      Holter ECG, bicycle ECG, echocardiography, and thoracic X ray. At baseline, the
      mean number of ectopic beats was 23,823 during Holter ECG. No other arrhythmias
      were present. Patients underwent basic electro-physiological study, mapping
      process, and ablation in a single procedure. Ablation was performed with a
      deflectable thermocoupled catheter with tip electrodes of 4 mm. Criteria for
      identification of the origin of the ectopic beats included pace mapping with 12
      leads and earliest endocardial activation. One male patient suffered from
      myocarditis; the other 11 patients had no underlying structural heart disease.
      The mean age was 38 years. Ablation procedure with delivered temperature of 70
      degrees C was successful in 11 of 12 patients eliminating the focus. The mean
      procedural time was 79 +/- 34 minutes; mean fluoroscopy time was 13.8 +/- 8.8
      minutes; and mean number of applications was 4.4 +/- 2.8. No adverse effects
      occurred during a follow-up period of 10 months after ablation. The mean number
      of ectopic beats per 24 hours after ablation was 317 +/- 599 with a P value of
      0.00024. The clinical symptoms improved in all but one patient. One patient had a
      recurrence after 2 months that could be successfully treated by a second
      procedure. In our experience, temperature guided radiofrequency catheter ablation
      is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with symptomatic ectopic
      activity of the right outflow tract. As long as we lack the experience of a
      greater patient cohort and a longer follow-up, only drug resistant and highly
      symptomatic patients should be selected.

PMID- 9990596
TI  - Improved efficacy of mode switching during atrial fibrillation using automatic
      atrial sensitivity adjustment.
AB  - Automatic mode switching (AMS) during atrial fibrillation (AF) in a dual chamber
      pacemaker is dependent on the accurate detection of an atrial electrogram. As
      atrial amplitude is often reduced during AF compared with sinus rhythm, this may
      result in failure of the AMS and a rapid ventricular response. In addition,
      undersensing of AF may result in competitive atrial pacing that sustains AF. We
      hypothesize that the use of automatic atrial sensitivity adjustment (ASA) may
      enhance AF sensing in a dual chamber pacemaker. We studied the AMS response with
      and without ASA of the Marathon DDDR (model 294-09, Intermedics, Inc.) pacemaker
      in 10 patients with paroxysmal AF. Intracardiac atrial electrograms during sinus
      rhythm and induced AF were recorded onto an analog tape recorder. They were
      replayed into the pacemaker to assess the AMS response at various starting atrial
      sensitivities from 3.5 to 0.8 mV with ASA activated and without. Atrial amplitude
      was reduced during AF. The higher the initial atrial sensitivity, the better is
      the AMS response and the lower the incidence of AF undersensing. The percentage
      of AMS before ASA ranged from 2.1% at an atrial sensitivity 3.5 mV to 95.6% at
      highest sensitivity of 0.5 mV (P < 0.05). After 10 minutes of ASA, the AMS
      response was improved from 1.7% to 50.6% and from 9.5% to 50.9% at starting
      atrial sensitivities of 3.5 mV and 2.5 mV, respectively (P < 0.05 in both
      instances). Undersensing during AF was also significantly reduced after ASA from
      70% to 10% at a sensitivity of 3.5 mV and from 33.8% to 10.8% at 2.5 mV. There
      was no increase in oversensing. In four patients with paroxysmal AF with an
      implanted pacemaker, ASA improved AMS response in patients with a low implant
      atrial amplitude. In conclusion, efficacy of mode switching and AF sensing are
      dependent on the programmed atrial sensitivity, which can be enhanced with the
      use of ASA, particularly when P wave sensing during AF is borderline.

PMID- 9990597
TI  - Spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of refractory angina pectoris: a two
      year follow-up.
AB  - Twenty-three patients affected by severe, refractory angina were submitted to
      permanent spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and then followed in our outpatient
      clinic for 24 months. During the follow-up period, the number of weekly angina
      episodes drastically dropped from 9.2 (preimplant) to 1.8 in the 3rd, 2.5 in the
      6th, 4.5 in the 12th, and 4.2 in the 24th month, with a statistically significant
      difference (P < 0.01) between the first and last values. A significant increase
      in the average exercise time from 320 +/- 120 seconds (in baseline condition) to
      410 +/- 115 seconds (during SCS) was observed at the treadmill stress test (P <
      0.01). SCS was well tolerated by all the patients. However, 7 patients died
      during follow-up (3 myocardial infarctions, 2 noncardiac deaths, and 2 sudden
      deaths). Three generators were replaced because of battery depletion after 15,
      17, and 21 months. No serious complication was observed. In conclusion, in
      patients with otherwise intractable angina or already submitted to myocardial
      revascularization, SCS is very effective in reducing the number of angina
      episodes. The time of the work during exercise stress test is also significantly
      prolonged.

PMID- 9990598
TI  - Atrial ejection force in patients with atrial fibrillation: comparison between DC
      shock and pharmacological cardioversion.
AB  - It is well known that the restoration of sinus rhythm is not always associated
      with the return of effective atrial contraction. Atrial ejection force (AEF) is a
      noninvasive Doppler derived parameter that measures the strength of the atrial
      contraction. The aim of the present study was to use pulsed-Doppler
      echocardiography to determine if different modalities of cardioversion influence
      the delay in the return of effective atrial contraction after cardioversion. DC
      shock and pharmacological therapy were compared. Sixty-eight patients were
      randomly cardioverted, either using DC shock or i.v. procainamide. The patients
      who were restored to a sinus rhythm had a complete Doppler echocardiographic
      examination within 1 hour after the restoration, after 24 hours, after 1 month,
      and after 3 months. AEF was measured and compared in the two groups of patients
      and within the same group. AEF was greater immediately and at 24 hours after
      cardioversion in patients who underwent pharmacological therapy compared to
      patients treated with DC shock (peak A wave, 60 +/- 9 vs 31 +/- 8 msec, P <
      0.001; AEF 11.3 +/- 3 vs 5 +/- 2.9 dynes, P < 0.001). In both groups, AEF
      increases over time. In conclusion, AEF is a noninvasive parameter that can be
      easily measured after cardioversion and can give accurate information about the
      recovery of left atrial mechanical function. This finding may have important
      implications for guiding the anticoagulant therapy after cardioversion.

PMID- 9990599
TI  - Steroid eluting high impedance pacing leads decrease short and long-term current
      drain: results from a multicenter clinical trial. CapSure Z investigators.
AB  - Pacemaker lead technology has changed considerably over the past decades. The
      widespread use of low polarization highly porous electrodes and steroid elution
      electrodes has resulted in low chronic pacing thresholds, as well as a decrease
      in the incidence of exit block. Efforts to develop pacing leads with high
      impedance might theoretically lead to lower lead current drain, which is a
      component of battery capacity. Pulse generator longevity can be increased without
      sacrificing pacemaker capabilities if pacing current drain can be decreased.
      Decreasing the size of the stimulation electrode results in increased pacing
      impedance, and if pacing thresholds are unchanged, a decreased current drain is
      predicted by Ohm's law (I = V/R). There is limited data available on the pacing
      characteristics of large numbers of patients with high impedance leads, despite
      their recent general availability and increasing widespread use. This
      multicenter, controlled trial examined the differences in performance between
      standard steroid-eluting pacing leads in the atrium (Medtronic model 5524) and
      ventricle (Medtronic model 5024), and new high impedance steroid-eluting pacing
      leads in the atrium (Medtronic model 5534) and ventricle (Medtronic model 5034).
      Measurements of bipolar pacing thresholds at 2.5 V, pacing impedance, and sensing
      thresholds were determined within 24 hours of pacemaker implantation, and at 0.5,
      1, 3, 6 and 12 months after pacemaker implantation in 609 patients. Pacing and
      sensing thresholds were similar for the control and high impedance leads at all
      times except for a slightly larger R wave with the high impedance leads at
      implantation and 12 months. The mean impedance of the high impedance pacing leads
      in the atrium and ventricle at 12 months was 992 +/- 175 and 1,080 +/- 220 omega,
      compared to 522 +/- 69 and 600 +/- 89 omega for the standard pacing leads in the
      atrium and ventricle (P < or = 0.001 for the high impedance leads compared to
      standard leads in each chamber). The mean atrial lead current (measured at 2.5 V)
      at 12 months was 2.6 +/- 0.5 mA with the high impedance lead, and 4.9 +/- 0.7 mA
      with the standard lead in the atrium (P < or = 0.001). In the ventricle, the mean
      lead current at 12 months was 2.4 +/- 0.4 mA with the high impedance pacing lead
      and 4.3 +/- 0.6 mA with the standard lead (P < or = 0.001). High impedance leads
      are associated with lower lead current drain than standard pacing leads in the
      atrium and ventricle for up to 1 year. No clinically important differences in
      sensing characteristics was noted with the high impedance leads in the atrium or
      ventricle compared to standard pacing leads. High impedance leads may result in
      increased pulse generator longevity.

PMID- 9990600
TI  - The dynamic behavior of the diastolic slope of monophasic action potential can be
      related to the occurrence and maintenance of delayed afterdepolarization
      dependent arrhythmias.
AB  - We have described the value of the diastolic slope of the MAP recording at the
      end of a pacing train as a qualifying marker for the induction of delayed
      afterdepolarization (DAD) dependent arrhythmias. In the present study (1) the
      behavior of the slope at different time points during a pacing train was
      quantified and related to the arrhythmogenic outcome (group A) and (2)
      termination of DAD dependent VT was related to changes in the slope steepness
      (group B). In dogs with chronic complete AV block, a MAP was recorded during (1)
      ventricular pacing, before and after ouabain administration (group A) and (2) 6
      spontaneous and 6 lidocaine induced VT terminations (group B). During control
      (group A), the slope at the end of pacing train was 5 +/- 3 m V/s (mean +/- SD),
      independent of the pacing duration. During ouabain, this increased to 20 +/- 15
      mV/s (P < 0.05), varying with the duration of pacing. The slope was steeper after
      pacing for 4 seconds, compared to 20 seconds (26 +/- 12 mV/s vs 16 +/- 13 mV/s, P
      < 0.05) which corresponded with more frequent VT induction. In spontaneously
      terminating VTs (group B), CL increased from 353 +/- 54 ms at the start to 434 +/
      78 ms (P < 0.05) before VT termination. This corresponded with a decreasing
      steepness of the slope from 19 +/- 10 mV/s to 6 +/- 5 mV/s (P < 0.05). In
      lidocaine induced VT termination, the CL and the steepness of the slope showed an
      identical behavior. There is a dynamic variation in the steepness of the
      diastolic slope during pacing, which depends on the duration of pacing and
      predicts arrhythmogenic outcome. Furthermore, a decrease in steepness of the
      slope during DAD dependent VT can be used to predict VT termination.

PMID- 9990601
TI  - Reversing the initial phase polarity in biphasic shocks: is the polarity benefit
      reproducible?
AB  - The effect of initial phase polarity (IPP) reversal using biphasic shocks on DFT
      at the time of implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator and the
      reproducibility of this effect during predischarge testing was evaluated in a
      randomized fashion. Twenty-two patients with ventricular tachycardia or
      ventricular fibrillation (VF) who received either the Medtronic 7219D (7
      patients), 7219C (12 patients), 7223 (1 patient), or CPI Ventak MINI (2 patients)
      were studied. The DFT was determined in a randomized fashion at implantation and
      during predischarge testing using a binary search protocol. Initial shock was
      delivered at 12 J. If successful, subsequent shock was delivered at 6 J,
      following which the shock was incremented or decremented by 3 J depending upon
      the success. The DFT for right ventricular (RV)- and RV + IPP was 10.9 +/- 4.1 J
      and 11.1 +/- 4.0 J, respectively, at implant (P = ns) and 9.7 +/- 4.3 J and 8.4
      +/- 6 J, respectively, (P = ns) at predischarge testing. Of the six patients who
      had better DFT with RV + at implantation, only one patient maintained the benefit
      during predischarge testing. The differences observed in IPP in individual
      patients may not be demonstrable during repeated testing. These findings may have
      implications on how these devices should be programmed.

PMID- 9990602
TI  - Rate and time dependent effects of D-sotalol on the monophasic action potential
      after sudden increase of the heart rate.
AB  - Experimental and clinical data suggests that almost all Class III antiarrhythmic
      agents diminish their ability to prolong cardiac repolarization at fast heart
      rates. However, only limited data exists about the time course of efficacy decay
      of Class III agents after sudden increase of the heart rate. In the present
      study, we assessed both rate and time dependent changes of the efficacy of d
      sotalol in higher stimulation frequencies following an abrupt increase in heart
      rate. This might imitate the situation seen in the development of paroxysmal
      tachycardias. Monophasic action potentials were recorded from the right
      ventricular apex during sinus rhythm and constant stimulation with the paced
      cycle length (PCL) of 550 ms, 400 ms, and 330 ms in the baseline and 20 minutes
      after intravenous administration of d-sotalol (2.5 mg/kg) in seven patients with
      documented life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias. D-sotalol significantly
      prolonged monophasic action potential duration at different steady-state heart
      rates (sinus rhythm: 21.1% +/- 3.6%; PCL 550 ms: 16.6% +/- 4.3%, 400 ms: 11.2% +/
      2.7%, 330 ms: 5.8% +/- 2.1%). The prolongation is significantly shorter in
      higher steady-state pacing, confirming a pronounced reverse-use dependent
      decrease of the efficacy of d-sotalol at faster stimulation frequencies. After
      the abrupt increase in heart rate, the beat-to-beat adaptation of the postdrug
      action potential prolongation exhibits only slight reverse-use dependent
      shortening. The decrease of the efficacy of d-sotalol is insignificant for the
      first 20 consecutive beats at the stimulation frequency of the PCL of 400 msec
      (from 16.6% at PCL of 550 ms to 14.6% at the 20th beat of the PCL of 400 ms), and
      for the first ten consecutive beats at the stimulation frequency of the PCL of
      330 ms (from 16.8% at PCL of 550 ms to 12.3% at the 10th beat of the PCL of 330
      ms). This slow decay of action potential prolongation after an abrupt increase in
      heart rate might contribute to the antiarrhythmic action of d-sotalol in cardiac
      tachyarrhythmias.

PMID- 9990603
TI  - Automatic capture verification by charge-neutral sensing.
AB  - Automatic capture verification can prolong pulse generator longevity and increase
      patient safety. However, the detection of evoked response following pacing is
      complicated due to afterpotentials caused by polarization of electrodes. This
      study describes a new capture verification scheme, which neutralizes the charges
      between the pacing electrodes. The hypothesis of the charge-neutral sensing is
      that the afterpotentials in the ring and the tip are opposite in polarity when
      pacing in a bipolar mode between ring and tip. Summing the unipolar signals
      sensed at the tip and the ring should effectively cancel the afterpotentials.
      This scheme was implemented in an external computer based system and tested
      during pacemaker implant/replacement on 23 patients during VVI pacing (17 acutely
      implanted leads and 6 chronic leads). Surface ECG was recorded to provide a
      marker for capture and noncapture. The pacing voltage was gradually decreased
      until a noncapture beat was noted. To avoid fusion beats, the pacing rate was
      programmed approximately 50% higher than the intrinsic rate. The evoked response
      was high pass filtered and the integral average was calculated for both capture
      and noncapture beats. The system signal to noise ratio (SNR) was expressed as
      ratio of the minimum integral average of all capture beats to the maximum
      integral average of all noncapture beats. The system SNR was 8.6 +/- 1.3 (mean +/
      S.E.M; range 1.5-22.8), indicating that the charge-neutral sensing method has,
      on average, a ninefold safety margin in providing capture verification. Further,
      evaluation is needed to fully assess this feature in patients with chronic leads.

PMID- 9990604
TI  - The potential usage of dual chamber pacing in patients with implantable
      cardioverter defibrillators.
AB  - Bradycardia support by ICDs has been limited to fixed rate, ventricular pacing.
      Concomitant placement of a pacemaker and an ICD exposes a patient to potentially
      life-threatening device interactions. ICDs capable of dual chamber pacing have
      recently become available. The number of ICD recipients who stand to benefit from
      the addition of dual chamber pacing is debated, but no data have addressed this
      question. This retrospective study analyzed all patients who received
      nonthoractomy ICD system placement at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN between
      March 1991 and October 1996 in order to determine the proportion of patients in
      whom a dual chamber pacing ICD may be indicated. DEFINITIONS: (1) Definitely
      indicated = pacemaker present at ICD implant or NASPE Class I pacing indication;
      (2) Probably indicated = NASPE Class II pacing indication, NYHA Functional Class
      III or IV, or history of systolic congestive heart failure; (3) Possibly
      indicated = history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or an ejection fraction <
      or = 20%. The results were that nonthoracotomy ICDs were placed in 253 patients.
      A dual chamber ICD would have been definitely indicated in 11% of the study
      group, probably indicated in 28%, and possibly indicated in 14%. Chronic atrial
      fibrillation was present at ICD implant in 6.7% of patients and developed in
      0.9%/yr during follow-up. The addition of dual chamber pacing to ICDs stands to
      potentially benefit approximately half (53%) of ICD recipients. These data do not
      address all patients who may benefit from dual chamber sensing.

PMID- 9990605
TI  - Controlled ventilation enhances catheter stability during radiofrequency
      ablation.
AB  - Variations in the amplitude of the atrial and ventricular depolarization waves of
      the intracardiac electrogram occur during different phases of respiration.
      Therefore, we tested whether controlled ventilation would reduce ablation
      attempts and increase the rate of success in patients undergoing radiofrequency
      ablation with general anesthesia. Thirty-eight children were divided into two
      groups: (1) controlled and (2) noncontrolled or cyclic ventilation. In the
      controlled ventilation group, the mapping electrogram was recorded during
      sustained inspiration, sustained expiration, and cyclic ventilation. Ablation was
      done in the phase of ventilation that had the least variability in atrial and
      ventricular amplitudes. Seventeen patients in the controlled ventilation group
      had tracings adequate for review. In eight patients, ablation was done during
      sustained inspiration with the percentage change of atrial and ventricular
      amplitudes (15% +/- 16% and 13% +/- 16%, respectively) being < that during
      sustained expiration (38% +/- 27%, P = 0.04 and 20% +/- 21%) or during cyclic
      ventilation (57% +/- 27%, P < 0.01 and 54% +/- 26%, P = 0.003). In nine patients,
      ablation was done during sustained expiration with the percentage change of
      atrial and ventricular amplitudes (5% +/- 5% and 5% +/- 2%) being less than that
      during sustained inspiration (21% +/- 14%, P = 0.01 and 11% +/- 6%, P = 0.01) or
      during cyclic ventilation (68% +/- 23%, P < 0.001 and 48 +/- 26%, P = 0.001). We
      achieved success with each patient in both groups, but the number of ablation
      attempts were less in the controlled ventilation group 1 (3 +/- 2), as compared
      to the cyclic ventilation group 2 (8 +/- 8; P < 0.02). We concluded that
      controlled ventilation reduced the number of ablation attempts and facilitated
      the ablation procedure.

PMID- 9990606
TI  - The long QT syndrome and torsade de pointes.
AB  - The LQTS is a prime example of how molecular biology, ion channel, cellular, and
      organ physiology, coupled with clinical observations, promise to be the future
      paradigm for advancement of medical knowledge. Both the congenital and acquired
      LQTS are due to abnormalities (intrinsic and/or acquired) of the ionic currents
      underlying cardiac repolarization. In this review, the continually unraveling
      molecular biology of congenital LQTS is discussed. The various pharmacological
      agents associated with the acquired LQTS are listed. Although it is difficult to
      predict which patients are at risk for TdP, careful assessment of the risk
      benefit ratio is important before prescribing drugs known to be able to cause QT
      prolongation. The in vivo electrophysiological mechanism of TdP in the LQTS is
      described using, as a paradigm, the anthopleurin-A canine model, a surrogate for
      LQT3. In the LQTS, prolonged repolarization is associated with increased spatial
      dispersion of repolarization. Prolongation of repolarization also acts as a
      primary step for the generation of EADs. The focal EAD induced triggered beat(s)
      can infringe on the underlying substrate of inhomogeneous repolarization to
      initiate polymorphic reentrant VT, sometimes having the characteristic twisting
      QRS configuration known as TdP. The review concludes by discussion of the
      clinical manifestations and current management of both the congenital and
      acquired LQTS. The initial therapy of choice for the large majority of patients
      with the congenital LQTS is a beta-blocking drug. This therapy seems to be
      effective in LQT1 and LQT2 patients, but may not be as effective in LQT3
      patients. Other therapeutic options include pacemakers, cervicothoracic
      sympathectomy, and the implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Recent molecular
      genetic studies have suggested several genotype specific therapies; however, long
      term efficacy data are not available.

PMID- 9990607
TI  - Spontaneous termination of ventricular tachycardia with variable patterns and
      variable mechanisms?
AB  - A 43-year-old man, with repeated episodes of postmyocardial infarction
      monomorphic VT, had three forms of induced sustained VT in the electrophysiology
      lab. The three forms of VT had variable termination patterns with no change,
      decrease, or increase of cycle length.

PMID- 9990608
TI  - Estimating practice expense: are we forever lost in an accounting labyrinth?

PMID- 9990609
TI  - Management of pacing system related complications in patients undergoing dynamic
      cardiomyoplasty.
AB  - Integrity of the electrical circuit is a necessary requirement for appropriate
      heart/wrapped skeletal muscle interaction to be achieved in cardiomyoplasty. This
      article describes the management of two different complications after a
      cardiomyoplasty procedure involving the electrical system (infection of the
      abdominal cardiomyostimulator pocket and intramuscular lead fracture). Minimal
      approaches were carried out, which ensured the successful treatment of the
      infective and of the mechanical insult, and represent useful strategy for solving
      such uncommon problems.

PMID- 9990610
TI  - A nodoventricular fiber associated with dual AV nodal conduction, AV nodal
      reentrant tachycardia, and anterior location of the slow AV nodal pathway.
AB  - We present a case of a patient with a nodoventricular tract, associated with dual
      AV nodal conduction and AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, and an anteroseptal
      location of the slow AV nodal pathway. The remarkable feature of this case is the
      site of successful ablation, in the anteroseptum just anterior and superior to
      the His bundle, where both preexcitation and dual AV nodal physiology were
      abolished.

PMID- 9990611
TI  - Irregular ventricular stimulation in the DDI mode of a dual chamber pacemaker
      with atrial-based lower rate timing.
AB  - This report describes two patients with atrial fibrillation in whom an implanted
      CHORUS DDD pacemaker programmed to the DDI mode produced an irregular ventricular
      stimulation rate. The lower rate timing of these devices is atrial-based only
      when an atrial event opens an AV interval shorter than the programmed AV delay.
      In the DDI mode, if Api represents the time when an atrial paced event (Ap) would
      have occurred if it had not been inhibited by a previous atrial sensed event
      (As), then Api-Vp constitutes the implied AV interval where Vp is a paced
      ventricular event. Although the As-Vp interval (As-Api + Api-Vp) generates an
      atrial refractory period during its entire duration, the pacemaker can sense an
      atrial event (AR) during the implied AV interval. AR cannot start another AV
      delay, but it can initiate the atrial-based lower rate interval. This timing
      mechanism can cause irregular prolongation of Vp-Vp intervals to a value longer
      than the programmed lower interval with a maximal extension equal to the
      programmed AV delay. Such behavior of the CHORUS pacemaker should not be
      interpreted as malfunction.

PMID- 9990613
TI  - Successful radiofrequency ablation of an accessory pathway during pregnancy.
AB  - The preexcitation syndrome is a rare entity during pregnancy. We present a 20
      week pregnant patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and recurrent episodes
      of tachycardia with hemodynamic compromise refractory to medical treatment that
      required electrical cardioversion several times. Due to the poor evolution we
      performed a successful radiofrequency ablation of a right posteroseptal accessory
      pathway using 70 seconds of total fluoroscopy time without complications. We
      consider this is an alternative and safer treatment in those cases in which the
      tachyarrhythmias compromise the hemodynamic state during pregnancy.

PMID- 9990612
TI  - Radiofrequency catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia guided by nonsurgical
      epicardial mapping in chronic Chagasic heart disease.
AB  - We report a case of a 63-year-old women with Chagas' disease and recurrent,
      syncopal VT treated by RF catheter ablation in whom endocardial application of RF
      energy was guided by nonsurgical epicardial mapping. The procedure was undertaken
      in the electrophysiology laboratory under deep anesthesia. VT was interrupted
      after 2.4 seconds of application and rendered noninducible afterwards. Two weeks
      after the procedure, a distinct morphology VT was induced by programmed
      ventricular stimulation, and the patient was started on amiodarone, remaining
      asymptomatic 12 months after the procedure.

PMID- 9990614
TI  - Diagnostic value of a pacemaker high rate episode counter when programming the
      ventricular tachycardia zone of an ICD.
AB  - A 72-year-old man with an ICD and a pacemaker was presented with an episode of
      sustained VT that accelerated to VF. The ICD failed to detect the event and
      deliver therapy, despite a VT apparently within the VT detection zone. The ICD
      detected the event after degeneration to VF and delivered appropriate therapy.
      The high rate event feature of the pacemaker was useful in determining proper
      function of the ICD along with optimal programming of VT detection.

PMID- 9990615
TI  - Use of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in an eight-month-old infant
      with ventricular fibrillation arising from a myocardial fibroma.
AB  - We report our experience with use of a ICD in a 7-month-old infant who presented
      with VF. We utilized an epicardial patch and active generator in the abdomen.
      Development of mediastinitis required explantation and eventual replacement with
      a subcutaneous patch and active generator in the abdomen.

PMID- 9990616
TI  - Inadvertent placement of pacemaker or ICD leads in some parts of the coronary
      venous system.

PMID- 9990617
TI  - Quality of life and clinical outcomes in elderly patients treated with
      ventricular pacing as compared with dual-chamber pacing.

PMID- 9990618
TI  - Autocapture function was introduced to save battery energy and to prolong
      generator longevity.

PMID- 9990619
TI  - A case of sotalol associated torsades de pointes tachycardia in a 15 month old
      child.

PMID- 9990620
TI  - The influence of specific and nonspecific potassium current blockade on the
      defibrillation energy requirement of biphasic shock.
AB  - Block of delayed rectifier potassium current (IK) is known to decrease
      defibrillation energy requirements (DERs). We tested the hypothesis that there
      would be no difference in DER reduction with a nonspecific IK (IKr + IKs)
      blocker, ambasilide, and a specific IKr blocker, dofetilide. METHODS: An
      anesthetized canine model (n = 30) of internal transvenous defibrillation with
      biphasic shocks was used. Ambasilide (n = 9; dose: 4.8 mg/kg, then 9.6
      mg/kg/hour), dofetilide (n = 10; dose: 10 (micrograms/kg, then 3.6
      (micrograms/kg/hour), or matched placebo (n = 11) were administered. DERs (J)
      were determined in triplicate using an increment-decrement protocol at baseline
      and during each treatment. ECG intervals were measured at baseline and during
      each treatment. ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni test was used for statistical
      analysis. RESULTS: Ambasilide resulted in a +23.5 +/- 4.06% prolongation of the
      QTc interval, while dofetilide resulted in a +20.5% +/- 3.76% prolongation of the
      QTc interval. Thus, the two drugs resulted in comparable prolongation of the QTc
      interval (P < 0.05 compared to placebo). Both drugs significantly reduced the DER
      (-17.7% +/- 5.33% reduction by ambasilide, and -21.9% +/- 5.21% reduction by
      dofetilide, P < 0.05 compared to placebo). There was no difference in the
      magnitude of DER reduction between the two treatments. CONCLUSIONS:
      Administration of equipotent doses (as indicated by QTc changes) of ambasilide or
      dofetilide had comparable effects on DERs. Selectivity of IK blockade has no
      significant effect on the magnitude of reduction in DERs.

PMID- 9990621
TI  - Defibrillation efficacy of different electrode placements in a human thorax
      model.
AB  - The objective of this study was to measure the defibrillation threshold (DFT)
      associated with different electrode placements using a three-dimensional
      anatomically realistic finite element model of the human thorax. Coil electrodes
      (Endotak DSP, model 125, Guidant/CPI) were placed in the RV apex along the
      lateral wall (RV), withdrawn 10 mm away from the RV apex along the lateral wall
      (RVprox), in the RV apex along the anterior septum (RVseptal), and in the SVC. An
      active pulse generator (can) was placed in the subcutaneous prepectoral space.
      Five electrode configurations were studied: RV-->SVC, RVprox-->SVC, RVSEPTAL-
      >SVC, RV-->Can, and RV-->SVC + Can. DFTs are defined as the energy required to
      produce a potential gradient of at least 5 V/cm in 95% of the ventricular
      myocardium. DFTs for RV-->SVC, RVprox-->SVC, RVseptal-->SVC, RV-->Can, and RV-
      >SVC + Can were 10, 16, 7, 9, and 6 J, respectively. The DFTs measured at each
      configuration fell within one standard deviation of the mean DFTs reported in
      clinical studies using the Endotak leads. The relative changes in DFT among
      electrode configurations also compared favorably. This computer model allows
      measurements of DFT or other defibrillation parameters with several different
      electrode configurations saving time and cost of clinical studies.

PMID- 9990622
TI  - Impact of transvenous lead position on active-can ICD defibrillation: a computer
      simulation study.
AB  - Optimizing lead placement in transvenous defibrillation remains central to the
      clinical aspects of the defibrillation procedure. Studies involving superior vena
      cava (SVC) return electrodes have found that left ventricular (LV) leads or
      septal positioning of the right ventricular (RV) lead minimizes the voltage
      defibrillation threshold (VDFT) in endocardial lead-->SVC defibrillation systems.
      However, similar studies have not been conducted for active-can configurations.
      The goal of this study was to determine the optimal lead position to minimize the
      VDFT for systems incorporating an active can. This study used a high resolution
      finite element model of a human torso that includes the fiber architecture of the
      ventricular myocardium to find the role of lead positioning in a transvenous LEAD
      ->can defibrillation electrode system. It was found that, among single lead
      systems, posterior positioning of leads in the right ventricle lowers VDFTs
      appreciably. Furthermore, a septal location of leads resulted in lower VDFTs than
      free-wall positioning. Increasing the number of leads, and thus the effective
      lead surface area in the right ventricle also resulted in lower VDFTs. However,
      the lead configuration that resulted in the lowest VDFTs is a combination of mid
      cavity right ventricle lead and a mid-cavity left ventricle lead. The addition of
      a left ventricular lead resulted in a reduction in the size of the low gradient
      regions and a change of its location from the left ventricular free wall to the
      septal wall.

PMID- 9990623
TI  - The effect of shock configuration and delivered energy on defibrillation
      impedance.
AB  - Shock impedance is an important determinant of defibrillation efficacy. Lead
      configuration, shock polarity, and delivered energy can affect shock impedance,
      but these variables have not been studied in active can lead systems. The present
      study was a prospective evaluation of 25 patients undergoing initial transvenous
      defibrillator implantation. In all patients, a dual coil lead and pectoral
      emulator were placed and three lead configurations were tested in random order:
      Lead (distal to proximal coil), unipolar (distal coil to can), and triad (distal
      coil to can + proximal coil). Shock energies of 0.1- to 15-J shock were
      evaluated. Impedance increased a mean of 21% as delivered energy was decreased (P
      < 0.001), an effect independent of lead configuration. At all delivered energies,
      impedances in the unipolar configuration were about 40% higher than triad, while
      the lead configuration was about 20% higher than triad (ps < 0.001). Polarity did
      not affect impedance. These results indicate that transvenous lead configurations
      and delivered energy, but not polarity, significantly influence shock impedance.
      The magnitude of the increase of impedance at low energies is independent of the
      shocking pathway. This effect has important implications for low energy shocks
      used to terminate atrial fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia.

PMID- 9990624
TI  - Clinical evaluation of a prototype passive fixation dual chamber single pass lead
      for dual chamber ICD systems.
AB  - Dual chamber ICD systems use two separate leads for sensing. We developed and
      tested a new prototype of a single pass dual chamber passive fixation lead for
      dual chamber ICDs. METHODS AND RESULTS: The prototype was a modification of the
      Guidant CPI Endotak DSP lead. The additional sensing electrode for the right
      atrium consisted of a side-mounted porous atrial ring electrode (AR). Atrial
      signals were recorded from the lead in patients during normal sinus rhythm (NSR),
      atrial fibrillation (AFib), and/or atrial flutter (AFl) with the AR in stable
      contact with the atrial wall or floating. During NSR, with the AR in contact with
      the atrial wall, an average P wave amplitude of 7.2 +/- 1.5 mV (mean +/- SD, n =
      12) was measured. After induction of Afib/AFl, the single amplitude decreased to
      3.6 +/- 1.5 mV (n = 8) during AFib and 3.4 +/- 1.7 mV (n = 9) during AFl.
      Amplitudes dropped between 53% and 75% when the AR lost atrial wall contact. The
      atrial pacing threshold was 1.0 +/- 0.4 V (n = 16) when the AR was in contact
      with the atrial wall. CONCLUSIONS: In future dual chamber ICDs the signals from a
      passive fixation single pass lead could be used for atrial sensing and pacing as
      long as the sensing electrode for the right atrium remains in contact with the
      atrial wall. This system might lead to a simpler, less invasive implantation of
      dual chamber ICD systems.

PMID- 9990625
TI  - Reliability of coated wire defibrillation leads.
AB  - A higher rate of complications and need for reoperation has been identified with
      epicardial and endocardial defibrillator systems. Improved reliability may be
      achieved with alternate designs that use coated wire and coated coil conductors.
      Six-year reliability in the 98% range is reported for one bipolar design, the
      Sulzer Intermedics Intervene lead.

PMID- 9990626
TI  - A new defibrillator discrimination algorithm utilizing electrogram morphology
      analysis.
AB  - Inappropriate therapies delivered by implantable cardioverter defibrillators
      (ICDs) for supraventricular arrhythmias remain a common problem, particularly in
      the event of rapidly conducted atrial fibrillation or marked sinus tachycardia.
      The ability to differentiate between ventricular tachycardia and supraventricular
      arrhythmias is the major goal of discrimination algorithms. Therefore, we
      developed a new algorithm, SimDis, utilizing morphological features of the
      shocking electrograms. This algorithm was developed from electrogram data
      obtained from 36 patients undergoing ICD implantation. An independent test set
      was evaluated in 25 patients. Recordings were made in sinus rhythm, sinus
      tachycardia, and following the induction of ventricular tachycardia and atrial
      fibrillation. The arrhythmia complex is defined as wide if the duration is at
      least 30% greater than the template in sinus rhythm. For narrow complexes, four
      maximum and minimum values were measured to form a 4-element feature vector,
      which was compared with a representative feature vector during normal sinus
      rhythm. For each rhythm, any wide complex was classified as ventricular
      tachycardia. For narrow complexes, the second step of the algorithm compared the
      electrogram with the template, computing similarity and dissimilarity values.
      These values were then mapped to determine if they fell within a previously
      established discrimination boundary. On the independent test set, the SimDis
      algorithm correctly classified 100% of ventricular tachycardias (27/27), 98% of
      sinus tachycardias (54/55), and 100% of episodes of atrial fibrillation (37/37).
      We conclude that the SimDis algorithm yields high sensitivity (100%) and
      specificity (99%) for arrhythmia discrimination, using the computational
      capabilities of an ICD system.

PMID- 9990627
TI  - A fuzzy logic-controlled classifier for use in implantable cardioverter
      defibrillators.
AB  - PURPOSE: Implantable cardioverters defibrillators (ICDs) are increasingly used in
      the management of life-threatening arrhythmias. Correct recognition of a
      treatable arrhythmia is crucial to this application. However, the computational
      power of microprocessors currently used in ICDs limits the range of traditional
      algorithms available for this application. METHODS: Classification based on fuzzy
      inference systems (FIS) were trained to recognize different cardiac rhythms (AF,
      VF, SVT, VT) from the Ann Arbor Electrogram Library. The FIS used were designed
      using adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference methods to optimize the
      classification procedure. Only computational techniques suitable for ICD design
      were used. RESULTS: After pretraining with the ANFIS correct rhythm
      classification was observed for the rhythms studied. CONCLUSION: In this
      preliminary study, successful rhythm classification was demonstrated using fuzzy
      logic techniques. In view of the computational efficiency this may have
      application in ICD design.

PMID- 9990628
TI  - Clinical significance of consecutive shocks in patients with left ventricular
      dysfunction treated with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
AB  - The purpose of the present study was to determine the clinical significance of
      consecutive automatic shocks delivered by implantable cardioverter defibrillators
      (ICDs). Sixty-four patients who received ICDs at our institution between January
      1990 and July 1997 were included in this study. There were 53 men and 11 women
      with a mean age of 50 +/- 14 years. During a follow-up period ranging between 0.2
      and 73 months (mean 23 +/- 21 months), 17 patients received consecutive shocks
      (group A), 29 patients received single shocks (group B), and 18 patients received
      no ICD therapy (group C). Clinical characteristics, episodes of ICD therapy, and
      prognosis were compared among the three groups. There were no significant
      differences among the three groups with regard to clinical characteristics, time
      to first ICD therapy, number of antitachycardia pacing episodes, or frequency of
      inappropriate discharges. The mortality rate was higher in group A than in groups
      B and C (P = 0.0021). The sensitivity of consecutive shocks in predicting death
      was 70%, the specificity was 88%, and the predictive accuracy was 81% in patients
      with left ventricular ejection fractions < 35%. In summary, consecutive shocks
      are a clinically important event in patients with ICDs. Specifically, patients
      who receive consecutive shocks and have a depressed left ventricular function
      should be considered particularly high risk.

PMID- 9990629
TI  - Prehospital discharge defibrillation testing in ICD recipients: a prospective
      study based on cost analysis.
AB  - Prehospital discharge defibrillation testing is often performed to verify the
      function of newly implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). To determine
      whether elimination of predischarge testing could reduce costs without placing
      patients at additional risk, 31 patients were randomized in this prospective
      clinical evaluation to either receive or not receive a predischarge ICD
      defibrillation test. Expenses associated with postimplant care was the primary
      endpoint. All patients underwent induction of ventricular fibrillation after 6
      months to evaluate ICD function. The groups were well matched in terms of patient
      characteristics, initial lead implant parameters, and defibrillation thresholds.
      Elimination of prehospital discharge testing resulted in a savings of
      $1,800/patient after 6 months, with no difference between groups in terms of ICD
      complication rates or unanticipated hospital admissions. Further studies are
      needed to better define the most appropriate time to assess defibrillation
      thresholds in the first year after implantation.

PMID- 9990630
TI  - Late retesting of system performance in ICD patients without spontaneous shocks.
AB  - One hundred five implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients (71 +/- 9
      years of age, 83% men) without spontaneous ICD discharges for > or = 12 months
      were tested to assess high voltage (HV) circuit integrity and the system's
      ability to recognize and terminate ventricular fibrillation (VF). Indications for
      ICD implantation were sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) (35%), cardiac
      arrest (27%), and inducible VT (38%). Eighty-two percent of the patients had
      coronary artery disease (CAD), and the mean left ventricular ejection fraction
      (LVEF) was 36% +/- 13%. RESULTS: One hundred patients had inducible VF and five
      did not. Testing led to ICD reprogramming in 50 (49%) patients. Two (1.9%)
      patients required ICD replacement: (1) a 45-year-old patient with a Ventritex 110
      ICD implanted for 13 months interfaced with a CPI 0062 lead implanted for 46
      months could not be defibrillated internally (impedance nonmeasurable); (2) an 82
      year-old patient with a 23-month-old Medtronic 7219 ICD interfaced with 6936 and
      6933 leads whose defibrillation threshold (DFT) had doubled since implantation
      (24 J from 12 J). Lead fractures were found in both cases (proximal coil of the
      0062, and subcutaneously in the 6933). Based on DFT determinations, the first
      shock output was programmed lower in 37 patients and higher in 10 patients. Shock
      pulse width was changed in one patient and the ventricular refractory period in
      another. No programming changes were made in 54 (51%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: (1)
      Late testing of HV circuit integrity in ICD patients without an ICD shock in > or
      = 12 months identifies previously unsuspected HV lead fractures; (2) chronic DFT
      testing resulted in HV output reprogramming in one-half of the patients.

PMID- 9990631
TI  - Time to first shock in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients with
      Chagas cardiomyopathy.
AB  - The time to first ICD shock has been extensively studied in patients with
      coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there are no published data on ICD shocks
      in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy (ChC). The occurrence of the first
      appropriate ICD shock during the first 6 months of follow-up in 20 patients with
      ChC (group 1) and 35 CAD patients (group 2) was analyzed retrospectively. All
      patients had received a third-generation pectoral ICD for ventricular tachycardia
      or fibrillation (VT/VF). Indications for ICD implantation were refractoriness to
      drug therapy or noninducibility of VT/VF at EPS in cardiac arrest survivors.
      RESULTS: The mean age, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and sex in
      groups I and II were 57.4 +/- 7 years versus 64 +/- 9 (P < 0.01), 30.9% +/- 10%
      versus 32.9% +/- 10% (P = NS), and 10 men versus 31 women (P < 0.005),
      respectively. Six months after ICD implantation, 85% (17/20) group I patients
      received appropriate ICD shocks versus 51% (18/35) in group 2, a statistically
      significant difference (P < 0.02, RR: 1.65, OR: 5.35). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence
      of appropriate ICD shocks within the first 6 months postimplantation was
      significantly higher in ChC patients than in CAD patients. ChC patients were
      younger and more often women than CAD patients.

PMID- 9990633
TI  - Patient discomfort following pectoral defibrillator implantation using conscious
      sedation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The miniaturization of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)
      has made pectoral implantation possible. However, postoperative pain following
      the procedure has not been systematically studied. The aim of the current study
      was to prospectively assess patient discomfort and identify factors influencing
      pain perception during follow-up. METHODS: Pain related to device implantation
      was quantified in 21 consecutive patients (age, 61 +/- 11 years; 17 men and 21
      women; 16 of 21 had coronary artery disease; left ventricular ejection fraction,
      32% +/- 15%) undergoing pectoral ICD implantation with conscious sedation
      (fentanyl 118 +/- 72 micrograms midazolam 14 +/- 9 mg). Patients completed the
      Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, 0-100) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire 24 hours and
      1 month postoperatively. Regression analysis was used to define clinical and
      procedure related variables affecting patient discomfort and frequency of
      postoperative analgesic use. RESULTS: The mean VAS score was 34 +/- 20 24 hours
      postoperatively. A single (4.8%) patient described postoperative pain as severe.
      Pain was reported to be moderate by 10 (47.6%) patients and mild by 10 (47.6%)
      patients. Intraoperative fentanyl requirement was a predictor of postoperative
      pain (R = 0.51, P = 0.036), and procedural duration was a strong predictor of
      postoperative analgesic use (R = 0.75, P < 0.001). Pain at 1 month decreased to a
      VAS score of 19 +/- 18 (P = 0.002 vs 24 hours) and was rated to be severe,
      moderate, and mild by 1, 3, and 17 patients, respectively. Late pain was related
      to a VAS score at 24 hours (R = 0.67, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Pectoral ICD
      implantation using conscious sedation is well tolerated. (2) Postoperative
      discomfort correlates with longer procedural times and larger intraoperative
      narcotic requirements.

PMID- 9990632
TI  - Complications of third-generation implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy.
AB  - To determine the incidence of complications of third-generation implantable
      cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy, 144 patients were prospectively studied
      who underwent first implant of third-generation devices (i.e., ICD systems with
      biphasic shocks, ECG storage capability, and nonthoracotomy lead systems). During
      21 +/- 15 months of follow-up, 41 (28%) patients had one or more complications.
      No patient died perioperatively (30 days) and no ICD infection was observed
      during follow-up. Complications included bleeding or pocket hematoma (hemoglobin
      drop > 2 g/dL) in 5 (3%) patients, prolonged reversible ischemic neurological
      deficit in 1 (1%) patient, postoperative deep venous thrombosis of leg in 1 (1%)
      patient, pneumothorax in 2 (1%) patients, difficulty to defibrillate ventricular
      fibrillation intraoperatively in 2 (1%) patients, generator malfunction in 1 (1%)
      patient, arthritis of the shoulder in 3 (2%) patients, and allergic reaction to
      prophylactic antibiotics in 2 (1%) patients. A total of seven lead related
      complications were observed in six (4%) patients including endocardial lead
      migration in four (3%) patients. Twenty-three (16%) patients received
      inappropriate shocks for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (n = 13), non
      sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) (n = 7), or myopotential oversensing (n =
      3). We conclude that serious complications such as perioperative death or ICD
      infection are rare in patients with third-generation ICDs. Lead-related problems
      and inappropriate shocks during follow-up are the most frequent complications of
      third-generation ICD therapy. Recognition of these complications should promote
      advances in ICD technology and management strategies to avoid their recurrence.

PMID- 9990634
TI  - Syncope is predicted by neuromonitoring in patients with ICDs.
AB  - Decisions regarding ability of ICD patients to function in the work environment
      or at home are based primarily on subjective judgement. We have described
      noninvasive neuromonitoring techniques that are capable of characterizing
      cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygen saturation in conscious patients during
      ventricular tachycardia (VT). Upright tilt testing (HUT) was used to predict the
      hemodynamic response to VT in the upright and recumbent posture. Sixteen patients
      (66 +/- 8 years) with pace-terminable VT and implanted ICD were tested during HUT
      with continuous measurement of arterial pressure, transcranial Doppler of the
      middle cerebral artery (TCD), and cerebral venous oxygen saturation (CVOS)
      determined noninvasively by applying a cutaneous patch with two infrared sensors
      from which a weighted venous percent oxygenated hemoglobin is continuously
      measured using INVOS 3100 (Somanetics). VT was induced via the implanted ICD and
      automatically terminated by ATP or cardioversion by the ICD, using the best
      treatment algorithm. HUT accentuated changes in cerebral blood flow and oxygen
      saturation and helped identify patients likely to experience syncope, whereas
      supine testing did not. These results suggest that HUT testing with noninvasive
      neuromonitoring is useful to predict ICD patients who are likely to remain
      conscious during VT.

PMID- 9990635
TI  - Clinical significance of sleep-related breathing disorders in patients with
      implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
AB  - The prevalence and clinical significance of sleep-related breathing disorders
      (SRBDs) in patients with cardiac disease and a history of life-threatening
      ventricular tachyarrhythmias is unclear. Forty consecutive recipients of
      implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) with cardiac disease and a
      documented history of spontaneous, life-threatening, ventricular tachyarrhythmias
      underwent full night polysomnography. SRBDs were diagnosed if the apnea/hypopnea
      index was > 10. SRBD were diagnosed in 16 of 40 patients (40%): central sleep
      apnea (CSA) was present in 9 of these 16 patients (56%), 8 of whom had associated
      Cheyne-Stoke respiration. Seven of the 16 patients with SRBD (44%) had
      obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with and without SRBDs were comparable
      with respect to left ventricular ejection fraction, NYHA classification,
      underlying heart disease, ICD indications, and concomitant antiarrhythmic drug
      and beta-blocker therapy. Patients were followed prospectively for 2 years. ICD
      treated ventricular tachyarrhythmias occurred in 10 of 24 patients (42%) without
      SRBD, in 4 of 9 patients (44%) with CSA, and in 3 of 7 patients (44%) with OSA
      (NS). The numbers and circadian distributions of episodes recorded during follow
      up in patients without SRBD versus with CSA or OSA were not significantly
      different (14 +/- 25, median = 4 vs 4 +/- 5, median = 2.5 vs 15 +/- 15, median =
      7, respectively). The 2-year mortality, which was entirely attributable to
      nonsudden cardiac events, was highest in patients with CSA (4/9 [44%], vs 0/7
      [0%] with OSA, vs 3/24 patients (12.5%) without SRBD; P < 0.05).

PMID- 9990636
TI  - Initial experience with a new balloon-guided single lead catheter for internal
      cardioversion of atrial fibrillation and dual chamber pacing.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Based on the observation that internal cardioversion (IntCV) of
      atrial fibrillation is effective with electrodes in the right atrium and
      pulmonary artery, a new balloon-guided catheter and external defibrillation
      device with optional dual chamber pacing was evaluated. METHODS: IntCV was
      attempted in 27 patients (age: 57 +/- 10 years, duration: 14 +/- 18 months, left
      atrial diameter 56 +/- 8 mm) using a new defibrillation device (Alert, EP
      MedSystems, Inc., NJ, USA) that allows the delivery of biphasic shocks (0.5-15 J,
      variable tilt), atrial and ventricular pacing, and online signal recording.
      Pacing and defibrillation shocks were applied via a 7.5 Fr balloon-guided
      catheter (EP MedSystems, Inc.). Pacing, sensing, and triggering were established
      through the proximal atrial array and an electrode ring between both
      defibrillation arrays and a single ventricular electrode ring. Catheters were
      inserted from the antecubital vein. RESULTS: In 25 of 27 patients sinus rhythm
      was restored with a mean energy of 6.7 +/- 4.5 J. In five patients, atrial
      postshock pacing was required for bradycardia and atrial premature beats. The
      mean fluoroscopy time was 2.0 +/- 1.3 minutes. CONCLUSION: The high success rate,
      ease of application, and backup dual chamber pacing suggest that this system is
      an alternative to established methods of cardioversion. In certain indications,
      such as failure of prior external cardioversion and situations in which a
      standard pulmonary balloon catheter is needed, this system would be advantageous.

PMID- 9990637
TI  - Improved clinical efficacy of external cardioversion by fluoroscopic electrode
      positioning and comparison to internal cardioversion in patients with atrial
      fibrillation.
AB  - BACKGROUND: Despite using different electrode positions, "conventional" external
      DC cardioversion in patients with atrial fibrillation is ineffective in 6%-50% of
      cases. An alternative when DC cardioversion is not successful is low energy
      internal cardioversion, which is performed at increased risk. We tested the
      hypothesis that optimization of electrode pad position under fluoroscopy to
      encompass as much atrial muscle as possible might improve the success rate of
      external cardioversion and thus minimize the need for internal cardioversion.
      METHODS: Fifteen (9 males, 6 females) patients (age: 54 +/- 15 years, weight: 124
      +/- 35 kg) with chronic atrial fibrillation (> 8 weeks) who had undergone
      unsuccessful conventional external cardioversion entered the study. Repeat
      conventional external cardioversion with electrodes in standard (right anterior
      and left posterior) positions was followed by "optimized" external cardioversion
      by positioning electrodes under fluoroscopy (using metallic markers). In case of
      failure, internal cardioversion was performed. RESULTS: All 15 patients had
      undergone unsuccessful conventional external cardioversion with 360-J shocks.
      Eight patients (group A) reverted to sinus rhythm with one or two 360-J shocks
      using fluoroscopy-guided pad placement (53%). Six of the remaining 7 (86%)
      patients (group B) had successful internal cardioversion with biphasic shocks (12
      +/- 3 J). The body weight and body mass index were statistically lower in group A
      vs group B (106 +/- 27 vs 145 +/- 33 kg, p = 0.03 and 35 +/- 8 vs 45 +/- 8 kg/m2,
      P = 0.48, respectively). There was no statistically significant in age, height,
      body surface area, duration of atrial fibrillation, amiodarone therapy, ejection
      fraction, or underlying heart disease. CONCLUSION: Unsuccessful external DC
      cardioversion, in some patients, is in part due to suboptimal conventional
      positioning of electrode pads that can be improved under fluoroscopic guidance by
      achieving the best possible vector encompassing the right and left atria. The
      optimized external cardioversion technique may minimize the need for internal
      cardioversion, which remains an effective approach when external cardioversion
      fails.

PMID- 9990639
TI  - Low energy internal atrial cardioversion in atrial fibrillation lasting more than
      a year.
AB  - The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low energy internal atrial
      cardioversion in restoring sinus rhythm (SR) in patients with chronic atrial
      fibrillation (AF) persisting > 1 year. Fifteen patients with chronic AF lasting >
      1 year (from 13-48 months, mean 24 +/- 13 months) were studied. R wave
      synchronized 3/3 ms biphasic shocks were delivered between right atrial and
      coronary sinus (left pulmonary artery in five patients) electrodes. Sedatives or
      anesthetics were administered only at the patient's request. RESULTS: Stable SR
      was restored in 14 (93%) of 15 patients after shocks with a mean leading edge
      voltage of 377 +/- 77 V (range 260-500) and a mean delivered energy of 7.3 +/-
      3.4 J (range 2.6-12.9). The procedure was performed without anesthesia in 6 (40%)
      patients. All successfully cardioverted patients were treated with flecainide,
      sotalol, or amiodarone. During a follow up of 7.7 +/- 7.9 months (range 1-24) AF
      recurred in five (36%) patients. Three of five AF recurrences occurred within 3
      days after conversion to SR. CONCLUSION: Internal low energy atrial cardioversion
      is highly effective in restoring SR even in patients with AF lasting > 1 year.
      The long-term results from the standpoint of freedom from AF recurrences, are
      satisfactory, although additional antiarrhythmic treatment is required,
      particularly in the first days after conversion.

PMID- 9990638
TI  - Effect of increased parasympathetic and sympathetic tone on internal atrial
      defibrillation thresholds in humans.
AB  - Although changes in autonomic tone affect ventricular defibrillation, little is
      known about the effect of increased parasympathetic or sympathetic tone on the
      atrial defbrillation threshold. METHODS: To evaluate the effect of reflexly
      increased parasympathetic and increase alpha- and beta-adrenergic tone on the
      atrial defibrillation threshold (ADFT), atrial fibrillation was induced in 14
      patients. ADFTs, right atrial refractory period (RARP), and monophasic action
      potential duration (MAPD) were determined before and after autonomic
      intervention. ADFTs were determined with a step-up protocol using 3/3-ms biphasic
      shocks delivered through decapolar catheters in the right atrial appendage and
      coronary sinus. Two groups were studied. Group I (N = 8) had ADFTs determined at
      baseline, after receiving phenylephrine (PE), and with PE plus atropine (A).
      Group 2 (N = 6) had ADFTs determined at baseline and after receiving
      isoproterenol (ISO). RESULTS: Group I: PE significantly increased sinus cycle
      length (SR-CL) compared to baseline (742 +/- 123 to 922 +/- 233 ms) without
      significantly changing RARP, MAPD, or ADFT (2.3 +/- 1.3 J vs 2.3 +/- 0.8 J). With
      PE + A, SR-CL significantly decreased (529 +/- 100 ms vs 742 +/- 123 ms) and MAPD
      shortened (231 +/- 41 ms vs 279 +/- 49 ms) without altering RARP or ADFT (1.94 +/
      0.9 J vs 2.25 +/- 1.25 J). Group 2: ISO decreased SR-CL (486 +/- 77 ms vs 755 +/
      184 ms) and MAPD (169 +/- 37 ms vs 226 + 58 ms) but not RARP or ADFT (2.25 +/-
      1.21 J vs 2.33 +/- 1.75 J). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing parasympathetic, alpha-, or
      beta-adrenergic tone does not affect the ADFT despite causing significant
      electrophysiological changes in the atria.

PMID- 9990640
TI  - Detection of atrial fibrillation during sinus tachycardia induced by exercise in
      patients with implantable atrial defibrillators.
AB  - Accurate detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) is essential for appropriate
      operation of an implantable atrial defibrillator (IAD). However, during episodes
      of sinus tachycardia, distinction between AF and sinus rhythm (SR) using the
      "quiet interval" and "baseline crossing" analysis in the detection algorithm of
      the IAD may be difficult. The efficacy of this AF detection algorithm was tested
      in five patients implanted with an IAD (METRIX, Model 3000 or 3020, InControl
      Inc.) during treadmill exercise testing. The IADs were programmed to Monitor Mode
      with a wake up cycle of 1 minute for AF detection using the device nominal
      parameters or modified parameters, and to mark rhythms appropriate for shock
      delivery. A mean peak heart rate of 137 +/- 26 beats/min was reached during
      maximum exercise, and one patient developed transient AF. Seventy-eight (75 in
      SR, 3 in AF) and 91 (89 in SR, 2 in AF) runs of AF detection were performed using
      the nominal and modified parameters, respectively. The IAD detected AF and SR
      accurately, except for one episode of false-positive AF detection during sinus
      tachycardia at the nominal settings, but inappropriate shocks were prevented by
      minimum RR interval criteria that limited discharge at high heart rate. These
      results indicate that the AF detection algorithm in the IAD may become more
      vulnerable to false-positive AF detection during sinus tachycardia, which were
      avoided by reprogramming the Quiet Interval and minimum RR interval criteria for
      AF detection. Exercise testing appeared useful to program optimal settings of the
      IAD in preparation for daily activities.

PMID- 9990641
TI  - Transvenous atrial cardioversion threshold in patients with implantable
      cardioverter defibrillator: influence of active pectoral can.
AB  - Recent studies have shown that transvenous atrial cardioversion is feasible with
      lead configurations primarily designed for implantable cardioverter
      defibrillators (ICD). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of
      an active pectoral ICD can on the atrial cardioversion threshold (ADFT). Forty
      consecutive patients received a transvenous single lead system (Endotak DSP 0125,
      CPI, St. Paul, MN, USA) in combination with a left subpectoral ICD (Ventak Mini,
      CPI) for treatment of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Patients were
      randomized into two groups: 21 received a Hot Can 1743 and 19 patients a Cold Can
      1741. Step-down testing of the ventricular defibrillation threshold (VDFT) was
      performed intraoperatively and evaluation of the ADFT for induced atrial
      fibrillation (AF) at predischarge. After testing, each patient received a 2-J
      shock and was asked to quantify discomfort on a numerical scale ranging from 0 to
      10. Both groups were comparable with regard to all clinical parameters studied.
      The mean VDFT in patients with a Hot Can device was significantly lower than in
      patients with a Cold Can (7.5 +/- 2.3 J vs 9.8 +/- 3.8 J; P < 0.03). The mean
      ADFT in the Hot Can group tended to be lower than in the group with Cold Cans
      (3.4 +/- 1.4 J vs 4.5 +/- 2.4 J; P = 0.07), and the proportion of patients in
      whom atrial cardioversion was accomplished at low energies (< or = 3 J) was
      higher in patients with active compared with patients with inactive pulse
      generators (57% vs 26%; P < 0.04). The mean discomfort reported after delivery of
      a 2-J shock was comparable in both groups (Hot Can 5.2 +/- 1.9; Cold Can: 5.3 +/-
      2.1; P = NS). We conclude that the inclusion of an active left subpectoral can in
      the defibrillation vector of a ventricular ICD seems to reduce the energy
      requirements for atrial cardioversion without increasing the discomfort caused by
      low energy shocks.

PMID- 9990642
TI  - Mesenteric lymph node T cells but not splenic T cells maintain their
      proliferative response to concanavalin-A following peroral infection with
      Toxoplasma gondii.
AB  - The suppression of T cell responsiveness which occurs after infection with
      Toxoplasma gondii in mice has been widely studied using spleen cells. Because the
      natural route of infection with T. gondii is the peroral route, we examined the
      proliferative responses of mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells, in addition to
      spleen cells, to Concanavalin-A (Con-A) in mice perorally infected with T.
      gondii. Proliferative responses of spleen cells were significantly suppressed
      seven and ten days after infection when compared with spleen cells from
      uninfected mice (62% and 91% reduction, respectively). In contrast, proliferative
      responses of MLN cells from these infected mice did not differ from those of
      normal MLN cells. Since IFN-gamma-induced reactive nitrogen intermediate (RNI)
      production has been reported to play a major role in suppression of proliferative
      responses in spleen cells of infected mice, we compared production of IFN-gamma
      and RNI by spleen and MLN cells following infection. MLN cells produced as much
      IFN-gamma as did spleen cells, but produced 70% less nitrite (as a measure of
      RNI) after Con-A stimulation. Proliferative responses of MLN cells were
      suppressed when co-cultured with spleen cells from infected mice, and addition of
      an inhibitor of RNI to these co-culture inhibited this suppression, suggesting
      that reduced RNI production by MLN cells contributes to their maintenance of
      higher proliferative responses. These results demonstrated a clear difference in
      activity of T cells in the MLN and spleen during the acute stage of the
      infection.

PMID- 9990643
TI  - Schistosoma japonicum myosin: cloning, expression and vaccination studies with
      the homologue of the S. mansoni myosin fragment IrV-5.
AB  - The Schistosoma japonicum homologue of the 62 kDa fragment of S. mansoni myosin
      (SmIrV-5), which has proved highly protective against S. mansoni infection in
      mice and rats, has been cloned and expressed as the full length 62 kDa
      equivalent, Sj62, and a truncated 44 kDa version, Sj44. DNA sequencing showed the
      Sj62 sequence to be 88.4% identical at the nucleic acid level and 96% identical
      in deduced amino acid sequence to that of SmIrV-5. The recombinant proteins
      (rSj44 and rSj62) were strongly recognized in Western blotting by sera from mice
      multiply vaccinated with UV-irradiated S. japonicum cercariae and weakly
      recognized by S. japonicum chronic infection mouse sera. Unlike SmIrV-5, mouse
      antisera against the recombinant S. japonicum proteins did not give positive
      recognition in immunofluorescence assay with the surface of newly transformed
      schistosomula of the homologous species, S. japonicum, nor did they react with S.
      mansoni schistosomula. However, the anti-rSj62 sera clearly localized the native
      antigen to the subtegumental muscle layers in male adult worm sections by
      immunoelectron microscopy. Vaccination of several groups of mice and/or rats with
      rSj44 and rSj62 incorporated into different adjuvants induced high titres of
      specific IgG but in only one experimental group was there a significant reduction
      in worm burden (27%, P < 0.05). The possible reasons for the disparity between
      the vaccination results presented here and those demonstrated in experiments
      using rSm62 (IrV-5) are discussed.

PMID- 9990644
TI  - Changes in specific anti-egg antibody levels following treatment with
      praziquantel for Schistosoma haematobium infection in children.
AB  - Fifty-seven children 6-15 years old resident in a Schistosoma haematobium endemic
      area in eastern Zimbabwe were treated with praziquantel at 40 mg/kg body weight.
      Levels of IgA, IgE, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, and IgM antibodies against soluble
      egg antigen (SEA) were assayed by ELISA before treatment and at 18 and 36 weeks
      following treatment. Prevalence of infection (as determined by urine egg counts)
      was 65% before treatment, all children were confirmed egg negative six weeks
      after treatment, and reinfection prevalence was 4% at 18 weeks and 21% at 36
      weeks after treatment. At 18 weeks after treatment, there was a massive increase
      in IgG1 levels and significant increases in IgE and IgG4 levels and significant
      decreases in IgA and IgG2 levels. Similar patterns occurred at 36 weeks after
      treatment. Egg positive children showed a more marked increase in IgG1 and (for
      older children) a more marked decrease in IgG2 levels. There were no other
      effects of age or sex. IgA and IgG1 levels fell significantly between 18 and 36
      weeks following treatment but not to pretreatment levels. The results show that
      specific anti-egg antibody responses are highly sensitive to the effects of
      praziquantel treatment. A possible consequence is that the susceptibility of
      children to infection with S. haematobium is altered by chemotherapy; this
      requires further investigation.

PMID- 9990645
TI  - Heligmosomoides polygyrus immunomodulatory factor (IMF), targets T-lymphocytes.
AB  - Experiments were performed to investigate the immunological site of action of an
      immunomodulatory factor (IMF), isolated from the gastrointestinal nematode
      Heligmosomoides polygyrus. IMF inhibited antibody production in murine and human
      'T-helper (Th-2) driven' immunoassays. The effects were mediated via T
      lymphocytes as T cell-depleted cultures failed to respond to IMF, a result
      confirmed by prepulsing discrete cell subsets with the immunomodulant. Although
      the molecular nature and mode of action of IMF has yet to be determined, it would
      appear to be a relatively small non-proteinaceous molecule. From this data, we
      suggest that H. polygyrus secretes a systemically-active IMF from the intestinal
      lumen, to down-regulate Th-2 cell development in order to promote its survival in
      a potentially immunologically hostile environment.

PMID- 9990646
TI  - Characterization of variable immunodominant antigens of Cowdria ruminantium by
      ELISA and immunoblots.
AB  - Cross-immunization experiments have revealed a significant antigenic diversity of
      the isolate of Cowdria ruminantium which needs to be characterized for the
      development of vaccines. We identified polymorphic immunodominant antigens by
      ELISA and immunoblot. Using serum from a goat immune to the Gardel stock of
      Cowdria (isolated in Guadeloupe) adsorbed on antigen of the Senegal stock of this
      pathogen, distinct serogroups were revealed by ELISA among six isolates from
      different geographical origins. Furthermore, a goat serum directed against the
      Senegal stock and adsorbed on Gardel antigens was shown to be specific for the
      Senegal stock, thus confirming the existence of serotypes in Cowdria. The Major
      Antigenic Protein 1 (MAP1) of Cowdria was shown to have variable antigenic
      determinants. Also in a group of variable proteins ranging from 23 to 29 kDa, one
      antigen of 26-27 kDa had a determinant specific for the Gardel isolate. These
      polymorphic antigens may be relevant components of Cowdria ruminantium for a
      vaccine as the sera revealing these antigens originated from a goal surviving a
      lethal challenge. However, the presence of T-cell epitopes and the ability of the
      these antigens to confer protection to ruminants remain to be investigated. The
      production of a rabbit antiserum against this group of polypeptides will be of
      great use for their purification and for the screening of expression libraries.

PMID- 9990647
TI  - Intestinal and systemic humoral immunological events in the susceptible Balb/C
      mouse strain after oral administration of Echinococcus multilocularis eggs.
AB  - The aim of the study was to investigate the systemic and, for the first time, the
      intestinal humoral events in the susceptible Balb/C mouse strain after oral
      administration of Echinococcus multilocularis eggs. Thirty-one mice were divided
      into three groups; W-2, W-8 and control group. Each mouse of the W-2 and W-8
      groups was orally infected with 1,500 E. multilocularis eggs, two weeks and eight
      weeks before sacrifice respectively. Control group mice received phosphate buffer
      saline. Measurement of anti-E. multilocularis and non-specific IgG, IgA and IgM,
      and of a transudation marker, albumin, were performed in serum and intestinal
      washings by a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay. These results were
      complemented by microscopic examination of the intestinal mucosa. This infection
      model is well-suited to the study of mucosal immunity during alveolar
      echinococcosis. It showed a major specific intestinal response in the early stage
      of the disease whereas the systemic response predominated later in the disease.
      Histopathological studies and calculation of the relative coefficient of
      excretion of Ig also confirmed that the presence of the parasite, even during a
      short period, was responsible for a local immunological and inflammatory response
      and for a change in mucosal permeability. Mucosal immunity could thus play a role
      in tolerance induction against E. multilocularis that could be a prerequisite for
      the subsequent development of the larvae in the liver, and for the occurrence of
      the parasitic disease, alveolar echinococcosis.

PMID- 9990648
TI  - Interferon-gamma signal transduction during parasite infection: modulation of MAP
      kinases in the infection of human monocyte cells (THP1) by Toxoplasma gondii.
AB  - We assayed mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphorylation in a human
      monocyte cell line (THP1) during their infection by Toxoplasma gondii. In
      addition, we tested the effect of specific MAP kinase inhibitors (PD098059 and
      SB203580) on parasite invasion. MAP kinase phosphorylation was increased in the
      cytosol and membrane fractions of THP1 infected with T. gondii. The MAP kinase
      phosphorylation of uninfected THP1 cells was not significantly modified by
      incubation for 20 h with 1000 U/ml of IFN-gamma. However, IFN-gamma treatment of
      infected cells significantly reduces the increase in phosphorylation caused by
      parasite infection. There was also MAP kinase activity in the cytosol and
      membrane fractions of extracellular T. gondii tachyzoites. IFN-gamma altered the
      distribution of activity in subcellular fractions of extracellular T. gondii
      tachyzoites. This indicates that IFN-gamma directly affects parasite MAP kinase
      activity. The results provide evidence that MAP kinase pathways participate in
      the infection by T. gondii and that the decrease in MAP kinase activity in
      infected cells caused by IFN-gamma may be involved in mediating their protective
      signals.

PMID- 9990649
TI  - Cardiovascular activity of 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide in the
      anaesthetised rat and isolated right atria.
AB  - The cardiovascular activity of 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide (DDA) from
      Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees (Acanthaceae) was elucidated in
      anaesthetised Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and isolated rat right atria. In
      anaesthetised rats, DDA produced significant falls in mean arterial blood
      pressure (MAP) and heart rate in a dose-dependent manner with the maximum
      decrease of 37.6 +/- 2.6% and 18.1 +/- 4.8%, respectively. The ED50 value for MAP
      was 3.43 mmol kg-1. Pharmacological antagonist studies were done using this dose.
      The hypotensive action of DDA was not mediated through effects on the alpha
      adrenoceptor, muscarinic cholinergic and histaminergic receptors, for it was not
      affected by phentolamine, atropine as well as pyrilamine and cimetidine. However,
      it seems to work via adrenoceptors, autonomic ganglia receptor and angiotensin
      converting enzyme, since the hypotensive effect of DDA was negated or attenuated
      in the presence of propranolol, hexamethonium and captopril. In the isolated
      right atria, DDA caused negative chronotropic action and antagonised
      isoproterenol-induced positive chronotropic actions in a non-competitive and dose
      dependent manner. These results further supported the bradycardia-inducing and
      beta-adrenoceptor antagonistic properties of DDA in vivo.

PMID- 9990650
TI  - Pharmacology of nebivolol.
AB  - Nebivolol is a new selective beta 1-adrenergic blocking agent, that possesses a
      peculiar pharmacodynamic profile and an original chemical structure, by which it
      differs from traditional beta 1-blockers. Nebivolol is a racemic mixture of two
      enantiomers in equal ratios. It is endowed with a highly selective beta 1
      blocking activity, and does not show an intrinsic sympathomimetic activity.
      Nebivolol is endowed with peripheral vasodilating properties mediated by the
      modulation of the endogenous production of nitric oxide. It does not
      significantly decrease airway conductance compared with atenolol and propranolol.
      Nebivolol does not compromise the left ventricular function, but it may increase
      stroke volume, and does not reduce heart inotropism during exertion. Nebivolol is
      quite safe and is well tolerated, also when compared to traditional beta
      blockers. The most common adverse effects are dizziness, headache and fatigue.
      Owing to its combined dual mechanism of action, nebivolol leads to a unique
      haemodynamic and therapeutic profile by which it may be advantageous in essential
      hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and congestive heart failure.

PMID- 9990651
TI  - Effects of free radical production and scavengers on occlusion-reperfusion
      induced arrhythmias.
AB  - Ventricular arrhythmias were studied in rat isolated hearts subjected to coronary
      artery occlusion and reperfusion. Free radicals in the perfusate were detected by
      continuous flow luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. Administration of purine (2.3
      mM) and xanthine oxidase (0.12 U ml-1 min-1) did not significantly modify the
      severity of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias but did generate free radicals. No
      free radical generation was detected during the period of coronary artery
      occlusion or reperfusion. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) 20-80 U ml-1 did not alter
      the severity of reperfusion arrhythmias but, in the presence of 80 U ml-1 SOD,
      occlusion-induced arrhythmias were augmented. SOD did not produce any effect on
      haemodynamics at the concentrations tested. Ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac
      haemodynamics were also not significantly changed by the combination of
      scavengers, SOD (10 U ml-1), catalase (100 U ml-1) and mannitol (20 mM). These
      data suggest that the superoxide free radical is unlikely to be the primary cause
      of reperfusion induced arrhythmias in rat isolated hearts subjected to regional
      ischaemia.

PMID- 9990652
TI  - Potentiation of muscimol-induced long-term depression by benzodiazepines and
      prevention or reversal by pregnenolone sulfate.
AB  - We have recently reported a new protocol for inducing long-term depression
      through activation of GABAA receptors in the hippocampal slices. This long-term
      depression is reversed by bicuculline and potentiated by neurosteroids such as
      alphaxalone. It was also shown that glutamate receptor activity or extracellular
      calcium are not involved in the induction of this type of long-term depression.
      The present study investigated the possible relation between muscimol-induced
      long-term depression and barbiturates/benzodiazepine-induced amnesia and attempts
      to determine the possible effect of pregnenolone sulfate on muscimol-induced long
      term depression. Extracellular recordings were made in the CA1 pyramidal cell
      layer of rat hippocampal slices following orthodromic stimulation of Schaffer
      collateral fibres in stratum radiatum (0.01 Hz). It was observed that
      pentobarbital, benzodiazepines and pregnanolone at concentrations that did not
      have any effect themselves on the population spike, potentiate the ability of
      muscimol to induce long-term depression. In addition to this, the long-term
      depression was either blocked or reversed by pregnenolone sulfate at
      concentrations (10 microM) where pregnenolone sulfate did not induce any multiple
      burst or increase of spike size. The results suggest that the potentiation of
      this type of long-term depression by benzodiazepines and barbiturates can explain
      the main adverse effect of these drugs, amnesia and cognitive impairment.
      Moreover, the prevention or reversal of this type of long-term depression by
      pregnenolone sulfate, may suggest a clinical application of this agent in the
      management of amnesia or dementia.

PMID- 9990653
TI  - Effect of propranolol and nifedipine on maximal electroshock-induced seizures in
      mice: individually and in combination.
AB  - A comparative effect of propranolol and nifedipine administered individually and
      in combination at graded dose levels; and that of phenytoin at 30 mg kg-1 on
      maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizure in mice was investigated. Propranolol
      in doses of 10 mg kg-1 and 20 mg kg-1, and nifedipine in doses of 8 mg kg-1 and
      16 mg kg-1 significantly modified MES activity. Propranolol (40 mg kg-1), and a
      combination of propranolol (20 mg kg-1) and nifedipine (8 mg kg-1), produced
      antiMES activity, which was comparable to that of phenytoin (30 mg kg-1). In mice
      treated with propranolol and nifedipine combination, the tonic flexor and tonic
      extensor phase ratios (F/E ratio) were significantly higher than individual drug
      responses. Our findings suggest that a combination of propranolol and nifedipine
      has either synergistic or an additive effect in controlling MES-induced seizures
      in mice.

PMID- 9990654
TI  - ACEA-1328, an NMDA receptor antagonist, increases the potency of morphine and
      U50,488H in the tail flick test in mice.
AB  - The effect of 5-nitro-6,7-dimethyl-1,4-dihydro-2,3-quinoxalinedione (ACEA-1328),
      a competitive and systemically bioavailable NMDA receptor/glycine site
      antagonist, was examined on opioid-induced antinociception in the tail flick
      test. Swiss Webster mice were injected with ACEA-1328 either alone or in
      combination with morphine or (+/-)-trans-U-50488 methanesulfonate (U50,488H), a
      mu- and a kappa-opioid receptor agonist, respectively, and tested for
      antinociception. Systemic administration of ACEA-1328 alone increased the tail
      flick latencies with an ED50 of approximately 45 mg kg-1. Concurrent
      administration of ACEA-1328 with morphine, or U50,488H, at doses that did not
      affect tail flick latencies, potentiated the antinociceptive effect of the opioid
      analgesics and vice versa. Naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, while not
      modifying the effect of ACEA-1328, did block the augmentation, suggesting that
      opioid receptors might be involved in the latter effect. 5-Aza-7-chloro-4-hydroxy
      3-(m-phenoxyphenyl)quinoline-2(1H)-one (ACEA-0762), a selective NMDA
      receptor/glycine site antagonist, also showed enhancement of the antinociceptive
      effect of morphine and U50,488H. However, concurrent administration of 2,3
      dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzol[f]quinoxaline (NBQX), a selective non-NMDA
      receptor antagonist, with morphine did not alter the antinociceptive potency of
      the opioid analgesic. Overall, the data suggest that ACEA-1328 may increase the
      potency of the opioid analgesics by antagonising the glycine site associated with
      the NMDA receptor.

PMID- 9990655
TI  - CGP 42112A antagonism of the angiotensin II and angiotensin II(3-7) facilitation
      of recall in rats.
AB  - An involvement of the angiotensin AT2 receptors in some behavioural effects of
      angiotensin II (Ang II) and its 3-7 fragment [Ang II(3-7)] in rats was studied.
      To inhibit AT2 receptors we used their selective antagonist CGP 42112A (nicotinic
      acid-Tyr-N-benzoxyl-carbonyl-Arg-Lys-His-Pro-Ile-OH). Ang II and Ang II(3-7),
      given intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) at the dose of 1 nmol each,
      significantly enhanced recall of the passive avoidance behaviour and learning of
      the conditioned avoidance responses (CARs). CGP 42112A (2 micrograms i.c.v.),
      inactive on its own in all tests, significantly attenuated facilitation of recall
      of passive avoidance caused by Ang II and Ang II(3-7). Also, CGP 42112A
      diminished Ang II improvement of CARs acquisition but not that caused by Ang II(3
      7). None of the treatments produced significant anxiolysis in an elevated 'plus'
      maze. Likewise, in an open field no statistically significant differences were
      recorded except for the abolishment of the Ang II(3-7)-induced increase of
      rearings and bar approaches by CGP 42112A. It appears that the cognition
      improving activity of Ang II and Ang II(3-7) is mediated by similar mechanisms
      and angiotensin AT2 receptors are engaged in these processes.

PMID- 9990656
TI  - Effects of different antisecretory drugs on gastric potential difference in the
      rat: comparison with sucralfate.
AB  - The proton pump inhibitors omeprazole and lansoprazole and the histamine H2
      receptor antagonists ranitidine and nizatidine were investigated for their
      effects on gastric transmucosal potential difference (PD) in the rat, in
      comparison with the gastroprotective compound sucralfate. Omeprazole (1-3 mg kg
      1, i.v.) and lansoprazole (1-3 mg kg-1, i.v.) did not modify basal PD, but
      significantly reduced (by approx. 50-60%) the drop in PD caused by intragastric
      administration of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, 60 mg kg-1). Ranitidine (3-100 mg kg
      1, i.v.) and nizatidine (10-30 mg kg-1, i.v.) behaved similarly to proton pump
      inhibitors, being ineffective on basal PD, while significantly reducing the
      effect of ASA. The antisecretory compounds did not change basal pH values.
      Sucralfate (0.5-1.5 g kg-1 intragastrically) caused a slight increase (approx.
      20%) of basal PD and a dose-dependent reduction of ASA-induced fall in PD, with a
      maximum effect (65% reduction) comparable to that caused by the antisecretory
      agents. These results showed that ASA-induced disruption of the mucosal barrier
      can be reduced to the same extent by various antiulcer drugs, irrespective of
      their effects on gastric acid secretion.

PMID- 9990658
TI  - Comparative bioavailability of two sustained-release theophylline formulations in
      the dog.
AB  - The kinetics of two sustained-release theophylline formulations, Theo-Dur
      (Recordati, Milano, Italy) and Diffumal (Malesci, Firenze, Italy) were studied in
      eight beagle dogs. In a first part of the study each animal was injected
      intravenously with aminophylline dihydrate, Aminomal (Malesci, Firenze, Italy),
      in order to determine the absolute bioavailability of the two sustained-release
      theophylline formulations orally administered to the dogs in the second
      experimental phase, over a period of 9 days, following a balanced two-period
      cross-over design. Assays for theophylline were performed by high performance
      liquid chromatography and the pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using the
      non-compartmental method. The principle of superposition was then applied to
      predict multiple dose plasma concentrations from experimental single dose data.
      No significant differences between the two preparations were found with respect
      to the main pharmacokinetic parameters, showing that the two preparations are
      bioequivalent. The fact that the differences between experimental and predicted
      results were not statistically significant allows us to conclude that multiple
      dose steady state plasma theophylline concentration in the dog can be predicted
      from experimental single dose data. Furthermore, after repeated treatment, both
      Diffumal and Theo-Dur, given twice daily are able to maintain therapeutic (5-20
      mg ml-1) plasma theophylline concentrations in the dog.

PMID- 9990657
TI  - Involvement of PACAP in acid-induced HCO3- response in rat duodenums.
AB  - Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptides (PACAP) stimulate duodenal
      HCO3- secretion in the rat. The present study was performed to determine whether
      endogenous PACAP is involved in the mechanism of acid-induced HCO3- response in
      the duodenum, using a PACAP antagonist, PACAP6-27. Under urethane anaesthetised
      conditions, a duodenal loop that was made between the pylorus and the area just
      above the outlet of the common bile duct was perfused with saline, and the HCO3-
      secretion was measured at pH 7.0 using a pH-stat method and by adding 10 mM HCl.
      Duodenal HCO3- secretion was significantly stimulated by i.v. administration of
      PACAP-27 (8 nmol kg-1) as well as vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP: 8 nmol
      kg-1). The effect of PACAP-27 (8 nmol kg-1) was equivalent to that induced by
      prostaglandin E2 (300 micrograms kg-1, i.v.) and significantly suppressed by
      either PACAP6-27 (40 nmol kg-1, i.v.) or VIP antagonist (Ac-Tyr1, D-Phe2-VIP: 40
      nmol kg-1, i.v.). These peptide antagonists suppressed duodenal HCO3- secretory
      response to VIP but did not have any effect on either basal or PGE2-stimulated
      HCO3- secretion. On the other hand, the duodenal mucosa responded to
      acidification by increasing HCO3- secretion in a indomethacin-sensitive manner,
      and this process was also significantly suppressed by both PACAP6-27 and VIP
      antagonist. Duodenal damage induced by acid perfusion (100 mM HCl for 4 h) was
      significantly worsened by PACAP6-27, VIP antagonist as well as indomethacin at
      the doses that suppressed acid-induced HCO3- secretion. These findings suggest
      that PACAP may play a role in local modulation of the duodenal mucosal integrity,
      by mediating the HCO3- secretory response induced by mucosal acidification.

PMID- 9990659
TI  - Anti-allergic and anti-anaphylactic activity of picroliv--a standardised iridoid
      glycoside fraction of Picrorhiza kurroa.
AB  - Picroliv, a standardised iridoid glycoside fraction from the root and rhizome of
      Picrorhiza kurroa at a dose of 25 mg kg-1 p.o. inhibited passive cutaneous
      anaphylaxis in mice (82%) and rats (50-85%) and protected mast cells from
      degranulation (60-80%) in a concentration-dependent manner. Its effect was also
      studied in sensitised guinea pig ileum preparation in vitro (Schultz-Dale study)
      and in normal guinea pigs in vivo (Konzett-Rossler, in preparation). There was
      inhibition of the Schultz-Dale response in sensitised guinea pig ileum, but the
      bronchospasm induced by histamine could not be antagonised or prevented by
      Picroliv, indicating the absence of a direct post-synaptic histamine receptor
      blocking activity.

PMID- 9990660
TI  - Dual role of betel leaf extract on thyroid function in male mice.
AB  - The effects of betel leaf extract (0.10, 0.40, 0.80 and 2.0 g kg-1 day-1 for 15
      days) on the alterations in thyroid hormone concentrations. lipid peroxidation
      (LPO) and on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were
      investigated in male Swiss mice. Administration of betel leaf extract exhibited a
      dual role, depending on the different doses. While the lowest dose decreased
      thyroxine (T4) and increased serum triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations, reverse
      effects were observed at two higher doses. Higher doses also increased LPO with a
      concomitant decrease in SOD and CAT activities. However, with the lowest dose
      most of these effects were reversed. These findings suggest that betel leaf can
      be both stimulatory and inhibitory to thyroid function, particularly for T3
      generation and lipid peroxidation in male mice, depending on the amount consumed.

PMID- 9990661
TI  - Correlation of skin phototype with facial wrinkle formation.
AB  - Facial wrinkle formation is a representative sign of photoaging. Skin can be
      divided into different skin phototypes (SPTs) depending on its sensitivity to
      solar radiation. We have determined the relationship between SPTs and deep and
      fine wrinkle scores on the faces of 230 Japanese subjects. This group was chosen
      because it is relatively easy to quantify acute and chronic sun damage in
      Japanese individuals. SPT in the Japanese subjects was classified into one of
      four groups, SPT-I to -IV according to Fitzpatrick's classification method. The
      subjects were further classified into indoor or outdoor workers. After
      photographing the outer canthus, deep and fine wrinkles were discriminated
      visually and scored from 1-11 and from 1-9, respectively. UV light was used as a
      photographic light source for clear depiction of the fine wrinkles. Higher scores
      were recorded for deep wrinkles in individuals with SPT-I, who are more sensitive
      to sunlight than those with SPT-III or IV, who are more tolerant to sunlight.
      However, the same tendency did not seem to be apparent for fine wrinkle scores. A
      high incidence of SPT-IV was seen in outdoor workers. Early detection of SPT-I in
      individuals who are sensitive to sunlight, may help to predict and prevent
      photoaging of deep wrinkles. Sensitivity to sunlight may play a part in
      determining an individual's choice of working environment.

PMID- 9990662
TI  - Phototesting in oriental patients with lupus erythematosus.
AB  - Light sensitivity is an important clinical characteristic of several forms of
      lupus erythematosus (LE). Recently, investigations have been able to induce LE
      like lesions in LE patients with UVA as well as UVB, although most of these
      studies were conducted in Caucasians. Thus, there is insufficient data on
      phototesting in Oriental patients with LE. The aim of this study was to evaluate
      light sensitivity in Oriental patients with LE. Fifteen patients with various
      forms of LE were tested. Patients were evaluated by provocative phototesting, and
      threshold doses of UVA and UVB radiation that produced erythema and pigmentation
      were determined. The minimal erythema doses (MED) of UVB, immediate pigment
      darkening (IPD), and minimal tanning doses (MTD) were within the normal range in
      LE patients compared to a control group. Skin lesions clinically and
      histologically compatible with LE were induced in two of six patients with SLE,
      and four of nine patients with DLE. These lesions developed in about 2 weeks
      (range 5 to 23 days) after irradiation and lasted approximately 1 to 3 months (47
      +/- 24 days). The action spectrum of the induced lesions was within the UVB range
      in four patients, in the UVA range in one patient, and in the UVB and UVA ranges
      in one patient. We found no correlation between a positive history for UV
      sensitivity and phototest reactions. In conclusion, the incidence of positive
      phototest reactions in Oriental patients with LE seems to be similar to or a
      little lower than in Caucasians. There was no correlation between a positive
      history for UV sensitivity and phototest reactions.

PMID- 9990663
TI  - In vitro and in vivo activation of hypericin with the incoherent light source PDT
      1200 SOA (520-750 nm) and with solar simulated radiation (290-2500 nm).
AB  - The photodynamic active plant pigment hypericin is a possible new photosensitizer
      for photodynamic therapy. Hypericin shows absorption maxima in the ultraviolet
      (330 nm) and visible light range (550 and 588 nm). The present study compared the
      photoactivation of hypericin with the incoherent light source PDT 1200 SOA (520
      750 nm) to that with a 1000 watt solar simulator (290-2500 nm). Hypericin
      displayed dose and time dependent phototoxic effects in the keratinocyte cell
      line HaCaT in vitro and after intracutaneous in vivo application with both light
      sources. In vivo, delayed (48 h) photosensitivity in hypericin-sensitized skin
      was observed. With intracutaneous application of 100 ng/ml hypericin, no
      phototoxic reaction could be produced. The PDT 1200 SOA was about four times more
      effective in vitro and about ten times more effective in vivo when compared to
      the solar simulator. Since the PDT 1200 SOA allows homogenous irradiation of
      large areas, we conclude that the PDT 1200 SOA is an effective and convenient
      light source for in vitro and in vivo studies using hypericin.

PMID- 9990664
TI  - Induction of complete wound healing in recalcitrant ulcers by low-intensity laser
      irradiation depends on ulcer cause and size.
AB  - Chronic skin ulcers still represent a therapeutic challenge in dermatology. Among
      the various non-invasive treatment modalities used for the improvement of
      impaired wound healing, low-intensity laser irradiations are gaining an
      increasing body of interest. We used low-intensity laser irradiations delivered
      by a 30 mW helium-neon laser at an energy density of 30 J/cm2 three times weekly
      for the induction of wound healing in ulcers of diverse causes. Twenty patients
      with the same number of ulcers, which had previously been treated by conventional
      wound care for a median period of 34 weeks (range: 3-120 weeks) without any
      significant evidence of healing, were included in the study. Concerning the
      underlying disorders, patients were divided into four groups: diabetes, arterial
      insufficiency, radio damage and autoimmune vasculitis. In all ulcers, complete
      epithelization could be induced by laser therapy. No amputation or any other
      surgical intervention was necessary and no adverse effects of any kind were noted
      during low-intensity laser treatment. Regarding the different diagnoses, a
      statistically significant difference was noted (P = 0.008): ulcers due to radio
      damage healed significantly faster than those caused by diabetes (6 weeks [range:
      3-10 weeks] vs. 16 weeks [range: 9-45 weeks], P = 0.005). Wound healing in
      autoimmune vasculitis (24 weeks [range: 20-35 weeks]) required longer than in
      radiodermitis, although the difference was not significant. In addition to the
      diagnosis, wound size was found to be an important factor influencing the
      duration of wound closure (P = 0.028), whereas duration of previous conventional
      treatment (P = 0.24) and depth (P = 0.14) showed no effect. Our results indicate
      that low-intensity laser irradiation could be a valuable non-invasive tool for
      the induction of wound healing in recalcitrant ulcers, and that healing time is
      correlated with the ulcer cause and size.

PMID- 9990665
TI  - PUVA-induced lymphocyte apoptosis: mechanism of action in psoriasis.
AB  - Psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA), utilizing oral 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), is
      a widely utilized and effective treatment for psoriasis vulgaris. Previous
      studies have suggested that PUVA's mechanism of action in psoriasis is a result
      of its direct lymphotoxic effects. Trimethylpsoralen (TMP), a potentially safer
      compound, has been found to be effective in psoriasis during bath water delivery.
      In this study we examined the relative antilymphocytic effects of TMP and 8-MOP
      through both flow cytometry and tissue analysis on lesional skin during clinical
      treatment. Based on FACS analysis on phytohemagglutinin-activated lymphocytes, we
      found TMP to be nearly 10,000 fold more lymphotoxic compared to 8-MOP. In
      addition, lymphocytes treated with 8-MOP or TMP with UVA displayed DNA
      degradation patterns typical of apoptotic cell death. These findings were
      consistent with our investigation of treated psoriatic skin, with virtual
      elimination of epidermal CD3+ T-cells following bath water treatment with TMP or
      8-MOP. These results support the theory that the therapeutic effects of PUVA stem
      from its toxic effects on activated lymphocytes. If further investigation
      supports TMP's lack of carcinogenicity, this potent lymphotoxic treatment may
      prove to be one of the safest and most effective treatments for psoriasis.

PMID- 9990666
TI  - HIV, UV and immunosuppression.
AB  - Cutaneous diseases are common manifestations of infection with human
      immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Phototherapy with ultraviolet B (UVB) and
      photochemotherapy with 8-methoxypsoralen plus UVA (PUVA) have been used
      successfully to treat several of these skin conditions, including psoriasis,
      folliculitis, pruritus, and eczema. However, in view of the known
      immunosuppressive effects of UV radiation, concerns have been raised about
      potential adverse effects of UV on persons infected with HIV. In the following
      report, we review the effects of UV in HIV-infected cell lines in vitro, in
      animal models, as well as in human studies. Based on currently available data, UV
      radiation, as used in phototherapy and photochemotherapy, appears to have no
      adverse effects in HIV-infected individuals.

PMID- 9990667
TI  - Recent developments in fluoroquinolone phototoxicity.

PMID- 9990668
TI  - Sunblocks: mechanisms of action.

PMID- 9990669
TI  - Malignant melanoma in patients treated for psoriasis with PUVA.

PMID- 9990670
TI  - Are we teaching phototherapy? Results of an informal survey of phototherapy
      education.

PMID- 9990671
TI  - Discussion of a case of vitiligo.

PMID- 9990672
TI  - Inhibition by tocopherol of prostaglandin-induced apoptosis in ovine corpora
      lutea.
AB  - Accumulation of toxic oxidants within corpora lutea is a prelude of apoptotic
      cell death. Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) is a biological antioxidant that
      protects cells from the inductive effects of reactive oxygen on DNA damage and
      nuclear/cytoplasmic condensation that dictate apoptosis. Ewes were challenged
      with a luteolytic dose of PGF2 alpha on d 10 of the estrous cycle. The acute
      decline in circulatory progesterone indicative of the onset of functional
      luteolysis was not affected by systemic administration of alpha-tocopherol;
      however, corpora lutea consequently (beyond 24 h) rebounded from the
      steroidogenic insult. Luteal tissues obtained at 24 h after PGF2 alpha revealed
      that internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and cellular collapse were inhibited by
      alpha-tocopherol. These observations indicate that regressive corpora lutea can
      be spared from terminal involution by diminishing the apoptotic influence of
      luteolytic hormone with an antioxidant.

PMID- 9990673
TI  - Lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in mouse macrophages is
      inhibited by chloromethylketones and a direct inhibitor of NF-kappa B
      translocation.
AB  - In macrophages, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is induced by cytokines, mitogens, or
      endotoxin. The present study investigates whether inhibitors of the nuclear
      transcription factor NF-kappa B affect lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated
      expression of COX-2 mRNA, protein, and activity in the macrophage cell line
      J774.1A. The activation of COX-2 was assessed by measuring the accumulation of
      prostaglandin (PG) E2 by radioimmunoassay. Expression of COX-2 mRNA and protein
      was detected by Northern and Western blot analysis, respectively. In the absence
      of LPS, mouse macrophages did not express COX-2 and generated low amounts of
      prostaglandin (PG) E2. Treatment of J774.1A with LPS (0.1-30 micrograms/ml)
      caused expression of COX-2 protein and activity. Induction of COX-2 activity
      along with the induction of COX-2 mRNA and protein by LPS was attenuated by the
      serine protease inhibitors N-alpha-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone
      (TPCK) and N-alpha-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK). A cell permeable
      peptide and a direct inhibitor of NF-kappa B translocation, SN50, attenuated the
      accumulation of PGE2 in cell supernatant in a concentration-dependent manner. Our
      results show that induction of COX-2 by LPS in macrophages involves activation of
      NF-kappa B and point to a possible therapeutic use of protease inhibitors in
      inflammatory processes.

PMID- 9990674
TI  - Mice deficient for 5-lipoxygenase, but not leukocyte-type 12-lipoxygenase,
      display altered immune responses during infection with Schistosoma mansoni.
AB  - Periovular granuloma formation during Schistosoma mansoni infection is a complex,
      multifaceted immunologic response. Products of arachidonic acid metabolism have
      been shown to contribute to this response through studies in which general
      inhibitors of lipoxygenase function reduce granulomatous inflammation. To
      determine which lipoxygenases are important for granuloma development in
      schistosomiasis, wild type mice or mice deficient for 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) or
      "leukocyte-type" 12-lipoxygenase (12-LO) were infected with S. mansoni and
      studied for responses to schistosome eggs and egg antigens. At the acute stage of
      infection, when granuloma formation is usually maximal, 5-LO deficient mice
      developed smaller granulomas around liver-deposited schistosome eggs compared
      with wild type or 12-LO deficient mice. 5-LO mice also displayed less antibody
      mediated (5 h) and cell-mediated, delayed-type (24 h) hypersensitivity to
      schistosome egg antigens than did the other two infection groups. In an attempt
      to determine possible mechanisms for the reduced inflammatory responses, we also
      measured hepatic mRNA levels of cytokines that have been shown to influence
      granuloma size (IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-gamma). The mRNA levels for IL-10 were
      significantly lower in 5-LO-deficient mice, but SEA-stimulated spleen cells did
      not demonstrate a significant difference in IL-10 production between wild type
      and 5-LO mice. These data suggest that 5-LO plays a role in host responses to
      schistosomiasis via a mechanism that cannot be explained solely by changes in
      expression of these cytokines.

PMID- 9990675
TI  - Identification and pharmacological characterization of platelet-activating factor
      and related 1-palmitoyl species in human inflammatory blistering diseases.
AB  - Through its pro-inflammatory effects on leukocytes, endothelial cells, and
      keratinocytes, the lipid mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF) has been
      implicated in cutaneous inflammation. Although the 1-alkyl PAF species has been
      considered historically the most abundant and important ligand for the PAF
      receptor (PAF-R), other putative ligands for this receptor have been described
      including 1-acyl analogs of sn-2 acetyl glycerophosphocholines. Previous
      bioassays have demonstrated a PAF-like activity in lesions of the autoimmune
      blistering disease bullous pemphigoid. To assess the actual sn-2 acetyl
      glycerophosphocholine species that result in this PAF agonistic activity, we
      measured PAF and related sn-2 acetyl GPCs in fresh blister fluid samples from
      bullous pemphigoid and noninflammatory (suction-induced) bullae by mass
      spectrometry. We report the presence of 1-hexadecyl as well as the 1-acyl PAF
      analog 1-palmitoyl-2-acetyl glycerophosphocholine (PAPC) in inflammatory blister
      fluid samples. Because PAPC is the most abundant sn-2 acetyl
      glycerophosphocholine species found in all samples examined, the pharmacological
      effects of this species with respect to the PAF-R were determined using a model
      system created by transduction of a PAF-R-negative epidermoid cell line with the
      PAF-R. Radioligand binding and intracellular calcium mobilization studies
      indicated that PAPC is approximately 100x less potent than PAF. Though a weak
      agonist, PAPC could induce PAF biosynthesis and PAF-R desensitization. Finally,
      intradermal injections of PAF and PAPC into the ventral ears of rats demonstrated
      that PAPC was 100x less potent in vivo. These studies suggest possible
      involvement of PAF and related species in inflammatory bullous diseases.

PMID- 9990676
TI  - Contribution of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 to prostanoid formation by
      human enterocytes stimulated by calcium ionophore and inflammatory agents.
AB  - The stimulation of intestinal epithelial cell cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes with
      inflammatory agents and the inhibition of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes has the
      potential to increase understanding of the role of these enzymes in intestinal
      inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine the contributions of COX-1
      and -2 to the production of specific prostanoids by unstimulated and stimulated
      intestinal epithelial cells. Cultured enterocytes were stimulated with
      lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-1 (IL-1)beta (IL-1 beta), and calcium
      ionophore (Ca Ion), with and without COX inhibitors. Valerylsalicylic acid (VSA)
      was employed as the COX-1 inhibitor, and SC-58125 and NS398 were used as the COX
      2 inhibitors. Prostanoids were quantitated by Elisa assay. Western immunoblotting
      demonstrated the presence of constitutive COX-1 and inducible COX-2 enzyme.
      Unstimulated prostanoid formation was not decreased by the COX-1 inhibitor. All
      of the stimulants evaluated increased prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. Only Ca
      Ion stimulated prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) production while IL-1 beta, and Ca Ion,
      but not LPS, increased prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) formation. Ca Ion
      stimulated prostanoid formation was uniformly inhibited by COX-2, but not COX-1,
      inhibitors. IL-1 beta-stimulated PGE2 and PGE2 alpha formation was significantly
      decreased by both COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors. VSA, in a dose-dependent manner,
      significantly decreased IL-1 beta-stimulated PGE2 and PGF2 alpha production.
      Unstimulated prostanoid formation was not dependent on constitutive COX-1
      activity. The stimulation of intestinal epithelial cells by Ca Ion seemed to
      uniformly produce prostanoids through COX-2 activity. There was no uniform COX-1
      or COX-2 pathway for PGE and PGF2 alpha formation stimulated by the inflammatory
      agents, suggesting that employing either a COX-1 or COX-2 inhibitor
      therapeutically will have varying effects on intestinal epithelial cells
      dependent on the prostanoid species and the inflammatory stimulus involved.

PMID- 9990677
TI  - The advent of highly selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase--a review.
AB  - Cyclooxygenase (COX) exists in two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2, COX-1 is present
      and is constitutively expressed in most cells and tissues, whereas COX-2 is felt
      to principally mediate inflammation. However, this distinction appears to be
      challenged by recent observations. This review addresses the roles of COX-1 and
      COX-2 isoforms in physiologic and pathophysiologic states and reviews potential
      therapeutic roles for selective COX inhibitors.

PMID- 9990678
TI  - Types of purinoceptors and phospholipase A2 involved in the activation of the
      platelet-activating factor-dependent transacetylase activity and arachidonate
      release by ATP in endothelial cells.
AB  - Acyl analogs of PAF are the major products synthesized during agonist stimulation
      of endothelial cells. We have previously shown that PAF: 1-acyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero
      3-phosphocholine transacetylase in calf pulmonary artery endothelial cells is
      activated by ATP through protein phosphorylation, and the increase in
      transacetylase activity by ATP contributes to the biosynthesis of acyl analogs of
      PAF (J. Biol. Chem. 272, 17431-17437, 1997). To understand the mechanisms(s) by
      which ATP stimulates acyl analogs of PAF production, we have identified the
      subtypes of the purinergic receptor that are linked to the activation of two
      enzymes involved in the generation of acyl analogs of PAF, namely, transacetylase
      and phospholipase A2. Experiments with transient transfection of the cells with
      antisense and sense thio-oligonucleotide to cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2)
      were also performed to evaluate whether downstream activation of cPLA2 is
      involved in ATP-receptor mediated induction of arachidonate release and synthesis
      of radylacetyl-GPC. We found that the P2u/P2Y2 receptor, which recognizes a
      pyrimidine nucleotide, UTP, as well as purine nucleotides, shows a potency
      profile of UTP > ATP = ATP gamma S > 2-methylthio-ATP in mediating the activation
      of PAF: lysophospholipid transacetylase. On the other hand, ADP beta S and 2
      methylthio-ATP have similar potencies as ATP but have lower potencies than UTP
      and ATP gamma S in stimulating the release of arachidonate. These results suggest
      that both P2u/P2Y2 and P2y/P2Y1 receptor subtypes promote arachidonate release.
      In addition, transient transfection of endothelial cells with cPLA2 antisense but
      not the sense thio-oligonucleotide inhibited the stimulation of arachidonate
      release and [3H]acetate incorporation into radyl[3H]acetyl-GPC. Thus, our data
      suggest that a receptor-mediated process is involved in the activation of
      transacetylase for the induced synthesis of acyl analogs of PAF in endothelial
      cells. Furthermore, it is likely that cPLA2 supplies the lysophospholipids as
      substrates for the transacetylation reaction.

PMID- 9990679
TI  - Effects of elevated concentrations of prostaglandin F2 alpha on pregnancy rates
      in progestogen supplemented cattle.
AB  - An experiment was performed to determine the effect of elevated prostaglandin F2
      alpha (PGF2 alpha) on pregnancy rates of progestogen-treated bred cows in the
      presence or absence of luteal tissue. Ninety-one beef cows were bred (Day 0) and
      assigned randomly to receive either 3 mL saline (CON), 15 mg PGF2 alpha, or 15 mg
      PGF2 alpha + lutectomy (P + L) administered intramuscularly (i.m.) at 8 h
      intervals on either Days 5-8, 10-13, or 15-18 postbreeding. Lutectomies were
      performed by transrectal digital pressure before initiation of treatment on Day
      5, 10, or 15 for the respective treatment groups. All cows were fed 4 mg/day of
      melengesterol acetate from two days prior to initiation of treatment until Day 30
      postbreeding. Mean concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-PGF2 alpha (PGFM) were
      increased in cows administered PGF2 alpha and P + L treatments (398 +/- 23 and
      413 +/- 22 pg/ml, respectively; p < 0.01) compared to the CON group (80 +/- 29
      pg/ml) regardless of treatment group. Mean concentrations of oxytocin (OT) were
      increased in cows given PGF2 alpha on Day 10 and 15 (p < or = 0.0001) and tended
      to be increased on d 5 when compared to CON and P + L treatment groups on Day 5.
      Pregnancy rates were reduced (p < or = 0.03) in the PGF2 alpha treatment group
      (23%) and by Day 5-8 compared to CON (72%). Lutectomy tended to improve pregnancy
      rate in P + L (5-8; 55%) compared to PGF2 alpha (5-8; p = 0.1). Pregnancy rates
      tended (p < or = 0.07) to increase in the PGF2 alpha treatment groups on Days 5-8
      treatment (23%, 50%, and 60% for Days 5-8, 10-13, and 15-18, respectively). The
      later the treatments were initiated pregnancy rates did not differ between
      treatments given on Days 10-13 and 15-18. In conclusion, the most susceptible
      period of embryonic growth to the negative effects of PGF2 alpha was during
      morula to blastocyst development. Removal of luteal tissue diminishes the
      negative effects of PGF2 alpha through interruption of the luteal oxytocin
      uterine PGF2 alpha feedback loop.

PMID- 9990680
TI  - Role and evaluation of mammography and other imaging methods for breast cancer
      detection, diagnosis, and staging.
AB  - Mammographic screening of women age 40 and older can reduce breast cancer deaths
      by at least 30% to 40%. However, not all cancers are detected by mammography.
      Although a new supplementary modality for screening could, in theory, fill in
      this detection gap, such utilization must be based on rigorous demonstration of
      its ability to consistently and frequently find early cancers missed by
      mammography, such as those occurring in dense breasts or rapidly growing interval
      cancers that surface clinically between mammographic screens. After an
      abnormality is found at mammographic screening, supplementary mammographic views
      and/or ultrasound are now used to match the finding with an ACR BIRADS final
      diagnostic assessment category to indicate the relative likelihood of a normal,
      benign, or malignant diagnosis so that routine screening, short interval follow
      up, or biopsy can then be advised. Appropriate categorization will maximize early
      cancer detection and minimize false-positive biopsies. Application of a new
      imaging method to this type of diagnostic evaluation requires well-designed
      studies to determine its effectiveness for this purpose.

PMID- 9990681
TI  - The role of 99mTc-sestamibi and other conventional radiopharmaceuticals in breast
      cancer diagnosis.
AB  - The wide availability and the extensive use of screening mammography have
      resulted in an earlier diagnosis of breast cancer and in a significant reduction
      in the relative risk of dying from this disease. Despite technical improvements
      and major advantages associated with the use of mammography (and breast
      ultrasound), this procedure has some limitations in clinical practice, especially
      in women with dense breast tissue, implants, severe dysplastic disease, or
      significant architectural distortion following breast surgery or radiation
      therapy. Different noninvasive imaging techniques have been evaluated to overcome
      these limitations. Nuclear medicine also has been actively involved in the
      detection of breast cancer, using various types of radiopharmaceuticals.
      Currently, there are three radiotracers commonly used for breast imaging or
      scintimammography in either clinical practice or research: 99mTc-sestamibi and
      99mTc-tetrofosmin (two agents used for myocardial perfusion imaging) and 99mTc
      MDP (methylene diphosphonate, used for bone scintigraphy). 99mTc-sestamibi was
      the first radiopharmaceutical to be approved by the FDA for scintimammography.
      Several prospective studies have shown that the overall sensitivity of 99mTc
      sestamibi scintimammography in detection of breast cancer was 85%, the
      specificity was 89%, and the positive and negative predictive values were 89% and
      84% respectively. Similar numbers have been demonstrated for 99mTc-tetrofosmin
      and 99mTc-MDP scintimammography. Although not indicated as a screening procedure
      for the detection of breast cancer, scintimammography may play a useful and
      significant role in various specific clinical indications such as nondiagnostic
      or difficult mammography, and evaluation of high-risk patients, tumor response to
      chemotherapy, and axillary lymph node metastatic involvement.

PMID- 9990682
TI  - Breast cancer imaging with radiolabeled antibodies.
AB  - Over the past 2 decades, numerous anticancer antibodies against different
      molecular targets and labeled with different gamma-emitting radionuclides have
      been studied in human tumor xenografts and in clinical trials. In breast cancer,
      these molecular targets have included principally tumor-associated antigens, such
      as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the polymorphic epithelial mucin antigen,
      MUC1, and more recently the growth factor receptors, EGF-R and HER-2/neu. No
      antibody-based agent has yet been approved for clinical use in the diagnosis of
      mammary carcinoma, because few trials have addressed the issue of clinical use of
      these imaging agents in the management of breast cancer patients. Recently, the
      CEA antibody Fab' fragment approved for colorectal cancer detection, Arcitumomab
      (CEA-Scan, [Immunomedics, Morris Plains, NJ]), has been found to image both
      palpable and nonpalpable breast lesions that were suspicious on screening
      mammograms. Results to date indicate that Arcitumomab can complement mammography
      by providing a high specificity and positive predictive value, thus indicating
      when a patient with an abnormal mammogram may proceed directly to definitive
      surgery without an intermediate diagnostic biopsy. Breast cancer
      immunoscintigraphy holds promise for advancing toward immunoPET, which should
      combine the specificity of antibodies with the high sensitivity and resolution of
      PET. It is also the foundation of breast cancer radioimmunotherapy with humanized
      antibodies against CEA and MUC1, as well as other immunotherapy strategies.

PMID- 9990683
TI  - 18-FDG imaging in breast cancer.
AB  - Despite the large number of women with breast cancer and the importance of this
      disease in health care, only a relatively small number of published reports
      involve the application of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in the evaluation of
      patients with breast cancer. This report summarizes the results of these studies,
      presents the opinions from various clinical oncologists from both a university
      and community setting, and discusses the possible future implication of positron
      imaging technology in the management of breast cancer. The four potential areas
      of clinical application include (1) detection and differentiation of primary
      breast lesions, (2) staging of axillary lymph nodes, (3) detection of residual
      and metastatic disease, and (4) monitoring the response to chemotherapy.

PMID- 9990684
TI  - Sentinel node localization in breast cancer.
AB  - The status of the axillary nodes is the strongest known prognostic variable in
      patients with early breast cancer, and is routinely used in planning
      postoperative therapy. Conventional axillary lymph node dissection is limited by
      sampling error and potential morbidity. Sentinel node techniques have
      revolutionized the management of axillary nodes. Accurate identification and
      focused histologic evaluation of the sentinel node allow accurate prediction of
      the tumor status of other axillary nodes, thereby avoiding the morbidity and
      expense of a complete axillary dissection in node-negative patients. Radiotracer
      techniques play an important role in the preoperative and intraoperative
      localization of the sentinel nodes. Optimal localization of the sentinel node
      requires the use of both preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and intraoperative
      radiosensitive probes. Lymphoscintigraphy also identifies patients with lymphatic
      drainage to sites other than the axilla, thereby allowing more appropriate
      treatment and follow-up in this subset of patients. Procedures for localizing
      sentinel nodes require an understanding of the kinetics of the
      radiopharmaceuticals or other tracers used and the detection devices employed in
      each institution. Both surgical and nuclear medicine personnel should understand
      these principles, and close cooperation between surgeons, nuclear medicine
      physicians, and pathologists is essential for the application of sentinel node
      techniques.

PMID- 9990685
TI  - Skeletal metastases from breast cancer: imaging with nuclear medicine.
AB  - Breast cancer is a disease that commonly metastasizes to bone, increasing
      morbidity, mortality, and health service costs. The 99m technetium (99mTc)
      diphosphonate bone scan historically has played a significant part in the
      evaluation of skeletal disease and continues to be one of the most clinically
      utilized investigations in the staging and follow up of breast cancer patients.
      More tumor-specific radiopharmaceuticals are now being evaluated and, in
      particular, 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) may
      have a greater role in this disease in the future.

PMID- 9990686
TI  - Intestinal accumulation of Tc 99m MDP on bone scan.

PMID- 9990687
TI  - Nonvisualization of gallbladder after endoscopic retrograde sphincterotomy.

PMID- 9990688
TI  - Heterogenous uptake on brain SPECT.

PMID- 9990689
TI  - A unified approach to the analysis of case-distribution (case-only) studies.
AB  - A number of new study designs have appeared in which the exposure distribution of
      a case series is compared to an exposure distribution representing a complete
      theoretical population or distribution. These designs include the case-genotype
      study, the case-cross-over study, and the case-specular study. This paper
      describes a unified likelihood-based approach to the analysis of such studies,
      and discusses extensions of these methods when a control group is available. The
      approach clarifies certain assumptions implicit in the methods, and helps
      contrast these assumptions to those underlying ordinary case-control studies.
      There are several reasons to expect discrepancies between ordinary case-control
      estimates and case-distribution estimates; for example, case-distribution
      estimates can be more sensitive to exposure misclassification. Some discrepancies
      are illustrated in an application to case-specular data on wire codes and
      childhood cancer.

PMID- 9990690
TI  - Describing time and age variations in the risk of radiation-induced solid tumour
      incidence in the Japanese atomic bomb survivors using generalized relative and
      absolute risk models.
AB  - Generalized relative and absolute risk models, in which various functions of time
      and age modify the excess relative or absolute risk of radiation-induced cancer,
      are fitted to the Japanese atomic bomb survivor cancer incidence data set. Among
      generalized relative risk models, those in which a product of powers of time
      since exposure and attained age modify the relative risk provide the best fit.
      There are indications that the Armitage-Doll model (in its formulation as a
      generalized relative risk model) provides a poor fit to the data, possibly in
      part because of increasing age-adjusted cancer incidence rates in the Japanese
      cohort. Generalized absolute risk models, and in particular models in which
      either powers of time since exposure and attained age, or powers of time since
      exposure and age at exposure modify the excess absolute risk, provide a superior
      fit to any of the generalized relative risk models for all solid cancer sites
      analysed together. When six cancer subtypes are examined separately, only for
      respiratory cancers does this finding remain true, and for two other sites
      (female breast cancer and thyroid cancer) the generalized relative risk model
      yields a better fit than the generalized absolute risk model.

PMID- 9990691
TI  - Classifying individuals based on predictors of random effects. Multicenter AIDS
      Cohort Study.
AB  - Often one wishes to describe individuals according to whether their average
      exposure over a period of time is above or below some meaningful threshold. In
      this article, we treat predictors of random effects as diagnostic tools to aid in
      such classification, given that the true unobservable mean exposure for each of a
      set of individuals is defined according to a mixed linear model. Viewing
      candidate predictors in this light engenders the consideration of a unique set of
      performance criteria, and invites the use of nomenclature commonly used by
      epidemiologists and decision analysts to evaluate diagnostic techniques. We
      describe these criteria analytically and graphically under a random effects
      analysis of variance model, with the expressed goal of classifying subjects with
      regard to their true mean. Given knowledge of the model parameters, we compare
      typical predictors and illustrate the fact that completely new alternatives can
      arise depending on the particular set of criteria emphasized. We include a brief
      simulation study in which we also compare prediction methods according to various
      classification criteria, after incorporating estimates of the unknown model
      parameters. We provide two examples using data from participants in the
      Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. In the first example, we seek to classify HIV
      seronegative individuals based on their mean diastolic blood pressure. In the
      second, via a natural extension to a randomized regression model, we classify HIV
      seropositive individuals according to their CD4+ slope over time.

PMID- 9990692
TI  - A Markov model for measuring vaccine efficacy for both susceptibility to
      infection and reduction in infectiousness for prophylactic HIV vaccines.
AB  - We use a discrete-time non-homogeneous Markov chain to model data from augmented
      human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine trials. For this design, the study
      population consists of primary participants some of whom have steady sexual
      partners who are also enrolled to augment the trial. The state space consists of
      the infection status of primary participants without steady partners and the
      infection status of both persons in the steady partnerships. The transition
      probabilities are functions of the two parameters: vaccine efficacy for
      susceptibility (VES) and infectiousness (VEI). We use likelihood methods to
      estimate VES and VEI from time-to-event data. We then use stochastic simulations
      to explore the bias and precision of the estimators under various plausible
      conditions for HIV vaccine trials. We show that both the VES and VEI are
      estimable with reasonable precision for the conditions that may exist for planned
      HIV vaccine trials. We show that exams conducted every six months will likely
      provide sufficient information to estimate the VE parameters accurately, and that
      there is little gain in precision for more frequent exams. Finally, we show that
      joint estimation of the VES and VEI will likely be feasible in a currently
      planned HIV vaccine trial among injecting drug users in Bangkok, Thailand, if one
      augments the information about the primary participants in the trial with
      information about their steady sexual partners.

PMID- 9990693
TI  - Monitoring paired binary surgical outcomes using cumulative sum charts.
AB  - Correlated binary data are encountered in many areas of medical research, system
      reliability and quality control. For monitoring failures rates in such
      situations, simultaneous bivariate cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts with the
      addition of secondary control limits are proposed. Using an approach based on a
      Markov chain model, the run length properties of such a monitoring scheme can be
      determined for sudden, or gradual, changes in the failure rates. The proposed
      control charts are easy to implement, and are shown to be very effective at
      detecting small changes in the rate of undesirable outcomes, especially when the
      changes are gradual. This procedure is illustrated using bivariate outcome data
      arising from a series of paediatric surgeries. The methodology is sufficiently
      general that it may be adapted for multivariate normal, binomial or Poisson
      responses.

PMID- 9990694
TI  - Sample size formula with a continuous outcome for unequal group sizes and unequal
      variances.
AB  - Guenther derived a simple formula for the accurate computation of equal sample
      sizes when the two-sample t-test with pooled variance estimate is used. In the
      present paper, the Guenther formula is generalized to the case of unequal sample
      sizes. In addition, the case of unequal variances is considered.

PMID- 9990695
TI  - Sample size determination for proving equivalence based on the ratio of two means
      for normally distributed data.
AB  - Equivalence trials aim to demonstrate that two treatments do not differ by more
      than a prespecified clinically irrelevant amount. We consider the problem when
      equivalence is defined in terms of the ratio of population means and the original
      (untransformed) data are normally distributed. Application of the intersection
      union principle to the test proposed by Sasabuchi results in a two one-sided
      tests procedure of size alpha. We give the associated 100 (1-2 alpha) per cent
      confidence interval and derive the exact methods for calculation of power and
      sample sizes for the parallel group design and the two-period cross-over. We
      present tables and figures of required sample sizes and achieved power.

PMID- 9990696
TI  - Estimating the proportion of treatment effect explained by a surrogate marker.

PMID- 9990697
TI  - Confidence intervals for differences in correlated binary proportions.

PMID- 9990698
TI  - Investigating underlying risk as a source of heterogeneity in meta-analysis.

PMID- 9990699
TI  - Of oxymorons and ostriches.

PMID- 9990700
TI  - Electromyography in the horse in veterinary medicine and in veterinary research-
      a review.
AB  - In veterinary practice electromyography is a useful diagnostic technique for
      differentiating neuropathies, junctionopathies, and myopathies. The
      electromyogram gives information on the state of activity of motor neurons at
      rest, in reflex contraction, and in voluntary contraction. As a research tool,
      the electromyogram can be used to understand the complexity of the neuromuscular
      system. It has applications in horses for assessing muscle activation patterns
      and for providing a more complete understanding of the pathology of the muscles
      and nerves.

PMID- 9990701
TI  - Nortestosterone is not a naturally occurring compound in male cattle.
AB  - Nortestosterone (beta-NT) is a hormonal growth promoter banned from livestock
      production in the EU. Following injection, the major metabolite in cattle is the
      17 alpha-epimer (alpha-NT). However, this also occurs naturally in pregnant
      cattle. It is not known whether alpha-NT is also endogenous to intact or
      castrated male cattle. Three surveys were undertaken to assess whether alpha-NT
      is naturally produced in this subset of the population. Bile samples from a total
      of 1,281 cattle (73 bulls and 1,208 steers) from 366 herds were collected at
      slaughter and initially screened by using a semi-automated EIA with multi-analyte
      immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) clean-up. Bile samples from a further 38 male
      cattle (10 bulls and 28 steers) were analysed by high-resolution gas
      chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with IAC pretreatment. Only samples
      containing more than 2 ng/ml alpha-NT were subjected to GC-MS. With 2 ng/ml alpha
      NT as a threshold for confirmatory testing, the false positive rate of the
      screening EIA was 1.8%. Bulls (n = 16) and steers (n = 179) from government farms
      (n = 2) and which were not treated with exogenous beta-NT, did not have
      measurable concentrations of alpha-NT in their bile. Bulls (n = 35) and steers (n
      = 606) taken from herds (n = 204) which had no previous history of illegal growth
      promoter abuse also did not have alpha-NT in their bile. Of 32 bulls and 451
      steers of unknown treatment history sampled from herds (n = 160), 56 steers from
      19 herds contained GC-MS confirmed concentrations of alpha-NT higher than the
      limit of quantification of the assay LOQ (0.7 ng/ml). Of these animals, two had
      beta-NT-containing injection sites and five had residues of the beta-agonists
      clenbuterol and mabuterol. Examination of the animal movement and ownership
      histories of the 56 confirmed positive animals strongly suggested that exogenous
      beta-NT had been administered at the presenting farm. It is concluded that alpha
      NT is not endogenous to this subset of the cattle population and that detection
      of this hormone in bile from bulls and steers constitutes evidence of abuse.

PMID- 9990702
TI  - A serological study of cohorts of young dogs, naturally exposed to Ixodes ricinus
      ticks, indicates seasonal reinfection by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
AB  - Thirty-three family dogs were monitored for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi
      sensu lato over a 3-year period. Serum samples were collected before and during
      the season of high tick activity. Antibody levels were measured with an ELISA
      based on whole-cell antigens and an ELISA with a purified recombinant flagellin
      (r410). Antibody levels measured with the whole-cell ELISA increased after the
      first exposure to ticks. Following the first seasonal period of tick quiescence,
      antibody levels decreased, and subsequently increased again in the second tick
      season. Thereafter whole-cell ELISA titres persisted at moderate levels and did
      not decrease between tick seasons. The recombinant flagellin ELISA did not show a
      strong response in the first tick season, but did in the second tick season and
      levels of antibodies continued to fluctuate thereafter. We conclude that most
      dogs in this study developed an antibody response against Borrelia burgdorferi
      sensu lato after their first tick infestation and were thereafter repeatedly
      immunologically stimulated, probably reinfected, during the consecutive tick
      seasons.

PMID- 9990703
TI  - Suitability of the Charm HVS and a microbiological multiplate system for
      detection of residues in raw milk at EU maximum residue levels.
AB  - In this paper we assessed the suitability of the Charm HVS and a newly developed
      microbiological multiplate system as post-screening tests to confirm the presence
      of residues in raw milk at or near the maximum permissible residue level (MRL).
      The multiplate system is composed of Bacillus stearothermophilus var.
      calidolactis plate at pH 8.0 for detection of beta-lactam antibiotics and
      tylosin, Bacillus cereus plate at pH 6.0 for detection of tetracyclines,
      Micrococcus luteus plate at pH 8.0 for detection of macrolides, Bacillus subtilis
      BGA plate at pH 8.0 for detection of aminoglycosides, trimethoprim-containing
      plate seeded with B. subtilis BGA at pH 7.0 for detection of sulphonamides,
      Escherichia coli plate at pH 6.0 for detection of quinolone and polymyxin, and
      Staphylococcus epidermidis plate at pH 6.0 for detection of novobiocin. For each
      test plate an action level is proposed in such a way that residues can be
      detected in raw bulk tank milk at levels near or below the established EU MRLs of
      beta-lactam antibiotics, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, macrolides,
      sulphonamides, colistin, and quinolones. The Charm HVS test used to confirm the
      presence of tetracycline and macrolide residues gave false-positive results near
      the EU MRLs. The multiplate system gave valid results. Based on data for raw bulk
      tank milk samples and the proposed action level for each test plate for suspected
      samples, we demonstrated that the multiplate system is a reliable post-screening
      method that can be performed easily and cheaply in microbiological laboratories.

PMID- 9990704
TI  - Prevalence of bovine virus diarrhoea virus infection in Belgian white blue cattle
      in southern Belgium.
AB  - A study was conducted in Southern Belgium to determine the prevalence of bovine
      viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) infection in Belgian White Blue herds. Blood samples
      were taken from 9685 cattle, representing all the stock on 61 farms, by local
      veterinarians to screen for persistently infected animals and to determine their
      serological status against BVDV. Some of the herds (42.5%) were selected because
      of a prior positive diagnosis of BVDV or on the grounds of suspicion of BVD. A
      capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test for antigen.
      The prevalence of persistently infected animals was 0.75% overall and 1.46% in
      the 27 herds with at least one persistently infected animal. The prevalence of
      seropositive animals was determined with a competitive antibody ELISA and was
      found to be 65.5% for the animals as a whole but 53.8% for the herds without
      positively infected animals and 76.6% for the herds with at least one such
      animal. All the herds contained seropositive animals.

PMID- 9990705
TI  - Treatment of cystic ovarian disease in dairy cows with gonadotrophin-releasing
      hormone: a field study.
AB  - In a field trial in the Netherlands 765 dairy cows were treated during 869
      lactations with 500 micrograms gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (gonadorelin i.m.)
      for cystic ovarian disease (COD) between June 1987 and April 1996. COD was
      defined as the presence of a large follicle (> 2.5 cm) on one or both of the
      ovaries in the absence of a corpus luteum. Two treatment groups were formed,
      based on the interval from parturition to first treatment, with day 60 being the
      cut-off between groups 1 and 2. The aim of this study is to examine whether there
      is a relationship between the moment of diagnosis and treatment (before or after
      day 60 post partum) and its result. In group 1 90.0% of first treatments were
      effective and in group 2 93.3% (p = 0.08). This was reflected by the slightly
      higher number of treatments needed for animals in group 1 (1.11 versus 1.07, p =
      0.08). The efficacy rate after one treatment did not significantly differ between
      the groups (1.63 versus 1.69, p = 0.40) and nor did the interval between 1st
      insemination after treatment and conception (p < 0.63). In conclusion, it can be
      stated that gonadorelin is effective as therapy irrespective of the timing of
      diagnosis and treatment.

PMID- 9990707
TI  - Characteristics of gene 28 product, the constituent of the central part of
      bacteriophage T4 baseplate.
AB  - The phage TD gene 28 product has been partially characterized and its biological
      role has been examined. It was found to be a protein with a molecular size of 24
      kDa which cosediments with the membrane fraction of the bacterial extracts and
      could only be washed out by a 0.2% sarcosyl solution. Other observations indicate
      that gp 28 has a majority of hydrophobic residues on its surface and forms a
      homotrimeric complex in the absence of other phage proteins. The product was
      finally identified as a baseplate structural component. Incubation of purified
      phage preparation in a buffer which contained active protein 28, did not affect
      the efficiency of the plating. However, incubation of the phage particles with
      specific antiserum was found to neutralize phage infectivity.

PMID- 9990708
TI  - Effect of chemical nutrients on aconitase activity during citric acid
      fermentation by a mutant strain of Aspergillus niger.
AB  - An ethyleneimine and UV irradiated mutant strain Aspergillus niger AB 1801 was
      explored for its aconitase activity, citric acid production and cell growth
      during citric acid fermentation. 10% sucrose and 0.25% urea served as the best
      carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Fe2+ stimulated aconitase activity and
      Co2+ (upto 5 micrograms/mL) and Ni2+ (10 micrograms/mL) strongly depressed enzyme
      activity. Boric acid (0.5 mg/L) had very good stimulatory response towards citric
      acid production. Aconitase activity has been found to vary inversely with the
      citric acid production upto a certain limit after which the activity was absent
      in the mycelial extract. Cell growth varied with the production parameter.

PMID- 9990709
TI  - Antiviral activity of 1,7-disulphoanthraquinone.
AB  - The antiviral activity of 1,7-disulphoanthraquinone (DSA) against hepatitis B
      viruses was investigated by measuring the titer of HBV surface antigen in the
      treated serum obtained from the blood of patients with acute infection. The
      presence of HBsAg was tested by the Vitek Immuno Diagnostic Assay System (VIDAS).
      The concentration of DSA in the samples was equal to 0.01, 0.1 and 1%,
      respectively. The results presented clearly showed an extensive disintegration of
      the virus envelope at elevated temperatures, which resulted in a substantial
      decrease in the concentration of HBsAg in the serum containing DSA. The
      concentration of HBsAg decreased also upon UV irradiation of the serum containing
      DSA in a photochemical reactor for 5 to 15 min, but the effect of degradation was
      not complete.

PMID- 9990710
TI  - Prevalence of high level aminoglycoside and vancomycin resistance among
      enterococci in Turkey.
AB  - Enterococcus spp. have become the third most common cause of nosocomial
      infections. High-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR), an important clinical
      concern, has been associated with some species of enterococci. The synergistic
      effect obtained by the combination of aminoglycosides with penicillin or
      vancomycin disappears in strains that show high-level resistance (HLR) to the
      aminoglycosides. We evaluated the agar dilution and high content disk diffusion
      tests for the detection of HLAR for 60 isolated enterococci. In our study 4
      strains of Enterococcus faecalis (6.6%) and 8 strains of Enterococcus faecium
      (13.3%), totally 20% were found to be highly resistant to gentamicin; 2 strains
      of E. faecalis (13.3%), 8 strains of E. faecium (3.3%), totally 16.6% showed HLR
      to streptomycin by agar dilution method and the same rates were found by high
      content disk diffusion method. 2 strains of E. faecalis (3.3%), 4 strains of E.
      faecium (6.6%), totally 10% showed vancomycin resistance by agar dilution method.
      The ratio for beta lactamase activity was found to be 26.6% for E. faecalis and
      3.3% for E. faecium. Our results demonstrate that high-content disk diffusion
      test should be performed by using both gentamicin and streptomycin in routine
      screening of HLAR among enterococci and the determination of beta lactamase
      activity at the same time is also useful for detecting resistance to a beta
      lactam agent.

PMID- 9990711
TI  - The susceptibility of gram-negative rods and their adaptive forms resistant to
      colistine to the bactericidal action of sera.
AB  - The susceptibility of Escherichia coli K1, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella
      typhimurium strains and their adaptative forms resistant to colistine (Colr
      forms) was compared with respect to their sensitivity to the bactericidal action
      of normal cord serum and normal bovine serum. It has been shown that the Colr
      forms are more susceptible to sera as compared to initial strains. The increase
      of sensitivity of the Colr forms is connected with structural changes within
      bacterial cell wall which is the target for complement as well as for colistine.

PMID- 9990712
TI  - Adaptation of a phenol-degrading denitrifying bacteria to high concentration of
      phenol in the medium.
AB  - The growth and uptake of phenol by 8 strains isolated from wastewater sediments
      in stationary cultures in medium with increasing concentrations of phenol (from
      100 to 600 mg/L) under denitrifying conditions were studied. All the strains grew
      in media containing 250 mg phenol/L and only strains 101/1, 83/2 and 21/1/ in
      consecutive passages visibly increased both specific growth rate (mu day-1) as
      well as phenol-degrading activity (mg/L x day). Consecutive passages of the
      culture in medium containing 400 mg phenol/L resulted in the elimination of 3 out
      of the 5 strains growing in the medium in the first passage. Only strain 101/1
      demonstrated high specific growth rate and phenol-degrading activity in medium
      containing 600 mg phenol/L. In consecutive passages in medium containing 250, 400
      and 600 mg phenol/L the specific growth (mu day-1) and phenol-degrading activity
      (mg/L x day) of P. aeruginosa 101/1 were 0.38 and 36; 0.12 and 19; 0.09 and 20,
      respectively.

PMID- 9990713
TI  - An attempt to use selected strains of bacteria adapted to high concentrations of
      petroleum oil to increase the effective removal of petroleum products in excess
      activated sludge in laboratory conditions.
AB  - Forty two strains of bacteria were isolated from excess activated sludge from
      petroleum wastewater treatment plant. The strains were identified and classified
      to the following groups: Enterobacteriaceae (7 strains), Anitratum (3 strains),
      Pseudomonas (13 strains), Micrococcus (12 strains), Comamonas (2 strains),
      Xanthomonas (2 strains), Achromobacter (1 strain) and Vibrio-Aeromonas (1
      strain). One of the isolates was found to be a yeast strain. Following
      preliminary selection ten strains, showing the best growth in medium with oil
      fraction as sole carbon source, were chosen for further studies. The selected
      strains belong to Pseudomonas (6 strains), Xanthomonas (2 strains), Micrococcus
      (1 strain) and Saccharomyces (1 strain). The strains were adapted to high oil
      concentration (500-2000 mg/L) and an attempt to use them to intensify removal of
      petroleum products from excess activated sludge was made. The sludge was
      inoculated with a mixture of the isolated strains. The experiment was carried out
      three times, each time with a fresh sample of the excess sludge. The obtained
      results show that the inoculation of activated sludge with the strains active
      against oil reduced the petroleum products content by 20% in 14 days. The
      greatest reduction of oil was observed in sludge with the lowest dry weight, that
      is with the greatest degree of hydration. The dry weight of the excess sludge did
      not significantly decrease during the course of the experiment, after having been
      inoculated with the mixture of strains.

PMID- 9990714
TI  - Genomic fingerprinting of Proteus species using repetitive sequence based PCR
      (rep-PCR).
AB  - Three Proteus species P. vulgaris, P. mirabilis and P. penneri have been
      characterized by repetitive sequence-based PCR. Four families of repetitive
      sequence based primers REP, ERIC, BOXA1R and BOXA2R, give specific patterns for
      each Proteus species. Species differentiation was best afforded using BOXA2R for
      detection of P. mirabilis, either REP-Dt or BOXA1R primers for detection of P.
      penneri and ERIC primer pair for P. vulgaris.

PMID- 9990715
TI  - Insects as food: why the western attitude is important.
AB  - The traditional use of insects as food continues to be widespread in tropical and
      subtropical countries and to provide significant nutritional, economic and
      ecological benefits for rural communities. Westerners should become more aware of
      the fact that their bias against insects as food has an adverse impact, resulting
      in a gradual reduction in the use of insects without replacement of lost
      nutrition and other benefits.

PMID- 9990716
TI  - Emerging and resurging vector-borne diseases.
AB  - Over the last four decades, a number of arthropod-borne infections have been
      recognized for the first time. Some have become of considerable public health
      importance, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), and others are spreading
      geographically and their incidence is increasing. There has been an important
      recrudescence of several long-known vector-borne diseases. Malaria,
      leishmaniasis, dengue, and plague have resurged in numerous foci, in some cases
      where they were thought to be under effective control. In most instances, the
      appearance of new diseases and syndromes and the resurgence of old can be
      associated with ecological changes that have favored increased vector densities.
      Dam construction, irrigation and other development projects, urbanization, and
      deforestation have all resulted in changes in vector population densities that
      appear to have enabled the emergence of new diseases and the resurgence of old
      diseases. Greatly increased human travel has spread infectious agents,
      introducing them into areas in which they had been hitherto absent. It is
      essential to understand the factors that caused increased vector densities and
      hence the transmission of disease to prevent the emergence and resurgence of more
      diseases, as well as to serve as a basis for effective control.

PMID- 9990717
TI  - The evolution and development of dipteran wing veins: a systematic approach.
AB  - In this review, we use the wing veins of dipteran insects as potential models for
      understanding the evolution of development. We briefly discuss previous work in
      this field and examine the genetic complexity of wing formation, discussing the
      genes involved in wing formation and their roles in Drosophila wing development
      and vein formation. Furthermore, patterns of wing vein formation, addition, and
      reduction are discussed as they occur throughout the Diptera. Using the phyletic
      phenocopy paradigm, we draw attention to many wing vein morphologies that
      phenocopy various wing mutants in Drosophila melanogaster. The systematic issues
      of the nature of characters, homology, and the role of modern developmental
      approaches to evolutionary studies, which has recently become important, can be
      addressed from the perspective of the wing. We argue that further developmental
      evolutionary studies, and the interpretation of data therefrom, must be conducted
      within the context of a well-supported phylogeny of the organisms under study.

PMID- 9990718
TI  - Odor-mediated behavior of Afrotropical malaria mosquitoes.
AB  - The African mosquito species Anopheles gambiae sensu lato s.l. and Anopheles
      funestus rank among the world's most efficient vectors of human malaria. Their
      unique bionomics, particularly their anthropophilic, endophagic and endophilic
      characters, guarantee a strong mosquito-host interaction, favorable to malaria
      transmission. Olfactory cues govern the various behaviors of female mosquitoes
      and here we review the role of semiochemicals in the life history of African
      malaria vectors. Recent evidence points towards the existence of human-specific
      kairomones affecting host-seeking A. gambiae s.l., and efforts are under way to
      identify the volatiles mediating this behavior. Based on examples from other
      Culicidae spp., it is argued that there is good reason to assume that mating,
      sugar feeding, and oviposition behavior in Afrotropical malaria vectors may also
      be mediated by semiochemicals. It is foreseen that increased knowledge of odor
      mediated behaviors will be applied in the development of novel sampling
      techniques and possibly alternative methods of intervention to control malaria.

PMID- 9990719
TI  - Pathogens and predators of ticks and their potential in biological control.
AB  - This review summarizes the literature about pathogens and predators of ticks and
      their potential use as biocontrol agents published since the beginning of this
      century. In nature, many bacteria, fungi, spiders, ants, beetles, rodents, birds,
      and other living things contribute significantly toward limiting tick
      populations, as do, for instance, the grooming activities of hosts. Experiments
      with the most promising potential tick biocontrol agents--especially fungi of the
      genera Beauveria and Metarhizium and nematodes in the families Steinernematidae
      and Heterorhabditidae, as well as oxpeckers--are described.

PMID- 9990720
TI  - Recent advances in cassava pest management.
AB  - Cassava (Manihot esculenta) occupies a uniquely important position as a food
      security crop for smallholder farmers in ares of the tropics where climate,
      soils, or societal stresses constrain production. Given its reliability and
      productivity, cassava is the most important locally produced food in a third of
      the world's low-income, food-deficit countries. It is the fourth most important
      source of carbohydrates for human consumption in the tropics, after rice, sugar,
      and maize. World production of cassava from 1994-1996 averaged 166 million
      tons/year grown on 16.6 million hectares (ha), for an average yield of 9.9
      tons/ha. Approximately 57% is used for human consumption, 32% for animal feed and
      industrial purposes, and 11% is waste. Africa accounts for 51.3% of the
      production; Asia, 29.4%; and Latin America, 19.3%. The area planted to cassava in
      Africa, Asia, and Latin America is 10.3, 3.7, and 2.6 million ha, respectively.

PMID- 9990721
TI  - The insect voltage-gated sodium channel as target of insecticides.
AB  - Examination of the function, chemistry, and pharmacology of the voltage-gated
      insect sodium channel (ISC) reveals that the ISC closely resembles its vertebrate
      counterpart in electrophysiology and ion conductance, primary structure and
      allocation of all functional domains, and its pharmacological diversity and
      flexibility exhibited by the occurrence of different allosterically coupled
      receptor-binding sites for various neurotoxicants. The toxicants include several
      groups of insecticides, namely DDT and its analogues, pyrethroids, N-alkylamides,
      and dihydropyrazoles, which affect channel gating and ion permeability. Despite
      their similarity, the insect and vertebrate channels are pharmacologically
      distinguishable, as revealed by the responsiveness of the heterologously
      expressed Drosophila para clone to channel modifiers and blockers and the
      occurrence of the insect-selective sodium channel neurotoxins derived from
      arachnid venoms presently used for the design of recombinant baculovirus-mediated
      selective bioinsecticides. The pharmacological specificity of the ISC may lead to
      the design of insect-selective toxicants, and its pharmacological flexibility may
      direct the use of ISC insecticides for resistance management. Insecticide
      resistance [such as knockdown resistance (KDR)] is acquired by natural selection
      and operated by increased metabolism, channel mutagenesis, or both. The
      resistance issue can be dealt with in several ways. One is by simultaneous
      application of low doses of synergistic, allosterically coupled mixtures (thus
      delaying or preventing the onset of resistance). An alternative is to replace an
      insecticide to which resistance was acquired by channel mutation with a different
      ISC toxicant to which increased susceptibility was conferred by the same
      mutation. Such a possibility was exemplified by a significant increase in
      susceptibility to N-alkylamides, as well as an insect-selective neurotoxin
      revealed by KDR insects. Third, both of these methods can be combined. Thus owing
      to its pharmacological uniqueness, the ISC may serve as a high-priority target
      for future selective and resistance-manageable insecticides.

PMID- 9990722
TI  - Insect P450 enzymes.
AB  - The P450 enzymes (mixed function oxidases, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases), a
      diverse class of enzymes found in virtually all insect tissues, fulfill many
      important tasks, from the synthesis and degradation of ecdysteroids and juvenile
      hormones to the metabolism of foreign chemicals of natural or synthetic origin.
      This diversity in function is achieved by a diversity in structure, as insect
      genomes probably carry about 100 P450 genes, sometimes arranged in clusters, and
      each coding for a different P450 enzyme. Both microsomal and mitochondrial P450s
      are present in insects and are best studied by heterologous expression of their
      cDNA and reconstitution of purified enzymes. P450 genes are under complex
      regulation, with induction playing a central role in the adaptation to plant
      chemicals and regulatory mutations playing a central role in insecticide
      resistance. Polymorphisms in induction or constitutive expression allow insects
      to scan their P450 gene repertoire for the appropriate response to chemical
      insults, and these evolutionary pressures in turn maintain P450 diversity.

PMID- 9990723
TI  - Oxygen sensing by the global regulator, FNR: the role of the iron-sulfur cluster.
AB  - FNR is a global regulator that controls transcription of genes whose functions
      facilitate adaptation to growth under O2 limiting conditions. It has long been
      appreciated that the activity of FNR must be regulated by O2 availability, since
      FNR dependent gene expression is observed in vivo only under anaerobic
      conditions, while similar levels of this protein are present in both aerobic and
      anaerobic grown cells. Recent progress in this field has shown that anaerobically
      purified FNR contains a [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster and that this [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster is
      sufficiently unstable toward O2 to make it suitable as an O2 sensor. The presence
      of the [4Fe-4S] cluster increases dimerization of FNR which is correlated with an
      increase in site-specific DNA binding of FNR, a property expected of
      transcription factors of the FNR/CRP family. According to Mossbauer spectroscopy
      on purified FNR and cells containing overexpressed FNR, the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of
      FNR is converted by O2 to a [2Fe-2S]2+ in high yield. The [2Fe-2S]2+ cluster can
      be reconverted to the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster on reduction with dithionite in vitro
      raising the possibility that the [2Fe-2S]2+ cluster is a biologically inactive
      intermediate which may be more readily available for reconstitution into the [4Fe
      4S]2+ form than the Fe-free apoform. The ability to observe, by Mossbauer
      spectroscopy, the Fe-S clusters of FNR in cells containing high levels of FNR
      should be of value in further unraveling how FNR functions in vivo. Attempts to
      reduce the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of FNR with dithionite indicated that the redox
      potential of the +1/+2 couple is < or = -650 mV and that the [4Fe-4S]+ cluster
      form is, therefore, not likely to occur in vivo.

PMID- 9990724
TI  - Microbial desulfonation.
AB  - Organosulfonates are widespread compounds, be they natural products of low or
      high molecular weight, or xenobiotics. Many commonly found compounds are subject
      to desulfonation, even if it is not certain whether all the corresponding enzymes
      are widely expressed in nature. Sulfonates require transport systems to cross the
      cell membrane, but few physiological data and no biochemical data on this topic
      are available, though the sequences of some of the appropriate genes are known.
      Desulfonative enzymes in aerobic bacteria are generally regulated by induction,
      if the sulfonate is serving as a carbon and energy source, or by a global network
      for sulfur scavenging (sulfate-starvation-induced (SSI) stimulon) if the
      sulfonate is serving as a source of sulfur. It is unclear whether an SSI
      regulation is found in anaerobes. The anaerobic bacteria examined can express the
      degradative enzymes constitutively, if the sulfonate is being utilized as a
      carbon source, but enzyme induction has also been observed. At least three
      general mechanisms of desulfonation are recognisable or postulated in the aerobic
      catabolism of sulfonates: (1) activate the carbon neighboring the C-SO3- bond and
      release of sulfite assisted by a thiamine pyrophosphate cofactor; (2) destabilize
      the C-SO3- bond by addition of an oxygen atom to the same carbon, usually
      directly by oxygenation, and loss of the good leaving group, sulfite; (3) an
      unidentified, formally reductive reaction. Under SSIS control, different variants
      of mechanism (2) can be seen. Catabolism of sulfonates by anaerobes was
      discovered recently, and the degradation of taurine involves mechanism (1). When
      anaerobes assimilate sulfonate sulfur, there is one common, unknown mechanism to
      desulfonate the inert aromatic compounds and another to desulfonate inert
      aliphatic compounds; taurine seems to be desulfonated by mechanism (1).

PMID- 9990725
TI  - The anaerobic oxidation of ammonium.
AB  - From recent research it has become clear that at least two different
      possibilities for anaerobic ammonium oxidation exist in nature. 'Aerobic'
      ammonium oxidizers like Nitrosomonas eutropha were observed to reduce nitrite or
      nitrogen dioxide with hydroxylamine or ammonium as electron donor under anoxic
      conditions. The maximum rate for anaerobic ammonium oxidation was about 2 nmol
      NH4+ min-1 (mg protein)-1 using nitrogen dioxide as electron acceptor. This
      reaction, which may involve NO as an intermediate, is thought to generate energy
      sufficient for survival under anoxic conditions, but not for growth. A novel
      obligately anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process was recently discovered
      in a denitrifying pilot plant reactor. From this system, a highly enriched
      microbial community with one dominating peculiar autotrophic organism was
      obtained. With nitrite as electron acceptor a maximum specific oxidation rate of
      55 nmol NH4+ min-1 (mg protein)-1 was determined. Although this reaction is 25
      fold faster than in Nitrosomonas, it allowed growth at a rate of only 0.003 h-1
      (doubling time 11 days). 15N labeling studies showed that hydroxylamine and
      hydrazine were important intermediates in this new process. A novel type of
      hydroxylamine oxidoreductase containing an unusual P468 cytochrome has been
      purified from the Anammox culture. Microsensor studies have shown that at the
      oxic/anoxic interface of many ecosystems nitrite and ammonia occur in the absence
      of oxygen. In addition, the number of reports on unaccounted high nitrogen losses
      in wastewater treatment is gradually increasing, indicating that anaerobic
      ammonium oxidation may be more widespread than previously assumed. The recently
      developed nitrification systems in which oxidation of nitrite to nitrate is
      prevented form an ideal partner for the Anammox process. The combination of these
      partial nitrification and Anammox processes remains a challenge for future
      application in the removal of ammonium from wastewater with high ammonium
      concentrations.

PMID- 9990726
TI  - Biotransformation of monoterpenes, bile acids, and other isoprenoids in anaerobic
      ecosystems.
AB  - Isoprenoic compounds play a major part in the global carbon cycle. Biosynthesis
      and mineralization by aerobic bacteria have been intensively studied. This review
      describes our knowledge on the anaerobic metabolism of isoprenoids, mainly by
      denitrifying and fermentative bacteria. Nitrate-reducing beta-Proteobacteria were
      isolated on monoterpenes as sole carbon source and electron donor. Thauera spp.
      were obtained on the oxygen-containing monoterpenes linalool, menthol, and
      eucalyptol. Several strains of Alcaligenes defragrans were isolated on
      unsaturated monoterpenes as growth substrates. A novel denitrifying beta
      Proteobacterium, strain 72Chol, mineralizes cholesterol completely to carbon
      dioxide. Physiological studies showed the presence of several oxidative pathways
      in these microorganisms. Investigations by organic geochemists indicate possible
      contributions of anaerobes to early diagenetic processes. One example, the
      formation of p-cymene from monoterpenes, could indeed be detected in methanogenic
      enrichment cultures. In man, cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA),
      are synthesized in the liver from cholesterol. During their enterohepatic
      circulation, bile acids are biotransformed by the intestinal microflora into a
      variety of metabolites. Known bacterial biotranformations of conjugated bile
      acids include: deconjugation, oxidation of hydroxy groups at C-3, C-7 and C-12
      with formation of oxo bile acids and reduction of these oxo groups to either
      alpha- or beta-configuration. Quantitatively, the most important bacterial
      biotransformation is the 7 alpha-dehydroxylation of CA and CDCA yielding
      deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, respectively. The 7 alpha-dehydroxylation
      of CA occurs via a novel six-step biochemical pathway. The genes encoding several
      enzymes that either transport bile acids or catalyze various reactions in the 7
      alpha-dehydroxylation pathway of Eubacterium sp. strain VPI 12708 have been
      cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized.

PMID- 9990727
TI  - A structural comparison of molybdenum cofactor-containing enzymes.
AB  - This work gives an overview of the recent achievements which have contributed to
      the understanding of the structure and function of molybdenum and tungsten
      enzymes. Known structures of molybdo-pterin cofactor-containing enzymes will be
      described briefly and the structural differences between representatives of the
      same and different families will be analyzed. This comparison will show that the
      molybdo-pterin cofactor-containing enzymes represent a very heterogeneous group
      with differences in overall enzyme structure, cofactor composition and
      stoichiometry, as well as differences in the immediate molybdenum environment.
      Two recently discovered molybdo-pterin cofactor-containing enzymes will be
      described with regard to molecular and EPR spectroscopic properties, pyrogallol
      phloroglucinol transhydroxylase from Pelobacter acidigallici and acetylene
      hydratase from Pelobacter acetylenicus. On the basis of its amino acid sequence,
      transhydroxylase can be classified as a member of the dimethylsulfoxide reductase
      family, whereas classification of the tungsten/molybdenum-containing acetylene
      hydratase has to await the determination of its amino acid sequence.

PMID- 9990728
TI  - Biochemistry of coenzyme B12-dependent glycerol and diol dehydratases and
      organization of the encoding genes.
AB  - Glycerol and diol dehydratases exhibit a subunit composition of alpha 2 beta 2
      gamma 2 and contain coenzyme B12 in the base-on form. The dehydratase reaction
      proceeds via a radical mechanism. The dehydratases are subject to reaction
      inactivation by the substrate glycerol which is caused by a cessation of the
      catalytic cycle because coenzyme B12 is not regenerated, instead 5'
      deoxyadenosine and a catalytically inactive cobalamin are formed. The genetic
      organization of the dehydratase genes is quite similar in all organisms.
      Downstream of the dehydratase genes an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide
      of approximately 600 amino acids was identified which is apparently involved in
      the reactivation of suicide-inactivated enzyme.

PMID- 9990729
TI  - Comparison of gene structures and enzymatic properties between two endoglucanases
      from Humicola grisea.
AB  - We have cloned two endoglucanase genes (egl3 and egl4) from a thermophilic
      fungus, Humicola grisea. The coding region of the egl3 gene was interrupted by an
      intron of 56-bp, and the deduced amino acid sequence of the egl3 gene was 305
      amino acids in length and showed 98.4% identity with Humicola insolens EGV. The
      coding region of the egl4 gene was also interrupted by an intron of 173-bp, which
      contains 34 TTC repeated sequence units, and the deduced amino acid sequence of
      the egl4 gene was 227 amino acids in length and showed 61.5% identity with H.
      grisea EGL3. The typical hinge and the cellulose-binding domain were observed in
      the C-terminal region of EGL3, but they were not observed in EGL4. In the 5'
      upstream region of both genes, there were a TATA box or its similar sequence,
      CAAT motifs, and 6-bp sites which are identical or similar to the consensus
      sequence for binding a catabolite repressor CREA in Aspergillus nidulans. The
      egl3 and the egl4 genes were expressed in Aspergillus oryzae, and the translation
      products were purified. The fusion protein, EGL4CBD, which consists of a
      catalytic domain of EGL4 and the C-terminal region of EGL3, was also constructed
      and produced by A. oryzae, and purified. These enzymes showed relatively high
      activity toward carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and could not hydrolyze p
      nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucoside and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-cellobioside. The positive
      effect of substituting the C-terminal region of EGL4 with that of EGL3 was
      observed in the hydrolysis of CMC.

PMID- 9990730
TI  - Biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene by a coculture of
      Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens immobilized in a fibrous-bed
      bioreactor.
AB  - A fibrous-bed bioreactor containing the coculture of Pseudomonas putida and P.
      fluorescens immobilized in a fibrous matrix was developed to degrade benzene (B),
      toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E), and o-xylene (X) in synthetic waste streams. The
      kinetics of BTEX biodegradation by immobilized cells adapted in the fibrous-bed
      bioreactor and free cells grown in serum bottles were studied. In general, the
      BTEX biodegradation rate increased with increasing substrate concentration and
      then decreased after reaching a maximum, showing substrate-inhibition kinetics.
      However, for immobilized cells, the degradation rate was much higher than that of
      free cells. Compared to free cells, immobilized cells in the bioreactor tolerated
      higher concentrations (> 1000 mg l-1) of benzene and toluene, and gave at least
      16-fold higher degradation rates for benzene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene, and a 9
      fold higher degradation rate for toluene. Complete and simultaneous degradation
      of BTEX mixture was achieved in the bioreactor under hypoxic conditions. Cells in
      the bioreactor were relatively insensitive to benzene toxicity; this
      insensitivity was attributed to adaptation of the cells in the bioreactor.
      Compared to the original seeding culture, the adapted cells from the fibrous-bed
      bioreactor had higher specific growth rate, benzene degradation rate, and cell
      yield when the benzene concentration was higher than 100 mg l-1. Cells in the
      fibrous bed had a long, slim morphology, which is different from the normal short
      rod shape found for suspended cells in solution.

PMID- 9990731
TI  - Dynamics and modeling on fermentative production of poly (beta-hydroxybutyric
      acid) from sugars via lactate by a mixed culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and
      Alcaligenes eutrophus.
AB  - The mixed culture system was considered in the present research where sugars such
      as glucose were converted to lactate by Lactobacillus delbrueckii and the lactate
      was converted to poly beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Alcaligenes eutrophus in one
      fermentor. For the modeling of the effect of NH3 concentration on the cell growth
      of A. eutrophus and PHB production rates, metabolic flux distributions were
      computed at two culture phases of cell growth and PHB production periods. It was
      found that the NADPH, generated through isocitrate dehydrogenate in TCA cycle,
      was predominantly utilized for the reaction from alpha-ketoglutalate to glutamate
      when NH3 was abundant, while it tended to be utilized for the PHB production
      through acetoacetyl CoA reductase as NH3 concentration decreased. This phenomenon
      was reflected in the development of mathematical model. In the mixed culture
      experiments, the two phases were observed, namely the lactate production phase
      due to L. delbrueckii and the lactate consumption phase due to A. eutrophus. The
      lactate concentration could be estimated on-line by the amount of NaOH solution
      and HCl solution supplied to keep the culture pH at constant level. Several mixed
      culture experiments were conducted to see the dynamics of the system. Finally, a
      mathematical model which can describe the dynamic behavior of the present mixed
      culture was developed and the model parameters were tuned for fitting the
      experimental data. The model may be used for several purposes such as control,
      optimization, and understanding process dynamics etc.

PMID- 9990732
TI  - Genetic organization and functional analysis of a novel phage abortive infection
      system, AbiL, from Lactococcus lactis.
AB  - A plasmid-encoded phage abortive infection mechanism (AbiL) was identified from
      Lactococcus lactis biovar. diacetylactis LD10-1. AbiL conferred complete
      resistance to the small isometric-headed phage phi 712 (936 species) and partial
      resistance to the prolate-headed phage phi c2 (c2 species) when introduced into
      L. lactis LM0230. However, AbiL was not effective against the small isometric
      headed phage ul36 (P335 species). The AbiL determinant was sequenced and it
      consists of two open reading frames, abiLi and abiLii. Their encoded proteins did
      not share significant homology with any known proteins in the protein databases.
      Transcriptional analysis indicated that abiLi and abiLii are organized as a
      single operon. Deletion within abiLii abolished the phage resistance. The levels
      of four phi c2-specific transcripts, three within the early transcribed region
      and one within the late transcribed region, were examined by RT-PCR, no effect of
      AbiL on synthesis of these transcripts was detected, suggesting that AbiL may act
      at a point after the transcription of phi c2 in L. lactis.

PMID- 9990733
TI  - Xylitol production using recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing multiple
      xylose reductase genes at chromosomal delta-sequences.
AB  - Xylitol production from xylose was studied using recombinant Saccharomyces
      cerevisiae 2805 containing xylose reductase genes (XYL1) of Pichia stipitis at
      chromosomal delta-sequences. S. cerevisiae 2805-39-40, which contains about 40
      copies of the XYL1 gene on the chromosome, was obtained by a sequential
      transformation using a dominant selection marker neor and an auxotrophic marker
      URA3. The multiple XYL1 genes were stably maintained on the chromosome even after
      21 and 10 days in the non-selective sequential batch and chemostat cultures,
      respectively, whereas S. cerevisiae 2805:pVTXR, which harbors the episomal
      plasmid pVTXR having the XYL1 gene, showed mitotic plasmid instability and more
      than 95% of the cells lost the plasmid under the same culture conditions. In the
      first batch (3 days) of the sequential batch culture, volumetric xylitol
      productivity was 0.18 g l-1 h-1 for S. cerevisiae 2805-39-40, as compared to 0.21
      g l-1 h-1 for S. cerevisiae 2805:pVTXR. However, the xylitol productivity of the
      latter started to decrease rapidly in the third batch and dropped to 0.04 g l-1 h
      1 in the seventh batch, whereas the former maintained the stable xylitol
      productivity at 0.18 g l-1 h-1 through the entire sequential batch culture. The
      xylitol production level in the chemostat culture was about 8 g l-1 for S.
      cerevisiae 2805-39-40, as compared to 2.0 g l-1 for S. cerevisiae 2805:pVTXR
      after 10 days of cultures even though the xylitol production level of the latter
      was higher than that of the former for the first 5 days. The results of this
      experiment indicate that S. cerevisiae containing the multiple XYL1 genes on the
      chromosome is much more efficient for the xylitol production in the long-term non
      selective culture than S. cerevisiae harboring the episomal plasmid containing
      the XYL1 gene.

PMID- 9990734
TI  - Feasibility studies of large scale production of human anti-tetanus toxoid
      monoclonal antibodies.
AB  - The feasibility of large scale production of human anti-tetanus toxoid monoclonal
      antibody for therapeutic use was evaluated using a human heterohybridoma. The
      effects of duration of subculture, transition from static to agitated culture
      conditions and the level of serum concentration were studied. The level of
      antibody secreted by the clone decreased with increasing length of subculture and
      decreasing serum concentration. The clone exhibited heterogeneity in expression
      of surface IgG after 2 or 7 weeks of subculture in static culture conditions
      irrespective of the serum concentration. However, a prolonged duration of
      subculture (9 weeks) in 3% serum medium had an effect on the expression of
      surface IgG both in static and agitated culture conditions. With respect to total
      (surface and intracellular) IgG, two distinct cell populations were observed. On
      long term subculture (9 weeks) in low serum medium (3% FCS), there was a decrease
      in the population which was the high synthesizer. In addition, when these cells
      were cultivated in agitated spinner flasks, a defect in secretion of antibodies
      was observed. Thus a general fall in the amount of antibody in the supernatant of
      agitated cultures was due to decrease in antibody synthesis as well as the defect
      in secretion of antibodies.

PMID- 9990735
TI  - Urea and water permeability in the ureotelic gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta).
AB  - The permeability of toadfish gills and skin to urea and water has been measured
      in order to investigate the mechanisms behind the pulsatile excretion of urea
      previously described in this species. A perfused gill preparation was used in the
      gill studies and isolated pieces of skin mounted in an Ussing chamber in the skin
      studies. Simultaneously, urea and water permeability was measured in vivo in free
      swimming fish. In vivo the nonpulsing urea permeability was exceptionally low
      compared to other teleosts, while the tritiated water permeability was similar to
      that of other teleosts. The urea permeability increased 30-fold during a pulse
      while water permeability stayed unaffected. Compared to in vivo, tritiated water
      permeability was approximately 50% lower in the gills and the skin when measured
      directly in the isolated preparations. The urea permeability was almost identical
      between the three preparations. Four out of 20 perfused gill preparation showed a
      spontaneous urea pulse during perfusion. Several treatments were tested to elicit
      the pulse artificially but without success. Hormones and drugs tested were:
      arginine-vasotocin (AVT), 10(-10) M; adrenaline, 10(-7) M; isoprenaline, 10(-5)
      M; acetylcholine, 10(-7) and 10(-6) M; serotonin, 10(-7) and 10(-6) M; adenosine,
      10(-6) M; cortisol, 10(-7) M; and combinations of AVT, adrenaline, and cortisol.
      Adrenaline and isoprenaline increased tritiated water permeability without
      affecting urea permeability. Gradually increasing the ammonia levels in the
      perfusate from 0.1 mM to 1.6 mM caused a slight increase in water permeability
      but a marked and progressive increase in urea permeability. No indications of an
      ammonia trapping mechanism in the gills were found. There was no effect of AVT
      (10(-10) mol l-1) in the urea permeability of the skin preparation while cortisol
      (10(-7) M) led to a modest increase in urea permeability. Based on a comparison
      between the in vivo and in vitro preparations used here, we conclude that the
      urea pulse in a urea-pulsing toadfish occurs through the gills and not the skin.
      We still do not know which internal mechanism or signal triggers the urea pulse
      in the toadfish.

PMID- 9990736
TI  - Sex reversal by aromatase inhibitor treatment in the newt Pleurodeles waltl.
AB  - Pleurodeles waltl is a newt with a ZZ male-ZW female sex determination mechanism,
      and a temperature-sensitive gonadal sex differentiation. Raising larvae at 32
      degrees C from stage 42 to stage 54 (thermosensitive period) drives genetic
      females to differentiate into functional males. Estrogens are intimately linked
      with temperature action in this species, as well as in other vertebrates with
      temperature-dependent sex determination. We report here the masculinization of
      female ZW larvae and one WW larva by aromatase inhibitor treatment. Larvae were
      treated from stage 52 (before the onset of histological differentiation of the
      gonads) to stage 56 (metamorphosis), with the non-steroidal inhibitors fadrozole
      or miconazole. Miconazole proved to be very toxic, but not fadrozole. Fadrozole
      at a concentration of 300 micrograms/l in the rearing water resulted in complete
      sex reversal of 9 out of 30 ZW larvae and 1 out 9 WW larvae. Only one individual
      (ZW) was intersex, all the remainder being typical females. Gonadal aromatase
      activity was measured in several individuals at different developmental stages
      during treatment. The activity was low in all individuals at the beginning of the
      treatment, but varied strongly and was well correlated with gonadal structure at
      the end of the treatment. Despite these differences in individual responses to
      treatment inhibiting aromatase, results confirm the important role of estrogens
      in ovary differentiation in Pleurodeles waltl.

PMID- 9990737
TI  - Sperm storage in females of the smooth newt (Triturus v. vulgaris L.): I.
      Ultrastructure of the spermathecae during the breeding season.
AB  - Sperm storage in cloacal spermathecae was studied in females of Triturus v.
      vulgaris collected early in the breeding season in southern England. Females
      collected in terrestrial situations, presumably unmated, were mated in the
      laboratory, and the ultrastructure of the transferred sperm and the spermathecae
      was observed at various intervals after mating. Sperm from a spermatophore cap
      lodged in a female's cloacal orifice can migrate into spermathecae within 1 hr
      after mating. Spherical structures on the axial fibers of some sperm in the cap
      could indicate immaturity. Disorderly clusters of sperm from the cap are still
      present in the cloacal chamber 12 hr after mating but are absent 24 hr after
      mating. During storage, sperm often are in tangled masses in the spermathecal
      tubules. The sperm are coated with spermathecal secretions, and some sperm nuclei
      were observed embedded in the spermathecal epithelium. Little evidence for
      spermiophagy early in the breeding season was found. During oviposition, mazes of
      sperm occur external to the spermathecal orifices, and sperm may be released in
      this condition onto eggs as they pass through the cloaca. The tangled clusters in
      which sperm are found from pick-up to oviposition are hypothesized as an
      adaptation to reduce the effectiveness of sperm competition from the ejaculates
      of rival males. Additional studies, using the same protocol and covering the
      entire cycle of sperm storage, are necessary to enable interspecific comparisons
      leading to phylogenetic hypotheses.

PMID- 9990738
TI  - Deciliation in the ampulla of the rat oviduct and effects of estrogen on the
      process.
AB  - The mechanism by which cells in the ampullae of the rat oviducts undergo rapid
      deciliation during each estrous cycle and the effects of estrogen on the ciliated
      cells were examined. Untreated rats were killed on each day of the 5-day estrous
      cycle, and the ampullae of their oviducts were removed. Other rats were injected
      subcutaneously each day for 5 days with 0.3 microgram or 3.0 micrograms of
      estradiol benzoate or with 0.3 mg of tamoxifen, an estrogen antagonist, per
      kilogram of body weight. The ampullae of the oviducts of the treated rats were
      excised on the day following the last injection. The tissues from all the rats
      were fixed in glutaraldehyde, stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, and
      examined with a transmission electron microscope. Deciliation of cells was seen
      to occur by membrane-bound cilia packets (CPs) forming at the apices of cells and
      pinching off. Although CPs were more numerous at proestrus, they were also
      observed at estrus, diestrus-1, and diestrus-2, suggesting that the process of
      deciliation is an ongoing one that merely changes in rate. No evidence of
      resorption of cilia was seen. Estradiol treatment did not prevent CPs from
      forming, nor was tamoxifen treatment associated with any apparent enhancement of
      deciliation. Ciliated cells with CPs stained more darkly than ciliated cells that
      were without CPs, and the former appeared similar in their staining
      characteristics to secretory cells, most of which stain darkly. It was concluded
      that the cells of the ampulla deciliate rapidly by shedding their cilia into the
      lumen of the oviduct, that estrogen does not halt the process, and that ciliated
      cells may be transformed to secretory cells following loss of their cilia.

PMID- 9990739
TI  - Evidence for the presence of a mammalian-like cholinesterase in Paramecium
      primaurelia (Protista, Ciliophora) developmental cycle.
AB  - By histochemical and immunohistochemical methods, the presence of cholinergic
      like molecules has previously been demonstrated in Paramecium primaurelia, and
      their functional role in mating-cell pairing was suggested. In this work, both
      true acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activities
      were electrophoretically investigated, and the presence of molecules
      immunologically related to BuChE was checked by immunoblotting. The AChE
      activity, shown in the membrane protein fraction of mating-competent cells and in
      the cytoplasmic fraction of immature cells, is due to a 260-kDa molecular form,
      similar to the membrane-bound tetrameric form present in human erythrocytes. This
      AChE activity does not appear in either the cytoplasmic fraction of mating
      competent cells or in the membrane protein fraction of immature cells. No
      evidence was found for the presence or the activity of BuChE-like molecules. The
      role of AChE in P. primaurelia developmental cycle is discussed.

PMID- 9990740
TI  - A quantitative model of the Simpson-Baldwin Effect.
AB  - G. G. Simpson was the first to explain the Baldwin Effect completely in terms of
      the theory of natural selection. A genetic version of a seemingly non-hereditary
      adaptation may arise when natural selection acts on the likelihood of having an
      adaptive trait not just on the trait itself. We present a quantitative model of
      the Simpson-Baldwin Effect. Organisms in the model have mutable ranges of
      phenotypic plasticity. The distribution of phenotypes in a population depends
      largely on the extent of environmental stochasticity. When the environment
      undergoes intermediate rates of fluctuation, the Simpson-Baldwin effect arises
      through the interaction of natural selection and mutation on norms of reaction.
      In a highly volatile environment, organisms benefit from plasticity, and
      consequently do not experience a Simpson-Baldwin channeling of phenotypic
      possibility.

PMID- 9990741
TI  - Mathematical modelling of tumour acidity: regulation of intracellular pH.
AB  - Measurements of extracellular pH (pHe) in vivo have shown that the
      microenvironment in tumours is more acidic than in normal tissue. However, both
      human and animal tumour cells have been shown to have an intracellular pH (pHi)
      on the alkaline side of neutrality (pH 7.1-7.2). This gives rise to a reversed pH
      gradient between tumours and normal tissue which implies that cells within solid
      tumours are capable of maintaining their level of pHi at physiological levels,
      despite lower than normal levels of pHe. In this paper the authors describe a
      mathematical model that provides a possible explanation for the altered pH
      gradient observed in tumours. The authors examine the influence of changes in the
      microenvironment on the activity of several membrane based ion transport systems.
      Using qualitative analysis the authors show that the pHi of tumour cells is less
      sensitive to external pH than for normal cells, because of their increased
      reliance on the inefficient glycolytic pathway for energy production. It is shown
      that under aerobic conditions the lactate-/H+ symporter could be the most active
      exchanger in the regulation of pHi in tumour cells. However, under more hypoxic
      conditions lactate extrusion is reduced, and so this exchanger has little effect
      on resting pHi in these regions. The authors also consider an extended model
      which incorporates the transfer of acids from the cytosol into acidic organelles.
      The model demonstrates that one of the major factors involved in the maintenance
      of cytosolic pH to physiological levels, despite an acidic extracellular pH in
      hypoxic areas of tumour tissue (median, 6.9-7.0), is enhanced sequestration of
      cytosolic protons into acidic cellular vesicles such as endoplasmic reticulum,
      golgi, endosomes, and lysosomes.

PMID- 9990742
TI  - The effects of suppressing trauma-related thoughts on women with rape-related
      posttraumatic stress disorder.
AB  - A hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the presence of
      intrusive thoughts that come to mind against an individual's will and are
      frequently accompanied by considerable distress. This investigation examined the
      effects of deliberate suppression of rape-related thoughts on female sexual
      assault survivors, in order to explore this facet of PTSD. Seventeen women with
      chronic PTSD following a sexual assault were contrasted with nineteen survivors
      without PTSD, using a thought suppression paradigm (e.g. [Wegner, Schneider,
      Carter, & White (1987) Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of
      Personality and Social Psychology, 53 5-13]). Results indicated that PTSD
      participants experienced a rebound in the frequency of rape-related thoughts
      following deliberate suppression, whereas non-PTSD participants did not
      experience a rebound. Reported level of perceived controllability over rape
      related thoughts for the PTSD participants was significantly lower during the
      suppression phase (as compared with the expression phase) relative to the non
      PTSD participants. PTSD participants were significantly more anxious, depressed
      and distressed throughout the procedure relative to non-PTSD participants,
      although mood changes did not parallel the rebound effect found with rape-related
      thoughts in the PTSD group. Results are discussed in light of the role that
      intrusive thoughts may play in the maintenance of PTSD.

PMID- 9990743
TI  - Obsessive-compulsive disorder subgroups: a symptom-based clustering approach.
AB  - Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often considered a heterogeneous
      condition, there is no generally accepted subtype typology. Cluster analysis was
      used to identify definitive symptom-based groupings of 106 OCD patients. A stable
      cluster solution was achieved and five patient subgroups were identified based on
      their pattern of symptoms on the Yale-Brown (Y-BOCS) symptom checklist: harming,
      hoarding, contamination, certainty and obsessionals. The five subgroups were
      characterized by dominant symptom patterns and significant secondary concerns
      reflecting the symptom heterorgenaity often seen in the clinical presentation of
      obsessional patents. Between cluster differences on multiple symptom measures
      were evaluated and several meaningful differences were identified. Cluster
      analytic procedures may prove to be a useful tool for identifying a functional
      taxonomy of OCD subtypes.

PMID- 9990744
TI  - The value of the Parenting Scale for measuring the discipline practices of
      parents of middle school children.
AB  - The psychometric properties of the Parenting Scale (Arnold, O'Leary, Wolff, and
      Acker, 1993), a 30-item instrument originally developed to assess the discipline
      practices of parents of preschool children, were examined for parents of middle
      school students. Subjects were 298 parents of middle school student identified as
      at-risk for problem behavior. An exploratory factor analysis identified two
      factors labeled 'Overreactivity' and 'Laxness', closely resembling two of the
      factors found by Arnold et al., but each of these factors contained only six
      items. Confirmatory factor analyses, using data from the first two assessments,
      replicated this factor structure. The factors were significantly correlated with
      measures of parents' behavior, with scales from the child Behavior Checklist and
      Parent Daily Reports, and with the Beck Depression Inventory. The Laxness factor
      was less robust than the Overreactivity factor.

PMID- 9990745
TI  - The absence of relation between anxiety sensitivity and fear conditioning using
      20% versus 13% CO2-enriched air as unconditioned stimuli.
AB  - Anxiety sensitivity has been implicated as a risk factor in the development and
      maintenance of anxiety and fear-related disorders. Indeed, persons who score high
      on the anxiety sensitivity index (ASI) are generally more responsive to
      biological challenge procedures such as CO2-inhalation that directly evoke the
      feared bodily events. One would expect, therefore, that persons high on anxiety
      sensitivity should be more conditionable and hence more likely to acquire fears,
      than persons low on anxiety sensitivity when CO2-enriched air is used as an
      unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Undergraduates (N = 96), scoring high, medium and
      low on the ASI received 8 repeated 20-s inhalations of either 20 or 13% CO2
      enriched air (UCSs) paired with one of three CSs differing in fear-relevance
      (snake, heart and flowers). Several autonomic and self-report measures were
      assessed. Contrary to expectation, electrodermal and cardiac conditioned
      responses failed to discriminate between ASI groups. Yet, SUDS and severity and
      frequency of DSM-IV panic symptoms varied reliably as a function of anxiety
      sensitivity. Overall, the findings suggest that anxiety sensitivity is related to
      subjective fear-related complaints, but not autonomic responding and
      conditionability. We discuss clinical and theoretical implications for
      understanding the place fo anxiety sensitivity in fear onset.

PMID- 9990746
TI  - Evidence for fear of restriction and fear of suffocation as components of
      claustrophobia.
AB  - Recent investigations of the aetiology and treatment of specific phobias have
      focused on clarifying the concerns underlying phobic anxiety. It has been
      proposed that claustrophobic fear is comprised of separable confinement and
      suffocation components. This paper presents data from 78 general medical
      outpatients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in two major
      teaching hospitals. The findings support the two factor structure of
      claustrophobia, in that exposure to confinement reduced confinement subscale
      scores, but did not influence suffocation scores.

PMID- 9990747
TI  - Obsessive compulsive disorder, checking, and non-verbal memory: a
      neuropsychological investigation.
AB  - There is considerable evidence in the literature for the presence of non-verbal
      and praxic memory deficits in OCD. Such deficits may represent the cognitive
      substrate of doubt-related phenomenon such as checking. Neuropsychological tests
      of non-verbal memory functioning and memory for actions were administered to
      patients with OCD (whose predominant symptom was checking) and a group of matched
      healthy controls. Significant differences were found between the experimental and
      control groups, suggesting some memory impairment in the OCD group; however, no
      significant relationship was found linking neuropsychological test indices with
      checking. Significant relationships were found linking recognition memory
      problems and immediate memory for actions with general symptom severity.

PMID- 9990748
TI  - Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Dutch language
      version (MPI-DLV).
AB  - The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of a
      Dutch translation of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, MPI-DLV. Data was
      available on 733 chronic pain patients. There were three issues of special
      interest. The first one related to the comparability between the MPI-DLV and the
      American and German MPI versions with regard to the psychometric aspects. The
      second dealt with the construct validity of the MPI-DLV scale 'general activity'.
      It was predicted that patients with high scores on this scale would be in better
      physical condition, as measured on a working-to-tolerance bicycle ergometer test.
      In relation to the third issue, attention was given to the factor-invariance
      between fibromyalgia patients and back pain patients. From the results obtained
      it was concluded that (1) the factorial structure of the three MPI parts is
      replicated and the reliability estimates and validity indicators are similar to
      those from the American and German versions; (2) patients with high scores on the
      'general activity' scale are in better physical condition and (3) MPI-DLVs of
      fibromyalgia and back pain patients do have similar factorial structures.
      Evidence was also obtained that the MPI-DLV is sensitive to treatment changes.
      Applications of the MPI-DLV are discussed.

PMID- 9990749
TI  - Common and specific dimensions of self-reported anxiety and depression: the BDI
      II versus the BDI-IA.
AB  - The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) [Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A. & Brown, G.
      K. (1996). Manual for Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX:
      Psychological Corporation.] and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) [Beck, A. T. & Steer, R.
      A. (1993a). Manual for the Beck Anxiety Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological
      Corporation.] were administered to 840 outpatients who were diagnosed with
      various types of psychiatric disorders to determine whether the general symptom
      compositions and relative amounts of variance of the common and specific
      dimensions of self-reported anxiety and depression for these instruments would be
      comparable to those that had been found by Steer et al. [Steer, R. A., Clark, D.
      A., Beck, A. T. & Ranieri, W. F. (1995). Common and specific dimensions of self
      reported anxiety and depression: A replication. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
      104, 542-545.] with the BAI and amended Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-IA) [Beck,
      A. T. & Steer, R. A. (1993b). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory. San
      Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.]. A Schmid-Leiman transformation was used
      with the iterated-principal-factor pattern matrix of the BAI and the BDI-II
      loadings and indicated that the overall symptom compositions and relative amounts
      of variance that were explained by the one common and two specific anxiety and
      depression dimensions were comparable to those previously found with the BDI-IA.

PMID- 9990750
TI  - Visions: our hopes for the future.

PMID- 9990751
TI  - The Robert Tiffany Lectureship. Vital signs at the millennium: becoming more than
      we are.
AB  - Presenting this lecture named for my colleague, the late Robert Tiffany, is an
      honor. He was part of the first International Conference on Cancer Nursing 20
      years ago, which was my first international meeting. It was part of what expanded
      our Texas--only cancer prevention and detection program for nurses into an
      international effort. Lessons acquired through this work in the past include
      learning to respect and honor cultural differences, adapting control programs to
      the resources at hand, accepting a role as a leader and being an agent for
      change, and passing on what has been learned to others. The challenges of today
      include the worldwide death and disability toll of lung cancer, the threat of
      breast cancer and the promise of regular screening to lower its morbidity and
      mortality, and the hope that a willingness to adapt screening for cervical cancer
      in developing countries will lower its mortality rate. Twenty years in the future
      we can expect nurses to remain educators, exemplars, and agents of change; cancer
      prevention and early detection to rise in the hierarchy of care; continued
      collaborative care between physicians and nurses; enhanced patient care through
      information access; and a larger role for cancer genetics in nursing practice.

PMID- 9990752
TI  - Schering Plough clinical lecture communication: it makes a difference.
AB  - Communication is a vital component of nursing care that can improve outcomes for
      patients with cancer and their families in terms of psychological distress.
      Research indicates that nurses' communication skills have shown little
      improvement over the last 20 years. Communication is a practical skill that can
      be learned in theory from the literature or educational programs, but putting
      theory to practice in the clinical setting is far more problematic. Nurses need
      to be aware of their own communication skills by listening to themselves and
      learning from their mistakes. Only with this practice will skills improve.
      Communication can make or mar a person's illness experience. It is time for
      nurses to take effective communication seriously and actively accept personal
      responsibility for their actions because there is clear evidence showing that
      good communication makes a difference for patients and their families.

PMID- 9990753
TI  - Prevention: tobacco control and cancer nursing.
AB  - In the next century, tobacco will become the number-one cause of preventable
      death throughout the world, resulting in half a billion deaths. As global
      patterns of tobacco use change, tobacco-related morbidity and mortality will
      shift from developed countries to developing countries. Internationally, lung
      cancer will become the fifth leading cause of preventable death, affecting an
      increasing number of women. Tobacco cessation after a diagnosis of cancer may
      decrease treatment-related morbidity and increase survival. With the increasing
      number of cancer survivors, tobacco cessation becomes an important part of
      rehabilitation. This article aims to provide a foundation for developing
      strategies to involve cancer nurses throughout the world in an international
      campaign to prevent tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The devastating
      health impacts of tobacco are reviewed, and highlights of new scientific findings
      about nicotine addiction are presented. New approaches to tobacco prevention,
      legislation, and regulatory policies are discussed. Tobacco assessment strategies
      and treatment interventions for use in cancer nursing clinical practice are
      reviewed, and global strategies for nursing action in tobacco control are
      offered.

PMID- 9990754
TI  - New strategies in the management of cancer.
AB  - The developing knowledge of cancer is paving the way for a new era of management
      of this disease. New scientific knowledge has enabled different and exciting
      modes of cancer therapy to be tested in the clinical setting. These innovations
      will lead to the availability of novel cytotoxic agents in the near future. In
      addition to such agents, the last few years has seen the emergence of new
      radiotherapy and surgical techniques that have the potential to radically change
      nursing practice. Such developments require a knowledgeable nursing workforce who
      can provide anticipatory care in tandem with supportive care strategies to
      facilitate optimal patient outcomes. This article considers potential future
      developments in cancer management and raises the issue of nursing being integral
      to the treatment process.

PMID- 9990755
TI  - Global perspectives on palliative care.
AB  - The modern hospice movement had its formal beginnings in the United Kingdom with
      the 1967 opening of the St. Christopher's Hospice in London by Dame Cicely
      Saunders. Global uptake of the hospice principles and, more recently, palliative
      care, is widespread. However, the movement has shifted from charismatic, charity
      based, and independent hospices to routinized and increasingly bureaucratized
      palliative care. Global differences exist around the degree to which hospice and
      palliative care are established components of the health care system. Access
      appears to increase with the integration of services into mainstream health
      funding. The downside of this is increased regulation, competition, and a
      potential loss of specificity for those who are dying. This article explores the
      changing face of palliative care, with particular emphasis on palliative care
      delivery in the developing world. These issues for developing countries include
      access to services, access to morphine, and professional access to information
      and education.

PMID- 9990756
TI  - Cultural views of cancer around the world.
AB  - Social attitudes toward cancer, participation in early detection and screening
      services, and compliance with treatment are all known to be profoundly affected
      by cultural beliefs and norms. It is thus imperative that oncology nurses develop
      cultural competence and deliver culturally sensitive care. Cross-cultural nursing
      studies also require cultural sensitivity because they rely on the accurate
      choice of culturally relevant research methods. However, the specific steps that
      should be taken to enhance the cultural relevance of both nursing health care
      delivery and nursing research have yet to be elaborated. This article aims to
      clarify these issues on the basis of a critical survey of the literature on
      cultural views of cancer in multiethnic societies and in various countries around
      the world. The analysis of studies focusing on this subject illuminates
      misconceptions that may interfere with the application of cancer nursing to other
      cultures, and possible misinterpretations of cultural and cross-cultural research
      findings. The conclusions drawn from this analysis concern practical means for
      facilitating nurses' ability to properly address cultural diversity through the
      incorporation of culture-related variables into nursing interventions. They also
      relate to the education of nurses about cross-cultural aspects of cancer,
      culturally sensitive assessment tools, comparative studies, and theories in the
      field of international cancer nursing, all of which await further development.

PMID- 9990757
TI  - From the desert: transcultural aspects of cancer nursing care in Israel.
AB  - Quality of life perceptions, the meaning of cancer perception, and the meaning of
      illness are culture bound. Culture includes learned and shared ways of
      interpreting the world and interacting in society, and thereby provides all
      individuals with ideas about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable,
      valued or devalued in life. Israel is an immigration country, and its citizens
      came from all over the world. It is also a meeting zone between Middle Eastern
      traditional culture and Western modern medicine. Cancer patients and a
      substantial proportion of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals
      are from different ethnic backgrounds. In hospitals, clinics, and other places
      where health professionals live, work, or relax, there is a network of cultural
      factors that plays an important role in the well-being of patients. Cultural
      effects can considerably complicate the assessment of how an individual is likely
      to react to various aspects of the hospital environment, medical condition,
      treatment, staff, fellow patients, and so on. Ideal management includes the
      foresight to forestall problems that may arise and to create favorable
      psychosomatic effects that help patients to respond positively to treatment. To
      illustrate the cultural component in nursing care, four cancer patients from
      totally different cultural backgrounds are described: a bedouin, an Israeli-born
      Jew whose parents immigrated from Tunisia, and two immigrant patients, one from
      the United States and the other from Ethiopia. All four patients were treated by
      chemotherapy, radiation, or both in an oncology day-care unit at the Soroka
      Medical Center in Beer-Sheva. Also, a special education program for immigrant
      nurses is presented, as well as a new immigrant nurse from the former Soviet
      Union.

PMID- 9990758
TI  - The experience of having cancer in Latin America.
AB  - When the human experience is reduced to basic feelings, it becomes evident that
      the impact of cancer produces similar responses in people around the world. These
      responses are affected by the individual's culture, myths, and beliefs. Latin
      America includes several countries, each with different traditions and
      backgrounds. This article illuminates common cultural health beliefs in Latin
      America that play a significant role in the way Latin Americans perceive the
      experience of cancer. Nurses providing care to cancer patients should be aware of
      cultural differences and familiar with the lifeways of the major cultural groups
      in order to meet the needs of the patients under their care.

PMID- 9990759
TI  - When mom's sick: changes in a mother's role and in the family after her diagnosis
      of cancer.
AB  - As social entities, individuals enact roles and carry out responsibilities. Roles
      are learned and influenced by many social forces. They give meaning and value to
      life and foster a sense of belonging and contribution. Roles can undergo profound
      transformation during and after a diagnosis of cancer. In most family situations,
      the role of mother is a significant caretaking role. However, little research has
      focused on understanding the alterations that can occur in the mother's role when
      a woman faces cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore, from a woman's
      perspective, the experience of being a mother living with life-threatening
      illness. In-depth interviews were held with 47 mothers diagnosed as having
      cancer. Their children ranged in age from 1 to 18 years. Content and theme
      analyses were performed on the transcribed texts. The findings describe the
      impact of the cancer on the women and their families and how they felt about any
      changes in their roles as mothers.

PMID- 9990760
TI  - Family coping: issues and challenges for cancer nursing.
AB  - A large body of research now exists suggesting that families are dramatically
      affected by a diagnosis of cancer, and that they have a wide range of support
      needs. In particular, evidence suggests that the emotional strains of living with
      a family member who has cancer are an especially difficult coping challenge, and
      that such strains have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of family
      members. Despite this evidence, there has been little analysis to date on the
      nature of the families' experience with cancer and what implications the unique
      features of family relationships and interactions in the context of cancer have
      for nursing practice. Some of these specific features of the families' experience
      with cancer are examined in this article. It is suggested that enormous scope
      exists for improving nurses' contribution to care for families of people with
      cancer. Specific recommendations for achieving such improvements include a
      critical review of the constraints that exist on efforts to care for families,
      and the development of approaches to care that appreciate the interconnectedness
      of family responses and the considerable needs of family members for emotional
      and practical support.

PMID- 9990761
TI  - A test of parenthood: dilemmas of parents of terminally ill adolescents.
AB  - This article presents partial findings from a study that examined the process
      experienced by parents (mainly mothers) of an adolescent child with terminal
      cancer. It focuses on two processes that characterize the parents' social world:
      a crisis in the parental role and a departure from the normative life cycle.
      These processes, and the parents' coping with them, were studied from the
      perspective of time and time management. One of the study's claims was that the
      terminal disease alters the definition of parenthood and causes the parents to
      depart from the normative life cycle. The study's purpose was to find and explain
      the coping patterns used by the parents of terminally ill adolescents. This
      article focuses on two of the various side effects discovered: the distortion of
      the subjects' time world and the test of parenthood.

PMID- 9990762
TI  - Learning to live with cancer in European countries.
AB  - Patient group education is an evidence-based and powerful intervention for
      supporting and guiding patients toward an understanding of the cancer experience.
      An education program for patients and families, entitled Learning to Live With
      Cancer, has been developed and evaluated in a Swedish research project, and
      implemented clinically. The program is a core model with a structure that allows
      flexibility in addressing learning needs. It has grown into a pan-European
      program through "training the trainers" courses, and is now available in many
      countries. This has taken the project into a new phase, since Europe is
      characterized not only by showing many different countries, but also by showing
      cultural diversity and variety in ethical norms. The aim of this phase thus was
      to assess the presence of core-model divergences conditioned by cultural values
      and norms, and if present, to investigate adjustments proposed to increase the
      relevance of the program to best suit patients' learning needs in different
      cultures. A questionnaire was distributed to former participants in "training the
      trainers" courses. The findings indicate that only minor divergences are present,
      and that the core model thus has the potential to meet the learning needs of
      cancer patients in many cultures.

PMID- 9990763
TI  - Complementary therapies: overview and state of the art.
AB  - Studies to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine
      (CAM) use among cancer patients show international interest in a wide collection
      of therapies and a broad span of use, ranging from 7% to 64% of patients sampled.
      The absence of consistent results across studies is due primarily to differing
      definitions of unconventional cancer therapies from study to study. Treatments
      promoted as alternatives to mainstream cancer cures (e.g., the recently disproved
      "cancer cure" of Italy's Dr. Di Bella) should be distinguished from complementary
      therapies, which are applied as adjuncts to mainstream care in an integrated
      fashion. The latter include mind-body techniques and herbal remedies, among many
      other remedies, all aimed at symptom control and enhanced quality of life. This
      differentiation provides a clearer understanding of CAM activity and enables
      selective evaluation of CAM's clinical effects. It permits us to avoid accepting
      or rejecting all of CAM out of hand. Health care professionals as well as
      patients and their families have become increasingly knowledgeable about
      complementary therapies that can be helpful to patients with cancer. Many such
      therapies have been well studied (meditation, tai chi), and others remain highly
      questionable (homeopathy, electromagnetics). Their benefits and potential
      problems are reviewed.

PMID- 9990764
TI  - Oncology nurses' perspectives on unconventional therapies.
AB  - Unconventional therapies have become increasingly popular with health care
      consumers in recent years. As patients seek information and attempt to make
      decisions about unconventional therapies, they often turn to nurses, asking their
      opinion about certain therapies. The nurse's attitudes and beliefs about
      unconventional therapies very likely will influence the response to the patient's
      inquiries. This work represents the findings of interviews with 48 nurses
      regarding their perspectives on unconventional therapies. Without exception, all
      nurses interviewed emphasized the need for information regarding unconventional
      therapies to be readily available for patients and health care professionals. The
      other themes identified in the interviews included the following: various people
      use unconventional therapies; people seek unconventional therapies for a variety
      of reasons; communication about unconventional therapies needs to be open; and
      conventional and unconventional practitioners ought to work collaboratively. The
      participants interviewed saw a clearly defined role for nurses regarding
      unconventional therapies.

PMID- 9990765
TI  - The family history component of cancer genetic risk counseling.
AB  - Family history is an important risk factor for inherited cancers. Obtaining a
      family history is therefore a key component of cancer genetic risk counseling
      (CGRC). Many oncology nurses do not have training in cancer genetic risk
      counseling. However, every nurse is capable of obtaining a basic family history.
      The family history can help in identifying patterns of cancer transmission in
      families. Nurses can then refer families with a strong history of cancer to nurse
      geneticists, genetic counselors, or others qualified to make a further assessment
      of risk. If those resources are unavailable locally, the Internet can be of
      assistance. This article summarizes genetic and clinical characteristics of
      inherited cancers, the significance of family history, interview approaches,
      questions to ask about personal and family history of cancer, what a pedigree is
      and how to draw one, what to do with family information including risk analysis
      and documentation, and available resources on the Internet.

PMID- 9990766
TI  - Dohi Memorial Lecture. From occlusive to living membranes.

PMID- 9990767
TI  - The UV-induced SOS response: importance to aging skin.

PMID- 9990768
TI  - Pathogenesis of psoriasis.

PMID- 9990769
TI  - Digital images in dermatology and the Dermatology Online Atlas on the World Wide
      Web.
AB  - The digital revolution opens new ways of storing, retrieving and distributing
      images. The informativeness of digital images of dermatological conditions as
      compared to conventional photographs and slides has proven to be statistically
      similar; in many cases, digital images may even substitute for dermatologic
      physical examination. Current developments in high-speed, high-capacity
      international networks and the growing popularity of the World Wide Web are
      converging in ways that have great potential for enhancing access to biomedical
      information, including medical images. However, lack of metainformation and
      indexing services specialised in retrieving images makes finding images--as
      opposed to textual information--on the Web difficult. To provide an image
      collection and entry point into dermatological resources on the World Wide Web,
      we have developed an image database (Dermatological OnlIne Atlas--DOIA). The
      database, which is freely available on the Internet at http://dermis.net,
      contains about 3,000 clinical images covering more than 600 dermatological
      diagnoses. It is designed for worldwide use; international submissions are
      encouraged. It serves as a teaching tool for medical students, doctors and
      patients, assists professional users by being an easy gateway to other databases
      such as MEDLINE, PDQ, and OMIM and serves as a platform for conducting research
      by means of administering Internet surveys to users. We conclude that an online
      image atlas has multiple educational, clinical, and research applications.

PMID- 9990770
TI  - Strategy for treatment of psoriasis: systemic treatments.

PMID- 9990771
TI  - Principles of hair cycle control.
AB  - The hair follicle (HF) undergoes life-long cyclic transformations between
      "resting" (telogen), growth (anagen), and apoptosis-driven regression (catagen).
      Contrary to conventional wisdom, cyclic remodelling affects even the distal HF
      epithelium; telogen is not a mere resting period, since it shows substantial
      metabolic and proliferative activity and may encompass a phase of controlled hair
      shaft-extrusion ("exogen"). Even under physiological circumstances, very few
      (malfunctioning?) HF may leave this cycle over time to be removed by inflammatory
      cells ("programmed organ deletion"). Although numerous systemic, metabolic,
      immunological, and nerve-derived factors (e.g. hormones, cytokines,
      neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, mast cells) can profoundly alter hair growth in
      vivo, neither vascular nor neural stimuli nor extrafollicular cells are essential
      for HF development or cycling. Rather, an intrafollicular "hair cycle clock" of
      as yet unknown nature drives the HF cycle. This elusive chronobiological timing
      device likely exploits secondary changes in the intra- and perifollicular
      signalling milieu for guiding the HF through its transformations. However, the
      supreme generator of cycling activity ("oscillator") that dictates any of these
      signalling switches is still as unknown as is its exact location. Since,
      clinically, the control of catagen is of paramount importance (too early anagen
      termination: alopecia, effluvium; catagen too late: hirsutism, hypertrichosis),
      the controls of catagen-associated keratinocyte apoptosis and of dermal papilla
      secretory activities are discussed as crucial targets for future therapeutic
      manipulations.

PMID- 9990772
TI  - Dermagraft treatment of diabetic ulcers.

PMID- 9990774
TI  - Apligraf treatment of venous ulcers and other chronic wounds.

PMID- 9990773
TI  - The use of Apligraf in acute wounds.
AB  - Advances in the development of tissue engineered skin have led to several new
      products aimed at improving wound healing. Designed as a skin substitute, both
      epidermal and dermal equivalents have been under investigation and used
      clinically for over a decade. A novel bi-layered living skin equivalent,
      Apligraf, has been approved in several countries and is approval in the US FDA
      for the treatment of venous ulcers. Derived from foreskin, cultured neonatal
      fibroblasts are combined with bovine type I collagen to form a neodermis over
      which cultured neonatal keratinocytes are placed, proliferate and differentiate.
      In addition to use in venous ulcers, Apligraf use has also been reported in acute
      wounds such as surgical excision sites and partial thickness donor sites.
      Apligraf's use in acute wounds has lent insight into its biologic behavior,
      safety and efficacy. Through these experiences, it has been learned that Apligraf
      behaves similar to a partial thickness autograft, and is safe and effective. In
      addition, Apligraf appears to 'take', in many cases persists, is not clinically
      rejected but its ultimate fate is not known.

PMID- 9990775
TI  - Dermatology in the U.K.

PMID- 9990776
TI  - Dermatology in Germany.
AB  - In Germany, dermatology has a long tradition as a medical specialization. The
      first dermatological university departments were established about 120 years ago.
      From the beginning, venerology was integrated in this field. Today it also covers
      andrology, allergy, medical cosmetology, mycology, dermatosurgery, phlebology and
      photodermatology. This broad spectrum more and more gives rise to competition
      with other medical fields. About 77% (n = 3281) of all German dermatologists (n =
      4240 in 1997) work in private practices. The others are employed in clinical
      departments. The official number of working physicians in Germany in 1997 was
      343,556; about 1.5% of them were dermatologists. This means that one
      dermatologist takes care of 20,000 people. The overwhelming majority of
      dermatological patients directly contacts the specialist and are not referred by
      general practitioners (GPs) who comprise about 40% of all German physicians. This
      is a great advantage over those countries in which patients primarily have to
      consult the GP. At present, there is a discussion initiated by GPs to change this
      system in Germany and to reestablish the GP's role as "gatekeeper".
      Dermatologists together with other specialists are trying to prevent this an to
      maintain the traditional broad spectrum of German dermatology.

PMID- 9990777
TI  - Dermatology in France.

PMID- 9990778
TI  - Dermatology in the U.S.A.

PMID- 9990779
TI  - Korean Dermatological Association.
AB  - The Korean Dermatological Association (KDA) was founded on October 27, 1945. The
      first annual meeting was held on November 15, 1947, and meetings have been held
      twice a year since 1975. The KDA 50th Annual Spring Meeting was on April 15-16,
      1998. Korean Journal of Dermatology, the official journal of the KDA, was first
      published in 1960 and has been published bimonthly since 1978. Annals of
      Dermatology (Seoul), the English journal, was first published in 1989 and has
      been published quarterly since 1995. The American residency and specialty board
      system was introduced in 1954. Board specialty examination of dermatology
      candidates by the KDA requires four years of residency. Three hundred and twenty
      residents are now in the training course in the fifty-nine resident training
      approved hospitals this year. KDA has seven regional dermatological societies;
      Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Honam, Chungchong, Jeonbuk, and Kangwon. KDA has had eleven
      research subcommittees since 1981. There are two associated societies of the KDA;
      the Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology was founded in 1991, and the
      Korean Society for Medical Mycology was founded in 1994. The Korea-Japan Joint
      Meeting of Dermatology has been held every two years since 1979 and the Korea
      China Joint Meeting of Dermatology and Mycology has been held since 1996. About
      three hundred papers were presented at the 49th Annual Autumn Meeting on October
      21-23, 1997. These included special lectures, invited lectures, educational
      lectures, oral presentations, and posters. About five hundred dermatologists
      participated in that meeting. KDA joined the International League of
      Dermatological Societies in 1973 with forty-seven members. There are around 1200
      members of the KDA including 320 residents in 1998.

PMID- 9990781
TI  - Nurses in surgery--opportunity or threat? A personal view.

PMID- 9990780
TI  - Academic teaching and research: dermatology in Germany.

PMID- 9990782
TI  - The management of femoral and tibial diaphyseal fractures.

PMID- 9990783
TI  - Use of a general surgical high dependency unit in a district general hospital:
      the first 10 years.
AB  - The high dependency unit (HDU) is a facility that is an essential component of
      any surgical unit. This paper reviews the development of a general surgical HDU
      managed by surgeons over a decade, with analysis of activity from 1991 to 1996.
      The general surgical workload has increased during the 10-year period, and the
      case-mix has become richer by an increase in vascular surgery. The HDU provides
      essential post-operative care to major surgical patients and minimizes the
      cancellation of aortic operations without placing an extra burden on the
      intensive care services. The HDU centralises sick patients, facilitating their
      care, and provides a learning environment for trainee surgeons.

PMID- 9990784
TI  - Can we improve the uptake of gastroscopy in the population at risk for gastric
      cancer? The effect of home letter information.
AB  - The poor outlook for gastric cancer in Britain is largely due to late diagnosis.
      Earlier diagnosis will require both easy access to endoscopy and increased public
      awareness of dyspeptic symptoms. We used information by personal letter to
      encourage reporting of potentially significant symptoms in patients over 40 years
      of age. The aim of this study was to measure the acceptability and effect on
      gastroscopy rates of home letter information. Patients over 40 registered with 12
      general practices were used in the study (practice population 80,000). Patients
      over 40 from another nine practices (practice population 46,500) acted as
      controls. A letter encouraging consultation for new dyspeptic symptoms was sent
      to all study subjects. Gastroscopy rates were compared in both study and control
      populations. Questionnaires on symptoms were sent to 500 study subjects. The
      principal outcome measure was the gastroscopy rate in people over 40 in both
      populations, before and during the intervention. The gastroscopy rate was 23%
      higher in the study than in the control population during the study (3.32 vs.
      2.7%, P = 0.00016, chi 2 = 14.25). Gastroscopy uptake increased by 85% from
      1991/2 to 1993/4 in the study group and by 34% in the control group (chi 2 =
      14.02, P = 0.00018). Thirty-one per cent of questionnaire respondents had
      dyspeptic symptoms; only 3% had 'significant' symptoms of between 2 and 52 weeks
      duration. Home letters are an acceptable and efficient method of increasing
      gastroscopy uptake in dyspeptic patients over 40.

PMID- 9990785
TI  - The diagnostic value of symptoms and signs in childhood abdominal pain.
AB  - The assessment and diagnosis of abdominal pain in childhood continues to be a
      clinical challenge. We audited the presenting symptoms and signs in a consecutive
      series of 447 children presenting to a paediatric surgical unit in an attempt to
      quantify the value of particular symptoms and signs in differentiating acute
      appendicitis (AA) from non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP). The onset of pain in
      the centre of the abdomen and radiation of pain was not sufficient to
      differentiate between NSAP and AA. Progression of pain, nausea, vomiting,
      anorexia and diarrhoea were significantly more common in children with AA (P <
      0.01). Similarly, facial flushing, tachycardia (pulse > 100 beats/min), guarding
      and rebound tenderness were significantly more common in children with AA (P <
      0.001). Knowledge of this quantitative data could help clinicians adjust the
      weighting given to the presence of a particular symptom or sign in children with
      acute abdominal pain.

PMID- 9990787
TI  - Blood utilization in hip and knee arthroplasty: a cost-minimization study.
AB  - The non-utilization of crossmatched blood is an expensive waste of resources. We
      have audited blood utilization for all primary total hip and knee arthroplasty
      patients. We compared routine pre-operative crossmatching (Phase 1) with a policy
      of group, screen and save (G & S) only (Phase 2). The patient groups were similar
      in both phases. Pre- and post-operative haemoglobin results were not
      significantly different between Phase 1 and 2. No adverse transfusion reactions
      occurred. In Phase 1, 213 units were crossmatched pre-operatively, but only 127
      (60%) were transfused. In Phase 2, 117 units were requested and all transfused.
      The G & S only policy proved to be a safe and practical option which improved the
      efficiency and cost-effectiveness of blood ordering. Based on a handling charge
      of 37.50 Pounds per unit of blood by the Regional Transfusion Centre, an
      estimated annual saving of over 8000 Pounds can be made in our directorate.

PMID- 9990786
TI  - Local recurrence following rectal resection for cancer.
AB  - Recurrent rectal carcinoma following surgery carries an extremely poor prognosis
      and subsequent intervention is usually palliative. The incidence of local
      recurrence (LR) following curative surgery for rectal cancer has been reported to
      range from 3.7 to 50%. Current treatment strategy for rectal cancer aims at
      minimizing LR by either pre-operative radiotherapy or adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.
      Three hundred and fifty-four patients underwent surgical resection for rectal
      cancer in our department between April 1989 and March 1994, of which 47 (13%)
      were Dukes A, 88 (25%) Dukes B, 143 (40%) Dukes C and 76 (22%) Dukes D. Two
      hundred and seventy-eight (79%) patients were defined as having had curative
      resection (Dukes A, B and C). Overall, total LR occurred in 43 (12.2%) of 354
      patients, while LR following curative resection occurred in 16 (9.4%) of the 278
      patients. The incidence of LR became higher with increasing depth of invasion and
      lymph nodal involvement as shown by its direct relationship to stage of disease:
      Dukes A (0%), B (5.7%), C (14.6%) and D (22.3%). Local recurrence following
      resection for rectal cancer in our series is low. Pre-operative radiotherapy or
      adjuvant chemoradiotherapy may not further reduce this low incidence of LR
      significantly and its role needs to be re-evaluated for institutions with low
      local recurrence rates.

PMID- 9990788
TI  - Meniscal regeneration in the long-term after total meniscectomy?
AB  - A cohort of 39 patients (28 male, 11 female) that had undergone total
      meniscectomy as adolescents (mean age 16 years) underwent FISP 3D Magnetic
      Resonance Imaging at a mean follow up of 30 years. The presence of meniscal
      tissue was assessed by two independent observers blinded to the operation
      details. The volume of any meniscal tissue present was calculated. A posterior
      horn remnant was seen in 57% of medial and 45% of lateral meniscectomy cases. The
      mean volume of an operated medial meniscal remnant was 0.29 mL compared with a
      mean volume of 1.15 mL for an intact medial meniscus. The mean volume of an
      operated lateral meniscal remnant was 0.30 mL compared with 1.07 mL for an intact
      lateral meniscus. We have shown that the incidence of incomplete excision of the
      posterior horn is more common after total medial meniscectomy, and that at a mean
      follow up of 30 years there is no convincing in vivo MRI evidence of long-term
      meniscal regeneration.

PMID- 9990789
TI  - To drain or not drain: literature versus practice.
AB  - To evaluate the current use, of and opinion regarding the use of closed suction
      drains in orthopaedic practice, a literature review and two surveys have been
      conducted. Recent literature suggests that there is no difference in terms of
      wound healing, post-operative pyrexia, range of motion, seroma collection, days
      of hospitalization and infection rate in drained and undrained groups in routine
      orthopaedic procedures. In the first survey, a questionnaire was sent to all
      members of the British Orthopaedic Association, to establish the incidence of the
      use of drains, their placement and the usual duration of drainage. In the second
      survey, all the orthopaedic consultants of the Mid-Trent Region were interviewed
      to establish their reasons for using drains. Both surveys indicate that drains
      are used routinely by the majority of orthopaedic surgeons regardless of the
      published literature. We conclude that most orthopaedic surgeons in the United
      Kingdom do not practice 'evidence-based medicine' with regards to wound drainage.

PMID- 9990790
TI  - Chymopapain chemonucleolysis: a review of 105 cases.
AB  - A review of 105 consecutive cases of chymopapain chemonucleolysis for single
      level lumbar disc herniation was undertaken. Mean follow-up was 12.2 years (range
      10-15.3). Patients were assessed using the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire.
      Eighty-seven patients were available for follow-up. An excellent or good response
      occurred in 58 patients (67%); four patients (4.5%) had a moderate response but
      were only minimally disabled. The treatment failed in 25 patients (28.5%) and 21
      of these went on to surgery within a mean of 5.2 months (range 3 weeks-12
      months). In 15 patients (71%) disc sequestration or lateral recess stenosis was
      found. Five of the remaining six cases had a large disc herniation at surgery.
      Surgery resulted in a significant improvement in nine cases. Discitis following
      chemonucleolysis occurred in six patients (5.7%). Chymopapain chemonucleolysis
      has a useful role in the management of lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse.
      However, its efficacy is dependent on careful clinical and radiological patient
      selection.

PMID- 9990791
TI  - The painless fracture: could it be TB?
AB  - Tuberculosis is one of the commonest infections world-wide, with one third of the
      world's population carrying the bacillus. Since the 1980s the decline in
      notification rates in the UK has stopped and recently reversed. The reasons for
      this are multifactorial and are discussed briefly here. We present the case of an
      unusual presentation of tuberculosis in the metatarsal of an elderly Caucasian
      gentleman. This serves as a reminder to include tuberculosis in the differential
      diagnoses of unusual musculoskeletal presentations.

PMID- 9990792
TI  - Microcystic adnexal carcinoma: a report of three cases.
AB  - Microcystic adnexal carcinoma is an uncommon adnexal neoplasm. It is highly
      aggressive locally and its importance lies in the fact that it can be easily
      confused with benign adnexal tumours, particularly desmoplastic
      trichoepithelioma, trichoadenoma and syringoma. We report three cases of
      microcystic adnexal carcinoma of the skin, all three being on the face: two on
      the lips and one on the left eyebrow. Clinically, the neoplasms were slow growing
      indurated nodules or plaques. Two of the cases displayed benign features on
      initial biopsy and their malignant potential could not be established at that
      stage. On subsequent review, the three neoplasms showed all the characteristic
      features of microcystic adnexal carcinoma as described by Goldstein et al. and
      the University of Virginia study. All three patients were treated by surgery in
      the form of wide excision. They behaved in a highly locally malignant manner with
      excisions being incomplete in two of the lesions, in spite of taking an adequate
      margin around the clinically assessable margins. The other recurred after three
      years in spite of a histologically proven complete excision. Two of the tumours
      showed infiltration into the underlying muscle with perineural spread. Wider
      excision in the next stage with frozen section control achieved good clearance
      and after a five year follow-up period all are symptom free. None of these
      tumours showed any evidence of distant spread.

PMID- 9990793
TI  - Ankle fractures in diabetics.
AB  - Ankle fractures are common and good results are expected. Insulin dependent
      diabetes mellitus is also common, and long-standing disease is associated with
      peripheral neuropathy. A trauma unit will inevitably receive patients with both
      problems. We describe two salutary lessons and suggest how our experience with
      diabetic neuroarthropathy might be avoided.

PMID- 9990794
TI  - Gossypiboma revisited: a case report and review of the literature.
AB  - Gossypiboma (retained surgical sponge) is a rare but preventable occurrence. In
      this case it presented as a chronic abdominal mass which simulated a primary
      small bowel tumour. The findings on pelvic ultrasonography were typical for this
      condition and the role of plain abdominal radiology in the gynaecological patient
      are highlighted.

PMID- 9990795
TI  - A non-fatal impalement injury of the thorax.
AB  - Impalement is an uncommon injury with only occasional reports in the literature.
      There are even fewer reports of impalement injuries limited to the thorax. We
      report herein the case of a 24-year-old man who survived impalement injury of the
      left side of the thorax with a steel rod while working at a construction site.
      The great vessels of the thorax were spared but the second thoracic vertebra was
      fractured resulting in complete paralysis of the left lower limb. The precise
      nature and extent of the injury were determined pre-operatively by computed
      tomography and aortography. The important principles of surgical management
      contributing to the successful outcome are described, these being minimal
      manipulation of the impalement object before and during transport, careful pre
      operative planning and a multidisciplinary approach.

PMID- 9990796
TI  - Pancreatic inflammatory tumour: a rare entity in childhood.
AB  - Pancreatic tumours are rare childhood neoplasms. Inflammatory myofibrohistiocytic
      tumours (IMTs) represent an uncommon but distinct pathological subgroup that
      creates diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. We report a case of IMT arising from
      the body and tail of the pancreas in an 8-year-old girl presenting with a mass
      and abdominal pain. A locally aggressive tumour with no evidence of distant
      metastasis was encountered at laparotomy and resected. Pathologically, the tumour
      revealed a mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate with myofibrohistiocytic
      proliferation. These features can resemble a sarcoma. A review of the literature
      is provided which emphasises the clinical features, pathological findings, and
      management strategies for these unusual tumours. Complete surgical excision,
      aided by radiological surveillance, appears to offer the best guidelines for
      definitive management.

PMID- 9990797
TI  - Primary hyperparathyroidism presenting with pathological fracture.
AB  - Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is an intriguing condition. Routine automated
      biochemical screening has made the diagnosis commonplace in developed countries
      and the disease is diagnosed early in its course when it is often asymptomatic.
      In developing countries or in recent immigrants from these countries, PHPT is
      often seen in an advanced stage with bone involvement. Associated dietary
      deficiencies may alter the biochemical profile and cause a diagnostic dilemma. It
      is important to include it in the differential diagnosis of pathological
      fractures. We report three cases of PHPT presenting with pathological fractures
      and discuss their diagnosis and management.

PMID- 9990798
TI  - Pre-admission clinic in an orthopaedic department: evaluation over a 6-month
      period.

PMID- 9990799
TI  - Extra-articular fractures of the proximal tibial diaphysis: their epidemiology,
      management and outcome.

PMID- 9990800
TI  - Adult tonsillectomy: what proportion would accept same day discharge?

PMID- 9990801
TI  - Gynaecomastia: have Webster's lessons been ignored?

PMID- 9990802
TI  - Stapler failure in pharyngeal diverticulectomy: a suggested modification in
      surgical technique.

PMID- 9990803
TI  - A combined fascia and mesh closure of large incisional hernias.

PMID- 9990804
TI  - Screening times with image intensifier in orthopaedic trauma surgery.

PMID- 9990805
TI  - What can and what cannot be inferred from pairwise sequence comparisons?
AB  - We address questions of identifiability in molecular phylogeny, the art of
      reconstructing the history of a sample of sequences given just the sequences at
      the leaves of the phylogenetic tree. Here, the 'history' consists of the tree
      topology, plus the transition probabilities which define the Markov process of
      sequence evolution along the branches of the tree. It is assumed that sequences
      have infinite length, and the pairwise joint distributions of letters at the
      leaves is taken to be known. We focus on two cases: (1) If the sites of a
      sequence evolve identically and independently, the topology can be reconstructed,
      but the one-way edge transition matrices cannot. However, the return-trip
      transition matrices are reconstructible for every edge, up to conjugation in the
      case of internal edges. (2) If a rate factor varies from site to site, different
      topologies may produce identical pairwise joint distributions, even under the
      same distribution of rate factors. Consequently, identifiability of the topology
      is lost on the basis of pairwise sequence comparisons, even if the distribution
      of rate factors is known. The results are discussed in the context of additive
      measures of phylogenetic distance.

PMID- 9990806
TI  - Modelling the action of proteinase and inhibitor in tissue invasion.
AB  - Tissue invasion processes have been receiving considerable attention in recent
      years. The successful invasion and subsequent implantation of a mammalian
      trophoblast into maternal uterine tissue is under the control of a self
      regulating mechanism, as yet not fully determined, which if operating incorrectly
      can lead to the excessive placental invasion associated with choriocarcinoma or
      insufficient placental invasion as occurs in the condition of pre-eclampsia. It
      is hoped that developing an understanding of the mechanisms governing the
      invasion of trophoblast cells into uterine tissue may lead to an understanding of
      the control of invasive mechanisms such as those observed in the development of
      invasive cancers. We have developed here a number of mathematical models in order
      to gain a better understanding of the role of proteinase and inhibitors in the
      context of trophoblast invasion. The models, which may be extended to other
      tissue invasion mechanisms, are based upon a series of proposed experiments
      involving blastocysts invading reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel)
      allowing the quantification of the proteinase-Matrigel and proteinase-inhibitor
      interactions.

PMID- 9990807
TI  - Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences: an algebraic approach.
AB  - In a previous paper Schmidt and Mueller [Bull. Math. Biosci. 58 (3) (1996) 449.]
      proposed a new method for calculating phylogenetic trees from dichotomous
      (present/absent) properties of the taxonomic units. The proposed method is based
      on a specified distance measure quantifying the phylogenetic information content
      of the selected properties with respect to the joint evolutionary history.
      Formally, the method can be applied to arbitrary property patterns and is not
      based on restricting evolutionary models and optimization principles looking
      forward in evolutionary time. Instead, its theoretical foundation is the
      retrospective postulate that properties which are present in any two (closely
      related) taxa were also present in their most recent common ancestor. The
      reliability of the derived trees depends essentially on the phylogenetic
      relevance of the chosen properties. To apply this method to related nucleotide
      sequences I have defined a set of biologically meaningful nucleotide properties
      which separate and evaluate the different substitution events. The proposed
      algorithm provides additive trees and needs no numerical constraints to avoid
      negative branch lengths or any other meaningless result. In a series of
      applications the method has been tested and compared with the outcomes of other
      established tree reconstruction methods. For demonstration, I report and discuss
      the results of the reanalysis of two families of genomic sequences. Here and in a
      series of further applications I obtained trees which are biologically acceptable
      and in good coincidence with the published trees. Thus, it can be concluded that
      the proposed method will be a useful alternative for the study of phylogenetic
      relationships.

PMID- 9990808
TI  - Comparison of the effects of vasectomy and experimental cryptorchidism in rats:
      II. Epididymal histology.
AB  - Vasectomy is a male contraception method that its side effects and reversibility
      rate are still controversial. Effects of vasectomy on epididymal morphology and
      function, which plays a crucial role in sperm maturation and storage, have not
      yet fully described. Therefore the present study was planned to find out the
      effects of vasectomy on epididymal structure, and comparisons of these effects
      were also made with the effects of a persistent infertility model, experimental
      cryptorchidism. To do this, 15 male Swiss albino rats were divided into 3 groups.
      While 5 animals were sham-operated, the rest were undergone either vasectomy (5
      rats) or experimental cryptorchidism (5 rats) procedures. Epididymal tissue
      samples were collected prepared for light microscopy. Tissue sections were
      stained using appropriate staining techniques and evaluated under the light
      microscope. While there were distinct alterations in the epididymal morphology
      following experimental cryptorchidism, vasectomized rat epididymal features
      seemed similar to those seen in the sham-operated group. In conclusion, it could
      be suggested that the vasectomy might be a convenient method for male
      contraception.

PMID- 9990809
TI  - Examination of nerve distribution to masticatory muscles using a silicone
      permeation technique.
AB  - The detailed anatomical distribution of nerves throughout the human body has
      generally been studied by dissection of fixed cadavers in liquid. In this
      traditional method, it is difficult to maintain the position of nerves on their
      respective muscles. It is also difficult to keep the distributed form of the
      nerves. To understand the morphology of nerves, it is essential to determine
      their location and distribution precisely. In this study the masseter muscle was
      removed from a cadaver after fixation with formalin. The muscle was then
      permeated with silicone using the following procedure. The muscle fixed by 10%
      formalin was dehydrated with alcohol. After dehydration, alcohol was replaced
      with methylene chloride. The sample was permeated by silicone in a permeater.
      Following dissection, enamel was applied to the nerve by hand to fix its
      position. This new permeation method provided excellent localization of nerves
      innervating the muscle and has the added advantage of providing a three
      dimensional structure of neural anatomy similar to the casting procedures used to
      visualize blood vessels.

PMID- 9990810
TI  - Electron microscopic study of intercalated duct cells in the chicken pancreatic
      islet and effects of tolbutamide administration.
AB  - Intercalated duct cells are present in the alpha and beta islets of chicken. The
      intercalated duct cells adhere to each other via intercellular junctional
      complexes at the apical side, projecting many microvilli and a few cilia into the
      lumen. They also extend slender cytoplasmic processes between the islet endocrine
      cells. These intercalated cells appear to have a stellate form, and to wrap their
      cytoplasm around endocrine cells. Administration of tolbutamide led to increased
      electron density in the cytoplasm of intercalated duct cells. Lysosomes are
      present in these cells in various numbers and sizes and tend to increase with
      time after administration of tolbutamide. These observations suggested that the
      intercalated ducts not only pass through the islet, but also play a role in
      supplying islet cells.

PMID- 9990811
TI  - Sexual dimorphism in the tooth crown dimensions of the second deciduous and first
      permanent molars of Taiwan Chinese.
AB  - Sexual dimorphism in the crown components in the second deciduous molar (dm2) and
      the first permanent molar (M1) of the dental casts taken from Chinese living in
      Kaohsiung (Taiwan) was investigated. Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown
      diameters, and 4 main-cusp sizes in the maxillary molars and mesiodistal
      diameters of the trigonid and talonid in the mandibular molars were measured
      using a digital caliper (0.01 mm). Percentage sexual differences were calculated.
      With the exception of trigonid mesiodistal diameters, the mean values of males
      were larger than females. In both of dm2 and M1 the mean values of the trigonid
      mesiodistal diameters were slightly larger in females than in males, but the
      differences were not significant. Percentage sexual dimorphism was smaller in the
      mesiodistal diameters than in the buccolingual in both dm2 and M1. The crown
      components showed larger sexual difference in dm2 than in M1, while in the
      maxilla the external crown size showed larger sexual difference in M1 than in
      dm2. The buccal cusps showed larger sexual difference than the lingual in the
      maxillary molars and the talonid showed larger sexual difference than the
      trigonid in the mandibular. Sexual dimorphism of dm2 and M1 in their crown
      components displayed similar pattern, although the different degree was noted.
      This result is thought to relate to the fact these molars belong to the first
      dentition embryologically.

PMID- 9990812
TI  - Light and electron microscopic examination of exocrine pancreas using zinc iodide
      osmium tetroxide technique.
AB  - Zinc iodide-osmium tetroxide (ZIO) fixation/staining technique is a metallophilic
      technique which has been used for the examination of various tissues and cell
      types. We examined the ZIO (+) cell types in rat exocrine pancreas to obtain
      further evidence for the significance of the reaction. Among mostly non-reactive
      pancreatic acinar cells there were ZIO (+) acinar cells of varying staining
      intensity. Zymogenic granules and centroacinar cells were completely non
      reactive. Our electron microscopic findings support the view that the reactivity
      of the technique used is cell specific but not cell type or organelle specific.

PMID- 9990813
TI  - Morphology of the tracheobronchial tree and the route of the pulmonary artery in
      the fetal minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).
AB  - Molecular and statistical studies support the close phylogenetic relation between
      Cetacea and Artiodactyla. The presence of the tracheal bronchus has been pointed
      out as one of the common traits between only these groups. Nakakuki (1980) has
      investigated the mammalian tracheobronchial trees in 50 species based on his new
      nomenclature, and his study has consequently demonstrated the above-mentioned
      indication. Therefore, comparative anatomy of the tracheobronchial tree based on
      the nomenclature seems to be useful for investigations of the cetacean phylogeny.
      Three pairs of fetal lungs of the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) were
      supplied from the Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo (1991) to observe their
      tracheobronchial trees and the ramification of the pulmonary artery. The fetal
      tracheobronchial tree consisted of one tracheal, four lateral, four dorsal and
      one medial secondary bronchi in the right lung, and five or six lateral and four
      or five dorsal secondary bronchi in the left, using the new nomenclature. The
      right pulmonary artery crossed the right axial bronchus from the ventral side to
      the dorsal over the third lateral bronchus. The tracheal bronchus in the fetal
      minke whale seems to belong to the type II of Nakakuki's nomenclature, and this
      type is seen in one species of the river dolphins. The other conspicuous traits
      of the fetal lungs are the defect of the second lateral broncus and the route of
      the pulmonary artery in the right side. This route is very different from that of
      many other mammals.

PMID- 9990814
TI  - An anomalous ascending cervical artery.
AB  - During gross anatomy dissection of the neck region, an anatomical variation of
      the ascending cervical artery was detected. Normally this artery is a branch of
      the inferior thyroid artery, which is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk. In our
      case, we found that the ascending cervical artery emerged from the superficial
      cervical artery, nearly 1 cm. lateral to the origin of this artery from the
      thyrocervical trunk.

PMID- 9990815
TI  - [Detection of human papillomavirus infection by the nucleic acid hybridization
      method (a multicenter study)].
AB  - The human papillomaviruses (HPV) are regarded as one of the important agents of
      cervical carcinoma. A multicentre study was organized to determine the prevalence
      of HPV in the fertile female population in Hungary. Parallel with the clinical
      sample collection, a questionnaire interview was performed to acquire data on the
      life style, socioeconomic status, sexual practice, etc. 1200 women were examined
      colposcopically and cervix samples were collected for cytology and the detection
      of HPV DNA. 17.4% of the samples were HPV-infected. 3.9% of the patients had
      acquired low-risk, and 10.1% 10.2% high-risk HPV types; 3.4% of the women were at
      the same time infected with both low-risk and high-risk HPV types. Simultaneously
      performance of cytology and the HPV hybrid capture assay contribute to recognise
      and treat the precancerous status and risk factors.

PMID- 9990816
TI  - [Eradication of Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer patients].
AB  - The aim of this study was to compare in an open trial the efficacy of 2 x 500 mg
      clarithromycin + 2 x 1000 mg amoxicillin + 40 mg pantoprazole/day given for 7
      days (I. group, 48 cases), with that of 2 x 500 mg clarithromycin + 2 x 400 mg
      ranitidine bismuth citrate/day given for 14 days (II. group, 51 cases). The
      diagnosis of peptic ulcer was established endoscopically. HP infection was
      confirmed the modified Giemsa stain and rapid urease test. After eradication all
      patients were given 2 x 150 mg ranitidine for one month. Controls were performed
      4-6 weeks after eradication. Peptic ulcer healing was proven in the group I in
      93.0% and in the group II in 91.6% (p > 0.05). On intention-to-treat basis, HP
      was eradicated in 80.3% (confidence interval, CI: 73-92.7%) in the I. and 80.3%
      (confidence interval: 76-95%) in the II. group (p > 0.05). Per protocol analysis
      revealed eradication rates of 88.3% (CI: 81-97.6%) and 85.4% (CI: 80-97%) (p >
      0.05). Side effects were recorded in 9.5% and 14.5% of the cases. Both regimens
      were equally effective in the eradication of HP and healing of peptic ulcers.

PMID- 9990817
TI  - [Screening methods in genetic diagnosis of hereditary protein C deficiency].
AB  - Genomic analysis and detailed blood coagulation examinations of 22 family members
      of 18 families with repeatedly low protein C activity have been performed. Blood
      coagulation examinations: INR, fibrinogen, plasminogen, alpha-2-antiplasmin,
      lupus anticoagulant, APC resistance test, protein C activity and antigen, protein
      S activity and antithrombin activity. Genetic examinations: the presence of FII
      G20210A alle and FV:Q506 Leiden mutation were examined and for the mutation
      screening in the protein C gene combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
      with denaturing gradient gelelectrophoresis (DGGE) or with single-strand
      conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis has been performed. The amplified DNA
      fragments with aberrant migration during DGGE and SSCP analysis were sequenced.
      Nine family members of seven families were identified carrying mutations in the
      protein C gene: one nonsense mutation in exon VII (Arg 157-Stop), two types of
      missense mutations in four patients in exon IXA (230 Arg-Lys, 254 Thr-Ile, the
      latter is a new mutation, Protein C Pecs), one missense mutation in two patients
      in exon IXB (325 Val-Ala), one missense mutation in exon IXC (359 Asp-Asn) and a
      rare frameshift deletion in exon IXC (364 Met-Trp, 378 Stop). Nine families were
      evaluated carrying no mutation in their protein C gene, but other genetic or
      blood coagulation disturbances have been identified, eight of them had borderline
      decrease in their protein C activity (60-70%). The presence of FV:Q506 mutation
      could be diagnosed in eight families (in 3 cases homozygous, in 5 cases
      heterozygous form), among them combination of the defects could be proved in
      three of the eight families: FV:Q506 Leiden mutation with antiphospholipoid
      antibodies in 2 families and the presence of Leiden mutation with prothrombin
      gene mutation in 1 family. Protein S deficiency in combination with prothrombin
      gene mutation has been identified in 1 family. There were 2 families where no
      genetic or blood coagulation alterations could be detected in the background of
      the repeatedly low protein C activity. Large deletions or insertions which are
      not detectable by our screening methods could not be excluded in these families
      and therefore sequencing of the total protein C gene had been performed with
      negative results. According to the literature and our experience the screening
      methods that were administered in this study are suitable for the detection of
      mutations in the protein C gene.

PMID- 9990818
TI  - [The role of myocardial apoptosis in the development of heart failure].
AB  - Heart failure can result from a variety of causes, including volume or pressure
      overload and contractile disturbances of the myocardium. Loss of myocytes is an
      important mechanism in the development of cardiac failure. In general, myocyte
      death resulting in progressive deterioration of myocardial function is attributed
      to necrosis, but recently the involvement of programmed cell death (mainly
      apoptosis) has been suggested. The authors review the possible role of myocardial
      apoptosis in developing of heart failure. Subcellular genetic regulatory
      processes as well as the pharmacological susceptibility of programmed cell death
      are also discussed. In heart failure, significant amount of cardiac myocytes
      undergoes apoptosis, that unlike necrosis can be prevented. Specific inhibition
      of this process could mean a considerable part of cardioprotection after thorough
      understanding of the underlying cellular mechanisms.

PMID- 9990819
TI  - Kohut and Glover. The role of subjectivity in psychoanalytic theory and
      controversy.
AB  - The role of conflictual elements in the genesis of a new theory and in relation
      to the use of theory in a psychoanalytic controversy will be explored in two
      "case" studies. In the first, a close reading of Kohut's "The Two Analyses of Mr.
      Z" and in the second, a detailed examination of Glover's shifting allegiances
      toward Kleinian theory will reflect the role of transference and of idealization
      as powerful motivating elements.

PMID- 9990820
TI  - Erik Erikson's dream specimen paper. A classic revisited.
AB  - This paper offers an overview of Erik Erikson's contribution to psychoanalysis,
      contrasting the humanistic perspective from which he viewed psychoanalysis with
      the biological perspective adopted by Heinz Hartmann. The vehicle for this
      comparison and for the explication of Erikson's extension of the work of Freud
      and Hartmann is Erikson's analysis of Freud's Irma dream, as presented in his
      Dream Specimen paper. I hope to show that: (1) Erikson's analysis of Freud's Irma
      dream provides a masterful illustration of the richness and complexity of past
      and current life themes and conflicts that inform the dreamer's construction of
      the manifest surface of the dream. (2) Erikson's examination of the relationship
      between the manifest content of the dream and the current life context of the
      dreamer leads him to propose a connection between trauma and the origins of the
      dream. This view complements Freud's discovery of the instinctual motivation for
      dreaming and anticipates subsequent discoveries concerning the role of dreams and
      REM sleep in defensive ego functioning and adaptation. (3) The Dream Specimen
      paper presents readers with a humanistic ego psychology that rests upon--but is
      subtly different from--the work of Hartmann and the other biologically oriented
      analysts of his day. In this sense, Erikson's paper is an elegant "specimen" of
      ego psychology carried to its most creative heights.

PMID- 9990821
TI  - Evelyn K. Oremland's contributions to the child life profession.
AB  - Evelyn K. Oremland, Ph.D., founded the first college-based Child Life Program on
      the West Coast. A pioneer in child life, in her twenty years at Mills College,
      Oakland, California, she developed a graduate curriculum to create the child life
      profession. Through her tireless activities in the international organization,
      Association for the Care of Children's Health (ACCH), and her co-chairing the
      Educational Committee of the Child Life Council, she helped establish standards
      for the child life specialist certification. Around the world, her teaching,
      research, and writing have helped protect the emotional development of sick
      children. She is best remembered as a devoted and beloved teacher. Graduates from
      her program now occupy many senior administrative positions in child life in the
      United States and in Europe.

PMID- 9990822
TI  - The importance of play in adulthood. An interview with Joan M. Erikson. Interview
      by Daniel Benveniste.
AB  - Joan M. Erikson (1902-1997) was an artist, a writer, a mother, and the wife and
      collaborator of Erik H. Erikson (1902-1994), one of the most important and
      influential psychoanalysts in the world. The following is an edited dialogue on
      one of her favorite topics--The Importance of Play in Adulthood. It features her
      thoughts on the subject and reminiscences of the ways she played throughout her
      life. She muses on play in relation to humor, fun, the role of the fool, and
      more. The article was a project undertaken in the spirit of play and it will
      hopefully evoke further playful musings in the minds of readers.

PMID- 9990823
TI  - Play and the metaphors of the body.
AB  - Symptoms and the sense of reality are built out of the reified metaphors of the
      body. In clinical psychology we deal less with the frozen events of "objective
      reality" and more with the fluid experiences of a subjectivity. Metaphor is the
      language of experience. In this paper I will cover briefly a wide range of
      material including children's play configurations, children's fantasy narratives,
      libido development, the symbolic function, the role of metaphor in the
      construction of a world view, and the recognition of metaphor as an organizing
      concept in psychoanalytic theory and technique. In doing so, I will illustrate
      the relationship between play and the metaphors of the body.

PMID- 9990824
TI  - Play, dreams, and creativity.
AB  - Viewed ontogenetically, creating, dreaming, and playing are a variant of object
      relatedness. It is suggested that in recapitulating the ontogenetic sequence,
      creating, dreaming, and playing each as a process initiates by de-differentiation
      to primal union, evolves into transitional functioning, and consummates in
      tertiary cognitive discourse. The products of the triad--the created object, the
      dream, and play--are viewed as synergistic psychodynamic composites of topical,
      personal, and arche-typical imperatives. Creating, dreaming, and playing are
      easily overburdened by events, becoming stereotypical and repetitious. Nowhere is
      this more clearly seen than in the play of chronically ill, hospitalized
      children. It is suggested that with development generally, playing is replaced by
      formalized games; only dreaming continues as the vestige of early creative
      abilities.

PMID- 9990826
TI  - Beyond play and playfulness.
AB  - The evolution of play to playfulness over time establishes developmental
      foundations that are of central importance throughout life. Freud believed that
      play is at its richest and most adaptive during the oedipal phase; others have
      taken issue with Freud's view that play has its place mainly in childhood and is
      given up in adulthood. This paper emphasizes the central importance of
      playfulness throughout life. In formulating the boundaries of play, it utilizes
      the observations and comments of experts in the field.

PMID- 9990827
TI  - A developmental line of time sense. In late adulthood and throughout the life
      cycle.
AB  - This is the sixth and final paper in a series by the author on the normative,
      intrapsychic experience of time throughout the life cycle. Time sense is
      understood to be shaped by the primary forces that influence development at all
      points in the life cycle: an amalgam of past temporal conceptualizations, current
      developmental themes, and environmental influences. After a summary of the
      development of time sense in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young and
      middle adulthood, this paper focuses on the experience of time after age sixty.
      The effect of death awareness and death anticipation, life reviews, reminiscence,
      and object relationships is discussed, as is the emergence of late-life
      generativity and wisdom. These concepts are illustrated by clinical material from
      the analysis of seventy-year-old woman.

PMID- 9990825
TI  - Play and therapeutic action. Multiple perspectives.
AB  - Children's play that goes unanalyzed within a psychoanalysis, yet leads to
      therapeutic change, is contrasted with interpreted play that leads to conscious
      insight. The therapeutic and development facilitating effects of unanalyzed play
      suggest that substantial analytic work goes on unconsciously. Technical issues
      arise, therefore, if play is conceptualized as a therapeutic force in its own
      right. Developmental considerations and inhibitions in play become greater
      considerations in analytic technique. Two clinical vignettes from the analyses of
      latency-age girl and boy are presented to illustrate unanalyzed play as an agent
      in development and mastery of anxieties.

PMID- 9990828
TI  - The etiology of narcissistic personality disorder.
AB  - This paper presents a view of the etiology of narcissistic personality disorder
      which, while not new, is at variance with the commonly held position that this
      disorder is the outcome of the insufficient gratification of the normal
      narcissistic needs of infancy and childhood. The contrary thesis is presented:
      that narcissistic personality disorder is the outcome of narcissistic
      overgratification during childhood. A fixation to this overgratification
      interferes with the normal maturation and integration of the superego, leading to
      difficulties in self-esteem regulation and to a tendency to massive
      externalization. Clinical material is presented to support this view.

PMID- 9990829
TI  - A psychoanalytic study of aggression.
AB  - Eleven participants carried out a study of aggression by utilizing clinical data
      from the analyses of patients who manifested significant problems in the
      management of aggression. The purpose of the study was to increase understanding
      of the intrapsychic factors that determine the nature and intensity of aggressive
      tendencies, the place they occupy in the psychic economy, their patterns of
      expression, and the extrapsychic factors that trigger them. The findings of the
      study indicate, first, that aggression is multiply determined by developmental,
      genetic (experiential), and dynamic variables; second, that each cluster of
      variables affects the nature, intensity, and expression of aggression in a fairly
      specific way; third, the importance of aggression in the psychic economy is
      proportional to the extent to which it is overdetermined. The successful analysis
      of aggressive individuals depends not solely on interpretation and insight, but
      on the relationship to the analyst as new parent who does not threaten and
      prohibit. The relationship to the analyst permits developmental change,
      particularly the ability to organize, structure, and control aggression. As a
      result, it need not be expressed destructively, but may be placed in the service
      of constructive thought and action.

PMID- 9990830
TI  - We all need our tails to lean on. An analysis of a latency-age girl with a gender
      identity disorder.
AB  - This essay reviews current theories of gender identity disorders, with particular
      reference to the etiology of the problem in girls. The analysis of a latency-age
      girl with a serious cross-gender identity disorder is presented in detail. The
      case material illustrates the complex relationships among this girl's fantasies
      about her adoption, her ambivalent attachments to her adoptive parents and
      brother, her pet rats, and about herself as a boy. In the analytic work, the real
      and transferential connections to the analysts were explored, which enabled the
      patient to reenact the traumatic derailments in her early attachments, to begin
      to mourn her losses, and to move to a more feminine identification.

PMID- 9990831
TI  - The use of dream analysis in the treatment of a nine-year-old obsessional boy.
AB  - In children, as in adults, dreams offer a direct access to the unconscious. The
      analysis of dreams in the psychoanalytic treatment of children is, however, a
      neglected area. The work that a 9-year-old boy did with his dreams during the
      course of his two-and-a-half-year analysis is presented to demonstrate how
      helpful dream analysis can be in elucidating conflict and defense in the child
      patient. With children, the responsibility for inquiring about dreams rests with
      the analyst. The associations a child has to his or her dreams are as useful as
      an adult's.

PMID- 9990832
TI  - Conflict and compromise in gender identity formation. A longitudinal study.
AB  - The aims of this paper are twofold. The first aim is to show the complexity of
      the determinants leading to gender identity formation via the longitudinal study
      of one female research subject over 33 years. Focus is on the origins, meanings
      and functions of masculine character traits accrued at each phase of development.
      The second aim is to show that character formation begins early in the second
      year of life and that early patterns have a certain continuity with adult
      character despite reorganizations of the oedipal phase and subsequent
      contributions from each phase of development. Discussion focuses on the
      complicated nature of female gender identity formation.

PMID- 9990833
TI  - Croup, a disorder of the anal phase of development. A contribution to our
      understanding of the psychosexual development of the larynx.
AB  - A brief history of croup is presented. The forms of croup under examination are
      defined with emotional factors at one end of a continuum and viral and traumatic
      factors at the other. The complexity of the disorder and its peculiar clinical
      characteristics are explained. Some of these characteristics are: (1) the
      predominant 1-3-year age range, which corresponds to the anal stage of
      development; (2) the relief afforded by vomiting; (3) the occurrence of attacks
      at night and during sleep, (4) the relative dryness of the cough and its harsh
      metallic quality; (5) the frequent presence of a ticklish, irritating sensation
      in the throat; and (6) the presence of edema and/or laryngospasm. Three case
      vignettes are presented. These cases support a previously developed theory
      concerning the impulses and defenses underlying the croup attack. Croup is seen
      as a fixation at the oral level with a regression to that level in the face of
      conflicts of the anal or sometimes the oedipal stage. The psychosexual
      development of the larynx is discussed.

PMID- 9990834
TI  - Parents of autistic children. Some thoughts about trauma, dislocation, and
      tragedy.
AB  - People who suffer unexpected trauma often go through periods of intense
      dislocation, which resolve into a new sense of self-organization, marked by a
      distinct sense of tragedy. Parents of autistic children are given as an example
      of this phenomenon. Dislocation is described as not just part of the mourning
      process but as the result of the disturbance of both the internal and external
      components that maintain ego autonomy. Some suggestions are given for working
      with traumatized parents to help them reorient themselves within this dislocation
      and to foster and preserve their sense of being "good enough" parents.

PMID- 9990835
TI  - A parapraxis in Hamlet. A note on the aesthetic genius of William Shakespeare.
AB  - Shakespeare has placed a parapraxis in Hamlet's mouth in the soliloquy in Act I.
      Hamlet says, "But two months dead, nay not so much not two." The slip attributed
      to Hamlet is of course no slip at all when seen as an aesthetic contrivance of
      the bard's to suggest the tension between warring aspects of Hamlet's psychology.
      I argue that Shakespeare's artistic methodology, his aesthetic sleight of hand,
      so to speak, which layers this complex drama with meanings concealing other
      meanings, supports Freud's notion that an unconscious latent oedipal drama
      underlies the whole manifest content, imbuing it with subtle but substantial
      dramatic tension. The slip of the tongue is not only a window into the
      unconscious of Hamlet that sheds light on the hero's Oedipus complex and the
      complexities of his attempted resolutions, it is also an example of Shakespeare's
      aesthetic subtlety at its most refined.

PMID- 9990836
TI  - Dyslexia and self-control. An ego psychoanalytic perspective.
AB  - Dyslexia and the self-control problems that frequently accompany it are viewed
      from an ego psychoanalytic perspective. Dyslexia is conceptualized as resulting
      from an ego deficit in language processing; this deficit is seen as contributing
      to the ADHD-type symptoms often seen in dyslexic children. Lacking certain
      crucial components of linguistic competence, the dyslexic child is therefore also
      lacking a basic tool of impulse control. As a result, this child may exhibit a
      type of language deficit based impulsivity that has dynamic characteristics which
      are diagnostically significant. In addition, the ego deficit associated with
      dyslexia affects and interacts with unfolding drives, especially during the
      oedipal phase; unlike the more normal child, whose newly ascendant language
      skills help to inhibit oedipal fantasies and impulses, the dyslexic youngster is
      prone to a marked intensification of oedipal concerns, especially as these
      interact with actual experiences of failure. The treatment implications of these
      issues are discussed.

PMID- 9990837
TI  - The splintered holding environment and the vulnerable ego. A case study.
AB  - This paper describes the developmental dilemmas of children in long-term foster
      care whose permanent placement is delayed for years. Developmental theory and
      clinical research postulate the psychological risks to children who face the
      continuous threat of primary object loss. The detailed account of Matthew's case
      illustrates the effects of early neglect, abuse, and multiple separations on ego
      development. Matthew was removed from his birth mother at thirteen months but was
      not adopted by his foster mother until he was seven years old. He entered therapy
      when he was four. The clinical material reveals not only his strong will for
      survival but also his gradual internalization of the fear of primary object loss,
      his extreme narcissistic vulnerability, and his hypervigilance concerning danger,
      abandonment, and annihilation. He had great difficulty controlling his impulses.
      With some technical modifications, treatment enabled Matthew to strengthen his
      capacity for object relatedness, self-reflection, and learning. The paper
      demonstrates how important it is for social welfare agencies and the courts to be
      more cognizant of developmental theory and to recognize the need for earlier
      permanent placement determinations.

PMID- 9990838
TI  - Boundaries of self and subject. The aesthetic consequences of engulfment and
      separation anxiety in two artists.
AB  - The paper considers the efforts of two artist patients--one productive and the
      other not--to manage engulfment and separation anxiety through manipulations of
      virtual and literal spaces. The patients assumed characteristic emotional
      distances from their objects, subjects, products, audiences, and culture. More
      concretely, they developed artistic styles that, through formal structure and
      narrative content, signified a compromise between isolation and merger. Further
      investigation revealed that the productive patient's mother suffered a protracted
      postpartum depression that estranged her emotionally and physically from the
      patient in infancy. The tension between early maternal deprivation and later
      reaction-formed intrusiveness promoted the patient's aesthetic compromise between
      communication and concealment, permitting successful delivery of fantasy
      material. Although the unproductive patient portrayed repellent scenes which
      alienated her audience, she curiously never attempted stylistic corrections. Her
      press for merger was countered by a dread of contact conditioned by paternal
      abuse. Further exploration suggested that her artworks were not selfobjects, but
      rather close relations competing with her for audience attention.

PMID- 9990839
TI  - The effect of mutations on peptide models of the DNA binding helix of p53:
      evidence for a correlation between structure and tumorigenesis.
AB  - The tumor suppresser protein p53 has been called the "guardian of the genome."
      DNA damage induces p53 to either halt the cell cycle, allowing for repair, or
      initiate apoptosis. P53 is mutated in over 50% of human tumors and it has been
      proposed that many tumorigenic mutations are deleterious to p53 because they
      induce local unfolding. To explore this hypothesis, peptide models have been
      developed to study tumorigenic mutations in the H2 helix of the p53 core domain.
      This helix is rich with charged residues and is a key component of the DNA
      binding region. A 16-residue peptide corresponding to the H2 wild-type sequence
      extended with an Ala-rich C-terminus was synthesized and studied by 1H-nmr (500
      MHz) and CD. The nmr studies demonstrate that this peptide adopts helical
      structure in solution. Six additional peptides corresponding to subtle
      tumorigenic mutations were synthesized and CD was used to assess the relative
      stability of these "mutant analogues." All six mutations studied are
      destabilizing relative to the wild type, with delta delta G values in the range
      of 0.26 to 1.35 kcal mol-1. Surprisingly, substitution of Asp 281 with Ala
      resulted in a peptide with the greatest destabilization even though Ala possesses
      the largest helix propensity of the common 20 amino acids. Because this helix
      appears to be stabilized mainly by local electrostatics, we conclude that its
      structure is susceptible to even the most conservative mutations. These results
      provide support for the hypothesis that tumorigenic mutations induce local
      unfolding of p53.

PMID- 9990840
TI  - Phosphorylation stabilizes the N-termini of alpha-helices.
AB  - The role of phosphorylation in stabilizing the N-termini of alpha-helices is
      examined using computer simulations of model peptides. The models comprise either
      a phosphorylated or unphosphorylated serine at the helix N-terminus, followed by
      nine alanines. Monte Carlo/stochastic Dynamics simulations were performed on the
      model helices. The simulations revealed a distinct stabilization of the helical
      conformation at the N-terminus after phosphorylation. The stabilization was
      attributable to favorable electrostatic interactions between the phosphate and
      the helix backbone. However, direct helix capping by the phosphorylated sidechain
      was not observed. The results of the calculations are consistent with
      experimental evidence on the stabilization of helices by phosphates and other
      anions.

PMID- 9990841
TI  - Smoluchowski dynamics of the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain from Drosophila melanogaster:
      first-order mode-coupling approximation.
AB  - This work is the first in a series devoted to applying mode coupling diffusion
      theory to the derivation of local dynamics properties of proteins in solution.
      The first-order mode-coupling approximation, or optimized Rouse-Zimm local
      dynamics (ORZLD), is applied here to derive the rotational dynamics of the bonds
      and compare the calculated with the experimental nmr 15N spin-lattice relaxation
      time behavior of the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain from Drosophila melanogaster. The
      starting point for the calculations is the experimental three-dimensional
      structure of the homeodomain determined by multidimensional nmr spectroscopy. The
      results of the computations are compared with experimentally measured 15N spin
      lattice relaxation times T1, at 34.5 and 60.8 MHz, to check the first-order
      approximation. To estimate the relative importance of internal and overall
      rotation, both rigid and fluctuating dynamic models are examined, with
      fluctuations evaluated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The correlation
      times for the fundamental bond vector time correlation function and for the
      second-order bond orientational TCF are obtained as a function of the residue
      number for vnd/NK-2. The stability of the corresponding local dynamics pattern
      for the fluctuating structure as a function of the length of the MD trajectory is
      presented. Diffusive dynamics, which is essentially free of model parameters even
      at first order in the mode-coupling diffusion approach, confirm that local
      dynamics of proteins can be described in terms of rotational diffusion of a
      fluctuating quasi-rigid structure. The comparison with the nmr data shows that
      the first-order mode coupling diffusion approximation accounts for the correct
      order of magnitude of the results and of important qualitative aspects of the
      data sensitive to conformational changes. Indications are obtained from this
      study to efficiently extend the theory to higher order in the mode-coupling
      expansion. These results demonstrate the promise of the mode-coupling approach,
      where the local dynamics of proteins is described in terms of rotational
      diffusion of a fluctuating quasi-rigid structure, to analyze nmr spin-lattice
      relaxation behavior.

PMID- 9990842
TI  - Physicochemical properties of arterial elastin and its associated glycoproteins.
AB  - Microfibrillar glycoproteins are a significant component of vascular elastic
      tissue, but little is known about their contribution to vascular physiology and
      pathology. We have investigated some physicochemical properties of the
      glycoproteins that may be pertinent to these roles. Because of the difficulty in
      isolating intact glycoproteins in a form and quantity suitable for
      physicochemical examination, we based our analysis on a comparison of the
      properties of porcine thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery extracted with GuHCl
      and collagenase (preparation GC) and after further treatment with
      dithioerythritol to remove glycoproteins (preparation GC/DTE). Amino acid
      analysis showed that GC/DTE had the amino acid composition of pure elastin while
      GC contained a higher proportion of polar amino acids, particularly in the aortic
      preparation. GC stained with alcian blue, particularly in the intimal region, but
      GC/DTE did not. GC had a higher water content and a slower viscoelastic response
      and the circumferential elastic modulus was approximately 50% lower (whether
      expressed in terms of sample weight or elastin content). Clearly, therefore, the
      microfibrils do not stiffen the network and may prevent the alignment of elastin
      fibers in the circumferential direction. Their effect on hydration may arise
      either because they impose mechanical constraints on the geometry of the network
      or because they modify the inter- and intramolecular hydrophobic or electrostatic
      interactions that influence the tissue organization and hydration. Molecular
      probe measurements of the intrafibrillar pore structure using radiolabeled and
      fluorescent probes showed that removal of the microfibrils caused a slight
      decrease in the extrafibrillar water space and a larger decrease in the
      intrafibrillar water space. Sucrose, a small probe molecule, was able to
      penetrate most of the intrafibrillar water space when microfibrils were present
      but was virtually excluded when they were not. Potentiometric titration and
      radiotracer assays of ion binding both showed that the microfibrils contribute a
      considerable negative charge (-9 mumoles/g wet tissue in the aortic preparation
      and -16 mumoles/g wet weight in the pulmonary artery) and increase calcium
      binding by approximately 30%.

PMID- 9990843
TI  - On the bipolarity of positive and negative affect.
AB  - Is positive affect (PA) the bipolar opposite of, or is it independent of,
      negative affect (NA)? Previous analyses of this vexing question have generally
      labored under the false assumption that bipolarity predicts an invariant latent
      correlation between PA and NA. The predicted correlation varies with time frame,
      response format, and items selected to define PA and NA. The observed correlation
      also varies with errors inherent in measurement. When the actual predictions of a
      bipolar model are considered and error is taken into account, there is little
      evidence for independence of what were traditionally thought opposites.
      Bipolarity provides a parsimonious fit to existing data.

PMID- 9990844
TI  - The savant syndrome: intellectual impairment and exceptional skill.
AB  - Occasionally, people with developmental disability display skills at a level
      inconsistent with their general intellectual functioning, so-called "savant"
      behavior. Studies of savant behavior are reviewed to determine their relevance to
      notions about the importance of general intellective functions in the development
      of exceptional skill. It is concluded that (a) the skill exhibited by savants
      shares many characteristics with that in people without disability, (b) the skill
      is usually accompanied by normative levels of performance on at least some
      subtests of standardized measures of cognitive achievement, and (c) it is unclear
      whether savants have distinctive cognitive strengths or motivational
      dispositions, though their relative prevalence among people with certain kinds of
      disability suggests predisposing constraints. The author proposes that these
      skills typically reflect highly elaborated preconceptual representational
      systems.

PMID- 9990845
TI  - The impact of attitudes on memory: an affair to remember.
AB  - Many theories of the effects of attitudes on memory for attitude-relevant
      information would predict that attitudinally congenial information should be more
      memorable than uncongenial information. Yet, this meta-analysis showed that this
      congeniality effect is inconsistent across the experiments in this research
      literature and small when these effects are aggregated. The tendency of the
      congeniality effect to decrease over the years spanned by this literature
      appeared to reflect the weaker methods used in the earlier studies. The effect
      was stronger in 2 kinds of earlier experiments that may be tinged with artifact:
      those in which the coding of recall measures was not known to be blind and those
      that used recognition measures that were not corrected for bias. Nonetheless,
      several additional characteristics of the studies moderated the congeniality
      effect and suggested that both attitude structure and motivation to process
      attitude-relevant information are relevant to understanding the conditions under
      which people have superior memory for attitudinally congenial or uncongenial
      information.

PMID- 9990846
TI  - Psychosocial correlates of heterosexual condom use: a meta-analysis.
AB  - Despite increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, there has been no systematic review of
      correlates of condom use among heterosexual samples. To rectify this, the present
      study used meta-analysis to quantify the relationship between psychosocial
      variables and self-reported condom use. Six hundred sixty correlations
      distributed across 44 variables were derived from 121 empirical studies.
      Variables were organized in terms of the labeling, commitment, and enactment
      stages of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (Catania, Kegeles, & Coates, 1990).
      Findings showed that demographic, personality, and labeling stage variables had
      small average correlations with condom use. Commitment and enactment stage
      variables fared better, with attitudes toward condoms, behavioral intentions, and
      communication about condoms being the most important predictors. Overall,
      findings support a social psychological model of condom use highlighting the
      importance of behavior-specific cognitions, social interaction, and preparatory
      behaviors rather than knowledge and beliefs about the threat of infection.

PMID- 9990847
TI  - Does competition enhance or inhibit motor performance: a meta-analysis.
AB  - A meta-analysis was conducted on the relative impact of cooperative, competitive,
      and individualistic efforts on motor skills performance. Competition was divided
      into 3 groups: zero sum, appropriate, and unclear. The motor skills tasks were
      divided into means-interdependent and means-independent tasks. The dependent
      variables were achievement-performance, interpersonal attraction, social support,
      and self-esteem. A total of 64 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Effects
      sizes were computed, and confidence intervals were used to determine their
      significance. A fail-safe sample size was computed to determine how many
      additional studies were needed to change the significance of the results.
      Cooperation resulted in higher achievement for means-interdependent tasks in zero
      sum competition, unclear competition, and individualistic efforts, and it
      promoted higher achievement for means-independent tasks for unclear competition
      and individualistic efforts. For all comparisons, cooperation resulted in greater
      interpersonal attraction, social support, and self-esteem.

PMID- 9990848
TI  - Event-related functional MRI: implications for cognitive psychology.
AB  - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has rapidly emerged as a powerful
      technique in cognitive neuroscience. We describe and critique a new class of
      imaging experimental designs called event-related fMRI that exploit the temporal
      resolution of fMRI by modeling fMRI signal changes associated with behavioral
      trials as opposed to blocks of behavioral trials. Advantages of this method over
      block designs include the ability to (a) randomize trial presentations, (b) test
      for functional correlates of behavioral measures with greater power, (c) directly
      examine the neural correlates of temporally dissociable components of behavioral
      trials (e.g., the delay period of a working memory task), and (d) test for
      differences in the onset time of neural activity evoked by different trial types.
      Consequently, event-related fMRI has the potential to address a number of
      cognitive psychology questions with a degree of inferential and statistical power
      not previously available.

PMID- 9990849
TI  - IAP family proteins--suppressors of apoptosis.

PMID- 9990850
TI  - Core promoter elements can regulate transcription on a separate chromosome in
      trans.
AB  - Transvection can cause the expression of a gene to be sensitive to the proximity
      of a homolog. It can account for many cases of intragenic complementation at the
      Drosophila yellow gene, where one mode of transvection involves the action of
      enhancers in trans on a promoter present on a separate chromosome. Our goal was
      to identify cis-acting elements that regulate the trans action of enhancers.
      Using gene replacement, we altered two core promoter elements at yellow and
      tested the resulting alleles for their ability to support transvection. We found
      that the TATA box and initiator element can regulate transvection.

PMID- 9990851
TI  - Distinct transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlie left-right asymmetric
      expression of lefty-1 and lefty-2.
AB  - Both lefty-1 and lefty-2 genes are expressed on the left side of developing mouse
      embryos and are implicated in left-right (L-R) axis formation. With the use of
      transgenic analysis, the transcriptional regulatory regions of these genes
      responsible for their L-R asymmetric expression have now been investigated. The
      9.5-kb upstream region of lefty-1 and the 5.5-kb upstream region of lefty-2
      reproduced the expression pattern of the corresponding gene. Examination of
      deletion constructs revealed the presence of a left side-specific enhancer (ASE)
      that is essential and sufficient for lefty-2 asymmetric expression. In contrast,
      the asymmetric expression of lefty-1 was shown to be determined by a combination
      of bilateral enhancers and a right side-specific silencer (RSS). The 9. 5-kb
      region of lefty-1 and the 5.5-kb region of lefty-2 responded to iv and inv,
      upstream genes of lefty-1 and lefty-2. The regulation of lefty-2 by iv and inv
      was mediated by ASE. These results suggest that, in spite of the similarities
      between lefty-1 and lefty-2, different regulatory mechanisms underlie their
      asymmetric expression.

PMID- 9990852
TI  - The SCFbeta-TRCP-ubiquitin ligase complex associates specifically with
      phosphorylated destruction motifs in IkappaBalpha and beta-catenin and stimulates
      IkappaBalpha ubiquitination in vitro.
AB  - Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis has a central role in controlling the
      intracellular levels of several important regulatory molecules such as cyclins,
      CKIs, p53, and IkappaBalpha. Many diverse proinflammatory signals lead to the
      specific phosphorylation and subsequent ubiquitin-mediated destruction of the NF
      kappaB inhibitor protein IkappaBalpha. Substrate specificity in ubiquitination
      reactions is, in large part, mediated by the specific association of the E3
      ubiquitin ligases with their substrates. One class of E3 ligases is defined by
      the recently described SCF complexes, the archetype of which was first described
      in budding yeast and contains Skp1, Cdc53, and the F-box protein Cdc4. These
      complexes recognize their substrates through modular F-box proteins in a
      phosphorylation-dependent manner. Here we describe a biochemical dissection of a
      novel mammalian SCF complex, SCFbeta-TRCP, that specifically recognizes a 19
      amino-acid destruction motif in IkappaBalpha (residues 21-41) in a
      phosphorylation-dependent manner. This SCF complex also recognizes a conserved
      destruction motif in beta-catenin, a protein with levels also regulated by
      phosphorylation-dependent ubiquitination. Endogenous IkappaBalpha-ubiquitin
      ligase activity cofractionates with SCFbeta-TRCP. Furthermore, recombinant
      SCFbeta-TRCP assembled in mammalian cells contains phospho-IkappaBalpha-specific
      ubiquitin ligase activity. Our results suggest that an SCFbeta-TRCP complex
      functions in multiple transcriptional programs by activating the NF-kappaB
      pathway and inhibiting the beta-catenin pathway.

PMID- 9990853
TI  - Signal-induced ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha by the F-box protein Slimb/beta
      TrCP.
AB  - Signal-induced phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha targets this inhibitor of NF
      kappaB for ubiquitination and subsequent degradation, thus allowing NF-kappaB to
      enter the nucleus to turn on its target genes. We report here the identification
      of an IkappaB-ubiquitin (Ub) ligase complex containing the F-box/WD40-repeat
      protein, beta-TrCP, a vertebrate homolog of Drosophila Slimb. beta-TrCP binds to
      IkappaBalpha only when the latter is specifically phosphorylated by an IkappaB
      kinase complex. Moreover, immunopurified beta-TrCP ubiquitinates phosphorylated
      IkappaBalpha at specific lysines in the presence of Ub-activating (E1) and 
      conjugating (Ubch5) enzymes. A beta-TrCP mutant lacking the F-box inhibits the
      signal-induced degradation of IkappaBalpha and subsequent activation of NF-kappaB
      dependent transcription. Furthermore, Drosophila embryos deficient in slimb fail
      to activate twist and snail, two genes known to be regulated by the NF-kappaB
      homolog, Dorsal. These biochemical and genetic data strongly suggest that
      Slimb/beta-TrCP is the specificity determinant for the signal-induced
      ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha.

PMID- 9990854
TI  - Roles of ephrinB ligands and EphB receptors in cardiovascular development:
      demarcation of arterial/venous domains, vascular morphogenesis, and sprouting
      angiogenesis.
AB  - Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their cell-surface-bound ligands, the ephrins,
      regulate axon guidance and bundling in the developing brain, control cell
      migration and adhesion, and help patterning the embryo. Here we report that two
      ephrinB ligands and three EphB receptors are expressed in and regulate the
      formation of the vascular network. Mice lacking ephrinB2 and a proportion of
      double mutants deficient in EphB2 and EphB3 receptor signaling die in utero
      before embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) because of defects in the remodeling of the
      embryonic vascular system. Our phenotypic analysis suggests complex interactions
      and multiple functions of Eph receptors and ephrins in the embryonic vasculature.
      Interaction between ephrinB2 on arteries and its EphB receptors on veins suggests
      a role in defining boundaries between arterial and venous domains. Expression of
      ephrinB1 by arterial and venous endothelial cells and EphB3 by veins and some
      arteries indicates that endothelial cell-to-cell interactions between ephrins and
      Eph receptors are not restricted to the border between arteries and veins.
      Furthermore, expression of ephrinB2 and EphB2 in mesenchyme adjacent to vessels
      and vascular defects in ephB2/ephB3 double mutants indicate a requirement for
      ephrin-Eph signaling between endothelial cells and surrounding mesenchymal cells.
      Finally, ephrinB ligands induce capillary sprouting in vitro with a similar
      efficiency as angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and vascular endothelial growth factor
      (VEGF), demonstrating a stimulatory role of ephrins in the remodeling of the
      developing vascular system.

PMID- 9990855
TI  - Ctf7p is essential for sister chromatid cohesion and links mitotic chromosome
      structure to the DNA replication machinery.
AB  - CTF7 (chromosome transmission fidelity) gene in budding yeast encodes an
      essential protein that is required for high-fidelity chromosome transmission and
      contains regions of identity conserved from yeast to man. ctf7 mutant cells
      arrested prior to anaphase onset contain separated sister chromatids. Thus, Ctf7p
      is essential for cohesion. Cohesion is established during S phase and then
      maintained until mitosis. However, Ctf7p activity is required only during S
      phase, suggesting that Ctf7p functions in the establishment of cohesion. In
      addition, ctf7 genetically interacts with DNA metabolism mutations pol30 (PCNA)
      and ctf18 (an RF-C like protein) and ctf7 temperature sensitivity and chromosome
      loss are rescued by high levels of POL30. These findings provide the first
      evidence that links the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion to the DNA
      replication machinery and suggest that the assembly of cohesion (and possibly
      condensation) complexes are coupled to PCNA-dependent DNA replication. The
      analysis of Ctf7p also reveals an important connection between sister chromatid
      cohesion, spindle integrity and the spindle assembly checkpoint.

PMID- 9990856
TI  - Yeast cohesin complex requires a conserved protein, Eco1p(Ctf7), to establish
      cohesion between sister chromatids during DNA replication.
AB  - Sister chromatid cohesion is crucial for chromosome segregation during mitosis.
      Loss of cohesion very possibly triggers sister separation at the metaphase -->
      anaphase transition. This process depends on the destruction of anaphase
      inhibitory proteins like Pds1p (Cut2p), which is thought to liberate a sister
      separating protein Esp1p (Cut1p). By looking for mutants that separate sister
      centromeres in the presence of Pds1p, this and a previous study have identified
      six proteins essential for establishing or maintaining sister chromatid cohesion.
      Four of these proteins, Scc1p, Scc3p, Smc1p, and Smc3p, are subunits of a
      'Cohesin' complex that binds chromosomes from late G1 until the onset of
      anaphase. The fifth protein, Scc2p, is not a stoichiometric Cohesin subunit but
      it is required for Cohesin's association with chromosomes. The sixth protein,
      Eco1p(Ctf7p), is not a Cohesin subunit. It is necessary for the establishment of
      cohesion during DNA replication but not for its maintenance during G2 and M
      phases.

PMID- 9990857
TI  - The PERIANTHIA gene encodes a bZIP protein involved in the determination of
      floral organ number in Arabidopsis thaliana.
AB  - Mutations in the PERIANTHIA (PAN) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana specifically
      transform flowers from tetramerous to largely pentamerous, which is a
      characteristic of flowers of ancestral plants. We have cloned the PAN gene and
      here we show that it encodes a member of the basic region/leucine zipper class of
      transcription factors. Immunohistochemical analysis shows that the encoded
      protein is present in the apical meristem, the floral meristem, each whorl of
      organ primordia, and in ovule primordia during wild-type flower development. PAN
      expression occurs independently of genes affecting floral meristem identity,
      floral meristem size, or floral organ number. The near absence of a phenotype in
      transgenic plants overexpressing PAN and the contrast between the broad
      expression of PAN and the specificity of its mutant phenotype suggest that its
      activity may be regulated post-translationally or by the presence of partner
      proteins. Based on these results and on data reported previously, we propose
      models for the role of PAN in the evolution of flower pattern in the mustard
      family.

PMID- 9990858
TI  - Double-strand end repair via the RecBC pathway in Escherichia coli primes DNA
      replication.
AB  - To study the relationship between homologous recombination and DNA replication in
      Escherichia coli, we monitored the behavior of phage lambda chromosomes,
      repressed or not for lambda gene activities. Recombination in our system is
      stimulated both by DNA replication and by experimentally introduced double-strand
      ends, supporting the idea that DNA replication generates occasional double-strand
      ends. We report that the RecBC recombinational pathway of E. coli uses double
      strand ends to prime DNA synthesis, implying a circular relationship between DNA
      replication and recombination and suggesting that the primary role of
      recombination is in the repair of disintegrated replication forks arising during
      vegetative reproduction.

PMID- 9990859
TI  - Amino-terminal sequences of sigmaN (sigma54) inhibit RNA polymerase
      isomerization.
AB  - In bacteria, association of the specialized sigmaN protein with the core RNA
      polymerase subunits forms a holoenzyme able to bind promoter DNA, but unable to
      melt DNA and initiate transcription unless acted on by an activator protein. The
      conserved amino-terminal 50 amino acids of sigmaN (Region I) are required for the
      response to activators. We have used pre-melted DNA templates, in which the
      template strand is unpaired and accessible for transcription initiation, to mimic
      a naturally melted promoter and explore the function of Region I. Our results
      indicate that one activity of Region I sequences is to inhibit productive
      interaction of holoenzyme with pre-melted DNA. On pre-melted DNA targets, either
      activation of sigmaN-holoenzyme or removal of Region I allowed efficient
      formation of complexes in which melted DNA was sequestered by RNA polymerase.
      Like natural pre-initiation complexes formed on conventional DNA templates
      through the action of activator, such complexes were heparin-resistant and
      transcriptionally active. The inhibitory sigmaN Region I domain functioned in
      trans to confer heparin sensitivity to complexes between Region I-deleted
      holoenzyme and pre-melted promoter DNA. Evidence that Region I senses the
      conformation of the promoter was obtained from protein footprint experiments. We
      suggest that one function for Region I is to mask a single-strand DNA-binding
      activity of the holoenzyme. On the basis of extended DNA footprints of Region I
      deleted holoenzyme, we also propose that Region I prevents RNA polymerase
      isomerization, a conformational change necessary for access to and the subsequent
      stable association of holoenzyme with melted DNA.

PMID- 9990860
TI  - The role of alphav integrins during angiogenesis.

PMID- 9990861
TI  - Janus kinases and focal adhesion kinases play in the 4.1 band: a superfamily of
      band 4.1 domains important for cell structure and signal transduction.
AB  - The band 4.1 domain was first identified in the red blood cell protein band 4.1,
      and subsequently in ezrin, radixin, and moesin (ERM proteins) and other proteins,
      including tumor suppressor merlin/schwannomin, talin, unconventional myosins VIIa
      and X, and protein tyrosine phosphatases. Recently, the presence of a
      structurally related domain has been demonstrated in the N-terminal region of two
      groups of tyrosine kinases: the focal adhesion kinases (FAK) and the Janus
      kinases (JAK). Additional proteins containing the 4.1/JEF (JAK, ERM, FAK) domain
      include plant kinesin-like calmodulin-binding proteins (KCBP) and a number of
      uncharacterized open reading frames identified by systematic DNA sequencing.
      Phylogenetic analysis of amino acid sequences suggests that band 4.1/JEF domains
      can be grouped in several families that have probably diverged early during
      evolution. Hydrophobic cluster analysis indicates that the band 4.1/JEF domains
      might consist of a duplicated module of approximately 140 residues and a central
      hinge region. A conserved property of the domain is its capacity to bind to the
      membrane-proximal region of the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of proteins with a
      single transmembrane segment. Many proteins with band 4.1/JEF domains undergo
      regulated intra- or intermolecular homotypic interactions. Additional properties
      common to band 4.1/JEF domains of several proteins are binding of
      phosphoinositides and regulation by GTPases of the Rho family. Many proteins with
      band 4. 1/JEF domains are associated with the actin-based cytoskeleton and are
      enriched at points of contact with other cells or the extracellular matrix, from
      which they can exert control over cell growth. Thus, proteins with band 4.1/JEF
      domain are at the crossroads between cytoskeletal organization and signal
      transduction in multicellular organisms. Their importance is underlined by the
      variety of diseases that can result from their mutations.

PMID- 9990863
TI  - Sequence polymorphism in two novel Plasmodium vivax ookinete surface proteins,
      Pvs25 and Pvs28, that are malaria transmission-blocking vaccine candidates.
AB  - BACKGROUND: For many malarious regions outside of Africa, development of
      effective transmission-blocking vaccines will require coverage against both
      Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. Work on P. vivax transmission-blocking
      vaccines has been hampered by the inability to clone the vaccine candidate genes
      from this parasite. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To search for genes encoding the
      ookinete surface proteins from P. vivax, the DNA sequences of the eight known
      proteins in the P25 subfamily (Pfs25, Pgs25, Pys25, Pbs25) and in the P21/28
      subfamily (Pfs28, Pgs28, Pys21, Pbs21) of zygote/ookinete surface proteins were
      aligned. Regions of highest identity were used to design degenerate PCR
      oligonucleotides. Genomic DNA from the Sal I strain of P. vivax and genomic and
      splinkerette DNA libraries were used as PCR templates. To characterize the
      polymorphisms of Pvs25 and Pvs28, these two genes were PCR amplified and the DNA
      sequences were determined from genomic DNA extracted from patients infected with
      P. vivax. RESULTS: Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of Pvs28 revealed
      a secretory signal sequence, four epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains, six
      copies of the heptad amino acid repeat (GSGGE/D), and a short hydrophobic region.
      Because the fourth EGF-like domain has four rather than six cysteines, the gene
      designated Pvs28 is the presumed homologue of P21/28 subfamily members. Analysis
      of the deduced amino acid sequence of Pvs25 revealed a similar structure to that
      of Pvs28. The presence of six rather than four cysteines in the fourth EGF-like
      domain suggested that Pvs25 is the homologue of P25 subfamily members. Several
      regions of genetic polymorphisms in Pvs25 and Pvs28 were identified in field
      isolates of P. vivax. CONCLUSIONS: The genes encoding two ookinete surface
      proteins, Pvs28 and Pvs25, from P. vivax have been isolated and sequenced.
      Comparison of the primary structures of Pvs25, Pvs28, Pfs25, and Pfs28 suggest
      that there are regions of genetic polymorphism in the P25 and P21/28 subfamilies.

PMID- 9990864
TI  - A 15-year follow-up of AJCC stage III malignant melanoma patients treated
      postsurgically with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) oncolysate and determination of
      alterations in the CD8 T cell repertoire.
AB  - BACKGROUND: The development of effective adjuvant therapies for the treatment of
      high-risk melanoma patients is critical for the prevention of metastatic disease
      and improvement of patient survival. Active specific immunotherapy has been
      tested as an adjuvant treatment in numerous clinical trials with overall limited,
      but occasionally promising, success rates. Newcastle disease virus (NDV)
      oncolysate has been utilized as an adjunctive immunotherapeutic agent in the
      postsurgical management of these patients. A phase II study initiated in 1975
      using adjuvant vaccine therapy composed of allogeneic and autologous human
      melanoma cells infected with live NDV (NDV oncolysate) in patients with AJCC
      stage III melanoma following therapeutic lymph node dissection has shown >60%
      survival rate at 10 years with no adverse effects. Continued long-term analysis
      of trials with promising early results as well as assessment of immunologic
      responses generated in these patients may result in improved therapeutic
      decisions for clinical trials in the future. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed
      the 15-year survival of patients treated postsurgically with NDV oncolysate in
      the phase II study described above. In an attempt to understand the immunological
      effects of this treatment, we have also carried out a comprehensive analysis of
      the peripheral blood T cell repertoire in these patients. RESULTS: The overall 15
      year survival of this group of patients is 55%. Previous studies have suggested
      that improved outcome in patients undergoing immunotherapy is correlated with
      increased numbers of CD8(+)CD57(+) cells. In surviving patients, we observed a
      striking oligoclonality in the CD8(+) T cell population in peripheral blood,
      which reflects clonal expansions in the CD8(+)CD57(+) subset. CONCLUSIONS: The
      data suggest that adjuvant vaccination with NDV oncolysates is associated with
      prolonged survival of patients with lymph node-positive malignant melanoma and
      that CD8(+) T cells may be an important component of therapeutic efficacy.

PMID- 9990865
TI  - C1 inhibitor gene sequence facilitates frameshift mutations.
AB  - Mutations disrupting the function or production of C1 inhibitor cause the disease
      hereditary angioneurotic edema. Patient mutations identified an imperfect
      inverted repeat sequence that was postulated to play a mechanistic role in the
      mutations. To test this hypothesis, the inverted repeat was cloned into the
      chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in pBR325 and its mutation rate was
      studied in four bacterial strains. These strains were selected to assay the
      effects of recombination and superhelical tension on mutation frequency.
      Mutations that revert bacteria to chloramphenicol resistance (Cmr) were scored.
      Both pairs of isogenic strains had reversion frequencies of approximately 10(-8).
      These rare reversion events in bacteria were most often a frameshift that
      involved the imperfect inverted repeat with a deletion or a tandem duplication,
      an event very similar to the human mutations. Increased DNA superhelical tension,
      which would be expected to enhance cruciform extrusion, did not accentuate
      mutagenesis. This finding suggests that the imperfect inverted repeat may form a
      stem-loop structure in the single-stranded DNA created by the duplex DNA melting
      prior to replication. Models explaining the slippage can be drawn using the
      lagging strand of the replication fork. In this model, the formation of a stem
      loop structure is responsible for bringing the end of the deletion or duplication
      into close proximity.

PMID- 9990868
TI  - Analytical Microscopy in the Real Semiconductor Processing World.
AB  - : In the microelectronic semiconductor world we are bombarded with reports of how
      the drive toward faster, denser, lower power-consuming and more reliable
      semiconductor products will accelerate with time. This paper discusses the
      instrumental evolution from visible light microscopy to scanning electron
      microscopy and on to transmission electron microscopy and scanned probe
      microscopy. The increased demands placed on specimen preparation of precise
      locations in a semiconductor chip for microscopy are discussed. Analytical
      microscopy has to be timely in order to be a viable adjunct to semiconductor
      manufacturing. The factors governing analysis of turn-around time are explained
      and an optimum strategy is suggested for effective utilization of finite
      laboratory resources. The new instrumentation available to the microscopist is
      introduced along with an overview of the exciting new analyses that will be
      available in the immediate future.

PMID- 9990869
TI  - Study of the Dependence of E2 Energies on Sample Chemistry.
AB  - : Specimens that charge under electron beam irradiation in the scanning electron
      microscope (SEM) can be stabilized by choosing the beam energy to be such a value
      that the sum of the secondary and backscatter electron yields is unity, as this
      establishes a dynamic charge balance. We show here that for pure elements, the
      energies E1 and E2, for which charge balance occurs, are related directly to the
      atomic number of the material. Although generally there is no comparable relation
      for compounds, we also show that for polymers, the E2 energy is related both to
      the ratio of the number of valence electrons to molecular weight and to the
      electronegativity of the monomer units that form the polymer.

PMID- 9990870
TI  - Correlative Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, Light Microscopy,
      Transmission Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Microanalysis for Qualitative and
      Quantitative Detection of Colloidal Gold Spheres in Biological Specimens.
AB  - : Colloidal gold, conjugated to ligands or antibodies, is routinely used as a
      label for the detection of cell structures by light (LM) and electron microscopy
      (EM). To date, several methods to count the number of colloidal gold labels have
      been employed with limited success. Instrumental neutron activation analysis
      (INAA), a physical method for the analysis of the elemental composition of
      materials, can be used to provide a quantitative index of gold accumulation in
      bulk specimens. Given that gold is not naturally found in biological specimens in
      any substantial amount and that colloidal gold and ligand conjugates can be
      prepared to yield uniform bead sizes, the amount of label can be calculated in
      bulk biological samples by INAA. Here we describe the use of INAA, LM,
      transmission EM, and X-ray microanalysis (EDX) in a model to determine both
      distribution (localization) and amount of colloidal gold at the organ, tissue,
      cellular, and ultrastructural levels in whole animal systems following
      administration. In addition, the sensitivity for gold in biological specimens by
      INAA is compared with that of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP
      MS). The correlative use of INAA, LM, TEM, and EDX can be useful, for example, in
      the quantitative and qualitative tracking of various labeled molecular species
      following administration in vivo.

PMID- 9990871
TI  - Microwave Protocols for Paraffin Microtechnique and In Situ Localization in
      Plants.
AB  - : We have developed a microwave protocol for a paraffin-embedding microtechnique
      of the shoot apical meristem of Zea mays and have successfully applied this
      protocol to other plant tissues. This protocol decreases the time required for
      all aspects of microtechnique tissue processing, including fixation (24 hr to 15
      min), dehydration (73 hr to 10 min), and infiltration (96 hr to 3 hr).
      Additionally, the time required to adhere paraffin ribbons to gelatin-coated
      slides and for the Johanson's safranin O, fast green FCF staining protocol has
      been significantly decreased. Using this technique, the quality of tissue
      preservation and subsequent in situ localization of knotted mRNA was increased by
      using microwaves.

PMID- 9990866
TI  - Alterations of p16-pRb pathway and chromosome locus 9p21-22 in sporadic invasive
      breast carcinomas.
AB  - The p16-pRb pathway represents a vital cell-cycle checkpoint. In the present
      study we investigated the alterations of this G1-phase protein pathway using
      immunohistochemical and molecular methods in a series of 55 breast carcinomas and
      correlated the findings with clinicopathological features of the patients.
      Furthermore, we examined its relationship with the status of the chromosomal
      region 9p21-22 performing a deletion map analysis because there are indications
      that, in addition to CDKN2 and MTS2/p15(INK4B) tumor suppressor genes (TSGs),
      this area harbors other TSG(s). Aberrant expression (Ab) of p16 and pRb was
      observed in 26 (47%) and 16 (29%) of the carcinomas, respectively. A statistical
      trend pointing out an inverse relationship between p16 and pRb expression was
      found (p = 0.079). Analysis of the region that encodes for p16 by deletion
      mapping, a PCR-based methylation assay and PCR-SSCP, revealed that deletions and
      transcriptional silencing by methylation might represent the main mechanisms of
      CDKN2/p16(INK4A) inactivation in breast carcinomas. The results of deletion
      mapping also suggest that another TSG(s) may reside at the 9p21-22 area
      particularly at the D9S162 loci and that co-deletion of this putative gene with
      CDKN2/p16(INK4A) may play a role in breast carcinogenesis. In addition,
      microsatellite instability (MI), a marker of replication error phenotype (RER+),
      was observed with a frequency of 16% in the area examined and was inversely
      related with loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Interestingly, most cases with MI at
      the region encoding for p16 were aggregated in a subgroup of breast carcinomas
      with no other obvious genetic and/or epigenetic CDKN2/p16(INK4A) alterations. We
      speculate that there is an additional mechanism of CDKN2/p16(INK4A) inactivation.
      The relationship of p16 protein level pRb, status, the p16-pRb combined
      immunoprofiles, and the microsatellite alterations detected at the 9p21-22 locus
      with the patients' clinicopathological parameters revealed two significant
      correlations: one between normal pRb expression and lymph node involvement (p =
      0.0263), and the other between microsatellite alterations (LOH and or MI) and
      tumor size (p = 9.2 x 10(-3)). In view of the heterogenous nature of breast
      cancer, we suggest that in a significant proportion of breast carcinomas,
      deregulation of the p16-pRb pathway in association with another, as-yet
      unidentified, TSG(s) of the 9p21-22 region may play a role in initiating or
      progressing the oncogenic procedure, while in other subgroups, alternative
      molecules may play this role.

PMID- 9990872
TI  - Real-time Observation of Aluminum Chemical Vapor Deposition in an Environmental
      Scanning Electron Microscope.
AB  - : A technique has been developed to provide real-time imaging, with several
      nanometer resolution, of organometallic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) by
      scanning electron microscopy under conditions approaching those used in the
      microelectronics industry. The technique involves modifications to an
      environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) to facilitate organometallic
      precursor gas handling and sample heating. To demonstrate the usefulness of this
      technique for studying the microstructural evolution of CVD-grown metal films,
      results of Al/SiO2 CVD experiments are presented.

PMID- 9990874
TI  - News and Commentary.

PMID- 9990873
TI  - Nanomanipulation Experiments Exploring Frictional and Mechanical Properties of
      Carbon Nanotubes.
AB  - : In many cases in experimental science, the instrument interface becomes a
      limiting factor in the efficacy of carrying out unusual experiments or prevents
      the complete understanding of the acquired data. We have developed an advanced
      interface for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) that allows intuitive rendering of
      data sets and natural instrument control, all in real time. The interface, called
      the nanoManipulator, combines a high-performance graphics engine for real-time
      data rendering with a haptic interface that places the human operator directly
      into the feedback loop that controls surface manipulations. Using a hand-held
      stylus, the operator moves the stylus laterally, directing the movement of the
      SPM tip across the sample. The haptic interface enables the user to "feel" the
      surface by forcing the stylus to move up and down in response to the surface
      topography. In this way the user understands the immediate location of the tip on
      the sample and can quickly and precisely maneuver nanometer-scale objects. We
      have applied this interface to studies of the mechanical properties of nanotubes
      and to substrate-nanotube interactions. The mechanical properties of carbon
      nanotubes have been demonstrated to be extraordinary. They have an elastic
      modulus rivaling that of the stiffest material known, diamond, while maintaining
      a remarkable resistance to fracture. We have used atomic-force microscopy (AFM)
      to manipulate the nanotubes through a series of configuration that reveal
      buckling behavior and high-strain resilience. Nanotubes also serve as test
      objects for nanometer-scale contact mechanics. We have found that nanotubes will
      roll under certain conditions. This has been determined through changes in the
      images and through the acquisition of lateral force during manipulation. The
      lateral force data show periodic stick-slip behavior with a periodicity matching
      the perimeter of the nanotube.

PMID- 9990875
TI  - Positron-annihilation studies of the electronic structure of NiO.

PMID- 9990877
TI  - Lateral displacement of Bragg-reflected x-ray beams.

PMID- 9990876
TI  - Charged-particle interaction with liquids: Ripplon excitations.

PMID- 9990878
TI  - Mossbauer study of disordered, quenched Pd80Co20.

PMID- 9990879
TI  - Ewald methods in molecular dynamics for systems of finite extent in one of three
      dimensions.

PMID- 9990880
TI  - Electron capture from a metal surface by slow, multicharged aluminum and carbon
      ions.

PMID- 9990881
TI  - Sputtering by fast ions based on a sum of impulses.

PMID- 9990882
TI  - Metastable states in the narrow soliton regime of Rb2ZnCl4:Mn2+ inferred from ESR
      measurements.

PMID- 9990883
TI  - Muon motion in titanium hydride.

PMID- 9990884
TI  - Theory of multiplet structure in 4d core photoabsorption spectra of CeO2.

PMID- 9990885
TI  - Mn2+ EPR study of the phase transition in an ammonium sulfate single crystal:
      Existence of two inequivalent sublattices.

PMID- 9990886
TI  - Mossbauer study of CuFe0.7Cr1.3O4.

PMID- 9990887
TI  - Excitation-energy dependence of optically induced ESR in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9990888
TI  - keV particle bombardment of semiconductors: A molecular-dynamics simulation.

PMID- 9990889
TI  - 151Eu Mossbauer effect in light rare-earth oxides.

PMID- 9990890
TI  - Dipolar NMR line shape in a crystal with nonequivalent sites.

PMID- 9990891
TI  - Relation between the Tc degradation and the correlation gap in disordered
      superconductors.

PMID- 9990892
TI  - Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in intercalation compounds of 2H-TaS2.

PMID- 9990894
TI  - Superconductivity and charge-density waves.

PMID- 9990893
TI  - Magnetic pairing mechanism for superconductivity in the Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9990895
TI  - Tunneling in a spin-density-wave superconductor.

PMID- 9990896
TI  - Tunneling study of Fermi-liquid effects in amorphous gallium.

PMID- 9990898
TI  - High-frequency damping of collective excitations in fermion systems. I. Plasmon
      damping and frequency-dependent local-field factor in a two-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9990897
TI  - Uniaxial incommensurate lattice of a quantum monolayer solid.

PMID- 9990899
TI  - High-frequency damping of collective excitations in fermion systems. II. Damping
      of zero sound in normal liquid 3He.

PMID- 9990900
TI  - Motion of a single superconducting vortex.

PMID- 9990901
TI  - Onset of superconductivity in ultrathin granular metal films.

PMID- 9990902
TI  - Competition of pairing and Peierls-charge-density-wave correlations in a two
      dimensional electron-phonon model.

PMID- 9990903
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of deformable superconductors.

PMID- 9990904
TI  - Three-body recombination of spin-polarized atomic hydrogen in very strong
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9990906
TI  - Magnetic resonance of heavy-fermion superconductors and high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9990905
TI  - Three-band charge fluctuation model for electron pairing: A many-body
      calculation.

PMID- 9990907
TI  - Dynamics of the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet: Exact
      results versus Schwinger-boson mean-field theory.

PMID- 9990908
TI  - Role of nonlinearities in off-critical quenches as described by the Cahn-Hilliard
      model of phase separation.

PMID- 9990909
TI  - Structure of incommensurate NiTi(Fe).

PMID- 9990911
TI  - Phase transitions in RbLiSO4: An optical study.

PMID- 9990910
TI  - Phase diagram for the generalized Villain model.

PMID- 9990912
TI  - Electronic and magnetic properties of La2NiO4: The importance of La-O planes.

PMID- 9990913
TI  - Thermal mixing between spin systems in Al2O3 by a resonant rf electric field.

PMID- 9990914
TI  - Mixing and displacement in binary two-dimensional condensed phases on a foreign
      substrate: Mean-field approach and Monte Carlo simulation.

PMID- 9990915
TI  - Remanent magnetization decay at the spin-glass critical point: A new dynamic
      critical exponent for nonequilibrium autocorrelations.

PMID- 9990916
TI  - Thermodynamic functions, freezing transition, and phase diagram of dense carbon
      oxygen mixtures in white dwarfs.

PMID- 9990917
TI  - Simulated healing of crystal surfaces.

PMID- 9990918
TI  - Critical point in the solution of the two magnetic impurity problem.

PMID- 9990919
TI  - Simulations without critical slowing down: Ising and three-state Potts models.

PMID- 9990920
TI  - Entropy distribution of a two-level system: An asymptotic analysis.

PMID- 9990921
TI  - Percolation behavior of long permeable objects: A reference interaction-site
      model study.

PMID- 9990922
TI  - Ce-valence instability in the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic host series
      CeMn2(Si1-xGex)2.

PMID- 9990923
TI  - Neutron flux enhancement using spin-dependent interaction potentials.

PMID- 9990924
TI  - Field theory of spinodal decomposition: Comparison with numerical simulations.

PMID- 9990925
TI  - Front propagation into an unstable state in the presence of noise.

PMID- 9990926
TI  - Influence of topological frustration on the magnetic properties of the normal
      oxyspinel CdFe2O4.

PMID- 9990927
TI  - Successive magnetic phase transitions in UBr3.

PMID- 9990928
TI  - Magnetism and local order. II. Self-consistent cluster calculations.

PMID- 9990929
TI  - Mechanism of quasilinear temperature dependence of the surface magnetization in a
      semi-infinite ferromagnet.

PMID- 9990931
TI  - Wetting, dewetting, and reentrant wetting in Landau theory and lattice mean-field
      theory.

PMID- 9990930
TI  - Incommensurate structures in highly ordered complex perovskites Pb(Co1/2W1/2)O3
      and Pb(Sc1/2Ta1/2)O3.

PMID- 9990932
TI  - Effective elastic constants of solids under stress: Theory and calculations for
      helium from 11.0 to 23.6 GPa.

PMID- 9990933
TI  - Thermodynamics of the single-channel Kondo impurity of spin S( <= (7/2) in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9990934
TI  - Spin-polarized Fermi liquids: Applications to liquid 3He.

PMID- 9990936
TI  - Light scattering study of the glass transition in salol.

PMID- 9990935
TI  - Concentration dependence of the wave vector of the spin-density wave of chromium
      alloys.

PMID- 9990937
TI  - Monte Carlo study of randomly diluted ferromagnetic thin films.

PMID- 9990938
TI  - Theory of the magnetic phase diagram and magnetostriction of FeGe2.

PMID- 9990940
TI  - Ammonium-ion ordering in a scheelite lattice: NH4ReO4.

PMID- 9990939
TI  - Model for binary alloys: An Ising model with isotropic competing interactions.

PMID- 9990941
TI  - Magnetic and structural ordering in SmH2+x through electrical resistivity
      measurements.

PMID- 9990943
TI  - Fracton dynamics of percolating elastic networks: Energy spectrum and localized
      nature.

PMID- 9990942
TI  - Numerical study of the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9990944
TI  - Random-field effects on dynamical scaling in the domain growth of a chemisorbed
      overlayer.

PMID- 9990945
TI  - Critical behavior of the two-dimensional XY model: An analysis of extended high
      temperature series.

PMID- 9990946
TI  - Boson localization and the superfluid-insulator transition.

PMID- 9990947
TI  - Path-integral simulation of positronium in a hard sphere.

PMID- 9990948
TI  - Magnetic and structural properties of amorphous CoTi soft ferromagnetic thin
      films. I. Magnetic properties.

PMID- 9990949
TI  - Magnetic and structural properties of amorphous CoTi soft ferromagnetic thin
      films. II. Structural properties.

PMID- 9990950
TI  - Green's functions for antiferromagnetic polaritons. I. Surface modes and
      resonances.

PMID- 9990951
TI  - Green's functions for antiferromagnetic polaritons. II. Scattering from rough
      surfaces.

PMID- 9990953
TI  - Percolation in two-dimensional lattices. I. A technique for the estimation of
      thresholds.

PMID- 9990952
TI  - Transport properties and magnetic interactions in acceptor-type magnetic graphite
      intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9990954
TI  - Percolation in two-dimensional lattices. II. The extent of universality.

PMID- 9990955
TI  - Long-time behavior of the cluster size distribution in joint coagulation
      processes.

PMID- 9990956
TI  - Wetting on spherical and cylindrical substrates: Global phase diagrams.

PMID- 9990957
TI  - First-order phase transition in order-disorder ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9990959
TI  - Attenuation coefficient of first sound in liquid 4He.

PMID- 9990958
TI  - Nonlinear internal-mode influence on the statistical mechanics of a dilute gas of
      kinks: The double-sine-Gordon model.

PMID- 9990961
TI  - Mossbauer-effect study of the Fe hyperfine-field distributions in the
      ferromagnetic quasicrystal Al40Mn25Fe3Cu7Ge25.

PMID- 9990960
TI  - Ion-beam mixing at the Fe/SiO2 interface: A conversion-electron Mossbauer
      spectroscopy and x-ray-diffraction study.

PMID- 9990962
TI  - In-plane impurities in superconducting layered systems.

PMID- 9990964
TI  - Origin of the longitudinal-ultrasonic-attenuation peak in heavy-fermion
      superconductors.

PMID- 9990963
TI  - Variational calculations of drops of spin-polarized liquid 3He.

PMID- 9990966
TI  - Excitations in a nearly half-filled Hubbard model with U=

PMID- 9990965
TI  - Local superconducting coupling in the strong-localization limit of ultrathin
      granular metal films.

PMID- 9990967
TI  - 57Fe Mossbauer study of the Tl2Ca1.5Ba1.7(Cu1-xFex)3O9 superconductor.

PMID- 9990969
TI  - Microscopic equivalence between the two-band model and McMillan proximity-effect
      theory.

PMID- 9990968
TI  - Hall effect of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O systems.

PMID- 9990970
TI  - Memory effect of waves in disordered systems: A real-space approach.

PMID- 9990971
TI  - Low-temperature properties of quantum Heisenberg helimagnets.

PMID- 9990972
TI  - HoFe4Al8: An unusual spin glass.

PMID- 9990973
TI  - Universality class of central-force percolation.

PMID- 9990975
TI  - Excitation spectrum of a spin-(1/2 chain with competing interactions.

PMID- 9990974
TI  - Devil's-staircase model of a heterogeneous dielectric.

PMID- 9990976
TI  - Ising models with competing axial interactions in transverse fields.

PMID- 9990977
TI  - New Magnetic phases of holmium in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9990978
TI  - Dynamics of electromagnetic fields in nonlinear Klein-Gordon systems.

PMID- 9990979
TI  - Baym-Kadanoff criteria and the Ward-Takahashi relations in many-body theory.

PMID- 9990980
TI  - Effective exponents for critical wetting: The approach to the asymptotic region.

PMID- 9990981
TI  - Green's-function theory of the spin-1 exchange-interaction model of
      ferromagnetism.

PMID- 9990982
TI  - Wetting and displacement of three-dimensional and two-dimensional layers on a
      foreign substrate.

PMID- 9990983
TI  - Constructive interference with rotated spin-(1/2 particles: Localization effects
      on spin relaxation and diffusion.

PMID- 9990984
TI  - Comment on "Direct observation of relaxation modes in KNbO3 and BaTiO3 using
      inelastic light scattering"

PMID- 9990985
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Direct observation of relaxation modes in KNbO3 and BaTiO3
      using inelastic light scattering' "

PMID- 9990986
TI  - Erratum:"Functional integral theories of low-dimensional quantum Heisenberg
      models

PMID- 9990987
TI  - Grazing-angle neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9990989
TI  - 39K NMR evidence for a phason gap in K2SeO4.

PMID- 9990988
TI  - Migration stage of the vacancylike defects in icosahedral Al74Mn20Si6 by positron
      annihilation techniques.

PMID- 9990990
TI  - Incomplete wetting of helium I on copper.

PMID- 9990991
TI  - Muon-spin relaxation studies of weak magnetic correlations in U1-xThxBe13.

PMID- 9990992
TI  - Melting temperature of two-dimensional electron crystals trapped on thin-film
      liquid He.

PMID- 9990993
TI  - Dimensionality expansion for the dirty-boson problem.

PMID- 9990995
TI  - Pairing of holes in oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9990994
TI  - Thallium magnetic resonance in superconducting Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta.

PMID- 9990996
TI  - Electronic properties of Sr14Cu24O41.

PMID- 9990997
TI  - Limiting-path model of the critical current in a textured YBa2Cu3O7- delta film.

PMID- 9990998
TI  - Binding of holes in the Hubbard model with next-nearest-neighbor hopping.

PMID- 9991000
TI  - Low-temperature thermal conductivity of single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9990999
TI  - X-ray absorption of YBa2Cu3O7: A band picture.

PMID- 9991002
TI  - Ground-state and low-lying excitations of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991001
TI  - Temperature dependence of hole mobility in Mott insulators: Normal-state
      resistivity of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991003
TI  - Resonating-valence-bond state with fermionic charges and bosonic spins: Mean
      field theory.

PMID- 9991004
TI  - Percolation, finite-size scaling, and the thermal scaling power for the Potts
      model.

PMID- 9991005
TI  - Multifractal characteristics of magnetic-microsphere aggregates in thin films.

PMID- 9991007
TI  - Phase transitions in a chemisorbed overlayer studied by infrared spectroscopy: CO
      on Pt(111).

PMID- 9991006
TI  - Critical static measurements of the magnetization in the Cd0.6Mn0.4Te spin glass.

PMID- 9991008
TI  - Dynamics of Cu-Mn spin-glass films.

PMID- 9991009
TI  - Energy dissipation in a strong magnetic field: Exact model calculation.

PMID- 9991010
TI  - Scaling laws in fracture.

PMID- 9991011
TI  - Percolation on ballistic aggregates.

PMID- 9991012
TI  - Cluster-cluster aggregation of magnetic particles.

PMID- 9991013
TI  - Spectroscopy of reversible-bleaching centers in hydrogenated SrF2:Pr3+ and
      CaF2:Pr3+ crystals.

PMID- 9991015
TI  - EPR study of Fe3+ in alpha -quartz: Characterization of a new type of cation
      compensated center.

PMID- 9991014
TI  - Analytic quantum theory of planar positron channeling.

PMID- 9991016
TI  - Third-order correlation theory of electronic Raman scattering for rare-earth ions
      in crystals. II. Numerical analysis for ions across the lanthanide series.

PMID- 9991017
TI  - Effect of x-ray birefringence on radial distribution functions for amorphous
      materials.

PMID- 9991018
TI  - Cross-relaxation dynamics of optically excited N-V centers in diamond.

PMID- 9991019
TI  - EPR study of electron traps in x-ray-irradiated yttria-stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9991020
TI  - Dynamic interchange between

PMID- 9991022
TI  - Short-range order in beta 1-MnZn alloys as investigated by the NMR of 55Mn
      nuclei.

PMID- 9991021
TI  - Morphology of Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers: A near-total external fluorescence
      and reflectivity study.

PMID- 9991023
TI  - Gap relaxation and its effect on sound attenuation near Tc.

PMID- 9991025
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of oxygen ordering in the YBa2Cu3-xAxO7- delta systems
      (A=Ga,Al).

PMID- 9991024
TI  - Superconducting properties of a single-crystal sphere of ErRh4B4.

PMID- 9991026
TI  - Possible antipolar pairing mechanism in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9991027
TI  - Dynamical properties of superconducting arrays.

PMID- 9991028
TI  - Frost-heave phenomena of 4He on porous glasses.

PMID- 9991030
TI  - Density of states in the vortex state of type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9991029
TI  - Heat capacities of LaDx and LaHx (1.9 <= x <= 3.0) from 1 to 300 K.

PMID- 9991031
TI  - Stability of resonating-valence-bond state in the Hubbard model near half
      filling.

PMID- 9991032
TI  - Tensile strength of liquid 4He.

PMID- 9991033
TI  - Approach to the asymptotic limit in inclusive scattering of neutrons from quantum
      liquids.

PMID- 9991034
TI  - Third sound on patterned substrates. I. Periodic and quasiperiodic arrays.

PMID- 9991035
TI  - Third sound on patterned substrates. II. Random arrays and classical wave
      localization.

PMID- 9991037
TI  - Evaluation of the matrix elements with graded-Lie-algebraic operators.

PMID- 9991036
TI  - Positive curvature of Hc2 in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9991038
TI  - Dephasing relaxation of J=2 rotons in parahydrogen crystals doped with hydrogen
      deuterium impurities.

PMID- 9991039
TI  - Superconductivity and the electronic density of states in disordered two
      dimensional metals.

PMID- 9991040
TI  - Velocity-dependent dissipation from free vortices and bound vortex pairs below
      the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.

PMID- 9991041
TI  - Electromagnetic absorption in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9991043
TI  - Phonons in CaCuO2.

PMID- 9991042
TI  - Effect of substitutional impurities (Al,Co,Fe,Ga) on the orthorhombic phase of
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9991044
TI  - Hubbard model with one hole: Ground-state properties.

PMID- 9991046
TI  - Enhanced pairing interactions in a two-band model.

PMID- 9991045
TI  - Electronic structure of Pb2Sr2PrCu3O8 as studied by resonant photoemission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991047
TI  - Magnetic order and superconductivity in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991048
TI  - Gap energy and long-range order in the boson-fermion model of superconductivity.

PMID- 9991049
TI  - Flux lattice melting in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991050
TI  - Structural properties of the superconductor LaBa2Cu3-yO7-z in the solid solution
      system La1+xBa2-xCu3-yO7-z.

PMID- 9991051
TI  - Raman spectra, superconductivity, and structure of Co-substituted YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9991052
TI  - Optical properties of copper-oxygen planes in superconducting oxides and related
      materials.

PMID- 9991053
TI  - Noise measurement near the transition region in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin-film
      superconductor.

PMID- 9991054
TI  - Origin of the incommensurate modulation of the 80-K superconductor
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.21 derived from isostructural commensurate Bi10Sr15Fe10O46.

PMID- 9991055
TI  - Spin-rotation-invariant slave-boson approach to the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9991056
TI  - Quantitative analysis of x-ray photoemission spectra applied to Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8
      high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9991057
TI  - Calculation of the thermal conductivity of single-crystal La2CuO4+ Delta.

PMID- 9991058
TI  - 17O nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopic study of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991059
TI  - Thermopower of zinc-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9991060
TI  - Neel temperature of stoichiometric La2CuO4.

PMID- 9991062
TI  - Pairing superconductivity in two-dimensional CuO2.

PMID- 9991061
TI  - Superconducting energy gap and a normal-state excitation in Ba0.6K0.4BiO3.

PMID- 9991063
TI  - Effects of oxygen and strontium vacancies on the superconductivity of single
      crystals of Bi2Sr2-xCuO6-y.

PMID- 9991064
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau-Gorkov theory for high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9991065
TI  - Mid-infrared reflectivity and ellipsometry measurements on single-crystal
      YBa2Cu3O7 and Bi2Sr2CuO6+y.

PMID- 9991066
TI  - Simple model for the linewidth of the two-magnon Raman feature observed in high
      Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991067
TI  - Possibility of optical evidence for charge-transfer excitations in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9991068
TI  - Energy gaps in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Cu-O systems by electron tunneling.

PMID- 9991069
TI  - Photoemission study of monoclinic BaBiO3.

PMID- 9991071
TI  - Mean-field theory of oxygen-vacancy ordering in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9991070
TI  - Exchange-driven pairing of delocalized carriers in high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9991072
TI  - Superconductivity in the liquid-dimer valence-bond state.

PMID- 9991073
TI  - Glass behavior and the H-T phase diagram of the high-Tc ceramic superconductors
      YBa2Cu3O7, EuBa2Cu3O7, and GdBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991074
TI  - Effect of the local charge disproportionation on the electronic structure of
      BaPb1-xBixO3.

PMID- 9991075
TI  - Magnetic metal films on paramagnetic substrates: A theoretical study.

PMID- 9991076
TI  - Wetting transitions near the bulk critical point: Monte Carlo simulations for the
      Ising model.

PMID- 9991077
TI  - Griffiths singularities in random magnets: Results for a soluble model.

PMID- 9991078
TI  - Propagator for the wetting transition in 1+1 dimensions.

PMID- 9991079
TI  - Criticality at the metastability limit in random-ferromagnet Ising models.

PMID- 9991080
TI  - Neutron-powder-diffraction study of the structure and antiferromagnetic ordering
      in Pr2CuO4.

PMID- 9991081
TI  - Universality and diffusion in nonequilibrium critical phenomena.

PMID- 9991082
TI  - Linear excitations in the S=(1/2 ferromagnetic chain system (C6D11ND3)CuBr3
      studied with neutron scattering.

PMID- 9991084
TI  - Two-dimensional spin correlations and successive magnetic phase transitions in
      Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9991083
TI  - First-order phase transition in the fcc Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991085
TI  - Spinodal decomposition in a two-dimensional fluid model.

PMID- 9991086
TI  - Theoretical basis for the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation.

PMID- 9991087
TI  - Brownian motion and finite-temperature effects in the discrete nonlinear
      Schrodinger equation: Analytic results for the nonadiabatic dimer.

PMID- 9991088
TI  - Spin-dependent inelastic electron scattering on Ni(110).

PMID- 9991089
TI  - Domain growth and freezing on a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9991090
TI  - Charge excitations in the one-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9991091
TI  - Pairing mechanism in the CuO2 system based on a variational Monte Carlo study
      with magnetically frustrated wave function.

PMID- 9991092
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies of the mixed cyanides. II. Orientational freezing.

PMID- 9991093
TI  - Dynamics of continuous-time random walk, fractal time dispersion, and fractional
      exponential time relaxation.

PMID- 9991094
TI  - Metastable states of Ising models on the honeycomb lattice.

PMID- 9991096
TI  - Effective Hamiltonians for Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9991095
TI  - Diffusion-controlled reactions among spherical traps: Effect of polydispersity in
      trap size.

PMID- 9991097
TI  - Monte Carlo calculations of adsorbate structures and the role of the vibrational
      entropy in phase transitions at surfaces.

PMID- 9991099
TI  - Statistics of the excitations of the resonating-valence-bond state.

PMID- 9991098
TI  - Equation-of-state analysis of the effects of an induced staggered field on the
      phase transition of CoF2.

PMID- 9991100
TI  - Pseudospin model for KSCN.

PMID- 9991101
TI  - Spin-1 Heisenberg chain and the one-dimensional fermion gas.

PMID- 9991102
TI  - Equilibrium magnetic fluctuations of a short-range Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9991103
TI  - Numerical study of interfacial properties of two-dimensional aperiodic systems.

PMID- 9991104
TI  - Anisotropy of the resistivity and susceptibility of Kondo systems.

PMID- 9991105
TI  - Extension of the quantum theory of valence and bonding to molecular and crystal
      systems with translation symmetry.

PMID- 9991106
TI  - Critical behavior in spin-reorientation phase transitions: (ErxR1-x)2Fe14B (R=Nd,
      Dy) magnets.

PMID- 9991107
TI  - Shape functions of dipolar ferromagnets at and above the Curie point.

PMID- 9991109
TI  - Surface melting and surface-induced-disorder transitions in thin films: The
      effect of hidden variables.

PMID- 9991110
TI  - Phase diagrams for the randomly diluted resistor network and XY model.

PMID- 9991108
TI  - Coulomb effects in disordered solids. II. A simplified computational method.

PMID- 9991112
TI  - Microscopic calculation of the spin-stiffness constant for the spin-(1/2 square
      lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991111
TI  - Static properties of an easy-plane ferromagnetic S=1/2 chain: Comparison of
      numerical results and experimental data on

PMID- 9991114
TI  - Central-force models which exhibit a splay-rigid phase.

PMID- 9991113
TI  - Exact solution and thermodynamics of the Hubbard model with infinite-range
      hopping.

PMID- 9991116
TI  - Cohn's theorem for elastic networks.

PMID- 9991115
TI  - Surface energy and free-boson approximation in a competing multispin model.

PMID- 9991117
TI  - Ion concentrations in a binary liquid mixture: Implications for wetting behavior.

PMID- 9991118
TI  - Radiation-induced defects in dense phases of crystalline and amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9991119
TI  - Energy transfers in the quasielastic scattering of 70-1250-eV electrons by
      surfaces.

PMID- 9991121
TI  - Theoretical calculations of the spin-lattice coupling coefficients G11 and G44
      for MgO:Ni2+ crystals.

PMID- 9991120
TI  - Fano antiresonance in the excitation spectra of the luminescence of divalent
      europium.

PMID- 9991122
TI  - Possibility of quantum effects reducing the rate of escape from a metastable
      well.

PMID- 9991123
TI  - Separation of spin and charge in a Landau quasiparticle wave packet.

PMID- 9991124
TI  - Application of 1+1-dimensional chiral anomaly to quantization of resistance of a
      one-dimensional electric subband.

PMID- 9991125
TI  - Origin of the electronic states near the Fermi level in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991126
TI  - Modulated structure in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2Oy.

PMID- 9991127
TI  - Thermoelectric power of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y and Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9991129
TI  - Dilatometric study of new phase transitions in YBa2Cu3O6.9.

PMID- 9991128
TI  - Ultrasonic attenuation measurements on thallium-based high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9991130
TI  - Negative moments of currents in percolating resistor networks.

PMID- 9991132
TI  - Resonant exchange scattering of x rays in ferromagnetic systems.

PMID- 9991131
TI  - Scaling behavior of systems with coupled order parameters and disorder effects.

PMID- 9991133
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the magnetic structure of UCo2Ge2.

PMID- 9991135
TI  - Phase diagram of the "2+4" model in a mean-field approximation without
      correlations.

PMID- 9991136
TI  - Neutral-fermion-soliton statistics in the short-range resonating-valence-bond
      state: A reevaluation.

PMID- 9991134
TI  - Effect of texture and spin reorientation on the magnetic properties of Nd-Fe-B
      magnets.

PMID- 9991138
TI  - Comment on "Magnetic interaction between rare-earth moments in high-temperature
      superconductors RBa2Cu3O7-x"

PMID- 9991137
TI  - Reply to "Neutral-fermion-soliton statistics in the short-range resonating
      valence-bond state: A reevaluation"

PMID- 9991140
TI  - Erratum: "Quantum correction to the equation of state of an electron gas in a
      semiconductor"

PMID- 9991139
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Magnetic interaction between rare-earth moments in high
      temperature superconductors RBa2Cu3O7-x.' "

PMID- 9991141
TI  - Reconciliation of normal-state and superconductive specific-heat, optical,
      tunneling, and transport data on Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9991143
TI  - Mechanical measurements of two-dimensional flux lattices: Observation of two
      stage melting.

PMID- 9991142
TI  - Millimeter-wave surface impedance of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9991145
TI  - Magnetic penetration depth of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991144
TI  - Fluctuation effects in heavy-fermion and high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991146
TI  - Tunneling study on the electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9991148
TI  - Microscopic model for high-Tc oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9991147
TI  - Anisotropy of the dielectric function in YBa2Cu3O6.

PMID- 9991149
TI  - Singlet wave functions for the t-J model.

PMID- 9991150
TI  - Logarithmic-to-nonlogarithmic flux-creep transition and magnetic-flux hardening
      in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting ceramics.

PMID- 9991152
TI  - Vacuum degeneracy of chiral spin states in compactified space.

PMID- 9991151
TI  - Possible structural phase transition near 210 K of single-phase Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      superconducting ceramics.

PMID- 9991153
TI  - Charged magnetic domain lines and the magnetism of high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9991154
TI  - Observation of a pressure-induced collapse of the Fe magnetic moment in the
      strong itinerant ferromagnet Fe72Pt28.

PMID- 9991155
TI  - Magnetic aftereffect in ultrathin ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9991156
TI  - Relationships between cohesive energy, Debye temperature, and the onset of
      temperature-dependent ion mixing.

PMID- 9991157
TI  - Holes in the infinite-U Hubbard model: Instability of the Nagaoka state.

PMID- 9991158
TI  - Elastic scattering in resonant tunneling systems.

PMID- 9991159
TI  - Multifractal wave functions on a Fibonacci lattice.

PMID- 9991160
TI  - Density-functional theory of thin films of self-bound fermions.

PMID- 9991161
TI  - Analysis of Bloch-wall fine structures by magnetic force microscopy.

PMID- 9991162
TI  - 1/f noise, distribution of lifetimes, and a pile of sand.

PMID- 9991163
TI  - Cluster and domain-wall dynamics of ferroelectric Sr1-xCaxTiO3.

PMID- 9991164
TI  - Linear correlation of fractal dimension versus atomic magneton in magnetic
      particle aggregation.

PMID- 9991165
TI  - Exact evaluation of the nearest-neighbor Jastrow wave function for the two
      dimensional spin-(1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991166
TI  - Improved Monte Carlo distribution.

PMID- 9991167
TI  - Entropic elasticity of a regular fractal.

PMID- 9991168
TI  - Temperature dependence of sound attenuation in impure metals.

PMID- 9991170
TI  - Partition function and the density of states for an electron in the plane
      subjected to a random potential and a magnetic field.

PMID- 9991169
TI  - 67Zn Mossbauer investigation of Cu-Zn alloys at high pressure.

PMID- 9991171
TI  - Unoccupied surface states on clean and oxygen-covered Cu(110) and Cu(111).

PMID- 9991173
TI  - First-principles equation of state of gold.

PMID- 9991172
TI  - T-matrix approach for the calculation of local fields in the neighborhood of
      small clusters in the electrodynamic regime.

PMID- 9991175
TI  - Effect of electron-electron interaction on the thermoelectric power in disordered
      metallic systems.

PMID- 9991174
TI  - Diffusion and surface segregation of carbon in alpha -Fe: Molecular-orbital
      theory.

PMID- 9991176
TI  - Second-harmonic generation on simple metal surfaces: A quantum-mechanical point
      of view.

PMID- 9991177
TI  - Electron-heating effects and the electron-phonon scattering time in thin Sb
      films.

PMID- 9991178
TI  - First-principles total-energy calculations on Y and alpha -YH0.5.

PMID- 9991180
TI  - Analysis of a theoretical model for the incommensurate-to-incommensurate phase
      transition in NbTe4.

PMID- 9991179
TI  - Ferromagnetic resonance study of icosahedral and amorphous Al55Mn20Si25 alloys.

PMID- 9991181
TI  - Charge-density-wave transport under pulsed electric fields in NbSe3: Step
      structure in sliding distance.

PMID- 9991183
TI  - Distance of the image plane from metal surfaces.

PMID- 9991182
TI  - Electronic and structural properties of Cu0.24Ni0.76(110) and thin films of Cu on
      Ni(110).

PMID- 9991184
TI  - Light emission from randomly rough tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9991185
TI  - Temperature dependence of the two-dimensional electronic density of states in
      disordered metal films.

PMID- 9991186
TI  - Electron localization and superconducting fluctuations in quasi-two-dimensional
      Ti films.

PMID- 9991187
TI  - Anomalous electronic transport behavior, including a Kondo-like effect, for
      potassium in contact with hydro- and halocarbons.

PMID- 9991188
TI  - Diffusion and melting in two dimensions: A quasielastic neutron scattering study
      of alkali metals in graphite.

PMID- 9991189
TI  - Magnetic hyperfine interaction studies of isolated Ni impurities in Pd and Pd-Pt
      alloys.

PMID- 9991190
TI  - Size and structural dependence of the magnetic properties of small 3d-transition
      metal clusters.

PMID- 9991192
TI  - DX center in Ga1-xAlxAs alloys.

PMID- 9991191
TI  - Transient solid-phase crystallization study of chemically vapor-deposited
      amorphous silicon films by in situ x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9991193
TI  - Nonlinear high-frequency conductivity in semiconductors.

PMID- 9991194
TI  - Ground-state and optical properties of Cu2O and CuO crystals.

PMID- 9991195
TI  - Electrical conductivity of air-exposed and unexposed lead selenide thin films:
      Temperature and size effects.

PMID- 9991197
TI  - Nonparabolicity effects in a quantum well: Sublevel shift, parallel mass, and
      Landau levels.

PMID- 9991196
TI  - Surface studies of AIIIB

PMID- 9991198
TI  - Construction of the crystal potential from the quasi-ion approach.

PMID- 9991199
TI  - Oxidation kinetics of Si(111) 7 x 7 in the submonolayer regime.

PMID- 9991200
TI  - Theory of collective excitations in a sawlike quasi-(1+1)-dimensional
      superlattice.

PMID- 9991201
TI  - Intrasubband and intersubband plasmons in a semi-infinite Fibonacci HgTe/CdTe
      superlattice.

PMID- 9991202
TI  - Degenerate multiwave mixing and phase conjugation in silicon.

PMID- 9991204
TI  - Solitons, polarons, and excitons in polyacetylene: Step-potential model for
      electron-phonon coupling in pi -electron systems.

PMID- 9991203
TI  - Theory of contacts in a two-dimensional electron gas at high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9991205
TI  - Radiative recombination of two-dimensional electrons in acceptor delta -doped
      GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs single heterojunctions.

PMID- 9991206
TI  - Efficient direct calculation method for dielectric response in semiconductors.

PMID- 9991207
TI  - Piezospectroscopy of GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9991208
TI  - Surface electronic structure of submonolayer to full-monolayer coverages of
      alkali metals on GaAs(110): K and Cs.

PMID- 9991210
TI  - Electronic structures of HgTe and CdTe surfaces and HgTe/CdTe interfaces.

PMID- 9991209
TI  - Inelastic scattering of electrons from accumulation and inversion layers.

PMID- 9991212
TI  - Electronic properties of polymeric silicon hydrides.

PMID- 9991211
TI  - Pressure dependence of the DX center in Ga1-xAlxAs:Te.

PMID- 9991213
TI  - Interband transitions, plasmons, and dispersion in hexagonal boron nitride.

PMID- 9991215
TI  - Magnetic field and temperature dependence of the properties of an interface
      polaron in an arbitrary magnetic field.

PMID- 9991214
TI  - Surface-phonon polariton on gratings of GaP thin slabs: Raman scattering.

PMID- 9991216
TI  - Surface acoustic waves on GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9991218
TI  - Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the fundamental absorption edge of TlGaSe2.

PMID- 9991217
TI  - Theory of charge-state splittings of deep levels associated with sulfur pairs in
      Si.

PMID- 9991219
TI  - Evidence for threshold effects in positron diffraction from NaF and LiF.

PMID- 9991220
TI  - Structural transitions in the heavily strained cyanide crystal
      (KCl)0.25(KCN)0.75.

PMID- 9991221
TI  - Photoacoustic and ESR studies of iron-doped soda-lime glasses: Thermal
      diffusivity.

PMID- 9991222
TI  - Adhesion and bonding of polar and nonpolar SiC and AlN surfaces: Tight-binding
      band theory.

PMID- 9991223
TI  - Covalency in oxygen chemisorption as probed by x-ray absorption.

PMID- 9991224
TI  - Electrons and phonons in polymeric sulfur nitride.

PMID- 9991225
TI  - Self-consistent band structure of the rutile dioxides NbO2, RuO2, and IrO2.

PMID- 9991227
TI  - Vibrations of fractals and scattering of light from aerogels.

PMID- 9991226
TI  - Near-edge x-ray-absorption fine-structure spectroscopy investigation of
      poly(ethylene oxide)-KI complexes.

PMID- 9991229
TI  - Photoemission study of formation and oxidation of a cerium-copper interface.

PMID- 9991228
TI  - Molecular-dynamics investigation of deuteron separation in PdD1.1.

PMID- 9991230
TI  - Electronic structure of the half-metallic ferromagnet KCrSe2.

PMID- 9991231
TI  - Calculation of optical transport and localization quantities.

PMID- 9991232
TI  - Angular distribution of the inverse photoemission from Cu(100).

PMID- 9991234
TI  - Calculation of core-valence-valence Auger spectra for nonstoichiometric vanadium
      carbide.

PMID- 9991233
TI  - First-principles molecular dynamics for metals.

PMID- 9991235
TI  - Surface phonons localized at step edges.

PMID- 9991236
TI  - Size-governed electromagnetic absorption by metal particles.

PMID- 9991237
TI  - Electronic origin of the intermediate phase of NiTi.

PMID- 9991238
TI  - Quantized helicon absorption and nonlocal effects in a semiconductor
      superlattice.

PMID- 9991239
TI  - Electron tunneling in single- and double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9991240
TI  - Impurity clustering in doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991241
TI  - Self-induced gaps and optical bistability in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9991242
TI  - Pressure dependence of the optical absorption edge of Cd1-xMnxSe.

PMID- 9991243
TI  - Isolated As antisite in GaAs: Possibility of the EL2 defect.

PMID- 9991244
TI  - Calculation of NiSi2-Si Schottky barrier height using an interface-defect model.

PMID- 9991245
TI  - Dopant-atom-induced disorder in hydrogenated amorphous silicon: Raman studies.

PMID- 9991247
TI  - Momentum-dependent dielectric function of the cis-transoid conformation of cis
      polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991246
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the structure of evaporated pure amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9991248
TI  - Evidence for nonexistence of self-trapped positronium in KI at very low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9991249
TI  - Erratum: Effects of thermal diffuse scattering and surface tilt on diffraction
      and channeling of fast electrons in CdTe

PMID- 9991250
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of orthorhombic TaS3.

PMID- 9991251
TI  - Quantum transport in the presence of random traps.

PMID- 9991253
TI  - Patterson analysis of aperiodic crystals.

PMID- 9991252
TI  - Tests of the two-state-system model in cold amorphous conductors.

PMID- 9991255
TI  - Invertibility of the density-density response function at complex frequencies.

PMID- 9991254
TI  - Structural relaxation induced by passing electric current in amorphous Cu50Ti50
      at low temperatures.

PMID- 9991256
TI  - High-pressure study of a charge-density-wave compound (NbSe4)10/3I.

PMID- 9991258
TI  - Optical properties of the SbGa heteroantisite defect in GaAs:Sb.

PMID- 9991257
TI  - Phonon dispersion measurements and first-principles calculations for the Au(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9991259
TI  - Electron-spin resonance of the two-dimensional electron gas in Ga0.47In0.53As-InP
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9991260
TI  - Incompressible quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9991261
TI  - Transition from Ohmic to adiabatic transport in quantum point contacts in series.

PMID- 9991262
TI  - Band-gap renormalization and band-filling effects in a homogeneous electron-hole
      plasma in In0.53Ga0.47As/InP single quantum wells.

PMID- 9991263
TI  - Possibility of a metal-insulator transition at the Mott critical field in InSb
      and Hg1-xCdxTe.

PMID- 9991264
TI  - Observation of a new mode in the energy-loss spectrum of the Sb/GaAs(110) system.

PMID- 9991265
TI  - Magnetoabsorption spectra of band-edge excitons in 2H-PbI2 at high magnetic
      fields up to 40 T.

PMID- 9991266
TI  - Time-resolved Raman studies of the photoexcited electron-hole plasma in InP.

PMID- 9991267
TI  - Magnetic depopulation of hybrid magnetoelectric subbands in a quantum-well wire
      under an axial magnetic field.

PMID- 9991268
TI  - Dynamics of the spin-glass freezing in semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9991269
TI  - Theory of photoemission and inverse-photoemission spectra of highly correlated
      electron systems: A weak-coupling 1/N expansion.

PMID- 9991270
TI  - Amorphization reaction in thin films of elemental Cu and Y.

PMID- 9991272
TI  - Electrical linear-response theory in an arbitrary magnetic field: A new Fermi
      surface formation.

PMID- 9991271
TI  - Sticking in the quantum regime: H2 and D2 on Cu(100).

PMID- 9991273
TI  - Exactly soluble model for antiphase boundaries in binary ordering alloys.

PMID- 9991275
TI  - High-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy: Relationship between loss
      intensity and coverage.

PMID- 9991274
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetic properties of dilute Fe alloys with transition
      metal impurities.

PMID- 9991276
TI  - Medium-energy ion-scattering analysis of the c(2 x 2) structure induced by K on
      Au(110).

PMID- 9991277
TI  - Scaling analysis of quasiperiodic systems: Generalized Harper model.

PMID- 9991278
TI  - Absence of effective electron-photon scattering in a tunneling chain of quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9991279
TI  - Low-energy electron diffraction study of multilayer relaxation on a Pb{110}
      surface.

PMID- 9991280
TI  - Mode conversion and the electron-phonon distribution in nonequilibrium metal
      films.

PMID- 9991281
TI  - Laser-induced Nernst-Ettingshausen effect: Anomalous dependency on the magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9991282
TI  - Structural studies of Co/Cr multilayered thin films.

PMID- 9991283
TI  - Localization in the Soukoulis-Economou model of one-dimensional incommensurate
      systems.

PMID- 9991284
TI  - Transmission and reflection of transverse-magnetic-polarized optical fields at
      stratified nonlinear media.

PMID- 9991285
TI  - Correlations and fluctuations in reflection coefficients for coherent wave
      propagation in disordered scattering media.

PMID- 9991287
TI  - Growth-driven ordering and anisotropy in semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9991286
TI  - Surface polaron: Statics.

PMID- 9991288
TI  - Temperature-dependent Al/GaAs(110) interface formation and adatom energy
      references.

PMID- 9991290
TI  - Spectroscopic investigation of the electronic states in narrow coupled GaAs/AlAs
      quantum wells with indirect band structure.

PMID- 9991289
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering mediated by intrinsic excitons in Cd1-xZnxTe (x~0.5).

PMID- 9991291
TI  - Low-temperature energy excitations and thermal properties of silica aerogels.

PMID- 9991292
TI  - Inelastic electron scattering from clean and arsenic-overcoated GaAs(100).

PMID- 9991293
TI  - Orbital magnetoconductance in the variable-range-hopping regime.

PMID- 9991294
TI  - Subband structures of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9991295
TI  - Fermi-level pinning and interface states at CaF2/Si(111).

PMID- 9991296
TI  - Tranverse magnetotunneling in AlxGa1-xAs capacitors. I. Angular dependence.

PMID- 9991298
TI  - Excitons in double quantum wells.

PMID- 9991297
TI  - Experimental determination of the valence-band structure of molecular-beam
      epitaxy-grown CdTe(110).

PMID- 9991299
TI  - d-function approach to the electromagnetic response of semiconductor
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9991300
TI  - Infrared-active vibrational modes of heavily doped "metallic" polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991301
TI  - Mixing enthalpy of the GaAs-AlAs random alloy: 64-atom supercell calculations.

PMID- 9991302
TI  - Shallow and deep impurity levels in multivalley semiconductors: A Green-function
      study of a cubic model by the recursion method.

PMID- 9991303
TI  - Shallow and deep impurity levels in multivalley semiconductors: A Green-function
      study of silicon by the recursion method.

PMID- 9991304
TI  - Theory of optical spectra in a magnetic field in doped semiconductor quantum
      wells: Impurity-induced broadening and transitions.

PMID- 9991305
TI  - Resonant inverse-photoemission study of layer-dependent surface states at the
      epitaxial GaAs(110)-Bi interface.

PMID- 9991306
TI  - Anomalous photoquenching in semi-insulating GaAs attributed to the presence of
      the deep donor ELO.

PMID- 9991307
TI  - Energy distribution of donor ground states in mixed crystals.

PMID- 9991308
TI  - Comparative study of water adsorption on Ge(100)-(2 x 1) and GexSi1-x(100)-(2 x
      1) by high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991309
TI  - Electron momentum distribution in cadmium sulfide.

PMID- 9991311
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of strained GaSb/AlSb quantum wells
      under uniaxial stress.

PMID- 9991310
TI  - Pressure dependence of phonon modes in GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9991312
TI  - Calculated shallow-donor-level binding energies in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9991314
TI  - Two-dimensional electron-acoustic-phonon interaction at high magnetic fields:
      Thermal conductance in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9991313
TI  - Photoreflectance from GaAs and GaAs/GaAs interfaces.

PMID- 9991315
TI  - Quantum subband interference effect on the exciton spectra in semiconductor
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9991316
TI  - Cyclotron resonance in a two-dimensional electron gas in a tilted magnetic field.

PMID- 9991317
TI  - Electronic structures of zero-dimensional quantum wells.

PMID- 9991318
TI  - Electronic structures of superlattices under in-plane magnetic field.

PMID- 9991319
TI  - Intermolecular interactions in pi -conjugated systems: Application to polyenes.

PMID- 9991321
TI  - Bethe-Bloch stopping-power parameters for Mylar, Kapton, and Havar targets
      derived from measurements with proton, alpha -particle, and carbon-ion
      projectiles.

PMID- 9991320
TI  - Ionizing-radiation effects in lanthanum magnesium aluminate crystals.

PMID- 9991322
TI  - Ultrasonic spectrum in Fibonacci acoustic superlattices.

PMID- 9991323
TI  - Exchange interactions of quench-condensed vanadium atoms on metal surfaces.

PMID- 9991324
TI  - Equilibrium configuration of bond-centered H0 in GaAs.

PMID- 9991325
TI  - Coherent and sequential tunneling in double barriers with transverse magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9991326
TI  - Acoustic deformation potentials in AIB

PMID- 9991327
TI  - Color-center-induced band-gap shift in yttria-stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9991328
TI  - Comment on "Experimental test of the Mie theory for microlithographically
      produced silver spheres"

PMID- 9991329
TI  - Effects of the constriction geometry on quasi-one-dimensional transport:
      Adiabatic evolution and resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9991330
TI  - Bonding properties of mercury dimers in the pseudopotential local-density
      approximation scheme.

PMID- 9991331
TI  - Vibrational phase relaxation of the metal-molecule stretch mode: CO on Pt(111).

PMID- 9991332
TI  - Optical properties of InAs/AlAs strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9991334
TI  - Raman scattering from surface and bulk acoustic phonons in capped superlattices.

PMID- 9991333
TI  - Raman scattering of InAs/AlAs strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9991335
TI  - Interlayer Gamma -X scattering in staggered-alignment Al0.34Ga0.66As-AlAs ternary
      alloy multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9991336
TI  - Size-dependent radiative decay of excitons in CuCl semiconducting quantum spheres
      embedded in glasses.

PMID- 9991337
TI  - Short-range order in electron-irradiated Cu-Pd: Fluctuations in a nonequilibrium
      steady state.

PMID- 9991338
TI  - Search for adiabatic positronium emission from a metal surface.

PMID- 9991339
TI  - Positron annihilation in vacancies: Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker formulation and
      application to Cu.

PMID- 9991340
TI  - Mossbauer analysis of ultrathin ferromagnetic Fe(110) films on W(110) coated by
      Ag.

PMID- 9991341
TI  - Muon tunneling and spin relaxation in iron.

PMID- 9991342
TI  - Effect of diamagnetic doping on the magnetic resonance in a quasi-one-dimensional
      system tetramethylammonium manganese trichloride.

PMID- 9991343
TI  - Effect of velocity variation on secondary-ion-emission probability: Quantum
      stationary approach.

PMID- 9991345
TI  - Predicted intensities for new Raman transitions in solid HD.

PMID- 9991344
TI  - Green's function in proximity-contact superconducting-normal double layers.

PMID- 9991346
TI  - Subharmonic energy-gap structure and heating effects in superconducting niobium
      point contacts.

PMID- 9991347
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of 3He at large molar volume.

PMID- 9991348
TI  - Evidence for spin fluctuations in vanadium from a tunneling study of Fermi-liquid
      effects.

PMID- 9991349
TI  - Thermally induced flux motion and the elementary pinning force in Nb thin films.

PMID- 9991350
TI  - Kapitza resistance between a solid wall and superfluid 4He near T lambda.

PMID- 9991351
TI  - Consequences of time-reversal-symmetry violation in models of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9991352
TI  - Quantum mechanics of the fractional-statistics gas: Hartree-Fock approximation.

PMID- 9991353
TI  - Thermal properties of heavy-fermion CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9991354
TI  - Electronic structure of clean and Ag-covered single-crystalline Bi2Sr2CuO6.

PMID- 9991355
TI  - Quantum percolation and lattice instabilities in high-Tc cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9991356
TI  - Superconducting UPt3 in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9991357
TI  - Specific heat of mechanically alloyed amorphous Zr0.7Ni0.3.

PMID- 9991358
TI  - Flow of superfluid 3He-B past a specular wall: A finite-temperature calculation.

PMID- 9991359
TI  - Monte Carlo study of transient states of order in YBa2Cu3Oz.

PMID- 9991360
TI  - Electronic structure of copper-oxygen clusters in the high-Tc superconductor La2
      xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9991361
TI  - Theoretical study of the structural dependence of nuclear quadrupole frequencies
      in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991362
TI  - Magnetic field dependence of the thermoelectric power of superconducting Bi-Sr-Ca
      Cu-O.

PMID- 9991363
TI  - Scaling law and flux pinning in polycrystalline La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9991364
TI  - X-ray-absorption study of charge-density ordering in (Ba1-xKx)BiO3.

PMID- 9991365
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films.

PMID- 9991367
TI  - Calculations of the electronic structure and superconducting properties of the
      Ba(K)Pb(Bi)O3 system.

PMID- 9991366
TI  - Photoemission study of absorption mechanisms in Bi2.0Sr1.8Ca0.8La0.3Cu2.1O8+
      delta, BaBiO3, and Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9991368
TI  - Tracer diffusion of oxygen in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9991369
TI  - Thermal expansivity below 300 K and low-temperature heat capacity of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991370
TI  - Properties that change as superconductivity disappears at high-doping
      concentrations in La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9991371
TI  - Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance and far-infrared reflectance of superconducting
      (Y1-yCay)Ba2Cu3O6.

PMID- 9991373
TI  - Possible observation of a spin-density wave in La2CuO4 by Raman scattering.

PMID- 9991372
TI  - Specific heat and magnetic order in GdBa2-xSrxCu3O7.

PMID- 9991374
TI  - Phenomenological model of the magnetic properties of La2-xSrxCuO4-y.

PMID- 9991375
TI  - Electronic-geometric relationships in copper-oxide-based superconductors.

PMID- 9991376
TI  - Oxygen-disorder effects on the electronic structure of YBa2Cu3O6+ delta.

PMID- 9991377
TI  - Class of variational singlet wave functions for the Hubbard model away from half
      filling.

PMID- 9991379
TI  - Valence bonds and the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem.

PMID- 9991378
TI  - Critical behavior of the two-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet:
      A numerical test of spin-wave theory.

PMID- 9991380
TI  - High-temperature expansions on Sierpinski carpets.

PMID- 9991381
TI  - Nucleation and growth in systems with two stable phases.

PMID- 9991382
TI  - Raman intensities near second-order transitions: RP5O14 ferroelastics (where R is
      a lanthanide).

PMID- 9991383
TI  - Superspace symmetry modes and incommensurate-to-incommensurate phase transition
      in NbTe4.

PMID- 9991384
TI  - Two-dimensional melting: Electrons on helium.

PMID- 9991385
TI  - Dynamics of dislocation-mediated melting in a two-dimensional lattice in the
      presence of an oscillatory applied strain.

PMID- 9991386
TI  - Anomalous behavior of the weak itinerant ferromagnet Sc3In under hydrostatic
      pressure.

PMID- 9991387
TI  - Anomalous proton spin-lattice relaxation at high temperatures in bcc transition
      metal-hydrogen solid-solution systems.

PMID- 9991388
TI  - Hole dynamics in the t-J model: An exact diagonalization study.

PMID- 9991389
TI  - Ground-state energy of the one- and two-dimensional Hubbard model calculated by
      the method of Singwi, Tosi, Land, and Sjolander.

PMID- 9991390
TI  - Critical behavior of a frustrated Ising system.

PMID- 9991391
TI  - Dynamic disorder, renewal, and anomalous diffusion.

PMID- 9991392
TI  - Metallic ferromagnetism in a single-band model. II. Finite-temperature magnetic
      properties.

PMID- 9991394
TI  - Finite-temperature magnetism of disordered Fe-Co alloys.

PMID- 9991393
TI  - Dynamics of ordering in highly degenerate models with anisotropic grain-boundary
      potential: Effects of temperature and vortex formation.

PMID- 9991395
TI  - Influence of deviations from ideal stoichiometry on the anisotropy parameters of
      magnetite Fe3(1- delta )O4.

PMID- 9991396
TI  - Phase transition in the antiferromagnetic mixture CsMn1-xCoxCl3

PMID- 9991397
TI  - Low-temperature properties of the Hubbard chain with an attractive interaction.

PMID- 9991398
TI  - Spin-wave spectrum of a superlattice with antiferromagnetic interfacial coupling.

PMID- 9991399
TI  - Finite-size scaling study of the three-dimensional classical XY model.

PMID- 9991400
TI  - Influence of spin fluctuations on the specific heat and entropy of weakly
      itinerant ferromagnets.

PMID- 9991401
TI  - Electrokinetic effects in fluid-saturated poroelastic media.

PMID- 9991402
TI  - Spin-correlation functions of the S=1 Heisenberg-Ising chain by the large-cluster
      decomposition Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9991403
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the W(001) surface reconstruction transition based on total
      energy calculations.

PMID- 9991404
TI  - Biased-diffusion calculations of electrical transport in inhomogeneous continuum
      systems.

PMID- 9991406
TI  - Formation of a glassy solid by computer simulation.

PMID- 9991405
TI  - Mean-field theory for vacancies in a quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991408
TI  - Order and disorder in the resonating-valence-bond state.

PMID- 9991407
TI  - Resonances in recombination of atomic hydrogen due to long-range H3 molecular
      states.

PMID- 9991410
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of a quantum ferromagnetic chain: Spin-coherent-state
      approach.

PMID- 9991409
TI  - Extension of Nagaoka's theorem on the large-U Hubbard model.

PMID- 9991411
TI  - Classification of interfacial wetting behavior in binary liquid mixtures.

PMID- 9991412
TI  - Finite-size scaling of O(n) models with long-range interactions.

PMID- 9991413
TI  - epsilon expansion for the Nishimori multicritical point of spin glasses.

PMID- 9991414
TI  - Elastic and superelastic percolation networks: Imperfect duality, critical
      Poisson ratios, and relations between microscopic models.

PMID- 9991415
TI  - Anomalous Warburg impedance and universal surface magnetic exponent for Gaussian
      models in the presence of fractal boundaries.

PMID- 9991416
TI  - Nonlinear effects in the dynamics of an antiferromagnetic chain.

PMID- 9991417
TI  - Spectrum of the correlation matrix in short-range Ising spin glasses.

PMID- 9991418
TI  - Relativistic electron-electron interaction in impure superconductors.

PMID- 9991420
TI  - Critical temperature and superconducting gap in a model of high-Tc
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9991419
TI  - Tunneling measurements of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuOx.

PMID- 9991421
TI  - Magnon and phonon Raman scattering in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2O8+y.

PMID- 9991422
TI  - Extrapolated residual resistivity in high-Tc oxide materials.

PMID- 9991423
TI  - Magnetic field modulation effects on the microwave transmission through
      superconducting thin films of Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9991424
TI  - Ground-state energy of some staggered spin-(1/2 antiferromagnetic XXZ Heisenberg
      chains.

PMID- 9991425
TI  - Exchange and correlation effects in anisotropic systems.

PMID- 9991426
TI  - Quantum Boltzmann equation and Kubo formula for electronic transport in solids.

PMID- 9991427
TI  - Thermopower behavior in La2Mo2O7: A possible charge-density-wave system with
      partial Fermi-surface nesting.

PMID- 9991428
TI  - Phason instabilities and successive wave-vector reorientation phase transitions
      in MnSi.

PMID- 9991430
TI  - Phase diagram for the infinite-range transverse Ising spin-glass model.

PMID- 9991429
TI  - Origin of the difference in the magneto-optical Kerr effect between PtMnSb and
      NiMnSb.

PMID- 9991432
TI  - Axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model, dipole-dipole interactions, and the
      phase transitions of NaNO2.

PMID- 9991431
TI  - Sound attenuation and dispersion in a diluted Ising model.

PMID- 9991433
TI  - Diverging resistivity anisotropy with decreasing temperature in 60-K YBa2Cu2O7-y.

PMID- 9991435
TI  - X-ray resonance exchange scattering in dysprosium.

PMID- 9991434
TI  - Effects of yttria concentration on the EPR signal in x-ray-irradiated yttria
      stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9991436
TI  - Electron-energy-loss spectroscopy studies of icosahedral-phase plasmons.

PMID- 9991437
TI  - Polarization memory of multiply scattered light.

PMID- 9991438
TI  - Spin fluctuations of trivalent Sm ions in gamma -Ce, alpha -Ce, and La.

PMID- 9991439
TI  - Critical state in disk-shaped superconductors.

PMID- 9991440
TI  - Transient-thermoreflectance study of single-crystal lanthanum cuprate.

PMID- 9991441
TI  - Specific heat of pure and thoriated UBe13 at low temperatures in high magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9991442
TI  - Twins and anisotropies of the superconducting order parameter in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991443
TI  - Electron tunneling study of the normal and superconducting states of
      Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9991444
TI  - Structure and oxygen stoichiometry for the electron-doped cuprate superconductor
      Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4- delta.

PMID- 9991445
TI  - Thermopower in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

PMID- 9991446
TI  - Heavy-fermion behavior in CeInPt4.

PMID- 9991447
TI  - Kinetic energy of electrons on a two-dimensional lattice with commensurate flux.

PMID- 9991448
TI  - Nature of empty states in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9991450
TI  - Magnetic field dependence of ultrasound velocity in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991449
TI  - Anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9991451
TI  - Stable tenfold faceted single-grain decagonal quasicrystals of Al65Cu15Co20.

PMID- 9991453
TI  - New superconducting state of the Anderson-lattice model.

PMID- 9991452
TI  - Magnetic and resistive measurements of the superconducting critical fields of
      melt-cast Ba0.65K0.35BiO3.

PMID- 9991454
TI  - Correlations among c/b, Tc, and Madelung potentials in the system of RBa2Cu3Ox
      superconductors.

PMID- 9991455
TI  - Specific-heat exponent and critical-amplitude ratio at the Lifshitz multicritical
      point.

PMID- 9991456
TI  - Liquid crystals at high dimensionality.

PMID- 9991457
TI  - Wavelength intensity correlation functions for transmitted waves through a slab:
      Numerical results.

PMID- 9991459
TI  - Annealed versus quenched diffusion coefficient in random media.

PMID- 9991458
TI  - Wick's theorem for charged spin systems.

PMID- 9991461
TI  - Dynamics of nonequilibrium large-wave-vector magnons in MnF2.

PMID- 9991460
TI  - Spin-cluster relaxation times in the spin glass

PMID- 9991462
TI  - Low-temperature adsorption of H2S on Ni(001) studied by near-edge- and surface
      extended-x-ray-absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9991463
TI  - Spectra and energy levels of Tm3+:Y3Al5O12.

PMID- 9991464
TI  - Elastic properties of grain boundaries in copper and their relationship to bulk
      elastic constants.

PMID- 9991465
TI  - Electronically stimulated dissociation of NO2 on Pt(111).

PMID- 9991466
TI  - Energy spectrum and persistent current in one-dimensional rings.

PMID- 9991467
TI  - Spin density of ordered FeCo: A failure of the local-spin-density approximation.

PMID- 9991468
TI  - Electronic structure of the actinide-Rh3 systems and the 5f localization in UPd3.

PMID- 9991469
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetic properties of selected lanthanide and actinide
      intermetallic Laves-phase alloys.

PMID- 9991471
TI  - Dielectric breakdown of a random array of conducting cylinders.

PMID- 9991470
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of NbSe3 and orthorhombic TaS3.

PMID- 9991472
TI  - Thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of gadolinium as functions of
      pressure and temperature.

PMID- 9991473
TI  - Jump frequency of silver ions for diffusion in alpha -Ag2Te.

PMID- 9991474
TI  - Electrical properties of transition-metal carbides of group IV.

PMID- 9991475
TI  - Formation of a hydrogenic state near a metal surface.

PMID- 9991476
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of the reconstructed Au(111) surface: Low temperature.

PMID- 9991477
TI  - Magnetic properties of icosahedral Al-Mo-Fe and Al-Ta-Fe alloys.

PMID- 9991478
TI  - Raman studies of black phosphorus from 0.25 to 7.7 GPa at 15 K.

PMID- 9991479
TI  - Image-potential states on dielectric-covered metal surfaces: Variational versus
      numerical approach.

PMID- 9991480
TI  - Theory of the photopyroelectric method for investigation of optical and thermal
      materials properties.

PMID- 9991481
TI  - Optical properties of the sulfur-related isoelectronic bound excitons in Si.

PMID- 9991482
TI  - Thermal and structural damping of the multiple-scattering contributions to the x
      ray-absorption coefficient.

PMID- 9991483
TI  - Structural investigation of a-Si and a-Si:H using x-ray-absorption spectroscopy
      at the Si K edge.

PMID- 9991484
TI  - Valence- and conduction-band densities of states for tetrahedral semiconductors:
      Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9991485
TI  - Optical-bias-enhanced transient photocurrent in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9991486
TI  - Two helical conformations of polythiophene, polypyrrole, and their derivatives.

PMID- 9991488
TI  - Effective bond-orbital model for acceptor states in semiconductors and quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9991487
TI  - Electron trapping by metastable effective-mass states of DX donors in indirect
      band-gap AlxGa1-xAs:Te.

PMID- 9991489
TI  - Temperature dependence of the exciton population in emission spectra of GaAs
      single quantum wells with enlarged monolayer-flat growth islands.

PMID- 9991490
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission study of thin molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown alpha 
      Sn1-xGex films with x~0.5.

PMID- 9991492
TI  - Empirical potential-based Si-Ge interatomic potential and its application to
      superlattice stability.

PMID- 9991491
TI  - High-pressure phase transition in gallium phosphide: An x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9991493
TI  - Quasiparticle properties of a coupled two-dimensional electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9991494
TI  - Localization and hopping conductivity in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9991495
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in modulation-doped AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9991497
TI  - Theoretical and experimental picosecond photoluminescence studies of the quantum
      confined Stark effect in a strongly coupled double-quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9991496
TI  - Electroabsorption of polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991498
TI  - Effect of oxygen adsorption on instability in electrical resistance of
      CdSe0.6Te0.4 thin films.

PMID- 9991499
TI  - Photoluminescence studies of planar-doped GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs multiple-quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9991500
TI  - Effect of alloy disorder on the vibrational spectrum of silicon donors in AlxGa1
      xAs.

PMID- 9991502
TI  - X-ray interference in ultrathin epitaxial layers: A versatile method for the
      structural analysis of single quantum wells and heterointerfaces.

PMID- 9991501
TI  - Transmission and frequency spectra of acoustic phonons in Thue-Morse
      superlattices.

PMID- 9991503
TI  - Development of rare-earth-semiconductor interfaces: Ce/InP(110), Sm/InSb(110),
      and Ce/CdTe(110).

PMID- 9991504
TI  - Relaxation of zinc-blende (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9991505
TI  - Surface core-level shifts on InP(110): Experiments and Madelung energy
      calculations.

PMID- 9991506
TI  - Magnetotunneling in double-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9991508
TI  - Electronic structure of semiconducting alkali-metal silicides and germanides.

PMID- 9991507
TI  - Microscopic nature of coordination defects in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9991509
TI  - Exciton-phonon system in a polar semiconductor quantum well.

PMID- 9991511
TI  - Intensity of the RR longitudinal optical phonon branch for Raman scattering by
      solid HD.

PMID- 9991510
TI  - Effect of disorder on the Mott constant in n-type semiconductors.

PMID- 9991513
TI  - Unification of polaron and soliton theories of exciton transport.

PMID- 9991512
TI  - Unusual dielectric relaxation of the mixed crystal (KBr)1-x(KCN)x at low
      temperatures and at low defect concentrations.

PMID- 9991514
TI  - Electron-energy-loss studies of dislocations in diamond.

PMID- 9991516
TI  - First-principles lattice dynamics of almost-unstable zinc-blende structures.

PMID- 9991515
TI  - Random magnetic anisotropy in thin films of amorphous Mn48B52.

PMID- 9991517
TI  - Electronic structure of (diamond C)/(sphalerite BN) (110) interfaces and
      superlattices.

PMID- 9991518
TI  - Surface polaron in the vicinity of two orthogonal surfaces.

PMID- 9991519
TI  - Formation kinetics of (F2+)H centers in NaCl:OH- crystals.

PMID- 9991521
TI  - Dephasing and quantum localization in disordered systems.

PMID- 9991520
TI  - Ce3+:Na+ pairs in CaF2 and SrF2: Absorption and laser-excitation spectroscopy,
      and the observation of hole burning.

PMID- 9991522
TI  - Yb on Al: Substrate- and adsorbate-induced Yb contraction.

PMID- 9991523
TI  - Amorphous deposits with energies below the crystal energy.

PMID- 9991525
TI  - Force-balance theory and dynamic-response theory of quantum nonlinear transport.

PMID- 9991524
TI  - Multiple-scattering solutions to the Schrodinger equation for semi-infinite
      layered materials.

PMID- 9991526
TI  - High-temperature vacancy concentration in Cu.

PMID- 9991527
TI  - Localization in a quantum Hall regime: Mixed short- and long-range scatterers.

PMID- 9991528
TI  - Effects of barrier phonons on the tunneling current in a double-barrier
      structure.

PMID- 9991529
TI  - Towards memory effects for electrons and phonons on nonrigid lattices.

PMID- 9991530
TI  - Erratum: Phonon-assisted tunneling in persistent-photocurrent decay

PMID- 9991532
TI  - Size-dependent surface-plasmon resonances of bare silver particles.

PMID- 9991531
TI  - Model for the c(2 x 2) structure induced by K on Au(110).

PMID- 9991533
TI  - Effect of temperature on the dynamics of energetic displacement cascades: A
      molecular dynamics study.

PMID- 9991535
TI  - Electronic structure of grain boundaries.

PMID- 9991534
TI  - Determination of the local order in amorphous cobalt films.

PMID- 9991536
TI  - Enhanced two-photon photoemission from coldly deposited silver films.

PMID- 9991537
TI  - Vacancy- and adatom-induced sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 reconstructions of the Si(111)
      surface.

PMID- 9991538
TI  - Transient reshaping of intersubband absorption spectra due to hot electrons in a
      modulation-doped multiple-quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9991539
TI  - Donors in semiconductors and metastability.

PMID- 9991540
TI  - Barrier-controlled thermalization in In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wells.

PMID- 9991541
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance of a thermally induced deep center in
      electron-irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9991542
TI  - Excitonic transitions in strained-layer InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9991544
TI  - Persistent photoconductivity and related critical phenomena in Zn0.3Cd0.7Se.

PMID- 9991543
TI  - Observation of the acceptor-bound exciton confined in narrow GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells in photoluminescence excitation.

PMID- 9991545
TI  - Electronic structure of random semiconductor alloys by the tight-binding linear
      muffin-tin orbital method.

PMID- 9991546
TI  - Ballistic transmission in perpendicular quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9991547
TI  - Electronic structure and conformational statistics of conjugated polymers in
      solution: A Fermi system with annealed disorder.

PMID- 9991548
TI  - Sequential resonant tunneling of holes in GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9991550
TI  - Parabolic-quantum-well self-consistent electronic structure in a longitudinal
      magnetic field: Subband depopulation.

PMID- 9991549
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles theory of the Sn/GaAs(110)
      surface.

PMID- 9991551
TI  - Quantum interference in variable range hopping under directional constraints.

PMID- 9991552
TI  - Interdefect elastic interaction in glass fiber and the theory of tunneling
      systems.

PMID- 9991553
TI  - Electrical transport in a quantum wire: Influence of one- and two-body
      interactions.

PMID- 9991554
TI  - Charge-density-wave noise propagation in the blue bronzes Rb0.3MoO3 and K0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9991555
TI  - Optical second-harmonic generation study of oxygen adsorption on a
      polycrystalline Ag surface.

PMID- 9991556
TI  - Polarization of carbon electron-momentum density in lithium-graphite
      intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9991557
TI  - Formation of local moments on iron in alkali-metal hosts.

PMID- 9991558
TI  - Resistivity and thermopower studies in the Kondo-lattice Ce3Sn1-xInx system.

PMID- 9991559
TI  - Local environment of nitrogen in a surface nitride: A low-energy electron
      diffraction study of Cr(100)-(1 x 1)N.

PMID- 9991560
TI  - Time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry. I. Structure of the W(211)
      surface.

PMID- 9991561
TI  - Time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry. II. The structure of oxygen
      on the W(211) surface.

PMID- 9991562
TI  - Time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry. III. The structure of
      hydrogen on the W(211) surface.

PMID- 9991563
TI  - Valence-electron excitations in the alkali metals.

PMID- 9991564
TI  - Chemical bond and electronic states in calcium silicides: Theory and comparison
      with synchrotron-radiation photoemission.

PMID- 9991565
TI  - Empty electronic states of calcium silicides: An inverse-photoemission
      investigation in the ultraviolet photon range.

PMID- 9991566
TI  - Renormalization of Bloch electrons in coherent light.

PMID- 9991567
TI  - Reflection of light at a flat interface under normal incidence: A renewed
      macroscopic description.

PMID- 9991568
TI  - Angle-resolved inverse photoemission from the Ag(100) surface.

PMID- 9991569
TI  - Direct experimental identification of the structure of ultrathin films of bcc
      iron and metastable bcc and fcc cobalt.

PMID- 9991570
TI  - Multielectron excitations in high-energy photoelectron spectra of CO adsorbed on
      Ni(100).

PMID- 9991571
TI  - Reflection electron-energy-loss spectroscopy, x-ray-absorption spectroscopy, and
      x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of a new type of layer compound CrPS4.

PMID- 9991572
TI  - Vibrational line shapes of low-frequency adsorbate modes: CO on Pt(111).

PMID- 9991573
TI  - Electronic-shell effects in small doubly charged lead clusters.

PMID- 9991574
TI  - Atomic theory of scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9991575
TI  - Rigidity of randomly intercalated layered solids.

PMID- 9991576
TI  - Very-low-temperature electrical resistivity of KRb, KNa, and LiMg alloys.

PMID- 9991577
TI  - Application of molecular dynamics to the study of hydrogen embrittlement in Ni-Cr
      Fe alloys.

PMID- 9991578
TI  - Anharmonic contributions to the Debye-Waller factor: Calculation and application
      to aluminum.

PMID- 9991579
TI  - Pseudojellium model for metal clusters.

PMID- 9991580
TI  - Semiempirical model of covalent bonding in silicon.

PMID- 9991581
TI  - Substrate temperature dependence of the initial growth mode of SiO2 on Si(100)-(2
      x 1) exposed to O2: A photoemission study.

PMID- 9991582
TI  - Radiation emission by ballistic electrons in semiconducting superlattices.

PMID- 9991583
TI  - Theory of hole refractions from heterojunctions.

PMID- 9991584
TI  - Isolated arsenic-antisite defect in GaAs and the properties of EL2.

PMID- 9991585
TI  - Electric fields and valence-band offsets in n+n

PMID- 9991586
TI  - Density-functional calculation of effective Coulomb interactions in nonmetallic
      systems: Application to Mn in CdTe, CdS, and ZnO.

PMID- 9991588
TI  - Double-resonance-enhanced Raman scattering in laser-recrystallized amorphous
      silicon film.

PMID- 9991587
TI  - Growth morphology and electronic structure of the Bi/GaAs(110) interface.

PMID- 9991589
TI  - Deep levels associated with triplet impurity complexes in GaP.

PMID- 9991591
TI  - Theory of interactions of surface-optical phonons with surface space-charge waves
      in doped GaAs.

PMID- 9991590
TI  - Type-I-type-II transition of GaAs/AlAs short-period superlattices investigated by
      photoluminescence spectroscopy under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9991592
TI  - Multimode vibronic model for Fe2+ ions in ZnS.

PMID- 9991594
TI  - Optical-absorption spectra associated with impurities in a GaAs-(Ga,Al)As quantum
      well.

PMID- 9991593
TI  - Kinetics of dopant incorporation using a low-energy antimony ion beam during
      growth of Si(100) films by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9991595
TI  - Band structure of diluted magnetic Pb1-xMnxTe: Magneto-optical investigations and
      four-wave-mixing spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991596
TI  - Electron counting model and its application to island structures on molecular
      beam epitaxy grown GaAs(001) and ZnSe(001).

PMID- 9991597
TI  - Nonlocal theory of collective excitations in doped semiconducting films: The
      effect of depletion and accumulation layers.

PMID- 9991599
TI  - Mobility of kinks and polarons in conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9991598
TI  - Predicted power laws for delayed switching of charge-density waves.

PMID- 9991600
TI  - Electronic structure of red mercuric iodide.

PMID- 9991601
TI  - Magnetoexciton ground state in a quantum well: A variational and perturbation
      approach.

PMID- 9991602
TI  - Coupling between a donor potential and quantum wells: Effect on binding energies.

PMID- 9991603
TI  - Floppy modes in network glasses.

PMID- 9991604
TI  - Structural defects in chromium-ion-implanted vitreous silica.

PMID- 9991605
TI  - Correlation between the activation enthalpy and Kohlrausch exponent for ionic
      conductivity in oxide glasses.

PMID- 9991606
TI  - Nuclear quadrupole resonance in the glassy Cu-As-S and Cu-As-Se systems.

PMID- 9991607
TI  - Renormalized model for the dynamics of the krypton-on-graphite domain-wall
      lattice.

PMID- 9991609
TI  - Cohesive properties and vibrational entropy of 3d transition-metal compounds: MX
      (NaCl) compounds (X=C, N, O, S), complex carbides, and nitrides.

PMID- 9991608
TI  - Evidence of the orthorhombic D2h18 symmetry of K2CuF4: Phonon-Raman scattering
      measurements.

PMID- 9991610
TI  - Near-threshold excitation in light rare-earth compounds: A new interpretation of
      3d appearance-potential spectra.

PMID- 9991611
TI  - Solitonlike structures and their self-similarity in nonlinear Fibonacci
      multilayered media.

PMID- 9991612
TI  - Evidence for Fermi-energy pinning relative to either valence or conduction band
      in Schottky barriers.

PMID- 9991614
TI  - Evidence for a large valence-band offset at HgTe-CdTe heterojunctions.

PMID- 9991613
TI  - Neutron excitation of bulk luminescence.

PMID- 9991616
TI  - Indirect exchange interaction in semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9991615
TI  - Anisotropic kinetics and bilayer epitaxial growth of Si(001).

PMID- 9991617
TI  - Pressure-induced momentum mixing in GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9991619
TI  - Band theory and the insulating gap in CoO.

PMID- 9991618
TI  - Temperature-independent behavior of the Hall constant in granular In2O3-x films.

PMID- 9991620
TI  - Medium-energy ion-beam-induced microstructural modifications in alpha -Fe2O3.

PMID- 9991621
TI  - Structure of platinum adatom clusters on Pt(100): Experimental observations and
      embedded-atom-method calculations.

PMID- 9991622
TI  - Pressure effects on self-diffusion in silicon.

PMID- 9991624
TI  - Spatial modulation of the Fermi level by coherent illumination of undoped GaAs.

PMID- 9991623
TI  - Optical and magneto-optical absorption in parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9991625
TI  - Structural resolution of the incommensurate phase of alpha -PbO from x-ray- and
      neutron-powder-diffraction data.

PMID- 9991626
TI  - Desorption of positive oxygen ions induced by keV heavy-ion bombardment of
      transition metals with adsorbed O2 and CO.

PMID- 9991627
TI  - T2 in incommensurate systems.

PMID- 9991629
TI  - Effect of thin amorphous layers on channeling in diamond.

PMID- 9991628
TI  - Reexamination of the local electric field gradients in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9991631
TI  - Slowing-down time of energetic atoms in solids.

PMID- 9991630
TI  - Validity of the third-derivative modulation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991632
TI  - Determination of excited-state polarizabilities of Cr3+-doped materials by
      degenerate four-wave mixing.

PMID- 9991633
TI  - Inelastic neutron scattering study of anharmonic interactions in orthorhombic
      KNbO3.

PMID- 9991634
TI  - NMR determination of the nonclassical critical exponents beta and beta -bar in
      incommensurate Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9991635
TI  - 87Rb NMR study of the paraelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition in
      Rb0.52(ND4)0.48D2AsO4.

PMID- 9991636
TI  - Phase diagram and critical properties of a two-dimensional lattice-gas model of
      oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3Oz.

PMID- 9991637
TI  - Thermodynamic behavior of the heavy-fermion compounds Ce3X (X=Al,In,Sn).

PMID- 9991638
TI  - Temperature dependence of the tunneling spectrum near a vortex core.

PMID- 9991639
TI  - Proximity-induced superconducting transition temperature.

PMID- 9991640
TI  - Cooper-pairing interaction at the edge of an electron energy gap due to
      antiferromagnetism.

PMID- 9991642
TI  - Diffusion of lithium in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite at low concentrations
      and high temperatures.

PMID- 9991641
TI  - Zero-temperature ordering in two-dimensional frustrated quantum Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9991643
TI  - Magnetic instability in triplet superconductivity.

PMID- 9991644
TI  - Electron-electron scattering and phase fluctuations in superconducting films.

PMID- 9991645
TI  - Theory of critical first sound near the lambda transition of 4He. I. Model and
      correlation functions.

PMID- 9991647
TI  - Stability of two-dimensional Fermi liquids against pair fluctuations with large
      total momentum.

PMID- 9991646
TI  - Theory of critical first sound near the lambda transition of 4He. II. Attenuation
      and dispersion for T >= T lambda.

PMID- 9991648
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of polycrystalline Ba0.6K0.4BiO3.

PMID- 9991650
TI  - Three-roton bound states.

PMID- 9991649
TI  - Magnetic field and temperature dependence of magnetic flux creep in c-axis
      oriented YBa2Cu3O7 powder.

PMID- 9991652
TI  - Electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of CeRu2Si2 under pressure.

PMID- 9991651
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in a current-biased Josephson junction of small capacitance.

PMID- 9991653
TI  - Atomistic simulation of dopant substitution in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991654
TI  - Critical-state model for harmonic generation in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9991655
TI  - Possible superconducting mechanism for high Tc in quasi-one-dimensional multiwire
      structures.

PMID- 9991657
TI  - Theory of positron annihilation in superconductors.

PMID- 9991656
TI  - Tunneling measurement of the energy gaps in the superconductors Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl
      Ba-Ca-Cu-O.

PMID- 9991658
TI  - Antiferromagnetic ordering in superconducting and oxygen-deficient
      nonsuperconducting RBa2Cu3O7- delta compounds (R=Nd and Sm).

PMID- 9991660
TI  - Spin-hole polaron of the t-Jz model.

PMID- 9991659
TI  - High-pressure electrical conductivity measurements in the copper oxides.

PMID- 9991661
TI  - Temperature-induced magnetism in LaCoO3.

PMID- 9991663
TI  - Ferrimagnetic Heisenberg chains

PMID- 9991662
TI  - Thermodynamic properties and phase transitions of the site-bond-correlated Ising
      model.

PMID- 9991665
TI  - Long-range interactions in the compressible Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9991664
TI  - Absence of localization in certain statically disordered lattices in any spatial
      dimension.

PMID- 9991666
TI  - Correlation of phase fluctuations in granular superconductors.

PMID- 9991667
TI  - Expansion in 1/z for the transition temperature and specific heat of
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9991668
TI  - Memory effects and coexistence of incommensurate and commensurate phases in

PMID- 9991670
TI  - Ground state of amorphous iron.

PMID- 9991669
TI  - Low-temperature expansions for the step free energy and facet shape of the simple
      cubic Ising model.

PMID- 9991671
TI  - Single-site theory of finite-temperature magnetism in amorphous and liquid
      alloys.

PMID- 9991673
TI  - Attractors in quantum Ising models.

PMID- 9991672
TI  - Ground-state Lennard-Jones and Aziz boson liquids: Perturbation theory and
      computer experiment.

PMID- 9991674
TI  - Stability and symmetry of the spin-density-wave state in chromium.

PMID- 9991675
TI  - Nonlinear development of morphological instabilities in explosive
      crystallization.

PMID- 9991676
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of universal critical amplitudes for the three-dimensional
      Ising model: Correlation length and renormalized coupling.

PMID- 9991678
TI  - Directional solidification near minimum c

PMID- 9991677
TI  - Static and dynamic properties of the (FexCr1-x)75P15C10 reentrant-spin-glass
      amorphous alloy.

PMID- 9991679
TI  - Influence of surface anisotropy on the magnetization of the Heisenberg
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9991680
TI  - Magnetic properties of PbTe and Pb1-xSnxTe.

PMID- 9991682
TI  - Propagating modes in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9991681
TI  - Ground states of infinite-range spin-(1/2 quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9991683
TI  - High-field magnetoresistance and de Haas-van Alphen effect in antiferromagnetic
      PrB6 and NdB6.

PMID- 9991685
TI  - Electronic theory of phase stability in substitutional alloys: The generalized
      perturbation method versus the Connolly-Williams method.

PMID- 9991684
TI  - Magnetic properties of iron-rich Fe-Sc glasses.

PMID- 9991686
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of vermiculite intercalation compounds with magnetic ions
      as intercalants.

PMID- 9991687
TI  - Influence of interface effects on a rare-earth crystal field in iron-rare-earth
      multilayers.

PMID- 9991688
TI  - Activated dynamics in a two-dimensional Ising spin glass: Rb2Cu1-xCoxF4.

PMID- 9991689
TI  - Pure spin-glass resistivity maximum at the "freezing" temperature.

PMID- 9991690
TI  - Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation study of phase transitions and
      molecular motions in K3(Hf,Zr)F7.

PMID- 9991691
TI  - Effective-field renormalization-group study for the transverse Ising model in a
      quantum-spin system.

PMID- 9991692
TI  - Melting of multilayer films: Further studies of a Potts lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9991694
TI  - Ultrasonic behavior of the heavy-fermion superconductor URu2Si2.

PMID- 9991693
TI  - Phase transition and high-pressure elastic behavior of copper halides.

PMID- 9991695
TI  - Comparison of energy distributions of positron- and electron-induced secondary
      electrons: Implications for slow positron emission mechanisms.

PMID- 9991696
TI  - Gd3+ exchange interaction as measured by NMR in hydrogen-doped GdBa2Cu3O7H1.55.

PMID- 9991697
TI  - Chaos in extended linear arrays of Josephson weak links.

PMID- 9991698
TI  - Modified Lanczos simulation of the localized superconductivity for a chain with
      interaction and disorder.

PMID- 9991699
TI  - Surface decomposition of Pb2Sr2(Ca,Y)Cu3O8+ delta at room temperature studied
      with high-resolution electron microscopy.

PMID- 9991700
TI  - Reexamination of the specific heat of an extreme type-II classical superconductor
      versus temperature and magnetic field near Tc.

PMID- 9991701
TI  - Antiferromagnetic phase transition in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9991703
TI  - Piezoresistance measurements of YBa2Cu3O7-x showing large magnitude and temporal
      anomalies between 100 and 300 K.

PMID- 9991702
TI  - Low-energy excitations in Cu-O-based superconductors with electron-energy-loss
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991704
TI  - Anisotropic energy gaps in copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9991706
TI  - Some evidence for cation disorder in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991705
TI  - Magnetic and superconducting phase diagram of Bi2Sr3-xYxCu2O8 as determined by
      muon-spin rotation.

PMID- 9991707
TI  - Variational ground state of the model of a two-state system coupled with phonons.

PMID- 9991709
TI  - Free-energy functional in the generalized coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9991708
TI  - Spin-wave velocity and susceptibility for the two-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991711
TI  - Upper bound on the critical temperature in the n-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9991710
TI  - Dispersive energy transport in disordered solids: Relation to spin-glass
      relaxation.

PMID- 9991713
TI  - Specific heat in high magnetic field of kappa -di

PMID- 9991712
TI  - Comment on "Spin excitations in multilayered ferromagnetic electron gases"

PMID- 9991714
TI  - Stimulated desorption of atoms from rare-gas monolayers on metal surfaces:
      Dependence of yields and energy distributions on primary excitations.

PMID- 9991715
TI  - Variable Hall coefficient in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8-x across the metal-insulator
      transition.

PMID- 9991716
TI  - Hexatic vortex glass in disordered superconductors.

PMID- 9991717
TI  - Properties of optical features in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9991718
TI  - Phonon density of states in Pb2Sr2(Ca,Y)Cu3O8.

PMID- 9991719
TI  - Effect of Ga substitution on the superconducting properties of the electron-doped
      system: Nd-Ce-Cu-O.

PMID- 9991720
TI  - Quantum tunneling and low-voltage resistance in small superconducting tunnel
      junctions.

PMID- 9991722
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in the copper oxides: Implications for the
      resistivity.

PMID- 9991721
TI  - Critical phase fluctuations in superconducting wire networks.

PMID- 9991723
TI  - Spin dynamics of YBa2Cu3O6+x as revealed by NMR.

PMID- 9991725
TI  - Anisotropy in flux pinning within the c basal plane of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d.

PMID- 9991724
TI  - Magnetic ordering induced by hydrogen doping of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9991726
TI  - Negative magnetoresistance in small superconducting loops and wires.

PMID- 9991727
TI  - Shift of phonon anomaly with Tc observed in (Y,Er)Ba2Cu3O7- delta by ion
      channeling.

PMID- 9991728
TI  - Variation in Tc and carrier concentration in Tl-based superconductors.

PMID- 9991729
TI  - Tunneling measurements of the energy gap in the high-Tc superconductor
      Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta.

PMID- 9991730
TI  - Synthesis and properties of the 2:4:7 superconductors R2Ba4Cu7O15-x
      (R=Y,Eu,Gd,Dy,Ho,Er).

PMID- 9991731
TI  - Phonon modes in corrugated planes.

PMID- 9991732
TI  - Observation of transitions to spin-slip structures in single-crystal holmium.

PMID- 9991733
TI  - Critical exponents for ferromagnetic systems with Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida
      interactions.

PMID- 9991734
TI  - Numerical study of a model for interface growth.

PMID- 9991735
TI  - Specific heat of decamethylferrocenium tetracyanoethanide (DMeFc)(TCNE).

PMID- 9991736
TI  - Phonons and martensitic phase transitions in pure bcc Ti and bcc Zr.

PMID- 9991738
TI  - Theory of reentrance of spin-density-wave transitions in bis
      tetramethyltetraselenafulvalenium perchlorate

PMID- 9991737
TI  - Volume effect at the metamagnetic transition in CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9991739
TI  - Variational calculations for the square-lattice quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9991740
TI  - Polar relaxation mode in pure and iron-doped barium titanate.

PMID- 9991741
TI  - Dynamical scaling and crossover from algebraic to logarithmic growth in dilute
      systems.

PMID- 9991742
TI  - Asymmetry in the hierarchy formalism of the fractional quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9991743
TI  - Nature of 4f magnetism in Ce1-xLaxPd2Si2.

PMID- 9991744
TI  - Novel metal-film configuration: Rh on Ag(100).

PMID- 9991746
TI  - Binding of charged particles in lattice defects.

PMID- 9991747
TI  - Dielectric response spectrum of a damped one-dimensional double-well oscillator.

PMID- 9991745
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of Ni3Al alloys near the spin-fluctuator-ferromagnet
      phase boundary.

PMID- 9991748
TI  - Calculation of grain-boundary segregation in Ni-Cu alloys.

PMID- 9991749
TI  - Theory of electron scattering from solids.

PMID- 9991750
TI  - Coverage dependence of the electronic structure of potassium adatoms on the
      Si(001)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9991751
TI  - Energetics of bcc-fcc lattice deformation in iron.

PMID- 9991752
TI  - Resonant bound states for simple metal surfaces.

PMID- 9991754
TI  - Individual-defect electromigration in metal nanobridges.

PMID- 9991753
TI  - Frequency-dependent conductivity in polycrystalline metals and semiconductors.

PMID- 9991755
TI  - Relativistic effects in the electron density of states, specific heat, and the
      electron spectrum of normal metals.

PMID- 9991756
TI  - Surface polarons near rough surfaces.

PMID- 9991757
TI  - Quasielastic scattering of neutrons from tunneling hydrogen atoms bound to oxygen
      impurities in niobium.

PMID- 9991759
TI  - Localization in near-monolayer films.

PMID- 9991758
TI  - Charge-density-wave transport above room temperature in a polytype of NbS3.

PMID- 9991760
TI  - Numerical computation of the piezoresistivity matrix elements for semiconducting
      barium titanate.

PMID- 9991762
TI  - Connection of envelope functions at semiconductor heterointerfaces. II. Mixings
      of Gamma and X valleys in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9991761
TI  - Connection of envelope functions at semiconductor heterointerfaces. I. Interface
      matrix calculated in simplest models.

PMID- 9991763
TI  - Spin-density-wave instability in wide parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9991764
TI  - Interplay of polarizability and ionicity in IV-VI compounds.

PMID- 9991765
TI  - Hydrogen bonding and diffusion in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9991766
TI  - Contribution to the quantum-well exciton linewidth due to the intrasubband
      scattering by optical phonons in an applied electric field.

PMID- 9991767
TI  - Hartree-Fock and lowest-order vertex-correction contribution to the direct gap of
      the semiconductor silicon.

PMID- 9991768
TI  - Thermal motion of atoms in crystalline silicon: Beyond the Debye theory.

PMID- 9991769
TI  - Self-diffusion of silicon in polycrystalline Pd2Si in the absence of growth.

PMID- 9991770
TI  - Temperature dependence of universal conductance fluctuations in narrow mesoscopic
      Si inversion layers.

PMID- 9991772
TI  - Three-band transport and cyclotron resonance in alpha -Sn and alpha -Sn1-xGex
      grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9991771
TI  - Transverse magnetotunneling in AlxGa1-xAs capacitors. II. Electron phase changes
      in resonant Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.

PMID- 9991773
TI  - Cyclotron resonance in two-dimensional electron-phonon-impurity systems and
      applications to Si metal-oxide-semiconductor systems.

PMID- 9991774
TI  - High-resolution low-energy electron-diffraction study of the phase diagram of
      vicinal Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9991775
TI  - Spin splitting of the conduction band and de Haas-van Alphen effect in Hg1
      xFexSe.

PMID- 9991776
TI  - Optical nutation in polymers irradiated by ultrashort laser pulses.

PMID- 9991777
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies of the growth modes and structure of amorphous silicon
      films via atom deposition.

PMID- 9991778
TI  - Photoemission proof for a SiO2 island growth mode initiated on the steps of
      Si(001) during thermal oxidation by O2.

PMID- 9991780
TI  - Quenching and recovery characteristics of the EL2 defect in GaAs under
      monochromatic-light illumination.

PMID- 9991779
TI  - Temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of AsF5-doped poly(p
      phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9991781
TI  - Positron trapping rates and their temperature dependencies in electron-irradiated
      silicon.

PMID- 9991783
TI  - Core-level photoemission investigation of atomic-fluorine adsorption on
      GaAs(110).

PMID- 9991782
TI  - Dynamical aspects of luminescence from GaAs-AlAs single quantum wells under
      hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9991784
TI  - Effects of disorder on electronic structures of a-Si:H and a-SiO2.

PMID- 9991785
TI  - Resonant tunneling of double-barrier quantum wells affected by interface
      roughness.

PMID- 9991786
TI  - Phase of reflection high-energy electron-diffraction intensity oscillations
      during molecular-beam-epitaxy growth of GaAs(100).

PMID- 9991788
TI  - Thermally stimulated current in the absence of optical excitation in the
      annealing of tetracene and pentacene films.

PMID- 9991787
TI  - Synchrotron photoemission studies of the Sb-passivated Si surfaces: Degenerate
      doping and bulk band dispersions.

PMID- 9991789
TI  - Transport, magnetic, and optical properties of electrochemically doped poly(1,4
      dimethoxy phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9991790
TI  - Inelastic scattering in resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9991791
TI  - Collective excitations in the accumulation layer of InAs(110): Nonlocal response
      theory.

PMID- 9991792
TI  - Excitonic transitions in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells affected by
      interface roughness.

PMID- 9991794
TI  - Structure and electrical properties of indium-germanium interfaces.

PMID- 9991793
TI  - Electronic states of Si(100) reconstructed surfaces.

PMID- 9991795
TI  - He atom near methane-plated MgO: Interaction and scattering.

PMID- 9991796
TI  - Phase transition of some ferroelectric niobate crystals with tungsten-bronze
      structure at low temperatures.

PMID- 9991797
TI  - Computer-simulation studies of intrinsic defects in LiNbO3 crystals.

PMID- 9991798
TI  - Random-matrix description of the distribution of mesoscopic conductance.

PMID- 9991799
TI  - Atomic mean-square displacement of a solid: Results for a long-range potential
      from the Green's-function method.

PMID- 9991800
TI  - Transport model for hot positrons in layered structures.

PMID- 9991801
TI  - Band filling and structural stability of cubic trialuminides: YAl3, ZrAl3, and
      NbAl3.

PMID- 9991802
TI  - Evaluation of the interface states between alternating trans-polyacetylene and
      polyethylene quasi-one-dimensional chains.

PMID- 9991804
TI  - Energy-momentum relation for polarons in quantum-well wires.

PMID- 9991803
TI  - First-principles calculation of the elastic constants of AlAs.

PMID- 9991805
TI  - Anisotropy of optical absorption in wurtzite-phase Zn0.85Mn0.15S.

PMID- 9991806
TI  - Phases of the multiple quantum well in a strong magnetic field: Possibility of
      irrational charge.

PMID- 9991807
TI  - Effect of alloy disorder on the deep levels produced by the anion vacancy in
      GaAs1-xPx.

PMID- 9991808
TI  - Dimer strings, anisotropic growth, and persistent layer-by-layer epitaxy.

PMID- 9991809
TI  - Far-infrared absorption in potassium iodide.

PMID- 9991810
TI  - Comment on "Fluctuations of the hot-carrier state-occupancy function in
      homogeneous semiconductors"

PMID- 9991811
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Fluctuations of the hot-carrier state-occupancy function in
      homogeneous semiconductors' "

PMID- 9991812
TI  - Erratum: Optical studies of bonding in coevaporated amorphous silicon-tin alloys

PMID- 9991813
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of the charge-density wave in orthorhombic TaS3.

PMID- 9991814
TI  - Theory of transition from the tunneling regime to point contact in scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9991815
TI  - Epitaxial growth of Ag on Au(111) studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9991816
TI  - Microscopic theory of surface phonons in Al(100): Mechanisms for the anomalous
      behavior of the dispersion curves for large wave vectors.

PMID- 9991818
TI  - Low-velocity antiproton stopping power.

PMID- 9991817
TI  - Exchange-induced spin polarization of conduction electrons in paramagnetic
      metals.

PMID- 9991819
TI  - Femtosecond laser melting of graphite.

PMID- 9991820
TI  - Method for the calculation of scanning tunneling microscope images and spectra.

PMID- 9991821
TI  - Optical reflectance of liquid mercury.

PMID- 9991823
TI  - Self-consistent polaron scattering rates in quasi-one-dimensional structures.

PMID- 9991822
TI  - Protonation process of pernigraniline: A theoretical investigation.

PMID- 9991824
TI  - Bound-to-bound transitions at neutral zinc in silicon: Effective-mass-like states
      and hole-hole interaction.

PMID- 9991825
TI  - d states, exchange splitting, and Mn electronic configuration in Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9991826
TI  - Transport anomalies in the lowest Landau level of two-dimensional electrons at
      half-filling.

PMID- 9991827
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity in heavily doped GaAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9991828
TI  - Collective cyclotron resonance in a quasi-three-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9991829
TI  - Characterization of microvoids in device-quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon
      by small-angle x-ray scattering and infrared measurements.

PMID- 9991830
TI  - Optical constants of cubic boron nitride.

PMID- 9991831
TI  - Low-temperature photoluminescence spectrum of amorphous semiconductors.

PMID- 9991832
TI  - Level crossing and the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9991833
TI  - Search for thermally generated monovacancies in silicon using monoenergetic
      positrons.

PMID- 9991834
TI  - Collective electronic oscillations in slender structures at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9991835
TI  - Relaxed structure of two-atom crystals with surfaces.

PMID- 9991836
TI  - Short-range-order effects in CuxPt1-x.

PMID- 9991837
TI  - Neutron powder-diffraction studies of lithium, sodium, and potassium metal.

PMID- 9991838
TI  - Accuracy of time-dependent properties in electronic-structure calculations using
      a fictitious Lagrangian.

PMID- 9991839
TI  - Simplified method for fully relativistic spin-polarized density-functional
      calculations.

PMID- 9991840
TI  - Band structure, photoelectron spectroscopy, and transport properties of SnTaS2.

PMID- 9991842
TI  - van der Waals force between a spherical tip and a solid surface.

PMID- 9991841
TI  - Effect of impurities on electron motion in two dimensions in a strong magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9991843
TI  - Ab initio method for calculating response functions in transition metals.

PMID- 9991844
TI  - Surface models for perpendicular ambipolar transport in kinetic and hydrodynamic
      theories.

PMID- 9991845
TI  - Interstitial-electron model for lattice dynamics in fcc metals.

PMID- 9991846
TI  - Layer Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker technique for surface and interface electronic
      properties.

PMID- 9991847
TI  - Layer Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker theory for close-spaced planes of atoms.

PMID- 9991848
TI  - Effect of phason strain on the transition of an octagonal quasicrystal to a beta 
      Mn-type structure.

PMID- 9991850
TI  - Tight-binding coherent-potential approximation including off-diagonal disorder.

PMID- 9991849
TI  - Vibrational and electronic spectra of one-dimensional organic charge-transfer
      crystals: Model for a tetramerized cluster structure.

PMID- 9991851
TI  - Dynamics of gap solitons.

PMID- 9991852
TI  - Diffusion and fluctuations in a nonequilibrium electron gas with electron
      electron collisions.

PMID- 9991853
TI  - Dynamic structure of electrons in Be metal by inelastic x-ray scattering
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991854
TI  - Structure of oriented V2O5 gel studied by polarized x-ray-absorption spectroscopy
      at the vanadium K edge.

PMID- 9991855
TI  - Kinetic equation for strongly disordered systems: Noninteracting electrons.

PMID- 9991856
TI  - Solution of Schrodinger's equation for large systems.

PMID- 9991857
TI  - Electronic response in a one-dimensional nonlinear lattice.

PMID- 9991859
TI  - Transient characteristics of excitons bound at hole-attractive isoelectronic
      centers in GaP.

PMID- 9991858
TI  - Missing-row reconstruction of Ag(110) induced by a 2 x 1) oxygen overlayer.

PMID- 9991860
TI  - Excitons in one-phonon resonant Raman scattering: Frohlich and interference
      effects.

PMID- 9991861
TI  - Electron-hole plasma dynamics in CdTe in the picosecond regime.

PMID- 9991862
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of CeS under pressure.

PMID- 9991863
TI  - Emission of circularly polarized recombination radiation from p-doped GaAs and
      GaAs0.62P0.38 under the impact of polarized electrons.

PMID- 9991864
TI  - Lattice-dynamical study of layered silicates.

PMID- 9991865
TI  - Electronic structure of the InAs-GaSb superlattice studied by the renormalization
      method.

PMID- 9991867
TI  - Effects of d bands on semiconductor sp Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9991866
TI  - Spectroscopic study of the effect of confinement on shallow acceptor states in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9991868
TI  - Resonance Raman scattering in HgTe: TO-phonon and forbidden-LO-phonon cross
      section near the E1 gap.

PMID- 9991869
TI  - Excitonic and nonlinear-optical properties of dielectric quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9991870
TI  - Correlation functions of hot electrons in semiconductors.

PMID- 9991872
TI  - Effect of uniaxial stress on local vibrational modes of hydrogen in ion-implanted
      silicon.

PMID- 9991871
TI  - Relaxation of photoexcited electron-hole plasma in quantum wells.

PMID- 9991873
TI  - Correlation between electronic structure and local ordering in hydrogenated
      amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9991874
TI  - Linear and nonlinear optical response of spherical anisotropic semiconductor
      microcrystallites.

PMID- 9991875
TI  - Real-space-indirect resonant Raman scattering in type-II heterostructures.

PMID- 9991876
TI  - Generalized Drude approach to the conductivity relaxation time due to electron
      hole collisions in optically excited semiconductors.

PMID- 9991877
TI  - Effects of spin-orbit scattering on hopping magnetoconductivity.

PMID- 9991878
TI  - Gap states of charged solitons in polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991879
TI  - Structural phase transitions in InSb to 66 GPa.

PMID- 9991880
TI  - Analytic solutions of the effective-mass equation in strained Si-Si1-xGex
      heterostructures applied to resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9991882
TI  - Novel recurrent approach to the generalized Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9991881
TI  - Si(111) 2 x 1 surface core-level shifts investigated by use of Ge overlayer.

PMID- 9991883
TI  - Photodarkening, structural instabilities, and crystallization of glassy As2Se3
      induced by laser irradiation.

PMID- 9991885
TI  - Molecular motion in solid H2 at high pressures.

PMID- 9991884
TI  - Infrared study of Rb0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9991886
TI  - Resistivity measurements on potassium cooled in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9991888
TI  - Collective resonance frequencies of metal cluster ions.

PMID- 9991887
TI  - Role of defects for the spontaneous vitrification of beta -(Cr,Ti).

PMID- 9991889
TI  - Size manipulation of metal particles with laser light.

PMID- 9991890
TI  - Macroscopic effect of the compensation on the binding energy of an electron bound
      to a donor in an n-type quantum well.

PMID- 9991891
TI  - Pressure dependence of the band gaps of semiconductors.

PMID- 9991892
TI  - Radiative recombination across the E0+ Delta 0 band gap in CdTe.

PMID- 9991893
TI  - Positron states at vacancy-impurity pairs in semiconductors.

PMID- 9991894
TI  - Vibrational overtone absorption of interfacial hydrogen in porous Vycor glass.

PMID- 9991895
TI  - Periodic defect wall structures in irradiated solids: The spectrum of stationary
      solutions.

PMID- 9991896
TI  - Ballistic electronic conductance of an orifice.

PMID- 9991897
TI  - Surface-plasmon dispersion relation on n-type GaAs: A comparison of local and
      nonlocal response.

PMID- 9991898
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation study of the satellites in Ni L3-M4,5M4,5 Auger spectra.

PMID- 9991900
TI  - Structure of lithium-doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9991899
TI  - Metastable state of the EL2 defect in GaAs.

PMID- 9991901
TI  - Elastic energies and order in epitaxial Si-Ge alloys.

PMID- 9991902
TI  - Universal dopant and defect equilibration kinetics in n-type a-Si:H.

PMID- 9991903
TI  - Dressed exciton versus dressed atom: The space-dimension dependence.

PMID- 9991905
TI  - Alkali-metal-induced interface resonant state on a semiconductor surface.

PMID- 9991904
TI  - Violation of the integral quantum Hall effect: Influence of backscattering and
      the role of voltage contacts.

PMID- 9991906
TI  - Dimensional excitations in narrow electron inversion channels on Si.

PMID- 9991907
TI  - Location of hydrogen adsorbed on palladium (111) studied by low-energy electron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9991908
TI  - Resistance noise in amorphous Ni-Zr: Hydrogen diffusion and universal conductance
      fluctuations.

PMID- 9991909
TI  - Hydrogen vibration and phonon dispersion in alpha -ScDx systems.

PMID- 9991910
TI  - Cluster interactions and physical properties of Al-transition-metal alloys.

PMID- 9991911
TI  - Crystal-melt and melt-vapor interfaces of nickel.

PMID- 9991913
TI  - Electronic structure in the Al-Mn alloy crystalline analog of quasicrystals.

PMID- 9991912
TI  - Exchange-excited f-f transitions in the electron-energy-loss spectra of rare
      earth metals.

PMID- 9991914
TI  - Multiple-scattering Green-function method for space-filling cell potentials.

PMID- 9991916
TI  - Magnetic ordering of thin Gd overlayers.

PMID- 9991915
TI  - Charge-exchange reactions in metal clusters: Role of magic numbers.

PMID- 9991918
TI  - Simplified pseudopotential expansion theory for Al-Li alloys.

PMID- 9991917
TI  - Surface-phason modes in incommensurate crystals.

PMID- 9991920
TI  - X-ray diffraction data for graphite to 20 GPa.

PMID- 9991919
TI  - Evolution and splitting of plasmon bands in metallic superlattices.

PMID- 9991921
TI  - Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation study of alpha -phase and
      icosahedral Al-Mn-Si alloys.

PMID- 9991922
TI  - Hydrogen uptake kinetics on niobium surfaces.

PMID- 9991923
TI  - Temperature dependence of fractal formation in ion-implanted a-Ge/Au bilayer thin
      films.

PMID- 9991924
TI  - Doubly and triply resonant Raman scattering via electron-two-phonon and impurity
      induced Frohlich interactions in uniaxially stressed GaAs.

PMID- 9991925
TI  - Cluster calculations of the Si(111) 7 x 7 dimer-adatom-stacking-fault structure.

PMID- 9991926
TI  - Stress splitting of the zero-phonon line of the (AsGa-Asi) defect pair in GaAs:
      Significance for the identity of EL2.

PMID- 9991927
TI  - Auger regeneration of the EL2 defect induced by the Debye tail in the space
      charge region of a junction: Application to the so-called "optical regeneration"

PMID- 9991928
TI  - Conduction-band offsets in pseudomorphic InxGa1-xAs/Al0.2Ga0.8As quantum wells
      (0.07 <= x <= 0.18) measured by deep-level transient spectroscopy.

PMID- 9991929
TI  - Optical properties of ion-implanted GaAs: The observation of finite-size effects
      in GaAs microcrystals.

PMID- 9991931
TI  - Energy spectrum of a layered system in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9991930
TI  - Evaluation of some scattering times for electrons in unbiased and biased single-
      and multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9991933
TI  - Transfer-matrix method for the complex band structure of superlattices.

PMID- 9991934
TI  - Cluster molecular-orbital calculations on germanium adsorbed on Si(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9991932
TI  - Perpendicular transport of photoexcited electrons and holes in GaAs/AlAs short
      period superlattices: Barrier-thickness and temperature dependence.

PMID- 9991936
TI  - Initial stages of oxygen adsorption on Si(111). II. The molecular precursor.

PMID- 9991935
TI  - Acoustic attenuation and optical-absorption effects on light scattering by
      acoustic phonons in superlattices.

PMID- 9991937
TI  - Evolution of empty-state bands for Bi/GaAs(110): From Bi zigzag chains to ordered
      overlayers.

PMID- 9991938
TI  - Mixed-crystal lattice dynamics of HfxTi1-xSe2.

PMID- 9991939
TI  - Atomic arrangement of spontaneously ordered Al0.5In0.5P/GaAs.

PMID- 9991940
TI  - Preparation, structure, dynamics, and energetics of amorphous silicon: A
      molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9991941
TI  - Electronic surface states in semiconductor superlattices: The case of a triple
      constituent superlattice.

PMID- 9991942
TI  - Optical-absorption studies of wurtzite-phase Zn1-xMnxSe.

PMID- 9991944
TI  - Folded phonons in (GaAs)n1(AlAs)n2 superlattices grown along the

PMID- 9991943
TI  - Optical transitions of different Mn-ion pairs in ZnS.

PMID- 9991945
TI  - Raman scattering of & superlattices grown along the

PMID- 9991947
TI  - Analysis of the superhyperfine structure and the g tensor of defects in amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9991946
TI  - dc conductivity of arsenic-doped silicon near the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9991948
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering by LO phonons in AlxGa1-xAs (0.2<x<0.7): Exciton
      broadening and alloying effects.

PMID- 9991949
TI  - Thermal resistance of silicon point contacts.

PMID- 9991950
TI  - Resistance distribution function for fluctuating variable-range hopping
      conduction.

PMID- 9991952
TI  - Potential and magnetic field confinement of shallow donor impurities in
      semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9991951
TI  - Spectroscopic investigations of CdS at high pressure.

PMID- 9991953
TI  - Quasianalytical simulation of ultrafast relaxation of photoexcited electrons in a
      semiconductor quantum well.

PMID- 9991954
TI  - Precision dilatometry of Nb, Ta, and Lu tritides.

PMID- 9991955
TI  - Lattice relaxation of highly excited self-trapped excitons in CaF2.

PMID- 9991957
TI  - Phonon-dislocation interaction in deformed lithium fluoride.

PMID- 9991956
TI  - Excitation profiles of resonance electronic Raman scattering in ErPO4 crystals.

PMID- 9991958
TI  - Band folding and energy-gap formation in Ag-Au superlattices.

PMID- 9991959
TI  - Surface-phonon dispersion in ultrathin epitaxial films of Ni on Cu(001).

PMID- 9991960
TI  - Hydrogen-induced ordering of Cs atoms on the Pd(110)-(1 x 2)Cs surface.

PMID- 9991961
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9991963
TI  - Model-potential study of (2n+1) x (2n+1) reconstructions on the Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9991962
TI  - Photoluminescence from partially Si-doped AlAs/GaAs single-quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9991965
TI  - Characterization of narrow quantum channels using model potentials.

PMID- 9991964
TI  - Intervalley scattering in GaAs.

PMID- 9991966
TI  - Erratum: Low-temperature phonon-drag thermoelectric power in heterojunctions

PMID- 9991967
TI  - Erratum: Excitonic transitions in strained-layer InxGa1-xAs/InP quantum wells

PMID- 9991968
TI  - Substrate surface relaxation for Cl and S on Cu(001).

PMID- 9991970
TI  - Evidence for a soft-phonon mechanism in the reconstruction of the Mo(001)
      surface.

PMID- 9991969
TI  - Classical wave propagation in periodic structures.

PMID- 9991971
TI  - Formation of free-electron-like resonant bands for alkali-metal overlayers on
      simple metals.

PMID- 9991972
TI  - Electronic properties of a new class of aluminum-based metallic glasses: Al100-x
      y(T)x(La,Y)y with T=Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu.

PMID- 9991973
TI  - Electron transmission through NiSi2-Si interfaces.

PMID- 9991974
TI  - Role of long-range interactions in the melting of a metallic surface.

PMID- 9991975
TI  - Quantum coherence in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9991976
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in short-period (Si)n/(Ge)m superlattices.

PMID- 9991977
TI  - Gai self-interstitial-related defect in GaP studied by optically detected
      magnetic resonance.

PMID- 9991978
TI  - Simulation of recovery kinetics in Si(001) molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9991979
TI  - Methods to measure the charge of the quasiparticles in the fractional quantum
      Hall effect.

PMID- 9991980
TI  - Phonon-drag thermopower of a two-dimensional electron gas in a quantizing
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9991981
TI  - Calculated heat capacity and magnetization of two-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9991982
TI  - Direct observation of edge luminescence excited by long-lived-exciton-polariton
      propagation in CdS.

PMID- 9991983
TI  - Double hole cyclotron resonance in zero-gap HgTe-CdTe superlattices.

PMID- 9991984
TI  - Charge-transfer-state photoluminescence in asymmetric coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9991985
TI  - Cooling of photoexcited carriers in undoped and n-doped Ga0.47In0.53As studied
      within the first few picoseconds.

PMID- 9991986
TI  - Transition from metastability to stability of Gen2+ clusters.

PMID- 9991987
TI  - Two-photon absorption in quantum-well structures near half the direct band gap.

PMID- 9991988
TI  - Magnetoexciton spectrum of GaAs-AlAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9991989
TI  - Optical studies of metastable properties of a defect with a zero-phonon
      transition at 0.615 eV in 2-MeV electron-irradiated Czochralski-grown silicon.

PMID- 9991990
TI  - Cyclotron-resonance-induced photovoltage of inversion electrons on GaAs.

PMID- 9991991
TI  - Evidence of hydrogen modulation in Si/Si:H amorphous multilayers.

PMID- 9991992
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of stage-2 CocNi1-cCl2 graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9991993
TI  - Electro-optic effects in the optical anisotropies of (001) GaAs.

PMID- 9991994
TI  - Negative-U property of the DX center in AlxGa1-xAs:Si.

PMID- 9991996
TI  - Electronic structure, optical and magnetic properties of fcc palladium.

PMID- 9991995
TI  - Microvoids at the SiO2/Si interface.

PMID- 9991997
TI  - Numerical solutions of the interface problem between two quasi-one-dimensional
      systems using a Green's matrix formalism.

PMID- 9991998
TI  - Landauer's conductance formula and its generalization to finite voltages.

PMID- 9991999
TI  - Cu(111) and Ag(111) surface-phonon spectrum: The importance of avoided crossings.

PMID- 9992000
TI  - Heat of solution and site energies of hydrogen in disordered transition-metal
      alloys.

PMID- 9992001
TI  - Cu:Si(111) incommensurate (5.55 x 5.55) surface reconstruction: Helium-beam
      measurements of diffraction and surface phonons.

PMID- 9992002
TI  - Metastability of the segregation-reversal composition profile at the PtxNi1
      x(110) surface: A low-energy electron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9992003
TI  - Surface-polariton and guided-wave excitation in thin-film Kerr media.

PMID- 9992004
TI  - Homology of interatomic forces and Debye temperatures in transition metals.

PMID- 9992006
TI  - Transition-metal (Au, Pt, Ir, Re) bonding to Al,Si,Ge: X-ray-absorption studies.

PMID- 9992005
TI  - Dynamic local field, sum rules, and dynamic structure factor of a classical
      plasma with a logarithmic potential in two dimensions at Gamma =2.

PMID- 9992007
TI  - Adsorption of Cs on H-precovered W(110) surfaces.

PMID- 9992008
TI  - Atomic mean-square displacement of a solid: A Green's-function approach.

PMID- 9992009
TI  - Simple formula for the atomic forces in the augmented-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9992010
TI  - First-principles calculations of equilibrium ground-state properties of Au and
      Ag.

PMID- 9992011
TI  - Electromagnetic field near rough surfaces of spatially dispersive systems.

PMID- 9992012
TI  - Drift and diffusion in a one-dimensional disordered system.

PMID- 9992013
TI  - Observation and characterization of a strained lateral superlattice in the
      oxidation of Ni(001).

PMID- 9992014
TI  - Band structure and related properties of molybdenum.

PMID- 9992015
TI  - Theoretical model of stress-induced triply resonant Raman scattering.

PMID- 9992016
TI  - Optical properties of single-crystal titanium disilicide.

PMID- 9992017
TI  - Large intersubband infrared transitions in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs superlattices.

PMID- 9992018
TI  - Electronic band structure of semiconductor nanostructure arrays.

PMID- 9992019
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9992020
TI  - First-principles calculation of the formation energies of ordered and disordered
      phases of AlAs-GaAs.

PMID- 9992022
TI  - Band-edge excitons in gallium arsenide on silicon.

PMID- 9992021
TI  - Tetrahedrally bonded ternary amorphous semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9992023
TI  - Effects of coverage on the geometry and electronic structure of Al overlayers on
      Si(111).

PMID- 9992024
TI  - Dielectric response of a semi-infinite HgTe/CdTe superlattice from its bulk and
      surface plasmons.

PMID- 9992025
TI  - Activation barriers to strain relaxation in lattice-mismatched epitaxy.

PMID- 9992027
TI  - Collective excitations in truncated semiconductor superlattices in a transverse
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9992026
TI  - Extremely slow energy relaxation of a two-dimensional exciton in a GaAs
      superlattice structure.

PMID- 9992028
TI  - Variations in the optical spectra of the ground-state exciton in GaAs quantum
      wells induced by uniaxial stress.

PMID- 9992029
TI  - Optical polarons in layered semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9992030
TI  - Linewidth anomaly of two-dimensional-electron cyclotron resonance in the extreme
      quantum limit.

PMID- 9992031
TI  - Dielectric relaxation in o-TaS3: Charge-density-wave screening and near
      commensurability effects.

PMID- 9992033
TI  - Structure of thermal donors (NL8) in silicon: A study with electron-nuclear
      double resonance.

PMID- 9992032
TI  - Theoretical study of cubic versus tetragonal structures of defect zinc-blende
      semiconductors: CdIn2Se4.

PMID- 9992034
TI  - Recombination processes in Yb-activated ZnS.

PMID- 9992036
TI  - Optical-phonon states of SiC small particles studied by Raman scattering and
      infrared absorption.

PMID- 9992035
TI  - Cooling of a hot electron-hole plasma in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9992038
TI  - Resonant Raman effects at the indirect band gaps of GaS.

PMID- 9992037
TI  - Adsorption of nitric oxide on the Si(100)2 x 1 surface: A theoretical and
      experimental approach.

PMID- 9992039
TI  - Theory of weak localization in a superlattice.

PMID- 9992041
TI  - Extensions of Handel's 1/f-noise equations and their semiclassical theory.

PMID- 9992040
TI  - Effects of the nearest neighbors and the alloy matrix on SiH stretching
      vibrations in the amorphous SiOr:H (0<r<2) alloy system.

PMID- 9992042
TI  - Magnetophonon resonances in quasi-one-dimensional wires.

PMID- 9992043
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering of amorphous carbon and polycrystalline diamond films.

PMID- 9992044
TI  - Radiative recombination mechanisms in staggered-alignment (GaAs)/(AlAs)
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9992045
TI  - Magnetoroton satellites in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9992046
TI  - Amplitude breathers in conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9992047
TI  - 5f-electron states in uranium dioxide investigated using high-resolution neutron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992048
TI  - Hall mobility of electrons in liquid and solid argon.

PMID- 9992050
TI  - Spectral and temporal measurements of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of
      LiNbO3 using picosecond Raman-induced phase-conjugation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992049
TI  - Phase-resolved photoacoustic spectroscopy and EPR investigation of MnO2- and CoO
      doped soda-lime glasses.

PMID- 9992052
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity of a glassy polymer under
      applied pressure.

PMID- 9992051
TI  - Spin-multiplet electronic transition energies in NaF:Cu+ by the self-interaction
      corrected local-spin-density approximation.

PMID- 9992054
TI  - Orientation of N2O molecules adsorbed on Grafoil.

PMID- 9992053
TI  - Dielectric susceptibility and thermal conductivity of tunneling electric dipoles
      in alkali halides.

PMID- 9992055
TI  - Potential expansion for molecules adsorbed or scattered on a surface.

PMID- 9992056
TI  - Defects and metal states: Towards a predictive model for the Schottky barrier.

PMID- 9992057
TI  - Optical reflectivity of graphite under pressure.

PMID- 9992058
TI  - Magnetic levels in quasiperiodic superlattices.

PMID- 9992059
TI  - Magnetoelectric effect in conduction-electron spin resonance in zinc-blende
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9992061
TI  - Direct-gap Si/Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9992060
TI  - Interchain coupling in trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9992063
TI  - Clusters in a two-dimensional electron gas at even-denominator filling factors.

PMID- 9992062
TI  - Effect of an applied magnetic field on interface excitations in finite layered
      structures. III.

PMID- 9992064
TI  - Three-photon difference-frequency spectroscopy of polaritons in alkali halides.

PMID- 9992065
TI  - Comment on "Energy-band equation for a general periodic potential"

PMID- 9992066
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Energy-band equation for a general periodic potential' "

PMID- 9992067
TI  - Comment on "Evolution of a molecular exciton on a Davydov lattice at T=0"

PMID- 9992068
TI  - Exact calculation to second order of the effective dielectric constant of a
      strongly nonlinear inhomogeneous composite.

PMID- 9992069
TI  - Multiple deuterium occupancy of vacancies in Pd and related metals.

PMID- 9992070
TI  - H-H interactions in Pd.

PMID- 9992071
TI  - Ground-state properties of third-row elements with nonlocal density functionals.

PMID- 9992072
TI  - Arsenic antisite defects in AlxGa1-xAs observed by luminescence-detected electron
      spin resonance.

PMID- 9992074
TI  - Fast full-potential calculations with a converged basis of atom-centered linear
      muffin-tin orbitals: Structural and dynamic properties of silicon.

PMID- 9992073
TI  - Kinetics of ordered growth of Si on Si(100) at low temperatures.

PMID- 9992075
TI  - Third-order electron correlation theory of electronic Raman scattering for rare
      earth ions in crystals: Effective-tensor-operator formulation.

PMID- 9992077
TI  - Ultraviolet-laser-induced periodic surface structures.

PMID- 9992076
TI  - Dipole-forbidden excitations in electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992078
TI  - Effect of nuclear polarization on the conduction-electron spin resonance in InP.

PMID- 9992079
TI  - Positronium thermalization in SiO2 powder.

PMID- 9992080
TI  - Application of molecular symmetry in near-edge x-ray-absorption spectroscopy of
      adsorbed species.

PMID- 9992081
TI  - Spectroscopy of positronium emission from alkali halides.

PMID- 9992082
TI  - Two-photon transition intensities for Sm2+ in BaClF.

PMID- 9992083
TI  - EPR study of Fe3+ in alpha -quartz: A reexamination of the lithium-compensated
      center.

PMID- 9992085
TI  - High-yield sputtering events for Ar+-ion bombardment of Cu in the energy range 1
      20 keV.

PMID- 9992084
TI  - Hyperfine measurements of the 1D2-3H4 transition in Pr3+: Yttrium aluminum garnet
      using photon echo.

PMID- 9992087
TI  - Pb2+-->Mn

PMID- 9992086
TI  - X-band microwave study of CdCr2Se4 doped with In and Cd1-xInxCr2Se4 thin films.

PMID- 9992088
TI  - Equation of state for 3He submonolayers physisorbed in 4He-film surface states:
      Thermal Hartree-Fock approximation.

PMID- 9992090
TI  - Magnetic field dependence of the Josephson current in two-dimensional tunnel
      junctions.

PMID- 9992089
TI  - Dissipative quantum tunneling: A variational principle for phase shifts.

PMID- 9992091
TI  - Relaxation mechanism of ultrasonic attenuation in Ho-rich Er1-xHoxRh4B4.

PMID- 9992092
TI  - Sudden theory for tunneling in dissipative systems.

PMID- 9992093
TI  - Ultra-small-capacitance Josephson junction: Inductive coupling to a voltage
      source.

PMID- 9992094
TI  - Charging corrections to the Josephson Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9992095
TI  - Increased flux pinning upon thermal-neutron irradiation of uranium-doped
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9992096
TI  - Phonon anomalies and range of superconducting energy gaps from infrared studies
      of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9992097
TI  - Effective interactions in an oxygen-hole metal.

PMID- 9992098
TI  - Structure of the interstitial oxygen defect in La2NiO4+ delta.

PMID- 9992099
TI  - Static Coulomb model for high-temperature superconductivity.

PMID- 9992100
TI  - Equivalence between the nonlinear sigma model and the spin-(1/2 antiferromagnetic
      Heisenberg model: Spin correlations in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9992101
TI  - Oxygen hole symmetry and banding in cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9992103
TI  - Lattice dynamics of La2NiO4.

PMID- 9992102
TI  - Inelastic light scattering enhancement near an electronic excitation at 2 eV in
      La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9992104
TI  - Comparison of effective models for CuO2 layers in oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9992106
TI  - Superconductor-to-nonsuperconductor transition in (La1-xSrx)2CuO4 as investigated
      by transport and magnetic measurements.

PMID- 9992105
TI  - Crystallization of metal-oxide glasses in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems.

PMID- 9992107
TI  - Broken symmetry and (1/2 statistics of spinons in (2+1)-dimensional
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992108
TI  - Large, dispersive photoelectron Fermi edge and the electronic structure of
      YBa2Cu3O6.9 single crystals measured at 20 K.

PMID- 9992109
TI  - Nonuniversal critical dynamics on the Fibonacci-chain quasicrystal.

PMID- 9992110
TI  - Spontaneous emission of radiation from a discrete sine-Gordon kink.

PMID- 9992111
TI  - Fermi surface of the one-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992112
TI  - Statistical thermodynamics of highly defective compounds.

PMID- 9992113
TI  - Statistical thermodynamic study of nonstoichiometric titanium monoxide:
      Determination of formation and interaction energies of vacancies.

PMID- 9992114
TI  - Heat capacity and transport measurements in sputtered niobium-zirconium
      multilayers.

PMID- 9992115
TI  - Effect of surface roughening on chaos in yttrium-iron-garnet spheres.

PMID- 9992116
TI  - 79Br nuclear-quadrupole-resonance line shape and Raman-induced spin-lattice
      relaxation in the incommensurate phase of beta -ThBr4.

PMID- 9992117
TI  - Numerical study of multitime scaling in a solid system undergoing phase
      separation.

PMID- 9992118
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of Mn2+ ions in MgO and evidence of clustering.

PMID- 9992120
TI  - Quantum hard rods: Critical behavior and conformal invariance.

PMID- 9992119
TI  - Metallic ferromagnetism in a single-band model.

PMID- 9992121
TI  - Refractive-index measurements of dense helium up to 16 GPa at T=298 K: Analysis
      of its thermodynamic and electronic properties.

PMID- 9992122
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of Zn1-xCoxS and Zn1-xCoxSe alloys.

PMID- 9992123
TI  - Diffusing-wave spectroscopy and multiple scattering of light in correlated random
      media.

PMID- 9992124
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the thermodynamic functions of a Lennard-Jones
      chain of atoms.

PMID- 9992125
TI  - Heat capacity, magnetic susceptibility, and electric resistivity of the
      equiatomic ternary compound CePdSn.

PMID- 9992126
TI  - Edge critical exponent for the three-dimensional Ising model by Monte Carlo
      simulations.

PMID- 9992128
TI  - Soft-mode transition in the ferroelastic crystal K2Hg(CN)4.

PMID- 9992129
TI  - High-pressure investigation of Hg0.91Mn0.09Te.

PMID- 9992127
TI  - Spin correlation function of the S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain by the
      large-cluster-decomposition Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9992130
TI  - Neutron diffuse scattering study of the ferromagnetism in Pt-10 at. % Fe.

PMID- 9992131
TI  - Theory of the two-step spin conversion induced by the cooperative molecular
      distortions in spin-crossover compounds.

PMID- 9992133
TI  - Self-consistent phonon approach to thermal vibrations in model small clusters.

PMID- 9992132
TI  - Influence of rough surfaces on electrolytic conduction in porous media.

PMID- 9992135
TI  - Scaling in random-bond Ising models.

PMID- 9992134
TI  - Compressibility and density response function in disordered systems.

PMID- 9992137
TI  - Modified spin-wave theory of a square-lattice antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9992136
TI  - Path-integral treatment of the liquid-gas transition: From simple fluids to
      microemulsions.

PMID- 9992138
TI  - Crossover theory for disordered ferromagnets.

PMID- 9992139
TI  - Critical behavior of p(2 x 2) oxygen on Ru(001): An example of four-state Potts
      critical exponents.

PMID- 9992140
TI  - 35Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance study in 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl sulphone: A
      possible incommensurate system.

PMID- 9992141
TI  - Surface phase transition and tricritical point of a semi-infinite Ising model
      with diluted spins on a surface.

PMID- 9992142
TI  - Trapping model for thermal and nonthermal positrons in metals.

PMID- 9992143
TI  - Atomic migration in CuGa0.1Fe1.9O4.

PMID- 9992144
TI  - Low-field microwave absorption and Cr3+-Cr3+ pair transitions in highly doped
      yttrium aluminum garnet.

PMID- 9992145
TI  - Search for aftereffects in tin oxide films.

PMID- 9992146
TI  - Fractal dimension for the roughness of a film surface.

PMID- 9992147
TI  - Modulated microwave absorption in superconducting mercury.

PMID- 9992148
TI  - Magnetic properties of the superconducting "superoxide" La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9992149
TI  - Strong-coupling corrections in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992150
TI  - Temperature-dependent phonon lifetime of the 428-cm-1 Raman line in La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9992151
TI  - Superconducting (1:1:2:2)-type layered cuprates of the formula TlCA1-xLxSr2Cu2Oy
      (L=Y or rare-earth element).

PMID- 9992152
TI  - New family of layered copper oxide compounds with ordered cations: Prospective
      high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9992154
TI  - Density of states of quasi-one-dimensional charge-density and spin-density waves.

PMID- 9992153
TI  - Anisotropic 63Cu nuclear relaxation in magnetically oriented powdered samples of
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9992155
TI  - Test of the coherent-anisotropy-field approximation for a lattice model of a
      random-axis ferromagnet in a high magnetic field.

PMID- 9992156
TI  - Novel transition between critical and localized states in a one-dimensional
      quasiperiodic system.

PMID- 9992157
TI  - Finite-size effects at first-order phase transitions observed in adsorbed oxygen
      films.

PMID- 9992158
TI  - Isothermal phase diagrams (Hp,P) for metamagnetic Ni(NO3)2

PMID- 9992159
TI  - Ordering in ferromagnets with random anisotropy including magnetostatic coupling.

PMID- 9992160
TI  - Comment on "Ground state of the strong-coupling Hubbard Hamiltonian: A numerical
      diagonalization study"

PMID- 9992161
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Ground state of the strong-coupling Hubbard Hamiltonian: A
      numerical diagonalization study' "

PMID- 9992163
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Weak localization and the conductivity of nondegenerate
      electrons' "

PMID- 9992162
TI  - Comment on "Weak localization and the conductivity of nondegenerate electrons"

PMID- 9992164
TI  - Erratum: "New criticality in quantum models with pair interactions decaying as
      power law"

PMID- 9992165
TI  - Replica symmetry in a one-dimensional spin-glass model with long-range
      interactions.

PMID- 9992166
TI  - Low-temperature spin reorientation and Co hyperfine fields in Nd2Co14B studied by
      NMR.

PMID- 9992167
TI  - Mean-field theory for the t-J model.

PMID- 9992168
TI  - Specific heat of UPt3 at the metamagnetic phase transition.

PMID- 9992169
TI  - Effect of Ce doping on the Cu charge in the electron superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4.

PMID- 9992170
TI  - Electronic Hamiltonian and antiferromagnetic interactions in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9992171
TI  - Single-crystal neutron-diffraction investigation of the magnetic ordering of the
      high-temperature superconductor ErBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9992172
TI  - Fractal formation of a Y-Ba-Cu-O thin film on SrTiO3.

PMID- 9992174
TI  - Raman scattering from superconducting gap excitations in Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3O10 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9992173
TI  - Flux phases in two-dimensional tight-binding models.

PMID- 9992175
TI  - Grain-boundary effects on the resistivity of zinc-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9992176
TI  - Calculation of Raman- and infrared-active modes of Tl2CaBa2Cu2O8.

PMID- 9992177
TI  - Spectroscopic, transport, and magnetic results on the Nd2-xAx4+CuO4- delta
      systems (A=Ce and Th).

PMID- 9992179
TI  - Raman scattering spectra of a superconducting Pb2Sr2Y0.75Ca0.25Cu3O8+ delta
      single crystal.

PMID- 9992180
TI  - Ultraviolet photoemission study of single-crystal BaPb1-xBixO3.

PMID- 9992178
TI  - Ba 4d core-level spectroscopy in the YBa2Cu3O6.9 high-Tc superconductor:
      Existence of a surface-shifted component.

PMID- 9992181
TI  - Electron-phonon coupling in superconducting Ba0.6K0.4BiO3: A Raman scattering
      study.

PMID- 9992182
TI  - Systematics of transport critical-current-density hysteresis in polycrystalline Y
      Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9992183
TI  - Jastrow states for highly correlated two-dimensional Hubbard fermions.

PMID- 9992185
TI  - Magnetization of imperfect superconducting grains.

PMID- 9992184
TI  - Magnetic field penetration depth of polycrystalline (Y,Gd)Ba2Cu3O7, grain-aligned
      YBa2Cu3O7, and single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9992186
TI  - Surface structural and electronic properties of cleaved single crystals of
      Bi2.15Sr1.7CaCu2O8+ delta compounds: A scanning tunneling microscopy study.

PMID- 9992187
TI  - Magnons and phonons in Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9992188
TI  - Superconducting properties of the Ba1-xRbxBiO3 system.

PMID- 9992190
TI  - Effective holon-holon interaction in the resonating-valence-bond state.

PMID- 9992189
TI  - Thermoelectric power and thermal conductivity of neutron-irradiated YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9992192
TI  - Sine-Gordon theory of the non-Neel phase of two-dimensional quantum
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992191
TI  - Scaling properties of the irreversible magnetization curves of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9992193
TI  - Hole motion in an S=1 chain.

PMID- 9992194
TI  - Degenerate spin-boson system.

PMID- 9992195
TI  - High-density structures and phase transition in an ionic model of H2O ice.

PMID- 9992196
TI  - Instability of the Nagaoka state with more than one hole.

PMID- 9992197
TI  - Off-diagonal long-range order in Laughlin's states for particles obeying
      fractional statistics.

PMID- 9992199
TI  - Spin-1 XXZ model on the square lattice.

PMID- 9992198
TI  - Spin-wave results for the triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9992200
TI  - Discontinuously branching tree morphology induced at the NaCl/AgCo interface by
      ion irradiation.

PMID- 9992201
TI  - Green-function Monte Carlo study of quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992202
TI  - Thermal line broadening in small metal clusters.

PMID- 9992204
TI  - Full-potential linear augmented-Slater-type-orbital method.

PMID- 9992203
TI  - Interpretation of the linear coefficient of surface-plasmon dispersion.

PMID- 9992205
TI  - Coverage-dependent shifts of s and p resonances of alkali metals chemisorbed on
      Al(111).

PMID- 9992206
TI  - Structures of

PMID- 9992207
TI  - Structures of

PMID- 9992209
TI  - Core-level shifts in ionic KCN multilayers: A synchrotron-radiation and Penning
      spectroscopy study of K and CN on Pd(111) and Pd(100).

PMID- 9992208
TI  - Structural and electronic structural properties of ordered LiAl compounds.

PMID- 9992210
TI  - Thermoelectric power and conductivity of heterogeneous conducting polymers.

PMID- 9992211
TI  - Occupied electronic structure of Au and Ag on Ge(111).

PMID- 9992212
TI  - Anisotropic tight-binding model for localization.

PMID- 9992213
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of lattice-defect-nucleated melting in silicon.

PMID- 9992214
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of lattice-defect-nucleated melting in metals using an
      embedded-atom-method potential.

PMID- 9992215
TI  - Bulk and surface vibrational modes in NiAl.

PMID- 9992216
TI  - Exact analytical solution of the internal friction associated with a geometric
      kink chain oscillating in an atmosphere of paraelastic interstitials and
      decorated by a dragging point defect.

PMID- 9992217
TI  - Molecular cluster model for magnetic iron.

PMID- 9992218
TI  - Hall effect of the charge-density-wave system (NbSe4)10/3I.

PMID- 9992219
TI  - Electronic states of a quasiperiodic lattice with long-range electron transfer.

PMID- 9992220
TI  - Magnetotransport of an electron-hole plasma in a GaAs quantum well.

PMID- 9992221
TI  - Pulse distortion in GaAs quantum wells studied by a light-gating technique.

PMID- 9992222
TI  - Envelope-function formalism for phonons in heterostructures.

PMID- 9992223
TI  - Temperature effects for Ti/GaAs(110) interface formation involving cluster and
      atom deposition.

PMID- 9992225
TI  - Random fields and Wigner crystallization.

PMID- 9992224
TI  - Electrical and optical characterization of metastable deep-level defects in GaAs.

PMID- 9992227
TI  - Dynamical conductivity of a quantum-wire superlattice.

PMID- 9992226
TI  - Electronic states and optical transitions in modulation-doped n-type GaxIn1
      xAs/AlxIn1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9992228
TI  - Entropy of migration for atomic hopping.

PMID- 9992229
TI  - Metastable electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectra in the charge-density-wave
      state of pure and V-doped blue bronzes A0.3MoO3 (A=K, Rb).

PMID- 9992230
TI  - Hot phonons in InAs observed via picosecond free-carrier absorption.

PMID- 9992231
TI  - Generalized norm-conserving pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9992232
TI  - Folded-acoustic phonons in GaAs/AlAs thin-layer superlattices under high
      pressure.

PMID- 9992233
TI  - WSe2: Optical and electrical properties as related to surface passivation of
      recombination centers.

PMID- 9992235
TI  - Photoluminescence study of undoped and modulation-doped pseudomorphic AlyGa1
      yAs/InxGa1-xAS/AlyGa1-yAs single quantum wells.

PMID- 9992234
TI  - Effect of nonparabolicity on the conduction-electron spin resonance in cubic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9992236
TI  - Metal submonolayers on Hg-Zn-Te alloys: Electrochemical and electrolyte
      electroreflectance studies.

PMID- 9992237
TI  - Direct measurement of resonant and nonresonant tunneling times in asymmetric
      coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9992238
TI  - Magnetotransport studies on the metallic side of the metal-insulator transition
      in PbTe.

PMID- 9992239
TI  - Phonon properties of GaAs/AlAs superlattice grown along the

PMID- 9992240
TI  - Band structure and optical properties of Si-Si1-xGex superlattices.

PMID- 9992241
TI  - Phonon dispersion curves of GaAs-AlAs superlattices grown in the

PMID- 9992242
TI  - Optical studies of the quasi-one-dimensional charge-density-wave state in

PMID- 9992244
TI  - Static polarizability of interacting pi electrons in conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9992243
TI  - Quantum-well states under biaxial compression and tension.

PMID- 9992245
TI  - Quantum theory of electronic properties in doped semiconductors by an extension
      of the method of the bent-band theory.

PMID- 9992246
TI  - Photoexcitation in Durham-route polyacetylene: Self-localization and charge
      transport.

PMID- 9992247
TI  - Structure determination of the CoSi2(111) surface using medium-energy ion
      scattering.

PMID- 9992248
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the liquid CdTe surface.

PMID- 9992249
TI  - Imperfections in amorphous chalcogenides. IV. A model of electrical conduction
      processes in amorphous and crystalline In2Se3.

PMID- 9992250
TI  - Photon-stimulated desorption of fluorine from silicon via substrate core
      excitations.

PMID- 9992252
TI  - Berry's phase in the effective-Hamiltonian theory of solids.

PMID- 9992251
TI  - Electric field dependence of exciton oscillator strengths in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells studied by photocurrent spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992253
TI  - Evaluation of quasiparticle energies for semiconductors without inversion
      symmetry.

PMID- 9992254
TI  - Tunneling plasmon excitations in quasi-zero-dimensional superlattices composed of
      quantum dots.

PMID- 9992255
TI  - Reduced intrachain spin diffusion in trans-polyacetylene due to sp3 orbital
      defects.

PMID- 9992257
TI  - Electron-electron scattering: Collision integral and relaxation rate.

PMID- 9992256
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of extrinsic recombinations in gallium selenide.

PMID- 9992258
TI  - First-principles calculation of alloy phase diagrams: The renormalized
      interaction approach.

PMID- 9992260
TI  - Possibility of off-center-exciton formation in BaFBr.

PMID- 9992259
TI  - Nonequilibrium spin polarization of F centers in KBr and KI under saturated
      optical pumping with modulated circular polarization.

PMID- 9992261
TI  - Optical properties of vanadium silicide polycrystalline films.

PMID- 9992262
TI  - Thermal properties of boron and borides.

PMID- 9992263
TI  - Dielectric anomaly of porous media: The role of multipolar interactions.

PMID- 9992264
TI  - Defects and mass transport in rutile-structured fluorides. I. Experiment.

PMID- 9992265
TI  - Defects and mass transport in rutile-structured fluorides. II. Computer
      simulation.

PMID- 9992266
TI  - Far-infrared optical investigations on quasi-one-dimensional halogen-bridged
      mixed-valence compounds.

PMID- 9992267
TI  - van der Waals forces in a Monte Carlo and lattice-dynamics study of the thermal
      and elastic properties of a rigid-ion model of potassium chloride.

PMID- 9992268
TI  - Electronic properties of ionic insulators on semiconductor surfaces: Alkali
      fluorides on GaAs(100).

PMID- 9992269
TI  - X-ray diffraction study of the lattice deformation due to 3He bubble formation in
      a tantalum tritide.

PMID- 9992271
TI  - Structural transitions in fluorine-based perovskites: A molecular-dynamics study
      of KMnF3.

PMID- 9992270
TI  - Angle-resolved extended energy-loss fine structure on CO2: Analogies and
      differences with photoabsorption.

PMID- 9992272
TI  - Determination of the whole set of elastic constants of a polymeric Langmuir
      Blodgett film by Brillouin spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992273
TI  - Analysis of the absorption spectrum of ruby at high pressures.

PMID- 9992274
TI  - Electronic structures of polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene.

PMID- 9992275
TI  - Binding energies of biexcitons in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9992277
TI  - Thermochemistry of the gadolinium-copper interface.

PMID- 9992276
TI  - Photoemission of Xe on Cr(110): Evidence for exponential dependence of the band
      dispersion on the interatomic spacing.

PMID- 9992279
TI  - Inequality linking vacancy-formation energy and rigidity in a liquid at melting
      point from a density-independent pair potential theory.

PMID- 9992278
TI  - Electron bound states in the vicinity of two orthogonal surfaces.

PMID- 9992280
TI  - Computer simulation for the roughness and fractal properties of film surfaces.

PMID- 9992282
TI  - micro Omega -resistance tunnel junctions investigated by weak localization.

PMID- 9992281
TI  - Residence time and density distribution of silver ions in alpha -Ag2Te by
      molecular-dynamics simulation.

PMID- 9992284
TI  - Airy-coordinate Green's-function technique for high-field transport in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9992285
TI  - Excitation energies of the fractional quantized Hall effect in high-mobility
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9992283
TI  - Exact perturbative solution of the Wolff model with electron-hole symmetry.

PMID- 9992287
TI  - Gap mode of Mn in HgTe.

PMID- 9992286
TI  - Quantum conduction in narrow constrictions.

PMID- 9992288
TI  - Activationless hopping of correlated electrons in n-type GaAs.

PMID- 9992289
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of anharmonic effects in silicon.

PMID- 9992290
TI  - Lightly doped and compensated quantum wells: The density of states in the dipole
      model.

PMID- 9992291
TI  - Negative pressures, clusters, and stiffness thresholds in noncrystalline network
      solids.

PMID- 9992292
TI  - Erratum: Accurate and simple density functional for the electronic exchange
      energy: Generalized gradient approximation

PMID- 9992294
TI  - Enhancement of cold fusion in metal "hydrides" by screening of proton and
      deuteron charges.

PMID- 9992293
TI  - Effect of the electron mean free path in small particles on the extended.

PMID- 9992295
TI  - Chemical potential oscillations near a barrier in the presence of transport.

PMID- 9992297
TI  - Analytic approach to charge transfer during atom-surface scattering.

PMID- 9992296
TI  - Electronic structure near (210) tilt boundaries in nickel.

PMID- 9992298
TI  - Second-harmonic generation from alkali-metal overlayers.

PMID- 9992299
TI  - Resonant enhancement of inverse photoemission transitions in bulk niobium.

PMID- 9992300
TI  - Electronic conductance of an orifice in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9992301
TI  - Possible mechanism for plasma instabilities in solid-state devices.

PMID- 9992302
TI  - Stretched-exponential law for carrier capture kinetics of a trapping center in
      compensated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9992303
TI  - Doping-induced structural phase transition in polyacetylene.

PMID- 9992304
TI  - Self-consistent electronic response and collective excitations of a multiwire
      superlattice of finite barrier height.

PMID- 9992305
TI  - Symmetry of the Si shallow donor state in AlAs/GaAs and AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9992307
TI  - Carrier-carrier scattering in GaAs: Quantitative measurements from hot (e,A0)
      luminescence.

PMID- 9992306
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs single-barrier heterojunction
      diodes.

PMID- 9992308
TI  - Nonanalytic behavior in the band theory of semiconductors.

PMID- 9992309
TI  - Magnetoconductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas in Al0.3Ga0.7As/Ga1
      xINxAs/GaAs pseudomorphic heterostructures in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9992310
TI  - Elastic screening of surface vibrations: Surface phonons on As:Si(111)(1 x 1).

PMID- 9992312
TI  - Quenching phenomenon of hopping conduction in neutron-transmutation-doped semi
      insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9992311
TI  - Degenerate doping and conduction-band properties of Si studied by synchrotron
      photoemission of Sb/Si(001).

PMID- 9992313
TI  - Electron states of a wide quantum well in a tilted magnetic field.

PMID- 9992315
TI  - Reversible temperature-dependent Fermi-level movement for metal-GaAs(110)
      interfaces.

PMID- 9992314
TI  - Surface roughness and correlation length determined from x-ray-diffraction line
      shape analysis on germanium (111).

PMID- 9992316
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect with spin reversal.

PMID- 9992317
TI  - Tunable Aharonov-Bohm effect in an electron interferometer.

PMID- 9992318
TI  - Helium scattering studies of the dynamics of a xenon-monolayer-covered graphite
      single-crystal surface.

PMID- 9992319
TI  - Ab initio study of H chemisorption on Li clusters in fcc(100) symmetry.

PMID- 9992320
TI  - Weak localization in pregraphitic carbon fibers.

PMID- 9992321
TI  - Surface phonons on the Pt(111) surface: A comparison of He-scattering experiments
      with lattice-dynamical calculations.

PMID- 9992322
TI  - Hydrogen as a local probe: Diffusion and short-range order in Ti1-yVy alloys.

PMID- 9992323
TI  - Surface and thin-film photoemission spectrum of nickel metal: A many-body
      solution to a two-dimensionally periodic cluster.

PMID- 9992324
TI  - Corrections to the continuum approximation for the free and bound polarons: The
      first-relaxed-excited-state energy.

PMID- 9992325
TI  - Disorder and density-of-states effects on the Hall constant in amorphous
      transition-metal alloys.

PMID- 9992326
TI  - Electronic properties of stoichiometric Ba and O overlayers adsorbed on W(001).

PMID- 9992327
TI  - Generalization of the Lindhard dielectric function to include fluctuation
      effects.

PMID- 9992328
TI  - Surface acoustic waves in a simple quasiperiodic system.

PMID- 9992329
TI  - High-precision sampling for Brillouin-zone integration in metals.

PMID- 9992331
TI  - Effect of an electric field on a split Bloch band.

PMID- 9992330
TI  - Existence of Stark-Wannier resonances for nonperiodic one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9992332
TI  - First-principles method for calculating electronic properties of layered
      structures.

PMID- 9992334
TI  - Plasmons in disordered, two-component, quasi-two-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9992333
TI  - Quasiparticle energies in small metal clusters.

PMID- 9992336
TI  - Disordered electronic systems: Concentration dependence of the dc conductivity in
      amorphous transition-metal-metalloid alloys (metallic regime).

PMID- 9992335
TI  - Extended norm-conserving pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9992337
TI  - Band-structure-dependent collective states in simple metals.

PMID- 9992338
TI  - Extensions of Kohn's theorem.

PMID- 9992339
TI  - Lattice-dynamical calculation of the Kapitza resistance between fcc lattices.

PMID- 9992340
TI  - Real-space multiple-scattering theory and the electronic structure of systems
      with full or reduced symmetry.

PMID- 9992341
TI  - Disruption, atom distributions, and energy levels for Ge/GaAs(110), Ge/InP(110),
      and Ge/InSb(110) heterojunctions.

PMID- 9992342
TI  - Raman spectroscopy of two novel semiconductors and related superlattices: Cubic
      Cd1-xMnxSe and Cd1-xZnxSe.

PMID- 9992343
TI  - Lifetime for resonant tunneling in a transverse magnetic field.

PMID- 9992344
TI  - Broadened conductivity tensor and density of states for a superlattice potential
      in one, two, and three dimensions.

PMID- 9992346
TI  - Effect of inelastic scattering on impurity resistivity.

PMID- 9992345
TI  - Hole-capture properties of the electron-irradiation-induced deep-level H5 in p
      type InP: A charge-controlled bistable model.

PMID- 9992347
TI  - Mean-field theory for interchain orientational ordering of conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9992348
TI  - Optical Stark effect of the exciton: Biexcitonic origin of the shift.

PMID- 9992349
TI  - Effect of virtual screening on the absorption spectrum of a coherently pumped
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9992350
TI  - Angle-resolved-photoemission study of AlSb(100) single crystals: Valence-band
      structure and surface states.

PMID- 9992351
TI  - Natural and actual valence-band discontinuities in the a-Si/a-Si1-xCx:H system: A
      photoemission study.

PMID- 9992352
TI  - Radiofrequency-plasma-deposited hydrogenated fluorinated silicon-carbon alloy
      films.

PMID- 9992354
TI  - Electronic mechanism for alkali-metal-promoted oxidation of semiconductors.

PMID- 9992353
TI  - Optical properties of gallium selenide under high pressure.

PMID- 9992355
TI  - Nonresonant excitonic optical nonlinearity in semiconductors.

PMID- 9992357
TI  - Differentiation of electron-paramagnetic-resonance signals of arsenic antisite
      defects in GaAs.

PMID- 9992356
TI  - Negative energy gap in HgTe-CdTe heterostructures with thick wells.

PMID- 9992358
TI  - Polaron Zeeman effect in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9992359
TI  - Energetics and structure of Peierls-Hubbard chains in ground and excited states.

PMID- 9992361
TI  - Structural stability and valence charge density in a (GaAs)1/(InAs)1

PMID- 9992360
TI  - Electronic structure of the (GaP)1/(InP)1 (111) strained-layer superlattice.

PMID- 9992362
TI  - Adatoms on Si(111) and Ge(111) surfaces.

PMID- 9992364
TI  - High-current effects in magnetotransport of two-dimensional electrons in
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9992363
TI  - Density of states and temperature dependence of the exponent in the light
      intensity behavior of a-Si:H photoconductivity.

PMID- 9992365
TI  - Photoacoustic investigation of semiconductors: Influence of carrier diffusion and
      recombination in PbTe and Si.

PMID- 9992366
TI  - Optical absorption in metallic-dielectric microstructures.

PMID- 9992367
TI  - Pattern formation during laser melting of silicon.

PMID- 9992369
TI  - Structure of the K/Si(100)-(2 x 1) surface: Semiempirical self-consistent-field
      crystal orbital analysis.

PMID- 9992368
TI  - Interface states in CdTe-ZnTe strained superlattices.

PMID- 9992370
TI  - Electron energy levels for a dense electron gas in parabolic GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9992372
TI  - Ab initio multicenter tight-binding model for molecular-dynamics simulations and
      other applications in covalent systems.

PMID- 9992371
TI  - First-principles pseudopotential and full-potential linear muffin-tin-orbital
      calculation of anharmonic effects on the lattice-dynamical properties of AlP.

PMID- 9992373
TI  - Tunneling and relaxation of photogenerated carriers in semiconductor quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9992374
TI  - Electron-hole liquid in germanium under high <111> stress.

PMID- 9992375
TI  - High pressure and DX centers in heavily doped bulk GaAs.

PMID- 9992376
TI  - Metal/GaP(110) interface formation: Ti, Pd, Ag, and Au adatom deposition.

PMID- 9992377
TI  - One-phonon resonant Raman scattering: Frohlich exciton-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9992378
TI  - Oxygen-vacancy complex in silicon. I. 29Si electron-nuclear double resonance.

PMID- 9992380
TI  - Epitaxial effects on coherent phase diagrams of alloys.

PMID- 9992379
TI  - Oxygen-vacancy complex in silicon. II. 17O electron-nuclear double resonance.

PMID- 9992382
TI  - Two-band density-matrix approach to nonlinear optics of excitons.

PMID- 9992381
TI  - Polaron cyclotron-resonance mass in a single GaAs quantum well.

PMID- 9992383
TI  - Calculation of dielectric susceptibility for complex ionic systems: Application
      to a predicted superlattice.

PMID- 9992384
TI  - Electronic excitation in impact scattering of low-energy He+ from solid surfaces.

PMID- 9992386
TI  - Anomalously small 4f-5d oscillator strengths and 4f-4f electronic Raman
      scattering cross sections for Ce3+ in crystals of LuPO4.

PMID- 9992385
TI  - Intensities of electronic Raman scattering between crystal-field levels of Ce3+
      in LuPO4: Nonresonant and near-resonant excitation.

PMID- 9992387
TI  - Brillouin scattering from corrugated Ag films: Surface-plasmon-mediated
      enhancement and relaxed wave-vector conservation.

PMID- 9992389
TI  - Renormalization of hopping integrals due to Coulomb interactions for the Anderson
      model.

PMID- 9992388
TI  - Topologies and relative energies of stacking faults occurring in the close-packed
      phases of Li.

PMID- 9992390
TI  - One-dimensional model of a liquid metal in the effective-medium approximation in
      the random limit.

PMID- 9992391
TI  - Dependence of the elastic characteristics of charge-density-wave conductors on
      the dc electric field.

PMID- 9992392
TI  - Interaction between 111In atoms and impurity atoms of s-p elements dissolved in
      silver.

PMID- 9992393
TI  - Carbon K-shell near-edge structure: Multiple scattering and band-theory
      calculations.

PMID- 9992394
TI  - Reduction of the electron density in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs single heterojunctions by
      continuous photoexcitation.

PMID- 9992395
TI  - Electroabsorption in In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As asymmetric coupled quantum
      wells grown on InP substrates.

PMID- 9992397
TI  - Ma-Brueckner correlation energy.

PMID- 9992396
TI  - Picosecond photoinduced exciton bleaching in emeraldine base: Crossover in decay
      mechanisms.

PMID- 9992398
TI  - Comment on "Critical behavior of the zero-temperature conductivity in compensated
      silicon, Si:(P,B)"

PMID- 9992399
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Critical behavior of the zero-temperature conductivity in
      compensated silicon, Si:(P,B)' "

PMID- 9992400
TI  - Comment on "Silent soft mode in hexagonal barium titanate observed by hyper-Raman
      scattering"

PMID- 9992401
TI  - Comment on "Mechanism of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in insulators at very
      low temperatures"

PMID- 9992402
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Mechanism of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in insulators
      at very low temperatures' "

PMID- 9992403
TI  - Charge-density-wave transport in hydrogen-doped NbSe3.

PMID- 9992404
TI  - Mechanism of photoelectron yield enhancement from Ag clusters.

PMID- 9992405
TI  - Diffusion in random chains: Perturbative expansion around the effective-medium
      approximation.

PMID- 9992406
TI  - X-ray standing-wave analysis with high reflection order and near-normal
      incidence.

PMID- 9992407
TI  - Density dependence of intersubband transitions in a modulation-doped quantum
      well.

PMID- 9992408
TI  - Self-trapped holes in amorphous silicon dioxide.

PMID- 9992410
TI  - Paramagnetic neutron scattering from Pd2MnSn.

PMID- 9992411
TI  - Measurement of the occupation lengths of channeled 17-MeV electrons and 54-MeV
      electrons and positrons in silicon by means of channeling radiation.

PMID- 9992409
TI  - Zeeman-switched optical-free-induction decay and dephasing in YLiF4:Er3+

PMID- 9992412
TI  - Spectroscopy of disordered low-field sites in Cr3+: Mullite glass ceramic.

PMID- 9992413
TI  - Layer-by-layer growth of solid argon films on graphite as studied by neutron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9992414
TI  - Perturbed angular correlation study of impurity interactions in a cubic host
      metal: Hf in Nb.

PMID- 9992415
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance of a molecular defect in gamma -irradiated IrO2
      single crystals.

PMID- 9992416
TI  - Dechanneling of protons in diamond.

PMID- 9992417
TI  - Electromagnetic response of layered superconductors.

PMID- 9992418
TI  - Behavior of the thermal conductivity of dilute 3He-4He mixtures in the superfluid
      phase.

PMID- 9992419
TI  - Fermi-liquid theory near the Mott transition.

PMID- 9992421
TI  - Superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in heavy-electron systems.

PMID- 9992420
TI  - Superconducting transition temperatures of two-dimensional ultrathin V films and
      quasi-two-dimensional V-Si multilayered systems.

PMID- 9992422
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in the superconducting Chevrel phase compounds
      Mo6Se8-xSx.

PMID- 9992423
TI  - Two-body density matrix of a Bose fluid.

PMID- 9992424
TI  - Magnetic phases in Ising square lattices with mixed bonds.

PMID- 9992426
TI  - Commensurate states in quasicrystalline superconducting networks.

PMID- 9992425
TI  - Information-theoretical approach to Josephson tunneling.

PMID- 9992427
TI  - New method of solving the optimized paired-phonon analysis equations and
      stability of thin films of liquid 4He at T=0 K.

PMID- 9992428
TI  - Pairing mechanism in Bi-O superconductors: A finite-size chain calculation.

PMID- 9992429
TI  - Infrared reflectivity spectra of single crystals of La2CuO4.

PMID- 9992431
TI  - Some properties of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992430
TI  - Power laws in the resistive state in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992433
TI  - Validity of the strong-coupling expansion of the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992432
TI  - Phenomenological theory for copper oxide high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992434
TI  - Microwave absorption at low magnetic field in sintered YBa2Cu3O7: Freezing
      effects at low temperature and superconducting-glass model.

PMID- 9992435
TI  - Electronic structure, photoemission, inverse photoemission, and x-ray emission
      spectra of superconducting Ba1-xKxBiO3.

PMID- 9992437
TI  - Structural and magnetization density studies of La2NiO4.

PMID- 9992436
TI  - Magnetic ordering and superconductivity in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9992438
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of ErBa2Cu3Ox in the composition range 6.1 <= x <= 7.0.

PMID- 9992440
TI  - Superconductivity of the Kronig-Penney model.

PMID- 9992439
TI  - Quasiparticle density of states in the perpendicular direction to the Cu-O planes
      in YBa2Cu3O7-x single-crystal thin films.

PMID- 9992441
TI  - Growth, structural, and physical properties of superconducting Nd2-xCexCuO4
      crystals.

PMID- 9992442
TI  - Neutron scattering study of magnetic excitations in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9992444
TI  - Exact results for randomly decorated magnetic frustrated models of planar CuO2
      systems.

PMID- 9992443
TI  - Upper critical field and normal-state properties of single-phase Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-
      gamma compounds.

PMID- 9992445
TI  - Photoemission and inverse-photoemission studies of Ba1-xKxBiO3-y.

PMID- 9992447
TI  - Oxygen diffusion in the superconducting oxide YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9992446
TI  - Systematic study of (La1-xGdx)1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (0 <= x <= 1): Structure,
      superconductivity, resistivity, and magnetic properties.

PMID- 9992448
TI  - Spin dynamics in the two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet La2CuO4.

PMID- 9992449
TI  - Vortex phases and dissipation in high-temperature superconducting oxides.

PMID- 9992450
TI  - Field-dependent specific heat of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9992451
TI  - Neutron scattering study of the magnetic excitations in metallic and
      superconducting La2-xSrxCuO4-y.

PMID- 9992452
TI  - Effective one-band Hamiltonian for the copper-oxygen plane in the superconducting
      copper oxides.

PMID- 9992454
TI  - Strong mode locking in systems far from chaos.

PMID- 9992453
TI  - Micromagnetics and the phenomenological theory of ferromagnets.

PMID- 9992456
TI  - Spectrum of the biquadratic spin-1 antiferromagnetic chain.

PMID- 9992455
TI  - Nature of ordering in Potts spin glasses.

PMID- 9992457
TI  - Spin-correlation functions of the anisotropic XY chain.

PMID- 9992459
TI  - Distribution and localization of the harmonic magnon modes in a one-dimensional
      Heisenberg spin glass.

PMID- 9992458
TI  - Magnetic behavior of compositionally modulated Ni-Cu thin films.

PMID- 9992461
TI  - Observation of bond-orientational order in the incommensurate fluid phase of
      potassium chemisorbed on nickel (111).

PMID- 9992460
TI  - Model for dielectric breakdown in metal-insulator composites.

PMID- 9992462
TI  - Crossover from nonclassical to Ornstein-Zernike behavior for the order-parameter
      correlation function.

PMID- 9992463
TI  - Dissipative quantum dynamics in a boson bath.

PMID- 9992464
TI  - Ionic conductivity and the phase transitions in Na2SO4.

PMID- 9992465
TI  - Tensile fracture of heterogeneous solids with distributed breaking strengths.

PMID- 9992466
TI  - Critical scattering function in a binary fluid mixture: A study of sodium
      deuteroammonia solution at the critical concentration by small-angle neutron
      scattering.

PMID- 9992467
TI  - Preroughening transitions in crystal surfaces and valence-bond phases in quantum
      spin chains.

PMID- 9992469
TI  - Anomalous incommensurability and local ordered states at first-order phase
      transitions.

PMID- 9992468
TI  - Magnetic behavior of Ce(Cu1-xAgx)6.

PMID- 9992470
TI  - Phenomenological model of melting in Lennard-Jones clusters.

PMID- 9992471
TI  - Structure of noise generated on diffusion fronts.

PMID- 9992473
TI  - Classical magnetic resonance equation for ordered-state systems.

PMID- 9992472
TI  - Spin-wave theory of the quantum antiferromagnet with unbroken sublattice
      symmetry.

PMID- 9992474
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the two-impurity Kondo Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9992475
TI  - Synchrotron x-ray study of the structures and phase transitions of monolayer
      xenon on single-crystal graphite.

PMID- 9992476
TI  - Soliton theory for realistic magnetic domain-wall dynamics.

PMID- 9992477
TI  - Theory of antiferromagnetic superlattices at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9992478
TI  - Dilute spin glass at zero temperature in general dimension.

PMID- 9992479
TI  - Dynamical Monte Carlo study of crystal growth in a solid-on-solid model.

PMID- 9992480
TI  - Anomalous diffusion in a lattice-gas wind-tree model.

PMID- 9992481
TI  - Weak random bonds in the Heisenberg ferromagnet near two dimensions.

PMID- 9992482
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of the correlation length and the susceptibility of a
      quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet in two dimensions.

PMID- 9992483
TI  - Exact duality-decimation transformations and real-space renormalization for the
      Ising model on a square lattice.

PMID- 9992484
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies of the mixed cyanides: I. Structural transformations.

PMID- 9992485
TI  - From moduli scaling to breakdown scaling: A moment-spectrum analysis.

PMID- 9992486
TI  - Critical behavior of epitaxial antiferromagnetic insulators: Interdigital
      capacitance measurement of magnetic specific heat of FeF2 thin films.

PMID- 9992487
TI  - Paired-magnon analysis of quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992488
TI  - Stability of ferrons in antiferromagnets: The role of zero-point fluctuations.

PMID- 9992489
TI  - Fluid, hexatic, and crystal phases in terephthal-bis-(4n)-alkylanilines.

PMID- 9992490
TI  - One-dimensional quantum transport in the presence of traps.

PMID- 9992491
TI  - Melting in multilayer adsorbed films.

PMID- 9992492
TI  - Dynamic critical behavior of random spin chains in a field.

PMID- 9992493
TI  - Far-infrared studies of the phase transitions in beta -quinol-methanol and
      methanol-D4 clathrates.

PMID- 9992494
TI  - Landau theory of the magnetically ordered phases in CsCoCl3 and related
      compounds.

PMID- 9992496
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of a disordered classical Heisenberg system in one
      dimension and with long-range ferromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9992495
TI  - Surface-enhanced magnetization for uniaxial ferromagnets.

PMID- 9992497
TI  - Force distribution, multiscaling, and fluctuations in disordered elastic media.

PMID- 9992498
TI  - Effects of finite size on phase transitions observed in the random-site binary
      magnetic Ising model.

PMID- 9992499
TI  - Short-range order in Ising-like models with many-body interactions: Description
      via effective pair interactions.

PMID- 9992500
TI  - Sublattice-symmetric spin-wave theory for the Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9992501
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the Potts model on the square and the simple cubic lattices.

PMID- 9992503
TI  - Bosonic mean-field theory of quantum Heisenberg spin systems: Bose condensation
      and magnetic order.

PMID- 9992502
TI  - Finite-temperature ferromagnetism of nickel.

PMID- 9992504
TI  - Spin dynamics of EuS in the paramagnetic phase.

PMID- 9992505
TI  - Phase and amplitude modes of the n=4 incommensurate phase II of biphenyl: Neutron
      scattering experiments and theoretical results.

PMID- 9992506
TI  - Vortex-loop scaling in the three-dimensional XY ferromagnet.

PMID- 9992507
TI  - Kinetics of domain growth, theory, and Monte Carlo simulations: A two-dimensional
      martensitic phase transition model system.

PMID- 9992508
TI  - Model for a decorated twin boundary in ferroelastic martensites.

PMID- 9992510
TI  - Results for the phase diagram of the two-dimensional Coulomb gas.

PMID- 9992509
TI  - Thermodynamics of Ising models with layered randomness: Exact solutions on square
      and triangular lattices.

PMID- 9992511
TI  - Finite-size effects in continuum percolation.

PMID- 9992512
TI  - Scaling theory of polydispersity, an infinite chain, and the Flory-Huggins
      approximation.

PMID- 9992513
TI  - Gradient free energy and intrinsic angular momentum in unconventional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9992515
TI  - Temperature, frequency, and rf field dependence of the surface resistance of
      polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9992514
TI  - Glass behavior of superconducting arrays: Novel finite-size effects.

PMID- 9992516
TI  - Nearest-neighbor repulsion in electron-doped high-temperature cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9992517
TI  - Torque in the irreversible regime on oriented YBa2Cu3O7 crystals.

PMID- 9992518
TI  - Far-infrared transmission of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 films.

PMID- 9992519
TI  - Magnetic relaxation and critical current density limited by flux creep in
      Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr1.6Ca2Cu2.8Ox (Tc=115 K) and YBa2Cu3O7-x (Tc=92 K).

PMID- 9992521
TI  - Pressure dependence of the Cu magnetic order in RBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9992520
TI  - Energy dispersions of single-crystalline Bi2.0Sr1.8Ca0.8La0.3Cu2.1O8+ delta
      superconductors determined using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992522
TI  - Magnetoresistance of c-axis-oriented epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-x films above Tc.

PMID- 9992524
TI  - Chemical state of Tl in the superconductor Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 studied by x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992523
TI  - Statistical properties of the spin liquid: Interpretation of the hole states and
      exchange-mediated pairing.

PMID- 9992525
TI  - Nonuniversal and surface critical behavior near a defect plane.

PMID- 9992526
TI  - Antiferromagnetic resonance in La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9992527
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of the correlation length and the susceptibility of the
      ferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9992528
TI  - Magnetic interactions in amorphous spin-glass-superconducting multilayers.

PMID- 9992530
TI  - Spin-Peierls ground states of the quantum dimer model: A finite-size study.

PMID- 9992529
TI  - Memory functions for the one-dimensional Ising model in a transverse field.

PMID- 9992532
TI  - Phase diagram of the frustrated XY model on a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9992531
TI  - Specific-heat anomaly of a ferromagnet in finite magnetic fields.

PMID- 9992533
TI  - Thermal conductivity of solid N2-Ar alloys.

PMID- 9992534
TI  - Erratum: Polarization dependence of magnetic x-ray scattering

PMID- 9992535
TI  - Gauge invariance and flux quantization in the system of fractional-statistics
      particles.

PMID- 9992536
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy-active empty states on the (benzene + CO)/Rh(111)
      surface investigated by inverse photoemission.

PMID- 9992537
TI  - Existence of a phase transition in Finkelshtein's model for a disordered Fermi
      liquid.

PMID- 9992539
TI  - Hydrogen-mediated model for defect metastability in hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9992538
TI  - Quantum description of dissipation in normal metals and short constrictions.

PMID- 9992540
TI  - Uniaxial anisotropic flux trapping in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O single
      crystals.

PMID- 9992541
TI  - Pair-breaking description of the vortex-depinning critical field in YBa2Cu3O7
      thin films.

PMID- 9992542
TI  - Ultrasonic studies of the relation between two-level-tunneling systems, oxygen
      content, and superconducting transition temperature in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9992543
TI  - Bulk superconductivity above 30 K in T-phase compounds.

PMID- 9992544
TI  - Flux pinning by precipitates in the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9992546
TI  - Angular dependence of the upper critical field of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single
      crystals.

PMID- 9992545
TI  - Valence-band states in Bi2(Ca,Sr,La)3Cu2O8.

PMID- 9992547
TI  - Stability of superconducting phases in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and the role of Pb doping.

PMID- 9992549
TI  - Thermopower studies and resistive anomalies in Ce3In and Ce3In0.9M0.1 alloys
      (M=Al, Ga, Sn, Ge).

PMID- 9992548
TI  - Itinerant magnetism in CeRh3B2.

PMID- 9992551
TI  - Strange attractors in parallel-pumped spin-wave instabilities: Bifurcation of
      multifractals.

PMID- 9992550
TI  - Maximum-entropy approaches to quantum electronic transport.

PMID- 9992552
TI  - Absence of long-range order in three-dimensional Heisenberg models.

PMID- 9992553
TI  - Ferromagnetism in the one-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992554
TI  - Dielectric measurements of the proton-glass state in Rb0.65(NH4)0.35H2AsO4.

PMID- 9992555
TI  - Theoretical construction of the magnetic Hamiltonian and zero-temperature
      anisotropic energy in Nd2Fe14B.

PMID- 9992556
TI  - Magnetic ordering in La2Cu1-xZnxO4-y.

PMID- 9992557
TI  - Magnetic order of Pr in PrBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9992558
TI  - Optical excitations from a flux phase.

PMID- 9992559
TI  - Charge transfer in intermetallics: HfPt3.

PMID- 9992560
TI  - Numerical study of symmetry effects on localization in two dimensions.

PMID- 9992561
TI  - Photoelectron diffraction determination of the geometry of a clean metal surface:
      Ta(100).

PMID- 9992563
TI  - Nonlocal corrections to Fresnel optics: Comparison of exact solutions with d
      parameter approximations.

PMID- 9992562
TI  - Chainlike hydrogen ordering in alpha -ScDx systems.

PMID- 9992564
TI  - Covalent bonding of sulfur on Ni(001): S as a prototypical adsorbate catalytic
      poisoner.

PMID- 9992565
TI  - Simple theory for the atomic-force microscope with a comparison of theoretical
      and experimental images of graphite.

PMID- 9992566
TI  - Band structure for dissimilar electromagnetic waves in a periodic structure.

PMID- 9992568
TI  - Striped-type superstructure in gamma -brass alloys.

PMID- 9992567
TI  - Temperature dependence of the charge-density-wave mass and relaxation time.

PMID- 9992569
TI  - Larmor-clock transmission times for resonant double barriers.

PMID- 9992570
TI  - Second-harmonic generation at simple metal surfaces.

PMID- 9992571
TI  - Electron-phonon relaxation in pure metals and superconductors at very low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9992573
TI  - Simultaneous solution of diagonalization and self-consistency problems for
      transition-metal systems.

PMID- 9992572
TI  - Surface plasma resonances in free metal clusters.

PMID- 9992574
TI  - Spin susceptibility in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9992575
TI  - Crystallization kinetics in amorphous rare-earth-transition-metal alloys.

PMID- 9992576
TI  - Impurity pinning of sliding charge-density waves.

PMID- 9992577
TI  - Theory of optical coherence for Wannier excitons: Application to photon echoes.

PMID- 9992578
TI  - Thermoelectric power during magnetic-field-induced localization in degenerately
      doped n-type Ge.

PMID- 9992579
TI  - Reconstruction of the clean and metal-adsorbed Ge(111) surface.

PMID- 9992580
TI  - Mechanisms of dopant impurity diffusion in silicon.

PMID- 9992582
TI  - Valence-subband structures of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires: The effect of split
      off bands.

PMID- 9992581
TI  - Line-shape theory of magnetoabsorption in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9992583
TI  - Exciton binding energy and external-field-induced blue shift in double quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9992585
TI  - Fluorescence spectra of the layered semiconductor compound MnPS3.

PMID- 9992584
TI  - Electronic structure of cadmium-telluride-zinc-telluride strained-layer
      superlattices under pressure.

PMID- 9992586
TI  - Phonoionization of A+ states in Si under uniaxial stress: Influence of the
      valence-band structure.

PMID- 9992587
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering from ZnTe microcrystals: Evidence for quantum size
      effects.

PMID- 9992588
TI  - Investigation of the bulk band structure of IV-VI compound semiconductors: PbSe
      and PbTe.

PMID- 9992590
TI  - Electronic structure and dispersion of compensated n-i-p-i superlattices with
      small period lengths.

PMID- 9992589
TI  - Direct observation of surface-trapped diffracted waves.

PMID- 9992591
TI  - Valley-mixing effects in short-period superlattices.

PMID- 9992592
TI  - Chemical and electronic properties of the Ag/GaSb(110) interface formed at room
      and low temperature.

PMID- 9992593
TI  - Delayed switching in a phase-slip model of charge-density-wave transport.

PMID- 9992594
TI  - Formation process of a bipolaron and light-absorption bands in halogen-bridged
      mixed-valence metal complexes.

PMID- 9992595
TI  - Hole ionization of Mn-doped GaAs: Photoluminescence versus space-charge
      techniques.

PMID- 9992596
TI  - Binding energies of excited shallow acceptor states in GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9992598
TI  - g shift in thermal donors in silicon.

PMID- 9992597
TI  - Far-infrared determination of effective mass and valence-band offset in the
      HgTe/CdTe superlattice.

PMID- 9992600
TI  - Superoperator theory of high-field transport for an electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9992599
TI  - Analytic distribution for charge carriers in a semiconductor dominated by
      equivalent intervalley scattering.

PMID- 9992601
TI  - Band-edge structure of indium-doped Pb1-xSnxTe across the band-inversion region
      investigated by the far-infrared magnetoplasma method.

PMID- 9992603
TI  - Anharmonic elastic and phonon properties of Si.

PMID- 9992602
TI  - Boron carbide structure by Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992605
TI  - Surface-phonon polariton on gratings of GaP thin slabs: Far-infrared reflection.

PMID- 9992604
TI  - Electron states associated with 90 degrees partial dislocations in germanium.

PMID- 9992606
TI  - Near-band-gap photoluminescence of Si-Ge alloys.

PMID- 9992607
TI  - Pseudo-atomic-orbital band theory applied to electron-energy-loss near-edge
      structures.

PMID- 9992608
TI  - Subnanosecond x-ray diffraction from laser-shocked crystals.

PMID- 9992609
TI  - Oxygen 1s x-ray-absorption edges of transition-metal oxides.

PMID- 9992610
TI  - Ruby at high pressure. I. Optical line shifts to 156 GPa.

PMID- 9992611
TI  - Ruby at high pressure. II. Fluorescence lifetime of the R line to 130 GPa.

PMID- 9992613
TI  - Dissociation of O2 on Cu(001).

PMID- 9992612
TI  - Equilibrium structures of neutral interstitial hydrogen in zinc-blende BN and BP.

PMID- 9992614
TI  - Off-normal-incidence effects in the infrared-reflectivity spectra of aluminum
      phosphate.

PMID- 9992615
TI  - Elastic behavior of KxNa1-xCN quadrupolar glasses.

PMID- 9992616
TI  - Structural phase transitions and polymorphism in mixed crystals M(CN)xX1-x (M=Na,
      K, Rb; X=Cl, Br, I).

PMID- 9992618
TI  - Interactions between two identical polymer chains studied with first-principles
      calculations.

PMID- 9992617
TI  - Electronic structure of the hydrogen-potassium-graphite ternary intercalation
      compound C8KHx.

PMID- 9992619
TI  - Al and Ga contributions to the density of states of AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9992620
TI  - Electronic specific heat and magnetic susceptibility in bismuth thin films under
      three-dimensional quantization.

PMID- 9992621
TI  - Correlation energy of a one-component layered electron gas.

PMID- 9992622
TI  - Magnetoresistance of amorphous Cu-Ti alloys: The spin-orbit scattering time
      within weak localization.

PMID- 9992623
TI  - Cyclotron resonance in two dimensions: Electron-electron interactions and band
      nonparabolicity.

PMID- 9992624
TI  - Aluminum bulk-plasmon dispersion and its anisotropy.

PMID- 9992626
TI  - Effects of impurity location on the impurity bands and their spectral densities
      in quantum wells.

PMID- 9992625
TI  - Miniband dispersion and excitonic effects on the optical spectra of GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs superlattices.

PMID- 9992628
TI  - Noncreation of the EL2 defect in neutron-irradiated GaAs.

PMID- 9992627
TI  - Charge-state-dependent atomic geometries for isolated metal adatoms on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9992629
TI  - Percolation phenomena in Sr1-xCex

PMID- 9992631
TI  - Hydrogen interactions in PdHn (1 <= n <= 4).

PMID- 9992630
TI  - Erratum: Ab initio calculation of pressure coefficients of band gaps of silicon:
      Comparison of the local-density approximation and quasiparticle results

PMID- 9992632
TI  - Broadband-noise spectrum in sliding-charge-density-wave conductors.

PMID- 9992633
TI  - Steady-state quantum kinetic equation.

PMID- 9992634
TI  - Fractal aggregation of magnetic particles in Ag-Co thin-film surfaces.

PMID- 9992636
TI  - Epitaxial growth of body-centered-tetragonal copper.

PMID- 9992635
TI  - Coherent fcc stacking in epitaxial Co/Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9992637
TI  - Probing interfacial properties with Bloch electrons: Ag on Cu(111).

PMID- 9992638
TI  - Vibrational-energy relaxation of the metal-molecule stretch mode: CO on Pt(111).

PMID- 9992639
TI  - Carrier screening effects in semimetallic InAs single-quantum wells.

PMID- 9992641
TI  - Collective excitation spectra of one-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9992640
TI  - Atomic-resolution scanning-tunneling-microscopy investigations of alkali-metal
      graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9992642
TI  - Filled and empty surface electronic states observed on GaAs(110)1 x 1-K.

PMID- 9992644
TI  - One-dimensional electron gas in GaAs: Periodic conductance oscillations as a
      function of density.

PMID- 9992643
TI  - Modeling of hydrogen diffusion in n- and p-type silicon.

PMID- 9992645
TI  - Effective correlation energy of a Si dangling bond calculated with the local-spin
      density approximation.

PMID- 9992646
TI  - Depolarization shift and subband-Landau-level coupling in AlAs-GaAs
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9992647
TI  - Resonant Compton scattering.

PMID- 9992649
TI  - Photoinduced absorption in hydrogenated amorphous silicon studied by photothermal
      deflection spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992648
TI  - Localized electronic states and resonant Raman scattering from localized and
      quasiresonant phonons in Si-Ge layers.

PMID- 9992651
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of fcc transition metals as calculated with the embedded
      atom method.

PMID- 9992650
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of the Sn DX center in direct-gap
      Ga0.69Al0.31As.

PMID- 9992652
TI  - Valence changes and core-level shifts of Sm adsorbed on Mo(110).

PMID- 9992653
TI  - Theory of the binding energy of an electron in the field of a linear electric
      quadrupole.

PMID- 9992654
TI  - Pressure dependence of the melting temperature of metals.

PMID- 9992655
TI  - Surface anharmonicity on Cu(110).

PMID- 9992656
TI  - Effect of impurities on the quantized conductance of narrow channels.

PMID- 9992657
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscope as a probe of the local transport field in
      mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9992658
TI  - Optical-absorption edge and disorder effects in hydrogenated amorphous
      diamondlike carbon films.

PMID- 9992659
TI  - Conduction-electron Zeeman splitting in the noble metals.

PMID- 9992660
TI  - Temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of potassium films.

PMID- 9992661
TI  - Nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect on a nickel surface.

PMID- 9992662
TI  - Backscattering and linear response in a disordered metal.

PMID- 9992664
TI  - Linear response of polycrystals to coupled fields: Exact relations among the
      coefficients.

PMID- 9992663
TI  - Divergence in the balance-equation theory of resistivity.

PMID- 9992665
TI  - Lattice dynamics of quenched diffuse omega phase in Zr0.8Nb0.2.

PMID- 9992666
TI  - Point-charge effects on the vibrational frequency of CO chemisorbed on Cu and Pd
      clusters: A model for CO with ionic coadsorbates.

PMID- 9992667
TI  - Diffraction of He and Ne and selective adsorption of He on Rh(110).

PMID- 9992669
TI  - Photoemission from ordered thin films of Cu on Ni(100).

PMID- 9992668
TI  - Structural properties of liquid alkali-metal-lead alloys: NaPb, KPb, RbPb, and
      CsPb.

PMID- 9992670
TI  - Empirical electron-phonon coupling constants and anisotropic electrical
      resistivity in hcp metals.

PMID- 9992672
TI  - Detection of Alpher-Rubin attenuation and a search for nuclear acoustic resonance
      of surface waves in tantalum films.

PMID- 9992671
TI  - Electronic structure of hydrated Ce4+ ions in solution: An x-ray-absorption
      study.

PMID- 9992673
TI  - Density of states in a resonant-tunneling structure.

PMID- 9992674
TI  - Growth of ultrathin Cu layers on Cu2O/Cu(110) and CuO/Cu(110): Sandwich
      electronic and epitaxial structures.

PMID- 9992675
TI  - Random-tiling quasicrystal.

PMID- 9992676
TI  - Semiempirical modified embedded-atom potentials for silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9992677
TI  - Type-I-type-II transition in ultra-short-period GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9992678
TI  - Hierarchical classification of fractional quantum Hall states.

PMID- 9992679
TI  - Electronic properties of Na overlayers on the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9992680
TI  - Escape process of resonant-tunneling electrons from a quantum well.

PMID- 9992681
TI  - Hopping conductivity and ac magnetoresistance of p-type InSb using acoustic
      measurements.

PMID- 9992682
TI  - Lattice-mode coupling to the charge-density wave in (TMTSF)2ReO4 (where TMTSF is
      bis-tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene).

PMID- 9992683
TI  - Quantum transport for Bloch electrons in inhomogeneous electric fields.

PMID- 9992684
TI  - Surface segregation of third-column atoms in group III-V arsenide compounds:
      Ternary alloys and heterostructures.

PMID- 9992685
TI  - Theory of pulse propagation and wave-mixing processes under intense resonant
      excitation.

PMID- 9992687
TI  - Infrared magnetospectroscopy of GaAs at magnetic fields up to 150 T.

PMID- 9992686
TI  - Electron-optical-phonon interaction in single and double heterostructures.

PMID- 9992688
TI  - 8000-cm-1 line spectrum in platinum-doped silicon studied by perturbation
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992690
TI  - Free-carrier absorption from Fibonacci sequences of delta -doped layers in
      silicon.

PMID- 9992689
TI  - Determination of the binding energy of excitons to neutral donors located at the
      center or edge of the well or at the center of the barrier in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs
      multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9992691
TI  - Chemical trends for deep levels associated with vacancy-impurity complexes in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9992692
TI  - Defect equilibria in undoped a-Si:H.

PMID- 9992693
TI  - Size of exciton bound to a neutral impurity.

PMID- 9992694
TI  - Magnetophonon effect in the energy relaxation rate of electrons in a GaAs
      heterostructure.

PMID- 9992695
TI  - High-field electron transport in quantum wires studied by solution of the
      Boltzmann equation.

PMID- 9992696
TI  - Magnetotunneling spectroscopy in a double-barrier heterostructure: Observation of
      incoherent resonant-tunneling processes.

PMID- 9992697
TI  - Structural, electronic, and optical properties of polyacetylene from a total
      energy local-density molecular-cluster approach.

PMID- 9992698
TI  - Electronic structure of kink and kink-antikink defects in polyacetylene.

PMID- 9992700
TI  - Exciton-mediated Raman scattering in multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9992699
TI  - Enhancing second-order nonlinear optical properties by controlling the wave
      function in one-dimensional conjugated molecules.

PMID- 9992701
TI  - Lattice relaxation of DX-like donors in ZnxCd1-xTe.

PMID- 9992702
TI  - Self-trapped single-particle excitations in equilibrium and photoconductivity in
      glassy semiconductors.

PMID- 9992703
TI  - Formation of N centers in pure NaCl.

PMID- 9992704
TI  - Anharmonic damping in rare-gas multilayers.

PMID- 9992705
TI  - Raman scattering determination of structures for SiC polytypes: Quantitative
      evaluation with a revised model of lattice dynamics.

PMID- 9992706
TI  - Wave-vector dependence of Raman scattering intensity in folded modes of long
      period alpha -SiC.

PMID- 9992707
TI  - Dominating Coulomb-interaction effects in amorphous InxOy films.

PMID- 9992708
TI  - Atom-atom potentials and rare-gas-graphite interactions.

PMID- 9992709
TI  - Silicide structural evolution in high-dose cobalt-implanted Si(100) crystals.

PMID- 9992710
TI  - Medium-range structural order and fractal annealing kinetics of radiolytic atomic
      hydrogen in high-purity silica.

PMID- 9992711
TI  - Specific heat of (KBr)1-x(KCN)x from 1 to 25 K.

PMID- 9992712
TI  - Photoemission and electronic structure of FeOOH: Distinguishing between oxide and
      oxyhydroxide.

PMID- 9992714
TI  - Chaotic wave functions and ballistic transport in nonlinear superlattices.

PMID- 9992713
TI  - Interaction and charge transfer in the iron nitride Fe4N.

PMID- 9992715
TI  - Embedded-atom study of the spontaneous formation of misfit dislocations.

PMID- 9992716
TI  - Liquid alkali metals: Equation of state and reduced-pressure, bulk-modulus, sound
      velocity, and specific-heat functions.

PMID- 9992717
TI  - Rydberg and multiple-electron excitations in x-ray photoabsorption spectra of N2
      adsorbed on Fe(111).

PMID- 9992718
TI  - Splitting of the states derived from the bulk X minima in GaAs-AlAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9992719
TI  - AlxGa1-xAs band-edge dependence on alloy composition.

PMID- 9992720
TI  - Effect of band structure on Stark shifts in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9992722
TI  - Interaction between longitudinal-optical-phonon modes of a rectangular quantum
      wire and charge carriers of a one-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9992721
TI  - Thermal relaxation of the electric conductivity in amorphous silicon-germanium
      alloys.

PMID- 9992723
TI  - Current-voltage discontinuities in high-quality two-dimensional electron systems
      at low Landau-level filling factors.

PMID- 9992724
TI  - Comment on "Secondary-electron effects in photon-stimulated desorption"

PMID- 9992726
TI  - Collision broadening of two-dimensional excitons in a GaAs single quantum well.

PMID- 9992725
TI  - Comment on some "new" results on the multilayer reconstruction of W(100).

PMID- 9992728
TI  - Direct probing of type-II band configurations in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9992727
TI  - Blue shift of the absorption edge induced by electric field in a double quantum
      well demonstrated by electroreflectance.

PMID- 9992730
TI  - Magnetoquantum oscillations of the phonon-drag thermoelectric power in
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9992729
TI  - Exciton linewidth narrowing in thin-barrier GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices.

PMID- 9992731
TI  - EPR of Cu2+-doped cadmium ammonium sulfate: Pseudo-Jahn-Teller effect.

PMID- 9992733
TI  - Effect of nonconservative forces on the neutralization of sputtered and other
      desorbed ions.

PMID- 9992732
TI  - Saturation-resolved-fluorescence spectroscopy of Cr3+:mullite glass ceramic.

PMID- 9992734
TI  - Crystallography, spectroscopic analysis, and lasing properties of
      Nd3+:Y3Sc2Al3O12.

PMID- 9992736
TI  - Quantum effects in deep inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9992735
TI  - Laser-induced fluorescence and up-conversion processes in LiYF4: Nd3+ laser
      crystals.

PMID- 9992737
TI  - Dipole approximation in electron-energy-loss spectroscopy: K-shell excitations.

PMID- 9992738
TI  - Mossbauer study of Cu0.5Fe0.5Cr2S4.

PMID- 9992739
TI  - Optical spectra of manganous ion in magnetic trimethyl ammonium manganous
      trichloride dihydrate

PMID- 9992740
TI  - Anisotropic superconductivity in C4KHg.

PMID- 9992741
TI  - Theoretical calculations of x-ray-absorption spectra of copper in La2CuO4 and
      related oxide compounds.

PMID- 9992742
TI  - Density dependence of the single-particle kinetic energy of solid hydrogen.

PMID- 9992744
TI  - Quantum fluctuations in superconducting arrays.

PMID- 9992743
TI  - Density dependence of the momentum distribution in normal liquid 4He.

PMID- 9992746
TI  - Cu K-edge x-ray-absorption near-edge structure and electronic structure of Nd2
      xCexCuO4-y and La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9992745
TI  - Structure of an isolated vortex in an anisotropic type-II superconductor.

PMID- 9992747
TI  - Coulomb blockade in a superlattice of normal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9992749
TI  - Elastic softening and internal friction in La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9992748
TI  - Functional-integral approach to strongly correlated Fermi systems: Quantum
      fluctuations beyond the Gutzwiller approximation.

PMID- 9992750
TI  - Critical properties of a dilute gas of vortex rings in three dimensions and the
      lambda transition in liquid helium.

PMID- 9992751
TI  - Temperature dependence of elastic constants: A material-independent parameter and
      data in hcp 4He.

PMID- 9992753
TI  - Phase locking of long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9992752
TI  - Anisotropic exchange and superconductivity in UPt3.

PMID- 9992754
TI  - Kondo effect and superconductivity in Nd2-xCexCuO4- delta compounds.

PMID- 9992757
TI  - Theory of electron distributions and 63Cu and 17O nuclear quadrupole interactions
      in the high-Tc system YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9992756
TI  - Coupled-cluster approximation for spin lattices: Application to solid 3He.

PMID- 9992755
TI  - Valence state for bismuth in the superconducting bismuth cuprates.

PMID- 9992758
TI  - Light scattering from quantum spin fluctuations in R2CuO4 (R=La, Nd, Sm).

PMID- 9992760
TI  - Compressibility and superfluidity in the fractional-statistics liquid.

PMID- 9992759
TI  - Magnetoresistance and the spin-flop transition in single-crystal La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9992761
TI  - Super-radiant multifluxon dynamics in a system of parallel-coupled Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9992762
TI  - Ground state of a two-dimensional charged-boson system.

PMID- 9992763
TI  - Critical-current-free-energy relations in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992764
TI  - Antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in a two-dimensional Heisenberg model:
      Further studies on possible coexistence.

PMID- 9992765
TI  - First-principles investigation of the superconducting properties of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8
      and the spin instability of Cr using a new approach of configuration-interaction
      of band-structure wave functions.

PMID- 9992766
TI  - Anomalous oxygen isotope effect in La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9992767
TI  - Cluster-model calculation of the electronic structure of CuO: A model material
      for the high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992768
TI  - Anomalous peak in the thermopower of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals: A possible
      fluctuation effect.

PMID- 9992769
TI  - Far-infrared sphere resonance in isolated superconducting particles.

PMID- 9992771
TI  - Doping of charge density wave in Ba1-xKxBiO3.

PMID- 9992770
TI  - Superconductivity in a two-dimensional Fermi gas: Evolution from Cooper pairing
      to Bose condensation.

PMID- 9992772
TI  - Ground-state properties of a single oxygen hole in a CuO2 plane.

PMID- 9992773
TI  - Evolution and the concomitant disappearance of high-Tc superconductivity with
      carrier concentration in the La2-xSrxCuO4- delta system (0.0 <= x <= 1.2):
      Crossover from a Mott insulator to a band metal.

PMID- 9992774
TI  - Ising-model Monte Carlo simulations: Density of states and mass gap.

PMID- 9992776
TI  - Field-theoretical approach to critical phenomena.

PMID- 9992775
TI  - Hierarchical Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin quantization of nonseparable variables:
      Magnetic-flux effects in a varying width geometry.

PMID- 9992778
TI  - Perturbational treatment of correlation effects in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992777
TI  - Enhanced backscattering of electrons in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9992780
TI  - Antiferromagnetic planar-rotator model with further-neighbor interactions.

PMID- 9992779
TI  - Stability analysis of an Ising spin glass with transverse field.

PMID- 9992781
TI  - Surface melting of Ni(110).

PMID- 9992782
TI  - High-magnetic-field EPR in Cd1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9992783
TI  - Effects of high magnetic fields on charge-density waves in NbSe3.

PMID- 9992784
TI  - Grain-size effects in ferroelectric switching.

PMID- 9992785
TI  - Surface reflections and optical transport through random media: Coherent
      backscattering, optical memory effect, frequency, and dynamical correlations.

PMID- 9992786
TI  - Magnetic exchange interactions in Co-based II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductors:
      Zn1-xCoxS.

PMID- 9992787
TI  - Calculation of parameters in model Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9992788
TI  - Role of frustration interactions in the thermal properties of tiling models for
      glasses.

PMID- 9992789
TI  - Spin-wave calculations for multilayered structures.

PMID- 9992791
TI  - Hidden weak ferromagnetism in slightly doped antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992790
TI  - Specific heat in a magnetic field: A probe of the magnetic ground-state
      properties of heavy-fermion Ce(Ru2-xRhx)Si2-yGey.

PMID- 9992792
TI  - Magnetic properties of ultrathin fcc Fe(111)/Ru(0001) films.

PMID- 9992793
TI  - Frohlich conduction in spin-density waves.

PMID- 9992794
TI  - Percolation model of nuclear magnetic relaxation in porous media.

PMID- 9992796
TI  - Specific heat of the ytterbium monopnictides above 5 K from a band-structure
      calculation.

PMID- 9992795
TI  - Magnetic properties and Fermi surface of antiferromagnetic SmCu6.

PMID- 9992797
TI  - Oxygen on Ru(001): Critical behavior of a p(2 x 1) order-disorder transition.

PMID- 9992799
TI  - ESR detection of low-frequency fluctuations and optical-phonon-induced T1
      relaxation for KH2PO4:SeO43-

PMID- 9992798
TI  - Zero-field microSR measurements in CuMn and AuMn spin glasses interpreted in the
      frame of a fractal cluster model.

PMID- 9992800
TI  - Collective excitations in a doped antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9992801
TI  - Super-roughening: A new phase transition on the surfaces of crystals with
      quenched bulk disorder.

PMID- 9992802
TI  - Thermal stability and the origin of perpendicular anisotropy in amorphous Tb-Fe
      Co films.

PMID- 9992803
TI  - Kinetics of diamagnetic phase transitions.

PMID- 9992804
TI  - Properties of the chiral-spin-liquid state.

PMID- 9992805
TI  - Fluctuation effects in first-order phase transitions: Theory and model for
      martensitic transformations.

PMID- 9992806
TI  - Scaling theory of interacting light and heavy fermions in one dimension.

PMID- 9992807
TI  - Nonlinear magnetodynamic waves on magnetic materials.

PMID- 9992808
TI  - Relaxation study in percolating solids.

PMID- 9992809
TI  - Critical behavior at the ferromagnetic phase transition of (Fe1-xCrx)85B15
      metallic glasses close to the critical concentration of ferromagnetic long-range
      order.

PMID- 9992811
TI  - Comparison between frequency-dependent specific heat and dielectric relaxation of
      glycerol and propylene glycol.

PMID- 9992810
TI  - Quantum theory of the Faraday magneto-optical effect in paramagnetic media.

PMID- 9992812
TI  - Elementary excitations of spin-aligned deuterium.

PMID- 9992813
TI  - Accurate analytic approximation for magnetic-field penetration into
      superconducting aluminum.

PMID- 9992814
TI  - Measurement of Teff for Cu in YBa2Cu3O7 by neutron resonance absorption.

PMID- 9992815
TI  - Intermodulation of the two incommensurate waves in Bi2-xPbxSr2CaCu2Oy
      superconducting crystals.

PMID- 9992816
TI  - Measurement by EPR of the penetration depth in the high-Tc superconductors
      TlBa2Ca2Cu3Ox and Bi2Ca2SrCu2Ox.

PMID- 9992817
TI  - Test of universality for three-dimensional models of mechanical breakdown in
      disordered solids.

PMID- 9992818
TI  - Symmetry-breaking fixed points in the two-dimensional planar model.

PMID- 9992819
TI  - Effect of anisotropy on spin-wave surface magnetization in a Heisenberg
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9992821
TI  - Cusp catastrophe in the ferromagnetic resonance spectrum of a layered
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9992820
TI  - d-dimensional conductivity, conductivity exponent, and critical concentration in
      the site problem.

PMID- 9992823
TI  - Comment on "Optical and electron paramagnetic resonance studies of Fe impurities
      in yttrium aluminum garnet crystals"

PMID- 9992822
TI  - Low-temperature spin glass in IV-VI semimagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9992824
TI  - Spin-lattice coupling coefficients and the method of identifying the dominant
      mechanism for 6S-state splitting.

PMID- 9992825
TI  - Erratum: "Elastic constants of the polycrystalline Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductor"

PMID- 9992826
TI  - Solidification instability of quantum fluids.

PMID- 9992828
TI  - Ion neutralization mediated by a molecular state: He+ on D-covered TiC(111).

PMID- 9992827
TI  - Sensitivity of positron-annihilation-induced Auger-electron spectroscopy to the
      top surface layer.

PMID- 9992829
TI  - Repulsion-induced superconductivity in a multiband Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992830
TI  - Binding of holes in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9992831
TI  - Prediction of decoupling in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9992833
TI  - Electronic tunneling into an isolated vortex in a clean type-II superconductor.

PMID- 9992832
TI  - Giant torque magnetization anisotropy in Tl2Ba2CaCu2Ox thin films.

PMID- 9992834
TI  - Ion-channeling anomalies at the superconducting transition temperature in single
      crystal YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9992836
TI  - Fluctuation conductivity and normal resistivity in YBa2Cu3Oy.

PMID- 9992835
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in the Pb2Sr2(Y,Ca)Cu3O8+ delta superconductor.

PMID- 9992837
TI  - Short-time relaxation of the critical current in oriented grained YBa2Cu3Ox and
      granular (Bi,Pb)2 Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9992838
TI  - Quasiparticle tunneling in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin films.

PMID- 9992840
TI  - Quantum percolation in electron cuprate superconductors Nd2-xCexCuO4-y.

PMID- 9992839
TI  - Normal-state transport properties of Bi2+xSr2-yCuO6+ delta crystals.

PMID- 9992841
TI  - Superconducting pairing of the extended multiband Hubbard model: A weak-coupling
      study.

PMID- 9992842
TI  - Carrier-density-related superconductivity in bismuth cuprates.

PMID- 9992843
TI  - Possiblity of LiPdHx as a new ionic superconductor.

PMID- 9992844
TI  - Optical reflectivity spectra of single-crystal Bi2Sr2Can-1CunO2n+4+x (n=1 and 2).

PMID- 9992845
TI  - Nonlinear magnetization of Y-Ba-Cu-O crystals.

PMID- 9992846
TI  - BCS versus Josephson pair hopping between the CuO2 layers in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9992847
TI  - Positron lifetime in a resonating-valence-bond superconductor.

PMID- 9992848
TI  - Evidence for the heavy-fermion normal state of high-temperature superconductors
      from the theory of spectroscopy.

PMID- 9992849
TI  - Interacting-walls approximation in the two-dimensional axial third-nearest
      neighbor Ising model.

PMID- 9992850
TI  - Self-consistent theory of Anderson localization for the tight-binding model with
      site-diagonal disorder.

PMID- 9992851
TI  - Spectral function of a hole in a Hubbard antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9992852
TI  - Exponentially small growth probabilities in diffusion-limited aggregation.

PMID- 9992853
TI  - Energy-level assignments for the 1E and 3T1a states of MgO:Ni2+

PMID- 9992854
TI  - Stopping power for low-velocity heavy ions: (0-1.0)-MeV/nucleon Mg ions in 17
      (Z=22-79) elemental solids.

PMID- 9992855
TI  - Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation study of hyperfine interactions
      at 111Cd(111In) in alpha -Fe2O3.

PMID- 9992856
TI  - 11B spin-lattice relaxation and disorder modes in ionic glassy conductors
      (AgI)x(Ag2O

PMID- 9992857
TI  - Range and thermal-behavior studies of Au and Bi implanted into photoresist films.

PMID- 9992858
TI  - Dynamics of silver ions in (AgI)x-(Ag2O-nB2O3)1-x glasses: A 109Ag nuclear
      magnetic resonance study.

PMID- 9992859
TI  - Hyperfine-interaction parameters for a Cd probe atom at the Fe/Kr interface.

PMID- 9992861
TI  - Transport model of thermal and epithermal positrons in solids. I.

PMID- 9992860
TI  - Magnetic linear birefringence in rare-earth garnets: Crystal-field effects and
      the Judd-Ofelt approximation.

PMID- 9992863
TI  - Laser-induced instantaneous spectral diffusion in Tb3+ compounds as observed in
      photon-echo experiments.

PMID- 9992862
TI  - Transport model of thermal and epithermal positrons in solids. II.

PMID- 9992864
TI  - Excited-state dynamics and energy transfer of +4 curium in cerium tetrafluoride.

PMID- 9992865
TI  - 35Cl spin-spin relaxation time T2 in Rb2ZnCl4 studied by nuclear quadrupole
      resonance.

PMID- 9992866
TI  - Positronium hydride in hydrogen-laden thermochemically reduced MgO single
      crystals.

PMID- 9992867
TI  - Temperature dependence of positron diffusion in cubic metals.

PMID- 9992869
TI  - Energy transfer from rare gases to surfaces: Collisions with gold and platinum in
      the range 1-4000 eV.

PMID- 9992868
TI  - Cyanide-orientation distribution by single-crystal NMR of K(CN)xBr1-x.

PMID- 9992870
TI  - Nuclear quadrupole resonance of 35Cl nuclei in glassy solution of chlorobenzene
      in pyridine.

PMID- 9992871
TI  - Investigation of delta -electron emission in collisions of highly charged fast Ne
      projectiles with carbon-foil targets.

PMID- 9992872
TI  - Multiple small-angle scattering from a bidisperse Markov medium.

PMID- 9992873
TI  - Differential resistance and critical-current distribution in YBa2Cu3O7-x
      ceramics.

PMID- 9992874
TI  - 63Cu Knight shifts in the superconducting state of YBa2Cu3O7- delta (Tc=90 K).

PMID- 9992875
TI  - Spin excitations and pairing gaps in the superconducting state of YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9992876
TI  - X-ray absorption of BaBiO3 and superconducting BaBi0.25Pb0.75O3.

PMID- 9992878
TI  - Charge-transfer polarization wave in the high-Tc oxides and its relevance to
      superconducting pairing.

PMID- 9992877
TI  - Phonon density of states of the quasi-one-dimensional molybdenum selenides
      M2Mo6Se6 (M=Tl, In, Rb, and vacancy): Evidence of Einstein-like M-atom modes in
      the superconducting compounds.

PMID- 9992879
TI  - Oxygen dependence of the linear term in the specific heat of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9992880
TI  - Solving the Ginzburg-Landau equations by simulated annealing.

PMID- 9992881
TI  - Influence of electronic polarization on the core x-ray photoemission spectra of
      Ce compounds.

PMID- 9992882
TI  - Dissipation in a one-dimensional superconductor: Evidence for macroscopic quantum
      tunneling.

PMID- 9992883
TI  - Infrared spectrum of the electron bubble in liquid helium.

PMID- 9992884
TI  - Suppression of superconductivity in PrBa2Cu3O7: 4f and conduction-band
      hybridization effect.

PMID- 9992885
TI  - Scaling function of the specific heat for a high-temperature superconductor in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9992886
TI  - Charge-density wave with imperfect nesting and superconductivity.

PMID- 9992888
TI  - Pseudogaps and the spin-bag approach to high-Tc superconductivity.

PMID- 9992887
TI  - Simulations of the onset of diffusion in a flux-line lattice in a random
      potential.

PMID- 9992889
TI  - Lattice dynamics of high-Tc superconductors: Optical modes of the thallium-based
      compounds.

PMID- 9992890
TI  - Physical properties of Bi2Sr2Can-1CunOy (n=1,2,3).

PMID- 9992891
TI  - Hole superconductivity and the high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9992892
TI  - Dependence of some electromagnetic properties of superconductors on coupling
      strength.

PMID- 9992893
TI  - Vortex-persistent current interaction, Meissner effect, and diamagnetic shielding
      in a ring of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9992894
TI  - Effects of nonmagnetic impurity atoms on the spin-density-wave model of high
      temperature superconductivity.

PMID- 9992895
TI  - Lattice vibrations in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9992896
TI  - Scaling relations for two-component charged systems: Application to metallic
      hydrogen.

PMID- 9992897
TI  - Compressive-stress-induced Tc increase of the low-Tc Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox phase.

PMID- 9992899
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic relaxation, hysteresis, and Meissner fraction in untwinned
      single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7- delta produced without applying stress.

PMID- 9992898
TI  - Madelung energy and charge transfer in Pb2Sr2Y1-xCaxCu3O8+ delta : Possible extra
      superconducting regions.

PMID- 9992900
TI  - Preparation process, crystal structure, and physical properties of the 110-K
      single-phase Pb-Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor.

PMID- 9992901
TI  - Magnetic correlations in YBa2Cu3O6+x at superconducting concentrations.

PMID- 9992903
TI  - Critical-current suppression in microwave-irradiated granular high-Tc films.

PMID- 9992902
TI  - Electron-phonon coupling in the rare-earth metals.

PMID- 9992904
TI  - Growth and properties of oxygen- and ion-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single
      crystals.

PMID- 9992905
TI  - Phenomenological dynamics for two-dimensional superfluids.

PMID- 9992906
TI  - Cationic substitution and role of oxygen in the n-type superconducting T' system
      Nd2-yCeyCuOz.

PMID- 9992907
TI  - Electronic structure of the YBa2Cu3O7 superconductor containing twin boundaries.

PMID- 9992908
TI  - Microwave dissipation in single-crystal high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992909
TI  - Thermal conductivity of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7- delta in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9992910
TI  - Origin of heavy-fermion behavior in CeCu2Si2.

PMID- 9992911
TI  - Bulk superconducting Y2Ba4Cu7O15- delta and YBa2Cu4O8 prepared in oxygen at 1
      atm.

PMID- 9992912
TI  - Dissipative flux motion in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9992913
TI  - Theory of photoemission and inverse photoemission in the presence of strong
      correlations: Application to high-Tc materials.

PMID- 9992914
TI  - Microwave phase locking of Josephson-junction fluxon oscillators.

PMID- 9992915
TI  - Role of oxygen in PrBa2Cu3O7-y: Effect on structural and physical properties.

PMID- 9992916
TI  - Long-range Coulomb interactions and the onset of superconductivity in the high-Tc
      materials.

PMID- 9992917
TI  - Internal friction and Young's modulus in the Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor.

PMID- 9992919
TI  - Systematics in the oxygen 1s core-level photoemission spectra from metal oxides:
      Model calculations.

PMID- 9992918
TI  - Theoretical analysis of the concentration and distribution of carriers in
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9992921
TI  - Theory of Haldane-gap antiferromagnets in applied fields.

PMID- 9992920
TI  - Anisotropic pressure dependence of the superconducting transition in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta single crystals.

PMID- 9992923
TI  - Critical magnetic field of disordered Zr-Cu alloys: Density of states and spin
      orbit scattering time.

PMID- 9992922
TI  - Large-scale flow in competing-interaction systems.

PMID- 9992924
TI  - Ground state of a mobile vacancy in a quantum antiferromagnet: Small-cluster
      study.

PMID- 9992925
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to domain-growth scaling.

PMID- 9992926
TI  - Specific heat of quantum-spin chains: Application to (C6H11NH3)CuBr3 and
      (C6H11NH3)CuCl3.

PMID- 9992927
TI  - Quasielastic response with a real-time path-integral Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9992929
TI  - Structural phases of sodium-doped polyparaphenylene vinylene.

PMID- 9992928
TI  - Integral expansion often reducing to the density-gradient expansion, extended to
      non-Markov stochastic processes: Consequent non-Markovian stochastic equation
      whose leading terms coincide with Schrodinger's.

PMID- 9992931
TI  - Magnetic properties of Heisenberg-type ferromagnetic films with a sandwich
      structure.

PMID- 9992930
TI  - X-ray-absorption near-edge structure study in mixed-valent samarium systems.

PMID- 9992932
TI  - Photoemission study of the ferromagnetic Kondo system CeRh3B2.

PMID- 9992934
TI  - Double-well potential of SO4 in NH4LiSO4, LiRbSO4, and mixed-crystal LiRb1
      xCsxSO4 (x=0.097) studied by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9992933
TI  - Role of domain walls in the ground-state properties of the spin-1/2 XXZ
      Hamiltonian in the linear chain.

PMID- 9992936
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of the ternary fcc Mn-Fe-Ni system. II.
      Disordered alloys and ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic interfaces.

PMID- 9992935
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of the ternary fcc Mn-Fe-Ni system. I. Ordered
      compounds.

PMID- 9992938
TI  - Chromium: A possible spin-split metal.

PMID- 9992937
TI  - Spin-split states in metals.

PMID- 9992939
TI  - Wetting near grain boundaries and defect planes, and its connection with wetting
      at walls and free surfaces.

PMID- 9992940
TI  - Monte Carlo study of two-step defect melting.

PMID- 9992941
TI  - Growth and dynamical roughening of ideal quasicrystal facets.

PMID- 9992943
TI  - Low-lying disordered states when ground-state long-range order exists; large
      amplitude spin waves.

PMID- 9992942
TI  - Anyons in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9992944
TI  - Numerical solution of large s=1/2 and s=1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin
      chains using a truncated basis expansion.

PMID- 9992945
TI  - Magnetic excitations in monodomain ferromagnetic uranium telluride.

PMID- 9992946
TI  - Influence of external magnetic field on the reentrant spin-glass state of
      Au0.832Fe0.168 alloy.

PMID- 9992947
TI  - Symmetry superposition studied by surface second-harmonic generation.

PMID- 9992948
TI  - Phase separation in a t-J model.

PMID- 9992949
TI  - Magnetic properties of icosahedral Al-Cr-Mn-Ge alloys.

PMID- 9992950
TI  - High-spin and low-spin states in Invar and related alloys.

PMID- 9992951
TI  - Two-dimensional Coulomb gas studied in the sine-Gordon formulation.

PMID- 9992952
TI  - Dislocation dynamics. I. A proposed methodology for deformation micromechanics.

PMID- 9992953
TI  - Dislocation dynamics. II. Applications to the formation of persistent slip bands,
      planar arrays, and dislocation cells.

PMID- 9992954
TI  - Electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and thermopower in the U=

PMID- 9992955
TI  - Staggered flux phases in the t-J model.

PMID- 9992956
TI  - Quantum isoenthalpic-isotension method for studying solid phase transformations.

PMID- 9992957
TI  - Critical dynamics of the two-dimensional kinetic Ising model: High-temperature
      series analysis of the autorelaxation time.

PMID- 9992958
TI  - Dynamics of ordering processes in annealed dilute systems: Island formation,
      vacancies at domain boundaries, and compactification.

PMID- 9992959
TI  - Internal structure of hole quasiparticles in antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9992960
TI  - Stoner exchange interaction in transition metals.

PMID- 9992961
TI  - 10(6)-particle molecular-dynamics study of homogeneous nucleation of crystals in
      a supercooled atomic liquid.

PMID- 9992962
TI  - Sound propagation in charge- and spin-density waves.

PMID- 9992963
TI  - Exact solutions of two-hole and hole-magnon bound states in a ferromagnet.

PMID- 9992965
TI  - Quantum Ising models in transverse fields for a class of one-dimensional
      quasiperiodic lattices.

PMID- 9992964
TI  - Diffusion of particles in an inhomogeneous medium: High-friction limit.

PMID- 9992966
TI  - Effects of impurities on the phase transition and critical phenomena of a
      chemisorbed overlayer.

PMID- 9992968
TI  - Quasiparticle band structure for the Hubbard systems: Application to alpha 
      CeAl2.

PMID- 9992967
TI  - First-order magnetic-field-induced phase transition in epitaxial iron films
      studied by magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9992970
TI  - One-dimensional generalized Fibonacci tilings.

PMID- 9992969
TI  - Phase transitions in the one-dimensional Ising model with ferromagnetic and
      antiferromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9992971
TI  - Liquidlike model for thermal conductivity in superionic conductors.

PMID- 9992972
TI  - Kinks in the Frenkel-Kontorova model with long-range interparticle interactions.

PMID- 9992973
TI  - Spin-dynamics study of the classical ferromagnetic XY chain.

PMID- 9992975
TI  - Hopping conductivity in the extended hard-core square lattice gas.

PMID- 9992974
TI  - Dual site-bond description of heterogeneous surfaces.

PMID- 9992976
TI  - First-order magnetization process and spin phase diagram of Nd2Fe14-xGa xB and
      Nd2Fe11.5-xCo2.5GaxB.

PMID- 9992977
TI  - Heat capacity and torsional oscillator studies of molecular hydrogen in porous
      Vycor glass.

PMID- 9992978
TI  - Isotope effect at higher critical temperatures.

PMID- 9992979
TI  - Understanding hybridization effects in carbon Auger spectra.

PMID- 9992981
TI  - Raman study of CuO single crystals.

PMID- 9992980
TI  - Electronic structure of Bi-based copper oxide superconductors: A comparative
      photoemission study of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, Bi2Sr2CuO6, and Bi2Sr2CoO6+ delta.

PMID- 9992982
TI  - Calculated properties of the commensurate monolayers of helium and hydrogen on
      graphite.

PMID- 9992983
TI  - Physical and chemical effects of silver additions to Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and
      (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10.

PMID- 9992984
TI  - Gap anisotropy in high-Tc superconductors: A unified picture.

PMID- 9992985
TI  - Resonant-photoemission study of Nd2-xCexCuO4.

PMID- 9992986
TI  - Validity of the single-band model.

PMID- 9992987
TI  - Infrared diffuse reflectivity study of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9992988
TI  - Tunneling study of Bi2Pb0.4Sr2Ca2.5Cu3.5Oy with Tc=105 K.

PMID- 9992989
TI  - R2Ba4Cu7O15- delta : A 92-K bulk superconductor.

PMID- 9992990
TI  - Comparison of Monte Carlo and analytic results for nearest-available-neighbor
      pairing in one, two, and three dimensions.

PMID- 9992991
TI  - 23Na NMR study of the phase transition in deuterated ammonium Rochelle salt.

PMID- 9992992
TI  - Soft-mode behavior and the dipolar glass transition in KTa1-xNbxO3.

PMID- 9992993
TI  - Spectral and magnetic transitions in the quantum Ising model.

PMID- 9992994
TI  - Question of superoxide in La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9992996
TI  - Validity of the t-J model.

PMID- 9992995
TI  - Reply to "Question of superoxide in La2CuO4+ delta "

PMID- 9992998
TI  - Erratum: "Critical exponents for ferromagnetic systems with Ruderman-Kittel
      Kasuya-Yosida interactions"

PMID- 9992997
TI  - Reply to "Validity of the t-J model"

PMID- 9992999
TI  - Optical anisotropy of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9993000
TI  - Nuclear hyperfine structure of muonium in CuCl resolved by means of avoided level
      crossing.

PMID- 9993002
TI  - 205Tl NMR in Tl2Ba2CuO6 and the t-J model.

PMID- 9993001
TI  - Triplet-state defect in high-purity silica glass.

PMID- 9993003
TI  - d-wave Cooper pairing near or in the spin-density-wave state.

PMID- 9993005
TI  - Initial magnetization curve and weak-link properties in Ag2O-doped LaBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9993004
TI  - Dynamical simulations of fractional giant Shapiro steps in two-dimensional
      Josephson arrays.

PMID- 9993006
TI  - Carrier reflection at the superconductor-semiconductor boundary observed using a
      coplanar-point-contact injector.

PMID- 9993007
TI  - Generalized flux states of the t-J model.

PMID- 9993008
TI  - Spin-polarization enhancement of dilute 3He-4He solutions through porous media.

PMID- 9993009
TI  - Unusual low-frequency electromagnetic response in anisotropic superconductors:
      Application to UPt3.

PMID- 9993010
TI  - Energy gap, Tc, and density of states in high-temperature superconductors for
      retarded s- and d-wave interactions.

PMID- 9993011
TI  - Weak coupling and anisotropy in the magnetic penetration depth of the high
      temperature superconductor Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3O10+ delta.

PMID- 9993012
TI  - Comparative study of fluorescence- and electron-yield detection on YB2Cu3O7-
      delta at the O K edge through x-ray absorption.

PMID- 9993014
TI  - Anisotropy in the thermal expansion of heavy-fermion UPt3 at the superconducting
      transition.

PMID- 9993013
TI  - Statistics in a dissipative medium.

PMID- 9993015
TI  - Angular correlations of waves in disordered systems: New numerical results.

PMID- 9993017
TI  - O(2) symmetry and critical lines of the antiferromagnetic Ising models.

PMID- 9993016
TI  - Orbital polarization in narrow-band systems: Application to volume collapses in
      light lanthanides.

PMID- 9993019
TI  - Diffusion of 3He quasiparticles in dilute 3He-4He solution confined in porous
      media.

PMID- 9993018
TI  - Limits d-->

PMID- 9993021
TI  - Magnetization steps in iron-based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9993020
TI  - Effect of topological excitations in the two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993022
TI  - Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a quasiperiodic lattice with hierarchical
      interactions.

PMID- 9993024
TI  - Effects of level quantization on the supercurrent decay in Josephson junctions:
      The nonstationary case.

PMID- 9993023
TI  - bcc lead at 109 GPa: Diffraction studies to 208 GPa.

PMID- 9993025
TI  - Electronic structure of Cu75Au25 disordered alloy.

PMID- 9993027
TI  - Atomic structure of icosahedral Al6Mg4Cu.

PMID- 9993026
TI  - Effective dielectric response of polydispersed composites.

PMID- 9993028
TI  - Nonequilibrium in metallic microstructures in the presence of high current
      density.

PMID- 9993029
TI  - Temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of amorphous VxSi1-x.

PMID- 9993030
TI  - Dynamics of charge-density waves in electron-irradiated K0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9993031
TI  - Conductance of a disordered linear chain including inelastic scattering events.

PMID- 9993032
TI  - Far-infrared absorption by small silver particles in gelatin.

PMID- 9993033
TI  - Pressure-induced s-->d transfer and the equation of state of molybdenum.

PMID- 9993034
TI  - Conduction-electron g factor on the X-pocket holes in iridium.

PMID- 9993035
TI  - Variational mesh for quantum-mechanical simulations.

PMID- 9993036
TI  - Oxygen on Ni(111): A multiple-scattering analysis of the near-edge x-ray
      absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9993037
TI  - Photoemission studies of the low-temperature reaction of metals and oxygen.

PMID- 9993039
TI  - Surface-controlled deuterium-palladium interactions.

PMID- 9993038
TI  - Composition, structure, and morphology for Ag deposition on Cu(110): A medium
      energy ion-scattering study.

PMID- 9993040
TI  - Phonon properties of a class of one-dimensional quasiperiodic systems.

PMID- 9993041
TI  - Anharmonic lattice vibrations in noble metals.

PMID- 9993042
TI  - Anharmonic damping of phonon modes in the fcc metals.

PMID- 9993043
TI  - Electronic structure of random alloys by the linear band-structure methods.

PMID- 9993044
TI  - Piezo-Raman measurements and anharmonic parameters in silicon and diamond.

PMID- 9993045
TI  - Exchange interaction and polariton effects in quantum-well excitons.

PMID- 9993047
TI  - Phase memory of the electronic polarization in transient nonlinear optical
      spectra of gallium arsenide at 2 eV.

PMID- 9993046
TI  - Adatom registry on Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-B.

PMID- 9993048
TI  - Calculation of the intersubband absorption strength in ellipsoidal-valley quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9993050
TI  - Unrelaxation of the semiconductor surface at low-coverage Ag/InP(110) interfaces
      as determined by photoemission extended x-ray-absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9993049
TI  - Silicon valence states in calcium silicides: A Si L2,3VV Auger line-shape
      analysis.

PMID- 9993051
TI  - Semiempirical electronic-structure calculations of the hydrogen-phosphorus pair
      in silicon.

PMID- 9993053
TI  - Direct and indirect transition in (GaAs)n/(AlAs)n superlattices with n=1-15.

PMID- 9993052
TI  - Electronic and structural properties of CaSi2.

PMID- 9993054
TI  - Determination of accurate critical-point energies and linewidths from optical
      data.

PMID- 9993055
TI  - Effective masses and sum rules in strained Si/Ge structures.

PMID- 9993056
TI  - Nonreciprocal diffraction via grating coupling to surface magnetoplasmons.

PMID- 9993057
TI  - Analytical results for semiconductor quantum-well wire: Plasmons, shallow
      impurity states, and mobility.

PMID- 9993058
TI  - Effects of acoustic- and optical-phonon sidebands on the fundamental optical
      absorption edge in crystals and disordered semiconductors.

PMID- 9993059
TI  - Effects of wave-function delocalization on the optical properties of GaAs/AlAs
      short-period asymmetric superlattices.

PMID- 9993060
TI  - Theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9993061
TI  - Theoretical study of native defects and impurities in InP.

PMID- 9993062
TI  - Optically induced magnetization and Mn spin-lattice relaxation in InP:Mn.

PMID- 9993063
TI  - Photoluminescence and stimulated emission from monolayer-thick pseudomorphic InAs
      single-quantum-well heterostructures.

PMID- 9993064
TI  - Effects of inversion asymmetry on electron energy band structures in
      GaSb/InAs/GaSb quantum wells.

PMID- 9993065
TI  - Electronic structure of Si(111)-B( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees studied by Si 2p
      and B 1s core-level photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993066
TI  - Dimensional quantization in a-Si:H quantum-well structures: The alloy model.

PMID- 9993067
TI  - Electronic properties of sulfur-treated GaAs(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9993068
TI  - Electron-LO-phonon scattering rates in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9993069
TI  - Photoconductivity relaxation in ZnIn2Se4.

PMID- 9993070
TI  - Spin splitting in n-type Bi1-xSbx alloys including doped bismuth (0 <= x <=
      0.12).

PMID- 9993071
TI  - Phase transition in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9993072
TI  - Theory of local bond-length relaxation in Hg1-xCdxTe alloys.

PMID- 9993073
TI  - Strain effects in chemically lifted GaAs thin films.

PMID- 9993074
TI  - Thermodynamic and elastic properties of a many-body model for simple oxides.

PMID- 9993075
TI  - Lattice-dynamics and network-dynamics studies of vibrational modes in lithium
      doped borate glasses.

PMID- 9993076
TI  - Polarized Raman study of NO2- in KCl, KBr, KI, and NaBr.

PMID- 9993077
TI  - Low-temperature properties of a model glass. I. Elastic dipole model.

PMID- 9993078
TI  - Low-temperature properties of a model glass. II. Specific heat and thermal
      transport.

PMID- 9993079
TI  - Effects of pressure and isotopic substitution on the Raman spectrum of alpha 
      Fe2O3: Identification of two-magnon scattering.

PMID- 9993081
TI  - Asymptotic solutions for localized vibrational modes in strongly anharmonic
      periodic systems.

PMID- 9993080
TI  - Generation mechanism of photoinduced paramagnetic centers from preexisting
      precursors in high-purity silicas.

PMID- 9993082
TI  - Defect-mediated hydrogen-bond melting in B-DNA polymers.

PMID- 9993084
TI  - Effects of localization and mesoscopic phenomena on ultrasonic attenuation in a
      disordered piezoelectric metal.

PMID- 9993083
TI  - Plasmon dispersion relation of a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993086
TI  - Configuration-lattice approach to electron spectroscopies: Application to inverse
      photoemission.

PMID- 9993085
TI  - Electromagnetic-field-enhanced desorption of atoms.

PMID- 9993087
TI  - Transverse magnetic field studies in Al1-yInyAs/Ga1-xInxAs quantum-well tunneling
      structures.

PMID- 9993089
TI  - Good semiconductor band gaps with a modified local-density approximation.

PMID- 9993088
TI  - Single-particle and transport scattering times in narrow GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9993090
TI  - Nature of the long-range order in the quantum Hall effect regime.

PMID- 9993092
TI  - Path-integral approach to resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9993091
TI  - Calculations of the structural properties of cubic zinc sulfide.

PMID- 9993093
TI  - Equations of state of alkali hydrides at high pressures.

PMID- 9993094
TI  - Comment on "Excitation-energy dependence of optically induced ESR in a-Si:H"

PMID- 9993096
TI  - Soft self-consistent pseudopotentials in a generalized eigenvalue formalism.

PMID- 9993095
TI  - Erratum: Exact theories for light, x-ray, electron, and neutron diffractions from
      planar media with periodic structures

PMID- 9993097
TI  - Structure determination of Cu(100)-p(2 x 2)-S using x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9993098
TI  - Spin-flip relaxation time of conduction electrons in Cd1-xMnxTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9993099
TI  - Electronic properties of HgTe-CdTe superlattices with nonideal interfaces.

PMID- 9993100
TI  - Quantized transmission of a saddle-point constriction.

PMID- 9993101
TI  - Evidence for a spin transition in the nu =2/3 fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9993103
TI  - Role of photocurrent in low-temperature photoemission studies of Schottky-barrier
      formation.

PMID- 9993102
TI  - Probing island growth and coalescence at metal-semiconductor interfaces.

PMID- 9993104
TI  - Influence of localization on the Hall effect in narrow-gap, bulk semiconductors.

PMID- 9993105
TI  - Photoluminescence from excitons bound to a triple acceptor, Ge:Cu.

PMID- 9993106
TI  - Potential fluctuations in heterostructure devices.

PMID- 9993107
TI  - Interchain dynamics and side-group modulation of excitons in a polydiacetylene.

PMID- 9993108
TI  - Electrostatic electron lens in the ballistic regime.

PMID- 9993109
TI  - Acoustic interference in random superlattices.

PMID- 9993111
TI  - Charge-density-wave narrow-band noise in NbSe3 at T<4 K.

PMID- 9993110
TI  - Dispersive diffusion of hydrogen in a-Si:H: Influence of the film deposition
      temperature.

PMID- 9993112
TI  - Chemical-equilibrium model of optimal a-Si:H growth from SiH4.

PMID- 9993113
TI  - Ab initio study of localization and excitation of an excess electron in alkali
      halide clusters.

PMID- 9993114
TI  - Two-photon resonant effect of hyper-Raman scattering in the vicinity of the
      direct forbidden gap in a rutile crystal.

PMID- 9993115
TI  - Low-temperature growth of MgO by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9993116
TI  - Optical transmissivity of superlattices with nonlinear magnetic susceptibility
      and absorption.

PMID- 9993117
TI  - Effect of disorder on the electronic structure of palladium.

PMID- 9993119
TI  - Many-particle effects at core thresholds in simple metals.

PMID- 9993118
TI  - Comparative analysis of Nd3+(4f3) energy levels in four garnet hosts.

PMID- 9993120
TI  - Effect of complete oxidation on the vibrational properties of aluminum oxide thin
      films: An electron-energy-loss-spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9993121
TI  - Strong one-dimensional localization in systems with statistically rough
      boundaries.

PMID- 9993122
TI  - Method for the calculation of excitonic effects in the absorption spectra of some
      metals.

PMID- 9993123
TI  - Localization problem in optics: Nonlinear quasiperiodic media.

PMID- 9993124
TI  - Molecular-dynamics studies of the thermal properties of the solid and liquid fcc
      metals Ag, Au, Cu, and Ni using many-body interactions.

PMID- 9993126
TI  - Experimental band structure of potassium as measured by angle-resolved
      photoemission.

PMID- 9993125
TI  - Defects in heteroepitaxial structures studied with monoenergetic positrons: Large
      lattice-mismatch systems Cu/Ag(111) and Ag/Cu(111).

PMID- 9993127
TI  - Balance-equation theory for steady-state resistivity.

PMID- 9993128
TI  - Toward a magnetic description of metals in terms of interstitial molecular
      orbitals: Exploiting the multiplicity of symmetry-broken Hartree-Fock solutions
      on small alkali-metal clusters.

PMID- 9993129
TI  - Spontaneous decay and resonance fluorescence of an admolecule near a silver
      surface with random roughness.

PMID- 9993130
TI  - Segregation in thin films of binary alloys AxB1-x.

PMID- 9993131
TI  - Interatomic contributions to molecular x-ray emission rates.

PMID- 9993132
TI  - Inelastic spin-exchange scattering of electrons from paramagnetic metals.

PMID- 9993133
TI  - Structural energy-volume relations in first-row transition metals.

PMID- 9993134
TI  - Scattering-matrix formulation of curved-wave multiple-scattering theory:
      Application to x-ray-absorption fine structure.

PMID- 9993135
TI  - Inverse photoemission from alkali-metal films.

PMID- 9993136
TI  - Diffuse elastic scattering of atoms from surface steps.

PMID- 9993137
TI  - Tunable-diode-laser infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy of carbon
      monoxide on Pt(111).

PMID- 9993138
TI  - Theoretical study of magnetism in iron, cobalt, and nickel.

PMID- 9993139
TI  - Influence of surface corrugations on hydrogenic image-potential states.

PMID- 9993141
TI  - Momentum noise in vacuum tunneling transducers.

PMID- 9993140
TI  - Properties of a substitutional and/or interstitial surface hydrogen atom.

PMID- 9993142
TI  - Identification of valence subbands in CdTe-Cd1-xZnxTe strained-layer quantum
      wells by differential spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993143
TI  - Two-dimensional Si crystal growth during thermal annealing of Au/polycrystalline
      Si bilayers.

PMID- 9993145
TI  - Optical properties of shallow defect-related acceptors in GaAs grown by molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9993144
TI  - Kinetic study of Si recrystallization in the reaction between Au and
      polycrystalline-Si films.

PMID- 9993146
TI  - Donor spectroscopy in Hg1-xCdxTe at high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9993147
TI  - First-principles calculation of temperature-composition phase diagrams of
      semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9993148
TI  - Conduction-band structure and charge-density waves in 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9993149
TI  - Zero-field spin splitting in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993150
TI  - Band-gap renormalization in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9993151
TI  - Maximum low-temperature mobility of two-dimensional electrons in heterojunctions
      with a thick spacer layer.

PMID- 9993152
TI  - Planar force-constant method for lattice dynamics of superstructures.

PMID- 9993153
TI  - Hysteresis and Franck-Condon relaxation in insulator-semiconductor tunneling.

PMID- 9993155
TI  - Lattice-distortion-induced electronic bistability of the donor defect in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9993154
TI  - Exchange effects in a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993156
TI  - Deformation potentials at the top of valence bands in semiconductors: Ab initio
      pseudopotential calculations.

PMID- 9993157
TI  - Thomas-Fermi theory of delta -doped semiconductor structures: Exact analytical
      results in the high-density limit.

PMID- 9993158
TI  - CoSi2(111), FeSi2(001), and MoSi2(001) surfaces and interfaces with Ti.

PMID- 9993159
TI  - Interface dependence of band offsets in lattice-matched isovalent
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9993160
TI  - Effect of fluorine on the structural and electronic properties of a-Si:H:F.

PMID- 9993161
TI  - Resonance of the magnetophonon conductivity in two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9993162
TI  - Piezomodulated reflectivity spectra of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs single-parabolic-quantum
      well heterostructures.

PMID- 9993163
TI  - Noise characteristics of double-barrier resonant-tunneling structures below 10
      kHz.

PMID- 9993164
TI  - Properties of liquid arsenic: A theoretical study.

PMID- 9993166
TI  - Electronic-structure calculations of the Cr/GaAs(001) interface.

PMID- 9993165
TI  - Calculation of defect states in semiconductor crystals by recursion method.

PMID- 9993168
TI  - Band nonparabolicities in lattice-mismatch-strained bulk semiconductor layers.

PMID- 9993167
TI  - Role of lattice mismatch and surface chemistry in the formation of epitaxial
      semiconductor-insulator interfaces.

PMID- 9993169
TI  - Extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure studies of Zn1-xMnxSe alloy structure.

PMID- 9993170
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect in very-low-density GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9993171
TI  - Magnetoconductance of two point contacts in series.

PMID- 9993172
TI  - Metal-InP(110) interface properties: Temperature, dopant-concentration, and
      cluster-deposition dependencies.

PMID- 9993174
TI  - Energy level associated with the DX center in Ga1-xAlxAs.

PMID- 9993173
TI  - Hopping transport in delta -doping layers in GaAs.

PMID- 9993175
TI  - Theory of two-dimensional grating couplers.

PMID- 9993176
TI  - Growth of alkali halides by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9993177
TI  - Effect of electron-density discontinuity on magnetotransport in multiprobe narrow
      channel structures.

PMID- 9993178
TI  - Oxygen-nickel bond length in Ni(111)-p(2 x 2)O determined by electron-energy-loss
      fine-structure spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993179
TI  - Anomalous broadening of angle-resolved photoemission linewidths on W(011).

PMID- 9993180
TI  - Negative surface-plasmon dispersion coefficient: A physically illustrative, exact
      formula.

PMID- 9993182
TI  - Scarcity of icosahedra in quenched simple atomic liquids.

PMID- 9993181
TI  - Theory of the incommensurate-to-commensurate transition in long-period
      superlattices of A3B-type alloys.

PMID- 9993184
TI  - Path-integral approach to transient transport of a double-barrier resonant
      tunneling system.

PMID- 9993183
TI  - Structural information on island metal films from aging measurements.

PMID- 9993185
TI  - Temperature dependence of mobility in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures for
      impurity scattering.

PMID- 9993186
TI  - Optical absorption of ZnGa2S4 and ZnGa2S4:Co2+ crystals.

PMID- 9993187
TI  - Fourier-transform analysis of multiexponential curves observed in
      photoconductivity studies.

PMID- 9993188
TI  - Van Hove anomaly in the phonon dispersion of monolayer Ar/Pt(111).

PMID- 9993189
TI  - Electrochemical-potential variations across a constriction.

PMID- 9993190
TI  - Hall effect in a single two-dimensional quasicrystal: Al62Si3Cu20Co15.

PMID- 9993191
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance identification of the orthorhombic iron-indium
      pair in silicon.

PMID- 9993192
TI  - Long-lived spatially indirect excitons in coupled GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9993193
TI  - Electron minibands and Wannier-Stark quantization in an In0.15Ga0.85As-GaAs
      strained-layer superlattice.

PMID- 9993194
TI  - Low-field magnetotransport in p-type GaAs in the regime of variable-range-hopping
      conductivity.

PMID- 9993195
TI  - Four-wave mixing of Nd3+-doped crystals and glasses.

PMID- 9993196
TI  - Channeling of MeV ions in polyatomic epitaxial films: ReSi2 on Si(100).

PMID- 9993197
TI  - One-phonon coherent, resonant scattering of neutrons by harmonic crystals.

PMID- 9993198
TI  - 57Fe Mossbauer studies of Nd2Fe14B and Nd2Fe12.5Si1.5B (T=77-300 K).

PMID- 9993199
TI  - Perturbed-angular-distribution measurements of the chemical shift of iron in the
      disulfides FeS2 (pyrite) and RuS2 (laurite).

PMID- 9993200
TI  - Chain character of vacancy-type defects in silicon.

PMID- 9993201
TI  - Deuteron polarization of solid DT.

PMID- 9993202
TI  - Nuclear magnetic resonance on oriented 99mRh and 101mRh in Ni.

PMID- 9993203
TI  - Spectral transport of nonequilibrium 29-cm-1 phonons in ruby studied by
      fluorescence line narrowing.

PMID- 9993204
TI  - Dielectric response and self-energy in Hubbard systems.

PMID- 9993205
TI  - Angle-resolved photoelectron spectra of (Bi1-xPbx)2Sr2CaCu2O8 and their line
      shape analysis.

PMID- 9993207
TI  - Phase diagram and low-temperature behavior of oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3Oz using
      ab initio interactions.

PMID- 9993206
TI  - Superconductivity in the homogeneous electron gas: Exchange and correlation
      effects.

PMID- 9993209
TI  - Normal and antiferromagnetic states of an extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993208
TI  - Hole-quasiparticle band narrowing in the two-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9993210
TI  - Thermoelectric power of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9993212
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of Josephson-junction arrays with positional disorder.

PMID- 9993211
TI  - Elementary excitations in superfluid 3He-4He mixtures: Pressure and temperature
      dependence.

PMID- 9993213
TI  - Superconductivity under high pressure of YBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7- delta (M=Fe, Co, Al,
      Cr, Ni, and Zn).

PMID- 9993214
TI  - Soliton statistics for critical temperature of superconductivity in organic quasi
      one-dimensional crystals.

PMID- 9993215
TI  - Dependence of the second upper critical field on coupling strength.

PMID- 9993217
TI  - Raman-active phonons of a twin-free YBa2Cu3O7 crystal: A complete polarization
      analysis.

PMID- 9993216
TI  - Numerical investigation of a model for oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9993218
TI  - Theory of Raman scattering with final-state interaction in high-Tc BCS
      superconductors: Collective modes.

PMID- 9993219
TI  - Two-body density matrix of a normal Fermi fluid.

PMID- 9993220
TI  - Electronic structure of undoped and doped La2CuO4: A Hartree-Fock cluster study.

PMID- 9993221
TI  - Effect of microstructural changes on thermally activated flux-creep behavior in
      the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9993223
TI  - Pulsed-laser evaporation technique for deposition of thin films: Physics and
      theoretical model.

PMID- 9993222
TI  - ac susceptibility and grain-boundary pinning strengths in YBa2Cu3O7- delta and
      YBa2Cu2.985Ag0.015O7- delta.

PMID- 9993224
TI  - Frequency mixing in de Haas-van Alphen oscillations in heavy-fermion compounds.

PMID- 9993226
TI  - New pairing state in an attractively coupled double-chain organic material:
      Possibility of an exciton mechanism of superconductivity in spatially separated
      systems.

PMID- 9993225
TI  - Muon-spin-relaxation and neutron-scattering studies of magnetism in single
      crystal La1.94Sr0.06CuO4.

PMID- 9993227
TI  - Reflection of hydrogen atoms from the surface of superfluid helium.

PMID- 9993229
TI  - Tunneling spectroscopy study of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films using a cryogenic scanning
      tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9993228
TI  - Vortex states in an unconventional superconductor and the mixed phases of UPt3.

PMID- 9993230
TI  - Dilute-bounce-gas approximation in the dissipative double-well system.

PMID- 9993231
TI  - Ba core-level shift in x-ray photoemission spectroscopy on single-phase Y1
      xPrxBa2Cu3O7 and YBa2Cu3O7-y compounds.

PMID- 9993232
TI  - Dynamic simulations of arrays of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9993233
TI  - Fundamental and harmonic susceptibilities of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993234
TI  - Self-consistent antiferromagnetic ground state for La2CuO4 via energy-band
      theory.

PMID- 9993235
TI  - Determination of the valence of Pr, Gd, and Ho in YBa2Cu3O7 by x-ray absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993236
TI  - Filled-band model leading to supercurrents in La-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9993237
TI  - States in the superconductive energy gap of high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9993238
TI  - Temperature and frequency dependences of the dielectric properties of YBa2Cu3O6+x
      (x

PMID- 9993240
TI  - Thermal fluctuations of vortex lines, pinning, and creep in high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9993239
TI  - Ultrasonic study of structural instability of monocrystalline and polycrystalline
      Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O.

PMID- 9993242
TI  - Coexistence curve of methanol+n-heptane: Range of simple scaling and critical
      amplitudes.

PMID- 9993241
TI  - Spin-disordered ground state for a nearly half-filled Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993243
TI  - Density-of-states-driven transition from superconductivity to ferromagnetism in
      Ce(Ru1-xRhx)3B2: Scenario for an exchange-split Kondo resonance.

PMID- 9993245
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect in nonuniform magnetic fields.

PMID- 9993244
TI  - Effects of sulfur vacancies on the crystallographic and spin-rotation transitions
      of iron sulfide.

PMID- 9993246
TI  - Critical behavior of the layer compressional elastic constant B at the smectic-A
      nematic phase transition.

PMID- 9993247
TI  - Spin conversion of tunneling CH3 rotors in copper acetate.

PMID- 9993248
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of californium fluorides.

PMID- 9993249
TI  - Strongly correlated electronic systems with one hole: Dynamical properties.

PMID- 9993250
TI  - Magnetic and structural properties of Mn(SCN)2(CH3OH)2: A quasi-two-dimensional
      Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993251
TI  - Theoretical aspects of the magnetism in the ferromagnetic AFe2 systems (A=U, Np,
      Pu, and Am).

PMID- 9993252
TI  - Orbital magnetism in the itinerant ferromagnet NpOs2.

PMID- 9993253
TI  - Density of states based on dimensional dilution symmetry for disordered
      hypercubic lattices.

PMID- 9993254
TI  - Theory of ferromagnetism in CeCo5.

PMID- 9993255
TI  - Simulation study of roughening in disordered systems.

PMID- 9993256
TI  - Singlet-exciton transport and spatial and energetic disorder in dibenzofuran
      crystals.

PMID- 9993257
TI  - Magnetic static and scaling properties of the weak random-axis magnet (DyxY1
      x)Al2.

PMID- 9993258
TI  - Lattice model of microemulsions.

PMID- 9993260
TI  - Systematic study on antiferromagnetic states of the Hubbard model with the
      dimension d=1, 2, 3 and

PMID- 9993259
TI  - Structural transition on W(100).

PMID- 9993261
TI  - Stabilization of flux states on two-dimensional lattices.

PMID- 9993263
TI  - Finite-temperature theory of local environment effects in amorphous and liquid
      magnetic alloys.

PMID- 9993262
TI  - Series study of percolation moments in general dimension.

PMID- 9993264
TI  - Quantum Heisenberg spin glasses: Anisotropy effects and field dependence.

PMID- 9993265
TI  - Magnon damping in the two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet at short
      wavelengths.

PMID- 9993266
TI  - Theory of ordering dynamics for Cu3Au.

PMID- 9993267
TI  - Finite-size scaling of the Ising model in four dimensions.

PMID- 9993268
TI  - Three-band Hubbard model: A Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9993270
TI  - Possible mechanism for limiting the number of modes in spin-wave instabilities in
      parallel pumping.

PMID- 9993269
TI  - Isotropic compression of the linear-chain perovskite-type CsCdBr3 up to 20 GPa.

PMID- 9993271
TI  - Magnetic excitations in USn3.

PMID- 9993273
TI  - Spin-density-wave and charge-density-wave fluctuation and electric conductivity.

PMID- 9993272
TI  - Sign problem in the numerical simulation of many-electron systems.

PMID- 9993274
TI  - Magnetic, specific-heat, and resistivity measurements of alloys CePd2-x+yMnxSi2-y
      (0 <= x <= 2, -0.1 <= y <= 0.1).

PMID- 9993275
TI  - Bond-operator representation of quantum spins: Mean-field theory of frustrated
      quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9993276
TI  - Anisotropic thermal-lens effect in ferroelectric Ba2NaNb5O15 at Tc.

PMID- 9993278
TI  - Random walks in percolating networks with two jump frequencies.

PMID- 9993277
TI  - Elucidation of the specific-heat anomaly below TN in NpIr2.

PMID- 9993279
TI  - Monte Carlo calculations on antiferromagnetic Ising particles.

PMID- 9993281
TI  - Fermions and solitons in the O(3) nonlinear sigma model in 2+1 space-time
      dimensions.

PMID- 9993280
TI  - Specific heat of UPt3 in magnetic fields up to 24.5 T.

PMID- 9993282
TI  - Finite-size studies of phases and dimerization in one-dimensional extended
      Peierls-Hubbard models.

PMID- 9993284
TI  - Thermodynamics of the infinite-U Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993283
TI  - Ground-state degeneracy of the fractional quantum Hall states in the presence of
      a random potential and on high-genus Riemann surfaces.

PMID- 9993286
TI  - Rank-four spin-Hamiltonian parameters of a 3d5 ion.

PMID- 9993285
TI  - Renormalization-group calculation of excitation properties for impurity models.

PMID- 9993288
TI  - Scattering from a magnetic strip: Analytic description of transmission and
      conductance.

PMID- 9993287
TI  - Critical property and universality in the generalized Smoluchovski coagulation
      equation.

PMID- 9993289
TI  - Phase diagram of the extended Hubbard model in one spatial dimension.

PMID- 9993291
TI  - Gutzwiller correlated wave functions in finite dimensions d: A systematic
      expansion in 1/d.

PMID- 9993290
TI  - Calculation of magnetic impurities in a nonmagnetic host: Fe in Au.

PMID- 9993292
TI  - Finite-size study of a spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with competing interactions:
      Phase diagram and critical behavior.

PMID- 9993293
TI  - Computer-simulation study of melting in dense oxygen layers on graphite.

PMID- 9993294
TI  - Ground-state quantum numbers of the half-filled Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993296
TI  - Holes in Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9993295
TI  - Magic-angle spinning 29Si NMR study of short-range order in a-Si.

PMID- 9993297
TI  - Anomalous behavior of phonons in superconducting Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 detected by far
      infrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993298
TI  - Local structural variations near twins in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993299
TI  - Homogeneous and fractal behavior of superconducting fluctuations in the
      electrical resistivity of granular ceramic superconductors.

PMID- 9993300
TI  - Bean's, Kim's, and exponential critical-state models for high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9993301
TI  - 89Y NMR study of the exchange coupling constant between the CuO2 layer and the Gd
      ion in GdxY1-xBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993302
TI  - Analysis of the specific-heat anomalies of K2SeO4 and Rb2ZnCl4 near the normal
      incommensurate phase transition.

PMID- 9993304
TI  - Stability of an icosahedral incommensurate phase formed in an immiscible alloy
      system.

PMID- 9993303
TI  - Pb/Ge(111)1 x 1: An anisotropic two-dimensional liquid.

PMID- 9993305
TI  - Peierls stabilization of magnetic-flux states of two-dimensional lattice
      electrons.

PMID- 9993306
TI  - Determination of the order of phase transitions in numerical simulations.

PMID- 9993307
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of glasses: Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of a
      strongly anharmonic oscillator.

PMID- 9993309
TI  - Erratum: "Structure of an isolated vortex in an anisotropic type-II
      superconductor"

PMID- 9993308
TI  - Comment on "Surfaces and interfaces of lattice models: Mean-field theory as an
      area-preserving map"

PMID- 9993310
TI  - Multiply charged ions from electron bombardment of SiO2.

PMID- 9993312
TI  - Skew-scattering effect on the Hall-conductance fluctuation in high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9993311
TI  - Time spectra of a nearly-single-line pure nuclear reflection excited by
      synchrotron radiation.

PMID- 9993314
TI  - Charge and spin dynamics in a doped quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993313
TI  - High-pressure study of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

PMID- 9993315
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopic study of (Y1-xCax)Ba2Cu4Oy: Observation of the Fermi
      edge-like structure at room temperature.

PMID- 9993316
TI  - Low-temperature properties of the quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnetic
      Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9993317
TI  - Anisotropic and thermally activated resistive behavior in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-
      delta.

PMID- 9993318
TI  - 17O NMR spectroscopy of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x high-Tc superconductor.

PMID- 9993320
TI  - Phase transition in the generalized Fibonacci quantum Ising models.

PMID- 9993319
TI  - 63Cu NMR shift and linewidth anomalies in the Tc=60 K phase of Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9993321
TI  - Isotope effect on displacive-type ferroelectric-phase-transition temperatures.

PMID- 9993323
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of a quantum chain with nearest-neighbor anharmonic
      interactions.

PMID- 9993322
TI  - Giant transverse hysteresis in an asperomagnet.

PMID- 9993324
TI  - Spin-Peierls transitions in S>1/2 Heisenberg chains.

PMID- 9993325
TI  - Critical spin fluctuations and Curie temperatures of ultrathin Ni(111)/W(110): A
      magnetic-resonance study in ultrahigh vacuum.

PMID- 9993326
TI  - Calculation of Invar anomalies.

PMID- 9993327
TI  - Anyons in the XY model induced by charged holes.

PMID- 9993328
TI  - Formation of an anisotropic energy gap in the valence-fluctuating system of
      CeNiSn.

PMID- 9993329
TI  - Exact lower bounds to the ground-state energy of spin systems: The two
      dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9993330
TI  - Formation of fractal patterns of MoO3 crystals during phase transformation.

PMID- 9993331
TI  - Instability of ferromagnetism at finite hole density in the U=

PMID- 9993332
TI  - Critical temperature of an Ising magnetic film.

PMID- 9993333
TI  - Anisotropic transport properties of a stable two-dimensional quasicrystal:
      Al62Si3Cu20Co15.

PMID- 9993334
TI  - Thermal-expansion and index-of-refraction variation in lead fluoride between 300
      and 850 K.

PMID- 9993335
TI  - Physical adsorption near an oblique corner.

PMID- 9993336
TI  - Method of obtaining the empirical scattering parameters for the Fe-B pair from
      the extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure data of Fe2B: Possible limitations.

PMID- 9993337
TI  - Spin-polarized photoemission studies of the adsorption of O and S on Fe(001).

PMID- 9993339
TI  - Geometry of the ND3 group in a metallic Ca(ND3)6 compound and in solid and liquid
      deuteroammonia as measured by neutron scattering.

PMID- 9993338
TI  - Correlation effects in the extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure Debye-Waller
      factors of AgI.

PMID- 9993340
TI  - Linear combination of Gaussian-type orbitals-local-density-functional cluster
      studies of D-D interactions in titanium and palladium.

PMID- 9993341
TI  - Adsorption of Li (K) on the Si(001)-(2 x 1) surface: Scanning-tunneling
      microscopy study.

PMID- 9993343
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetism of R2Fe14B (R=Y,Nd) compounds.

PMID- 9993342
TI  - Structure analysis of the Cu(110)-(1 x 2) surface reconstruction induced by
      alkali-metal adsorption.

PMID- 9993344
TI  - Total-energy and pressure calculations for random substitutional alloys.

PMID- 9993345
TI  - Phase stability of fcc alloys with the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9993346
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat and resistivity of single-crystalline Pd2Si.

PMID- 9993347
TI  - Hopping conduction on an imperfect Fibonacci lattice.

PMID- 9993348
TI  - Phase coherence and the effect of an ac electric field on the conductance of a
      disordered one-dimensional system.

PMID- 9993350
TI  - Magnetic properties of stage-1 CoCl2-graphite intercalation compounds diluted
      with MgCl2.

PMID- 9993349
TI  - Phonon propagation with isotope scattering and spontaneous anharmonic decay.

PMID- 9993351
TI  - Band-structure effects in secondary-electron-emission and absorbed-current
      spectra of (111), (100), and (110) surfaces of silver.

PMID- 9993352
TI  - Electronic structure of an ideal diamond-nickel (001) interface.

PMID- 9993353
TI  - Lifetime and screening of the C 1s photoemission in graphite.

PMID- 9993355
TI  - Inelastic scattering from Einstein modes of surface defects.

PMID- 9993354
TI  - Nitrogen valence electronic structure in the strong chemisorption limit:
      Molecular adsorption on Cr(110) and O/Cr(110).

PMID- 9993356
TI  - Thin Hf layers in Nb studied by the perturbed angular correlation method. I.
      Characterization of thin layers in Nb-Hf-Nb layered structures.

PMID- 9993358
TI  - Asymptotic estimation of Hankel transforms and the screened Coulomb potential in
      trilayer structures.

PMID- 9993357
TI  - Thin Hf layers in Nb studied by the perturbed angular correlation method. II. The
      effect of hydrogen on the Nb-Hf-Nb samples.

PMID- 9993359
TI  - Critical structure in the density of states from non-atom-centered Wannier
      functions.

PMID- 9993361
TI  - Schottky-barrier behavior of copper and copper silicide on n-type and p-type
      silicon.

PMID- 9993360
TI  - Scaling in the growth of aggregates on a surface.

PMID- 9993362
TI  - Surface phase transitions on clean Ge(111) studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry.

PMID- 9993363
TI  - Model based on trap-assisted tunneling for two-level current fluctuations in
      submicrometer metal-silicon-dioxide-silicon diodes.

PMID- 9993364
TI  - Band offsets for strained InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs heterointerfaces.

PMID- 9993365
TI  - Stress splitting of the EL2 zero-phonon line: Need for reinterpretation of the
      main optical transition.

PMID- 9993366
TI  - Pressure coefficient of the direct band gap of the solid solution ZnxCd1-xS.

PMID- 9993367
TI  - Formation of Si(111)-(1 x 1)Cl.

PMID- 9993368
TI  - Photoluminescence above the Tauc gap in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9993369
TI  - Direct determination of III-V semiconductor surface band gaps.

PMID- 9993370
TI  - Interstitial O in Si and its interactions with H.

PMID- 9993371
TI  - Resonant tunneling with a time-dependent voltage.

PMID- 9993372
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the transient expansion of photogenerated plasmas in bulk
      semiconductors: Nonequilibrium phonon effects.

PMID- 9993373
TI  - Relocation of Si atoms in kilo-electron-volt and mega-electron-volt Si-ion
      irradiation of crystalline Si.

PMID- 9993374
TI  - Structure of photodoped and thermally Zn-doped glassy arsenic sulfide films.

PMID- 9993375
TI  - Mutual drag of two- and three-dimensional electron gases in heterostuctures.

PMID- 9993376
TI  - X-ray analysis of the device structures of III-V compound semiconductors.

PMID- 9993378
TI  - Quantum statistics of polarized photoluminescence in ordered GaInP2.

PMID- 9993377
TI  - Anisotropy of surface optical properties from first-principles calculations.

PMID- 9993379
TI  - Photoexcited quantum wells: Nonlinear screening, bistability, and negative
      differential capacitance.

PMID- 9993380
TI  - Electronic structure of GaAs(001).

PMID- 9993382
TI  - Positron trapping in semiconductors.

PMID- 9993381
TI  - Photoacoustic characterization of semiconductors: Transport properties and
      thermal diffusivity in GaAs and Si.

PMID- 9993383
TI  - Removal of accidental degeneracies in semiconductor quantum wires.

PMID- 9993384
TI  - Nonlinear optical response of two-dimensional magnetoexcitons.

PMID- 9993385
TI  - Dynamical properties of layered superionic conductors.

PMID- 9993387
TI  - Energy-level spectra of transition-metal ions in II-VI semiconductors.

PMID- 9993386
TI  - Quantum tunability of superlattice minibands.

PMID- 9993388
TI  - Density of states and optical-absorption spectra of shallow impurities in quantum
      wells under the influence of a longitudinal electric field.

PMID- 9993389
TI  - Thermal-equilibrium defects in undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon, silicon
      carbon, and silicon-nitrogen.

PMID- 9993390
TI  - Quasiparticle band offset at the (001) interface and band gaps in ultrathin
      superlattices of GaAs-AlAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9993392
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of atoms and charge-density waves in 1T-TaS2, 1T
      TaSe2, and 1T-VSe2.

PMID- 9993391
TI  - Temperature dependence of direct transitions in angle-resolved photoemission and
      its application to InSb.

PMID- 9993393
TI  - Effect of pressure on the refractive index of Ge and GaAs.

PMID- 9993394
TI  - Effect of pressure on the low-temperature exciton absorption in GaAs.

PMID- 9993395
TI  - Recombination dynamics in pseudomorphic and partially relaxed In0.23Ga0.77As/GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9993396
TI  - Bulk and surface states of a doped superlattice.

PMID- 9993397
TI  - Raman scattering and hydrogen-content analysis of amorphous hydrogenated carbon
      films irradiated with 200-keV C+ ions.

PMID- 9993398
TI  - Tl+Tl0(1)-like dimer centers in KCl and RbCl doped with Tl+, In+, and Ga+: A
      resonant Raman study.

PMID- 9993399
TI  - Interpretation of features in the surface-phonon dispersion curves of KBr(001)
      and RbBr(001).

PMID- 9993400
TI  - Valence-band spectra of tin oxides interpreted by X alpha calculations.

PMID- 9993401
TI  - Lattice and central modes in the hyper-Raman spectra of the hydrogen-bonded
      ferroelectrics PbHPO4 and PbDPO4.

PMID- 9993402
TI  - Electronic structure of multiple vacancies in rutile TiO2 by the equation-of
      motion method.

PMID- 9993403
TI  - Novel magnetoresistance oscillations in a two-dimensional superlattice potential.

PMID- 9993404
TI  - Experimental probe for thin-film magnetism in p(1 x 1) Pd and V on Ag(100).

PMID- 9993405
TI  - Direct low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of c(2 x 2)O/Ni(100) including
      substrate reconstruction.

PMID- 9993406
TI  - H-H interaction in Ti lattice: Pseudopotential density-functional total-energy
      approach.

PMID- 9993407
TI  - Effect of surface state on the spin susceptibility of ultrafine metallic
      particles.

PMID- 9993408
TI  - Photon band structures: The plane-wave method.

PMID- 9993409
TI  - Different localization behavior of the wave functions of incommensurate systems.

PMID- 9993410
TI  - Linewidth behavior of the A1g Raman phonon in CdxHg1-xI2 solid solution.

PMID- 9993411
TI  - Step stability, domain coverage, and nonequilibrium kinetics in Si(001) molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9993412
TI  - Subband-Landau-level coupling in the fractional quantum Hall effect in tilted
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9993414
TI  - Disorder-induced Raman scattering in NiSi2.

PMID- 9993413
TI  - Strain splitting of the X-conduction-band valleys and quenching of spin-valley
      interaction in indirect GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs:Si heterostructures.

PMID- 9993415
TI  - Intraband optical absorption in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9993416
TI  - Carrier scattering by native defects in heavily doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9993417
TI  - Plasmons on a randomly rough surface.

PMID- 9993418
TI  - Comment on "Exact eigenvalue equation for a finite and infinite collection of
      muffin-tin potentials"

PMID- 9993419
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Exact eigenvalue equation for a finite and infinite
      collection of muffin-tin potentials' "

PMID- 9993420
TI  - Erratum: Renormalized model for the dynamics of the krypton-on-graphite domain
      wall lattice

PMID- 9993421
TI  - Generation of microwave radiation in the tunneling junction of a scanning
      tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9993422
TI  - Surface reconstruction of Cu(110) induced by oxygen chemisorption.

PMID- 9993424
TI  - Log-normal distribution as a description of fluctuations in one-dimensional
      disordered systems.

PMID- 9993423
TI  - Image-potential-induced resonances at free-electron-like metal surfaces.

PMID- 9993425
TI  - Transferability of bulk empirical potentials to silicon microclusters: A critical
      study.

PMID- 9993427
TI  - Quantum transport and phonon emission of nonequilibrium hot electrons.

PMID- 9993426
TI  - Si(111)-5 x 1-Au reconstruction as studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9993429
TI  - Role of hydrogen complexes in the metastability of hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon.

PMID- 9993428
TI  - Observation of nonradiative energy transfer in the excitation of Nd3+
      luminescence in GaP.

PMID- 9993430
TI  - Incomplete confinement of electrons and holes in microcrystals.

PMID- 9993432
TI  - Plasmon excitations in one-dimensional lateral-quantum-wire superlattices.

PMID- 9993431
TI  - Valence-band offsets and formation enthalpy of reconstructed GaAs/Ge(001)
      interfaces.

PMID- 9993433
TI  - Infrared absorption of deep defects in molecular-beam-epitaxial GaAs layers grown
      at 200 degreesC: Observation of an EL2-like defect.

PMID- 9993434
TI  - Quasicontinuum of metal electronic states and the electronic properties of
      semiconductor-metal-semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9993435
TI  - Observation of excitonic effects on electroabsorption in coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9993436
TI  - Photoemission from metal dots on GaAs(110): Surface photovoltages and
      conductivity.

PMID- 9993437
TI  - Edge magnetoplasmons in the fractional-quantum-Hall-effect regime.

PMID- 9993438
TI  - Structural properties of ordered high-melting-temperature intermetallic alloys
      from first-principles total-energy calculations.

PMID- 9993439
TI  - Many-body potentials and atomic-scale relaxations in noble-metal alloys.

PMID- 9993440
TI  - Optical response of microscopically rough surfaces.

PMID- 9993442
TI  - Evanescent modes and scattering in quasi-one-dimensional wires.

PMID- 9993441
TI  - Harris functional and related methods for calculating total energies in density
      functional theory.

PMID- 9993443
TI  - Laser-induced thermomagnetic detection of a metastable band in bismuth.

PMID- 9993444
TI  - Dynamics of thin epitaxial layers on (001) surfaces of bcc metals: A Green
      function approach.

PMID- 9993445
TI  - Josephson superlattices and low-amplitude gap solitons.

PMID- 9993446
TI  - Structural characterization of precious-mean quasiperiodic Mo/V single-crystal
      superlattices grown by dual-target magnetron sputtering.

PMID- 9993447
TI  - Resonant photoemission at core-level shake-up thresholds: Valence-band satellites
      in nickel.

PMID- 9993448
TI  - Ground states of two-dimensional quasicrystals.

PMID- 9993449
TI  - First-principles, general-potential local-orbital calculations for bulk crystals.

PMID- 9993450
TI  - Theoretical study of the interaction of ionized transition metals
      (Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni,Cu) with argon.

PMID- 9993451
TI  - Surface statistical thermodynamics and magnetic susceptibility in the infinite
      barrier model.

PMID- 9993453
TI  - Adsorbate-induced nonlocal corrections to Fresnel optics: Optical reflectivity of
      Cs overlayers on Ag.

PMID- 9993452
TI  - First-principles calculations of electronic structure in random hcp alloys: A Ru
      Re example.

PMID- 9993454
TI  - Subplantation model for film growth from hyperthermal species.

PMID- 9993456
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of amorphization by introduction of chemical disorder in
      crystalline NiZr2.

PMID- 9993455
TI  - Ionic Hall effect in crystals: Independent versus cooperative hopping in AgBr and
      alpha -AgI.

PMID- 9993457
TI  - Stacking quasicrystallographic lattices.

PMID- 9993458
TI  - Normal electron-electron scattering in thin films at low temperatures: Anomalous
      surface impedance.

PMID- 9993460
TI  - Theory of Landau diamagnetism of dirty metals.

PMID- 9993459
TI  - Autoionization versus photoionization of molecular adsorbates: CO2 physisorbed on
      Ni(110).

PMID- 9993461
TI  - High sensitivity of umklapp components of momentum densities to the crystal
      potential and its consequences for the electron-positron enhancement factor.

PMID- 9993462
TI  - Magnetoresistivity studies of Zr-M amorphous alloys (M=Ni, Co, and Fe): From
      superconductivity to ferromagnetism.

PMID- 9993463
TI  - Orthogonalized linear combinations of atomic orbitals. IV. Inclusion of
      relativistic corrections.

PMID- 9993464
TI  - Stress theorem and Hellmann-Feynman relations for the jellium model of
      interfaces.

PMID- 9993465
TI  - Interatomic potential for silicon clusters, crystals, and surfaces.

PMID- 9993467
TI  - Oxygen-oxygen complexes and thermal donors in silicon.

PMID- 9993466
TI  - Optical excitations in poly(2,5-thienylene vinylene).

PMID- 9993468
TI  - Exchange-induced splitting of exciton energy levels in quantum wires.

PMID- 9993469
TI  - Electronic structure of zinc-blende-structure semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9993470
TI  - Interaction of electrons with the confined LO phonons of a free-standing GaAs
      quantum wire.

PMID- 9993471
TI  - Guided and interface LO phonons in cylindrical GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires.

PMID- 9993472
TI  - Native and irradiation-induced monovacancies in n-type and semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9993473
TI  - Exchange correlation in the X alpha approximation and shallow-donor impurity
      ionization energy.

PMID- 9993474
TI  - Persistent photoconductivity and two-band effects in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      heterojunctions.

PMID- 9993475
TI  - Electronic properties of the donor states under two-dimensional-conductor and
      quantum-wire configurations in heavily and orderly doped (GaAs)-(AlAs).

PMID- 9993476
TI  - Role of ring torsion angle in polyaniline: Electronic structure and defect
      states.

PMID- 9993477
TI  - Global adiabatic regime in quantum ballistic transport.

PMID- 9993478
TI  - Characterization of the electron gas in wide parabolic GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9993480
TI  - Determination of band bending at the Si(113) surface from photovoltage-induced
      core-level shifts.

PMID- 9993479
TI  - Universal features in degenerate and nondegenerate hot-carrier screening.

PMID- 9993481
TI  - Structural properties and electronic structure of low-compressibility materials:
      beta -Si3N4 and hypothetical beta -C3N4.

PMID- 9993483
TI  - Concentration of native point defects in Si single crystals at high temperatures.

PMID- 9993482
TI  - Cluster calculations of ZnO with Cu and Ni impurities.

PMID- 9993484
TI  - Theoretical study of the vibrational spectra in poly(p-phenylene vinylene).

PMID- 9993485
TI  - Nonparabolicity of the conduction band in GaAs.

PMID- 9993486
TI  - Electronic processes in double-barrier resonant-tunneling structures studied by
      photoluminescence spectroscopy in zero and finite magnetic fields.

PMID- 9993487
TI  - Term spectrum of magnetoexcitons in quasi-two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9993489
TI  - Nonequilibrium carrier processes in the presence of microwaves and magnetic
      fields in epitaxial GaAs studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993488
TI  - Interaction of longitudinal-optic phonons with free holes as evidenced in Raman
      spectra from Be-doped p-type GaAs.

PMID- 9993490
TI  - Persistent photoconductivity in compensated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9993491
TI  - Quantum levels and Zeeman splitting for two-dimensional hydrogenic donor states
      in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9993492
TI  - Laser spectroscopic measurement of point-defect dynamics in Eu3+:CaF2.

PMID- 9993493
TI  - Lattice dynamics of ionic crystals.

PMID- 9993494
TI  - Relationship between hyperfine parameters and the geometry of defects in
      nonmetallic solids.

PMID- 9993495
TI  - Lattice dynamics with indirect ionic interactions.

PMID- 9993496
TI  - Nonradiative energy transfer from Cu+ to Mn2+ ions in monocrystalline NaCl.

PMID- 9993497
TI  - Hole mobilities in films of a pyrazoline:polycarbonate molecularly doped polymer.

PMID- 9993498
TI  - First- and second-order resonant Raman scattering in graphite.

PMID- 9993499
TI  - Surface melting of Pb(110) studied by x-ray photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9993500
TI  - Low-temperature heat capacity of Pd0.35Zr0.65Dx (x=0.00-0.80) metallic glasses.

PMID- 9993501
TI  - Low-density quantum plasmas: Semiclassical screening oscillations.

PMID- 9993502
TI  - Quenching of the Hopkinson maximum under contamination in the system
      Gd(0001)/W(110).

PMID- 9993503
TI  - Spin-reversed excitations in the fractional quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9993504
TI  - Interatomic potentials and the structural properties of silicon dioxide under
      pressure.

PMID- 9993505
TI  - Lattice-simulation investigations of the migration of lithium in intercalated
      graphite.

PMID- 9993507
TI  - Effect of nonmagnetic impurities on the residual electron-spin-resonance
      linewidth of Er:Ag dilute alloys.

PMID- 9993506
TI  - Temperature-induced intraband transitions in the n-type HgTe/CdTe superlattice.

PMID- 9993508
TI  - Ni2+ ions in RbCdF3: An EPR study in the cubic and tetragonal phases.

PMID- 9993509
TI  - Fluorescence spectra of Cr3+ dimers in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9993510
TI  - Two-photon spectra of single-crystal gadolinium diglycolate.

PMID- 9993511
TI  - Many-body energy-transfer processes between Er3+ ions in yttrium aluminum garnet.

PMID- 9993512
TI  - Metastable electronic populations and relaxation of Fe(I), Fe(II), and Fe(III) in
      MgO observed by Mossbauer emission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993513
TI  - Speckle autocorrelation spectroscopy and pulse transmission as probes of photon
      transport in strongly scattering random media.

PMID- 9993514
TI  - Time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation study of 111In-111Cd in III-V
      compounds.

PMID- 9993516
TI  - Thermally generated magnetic fields in heavy-fermion superconductors.

PMID- 9993515
TI  - Pairing instabilities in dense hydrogen.

PMID- 9993518
TI  - I-V characteristics in two-dimensional frustrated Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9993517
TI  - Thermal conductivity of single-crystal Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O.

PMID- 9993519
TI  - Universal behavior of 4He films as a function of thickness near the Kosterlitz
      Thouless transition.

PMID- 9993520
TI  - Size effects in superfluid 3He films.

PMID- 9993521
TI  - Unusual Seebeck and Nernst effects in the mixed state of Bi2-xPbxSr2Ca2Cu3O
      delta.

PMID- 9993522
TI  - Onset of surface superconductivity.

PMID- 9993523
TI  - Quantum-field-theoretical description of photoelectron emission spectra of high
      Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9993524
TI  - Optical phonons in YBa2Cu4O8 and Y2Ba4Cu7O15- delta.

PMID- 9993525
TI  - Renormalization from density-functional theory to strong-coupling models for
      electronic states in Cu-O materials.

PMID- 9993526
TI  - Single-ion effects in the formation of the heavy-fermion ground state in UBe13.

PMID- 9993528
TI  - Exactness of anyon superconductivity and its finite-temperature behavior.

PMID- 9993527
TI  - Approaching the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9993529
TI  - Resonating-valence-bond wave function for the two-dimensional Heisenberg model on
      a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9993530
TI  - Asymptotic limits for the penetration depth of strong-coupling superconductors.

PMID- 9993531
TI  - Spin and charge excitations in YBa2Cu3O7: Constraints from spin-relaxation rates
      in the normal state.

PMID- 9993532
TI  - Cu(1) and Cu(2) NMR in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9993534
TI  - Comparative study of final-state-interaction contributions to the dynamic
      response of quantum fluids.

PMID- 9993533
TI  - Metallization and superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O6.2Bry.

PMID- 9993535
TI  - Superconductivity and oxygen ordering in (Ca,Ba,La)Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993536
TI  - Monte Carlo study of tracer and chemical diffusion of oxygen in YBa2Cu3O6+2c.

PMID- 9993537
TI  - Melting of the vortex lattice in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9993539
TI  - Deep-inelastic neutron scattering from liquid 4He.

PMID- 9993538
TI  - Evidence for Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons in Cu2O.

PMID- 9993540
TI  - Critical currents, pinning, and edge barriers in narrow YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin
      films.

PMID- 9993541
TI  - Preparation and properties of superconducting Y(Ba1-xSrx)2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9993542
TI  - Supercurrent tunneling between conventional and unconventional superconductors: A
      Ginzburg-Landau approach.

PMID- 9993543
TI  - Two- and three-dimensional magnetic order of the rare-earth ions in RBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9993544
TI  - Infrared studies of the superconducting energy gap and normal-state dynamics of
      the high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9993545
TI  - Model of nuclear relaxation in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993546
TI  - Emission of waves by moving kinks in a spatially modulated sine-Gordon system.

PMID- 9993548
TI  - Flux trapping in hafnium-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O ceramics: The microwave-loss-signal
      analysis.

PMID- 9993547
TI  - Dispersion relations for surface excitations as a probe for variational solutions
      of optimized paired-phonon analysis equations.

PMID- 9993549
TI  - Anisotropic pressure dependence of Tc in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7 via thermal
      expansion.

PMID- 9993551
TI  - NMR line shapes and relaxation in incommensurate systems with a multiple-q
      modulation.

PMID- 9993550
TI  - High-temperature series for random-anisotropy magnets.

PMID- 9993552
TI  - Defect-induced heterogeneous transformations and thermal growth in athermal
      martensite.

PMID- 9993553
TI  - Instantons and the spectrum of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9993554
TI  - Wetting, surface melting, and freezing of thin films of methane adsorbed on
      MgO(100).

PMID- 9993555
TI  - Energy measurement in auxiliary-field many-electron calculations.

PMID- 9993556
TI  - Conductance in random inductance-capacitance networks.

PMID- 9993557
TI  - Theoretical evaluation of Young's moduli of polymers.

PMID- 9993558
TI  - Spin waves in the flux-phase description of the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993559
TI  - Three-dimensional random XY model: Application to the superfluid transition of
      4He in porous media.

PMID- 9993560
TI  - Pair-approximation method for the quantum transverse Ising model with a random
      field.

PMID- 9993561
TI  - Ground-state phase diagrams for an oriented atomic chain on a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9993563
TI  - Quantized Hall effect in three dimensions.

PMID- 9993562
TI  - Neutron depolarization in a reentrant spin-glass system: Amorphous Fe-Mn.

PMID- 9993564
TI  - Optical studies of thermal cycling and hysteresis effects in elastic order
      disorder phase transformations. III. Alkali-metal halide cyanide double-mixed
      crystals.

PMID- 9993565
TI  - Mechanisms of phase transitions between commensurate and incommensurate phases.

PMID- 9993566
TI  - Additive and multiplicative perturbations on phi4 kinks.

PMID- 9993567
TI  - Properties of elastic percolating networks in isotropic media with arbitrary
      elastic constants.

PMID- 9993568
TI  - Quantum spin fluctuations in an itinerant antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993569
TI  - Exact results for the two-dimensional Ising model in a magnetic field: Tests of
      finite-size scaling theory.

PMID- 9993571
TI  - Classical O(N) Heisenberg model: Extended high-temperature series for two, three,
      and four dimensions.

PMID- 9993570
TI  - Correlated-basis-function method for fermions on a lattice: The one-dimensional
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993572
TI  - Influence of contact angle on quasistatic fluid invasion of porous media.

PMID- 9993574
TI  - Sign reversal of the atomic scattering factor and grazing-incidence transmission
      at x-ray-absorption edges.

PMID- 9993573
TI  - Glassy dynamics of pinned charge-density waves.

PMID- 9993575
TI  - X-ray-absorption and Kondo problems: Variations on the Abrikosov-Migdal field
      theoretical renormalization-group approach.

PMID- 9993576
TI  - XY model with weak random anisotropy in a symmetry-breaking magnetic field.

PMID- 9993577
TI  - Quantum lattice fluctuations in the one-dimensional Peierls-Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993578
TI  - Symmetry-forbidden laser-induced voltages in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9993579
TI  - Intensity-dependent photon-echo relaxation in rare-earth-doped crystals.

PMID- 9993580
TI  - X-ray photoemission spectroscopy study of LaCuO3.

PMID- 9993581
TI  - Anomalous pressure dependence of optical reflectivity in the superconductor
      Ba0.6K0.4BiO3.

PMID- 9993582
TI  - Dynamics of the phase transition in proximity-effect arrays of Josephson
      junctions at full frustration.

PMID- 9993584
TI  - Conditions for the existence of a counterflow in superfluid helium.

PMID- 9993583
TI  - Copper-oxygen hybridization in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O measured by magnetic-susceptibility
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9993585
TI  - Fluctuation effects and mass enhancement in high-Tc cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9993586
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional diffusion-limited aggregation.

PMID- 9993587
TI  - High-pressure phase transitions in Li2SO4.

PMID- 9993589
TI  - Variational approach for tunneling diffusion of a particle interacting with
      phonons.

PMID- 9993588
TI  - Hierarchical quantum Ising model.

PMID- 9993590
TI  - Erratum: "Collective excitations in a doped antiferromagnet"

PMID- 9993592
TI  - Mechanisms for annealing of ion-bombardment-induced defects on Pt(111).

PMID- 9993593
TI  - Nature of pairing in antiferromagnetic metals.

PMID- 9993591
TI  - Growth of the optical conductivity in the Cu-O planes.

PMID- 9993595
TI  - High-frequency flux flow in Y-Ba-Cu-O/Ag/Y-Ba-Cu-O thin-film superconducting
      normal-superconducting junctions.

PMID- 9993594
TI  - Quantum fluctuations and the onset of global superconductivity in disordered
      Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9993596
TI  - H2O adsorption on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8(001).

PMID- 9993597
TI  - Microwave response of YBa2Cu3O7- delta -Ag-Al-Pb superconducting proximity
      junctions.

PMID- 9993598
TI  - Anomalous Hall effect in superconductors near their critical temperatures.

PMID- 9993599
TI  - Giant Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9993600
TI  - Diamagnetic response of oxide superconductors: Theoretical descriptions by the
      mass-reduction mechanism.

PMID- 9993601
TI  - Lorentz-force independence of resistance tails in magnetic fields near Tc for the
      low-temperature superconductor granular NbN: A Josephson-junction model.

PMID- 9993602
TI  - Temperature-dependent Hall coefficient of the organic super- conductor beta -di

PMID- 9993603
TI  - Shape of the upper-critical-field curves in URu2Si2: Evidence for anisotropic
      pairing.

PMID- 9993604
TI  - Optical pulses in tritiated solid hydrogen.

PMID- 9993605
TI  - Cu-O network dependence of optical charge-transfer gaps and spin-pair excitations
      in single-CuO2-layer compounds.

PMID- 9993607
TI  - Ordering of interstitial oxygen atoms in La2NiO4+ delta observed by transmission
      electron microscopy.

PMID- 9993606
TI  - Isotope effect for very large Coulomb pseudopotential.

PMID- 9993608
TI  - Flux-pinning mechanisms in thin films of YBa2Cu3Ox.

PMID- 9993609
TI  - Anomalous temperature dependence of Hall coefficients for
      (L2/3Ce1/3)4(La1/3Ba1/3Sr1/3)4Cu6Oy (L=Eu, Dy, Y, and Ho).

PMID- 9993610
TI  - Atom- and cluster-assembled interfaces: Cr growth on Bi2Sr2-xCa1+xCu2O8+y.

PMID- 9993611
TI  - Infrared absorptivity of YBa2Cu3O7-x crystals.

PMID- 9993612
TI  - Positron-annihilation studies on the YBa2Cu4O8 superconductor.

PMID- 9993613
TI  - Phonon Raman scattering of NbBa2Cu3Oy and Nd1.6Ba1.4Cu3Oy.

PMID- 9993614
TI  - Bogoliubov quasiparticles, spinons, and spin-charge decoupling in
      superconductors.

PMID- 9993615
TI  - Stability of the saturated ferromagnetic state in the one-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993616
TI  - All-electronic Peierls instability in the infinite-U mean-field theory for the
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993617
TI  - Phase transitions in random-anisotropy magnets.

PMID- 9993618
TI  - Monte Carlo renormalization-group study of the site-diluted simple-cubic Ising
      model.

PMID- 9993619
TI  - Vibrational properties of percolating clusters: Localization and density of
      states.

PMID- 9993620
TI  - Atomic motions in liquid KPb: A molecular-dynamics investigation.

PMID- 9993621
TI  - Pseudopotential local-spin-density studies of neutral and charged Mgn (n <= 7)
      clusters.

PMID- 9993622
TI  - L and M edges of copper: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9993624
TI  - Calculations of surface core-level shifts for the lanthanides.

PMID- 9993623
TI  - Two-dimensional weak localization in partially graphitic carbons.

PMID- 9993625
TI  - Fe-Ti metastable-phase formation by ion-beam mixing.

PMID- 9993626
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetism of transition-metal-stabilized YFe12-xMx
      intermetallic compounds.

PMID- 9993627
TI  - Quantum diffusion of adatoms on a surface.

PMID- 9993628
TI  - Ionization potentials of cobalt and nickel ions in the local-spin-density
      approximation.

PMID- 9993629
TI  - Spin and orbital magnetism in 3d systems.

PMID- 9993630
TI  - Cohesion and lattice stabilities in the 5d transition metals: Full versus muffin
      tin potentials.

PMID- 9993631
TI  - Giant conductance fluctuations in thin metal wires.

PMID- 9993633
TI  - Atomistic locking and friction.

PMID- 9993632
TI  - First-principles study of As, Sb, and Bi electronic properties.

PMID- 9993634
TI  - Surface-roughness contributions to the electrical resistivity of polycrystalline
      metal films.

PMID- 9993635
TI  - Charge-density-wave conduction noise in blue bronze: Bulk-generated Gaussian
      noise.

PMID- 9993636
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission study of relativistic effects in the bulk electronic
      structure of Fe.

PMID- 9993638
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of the nucleation and growth of binary-alloy particles of
      Au, Ag, and Pd on NaCl(100) substrates.

PMID- 9993637
TI  - Thermal vacancies and positron-lifetime measurements in Fe76.3Al23.7.

PMID- 9993639
TI  - Electronic structure of ordered and disordered Cu3Au: The behavior of the Au 5d
      bands.

PMID- 9993641
TI  - Magnetic breakdown and magnetoresistance oscillations in a periodically modulated
      two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993640
TI  - Circular bends in electron waveguides.

PMID- 9993642
TI  - Core-hole effects in the x-ray-absorption spectra of transition-metal silicides.

PMID- 9993643
TI  - Electron band structure of a rare-earth metal: Tb(0001).

PMID- 9993645
TI  - Statistical-mechanical model in the evaluation of partial and total structure
      factors, atomic distribution functions, and diffusion coefficients of silver-tin
      liquids at various concentrations.

PMID- 9993644
TI  - First-principles calculation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of iron,
      cobalt, and nickel.

PMID- 9993646
TI  - Calculations on the Auger spectra of clusters modeling polymer chains.

PMID- 9993647
TI  - Anharmonic model for polyyne.

PMID- 9993648
TI  - Theory of the Hall effect in quantum wires: Effects of scattering.

PMID- 9993650
TI  - Eight-band k

PMID- 9993649
TI  - Inelastic electron scattering investigation of the Sb/GaAs(110) system.

PMID- 9993652
TI  - Stability and electronic properties of InAs/InP strained superlattices.

PMID- 9993651
TI  - Theory of dielectric-function anisotropies of (001) GaAs (2 x 1) surfaces.

PMID- 9993653
TI  - Experimental study of the crystal stability and equation of state of Si to 248
      GPa.

PMID- 9993655
TI  - Shallow donors in CdTe.

PMID- 9993654
TI  - Growth of silicon and germanium on Cu(111) studied by angle-resolved direct and
      inverse photoemission.

PMID- 9993656
TI  - Stark shift and field-induced tunneling in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9993657
TI  - Hall effect near the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9993658
TI  - Development of the surface electronic structure of K and Cs overlayers on
      Si(111)7 x 7.

PMID- 9993660
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of narrow-band-gap semiconductors: InP,
      InAs, and InSb.

PMID- 9993659
TI  - Pressure dependences of the elastic constants and structural stability of Zn1
      xMnxSe with x=0.37 and 0.53.

PMID- 9993661
TI  - Temperature dependence of the persistent photocurrent in Czochralski gallium
      arsenide.

PMID- 9993663
TI  - Localized excitons in II-VI semiconductor alloys: Density-of-states model and
      photoluminescence line-shape analysis.

PMID- 9993662
TI  - Valence-band electronic structure of NiSi2 and CoSi2: Evidence of the Si s
      electronic state at the Fermi edge.

PMID- 9993664
TI  - Electronic structure of InP/Ga0.47In0.53As interfaces.

PMID- 9993665
TI  - Magnetic-field effects and intrinsic bistability in resonant tunneling systems.

PMID- 9993666
TI  - Theory of the surface acoustic soliton. V. Approximate soliton solution of the
      Korteweg-de Vries type.

PMID- 9993667
TI  - Electron transport and impact ionization in Si.

PMID- 9993668
TI  - Pressure-dependent phonon properties of III-V compound semiconductors.

PMID- 9993669
TI  - Carrier dynamics of electrons and holes in moderately doped silicon.

PMID- 9993670
TI  - Defect formation in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9993671
TI  - Total energy, lattice dynamics, and structural phase transitions in silicon by
      the orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals method.

PMID- 9993672
TI  - Electronic structure and optical absorption of ionized donor molecules in a
      magnetic field: A finite-element approach.

PMID- 9993673
TI  - Kinetics of radiative recombination in quantum wells.

PMID- 9993674
TI  - Interaction potential for SiO2: A molecular-dynamics study of structural
      correlations.

PMID- 9993675
TI  - Dynamics of orientational glass formation in Rb(CN)xBr1-x mixed crystals.

PMID- 9993676
TI  - Contributions of the electrostatic and the dispersion interaction to the solvent
      shift in a dye-polymer system, as investigated by hole-burning spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993678
TI  - Interpretation of three-photon spectra in alkali halides.

PMID- 9993677
TI  - Inverse-photoemission measurement of iron oxides on polycrystalline Fe.

PMID- 9993679
TI  - Lattice dynamics of thin layers of molecular nitrogen adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9993680
TI  - Photodarkening profiles and kinetics in chalcogenide glasses.

PMID- 9993681
TI  - Disorder-induced line broadening in first-order Raman scattering from graphite.

PMID- 9993683
TI  - Self-affine fractal dimensions of film surfaces.

PMID- 9993682
TI  - Ghost states for separable, norm-conserving, Iab initioP pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9993685
TI  - Hydrogen molecular ions in two dimensions.

PMID- 9993684
TI  - Praseodymium-overlayer-induced enhancement in oxide growth on aluminum and
      tantalum.

PMID- 9993687
TI  - Correlation length of a dense liquid and surface melting.

PMID- 9993686
TI  - Formation of artificially ordered SimSbn alloys.

PMID- 9993688
TI  - Erratum: Imperfections in amorphous chalcogenides. II. Detection and structure
      determination of neutral defects in As-S, Ge-S, and Ge-As-S glasses

PMID- 9993689
TI  - Elastic properties of thin fcc films.

PMID- 9993690
TI  - Coverage dependence of the electronic structure of chlorine adatoms on metal
      surfaces.

PMID- 9993691
TI  - Solitonlike phonon localization and two-phonon bound states of multivibrational
      excitations.

PMID- 9993693
TI  - Confirmation of the temperature-dependent photovoltaic effect on Fermi-level
      measurements by photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993692
TI  - Resonant-tunneling transfer times between asymmetric GaAs/Al0.35Ga0.65As double
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9993694
TI  - Jahn-Teller coupling at the 1.04-eV EL2-related center in GaAs.

PMID- 9993695
TI  - Magnetotransport through an antidot lattice in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9993696
TI  - Spin-density waves in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993697
TI  - One-dimensional subband effects in the conductance of multiple quantum wires in
      Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors.

PMID- 9993699
TI  - Microscopic mechanism for dopant activation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9993698
TI  - Induced absorption spectroscopic determination of exciton binding energies in
      type-II GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9993700
TI  - Numerical simulations of resonant tunneling in the presence of inelastic
      processes.

PMID- 9993701
TI  - Piezospectroscopic study of interstitial oxygen in gallium arsenide.

PMID- 9993702
TI  - Step-step interactions due to anisotropic surface stress.

PMID- 9993703
TI  - Decay times of one-dimensional excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum-well wires.

PMID- 9993704
TI  - Cs-induced surface state on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9993705
TI  - Resonant magnetoconductance in a two-dimensional lateral-surface superlattice.

PMID- 9993706
TI  - Ballistic transport in a novel one-dimensional superlattice.

PMID- 9993707
TI  - Negative-charge state of hydrogen in silicon.

PMID- 9993708
TI  - Absolute deformation potentials in semiconductors.

PMID- 9993710
TI  - Polaronic satellites in x-ray-absorption spectra.

PMID- 9993709
TI  - Third-order nonlinear susceptibilities and polariton modes in PbTiO3 obtained by
      temporal measurements.

PMID- 9993711
TI  - O chemisorption on Cu(110) by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9993712
TI  - Behavior of Ir atoms and clusters on Ir surfaces.

PMID- 9993713
TI  - Effective-medium calculations for hydrogen in Ni, Pd, and Pt.

PMID- 9993714
TI  - Influence of the valence of the substituted cations on the electrical properties
      of the magnetically modulated spinels Zn1-xAxCr2Se4 (A=Cu, Ga2/3).

PMID- 9993715
TI  - Cohesive, electronic, and structural properties of Al3Li: An important metastable
      phase.

PMID- 9993716
TI  - Edge dislocations in fcc metals: Microscopic calculations of core structure and
      positron states in Al and Cu.

PMID- 9993717
TI  - Universal scaling of nonlocal and local resistance fluctuations in small wires.

PMID- 9993718
TI  - Crystal structure, phase stability, and electronic structure of Ti-Al
      intermetallics: TiAl3.

PMID- 9993719
TI  - Observation of surface to bulk interatomic Auger decay from Ta(100).

PMID- 9993721
TI  - Linear response of general composite systems to many coupled fields.

PMID- 9993720
TI  - Exact Hartree-Fock exchange in one-dimensional metals. II.

PMID- 9993722
TI  - Photoelectron diffraction from core levels and plasmon-loss peaks of aluminum.

PMID- 9993724
TI  - Linear-response theory for core-hole screening in transition metals.

PMID- 9993723
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation applicable to the growth of rough metal overlayers:
      Parametric relationships related to the electrochemical roughening.

PMID- 9993726
TI  - Electron-positron interaction in jellium.

PMID- 9993725
TI  - Mossbauer and magnetic studies of Ti4+-substituted Ni-Zn ferrites.

PMID- 9993727
TI  - Neutron-diffraction structure in potassium near the

PMID- 9993728
TI  - Effect of the surface states of different transition-metal substrates on a Cs
      overlayer.

PMID- 9993729
TI  - Phase stability and electronic structure of ScAl3 and ZrAl3 and of Sc-stabilized
      cubic ZrAl3 precipitates.

PMID- 9993731
TI  - Extended phonon-scattering mechanism as an explanation for low mobility in highly
      concentrated electron layers at silicon interfaces.

PMID- 9993730
TI  - Optical response of a disordered solid with restricted size.

PMID- 9993732
TI  - Impurity conduction at low compensation levels in Zn-doped InP.

PMID- 9993734
TI  - Structural and optical properties of (100) InAs single-monolayer quantum wells in
      bulklike GaAs grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9993733
TI  - Angle-resolved Auger study of 10-keV Ar+-ion-induced Si LMM atomic lines.

PMID- 9993735
TI  - Structure and evolution of the displacement field in hydrogen-implanted silicon.

PMID- 9993736
TI  - Photoemission and scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of GaSb(100).

PMID- 9993737
TI  - Comparative study of Si-NL8 and Si-NL10 thermal-donor-related EPR centers.

PMID- 9993738
TI  - Atomic and electronic structures of an interface between silicon and beta 
      cristobalite.

PMID- 9993739
TI  - Donor levels and impurity-atom relaxation in nitrogen- and phosphorus-doped
      diamond.

PMID- 9993740
TI  - Energy levels of strained InxGa1-xAs-GaAs superlattices.

PMID- 9993741
TI  - Effect of electron-electron scattering on intervalley transition rates of
      photoexcited carriers in GaAs.

PMID- 9993743
TI  - Inter-Landau-level scattering in the valence band of zinc-blende semiconductors
      induced by the Frohlich interaction.

PMID- 9993742
TI  - Inelastic scattering of electrons by neutral impurities in semiconductors.

PMID- 9993744
TI  - Atomic and electronic structures of oxygen on Si(100) surfaces: Metastable
      adsorption sites.

PMID- 9993746
TI  - Pressure-driven semiconductor-metal transition in intermediate-valence TmSe1-xTex
      and the concept of an excitonic insulator.

PMID- 9993745
TI  - Observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9993747
TI  - Band offsets and interfacial properties of cubic CdS grown by molecular-beam
      epitaxy on CdTe(110).

PMID- 9993748
TI  - Theoretical studies of Si vapor-phase epitaxial growth by Iab initioP molecular
      orbital calculations.

PMID- 9993749
TI  - Effect of continuum states on two-photon absorption in quantum wells.

PMID- 9993750
TI  - Surface crystallography of bulk-grown CoSi2(111) by x-ray photoelectron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9993752
TI  - Molecular-dynamics determination of electronic and vibrational spectra, and
      equilibrium structures of small Si clusters.

PMID- 9993751
TI  - Light-induced change in defect-band photoluminescence of doped hydrogenated
      amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9993754
TI  - Phonon-assisted magneto-optical transitions in two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9993753
TI  - Quantum Hall effect and general narrow-wire circuits.

PMID- 9993755
TI  - Surface geometry of (1 x 1)PHx/Ge(111) determined with angle-resolved
      photoemission extended fine structure.

PMID- 9993756
TI  - First-principles calculations of the three-dimensional structure and intrinsic
      defects in trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9993757
TI  - Dynamical inelastic scattering in high-energy electron diffraction and imaging: A
      new theoretical approach.

PMID- 9993759
TI  - Nonlinear optical susceptibilities of conducting polymers.

PMID- 9993758
TI  - Chiral Luttinger liquid and the edge excitations in the fractional quantum Hall
      states.

PMID- 9993760
TI  - Theory of magnetotransport in two-dimensional electron systems with
      unidirectional periodic modulation.

PMID- 9993762
TI  - Structure and phase transitions of grown and equilibrated alloys.

PMID- 9993761
TI  - Structural and vibrational properties of (Si)4/(Ge)4 superlattices.

PMID- 9993764
TI  - Extrinsic- and intrinsic-defect creation in amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9993763
TI  - Angularly resolved light scattering from silica glass: Determination of the
      critical angle and scatterer density.

PMID- 9993765
TI  - Spectroscopic determination of the distribution of Cr3+ sites in mullite
      ceramics.

PMID- 9993766
TI  - X-ray-diffraction studies of hydration transitions in Na vermiculite.

PMID- 9993767
TI  - NMR study of interface structure in epitaxial Co-Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9993768
TI  - Rayleigh wave dispersion on Ag(100) along the <100> direction.

PMID- 9993769
TI  - Position of the empty surface-state band on Si(111)2 x 1.

PMID- 9993770
TI  - Polarizability of a carrier in an isolated well of a quantum-well wire.

PMID- 9993771
TI  - Modification of Stillinger-Weber potentials for Si and Ge.

PMID- 9993773
TI  - Magnetization of a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993772
TI  - Electronic structure of alpha -Al2O3 studied by polarized x-ray-emission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993774
TI  - Multicritical unbinding phenomena and nonlinear functional renormalization group.

PMID- 9993775
TI  - Nonlocal Wigner-like correlation-energy density functional through coordinate
      scaling.

PMID- 9993776
TI  - Relation between x-ray photoemission spectroscopy binding energies and absorption
      resonance energies for CO adsorbates.

PMID- 9993778
TI  - Effects of channel opening and disorder on the conductance of narrow wires.

PMID- 9993777
TI  - Observation of high-index excitonic states in AlxGa1-xAs/AlAs ternary-alloy
      quantum wells by two-photon spectroscopy.

PMID- 9993779
TI  - Near-surface GaAs/Ga0.7Al0.3As quantum wells: Interaction with the surface
      states.

PMID- 9993780
TI  - Dynamics of exciton transfer between the bound and the continuum states in GaAs
      AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9993781
TI  - Local catalytic effect of cesium on the oxidation of silicon.

PMID- 9993782
TI  - Intersubband plasmon excitations of an electron gas in a cylindrical quantum-well
      wire.

PMID- 9993783
TI  - Iterative approaches to electronic structure with augmented bases.

PMID- 9993784
TI  - 4f resonances with norm-conserving pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9993785
TI  - Quantum-chemical molecular dynamics applied to S-P metals.

PMID- 9993786
TI  - de Haas-van Alphen effect in two-dimensional thin films of pure bismuth.

PMID- 9993788
TI  - Anisotropic diffusion at a melting surface studied with He-atom scattering.

PMID- 9993787
TI  - L2,3 x-ray-absorption edges of d0 compounds: K+, Ca2+, Sc3+, and Ti4+ in Oh
      (octahedral) symmetry.

PMID- 9993789
TI  - Theory of the electronic states and absorption spectrum of the LiCl:Ag+ impurity
      system.

PMID- 9993791
TI  - Electrical resistance in the c direction of graphite.

PMID- 9993790
TI  - Weak-localization and Coulomb-interaction effects in hydrogen-doped Zr-Ni and Zr
      Cu metallic glasses.

PMID- 9993792
TI  - Lattice dynamics of lutetium.

PMID- 9993793
TI  - Measurement of glasslike and crystalline elasticity in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9993794
TI  - Deposition of Ag ions and neutral atoms on ZnSe(100): Influence of interface
      morphology on Schottky-barrier formation.

PMID- 9993796
TI  - Excitonic effects in the optical spectrum of GaAs.

PMID- 9993795
TI  - Theoretical evaluation of neutron scattering intensities, partial structure
      factors, and diffusion coefficients of the alloy of the peculiar metal Bi in Cu
      Bi alloy.

PMID- 9993797
TI  - Influence of pair-exchange interaction on the magnetization of IV-VI-compound
      diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9993798
TI  - Defect annealing in electron-irradiated boron-doped silicon.

PMID- 9993799
TI  - Annealing study of the electron-irradiation-induced defects H4 and E11 in InP:
      Defect transformation (H4-E11)-->H4'

PMID- 9993800
TI  - Atomic versus molecular reactivity at the gas-solid interface: The adsorption and
      reaction of atomic oxygen on the Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9993801
TI  - Disorder, screening, and quantum Hall oscillations.

PMID- 9993802
TI  - Trap-limited hydrogen diffusion in doped silicon.

PMID- 9993803
TI  - Role of band-tail carriers in metastable defect formation and annealing in
      hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9993805
TI  - Observations and calculations of the exciton binding energy in (In,Ga)As/GaAs
      strained-quantum-well heterostructures.

PMID- 9993804
TI  - Reaction and barrier formation at metal-GaP(110) interfaces.

PMID- 9993806
TI  - Exciton localization in InxGa1-xAs-GaAs coupled quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9993808
TI  - X-ray specular reflection studies of silicon coated by organic monolayers
      (alkylsiloxanes).

PMID- 9993807
TI  - High-resolution photoemission study of the interaction of hydrogen with GaAs(110)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9993809
TI  - Observation of magnetic excitons and spin waves in activation studies of a two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9993810
TI  - Magnetic-ion triplet clusters and non-nearest-neighbor exchange effect in
      (Cd,Mn)Te.

PMID- 9993811
TI  - Influences of a parallel magnetic field on localization of disordered two
      dimensional electrons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures.

PMID- 9993813
TI  - Electronic structure of perovskite-type compounds.

PMID- 9993812
TI  - Dimensional changes of metallic glasses during bombardment with fast heavy ions.

PMID- 9993814
TI  - Rare-gas liquids: Equation of state and reduced-pressure, reduced-bulk-modulus,
      and reduced-sound-velocity functions.

PMID- 9993816
TI  - Hyper-Rayleigh scattering from the bulk of nominally pure KTaO3.

PMID- 9993815
TI  - Energy-band dispersion in oriented thin films of pentatriacontan-18-one by angle
      resolved photoemission with synchrotron radiation.

PMID- 9993817
TI  - Isotropic elasticity of the Al-Cu-Li quasicrystal.

PMID- 9993818
TI  - Enhancement of the van der Waals energy between an atom and a cylindrical
      surface: Application to the edges of stepped surfaces.

PMID- 9993819
TI  - Hydrogen adsorption on Si(100)-2 x 1 surfaces studied by elastic recoil detection
      analysis.

PMID- 9993820
TI  - Contribution of optical phonons to sound velocity in piezoelectric
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9993822
TI  - Erratum: Metastability of the segregation-reversal composition profile at the
      PtxNi1-x(110) surface: A low-energy electron-diffraction study

PMID- 9993821
TI  - Hot-electron spectrometry with quantum point contacts.

PMID- 9993823
TI  - Tip-related artifacts in scanning tunneling potentiometry.

PMID- 9993824
TI  - Pressure-induced stepped response in quasicrystals: Evidence for a reversible
      electronic transition in Al82Fe

PMID- 9993825
TI  - Helium release from aged palladium tritide.

PMID- 9993826
TI  - Inelastic photon scattering from K-shell electrons of Cu and Zr.

PMID- 9993827
TI  - Optimized pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9993828
TI  - Pressure effects on the martensitic transformation in metallic lithium.

PMID- 9993830
TI  - Direct characterization of charge-density-wave defects in titanium-doped TaSe2 by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9993829
TI  - Role of tip electronic structure in scanning tunneling microscope images.

PMID- 9993831
TI  - Biexciton binding in quantum boxes.

PMID- 9993833
TI  - Observation of normal Hall coefficient of amorphous Si thin films prepared by low
      pressure chemical-vapor deposition.

PMID- 9993832
TI  - Generalized embedded-atom format for semiconductors.

PMID- 9993835
TI  - Phase transitions on the Ge(111) and Si(111) surfaces from core-level studies.

PMID- 9993836
TI  - Electronic states due to surface doping: Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3B.

PMID- 9993834
TI  - Experimental observation of attenuated-total-reflection spectra of GaAs/AlAs
      superlattice.

PMID- 9993838
TI  - Ab initio study of the geometry and electronic structure of lead iodide
      semiconductor clusters.

PMID- 9993837
TI  - Experimental photoemission results on the low-energy conduction bands of silicon.

PMID- 9993839
TI  - Electron-beam collimation with a quantum point contact.

PMID- 9993842
TI  - Subpicosecond time-resolved reflection of ultrafast electrical pulses from GaAs
      in the presence of nonthermal photoexcited carriers.

PMID- 9993841
TI  - Resonant tunneling in double-barrier heterostructures tunable by long-wavelength
      radiation.

PMID- 9993840
TI  - Observation of a Bloch-Gruneisen regime in two-dimensional electron transport.

PMID- 9993843
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect in hole Landau levels.

PMID- 9993844
TI  - Hole magnetoplasmons in semiconductor heterostructures.

PMID- 9993845
TI  - Low-frequency hydrogen-configuration fluctuations in niobium.

PMID- 9993847
TI  - Surface magnetism in an exactly soluble many-body periodic-cluster model of bcc
      iron.

PMID- 9993846
TI  - Characterization of a simple class of modulated relaxation oscillators.

PMID- 9993848
TI  - Experimental band structure of lead.

PMID- 9993849
TI  - Far-infrared magnetic-field-dependent resonances in small unsupported bismuth
      particles.

PMID- 9993850
TI  - Atomistic growth of two-dimensional quasicrystals.

PMID- 9993851
TI  - Electronic structure of impurity (oxygen)-stacking-fault complex in nickel.

PMID- 9993852
TI  - Magnetic field and temperature dependence of the self-trapping energy of a
      polaron in a polar-crystal slab in arbitrary magnetic field strength.

PMID- 9993853
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative recombination of bound excitons in GaP:N. I.
      Temperature behavior of zero-phonon line and phonon sidebands of bound excitons.

PMID- 9993855
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative recombination of bound excitons in GaP:N. III. Reverse
      tunneling of bound excitons.

PMID- 9993854
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative recombination of bound excitons in GaP:N. II.
      Nonlinear behavior of emission intensity versus excitation power of bound
      excitons due to exciton transfer.

PMID- 9993856
TI  - Airy-coordinate technique for nonequilibrium Green's-function approach to high
      field quantum transport.

PMID- 9993857
TI  - Theoretical and experimental results for p-type GaAs electrolyte
      electroreflectance.

PMID- 9993859
TI  - Additional-boundary-condition-free theory of an exciton polariton in a slab.

PMID- 9993858
TI  - Exciton quantization and polariton propagation in semiconductor slabs: From semi
      infinite crystals to quantum wells.

PMID- 9993860
TI  - Optical-phonon modes in a double heterostructure of polar crystals.

PMID- 9993861
TI  - Hyperfine interactions in the cubic semiconductor CdO.

PMID- 9993862
TI  - Effective bond-orbital model for shallow acceptors in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs quantum
      wells and superlattices.

PMID- 9993865
TI  - Enhancement of the free-to-bound transition in narrow GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As quantum
      wells via a possible excitonic Auger mechanism.

PMID- 9993864
TI  - Frequency-dependent conductivity in bismuth-vanadate glassy semiconductors.

PMID- 9993863
TI  - Continuous-wave spectroscopy of femtosecond carrier scattering in GaAs.

PMID- 9993866
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of the liquid polyvalent elements: The group
      IV elements Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb.

PMID- 9993867
TI  - Elastic properties of trigonal laminar systems: Brillouin scattering study of Hf1
      xZrxS2.

PMID- 9993868
TI  - Hydrogen chemisorption on Si(111)7 x 7 studied with surface-sensitive core-level
      spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission.

PMID- 9993869
TI  - Effects of the implantation of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon on the density of
      states of n-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9993870
TI  - Band-structure calculation of dispersion and anisotropy in chi

PMID- 9993872
TI  - LO-phonon-assisted emission edge of free excitons in GaAs and GaAs/GaxAl1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9993871
TI  - Conduction electrons in GaAs: Five-level k

PMID- 9993873
TI  - Electrical and dielectric properties of the Bi4Sr3Ca3Cu4Ox (4:3:3:4) glassy
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9993875
TI  - Pressure dependence of the electronic properties of cubic III-V In compounds.

PMID- 9993874
TI  - X-ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis of Si(111) under photocurrent-doubling
      conditions.

PMID- 9993877
TI  - Resistivity anomalies in Hg1-xFexSe for 0.55 <= T <= 100 K.

PMID- 9993876
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of 3d-transition-metal point defects in silicon
      calculated from first principles.

PMID- 9993878
TI  - Effect of disorder on the frequency-dependent dielectric constant of a composite
      material.

PMID- 9993879
TI  - Damping corrections and the calculation of optical nonlinearities in organic
      molecules.

PMID- 9993880
TI  - Phonons in solid argon monolayers.

PMID- 9993881
TI  - Electronic structure of polyimide and related monomers: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9993882
TI  - Crystal-structure, magnetic-susceptibility, and EPR studies of
      bis(piperidinium)tetrabromocuprate(II): A novel monomer system showing spin
      diffusion.

PMID- 9993883
TI  - Silicon-hydrogen bond-stretching vibrations in hydrogenated amorphous silicon
      nitrogen alloys.

PMID- 9993884
TI  - Strong-coupling theory for the multidimensional free optical polaron.

PMID- 9993886
TI  - Enhancement in nonlinear effects in percolating nonlinear resistor networks.

PMID- 9993885
TI  - Effect of heating and rapidly quenching NbSe3 crystals.

PMID- 9993888
TI  - Thermal expansion of c-Si via ab initio molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9993887
TI  - Change in dimensionality of superlattice excitons induced by an electric field.

PMID- 9993890
TI  - Effect of a perpendicular magnetic field on small devices with crossbar geometry.

PMID- 9993889
TI  - Impurity states in a quantum-well wire of GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs.

PMID- 9993891
TI  - Band-structure calculations of BN by the self-consistent variational cellular
      method.

PMID- 9993893
TI  - Voltage-tunable quantum dots on silicon.

PMID- 9993892
TI  - Highly symmetric Mn sites in icosahedral Ti-Mn.

PMID- 9993894
TI  - Structure of ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3)R30 degrees Ag on Si(111).

PMID- 9993895
TI  - Giant diamagnetic effect in InAs electron inversion layers measured by Zener
      tunneling.

PMID- 9993896
TI  - Bremsstrahlung induced by 50-MeV H0 bombardment.

PMID- 9993897
TI  - Structure and magnetic properties of the (Fe2O3)-(Al2O3)x(SiO)1-x system.

PMID- 9993898
TI  - Short-range order in alpha -brass.

PMID- 9993899
TI  - Fluorescence measurements of the exciton dispersion in Gd(OH)3.

PMID- 9993900
TI  - Neutron scattering experiments on YbXCu4 and ErXCu4 (X=Au, Pd, and Ag).

PMID- 9993901
TI  - 67Zn Mossbauer investigation of lattice-dynamical effects and hyperfine
      interactions in ZnF2.

PMID- 9993902
TI  - Computer simulations on collision-cascade anisotropies: Bombardment of single
      crystalline Cu(100) by Ar ions.

PMID- 9993903
TI  - Experimental determination of a species-dependent effect in the transverse
      emittances of sputter-generated negative-ion beams.

PMID- 9993904
TI  - Observation of electron-hole cascade in photofield emission.

PMID- 9993906
TI  - Knight shifts and nuclear-spin-relaxation rates for two-dimensional models of
      CuO2.

PMID- 9993905
TI  - Positron-annihilation momentum density in superconductors.

PMID- 9993907
TI  - Impurity magnetic moments in unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9993909
TI  - Theoretical investigation of intra-atomic electronic excitation energies of
      divalent Cu in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9993908
TI  - Thermal conductivity of condensed D-T and T2.

PMID- 9993910
TI  - Effect of transition-metal substitutions on competing electronic transitions in
      the heavy-electron compound URu2Si2.

PMID- 9993911
TI  - Microwave loss and oxygen annealing in YBa2Cu3Ox single crystals.

PMID- 9993912
TI  - Heat capacity of multilayers of 3He adsorbed on graphite at low millikelvin
      temperatures.

PMID- 9993913
TI  - Structural properties of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9993914
TI  - Electron-phonon interaction in heavy-fermion systems.

PMID- 9993915
TI  - Structure of T-phase superconductors: Anomalous x-ray-diffraction study of cation
      ordering in LA0.9Gd0.9Sr0.2CuO4.

PMID- 9993916
TI  - Mechanism for heavy-fermion superconductivity.

PMID- 9993917
TI  - Superconducting and normal-state magnetic-susceptibility anisotropy in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9993918
TI  - Dislocation loops and bond-orientational order in the Abrikosov flux-line
      lattice.

PMID- 9993919
TI  - Synthesis, structure, and properties of Sr2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9993920
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in Sr2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9993921
TI  - Complex magnetic properties of the rare-earth copper oxides, R2CuO4, observed via
      measurements of the dc and ac magnetization, EPR, microwave magnetoabsorption,
      and specific heat.

PMID- 9993922
TI  - Numerical study of flux phases in the t-J model.

PMID- 9993923
TI  - Numerical simulations of long Josephson junctions driven by large external radio
      frequency signals.

PMID- 9993924
TI  - Criterion for the validity of the t-J model based upon a two-band model for
      copper oxides.

PMID- 9993926
TI  - Fluctuation effects of the superconducting order parameter in a strongly
      correlated system.

PMID- 9993925
TI  - Nonstoichiometry studies of the Y-Ba-Cu-O system in terms of a real-space
      scattering coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9993927
TI  - Preparation of the oxide superconductors (La,Gd,Ba,Ce)8Cu6Oz and
      (La,Gd,Ba,Sr,Ce)8Cu6Oz.

PMID- 9993928
TI  - Mobile spin bags and their interaction in the spin-density-wave background.

PMID- 9993929
TI  - Phonon natures in Raman spectra of Y-Ba-Cu-O compounds.

PMID- 9993930
TI  - Crystal structure, magnetism, and superconductivity of YBa2(Cu1-xFex)3O7+y with
      x=0.05-0.15.

PMID- 9993932
TI  - Resistivity of heavy-fermion systems in the presence of a crystalline electric
      field.

PMID- 9993931
TI  - Single-particle excitations in a quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993933
TI  - Oscillations of a fluxon in a finite-length ac-biased Josephson junction.

PMID- 9993934
TI  - Dispersive-mode theory for the high-temperature rf superconducting quantum
      interference device.

PMID- 9993935
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance determination of the internal field within the
      superconductor YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9993936
TI  - Superconductivity in an oxygen hole metal.

PMID- 9993937
TI  - Evidence for a charge-density wave or spin-density wave in the Cu-O chains in
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9993938
TI  - Lattice-dependent magnetic structure in quantum network simulations of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9993939
TI  - Phenomenological model of the copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9993941
TI  - Dynamical information for Fe-doped YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting oxides obtained from
      high-temperature Mossbauer studies.

PMID- 9993940
TI  - Elastic constants and specific-heat measurements on single crystals of La2CuO4.

PMID- 9993942
TI  - Raman properties intrinsic to superconductivity in the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9993943
TI  - Pairing anisotropy and macroscopic anisotropy of superconductors.

PMID- 9993944
TI  - Microwave and ac power absorption and ac susceptibility measurements of the high
      Tc superconducting Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O system near zero field.

PMID- 9993946
TI  - Dynamics of sine-Gordon solitons under random perturbations: Weak additive large
      scale white noise.

PMID- 9993945
TI  - Liquid sulfur: Local-order evidence of a polymerization transition.

PMID- 9993947
TI  - Dynamics of sine-Gordon solitons under random perturbations: Multiplicative large
      scale white noise.

PMID- 9993948
TI  - Theoretical study of the elastic and thermodynamic properties of sodium chloride
      under pressure.

PMID- 9993949
TI  - Diffusion of noninteracting particles into a semi-infinite lattice.

PMID- 9993950
TI  - Two-state one-dimensional spinless Fermi gas.

PMID- 9993951
TI  - Transfer-matrix analysis for Ising models.

PMID- 9993952
TI  - Replica symmetry breaking in the spin-glass model on lattices with finite
      connectivity: Application to graph partitioning.

PMID- 9993953
TI  - Ground states of the spinless Falicov-Kimball model.

PMID- 9993954
TI  - Numerical study of tunneling in a dissipative system.

PMID- 9993955
TI  - Magnetization of a Dy(Fe11Ti) single crystal.

PMID- 9993956
TI  - Quantum Hall effect at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9993957
TI  - Precursor-mediated kinetics of domain growth.

PMID- 9993958
TI  - Exact enumeration of long-range-ordered dimer coverings on the square-planar
      lattice.

PMID- 9993959
TI  - Heisenberg model for the square-planar lattice and fragments.

PMID- 9993960
TI  - Structure function of linear polymers in a good solvent: A self-avoiding-walk
      model.

PMID- 9993961
TI  - Nonequilibrium entropy and entropy distributions.

PMID- 9993963
TI  - Simulation of solitons in an Ising-like S=(1/2 antiferromagnet on a linear chain.

PMID- 9993962
TI  - Atomic mobility in Cahn's diffusion model.

PMID- 9993964
TI  - Mode locking and spatiotemporal chaos in periodically driven Gunn diodes.

PMID- 9993965
TI  - Magnetic and transport properties of (La,Ce)Ni2.

PMID- 9993966
TI  - Numerical study of the two-dimensional Hubbard model for various band fillings.

PMID- 9993968
TI  - Bethe-ansatz wave function, momentum distribution, and spin correlation in the
      one-dimensional strongly correlated Hubbard model.

PMID- 9993967
TI  - Continuous-space Monte Carlo study of a generalized lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9993969
TI  - Some properties of the surface magnetization of bulk magnets.

PMID- 9993971
TI  - Molecular-dynamics computer simulation applied to nonphotochemical hole-burning
      processes: Resorufin in glycerol.

PMID- 9993970
TI  - Phenomenological model for the phase-transition sequence in betaine calcium
      chloride dihydrate.

PMID- 9993973
TI  - Model for the linear- and nonlinear-optical properties of beta -quinol
      clathrates.

PMID- 9993972
TI  - Magnetic susceptibilities of rare-earth ions in an unusual tetrahedral site.

PMID- 9993974
TI  - Instability of the Nagaoka ferromagnetic state of the U=

PMID- 9993975
TI  - Maximum-entropy method for analytic continuation of quantum Monte Carlo data.

PMID- 9993976
TI  - Measurement of defect mobility in a defect-mediated melting.

PMID- 9993977
TI  - Low-frequency relaxation modes and structural disorder in KTa1-xNbxO3.

PMID- 9993978
TI  - Relaxation behavior in atomic and molecular glasses.

PMID- 9993979
TI  - First-principles Fourier approach for the calculation of the effective dielectric
      constant of periodic composites.

PMID- 9993981
TI  - Shape fluctuations of crystal bars.

PMID- 9993980
TI  - Density-functional approach to doped magnetic semiconductors: Evolution of bound
      states of electrons as the donor concentration increases.

PMID- 9993982
TI  - Transport in networks with a power-law distribution of conductances: The ladder
      and the Sierpinski gasket.

PMID- 9993983
TI  - First-order phase transition induced by quantum fluctuations in Heisenberg
      helimagnets.

PMID- 9993984
TI  - Quantum-interference magnetoconductivity in the variable-range-hopping regime.

PMID- 9993985
TI  - Thermodynamic behavior of a Penrose-tiling quasicrystal.

PMID- 9993986
TI  - Phase transitions of quasi-two-dimensional antiferroelectric squaric acid
      (H2C4O4) and (D2C4O4) investigated by the Green's-function technique.

PMID- 9993987
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the one-dimensional symmetric Anderson lattice.

PMID- 9993988
TI  - Fully frustrated fractal.

PMID- 9993989
TI  - Spin correlations in the two-dimensional S=1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9993990
TI  - Superconductivity and its pressure dependence in the Pb-doped Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductors.

PMID- 9993991
TI  - Anisotropic thermal conductivity of superconducting lanthanum cuprate.

PMID- 9993992
TI  - Van Hove correlation functions for identical fermions: Effects of interactions.

PMID- 9993993
TI  - Variable normal-state transport properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8-y.

PMID- 9993994
TI  - Electron-hole liquid model for high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9993995
TI  - n=(1/4 domain-growth universality class: Crossover to the n=(1/2 class.

PMID- 9993996
TI  - Linear spin waves in a frustrated Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9993997
TI  - Coexistence of spiral spin-density waves and superconductivity: Ground-state
      properties.

PMID- 9993998
TI  - Landau theory of the magnetic phase diagram of CsMnBr3.

PMID- 9993999
TI  - Phase boundary of the two-dimensional Ising model with ferromagnetic and
      antiferromagnetic interactions in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9994000
TI  - Induced anisotropy in reentrant Ni77Mn23 studied by transverse ac susceptibility.

PMID- 9994001
TI  - Late-stage two-dimensional coarsening of circular clusters.

PMID- 9994002
TI  - Infinite Ud,Up ground state of the extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994003
TI  - Reply to "Infinite Ud, Up ground state of the extended Hubbard model"

PMID- 9994005
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 't/U expansion for the Hubbard model"'

PMID- 9994004
TI  - Comment on "t/U expansion for the Hubbard model"

PMID- 9994006
TI  - Magnetic ordering of Nd in (Nd,Ce)2CuO4.

PMID- 9994007
TI  - Crossover in the vibrational density of states of silica aerogels studied by high
      resolution neutron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994009
TI  - Hole excitation spectra in cuprate superconductors: A comparative study of single
      and multiple-band strong-coupling theories.

PMID- 9994008
TI  - Effect of paramagnetic percolation on Gd3+ EPR linewidths in LiYbxY1-xF4 single
      crystals.

PMID- 9994010
TI  - Dynamics of one hole in the t-J model.

PMID- 9994012
TI  - Little-Parks oscillations of Tc in patterned microstructures of the oxide
      superconductor YBa2Cu3O7: Experimental limits on fractional-statistics-particle
      theories.

PMID- 9994011
TI  - Magnetic, thermal, and transport properties of UIr2Si2.

PMID- 9994014
TI  - Superfluid phase slippage in 3He flow through a narrow channel.

PMID- 9994013
TI  - Transient-hole burning in the infrared spectrum of a polymer with intense
      picosecond pulses.

PMID- 9994015
TI  - Magnetism and superconductivity in doped La2CuO4.

PMID- 9994016
TI  - Density and symmetry of unoccupied electronic states of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9994017
TI  - Fluctuations in an impure unconventional superconductor.

PMID- 9994018
TI  - Superfluxons in periodically inhomogeneous long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9994020
TI  - Superconductivity and thermoelectric power of Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9994019
TI  - Effect of fractons in strongly coupled superconductors.

PMID- 9994021
TI  - Dimensionality of localization in nonsuperconducting Bi2+xSr2-yCuO6+ delta
      crystals.

PMID- 9994023
TI  - Time-reversed memory effects.

PMID- 9994022
TI  - Magnetic phase transition in a two-dimensional system: p(1 x 1)-Ni on Cu(111).

PMID- 9994024
TI  - Spectral function of the Anderson model: A quantum Monte Carlo calculation.

PMID- 9994025
TI  - Magnetic surface states on Fe(001).

PMID- 9994026
TI  - Perturbative and variational calculations of charge fluctuations of an extended
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994027
TI  - Improved form of static scaling for the nonlinear magnetization in spin glasses.

PMID- 9994028
TI  - Mean-field theory of the spiral phases of a doped antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9994029
TI  - Elastic anomalies at the charge- and spin-density-wave transition.

PMID- 9994030
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory of diamagnetic phase transitions in a quasi-two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9994031
TI  - Resonant-tunneling theory of imaging close-packed metal surfaces by scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9994033
TI  - Validity and accuracy of multiple-scattering theory.

PMID- 9994032
TI  - Atomic displacements during structural relaxation in a metallic glass.

PMID- 9994034
TI  - Electron transmission through a dirty surface in low-energy spectroscopy
      experiments.

PMID- 9994035
TI  - Absence of volume metastability in bcc copper.

PMID- 9994036
TI  - Phonon-assisted energy-transfer process in a bottlenecked lattice.

PMID- 9994037
TI  - Effect of interatomic potential on simulated grain-boundary and bulk diffusion: A
      molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9994038
TI  - NMR studies of NbSe3: Electronic structures, static charge-density-wave
      measurements, and observations of the moving charge-density wave.

PMID- 9994040
TI  - Edge melting of tetramethyltin submonolayers physisorbed on graphite basal
      planes.

PMID- 9994039
TI  - Stability of monatomic and diatomic quasicrystals and the influence of noise.

PMID- 9994041
TI  - Electronic structure of Z+1 impurities in metals.

PMID- 9994042
TI  - Observation of anomalously increasing phonon damping constant in the beta phase
      of the fast-ionic conductor Ag3SI.

PMID- 9994043
TI  - Tip-sample interaction effects in scanning-tunneling and atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9994044
TI  - Electrical resistivity of liquid nickel-lanthanum and nickel-cerium alloys.

PMID- 9994045
TI  - Diffusion in concentrated lattice gases: Intermediate incoherent dynamical
      scattering function for tagged particles on a square lattice.

PMID- 9994046
TI  - Theory of phase conjugation of light in disordered nonlinear media.

PMID- 9994047
TI  - Dynamic-coupling model: Interpretation of temperature-, dopant-concentration-,
      and coverage-dependent Schottky-barrier formation.

PMID- 9994048
TI  - Self-consistent dipole theory of heterojunction band offsets.

PMID- 9994049
TI  - Interface-bond-polarity model for semiconductor heterojunction band offsets.

PMID- 9994050
TI  - Band bending in the initial stages of Schottky-barrier formation for gallium on
      Si(113).

PMID- 9994051
TI  - Indirect tunneling in a short GaAs-AlAs superlattice detected by
      photoluminescence under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9994052
TI  - Photoluminescence decay times of the defect-induced bound-exciton lines in GaAs
      grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9994053
TI  - Exciton states in type-I and type-II GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs superlattices.

PMID- 9994054
TI  - Ultrafast recombination and trapping in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9994055
TI  - Line-shape analysis of the reflectivity spectra of GaAs/(Ga,Al)As single quantum
      wells grown on (001)- and (311)-oriented substrates.

PMID- 9994056
TI  - Optical studies of electric field domains in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs superlattices.

PMID- 9994057
TI  - Stark shifts in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs finite-length superlattices.

PMID- 9994058
TI  - Effects of the localized state inside the barrier on resonant tunneling in double
      barrier quantum wells.

PMID- 9994059
TI  - Hole transport theory in pseudomorphic Si1-xGex alloys grown on Si(001)
      substrates.

PMID- 9994060
TI  - Transport characteristics of series ballistic point contacts.

PMID- 9994061
TI  - Radiative and nonradiative recombination of bound excitons in GaP:N. IV.
      Formation of phonon sidebands of bound excitons.

PMID- 9994062
TI  - Photoreflectance study on residual strain in heteroepitaxial gallium arsenide on
      silicon.

PMID- 9994063
TI  - Near-infrared free-carrier optical absorption in silicon: Effect of first-order
      phonon-assisted scattering in a nonparabolic conduction band.

PMID- 9994064
TI  - Electronic-structure study of the (110) inversion domain boundary in SiC.

PMID- 9994065
TI  - E2 interband transitions in AlxGa1-xAs alloys.

PMID- 9994066
TI  - Memory-function analysis of ac transport in a tunneling superlattice.

PMID- 9994067
TI  - X-ray structure of Cs-doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9994068
TI  - Modification of heterojunction band offsets by thin layers at interfaces: Role of
      the interface dipole.

PMID- 9994071
TI  - Electronic and chemical properties of In and Sb adsorbed on Ge(100) studied by
      synchrotron photoemission.

PMID- 9994070
TI  - Step-height-tripling transition on vicinal Si(111).

PMID- 9994069
TI  - Photoemission from the (001) surface of 1T-TiSe2: Comparison of calculation with
      experiment.

PMID- 9994073
TI  - Theory of one-phonon resonant Raman scattering in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9994072
TI  - Temperature-dependent exciton linewidths in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9994074
TI  - Resonant magneto-Raman scattering in GaAs.

PMID- 9994075
TI  - Comparison of electron bands of hexagonal and cubic diamond.

PMID- 9994076
TI  - Resonant tunneling through Landau levels in quantum wells in the presence of
      inelastic-scattering broadening.

PMID- 9994077
TI  - Temperature-dependent resistivity of heavily doped silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9994078
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation study of Fe 3d states in Cd1-xFexSe (0 <= x <= 0.4).

PMID- 9994079
TI  - Piezospectroscopic evidence for tetrahedral symmetry of the EL2 defect in GaAs.

PMID- 9994080
TI  - Impact ionization of free excitons in stressed pure germanium.

PMID- 9994081
TI  - Exact time-domain description of the crossover from random to Coulomb-regulated
      single-electron tunneling in ultrasmall normal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9994082
TI  - Auger and electron-energy-loss spectroscopy study of interface formation in the
      Ti-Si system.

PMID- 9994083
TI  - Absorption and refraction spectroscopy of a tunable-electron-density quantum-well
      and reservoir structure.

PMID- 9994085
TI  - Temperature dependence of the cyclotron resonance linewidth in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      heterostructure.

PMID- 9994084
TI  - Hall effect in narrow channels.

PMID- 9994086
TI  - Magnetoplasmon excitations in a periodically modulated two-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9994087
TI  - Gamma -X mixing effect in GaAs/AlAs superlattices and heterojunctions.

PMID- 9994088
TI  - Valence photoelectron spectroscopy of Gd silicides.

PMID- 9994089
TI  - Anderson localization of the exciton-polariton in doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9994090
TI  - Nature of energy transfer processes in F-center-CN--defect pairs in CsCl.

PMID- 9994091
TI  - Effective image potential and surface electronic states outside stepped
      dielectric surfaces.

PMID- 9994092
TI  - Temperature and frequency dependence of the sound velocity in vitreous silica due
      to scattering off localized modes.

PMID- 9994093
TI  - Polymorphism and the glasslike state of cyanide mixed crystals: A mesoscopic
      problem.

PMID- 9994094
TI  - Effect of Cu alloying on metastable photoinduced absorption in Cux(As0.4Se0.6)1-x
      and Cux(As0.4S0.6)1-x glasses.

PMID- 9994095
TI  - Surface adsorption: Quantum reflection versus polaron collapse.

PMID- 9994097
TI  - Electronic structure of Ag2O.

PMID- 9994096
TI  - Temperature dependence of Debye-Waller factor in dye-doped polymers.

PMID- 9994098
TI  - Formation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films of controlled hardness from a
      methane plasma.

PMID- 9994099
TI  - Electronic structure of vacancy defects in MgO crystals.

PMID- 9994100
TI  - GaAs(111)A-(2 x 2) reconstruction studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9994101
TI  - Fast iterative diagonalization of nonlocal pseudopotential Hamiltonians using the
      fast Fourier transformation.

PMID- 9994102
TI  - Three-particle forces in hexagonal-close-packed Ho.

PMID- 9994103
TI  - Determination of energy spectrum parameters for two-dimensional carriers from the
      quantum oscillation beating pattern.

PMID- 9994104
TI  - Theory of excitons in short-period superlattices.

PMID- 9994105
TI  - Elementary integral of Bessel functions.

PMID- 9994107
TI  - Comment on "Stress field in quantum systems"

PMID- 9994106
TI  - Reply to "Elementary integral of Bessel functions"

PMID- 9994108
TI  - Erratum: Stretched-exponential law for carrier capture kinetics of a trapping
      center in compensated amorphous silicon

PMID- 9994110
TI  - Ballistic electronic conductance of a wide orifice.

PMID- 9994109
TI  - Effect of pressure on the high-magnetic-field electronic phase transition in
      graphite.

PMID- 9994111
TI  - Limitations of the universal embedding functions in the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9994112
TI  - Liquid arsenic: Comparison of ab initio and pair-potential predictions of
      molecular structure.

PMID- 9994113
TI  - Differential absorption spectroscopy of charge distributions in double-barrier
      tunnel structures.

PMID- 9994114
TI  - Coupling of plasma modes in a Si accumulation layer.

PMID- 9994115
TI  - Biexciton-biexciton and exciton-electron scattering in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9994116
TI  - Atomic structure of Si(111) ( sqrt 3-bar x sqrt 3-bar)R30 degrees-B by dynamical
      low-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9994117
TI  - New type of optical bistability in polymers mediated by phonons.

PMID- 9994118
TI  - Static charge fluctuations in Ga+-implanted silicon.

PMID- 9994119
TI  - Quantum corrections to conductivity observed at intermediate magnetic fields in a
      high-mobility GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9994121
TI  - Theory of spin-polarized metastable-atom-deexcitation spectroscopy: Ni-He.

PMID- 9994120
TI  - Dielectric function of CaF2 between 10 and 35 eV.

PMID- 9994123
TI  - Experimental equations of state for calcium, strontium, and barium metals to 20
      kbar from 4 to 295 K.

PMID- 9994122
TI  - Development of an embedded-atom potential for a bcc metal: Vanadium.

PMID- 9994124
TI  - Electrostriction in the semiconductor-to-metal transition of liquid Se-Te alloys.

PMID- 9994125
TI  - Longitudinal-optical-vibration-induced high transparency of nominally opaque thin
      films.

PMID- 9994126
TI  - Growth of Rh, Pd, and Pt films on Cu(100).

PMID- 9994128
TI  - Electronic properties of ultrathin nickel films on W(110).

PMID- 9994127
TI  - Transient nonlinear optical response of strongly coupled localized electron
      phonon systems.

PMID- 9994129
TI  - Bond-orbital theory of linear and nonlinear electronic response in ionic
      crystals. I. Linear response.

PMID- 9994130
TI  - Bond-orbital theory of linear and nonlinear electronic response in ionic
      crystals. II. Nonlinear response.

PMID- 9994131
TI  - Static energetics of metallic-monolayer-on-metal structures.

PMID- 9994132
TI  - Strong anisotropy in the Rayleigh phonon dispersion relation on Pt(111) induced
      by a p(2

PMID- 9994133
TI  - Six-dimensional crystal related to T2-phase Al6CuLi3 icosahedral quasicrystal and
      R-phase Al5CuLi3 body-centered-cubic crystal.

PMID- 9994134
TI  - Hydrogen adsorption on the beta -N-covered W(100) surface: An infrared study of
      the W-H stretch.

PMID- 9994135
TI  - Growth mode and magnetic behavior of thin Fe films on Cu3Au(001) studied by low
      energy electron diffraction and spin-resolved electron spectroscopies.

PMID- 9994136
TI  - Multipole response of metal spheres to q-dependent excitation operators.

PMID- 9994138
TI  - Generalized Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation and disordered solids.

PMID- 9994137
TI  - Core-level photoemission from alkali metals on Ru(001).

PMID- 9994139
TI  - Hydrogen vibrational modes and anisotropic potential in alpha -ScHx.

PMID- 9994141
TI  - Boson enhancement of finite-temperature coherent dynamics for deuterium in
      metals.

PMID- 9994140
TI  - Experimental observation of interfacial slippage at the boundary of molecularly
      thin films with gold substrates.

PMID- 9994142
TI  - Transformation of the two-dimensional decagonal quasicrystal to one-dimensional
      quasicrystals: A phason strain analysis.

PMID- 9994143
TI  - Electric polarizability of small metal particles.

PMID- 9994145
TI  - Effects of the indirect transitions on optical dispersion relations.

PMID- 9994144
TI  - Intracollisional field effect in the high-field regime of the quantum transport
      equation using Monte Carlo simulations.

PMID- 9994146
TI  - Huge electric fields in Ge/GaAs (001) and (111) superlattices and their effect on
      interfacial stability.

PMID- 9994147
TI  - Resonance of the one-dimensional electron transmission above a quantum well with
      dissipation.

PMID- 9994148
TI  - Optical Stark effect of the exciton. II. Polarization effects and exciton
      splitting.

PMID- 9994149
TI  - Optical properties of highly oriented fibrous polyacetylene.

PMID- 9994150
TI  - Theoretical investigation of graphitic BeO.

PMID- 9994151
TI  - Electronic spectra of crystals with a subzone resummation technique.

PMID- 9994152
TI  - Theory of interband Auger recombination in semiconductors.

PMID- 9994153
TI  - Many-body theory of energy relaxation in an excited-electron gas via optical
      phonon emission.

PMID- 9994154
TI  - Anisotropic polarons near interfaces of polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9994155
TI  - Phonons in a surface with a mass defect: As:Si(111)(1 x 1).

PMID- 9994156
TI  - Alloy disorder effects on the electronic properties of III-V quaternary
      semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9994157
TI  - Metal-adsorbate-induced Si(111)-(1 x 3) reconstruction.

PMID- 9994158
TI  - Elastic-scattering effects on resonant tunneling in double-barrier quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9994159
TI  - Enhanced plasmon anomaly in the dynamical conductivity of heterostructures with
      large spacer.

PMID- 9994160
TI  - Self-energy correction for the energy bands of silicon by the full-potential
      linearized augmented-plane-wave method: Effect of the valence-band polarization.

PMID- 9994161
TI  - Ultrashort solitons in coupled electron-phonon systems.

PMID- 9994162
TI  - Experimental study of the expansion mechanism of the solid-state plasma in
      silicon.

PMID- 9994164
TI  - Thermal instability of the trans-polyacetylene polaron.

PMID- 9994163
TI  - Electronic structure of GaAs/AlAs symmetric superlattices: A high-pressure study
      near the type-I-type-II crossover.

PMID- 9994165
TI  - Inelastic scattering in a doped polar semiconductor.

PMID- 9994166
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of III-V and II-VI semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9994167
TI  - Small-crystal approach to ordered semiconductor compounds.

PMID- 9994168
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of amorphous and epitaxial Si film growth on
      Si(111).

PMID- 9994169
TI  - Intersubband carrier relaxation in highly excited GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs multiple
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9994170
TI  - Effect of biaxial strain on acceptor-level energies in InyGa1-yAs/AlxGa1-xAs (on
      GaAs) quantum wells.

PMID- 9994171
TI  - Computer models for amorphous silicon hydrides.

PMID- 9994172
TI  - Structural models for alkali-metal complexes of polyacetylene.

PMID- 9994174
TI  - Surface electronic structure of heavily-ion-implanted and laser-annealed Si
      single crystals.

PMID- 9994173
TI  - Acceptor-related photoluminescence study in GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9994175
TI  - Magnetospectral analysis of tunneling processes in a double-quantum-well
      tunneling structure.

PMID- 9994177
TI  - Characterization of Raman scattering spectra in ternary compound semiconductors.

PMID- 9994176
TI  - Analysis of the composite structures in diamond thin films by Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994178
TI  - Off-equilibrium population of holes in the stress-split valence bands in
      photoexcited silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9994180
TI  - Influence of alloy disorder on the vibrational properties of Si/Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9994179
TI  - Electrical and thermal properties of neutron-transmutation-doped Ge at 20 mK.

PMID- 9994181
TI  - Low-frequency dynamics in superionic borate glasses by coupled Raman and
      inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9994182
TI  - Oxygen-isotope exchange between CO adsorbate and MgO surfaces.

PMID- 9994183
TI  - Luminescence and defect formation in undensified and densified amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9994184
TI  - Simulation of ionic crystals: The ab initio perturbed-ion method and application
      to alkali hydrides and halides.

PMID- 9994185
TI  - Computer modeling and Brillouin scattering studies of anharmonicity and high
      temperature disorder in LaF3.

PMID- 9994186
TI  - Vibrational properties of Bi2CuO4.

PMID- 9994188
TI  - Thermal and optical properties of the FA and (F2+)A centers in Na-doped CaF2
      crystals.

PMID- 9994187
TI  - Low-frequency dispersion of the dielectric permittivity in a triglycine sulfate
      crystal subjected to nonequilibrium conditions.

PMID- 9994189
TI  - Observation of the effect of tip electronic states on tunnel spectra acquired
      with the scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9994191
TI  - Surface core-level shifts of InAs(110).

PMID- 9994190
TI  - Magnetoresistance due to enhanced electron-electron interactions in amorphous
      Ca70(Mg,Al)30.

PMID- 9994192
TI  - Depolarization shift in a double-layered lateral multiwire superlattice.

PMID- 9994193
TI  - Surface core-level shift of lead sulfide.

PMID- 9994194
TI  - Elastic scattering from cubic lattice systems with paracrystalline distortion.
      II.

PMID- 9994196
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Existence of Wannier-Stark localization' "

PMID- 9994195
TI  - Comment on "Existence of Wannier-Stark localization"

PMID- 9994197
TI  - Near-edge x-ray-absorption fine-structure spectroscopy measurement of the p
      symmetry unoccupied states of silver, palladium, and palladium silicide.

PMID- 9994198
TI  - Electronic and magnetic coupling between rare-earth adatoms and the Fe(001)
      surface.

PMID- 9994199
TI  - Phonon spectra of ultrathin GaAs/AlAs superlattices: An ab initio calculation.

PMID- 9994200
TI  - Theory of nonlinear transport in narrow ballistic constrictions.

PMID- 9994201
TI  - Comparative photoemission study of low-pressure hydrogen, silane, and disilane
      adsorption on Si(111)7 x 7.

PMID- 9994202
TI  - Microscopic structure of hydrogen-shallow-donor complexes in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9994203
TI  - Microscopic structure of the hydrogen-phosphorus complex in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9994205
TI  - Systematic approach to developing empirical potentials for compound
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9994206
TI  - Fourier-transform and continuous-wave EPR studies of nickel in synthetic diamond:
      Site and spin multiplicity.

PMID- 9994204
TI  - Temperature dependence of compositional disordering of GaAs-AlAs superlattices
      during MeV Kr irradiation.

PMID- 9994207
TI  - 2D NMR and 35Cl nuclear-quadrupole-resonance study of ammonium-ion motion and
      phase transitions in natural and deuterated (NH4)2TeCl6.

PMID- 9994208
TI  - Stress model for the wrinkling of ion-implanted layers.

PMID- 9994210
TI  - Theoretical study of the application of positron-induced Auger-electron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994209
TI  - Experimental verification of the stress model for the wrinkling of ion-implanted
      layers.

PMID- 9994211
TI  - Effects of positron spin polarization on orthopositronium and parapositronium
      formation in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9994212
TI  - Experimental study of point-defect creation in high-energy heavy-ion tracks.

PMID- 9994213
TI  - Stopping powers and energy loss of Mylar, Kapton, Havar, and Ni for 10 Z=3-17
      ions in the energy range 0.2-2.1 MeV/amu.

PMID- 9994214
TI  - Experimental study of molecular and cluster effects in secondary electron
      emission.

PMID- 9994216
TI  - Computer simulations of radiation damage in amorphous solids.

PMID- 9994215
TI  - Defects in ion-implanted uranium nitride.

PMID- 9994217
TI  - Absence of localization in energy space of a Bloch electron driven by a constant
      electric force.

PMID- 9994219
TI  - Phase transitions in dissipative Josephson chains.

PMID- 9994218
TI  - Thermopower of RBa2Cu3O7-x (R=Y,Er).

PMID- 9994221
TI  - Correlations and insulating state in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9994220
TI  - Andreev scattering in anisotropic superconductors.

PMID- 9994222
TI  - Superconducting transport properties of grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7 bicrystals.

PMID- 9994224
TI  - Far-infrared absorptivity of superconducting Pb-Bi alloys.

PMID- 9994223
TI  - Valence-electron states of YBa2Cu3O7- delta characterized by combined x-ray and
      photoemission studies.

PMID- 9994225
TI  - Phase separation in a high-pressure-oxygenated La2CuO4+ delta crystal: Evidence
      from anisotropic electronic transport and magnetic susceptibility.

PMID- 9994227
TI  - Analysis of the proximity-induced Josephson effect in superconducting-normal
      contacts.

PMID- 9994226
TI  - BaBiO3 and the effect of potassium substitution using photoemission.

PMID- 9994229
TI  - Critical fluctuations in superconductors.

PMID- 9994228
TI  - Electron-spectroscopy study of YbXCu4 (X=Ag,Au,Pd).

PMID- 9994230
TI  - Superposition of decaying flux distributions: A memory effect from flux creep.

PMID- 9994231
TI  - Direct observation of discommensurate walls in Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O superconductors.

PMID- 9994232
TI  - Magnetic order of the Cu planes and chains in RBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9994233
TI  - Substitution of 3d metals for Cu in Bi2(Sr0.6Ca0.4)3Cu2Oy.

PMID- 9994235
TI  - Thermoelectric power of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9994234
TI  - Calcium-substituted Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors with enhanced Tc synthesized at
      elevated oxygen pressures.

PMID- 9994236
TI  - Structural phase diagram of the Ba1-xKxBiO3 system.

PMID- 9994238
TI  - One-dimensional narrow-band model for heavy fermions and resonating valence
      bonds.

PMID- 9994237
TI  - Resonant quasiparticle-ion scattering in anisotropic superfluid 3He.

PMID- 9994239
TI  - Structural and superconducting properties of oxygen-deficient NdBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9994240
TI  - Perturbed period-doubling bifurcation. I. Theory.

PMID- 9994241
TI  - Perturbed period-doubling bifurcation. II. Experiments on Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9994242
TI  - Electron-energy-loss spectroscopy of YBa2Cu3-xFexO7-y superconductors.

PMID- 9994243
TI  - O 2p holes: Temperature effects and surface characteristics of cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9994244
TI  - Symmetries of the superconducting order parameters in the doped spin-liquid
      state.

PMID- 9994245
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of a thermomechanically detwinned single crystal of
      YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9994246
TI  - Temperature dependence of the phonon and roton excitations in liquid 4He.

PMID- 9994247
TI  - Interaction of dislocations with a local defect in an atomic chain with a
      nonconvex interparticle potential.

PMID- 9994248
TI  - Analysis of the linear response of quantum liquids in the near-asymptotic region.

PMID- 9994249
TI  - Soft-x-ray emission spectroscopy study of La2CuO4 and three high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9994250
TI  - Upward curvature of Hc2 in high-Tc superconductors: Possible evidence for s-d
      pairing.

PMID- 9994251
TI  - Major normal and superconducting parameters of high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9994252
TI  - Flux creep and penetration in Fe-doped YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994253
TI  - Specific-heat anomaly near Tc of the (Bi,Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor (Tc=107
      K).

PMID- 9994254
TI  - Oxidation thermodynamics of YBa2Cu3O6+y: Evidence for the presence of localized
      oxygen p holes.

PMID- 9994255
TI  - New high-pressure phase of ZrO2 above 35 GPa.

PMID- 9994256
TI  - Dynamical properties of two-dimensional quasicrystals.

PMID- 9994257
TI  - Electrical conduction in checkerboard geometries.

PMID- 9994258
TI  - Landau-Ginzburg model of interphase boundaries in improper ferroelastic
      Perovskites of D4h18 symmetry.

PMID- 9994259
TI  - Contribution to the theory of melting.

PMID- 9994260
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the pressure-temperature phase diagram of EuAs3.

PMID- 9994261
TI  - Melting and orientational epitaxy in argon and xenon monolayers on graphite.

PMID- 9994262
TI  - New formalism for the study of lattice Hamiltonians.

PMID- 9994263
TI  - New percolation structures in dilute antiferromagnetic Potts models.

PMID- 9994264
TI  - Critical dynamics near a surface structural phase transition.

PMID- 9994265
TI  - Study of the accuracy of the Gutzwiller wave function for the two-dimensional
      Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994266
TI  - Scaling analysis of the new multicritical behavior of CsMnBr3 and CsNiCl3.

PMID- 9994267
TI  - Phase transitions in surface segregation of PtcNi1-c alloys from tight-binding
      Ising-model calculations.

PMID- 9994268
TI  - Crystallinity in liquid films.

PMID- 9994269
TI  - Mesoscopic rings driven by time-dependent magnetic flux: Level correlations and
      localization in energy space.

PMID- 9994270
TI  - Superconductivity, hole motion, and spin-charge correlations in the t-J model in
      two dimensions.

PMID- 9994271
TI  - Approach to equilibrium of a spin-glass.

PMID- 9994272
TI  - Formulas for the Chadi-Cohen process.

PMID- 9994273
TI  - First- and second-order transitions in the quantum hard-rod system by Monte Carlo
      simulation.

PMID- 9994274
TI  - Anisotropic second-order nonlinearities of organic monolayers.

PMID- 9994275
TI  - Asymptotic limit for Hc2 in Eliashberg theory.

PMID- 9994277
TI  - Large-N limit of the square-lattice t-J model at (1/4 and other filling
      fractions.

PMID- 9994276
TI  - Structure and magnetism of Bi2(Sr,Ca)2MnO6+y antiferromagnets with ferrimagnetic
      layers.

PMID- 9994278
TI  - Effective-medium theory of sedimentary rocks.

PMID- 9994279
TI  - Magneto-optical effects of excitons in BiI3 crystals under pulsed high magnetic
      fields: Indirect and direct excitons.

PMID- 9994280
TI  - Equilibrium quasicrystal phase of a Penrose tiling model.

PMID- 9994282
TI  - Ground-state correlations of quantum antiferromagnets: A Green-function Monte
      Carlo study.

PMID- 9994281
TI  - Gutzwiller-type approach of the size-dependent valence change in small Pr
      aggregates.

PMID- 9994284
TI  - Rotational magnetic properties of Ni-Mn and Au-Fe spin-glass alloys.

PMID- 9994283
TI  - Effect of lattice discreteness on the statistical mechanics of a dilute gas of
      kinks.

PMID- 9994285
TI  - Spin-glass ordering in three-dimensional Heisenberg systems.

PMID- 9994286
TI  - Interfacial profiles in the rough phase.

PMID- 9994288
TI  - Resistance distributions of the random resistor network near the percolation
      threshold.

PMID- 9994287
TI  - Local-moment enhancement in an Al74Mn20Si6 quasicrystal induced by nonmagnetic
      iron doping.

PMID- 9994289
TI  - Exact diagonalization of finite frustrated spin-(1/2 Heisenberg models.

PMID- 9994290
TI  - Monte Carlo study of surface phase transitions in the three-dimensional Ising
      model.

PMID- 9994291
TI  - Dynamics of first-order transitions in two-dimensional systems with long-range
      interactions.

PMID- 9994292
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic susceptibility of hexagonal Co-based diluted magnetic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9994293
TI  - Kinetics of slow domain growth: The n=1/4 universality class.

PMID- 9994294
TI  - Monte Carlo renormalization-group study of domain growth in the Potts model on a
      triangular lattice.

PMID- 9994295
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of quasiparticles in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994296
TI  - Extension of the random-phase-approximation theory of ferromagnetism in a
      magnetic field applicable at all temperatures.

PMID- 9994297
TI  - Principles and possibilities of interferential multilayer mirrors of nonintegral
      dimensionality.

PMID- 9994298
TI  - Magnetic structures of PrFeSi2 and NdFeSi2 from neutron and Mossbauer studies.

PMID- 9994299
TI  - Large-S analysis of one-dimensional quantum-spin models in a transverse magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9994300
TI  - Quantum lattice fluctuations in the one-dimensional molecular-crystal model with
      Coulomb repulsion.

PMID- 9994301
TI  - Current distributions in anisotropic superconductors in the presence of grain
      boundaries.

PMID- 9994302
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy in GdAlO3.

PMID- 9994303
TI  - Proximity effect in superconducting bilayers and multilayers.

PMID- 9994304
TI  - Flux nucleation in Josephson junctions formed by touching lead pieces.

PMID- 9994306
TI  - Critical indices for high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9994305
TI  - Anomalous Raman spectra from La2CuO4.

PMID- 9994308
TI  - Path-integral approach to density fluctuations in self-trapping systems.

PMID- 9994307
TI  - Infrared synchrotron-radiation transmission measurements on YBa2Cu3O7- delta in
      the gap and supercurrent regions.

PMID- 9994309
TI  - Reanalysis of a stacked triangular Ising antiferromagnet by use of Monte Carlo
      simulations.

PMID- 9994311
TI  - Statistical mechanics of ampiphilic dimers on a square lattice.

PMID- 9994310
TI  - Phase diagram for the domain-wall lattice of krypton on graphite.

PMID- 9994312
TI  - Optical study of the one-dimensional Ising-like antiferromagnet CsCoBr3.

PMID- 9994313
TI  - Diluted and random-bond Ising model: Application to the Fe-Mn-Al alloys.

PMID- 9994315
TI  - Comment on "Observation of trapped O2 in high-Tc metal oxide superconductors"

PMID- 9994314
TI  - Unbridled growth of spin-glass clusters.

PMID- 9994316
TI  - Reply to the "Comment on 'Observation of trapped O2 in high-Tc metal oxide
      superconductors' "

PMID- 9994317
TI  - Erratum: Phenomenological description of piezoresistivity in semiconducting
      perovskite ferroelectrics

PMID- 9994318
TI  - Erratum: Fluctuation effects in heavy-fermion and high-Tc superconductors

PMID- 9994319
TI  - Critical behavior of the surface-layer magnetization at the extraordinary
      transition in the three-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9994320
TI  - Ne** autoionizing states and Ne+ charge fractions scattered from a magnesium
      surface.

PMID- 9994321
TI  - Selection rules in resonance electron scattering from adsorbed molecules.

PMID- 9994322
TI  - Effects of zinc substitution on the electron superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-
      delta.

PMID- 9994323
TI  - Magnetic ordering in (Y1-xPrx)Ba2Cu3O7 as observed by muon-spin relaxation.

PMID- 9994324
TI  - Transport in the superconducting mixed state of Bi2+xSr2-yCuO6+/- delta.

PMID- 9994325
TI  - Specific heat of superconducting kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 near Tc

PMID- 9994327
TI  - Universal reduction of Tc in strong-coupling superconductors by a small
      concentration of magnetic impurities.

PMID- 9994326
TI  - Polarized resonance photoemission for Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9994328
TI  - Density of bound states in a vortex core.

PMID- 9994329
TI  - Temperature dependence of anisotropic lower critical fields in (La1-xSrx)2CuO4.

PMID- 9994330
TI  - Renormalized mean-field theory of flux phases.

PMID- 9994331
TI  - Metal-insulator transition in amorphous Ga-Ar mixtures: Critical exponents of
      electrical transport parameters and behavior of superconductivity.

PMID- 9994332
TI  - Flux creep and the nature of a flux bundle in high-Tc thin films.

PMID- 9994333
TI  - Antiferromagnetism of CuO2 layers within a slave-boson approach.

PMID- 9994334
TI  - Stability of the ferromagnetic state with respect to a single spin flip:
      Variational calculations for the U=

PMID- 9994335
TI  - Determination of lattice structure and calculation of molecular tilt in lipid
      monolayers on water using x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9994336
TI  - Unifying trends found for the VNO2N-1 series by the application of hydrostatic
      pressure.

PMID- 9994337
TI  - New approach to critical dynamic scaling in random magnets.

PMID- 9994338
TI  - Solvable model of the quantum spin glass in a transverse field.

PMID- 9994340
TI  - Rigorous bounds on the susceptibilities of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994339
TI  - Phase transition and non-Ohmic electrical transport in the spin-density-wave
      state of the organic conductor tetramethyltetraselenafulvalinium
      hexafluorophosphate

PMID- 9994341
TI  - Ultrasonic study of crossover behavior near the chiral multicritical point of
      CsNiCl3.

PMID- 9994342
TI  - Quantum renormalizations in the spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square
      lattice.

PMID- 9994343
TI  - Determination of electron momentum densities by a ( gamma,e gamma ) experiment.

PMID- 9994344
TI  - Domain-growth kinetics of Ag on Ge(111).

PMID- 9994345
TI  - Unoccupied electronic band structure of an ordered potassium layer on copper:
      Cu(111)-(2 x 2)K.

PMID- 9994346
TI  - Mesoscopic noise studies of atomic motions in cold amorphous conductors.

PMID- 9994347
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of the NiAl(111) surface.

PMID- 9994348
TI  - Energetics and electronic structure of In on a Cu(100) surface.

PMID- 9994350
TI  - Full-potential multiple-scattering theory.

PMID- 9994349
TI  - Electronic structures of the stage-1 hydrogen-potassium-graphite ternary
      intercalation compounds C4KHx.

PMID- 9994351
TI  - Magnetic properties of CoCl2-graphite intercalation compounds under pressure.

PMID- 9994352
TI  - Electrical and thermal properties of fluorine-intercalated graphite fibers.

PMID- 9994353
TI  - Adsorption of bismuth onto the Au(111) surface.

PMID- 9994354
TI  - Theory of scanning-tunneling-microscopy images of intercalated graphite surfaces.

PMID- 9994355
TI  - Light scattering by surface acoustic waves on corrugated metal surfaces.

PMID- 9994357
TI  - Phase stability and magnetism of Ni3Al.

PMID- 9994356
TI  - Vacuum-ultraviolet reflectance and photoemission study of the metal-insulator
      phase transitions in VO2, V6O13, and V2O3.

PMID- 9994358
TI  - Larmor waves in single-crystal copper at 80 GHz.

PMID- 9994359
TI  - Surface photoemission and inverse photoemission in a periodic-cluster model of
      bcc iron: A many-body solution.

PMID- 9994360
TI  - Optical studies of electron and hole Fermi seas in a single GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum well.

PMID- 9994361
TI  - Atomic structure of the Si(001)-(2 x 1) surface.

PMID- 9994362
TI  - Theory of the conductance of parallel ballistic constrictions.

PMID- 9994363
TI  - Theory of oxide defects near the Si-SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9994364
TI  - Band structure of metallic trans-polyacetylene with alkali-metal doping.

PMID- 9994365
TI  - Silicon dioxide defects induced by metal impurities.

PMID- 9994367
TI  - Shallow donor impurities in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum-well structures: Role of the
      dielectric-constant mismatch.

PMID- 9994366
TI  - Far-infrared magneto-optical study of holes and electrons in zero-band-gap
      HgTe/Cd0.85Hg0.15Te superlattices.

PMID- 9994368
TI  - Electronic properties of n-i-p-i structures in elemental Si/Ge strained-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9994369
TI  - Linear optical properties of strained (Si)n/(Ge)n superlattices on (001) Si
      substrates.

PMID- 9994370
TI  - Characterization of some quaternary defect chalcopyrites as useful nonlinear
      optical and solar-cell materials.

PMID- 9994372
TI  - Growth of bismuth films on GaAs(110) studied using low-energy electron
      diffraction.

PMID- 9994371
TI  - Photoionization of deep impurity centers in semiconductors.

PMID- 9994373
TI  - Transport of an optically generated electron-hole plasma in a semiconductor slab:
      Approach to stationarity.

PMID- 9994374
TI  - Far-infrared absorption of neutron-transmutation-doped germanium.

PMID- 9994375
TI  - Noise spectroscopy as a tool to investigate the temperature dependence of
      localization in a quantum Hall system.

PMID- 9994376
TI  - Stark ladders in strongly coupled superlattices and their interactions with
      embedded quantum wells.

PMID- 9994377
TI  - Relaxation of stored charge carriers in a Zn0.3Cd0.7Se mixed crystal.

PMID- 9994378
TI  - Optical transitions in semiconductor superlattices with zinc-blende structure in
      the k

PMID- 9994379
TI  - Electron density correlation function of the two-dimensional electron gas in
      AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9994380
TI  - Spectroscopy and defect states in polyaniline.

PMID- 9994381
TI  - Determination of the bulk band structure of Ag in Ag/Cu(111) quantum-well
      systems.

PMID- 9994383
TI  - Influence of temperature and pressure on the electronic transitions in SnS and
      SnSe semiconductors.

PMID- 9994382
TI  - Raman scattering in long-period superlattices of GaAs, AlAs, and Ga0.5Al0.5As
      layers.

PMID- 9994384
TI  - Phenomenological description of ion-beam-induced epitaxial crystallization of
      amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9994386
TI  - Nonclassical scattering dynamics in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9994385
TI  - Atomic structure of Si and Ge surfaces: Models for (113), (115), and stepped
      (001) vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9994388
TI  - Mechanism of orthoexciton-to-paraexciton conversion in Cu2O.

PMID- 9994387
TI  - Positron annihilation and conductivity measurements on poly(pyrrole tosylate) and
      poly(pyrrole fluoride).

PMID- 9994389
TI  - Behavior of electron-irradiation-induced defects in GaAs.

PMID- 9994390
TI  - Electron transmission through silicon stacking faults.

PMID- 9994391
TI  - Fine structure of excitons in type-II GaAs/AlAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9994392
TI  - Abrupt interfaces with novel structural and electronic properties: Metal-cluster
      deposition and metal-semiconductor junctions.

PMID- 9994393
TI  - Valence-bond model for silicon force fields.

PMID- 9994394
TI  - Dispersion relations of low-energy branches in the vibrational spectrum of
      cleaved GaAs(110).

PMID- 9994396
TI  - Interpretation of Raman spectra of Ge/Si ultrathin superlattices.

PMID- 9994395
TI  - CaF2/Si heteroepitaxy: Importance of stoichiometry, interface bonding, and
      lattice mismatch.

PMID- 9994397
TI  - Light-hole contribution to noise and diffusion in p-type germanium at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9994399
TI  - Hopping far-infrared magnetoabsorption in Cd1-xMnxSe and other mixed crystals.

PMID- 9994398
TI  - Quantization of the conductance of ballistic point contacts beyond the adiabatic
      approximation.

PMID- 9994400
TI  - Fluorescence mechanisms in Tm3+ singly doped and Tm3+, Ho3+ doubly doped indium
      based fluoride glasses.

PMID- 9994401
TI  - Pressure dependence of the 4T2 and 4T1 absorption bands of ruby to 35 GPa.

PMID- 9994402
TI  - Dispersion and localization of guided acoustic modes in a Langmuir-Blodgett film
      studied by surface-plasmon-polariton-enhanced Brillouin scattering.

PMID- 9994403
TI  - Upper limit on cold fusion in thin palladium films.

PMID- 9994405
TI  - Collective excitations in the fractional quantum Hall effect in an alternating
      density superlattice.

PMID- 9994404
TI  - Measurement and tentative analysis of resonant scattering features of He on the
      strongly corrugated Pt(110)-(1 x 2) surface.

PMID- 9994407
TI  - Growth of local structure in colloidal suspensions.

PMID- 9994406
TI  - Electrical properties of Cd1-xFexSe.

PMID- 9994408
TI  - Comment on "Ab initio pseudopotential calculations of optical-phonon deformation
      potentials in zinc-blende semiconductors"

PMID- 9994409
TI  - Erratum: Electronic structure of (diamond C)/(sphalerite BN) (110) interfaces and
      superlattices

PMID- 9994410
TI  - Low-temperature epitaxial growth of thin metal films.

PMID- 9994411
TI  - Generalized separable potentials for electronic-structure calculations.

PMID- 9994412
TI  - Adsorption-induced relaxation of Ni(001)-c(2 x 2)-O.

PMID- 9994413
TI  - Oxygen chemisorption on Cu(110): A structural determination by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9994414
TI  - Multiple sulfur sites in the Cu(100)p(2 x 2)-S surface structure.

PMID- 9994416
TI  - Low-energy electron-diffraction crystallographic determination for the Cu(110)2 x
      1-O surface structure.

PMID- 9994415
TI  - High-field magnetotransport and Fermi-surface topology in the novel quasi-two
      dimensional organic conductor bis(ethylenedithiolo)tetrathiafulvalenium mercuric
      postassium thiocyanate, (BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4.

PMID- 9994417
TI  - Femtosecond dynamics of the n=2 image-potential state on Ag(100).

PMID- 9994418
TI  - Collective oscillations in a disordered two-dimensional electron gas at strong
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9994419
TI  - Vacancy complexes in GaAs: Effects on impurity compensation.

PMID- 9994421
TI  - Thermoelectric Onsager coefficients of Rb0.3MoO3 in the depinned charge-density
      wave state.

PMID- 9994420
TI  - Copper, lithium, and hydrogen passivation of boron in c-Si.

PMID- 9994422
TI  - Dynamic photoinduced low-temperature oxidation of GaAs(110).

PMID- 9994424
TI  - Inter-valence-band scattering and cooling of hot holes in p-type germanium
      studied by picosecond infrared pulses.

PMID- 9994423
TI  - Resonant tunneling through one- and zero-dimensional states constricted by AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions and high-resistance regions induced by
      focused Ga ion-beam implanation.

PMID- 9994425
TI  - Electronic modes and infrared optical excitation in tunneling superlattices.

PMID- 9994426
TI  - Electronic structure and optical properties of LiB3O5.

PMID- 9994427
TI  - Numerical test of universal conductance fluctuations.

PMID- 9994428
TI  - Transmission through a one-dimensional Fibonacci sequence of delta -function
      potentials.

PMID- 9994429
TI  - Morphological instability of a terrace edge during step-flow growth.

PMID- 9994430
TI  - Polarization effects in inverse-photoemission spectra from Ni(110).

PMID- 9994431
TI  - Charge transfer and the nature of empty states in potassium-intercalated
      graphite.

PMID- 9994432
TI  - 3d core-level photoemission spectra of intermetallic Yb compounds.

PMID- 9994433
TI  - Effect of the electron-phonon coupling on the shallow donor impurity state near a
      polar crystal surface.

PMID- 9994434
TI  - Rhombohedral to simple-cubic phase transition in arsenic under pressure.

PMID- 9994435
TI  - Localization, mobility edges, and metal-insulator transition in a class of one
      dimensional slowly varying deterministic potentials.

PMID- 9994437
TI  - Harmonic generations in an optical Fibonacci superlattice.

PMID- 9994436
TI  - Alkali-metal clusters: An s-band uncorrelated versus (s+p) highly correlated
      problem.

PMID- 9994438
TI  - Multiple final states in Ce 5p photoemission spectra.

PMID- 9994439
TI  - 1/f noise: A nonlinear-generalized-Langevin-equation approach.

PMID- 9994440
TI  - Dissociation channels of NaN+ clusters (3 <= N <= 37).

PMID- 9994441
TI  - Collective excitations of magnetoplasma in truncated metallic superlattices.

PMID- 9994442
TI  - Ab initio electronic-structure calculations on the Nb/Zr multilayer system.

PMID- 9994443
TI  - Parametrized linear muffin-tin orbitals atomic-sphere approximation tight-binding
      scheme: The electronic structure of MoRu alloys.

PMID- 9994445
TI  - Variational description of small metal clusters.

PMID- 9994444
TI  - Structure and energetics of Nan-xLix (n <= 21) clusters.

PMID- 9994446
TI  - Surface phonon spectroscopy of Ni(111) studied by inelastic electron scattering.

PMID- 9994447
TI  - Atom-superposition and electron-delocalization tight-binding band theory.

PMID- 9994448
TI  - Structure of liquid equiatomic KSn and CsSn.

PMID- 9994449
TI  - Confluence of extended and localized states: Implications on the Mott-Cohen
      Fritzsche-Ovshinsky model.

PMID- 9994450
TI  - Planar-surface charge densities and energies beyond the local-density
      approximation.

PMID- 9994451
TI  - Palladium clusters on graphite: Evidence of resonant hybrid states in the valence
      and conduction bands.

PMID- 9994452
TI  - Magneto-optics near the L point of the Brillouin zone in semimagnetic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9994453
TI  - Surface reconstructions of GaAs(100) observed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9994454
TI  - He-atom scattering study of the temperature-dependent charge-density-wave surface
      structure and lattice dynamics of 2H-TaSe2(001).

PMID- 9994455
TI  - Lattice dynamics of AgGaSe2. I. Experiment.

PMID- 9994456
TI  - Lattice dynamics of AgGaSe2. II. Theoretical aspects.

PMID- 9994457
TI  - Surface and thermodynamic interatomic force fields for silicon clusters and bulk
      phases.

PMID- 9994458
TI  - Steady-state level-anticrossing spectra for bound-exciton triplets associated
      with complex defects in semiconductors.

PMID- 9994459
TI  - Hot-exciton cascades in coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9994461
TI  - Impact of the electronic structure on the solubility and diffusion of 3d
      transition elements in silicon.

PMID- 9994460
TI  - Plasmons in periodically modulated inversion layers.

PMID- 9994462
TI  - Wave propagation in a nonlinear periodic medium.

PMID- 9994464
TI  - Optical analyses of radiation effects in ion-implanted Si: Fractional-derivative
      spectrum methods.

PMID- 9994463
TI  - Investigation of momentum relaxation and time-dependent conductance in radiation
      damaged GaAs.

PMID- 9994465
TI  - Fe3+ as near-infrared luminescence center in ZnS.

PMID- 9994466
TI  - Epitaxial Sn and Bi on GaAs(110): Inverse photoemission, shallow core-hole
      emission, and Ga 3d excitons.

PMID- 9994467
TI  - Microscopic theory of optic-phonon Raman scattering in quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9994468
TI  - Theory of the band-tail absorption saturation in polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9994469
TI  - Electronic structure of a-Si1-xNx:H and a-Ge1-xNx:H.

PMID- 9994470
TI  - Amorphous molybdenum silicide layers and Mo/Si(100) interface growth: Local
      structure and preparation dependence.

PMID- 9994471
TI  - Infrared study of (H,Be)-, (D,Be)-, and (Li,Be)-acceptor complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9994472
TI  - High-pressure Mossbauer study of SnSe.

PMID- 9994473
TI  - Comparison of the Harris and the Hohenberg-Kohn-Sham functionals for calculation
      of structural and vibrational properties of solids.

PMID- 9994474
TI  - Phonons in GaAs/AlAs superlattices grown along the

PMID- 9994475
TI  - Effect of polymer cross linking on the electrical properties of
      ethylenevinylacetate poly(3-octylthiophene) polymer blends.

PMID- 9994476
TI  - Relativistic band structure of Si, Ge, and GeSi: Inversion-asymmetry effects.

PMID- 9994477
TI  - Magnetoresistance and Hall effect near the metal-insulator transition of n-type
      Cd0.95Mn0.05Te.

PMID- 9994478
TI  - Second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of a quantum well with an applied
      electric field.

PMID- 9994479
TI  - Band-gap narrowing in GaAs using a capacitance method.

PMID- 9994480
TI  - Thermally reversible band bending for Bi/GaAs(110): Photoemission and inverse
      photoemission investigations.

PMID- 9994481
TI  - Electronic structure of Cd1-xMnxS ternary semimagnetic alloys.

PMID- 9994483
TI  - Subband structure and plasmon-phonon coupled excitations in the accumulation
      layer of ZnO.

PMID- 9994482
TI  - Electronic structure of neutral and charged vacancies in GaAs.

PMID- 9994485
TI  - Interatomic interactions in covalent and ionic solids.

PMID- 9994484
TI  - Confined electron and hydrogenic donor states in a spherical quantum dot of GaAs
      Ga1-xAlxAs.

PMID- 9994486
TI  - Electronic band structure of the (GaAs)1/(InAs)1 (111) superlattice.

PMID- 9994487
TI  - Energy spectrum, transmittance, and localization in an incommensurate nonanalytic
      potential.

PMID- 9994488
TI  - Excitons in spatially separated ssV-shaped quantum wells: Application to GaAs
      sawtooth-doping superlattices.

PMID- 9994489
TI  - Raman microspectroscopy of diamond crystals and thin films prepared by hot
      filament-assisted chemical vapor deposition.

PMID- 9994490
TI  - Critical slowing down of low-frequency dielectric relaxation in incommensurate

PMID- 9994491
TI  - Raman and resonant Raman scattering from the HgTe/CdTe superlattice.

PMID- 9994493
TI  - Resonance-state calculation applying the Weyl-Titchmarsh theory: Application for
      the quantum-confined Stark effects on excitons in a GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs quantum well.

PMID- 9994492
TI  - Finite-basis many-electron approximation to the Anderson model.

PMID- 9994494
TI  - Zone-folded direct band gaps and energetics in strained (Si)4/(Ge)4
      superlattices.

PMID- 9994495
TI  - Estimate of nuclear fusion rates arising from a molecular-dynamics model of PdDx.

PMID- 9994496
TI  - Ionization-energy dependence on GaAs(001) surface superstructure measured by
      photoemission-yield spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994498
TI  - Subband structure of strained-layer CdTe/ZnTe superlattices: A reexamination.

PMID- 9994497
TI  - Comparison between calculated and experimental values of the lowest excited
      electronic state of small CdSe crystallites.

PMID- 9994499
TI  - Room-temperature densification of a-SiO2 versus pressure.

PMID- 9994501
TI  - Photovoltaic effects in temperature-dependent Fermi-level movement for GaAs(110).

PMID- 9994500
TI  - Microscopic structure of the plasma resonance in charged potassium microclusters.

PMID- 9994502
TI  - K gaps for surface polaritons on gratings: Excitation by fast electrons.

PMID- 9994504
TI  - Slow-particle-induced kinetic electron emission from a clean metal surface: A
      comparison for neutral and ionized projectiles.

PMID- 9994503
TI  - Channeling of electrons in Si produces intense quasimonochromatic, tunable,
      picosecond x-ray bursts.

PMID- 9994505
TI  - Mossbauer-effect, magnetic, and neutron-diffraction study of NaFeP2O7.

PMID- 9994506
TI  - EPR study of Fe3+ in alpha -quartz: The sodium-compensated center.

PMID- 9994507
TI  - Magic-angle theorem in powder x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994509
TI  - Atomistic study of defects in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994508
TI  - Mossbauer spectroscopy of 119Sn from implantations of radioactive 119Sb in
      metals.

PMID- 9994510
TI  - Infrared conductivity in superconductors with a finite mean free path.

PMID- 9994511
TI  - Phase boundary of superconducting networks: A new approximation scheme.

PMID- 9994512
TI  - Dissipation effects on superconducting arrays.

PMID- 9994513
TI  - Observation of the fcc-hcp 4He martensitic transformation morphology.

PMID- 9994514
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in high-Tc superconductor films.

PMID- 9994515
TI  - Doping dependence of hole distribution in CuO2 planes of high-Tc superconductors:
      Local ansatz versus exact results.

PMID- 9994516
TI  - Optical coherent backscattering and transmission in a disordered medium near the
      mobility edge.

PMID- 9994517
TI  - Weak localization, fluctuation, and superconductivity in thin Nb films and wires.

PMID- 9994518
TI  - Phase locking between Josephson soliton oscillators.

PMID- 9994519
TI  - Sharp optical lines in rare-earth barium copper oxides.

PMID- 9994520
TI  - c-axis oxygen in copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9994521
TI  - Chiral liquid states in a spin-free representation for the diluted Mott
      insulator.

PMID- 9994522
TI  - Phenomenological model of nuclear relaxation in the normal state of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994524
TI  - Fractional-statistics gas in the boson representation.

PMID- 9994523
TI  - Superconducting phases of Bi and Ga induced by deposition on a Ni sublayer.

PMID- 9994525
TI  - Far-infrared optical properties of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox films.

PMID- 9994526
TI  - Estimate of Z(2,4) for the loop-gas model on the honeycomb lattice.

PMID- 9994527
TI  - Closely coupled superconducting microbridges.

PMID- 9994528
TI  - Superfluid dynamics of the fractional quantum Hall state.

PMID- 9994530
TI  - Electron-electron interaction for the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect.

PMID- 9994529
TI  - Magnetic versus nonmagnetic ion substitution effects on Tc in the La-Sr-Cu-O and
      Nd-Ce-Cu-O systems.

PMID- 9994532
TI  - Static vacancies in antiferromagnetic La2CuO4 and superconducting La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9994531
TI  - Shadow wave-function variational calculations of crystalline and liquid phases of
      4He.

PMID- 9994533
TI  - Onset of chaos in Josephson junctions with intermediate damping.

PMID- 9994535
TI  - Ab initio molecular-orbital study on electron correlation effects in CuO6
      clusters relating to high-Tc superconductivity.

PMID- 9994534
TI  - Polarized copper K-edge x-ray-absorption spectra in YBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9994536
TI  - Tunnel creation of kink-antikink pairs from an inhomogeneous vacuum by an
      external field.

PMID- 9994537
TI  - Kinetics of diffusion-controlled oxygen ordering in a lattice-gas model of
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9994538
TI  - Theory for the temperature dependence of oxygen ordering in YBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7-y
      due to impurities M=Al,Co,Fe.

PMID- 9994539
TI  - X-ray-absorption fine-structure studies of superconducting Tl2CaBa2Cu2Ox thin
      films.

PMID- 9994540
TI  - Ultrasonic study on Bi-based high-Tc superconductors with preferred orientations.

PMID- 9994541
TI  - Many-body derivation of quasiparticle bands and effective interactions of
      fermions in CuO2 layers.

PMID- 9994542
TI  - Electronic structure of the electron-doped superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4-y studied
      by photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994543
TI  - Mean-field theories of cuprate superconductors: A systematic analysis.

PMID- 9994544
TI  - Superconductivity in the anyon model.

PMID- 9994545
TI  - Optically induced changes in the magnetic properties of the ceramic
      superconductor La1.8Ba0.2CuO4.

PMID- 9994546
TI  - Electronic properties of Ca2CuO2Cl2 and Ca2CuO2Br2.

PMID- 9994547
TI  - Electronic structure of the Ban+1PbnO3n+1 homologous series.

PMID- 9994548
TI  - Nonspherical rigid-muffin-tin calculations of electron-phonon coupling in high-Tc
      perovskites.

PMID- 9994549
TI  - Anisotropic superconductivity in extended t-J models.

PMID- 9994551
TI  - X-ray analysis of the incommensurate modulation in the 2:2:1:2 Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductor including the oxygen atoms.

PMID- 9994550
TI  - High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission study of the Fermi surface and the
      normal-state electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9994552
TI  - Room-temperature oxygen diffusion and ordering in YBa2Cu3O7-y studied with time
      resolved Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994554
TI  - Modification of the isotope effect due to energy-dependent electronic density of
      states.

PMID- 9994553
TI  - Hall effect and electronic structure of La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9994555
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9994556
TI  - Electron-energy-loss and optical-transmittance investigation of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9994557
TI  - Positron annihilation studies in the Nd-Ce-Cu-O superconductor.

PMID- 9994558
TI  - Calculation of the electronic structure of YBa2(Cu1-xZnx)3O7 in terms of the real
      space-scattering coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9994560
TI  - NMR study of the ferroelastic-to-paraelastic protonic superionic transition in
      Rb3H(SeO4)2.

PMID- 9994559
TI  - Increased percolation threshold for 100-K superconductivity in lead-substituted
      Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin films.

PMID- 9994561
TI  - Magnetic phase transitions in narrow nondegenerate energy bands.

PMID- 9994562
TI  - Heisenberg and Ising spins in three dimensions with site-bond-correlated
      dilution.

PMID- 9994563
TI  - Small-cluster calculations for the simple and extended Hubbard models.

PMID- 9994564
TI  - Modeling electron-electron interactions in reduced-dimensional materials: Bond
      charge Coulomb repulsion and dimerization in Peierls-Hubbard models.

PMID- 9994565
TI  - Zero-temperature statics and dynamics of a random-exchange model for magnetic
      properties of La2-xSrxCuO4 in the insulating regime.

PMID- 9994566
TI  - Phonon dispersion and Kohn anomalies in Cu0.84Al0.16.

PMID- 9994567
TI  - Brillouin light-scattering experiments on exchange-coupled ultrathin bilayers of
      iron separated by epitaxial copper (001).

PMID- 9994569
TI  - Ferromagnetic resonance evidence for superparamagnetism in a partially
      crystallized metallic glass.

PMID- 9994568
TI  - Classical and quantum analysis of chaos in the discrete self-trapping equation.

PMID- 9994570
TI  - Electronic structure of YbN.

PMID- 9994571
TI  - Low-temperature behavior of random-anisotropy magnets.

PMID- 9994572
TI  - Interface roughening in the three-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9994574
TI  - Theory of semiclassical expansions for many-particle systems.

PMID- 9994573
TI  - Laser-melted amorphous and crystalline Fe-B alloys.

PMID- 9994575
TI  - Two-level system coupled to a boson mode.

PMID- 9994576
TI  - Superfluidity of the lattice anyon gas and topological invariance.

PMID- 9994577
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the commensurate-incommensurate phase transition of
      deuterium monolayers physisorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9994579
TI  - Photoemission study of the metal-nonmetal transition in NiS.

PMID- 9994578
TI  - Model for numerical evaluation of classical two-dimensional ion hopping transport
      in randomly nonuniform solids.

PMID- 9994580
TI  - Surface spin waves in Heisenberg ferromagnets with nonuniaxial single-ion
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9994581
TI  - Spin-dynamics study of the classical anisotropic XY chain.

PMID- 9994582
TI  - Proton glassy behavior in Rb1-x(NH4)xH2AsO4 mixed crystal.

PMID- 9994584
TI  - Phase transition and scaling properties of the energy spectrum for a hierarchical
      quantum Ising model.

PMID- 9994583
TI  - 3p and 3d core-level widths in metallic technetium: A study by internal
      conversion electron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994585
TI  - Phase Hamiltonian and depinning electric field in the charge-density wave and the
      spin-density wave.

PMID- 9994586
TI  - Exact computer enumeration of the number of Hamiltonian paths in small plane
      square lattices.

PMID- 9994587
TI  - Magnetic susceptibilities, specific heat, and crystal structure of four S=3/2,
      three-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9994588
TI  - Monte Carlo calculation of free energy for a fcc lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9994589
TI  - Low-index interfaces in Ising models: Macroscopic faceting, roughening, and phase
      diagrams.

PMID- 9994590
TI  - Comparison of melting in three and two dimensions: Microscopy of colloidal
      spheres.

PMID- 9994592
TI  - Scaling-law analysis to describe the impedance behavior of fractal electrodes.

PMID- 9994591
TI  - Domain growth in the two-dimensional time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model in the
      presence of a random magnetic field.

PMID- 9994593
TI  - Dynamics of large-wave-vector magnons and phonons in MnF2:Er3+ using a far
      infrared quantum-counter technique.

PMID- 9994595
TI  - Thermodynamic properties of dilute CuCr alloys.

PMID- 9994594
TI  - X-ray study of the liquid and solid phases of the alkali metals in KC24- and
      RbC24-intercalated graphite single crystals.

PMID- 9994596
TI  - Solitonlike excitations in a spin chain with a biquadratic anisotropic exchange
      interaction.

PMID- 9994597
TI  - Theory of energy dissipation in sliding crystal surfaces.

PMID- 9994598
TI  - Dynamics of Heisenberg ferromagnets at low temperature.

PMID- 9994599
TI  - Metallic ferromagnetism in a single-band model. III. One-dimensional half-filled
      band.

PMID- 9994600
TI  - Incommensurate phases of quantum one-dimensional magnetics.

PMID- 9994601
TI  - Motion of a single hole in an itinerant-electron antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9994602
TI  - Nonuniversal anisotropy dependence of critical-wetting exponents in a vector
      model.

PMID- 9994603
TI  - Short-range antiferromagnetic ordering with spiral structure in the finite-doping
      regime.

PMID- 9994604
TI  - Dynamic correlations in a classical two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9994605
TI  - Low-temperature catalysis of para-deuterium to ortho-deuterium conversion on
      Grafoil.

PMID- 9994606
TI  - Spin-lattice coupling coefficients G11 and G44 for 6S-state ions in Td symmetry.

PMID- 9994607
TI  - Oscillatory lamellar microstructure in off-eutectic Al-Cu alloys.

PMID- 9994609
TI  - Direction of the magnetization of thin films and sandwiches as a function of
      temperature.

PMID- 9994608
TI  - Dynamics and phase transitions in solid ortho and para hydrogen and deuterium
      from an ab initio potential.

PMID- 9994610
TI  - Magnetic hysteresis in two model spin systems.

PMID- 9994611
TI  - Spin waves at the interface between two antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9994612
TI  - Quasiparticle properties in effective models for strongly correlated electrons.

PMID- 9994614
TI  - Laser-excited fluorescence and electron-spin resonance of Er3+ in polycrystalline
      AlCl3.

PMID- 9994613
TI  - Phenomenological study of the amorphous Fe80B20 ferromagnet with small random
      anisotropy.

PMID- 9994615
TI  - Nuclear-resonance photon-scattering study of the vibrational spectrum of NH3.

PMID- 9994617
TI  - dc Josephson current for very strong coupling.

PMID- 9994616
TI  - Local-structure model of K+ site in KTaO3:Fe3+

PMID- 9994619
TI  - Inelastic Coulomb scattering between extended and localized electrons: A
      quasilinear temperature dependence.

PMID- 9994618
TI  - Optical characterization of excited states in BaBiO3.

PMID- 9994620
TI  - Macroscopic quantum tunneling in long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9994621
TI  - Upper critical field in superconductors and the uncertainty principle: Upper
      limit to the maximum slope of Hc2.

PMID- 9994622
TI  - Excitonic pairing in electron-doped Cu-O layers.

PMID- 9994624
TI  - Identification of the 1250-cm-1 Raman feature in YBa2Cu3O6.

PMID- 9994623
TI  - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2Oy.

PMID- 9994625
TI  - Renormalized Bose condensation in the presence of fermions.

PMID- 9994626
TI  - Spin polarons in high-Tc copper oxides: Differences between electron- and hole
      doped systems.

PMID- 9994627
TI  - Logarithmic corrections in antiferromagnetic chains.

PMID- 9994628
TI  - Decomposition kinetics in Ni-Ti alloys.

PMID- 9994629
TI  - Nonclassical wetting behavior in the solid-on-solid limit of the three
      dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9994630
TI  - Percolation and phase transitions of hard-core particles on lattices with pair
      interactions.

PMID- 9994631
TI  - Sequence of incommensurate phases in a model of surface reconstruction and
      roughening.

PMID- 9994632
TI  - Orbital magnetic moments in commensurate flux phases.

PMID- 9994633
TI  - Quantum size effect on the magnetism of finite systems.

PMID- 9994634
TI  - Pattern formation in phase-separating alloys with cubic symmetry.

PMID- 9994636
TI  - Analog simulation of melting in two dimensions.

PMID- 9994635
TI  - Absence of long-range order in three-dimensional spherical models.

PMID- 9994638
TI  - Erratum: "Monte Carlo of the growth of wetting layers"

PMID- 9994637
TI  - Quantum decay of a metastable state in a spin system.

PMID- 9994639
TI  - Erratum: "Monte Carlo studies of universal critical amplitudes for the three
      dimensional ising model: Correlation length and renormalized coupling"

PMID- 9994640
TI  - Spin dynamics and magnetic resonance in two-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9994641
TI  - Angular anisotropy in ion-surface charge transfer.

PMID- 9994642
TI  - Tilt-modulus enhancement of the vortex lattice in the layered superconductor 2H
      NbSe2.

PMID- 9994643
TI  - Reduction of the magnetization decay rate in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9994644
TI  - Constraints on s-wave pairing in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994646
TI  - Critical behavior of unconventional superconductors with quenched impurities.

PMID- 9994645
TI  - Recalculation of 4kF correlations in one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9994647
TI  - Metastable effects and random polarities of magnetic moments in disordered
      systems of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9994648
TI  - Role of the Cu-O charge-transfer energy in the superconductivity of cuprates:
      Evidence from Cu 2p core-level spectroscopy and theory.

PMID- 9994649
TI  - Motion of two holes in a quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9994650
TI  - Phenomenological description of the copper oxides as almost localized Fermi
      liquids.

PMID- 9994651
TI  - Polarization x-ray-absorption near-edge structure study of Pr2-xCexCuO4 single
      crystals: The nature of Ce doping.

PMID- 9994652
TI  - YBa2Cu3O7-x (001) studied at 60 K with momentum-resolved inverse photoemission.

PMID- 9994653
TI  - High-energy spin excitations in the insulating phases of high-Tc superconducting
      cuprates and La2NiO4.

PMID- 9994654
TI  - Onset of valence and magnetic instabilities in the ferromagnetic semiconductor
      EuO at high pressures.

PMID- 9994655
TI  - Homogeneous nucleated annihilation of the 2q phase in Cu0.78Pd0.22.

PMID- 9994656
TI  - Ginzburg-Landau theory for mass transport in a driven diffusive system.

PMID- 9994657
TI  - Possible vortex-glass transition in a model random superconductor.

PMID- 9994658
TI  - Trace maps of general substitutional sequences.

PMID- 9994660
TI  - Evidence for a rhodium moment in amorphous (FexRh1-x)80B20 alloys.

PMID- 9994659
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial Co superlattices.

PMID- 9994661
TI  - Hubbard U=

PMID- 9994662
TI  - Missing modes in the density of states of fractal networks.

PMID- 9994663
TI  - Electronic effect of lead substitution in single-crystal Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductors determined by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9994665
TI  - Energy gap of the S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9994664
TI  - Two-dimensional ordering during droplet growth on a liquid surface.

PMID- 9994666
TI  - Planar channeling in superlattices. III. Potential and parameter dependence of
      catastrophic dechanneling.

PMID- 9994667
TI  - Absorption and emission spectroscopy of Eu3+ in metaphosphate glasses.

PMID- 9994668
TI  - NMR determination of the Edwards-Anderson order parameter in the deuterated
      pseudo-spin-glass Rb1-x(ND4)xD2PO4: Anisotropy and concentration dependence of
      the ND4+ deuteron second moment.

PMID- 9994669
TI  - Dephasing times of the vibrons in alpha -N2 and in alpha -(15N2)x(14N2)1-x mixed
      crystals.

PMID- 9994670
TI  - Anisotropy of momentum distributions in atomic-collision cascades generated in
      fcc materials.

PMID- 9994671
TI  - Decay-kinetics study of atomic hydrogen in a-Si:(H,O,N) and natural beryl.

PMID- 9994672
TI  - Slow-proton reemission from noble-gas solids.

PMID- 9994674
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering study of methyl tunneling and the quantum sine
      Gordon breather in isotopic mixtures of 4-methyl-pyridine at low temperature.

PMID- 9994673
TI  - M and N core excitations in zirconium.

PMID- 9994675
TI  - Magnetic x-ray-scattering study of uranium arsenide.

PMID- 9994676
TI  - Variational Fermi-hypernetted-chain approximation

PMID- 9994677
TI  - Solution to Ginzburg-Landau equations for inhomogeneous superconductors by
      nonlinear optimization.

PMID- 9994678
TI  - Numerical study of long Josephson junctions coupled to a high-Q cavity.

PMID- 9994679
TI  - Effect of the operator nature of the superconducting order parameter in the
      presence of an added quasiparticle.

PMID- 9994680
TI  - Theory of nonlinear electromagnetic rectification in a BCS superconductor.

PMID- 9994682
TI  - Quantum diffusion and pairing of ortho-H2 impurities in para-H2.

PMID- 9994681
TI  - Effect of high pressure on the electrical resistivity of the heavy-fermion
      compound UBe13.

PMID- 9994683
TI  - Discontinuous change of superconducting transition temperature from BCS type to
      bipolaron type in strongly coupled electron-phonon systems.

PMID- 9994684
TI  - Behavior of excess electrons in a one-dimensional classical bath: Equilibrium
      properties.

PMID- 9994685
TI  - Exact solution of the mean-field theory for a heavy-fermion alloy in one
      dimension.

PMID- 9994686
TI  - High-pressure triple point in helium: The melting line of helium up to 240 kbar.

PMID- 9994687
TI  - Anyons on a torus.

PMID- 9994689
TI  - Localization of isolated holes in a Mott insulator and delocalization by pairing.

PMID- 9994688
TI  - Fluctuation-induced first-order transitions in unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9994690
TI  - Minimal renormalization without epsilon expansion: Critical behavior above and
      below Tc.

PMID- 9994691
TI  - Solitary-wave propagation in superfluid 4He films.

PMID- 9994692
TI  - Static-hole energies in the t-J model and a t-J- epsilon model of the high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9994693
TI  - Critical currents in frustrated two-dimensional Josephson arrays.

PMID- 9994694
TI  - New phases induced by hydrogen reduction and by subsequent oxidation of L2CuO4
      (L=La,Pr,Nd,Sm,Eu,Gd).

PMID- 9994695
TI  - Flux motion, proximity effect, and critical current density in YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      /silver composites.

PMID- 9994696
TI  - Effect of the nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction on d-wave Cooper pairing on a
      square lattice.

PMID- 9994697
TI  - Incorporation of gold into YBa2Cu3O7: Structure and Tc enhancement.

PMID- 9994698
TI  - Viscous flux motion in a Josephson-coupled layer model of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9994699
TI  - Direct measurement of the anisotropy of the resistivity in the a-b plane of twin
      free, single-crystal, superconducting YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9994700
TI  - Hole motion in the t-J and Hubbard models: Effect of a next-nearest-neighbor
      hopping.

PMID- 9994701
TI  - Effects of the magnetic and thermal history in granular samples of Y-Ba-Cu-O and
      Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O: Experimental evidence of a sharp transition into a frozen state at
      low temperature.

PMID- 9994702
TI  - Renormalized band structure of CuO2 layers in superconducting compounds: A mean
      field approach.

PMID- 9994703
TI  - Transport properties of high-Tc superconductors: Fermi-liquid local-density
      electronic-structure predictions.

PMID- 9994704
TI  - Electromagnetic properties of stacks of superconducting layers.

PMID- 9994705
TI  - Possible origins of resistive tails and critical currents in high-temperature
      superconductors in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9994706
TI  - Millimeter-wave complex conductivity of some epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7- delta films.

PMID- 9994708
TI  - Cuprate parameters from numerical Wannier functions.

PMID- 9994707
TI  - Nernst effect by laser-pulse heating in Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconducting thin films.

PMID- 9994709
TI  - Incommensurate correlations in the t-J and frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg models.

PMID- 9994711
TI  - Delocalization of holes in La2-x(Ba,Sr)xCuO4.

PMID- 9994710
TI  - Inequivalent layers can cause flux-lattice melting in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9994712
TI  - Observation of temperature-dependent site disorder in YBa2Cu3O7- delta below 150
      degreesC.

PMID- 9994713
TI  - Comparison of the empty electronic states of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (001) and Bi2Sr2CuO6
      (001) at 60 and 300 K.

PMID- 9994715
TI  - Neutron and synchrotron x-ray powder-diffraction study of La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9994714
TI  - Effect of a geometrical length scale on remanent magnetization and critical
      currents in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O crystals.

PMID- 9994716
TI  - Frequency- and temperature-dependent conductivity in YBa2Cu3O6+x crystals.

PMID- 9994717
TI  - Influence of fluctuations on spin systems with spatially isotropic competing
      interactions.

PMID- 9994718
TI  - Momentum constraints in collective-variable theory.

PMID- 9994719
TI  - Core-level photoemission spectrum for the spin-degenerate Anderson model.

PMID- 9994720
TI  - Replica-symmetry breaking for the Ising spin glass in a transverse field.

PMID- 9994721
TI  - Quasi-one-dimensional solutions for domain walls and their constraints in
      improper ferroelastics.

PMID- 9994722
TI  - Gap states and localization properties of one-dimensional Fibonacci
      quasicrystals.

PMID- 9994723
TI  - Cooper-pairing interaction due to magnetic fluctuations near the spin-density
      wave phase transition.

PMID- 9994724
TI  - Lattice dynamics and origin of ferroelectricity in BaTiO3: Linearized-augmented
      plane-wave total-energy calculations.

PMID- 9994725
TI  - Suppression of staging in lithium-intercalated carbon by disorder in the host.

PMID- 9994726
TI  - Spatial chaos in a nonlinear monatomic chain.

PMID- 9994727
TI  - Scaling of spatiotemporal correlation in ordering dynamics.

PMID- 9994728
TI  - Initial- versus final-state effects in the narrow-band spectra of heavy-fermion
      systems.

PMID- 9994729
TI  - Equation of state of solid hydrogen and deuterium from single-crystal x-ray
      diffraction to 26.5 GPa.

PMID- 9994731
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of strongly disordered Ising ferromagnets.

PMID- 9994730
TI  - Tensile-stress dependence of magnetostriction in multilayers of amorphous
      ribbons.

PMID- 9994733
TI  - Corrections to the Hall mobility.

PMID- 9994732
TI  - Sound speed and thermophysical properties of liquid iron and nickel.

PMID- 9994734
TI  - Imperfect nesting in quasi-one-dimensional charge- and spin-density waves.

PMID- 9994735
TI  - Fluid transport in partially filled porous sol-gel silica glass.

PMID- 9994736
TI  - Effective spin Hamiltonian for the CuO planes in La2CuO4 and metamagnetism.

PMID- 9994737
TI  - Spin dynamics of the itinerant helimagnet MnSi studied by positive muon spin
      relaxation.

PMID- 9994738
TI  - Doped antiferromagnets in the weak-hopping limit.

PMID- 9994739
TI  - Surface interaction energies in binary alloys from diffuse x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9994741
TI  - Wetting phenomena on rough substrates.

PMID- 9994740
TI  - Crystal structure, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity of a
      new dense Kondo system: CePtSi2.

PMID- 9994742
TI  - Existence of Neel order at T=0 in the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model
      on a square lattice.

PMID- 9994743
TI  - Exact diagonalization of quantum-spin models.

PMID- 9994745
TI  - Ordering due to disorder in dipolar magnets on two-dimensional lattices.

PMID- 9994744
TI  - Static magnetization direction under perpendicular surface anisotropy.

PMID- 9994746
TI  - Niobium hydride phase behavior studied using the cluster-variation method.

PMID- 9994748
TI  - Nucleation in a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model: A numerical study.

PMID- 9994747
TI  - Exact results for the U=

PMID- 9994749
TI  - Metallic non-Fermi-liquid fixed point in two and higher dimensions.

PMID- 9994750
TI  - Scaling properties of fracture toughness in random materials.

PMID- 9994751
TI  - Dual percolation threshold in two-dimensional microporous media.

PMID- 9994753
TI  - Coexistence-curve diameter and critical density of xenon.

PMID- 9994752
TI  - Unconventional structures and related physical properties of the semifluorinated
      triblock alkane C6F13-C4H8-C6F13.

PMID- 9994755
TI  - Magnetic dichroism in the x-ray-absorption branching ratio.

PMID- 9994754
TI  - Kinetics of quenched systems with long-range repulsive interactions.

PMID- 9994757
TI  - Magnetism of hexagonal 3d transition metals.

PMID- 9994756
TI  - Quantum statistical mechanics of nonlinear excitations in a model for structural
      phase transitions.

PMID- 9994758
TI  - Temperature dependence of hyperfine magnetic fields in Fe-Co alloys.

PMID- 9994759
TI  - Neutron diffraction and Mossbauer studies of Ga site preference in Nd2Fe14B and
      Fe internal-field assignments.

PMID- 9994760
TI  - Superconductivity in beta -di

PMID- 9994761
TI  - Quality of variational ground states for a two-state system coupled to phonons.

PMID- 9994762
TI  - Lattice specific heat of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994763
TI  - Spirals and spin bags: A link between the weak- and the strong-coupling limits of
      the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994764
TI  - Magnetoplasma waves in thin high-temperature-superconducting layers.

PMID- 9994765
TI  - Exotic quantum effects in two space dimensions: The role of translation
      invariance.

PMID- 9994766
TI  - Compressible spin models for plastic crystals.

PMID- 9994768
TI  - Breakup threshold of solitons in systems with nonconvex interactions.

PMID- 9994767
TI  - Parametric excitation of magnetostatic modes in circular ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9994769
TI  - Positron annihilation studies of an icosahedral quasicrystal and the cubic R
      phase of Al-Li-Cu.

PMID- 9994770
TI  - Proton-glass state in K0.60(NH4)0.40H2AsO4 detected by dielectric measurements.

PMID- 9994771
TI  - Crystal structures of group IVa metals at ultrahigh pressures.

PMID- 9994773
TI  - Comment on "Finite-size effects at temperature-driven first-order transitions"

PMID- 9994772
TI  - One-dimensional-lattice spin models with long-range antiferromagnetic
      interactions.

PMID- 9994774
TI  - Erratum: Muon-spin-relaxation and neutron-scattering studies of magnetism in
      single-crystal La1.94Sr0.06CuO4

PMID- 9994775
TI  - Evidence for structural relaxation in measurements of hydrogen diffusion in rf
      sputtered boron-doped a-Si:H.

PMID- 9994777
TI  - Hyper-resistivity to global-superconductivity transition by annealing in quench
      condensed Pb films.

PMID- 9994776
TI  - Analytical photon scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9994778
TI  - Superconducting effective-mass anisotropy in Tl2Ba2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9994780
TI  - Nature and stability of the "60-K superconducting phase" in the YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      system.

PMID- 9994779
TI  - Magnetic quantization and the upper critical field of superconductors.

PMID- 9994782
TI  - Anisotropic properties of La8-xSrxCu8O20- delta epitaxial thin films.

PMID- 9994781
TI  - Holes in antiferromagnets: Pairing interaction.

PMID- 9994783
TI  - Flux-flow Nernst effect in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994784
TI  - 139La NMR study of phase separation in single-crystal La2CuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9994786
TI  - Dynamics of quasiparticles in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994785
TI  - Universality in the current decay and flux creep of Y-Ba-Cu-O high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9994788
TI  - Interstitial oxygen and high-temperature superconductivity in La2-xSrxCuO4+
      delta.

PMID- 9994787
TI  - Electron destruction in a fractionized system.

PMID- 9994789
TI  - Flux pinning and irreversibility in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting crystal.

PMID- 9994791
TI  - Anisotropic gap and quasiparticle-damping effects on NMR measurements of high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9994790
TI  - Magnetic penetration depth of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O6.97 measured by muon-spin
      relaxation.

PMID- 9994792
TI  - Binding of holes in one-dimensional Hubbard chains.

PMID- 9994793
TI  - Magnetic properties of Nd2CuO4-type R2CuO4 (R=Y, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) synthesized
      under high pressure: Weak ferromagnetism of Y2CuO4.

PMID- 9994794
TI  - Analysis of the core-level photoemission spectra of the superconducting cuprates:
      Evidence for a strongly mixed-valent state.

PMID- 9994796
TI  - Effect of spin-orbit and spin-flip scattering on conductance fluctuations.

PMID- 9994795
TI  - Magnetization of single-crystal erbium.

PMID- 9994797
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the two-dimensional quantum XY model.

PMID- 9994799
TI  - Criterion for a good variational wave function.

PMID- 9994798
TI  - Electrical-resistivity and ac-susceptibility measurements on Ni-Mn and Ni-Mn-Pt
      ternary alloys.

PMID- 9994800
TI  - Experimental evidence for the existence of exchange-dominated collective spin
      wave excitations in multilayers.

PMID- 9994801
TI  - Hybridization gap in Ce3Bi4Pt3.

PMID- 9994802
TI  - Short-time relaxation at polymeric interfaces.

PMID- 9994803
TI  - Single spin flip in the Nagaoka state: Problems with the Gutzwiller wave
      function.

PMID- 9994804
TI  - Photoinduced valence instability in the organic molecular compound
      tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil (TTF-CA).

PMID- 9994805
TI  - Nuclear antiferromagnetism in copper: Interplay of (0,2/3,2/3) and (1,0,0) order.

PMID- 9994807
TI  - Monitoring low-coverage surface chemistry with bulk transport: NO2 dissociation
      and oxygen penetration at a GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9994806
TI  - Phase diagram of the frustrated square Heisenberg lattice based upon a modified
      spin-wave theory.

PMID- 9994808
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in a self-similar system.

PMID- 9994809
TI  - Renormalization group for growth kinetics in the large-N limit.

PMID- 9994810
TI  - Hole-hole effective interaction in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9994811
TI  - Finite-size-scaling study of the simple cubic three-state Potts glass: Possible
      lower critical dimension d=3.

PMID- 9994812
TI  - Embedded-atom-method study of coherency and elastic moduli of Pd-Cu multilayers.

PMID- 9994813
TI  - Galvanomagnetic phenomena and surface roughness in thin metallic films.

PMID- 9994814
TI  - Coordinate-permutable cubic harmonics and their determination.

PMID- 9994815
TI  - Chemical modification of positronium formation at metal surfaces.

PMID- 9994817
TI  - Deviation of spin susceptibility of small metallic particles as predicted by the
      random-matrix theory.

PMID- 9994816
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of the liquid polyvalent elements. II. The
      divalent elements.

PMID- 9994818
TI  - Commensurability transitions in multilayers: A response to substrate-induced
      elastic stress.

PMID- 9994819
TI  - Oxygen-induced missing-row reconstruction of Cu(001) and Cu(001)-vicinal
      surfaces.

PMID- 9994820
TI  - Some phonon effects in S(q) for bcc metals.

PMID- 9994821
TI  - Core polarization and the dielectric response of simple metals.

PMID- 9994822
TI  - Transformations preceding amorphization in Cr-Ti and Cr-Ti-Fe beta phases.

PMID- 9994823
TI  - Surface relaxation in c(2 x 2)Cl/Ni(100) determined by the soft-x-ray standing
      wave method combined with surface-extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994825
TI  - Plasmons in a superlattice with periodic defects.

PMID- 9994824
TI  - Local density of states for transition-metal interfaces.

PMID- 9994826
TI  - Subpicosecond luminescence study of tunneling and relaxation in coupled quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9994828
TI  - Envelope-function approximation for nonrectangular Hg1-xCdxTe superlattices.

PMID- 9994827
TI  - Phonon frequencies for Si-Ge strained-layer superlattices calculated in a three
      dimensional model.

PMID- 9994829
TI  - Long-range ordering of Sb multilayers on GaAs(110): Evolution of resonant inverse
      photoemission.

PMID- 9994831
TI  - Effect of collisions and relaxation on coherent resonant tunneling: Hole
      tunneling in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs double-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9994830
TI  - Picosecond electron-hole droplet formation in indirect-gap AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9994832
TI  - Electric-field effects on shallow impurity states in GaAs-(Ga,Al)As quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9994833
TI  - Phonon-drag thermoelectric power in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterojunctions at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9994834
TI  - Exciton binding energies in semiconductor superlattices: An anisotropic-effective
      medium approach.

PMID- 9994836
TI  - Generalized Franz-Keldysh theory of electromodulation.

PMID- 9994835
TI  - Interplanar forces and phonon spectra of strained Si and Ge: Ab initio
      calculations and applications to Si/Ge superlattices.

PMID- 9994837
TI  - Optical properties of liquid Se-Te alloys.

PMID- 9994838
TI  - Carrier relaxation and luminescence polarization in quantum wells.

PMID- 9994839
TI  - Nonlinear optical properties of GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs superlattices.

PMID- 9994841
TI  - Electronic structure of beta -FeSi2.

PMID- 9994840
TI  - Density of states and thermodynamic properties of a two-dimensional electron gas
      in a strong external magnetic field.

PMID- 9994842
TI  - Nonvariational numerical calculations of excitonic properties in quantum wells in
      the presence of strain, electric fields, and free carriers.

PMID- 9994843
TI  - Theory for the instability of the diamond structure of Si, Ge, and C induced by a
      dense electron-hole plasma.

PMID- 9994844
TI  - Stability of DX centers in AlxGa1-xAs alloys.

PMID- 9994846
TI  - Thermal-expansion anisotropy in the quaternary semiconductor CuGaGe1-x(VGe)xSe4
      at elevated temperatures.

PMID- 9994845
TI  - Analysis of the fractional-quantum-Hall-effect ground state in the symmetric
      gauge.

PMID- 9994847
TI  - Random-Bethe-lattice model applied to the electronic structure of amorphous and
      liquid silicon.

PMID- 9994848
TI  - Self-consistent unifying theory of the electronic structure of metal
      semiconductor systems.

PMID- 9994849
TI  - Line shapes of intersubband and excitonic recombination in quantum wells:
      Influence of final-state interaction, statistical broadening, and momentum
      conservation.

PMID- 9994850
TI  - Vibrational properties versus on- and off-axis behavior of the FA(Li+) center in
      alkali halides.

PMID- 9994851
TI  - Evidence for trimer reconstruction of Si(111) sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 -Sb: Scanning
      tunneling microscopy and first-principles theory.

PMID- 9994852
TI  - Vibrational evidence of surface reconstruction in the Ni(100)/O system obtained
      using high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994853
TI  - Commensurate reconstruction on a (001) facet of a gold particle.

PMID- 9994854
TI  - Low-energy cathodoluminescence experiment with polarized electrons and a negative
      electron-affinity GaAs target.

PMID- 9994855
TI  - Identification of bonded species in hydrogenated fluorinated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9994856
TI  - Entropy of a Frenkel pair in silicon.

PMID- 9994857
TI  - Quantum size effects on the exciton energy of CdS clusters.

PMID- 9994859
TI  - Erratum: Impurity photoconductivity spectra of ZnGa2Se4:Co2+ single crystals

PMID- 9994858
TI  - Lattice dynamics of superlattices with interface roughness.

PMID- 9994860
TI  - Erratum: Confirmation of the temperature-dependent photovoltaic effect on Fermi
      level measurements by photoemission spectroscopy

PMID- 9994861
TI  - Soft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the L2,3 edges of nickel.

PMID- 9994862
TI  - Universal dependence on the average conductance of conductance fluctuations in
      disordered metals.

PMID- 9994863
TI  - First-principles calculation of the magnetic anisotropy energy of (Co)n/(X)m
      multilayers.

PMID- 9994865
TI  - Annealing-temperature influence on the dispersive diffusion of hydrogen in
      undoped a-Si:H.

PMID- 9994864
TI  - Band-gap renormalization in direct-band-gap AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9994866
TI  - Photoluminescence from the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at a single silicon
      delta -doped layer in GaAs.

PMID- 9994867
TI  - Dynamics of exciton localization in a CdSe0.5S0.5 mixed crystal.

PMID- 9994868
TI  - Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of InSb(110).

PMID- 9994869
TI  - Intrinsic bistability in resonant-tunneling structures.

PMID- 9994871
TI  - Derivation of response equations for the nondestructive probing of charge and
      polarization profiles.

PMID- 9994870
TI  - Angular distribution of Rh atoms desorbed from ion-bombarded Rh{100}: Effect of
      local environment.

PMID- 9994872
TI  - Electronic structure and related properties of silver.

PMID- 9994873
TI  - Structure and phases of the Au(001) surface: In-plane structure.

PMID- 9994874
TI  - Quasimomentum in the theory of elasticity and its conservation.

PMID- 9994875
TI  - Interpretation of substrate photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9994876
TI  - Green's function and a generalized Lloyd formula for the density of states in
      disordered muffin-tin alloys.

PMID- 9994878
TI  - Many-body calculations on the valence photoemission of NiCO and Ni(CO)4.

PMID- 9994877
TI  - Theory of reflection high-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9994879
TI  - Theory of the thermal boundary resistance between dissimilar lattices.

PMID- 9994881
TI  - Electric-field effects on the charge-transfer excitation in quasi-one-dimensional
      halogen-bridged mixed-valence Pt complexes:

PMID- 9994880
TI  - New formalism for determining excitation spectra of many-body systems.

PMID- 9994883
TI  - Inverse photoemission from electronic surface states: Intensity, angular, and
      polarization dependence.

PMID- 9994882
TI  - Two-dimensional treatment of nonlinear thermoelectricity in homogeneous metals.

PMID- 9994884
TI  - Electromagnetic response of quantum dots.

PMID- 9994885
TI  - Potential fluctuations due to inhomogeneity in hydrogenated amorphous silicon and
      the resulting charged dangling-bond defects.

PMID- 9994886
TI  - Complete valence-band structure of Ge determined by photoemission.

PMID- 9994887
TI  - Dynamics of exciton formation and relaxation in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9994888
TI  - Observation of single-electron-tunneling oscillations.

PMID- 9994890
TI  - Nonrelativistic zitterbewegung in two-band systems.

PMID- 9994889
TI  - State filling, Coulomb, and trapping effects in the optical nonlinearity of CdTe
      quantum dots in glass.

PMID- 9994892
TI  - Ab initio calculation of properties of carbon in the amorphous and liquid states.

PMID- 9994891
TI  - First-principles pseudopotential calculations of the elastic properties of
      diamond, Si, and Ge.

PMID- 9994893
TI  - Atomic structure of Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-Al studied by
      dynamical low-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9994895
TI  - Resonatorless optical bistability in direct-band-gap semiconductors as an example
      of bistability driven by a phase transition.

PMID- 9994894
TI  - Cu and Ag deposition on layered p-type WSe2: Approaching the Schottky limit.

PMID- 9994897
TI  - Analytical technique for extracting the eigenvalues of the k

PMID- 9994896
TI  - Excitons bound to nitrogen pairs in GaAs.

PMID- 9994898
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation photoemission study of CdS/CuInSe2 heterojunction
      formation.

PMID- 9994900
TI  - Bonding and structures in silicon clusters: A valence-bond interpretation.

PMID- 9994899
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of a stage-1 CuCl2 graphite intercalation compound.

PMID- 9994901
TI  - Effects of surface defects on the shallow states of donor impurities at
      semiconductor surfaces.

PMID- 9994903
TI  - Magnetoreflectance and magnetization of the semimagnetic semiconductor Cd1
      xFexSe.

PMID- 9994902
TI  - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies of conductive polypyrrole complexes
      chemically synthesized with FeCl3.

PMID- 9994904
TI  - Spin-dependent electron transition processes related to excited triplet spin
      states of neutral complex defects in silicon studied by optically detected
      magnetic resonance.

PMID- 9994905
TI  - Electronic structure of MnO.

PMID- 9994907
TI  - Calorimetric investigations of (NaCN)1-x(KCN)x glasses.

PMID- 9994906
TI  - Electronic structure of yttrium oxide.

PMID- 9994908
TI  - [H-Ca+]0 defect in thermochemically reduced CaO: A static and dynamical EPR
      study.

PMID- 9994909
TI  - Near-surface Raman scattering in germanium clusters and ultrathin amorphous
      films.

PMID- 9994910
TI  - Instanton Aharonov-Bohm effect and macroscopic quantum coherence in charge
      density-wave systems.

PMID- 9994911
TI  - Site-dependent electronic effects, forces, and deformations in scanning tunneling
      microscopy of flat metal surfaces.

PMID- 9994912
TI  - Decay of molecules at spherical surfaces: Nonlocal effects.

PMID- 9994913
TI  - Confinement effects on the low-field-high-field correspondences of hydrogenic
      impurity states in quasi-two-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9994914
TI  - Quasibound states in an electric field.

PMID- 9994915
TI  - Edge channels and the role of contacts in the quantum Hall regime.

PMID- 9994916
TI  - Magnetoplasmons in an electron gas at the crossover from two- to one-dimensional
      behavior.

PMID- 9994918
TI  - Size effects and charge-density-wave pinning in Nb1-xTixSe3: Evidence for weak
      pinning by a nonisoelectronic impurity.

PMID- 9994917
TI  - Comment on "Effect of biaxial strain on acceptor-level energies in InyGa1
      yAs/AlxGa1-xAs (on GaAs) quantum wells"

PMID- 9994919
TI  - Persistent currents in mesoscopic metallic rings: Ensemble average.

PMID- 9994921
TI  - Observation of transient band-gap renormalization in quantum wells.

PMID- 9994920
TI  - Vibrational properties of metastable diatomic hydrogen complexes in crystalline
      silicon.

PMID- 9994922
TI  - Impurity enhancement of hopping parameters in conducting polymers.

PMID- 9994923
TI  - Ballistic-hole spectroscopy of interfaces.

PMID- 9994924
TI  - Femtosecond energy transfer in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9994926
TI  - Quantum point contact as a local probe of the electrostatic potential contours.

PMID- 9994925
TI  - Covalency in the adsorption of Na on Si(111).

PMID- 9994927
TI  - Positron spectroscopy of solid N2.

PMID- 9994929
TI  - Polarization of radiation from axially channeled electrons.

PMID- 9994928
TI  - Perturbed-angular-correlation measurements of trivalent indium defects in silver
      chloride.

PMID- 9994930
TI  - Nuclear-magnetic-resonance studies of hydrogen antitrapping effects by impurities
      (Mn,Cr,Fe) in zirconium dihydride.

PMID- 9994931
TI  - Time-domain analysis of the dynamics of Frenkel excitons in disordered systems.

PMID- 9994932
TI  - Momentum distributions of H2 monolayers on Grafoil.

PMID- 9994933
TI  - Cross relaxation between proton and quadrupolar nuclear spins in metal-hydrogen
      systems.

PMID- 9994934
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance study of Tl0 centers of the laser-active type structure
      in SrCl2.

PMID- 9994935
TI  - EPR study of defect reorientation by a tunneling-controlled process.

PMID- 9994937
TI  - 27Al nuclear-spin dephasing in the ruby frozen core and Cr3+ spin-flip-time
      measurements.

PMID- 9994936
TI  - Neutralization of low-energy D+ scattered from solid surfaces.

PMID- 9994938
TI  - EPR studies of AsO44- spin-lattice-relaxation times in antiferroelectric
      NH4H2AsO4 and mixed glassy Rb1-x(NH4)xH2AsO4 (x=0.35).

PMID- 9994940
TI  - 39K NMR determination of the soliton density in K2SeO4.

PMID- 9994939
TI  - EPR study of K2SeO4:Cu2+ in the high-temperature phase and in the incommensurate
      phase.

PMID- 9994941
TI  - Long-range exchange interaction in (2,2'-bipyridine-3,3'-dicarboxylic
      acid)dichlorocopper(II) monohydrate via lattice water: Single-crystal EPR
      studies.

PMID- 9994943
TI  - Critical temperature of superconductors: Exact solution from Eliashberg equations
      on the weak-coupling side.

PMID- 9994942
TI  - 19F NMR studies in ABF4-type layered antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9994944
TI  - Third-sound propagation in thick films of superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9994945
TI  - Pairing ground states in fermion systems: A static method.

PMID- 9994946
TI  - Logarithmic effects on the critical behavior of superfluids in random media.

PMID- 9994947
TI  - Picosecond dynamics of degenerate orthoexcitons in Cu2O.

PMID- 9994948
TI  - Determination of the Cooper-pair mass in niobium.

PMID- 9994950
TI  - Effect of disorder on a system of flux lines.

PMID- 9994949
TI  - Self-consistent mean-field approach for the ideal anyon gas.

PMID- 9994951
TI  - Two-dimensional ion-plasma resonances under the surface of liquid helium.

PMID- 9994952
TI  - Polarization dependence of the Cu 2p absorption spectra in
      (Bi0.84Pb0.16)2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9994953
TI  - Evidence of low-dimensional antiferromagnetic ordering and crystal structure in
      the R2BaNiO5 (R=Y,Er) oxides.

PMID- 9994955
TI  - Orbital ferromagnetism of anyons.

PMID- 9994954
TI  - Dynamics of oxygen in the YBa2Cu3O7-x basal planes by elastic-energy-loss
      measurements.

PMID- 9994956
TI  - Raman scattering in the t-J model with doping.

PMID- 9994957
TI  - Thermodynamic reversibility in the superconducting fluctuation regime.

PMID- 9994959
TI  - Phonon spectroscopy of superconducting Nb using point-contact tunneling.

PMID- 9994958
TI  - Influence of hydrogen on the 89Y NMR in HxYBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9994961
TI  - Spectral function and photoemission spectra in antiferromagnetically correlated
      metals.

PMID- 9994960
TI  - Quadrupolar-fluctuation model for high-Tc superconductivity: A quantum Monte
      Carlo study.

PMID- 9994962
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission spectra of high-Tc superconductors: A Fermi-liquid
      based analysis.

PMID- 9994963
TI  - Magnetic order and electronic phase diagrams of electron-doped copper oxide
      materials.

PMID- 9994964
TI  - Application of the polaron-transport theory to sigma ( omega ) in Tl2Ba2Ca1
      xGdxCu2O8, YBa2Cu3O7- delta, and La2-xSrxCuO4.

PMID- 9994965
TI  - Incommensurate flux phases on a square lattice.

PMID- 9994966
TI  - Oxygen-nonstoichiometry effect on the superconducting properties of the Sr-free
      Bi cuprates.

PMID- 9994967
TI  - Critical-current diffraction patterns of grain-boundary Josephson weak links.

PMID- 9994969
TI  - Synthesis and superconducting properties of Y(Ba1-yLay)2Cu4O8 and (Y1-xCax)(Ba1
      yLay)2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9994968
TI  - Muon-spin-rotation measurements of the London penetration depths in YBa2Cu3O6.97.

PMID- 9994970
TI  - Specific-heat jump at Tc for Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y.

PMID- 9994971
TI  - Annihilation of superconductivity by Co substitution for Cu in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9994973
TI  - Electron-tunneling studies on the superconducting (La1-xSrx)2CuO4 and YBa2Cu3Oy
      systems.

PMID- 9994972
TI  - Variation of Cu-O charge-transfer energies in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films studied by
      photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9994975
TI  - Electron- and hole-doped high-temperature superconductors: A common charge
      transfer model.

PMID- 9994974
TI  - High-resolution electron-energy-loss study of the surfaces and energy gaps of
      cleaved high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9994976
TI  - Positron-annihilation study of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox (6.3<x<6.9).

PMID- 9994977
TI  - Photoemission study of CuO and Cu2O single crystals.

PMID- 9994978
TI  - Induced anisotropies in ferromagnetic amorphous ribbons locally annealed by
      laser.

PMID- 9994979
TI  - Ideal and defective vertex configurations in the planar octagonal quasilattice.

PMID- 9994981
TI  - Novel magnetoresistance effect in layered magnetic structures: Theory and
      experiment.

PMID- 9994980
TI  - Hydrodynamics of an antiferromagnet with fermions.

PMID- 9994982
TI  - Correlation length and inverse-participation-ratio exponents and multifractal
      structure for Anderson localization.

PMID- 9994984
TI  - Effective theories of the fractional quantum Hall effect at generic filling
      fractions.

PMID- 9994983
TI  - 14N nuclear-quadrupole-resonance study of the structural phase transitions in
      NH4SCN.

PMID- 9994985
TI  - Effective theories of the fractional quantum Hall effect: Hierarchy construction.

PMID- 9994986
TI  - Critical properties of a general class of Z(5)-symmetric spin models.

PMID- 9994987
TI  - Comparative study of numerical techniques for the simulation of a one-dimensional
      spinless fermion system.

PMID- 9994989
TI  - Specific-heat spectroscopy and dielectric susceptibility measurements of salol at
      the glass transition.

PMID- 9994988
TI  - Diatomic intercalation in lamellar graphite compounds.

PMID- 9994990
TI  - Lattice model of defect-plane wetting.

PMID- 9994991
TI  - Determination of the elastic constants of anisotropic solids from acoustic-wave
      group-velocity measurements.

PMID- 9994992
TI  - Series investigations of magnetically disordered ground states in two-dimensional
      frustrated quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9994994
TI  - Percolative conduction in three dimensions.

PMID- 9994993
TI  - Time-dependent behavior of classical spin chains at infinite temperature.

PMID- 9994995
TI  - Surface statistical thermodynamics for nonspecular boundary reflection in a
      quantizing magnetic field.

PMID- 9994996
TI  - Spin-filter effect of ferromagnetic europium sulfide tunnel barriers.

PMID- 9994997
TI  - Mobility edges and multifractal properties in a one-dimensional system with three
      incommensurate frequencies.

PMID- 9994999
TI  - Renormalized field theory for the static crossover in uniaxial dipolar
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9994998
TI  - Comparison between the neutron central peak and the x-ray quasi-Bragg peak in
      pure KMnF3.

PMID- 9995000
TI  - Nonequilibrium transitions in driven AB3 compounds on the fcc lattice: A
      multivariate master-equation approach.

PMID- 9995001
TI  - Energy spectrum and the quantum Hall effect on the square lattice with next
      nearest-neighbor hopping.

PMID- 9995002
TI  - Nonhydrogen isotope effects on structural phase transitions in dielectric
      crystals.

PMID- 9995003
TI  - Dynamic-scaling analysis of acoustic attenuation near the normal-incommensurate
      phase transition in Rb2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9995004
TI  - Interaction between two spin polarons in one- and two-dimensional quantum-spin
      systems.

PMID- 9995006
TI  - Incommensurate phase transitions and optical activity.

PMID- 9995005
TI  - Commensurate states in disordered networks.

PMID- 9995007
TI  - Ab initio studies of the phase transitions in K2SeO4.

PMID- 9995009
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in 3d transition metals.

PMID- 9995008
TI  - Magnetic-field and spin-orbit interaction in restricted geometries: Solvable
      models.

PMID- 9995011
TI  - Hopping conductivity of the extended-hard-core cubic lattice gas.

PMID- 9995010
TI  - Theoretical study of the metamagnetism in ThCo5.

PMID- 9995012
TI  - Light-scattering study of dynamical behavior of antiferromagnetic spins in the
      layered magnetic semiconductor FePS3.

PMID- 9995014
TI  - Schur functions, chiral bosons, and the quantum-Hall-effect edge states.

PMID- 9995013
TI  - Pressure-induced structural and magnetic phase transitions in CeZn.

PMID- 9995015
TI  - Elastic properties of central-force networks with bond-length mismatch.

PMID- 9995017
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of a two-dimensional hard-disk boson system.

PMID- 9995016
TI  - Dynamical isoperimeter pattern in the square sine-Gordon system.

PMID- 9995018
TI  - Density of hole states for the strongly correlated Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995019
TI  - Numerical studies of antiferromagnetism on a Kagome net.

PMID- 9995020
TI  - Single-hole effective masses in the t-J model.

PMID- 9995022
TI  - Zone-folding Raman modes of tetramethylammonium tetrachlorozincate in
      structurally modulated phases.

PMID- 9995021
TI  - Charge ordering in magnetite at low temperatures.

PMID- 9995023
TI  - Brillouin-scattering study of the elastic anomalies at the structural phase
      transition in anthracene-tetracyanobenzene.

PMID- 9995024
TI  - Incommensurate instability and lattice dynamics of potassium selenate within a
      semiempirical rigid-ion model.

PMID- 9995025
TI  - X-ray-absorption spectroscopy on strontium titanate under high pressure.

PMID- 9995026
TI  - Nonsoliton model for dielectric anomalies at the incommensurate-ferroelectric
      phase transitions in

PMID- 9995028
TI  - Constrained spin model of phason dynamics in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9995027
TI  - Spin-glass behavior of AFe4Al8 (A=Th,U,Np) intermetallics.

PMID- 9995029
TI  - Acoustic, opto-acoustic, and thermal properties investigated around the phase
      transitions of NaCN and Na(CN)xCl1-x mixed crystals.

PMID- 9995030
TI  - Size-dependent melting temperature of individual nanometer-sized metallic
      clusters.

PMID- 9995032
TI  - Dynamics of domain walls in elastic ferromagnets and ferroelectrics.

PMID- 9995031
TI  - Singularity of the free energy of the ferroelectrics triglycine sulfate and
      triglycine selenate.

PMID- 9995034
TI  - Interface pinning and dynamics in random systems.

PMID- 9995033
TI  - Pinwheel and herringbone phases in systems of adsorbed molecules.

PMID- 9995035
TI  - Model exact study of dc-electric-field-induced second-harmonic-generation
      coefficients in polyene systems.

PMID- 9995036
TI  - Enhancement and suppression of the transition temperature of a three-dimensional
      XY ferromagnet by control of vortex-loop fugacity.

PMID- 9995037
TI  - EPR of a VO2+-doped Zn(NH4)2(SO4)2

PMID- 9995039
TI  - Factorizability of the BCS wave function.

PMID- 9995038
TI  - Low-field optically detected magnetic resonance of a coupled triplet-doublet
      defect pair in diamond.

PMID- 9995040
TI  - Superconductivity fluctuations in electrical and thermoelectrical properties of
      granular ceramic superconductors: Homogeneous versus fractal behavior.

PMID- 9995042
TI  - Superconductive state of Cu-O metals.

PMID- 9995041
TI  - Superlattices of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995043
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in quantum percolation theory.

PMID- 9995044
TI  - Effects of Bi(x) additives on microstructure and superconductivity in YBa2
      xBixCu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995045
TI  - Coexistent superconductivity and magnetism in Th-doped CeCu2Si2.

PMID- 9995046
TI  - Thermoelectric power of inhomogeneous superconductors: A new kind of percolation.

PMID- 9995047
TI  - Evidence for long-range order in the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular
      lattice.

PMID- 9995048
TI  - Harris criterion for direct and orthogonal quenched randomness.

PMID- 9995049
TI  - Hysteresis behavior in transport measurements in CeFe2 and its alloys with Co,
      Al, and Ru substitutions.

PMID- 9995050
TI  - Computer-simulation study of a disordered plane-rotator system in two dimensions
      with long-range ferromagnetic interactions.

PMID- 9995051
TI  - Static compression of metals Mo, Pb, and Pt to 272 GPa: Comparison with shock
      data.

PMID- 9995052
TI  - Characteristic functions for the tip regime in dielectric breakdown.

PMID- 9995054
TI  - Comment on "First-principles study of the conduction-electron-mediated
      interactions between nuclear spins in copper metal"

PMID- 9995053
TI  - Experimental observation of magnetostatic wave envelope solitons in yttrium iron
      garnet films.

PMID- 9995056
TI  - Comment on "Metal-insulator transition in random superconducting networks"

PMID- 9995055
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'First-principles study of the conduction-electron-mediated
      interactions between nuclear spins in copper metal' "

PMID- 9995057
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Metal-insulator transition in random superconducting
      networks' "

PMID- 9995058
TI  - Comment on "Magnetism and local order: Ab initio tight-binding theory"

PMID- 9995059
TI  - Erratum: Low-temperature specific heat of glasses: Quantum Monte Carlo simulation
      of a strongly anharmonic oscillator

PMID- 9995060
TI  - Heat-capacity study of bilayer ethane films adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9995061
TI  - Evidence of a spin-density-wave transition in the organic conductor
      (methylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene)2Au(CN)2

PMID- 9995062
TI  - Apparent critical currents and rf steps in a second-order proximity-induced
      Josephson effect.

PMID- 9995063
TI  - Unusual behavior in the upper critical magnetic fields of the ambient-pressure
      organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu

PMID- 9995065
TI  - Superconducting effective-mass anisotropy in kappa -(BEDT- TTF)2 Cu(NCS)2

PMID- 9995064
TI  - Flux-density wave and superconducting instability of the staggered-flux phase.

PMID- 9995067
TI  - Weak- versus strong-coupling theory for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9995066
TI  - Single-electron and oxide-impurity effects in junctions formed by a cryogenic
      scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9995068
TI  - Hall-effect measurements on superconducting and nonsuperconducting copper-oxide
      based metals.

PMID- 9995069
TI  - Local singlet for CuO and Nd2CuO4.

PMID- 9995070
TI  - Magnetic-susceptibility anisotropy of single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9995071
TI  - Flux density in the mixed state in the high-Tc superconductors and the
      predictions of Abrikosov theory.

PMID- 9995073
TI  - Energies of the staggered flux phase: A numerical study.

PMID- 9995072
TI  - Critical currents of superconducting metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
      transistors.

PMID- 9995075
TI  - Theoretical study of effective magnetic interactions in high-Tc Cu oxides.

PMID- 9995074
TI  - Electromagnetic response of generalized flux phases in the t-J model.

PMID- 9995076
TI  - Competition and possible coexistence of flux and resonating-valence-bond phases
      in the t-J model.

PMID- 9995077
TI  - Optical properties of one- and two-dimensional Hubbard and t-J models.

PMID- 9995078
TI  - Anomalous behavior of the angular-dependent magnetic relaxation in single-crystal
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy.

PMID- 9995079
TI  - Twin-boundary effects on flux entry and lower critical fields in single-crystal
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995080
TI  - Scattering of normal excitations by superconducting fluctuations in single
      crystal and granular copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9995081
TI  - Magnetic pair-breaking effects: Moment formation and critical doping level in
      superconducting La1.85Sr0.15Cu1-xAxO4 systems (A=Fe,Co,Ni,Zn,Ga,Al).

PMID- 9995082
TI  - Irreversibility temperatures in c-axis-oriented powders of YBa2Cu3O7,
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10.

PMID- 9995083
TI  - Magnon-scattering spectra of PrBa2Cu3O6, PrBa2Cu3O7, NdBa2Cu3O6, and
      Nd1.6Ba1.4Cu3O7.3.

PMID- 9995084
TI  - Precise band structure and Fermi-surface calculation for YBa2Cu3O7: Importance of
      three-dimensional dispersion.

PMID- 9995085
TI  - Electronic structure of the system La2-xSrxCuO4+ delta.

PMID- 9995086
TI  - Raman spectrum in the t-J model.

PMID- 9995087
TI  - Pressure dependence of two-magnon Raman scattering in NiO.

PMID- 9995088
TI  - Resistivity and Hall effect of the magnetic ternary compound UNi2Si2.

PMID- 9995089
TI  - Phenomenological theory of longitudinal spin fluctuations in CsNiCl3.

PMID- 9995090
TI  - Infrared study of the low-temperature-othorhombic-low-temperature-tetragonal
      structural phase transition in La2NiO4.

PMID- 9995091
TI  - Grazing-incidence x-ray study of the charge-density-wave phase transition in
      K0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9995092
TI  - Optical properties and electronic structures of the intermetallic compounds AuGa2
      and PtGa2.

PMID- 9995093
TI  - Electronic structure of Au70Pd30 disordered alloy.

PMID- 9995094
TI  - Rigidity of randomly intercalated layered solids. II. Gallery structure of
      multilayers.

PMID- 9995095
TI  - Tunneling matrix elements in three-dimensional space: The derivative rule and the
      sum rule.

PMID- 9995096
TI  - Alternative approach to separable first-principles pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9995097
TI  - High-resolution photoemission study of the low-energy excitations in 4f-electron
      systems.

PMID- 9995098
TI  - Phonon dispersion curves in iron-based fcc alloys using microscopic force
      constants.

PMID- 9995100
TI  - Energy gaps measured by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9995099
TI  - Equilibrium properties of zinc.

PMID- 9995101
TI  - Giant Al-M (M=transitional metal) crystals as Penrose-tiling approximants of the
      decagonal quasicrystal.

PMID- 9995102
TI  - Electron-phonon interaction in ternary mixed crystals.

PMID- 9995104
TI  - Accurate theory of excitons in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9995103
TI  - Low-frequency fluctuations in the ac conductivity of a chain with impurity.

PMID- 9995105
TI  - Optical properties of polycrystalline nickel silicides.

PMID- 9995107
TI  - Dynamical low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of bismuth and antimony
      epitaxy on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9995106
TI  - Phonon scattering and energy relaxation in two-, one-, and zero-dimensional
      electron gases.

PMID- 9995108
TI  - Angle-resolved constant-initial-state spectroscopy of GaAs.

PMID- 9995109
TI  - Ground-state configuration of double acceptors in silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9995110
TI  - Structure of cleavage steps on Si(111).

PMID- 9995111
TI  - Optical hole in a two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9995112
TI  - Bulk electronic structure of silicon studied with angle-resolved photoemission
      from the Si(100)2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9995113
TI  - Kinetic model for desorption of hydrogen from amorphous hydrogenated silicon.

PMID- 9995114
TI  - Transmission through multiply-connected wire systems.

PMID- 9995116
TI  - Phototransport under the presence of a small steady-state photocarrier grating.

PMID- 9995115
TI  - Nonequilibrium phase transition in the electronic transport of p-type germanium
      at low temperatures.

PMID- 9995118
TI  - Structures and energetics for polar and nonpolar SiC surface relaxations.

PMID- 9995117
TI  - High-pressure metallic phases of boron.

PMID- 9995119
TI  - Magneto-optical properties of HgTe-CdTe superlattices.

PMID- 9995120
TI  - Valence x-ray-emission bands of a-Si:H/a-SiNx:H superlattices.

PMID- 9995121
TI  - Phonon coupling to excitations of free and localized electrons in n-type ZnSe.

PMID- 9995122
TI  - Two-photon transitions to excitons in quantum wells.

PMID- 9995123
TI  - X-ray-induced low-temperature oxidation: N2O/GaAs(110).

PMID- 9995124
TI  - Stability of the high-spin ground state in alternant pi -conjugated organic
      molecules.

PMID- 9995126
TI  - Magnetic-field effect on the diffusion of nonequilibrium carriers in germanium.

PMID- 9995125
TI  - Ballistic transport through a quantum point contact: Elastic scattering by
      impurities.

PMID- 9995127
TI  - Cubic ZnS under pressure: Optical-absorption edge, phase transition, and
      calculated equation of state.

PMID- 9995128
TI  - Relaxed-lattice model of isolated and paired isoelectronic traps in GaP.

PMID- 9995129
TI  - Photoelectron study of SrTiO3: An inspection of core-level binding energies with
      the use of a point-ion model and self-consistent atomic-structure calculations.

PMID- 9995130
TI  - Deuterated palladium at temperatures from 4.3 to 400 K and pressures to 105 kbar:
      Search for cold fusion.

PMID- 9995131
TI  - Electronic-shell-structure effects in Csn+

PMID- 9995132
TI  - Referencing core levels in photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995133
TI  - Reflectance anisotropy of the (110) reconstructed surface of gold.

PMID- 9995134
TI  - Estimation of the ideal fracture strength between two identical semi-infinite
      jellia.

PMID- 9995135
TI  - Gapless Peierls transition.

PMID- 9995136
TI  - Excitation hot-electron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995137
TI  - Resonances in the excitonic transfer in biased double quantum wells.

PMID- 9995138
TI  - Band structure of CsSnBr3.

PMID- 9995139
TI  - Piezoresistance effect in p-type Si.

PMID- 9995140
TI  - Plasmons in amorphous multilayer films.

PMID- 9995141
TI  - Reinvestigation of two-phonon bound states in rare-gas crystals.

PMID- 9995142
TI  - Comment on "Ruby at high pressure. I. Optical line shifts to 156 GPa"

PMID- 9995143
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Ruby at high pressure. I. Optical line shifts to 156 GPa' "

PMID- 9995144
TI  - Erratum: Linear optical properties of strained (Si)n/(Ge)n superlattices on (001)
      Si substrates

PMID- 9995145
TI  - Erratum: "Electronic structure of ordered and disordered Cu3Au: The behavior of
      the Au 5d bands"

PMID- 9995146
TI  - Quantitative low-energy electron-diffraction study of the epitaxy of Fe on
      Ag{001}: Questions about the growth mode.

PMID- 9995147
TI  - Scanned-angle x-ray photoemission holography with atomic resolution.

PMID- 9995148
TI  - Avoided crossing of surface phonon modes on the clean Mo(001) surface.

PMID- 9995149
TI  - Dynamics of oxygen-induced reconstruction of Cu(100) studied by scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9995151
TI  - Thermopower in scanning-tunneling-microscope experiments.

PMID- 9995150
TI  - Theory for light emission from a scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9995152
TI  - Alkali-metal-atom chemisorption onto a metal surface.

PMID- 9995153
TI  - Theoretical study of focused field emission of electrons from a point source.

PMID- 9995154
TI  - Electric-field effects on exciton lifetimes in symmetric coupled
      GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As double quantum wells.

PMID- 9995155
TI  - Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in a strong periodic
      potential.

PMID- 9995157
TI  - Two-dimensional spin confinement in strained-layer quantum wells.

PMID- 9995156
TI  - Structural study of the Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees-Au surface using
      medium-energy ion scattering.

PMID- 9995158
TI  - Classical effective particles as electronic degrees of freedom in molecular
      dynamics simulations.

PMID- 9995159
TI  - Correlation between surface core levels and surface states in Si(111)-(7 x 7)
      probed by Ag adsorption.

PMID- 9995160
TI  - Absorption-free modulation of electron-interference currents by optical fields
      using intersubband virtual transitions.

PMID- 9995161
TI  - Chaotic acoustoelectric oscillations in InSb in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9995163
TI  - Suppression of impurity scattering in a one-dimensional wire.

PMID- 9995162
TI  - Atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy of charge-density waves
      in 1T-TaSe2 and 1T-TaS2.

PMID- 9995164
TI  - Vicinal Si(111) surfaces studied by optical second-harmonic generation: Step
      induced anisotropy and surface-bulk discrimination.

PMID- 9995166
TI  - Geometric structure of p(2 x 2)-S/Cu(001) determined by medium-energy ion
      scattering.

PMID- 9995165
TI  - Spin-resolved photoemission from submonolayer Ag on Si(111): Ag adsorption in the
      ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees phase with no Ag-Ag interaction and in the 1 x 1
      structure with strong Ag-Ag interaction.

PMID- 9995167
TI  - Diamagnetic spectrum and oscillations in an elliptic shell.

PMID- 9995168
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy observations on the reconstructed Au(111) surface:
      Atomic structure, long-range superstructure, rotational domains, and surface
      defects.

PMID- 9995169
TI  - Effective cluster model of dielectric enhancement in metal-insulator composites.

PMID- 9995171
TI  - Electric-field gradients in dilute Cu alloys: The role of the Cu d electrons.

PMID- 9995170
TI  - Surface structure of VN0.89(100) determined by low-energy electron diffraction.

PMID- 9995172
TI  - Model for scanning tunneling optical microscopy: A microscopic self-consistent
      approach.

PMID- 9995173
TI  - Electron-phonon contribution to the thermopower of metals.

PMID- 9995174
TI  - Cohesive properties of crystalline solids by the generalized gradient
      approximation.

PMID- 9995175
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of the charge-density wave in alpha -uranium.

PMID- 9995176
TI  - Supershells in metal clusters.

PMID- 9995177
TI  - Source of a strong anisotropy of quadrupole-allowed second-order nonlinear
      polarizability of the noble-metal surfaces.

PMID- 9995178
TI  - Electronic structure of disordered alloys: Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker cluster
      coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9995179
TI  - Image-potential states on Ni(111): A two-photon-photoemission study.

PMID- 9995180
TI  - Structures and energetics of Pt, Pd, and Ni adatom clusters on the Pt(001)
      surface: Embedded-atom-method calculations.

PMID- 9995181
TI  - Anomalous lattice-dynamical properties of a quenched diffuse omega phase in Zr-Nb
      alloys.

PMID- 9995182
TI  - Lattice Weyl-Wigner formulation of exact many-body quantum-transport theory and
      applications to novel solid-state quantum-based devices.

PMID- 9995184
TI  - Localization effects, energy relaxation, and electron and hole dispersion in
      selectively doped n-type AlyGa1-yAs/InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9995183
TI  - Empirical potential for hydrocarbons for use in simulating the chemical vapor
      deposition of diamond films.

PMID- 9995185
TI  - Franz-Keldysh oscillations in the photomodulated spectra of an
      In0.12Ga0.88As/GaAs strained-layer superlattice.

PMID- 9995186
TI  - Similarities, differences, and trends in the properties of interstitial H in
      cubic C, Si, BN, BP, AlP, and SiC.

PMID- 9995187
TI  - Unusually strong excitonic absorption in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown, chemically
      lifted GaAs thin films.

PMID- 9995188
TI  - Electronic structure of the Jahn-Teller-distorted group-V-impurity-vacancy pairs
      in silicon.

PMID- 9995190
TI  - Conjecture concerning the fractional Hall hierarchy.

PMID- 9995189
TI  - Raman scattering and optical-band-gap measurements in a-Six:Y1-x:H alloys.

PMID- 9995191
TI  - Infrared optical properties of (TMTSF)2ReO4 and (TMTSF)2BF4 (where TMTSF is
      tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene) compared with several model calculations.

PMID- 9995193
TI  - Photocurrent spectroscopy of a (001)- and a (111)-oriented GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As
      quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9995192
TI  - Electronic structure of Si(100)2 x 1-Cl studied with angle-resolved
      photoemission.

PMID- 9995194
TI  - Experimental surface-state band structure of the Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )-Au
      surface.

PMID- 9995195
TI  - Exact energy-dispersion relations for N-well superlattice configurations.

PMID- 9995196
TI  - Well-width dependence of photoluminescence excitation spectra in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9995197
TI  - Photoemission study of Au on a-Si:H.

PMID- 9995199
TI  - Calorimetric investigation of structural relaxation in supercooled Ni75Al22Zr2B
      amorphous alloy.

PMID- 9995198
TI  - Photoemission study of Cr on a-Si:H.

PMID- 9995200
TI  - Theoretical and experimental study of the optical-absorption spectrum of exciton
      resonance in In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wells.

PMID- 9995201
TI  - Medium-energy ion-scattering study of a possible relation between the Schottky
      barrier height and the defect density at NiSi2/Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9995202
TI  - Theory of phonoritons and experiments to determine phonoriton dispersion and
      spectrum.

PMID- 9995203
TI  - Electronic properties of random alloys: Special quasirandom structures.

PMID- 9995204
TI  - Theory of local-phonon-coupled low-energy anharmonic excitation of the
      interstitial oxygen in silicon.

PMID- 9995205
TI  - High-pressure magneto-optical studies of two-dimensional-electron and exciton
      transitions in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs quantum-well heterostructures.

PMID- 9995206
TI  - Models of the self-trapped exciton and nearest-neighbor defect pair in SiO2.

PMID- 9995207
TI  - Energy transfer and picosecond relaxation of F centers in RbCl, KCl, and KBr.

PMID- 9995209
TI  - Fresnel enhancement in second-harmonic generation from rear surfaces of
      transparent media.

PMID- 9995208
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of self-diffusion in liquid transition metals.

PMID- 9995210
TI  - Temperature dependence of magnetoresistance oscillations in a two-dimensional
      electron gas subjected to a periodic potential.

PMID- 9995212
TI  - Origin of the ESR signal with g=2.0055 in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9995211
TI  - Raman-scattering studies of LO phonons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices.

PMID- 9995213
TI  - Inelastic He-atom scattering from the MgO(001) surface.

PMID- 9995214
TI  - Anisotropy of free-volume-hole dimensions in polymers probed by positron
      annihilation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995215
TI  - Comment on "Negative-U property of the DX center in AlxGa1-xAs:Si"

PMID- 9995216
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Negative-U property of the DX center in AlxGa1-xAs:Si' "

PMID- 9995217
TI  - Erratum: Many-particle effects at core thresholds in simple metals

PMID- 9995218
TI  - Phonon trapping in thin metal films.

PMID- 9995220
TI  - Nonlinear model for temporal evolution of stepped surfaces during molecular-beam
      epitaxy.

PMID- 9995219
TI  - Intrinsic linewidths of image-potential states on Ni(111).

PMID- 9995222
TI  - Augmented-plane-wave forces.

PMID- 9995221
TI  - Frequency-dependent conductivity of a finite disordered metal.

PMID- 9995223
TI  - Cyclotron effective mass in wide parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9995224
TI  - Third-harmonic generation of polyacetylene.

PMID- 9995225
TI  - EPR study of Fe3+ in alpha -quartz: Further lithium-compensated centers.

PMID- 9995226
TI  - Model for bond-breaking mechanisms in amorphous arsenic chalcogenides leading to
      light-induced electron-spin resonance.

PMID- 9995227
TI  - Mossbauer spectroscopic study of low-frequency vibrational modes in sintered
      metal powders.

PMID- 9995228
TI  - Intrinsic electron and hole defects in stabilized zirconia single crystals.

PMID- 9995230
TI  - Electron-spin-lattice relaxation in Yb3+-doped silicate glass.

PMID- 9995229
TI  - Casimir effects for charged particles.

PMID- 9995231
TI  - Metastable thermal donor states in germanium: Identification by electron
      paramagnetic resonance.

PMID- 9995233
TI  - Backscattering enhancement from a randomly rough surface.

PMID- 9995232
TI  - Molecular diffusion and nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation of water in
      unsaturated porous silica glass.

PMID- 9995234
TI  - Exciton versus band description of the absorption and luminescence spectra in
      poly(p-phenylenevinylene).

PMID- 9995235
TI  - Influence of localized anharmonic vibrations on electron paramagnetic resonance
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995236
TI  - EPR studies of interstitial Ni centers in synthetic diamond crystals.

PMID- 9995237
TI  - Transport-theory approach to ion-beam mixing and recoil implantation.

PMID- 9995238
TI  - Two-dimensional electron gas as a flux detector for a type-II superconducting
      film.

PMID- 9995239
TI  - Rotationally induced dissipation in superfluid helium.

PMID- 9995240
TI  - Onset of chaos and dc current-voltage characteristics of rf-driven Josephson
      junctions in the low-frequency regime.

PMID- 9995241
TI  - Superconducting correlations in the one-band Hubbard model with intermediate on
      site and weak attractive intersite interactions.

PMID- 9995242
TI  - Noise-affected I-V curves in small hysteretic Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9995243
TI  - Hydrodynamics of flux liquids.

PMID- 9995244
TI  - Analysis of precision data on inclusive neutron scattering from liquid He.

PMID- 9995245
TI  - Local density of states of an isolated vortex in an extreme type-II
      superconductor.

PMID- 9995246
TI  - Superconducting vortex-line configurations in materials with twin boundaries.

PMID- 9995248
TI  - Renormalization-group approach to the theory of the Fermi surface.

PMID- 9995247
TI  - Specific heat in zero and applied magnetic fields of the organic superconductor
      alpha -di

PMID- 9995249
TI  - Electronic Raman scattering of YBa2Cu3O7 using c-axis polarization: Evidence for
      two characteristic superconducting energies.

PMID- 9995250
TI  - Low-density electron liquid.

PMID- 9995251
TI  - Cell-mapping description of coexisting phase-locked soliton states in a long ac
      biased Josephson junction.

PMID- 9995252
TI  - 1/N expansion for the f1-f2 Anderson model: Wilson ratio, Fermi-liquid relations,
      and charge-fluctuation energies.

PMID- 9995253
TI  - Various approaches to the linear response in the near-asymptotic regime.

PMID- 9995254
TI  - Coexistence of normal and diffuse ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transitions in
      (Pb,La)TiO3 ceramics.

PMID- 9995255
TI  - Evidence for bulk oxygen in La2CuO4+ delta : Specific-heat studies.

PMID- 9995257
TI  - Fluctuation conductivity of inhomogeneous superconductors: A fractal aggregation
      model.

PMID- 9995256
TI  - Surface resistance of laser-deposited YBa2Cu3O7 films.

PMID- 9995258
TI  - Theory of the magnetic excitations in the Cu-O superconductors.

PMID- 9995259
TI  - Effective Hamiltonian of oxide superconductors and a narrow band near the Fermi
      level.

PMID- 9995260
TI  - Flux flow in layered high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995261
TI  - Far-infrared spectroscopic investigations on CuO.

PMID- 9995262
TI  - Vortex pinning and twin boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7- delta thin films.

PMID- 9995263
TI  - Collective modes and superconductivity in an extended Hubbard model for copper
      oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9995264
TI  - Raman-scattering study of high-Tc films of the ordered defect structure YBa2Cu4O8
      delta.

PMID- 9995266
TI  - Electronic structure and crystal chemistry of TlBa2CuO5 and related cuprate
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995265
TI  - Three-dimensional magnetic structures and rare-earth magnetic ordering in Nd2CuO4
      and Pr2CuO4.

PMID- 9995267
TI  - Correlations in flux liquids with weak disorder.

PMID- 9995268
TI  - Collective-shell-vibration superconductivity: A high-Tc theory.

PMID- 9995269
TI  - Role of oxygen in superconductivity of Nd2-xCexCuO4-y studied by x-ray-absorption
      near-edge structure.

PMID- 9995271
TI  - Monte Carlo study of oxygen-vacancy ordering in YBa2Cu3-xMxO6+2c (M=Co,Fe,Al,Ga).

PMID- 9995270
TI  - Grain boundaries and interfaces in Y-Ba-Cu-O films laser deposited on single
      crystal MgO.

PMID- 9995272
TI  - t-Jperp model and a possible pairing mechanism in the oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9995274
TI  - Theory of vortices in weakly-Josephson-coupled layered superconductors.

PMID- 9995273
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta with various Tc's from 0 to 73 K.

PMID- 9995275
TI  - Perturbation theory of the t-J model for t/J << 1.

PMID- 9995276
TI  - a-b anisotropy of the normal-state resistivity of untwinned YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995277
TI  - Theory for the density of states and antiferromagnetism in CuO2 planes of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995278
TI  - Positron distribution contribution to changes in annihilation characteristics
      across Tc in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9995279
TI  - Superconductive fluctuations in the density of states and tunneling resistance in
      high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995280
TI  - Spin dynamics in the two-dimensional antiferromagnet La2CuO4.

PMID- 9995281
TI  - Relation between electronic and atomic structure of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9995282
TI  - Energy gap in layered superconductors.

PMID- 9995283
TI  - One-particle excitations in strong-coupling superconductors: A new realization of
      the t-J model.

PMID- 9995285
TI  - Quantum susceptance and its effects on the high-frequency response of
      superconducting tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9995284
TI  - Microwave heating of a high-Tc YBa2Cu3O6.9 superconductor through a Josephson
      junction system.

PMID- 9995287
TI  - Magnetic-field influence on the collective properties of charge- and spin-density
      waves.

PMID- 9995286
TI  - Microscopic theory of surface diffusion.

PMID- 9995288
TI  - Crystal structures, magnetic studies, and paramagnetic resonance of the copper
      trimer stacks (4-picolinium)2Cu3Cl8, (4-picolinium)2Cu3Br8, and (1,1,4
      trimethylpiperazinium)Cu3Cl8.

PMID- 9995289
TI  - Magnetic properties of Nd2(Fe1-xMx)14B single crystals (M=Al,Mn) in high magnetic
      fields, and crystal-field analysis.

PMID- 9995291
TI  - Finite-lattice expansion for quantum spin chains.

PMID- 9995290
TI  - Surface behavior of the fully frustrated two-dimensional Ising model.

PMID- 9995292
TI  - Theory of surface and bulk excitations in ferromagnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9995293
TI  - Condition for the appearance of a live magnetic layer on paramagnetic pure
      transition metals.

PMID- 9995295
TI  - Spectral splitting and wave-function scaling in quasicrystalline and hierarchical
      structures.

PMID- 9995294
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in 4d transition metals.

PMID- 9995296
TI  - Mobility edges for the quantum percolation problem in two and three dimensions.

PMID- 9995297
TI  - Transport phenomena near the Mott transition.

PMID- 9995298
TI  - Exact theories of m-component quadrupolar systems showing a first-order phase
      transition.

PMID- 9995300
TI  - Magnetic phase diagrams of the antiferromagnetic planar model on a stacked
      triangular lattice.

PMID- 9995299
TI  - Optical and magnetic properties of the halogen-bridged metal complexes modified
      by hydrogen bondings: {M(1R,2R-cyclohexanediamine)2Br}Br2 (M=Pt, Pd, and Ni).

PMID- 9995301
TI  - Martensitic transformation of a Ni-Al alloy. I. Experimental results and
      approximate structure of the seven-layered phase.

PMID- 9995303
TI  - Dynamics of a fermion in the Kondo-lattice model for strongly correlated systems.

PMID- 9995302
TI  - Martensitic transformation of a Ni-Al alloy. II. Theoretical treatments.

PMID- 9995304
TI  - Chalcogen rearrangement in the Chevrel compound InMo6SezS8-z at 500 degreesC.

PMID- 9995305
TI  - Magnetism of rare-earth-transition-metal nanoscale multilayers. I. Experiments on
      Dy/Co, Dy/Fe, and Tb/Fe.

PMID- 9995306
TI  - Magnetism of rare-earth-transition-metal nanoscale multilayers. II. Theoretical
      analysis of magnetization and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

PMID- 9995307
TI  - First-principles calculation of phase equilibria in the aluminum lithium system.

PMID- 9995309
TI  - Field-theory treatment of the Heisenberg spin-1 chain.

PMID- 9995308
TI  - Geometric isotope effect in hydrogen-bonded crystals.

PMID- 9995310
TI  - Spin-wave singularities: Free energy and equation of state in O(n) spin models
      near Tc.

PMID- 9995311
TI  - Two-time correlations, self-averaging, and an analytically solvable model of
      phase-ordering dynamics.

PMID- 9995312
TI  - Localization of the mean-field superconducting order parameter on random wire
      networks.

PMID- 9995313
TI  - Real-space renormalization-group study of the exchange-interaction model.

PMID- 9995314
TI  - Raman-scattering study of crystallized MF3 compounds (M=Al,Cr,Ga,V,Fe,In): An
      approach to the short-range-order force constants.

PMID- 9995315
TI  - Critical exponents for the one-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995316
TI  - Electron and hole polaron asymmetry in a two-band Peierls-Hubbard material.

PMID- 9995317
TI  - Exact equilibrium crystal shapes in two dimensions for free-fermion models.

PMID- 9995318
TI  - Unidirectionally biased Permalloy: A polarized-neutron-reflection experiment.

PMID- 9995319
TI  - Magnetic fluctuations in the canted antiferromagnetic phase of a t-J model.

PMID- 9995321
TI  - Anisotropic spin susceptibility of spin-density-wave states.

PMID- 9995320
TI  - Magnetoresistance of Cd1-xFexSe: Electron-correlation effects.

PMID- 9995322
TI  - Field theory in a strong magnetic field and the quantum Hall effect: Integer Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9995323
TI  - Variational Monte Carlo study of incommensurate antiferromagnetic phases in the
      two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995324
TI  - Influence of a small addition of Nd on the magnetic properties of amorphous Fe-B
      alloys.

PMID- 9995326
TI  - Crossover in the XY model from three to two dimensions.

PMID- 9995325
TI  - Transport properties for random walks in disordered one-dimensional media:
      Perturbative calculation around the effective-medium approximation.

PMID- 9995327
TI  - Valence-bond theory of the Kondo lattice model in one dimension.

PMID- 9995328
TI  - Temperature and wave-vector dependence of the spin-split band structure of
      Ni(111) along the Gamma -L line.

PMID- 9995329
TI  - Cumulant-expansion study of holes in quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9995330
TI  - Domain-wall lattices in the Te-W(211) system.

PMID- 9995332
TI  - Simple method for collective excitations in multicomponent mixtures of quantum
      fluids.

PMID- 9995331
TI  - X-ray-absorption fine-structure measurement of single-crystal materials.

PMID- 9995334
TI  - Theory of Raman scattering on normal metals with impurities.

PMID- 9995333
TI  - Absence of superconductivity above 4 K in LiPdHx.

PMID- 9995335
TI  - Scaling behavior in electrical transport across grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta superconductors.

PMID- 9995336
TI  - First-order structural phase transitions in a lattice-gas model for YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9995337
TI  - Temperature dependence of the magnetic anisotropy of metallic Y-Ba-Cu-O single
      crystals in the normal phase.

PMID- 9995338
TI  - Possibility of a new type of mixed state in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9995339
TI  - Long-range angular-intensity correlations: The influence of time-reversal
      symmetry.

PMID- 9995340
TI  - Localized moment in Mn-doped gamma -TiAl alloys.

PMID- 9995342
TI  - Temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of a CrSi2 single crystal.

PMID- 9995341
TI  - Solidification of the two-dimensional electron gas in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9995343
TI  - Specific heat of (C6H11NH3)CuBr3 and (C6H11NH3)CuCl3 within series analysis of
      finite-chain data.

PMID- 9995344
TI  - Comment on "Critical behavior of the two-dimensional XY model: An analysis of
      extended high-temperature series"

PMID- 9995345
TI  - Erratum: Binding of holes in one-band models of oxide superconductors

PMID- 9995346
TI  - Generalized critical-state model for hard superconductors.

PMID- 9995347
TI  - Low-temperature structural phase transition in La2NiO4+ delta.

PMID- 9995348
TI  - Flux-flow Hall-effect problem: Comparison of the theory of Nozieres and Vinen
      with results in 2H-NbSe2.

PMID- 9995350
TI  - Limits on deviations from Onsager-Casimir symmetry in the resistance of YBa2Cu3O7
      delta.

PMID- 9995349
TI  - Optical studies of gap, exchange, and hopping energies in the insulating
      cuprates.

PMID- 9995351
TI  - Random telegraph signals in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9995352
TI  - Softening of the flux-line structure in La1.8Sr0.2CuO4 measured by a vibrating
      reed.

PMID- 9995354
TI  - Absence of instanton-induced spin-Peierls order in the flux phase.

PMID- 9995353
TI  - Determination of the energy gap for charged excitations in insulating La2CuO4.

PMID- 9995356
TI  - Impurity-level transitions in two-dimensional magnetoplasmas.

PMID- 9995355
TI  - Interaction and doping dependence of optical spectral weight of the two
      dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995357
TI  - Evidence of conduction-electron shielding of the crystal electric field of TbxGd1
      xAl2 intermetallics.

PMID- 9995358
TI  - Finite-size effects in kinetic phase transitions of a model reaction on a fractal
      surface: Scaling approach and Monte Carlo investigation.

PMID- 9995359
TI  - Analysis of experimental extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) data
      using calculated curved-wave, multiple-scattering EXAFS spectra.

PMID- 9995361
TI  - Statistical description of the electronic-level structure of small metallic
      particles.

PMID- 9995360
TI  - Theoretical analysis of the bonding of oxygen to Cu(100).

PMID- 9995362
TI  - Surface termination of epitaxial NiAl on GaAs(001) by high-angular-resolution x
      ray photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9995363
TI  - Evidence of a spin-density wave in hcp zirconium.

PMID- 9995364
TI  - Theory of metallic glasses. I. Electronic structures.

PMID- 9995366
TI  - Theory of the alkali-metal chemisorption on metal surfaces. II.

PMID- 9995365
TI  - Theory of metallic glasses. II. Transport and optical properties.

PMID- 9995368
TI  - Localized orbitals and single-electron spectrum in self-interaction-corrected
      density-functional theory.

PMID- 9995367
TI  - Phase stability and bonding characteristics of Li-rich Al-Li intermetallic
      compounds: Al2Li3 and Al4Li9.

PMID- 9995369
TI  - Surface stress of aluminum and jellium.

PMID- 9995370
TI  - Charge renormalization describing plasmon dispersion in metals.

PMID- 9995371
TI  - Short-range order in amorphous Ni-Zr alloys.

PMID- 9995373
TI  - Oscillatory segregation at a metal alloy surface: Relation to ordered bulk
      phases.

PMID- 9995372
TI  - Static dipole polarizability of alkali-metal clusters: Electronic exchange and
      correlation effects.

PMID- 9995374
TI  - Raman spectrum of beta -PtO2: Evidence for the D2h12-to-D4h14 phase transition.

PMID- 9995376
TI  - Thermodynamical study of the electron-hole system in ultrathin films of pure
      bismuth in quantizing magnetic fields.

PMID- 9995375
TI  - Full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker band theory applied to the Mathieu
      potential.

PMID- 9995377
TI  - Vacuum-ultraviolet emission from rare-gas impurities in alkali metals.

PMID- 9995378
TI  - Transmission spectrum of a system composed of one-dimensional chains of small
      metallic spheres.

PMID- 9995379
TI  - Theory of Rayleigh-wave Bragg reflection in quasiperiodic structures.

PMID- 9995380
TI  - Comparison of solid-state amorphization reactions in deformed Ni-Ti and Ni-Zr
      multilayered composites.

PMID- 9995381
TI  - Angular distribution of Ga+ ions desorbed by 3-keV ion bombardment of GaAs(110).

PMID- 9995382
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering by acceptors in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells:
      A probe of exciton localization.

PMID- 9995384
TI  - Mixing of excitons and continuum states in quantum wells.

PMID- 9995383
TI  - Optical properties of the main electron-irradiation-induced defects in p-type
      InP: Comparison with calculations for the isolated and acceptor-paired phosphorus
      vacancy.

PMID- 9995385
TI  - First-principles supercell studies of the nitrogen impurity in diamond.

PMID- 9995386
TI  - Polaron energy and effective mass in a quantum well.

PMID- 9995387
TI  - Reactions at the Gd-Si(111)7 x 7 interface: Promotion of Si oxidation.

PMID- 9995388
TI  - Resonant photoemission study of ternary transition-metal silicides.

PMID- 9995389
TI  - Resonant polaron effect in quantum wells.

PMID- 9995391
TI  - Optical properties due to electronic transitions in two-dimensional
      semiconductors (CnH2n+1NH3)2PbI4.

PMID- 9995390
TI  - Size effects on the temporal dynamics of edge emission in CdSe microcrystals
      embedded in a germanate glass matrix.

PMID- 9995392
TI  - Intersubband resonant effects of dissipative transport in quantum wires.

PMID- 9995393
TI  - X-ray near-edge structure of the II-VI group ternary compounds: Experimental and
      theoretical studies of CdxHg1-xTe and CdxZn1-xTe.

PMID- 9995395
TI  - Correlation functions and electronic noise in doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9995394
TI  - Size dependence of electron-phonon coupling in semiconductor nanospheres: The
      case of CdSe.

PMID- 9995396
TI  - Tunneling-induced optical nonlinearities in asymmetric Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs double
      quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9995397
TI  - Channel plasmons.

PMID- 9995398
TI  - Low-temperature positron-lifetime studies of proton-irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9995400
TI  - Phase-relaxation interpretation of elastic softening induced by sliding charge
      density waves.

PMID- 9995399
TI  - X-ray-absorption fine-structure studies of Hg1-xCdxTe and Hg1-xMnxTe bond
      lengths: Bond relaxation and structural stability of ternary alloys.

PMID- 9995401
TI  - Excitonic enhancement of the Fermi-edge singularity in the optical spectra of
      doped semiconductors.

PMID- 9995402
TI  - First-principles study of sulfur passivation of GaAs(001) surfaces.

PMID- 9995403
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of ZnSe-ZnS effective-mass strained
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995404
TI  - Size effect in the longitudinal hopping conduction of a narrow two-dimensional
      channel.

PMID- 9995405
TI  - Electron-mass anomaly as determined from the Zeeman effect of the donor 2P levels
      in GaAs.

PMID- 9995407
TI  - Temperature-dependent exciton linewidths in semiconductors.

PMID- 9995406
TI  - Electronic states in a disordered metal: Magnetotransport in doped germanium.

PMID- 9995408
TI  - Electronic structure of semiconductor oxides: InPO4, In(PO3)3, P2O5, SiO2, AlPO4,
      and Al(PO3)3.

PMID- 9995410
TI  - Structural studies of amorphous Se under pressure.

PMID- 9995409
TI  - Discrete donor-acceptor pair lines, two-hole excited states, and inelastic light
      scattering from nitrogen centers in zinc selenide epitaxial layers.

PMID- 9995411
TI  - Theory of Be-induced defects in Si.

PMID- 9995412
TI  - Influence of the confinement potential on the electron-hole-pair states in
      semiconductor microcrystallites.

PMID- 9995413
TI  - Current contacts and the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9995415
TI  - Adsorption geometry of (2 x 1) Na on Si(001).

PMID- 9995414
TI  - Tight-binding molecular-dynamics study of phonon anharmonic effects in silicon
      and diamond.

PMID- 9995416
TI  - Surface Brillouin scattering in semiconductor Fibonacci multilayers.

PMID- 9995417
TI  - Electronic structure of the isolated vacancies and divacancy in InP.

PMID- 9995418
TI  - Impurity distribution and electronic states in doped conjugated polymers in the
      coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9995419
TI  - Spin polarization and dimer buckling at the Si(100)-2 x 1 surface.

PMID- 9995420
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of polyexcitons in semiconductors.

PMID- 9995421
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering by longitudinal-optical phonons in Zn1-xMnxSe (x=0,
      0.03, 0.1) near the E0 gap.

PMID- 9995422
TI  - Criterion of thermal denaturation for modified-self-consistent-phonon-theory mean
      field calculations in DNA polymers.

PMID- 9995423
TI  - Precipitation-induced quenching of Eu2+ luminescence in potassium halides.

PMID- 9995424
TI  - Transient effects in the electron temperature and phonon distribution in thin
      metal films.

PMID- 9995425
TI  - Anomalous multilayer relaxation of Pd{001}

PMID- 9995426
TI  - Source of 17O hyperfine broadening of the Pb resonance associated with the (111)
      Si-SiO2 interface.

PMID- 9995427
TI  - Multiphonon resonant Raman scattering in high-manganese-concentration Cd1-xMnxTe
      films.

PMID- 9995429
TI  - Periodic and purposely disordered superlattices: The effect of continuous and
      discrete disorder distribution.

PMID- 9995428
TI  - Quantum beats of free and bound excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9995430
TI  - Exchange-correlation effects in resonant-tunneling heterostructures.

PMID- 9995432
TI  - Erratum: Low-order anharmonic contributions to the internal energy of the one
      component plasma

PMID- 9995431
TI  - Measurement of the three-photon-absorption cross section and intrinsic optical
      breakdown of KI at 532 nm.

PMID- 9995433
TI  - Erratum: Energy-level spectra of transition-metal ions in II-VI semiconductors

PMID- 9995435
TI  - Simulation of lattice-strain-driven bcc-->fcc phase transitions in Pd thin films.

PMID- 9995434
TI  - Destruction of fractional quantum Hall effect in thick systems.

PMID- 9995437
TI  - Ground-state structures and the random-state energy of the Madelung lattice.

PMID- 9995436
TI  - Molecular-beam-epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of Co-Pt superlattices
      oriented along the

PMID- 9995438
TI  - Optical studies of the piezoelectric effect in (111)-oriented CdTe/Cd1-xZnxTe
      strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9995439
TI  - Radiative decay of excitonic states in bulklike GaAs with a periodic array of
      InAs lattice planes.

PMID- 9995441
TI  - Dimensionality effects on the interband magnetoelectroabsorption of semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995440
TI  - Self-consistent far-infrared response of quantum-dot structures.

PMID- 9995442
TI  - Large magnetic depopulation of multiple parallel ballistic point contacts with
      circulating channels.

PMID- 9995443
TI  - Electron transport with two occupied subbands in a Si(100) inversion layer.

PMID- 9995444
TI  - Electron interactions in the two-dimensional electron-gas base of a vertical hot
      electron transistor.

PMID- 9995445
TI  - Bulk-doping-controlled implantation site of boron in silicon.

PMID- 9995446
TI  - Effects of local environment on localized vibrational modes of aluminum in AlxGa1
      xAs.

PMID- 9995447
TI  - Transient band bending in a staggered-alignment type-II multiple-quantum-well
      structure.

PMID- 9995448
TI  - Triply resonant Raman scattering by LO phonons in a Wannier-Stark ladder.

PMID- 9995449
TI  - Determination of Xz-Xx,y energy separation and intervalley relaxation times in
      type-II AlxGa1-xAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9995450
TI  - Statics and dynamics of icosahedrally twinned and single-crystal fcc clusters.

PMID- 9995451
TI  - Bond softening in monolayer graphite formed on transition-metal carbide surfaces.

PMID- 9995452
TI  - Multiprobe electron waveguides: Filtering and bend resistances.

PMID- 9995453
TI  - Quantum-mechanical propagation of electrons through a kink and the Anderson
      localization problem.

PMID- 9995454
TI  - Pseudopotentials with position-dependent electron masses.

PMID- 9995455
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of the liquid polyvalent elements. III. The
      trivalent elements.

PMID- 9995456
TI  - Surface relaxation of alpha -iron and the embedded-atom method.

PMID- 9995457
TI  - Theory of nonlinear surface magneto-optics for ferromagnetic nickel: Effects of
      band structure and matrix elements.

PMID- 9995458
TI  - Thin Cu/Ag(111) and Ag/Cu(111) structures studied with monoenergetic positrons.

PMID- 9995459
TI  - Universal nature of self-bound potential systems: Diatomic molecules, surface
      adsorptions, and bulk cohesions.

PMID- 9995460
TI  - Three-dimensional positron-electron momentum distribution in single-crystal
      graphite.

PMID- 9995461
TI  - Hall effect in Zr-Ni and Zr-Cu metallic glasses doped with hydrogen.

PMID- 9995462
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of in-plane and interlayer correlations in layered
      compounds AgxTiS2.

PMID- 9995463
TI  - Static electric polarizabilities of sodium clusters.

PMID- 9995464
TI  - Optical-absorption spectra of CsFeCl3

PMID- 9995465
TI  - Optical-absorption spectra of CsFeCl3

PMID- 9995466
TI  - Stabilized jellium: Structureless pseudopotential model for the cohesive and
      surface properties of metals.

PMID- 9995467
TI  - Total-energy calculations of solid H, Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs.

PMID- 9995469
TI  - Model for phonon transmission through a NbN grain-size distribution: Comparison
      with tunneling-spectroscopy observations.

PMID- 9995468
TI  - Absorptive potentials due to ionization and thermal diffuse scattering by fast
      electrons in crystals.

PMID- 9995470
TI  - Raman scattering in CdF2:In crystals.

PMID- 9995471
TI  - Photoexcited states in poly(p-phenylene vinylene): Comparison with trans,trans
      distyrylbenzene, a model oligomer.

PMID- 9995472
TI  - Influence of surfactants in Ge and Si epitaxy on Si(001).

PMID- 9995473
TI  - Microstructure and strain relief of Ge films grown layer by layer on Si(001).

PMID- 9995474
TI  - Exciton binding energy in type-II heterojunctions.

PMID- 9995475
TI  - Collective modes in quantum-dot arrays in magnetic fields.

PMID- 9995476
TI  - Room-temperature resonant multiphotonic optical pumping induced by 10.6- microm
      laser radiation in reverse-biased n+/p-type Si junctions.

PMID- 9995477
TI  - Resonant first- and second-order Raman scattering in AlSb.

PMID- 9995478
TI  - Coulomb-interaction effects on the excited states of double acceptors in
      germanium and silicon.

PMID- 9995479
TI  - Localized interstitial states in tetrahedrally bonded semiconductors: The local
      matrix approach.

PMID- 9995480
TI  - Formation mechanisms of localized interstitial states in tetrahedrally bonded
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9995481
TI  - Fractional dimensionality and fractional derivative spectra of interband optical
      transitions.

PMID- 9995482
TI  - Atomic-force-microscopy images of graphite due to van der Waals interactions.

PMID- 9995483
TI  - Optically induced excess hole population in semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9995484
TI  - Exchange interaction in a quantum wire in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9995485
TI  - Simple method for calculating exciton binding energies in quantum-confined
      semiconductor structures.

PMID- 9995486
TI  - Excitonic effects in the optical spectra of superlattices in an electric field.

PMID- 9995487
TI  - Donor states in GaAs under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9995488
TI  - Molecular-beam study of sticking of oxygen on Si(100).

PMID- 9995489
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance of Si donors in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9995490
TI  - Valley-mixing effects in (GaAs)l(AlAs)m superlattices with microscopically
      imperfect interfaces.

PMID- 9995491
TI  - Electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of poly(2,5-diethoxy-p-phenylene
      vinylene).

PMID- 9995492
TI  - Effect of inhomogeneous charge distribution on the cyclotron resonance in an
      inverted GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs interface.

PMID- 9995493
TI  - Surface electronic structure of K on Si(111)2 x 1 as a function of potassium
      coverage.

PMID- 9995494
TI  - Radiative recombination center in As2Se3 as studied by optically detected
      magnetic resonance.

PMID- 9995495
TI  - Reversible photoinduced change of photoconductivity in amorphous chalcogenide
      films.

PMID- 9995496
TI  - Metastable effects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon-silicon nitride multilayers.

PMID- 9995497
TI  - Electronic structure of the silicon divacancy.

PMID- 9995498
TI  - One-phonon resonant Raman scattering in AlxGa1-xAs (0.5<x<0.7): Dipole-forbidden
      Frohlich interaction and interference effects.

PMID- 9995499
TI  - Exponential diffusion profile for impurity trapping at an unsaturable trap.

PMID- 9995501
TI  - Photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation of 0.635-eV EL0 emission in
      oxygen-doped semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9995500
TI  - Semiclassical and envelope-function treatment of magnetic levels in superlattices
      under an in-plane magnetic field.

PMID- 9995502
TI  - Spin-polarized photoelectron diffraction and valence-band photoemission from
      MnO(001).

PMID- 9995503
TI  - Resonant-photoemission study of SnO2: Cationic origin of the defect band-gap
      states.

PMID- 9995505
TI  - Temperature dependence of the dc electrical conductivity in low-dimensional
      metals with strong Kohn anomalies.

PMID- 9995504
TI  - Oxygen on Cu(100) surface structure studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and
      by low-energy-electron-diffraction multiple-scattering calculations.

PMID- 9995507
TI  - Real versus virtual excitonic Stark effect in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9995506
TI  - Model study of electron-hole plasma transport in a semiconductor slab: Probing
      internal time scales by multiple laser pulses.

PMID- 9995508
TI  - Dynamics and structural assessment of open semiconductor surfaces: GaAs(110).

PMID- 9995510
TI  - Polaron effects in one-dimensional lateral quantum wires and parabolic quantum
      dots.

PMID- 9995509
TI  - Interface epitaxy and self-epitaxy of metals near room temperatures.

PMID- 9995511
TI  - Compensation effects on optically pumped intersubband absorption in GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9995512
TI  - Strong intermediate-state effects in exciton-mediated electronic intrasubband
      scattering in multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9995513
TI  - Measurement of the partial photoionization cross section and the asymmetry
      parameter of the Ag valence band near the 4d threshold.

PMID- 9995514
TI  - Thermal diffusivity of isotopically enriched 12C diamond.

PMID- 9995515
TI  - Accurate pseudopotential local-density-approximation computations for neutral and
      ionized dimers of the IB and IIB groups.

PMID- 9995516
TI  - Observation of intercalate domains in Ag-TiS2.

PMID- 9995517
TI  - Consistent derivation of impurity resistivity from the force-balance equation.

PMID- 9995518
TI  - Iron magnetic moments and spin-density asphericity in Fe3(AlxSi1-x) alloys.

PMID- 9995519
TI  - Low-energy electron diffraction study of multilayer relaxation on a Pb{001}
      surface.

PMID- 9995520
TI  - Charge-state stability of Ni and Cu impurities in MgO.

PMID- 9995521
TI  - Image-potential states at surfaces and in tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9995522
TI  - Comparison of the oxidation of polycrystalline bulk bismuth and thin bismuth
      films on the Au(111) surface.

PMID- 9995523
TI  - Thermoelectric amplification of acoustic waves observed in Ni using optical-beam
      deflection detection.

PMID- 9995524
TI  - Elastic interaction of hydrogen in palladium studied by molecular-dynamics
      simulation.

PMID- 9995526
TI  - Propagating lattice instabilities in shock-loaded metals.

PMID- 9995525
TI  - Electrostatic energy of a one-component quasicrystal.

PMID- 9995527
TI  - Computation of structure factors of liquid metals by use of the sticky-hard
      sphere potential.

PMID- 9995528
TI  - Inter-step-edge correlations on crystalline surfaces measured with helium-atom
      scattering.

PMID- 9995529
TI  - Perturbative study of the lattice mechanics of simple metals with ab initio
      pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9995531
TI  - Raman scattering from coupled plasmon-phonon modes in HgTe.

PMID- 9995530
TI  - Macroscopic description of quantum-mechanical tunneling.

PMID- 9995532
TI  - Infrared optical absorption in imperfect parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9995533
TI  - High-accuracy structure-factor measurements in germanium.

PMID- 9995534
TI  - Observation of ordered structures of Sr on the Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9995535
TI  - Binding energy of the exciton-ionized-donor complex with the donor on the surface
      of a nonpolar semiconductor.

PMID- 9995536
TI  - Surface-field-induced feature in the quantum yield of silicon near 3.5 eV.

PMID- 9995538
TI  - Electronic states in trans-polyacetylene with site-type impurities in the
      coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9995537
TI  - Electronic states in trans-polyacetylene with bond-type impurities in the
      coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9995539
TI  - Exciton binding energy in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9995540
TI  - Electron-electron interactions in quasi-one-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9995541
TI  - Magneto-optical spectrum of donors in AlxGa1-xAs and its implications on the DX
      center.

PMID- 9995542
TI  - Surface-state band structure of the Si(100)2 x 1 surface studied with
      polarization-dependent angle-resolved photoemission on single-domain surfaces.

PMID- 9995543
TI  - Bands and bonds of B12.

PMID- 9995544
TI  - Subband spectroscopy of single and coupled GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9995545
TI  - Miniband dispersion in (In,Ga)As-GaAs strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9995546
TI  - Effect of electron and hole accumulation on magneto-optical spectra of an undoped
      GaAs/GaxAl1-xAs quantum well.

PMID- 9995547
TI  - Phase transitions in a multiple quantum well in strong magnetic fields.

PMID- 9995548
TI  - Field-induced nonequilibrium carrier distributions in GaAs probed by electronic
      Raman scattering.

PMID- 9995550
TI  - Site-percolation threshold for a diamond lattice with diatomic substitution.

PMID- 9995549
TI  - Fermi-level-pinning-induced impurity redistribution in semiconductors during
      epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9995552
TI  - Electric-field-enhanced electron emission from isolated sulfur and selenium
      donors in silicon.

PMID- 9995551
TI  - Transport in transverse magnetic fields in resonant tunneling structures.

PMID- 9995553
TI  - ac conduction in iron bismuthate glassy semiconductors.

PMID- 9995554
TI  - Self-consistent calculations of the energy bands and bonding properties of B12C3.

PMID- 9995555
TI  - Diffusion of divalent calcium in silver bromide.

PMID- 9995556
TI  - Effect of substitutional hydride ions on the charge states of oxygen vacancies in
      thermochemically reduced CaO and MgO.

PMID- 9995557
TI  - Band structure and Cl K x-ray-absorption near-edge structures of a K2PdCl6
      crystal.

PMID- 9995558
TI  - Bands versus bonds in electronic-structure theory of metal oxides: Application to
      luminescence of copper in zinc oxide.

PMID- 9995559
TI  - Simulation of the dielectric constant of a composite material.

PMID- 9995561
TI  - Ab initio many-body perturbation-theoretic study of small potassium clusters.

PMID- 9995560
TI  - Dielectric study of orientational disorder in (CO2)1-x(N2O)x mixed crystals.

PMID- 9995562
TI  - Reentrant localization and a mobility gap in superlattice minibands.

PMID- 9995563
TI  - Band structure of ternary-compound semiconductors using a modified tight-binding
      method.

PMID- 9995564
TI  - Optical phonons in Cd1-xZnxTe.

PMID- 9995566
TI  - Erratum: Renormalization of Bloch electrons in coherent light

PMID- 9995565
TI  - Surface states in superlattices.

PMID- 9995567
TI  - Erratum: Theory of nonlinear transport in narrow ballistic constrictions

PMID- 9995568
TI  - Oscillatory surface cosegregation of Pt-Rh(S) alloys.

PMID- 9995570
TI  - Interactions between extended and localized states in superlattices.

PMID- 9995569
TI  - Vibrations of adsorbed alkali-metal atoms: Na on Cu(111).

PMID- 9995571
TI  - Delocalized exciton and electron conduction via the X valley in GaAs/AlAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9995573
TI  - Gamma -X hybridization of donor levels in gallium arsenide under pressure.

PMID- 9995572
TI  - Exciton mixing in a wide GaAs/AlAs quantum well in weak and intermediate magnetic
      fields.

PMID- 9995574
TI  - Magneto-optics in parabolic quantum dots.

PMID- 9995576
TI  - Role of inelastic effects on tunneling via localized states in metal-insulator
      metal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9995575
TI  - Polarization eigenvectors of surface-optical phonon modes in a rectangular
      quantum wire.

PMID- 9995577
TI  - Dynamical structure factor of a quantum wire in the random-phase approximation.

PMID- 9995578
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance study of the Te donor in Ga0.70Al0.30As.

PMID- 9995579
TI  - Determination of low-energy electron diffraction beam profiles with application
      to ordering kinetics at the Cu3Au(110) surface.

PMID- 9995580
TI  - Validity, accuracy, and efficiency of multiple-scattering theory for space
      filling scatterers.

PMID- 9995581
TI  - Ce-catalyzed oxidation of Ta(110).

PMID- 9995582
TI  - Positron-annihilation study of the half-metallic ferromagnet NiMnSb: Experiment.

PMID- 9995583
TI  - Manifestation of zero-point quantum fluctuations in atomic force microscopy.

PMID- 9995584
TI  - Helium-atom scattering investigation of facetting of the Al stepped (332)
      surface.

PMID- 9995585
TI  - Temperature dependence of thermal positron branching at metal surfaces.

PMID- 9995586
TI  - Investigation of the electric-field effect on weak localization using the balance
      equation approach.

PMID- 9995587
TI  - Electronic structure of NiAl.

PMID- 9995588
TI  - Structure of liquid Al80Ni20 alloy.

PMID- 9995589
TI  - Periodic-dimer-cluster models for the study of the optical properties of
      dimerized half-filled organic charge-transfer crystals.

PMID- 9995590
TI  - Analytic representation of multi-ion interatomic potentials in transition metals.

PMID- 9995591
TI  - Theoretical approach to the scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9995592
TI  - Temperature dependence of the inverse photoemission from copper surfaces.

PMID- 9995594
TI  - Hot-electron transmission through thin amorphous films of tetratetracontane:
      Effects of the density of gap states on the band-gap current and its anomalous
      temperature dependence.

PMID- 9995593
TI  - Phonon spectra and isothermal elastic constants for f-shell metals: A dynamical
      treatment.

PMID- 9995595
TI  - Beryllium-hydrogen ultrathin films. I. Metallic behavior of the BeH2 monolayer.

PMID- 9995597
TI  - Electronic and atomic structure of the Cu/Si(111) quasi-5 x 5 overlayer.

PMID- 9995596
TI  - Beryllium-hydrogen ultrathin films. II. Ground-state properties of the dilayer.

PMID- 9995599
TI  - Conduction processes in the layered semiconductor compound FePS3.

PMID- 9995598
TI  - Time-resolved zero-field optically detected magnetic-resonance study of the (Cu
      Li)V neutral defect complex in GaP.

PMID- 9995600
TI  - Schottky barriers at NiSi2/Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9995601
TI  - Fine structure in the energy dependence of current density and oscillations in
      the current-voltage characteristics of tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9995602
TI  - Theory of optically excited intrinsic semiconductor quantum dots.

PMID- 9995603
TI  - Cancellation of size-linear terms in the third-order nonlinear susceptibility:
      Frenkel excitons in a periodic chain.

PMID- 9995604
TI  - Electron-paramagnetic-resonance identification of a trigonal manganese-indium
      pair in silicon.

PMID- 9995605
TI  - Observation of forbidden transitions in an In0.1Ga0.9As/GaAs strained quantum
      well.

PMID- 9995606
TI  - Temperature and magnetic-field dependence of the Mn2+ 4T1(4G)-->6A1(6S)
      photoluminescence band in Zn0.5Mn0.5Se.

PMID- 9995607
TI  - Positron mobility in Si at 300 K.

PMID- 9995608
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in large metal-oxide-semiconductor structures in the
      variable-range hopping regime.

PMID- 9995610
TI  - Electron-nuclear double-resonance and electron-spin-resonance study of silicon
      dangling-bond centers in silicon nitride.

PMID- 9995609
TI  - Transport and optical properties of low-resistivity CdSe.

PMID- 9995611
TI  - Electronic structures and optical properties of short-period GaAs/AlAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995612
TI  - Quantum-mechanical description of ions in crystals: Electronic structure of
      magnesium oxide.

PMID- 9995613
TI  - Symmetry and distribution of two-level systems in glasses.

PMID- 9995614
TI  - Structural and elastic properties of sodium halides at high pressure.

PMID- 9995615
TI  - Photoemission study of CoO.

PMID- 9995617
TI  - Existence of acoustic interface waves in sandwich structures.

PMID- 9995616
TI  - Ultraviolet inverse-photoemission spectroscopy of Gd silicides.

PMID- 9995618
TI  - Different approach to the theory of the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9995619
TI  - Excitons in resonant coupling of quantum wells.

PMID- 9995620
TI  - Estimate of phonon thermal transport in amorphous materials above 50 K.

PMID- 9995622
TI  - Oxygen effectiveness in restructuring the Ag(110) surface: The p(3 x 1)O
      chemisorbed phase.

PMID- 9995621
TI  - Local symmetry breaking in stage-1 alkali-metal-graphite intercalation compounds
      studied by scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9995623
TI  - Potassium- and sodium-induced phonons on the reconstructed and unreconstructed
      copper (110) surface studied by high-resolution electron-energy-loss
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995624
TI  - Theory of anomalous corrugation of the Al(111) surface obtained from scanning
      tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9995625
TI  - Amphoteric behavior of H0 in GaAs.

PMID- 9995626
TI  - Existence of two adsorbed states for K on the Si(100)(2 x 1) surface: A thermal
      desorption study.

PMID- 9995628
TI  - Temperature dependence of low-energy positron-induced Auger-electron emission:
      Evidence for high surface sensitivity.

PMID- 9995627
TI  - Low-temperature photoemission measurements of valence-band discontinuities at
      buried heterojunctions.

PMID- 9995629
TI  - Temperature dependence of the nuclear quadrupole interactions at Ti sites in
      ferroelectric PbTiO3 and in ilmenite and perovskite CdTiO3: Evidence for order
      disorder phenomena.

PMID- 9995630
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of electronic sputtering of large organic molecules.

PMID- 9995631
TI  - Correlation-crystal-field analysis of the 2H(2)11/2 multiplet of Nd3+

PMID- 9995632
TI  - Reemitted positron spectroscopy of near-surface defects.

PMID- 9995633
TI  - Bulk and local elastic relaxation around optically excited centers.

PMID- 9995635
TI  - NMR studies of vacancy motion in solid hydrogen.

PMID- 9995634
TI  - Determination of the magnitude and sign of the 185,187Re nuclear electric
      quadrupole coupling constants using nuclear acoustic resonance.

PMID- 9995636
TI  - Observation of intermultiplet transitions in SmFe11Ti by inelastic magnetic
      neutron scattering.

PMID- 9995638
TI  - Plasmons in cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9995637
TI  - Multichannel multiple-scattering theory with general potentials.

PMID- 9995639
TI  - Effects of quasiparticle dissipation on quantum fluctuations in granular
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995640
TI  - Soft-x-ray absorption spectroscopy of electron-doped (Nd,Sm)2-xCexCuO4- delta
      compounds.

PMID- 9995641
TI  - Thermal accommodation of spin-polarized hydrogen on liquid-He surfaces below 0.25
      K.

PMID- 9995643
TI  - Possible phase diagrams of superconducting UPt3.

PMID- 9995642
TI  - Stability of charged thin helium films.

PMID- 9995644
TI  - Properties of the flux-line lattice in anisotropic superconductors near Hc2.

PMID- 9995645
TI  - Upper critical field of s- and d-wave superconductors with anisotropic effective
      mass.

PMID- 9995646
TI  - Vortex pinning in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9995647
TI  - Charge distribution and electric-field gradients in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9995648
TI  - Temperature and field dependence of magnetic relaxation in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox single
      crystal.

PMID- 9995649
TI  - Theory of superconducting proximity effect in a three-dimensional system in the
      clean limit.

PMID- 9995651
TI  - Two-dimensional localized vibrational modes of trans-(CH)x around a polaron.

PMID- 9995650
TI  - Phase diagram of 3He-4He mixture films.

PMID- 9995652
TI  - Quantum tunneling of surface-state electrons.

PMID- 9995653
TI  - Damping of spin waves in a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9995654
TI  - Elastic properties of a two-dimensional lattice in a weak random pinning
      potential: Origin of the pinning force.

PMID- 9995655
TI  - Superconductivity in a two-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995656
TI  - Local structure about Ni atoms in Ni-substituted YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995657
TI  - Thermally activated flux creep in strongly layered high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995658
TI  - Interatomic potential, phonon spectrum, and molecular-dynamics simulation up to
      1300 K in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995659
TI  - Weak-link structure in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals: A microwave study.

PMID- 9995660
TI  - Superconductivity above 100 K by Pr substitution in the two-copper-layer Bi-Pb-Sr
      Ca-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9995661
TI  - Magnetic order and superconductivity in YBa2Cu3-yMyOz (M=Fe,Co).

PMID- 9995662
TI  - Superconducting correlations in the two-band Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995664
TI  - Mossbauer spectroscopy of CuO and its relevance to high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995663
TI  - Muon-spin-rotation studies in single-crystal Sr2CuO2Cl2.

PMID- 9995665
TI  - Temperature dependence of positron annihilation parameters in Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995666
TI  - Charge-transfer and magnetic-pairing mechanisms in the extended Hubbard model of
      high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9995667
TI  - Electromagnetic response of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995668
TI  - Finite-size studies of particles obeying fractional statistics.

PMID- 9995670
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and conductivity fluctuations in Y-Ba-Cu-O thin
      films.

PMID- 9995669
TI  - X-ray absorption near-edge studies of substitution for Cu in YBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7-
      delta (M=Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn).

PMID- 9995671
TI  - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of YBa2Cu3-xFexO7+y.

PMID- 9995673
TI  - Superconducting states of an extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995672
TI  - Relationship between superconductivity and crystalline stability of the Y-Ba-Cu-O
      system.

PMID- 9995674
TI  - Resonant photoemission study of the electronic structure of CuO and Cu2O.

PMID- 9995676
TI  - Anomalous decouplings and the fermion sign problem.

PMID- 9995675
TI  - Late stages of delta ' precipitation in an Al-Li alloy by small-angle neutron
      scattering.

PMID- 9995677
TI  - Existence of an internal quasimode for a sine-Gordon soliton.

PMID- 9995678
TI  - Vibrational relaxation and dephasing of two-phonon bound states in molecular
      crystals.

PMID- 9995679
TI  - Long-range magnetic order in very dilute YEr alloys.

PMID- 9995680
TI  - Concentrated spin-glass behavior in Al37Mn30Si33 quasicrystals.

PMID- 9995682
TI  - Dynamical pair susceptibilities in the t-J and Hubbard models.

PMID- 9995681
TI  - Atomic short-range-order structure in Au-Fe alloys.

PMID- 9995684
TI  - Crystal-field and configuration dependence of hopping-matrix elements for
      CeCu2Si2.

PMID- 9995683
TI  - Spinodal decomposition in a two-dimensional fluid model: Heat, sound, and
      universality.

PMID- 9995685
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structures of Fe/Cr/Fe sandwiches and Fe/Cr
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995687
TI  - Random-field Blume-Capel model: Mean-field theory.

PMID- 9995686
TI  - Temperature-induced neutral-ionic transition in tetramethylbenzidine
      tetracyanoquinodimethane (TMB-TCNQ).

PMID- 9995688
TI  - Density of states for elementary excitations in the Kondo problem.

PMID- 9995689
TI  - Finite-size effects in Cu-Mn spin glasses.

PMID- 9995690
TI  - Pairing and charge-density-wave correlations in the Holstein model at half
      filling.

PMID- 9995691
TI  - Magnetization measurements and computer simulations for the magnetic hysteresis
      losses of reentrant Ni100-xMnxPt and Ni-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9995692
TI  - Exact treatment of three-body bound states in a one-dimensional model of ionic
      crystals.

PMID- 9995694
TI  - Numerical determination of the phase diagram for the cphi4 model in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9995693
TI  - Monte Carlo transfer-matrix study of the frustrated XY model.

PMID- 9995695
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of the diluted magnetic semiconductor Hg1-x
      yCdyFexSe.

PMID- 9995696
TI  - Three-state antiferromagnetic Potts models: A Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9995697
TI  - Atomic vibrations in a self-consistent-field atom-in-jellium model of condensed
      matter.

PMID- 9995699
TI  - Finite-resolution effects on the logarithm-of-the-current distribution in fractal
      structures.

PMID- 9995698
TI  - Mobile vacancy in a quantum antiferromagnet: Effective Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9995700
TI  - Stability and first-order phase transitions.

PMID- 9995702
TI  - Critical behavior of the layer-compressional elastic modulus at a smectic-smectic
      isolated critical point.

PMID- 9995701
TI  - Hopping conductivity of the interacting honeycomb lattice gas.

PMID- 9995703
TI  - Quadratic quantum antiferromagnets in the fermionic large-N limit.

PMID- 9995704
TI  - Yield strength of Al2O3 at high pressures.

PMID- 9995705
TI  - Covalence in CuCl2

PMID- 9995706
TI  - Electron depolarization by inelastic exchange scattering from Cr3+ magnetic
      moments.

PMID- 9995707
TI  - Effects of correlation and disorder on the phase diagram of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9995708
TI  - Resonating-valence-bond ground state in a large-n t-J model.

PMID- 9995709
TI  - Magnetic properties of polycrystalline Ba0.5K0.5BiO3.

PMID- 9995710
TI  - Effect of Ni and Zn substitution on magnetic properties of the high-Tc
      superconductor GdBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9995712
TI  - Dispersive single-particle excitations in high-Tc copper oxides.

PMID- 9995711
TI  - Magnetic interactions of Gd in GdBa2(Cu1-xNix)3Oy compounds.

PMID- 9995713
TI  - Simple approximation for the transition to vortex-glass superconductivity.

PMID- 9995714
TI  - Enhanced ultrasonic attenuation of Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O at the superconducting
      transition.

PMID- 9995715
TI  - Negative thermopower of YbBa2Cu3O7-y.

PMID- 9995717
TI  - Stretched-exponential behavior in Ising critical dynamics.

PMID- 9995716
TI  - Scaling theory of the Mott transition.

PMID- 9995718
TI  - Antiferromagnetic phase transition in Cd1-xMnxSe epilayers.

PMID- 9995719
TI  - Structural transition study of NiCl2

PMID- 9995720
TI  - Critical exponents of the vortex glass to order epsilon 3.

PMID- 9995721
TI  - Spin-wave theory of the Haldane gap in one-dimensional antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9995722
TI  - Variational results as saddle-point approximations: The Anderson impurity model.

PMID- 9995723
TI  - Phase diagram of a trimodal random-field spin-S Ising model.

PMID- 9995724
TI  - Spin-1 and mixed-spin Ising model in a transverse field.

PMID- 9995725
TI  - Path-integral representation and critical properties of the quantum Potts model.

PMID- 9995727
TI  - Regular fractal models of snowflakes and critical dynamics of the kinetic Ising
      model on fractals.

PMID- 9995726
TI  - Pressure dependence of free-energy expansion coefficients in PbTiO3 and BaTiO3
      and tricritical-point behavior.

PMID- 9995729
TI  - Erratum: "Superconducting pairing of holes in the antiferromagnetic state of the
      two-dimensional Hubbard model"

PMID- 9995728
TI  - Erratum: Anomalous and subanomalous diffusion in stochastic trapping transport

PMID- 9995730
TI  - Erratum: "Magnon damping in the two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet at short wavelengths

PMID- 9995731
TI  - Universal polarization correlations and microstatistics of optical waves in
      random media.

PMID- 9995732
TI  - Defect pair creation through ultraviolet radiation in dense, amorphous SiO2.

PMID- 9995734
TI  - Two crucial experimental tests of the resonating valence bond-Luttinger liquid
      interlayer tunneling theory of high-Tc superconductivity.

PMID- 9995733
TI  - Scatterer correlation effects on photon transport in dense random media.

PMID- 9995735
TI  - Torque creep in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995736
TI  - Interaction of vortices in uniaxial superconductors.

PMID- 9995737
TI  - X-ray-absorption studies of Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films at oxygen K edge by
      means of fluorescence and total electron yield: A comparison of two techniques.

PMID- 9995738
TI  - Dependence of flux-creep activation energy upon current density in grain-aligned
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9995739
TI  - Behavior of the Raman continuum and Raman "gap" in Tc=60 K YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9995740
TI  - Phase fluctuations in two-dimensional superconducting weakly coupled wire
      networks.

PMID- 9995741
TI  - Inverse ac Josephson effect in long junctions.

PMID- 9995742
TI  - Supersolitons in layered Josephson structures.

PMID- 9995743
TI  - Resistive transition curves in magnetic fields for Tl2Ba2Can-1CunOy (n=1, 2, 4)
      compounds: Dependence on the number of Cu-O layers.

PMID- 9995744
TI  - Phases of the t-J model from variational Monte Carlo studies: Occurrence of time
      reversal symmetry breaking.

PMID- 9995745
TI  - Monte Carlo study of superconductivity in the three-band Emery model.

PMID- 9995746
TI  - Superconductive transition at 98.5 K in monoclinic (Bi,Pb)2Sr2CaCu2Oy.

PMID- 9995747
TI  - Novel magnetic structure of a vortex lattice in adsorbed 3He films.

PMID- 9995748
TI  - Heisenberg magnets with short-range order and spin dynamics of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9995749
TI  - Magnetic instabilities in unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9995750
TI  - Thermal conductivity of Ba-K-Bi-O: A contrast to copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9995752
TI  - Optical near-zone-center phonons and their interaction with electrons in
      YBa2Cu3O7: Results of the local-density approximation.

PMID- 9995751
TI  - Observation of Cu NMR in antiferromagnetic PrBa2Cu3O7: Evidence for hole-band
      filling.

PMID- 9995753
TI  - Theoretical electron-positron zone-reduced momentum density for YBa2Cu3O7: Fermi
      surface and wave-function effects.

PMID- 9995755
TI  - Quantum correlation effects in the spin dynamics of Gd at high temperatures in
      the light of complex dilation theory.

PMID- 9995754
TI  - Valence-fluctuation behavior of Yb ions and YbCuGa.

PMID- 9995756
TI  - Orbital magnetism in Fe, Co, and Ni.

PMID- 9995757
TI  - Thermodynamics and phase diagram of multilayer krypton on graphite.

PMID- 9995758
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of CsMnBr3 near the tetracritical point.

PMID- 9995759
TI  - Nonperturbative approach to the Newns-Anderson model of chemisorption.

PMID- 9995760
TI  - Temperature and magnetic field dependence of the two-dimensional conductivity in
      AuxSi1-x/Si and Cu/Si multilayers.

PMID- 9995761
TI  - Conductance fluctuations and 1/f noise in Bi.

PMID- 9995762
TI  - Theoretical study of the magnetic x-ray dichroism of Os, Ir, Pt, and Au
      impurities in Fe.

PMID- 9995763
TI  - Metallization pressure for NaCl in the B2 structure.

PMID- 9995764
TI  - Electronic structure of ordered and disordered Cu alloys: Cu3Pd, Cu3Pt, and
      Cu3Au.

PMID- 9995765
TI  - Charge-distribution changes accompanying the formation and changes in the
      composition of HfCx and TaCx.

PMID- 9995766
TI  - Stiffness reduction associated with charge-density-wave sliding: Temperature and
      bias dependences in TaS3.

PMID- 9995767
TI  - Picosecond vibrational relaxation modulated by critical slowing down in
      ferroelectric K4Fe(CN)6

PMID- 9995768
TI  - Interfacial stiffening of Cu, Ni, and Ag thin films on the Ru(0001) surface.

PMID- 9995769
TI  - Applicability of the Rayleigh hypothesis to real materials.

PMID- 9995770
TI  - Further evidence for the coexistence of localized and extended states in
      atomically and electronically disordered solids.

PMID- 9995771
TI  - Transport and microwave properties of the metal-spine conductor
      Co(phthalocyaninato)I.

PMID- 9995772
TI  - Surface-plasmon spectrum of Ag(001) measured by high-resolution angle-resolved
      electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995773
TI  - Femtosecond carrier dynamics in graphite.

PMID- 9995774
TI  - Analysis of the reconstructed Ir(110) surface from time-of-flight scattering and
      recoiling spectrometry.

PMID- 9995775
TI  - Mean-square displacements of surface atoms: c(2 x 2) overlayers on Ni(100).

PMID- 9995776
TI  - Ferromagnetic properties of Pd monolayers.

PMID- 9995777
TI  - Interface formation with ions and neutral atoms.

PMID- 9995778
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of a superlattice in a parabolic potential.

PMID- 9995779
TI  - Radiative recombination processes of the many-body states in multiple quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9995780
TI  - Metal-semiconductor interfaces: Magnetic and electronic properties and Schottky
      barrier in Fen/(ZnSe)m (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9995781
TI  - Computer simulation studies of the growth of strained layers by molecular-beam
      epitaxy.

PMID- 9995783
TI  - Pressure dependence of photoluminescence in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9995782
TI  - Elastic properties of GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9995784
TI  - Temperature dependence of the direct energy gap in a GaAs/AlAs superlattice.

PMID- 9995785
TI  - Ga 3d excitons at surfaces and interfaces.

PMID- 9995786
TI  - Localization of two-dimensional exciton polaritons.

PMID- 9995788
TI  - Optical properties of Wannier excitons in the linear and weakly nonlinear regime.

PMID- 9995787
TI  - Tilted-magnetic-field measurements of activation energies and cyclotron resonance
      for AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9995789
TI  - Phonon-mediated excitonic optical bistability in polymers.

PMID- 9995790
TI  - Electronic properties of nascent GaP(110)-noble-metal interfaces.

PMID- 9995791
TI  - Partial densities of states for silver bromide and silver iodobromide.

PMID- 9995792
TI  - Subnanosecond transient photoconductivity in poly(3-hexylthiophene).

PMID- 9995793
TI  - Picosecond photoinduced absorption and polarization memory in polythiophene
      derivatives.

PMID- 9995795
TI  - Evolution of the electronic states of coupled (In,Ga)As-GaAs quantum wells into
      superlattice minibands.

PMID- 9995794
TI  - Morphology and barrier-height development of Bi/InP(110) interfaces.

PMID- 9995797
TI  - Al 2p core exciton in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9995796
TI  - Band offsets in pseudomorphically grown Si/Si1-xGex heterostructures studied with
      core-level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995798
TI  - Calculations of the electronic structure of highly strained GaAs/GaSb/GaAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9995800
TI  - Influence of film and deposition parameters on the electrical conduction in
      CdSexTe1-x thin films.

PMID- 9995799
TI  - Theoretical study of muon-induced solitons in polyacetylene.

PMID- 9995801
TI  - Electronic structure of an InAs monomolecular plane in GaAs.

PMID- 9995803
TI  - Phonon-assisted cyclotron resonance in n-type quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9995802
TI  - Excitation mechanisms of photoluminescence in double-barrier resonant-tunneling
      structures.

PMID- 9995805
TI  - Probability-density-function description of mesoscopic normal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9995804
TI  - Raman scattering in a superlattice under an electric field.

PMID- 9995806
TI  - Comparison and spatial profiling of strain in

PMID- 9995807
TI  - Strain-induced quantum confinement of carriers due to extended defects in
      silicon.

PMID- 9995809
TI  - Impurity incorporation and doping efficiency in a-Si:H.

PMID- 9995808
TI  - Hydrostatic pressure coefficients of the photoluminescence of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs
      strained-layer quantum wells.

PMID- 9995810
TI  - Polarizabilities of shallow donors in quantum wells.

PMID- 9995811
TI  - Polarizabilities of shallow donors in finite-barrier quantum wells.

PMID- 9995812
TI  - Cell-cluster and self-consistent calculations for a model sodium chloride
      crystal.

PMID- 9995813
TI  - EPR study of hole trapping at cation vacancies in silver halides.

PMID- 9995814
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of the crystal structures and orientational glass state
      of Ar1-x(N2)x solid solutions.

PMID- 9995815
TI  - Raman scattering from VO2 single crystals: A study of the effects of surface
      oxidation.

PMID- 9995816
TI  - Generalized renormalization-group calculation of x-ray photoemission spectra for
      a simple metal.

PMID- 9995817
TI  - Depolarization and metallization in alkali-metal overlayers.

PMID- 9995818
TI  - Vibrational frequencies of Si-P-H complexes in crystalline silicon: A theoretical
      study.

PMID- 9995819
TI  - Observation of a metallic impurity band in n-type GaAs.

PMID- 9995821
TI  - Stress-induced switching of nonlinear optical properties of linear polymers.

PMID- 9995820
TI  - Proximity effect in the collective excitations of the fractional quantum Hall
      state.

PMID- 9995822
TI  - Temperature and volume dependence of the Raman spectrum of ammonia solid II.

PMID- 9995823
TI  - Erratum: Small-crystal approach to ordered semiconductor compounds

PMID- 9995824
TI  - Erratum: Surface reconstructions of GaAs(100) observed by scanning tunneling
      microscopy

PMID- 9995825
TI  - Erratum: Effective-mass approximation in semiconductor heterostructures: One
      dimensional analysis

PMID- 9995826
TI  - Magnetoresistance of very pure simple metals.

PMID- 9995827
TI  - Simulated annealing of carbon clusters.

PMID- 9995828
TI  - Local-spin-density calculations for iron: Effect of spin interpolation on ground
      state properties.

PMID- 9995829
TI  - Exciton localization in submonolayer InAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9995831
TI  - Possible observation of impurity effects on conductance quantization.

PMID- 9995830
TI  - Stability and band offsets of heterovalent superlattices: Si/GaP, Ge/GaAs, and
      Si/GaAs.

PMID- 9995832
TI  - Interface-roughness-controlled exciton mobilities in GaAs/ Al0.37Ga0.63As quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9995834
TI  - Synchrotron-radiation-induced surface photovoltage on GaAs studied by contact
      potential-difference measurements.

PMID- 9995833
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron-hole fluid.

PMID- 9995835
TI  - Adsorption and interaction of Sm on GaAs(110) studied by scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9995836
TI  - Resonant-Raman-scattering studies of disorder in solution-cast polydiacetylene
      films.

PMID- 9995837
TI  - Photoabsorption of small metal clusters: Surface and volume modes.

PMID- 9995838
TI  - Segregation at the Pt0.5Ni0.5(111) surface studied by medium-energy ion
      scattering.

PMID- 9995840
TI  - Experimental demonstration of the role of local latent heat in Ge pattern
      formation.

PMID- 9995839
TI  - Theory of the effects of destruction of localization by inelastic scattering in
      the resistivity of pure thin potassium wires.

PMID- 9995842
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of Rh overlayers on Mo(110).

PMID- 9995841
TI  - Accurate forces in a local-orbital approach to the local-density approximation.

PMID- 9995843
TI  - Switching of K0.3MoO3 at low temperatures. I. Response to the dc electric field.

PMID- 9995844
TI  - Switching of K0.3MoO3 at low temperatures. II. ac conductivity in the highly
      conducting state.

PMID- 9995845
TI  - Temperature dependence of the optical conductivity of the heavy-fermion system
      CeCu6.

PMID- 9995846
TI  - Structure and vibrations of chemically produced Au55 clusters.

PMID- 9995847
TI  - Optical-absorption spectra, crystal-field energy levels, and transition line
      strengths of holmium in trigonal Na3

PMID- 9995848
TI  - Parametric analysis of f-f transition intensities in trigonal Na3

PMID- 9995849
TI  - Universal stabilizing mechanism for transition-metal polytetrahedrally packed
      phases.

PMID- 9995850
TI  - Coupled-cluster approaches with an approximate account of triexcitations and the
      optimized-inner-projection technique. II. Coupled-cluster results for cyclic
      polyene model systems.

PMID- 9995851
TI  - Electrical-conduction mechanisms in polymer-copper-particle composites. I.
      Temperature and high-magnetic-field dependence of the conductivity.

PMID- 9995852
TI  - Electrical-conduction mechanisms in polymer-copper-particle composites. II. (1/f)
      noise measurements in the percolation limit.

PMID- 9995853
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of liquid NaPb, KPb, RbPb, and CsPb alloys.

PMID- 9995854
TI  - Change in resistivity of simple metals on melting.

PMID- 9995855
TI  - Termination and rumpling of nonunique surfaces.

PMID- 9995856
TI  - Numerical studies of femtosecond carrier dynamics in GaAs.

PMID- 9995858
TI  - Dissociation kinetics of hydrogen-passivated (111) Si-SiO2 interface defects.

PMID- 9995857
TI  - Reflectance study of interwell couplings in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs double quantum wells.

PMID- 9995859
TI  - Resonant-acceptor-bound magnetic polarons in the zero-band-gap semimagnetic
      semiconductor Hg1-xMnxTe.

PMID- 9995860
TI  - EPR evidence for As interstitial-related defects in semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9995861
TI  - Local-density theory of band offsets in strained superlattices: (InAs)n/(InP)n
      (001).

PMID- 9995862
TI  - Strong chemical reactivity at the early stages of Yb overgrowth on GaP(110): A
      synchrotron-radiation study.

PMID- 9995863
TI  - Operator ordering in effective-mass theory for heterostructures. I. Comparison
      with exact results for superlattices, quantum wells, and localized potentials.

PMID- 9995864
TI  - Operator ordering in effective-mass theory for heterostructures. II. Strained
      systems.

PMID- 9995865
TI  - Variational quantum Monte Carlo nonlocal pseudopotential approach to solids:
      Formulation and application to diamond, graphite, and silicon.

PMID- 9995866
TI  - Conductance oscillations periodic in the density of one-dimensional electron
      gases.

PMID- 9995867
TI  - Analytical properties of a (Wannier) exciton-phonon system: On the exclusion of
      self-trapping and overscreening.

PMID- 9995868
TI  - Influence of substrate composition and crystallographic orientation on the band
      structure of pseudomorphic Si-Ge alloy films.

PMID- 9995869
TI  - One-electron formalism for second-harmonic generation in crystalline
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9995870
TI  - Anomalous Hall-effect results in low-temperature molecular-beam-epitaxial GaAs:
      Hopping in a dense EL2-like band.

PMID- 9995871
TI  - Spatial distribution of the wave functions of a graphite surface studied by use
      of metastable-atom electron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995873
TI  - Wannier-Stark localization of X and Gamma states in GaAs-AlAs short-period
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995872
TI  - Electronic transitions in CdTe under pressure.

PMID- 9995874
TI  - Electromodulation spectroscopy of metalorganic-vapor-phase-epitaxy-grown
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9995876
TI  - Electron-hole recombination in narrow-band-gap Hg1-xCdxTe and stimulated emission
      of LO phonons.

PMID- 9995875
TI  - Stimulated emission of LO phonons in narrow-band-gap semiconductors.

PMID- 9995877
TI  - Deep europium-bound exciton in a ZnS lattice.

PMID- 9995878
TI  - Core excitons and conduction-band structures in orthorhombic GeS, GeSe, SnS, and
      SnSe single crystals.

PMID- 9995879
TI  - Structural complexity in grain boundaries with covalent bonding.

PMID- 9995880
TI  - Tetrahedron model for the optical dielectric function of hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon nitride alloys.

PMID- 9995881
TI  - Optical dielectric function and infrared absorption of hydrogenated amorphous
      silicon nitride films: Experimental results and effective-medium-approximation
      analysis.

PMID- 9995882
TI  - Second-harmonic generation in a Fibonacci optical superlattice and the dispersive
      effect of the refractive index.

PMID- 9995884
TI  - Analytical formalism for determining quantum-wire and quantum-dot band structure
      in the multiband envelope-function approximation.

PMID- 9995883
TI  - Transmission of light through deterministic aperiodic non-Fibonaccian
      multilayers.

PMID- 9995885
TI  - Single-crystal neutron-diffraction study of the orientational glass state of
      (NaCN)1-x(KCN)x.

PMID- 9995887
TI  - Temperature dependence of the low-temperature mobility in ultrapure AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs heterojunctions: Acoustic-phonon scattering.

PMID- 9995886
TI  - Low-symmetry effects in optical absorption of doped Tutton-salt crystals.

PMID- 9995889
TI  - Physisorption of CO and N2 on Al(111): Observation of surface-molecule vibrations
      in electron resonance scattering.

PMID- 9995888
TI  - Helical electromagnetic solitons in metals.

PMID- 9995890
TI  - Surface stability of ordered lattice-mismatched III-V alloys.

PMID- 9995892
TI  - Kinetics study of the GaP(110)/Cu interface via P L2,3VV Auger line shape and x
      ray-photoemission spectroscopies.

PMID- 9995891
TI  - Evidence for the influence of electron-electron interaction on the chemical
      potential of the two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9995894
TI  - Nonlinear transport in ballistic quantum chains.

PMID- 9995893
TI  - Microscopic theory of enhanced nonlinear refraction in semiconductor
      superlattices.

PMID- 9995895
TI  - Electronic structure of random Al0.5Ga0.5As alloys: Test of the "special
      quasirandom-structures" description.

PMID- 9995896
TI  - Successive oxidation stages of adatoms on the Si(111)7 x 7 surface observed with
      scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995897
TI  - Observation of dipolar interactions between Pb0 defects at the (111) Si/SiO2
      interface.

PMID- 9995898
TI  - Room-temperature nitridation of gallium arsenide using alkali metal and molecular
      nitrogen.

PMID- 9995899
TI  - Excited-state absorption by Eu2+ in NaF and KMgF3.

PMID- 9995900
TI  - Optical-pumping effects on Raman-heterodyne-detected multipulse rf nuclear-spin
      echo decay.

PMID- 9995902
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance and optical study of the Bi0(6p3) center in KCl.

PMID- 9995901
TI  - Multiple-scattering Green-function method for electronic-structure calculations
      of surfaces and coherent interfaces.

PMID- 9995903
TI  - Four-wave-mixing spectroscopy of Cr-doped garnet crystals.

PMID- 9995904
TI  - Total electron yield of layered synthetic materials with interfacial roughness.

PMID- 9995905
TI  - Computer simulations on collision-sequence mechanisms: Bombardment of single
      crystalline Cu(100) by Ar ions.

PMID- 9995906
TI  - Computer simulations on sputtering mechanisms: Bombardment of single-crystalline
      Cu(100) by Ar ions.

PMID- 9995908
TI  - Stopping powers of 7Li, 11B, 12C, 14N, and 16O ions in C16H14O3 polycarbonate.

PMID- 9995907
TI  - Ground-state multiplet of rare-earth 3+ ions in R2Fe14B investigated by inelastic
      neutron scattering.

PMID- 9995909
TI  - 85Rb, 87Rb, and 17O nuclear-quadrupole-resonance study of Rb(H1-xDx)2PO4.

PMID- 9995910
TI  - Theory of vibrational, rotational, and phonon inelastic collisions of a triatomic
      molecule by a crystal surface. I. A quantum-mechanical treatment of the
      scattering dynamics.

PMID- 9995911
TI  - Theory of vibrational, rotational, and phonon inelastic collisions of a triatomic
      molecule by a crystal surface. II. Approximate methods and applications to
      resonance and adsorption.

PMID- 9995912
TI  - Exchange-interaction constant of polycrystalline CdCr2Se4 thin films doped with
      In.

PMID- 9995913
TI  - Two-band Hamiltonian for CuO2 planes.

PMID- 9995914
TI  - Simultaneous competition and coexistence between charge-density waves and
      reentrant superconductivity in the pressure-temperature phase diagram of the
      molecular conductor TTF

PMID- 9995915
TI  - Influence of oxygen nonstoichiometry on structure and magnetism in Pr2NiO4+
      delta.

PMID- 9995916
TI  - Proximity effect in zero field with the Landau-Ginzburg equation. I.

PMID- 9995917
TI  - Proximity effect in zero field with the Landau-Ginzburg equation. II.

PMID- 9995918
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional imperfect Bose gas adsorbed on a surface.

PMID- 9995920
TI  - Direct investigations of the superconducting surface sheath and nonlocal
      electrodynamics by polarized neutron reflections.

PMID- 9995919
TI  - Comparison of mean-field theories of an extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9995921
TI  - Bound electron pairs in the presence of charge confinement.

PMID- 9995922
TI  - Anomalous current-voltage characteristics due to macroscopic resonant tunneling
      in a small Josephson junction.

PMID- 9995923
TI  - Andreev scattering of quasiparticle wave packets and current-voltage
      characteristics of superconducting metallic weak links.

PMID- 9995925
TI  - Effective Lagrangian for a system of nonrelativistic fermions in 2+1 dimensions
      coupled to an electromagnetic field: Application to anyonic superconductors.

PMID- 9995924
TI  - Superfluid kinetic equation approach to the dynamics of the 3He A-B phase
      boundary.

PMID- 9995926
TI  - Temperature dependence of the spin dynamics in quantum spin liquids.

PMID- 9995928
TI  - Nested-Fermi-liquid theory.

PMID- 9995927
TI  - Far-infrared photoresponse of quasi-two-dimensional granular NbN/BN films.

PMID- 9995929
TI  - Charged excitations of the chiral spin liquid.

PMID- 9995930
TI  - Chaos in long Josephson junctions without external rf driving force.

PMID- 9995931
TI  - Far-infrared optical properties of tetrathiofulvalene-tetracyanoquinodimethane
      (TTF-TCNQ).

PMID- 9995932
TI  - Flux-line-cutting effects at the critical current of cylindrical type-II
      superconductors.

PMID- 9995933
TI  - Modulated structures and intergrowth in Pb-doped Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting
      oxides.

PMID- 9995934
TI  - Coherence length and vortex filament in the boson-fermion model of
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9995935
TI  - Ion irradiation of epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7- delta films: Effects of electronic energy
      loss.

PMID- 9995936
TI  - Pairing of charge carriers in the two-dimensional molecular crystal model.

PMID- 9995938
TI  - Investigation of partial superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7 at 300 K.

PMID- 9995937
TI  - Electronic structure and hole-hole coupling in YBa2Cu3O7-x systems.

PMID- 9995939
TI  - Magnetism and superconductivity in the t-J model.

PMID- 9995941
TI  - Image-charge-mediated pairing in oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9995940
TI  - Ion channeling in (Bi1.7Pb0.3)Sr2CaCu2Ox single crystals.

PMID- 9995942
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission from Nd2-xCexCuO4(001): A dispersive bandlike Fermi
      liquid state of Cu 3d character near the Fermi level.

PMID- 9995943
TI  - Calculation of nuclear quadrupole splitting in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9995944
TI  - Mossbauer study of Fe site occupancy and its effect on Tc in YBa2(Cu1-xFex)3O6+y
      as a function of thermal treatments.

PMID- 9995945
TI  - Spin-wave-velocity renormalization in the two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9995946
TI  - Characterization of superconducting Bi2Sr2Can-1CunO4+2n phases with 57Fe
      Mossbauer spectroscopy.

PMID- 9995947
TI  - Ionic model for the stability of the Y-Ba-Cu high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9995948
TI  - Rietveld analysis of the modulated structure in the superconducting oxide
      Bi2(Sr,Ca)3Cu2O8+x.

PMID- 9995950
TI  - Theory of oxygen diffusion in the YBa2Cu3O7-x superconducting compound.

PMID- 9995949
TI  - Polarized Raman measurements of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9995951
TI  - Long-range antiferromagnetic ordering in Bi2CuO4.

PMID- 9995952
TI  - Effects of Ce substitution and and reduction on the electronic states of Nd2
      xCexCuO4-y studied by x-ray photoelectron.

PMID- 9995954
TI  - Correlation bag and high-Tc superconductivity.

PMID- 9995953
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering study of the electron-phonon interaction in a
      superconducting La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 single crystal.

PMID- 9995955
TI  - Oxygen-disorder and correlation effects on the hole concentration and metal
      nonmetal transition in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9995956
TI  - High-pressure Raman study of one-dimensional crystals of the very polar molecule
      hydrogen cyanide.

PMID- 9995957
TI  - Theory of surface spin waves in metamagnets.

PMID- 9995958
TI  - Electronic properties of binary alloys through direct configurational averaging:
      Comparison with conventional methods.

PMID- 9995959
TI  - X-ray-diffraction studies of the magnetic state of thulium.

PMID- 9995960
TI  - Phonon effects at the metamagnetic transition in CeRu2Si2.

PMID- 9995962
TI  - Phonons in one-dimensional Peierls-Hubbard systems.

PMID- 9995961
TI  - Continuum theory of 4mm-2mm proper ferroelastic transformation under
      inhomogeneous stress.

PMID- 9995964
TI  - Measurement of electron mobility in liquid and critical argon at low electric
      field strengths.

PMID- 9995963
TI  - Dielectric function of layered materials.

PMID- 9995965
TI  - Transient ensemble averages in non-Newtonian flow: Symmetry and simulation.

PMID- 9995966
TI  - Spin dynamics and the delocalization of hole quasiparticles.

PMID- 9995967
TI  - Model for diffusion with interactions and trapping on realizations of the
      percolation model.

PMID- 9995969
TI  - Effect of local environment on the magnetic state of cerium in (Ce1-cGdc)Rh2.

PMID- 9995968
TI  - Magnetization process of a disordered phase in a mixed-bond spin-1 Ising
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9995970
TI  - Exact solutions for even-number correlations of the square Ising model.

PMID- 9995972
TI  - Isolated ferromagnetic bonds in the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9995971
TI  - Acoustic anomaly and the Landau free energy of incommensurate K2SeO4.

PMID- 9995973
TI  - Magnetic Compton profiles of iron and nickel.

PMID- 9995974
TI  - Correction-to-scaling exponent for self-avoiding walks.

PMID- 9995975
TI  - n-point probability functions for a lattice model of heterogeneous media.

PMID- 9995977
TI  - Conductance fluctuations in weakly inhomogeneous finite-size random media.

PMID- 9995976
TI  - Electronic structures of FeB, Fe2B, and Fe3B compounds studied using first
      principles spin-polarized calculations.

PMID- 9995979
TI  - Theory of unstable growth.

PMID- 9995978
TI  - Photoacoustic measurement of the thermal properties of two-layer systems.

PMID- 9995980
TI  - Lifshitz-Slyozov kinetics of a nonconserved system that separates into phases of
      different density.

PMID- 9995981
TI  - Growth of order in vector spin systems and self-organized criticality.

PMID- 9995982
TI  - Theory of spin-dependent electron diffraction from the Fe(110) surface.

PMID- 9995984
TI  - Effect of the Haldane gap on quasi-one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9995983
TI  - Lowest-order Landau-level mixing corrections for 4 >= nu >2 quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9995985
TI  - Relativistic effects on the thermal expansion of the actinide elements.

PMID- 9995987
TI  - Exact-enumeration approach to tunneling in disordered systems.

PMID- 9995986
TI  - Electrical properties of zinc ferrites Fe3-xZnxO4 with 0 <= x<0.3.

PMID- 9995989
TI  - Spin-Peierls, valence-bond solid, and Neel ground states of low-dimensional
      quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9995988
TI  - Martensitic transformation of Ca.

PMID- 9995990
TI  - Spin-glass-like behavior in Cu/Ni multilayered films.

PMID- 9995991
TI  - Measurements of the ac conductivity and dielectric constant in a two-dimensional
      lattice percolation system.

PMID- 9995992
TI  - Two-dimensional electrons in a strong magnetic field: A basis for single-particle
      states.

PMID- 9995993
TI  - Dense sphere packings in cylindrical Penrose tilings.

PMID- 9995994
TI  - Anderson localization in anisotropic random media.

PMID- 9995995
TI  - Dipolar magnets and glasses: Neutron-scattering, dynamical, and calorimetric
      studies of randomly distributed Ising spins.

PMID- 9995996
TI  - Valence-electron contributions to the electric-field gradient in hcp metals and
      at Gd nuclei in intermetallic compounds with the ThCr2Si2 structure.

PMID- 9995997
TI  - Hidden symmetries in the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9995998
TI  - Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the Lieb-Mattis model of antiferromagnetism.

PMID- 9996000
TI  - Haldane-gap modes in the S=1 antiferromagnetic chain compound CsNiCl3.

PMID- 9995999
TI  - Application of the Monte Carlo coherent-anomaly method to two-dimensional lattice
      gas systems with further-neighbor interactions.

PMID- 9996001
TI  - First-principles calculations for a model Hamiltonian treatment of hybridizing
      light actinide compounds.

PMID- 9996002
TI  - Critical dynamics of unstable states.

PMID- 9996003
TI  - Density of states of infinite quantum systems.

PMID- 9996004
TI  - Thomas-Fermi theory of screening of a point-charge impurity in an insulator:
      Nonzero temperature.

PMID- 9996005
TI  - Zeeman spin-splitting-frequency renormalization in disordered interacting
      electronic systems.

PMID- 9996006
TI  - Estimation of surface energy in coherent-phase mixtures controlled by elastic
      strain energy.

PMID- 9996007
TI  - Microscopic identification of the F2+-O2- center formation in LiF:OH-

PMID- 9996008
TI  - Pulsed diffusing-wave spectroscopy: High resolution through nonlinear optical
      gating.

PMID- 9996009
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless mechanism of two-dimensional superconductivity.

PMID- 9996010
TI  - Thermal boundary resistance between PrNi5 and liquid 3He.

PMID- 9996012
TI  - Magnetic frustration in the three-band Anderson lattice model for high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9996011
TI  - Optical conductivity of single crystals of La2-xSrxNiO4.

PMID- 9996013
TI  - X-ray-absorption studies of Nd2-xCexCuO4.

PMID- 9996014
TI  - Competing effects on the Tc evaluation of Tl-based oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9996016
TI  - Spontaneous electrostatic potential in spin-split metals.

PMID- 9996015
TI  - Time-dependent superconducting behavior of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox: Possible
      annealing of oxygen vacancies at 300 K.

PMID- 9996017
TI  - Ferromagnetic-resonance study of critical exponents and transition temperatures
      of amorphous and icosahedral Al55Mn20Si25 alloys.

PMID- 9996018
TI  - Stress as an order parameter for the glass transition.

PMID- 9996019
TI  - Comment on "Valence-band states in Bi2(Ca,Sr,La)3Cu2O8"

PMID- 9996021
TI  - Optical conductivity of the Hubbard and t-J models.

PMID- 9996020
TI  - Reply to the "Comment on 'Valence-band states in Bi2(Ca,Sr,La)3Cu2O8.' "

PMID- 9996022
TI  - Phonon-mediated splitting in the optical susceptibility of polymers.

PMID- 9996023
TI  - Specific heat of polycrystalline Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 from 0.5 to 20 K.

PMID- 9996024
TI  - Phase transitions in Josephson-junction ladders in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9996026
TI  - Gap states in dilute-magnetic-alloy superconductors: A quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9996025
TI  - Ground-state properties of the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular
      lattice.

PMID- 9996027
TI  - Observation of lanthanum- and rare-earth-site ordering in T*-phase La2-x
      yRxSryCuO4 (R=Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb).

PMID- 9996028
TI  - Ballistic quasiparticle propagation and symmetry of the superconducting order
      parameter.

PMID- 9996029
TI  - Nonsuperconducting BaSn1-xSbxO3: The 5s-orbital analog of BaPb1-xBixO3.

PMID- 9996030
TI  - Spiral phases and time-reversal-violating resonating-valence-bond states of doped
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9996031
TI  - Evidence against hole filling by Pr in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9996033
TI  - Seebeck effect in the mixed state of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996032
TI  - Flux phases in polarized spin liquids.

PMID- 9996034
TI  - Mobile holes in a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996035
TI  - Microwave surface resistance and vortices in high-Tc superconductors: Observation
      of flux pinning and flux creep.

PMID- 9996036
TI  - Temperature-dependent lifetime of spin excitations in RBa2Cu3O6 (R=Eu, Y).

PMID- 9996038
TI  - Finite-size effects and anisotropic melting of the vortex solid in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9996037
TI  - Nonlinear electrodynamics in granular YBa2Cu3O7: Measurements and models of
      complex permeability.

PMID- 9996039
TI  - Magnetoresistance of high-Tc superconductors in the fluctuation regime.

PMID- 9996040
TI  - Distribution of pinning energies and the resistive transition in superconducting
      films.

PMID- 9996041
TI  - Spectral function at finite doping in the t-J model.

PMID- 9996043
TI  - S(q, omega ) for the S=1/2 and S=1 one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet: A
      quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9996042
TI  - Pairing by dynamic charge fluctuations in the extended Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996044
TI  - Hard-axis magnetization of ultrathin Ni(111) films on W(110): An experimental
      method to measure the magneto-optic Kerr effect in ultrahigh vacuum.

PMID- 9996045
TI  - Universality of continuum percolation.

PMID- 9996046
TI  - Structural and elastic properties of zirconium nitride-aluminum nitride
      multilayers.

PMID- 9996047
TI  - Rotational and translational self-diffusion of interacting spherical Brownian
      particles.

PMID- 9996048
TI  - Magnetoresistance and Hall effect in epitaxial Co-Au superlattices.

PMID- 9996049
TI  - Dielectric dispersion associated with the dc-electric-field-enforced
      ferroelectric phase transition in the pressure-induced antiferroelectric CsH2PO4.

PMID- 9996050
TI  - Replica scaling analysis of interfaces in random media.

PMID- 9996051
TI  - Reaction and diffusion at Cu/Al interfaces studied using glancing-angle extended
      x-ray-absorption fine structures.

PMID- 9996052
TI  - Computer simulation of intrinsic localized modes in one-dimensional and two
      dimensional anharmonic lattices.

PMID- 9996053
TI  - Phase-sensitive scanning tunneling potentiometry and the local transport field in
      mesoscopic systems.

PMID- 9996054
TI  - Wave-vector dependence of the exchange contribution to the electron-gas response
      functions: An analytic derivation.

PMID- 9996056
TI  - Exact many-body solution of the periodic-cluster t-t'-J model for cubic systems:
      Ground-state properties.

PMID- 9996055
TI  - Defect-inhibited incommensurate distortion in Ta2NiSe7.

PMID- 9996057
TI  - Optical study of the stoichiometry-dependent electronic structure of TiCx, VCx,
      and NbCx.

PMID- 9996059
TI  - Atomic structure and segregation in alkali-metal heteroclusters.

PMID- 9996058
TI  - Calculation of H-H potential energies and fusion rates in PdxH2 clusters (x=2,4).

PMID- 9996060
TI  - Intensity of surface-plasmon polariton energy emitted into the air side in an
      air/Ag-film/prism configuration.

PMID- 9996061
TI  - Morphological equilibration of a corrugated crystalline surface.

PMID- 9996062
TI  - Surface resonances on Ta(001).

PMID- 9996063
TI  - Temperature effects on the optical absorption of jellium clusters.

PMID- 9996064
TI  - Theoretical determination of work functions and adsorption energies of atoms on
      metal surfaces from small-cluster calculations: A local-spin-density approach.

PMID- 9996065
TI  - Role of forms of exchange and correlation used in generating pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9996067
TI  - Atomic structure and bonding in liquid GaAs from Iab-initioP molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9996066
TI  - Anomalous behavior of Pr ions in amorphous Pr-Fe, Pr-Co, and Pr-Ni thin films.

PMID- 9996068
TI  - O2/GaAs(110) interface formation at 20 K: Photon-induced reaction and desorption.

PMID- 9996069
TI  - X-ray-diffraction measurements from imperfect GaAs crystals: Evidence for near
      surface defects.

PMID- 9996070
TI  - Properties of the Landauer resistance of finite repeated structures.

PMID- 9996071
TI  - Elastic strain at pseudomorphic semiconductor heterojunctions studied by x-ray
      photoelectron diffraction: Ge/Si(001) and Si/Ge(001).

PMID- 9996072
TI  - Dispersion of nonlinear optical susceptibility of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple
      quantum wells in the exciton region.

PMID- 9996074
TI  - In situ monitoring of step arrays on vicinal silicon (100) surfaces for
      heteroepitaxy.

PMID- 9996073
TI  - Intensity of exciton luminescence in silicon in a weak magnetic field.

PMID- 9996075
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of amorphous Si.

PMID- 9996076
TI  - Hot-exciton relaxation in (In,Ga)As-AlAs strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9996077
TI  - Carrier effects on the excitonic absorption in GaAs quantum-well structures:
      Phase-space filling.

PMID- 9996079
TI  - Optical parameters of Cd1-xFexSe and Cd1-xFexTe by means of Kramers-Kronig
      analysis of reflectivity data.

PMID- 9996080
TI  - Electron states in a GaAs quantum dot in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9996078
TI  - Hybridization of 3d states of photodoped Cu in amorphous GeSe2 by resonant
      photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996081
TI  - Accurate interband-Auger-recombination rates in silicon.

PMID- 9996082
TI  - Ga configurations in hydrogenated amorphous silicon as studied by x-ray
      photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996083
TI  - Low-energy-electron escape lengths in SiO2.

PMID- 9996085
TI  - Chemisorption of group-III metals on the Si(111) and Ge(111) surfaces: An ab
      initio study.

PMID- 9996084
TI  - Birefringence and Faraday effect in Cd1-xMnxSe.

PMID- 9996087
TI  - Exciton effects on second-order nonlinear susceptibility in a quantum well with
      an applied electric field.

PMID- 9996086
TI  - Effects of interdiffusion on the electronic properties of HgTe-CdTe
      superlattices.

PMID- 9996088
TI  - Oxidation of GaAs(110) with NO2: Infrared spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996090
TI  - High excited states of magnetodonors in InSb: An experimental and theoretical
      study.

PMID- 9996089
TI  - Current transport in high-barrier IrSi/Si Schottky diodes.

PMID- 9996091
TI  - Nonresonant magnetotunneling in asymmetric GaAs/AlAs double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9996092
TI  - Direct inter-conduction-subband optical absorption of thin zinc-blende-structure
      semiconductor rectangular wires.

PMID- 9996093
TI  - Elasticity and thermal expansivity of (AgI)x(AgPO3)1-x glasses.

PMID- 9996094
TI  - Optical properties of vanadium pentoxide determined from ellipsometry and band
      structure calculations.

PMID- 9996095
TI  - Polarization properties of quasielastic light scattering in fused-silica optical
      fiber.

PMID- 9996096
TI  - Alkali-halide cluster ions produced by laser vaporization of solids.

PMID- 9996097
TI  - Spin-orbit contribution to the Hall coefficient approaching the metal-insulator
      transition: An explanation for the critical behavior of Ge:Sb.

PMID- 9996098
TI  - Importance of Pauli-principle restrictions for accurate numerical evaluation of
      the exchange-only screening function.

PMID- 9996099
TI  - Thermal conductivity of the molybdenum blue bronze Rb0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9996100
TI  - Theoretical study of the metastability of Au22+ clusters.

PMID- 9996101
TI  - Mean free path of a trapped physisorbed hydrogen molecule.

PMID- 9996102
TI  - Localization properties of the nonbonding pi states at the Fermi level in
      amorphous carbon.

PMID- 9996103
TI  - Two-dimensional electrons near a half-filled Landau level.

PMID- 9996104
TI  - Random-walk simulation of the dielectric constant of a composite material.

PMID- 9996106
TI  - Binding energies of ground and excited states of shallow acceptors in GaAs/Ga1
      xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9996105
TI  - Convergence of force calculations for noncrystalline Si.

PMID- 9996108
TI  - Analytic theory of resonant magnetotransport in ballistic quantum conductors.

PMID- 9996107
TI  - Monte Carlo study of liquid GaAs: Bulk and surface properties.

PMID- 9996109
TI  - Erratum: Structural defects in chromium-ion-implanted vitreous silica

PMID- 9996110
TI  - Erratum: Structural properties of ordered high-melting-temperature intermetallic
      alloys from first-principles total-energy calculations

PMID- 9996112
TI  - Molecular-dynamics investigation of cluster-beam deposition.

PMID- 9996111
TI  - Erratum: Electronic processes in double-barrier resonant-tunneling structures
      studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy in zero and finite magnetic fields

PMID- 9996114
TI  - Fermi-surface-driven ordering process in the Ag-Mg alloys near Ag3Mg.

PMID- 9996113
TI  - Nondipole channels in the electron-energy-loss structure near the 3s edge of
      copper.

PMID- 9996115
TI  - Energy and structure of uniaxial incommensurate monolayer solids: Application to
      Xe/Pt(111).

PMID- 9996117
TI  - Reconstruction and Fermi surface of W(001).

PMID- 9996116
TI  - Two-dimensional condensation of potassium on Ag(001).

PMID- 9996119
TI  - Formation of the 5 x 5 reconstruction on cleaved Si(111) surfaces studied by
      scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9996118
TI  - Structural changes in boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon during long-time
      annealing below the deposition temperature.

PMID- 9996120
TI  - Room-temperature emission of highly excited GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9996121
TI  - Grazing-angle x-ray standing waves.

PMID- 9996122
TI  - Picosecond acoustics in polythiophene thin films.

PMID- 9996123
TI  - Low-temperature energy relaxation in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterojunctions.

PMID- 9996124
TI  - Electron localization in polyaniline derivatives.

PMID- 9996125
TI  - Giant discrete resistance fluctuations observed in normal-metal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9996126
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy in low-dimensional ferromagnetic systems: Fe monolayers on
      Ag(001), Au(001), and Pd(001) substrates.

PMID- 9996128
TI  - Electron-energy-loss cross-section and surface lattice-dynamics studies of
      NiAl(110).

PMID- 9996127
TI  - Surface-phonon dispersion of NiAl(110).

PMID- 9996129
TI  - 2p x-ray absorption of 3d transition-metal compounds: An atomic multiplet
      description including the crystal field.

PMID- 9996131
TI  - Tunneling characteristics of different models for the metal-vacuum-metal barrier.

PMID- 9996130
TI  - Far-infrared investigation of the generalized Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation using
      ZnS-diamond composites.

PMID- 9996132
TI  - Amorphization along interfaces and grain boundaries in polycrystalline
      multilayers: An x-ray-diffraction study of Ni/Ti multilayers.

PMID- 9996133
TI  - Core structure of a dissociated easy-glide dislocation in copper investigated by
      molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9996134
TI  - Linear and nonlinear response of alkali-metal adlayers on metal surfaces to a
      static electric field.

PMID- 9996135
TI  - Calculation of the reflection coefficients of interfaces: A scattering approach.

PMID- 9996136
TI  - Impurity-induced grain-boundary embrittlement: A simple three-dimensional model.

PMID- 9996137
TI  - Magnetovolume transition in ordered Ni3Al.

PMID- 9996138
TI  - Nonlinear equation for diffusion and adatom interactions during epitaxial growth
      on vicinal surfaces.

PMID- 9996139
TI  - High-field magnetization of magnetic graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9996141
TI  - Effect of finite system size on thermal fluctuations: Implications for melting.

PMID- 9996140
TI  - Energy shifts and broadening of atomic levels near metal surfaces.

PMID- 9996142
TI  - Local chiral symmetry and charge-density waves in one-dimensional conductors.

PMID- 9996144
TI  - Coulomb blockade on imaged mesoscopic lead grains.

PMID- 9996143
TI  - Surface x-ray-scattering measurements of the substrate-induced spatial modulation
      of an incommensurate adsorbed monolayer.

PMID- 9996145
TI  - Surface lattice dynamics of nearly incommensurate overlayers.

PMID- 9996146
TI  - Radiative decay and phonon scattering of biexcitons in CuCl.

PMID- 9996147
TI  - Edge states in quantum wires in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9996148
TI  - Photoluminescence study of radiative channels in ion-implanted silicon.

PMID- 9996150
TI  - Long-distance photoassisted electron transfer.

PMID- 9996149
TI  - Introduction, revelation, and evolution of complementary gratings in
      photorefractive bismuth silicon oxide.

PMID- 9996152
TI  - Transport properties of vanadium germanate glassy semiconductors.

PMID- 9996151
TI  - Electronic band structure of GaAs sawtooth-doping superlattices.

PMID- 9996153
TI  - Bond densities and electronic structure of amorphous SiNx:H.

PMID- 9996155
TI  - Site determination of oxygen in B6O by oxygen K alpha x-ray-emission
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996154
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of electron-hole thermalization in photoexcited bulk
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9996156
TI  - Monte Carlo method for the simulation of electronic noise in semiconductors.

PMID- 9996157
TI  - Shear-deformation-potential constant of the conduction-band minima of Si:
      Pseudopotential calculations.

PMID- 9996158
TI  - Dynamics of resonant and nonresonant electron tunneling in double-quantum-well
      structures under electric fields.

PMID- 9996159
TI  - Electronic structure of Si(111)-NiSi2(111) A-type and B-type interfaces.

PMID- 9996160
TI  - Magneto-optics in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs single heterojunctions.

PMID- 9996161
TI  - Influence of stacking faults in polymorphic ZnS on the d5 crystal-field states of
      Mn2+

PMID- 9996162
TI  - EPR identification of the single-acceptor state of interstitial carbon in
      silicon.

PMID- 9996163
TI  - Bistable interstitial-carbon-substitutional-carbon pair in silicon.

PMID- 9996164
TI  - H2S+S: A model system for a sulfur-based charge-transfer salt.

PMID- 9996165
TI  - Point-defect equilibrium during diffusion of purely substitutional impurities
      into elemental crystals.

PMID- 9996166
TI  - Raman scattering by the coupled plasmon-LO-phonon modes near the E0+ Delta 0 gap
      of n-type GaAs: Resonance and interference effects.

PMID- 9996167
TI  - Experimental study of the Gamma -X electron transfer in type-II (Al,Ga)As/AlAs
      superlattices and multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9996168
TI  - Anisotropic thermal conductivity in mercurous chloride crystals.

PMID- 9996170
TI  - Tunneling states in neutron-irradiated quartz: Measurements of the ultrasonic
      attenuation and velocity change.

PMID- 9996169
TI  - Stimulated Raman scattering in lithium formate monohydrate crystals at
      temperatures from 2 to 300 K.

PMID- 9996171
TI  - Relaxation of persistent photoconductivity in Al0.3Ga0.7As.

PMID- 9996173
TI  - Microscopic approach to the structure of transition-metal glasses.

PMID- 9996172
TI  - Temperature dependence of the resistivity in Cu/Ti superlattices.

PMID- 9996174
TI  - Conductance of Fabry-Perot and two-slit electronic waveguides.

PMID- 9996175
TI  - Bremsstrahlung-isochromat-spectroscopy and x-ray-photoelectron-spectroscopy
      investigation of the electronic structure of beta -FeSi2 and the Fe/Si(111)
      interface.

PMID- 9996176
TI  - Lattice dynamics of Si/Ge (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9996177
TI  - Stark-ladder behavior of the X levels in a type-II GaAs/AlAs superlattice
      measured using electroreflectance spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996178
TI  - Volume dependence of ion polarizabilities in alkali-halide crystals.

PMID- 9996179
TI  - Relaxation kinetics in hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9996181
TI  - Coulomb blockade of resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9996180
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced type-I-->type-II transition in a semimagnetic
      CdTe/Cd0.93Mn0.07Te superlattice.

PMID- 9996182
TI  - Thermomagnetic transport coefficients of a periodically modulated two-dimensional
      electron gas.

PMID- 9996183
TI  - Explicit evidence for bipolaron formation: Cs-doped biphenyl.

PMID- 9996184
TI  - Image charges in semiconductor quantum wells: Effect on exciton binding energy.

PMID- 9996185
TI  - Deuteron relaxation in HD-n-D2 mixtures.

PMID- 9996186
TI  - Two-photon spectroscopy of MgO:Ni2+

PMID- 9996187
TI  - Photoionization yields in the doubly doped SrF2:Eu,Sm system.

PMID- 9996188
TI  - Azimuthal-angle and energy distributions of Al2+ ejected from Al(100) by Ar+
      bombardment.

PMID- 9996189
TI  - Infrared spectroscopic study of the dressed rotations of CN- isotopes in alkali
      halide crystals.

PMID- 9996190
TI  - Radiative electron capture by channeled ions.

PMID- 9996191
TI  - Photorefractive properties of KNbO3.

PMID- 9996192
TI  - Coexisting static magnetic order and superconductivity in CeCu2Si2 found by
      nuclear quadrupole resonance.

PMID- 9996193
TI  - 39K NMR study of the paraelectric-to-incommensurate phase transition in K2ZnCl4.

PMID- 9996194
TI  - High-resolution optical study of a point-contact-induced phonon hot spot in ruby.

PMID- 9996196
TI  - Pressure dependence of electronic densities of states and superconducting
      transition temperatures in NiZr glasses.

PMID- 9996195
TI  - Anisotropic specific-heat behavior under a magnetic field of a YBa2Cu3O7 single
      crystal.

PMID- 9996197
TI  - Doping dependence of high-energy spectral weights for the high-Tc cuprates.

PMID- 9996199
TI  - Superconductivity and dissipation in small-diameter Pb-In wires.

PMID- 9996198
TI  - Thermal fluctuations, quenched disorder, phase transitions, and transport in type
      II superconductors.

PMID- 9996201
TI  - Layered perovskite compounds Srn+1VnO3n+1 (n=1, 2, 3, and

PMID- 9996200
TI  - Charge-density wave with imperfect nesting and superconductivity. II.

PMID- 9996202
TI  - Quantum spin-liquid state with a hole.

PMID- 9996203
TI  - Geometric interpretation of the weak-field Hall conductivity in two-dimensional
      metals with arbitrary Fermi surface.

PMID- 9996204
TI  - Macroscopic effects of local oxygen fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9996205
TI  - Modulation corrections to the modulated microwave absorption of a pure mercury
      sample.

PMID- 9996206
TI  - Deviations from the impulse approximation in liquid 4He: An experimental test at
      Q=23 A -1.

PMID- 9996207
TI  - Resonant tunneling in small current-biased Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996208
TI  - Heat capacity of single-crystal La2CuO4 and polycrystalline La2-xSrxCuO4 (0 <= x
      <= 0.20) from 110 to 600 K.

PMID- 9996209
TI  - Cu and O NMR studies of the magnetic properties of YBa2Cu3O6.63 (Tc=62 K).

PMID- 9996210
TI  - Application of the antiferromagnetic-Fermi-liquid theory to NMR experiments on
      YBa2Cu3O6.63.

PMID- 9996211
TI  - Application of antiferromagnetic-Fermi-liquid theory to NMR experiments in
      La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9996212
TI  - Superconductivity in a very high magnetic field.

PMID- 9996213
TI  - Upper critical magnetic field of the heavy-electron superconductors U1-xThxBe13
      (x=0 and 2.9%) doped with paramagnetic Gd and other rare-earth ions.

PMID- 9996214
TI  - Quantum mechanics of the fractional-statistics gas: Particle-hole interaction.

PMID- 9996215
TI  - Kondo resonance in the neutron spectra of intermediate-valent YbAl3.

PMID- 9996216
TI  - Collective oscillations of twin boundaries in high-temperature superconductors as
      an acoustic analogue of two-dimensional plasmons.

PMID- 9996217
TI  - Electronic structure studies on the n-type doped superconductors R2-xMxCuO4-
      delta (R=Pr,Nd,Sm; M=Ce,Th) and Nd2CuO4-xFx by electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996218
TI  - Charge-fluctuation effect on the critical temperature of layered high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996219
TI  - Core-level changes induced by oxygen in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9996220
TI  - Two-component superconductivity. I. Introduction and phenomenology.

PMID- 9996221
TI  - Positron annihilation from nearly localized Fermi liquids: A probe of pairing.

PMID- 9996222
TI  - Theoretical calculation of the wave-vector- and frequency-dependent dielectric
      function of YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9996224
TI  - Calculations of the dimensional dependence of the critical state in disk-shaped
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996223
TI  - Frequency and magnetic-field dependence of the dielectric constant and
      conductivity of La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9996225
TI  - Thermal-conductivity anisotropy of single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9996226
TI  - Exact solution of the London equation in two dimensions.

PMID- 9996227
TI  - Raman spectra of bismuth cuprate high-Tc superconductors and 3d-metal-substituted
      phases.

PMID- 9996228
TI  - Hole superconductivity in oxides: A two-band model.

PMID- 9996230
TI  - Resistance measurements and oxygen out-diffusion near the orthorhombic-tetragonal
      phase transformation in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9996229
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopic study of Ba1-xRbxBiO3.

PMID- 9996231
TI  - Magnetic and structural study of La1.8Sr0.2NiO4.

PMID- 9996232
TI  - Magnetic properties and superconducting-fluctuation diamagnetism above Tc in Bi2
      xPbxSr2CaCu2O8+ delta (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5) and Bi2-xPbxSr2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta
      (x=0.2, 0.25).

PMID- 9996233
TI  - Heat capacity of high-purity polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7 from 0.4 to 400 K in
      applied magnetic fields of 0 and 70 kG.

PMID- 9996234
TI  - Optical conductivity in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996235
TI  - Monte Carlo simulations of resonating-valence-bond U(1) dynamics.

PMID- 9996236
TI  - Cohesion energy and structural phase stability in La2CuO4: The orthorhombic
      state.

PMID- 9996238
TI  - Thermally activated dissipation in a long-term-annealed single crystal of
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9996237
TI  - Ultrasonic investigation of granular superconducting films.

PMID- 9996239
TI  - Electronic structure of YBa2(Cu1-xNix)3O7 in terms of the real-space-scattering
      coherent-potential approximation.

PMID- 9996240
TI  - High-frequency vortex dynamics and dissipation of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996241
TI  - Origin of electric-field gradients in high-temperature superconductors:
      YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9996242
TI  - Ground state of the atomic structure of YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9996243
TI  - Optical study of the doping effect in the metallic oxide (Nd,Sr)CoO3.

PMID- 9996244
TI  - Model based on single-ion theory: Preferential substitution at different rare
      earth sites in quasiternary (Nd,Pr)2Fe14B compounds.

PMID- 9996245
TI  - Spinless fermions on frustrated lattices in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9996246
TI  - 39K NMR study of the antiferroelectric phase transition in potassium thiocyanate.

PMID- 9996247
TI  - Longitudinal spin fluctuations in nickel.

PMID- 9996248
TI  - Continuous cooling of a one-dimensional bonded fluid: A Monte Carlo simulation
      study.

PMID- 9996249
TI  - Phenomenology and corrections to scaling in Heisenberg ferromagnets.

PMID- 9996250
TI  - Correlation functions for the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996252
TI  - Phase modulation and far-field spatial patterns due to the transformational
      thermal-lens effect.

PMID- 9996251
TI  - Effect of correlations and disorder on electron states in the Mott-Hubbard
      insulator V2O3.

PMID- 9996253
TI  - Energetics of point defects in the two-dimensional Wigner crystal.

PMID- 9996255
TI  - Ferroelastic phase transition in K3Na(CrO4)2: Brillouin scattering studies and
      theoretical modeling.

PMID- 9996254
TI  - Growth kinetics and domain morphology after off-critical quenches in a two
      dimensional fluid model.

PMID- 9996257
TI  - Order-parameter vibrations in the NbTe4 charge-density-wave system.

PMID- 9996256
TI  - Cation distribution and magnetic properties of titanomagnetites Fe3-xTixO4 (0 <=
      x<1).

PMID- 9996258
TI  - Scale-invariant disorder in fracture and related breakdown phenomena.

PMID- 9996259
TI  - Magnetic structures and excitations of CsMnI3: A one-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet with easy-axis anisotropy.

PMID- 9996260
TI  - Calorimetric study of the magnetic order in Ho(Co1-xRhx)2 alloys.

PMID- 9996261
TI  - "2+4" model: A Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9996262
TI  - Metallic ferromagnetism in a single-band model. IV. Effect of pair hopping.

PMID- 9996263
TI  - Magnetoelastic dissipation in macroscopic magnetization tunneling.

PMID- 9996264
TI  - Resonating-valence-bond theory for the square-planar lattice.

PMID- 9996266
TI  - Magnetization and neutron-diffraction studies of magnetic properties of single
      crystal DyMn2Ge2.

PMID- 9996265
TI  - Topological long-range order for resonating-valence-bond structures.

PMID- 9996267
TI  - Path-integral Monte Carlo study of the hard-disk solid.

PMID- 9996268
TI  - Percolation properties of the Wolff clusters in planar triangular spin models.

PMID- 9996270
TI  - Diffusive behavior of states in the Hubbard-Stratonovitch transformation.

PMID- 9996269
TI  - Theory of the phase-transition sequence in betaine calcium chloride dihydrate
      (BCCD).

PMID- 9996271
TI  - Giant monolayer magnetization of Fe on MgO: A nearly ideal two-dimensional
      magnetic system.

PMID- 9996272
TI  - Local-chemical-potential approach to small-cluster many-body systems.

PMID- 9996273
TI  - Two-soliton excitations and spin-wave responses in the antiferromagnets CsCoBr3
      and CsCoCl3.

PMID- 9996275
TI  - Two-magnon states of the alternating-bond ferrimagnetic chain.

PMID- 9996274
TI  - Fluid configurations in partially saturated porous media.

PMID- 9996277
TI  - Renormalized field theory for the static crossover in isotropic dipolar
      ferromagnets.

PMID- 9996276
TI  - Magnetic and metal-insulator transitions in metallic hydrogen.

PMID- 9996278
TI  - Synchrotron x-ray study of dimensional crossover in solid-phase smectic liquid
      crystal films.

PMID- 9996279
TI  - Nonexponential relaxation of diluted antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9996280
TI  - Theory of x-ray-absorption spectra in PrO2 and some other rare-earth compounds.

PMID- 9996281
TI  - Strong carrier scattering by a Cu2+ local moment array in one-dimensional
      molecular conductors CuxNi1-x(phthalocyaninato)I.

PMID- 9996282
TI  - Mean-field approach to magnetic ordering in highly frustrated pyrochlores.

PMID- 9996283
TI  - Theoretical analysis of R-line shifts of ruby subjected to different deformation
      conditions.

PMID- 9996284
TI  - Magnetic properties of Al-Ge-Mn and Al-Cu-Ge-Mn icosahedral alloys.

PMID- 9996285
TI  - Transfer-matrix cluster approximation for lattice models.

PMID- 9996286
TI  - Simple model of kinetic roughening of quasicrystalline surfaces.

PMID- 9996287
TI  - Six-dimensional structure model for the icosahedral quasicrystal Al6CuLi3.

PMID- 9996288
TI  - Melting of monolayer argon adsorbed on a graphite substrate.

PMID- 9996289
TI  - Theoretical study of the structural stability of CuPd and CuPt alloys: Pressure
      induced phase transition of CuPt alloy.

PMID- 9996290
TI  - Domain-growth kinetics and aspects of pinning: A Monte Carlo simulation study.

PMID- 9996292
TI  - Dynamics of droplets in random Ising magnetic systems.

PMID- 9996291
TI  - Linear magnetic birefringence measurements of Faraday materials.

PMID- 9996293
TI  - Cell geometry for cluster-based quasicrystal models.

PMID- 9996294
TI  - Twin bands in martensites: Statics and dynamics.

PMID- 9996295
TI  - Generalized Thue-Morse chains and their physical properties.

PMID- 9996296
TI  - Monte Carlo study of the surface special transition in the XY model in three
      dimensions.

PMID- 9996297
TI  - Quadratic substrate energy term and harmonics in the Halperin-Nelson model.

PMID- 9996298
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics of the Frenkel-Kontorova model with impurities.

PMID- 9996300
TI  - Anharmonic perturbation theory for the lattice-dynamic shell model.

PMID- 9996299
TI  - Exchange interactions and magnetic dimension in Cu(L-alanine)2.

PMID- 9996301
TI  - Exact solution of the one-dimensional fermion system on a lattice.

PMID- 9996302
TI  - Creation of sine-Gordon solitons by a pulse force.

PMID- 9996303
TI  - Branching rules of the energy spectrum of one-dimensional quasicrystals.

PMID- 9996304
TI  - Critical behavior of a model band ferromagnet.

PMID- 9996305
TI  - Effective gauge interaction in a fractional-statistical gas.

PMID- 9996306
TI  - Fast luminescence observed in MnF2 crystals.

PMID- 9996307
TI  - Highly asymmetric electric-field gradients at the Nb sites in ferroelastic GdNbO4
      and NdNbO4.

PMID- 9996308
TI  - High-energy-neutron spectroscopy of crystal-field excitations in NpO2.

PMID- 9996309
TI  - Analytic solution for the current-voltage characteristic of two mesoscopic tunnel
      junctions coupled in series.

PMID- 9996310
TI  - Quenched-impurity and magnetic-field effects on the phase transition in
      unconventional superconductors.

PMID- 9996311
TI  - Magnetic rare-earth contributions to muon relaxation rates and frequency shifts
      in RBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9996313
TI  - Intrinsic variation of the intergrain critical current in polycrystalline
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996312
TI  - Penetration depth in phenomenological marginal-Fermi-liquid model for CuO.

PMID- 9996314
TI  - Effects of Ce and F substitutions on the electronic structure of Nd2CuO4
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996316
TI  - Numerical determination of the order of phase transitions in Ising systems with
      multispin interactions.

PMID- 9996315
TI  - Optical study of plasmons in Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10.

PMID- 9996317
TI  - Gutzwiller wave-function description of a particle in a fermionic bath.

PMID- 9996318
TI  - X-ray dichroism as a probe of the electronic ground state in ultrathin rare-earth
      overlayers.

PMID- 9996319
TI  - Hopping conductivity of the Fibonacci-chain quasicrystal.

PMID- 9996320
TI  - Ferromagnetic-resonance spectrum of exchange-coupled ferromagnetic bilayers.

PMID- 9996321
TI  - Cyclotron resonance in a Wigner crystal: A mean-field approach.

PMID- 9996322
TI  - Intermediate-range order in permanently densified vitreous SiO2: A neutron
      diffraction and molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9996324
TI  - Quantum studies of the two-dimensional axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model: A
      BCS-type theory.

PMID- 9996323
TI  - Metastability in slow thin-film reactions.

PMID- 9996326
TI  - Erratum: Repulsion-induced superconductivity in a multiband Hubbard model

PMID- 9996325
TI  - Transport coefficients of dilute magnetic alloys: A quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9996327
TI  - Erratum: Van Hove correlation functions for identical fermions: Effects of
      interactions

PMID- 9996329
TI  - Photoelectron spectroscopy towards the meV range: Observation of the
      superconducting transition in Nb3Al.

PMID- 9996328
TI  - Excitations in the mixed state of type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9996330
TI  - Hall coefficient of the doped Mott insulator: A signature of parity violation.

PMID- 9996331
TI  - Relaxation of nuclear spin due to long-range orbital currents.

PMID- 9996332
TI  - Coexistence of Bose-Einstein paraexcitons with Maxwell-Boltzmann orthoexcitons in
      Cu2O.

PMID- 9996333
TI  - Magnetic and electrical properties of La2-xSrxNiO4+/- delta.

PMID- 9996335
TI  - Specific heat in the mixed state of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996334
TI  - Experimental consequences of the uniform resonating-valence-bond state.

PMID- 9996336
TI  - Optical excitations in Bi2Sr2CuO6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8: Evidence for localized
      (excitonic) and delocalized charge-transfer gaps.

PMID- 9996337
TI  - Asymmetrical effects of copper-site holes versus oxygen-site holes in La-Sr-Cu-O.

PMID- 9996338
TI  - Meissner effect and the plasmon spectrum in an interacting-anyon system.

PMID- 9996339
TI  - Entropy transport in high-Tc superconductors in the fluctuation regime.

PMID- 9996340
TI  - Magnons in random S=1 antiferromagnetic chains.

PMID- 9996341
TI  - Relation between the chiral-spin-liquid state and the chiral SU(2) Wess-Zumino
      Witten model.

PMID- 9996342
TI  - Structure of the low-temperature phase of molybdenum (001) investigated by helium
      atom scattering.

PMID- 9996343
TI  - Defect-concentration dependence of the spin-density-wave transport in the organic
      conductor (TMTSF)2PF6 (TMTSF=tetra- methyltetraselenafulvalene).

PMID- 9996344
TI  - Three-dimensional q-state Potts model: Monte Carlo study near q=3.

PMID- 9996345
TI  - Experimental verification of activated critical dynamics in the d=3 random-field
      Ising model.

PMID- 9996346
TI  - Strong dichroism in the Dy 3d-->4f x-ray absorption at Dy/Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9996347
TI  - Non-Rayleigh statistics of waves in random systems.

PMID- 9996348
TI  - Ground-state properties of two-dimensional antiferromagnetic quantum XXZ models.

PMID- 9996349
TI  - Coexistence of proton-glass and ferroelectric order in Rb1-x(NH4)xH2AsO4.

PMID- 9996351
TI  - Non-Ohmic conductivity in the fluctuation regime of charge- and spin-density-wave
      systems.

PMID- 9996350
TI  - Magnetic domain walls in thick iron films.

PMID- 9996352
TI  - Giant magnetoresistive in soft ferromagnetic multilayers.

PMID- 9996353
TI  - Energy-transfer processes in the 1T2g and 3T2g excited states of Ni2+:MgO.

PMID- 9996354
TI  - NaLa(MoO4)2 as a laser host material.

PMID- 9996355
TI  - ESR centers in reduced stabilized zirconia.

PMID- 9996356
TI  - Mossbauer line-shape parameters for 183W and 191Ir in metallic tungsten and
      iridium.

PMID- 9996357
TI  - Mossbauer line-shape parameters for 159Tb in TbAl2 and Tb4O7.

PMID- 9996358
TI  - Exact theory of long-wavelength one-phonon amplitudes in atom-surface scattering.

PMID- 9996359
TI  - Computer-simulation analysis of the ESR spectra of V-type centers in irradiated
      heavy-metal fluoride glasses.

PMID- 9996360
TI  - Surface analysis of cleaved single-crystalline CaSi2 by Auger electron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996361
TI  - Tunneling and spin-lattice relaxation of hydrogen dissolved in scandium metal.

PMID- 9996362
TI  - One-phonon calculation of atom-surface inelastic scattering of the He-Cu(111)
      system.

PMID- 9996363
TI  - Second-harmonic generation and origin of polar configuration in KTaO3:Li.

PMID- 9996364
TI  - Uncommon nuclear-spin relaxation in fluorozirconate glasses at low temperatures.

PMID- 9996365
TI  - Theory of electron-stimulated desorption of physisorbed species through a
      strongly bonding excited state.

PMID- 9996366
TI  - Phenomenology of the plastic flow of amorphous solids induced by heavy-ion
      bombardment.

PMID- 9996367
TI  - Quadrupolar perturbed 14N NMR in the structurally commensurate and incommensurate
      phases of ammonium tetrachlorozincate.

PMID- 9996368
TI  - Determination of the shape and size of aggregated phases in NaCl:Mn2+ by small
      angle neutron scattering.

PMID- 9996370
TI  - Influence of exchange effects on the plasmon excitation spectrum of metals:
      Application in the case of beryllium.

PMID- 9996369
TI  - Symmetry properties of Raman heterodyne signals in Pr3+:LaF3.

PMID- 9996371
TI  - Elastic electron backscattering from gold.

PMID- 9996373
TI  - Ab initio Green's-function calculations on the Auger spectra of polyethylene.

PMID- 9996372
TI  - Infrared study of oxygen vacancies in KTaO3.

PMID- 9996375
TI  - Density-functional calculation of effective Coulomb interactions in metals.

PMID- 9996374
TI  - Nuclear-quadrupole-resonance study of pseudospin dynamics in a quasi-one
      dimensional XY system.

PMID- 9996376
TI  - Linear and nonlinear conductivity of a superconductor near Tc.

PMID- 9996377
TI  - Quantum fluctuations and charging effects in small tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9996378
TI  - Many-body theory of atomic deuterium.

PMID- 9996380
TI  - Reversible magnetization and torques in anisotropic high- kappa type-II
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996379
TI  - Self-consistent electronic structure of a vortex line in a type-II
      superconductor.

PMID- 9996381
TI  - Magnetic-flux quanta in superconducting thin films observed by electron
      holography and digital phase analysis.

PMID- 9996382
TI  - Ground state of the uniformly frustrated two-dimensional XY model near f=1/2.

PMID- 9996383
TI  - Surface-impedance measurements of superconducting NbN films.

PMID- 9996384
TI  - Possibility of the high-Tc oxide Y-Ba-Cu-O as a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer
      superconductor.

PMID- 9996385
TI  - Thermal-expansion measurements for Lu5Ir4Si10, Lu5Rh4Si10, Sc5Ir4Si10, and
      Tm5Ir4Si10: Charge-density-wave effects.

PMID- 9996386
TI  - Phase transitions in the superconducting compound Lu5Rh4Si10 at ambient and high
      pressure.

PMID- 9996388
TI  - Low-temperature physical properties of R5Ir4Si10 (R=Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb)
      compounds.

PMID- 9996387
TI  - Competition between superconductivity and charge-density waves in the
      pseudoternary system (Lu1-xScx)5Ir4Si10.

PMID- 9996389
TI  - Effects of charging-energy fluctuations on an anomalous behavior of mesoscopic
      Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996390
TI  - Singularity and nonlinearity in the Kapitza resistance between gold and
      superfluid 4He near T lambda.

PMID- 9996391
TI  - Phase boundary of a cubic superconducting circuit in a magnetic field of
      arbitrary magnitude and direction.

PMID- 9996392
TI  - Solitons in hydrogen-bonded chains: A microscopic model.

PMID- 9996393
TI  - Unified symmetry-breaking theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in superfluids.

PMID- 9996394
TI  - Superconductivity in ion-beam-mixed layered Au-Si thin films.

PMID- 9996395
TI  - Dispersion relations and density of states of the collective oscillations of the
      electronic dipoles in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996396
TI  - dc properties of series-parallel arrays of Josephson junctions in an external
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9996398
TI  - Electromagnetic response of a thin type-II superconducting cylindrical shell.

PMID- 9996397
TI  - Acoustic-phonon emission by two-dimensional plasmons.

PMID- 9996399
TI  - Doped antiferromagnet: The instability of homogeneous magnetic phases.

PMID- 9996400
TI  - Positron annihilation on single crystals of YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996401
TI  - Vortex pinning by twin boundaries in copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9996402
TI  - Orientational and positional order in flux lattices of type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9996403
TI  - Two-dimensional vortices in a stack of thin superconducting films: A model for
      high-temperature superconducting multilayers.

PMID- 9996404
TI  - Infrared properties of T'-phase R2CuO4 insulating compounds.

PMID- 9996405
TI  - Structural and transport measurements in La1.8Sr0.2NiO4+ delta.

PMID- 9996406
TI  - Directional vortex-flux bifurcation in polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7 rotated in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9996407
TI  - Synthesis and characterization of the superconducting cuprates
      (Pb,Cu)Sr2(Y,Ca)Cu2Oz.

PMID- 9996408
TI  - Electron-spin resonance and ferromagnetism in a copper oxide: La4Ba2Cu2O10.

PMID- 9996410
TI  - Superconducting La2CuO4+x prepared by oxygenation at high pressure: A Raman
      scattering study.

PMID- 9996409
TI  - Transport and magnetic properties of Tl2Ba2CuO6+ delta showing a delta -dependent
      gradual transition from an 85-K superconductor to a nonsuperconducting metal.

PMID- 9996411
TI  - Spin dynamics in a frustrated magnet with short-range order.

PMID- 9996413
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O 2:2:1:2 high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9996412
TI  - Cluster study of the t-J model: Chiral fluctuations.

PMID- 9996414
TI  - Crystal-field splittings and magnetic properties of Pr3+ and Nd3+ in RBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9996415
TI  - Superconductivity at 67 K in (Pb,Cu)Sr2(Ca,Y)Cu2O7 by precise adjustment of
      oxygen.

PMID- 9996416
TI  - Optical spectra of La2-xSrxCuO4: Effect of carrier doping on the electronic
      structure of the CuO2 plane.

PMID- 9996417
TI  - Thermoelectric power of Ba1-xKxBiO3.

PMID- 9996418
TI  - Spin-fluctuation effects on superconductivity.

PMID- 9996419
TI  - Measurement of the Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa 2(T) for polycrystalline
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9996420
TI  - Flux pinning at grain boundaries in Bi-(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ceramic superconductors.

PMID- 9996422
TI  - Transport anomalies in the high-temperature hopping conductivity and thermopower
      of Sr-doped La(Cr,Mn)O3.

PMID- 9996421
TI  - Cluster-assembled overlayers and high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9996423
TI  - Mean-field phase diagram of a two-band t-J model for CuO2 layers.

PMID- 9996424
TI  - One-hole spectral densities in the polarized t-J model.

PMID- 9996425
TI  - Flux-line entanglement in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996426
TI  - Pinning in layered inhomogeneous superconductors.

PMID- 9996427
TI  - Electron-energy-loss studies of core edges in (Tl0.5Pb0.5)(Ca1-xYx)Sr2Cu2O7-
      delta.

PMID- 9996429
TI  - Conserving approximations for strongly fluctuating electron systems. II.
      Numerical results and parquet extension.

PMID- 9996428
TI  - Vertex operators and spinon edge excitations in the spin-singlet quantum Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9996430
TI  - Interaction between spin-density waves in magnetic alloys.

PMID- 9996431
TI  - Search for a correlation length in a simulation of the glass transition.

PMID- 9996432
TI  - Langevin molecular dynamics of interfaces: Nucleation versus spiral growth.

PMID- 9996434
TI  - Demagnetization energy and magnetic permeability tensor of spheroidal magnetic
      particles dispersed in cubic lattices.

PMID- 9996433
TI  - Reentrant magnetic behavior in fcc Co-Cu alloys.

PMID- 9996435
TI  - Thermal expansion associated with the charge-density wave in K0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9996436
TI  - Shapes of wetted solids and sinters.

PMID- 9996437
TI  - Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of the spin-1/2 van der Waals model. I. Time
      evolution of a single spin.

PMID- 9996438
TI  - Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of the spin-1/2 van der Waals model. II.
      Autocorrelation function of a single spin and long-time tails.

PMID- 9996439
TI  - Spin glass on the finite-connectivity lattice: The replica solution without
      replicas.

PMID- 9996440
TI  - Distribution of terrace widths on a vicinal surface within the one-dimensional
      free-fermion model.

PMID- 9996442
TI  - Magnetism in small vanadium clusters.

PMID- 9996441
TI  - Generalized description of thermally stimulated processes without the
      quasiequilibrium approximation.

PMID- 9996443
TI  - Theory and numerical simulation of optical properties of fractal clusters.

PMID- 9996444
TI  - Spin equilibrium of Co3+ complexes influenced by a magnetic field.

PMID- 9996445
TI  - Static scaling in a short-range Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9996447
TI  - Correlations in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996446
TI  - Universal features in growth kinetics: Some experimental tests.

PMID- 9996448
TI  - Thermal Bethe-ansatz study of the correlation length of the one-dimensional S=1/2
      Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996450
TI  - Nonuniversality in two-dimensional percolating systems with a broad distribution
      of bond conductances.

PMID- 9996449
TI  - Anomalous dielectric response in tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil as observed in
      temperature- and pressure-induced neutral-to-ionic phase transition.

PMID- 9996451
TI  - CeCo0.89Ge2: A heavy-fermion system.

PMID- 9996453
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of the effects of strain on interstitial diffusion in a
      hard-sphere model of a binary crystalline solid.

PMID- 9996452
TI  - Observability of a quasilinear temperature dependence of the magnetization in a
      semi-infinite ferromagnet.

PMID- 9996454
TI  - Thermodynamic and transport properties of (CexGd1-x)Cu6 for 0 <= x <= 1.

PMID- 9996456
TI  - Magnetic-susceptibility and magnetization measurements of polyacenic
      semiconductive materials.

PMID- 9996455
TI  - Transient currents in nematic liquid crystals.

PMID- 9996458
TI  - Elasticity and the Landau-Peierls instability in the smectic twist-grain-boundary
      phase.

PMID- 9996457
TI  - Diffraction from random alloys.

PMID- 9996459
TI  - Dielectric nonlinearity and spontaneous polarization of KTa1-xNbxO3 in the
      diffuse transition range.

PMID- 9996460
TI  - Exact analytic dispersion relations for dipolar magnetostatic and magnetoretarded
      modes in finite magnetic superlattices.

PMID- 9996461
TI  - Dipolar-glass model for lead magnesium niobate.

PMID- 9996462
TI  - Square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet at T=0.

PMID- 9996463
TI  - Kosterlitz-Thouless transition with symmetry-breaking fields and quenched random
      interactions.

PMID- 9996464
TI  - Structure of the microscopic theory of the hierarchical fractional quantum Hall
      effect.

PMID- 9996466
TI  - Detection of second-order quadrupolar spin-lattice coupling mechanisms in
      metallic antimony using multifrequency pulsed nuclear quadrupole resonance.

PMID- 9996465
TI  - Residual properties of a two-level system.

PMID- 9996467
TI  - Theoretical study of the onset of magnetism in (Fe)x/(Ru)x superlattices.

PMID- 9996468
TI  - Spin glass with two replicas on a Bethe lattice.

PMID- 9996469
TI  - Conduction delays in switching NbSe3: Sensitive dependence on the initial
      configuration.

PMID- 9996470
TI  - Optical absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and reduction factors in the
      Jahn-Teller system E

PMID- 9996471
TI  - Magnetic-field effects on the correlation functions in the one-dimensional
      strongly correlated Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996472
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of incommensurate phases in a three-dimensional crystal.

PMID- 9996473
TI  - Neutron-scattering investigations of the Kohn anomaly and of the phase and
      amplitude charge-density-wave excitations of the blue bronze K0.3MoO3.

PMID- 9996474
TI  - Dynamic structure factor of a one-dimensional Peierls system.

PMID- 9996476
TI  - Relaxation processes due to collisions involving conduction electrons and magnon
      solitons in magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9996475
TI  - Neutron-depolarization theory in particulate media.

PMID- 9996477
TI  - Heat capacity and entropy of nonstoichiometric magnetite Fe3(1- delta )O4: The
      thermodynamic nature of the Verwey transition.

PMID- 9996478
TI  - Non-Gaussian approach to critical fluctuations in the Landau-Ginzburg model and
      finite-size scaling.

PMID- 9996479
TI  - XY model on a Sierpinski gasket.

PMID- 9996480
TI  - Asymmetric phases in the mean-field theory of the axial next-nearest-neighbor
      Ising model.

PMID- 9996481
TI  - Discreteness effects on a sine-Gordon breather.

PMID- 9996482
TI  - Quantum effects in Heisenberg antiferromagnetic thin films.

PMID- 9996483
TI  - Non-Markovian theory of tunneling in dissipative media.

PMID- 9996484
TI  - Thermal expansion and magnetostriction of CeAl2.

PMID- 9996486
TI  - Linked-cluster expansion around the atomic limit of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996485
TI  - General cluster Monte Carlo dynamics.

PMID- 9996487
TI  - Some magnetic properties of the S=1/2 Ising system with the random exchange
      integral: The Gaussian approximation.

PMID- 9996488
TI  - Fracton dimensionalities for field-biased diffusion-limited aggregation clusters.

PMID- 9996490
TI  - Envelope-kink excitations in a quantum anisotropic antiferromagnetic Heisenberg
      chain.

PMID- 9996489
TI  - Diamond-type hierarchical lattices for the Potts antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996491
TI  - Critical and scaling properties of the Soukoulis-Economou model in one
      dimensional incommensurate systems.

PMID- 9996492
TI  - Magnetic properties of R ions in RCo5 compounds (R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho,
      and Er).

PMID- 9996493
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of photon-echo decays in ruby.

PMID- 9996494
TI  - Near-edge study of molecular oxygen and nitrogen clusters on a krypton surface.

PMID- 9996495
TI  - Infrared observation of two-fluid superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996496
TI  - Additional short-wavelength vibratory modes from a large (bi)polaron.

PMID- 9996497
TI  - Phase diagram of superconducting-normal-metal superlattices.

PMID- 9996499
TI  - Anisotropic thermoelectric power in YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals under pressures
      up to 8 GPa.

PMID- 9996498
TI  - Thermally activated infrared-active vibrational mode in BaBiO3.

PMID- 9996500
TI  - Onset of high-temperature superconductivity in the two-dimensional limit.

PMID- 9996501
TI  - Response of YBa2Cu3O7- delta grain-boundary junctions to short light pulses.

PMID- 9996502
TI  - Microwave absorption by vortex cores in the high-temperature superconductor
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996504
TI  - Sensitivity of the multiple-scattering speckle pattern to the motion of a single
      scatterer.

PMID- 9996503
TI  - In situ growth and flux pinning in Ag-doped YBa2Cu3O7-y thin films.

PMID- 9996505
TI  - Random matrices, fractional statistics, and the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9996506
TI  - Linked-tetrahedra spin chain: Exact ground state and excitations.

PMID- 9996507
TI  - Polaronic conduction in n-type BaTiO3 doped with La2O3 or Gd2O3.

PMID- 9996509
TI  - Incompletely ordered phase in the three-dimensional six-state clock model:
      Evidence for an absence of ordered phases of XY character.

PMID- 9996508
TI  - Hubbard U=

PMID- 9996510
TI  - Orientational-ordering transition fcc-Pa3 of Ar1-x(N2)x.

PMID- 9996511
TI  - Spin-dependent covalence in La2CuO4- delta from neutron diffraction.

PMID- 9996512
TI  - Reentrant transition in the Ising spin system with an infinite-range coupling and
      a Gaussian random field.

PMID- 9996513
TI  - Comment on "Exact lower bounds to the ground-state energy of spin systems: The
      two-dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model"

PMID- 9996514
TI  - Comment on "Morphology of micromagnetics"

PMID- 9996515
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Morphology of micromagnetics' "

PMID- 9996516
TI  - Erratum: Structure of noise generated on diffusion fronts

PMID- 9996517
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation study of domain growth in an Ising spin glass.

PMID- 9996519
TI  - Metal-semiconductor transition in partially compensated Ge:Sb.

PMID- 9996518
TI  - Crossover in the critical field of Pb/Ge multilayers: From single-film to coupled
      behavior.

PMID- 9996520
TI  - Frequency dependence of Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9996521
TI  - Modulation-free bismuth-lead cuprate superconductors: BiPbSr1+xL1-xCuO6 and
      BiPbSr2Y1-xCaxCu2O8.

PMID- 9996522
TI  - Spectral shift of the magnetic cross section in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9996524
TI  - Supersymmetric t-J model: An exact result for two dimensions.

PMID- 9996523
TI  - Magnetic critical fields of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors in the Lawrence-Doniach
      model with inequivalent layers.

PMID- 9996525
TI  - Dynamic properties of a high-Tc superconductor: Direct evidence for non-BCS
      behavior.

PMID- 9996526
TI  - Constructing quasiparticle operators in strongly correlated systems.

PMID- 9996527
TI  - Low-temperature magnetic relaxation in YBa2Cu3O7- delta : Evidence for quantum
      tunneling of vortices.

PMID- 9996528
TI  - Photoelectron microscopy and spectroscopy of Bi2Sr2-x- Ca1+xCu2O8+y(100).

PMID- 9996529
TI  - Voltage quantization by ballistic vortices in two-dimensional superconductors.

PMID- 9996530
TI  - Effect of magnetic field on thermal conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7- delta single
      crystals.

PMID- 9996531
TI  - Critical sheet resistance observed in high-Tc oxide-superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4
      thin films.

PMID- 9996532
TI  - Electronic and structural effects of oxygen doping in Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox
      superconductors characterized by tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9996533
TI  - Hole dynamics and effective hole-hole interaction in a quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996535
TI  - Vapor-pressure study of the melting of two-dimensional argon adsorbed on BN.

PMID- 9996534
TI  - Superconductivity and magnetic order in the Cu(2) planes in Fe-doped YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9996536
TI  - Effects of translational symmetry breaking induced by the boundaries in a driven
      diffusive system.

PMID- 9996537
TI  - Electronic properties of icosahedral, approximant, and amorphous phases of an Al
      Cu-Fe alloy.

PMID- 9996538
TI  - Field-induced Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the zero-temperature triangular
      Ising antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996539
TI  - Dynamics of longitudinal and transverse fluctuations above Tc in EuS.

PMID- 9996540
TI  - Exact solution of an anisotropic centered honeycomb Ising lattice: Reentrance and
      partial disorder.

PMID- 9996541
TI  - Inelastic-neutron-scattering measurements of phonons in icosahedral Al-Li-Cu.

PMID- 9996542
TI  - Optical absorption measurements of hydrogen at megabar pressures.

PMID- 9996543
TI  - Ground state of ferromagnetic nickel and magnetic circular dichroism in Ni 2p
      core x-ray-absorption spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996544
TI  - Spiral states in the square-lattice Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996545
TI  - Bounds on ferromagnetism at T>0 in the hard-core electron lattice gas.

PMID- 9996546
TI  - Chemically driven phason disorder in icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn alloys.

PMID- 9996547
TI  - Incommensurate charge-density-wave state in alpha -uranium: A high-resolution x
      ray and neutron-scattering study.

PMID- 9996549
TI  - Theoretical atomic-force-microscopy study of a stepped surface: Nonlocal effects
      in the probe.

PMID- 9996548
TI  - Noncubic symmetry in garnet structures studied using extended x-ray-absorption
      fine-structure spectra.

PMID- 9996550
TI  - Surface energy and stress of lead (111) and (110) surfaces.

PMID- 9996551
TI  - Reconstructions of Au films on Pd(110).

PMID- 9996552
TI  - Influence of the anisotropy of the positron wave function on the calculation of
      the momentum density of positron annihilation pairs.

PMID- 9996553
TI  - Thermal vibration and melting from a local perspective.

PMID- 9996554
TI  - Efficient pseudopotentials for plane-wave calculations. II. Operators for fast
      iterative diagonalization.

PMID- 9996555
TI  - Surface-plasmon field-enhanced multiphoton photoelectric emission from metal
      films.

PMID- 9996556
TI  - Electronic properties of the Penrose lattice. I. Energy spectrum and wave
      functions.

PMID- 9996557
TI  - Electronic properties of the Penrose lattice. II. Conductance at zero
      temperature.

PMID- 9996559
TI  - Spin scaling of the electron-gas correlation energy in the high-density limit.

PMID- 9996558
TI  - Photoemission investigation of the electronic structure of Fe-Pd and Fe-Pt
      alloys.

PMID- 9996560
TI  - Periodic charge-density modulations on graphite near platinum particles.

PMID- 9996562
TI  - Surface phonons and dipole activity of Si(111)2 x 1 from ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9996561
TI  - Variational thermodynamic calculations for liquid transition metals.

PMID- 9996563
TI  - Influence of Coulomb interaction on the photon echo in disordered semiconductors.

PMID- 9996565
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of alpha -Sn, CdTe, and their

PMID- 9996564
TI  - Electrical conductivity of amorphous silicon doped with rare-earth elements.

PMID- 9996566
TI  - First-principles study of intervalley mixing: Ultrathin GaAs/GaP superlattices.

PMID- 9996567
TI  - Full-band-structure calculation of second-harmonic generation in odd-period
      strained (Si)n/(Ge)n superlattices.

PMID- 9996568
TI  - Free-ion yields for several silicon-, germanium-, and tin-containing liquids and
      their mixtures.

PMID- 9996569
TI  - Resonant tunneling in a quasi-one-dimensional wire: Influence of evanescent
      modes.

PMID- 9996570
TI  - Theory of magnetoplasmons in semiconductor superlattices in the Voigt geometry: A
      Green-function approach.

PMID- 9996571
TI  - Energy-loss rates of two-dimensional electrons at a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs interface.

PMID- 9996572
TI  - Intervalley scattering in the two-dimensional electron gas near an AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs heterojunction.

PMID- 9996573
TI  - Tight-binding theory of interchain coupling in doped polyacetylene.

PMID- 9996574
TI  - Simulation of many-electron correlations in a resonant-tunneling diode.

PMID- 9996576
TI  - Tunneling and hopping conduction in Langmuir-Blodgett thin films of poly(3
      hexylthiophene).

PMID- 9996575
TI  - Cation surface excitons in Sb/III-V interfaces.

PMID- 9996577
TI  - Photoluminescence due to a bound-to-bound transition in a GaAs-Al0.3Ga0.7As
      quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9996578
TI  - Continuum theories of optical phonons and polaritons in superlattices: A brief
      critique.

PMID- 9996579
TI  - Inverse correlation between the intensity of luminescence excited by electrons
      and by visible light in chemical-vapor-deposited diamond films.

PMID- 9996580
TI  - Optically detected electron-nuclear double resonance of S=1 states of defects in
      semiconductors: PGa-YP in GaP.

PMID- 9996581
TI  - Line-shape model for the modulated reflectance of multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9996582
TI  - Quasiparticle energies for cubic BN, BP, and BAs.

PMID- 9996584
TI  - Formation energies, bond lengths, and bulk moduli of ordered semiconductor alloys
      from tight-binding calculations.

PMID- 9996583
TI  - Dielectric properties of single-crystal TiSi2 from 0.6 to 20 eV.

PMID- 9996585
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in

PMID- 9996586
TI  - Soliton lattice in highly doped trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9996587
TI  - Electrical and optical properties of titanium-related centers in silicon.

PMID- 9996588
TI  - Electronic structure of polypyrrole films.

PMID- 9996589
TI  - Cyclotron resonance of a magnetopolaron in a quasi-two-dimensional system at
      finite temperatures.

PMID- 9996590
TI  - E' centers in tridymite silicon dioxide: A theoretical study.

PMID- 9996591
TI  - Low-temperature properties of a dipolar glass: A study of KBr1-x(CN)x using
      dielectric echoes.

PMID- 9996592
TI  - Dielectric long-time relaxation of amorphous materials at low temperatures.

PMID- 9996594
TI  - Solving the phonon Boltzmann equation with the variational method.

PMID- 9996593
TI  - Ab initio band-structure calculations for alkaline-earth oxides and sulfides.

PMID- 9996595
TI  - Exchange electron-hole interaction at the isoelectronic oxygen trap in zinc
      selenide.

PMID- 9996596
TI  - Theoretical study of high-pressure phases of tin.

PMID- 9996597
TI  - Electronic structure of small clusters of Li and a Li-Mg compound.

PMID- 9996598
TI  - Semiempirical model of isotopic shifts of the band gap.

PMID- 9996599
TI  - Binding energy of on-axis hydrogenic and nonhydrogenic donors in a GaAs/Ga1
      xAlxAs quantum-well wire of circular cross section.

PMID- 9996600
TI  - Infrared-absorption coefficient for shallow donors in a quantum well.

PMID- 9996602
TI  - Spontaneous generation of plasmons by ballistic electrons.

PMID- 9996601
TI  - Linear and nonlinear optical properties of (GaAs)m/(AlAs)n superlattices.

PMID- 9996603
TI  - Additional intersubband plasmons in quasi-one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9996604
TI  - Effect of dielectric screening on the donor binding energy in silicon and
      germanium.

PMID- 9996605
TI  - H2O adsorption on Ge(100): An angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9996606
TI  - Criterion for DNA melting in the mean-field modified self-consistent phonon
      theory.

PMID- 9996607
TI  - Energetics in the initial stage of oxidation of silicon.

PMID- 9996609
TI  - Optical spectroscopy of Eu2+ ions coupled to CN- and OCN- molecular ions in KCl.

PMID- 9996610
TI  - Erratum: Electron-LO-phonon scattering rates in semiconductor quantum wells

PMID- 9996608
TI  - Occurrence of solid noble-gas inclusions in ion-beam-implanted magnesium oxide.

PMID- 9996612
TI  - Direct observation of anelastic bond-orientational anisotropy in amorphous
      Tb26Fe62Co12 thin films by x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9996611
TI  - Erratum: Variational quantum Monte Carlo nonlocal pseudopotential approach to
      solids: Formulation and application to diamond, graphite, and silicon

PMID- 9996613
TI  - "Supermodulus effect" in Cu/Pd and Cu/Ni superlattices.

PMID- 9996614
TI  - Role of elastic scattering in ballistic-electron-emission microscopy of
      Au/Si(001) and Au/Si(111) interfaces.

PMID- 9996615
TI  - Influence of barrier height on carrier dynamics in strained InxGa1-xAs/GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9996616
TI  - Indium-induced reconstructions of the Si(100) surface.

PMID- 9996617
TI  - Long-wavelength infrared spectroscopy of an asymmetrically structured
      Ga0.6Al0.4As/GaAs superlattice.

PMID- 9996619
TI  - Interface-phonon-mediated magnetopolaronic effect on impurity transition energies
      in quantum wells.

PMID- 9996618
TI  - Two-level and three-level resonant measurements of impurity-bound magnetopolarons
      in multiple-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9996621
TI  - Resonances in the hopping probability between flexible quantum dots: The case of
      superlattices under parallel electric and magnetic fields.

PMID- 9996620
TI  - Interior contacts for probing the equilibrium between magnetic edge channels in
      the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9996622
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in double-quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9996624
TI  - Fabry-Perot transmission resonances in tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9996623
TI  - Spontaneous polarization in quantum-dot systems.

PMID- 9996625
TI  - Determination of the extension of the heavy-hole wave function in GaAs by
      photomodulation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996627
TI  - Tunneling in a self-consistent dynamic image potential.

PMID- 9996626
TI  - Hot-exciton luminescence in ZnTe/MnTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9996629
TI  - Elastic scattering of low-energy electrons from oxygen-covered Si surfaces.

PMID- 9996628
TI  - Li impurity in ZnSe: Electronic structure and the stability of the acceptor.

PMID- 9996630
TI  - Quantum oscillation of transverse resistance and resistance reciprocity as a
      point-contact boundary problem.

PMID- 9996631
TI  - Magnetotunneling in a coupled two-dimensional-one-dimensional electron system.

PMID- 9996632
TI  - Stress-induced layer-by-layer growth of Ge on Si(100).

PMID- 9996634
TI  - Local adsorbate-induced effects on dynamical charge transfer in ion-surface
      interactions.

PMID- 9996633
TI  - Two-state approximation in the Coulomb-blockade theory: Simple analytical results
      for a double-tunnel junction.

PMID- 9996635
TI  - Order-disorder transition in silver-intercalated niobium disulfide compounds. I.
      Structural determination of Ag0.6NbS2.

PMID- 9996637
TI  - Simple numerical approach for determining the optical response of a nonlinear
      dielectric film for both TE and TM waves.

PMID- 9996636
TI  - Order-disorder transition in silver-intercalated niobium disulfide compounds. II.
      Magnetic and electrical properties.

PMID- 9996638
TI  - Electronic and magnetic structure of {111} stacking faults in nickel.

PMID- 9996639
TI  - First-principles calculations of adatom binding and interaction on Rh(001).

PMID- 9996640
TI  - Coulomb barriers in the dissociation of doubly charged clusters.

PMID- 9996641
TI  - Electronic structure of the (111) and (100) surfaces of delta -Pu.

PMID- 9996642
TI  - Mesoscopic fluctuations of the ultrasound attenuation.

PMID- 9996643
TI  - Positron-annihilation and time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation studies
      of the amorphous Al-Mn-Si alloy.

PMID- 9996645
TI  - Calculation of energy barriers for physically allowed lattice-invariant strains
      in aluminum and iridium.

PMID- 9996644
TI  - Vacancy-solute interactions in Cu, Ni, Ag, and Pd.

PMID- 9996646
TI  - Superstoichiometry, accelerated diffusion, and nuclear reactions in deuterium
      implanted palladium.

PMID- 9996647
TI  - Temporal evolution of the longitudinal- and transverse-phonon distributions in
      nonequilibrium metal films.

PMID- 9996648
TI  - Probing the f electrons in URu2Si2 with positrons: A theoretical investigation.

PMID- 9996649
TI  - Positron-annihilation study of the electronic structure of URu2Si2.

PMID- 9996650
TI  - Ab initio band-structure studies of beryllium and beryllium-hydrogen ultrathin
      films.

PMID- 9996651
TI  - Self-consistent Green's-function technique for surfaces and interfaces.

PMID- 9996652
TI  - N6,7O4,5O4,5 Auger spectrum of metallic Au.

PMID- 9996654
TI  - Optical properties of ZnSe.

PMID- 9996653
TI  - Local perturbation and induced magnetization originating from 3d impurities in
      Pd.

PMID- 9996656
TI  - Surface core-level shifts and relaxation of group-IVA-element chalcogenide
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9996655
TI  - Characterization of Cd1-yZnyTe(111) and Hg1-xCdxTe(111) real surfaces by x-ray
      photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9996657
TI  - Band structure, quantum confinement, and exchange splitting in Sc1-xErxAs
      epitaxial layers buried in GaAs.

PMID- 9996658
TI  - Raman and reflectivity spectra of cubic Cd1-xMnxSe epilayers grown by molecular
      beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9996659
TI  - InP(110) oxidation with O2, NO, and N2O at 20 K: Temperature and photon-energy
      dependencies.

PMID- 9996660
TI  - Electronic structure of strained GaAs/GaP (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9996661
TI  - Structural phase transitions and optical absorption of LiInSe2 under pressure.

PMID- 9996662
TI  - Acceptor excitation spectra in germanium in a uniform magnetic field.

PMID- 9996663
TI  - Efficient band-structure calculations of strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9996664
TI  - Magnetoluminescence of the two-dimensional electron-hole fluid.

PMID- 9996665
TI  - Photoemission study of the formation of the CaF2/GaAs(100) interface.

PMID- 9996666
TI  - Raman-scattering and optical studies of argon-etched GaAs surfaces.

PMID- 9996667
TI  - "Spin"-flip scattering of holes in semiconductor quantum wells.

PMID- 9996668
TI  - Incident-beam effects in electron-stimulated Auger-electron diffraction.

PMID- 9996670
TI  - Jahn-Teller effect in the 4T1 state of Mn2+ in GaP.

PMID- 9996669
TI  - Full-band-structure calculation of first-, second-, and third-harmonic optical
      response coefficients of ZnSe, ZnTe, and CdTe.

PMID- 9996671
TI  - Empty electronic states at rare-earth-metal-silicon interfaces: Inverse
      photoemission of Gd and Eu on Si(111)7 x 7.

PMID- 9996672
TI  - Ultrasonic relaxation of interstitial aluminum in irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9996673
TI  - Effect of multi-ion screening on the electronic transport in doped
      semiconductors: A molecular-dynamics analysis.

PMID- 9996674
TI  - Spatial measurements of moving space-charge domains in p-type ultrapure
      germanium.

PMID- 9996675
TI  - Path-integral treatment of the large-bipolaron problem.

PMID- 9996677
TI  - Disorder-assisted tunneling through a double-barrier resonant-tunneling
      structure.

PMID- 9996676
TI  - Electronic states in mixed pseudobinary (Pb,Sr)S crystals.

PMID- 9996678
TI  - Anomalous behavior of cyclotron resonance in GaAs/Al0.28Ga0.72As high-electron
      mobility transistor structures.

PMID- 9996679
TI  - Theory of even-parity states and two-photon spectra of conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9996680
TI  - Temperature dependence of the dc conductivity of undoped a-Si1-xGex:H alloys:
      Influence of metastability.

PMID- 9996681
TI  - Planar force-constant models and internal strain parameter of Ge and Si.

PMID- 9996682
TI  - Dynamical models of hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9996683
TI  - Inelastic-electron-scattering investigation of clean and hydrogen-exposed
      InP(110) surfaces.

PMID- 9996685
TI  - Alternating anion-cation bond strengths in CdGeAs2: Application to the family of
      ternary pnictides.

PMID- 9996684
TI  - Chemical bond and electronic states at the CaF2-Si(111) and Ca-Si(111)
      interfaces.

PMID- 9996686
TI  - Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy study of the surface electronic
      structure of ZnTe(110).

PMID- 9996688
TI  - Effective-mass theory for superlattices grown on (11N)-oriented substrates.

PMID- 9996687
TI  - Transient nucleation following pulsed-laser melting of thin silicon films.

PMID- 9996689
TI  - Infrared-active excitations in tunneling superlattices and d-parameter theory.

PMID- 9996690
TI  - Spin-orbit structure of F centers and F -center-OH- pairs in cesium halides.

PMID- 9996691
TI  - F center associated with a pair of OH- defects in cesium halides.

PMID- 9996693
TI  - Relaxation mechanisms in a benzyl chloride-toluene glass.

PMID- 9996692
TI  - Extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure study of alkali-metal halides under high
      pressure.

PMID- 9996694
TI  - Elasto-optical response of diamond at variable temperatures.

PMID- 9996695
TI  - Hellmann potential extended to next-nearest neighbors for alkali halide crystals.

PMID- 9996696
TI  - Electronic structure of S and Sn impurities in InP.

PMID- 9996697
TI  - Simulation study of transient behavior of photoconductivity.

PMID- 9996698
TI  - Infrared luminescence of ZnO:Cu2+(d9).

PMID- 9996699
TI  - Indirect interaction between localized impurities in polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9996700
TI  - Resonant tunneling through a symmetric triple-barrier structure.

PMID- 9996702
TI  - Chemical shift and zone-folding effects on the energy gaps of GaAs-AlAs (001)
      superlattices.

PMID- 9996701
TI  - Molecular-dynamics approach to lattice-relaxation effects on deep levels in
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9996703
TI  - Recombination processes in ZnS:Sm.

PMID- 9996704
TI  - Comment on "Microscopic theory of optic-phonon Raman scattering in quantum-well
      systems"

PMID- 9996705
TI  - Evidence for crystalline overpressurized Ar clusters in Al and Si.

PMID- 9996706
TI  - Far-infrared absorption by fractal metal clusters.

PMID- 9996707
TI  - Size effects, phase slip, and the origin of f- alpha noise in NbSe3.

PMID- 9996708
TI  - Change in Young's modulus at low frequency upon charge-density-wave depinning in
      TaS3.

PMID- 9996709
TI  - Phonon confinement in InAs/GaSb superlattices.

PMID- 9996710
TI  - Magnetic breakdown of a two-dimensional electron gas in a periodic potential.

PMID- 9996711
TI  - Transport through one-dimensional channels.

PMID- 9996713
TI  - Orientation dependence of growth quality in strained-layer superlattices: A model
      potential study of the Si-Ge system.

PMID- 9996712
TI  - Suppression and recovery of quantum Hall plateaus in a parabolic quantum well.

PMID- 9996714
TI  - Origin of the blueshift in the intersubband infrared absorption in
      GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9996716
TI  - Excitonic fine structure in the charge-transfer spectra of GaP:Fe.

PMID- 9996715
TI  - Dimensional resonances in wide parabolic quantum wells.

PMID- 9996717
TI  - Vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy of dialkyl polysilanes.

PMID- 9996718
TI  - Nucleation kinetic studies of a europium-doped aluminosilicate glass: Low
      frequency inelastic scattering and fluorescence line narrowing.

PMID- 9996719
TI  - Formal calculation of the pick-off annihilation rate for ortho- and
      parapositronium.

PMID- 9996720
TI  - Dynamics and kinetics of monolayer CH4 on MgO(001) studied by helium-atom
      scattering.

PMID- 9996721
TI  - Positron-induced Auger-electron study of the Ge(100) surface: Positron thermal
      desorption and surface condition.

PMID- 9996722
TI  - Band effects on neutralization of low-energy D+ scattering from ionic crystals.

PMID- 9996724
TI  - Crystallization study and hyperfine characterization of a Sn-O thin film with
      181Ta.

PMID- 9996723
TI  - Perturbation expansions of the response function and the asymptotic regime.

PMID- 9996725
TI  - Trapping of point-contact-generated 29-cm-1 phonons in ruby.

PMID- 9996727
TI  - Surface-barrier reflection of diffusing positrons.

PMID- 9996726
TI  - Positron-reemission-microscope study of positron implantation and diffusion.

PMID- 9996729
TI  - pi phase in magnetic-layered superconductors.

PMID- 9996728
TI  - Penetration of an electron beam in a thin solid film: The influence of
      backscattering from the substrate.

PMID- 9996730
TI  - Direct calculation of conductance and conductance fluctuations in a disordered
      Fermi liquid.

PMID- 9996732
TI  - Superconducting micronets: A state-variable approach.

PMID- 9996731
TI  - Temperature dependence of the critical current of the superconducting microladder
      in zero magnetic field: Theory and experiment.

PMID- 9996733
TI  - Current-carrying states in Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996734
TI  - Lattice instabilities near the critical V-V separation for localized versus
      itinerant electrons in LiV1-yMyO2 (M=Cr or Ti) Li1-xVO2.

PMID- 9996735
TI  - Self-induced steps in a small Josephson junction strongly coupled to a multimode
      resonator.

PMID- 9996736
TI  - Density dependence of the intramolecular distance in solid H2: A. Spectroscopic
      determination.

PMID- 9996737
TI  - Nonlinear analysis of the modulational instability of a tachyonic wave train in
      the damped dc-driven sine-Gordon model.

PMID- 9996738
TI  - Local structure of supercurrent flow past an impurity.

PMID- 9996739
TI  - Ginsburg-Landau equation around the superconductor-insulator transition.

PMID- 9996740
TI  - Temperature dependence of the critical pair-breaking current in thin-film, strong
      coupling superconductors.

PMID- 9996741
TI  - Phenomenological model of vortex dynamics in arrays of Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996742
TI  - Pairing in two dimensions: A systematic approach.

PMID- 9996744
TI  - PIMC simulations of solid parahydrogen.

PMID- 9996743
TI  - Electromagnetic penetration depth and frequency-dependent optical conductivity
      for a proximity junction.

PMID- 9996746
TI  - Electronic states in oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9996745
TI  - Formulation of a self-consistent diagram method in the p-d mixing model.

PMID- 9996747
TI  - Quantitative description of hysteresis loops induced by rf radiation in long
      Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996748
TI  - Thermodynamics for retarded d-wave interactions and arbitrary impurity
      concentrations.

PMID- 9996749
TI  - Anyons in spin liquids.

PMID- 9996751
TI  - Quasiparticle theory of the electron gas: A direct-interaction approach.

PMID- 9996750
TI  - Nonlinear electromagnetic rectification of BCS-paired electrons at a
      superconductor surface.

PMID- 9996752
TI  - Identification of multiphasic and weak-link structures in a (La0.94Sr0.06)2CuO4
      single crystal by magnetically modulated resistance.

PMID- 9996753
TI  - First-principles treatment of disorder effects in complex alloys: A study of
      BaxK1-xBiO3 and BaPb1-xBixO3.

PMID- 9996754
TI  - Deviations from planarity of copper-oxygen sheets in Ca0.85Sr0.15CuO2.

PMID- 9996755
TI  - Quasihole excitation in a quantum antiferromagnet: Variational Monte Carlo
      calculation.

PMID- 9996756
TI  - Effects of Fe and Zn substitution upon superconductivity in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9996758
TI  - Collective flux creep in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996757
TI  - Superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in the Cu(2) planes of YBa2Cu3O7Hx.

PMID- 9996759
TI  - Far-infrared transmittance and reflectance studies of oriented YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      thin films.

PMID- 9996760
TI  - Microwave transmission and harmonic generation in granular high-Tc
      superconducting films: Evidence for viscous flux motion and weak links.

PMID- 9996761
TI  - High-temperature equilibrium study of the oxygen-site occupancy in YBa2Cu3O7-
      delta by positron annihilation.

PMID- 9996762
TI  - Thermal activation of vortex motion in YBa2Cu3O7- delta films at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9996763
TI  - Finite-cluster study of superconductivity in the two-dimensional molecular
      crystal model.

PMID- 9996764
TI  - Positron trapping at defects in copper oxide superconductors.

PMID- 9996765
TI  - Melting of a flux-line fluid confined by CuO2 planes: Lindemann-criterion
      failure.

PMID- 9996766
TI  - Instabilities of the Fermi-liquid and staggered flux phases in the large-N t-J
      model.

PMID- 9996768
TI  - Magnetic transitions in Nd2NiO4.

PMID- 9996767
TI  - Oxygen-loss effects on superconductivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy system.

PMID- 9996769
TI  - Initial magnetization and coupling nature of the high-Tc grains in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu
      O.

PMID- 9996770
TI  - Magnetothermal behavior of the two-dimensional triangular-lattice compounds RCuO2

PMID- 9996772
TI  - Modulated microwave absorption of a superconducting loop with two nonidentical
      Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9996771
TI  - 17O nuclear-magnetic-resonance spin-lattice relaxation and Knight-shift behavior
      in bismuthate, plumbate, and cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9996773
TI  - High-power, pulsed-microwave measurements of critical currents in thin films of Y
      Ba-Cu-O and Nb.

PMID- 9996775
TI  - Optical-phonon study of single crystals of various layered cuprates and related
      materials: Evidence of unique electron-phonon coupling in the CuO2 plane.

PMID- 9996774
TI  - Comparison of paramagnetic- and nonmagnetic-impurity effects on superconductivity
      in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4.

PMID- 9996776
TI  - Temperature- and field-dependent I-V characteristics of an Ag/YBa2Cu3O7- delta
      fiber.

PMID- 9996777
TI  - Optical, magnetic, and single-particle excitations in the multiband Hubbard model
      for cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9996778
TI  - Antiferromagnetic spin-fluctuation effects on quasiparticle damping and
      superconductivity in high-Tc materials.

PMID- 9996779
TI  - Observation of a vortex-glass phase in polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x in a magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9996780
TI  - Electronic states in rare-earth 1:2:3 oxides: Photoemission and Raman studies.

PMID- 9996781
TI  - Magnetic and elastic properties of La2NiO4+x.

PMID- 9996782
TI  - Random-field-like disorder and magnetic-field effects in unconventional
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996783
TI  - Critical-temperature inhomogeneities and resistivity rounding in copper oxide
      superconductors.

PMID- 9996784
TI  - Suppression of superconductivity in Gd1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-y and R0.8Pr0.2Ba2Cu3O7-y
      systems.

PMID- 9996785
TI  - Infrared-absorption and photoinduced-absorption spectroscopy of semiconducting
      YBa2Cu3 AO6+x (A=16 and 18; 0 <= x <= 0.3).

PMID- 9996787
TI  - Destruction of superconductivity in the Bi2Sr2Ca1-xGdxCu2-yLiyO8+d system.

PMID- 9996786
TI  - Absorption and photoinduced-absorption spectroscopy in semiconducting
      YBa2Cu3O6+x.

PMID- 9996789
TI  - Iron and chromium monolayer magnetism in noble-metal hosts: Systematics of local
      moment variation with structure.

PMID- 9996788
TI  - Small ab initio Cu(II) oxide cluster model with localized states and strong
      screening effects accompanying ionization.

PMID- 9996790
TI  - Comparison of cluster algorithms for two-dimensional Potts models.

PMID- 9996791
TI  - Singlet quantum Hall effect and Chern-Simons theories.

PMID- 9996792
TI  - Phase boundaries near critical end points. II. General spherical models.

PMID- 9996794
TI  - Structure of hard spheres in contact with a spherical wall.

PMID- 9996793
TI  - Electronic structure and binding energies of aluminum clusters.

PMID- 9996795
TI  - State counting and low-temperature series.

PMID- 9996796
TI  - Influence of conduction electrons on impurity tunneling in small metal particles
      at low temperatures.

PMID- 9996797
TI  - Coherent propagation of waves in intrinsically nonuniform random media.

PMID- 9996798
TI  - Probing the metal-nonmetal transition in thin metal overlayers using resonant
      photoemission.

PMID- 9996799
TI  - Investigation of the incommensurate transition of sodium nitrite by the neutron
      spin-echo technique.

PMID- 9996800
TI  - Ethylene on graphite: A low-energy electron-diffraction study.

PMID- 9996801
TI  - Spiral phase in a doped antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996802
TI  - Microscopic theory of spin arrangements and spin waves in very thin ferromagnetic
      films.

PMID- 9996803
TI  - Directed paths in a random potential.

PMID- 9996804
TI  - Nonlinear dynamics in a double-chain model of DNA.

PMID- 9996805
TI  - Impossibility of continuous deterministic phasons in octagonal quasicrystals.

PMID- 9996806
TI  - Screened Anderson model.

PMID- 9996807
TI  - Anyons on a torus: Braid group, Aharonov-Bohm period, and numerical study.

PMID- 9996809
TI  - Permeability and permittivity spectra of granular materials.

PMID- 9996808
TI  - Acoustic-wave localization in the presence of shear resonances.

PMID- 9996811
TI  - Concentration dependence of the random-field-crossover scaling in FexZn1-xF2.

PMID- 9996810
TI  - Zero-temperature properties of the quantum XY model with anisotropy.

PMID- 9996812
TI  - Calculation of electronic and magnetic structures of Fe/Cr, Co/Cr, and Ni/Cr
      multilayers.

PMID- 9996814
TI  - Spiral antiferromagnetism and the doping-induced closure of the Mott-Hubbard gap.

PMID- 9996813
TI  - Spectral structure of two-dimensional Fibonacci quasilattices.

PMID- 9996815
TI  - Magnetism in amorphous transition metals.

PMID- 9996816
TI  - Adaptive phase formation in martensitic transformation.

PMID- 9996818
TI  - Quantum vector spin glasses with random Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions.

PMID- 9996817
TI  - Variational estimation of the ground-state energy of the frustrated Heisenberg
      model.

PMID- 9996819
TI  - Nonlinear sigma model for localization in superconductors: Role of order
      parameter phase fluctuations.

PMID- 9996820
TI  - Generalized Laplacian roughening model on a triangular lattice.

PMID- 9996821
TI  - Spectral function of a single hole in a two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996823
TI  - Low-temperature heat capacity and magnetic properties of the RNiX2 compounds
      (R=La, Ce; X=Si, Ge, Sn).

PMID- 9996822
TI  - Three-dimensional axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model: A series
      investigation.

PMID- 9996824
TI  - Green's functions, density of states, and dynamic structure factor for a general
      one-dimensional quasicrystal.

PMID- 9996825
TI  - Electron transport in disordered systems: A nonequilibrium quantum-molecular
      dynamics approach.

PMID- 9996826
TI  - Phonon dispersion of the bcc phase of group-IV metals. I. bcc titanium.

PMID- 9996827
TI  - Phonon dispersion of the bcc phase of group-IV metals. II. bcc zirconium, a model
      case of dynamical precursors of martensitic transitions.

PMID- 9996828
TI  - Phonon dispersion of the bcc phase of group-IV metals. III. bcc hafnium.

PMID- 9996830
TI  - Power dissipation in random resistor networks with a broad distribution of
      conductivities.

PMID- 9996829
TI  - Static and dynamical correlations in a spin-1/2 frustrated antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996831
TI  - Transition from surface-spin to bulk-spin relaxation in an S=1/2 nearest-neighbor
      XY chain at infinite temperature.

PMID- 9996832
TI  - Raman spectroscopy of incommensurate Ba2NaNb5O15.

PMID- 9996833
TI  - Effect of composition on Curie temperature, magnetic moment, and high-field
      susceptibility of amorphous Fe90-xMxZr10 (M=V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Si, and B)
      alloys.

PMID- 9996835
TI  - Two-dimensional mixed crystals.

PMID- 9996834
TI  - Group-theoretical methods for obtaining distortions in crystals: Applications to
      vibrational modes and phase transitions.

PMID- 9996837
TI  - Uniaxial-strain dependence of shear-modulus anomalies in TaS3.

PMID- 9996836
TI  - Gapless boundary excitations in the quantum Hall states and in the chiral spin
      states.

PMID- 9996838
TI  - Fast oscillations and the high-field phase boundary in (TMTSF)2ClO4 (where TMTSF
      represents tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene).

PMID- 9996839
TI  - Enhanced temperature-dependent magnetoresistivity of Fe/Cr superlattices.

PMID- 9996840
TI  - Coexistence of magnetic order and heavy-fermion paramagnetism in Ce5Sn3.

PMID- 9996841
TI  - Exact time-dependent propagation of vacancy motion in the t-J limit of the two
      dimensional Hubbard Hamiltonian.

PMID- 9996842
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of YbN.

PMID- 9996843
TI  - Temperature dependence of the first sharp diffraction peak in vitreous silica.

PMID- 9996845
TI  - Critical behavior of the thermopower near the metal-insulator transition.

PMID- 9996844
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo study of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9996846
TI  - Ferromagnetic properties of the degenerate semiconductor Pb0.20Sn0.72Mn0.08Te.

PMID- 9996848
TI  - Hysteresis at the spin-flop transition in the antiferromagnets K2Fe(Cl1-xBrx)5

PMID- 9996847
TI  - Magnon damping, spin stiffness, and dynamic scaling in the two-dimensional
      quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet at low temperatures.

PMID- 9996849
TI  - Defect-induced condensation and central peak at structural transitions.

PMID- 9996850
TI  - Plutonium chalcogenides: Intermediate valence and electronic structure.

PMID- 9996851
TI  - Susceptibility and surface magnetostatic modes for the spiral and cone states of
      rare-earth magnets.

PMID- 9996852
TI  - Influence of defects on the incommensurate modulation in irradiated Ba2NaNb5O15.

PMID- 9996854
TI  - Structural phase transition in the nonlinear-polarizability shell model.

PMID- 9996853
TI  - Incommensurate phases in betaine calcium chloride dihydrate.

PMID- 9996855
TI  - Fracton density of states by the maximum-entropy method.

PMID- 9996856
TI  - Phase boundaries near critical end points. I. Thermodynamics and universality.

PMID- 9996857
TI  - Pressure-induced phase transitions in silver halides.

PMID- 9996858
TI  - Universal family of kink-bearing models reconstructed from a Poschl-Teller
      scattering potential.

PMID- 9996859
TI  - Soliton excitations in the alternating ferromagnetic Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9996862
TI  - Series expansions for the Ising spin glass in general dimension.

PMID- 9996861
TI  - Asymptotic and leading correction-to-scaling specific-heat critical exponents and
      amplitudes for quench-disordered ferromagnets from resistivity measurements.

PMID- 9996860
TI  - Geometry-controlled conserving approximations for the t-J model.

PMID- 9996863
TI  - Conductivity and 1/f-noise study of three-component random resistor networks.

PMID- 9996864
TI  - Scaling of the field effect on the magnetic relaxation about the Curie point of
      EuS.

PMID- 9996865
TI  - Phase diagram for a generalized fully frustrated triangular XY model.

PMID- 9996866
TI  - Correlation corrections to the conductivity of one-dimensional disordered hopping
      models.

PMID- 9996867
TI  - Electronic structure of the ordered phases of Pt-Fe alloys.

PMID- 9996868
TI  - Resonant zero-sound exchange in the 1/N expansion of the infinite-U Hubbard
      model.

PMID- 9996869
TI  - Orthogonality exponent and the friction coefficient of an electron gas.

PMID- 9996870
TI  - Symmetry of composite crystals.

PMID- 9996872
TI  - Quantum Hall effect in quasi-one-dimensional conductors.

PMID- 9996871
TI  - Scaling theory for the optical properties of semicontinuous metal films.

PMID- 9996873
TI  - Linear polarization of radiation from planar channeled electrons and positrons.

PMID- 9996875
TI  - Substitution position of the impurity ion Mn2+ in LiNbO3.

PMID- 9996874
TI  - Direct measurement of fixed-charge stopping power for 32-MeV 3He1+ in a charge
      state nonequilibrium region.

PMID- 9996876
TI  - Conduction mechanism in YBa2Cu3Oz in the normal state.

PMID- 9996877
TI  - Temperature dependence of the phonon structure in the high-temperature
      superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 studied by infrared reflectance spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996878
TI  - Magnetic-field influence on polaronic electrons on liquid-helium films.

PMID- 9996879
TI  - Monte Carlo study of U(1) lattice gauge Higgs model of high-Tc superconductivity.

PMID- 9996880
TI  - Superconductivity in the mean-field anyon gas.

PMID- 9996881
TI  - Cubic phase in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system.

PMID- 9996882
TI  - Pairing of holes in a tight-binding model with repulsive Coulomb interactions.

PMID- 9996883
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the ac susceptibility in granular YBa2Cu3O7: Data
      and models.

PMID- 9996885
TI  - Electron paramagnetic resonance of Cu2+ ions in the tetragonal perovskite LaCuO3-
      delta.

PMID- 9996884
TI  - Circular dichroism observed in bismuthate superconductors.

PMID- 9996887
TI  - Numerical analysis of the anomalies in the thermal conductivity of the high-Tc
      superconductors YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9996886
TI  - Electronic disorder, gap states, orbital depairing, and dynamics of percolative
      superconductors near Tc.

PMID- 9996888
TI  - Irreversibility-line study in the polycrystalline Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 superconductor.

PMID- 9996890
TI  - Spin-Peierls transition, flux phase, and anyon superconductivity.

PMID- 9996889
TI  - Effect of hopping between oxygen atoms on the metal-insulator transition in CuO2
      planes of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9996891
TI  - Observation of a birefringence anomaly at the 93-K phase transition in K2SeO4.

PMID- 9996892
TI  - Quantum vector spin-glass models in an applied field.

PMID- 9996893
TI  - Shrinking and freezing of embedded domains.

PMID- 9996894
TI  - Phase separation in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9996895
TI  - Magnetic dynamics in La2CuO4 with interlayer coupling and anisotropy gaps.

PMID- 9996896
TI  - Comment on "Low-temperature properties of the Hubbard chain with an attractive
      interaction"

PMID- 9996897
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Low-temperature properties of the Hubbard chain with an
      attractive interaction' "

PMID- 9996899
TI  - Erratum: Phenomenological theory of longitudinal spin fluctuations in CsNiCl3

PMID- 9996898
TI  - Comment on "Low-temperature properties of quantum Heisenberg helimagnets"

PMID- 9996900
TI  - Magnetic behavior of 1,3-

PMID- 9996901
TI  - Incident-beam enhancements of Auger electron scattering.

PMID- 9996902
TI  - Thermal depinning of the modulation wave in the presence of random impurities.

PMID- 9996903
TI  - Quantized Hall effect in the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ReO4
      (TMTSF=tetramethyltetraselenafulvalinium).

PMID- 9996904
TI  - Spin excitations and the electronic specific heat of URu2Si2.

PMID- 9996905
TI  - Charge-transfer polarons and excitons.

PMID- 9996906
TI  - Anisotropic energy dissipation in high-Tc ceramic superconductors: Local-field
      effects.

PMID- 9996907
TI  - Anisotropic vortex cross-flux effects in grain-oriented YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9996908
TI  - Hall-effect studies in YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superlattices.

PMID- 9996909
TI  - Magnetic-ordering, hyperfine, and linear contributions to the low-temperature
      specific heat of (Y1-xPrx)Ba2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9996910
TI  - Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin-film energy gap as a function of temperature and force applied
      to squeezable-electron-tunneling junctions.

PMID- 9996911
TI  - Epitaxial intercalation of the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor series.

PMID- 9996912
TI  - X-ray-photoemission-spectroscopy study of the surface deterioration of
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals at 26 K.

PMID- 9996913
TI  - Theory of angle-resolved photoemission from the cuprate superconductors.

PMID- 9996914
TI  - Thermoelectric power of the (Eu,Ce)4(Ba,Eu)4Cu6Oy phase and the T* phase:
      Comparison between superconducting and nonsuperconducting compounds.

PMID- 9996915
TI  - Determination of the spatial length scale of the magnetic-field distribution in
      the YBa2Cu3O7 ceramic by surface EPR.

PMID- 9996916
TI  - Landau-level spin waves and Skyrmion energy in the two-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9996917
TI  - Fast algorithm to calculate exact geometrical factors for the q-state Potts
      model.

PMID- 9996919
TI  - Anisotropy-driven long-range order in ultrathin ferromagnetic films.

PMID- 9996918
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of hard-sphere fluid and solid in a confined geometry.

PMID- 9996920
TI  - Monte Carlo study of frustrated XY models on a triangular and square lattice.

PMID- 9996921
TI  - Critical amplitude ratios for critical wetting in three dimensions: Observation
      of nonclassical behavior in the Ising model.

PMID- 9996922
TI  - Motion of kinks in the ac-driven damped Frenkel-Kontorova chain.

PMID- 9996924
TI  - Noise and crossover exponent in the two-component random resistor network.

PMID- 9996923
TI  - Raman fingerprint of orientational freezing in mixed molecular crystals.

PMID- 9996925
TI  - Coverage dependence of surface optical second-harmonic generation from
      CO/Ni(110): Investigation with a nonlinear-interference technique.

PMID- 9996927
TI  - Equivalence of the multilead approach to dephasing and the self-consistent Born
      approximation.

PMID- 9996926
TI  - Influence of surface roughness on the conductivity of metallic and semiconducting
      quasi-two-dimensional structures.

PMID- 9996928
TI  - Measurement of the binding energy of kink-site atoms of metals and alloys.

PMID- 9996930
TI  - Generalized expression for the tunneling current in scanning tunneling
      microscopy.

PMID- 9996929
TI  - Bonding energetics of metals: Explanation of trends.

PMID- 9996932
TI  - Gradient-corrected density functionals: Full-potential calculations for iron.

PMID- 9996931
TI  - Multichannel, multiprobe Landauer formula in the presence of a uniform magnetic
      field.

PMID- 9996933
TI  - Stable one-component quasicrystals.

PMID- 9996934
TI  - Crystalline and glassy phases of transition-metal-metalloid systems.

PMID- 9996935
TI  - Development of an N-body interatomic potential for hcp and bcc zirconium.

PMID- 9996936
TI  - Effect of atomic-structure modulation on the ionic conductivity of a
      Na4.6FeP2O8.6F0.4 single crystal.

PMID- 9996937
TI  - Persistence of atomic magnetism in the paramagnetic phase of chromium.

PMID- 9996939
TI  - Nuclear-spin relaxation and spin-wave collective modes in a disordered two
      dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9996938
TI  - Magnetoresistance in quantum wires: Boundary-roughness scattering.

PMID- 9996940
TI  - Defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloys studied by
      photomodulation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9996941
TI  - Theory of optical anisotropy in quantum-well-wire arrays with two-dimensional
      quantum confinement.

PMID- 9996942
TI  - Semiclassical small-polaron hopping in a generalized molecular-crystal model.

PMID- 9996943
TI  - Hydrodynamic theory of magnetoplasmons in a modulated two-dimensional electron
      gas.

PMID- 9996944
TI  - Evidence for an electron-hole plasma in the photoluminescence spectra of
      insulating InSb at very low pump intensities.

PMID- 9996945
TI  - First-order Raman spectrum of diamond at high temperatures.

PMID- 9996946
TI  - Theory of Schottky-contact formation on GaAs(110).

PMID- 9996947
TI  - Relaxation of icosahedral-cage silicon clusters via tight-binding molecular
      dynamics.

PMID- 9996948
TI  - Anomalous galvanomagnetic behavior of orthorhombic layered GeS single crystals.

PMID- 9996949
TI  - Elementary excitation spectrum of one-dimensional electron systems in confined
      semiconductor structures: Zero magnetic field.

PMID- 9996950
TI  - Two-dimensional electron gas in GaAs/Al1-xGaxAs heterostructures: Effective mass.

PMID- 9996951
TI  - Temperature and doping-concentration dependence of the oscillatory properties of
      the photoreflectance spectra from GaAs grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.

PMID- 9996952
TI  - Zone-folding effect in short-period (GaAs)n/(AlAs)n superlattices with n in the
      range 3-15.

PMID- 9996953
TI  - Potential-barrier measurements at clustered metal-semiconductor interfaces.

PMID- 9996954
TI  - Multiphonon resonant Raman scattering in short-period GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9996955
TI  - Minimum overlayer thickness for interface formation: An experimental study of the
      Cu/Ag/Cu(111) system.

PMID- 9996956
TI  - Low-temperature electrical conductivity of highly conducting polyacetylene in a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9996957
TI  - Carrier hopping capture in semiconductors.

PMID- 9996958
TI  - Structural and electronic properties of the Bi/GaP(110) interface.

PMID- 9996959
TI  - Optical phonons in GaAs/AlAs quantum wires.

PMID- 9996961
TI  - Structural model for pseudobinary semiconductor alloys.

PMID- 9996960
TI  - Fine structure of hopping conductance fluctuations in finite-size semiconductors.

PMID- 9996962
TI  - Modulated photoabsorption in strained Ga1-xInxAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9996963
TI  - Initial stages of oxidation of Si(111) with condensed O2 and N2O at 20 K.

PMID- 9996964
TI  - Dynamic response of quantum dots.

PMID- 9996965
TI  - Two-photon-absorption spectrum of poly(di-n-hexylsilane) films.

PMID- 9996966
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of CaSi2/Si interfaces.

PMID- 9996967
TI  - Structural study of evaporated amorphous As4S4 films by x-ray-absorption fine
      structure.

PMID- 9996968
TI  - Sulfur deficiency in iron pyrite (FeS2-x) and its consequences for band-structure
      models.

PMID- 9996969
TI  - Pseudopotential Hartree-Fock study of seventeen III-V and IV-IV semiconductors.

PMID- 9996970
TI  - Exciton-binding-energy maximum in Ga1-xInxAs/GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9996971
TI  - Temperature dependence of the dielectric function and the interband critical
      point parameters of AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9996972
TI  - Effects of coimplantation of silicon and nitrogen on structural defects and Si-N
      bond formation in silica glass.

PMID- 9996973
TI  - Satellite structure in the photoemission spectra of MnO(100).

PMID- 9996975
TI  - Luminescence of F+ centers in CaO crystals under pulsed-laser excitation.

PMID- 9996976
TI  - Electrical transport of mixed (Na+,Ba2+) beta "-alumina.

PMID- 9996974
TI  - Influence of d orbitals on the nonlinear optical response of transparent
      transition-metal oxides.

PMID- 9996978
TI  - X-ray study of the intercalant distribution in mixed alkyl ammonium pillared
      clay.

PMID- 9996977
TI  - Cation-ligand hybridization for stoichiometric and reduced TiO2 (110) surfaces
      determined by resonant photoemission.

PMID- 9996979
TI  - Defect structures and the MgO-doping-level-threshold effect on the optical
      absorption of reduced MgO-doped lithium niobate.

PMID- 9996980
TI  - Many-body properties calculated from the Kohn-Sham equations in density
      functional theory.

PMID- 9996981
TI  - Quantum tunneling of surface-state electrons in time-dependent fields.

PMID- 9996983
TI  - Charge-density excitations in the fractional quantized Hall effect in
      superlattices.

PMID- 9996982
TI  - Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy of remotely doped wide parabolic
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9996985
TI  - Lifetime of the Stark resonant level in double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9996984
TI  - Tunneling and anticrossing of edge magnetoplasmons in a quantum-dot superlattice.

PMID- 9996986
TI  - Phonon-mediated indirect interactions between adatoms on surfaces: O adatoms on
      Si(100).

PMID- 9996987
TI  - Coherent time-resolved investigation of LO-phonon dynamics in GaAs.

PMID- 9996988
TI  - Structure of single-molecular-layer MoS2.

PMID- 9996989
TI  - Additional evidence concerning the valence-band offset in HgTe/CdTe.

PMID- 9996990
TI  - Erratum: Electron band structure of a rare-earth metal: Tb(0001)

PMID- 9996991
TI  - Surface Fermi contours and phonon anomalies on Pt(111).

PMID- 9996992
TI  - Semiclassical theory of shot noise and its suppression in a conductor with
      deterministic scattering.

PMID- 9996993
TI  - Hartree-Fock core local-density-approximation valence pseudopotentials.

PMID- 9996994
TI  - Anomalous temperature dependence of the phase-coherence length for inhomogeneous
      gold films.

PMID- 9996995
TI  - Energy and angular distributions of excited rhodium atoms ejected from the
      rhodium (100) surface.

PMID- 9996996
TI  - Electronic properties of quantum-dot superlattices.

PMID- 9996997
TI  - Effects of surface band bending on low-energy photon-induced oxidation of
      GaAs(110).

PMID- 9996998
TI  - Spatial potential distribution in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures under quantum
      Hall conditions studied with the linear electro-optic effect.

PMID- 9996999
TI  - Electrical transport in narrow-miniband semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9997000
TI  - Self-consistent model of magnetoplasmons in quantum dots with nearly parabolic
      confinement potentials.

PMID- 9997001
TI  - Time dependence of photovoltaic shifts in photoelectron spectroscopy of
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9997002
TI  - Negative-U, off-center OAs in GaAs and its relation to the EL3 level.

PMID- 9997003
TI  - Extreme g-factor anisotropy induced by strain.

PMID- 9997004
TI  - Measurement of positron mobility in Si at 30-300 K.

PMID- 9997005
TI  - Voltage-probe-controlled breakdown of the quantum Hall effect.

PMID- 9997006
TI  - Surface-induced optical anisotropy of the Si(110) surface.

PMID- 9997007
TI  - Deep center in Al0.3Ga0.7As.

PMID- 9997008
TI  - Static lattice distortions and the structure of Au/Si(111)-(5 x 1): An x-ray
      diffraction study.

PMID- 9997009
TI  - Fermi-edge singularity and band-filling effects in the luminescence spectrum of
      Be- delta -doped GaAs.

PMID- 9997011
TI  - Formation of extended hydrogen complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9997010
TI  - Observation of Franz-Keldysh oscillations in the stress-modulated spectra of
      (001) n-type GaAs.

PMID- 9997012
TI  - Quasiparticle surface band structure and photoelectric threshold of Ge(111)-2 x
      1.

PMID- 9997013
TI  - Investigation of the electronic structure in Cu-Au I using x-ray-photoelectron
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997014
TI  - Relative stability of the Al12W structure in Al-transition-metal compounds.

PMID- 9997016
TI  - Structure and morphology of Au grown on Ag(110).

PMID- 9997015
TI  - Anomalous dynamical behavior of the Cu(110) surface.

PMID- 9997017
TI  - Theory of charge-density-wave tunneling.

PMID- 9997018
TI  - He-diffraction studies of the low-coverage (1 x 3)-H and the saturation (1 x 1)
      2H phases on Rh(110).

PMID- 9997020
TI  - Vibrational properties of the clean reconstructed W(100) surface.

PMID- 9997019
TI  - Atoms embedded in an electron gas: Beyond the local-density approximation.

PMID- 9997021
TI  - Inelastic scattering of x rays at intermediate momentum transfers.

PMID- 9997022
TI  - Phase stability in Ti-V and Ti-Cr alloys: A theoretical investigation.

PMID- 9997023
TI  - Quantum magnetoresistance fluctuations in an amorphous metal.

PMID- 9997024
TI  - Photoemission-spectroscopy investigation of the chemical-pressure effect in Yb1
      xMxAl2 (M=Ca,Sc).

PMID- 9997026
TI  - Numerical modeling of superlattice x-ray-scattering intensities.

PMID- 9997025
TI  - Azimuthal dependence of the near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure from
      Ni(110)c(2 x 2)-S at the S K edge.

PMID- 9997027
TI  - Magnetotransport at the metal-insulator transition in fluorine-intercalated
      graphite fibers.

PMID- 9997029
TI  - Interaction of alkali metals with Si(001)-2 x 1.

PMID- 9997028
TI  - Optical dispersion relations in amorphous semiconductors.

PMID- 9997030
TI  - Modulation spectroscopy of the complex photoluminescence band of Ga0.7Al0.3As:Si.

PMID- 9997031
TI  - Subband effects on electron transport in quasi-one-dimensional electron systems.

PMID- 9997032
TI  - Surface-shifted core levels in Mo3Si (100) and (110).

PMID- 9997034
TI  - Polariton-impurity interactions and photoconductivity in CdTe studied by
      cyclotron-resonance-excitation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997033
TI  - Alloy-disorder-induced intervalley coupling.

PMID- 9997035
TI  - Antimony-doping effect on the ac conductivity of the amorphous Se-Te system.

PMID- 9997036
TI  - Hole-state reversal and the role of residual strain in (In,Ga)As-GaAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9997037
TI  - Exciton spectra and anisotropic Zeeman effect in PbI2 at high magnetic fields up
      to 40 T.

PMID- 9997038
TI  - Collective interactions in a quantum well: The inclusion of nonlocal exchange.

PMID- 9997039
TI  - Electronic structure and core excitons in AlSb as studied by soft-x-ray
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997040
TI  - Lattice dynamics of isolated nitrogen in synthetic diamond.

PMID- 9997041
TI  - X-ray-diffraction measurement of interface structure in GaAs/Si(001).

PMID- 9997043
TI  - Terahertz-frequency-resolved transient conductivity of nonthermal electrons
      photoexcited in GaAs.

PMID- 9997042
TI  - Quantum ballistic and adiabatic electron transport studied with quantum point
      contacts.

PMID- 9997045
TI  - Band dispersion in the recursion method.

PMID- 9997044
TI  - Exciton dispersion in multiple quantum wells and superlattices: An additional
      contribution to the linewidth.

PMID- 9997046
TI  - Theoretical approach to delta doping of GaAs with In.

PMID- 9997047
TI  - Optical second-order susceptibility of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs asymmetric coupled-quantum
      well structures in the exciton region.

PMID- 9997048
TI  - Virtual photoconductivity due to intense optical radiation transmitted through a
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9997049
TI  - Raman scattering in diamond up to 1900 K.

PMID- 9997051
TI  - Quasi-parity-conserving octahedral model for (H,Be) and (D,Be) tunneling
      complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9997050
TI  - Formation energies, electronic structure, and hyperfine fields of chalcogen point
      defects and defect pairs in silicon.

PMID- 9997053
TI  - Effect of electron-phonon coupling on the hopping rate of charged particles in a
      superlattice.

PMID- 9997052
TI  - Nuclear-magnetic-resonance studies of strain in isovalently doped GaAs.

PMID- 9997054
TI  - Electronic excitations of poly(methylphenylsilane) films.

PMID- 9997055
TI  - Analytical model of high-frequency resonant tunneling: The first-order ac current
      response.

PMID- 9997056
TI  - Electronic structure of CrSi2 and related refractory disilicides.

PMID- 9997057
TI  - Singularities in the optical spectra of a system involving a Fermi sea of
      electrons and a localized hole: A method for obtaining many-body wave functions.

PMID- 9997058
TI  - Measurement of the exciton-formation time and the electron- and hole-tunneling
      times in a double-quantum-well structure.

PMID- 9997059
TI  - Simulating diffusion on Si(001) 2 x 1 surfaces using a modified interatomic
      potential.

PMID- 9997060
TI  - Resonant-Raman-scattering and photoluminescence studies in glass-composite and
      colloidal CdS.

PMID- 9997061
TI  - Excitonic absorption edge in alkali halides and the Urbach-Martienssen rule
      studied by three-photon difference-frequency generation.

PMID- 9997062
TI  - Electronic structure of fluorite-type compounds and mixed crystals.

PMID- 9997063
TI  - Interatomic potential for directional bonding: The rotated-second-moment
      approximation.

PMID- 9997064
TI  - Interband contribution to the long-wavelength damping of the surface plasmon.

PMID- 9997065
TI  - Angle-resolved x-ray-photoemission study of the surface disordering of Pb(100).

PMID- 9997066
TI  - N-induced (2 x 3) reconstruction of Cu(110): Evidence for long-range, highly
      directional interaction between Cu-N-Cu bonds.

PMID- 9997067
TI  - Palladium-graphite interaction potentials based on first-principles calculations.

PMID- 9997068
TI  - Exciton binding energy in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9997069
TI  - Quantum coherence effects and field-induced localization in InSb.

PMID- 9997070
TI  - Energy-band structure for strained p-type Si1-xGex.

PMID- 9997071
TI  - Breakdown of quantized conductance in point contacts calculated using realistic
      potentials.

PMID- 9997072
TI  - Stability of the Frohlich bipolaron in two and three dimensions.

PMID- 9997073
TI  - Resonant transmission of acoustic phonons in multisuperlattice structures.

PMID- 9997074
TI  - Raman scattering by LO phonons in (GaAs)n1/(AlAs)n2 ultrathin-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9997075
TI  - Interaction of quasiparticles in the 1/3 quantum Hall state and hierarchical
      estimates of the energy of daughter states.

PMID- 9997076
TI  - Stimulated-picosecond-photon-echo studies of localized exciton relaxation and
      dephasing in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9997077
TI  - Polaronlike vibrational bands of molecular crystals with one-dimensional hydrogen
      bond chains: N-methylacetamide.

PMID- 9997078
TI  - Comment on "Temperature-induced structural phase transition in CaBr2 studied by
      Raman spectroscopy"

PMID- 9997079
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Temperature-induced structural phase transition in CaBr2
      studied by Raman spectroscopy' "

PMID- 9997080
TI  - Electronic density of states of AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9997082
TI  - Channeling radiation and coherent bremsstrahlung for simple lattices: A three
      dimensional approach.

PMID- 9997081
TI  - Measurement of Fermi-surface distortion in double quantum wells from in-plane
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9997083
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of prompt sputtering of a molecular solid at high
      excitation densities.

PMID- 9997084
TI  - Positron-electron annihilation in the proximity of a second electron in a dense
      medium.

PMID- 9997085
TI  - Two-pulse and stimulated nuclear-quadrupole-resonance echoes in YAlO3:Pr3+

PMID- 9997086
TI  - Secondary electrons induced by fast ions under channeling conditions. I.
      Production and emission of secondary electrons.

PMID- 9997087
TI  - Secondary electrons induced by fast ions under channeling conditions. II.
      Screening of fast heavy ions in solids.

PMID- 9997088
TI  - Accumulated photon echo in ruby under hydrostatic pressure: Ground-state
      splitting and spontaneous decay of 2A-bar(2E).

PMID- 9997089
TI  - NMR determination of order parameters in the quadrupolar glasses Na(CN)xCl1-x and
      NaxK1-xCN.

PMID- 9997090
TI  - Photoacoustic and luminescence spectroscopy of benzil crystals.

PMID- 9997091
TI  - Quantum optics of localized light in a photonic band gap.

PMID- 9997092
TI  - Theory of NMR in heavy-fermion compounds using the slave-boson technique.

PMID- 9997093
TI  - Bifurcation and chaos in a dc-driven long annular Josephson junction.

PMID- 9997094
TI  - Superconducting optical conductivity for arbitrary temperature and mean free
      path.

PMID- 9997096
TI  - Vortex-defect interactions in Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9997095
TI  - Magnetic excitations in the heavy-fermion superconductor URu2Si2.

PMID- 9997098
TI  - Third-sound wave in superfluid films as a probe of interface exchanges and film
      entropy evaluation.

PMID- 9997097
TI  - Aziz fermions and liquid 3He.

PMID- 9997099
TI  - Nucleation and motion of an isolated Abrikosov vortex.

PMID- 9997100
TI  - Stability of antipolar fluxons in an infinitely long Josephson junction with
      shunt loss, surface-impedance loss, and bias current.

PMID- 9997101
TI  - Probability of quasiparticle self-trapping due to localized energy deposition in
      nonequilbrium tunnel-junction detectors.

PMID- 9997102
TI  - Quantitative studies of nonlinear second sound in superfluid 4He.

PMID- 9997103
TI  - Two-component Fermi liquids and the induced-interaction model.

PMID- 9997104
TI  - Collective excitations in the A phase of 3He.

PMID- 9997105
TI  - Macroscopic tunneling in Josephson junctions with two-state fluctuators.

PMID- 9997106
TI  - Self-consistent theory of heavy-fermion alloys.

PMID- 9997107
TI  - Spin excitations in a quantum antiferromagnet with magnetic impurities and
      vacancies.

PMID- 9997108
TI  - Anharmonic phonons and the isotope effect in superconductivity.

PMID- 9997109
TI  - Anisotropic resistivity and paraconductivity of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

PMID- 9997110
TI  - Systematic variation of transport and thermodynamic properties with degree of
      reduction in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4- delta.

PMID- 9997111
TI  - Nonmonotonic resistivity transitions in granular superconducting ceramics.

PMID- 9997112
TI  - Phase diagrams of the two-dimensional Hubbard and t-J models by a variational
      Monte Carlo method.

PMID- 9997113
TI  - Density of states in La2CuO4+y.

PMID- 9997114
TI  - Two superconducting gaps and electron-phonon coupling in YBa2Cu4O8.

PMID- 9997115
TI  - Far-infrared absorption by bulk high-Tc superconductors using an optically pumped
      CH3OH laser.

PMID- 9997117
TI  - Effects of Cu substitution by Fe on the magnetic properties of YBa2Cu3O7-y single
      crystals.

PMID- 9997116
TI  - Magnetic properties of antiferromagnets with mobile vacancies.

PMID- 9997118
TI  - Hole filling and hole creation in the superconducting compounds Bi2Sr2-xRxCuO6+y
      (R=La, Pr, Nd, and Sm).

PMID- 9997119
TI  - Anisotropic superconducting properties of aligned (Bi,Pb)2Can-1Sr2CunO2n+4+ delta
      powders (n=1,2,3) with Tc=32, 94, and 110 K.

PMID- 9997120
TI  - Microstructure of ultrathin films of YBa2Cu3O7- delta on MgO.

PMID- 9997121
TI  - Positron-annihilation studies on the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor.

PMID- 9997123
TI  - Dislocation-mediated flux creep in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta.

PMID- 9997122
TI  - Effects of nonstoichiometry, ordering, and Bi substitution with Pb in
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

PMID- 9997124
TI  - Magnetic measurements of the upper and lower critical fields of oxygen-deficient
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9997125
TI  - Full-penetration temperature and magnetic relaxation in a single crystal of
      Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox.

PMID- 9997126
TI  - Quasiparticle tunneling and quasiparticle-pair interference in granular
      superconductors.

PMID- 9997127
TI  - Optical phonons in T*-structure Nd2-x-yCexSryCuO4.

PMID- 9997128
TI  - Structural changes of Bi1.8Sr2(Ca1-xYx)Cu2.2Oz ceramics with yttrium content
      studied by electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy.

PMID- 9997130
TI  - Plasmon modes in a system composed of Cu-O layers and chains.

PMID- 9997129
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O6.70 in applied magnetic
      fields of 0, 1, 2, and 3 T.

PMID- 9997131
TI  - Zone-center (q=0) optical phonons in CuO studied by Raman and infrared
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997132
TI  - Variation of Tc and transport properties with carrier concentration in Y- and Pb
      doped Bi-based superconductors.

PMID- 9997133
TI  - Phase diagrams of oxygen ordering in high-temperature superconductors RBa2Cu3O7
      x.

PMID- 9997135
TI  - Theory of the magnetoresistance in magnetic multilayers: Analytical expressions
      from a semiclassical approach.

PMID- 9997134
TI  - Magnetic and transport properties of BaV1-xTixS3 (0 <= x <= 0.2).

PMID- 9997136
TI  - Competing interactions in the heavy-electron antiferromagnets CeM2Sn2 (M=Ni, Ir,
      Cu, Rh, Pd, and Pt).

PMID- 9997138
TI  - Specific heat in some gadolinium compounds. II. Theoretical model.

PMID- 9997137
TI  - Specific heat in some gadolinium compounds. I. Experimental.

PMID- 9997139
TI  - Magnetism of Fe/Pd superlattices.

PMID- 9997140
TI  - Magnetic and electrical-resistance behavior of the compounds RPt2Ge2 (R=rare
      earth).

PMID- 9997141
TI  - Magnetic coupling through Cr: Study of spin polarization in Cr and film-growth
      effects.

PMID- 9997142
TI  - Long-range order near the Cu3Au(001) surface by evanescent x-ray scattering.

PMID- 9997143
TI  - Effect of an interchain magnetic interaction on the dimerized state of a two-XY
      quantum-spin-chain ladder.

PMID- 9997144
TI  - Elastic effects of an ac-driven charge-density wave in TaS3.

PMID- 9997145
TI  - Concept of a multimetrical space group.

PMID- 9997146
TI  - Crystal structure of and low-temperature phase transitions in isostructural
      RbSm(SO4)2

PMID- 9997147
TI  - NMR and magnetization studies of Co/Cu superlattices.

PMID- 9997148
TI  - Magnetic structure of UNi2Si2.

PMID- 9997150
TI  - Moments of the Raman spectrum of the two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9997149
TI  - Spectral structure for a class of one-dimensional three-tile quasilattices.

PMID- 9997151
TI  - Dephasing by a dynamic asymmetric environment.

PMID- 9997152
TI  - Domain growth with time-dependent front velocity in one dimension.

PMID- 9997153
TI  - Influence of nonlinear dissipation on quantum tunneling.

PMID- 9997154
TI  - Electronic structure and magnetism of SrFeO3 and SrCoO3.

PMID- 9997155
TI  - Si29 magic-angle-spinning NMR spectroscopy of the ferroelastic-to-incommensurate
      transition in Sr2SiO4.

PMID- 9997156
TI  - Calculation of elastic constants from a replica Monte Carlo simulation.

PMID- 9997157
TI  - Low-temperature properties of a two-level system interacting with conduction
      electrons: An application of the overcompensated multichannel Kondo model.

PMID- 9997158
TI  - Pressure dependence of the melting temperature of solids: Rare-gas solids.

PMID- 9997159
TI  - Exchange interactions at the surface of a ferromagnet.

PMID- 9997160
TI  - Anomalous optical transmission in homogeneous latex suspensions.

PMID- 9997161
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic behavior in Dy/Y films and superlattices.

PMID- 9997163
TI  - Critical behavior of a system with orientational and positional degrees of
      freedom: A Monte Carlo simulation study.

PMID- 9997162
TI  - Observation of the Haldane gap in RbNiCl3.

PMID- 9997164
TI  - Crossover from a fractal lattice to a Euclidean lattice for the thermodynamic
      properties of a triplet-interaction Ising model.

PMID- 9997165
TI  - Instability of the Nagaoka ferromagnetic state in the Hubbard model with next
      nearest-neighbor hopping.

PMID- 9997166
TI  - Cluster-variation approach to the spin-1/2 XXZ model.

PMID- 9997167
TI  - Electronic and magnetic features of twisted spin-density-wave states in the two
      dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9997168
TI  - S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9997169
TI  - Image states at ferromagnetic surfaces: Fe(110), (100), (111) and Co(0001).

PMID- 9997170
TI  - Strong magnetic x-ray dichroism in 2p absorption spectra of 3d transition-metal
      ions.

PMID- 9997171
TI  - Resonant-light absorption and the problem of observing the Kosterlitz-Thouless
      transition in spin-polarized atomic hydrogen adsorbed on a liquid-He surface.

PMID- 9997172
TI  - Real-time small-angle x-ray scattering study of the early stage of phase
      separation in the SiO2-BaO-K2O system.

PMID- 9997173
TI  - Dynamics of phonons in submicrometer zones generated by an optical waveguide.

PMID- 9997174
TI  - Anisotropic magnetoresistance of the semimetallic antiferromagnet EuAs3.

PMID- 9997175
TI  - Dynamics of a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet at zero temperature.

PMID- 9997177
TI  - Localized-versus-extended spin fluctuations in quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9997176
TI  - Self-dual model for one-dimensional incommensurate crystals including next
      nearest-neighbor hopping, and its relation to the Hofstadter model.

PMID- 9997178
TI  - Magnetic line groups. III. Corepresentations of the magnetic line groups isogonal
      to the point groups Dn, Cnv, Dnd, and Dnh.

PMID- 9997179
TI  - Long-range angular correlations of waves in a tube geometry.

PMID- 9997180
TI  - Two-dimensional axial third-nearest-neighbor Ising model and the S=1/2
      anisotropic Heisenberg chain.

PMID- 9997181
TI  - Hubbard model: Functional-integral approach and diagrammatic perturbation theory.

PMID- 9997182
TI  - Theoretical isothermal equation of state of the high-pressure phases of silicon.

PMID- 9997183
TI  - Charge-carrier-trapping kinetics in a chain with chaotically distributed traps
      and broken bonds: Biased-random-walk model.

PMID- 9997184
TI  - Silver-ion disorder in alpha -AgI: A computer simulation study.

PMID- 9997185
TI  - Extension of the

PMID- 9997186
TI  - Critical properties of a one-dimensional frustrated quantum magnetic model.

PMID- 9997187
TI  - Critical properties of the quantum sine-Gordon equation.

PMID- 9997188
TI  - High-energy x-ray anomalous scattering factor for silicon: Reanalyses of the
      experimental data.

PMID- 9997189
TI  - Electron-spin-resonance studies of Cr-ion pairs in LiNbO3:Cr3+

PMID- 9997190
TI  - Temporal fluctuations in disordered static optical media.

PMID- 9997191
TI  - Hyperuniversality in quantum critical phenomena.

PMID- 9997192
TI  - Condensate fraction and momentum distribution in the ground state of liquid 4He.

PMID- 9997193
TI  - Electronic structure of the organic superconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2

PMID- 9997194
TI  - Microwave absorption across Tc: Determination of the angular dependence Hc2(
      theta )/Hc2.

PMID- 9997195
TI  - Evidence for collective pinning in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9997196
TI  - Motion of a single hole in a resonating-valence-bond background: Some exact
      results.

PMID- 9997198
TI  - Bulk phase transition in YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9997197
TI  - In-plane transport properties of single-crystal R2-xCexCuO4-y (R=Nd,Sm).

PMID- 9997200
TI  - Finite-size study of the excitation and thermodynamics of the two-dimensional
      spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet: Comparison with spin-wave theory.

PMID- 9997199
TI  - Monte Carlo simulation of reorientation driven by oxygen transport in
      YBa2Cu3O6.5.

PMID- 9997201
TI  - High-temperature superconductivity in a Y-Ba-Cu-based system without extraneous
      oxygen.

PMID- 9997202
TI  - Role of non-symmetry-breaking order parameters in determining the martensitic
      energy barrier: The bcc-to-9R transformation.

PMID- 9997204
TI  - Zero-temperature entropy of a replica-symmetric spin glass.

PMID- 9997203
TI  - Interacting-fermion approximation in the two-dimensional axial next-nearest
      neighbor Ising model.

PMID- 9997206
TI  - Phase diagram of the transverse Ising model in a random field.

PMID- 9997205
TI  - Dynamic mean-field approximation for the random-bond Ising-spin model.

PMID- 9997209
TI  - Continued-fraction formalism applied to the spin-1/2 XYZ model.

PMID- 9997208
TI  - Anomalously slow domain growth due to a modulus inhomogeneity in phase-separating
      alloys.

PMID- 9997207
TI  - Local spin correlations in ultrathin Fe/W(100) films.

PMID- 9997210
TI  - Effect of thermal spin-wave fluctuations on optical guided waves propagating in a
      magnetic film.

PMID- 9997211
TI  - Finite-size effects on the optical conductivity of a half-filled Hubbard ring.

PMID- 9997212
TI  - Mean-field Green's-function theory of the two-sublattice Ising model in a
      transverse field.

PMID- 9997213
TI  - Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with anisotropic coupling between nearest and
      next-nearest neighbors.

PMID- 9997214
TI  - Orbital band magnetism in actinide intermetallics.

PMID- 9997215
TI  - Specific-heat relaxation in glycerol.

PMID- 9997216
TI  - Comment on "Uniaxial anisotropic flux trapping in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
      single crystals"

PMID- 9997218
TI  - Comment on "Nonlinear susceptibilities of granular matter"

PMID- 9997217
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Uniaxial anisotropic flux trapping in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr
      Ca-Cu-O single crystals' "

PMID- 9997219
TI  - Erratum: Dilute spin glass at zero temperature in general dimension

PMID- 9997220
TI  - Erratum: Entropy transport in high-Tc superconductors in the fluctuation regime

PMID- 9997221
TI  - Erratum: Surface electronic structure of Ce in the alpha and gamma phase

PMID- 9997222
TI  - Spin-wave expansion of the staggered magnetization of a square-lattice Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet at T=0.

PMID- 9997223
TI  - Nonlinear backscattering from opaque media.

PMID- 9997224
TI  - Experimental and molecular-dynamics study of the Ar emission mechanism during low
      energy Ar+ bombardment of Cu.

PMID- 9997225
TI  - Effect of random noise on a mode-locked system.

PMID- 9997226
TI  - Radio-frequency spectral response of two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays.

PMID- 9997227
TI  - Evidence for surface barriers and their effect on irreversibility and lower
      critical-field measurements in Y-Ba-Cu-O crystals.

PMID- 9997228
TI  - Comparison of p and He channeling across Tc in YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9997229
TI  - Pressure dependence of the superconducting phases in UPt3.

PMID- 9997230
TI  - Direct imaging of the oxygen sublattice in YBa2Cu3O7- delta superconductors by
      high-resolution electron microscopy.

PMID- 9997231
TI  - Critical fields and Landau-Ginzburg parameters of the heavy-fermion
      superconductor UPt3.

PMID- 9997232
TI  - Phase separation, charge-transfer instability, and superconductivity in the three
      band extended Hubbard model: Weak-coupling theory.

PMID- 9997233
TI  - Unconventional electron-phonon interactions in high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9997234
TI  - Scaling of the hysteretic magnetic behavior in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals.

PMID- 9997235
TI  - Correlated random-phase-approximation study of an anyon gas.

PMID- 9997236
TI  - Seebeck effect in the mixed state of epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997237
TI  - Lower bounds for the ground-state energies of the two-dimensional Hubbard and t-J
      models.

PMID- 9997238
TI  - Real-space renormalization-group study of random-superconductor models.

PMID- 9997239
TI  - Temperature dependence of the linewidths of the Raman-active phonons of
      YBa2Cu3O7: Evidence for a superconducting gap between 440 and 500 cm-1.

PMID- 9997240
TI  - Critical surface of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the honeycomb lattice.

PMID- 9997241
TI  - Feasibility of fast-particle channeling in quasicrystals.

PMID- 9997242
TI  - Period and amplitude halving in mesoscopic rings with spin.

PMID- 9997243
TI  - Lattice instability and low-temperature phase transition in Pr2NiO4.

PMID- 9997244
TI  - Variational wave functions and the Mott transition.

PMID- 9997245
TI  - In-phase flux state of the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model and
      the Raman spectrum of La2CuO4.

PMID- 9997246
TI  - Local electronic properties of one-dimensional quasiperiodic systems.

PMID- 9997247
TI  - Many-body correlations in quantum antiferromagnets: A microscopic coupled-cluster
      approach.

PMID- 9997248
TI  - Chirality selection by magnetoelectric coupling in frustrated hexagonal
      antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9997249
TI  - Conduction-electron screening and surface properties of Cs metal.

PMID- 9997250
TI  - Optical properties of two-dimensional disordered systems on a substrate.

PMID- 9997251
TI  - Truncation-rod scattering: Analysis by the dynamical theory of x-ray diffraction.

PMID- 9997252
TI  - Accommodation of the lattice mismatch in a Ag/Ni heterophase boundary.

PMID- 9997253
TI  - Infrared properties of Pt/Al2O3 cermet films.

PMID- 9997254
TI  - Voltage drop in mesoscopic systems: A numerical study using a quantum kinetic
      equation.

PMID- 9997255
TI  - Resonances of small metal clusters excited in inelastic electron scattering.

PMID- 9997256
TI  - First-principles calculation of positron lifetimes in solids.

PMID- 9997257
TI  - Au(111): A theoretical study of the surface reconstruction and the surface
      electronic structure.

PMID- 9997258
TI  - Diffusion of interacting particles in metals based on the quantum-lattice-gas
      model.

PMID- 9997260
TI  - Phonons and librons in nitrogen monolayers adsorbed on graphite.

PMID- 9997259
TI  - Parametrization of the electronic structure of Z+1 impurities.

PMID- 9997261
TI  - Electronic-band-structure calculations and soliton dynamics for polyketene and
      related compounds.

PMID- 9997263
TI  - Nonlinear photocarrier drift in hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloys.

PMID- 9997262
TI  - Effects of growth temperature on atom distributions, Fermi-level positions, and
      valence-band offsets for Ge/n-type InP(110) heterojunctions.

PMID- 9997264
TI  - Stopping power for low-velocity Mg ions in Si, Ge, and GaAs.

PMID- 9997266
TI  - Dynamics of inter- and intra-growth-island exciton localization in GaAs single
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9997265
TI  - Vibrational assignments in the conductivity spectra of semiconducting
      (TMTSF)2ReO4 and (TMTSF)2BF4 (where TMTSF is tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene) for
      radiation polarized perpendicular to the chains.

PMID- 9997267
TI  - Far-infrared spectroscopy of minibands and confined donors in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      superlattices.

PMID- 9997268
TI  - Optical studies of vertical ambipolar transport and interface recombination
      velocities in GaAs/Al0.5Ga0.5As double-quantum-well heterostructures.

PMID- 9997269
TI  - Pressure dependence of the photoluminescence of polyparaphenylene.

PMID- 9997270
TI  - Two-stream instabilities in solid-state plasmas caused by conventional and
      unconventional mechanisms.

PMID- 9997271
TI  - Electronic structure of the rocksalt-structure semiconductors ZnO and CdO.

PMID- 9997272
TI  - Optical-reflectance anisotropy in epitaxial metastable (GaAs)1-x(Si2)x(001)
      alloys: A probe for the zinc-blende-to-diamond structural transition.

PMID- 9997273
TI  - Shear-deformation-potential constant of the conduction-band minima of Si:
      Experimental determination by the deep-level capacitance transient method.

PMID- 9997275
TI  - Structural phase transition in (GaAs)1-xGe2x and (GaP)1-xSi2x alloys: Test of the
      bulk thermodynamic description.

PMID- 9997274
TI  - Subpicosecond kinetics of band-edge absorption in Al0.25Ga0.75As.

PMID- 9997276
TI  - Decay of the population of quasilocal states in disordered media.

PMID- 9997277
TI  - Nonlocal theory of collective excitations in quantum-dot arrays.

PMID- 9997278
TI  - Photoluminescence spectroscopy in GaAs/AlAs superlattices as a function of
      temperature and pressure: The influence of sample quality.

PMID- 9997279
TI  - Band-edge hole mass in strained-quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9997280
TI  - Scanning tunneling microscopy of Ag growth on GaAs(110) at 300 K: From clusters
      to crystallites.

PMID- 9997281
TI  - Optical absorption and Zeeman effect of Cu2+ in tetrahedrally coordinated
      crystals.

PMID- 9997282
TI  - Intraband and interband magneto-optics of p-type In0.18Ga0.82As/GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9997284
TI  - Quasiparticle band structure of thirteen semiconductors and insulators.

PMID- 9997283
TI  - Diffusion-to-streaming transition in a two-dimensional electron system in a polar
      semiconductor.

PMID- 9997286
TI  - Electromagnetic response of an electron gas in one-dimensional quantum wires.

PMID- 9997285
TI  - Adatom-induced donor states during the early stages of Schottky-barrier
      formation: Ga, In, and Pb on Si(113).

PMID- 9997287
TI  - Impurity photoconduction, excitons, and effective masses in liquid xenon.

PMID- 9997288
TI  - Screening of the Coulomb repulsion in transition-metal oxides and sulfides.

PMID- 9997289
TI  - Bands versus bonds in sulfides: Theoretical investigation of the luminescence of
      copper in zinc sulfide.

PMID- 9997290
TI  - Optical studies of the 1.40-eV Ni center in diamond.

PMID- 9997292
TI  - Solid solutions of alkali halide compounds. II. Physical properties and vacancy
      contributions.

PMID- 9997291
TI  - Solid solutions of alkali halide compounds. I. Configurational and vibrational
      contributions.

PMID- 9997293
TI  - Spin relaxation in GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures in high magnetic fields.

PMID- 9997294
TI  - Effect of oxygen on the electronic properties of Pd.

PMID- 9997295
TI  - Lattice thermal conductivity of Na.

PMID- 9997296
TI  - Dynamical correlation effects in alkali metals.

PMID- 9997297
TI  - Coupled surface-plasmon-polariton waves and the optical size effect on the
      optical reflectance of metal-insulator superlattices.

PMID- 9997298
TI  - Size-dependent dielectric response of small metal particles.

PMID- 9997299
TI  - Cohesive energies of crystals.

PMID- 9997300
TI  - Quantum-confined excitonic states at high-quality interfaces in GaAs(n
      type)/AlxGa1-xAs(p type) double heterostructures.

PMID- 9997301
TI  - Long-range forces and the moments method.

PMID- 9997302
TI  - Microvoid formation in low-temperature molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown silicon.

PMID- 9997303
TI  - Conduction mechanisms in BaTiO3 thin films.

PMID- 9997304
TI  - Impurity optical absorption of HgGa2Se4:Co2+ single crystals.

PMID- 9997305
TI  - Absolute two-phonon Raman cross section in potassium chloride.

PMID- 9997306
TI  - Erratum: Disorder effects on the density of states of the II-VI semiconductor
      alloys Hg0.5Cd0.5Te, Cd0.5Zn0.5Te, and Hg0.5Zn0.5Te

PMID- 9997307
TI  - Erratum: Absolute deformation potentials in semiconductors

PMID- 9997308
TI  - Disappearance of the Coulomb charging energy and low-temperature resistivity of
      granular metals.

PMID- 9997309
TI  - alpha -gallium: A metallic molecular crystal.

PMID- 9997310
TI  - Local-density-functional calculation of photoelectron spectra of fullerenes.

PMID- 9997311
TI  - Excitons in InAs/GaAs submonolayer quantum wells.

PMID- 9997312
TI  - Magneto-optical transitions and level crossings in a Coulomb-coupled pair of
      quantum dots.

PMID- 9997313
TI  - Wigner solid from finite-cluster studies.

PMID- 9997314
TI  - Migration of the H2* complex and its relation to H- in n-type silicon.

PMID- 9997315
TI  - High-resolution synchrotron-radiation core-level spectroscopy of decapped
      GaAs(100) surfaces.

PMID- 9997316
TI  - Polarized vibrational density of states of polyacetylene from incoherent
      inelastic neutron scattering.

PMID- 9997318
TI  - Potassium-induced unrelaxation of the GaAs(110) surface.

PMID- 9997317
TI  - Spatial inhomogeneity and void-growth kinetics in the decomposition of ultrathin
      oxide overlayers on Si(100).

PMID- 9997319
TI  - Antimony-induced electronic states in the Sb/InP(110) interface studied by high
      resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997320
TI  - Subband effect on ballistic resistance in a side-gated narrow wire junction.

PMID- 9997321
TI  - Interband absorption spectra and Sommerfeld factors of a one-dimensional electron
      hole system.

PMID- 9997323
TI  - Anomalous Rxx in the quantum Hall regime due to impurity-bound states.

PMID- 9997322
TI  - Absorption-spectral-shape analysis of the band-edge exciton in a BiI3 crystal
      based on the exciton-phonon interaction.

PMID- 9997324
TI  - Reconstruction of the (100) surfaces of Au and Ag.

PMID- 9997325
TI  - Sticking coefficient of light particles on surfaces.

PMID- 9997326
TI  - Local electronic structure of magnetic fcc palladium.

PMID- 9997328
TI  - Aharonov-Bohm flux and statistics of energy levels in metals.

PMID- 9997327
TI  - Adsorbate-induced surface core-level shifts of Pd(110).

PMID- 9997329
TI  - Formation of secondary cluster ions during sputtering of silver and copper.

PMID- 9997331
TI  - Dependence of the electronic structure on local atomic order in ternary Cu2NiZn
      alloys.

PMID- 9997330
TI  - Band structure and cohesive properties of 3d-transition-metal carbides and
      nitrides with the NaCl-type structure.

PMID- 9997332
TI  - Spin-polarized relativistic linear-muffin-tin-orbital method: Volume-dependent
      electronic structure and magnetic moment of plutonium.

PMID- 9997333
TI  - Scattered-wave integral-transform method of holographic-image reconstruction from
      forward-scattering diffraction patterns.

PMID- 9997334
TI  - Calculation of spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectra from Pd(100) coated
      with a monolayer of a magnetic 3d metal, Cr or Mn: Comparison between
      antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic configurations.

PMID- 9997335
TI  - Effect of vacuum annealings on the electronic properties of clean Si(111)
      surfaces.

PMID- 9997337
TI  - Vibrational properties and infrared spectra of AlxGa1-xAs systems. II. Order and
      disorder features in superlattice configuration.

PMID- 9997336
TI  - Vibrational properties and infrared spectra of AlxGa1-xAs systems. I. Average-t
      matrix approximation versus supercell calculation for homogeneous alloys.

PMID- 9997338
TI  - Diffusion and solubility of copper, silver, and gold in germanium.

PMID- 9997339
TI  - Probing of pi conjugation in trans-polyacetylene using near-infrared
      photoluminescence spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997340
TI  - Surface effects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon studied by photothermal
      deflection experiments.

PMID- 9997341
TI  - Role of the hydrogen atom on metastable defects in GaAs.

PMID- 9997343
TI  - Macroscopic theory of optical phonons in superlattices.

PMID- 9997342
TI  - Exciton binding energy and subband structures of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices.

PMID- 9997344
TI  - Positron annihilation in a single crystal of CoSi2: Experiment and theory.

PMID- 9997346
TI  - Interatomic force fields for the structure of intrinsic point defects in silicon.

PMID- 9997345
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance of group-IV and group-VI impurities in AlAs
      and AlxGa1-xAs with x >= 0.35.

PMID- 9997347
TI  - Resonant spin-flip Raman scattering on photoexcited carriers in p-type
      Cd0.95Mn0.05Te crystals.

PMID- 9997348
TI  - Kinetics of holes optically excited from the AsGa EL2 midgap level in semi
      insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9997349
TI  - Absorption and photoluminescence of ultrathin pseudomorphic InAs/GaAs quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9997350
TI  - Ultraviolet-photoemission-spectroscopy study of the interaction of atomic
      hydrogen with cleaved InP: A valence-band contribution.

PMID- 9997351
TI  - Angle-resolved photoemission studies of the CdTe(110) surface.

PMID- 9997352
TI  - Electronic and optical properties of strained Ge/Si superlattices.

PMID- 9997353
TI  - Photomodulated transmission spectroscopy of the intersubband transitions in
      strained In1-xGaxAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells under hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9997354
TI  - Phenomenological investigations of S(k, omega ) of the two-dimensional electron
      gas in the memory-function formalism.

PMID- 9997355
TI  - Optical investigation of a strain-induced mixed type-I-type-II superlattice
      system: CdTe/Cd1-xZnxTe.

PMID- 9997356
TI  - Two-dimensional warm-electron transport in GaAs and In1-xGaxAs quantum wells at
      low temperatures.

PMID- 9997357
TI  - Mechanism of low-temperature ( <= 300 degreesC) crystallization and amorphization
      for the amorphous Si layer on the crystalline Si substrate by high-energy heavy
      ion beam irradiation.

PMID- 9997358
TI  - Coupled plasmon-phonon excitations in quasi-one-dimensional quantum-well wires.

PMID- 9997359
TI  - Electronic structures of NiO, CoO, and FeO studied by 2p core-level x-ray
      photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997360
TI  - Measurement of the piezoelectric tensor of an organic crystal by the x-ray
      method: The nonlinear optical crystal 2-methyl 4-nitroaniline.

PMID- 9997361
TI  - Interaction of an inserted monolayer well with the conduction band of a Si/Si1
      xGex superlattice.

PMID- 9997362
TI  - Image potential matched self-consistently to an effective potential for simple
      metal surfaces.

PMID- 9997363
TI  - Microscopic study of the phonon dispersion in Tb.

PMID- 9997364
TI  - Quantum tunneling and relaxation in asymmetric coupled wells.

PMID- 9997366
TI  - Electrical conduction in the Si(111):B-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees/a-Si
      interface reconstruction.

PMID- 9997365
TI  - Magnetoexcitons in narrow GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9997367
TI  - Comment on "Temperature-induced intraband transitions in the n-type HgTe/CdTe
      superlattice"

PMID- 9997368
TI  - Metallic behavior stable against Peierls instability in the one-dimensional
      organic conductor tetraselenotetracene-bis(1,2,5
      thiadiazolo)tetracyanoquinodimethane

PMID- 9997369
TI  - Electronic structure of a single layer of Na on Cu(111).

PMID- 9997370
TI  - Theory of vacancy-stabilized ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 ) displacive reconstruction of the
      clean Si(111) surface.

PMID- 9997371
TI  - Observation of the double-step-single-step transition on a vicinal surface of
      Si(100).

PMID- 9997372
TI  - Determination of the hole effective masses in GaAs from acceptor spectra.

PMID- 9997373
TI  - Fermi-edge singularities and enhanced magnetoexcitons in the optical spectra of
      GaAs/(Ga,Al)As single quantum wells.

PMID- 9997374
TI  - Interference between electronic and LO-vibronic inelastic light scattering in
      periodically delta -doped GaAs.

PMID- 9997375
TI  - Excited states of one-dimensional excitons in polysilanes as investigated by two
      photon spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997376
TI  - Boundary-related scattering processes in quasiballistic narrow wires.

PMID- 9997378
TI  - Unoccupied energy bands, exchange splitting, and self-energy of iron.

PMID- 9997377
TI  - Infrared reflectivity by transverse-optical phonons in (GaAs)m/(AlAs)n ultrathin
      layer superlattices.

PMID- 9997379
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the hole-hole interaction in fluorine-intercalated
      graphite fibers.

PMID- 9997381
TI  - Theory of metallic clusters: Asymptotic size dependence of electronic properties.

PMID- 9997380
TI  - Collective excitations in open-shell metal clusters: The time-dependent local
      density approximation applied to the self-consistent spheroidal jellium particle.

PMID- 9997382
TI  - Electron spectroscopy in the URh3Bx system.

PMID- 9997383
TI  - Multiphonon absorption of light in nonpolar crystals.

PMID- 9997384
TI  - Vibrational line shapes at surfaces.

PMID- 9997385
TI  - Requirements for structure determination of aperiodic crystals.

PMID- 9997386
TI  - Electronic properties of two-dimensional quasicrystals with near-neighbor
      interactions.

PMID- 9997387
TI  - Weak localization, electron-electron interactions, and Joule heating in the
      presence of a microwave electric field in thin metal films.

PMID- 9997388
TI  - LIII-edge spectroscopy on cerium-based intermediate-valent compounds.

PMID- 9997389
TI  - Self-consistent implementation of nonlocal exchange and correlation in a Gaussian
      density-functional method.

PMID- 9997390
TI  - Potassium-induced reconstruction of Ag(001).

PMID- 9997391
TI  - Energetics and electronic structures of hydrogenated metal clusters.

PMID- 9997393
TI  - Degradation and regeneration of copper electrical junctions.

PMID- 9997392
TI  - Fine-line interactions in Al/Hf/Al thin films.

PMID- 9997394
TI  - H-point phonon in molybdenum: Superlinearized augmented-plane-wave calculations.

PMID- 9997395
TI  - Charge transfer in transition-metal alloying: Charge-tailing effects.

PMID- 9997396
TI  - Local-density approximation: Cohesion in the transition metals and s-->d
      promotion in the transition-metal atoms.

PMID- 9997397
TI  - Theory of hopping rate of localized charged particles in metals: Electron
      scattering.

PMID- 9997398
TI  - Coulombic and neutral trapping centers in silicon dioxide.

PMID- 9997399
TI  - Structure of B13C2.

PMID- 9997400
TI  - Critical test of CdTe(100) angle-resolved photoemission spectra with band
      structure calculations.

PMID- 9997401
TI  - Exciton Green's-function approach to optical absorption in a quantum well with an
      applied electric field.

PMID- 9997402
TI  - Microwave thermal modulation of photoluminescence in III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9997403
TI  - Detailed surface and gas-phase chemical kinetics of diamond deposition.

PMID- 9997404
TI  - Exciton localization in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells observed by temperature
      modulated photoluminescence.

PMID- 9997405
TI  - Doubly resonant Raman scattering in the semimagnetic semiconductor
      Cd0.95Mn0.05Te.

PMID- 9997406
TI  - Boron-hydrogen complexes in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9997407
TI  - Elastic scattering of electrons by neutral donor impurities in silicon.

PMID- 9997408
TI  - Thermodynamic instability of ordered (001) AlGaAs2 in bulk form.

PMID- 9997409
TI  - Predicting structural energies of atomic lattices.

PMID- 9997410
TI  - Confined LO phonons in GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9997412
TI  - Photoemission and low-energy-electron-diffraction study of clean and oxygen-dosed
      Cu2O (111) and (100) surfaces.

PMID- 9997411
TI  - Free-to-bound and light- and heavy-hole bound-exciton transitions in AlxGa1-xAs
      GaAs multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9997414
TI  - Hydrogen dynamics in a-Si:H: Multiple trapping, structural relaxation, and the
      Meyer-Neldel relation.

PMID- 9997413
TI  - Static correlations in superlattices.

PMID- 9997415
TI  - Perturbation theory of the electronic properties in strongly correlated solids.

PMID- 9997416
TI  - Inelastic-electron-scattering cross sections for Si, Cu, Ag, Au, Ti, Fe, and Pd.

PMID- 9997417
TI  - Disorder effects on the density of states of the II-VI semiconductor alloys
      Hg0.5Cd0.5Te, Cd0.5Zn0.5Te, and Hg0.5Zn0.5Te.

PMID- 9997418
TI  - Acetylene reaction with the Si(111) surface: A semiempirical quantum chemical
      study.

PMID- 9997419
TI  - Vibrational properties of Si/Ge superlattices incorporating biatomic sheets of
      silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9997420
TI  - Electronic structures of GdAs/GaAs superlattices.

PMID- 9997421
TI  - Analysis of guided electron waves in coupled quantum wells.

PMID- 9997422
TI  - Magneto-optical absorption by electrons in the presence of parabolic confinement
      potentials.

PMID- 9997423
TI  - Femtosecond excitonic bleaching recovery in the optical Stark effect of
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells and directional couplers.

PMID- 9997424
TI  - Integral-equation approach to medium-range order in molten and glassy
      chalcogenides.

PMID- 9997425
TI  - Nonlinear charge-density-wave dynamics in inhomogeneous conditions.

PMID- 9997426
TI  - Phase-sensitive optical detection of ballistic phonon heat pulses using frequency
      modulation spectroscopy and persistent spectral holes.

PMID- 9997427
TI  - Light scattering in superionic glasses (AgI)x(AgPO3)1-x: Brillouin and Raman
      scattering.

PMID- 9997429
TI  - Resonant Raman effect and Fano distortion in the stage-2 graphite donor
      intercalation compound C/Rb.

PMID- 9997428
TI  - X-ray-absorption near-edge structure of alkali halides: The interatomic-distance
      correlation.

PMID- 9997431
TI  - Precipitation of Ba2+ ions in KCl using Eu2+ as an optical probe.

PMID- 9997430
TI  - Time-resolved spectroscopy of the luminescence in KBr:Sn2+ crystals.

PMID- 9997432
TI  - Optical properties of color centers in calcium-stabilized gadolinium gallium
      garnets.

PMID- 9997434
TI  - Lattice dynamics of fct indium and hcp magnesium.

PMID- 9997433
TI  - Theory of high-pressure phases of Pb.

PMID- 9997435
TI  - Added-row growth of the (2 x 1)O-Cu(110) reconstruction.

PMID- 9997436
TI  - First-principles calculation of the elastic moduli of Ni3Al.

PMID- 9997437
TI  - Vacancy-vacancy interaction in silicon studied using atomic potentials.

PMID- 9997438
TI  - Reduced differential current: A conserved quantity in short-scale transport.

PMID- 9997439
TI  - Two reaction channels directly observed for atomic hydrogen on the Si(111)-7 x 7
      surface.

PMID- 9997440
TI  - Tetracoordinated quasicrystals.

PMID- 9997441
TI  - Binding energies and density of impurity states of shallow hydrogenic impurities
      in cylindrical quantum-well wires.

PMID- 9997442
TI  - Comment on "Dynamical aspects of luminescence from GaAs-AlAs single quantum wells
      under hydrostatic pressure"

PMID- 9997444
TI  - Electronic structure of (1 x 1) H/Mo(001): Two-dimensional Fermi.

PMID- 9997443
TI  - Erratum: Interface-response theory of electromagnetism in dielectric
      superlattices

PMID- 9997445
TI  - Inductive anomaly and noise spectrum of a sliding-charge-density-wave conductor.

PMID- 9997447
TI  - Surface kinetics and roughness on microstructure formation in thin films.

PMID- 9997446
TI  - Hole-tunneling dynamics in biased GaAs/Al0.35Ga0.65As asymmetric double quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9997448
TI  - Adsorption of phosphorus on Si(111): Structure and chemical reactivity.

PMID- 9997449
TI  - Lowest-order vertex corrections to the energy gap in covalent semiconductors.

PMID- 9997450
TI  - Tunneling through highly transparent symmetric double barriers.

PMID- 9997451
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulations of the stability of amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9997452
TI  - Structural effects on the calculated semiconductor gap of CrSi2.

PMID- 9997453
TI  - Resonant tunneling between heavy-hole and light-hole states in coupled quantum
      wells.

PMID- 9997455
TI  - Crystalline metastable phase in pressure-cycled epitaxial GaAs.

PMID- 9997454
TI  - Direct coupling of heavy-hole free excitons in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells with
      free excitons in the GaAs barrier.

PMID- 9997456
TI  - Theory of multiharmonic generation and multiphoton electron emission at a metal
      surface.

PMID- 9997457
TI  - Charge-density-wave instabilities expected in monophosphate tungsten bronzes.

PMID- 9997458
TI  - Far-infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy of ultrathin films.

PMID- 9997460
TI  - Renormalized theory of sticking and desorption for physisorption.

PMID- 9997459
TI  - Islandlike in-plane structure and vibrational behavior of NiCl2 intercalated in
      graphite.

PMID- 9997461
TI  - Transmission (e,2e) coincidence measurements of thin evaporated carbon, graphite,
      and aluminum-aluminum oxide foils.

PMID- 9997462
TI  - Crystal structure, phase stability, and electronic structure of Ti-Al
      intermetallics: Ti3Al.

PMID- 9997463
TI  - Calculation of the optical spectra of beta '-NiAl and CoAl.

PMID- 9997464
TI  - Calculation of spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectra from Pd(100) coated
      with a monolayer of a magnetic 3d metal: Fe, Co, and Ni.

PMID- 9997465
TI  - Molecular adsorption on oxide surfaces: Electronic structure and orientation of
      NO on NiO(100)/Ni(100) and on NiO(100) as determined from electron spectroscopies
      and ab initio cluster calculations.

PMID- 9997467
TI  - Efficient pseudopotentials for plane-wave calculations.

PMID- 9997466
TI  - X-ray-absorption studies of krypton precipitates in solid matrices.

PMID- 9997468
TI  - Displacement distributions in diffusion by atomic replacement: Ir atoms on Ir
      surfaces.

PMID- 9997469
TI  - Twin-boundary and stacking-fault energies in Al and Pd.

PMID- 9997470
TI  - Image-potential states on Ni(111) measured by inverse-photoemission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997472
TI  - Phonons in a strongly coupled electron-phonon system.

PMID- 9997471
TI  - Magnetoplasmon polaritons in finite n-i-p-i superlattices.

PMID- 9997473
TI  - Electronic structure of strained-layer AlAs/InAs (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9997475
TI  - Excitons in anisotropic solids: The model of fractional-dimensional space.

PMID- 9997474
TI  - Prediction of the effect of the sample biasing in scanning tunneling microscopy
      and of surface defects on the observed character of the dimers in the Si(001)-(2
      x 1) surface.

PMID- 9997476
TI  - Pressure-induced negative charge state of the EL2 defect in its metastable
      configuration.

PMID- 9997477
TI  - Raman scattering by coupled intersubband-Landau-level excitations in quantum-well
      structures.

PMID- 9997478
TI  - Vibrational properties of CdGeP2.

PMID- 9997479
TI  - Dynamic properties of double-barrier resonant-tunneling structures.

PMID- 9997481
TI  - Plasma losses by charged particles in thin films: Effects of spatial dispersion,
      phonons, and magnetic field.

PMID- 9997480
TI  - Dielectric response and quantum magnetic-field effects on the screening
      properties of a slab of solid-state plasma.

PMID- 9997483
TI  - Local-field effects on the reflectance anisotropy of Si(110):H.

PMID- 9997482
TI  - pi bands and gap states from optical absorption and electron-spin-resonance
      studies on amorphous carbon and amorphous hydrogenated carbon films.

PMID- 9997484
TI  - Optical detection of electron-nuclear double resonance for an S=1 luminescent
      center in GaP:O.

PMID- 9997486
TI  - Temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoemission study of the linewidth of
      surface states of III-V semiconductors.

PMID- 9997485
TI  - Elastic properties of amorphous Si and derived Debye temperatures and Gruneisen
      parameters: Model calculation.

PMID- 9997487
TI  - Coupled tunneling plasmon excitations in a planar array of quantum dots.

PMID- 9997488
TI  - Static local-field corrections of two-dimensional electron liquids.

PMID- 9997489
TI  - Highly conducting polyacetylene: Three-dimensional delocalization.

PMID- 9997490
TI  - Quasiballistic electronic transport in a tunneling hot-electron-transfer
      amplifier.

PMID- 9997491
TI  - Effects of lattice relaxation on deep levels in semiconductors.

PMID- 9997492
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced resonant tunneling across a thick square barrier.

PMID- 9997493
TI  - Pseudopotential plane-wave calculations for ZnS.

PMID- 9997494
TI  - Piezomodulation spectroscopy: A powerful investigation tool of heterostructures.

PMID- 9997496
TI  - Quantum confinement effects at the L point in CdTe.

PMID- 9997495
TI  - Picosecond two-beam coupling and polarization rotation by scalar gratings in
      undoped cadmium telluride at 1.064 microm.

PMID- 9997497
TI  - Optical studies on InP:Fe by Fourier-transform emission and absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997498
TI  - Miniband structure in InxGa1-xAs-GaAs strained-layer superlattices.

PMID- 9997500
TI  - Optical study of the electronic states of In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As quantum
      wells in high electric fields.

PMID- 9997499
TI  - Classification of spontaneous oscillations at the onset of avalanche breakdown in
      p-type germanium.

PMID- 9997501
TI  - Nonlinear dielectric response to a point-donor impurity of an electron-gas-model
      semiconductor that includes the effect of the Dirac-Slater exchange correlation.

PMID- 9997503
TI  - Matrix method of solution of the Boltzmann equation for hot-acceptor
      photoluminescence.

PMID- 9997502
TI  - Resonant tunneling of holes in Si/SixGe1-x quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9997504
TI  - Divacancy acceptor levels in ion-irradiated silicon.

PMID- 9997505
TI  - Raman microprobe scattering of solid silicon and germanium at the melting
      temperature.

PMID- 9997506
TI  - Electronic structure of superlattices incorporating diluted magnetic
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9997508
TI  - Harmonic oscillator on a lattice in a constant force field and associated Bloch
      oscillations.

PMID- 9997507
TI  - Structure of germanium-selenium glasses: An x-ray-absorption fine-structure
      study.

PMID- 9997509
TI  - Even-parity excited states of Ag-centers in alkali halides.

PMID- 9997510
TI  - Intrinsic localized modes in a monatomic lattice with weakly anharmonic nearest
      neighbor force constants.

PMID- 9997511
TI  - Anisotropic cross sections in low-energy electron-reflection spectroscopy on
      solids.

PMID- 9997512
TI  - Raman spectroscopic study of the pressure-induced coordination change in GeO2
      glass.

PMID- 9997514
TI  - Rayleigh mode in amorphous hydrogenated carbon films.

PMID- 9997513
TI  - First-principles calculations of defect-induced lattice relaxation in ionic
      systems.

PMID- 9997515
TI  - Characterization of an intermediate-case exciton in the 580-nm emission of Cd
      doped and pure AgBr.

PMID- 9997516
TI  - Nature of the temperature dependence of conduction bands in polyethylene.

PMID- 9997517
TI  - Inelastic neutron- and Raman-scattering studies of muscovite and vermiculite
      layered silicates.

PMID- 9997519
TI  - Effect of hydrostatic pressure on the Fermi surface of Pd and Pt.

PMID- 9997518
TI  - Surface strain of tungsten (001).

PMID- 9997520
TI  - van der Waals interactions between sharp probes and flat sample surfaces.

PMID- 9997521
TI  - Effect of ambipolar diffusion on the hot-carrier relaxation in semiconductors.

PMID- 9997522
TI  - Low-temperature lattice-scattering mobility in multiple heterojunctions: Phonon
      drag enhancement.

PMID- 9997523
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of InP, InAs, and InSb.

PMID- 9997524
TI  - Conservation of bond lengths in strained Ge-Si layers.

PMID- 9997526
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Existence of Wannier-Stark localization"

PMID- 9997525
TI  - Comment on "Existence of Wannier-Stark localization"

PMID- 9997527
TI  - Faraday spectroscopy in diluted-magnetic-semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9997528
TI  - Variable-range-hopping magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9997529
TI  - Biexcitonic contribution to the degenerate-four-wave-mixing signal from a
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum well.

PMID- 9997530
TI  - Inelastic-scattering effects on single-barrier tunneling.

PMID- 9997531
TI  - H passivation of Si impurities in GaAs.

PMID- 9997532
TI  - Tuning AlAs-GaAs band discontinuities and the role of Si-induced local interface
      dipoles.

PMID- 9997533
TI  - Hydrogen chemical potential and structure of a-Si:H.

PMID- 9997534
TI  - Gallium interstitials in GaAs/AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9997535
TI  - Substitutionality of Te- and Sn-related DX centers in AlxGa1-xAs.

PMID- 9997536
TI  - Further aspects of enhanced ion scattering near 180 degrees.

PMID- 9997537
TI  - Finite Debye-Waller factor for "classical" atom-surface scattering.

PMID- 9997538
TI  - Molecular dynamics of collision cascades with composite pair-many-body
      potentials.

PMID- 9997539
TI  - Heavy-ion-induced electron emission from thin carbon foils.

PMID- 9997540
TI  - Dynamic approach to local-polarization distribution and NMR line shape in
      deuteron glasses.

PMID- 9997542
TI  - Spin-memory effect of Tm2+ in cubic fields.

PMID- 9997541
TI  - Tl2+ EPR study of the dynamics of the proton-glass transition in Rb1
      x(NH4)xH2PO4.

PMID- 9997543
TI  - Electron-spin resonance of stable radicals in Langmuir-Blodgett films of a
      merocyanine dye: Study of hyperfine coupling using a 15N-enriched dye.

PMID- 9997544
TI  - Derivation of a master equation for charge-transfer processes in atom-surface
      collisions.

PMID- 9997545
TI  - Applicability of the kinematic pair-density-matrix theory to optically detected
      magnetic-resonance spectra of two-dimensional molecular crystals.

PMID- 9997546
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of the magnon energies and intensities in iron.

PMID- 9997547
TI  - Trigonal splitting of a S6-state ion.

PMID- 9997548
TI  - Theoretical calculations of positron annihilation with rare-gas core electrons in
      simple and transition metals.

PMID- 9997549
TI  - Lattice position of Hf and Ta in LiNbO3: An extended x-ray-absorption fine
      structure study.

PMID- 9997550
TI  - Two-component superconductivity. II. Copper oxide high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9997551
TI  - Nonlinear sigma model and static holes.

PMID- 9997553
TI  - Orbital magnetism of singlet large bipolarons.

PMID- 9997552
TI  - Numerical computation of the flux-line-lattice structure of an inhomogeneous
      material in the London approximation.

PMID- 9997554
TI  - Chern-Simons gauge theories for the fractional-quantum-Hall-effect hierarchy and
      anyon superconductivity.

PMID- 9997555
TI  - Microwave-loss studies of organic superconductors.

PMID- 9997556
TI  - Superconducting transition temperature in a Nb/NbxSi1-x bilayer system.

PMID- 9997557
TI  - CeCu2Si2: More nearly magnetic than UBe13.

PMID- 9997558
TI  - Braid group and anyons on a cylinder.

PMID- 9997559
TI  - Frank-Read source-activated flux shear in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9997561
TI  - Electron-energy-loss spectroscopy of layered systems.

PMID- 9997560
TI  - Theory of Hc1 and rho

PMID- 9997562
TI  - Ultrasonic wave propagation and barrier-limited heat flow in thin films of
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9997563
TI  - Electrodynamics of moving superconductors and superconductors under the influence
      of external forces.

PMID- 9997564
TI  - Charging-energy corrections to macroscopic quantum tunneling in small Josephson
      junctions.

PMID- 9997565
TI  - Large bipolarons in two and three dimensions.

PMID- 9997566
TI  - Field dependence of the resistive transition for a square wire network.

PMID- 9997567
TI  - Disorder in a resistor network and the influence of disorder on the occurrence of
      superconductivity in thin granular metal films.

PMID- 9997568
TI  - Current-voltage characteristic of double normal tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9997569
TI  - Magnetic relaxation in an isotropic extreme type-II superconductor.

PMID- 9997570
TI  - Thermodynamic considerations and the phase diagram of superconducting UPt3.

PMID- 9997571
TI  - Coefficients of the second viscosity in thin liquid-helium films.

PMID- 9997573
TI  - Model for an extra phonon mode in La2CuO4 and La2NiO4.

PMID- 9997572
TI  - I-V characteristics of a circularly symmetric annular Josephson junction.

PMID- 9997574
TI  - Modeling oxygen isotope shifts and line-broadening effects of the 502-cm-1 Raman
      mode of YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9997576
TI  - Boundary-condition effects on the superconducting transition temperature of
      proximity-effect systems.

PMID- 9997575
TI  - Interpretation of the temperature dependence of the electromagnetic penetration
      depth in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9997577
TI  - Fermi surface in YBa2Cu3O6.9: Evidence from angle-resolved photoemission
      spectroscopy and positron two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation
      radiation.

PMID- 9997578
TI  - Theory of nuclear relaxation in La2CuO4.

PMID- 9997579
TI  - Temperature dependence of the lower critical field and strong pinning in high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9997580
TI  - Resistivity and thermoelectric-power measurements of PrxY1-xBa2Cu3O7- delta up to
      1200 K and an electronic-structure analysis.

PMID- 9997581
TI  - Surface composition of clean, epitaxial thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-x from
      quantitative x-ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis.

PMID- 9997582
TI  - Thermal fluctuations and phase transitions in the vortex state of a layered
      superconductor.

PMID- 9997583
TI  - Model for the reversible magnetization of high- kappa type-II superconductors:
      Application to high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9997584
TI  - Temperature-independent, constant E-J relation below Tc in the current-induced
      resistive state of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9997585
TI  - Phonon anomalies and structural stability in the R2-xCexCuO4 system
      (R=Gd,Sm,Nd,Pr).

PMID- 9997586
TI  - Two observable features of the staggered-flux phase at nonzero doping.

PMID- 9997587
TI  - Anisotropic electromagnetic features of a grain-aligned YBa2Cu3Ox bulk
      superconductor.

PMID- 9997588
TI  - Effects of Zn substitution for Cu on superconducting and normal-state properties
      of (La,Sr)2CuO4, (Nd,Ce,Sr)2CuO4, and (Nd,Ce)2CuO4.

PMID- 9997589
TI  - Vortex-lattice-vortex-liquid states in anisotropic high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9997590
TI  - Calculations of the electronic structure and superconducting properties of BaPb1
      xSbxO3.

PMID- 9997591
TI  - Magnetoconductance of Tl2Ba2CaCu2Ox films in the fluctuation regime.

PMID- 9997592
TI  - Critical fields and critical currents of superconducting disks in transverse
      magnetic fields.

PMID- 9997594
TI  - Polarons in the layered electron gas.

PMID- 9997593
TI  - Resistive loss at 10 GHz in c-axis-aligned in-situ-grown YBa2Cu3O7 films.

PMID- 9997595
TI  - Vortex-motion dissipation in high-Tc superconductors at microwave frequencies.

PMID- 9997597
TI  - Numerical simulation of flux creep through superconducting networks.

PMID- 9997596
TI  - Flux creep in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9997598
TI  - Flux-creep dissipation in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7- delta film: Magnetic-field and
      electrical-current dependence.

PMID- 9997600
TI  - Upper bound on the ratio of Ginzburg-Landau parameters kappa 2/ kappa for layered
      superconductors near Tc.

PMID- 9997599
TI  - Apex oxygen and critical temperature in copper oxide superconductors: Universal
      correlation with the stability of local singlets.

PMID- 9997601
TI  - 63Cu NMR and hole depletion in the normal state of yttrium-rich Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997602
TI  - Magnetic relaxation, current-voltage characteristics, and possible dissipation
      mechanisms for high-Tc superconducting thin films of Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9997603
TI  - Raman scattering from spin fluctuations in Pr2-xCexCuO4-y, Nd2-xCexCuO4-y, and
      Sm2-xCexCuO4-y.

PMID- 9997604
TI  - Positive Hall coefficient observed in single-crystal Nd2-xCexCuO4- delta at low
      temperatures.

PMID- 9997605
TI  - Infrared reflectivity of single-crystal Bi2Mm+1ComOy (M=Ca,Sr,Ba; m=1,2),
      Bi2Sr3Fe2O9.2, and Bi2Sr2MnO6.25, isomorphic to Bi-Cu-based high-Tc oxides.

PMID- 9997607
TI  - Monte Carlo studies of percolation in a superconducting array.

PMID- 9997606
TI  - Evidence for a time-dependent crossover from surfacelike to bulklike flux
      relaxation in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9997609
TI  - Electronic structure of twin boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997608
TI  - Initial crystallization of Bi4Ca3Sr3Cu4Oy glasses.

PMID- 9997610
TI  - Electronic structure and correlations of high-temperature superconducting
      compounds.

PMID- 9997612
TI  - O 1s core levels in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta single crystals.

PMID- 9997611
TI  - Role of Van Hove singularity in high-temperature superconductors: Mean field.

PMID- 9997613
TI  - Neutron-irradiation effects on critical current densities in single-crystalline
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9997614
TI  - Spin and charge excitations of the degenerate Hubbard model in one dimension.

PMID- 9997615
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of NbSe3: A reassessment.

PMID- 9997616
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of Er thin films and Er/Y superlattices:
      Magnetoelastic effects.

PMID- 9997618
TI  - Numerical study of an effective interface model for the growth of wetting layers.

PMID- 9997617
TI  - Surface electronic structure of Ce in the alpha and gamma phase.

PMID- 9997619
TI  - High-resolution study of conductivity and cell potential versus doping
      concentration in potassium-doped polyacetylene: Correlation with structural
      transitions.

PMID- 9997621
TI  - Quasi-two-dimensional ferromagnetism in polycrystalline Fe.

PMID- 9997620
TI  - Spin-flip scattering near the metal-to-insulator transition in Cd0.95Mn0.05Se:In.

PMID- 9997622
TI  - Substrate-induced magnetic ordering of rare-earth overlayers.

PMID- 9997624
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of the magnetic excitations of thulium metal.

PMID- 9997623
TI  - Fast-ion conduction in fluorite CaF2 studied by equilibrium and nonequilibrium
      molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9997625
TI  - Functional expansion of the Anderson and SU(N) models.

PMID- 9997626
TI  - Structural enhancement of single-particle diffusivity in phase-separating
      systems.

PMID- 9997627
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in Ce1-xLaxAl2Ga2 and Ce1-yYyAl2Ga2 Kondo-lattice systems.

PMID- 9997628
TI  - Diffraction profiles of xenon on graphite at low temperatures.

PMID- 9997629
TI  - Bose condensation in quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets in strong fields.

PMID- 9997631
TI  - Shear stiffness C55 in A2BX4 crystals studied within the soliton model.

PMID- 9997630
TI  - Interpretation of a Schrodinger-like equation derived from a non-Markovian
      process.

PMID- 9997632
TI  - Lower bounds of the ground-state energy of the charged Bose gas.

PMID- 9997633
TI  - History dependence of a two-level system.

PMID- 9997634
TI  - General validity of Jastrow-Laughlin wave functions.

PMID- 9997636
TI  - Finite-size scaling and Monte Carlo simulations of first-order phase transitions.

PMID- 9997635
TI  - Photoemission study of the upper limit to the change of the local exchange
      splitting at finite temperature.

PMID- 9997637
TI  - Exact solutions for two interacting particles in a one-dimensional ring with a
      magnetic flux.

PMID- 9997639
TI  - Spin waves, phonons, and crystal-field excitations in thulium.

PMID- 9997638
TI  - Muon diffusion and spin dynamics in copper.

PMID- 9997640
TI  - Spin-wave modes in layered magnetic sandwich structures.

PMID- 9997642
TI  - Quantum stabilization of the Belavin-Polyakov soliton.

PMID- 9997641
TI  - Magnetoelastic anomalies in Fe-Ni Invar alloys.

PMID- 9997644
TI  - Spontaneous dimerization in quantum-spin chains.

PMID- 9997643
TI  - Estimation of the critical concentration in an anisotropic percolation network.

PMID- 9997645
TI  - Structural fluctuations in glass-forming liquids: Mossbauer spectroscopy on iron
      in glycerol.

PMID- 9997647
TI  - Interplay between one- and two-dimensional fluctuations for a class of XY models.

PMID- 9997646
TI  - Spin saturation of the random antiferromagnet (Cd,Mn)Te in magnetic fields to 150
      T.

PMID- 9997648
TI  - Spin Jastrow state.

PMID- 9997649
TI  - Continuum limit in random sequential adsorption.

PMID- 9997650
TI  - Magnetic and thermal hysteresis in the O(N)-symmetric ( Phi 2)3 model.

PMID- 9997652
TI  - Micromagnetics of domain walls at surfaces.

PMID- 9997651
TI  - Short-range magnetic ordering in the highly frustrated pyrochlore Y2Mn2O7.

PMID- 9997653
TI  - Long-range order in a three-dimensional random-tiling quasicrystal.

PMID- 9997655
TI  - Numerical study of a Langevin model for the growth of wetting layers.

PMID- 9997654
TI  - Stress-induced metal-to-nonmetal transition in the quasi-one-dimensional
      superconductor Tl2Mo6Se6.

PMID- 9997657
TI  - Mechanical stability of simple planar lattices.

PMID- 9997656
TI  - Magnetic anisotropy of cubic iron-based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

PMID- 9997658
TI  - Lattice softening and melting characteristics of granular particles.

PMID- 9997660
TI  - Onsager reaction terms for quantum many-body systems: Application to
      antiferromagnetic and superconducting order in the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9997659
TI  - Gauge invariance and absence of exact conductance quantization in quantum
      ballistic transport.

PMID- 9997662
TI  - Solitons in a nonlinear elastic medium.

PMID- 9997661
TI  - Size dependence of coherent anomalies in self-consistent cluster approximations.

PMID- 9997663
TI  - Compensating holes in Ca2+-doped yttrium iron garnet and their influence on
      magnetic properties of the system.

PMID- 9997664
TI  - Surface melting away from equilibrium.

PMID- 9997665
TI  - Temperature and pressure constraints near the freezing point.

PMID- 9997666
TI  - Interatomic magnetic interactions in iron.

PMID- 9997667
TI  - Exact results for the spherical model with competing interactions on the Bethe
      lattice.

PMID- 9997668
TI  - Dipole-exchange modes in thin ferromagnetic films with strong out-of-plane
      anisotropies.

PMID- 9997669
TI  - Phase diagram of the t-J model: A semiclassical calculation.

PMID- 9997670
TI  - Estimation of the potential barrier of SCN--group reorientation in a potassium
      thiocyanate crystal using laser Raman spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997671
TI  - Spatiotemporal dynamics in a chain of damped spins.

PMID- 9997672
TI  - Two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet: A quantum Monte Carlo study.

PMID- 9997673
TI  - Dynamics of patterns in ferroelastic-martensitic transformations. I. Lattice
      model.

PMID- 9997674
TI  - Dynamics of patterns in ferroelastic-martensitic transformations. II.
      Quasicontinuum model.

PMID- 9997675
TI  - Electron-phonon coupling in mixed-valence systems.

PMID- 9997676
TI  - Multifractality of conductance jumps in percolation.

PMID- 9997677
TI  - Phenomenological application of the projection-operator method and its connection
      with critical dynamics.

PMID- 9997678
TI  - Quantum corrections in an antiferromagnet: A systematic diagrammatical treatment
      of the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9997679
TI  - Nonreciprocal reflection from semi-infinite antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9997681
TI  - Unbinding transition of the interface of a two-dimensional Ising-model system
      with a defect zone in the bulk.

PMID- 9997680
TI  - Scaling hypothesis and nonzero-field critical invariants.

PMID- 9997682
TI  - Fluorescence line narrowing in Cr3+-doped gallium gadolinium garnet under a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9997683
TI  - Pressure dependence of spin fluctuations in metallic glasses Ni25Zr75 and Fe100
      xZrx (x=75,80).

PMID- 9997684
TI  - Superconductivity in an external magnetic field as a finite-size system.

PMID- 9997685
TI  - Two-component Fermi-liquid theory and infrared anomalies in CePd3 and YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997686
TI  - Slope discontinuity and fluctuation of lattice expansion near Tc in untwinned
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystals.

PMID- 9997688
TI  - Fermi surface and electron-positron momentum density in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997687
TI  - Electrical resistivity of the heavy-fermion system CePtSi under pressure.

PMID- 9997689
TI  - Satellites from hybridized Cu-O states in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997690
TI  - Potentiometric method of estimating the critical temperature of the
      superconducting transition in high-Tc materials.

PMID- 9997692
TI  - Binding of holes in two-dimensional lattices with different boundary conditions.

PMID- 9997691
TI  - Valence state of copper in Nd2-xCexCuO4.

PMID- 9997693
TI  - Irreversibility in Ba0.625K0.375BiO3.

PMID- 9997695
TI  - Magnetic short-range order in CuO2 planes of high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9997694
TI  - Time-dependent Meissner fraction as a function of aging in an oxygen-deficient
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta single crystal.

PMID- 9997696
TI  - Origin of the Ba core-level binding-energy difference between tetragonal and
      orthorhombic YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9997697
TI  - Kinetics of ordering for correlated initial conditions.

PMID- 9997698
TI  - Lanczos calculation for the s=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain up to N=28
      spins.

PMID- 9997700
TI  - Spontaneous dimerization in the ground state of one-dimensional frustrated
      Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9997699
TI  - Magnetic susceptibility of the strongly correlated Hubbard model.

PMID- 9997701
TI  - Cubic zero-field splitting and site symmetry of Mn2+ in ZnS.

PMID- 9997703
TI  - Theory of Shapiro steps in Josephson-junction arrays and their topology.

PMID- 9997702
TI  - Influence of finite coherence length of incoming light on enhanced
      backscattering.

PMID- 9997705
TI  - Evaporation of a single vortex line in a weakly coupled multilayered
      superconductor.

PMID- 9997704
TI  - Magnetically modulated microwave absorption in the organic superconductor kappa 
      (BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2

PMID- 9997706
TI  - Tunneling measurement of the electron inelastic-scattering rate in a strongly
      disordered superconductor.

PMID- 9997707
TI  - Power-law temperature dependence of the inelastic-scattering rate in disordered
      superconductors.

PMID- 9997708
TI  - Negative local superfluid densities: The difference between dirty superconductors
      and dirty Bose liquids.

PMID- 9997709
TI  - Single-band model of normal-state transport properties of high-Tc copper oxides.

PMID- 9997710
TI  - ac absorption in the high-Tc superconductors: Reinterpretation of the
      irreversibility line.

PMID- 9997711
TI  - Anisotropy of low-energy electronic Raman scattering in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9997713
TI  - Role of grains and weak links in the nonlinear magnetic response of Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9997712
TI  - Role of anisotropy in the dissipative behavior of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9997714
TI  - Raman investigation of the YBa2Cu3O7 imaginary response function.

PMID- 9997715
TI  - Ordering in high-Tc superconducting systems: Effective pair interactions in Y-Ba
      Cu-O.

PMID- 9997716
TI  - Optical absorption in strong-coupling-limit Hubbard models.

PMID- 9997717
TI  - Splitting of a domain wall near the diamagnetic phase transition.

PMID- 9997718
TI  - Roughening of flat domain walls by random strain fields: Neutron-scattering study
      of twinned orthorhombic Dy(AsxV1-x)O4.

PMID- 9997719
TI  - Prediction of logarithmic growth in a quenched Ising model.

PMID- 9997720
TI  - Ground state of the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model studied
      using an extended Wigner-Jordon transformation.

PMID- 9997721
TI  - Path-integral approach to the Hubbard model.

PMID- 9997723
TI  - Orientational ordering of a cesium monolayer on graphite.

PMID- 9997722
TI  - Mechanical strength of highly porous ceramics.

PMID- 9997724
TI  - Multiple-scattering theory of magnetic x-ray circular dichroism.

PMID- 9997725
TI  - Theory of the local density of surface states on a metal: Comparison with
      scanning tunneling spectroscopy of a Au(111) surface.

PMID- 9997726
TI  - Alkali-metal segregation at glass surfaces during electron irradiation.

PMID- 9997727
TI  - Polarization dependence of multiphoton transitions.

PMID- 9997728
TI  - Conductance of a disordered narrow wire in a strong magnetic field.

PMID- 9997729
TI  - First-principles molecular-dynamics simulation of liquid and amorphous selenium.

PMID- 9997731
TI  - Energy and angular distributions of 100- to 400-eV Na+ scattered from Cu(110).

PMID- 9997730
TI  - Oxygen adsorption on a NbC0.9(111) surface: Angle-resolved photoemission study.

PMID- 9997732
TI  - Surface localized states and the Fermi contour of Pd(001).

PMID- 9997733
TI  - Factors mediating smoothness in epitaxial thin-film growth.

PMID- 9997734
TI  - Multiply twinned structures in unsupported ultrafine silver particles observed by
      electron diffraction.

PMID- 9997735
TI  - Correlation energy and the virial theorem.

PMID- 9997736
TI  - Surface-phonon dispersion investigation of the (1 x 1)-->(5 x 1) reconstruction
      of the Ir(100) surface.

PMID- 9997737
TI  - Electron-phonon scattering times in thin Sb films.

PMID- 9997739
TI  - The Benedicks effect: Nonlocal electron transport in metals.

PMID- 9997738
TI  - Conductivity of random resistor networks: An investigation of the accuracy of the
      effective-medium approximation.

PMID- 9997741
TI  - Atomic and electronic structure of Fe films grown on Pd{001}

PMID- 9997740
TI  - Resonant Raman scattering in a quasi-one-dimensional ZrS3 crystal.

PMID- 9997742
TI  - Planar diffusion constant Da in acceptor-graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9997743
TI  - Self-consistent electronic structure of 3d-transition-metal impurities in
      aluminum using the recursion method.

PMID- 9997744
TI  - Electronic effects in the Mo(001) surface reconstruction: Two-dimensional Fermi
      surfaces and nonadiabaticity.

PMID- 9997745
TI  - Single-body methods in 3d transition-metal atoms.

PMID- 9997746
TI  - Image potential for an electron near an impenetrable surface.

PMID- 9997747
TI  - Rhodium monolayer on gold: A 4d ferromagnet.

PMID- 9997749
TI  - Transport along doping quantum wires in silicon.

PMID- 9997748
TI  - Eigenfunction-expansion method for solving the quantum-wire problem: Formulation.

PMID- 9997751
TI  - Coupled interface-plasmon modes of a superlattice and doped overlayer.

PMID- 9997750
TI  - Electronic structure of interstitial carbon in silicon.

PMID- 9997752
TI  - H-induced surface restructuring on Si(100): Formation of higher hydrides.

PMID- 9997753
TI  - Metallic impurity band in the narrow-band-gap semiconductor n-type InSb.

PMID- 9997754
TI  - Si(111)-(4 x 1)In surface reconstruction studied by impact-collision ion
      scattering spectrometry.

PMID- 9997756
TI  - Defect-state occupation, Fermi-level pinning, and illumination effects on free
      semiconductor surfaces.

PMID- 9997755
TI  - Defect relaxation in amorphous silicon: Stretched exponentials, the Meyer-Neldel
      rule, and the Staebler-Wronski effect.

PMID- 9997757
TI  - Exciton states in coupled double quantum wells in a static electric field.

PMID- 9997758
TI  - Exciton Stark ladder in semiconductor superlattices.

PMID- 9997759
TI  - Theory of bound polarons near interfaces of polar semiconductors.

PMID- 9997760
TI  - Band offset in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells calculated with the sp3s*
      tight-binding model.

PMID- 9997761
TI  - Magnetoacoustic effects in n-type InSb: Magnetic freezeout and hopping
      conductivity at low temperatures.

PMID- 9997762
TI  - I-U dependence of TlInX2 (X=Se,Te) single crystals: The Ohmic and S-type regions.

PMID- 9997763
TI  - Electronic states in doped conducting polymers: Numerical simulation of
      disordered systems.

PMID- 9997764
TI  - Diamagnetic shift in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained quantum wells.

PMID- 9997766
TI  - Gap properties of AlnGa8-nAs8 ordered compounds.

PMID- 9997765
TI  - Hot-electron relaxations and hot phonons in GaAs studied by subpicosecond Raman
      scattering.

PMID- 9997768
TI  - Edge states in a circular quantum dot.

PMID- 9997767
TI  - Multiphonon hopping of carriers on defect clusters in an amorphous Ge-Sb-Se
      system.

PMID- 9997769
TI  - Quasiparticle calculation of the dielectric response of silicon and germanium.

PMID- 9997770
TI  - Oxygen complexes in silicon.

PMID- 9997771
TI  - Promotion of the Si(100)-O2 reaction by Sm.

PMID- 9997772
TI  - Pressure dependence of the energy gap in trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9997773
TI  - Pseudopotential calculations of the valence-band offsets at the ZnSe/Ge,
      ZnSe/GaAs, and GaAs/Ge (110) interfaces: Effects of the Ga and Zn 3d electrons.

PMID- 9997774
TI  - Contribution of polarons and bipolarons to low-temperature conductivity in doped
      polypyrrole.

PMID- 9997775
TI  - Effect of a magnetic field on the photoluminescence from InxGa1-xAs/GaAs and
      GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9997776
TI  - Defect structure and recovery in hydrogen-implanted semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9997777
TI  - Experimental determination of adsorbate-induced surface stress: Oxygen on Si(111)
      and Si(100).

PMID- 9997778
TI  - Many-particle effects and nonlinear optical properties of GaAs/(Al,Ga)As multiple
      quantum-well structures under quasistationary excitation conditions.

PMID- 9997779
TI  - Effect of scattering in electrodes on double-barrier resonant tunneling.

PMID- 9997780
TI  - Spin-orbit splitting of GaAs and InSb bands near Gamma.

PMID- 9997782
TI  - Amorphous Ge under pressure.

PMID- 9997781
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of stage-2 EuCl3-graphite intercalation
      compound.

PMID- 9997783
TI  - Self-consistent Landau-level broadening by acoustic phonons in two-dimensional
      electron systems.

PMID- 9997784
TI  - Electrical properties of silicon point contacts.

PMID- 9997785
TI  - Quasiparticle properties of doped quantum-well systems.

PMID- 9997786
TI  - Local bonding structure of Sb on Si(111) by surface extended x-ray-absorption
      fine structure and photoemission.

PMID- 9997787
TI  - Collective electronic excitations in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9997788
TI  - Electric-field effects of the excitons in asymmetric triangular AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9997789
TI  - Temperature dependence of the dielectric function and the interband critical
      point parameters of GaSb.

PMID- 9997790
TI  - Boron reactivation kinetics in hydrogenated silicon after annealing in the dark
      or under illumination.

PMID- 9997791
TI  - Electron localization and charge transport in poly(o-toluidine): A model
      polyaniline derivative.

PMID- 9997792
TI  - Conduction mechanism in PtSi/Si Schottky diodes.

PMID- 9997794
TI  - Ultrasonic attenuation and internal friction in (AgI)x(AgPO3)1-x superionic
      glasses.

PMID- 9997793
TI  - Proposed explanation of the p-type doping proclivity of ZnTe.

PMID- 9997795
TI  - Dynamics of a quadrupolar glass.

PMID- 9997796
TI  - Theoretical study of the interstice statistics of the oxygen sublattice in
      vitreous SiO2.

PMID- 9997797
TI  - Theoretical investigation of the motional states of the nitrite ion in alkali
      halide crystals.

PMID- 9997799
TI  - Self-consistent band structures, charge distributions, and optical-absorption
      spectra in MgO, alpha -Al2O3, and MgAl2O4.

PMID- 9997798
TI  - Anharmonic interactions in orientationally disordered molecular crystals: Fermi
      resonance in N2O.

PMID- 9997800
TI  - Effect of uniaxial pressure on the 222-K structural phase transition of hexagonal
      BaTiO3.

PMID- 9997801
TI  - Comparison of unreconstructed with reconstructed Ge8(GaAs)4 (001) superlattices.

PMID- 9997802
TI  - Optical Stark effects in the multiple exciton states at a stacking-fault plane in
      BiI3 crystals.

PMID- 9997804
TI  - Refractive-index change due to F color centers in KClxBr1-x mixed crystals.

PMID- 9997803
TI  - Femtosecond thermoreflectivity and thermotransmissivity of polycrystalline and
      single-crystalline gold films.

PMID- 9997805
TI  - Determination of the threshold voltage in sodium-doped metal-oxide-semiconductor
      structures.

PMID- 9997807
TI  - Laser-induced structural changes in magnetron-sputtered hydrogenated
      microcrystalline silicon films.

PMID- 9997806
TI  - Collective excitations in a spin-polarized quasi-two-dimensional electron gas.

PMID- 9997808
TI  - Free-energy model for bonding in amorphous covalent alloys.

PMID- 9997809
TI  - Intersubband absorption line broadening in semiconductor quantum wells:
      Nonparabolicity contribution.

PMID- 9997810
TI  - Theory of a grating coupler of finite thickness.

PMID- 9997811
TI  - Comment on the existence proofs of the Wannier-Stark ladder.

PMID- 9997812
TI  - Reply to "Comment on the existence proofs of the Wannier-Stark ladder"

PMID- 9997813
TI  - Erratum: Nonrelativistic zitterbewegung in two-band systems

PMID- 9997814
TI  - Pressure effects on the martensitic transformation in metallic sodium.

PMID- 9997815
TI  - Role of O2 negative-ion formation in low-energy electron-induced oxidation of
      InP(110).

PMID- 9997816
TI  - Observation of two-dimensional resonant magnetopolarons and phonon-assisted
      resonant tunneling in double-barrier heterostructures.

PMID- 9997817
TI  - Theoretical investigation of noise characteristics of double-barrier resonant
      tunneling systems.

PMID- 9997818
TI  - Relationship between interfacial superstructures and Schottky-barrier heights of
      Sb/GaAs contacts.

PMID- 9997819
TI  - Anharmonic self-energies of phonons in silicon.

PMID- 9997820
TI  - Charge state of hydrogen in crystalline silicon.

PMID- 9997821
TI  - Resonant tunneling in double-barrier quantum wells with a white-noise random
      potential: Heterogeneous elastic-broadening effects.

PMID- 9997822
TI  - Nonparametrized calculation of the electronic and vibrational structure of
      amorphous SiOx.

PMID- 9997823
TI  - Photoabsorption spectra of sodium clusters.

PMID- 9997825
TI  - First-principles study of the electronic properties of graphite.

PMID- 9997824
TI  - (7 x 1) reconstruction of the (112-bar0) surfaces of holmium and erbium.

PMID- 9997826
TI  - Electronic structure of hydrogen and oxygen chemisorbed on plutonium: Theoretical
      studies.

PMID- 9997827
TI  - Diffusion of desorbing adsorbate: Study of a mesoscopic model.

PMID- 9997828
TI  - Substrate effects on the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of benzoic acid adsorbed
      on silver oblate microparticles.

PMID- 9997829
TI  - Comparative study of the electronic structure of ordered, partially ordered, and
      disordered phases of the Cu3Au alloy.

PMID- 9997830
TI  - Electronic structure in random hexagonal close-packed transition-metal alloys by
      the tight-binding linear-muffin-tin-orbital coherent-potential method.

PMID- 9997831
TI  - Crystallinity effects on the surface optical response in metals: A preliminary
      calculation.

PMID- 9997832
TI  - Resonant photoelectron spectroscopy at the Mo 4p-->4d absorption edge in MoS2.

PMID- 9997833
TI  - Stability comparison of several icosahedral structure units of Al-Cr alloys.

PMID- 9997834
TI  - Analytic embedded-atom potentials for fcc metals: Application to liquid and solid
      copper.

PMID- 9997835
TI  - X-ray photoemission and Auger energy shifts in some gold-palladium alloys.

PMID- 9997836
TI  - Structure and phases of the Au(111) surface: X-ray-scattering measurements.

PMID- 9997837
TI  - Femtosecond relaxation dynamics of image-potential states.

PMID- 9997838
TI  - Ab initio calculation of chemisorption systems: H on Pd(001) and Pd(110).

PMID- 9997839
TI  - High-resolution low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of the Pb(110)
      roughening transition.

PMID- 9997840
TI  - Roles of the attractive and repulsive forces in atomic-force microscopy.

PMID- 9997841
TI  - Tight-binding analysis of energy-band structures in quantum wires.

PMID- 9997842
TI  - Optical spectroscopic investigation of segmented trans-polyacetylene.

PMID- 9997843
TI  - Intersubband absorption in In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multiple quantum wells.

PMID- 9997844
TI  - Resonant tunneling via quantum bound states in a classically unbound system of
      crossed, narrow channels.

PMID- 9997845
TI  - Decay measurements of free- and bound-exciton recombination in doped GaAs/AlxGa1
      xAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9997846
TI  - Time-resolved measurements of the radiative recombination in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs
      heterostructures.

PMID- 9997848
TI  - Transient simulation of electron emission from quantum-wire structures.

PMID- 9997847
TI  - Tight-binding model for GaAs/AlAs resonant-tunneling diodes.

PMID- 9997849
TI  - Simple model of electric-dipole second-harmonic generation from interfaces.

PMID- 9997850
TI  - Auger-electron spectroscopy, electron-energy-loss spectroscopy, and x-ray
      photoemission spectroscopy studies of oxygen adsorption on the InP(111)-(1 x 1)
      surface.

PMID- 9997851
TI  - Optical anisotropy and Raman scattering from highly oriented poly(octylthiophene)
      films.

PMID- 9997853
TI  - Elliott's model and thermoreflectivity: Application to the layered structure
      ZrSe3.

PMID- 9997852
TI  - Irreversible changes in doping efficiency and hydrogen bonding in the equilibrium
      state of a-Si:H.

PMID- 9997854
TI  - Comparison of the phonon spectra of 70Ge and natural Ge crystals: Effects of
      isotopic disorder.

PMID- 9997856
TI  - Hot luminescence and Landau-level fine structure in bulk GaAs.

PMID- 9997855
TI  - Magnetotunneling analysis of the scattering processes in a double-barrier
      structure with a two-dimensional emitter.

PMID- 9997857
TI  - Effect of the X point on the escape of electrons from the quantum well of a
      double-barrier heterostructure.

PMID- 9997858
TI  - Local partial densities of states in Ni and Co silicides studied by soft-x-ray
      emission spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997859
TI  - Gap-state density of lightly P- and B-doped a-Si:H deduced from space-charge
      limited photocurrents.

PMID- 9997860
TI  - RbF as reactive and dipole interlayers between the Ge/GaAs interface.

PMID- 9997861
TI  - High-field transport in semiconductors. I. Absence of the intra-collisional-field
      effect.

PMID- 9997863
TI  - Phase diagram of the Fe1-xCoxSi2 alloy in the fluorite form.

PMID- 9997862
TI  - 4f7-4f7 transitions in Gd, oxidized Gd, and epitaxial Gd silicide.

PMID- 9997864
TI  - First-principles virtual-crystal calculations of AlxGa1-xAs disordered alloys and
      heterostructures: Band offsets and absolute alloy energies.

PMID- 9997865
TI  - Quasiparticle calculation of the electronic band structure of the (InAs)1/(GaAs)1
      superlattice.

PMID- 9997866
TI  - Exact and approximate results for the polaron in one dimension.

PMID- 9997867
TI  - Angular dispersion and polarization mixing in GaAs/AlAs superlattices grown along
      the

PMID- 9997868
TI  - Experimental evidence for the transition from two- to three-dimensional behavior
      of excitons in quantum-well structures.

PMID- 9997869
TI  - Nonelectronic scattering of longitudinal-optical phonons in bulk polar
      semiconductors.

PMID- 9997870
TI  - Type-I and type-II Stark-ladder phenomena in Ga1-xInxAs-GaAs strained-layer
      superlattices.

PMID- 9997871
TI  - Three-dimensional electrons and two-dimensional electric subbands in the
      transport properties of tin-doped n-type indium selenide: Polar and homopolar
      phonon scattering.

PMID- 9997872
TI  - Elastic scattering of acoustic phonons in Si.

PMID- 9997873
TI  - Theory of mesoscopic tunnel junctions: From shot noise to the standard quantum
      limit.

PMID- 9997874
TI  - Electron density of states of CdTe.

PMID- 9997875
TI  - High-pressure investigation of GaSb and Ga1-xInxSb/GaSb quantum wells.

PMID- 9997877
TI  - Quantum network theory of transport with application to the generalized Aharonov
      Bohm effect in metals and semiconductors.

PMID- 9997876
TI  - Strain relaxation during the initial stages of growth in Ge/Si(001).

PMID- 9997879
TI  - Temporal characteristics of electron tunneling in double-barrier stepped-quantum
      well structures.

PMID- 9997878
TI  - Theory of the thermal expansion of Si and diamond.

PMID- 9997880
TI  - Energy-level structure of two-dimensional electrons confined at the AlxGa1
      xAs/GaAs interface studied by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997881
TI  - Anharmonic potentials and vibrational localization in glasses.

PMID- 9997882
TI  - Interaction between alkali-metal ions M+ in the deactivation process of quartz
      embedded Al-M+ centers.

PMID- 9997883
TI  - Surface effects on the electrodiffusion of alkali-metal ions and protons in
      quartz.

PMID- 9997884
TI  - Surface core exciton in LiCl studied by photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997885
TI  - Interatomic force fields for silicas, aluminophosphates, and zeolites: Derivation
      based on ab initio calculations.

PMID- 9997886
TI  - KA2 and KA1 bands in FA(II) KCl:Li crystals.

PMID- 9997887
TI  - Optical properties of diamond.

PMID- 9997888
TI  - Electronic structure of nickel, iron, and cobalt impurities in magnesium oxide.

PMID- 9997889
TI  - Substitution effects on bipolarons in alkoxy derivatives of poly(1,4-phenylene
      vinylene).

PMID- 9997890
TI  - Band-structure methods for incommensurably modulated crystals: Application to the
      low-temperature phase of tetrathiafulvalene-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ).

PMID- 9997891
TI  - Efficient ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations of carbon.

PMID- 9997892
TI  - Diffraction and focusing effects in the elastic scattering of electrons from
      Cu(001).

PMID- 9997893
TI  - Hydrogen ordering and local mode in alpha -LuDx at low concentrations.

PMID- 9997894
TI  - Dislocation core studies in empirical silicon models.

PMID- 9997895
TI  - Variational method in a heterojunction.

PMID- 9997897
TI  - Electron-phonon interaction in a quantum well.

PMID- 9997896
TI  - Electrodynamic response of a harmonic atom in an external magnetic field.

PMID- 9997898
TI  - Binding energy of the barbell exciton.

PMID- 9997899
TI  - Raman scattering from the intrinsic 68-meV acceptor in Ga-rich GaAs.

PMID- 9997900
TI  - Comment on "Existence of Wannier-Stark localization"

PMID- 9997901
TI  - Reply to "Comment on 'Existence of Wannier-Stark localization' "

PMID- 9997902
TI  - Comment on "Self-diffusion in tungsten"

PMID- 9997903
TI  - Surface core-level spectroscopy of Cu(100) and Al(100).

PMID- 9997904
TI  - Thickness-dependent thin-film resistivity: Application of quantitative scanning
      tunneling-microscopy imaging.

PMID- 9997905
TI  - Symmetry-breaking relaxation of vacancies on Si(111)2 x 1.

PMID- 9997907
TI  - Microscopic symmetry properties of (001) Si/Ge monolayer superlattices.

PMID- 9997906
TI  - Spin-dependent conductivity in amorphous hydrogenated silicon.

PMID- 9997908
TI  - Magnetoresistance oscillations in a grid potential: Indication of a Hofstadter
      type energy spectrum.

PMID- 9997909
TI  - Resonant interband tunneling via Landau levels in polytype heterostructures.

PMID- 9997910
TI  - Nonlinear feedback oscillations in resonant tunneling through double barriers.

PMID- 9997911
TI  - Stark quantization in superlattices.

PMID- 9997912
TI  - Transient dynamics in excitonic optical bistability in polymers.

PMID- 9997913
TI  - Incoherent neutron scattering in acetanilide and three deuterated derivatives.

PMID- 9997914
TI  - Properties of the 800-nm luminescence band in neutron-irradiated magnesium oxide
      crystals.

PMID- 9997916
TI  - Radiation-induced amorphization of ordered intermetallic compounds CuTi, CuTi2,
      and Cu4Ti3: A molecular-dynamics study.

PMID- 9997915
TI  - Spectroscopy of Cr3+ and Cr4+ ions in forsterite.

PMID- 9997917
TI  - Dependence of the heavy-ion-induced desorption yield on the primary-ion energy
      loss.

PMID- 9997918
TI  - Critical evaluation of Eu valences from LIII-edge x-ray-absorption and Mossbauer
      spectroscopy of EuNi2Si2-xGex.

PMID- 9997919
TI  - Prediction of high-temperature superconductivity in hexagonal and rhombohedral
      phases of metallic hydrogen.

PMID- 9997920
TI  - Preparation and characterization of layered superconductors.

PMID- 9997922
TI  - Superconducting proximity effect in inhomogeneous media.

PMID- 9997921
TI  - Quantized voltage plateaus in Josephson-junction arrays: A numerical study.

PMID- 9997924
TI  - Variational calculations of bipolaron binding energies.

PMID- 9997923
TI  - 200-keV He+-ion irradiation effects on the properties of pulsed-laser-deposited
      YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films.

PMID- 9997925
TI  - Charge and vortex dynamics in arrays of tunnel junctions.

PMID- 9997926
TI  - Energy-transport phenomena in single superconducting grains.

PMID- 9997927
TI  - Phonons and rotons in commensurate p-H2 and o-D2 monolayers on graphite.

PMID- 9997929
TI  - Magnetic properties of the charged Anderson-Brinkman-Morel state: Absence of Hc1.

PMID- 9997928
TI  - Spin dynamics in a polarized Bose gas.

PMID- 9997931
TI  - Magnetic-field dependence of the critical current in long Josephson junctions.

PMID- 9997930
TI  - Gap function and density of states in the strong-coupling limit for an electron
      boson system.

PMID- 9997932
TI  - London penetration depth of d-wave superconductors.

PMID- 9997934
TI  - Superfluidity of 4He.

PMID- 9997933
TI  - Duality symmetry and power-law fading of frustration in a quantum multiconnected
      superconductor.

PMID- 9997936
TI  - Quantum dynamics of a two-state system in a dissipative environment.

PMID- 9997937
TI  - Josephson-junction dynamics in the presence of a localized magnetic
      inhomogeneity.

PMID- 9997935
TI  - Optical studies of single-crystal Nd2-xCexCuO4- delta.

PMID- 9997938
TI  - Thickness dependence of the irreversibility line in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films.

PMID- 9997939
TI  - Low-temperature specific heat of the Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta system.

PMID- 9997940
TI  - Analysis of large-area twins in Bi2CaSr2Cu2O8 superconductors.

PMID- 9997942
TI  - Phonon spectra and lattice specific heats of the thallium-based high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9997943
TI  - Acoustic study of YBa2Cu3Ox thin films.

PMID- 9997941
TI  - Localization and interaction effects during superconductor-insulator transition
      of Bi2Sr2Ca1-xGdxCu2O8+d.

PMID- 9997944
TI  - Weak ferromagnetism and canting in BiPbSr2MnO6 and BiPbCa2MnO6.

PMID- 9997945
TI  - Quasiparticle and vortex in the anyon gas.

PMID- 9997946
TI  - Magnetism and superconductivity in 3d-metal-substituted Bi-based cuprates having
      the 2:2:0:1 structure.

PMID- 9997947
TI  - Site selectivity and cation diffusion in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9997948
TI  - Optical properties and Fermi-surface nesting in superconducting oxides.

PMID- 9997949
TI  - Determination of the local structure in Ba1-xKxBiO3 by x-ray-absorption
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9997950
TI  - Irreversibility temperatures in superconducting oxides: The flux-line-lattice
      melting, the glass-liquid transition, or the depinning temperatures.

PMID- 9997952
TI  - Electron-hole pairing and anomalous properties of layered high-Tc compounds.

PMID- 9997951
TI  - Ultrasonic evidence of strong vibrational anharmonicity in high-Tc
      superconductors and its effect on determination of their elastic properties.

PMID- 9997954
TI  - Electron-hole liquid model for high-Tc superconductors: Metal-insulator
      transition and doping behavior.

PMID- 9997953
TI  - Neutron-scattering study of spin fluctuations in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x
      (x=0.40,0.45,0.50).

PMID- 9997955
TI  - Statistical transmutation in diluted flux states.

PMID- 9997957
TI  - Rotation of polarized light reflected from T- and P-violating phases.

PMID- 9997956
TI  - Variational Monte Carlo study of generalized flux phases in the t-J model.

PMID- 9997958
TI  - Dynamical Jahn-Teller effect as a possible microscopic mechanism for anyonic
      superconductivity.

PMID- 9997959
TI  - Superconductivity in an anisotropic three-dimensional narrow-band system.

PMID- 9997960
TI  - Relation between the electronic structure and the superconductivity of cuprates
      as revealed by Cu 2p photoemission and theoretical investigations.

PMID- 9997961
TI  - Anisotropic three-dimensional t-J model.

PMID- 9997962
TI  - Antiferromagnetism in three-band Hubbard model: Local-ansatz approach.

PMID- 9997963
TI  - Symmetry modes, competing interactions, and universal description for modulated
      phases in the dielectric A2BX4 family.

PMID- 9997964
TI  - Calculated magnetic properties of the antiferromagnetic UNiSn compound.

PMID- 9997965
TI  - Correlation functions of the one-dimensional Hubbard model in a magnetic field.

PMID- 9997966
TI  - Polarization and resonance studies of x-ray magnetic scattering in holmium.

PMID- 9997967
TI  - Neutron-diffraction study of magnetic ordering in the pyrochlore series R2Mo2O7
      (R=Nd,Tb,Y).

PMID- 9997968
TI  - Short-range magnetic ordering in the highly frustrated pyrochlore systems FeF3
      and Mn2Sb2O7.

PMID- 9997970
TI  - Diamagnetism in the dissipative regime.

PMID- 9997971
TI  - Optical properties of Rochelle salt.

PMID- 9997969
TI  - Stabilization of breathers in a parametrically driven sine-Gordon system with
      loss.

PMID- 9997973
TI  - Thermal conductivity of solid H2 in the orientationally ordered phase.

PMID- 9997972
TI  - Specific heat of Cd1-xCoxS and Cd1-xCoxSe at low temperatures.

PMID- 9997974
TI  - Anomalous electric and heat current in charge- and spin-density waves.

PMID- 9997975
TI  - Local fields in random dielectrics: Distribution characteristics and the effects
      of microstructure.

PMID- 9997976
TI  - Theory of unstable growth. II. Conserved order parameter.

PMID- 9997977
TI  - Electronic diamagnetism in a three-dimensional lattice.

PMID- 9997978
TI  - High phase-transition temperature for beta -AgI to alpha -AgI and an explanation
      of the memory effect.

PMID- 9997979
TI  - Reweighting in Monte Carlo and Monte Carlo renormalization-group studies.

PMID- 9997980
TI  - Magnetic properties of Ni(NO3)2

PMID- 9997982
TI  - Renormalization-group theory of the incommensurate pinning transition and
      threshold dynamics.

PMID- 9997981
TI  - Correlation length and free energy of the S=1/2 XYZ chain.

PMID- 9997983
TI  - Structural phase transition of high-stage MoCl5 graphite intercalation compounds.

PMID- 9997984
TI  - Brillouin-scattering study of the liquid-glass transition in supercooled aqueous
      lithium chloride solutions: Generalized hydrodynamics and mode-coupling analyses.

PMID- 9997985
TI  - Critical dynamics of planar ferromagnets.

PMID- 9997986
TI  - Potts models: Density of states and mass gap from Monte Carlo calculations.

PMID- 9997988
TI  - Effective-action approach to the frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet in two
      dimensions.

PMID- 9997987
TI  - Magnetic properties of neodynium atoms in Nd-Fe multilayers studied by magnetic x
      ray dichroism on Nd LII and Fe K edges.

PMID- 9997989
TI  - Variational theorem for vector-mean-field theories of statistical transmutation.

PMID- 9997990
TI  - General solution of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations linearized around a
      Bloch wall.

PMID- 9997991
TI  - Theory of quasiperiodic lattices. I. Scaling transformation for a quasiperiodic
      lattice.

PMID- 9997993
TI  - Electronic structures and magnetic moments of Fe3+ySi1-y and Fe3-xVxSi alloys
      with DO3-derived structure.

PMID- 9997992
TI  - Theory of quasiperiodic lattices. II. Generic trace map and invariant surface.

PMID- 9997995
TI  - Large-S analysis of a quantum axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model in one
      dimension.

PMID- 9997994
TI  - Discrete scatterers and autocorrelations of multiply scattered light.

PMID- 9997997
TI  - Quantum Monte Carlo simulation method for spin systems.

PMID- 9997996
TI  - Wave functions and other properties of spin-reversed quasiparticles at nu =1/m
      Landau-level occupation.

PMID- 9997998
TI  - Electron correlations in a multivalley electron gas and Fermion-boson conversion.

PMID- 9997999
TI  - Quasiparticle properties of the electron gas at metallic densities in the
      effective-potential expansion method.

PMID- 9998000
TI  - Motion of vortex pairs in the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic anisotropic
      Heisenberg model.

PMID- 9998002
TI  - Spin-wave theory of two-dimensional ferromagnets in the presence of dipolar
      interactions and magnetocrystalline anisotropy.

PMID- 9998001
TI  - Monte Carlo investigation of critical dynamics in the three-dimensional Ising
      model.

PMID- 9998003
TI  - ESR of Gd and Er impurities in the metallic Van Vleck compound TmH2.

PMID- 9998005
TI  - Chemical and magnetic ordering in amorphous systems.

PMID- 9998004
TI  - Perturbed magnetic ordering in the disordered spinel ZnxCo1-xFeCrO4.

PMID- 9998007
TI  - Hartree model of electrons in a two-dimensional Wigner lattice on a dielectric
      substrate.

PMID- 9998006
TI  - High-temperature resistivity minima in Co-rich amorphous ferromagnets.

PMID- 9998008
TI  - Vibrational entropy effects at a diffusionless first-order solid-to-solid
      transition.

PMID- 9998009
TI  - Polaronic effects in mixed-valence systems at finite temperatures.

PMID- 9998010
TI  - Effect of spin ordering on bound states in dilute alloys.

PMID- 9998011
TI  - High-accuracy Monte Carlo study of the three-dimensional classical Heisenberg
      ferromagnet.

PMID- 9998012
TI  - Self-consistent solutions of the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac equation including gradient
      and correlation corrections.

PMID- 9998013
TI  - Holes and magnetic textures in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9998014
TI  - Surface magnetic properties of a semi-infinite Ising model with a spin-1 free
      surface.

PMID- 9998015
TI  - Sputtering of atoms and excimers upon self-trapping of excitons in solid krypton.

PMID- 9998016
TI  - Possible microscopic model for superconductivity in UPt3.

PMID- 9998017
TI  - Meissner effect and oscillatory penetration of a magnetic field from the pairing
      of valence and conduction electrons.

PMID- 9998018
TI  - Residual surface resistance of polycrystalline superconductors.

PMID- 9998019
TI  - Commensurate-flux-phase state of the t-J model.

PMID- 9998020
TI  - Self-consistent treatment for strong localization of light in disordered
      dielectric superlattices.

PMID- 9998021
TI  - Excitation spectrum of a superconducting sphere in a superconducting host:
      Effects of phase fluctuations.

PMID- 9998022
TI  - Collective modes of an anyon gas on a lattice.

PMID- 9998023
TI  - Anisotropic magnetic-field dependence of the specific heat in single-crystal-like
      YBa2Cu3O7-x.

PMID- 9998024
TI  - Quasi-irreversibility temperature in a type-I superconductor.

PMID- 9998025
TI  - Mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates.

PMID- 9998027
TI  - Orientational phase transitions in systems of adsorbed molecules.

PMID- 9998026
TI  - Orbital-resolved partial density of states in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9998028
TI  - hcp-bcc transition and the free energies of the hcp and bcc structures of
      zirconium.

PMID- 9998029
TI  - Anomalous magnetic behavior in pseudobinary compounds of CeFe2.

PMID- 9998031
TI  - Modified spin-wave theory of low-dimensional quantum spiral magnets.

PMID- 9998030
TI  - Specific-heat study of the structural phase transition in BaMnF4.

PMID- 9998032
TI  - Phase diagram of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice with
      nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor couplings.

PMID- 9998034
TI  - Molecular-dynamics calculation of shear-mediated instability in a two-dimensional
      solid.

PMID- 9998033
TI  - Percolation renormalization-group approach to the hard-square model.

PMID- 9998035
TI  - d-wave, dimer, and chiral states in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

PMID- 9998036
TI  - X-ray-diffraction study of the equation of state and the phase transition in
      cesium iodide at nearly hydrostatic pressure.

PMID- 9998037
TI  - Surface thermodynamic properties of a semi-infinite Ising ferromagnet in the
      presence of a surface transverse field.

PMID- 9998038
TI  - First-principles study of the lattice dynamics of K2SO4.

PMID- 9998039
TI  - Gutzwiller approach to the negative-U Hubbard model.

PMID- 9998040
TI  - Erratum: Electromagnetic response of generalized flux phases in the t-J model

PMID- 9998041
TI  - Skyrmion excitation in the infinite-U Hubbard model.

PMID- 9998042
TI  - Local tunneling spectroscopy of a Nb/InAs/Nb superconducting proximity system
      with a scanning tunneling microscope.

PMID- 9998043
TI  - Spin disorder in the two-dimensional Hubbard model: A mean-field theory.

PMID- 9998044
TI  - Influence of the electrodynamic environment on electron tunneling at finite
      traversal time.

PMID- 9998045
TI  - Temperature dependence of the Raman scattering in the two-dimensional Heisenberg
      antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9998046
TI  - Singlet-pair superconductivity in the two-component anyon gas.

PMID- 9998047
TI  - Three-site interactions and superconductivity of itinerant spins: A high
      temperature expansion.

PMID- 9998048
TI  - Participation of carbon in the electronic structure of YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9998049
TI  - Flux-pinning potential and its measurement from magnetization decay.

PMID- 9998050
TI  - Unusual 1/T3 temperature dependence of the Hall conductivity in YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

PMID- 9998051
TI  - Flux-flow Hall effect in superconducting Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 films.

PMID- 9998052
TI  - Shift of x-ray-photoelectron core levels in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2Oy: An explanation by
      bond-valence-sum calculation.

PMID- 9998054
TI  - Defects, lattice instabilities, and isotope effects in (Y,Pr)Ba-Cu-O high
      temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9998053
TI  - Hierarchically occupied pinning distributions and vortex transport in
      superconductors.

PMID- 9998055
TI  - Raman spectra of (Bi,Pb)2Sr2CaCu2O8+y single crystals and the role of lead
      substitution.

PMID- 9998056
TI  - Flux creep and current relaxation in high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9998057
TI  - Consistency with anomalous electron-phonon interactions of the thermopower of
      high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9998059
TI  - Magnetic-field-induced strong diamagnetic transition in the quasi-one-dimensional
      halogen-bridged platinum complex

PMID- 9998058
TI  - Origin of the anomalous photovoltaic signal in Y-Ba-Cu-O.

PMID- 9998060
TI  - Evidence of pseudogap formation in a new valence-fluctuating compound: CeRhSb.

PMID- 9998061
TI  - Quantum diagrams and the prediction of new ternary quasicrystals.

PMID- 9998062
TI  - Holes in a two-dimensional Hubbard antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9998063
TI  - Coherence properties of holes subject to a fluctuating spin chirality.

PMID- 9998064
TI  - Mass enhancement close to a Mott transition.

PMID- 9998065
TI  - CePdSb: A possible ferromagnetic Kondo-lattice system.

PMID- 9998066
TI  - Three-state Potts-model spin glasses on hypercubic lattices.

PMID- 9998067
TI  - Charge-density-wave dynamics in (Ta1-xNbxSe4)2I alloys.

PMID- 9998068
TI  - Theory of stimulated light scattering in a strongly coupled localized electron
      phonon system.

PMID- 9998069
TI  - Multilayer relaxation of a Pb{111} surface.

PMID- 9998070
TI  - Low-energy electron diffraction and photoemission study of epitaxial films of Cu
      on Ag{001}

PMID- 9998071
TI  - Many-body theory of the electronic structures in ultrathin transition-metal
      films: bcc Co(001).

PMID- 9998072
TI  - Angle-resolved x-ray photoemission spectroscopy from hcp Co(0001): Forward
      focusing and atomic imaging.

PMID- 9998074
TI  - Correlation and multipolar effects in the dielectric response of particulate
      matter: An iterative mean-field theory.

PMID- 9998073
TI  - Charge transfer in NixPt1-x alloys studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998076
TI  - Ground-state properties of lanthanum: Treatment of extended-core states.

PMID- 9998075
TI  - Pseudopotentials for non-local-density functionals.

PMID- 9998077
TI  - Structural and magnetic properties of stage-2 CocMn1-cCl2-graphite intercalation
      compounds.

PMID- 9998078
TI  - Surface morphology and growth of AgBr on Ag(111).

PMID- 9998079
TI  - All-electron and pseudopotential force calculations using the linearized
      augmented-plane-wave method.

PMID- 9998080
TI  - Magneto-optics of multilayers with arbitrary magnetization directions.

PMID- 9998082
TI  - Exact scattering theory for the Landauer residual-resistivity dipole.

PMID- 9998081
TI  - Preparation and thermal stability of metallic glasses Cu83.3-xNixP16.7.

PMID- 9998083
TI  - Interface effects of hydrogen uptake in Mo/V single-crystal superlattices.

PMID- 9998084
TI  - Effect of antiphase boundaries on the electronic structure and bonding character
      of intermetallic systems: NiAl.

PMID- 9998085
TI  - Effects of the coupling strength of a voltage probe on the conductance
      coefficients in a three-lead microstructure.

PMID- 9998086
TI  - Adsorption of positronium on metal surfaces: Theory.

PMID- 9998088
TI  - Properties of self-interstitials in cubic metals: Static displacements.

PMID- 9998087
TI  - Local properties in the electronic structure of disordered binary alloys.

PMID- 9998089
TI  - Spatially resolved Raman studies of diamond films grown by chemical vapor
      deposition.

PMID- 9998090
TI  - Calculated elastic constants and structural properties of Mo and MoSi2.

PMID- 9998091
TI  - Precipitation of gold into metastable gold silicide in silicon.

PMID- 9998092
TI  - Transient many-body effects in the semiconductor optical Stark effect: A
      numerical study.

PMID- 9998093
TI  - Analytical and numerical solutions for a two-dimensional exciton in momentum
      space.

PMID- 9998094
TI  - Optical constants of ZnSe in the far infrared.

PMID- 9998095
TI  - Spin susceptibility and effective mass in shallow doubly doped semiconductor
      systems.

PMID- 9998096
TI  - Bulk and surface polaritons in semi-infinite superlattices in a magnetic field:
      Dispersion relations, optical reflection, and attenuated total reflection.

PMID- 9998097
TI  - Optically detected magnetic resonance of dislocations in silicon.

PMID- 9998098
TI  - Molecular-dynamics simulation of thermal conductivity in amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9998099
TI  - Analytic solutions to the Boltzmann equation for electron transport in silicon.

PMID- 9998100
TI  - Hydrodynamic theory of intrasubband plasmons in quasi-one-dimensional systems.

PMID- 9998101
TI  - Infrared analysis of clustering in the II-VI-VI compound CdSexTe1-x.

PMID- 9998102
TI  - Effects of interface defects on polaron states in GaAs-Ga1-xAlxAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9998103
TI  - Temperature dependence of the cyclotron-resonance linewidth and effective mass in
      GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs square-well structures.

PMID- 9998104
TI  - Room-temperature growth of Er films on Si(111): A photoelectron spectroscopy
      investigation.

PMID- 9998105
TI  - Hydrogen bonding in amorphous silicon with use of the low-pressure chemical-vapor
      deposition technique.

PMID- 9998106
TI  - Microscopic theory of second-order Raman scattering in silicon under uniaxial
      stress.

PMID- 9998107
TI  - Temperature and interface-roughness dependence of the electron mobility in high
      mobility Si(100) inversion layers below 4.2 K.

PMID- 9998108
TI  - High-field transport in semiconductors. II. Collision duration time.

PMID- 9998109
TI  - High-field transport in semiconductors. III. Wave-function renormalization.

PMID- 9998110
TI  - Correlation of hot-phonon and hot-carrier kinetics in Ge on a picosecond time
      scale.

PMID- 9998111
TI  - Deep-trapping kinematics of charge carriers in amorphous semiconductors: A
      theoretical and experimental study.

PMID- 9998112
TI  - Resonant tunneling in amorphous double-barrier structures.

PMID- 9998114
TI  - Variable-range-hopping magnetoresistance.

PMID- 9998113
TI  - Far-infrared study of localized states in In-doped Pb0.75Sn0.25Te single
      crystals.

PMID- 9998115
TI  - Thermal-annealing studies of defects in lithium fluoride after electron-beam
      irradiation.

PMID- 9998117
TI  - Linear and nonlinear optical properties of quartz-type GaPO4.

PMID- 9998116
TI  - Electron-stimulated desorption of neutral lithium atoms from LiF due to
      excitation of surface excitons.

PMID- 9998118
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of two-dimensional liquid K intercalated in graphite.

PMID- 9998119
TI  - Structural properties of a three-dimensional all-sp2 phase of carbon.

PMID- 9998120
TI  - Tip-related electronic artifacts in scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998121
TI  - Equilibrium interface width for epitaxial growth with step-height-independent
      hopping of adatoms.

PMID- 9998122
TI  - Origin of the shear piezoresistance coefficient pi 44 of n-type silicon.

PMID- 9998123
TI  - Oxygen chemisorption on cleaved InP(110) surfaces studied with surface
      differential reflectivity.

PMID- 9998124
TI  - Absorbing boundary conditions for the finite-difference time-domain calculation
      of the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation.

PMID- 9998125
TI  - Nonequilibrium distribution of edge and bulk current in a quantum Hall conductor.

PMID- 9998126
TI  - Tight-binding study of the electronic structure of amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9998128
TI  - Erratum: Numerical studies of femtosecond carrier dynamics in GaAs

PMID- 9998127
TI  - Pressure dependence of the E2 and E1 deep levels in GaAs, GaP, and their alloys.

PMID- 9998129
TI  - Essential-states mechanism of optical nonlinearity in pi -conjugated polymers.

PMID- 9998130
TI  - Exchange, spin-orbit, and correlation effects in the soft-x-ray magnetic-circular
      dichroism spectrum of nickel.

PMID- 9998131
TI  - Surface phonons and structure of epitaxial nickel layers on Cu(001).

PMID- 9998132
TI  - Inelastic photoelectron diffraction.

PMID- 9998133
TI  - Implementation of ultrasoft pseudopotentials in ab initio molecular dynamics.

PMID- 9998134
TI  - Thermal fluctuations and charge-density-wave depinning in NbSe3: Evidence for
      phase creep.

PMID- 9998135
TI  - Collective electronic excitations in small metal clusters.

PMID- 9998136
TI  - Direct structure determination of oxygen adsorbed on silver by reflection
      absorption infrared spectroscopy with isotopic substitution.

PMID- 9998137
TI  - Quenching of collective phenomena in combined intersubband-cyclotron resonances
      in GaAs.

PMID- 9998138
TI  - Growth and characterization of epitaxial cubic boron nitride films on silicon.

PMID- 9998139
TI  - Test of the thermal equilibration model for persistent photoconductivity in
      doping-modulated amorphous silicon.

PMID- 9998140
TI  - Semiconductor-surface restoration by valence-mending adsorbates: Application to
      Si(100):S and Si(100):Se.

PMID- 9998141
TI  - Experiments on scaling in AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures under quantum Hall
      conditions.

PMID- 9998142
TI  - Difference phonon scattering: A Raman excitation in GaAs quantum wells.

PMID- 9998144
TI  - Spin splitting and anomalous Hall resistivity in three-dimensional disordered
      systems.

PMID- 9998143
TI  - Polarized-cathodoluminescence study of uniaxial and biaxial stress in GaAs/Si.

PMID- 9998145
TI  - Relaxation of excitons in coherently strained CdTe/ZnTe quantum wells.

PMID- 9998146
TI  - Resonances and oscillations in tunneling in a time-dependent potential.

PMID- 9998147
TI  - Interconfigurational energies in transition-metal atoms using gradient-corrected
      density-functional theory.

PMID- 9998148
TI  - Transmission through a Fibonacci chain.

PMID- 9998149
TI  - Coulomb barriers and adsorbate effects in scanning tunneling microscopy.

PMID- 9998150
TI  - Multielectron excitations in the K-edge x-ray-absorption near-edge spectra of V,
      Cr, and Mn 3d0 compounds with tetrahedral coordination.

PMID- 9998151
TI  - Effect of plasma waves on the optical properties of a multilayered metallic
      Fibonacci superlattice.

PMID- 9998153
TI  - Phonons on stepped surfaces.

PMID- 9998152
TI  - Fine structure of the Ca 2p x-ray-absorption edge for bulk compounds, surfaces,
      and interfaces.

PMID- 9998154
TI  - Inelastic scattering from surfaces.

PMID- 9998155
TI  - Modification of surface states by alkali-metal adsorption and surface
      reconstruction: An inverse-photoemission study of Na/Ni(110).

PMID- 9998156
TI  - Hydrogen on rhodium (311): Commensurate adsorption phases, reconstruction, and
      subsurface binding states.

PMID- 9998157
TI  - Empirical many-body interatomic potential for bcc transition metals.

PMID- 9998158
TI  - Theoretical study of the CO interaction with 3d-metal surfaces.

PMID- 9998160
TI  - Dynamics of self-interstitial atoms in bcc metals.

PMID- 9998159
TI  - Surface conductance and the diffusion of H and D in Pd.

PMID- 9998161
TI  - Effect of clustering interactions on the steady-state interface width during
      epitaxial growth.

PMID- 9998163
TI  - Anisotropy of the physisorption interaction between H2 and metal surfaces.

PMID- 9998162
TI  - Fully relativistic calculation of the two-photon momentum distribution for
      positron annihilation in tungsten.

PMID- 9998164
TI  - Properties of some low-lying electronic states in polymethineimines and poly(2,3
      diazabutadienes).

PMID- 9998165
TI  - Anomalous mode in the Raman and ir spectra of mercury telluride.

PMID- 9998166
TI  - Resonant tunneling of holes in the multiband effective-mass approximation.

PMID- 9998168
TI  - Fermi-level pinning in an Al-Ge metal-semiconductor junction.

PMID- 9998167
TI  - Electronic structure of short-period n-p GaAs doping superlattices.

PMID- 9998169
TI  - Influence of bulk-phonon-branch dispersion on displacement patterns and the
      intermixing of interface and confined optical phonons in superlattices.

PMID- 9998170
TI  - Effect of intercalated lithium on the electronic band structure of indium
      selenide.

PMID- 9998171
TI  - Electronic structure and bonding at SiC/AlN and SiC/BP interfaces.

PMID- 9998173
TI  - Quasihole lifetimes in electron gases and electron-hole plasmas in semiconductor
      quantum wells.

PMID- 9998172
TI  - Transport measurements of resonant-tunneling widths.

PMID- 9998174
TI  - Magneto-optical properties of the Van Vleck semimagnetic semiconductor Cd1
      xFexSe. I. The electronic structure of Fe2+

PMID- 9998176
TI  - Quantum theory of plasmons in lateral multiwire superlattices: Intrasubband
      plasmons and their coupling to intersubband plasmons.

PMID- 9998175
TI  - Magneto-optical properties of the Van Vleck semimagnetic semiconductor Cd1
      xFexSe. II. The bound magnetic polaron.

PMID- 9998178
TI  - Theoretical study of transport through a quantum point contact.

PMID- 9998177
TI  - Intraband relaxation time in highly excited semiconductors.

PMID- 9998179
TI  - Triple excitonic mixing associated with recoupling of a Stark-localized state in
      coupled quantum wells confined by superlattices.

PMID- 9998180
TI  - Clustering and reaction for Cr/GaAs(110): Scanning tunneling microscopy and
      photoemission studies.

PMID- 9998181
TI  - Structure analysis of Si(111)-( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees/Ag using x-ray
      standing waves.

PMID- 9998182
TI  - Anisotropy of the picosecond photocurrent in stretched trans-polyacetylene for
      above- and below-gap excitation.

PMID- 9998183
TI  - Analysis of the self-energy for an electron gas and a proposal of an improved
      exchange and correlation potential for band calculations.

PMID- 9998184
TI  - Negative magnetoresistance in the variable-range-hopping regime in n-type CdSe.

PMID- 9998185
TI  - Dielectric formalism for a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas. I. Quantum
      transport equations.

PMID- 9998187
TI  - Ab initio calculation of phonon dispersions in semiconductors.

PMID- 9998186
TI  - Dielectric formalism for a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas. II. Dielectric
      functions and potential correlators.

PMID- 9998188
TI  - Two-dimensional electronic structure of the GaAs(110)-Bi system.

PMID- 9998189
TI  - Effect of an applied magnetic field on the charge-density-wave carrier
      concentration in NbSe3.

PMID- 9998191
TI  - Electronic structure of cubic and tetragonal zirconia.

PMID- 9998190
TI  - Soft-x-ray-absorption studies of the electronic-structure changes through the VO2
      phase transition.

PMID- 9998193
TI  - Study of the K band in alkali halides using the pseudopotential method.

PMID- 9998192
TI  - Quantitative determination of the structural units in phosphorus-selenium glasses
      by 31P dipolar and magic-angle-spinning NMR spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998194
TI  - Interior adsorption, channel collimation, and nuclear fusion in solids.

PMID- 9998195
TI  - Modulational instability and gap solitons in a finite Josephson transmission
      line.

PMID- 9998196
TI  - Self-consistent calculation of the collective excitations in neutral and charged
      jellium microspheres.

PMID- 9998197
TI  - Multilayer relaxation of clean Ag{001}

PMID- 9998198
TI  - Formation and structure of misfit dislocations.

PMID- 9998199
TI  - Pseudoenergies for simulations on metallic systems.

PMID- 9998201
TI  - Energy spectra of two electrons in a harmonic quantum dot.

PMID- 9998200
TI  - Submonolayer phases of Pb on Si(111).

PMID- 9998202
TI  - Periodic conductance fluctuations in quasi-one-dimensional metal-oxide
      semiconductor field-effect transistors with shallow-trench isolations.

PMID- 9998203
TI  - Free-carrier absorption in n-type gallium arsenide in quantizing magnetic fields.

PMID- 9998204
TI  - EL2-defect-related changes in the magnetophotoconductivity of shallow donors in
      bulk semi-insulating GaAs.

PMID- 9998205
TI  - Atomic-size effects on the growth of SrF2 and (Ca,Sr)F2 on Si(111).

PMID- 9998206
TI  - Resonant suppression of the quantized Hall effect in ballistic junctions.

PMID- 9998207
TI  - Diffraction, phase breaking, and Hall anomalies in quantum dots.

PMID- 9998208
TI  - Tuning band offsets at semiconductor interfaces by intralayer deposition.

PMID- 9998209
TI  - Discrete structure of the DX center in GaAs-AlAs superlattices.

PMID- 9998210
TI  - Fermi-energy-edge singularity in quantum wells containing more than one occupied
      subband.

PMID- 9998211
TI  - Tunneling processes between Landau levels and quantum-wire states.

PMID- 9998213
TI  - Theory of tetragonal twin structures in ferroelectric perovskites with a first
      order phase transition.

PMID- 9998212
TI  - Mossbauer studies of iron hydride at high pressure.

PMID- 9998214
TI  - Orientational ordering in mixed cyanide crystals: (NaCN)1-x(KCN)x.

PMID- 9998215
TI  - Clustering and percolation of defects in Pr3+:SrF2 using site-selective
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998216
TI  - Influence of excited-state Pr3+ on the relaxation of the Pr3+:YAlO3 3H4-1D2
      transition.

PMID- 9998218
TI  - Size effects of dislocation stability in nanocrystals.

PMID- 9998217
TI  - Ferroelectric Sr0.60Ba0.40Nb2O6 thin films by the sol-gel process: Electrical and
      optical properties.

PMID- 9998220
TI  - Geometric and dielectric characterization of porous media.

PMID- 9998219
TI  - Nuclear-spin relaxation in ionically conducting glasses: Application of the
      diffusion-controlled relaxation model.

PMID- 9998221
TI  - Surfaces of percolation clusters in three dimensions.

PMID- 9998222
TI  - Calculation of the temperature-dependent mobility transition for small-polaron
      hopping in one dimension.

PMID- 9998224
TI  - Tracer diffusion and thermal stability in amorphous Co-Zr and their relevance for
      solid-state amorphization.

PMID- 9998223
TI  - Vibrational densities of states and network rigidity in chalcogenide glasses.

PMID- 9998225
TI  - Field work and dispersion relations of excitations on fractals.

PMID- 9998226
TI  - Model-potential study of the lattice dynamics and elastic constants of the
      Ni0.55Pd0.45 alloy.

PMID- 9998227
TI  - Exact solution of the t-J model in one dimension at 2t=+/-J: Ground state and
      excitation spectrum.

PMID- 9998229
TI  - Possible evidence for an energy gap below the Neel temperature in ternary rare
      earth compounds.

PMID- 9998228
TI  - Scaling of critical self-organized magnetic-domain formations.

PMID- 9998231
TI  - Percolation, clusters, and properties of a dilute Potts model.

PMID- 9998230
TI  - Electron correlation, d-band formation, and magnetism in V5S8: Photoemission
      spectroscopy study.

PMID- 9998232
TI  - Magnetic property of the precursor of polyacenic semiconductive material.

PMID- 9998233
TI  - Spin dynamics of the concentrated spin glass Y(Mn0.9Al0.1)2.

PMID- 9998234
TI  - Low-temperature conductivity of dilute alloys in a weak magnetic field.

PMID- 9998236
TI  - Correlation functions and critical exponents in the one-dimensional anisotropic t
      J model.

PMID- 9998235
TI  - Mn1-scrt Crscrt As under pressure: Competition between magnetic orderings.

PMID- 9998237
TI  - Anisotropy and oxygen-stoichiometry dependence of the dielectric tensor of
      YBa2Cu3O7- delta (0 <= delta <= 1).

PMID- 9998238
TI  - Flux quantization in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7- delta as a function of dc and
      microwave magnetic fields.

PMID- 9998239
TI  - Critical current density in iron-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O single crystals.

PMID- 9998240
TI  - Anomalous shifts of oxygen-mode frequencies in La2-xSrxCuO4, YBa2Cu3O7- delta and
      Tl2Ba2Ca1-xGdxCu2O8 studied by photoinduced infrared absorption and Raman
      spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998242
TI  - Resistive transition, magnetoresistance, and anisotropy in La2-xSrxCuO4 single
      crystal thin films.

PMID- 9998241
TI  - High-temperature reverse ac Josephson effect in YBa2Cu3O7.

PMID- 9998243
TI  - Effect of fluctuations on the transport properties of type-II superconductors in
      a magnetic field.

PMID- 9998244
TI  - Topological structures, universality classes, and statistics screening in the
      anyon superfluid.

PMID- 9998245
TI  - Spin-1/2 frustrated Heisenberg model at finite temperature.

PMID- 9998246
TI  - Amplitude of the de Haas-van Alphen oscillations for a marginal Fermi liquid.

PMID- 9998247
TI  - Effects of gap anisotropy on the electromagnetic response of high-Tc
      superconductors.

PMID- 9998249
TI  - Spin polarons in the t-J model.

PMID- 9998248
TI  - Deviations from the impulse approximation in liquid 4He: Momentum-transfer
      dependence.

PMID- 9998250
TI  - Fivefold splitting of the squashing collective mode of superfluid 3He-B by a
      magnetic field.

PMID- 9998251
TI  - Spectral weight function in the Hubbard model for a cubic cluster.

PMID- 9998252
TI  - Order parameters in multisheet superconducting states.

PMID- 9998254
TI  - Phase diagram of betaine calcium chloride dihydrate in an applied electric field.

PMID- 9998253
TI  - Flux-flow noise in type-II superconductors.

PMID- 9998255
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of elasticity and failure of ideal solids.

PMID- 9998257
TI  - Testing the phonon spectrum of metallic chromium with the nuclear-resonance
      photon scattering technique.

PMID- 9998256
TI  - Length scaling of corner-to-corner propagation on fractal lattices.

PMID- 9998259
TI  - First-order transition in frustrated quantum antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9998258
TI  - Critical bifurcation point of the openZ(5)-symmetric spin model.

PMID- 9998260
TI  - Magnetic ordering in amorphous films of BiFeO3-ZnFe2O4.

PMID- 9998261
TI  - Anisotropy of the magnetization of Cd1-xFexTe.

PMID- 9998262
TI  - Self-fields and critical-current-density anisotropy of high-temperature
      superconductors.

PMID- 9998263
TI  - Isotropic negative magnetoresistance in La2-xSrxCuO4+y.

PMID- 9998264
TI  - Proximity effect on the superconducting transition temperature of YBa2Cu3O7
      x/PrBa2Cu3O7-x superlattices.

PMID- 9998265
TI  - Hubbard Hamiltonian for high-Tc superconductors: The antiferromagnetic
      paramagnetic transition.

PMID- 9998267
TI  - Comment on "Electron and hole polaron asymmetry in a two-band Peierls-Hubbard
      material"

PMID- 9998266
TI  - Discrepancy in the temperature behavior of the modified impulse approximation and
      the third sum rule.

PMID- 9998268
TI  - Crossover effects in weakly diluted n >= 2 Ising antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9998269
TI  - Reply to "Crossover effects in weakly diluted n >= 2 Ising antiferromagnets"

PMID- 9998270
TI  - Surface melting in a Potts lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9998271
TI  - Inverse Peierls transition induced by photoexcitation in potassium
      tetracyanoquinodimethane crystals.

PMID- 9998272
TI  - Localized ordered structure in polymer latex suspensions as studied by a confocal
      laser scanning microscope.

PMID- 9998273
TI  - Crossover in the power spectrum of a driven diffusive lattice-gas model.

PMID- 9998274
TI  - Frustrated spin-1/2 model in two dimensions with a known ground state.

PMID- 9998275
TI  - Spin-wave theory for anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

PMID- 9998277
TI  - Crossover from three- to two-dimensional behavior of the vortex energies in
      layered XY models for high-Tc superconductors.

PMID- 9998276
TI  - Variational theory of the two-impurity Kondo problem.

PMID- 9998278
TI  - Long-term nonlogarithmic magnetic relaxation in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7
      superconductors.

PMID- 9998279
TI  - Interfacial resistive anomaly at a normal-superconducting boundary.

PMID- 9998280
TI  - Optical mass in the t-J model.

PMID- 9998281
TI  - Transmission formalism for supercurrent flow in multiprobe superconductor
      semiconductor-superconductor devices.

PMID- 9998282
TI  - Energy transfer from noble-gas ions to surfaces: Collisions with carbon, silicon,
      copper, silver, and gold in the range 100-4000 eV.

PMID- 9998283
TI  - Luminescence thermal quenching of Cr3+ in zirconium-barium-based fluoride glasses
      investigated by time-resolved laser spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998285
TI  - Fractal structure of a cross-linked polymer resin: A small-angle x-ray
      scattering, pulsed field gradient, and paramagnetic relaxation study.

PMID- 9998284
TI  - Electronic properties of alpha -quartz under pressure.

PMID- 9998286
TI  - Scaling functions, self-similarity, and the morphology of phase-separating
      systems.

PMID- 9998287
TI  - Dependence of defects induced by excimer laser on intrinsic structural defects in
      synthetic silica glasses.

PMID- 9998288
TI  - Nonuniversal critical behavior and first-order transitions in a coupled XY-Ising
      model.

PMID- 9998289
TI  - Finite-cluster multiple-scattering theory of x-ray bremsstrahlung isochromat
      spectra.

PMID- 9998291
TI  - Line shape and lifetimes of Cr3+ luminescence in silicate glasses.

PMID- 9998290
TI  - Off-symmetry position of interstitial muons in bismuth.

PMID- 9998292
TI  - Local structures in the superionic conductor Y3+-doped CeO2 studied using site
      selective spectroscopy.

PMID- 9998294
TI  - Computer-simulation studies of extrinsic defects in LiNbO3 crystals.

PMID- 9998293
TI  - Nonequilibrium shock behavior in quartz.

PMID- 9998295
TI  - Energy loss of low-energy electrons to nonabrupt metal surfaces.

PMID- 9998296
TI  - Optimal control of acoustic waves in solids.

PMID- 9998297
TI  - Effective cluster interactions from cluster-variation formalism. I.

PMID- 9998298
TI  - Effective cluster interactions from cluster-variation formalism. II.

PMID- 9998299
TI  - Computation of ring statistics for network models of solids.

PMID- 9998300
TI  - Theory of second-harmonic generation in strongly scattering media.

PMID- 9998301
TI  - Scaling theory for the glass transition.

PMID- 9998302
TI  - Nuclear magnetic relaxation in porous media: The role of the mean lifetime tau (
      rho,D).

PMID- 9998303
TI  - Multiscaling in diffusion-limited aggregation.

PMID- 9998304
TI  - Nonlinearly coupled vibrational modes and self-trapped states: Quantum Langevin
      theory and the single-vibron-oscillator case.

PMID- 9998305
TI  - Molecular-dynamics study of lattice vibrations in the mixed crystal K0.5Rb0.5Cl.

PMID- 9998306
TI  - Scattering of transverse-magnetic waves with a nonlinear film: Formal field
      solutions in quadratures.

PMID- 9998307
TI  - Correlated-squeezed-state approach for phonon coupling in a tunneling system.

PMID- 9998308
TI  - Resonance-Raman and lattice-dynamics studies of single-crystal PdO.

PMID- 9998309
TI  - Two-dimensional localized vibrational modes of trans-(CH)x around a soliton.

PMID- 9998310
TI  - Observation of two-dimensional fractal growth in solids.

PMID- 9998311
TI  - Resistivity and magnetoresistance of (U1-xMx)Be13 (M=La,Th,Y,Sc,Hf).

PMID- 9998312
TI  - Magnetic correlations and their dependence on excess oxygen in La2NiO4+ delta.

PMID- 9998313
TI  - Quantum corrections to the spin-correlation function and the spin-stiffness
      constant in a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet at zero temperature.

PMID- 9998314
TI  - Magnetic-field distributions at interstitial sites in nondilute alloys.

PMID- 9998315
TI  - Finite-size effects in thin Ag-Mn spin-glass layers.

PMID- 9998316
TI  - Critical behavior of the three-dimensional Ising model: A high-resolution Monte
      Carlo study.

PMID- 9998317
TI  - Nonlinear magnetization of the one-dimensional S=1 antiferromagnet.

PMID- 9998318
TI  - Dipole-exchange modes in multilayers with out-of-plane anisotropies.

PMID- 9998319
TI  - Crystal-field effect for the lanthanide-ion series in metallic copper.

PMID- 9998320
TI  - Shifts with temperature of the EPR signal in Cu(L-alanine)2: A low-dimensional
      paramagnet.

PMID- 9998321
TI  - Evidence of magnetic domains in the reentrant spin glasses Ni1-xMnx studied by
      neutron depolarization.

PMID- 9998322
TI  - Row generalization of the fully frustrated triangular XY model.

PMID- 9998323
TI  - Magnetization and perpendicular anisotropy in Tb/Fe multilayer films.

PMID- 9998324
TI  - Exact eigenstates of the infinite-range t-J model.

PMID- 9998325
TI  - Electronic structure and electric-field gradients for YBa2Cu4O8 from density
      functional calculations.

PMID- 9998326
TI  - Electron-phonon interactions in the high-temperature superconductors.

PMID- 9998327
TI  - Hole motion in quantum antiferromagnets: String and hopping results.

PMID- 9998328
TI  - Comparative study of Cu K-edge x-ray-absorption and Cu 2p x-ray photoelectron
      spectra in copper oxide compounds.

PMID- 9998329
TI  - Pairing, condensation, and superconductivity described by a Hubbard model with an
      attractive interaction.

PMID- 9998330
TI  - Theory of elasticity of the Abrikosov flux-line lattice for uniaxial
      superconductors: Parallel flux lines.

PMID- 9998331
TI  - Dynamics and particle-hole interactions in liquid 3He: A Green's-function
      approach.

PMID- 9998332
TI  - Dipolar electric field induced by a vortex moving in an anisotropic
      superconductor.

PMID- 9998333
TI  - Infrared optical properties of the 10-K organic superconductor (BEDT-TTF)2

PMID- 9998334
TI  - Fractional quantum Hall effect and Chern-Simons gauge theories.